All the Cuban women and children held at the Carmichael Road Detention Center in Nassau will be released shortly, according to Miami vitamin distributor Manuel Rico-Perez, who has discussed the status of Cuban detainees in the Bahamas with the island's authorities for the past week.

The women and children, including an unaccompanied Haitian boy, will be granted legal residence in the Bahamas, Rico-Perez said Monday. The women may also get work permits, he added.

However, the spokesman for the Bahamian Immigration Ministry, Carlton Wright, said Monday he had no knowledge of the release announced by Rico-Perez.

``If it's a genuine offer, I imagine [the authorities] are giving it due consideration,'' he said.

Immigration Director Melvin Seymour is away from his office until Wednesday and could not be contacted by The Herald.

On Saturday, the detention center approved the release of a 2-month-old girl, Yamila Torres, and her mother, who were sent to a Salvation Army shelter.

Also released Saturday were five human rights activists affiliated with the Cuban Patriotic Junta. They are staying at the Motel City Lodge in Nassau.

The four Cuban ballplayers and one pitching coach who arrived in Nassau on March 21 will remain at the detention center until a third country grants them an entry visa, Rico-Perez said.

``We've progressed a great deal. The Bahamians said they're very willing to work with us,'' said Rico-Perez, who last week asked the Bahamian government to allow him to look after the 152 Cuban detainees at the center. ``Our priority are the women and the children.''

Rico-Perez said his lawyers met Monday with Bahamian officials and will meet again April 6. Immigration Minister Theresa Moxey-Ingraham and perhaps Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham will attend the second meeting.

Rico-Perez, who reportedly deposited $100,000 in a trust account to guarantee that he will underwrite the Cubans' needs, said he plans to rent an apartment building for the 20 women and 13 children.

Rico-Perez said the $100,000 bond he posted Monday will not be enough to fund the Cubans' stay in the Bahamas indefinitely. He said he expects the Cuban exile community in the United States to contribute, through TV or radio fund-raisers.

``I'm asking the community to contribute because the expenses are going to be great,'' Rico-Perez said. ``We're going to try to stage a radiothon to raise funds.''

Rico-Perez said that during his meeting Saturday with Seymour, he convinced the authorities that part of the problem with the Cuban detainees is that they're not used to the Bahamian food.

``I told him that they're used to a diet of rice, beans, plantains and animal protein. They said they'll try to change their menu,'' the doctor said. ``The women about to leave the camp told me they're willing to cook the meals and take them to the men who remain in detention.''