Aid groups vexed by US hold on $40M in Cuba funds
By LAURA WIDES-MUNOZ
AP Hispanic Affairs Writer
MIAMI -- Cuban-Americans and others working to support political
opposition in Cuba are demanding to know why the U.S. has yet to
disburse $40 million allocated over the past two years for pro-democracy
efforts on the communist island.
Congress approved about $20 million in both the 2009 and 2010 fiscal
years, mostly through the U.S. Agency for International Development, but
the agency hasn't asked U.S.-based pro-democracy groups to submit
proposals for how they would spend the money.
Nine Republican congressional representatives, including Florida's three
Cuban-American representatives, have accused the Obama administration of
trying to appease the Cuban government in part by freezing the funds.
The government said it is taking its time to review the program to
ensure stronger oversight and efficiency. For years the Cuba aid program
has been criticized for failing to get money and other resources
directly to those on the island and for not requiring competitive bidding.
Supporters of the program say the Feb. 23 hunger-strike death of one
imprisoned dissident and the recent hospitalization of another show that
aid is more crucial than ever.
Frank Hernandez, executive director of the Miami-based Democracy Support
Group, which has received more than $12.5 million over the past decade
to aid dissidents in Cuba, said his small organization only has enough
money to continue operating for a few more months.
"It's unfortunate because the situation with the prisoners is worse than
ever," Hernandez said. "People will say they don't need food because
they're on a hunger strike, but their families need food. Their children
need food, and not all of them are on a hunger strike."
Political dissidents in Cuba, and sometimes their relatives, are often
denied work authorization.
Last week, Orlando Zapata Tamayo, listed by Amnesty International as a
Cuban prisoner of conscience, died following a prolonged hunger strike.
Zapata's death prompted an international outcry and renewed scrutiny of
human rights in the island. On Wednesday, another hunger-striking
prisoner, independent journalist Guillermo Farinas, was hospitalized
after he lost consciousness.
Ricardo Zuniga, deputy director of the U.S. State Department's Office of
Cuban Affairs, said the review is standard.
"It's not unusual to have a careful look, not when you want to make sure
the programs adhere with the overall policy direction of the new
administration," Zuniga said, adding the administration wants to ensure
the assistance reaches people in Cuba. It also plans to end the process
of repeatedly extending contracts without competitive bids.
USAID's Cuba programs began under the Clinton administration and
received an all-time high of about $30 million in 2008, which some
groups are still spending as part of a two-year contract.
Hernandez and others maintain that getting aid into Cuba is extremely
difficult given the island's geographic isolation and Cuban government
control of employment and nearly all domestic media. They also point to
risks involved in using less-experienced organizations to bring aid into
Cuba. Cuban officials have been holding a Maryland-based U.S. contractor
since December, whom they accuse of being a spy. The man's family says
he is development worker who was distributing communications equipment
to Cuban Jewish groups.
Dan Erikson, author of "The Cuba Wars: Fidel Castro, the United States,
and the Next Revolution," said Gross' detention has complicated U.S.
policy toward the island, including the USAID program.
"No one wants to create a situation in which U.S. grantees are in
jeopardy in Cuba as they carry out their programs," he said.
Zuniga acknowledged the administration has cautioned aid groups about
travel to the island since the arrest.
"We're just asking them to weigh the risk," he said. "We haven't told
them they can't go. We've just said to be very aware of the circumstances."
But the federal programs are no longer the only way to get assistance
into Cuba. Last year, President Barack Obama lifted restrictions on
travel to the island by Cuban-Americans and increased the amount of
money they can bring to relatives there.
Still, Hernandez and others say the government funded assistance is
essential because much of it is directed toward dissidents and to those
seeking to strengthen independent society.
Aid groups vexed by US hold on $40M in Cuba funds - Florida AP -
MiamiHerald.com (4 March 2010)
http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/03/04/1513060/aid-groups-vexed-by-us-hold-on.html
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