South Florida GOP lawmakers say the president must toughen his stance on Cuba to keep their support.
By Associated Press
Published August 12, 2003
MIAMI - A group of Florida Republican state representatives is warning President Bush that he could lose their support for the 2004 election if he fails to adopt a tougher Cuba policy.
The Cuban-American leaders drafted a letter to be mailed Monday asking the administration to revise its current migration policy, indict Fidel Castro for the 1996 downing of two planes by Cuban fighter jets, ensure that TV Marti is viewed by people in Cuba and increase aid to dissidents on the island.
"We feel it is our responsibility as Republican elected officials to inform you that unless substantial progress on the above-mentioned issues occurs rapidly, we fear the historic and intense support from Cuban-American voters for Republican federal candidates, including yourself, will be jeopardized," reads the letter, signed by 13 members of the state's Republican Hispanic Caucus.
Many prominent members of the Cuban-American community have criticized the Bush administration's decision last month to return 12 Cubans suspected of hijacking a boat to reach Florida, after receiving assurances from Castro's government that the men would not be executed and would receive no more than 10 years in prison.
Bush's brother, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, also took issue with the decision, citing concerns about a recent crackdown on dissidents and the earlier executions of three men who tried to hijack a ferry to South Florida.
(Six of the men in the latest case went on trial Monday, facing seven to 10 years in prison if found guilty, authorities in Havana said. The other six were freed upon their return to Cuba, one of the repatriated men said last week.)
State Rep. David Rivera, R-Miami, who helped draft the letter, called discontent among Cuban-American voters a "growing crisis" for Republican leaders at the federal level. He said the lawmakers could refuse financial and tactical support for Bush next year if he failed to meet the demands.
"If this is ignored, abstention or neutrality in federal races becomes a real possibility," Rivera said in an interview. "It's not an option for us to support Democrats, but we want our support to mean something."
Besides Rivera, the letter was signed by Miami area state Reps. Juan-Carlos Planas, Marco Rubio, Rafael Arza, Gustavo Barreiro, Gaston Cantens, Rene Garcia, Marcelo Llorente, Manny Prieguez, Julio Robaina and Juan Zapata, and by Reps. Ken Sorensen of Key Largo and John Quinones of Kissimmee. The letter also puts Gov. Bush in an awkward spot because the members of the Republican Hispanic Caucus are among his most loyal political allies. The governor's spokeswoman, Jill Bratina, said he "believes the president has a strong record when it comes to Cuba policy."
Jimmy Orr, a White House spokesman, said the president strongly supports bringing democratic change to Cuba.
"The administration is firmly dedicated to a proactive Cuba policy that will assist the Cuban people in their struggle for freedom," Orr said. "The president remains committed to the use of the embargo and travel restrictions to encourage a rapid transition."
Otto Reich, President Bush's special envoy for the Western Hemisphere, said Friday in a Miami speech that the Bush administration was working to bolster TV and Radio Marti. He said the administration would announce "very soon" a new way of penetrating the "information wall" around Cuba.
Reich also underlined the administration's efforts to help dissidents on the island, citing the thousands of magazine subscriptions and short-wave radios that have been disseminated in Cuba.
Under the U.S. "wet foot, dry foot" immigration policy, most Cubans intercepted at sea are sent back while those who reach U.S. soil are allowed to stay. Reich said the administration had to stay with the policy to avoid another mass migration.
