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 Rebellion in Miami

With the State Department's May '04 Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba's report to the President, the Bush regime has finally succeeded in stirring enough resentment in the Cuban American community to launch a rebellion against their policies.

Cubans urge U.S. to relax restrictions  12/5/2006 AP: "Among those demanding the changes are The Cuba Study Group, a nonpartisan Washington-based organization of business and community leaders, the Miami-based Cuban American National Foundation, and the association of Independent Libraries of Cuba. "I came from the hard-line position," Cuba Study Group Co-Chairman Carlos Saladrigas said. "But isolating a people has not brought us change in 47 years. Isolating a people only helps to support the dictatorship." ...Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart (news, bio, voting record), a longtime supporter of the U.S. embargo on Cuba, said he was glad to see growing consensus among Cuban organizations but that the coalition was missing the larger issue."

Cuban exiles say now is the time to ease US embargo on Cuba  12/4/2006 AFP: "More than 20 Cuban exile groups asked Washington to ease its decades-old embargo on Cuba to facilitate a political transition, now that Fidel Castro appears to have dropped out of public life. "This is a chance to turn the Cubans in exile into agents of change inside Cuba," National Cuban-American Foundation leader Francisco Hernandez told reporters on presenting the Cuban Consensus petition sent to Washington... Hard-core anti-Castro members of the Cuban American community, living mostly in Florida, are adamantly opposed to any easing of the US embargo on Cuba while Fidel Castro, his 75-year old brother or any other designated successor remain in power. US Representative Lincoln Diaz-Balart, a prominent Cuban-American, echoed those anti-Castro sentiments in a response to the Cuban Consensus."

Immigration Issue Threatens GOP's Fla. Stronghold  2/17/2006 Washington Post 

Martínez breaks rank on snubbing Cuban aid  9/11/2005 St Petersburg Times: "When Fidel Castro offered to send 1,100 Cuban doctors and 26 tons of medical supplies to help out in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, South Florida's Cuban-American members of Congress rudely rejected it. Martinez, who is also Cuban-American, was more graceful. "If we need doctors and Cuba offers them and they provide a good service, then of course we should accept them and we're grateful for that offer," he told reporters. What might seem like ordinary words of common sense to most people came like an astonishing breath of fresh air to longtime Cuba observers. Sadly, it's rare that anyone as highly placed as Martinez is willing to respond to Cuba in such a civilized manner. The State Department snubbed the Cuban offer without directly rejecting it, instead suggesting foreign medical help was not needed."

A Monstrous Assault On The Cuban Family  4/28/2005 AfroCubaWeb: "An unprecedented event took place on April 27, 2005, when over 700 Cuban-Americans from Alaska, California, Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Florida and many other states in between, converged on Washington DC to express their outrage and denounce the brutal Presidential decree resulting from the recommendations of the Commission For The Assistance To A Free Cuba, that was co-chaired by Mr. Colin Powell and our own Senator Mel Martinez."

HIALEAH MAYOR RIPS CUBA POLICY  10/8/2004 Sun Sentinel: "A year ago the Administration said that Cuba had the power to create biological weapons and now they change their story," Martínez said. The influential mayor, a leading Cuban-American Democrat, said he disagrees with Powell's view that Castro no longer poses a danger to the entire hemisphere. Powell said Monday that Castro is "a problem for the Cuban people" but does not represent the same problem for the rest of the hemisphere as he did 15 years ago."

Heavy political and economic tension over Bush’s anti-Cuba measures  10/6/2004 Granma: "But the neglible number of applications approved and the thousands of pending ones are worrying the operators of travel companies and agencies. “It is unacceptable,” business owner Maria Teresa Aral, vice president of ABC Charters in Miami commented. “To me it is as if they are playing with people.” "

Florida's Hispanic Vote  10/5/2004 Village Voice: "The Cubans are put out with Bush. He allowed several fugitives who fled to U.S. shores to be returned to Cuba and Castro justice. Attacked by right wingers in the community, Bush tried to make up for the blunder by announcing broad travel restrictions by Cuban Americans to Cuba. This angered Cubans who go back and forth to visit relatives. The BBC reports, "[P]olls show that among older Cubans, who tend to be the most hard-line, Mr. Bush's support has slipped from 82 percent—the vote he got in the last election—to 70 percent." Among Cubans born in the U.S., Kerry leads Bush, 58 to 32 percent."

Cuba policies have some rethinking their support for president  10/4/2004 Sun Sentinel, FL 

Cuban Americans' key role in election 2004 Community no longer Republican monolith in Miami  10/3/2004 SF Chronicle 

Democratic advocacy group wooing Miami's Cuban vote  9/29/2004 Sun Sentinel 

Kerry Taps Controversial Elian Attorney  9/25/2004 NewsMax: "Kerry must have forgotten that after the Elian brouhaha record numbers of Cuban Americans in Florida voted against Al Gore – ceding the closely contested Florida race – and the presidency to George Bush. The Miami Herald reported Saturday that "a lawyer unpopular with many Cuban Americans for his role in the Elián González case will help prepare John Kerry for the upcoming presidential debate to be held at the University of Miami.” That lawyer’s name is Gregory Craig, a well-connected Washington attorney who represented Elian Gonzalez’s father."

Exile: President Bush has failed to bring democracy to Cuba  9/22/2004 Miami Herald: "Speaking at a Democratic Party rally Tuesday in Little Havana, a prominent Miami exile figure denounced President Bush as leading ``probably the worst administration we've ever had on Cuban policy.'' The remark by Joe Garcia, former executive director of the Cuban American National Foundation, signals what could be an unprecedented battle for Hispanic voters in the upcoming presidential race… Garcia left CANF this month to accept a post with the New Democrat Network, a recruitment arm of the Democratic National Party that is launching a $6 million media campaign targeting Hispanics."

Bush's Cuban American Support May Be Slipping  9/21/2004 LA Times 

New Miami Protest over Washington’s Anti-Cuba Measures  9/17/2004 AIN, Cuba 

New Protests in Miami against Anti Cuban Measures  9/17/2004 Prensa Latina 

Nueva protesta en Miami contra política de EEUU hacia Cuba  9/17/2004 Prensa Latina 

Think Tank Blasts Bush Commission Report on Cuba  9/9/2004 AntiWar: "The changing politics of the Cuban-American community was underlined just last week when the executive director of its most prominent anti-Castro lobby group, the Cuban American National Foundation (CANF), Joe Garcia, abruptly resigned his post to join the New Democrat Network (NDN). "Joe is going to send a message to Cuban-Americans that they are welcome in the Democratic Party," said Simon Rosenberg, NDN's executive director."

Frank J. Gonzalez: the only challenger opposing Lincoln Diaz-Balart on November 2nd, 2004.  8/29/2004 Political Gateway 

Bush's Cuban-American support slips  8/27/2004 St Petersburg Times: "The poll underscores that the new Cuba policy has turned some former critics of the Clinton administration into Bush critics. Jose Basulto, head of Brothers to the Rescue, and Ramon Raul Sanchez, head of the anti-Castro Democracy Movement, have come out against the policy."

Cuba visit restrictions may be tightened  8/25/2004 UPI: "The proposal by Florida Republican Rep. David Rivera would not only cut off Medicaid and food stamps it would end housing assistance for a year, The Miami Herald reported Wednesday. His bill is aimed at stopping recent arrivals who come to the United States, file applications for benefits and then visit Cuba. Rivera said the money spent on the trips only helps the Fidel Castro regime."

In Cuba, More Improvising Than Uprising - Instead of blaming Castro, residents are looking for ways around new U.S. sanctions.  8/21/2004 LA Times: "Havana's bustling hotels, bars and plazas show no ill effects from the U.S. limits, thanks largely to a continuing boom in European tourism to the island. Visits and revenue rose 13% last year, surpassing remittance income for the first time since the 1959 revolution."

Growing Numbers of Cuban Americans Favor Change in US Cuba Policy  8/16/2004 Granma 

Cuba policy is used against GOP  8/12/2004 Miami Herald: "Democratic candidates hope disagreements among Cuban Americans over the Bush administration's new restrictions on travel to Cuba will convince some to abandon the Republican Party."

Edwards appeals to Cuban-American voters  8/3/2004 KVOA, Tucson, AZ 

Edwards, in Florida, Voices Support for Easing Limits on Travel to Cuba  8/3/2004 LA Times: "Democratic vice presidential nominee Sen. John Edwards on Monday supported an easing of restrictions on travel to Cuba, a policy he said would help spur political change in that nation and that his spokesman predicted would win votes in Florida's crucial Cuban American community."

Another Cuban demonstration in Miami against Bush measures  8/2/2004 Granma: "More than 550 people participated in a demonstration last Saturday against the measures preventing Cuban émigrés in the United States from visiting their relatives on the island and helping them economically, outside the offices of ultra-right congresswoman Iliana Ros, according to Andrés Gómez, coordinator of the Antonio Maceo Brigade. The demonstration, sponsored by the association of Christian Mothers in Defense of the Family and supported by the Alliance of Cuban Workers (ATC), the Martí Alliance, the Antonio Maceo Brigade and the José Martí Association is the third in three consecutive Saturdays condemning and rejecting these cruel measures."

US travel curbs force Cuba exodus  8/1/2004 BBC: "Hundreds of Cuban Americans have been returning to the US, as tough new curbs on travel to Cuba imposed by Washington come into effect on Sunday."

THE GREAT FLORIDA EX-CON GAME How the 'felon' voter-purge was itself felonious  7/30/2004 Greg Palast 

Get-Tough Policy on Cuba May Backfire Against Bush  7/29/2004 NYT: "But the strategy has pumped life into a voter registration drive among newer Cuban immigrants, who generally favor greater contact with the island and their relatives there. Sergio Bendixen, a longtime pollster based in Miami, said the new measures were drawing supporters and opponents in equal numbers among Cuban-Americans. For a bloc that has been characterized by remarkable electoral cohesion for decades, the split is telling, Mr. Bendixen said. "They've been very controversial," he said of the new restrictions. "The Bush side feels it's going to energize their base. The Democrats feel it has created a very important opening to gain significant support." Jorge Mursuli of Mi Familia Vota, a voter registration drive among Hispanics in Florida, said his nonpartisan operation was signing up as many Democrats as Republicans."

MICHAEL MOORE, GREG PALAST, REPS. BROWN AND DEUTSCH: "DON'T LET THEM STEAL FLORIDA AGAIN!"  7/28/2004 Greg Palast 

A Plea For Help - Caribbean American Children Foundation  7/24/2004 AfroCubaWeb: "But, the severe financial crisis that Cuba is enduring, have had a negative impact on the spartan living conditions of these students, who urgently needs all of our moral and material support and encouragement. In order for us to clearly understand the importance of this project, suffice to say that if those Haitian students that are presently enrolled would successfully graduate, that would mean a 25% increase in Haiti's present physician pool."

MECANISMO SIMPLE PARA DERROTAR AL PRESIDENTE GEORGE W. BUSH EN NOVIEMBRE DEL 2004  7/24/2004 AfroCubaWeb 

SIMPLE MECHANISM TO DEFEAT PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH IN NOVEMBER 2004  7/24/2004 AfroCubaWeb 

Penelas' stand on Cuba travel less than clear  7/20/2004 Miami Herald 

Miami Caravan Protests Bush’s anti-Cuban Measures  7/19/2004 AIN, Cuba 

Car caravan in Miami protests Bush’s measures  7/19/2004 Granma: not a word in the Herald or el Nuevo Herald - "The caravan, which drove for two hours along a route from central Hialeah to Bicentennial Park in downtown Miami, comprised more than 250 vehicles adorned with Cuban and U.S. flags and posters protesting Bush’s measures. Along the way, other motorists and pedestrians on sidewalks and corners raised their arms to express their support. Few opposing gestures were seen."

Tampa protest shows divide on Bush's Cuba travel policy  7/18/2004 St Petersburg Times: "Carbonelo and about 150 other rain-soaked protesters lined Himes Avenue near Columbus Drive on Saturday morning to show opposition to the new travel restrictions, which allow visits to immediate family in Cuba only once every three years. Just across Himes, though, stood a group of more than 100 supporters of Bush's policy - evidence that for Cuban Americans, a vital voting bloc in Florida, this issue is as divisive as any in an already contentious election year. "This represents a split among Cuban Americans," said Maura Barrios, assistant director of the Latin American and Caribbean studies department at the University of South Florida. "A lot of them were saying they were Republicans who voted for Bush, and they're not voting for him anymore because of this particular issue." "

In Ybor City, Castor Blasts Cuba Rules  7/18/2004 Tampa Bay Tribune: "Betty Castor opened an 8,000-square-foot headquarters in Ybor City on Saturday, using the event to come out against President Bush's new policy adding restrictions on travel to Cuba. Last week, she began airing a TV ad, a biographical spot that served to introduce her to voters."

Bush's Cuba policy could cost him votes  7/17/2004 Miami Herald 

Bush losing support among Cuban voters  7/15/2004 Radio Progresso 

Poll: Bush support slips among Cubans  7/10/2004 Sun Sentinel: "The poll, done by the William C. Velásquez Institute and the MirRam Group, a New York-based survey research firm, found that 66 percent of Cuban-American registered and eligible voters in Florida support Bush. That's down from the estimated 82 percent who voted for Bush in 2000, said Antonio Gonzalez, president of the institute."

Bush Losing Support Among Cuban Voters  7/9/2004 WCVI 

Bush aims weapons of malnutrition at Cuba  7/6/2004 CSM 

Letter from Washington: Tougher rules on Cuba could tip Florida's vote  7/6/2004 IHT: "Witnesses at the airport said Cuban-Americans became angry and shouted anti-Bush sentiments when they were told the charter flights had been suspended. "It is truly un-American what is happening with these restrictions. I was hurting deeply," said Silvia Wilhelm, a Democrat and Cuban-American activist. . "I'm going to vote this year, and I'm voting for Kerry. Sorry, Mr. President, but you are going to lose Florida for sure," vowed Maricela Alvarez-Savigne, 56, a U.S. citizen living in Tampa who found out last week she could not make a planned trip to Cuba to visit her son, elderly mother and grandchildren."

This is how you bring down Fidel Castro?  7/4/2004 Miami Herald: "The punitive new rules sit just fine with hardline Cuban-American politicians and most older exiles, who tend to vote Republican in large numbers. However, many middle-aged and younger Cuban Americans deeply resent being told when they can travel to Cuba, whom they can visit, how long they can stay and how much they can spend. These exiles vote, too, though the president had better hope that they don't."

Cuba sanctions hit home for families in Miami  7/1/2004 Miami Herald: "The new measures have left Cuban Miami tense and divided. The early exiles, those who left Cuba in the early 1960s, mostly favor the sanctions. Those who have arrived since 1990, with fresher ties to the island, seem largely opposed." [More like those who arrived since 1980, but that's the Herald…]

Cuba sanctions come back to bite Bush  7/1/2004 The Age: "The new sanctions ban luggage over 20 kilograms. Visitors will be allowed to spend only $US50 ($A70) a day while in Cuba, down from $US300 a day, plus $US50 on transport. Half the exiles in Florida also send dollars to relatives in Cuba totalling about $US100 million a year. Remittance limits have been cut from $US1200 to $US900 a year. Clothing, fishing tackle, soap-making equipment, seeds and other favourite items are to be banned from mercy parcels. Food is still permitted, together with vitamins, medicines, batteries and radios to listen to US-funded stations broadcast out of Little Havana."

Will the new Cuba trade embargo backfire?  6/30/2004 BBC 

Hundreds of Cubans protest against U.S. government at Miami airport  6/30/2004 Granma 

Protests in Miami Over anti-cuban Measures  6/29/2004 Cuba Now 

MEASURES AGAINST THE CUBAN FAMILY - Bush is isolating himself in Florida  6/29/2004 Granma 

New U.S. regulations rile Cuban-Americans - Rules, such as stricter limits on their visits to island, called inhumane  6/29/2004 The Dallas Morning News: "The Miami-based Cuban American National Foundation, the largest anti-Castro lobbying group, did not endorse the limits on travel and remittances."

Gritos de "¡Queremos volar!" y "¡Cuba, Cuba!" en el aeropuerto de Miami  6/29/2004 Univision: "Decenas de pasajeros que no hallaron asientos para volar el martes de Miami a Cuba, la víspera de la entrada en vigor de restricciones de viajes desde EEUU a la isla, expresaron su descontento con gritos de "¡queremos volar!" y "¡Cuba, Cuba!". En el aeropuerto imperaba un sentimiento contrario a las medidas adoptadas por el gobierno del presidente estadounidense, George W. Bush, que refuerzan el embargo contra la isla, limitando a partir del 30 de junio viajes y remesas a Cuba. "Yo vine de Irak" afirmaba Carlos Lazo, un cubano-estadounidense que dijo haber estado desplegado en ese país con el ejército estadounidense. "Y debido a la política del señor Bush, no puedo ir a ver a mi familia", en Cuba, añadió en declaraciones a la cadena hispana Telemundo. Lazo se declaró orgulloso de regresar a "luchar" a Irak, pero advirtió: "Este año no voy a votar por Bush"."

Election-Year Cuba Policy  6/27/2004 NYT: "The toughened policy, which cynically victimizes families, will backfire over time. Polls show that about half the Cuban-American community in Florida resents the intrusive new sanctions. But this split within the Cuban-American community has not yet registered at the polls, because those advocating a tougher embargo are older, from the waves of exiles who arrived in the United States in the 1960's and 1970's, and are far more likely to vote. They are offended that supposed political exiles feel free to go back and forth to their old country. In many cases, they can afford to feel that way because they are less likely to have close relatives still in Cuba. When the more recently arrived Cuban-Americans become a political force in Florida, the odds of a more effective American policy toward Havana will increase substantially."

Extremists lose control of Miami streets for the first time!  6/24/2004 Granma: "Throughout the caravan’s journey, I saw that between the people who sounded their horns and those who were on the street, the average number was four in favor of the caravan for every one against. And this was right across Miami to Hialeah, for about 30 miles,” he said. For Díaz, this movement will grow and, as the U.S. public becomes aware of it, it could become a campaign like the one for Elián in terms of U.S. public opinion.” The caravans’ journey ended in front of Ermita de Hialeah, a well-known pilrimage for Cuban-Americans. “On seeing the church completely full, one had the impression that this movement will keep growing,” commented Díaz."

Kerry’s wife supports Cubans protesting in Miami against new restrictions  6/24/2004 Granma 

U.S. to get tougher on items sent to Cuba  6/23/2004 Miami Herald: ''I have 16 employees today but I won't have 16 next week,'' said Maria Terase Arau, vice president of ABC Charters, one of seven Miami companies that offer flights to Cuba. ``I don't think this government has looked at how [the new measures] are going to affect American corporations and the economy of South Florida.''

Signature Campaign Against Bush's Anti-Cuba Measures Started in Miami  6/23/2004 Tiempo21, Cuba 

Younger Cuban-Americans challenge hard-liners' approach  6/21/2004 Orlando Sentinel: "Cerejido is among a growing number of Cuban-Americans who reject the hard-line perspective that has dominated Cuban policy in Miami and Washington for more than four decades. She and other younger Cuban-Americans are joining more-recent arrivals and former hard-liners who have undergone changes of heart in moderating the political dialogue in Miami. Forty-five years after Fidel Castro came to power, new Cubans are slowly replacing the aging old guard, infusing la lucha - the struggle for a free Cuba - with new voices that span the political spectrum. Many are intent on building bridges to the island, rather than erecting walls around it."

Decenas se manifiestan contra las nuevas regulaciones de viajes a Cuba  6/20/2004 El Nuevo Herald 

Miami: A los que quieran expresar su descontento por las crueles medidas tomadas contra la familia cubana  6/18/2004 AfroCubaWeb: "A los que quieran expresar su descontento por las crueles medidas tomadas contra la familia cubana, por la presente Administracion, pueden participar en los siguientes eventos que tendran lugar el sabado 19 de Junio."

Los cubanos se revelan contra W.  6/13/2004 Jiribilla: ""Este es un momento decisivo para Cuba", dijo Antonio Zamora, un abogado de Miami quien fue uno de los fundadores del poderoso grupo anti-castrista "The Cuban - American National Fundation" -Fundación Nacional Cubano Americana- y veterano de la fallida invasión a Bahía de Cochinos ocurrida en 1961, la cual fue financiada por U.S. Muchos otros Participantes, tal como ocurre con Zamora, dejaron de lado diferencias ideológicas para atender a la conferencia. Las medidas del Sr Bush, según ellos creen, van no contra Castro, sino más directamente contra la sobrevivencia de la nación cubana misma."

Bridging the gulf - Younger Cuban-Americans challenge hard-liners' approach, reach out to island.  6/13/2004 Sun Sentinel, FL: "Yet today, Cerejido and Puig, 38, are part of the ¡Yo si voy! -- the I will go! -- generation. They have made personal journeys to the forbidden place that provided the background music to their lives. They've gone to Cuba on their own and with the organization Puentes Cubanos, or Cuban Bridges. Founded by Miamian Silvia Wilhelm, Puentes pairs young Cuban-American professionals here with counterparts there for a week of intense talks. No one leaves with dry eyes or without new friends."

The new Cuba measures: Critics abound, but can they unite?  6/10/2004 Radio Progreso 

A CALL TO ACTION  6/9/2004 Cuban American Alliance Education Fund: "Since the founding of CAAEF in 1995, our work has focused on maintaining family ties and offering medical assistance to Cubans through a Cuban NGO in charge of assisting people with various forms of disabilities across the island. The recommendations of President Bush Administration’s Commission on Cuba represent a grievous attack on our organization’s central principles, as well as an attack against all Americans with families in Cuba."

Cuban Americans split on Kerry  6/8/2004 Miami Herald 

Kerry gana terreno entre los hispanos de Miami  6/8/2004 Miami Herald: interesting breakdown of voter trends in Miami Dade.

Más de la mitad de los electores hispanos de la Florida apoya a Bush  6/8/2004 Miami Herald: published May 18, to be contrasted to article "Kerry gana terreno entre los hispanos de Miami"

Miami-Dade Bush Kerry Poll Results  6/8/2004 Miami Herald 

Bush's Hispanic support may be weakening  6/7/2004 AP: "President Bush's policies toward Fidel Castro's regime and the war in Iraq are threatening to fray traditionally solid Republican ties to Cuban-American voters, the largest segment of Florida's fast-growing Hispanic community."

GOP's ties to Florida's Cuban-Americans threatening to fray  6/7/2004 AP 

LA CANDIDATURA REPUBLICANA ESTÁ EN DESVENTAJA EN LA FLORIDA  6/7/2004 Jiribilla: "Nos pueden multar hasta 250 mil dólares, pero nosotros tenemos un equipo de abogados preparados para esto. De hecho la base legal no existe, pero si pueden hostigarte mientras los tribunales deciden. En todo ese tiempo estás en el limbo y tu trabajo se ve afectado. Es decir, que pueden hostigarte de mil maneras, todas las que pueda tener un gobierno como este para reprimir a sus oponentes. Entrevista con Andrés A. Gómez López, coordinador de la Brigada Antonio Maceo, durante la III Conferencia "La Nación y la Emigración"."

Cuba travel restrictions to be enforced  6/7/2004 UPI: "An unidentified staff member told the newspaper the federal government is going to keep more careful track of travelers. He said they are going to ask travel service providers for more information as well as the travelers. The travelers themselves could be prosecuted for making false statements. Some Cubans are happy with the changes. "No more business with Castro's communist terrorist system," said Emilio Izquierdo, a spokesman for a group of former political prisoners."

¿Teme Bush que perderá votos en vez de ganarlos? EU posterga implementación de nuevas medidas contra Cuba  6/6/2004 Jiribilla 

CARLOS MUÑIZ: SUS ASESINOS ANDAN SUELTOS  6/6/2004 Jiribilla: "Las recientes medidas tomadas por la administración Bush para dificultar la reconciliación familiar entre cubanos son el último capítulo de una vieja historia. Desde el comienzo de la Revolución cubana sucesivos gobiernos norteamericanos han tratado de obstruir la relación entre la nación y la emigración. Un ejemplo paradigmático de esa voluntad de entorpecimiento fue, sin duda, el asesinato de Carlos Muñiz Varela, ocurrido el 28 de abril de 1979. Sus asesinos aún siguen libres en el país que se precia de ser el líder mundial de la lucha contra el terrorismo."

Miami Herald a partner in attempt to destroy the Cuban family  6/3/2004 Granma 

Express your discontent with anti Cuban family measures - Click here  6/3/2004 Progreso Weekly 

Bush’s mafia bicycle got stuck  6/2/2004 Granma 

I will continue fighting for my country  6/2/2004 Radio Angulo: "With a frank language, open to the dialog and the understanding among the Cubans living in the Island and the émigrés, José Luis Romeo an emigrant youth, talked of his work together with hundreds of Cubans, within the "José Martí" Association, in Miami, Florida, during an encounter held in the headquarters of the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples in Holguín and Radio Angulo´s Committee of Solidarity with the Five Heroes imprisoned in the United States."

Bush's Cuba moves stir backlash  5/31/2004 Miami Herald: "President Bush seeks to shore up his Cuba credentials by getting tough on Fidel Castro, but some Cuban Americans with family members on the island are not happy about it."

New measures against Cuba: Reactions in Havana (Final Part) - A time for definition: Annexation or sovereignty - Eloy Gutierrez Menoyo: ‘Don't define to us who our relatives are’  5/27/2004 Radio Progresso 

Emigrés Caught Between Bush and Castro  5/25/2004 AntiWar 

Cuban émigrés criticize Bush at conference  5/25/2004 Sun Sentinel: "Billed as a bridge-building event between Fidel Castro's government and Cuban émigrés abroad, the third Nation and Emigration conference ended Sunday much the way it began, with participants shouting pro Cuba slogans and a consensus among most that the U.S. trade and travel embargo is the foremost obstacle to reconciliation between émigrés and the Cuban government."

Cuban Americans Come Together in Miami to Protest President Bush's Crackdown on Cuban Americans  5/23/2004 Hispanic Wire: "These actions are just the beginning of collective grassroots efforts that will take place across the nation and will continue in force until the Bush administration rescinds the harsh restrictions imposed on Cuban Americans and their families in Cuba. The restrictions will cause more suffering for Cuban Americans and their families in Cuba than to the Cuban government."

Florida - Eroding: Bush's Cuban Support  5/23/2004 Newsweek: "President George W. Bush may have to do without Republicans like Fernando Amandi. A Miami Cuban-American and retired corporate executive who voted for Bush in 2000, he has become disenchanted with the administration, particularly with its handling of policy toward Cuba and Latin America. Bush "talked a good game" against Fidel Castro, says Amandi, "but I didn't see much follow- through." Now Amandi is backing Sen. John Kerry, raising cash (more than $100,000 so far as a vice chair of Kerry's national finance committee) and offering advice on policy. Amandi says: "I've been impressed by [Kerry's] much more substantial vision.""

Aiming at Castro, hitting Cubans  5/23/2004 Palm Beach Post 

Growing discontent in South Florida  5/22/2004 Granma: "It is now being said bluntly in the press, which is very interesting. On TV programs, on TV news, in media managed by people with anti-Cuba tendencies, they have no choice but to report that people are upset about this", say Andrés Gómez, a well-known Miami activist."

Bush Cuba policy stirs backlash in S. Florida  5/22/2004 St Petersburg Times: "The provisions take effect June 1. Alvaro Fernandez, a Cuban American Democrat who organized a rally against them on Thursday, said the new rules are out of step for an administration that professes to care about family values. The rally drew about 200 people - Democrats and Republicans, young and old - and they cheered as he urged the administration to reconsider a "measure that if applied will condemn some family members from ever seeing each other again.""

200 protest in Miami about tougher travel restrictions to Cuba  5/22/2004 Sun Sentinel, FL: "In Miami, a group calling itself the Cuban American Commission for Family Rights organized a gathering at the Radisson Mart Plaza Hotel & Convention Center that drew about 200 people. Several had Cuban flags and held up pictures of family members on the island… Instead, opponents of the president's new regulations are hoping the restrictions will anger Cuban-Americans in South Florida who are used to being able to travel to Cuba and send money to relatives. Many of those people are recent arrivals who are not as politically active as Cuban-Americans who came to the United States in the 1960s and 1970s. A recent poll by Florida International University in partnership with the South Florida Sun-Sentinel and NBC 6 found that among Cuban-Americans who arrived in the United States since 1985, 68.3 percent support unrestricted travel to the island. Those Cuban-Americans are more likely to still have family in Cuba, but also less likely to vote and be politically active, prompting talk of getting them to the polls in November to oppose Bush. Silvia Wilhelm, executive director of Puentes Cubanos, a Miami-based organization that promotes exchanges with Cubans, said a coalition of groups is getting ready to start a voter-registration drive in South Florida to get more moderate Cubans to vote in November."

Prominent American Leaders Call Upon Administration to Lift All Restrictions on Humanitarian Trade and Travel to Cuba  5/20/2004 Alocubano: "A bipartisan group of prominent business leaders, ex-government officials, elected officials and humanitarian leaders from across the nation today, in an open letter to President Bush, called on the administration to work with the majority of members of Congress who seek to lift all restrictions on humanitarian trade and free travel to Cuba."

Bush Alienating Crucial Cuban Electorate  5/20/2004 Political Strategy: "Once again a foreign policy lacking humility will come back to haunt this administration in November. Even if they (cover your ears) FLIP FLOP on the issue, you can bet that memories will not fade of this attempt to interfere with our hearts and minds. Family is sacred. This might be Bush's biggest electoral mistake to date."

VISITING CUBAN-AMERICANS HONOR NATIONAL HERO JOSE MARTI  5/20/2004 RHC: "A delegation of more than 100 Cuban-Americans placed two floral wreaths at the monument to José Martí in Central Park yesterday. Sunday marked the 107th anniversary of the death in combat of Cuba's National Hero. José Martí was killed on May 19, 1895 -- fighting for the island's independence from Spanish colonial rule. Members of the Miami-based "José Martí Association" and "Martiana Alliance" gathered at the park in downtown Havana yesterday afternoon, despite a steady rain."

Cuban-Americans demonstrated Thursday in Miami against new restrictions by the White House limiting access to and support of their relatives on the island.  5/20/2004 UPI 

PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: WHEN IT COMES TO LOVE OF FAMILY, AS CUBANS WE ARE NOT DIFFERENT THAN ANY OTHER GROUP  5/19/2004 Radio Progreso: Petition for Bush.

Activists seize on Cuba's anniversary to fight tightened restrictions  5/19/2004 Sun Sentinel, FL 

Tightening the screws on Cuba  5/18/2004 IHT 

Travel policies worry Cubans  5/17/2004 AP 

Cuba travel limit stirs anger, fear  5/17/2004 St Peterburg Times: ""Personally, I think this is just going to backfire," said Cuban-American Maura Barrios, adviser of Cuban studies within the Latin American and Caribbean Studies program at the University of South Florida."

Cuban-Americans worried about tougher visitation policy  5/16/2004 AP: "The new restrictions could present political problems for Bush with a group he's trying to court this election year. Armando Ramirez said if he can't travel every year to see his ailing 80-year-old father, his support for the president is over. "We won't vote for Bush," Ramirez said."

New Cuba policy: Arrogant, callous and disregards rights  5/16/2004 Progreso 

Recommendations to tighten up the screws on Castro may backfire on Bush  5/16/2004 Vheadlines 

Cubans Decry Tighter Restrictions by the U.S.  5/15/2004 LA Times 

B.S. Detector - As the opposition sees it  5/13/2004 Progreso: "El Nuevo Herald has been reluctant to publish criticism by dissidents in Cuba to the newly unveiled Bush plan that, among other objectives, will limit contacts between Cubans in the United States and Cubans on the island. On May 7, the day after Bush announced the plan, El Nuevo ran an Associated Press report that gave the Cuban government's reaction and included these comments by dissidents in Havana."

Cuba’s a battle Bush can never win  5/13/2004 Progresso Weekly 

Anti-Castro Groups Slam Bush Cuba Moves  5/11/2004 AntiWar: ""They say the remittances won't be affected, but by stiffening controls on people who travel here, less money will come from family members who live in the North (the United States)," Milagros Sarría, 55, who has a number of relatives living in that country, complained to IPS. She said that in her neighborhood "no one is talking about anything else," and "most people believe" the measures "will hurt Cuban families" more than the socialist government of Fidel Castro."

Exiles: Bush Cuban policy may cost votes  5/11/2004 Washington Times: "A group of Cuban exiles who favor easing relations with Cuba are warning President Bush his new policy tightening restrictions on Cuba will cost him votes. Five organizations said they will encourage exiles to work against the president's re-election, The Miami Herald reported Tuesday… Andres Gomez of the Antonio Maceo Brigade said 140,000 Cuban-Americans visited Cuba last year, and 100,000 of them were from south Florida. He said many of them will now vote against Bush. There are about 800,000 Cuban-Americans in south Florida."

As Bush gets tougher on Cuba, groups worry about impact on Jews  5/10/2004 JTA 

Changes Wrong Way To Turn  5/10/2004 Sentinel, Florida: by the South Florida Sun-Sentinel Editorial Board!

Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba's report to the President  5/6/2004 Cuba Central: "I see dollar signs all over the place. Enforcement of these new restrictions will require more money and human resources. Senator Baucus's concerns about misallocation of Treasury resources to tracking American tourists instead of Bin laden’s money will certainly be intensified. Finally, one big irony: They obviously studied post-Castro Cuba a lot harder than they studied post-Saddam Iraq, given the details to be found in the post-transition aid portions of the report. This is another example of how skewed the allocation of resources has become."

Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba - Report (pdf format)  5/6/2004 State Department: full text of the May "report."

Cuba report gets heavy scrutiny  5/5/2004 Sun Sentinel 

Target: Castro's Cuba. Victim: Small Business  5/4/2004 Hispanic Business: "What Common Ground and other travel agencies specializing in travel to Cuba didn't anticipate is that, with its victory in hand, the Bush Administration didn't just tighten up. It came down hard, sledgehammer-style."

Ignored Majority: The Moderate Cuban-American Community  5/3/2004 LAWG 

CUBA Y LAS ELECCIONES AMERICANAS  4/29/2004 Radio Miami 

New limits to Cuba remittances By Francisco Aruca  2/19/2004 Progreso Weekly: "What was published in both Heralds with great fanfare – and probably other Spanish speaking media, both radio and television will pick it up – is not that the Administration is considering limiting remittances. What they are considering are the details. In real terms – what they are doing is not to present the facts more or less – what was done last week by the Secretary of the Treasury was to measure reaction. If there is none...then there is no doubt that they will take steps. In other words, they are gauging the community’s reaction to the news. They have made a clear presentation of the facts. It’s as if they said: “Look, we are going to limit remittances. What we have to define now are the details. We are saying it loud and clear. Now we’d like to know your reaction.” "