Chronicle on Cuba - October 2007

Exile Community

October 2: Several Cuban exile organizations in Miami backed the call from dissidents on the island to oppose the municipal elections scheduled by the Cuban government for October 21. Janisset Rivero, a spokeswoman for the Cuban Democratic Directorate, said that in the framework of a campaign of non-cooperation with the regime, dissidents on the island “have come together in an unprecedented appeal to say No to the electoral farce.” (EFE, 2/10/07)

October 8: In a new Cuba, the Communist Party is banned. The wrongs of Fidel Castro's almost 50-year regime will be set right with Nuremberg-style trials. And as the island's future is carved out, Miami exiles would have a spot at the political table. Those are among the mandates issued by Unidad Cubana, a group that largely promotes the conservative ideals of South Florida's ''historical exile'' -- the long-time Cubans whose lives were derailed by Castro's rise to power. ''This is a plan for democratic action for our country,'' popular Radio Mambí 710-AM host Armando Pérez-Roura told hundreds of exiles who packed into Manuel Artime Community Center in the heart of Little Havana on October 2. Dubbed ''The Declaration from Miami,'' the guide for a free Cuba is the first to emerge since an ailing Castro handed power to his brother Raúl last year. It cautions that its goal is to prevent ''last-minute'' mistakes when -- not if -- Cuba's government collapses. First and foremost, the declaration denounces any idea that a monarchy-like succession from Fidel to Raúl would be tolerated by exiles as a green light to negotiate with Raúl's government. ''That will not be allowed,'' Pérez-Roura said. [Declaración de Miami] (The Miami Herald, 8/10/07)

October 9: The visit and treatment of nine Ukrainian children to the Miami Seaquarium are courtesy of Ukrainian first lady Kateryna Yushchenko, members of South Florida's Cuban-American community and others. The nonprofit Cuba Democracy Advocates wants to build solidarity with Ukraine's fledgling democratic government by helping to pay for prosthetics for about 30 low-income children from the former communist nation and by increasing medical exchanges. Many Cuban-Americans see Ukraine as a model for peaceful political change and want to support its government and recent criticism of political repression on the communist island. The Cuban-American community and the US government are keenly aware of the decades of medical treatment that Cuba provided for Ukrainians before pro-Western Viktor Yushchenko became president two years ago. Cuba treated thousands of Ukrainian children after the 1986 explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear plant. Since 2005, much of that aid has dried up, and relations between the two countries have cooled. (AP, 9/10/07)

October 12. Writer Carlos Victoria, one of the most prolific and singular writers of Cuban literature in exile, died in South Florida. He was 57. The death of Victoria, a renowned personality of the so-called Mariel Generation and a veteran copy editor at El Nuevo Herald, stirred friends, admirers and colleagues. He died at Palmetto General Hospital in Hialeah of complications from colon cancer. In 1971, Victoria was expelled from the University of Havana, where he had studied English language and literature. His crime: ``ideological diversionism.'' In 1978, he was arrested by State Security and all of his manuscripts were confiscated. Without any possibility of publishing his writings in his native country, Victoria left in 1980 via the Mariel-Key West boatlift. Ever since, his stories have appeared in anthologies and literary magazines in the United States, France and Latin America, invariably praised by the public and the critics. His recognition as a writer was consolidated in 1991 when Editorial Universal in Miami published his book of tales “The Shadows on the Beach”. His first novel, “A Bridge in the Darkness”, won the Golden Letters award in 1993. Victoria built a very personal body of work that included several novels and Collections of stories, that were translated into English and French. “The Secret Voyage” was selected in France as the Best Foreign Book in 2001. (El Nuevo Herald, 13/10/07)

October 18: The Bay of Pigs invasion has been a low point for the US government since its failure more than four decades ago. Now, the men who volunteered for the mission are being remembered at an art gallery at -- of all places -- the CIA, which plotted the clandestine operation. Veterans of the ill-fated attempt to topple Fidel Castro -- Cuban exiles, CIA contract pilots and the families of four Alabama Air National Guardsmen who died in Cuba -- will gather at the Southern Museum of Flight in Birmingham, Alabama. There, an oil painting will be unveiled that depicts one of the successes of the covert operation: an April 1961 aerial attack on Castro's forces that took out an estimated 900 soldiers. ''It's been viewed as an embarrassment, but the modern world is recognizing it's part of our history. That's all there is to it,'' said Jorge Del Valle, 63, who was 15 when he walked into a CIA recruiting office in Miami to sign up for the venture. "We have gained acknowledgment worldwide.'' (The Miami Herald, 18/10/07)  

October 18: For decades, Miami Cuban-Americans have been a reliable Republican voting bloc and three GOP incumbents who represent that community in the House have rarely faced significant opposition. Now Florida Democrats are trying to mount a meaningful challenge, in part by convincing Raul Martinez, the colorful former Democratic mayor of Hialeah, to take on Representative Lincoln Diaz-Balart (Republican), an eight-term incumbent and scion of a powerful Cuban émigré family. Martinez is exactly the kind of candidate Democrats would need to seriously challenge Diaz-Balart because their battle would take place in a district where cultural ties matter more than party affiliation, according to David Wasserman, US House editor for The Cook Political Report. “Democrats are looking more for a name than a moneyed or well-funded campaign,” he said. Martinez, who like Diaz-Balart is a Cuban émigré, fits that bill after 25 years as mayor of Hialeah, which is the fifth-largest city in Florida, boasts a huge Cuban population and is 90 percent Hispanic. A battle between the two well-known Miami politicians would also test the claim by Florida Democrats that the political climate in Miami’s Cuban-American community is changing. (The Hill, 18/10/07)

October 20: Cuban boxers Yan Barthelemy and Yuriorkis Gamboa make their US debuts at the Seminole Hard Rock arena in Hollywood. They are expecting an emotional evening in front of a partisan Cuban-American home crowd that will include Gamboa's wife and young daughter, who defected to Miami earlier this year. "I feel marvelous," Barthelemy, a light flyweight, said after a recent workout at Miami Fight gym in Doral. "It's like a little piece of Cuba here in Miami. My grandmother and uncle are here. I have a lot of friends from Cuba who are here. (…) It's been a very positive experience, much easier transition than I expected. "In Cuba, they paint Miami out to be a monster. They tell you (…) people won't care about you, especially if you're black. But it's been quite the contrary. People here have been great to me, both black and white. It almost feels like home." "Unfortunately, the situation in my country is unjust, but I love my country and wouldn't change my nationality for anything," Barthelemy said. "I'm not talking about the government, I'm talking about Cuba. I'm Cuban 100 percent. Very proud to be Cuban. Every time I stand up in the ring, I'm representing my colors, my country, my people, not the government, but the people of Cuba. I want to win for them and they motivate me." (The Miami Herald, 20/10/07)  

October 24: Cuban exiles welcomed President George W. Bush's call to the international community to press for democratic reforms in Cuba, but said the US lacked a clear strategy to bring about such change. "We thank the president for taking time in this crucial moment in the struggle for Cuba's freedom to refocus public attention on the important role US policy can play in helping to precipitate a transition to democracy," the influential Cuban American National Foundation (CANF) said following Bush's speech. The lobby group added, however, that the ideas need to be supported by "concrete actions in order to become a reality." "Regrettably, we are still left today without a clear strategy to help bring about meaningful and lasting change," the CANF said in a statement. "After almost 50 years of tyranny, Cuba's people deserve and require more than good intentions." (AFP, 25/10/07)