The Cuban American National Foundation a foundation with the aim of assisting members of the Cuban community in Miami.
Background and founding
The Cuban National American Foundation was founded at a time when Republican American politicians, after the election of Ronald Reagan, were looking for a lobbying organization made up of Cuban-Americans. The CNAF was founded in 1981, with "sizeable contributions" from the board members who were the "male leaders of Miami's financial and import-export sector", running companies that had business interests in Latin America and stood to gain from Reagan's policies that protected investment overseas. The first president of the organization was Jorge Mas Canosa, president of a construction company, and the first executive director was Frank Calzon, who had directed a Washington-based lobbying group. The organization had claimed to be non-partisan, but in practice its policy proposal were aligned with that of the Reagan government, including for instance its support for Radio Martí, a US-government sponsored propaganda radio station that aimed to bring down the Cuban communist government. The CANF's support proved important in overcoming obstacles and passing the bill. Following this important early success, the CANF also lobbied for related US foreign policy operations, including the invasion of Grenada, and supported the anti-government forces during the Angolan Civil War. It supported for the Caribbean Basin Initiative of 1984, which directly benefited the businesses of the board members. Formerly a strong advocate for isolation of Cuba by the USA, in April 2009 CANF published an article calling for lifting US restrictions on aid and travel to Cuba, and aiding civil society groups there. Between 1990 and 1992, it received a quarter million dollars from the National Endowment for Democracy, an organization financed by the US government. CANF also operates the radio station La Voz de la Fundación which it attempts to transmit to Cuba; it led the effort to establish the U.S. Information Agency's Radio Martí and TV Martí. Radio Martí and TV Martí are official U.S. broadcasting operations directed to the Cuban people.
Controversy
The foundation has been accused by the Cuban government of planning and funding terrorist attacks within Cuba, including a September 1997 bombing that killed an Italian tourist in Havana. Most notably, the Cuban-born anti-Castro terrorist Luis Posada Carriles claimed in 1998 that he received financial support from CANF for a bombing campaign carried out in 1997, although he has denied ties with the fatal attack. Posada has also been linked with the 1976 bombing of Cubana Airlines flight 455, which killed 73 passengers. In August 1997 CANF released a statement unconditionally supporting terrorist attacks against Cuba; the CANF chairman at the time stated that "We do not think of these as terrorist actions". Several ranking members of the CANF have been the subject of major drug trafficking prosecutions, and a few even had to step down from leadership positions at the institution due to drug trafficking charges, including Gaspar Jiménez and Rolando Mendoza. Additionally, militants associated with the CANF, such as Luis Posada Carriles and his Coordination of United Revolutionary Organizations group and the Contras, have been accused of large-scale drug trafficking.
According to José Antonio Llama, former director of the executive board of CANF, the paramilitary role of CANF was established in June 1992 during an annual congress meeting in Naples, Florida. The idea was born when a member recommended "doing more than lobbying in Washington" to overthrow the Cuban Communist government of Fidel Castro. Jorge Mas Canosa and Francisco José Hernandez, known as "Pepe", were selected as leaders to choose the group for armed operations. Llama has maintained that foundations general board of directors were unaware, including at the time, the board chairman Jorge Mas Santos. With the group established in 1992, the following year brought about more extensive planning, including consideration on what will need to be purchased to carry out their missions. During the 1993 meeting in Puerto Rico, José "Pepe" Hernandez was selected as the group's leader due to his "...known record as a fighter in the 2506 Brigade and the Marines." Llamas admission came with a list of items acquired for carrying out the task of assassination, these included: a cargo helicopter, 10 ultralight radio-controlled planes, seven vessels and explosives. One of those vessels was the Midnight Express fast boat, meant to take the CANF leader at the time, Jorge Mas Canosa to Cuba if a power struggle erupted or the missions were successful. Another of those vessels was "La Esperanza" which was confiscated by the United States Department of the Treasury following the indictments of four Cuban exiles plotting to assassinate Fidel Castro. The weapons and equipment cache on the yacht "La Esperanza" listed:
The pistol matching the.357 rounds were never discovered. One of the.50 caliber sniper rifles belonged to Francisco "Pepe" Hernandez, president of CANF. La Esperanza set sail from the private dock of an undisclosed CANF foundation member.
