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 Thursday, October 29, 1998. Today's stories: 1.- CUBAN INTERIOR MINISTRY ANNOUNCES CAPTURE OF MERCENARIES FINANCED BY MIAMI-BASED CUBAN-AMERICAN NATIONAL FOUNDATION 2.- CUBAN PRESIDENT FIDEL CASTRO MEETS WITH PRESIDENT OF SPANISH REGIONAL GOVERNMENT OF GALACIA 3.- FOREIGN MINISTER OF SURINAM CONCLUDES VISIT TO CUBA 4.- 16th INTERNATIONAL BALLET FESTIVAL UNDERWAY IN HAVANA 5.- SECRETARY OF THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC'S HEALTH MINISTRY PRAISES CUBA'S MEDICAL TEAM 6.- CUBA'S UNIVERSITY STUDENTS FEDERATION PRESENTS PRESIDENT FIDEL CASTRO WITH THE TITLE "DISTINGUISHED PROFESSOR" 7.- MEETING ON SAFETY AND HEALTH IN THE WORK PLACE SET FOR NEXT WEEK 8.- CHILE SENDS TEN TONS OF HUMANITARIAN AID TO CUBA 9.- BRITAIN WILL BE REPRESENTED BY 26 BUSINESSES AT HAVANA'S INTERNATIONAL TRADE FAIR 10.-VIETNAMESE AND CUBAN COMMUNIST PARTIES BEGIN TALKS IN HANOI CUBAN INTERIOR MINISTRY ANNOUNCES CAPTURE OF CENTRAL AMERICAN MERCENARIES FINANCED BY MIAMI-BASED CUBAN-AMERICAN NATIONAL FOUNDATION Havana, October 29(RHC)-- Cuba's Interior Ministry has announced the capture of five Central American mercenaries, financed by the Miami-based Cuban-American National Foundation, who arrived on the island to carry out terrorist activities. A two-page spread in the Cuban news daily Granma gives the names of two Salvadorans and three Guatemalans, providing details of their terrorist plans -- based on an abundance of evidence, including their own confessions. All of the detained have admitted that the mastermind of the anti-Cuba terrorist actions is Cuban-American Luis Posada Carriles -- an international fugitive convicted of the 1976 terrorist bomb that destroyed a Cuban civilian airliner in Barbados, killing all 73 of its passengers. Salvadoran Otto Rene Rodriguez Llerena was arrested at Havana's International Jose Marti Airport on June 10th of this year, while attempting to smuggle into Cuba 519 grams of high-powered plastic explosives. Guatemalans Maria Elena Gonzalez Meza and Nader Kamal Musalam Barakat were arrested in Havana on March 4th of this year, in possession of 432 grams of explosives hidden in bottles of shampoo and deodorant. Guatemalan Jazid Ivan Fernandez Mendoza was arrested on March 20th when he arrived in the Cuban capital to help his wife, Maria Elena, escape from Cuba. The arrest of the fifth suspect, Salvadoran Raul Ernesto Cruz Leon, was announced last year. Two of the Guatemalans have admitted to participating in criminal activities in Guatemala, including kidnappings and assassinations. All three Guatemalans have acknowledged that the terrorist operations were also directed and financed by Arnaldo Monzon Plasencia, a resident of New Jersey and a leading figure in the Cuban-American National Foundation, the CANF. Cuba's Interior Ministry has asserted that Monzon Plasencia was a member of several Cuban-American terrorist organizations in the 1960s and 70s, including Omega 7 and Alpha 66. In the 1980s, he joined the CANF and by 1995 had recruited a Central American network of terrorists to initiate attacks against Cuba. Monzon Plasencia, according to Cuban authorities, financed the first effort to place a bomb in a tourist facility on the island -- at a hotel in Varadero in March 1995. The bombs were to be placed by two Cuban-Americans -- Santos Armando Martinez Rueda and Jorge Enrique Ramirez Oro -- currently under arrest in Cuba. Both were arrested before they were able to set the bombs. They were also in possession of 51 pounds of C-4 explosives that had previously been smuggled into Cuba by sea and air with the help of the Cuban-American National Foundation. The Cuban news daily Granma said that authorities were forced to keep this information secret until now due to the complexity of the investigation. Cuban State Security continues receiving information concerning anti-Cuba terrorist plans, drawn up by Cuban-American organizations in the United States. CUBAN PRESIDENT FIDEL CASTRO MEETS WITH PRESIDENT OF SPANISH REGIONAL GOVERNMENT OF GALACIA Havana, October 29(RHC)-- Cuban President Fidel Castro met with his counterpart from the Spanish Regional Government of Galacia, Manuel Fraga. The Cuban leader offered an official dinner for the visiting president of the Spanish autonomous region, shortly after his arrival at Jose Marti International Airport in Havana. President Manuel Fraga is accompanied by a delegation of more than 70 business representatives from Galacia, who plan to met with their Cuban counterparts and explore the possibility of future trade relations in diverse areas. On Thursday, the first full day of his six-day visit to the island, Manuel Fraga travelled to Santiago de Cuba, where he was honored by the Department of Social Sciences of the University of Oriente. The president of the autonomous region of Galacia also plans to visit Las Tunas in eastern Cuba, where he spent part of his childhood after immigrating to the island from northeastern Spain. FOREIGN MINISTER OF SURINAM CONCLUDES VISIT TO CUBA Havana, October 29(RHC)-- The Foreign Minister of Surinam, Errol Gleen Snijders, concluded a two-day official visit to Cuba on Wednesday. Expressing satisfaction during a news conference in the Cuban capital, the Surinamese foreign minister told reporters that he met with his Cuban counterpart Roberto Robiana and discussed areas of bilateral interest. Among the topics discussed were cooperation projects in agriculture and tourism. Cuba and Surinam established diplomatic relations in 1979 and have opened new areas of bilateral cooperation over the past several years. 16th INTERNATIONAL BALLET FESTIVAL UNDERWAY IN HAVANA Havana, October 29(RHC)-- Havana's Grand Theater was the venue of a gala ceremony that opened the 16th International Ballet Festival Wednesday night. Addressing the audience was Cuban Vice President Carlos Lage who termed Cuban Prima Ballerina and National Ballet Company Director Alicia Alonso as "the embodiment of the Cuban spirit in the Arts." The opening gala recreated the first performance of the National Ballet Company at the theater 50 years ago, with an unusual combination of scenes from the Grand Pax de Quatre, the Nap of the Faun and Swan Lake -- in which retired and current ballet company members took part. The gala was dedicated to the many generations of ballet dancers, teachers and other professionals formed over the past 50 years. The 16th International Ballet Festival will include performances by famous world dancers like Julio Bocca, Maximilliano Guerra, Carla Fracci, Alessandra Ferri and others. Photo and painting exhibits as well as the inauguration of the Museum of Dance are also on the festival's agenda. SECRETARY OF THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC'S HEALTH MINISTRY PRAISES CUBA'S MEDICAL TEAM Santo Domingo, October 29(RHC)-- The Secretary of the Dominican Republic's Health Ministry, Altagracia Guzman, praised the work of Cuban medical personnel in the town of Vicente Noble which was seriously affected by Hurricane Georges. The Dominican official said that the Cuban health specialists began working in the area on September 28th and were recently transferred to the city of Barahona, where they will offer medical assistance to the people of that area. CUBA'S UNIVERSITY STUDENTS FEDERATION PRESENTS PRESIDENT FIDEL CASTRO WITH THE TITLE "DISTINGUISHED PROFESSOR" Havana, October 29(RHC)-- The National Council of Cuba's University Students Federation presented President Fidel Castro with the title "Distinguished Professor" of the Cuban Popular University. Cuban Parliament President Ricardo Alarcon accepted the award on behalf of the Cuban leader during a ceremony commemorating the 75th anniversary of the First National Student Congress and the Jose Marti Popular University, created by student leader Julio Antonio Mella. Alarcon, who addressed participants at the event, said that to face the difficulties of today's world, the Cuban people have "a distinguished professor -- Fidel Castro -- who has known how to guide the Revolution with coherence, courage and determination." MEETING ON SAFETY AND HEALTH IN THE WORK PLACE SET FOR NEXT WEEK Havana, October 29(RHC)-- The National Meeting on Safety and Health in the Work Place will get underway on Sunday, November 1st, in the Cuban capital. The encounter is sponsored by the Cuban Workers Confederation, the CTC, the Health and Social Security Ministries and the Interior Ministry. According to a member of the National Committee of the Cuban Workers Confederation, Luis Castanedo, the objective of the meeting is that each work place analyze how to improve safety on the job and provide better health care for its workers. There will also be workshops to study Resolution 23 -- referring to the evaluation and regulation of job-related safety hazards. The Cuban Workers Confederation in each of the island's 14 provinces will discuss incidents involving deaths of workers on the job over the past five years. CHILE SENDS TEN TONS OF HUMANITARIAN AID TO CUBA Havana, October 29(RHC)-- Chile has donated ten tons of humanitarian aid to Cuba, to be distributed to those affected by Hurricane Georges. The director of National Emergency Office of Chile's Interior Ministry, Alberto Maturana, said that the two countries should help each other at difficult moments, adding that he conveys a message of solidarity and friendship from the Chilean people. In statements to reporters, the Chilean official recalled Cuba's assistance after an earthquake in Chile destroyed some 19,000 homes a few months ago. Cuba and Chile re-established diplomatic relations in April 1995. Relations were broken after a bloody military coup overthrew constitutionally-elected President Salvador Allende in September 1973. BRITAIN WILL BE REPRESENTED BY 26 BUSINESSES AT HAVANA'S INTERNATIONAL TRADE FAIR London, October 29(RHC)-- British Trade Minister Brian Wilson told journalists that his country is interested in strengthening commercial ties with Cuba, stressing that there are excellent business opportunities on the island. Wilson stated that he will travel to Cuba at the head of a British business delegation to take part in Havana's International Trade Fair next week. He added that Britain will have a stand at the fair with the representation of 26 business firms. During the first eight months of this year, Britain has doubled its exports to Cuba -- currently estimated at some 45 million dollars. VIETNAMESE AND CUBAN COMMUNIST PARTIES BEGIN TALKS IN HANOI Hanoi, October 29(RHC)-- Leaders of the Communist Parties of Vietnam and Cuba have begun discussions in Hanoi aimed at exchanging bilateral work experiences. The Second Secretary of Vietnam's Communist Party, Nguyen Phu, presided over his country's delegation and his Cuban counterpart, Rolando Vazquez, led the island's Communist Party delegation. Talks centered around issues of mutual interest between the two governing political parties. [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