> Published Tuesday, February 1, 2000, in the Miami Herald
>
> Exile group forges ironic alliances
>
> BY KAREN BRANCH
> kbranch at herald.com
>
> The battle over granting citizenship or residency to
> Elian Gonzalez has highlighted a little-known fact about
> the Cuban American National Foundation and its links to
> Congress: Miami's most important exile lobbying group and
> its political action committee often are more generous
> with Democrats than Republicans.
>
> In an irony of historical proportions, the foundation has
> been a major supporter of two nephews of President John
> F. Kennedy -- who earned the hostility of exiles by
> denying air support to the ill-fated Bay of Pigs invasion
> in 1961.
>
> This may surprise Cuban Americans in Miami, most of whom
> are Republicans.
>
> But foundation folks say it just makes political sense.
>
> ``It should come as no surprise there are many Democrats
> supportive of our issues," foundation spokesman Fernando
> Rojas said. ``That's a reflection of our efforts to make
> sure that Cuba policy is bipartisan in nature."
>
> Those efforts are also reflected in contributions by the
> Free Cuba PAC, the political fund-raising arm of the
> foundation. The organization spent $53,500 on Democrats
> in the 1997-98 congressional campaign cycle, compared
> with $49,500 on Republicans.
>
> In the 1999-2000 cycle reported so far, the balance is
> tilted even more toward Democrats. Fifty-five percent of
> the PAC donations ($21,000) went to congressional
> Democrats, with 45 percent ($17,000) to Republicans.
>
> Many of the foundation's Democratic allies are
> congressional members from Florida and New Jersey, home
> to large Cuban exile populations that are prolific
> voters. They include Sen. Bob Graham, D-Fla., and Sen.
> Robert Torricelli, D-N.J. -- who signed on as sponsors to
> Florida Republican Sen. Connie Mack's bill to grant Elian
> U.S. citizenship.
>
> ALLY OF FOUNDATION
>
> Yet the foundation, too, has snagged less obvious
> champions for anti-Castro causes. The most acclaimed is
> Rep. Patrick Kennedy, D-R.I., son of Cuban embargo
> opponent Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass.
>
> The younger Kennedy is co-sponsoring a bill by U.S. Rep.
> Robert Menendez -- a Cuban-American Democrat from New
> Jersey -- to grant permanent residency to the 6-year-old.
>
> They, along with Rep. Peter Deutsch, a Broward Democrat
> who also represents parts of exile-abundant Miami-Dade,
> signed letters to President Clinton and Attorney General
> Janet Reno to urge that they postpone Elian's return.
>
> The historical irony of the Kennedys' support is one
> acknowledged by the foundation, whose founder, the late
> Jorge Mas Canosa, was a Bay of Pigs veteran.
>
> ``When you mention the name Kennedy, you're reminded of
> the early days of the struggle against Fidel Castro and
> that promise that was made by that administration to
> restore democracy to Cuba, which remains unfulfilled,"
> Rojas said. ``But Patrick Kennedy was one of the first to
> try to reach out to the community -- even visiting at one
> point with the Bay of Pigs veterans."
>
> ``What is interesting is here you have a new generation
> of Kennedys working side by side with another generation
> of Cuban Americans to try to fulfill a fundamental desire
> on our part and, indeed, on his part, to bring about
> freedom in Cuba."
>
> TIES WITH KENNEDYS
>
> Jorge Mas Santos, now chairman of the foundation, said
> his father was just as close to Patrick and Joe Kennedy.
>
> Federal contributions records show that Mas Canosa did
> indeed express support for the Kennedys -- in personal
> contributions. He and his wife and sons donated $1,450 to
> Patrick's 1996 reelection bid and $1,000 for the 1997-98
> cycle.
>
> The Mas family, similar to the Free Cuba PAC, has reached
> into its own pockets more for Democrats than for
> Republicans in two of the last three congressional
> elections, and have so far continued that trend in the
> 2000 races. Only in 1996 did they give more to
> Republicans -- $39,250 compared with $21,950 to
> Democrats.
>
> The Mas family gave $26,000 to Democrats and $19,250 to
> Republicans in the '94 cycle, $6,250 to Democrats and
> $5,750 to Republicans for the '98 races, and $2,000 to
> Democrats and $500 to Republicans for the 2000 cycle.
>
> ANOTHER KENNEDY
>
> The foundation counts among its allies former U.S. Rep.
> Joseph P. Kennedy II, Patrick's cousin. In the 1997-98
> campaign cycle, the Free Cuba PAC gave $7,000 to Joseph's
> congressional campaign and $6,500 to Patrick's.
>
> On Nov. 1, Joe Kennedy joined the board of directors of
> MasTec -- the telecommunications construction company
> chaired by Mas Santos.
>
> ``We've had a very close relationship with Joe and
> Patrick for many, many years. I've known them maybe seven
> or eight years," Mas Santos said.
>
> ``They've always been supporters of freedom for Cuba, and
> I think it's important that the Kennedy family -- given
> their spot in history with the Cuba issue -- be on the
> right side of history with those of us who want freedom
> and democracy for Cuba."
>
> Patrick Kennedy did not want to discuss his relationship
> with the foundation. He declined an interview through
> spokesman Larry Berman.
>
> ``We did a press release and some letters he signed on to
> -- and he says they speak for themselves," Berman said.
>
> VIEW ON ELIAN
>
> Kennedy's news release says he believes Elian's fate
> should be decided by U.S. courts: ``Those elements are
> particularly necessary because of the fact there is no
> freedom of speech in Cuba, and therefore, we still do not
> know what Elian's father truly wants in this matter."
>
> Since his election in 1994, Kennedy, now 32, has backed
> the foundation agenda. He voted against congressional
> efforts to end TV Marti. He supported the Helms-Burton
> bill to tighten the U.S. trade embargo against Cuba.
>
> The foundation released a statement by Kennedy on
> Helms-Burton:
>
> ``This bill is a clear statement that the American people
> stand arm in arm with the people of Cuba in their
> struggle against a repressive dictator, and that we will
> not back away from being partners in our common fight for
> freedom begun by my uncle, President Kennedy," Kennedy's
> statement said, referring to John F. Kennedy's imposition
> of the embargo in 1961.
>
> ``President Kennedy looked forward to the day Cubans
> would live in freedom. I share his hope for the future of
> Cuba and this bill will help that day come soon."
>
> DEMOCRATIC BACKERS
>
> Other key Democrats also have backed the foundation
> agenda for years.
>
> They include Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., the Senate
> Democratic whip, who received $7,000 in contributions
> from the Free Cuba PAC for the 1997-98 campaign cycle.
>
> Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman, D-Conn., has a relationship
> with the foundation that can be traced to his first
> election in 1988. Lieberman toppled the Republican
> incumbent, Sen. Lowell Weicker, who as a senator had
> opposed efforts to create Radio Marti and advocated
> normalization of relations with Cuba. Weicker met with
> Castro during trips to Cuba in 1980 and 1983. After the
> last trip, he reported in financial disclosures that
> Castro gave him a box of cigars worth $100.
>
> The foundation's support of Lieberman's candidacy was
> inevitable:
>
> Weicker ``was literally close personal friends of Fidel
> Castro," Rojas said. ``It was unfortunate a senator from
> Connecticut would vacation with Fidel Castro -- and we
> felt it critical to target that race."
>
> ``We established a very close relationship with Sen.
> Lieberman, who understood the plight of the Cuban people.
> Jorge Mas Canosa and he became very close friends over
> the years. . . . In the case of Elian, he was one of the
> first individuals who wanted to help with us. He's going
> to be a co-sponsor of the bill to grant him citizenship."
>
> PLAN DELAYED
>
> Despite intense lobbying efforts by the foundation and
> Elian's family to make the boy a U.S. citizen, the bill
> has received a cool reception to the fast-track effort.
> GOP leaders who originally expected to bring the issue up
> for early floor votes now have delayed the plan.
>
> Lieberman and Torricelli also wrote a letter to Reno, a
> fellow Democrat, on Jan. 7, asking her to delay
> enforcement of a ruling by the Immigration and
> Naturalization Service to return Elian to Cuba by Jan.
> 14.
>
> The Free Cuba PAC gave at least $10,000 to Lieberman in
> the current 2000 campaign cycle -- and Mas family members
> have given him at least $1,000 more. The PAC also gave
> $5,000 to Sen. Charles Robb, a Virgina Democrat and a
> frequent supporter of foundation positions.
>
> ``He's one of the Senate's six Vietnam veterans, so he
> had a pretty hardline stance on communism" Robb chief of
> staff Tom Lehner explained.
>
> The foundation proved its loyalty to Robb, even in 1994,
> when he was challenged by a Republican whose hard-line
> views mirrored the foundation's: Iran-contra figure
> Oliver North.
>
> ROBB'S POSITION
>
> Mas Canosa, then foundation chairman, endorsed Robb over
> North.
>
> But where the sticky issue of Elian is concerned, Robb is
> not so disposed to take a leadership role, his chief of
> staff said. Indeed, even GOP leaders who were originally
> expected to bring up the boy's citizenship question for
> early floor votes now have delayed the plan until a
> federal judge in Miami rules on the case -- despite
> intense lobbying efforts by the foundation and Elian's
> family and allies.
>
> One day after Mack announced Robb was one of the
> co-sponsors of his bill to grant Elian citizenship,
> Lehner said it wasn't true.
>
> ``He's not on it. Mack just misspoke. This isn't as
> central to us as it is to the Florida delegation," said
> Lehner, whose boss is up for reelection this year after
> barely defeating North in the 1994 race. ``This is not to
> say we might not vote for this thing. We still haven't
> sat down to determine a course of action."