Deal to Release Hostages May Be Near in Louisiana

Federal officials and negotiators for Cuban prisoners holding 26 hostages met Friday at a Louisiana detention center amid signs that the hostages may be freed soon, but a standstill continued at the Atlanta federal penitentiary, where 94 people were being held.

“We appear to be far closer to a resolution with this group (in Louisiana) than we were yesterday,” Michael Quinlan, director of the federal Bureau of Prisons, told reporters in Washington Friday afternoon.

Meanwhile, in Atlanta, authorities turned aside an offer by Miami’s Cuba-born mayor, Xavier Suarez to exchange himself for the hostages. “It doesn’t fit with what we’re trying to do,” said FBI Special Agent Joe Hardy.

“The negotiators . . . are saying to the detainees, ‘Please, you’re having quite an effect on your own families and on the hostage families. You can’t be helping your own situation by prolonging this. Do what it takes to negotiate, or the unspoken postscript to that is surrender,’ ” said Justice Department spokesman Tom Stewart.

In Louisiana, seven Cubans, apparently representatives of about 1,000 inmates who seized control Saturday night, met with federal negotiators. There was a second meeting later in the afternoon.

“These negotiations are largely now in the nature of clarifications. And we consider things are moving along in a satisfactory fashion,” said Mark Sheehan, a U.S. Justice Department spokesman in Louisiana.

One Louisiana hostage was stabbed Friday by an inmate and was hospitalized in fair condition.

Four inmate representatives entered the administration building at the Federal Detention Center in Oakdale, La., early Friday afternoon to resume discussions that ended amicably Thursday. They left about half an hour later, and there was no word on what happened inside.

A group of Cubans sang and clapped after the negotiators were escorted into the building.

In a step indicating a possible hostage release, television crews were allowed to set up cameras inside and outside the detention center shortly before noon Friday, with one camera set up in a negotiation room inside the administration building and three more outside on a route that hostages could be brought out.

Thursday night, a Cuban inmate and a federal official in Oakdale shook hands before a television camera and spoke of signing a hostage-release agreement Friday.

“We need to have . . . all four (Cuban negotiators) to sign,” the unidentified official said on a WBRZ-TV videotape released to news organizations. “That’s when the other 27 will be released.”

Hostage Released

One of the hostages taken when the 950 Cubans seized the compound in a riot Saturday was released Thursday night.

At a news briefing earlier Friday, Sheehan refused to confirm that an agreement had been reached.

As to how to interpret the videotape, he said, “The handshake was an indication of the tone of the negotiations.”

One of the hostages, a mental health counselor, was stabbed Friday by a Cuban from the mental health unit in what officials said was an unprovoked attack. He was carried to the facility’s front gate by other Cubans and was taken to the hospital with a deep cut in his head and left shoulder. The inmate was turned over to authorities by other Cubans, federal officials said.

Agreement Announced

The Cuban inmates in Georgia and Louisiana rioted after a U.S.-Cuban agreement was announced last Friday that could result in their being returned to the homeland they fled in 1980.

Authorities have said that although a desire to remain in the United States is the central demand, the Cubans have disagreed among themselves over whether to also hold out for freedom and clemency.

In Atlanta, Stewart said no formal talks were scheduled, but inmates and federal negotiators spoke occasionally by telephone Friday.

The Atlanta talks broke off after about 1,100 rebellious Cuban prisoners held a mass meeting and voted against a proposal to free 50 hostages.

Officials Hopeful

Davis said authorities at the 85-year-old penitentiary remain hopeful because of signs the inmates are more unified.

“I think you can see that by talking about a majority saying ‘no’ (to the hostage release) that some type of democratic apparatus is in effect,” Davis said.

Mayor Suarez and 10 others flew to Atlanta this morning “to calm the situation,” said one member of the group, state Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen. Suarez conceded that no one expects federal authorities to accept the offer. The group also planned to offer support and encouragement to the Cuban prisoners and to the prisoners’ relatives waiting outside.

“It’s basically a gesture,” Suarez said. “We just want to show that the exile community is united behind a peaceful solution to the crisis.

94 Yellow Ribbons

A gate at the prison was decorated with 94 yellow ribbons placed by hostages’ relatives, who spent a tense Thanksgiving waiting for news. The relatives shared a holiday meal and heard a telephone message from Atty. Gen. Edwin Meese III promising that “the safety of your loved ones is our paramount goal.”

The Atlanta siege began Monday night with rioting that resulted in one Cuban inmate’s being shot to death and at least 12 people injured. The inmates have armed themselves with crude knives and have seized walkie-talkies to communicate among themselves.

If a deal is struck in Oakdale, it would end the five-day siege in which the year-old, $17-million facility was heavily damaged by fires set by inmates. Since taking control of the facility, the Cubans have carried baseball bats, hammers, pipes and boards with nails in the end.

Oakdale guard William Hoffpauir, the hostage released Thursday, said in a statement Friday that he and the other hostages were given food, water, medicine and cigarettes whenever they asked.

‘No Ill Feelings’

“If they had it, it was made available to us,” he said. “They apologized for the situation. We were constantly reminded that they had no ill feelings toward us and that at all times, protection was provided for us from factions that would have presented danger to us.

“From my experience, I hope and pray that all of my fellow officers will be released safely,” he said.

J. D. Williams, a Bureau of Prisons regional deputy commissioner, did not say why Hoffpauir was released.

“He seemed to be in excellent spirits, and we’re still concerned about the other 27,” Williams said. “Hopefully, they’ll be released in as good shape.”

Moratorium Offered

Negotiations have centered on Meese’s offer of a moratorium on a deportation accord with Cuba, according to Sen. John Breaux (D-La.)

The proposal to free 50 of the Atlanta hostages came up Thursday night as three inmates met for 90 minutes with an FBI negotiator and three prominent Cuban exiles. It was not known who made the proposal.

Davis said the inmates later discussed only three hostages.

“They substantially reduced their side of the bargain,” Davis said. “We likewise substantially reduced our side.”

Reporters Limited

Federal officials would not discuss what offers were made in Atlanta or Oakdale.

Reporters were allowed to observe only the opening of the Thursday night negotiating session involving two longtime political prisoners who were recently freed by Cuba--Armando Valladares Perez and Roberto Martin Perez Rodriguez--and Jorge Mas Canosa, president of the Cuba-American Foundation based in Washington.

Guards Friday detained two men who were taking pictures at the rear of the prison compound. Atlanta Police Sgt. R. C. McClendon said prison officials declined to press charges but did plan to develop film taken by the men, who were described as “just curious” individuals.

Stewart said nine more inmates surrendered Thursday night, and estimated the total of Cuban inmates in the Atlanta prison at 1,140.

Since Monday, 257 Cubans have surrendered in Atlanta. Most of them have been moved to other prisons, along with 171 of the 194 U.S. prisoners.

Two Cubans left the Oakdale facility with medical problems, one a self-inflicted stab wound in the abdomen, officials said Thursday. The other Cuban was treated for a reaction to a drug used to control violent behavior, Sheehan said.