Eloy Gutierrez Menoyo, who spent 22 years in jail in Cuba and returned from exile in the U.S. in 2003 to work for democratic reforms, speaks to Reuters in Havana, February 8, 2005. Gutierrez Menoyo received a letter from the U.S. government warning him that he faces a $250,000 fine or a 10-year prison sentence for violating U.S. restrictions on travel to the communist-run island. 'The U.S. government does not understand that I am not a tourist in Cuba, I am an activist,' he told Reuters in an interview. He said it was 'ridiculous' to be threatened with jail in the United States while working for freedom in Cuba. Gutierrez Menoyo is a Cuban citizen with residency in the United States, with a wife and three children living in Miami. REUTERS/Claudia Daut

Ex-exile protests US warning of fine, prison for staying in Cuba

Anita Snow, Associated Press. Posted on Mon, Feb. 07, 2005.

HAVANA - A Cuban who returned from exile 1 1/2 years ago and became a dissident protested on Monday a U.S. government letter warning him of a fine of up to $250,000 and up to 10 years in prison for staying so long.

Eloy Gutierrez-Menoyo, founder of the Miami-based opposition group Cambio Cubano, returned to Cuba for good in August 2003 with hopes of eventually opening a Cambio Cubano office here.

His legal immigration status in Cuba remains in limbo and he has been unable to open the office.

Gutierrez-Menoyo is a Cuban citizen but retains residency in the United States, where his wife and children live.

But new U.S. restrictions severely limiting how often and for how long Cuban-born American residents can visit the island went into effect Aug. 1.

Gutierrez-Menoyo, and his adult daughter Patricia Gutierrez-Menoyo, who operates a Puerto Rico publishing company, believe he is a special case because of his reasons for going to Cuba, and for staying.

"As you must be aware, Mr. Gutierrez-Menoyo is the only exiled leader to have taken so far the courageous step of leaving the comfort and 'safety' of Miami and moving to Cuba to carry out his peaceful campaign for political, social and economic change," the daughter wrote on Jan. 20 to the U.S. Department of Treasury, which oversees the Cuba travel rules.

Copies of letters from both Gutierrez-Menoyos, as well as Treasury's warning letter, were delivered Monday to international reporters in Havana in person and by e-mail.

Also on Monday, two U.S. congressmen who support an easing of sanctions against the communist-run island wrote Treasury Enforcement Chief David Harmon asking for more information about the case.

That Treasury "is now threatening to fine and even jail Mr. Gutierrez Menoyo because of his efforts to expand the parameters for civil action in Cuba is difficult to understand," wrote U.S. Rep. Jeff Flake, an Arizona Republican, and U.S. Rep. William Delahunt, a Massachusetts Democrat.

Gutierrez-Menoyo is a former rebel commander who fought in the 1959 Cuban revolution before falling out with Fidel Castro and spending 22 years in prison.

He later sought exile in the United States, where he founded Cambio Cubano, a group that favors dialogue with communist officials. Many Cuban exile leaders criticize Cambio Cubano - or Cuban Change - as being too "collaborative" with Castro's government.

http://www.cubanet.org/CNews/y05/feb05/08e7.htm

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