Cuba's Crackdown on Government Opponents Triggered by Washington's Funding of Dissident Groups 

Interview with Philip Agee,
former Central Intelligence Agency officer who resides in Havana, Cuba
conducted by Denise Manzari

The speedy trial and sentencing of dissidents as well as the swift execution of three hijackers in Cuba has been condemned by the U.S. charging Cuban President Fidel Castro with gross human rights violations. However, Cuba's Foreign Minister Felipe Perez-Roque, stated that the Cuban government has not charged these individuals with just criticizing Cuba's leadership but that they had conspired with James Cason, the head of the U.S. Interest Section in Havana in blatant subversion.

Cason has unabashedly been organizing dissidents in high-profile and provocative meetings reportedly even in his own home in gross violation of diplomatic norms. Cuba asserts that these so-called dissidents were receiving money from the U.S. government and had total access to the U.S. Interest Section. Oswaldo Paya, principal architect of the Varela Project and Elizardo Sanchez are two well-known dissidents who were not arrested in Cuba. Some claim it's because they are not known to receive U.S. dollars as the 75 who were recently convicted. Millions of dollars have been funneled by Washington through USAID and other groups to help organize opposition in Cuba. Seven acts of terrorist hijackings have taken place in the past seven months as a result of U.S. law, which provides asylum to all Cubans who can make their way to the U.S.

Philip Agee is a former Central Intelligence Agency officer who served in Latin America during the early 1960s and later resigned. He spoke with Between The Lines' Denise Manzari from Havana, where he now lives, and provides his perspective on the recent events in Cuba.