Cuba targets illegal TV dishes as U.S. weapon

Cuba targets illegal TV dishes as U.S. weapon
Many watched with amazement Miami's exile community celebrating

Cuba's Communist government has signaled a crackdown on the use of black-market satellite dishes, just over a week after ailing leader Fidel Castro temporarily relinquished power to his brother.

The Communist Party newspaper Granma on Wednesday warned that the dishes, which many Cubans use to watch Spanish-language television programs from Miami, could be used by the U.S. government to broadcast subversive information.

"They are fertile ground for those who want to carry out the Bush administration's plan to destroy the Cuban revolution," said the newspaper, the official voice of the government. Such an article in Granma usually signals that action is on the way.

The article also decried the "avalanche" of capitalist advertising in commercial television programs.

Since Castro provisionally relinquished power to his brother Raul on July 31 after undergoing gastric surgery, Cubans have been anxious for more information on his condition and the political direction of their country.

Those who get black-market television by cable have watched with amazement images of Miami's exile community celebrating in the streets what they see as the end of Castro's 47-year rule.

Cuban officials say Castro, who will be 80 on Sunday, is recovering from his operation. But neither he nor his brother have been seen in public.

Castro said in an August 1 statement that details of his health were a state secret due to the threat of U.S. intervention in Cuba.

The Bush administration has stepped up pressure for political change in Cuba by increasing broadcasts of U.S.-funded radio and television to the island.

The transmissions are sent from a plane but the Bush administration would like to start beaming its TV Marti broadcasts by satellite.

Anecdotal accounts indicate there are more than 10,000 illegal dishes in use in Cuba. The owner of a dish usually sells the service to others -- sometimes hundreds of clients -- for $10 a month via hidden cables that crisscross roofs.