BY LEA SHERMAN
HOUSTON - Nearly 70 students and others attended a meeting at the University of Houston October 28 titled "Why is Washington afraid to let Harry Villegas of Cuba come to the U.S.?" Villegas spent 10 years with revolutionary leader Ernesto Che Guevara, working and fighting with him in Cuba, the Congo, and Bolivia. Because of this close relationship, the Department of History and the African American Studies Center invited Pombo to speak on a program about the legacy of Guevara on the 30th anniversary of his death in Bolivia.

The U.S. State Department denied his visa. Nevertheless, the meeting was held featuring a panel that included Dagoberto Rodríguez of the Cuban Interests Section and Mary-Alice Waters, editor of the English- language edition of Pombo: A Man of Che's `Guerrilla.'

The meeting sent greetings to Pombo. It also sent a letter to the State Department protesting the denial of his visa. A wide array of student and community groups sponsored the meeting to hear the ideas of Guevara, Villegas, and the Cuban revolution and protest the government's attack on free speech.  
 
 
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