Chief of the Cuban Interests Section Dagoberto RodrÌguez Barrera Seeking to End 40-Year Embargo by Larry Luxner In May, President George W. Bushómarking the 100th anniversary of Cuban independence in Miamiómade clear that he would oppose any attempt to end the 40-year-old U.S. trade embargo against Cuba until Fidel Castro is dead, overthrown or voted out of office. To that end, the Bush administration has encouraged the U.S. diplomats in Cuba to hand out short-wave radios and give moral and financial support to dissidents. Castro, comparing the Bush administration to ìNazi rule,î reacted angrily in early July by threatening for the first time to end bilateral migration talks and shut the U.S. Interests Section in Havana. If that happens, the United States would likely retaliate by closing the Cuban Interests Section in Washington, D.C., but the head of that mission, Dagoberto RodrÌguez Barrera, says things probably wonít get that bad. ìWe are asking the American side to behave properly,î Rodriguez told The Washington Diplomat over cups of Cubita coffee last month. ìWe donít want to see the U.S. Interests Section in Havana closed. We believe the Interests Section and the immigration accords play an important role, even in this difficult situation, so itís definitely not something we want to see.î Besides the usual duties of running an embassy, such as attending cocktail parties, receiving delegations, and keeping up with the latest Capitol Hill gossip, the 47-year-old RodrÌguez operates under one especially heavy burden: His country lacks diplomatic relations with the United States. In 1961ótwo years after the Marxist revolution that swept Castro into poweróPresident John F. Kennedy declared a trade embargo against the Cuban government and shuttered the U.S. Embassy in Havana. That utter absence of diplomatic ties continued until 1977, when President Jimmy Carter, in a brief relaxation of hostilities, signed a bilateral accord that established interests sections in each otherís capitals. Theoretically, the U.S. Interests Sectionóa five-story building occupying a choice piece of real estate along Havanaís waterfront MalecÛnóis an annex of the Swiss Embassy. Likewise, the stately Cuban Interests Section on 16th Street in Washington belonged to the Embassy of Czechoslovakia until 1991, the year the Czechs embraced democracy and said they no longer wanted to represent communist Cuba. The Swiss agreed to take over that function in a delicate arrangement that has endured ever since. ìAs you can imagine, this is not an easy job, considering the state of relations between our two countries,î says Rodriguez. The envoy, addressed by his subordinates as embajador despite his lack of ambassadorial status in Washington, seems confident in his job, having served for more than 20 years in both the European and North American divisions of Cubaís Ministry of Foreign Affairs. From 1995 to 1999, he was also the Cuban Interests Sectionís expert on congressional affairs, forging links with sympathetic lawmakers and various anti-embargo organizations. He returned to Washington last August, just 20 days before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks against the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. ìAfter 9/11, Cuba was one of the first countries to send condolences to the American people and offer aid,î says RodrÌguez. ìMany times, we have offered to increase cooperation in the fight against terrorism, as well as in the areas of drug interdiction and immigration. But it is not easy because this administration has tried to close any possibility of developing links between the two countries.î RodrÌguez, whose predecessor at the Cuban Interests Section, Fernando RemÌrez de EstenÛz, has since become Cubaís vice minister of foreign affairs, says itís difficult for U.S.-Cuban relations to sink much loweróalthough there are ìtwo sides to this coin.î He notes: ìOne is the official relationship, which is even worse now in the sense that this government has no intention of favoring small areas of cooperation, areas where the people of the U.S. could benefit more than the Cubans. But at the same time, thereís a growing interest within U.S. society in debating the Cuba issue, and in changing U.S. policy.î RodrÌguez adds: ìOur mission statement is to work hard for the establishment of new channels of communication between Cubans and Americans, and to be able to convey to the American people a feeling of friendship and good will from the Cuban people.î Not everybody, however, wants to be RodrÌguezís friend. One such person is Dennis Hays, executive vice president of the Cuban American National Foundation (CANF). The CANF, which recently set up its own ìEmbassy for a Free Cubaî near Dupont Circle, regards the presence of the Cuban Interests Section in Washington as a ìstanding moral offense.î Hays says: ìTheyíve been very effective at creating an image of Cuba that has no basis in reality. Given that they have very little to work with, theyíve done a good job selling this picture of Cuba as a place to do business.î Hays, the State Departmentís coordinator for Cuban affairs from 1993 to 1995, is particularly upset about the relative freedom granted to Cuban diplomats in the United States when compared to the difficulties faced by U.S. diplomats in Havana. ìThe danger is that when Dagoberto travels around the country, he downplays the repression in Cuba and says things that are patently not true, and thereís no one to call him on it,î charges Hays, adding that the Cuban Interests Section wonít have anything to do with the CANFóeven in the context of a debate on the issues. ìThey have an indefensible position, and thatís why they donít want to debate us.î RodrÌguez retorts that the CANF is a terrorist organization that has financed dozens of attacks against Cuba from clandestine bases in South Florida. Furthermore, he says, ìwe do have restrictions. We can travel [outside of Washington] only if we notify the authorities five days in advance of our intention to go somewhere, and if we include all the details about flight plans, where weíll be staying, and what cars weíll be using.î In the absence of such permission, says RodrÌguez, ìwe are restricted to staying inside the Beltwayîóthough he jokes that when driving on the Beltway itself, ìwe can use the outer loop.î One tangible example of the hatred most Cuban exiles feel toward the Castro government is the political graffiti that stains the sidewalk in front of Cubaís 85-year-old mission. A fading red ìViva Fidelî has long since replaced the ìFidel Asesino!î and ìViva Cuba Libre!î slogans spray painted years ago by various anti-Castro exile groups, who in 1996, organized a large demonstration to protest the shooting down of unarmed planes flown by Cuban exile pilots over international waters. Only a few years later, exile groups were again infuriated with the return to Cuba of Elian Gonzalez, a custody battle that gained international attention and put Castro once again in the international spotlight. While the embargo is still in placeóat the urging of exile groupsóU.S. companies are now permitted to sell food and agricultural commodities to Cuba on a cash-only basis, but the Treasury Department regulations that forbid American citizens from spending money in Cuba remain intactódespite various congressional efforts to abolish themóand the Bush administration has shown little interest in improving ties with Havana. Yet Bush may not be able to stop the tide of lawmakers wanting to change the status quo. On July 23, the U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly voted in favor of a series of measures that weaken the embargo. In what some have called a ìlandslideî for anti-embargo proponents, the House passed three amendments to the Treasury-Postal spending bill to ease the Cuban embargo, fended off an effort to keep the travel ban in place, and gained votes over last year on a measure that would end the embargo altogether. The closely watched travel amendment, sponsored by Rep. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) to end funding for enforcement of the travel ban, won by a strong, unprecedented majority of 262-187. Flakeís amendment would make it easier for Americans to visit the island. The passage of the Flake amendment marks a 22-vote increase over a victory margin of 240, by which the amendment had passed twice in the past two years. Flake and Rep. William Delahunt (D-Mass.) saw passage of their measure to end restrictions on remittances that Americans may send to friends and family in Cuba. The remittance cap, called a ìban on charityî by its opponents, currently limits Americans to sending no more than $1,200 per year to family and friends in Cuba. Under the Flake-Delahunt amendment, this restriction would no longer apply. Supporters of the embargo hope to strip these new amendments out in conference. Failing that, Bushóin order to keep his promise to Cuban-American supporters in Miamiómay have no choice but to veto the whole package. In the meantime, says RodrÌguez, Cuban diplomats in Washington meet regularly with lawmakers but are routinely denied access to certain U.S. government officials. ìWe cannot meet any official of the Treasury Department,î RodrÌguez points out. ìWe have to request permission. And in the past when we have requested it, the answer has always been no.î On the other hand, he says, ìwe are welcomed by the people we talk to. We travel around the U.S. a lot, we have many invitations, and every place we visit, we find people eager to know about Cuba [despite] the misinformation.î RodrÌguez, who studied journalism at the University of Havana, complains that ìthe American press describes Cuba as an enemy of the U.S. and describes socialism as something terrible and dangerous for the United States. This is not true. It is precisely the opposite.î RodrÌguez says he travels to Miami once a month to meet with Cuban exiles who favor dialogue with the Castro government. Unfortunately, he says, such Cubans must fight the powerful anti-Castro lobby, which used its considerable political muscle to help elect Bush president in 2000. ìFor many years, the extreme right-wing minority has dominated that community,î RodrÌguez says. ìThey are the most powerful economically and have been in the anti-Cuba industry for many years. Theyíre very skillful lobbyists, giving money to different political campaigns. They pretend to represent that silent majority, the Cuban-American community, but we believe that most Cuban-Americans favor an improvement in relations between the United States and Cuba.î Even so, RodrÌguez says, ìthe environment in Miami is really oppressive. There have been many cases of bombings, threats and other violent incidents. Cuban-Americans [who travel to Cuba] are accused of being Castro agents, but they are only helping their families. And even if they were helping the Cuban government, they are helping a government that the vast majority of Cubans want to have.î That, of course, is debatable. Since taking power in 1959, the Castro government has never allowed the existence of political parties other than the Communist Party of Cuba. Last month, following signing of a counter-petition by more than 8 million of Cubaís 11 million inhabitants, Cubaís National Assembly voted unanimously to enshrine socialism into the nationís constitution. It is hard to estimate how many of those who signed the governmentís petition did so out of conviction, and how many did so because they feared the consequences of not signing. Either way, the mass effort came only after widespread publicity over the Varela Project, a petition signed by 11,000 Cubans that demands greater political and economic freedom for Cuban citizens. Most Cubans first heard about the Varela Project from Jimmy Carter, who visited the island in May and in a live, televised address, called on Castro to enact political reforms. RodrÌguez isnít impressed. ìFrom the very beginning, I havenít referred to it not as the Varela Project but the Vicki Huddleston project,î says RodrÌguez, ìbecause for years, itís been the desire of the U.S. government to fabricate opposition in Cuba.î Huddleston, whoís stepping down this month after three years as chief of the U.S. Interests Section in Havana, has been widely criticized by Cuban officials for distributing thousands of short-wave radios programmed to receive Radio MartÌ, a U.S.-funded propaganda station whose AM broadcasts are often jammed by the Castro government. The U.S. Interests Sectionóemploying 50 diplomats and several hundred Cuban staffersóhas also stepped up its financing of independent libraries and anti-government dissident groups, a practice that led Castro to his recent threat to close the mission altogether. ìWe are talking about a government that is threatening Cuba, a government that is using diplomatic channels for doing things that are far from what a diplomat is supposed to do,î says RodrÌguez. ìUnder the Vienna Convention, the purpose of a diplomatic mission is to improve communications and relations between countries and peoples. It doesnít say the purpose is to overthrow a government.î The Cuban diplomat adds that the Bush administrationís refusal to remove Cuba from the list of states supporting terrorism is unfairóespecially considering Castroís tacit acceptance of the presence of more than 400 Taliban prisoners being held at the U.S. Naval Base in Guantanamo, Cuba. ìThe vast majority of Americans know that this is a joke, a very dangerous joke,î RodrÌguez says. ìAt no moment in history has Cuba ever taken terrorist actions against the United States. On the contrary, more than 3,500 Cubans have died and around 2,400 Cubans are handicapped as a result of terrorist actions from South Florida.î Yet the poor state of relations between the two countries apparently wonít affect bilateral migration accords. RodrÌguez, commenting on rumors of another impending exodus of raftersósimilar to the 1980 Mariel boatlift that brought about 125,000 Cubans to Floridaís shoresópromised that ìeven if at some point the U.S. Interests Section has to be closed as a result of offensive behavior, we will continue to prevent illegal immigration.î As relations between the two countries deteriorate, the Cuban economy continues to worsen. Last month, the government announced that it was shutting 71 of the islandís 156 sugar mills as a result of disastrous world prices that have decimated Cubaís once-powerful sugar industry. Post-9/11 tourist arrivals have also fallen, an unexpected development that has deprived the Castro government of badly needed dollars just as oil prices are rising. ìThe situation is difficult,î RodrÌguez notes. ìWe are facing what most developing countries are facing, and Cuba is no exception. Itís true that the sugar harvest was not as good as we wanted, but the main problem is prices.î At the same time, the Cuban government is stepping up promotional efforts to bring Canadian and European tourists to Cuba. To that end, authorities recently legalized use of the euro alongside the dollar in Varadero and other selected beachfront resorts. Americans are also welcome. In 2001, says RodrÌguez, around 200,000 U.S. citizens came to Cuba. Of that number, 120,000 were Cuban-Americans visiting their families and another 40,000 were U.S. citizens going legally as journalists, researchers or members of the clergy. The remaining 40,000 were tourists flying to Cuba via third countries, such as Mexico, the Bahamas or Jamaicaócircumventing an embargo that Rodriguez says is based on lies. How much longer this embargo will last is anyoneís guess, although RodrÌguez emphatically denies that it is in Castroís interests to keep the embargo in place as an excuse to hang onto power, as some Cuba-watchers have suggested. ìOur priority is lifting the embargo. We are not afraid of having normal relations with the United States,î the diplomat insists. ìWe are convinced that the day we have normal dialogue between the U.S. and Cuba, th e day Americans can go to Cuba legally, the foundation for the embargo will disappear.î Larry Luxner, a regular contributor to The Washington Diplomat, is editor and publisher of CubaNews (www.cubanews.com).