Jilted wife of spy wins $7.1 million
BY JAY WEAVER
The jilted former wife of Cuban spy Juan Pablo Roque was awarded
more than $7 million in damages Friday by a Miami judge who
declared Cuba committed acts of sexual battery, torture and
terrorism by orchestrating Roque's sham marriage so he could
infiltrate the exile community.
``This court finds that as the unwitting victim in a plot among
terrorists that was targeted, used and injured in furtherance of acts
of international terrorism, Ms. [Ana Margarita] Martinez
herself is the victim of a terrorist act,'' Miami-Dade Circuit
Judge Alan Postman ruled.
Postman said he wanted to impose a separate $20 million
award in punitive damages against Cuba for its ``repugnant,
contemptible and reprehensible'' actions. But he could not
because Cuba has sovereign immunity under federal law.
The judge's award of $7.175 million in compensatory
damages took into account Martinez's emotional pain and
suffering, including not only the alleged sexual battery but
also the ridicule by some exiles who labeled her as Roque's
ally in his spy mission.
To collect the civil judgment, her attorneys will rely on an
anti-terrorist law to pursue frozen Cuban assets in this
country -- an arduous process that will involve finding the
assets, garnishing them and then obtaining President
Bush's approval to tap them.
Cuba chose not to defend itself in Martinez's suit, saying in
a diplomatic note that the U.S. courts have no jurisdiction
over its government.
Last June, Postman found Fidel Castro's government liable.
Following a brief damages trial last month, the judge decided
to award $175,000 a year for the rest of Martinez's expected
lifetime, to age 81.
Martinez, 40, an executive secretary with two teenage
children from a previous marriage, had mixed feelings.
``The only disappointment is I don't think the award gives
Cuba a hard enough blow,'' said a teary Martinez. ``I wish it
could have been higher, not so much for my sake, but for the
Cuban government to feel more pain from this.''
Roque, described as a dashing pilot who portrayed himself
as an anti-communist, left Cuba in 1992 and dated Martinez
for three years before marrying her. He used the marriage as
a front while he infiltrated the exile community and, in
particular, the Brothers to the Rescue, which searches for
Cuban rafters at sea.
Roque abruptly left Miami on Feb. 23, 1996. His shocking
identity was revealed during a CNN interview in Havana on
Feb. 26 -- two days after Cuban jets shot down two Brothers
planes, killing four fliers.
``[Roque] was a bad actor, but the real bad egg was the
Cuban government,'' said attorney Fernando Zulueta, who
represented Martinez.
In his 22-page opinion, Postman said Roque, as an agent of
the Cuban government, committed sexual battery on
Martinez because he did not have her ``informed consent to
having marital relations.''
The shootdown and subsequent revelation of Roque's
identity shattered Martinez's life, the judge wrote. Roque
was eventually indicted as part of a spy ring that allegedly
conspired to penetrate U.S. military establishments. Five of
his co-conspirators are now on trial in federal court.
In the civil case, Postman said the Castro government pulled
all the strings behind the scenes, including Roque's
marriage to Martinez, without any concern for the fallout.
``Ms. Martinez was emotionally distraught and devastated
by the revelation,'' the judge wrote. ``Betrayed and alone,
she suffered the criticism of some members of the local
Cuban-American community who doubted her sincerity.
``Some members of the local community ostracized Ms.
Martinez, mistakenly suspecting that she might have known
her husband was a Cuban spy. She allegedly was accused
on some radio programs of conspiring with Roque.''
Following the shootdown, three of the four fliers' families
sued the Cuban government. In 1997, U.S. District Judge
James Lawrence King awarded the families about $50
million in damages, plus $35 million in sanctions against
Cuba.
But citing national security interests, President Clinton
would not unfreeze Cuban assets to pay the judgment -- at
least not until Congress passed a law last fall to take care of
terrorist victims' families.
Last month, the U.S. government transferred about $93
million, including interest, in frozen Cuban bank accounts to
the Brothers families.
Attorney Scott Leeds, who also represented Martinez, said
it might take a couple of years to unlock more blocked
Cuban assets for his client, but he expects cooperation from
the Bush administration.
``In the scheme of things, you couldn't ask for a better
administration,'' Leeds said. ``Both on a state and federal
level, it will be well received. . . . This was truly a terrorist
act. You don't let that money go back to [perpetrators] of
terrorist acts.''