“Washington, 7 March [2003]\u2026The U.S. government is putting obstacles to the visas for 103 Cuban academics to prevent their participation in an international scientific event to be held in Dallas, Texas, on 27-29 March. The director of Latin American Studies at Redlands University, California, and Arturo Arias, chairman of the Association of Latin American Studies, denounced that such action \u2018shows the Bush administration commitment to interfere in the dialogue between Cuban and American academics\u2019 . \u2018If the academic integrity of our conference is threatened by bureaucratic incompetence and political hostility, then we must move the forum to another country where everyone will be welcomed\u2019, said Linger. It is about the Latin American Social Science (LASA) Congress, which will be attended by American and Canadian experts, and considered the most prestigious such event in the Western Hemisphere. Kelly Shannon, State Department spokesperson, refused to explain the real reasons behind the visa denial and said that under the new visa requirements and heightened border security, Cubans requesting a U.S. visa had to go through special scrutiny by intelligence agencies and other relevant departments.\u201d<\/p>\n