---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Mon, 24 Jul 1995 11:29:29 -0500 (CDT)
From: Luis Fierro <lfierro@arrow>
To: soc#culture#latin-america@newsgate.cisco.com
Cc: soc#culture#cuba@newsgate.cisco.com
Subject: Investigacion sobre rol de Mas Canosa en Radio Marti
El "Washington Post" del 22 de julio publica un articulo de primera
pagina titulado "USIA Probes Activist's Role at Radio Marti: Coverage of
U.S. Policy Biased, Report Alleges", en el cual se se~nala que la Agencia
de Informacion de Estados Unidos esta investigando el rol de Jorge Mas
Canosa, de la Fundacion Nacional Cubano-Americana, en distorsionar las
noticias e incluso la posicion del gobierno de los Estados Unidos en las
transmisiones de Radio Marti (financiadas por USIA y el gobierno de
Estados Unidos). Como pense que CubaNet no reproduciria este articulo,
resumo a continuacion los principales puntos del articulo:
An investigation by the United States Information Agency into its Radio
Marti broadcasts to Cuba documents pervasive influence by anti-Castro
lobbyist Jorge Mas Canosa in management of the station and in news
coverage that deliberately misrepresented U.S. policy toward the island.
Sources familiar with the investigation said the USIA had found that
interference by Mas Canosa in Januart led to broadcasts that seriously
undermined U.S. immigration initiatives, embarrasing U.S. officials and
causing several government agencies to protest the coverage.
The sources also said the investigation, begun more than a year ago by
the USIA's Office of the Inspector General, shows that Mas Canosa,
president of the powerful miami-based Cuban American National Foundation,
has been instrumental in personnel and management decisions at Radio
marti and has arranged reprisals against employees who defied him [una
muestra mas de su respeto al pluralismo y la libertad de prensa y
expresion, Nota del Transcriptor].
Mas Canosa did not respond to requests for an interview, but foundation
spokesman Jose Cardenas dismissed the investigation as one of the many
over the years, undertaken as part of "an ongoing campaign of political
harassment" by the USIA and its inspector general.
[...]
The sources said the investigation could deal a heavy blow to Cuban-born
Mas Canosa, who arrived in this country with the first wave of exiles
after Fidel Castro took over the island in 1959. He has been the most
influential Cuban exile leader of the past 15 years, and a leading
advocate of hard-line measures against Castro and his communist government.
[...]
Staffed mostly by exiles, the station since its beginning has reflected
the competing interests of Miami's million-strong Cuban community, where
Mas Canosa has long represented hard-liners opposed to any rapprochement
with Castro.
[...]
Radio Marti journalists complained for years that Mas Canosa manipulated
personnel assignements and news coverage to ensure that he ahd his views
would have ample representation in the broadcasts, often to the detriment
of opposing voices [sounds familiar?, NT]
[...]
Mas Canosa had told Radio Marti that the committee and the Clinton
administration had "reached an agreement... to help Cubans in Guantanamo
and Panama get permission to enter the United States".
By that Monday both the USIA and the INS had protested that the
broadcasts had seriously misrepresented U.S. policy and had created
false hopes among refugees who would not be leaving internment camps.
[...]
This closed door policy was broadly denounced among Miami exiles, and
their views were emphasized to such a degree by Radio Marti that U.S.
diplomats in Havana sent a classified cable to the State Department
complaining of the coverage, sources familiar with the inspector
general's investigation said.
"I called in the director [of Radio Marti, Richard M. Lobo] and others
and raised the matter", Duffey said. "There was a suggestion that other
stories were run to balance the coverage, but I did not think so".
In a follow-up memorandum to Lobo, Duffey noted that "the employees of
Radio Marti are employees of the United States government. I expect them
to go out of their way to report the official views of our government and
to seek comment on any such news item as this". Lobo soon resigned.