Cuba has rejected a visa request for a Miami Herald representative to visit the
 island in late January as part of a delegation of U.S. newspaper editorial writers.

 Tom Fiedler, Herald editorial page editor, said he had been informed of the
 decision Thursday by the National Conference of Editorial Writers (NCEW), which
 is organizing the trip.

 Officials at the Cuban Interests Section in Washington were unavailable for
 comment late Thursday, although spokesman Luis Fernandez had said earlier in
 the week that the Herald visa request was ``still being evaluated'' in Havana.

 The Herald had submitted a visa application for Susana Barciela, a
 Cuban-American member of The Herald's editorial board, and had offered Fiedler
 as an alternate.

 ``The Cuban government's refusal to approve a travel visa for any member of The
 Herald's editorial board, though disappointing, is yet another example of the
 Castro regime's determination to try to control the flow of information from the
 island by selecting who can report it,'' Fiedler said.

 The NCEW said it had considered canceling the Jan. 23-30 trip when it became
 apparent that The Herald would not be given a visa, but decided to go ahead after
 consulting with The Herald.

 ``We have concluded that in this circumstance NCEW cannot reasonably deny 37
 members a chance to visit Cuba because of a longstanding disagreement
 between that government and one newspaper,'' said a message to delegation
 members signed by NCEW trip leaders.

 Fiedler said he concurred with the decision.

 ``I understand and respect the desires of other NCEW members to go ahead with
 the trip, despite concerns by many editors that, in doing so, the organization is
 effectively caving in to the Cuban government's blacklisting policy,'' he said.

 ``I am convinced that little would have been accomplished had the NCEW
 canceled the trip as a gesture of protest against that policy and in solidarity with
 The Herald,'' Fiedler added. ``It is better that other editorial writers have the
 opportunity to see firsthand the results of 40 years of Fidel Castro's repression
 than to assert a journalistic principle, however important it is.''

 Dave Hage of The Minneapolis Star-Tribune, incoming chairman of the NCEW
 international affairs committee, said the group is ``very frustrated and
 disappointed'' over the Cuban rejection of the Herald request. He said it would
 ``absolutely be an issue of discussion in some form'' when delegation members
 meet with Cuban officials.