CUBA
Cuban cardinal visited U.S. before prisoner deal
The State Department confirmed reports that Cuban Cardinal Jaime Ortega
was in the U.S. just days before he announced a deal with Raúl Castro to
release political prisoners.
BY JUAN O. TAMAYO
jtamayo@ElNuevoHerald.com
Cuban Cardinal Jaime Ortega visited the United States in June, just days
before he announced that the Raúl Castro government had agreed to free
52 political prisoners, the U.S. State Department confirmed Friday.
``Cardinal Ortega visited the United States in June,'' said Virginia
Staab, a Western Hemisphere Affairs spokesperson. But she declined
comment on reports that Ortega met with two senior U.S. officials in
Washington during the visit and informed them -- with Cuba's approval --
of his talks with Castro on the prisoner release.
``What we find important here is not who knew what when but that several
individuals who were imprisoned simply due to their personal beliefs
have been released and that many more (more than 100) have not yet been
identified for release,'' she said.
``We continue to urge the immediate and unconditional release of all
political prisoners, not just those arrested during the Black Spring
crackdown in 2003.''
TOP OFFICIALS
The Wall Street Journal reported on June 28 that Ortega had met with
Arturo Valenzuela, assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere
Affairs, and Rep. Howard Berman, D-Calif., chairman of the House Foreign
Affairs committee. Neither have confirmed the report.
Berman has endorsed a bill before Congress that would lift all U.S.
restrictions on travel to Cuba -- and unleash a gusher of U.S. tourism
dollars for the economically strapped island.
Officials in Washington told El Nuevo Herald that Ortega was in
Washington on June 22 as part of a low-profile U.S. visit. He also spent
time in New York City, apparently meeting with U.S. Catholic church
officials.
Ortega's director of communications, Orlando Marquez, confirmed to the
website Progreso Weekly on June 30 that the cardinal had visited
Washington for meetings arranged by the U.S. Conference of Bishops.
MONTHS OF TALKS
Ortega's talks with Castro began in March, after pro-government mobs
harassed the Ladies in White during their marches, following a mass in a
Havana church to demand the release of relatives jailed since the 2003
crackdown.
It was only last week that Castro agreed that over the next three to
four months he would free the last 52 dissidents still in jail from the
2003 roundup, which sentenced 75 opposition figures to lengthy prison terms.
Two dozen others were previously released.
http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/07/17/1734548/cuban-cardinal-visited-us-before.html
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