U.S. Ambassador to U.N. Hosts “Cuba Libre” Panel as Cuban Diplomats Shout Down Dissidents
NEW YORK CITY — U.S. Ambassador Mike Waltz hosted an invitation-only “Cuba Libre: The Oppression Havana Hides” panel at U.N. headquarters on Monday, featuring former political prisoners such as José Daniel Ferrer and Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara.
They were joined by rights researchers and Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, who detailed alleged abuses by the Cuban government.
Cuban diplomats led by U.N. Ambassador Ernesto Soberón Guzmán tried to disrupt the event, calling the guests “terrorists” and Waltz a “liar” and branding the panel a politically motivated “charade.”
The confrontation came a week before the General Assembly’s Oct. 27-28 vote on the U.S. embargo, which Waltz urged countries to oppose.
U.S. Signs Air Interception & Border Security Deals in Paraguay
ASUNCIÓN — U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau and Paraguayan Foreign Minister Rubén Ramírez Lezcano signed two security agreements in Asunción after Landau met President Santiago Peña on Tuesday, October 20.
- Air interception agreement to strengthen surveillance of suspect civilian flights.
- Memorandum of intent to bring the PISCES biometric screening system to Paraguay’s borders, though the full texts have not been published.
Landau also arrived with a delegation of U.S. business executives and investors, but no companies, investment figures or trade deals were announced, and he said Washington has “never seen these levels of cooperation.”
Landau will then travel to Argentina as part of a trip running through October 26.
U.S. Sends Hundreds of Troops to Latin America as Anti-Drug Campaign Expands On Land
Hundreds of U.S. Army soldiers from the 10th Mountain Division are being forward-deployed under U.S. Southern Command as the Pentagon expands its anti-cartel campaign from sea to land, with first stops at a new jungle training facility in Panama and later training with local forces in Colombia and Honduras.
The deployment is described as training and joint exercises, backed by MQ-9 Reaper drones moving into Colombia and Ecuador, a new Western Hemisphere command taking shape in Miami and a regional coalition of 19 nations.
It follows more than a year of boat strikes that have killed more than 200 people, and Gen. Francis Donovan has said land operations are the aim, while the legal basis and host governments’ positions remain largely unstated.
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