GOC PROMOTES MUTUAL RECRIMINATIONS AND STRONG ARM

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 HAVANA 000329 SIPDIS DEPT FOR WHA/CCA E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/25/2019 TAGS: ECON PREL PHUM CU SUBJECT: GOC PROMOTES MUTUAL RECRIMINATIONS AND STRONG ARM TACTICS TO CRIPPLE CUBAN OPPOSITION REF: HAVANA 221 HAVANA 00000329 001.3 OF 002 Classified By: COM Jonathan Farrar for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) Summary: For the past several weeks leading opposition groups have been racked with severe personal quarrels coupled with widely disseminated accusations that leading dissident figures are agents of Cuban state security (see reftel). At the same time a broad cross section of our contacts in civil society are reporting more intense and in some cases violent repression by security forces. Experienced dissidents tell us that they believe that state security is behind the increase in internal squabbling and that the GOC effort to disrupt their activities is the most comprehensive they have seen. End Summary. Continued Efforts to Divide the Opposition -------------- ¶2. (C) With the exception of Oswaldo Paya's National Dialogue movement, all of the major opposition organizations are in the midst of internal power struggles. ¶3. (C) DAMAS DIVIDED OVER TACTICS: Laura Pollan, spokesperson for the organization Damas de Blanco, told Poloff that several members of her organization were causing dissension in the organization by urging more confrontational tactics. Pollan opposes such tactics on the grounds that they diminish the high moral position that the organization had gained internationally. ¶4. (C) UNITY PROJECT IN SHAMBLES: Martha Beatriz Roque and Vladimir Roca resigned leadership of the unity project, Agenda for Transition and then immediately fell victim to accusations of being agents of state security. ¶5. (C) FINGERS POINT AT ROBERTO DE MIRANDA: Several leading dissidents made public accusations that they were in possession of photographs that showed Roberto de Miranda, one of the founders of the independent library movement and president of an organization of academics discharged for political reason, delivering material to a known MININT agent. ¶6. (C) NASCENT POLITICAL PARTIES ON THE ROCKS: Two factions of the Party 30 of November expelled each other and both claimed to be the legitimate leadership of the organization. 30 of November was one of the most activist organizations in the opposition and had a national organization representing a wide range of socio-economic levels. Meanwhile, the entire minuscule Republican Party of Cuba has collapsed completely Show of Force -------------- ¶7. (C) SHOW OF FORCE: There has been a marked increase from various USINT contacts of reports that the authorities have been using violence against dissidents. These have ranged from complaints that excessive force was used to break up very small gatherings to individuals alleging that they were beaten up in the street by thugs from state security. On May 25, Jose Diaz Silva was holding at his house an event to mark the anniversary of his organization, "Movement of the Opposition for a New Republic". About 40 people were in attendance, a very large crowd for an opposition event in Cuba. Reportedly uniformed police burst in with drawn weapons. According to dissident sources, police struck Diaz Silva on the chest with the butt of a gun. Police also hit Diaz Silva's son Ernesto on the shoulder with a billy club. ¶7. (C) Comment: At a time when Cuba faces acute economic problems, as well as discussions about the future of relations with the EU and the US, the GOC appears to be pushing hard to intimidate and marginalize the opposition without resorting to tactics such as mass arrests that could generate problems for it among outside observers. The sowing of mistrust is likely to have continual debilitating effects on Cuban civil society and leave supporters completely HAVANA 00000329 002.4 OF 002 confused as to whom they can trust. The GOC continues to demonstrate that it will not tolerate any type of public protest. FARRAR