Letter to Brian Williams

Dear Mr. Williams,

I was pleased that on October 24, 2007, NBC News finally had a story about smuggling Cubans into the U.S. These operations have been going on for decades. However, the only sources you used were Cuban regime officials resulting in a totally one-sided story which incorrectly laid all blame on the U.S. Was that NBC’s attempt to “balance” a Bush speech earlier in the day about Cuba? Which you went though very quickly, by the way . . ..

Left out of the smuggling operation report was the significant fact that the Cuban regime gets a significant cut of the thousands of dollars paid to get each family member out of Cuba. With the radar system Cuba has and with the extreme vigilance of their coasts, the only intruders they miss are the ones they are paid to miss.

The smuggling operation is conducted through official channels inside the island. Those channels are the ones who inform the relatives on the island that a boat will be waiting for them at a designated place and hour and in some cases, they are escorted to the boat.

Also, for decades the Cuban regime is also directly involved and profiting in the smuggling Cubans through Latin American countries. Cuba provides fake passports of other countries and arranges flights to Bolivia or Venezuela. Handlers in those countries pick them up at the airport and take them to “safe houses.” The fake passports are destroyed and new fake passports are provided as they travel from country to country until they are detained and treated inhumanely by the corrupt Mexican border police.

Their Mexican captors force them to call their relatives in the U.S. to demand an additional ransom – normally from one to three thousands dollars per person - to be sent via Western Union. After the ransom is received, they are escorted to the U.S. border.

A fascinating, newsworthy story with thousands of first hand witnesses free to talk in the U.S.

Why don’t you report the story like it is?

Sincerely,

Agustin Blazquez
president/producer/director
UNCOVERING CUBA EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION (UCEF), A non-profit organization [501 (c) (3)]
AB INDEPENDENT PRODUCTIONS (ABIP)
Silver Spring, Maryland
301 949-8791
UCEF.USA@verizon.net & ABIP.USA@verizon.net