Clinton said the treatment was not authorized by anyone in Washington and did not reflect a shift in U.S. policy toward Cuban refugees. But he did say that policy is under review to determine whether it needs revision.
``We have to look and see whether the policy we have is manageable, given the problems that we're facing,'' Clinton said. ``I want you to know there will never be a time when any of us will willfully sanction the use of excessive or inhumane tactics in dealing with anybody coming into this country.''
He referred to recent incidents, many of them carried on television, in which the Coast Guard worked aggressively to keep Cuban refugees in boats from reaching the U.S. shore, including turning fire hoses on them.
The president spoke during a Florida Democratic Party fund-raiser Tuesday night at the Coral Gables home of sugar grower Alfonso Fanjul, a native of Cuba. He addressed the refugee issue at the Fanjul's request.
Fanjul said he wanted Clinton to clarify U.S. policy because most Cuban Americans were appalled to see refugees mistreated at the hands of the Coast Guard, which was widely credited with having ``saved more Cuban lives than anybody at sea.''
``I would appreciate if you would address the issue,'' Fanjul said. ``The Cuban American community, as well as most South Floridians, support a policy to keep migrations safe, legal and orderly.''
Clinton agreed with Fanjul's assessment. ``We have to keep movement here orderly, safe and legal,'' he said. However, he said, the Coast Guard also finds itself trying to balance that policy with efforts to ``deal with a situation which, as you well remember from times past, spiraled out of hand,'' a reference to the flotillas that brought Cubans to the United States en masse.
The problem is further compounded, Clinton said, by the need to ensure that refugees are not being manipulated by Castro's government or smugglers who sneak aliens into the United States, then force them into unlawful labor.
``The Coast Guard, in part I think, has tried to react more to try to cut down on alien smuggling,'' Clinton said. ``But what happened with the way those people were sprayed and all that is just outrageous. I want you to know it was not an authorized policy. ...We have taken vigorous steps to make sure it does not happen again.''
The president also voiced ``a continuing frustration'' with Cuba, the lone Communist government in the Western Hemisphere. He said tougher sanctions and increasing to 20,000 the number of visas issued to Cuban nationals have helped U.S. officials in coping with the refugee situation.
``What we have tried to do is to be firm with the government of Cuba,'' Clinton said. ``One of the most difficult things has been how to handle the people that want to get away, particularly when you know well from time to time they've been used as a political weapon.''
After the speech, the president flew back to Washington.
© Copyright 1999 The Associated Press