By Paul Richter | Los Angeles Times
May 7, 2008
washington - The Bush administration is overhauling a controversial
democracy-promotion program for Cuba in hopes of tightening financial
controls and broadening the effort beyond the anti-Castro groups in
Florida that have dominated it.
The program's goal is to help Cuban dissidents and spread ideas to
hasten a shift away from the Castro government. But critics have charged
that the 12-year-old program has been wasteful and done less for those
in Cuba than for the Cuban American-led groups around Miami that receive
most its grant money.
Now the U.S. Agency for International Development, which oversees the
program, is trying to persuade Central European and Latin American
non-governmental groups to join American organizations in applying for
its grants.
A chief goal, officials say, is to spend most of the $45 million budget
on communications equipment, such as cell phones and Internet gear, that
U.S. official hope will expose Cubans to the outside world at a crucial
point.
The transition from Fidel Castro's leadership to his brother Raul's "is
a unique moment for Cubans," said Jose Cardenas, who heads the USAID
program on Cuba. "We think it presents an opportunity for real, profound
change in Cuba." But some critics, while welcoming some of the changes,
remain skeptical that the program can bring much in the way of change on
the island.
The democracy promotion program was criticized in a November 2006
General Accountability Office report that found it had lacked proper
oversight in its 10-year history. Groups funded by the program made
questionable purchases, including cashmere sweaters and Godiva
chocolates, and 92 percent of its grants had been awarded without
competitive bids, evidence of "internal control deficiencies," GAO found.
In March, the program was criticized from a different perspective. The
Cuban American National Foundation, a longtime anti-Castro group,
reported that four of the program's largest grant recipients used only
17 percent of the money in direct assistance to Cubans. The remainder
went to salaries, research, travel and other operating expenses. The
foundation urged in its report that the program spend more on direct
aid, including cash assistance. It recommended, too, that groups
receiving grants be required to have other sources of revenue, to avoid
the appearance of being a creature of the government.
The effort suffered a further blow in March when a White House aide
resigned following the disclosure that the FBI was investigating him for
allegedly misusing funds intended to promote democracy in Cuba. Felipe
Sixto, who was special assistant to President Bush for intergovernmental
affairs, formerly worked with the Center for a Free Cuba, a recipient of
the USAID grants.
Cardenas said that the agency has reviewed its procedures in light of
the GAO report, and now will rely on competitive bids and will increase
financial monitoring of the grants.
USAID is hoping to receive bids from Central European and Latin American
nongovernmental groups who have had experience with dissidents in
authoritarian societies, Cardenas said. "They know how to evade the
authoritarian governments' efforts to control your behavior," he said.
And since they are not Americans, it will be easier for them to enter
Cuba and make contact with Cubans, he said.
The Los Angeles Times is a Tribune Co. newspaper.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/nationworld/sfl-flauscuba0507sbmay07,0,4841917.story
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