Cuban Government Warns Of Satellite Dish Crackdown

The Cuban government warned that it will be cracking down on people who have illegal satellite dishes. The estimated 10,000 illegal dishes are used to pirate Spanish language programming coming from the US. Owners of the dishes distribute the pirated signals by means of cables strung all over the place.

The Communist Party newspaper Granma warned that the dishes, which many Cubans use to watch Spanish-language TV programs from the exile bastion of Miami, could be used by the U.S. government to broadcast subversive information.

"They are fertile ground for those who want to carry out the Bush administration's plan to destroy the Cuban revolution," said the newspaper, the official voice of the government. Similar articles in Granma usually signal that action can be expected.

The article decried an "avalanche" of capitalist advertising in the commercial programs.

Since Castro provisionally relinquished power to his brother Raul on July 31 after undergoing stomach surgery, Cubans have been anxious for information.

U.S.-funded TV and Radio Marti, run out of Miami, have pumped up their output of anti-Castro programming, but few Cubans are believed to have access to the stations because of successful jamming by the Cuban government.

By contrast, there may be as many as 10,000 illegal TV satellite dishes in Cuba, each one linked to perhaps hundreds of televisions by cables that their owners snake over rooftops and between buildings, charging other users $10 a month.

Meanwhile, Daniel Ortega, longtime ally of the Cuban strongman, is complaining that he has not been allowed to visit Fidel. But that may just be because he's not quite ready yet, Danny. And the crackdown on satellite dishes may be to cut down on interference. Just in case.