Miami's Cuban Connection

Blog Blitz Coming; Stay Tuned

Watch this blog over the next few days. From now until July 5th, you'll see a blitz of new entries. I've slowed down the last two weeks to work on a feature piece on Miami Cubans running Sunday. Happy Fourth!

Will These New Steps Work?

From Herald Washington correspondent Pablo Bachelet:

"The commission that steers Bush administration policy on Cuba is recommending creating an $80 million fund to boost opposition to Cuban leader Fidel Castro and tightening economic sanctions on the island, The Miami Herald has learned.

"A draft of the commission's report also recommends a major diplomatic effort to offset the ''Venezuela-Cuba axis'' and identifies President Hugo Chávez as a key player whose oil wealth could help extend the communist system after Castro's death."

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/14936681.htm

Coast Guard Interdictions Up

The Coast Guard is on pace to interdict more Cubans at sea this year than any year since the 1994 balsero crisis. Last year already set a post-1994 record.

Latell: Succession in Cuba May Have Begun

Brian Latell, former top Cuba analyst for the CIA, and now a researcher at UM's Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies, believes the succession of power from Fidel Castro to his brother Raul may have already begun. He writes this month in his Latell Report:

"Signs of what is probably accelerating succession planning at the highest levels of the Castro regime have been multiplying since early this month. As Fidel Castro’s ability to provide coherent leadership has conspicuously deteriorated, his brother Raul seems to be assuming broader responsibilities while also reaching out to improve his image with the Cuban people. These developments could even indicate that Raul has already assumed critical responsibilities from his brother and is now acting as Cuba’s de facto top decision maker.

"Raul has been asserting personal control over the communist party apparatus, highlighting its likely enhanced role in the future. He has been focusing intense and sympathetic media attention on himself, while also emphasizing the strength and unity of the armed forces he has run since 1959. He has been out in public much more than has been customary, regularly now appearing on the front page of the official communist party daily, Granma. Cuban media coverage of the younger Castro has reached such unprecedented intensity in fact, that it seems logical to conclude that he has authorized the creation of his own public relations staff. Always deferential to Fidel’s starring role in the Cuban revolution, Raul would never in the past have presumed to upstage his brother this way.

"The media blitz began on June 3rd, Raul’s 75th birthday, when Granma, ran a remarkable, extended paean to the defense minister. Under the headline Cercania de Raul, literally translated as “nearness” to Raul, the article was intended in part to project a sympathetic image of a leader who has never been popular with the Cuban people. But the Spanish language title of the article also suggests a possibly momentous double meaning: Cercania de Raul might also be translated as the “proximity of Raul,” suggesting that his ascent to power in his own right has begun, or is imminent. I do not believe that Raul has ever been the subject of such unusual and personalized media attention."

"The Granma birthday article was unprecedented in a number of respects. The authors, longtime close personal friends of Raul, seemed intent on distinguishing him favorably from Fidel, which would have been inconceivable until now. The “modesty and simplicity” that Raul demonstrates “in personal interactions” according to the authors, certainly contrasts with Fidel’s grandiosity."

"Raul, the article emphasized, avoids making “unilateral assessments.” Instead –and notably unlike his brother—he always encourages “collective” approaches to solving problems. The implication in this, and other similar references in the article, as well as in a pointed passage in a speech Raul delivered to a military audience on June 14th, is probably that he intends to govern at the head of a collective civilian-military team. He seems to be signaling other Cuban officials that he does not plan to occupy all of the most important positions of power in the party and government, as Fidel does. That is a sound strategy for assuring leadership support for Raul’s uncontested succession..."

"...The article concludes with several passages drawn from Fidel’s speeches and interviews over the years, in which he certifies his brother as his legitimate and preferred successor. “In my opinion, the colleague that was best prepared and that I knew could very well carry out the task was comrade Raul.” And, Fidel is also quoted as once having said: “everybody knows we hate nepotism here. (But) I honestly think that (Raul) has the sufficient qualities to substitute for me in case I die in this battle".

Raul Castro's Big Speech

Granma, Cuba's communist government-run daily newspaper, transcribed Raul Castro's speech from June 14 and has it up on its front page. Raul Castro's profile has been steadily growing on the island in the past few weeks. Here is an excerpt:

"In those conditions favorable to their interests, it was obvious that the imperial hawks were considering the possibility of giving a piece of their mind to those who signified a obstacle to their dreams of world domination, and evidently, Cuba, for reasons that are all too well known, could be high on the list of immediate targets."

"This U.S. administration’s increasing backing of ultra-right groups of Cuban origin based in Miami, as well as the extended inciting of local mercenaries by the U.S. Interests Section in Havana, compounded by increased provocations and acts of terrorism such as the hijacking of civilian vessels and aircraft, all accompanied by the staging of grand media campaigns, were clear signals of such aggressive plans."

"That was happening at an extremely difficult juncture for the country, given the combination of the increased price of oil after the invasion of Iraq, the collapse of tourism as a consequence of the September 11 attacks in 2001, and the vertiginous descent of sugar prices to levels that made its production simply unsustainable in many parts of the island."

"None of that daunted us. Along with other important tasks of the Revolution, the programs contained in the Battle of Ideas directed at improving education, health, social security, culture, sports – at the end of day, the quality of life of the people, went ahead."

http://www.granma.cubaweb.cu/secciones/raul-45ejercito/raul03.html

Cuban Exile: We Plotted Against Castro

From El Nuevo Herald's Wilfredo Cancio Isla:

"A former board member of the Cuban American National Foundation says he and other CANF leaders created a paramilitary group to carry out destabilizing acts in Cuba and do away with Cuban ruler Fidel Castro.

"Jose Antonio Llama, known as Toñin, told El Nuevo Herald that the arsenal to carry out these plans included a cargo helicopter, 10 ultralight radio-controlled planes, seven vessels and abundant explosive materials.

"We were impatient with the survival of Castro's regime after the fall of the Soviet Union and the socialist camp,'' said Llama, a key financial backer of the plot in the early 1990s. ``We wanted to accelerate the democratization of Cuba using any possible means to achieve it.''

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/14873233.htm

Raul Castro Featured in Granma Again

Granma, Cuba's communist government-controlled daily newspaper, again featured Raul Castro Thursday. Granma has stepped up its coverage of Raul Castro in the last few weeks. One article, a 14-page spread printed the day before his 75th birthday, was titled Cercania de Raul (Raul's Nearness). This new article bolsters speculation by some Cuba observers that Fidel may be preparing to hand over some power to Raul while he is still alive.

From the AP Thursday:

"Fidel Castro's brother said the Communist Party will remain in control of Cuba if there is a leadership change, according to comments published in state-run media Thursday."

"Raul Castro, defense minister and designated successor of his 79-year-old brother, dismissed claims that Cuba's political system would change dramatically after his brother is no longer president, saying the party would quickly fill any political vacuum.

"Only the Communist Party -- as the institution that brings together the revolutionary vanguard and will always guarantee the unity of Cubans -- can be the worthy heir of the trust deposited by the people in their leader,'' he said in a speech Wednesday marking a military anniversary. ``Anything more is pure speculation.''

"As first vice president of the Council of State, Cuba's supreme governing body, Raul Castro, 74, is legally designated to assume his brother's role as president of the council in the event of ``absence, illness or death.''

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/world/cuba/14831025.htm

http://www.granma.cubaweb.cu/secciones/ingles/noticias/art52.html

Alarcon: Wild Spin or Hard Truth?

It promised to be a face-off to ignite journalistic fireworks: Columbia University Professor Mirta Ojito grilling Ricardo Alarcon, the speaker of Cuba's National Assembly, at the Hispanic Journalists convention in Fort Lauderdale last week. But while Ojito did ask questions that at times left the usually loquacious Alarcon fumbling for words and made him squirm, he said almost nothing that has not already been heard before from Cuban government officials. Even when asked why Cuba has more journalists in prison than any other country in the hemisphere, Alarcon managed to blame the United States.

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/breaking_news/14820712.htm

La Politica Takes on Vamos A Cuba

The winds of old school Cuban exile politics blew through Ayestaran Restaurant in Little Havana last Friday. There was nasty talk of Fidel Castro, lots of yelling about who should be speaking up for the exile cause, and later the introduction and pledge of support in Spanish for a school board candidate based mostly on his vehement criticism of the controversial book Vamos a Cuba.

Emceeing the midafternoon news conference: Miguel Saavedra, president of Vigilia Mambisa, one of the smallest, but most belligerent hardline Cuban exile groups in Miami. Saavedra warmly introduced a candidate he says he recruited to run for the school board against Agustín Barrera. The candidate: Manny Anon, a local lawyer who recently served with the armed forces in Afghanistan.

Among Anon's friends who showed up to show support: Humberto Hernandez, the former Miami commissioner who served several years in prison for voter and mortgage fraud. Hernandez was once Anon's boss at the city, where Anon worked as an assistant city attorney for several years.

Saavedra made one thing clear: they want Barreras out of the school board, and they think Anon is the man to replace him. Saavedra said he recruited Anon through Spanish language radio. But Anon said he had made the decision to run before Saavedra went live on Spanish language radio to announce that Vigilia Mambisa needed a candidate to run against Barrera.

Still, Anon was grateful for Saavedra's support, and acknowledged that the inflamed debate over Vamos A Cuba was the reason he decided to run for office. Anon, who works for the union America Federation of State County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) once ran unsuccesfully for state representative against Carlos Valdez. He has no political experience and said he has no prospects for serious fundraising. He says Barrera is out of touch with the Cuban community because he has not done enought to remove Vamos a Cuba from school shelves.

The school board is scheduled to vote Wednesday on a pair of bills to remove the book -- which opponents believe paints an unfairly rosy picture of life under Fidel Castro. But Barrera angered some in April when he voted against an earlier bill, which would have removed the book before it went through the district's formal appeals process.

A showdown between the Anon and Barrera in the Little Havana-Coconut Grove-Coral Gables district could be stuffed with political intrigue. The book's most vocal opponent on the School Board has been Frank Bolaños -- who Barrera ousted as chairman last year and who could be a natural Anon supporter. But Bolaños is also closely allied with state Rep. Ralph Arza, R-Hialeah, who is Barrera's brother-in-law. Arza and Barrera have a chilly relationship, but keep a civil public profile; Arza is unlikely to openly support any challenger to Barrera.

But Barrera isn't the only target for Saavedra, Perez, and the few others who showed up for the news conference (the Herald was the only media there). Saavedra and Servilio Perez, who heads the small Cumbre Patriotica Del Presidio Politico Cubano, said they are also planning to launch a recall campaign against School Superintendent Rudy Crew because they feel he has disrespected the exile community. Crew has recently faced off against State Rep. Ralph Arza, a Cuban exile with a reputation for aggressive backdoor political wrangling. Arza recently issued a mea culpa for using racial epithets when talking about Crew, who is black. Crew, who was criticized by some exiles on Spanish language radio when he was hired from New York because of his high salary and status as an outsider, is clearly the target of a political attack by Saavedra and Perez, who pledged their support for Arza, and his state rep. political ally, David Rivera. Rivera has taken heat from some exiles recently for ‘‘demagoguery'' because they say he is paying more attention to Cuban exile issues than state ones. One indication of how much public support Saavedra and Perez have roused for Anon could be gauged by the turnout at Ayestaran. Saavedra said he had gone on Spanish language radio stations La Poderosa (AM 670) and Radio Mambi (AM 710) Friday morning to invite the public to attend the press conference at 2:30. Excluding media and Anon's family, About a dozen people showed up from the public.

Herald Staff Writer Matthew Pinzur contributed to this report. Check out his education blog, which has been covering the Vamos a Cuba issue:

http://miamieducation.blogspot.com/

Miami Dominates National Hispanic Market

Hispanic Business Magazine this month published a list of the top 500 Hispanic-owned companies in the U.S. Five of the top ten, including the two largest Hispanic-owned businesses, are based in Miami-Dade County, fueling the notion that Miami is in the driver's seat of Hispanic entrepeneurship in the United States.

Top 10:

1. The Related Group of Florida, Miami, CEO Jorge Perez, 2005 Rev: $3.2 bil

2. Brightstar Corp., Miami, CEO R. Marcelo Claure, 2005 rev: $2.2 bil

3. The Burt Automotive Network, Centennial, Colorado, CEO Lloyd Chavez, Jr., 2005 rev: $2.1 bil

4. Molina Healthcare Inc., Long Beach, California, CEO Mario Molina, 2005 rev: $1.6 bil

5. MasTec Inc., Miami, CEO Austin Shanfelter (Chairman Jorge Mas Santos), 2005 rev: $848 mil

6. International Bancshares Corp., Laredo, Texas, CEO Dennis Nixon, 2005 rev: $675 mil

7. Prestige Builders Partners LLC., Miami, CEO Caparros & Boschetti, 2005 rev: $597 mil

8. Ancira Enterprises Inc, San Antonio, Texas, CEO Ernesto Ancira, 2005 rev: $589 mil

9. General Real Estate Corp., Miami, CEO Agustin Herran, 2005 rev: 542 mil

10. Elder Automotive, Troy, Michigan, CEO Irma Elder, 2005 rev: $504 mil

Other Miami Companies that round out the top 30 Hispanic business in the U.S. are Quirch Foods, Sedano's Supermarkets, Urbieta Oil Inc., Century Homebuilders, First Equity Mortgage Bankers, Navarro Discount Pharmacies and Community Asphalt.

http://www.hispanicbusiness.com/