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CNN Live At Daybreak

Carter's Visit to Cuba Generating Opinion From Everyone in Cuban-American Community

Aired May 14, 2002 - 05:55   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: On the subject of Cuba, former President Jimmy Carter's week-long visit there is generating an opinion from just about everyone in the Cuban-American community.

Our Maria Hinojosa has a sampling.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARIA HINOJOSA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At David's Cafe in Miami's South Beach, the aroma of sweet Cuban cafe con leche is most welcome. But Jimmy Carter's visit to Cuba: unacceptable.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm against it. I don't think he should go there. No president should go there. In fact, I believe it should be banned for everyone.

HINOJOSA: But in an upscale Latin restaurant in Coral Gables (ph), that stridency is gone, as some younger Cuban-Americans watch the Carter trip with a lot less interest.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't think the people in my generation really care one way or another, because they didn't live it. They didn't go through the -- you know, the hardships that our parents went through.

HINOJOSA (on camera): In this heavily Cuban-accented city, there's often a perception on the outside that this is a monolith. People remember the rallying cries around (UNINTELLIGIBLE). But perhaps the Carter visit is capturing more of the reality here, a real diversity of opinions.

MAX CASTRO, UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI: There's a difference between people who arrived recently, who would like to see more contact, and those who have been here a long time. There are a number of differences emerging in the community. It's no longer a monolithic community.

HINOJOSA (voice-over): Even the Cuban American National Foundation, the most prominent voice of conservatives Cubans, has accepted the Carter visit with reservation.

JORGE MAS SANTOS, CUBAN AMERICAN NATIONAL FOUNDATION: If President Carter goes there and frames his visit on human rights, on free elections, it would be a success. On the other hand, if President Carter and the regime just perform a show, and he visits different places on the islands in the tourist sector where Cubans cannot visit, then at the end there's no downside to that, nothing changes. The Cuban people will still suffer when President Carter leaves.

HINOJOSA: That there is some movement toward supporting dialogue among Cuban-Americans is good news to Maria Cristina Herrera, who says her home was firebombed in 1988 because she supported a more open relationship with Cuba. She supports the Carter visit, but says patience is the essence.

MARIA CRISTINA HERRERA, INSTITUTE OF CUBAN STUDIES: All human processes are necessarily (ph) slow if they're genuine. So we are not going to see results immediately. We are cooking a broth. We are cooking a Cuban (UNINTELLIGIBLE) with some elements of U.S., too. That takes time before you can taste it.

HINOJOSA: A taste, un savor (ph), of change that no one expects to come quickly to Cuba.

Maria Hinojosa, CNN, Miami.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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