CUBANEWS FROM RADIO HAVANA CUBA E-mail: rhc@radiohc.org http://www.radiohc.org The following items are taken from Radio Havana Cuba's news service for Monday, February 23, 1998. Today's stories: 1.- U.S. CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY ADMITS IT BOTCHED THE 1961 BAY OF PIGS INVASION OF CUBA 2.- CUBAN FOREIGN MINISTER ROBERTO ROBAINA BEGINS TWO-DAY OFFICIAL VISIT TO GUATEMALA 3.- CUBA AND RUSSIA AGREE TO BOLSTER BILATERAL ECONOMIC COOPERATION 4.- PANAMANIAN PRESIDENT SENDS MESSAGE TO CUBAN PEOPLE 5.- CUBAN PRESIDENT FIDEL CASTRO RECEIVES TOP MODELS NAOMI CAMPBELL AND KATE MOSS 6.- DELEGATION FROM SPAIN'S POPULAR PARTY MEET HIGH-RANKING CUBAN GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS 7.- INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE WINDS UP WITH MORE COMMITMENT FOR SOCIAL EMANCIPATION 8.- ITALIAN FIRM DONATES ALTERNATIVE ENERGY EQUIPMENT 9.- CUBAN MEDICAL TEAM LEAVES FOR PERU U.S. CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY ADMITS IT BOTCHED THE 1961 BAY OF PIGS INVASION OF CUBA Havana, February 23(RHC)-- In documents declassified over the weekend, the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency admitted that it botched the 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba. A 150-page report blamed the invasion's failure on what it called the CIA's "ignorance, incompetence, and arrogance" towards the 1500 Cuban exiles it trained. The document criticized virtually all components of the operation, including inaccurate information, poor planning and inaccurate intelligence information. The report admits that only a few of the CIA agents who trained the Cuban exiles spoke Spanish and that the invasion force was treated like U.S. puppets. The report also states that upon approving the mission -- and despite press leaks tieing the agency to the invasion -- the CIA demonstrated -- in the report's words -- a pathetic illusion that it could deny responsibility in the matter. The report went on to say that the operation placed a seal on former President John F. Kennedy's foreign policy, which became centered around the assassination of Cuban President Fidel Castro. The report was drawn up by CIA inspector general Lyman Kirkpatrick. News agencies are commenting that it's now understandable why the CIA took 47 years to declassify the documents on the Bay of Pigs. CUBAN FOREIGN MINISTER ROBERTO ROBAINA BEGINS TWO-DAY OFFICIAL VISIT TO GUATEMALA Guatemala City, February 23(RHC)-- Cuban Foreign Minister Roberto Robaina began a two-day official visit to Guatemala on Monday. Robaina is in Guatemala City to participate in the establishment of the Executive Board of the Association of Caribbean States and to bolster bilateral cooperation between Cuba and Guatemala following the two countries' reestablishment of diplomatic relations last month. In statements to journalists, the Cuban foreign minister said the Association of Caribbean States will decide on the identification of trade, tourism and inter-regional transportation as the organization's top priorities. On Tuesday, Robaina is slated to meet with Guatemalan President Alvaro Arzu, Vice President Luis Flores and Foreign Minister Eduardo Stein, as well as with representatives of Arzu's economic cabinet and business leaders. The Cuban Foreign Minister said the two countries would first focus on cooperation in the fields of health, biotechnology and sports, and that a delegation of Guatemalan business representatives would soon travel to Cuba. He added that Cuba has not chosen an ambassador to represent the island in Guatemala, but that this decision would come soon. Guatemala has announced that its ambassador to Havana will be designated in mid-1998. CUBA AND RUSSIA AGREE TO BOLSTER BILATERAL ECONOMIC COOPERATION Havana, February 23(RHC)-- Cuba and Russia agreed over the weekend to bolster bilateral economic cooperation in several fields. A two-day meeting of the second Cuba-Russia intergovernmental commission was held last week in Havana, with Civil Defense Minister Seguei Shoygu heading the Russian delegation. Shoygusigned an agreement ratifying the 350 million dollar line of credit to Cuba discussed in 1997, as well as trade agreements with respect to Cuba's citrus industry and a reaffirmation of the exchange of Cuban sugar for Russian oil. In terms of Cuba's Juragua nuclear power plant, Cuban Foreign Investment Minister Ricardo Cabrisas stated that it was not possible to bring together an international consortium to invest in the final phase of the project due to international pressures from Washington. Cabrisas said Cuba and Russia are now discussing the completion of the nuclear power plant through a strictly joint effort between the two nations. The Cuban Foreign Investment Minister also said that bilateral negotiations have been intense due to efforts to reestablish trade relations based on principles that differ from those that existed before the collapse of the Soviet Union. As opposed to the widespread concept in the international mainstream media to the effect that Cuba was being generously subsidized by the Soviet Union, Cuba always insisted that trade between the island and the European socialist camp was based on an equality that didn't and still doesn't exist in North-South economic relations. Cuba has always consistently charged that those relations have been and continue to be detrimental to poor nations and constitute the fundamental cause of the on-going increasing gap between industrialized and poor countries. PANAMANIAN PRESIDENT SENDS MESSAGE TO CUBAN PEOPLE Havana, February 23(RHC)-- Panamanian President Ernesto Perez Balladares, who is currently on a private visit to the island, sent a friendly message to the Cuban people. "I send a kind message to the Cuban people from all Panamanians, myself, my wife and my family and I wish them the best," says the message from the President of the Central American country. Perez Balladares is visiting Cuba accompanied by his wife Dora Boyd de Perez Balladares, members of his family and aides. During his private visit to Cuba, the President of Panama is scheduled to tour sites of social, cultural and tourist interest in Havana, Varadero and Camaguey. Upon his arrival in the Cuban capital, the Panamanian President was received by his Cuban counterpart, Fidel Castro. CUBAN PRESIDENT FIDEL CASTRO RECEIVES TOP MODELS NAOMI CAMPBELL AND KATE MOSS Havana, February 23(RHC)-- Cuban President Fidel Castro met with top British models Naomi Campbell and Kate Moss on Sunday. The two internationally-known models are in Cuba to pose for photographs as part of a publicity campaign for the French design company Yves Saint Laurent. Following her meeting with the Cuban leader, Naomi Campbell told reporters that Fidel Castro is -- in her words -- "an inspiration for all the world and a very intelligent man." She said that during the meeting, the Cuban leader briefed the two top models on his personal life and talked about their work. Campbell said that meeting Fidel Castro was "a dream come true" and that the Cuban president was pleased to hear that Campbell and Moss were in South Africa last week and met with Nelson Mandela. DELEGATION FROM SPAIN'S POPULAR PARTY MEET HIGH-RANKING CUBAN GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS Havana, February 23(RHC)-- A delegation from Spain's governing Popular Party met in Havana with Cuban Foreign Minister Roberto Robaina and Parliament President Ricardo Alarcon. The Spanish delegation, which has been invited by the Cuban Communist Party Central Committee, is headed by Gerardo Galeote, member of the Popular Party's Executive Board. During their stay on the island, the Spanish deputies have met with representatives from various departments at the Central Committee. They also met with the Vice President of the Cuban Council of Ministers, Jose Ramon Fernandez, an encounter termed as respectful by the two sides. INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE WINDS UP WITH MORE COMMITMENT FOR SOCIAL EMANCIPATION Havana, February 23(RHC)-- The International Conference "Social Emancipation, 150 Years After the Communist Manifesto" wound up in Havana's Capitol with a broader commitment for social emancipation. The international conference gathered some 150 scholars from 15 countries in Havana to study that document of the world's Communist Movement. Erwin Marquit from the University of Minnesota in the U.S. stated that his presence at the gathering was due to his interest in joining the Cuban people in studying the forms of struggle to achieve social emancipation. He said that it was important to use the Communist Manifesto as a basis for that study. The U.S. professor said that when he returned home, he would work to end Washington's more than 35 year blockade against Cuba. Meanwhile, Isabel Monal, member of the Cuban Philosophy Institute's Marxism Department, called on participants to focus more on the issue of globalization and class struggle. For her part, Cuban scholar Olga Fernandez, also from the Institute of Philosophy, recalled that outstanding guerrilla fighter Ernesto Che Guevara said that for Cubans, "Marxism was not a dogma but a rediscovery." ITALIAN FIRM DONATES ALTERNATIVE ENERGY EQUIPMENT Havana, February 23(RHC)-- The Italian firm FORNOVO GAS, which specializes in the use of compressed natural gas, donated 132 containers of that product to Cuba. The gas will be used as part of a plan to provide alternative fuel for vehicles. The initiative was joined by the non-governmental organizations Bread for the Future and the World Fund for Nature, which will help finance the Cuban project JARUGAS, scheduled to save the island more than one million dollars over the next ten years. CUBAN MEDICAL TEAM LEAVES FOR PERU Havana, February 23(RHC)-- A Cuban medical team left for Peru Sunday to help that South American country fight the disastrous effects caused by the El Nino meteorological phenomena. The team responded to a request by the Peruvian government and the Pan American Health Organization to provide comprehensive medical attention to the victims of El Nino. Cuba's Deputy Health Minister, Abelardo Ramirez told reporters that the island's authorities are willing to cooperate with any country that requests it. [c] 1998, Radio Habana Cuba All rights reserved Articles cannot be reproduced, reprinted or published in any system without the consent of RHC. This prohibition includes the distribution of this material via Usenet News, "bulletin board" services, e-mail lists, print media, radio and television. For the complete RADIO HAVANA CUBA NEWSCAST and other features, please write for our daily broadcast schedule. We welcome your comments and suggestions. For further information, contact us at: Postal Address: Radio Havana Cuba P.O.Box 6240 Havana, Cuba Telephone: (53) (7) 791053 Fax: (53) (7) 795007 E-mail: rhc@radiohc.org WWW: http://www.radiohc.org