Cuba cracks down on illegal emigration

Police and border guards in Cuba have increased security measures in an attempt to curb illegal emigration VIDEO CNN's Mark Potter looks at the measures the Cuban government is taking to prevent illegal emigration - July 26, 1999 Windows Media 28K 80K  ALSO: MESSAGE BOARDS: US/Cuba relations

July 26, 1999
Web posted at: 7:09 p.m. EDT (2309 GMT)

By Correspondent Mark Potter

HAVANA (CNN) -- Police and border guards across Cuba have tightened their grip on citizens attempting to flee the island nation illegally, cracking down even in inland towns, where authorities watch suspiciously for signs of potential trips out of Cuba.

"We are not going to encourage illegal (emigration)," says Ricardo Alarcon, president of the National Assembly. "Far from that. We will continue to do everything within our commitment to avoid that."

Fears that Cuba might be opening its borders first surfaced in the United States following the arrival of Cuban immigrants in Florida this summer.

U.S. law enforcement officials believe that 80 percent of them were assisted by smugglers, who were paid between $8,000 and $9,000 per person. Those fees were most likely financed by families in the Miami area.

Cuba says it has arrested a number of U.S. residents or citizens on smuggling charges.

"Who is trying to provoke (the) situation? Clearly those in Miami that are making good money with the lives of individuals. People have died," Alarcon says.

In response, Havana authorities have announced new regulations concerning the building, repair and use of boats. That move follows stiff anti-smuggling penalties, including life imprisonment, enacted earlier this year.

A recent editorial in the Communist Party newspaper Granma said: "There is not even a remotest possibility the revolution will authorize or permit any kind of massive exodus ... It is the honor and safety of the country that are at stake."

Western diplomats say that despite Cuba's efforts, its bleak economy and recent limitations on political dissent have fueled the desires of many to depart. Last year, more than a half million Cuban households applied for visas to live in the United States. Only 20,000 are granted annually.

Cuban officials accuse the United States of not doing its part to stop the smugglers and their financiers. Havana argues that the U.S. policy that allows Cuban immigrants who reach the American shoreline to remain in the country only encourages Cubans to risk their lives at sea.

Without more help from Washington, Havana authorities say, the emigrant tide can't be controlled.

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