Foundation leaders cut short in discussion with State Department

             By CAROL ROSENBERG
             Herald Staff Writer

             WASHINGTON -- The Cuban American National Foundation's two top leaders
             went to the U.S. State Department last week and tried to discuss with senior
             department officials the pending indictment of foundation members in a plot to kill
             Cuban President Fidel Castro.

             But when the assassination investigation was raised by foundation director Jorge
             Mas in the Aug. 20 meeting, Undersecretary of State Stuart Eizenstat immediately
             stopped the discussion and said if he had known the impending indictment would
             come up, he would have refused to meet with the foundation leaders, according to
             participants.

             The indictments, made public Tuesday, are the first to charge anyone in the United
             States with attempting to assassinate the Cuban leader.

             State Department sources at the meeting said Mas, son of the foundation's late
             founder, Jorge Mas Canosa, and foundation President Alberto Hernandez, had asked
             Aug. 19 to meet with Eizenstat, ostensibly as a courtesy call. A department
             spokesman said the undersecretary granted the request as he has with other
             organizations that are active in the area of U.S.-Cuba policy.

             But moments after the meeting began, Mas announced that he was anticipating that
             a federal grand jury in San Juan, Puerto Rico, would indict several Cuban exiles --
             including foundation directors Francisco ``Pepe'' Hernandez and Jose Antonio Llama
             -- in the alleged assassination plot.

             Political implications

             Mas said the indictments would carry significant political implications, including the
             belief among some Cuban exiles that they were instigated by the Clinton
             administration in response to the Cuban government's complaints that it wasn't
             actively attempting to stop terrorist attacks on the island.

             Eizenstat abruptly interrupted Mas, according to participants, and forcefully declared
             the subject out of bounds.

             He said the indictments were criminal matters and were the exclusive responsibility
             of the Justice Department. He said if he had known that Mas and Alberto
             Hernandez intended to discuss any aspect of the investigation, he would have
             refused to schedule the meeting.

             ``Undersecretary Eizenstat forcefully responded that we could not and would not
             discuss the matter of the indictments in any way, shape or form,'' said Michael
             Rannenberger, director of the department's Cuba section.

             ``And he said it just like that because the matter was within the judicial process. He
             put down a very firm marker.''

             Information only

             Rannenberger said neither Mas nor Alberto Hernandez suggested that the State
             Department interfere with the judicial process. One participant said Mas quickly
             assured Eizenstat that the foundation wasn't asking the department to take any
             action. He indicated he only wanted to let the department know how the foundation
             would respond publicly to the indictments when they were announced.

             Foundation spokesmen Fernando Rojas in Miami and Jose Cardenas in Washington
             didn't return several calls seeking comment Tuesday.

             Rannenberger dismissed any suggestion that the meeting affected the indictments
             issued Tuesday in San Juan.

             ``It is ridiculous, the allegation that this meeting in any way affected or discussed the
             indictments,'' he said.

             Participants in the 45-minute meeting Thursday afternoon told The Herald the tone
             was polite throughout. The discussion quickly turned to other foundation interests,
             including the status of the trade embargo on Cuba and pending legislation to deliver
             food and medical assistance to humanitarian organizations on the island.

             At the end of the session, when Mas made a second reference to the investigation,
             Eizenstat again brushed the topic aside.

             Making it public

             Within an hour of the State Department meeting, Miami defense lawyers
             representing foundation Director Francisco Hernandez and Llama, told reporters in
             Miami that their clients would be named in the alleged plot.

             That timing gave rise to speculation that the politically astute foundation might be
             exploring ways to quash the indictment or reduce its scope. The White House
             refused to comment Tuesday, referring questions to the Justice Department.

             The Justice Department confirmed that Attorney General Janet Reno was notified
             of the indictments before they were made public. Department sources said such an
             indictment would routinely reach its criminal division in Washington for review but
             scoffed at suggestions that the Justice Department would react to political pressures.

             ``The attorney general was made aware that the indictments were going to be
             sought but she played no decision-making role in any aspect of this case or today's
             indictments,'' said Bert Brandenburg, the department's spokesman.

             ``The idea that she received any pressure from anyone above her is just bad fiction,''
             Brandenburg said.

             He also declined to comment on why Francisco Hernandez was not included in the
             indictment, although his lawyer had said at the press conference last week that he
             expected him to be included.