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<h1
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style="font-size:27.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#DA0000;text-transform:uppercase;letter-spacing:.75pt">US
SENT LATIN YOUTH UNDERCOVER IN ANTI-CUBA PLOY<o:p></o:p></span></h1>
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<p class="MsoNormal"
style="line-height:9.0pt;background:white;vertical-align:baseline"><span
style="font-size:7.5pt;font-family:"inherit","serif";color:#848484">By <a
target="_blank"
href="http://bigstory.ap.org/content/desmond-butler"><span
style="color:#DA0000;border:none windowtext
1.0pt;padding:0in;text-decoration:none">DESMOND
BUTLER</span></a>, <a target="_blank"
href="http://bigstory.ap.org/content/jack-gillum"><span
style="color:#DA0000;border:none windowtext
1.0pt;padding:0in;text-decoration:none">JACK GILLUM</span></a>, <a
target="_blank"
href="http://bigstory.ap.org/content/alberto-arce"><span
style="color:#DA0000;border:none windowtext
1.0pt;padding:0in;text-decoration:none">ALBERTO ARCE</span></a> and <a
target="_blank"
href="http://bigstory.ap.org/content/andrea-rodriguez"><span
style="color:#DA0000;border:none windowtext
1.0pt;padding:0in;text-decoration:none">ANDREA
RODRIGUEZ</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"
style="line-height:15.0pt;vertical-align:baseline"><span
style="font-size:7.5pt;font-family:"Lucida Sans
Unicode","sans-serif";color:#848484;background:white">— </span><span
class="updated"><span
style="font-family:"inherit","serif";color:#848484;border:none
windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in">Aug. 4, 2014 12:01 AM EDT<br>
<b><small><small><small><small><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://bigstory.ap.org/article/us-sent-latin-youth-undercover-anti-cuba-ploy-0">http://bigstory.ap.org/article/us-sent-latin-youth-undercover-anti-cuba-ploy-0</a></small></small></small></small></b></span></span><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"
style="line-height:15.0pt;vertical-align:baseline"><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black;background:white">WASHINGTON
(AP) — Fernando Murillo was typical of the young Latin
Americans deployed to Cuba by a U.S. agency to work
undercover. He had little training in the dangers of
clandestine operations — or how to evade one of the world's
most sophisticated counter-intelligence services.</span><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"
style="line-height:15.0pt;vertical-align:baseline"><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black;background:white">Their
assignment was to recruit young Cubans to anti-government
activism, which they did under the guise of civic programs,
including an HIV prevention workshop. Murillo was instructed
to check in every 48 hours and was provided with a set of
security codes. "I have a headache," for instance, meant the
Costa Rican thought the Cubans were watching him and the
mission should be suspended.</span><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"
style="line-height:15.0pt;vertical-align:baseline"><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black;background:white">Over
at least two years, the U.S. Agency for International
Development — best known for overseeing billions of dollars in
U.S. humanitarian aid — sent nearly a dozen neophytes from
Venezuela, Costa Rica and Peru to gin up opposition in Cuba.
The danger was apparent to USAID, if not to the young
operatives: A USAID contractor, American Alan Gross, had just
been hauled away to a Cuban jail for smuggling in sensitive
technology. He remains there still.</span><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"
style="line-height:15.0pt;vertical-align:baseline"><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black;background:white">USAID
hired Creative Associates International, a Washington-based
company, as part of a civil society program against Cuba's
communist government. The same company was central to the
creation of a "Cuban Twitter" — a messaging network revealed
in April by The Associated Press, designed to reach hundreds
of thousands of Cubans.</span><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"
style="line-height:15.0pt;vertical-align:baseline"><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black;background:white">According
to internal documents obtained by the AP and interviews in six
countries, USAID's young operatives posed as tourists, visited
college campuses and used a ruse that could undermine USAID's
credibility in critical health work around the world: An
HIV-prevention workshop one called the "perfect excuse" to
recruit political activists, according to a report by
Murillo's group. For all the risks, some travelers were paid
as little as $5.41 an hour.</span><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"
style="line-height:15.0pt;vertical-align:baseline"><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black;background:white">The
travelers program was launched during a time when newly
inaugurated President Barack Obama spoke about a "new
beginning" with Cuba after decades of mistrust, raising
questions about whether the White House had a coherent policy
toward the island nation.</span><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"
style="line-height:15.0pt;vertical-align:baseline"><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black;background:white">There's
no evidence that the program advanced the mission to create a
pro-democracy movement against the government of Raul Castro.
Creative Associates declined to comment, referring questions
to USAID.</span><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"
style="line-height:15.0pt;vertical-align:baseline"><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black;background:white">USAID
would not say how much the Costa Rica-based program cost. In
response to questions from the AP, the agency issued a
statement that said, "USAID and the Obama administration are
committed to supporting the Cuban people's desire to freely
determine their own future. USAID works with independent youth
groups in Cuba on community service projects, public health,
the arts and other opportunities to engage publicly,
consistent with democracy programs worldwide."</span><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"
style="line-height:15.0pt;vertical-align:baseline"><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black;background:white">In
a statement late Sunday, USAID said the HIV workshop had a
dual purpose: It "enabled support for Cuban civil society
while providing a secondary benefit of addressing the desire
Cubans expressed for information and training about HIV
prevention."</span><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"
style="line-height:15.0pt;vertical-align:baseline"><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black;background:white">But
the AP investigation revealed an operation that often teetered
on disaster. Cuban authorities questioned who was bankrolling
the travelers. The young workers came dangerously close to
blowing their mission to "identify potential social-change
actors." And there was no safety net for the inexperienced
travelers, who were doing work that was explicitly illegal in
Cuba.</span><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"
style="line-height:15.0pt;vertical-align:baseline"><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black;background:white">"Although
there is never total certainty, trust that the authorities
will not try to harm you physically, only frighten you," the
workers' instructions read. "Remember that the Cuban
government prefers to avoid negative media reports abroad, so
a beaten foreigner is not convenient for them."</span><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"
style="line-height:15.0pt;vertical-align:baseline"><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black;background:white">After
Gross was arrested, USAID privately told contractors that they
should consider suspending travel to Cuba, according to emails
obtained by the AP.</span><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"
style="line-height:15.0pt;vertical-align:baseline"><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black;background:white">"We
value your safety," one senior USAID official said in an
email, less than a week after Gross was seized.</span><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;outline:
0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;line-height:inherit">
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="line-height:15.0pt;vertical-align:baseline"><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black;background:white">"The
guidance applies to ALL travelers to the island, not just
American citizens," another official wrote.</span><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"
style="line-height:15.0pt;vertical-align:baseline"><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black;background:white">And
yet four months later, in April 2010, Murillo was sent to
Havana.</span><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;line-height:inherit">
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="line-height:15.0pt;vertical-align:baseline"><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black;background:white">___</span><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;line-height:inherit">
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="line-height:15.0pt;vertical-align:baseline"><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black;background:white">'IT'S
JUST WRONG'</span><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"
style="line-height:15.0pt;vertical-align:baseline"><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black;background:white">Murillo,
then 29, was the charismatic head of a human-rights group in
Costa Rica called Fundacion Operacion Gaya Internacional,
which had been contracted by Creative Associates to turn
Cuba's apathetic young people into effective political actors.</span><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;outline:
0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;line-height:inherit">
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="line-height:15.0pt;vertical-align:baseline"><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black;background:white">He
headed to Santa Clara, a city three hours from Havana, where
Murillo connected with a cultural group that called itself
"Revolution," a modest outfit of artists devoted to electronic
music and video.</span><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;outline:
0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;line-height:inherit">
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="line-height:15.0pt;vertical-align:baseline"><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black;background:white">Murillo
wasn't there long before a state security officer, Carlos
Pozo, took notice — a problem Murillo reported to Creative
Associates, records show.</span><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;outline:
0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;line-height:inherit">
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="line-height:15.0pt;vertical-align:baseline"><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black;background:white">If
the idea was to hold a series of seminars to recruit new
"volunteers," Murillo needed a theme that would both draw in
potential recruits and still be sanctioned by the state.</span><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;outline:
0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;line-height:inherit">
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="line-height:15.0pt;vertical-align:baseline"><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black;background:white">An
HIV-prevention workshop was just the thing.</span><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;outline:
0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;line-height:inherit">
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="line-height:15.0pt;vertical-align:baseline"><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black;background:white">Months
later, in November 2010, the workshop drew 60 people. Pozo
also participated — evidence, Murillo said, that his scheme
was working.</span><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;outline:
0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;line-height:inherit">
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="line-height:15.0pt;vertical-align:baseline"><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black;background:white">The
workshop was supposed to offer straightforward sex education
for HIV prevention, such as the proper way to use a condom.</span><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;outline:
0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;line-height:inherit">
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="line-height:15.0pt;vertical-align:baseline"><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black;background:white">"Cubans
expressed a desire for information and training about HIV
prevention, and the workshop helped to address their needs,"
USAID said in response to written questions.</span><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;outline:
0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;line-height:inherit">
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="line-height:15.0pt;vertical-align:baseline"><b><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black;background:yellow">But
the ulterior motive, documents show, was to use the workshop
as a recruiting ground for young people by showing them how
to organize themselves.</span></b><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;outline:
0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;line-height:inherit">
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="line-height:15.0pt;vertical-align:baseline"><b><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black;background:yellow">This
was a strategy that the travelers hoped to spread across the
island: The newly organized young people would tackle a
community or social problem, win a "small victory" and
ultimately realize that they could be the masters of their
own destiny.</span></b><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;outline:
0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;line-height:inherit">
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="line-height:15.0pt;vertical-align:baseline"><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black;background:white">Reached
in San Jose, Costa Rica, Murillo said he could not speak about
the details of his Cuba trips because he had signed a
nondisclosure agreement. He said he wasn't trying to do
anything beyond teach people how to use condoms properly.</span><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;outline:
0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;line-height:inherit">
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="line-height:15.0pt;vertical-align:baseline"><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black;background:white">"I
never said to a Cuban that he had to do something against the
government. If that was the mission of others, I don't know,"
Murillo said. "I never told a Cuban what he had to do."</span><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;outline:
0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;line-height:inherit">
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="line-height:15.0pt;vertical-align:baseline"><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black;background:white">Nevertheless,
Murillo's six-page report back to Creative Associates
mentioned HIV only once, to note that it was "the perfect
excuse for the treatment of the underlying theme." Elsewhere,
the report revealed another objective: "to generate a network
of volunteers for social transformation."</span><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;outline:
0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;line-height:inherit">
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="line-height:15.0pt;vertical-align:baseline"><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black;background:white">Manuel
Barbosa, a founder of Revolution, said in a recent interview
in Santa Clara the Costa Ricans never told him that they were
working for USAID.</span><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;outline:
0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;line-height:inherit">
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="line-height:15.0pt;vertical-align:baseline"><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black;background:white">He
said he has no anti-government leanings, in fact, his
grandfather was a "martyr of the revolution."</span><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;outline:
0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;line-height:inherit">
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="line-height:15.0pt;vertical-align:baseline"><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black;background:white">Staging
a workshop as a front to subvert a foreign government risked
casting suspicion on USAID's legitimate public health mission,
including a more than $3 billion annual HIV program that the
agency says has helped some 50 million people in nearly 100
countries. The CIA recently pledged to stop using vaccine
programs to gather intelligence, such as one in Pakistan that
targeted Osama bin Laden.</span><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;outline:
0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;line-height:inherit">
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="line-height:15.0pt;vertical-align:baseline"><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black;background:white">An
evaluation prepared for USAID by Creative Associates cited the
workshop as a "success story." The group's final report said
the workshop would be used as a blueprint across the island.</span><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;outline:
0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;line-height:inherit">
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="line-height:15.0pt;vertical-align:baseline"><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black;background:white">"These
programs are in desperate need of adult supervision," said
Sen. Jeff Flake, a Republican from Arizona and longtime critic
of USAID's Cuba programs. "If you are using an AIDS workshop
as a front for something else, that's ... I don't know what to
say ... it's just wrong."</span><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;outline:
0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;line-height:inherit">
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="line-height:15.0pt;vertical-align:baseline"><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black;background:white">___</span><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;outline:
0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;line-height:inherit">
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="line-height:15.0pt;vertical-align:baseline"><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black;background:white">'STIR
REBELLION'</span><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;outline:
0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;line-height:inherit">
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="line-height:15.0pt;vertical-align:baseline"><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black;background:white">While
Murillo and the Costa Rican travelers focused on the HIV
workshop and other programs, teams of Venezuelans and
Peruvians were deployed to Cuba's college campuses. Their
mission, documents and interviews show, was to recruit
university students with the long-term goal of turning them
against their government.</span><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;outline:
0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;line-height:inherit">
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="line-height:15.0pt;vertical-align:baseline"><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black;background:white">In
late 2009, Creative Associates contracted with Venezuelan
lawyer Zaimar Castillo, then 22, who ran an organization
called Renova. Castillo declined to comment, but her former
administrator, Yajaira Andrade, said she was flown to San Jose
for training.</span><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;outline:
0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;line-height:inherit">
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="line-height:15.0pt;vertical-align:baseline"><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black;background:white">"They
gave us a week of classes, teaching us what we were going to
do and how we were going to do it," said Andrade, who called
herself the "mom" of the young activists.</span><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;outline:
0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;line-height:inherit">
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="line-height:15.0pt;vertical-align:baseline"><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black;background:white">At
the time, Venezuela's president, the late Hugo Chavez, was the
closest ally of brothers Fidel and Raul Castro — doubling the
risk for Renova. They set up a bank account for their contract
dollars in Panama, a haven for anonymous banking.</span><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;outline:
0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;line-height:inherit">
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="line-height:15.0pt;vertical-align:baseline"><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black;background:white">"We
worked it so that the government here didn't know we were
traveling to Cuba and helping these groups," Andrade said.
"Because that was when Chavez was in power, and if he had
known about us — that some Venezuelans were working to stir
rebellion — we would have been thrown in jail."</span><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;outline:
0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;line-height:inherit">
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="line-height:15.0pt;vertical-align:baseline"><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black;background:white">On
April 24, 2010, three Renova colleagues landed in Havana for a
monthlong visit. Their "cover story," according to an internal
document, was that they were visiting Cuban friends.</span><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;outline:
0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;line-height:inherit">
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="line-height:15.0pt;vertical-align:baseline"><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black;background:white">"It's
fundamental that they don't get obsessed," said Creative
Associates manager Xavier Utset, who now works at USAID, in a
Skype chat. "Otherwise on the ground, they will freeze ... or
they will betray themselves ... and both things are fatal."</span><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;outline:
0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;line-height:inherit">
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="line-height:15.0pt;vertical-align:baseline"><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black;background:white">The
Venezuelans visited the dorms on campus at the university in
Santa Clara and took weekend trips to meet the families of the
students. A separate team of young Peruvians also targeted the
university in Santa Clara.</span><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;outline:
0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;line-height:inherit">
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="line-height:15.0pt;vertical-align:baseline"><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black;background:white">In
a trip account that reads like an intelligence report, the
Venezuelans describe the students and their facilities in
great detail, noting complaints and fairness issues that might
be exploited. Potential recruits were listed by name, and then
profiled, their leadership qualities assessed in a
spreadsheet.</span><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;outline:
0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;line-height:inherit">
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="line-height:15.0pt;vertical-align:baseline"><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black;background:white">The
report went on to describe the political culture of the
university, including the role of the Union of Communist
Youth, which sought to groom the best and brightest for party
posts after graduation. Student gripes also were detailed: bad
food, intermittent water and electricity, leaks in the
ceilings. The students feared the state and were dissatisfied
with their economic reality, according to the report, but were
politically apathetic just the same.</span><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;outline:
0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;line-height:inherit">
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="line-height:15.0pt;vertical-align:baseline"><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black;background:white">The
fact that the students were constantly criticizing the regime,
they reported, "assures us of having beneficiaries with a
clear mind as to the objectives that we are pursuing."</span><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;outline:
0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;line-height:inherit">
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="line-height:15.0pt;vertical-align:baseline"><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black;background:white">After
visiting two universities in two cities, the Venezuelan
consultants identified a "target group" of students they
thought both opposed the government and had organizational
skills, having put together on their own activities like
"camping" and "a university festival," documents show.</span><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;outline:
0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;line-height:inherit">
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="line-height:15.0pt;vertical-align:baseline"><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black;background:white">"They
established one group of 30 people, young people studying
science, to rebel against the government," said Andrade, the
Renova administrator.</span><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;outline:
0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;line-height:inherit">
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="line-height:15.0pt;vertical-align:baseline"><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black;background:white">There's
no evidence the political objectives were ever realized. In
fact, their Cuban contacts in recent interviews with the AP
said they were astonished to discover that the foreigners were
acting on behalf of the U.S. government.</span><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;outline:
0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;line-height:inherit">
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="line-height:15.0pt;vertical-align:baseline"><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black;background:white">"They
were our friends," said Cuban Hector Baranda, who topped the
Venezuelans' list of potential converts.</span><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;outline:
0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;line-height:inherit">
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="line-height:15.0pt;vertical-align:baseline"><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black;background:white">He
thinks the visitors may have mistaken typical Cuban griping as
dissident tendencies. Cuban authorities have little tolerance
for counterrevolutionary opposition, but letters to the
Communist Party newspaper Granma complain about unfilled
potholes, uncollected garbage and Cuba's impenetrable
bureaucracy.</span><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;outline:
0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;line-height:inherit">
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="line-height:15.0pt;vertical-align:baseline"><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black;background:white">"A
Cuban always says 'aggggh,' whether (the problems are) big or
small," Baranda said.</span><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;outline:
0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;line-height:inherit">
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="line-height:15.0pt;vertical-align:baseline"><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black;background:white">___</span><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;outline:
0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;line-height:inherit">
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="line-height:15.0pt;vertical-align:baseline"><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black;background:white">CUBANS
CATCHING ON</span><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;outline:
0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;line-height:inherit">
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="line-height:15.0pt;vertical-align:baseline"><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black;background:white">Cuba
considers all of USAID's democracy promotion work to be
subversive, punishable by up to 10 years behind bars. It was a
risky business for the travelers.</span><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;outline:
0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;line-height:inherit">
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="line-height:15.0pt;vertical-align:baseline"><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black;background:white">Over
time, Creative Associates adjusted its security strategy. It
warned against the use of encrypted flash drives stamped
conspicuously with the word "IronKey," — that was a giveaway
at airport security. Travelers were encouraged to bring in
laptops packed with photos and personal data to mask their
mission material.</span><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;outline:
0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;line-height:inherit">
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="line-height:15.0pt;vertical-align:baseline"><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black;background:white">In
case of arrest, Creative Associates was not to be mentioned, a
report said, travelers were told to contact their home
country's embassy.</span><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;outline:
0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;line-height:inherit">
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="line-height:15.0pt;vertical-align:baseline"><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black;background:white">Under
questioning, Creative Associates advised the travelers to keep
their cool. They should remember that "nothing that you have
done during your trip is illegal, in any way, in any open and
democratic society. In this way, you can maintain a calm
demeanor during the interrogation."</span><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;outline:
0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;line-height:inherit">
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="line-height:15.0pt;vertical-align:baseline"><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black;background:white">But
despite efforts to hide their intentions, by late 2010, there
were signs the Cubans were catching on.</span><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;outline:
0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;line-height:inherit">
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="line-height:15.0pt;vertical-align:baseline"><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black;background:white">A
security officer asked who was funding Murillo's project.
Creative Associates concluded that the questioning left "no
room for doubt about the interest they brought to themselves
by the state police."</span><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;outline:
0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;line-height:inherit">
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="line-height:15.0pt;vertical-align:baseline"><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black;background:white">Worse
yet, a December security report suggested the Cubans had
figured out that the United States was targeting young people
instead of the aging ranks of well-known Castro opponents.</span><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;outline:
0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;line-height:inherit">
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="line-height:15.0pt;vertical-align:baseline"><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black;background:white">When
one Cuban asked a traveler why he was interested in Cuba, he
responded that his organization worked with many countries.</span><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;outline:
0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;line-height:inherit">
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="line-height:15.0pt;vertical-align:baseline"><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black;background:white">"Of
course, this is not accurate" said the report. If the Cubans
checked out the story, they would have known it was a lie.</span><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;outline:
0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;line-height:inherit">
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="line-height:15.0pt;vertical-align:baseline"><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black;background:white">On
Sept. 3, 2010, Irving Perez, a manager at Creative Associates'
office in San Jose, called a meeting via Skype to announce a
change in strategy.</span><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;outline:
0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;line-height:inherit">
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="line-height:15.0pt;vertical-align:baseline"><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black;background:white">"Our
program will no longer rely on trips to the island, at least
not as the backbone of the operation," Perez told two Peruvian
travelers. Several of the grants would be terminated,
including the Venezuelans'.</span><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;outline:
0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;line-height:inherit">
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="line-height:15.0pt;vertical-align:baseline"><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black;background:white">Instead
of traveling to Cuba, they would try to help certain "star
contacts" get exit visas to train in a third country. The
Cuban "beneficiaries" left on the island would receive cash
payments to run the recruitment efforts. Creative Associates'
subcontractors would bring cash to the islanders using
"mules," a term borrowed from drug smuggling.</span><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;outline:
0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;line-height:inherit">
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="line-height:15.0pt;vertical-align:baseline"><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black;background:white">They
would "try to manage the project by remote control," Perez
explained.</span><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;outline:
0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;line-height:inherit">
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="line-height:15.0pt;vertical-align:baseline"><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black;background:white">But
that strategy had its own perils.</span><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;outline:
0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;line-height:inherit">
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="line-height:15.0pt;vertical-align:baseline"><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black;background:white">___</span><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;outline:
0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;line-height:inherit">
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="line-height:15.0pt;vertical-align:baseline"><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black;background:white">A
'HEART ATTACK'</span><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;outline:
0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;line-height:inherit">
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="line-height:15.0pt;vertical-align:baseline"><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black;background:white">For
a month, Perez had been asking for a report from a pair of
Cuban college students, anxious to file his paperwork for
USAID.</span><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;outline:
0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;line-height:inherit">
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="line-height:15.0pt;vertical-align:baseline"><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black;background:white">The
students had been using encrypted Hushmail. That might have
raised a red flag to Cuban authorities who monitor Internet
activity.</span><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;outline:
0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;line-height:inherit">
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="line-height:15.0pt;vertical-align:baseline"><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black;background:white">"We
have reasons to believe that they have been under great
pressure from university authorities," a Creative Associates
report says. "It is not recommended at this time to try to
reach them again."</span><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;outline:
0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;line-height:inherit">
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="line-height:15.0pt;vertical-align:baseline"><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black;background:white">The
Costa Rican grant fell apart on Murillo's third trip to the
island in June, 2011. Creative Associates wanted him to
deliver money, collect reports and help arrange exit visas.
Managers worried that Murillo was indiscreet. "Why are these
guys not using Hushmail?" lamented a Creative Associates
manager.</span><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;outline:
0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;line-height:inherit">
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="line-height:15.0pt;vertical-align:baseline"><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black;background:white">To
deliver the money, contractors discussed sending it with
Murillo's relatives. One manager in San Jose wrote, "It should
be remembered that the 'mule' doesn't know exactly what the
money is for nor where it comes from."</span><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;outline:
0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;line-height:inherit">
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="line-height:15.0pt;vertical-align:baseline"><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black;background:white">In
the end, the "mule" was Murillo's childhood friend, who
recounted the experience in an interview with the AP on
condition of anonymity. The friend, who lives in San Jose,
said being associated with USAID's political agenda in Cuba
would jeopardize his employment.</span><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;outline:
0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;line-height:inherit">
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="line-height:15.0pt;vertical-align:baseline"><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black;background:white">He
said his security training took about a half hour over Skype.
"It was made clear to me that I must be careful because the
money we carried was gringo."</span><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;outline:
0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;line-height:inherit">
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="line-height:15.0pt;vertical-align:baseline"><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black;background:white">After
arriving in Havana, the pair headed to Santa Clara to meet
with Revolution, the arts group. One member, not Barbosa, told
them to hand over the money he knew they were carrying, he
said.</span><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;outline:
0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;line-height:inherit">
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="line-height:15.0pt;vertical-align:baseline"><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black;background:white">"He
threatened us directly that if we didn't give him the money,
he would go to the authorities and denounce us," said
Murillo's friend.</span><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;outline:
0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;line-height:inherit">
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="line-height:15.0pt;vertical-align:baseline"><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black;background:white">Murillo
declined to comment.</span><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;outline:
0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;line-height:inherit">
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="line-height:15.0pt;vertical-align:baseline"><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black;background:white">Unsettled,
the travelers hurried back to Havana, and invoking one of the
security codes from a hotel, abandoned the project. The friend
was terrified.</span><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;outline:
0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;line-height:inherit">
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="line-height:15.0pt;vertical-align:baseline"><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black;background:white">"If
they had detained or even just interrogated me," he said, "I
would have died of a heart attack from fright."</span><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;outline:
0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;line-height:inherit">
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="line-height:15.0pt;vertical-align:baseline"><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black;background:white">___</span><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;outline:
0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;line-height:inherit">
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="line-height:15.0pt;vertical-align:baseline"><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black;background:white">Arce
reported from San Jose, Costa Rica, and Rodriguez from Santa
Clara, Cuba. Associated Press writers Hannah Dreier in
Caracas, Venezuela; Peter Orsi in Havana; Frank Bajak in Lima,
Peru; Raphael Satter in Dublin and Monika Mathur in Washington
contributed to this report.</span><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;outline:
0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;line-height:inherit">
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="line-height:15.0pt;vertical-align:baseline"><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black;background:white">___</span><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;outline:
0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;line-height:inherit">
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="line-height:15.0pt;vertical-align:baseline"><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black;background:white">Contact
the AP's Washington investigative team at<a target="_blank"
href="mailto:DCinvestigations@ap.org"><span
style="border:none windowtext
1.0pt;padding:0in;text-decoration:none">DCinvestigations@ap.org</span></a>.
On Twitter, follow Butler at<a target="_blank"
href="https://twitter.com/desmondbutler;"><span
style="border:none windowtext
1.0pt;padding:0in;text-decoration:none">https://twitter.com/desmondbutler;</span></a> Gillum
at<a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/jackgillum;"><span
style="border:none windowtext
1.0pt;padding:0in;text-decoration:none">https://twitter.com/jackgillum;</span></a> Arce
at <a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/alberarce"><span
style="border:none windowtext
1.0pt;padding:0in;text-decoration:none">https://twitter.com/alberarce</span></a> and
Rodriguez at <a target="_blank"
href="https://twitter.com/arodriguezap"><span
style="border:none windowtext
1.0pt;padding:0in;text-decoration:none">https://twitter.com/arodriguezap</span></a>.</span><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;outline:
0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;line-height:inherit">
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="line-height:15.0pt;vertical-align:baseline"><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black;background:white">___</span><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;outline:
0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;line-height:inherit">
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="line-height:15.0pt;vertical-align:baseline"><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black;background:white">Online:
View documents about the program at <a target="_blank"
href="http://apne.ws/UxJ05x"><span style="border:none
windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in;text-decoration:none">http://apne.ws/UxJ05x</span></a>.</span><span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<span
style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">Another
in a series of stories detailing secret American political
activity in Cuba under the Obama administration, including the
creation of a covert U.S.-backed "Cuban Twitter" program.</span>
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