Clinton to permit humanitarian aid

                   By Ginger Thompson
                   Tribune Staff Writer

                   Responding to pressure from the Vatican, the Clinton administration is
                   expected to announce Friday that it will relax some sanctions against Cuba to
                   make it easier for the island nation to receive humanitarian assistance.

                   Administration officials said President Clinton is prepared to allow
                   humanitarian groups to fly shipments of food, medicine and medical supplies
                   directly to Cuba from the United States. Except in a handful of cases, groups
                   such as Catholic Relief Services, which ships some $4 million worth of
                   medicine to Cuba each year, are required to fly their loads into a third country
                   and then on to Havana.

                   The flights would likely be made available to religious officials, human-rights
                   advocates and journalists, while keeping intact restrictions against tourists and
                   business people.

                   Clinton also is expected to announce he will allow Cubans in the United
                   States to send $300 every three months to relatives on the island. Cuba
                   receives an estimated $800 million each year in remittances, according to a
                   United Nations report. That amount surpasses Cuba's net income from
                   tourism and sugar, and officials estimate that legalizing remittances could
                   double the amount of cash sent to the island.

                   In another action to ease the flow of humanitarian aid, the administration is
                   expected to streamline the licensing process for the sale of medical supplies to
                   Cuba.

                   The moves would reverse some of the sanctions Clinton imposed two years
                   ago after the Cuban air force shot down two private aircraft operated by an
                   exile group called Brothers to the Rescue, killing four people.

                   The changes come two months after Pope John Paul II's visit to the island,
                   the first time a pope had set foot on Cuban soil. He implored Cuba's
                   government to open itself to the world and for the world to open itself to
                   Cuba.

                   Since that visit, Cuban President Fidel Castro has released some 200 political
                   prisoners. Numerous delegations of American business people, clergy and
                   politicians have visited Cuba to explore ways to improve U.S. relations with
                   the Cuban people, particularly fledgling independent groups.

                   Earlier this month, Pope John Paul II spoke with Secretary of State
                   Madeleine Albright about Cuba during her visit to Rome. Albright, in the
                   aftermath of the 1996 shootdown, had angrily set aside diplomatic reserve
                   and said of the Cuban pilots, "This is not cojones, this is cowardice!"

                   Apparently, however, her position was eased by Pope John Paul II.

                   "She talked to the pope about this and about the subject of building up the
                   (Roman Catholic) Church as a counterweight to Castro," a senior
                   administration official said. "Obviously, the pope's visit and the climate it
                   created merited some action on our part."

                   The official reaffirmed the government's support for the trade embargo, calling
                   it the "cornerstone" of U.S. policy toward Cuba and of the Helms-Burton
                   Act, a measure passed in 1996 to punish businesses that do business with
                   Cuba. He said the administration's actions are not aimed at "re-energizing" the
                   Cuban government.

                   However, the expected easing of sanctions has caused a stir from
                   Washington to Miami. Humanitarian and human-rights groups hailed the
                   expected Clinton announcement as "a step in the right direction." Tom
                   Garofalo, a spokesman for the Baltimore-based Catholic Relief Services, said
                   direct flights would make it cheaper and less complicated to ship medicine
                   and food to Cuba.

                   Since the pope's visit to Cuba, Garofalo said, CRS has seen a significant
                   increase in contributions for Cuba. This year, he said, the agency expects to
                   double the amount of medicine and supplies it will send to the island's 11
                   million people.

                   "A combination of the pope's message and the worldwide exposure that
                   Cuba received has really made a difference," he said. "For the first time,
                   people in the United States got to see what Cuba is like. They heard Cubans
                   talking to reporters about how difficult things are because they cannot get
                   food and medicine. I think that has made a real impact."

                   Baltimore Mayor Kurt Schmoke, who visited Cuba last week, also praised
                   Clinton's decision as "an excellent move." He said that while he was in Cuba,
                   he learned that some $6 million in medicines was deteriorating in American
                   warehouses because the U.S. would not allow it to be shipped directly to
                   Cuba.

                   "The delay would in no way benefit the interests of the United States or of
                   Cuba," Schmoke said. "I am pleased to hear about this positive change."

                   Leaders of Cuban exile groups expressed outrage over the relaxing of
                   sanctions. Ninoska Perez, spokeswoman for the Cuban American National
                   Foundation, said she was disappointed that the Clinton administration is
                   allowing itself to be influenced by humanitarian groups, business leaders
                   whose only interest is making money off Cuba and the Catholic Church.

                   "I believed this was a country where the Church did not dictate politics," she
                   said. "The embargo has been put in place for very good reasons that have not
                   changed. There is still repression in Cuba. The jails are still full of political
                   prisoners. The people of Cuba have not had a free and fair election in 39
                   years.

                   "There is no reason for the United States to change its policy until Castro
                   changes."

                   Political analysts, however, say the easing of U.S. sanctions against Cuba
                   might indicate that the mood of the Cuban-American community is changing.
                   Since the death last year of Jorge Mas Canosa, a well-connected Castro
                   opponent who almost single-handedly orchestrated U.S. policy toward Cuba,
                   Cuban-Americans with more moderate views are gaining strength and making
                   their voices heard.

                   The Cuban-American National Foundation, which was founded by Mas
                   Canosa, is supporting a still-evolving proposal by Sen. Jesse Helms (R-N.C.)
                   to send federal relief to Cuba. The plan would allow the government to make
                   millions of dollars available to groups such as Catholic Relief Services to buy
                   U.S. goods and distribute them to independent groups in Cuba.

                   Congress also is scheduled to act this session on a proposal by Sen.
                   Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.) that would eliminate almost all restrictions on
                   humanitarian aid to Cuba.

                   Maria de los Angeles Torres, a Cuba scholar at DePaul University, said that
                   until recently such plans were considered almost blasphemous among most
                   Cuban-Americans. "People used to get bomb threats for making those kinds
                   of suggestions," she said. "Now, the sentiment to help Cuba is being openly
                   expressed in political circles."

                   Wayne Smith, former head of the U.S. Interests Section in Havana, has
                   noticed the same shift. "My take on it is that the administration is willing to
                   (ease sanctions) because Cuban exiles are split and the hard-liners do not
                   carry the weight they once did."

                   They have, however, remained vocal. Cuban-American members of
                   Congress, who expressed confidence that they had fended off changes in
                   U.S. policy after the pope's visit, expressed shock and anger when Albright
                   informed them on Thursday of the president's plans.

                   "All this does is send a political victory to Castro. It makes you wonder about
                   President Clinton's insatiable urge to do favors for Castro," Rep. Lincoln
                   Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.) said. "While Castro is beating people over the head and
                   throwing them in dungeons, President Clinton looks for wiggle room under
                   current law to send a signal of good relations to Castro. It's pathetic."

                   Diaz-Balart noted that Clinton could not completely lift the U.S. embargo
                   because the Helms-Burton law prohibits him from doing so without consent
                   of Congress. "And you know we're not going to change that law," he said.

                   The Cuban government reacted cautiously to the expected changes.

                   "Our whole position is the blockade should be over," said Luis Fernandez,
                   spokesman for the Cuban Interests Section, the unofficial Cuban embassy in
                   Washington. "That's a positive step, but it's not the end of the blockade."

                   William Gibson and David Cloud of the Washington Bureau contributed
                   to this report.