Cuba may be aiding hostages' release

[Billy Burnett]

Cuba may be aiding hostages' release http://www.miamiherald.com/news/americas/story/458504.html

Cuba, long an intermediary between rebels and the government in Colombia, may be more engaged in issues there than previously known.

The surprise appearance of Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, a Colombian senator and the mother of high-profile hostage Ingrid Betancourt in Havana last weekend suggests that Cuba may emerge as a player in the efforts to free Colombia's captives.

Cuba has long been a go-between between Colombian rebels and the government they seek to overthrow. But Havana was uncharacteristically silent during last week's diplomatic crisis between Colombia and Ecuador, suggesting to experts that Raúl Castro could be trying to win Betancourt's freedom.

When Latin American presidents across the hemisphere took to their microphones last week to rant about Colombia's crossborder raid into Ecuador, Cuba's new head of state was glaringly absent. He didn't summon masses of Cubans to march in front of the Colombian embassy to protest the bombing of a leftist rebel camp in Ecuador, never blasted Colombian President Alvaro Uribe at a public speech, and didn't even hold a news conference.

In fact, other than a private phone call to the president of Ecuador, Castro did not say anything at all -- although his ailing and retired brother Fidel wrote a column on the dispute.

''It was very interesting to see how little Cuba had to say,'' said Wayne Smith, a former head of the U.S. diplomatic mission in Havana. ``Raúl Castro is just not a fire-eater. Fidel could never have remained silent.''

The sudden visit to Havana by Chávez, Colombia's opposition Sen. Piedad Córdoba and Yolanda Pulecio, the mother of Betancourt, hinted that Cuba is more engaged in Colombian issues than previously known.

ENLISTING CUBA'S HELP

Córdoba, who has been deeply involved in the talks to release hostages held by the FARC guerrillas, said she plans to return to Cuba in two weeks to speak with Raúl Castro about a possible humanitarian accord with the rebels.

''Will Cuba have a direct role? I don't think so,'' Córdoba told The Miami Herald. ``That would require the approval of the Colombian government. I met with Raúl Castro briefly last week, and he indicated he would be happy to help out.''

The trio's trip to Cuba came as a surprise even to Betancourt's husband, Juan Carlos Lecompte, who said he first learned of it watching BBC news footage of his mother-in-law in Havana.

''I thought it was excellent,'' Lecompte said in a telephone interview from Bogotá. ``Cuba is very friendly with President Chávez, and the more countries that try to resolve this drama Colombia is living the better. Insofar as we have been able to internationalize this problem, it has given results: There have been six liberations so far this year.''

The FARC is believed to hold hundreds of hostages, among them Betancourt, a former presidential candidate who has been a captive in the jungle since February of 2002.

Chávez and Córdoba have served as mediators to help free her and many others, but Uribe cut off Chávez's role when the Venezuelan leader broke the rules by communicating directly with the head of the Colombian military.

Despite the setback, the FARC released six hostages in January and February, including Betancourt's friend and campaign manager Clara Rojas. Among those present at the first hostage release deep in the Colombian jungle was Cuba's ambassador to Caracas.

Upon her return from Cuba, Córdoba told reporters, she plans to tour Latin America, Europe and the United States to gather support for a ''friend countries'' commission with the goal of freeing the hostages.

''That could include Argentina, Nicaragua, Ecuador, Brazil and obviously Venezuela,'' Córdoba told Venezuela's Union Radio. ``Other . . . countries could also be contemplated.''

She said she would seek the help of Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner and Chile's Michelle Bachelet, but did not mention Cuba.

Colombian police have released FARC documents from a computer found at the rebel camp bombed earlier this month, indicating that Chávez has been shutting Cuba out of the hostage discussions.

''And those guys are complaining,'' one document said. Another said Havana ``is feeling marginalized.''

`SEEMS APPROPRIATE'

Past Colombian government negotiations with a smaller Colombian rebel group, the ELN, have taken place in Cuba.

''It seems appropriate for my mother-in-law to speak to the new president of Cuba, Raúl Castro, to get more countries involved,'' Lecompte said. ``As a communist country, Cuba could be helpful because they identify ideologically with the guerrillas.''

Cuba may have had other reasons to stay quiet during the Andean crisis last week: Venezuela, which escalated the Colombia-Ecuador diplomatic dispute by sending 10 battalions to the border, is a major supplier of oil to the island. Cuba's foreign debt to Venezuela is believed to be $8 billion, according to a University of Miami study.

''I can't imagine Cuba would want to see Colombia and Venezuela going to war, hurting Venezuela's economy and hurting Venezuelan oil production,'' said William LeoGrande, a Cuba expert at American University. ``If the Cubans do feel they could play a constructive role behind the scenes, they would not want to put that at risk.''

Miami Herald correspondent Tyler Bridges contributed from Bogotá. For more news about the island, visit the Herald's Cuba blog, Cuban Colada at http://MiamiHerald.typepad.com/cuban_colada/

[magbana]

1. Fidel: "Stupid to Link Cuba to Rebels

Castro: 'Stupid' to Link Cuba to Rebels
6 hours ago

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hJ-4RRH7Nj7L6Y-KT-cMFEJwkwSwD8VEAN5O0

HAVANA (AP) - Former President Fidel Castro said it is "stupid" to think
Cubans were involved with Colombian rebels whose camp was bombed in a
cross-border raid in Ecuador early this month.

In a statement released Saturday, the 81-year-old dismissed allegations
reportedly being investigated by Mexican authorities that Cubans were linked
to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC.

"The stupid intention to mix Cubans in this matter is very clear," Castro
said in the statement, which Foreign Ministry officials sent by e-mail to
international journalists in Havana.

Some Mexican and international media have reported that officials were
looking into whether Mario Dagoberto Diaz Orgaz, a naturalized Mexican
citizen and engineering research professor in central Mexico, is a Cuban
intelligence agent who helped Mexicans connect with FARC guerrillas. The
reports suggested Diaz may have led the students to Ecuador.

Diaz's attorney has denied his client has ties to the rebels.

Some recent reports have also suggested that Cuban medical students were
involved with the FARC, an idea that Castro called a "lie concerning the
possible presence of our medical students in this distant Colombian jungle."

The March 1 attack on the FARC camp killed top rebel leader Raul Reyes and
24 others, triggering a diplomatic crisis during which Ecuador and Venezuela
sent troops to their Colombian borders. Five Mexican university students are
believed to have been at the camp during the attack.

Fidel's younger brother, Raul Castro, took over the presidency last month.

========================================
WALTER LIPPMANN, CubaNews
Los Angeles, California
http://www.walterlippmann.com
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CubaNews/
"Cuba - Un Paraiso bajo el bloqueo"
========================================

[Mika]

2. Typical Miami Herald agitprop.

Gotta love the ol' reliable "some people say" investigative reporting.

Keep in mind that it was the ever-so-willing Miami Herald that Elliot Abrams, Frank Calzone, and crew, used to illegally plant US gov propaganda in US media.

[Judi Lynn]

3. Didn't know they used the Herald. The Herald has always pumped plenty of propaganda into the world

on its own, since they collapsed ethically years ago!

Frank Calzone: what a tumor.

Elliot Abrams should be in prison.

Thanks for the info.

[magbana]

4. Elliot Abrams is an adviser to Obama

[Mika]

5. ARE YOU F-ing KIDDING? Magbana, please post a link.

:wow:

[magbana]

6. Mika, give me a day

I heard it on the radio initially and then I think there is an article in the "The Black Commentator."" I know it sounds bizarrr.

I'll post something tomorrow to let folks know if I was able to verify it.

[magbana]

8. Mea Culpa, Egg on my Face, I'm an idiot

Ay dios mio! Okay I was WRONG on Eliot Abrams. The adviser to Obama I was thinking about is ANTHONY LAKE. I know who each of these guys is but for s9ome reason they got fused in my mind. Anthony Lake, Clinton's National Security Adviser in the first term was a real SOB with Aristide while he was in exile in the US and used to summon him like a child to the white house for weekly meetings to berate him.

My apologies folks.

[Mika]

9. No apology needed. The relief of finding out he isn't is enough.

Glad to find out that Abrams isn't on a Dem team. But, your post does illustate something - by and large, US Latin America (and Caribbean) policy has been defective over many many administrations.

:hi:

[Judi Lynn]

10. Thanks for setting the record straight, and showing what was actually the situation in Washington

while Clinton was in the White House.

I had NO IDEA.

Grateful to get this information, will try to remember the name. This is the first time I've ever heard of him.

Thank you.

[Judi Lynn]

7. Wow! "Bummer!" Thanks, magbana. I'll keep an eye out for more on it. n/t

[Billy Burnett]

11. Raul is a cool customer.

Always interesting to read what Wayne Smith has to say.

Snip from the lead article ...

Cuba has long been a go-between between Colombian rebels and the government they seek to overthrow. But Havana was uncharacteristically silent during last week's diplomatic crisis between Colombia and Ecuador, suggesting to experts that Raúl Castro could be trying to win Betancourt's freedom.

When Latin American presidents across the hemisphere took to their microphones last week to rant about Colombia's crossborder raid into Ecuador, Cuba's new head of state was glaringly absent. He didn't summon masses of Cubans to march in front of the Colombian embassy to protest the bombing of a leftist rebel camp in Ecuador, never blasted Colombian President Alvaro Uribe at a public speech, and didn't even hold a news conference.

In fact, other than a private phone call to the president of Ecuador, Castro did not say anything at all -- although his ailing and retired brother Fidel wrote a column on the dispute.

''It was very interesting to see how little Cuba had to say,'' said Wayne Smith, a former head of the U.S. diplomatic mission in Havana. ``Raúl Castro is just not a fire-eater. Fidel could never have remained silent.''

The sudden visit to Havana by Chávez, Colombia's opposition Sen. Piedad Córdoba and Yolanda Pulecio, the mother of Betancourt, hinted that Cuba is more engaged in Colombian issues than previously known.