Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Frank Calzon speaks out

In a Diario las Americas op-ed, Frank Calzon repeats his assertion that his organization reported alleged financial irregularities to U.S. authorities as soon as they came to his attention. The allegations resulted in the resignation of White House aide Felipe Sixto last week; Sixto had served as Calzon’s chief of staff for three years, until last summer.

Calzon goes on to describe how USAID funds are used, making the amazing claim that USAID funds, “by law, cannot be used in the United States.” (The USAID Cuba program has funded several organizations’ Washington conferences and the activities of the University of Miami’s Cuba transition project, among other activities.)

In the article, Calzon goes on to settle scores with a series of unnamed adversaries in debates. He recalls the physical attack he suffered at the hands of a Cuban diplomat in Geneva a few years ago. Calzon divides his world between those who “make known the truth about Cuba,” and “friends of Castro.”

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Frank is a crook (and a liar)

Anonymous said...

I worked at the CFC and it's true that all USAID funds were used solely for international work. They were quite scrupulous about which sources of funds were used for which activities. Other programs in the US, such as outreach to universities and organizing conferences, were funded by private donations.