[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 129 (Thursday, September 24, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Page S10914]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page S10914]]
   CLINTON ADMINISTRATION MUST RESPOND FORCEFULLY TO CUBAN ESPIONAGE

  Mr. HELMS. Mr. President, the recent discovery of a sophisticated spy 
ring operating in U.S. territory is a wake-up call to all who assume 
that Fidel Castro is no longer America's tireless enemy. The Federal 
Bureau of Investigation is to be congratulated for its excellent work, 
and, I ask unanimous consent that the Bureau's press release (dated 
September 14, 1998) be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                    Federal Bureau of Investigation

[Press Release--Date: September 14, 1998--contact: SA Mike Fabregas or 
                         Ausa John Schlesinger]


                 fbi derails cuban intelligence network

       Hector M. Pesquera, Special Agent in Charge (SAC) of the 
     Miami Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) 
     and Thomas E. Scott, United States Attorney for the Southern 
     District of Florida announce the arrests of ten (10) 
     individuals for conducting espionage activities against the 
     United States for the Republic of Cuba.
       The arrest of ten (10) individuals in South Florida on 
     September 12, 1998, marked the culmination of a lengthy 
     investigation into subversive activities by the Cuban 
     Intelligence Service. The ten (10) individuals arrested were 
     directed to infiltrate and spy on United States agencies and 
     installations. These agents also attempted to infiltrate and 
     manipulate Anti-Castro groups within the South Florida 
     community.
       The individuals arrested by the FBI include: Alejandro M. 
     Alonso, date of birth November 27, 1958; Ruben Campa, date of 
     birth September 15, 1965; Rene Gonzalez, date of birth August 
     13, 1956; Antonio Guerrero, Jr., date of birth October 16, 
     1958; Linda Hernandez, date of birth June 21, 1957; Nilo 
     Hernandez-Mederos, date of birth March 31, 1954; Luis Medina, 
     date of birth July 9, 1968; Joseph Santos-Cecilia, date of 
     birth October 9, 1960; Amarilys Silverio-Garcia, date of 
     birth September 23, 1961; Manuel Viramontez, date of birth 
     January 26, 1967.
       Search warrants executed at several locations in South 
     Florida yielded disguises, radios, antennas, maps, computers, 
     money, and other items.
       Sac Pesquera and U.S. Attorney Scott would like to commend 
     the efforts of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service 
     (NCIS) who assisted greatly in this investigation.

  Mr. HELMS. Mr. President, the fact that several U.S. military 
installations were among the targets of this spying is evidence that 
the Castro regime is a menace to the national security of the United 
States. According to a reliable 1996 report, Cuban commandos have been 
training in Vietnam at least since 1990 to carry out strikes against 
U.S. military bases, precisely the target of the attempted 
infiltrations of last week.
  Mr. President, the Clinton Administration simply cannot and must not 
default on its clear obligation to respond to this and other hostile 
actions by Cuba.
  First, the Federal Bureau of Investigation is obliged to pursue this 
espionage conspiracy relentlessly. Any and all Cuban personnel working 
in any diplomatic posts in Washington, D.C., and at the United Nations, 
who had contact with this spy ring should be detained, prosecuted, and/
or expelled without delay.
  Future requests by Cuban ``diplomats'' to travel beyond the confines 
of Washington, D.C., or New York--particularly to South Florida--should 
be summarily denied.
  Second, U.S. officials, exile groups, and citizens who have been, or 
are, targets of Cuban spies should be warned by U.S. authorities of 
this threat.
  Third, it is imperative to hold the Russians accountable for their 
continued eavesdropping on U.S. defense and commercial communications 
at the state-of-the-art intelligence facility at Lourdes, Cuba. 
According to reliable published reports, sensitive U.S. information 
gathered at Lourdes is in the possession of Castro's Cubans and made 
available to other rogue states to use against the United States. The 
Russians compensate Castro for this spy platform through a generous 
oil-for-sugar deal--at a time when Moscow looks to the United States 
and the international community for multi-billion-dollar hand-outs of 
the American taxpayers' money.
  Mr. President, the Clinton Administration at this very moment is 
contemplating a huge increase in U.S. aid to Russia, has therefore 
soft-peddled this grave security threat for too long. The removal of 
the Lourdes facility and an end to the related compensation to the 
Cubans must be given top priority in U.S.-Russian relations--and as a 
subject to be considered in the instances of future U.S. aid proposals.
  Fourth, this hostile espionage should put to rest the absurd notion--
conceived by the Cuban regime and being considered by Administration 
officials--that the United States should ``cooperate'' with the Cuban 
government to fight drug trafficking in the Caribbean. Any serious talk 
about anti-drug cooperation should be deferred until after Castro 
surrenders the half-dozen senior Cuban officials who have been 
indicated in U.S. courts for smuggling drugs into the United States.
  Fifth, senior Administration policy makers have informed members of 
the Senate Foreign Relations Committee staff that they see no 
connection between the spy ring and the Clinton plan to give U.S. food 
aid to the United Nations for Cuba. In light of the espionage 
revelations, it is incumbent upon the State Department and U.S.A.I.D. 
to make certain that any food that the Administration proposes to 
donate to needy Cubans must be conducted entirely through 
international, independent relief groups operating under scrupulous 
monitoring.
  And, sixth, Mr. President, Americans have long awaited the Clinton 
Administration's getting around to holding Castro's officials 
accountable for the terrorist attack carried out by Cuban MIGs on two 
unarmed Cessnas in February 1996. The fact that this attack on two 
small planes which were over international waters went unpunished has 
emboldened the Castro regime to act against us.
  The Department of Justice should proceed promptly with an 
investigation of this incident in connection with the indictment of the 
Cuban officials involved. It should be done under section 32 of title 
of the U.S. Code for the willful, premeditated destruction of two civil 
aircraft resulting in the deaths of Pablo Morales, Carlos Costa, Mario 
de la Pena, and Armando Alejandre.
  Mr. President, the Clinton Administration has an obligation to defend 
America's national security against any country determined to do us 
harm.
  Surely, decades of fighting tyrants has taught us that appeasement 
and unilateral concessions serve only to tempt our enemies. If the 
Administration fails to hold Castro accountable for his repeated acts 
of treachery against us, it will tempt him to escalate them.

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