Word: cuba
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Discreetly mentioning your trip to Cuba these days is as likely to get you a knowing nod as a raised eyebrow. The U.S. House of Representatives two weeks ago voted to lift restrictions on Americans traveling to Castro's island paradise, but already it seems that half the people I know, from local lawyers to textile execs, either have just returned or are leaving next week for a business trip there. Of course, many of these travelers are really pursuing the business of Cohibas, mojitos and long-lost nieces. But just in case you're one of those who really...
...Megahistory and personal history never integrate. Even the assault on Pearl has a curiously abstract air about it. Authentic figures such as President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (Jon Voight), Doolittle (Alec Baldwin) and heroic black mess attendant Doris "Dorie" Miller (Cuba Gooding Jr.) appear in supporting roles, and the backdrop reaches for historical accuracy?at least until it gets in the way of the main story...
Aside from the Cuban government, few dispute that Roque did Martinez wrong. In 1992, after apparently swimming to the U.S. naval base on Cuba's Guantanamo Bay, Roque, then 35, moved to Miami. He infiltrated Brothers to the Rescue, which Castro considers a threatening paramilitary cell, and, as part of his front, sought a spouse. He chose Martinez, whom he met in a Bible-study group at his aunt's Baptist church. Says Martinez: "I was perfect for him because I was politically naive." Roque started an ardent courtship and, say court documents, in his secret communiques to Havana referred...
...daughter of a Soviet air force officer, then dumped her when he tired of life in Russia. Later he jettisoned a Cuban wife with whom he had had two children. His communiques reveal that Roque grew impatient with his Miami mission because he missed a girlfriend back in Cuba. That, says Martinez, explains why, shortly before he disappeared, he got a deluxe haircut and bought a stereo, expensive suits and a Rolex watch. Both Roque and the Cuban government refused legal representation during the Martinez trial, so the award won't be appealed. Luis Fernandez, spokesman for the Cuban government...
Among the forgotten remnants of America's rickety Cuba policy are the thousands of Cubans who served the U.S. during World War II. Since 1963, Cuban vets--who worked at the Navy's Guantanamo Bay base and in many cases saw combat--have been denied the pension benefits owed them under U.S. law. Washington has long maintained that the money would line Fidel Castro's pockets. But now at least 250 plaintiffs hope to have a class action accepted in federal court to obtain their money. Lawyers say that official Cuban pension files were destroyed by fire; the government claims...