Argentine writer blocked at Havana airport - CPJ

CUBA: Argentine writer blocked at Havana airport

New York, February 21, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists
condemns Saturday's deportation of writer, columnist and historian José
Ignacio García Hamilton by Cuban authorities at Havana's José Martí
International Airport.

Immigration authorities barred the Argentine writer from entering
Cuba, saying that they were following government orders but could not
provide further explanation, the Argentine press reported. García
Hamilton and his wife held tourist visas approved on Thursday by the
Cuban Embassy in Buenos Aires.

According to Argentine press reports, a Cuban immigration officer
told García Hamilton that only the writer's wife would be allowed into
the country. García Hamilton and his wife were escorted back to their
plane, which was routed to Panama.

García Hamilton told the press that he had planned a one-week
vacation on the island. He said he also scheduled meetings with Cuban
intellectuals and several gatherings to publicize his new book, Simón.
Vida de Bolívar, a biography of Simón Bolívar. García Hamilton is a
contributor to newspapers and magazines in Argentina, Uruguay, and the
United States.

García Hamilton met with dissidents in visits to Cuba in 1996 and
2005, according to press reports. A 1997 book by García Hamilton
analyzed authoritarian governments in Latin America and included a
preface by Carlos Montaner, an opponent of the Castro regime, the
Argentine press reported. In an interview with an Argentine radio
station today, he said he believed the deportation may be related to the
book and its preface.

Argentina's Embassy in Cuba sent the Cuban government a letter on
Saturday asking for an explanation. That was followed on Monday by an
official request for information from Argentina's Foreign Ministry.

"The Cuban government's actions make clear that it is continuing a
longstanding pattern of retaliating against writers who offer critical
viewpoints," CPJ Executive Director Ann Cooper said.

http://www.cpj.org/news/2006/americas/cuba21feb06na.html