No information about whether Cuban officials harass Cuban visitors in Canada to become spies or to provide information while in Canada, or about complaints made to the Cuban government by Canadian officials about the harassment of Cuban visitors while in Canada could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate. However, the following provides information about a Cuban official accused of espionage in the US who ended up at the Cuban Embassy in Ottawa (The Globe and Mail 29 Feb. 2000; AP 29 Feb. 2000; ibid. 2 Mar. 2000), and a number of reports about Cuban spies in the US (United States 29 Nov. 2002; Miami Herald 17 Oct. 2002; ibid. 31 May 2002; World Press Review 8 Jan. 2002).

Sources indicate that the Cuban vice-consul of Cuba's Interests Section in Washington, DC, Jose Imperatori, was expelled from the US for allegedly helping an American immigration official spy for Cuba (The Globe and Mail 29 Feb. 2000; AP 29 Feb. 2000). After being declared "persona non grata" and ordered to leave the country, Imperatori resigned from his post and challenged the US government to prove the allegations (ibid.). Canadian authorities allowed Imperatori to return home through a connecting flight from Montreal to Havana, but instead of going straight to Havana, Imperatori went to the Cuban Embassy in Ottawa where he began a hunger strike to clear his name (Globe and Mail 29 Feb. 2000).

An article of March 2000 reported that Imperatori left the Cuban Embassy, escorted by the RCMP, for a flight to Havana where he received a "hero's welcome" led by President Fidel Castro (AP 2 Mar. 2000).

A number of sources have reported on Cuban spies in the US (United States 29 Nov. 2002; Miami Herald 17 Oct. 2002; ibid. 31 May 2002; World Press Review 8 Jan. 2002). According to a Report for Congress of 29 November 2002:

Over the past several years, the FBI has arrested and convicted several Cuban intelligence agents in the United States. In June 2001, five members of the so-called "Wasp Network" were convicted on espionage charges by a U.S. Federal Court in Miami. Sentences handed down in December 2001 ranged from 15 years to life sentences. The group tried to penetrate U.S. military bases and exile groups. The Cuban government has vowed to work for the return of the five spies who have been dubbed "Heroes of the Republic" by Cuba's National Assembly. In addition to the five, a married couple was sentenced in January 2002 to lesser prison terms of 7 years and 3 1/2 years for their participation in the spy network (United States).

In response to the accusations of operating a spy network in Miami, Cuban officials "attacked" the trial's legitimacy, and many Cubans felt that the prison sentences handed down were "unjustified" and "excessively severe" (World Press Review 8 Jan. 2002).

According to an article of May 2002, Juan Emilio Aboy, a Miami resident of seven years, was arrested by US federal agents for espionage and was allegedly linked to the "Wasp Network" (Miami Herald 31 May 2002). Unlike previous cases involving members of the Wasp Network, Aboy's case was turned over to the Immigration Court, reportedly because the evidence was insufficient to obtain a criminal conviction, but sufficient for deportation under immigration law (ibid.).

A 17 October 2002 article in the Miami Herald reported on the sentencing of Ana Belen Montes, a former senior analyst for the Defense Intelligence Agency of the US, and accused of being Cuba's "most senior spy." In a public explanation about why she became a spy for Cuba, Montes stated that US policy towards Cuba is "'cruel and unfair,'" and "'felt morally obligated to help [Cuba] defend itself'" (Miami Herald 17 Oct. 2002).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Associated Press (AP). 2 March 2000. "Out of Ottawa: Cuban Diplomat Leaves Canada." http://abcnews.go.com/sections/world/DailyNews/cubadiplomat000302_canada.html [Accessed 22 Jan. 2003]

____. Tom Cohen. 29 February 2000. "Alleged Cuban Spy Still in Canada." http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/aponline/20000229/aponline191242_000.htm [Accessed 20 Jan. 2003]

Globe and Mail. 29 February 2000. Mark Mackinnon. "Cuban Diplomat Overstays His Transit Visa." http://64.21.33.164/CNews/y00/feb00/29e4.htm [Accessed 20 Jan. 2003]

Miami Herald. 17 October 2002. Tim Johnson. "Spy For Cuba Gets a 25-Year Term." http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/world/cuba/4301757.htm [Accessed 20 Jan. 2003]

____. 31 May 2002. Gail Epstein Nieves and Tere Figueras. "Miami Man Accsued of Spying For Cuba." http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/world/cuba/3369115.htm [Accessed 20 Jan. 2003]

United States. 29 November 2002. Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress. Mark P. Sullivan and Maureen Taft-Morales. "Cuba: Issues for Congress." http://fpc.state.gov/documents/organization/16157.pdf [Accessed 20 Jan. 2003]

World Press Review. 8 January 2002. Nick Miroff. "The Tale of the Five Cuban Spies." http://www.worldpress.org/Americas/369.cfm [Accessed 20 Jan. 2003]

Additional Sources Consulted

IRB databases

The Cuban Canadian Foundation coud not provide information within time constraints.

World News Connection (WNC)

Internet sites:

Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS)

Comite Cubano Pro Derechos Humanos

Counterintelligence News

Cuba Source

Cuban Canadian Foundation

CubaNet News

Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP)

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