Iran Gains Two Votes on International Nuclear Watchdog Agency

Cuba and Syria Join IAEA Board

(30 Sept 05) In yet another example why reform is desperately needed of the UN system, two state sponsors of terror have gained seats on the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

At its meetings, the Board examines and makes recommendations to the General Conference on the IAEA’s accounts, program, and budget and considers applications for membership. It also approves safeguards agreements and the publication of the IAEA’s safety standards and has the responsibility for appointing the Director General of the IAEA with the approval of the General Conference.

Granted, like most UN organizations the IAEA has become another international debating society for diplomats. Tucked away in a bucolic area in Vienna, Austria, the Agency’s stark and omnious headquarters houses most of the Agency’s staff that numbers close to 2,000 individuals from over 90 countries. It is an expensive project ongoing since 1957 in the name of developing nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.

So now Cuba and Syria, staunch allies of Iran and North Korea, will be part of the elite Governing Board of the IAEA that include Brazil, China, and Venezuela. This growing bloc of anti-U.S./West countries will undoubtely cause all sort of problems for the U.S. and Europeans.

As we have reported many times at WHPW, we believe that the G-77 or non-aligned countries will continue to team and secure nuclear techology, as well as chemical and biological technology generated by Cuba’s biotech programs, to secure some kind of weapons parity with the developed world. It is not important that all of them secure the weapon systems, but rather that one country of each of the several G-77 regions – i.e., Western Hemisphere, South Asia, Middle East, etc. – have the capaiblity to put one of these destructive weapon systems together when needed.

When the Cuban dictator visited Iran to open one of many Cuban biotechnology facilities overseas, it made its intentions towards the U.S. clear: “Iran and Cuba, in cooperation with each other, can bring America to its knees. The U.S. regime is very weak, and we are witnessing this weakness from close up.” A few months later our country was attacked.

We must take a broader view of our enemies and realize that many of the developing countries have teamed up against the West and its values systems. There is a subcomponent of G-77 countries eerily well organized and it transcends countries or groups that only harbor radical Islamic terror movements. Each country contributes whatever component it can do well for the good of the whole. We must pursue each regional head with as much vigor as the other.

Copyright © 2005 Western Hemisphere Policy Watch, All Rights Reserved.

Cuba Begins to Feel the Squeeze, Getting Desperate

"We should also divert all, or most, Section 109 monies from groups in the United States to programs on the island, or better yet, to bolster broadcasting efforts by Radio and TV Marti," said a well-placed official.

(29 Sept 04) The Cuban regime has always used U.S. policy as a scapegoat for its failed system. Lately, however, the attacks have become more pointed and vitriolic.

In July, the Cuban Dictator acknowledged that Commando Solo flights broadcasting Radio and TV Marti programming was being seen by Cubans across the island. He almost came out of his drab olive-colored pants and lost the few remaining hairs on his beard.

This week, "Cuba's Deputy Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez presented the document during a press conference on Tuesday's morning; he explained in detail the causes and consequences of the blockade, recently tightened by the George W. Bush administration." (Source: Periodico 26 de Julio, i.e. Cuban Regime)

The Deputy Foreign Minister especially railed against the travel restrictions that have curtailed travel to Cuba - even travel by Cuban-Americans. What's wrong Mr. Rodriguez? Revenues down for the Communist Party faithful? This ABC News article captures the essence of the latest tirade.

By all indications U.S. pressure is set to increase "robustly," as one source told WHPW, in the weeks ahead. "New measures shall be undertaken very soon that will further precipitate pressures on the regime to fish or cut bait," added the source.

WHPW has stressed time and time again that we should ask our allies in the Americas that receive millions of dollars in foreign aid and assistance, to cooperate with the United States in ridding the Americas of one of its last tyrants. "We should also divert all, or most, Section 109 monies from groups in the United States to programs on the island, or better yet, to bolster broadcasting efforts by Radio and TV Marti," said a well-placed official.

The Bush Administration and Congress must demand more return on our foreign assistance investment efforts - these are taxpayer monies. With the recent outlandishh outburstss by the regime, the timing could not be better to ask our friends in the Western Hemisphere to choose sides. We think we know, if a serious effort is made, what side these countries will pick.

Copyright © 2005 Western Hemisphere Policy Watch, All Rights Reserved.

New ICJ Case: Costa Rica v. Nicaragua

(29 Sept 05) The Costa Rican Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced yesterday that it would take Nicaragua to the International Court of Justice to resolve a decades-old dispute over navigation rights on a river that separates the two countries. Dr. Abel Pacheco de la Espriella and the Foreign Minister Roberto Tovar Faja discussed the matter at a press conference yesterday afternoon.

Costa Rica recognizes the San Juan River as Nicaraguan territory, however, it claims unlimited navigation rights on the part that runs along its northern border with Nicaragua. The latest dispute dates to 1998 Nicaragua's then president, Arnoldo Aleman, banned armed Costa Rican police patrol boats from the river and began charging Costa Rican tourist boats to ply the river.

Ongoing discussions between the two countries on this matter have been inconclusive in resolving and the Costa Rican government beleives that the issue must be addressed at The Hague. In a prepared statement the Foreign Minister said "Costa Rica is taking this case to the International Court so that the court will recognize Costa Rica's rights, no more no less." For their part, the Nicarguans argue that it will not have foreign forces navigating in its waters.

WHPW Editors tend to think that as far "as pure navigation rights are concerned on its side of the river, Costa Rica will argue from a position of legal and policy strength." But, without all of the facts for review, it is too early to tell how this matter may unfold. ICJ decisions are not binding and, ultimately, the complete resolution rests with the leaders of each country.

Stay tuned for WHPW updates as this matter develops.

Copyright © 2005 Western Hemisphere Policy Watch, All Rights Reserved.

US CONGRESS: Hotspots in Latin America

(29 Sept 05) The Western Hemisphere Subcomittee of the House International Relations Committee joined its Senate counterpart and the House Armed Services Committee, with a hearing titled "Keeping Democracy on Track: Hotspots in Latin America."

The Committee says that "Despite two decades of political and economic progress among many Latin American and Caribbean basin nations, systemic problems continue to plague the continent, including persistent poverty; violent guerrilla conflicts; autocratic leaders; drug trafficking, crime and corruption; weak judicial systems; political polarization; and the rise of virulent populism."

"Frustration and a growing lack of confidence by citizens in many countries are echoed in the respected Latinobarómetro surveys for 2004 that indicate an erosion in public confidence in democratic governments over the past ten years. The survey reports that, while half of Latin Americans support democracy, few believe it is working well. In fact, 55 percent of respondents said they would tolerate a non-democratic government if it could solve economic problems.

"Colombia continues to be threatened by drug trafficking organizations and by guerrilla groups. Bolivia and Ecuador have had a number of presidents ousted since 2000. Peru=s President Toledo faces extremely low approval ratings even while the economy grows. Venezuela under President Hugo Chávez has been plagued by several years of political polarization, although Chávez's rule was strengthened after he won a recall referendum in August 2004.

"For the most part, Central America has emerged from the turbulent 1980s and 1990s with democratic institutions more firmly entrenched, yet corruption and violent crime are major problems in all countries. In the Caribbean, Haiti B the hemisphere's poorest nation B continues to be plagued by violence and political instability."

The USAID Western Hemisphere Director said that "Despite progress, much remains to be done, and USAID will continue to promote democratic reforms that reflect the complex realities each country confronts." Read the complete text.

Copyright © 2005 Western Hemisphere Policy Watch, All Rights Reserved.

Cuba: the "legend" at Internet Censorship

(29 Sept 05) Reporters Without Borders crowned Cuba the "legend" at internet censorship, along with a few other choice countries including China and Saudi Arabia. "The Cuban regime is well-known for its phone tapping expertise but it’s also very good at censoring the Internet. The Chinese model of encouraging online activity while controlling it is too expensive, so President Fidel Castro has plumped for an easier way - simply keeping the Internet out of reach of virtually all Cubans.

"Internet access in Cuba is the privilege of a tiny few who have to get express permission from the ruling Communist Party. Even when you do get online, often illegally, you find a heavily-censored version of the Internet.

"Few people know that Cuba is one of the least Internet-connected countries in the world and that online material is as tightly controlled as in the traditional media. Why don’t people know this? Perhaps because of the still-powerful myth of the Cuban revolution." Read all of the reviews.

North Korea, Iran, Vietnam ... now, South Africa to the Rescue

(28 Sept 05) The South African Foreign Minister, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma,(at left, lower right hand corner) is in Cuba this week for talks with her Cuban counterpart, Felipe Perez Roque.

No doubt that the South African government, along with Cuba, will continue its anti-American crusade - albeit quixotic - and seek agreements between both countries that will never be honored. It is a public relations effort to keep the Cuban regime afloat in its last days.

We would hope that South Africa, a recipient of large amounts of U.S. foreign assistance, would press the Cuban regime on jailing and beating journalists or securing the freedom of Afro-Cuban opposition leader, Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet. Do not count on it.

The South African delegation includes SA’s ambassador to Cuba, Thenjiwe Mtintso, the Directors-General of Health, Public Works and Social Development, and high ranking foreign affairs officials.

Copyright © 2005 Western Hemisphere Policy Watch, All Rights Reserved.

OAS WATCH: Here we go again ...

(28 Sept 05) The OAS General Secretary-General Jose Miguel Insulza (left) never ceases to amaze the WHPW editors with his sense of timing and priority of important issues in the Hemisphere. He has a penchant for weighing in on all of the oddest of issues for an OAS Secretary General.

A few weeks ago, knowing the political sensivities of the matter, Insulza on Venezuelan media said that the U.S. should allow for the extradition to Cuba or Venezuela of an Cuban exile. No one paid much attention at Foggy Bottom. He should stop meddling in the domestic affairs of the United States we said; it is a matter for our courts, judicial process, and not for an anemic regional organization leader to be injecting his personal views into the public discourse.

Now, the VOA reports that Insulza beleives that the "political crisis in Nicaragua is the "most frustrating" problem in the region." Really? What about the matter just 90 miles from our shores that has been festering policy makers for well-over 40 years? Let the Nicaraguan people handle their domestic issues. The OAS should mind its own house and reform a group that needs reforming and modernizing.

Copyright © 2005 Western Hemisphere Policy Watch, All Rights Reserved.

Elian's "heroine" demands release of Cuban Spies in U.S. Prisons

(28 Sept 05) When the Clinton Administration accepted assistance from the National Council of Churches to mediate between the Castro regime and Elian Gonzalez's island family members, Dr. Joan Brown Campbell took the lead. Campbell is a good friend of the former Attorney General Janet Reno.

Assuring the media that Elian would not be in any danger upon return to Cuba or used for political purposes by the regime, Campbell (picture below) continued her long effort, and that of the NCC, to legitimize the Castro regime and the socialist way. It was but another notch for the international left and she was determined to do her part. Well, she and her group are still at it.

According to the Worker's World, Campbell comprised part of a group of leftist luminaries "women leaders that travel to the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 23, to demand that Attorney General Alberto Gonzáles immediately free the Cuban Five." For those who may not know, the Cuban Five are Cuba spies who were stealing U.S. secrets in the United States for Cuba, penetrating exile organizations that led to the death of Americans at the hand of the regime, and may have been involved with a Defense Intelligence Agency official subsequently sentenced to more than 25 years in prison for stealing military secrets during a ten year period.

Contrary to NCC and Campbell assurances, Castro wasted no time in parading Elian Gonzalez as a political win for the Revolution. Castro even attends Elian birthday parties. The Cuban Five are a similiar political tool - the regime even launched a website to brag of the exploits of its spies.



We share this nugget with WHPW readers because, as the AIM article below, we do more research if we are to get all of the facts. Campbell, the NCC, and a whole host of like-minded characters were allowed to inject themselves into what became a foreign policy issue. We beleive it was to the detriment of U.S. foreign policy goals in the Americas and the Clinton Administration was never called on it.

The Bush Administration has done an excellent job of clamping down on such groups by limiting travel to Cuba including travel by Cuban-Americans, prosecuting violations of economic sanctions laws, and forcing such groups to account for their true intention in traveling and cavorting with the regime. However, we can and must do more.

Several sources report that recent efforts by the Bush Administration are starting to have an effect on the island with an emboldened opposition taking many more risks, acts of repression by the regime to such activities, and, one of the best indicia, increased complaints by the regime about the effects of our policy. We have just begun, however, and the regime should seriously consider all options as this process continues.

Elian Gonzalez, Joan Brown Campbell , Cuba

Copyright © 2005 Western Hemisphere Policy Watch
All Rights Reserved.

Accuracy in Media: Al Qaeda Thanks Them

(28 Sept 05) A WHPW reader forwarded the following article from Accuract in Media (AIM), the "non-profit, grassroots citizens watchdog of the news media that critiques botched and bungled news stories and sets the record straight on important issues that have received slanted coverage."

Last weekend a group of protestors converged in Washington, DC to protest a meeting of the World Bank - it has become somewhat routine to see the rag tag groups this time of year in the nation's capital. This year the organizers added, to boot, an anti-war rally that provided interesting images for the newspapers the following day (albeit tight camera shots for it was not a large a crowd as expected).

AIM's piece discusses media failures at reporting who was there and what they stood for. "The U.S. and Israel were the main enemies. The heroes were Hugo Chavez and Fidel Castro. There were some dupes in attendance but the leaders know exactly what they are doing. Our media pretend not to understand. What was happening was a classic communist trick – manipulating people through front organizations."

Read the article and see some of the images from the event.

(ABC News/AP) Less U.S. Travel Prompts Cuba to Lash Out

Cuba Lashes Out at Decades-Old U.S. Embargo After Numbers Show Fewer Americans Traveling There

By VANESSA ARRINGTON
The Associated Press

Sep. 28, 2005 - The number of Americans traveling to Cuba has fallen dramatically since 2003, and those who do visit the island without their government's permission are more likely to be fined, Cuba said as it lashed out against a decades-old U.S. embargo.

Vice Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla lamented the effects of the embargo, which has been steadily strengthened under President Bush and prohibits virtually all trade between the two countries except for the sale of some U.S. food and medicine to the communist-run island.

"We are talking about an economic war against our country," Rodriguez said Tuesday. "It is unfounded, unfair, and, moreover, deeply illegal."

U.S. officials defend the embargo, saying unfettered trade and travel to the island would prop up Fidel Castro's government. The imprisonment of dissidents and restrictions on economic and political freedoms justify the policy, aimed at forcing a change in Cuba's leadership, they say.

A Cuban report released ahead of an upcoming vote on the embargo at the United Nations said 57,145 Cuban-Americans visited their native country last year, compared with 115,050 in 2003 a 50 percent drop.

For other Americans, the number of visits fell from 85,809 in 2003 to 51,027 last year, the report said. The numbers continued to decrease in 2005, it said.

At the same time, those who defy U.S. travel restrictions are more likely to be fined under Bush's government, according to the report.

In the first quarter of 2005, the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control fined 307 Americans for unauthorized travel to Cuba almost as many as the 316 people fined all of last year, the report said.

The typical fine for first-time offenders who travel to Cuba is $7,500 each, the Treasury Department office said.

President John F. Kennedy imposed economic sanctions against Cuba in 1963 during the Cold War with the aim of isolating the Cuban government economically and depriving it of U.S. dollars. Forty years later, President Bush has sought more stringent enforcement of provisions forbidding most travel here.

Critics of the embargo say it is outdated and has not worked because Castro remains in power and the nation is still communist. They also say the United States trades with other communist countries, such as China and Vietnam, and the policy hurts average Cubans more than Castro.

Democrats and free-trade Republicans in the U.S. Congress for years have pushed for easing the sanctions, but they have yet to make headway against an administration determined to keep up the pressure.

The U.N. General Assembly has condemned the embargo for 13 straight years and urged the United States to end it. Last year's U.N. resolution was approved by a 179-4 vote, with only the United States, Israel, Marshall Islands and Palau opposed.

Leading up to this year's U.N. vote in the fall, Rodriguez presented an extensive document Tuesday outlining the damages Cuba says the embargo has caused to the country's economy, foreign trade, and health, education and cultural sectors.

Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque was scheduled to launch Tuesday's campaign himself but had to attend to other business, officials said.

Copyright © 2005 ABC News Internet Ventures

US STATE DEPT: Sec Rice's Comments While In Haiti

(28 Sept 05) "I am here because I want to express on behalf of the American people and on behalf of President Bush our backing and our support for the Haitian people at this very important time. I am very pleased to be accompanied on this trip by five members of the United States Congress: Senator DeWine, Congressman Watt and Congressman Meek, also Congresswoman Ros-Lehtinen and Congressman Shadegg. Thank you very much for coming also to express the desire of the American people that this should be a positive experience for the people of Haiti." Read all of the remarks.

Rice, Ros-Lehtinen Make Trip to Haiti Today

We hope that Ros-Lehtinen will take the opportunity to advise Secretary Rice to commit the same level of regional and international support to the Cuba matter – a much more pressing national security concern– as the State Department and Bush Administration has generally shown in the Haiti matter.

(27 Sept 05) According to the Voice of America and other State Department sources, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and the House International Relations Committee Member Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen will visit Haiti Tuesday for a review of show of support for the November Haitian elections. Yesterday, Secretary Rice discussed Haiti with Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim, whose government heads the United Nations stabilization force in the country.

State Department officials say the aim of the one-day visit will be to demonstrate U.S. support for the electoral process, and to encourage others in the international community, especially Hemisphere countries, to do the same. According to a Ros-Lehtinen press release, she too will join the Secretary.

Haiti has been torn by gang warfare and political violence since the departure of Mr. Aristide for exile last year. The unrest has disrupted the registration process for the presidential and legislative voting, which begins in November.

However, State Department Spokesman Sean McCormack said the level of violence has diminished of late, due largely to efforts by the Brazilian-led 7,600 member U. N. Stabilization Force in Haiti, known by its French acronym, MINUSTAH:

"I think what we have seen is an environment that has become increasingly secure. That said, there are still pockets of real difficulty, and we are going to be working with MINUSTAH as well as other members of the international community to see that Haitians have the safest, most secure possible environment for their election," he said.

A senior official who spoke to reporters here said the Bush administration sees the elections as an opportunity for Haitians, after all the country's political turmoil, to get on a pathway toward a better life. He said all countries in the hemisphere have a stake in doing whatever they can to assist Haiti, the region's most impoverished country. While in Port-au-Prince, Ms. Rice will meet senior officials of Haiti's interim government including President Boniface Alexandre and Prime Minister Gerard Latortue.

We hope that Ros-Lehtinen will take the opportunity to advise Secretary Rice to commit the same level of regional and international support to the Cuba matter – a much more pressing national security concern– as the State Department and Bush Administration has generally shown in the Haiti matter.

By commitment we do not mean speeches and promises of transitions, but support to the freedom-seekers on the island, securing support from our hemispheric and other allies. The Cuban regime is, after all, a state sponsor of terror. It is time that we started treating it as such.

Voice of America, and other sources contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2005 Western Hemisphere Policy Watch,
All Rights Reserved.

While Cuban Reporter Lynched by Paramilitary Group, U.S. Media Gives Cuban Regime a Pass

(27 Sept 05) We will never know the infatuation by some elements of the U.S. media and Cuban dictator Fidel Castro. Herbert Matthews, Barbara Walters, Dan Rather, Peter Jennings, and many more make the pilgrimage to Cuba to meet the Bearded One, pose for photos and, maybe, even encourage him on.

Meanwhile, Cuban journalists have been beaten, tortured, jailed, exiled, or killed -practices that continue to this day. But do not expect the Dan (pictured above, posing with a huge smile with the Bearded One) or any other reporter that has visited with the Bearded One to go out of their way to report these attacks on their own.

Reporters Without Borders reports that an independent journalist was publicly mauled by a crowd of 60 government rapid response team members and severely injured. Why? The reporter, Guillermo Farinas, the editor of the independent Cubanacan Press agency in the central city of Santa Clara, was attacked by the paramilitaries because he took part in a protest against the arrest of a dissident.

RWB reports that independent reporters are continually harassed, forced to work underground, or routinely jailed. According to the group there are more than twenty reporters in Cuban political prisons.

The American media has given a free pass to repression and human rights abuses 90 miles from our shores. This practice dates back to before the so-called revolution of 1959 when New York Times reporter Herbert Matthews (pictured at right) withered his way to the Sierra Maestra and served as the Bearded One's mouthpiece in the U.S.

A majority of U.S. media has turned a blind eye to Cuba's threats against U.S. interests throughout the Americas and, usually, gone out of its way to give precious "ink" and broadcast time to leftists pariahs that seek to do harm to U.S. interests. It is doing again today with the likes of Chavez, while ignoring massive protests by the people of the country or the harrasment of Venezuelan opposition leaders.

Now, more than ever, Radio and Television Marti broadcasts must be increased and programming improved. The Bush Administration has done a good job revamping broadcasting efforts, we believe with a little more effort and creativity the transmissions will be made a permanent, round-the-clock fixture in ordinary Cubans' lives.

If Cuban independent journalists are willing to risk life and limb for freedom, then the U.S. should place all of its power and resources as possible in supporting them. If that means shifting budgeting priorities for Section 109 programs and other support measures, so be it. Taxpayer dollars should be diverted for on-island activities and programs. At the end of this process, it is the friends of freedom that will have last laugh.

Copyright © 2005 Western Hemisphere Policy Watch,
All Rights Reserved.

UPDATE: North Korea Delegation in Cuba, Biotech Cooperation, Again

The Cuban government is a dangerous creature. It is time we started treating it as such.

(26 Sept 05) While the North Koreans play high-stakes games with the IAEA and its nuclear power program, as reported here last week the North Korean Communist Party dispatched Yang Hyong Sop, a leader of North Korea's Supreme People's Assembly, just ninety miles from U.S. shores to visit with the communist Cuban leaders.

What has he done the past few days? We know that he laid a wreath at the Jose Marti Memorial and is supposed to meet with Cuban Vice President Carlos Lage, Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque, and Marta Lomas, Cuba's minister of foreign investment and economic cooperation.

The highlight of the trip, however, is the official inauguration of two biotechnology factory programs at two facilities -- Centro de Ingeniería Genética y Biotecnología y del Centro de Inmunología Molecular -- by the Cuban regime in cooperation with the North Koreans.

What is it with Cuba, other terrorist states, and biotech facilities? While visiting Iran in 2001 a few months before the 11 Sept attacks, for example, Castro opened a Cuban biotech facility in Iran. Fidel Castro, Jr., Fidelito, is a scientist in his own right and has made similiar junkets to Syria and North Korea. In exchange for this biotech deal with terrorist state Korea, Korea has "donated" twelve locomotives to Cuba.

We hope the folks at Foggy Bottom focus more on these matters than licensing playground building adventures to Cuba (see below), sending more food delegations to visit with Castro, or wrangling with groups wanting to repair the Hemingway House in Havana. The Cuban government is a dangerous creature. It is time we started treating it as such.

For more information about Cuba's Biotechnology industry and possible CW/BW applications, visit NTI or read this article by Engineer Manuel Cereijo.

Copyright © 2005 Western Hemisphere Policy Watch,
All Rights Reserved.

Americans Fly to Cuba to Build Playgrounds?!

(25 Sept 05) For some reason the Treasury Department approved travel licenses for 50 Americans to build playgrounds in Cuba for one week. While Cuban-Americans discussed the Friday incident with Cuban rafters off Miami Beach earlier this week, the San Diego group of about 50 departed Miami International Airport yesterday for the Cuban gulag.

This is not the first time the Bush Administration has granted permission for the "It's Just the Kids" to travel to Cuba. In fact, the San Diego-based group has a finely illustrated web site documenting its maiden Cuba trip in 2003.

One particular posting that sums up why trips such as these are a political boondoogle for the regime is this gem of an entry from a 2003 participant: "And then it was time to go … and buy our supply of cigars and rum!," said Mickey East. Again, these trips hurt more than they help the Cuban people.

By the way, while in Cuba, the group stays at a hotel closed to ordinary Cubans: the Melia Cohiba. They also can upgrade rooms at this hotel by "request[ing] a single room and pay a supplement of $200," U.S. currency, to the Cuban regime. So, we sanction Cuban Apartheid by allowing travel and lodging at a foreign hotel whose owners may be trafficking in stolen American properties as well?

If these trips were some effort by the U.S. government to advance a more "robust" agenda to advance freedom in Cuba, we would have no qualms and would ask for more trips. This is far from it and, as far are sources go, there is connection to U.S. government agencies whatsoever. In essence, this is another propaganda trip for the regime.

Interestingly, this is another San Diego-based group. If readers recall, San Diego is home to CancerVax - a biotech company that the Bush Administration licensed to work with the Cuban regime on a lung cancer vaccine. The press release announcing the project was removed from the company website.

Fancy hotels, "rum and cigars," ... we guess it is "just about the [ADULT] kids."

Copyright © 2005 Western Hemisphere Policy Watch,
All Rights Reserved.

We must talk less, do more

(25 Sept 05) “Standing up to Cuba tyranny,” or so said the Bush Administration’s nominee to be the third Assistant Secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs at the Department of State in a prepared statement for his Senate confirmation hearings last week. We guess that standing sure beats idling “up to Cuba tyranny”.

The statements of Mr. Thomas Shannon before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and of other administration officials on the leading foreign policy challenge in the Americas, have been uneventful. This administration will continue the compartmentalized approach to foreign policy in the Western Hemisphere as have prior administrations. The “vision thing” that the Bush people have done so well for domestic affairs and the Middle East, has just not found it way into the halls of our friends here at Foggy Bottom.

We want a hemisphere free and democratic Western Hemisphere that grows with open and prosperous markets. However, none of this can truly take root if we allow the Cuban Cancer to grow or contaminate our efforts – fueled by Venezuela oil profits, Russian and Chinese logistical support, and G-77 machinations – and drag down even more the impoverished of the Americas that is at a staggering 60% or more of the population.

In a post-9/11 world, poverty has become an even more pressing issue for the forces of evil that breed terror use poverty as a recruitment and ideological tool. We must turn that to our advantage and our leading nemesis in this regard is the Cuban regime and its state-sponsors in the Americans and beyond. Of what value is a Free Trade Area or a CAFTA-DR is a majority of the people in these countries live in abject poverty? Why do we allow the Cuban regime to fester as we do to take political advantage of such issues?

For this lack of policy focus in the Americas by the U.S., we have allowed a state of curious ambivalence to spread amongst our “partners.” For example, what incentives have we given the Caribbean Basin to assist us on freeing Cuba?

In fact, the Caribbean Basin countries fear a free Cuba because of the imagined drain it may have on its economy or foreign assistance that may go to Cuba when it opens again rather than to it. A free Cuba will, eventually, be an economic boom for the region, its people, and beyond. These countries think fear a free Cuba because we have failed to articulate a clear mission and agenda with regards to Cuba – in essence, we need to lead more, talk less.

With all due respect for Mr. Shannon, who we know is an intelligent, patriotic, and good American, “standing up to tyranny” alone just will not cut it anymore. U.S./Cuba policy has been reviewed and studied ad nauseum, it is high time for a clear mission, give the Cuban regime options or consider more robust measure – and we do not mean the UN Security Council either; matters of our immediate defense and security interests rests solely within our control to handle as we see more efficient. The precedent is available for acting alone in the Hemisphere, let’s be serious about it.

The Cuban people, the Cuban military, and the opposition are tired. Forty-six years of incessant Communist/Marxist propaganda in an island nation can numb individuals to realities that we take for granted. The WHPW Editors believe the Cuban people seeking freedom have given as much as we can expect to give under such pure Orwellian conditions.

The time is come for the U.S. to cash in the political equity the Cuban regime has created through incessant attacks on us throughout the years. Ironically, we have the Cuban evil doer to thank for making us the only government that has stood firm to its iron grip. While the rest of the world paid lip service and open support to the Cuban Communist Party, the U.S. said no. The Cuban people want our help. The Cuban people need to know we will back them if they make a move.

Let’s move beyond “standing up to Cuban tyranny.” We must talk less, do more.

Copyright © 2005 Western Hemisphere Policy Watch,
All Rights Reserved.

US Criticizes Nicaraguan Decision to Lift Immunity for Senior Government Officials

(24 Sept 2005)- Voice of America - President Enrique Bolanos (r) with Interior Secretary, Julio Vega (l) during a press conference at the Presidential House in Managua The United States has condemned a decision by Nicaragua's National Assembly to lift the immunity of some senior officials in President Enrique Bolanos' government.

State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said in a statement Friday that the legislature's actions could expose members of Nicaragua's democratic government to politically motivated persecution and harassment and weaken the rule of law. He said the legislators acted on "spurious political grounds."

The Assembly acted Thursday against Nicaraguan Interior Minister Julio Vega and another official. The move opens the way for trying them on campaign finance charges dating back to 2001.

Organization of American States Secretary-General Jose Miguel Insulza issued a statement voicing concern about the latest developments in Nicaragua. He said the National Assembly's decision acts against the possibility of resolving the country's political crisis.

President Bolanos has been increasingly isolated since leading an anti-corruption drive against his predecessor, Arnoldo Aleman.

From Voice of America, according to VOA some information for this report provided by AP and Reuters.

OAS WATCH: Is the OAS Secretary General for real?

(24 Sept 05) About a month ago we advised the OAS Secretary General (pictured at right) not to meddle in the domestic or foreign affairs of the United States when he made comments on Venezuelan state-owned television about the proposed extradition to Venezuela of Luis Posada Carriles.

Now, Jose Miguel Insulza, expressed "serious concern" regarding the latest developments in Nicaragua, which led to the Interior Minister and other executive branch officials to be stripped of their legal immunity. Our question, where have you been Mr. Secretary?

The OAS has been attempting to mediate the Sandinista-concocted crisis for several months with the Special representative Dante Caputo at the lead. In reality, the OAS has made matters worse by dragging discussions into areas heretofore having absolutely nothing to do with current issues - making matters worse than they need to be. The roots of this crisis rests in decades of Sandinista dictatorship, a sham make over of that party in the aftermath of the Cold War, and pure unadulterated corruption that has been a hallmark of the Marxist group led by Daniel Ortega.

The OAS Secretary General is on political thin ice and his leftist leanings do not add credibility to this process but complicate it more so. He should remain silent on these matters and allow the Nicaraguan people, on their own, to decide how to deal with this matter. The Sandinistas must be exposed and every time the ruling party gets closer to doing so, a "crisis" conveniently erupts, the OAS chimes in, and more confusion abounds.

The OAS has become a perpetual debating group and high society organization - struggling with many of the same institutional issues as the UN. In Washington, the organization is very good at throwing parties, balls, and art receptions. It should take a long and hard look at its institutions, organization, and mission statements and seek reforms.

Furthermore, if it cannot come to an agreement on the most perplexing issue in the Americas - the Cuban tyranny - how can it mediate matters of constitutional concerns in Nicaragua, Haiti, and other trouble spots?

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No. 10 - Felix Varela Bulletin

Are we ready to lead?

(23 Sept 05) – Cuba – Hope. Hope has been a recurrent theme the past few weeks in many of our Cuba-related postings. The Cuban people have hope, but the Cuban people are tired, demoralized, ashamed, confused, angry, sad, disappointed, and hungry.

Imagine after forty-six years of marriage that your loved one advised that he or she had been in love with another for all that time. How would you feel? The Cuban regime has succeeded in perpetuating a fraud on it people for forty-six years.

There was no revolution, just ego-centric, power hungry men and women that took advantage of a people to advance their own self-interests and money concerns. It destroyed a unique culture, divided families, and poisoned generations of Cubans who must live with the decisions made by an evil man and his cronies through no fault of their own.

The Cuban-American community lived in its own political purgatory of sorts, much like the enslaved people of Cuba. There would not be no Castro, but for the mistakes of a small minority of people living in exile who allowed the evil one to wrest control. A cold and true fact that most in exile have come to terms with. But unlike the evil ones in Cuba, the majority of the Cuban-American community appears to have never lost sight of the meaning of freedom, the power of democracy, and the desire to see future generations live free.

The U.S. has a unique role to play in this unfolding process, but policymakers in Washington must choose to either play up domestic political concerns, or lead this matter in a way befitting our country and, most importantly, matters in the U.S. national interest – no matter the reaction from domestic political concerns on all sides of this issue.

As WHPW editors pen so many times, the U.S./Cuba policy books are full of laws, executive orders, and communiqués that history books will likely record as one of the most “papered” policies in the Americas. What of concrete action however?

While our critics say we are alone in what we do, we believe that as such, the Cuban people now understand that while the rest of the world sipped Mojitos on Cuban beaches closed to ordinary Cubans or foreign leaders lounged with the evil one, the American government would not legitimize that system. Every time the evil one would rail against the U.S. in his speeches, he would legitimize the U.S. in the minds of millions of Cubans as the only true hope for their future.

There will always be a vocal minority that may support the evil one, Marxism, and oppression, but not the overwhelming majority. With the exile community serving as bridge, having learned the lessons of exile, and strong U.S. leadership that acts more and talks less, we can advance freedom’s cause ninety miles from our shores once and for all. To succeed, however, we must be prepared, again, to talk less, act more, and require our regional allies and partners to do the same.

The Cuban people have done as much as can be expected of a people living in a pure Orwellian world. Their only hope at this juncture is leadership from the very power that has proven time and time again, with the blood of its own when required.

Are we ready?

HMJ

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USG Must Act to End Cuban Tyranny

(23 Sept 05) A boat full of 10 men from Cuba was successfully stopped about a mile off Haulover Beach in Miami, Florida this afternoon – the entire incident caught from start to finish on live local television. The group will eventually be repatriated to the very gulag they fled from. As we have said before, 46 years of tyranny just ninety miles from U.S. shores is 46 years too much. Click here for the complete coverage from the local CBS Affiliate – review the one hour video of the interdiction.

Terror-State Leaders Continue Cuba Visits

(23 Sept 05) The parade of terror-state leaders to Cuba continues this week with a high-ranking North Korean official. Yang Hyong Sop (pictured at left), a leader of DPRK Supreme People's Assembly, began a week-long visit to Cuba the Cuban government announced yesterday.

According to an agenda of the visit, which ends next Wednesday, the vice president of the Korean Communist Party Assembly is to meet with Cuban Vice President Carlos Lage, Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque, and Marta Lomas, Cuba's minister of foreign investment and economic cooperation.

One of our goals at WHPW is educating and informing readers about how the Cuban regime actively seeks out countries in conflict with the U.S. in order to advance the non-aligned or G-77 agenda. It is pure poison conducted at the expense of the Cuban people and it can threaten U.S. interests in the Americas and beyond.

In the past few weeks, the Cuban dictator has welcomed an interesting cast of international malcontents including Zimbabwean strongman Mugabe, the Iranian "president" Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Venezuelan petro-revolutionary Hugo Chavez, and now the North Koreans.

As our WHPW theme says "actions, not words, are the true criterion of the attachment of friends," or so said our founder George Washington. It is ninety miles of clarity that something must be done about the Cuban regime, and soon. As we penned in the prior posting, our officials must "Make it happen" (See prior post below).

This parade of "evil doers" is but a recent example of why, in a post 9/11/01 world, even small countries with bad regimes like Cuba must be handled firmly and resolutely by our government. Cuba is the beachhead for these countries in the Americas that mean ill on our way of life, our people, and our friends. The regime's time to pass on in long overdue.

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IADB Approves Another Loan for Strife-Ridden Haiti

(23 Sept 05) The Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) announced the approval of $12.6 million in concessional financing to support Haiti’s efforts to rebuild its transportation infrastructure. The new resources will supplement a $50 million loan approved earlier this year.

The Bank says that "Another $50 million IDB loan is financing a project to improve rural roads. A separate $70 million loan supports a fund for small and medium-size infrastructure projects. Using resources from that fund, U.N. peacekeeping forces are currently carrying out road projects linking cities and small communities in the north and northwest of Haiti." Read about it here.

Our concern is two-fold: the country is in political disarry and the people managing and using these monies, the United Nations, cannot be trusted with it as the "food for oil" investigations have revealed.

Granted, the U.S. cannot police every inch of the world for corruption or nation-building. However, we should take a second look at the Haiti matter for it is our own backyard.

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A Note from WHPW Editors: Make it Happen.

(22 Sept 05) In several of our more recent postings, WHPW editors attempted to illustrate how U.S. policymakers could “link” U.S./Cuba policy objectives with other foreign policy issues throughout the Western Hemisphere and elsewhere. In essence, we would ask that a country take a side in the struggle for freedom. The U.S. will go at it alone, if necessary, but we can and should work with allies. What a concept, eh? We have received a variety spirited of e-mail from our readers on this subject.

WHPW visitors, who in the very short period of time that WHPW has been posting, have been enthusiastic contributors of ideas and ample criticism to what our editors argue on these pages. The most common questions, "why has this effort in Cuba taken so long to resolve," "where is the support from our allies in the Americas and beyond," and, our favorite, "why do you write anonymously"?

On the question of timing, we can only deduce that there is little, if any, genuine political will in the Republican-controlled Congress and the Bush Administration to focus efforts. Forget the Democrats folks, at least right now. It is a Republican-controlled town - has been for more than ten years. Our Cuban-American Members of Congress do a good job, but such a burden cannot rest on their shoulders alone.

We thought the events of September 11, 2001 would create a policy urgency to deal with rogue regimes in our own backyard. We were wrong. When our America truly desires to act, the U.S. acts decisively and to win, however, the past few years we have taken a disheveled approach toward Cuba. We have wasted taxpayer monies and other resources on domestic interests and on expensive projects that take months to get off the ground.

To succeed at this venture, we need concerted political will. This goal must be clearly defined so that the entire government works toward that goal. Lofty, amorphous, and simply, pablum-laden platitudes about “democracy,” “human rights,” “free and fair elections,” and other catch phrases will not cut it anymore. If we must act and upset domestic constituencies and our allies in the region, if it is in the U.S. national interest, so be it.

We believe “linking” our goals to regional foreign policy efforts and foreign aide recipients are just as good a place as any to start. Every nation that accepts U.S. foreign aide, favorable loan terms from lending institutions, debt forgiveness, in essence, anything we are asked to do on behalf of another country in the Americas, must be conditioned on cooperation for our policy goals vis-à-vis Cuba.

Our laws clearly state the goals and we ask policymakers to, first and foremost, read the law. We believe there is no need for new laws or experiments. Second, only act in the U.S. national interest even if it upset powerful lobbies on both sides of the issue.

Finally, do the right thing today and stop looking for a spark from the inside. The Cuban people are tired, scared, and demoralized beyond anything you can imagine. The U.S. is the only country willing and able to support them. Make it happen. For starters, make our regional allies earn our support for their issues and problems.

For those readers that have asked, a quick note on our anonymous postings. WHPW editors believe that ideas, arguments, and discussion can sometimes be misinterpreted by a reader’s perception of the author’s own bias and personal experiences. Clearly written, words and arguments can stand scrutiny on their own without attribution. For now, WHPW contributions will remain anonymous.

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Haiti: "Chaos and Murder" Rule the Day

(20 Sep 05) Haiti's interim government admits that "chaos and murder" rule the day in the impoverished Caribbean territory. It is amid comments such dire comments by the people in charge that voter registration was completed this week for upcoming elections.

According to one VOA report, the voter registration process "has been plagued by political and logistical problems, and some fear this may compromise the democratic process." Our question: Is it too much to ask of a people so poor, without a strong national indentity because of decades of despotic rule, and without any real prospect for appreciable improvement in the years to come, to be ready for a serious effort at democratic rule?

Haiti is the poorest country in the Americas with more than 80 percent of the population living in abject poverty. Frequently plauged by hurricanes and other natural disasters, its mainly agricultural economy is in shambles. In what appeared an almost laughable, if not sad account, in early 2005 Haiti paid its arrears to the World Bank, paving the way to reengagement with the Bank. Is the latter such a priority given the general state of affairs in the country?


(PHOTO SOURCE: United Nations forces helping a street merchant in the downtown area of Port-au Prince after a fire that ravaged 50 stores on 23 June 2004).

Since 2004, about 8,000 peacekeepers from the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) attempt to maintain civil order in Haiti. Despite efforts to control illegal migration, Haitians fleeing economic privation and civil unrest continue to cross into Dominican Republic and to sail to neighboring countries. Haiti is a breeding ground for regional and international drug smugglers, terror groups, and other nefarious interests.

WHPW believes in the constructive use of foreign assistance - U.S. taxpayer deserve a high political return on investments throughout the region. We are also keen on hemispheric nations handling hemispheric issues, therefore not huge fans of having the "blue helmets" managing any matter in the region.

If democracy is ever to take root in this impoverished country, we beleive the political and economic systems should be much more stable than today. Why prop up a system in the eyes of the Haitian people if it is almost certainly to fail?

Congress and the Bush Administration should take a closer look at the matter and determine if the basics are in place, i.e., driveable primary roads and other national infrastructure, a working port system, etc. It may also be time for a national political assembly, for the political system appears in shambles, notwithstanding past efforts to organize the process.

The state of Haiti is also a result of a lack of regional leadership by the OAS. It can and must do more, for the UN and its foreign troops cannot vest as the OAS and its member countries can.

Haiti, and other Carribbean countries, suffer a great deal economically and, as a result, politically. We believe that one key step in changing the Caribbean basin's economic stagnation is resolving the Cuba matter once and for all.

As the largest and most economically promising countries in the area, the Castro regime has poisoned an entire region with its hard-line, command economy ways. This is not to say that Castro is responsible for Haiti's problems, far from it; the Haitian dictators, some supported by the Castro regime, take that accolade. But the Castro regime does not make it any better.

We are certain that a democratic and free Cuba, with a revitalized eastern province with its port cities and commerce, will do much more to advance a stable economic system in that corner of the world than what we have now. Port-Au-Prince would surely benefit from that and much more than it has with the UN, the Europeans, and others that claim to be acting in the benefit of the Haitian people.

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Nicaragua's Vice President Tells VOA He Will Run for President in November 2006

(21 Sept 05 - VOA News) The vice president of Nicaragua says he will resign his post and run in next year's presidential elections.

In an exclusive interview with VOA's Spanish branch Tuesday, Jose Rizo Castellon (photo at left) said he plans to make an official announcement later this week. Mr. Rizo says he is complying with the nation's constitution, which stipulates he leave political office one year ahead of general elections, slated for November 2006.

Mr. Rizo denounced efforts by former Presidents Daniel Ortega and Arnoldo Aleman to remove President Enrique Bolanos before the end of his term, calling the move "anti-democratic."

The vice president also voiced concern Mr. Ortega may win if he ran in the presidential election, saying it would "definitely destabilize" all of Central America.

India: First Oil Drilling Rights, Now Support from Cuba at UN

(19 Sept 05) Earlier today we informed you that Cuba had awarded the largest Indian oil corporation drilling rights in Cuba. Now we learn that Cuba, "which is the next chair of the non-aligned movement (NAM), expressed strong support for India becoming a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC)." Inquiring minds want to know: what does Cuba get in return for the oil drilling generosity and UN camaraderie? Moreover, we repeat, what are we asking of our ally in the GWOT with regards to seeing it that the people of Cuba have the same fundamental liberties as Indians, Americans, and a majority of Latin Americans?

U.S. "Ally" India Awarded Oil Drilling Rights in Cuba

(19 Sept 05) Another U.S. "ally" - India - has joined Cuba's Fidel Castro in his quest for oil off Cuba's coast. The agreement was penned last Thursday with Spain's Repsol-YPF - another U.S. ally. Repsol holds 40 percent and will operate the new blocks, a Norwegian company, yet another U.S. ally, holds control of the remaining exploration areas or blocks.

According to the Indian company - ONGC India - "The blocks have a good potential and this is especially significant for OVL as it would open door for other opportunities in the Latin American hydrocarbon sectors," said Subir Raha, OVL chairman in a press release.

One wonders how our "allies" in the Global War on Terror have reciprocated to U.S. concerns vis-a-vis the Castro regime - a state sponsor of terror? Has the State Department reached out to our allies and sought cooperation on the Cuba question? We'll see.

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Big Surprise, Cuba Sought Nukes in 1981

(19 Sept 2005) The Miami Herald reports today that "[n]ineteen years after the Cuban missile crisis nearly sparked a nuclear war, Fidel Castro asked the Soviet Union to redeploy atomic weapons to his island, says a new book based on reports by Moscow's KGB intelligence agency." No surprise here. One day soon, we may also read how the Cuban regime's chemical and biological program has been propping up similiar rogue regime programs in Iran, North Korea, and elsewhere. High-ranking U.S. officials, former Soviet engineers and military officers, European allies, and our partners in the Americas attest to it. What is the hold-up in seeking a more robust approach to U.S./Cuba policy? Read the Miami Herald article.

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China and Cuba in Continued Talks

(19 Sept 05) Cuban dictator Fidel Castro met with what he called “important Chinese delegation” led by China’s vice-president for development and reform, Zhang Xiao Giang. The Friday evening session was described as “a cordial and friendly meeting” where Castro and Zhang discussed the state of development in their two countries and joint projects agreed in an earlier visit by Chinese President Hu Jintao.

China continues to seek opportunities to grow its influence in the Americas. Chinese goals include economic issues such as new markets and oil, as well as strategic interests in the Americas. The Chinese have shown a particular interest in Cuba since the end of the Cold War.

During a November 2004 visit to Cuba by Chinese Leader, Castro and Hu signed 16 agreements for economic and commercial cooperation. The investments mean that China, along with Venezuela, tops a short list Cuba's closest economic, trade and political allies.

Castro said that “relations between Cuba and China today represent an example of transparency and pacific collaboration between nations that support the ideals of socialism.” He added that China’s development serves as “the best example for all the countries of the Third World” and that “it is the principal motor of the world economy.” We would need read much into the significance of these comments vis-à-vis Cuba’s prospects for change.

Castro has never been fond of emulating other communist systems; he thinks the world revolves according to his ideas. Cuba’s experimentation with market systems has been peripheral at best, with the military at the helm in all matters economic, military, and political. There is no hope in Castro's world for capitalism.

In Castro’s mind, China is the new, ideal counterweight to America’s prying ways in the Americas. During the Cold War he allowed the Soviets to use Cuba as a check on Western efforts and designs on the western side of the Berlin Wall and elsewhere.

Now, Castro somehow thinks that China wants a better foothold in Cuba and the Western Hemisphere as a check on U.S. and Western interests in Asia such as Taiwan, Japan, and others. Maybe, but this is a much more complex matter than the Cold War and Castro’s calculations in this regard may prove to be another component of his undoing.

To learn more about China's most recent Western Hemisphere tour, click here.

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White House Warns Senate on Ag Spending Bill, Cuba Sanctions

(19 Sept 05) The White House, in a statement of administration policy, told the Senate not to add emergency Katrina-related farm assistance to the pending fiscal 2006 agriculture appropriations bill (HR 2744) now on the floor and warned the president will veto the final version if it includes potential amendments to ease the embargo against Cuba.

"The Administration would strongly oppose any provision that might be added on the Floor that would weaken existing sanctions ... in the absence of fundamental change on the island, the Administration believes that weakening or ending U.S. sanctions could serve only to bolster the dictatorship at the expense of the Cuban people."

Read the Statement of Administration Policy.

More Cuban Rafters Returned to Cuba

(19 Sept 05) The Coast Guard Cutter Pea Island repatriated 34 Cuban migrants to Bahia De Cabanas, Cuba, today. The migrants were rescued during four separate cases which occurred this past week. Read about it here. This latest interdiction brings the number of Cubans stopped at sea this year to more than 2,000 - the largest number in any year since the rafter exodus in 1994.

Congressman Dan Burton and Hugo Chavez: Buddies? Burton Going Soft?

(18 Sept 05) A colleague was watching ABC News’s Nightline last week and advised that Hugo Chavez had a conservative Republican Congressman that he considered a friend. We did not believe it and pulled a transcript of the show. The exchange, edited for your reading ease, went something like this:
NIGHTLINE, FRIDAY, 16 September 2005

KOPPEL: Can you understand why people think that you are unfriendly toward the government of the United States? Among your closest friends: Cuba, Syria, Iran, Libya. These are all countries that the United States regards as unfriendly, if not terrorist countries themselves.

CHAVEZ: “ … I'm very close to the representatives who came here last night, Delahunt from Massachusetts, Burton, a Republican. Good friends. I have a lot of friends (inaudible)…”.

We hope this was another Chavez moment and that the conservative Dan Burton (pictured above) has not lost his anti-dictator ways. However, we have learned since that Burton did meet with Chavez in a pre-planned meeting in New York. What was he thinking and why grant Chavez this meeting? We are advised that this is the second or third meeting that Burton has had with the Venezuelan leader.

Congressman Burton is a good friend of freedom in the Americas, which makes these meetings somewhat perplexing although not out of the ordinary. If and when Burton makes any clarification about the meeting, we shall run it here for you.

Stay tuned for more.

Menges's Pro-Castro Axis Map

Tilting at Windmills, for 46 Years…

(16 Sept 05) While never want serve as a bullhorn for the Cuban propaganda machine, however, we’ll make an exception as this rhetorically and symbolically rich news item from the Cuban regime was, well, all so worth it.

It appears the Bush Administration rightly denied a travel visa to the San Francisco State University Rainbow Theater to participate in the 12th International Theater Festival taking place in Havana from Sept. 15-25. The indignant Rainbow Theatre artistic director Carlos Baron said: “In the light of this absurd prohibition to travel to the island, we will continue to insist on promoting peace and artistic cooperation throughout the world, especially with Cuba.”

The Cuban “never fair and never balanced” News Agency added this gem: “The opening ceremony on Thursday will be marked by a parade from Havana's Don Quixote Park to the Anti-imperialist Tribune, where several Cuban and French theater companies will pay honor to Cervantes’ mythic character.” In other words, a march from one fantasy corner to another symbolic fantasy corner.

In the novel Don Quixote, Sancho Panza, Quixote’s simple squire, believes his master to be a bit deranged. Sancho knows that there are “really” no giants to kill, just windmills, or princesses to love, etc., but Sancho plays along, hoping to get rich. Throughout quest Dulcinea is constantly invoked by Don Quixote as his lady, but never appears, allowing his hyperbolic statements of her beauty and virtue to go untested.

Ironically, the Castro regime has for decades been obsessed with the Cervantes quest and has sought to put its twisted spin on the meaning of the Quixote’s quests. Well, Mr. Baron, we wish you and others well on your quixotic efforts at injecting life into a non-existent revolution. These cultural exhanges tend to do the latter, but have long ago lost their effect as the entire system is a cruel hoax.
Kudos to the Bush Administration for continuing to keep the noose around this ailing and decrepit system; the American taxpayers should stand on the side of freedom, with those poor souls rotting in political jails throughout the island.

The contributors at WHPW have argued for some time that the U.S. should cut all travel to Cuba – especially cultural and academic exchanges. The migration negotiations in New York, held in secret between U.S. and Cuban officials, should also be shelved until the regime gets serious about human rights and political freedom. Some progress to restrict travel has been achieved during the past few months, but more can be done.

The Cuban regime has spent close to fifty years tilting at a non-existent political windmill, “Yankeee Imperilism” as the bearded one is fond of incessatnly repeating. In the process, he has been our best advertisement with the Cuban people, that intially learned to distrust and hate the U.S., but through the years have learned that we are the only true opponets of the regime.

Castro’s jig is up and, ironically, he has opened the door so that the Cuban people will demand a change, a change with the U.S. supporting their efforts to secure a better future for all of the people of Cuba. It is only a matter of time before the regime will finally fall and as the U.S. has proven throughout the year, we will be there to support the free people of Cuba in whatever future they choose for their tomorrow.

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Chavez Goes Nuts in UN Speech, Press Conference

(16 Sept 05) The following are some of the “suggestions” Venezuelan Leader Hugo Chavez shared with the United Nation’s yesterday before the Summit participants and a press conference:

1. He called the United States a “terrorist state” and added that “Bush represents the most crude and savage imperialism that threatens the world”;
2. The United Nations should be relocated somewhere outside the United States to a new heretofore unknown country;
3. Blamed Hurricane Katrina on global warming and that the people of the United States needed protection because it does not have a government capable of dealing with natural disasters and other problems;
4. Free-trade and capitalism is an evil at the heart of many of the world’s problems;
5. Exhorted leaders to allow for expropriation of private property and natural resources to start a new international economic order;
6. “There were never weapons of mass destruction but Iraq was bombed, and over U.N. objections, (it was) occupied and continues being occupied.”
7. He said the United States was one of the most wasteful countries in the world.

It is no wonder oil prices are what they are in the United States and why the Venezuelan opposition struggles to maintain a semblance of normalcy.

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Russia Reschedules Cuban Debt

(16 Sept 05) Russian Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin said yesterday that Russia and Cuba reached an agreement on Cuba’s $160 million debt amassed during the 1990s. Part of the agreement according to several Russian news sources sets the sets the debt interest at 5%.
Although this was a step forward in the ongoing process in settling Cuba’s old economic debts to its former Soviet partner, Kudrin said “Cuba and Russia also have the unsettled problem of the $25 billion debt to the former Soviet Union. Cuba refuses to settle this debt. It says it can also bring forth claims of over $25 billion.” We thought that Russia and Cuba had enough “good will” accumulated to settle such accounts. It appears the old Cold War nostalgia has worn well away.

According to the State Department in a 2003 report, “Dunn and Bradstreet rate Cuba as one of the riskiest economies in the world: only Angola, Congo, Sierra Leone, Zimbabwe and Iraq are worse.” Some estimates place Cuban foreign debt in excess of $30 billion.

There are widespread reports of payment problems with Japan, Spain, France, Britain, South Africa, Argentina, Chile, Mexico, Venezuela and others. Citing chronic delinquencies and mounting short-term debts.

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Chavez Wants More China-Venezuela Cooperation

(15 Sept 05) The China-Venezuela mixed committee, a group aimed at consolidating and strengthening trade cooperation between the two countries, met in Venezuela this week and Hugo Chavez wasted no time in launching a rhetorical barb at the United States.

Chavez said "China's rapid development in the political, economic, social and cultural arenas has set a model from which the whole world can learn," among other gems that attacked U.S. imperialism in the Americas. For his part Zhang Xiaoqiang, deputy head of China's Development and Reform Commission, said that China has attached great importance to the Venezuelan people's welfare as the two countries carry out a mutually beneficial cooperation.

Translation: China seeks to further entrench itself in the Americas and take as much as it can to fuel its growth including Venezuela's oil. Chavez, again in quixotic fashion, is wagging his finger to the U.S. that it will seek out our adversaries and opponents throughout the world to make us politically uncomfortable wherever and however it can. He is doing it with Iran and others.

We wonder what the Chinese really think about Chavez and his antics? We suspect not very much, but they need the oil.

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If Guyana Insists on Aiding Castro, U.S. Assistance Should be reviewed by the Bush Administration and Congress

(15 Sept 05) If the Western Hemisphere country of Guyana insists and continues to urge students to travel to Cuba to study medicine, the U.S. government should take a long and hard look at our relations with this South American country.

Guyana is a developing country that is understandably experiencing many difficult issues in government and economy. Recently, the Guyana President urged young Guyanans to travel to Cuba to study medicine, agriculture, and other trades. President Bharrat Jagdeo advised students awarded scholarships in Cuba not to “squander this opportunity” saying his Caribbean Community (Caricom) country is still a poor nation.

“Our country still has a difficult path. We are still a poor country. We need more of our people to become more qualified and stay here, work hard and be able to change this land and you would have a crucial role to play in that regard,” Jagdeo told a group of 65 students heading off to Havana. We sympathize with their plight, but if they insist on helping the Csatro reime spread its ant-American, anti-freedom, anti-free trade agenda, there must be a political price.

According to the State Department, the United States has named Guyana “as one of only two countries in the Western Hemisphere to be included in President Bush’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. CDC, in coordination with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), is administering over the next 5 years a multi-million dollar program of education, prevention, and treatment for those infected and affected by the disease.”

“Guyana is also a threshold country in the Millennium Challenge Account developmental program. U.S. military medical and engineering teams continue to conduct training exercises in Guyana, digging wells, building schools and clinics, and providing medical treatment,” advises the State Department policy notes.

We are not suggesting that we cut monies for disease prevention or humanitarian assistance, but what we do believe must be done, at a minimum, is that our Ambassador to the country reach out to the leadership and remind them that if they cooperate with Castro there may be negative repercussions in other areas. Indeed, U.S. law requires that we pursue multilateral approaches to resolving the Cuba question. This is but a recent example. There are many more that we will bring to you in the days and weeks ahead.

For the record, we believe that all countries in the hemisphere should be viewed through this lens. We single out Guyana given the recent announcement by the leader of that country.

When U.S. taxpayer dollars and resources are involved, we must demand a better rate of political return. Forty-six years is long enough for the Castro regime. It is time our allies in the Americas cooperated in bringing true freedom and democracy to the Cuban people.

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U.S. to Castro: Thanks, but no thanks ... finally, whew!

It took the Bush Administration a few days, try a week, to reject medical assistance from Cuba's dictator Fidel Castro. What perplexes some of us is why did this take so long and why did we allow it to fester so that the Cuban regime could dominate the public relations component?

It took several Administration briefings - one dubious statement at State, and clear one at the White House, to clear the matter. It should have been rejected outright, with a simple, thanks but not thanks. Yet when McClellan finally said what he probably wanted to say from the onset, enter the junior Senator from Florida.

Florida Senator Mel Martinez said, on television no less, that we should take assistance not only from Cuba, but from Hugo Chavez in Venezuela! It gets better though. A few days after he makes the statement, he retracts it. But wait, that is not all.

The Secretary of State made similiar comments, albeit somewhat less direct, on September 8 on the Tavis Smiley Show. When asked if we would refuse assistance from Cuba and Venezuela, the Secretary said: "we said that we will support -- we will accept any assistance that can help the American people. Now, there are cases where certain kinds of help have been offered that we really don't need that kind of help because we can mobilize it from inside the country. And for instance, with medical personnel, you know, the United States has a huge medical establishment outside of the South and people are being mobilized from as far away as California. So there are certain kinds of assistance that we do not need, but I can assure you that we have been as grateful for the expressions of support from countries that are friends as well as those who have not been friends."

Again, the Cuban regime wins the propaganda war. A minor footnote, but we hope not emblematic of how more important issues related to U.S./Cuba policy are being handled. Is this how we treat an issue that even as recently as this year, in the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2006, the House Committee listed Fidel Castro in the same sentence as Bin Laden? (Note: Castro and Bin Laden were the only two tyrants the Committee singled out in the report).

Fortunately, Under Secretary of State Karen Hughes is now in charge of public diplomacy and we have it on good authority that she, like the President, does not suffer fools. Amen.

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Love Letters from Granma Editors to WHPW

We received the following e-mail from none other than the editors of Granma:

"From : GI Inter
Sent : Monday, September 12, 2005 10:17 AM
To : Felix Varela
Subject : Re: WHPW Update; Cuba/Iran Relations Grow Closer, other updates

| | | Inbox

Please remove our email from your mailing list. We don't want your emails. You're wasting your time.Thank you for not spamming."

Noted Granma, just keep downloading stories like we've noted from our records.

Human Events: Rushdie and the Sandinistas

(14 Sept 05) The following article is linked from Human Events. Authored by John Gizzi, it looks at Salman Rushdie's love affair with Nicaragua's Sandinistas.

"The man who is very likely the most famous novelist in the world made it clear last week that he has not changed his favorable opinion of two decades ago about the former Marxist-Leninist regime in Nicaragua. In an on-line response to a query from HUMAN EVENTS' John Gizzi, Salman Rushdie--best known for the $5 million bounty placed on his head by the Ayatollah Khomeni in 1989--wrote that "I haven't changed my mind about the Sandanistas of those days, the mid-1980's." Read the complete article.

Zimbabwean Dictator, Castro Meet

(14 Sept 05) Before leaving Zimbabwe for Cuba and the United Nations, strongman Robert Mugabe signed a decree restricting private property rights, citizenship rights, and creation of a Senate. Among the new laws is a restriction on white farmers from legally challenging land grabs as the government robs Peter to pay Paul. Mugabe must feel right at home with Cuba's ruling elite.

The Zimbabwean delegation met with their Cuban counterparts yesterday evening at Havana's Palace of the Revolution for several hours (pictured at left). The usual pleasantness appear to have been exchanged, an accord on eye doctors signed, and other quixotic schemes probably hatched to exacerbate U.S. and European efforts at ushering freedom and democracy around the world.

After the meeting Mugabe said "Cuba and Zimbabwe have also shown their determination to stand up to Washington's imperialist aggressions." He and Castro also hurled more rhetoric at the IMF and U.S. Ambassador John Bolton's reform efforts at the United Nations.

The State Department should squeeze the Organization of African Unity (OAU), and other African organizations or countries that cooperate with the Cuban regime. The United States sends billions in foreign assistance to Africa every year by way of grants, loans, credits, and other programs.

It is time that these African countries reciprocate, especially South Africa, that benefited from international cooperation on sanctions that led to Nelson Mandela's rise to power. Before the appropriations cycle is complete this fall, the relevant Congressional committees should condition such assistance with clear and concise Cuba/Democracy language, and the Bush Administration should demand it as well.

U.S. taxpayers have been footing the bill for decades throughout the African continent, rightly so in most cases, so that all Africans can enjoy freedom and democracy. It is time we saw a small return on our investment. If we cannot see progress in the recipient countries, then we want assistance to rid our hemisphere of the last Cold War tyrant. Each country can do its part, such as Mugabe being advised not to travel to Cuba and make trouble for the U.S., if not, cut their share of U.S. assistance.

The Cuban regime thrives on these visits from G-77 countries. It is high time to cut this geo-political life-line once and for all.

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Iran-Cuba Relations Grow Closer

(11 Sept 05) - Cuba/Iran - Last week, we advised readers that the Cuban minister of transportation in a visit with Iran's ambassador in Havana resulted in an agreement for trade expansion between both countries, and also expressed his satisfaction in having Iran to supply part of Cuba's transportation requirements.

This morning we learned another component of the discussions included a $5 million contract for Iranian electrical equipment. The Export Development Bank of Iran (EDBI) will finance the project.

The somewhat public and marked increase in Iran/Cuba projects could be a publicity effort by the Iranian regime to bolster its image in the region on the heels of a visit by the "elected" Iranian President to Cuba this coming week. Regardless, these and other projects and actions by the radical mullahs could signal to the U.S. that Iran can, and will, actively support enemies of the U.S. in the Western Hemisphere.

A U.S. government official advised WHPW this morning that Iran will "continue it war of words against the U.S., since it needs to distract attention from its nuclear programs, and other G-77 projects at the United Nations." The official would not elaborate on the latter matter.

The Iran/Cuba relationship is one of mutuaconveniencece. It gives Iran's mullahs a geopolitical footprint and bullhorn 90 miles from U.S. shores and access to Cuba's advanced biochemical and engineering sector/scientists, among other things. For Cuba, Iran represents another cog in the G-77 agenda to undermine U.S. interests wherever, whenever, and however possible. It is a lethal relationship.

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Blind Cuban Human Rights Activist Brutally Attacked

(11 Sep 05) The following statement needs little introduction as the dissident's words stand alone and provide the context. While this blind Cuban attorney was brutally attacked, he can see much more than his abusers and the regime ever will. When the U.S./Cuba policy naysayers advocate closer relations with the regime, it is incidents, such as the one described below, that reminds us of the importance of the U.S. maintaining a firm hand vis-a-vis the regime so that the Cuban people can chart their own path and future in a free Cuba.

Testimony given via telephone from Cuba by Juan Carlos González Leiva (pictured at left).
Address: Honorato del Castillo # 154, entre República y Cuba, Ciego de Avila, Cuba. Tel: + 53 33 222235 Taped and transcribed by the Coalition of Cuban-American Women/ LAIDA CARRO
Translation: Coalition of Cuban-American Women/TANYA WILDER - Human Rights Committee
Tel: 305-662-5947 Fax: 305-740-7323 E-mail: joseito76@aol.com
Website: www.jcgl-cfhr.info

On Thursday, September 1, 2005, from 8:00 AM until 4:30 PM, I was the victim of an "act of repudiation" perpetrated by military and paramilitary mobs of the communist government while I was carrying out a meeting of the Cuban Foundation of Human Rights at my home in the city of Ciego de Avila.

Forces of State Security and the Cuban Police used the provincial coordinator of the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution (CDR), Mr. José Manuel Benedico, to lead a mob of between 200 and 400 people that shouted obscenities and governmental slogans. These people banged on our doors and windows, and they made it apparent to us that they were not going to permit activities in the defense of human rights. They threatened us with death, saying that they were going to yank us out of the house by our necks and that they were going to pull out our teeth. Some 20 or 30 children at the front of the mob shouted, "Long live Fidel," and "Down with human rights." One young person, with his fist raised, looked at me and shouted, "If I catch you, I'll kill you!"

That day, they tried to fumigate my house with smoke, and they threatened to turn off our water and electricity. They prevented any food from coming in to my house. They even cut off public phone connections so that the act of repudiation would not be reported abroad.

Activists who left my house at 4:30 in the afternoon received insults upon leaving, as in the case of Emilia León Díaz. Others were beaten up, like Lázaro Iglesias Estrada, National Secretary of the Cuban Foundation of Human Rights, and independent journalist, Osmel Sánchez López.

From August 6, 2005, to the present, I have suffered more than 15 acts of repression, like arrests, detainments, fines, citations, common court cases, and acts of repudiation. I am constantly monitored, and they (government officials) keep my telephone interrupted continually, for entire days and nights. Our calls are interfered and our conversations are recorded.

They constantly attack my friends and family. Operatives of the police have attacked the houses of independent farmers, Idael Pérez and Manuel Guerra Rodríguez. The Cuban government keeps my two brothers and sisters, Silvia and José González Leiva, and my father, Joaquín González Ferrer, who want to emigrate to the United States, prisoners, without granting them the visa required to leave Cuba.

Cuban authorities, alleging that I am sanctioned as well, warn me that receiving visitors or making visits constitutes an act of public disorder. In Cuba no such law exists.

The situation is very tense because their objective is to pressure me to be forced to leave the country.

JUAN CARLOS GONZALEZ LEIVA
Cuban Foundation of Human Rights

OPEC Makes U.S.$10M Loan to Cuba

(10 Sep 05) – Cuba – The OPEC Fund for International Development awarded a $10 million preferential loan to Cuba to co-finance the modernization and expansion of the electricity network in the capital, Havana. The aim of the project is to improve the quality and efficiency of service delivery, with a view to boosting the country’s socio-economic development. This transaction presents yet another lost opportunity to secure international cooperation with U.S. policy toward Cuba and, possibly, urging the Cuban regime to change its ways or, at a minimum, conditioned the loan with a democracy clause. Granted, OPEC members may not be the paragons of democracy and freedom, however, the U.S. is a very good customer.

Haitian Police Arrest Two Journalists

(10 Sep 05) – Haiti –Haitian Judge Jean Peres Paul ordered an Haitian media photographer and an Associated Press correspondent held without bail on suspicion of “disrespect to a magistrate” and resisting arrest. The two reporters were allegedly arrested inside of a Catholic Church where they were seeking to report on police efforts to arrest a priest considered a possible presidential candidate for Aristide’s Lavalas Family party in Nov. 20 elections.

Castro/Chavez Antics Lead to PETROCARIBE Creation

(9 Sep 05) – Jamaica – Amid demonstrations and clashes not covered by the media, big surprise there, Carribbean leaders signed on to Castro/Chavez’s latest quixotic scheme to create an alternative economic system in the Western Hemisphere.

In this piece of the Bolivarian puzzle, Venezuela would offer participating states cheap oil, with Caracas picking up 40% of the cost if oil is selling at more than $50 a barrel. Signatories will be allowed to defer payments, as well as covering costs with goods like rice, bananas or sugar.

At the event Chavez hurled these rhetorical gems at the U.S. and free world: “We have the opportunity to break from the path of imposed domination and servitude … [t]he capitalist model...imposed on us is not sustainable.”

The PETROCARIBE chats were attended by representatives of Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Belize, Cuba, Dominica, the Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Surinam, St Lucia, St Kitts and Nevis and St Vincent and the Grenadines. Two countries - Barbados, and Trinidad and Tobago (oil producer in their own right)- have declined to join the agreement.

Interesting that our Dominican Republic “ally” joined this interesting enterprise after the U.S. – with no uncertain Central American opposition at first – re-tooled the CAFTA agreement to include the Caribbean country. Is this how Dominicans thank the U.S. for its efforts in the CAFTA-DR debate?

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Mugabe, Castro Set to Meet This Weekend

(9 Sep 05) – Cuba – In addition to the Iranian president, Cuba’s Castro will host Zimbabwean Marxist strongman Robert Mugabe in Cuba from September 10 – 13. Zimbabwean sources say that the visit includes meetings with Castro and other officials and visits to places of “historical and scientific interest.” In its 2005 Annual Report, Amnesty International states that Zimbabwean “communities were routinely deprived of their right to food, in part because of discriminatory policies by the government, which used food as a tool of political repression,” journalist and opposition leaders intimidated, and NGOs and international aid workers blocked from doing their job. Mugabe will feel right at home in Castro’s Cuba.

Arrests Target Gangs in US, Latin America

(9 Sep 05) Voice of America - Authorities in the United States and four Latin American nations have arrested 660 alleged gang members in a series of combined raids.

Police in El Salvador announced the operation Thursday, which included Mexico, Honduras and Guatemala. They say 6,400 police and security agents were involved in the arrests, targeting gangs that are blamed for violent crimes across the region.

Tens of thousands of gang members are believed to be active in the region, where they engage in arms and drug trafficking. Authorities say those rounded up were mainly members of the Mara Salvatrucha and Mara 18 gangs. The governments of El Salvador and Honduras have passed laws banning gangs.

Sandinistas, Latin America Left to Protest DR-CAFTA Today

(9 Sep 05) – Nicaragua – As the Sandinistas continue to drag down democratic institutions and force a political/constitutional crisis in Nicaragua, a group called Coordinadora Social, a coalition of 70 national organizations opposed to CAFTA, will march at the Nicaraguan Congress today.

CAFTA was ratified in El Salvador in December of 2004 and in Guatemala, and Honduras amidst wide spread protest and police violence earlier this year. The United States Congress passed the agreement in August. Earlier this week CAFTA was ratified in the Dominican Republic's lower house. Nicaragua and Costa Rica remain the two holdouts, and opposition is strong in both countries.

The Sandinistas may be trying to “look” the part of loyal opposition, however, working against the sitting President through extra-constitutional means and lending support to anti-U.S. rallies such as this one, and its ongoing support of Castro/Chavez efforts to destabilize the hemisphere, is further signal that rough times lay ahead for the freedom-loving people of Nicaragua that struggled for years with Sandinista dictatorship.

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No. 9 - Felix Varela Bulletin

Charity Starts At Home, Sen. Martinez

(8 Sep 05 - Feast Day of Cuba's Virgin of Charity) America has rallied to the Gulf Coast and is helping its own recover from a disaster of Biblical proportions.

The State Department must now wrestle with the somewhat delicate issue of accepting foreign assistance to aid in recovery efforts.

Most of the time the offers of assistance are genuine, but some of the time the offers are anything but a political scheme designed to extract concessions from the U.S. Iran, Venezuela, and, you guessed it, terror-state Cuba fall into the latter category (Reuters Picture, above, Castro is accompanied by Hajj Seyed Hassan Khomeini, the grandson of the late Ayatollah Khomeini of Iran, as he leads more than 1.2 million Cubans in the largest anti-U.S. protest in four decades of hostilities, July 26, 2001).

During State Department press briefings on the matter, its spokesman has done a fair job of answering, sometimes deflecting, whether or not the U.S. would accept Cuba’s offer of 1,500 doctors. We should do as Cuba does when we have offered assistance: just say no.

Cuba is a state-sponsor of terror with which the U.S. finds itself in more than a war of words. Its military murdered American citizens as recently as 1996. As recently as 2005, he stole and trafficked in U.S.-owned properties without just compensation to the true owners.

In 2002, a federal court jailed a U.S. government official that had been stealing military secrets and advising for Cuba for over ten years. The military is used by the regime in the illegal drug trade. A few months before the September 11, 2001 attacks, Castro said while in Iran to inaugurate a biochemical factory and other matters, that together “Iran and Cuba will bring America to its knees.”

The Cuban regime uses every tool at its disposal to fight freedom and capitalism – that includes its doctors and nurses. Its most recent deployment is in Venezuela where doctors have been sent to spread the gospel according to Castro. Some have defected in the process, others jailed, most numb from years of Marxist-Leninist indoctrination work on.

Do we really want assistance from a government that advocates such belligerency toward our government and our political system?

The Miami Herald reports that Florida Senator Mel Martinez (pictured at left at a USAID Exhibit: "Cubans ... and their Loved Ones") would be open to accepting Cuba’s offer of assistance. This is the same person that as HUD Secretary stood right next to the Cuban Dictator in Latin America during a hemispheric summit and said not a word, posed for a picture, and went about his business. Recently queried about the photo-op during a Miami television interview, he brushed off the incident.

Charity starts at home and the Cuban people need those doctors, if that is what they truly are, in Cuba’s political prisons, schools, and playgrounds. What is behind Senator Martinez’s comments we do not know. We hope that he clarifies the point. What we do know is that Senator Martinez was on vacation when the Agriculture Secretary was in Florida reviewing hurricane damage to the agriculture industry. Again, charity starts at home.

As President Bush correctly and firm said to a snippy reporter last week, we can fight the war on terror and help our own. The Cuban regime should keep its doctors and nurses. The Cuban-American community should also query the junior Senator as to why he would even suggest working with an enemy of the United States?

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Nicaragua's Political Crisis May Deepen

(7 Sep 05) - Nicaragua - Observers note that the Bolanos Administration may ask the Organization of American States (OAS) for support in averting what could become a major constitutional crisis. The Sandinistas and the Liberal Party control the Congress and have approved a series of constitutional amendments that would strip the current President of his power.

Last week, the Nicaraguan Foreign Minister Norman Caldera said that "[t]he OAS has a democratic charter and the history of the OAS is intertwined with Nicaragua. It has a strong moral voice in the region and it means a lot to the people ... I hope that when the National Assembly reconvenes on Tuesday, they will wait to hear what the OAS has to say before they decide to pass the constitutional reforms," he told reporters at the Nicaraguan Embassy.

Despite the Supreme Court's finding that the amendments were "inapplicable," the leftist coalition continues to ratchet the pressure to take control of the government "Chavez style."

The OAS issued a statement on the matter saying that there is "profound concern at the institutional and political risk that would be attached to the unconstitutional interruption of the constitutional term of the President of the Republic of Nicaragua." Stay tuned, as we expect a lot more on this matter.

India Joins Oil Exploration Efforts in Cuba

(7 Sep 05) Cuba - Joining Spanish, Canadian, and the Japanese, the Indian state oil company - ONGC - will start deep sea drilling some time next year. India will be exploring in an area adjacent to where the Spanish company Repsol last year found oil, although not enough, it decided, to be commercially viable. "Two blocks have been given to us by the Cuban government to explore ... We are hopeful we will find oil," junior foreign minister Rao Inderjit Singh said at the end of a visit to Cuba. India is "also negotiating an agreement with Spanish company Repsol for taking over 30 percent of their share," added Singh at the press conference.

Venezuela Land Grabs Continue

(7 Sep 05) Venezuela - A Heinz tomato factory earlier this week, a paper factory, and an industrial valve production facility are among the more recent illegal land grabs by the Chavez regime. Chavez supporters have now seized a church according to Venezuela's Universal newspaper. In seperate news, for some reason the folks at Foggy Bottom have accepted Chavez's hurricane assistance. More information about the land grabs here.

Chavez Ally Orders Expropriation of Heinz Factory

(6 Sep 05) The Chavez remake of Venezuela quietly continues as does his attack on private property rights – a key component of the effort. Yesterday, the governor of the eastern state of Monagas announced it was ordering the expropriation of a Heinz tomato factory. A spokeswoman for the Chavez ally argues the plant has been idle since 1997 and they can put it to better use.

Heinz’s Chief Administrative Officer Ted Smyth took a rather low-key approach in responding to the expropriation announcement. “Heinz has a major plant in Venezuela employing 700 people that is not affected by this action. We see this as a local issue.”

This year alone, the Chavez government and state officials have expropriated the assets of a failed paper company and an industrial valve maker. This latest order to seize the Heinz tomato plant came as Venezuela’s largest food producer, Alimentos Polar, said it was challenging the legality of a military takeover of its storage facilities in the southernwestern state of Barinas.

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AI: Cuba, Iran, and Venezuela Team Up

(5 Sep 05) Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and Oxfam International call on a small number of "spoiler" countries - including Cuba, Iran, Syria, and Venezuela - to stop holding the UN World Summit hostage over crucial measures on human rights, security, genocide and poverty reduction. These governments have thrown negotiations on the final outcome text into crisis just days away from the biggest meeting of world leaders in history, September 14-16 in New York. Read the Amnesty International Press Release.

Defector Accuses Chavez of Assiting Al-Qaeda

(5 Sept 05) WorldNetDaily reports that a "recent high-level Venezuelan military defectors say President Hugo Chavez gave $1 million to al-Qaida shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack on the United States. Air Force Maj. Juan Diaz Castillo, formerly a pilot for the Venezuelan leader, was smuggled to Miami last week where he is warning the U.S. of what he calls Chavez's dismissal of the constitution and his ties to terrorism in collaboration with Cuban dictator Fidel Castro." Read the article.

El Salvador: Leftist Troubles Continue

(5 Sep 05) El Salvador's Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN), continues to suffer from internal battles for control of the party that has lost several presidential elections to the conservative National Republican Alliance (NRA).

This past weekend the Capital City Mayor of San Salvador, Carlos Rivas Zamora (pictured at right), issued a resignation letter announcing his "resignation from this political orientation of exclusion and abuse of power ... We have two different visions of the left," Zamora said.

This summer, two FMLN congressmen quit the party, declaring themselves independents and triggering a mass defection that included two mayors, a former high court judge and another 350 party members. The mayor of Santa Ana, the country's second-largest city, also quit the FMLN.

While this may spell good news for the conservative party the FMLN, despite the defections, has won several important mayorships and once controlled as many seats in the legislature as the ruling party.

Stay tuned as we expect additional developments as the Left seeks to reinvent itself in order to regain control of the Salvadoran presidency and other positions in the federal government. We know that fellow leftists/communists in Venezuela and Cuba are dabbling in this process - big surprise.

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To Venezuela: Keep Katrina “Assistance”

Last week Venezuela’s Chavez made a disingenuous offer of several million gallons of petroleum assistance to the United States. For some reason unbeknownst to us, the State Department accepted Venezuela’s offer of selling petroleum at reduced rates. We hope the Foggy Bottom planners caught some of Chavez’s recent ranting on his weekly television show.

“The U.S. government took no precautions, knowing that New Orleans is a city below sea level. The government evacuated no one. How many thousands died that could have been evacuated by air, land or sea? Not one ship was mobilized, not one helicopter, before the hurricane,” Chavez said. Then he added, in English no less: “Mr. Bush on vacation. On vacation in Crawford [Texas, during the storm].”

Mr. Chavez, keep your oil.

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Chinese Invest in Venezuelan Petroleum

(5 Sep 05) In its efforts to meet the ever-growing demand in Communist China for petroleum products, the Chinese national petroleum company extended investment cooperation with Petroleos de Venezuela S. A. (PDVSA) to exploit the Zumano field in the eastern part of Venezuela.

The agreement came on the heels of a China visit by the President of PDVSA Rafael Ramirez visit to China. The two countries inked a deal that would increase collaboration of both countries’ oil companies.

According to Ramirez, Venezuela hopes to double the volumes of oil extraction up to 5 million barrels by 2012 with the help of Chinese investments. The crude oil supplies volumes to China are to make 300 000 barrels per day in 2012. South America provides for 15-20% of China’s oil demand.

Keep the Blue Helmets at Bay

(4 Sep 05) A WHPW reader sent the following United Nations (UN) press announcement earlier today: "The United Nations announced today that the United States Government has accepted the world body's offer of help in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. A small UN Coordination team is in Washington now consulting with government officials on how the UN can best complement the US's own emergency efforts. The UN's coordination team in Washington will be based at the newly established USAID Hurricane Katrina Operations Center, where offers of international assistance are being coordinated," a UN spokesman said in a statement released in New York.

It would not be the first time the "blue helmets" have roamed U.S. soil. This decision by the Bush Administration may be more politics than anything else. Why risk offending allies and enemies during such a difficult time? Regardless, the United States is more than well-equipped to handle this catastrophe. Keep the blue helmets at bay as Americans have work to do.

Violent eviction leads to near-riot in Holguin, Cuba

(5 Sept 05) - HOLGUIN, Cuba - A forced eviction in Banes August 12 lead to a near-riot by neighborhood residents, who became riled up by police and Housing Authority officials' manhandling of the house's residents, including an older woman who suffered an ischemic attack and was left lying on the pavement. Read the CubaNet article.

Weekly Quick Take Summary (3 Sep 05)

United States - Our country begins recovery from what promises to be the most devastating natural disaster in recent history. Our resolve is strong, we will come out of this stronger and better. Despite the always ghoulish criticism from the media, the disingenuous offers of assistance from the likes of hemispheric tyrants such as Cuba's Castro and Venezuela's Chavez, and the glee that our enemies undoubtedly relish when our home hurts, America rallied and we took care of our own.

Haiti - As another Brazilian military officer takes command of the UN Haiti Mission this week, UN officials confirmed that nine Haitians were killed in a soccer stadium raid by gun- and machete-wielding men, some wearing police uniforms. "These planned and targeted murders were committed by a group of people dressed in the clothes of the Haitian police and by civilians in the presence of police officers," said the head of the U.N. mission in Haiti Juan Gabriel Valdes. Meanwhile, exiled Haitian dictator Jean Bertrand-Aristide issued a statement urging the release of another former priest accused of kidnapping and slaying of a political rival.

Nicaragua - On Tuesday this week, the Supreme Court ruled former President Arnoldo Aleman, serving a 20-year sentence for fraud, can leave his home and move at will around the nation's capital. The U.S. Embassy in Managua issued a statement that said, in part: "Today's decision is a clear example of a completely discredited judicial system that is trying to release a prisoner accused of robbing money from the public coffers that belong to the Nicaraguan people." This is but the latest example of an effort aimed at undermining the government of conservative President Enrique Bolanos.

Reporters Rights Group: 23 Journalists in Cuban Jails

(1 Sep 05) Reporters Without Borders has written to the British government, the current holder of the European Union presidency, expressing concern and asking it to make any softening in the EU stance on Cuba strictly conditional on the release of the independent journalists imprisoned in Cuba. Read the letter.