NotiSur - Latin American Political Affairs
March 1, 1996
------------------------------------------------------------
L A T I N A M E R I C A D A T A B A S E
NotiSur - Latin American Political Affairs
ISSN 1060-4189 Volume 6, Number 9 March 1, 1996
------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright 1996, Latin America Data Base (LADB), Latin
American Institute, University of New Mexico
Director: Nelson Valdes
Associate director: Roma Arellano
Managing editor: Kevin Robinson
Staff writers:
Patricia Hynds, Carlos Navarro, Robert Sandels
In This Issue:
U.S. TIGHTENS SANCTIONS AGAINST CUBA AFTER
DOWNING OF TWO EXILE PLANES OFF CUBAN COAST
COSTA RICA: GOVERNMENT BAFFLED & TOURIST
INDUSTRY WORRIED BY KIDNAP CASE
COSTA RICA: INTELLIGENCE CHIEF IS SUSPENDED
IN WIRETAP-EXTORTION CASE
DOCUMENT: STATE DEPARTMENT TRAVEL WARNING FOR CUBA
____________________________________________________________
*****************************************
Multilateral Issues
*****************************************
U.S. TIGHTENS SANCTIONS AGAINST CUBA AFTER
DOWNING OF TWO EXILE PLANES OFF CUBAN COAST
On Feb. 24, Cuban fighter planes shot down two aircraft
operated by the anti-Castro Cuban exile group Hermanos al
Rescate. The incident brought swift condemnation from the
US and, after much US pressure, a UN Security Council
statement "deploring" the downing of the two planes. Cuba
said that the planes entered Cuban airspace in a deliberate
provocation to derail moves to improve relations between the
two countries.
Four crew members from the two downed planes are
missing and presumed dead. A third plane, piloted by
Hermanos al Rescate founder Jose Basulto, escaped and
returned to Miami.
According to US sources, the Hermanos pilots notified
the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on the morning of
Feb. 24 that they intended to fly a course that skirted the
24th parallel, a point in the Caribbean that, by
international agreement, is recognized as under Cuban
control because of its proximity to Cuban military bases
(see US State Department Document in this issue of NotiSur).
The FAA provided Cuban air traffic controllers with the
flight plan, which is standard procedure for any
international flight originating in the US.
Tapes of conversation between Basulto and the Cuban
control tower show that Cuba warned the planes to turn back.
However, Basulto acknowledged the warning but responded that
he had the right to enter the area because he is a "free
man."
After the incident, US President Bill Clinton strongly
condemned the downing of the planes and called a meeting of
his security advisors to decide on the US response. On
Feb. 28, Clinton announced a series of steps to punish the
Cuban government. The president said he would ask Congress
to pass legislation providing immediate compensation to the
four victims' families to be paid out of Cuban accounts that
have been frozen in the US since the 1960s. In addition, he
announced his support for the Helms-Burton bill, which aims
to tighten the US embargo against Cuba. Clinton also
ordered the expansion of Radio Marti, a US government-run
radio station that beams anti-Castro programs into Cuba.
Moreover, Clinton said he would impose additional
restrictions on US travel by Cuban officials and
indefinitely suspend all charter air travel from the US to
Cuba. However, Clinton did not reverse the steps taken
last fall to facilitate US and Cuban media to expand their
operations in both countries. He also did not sever direct
telephone links or withdraw American diplomats from Cuba.
Meanwhile, the US Ambassador to the UN, Madeleine
Albright, called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security
Council, exerting considerable pressure on the other members
to "condemn" the Cuban government action. Although by
rotation the US was presiding over the Security Council at
the time, Albright did not follow normal UN protocol and
excuse herself from presiding, because the US was a party in
the matter at hand.
However, the best Albright could do, after 16 hours of
debate, was obtain approval for a statement that "strongly
deplores" the action.
The Security Council statement was accepted
unanimously, although without a formal vote, meaning it
carries less weight than a formal council resolution, which
would have required a vote. It cites international
agreement banning the use of weapons against civilian
aircraft and asks the UN's International Civil Aviation
Organization (ICAO) in Montreal to conduct an immediate
investigation, although neither the US nor any of the other
Security Council members has ratified the agreement
accepting the authority of the ICAO.
Albright released transcripts of communications between
the Cuban pilots and ground control that she said proved
that Cuba knew the planes posed no threat. She called the
action "cold-blooded murder."
When asked whether the US would seek UN sanctions,
Albright said the US would wait for the ICAO investigation
and then would "consult" on what further action might be
taken at the UN.
But most diplomats believe the chance of international
sanctions is slim. While UN bodies have criticized Cuba
regularly for human rights violations, the UN General
Assembly has also voted overwhelmingly four years in a row
to end the three-decade-old US trade embargo against Havana.
Cuban Foreign Minister Roberto Robaina Gonzalez, who
rushed to New York to present his country's case to the UN,
criticized Albright for pressuring the Security Council to
meet and make a decision on the issue before he arrived.
Robaina requested a special meeting of the General Assembly
so that he could present the Cuban side of the controversy.
The Cubans claim the planes violated their airspace and
were part of a series of deliberate provocations by Cuban
exiles, with the backing of US intelligence agencies and
sectors of Congress.
Supporting his contention that the US was well aware
that the planes were in Cuban territory, Robaina pointed out
that the US requested permission from Cuba to search Cuban
waters for the remains of the downed pilots.
Cuba said the downing of "pirate planes" in the
country's airspace should serve as a lesson to exiles who
seek to increase tensions between Washington and Havana.
"These violations have happened many times, despite
warnings that Cuba would not tolerate them, and there is a
limit to patience," a Cuban Foreign Ministry statement said.
"The Cuban government has pointed out the seriousness of
these incidents, and the consequences they might bring
about."
Responding to the Security Council's declaration,
Cuba's Foreign Ministry accused the UN body of acting
hastily and under US pressure.
"The situation illustrates the cost for small and
independent nations of living in a one-sided world under the
hegemony of the US," the statement said. "We need to
clearly define what a civilian aircraft is. Many crimes
have been committed against our nation by so-called civilian
aircraft coming from the US."
While Cuba said it welcomed the ICAO investigation, it
also said, "Cuba will not discuss with the council or
experts of any organization our right and duty to protect
the sovereignty of our country, preserve our borders, and
defend the independence of the nation at whatever cost is
necessary."
In Miami, reaction from the exile community was swift
and predictable. Jorge Mas Canosa, head of the powerful
Cuban American National Foundation (CANF), condemned the
attack.
"For two warplanes from the Castro government to shoot
down two unarmed civilian planes with American flags on a
humanitarian mission should be considered an act of war
against the US," Mas Canosa said.
However, Miguel Alfonso Martinez of the Cuban Foreign
Ministry said that during the last 20 months, planes
belonging to the Hermanos group, whose stated goal is to
overthrow the Cuban government, had flown into Cuban
airspace 25 times.
"What would happen if an unidentified, or an
identified, aircraft piloted by declared enemies of the US
was detected flying over Washington?" asked Alfonso
Martinez. "What would the US authorities do? Would they
allow it to continue flying undisturbed?"
Alfonso Martinez also said the two aircraft that were
shot down were "not common civilian aircraft," as suggested
by the US.
"This is not the case of an innocent civilian airliner
that, because of an instrument error, departs from an air
corridor and gets into the airspace of another country,"
said Alfonso Martinez. "These people knew what they were
doing. They were warned. They wanted to take certain
actions that were clearly intended to destabilize the Cuban
government and the US authorities knew about their
intentions."
The Hermanos al Rescate group is among the most active
anti-Castro organizations in Miami. It was founded in 1991
by Martin Perez and Jose Basulto, a veteran of the 1961 Bay
of Pigs invasion and later, by his own admission, on the
CIA payroll. Backed by the CANF, Basulto and several other
former CIA operatives founded Hermanos for supposedly
humanitarian purposes. In 1994, when thousands of Cubans
left the island on rafts heading for the US, Hermanos pilots
flew over the waters between Cuba and Florida to spot
rafters and rescue them.
After the Clinton administration refused to allow more
rafters to enter the US, Hermanos found itself without an
obvious purpose. It then began efforts to foment internal
dissent and encourage "civil disobedience" in Cuba. The
group saw its defiance of Cuban law and Cuban airspace as an
example of civil disobedience for Cubans on the island. As
of last year, the group had five planes and a US$1.2 million
annual budget, all from donations--including substantial
CANF contributions.
Several times during the past year, including on Jan. 9
and again on Jan. 13, Hermanos flew over Havana dropping
leaflets calling for Cubans to engage in civil disobedience
and to support the fledgling Concilio Cubano, an umbrella
group of 130 internal opposition groups encouraged and
funded by the Miami exile community and US government and
nongovernment agencies, including Hermanos.
Cuban authorities have been very wary of the Concilio,
since the Clinton administration authorized funds to aid
nongovernment organizations that "promote Western democracy"
and "respect for human rights," aims that Cuba clearly sees
as code words for efforts to overthrow the government.
The Concilio had scheduled its first congress for Feb.
24, which is the anniversary of Cuba's independence from
Spain. Hermanos planned to take advantage of the
Concilio's meeting and the Havana carnaval celebration to
fly over Havana and drop leaflets again.
Since the Jan. 13 incursion into Cuban airspace, which
Cuba formally protested to the US, Basulto had been under
investigation by the FAA, and officials said they repeatedly
warned him about the danger of continuing the flights over
Cuba. Although the FAA had threatened to take away
Basulto's license for the illegal flights, no action had
been taken.
Adding to the many unanswered questions following the
downing of the planes, another Hermano pilot unexpectedly
left Miami on Feb. 23 and turned up in Havana. Juan Pablo
Roque, a former major in the Cuban air force, supposedly
defected four years ago. He was quickly recruited by
Hermanos and flew several Hermanos missions. His return to
Havana raised speculation that he was sent by Cuba to
infiltrate Hermanos.
Despite being dismissed as a Cuban agent by US
officials, Roque denied that he worked for the Cuban
government. He said he returned home because he had become
disillusioned with the methods of Hermanos, including what
he said were its plans to carry out attacks in Cuba. Roque
appeared on Cuban television to denounce "the truly illegal
and anti-Cuban character of Hermanos al Rescate."
While in Miami, Roque was paid by the FBI. He said the
FBI warned him on Feb. 21 not to fly with Hermanos that
weekend and said the US knew Cuba planned to shoot down any
planes that violated its airspace.
Roque's declarations brought questions about the role
of agencies such as the FBI and CIA in the activities of the
exile community. However, White House spokesperson David
Johnson said that "there does not exist, nor has there
existed, any tie between the North American intelligence
services and Hermanos al Rescate," adding that the
organization is "not a front" for those services, nor is it
financed by them.
Meanwhile, Basulto announced that on Mar. 2, the group
would fly its remaining planes, accompanied by a flotilla of
small boats, to the spot where the aircraft were shot down
to "pay homage" to their comrades. However, the Clinton
administration at first pressured the FAA and the Coast
Guard to do something to ground Basulto and stop the
demonstration. The White House asked the FAA to limit
flights over international waters separating Florida and
Cuba, in part to halt any provocative acts by Cuban exiles.
Later, the administration reversed itself and announced
that the Coast Guard would accompany the demonstrators, whom
it warned not to enter Cuban territorial waters or airspace.
Cuba has said that if the group enters Cuban airspace,
it will risk being fired on.
"Let it be clear: the consequences of new provocations
and violations of our airspace would be the sole and entire
responsibility of the US government, which is the place
where the aircraft depart," Robaina said.
Basulto, on the other hand, said it was "incumbent on
the US to defend its planes in international airspace," and
some US lawmakers suggested using US military planes to
"protect" the demonstrators.
In Washington, Kenneth Bacon, a Pentagon spokesperson,
commented that Basulto "seems to be a slow learner."
Many observes believe that Basulto and other hard-line
exiles, unhappy with the relatively light sanctions by
Washington, are determined to raise tensions between Havana
and the US even further to provoke more stringent reprisals
from the Clinton administration.
Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) said Clinton should
impose a naval blockade.
"We want a naval blockade now, we want an economic
embargo that is international in scope," said Ros-Lehtinen,
a Cuban-American who represents a heavily Cuban district in
Miami.
Despite general agreement that, even if the Cuban
version of the events is accurate, it should have responded
with less deadly measures such as forcing the planes to
land, few countries support US policy toward Cuba and many
suspect that the US government had more to do with the
Hermanos operation than has been acknowledged.
Many Cuban scholars say it is clear that hard-liners in
Miami deliberately provoked and incident to force a stronger
position vis-a-vis Cuba from the Clinton administration
during the US election campaign. The Cuban economy has been
improving, tourism is on the rise, and the US business
community has been pushing the government to relax
restrictions to allow the US to capitalize on increasing
business opportunities on the island. The exile community
needed an incident to stop the slow but sure "opening" in
US-Cuban relations in its tracks.
In addition, the downing of the two planes provided
Republicans in Congress with the ammunition they needed to
ensure passage of a compromise version of the Helms-Burton
bill, and it pushed Clinton into agreeing to sign it.
The bill, sponsored by Rep. Dan Burton (R-IN) and Sen.
Jesse Helms (R-NC), had faced opposition from the White
House and had been bogged down in Congress prior to the Feb.
24 incident. Clinton has opposed the bill, particularly
provisions allowing Cuban exiles to file lawsuits in US
courts against international companies that use confiscated
property. Following the downing of the two planes, Clinton
said he would sign the bill.
Formally known as the Cuban Liberty and Democratic
Solidarity Act, the measure would tighten US economic
sanctions on Cuba and then condition any increased US-Cuban
ties on the removal of Castro from power and the election of
a representative government. It will also prevent other
countries from reselling Cuban sugar and other products in
the US.
Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R-FL) said House and Senate
negotiators have added a measure to the bill that will make
US policy toward Cuba law and will prevent the president
from easing sanctions against the Castro regime without
congressional approval.
While the most vociferous sectors of the Miami exile
community continued to denounce Cuba and demand a blockade,
the New York Times quoted Francisco Aruca, a radio
commentator and member of the Cuban faction that favors
dialogue, as saying the incident was "regrettable" but
almost inevitable.
"They have engaged in the kind of action that would
provoke a response," he said. "Whether conceived like that
or not, it will slow down any improvement in relations
between Cuba and the US, which is what they wanted all
along."
That view was echoed by Wayne Smith, former head of the
US interests section in Havana, who said the US was well
aware of the group's escalating provocations and had done
little to stop them.
Smith suggested the facts of the case leave the US with
a weak legal case. One of the Cuban planes did intrude in
Cuban airspace, a senior US official acknowledged, and the
Cuban government had asked the US to stop the flights prior
to the Feb. 24 incident, warning that planes could
eventually be shot down.
"The planes had overflown Cuba before," Smith said.
"The Cuban government had given a protest note to the US
government about the flights," he added.
After an incursion last July, Castro warned that any
aircraft that violated Cuban airspace risked being shot
down.
Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY) said that as much as Cuban
President Fidel Castro may be an enemy of freedom, "No group
of Americans has the right to go over Cuba and dispense
propaganda in violation of Cuban law." The Cuban-American
community in Miami "has taken the law and foreign policy
into their own hands," said Rangel. (Sources: Associated
Press, 02/24/96, 02/27/96; United Press International,
02/25/96, 02/27/96; Granma, 02/27/96; Reuter, 02/24/96,
02/27/96, 02/28/96; Agence France-Presse, 02/27/96,
02/28/96; New York Times, 02/27/96, 02/28/96)
*****************************************
Human rights & legal issues
*****************************************
COSTA RICA: GOVERNMENT BAFFLED & TOURIST
INDUSTRY WORRIED BY KIDNAP CASE
Two months after the kidnapping of two European women
in a remote area of northeastern Costa Rica, authorities
have yet to enter direct negotiations over the kidnappers'
demands. The abduction has heightened fears of mounting
crime rates and has given the government cause to worry that
the vital tourist industry will be hurt by bad publicity.
On Jan. 1, a group of nine masked men and one woman
entered the Laguna Lagarto Lodge in remote northeastern
Costa Rica, 20 km from the Nicaraguan border, and kidnapped
the two European women. The kidnap victims are Nicola
Fleuchaus, a tourist from Germany, and tour guide Regula
Susana Siegfried, a Swiss resident of Costa Rica. The lodge
is near the town of Pital de San Carlos in an area once used
by the US-backed contra forces during the civil war in
Nicaragua in the 1980s.
Before fleeing toward the Nicaraguan border in a
vehicle stolen from the lodge's proprietor, the kidnappers
asked that Eduardo Bolanos, a priest from Pital de San
Carlos, serve as mediator in negotiating their demands with
the Costa Rican government. The vehicle was later found
abandoned next to the San Juan river, which marks the
border. Costa Rican police and Nicaraguan military
personnel quickly closed off a large jungle area where the
kidnappers were thought to be hiding.
In a letter found at the lodge, the kidnappers asked
for a ransom of US$1 million in US currency and US$5,000 in
Costa Rican currency.
In addition, the note contained social and political
demands: an 18% increase in the minimum wage; a reduction in
the prices of basic food items; a freeze on rates for basic
public services; job guarantees for workers; and the release
from prison of several members of a group that held the
justices of the Supreme Court captive for a week in 1993.
The note was signed, "Comando Viviana Gallarado."
Gallarado was arrested in 1981 on charges of terrorism and
murder and was killed while in custody. But the existence
of any revolutionary or terrorist group named after her has
until now been unknown.
The kidnappers told the guests at the lodge that they
were working against the government.
"This thing is not against you," said one of the gang
members. "We are struggling against the government to force
it to lower the price of food, electricity, and water."
Authorities dismissed the claim, implicit in the note,
that the kidnappers have political motives. Minister of
Information Alejandro Soto said that "the only thing they
want is money."
Nevertheless, the gang members' behavior seemed
inconsistent with the official theory that they were common
criminals. The owner of the Laguna del Lagarto Lodge, a
German citizen named Vinzenz Schmack, said he doubted that
they were common criminals because they did not rob the
guests in the lodge nor take US$4,000 in cash that was in
the safe. They took only some food, two watches, insect
repellent, and Schmack's vehicle.
During the first weeks after the kidnapping, the
government received various telephone and written messages,
one of which threatened terrorist acts against electric
power transmission lines and bridges if the government did
not agree to the demands. Another message threatened to
blow up the Arenal hydroelectric dam and threatened a US
family living in Costa Rica, though without naming the
family. However, authorities quickly rejected the
authenticity of these messages.
Meanwhile, police arrested a man on Jan. 29 whom they
consider to be the prime suspect in the kidnapping. In the
late 1970s, the suspect, Teodoro Amador Perez, was a member
of Eden Pastora's Nicaraguan guerrilla band and participated
in the rebellion against the dictatorship of Anastasio
Somoza.
After the initial search of the area, the case was
taken over by agents of the judicial investigation unit
(Organismo de Investigacion Judicial, OIJ) of the Supreme
Court, assisted by German and US police advisors. Early in
the investigation, Soto ruled out the payment of any ransom.
Reports of thefts of food from farms near the lodge led
police to assume that the gang was still in the area
throughout January. OIJ director Manuel Alvarado announced
on Jan. 17 that the police net around the area would be
relaxed to permit Bolanos to cruise the San Carlos river in
an attempt to make contact with the kidnappers. On Feb. 1,
Bolanos plied the river without making contact, which the
government blamed on the presence of a television news team.
Finally on Jan 22. the kidnappers sent a second note
via a priest in the town of Sarapiqui near the Nicaraguan
border. The note repeated the original ransom demands.
Accompanying the note was a letter signed by Siegfried and
later authenticated by the victim's daughter, Manuela
Siegfried. The letter said that both of the victims were
being well treated.
On the following day, the government responded to the
note, promising to respect the lives of the kidnappers, and
for the first time publicly answering the kidnappers'
political and social demands.
"In accordance with the Constitution, the government of
the Republic will search for policies to promote social
justice and the rational and equitable use of national
wealth," said the communique.
The response signaled a change in the official view
that the kidnapping was a common crime motivated solely by
money. Without conceding the 18% raise in the minimum wage
or any other specific demand, the government's reply
promised to respect all current labor agreements.
Additional ransom notes surfaced in February. A
message from the kidnapers was faxed on Feb. 20 to the Swiss
correspondent in Costa Rica for a Zurich newspaper. Sources
said that other contacts made by the kidnappers through an
anonymous third party have not been made public. In
addition to repeating the original demands, the fax lists a
number of new grievances including accusations of police
brutality during the public school teachers strike last year
(see Chronicle, 07/03/95, 07/24/95).
The most recent communication from the kidnappers,
received by a San Jose television station and released by
the government on Feb. 23, warned that the kidnappers would
allow the two victims to starve to death if the government
does not pay the US#$1 million ransom by March 1.
Authorities made no comment on the authenticity of the
message or on whether the ultimatum repeated earlier demands
that the government raise wages and respond to other social
problems.
On the same day, the families of the two women
attempted to initiate direct contact with the kidnappers,
repeating, with the backing of President Jose Maria
Figueres, the government's promise not to make any attempt
on the kidnappers' lives.
The kidnapping has stirred fears in the tourist
industry that bad publicity will keep foreign tourists away.
Mario Socatelli, vice president of the National Tourism
Chamber (Camara Nacional de Turismo, CANATUR), said he was
"extremely worried" about the effect the kidnapping might
have on the industry.
Tourists from Germany make up 6% of the total number of
foreign visitors annually. Soto expressed concern that
Neckerman, a tour operator who organizes German tours to
Costa Rica, would cancel future package tours to Costa Rica.
Tourism is now Costa Rica's biggest source of foreign
currency. In 1995, the country attracted over 700,000
visitors who spent US$506 million. More than 130,000 of the
1995 visitors were from Europe and 40,000 of these were from
Germany.
A recent poll indicated that tourists are increasingly
concerned about personal security in Costa Rica. In
addition to the kidnapping, late last year 15 German
tourists were held up near San Jose and robbed of US$50,000.
(Sources: Reuter, 01/04/96, 01/07/96, 01/16/96, 01/17/96;
Notimex, 01/25/96; Inter Press Service, 01/03/96, 01/25/96;
Deutsche Press Agentur, 01/12/96, 01/30/96; La Nacion,
01/17/95, 01/31/96, 02/05/95, 02/12/96; Tico Times,
01/09/96, 01/16/96, 02/23/96; Agence France-Presse,
01/03/96, 01/04/96, 01/09/96, 01/12/96, 01/17/96, 01/22/96,
01/23/4/96, 01/24/96, 01/25/96, 02/12/96, 02/27/96)
COSTA RICA: INTELLIGENCE CHIEF IS SUSPENDED
IN WIRETAP-EXTORTION CASE
The director of the Intelligence and Security Agency
(Direccion de Inteligencia y Seguridad, DIS), Mario Soto,
was suspended after evidence came to light that members of
his agency may have worked with ASTUR, a San Jose security
firm owned by Spanish nationals, to eavesdrop on telephone
conversations of businesspeople and government officials.
The scandal forced President Jose Maria Figueres to
agree to a special commission to investigate the ties
between ASTUR and various government officials, especially
DIS personnel. DIS was set up in 1994 as a high-level
national security agency that reports directly to the
president.
The allegations have expanded to include assertions
made on Feb. 22 by Rodrigo Gutierrez of the opposition
Partido Unidad Social Cristiana (PUSC) that DIS
"facilitated" the illegal immigration of women from the
Dominican Republic to work as prostitutes in the San Jose
Night Club Olympus.
An official of ASTUR's Spanish parent company ININCO
was quoted by local newspapers as saying ASTUR was
established in Costa Rica at the invitation of a senior
government official whom he did not name. An article in the
San Jose newspaper La Republica said that former minster of
the presidency Elias Soley and his brother Fernando Soley
had ties with ASTUR. Press reports link Fernando Soley with
Jose Ramon Romani of ININCO, who is the former manager of
ASTUR.
Fernando Soley was serving as the Costa Rican honorary
consul in New Orleans when the scandal broke. He has since
resigned his post and returned to Costa Rica to defend
himself against the allegations arising from the scandal.
The charges against DIS began with complaints by 12
local businesses alleging that ASTUR had recorded their
telephone conversations and then used the recordings to
force them to purchase security services.
Magistrate Rodolfo Piza Escalante of the Supreme Court
of Justice also said that a special device attached to his
telephone indicated that it has been tapped for some time,
as have the telephones of two other magistrates. Albino
Vargas, secretary general of the public employees union
(Asociacion Nacional de Empleados Publicos, ANEP), said he
has believed for some time that union telephone calls were
being intercepted.
Although the wiretap and extortion scandal erupted
suddenly in early February, Attorney General Carlos Arias
Nunez said his office has been investigating ASTUR since
last year based on police information about the firm's
activities.
After a search of ASTUR offices on Feb. 8, Judicial
Investigative Police (Organismo de Investigacion Judicial,
OIJ)) confiscated boxes of documents, electronic
surveillance equipment, and explosives.
The scandal has resulted in a three-pronged
governmental investigation. The Fourth Court of Instruction
is looking into the activities of ASTUR, the attorney
general is investigating Soto and DIS, and the Legislative
Assembly is considering whether violations of the 1994
wiretap law have occurred.
PUSC deputy Miguel Angel Rodriguez introduced a motion
in the Assembly to set up a blue-ribbon commission, headed
by former president Mario Echandi (1958-1962), to thoroughly
investigate ASTUR. After resisting the proposal for several
days, Figueres capitulated on Feb. 28 when PUSC deputies
threatened to hold up a vote authorizing him to leave the
country for a European trip.
The Fourth Court of Instruction has information from
former ASTUR employee Minor Masis, alleging that Spanish
technicians and DIS officials installed listening devices in
the offices of Elias Soley while he was minister of the
presidency. Masis is a former leader of the "Comando
Cobra," an elite security organization set up in 1992 by
then security minister Luis Fishman. Masis is awaiting
trial in connection with two homicides attributed to the
Comando.
Masis and another former DIS employee said that the
surveillance equipment entered the country with the
assistance of "national security." This statement prompted
Minister of the Presidency Rodrigo Oreamuno to order Soto's
suspension. According to articles in La Republica, Soto and
Fernando Soley helped ASTUR import cars and security
equipment duty-free on the pretext that the items were for
government use.
In an interview published in the newspaper La Nacion on
Feb. 23, Soto said DIS had nothing to do with tapping
telephones.
"We have always respected the law on telephone
interceptions," he said.
Soto said he knew of ASTUR through Fernando Soley and
that his interest in the company was confined to sending
agents to investigate its activities. A report of the
investigation was then forwarded to the OIJ, he said. The
report referred to a few "irregularities," including the
hiring of Minor Masis. After that, DIS had no more contact
with the firm, Soto said.
He also denied arranging the duty-free importation of
ASTUR equipment and suggested that the attorney general
should investigate the customs authorities.
But on Feb. 27, Soto admitted to illegal telephone
interceptions, according to a press report. He apparently
said that DIS had indeed illegally bugged telephones, but
that the special detail set up to do it had been disbanded
on Feb. 15 under orders from higher government officials.
(Sources: Tico Times, 02/16/96; Agence France-Presse,
02/14/96, 02/16/96, 02/22/96, 02/27/96; La Nacion, 02/14/96,
02/15/95, 02/23/96, 02/28/96, 02/29/96)
*****************************************
Documents
*****************************************
DOCUMENT: STATE DEPARTMENT TRAVEL WARNING FOR CUBA
TITLE: TRAVEL WARNING
SUBJECT COUNTRY(IES): CUBA
POST OF ORIGIN: DEPARTMENT OF STATE
DATE OF REPORT: August 9th 1995
SUBJECT: PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT: CUBA
The Department of State warns that entering Cuban
territory, territorial waters or airspace without prior
authorization from the Cuban government may cause one to be
subject to arrest or other enforcement action by Cuban
authorities for violation of Cuban law.
Generally speaking, under international law each
coastal state may claim a 12 mile territorial sea. A
country's sovereignty extends to the airspace over its
territorial sea. Cuba claims a 12 mile territorial sea.
Hence, any vessel or aircraft that goes inside the 12-mile
limit off Cuba would be inside Cuban territorial waters or
airspace and thus subject to the jurisdiction of the Cuban
government.
Furthermore, under international agreement, Cuba
provides air traffic control services up to the 25th
parallel, an area well beyond its territorial jurisdiction.
As required under the convention on international civil
aviation, to which the United States is a signatory,
aircraft transiting another country's controlled airspace
must follow established international rules of the air
including positive communication with the providing air
traffic service and submission of a flight plan.
In a public statement issued on July 14, the Cuban
government asserted its "firm determination" to take actions
necessary to defend Cuban territorial sovereignty and to
prevent unauthorized incursions into Cuban territorial
waters and airspace. The statement continued, "Once more
(the Cuban government) warns that any boat from abroad can
be sunk and any airplane downed." The Department takes this
statement seriously.
The freedom to travel, recognized by international
agreement, does not give anyone the right to enter a
particular country, including Cuba, without prior
authorization. All travelers must comply with the
immigration, customs and other applicable laws of the
country concerned.
If persons enter Cuban territorial waters or airspace
without prior permission, they may place themselves and
others at serious personal risk. If they are detained, the
ability of the United States government to assist them would
be very limited. The United States government cannot obtain
the release of U.S. citizens arrested abroad. Cuban
authorities sometimes deny consular access by U.S. officials
to American citizens of Cuban birth.
In addition, there would be very little, if anything,
the United States government could do to assist persons
arrested in Cuba who are not American citizens.
The Department of State urges all persons who wish to
travel to Cuba or to enter Cuban territorial waters or
airspace to do so using safe, orderly and legal means, and
to avoid unnecessary risks to themselves and others.
