Havana Says Cuban-Born U.S. Army Officer Defected
A Cuban-born U.S. Army captain asked for political asylum in Cuba, citing his objection to Washington’s policies in Central America, Cuban news media said today, but the Army said it had no record of the man.
The government-controlled media said Capt. Hugo Romeu Almeida had been stationed at an Army base in Stuttgart, West Germany, and arrived in Cuba early today after deserting from the Army.
The report gave no details as to how he reached Cuba.
Romeu Almeida cited his “disagreement with Washington’s policy in Central America” as the reason for seeking political asylum, the Communist Party newspaper Granma said in a front-page report.
The newspaper also said Romeu Almeida was seeking asylum because the U.S. military was trying to send him to Central America because of his Latino background.
He also said the Vietnam War and the misery he saw while stationed for two years in the Dominican Republic influenced his decision, the government news agency Prensa Latina said.
At the Pentagon, an Army spokesman said it has no record of any soldier by Romeu Almeida’s name listed on the Army’s active duty, National Guard or Reserve rosters.
But a soldier is listed as possibly missing from his base in Stuttgart and the Army is checking to determine his identity, an Army official said.
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