CUBAN EMBASSY LAUNCHES ANOTHER PRO-CUBA GROUP IN

UNCLAS NASSAU 000294 E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KPAO PGOV PREL CU BF SUBJECT: CUBAN EMBASSY LAUNCHES ANOTHER PRO-CUBA GROUP IN NASSAU REF: A. NASSAU 181 ¶B. NASSAU 121 ¶1. (U) The Cuban Ambassador in Nassau launched the "Bahamas-Cuba Friendship Association" May 2 at a May Day event at his residence, according to local media and the Cuban Embassy's web site. Attendees included Cuban diplomats, Cuban teachers working in The Bahamas, Bahamian graduates of Cuban universities, Ministry of Education officials, teachers, and -- in the words of a journalist covering the event -- "other Bahamians with ties to Cuba and who support the ending of the economic embargo imposed on Cuba by the United States." Some local media covered the event, without fanfare but uncritically, as usual. ¶2. (U) In addition to calling for the end of the embargo, the Cuban Ambassador and Felix Bethel, associate professor at the College of The Bahamas, called for the release of five Cuban agents imprisoned in the U.S. Professor Bethel also belongs to a Bahamian group which periodically agitates on behalf of Cuba's "Five Spies". A third group uniting Cubans residing in The Bahamas was founded in February 2008 (ref A). The GCOB and Cuba signed a technical agreement in education, health, and agriculture in March with a view to continuing past programs (ref B). ¶3. (U) COMMENT: The founding of a "new" pro-Cuba, anti-blockade group appears directly aimed at ending the embargo. ZUNIGA-BROWN