January roundup

Filed under Monthly roundup by on February 4, 2012 at 8:43 pm {no comments}

Supporters and foes of USAID’s Cuba programs continued in January debating the efficiency of the agency’s democracy-promotion efforts.
On Jan. 16, CaféFuerte published a sentencing document that has new details of Cuba’s case against American subcontractor Alan Gross. (Download 15 MB document here).
The document shows that Cuban spies began tracking Gross in mid-2004 when he traveled to Cuba to deliver a video camera and medicine to José Manuel Collera Vento, former head of the Freemasons fraternal organization in Cuba.

Marc Wachtenheim, left, and Jose Manuel Collera, also known as Agent Gerardo. Photo: Juventud Rebelde

Gross delivered the package on behalf of Marc Wachtenheim, then director of the Cuba Development Initiative at the Pan American Development Foundation, or PADF, which receives funds from USAID. (more…)

Cuba Money Project goals after first year

Filed under Reporter's notebook by on January 16, 2012 at 2:24 pm {no comments}

The Cuba Money Project’s five goals for 2011 were to:

  • Publish: Post stories and interviews that give dissidents, bloggers, Cuban government supporters, exiles and others the opportunity to voice their opinion on U.S. government-financed programs in Cuba.
  • Investigate: Use the Freedom of Information Act, or FOIA, to pursue documents that shed light on U.S. government programs in Cuba.
  • Explore: Travel to Washington, Miami and Havana to interview key sources.
  • Enlighten: Tell stories not just with words, but pictures and video.
  • Network: Connect with people who work for the U.S. and Cuban governments, government contractors, non-profit organizations, universities and other groups. Seek information and feedback. Tap in to the wisdom of the crowd.

I plan much of the same in 2012. I am not satisfied with the quantity or quality of hard data I’ve found since launching the Cuba Money Project in December 2010. But I appreciate the encouragement I’ve gotten from others who would like to see greater transparency and accountability at the U.S. Agency for International Development and the State Department. (more…)

FOIA requests: Same slow tune

Filed under Reporter's notebook by on January 16, 2012 at 1:42 pm {2 comments}

A Cuban sculpture


Over the past year, I have filed more than 100 Freedom of Information Act requests to try to learn more about what becomes of millions of tax dollars that go toward democracy programs in Cuba.
I filed most of the FOIA requests in October 2011. They went to the U.S. Agency for International Development and the State Department. In terms of documents, I’ve gotten little in return: A 33-page grant proposal and a 10-page report on a $1.47 million audit of USAID’s Cuba programs. Both documents are so heavily redacted that they are practically useless and devoid of information.

I have filed four FOIA appeals so far. See details here. But I haven’t had much to appeal because most of the FOIA requests I have made are being processed. The oldest pending Cuba Money Project request is more than 300 days old.

I think that it’s important to go through the exercise of trying to get these documents, exhausting all administrative channels for obtaining this information. These agencies are not voluntarily providing information to the public beyond scattered disclosures of grant amounts and general program descriptions. I am convinced that someone, somewhere in the federal bureaucracy will eventually agree that there should be a greater degree of transparency and disclosure. (more…)

24 interviews posted on Vimeo

Filed under Video interviews by on January 15, 2012 at 12:43 pm {no comments}


I have posted 24 videos on the Cuba Money Project’s Vimeo channel since early December. They feature interviews with people on both sides of the Florida Straits. They come from all political perspectives, from bloggers who support Cuba’s socialist government to dissidents who oppose it.
Feel free to suggest people that you believe I ought to try to interview in Cuba, South Florida or Washington.

December roundup

Filed under Monthly roundup by on January 6, 2012 at 3:28 pm {2 comments}

The U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID, rejected complaints in December that politics influenced its decision to award $3.4 million to a human rights group linked to the Cuban American National Foundation.
According to a Dec. 19 story in the Miami Herald, U.S. Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Fla., had objected that USAID gave money to the Foundation for Human Rights in Cuba, a group associated with the CANF. He said U.S. democracy funds “should be provided only to organizations with strong experience and proven track records” on the island. He said:

It would be a disgrace if the Obama administration broke with tradition and used a penny of that critical funding to reward political cronies.

Mark Lopes, USAID Deputy Assistant Administrator for Latin America, denied the accusations of favoritism. He told the Herald that a “technical evaluation committee” is in charge of picking grant winners. (more…)

USAID audit cost taxpayers nearly $150,000 per page?

Filed under Reporter's notebook by on December 25, 2011 at 1:11 pm {5 comments}

The Agency for International Development this month released only scant details of a Cuba program audit that cost taxpayers at least $1.47 million in 2009 and 2010.
In response to a March 18, 2011, Freedom of Information Act request, USAID sent me a heavily redacted 10-page report that omits most findings, recommendations and other key information, including the identity of the aid recipients named in the audit.
USAID said it could not find any other reports or paperwork related to the audit. I find it impossible to believe that a $1.47 million audit didn’t leave more of a paper trail, but let’s just suppose that it’s true. That would mean that the 10 pages posted above cost taxpayers nearly $150,000 each. (more…)

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