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PRESIDENTIAL PROCLAMATION 6867:
Anatomy of An Infamy
The United States put into effect a Presidential Proclamation in 1996 with
the sole purpose of enforcing in against the Democracy Movement in a
discriminatory way in the legal, free and sovereign exercise of our
internationally recognized rights to enter our homeland as citizens the of Cuba
that we are.
Presidential Proclamation basically states that any vessel departing a 3 mile
wide imaginary Security Zone around the Florida peninsula (Except the Panhandle)
with the intent to enter Cuban waters and without a written permission from the
United States Coast Guard, could be subject to incarceration up to 10 years and
very stiff fines.
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US Seeks To Restrict Cuba
Travel
The Associated Press, July 15
MIAMI (AP) - The U.S. government plans to declare most of the Florida
coast a "security zone" to restrict exiles planning to enter Cuban territory
illegally, The Miami Herald reported today.
Federal officials said they will authorize the Coast Guard to ask boaters
in all Florida ports except those in the Panhandle if they plan to go to
Cuba, the Herald said. Boaters will be detained or they will lose their
craft if they plan to travel to Cuba in violation of U.S. or Cuban law.
A formal announcement was expected later this week.
The action is intended to curb unauthorized forays into Cuban waters by
the Democracia Movement, whose leader, Ramon Saul Sanchez, has eluded
restrictions already in place in south Florida by setting out from ports in
central or northern Florida, the Herald reported.
Sanchez called the measure ``selective and discriminatory.''
The group plans to leave Saturday from Key West on a trip to pay homage
to 41 would-be refugees who died in July 1994, when Cuban government vessels
rammed and sank their tugboat.
Since March 1996, the Coast Guard's preventive efforts have been limited
to Florida ports and waters south of Fort Lauderdale.
This is the second time this month that U.S. officials have sent a stern
message to exile demonstrators.
Last week, federal aviation officials warned Jose Basulto, the founder of
Brothers to the Rescue, that he must respect international flight rules,
even if his aircraft is intercepted by Cuban fighter planes. Brothers
patrols the Florida Straits for Cuban rafters.
AP-NY-07-15-98 0739EDT
Copyright 1998 The Associated Press. |
|
U.S. tightens controls on
Cuba protests from Florida
By Patricia Zengerle
MIAMI, July 15 (Reuters) - U.S. authorities on Wednesday declared almost
all of Florida's coast a ``security zone'' in a clampdown on sea protests
against Cuban President Fidel Castro, angering exiled opponents of the
Communist leader.
Under the new policy, the Coast Guard will require privately owned
vessels of less than 150 feet (50 metres) in length leaving from almost
anywhere in Florida to obtain permits before entering Cuban territorial
waters.
Anyone on boats that violate the rule would be subject to their vessels'
seizure and forfeiture, a $10,000 fine and 10 years' imprisonment.
``We've basically expanded the security zone, and
that's in response to what was tried last time by Mr. Sanchez,'' Coast Guard
Lt. Cmdr. Marcus Woodring said, in a reference to Ramon Saul Sanchez, the
leader of the Miami-based Cuban-American ``Democracy Movement.''
A year ago, Sanchez's boat ``Democracia'' was seized by the Coast Guard
in Key West because its crew declined to promise not to enter Cuban
territory. In January Sanchez attempted to sail to Cuba without a visa
during Pope John Paul II's visit.
``Our two main goals here are safety at sea and preventing a possible
international incident,'' Woodring said.
The extended security zone, put into place after consultation with the
Department of Justice, went into effect on Tuesday, the Coast Guard said.
The only exception to the rule is a small section of the Florida coast in
the western panhandle, Woodring said.
U.S. Congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart, a Florida Republican, told Reuters
the measure was ``outrageous and unconstitutional,'' adding it was ``obvious
that the Clinton administration is trying to do its utmost to prolong a
moribund dictatorship.''
U.S. State Department spokesman James Rubin said the measure had been
taken ``to ensure that vessels do not attempt to circumvent the previous
regulations..it is not being done to block legitimate protests against the
Cuban government.''
``We recognise people's right to protest. We want to act not only to
ensure the safety of our citizens, but to try to prevent the kind of tragedy
that occurred when Cuba so blatantly violated international law by shooting
down two unarmed planes,'' Rubin told reporters at a daily briefing.
The zone's expansion was timed to predate a Democracy Movement protest
``flotilla'' scheduled for Saturday. About 10 of the group's aircraft and
boats will travel to waters north of Havana for a memorial for Cubans who
died on July 14, 1994, when a hijacked tugboat chased by Cuban vessels sank
as it was attempting to leave Cuba for Florida.
Sanchez said Saturday's flotilla would not enter Cuban territorial
waters, although the event will include an ``undisclosed manoeuvre.''
In January, Sanchez had avoided prosecution under the earlier security
zone restriction by leaving from a port north of Fort Lauderdale, but his
trip was cut short by foul weather.
Until this week, the security zone had covered only Florida's southern
coast.
President Bill Clinton put the security zone into effect in 1996 after
Cuban fighter jets shot down two planes flown by Brothers to the Rescue,
another Miami-based exile group, killing four people and setting off an
international furore.
Sanchez on Wednesday termed the restriction an ``infamy'' and said he was
considering a lawsuit.
``It is selective because it is only enforced against the Democracy
movement flotillas and activities, but it is not enforced against other
vessels that every day depart from the United States,'' he said.
Last week, Cuba condemned as a ``provocation'' the Democracy Movement's
sending to Cuban shores of a remote-controlled inflatable boat and said it
would do everything possible to protect its territory from violations.
The measure was announced as Washington eased other aspects of its Cuba
policy. A direct passenger charter flight flew from Miami to Havana on
Wednesday, after a two-year ban in place since the Cuban fighters shot down
the Brothers aircraft.
15:49 07-15-98
Copyright 1998 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. |
Anti-Castro group wants full use of boat
By Jay Weaver.jweaver@herald.com. Published Saturday, March
18, 2000, in the Miami Herald
Anti-Castro activist Ramon Saul Sanchez met Friday with federal officials in
an effort to settle a simmering dispute over the government's seizure of his
Cuban exile group's boat in December 1998.
The U.S. government returned the fishing boat to the Democracy Movement in
May 1999 on a temporary basis. Federal officials might allow the group to keep
the boat permanently, as long as Sanchez agrees not to use the vessel, named
Human Rights, for protests in Cuban territorial waters.
On Dec. 10, 1998, the U.S. Coast Guard confiscated the 35-foot boat just
south of Key West because its crew was headed to Cuba without seeking
permission. Seven group members said they had planned to sail to the island to
distribute copies of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Sanchez, whose 20-day water-only hunger strike secured the temporary release
of the boat, said he wants the boat back permanently. He also challenges the
Clinton administration's establishment of a ``security zone'' around most of the
Florida coast.
The Coast Guard can ask boaters in all Florida ports, except in the
Panhandle, if they are planning to go to Cuba, and can detain or seize their
boat if they plan to do so in violation of U.S. or Cuban law.
Sanchez said the presidential order might be meant to curb unauthorized
forays into Cuban waters, but it's really aimed at the Democracy Movement. In
late May or early June, his group plans to hold a protest against the policy --
involving boats, trucks and planes -- on Biscayne Bay.
``It's a statement we want to send to the president of the United States,''
Sanchez said. ``We feel this selective enforcement violates human rights.''
His group is known for organizing protest flotillas in the Straits of Florida
against the Cuban government.
Sanchez's lawyer, Joseph Geller, argues the policy is illegal on
constitutional grounds regarding prior restraint and self-incrimination.
``We want to preserve the right of the Democracy Movement to protest against
the illegal Castro government,'' Geller said.
Another settlement conference is set for April 4.
|
Four Exiles Head for Cuba
By EVAN PEREZ
The Associated Press
IN THE FLORIDA
STRAITS (AP) - Four exiles headed for Cuba Saturday aboard a fishing boat,
battling engine problems, choppy seas and hearing reports of military
patrols along the communist island's coast.
Ramon Saul Sanchez, leader of the Miami-based exile group The Democracy
Movement, said his journey to Cuba during the visit of Pope John Paul II was
going much slower than planned.
He said the fishing boat broke down in 7-foot seas, but was up and
running again by Saturday afternoon. Sanchez expected to come ashore in Cuba
aboard the 35-foot trawler late Saturday or early Sunday.
"We pray, we talk about Cuba, we talk about things,'' Sanchez told The
Associated Press by cellular phone. "And we repair things that are broken.''
The 43-year-old exile leader believes he should be able to visit his
homeland during the Pope's visit.
Another group of about 40 exiles arrived at the edge of Cuban territorial
waters Saturday morning on a separate boat. They held a prayer ceremony for
Cuban political prisoners and dropped flowers before turning around. About a
dozen small planes from Florida flew over the ceremony.
Sanchez, who left for Cuba Friday night from an unknown port, said he has
no plans to turn back and is seeking the best way to avoid Cuban boats,
which his sources say are patrolling for him.
The U.S. Coast Guard says it may not have authority to prevent Sanchez
from entering Cuba and is no longer actively searching for him.
Exile groups have had violent run-ins with the Cuban military during some
of the previous 12 flotillas the group has made.
In 1996, Cuban gunboats rammed the lead boat in a flotilla protest
organized by the Democracy group, injuring several people.
Also that year, Cuban MiGs shot down two small planes carrying members of
the group Brothers to the Rescue. Four people died.
Sanchez acknowledged that the Cubans might try to board his boat if he
makes it to Cuban waters, or confront him at shore.
"That is a possibility,'' he said. "We will not resist. We will surrender
and have them apprehend us. If the Cuban government uses violence, we are
totally unarmed, this is a peaceful claim of our rights.'' |
Cuba News
Miami Herald |
| Exile
boaters could be charged Three spent hour in Cuban waters
By Luisa Yanez. lyanez@herald.com. Published Monday, July
16, 2001
Members of the Democracy Movement may learn as early as today whether the
U.S. attorney's office in Miami will file criminal charges against them for
illegally sailing into Cuban waters to stage a weekend memorial, the group's
leader said Sunday.
"They told us we would be notified soon if criminal proceedings will be
initiated against us,'' said Ramón Saúl Sánchez, 46, no stranger to
conflicts with the U.S. government over access to Cuban waters. His
anti-Castro group is well-known for protest flotillas and acts of civil
disobedience.
Sánchez is challenging federal rules, or decrees, in place since 1998
that say that no vessel departing from any Florida ports, except in the
Panhandle, can enter Cuban territorial waters without a permit.
Saturday morning, Sanchez, the group's founder, and members Alberto Pérez,
58, and Pablo Rodríguez, 48, broke away from a five-boat flotilla on their
23-foot, twin-engine boat dubbed "My Right to Return Home'' and rushed into
Cuban waters, ignoring bullhorn warnings from a U.S. Coast Guard cutter to
stop.
Their mission: To drop wreaths and say prayers at the site where 41
Cubans drowned after their tugboat was allegedly sunk by a Cuban gunboat on
July 13, 1994.
Sánchez's latest protest comes at a time when the White House is expected
to announce a series of get-tough measures on Cuba.
But hours before the flotilla departed on Friday, Sánchez said he learned
that Bush would not address the proclamation that bars entry into Cuban
waters to organizations such as his.
"Once we saw nothing would change, we decided to stage our nonviolent
protest,'' said Sánchez, who feels Cuban waters should be open to exiles.
Now, the three could face 10 years in prison, fines of up to $10,000,
seizure and possible forfeiture of their vessel, if convicted.
Aloyma Sanchez, spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney's office, said her
office had no comment on whether the exiles will be criminally charged, or
what will happen to their seized vessel.
The Coast Guard first detained the men at sea, towing their boat. They
were released once in Key West, on orders from the U.S. attorney's office.
Attorney Joseph Geller, who in the past has represented the Democracy
Movement in its efforts to reclaim other confiscated vessels, said he's not
sure how the government will react to the latest incident.
"We just don't know what their intentions are right now,'' Geller said of
the possibility of criminal charges. "It's premature to reach the conclusion
that because the men were released, they won't be charged. We might find out
Monday what will happen next.''
A legal defense team will be put together, if necessary, Sánchez said.
Another question mark is the fate of the boat the men used to cross
beyond the 12-mile limit into Cuban territorial waters. The boat was
recently donated to the Democracy Movement, Sánchez said. He would not
identify the donor. The Coast Guard did not release ownership information on
Sunday.
"We're waiting to hear from the U.S. attorney's office what they want us
to do with the boat,'' said Coast Guard spokesman Robert Suddarth. Plans for
U.S. Customs to take custody of the boat are on hold.
The Coast Guard said it was enforcing the federal rules that any captain
of a small private, noncommercial vessel that enters Cuban waters without
permission is in violation of the South Florida Security Zone proclamation
issued by former President Bill Clinton in 1998. That proclamation came in
the wake of the shoot-down two years earlier of two Brothers to the Rescue
planes. Four fliers were killed in that incident.
Sánchez said the decree, which has not been challenged in court, is being
selectively enforced.
"The Coast Guard is enforcing this presidential decree against us only,''
Sánchez said.
Fellow movement member Rodríguez said he's ready to defend himself.
"I would do it again,'' he said of Saturday's hour-long sneak into Cuban
waters. "I know it's a law, but I don't think it's a good law.''
It's not the first time Sanchez and his group have tangled with the
government over an attempted incursion.
On Dec. 10, 1998, the U.S. Coast Guard seized the group's 35-foot boat,
Human Rights, just south of Key West because its crew was headed to Cuba
without seeking permission. |
| Enforce Security Zone
|
| South
Florida Sun-Sentinel Editorial Board.
Posted September 17 2001
When Ramón Saúl Sánchez and two boatmates entered Cuban waters in July,
they were commemorating a tragedy. In 1994, the 13 de Marzo tugboat carrying
defectors from Cuba was rammed off the Havana coastline by state patrol
boats.
Forty-one people including children drowned.
On the day they sailed toward Havana, the three Cuban activists tossed
flowers into the ocean near where the tugboat sank. And they did something
else: Violate a presidential order meant to keep peace between the United
States and Cuba.
President Clinton signed the order shortly after Cuban MiGs shot down two
Miami-based Brothers to the Rescue planes, killing four men. President Bush
reaffirmed the order in February. It establishes a security zone around
Florida, excluding the Panhandle, and prohibits any private boat under 165
feet from sailing toward Cuban waters without Coast Guard permission.
Now Sánchez, the leader of the Miami-based Democracy Movement, and
members Alberto Pérez and Pablo Rodríguez, face up to 10 years in prison and
hefty fines for leaving the zone. The three activists who tossed flower
bouquets into Cuban waters are not criminals and sending them to prison for
a long time would not serve justice, but they deserve some type of
punishment. Failing to prosecute them would send the wrong message: That
presidential orders can be ignored.
They cannot be ignored, especially at a time when the nation is
recovering from terrorist attacks and authorities are working on new
security measures.
When Sánchez and his companions violated a presidential order, they knew
there would be legal consequences. Such is the nature of civil disobedience.
Sometimes acts of civil disobedience are merited when the law is unfair or
authorities abuse power. This is true of the 1960s civil rights movement
against segregation. But even then, activists knew they were taking risks
when they stood up for their principles.
Some argue the security zone violates the activists' and others' rights
to freedom of expression. Another argument is that the zone's enforcement
has been selective and discriminatory. The Coast Guard has allowed more than
3,000 pleasure and fishing boats to sail to or near Cuba. But it has never
allowed the Democracy Movement to do this. Yet the Coast Guard has been
consistent in not allowing any group, including pro-Cuba ones, to sail into
Cuban waters for a political purpose.
There is good reason to keep the Florida Straits free of demonstrations.
A Democracy Movement flotilla in July 1995 ended when a Cuban cutter rammed
an exile boat. Miami-Dade Commissioner Pedro Reboredo lost a toe in the
scuffle. Someone could have lost a life.
Keeping peace between the United States and Cuba is a presidential
prerogative. While the security zone exist, it must be enforced. To do
otherwise would only invite trouble, even from well-intentioned people.
Copyright © 2001, South Florida Sun-Sentinel |
Cuba News
Yahoo! |
| Democracia
Members To Face Charges Of Going Into Cuban Waters
Monday September 24 08:05 AM EDT. WPLG Click10.com.
Cuban exile leader Ramon Saul Sanchez and two other Democracia members
are scheduled to appear in federal court today in Key West.
Sanchez Alberto Perez and Pablo Rodriguez were indicted for sailing
within five miles of Cuba's coastline during a flotilla last July.
That flotilla was in remembrance of the 1994 sinking of a Cuban tugboat.
The move into Cuban waters could land Sanchez in prison for ten years if
he's convicted |
|
Cuban activist vows to fight charges
By Sara Olkon, Herald Staff Writer. Published Thursday,
September , 2001 in The Miami Herald
Cuban exile leader Ramón Saúl Sánchez, flanked by a self-proclaimed
"Freedom of Speech Team'' of prominent attorneys, vowed Thursday to fight
conspiracy charges for illegally entering Cuban waters.
On Wednesday, the U.S. Attorney's office announced Sánchez and two other
members of the Democracy Movement had been indicted for illegally entering
Cuban waters in July -- the first time anyone has been criminally charged
for violating the South Florida security zone.
Sánchez, 47, and Miami residents Alberto Pérez, 58, and Pablo Rodríguez,
48, are scheduled to appear Friday at 1:30 p.m. before U.S. Magistrate Judge
Hugh Morgan in Key West.
Invoking the name of civil rights figure Rosa Parks, Sánchez said he
would fight against a presidential proclamation signed by President Bill
Clinton in 1996 that was designed to prevent Americans from causing a
confrontation with the Cuban government in its territorial waters.
"The right to own slaves? To prevent black people from sitting in the
front of the bus?'' said Sánchez, calling the proclamation "infamy.''
The group spoke from a packed press conference at Democracy Movement
headquarters in West Dade. Afterward, the group drove to the Bay of Pigs
Monument in Little Havana to await a summons for Friday's proceeding.
"This is a classic case of selective prosecution,'' said Kendall Coffey,
a lawyer representing Sánchez, referring to the fact that since 1996, the
Coast Guard has issued over 3,000 permits to leave the security zone of U.S.
waters for Cuba. The only three that were declined by the Coast Guard were
from Democracy Movement members.
"They say 'yes' except to those who say 'no' to Castro,'' Coffey said.
The three defendants, who allegedly ignored a Coast Guard warning to
return to international waters during a flotilla protest to Cuban
territorial waters on July 14, face up to 10 years in prison, fines and
forfeiture of the boat.
The U.S. Attorney's Office in Miami said this was the first time that
anyone has ever been charged with violating the Florida security zone --
covering all of the Sunshine State except parts of the Panhandle -- since it
was established in 1996 following a presidential proclamation.
Copyright 2001 Miami Herald |
Los tres miembros de Movimiento Democracia acusados de
entrar en aguas cubanas se declaran inocentes
MIAMI (ESTADOS UNIDOS), 25 (EUROPA PRESS) - Los tres miembros de la
organización cubana en el exilio Movimiento Democracia Ramón Saúl Sánchez,
Alberto Pérez y Pablo Rodríguez, acusados de haber entrado en aguas cubanas el
pasado 14 de julio cuando se encontraban realizando una acción protesta contra
el Gobierno de La Habana se declararon hoy inocentes de los cargos que se les
acusan ante un juez federal de Cayo Hueso (sur del estado norteamericano de
Florida).
Sin embargo, el juez les impuso a cada uno de ellos una fianza de 15.000
dólares (unos 2,7 millones de pesetas). A su salida del juzgado, el presidente
de Movimiento Democracia, Ramón Saúl Sánchez, dijo que es "irónico que un
tribunal federal norteamericano nos esté encausando en este momento en el que se
conoce que Castro está encubriendo a terroristas" en la isla.
El juicio de hoy debió celebrarse la pasada semana, pero se retrasó debido a
los ataques terroristas que sacudieron al país el pasado 11 de septiembre.
Los tripulantes de la embarcación de Movimiento Democracia fueron detenidos
por una patrulla del Servicio de Guarda Costas estadounidenses tras violar una
ley, aprobada por la Administración Clinton, que prohibe la entrada de los
cubanos que residen en Estados Unidos en aguas territoriales de Cuba más allá de
las doce millas náuticas.
Tres miembros de Movimiento Democracia comparecerán ante la
Justicia por su incursión en aguas cubanas
MIAMI (ESTADOS UNIDOS), 19 (de la corresponsal de EUROPA PRESS Nuria Caralps)
- Tres miembros de la organización cubana en el exilio Movimiento Democracia,
Ramón Saúl Sánchez, Alberto Pérez y Pablo Rodríguez, comparecerán el próximo
lunes 24 de septiembre ante un Tribunal Federal de Cayo Hueso (sur de Florida)
acusados de haber entrado en aguas cubanas el pasado 14 de julio, durante una
acción de protesta contra el Gobierno de La Habana.
El juicio debia celebrarse la pasada semana, pero se retrasó debido a los
ataques terroristas que sacudieron al país el pasado 11 de septiembre. Además,
la organización está estudiando la posibilidad de organizar una caravana de
automóviles hasta Cayo Hueso para respaldar a los acusados, ya que la caravana
original fue cancelada la semana pasada por los trágicos acontecimientos.
Los tripulantes de la embarcación de Movimiento Democracia fueron detenidos
por una patrulla del Servicio de Guarda Costas estadounidenses tras violar una
ley, aprobada por la Administración Clinton, que prohíbe la entrada de los
cubanos que residen en Estados Unidos en aguas territoriales de Cuba más allá de
las doce millas náuticas.
En caso de ser encontrados culpables, los tres miembros de Movimiento
Democracia podrían enfrentarse a penas de hasta diez años de prisión, una multa
de 10.000 dólares (dos millones de pesetas) y la confiscación de la lancha
utilizada en la incursión del pasado mes de julio.
Copyright © 1998-2001 Cubanueva.com
|
U.S. Coast Guard Boards
Cuban Exiles' Protest Boat By Ben Iannotta
01:24 p.m Dec 10, 1998 Eastern
KEY WEST, Fla. (Reuters) - U.S. Coast Guard officers boarded a Cuban
exile boat in the Florida Straits Thursday, apparently to stop the vessel
from entering Cuban waters in a human rights protest.
Seven members of the Miami-based Democracy Movement set out from Marathon
in the Florida Keys before dawn aboard the 39-ft (12-meter) vessel named M/V
Human Rights. They were planning a protest to mark the 50th anniversary of
the U.N. Declaration of Human Rights.
``Their intention is to go into Cuba, to land in Cuba if they can. They
are bringing copies of the Declaration of Human Rights,'' said spokeswoman
Milagros Velasco from the group's Miami headquarters.
However, Coast Guard officials boarded the vessel south of Key West,
Velasco said. Several armed officers stayed on board as it continued toward
Cuba, shadowed by a Coast Guard boat, Velasco said.
Coast Guard Petty Officer Jeff Murphy confirmed the vessel had been
stopped off the Keys.
``Right now we have a law enforcement situation down there and
everything's on hold,'' he said without elaborating.
President Clinton ordered tighter controls on illegal entry into Cuban
territory in 1996 after Cuban jets shot down two small planes flown by
members of the Miami-based exile group Brothers to the Rescue. Four people
were killed in that incident.
In an effort to avert further bloodshed, the Coast Guard has standing
orders to stop any vessel leaving Florida for Cuban waters without proper
documentation.
The Democracy Movement has launched several previous seaborne protests
against President Fidel Castro's communist rule.
Last year, the group's boat Democracia was seized by the Coast Guard in
Key West because its crew would not promise not to enter Cuban territory.
In January its leader, Ramon Saul Sanchez, attempted to sail to Cuba
without a visa during Pope John Paul II's visit but failed because of
problems with his boat.
The movement says the U.S. policy is unconstitutional and that it is not
the government's job to protect protesters from possible aggression by Cuba.
In an earlier statement Wednesday, the movement said those aboard the
Human Rights had declined to answer Coast Guard questions on whether they
intended to enter Cuban waters, saying ``it was a question only a dictator
would ask''.
The United States led vigorous condemnations of Cuba for shooting down
the exile planes in 1996, saying they had been downed in international
waters. Havana argued they were over its territory and said Cuba had
suffered numerous violations of its airspace in the months leading up to the
incident.
Copyright 1998 Reuters Limited |
U.S. Coast Guard seizes Cuban
exiles' protest boat
|
|
By Ben Iannotta
KEY WEST, Fla., Dec 10 (Reuters) - The U.S. Coast Guard seized a Cuban exile
boat in the Florida Straits on Thursday to stop the vessel from entering
Cuban waters in a human rights protest.
The boat M/V Human Rights, with five members of the Miami-based Democracy
Movement aboard, was being escorted back to Key West by a Coast Guard
cutter, Petty Officer Jeff Hall said. Two other Cuban exiles were being
brought to Marathon in the Florida Keys.
Democracy Movement leader Ramon Saul Sanchez and his six colleagues had
set out on the 39-foot (12-metre) vessel from Marathon before dawn, planning
a protest against Cuban President Fidel Castro to mark the 50th anniversary
of the U.N.
Declaration of Human Rights. They said they would try to land in the
communist-ruled island.
``The vessel was seized about 25 miles south of Key West for leaving the
Florida Security Zone,'' Hall said, adding there had been no resistance.
The Coast Guard has standing orders to stop any vessel leaving Florida
for Cuban waters without proper documentation.
President Bill Clinton ordered tighter controls on illegal entry into
Cuban territory in 1996 after Cuban jets shot down two small planes flown by
members of the Miami-based exile group Brothers to the Rescue. Four people
were killed in that incident.
Democracy Movement spokeswoman Milagros Velasco called the seizure
``unjust and unfair.''
The U.S. government had curtailed the exiles' right to return freely to
their country of origin, she said.
``We were trying to make a statement and recover that right on a very
significant day, so it is a pity,'' she told Reuters from the group's Miami
headquarters.
The Democracy Movement has launched several previous seaborne protests
against Castro's government.
Last year, the group's boat Democracia was seized by the Coast Guard in
Key West because its crew would not promise not to enter Cuban territory.
In January, Sanchez tried to sail to Cuba without a visa during Pope John
Paul II's visit but failed because of problems with his boat.
The United States led vigorous condemnations of Cuba for shooting down
the exile planes in 1996, saying they had been downed in international
waters. Havana argued they were over its territory and said Cuba had
suffered numerous violations of its airspace in the months leading up to the
incident.
16:20 12-10-98
Copyright 1998 Reuters Limited |
Three on Trial for Helping Cubans
Wed May 8, 7:14 AM ET
KEY WEST, Fla. (AP) - Three members of a Miami group known for sailing
flotillas toward Cuba went on trial for allegedly entering the communist
island's waters illegally.
Ramon Saul Sanchez, Alberto Perez and Pablo Rodriguez of the Democracy
Movement are charged with breaking a federal law that bars U.S. ships from
getting within 12 miles of Cuba's coastline without a Coast Guard permit.
The group launched a flotilla last July to mark the seventh anniversary of
the death of 41 Cubans who drowned trying to leave the island in 1994.
A Cuban gunboat headed toward the speedboat carrying the three men after they
entered the island's territorial waters, U.S. Coast Guard Cmdr. Joseph Sinnett
testified Tuesday.
Sanchez has said that the flotilla, which left from Key West, did not breach
Cuban waters. But Democracy Movement spokesman Norman Del Valle said that the
three men intentionally entered Cuban seas.
If convicted, Sanchez, Perez and Rodriguez face up to 10 years in prison and
a $10,000 fine.
|
Sanchez heads
to court over Cuban waters controversy |
| Yahoo! May
6, 2002. The showdown over a federal law that keeps boaters out of
Cuban waters heads into a Key West courtroom later this morning.
Ramon Saul Sanchez, Alberto Perez, and Pablo Rodriguez are all accused of
violating that law by sailing into Cuban waters during a flotilla in July
2001.
The three sailed into Cuban waters to mark the anniversary of Cuba's
sinking of a tugboat filled with refugees back in 1994.
If convicted, the men could face 10 years behind bars. |
| |
Castro's Legacy:
A
Revolution or a tyranny?
-
Over 30,000
Political Executions
-
Over 250,000
political prisoners in 46 years
-
Over 20% of Cuba's
population living in exile
-
Over 10,000
entered the Peruvian Embassy in one day
-
Over 125,000 left
by sea in one month
-
Hundreds of
thousands rafters have lost or risked their lives to escape from Cuba.
-
Same person ruling
the country for over 48 years without democratic elections.
-
The largest
foreign debt in the history of the country.
Then, isn't it time for a change?
|
