US lawmaker appeals to UN, US embassy on behalf of Cuban defector

WASHINGTON, March 28 (AFP) - US Representative Lincoln Diaz-Balart has appealed to the UN High Commission for Refugees and US diplomats to help a Cuban defector and his family hiding in Ghana, his spokeswoman said Wednesday.

Diaz-Balart asked the UNHCR to help Rene Vicente Acosta Trujillo, who had been working in South Africa until six months ago, his wife, Tania Lemus and their two children, Jessica, 3, and Osmani, 10.

"They are still being evaluated by the UNHCR for political asylum," said Diaz-Balart spokeswoman Jacqueline Stevens.

In a March 11 letter to UN High Commissioner Rudolphus Franciscus Lubbers, Diaz-Balart requested urgent assistance for the Cuban doctor, who had been assigned by Havana to work in South Africa before he left for Ghana.

"It is my understanding that they have been in hiding ever since for fear that Cuban agents may forcefully return them to Cuba," wrote Diaz-Balart, who fled Cuba as child and came to the United States.

"I ask that you intervene to assure that their case is carefully evaluated and that all necessary steps taken by the Commission to protect this family. Cuban professionals who defect are considered traitors by Fidel Castro's government and subjected to incarceration and other severe reprisals."

A similar letter was sent March 14 to US Ambassador to Ghana Kathryn Dee Robinson and State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said the envoy had received the missive a day later.

"We're working closely with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in its efforts there to protect and resettle refugees," Boucher told reporters.