From: Bill Koehnlein <nyms1-AT-blythe.org>
Subject: Cuba Incident: A View from Miami
Date: Tue, 5 Mar 1996 13:47:10 -0500 (EST)



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The following article is from Karen Wald in Havana and is
distributed by NY Transfer News Collective. Redistribution is
encouraged, but please retain all headings and NY Transfer's
logo, found at the end of the article.

From: kwald-AT-tinored.cu (Karen Wald , Periodista - APC)
Date: Sat, 02 Mar 96 08:42:58 EST 0


The following information came from Miami, but it accurately 
reflects points that have been made repeatedly here (by Ricardo 
Alarcon and MINREX spokesperson, among others) which have generally 
NOT been reported in the US press. Since I haven't had time to type 
up my notes from the last two press conferences, I am sending this 
view from Miami in the meantime:


Dear Karen:

Greetings from Miami, home of the screaming hyenas of reaction. 

I read with interest the "US-Cuba Relations Shot Down" article
posted to the New York Transfer News Collective.

>From here, in case you weren't already aware of it, I can
report that the media is taking the word of Gusanos al Rescate,
the Cuban American National Foundation, and the US government
as the unqestioned truth as well.

The following points brought up by the Cuban government have not
been addressed in the sorry excuse for a newspaper here, nor in
newscasts in South Florida:

1. That the "sortie" in which the shoot-downs occurred was the
second of that day, that the planes had been chased out earlier.
Not once that I have seen, has anyone brought this up, nor have
(surprise!) the government or exile groups volunteered as to
whether or not this was true.

2. That they had a flight plan filed to the Bahamas, and neither
the US or Cuba had authorized a flight plan into Cuban-controlled
airspace, toward Havana. This was mentioned only in the very first
reports of the incident, and has since been dropped.

3. That the Cuban government has no way to know the intentions of 
violating aircraft, whether or not weapons could be aboard, and who
was aboard the aircraft. Jose Basulto has said repeatedly to 
the media that as a "free Cuban" citizen he has the "right" to fly
over "his" airspace.

4. That the US government has not revoked airman priveleges to 
these ego-maniacal morons for their repeated transgressions of
aviation law, and who, had they been regular guys, would have
suffered revocation of pilot priveleges or worse.

5. That Jose Basulto has a long and extensive history with the CIA 
and assorted right-wing and reactionary Latin American and North
American groups, including his involvement with the contras and the
medical treatment of their wounded.

I don't know what kind of feedback you get from Miami, but I'll
happily provide some regarding what the public is hearing here.

Regards,
(name omitted until I can find out if it is ok with him)


Points 2 and 4 by the way are ones Alarcon emphasized a lot 
yesterday, since flying without a flight plan is not only illegal 
but endangers the lives of all other crew and passengers flying 
legally in the areas where these small planes go without logging a 
flight plan.

He also noted that it has been US policy and practice throughout 
Latin America, as announced by Tom Brokaw on an NBC news program 
Jan. 5, to SHOOT DOWN all unidentified small aircraft whether 
inflight or on the ground SUSPECTED of being involved in narcotics 
trade. The Pentagon reportedly allocated 120 million dollars for
this operation. No one seems upset that the US is shooting down
small civilian planes merely on suspicion that they may be flying
dope.

He says the dope smugglers are elated with this latest series of 
events with Hermanos al Rescate -- now all they have to do to 
guarantee their safe entry and exit to and from the US is pretend 
they are anti-Castro Cubans.


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