Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08HAVANA383
2008-05-13 16:23:00
CONFIDENTIAL
US Interests Section Havana
Cable title:  

BRIGADE 2506 ATTRACTS LITTLE INTEREST AMONG CUBAN

Tags:  CU PGOV PHUM PINR PREL 
pdf how-to read a cable
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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 HAVANA 000383 

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR WHA/CCA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/11/2017
TAGS: CU PGOV PHUM PINR PREL
SUBJECT: BRIGADE 2506 ATTRACTS LITTLE INTEREST AMONG CUBAN
DISSIDENTS

Classified By: COM: James L. Williams: For reasons 1.4 b/d

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 HAVANA 000383

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR WHA/CCA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/11/2017
TAGS: CU PGOV PHUM PINR PREL
SUBJECT: BRIGADE 2506 ATTRACTS LITTLE INTEREST AMONG CUBAN
DISSIDENTS

Classified By: COM: James L. Williams: For reasons 1.4 b/d


1. (C) Summary: Brigade 2506, a Florida-based organization
that includes many Bay of Pigs veterans, asked USINT to
facilitate a video conference with two Cuban dissidents it
selected by Brigade 2506 , as well as a representative of
FLAMUR (the Federation of Latin American Rural Women).
Brigade 2506 initially told USINT that the appearances of
Congressmen Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, and Mario and Lincoln Diaz
Balart were confirmed. In response, USINT sought to broaden
participation on the Cuban end by inviting leading
pro-democracy activists, including Laura Pollan, Guillermo
Farinas, Jorge Luis Garcia Perez, Oscar Espinosa Chepe and
Vladimiro Roca. All initially agreed, and then declined to
participate when the day before the conference on May 9,
Brigade 2506 acknowledged that the congressmen might not
attend as part of a tightly-controlled agenda orchestrated by
Brigade 2506 for the event. The exchange mainly consisted of
the three Cuban participants readily agreeing to the
assertions about the imminence of change made by the panel in
Miami. End Summary.


2. (C) USINT, at the request of Brigade 2506, a
Florida-based organization made up largely of Bay of Pigs
veterans, facilitated a video conference with Cuban
dissidents. Brigade 2506 requested the appearance of their
representative in Cuba, Mario Ortega, as well as Lazaro
Pietro Alvarez of the Commission for Political Prisoners and
their Families. Ortega is little known to USINT and his
local organization consists of seven members. Alvarez's
organization is a small group within the many organizations
that claim to provide assistance to political prisoners and
their families. Brigade 2506's president, Segundo Miranda,
also requested that a Cuban representative of the
organization FLAMUR Cuba be present. USINT invited FLAMUR
president, Belinda Salas Tapanes, to attend.


3. (C) Brigade 2506 had told USINT on April 9 that the
participation of Congressmen Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, and Mario
and Lincoln Diaz Balart in the video-conference was
confirmed. In an effort to broaden participation beyond the

individuals hand-selected by Brigade 2506, USINT invited a
diverse group of prominent opposition figures to participate.
Initially, Vladimiro Roca; Jorge Luis Garcia Perez
("Antunez"); Laura Pollan, spokesperson for "Ladies in
White"; Oscar Espinosa Chepe, opposition economist, and
independent journalist Guillermo "Coco" Farinas all agreed to
participate. However, when Brigade 2506 sent on May 8 their
own detailed and tightly choreographed agenda without mention
of the Congressmen, all five declined to take part in the
video-conference. Roca specifically said that the group in
Miami seemed to want to present their program rather than
learn about the current situation in Cuba.


4. (C) None of the Congressmen appeared for the
video-conference on May 9, despite protestations from Brigade
2506 that the Diaz-Balart brothers still might show up.
(Representative Ros-Lehtinen was busy meeting the President
of Panama, a meeting that was likely on her schedule for
weeks). Besides members of Brigade 2506 present in Miami
were Laida Carro, of the Coalition of Cuban American Women,
and Magdelivia Hidalgo, International Representative of
FLAMUR. The three Cuban participants readily agreed to
statements from the Miami side such as that the vast majority
of Cubans want immediate systematic change, that the 1940
Cuban constitution has great relevance for democratic change,
and that Estonia is a model of economic reform. Salas
represented that FLAMUR's campaign to end the dual currency
system was meeting with a lot of success. (Note: FLAMUR Cuba
has been racked with internal strife, leadership battles and
a lawsuit about the use of the organization's name. End
Note).


5. (C) Midalgo did ask that more attention be made to the
situation of Maria de los Angeles Borrego-Mir, Cuba's only
female political prisoner. De los Angeles, after serving out
the maximum four-year penalty for "dangerousness," was
immediately charged with another four-year sentence, which
she is currently serving in Manto-negro prison. The

HAVANA 00000383 002 OF 002


crime of "dangerousness" requires no proof beyond a police
statement that a person is capable of anti-social acts.


6. (C) Comment: The most prominent Cuban dissidents with
whom post deals on an almost daily basis have little interest
in what they perceive to be one-way conversations that
reinforce the views of Cuban-American organizations in the
US. Leading Cuban opposition leaders, in contrast, see the
situation as fluid and are constantly trying to adjust to the
regime's evolving tactics. Also, Brigade 2506's apparent
"bait and switch" tactic of first offering, then withdrawing,
the participation of prominent congressmen from Florida gives
the post pause about repeating this experience in the future.

WILLIAMS
PARMLY