Cuba condemns ’shameful threats against Colombian singer Juanes for concert plans

Cuba condemns threats against Juanes over concert

HAVANA — Cuba is condemning threats made against Colombian pop singer Juanes, who plans to stage a “Peace Without Borders” concert next month in Havana’s Plaza of the Revolution.

Cuban Culture Minister Abel Prieto blamed anti-Castro exiles in the United States for the threats and said the Sept. 20 show will go on as planned. His comments were reported Saturday by Cuba’s state news agency, Prensa Latina.

Prieto said those issuing the threats “should be ashamed of what they’re doing.”

Some Cuban-Americans in the United States contend that the concert endorses the Communist-led government of Raul and Fidel Castro.

Juanes told police in Florida that someone sent him a message on Twitter that said, among other things, “I hate what you are saying but you will die for defending your right to say it.”

A police report said that Juanes considered canceling the concert and cited “fears for his safety as well as his family.”

Police say they are taking the threats seriously and are keeping a watch on the homes of Juanes and his business manager, Fernan Martinez Maecha. Both live in Key Biscayne, an exclusive island enclave near downtown Miami.

Promoters insist the Havana concert will have no ideological overtones despite being staged in the plaza, which has a six-story homage to revolutionary Ernesto “Che” Guevara on the side of a building.

Others scheduled to perform are Cuban folk legend Silvio Rodriguez and Cuban salsa stars Los Van Van.

The Grammy-winning Juanes is known for his social activism. His first “Peace Without Borders” concert in March 2008 drew tens of thousands to the border between Venezuela and Colombia when tensions were high over a Colombian commando raid into neighboring Ecuador that killed a leading rebel commander.