Radio Havana Cuba-22 November 2000 Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit Radio Havana Cuba - News Update - 22 November 2000 . *SUCCESSIVE SALVADORAN GOVERNMENTS COMPLICIT WITH POSADA'S TERRORISM *CUBAN PRESIDENT FIDEL CASTRO RECEIVES PARAGUAY'S FIRST LADY *PARAGUAYAN FOREIGN MINISTER CONCLUDES VISIT TO CUBA *SOLIDARITY GROUPS SUPPORT EXTRADITION OF POSADA TO CUBA *THIRD REGIONAL SEMMINAR ON WOMEN GETS UNDERWAY *THE POSADA CASE AND TERRORISM AGAINST CUBA *Viewpoint: MEXICO LIKELY TO EXTRADITE ARGENTINEAN RICARDO CAVALLO . *SUCCESSIVE SALVADORAN GOVERNMENTS COMPLICIT WITH POSADA'S TERRORISM Havana, November 22 (RHC)-- Cuba has accused successive Salvadoran administrations of complicity with terrorist Luis Posada Carriles. In Cuba's televised round table discussion Tuesday evening, journalist Rogelio Polanco stated that current Salvadoran President Francisco Flores and former President Armando Calderon have both known of Posada Carriles' presence and terrorist activities in that Central American nation. Noting that Flores and Calderon are members of the Salvadoran oligarchy's ARENA Party -- a symbol of repression, death squads, massacres and exploitation -- panelists recalled that in April 1999, following the 3rd Summit of the Association of Caribbean States, Cuban President Fidel Castro personally gave then-President Calderon a long list of Posada Carriles' principle accomplices. They included Salvadoran Interior Minister Mario Acosta and his wife Ana Maria Rodriguez Llerena -- the cousin of terrorist Otto Rene Rodriguez Llerena, currently in prison in Cuba for his role in the wave of bomb attacks against Havana hotels in 1997. The list also included Hugo Barrera, Public Security Minister and Guillermo Sol, National Police Chief. Cuban journalists at the round table discussion stated that Calderon didn't even respond to the information, which was sent to Flores when he assumed the presidency - and Flores did not respond either. The interior minister and other high-ranking members of the Salvadoran government have remained on the job during the Flores administration. Panelists recalled that Cuba sent additional information concerning possible plans by Posada Carriles to blow up a Cuban civilian airliner in Central America, as well as other aircraft with regular or charter flights to Cuba -- information that was passed on to Honduras, Guatemala and Costa Rica. That information, added the panelists, was not shared with Nicaraguan President Arnoldo Aleman due to his close ties with Miami's terrorist Cuban-American National Foundation. *CUBAN PRESIDENT FIDEL CASTRO RECEIVES PARAGUAY'S FIRST LADY Havana, November 22 (RHC)-- Cuban President Fidel Castro met with Paraguayan First Lady Susana Galli on Wednesday morning. In statements to reporters, Galli said her conversation with Fidel was very interesting. She pointed to the Cuban leader's interest in cooperating with Paraguay. Shortly after her meeting with Fidel Castro, the wife of Paraguayan President Luis Gonzalez Macchi concluded a three-day official visit, aimed at signing bilateral cooperation agreements with the island in areas such as education and health. While on the island, the Paraguayan first lady had a packed agenda, including meetings with other Cuban officials and visits to various places of interest, among them the Havana-based Latin American School of Medicine. There are currently 142 students from the South American nation studying at the school. The wife of President Macchi praised the excellent training that students are receiving at the medical institution, especially the solidarity values that they are being taught. She stated that such values cannot be found in most academies around the world. She added that with the creation of the Latin American School of Medicine, Cuba has taught regional countries many lessons, as human beings as well as separate nations. The Paraguayan first lady also took the opportunity to thank Cuba for the excellent work the island's doctors are carrying out in her country. She noted that the Cuban medical teams are carrying out a very important social task, since the Cuban doctors are offering their services in remotes areas -- in some places where there had never been a doctor before. She stressed that thanks to Cuba, those Paraguayan communities have now access to highly qualified health professionals. *PARAGUAYAN FOREIGN MINISTER CONCLUDES VISIT TO CUBA Havana, November 22 (RHC)-- Paraguayan Foreign Minister Juan Esteban Aguirre concluded an official visit to Cuba on Wednesday. During his stay, Aguirre signed with Cuban authorities an agreement for investment promotion and protection. The accord was signed by Cuban Foreign Investment and Economic Cooperation Minister Marta Lomas, with whom the top Paraguayan diplomat also discussed ways to expand bilateral economic and trade relations between Havana and Asuncion. While on the island, Foreign Minister Aguirre signed an agreement with Cuban Minister without Portfolio Ricardo Cabrisas to promote bilateral trade in the framework of the Latin American Integration Association (ALADI). The Paraguayan foreign minister also held official talks with other Cuban officials, including his Cuban counterpart Felipe Perez Roque and Trade Minister Raul de la Nuez. *SOLIDARITY GROUPS SUPPORT EXTRADITION OF POSADA TO CUBA Havana, November 22 (RHC)-- Over 150 solidarity with Cuba associations have sent a message to Panamanian President Mireya Moscoso, demanding the extradition of well-known terrorist Luis Posada Carriles to be judged in Cuba for his terrorist crimes. Posada Carriles and five accomplices were arrested in Panama last Friday, after Cuba denounced a terrorist plot to kill President Fidel Castro during his participation in the 10th Ibero-American Summit of Heads of State and Government in the Central American nation. In a joint statement, the solidarity activists also thanked Panamanian authorities for the efficient and quick capture of Carriles and his accomplices, once they were informed of the terrorist plot. During an event at the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP), representatives from solidarity associations who are still in Cuba following their participation in the II World Solidarity with Cuba Conference, called on President Moscoso to do the right thing. ICAP President Sergio Corrieri offered the solidarity activists detailed information on this latest assassination attempt against the Cuban leader, as well as information about those involved in the terrorist plans. He also listed many of the terrorist actions carried out by Carriles against Cuba, causing the deaths of many innocent people and human suffering. The solidarity activists agreed to disseminate all the information they now have surrounding this case to other solidarity with Cuba and human rights groups in their respective countries. They plan to mobilize and promote new initiatives aimed at securing the extradition of the arrested terrorists to Cuba. Posada Carriles was the mastermind of a 1976 terrorist attack on a Cuban Airlines flight that killed all 73 people on board, including Cuba's Junior Fencing Team. The team was returning home from Venezuela, after winning gold medals during an international competition in the South American nation. From his official residence in El Salvador, Carriles has plotted and carried out numerous terrorist actions against Cuba and many other Latin American countries in the pay of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the Miami-based Cuban-American National Foundation. *THIRD REGIONAL SEMMINAR ON WOMEN GETS UNDERWAY Havana, November 22 (RHC)-- The Third Latin American Seminar on Women got underway on Wednesday at Havana's Copacabana Hotel. Delegates from eight regional countries, including Guatemala, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, and Panama are taking part in the event. Addressing participants at the inaugural session, Yolanda Ferrer, General Secretary of the Federation of Cuban Women (FMC), stated that Latin American women can contribute a great deal to regional integration. The seminar, the first of its type to take place here in Cuba, was the initiative of Chile's National Women's Service (SERNAM) and the country's Cooperation Agency, as part of a technical cooperation program with Central America, the Dominican Republic and Cuba. The seminar, which runs through Friday, is an opportunity for Latin American women to exchange experiences and work on projects that benefit women throughout the region. *THE POSADA CASE AND TERRORISM AGAINST CUBA Participants on Tuesday's televised round table centered their discussion on international terrorist Luis Posada Carriles, arrested along with four others by Panamanian authorities. The arrest took place following a news conference given by Cuban President Fidel Castro upon his arrival at the Ibero-American Summit. The Cuban leader exposed yet another attempt on his life during that news conference. Posada Carriles was traveling under a Salvadoran passport and is known to receive protection from San Salvador. One of the participants in Tuesday's round table was a member of Cuba's Interior Ministry, Lt. Colonel Adalberto Salaber Fuste. He explained the type of explosives found by the Panamanian police in the residence of Jose Hurtado, the Panamanian driver of terrorist Luis Posada Carriles. Hurtado was arrested along with Posada Carriles and two other accomplices in the plan to assassinate the Cuban president during the Ibero-American Summit. Lt. Colonel Adalberto Salaber Fuste: "The explosives were of the C-4 type which is for military use. Terrorists use this type of explosive for sabotage and assassination attempts. The 20 kilogram explosive that was found is capable of destroying installations and would have inflicted catastrophic damage not only to the Cuban delegation at the solidarity activity given for the Cuban president, but also to the Panamanian people present at the event." During the televised round table, Cuban journalists spoke by phone to Dr. Aristides Royo, a former Panamanian president and attorney, who explained the current situation in that Central American nation: "First of all, the news about the international terrorist Luis Posada Carriles has had tremendous impact among the Panamanian people. They never imagined that our country could ever have been used for an assassination attempt against President Fidel Castro. As an attorney I can say that these people are currently detained and that what should happen now is that the Cuban government has a period of 60 days, according to law, to formally request the extradition of terrorist Luis Posada Carriles." In Tuesday's second of a series of round tables on the situation of Cuban-born terrorist Luis Posada Carriles, the participants also discussed the true causes of the internal armed conflict that hit El Salvador. The Salvadoran president had accused Cuba of sponsoring terrorism in El Salvador during the civil war. However, the rest of the world now recognizes that the Salvadoran government soldiers were the principal violators of human rights. At Tuesday's round table, Cuban journalists spoke to Salvadoran lawyer Nidia Diaz, who represents the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN) in the Salvadoran Parliament. She explained the real causes of the recent conflicts in her country: "First of all, as a Salvadoran, I would like to apologize to the Cuban people and President Fidel Castro for the arrogant attitude of Salvadoran President Francisco Flores. I believe that he was disrespectful in his accusations against the Cuban leader. He also showed a lack of responsibility and ignorance of history. The causes that started the conflict in El Salvador are due to insensibility, a lack of vision and humanism on the part the oligarchic and military power that was governing our country during many years. Generations of Salvadorans lived under military dictatorships that defended the interests of the rich minority. These were the causes of the struggle in El Salvador which one day made the people take up arms and fight the tremendous social, and economic injustice and lack of civic and political liberties and serious violations of human rights." Salvadoran Parliamentarian Nidia Diaz also referred to the duty of the Salvadoran government to resolve the situation that was created due to the residency of terrorist Luis Posada Carriles in that Central American country. "What the Salvadoran government should do is to recover the Salvadoran peoples' dignity by beginning to take concrete measures to dismantle all its ties with the Cuban right wing elements and examine those government officials that have close ties with the terrorists that have attempted to assassinate the Cuban President and have also used our country to attack Cuba. As Salvadoran citizens we should demand our government to take concrete measures to avoid this type of situation and put these terrorists in jail. We should also demand the establishment of diplomatic relations with Cuba." El Salvador's opposition party, the FMLN, announced it would carry out its own investigation into the case of terrorist Luis Posada Carriles and how he was traveling with a Salvadoran passport. It appears that Posada Carriles has used the passport under an assumed name 59 times for trips to and from the United States from El Salvador, which backs up Cuba's accusation that the Miami-based Cuban American National Foundation was funding his activities. Viewpoint: *MEXICO LIKELY TO EXTRADITE ARGENTINEAN RICARDO CAVALLO In the next few days, Mexican judge Guadalupe Luna is expected to rule on the extradition to Spain of former Argentinean military officer Ricardo Miguel Cavallo. The request for extradition was made by Spain, on charges of crimes against humanity. International public opinion is closely watching the case, especially the families of the tens of thousands of victims of the Argentinean dictatorship, whose pleas for justice over the years have fallen on deaf ears. The arrest in Mexico last August 24th of known Argentinean torturer Ricardo Miguel Cavallo revealed that he was far from being a respectable businessman, the role he has played for the past years. Records show that Cavallo traveled 28 times to El Salvador, where he is connected with a transportation company with close ties to the Salvadoran government. In Mexico, Cavallo headed a similar enterprise, which deals with vehicle registration and which, according to the Permanent Congressional Commission, is privy to confidential information. Cavallo's arrest in Mexico sparked a political crisis there when opposition parties demanded the resignation Commerce Secretary Herminio Blanco, who had authorized the Argentinean to head an enterprise that deals with classified information. According to the Argentinean daily newspaper Pagina Doce, up until shortly before his arrest, Cavallo maintained close relations with Bolivian politicians who were facilitating the licensing for him of an agency to administer the expedition of identification cards. The man who was able to move like a fish in water in Mexico, El Salvador and Bolivia obviously was more than just an inoffensive businessman. Cavallo was identified in Spain as one of the torturers of the Argentinean Navy's notorious Mechanics School. The case highlights the freedom of movement throughout Latin America enjoyed by former military torturers of the Southern Cone, thanks to the laws of impunity and the protection of corrupt officials. One must wonder how many of Cavallo's colleagues are comfortably installed in key economic and political positions in Latin America? Cavallo's case, as well as the arrests in Argentina for the murder of Chilean General Carlos Prats and his wife, and the arrest of international terrorist Luis Posada Carriles in Panama, demonstrate that the chickens are coming home to roost -- at least for a few of the region's most vicious political assassins. (c) 2000 Radio Habana Cuba, NY Transfer News. 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