From: sangu@igc.apc.org (David Sangurima)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.latin-america
Subject: IPS:USA:Radical Cuban Exile Lobby
Date: 10 Oct 92 02:42:00 GMT
Nf-ID: #N:cdp:1473800340:000:6174
Nf-From: cdp.UUCP!sangu    Oct  9 19:42:00 1992


From: David Sangurima <sangu>
Subject: IPS:USA:Radical Cuban Exile Lobby

/* Written 12:17 am  Oct  3, 1992 by newsdesk in cdp:ips.englibrary */
/* ---------- "UNITED STATES: RADICAL EXILE LOBBY " ---------- */
Copyright Inter Press Service 1992, all rights reserved.  Permission to re-
print within 7 days of original date only with permission from 'newsdesk'.

Reference: Latin America
Title: UNITED STATES: RADICAL EXILE LOBBY CONTROLS US POLICY ON CUBA


an inter press service feature

by marco antonio sibaja

washington, sep 29 (ips) -- armed with an impressive economic
power, the most radical wing of the cuban community in the united
states has become the spearhead of u.s. policy on the caribbean
island.

the recent approval in the u.s. congress of the controversial
bill on democracy in cuba revealed the power which the
conservative cuban-american foundation has acquired in
washington.

headed by the influential jorge mas canosa, the foundation was
behind the drafting of the bill, opposed by other sections of the
cuban exile community which prefer dialogue with the government
of president fidel castro.

the law aims at a hardening of the economic and trade embargo
imposed on cuba by the united states in 1962 by prohibiting
subsidiaries of u.s. companies in third countries from trading
with cuba.

at the same time, it comes close to subordinating us foreign
policy to washington's relationship with cuba, since it
establishes sanctions in the areas of arms sales, trade and
economic assistance to be imposed on countries which trade with
the caribbean island.

the original version of the bill obliged the u.s. president to
apply these sanctions, but the amended version approved by
congress only urges him to apply them.

but while the foundation opposes any change in u.s. policy on
cuba that would imply a softening of the embargo, other
organizations fear that the blockade will merely serve to
increase support for castro.

however, cuban-american foundation member jose cardenas has
denied that the foundation or its chairman, mas canosa, was
behind the bill, presented by democratic congressman robert
torricelli.

cardenas told ips that this claim comes from sectors which
feel that a rapprochment with castro is the best policy the u.s.
can follow on cuba.

the law was approved on sep. 18 in the senate along with the
state department's budget, while the house of representatives
passed it on sep. 24, with the support of 276 legislators and 135
against. (more)
----


''do they think we made financial contributions to the 276
representatives who voted in favour of the bill?'' cardenas
added.

but the foundation's influence is evidenced by other factors.
for example, the three senators who presented the bill in the
upper house, democrats joseph lieberman and bob graham and
republican connie mack, are members of the foundation's 'blue
ribbon' commission.

the bill's author, toricelli, has become the main recipient of
financing from the foundation. he received 10,000 dollars from
the ''cuba libre'' (free cuba) political action committee and
3,500 dollars from individual members.

the political action committee operates a fund for electoral
contributions to which the foundation's 65 directorates
contribute.

the 65 each contribute 10,000 dollars to the foundation each
year and give out an equal sum in political contributions in each
u.s. presidential campaign.

during this campaign the foundation hopes to invest between
250,000 and 400,000 dollars, which will be shared between the
democrats and the republicans, according to diplomatic analyst
carla anne robbins.

only by coming out in favour of the torricelli bill democratic
hopeful bill clinton earned 125,000 dollars for his presidential
campaign.

it is this economic power that opened washington's doors to
mas canosa and his organization which, up to the early 1980s, had
political clout only in south florida.

since then, it has made cuban-americans one of the most
powerful lobbies in the corridors of the u.s. congress, with its
record of successes including campaigns in favour of angolan and
nicaraguan rebels.

the bill on democracy in cuba is its latest victory and the
swing in the stance of the white house from objection to staunch
advocacy is evidence of its influence, robbins feels.

the bush government has approved the initiative despite
warnings from canada and britain, which have strong interests in
cuba, that they would take reprisal action if a legislation that
hurts their trade relations was approved.

a spokesperson for the canadian embassy in washington said his
country's laws allow the attorney-general to issue orders against
u.s. businesses operating in canada to prevent them from applying
the u.s. trade sanction. (more)
----


business groups which tried to block the bill argued that it
would do little damage to castro and, on the contrary, it would
affect the competitiveness of u.s. companies and expose them to
sanctions in the countries where they are based.

however, their weight was inferior to the clout wielded by mas
canosa and the cuban-american foundation, as the bill's
resounding success in congress showed.

in 1991 overseas-based subsidiaries of u.s. firms applied to
the treasury department for 718 million dollars in licences to
trade with cuba. with the new law all applications will be turned
down.

within the cuban-american community the foundation's
manouevres were evident during the debates on the bill.

people opposed to it, such as ramon cernuda of the human
rights commission, received death threats.

the miami herald daily, which also questioned the
effectiveness of the embargo, was the butt of a campaign of
attacks by the foundation, which even put up notices against the
daily in buses and filled its sales kiosks with excrement.

the organization's behaviour led moderate sectors within the
cuban exile community to refer to mas canosa as ''the other
fidel.''

the foundation is said to have a new constitution ready for
when castro's government falls and its members have the economic
resources to become the owners of the island's means of
production. (end/ips/trd/so/mas-er-oh/kb/92)
----
Newsgroups: soc.culture.latin-america