Cuban Ambassador to The Bahamas Felix Hernandez Wilson said Tuesday he could not say whether there are Cuban spies operating in The Bahamas, but assured that the Cuban Embassy is not involved in any such activities.
Mr. Wilson was a guest on the Love 97 radio programme “Issues of the Day” and was speaking about what he sees as the unfair justice received by five Cuban men who are imprisoned in the United States on espionage related charges.
The showﾒs host, Wendall Jones, questioned Mr. Wilson on whether there were Cuban spies operating in The Bahamas.
Mr. Wilson responded, “I donﾒt have to answer the question of which I do not know the answer. You have to ask the persons who may think about it, not to me. I am not here to do anything that is outside the bonds of my diplomatic activities here.”
He said, “An embassy has its role. I donﾒt know of other countryﾒs embassies, but no Cuban embassy in the world is allowed to perform this kind of activities. So if you ask the persons who may tell you or who may have been saying that let them send the proof that they have of any connection with the so-called agents and the Cuban government.”
Mr. Jones then questioned the Cuban ambassador as to whether he was implying that Cuban spies could be operating in the country.
Mr. Wilson, who appeared aggravated by the question, said he was not saying that.
“Do not ask me what you know the answer [to]. I am not going to tell you because I donﾒt know of anything. If you want to know about trade, culture and education ask me whatever you want. If you want to know about the five men which is the reason why we are here we can talk about that,” Mr. Wilson said.
Mr. Jones also asked the ambassador whether Cuban spies were in Florida. Mr. Wilson said the men imprisoned are not spies, but are agents.
“It is important for you to know that they are not spies. They are agents of the Cuban government…They were there because there were terrorists in FloridaﾅThey were in the US without permission to be agents for the Cuban government in the United States and the United States officials did not give them permission to be agents,” Mr. Wilson explained.
In addition to Mr. Wilson, Irma Gonzalez, the daughter of one of the incarcerated men, and Errington Watkins, chairman of Bahamas Friends of the Cuban Five, were also guests on the programme.
The guests said the human rights of the men were violated because they were denied a fair trial because of what they (the guests) called the bias of the Cuban-American community in Miami.
It has been reported that the men were arrested on suspicion of being a part of an espionage network that spied on US military installations and Miami exile groups.
The Cuban men were convicted in 2001 of conspiracy to commit espionage charges.
One of the men was also convicted of conspiracy to murder. The Cuban men are now serving various terms in maximum-security prison including life sentences.
Ms. Gonzalezﾒs father, Rene Gonzalez, is serving 15 years in a Tallahassee, Florida jail.
Ms. Gonzalez defended her father during the show, saying he was in fact assisting the US in finding Cubans who were responsible for committing terrorists acts.
According to the Cuban ambassador, the US government has in the past encouraged the kinds of organizations of which the five were a part.
The five men who are in prison were collecting information on Cubans who wanted to overthrow the government of Cuba, Mr. Wilson said.
By: Bianca Symonette, The Bahama Journal
