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Furor rocks diplomat's boat wishes
By DAVID ADAMS, Times Latin America Correspondent MIAMI -- All James Cason wanted to do was take his boat when he changed jobs. But Cason's new post is head of the U.S. Interests Section in Havana, Cuba, where U.S. boaters are for the most part forbidden to go. And now it looks like the vessel -- a 10-year-old Grady-White cabin cruiser with a 260-horsepower engine -- will stay in the States. The State Department confirms that Cason, a career diplomat, "briefly entertained the idea" of taking the 24-foot fishing boat with him to the communist island. Uncertain that he would be able to find a ramp to launch it from, Cason dropped the idea after giving it "about two seconds' thought," a State Department spokesman said. But even that brief consideration was enough to spur a round of rumors in Miami, raising eyebrows among supporters and opponents of the U.S. embargo against Cuba. The flap is unlikely to affect the appointment of Cason, 57, but it's indicative of the ever-present tensions -- and confusion -- over U.S. Cuba policy. Attempts to reach Cason, who is expected to take over the Interests Section in the fall, were unsuccessful. Although experts say there appears to be nothing that would ban a U.S. diplomat from having a boat in Cuba, most find a certain impropriety about it. "It would be nice if the rest of us could do the same," said Philip Peters, an embargo critic at the Lexington Institute, a Virginia-based think tank. "It symbolizes normal travel at a time when the (Bush) administration is cracking down on boaters going to Cuba." Under the embargo, U.S. citizens are not allowed to travel to Cuba, except under special licenses for socially or culturally worthy purposes. The administration recently announced its intention to punish boaters who leave Florida ports for Cuban waters without filing proper permits. Despite its tourist beaches and lively music and art scene, Havana is officially deemed a "hardship" post for U.S. diplomats. Staff at the Interests Section -- it's not called an embassy as the two countries don't have full diplomatic relations -- are discouraged from having too much fun, at least in public. The current Interests Section chief, Vicky Huddleston, has advised staff to take vacations stateside. To keep herself amused, Huddleston entered her pet Afghan in local dog shows, until local bureaucracy got in the way. Cuban-American fans of the embargo also were upset by Cason's plan. "The message it sends -- parking a boat next to other Americans who go to Cuba and could be prosecuted for doing the same thing -- is not a good one," said Frank Calzon, director of the Center For a Free Cuba. It's unclear precisely how long Cason "entertained the idea." The State Department said the vessel never made it out of storage in Annandale, Va. The idea was dead in the water, an official said, well before rumors about the boat started circulating late last month. It appears the word got out after a visit by Cason to the Coast Guard in Miami, where he was briefed on U.S. policy regarding the interdiction of Cuban migrants at sea and the seizure of vessels that illegally travel to Cuba. While at the Coast Guard facility, Cason asked several questions about the feasibility of taking the cabin cruiser to Cuba. The State Department denied a report Sunday in the Spanish-language El Nuevo Herald, which said Cason had proposed using the boat as a "diplomatic tool," and a place to entertain guests. The State Department official conceded that Cason had made some inquiries. The boat had been holed up for three years in a storage facility in Annandale, where the winter cold was taking its toll on the fiberglass hull, the official explained. Warmer water would do it some good. According to the State Department, Cason wanted to know if there was anywhere in Havana he could store the boat and its trailer. That way he wouldn't need to park the boat in a Cuban government marina -- next to all those offending U.S. embargo violators. He would also need a boat ramp. No one was sure, so Cason ended up dropping the idea. He has found a new home for the boat, however. It will be staying with his son in Pensacola for the next three years.
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