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Live From...
Miami; Bush Denounces Castro; Cuban-Americans Applaud Bush's Decision; Cuban Dissidents Criticize
Aired May 20, 2002 - 20:00 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.
ANNOUNCER: President Bush in Miami; denounces Fidel Castro and promises the trade embargo won't be lifted until major reforms are carried out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Once the 2003 elections are certified as free and fair by international monitors, once Cuba begins the process of meaningful economic reform, then and only then, I will explore ways with the United States Congress to ease economic sanctions.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: Most Cuban-Americans applaud Mr. Bush's hard line speech, despite his somewhat softer stand.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PEDRO BELLO, CIGAR STORE OWNER: We have a president that we vote for and he's backing us up 100 percent.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: Some leading Cuban dissidents fear Mr. Bush's continued tough stand will hurt more than help.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Unfortunately, I think that we have more of the same, the same rhetoric of the times of the Cold War.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: LIVE FROM MIAMI: THE CUBA CONTROVERSY. Here's Kate Snow.
KATE SNOW, HOST: Good evening. We're joining you tonight from Little Havana in Miami. We came back yesterday, just yesterday from Havana, Cuba, where we have been covering the visit of former president Jimmy Carter. But tonight, we are at Cafe Versailles or Versailles as Cuban-Americans call it. It was founded back in 1971 by Cuban exile, Philippe Val Sr. (ph). It is the heart of the Cuban American community here in Miami.
What started out as a little corner, little hole in the wall sort of, a little coffee window is now a large restaurant. It is the place for Cuban-Americans to meet and be seen and talk. The Cafe Cubano here is strong and they serve it until the wee hours of the morning.
Now, probably they will do a warring business tonight given that this is Cuban Independence Day. And that is part of the reason but not the only one why President Bush came here to deliver a tough anti- Castro speech today. Our senior White House correspondent John King reports now. He has been traveling today with the president.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN KING, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In Miami, surrounded by anti-Castro Cuban-Americans, a reminder current presidents wield a lot more power than former presidents.
BUSH: I know what trade means with a tyrant. It means that we will underwrite tyranny, and we cannot let that happen. And I also want you to know I will not let our taxpayer's money to go to enrich the Castro regime, and I'm willing to use my veto.
KING: Mr. Bush's hard line is at odds with the views former President Jimmy Carter formed at the close of his landmark Cuba trip. Mr. Bush also is at odds with more and more members of Congress. Democrats and Republicans say four decades of embargo and isolation has punished the Cuban people but not their leader.
SEN. CHRISTOPHER DODD (D), CONNECTICUT: Information kills darkness. Light kills darkness. But as long as we don't allow information and people to move into a place like Cuba, you're just assisting Fidel Castro to stay in power in my view.
KING: But Mr. Bush says he will consider lifting the embargo only if the Cuban leader embraces democracy. And the president offered this list of demands -- free political prisoners, allow opposition parties to organize and speak freely, hold competitive National Assembly elections next year with international monitors, allow a national referendum to gage Cuban support for free speech and other civil liberties.
BUSH: Then and only then, I will explore ways with the United States Congress to ease economic sanctions.
KING: Bush aides do not expect Mr. Castro to see things their way, and the proposal includes new short-term overtures aimed at easing poverty and improving contacts with Cuban dissidents, reducing barriers to U.S. aid groups looking to work in Cuba, allowing government money to some humanitarian efforts and offering to resume direct mail service between the United States and Cuba.
Embargo critics see a policy driven by Florida politics. Cuban- Americans are a powerful voice here. Their support critical both to the president and his brother, the governor. (on-camera): That Mr. Bush raised the prospect of a veto is a reminder that support for the embargo in Congress is fading with each passing year, but it also is reminder of presidential power and that a Cuban leader, Mr. Bush calls a tyrant, should not be expecting any major changes in U.S. policy any time soon.
John King, CNN, Miami.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SNOW: Based on the applause and cheers when Mr. Bush was speaking today from Cuban-Americans in the crowd, they seemed to like what he had to say, but not all Cuban-Americans agree with Mr. Bush's hard line stance on Cuba. CNN Miami bureau chief John Zarrella has been talking to both groups. He joins us now at Our Lady of Charity shrine built by Cuban refugees in honor of Cuba's national patrons.
John, back to you.
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kate, this is the shrine to Our Lady of Charity, known as La Mita de la Caridad (ph), the patron saint of Cuba. And thousands of people have gathered here this evening, members of the Cuban community primarily, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Cuba's independence from Spain. These people, to a person, are all staunchly anti-Castro, and they are also very much in George Bush's corner when it comes to policy. But they don't all agree -- they don't all agree all the time on how best to deal with Fidel Castro.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BELLO: We are advertise in Cigar Officinal (ph).
ZARRELLA (voice-over): Pedro Bello owns a cigar company in Miami's Little Havana. Like the majority in this city's Cuban exile community, Bello voted for President Bush, supports the hard line approach to Cuba, but wishes it could be even tougher.
BELLO: It's not enough, but it helps. It helps the Cubans who immigrated to the United States to know hey, we have a president that we vote for and he's backing us up 100 percent, that makes you feel good. That makes us feel like we made the right decision when it came time to vote for him.
ZARRELLA: But Bello also fits the profile of an increasing Cuban-Americans. He struggles in his own heart and mind to figure out whether the 40-year-old trade embargo is doing any good.
BELLO: So yes, we have an embargo from the United States to Cuba, but everybody is still visiting Cuba and bringing dollars to Cuba, doing business with Cuba. They just do it through a third world country.
ZARRELLA: That's not the kind of talk Ninosa Perez wants to hear. Perez hosts a radio show on Spanish language WQBA. Fervently anti-Castro, she founded the Cuban Liberty Council. For her, the Bush administration's approach, no easing up of sanctions, is the only way to deal with Castro.
NINOSA PEREZ, RADIO HOST: The economy in Cuba is not a secret to anyone, that it's a totally - it's a company in bankrupt. And if we throw that lifeline to Castro now, it will only, you know, grant him more time. So I think this is the precise moment to impose those sanctions, make sure that they work, and that Castro will be forced, as other dictators have been to open up, to hold elections in Cuba and to at least allow the people to have freedom of expression.
MAX CASTRO, CUBAN EXILE: I think this is an early birthday gift for Fidel Castro.
ZARRELLA (on-camera): A birthday gift because President Bush's tough talk says Cuban exile and columnist Max Castro plays right into the hands of Fidel Castro.
CASTRO: The message that I sent to the Cuban government is simply to say more of the same -- we'll continue here to resist. And I can continue to tell the Cuban people that we are facing an arrogant power, telling us how to conduct our political affairs, and therefore, we cannot give an inch.
ZARRELLA (voice-over): With neither side, U.S. or Cuba, giving an inch, the exile community may be divided in its view, but it's united in the hope that it's only a matter of time before Fidel Castro is gone.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ZARRELLA: Many a year has passed here and there has been many a tear shed here and many a prayer said here for various causes supported by the Cuban people, the latest of course, Elian Gonzalez. Two years ago, people gathered here to pray that he would be allowed to stay in south Florida - Kate.
SNOW: John, it's interesting how many different points of view there are within the Cuban-American community here. Is there any way of knowing which is the dominant view?
ZARRELLA: Certainly, the most dominant view here remains that they have to support the Republican administration. They have to support staunch anti-Castro efforts. They support - 61 percent still support the embargo against Cuba but over the years, more and more voices have come out that are in opposition of that predominant view.
A few years ago, you never would have heard anyone in the opposition say, "Gee, we should perhaps rethink the embargo philosophy." But increasingly, you are hearing that in south Florida, as diversity points of view have begun to emerge. But yet, Kate, the dominant point of view remains, let's keep the embargo in place, let's continue to put pressure on Fidel Castro and the Cuban government - Kate.
SNOW: CNN's John Zarrella, our Miami bureau chief, thank you.
Still no official reaction from the Cuban government, but state controlled media dismissed the speech by Mr. Bush today as a bid to win votes for his brother, Jeb Bush, who of course is running for governor in this state. And Cuban political dissidents didn't necessarily like what they heard either. Some of them said they were disappointed with Mr. Bush's speech. CNN's Havana bureau chief now, Lucia Newman.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LUCIA NEWMAN, CNN HAVANA BUREAU CHIEF (voice-over): For Cubans going about their business, President Bush's Cuban policy speech was just policy as usual. Effectively, no relaxation of political and economic sanctions against Cuba.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): It contradicts what Carter said here, and just imagine, we're the people who are suffering because of the embargo.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): He is maintaining the same stupid policy they've had for years, which hasn't solved a thing.
NEWMAN: Predictively, Cuban State Television dismissed the speech as more of the same, and is a ploy, it said, to win more Cuban- American votes for his brother's reelection campaign for Florida governor.
Cuban dissidents gave Mr. Bush mixed reviews. They applauded his call for democracy, free and multiparty elections, an initiative to allow direct mail service between the U.S. and Cuba and support for the families of political prisoners. But most oppose the offer of direct or indirect U.S. government aid to the church and other independent groups.
VLADIMIRO ROCA, CUBAN DISSIDENT (through translator): The U.S. government should not help any organization so they can't be portrayed so-called mercenaries. If we accepted money from Washington, in a sense, we'd be serving the interests of that country, and that is not what I represent. I represent the interests of the Cuban people.
NEWMAN: Some government opponents support U.S. sanctions, but most, like the Cuban government, want the embargo lifted, although for different reasons.
ELIZARDO SANCHEZ, HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST: For decades, the Cuban government has attributed to the failures of its totalitarian system to the U.S. embargo. That is why one should not play into the hands of that system, but rather to the contrary.
NEWMAN: The dissidents' argument is that the more contact with the outside world Cubans have, the better.
(on-camera): Last week, former President Jimmy Carter raised expectations here by offering the Cuban people something new, a call not only for Cuba to introduce political reforms, but also for Washington to take the first step towards normalizing bilateral relations. Those hoping that the current president would take advice from the former were disappointed. Lucia Newman, CNN, Havana.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SNOW: Coming up after a quick break we'll talk with one of the key leaders in the Cuban-American community here in Miami. His name is Jorge Mas Santos. He says lifting the U.S. embargo right now would be a mistake, because it would only embolden Fidel Castro. We'll talk with him after this break.
ANNOUNCER: And later, two brothers, one in Miami, one in Cuba. They're only 90 miles from each other, but a world apart.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Jorge says, "I think about seeing my brother everyday and have seen other family that I've never been able to meet. I hope one day I'll reach them."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: And later, a walk through Little Havana, home to the largest Cuban-American community in the U.S.
But first, time for your opinion. Do you agree with President Bush's decision to maintain U.S. sanctions on Cuba? To take the quick vote, head to CNN.com. The AOL keyword is CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: Today, Cubans are celebrating the 100th anniversary of their country's independence. The United States gained control of Cuba from Spain in 1898 in the Spanish-American War. In 1902, the U.S. granted Cuba independence.
SNOW: And the Cuban flags are flying here in Little Havana, in Miami as well. One of the key groups that fights here for the Cuban- American community is known as the Cuban-American National Foundation. We are joined now by its chairman, Jorge Mas Santos. Thank you for being with us tonight.
JORGE MAS SANTOS, CHAIRMAN, CUBAN-AMERICAN NATIONAL FOUNDATION: Hi, good evening. How are you?
SNOW: I'm very well, thanks. Some that we've talked to about Bush's speech today have said it didn't go far enough wasn't hard enough on Castro in terms of perhaps even tightening the screws even more. Do you share that opinion?
MAS SANTOS: No, I think the speech today was just right. And I think, today, the president stood behind the men and women who struggled for freedom, who struggled for democracy because it's important for us - and number one, to not - you know, I think America's export isn't grain as many profess it is. America's greatest export is freedom. And I think it's important for us to challenge the Castro regime to have free elections, to release political prisoners, to respect the universal declaration of human rights and at the same time, extend a direct hand to the Cuban people, to offer students scholarships here in the United States, to offer non-governmental organization and humanitarian rights groups resources so that on island, we can take our struggle for freedom and democracy and at the same time, give a voice to those on island who have never had it And I think that there's an international spotlight now on Cuba and especially the Varella Project, which the president today supported. I think that those measures are right on.
SNOW: Which is a project -- I keep reminding people it's a project signed by 11,000 Cubans, a petition that says -- demanding a referendum for change in Cuba. President Bush said all these conditions that you just mentioned -- free and fair elections, release political prisoners, basically, provide freedoms to the Cuban people. Does that in any way, though, give Castro an opening, in other words, for the president not even have given him those options of doing those things?
MAS SANTOS: No, and I think options are necessary. You know they need to change, and he said, and I think we support fully, that if, you know, there's a change in Cuba, there are free elections, then obviously there's no need for sanctions or an embargo towards the island. But we need to put Castro in the position to say no or say yes. Is he more interested in absolute power or the well being of his own people?
SNOW: Some of the dissidents that we've talked to - I mean we just showed a piece about this in Cuba, political dissidents fighting there. It said that they were disappointed because as one person put it, "It's thorny, Cold War rhetoric that Mr. Bush delivered today," that they feel like it's a blast from the past.
MAS SANTOS: But I think it goes beyond just rhetoric and some of, you know, calling him a tyrant and what he is, because he is that and he's the worst violator of human rights in this hemisphere. Cuba is on the list of terrorist nations.
But putting that aside, I think what we need to do is engage those people in the opposition to express their voice through CNN, that the international community can hear people in Cuba. And for so many years, that has never happened.
SNOW: Let me ask you a tough question. Do you feel in any way that your community is being used for its political power, for its votes because some would say, "You were told today exactly what you wanted to hear?"
MAS SANTOS: Absolutely not and this community has political power. We have economic power. We exercise our right to vote. And I think that this community represents the best of America's values -- freedom, democracy, social justice. That's what we want for Cuba. We want for our future Cuba what we have here in America. And I think we're not being used. I think that the political power that this community has is in order to establish a policy directly with the Cuban people and at the same time, make sure the regime does not take advantage of the U.S. taxpayer and subsidies the oppressive apparatus.
SNOW: Realistically, what's the end game? Does Castro have to fall or die in order for change to come in Cuba?
MAS SANTOS: I would hope not. I would hope that there is sufficient movement inside the island between opposition groups with a popular demand from the people of Cuba for change that there be the space and the international community has to provide that space because Fidel Castro never will. And I would hope today, that with the challenge President Bush gave Castro of, you know, freer people, that the whole world can also clamor that Cuba should be free.
SNOW: One last thing that another dissident said in Cuba is that this speech gave Fidel Castro fodder, that it enables him to now stand up and say you see those evil Americans over there, they said all those nasty things about me again. It's all their fault.
MAS SANTOS: But it's the truth. But on the other hand, it gives them an out. It gives him an opportunity. You know, I personally don't feel Fidel Castro will ever reform. But at the other time, we have to try, and we have to do the right thing, which is do the best of what our values and principles are as free Americans. And we have to clamor for freedom and democracy for the Cuban people. And I think today is a very, very good start when President Bush, I think, supports a cause of freedom for Cuba.
SNOW: Do you see yourself ever going back to Cuba?
MAS SANTOS: I would hope so. I dream to go back to a free Cuba, to show my children what their parents and grandparents left behind, that we can be part of a reconstruction in Cuba, not an economic reconstruction, but a moral and social reconstruction so Cuba can join the free nations of this hemisphere.
SNOW: Jorge Mas Santos with the Cuban-American National Foundation...
MAS SANTOS: Thank you very much.
SNOW: ... thank you again for joining us.
MAS SANTOS: Thank you, God bless, thank you.
SNOW: A little later in the show, we'll speak to another Cuban American here from Miami whose view of the situation is quite different than the one you just heard. But is she in the minority? More LIVE FROM MIAMI when we come back.
ANNOUNCER: Next, failing hopes amid failing vision.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): Jorge thinks he'll go blind one day soon, and he worries that day will come before he gets the chance to see his brother up close again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: The story of two brothers separated because their governments don't see eye to eye when we return.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: In the early 1960s, the United States and the Catholic Church in Miami airlifted 14,000 children out of Cuba to the U.S. The Cuban parents of those airlifted to the U.S. did not want to see their children grow up under communism.
SNOW: That operation called Pedro Pan, or Peter Pan for the children that were involved, it's a prime example of how many Cuban families have been separated over the 43 years that Fidel Castro has been in power. Only 90 miles of water lies between them, and yet for many here in the U.S. and in Cuba, they might as well be a world apart. CNN's Ed Lavandera has the story now of two brothers who have been separated for decades.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LAVANDERA (voice-over): By 7:00 in the morning, Ramon Saul Sanchez is speaking to the Cuban island from a Miami radio station. He blasts what he calls Fidel Castro's evil regime.
Across the Florida Straits, in the small town of Colon, Cuba, Jorge Sanchez has found a way to hear his brother.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He says the only person who kept this radio is...
LAVANDERA: Ramon Sanchez left Cuba in 1967. He's in Miami now, and has become a high-profile advocate for Cuban democracy. He wants to live in Cuba again.
RAMON SAUL SANCHEZ, CUBAN EXILE: There is a need for the world to know how torn apart the Cuban families are.
LAVANDERA: What hurts Ramon is the conditions his family lives in -- four people in a small apartment. They spend most days sitting inside.
(on-camera): Many Cuban families will tell you that life gets tougher the farther away you live from Havana. There's less food in the markets. Money is tougher to come by as well.
Jorge Sanchez and his son bring home about 400 pesos a month. That's about US$16. Every day for them is a struggle.
(voice-over): Timeworn photographs capture Ramon in a happier time. These are frozen images for Jorge. It's the way he remembers his brother.
Jorge says, "I think about seeing my brother every day and of seeing other family that I've never been able to meet. I hope one day I'll reach them." Jorge's eyesight is failing. Cuban doctors haven't found a cure. He's tried several times for a special visa to get help in the U.S. But his request is denied every time, and his brother can't understand why.
SANCHEZ: The barriers, the right people go. It's not only a crime against the people, but also against humanity.
LAVANDERA: Jorge thinks he'll go blind one day soon, and he worries that day will come before he gets the chance to see his brother up close again.
Ed Lavandera, CNN, Colon, Cuba.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SNOW: Back here live at Cafe Versailles in Miami's Little Havana, there was a rumor earlier today that President Bush might stop by for some of that Cuban coffee, unfortunately he didn't make it here. But we do have some video of President Bush leaving Miami just a few minutes ago. The president taking off in Air Force One. He is headed back to Washington, D.C. This after attending a fund-raiser here with his brother Jeb Bush, of course the governor of Florida who is running for reelection. It was a fund-raiser for the Republican Party in Florida. A little bit later on, we're going to take a look at the politics of this state and why it's so attractive to some many candidates.
ANNOUNCER: Coming up, the sights and sounds of Little Havana. And later, President Bush was there today, but he's not the only politician making the rounds in the Sunshine State.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AL GORE, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Americans say, "We're going to elect a Democratic president in 2004 with Florida making the difference."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: Find out why Florida is in the political spotlight.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHARLES MOLINEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Charles Molineaux at CNN Center in Atlanta. LIVE FROM MIAMI with Kate Snow will return in just a few minutes. But first, this brief news alert.
A plan to set up a toll free 9-1-1 emergency number for airline passengers has been rejected. The Transportation Security Administration says it prefers that crewmembers be the ones who tell authorities if there's an emergency on a plane.
The church sex scandal is causing legal trouble for the Catholic cardinal of Los Angeles Roger Mahoney. Today he was named in a federal racketeering lawsuit. Four alleged sexual abuse victims are suing. They claim church officials engaged in a conspiracy to cover up decades of child sexual abuse by a priest. Mahoney says the charges are baseless.
It is just weeks until the start of hurricane season and the National Hurricane Center has just released its outlook for the year. The center says this season is expected to be normal to slightly above normal. It predicts nine to 13 tropical storms, including six to eight hurricanes. Two or three of those are expected to be major.
And that is a brief news alert. Kate Snow will be back in 30 seconds with a look at what's coming up on LIVE FROM MIAMI, but first this MONEYLINE update.
LOU DOBBS, MONEYLINE ANCHOR: I'm Lou Dobbs with this MONEYLINE update. Stocks today retreated on Wall Street. The Dow fell 123 points, the NASDAQ tumbled nearly 40. One bright spot, an earnings report from home improvement retailer Lowes, Lowes reported a 54 percent jump in profits and raised its full year outlook. Watch MONEYLINE weeknights, 6:00 p.m. Eastern on CNN. Now back to Kate Snow LIVE FROM MIAMI.
KATE SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Coming up, we'll take you on a tour of Little Havana here from the tower that served as a sort of Ellis Island for Cuban-Americans, hundreds of thousands of them to Domino Park. And we'll ask our historian guide why so many Cuban- Americans stay right here in Miami. That's all coming up.
ANNOUNCER: Also ahead, more reaction from Miami to President Bush's speech on Cuba. And later, another story in the spotlight in the Sunshine State, and across the nation, we'll have the latest developments in the case of a five-year-old foster child.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: More than half of all Cuban-Americans live in Florida's Miami-Dade County. They make up 29 percent of the county's population.
SNOW: For those of you just joining us here in Miami, we are here because President Bush was here earlier today delivering a message to Cuban-Americans on the 100th anniversary of Cuban independence.
In a speech just a few miles down the road from here, Mr. Bush told a very responsive Cuban-American audience that easing of the U.S. trade embargo on Cuba will happen only after Fidel Castro meets several strict conditions. Those include open and democratic elections, freedom for political prisoners and economic reform.
But here in Little Havana, you are more likely to see a coffee shop like this one, with Cuban coffee, than you are to see a Starbucks. Earlier, I toured this area of Little Havana with a professor of history, Jaime Suchlicki who is also a Cuban-American himself.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) We began at the Freedom Tower. This is a place much like Ellis Island, where hundreds of thousands of Cubans coming from Cuba were handled and processed from the early '60s through the mid '70s. It's undergoing renovations now to make it into a kind of museum, and today it is draped with a Cuban flag, in honor of the 100th anniversary of Cuban independence.
JAIME SUCHLICKI, HISTORY PROFESSOR: Yes, this is where it all started. This is when the Cuban-Americans arrived, this is where they created the refugee center. This is where they are being processed here. They received some money, some assistance.
SNOW: Tell me a little bit them because that first wave was a little different than those who came later.
SUCHLICKI: Well, the first wave that came in was the people that were connected with the Battista dictatorship. Then, you have the business community that began to leave Cuba as confiscations and nationalization took place.
And then by the mid '60s, this is where the poor people of Cuba that had been dispossessed, had nothing, and they began to come in. And by the time the '70s come in, everybody there was coming in rafts and so on were the poorest people.
SNOW: So now we're on Southwest 8th Street in downtown Miami. This didn't look like this back in the '60s.
SUCHLICKI: This was a decaying area, a two-lane street. It began to be built up when the Cubans arrived and it has continued to be built up.
SNOW: And this is Cafe Versailles, which is a very famous place in Little Havana.
SUCHLICKI: Yes, this is a meeting place for Cuban-Americans. They start at seven o'clock drinking coffee in the morning and you can come here at three o'clock or midnight and it's packed. This is where the Cubans gather and play dominoes, the older generation primarily.
SNOW: One thing that strikes me is that here in Miami, the Cuban-American community is really centered in Miami, unlike say Mexican-Americans, who might move all over the country.
SUCKLICKI: Well, there's a lot of reasons, one culture. This place is homey. Second is the weather, and third I think there is a perception that has been dying down, but that was still there that one day they're going to go back to Cuba and Cuba will be liberated from Fidel Castro.
SNOW: So stay close?
SUCKLICKI: Stay close.
SNOW: Stay 90 miles away.
SUCHLICKI: That's right.
SNOW: This right here is an eternal flame burning.
SUCHLICKI: This is dedicated to those who died the martyrs that died in the Bay of Pigs invasion in Cuba.
SNOW: Let's talk about the future a little bit. Do you think that most Cuban-Americans who live here in Miami would go back if Castro weren't there anymore?
SUCHLICKI: Well most Cuban-Americans will go to visit Cuba. Some of them will buy condominiums and retire there. Some of them will go for businesses and some of them will go to live in Cuba. I think the minority will be the ones that would go and live in Cuba.
SNOW: Is it also because they have made their homes here now, they're Americans now, less so than perhaps than their old Cuban identity?
SUCHLICKI: In part because they have family and they made their lives here, but in part because transition in Cuba is going to be difficult, and unless it's very fast, people are not going to want to sacrifice again.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SNOW (on camera): Jaime Suchlicki talking with me from the University of Miami. He is a professor of history there. One other thing that we talked about is how many Cubans who came here in that first wave, right in the early '60s, late '50s, bought roundtrip tickets. They fully intended to go back to Cuba. They thought that Castro would be in power for just a few days or months. Instead, he's been in power for 43 years.
Coming up, we'll talk with a woman who is not always the most popular person around these parts. She is a Cuban-American who has returned to that country several times now and she says most Cuban exiles in Miami don't have a clue what it's really like over there. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SNOW: We heard earlier in the show from the person with the Cuban-American National Foundation, the director of that group. And now, we're going to hear from another voice here. Those conservative voices tend to get a little more attention, particularly when it comes to politicians.
But there are other Cuban-Americans who sing a very different tune. They would like to see the U.S. embargo lifted on Cuba. Our guest right now is the Executive Director of the Cuban Committee for Democracy. She came to the U.S. from Cuba when she was 12 years old. Elena Freyre, thanks for joining us.
ELENA FREYRE, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, CUBAN COMMITTEE FOR DEMOCRACY: Thank you for having me. SNOW: Start with the speech today, President Bush calling on Fidel Castro to meet certain demands before the U.S. would even consider lifting the embargo. Was that an appropriate message?
FREYRE: Well, you know, the more demands you make upon the Cuban government, the more the Cuban government doesn't move. I think that actually what ought to be done is what Jimmy Carter called for, which is this country which is a big, large, very powerful country, should move first and make the first gesture to lift the embargo.
SNOW: But why not put some demands on Fidel Castro? In other words, if you simply lift the embargo, others would argue you just give Mr. Castro a freebie. You give him a gift.
FREYRE: You're actually not giving Mr. Castro anything. You're giving the Cuban people something. You know, for 40 years, we've been trying to push Castro to do stuff and for 40 years, Castro has resisted, and I think that you have to finally realize that this is a failed policy and you don't continue with failed policy when it's time to let him go.
SNOW: Are your views, do you think, in the minority here? I know that you've taken some heat for some of the things you've said in the past among your own people, among the Cuban-American community.
FREYRE: I think it's calmed down because I think that the committee has moderated itself with some notable exceptions, but it's still a very rough going when you want to express your point of view. And I think it's a shame because I believe that if we want to bring democracy to Cuba, we have to be democratic ourselves.
SNOW: You've been outspoken about the community here. I know you said, at least you have traveled to Cuba, and I believe you've suggested that others should do the same, haven't you?
FREYRE: Correct. I think we -
SNOW: Why?
FREYRE: I think we have to be a little careful to make sure that we're headed in the right direction and for 40 years we really have been headed in the wrong direction. We haven't gotten anything. So, it's time for a change. The time is now. I'm having trouble getting -
SNOW: OK.
FREYRE: I'm sorry, I'm having trouble getting you.
SNOW: Let me speak up. Why is it important to travel to Cuba?
FREYRE: Because every single American that travels to Cuba is an ambassador to democracy. I think that - also it's a constitutional that the people of the United States have to go wherever they want. I think it's terrible not to allow them to go wherever they want.
SNOW: In terms of Cuban-Americans, do you think Cuban-Americans should travel back to Cuba to see the way things are there?
FREYRE: Well not only that but I think that it's outrageous that there's a government telling people that they can only see their mother once every 12 months. That's a ridiculous policy.
SNOW: Talk to me about the community. You said that you think it's more moderate now than it was before. Is there a diversity of views, a spectrum of views within the community here?
FREYRE: Absolutely. Very recently, as recently as March the 28th, there was a conference that was held at the Biltmore Hotel and the title of the conference, the working title of the conference was "The Time is Now" and it was, 300 Cuban-Americans mainly from the South Florida area that were there calling for a lifting of the embargo and for normalization of relations with Cuba. You couldn't have done that three, four years ago. I'm sorry.
SNOW: I asked Mr. Marsantos (ph) - I was just going to say, I asked Mr. Marsantos a question. I'm going to ask you the same thing. What do you see as the end game right now for Cuba? Does Castro need to go away for relations to improve?
FREYRE: I'm afraid I'm going to have you repeat that. There's music going on here and it's hard to hear you.
SNOW: That's OK. That's OK. I just said what's the end game for Cuba? Could you hear me all right? OK, we're going to have to leave it at that. I apologize for the sound behind you.
FREYRE: No, it's not your fault. There's an orchestra here and it's almost impossible to hear you.
SNOW: No problem, but thank you so much Elena Freyre for joining us, Elena Freyre, Executive Director with the Cuban Committee for Democracy joining us here in Miami.
Cuba isn't the only reason that President Bush visited this state today. It might have been a little bit of brotherly love as well. That might have been one of the reasons why he chose to come south to the Sunshine State, more on that when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SNOW: President Bush didn't come here to Florida just to denounce Fidel Castro. He was also here to (inaudible) for his brother Jeb, the Florida governor, who of course is up for reelection in November.
Democrats too are making a beeline for the Sunshine State. CNN's Senior Political Correspondent Candy Crowley explains why.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The President's been to Florida nine times since his inauguration. Nearly all the Democratic 2004 hopefuls managed to fit the April state convention into their schedules.
SENATOR JOHN EDWARDS (D) NORTH CAROLINA: God bless you Florida Democrats. Go get them in the fall.
CROWLEY: Florida is like the O'Hare of the political world, jammed with incoming candidates.
U.S. SENATOR JOSEPH LIEBERMAN (D) CONNECTICUT: It is great to be back in Florida, the home of the last time and the next time a Bush will come up short on election day.
U.S. SENATOR JOHN KERRY (D) MASSACHUSETTS: Maybe we ought to rename this Spring Break for U.S. Senators.
CROWLEY: What brings so many politicians to this Mickey Mouse state? It's not the palm trees or orange juice.
It's the presidential electoral map. Reliably, Democratic California has the most electoral votes of any state, 55, followed by reliably Republican Texas with 34, solidly Democratic New York, 31 and Florida 27 electoral votes.
With an exploding and changing population, younger and more diverse by the year, Florida is reliably nothing. In the 2000 election year of red states or blue, Florida was purple. It is up for grabs, in play, a toss-up state, ergo a high traffic area for politicians.
AL GORE: Regardless of who our nominee is, we're going to elect a Democratic president in 2004, with Florida making the difference.
CROWLEY: For Democrats, remember Florida is as much a rallying cry as "Remember the Alamo" was to Texans.
TERRY McAULIFFE, DNC CHAIRMAN: Do you realize this is the first time that Al Gore and Joe Lieberman have been back in the state of Florida since the fall of 2000? But then again, this is Florida, so who's counting?
CROWLEY: Basically, Democrats hope to keep their Florida base angry enough to vote in droves this fall in what is the hottest governor's race in the nation.
BUSH: The people of Florida got a really good governor here.
CROWLEY: The brother of the president and the son of another president is running for reelection, probably against a 63-year-old unemployed woman with a passion for her red pickup, who once worked as attorney general for yet another president, and during that time sent her employees into Miami's Little Havana to retrieve a little boy so she could send him back home to his father in Cuba, thus angering most of Florida's very political and very active Cuban community.
One last thing, remember Catherine Harris, who certified the 2000 election results in Florida? She's running for Congress. My friends, make no mistake about it, if you are a political reporter your cup runneth over in the Sunshine State. Candy Crowley, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SNOW: The political heat here is getting a lot hotter on Governor Jeb Bush over the disappearance of a five-year-old girl who was in state custody. CNN National Correspondent Susan Candiotti has the latest now on the case and its political ramifications.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORREESPONDENT (voice over): Nearly 17 months after Rilya Wilson vanished, the trail appears as cold as ever. What is heating up, attacks on Florida's Child Welfare System. One lightning rod, Secretary of State Kathleen Kearney who insists Rilya's case is isolated.
KATHLEEN KEARNEY, FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILIES: We don't believe that we have another child like this out there. We certainly - that has been our focus and our concern.
CANDIOTTI (on camera): When the Florida Secretary says that the Wilson case, the Rilya Wilson case is isolated, do you agree?
HOWARD TALENFELD, ATTORNEY: Absolutely not.
CANDIOTTI (voice over): Last month, Attorney Howard Talenfeld won a record $5 million civil rights judgment against the State of Florida in another foster care case with eerie parallels to Rilya Wilson.
TALENFELD: Rilya wasn't visited for 15 months. There were no documented visitations of these children for 20 months.
CANDIOTTI: Rilya Wilson was last seen by a caseworker in January, 2001. Her caretakers say a social worker took the youngster away for tests and never returned. The caseworker is under investigation for falsifying reports about the child. The youngster's caretaker showed deception on a polygraph, as did others who work for the state.
ROBERT STEINBACK, MIAMI HERALD COLUMNIST: We have basically everyone trying to pass off the responsibility on someone else because nobody wants to be the ultimate person to whom the finger points.
CANDIOTTI: Florida Governor Jeb Bush is under political attack for not doing more to improve the state's long troubled child welfare agency. On Monday, opponent Janet Reno won the labor union endorsement, while making it a campaign issue. The governor's blue ribbon panel promises get tough recommendations, and in the past decade, similar panels did the same.
TALENFELD: Most of these recommendations collect dust.
CANDIOTTI: This time, the governor's panel promises things will be different. DAVID LAWRENCE, CHAIRMAN, BLUE RIBBON PANEL: I certainly don't think any of us will be wasting our time.
CANDIOTTI: How much time will it take to find Rilya Wilson? It's one question no one can answer. Susan Candiotti, CNN, Miami.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SNOW: That story, of course, just one of the stories making headlines here in Miami, the other, of course, the visit of President Bush today to Miami to give a speech on his initiatives on U.S. policy toward Cuba. ]
Almost one week ago, we were in Havana, Cuba for a speech by a former president, President Jimmy Carter who told the Cuban people that he thinks it's time for America, for the U.S. to take a first step toward lifting the embargo.
Today, President Bush took a first step, but it was in the other direction, tightening the U.S. embargo. It is amazing how short the distance is between those two countries. On our flight yesterday, it took us just 45 minutes to get here and yet the two places are world's apart.
I'm Kate Snow LIVE IN MIAMI, for all of us here, good night.
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