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Those who believe that Ochoa's public humiliation was part of a politically inspired housecleaning were handed some potent ammunition last week: the firing of Cuba's Interior Minister, General Jose Abrantes, for the "great deficiency" of failing to uncover Ochoa's drug operation. It is possible that there are more firings to come. But an editorial signed by Castro stated that Abrantes was taking an inevitable rap for the corruption that transpired on his watch. In recent months the Interior Ministry has fallen into disfavor for not halting a sharp rise in crime and official corruption.
Few U.S. experts on Cuba embraced the possibility that Castro was foiling a coup attempt. But many did point to a restlessness in the military ranks: some officers feel they have not been properly compensated for their war duty in Angola and are believed to favor a glasnost-style easing of Cuba's repressive political atmosphere.
If Castro moved on Ochoa to send a message to the military, he could not have picked a better target. Enormously popular among the troops, Ochoa is a veteran of Castro's revolution who has commanded troops in Ethiopia, Angola and Nicaragua. In 1984 he received the Hero of the Cuban Republic medal, the military's highest honor. Last week Ochoa was removed as a full member of the Communist Party Central Committee and an elected delegate to the National Assembly. The move against Ochoa may have been personal as well as symbolic. His popularity may have threatened Defense Minister Raul Castro, who is expected to succeed his brother as the country's chief power broker.
Several U.S. cases have already implicated high-level Cubans in trafficking. In February 1988, for instance, 17 people were indicted in Miami on charges of smuggling drugs from South America, some of it through Cuba, into South Florida. Last March, when Reinaldo Ruiz, a Cuban-born U.S. citizen, and his son Ruben pleaded guilty, Dexter Lehtinen, the U.S. Attorney in Miami, released a videotape on which Ruben stated that the Ruiz operation had secured cooperation from Cuban officers to use military runways as transit points. Of Cuba's compensation, Ruben said, "The money went into Fidel's drawer" -- a charge that has not been substantiated. Lehtinen says that the names of some of those arrested in the Ochoa scandal turned up during the Ruiz investigation.
Castro's true motives for Ochoa's unceremonious ouster may eventually become clear. In the meantime, Cubans are watching Granma for the next twist, and the Bush Administration is proceeding with caution. Last week the President told the Miami Herald that Cuba would have to do "much more" to improve ties with the U.S. Meanwhile, there were reports that planes continue to smuggle drugs over Cuba, making a mockery of a recent pledge by Cuban officials to shoot down unauthorized planes violating its airspace on the grounds that they were probably carrying drugs.