Chronicle on Cuba - April 2004

Exile Community

April 1: An exhibition hall in Salamanca, Spain, is kicking off the spring season with a 15-year retrospective of the most representative works of Cuban painter Jose Bedia, considered one of the Caribbean island's most prominent contemporary artists. Born in Cuba, Bedia now lives in Miami. He was one of the most active members of the radical Volume I movement that profoundly influenced the post-revolutionary cultural trend on the island. "This is very evident in my work and has marked all my production," the artist said. (EFE, 1/4/04)

April 2: Reporters Without Borders - which champions freedom of the press - has invited several people to Montreal to discuss the issue of journalistic freedom in Cuba. The guests include Castro's daughter, Alina Fernández Castro. "At least we can try to keep those people alive by keeping them in the news," Fernandez said in a brief telephone interview from Miami, Florida., where she now lives in exile. “We have to take every opportunity to let people know about the situation (in Cuba)." Reporters Without Borders gave Cuba the dubious distinction of being the world's biggest prison for journalists, with 30 reporters behind bars to date. (Montreal Post, 2/4/04)

April 5: A group of anti Castro exiles is training a group of Venezuelans, including ex-military personnel, in Miami in case they resort to “belligerency” if the political crisis in their country is not resolved peacefully. The leader of the radical group Comandos F-4, Rodolfo Frómeta, said to the press they have helped train Venezuelans in training camps located in Homestead and the Everglades. (Notimex, 5/4/04)

April 7: The Cuban government has confirmed that from June, Cubans living abroad will no longer need to apply for a visa to visit the Caribbean island. They will require a Cuban passport to visit the Communist-led state. The move, announced by Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque, appears designed to increase tourism. (BBC, 8/4/04)

April 18: With George W. Bush and Democratic presidential hopeful John Kerry both campaigning in Miami, expectations are high among Cuban Americans that they will present some new, effective anti-Castro plans. The political stakes are high in South Florida, with Democrats and Republicans battling to win votes in the state's volatile Hispanic electorate. ''Cuban Americans are hungry for bold and dramatic new messages,'' said Republican State Representative David Rivera, a critic of Bush's Cuba policy who says Cuban Americans are frustrated with hollow anti-Castro rhetoric. ''President Bush should use this as an opportunity to begin to galvanize and motivate Cuban-American voters for the upcoming election.'' ''I don't know how Kerry can repackage himself to the Cuban-American community and say he will be tougher on Castro than Bush, '' US Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen said. (The Miami Herald, 18/4/04)

April 18: Cuban American Democrat Roland Sanchez-Medina, a board member of the Cuban American National Foundation and the Cuban American Bar Association, is planning to meet with Democratic candidate John Kerry and advise him on Cuba issues. ''I think [Kerry] is going to have to make some sort of statement with respect to Cuba, '' Sanchez-Medina said. ''If he wants to get more of the Cuban-American vote than he currently has, he is going to have to take a stronger position. I think the time is becoming ripe.'' (The Miami Herald, 18/4/04)

April 21: A Washington-based Cuban-American organization has condemned the United States policy of embargo toward Cuba. The Cuban American Alliance Education Fund (CAAEF) has demanded the end of the travel restrictions that prevent US citizens and Cuban-Americans from freely traveling to the neighboring country, and expressed its rejection of putting limits in remittances Cuban-Americans send to their relatives in Cuba. The CAAEF is also demanding the reopening of immigration talks between US and Cuba, Washington unilaterally suspended early this year. (Prensa Latina, 21/4/04)

April 21: The Cuban government and exiles in Miami clashed over the prison terms of six to eight years handed down by a Panamanian judge to four exiles convicted on charges linked to an alleged plot to assassinate Fidel Castro. Cubans in Miami called for Panamanian President Mireya Moscoso to pardon the men, jailed since their arrest in 2000, while others accused her of cozying up to Castro. Miriam Novo, 52, wife of defendant Guillermo Novo, told the press that she was only half surprised by the verdict. ''I expected absolution. There was never any proof,'' she said. But, she added, part of her expected it. ''We have always had faith in the justice system of democracies, but in the case of Panama you can see that the Cuban regime has used intimidation, blackmail and bribery,'' she added. ``Castro's arm is long.'' ''This sentence has been bought and paid for by the government of Cuba,'' said Hector Fabian, member of a committee supporting the Panama four. (The Miami Herald, 22/4/04)

April 22: Two days after a Panamanian judge convicted four Cuban exiles in a plot to kill Fidel Castro, hundreds of supporters rallied and raised funds for what has become a cause célbre in part of the exile community. More than 400 people packed the Renaissance Ballroom in West Miami for the $100-a-plate dinner. Among them: Francisco ''Pepe'' Hernández, president of the Cuban American National Foundation, sharing a table with Miami Commissioner Angel González. Nearby sat members of Brigade 2506, veterans of the Bay of Pigs invasion. Also making the rounds was former Miami Commissioner Humberto Hernández, who was removed from office and convicted of voter and mortgage fraud. He accompanied his father, Humberto Sr., a Bay of Pigs veteran. Prominent developer Mario Ferro donated reprints of works by Cuban artist Cundo Bermúdez for an auction. The four Cubans convicted -- including three from Miami -- have relied on local donations to support their legal fight, said Santiago Alvarez, a local developer and longtime supporter. (The Miami Herald, 22/4/04)

April 26: The Spanish-language radio station in the US city Miami that crank called Fidel Castro faces a $US4,000 ($A5,450) fine, according to federal regulators. The station, El Zol 95.7, duped Castro into believing that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez was calling to seek help in tracking down a suitcase containing secret documents he said he lost during a trip to Argentina. The Federal Communications Commission has recommended that the station be fined $US4,000 ($A5,450) for broadcasting a telephone conversation without notifying the other party. (The Age.Com, Europa Press, 26/4/04)

April 30: Because of José Ariel Contreras's defection, Cuban government officials have not allowed his wife and two daughters to leave Cuba. Contreras, through his interpreter Leo Astacio, told the press after pitching six strong innings in a 5-1 victory over the Oakland Athletics that he had arranged Nicaraguan visas for his wife, Miriam Murillo Flores, and their two daughters, 11-year-old Naylan and 3-year-old Naylenis, but Cuban government officials have not granted them permission to leave. "I call them every day," Contreras said, alluding to his wife and daughters. "They're fine, they're healthy." According to Contreras, there is a five-year waiting period before his family will be allowed to leave Cuba. "I have to wait three and a half more years," he said. "It's already been a year and a half since I left." (The New York Times, 30/4/04)