A package of news briefs from the Caribbean

TRINIDAD: Judge orders 3 extradited in alleged JFK plot

PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad (AP) _ A judge ordered three men extradited to the U.S. to face charges in an alleged plot to attack New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, and a confidential U.S. document said they planned to seek help from Iran.

Chief Magistrate Sherman McNicolls rejected without comment Monday a defense argument that the men could not be extradited on conspiracy charges under Trinidadian law.

Taped conversations between the alleged conspirators show they planned to seek Tehran's help in a strike intended to dwarf the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, according to a 28-page document signed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Marshall C. Miller and delivered to lawyers here.

Richard Clarke-Wills, a lawyer for defendant Abdel Nur, said he would appeal McNicolls' ruling to the country's High Court and a decision should take at least six weeks.

Attorney Rajiv Persad, who represents the two other defendants, Kareem Ibrahim and Abdul Kadir, said he had to speak to the men before deciding whether to pursue an appeal.

Their lawyers argued the men could not be extradited for conspiracy under Trinidadian law _ a claim challenged by Douglas Mendes, a lawyer appointed to represent the U.S.

Mendes declined to comment on the defense claims that the men had been entrapped.

The three men were arrested in Trinidad in June, when U.S. authorities announced they were part of a cell led by Russell Defreitas, a Guyana native. He is a U.S. citizen who worked as a cargo handler at the JFK airport until 1995 and is now in custody in New York.

CARIBBEAN: Cuban migrants enter 2nd week on hunger strike at Guantanamo

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) _ A Cuban exile group said Monday it is worried about the health of 22 migrants as they entered a second week on hunger strike in detention at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay.

Since July 29 the Cuban migrants have refused to eat, consuming only water and sports drinks to protest Washington's refusal to let them settle in the United States, said Ramon Saul Sanchez, president of the Miami-based exile group Democracy Movement.

"We might be coming to the moment where it becomes dangerous to their health," said Sanchez, who receives regular phone calls and e-mail from the migrants.

The U.S. government has counted 20 people on "voluntary fast," and military doctors are monitoring their health, said Navy Cmdr. Jeffrey Gordon, a Pentagon spokesman.

The protesters are among 44 Cubans who were captured at sea by the U.S. Coast Guard but could not be returned to Cuba because authorities determined they had a credible fear of persecution.

They have no contact with the prisoners held at Guantanamo on suspicion of terrorism or links to al-Qaida and the Taliban. The Cubans move freely on the base, attend school there and hold jobs.

PUERTO RICO: Lawmakers to investigate complaints against doctors accused of license fraud

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) _ The Puerto Rican legislature will investigate patients' complaints against dozens of people accused of practicing medicine in the U.S. territory with fraudulent licenses, the chairman of a health committee said Monday.

Rep. Gabriel Rodriguez Aguilo said the medical licensing board has not moved fast enough to review malpractice claims.

"(We will investigate) the cases of medical malpractice, the complaints against the doctors and the inaction of the licensing board to address these matters," Rodriguez told WKAQ radio in an interview.

Last week, a U.S. grand jury indicted 88 doctors in an alleged scheme to change failing certification exam scores in exchange for bribes of up to US$10,000 (euro7,200). At least 75 of the defendants had been practicing medicine on the Caribbean island, authorities said.

CUBA: Relative says boxer who went missing hoped to talk to Castro

HAVANA (AP) _ An Olympic boxing champion who disappeared during the Pan American Games in Brazil but was later arrested and deported to Cuba had dreamed of airing his grievances with Fidel Castro, not defecting, his sister-in-law said Monday.

Two-time bantamweight champion Guillermo Rigondeaux, who arrived back in Cuba on Sunday, "wanted to speak to Fidel several times to explain his problems, but they never let him," said Marilyn Clavero, the sister of the boxer's wife, Farah Colina.

Clavero told The Associated Press that the boxer's relatives don't know when he will be allowed to return to his home, but that they were painting Rigondeaux's modest apartment in Havana and plan to feast on a pig when he arrives.

Rigondeaux and amateur welterweight world champion Erislandy Lara were deported from Brazil after police arrested them on Thursday for overstaying their visas in the coastal resort city of Cabo Frio. Authorities said they partied extravagantly and ran up costly hotel bills.

The Cuban boxers had failed to show up for their scheduled bouts during the Pan American Games in nearby Rio de Janeiro, prompting their disqualification.

GUYANA: Caribbean urged to find new energy sources at regional conference

GEORGETOWN, Guyana (AP) _ Caribbean governments should invest more in alternative sources of energy to help them endure rising oil prices and slumping export prices for sugar, bananas and rice, experts said Monday at a regional conference.

"If we continue to import at increasing prices and export at reduced prices, we face economic disaster," said Chelston Brathwaite, director general of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation in Agriculture in Costa Rica.

The two-day gathering in Guyana was organized by the Inter-American Development Bank, the Organization of American States and other agencies to encourage a regional policy on alternative energy.

About 93 percent of the energy consumed in the Caribbean comes from imported fossil fuels, said Edwin Carrington, secretary-general of the Caribbean Community trade bloc. Power bills in the region can be three times higher than those in the U.S.

Carrington encouraged more emphasis on wind, solar and other alternative sources of energy in addition to a recent trend toward agro-fuels.