Caleb McCarry was the Bush administration's Cuba Transition Coordinator, tasked with coordinating the U.S. government's efforts to aid the opposition in their efforts to overthrow the Communist government of Cuba and transition towards Capitalism and Liberal democracy. The position developed out of the Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba. McCarry described the Commission's purpose as to put forth "an intelligent, generous and above all respectful offer of support to the Cuban people" in efforts to end "the dictatorship [that] has willfully and cruelly divided the Cuban family." [1] His mission was described by the Cuban government as "part of a broader U.S. 'plan for Cuba's annexation.'" [2]
McCarry was previously staff director for Rep. Henry Hyde, chairman of the House International Relations Committee. He is the son of the novelist and former CIA agent Charles McCarry. He is 44, married, and has two teenage children. He speaks Spanish and has a degree in Spanish literature.
McCarry worked in the office of Senator Jesse Helms, co-sponsor of the Helms-Burton Act of 1996, that extended the US embargo considerably.
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In 1990, McCarry was director of a Guatemalan project of the Center for Democracy, an organization designed to "promote the democratic process in the United States and abroad."
While a congressional staffer, McCarry was known for his opposition to Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. An anonymous State Department source told a Salon.com journalist that McCarry was involved in funneling money to Aristide's opposition via the International Republican Institute, which is funded by the United States government. [3]
In 2004, McCarry participated in the Haiti Democracy Project, whose stated goal is to "Help Haiti Move Forward". [4]
According to a BBC News Online article of April 11, 2006, "He says his job is to help Cubans "recover their freedom after 47 years of brutal dictatorship". To achieve this, Mr McCarry has a budget of $59m to "hasten the transition" and to ensure that neither Raúl Castro nor any of the current leading figures, from Vice President Carlos Lage to Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque, are involved in the new government. [5]
The creation of a "Cuba Transition Coordinator" post within the United States government was heavily criticized by Cuban government officials. Shortly after McCarry's appointment, Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque told the United Nations that the United States' plans to overthrow the Cuban government are "delusional". [6]
Several prominent Cuban dissidents, including well-known anti-Castro activists Oswaldo Payá and Elizardo Sanchez, said McCarry's appointment was counterproductive, as "[i]t will allow the Cuban government to raise the spectre of foreign interference in the internal affairs of our country." [7]
Just before leaving his position as Transition Coordinator, McCarry was responsible for approving the largest single sub-contract for Cuba democracy promotion in history, $6.5 million, to Creative Associates International (CAI) of Maryland where he subsequently became employed two months later.[1] However, CAI does not list its Cuba program on its website because its program is directly hostile to the Cuban government and is therefore covert. Neither does a similar company, Development Associates International (DAI), also of Maryland and also a recipient of USAID Cuba democracy money. An agent of DAI who was arrested in Cuba in December 2009 while travelling on a tourist visa [2] and delivering expensive and illegal satellite communications equipment to unknown recipients[3] was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment on March 12, 2011.[4] These USAID Cuba program scandals along with numerous others[5] have resulted in USAID Cuba program money temporarily being frozen in 2010,[6] investigations into the USAID Cuba program, and some changes in USAID procedures that eliminates such subcontractors and makes USAID more accountable, but has not led to a change in the hostile and covert nature of the work being done under the Cuba program.[7] In efforts to continue pushing the issue at a time when the Congress is brutally battling over where to make spending cuts in the budget, Senator Kerry froze the USAID Cuba funds, equallying $20 million, pending a GAO investigation.[8]