Miami Herald
January 31, 1980. p. 1c, 2c.
By Bonnie M. Anderson and Ileana Oroza
Herald Staff Writers
Manuel Espinosa, a controversial Hialeah preacher and longtime advocate of the renewal of relations between the United States and Cuba, reversed his position Wednesday and called for an “all-out war” against the Cuban government.
Echoing the rhetoric of hard-line exiles who have criticized his pro-Cuba stance for years, Espinosa called Cuban President Fidel Castro an “unscrupulous beast” and said Cubans should be ready to “triumph or die together” in a fight against Castro and communism.
He also spoke out against exiles’ traveling to Cuba, something he had worked to bring about for more than three years.
Espinosa said his reversal was not a change in his personal beliefs, but rather the unveiling of a long-held political position. He said his outspoken support for the dialogue between exiles and Cuban officials, normalization of relations, the lifting of the blockade, exile trips to the island, and his friendship with the Cuban government was a façade necessary to achieve the release of political prisoners.
“I had to carry on that way. These positions were preconditions established by the Cuban government if were to talk about the prisoners,” said Espinosa. “You cannot infiltrate the enemy and walk in his camp and say that you are opposed to him.”
Espinosa also denounced the Committee of 75, a group of pro-dialogue Cuban exiles on whose executive committee Espinosa had served.
“The Committee of 75 has never made a statement that was not dictated to the by [Cuban officials] in Washington,” said Espinosa. “The Cubans are using the committee members as satellites to control the situation here.”
The Rev. Jose Reyes, president of the Committee, was puzzled by Espinosa’s statements.
“In this Committee there are many people, well intentioned people, who want to help the prisoners,” he said. “It is possible that of the many crazy people in this world, some belong to the Committee of 75. But I can’t say who the crazy people are.”
Reyes said he would not comment further on Espinosa’s statements until after a press conference that Espinosa has called for 10 a.m. today at the Columbus Hotel.
However, sources who have been close to Espinosa in the past – but who refused to be identified – said his sudden announcement was probably the result of a rift between Espinosa and Cuban officials stemming from Espinosa’s personality.
“Cuba was not paying as much attention to him lately,” said a college professor who participated, along with Espinosa, in the dialogue in Havana.
Sources also spoke of the possibility that Espinosa, who opened one of the first travel agencies to arrange Cuban exile trips to the island, might have had a difference of opinions with Havanatur, the agency that has the exclusive contract for those trips.
Espinosa admitted that his brother Alvaro had had a flight with Havanatur officials over the trips. Wednesday, Espinosa said his travel agency would no longer sell tickets to the island.
“He probably had to make a decision about whose side to take and he decided to stay on this side,” said a source familiar with Espinosa. He pointed out that although Es-