U.S. scouting out Gitmo sites in case of mass exodus after Castro death


BEN FOX
Associated Press

If Cubans flee in droves when Fidel Castro dies, those intercepted at sea will likely wind up at this base where nearly 400 men captured in the war on terror are held, creating ``an incredible challenge'' for U.S. forces, the base commander said.

Military officials say they have begun planning for a possible mass exodus, scouting potential sites to detain migrants in tents while keeping them far from the prisoners suspected of links to al-Qaida or the Taliban.

Most of the current prisoners, captured after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, have been held at this U.S. base in southeastern Cuba without charges since 2002.

A sudden surge of migrants would return Guantanamo to an earlier role. More than 40,000 Haitian and Cuban migrants were held at the base in the 1990s when political and economic turmoil in their countries prompted a mass movement toward U.S. shores.

``We continue to plan for the possibility of that happening again,'' Navy Capt. Mark Leary, the commanding officer of the base, told The Associated Press in an interview Wednesday.

But it would be much more difficult next time. In the 1990s, Guantanamo Bay, which covers 45 square miles of land and water, was a sleepy Navy outpost with plenty of open space. Now, the land where most of the migrants were held is occupied by Camp Delta _ a prison complex with varying levels of facilities behind tall fences and coils of razor wire.

The United States would have to increase troop levels to provide additional security and bring in more food and other supplies, most of which now come in a barge every two weeks.

``Logistically, it would just be an incredible challenge,'' Leary said.

Planning for a potential exodus has not involved Cuban officials, Leary said. Top officers based at Guantanamo Bay regularly meet with their Cuban counterparts to discuss low-level practical issues such as how to fight fires that frequently rush through the dry brush that surrounds Guantanamo Bay.

Castro, 80, has not been seen in public since he temporarily handed over power to his brother, Defense Minister Raul Castro, and underwent emergency intestinal surgery in July.

In past periods of turmoil, thousands of Cubans have taken to the sea. The U.S. Coast Guard has tried to intercept them before they reach land. Under the so-called wet-foot-dry-foot policy, Cubans intercepted at sea are generally sent back while those who reach U.S. soil are allowed to stay.

Luis Diaz, a U.S. Coast Guard spokesman in Miami, said officials there aren't expecting large numbers of migrants. ``Since (Fidel Castro's) brother took over, we've seen a decrease in migrants. A lot of people expected the opposite, but our numbers indicate there has been a decrease,'' Diaz said.

Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, which the U.S. began leasing from Cuba in 1903, is made up of two sections on either side of the 2½-mile wide bay. Most of the facilities, including the detention center, are on the eastern side, while the base airport is on the western side. People cross the bay in a ferry.

If the base suddenly had to hold thousands of migrants, officials say it would likely be on the western side, where the military could erect temporary shelters until the migrants could be returned home.

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Business good and bad for suspect in suburban prostitution case



Lisa Ann Taylor's real estate career may be in jeopardy, now that she's accused of running a prostitution ring at her suburban Atlanta mansion, but business is booming for the adult entertainer who is preparing for sold-out audiences on a whirlwind exotic dancing tour.

The 42-year-old former Penthouse model told reporters Wednesday that she had been trying to get out of the adult entertainment business and was excited about a budding real-estate career. But all that came to a sudden halt earlier this month when she and another woman were arrested on prostitution, racketeering and drug charges.

Taylor's real estate license was inactivated. A lien was placed on her million dollar home.

But her adult entertainment Web site, where she goes by the name Melissa Wolf, buzzed with traffic. At one point it became overloaded and shut down. Her upcoming shows at adult entertainment clubs in Canada and the midwest are booked.

"Business is good right now," Taylor said, citing upcoming shows in Detroit, Milwaukee, Wis., Allenton, Pa., and dates in Ontario and British Columbia. "I don't have enough weeks in the year."

Still, Taylor said the experience has been bittersweet. She said her work has been a welcome distraction and provided needed income to pay her bills and fight her case, but her arrest has pulled her back into the life she had been trying to escape.

"I was an adult entertainer one day, and all of a sudden in a lot of trouble the next," she said.

If she is found innocent, Taylor said she would like to move on.

"If I'm creative, maybe I'll sell my story. Hey, Cribs, you want to come see my house?" she asked half-jokingly, referring to the popular MTV reality show where celebrities flaunt their extravagant homes.

Wearing Chanel sunglasses, a low-cut white top and a black and white pinstriped pantsuit, and sporting a French manicure, she faced a gaggle of local news media at her lawyer's Norcross office and vowed to fight the charges.

She could face up to 37 years in prison.

"I try not to think of it too much right now," Taylor said. "I'm scared a little. But I'm confident in both of my attorneys."

She also admonished her accusers, who include some of her neighbors.

"My question to them is that if I'm having these wild parties at 4 and 5 in the morning, what are they doing up at that time in the morning peeking through my windows? Shame on them," she said.

Gwinnett County District Attorney Danny Porter says Taylor and Nicole A. Probert, 30, were operating a call-girl service out of Taylor's mansion in a gated neighborhood north of Atlanta. The women also are accused of procuring drugs for their clients and friends.

Porter has promised to bring charges against the clients as well as the suspected prostitutes. Since the case became public, several men have been arrested on pandering charges.

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