Espinosa Levels New Round of Charges

By R. A. Zaldivar

Herald Staff Writer

The Rev. Manuel Espinosa, who last year suddenly abandoned his active support of dialogue with Castro to denounce alleged communist activity here, Monday delivered a 2 ½ - hour broadside “exposing” a Hialeah travel agency as a front for alleged communist infiltration of Miami’s Cuban community.

Espinosa accused travel agent Fernando Fuentes of being an operative of the Cuban intelligence agency (DGI) and of being the “intellectual assassin” of a Cuban political prisoner.

Espinosa charged that American Airways Charters (ACA), headed by Fuentes, is a “façade” for a Castro plot to “subvert Central America.” AAC arranges exiles’ trips to Cuba.

The press conference was carried live by Spanish-language stations WRHC, WOCN and WQBA. Spokesman for WOCN and WHRC reported receiving a heavy volume of calls favorable to Espinosa, but at least two of those named in connection with alleged Cuban agents have asked WRHC for time to refute Espinosa’s charges.

Espinosa accused Fuentes of complicity in the 1977 death of political prisoner Rafael Del Pino in a Cuban jail. Del Pino’s wife, Delys, was told that her husband hanged himself.

Repeated attempts to reach Fuentes at his office and home Monday were unsuccessful. He has denied similar accusations in the past. His secretary, Mio Rubio, said Fuentes was away from Miami on business.

The FBI declined comment on Espinosa’s allegations. Special Agent Welton Merry fell back on a previous statement that “individuals who [publicly] address serious charges of [Castro infiltration] are inviting counterproductive reaction . . . and interfering with effective identification of Castro activities in the United States.”

A federal investigator, who asked not to be identified, said: “Espinosa makes charges [but] a lot of them don’t lead anywhere.”

Espinosa was flanked at the press conference by Del Pino’s widow, who charged that her husband had been kidnapped by Fuentes in 1959 and delivered into the hands of Cuban authorities.

Espinosa split his press conference into segments for the American and the Hispanic media. Addressing Spanish-speaking reporters, he called for a boycott of the Miami based Spanish-language magazine Replica, alleging the magazine disseminates Cuban propaganda.

Replica director Max Lesnick called the charge a “calumny” and said Espinosa’s call for a boycott was a “typically totalitarian method.” WRHC will give Lesnick air time today to respond.

Another exile upset at Espinosa’s tirade was Marta Gonzalez, director of the newly formed Cuban Folkloric Ballet of Miami. Espinosa hit a tender spot when he described a Mariel refugee and former director of the “Cuban folkloric ballet” as a captain in the DGI. The name of the Cuban company is “National Folkloric Ballet.”