THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, September 13, 1994 TAG: 9409130311
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A12 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: HAVANA LENGTH: Medium: 59 lines
Encouraged by news that the United States will let more Cubans enter the country legally, hundreds of people milled around the U.S. government offices in Havana on Monday, hoping for word on how to get a visa.
A spokesman for Cuba's Interior Ministry, however, said details of the new U.S.-Cuban immigration deal were being worked out and would be announced.
In contrast to the busy scene at the U.S. offices, only a couple rafts were on the shores of Cojimar. The Havana neighborhood has been a main departure point for thousands of Cuban boat people fleeing hunger and poverty in their Communist country this year.
Under a deal reached Friday, the U.S. administration agreed to allow at least 20,000 Cubans a year to immigrate legally. In return, Cuba promised to halt the flight of rafters and gave them until Tuesday to remove their crafts from the beach.
Crowds gathered in a park and on the street near the U.S. government offices.
``I have more faith,'' said Ricardo Lamonte, a 56-year-old accountant who wants to visit relatives in Texas and California. ``But I realize that not everybody can get in.''
In the past, only a few thousand Cubans were allowed to immigrate each year, and most of the people who lined up at the building seeking visas left empty-handed. The backlog is so great that visas granted now were sought 10 years ago.
The United States closed its embassy after President Fidel Castro took power but maintains an interest section in the seafront building that used to house the embassy.
Sonia Lobo, a 30-year-old teacher, said she wasn't going to get her hopes up because her visa request had been turned down twice.
``We'll see how it goes,'' she said. ``You can't lose hope, but you get fed up sometimes.''
She said she hadn't wanted to flee in a homemade boat because the seas were too dangerous.
Others said they were afraid of being taken to the U.S. Naval Base in Guantanamo Bay, where the Coast Guard has been taking refugees picked up at sea since last month.
The U.S.-Cuban agreement says Cubans detained at Guantanamo may not enter the United States. They can stay at the base, return to Cuba or seek refuge in a third country. ILLUSTRATION: GRAPHIC
STAFF
CUBA WATCH Monday
SOURCE: U.S. Coast Guard, Defense Department, National Weather
Service
[For a copy of the graphic, see microfilm for this date.]
by CNB