BY RICH ARIZA
NEWARK, New Jersey - Surrounded by supporters at an
August 21 news conference, Raymundo Del Toro, president of
the Cuban American Committee for Peace, called on the U.S.
government to end the restrictions it imposed exactly one
year earlier on family visits to Cuba.
Del Toro said, "The Clinton administration has negotiated an immigration pact with the Cuban government setting up an orderly process for Cubans to leave the island who wish to do so. Yet why are we Cuban-Americans still being punished by being denied the right to visit our loved ones in Cuba?"
The well-attended news conference was held in conjunction with a lobbying effort among congresspeople from New Jersey. Marshall García, vice president of the Cuban American Committee for Peace, condemned Rep. Robert Torricelli, calling him an agent for right-wing Cuban- American forces. Also speaking at the news conference was Luis Miranda of Casa de las Ame'ricas, a New York-based organization that promotes solidarity with the Cuban revolution.
Two days before the press conference, the right-wing Spanish-language daily Noticias del Mundo ran a front-page article announcing the event. Unlike some previous incidents, however, no attempt to disrupt the event materialized.
The Spanish-language television networks Telemundo and Univisión reported on the conference during their evening broadcasts. It was also covered by several Spanish- and English-language newspapers.