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JW Continues Campaign Against Castro European Tour, Lawsuit Keep Pressure on Communist Dictator On the heels of a successful march on Capitol Hill that culminated with a meeting with President Bush, JW and its contingent of Cuban-American freedom fighters took its arguments for tougher penalties against Castro to European leaders. On June 24, JW Chairman Larry Klayman and former Congressman Bob Barr (R-GA) led a European tour designed to pressure the European Union to apply strong sanctions against the Castro regime. "President Bush told our clients during a meeting just a few weeks ago that justice for Castro is at hand," said JW Chairman Larry Klayman. "We¹re hoping to earn a similar commitment from European leaders who have expressed a desire to defeat terrorism in all its forms." Judicial Watch visited nine countries in three weeks and met with high-ranking officials and dignitaries throughout the European Union. Judicial Watch client Blanca Gonzalez, a Cuban dissident whose independent journalist son was recently sentenced to 25 years in a Cuban prison, Castro’s estranged daughter, Alina Fernandez, and Sandy Cobas, Director of JW¹s Southern Regional Headquarters in Miami, also joined the group. Judicial Watch also continues to push for justice in its case on behalf of Jose Basulto, founder of Brothers to the Rescue, a humanitarian organization that rescues refugees fleeing Castro¹s Cuba via poorly constructed rafts. Mr. Basulto is the sole survivor of a Cuban Air Force attack in 1996. Mr. Basulto and four other Brothers to the Rescue pilots were conducting unarmed search-and-rescue missions for Cuban refugees in the Straits of Florida when two of their three planes were shot down and destroyed. On September 3, 1996 Fidel Castro accepted responsibility for the attack, telling CBS News anchorman Dan Rather, "In fact they had the authority to do it, and I assume the responsibility." In January, the U.S. District Court for the District of Southern Florida entered a default judgment against Castro and the Cuban government when they failed to show up in court to defend themselves. The next step for Judicial Watch is a hearing to determine what damages are owed by the Cuban dictator for his criminal behavior. JW has beaten Castro; it is now only a question of how much money he will pay. Basulto is requesting $76 million in damages. Mr. Basulto’s case is not without precedent. The families
of three of the slain Brothers to the Rescue pilots won a $38 million
award in 1997. According to a report in the Associated Press, the
funds were taken from frozen U.S. bank accounts belonging to Cuban
telephone companies. Judicial Watch expects to earn a large judgment
to be collected from frozen Cuban assets and from the accounts of
companies doing business with Castro. Monies collected will be largely
donated to groups that are helping to foster democracy in Cuba and
to bring Castro to justice.
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