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 Wednesday, May 6, 1998. Today's stories: 1.- EDITORIAL IN CUBAN NEWS DAILY GRANMA ACCUSES WASHINGTON OF PRACTICING STATE TERRORISM 2.- U.S. INVESTIGATION INTO PLOT TO ASSASSINATE FIDEL CASTRO POINTS TO CUBAN-AMERICAN NATIONAL FOUNDATION 3.- CUBA WILL PARTICIPATE AS OBSERVER IN SEPTEMBER MEETING BETWEEN EUROPEAN UNION AND GROUP OF AFRICAN, CARIBBEAN AND PACIFIC NATIONS 4.- BRITISH PHARMACEUTICAL FIRM IN UNITED STATES REQUESTS PERMISSION TO BUY CUBA'S MENINGITIS B VACCINE 5.- HIGH-RANKING CHINESE MILITARY DELEGATION VISITS CUBA 6.- CHINESE COMMUNIST PARTY DELEGATION ARRIVES IN CUBA 7.- CUBANS COMMEMORATE 180TH ANNIVERSARY OF BIRTH OF KARL MARX 8.- SEVERE STORMS IN CUBA'S CENTRAL AND EASTERN PROVINCES LEAVE HUNDREDS WITHOUT HOMES 9.- ZARAGOZA BUSINESS DELEGATION LOOKING TO INVEST IN CUBA EDITORIAL IN CUBAN NEWS DAILY GRANMA ACCUSES WASHINGTON OF PRACTICING STATE TERRORISM Havana, May 6(RHC)-- An editorial in today's edition of the Cuban newspaper Granma has rejected Washington's recent condemnation of Cuba for allegedly practicing state terrorism, pointing the finger in the opposite direction. The U.S. State Department recently issued a report accusing Cuba of terrorism, while at the same time admitting that there is no evidence to prove the charges. Cuban columnist Nicanor Leon Cotayo responded today by saying that it would take several volumes to detail the numerous occasions in which successive U.S. governments have been involved in state terrorism. Among the examples that abound, wrote Leon Cotayo, are the CIA- orchestrated overthrows of progressive governments in Iran and Guatemala in the 1950s -- which led to a reign of state terror in those countries with Washington's backing. The editorial, however, places particular emphasis on Washington's terrorist actions against Cuba, recalling that in the 1970s the Church Commission sent a report to the U.S. Senate detailing the CIA's numerous efforts to assassinate Cuban leader Fidel Castro. "It is no secret," wrote the renowned Cuban columnist, "that for the past 39 years Miami has been a base of operations for numerous Cuban-American terrorist groups financed and trained by the CIA." The impunity benefitting these individuals, says the editorial, "has even led them to talk about their terrorist activities in public press conferences." The Granma editorial takes note of the atmosphere of total intolerance these groups have created in Florida, which even led to threats against the news daily The Miami Herald for slightly disagreeing with the 1992 anti-Cuba Toricelli Law. This same media outlet recently ran an investigative piece linking a Salvadoran mercenary accused of terrorism in Cuba to the ultra right-wing Cuban-American National Foundation. The article also tied the Salvadoran mercenary and the CANF to infamous terrorist Luis Posada Carriles -- another of the CIA's students during the 1960s. Posada Carriles himself speaks of his close ties to the CANF and the CIA in his 1994 book "Caminos Del Guerrero" -- or "Paths of a Warrior." Cuban columnist Nicanor Leon Cotayo mentioned other episodes of anti- Cuba terrorists arrested by the FBI for possession of arsenals and later set free without charges, as occurred recently in the U.S. city of Los Angeles. The same has happened, continued the editorial, on vessels loaded down with weapons and captured off the coasts of Florida. The editorial in today's edition of the Cuban newspaper Granma also points to the growing number of terrorist organizations in the United States that are receiving strong financial backing, with access to media outlets and whose ideas are quite similar to many members of the U.S. Congress. During the 1995 terrorist bombing in Oklahoma City, recalled the editorial, the FBI admitted that some 100 terrorist acts inside the U.S. were being investigated. That number has now jumped to one thousand. Neo-fascist groups in the United States, asserts columnist Nicanor Leon Cotayo, are growing continuously. The editorial says authorities in Washington "should spend more time and energy to stop this situation instead of lying about Cuba." U.S. INVESTIGATION INTO PLOT TO ASSASSINATE FIDEL CASTRO POINTS TO CUBAN-AMERICAN NATIONAL FOUNDATION New York, May 6(RHC)-- An extensive article in the Tuesday, May 5th edition of The New York Times has asserted that a U.S. federal investigation into a recent plot to assassinate Fidel Castro is pointing to the Cuban-American National Foundation. The front-page article, written by journalists Ann Louise Bardach and Larry Rohter, was headlined: "Investigation Leads to Plot to Kill Castro by Powerful Cuban Lobby." The article refers to last October's impounding of a cabin cruiser, La Esperanza, by US Coast Guard officials near Puerto Rico. The four Cuban-Americans on board originally stated that they were on a fishing trip. But a subsequent search, looking for drugs, discovered a military arsenal, including nightscopes and two, high-powered 50 caliber sniper rifles. With the discovery, according to The New York Times article, one of the men on board blurted out that the weapons were his. A U.S. Customs investigator quoted Angel Alfonso Aleman as saying that the weapons were for the purpose of assassinating Fidel Castro. President Castro was to attend an Iberoamerican Summit on the Venezuelan island of Margaritas in November. The navigational coordinates aboard the boat were set for Margarita Island. The New York Times article reported that one of the two 50 caliber weapons turned out to be registered to Francisco Pepe Hernandez, President of the Cuban-American National Foundation. The 46-foot cabin cruiser belonged to a company owned by Jose Antonio Lllama, a member of the Foundation's executive board. Since then, according to The New York Times article, both Hernandez and Llama have been notified that they are targets of a federal investigation. Jose Antonio Pagan, Llama's attorney, acknowledged that his client owns the company that owns La Esperanza and that he was asked to supply fingerprints and handwriting samples to the FBI. The lawyer representing Alfonso, Ricardo Pesguera, warned in an interview -- according to The New York Times -- that if his client was tried he would attack the U.S. government's hypocrisy. While saying this, the attorney reportedly brandished a sheet of declassified CIA documents about government efforts to assassinate Fidel Castro, complaining that for 30 years they tried to kill the Cuban leader and now they are saying that others can't do the very same thing they were doing. Tuesday's front-page article in The New York Times reported that at a recent pretrial hearing at a U.S. federal court in Puerto Rico, defense lawyers persuaded the judge to dismiss the conspiracy charge on grounds that the evidence was insufficient. But according to the article, both defense lawyers and federal investigators say they anticipate the conspiracy charges will be reinstated in a more detailed indictment and that the case could expand. The New York Times quoted the chief of the FBI's office in San Juan, Hector Pesquera, who said "you don't go out on a fishing trip with 50 caliber weapons," that this case would be pursued and that most likely, additional defendants and counts will be added. All four men were eventually released on bail, according to the article, adding that Alfonso said his 50 thousand dollar bail and a retainer of 50 thousand dollars for an attorney was paid by Cuban exile groups -- although he declined to be more specific. CUBA WILL PARTICIPATE AS OBSERVER IN SEPTEMBER MEETING BETWEEN EUROPEAN UNION AND GROUP OF AFRICAN, CARIBBEAN AND PACIFIC NATIONS Bridgetown, May 6(RHC)-- Cuba will definitively participate as an observer at next September's meeting in Brussels between the European Union and the group of 71 African, Caribbean and Pacific nations, known as the ACP. The official announcement came today at the APC's 67th ministerial gathering in Barbados, attended by Cuban Foreign Minister Roberto Robaina. Cuba will therefore participate in the 4th renewal of the Lome Convention, which grants preferential trade status for the former colonies of Europe. The Cuban foreign minister thanked the gathering for Cuba's inclusion into the process, saying that it would help Cuba in its efforts to insert its economy into the world market -- particularly in light of Washington's blockade of the island during more than three decades. Robaina added that the move would also help Cuba strengthen its ties with African nations and begin to develop more ties with the nations of the Pacific. BRITISH PHARMACEUTICAL FIRM IN UNITED STATES REQUESTS PERMISSION TO BUY CUBA'S MENINGITIS B VACCINE Havana, May 6(RHC)-- A British pharmaceutical firm with laboratories in the United States has requested permission to buy Cuba's meningitis B vaccine, according to today's edition of The Miami Herald. The Florida news daily wrote today that Smith-Kline-Beecham Pharmaceuticals wants to buy and test the Cuban biotechnological product. According to the newspaper, the request has posed a dilemma for U.S. authorities, at a time when pressure is stepping up to lift restrictions on the sale of food and medicine to Cuba. A spokesman for Smith-Kline-Beecham, Richard Koening, stated that in his opinion the Cuban vaccine needed further development, but that "it is the most advanced in the world." HIGH-RANKING CHINESE MILITARY DELEGATION VISITS CUBA Havana, May 6(RHC)-- A high-ranking Chinese military delegation visited the Armed Forces Ministry in Havana on Tuesday. The delegation was received by Political Bureau member Ramon Balaguer and Cuban military officials. Cuban Division General Alvaro Lopez Miera thanked the Chinese delegation on behalf the armed forces and the Cuban people, and stressed that their visit will strengthen bilateral relations between the armies of both nations. CHINESE COMMUNIST PARTY DELEGATION ARRIVES IN CUBA Havana, May 6(RHC)-- A delegation from China's Communist Party arrived Tuesday night in the Cuban capital. The delegation is headed by the General Secretary of the province of Jilin, Zhang Deijang. The visit is in response to an invitation by Cuba's Communist Party. The Chinese Communist Party delegation was welcomed at Havana's Jose Marti International Airport by Alfonso Fraga and Jose Luis Robaina, both members of Cuba's Central Committee. The visit is aimed at exchanging experiences in the construction of socialism. The general secretary of Jilin Province added that he hopes to find a good partner in Cuba for cooperation in the agricultural sector, which is strength of his province. CUBANS COMMEMORATE 180TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE BIRTH OF KARL MARX Havana, May 6(RHC)-- The political line of the Cuban Communist Party, legitimate fruit of the Revolution, the Party of unity, democracy and human rights that the Cuban people defend, responds to Marxist-Leninist ideology, Marti's thinking and the creative ideas of Fidel. The statement was made by Rolando Alfonso Borges, the head of the Ideological Department of the Cuban Communist Party's Central Committee during the main activity in Havana commemorating the 180th anniversary of the birth of Karl Marx. Borges recalled that the attack on the Moncada Garrison in eastern Santiago de Cuba was carried out by Fidel thanks to the joint ideas of Marti, Marx and Lenin. The Cuban official added that the indestructible strength of the Revolution's ideology is found in the unity of great ideals which, said Borges, points to independence and social justice as the most important tasks in today's world. Despite the collapse of the former Soviet Union and socialist eastern Europe, due to errors, traditions and dogmatism, the ideas of Marx still exist today. >From the failure of those nations, "a socialist solution in another form will, sooner or later, surely overcome today's savage capitalism." SEVERE STORMS IN CUBA'S CENTRAL AND EASTERN PROVINCES LEAVE HUNDREDS WITHOUT HOMES Havana, May 6(RHC)-- The severe storms that hit the island's central and eastern regions Monday night have left hundreds of people homeless. According to the island's Civil Defense, Camaguay and Sancti Spiritus provinces were the hardest hit by the heavy rains and winds. The storm registered winds of over 100 kilometers per hour. Dozens of people living in low-lying areas were evacuated to higher ground and no victims were reported in the affected areas. ZARAGOZA BUSINESS DELEGATION LOOKING TO INVEST IN CUBA Havana, May 6(RHC)-- A business delegation from the Spanish region of Zaragoza is visiting the island to study possibilities of investing in the Caribbean nation. The group is made up of 23 firms from the chemical, food, construction, electrical and sports sector. Organized by Zaragoza's Chamber of Commerce and Industries, delegation members will meet with their Cuban counterparts. during their stay on the island. [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. 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