From FreeRepublic, article from back in June. Also, from other articles I've read, the company in question Cosco, has a large presence in the Bahamas, and large control over both the Panama and Suez Canals (controlling over 80% of the world's trade). (Confirming articles to the above statements are at the bottom of the page. Full articles are $1.95 each, so here are only the snippets, but the URL to the Washington Times search engine that I used. These are legit articles, not rumors.)

Another Cuban Missile Crisis in the making, if we let it...

http://www.freerepublic.com/forum/a3b25a02b5fef.htm

China secretly shipping Cuba arms

News/Current Events Breaking News News Source: Washington Times Published: 6/12/01 Author: By Bill Gertz Posted on 06/11/2001 21:52:59 PDT by kattracks

China secretly shipping Cuba arms

The Washington Times www.washtimes.com China secretly shipping Cuba arms Bill Gertz THE WASHINGTON TIMES

Published 6/12/01

China is shipping arms and explosives to Cuba in a sign of increased military cooperation between Beijing and Havana, The Washington Times has learned.

At least three arms shipments were traced from China to the Cuban port of Mariel over the past several months. All the arms were aboard vessels belonging to the state-owned China Ocean Shipping Co. (Cosco), according to U.S. intelligence officials.

Intelligence officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity said details of the arms shipments are sketchy but all involved a "known Chinese arms dealer" who arranged the transfers.

One of the cargoes was described as dual-use explosives and detonation cord. The explosives were said to be "military-grade" material.

The latest shipment took place in December. That arms delivery coincided with the visit to Cuba in late December by China´s military chief of staff, Gen. Fu Quanyou. Gen. Fu signed a military cooperation agreement with Havana aimed at modernizing Cuba´s outdated Russian weapons.

The arms shipments to Cuba could lead to the imposition of economic sanctions on China and Cosco, according to U.S. officials.

A 1996 amendment to the 1962 Foreign Assistance Act requires that economic sanctions be imposed on any nation or company that provides lethal military assistance to a nation designated as a state sponsor of terrorism. Cuba is on the State Department´s list of nine nations designated as supporters of global terrorism.

Sanctions would disrupt a major portion of the U.S.-Chinese shipping market controlled by Cosco, whose business lines include port terminals and warehousing, insurance, real estate and hotel management.

Cuba has been increasing its ties to China in recent months. In April, Chinese President Jiang Zemin traveled to Havana and signed agreements worth about $400 million in loans to Havana.

Other Chinese activities in Cuba include electronic eavesdropping on the United States and Chinese government radio broadcasting, according to U.S. officials familiar with intelligence reports. China also recently agreed to modernize Cuba´s telecommunications network.

A CIA spokesman declined to comment on the arms shipments.

Spokesmen for Cosco could not be reached for comment.

Wei Jiafu, Cosco group president and chief executive officer, told reporters and editors of The Washington Times on June 2 that the shipping line has no connection to the Chinese military and is only interested in making money.

Mr. Wei insisted during the interview that the People´s Liberation Army had no influence on the company´s operations or global business strategy.

However, the shipper´s only shareholder is the Chinese government.

Mr. Wei and other Cosco officials were in the United States to meet port officials in Massachusetts, where they had reached an agreement with the Massachusetts Port Authority to begin a weekly shipping service between Shanghai and Boston beginning next year.

Cosco has been linked in the past by U.S. intelligence agencies to illegal smuggling and international arms trafficking.

James Mulvenon, a China analyst with the RAND Corp., said that the Chinese Communist Party´s military organ approved establishment of Cosco as an arm of the Chinese navy in 1985.

Mr. Mulvenon stated earlier this year, in his book "Soldiers of Fortune," that Cosco´s establishment "legitimized the use of navy ships for civilian shipping and thus provided a legal cover for the navy´s smuggling."

The Chinese navy was linked in 1985 to illegal smuggling in foreign cars, vans, TVs and VCRs out of Hainan island in the South China Sea, he wrote.

In 1998, U.S. intelligence agencies tracked a Cosco freighter from Shanghai to Karachi, Pakistan, with a load of weapons-related goods, including specialty metals and electronics used in the production of Chinese-designed Baktar Shikha anti-tank missiles.

The shipment was carried aboard a vessel owned by the company subsidiary Cosco Tianjin.

The arms transfers by Cosco ships contradict statements to Congress made in 1997 by National Security Adviser Samuel R. Berger, who told senators there was no credible evidence linking Cosco to illegal activity, including arms smuggling.

Edward Timperlake, a former House committee investigator, said a Cosco executive was among a group of Chinese officials who were granted access to the White House and to Mr. Clinton´s weekly radio address in 1995 -- days after Democratic Party fund-raiser Johnny Chung made a large payment to the White House for the president´s re-election campaign.

The visit was checked by White House National Security Council aide Robert Suettinger, who wrote in a memorandum that giving White House photographs to the group of Chinese officials and Chung, who in 1998 pleaded guilty to making illegal campaign contributions, would not cause "any lasting damage to U.S. foreign policy."

Mr. Suettinger, who described Chung as a "hustler," also stated in a White House memo: "And to the degree it motivates him to continue contributing to the [Democratic National Committee], who am I to complain," Mr. Suettinger said.

"Cosco is the merchant marine arm of the PLA Navy," Mr. Timperlake said. "If the Chinese military ever mobilized troops for action against Taiwan, Cosco would be part of the operation."

Cosco ships would provide arms and logistics support for Chinese military operations, U.S. officials said.

Al Santoli, a national security aide to Rep. Dana Rorhabacher, said Cosco is well-known for worldwide support of Chinese weapons sales.

---------------------------------------

http://nl4.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=WT&p_theme=wt&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=500&p_text_search-0=Cosco&s_dispstring=Cosco%20AND%20date(last%20180%20days)&p_field_date-0=YMD_date&p_params_date-0=date:B,E&p_text_date-0=-180qzD&p_perpage=25&p_sort=YMD_date:D&xcal_useweights=no

Term searched under: Cosco

8 articles matching "(YMD_date=(05/26/2001 - 11/22/2001)) and (Cosco)" were found. Returning 8 articles. Article 1 of 8, Article ID: U00766830020 Published on November 20, 2001, The Washington Times After Panama, it's Bahamas

FREEPORT, Bahamas - Hutchison Whampoa Ltd., the Hong Kong-based shipping giant with ties to Beijing that has alarmed conservatives with its ports at both ends of the Panama Canal, is now fully operational with a $2.6 billion facility in the Bahamas.The company, owned by Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing, who has personal ties to China's People's Liberation Army (PLA), now controls some 15 percent of world shipping - a figure that is expected to grow despite the economic

Complete Article, 2020 words ( )

Article 2 of 8, Article ID: U00715920089 Published on October 11, 2001, The Washington Times

REGIONALFirst Virginia Banks Inc. of Falls Church reported a 32 percent rise in net income for its third quarter ended Sept. 30 to $46.5 million (96 cents per diluted share) from $35.3 million (76 cents) for the like quarter the previous year. Total assets grew 9 percent to $10.3 billion from $9.4 billion a year ago.Directors of TeleCorp PCS Inc., an Arlington wireless phone service provider, were sued by stockholder Jon Shansky, who says he will be shortchanged in a planned

Complete Article, 1181 words ( )

Article 3 of 8, Article ID: U00628920072 Published on July 22, 2001, The Washington Times

SUNDAY, JULY 15Republican candidate Mark L. Earley vowed at the first Virginia gubernatorial debate to phase out the car tax on schedule next year; Democrat Mark R. Warner promised to complete the task within four years. Mr. Warner added the caveat that he would have to examine the state's finances before committing to an earlier end to the tax.The China Ocean Shipping Co. is expanding its business in the United States as the formidable force in the global

Complete Article, 1187 words ( )

Article 4 of 8, Article ID: U00620990106 Published on July 15, 2001, The Washington Times Chinese shipper expands to Boston

****COSCO'S FINANCIAL CONDITION IS LARGELY UNKNOWN AS QUESTIONS RESURFACE ABOUT CONNECTION TO MILITARY. ILOSCO'S FINANCIAL CONDITION IS LARGELY UNKNOWN AS QUESTIONS RESURFACE ABOUT CONNECTION TO MILITARY.****The China Ocean Shipping Co. is expanding its business in the United States as the formidable force in the worldwide transportation industry tries to extend its reach.In January, Cosco will begin service to the port of Boston, which joins a list that already

Complete Article, 1115 words ( )

Article 5 of 8, Article ID: U00596950105 Published on June 20, 2001, The Washington Times Castro denies weapons shipments from China

Cuban President Fidel Castro flatly denied yesterday that Havana was importing arms from China, calling reports of such shipments "lies."It was the first official Cuban reaction to a report in The Washington Times last week that China was shipping arms and explosives to Cuba. The report concluded that the shipments signaled increased military cooperation between the two communist states."For more than 30 years, Cuba has not imported a single weapon from

Complete Article, 921 words ( )

Article 6 of 8, Article ID: U00591490108 Published on June 14, 2001, The Washington Times China says it sends Cuba `logistics items,' not arms

China's government yesterday denied selling weapons to Cuba, but the State Department said it was investigating arms and explosives transfers to the island.Zhang Yuanyuan, a Chinese Embassy spokesman, said in an interview that Beijing has not shipped weapons to the communist island off the U.S. coast."China and Cuba have diplomatic relations, and the two countries' militaries have relations," Mr. Zhang said. "For some years, China has supplied the

Complete Article, 943 words ( )

Article 7 of 8, Article ID: U00587450066 Published on June 12, 2001, The Washington Times China secretly shipping arms to Cuba

China is shipping arms and explosives to Cuba in a sign of increased military cooperation between Beijing and Havana, The Washington Times has learned.At least three arms shipments were traced from China to the Cuban port of Mariel over the past several months. All the arms were aboard vessels belonging to the state-owned China Ocean Shipping Co. (Cosco), according to U.S. intelligence officials.Intelligence officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity said details of

Complete Article, 956 words ( )

Article 8 of 8, Article ID: U00577030099 Published on June 2, 2001, The Washington Times Chinese shipper: Sole goal is profits

The head of China's largest shipping company denied yesterday that China's military exerts any influence on his company's global business operations, saying the only mandate he has from his state overseers is to make money."If those rumors about the military were true, I should be an admiral at least," Wei Jiafu, group president and chief executive officer of the state-owned China Ocean Shipping Co. (Cosco), said in a luncheon interview with editors and

Complete Article, 804 words ( )

-- Anonymous, November 22, 2001

Answers

Castro's ties to terrorist groups:

CASTRO AND THE INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM, A CHRONOLOGY

Foreign Affairs Source: Institute for Cuban & Cuban-American Studies Published: September 2001 Author: Eugene Pons Posted on 10/10/01 10:44 AM Pacific by Dqban22

"Iran and Cuba, in cooperation with each other, can bring America to its knees. The U.S. regime is very weak, and we are witnessing this weakness from close up." Fidel Castro, during his tour of Iran, Syria and Libya. Agence France Press, May 10, 2001

CASTRO AND TERRORISM, A CHRONOLOY

by Eugene Pons

with a foreword by Jaime Suchlicki

Institute for Cuban &Cuban-American Studies

Occasional Paper Series

September 2001

FOREWORD

Since 1948 when, as a young student, Fidel Castro participated in the violence that rocked Colombian society and distributed anti-U.S. propaganda, he has been guided by two objectives: a commitment to violence and a virulent anti-Americanism. His struggle since and his forty-two years rule in Cuba have been characterized primarily by these goals.

In the 1960's Castro and his brother, Raul, believed that the political and economic conditions that produced their revolution existed in Latin America and that anti-American revolutions would occur throughout the continent. Cuban agents and diplomats established contact with revolutionary, terrorist and guerrilla groups in the area and began distributing propaganda, weapons and aid. Many Latin Americans were brought to Cuba for training and then returned to their countries.

At the Tricontinental Conference held in Havana in 1966 and attended by revolutionary leaders from throughout the world, Castro insisted that bullets not ballots was the way to achieve power and provided the institutional means to promote his anti-American, violent line. He insisted that "conditions exist for an armed revolutionary struggle" and criticized those who opposed armed struggle, including some Communist leaders in Latin America, as "traitorous, rightists, and deviationists.

Castro's attempts in the 1960's to bring revolutionary, anti-American regimes to power failed. His support for guerrillas and terrorist groups in Guatemala, Venezuela, and Bolivia only produced violence and suffering to those countries and their people, which repudiated violence as a means to achieve power. Violence resulted in military regimes coming to power in several Latin American countries.

For the next two decades, the Cuban leadership,supported by the Soviet Union, modified its tactics. In addition to agents from the America Department, the subversive arm of Cuba's Communist Party, Castro used his Armed Forces to help friendly groups achieve power in Latin America and Africa. In Nicaragua Cuban military personnel, weapons and intelligence supported and helped bring to power the Sandinistas. In El Salvador, a bloody civil war in part fomented and aided by Cuba, ended in a stalemate and a negotiated peace.

In Africa, Castro achieved his most significant victories. The Soviet- Cuban backed Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) faction was installed in power in Angola and other Cuban supported regimes came to power throughout the continent. The Cuban military also trained and supplied the South-West African Peoples Organization (SWAPO) and the African National Congress (ANC), forces fighting the South African regime.

Castro also became involved with African-Americans in the U.S. and with the Macheteros, a Puerto Rican terrorist group. Cuba focused particular attention on the black struggle in the U.S., providing aid and training to the Black Panthers and the Black Liberation Army, as well as a safehaven on the island for black leaders. Castro continuously promoted the independence of Puerto Rico and supported the Macheteros who committed terrorist acts and bank robberies in the United States. Several still live in Cuba.

Cuban military and intelligence personnel aided Middle Eastern groups and regimes in their struggle against Israel, and Cuban troops fought on the side of Arab States, particularly Syria, during the Yom Kippur war. Castro sent military instructors and advisors into Palestinian bases; cooperated with Libya in the founding of World Mathaba, a terrorist movement; and established close military cooperation and exchanges with Iraq, Libya, Southern Yemen, the Polisario Front for the Liberation of Western Sahara, the PLO and others in the Middle East.

Despite the collapse of the Soviet Union, Castro continues to undermine U.S. policies in the Middle East in several ways: a) by portraying U.S. actions and diplomacy in the region as those of an aggressor, seeking to impose hegemony by force, particularly in Iraq and the perpetration of unjustified economic sanctions on Iraq and Iran; b) by portraying the U.S. as the main obstacle to a peaceful settlement of the Israel/Arab conflict; and c) by discrediting U.S. policies and seeking support for Cuba at the U.N. These anti-American views and policies are conveyed as a systematic message through a network of Cuban embassies and agents, as well as at the U.N. and other non-governmental political, religious and cultural organizations.

While not abandoning his close relationships in the Middle East, Castro has recently concentrated his support on several groups: the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC), where Castro, and his new ally Hugo Chavez of Venezuela, see significant possibilities for success; ETA,the Basque terrorist/separatist organization from Spain, which has found refuge and support in Cuba, and the Irish Republican Army (IRA), which established its Latin American headquarters in Havana.

American policymakers should pay careful attention to the intricate web of relationships which emerges so clearly from this chronology. It carefully details Castro's involvement with and support for terrorist regimes and organizations during the past four decades. Cuba's geographical location, Castro's continuous connections with these groups and states and the harboring of terrorists in Havana creates a dynamic that requires vigilance and alertness.

It should be emphasized that in addition to violence and terrorism, Castro and his regime, have been for more than four decades, the most vocal and active proponents of anti-Americanism. The often-repeated view in many countries that the United States is an evil power, guilty for much of the problems and sufferings of the developing world, is owed in great part to the propaganda efforts of Fidel Castro.

Jaime Suchlicki

Director

Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies

September 2001

"CASTRO AND TERRORISM, A CHRONOLOGY"

By Eugene Pons*

1959-1967

* Raúl Castro and Che Guevara visited Cairo and established contacts with African liberation movements stationed in and supported by Cairo. Both Cuban leaders visited Gaza and expressed support for the Palestinian cause.

* Members of the Dominican Republic "Agrupación Política Catorce de Junio" received military training in Cuba.

* Major emphasis was placed on instructing several hundred pro-Castro Latin Americans in violence and guerrilla warfare. Dominicans, Guatemalans, Venezuelans and Chileans were trained in special camps in Cuba and infiltrated back to their countries.

* Castro established relations with the Algerian FLN; official and public support was extended, weapons were shipped to the FLN through Morocco (1960-1961). Cuba provided shelter, medical and educational services and cooperation in the fields of counter-intelligence and intelligence.

* African leaders from Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Mali, Nigeria, South Africa, Spanish Guinea, Tanganyika and Zanzibar arrived in Cuba for military training.

* Che Guevara engaged in guerrilla operations in Congo-Kinshasa (former Zaire) in 1965.

* A revolutionary trained in Cuba, John Okello, overthrew the pro- Western government in Zanzibar in 1964 and proclaimed the "People's Republic of Zanzibar" which was promptly recognized by Cuba and the Soviet Union.

* Conference of Latin American Communist Parties held in Havana agreed to "help actively the guerrilla forces in Venezuela, Guatemala, Paraguay, Colombia, Honduras and Haiti".

* Group of Venezuelans, members of the Movimiento de la Izquierda Revolucionaria (MIR), trained in Cuba and landed in the Venezuela coast in the State of Miranda.

* Cuban trained Guatemalans Cesar Montes and Luis Turcios Lima led a violent terrorist/guerrilla campaign against the government in Guatemala. Montes organized the Ejercito Guerrillero de los Pobres (EGP) in Guatemala. In the 1980's he joined the FMLN in El Salvador and participated actively in the bloody civil war in that country.

* Cuba welcomed the founding of the PLO. First contacts with Palestinian FATAH in 1965 in Algiers and Damascus.

* The Tricontinental Conference was held in Havana in January, 1966 to adopt a common political strategy against colonialism, neocolonialism, and imperialism. Cuba provided the organizational structure to support terrorist, anti-American groups in the Middle East and Latin America. The Organization for the Solidarity with the Peoples of Africa, Asia and Latin America (OSPAAL) was created.

* Fidel Castro created The National Liberation Directorate (DLN) in Cuba to support revolutionary groups throughout the world. DLN was responsible for planning and coordinating Cuba's terrorist training camps in the island, covert movement of personnel and military supplies from Cuba and a propaganda apparatus.

* A Cuban controlled Latin American Solidarity Organization (LASO), with its permanent seat in Havana was created to "coordinate and foment the fight against North American imperialism".

* In Venezuela, Castro made a relentless and determined effort to create another Cuba by supporting the Fuerzas Armadas de Liberación Nacional (FALN) and promoting violence and terrorism against the democratically elected regime of Rómulo Betancourt.

* Castro sent weapons via Cairo, to the NLF in Southern Yemen. Cuban agents were sent on fact-finding missions to North and South Yemen (1967- 1968).

* Cuba published a small book by French Marxist journalist Regis Debray Revolution in the Revolution, promoting guerrilla warfare in Latin America. The book was translated into various languages and distributed widely.

* Cuban supported guerrillas led by Che Guevara moved into Bolivia in an attempt to create "many Vietnams " in South America.

* Cuba and Syria developed a close alliance and supported FATAH and the Eritrean Liberation Front (ELF).

1968-1975

* Cuba continued its military and political support for FATAH after the Syrians broke with the latter, and Cuban military, political and intelligence support was granted to other Palestinian organizations.

* Castro sent military instructors and advisors into Palestinian bases in Jordan to train Palestinian Fedayeen (1968); first high- level delegation from FATAH-PLO visited Cuba (1970).

* Several missions sent to Southern Yemen to support NLF/FATAH Ismail both politically and militarily.

* Castro began supporting and training of M19, a Colombian guerrilla group that captured the Dominican Embassy and the Justice building in Bogota and assassinated several prominent Colombian judges.

* In 1970 a "Mini Manual for Revolutionaries" was published in the official LASO publication Tricontinental, written by Brazilian urban terrorist leader Carlos Marighella. The mini manual gives precise instruction in terror tactics, kidnappings, etc. The short book was translated into numerous languages and distributed worldwide by Cuba.

* Cuba commenced political and military cooperation with Somalia's Siad Barre (1969).

* Economic and political cooperation began with Libya in 1974.

* In 1974 the National Liberation Directorate (DLN) was reorganized into the America Department (DA) under the Communist Party of Cuba Central Committee. The DA centralized control over Cuban activities for supporting national liberation movements. The DA was responsible for planning and coordinating Cuba's secret guerrilla and terrorist training camps, networks for the covert movement of personnel and material from Cuba, and a propaganda apparatus. DA agents also operated in Europe and other regions. Trusted Castro ally Manuel Piñeiro, " Barbaroja" was placed in charge.

* Cuba provided training and support to the Tupamaros, a terrorist group operating in Uruguay.

* Cuba's America Department (DA) set up a network for the funneling of weapons and supplies to the Sandinistas in Nicaragua.

* In 1979 second in command in Cuba's America Department (DA) Armando Ulises Estrada, helped unify Sandinista factions fighting Somoza.

* Closer connections with FATAH-PLO and other Palestinian organizations were reinforced, including training of Latin American guerrillas in Lebanon; Cuba's military support included counter- intelligence and intelligence training.

* Arafat visited Cuba in 1974.

* Cuba provided military support and personnel to Syria during the Yom Kippur War (1973-1975).

* Black Panther Party members from the U.S. were trained in Canada by Cuban personnel. Black Panther leaders and other U.S. blacks also received weapons and explosives training in Havana.

* Cuba joined with Algeria and Libya on a diplomatic/political offensive in support of Frente POLISARIO (People's Front for the Liberation of Western Sahara and Río del Oro); later on provided military cooperation, and medical services.

1976-1982

* The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) estimated that there were 300 Palestinians training in Cuban camps.

* Cuba supported the so-called "Steadfastness Front" against the U.S. backed Camp David accord.

* Illich Rámirez Sánchez, known as "Carlos, the Jackal", responsible for numerous terrorist acts in Europe, trained in Cuba. He attended the 1966 Tricontinental Conference in Havana and later trained in urban guerrilla tactics, automatic weapons, explosives and sabotage in Cuba.

* Abu Iyad, a close aid to Yasser Arafat, stated in 1978 that hundreds of Palestinian had been sent to Cuban terrorist camps.

* Additional military and political support provided to the Palestinian cause; Arafat attended the Sixth Non-Aligned Conference in Havana (1979).

* During Havana visit, Arafat signed agreement for military cooperation and arms supply.

* Significant hard currency loans (tens of million) were facilitated by Arafat-PLO to the Cuban government under very soft terms; Cuba granted diplomatic and political support to Arafat during the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon.

* The Aden (South Yemen) regime supported the Ethiopian radical officers commanded by Mengistu Haile Mariam, sending Yemeni military units in support of the latter against Somali aggression, and asking the Cubans to do the same. Cuba joined in, first with a group of officers headed by General Arnaldo Ochoa, a move that was followed later on by the deployment of large Cuban forces against the Somali invasion. Also as part of the alliance with the Aden regime, Cuba granted some small-scale support to the Dhofaris in their armed struggle against the monarchy in Oman.

* The Cuban trained Congolese National Liberation Front invaded Shala, Zaire.

* As part of Cuba's alliance with Mengistu Haile Mariam's regime in Ethiopia, the Cuban leadership decided to engage in active political and military support of the Liberation Movement of Southern Sudan headed by John Garang against the Arab-Muslim regime in Khartoum.

* Cuba developed closer ties with and sent military advisors to Iraq.

* Cuba's America Department (DA) operated a weapons pipeline to the Farabundo Martí National Front (FMLN) a terrorist group attempting to gain power in El Salvador.

* Cuba cooperated with Libya in the political founding of the World MATHABA in Tripoli, to provide political support and coordinate revolutionary violence throughout the world. Cuba supported Libya's stand on Chad and the FRENTE POLISARIO.

* Cuban trained terrorists members of the Guatemalan EGP kidnapped a businessman in Guatemala. Several were arrested in Mexico when attempting to collect ransom.

* Despite its close links with Baghdad, Cuba recognized and praised the Iranian Revolution. Once Iraq attacked Iran, Castro withdrew his military advisors from Baghdad and adopted a position of official impartiality, though more sympathetic to Baghdad, due to his past relations.

1983-1990

* Argentine born Cuban intelligence agent Jorge Massetti helped funnel Cuban funds to finance Puerto Rican terrorists belonging to the Machetero group. The Macheteros highjacked a Wells Fargo truck in Connecticut in September 1983 and stole $7.2 million.

* Cuba's America Department (DA) provided, thru Jorge Massetti, weapons and several thousand dollars to the Chilean MIR.

* Libyan support to Latin American revolutionary movements, especially in Central America and the whole of the World MATHABA project, declined after the U.S.bombing of Tripoli in 1986.

* Cuban agents in Mexico engaged in bank robberies to finance several terrorist groups from Latin America operating out of Mexico.

* The Palestinian Intifada increased Cuba's support for Arafat and the PLO, both diplomatic and military.

* Several dozen Mexicans received training in terrorism and guerrilla warfare in Sierra del Rosario, Pinar del Rio Province and in Guanabo, in eastern Cuba.

* After the negotiations leading to the establishment of the Palestinian National Authority, Cuban-Palestinian military cooperation was enhanced, including the areas of counter-intelligence and intelligence.

* In early 1989, Cuban General Patricio de la Guardia directed a plot in Havana and charged Jorge Massetti with blowing up the U.S. transmission balloon of TV Martí located in the Florida Keys.

* Cuba condemned Iraq for its invasion and annexation of Kuwait, supporting the latter's sovereignty; it also condemned U.S. military operations in the Gulf and abstained at the U.N. from supporting the bulk of the sanctions imposed on Baghdad. A Cuban military delegation was sent to Iraq to learn and share what was considered vital information and experiences from U.S. combat operations in Kuwait and Iraq.

* Cuba provided advanced weapons and demolition training to the Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement (MRTA) in Perú. The Tupac Amaru attacked the U.S. Embassy in 1984; bombed the Texaco offices in 1985 and attacked the residence of the U.S. Ambassador in 1985 all in Lima, Perú.

1991-2001

* ETA, a Spanish terrorist organization seeking a separate Basque homeland, established the Cuartel General (General Headquarters) in Havana.

* A high-level PLO military delegation including the head of Intelligence paid a visit to Cuba.

* On February 24, 1996, Cuban Air Force Migs shot down, in international waters, two small unarmed civilian planes belonging to Brothers to the Rescue, a Miami based group. All occupants were killed, including three American citizens.

* The election of Abdelaziz Bouteflika (April 1999) as President of Algeria, opened new opportunities for Cuba, given Bouteflika's close relationship with the Cuban government for more than three decades.

* PLO leaders continue to have close relations with the Cuban leadership, having access to specialize military and intelligence training, either in Cuba or Palestinian territory, and in the sharing of intelligence.

* A spokesman for the Basque government in Spain met in Havana with two high level ETA terrorist taking refuge in Cuba, José Angel Urtiaga Martinez and Jesús Lucio Abrisqueta Corte.

* Cuba continued to provide safe haven to several terrorists fugitives from the U.S. They include: Black Liberation Army leader Joanne Chesimard aka Assata Shakur, one of New Jersey's most wanted fugitives for killing a New Jersey State trooper in 1973 and Charlie Hill a member of the Republic of New Afrika Movement wanted for the hijacking of TWA 727 and the murder of a New Mexico State trooper

* A number of Basque ETA terrorists who gained sanctuary in Cuba some years ago continued to live on the island, as did several Puerto Ricans members of the Machetero Group.

* Castro refused to join the other Ibero-American heads of state in condemning ETA terrorism at the 2000 Ibero-American Summit in Panamá and slammed Mexico for its support of the Summit's statement against terrorism.

* Castro continues to maintain ties to several state sponsors of terrorism in Latin America. Colombia's two largest terrorist organizations, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the National Liberation Army (ELN), both maintain a permanent presence on the island.

* Colombian officials arrested IRA members Niall Connelly, Martin McCauley and James Monaghan and accused then of training the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). Connelly had been living in Cuba as the representative of the IRA for Latin America.

* Former Defense Department counter-terrorism expert John More told UPI that Cubans, militant Palestinians, Hezbollah and even advisors from the leftist government of Venezuela are all active in Colombia.

* During the trial of several Cuban spies in Miami, one of the accused Alejandro Alonso revealed on December 30, 2000 that he was instructed from Havana to locate areas in South Florida "where we can move persons as well as things, including arms and explosives."

* Speaking at Tehran University in Iran on May 10, 2001 Fidel Castro vowed that "the imperialist king will finally fall".

*Eugene Pons is the Coordinator of Cuba's Information System at the Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies, University of Miami.

Glossary

BPP - Black Panther Party - Founded in the United States in 1966 by Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale. It adopted Marxist-Leninist principles along with urban guerrilla warfare, and a structure similar to the American Communist party.

DGI - Directório General de Inteligencia - The Cuban Department in charge of collecting intelligence and carrying out covert operations outside Cuba.

DA - America Department - Centralized control over Cuban activities for supporting national liberation movements, responsible for planning and coordinating Cuba's secret guerrilla and terrorist camps, and propaganda apparatus.

DLN - National Liberation Directorate - Organization created in Cuba to support revolutionary groups throughout the world. Responsible for planning and coordinating Cuba's terrorist training camps in the island, covert movement of personnel and military supplies from Cuba, and propaganda apparatus.

EGP - Ejercito Guerrillero de los Pobres - A political-military Marxist-Leninist organization that followed Cuba and Vietnam as revolutionary models. This Guatemalan insurgent organization was trained in Cuba and was very active during the 1970s, seeking to depose the political and military structure of the country.

ELF - Eritrean Liberation Front - The most influential Eritrean organization fighting for secession from Ethiopia in the 1960s, actively supported by the Cuban and Syrian regime since 1965. Various internal divisions developed later on until the late 1970s, when a new front was built based on very different domestic and external alliances and, eventually led the Eritreans to victory. Cuba's support to Mengistu Haile Mariam's regime in 1978 meant the cessation of previous Cuban backing to the Eritrean cause.

ELN - National Liberation Army - Organized by the Castro regime, this Colombian Marxist insurgent group was founded in 1965. Its main terrorist activities includes kidnappings and extortion targeting foreign employees of large corporations.

ETA - Basque Separatist Movement - This organization was founded by militants and leftist students from the University of Madrid in 1962. They formed guerilla units that commit violent terrorist acts claiming that they are fighting for freedom of the Basque Region, in Spain. This group has close relations with the IRA. The two groups have offices in Havana and their members have found safe haven in Cuba.

FALN - Fuerzas Armadas de Liberación Nacional - A Venezuelan guerrilla organization trained by Cuba in violence and terrorism.

FARC - Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia - Established in 1964, the FARC is the oldest and best-equipped Marxist insurgency in Colombia. It is a well-organized terrorist group that controls several rural and urban areas. It has received financial and military aid from Cuba and many of its members were trained in Havana.

FATAH - Palestine National Liberation Movement - Founded in 1959 by younger generations of Palestinians that had experienced the defeats of 1948 and 1956. The FATAH are strongly committed to a radical nationalist platform to fight for Palestine and against Arab intervention and manipulations of the Palestinian problem. Mostly an underground organization until the June War in 1967 when it transformed itself into the most powerful and influential party inside Palestinian and Arab politics.

FLN - Front de Libération National - The political and military organization that led the war of national liberation against French colonial rule between 1954 and 1962. Ruling political party until the 1980s in Algeria.

FMLN - Farabundo Martí National Front - Formed in 1970, the FMLN is a terrorist Marxist-Leninist organization intent on establishing a communist revolutionary regime in El Salvador. The FMLN was extremely active in its terrorist campaign, receiving assistance from Nicaragua and Cuba.

FSLN - Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional - This organization was founded in Havana in 1961 when Carlos Fonseca-Amador's Nicaraguan Patriotic Youth organization merged with Tomas Borge's Cuban- supported insurgent group. The group adopted Marxist-Leninist ideology and gained support from the Castro government, employing low- level guerrilla warfare and urban terrorism tactics to overthrow the Somoza dictatorship.

IRA - Irish Republican Army - The IRA is the most dangerous terrorist organization of Northern Ireland dating back to the early 1920s. Although, it wasn't until the 1970's when the IRA began terrorist actions and resurrected the historical conflicts. The IRA targets political transformation for United Ireland by eliminating Britain from Northern Ireland and replacing the government of Northern Ireland with a socialist government. Its Latin American headquarters are in Havana.

LASO - Latin American Solidarity Organization - A Cuban controlled organization founded during the 1966 Tri-Continental Conference in Havana to "coordinate and foment the fight against North American imperialism."

M-19 - Movimiento 19 de Abril - A Castro supported group formed in 1974 to disrupt Colombia's government through acts of terrorism and violence. The M-19 was very active throughout the 1980s receiving assistance and training from the Montoneros and Tupamaros groups and the Cuban government, causing Colombia to temporarily sever diplomatic relations with Cuba.

M-6-14 - Agrupación Politica Catorce de Junio - Dominican guerrilla organization trained in Cuba.

MACHETEROS - This terrorist organization is composed of four Puerto Rican groups: 1) the Macheteros, 2) the Ejercito Popular Borícua (EPB), 3) the Movimiento Popular Revolucionario, and 4) the Partido Revolucionario de Trabajadores Puertorriqueños. Most of the Macheteros have been trained in Cuba, were they have established relations with other terrorist groups. They are responsible for several terrorist acts within the United States and throughout Puerto Rico.

MIR - Movimiento de la Izquierda Revolucionaria - A Chilean insurgent organization founded in 1965 and supported by Castro. The MIR was very active in the mid-1970s when they promoted violence and occupied several rural areas in Chile. The group encountered several set backs during the 1980s that essentially ended their activity.

MONTONEROS - An Argentinean guerilla organization that was formed in 1968 as a Peronist urban anti-government group. It adopted a Marxist ideology in the mid-1970s after it united with the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Argentina. In 1977, many of its members were exiled and its numbers reduced to less than 300.

MRTA - Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement - Marxist-Leninist revolutionary organization formed in 1983 and supported by the Castro regime. The MRTA's intent was to establish a Marxist regime in Peru through terrorism, although Peru's counter terrorism program diminished the groups' ability to effectively carry out terrorist attacks.

NLF - National Front for the Liberation of South Yemen - Created in 1962 in the course of the revolution in North Yemen against the monarchy and supported by Nasser, the NLF is another important and successful branch of the Arab Nationalist Movement. Since 1965 it has had very close relations with Cuba. In 1966-1967, it broke with Nasser and finally forced the British to negotiate and evacuate Aden.

OSPAAL - Organization for the Solidarity of the Peoples of Africa, Asia and Latin America - Founded in 1966 in Cuba at the Tri- Continental Conference, this organization aims to support the struggle of the people of Africa, Asia and Latin America against imperialism, colonialism and neo-colonialism.

PLO - Palestine Liberation Organization - This organization was founded in Cairo in 1964 under the auspices of Egypt (then known as the United Arab Republic) to serve Nasser's manipulations of the Palestinian cause. The group was composed mostly of conservative Palestinian intellectuals and bureaucrats serving Arab governments. The PLO was an instrument of Nasser's foreign policy until the June War of 1967, when the old PLO leadership collapsed to be replaced by FATEH's leadership headed by Arafat.

POLISARIO - People's Front for the Liberation of Western Sahara and Río del Oro - The Frente POLISARIO was inspired by the ANM tradition and the Algerian FLN and was created to fight against the Spanish- Morrocan-Mauritinian arrangements to split the former colony of Saguía el Hamra/Río del Oro (known as Western Sahara) between the two African states. This group enjoyed active support from Algeria and Libya and Cuba.

POPULAR FRONT FOR THE LIBERATION OF PALESTINES - The most important branch of the Arab Nationalist Movement (ANM), created in the 1950s as radical followers of Nasser. After the June War of 1967, the group disassociated itself from Nasser and focused on building a more radical alternative within the Palestinians under the name of Popular Front. The group has strong alliances within Lebanon, Jordan, Yemen, and the Gulf, and was heavily engaged in terrorist activities during the 1970s.

-- Anonymous, November 22, 2001

Cosco opens port in Bahamas:

http://www.washtimes.com/world/20011120-95436962.htm

November 20, 2001

China's Whampoa Ltd. opens port in Bahamas

By John Collins SPECIAL TO THE WASHINGTON TIMES

FREEPORT, Bahamas — Hutchison Whampoa Ltd., the Hong Kong-based shipping giant with ties to Beijing that has alarmed conservatives with its ports at both ends of the Panama Canal, is now fully operational with a $2.6 billion facility in the Bahamas.

The company, owned by Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing, who has personal ties to China's People's Liberation Army (PLA), now controls some 15 percent of world shipping — a figure that is expected to grow despite the economic slowdown.

And one of Hutchison Whampoa's most important hubs is located here, on Grand Bahama Island, just 55 miles from Palm Beach, Fla.

While American security experts argue over the seriousness of the China threat connected to Hutchison Whampoa — which operates facilities in 29 ports with 162 berths in 16 countries — American shipping officials are concerned about their ability to compete with the $2.6 billion Bahamas transshipment facility.

Fully operational since 1997, the Freeport Container Port occupies 88 acres of the 530-square mile Grand Bahama Island. With 3,400 feet of berthing, seven gigantic Post Panamex cranes, 22 yard cranes and a projected annual capacity of 1 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEU) — a standard measure for cargo containers commonly used interchangeably on ships, trucks and trains — Freeport is one of the most modern and efficient container ports in the world. A dropping-off point

The port is promoted by operators as the location "where East-West meets North-South." Vessels traveling between Europe and Asia through the Panama Canal can drop off goods at Freeport for transfer to ships moving between North and South America.

"Its not hard to imagine what will follow when one massive company controls a network of port facilities stretching from Asia through the Panama Canal, up to the Bahamas and then across the Atlantic to Europe where it also has ports," one Florida port operator warned.

"When all of their cards are in place, they'll be able to offer a price package that's going to knock everybody but the very biggest players out of the game."

Hutchison Whampoa is presided over by Mr. Li, 72, who is reputed to control a fortune estimated at as much as $50 billion. His role in controversial Hong Kong developments has earned him the nickname "Superman."

Mr. Li, an unquestionably successful capitalist controlling a globe- spanning conglomerate involving real estate and communications as well as shipping, sets off alarm bells among security circles because of his personal friendships with several top Chinese officials including senior figures in the PLA.

Mr. Li is also a member of the honorary board of the China International Trust and Investment Corp. (CITIC), which has helped to acquire technology for China's military, and is a business partner of the China Ocean Shipping Co. (Cosco, which, in addition to commercial transport, acts as the merchant marine for the Chinese military.

But, Hutchison officials point out, the CITIC honorary board also includes former Secretary of State George Shultz and U.S. insurance executive Maurice Greenberg. Mr. Li is personal friends with British Prime Minister Tony Blair as well as Chinese leaders, they say.

They also say that, in the Bahamas as in Panama, the Hutchinson facilities are managed and staffed almost entirely by British nationals or local employees. One of the top managers in Panama is an American.

Nevertheless, the influential Far Eastern Economic Review magazine reported late last year that even Beijing is growing concerned that Mr. Li's port business is growing too strong for China, and that officials had been instructed to limit Hutchison's role in several Chinese cities.

While both Beijing and Hutchison denied the claims, the move was interpreted as a belated attempt to give more projects to foreigners, who missed out during the early 1990s, when the Chinese port industry was first opened to private investment. Port concessions

When the Panama government granted concessions to Hutchison for port operations at both ends of the canal in 1999, many officials in Washington took notice. There was concern, especially among prominent conservatives, that the Chinese might be gaining undue influence over the canal.

Among the congressional leaders who spoke out to protest Hutchison Whampoa's move into Panama were Republican Sens. Trent Lott of Mississippi and Jesse Helms of North Carolina. In the House, the issue was taken up by Reps. Porter J. Goss of Florida, Duncan Hunter and Dana Rohrabacher of California, and William M. "Mac" Thornberry of Texas, all Republicans.

Some U.S. security experts say the Panama Canal is the most strategically significant installation in the region. Others insist that Grand Bahama Island, with its close proximity to the American coast, should be the biggest concern. Many experts agree that the on- again-off-again character of U.S.-Chinese relations and uncertainty over the need for China to choose new senior leaders over the next two years is a persistent source of concern.

"Developments in [Grand Bahama Island] deserve careful attention for several reasons," said Dan Fisk, deputy director for foreign policy research at the Heritage Foundation.

"There is considerable concern about the relationship between [Hutchison Whampoa] and the People's Liberation Army in [China]. In addition, the giant company's role in extending Beijing's influence in the Western Hemisphere deserves to be watched closely."

Recalling the commotion over the Panama concessions to Hutchison Whampoa in 1999, Mr. Fisk said the newest move by the company into the Bahamas will create concerns in certain quarters again because of the traditional influence that the United States has exercised in the Caribbean.

"That's why it has been called 'our soft underbelly,'" Mr. Fisk said.

Mr. Fisk also expressed concern over the ongoing contest between China and Taiwan for influence in Latin America and the Caribbean.

"Taiwan has diplomatic relations with only some two dozen countries, most of them in Central America and the Caribbean," Mr. Fisk said. "[China´s] aim is to displace Taiwan in the region, and this comes at a time of [China´s] aggressive reach across the Pacific and into the Caribbean, marked by this massive investment and development less than 100 miles off the coast of Florida."

The Bahamas was one of the countries that had diplomatic relations with Taiwan but switched to Beijing in 1997.

A number of China watchers suggest the massive Hutchinson investments in Grand Bahama Island was a payoff for that diplomatic action.

Michael Sandpearl, the Freeport Container Port's general manager who defected from a Hutchinson competitor based in Hong Kong, recently visited the Grand Bahama Island site. During his first week, Mr. Sandpearl received the leaders of the Caribbean Community (Caricom), and welcomed the foreign minister of the People's Republic of China (PRC).

Pleased with his new assignment, Mr. Sandpearl is convinced that what is contributing to the Bahama site's success is "Location, location, location."

"It stands on its own feet, is quite viable and fits in nicely with the worldwide Hutchinson network," Mr. Sandpearl said. "It's an excellent facility in close proximity to the U.S. East Coast, has good depth and can and will relieve the difficulty with chronic congestion in some U.S. ports."

Mr. Sandpearl conceded that the Bahamas site has not yet reached its target capacity for the year, but he expected that "we'll be close to it."

What is receiving a lot of attention in the shipping industry is Freeport's highly efficient manner of handling containers.

"We're handling an average in the upper 20s for container moves per hour and at times it reaches into the mid 30s," Mr. Sandpearl said. "It all depends on the size of the vessel and the containers. Our aim is 36 moves per hour." Florida's perspective

Florida port representatives have mixed reactions to the prospect of Freeport's dominance in the region's transport shipping industry.

"We see Freeport as a natural partner for some Florida ports like Jacksonville, Miami, Port Canaveral, Port Everglades and West Palm Beach," said Nancy Liekauf, executive vice president of the Florida Ports Council, a body that represents the state's 14 deep-water ports.

"Bear in mind that the South Florida market increasingly is receiving a wide variety of consumer goods from all over the world through Freeport, where it is offloaded and efficiently transshipped to various other ports. A similar function is performed for north Florida by Jacksonville."

Individual South Florida port representatives, however, are closely watching to see if Freeport's operation diverts more container traffic away from Miami and Port Everglades. Some are also concerned about Hutchison's worldwide network and its growing control over global shipping.

"We'll probably be out of the loop as far as transshipment is concerned," said a Port Everglades operator.

"We're here to join the party, not spoil it," said a Hutchison manager in rebuttal.

Some Florida shipping interests became even more nervous at the recent announcements that Hutchison is negotiating to acquire Europe Combined Terminals BV, which controls the majority of the container operations in the port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands.

Reports of resistance developing in Europe to Hutchison's moves there could mean it will have tougher times ahead.

In conversations with people connected with shipping in South Florida, the matter of economic security repeatedly comes up.

For example, the Mediterranean Shipping Co. had used Miami as a container distribution and consolidation point before the opening of Freeport. It reportedly quietly moved its operations to Freeport after the Hutchinson facility became operational. Years in the making

The integrated Freeport project has been developing over the last 46 years and represents the involvement of Americans, British and now Chinese as well as Bahamians.

Freeport was born in 1955 under the terms of the Hawksbill Creek Agreement. The midwife of record was the Grand Bahama Port Authority Ltd. (GBPA), founded by a visionary American investor, Wallace Groves of Virginia.

Under the agreement, the Bahamas government gave Mr. Groves the exclusive right to develop and manage 150,000 acres of land. In exchange for some big chunks of undeveloped land, shipping magnate D.K. Ludwig spent $5.6 million in 1956 to dredge a 30-foot-deep harbor with a 600-foot turning basin and a 200-foot-wide channel to the sea.

The port took off largely due to the original agreement that guaranteed investors freedom from personal and corporate taxes and also from customs and excise duties until 1990. These were later extended to 2015 and 2054, respectively.

In 1995, Hutchison bought a 50 percent share of Freeport Harbor and a 50 percent share in the airport as well as three hotels and land on what is known as the "Lucayan Strip."

It has now grown into the 1,350-room Our Lucayan Beach & Golf Resort. It is managed by Hutchison's hotel subsidiary in Hong Kong and now joins its inventory of 10 properties with 6,000 rooms, all in China.

The resort, the second-largest in the Bahamas, attracts mostly Americans.

Recently, it got some unfavorable publicity when a New Yorker sustained a shark attack there and lost a leg.

-- Anonymous, November 22, 2001