WASHINGTON -- President Clinton's nominee to be ambassador to the United Nations, Rep. Bill Richardson, D-N.M., is an outspoken critic of the U.S. embargo of Cuba.
He is one of 86 House members who were on the losing side last year when Congress approved the Helms-Burton Act, which penalizes foreign companies that do business in Cuba, and is among the smaller number who have visited the island.
But before Richardson can take his ideas to the U.N., he must win the approval of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and its chairman, Sen. Jesse Helms, R-N.C., Congress' leading supporter of the 35-year-old embargo of Cuba and the author, with Rep. Dan Burton, R-Ind., of the act.
Helms is likely to raise the embargo issue during Richardson's confirmation hearing, expected in late January or early February.
Richardson's vote against Helms-Burton and other proposals to tighten the embargo reflect his belief that trade, not isolation, is the key to bringing change to communist Cuba.
Cutting deals?
``If we're going to open up the island, maybe some consideration should be given to lifting the embargo,'' he told The Palm Beach Post last year.
``Let clothes, goods, commerce and business get in there.''
Such comments provoke the wrath of South Florida's Cuban-American community, said Dario Moreno, a professor of political science at Florida International University. And a trip by Richardson to the island last year, which resulted in the release of three Cuban political prisoners, led some Cuban Americans to accuse Richardson of cutting deals with Cuban President Fidel Castro.
``He has tried to win favor with Cuban Americans, with his humanitarian missions, but not very successfully,'' Moreno said.
Richardson's criticism of Reps. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Lincoln Diaz-Balart in 1993 for voting against the North American Free Trade Agreement prompted an angry exchange of letters between the lawmakers in The Miami Herald.
Supports nomination
But Ros-Lehtinen says the tensions between herself and Richardson have healed. And though she disagrees with Richardson's stance toward Cuba, she supports his nomination for U.N. ambassador.
``A lot of people can't find Cuba on a map,'' she said. ``They're neutral to the point of ignoring it completely. Bill understands the plight of the Cuban people. Even though we don't agree, he could be a real player on the issue.''
Ros-Lehtinen said she contacted Helms to communicate her support for Richardson.
Richardson, a Mexican American who has represented Santa Fe for 14 years, has become known for roving the world to win the freedom of political prisoners and hostages in hostile countries.
He became close to Clinton after helping him win support for NAFTA in 1992.
Richardson is under White House orders not to speak on foreign policy issues before the confirmation hearing.
Opponents of the trade embargo, meanwhile, fear that Richardson's nomination will cost them an ally on Capitol Hill.
A sane voice
``He has been one of the few sane voices in Congress, and I'm concerned that he will be hemmed in,'' said the Rev. Lucius Walker, director of the Interreligious Foundation for Community Organization, a New York-based group of pastors which has transported medicine and other aid to Cuba.
``I guess you could say it's better to have him there than another candidate, but if he becomes a mouthpiece for the administration, that's another independent voice that's gone.''
Political scientist Moreno predicted Richardson's stance toward Cuba will be a hot topic during the hearing but won't ultimately derail his nomination.
``Republicans want to concentrate on defeating Anthony Lake [Clinton's nominee to head the CIA],'' he said.