April 28, 2005

Keep 'em deaf, dumb and blind

That's the only way fidel castro can stay in power: keeping the Cuban people unaware of what's going on outside the island.

HAVANA, Cuba - April 26 (Richard Roselló / www.cubanet.org) - Police raided two homes early on April 17 in the San Miguel del Padrón municipality of Havana and confiscated equipment that enabled the reception of satellite TV signals.

Possession of the equipment is forbidden in Cuba to private citizens, but people nevertheless take the risk of owning it.

"It's the only alternative Cubans have of watching anything of quality on TV," said one man who chose to remain unidentified.

Sonia Beltrán, a housewife, and Aurelio Estévez, a seaman, not only lost the equipment, but each received fines in excess of 5000 pesos.

The raid was carried out jointly by a patrol of the local police, a vehicle from the Cuban telephone company, and a car from the Technical Investigative Department of the Interior Ministry. They zeroed in on the two homes, presumably acting on prior information, and searched them, confiscating the equipment which has a street value of about 700 dollars, or 17,500 pesos, due to the relative difficulty of obtaining it. Typically, it can be brought in by the relatively few Cubans who travel abroad, such as professionals or technical personnel, or seamen, or it can be home built.


Posted by Val Prieto at April 28, 2005 05:13 AM


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