Mel Martinez, who will be the first Cuban American in the U.S. Senate, said he hopes to bring his vision of a free Cuba to the highest circles of government.

BY OSCAR CORRAL

In a wide-ranging interview on U.S.-Cuba policy, Senator-elect Mel Martinez told The Herald that he hopes to become a leading voice for the cause of a free Cuba, promoting ideas that include changing the so-called wet foot/dry foot policy and aggressively planning for a post-Castro Cuba.

''I view it as a really historic opportunity,'' said Martinez, who will be the first Cuban American in the U.S. Senate. ``It will give me a great opportunity to plead with people to better understand the Cuba problem and have a tough attitude on Cuba.''

Martinez, a former U.S. housing secretary, brings a unique perspective to the Senate.

He still has family members in Cuba -- an aunt, an uncle and cousins -- who receive regular remittances from Martinez's mother. He says that having close family members on the island gives him an understanding of people's struggles there. They have visited him in Orlando to seek medical help, and they communicate with him and his family regularly.

Martinez said the remittances his mother sends were not affected by the new limits imposed by the Bush administration because they don't exceed the new monthly legal limit of $100.

Martinez, like thousands of Cuban exiles, says he longs to return to his homeland. Except for a visit to the U.S. Naval Base at Guantánamo Bay, he hasn't been there since he was 15.

''I'm dying to go back,'' Martinez said. ``I understand that the people in Cuba are hurting badly. The cause of the hurt is not us here, it's their ruler. And I'd do anything in the world to see Cuba have the opportunity to do better.''

During a 40-minute interview, he mentioned Fidel Castro's name only once, when talking about the ''searing'' experience of living under his rule as a young man.

While he said he takes pride in having helped President Bush shape policy toward Cuba, Martinez said he looks forward to playing a larger role in legislating future U.S. attitudes and positions toward a post-Castro Cuba.

''The question is how do we utilize the resources of the U.S. government,'' such as the offices of Historic Preservation, Housing and Urban Development, and Health and Human Services, he said. ``A very important component is the reconstruction aspect.''

WET FOOT/DRY FOOT

He also wants to see a change in the controversial wet foot/dry foot policy, which has been a cornerstone of U.S.-Cuba immigration relations since the Clinton administration. The policy allows Cuban immigrants who make it to U.S. shores to remain, but mandates that most of those picked up as sea be repatriated.

While Martinez has already decided that he wants to change the policy, he has not yet decided what should take its place. His feelings on the issue of Cuban migration are mixed.

He said he feels that many Cubans fleeing the island do not qualify for political refugee status, and that they don't reasonably fear political persecution upon return.

''I know that the interviews [with Cubans at sea] very often yield responses from people that would not qualify them for political refugee status,'' he said.

But at the same time, he said he believes that Cubans found at sea ``should be at the very minimum allowed to come to the U.S., where they can remain in land and where they can make a case.''

''The presumption should be that they should stay,'' he said of Cuban immigrants. ``I would err on the side of people being allowed to stay.''

Under the Cuban Adjustment Act, Cuban migrants who arrive at U.S. shores eventually can apply for residence.

In reference to dissident groups on the island, Martinez expressed overall support for the movements. But regarding one dissident, Oswaldo Payá, who is asking for basic civil and human rights without replacement of the island's entire communist Constitution, Martinez was a bit more skeptical.

Payá's movement, known as the Varela Project, has ignited wide debate in South Florida.

U.S. Rep. Lincoln Díaz-Balart, for example, does not support Payá because Payá does not explicitly call for the legalization of political parties.

During a speech in October 2002, when Martinez was housing secretary, he praised Payá's Varela Project, which gathered thousands of petition signatures for a referendum on civil liberties and presented the petition to the Cuban government.

''Earlier this year, more than 11,000 brave Cubans petitioned their government for a referendum on basic freedoms,'' he said then. ``Such a thing, on such a massive scale, had never happened in Cuba. It frightened Castro enough that he felt compelled to stage a counterpetition -- a response that effectively drove home the point of Project Varela.''

In last week's telephone interview, Martinez said he disagrees with Payá because his petition movement does not explicitly call for a complete change from the communist Constitution. He said he is more inclined to support dissidents who want a total change in the government.

`I LIVED UNDER CASTRO'

Still, he expressed admiration for Payá's efforts.

''I support any sincere dissident in Cuba that is attempting to do something to change the dynamics in Cuba,'' he said. ``I lived under Castro. I know enough about the system to know that you don't dare to challenge the system without paying an incredible price. Anyone who sincerely does that has my respect.''

When Martinez was HUD secretary, Bush tapped him to co-chair a special commission to come up with ways to strengthen U.S. policy on Cuba. Martinez served on the commission for only a few months before resigning to run for the Senate.

He said his role was important in two ways. First, he said, he encouraged the formation of the commission. Second, he said, he ''did play a role in setting the parameters,'' which included pushing for U.S. policy to broaden its scope and include a detailed approach to a transition and a comprehensive plan to reconstruct and aid a post-Castro Cuba.

He said that there may be forces with the Cuban government that want a different approach, and that true change must come from within the island. He said he has met with heads of state and high-level government official from throughout Latin America and Europe to muster international support for pressuring the government to change.

''There are forces in Cuba, within the power structure there, who understand that they are mistaken, that they are going in the wrong path and who, given an opportunity, will seek change,'' he said, declining to give specific examples.

When asked how he would be different from others in the fight for a free Cuba, Martinez said the differences would be subtle but the goal remains the same.

''I like my style and intend to live by it,'' Martinez said.

``I'm deliberative and thoughtful and definite. I know where I am going, and I am going to get there in my own way.''