Republicans ask Obama to cancel Cuba migration talks
BY JUAN O. TAMAYO
jtamayo@ElNuevoHerald.com
Eight congressional Republicans on Friday alleged the Obama
administration is trying to ``appease'' the Cuban government after the
arrest in Havana of a Washington subcontractor, and called for the
cancellation of bilateral migration talks now set for Feb. 19.
``We are greatly concerned about the manner in which the administration
is handling the arrest of Alan Gross'' and its impact on the U.S.
government's pro-democracy programs in Cuba, they wrote in a letter to
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Gross, a Maryland subcontractor for the U.S. Agency for International
Development (USAID), has been jailed in Havana since his Dec. 4 arrest
after delivering sophisticated communications equipment to Jewish groups
on the island.
The letter to Clinton noted that after Gross' arrest, USAID strongly
discouraged recipients of U.S. pro-democracy funds from traveling to
Cuba, and that nongovernmental organizations ``have been informed that
the administration is considering taking democracy assistance funding in
a `new direction.'''
``The Cuban government is greatly threatened by the evident progress of
the pro-democracy movement and is utilizing the arrest of Mr. Gross to
force the United States to cease providing aid to Cuba's independent
society,'' the Congress members wrote.
``It appears that the administration has opted to handle Mr. Gross's
arrest by trying to appease the Cuban dictatorship,'' they added.
The letter was signed by Florida's Lincoln and Mario Diaz-Balart, Ileana
Ros-Lehtinen and Connie Mack and four other Republicans; Dan Burton and
Mike Pence of Indiana, Thaddeus McCotter of Michigan and Todd Tiahrt of
Kansas.
They added that USAID has yet to request funding proposals for the Cuba
programs for fiscal years 2009 and 1010, ``despite the requirement of
the law.'' Several recipients of such funds have complained they are
quickly running out of their current allocations from a $40 million fund
approved by Congress in 2008.
The letter also noted the State Department confirmed this week that its
envoys will hold another round of migration talks with Cuban officials,
now scheduled for Feb. 19 in Havana.
``We urge you to suspend all talks with the Cuban dictatorship until Mr.
Gross is freed, and that you demand that he be immediately released,''
the lawmakers wrote. ``We also respectfully request that you call on
USAID to proceed swiftly with the [funding proposals] solicitation
process.''
A State Department spokesman said U.S. consular officials in Havana were
allowed to visit Gross this week -- the second such visit since his
arrest two months ago. But no further details could be released because
of privacy laws, the spokesman added.
U.S. government concern over Gross' detention ``is a matter that we've
raised with [the Cuban government] on multiple occasion and that we will
continue to raise with them,'' the spokesman said, asking for anonymity
because of department policies.
The 60-year-old Gross, of Potomac, Md., is a veteran development
specialist who has been involved with several programs to provide
Internet access to civil society groups around the world.
Republicans ask Obama to cancel Cuba migration talks - Breaking News -
Mobile - MiamiHerald.com (5 February 2010)
http://www.miamiherald.com/1460/story/1465285.html
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