CUBA: DIPLOMAT ASKS ASYLUM IN U.S., ANOTHER ARRESTED.

Journalist Sonia Franco and diplomatic Cervera abandoned his mission consul of the Cuban embassy in Germany and is located in Miami after seeking political asylum to American authorities.

(Foto de Facebook)

Franco, 31, came to the United States last July, accompanied by her son Samuel, three, after traveling from Berlin to Mexico to move to the border and seek protection under the Cuban Adjustment Act (CAA), as confirmed CaféFuerte to sources familiar with the case.

Apparently, Franco’s decision was determined by the surprise trip and subsequent arrest in Havana of her husband, Daciel Alfonso Guzman, who served as deputy chief of the Cuban diplomatic mission in Germany.

“Not much is known of what happened, but it is confirmed that Daciel [Alfonso] was called to a meeting at the Foreign Ministry [Ministry of Foreign Affairs] in Havana and suspected something strange was going on,” from Berlin a source related to the case. “And they took the decision that she left with the child to the United States.”

Deleted from the official site

According to another official, Franco’s first choice was to ask for help in the American Embassy in Berlin, but management was unsuccessful and she then decided to use his diplomatic passport to travel to Mexico. It is currently home of some friends in Miami.

CaféFuerte tried to contact Franco in Miami, but several attempts were unsuccessful. A person related to the situation said the former diplomat is going through a tense situation and do not want to make public statements about what happened.

(Cubanos piden asilo en Colombia)

For now, on the web site of the Embassy of Cuba in Germany has been deleted the name of Alfonso and under the charge of Deputy Chief of Mission, a space is left blank, an email only as a reference. In the section on Consular Section Belkis Rodriguez Hidalgo now listed as first secretary.

“There have come reports that they called to tell Daciel for a claim in the management of office, but has not leaked anything in particular and it is thought that there is something more serious line,” he said from Havana a linked source the Foreign Ministry.

Veteran intelligence officer

As Cuban ambassador in Berlin Juan Rene Mujica Cantelar figure, who presented his credentials in October 2013 to replace Raul Becerra Egaña. Mujica is a veteran of the Cuban intelligence service has played as a diplomat at the Interests Section in Washington, Cuba’s UN mission in New York, and ambassador in London.

(Hija de Ministro cubano pide asilo en EEUU)

Alfonso began his duties in Germany as second secretary and later was promoted to first secretary and deputy chief of the mission last year. Franco was head of the Office Consultation from September 2012.

Natural Moron, Ciego de Avila, Franco graduated as a journalist in the Faculty of Communication of Havana in 2005 and subsequently completed graduate studies at the Higher Institute for International Relations (ISRI) before joining the diplomatic service. The couple married in 2007.

It is the first defection is known of a Cuban diplomat since March 2010, when the couple Yusimí Casañas, 25, and Michel Rojas, 32, defected from the embassy in Mexico and crossed the border to seek asylum in the United States . Casañas worked as section chief of passports and had played earlier in the mission to Cuba in the United Nations.

CafeFuerte/Wilfredo Cancio Isla/InternetPhotos/TheCubanHistory.com
The Cuban History, Hollywood.
Arnoldo Varona, Editor.

CUBA PHOTOS.

CUBA: DIPLOMÁTICA HUYE A EEUU, OTRO ARRESTADO.

La periodista y diplomática Sonia Franco Cervera abandonó su misión como cónsul de la embajada cubana en Alemania y se encuentra en Miami tras solicitar refugio político ante las autoridades estadounidenses.

Franco, de 31 años, llegó a Estados Unidos el pasado julio, acompañada de su hijo Samuel, de tres, luego de viajar desde Berlín a México para trasladarse a la frontera y pedir protección bajo la Ley de Ajuste Cubano (CAA), según confirmaron a CaféFuerte fuentes conocedoras del caso.

(Foto de Facebook)

Al parecer, la decisión de Franco estuvo determinada por el sorpresivo viaje y posterior arresto en La Habana de su esposo, Daciel Alfonso Guzmán, quien se desempeñaba como segundo jefe de la misión diplomática cubana en Alemania.

“No se sabe mucho de lo que sucedió, pero sí está confirmado que Daciel [Alfonso] fue llamado a una reunión en el MINREX [Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores] en La Habana y sospechó que algo raro estaba pasando”, dijo desde Berlín una fuente relacionada con el caso. “Entonces ellos tomaron la decisión de que ella se fuera con el niño a Estados Unidos”.

(Cubanos piden asilo en Colombia)

Borrados del sitio oficial

De acuerdo con otro testimoniante, la primera opción de Franco fue pedir ayuda en la Embajada de Estados Unidos en Berlín, pero la gestión no fructificó y ella decidió entonces usar su pasaporte diplomático para viajar a México. Actualmente se encuentra en casa de unas amistades en Miami.

CaféFuerte intentó comunicarse con Franco en Miami, pero varios intentos resultaron infructuosos. Una persona relacionada con la situación dijo que la ex diplomática está atravesando por una situación tensa y no desea hacer declaraciones públicas sobre lo sucedido.

Por lo pronto, en la página digital de la Embajada de Cuba en Alemania ha sido borrado el nombre de Alfonso y bajo el cargo de Segundo Jefe de Misión aparece un espacio en blanco, solo con un correo electrónico como referencia. En el apartado de la Sección Consular figura ahora Belkis Rodríguez Hidalgo como primera secretaria.

“Aquí han llegado versiones de que a Daciel lo llamaron a contar por una reclamación en el manejo de su cargo, pero no se ha filtrado nada en concreto y se piensa que haya algo más serio de fondo”, dijo desde La Habana una fuente vinculada al MINREX.

(Hija de Ministro cubano pide asilo en EEUU).

Veterano oficial de inteligencia

Como embajador cubano en Berlín figura René Juan Mujica Cantelar, quien presentó sus cartas credenciales en octubre del 2013 en sustitución de Raúl Becerra Egaña. Mujica es un veterano oficial de la inteligencia cubana que ha cumplido servicios como diplomático en la Oficina de Intereses en Washington, la misión cubana de Naciones Unidas, en Nueva York, y embajador en Londres.

Alfonso comenzó sus funciones en Alemania como segundo secretario y después fue ascendido a primer secretario y segundo jefe de la misión el pasado año. Franco estaba al frente de la Oficina Consultar desde septiembre del 2012.

Natural de Morón, Ciego de Avila, Franco se graduó como periodista en la Facultad de Comunicación de La Habana en el 2005 y posteriormente realizó estudios de maestría en el Instituto Superior de Relaciones Internacionales (ISRI) antes de incorporarse al servicio diplomático. La pareja contrajo matrimonio en el 2007.

Es la primera deserción que se conoce de un diplomático cubano desde marzo del 2010, cuando la pareja de Yusimí Casañas, de 25 años, y Michel Rojas, de 32, desertó de la embajada en México y cruzó la frontera para pedir asilo en Estados Unidos. Casañas trabajaba como jefa de la sección de pasaportes y se había desempeñado antes en la misión de Cuba en Naciones Unidas.

CafeFuerte/Wilfredo Cancio Isla/InternetPhotos/TheCubanHistory.com
The Cuban History, Hollywood.
Arnoldo Varona, Editor.

Felix Ismael Rodríguez Mendigutía (born 31 May 1941) is a former Central Intelligence Agency officer known for his involvement in the Bay of Pigs Invasion, in the interrogation and execution of Marxist guerrilla Che Guevara and his ties to George H. W. Bush during the Iran–Contra affair. He is Cuban of Spanish Basque ancestry.

After the Cuban Revolution he and his family became exiles in the United States.

He attended The Perkiomen School, in Pennsylvania, but dropped out to join the Caribbean Anti-communist Legion, created by Dominican president Rafael Trujillo, with the intention of overthrowing Fidel Castro in Cuba.

The invasion of Cuba was a failure, and Rodríguez went back to Perkiomen. He graduated in June, 1960, and went to live with his parents in Miami, where thousands of Cuban exiles lived.

In September, 1960 he joined a group of Cuban exiles in Guatemala, supported by the CIA, to receive military training. They were called Brigade 2506.

Bay of Pigs Invasion.

He was a Paramilitary Operations Officer from Special Activities Division. He joined and became a leader in the CIA-backed Operation 40 and Brigade 2506, and clandestinely entered Cuba a few weeks before the failed Bay of Pigs Invasion. Utilizing his familiarity with the country, he was able to gather critical intelligence to be used in the planning and preparation for the invasion.

His colleagues in Operation 40 included David Atlee Phillips, David Morales, Ted Shackley, E. Howard Hunt, Frank Sturgis, Barry Seal, and Porter Goss among others.

Bolivia.

In 1967, the CIA recruited Rodríguez to train and head a team to hunt down Marxist guerilla Che Guevara, who was attempting to overthrow the government in Bolivia. After Guevara was wounded and captured by Bolivian special forces trained and supported by the CIA, Rodríguez interrogated him.

CIA authenticated the picture of Che Guevara and Félix Rodríguez and recognizes it as original.

Rodríguez stated that he wanted to keep Guevara alive for further interrogation, but was thwarted by the order of the Bolivian president that Guevara be summarily executed. Rodríguez, whose cover was that of a Bolivian army major, repeated those orders, later stating that it was a Bolivian decision, and Guevara was killed. Rodríguez has in his possession Guevara’s Rolex wristwatch.

Vietnam.

He became a U.S. citizen in 1969, soon enlisting in the United States Army. During his career with the CIA he also went by the name Máximo Gómez. He was awarded the Intelligence Star for Valor by the CIA and nine Crosses for Gallantry by the South Vietnamese government. He was codenamed Lazarus after his survival of the Bay of Pigs invasion operation.

In the Vietnam War, Rodríguez flew over 300 helicopter missions, and was shot down five times. In 1971, Rodríguez trained Provincial Reconnaissance Units (PRUs). PRUs were CIA-sponsored units that worked for the Phoenix Program. The Walsh Report states (Chapter 29): “During the Vietnam War, [Donald] Gregg supervised CIA officer Felix Rodriguez and they kept in contact following the war.”Rodríguez also reported to Ted Shackley during the Phoenix Program – Shackley became Bush’s top aide for operations when he directed the CIA; Gregg later became National Security Advisor for Vice President Bush. Rodríguez was in frequent contact with him regarding arms for the Contras.

Activism.

In 2004 Rodríguez became President of the Brigade 2506 Veterans Association, a group for Bay of Pigs Invasion survivors.

During the 2004 US Presidential election, Rodríguez was highly critical of Democratic candidate John Kerry, due in part to their previous meeting at a Senate Subcommittee on Terrorism and Narcotics hearing in 1987. During one session Kerry accused him of soliciting a $10 million donation from the Colombian cocaine cartel. The story had originally come from Ramón Milian Rodríguez, a convicted money launderer from Colombia. Rodríguez referred to Kerry as “a liar and self-promoter” and said he “should not be President.” During the 2004 presidential election Rodríguez campaigned strongly for George W. Bush. He admitted his main motivation was “to get the real word out about John Kerry.” Others accused him of seeking revenge against Kerry for the Kerry Committee report.

Awards:

Intelligence Star (very rare CIA valor award), Silver Star,
Crosses for Gallantry by government of South Vietnam

In 2005, Rodríguez oversaw the opening of the Bay of Pigs Museum and Library in Little Havana, Florida, and also became Chairman of the Board of Directors.

Agencies/Various/Wiki/InternetPhotos/www.thecubanhistory.com
The Cuban History, Hollywood.
Arnoldo Varona, Editor.