June 2, 1999
By Jim Loney
MIAMI, June 1 (Reuters) - Cuba's claim for $181.1 billion compensation for four decades of "war" by Washington against the Caribbean island's Communist government is political retribution with little legal basis, exiles and Cuba analysts said on Tuesday.
The claim could also be another sign of a resurgence of hard-liners in the Havana government, following last week's appointment of Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque, they said.
Coming on the heels of a U.S. court ruling that the families of four Cuban exiles shot down by Cuban warplanes are entitled to compensation, and adverse world reaction to the recent trial of four dissidents, Cuba's claim is part retaliation and part diversionary tactic, they said.
"I think that it's more of a shot across the bow. It's typical tit-for-tat politics," University of Miami political analyst Max Castro said. "I don't think it's going to have any significance in terms of being able to enforce anything."
Cuba demanded $181.1 billion in compensation for the deaths of 3,478 Cubans and injury of 2,099 in four decades of what it called "war" by Washington against Fidel Castro's revolutionary government.
The ruling Communist Party's newspaper Granma published a detailed legal demand which it said was presented Monday to a Havana court by organizations representing the Cuban people.
The document outlined alleged U.S. "aggression" since the 1959 revolution ranging from backing for the so-called Escambray rebels in the 1960s and the Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961 to subversion attempts from the U.S. base at Guantanamo and the alleged planting of epidemics on the island.
"All the hostile and aggressive actions carried out by the U.S. government against Cuba, from the triumph of the Revolution until now, have caused enormous material and human losses to the people," the document said.
The Cuban American National Foundation, a key voice in thehard-line U.S. policy against Castro and a staunch propone
The Cuban American National Foundation, a key voice in thehard-line U.S. policy against Castro and a staunch propone nt of the 37-year-old embargo, called the claim an attempt to divert world attention from Cuba's failings.
"This is vintage Castro. They are just running for cover, as usual trying to create a bigger scandal," said the Miami-based exile group's spokeswoman Ninoska Perez said.
While Cuba offered no explanation for the timing of the claim, it may be retaliation for recent U.S. actions related to the Feb. 24, 1996 shootdown of two exile planes over the Florida Straits, or a diversion to the recent jailing of four dissidents, Cuba experts said.
"I think they were stung by world reaction to imprisonment of the Havana Four and some other steps they've taken against dissidents," said Wayne Smith, a former U.S. diplomat to Havana. "This is an effort to deflect attention from that."
On May 7, U.S. prosecutors unsealed an indictment charging the alleged leader of a Cuban spy ring with conspiracy to commit murder, the first criminal count filed in the deaths of four Miami-based exile pilots shot down by a Cuban warplane.
In March, U.S. Judge James Lawrence King ruled that relatives of three slain pilots were entitled lay claim against $178.2 million in frozen Cuban assets as compensation.
Also in March, Cuba drew international criticism for the jailing of four prominent Cuban dissidents. The European Union chided Havana for violations of human rights and Canada said it would review bilateral relations with Castro's government.
Any claim for losses resulting from the embargo would fail in international courts but claims resulting from the Bay of Pigs invasion could be a different story, Smith said.
"No country is obligated to trade against any other, but I've always thought claims against us for losses at the Bay of Pigs probably would (have a chance of success) if they ever went to a court of law," he said.
Coming after last week's dismissal of Foreign Minister Roberto Robaina and his replacement with Perez Roque, who is considered a political hard-liner, the claim could signal a strengthening of hard-line positions in the government, said Uva de Aragon, assistant director of the Cuban Research Institute at Florida International University.
"I think it's an indication that at this moment, hard-liners have the upper hand," she said.
15:53 06-01-99
Copyright 1999 Reuters Limited
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