CUBAN GENERAL'S DAUGHTER ASKS FOR POLITICAL ASYLUM

The daughter of Brigade General, Efigenio Ameijeiras, asked for political asylum today in Miami, after traveling from Cuba last December.

Yesin Calafel Lobaina, 26 years old, reached Miami on December 6, after crossing the border with Mexico. She planned her trip from Cuba with the help of her mother, Edita Lobaina, who lives in Miami.

"In Cuba, they denied me the exit visa because my mother lives here", said Calafel, who is studying to re-validate her doctor's license. "I don't share in the same ideals as the Cuban government. That ( revolution) isn't worth anything".

According to Calafel, her views on Castro's regime earned her the constant watch of State Security. In her job at Fajardo Hospital, where she took care of tourists, she was also being watched and harassed.

"They were always harassing me. I suffered a great deal of repression at the hands of State Security", said Calafel. "Once they even asked me to leave my house, because I lived very near the American Interest Section and my father would visit frequently".

Ameijeiras was one of the first men to join the revolutionary struggle alongside Castro in the 1950's. Upon the triumph of the revolution in 1959, he had reached the title of Comandant. Some years later, he was demoted for corruption, and rehabilitated in the 1980's, reaching the title of Brigade General.

According to Calafel, her father was not aware of her plans to ask for asylum. "I don't know how he has taken the news. I think that he will accept my decision", said Calafel, who doesn't carry her father's last name for reasons which she refused to discuss.

Copyright (c) 1997 El Nuevo Herald.

Translated for CubaNet by Lourdes Arriete