U.S. contractor seized
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HAVANA -- A U.S. government contract worker, who was distributing cell phones, laptops and other communications equipment in Cuba on behalf of the Obama administration, has been detained by authorities here, U.S. officials said yesterday.
The officials said the contractor, who works for a company based in the Washington suburbs, was detained Dec. 5. They said the United States Interests Section in Havana was awaiting Cuba's response to a request for consular access to the man, who was not identified.
The detention and the mysterious circumstances surrounding it threaten to reignite tensions between the countries at a time when both had promised to open new channels of engagement. U.S. officials said they were encouraged that the Cubans had not publicized the detention, and they said they were hopeful that he might be quietly released.
Cuba has allowed more citizens than ever to buy cell phones and computers, but even the limited access to digital technology that is available has created problems for the government. Cuban officials have shown particular concern about Yoani Sanchez, a prominent government critic who keeps in touch with thousands of followers with a blog and a Twitter account.
Recently, the Cuban government denied Ms. Sanchez a visa to accept a prestigious journalism award in New York. President Barack Obama has also made a guest appearance on her blog, sending written answers to questions she submitted to him.
U.S. programs to promote democracy in Cuba have also been the focus of intense debate in the United States. A 2006 report by the Government Accountability Office found that nearly all of the $74 million that the U.S. Agency for International Development spent on contracts to foster democracy in Cuba over the previous decade had been distributed, without competitive bidding or oversight, to Cuban-exile organizations in Miami rather than groups in Cuba itself. Groups financed by the program, the GAO found, made questionable purchases, including cashmere sweaters and Godiva chocolates.
In 2008, the Bush administration sought to overhaul the program, promising to award contracts to groups beyond those in Florida and to devote most of the budget to buying communications equipment to help expand Cubans' access to information.
The detention of the unidentified American contractor, some Cuba experts said, demonstrated that Cuban President Raul Castro had not abandoned the hard-line tactics used for years by his older brother, Fidel, to stifle dissent. "Under Cuba's draconian laws," said Jose Miguel Vivanco of Human Rights Watch, "even the act of handing out cell phones to government critics can be considered a crime."
The detainee, officials said, was employed by Development Alternatives Inc., which had at least $391,000 in government contracts last year. Based in Bethesda, Md., the company is a kind of do-it-all development company that provides services to the U.S. government in countries around the world. Company officials did not respond yesterday to requests for comment.
First Published December 12, 2009 12:00 am
