Posted on Monday, 08.04.14
American imprisoned in Cuba says goodbye to family
BY JESSICA GRESKO
ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON -- A lawyer for an American who has spent more than four
years imprisoned in Cuba said Monday that his client cannot take life in
prison much longer and has said his goodbyes to his wife and a daughter.
Alan Gross was arrested in Cuba in 2009 while working covertly in the
Communist-run country to set up Internet access. His attorney, Scott
Gilbert, said in a statement Monday that his client "has withdrawn" and
told him "life in prison is not a life worth living." Gross has
previously said through his lawyer that his 65th birthday, which took
place in May, would be the last one that he "celebrates in Havana, one
way or the other."
Gross said goodbye to his wife and youngest daughter during a recent
visit. Gross, who lived in Maryland before his arrest, had previously
told his two daughters not to come see him in prison.
Gross has stopped exercising and his health is not good, said Gilbert,
who plans to visit his client this week. His hips are failing and he has
lost most of the vision in his right eye. Gross' "emotional
deterioration has been severe," Gilbert said, particularly following the
death in June of his 92-year-old mother.
Gross and his mother talked frequently by phone, and when Gross went on
a nine-day hunger strike in April it was his mother who persuaded him to
end it. Gross had asked the Cuban government to be able to return to the
United States for her funeral, but the request was denied.
Gross' wife, Judy Gross, said in Monday's statement that she has never
seen her husband in such bad shape during the time he has spent in
prison. She wrote that "his decision to say goodbye to us was wrenching."
Gross is also now refusing to see officials from the U.S. Interests
Section in Havana, which Washington maintains instead of an embassy
since the two countries do not have formal diplomatic relations.
At the time Gross was arrested he was working as a subcontractor for the
U.S. government's U.S. Agency for International Development, which
promotes democracy on the island. Cuba considers USAID's programs
illegal attempts by the U.S. to undermine its government, and Gross was
tried and sentenced to 15 years in prison.
Also on Monday, Gross' lawyer released a letter from a group of 300
rabbis to President Barack Obama urging him to take action to secure
Gross' release. Gross, who is Jewish, was working with Cuba's small
Jewish community on Internet access when he was arrested.
Follow Jessica Gresko at http://twitter.com/jessicagresko
Source: WASHINGTON: American imprisoned in Cuba says goodbye to family -
Politics Wires - MiamiHerald.com -
http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/08/04/4270670/american-imprisoned-in-cuba-says.html
Monday, August 4, 2014
Sunday, August 3, 2014
The Current State of Cuba’s Offshore Oil Development
The Current State of Cuba's Offshore Oil Development
Business Insights: Cuba
July 2014
While Cuba produces some energy – principally heavy oil and associated
natural gas – its domestic production does not meet its requirements for
daily energy consumption. Once dependent on the Soviet Union for energy
imports, Cuba now relies on Venezuela for oil to keep its economy
afloat. According to experts, Cuba's arrangement with Venezuela is
unsustainable over the long-term.
The U.S. Geological Survey estimates that offshore reserves in the North
Cuba Basin could contain an additional five billion barrels of
undiscovered technically recoverable crude oil. Cuba estimates its
reserves in 20 billion barrels. However, all exploratory results have
been a blow to Cuban hopes of finding oil. Some attempts came up dry or
resulted in the discovery of a field devoid of commercial value.
Now, Cuba is asking for Russia's help with the support of President
Putin. Russian companies Rosneft and Zarubezhneft signed an energy
agreement with Cuba in May 2014 to explore offshore oil deposits. The
drilling area north of Havana straddles the Gulf Stream, a powerful
ocean current that rushes north to the Florida coast. Oceanographers
warn that an oil slick caused by a major spill could reach Florida's
beaches, reefs and marine sanctuaries in about a week.
Former U.S. Senator Bob Graham, who also served two terms as governor of
Florida and co-chaired a presidential commission on the 2010 Deepwater
Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, met with Cuban officials in
January 2014. Senator Graham and energy experts said the Russians have
little experience with deep-water drilling and that the U.S. embargo of
Cuba prohibits the use of American technology to prevent or respond to a
spill.
A State Department spokesperson said U.S. officials "have expressed our
concerns" to Cuba and its partners, but the United States can do nothing
to stop drilling in Cuban waters. While the embargo limits the use of
American products, U.S. companies have been licensed to respond in case
of a spill.
U.S. Embargo – Cuba Drilling
The embargo against Cuba denies access to Cuba of U.S. equipment for
drilling and environmental protection. Exports and re-exports to Cuba of
foreign made items incorporating, commingled with or drawn from
controlled U.S. origin items exceeding 10 percent of U.S. components and
technology – the so-called De Minimis Rule under Sections 734.4 and
736.2(b)(2) of Export Administration Regulations (EARs) – are prohibited
by the Embargo.
Several experts have said that the only country that produces the
necessary equipment is the United States. Therefore, Cuba would not have
access to U.S. equipment unless the embargo is lifted or altered. At the
very least, coordination between Cuba and the United States would be
necessary to prevent any potential oil spill.
Members of Congress have presented several proposals to deny oil and gas
leases and permits "to persons who engage in activities with the
government of any foreign country that is subject to any sanction or an
embargo" by the U.S. government.
Conclusion
A "safe" and "monitored" approach to Cuba's oil offshore development is
in the national interest of the United States, which should work
together with Cuba and use multilateral agreements with Mexico to
facilitate oil exploration in the Gulf of Mexico.
Source: The Current State of Cuba's Offshore Oil Development | Fox
Rothschild LLP -
http://foxrothschild.com/newspubs/newspubsArticle.aspx?id=15032395046
Business Insights: Cuba
July 2014
While Cuba produces some energy – principally heavy oil and associated
natural gas – its domestic production does not meet its requirements for
daily energy consumption. Once dependent on the Soviet Union for energy
imports, Cuba now relies on Venezuela for oil to keep its economy
afloat. According to experts, Cuba's arrangement with Venezuela is
unsustainable over the long-term.
The U.S. Geological Survey estimates that offshore reserves in the North
Cuba Basin could contain an additional five billion barrels of
undiscovered technically recoverable crude oil. Cuba estimates its
reserves in 20 billion barrels. However, all exploratory results have
been a blow to Cuban hopes of finding oil. Some attempts came up dry or
resulted in the discovery of a field devoid of commercial value.
Now, Cuba is asking for Russia's help with the support of President
Putin. Russian companies Rosneft and Zarubezhneft signed an energy
agreement with Cuba in May 2014 to explore offshore oil deposits. The
drilling area north of Havana straddles the Gulf Stream, a powerful
ocean current that rushes north to the Florida coast. Oceanographers
warn that an oil slick caused by a major spill could reach Florida's
beaches, reefs and marine sanctuaries in about a week.
Former U.S. Senator Bob Graham, who also served two terms as governor of
Florida and co-chaired a presidential commission on the 2010 Deepwater
Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, met with Cuban officials in
January 2014. Senator Graham and energy experts said the Russians have
little experience with deep-water drilling and that the U.S. embargo of
Cuba prohibits the use of American technology to prevent or respond to a
spill.
A State Department spokesperson said U.S. officials "have expressed our
concerns" to Cuba and its partners, but the United States can do nothing
to stop drilling in Cuban waters. While the embargo limits the use of
American products, U.S. companies have been licensed to respond in case
of a spill.
U.S. Embargo – Cuba Drilling
The embargo against Cuba denies access to Cuba of U.S. equipment for
drilling and environmental protection. Exports and re-exports to Cuba of
foreign made items incorporating, commingled with or drawn from
controlled U.S. origin items exceeding 10 percent of U.S. components and
technology – the so-called De Minimis Rule under Sections 734.4 and
736.2(b)(2) of Export Administration Regulations (EARs) – are prohibited
by the Embargo.
Several experts have said that the only country that produces the
necessary equipment is the United States. Therefore, Cuba would not have
access to U.S. equipment unless the embargo is lifted or altered. At the
very least, coordination between Cuba and the United States would be
necessary to prevent any potential oil spill.
Members of Congress have presented several proposals to deny oil and gas
leases and permits "to persons who engage in activities with the
government of any foreign country that is subject to any sanction or an
embargo" by the U.S. government.
Conclusion
A "safe" and "monitored" approach to Cuba's oil offshore development is
in the national interest of the United States, which should work
together with Cuba and use multilateral agreements with Mexico to
facilitate oil exploration in the Gulf of Mexico.
Source: The Current State of Cuba's Offshore Oil Development | Fox
Rothschild LLP -
http://foxrothschild.com/newspubs/newspubsArticle.aspx?id=15032395046
Cuban LGBTI take their demands to the Attorney General
Cuban LGBTI take their demands to the Attorney General
August 2, 2014
Isbel Díaz Torres
HAVANA TIMES – In the name of the Rainbow Project (Proyecto Arcoíris), I
delivered a letter last Thursday to the Cuban Attorney General's Office.
The letter is a denunciation of violations committed by the "Style and
Contents Commission" of the National People's Power Assembly who were
responsible for the final draft of the Labor Code.
This Commission, directed by José Luis Toledo Santander, president of
the Parliament's Commission for Constitutional and Judicial Issues,
failed to fulfill the mandate they received in December of 2013; their
draft completely disregarded the proposals of the LGBT workers, several
deputies and even those of President Raul Castro, First Vice-President
Miguel Díaz-Canel, and those of the President of the National Assembly,
Esteban Lazo.
The Commission was supposed to have "harmoniously" integrated into the
final text the concept that gender identity and negative or positive HIV
status comprise totally inadmissible motives for discrimination against
any human being in the realm of employment or workplaces, as part of the
fundamental principles that compose the right to work in Article 2,
Subsection B of the Code.
Towards that end, the DA's office was urged to investigate fully the
violations and arbitrary actions of the said Commission, as well as
those of all the institutions and persons involved in the final draft of
the Labor Law.
The grievance was made public this past July 26th in a declaration of
the LGBT collective entitled "LGBTI community of Cuba in national
rebellion." The declaration concludes:
"As citizens of this country and also in our role as activists for human
and sexual rights who defend the idea of an anti-capitalist,
revolutionary and democratic society, we demand that exemplary measures
be taken and that all existing judicial procedures be exhausted with an
eye to submitting once again to the vote of Parliament a measure
incorporating non-discrimination for gender identity or for having a
positive or negative HIV/AIDS status into the Labor Code.
The letter was delivered to the seat of the Attorney General's Office of
the Republic, located at the corner of 1st and 18th St. in the Playa
district in the afternoon of this past Thursday. The State office
legally has 60 days to present a written response.
Source: Cuban LGBTI take their demands to the Attorney General - Havana
Times.org - http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=105294
August 2, 2014
Isbel Díaz Torres
HAVANA TIMES – In the name of the Rainbow Project (Proyecto Arcoíris), I
delivered a letter last Thursday to the Cuban Attorney General's Office.
The letter is a denunciation of violations committed by the "Style and
Contents Commission" of the National People's Power Assembly who were
responsible for the final draft of the Labor Code.
This Commission, directed by José Luis Toledo Santander, president of
the Parliament's Commission for Constitutional and Judicial Issues,
failed to fulfill the mandate they received in December of 2013; their
draft completely disregarded the proposals of the LGBT workers, several
deputies and even those of President Raul Castro, First Vice-President
Miguel Díaz-Canel, and those of the President of the National Assembly,
Esteban Lazo.
The Commission was supposed to have "harmoniously" integrated into the
final text the concept that gender identity and negative or positive HIV
status comprise totally inadmissible motives for discrimination against
any human being in the realm of employment or workplaces, as part of the
fundamental principles that compose the right to work in Article 2,
Subsection B of the Code.
Towards that end, the DA's office was urged to investigate fully the
violations and arbitrary actions of the said Commission, as well as
those of all the institutions and persons involved in the final draft of
the Labor Law.
The grievance was made public this past July 26th in a declaration of
the LGBT collective entitled "LGBTI community of Cuba in national
rebellion." The declaration concludes:
"As citizens of this country and also in our role as activists for human
and sexual rights who defend the idea of an anti-capitalist,
revolutionary and democratic society, we demand that exemplary measures
be taken and that all existing judicial procedures be exhausted with an
eye to submitting once again to the vote of Parliament a measure
incorporating non-discrimination for gender identity or for having a
positive or negative HIV/AIDS status into the Labor Code.
The letter was delivered to the seat of the Attorney General's Office of
the Republic, located at the corner of 1st and 18th St. in the Playa
district in the afternoon of this past Thursday. The State office
legally has 60 days to present a written response.
Source: Cuban LGBTI take their demands to the Attorney General - Havana
Times.org - http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=105294
Cuba politics and economics converge at Miami Conference
Cuba politics and economics converge at Miami Conference
August 2, 2014
Vincent Morin Aguado
HAVANA TIMES — A close look at the island's economy, both from Cubans
residing in the country and those living abroad, marked the second day
of discussions at the Association for the Study of the Cuban Economy
conference in Miami. An overriding conclusion was that the urgent need
for expanding the changes in motion requires political decisions still
forthcoming.
Dariela Aquique Luna, a freelance reporter from Santiago de Cuba spoke
on the theme "Cuba, a new economic model or capitalize on the excitement
of Latin American integration?" She delves into the origins of the
so-called "Updating" process, seen as a political move attempting to
once again save the prevailing power in Cuba, taking advantage of the
progress of the political forces of the left in Latin America,
especially Venezuela and Brazil.
Aquique, who writes for both Havana Times and Diario de Cuba, leads us
to believe that the current Cuban government will continue the political
game started by the "updating" process but without further reforms. As
such, she thinks it will be unable to unleash the country's productive
forces.
Jorge Ignacio Guillen Martinez, a student at the University of Havana,
described a grim reality experienced today in Cuba, based on a survey
revealing an apparent deterioration process observed when evaluating the
relationship between the changes, their direction and what should be the
objective of any economic reform: improving the human condition.
Over 75% of those responding said the current process of changes has not
meant an improvement for them. The existence of a deep anthropological
damage in Cubans is the main conclusion of this young man from Pinar del
Rio. He sees a pressing need to release the forces of stagnation in the
economy, promoting private ownership and business development, if they
want to rescue the society from its current debacle.
Dariela Aquique and Vicente Morín at the ASCE conference.
Another panel discussed the crucial issue of labor rights within the
economic changes, and the need for the contribution of independent Cuban
unionism. Also analyzed was the Mariel Port mega project, considering
the variables of its limited success thus far in the context of
international trade.
The day's panel sessions then ended with a plenary and the presentation
by former Cuban diplomat Miriam Leyva, widow of the economist and human
rights activist Oscar Espinosa Chepe. Miriam analyzed the transition
taking place in Cuba and relations with the United States. She opted for
a new political approach based on constructive steps that abandon old
dogmas, such as the Yes or No on the controversial issue of the embargo.
The fact is that changing Cuba requires a continued exchanging of ideas,
expanding the ability of Cubans to learn about experiences beyond the
island's borders, facilitating visits to the country by US citizens, as
well as training entrepreneurs. In summarizing, opening doors and
building bridges.
The XXIV Annual Conference of ASCE ends today with an emphasis on issues
related to foreign investment and the new legal framework as well as the
mass media and culture. Undoubtedly, the event is planting a seed for a
future harvest.
vicentemorin@yahoo.com
Source: Cuba politics and economics converge at Miami Conference -
Havana Times.org - http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=105284
August 2, 2014
Vincent Morin Aguado
HAVANA TIMES — A close look at the island's economy, both from Cubans
residing in the country and those living abroad, marked the second day
of discussions at the Association for the Study of the Cuban Economy
conference in Miami. An overriding conclusion was that the urgent need
for expanding the changes in motion requires political decisions still
forthcoming.
Dariela Aquique Luna, a freelance reporter from Santiago de Cuba spoke
on the theme "Cuba, a new economic model or capitalize on the excitement
of Latin American integration?" She delves into the origins of the
so-called "Updating" process, seen as a political move attempting to
once again save the prevailing power in Cuba, taking advantage of the
progress of the political forces of the left in Latin America,
especially Venezuela and Brazil.
Aquique, who writes for both Havana Times and Diario de Cuba, leads us
to believe that the current Cuban government will continue the political
game started by the "updating" process but without further reforms. As
such, she thinks it will be unable to unleash the country's productive
forces.
Jorge Ignacio Guillen Martinez, a student at the University of Havana,
described a grim reality experienced today in Cuba, based on a survey
revealing an apparent deterioration process observed when evaluating the
relationship between the changes, their direction and what should be the
objective of any economic reform: improving the human condition.
Over 75% of those responding said the current process of changes has not
meant an improvement for them. The existence of a deep anthropological
damage in Cubans is the main conclusion of this young man from Pinar del
Rio. He sees a pressing need to release the forces of stagnation in the
economy, promoting private ownership and business development, if they
want to rescue the society from its current debacle.
Dariela Aquique and Vicente Morín at the ASCE conference.
Another panel discussed the crucial issue of labor rights within the
economic changes, and the need for the contribution of independent Cuban
unionism. Also analyzed was the Mariel Port mega project, considering
the variables of its limited success thus far in the context of
international trade.
The day's panel sessions then ended with a plenary and the presentation
by former Cuban diplomat Miriam Leyva, widow of the economist and human
rights activist Oscar Espinosa Chepe. Miriam analyzed the transition
taking place in Cuba and relations with the United States. She opted for
a new political approach based on constructive steps that abandon old
dogmas, such as the Yes or No on the controversial issue of the embargo.
The fact is that changing Cuba requires a continued exchanging of ideas,
expanding the ability of Cubans to learn about experiences beyond the
island's borders, facilitating visits to the country by US citizens, as
well as training entrepreneurs. In summarizing, opening doors and
building bridges.
The XXIV Annual Conference of ASCE ends today with an emphasis on issues
related to foreign investment and the new legal framework as well as the
mass media and culture. Undoubtedly, the event is planting a seed for a
future harvest.
vicentemorin@yahoo.com
Source: Cuba politics and economics converge at Miami Conference -
Havana Times.org - http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=105284
New revelations about Cuban spy Ana Montes
Posted on Saturday, 08.02.14
New revelations about Cuban spy Ana Montes
Details about Cuban spy Ana Montes from the Department of Defense
Inspector General's 2005 report — only now declassified — shed new light
on the case.
BY BRIAN LATELL
SPECIAL TO THE MIAMI HERALD
For 16 years, Ana Belen Montes spied for Cuba from increasingly
responsible positions at the Defense Intelligence Agency. If Havana has
ever run a higher level or more valuable mole inside the American
defense establishment, that has never been revealed.
When she was arrested in late September 2001, Montes was about the
equivalent in rank of a colonel. She had access to sensitive
compartmented intelligence. Strangely, for one so openly enamored of
Fidel Castro, her superiors considered her one of the best Cuba analysts
anywhere in government.
Despite the importance of her case, some of the most tantalizing
questions about her spying have never been publicly answered. Could the
calamity of her treason have been avoided? What was learned about Cuban
intelligence tradecraft? How was she discovered? And, of enduring
concern, did she work with other American spies thus far undetected or
not prosecuted?
Thanks to researcher Jeffrey Richelson and the National Security
Archive, new light has finally been shed on the Montes case. Because of
their efforts, a 180 page study completed by the Department of Defense
Inspector General in 2005 has recently been declassified. It is heavily
redacted; many pages, including the CIA's extensive comments, blacked
out. Yet, a quantity of surprising new details are now on the public record.
Montes's decision to spy for Cuba was "coolly deliberate." Enticed by a
Cuban access agent in Washington, they traveled together to New York in
December 1984. Montes met with intelligence officers posted under cover
at the Cuban mission to the United Nations.
She "unhesitatingly agreed" to work with them and travel clandestinely
to Cuba as soon as possible. The following March, she went there via
Spain and Czechoslovakia. The Pentagon report does not state the
obvious: while there, she must have received specialized training in
intelligence tradecraft.
Then, with Cuban encouragement, she applied for a job at DIA. A standard
background investigation was conducted, but we now know that serious
concerns about her suitability were raised. Without elaboration, the
Pentagon report indicates that they included "falsification of her
Master of Arts degree from Johns Hopkins (University) and her
trustworthiness."
DIA did not require applicants to submit to a pre-employment polygraph
exam. So, Montes, a trained Cuban espionage agent with a problematic
past was cleared and hired. She began her double duties in September 1985.
After her arrest, Montes insisted that she had the "moral right" to
provide information to Cuba. In her view, she did not work for Cuba, but
with Cuban officials. They felt "mutual respect and understanding" she
thought, as "comrades in the struggle."
The Cubans were skilled in manipulating and controlling her. She told
interrogators after her apprehension that she considered herself the
equal of her "Cuban comrades, not a menial espionage tool." They let her
believe she "maintained significant control," although she consistently
left "security matters, including meeting site security,
countersurveillance, and transmission security" to her handlers.
Montes said they were "thoughtful, sensitive to her needs, very good to
me." They went to "special lengths to assure her they had complete
confidence in her." They allowed her a long, loose leash, easier because
they were not paying for her extraordinary services.
Initially in New York, and later at her request in the Washington area,
she met with her handlers as often as once every two or three weeks,
usually on weekends. Everything about her second covert trip to Cuba is
redacted in the Pentagon report.
In 1991, Montes underwent a seemingly routine security reinvestigation.
She was asked about foreign travel, and lied. Questioned about
inaccuracies in her original application for employment, she confessed
that she had misrepresented an incident in her past. Feigning innocence,
Montes claimed that she "did not understand the seriousness of being
truthful and honest at the time."
Her questionable case was then reviewed at a higher level. The
adjudicator reported that "while Montes seemed to have a tendency 'to
twist the truth' to her own needs and her honesty was still a cause of
concern, adverse security action was unlikely." Again, she had slipped
through. Her high level clearances were recertified.
Soon after, she brazenly submitted a freedom of information request for
her own government records. She must have been concerned that something
adverse had been discovered. Investigative material was released. She
gave the surprised Cubans copies.
She apparently visited Cuba a third time after being selected to
participate in the prestigious Director of Central Intelligence
"Exceptional Analyst Program" in 1992. This time her travel to the
island, purportedly to conduct research, was legal.
In 1996, she was questioned by a DIA special agent after another DIA
employee reported concerns about her. Serious doubts were raised about
her veracity, but the allegations could not be substantiated.
None of this seems to have contributed to her eventual unmasking. So,
how was she discovered? Surprisingly, revealing information seeps
through the Pentagon's report. "We got lucky," a counterintelligence
official observed. An entirely blacked-out section entitled
"Serendipity" suggests the same.
By April 1998, a coordinated search for a Cuban spy was underway,
according to the report. At first it was thought most likely the quarry
was a CIA employee. Investigators were following a crucial clue: the
unknown spy had apparently traveled to the Guantanamo naval base as
Montes had apparently done on official DIA business.
The breakthrough had seemingly come earlier, however. According to the
Pentagon report, Montes was informed shortly after her arrest that
investigators "had information from a senior official in the Cuban
intelligence service concerning a Cuban penetration agent that
implicated Montes." It appears that this information propelled the
investigation that resulted in her arrest.
Who was this mysterious, previously unacknowledged source? From the
language of the Pentagon report, it was probably not a defector, but
more likely a renegade or compromised Cuban intelligence officer. If so,
Montes was done in by one of her own so-called "comrades."
Did she work with other American spies? The report is ambiguous; it
states that after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 pressure
intensified to arrest Montes. The FBI preferred to wait, however, in
order "to monitor Montes's activities with the prospect that she may
have eventually led the FBI to others in the Cuban spy network."
Did government censors inadvertently confirm the existence of a larger
spy ring? If in fact there was evidence of one, it may be a long time
before more is known.
It is now clear, however, that Montes's apprehension was not just the
result of excellent intelligence work. She told investigators after her
arrest that a week earlier she had learned that she was under
surveillance. She could have decided then to flee to Cuba, and probably
would have made it there safely.
But she said that "she couldn't give up on the people (she) was
helping." Montes is serving a 25 year prison sentence.
Latell is the author of "Castro's Secrets: Cuban Intelligence, the CIA,
and the Assassination of John F. Kennedy." He is a research associate in
Cuban studies at the University of Miami.
Source: New revelations about Cuban spy Ana Montes - Issues & Ideas -
MiamiHerald.com -
http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/08/02/4267428/new-revelations-about-cuban-spy.html
New revelations about Cuban spy Ana Montes
Details about Cuban spy Ana Montes from the Department of Defense
Inspector General's 2005 report — only now declassified — shed new light
on the case.
BY BRIAN LATELL
SPECIAL TO THE MIAMI HERALD
For 16 years, Ana Belen Montes spied for Cuba from increasingly
responsible positions at the Defense Intelligence Agency. If Havana has
ever run a higher level or more valuable mole inside the American
defense establishment, that has never been revealed.
When she was arrested in late September 2001, Montes was about the
equivalent in rank of a colonel. She had access to sensitive
compartmented intelligence. Strangely, for one so openly enamored of
Fidel Castro, her superiors considered her one of the best Cuba analysts
anywhere in government.
Despite the importance of her case, some of the most tantalizing
questions about her spying have never been publicly answered. Could the
calamity of her treason have been avoided? What was learned about Cuban
intelligence tradecraft? How was she discovered? And, of enduring
concern, did she work with other American spies thus far undetected or
not prosecuted?
Thanks to researcher Jeffrey Richelson and the National Security
Archive, new light has finally been shed on the Montes case. Because of
their efforts, a 180 page study completed by the Department of Defense
Inspector General in 2005 has recently been declassified. It is heavily
redacted; many pages, including the CIA's extensive comments, blacked
out. Yet, a quantity of surprising new details are now on the public record.
Montes's decision to spy for Cuba was "coolly deliberate." Enticed by a
Cuban access agent in Washington, they traveled together to New York in
December 1984. Montes met with intelligence officers posted under cover
at the Cuban mission to the United Nations.
She "unhesitatingly agreed" to work with them and travel clandestinely
to Cuba as soon as possible. The following March, she went there via
Spain and Czechoslovakia. The Pentagon report does not state the
obvious: while there, she must have received specialized training in
intelligence tradecraft.
Then, with Cuban encouragement, she applied for a job at DIA. A standard
background investigation was conducted, but we now know that serious
concerns about her suitability were raised. Without elaboration, the
Pentagon report indicates that they included "falsification of her
Master of Arts degree from Johns Hopkins (University) and her
trustworthiness."
DIA did not require applicants to submit to a pre-employment polygraph
exam. So, Montes, a trained Cuban espionage agent with a problematic
past was cleared and hired. She began her double duties in September 1985.
After her arrest, Montes insisted that she had the "moral right" to
provide information to Cuba. In her view, she did not work for Cuba, but
with Cuban officials. They felt "mutual respect and understanding" she
thought, as "comrades in the struggle."
The Cubans were skilled in manipulating and controlling her. She told
interrogators after her apprehension that she considered herself the
equal of her "Cuban comrades, not a menial espionage tool." They let her
believe she "maintained significant control," although she consistently
left "security matters, including meeting site security,
countersurveillance, and transmission security" to her handlers.
Montes said they were "thoughtful, sensitive to her needs, very good to
me." They went to "special lengths to assure her they had complete
confidence in her." They allowed her a long, loose leash, easier because
they were not paying for her extraordinary services.
Initially in New York, and later at her request in the Washington area,
she met with her handlers as often as once every two or three weeks,
usually on weekends. Everything about her second covert trip to Cuba is
redacted in the Pentagon report.
In 1991, Montes underwent a seemingly routine security reinvestigation.
She was asked about foreign travel, and lied. Questioned about
inaccuracies in her original application for employment, she confessed
that she had misrepresented an incident in her past. Feigning innocence,
Montes claimed that she "did not understand the seriousness of being
truthful and honest at the time."
Her questionable case was then reviewed at a higher level. The
adjudicator reported that "while Montes seemed to have a tendency 'to
twist the truth' to her own needs and her honesty was still a cause of
concern, adverse security action was unlikely." Again, she had slipped
through. Her high level clearances were recertified.
Soon after, she brazenly submitted a freedom of information request for
her own government records. She must have been concerned that something
adverse had been discovered. Investigative material was released. She
gave the surprised Cubans copies.
She apparently visited Cuba a third time after being selected to
participate in the prestigious Director of Central Intelligence
"Exceptional Analyst Program" in 1992. This time her travel to the
island, purportedly to conduct research, was legal.
In 1996, she was questioned by a DIA special agent after another DIA
employee reported concerns about her. Serious doubts were raised about
her veracity, but the allegations could not be substantiated.
None of this seems to have contributed to her eventual unmasking. So,
how was she discovered? Surprisingly, revealing information seeps
through the Pentagon's report. "We got lucky," a counterintelligence
official observed. An entirely blacked-out section entitled
"Serendipity" suggests the same.
By April 1998, a coordinated search for a Cuban spy was underway,
according to the report. At first it was thought most likely the quarry
was a CIA employee. Investigators were following a crucial clue: the
unknown spy had apparently traveled to the Guantanamo naval base as
Montes had apparently done on official DIA business.
The breakthrough had seemingly come earlier, however. According to the
Pentagon report, Montes was informed shortly after her arrest that
investigators "had information from a senior official in the Cuban
intelligence service concerning a Cuban penetration agent that
implicated Montes." It appears that this information propelled the
investigation that resulted in her arrest.
Who was this mysterious, previously unacknowledged source? From the
language of the Pentagon report, it was probably not a defector, but
more likely a renegade or compromised Cuban intelligence officer. If so,
Montes was done in by one of her own so-called "comrades."
Did she work with other American spies? The report is ambiguous; it
states that after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 pressure
intensified to arrest Montes. The FBI preferred to wait, however, in
order "to monitor Montes's activities with the prospect that she may
have eventually led the FBI to others in the Cuban spy network."
Did government censors inadvertently confirm the existence of a larger
spy ring? If in fact there was evidence of one, it may be a long time
before more is known.
It is now clear, however, that Montes's apprehension was not just the
result of excellent intelligence work. She told investigators after her
arrest that a week earlier she had learned that she was under
surveillance. She could have decided then to flee to Cuba, and probably
would have made it there safely.
But she said that "she couldn't give up on the people (she) was
helping." Montes is serving a 25 year prison sentence.
Latell is the author of "Castro's Secrets: Cuban Intelligence, the CIA,
and the Assassination of John F. Kennedy." He is a research associate in
Cuban studies at the University of Miami.
Source: New revelations about Cuban spy Ana Montes - Issues & Ideas -
MiamiHerald.com -
http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/08/02/4267428/new-revelations-about-cuban-spy.html
Saturday, August 2, 2014
The Many Faces of the Buquenque
The Many Faces of the Buquenque / 14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar
Posted on August 2, 2014
14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar, 1 August 2014, Havana – When you walk
through Fraternity Park, amid the bustle of Havana, you hear the cries
of masculine voices calling out possible destinations for trips to
diverse places in the capital. Near the Aldama Palace they shout out
that there are two spaces left for Boyeros and Santiago de las Vegas. A
little further on to the left, under the shade of the laurels, they
invite you to go to Cotorro, and on nearly reaching the Capitol they
announce cars for Alamar. For the most part they are American cars,
Chevrolet, Ford, Plymouth, Oldsmobile, made before 1960, with the
exception of the odd Lada or Moskvitch, devoted to the singular
transport that combines the characteristics of a taxi and a bus.
This type of transport is popularly called almendrones [almonds], which
for 10 or 20 Cuban pesos (depending on the distance) run on fixed
routes. At the origin points a new figure appeared one day, a character
whose job it is to attract clients for the almendrones and whom everyone
knows as a "buquenque."
For a long time buquenques thrived outside the law, charging (chiseling,
some say) each driver 5 national pesos for the service of bringing him
passengers, but recently the legislation that protects self-employment
opened a space for them. Of course it didn't call them buquenques, but
the job appears as number 53 on a list of 201 activities as "Taxi trip
manager." In the "description of scope" the law defines the work content
as: "Manages passengers to fill the capacity of vehicles at stops
authorized by the corresponding Administrative Board." If properly
registered they should pay the national treasury 80 Cuban pesos every month.
Put this way, one imagines a coat and tie and even a web page to make
reservations, but it's not like that, rather it's a shouted offer, often
unnecessarily loud, where the volume of the shouts, and a certain
authoritarian air, almost orders the passenger to get in the car.
A character whose job it is to attract clients for the almendrones and
whom everyone knows as a "buquenque."
The Cuban scholar Argelio Santiesteban, in his singular dictionary The
Popular Cuban Speech Today (Editorial Ciencias Sociales, 1997), defines
the word buquenque as "pimp, flatterer," but some of the drivers might
define them as a plague of parasites. At least that's what Agustín Pérez
thinks: "When I get to the end of the trip, I don't stop at the initial
stop, rather I pick up passengers along the road, there are always
people who need to make a trip between intermediate places. That way I
save five pesos and avoid dealing with those guys."
Oscar Rodriguez doesn't pay for a license as a taxi driver and so he
avoids the inspectors, although he's calculated that there's more
business along the authorized routes. "The buquenques don't care if I
have a license or if I'm working under the table, what they care about
is that I give them five pesos and what I care about is not hanging
around the stop."
The activity of the "passenger manager" extends to the interprovincial
environment. So, next to the Havana Bus Terminal you can see them
shouting out cities in the interior. The most popular are Pinar del Río,
Santa Clara and Matanzas, any further and the trip isn't profitable. The
buquenques are apparently more organized there and when coordinating
travel to Pinar del Río, if they discover a passenger wants to go to
Cienfuegos or Varadero, they advise the appropriate buquenque, more out
of hope of reciprocity than solidarity.
Begging for trouble with drivers and passengers, the buquenque spends
hours in the street, often without being able to count on a nearby
public bathroom and having to eat whatever comes to hand. He is one of
those characters of current times in which the slightest government
opening has created mediocre escape valves.
Some accept it as a more or less entertaining opportunity in which they
can show off their talent for marketing, as is the case with Leopoldo.
"Fifteen days after leaving Guantanamo and without even having a place
to sleep here in Havana, I found this job and I wouldn't give it up for
anything. Now I'm renting a room and by the end of a year I'm going to
buy something. Then I'll bring the rest of the family. Here, among these
wolves, I've learned to defend myself."
Pedestrians pass by indifferent to the dramas and comedies that are
woven behind the curtains of this profession, where you have to know how
to show a fierce face to your competitors and another, friendly one, to
your customers, without ever confusing the roles.
Source: The Many Faces of the Buquenque / 14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar |
Translating Cuba -
http://translatingcuba.com/the-many-faces-of-the-buquenque-14ymedio-reinaldo-escobar/
Posted on August 2, 2014
14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar, 1 August 2014, Havana – When you walk
through Fraternity Park, amid the bustle of Havana, you hear the cries
of masculine voices calling out possible destinations for trips to
diverse places in the capital. Near the Aldama Palace they shout out
that there are two spaces left for Boyeros and Santiago de las Vegas. A
little further on to the left, under the shade of the laurels, they
invite you to go to Cotorro, and on nearly reaching the Capitol they
announce cars for Alamar. For the most part they are American cars,
Chevrolet, Ford, Plymouth, Oldsmobile, made before 1960, with the
exception of the odd Lada or Moskvitch, devoted to the singular
transport that combines the characteristics of a taxi and a bus.
This type of transport is popularly called almendrones [almonds], which
for 10 or 20 Cuban pesos (depending on the distance) run on fixed
routes. At the origin points a new figure appeared one day, a character
whose job it is to attract clients for the almendrones and whom everyone
knows as a "buquenque."
For a long time buquenques thrived outside the law, charging (chiseling,
some say) each driver 5 national pesos for the service of bringing him
passengers, but recently the legislation that protects self-employment
opened a space for them. Of course it didn't call them buquenques, but
the job appears as number 53 on a list of 201 activities as "Taxi trip
manager." In the "description of scope" the law defines the work content
as: "Manages passengers to fill the capacity of vehicles at stops
authorized by the corresponding Administrative Board." If properly
registered they should pay the national treasury 80 Cuban pesos every month.
Put this way, one imagines a coat and tie and even a web page to make
reservations, but it's not like that, rather it's a shouted offer, often
unnecessarily loud, where the volume of the shouts, and a certain
authoritarian air, almost orders the passenger to get in the car.
A character whose job it is to attract clients for the almendrones and
whom everyone knows as a "buquenque."
The Cuban scholar Argelio Santiesteban, in his singular dictionary The
Popular Cuban Speech Today (Editorial Ciencias Sociales, 1997), defines
the word buquenque as "pimp, flatterer," but some of the drivers might
define them as a plague of parasites. At least that's what Agustín Pérez
thinks: "When I get to the end of the trip, I don't stop at the initial
stop, rather I pick up passengers along the road, there are always
people who need to make a trip between intermediate places. That way I
save five pesos and avoid dealing with those guys."
Oscar Rodriguez doesn't pay for a license as a taxi driver and so he
avoids the inspectors, although he's calculated that there's more
business along the authorized routes. "The buquenques don't care if I
have a license or if I'm working under the table, what they care about
is that I give them five pesos and what I care about is not hanging
around the stop."
The activity of the "passenger manager" extends to the interprovincial
environment. So, next to the Havana Bus Terminal you can see them
shouting out cities in the interior. The most popular are Pinar del Río,
Santa Clara and Matanzas, any further and the trip isn't profitable. The
buquenques are apparently more organized there and when coordinating
travel to Pinar del Río, if they discover a passenger wants to go to
Cienfuegos or Varadero, they advise the appropriate buquenque, more out
of hope of reciprocity than solidarity.
Begging for trouble with drivers and passengers, the buquenque spends
hours in the street, often without being able to count on a nearby
public bathroom and having to eat whatever comes to hand. He is one of
those characters of current times in which the slightest government
opening has created mediocre escape valves.
Some accept it as a more or less entertaining opportunity in which they
can show off their talent for marketing, as is the case with Leopoldo.
"Fifteen days after leaving Guantanamo and without even having a place
to sleep here in Havana, I found this job and I wouldn't give it up for
anything. Now I'm renting a room and by the end of a year I'm going to
buy something. Then I'll bring the rest of the family. Here, among these
wolves, I've learned to defend myself."
Pedestrians pass by indifferent to the dramas and comedies that are
woven behind the curtains of this profession, where you have to know how
to show a fierce face to your competitors and another, friendly one, to
your customers, without ever confusing the roles.
Source: The Many Faces of the Buquenque / 14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar |
Translating Cuba -
http://translatingcuba.com/the-many-faces-of-the-buquenque-14ymedio-reinaldo-escobar/
Soldiers of Information
Soldiers of Information / Rosa Maria Rodriguez
Posted on August 1, 2014
March 14 turned out to be yet another Cuban press day with more shame
than triumph. As in previous years there were media warriors who
committed themselves to forging a more critical form of journalism. I
ask myself, With whom? With society and its leaders? That doesn't work!
Criticizing anything except those responsible for Cuba's devastation
seems to be the currency of today's media soldiers, none of whom want to
risk their perks and privileges, which in post-1959 language means
"letting someone else take the fall."
In general the key problem is the fifty-five-year-old Castro
dictatorship, or more specifically the forty-seven year rule of its
original dictator, a caudillo who has left a scar on the nation with his
"do as I say" mentality. It has been a period marked by verbal violence,
disrespect and discrimination against anyone who thinks differently. So,
what or who is there to criticize? Capitalism and the United States, of
course, as well as anyone who does not fall in line or sympathize with
its so-called revolution.
The group in power has always been sensitive to its own interests but
deaf to the real demands of society. The monopoly on information in Cuba
is in the hands of the state, which officially prohibits the circulation
of independent publications, freedom of association and a multiparty
political system.
The most chilling example occurred on camera sometime around 2005, after
the price of electricity had gone up, and featured the journalist Arleen
Rodriguez. During a visit by Fidel Castro to the program Mesa Redonda
(or Roundtable), in which Rodriguez participated, she raised complaints
about the increase in electrical rates. With obvious annoyance, he
issued a veiled threat: "Your husband is a friend of mine."
On the following day she was forced to appear at the start the program
with a prepared text — written so to avoid any mistakes and to be read
without so much as one letter more than what was proscribed — to clarify
that "what she meant to say was …"
Then there was the writer and poet Heberto Padilla, founder of the
organization Origenes (Origins). In the 1960s he was forced to publicly
denounce his colleagues and made to commit hara-kiri with the well-worn
blade of extortion.
As I have said on other occasions, I personally believe that our
communication professionals neither have nor feel the freedom to express
what they truly desire or what is of concern to much if not all of the
population. Thus there can be no true transparency of information to
facilitate and encourage freedom of expression for industrial workers or
for society in general.
Unless they themselves turn away from the violence that destroyed Cuba's
democratic institutions, which now exist to perpetuate power and to
maintain a dependent and manipulated press, they will not be able to
achieve what government leaders have wanted for a long time. By
"resorting to political flirtatiousness" when talking about the current
system, as is routine in the Cuban media, they rely on theatrical props
to give the false impression that in Cuba there is freedom.
25 March 2014
Source: Soldiers of Information / Rosa Maria Rodriguez | Translating
Cuba -
http://translatingcuba.com/soldiers-of-information-rosa-maria-rodriguez-2/
Posted on August 1, 2014
March 14 turned out to be yet another Cuban press day with more shame
than triumph. As in previous years there were media warriors who
committed themselves to forging a more critical form of journalism. I
ask myself, With whom? With society and its leaders? That doesn't work!
Criticizing anything except those responsible for Cuba's devastation
seems to be the currency of today's media soldiers, none of whom want to
risk their perks and privileges, which in post-1959 language means
"letting someone else take the fall."
In general the key problem is the fifty-five-year-old Castro
dictatorship, or more specifically the forty-seven year rule of its
original dictator, a caudillo who has left a scar on the nation with his
"do as I say" mentality. It has been a period marked by verbal violence,
disrespect and discrimination against anyone who thinks differently. So,
what or who is there to criticize? Capitalism and the United States, of
course, as well as anyone who does not fall in line or sympathize with
its so-called revolution.
The group in power has always been sensitive to its own interests but
deaf to the real demands of society. The monopoly on information in Cuba
is in the hands of the state, which officially prohibits the circulation
of independent publications, freedom of association and a multiparty
political system.
The most chilling example occurred on camera sometime around 2005, after
the price of electricity had gone up, and featured the journalist Arleen
Rodriguez. During a visit by Fidel Castro to the program Mesa Redonda
(or Roundtable), in which Rodriguez participated, she raised complaints
about the increase in electrical rates. With obvious annoyance, he
issued a veiled threat: "Your husband is a friend of mine."
On the following day she was forced to appear at the start the program
with a prepared text — written so to avoid any mistakes and to be read
without so much as one letter more than what was proscribed — to clarify
that "what she meant to say was …"
Then there was the writer and poet Heberto Padilla, founder of the
organization Origenes (Origins). In the 1960s he was forced to publicly
denounce his colleagues and made to commit hara-kiri with the well-worn
blade of extortion.
As I have said on other occasions, I personally believe that our
communication professionals neither have nor feel the freedom to express
what they truly desire or what is of concern to much if not all of the
population. Thus there can be no true transparency of information to
facilitate and encourage freedom of expression for industrial workers or
for society in general.
Unless they themselves turn away from the violence that destroyed Cuba's
democratic institutions, which now exist to perpetuate power and to
maintain a dependent and manipulated press, they will not be able to
achieve what government leaders have wanted for a long time. By
"resorting to political flirtatiousness" when talking about the current
system, as is routine in the Cuban media, they rely on theatrical props
to give the false impression that in Cuba there is freedom.
25 March 2014
Source: Soldiers of Information / Rosa Maria Rodriguez | Translating
Cuba -
http://translatingcuba.com/soldiers-of-information-rosa-maria-rodriguez-2/
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