BY BILL KALMAN
MIAMI - On March 18 Federal Judge James King ordered that
the more than $6.2 million owed by five U.S. phone companies to
the Cuban telephone company for calls made last year be paid
instead to the families of three Cuban-Americans shot down
while invading Cuban airspace in 1996.
King had earlier ruled that the payments be frozen pending a final decision. In response, Empresa de Telecomunicaciones de Cuba S.A., the Cuban joint phone venture with Italy, stopped direct phone links with the five U.S. companies February 25. Most U.S. phone companies hadn't made a payment since Dec. 29, 1998. AT&T owes the Cuban phone company the most, $4.1 million. MCI WorldCom, LDDS, IDB, and WillTell also owe funds that will now be given to the rightists' families. Sprint is not affected by the ruling.
In 1997, King ruled that the Republic of Cuba and the Cuban Air Force owed $187 million in damages to the families three provocateurs, members of the U.S.-based counterrevolutionary group Brothers to the Rescue, who had flown into Cuban airspace despite repeated warnings to cease and desist. They were shot down Feb. 24, 1996, when Cuban forces acted to protect their territorial integrity.
The federal court's attack on Cuban sovereignty will likely mean that phone service will remain curtailed between the two countries. The five phone companies are already routing calls from the U.S. to Cuba through third countries, resulting in higher calling costs. Calls from Cuba to the United States appear to be affected harder than phone calls originating in the U.S.
Lawyers for the relatives of the rightists have made it clear that they will attempt to use King's latest ruling to take further actions against Cuban sovereignty. "We're going to get the money," insisted Miami lawyer Aaron Podhurst at a press conference. "Nobody has the right to not follow a federal judgment."
The lawyers are now looking at pursuing some $6 million annual fees that U.S. airlines pay Cuba for flying over the island on international flights and for airport landing rights. Lawyer Francisco Angones even indicated that money generated by the scheduled baseball games between the Baltimore Orioles and the Cuban national team could be affected. "It's a great idea, we'll look at it," he said. The U.S. Justice Department is now reviewing the decision on the telephone payments.