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THE AMERICAS
RECALL UPDATE
IN VENEZUELA
The opposition turned in
petitions to electoral
authorities Monday that it
said carried signatures of
1.8 million voters. 11A

CAMPAIGN 2016
INDIANA MAY BE
People waving Cuban flags greet passengers on Carnival's Adonia cruise ship as they arrive from Miami in Havana on Monday. The Adonia's
RAMON ESPINOSA AP
CRUZS LAST CALL
arrival is the first step toward a future in which thousands of ships a year could cross the Florida Straits, long closed to most U.S.-Cuba traffic. On Tuesday, Indiana
Republicans are poised to
U.S.-CUBA RELATIONS all but end Ted Cruzs

Historic arrival in Havana

White House bid and boost
Donald Trump further. 3A

for cruise ship from Miami

. .............................................................................................................................................
trip wasnt lost on anyone. moment to feel the emotions
Well never forget this day Aboard the ship, cruise pas- of everyone on the ship and then
. .............................................................................................................................................
sengers waved Cuban and Amer- feel the emotions of the people
Cubans along the shore whistled and waved ican flags. In the Old Havana on shore, too.
. .............................................................................................................................................
terminal, Cuban flags and ban- Arnie Prez, Carnivals chief
Its the first U.S. cruise ship to visit the island in half a century ners from Havantur, the official legal counsel, also on the bow,
. .............................................................................................................................................
tourism agency, were draped said he was moved by the groups AVENTURA
along the second-floor balcony as of Cubans along the shore who
BY MIMI WHITEFIELD
day morning, officially reestab-
lishing the U.S. cruise business in
a crowd of officials, port workers
and media members welcomed
clapped and cheered. It made
me feel at home, he said.
MAN IN PLOT TO
mwhitefield@miamiherald.com Cuba. the vessel. After the ship officially docked BLOW UP TEMPLE
The voyage of the Adonia, with Carnival Corp. President and at 10:24 a.m., Prez and his wife, A Hollywood man has
HAVANA about 600 passengers aboard, CEO Arnold Donald was on the Carmen both born in Cuba
As passengers cheered, Carni- was the first trip from Miami to bow of the ship as it came into were first to disembark. been arrested by the FBI
val Corp.s Fathom Adonia ar- Cuba in more than 50 years, and the harbor. It was a very special on charges of plotting an
rived at Havana harbor on Mon- the importance of the historic point of view and a very special SEE CRUISE, 2A
explosive attack on an
Aventura synagogue. 4A

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY COMMISSION

The pros and cons of legalizing

Uber in Miami-Dade County
. .............................................................................................................................................
businesses in Miami-Dade.
The fares are cheaper until demand ends the discounts Their drivers have since racked
. .............................................................................................................................................
up more than $3 million in fines
Rides are everywhere but regulations are thinned out while building a thriving business
. .............................................................................................................................................
in Floridas largest county, all the SPORTS
Its great technology but taxis are hurting while increasing political pres-
. .............................................................................................................................................
sure to legalize a service em- UNFORGETTABLE
the companys popular ride-
braced by residents countywide.
Now the San Francisco-based
SOCCER VICTORY
BY DOUGLAS HANKS hailing service. tech giants are confident they Leicester City had one of
dhanks@miamiherald.com It has been a fight roughly two have enough support on the the greatest-ever sporting
years in the making. In the 13-member county commission
Miami Herald file photo Uber faces a showdown in summer of 2014, Uber and its to pass the pro-industry bill spon- achievements when the
A screenshot of the Uber app, Miami-Dade County on Tuesday, smaller competitor, Lyft, both sored by Commissioner Esteban 5,000-1 underdogs won the
showing cars available in when commissioners are sched- defied the countys taxi laws to
downtown Miami. uled for a final vote to legalize launch their app-based hailing SEE UBER, 2A EPL for the first time. 7B

TOP STORIES THE ENVIRONMENT PUERTO RICO SPORTS Americas 11A Lottery 10A
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Page: News_f Pub. date: Tuesday, May 3 Last user: lcastro@miamiherald.com Edition: 1st Section, zone: News, State Last change at: 20:38:12 May 2
2A
From the front page
H1
FROM PAGE 1A
CRUISE
Moored at Havanas
westernmost terminal, the
imposing blue-and-white
ship was clearly visible as it
loomed above the Male-
cn.
After an efficient cus-
toms procedure, passen-
gers were greeted with
welcome rum and cokes.
Several groups of dancers
entertained, from young
women in spangly Cuban-
flag-themed outfits to folk-
loric dancers who werent
shy about grabbing pas-
sengers for a few swings
around the exit of the ter-
minal.
A large crowd of Cubans
waited across the street
from the terminal, many
snapping cellphone pic-
tures and shouting bienve-
nido as the passengers
began hitting the streets of
Old Havana.
But four hours later,
some guests were com-
plaining that their Old
Havana tours seemed to be
pretty garden-variety shore
excursions rather than
personalized people-to-
people encounters that the
itinerary promised. A guide
walked passengers through
the colonial Spanish
squares and to the 18th-
century cathedral, pointing
out landmark buildings
and explaining Cuban
history.
For at least one group of
19 passengers, personal
encounters were mostly of
the commercial kind as
vendors crowded around
selling peanuts in little
paper cones and sweet
fried dough. Artists
hawked quick sketches
($10) while strolling mu-
sicians, jazz combos and
costumed characters posed
for pictures. On this blaz-
ing day, a straw-hat vendor
drew a brisk business.
Passengers even encoun-
tered a small black dog in a
pair of glasses and a little
straw hat decked in a Cu-
ban flag at work outside
the Cathedral. The dogs
owner said it earned
around $5 a day enough
to keep it fed and more.
Hey, are you from the
cruise ship? shouted one
man in English. Did you
bring me anything?
Some of the groups ate at
private restaurants around
Old Havana. But the com-
plement of 600 passengers
seeking lunch at the same
time taxed the offerings,
and some ended up in
commercial eateries.
Eileen Ogintz, a family
FROM PAGE 1A
UBER
Steve Bovo. If the bill is
adopted, Uber and Lyft
would be officially legal in
Miami-Dade 10 days later.
Whats at stake? Here
are some benefits Uber and
Lyft tout for Miami-Dade
County, along with the
downsides highlighted by
critics and skeptics:
CHEAPER FARES,
UNTIL DEMAND ENDS
THE DISCOUNTS
Current Miami-Dade law
requires taxicabs to charge
fares set by the county,
with meters calculating the
costs. Uber and Lyft set
their own rates, and
theyve won passengers by
undercutting taxi fares. A
recent weeknight trip from
the Coconut Grove area to
South Beach would have
cost about $38 under the
countys metered taxi rates
but amounted to only $14
using Uber.
But unlike taxis, Uber
and Lyft employ surge
pricing, which allows fares
to soar when more custom-
ers want rides. On New
Years Eve, Uber told pas-
sengers its fares would be
nine times higher than
normal. Rides then cost
$8.42 a mile, double the
$4-per-mile cost under the
countys metered rates on
a three-mile trip. (Miami-
Dade taxis charge $7.20
for the first mile, and
$2.40 a mile after that.)
Our goal is always to
Page: Jumps_1 Pub. date: Tuesday, May 3
travel expert and syndicat-
ed columnist, was with a
group assigned to the land-
mark Hemingway watering
hole La Bodeguita del
Medio. She enjoyed the
meal of shrimp, fish, beef
and moros y cristianos at
the state-run restaurant
and the singers who sere-
naded during lunch. But
four hours into the Old
Havana tour, she said, We
havent interacted with
anyone.
That didnt mean there
werent Cubans who were
willing to engage.
During a half-hour of
free time at the cobbled
Plaza de Armas, travelers
browsed through stalls of
old magazines, books,
jewelry, antique cameras,
and door knockers and
letters slots taken from old
houses.
Among locals in the
plaza was Francisco de Asis
Barreto, a friendly retired
merchant mariner who
collects old bottles and
sells them to be recycled.
He wasnt part of the tour,
but he asked if the group
would still be in town next
weekend. He sings in the
choir at the Cathedral,
where a special farewell
Mass for retiring Cardinal
Jaime Ortega will be held.
You know I once saw
Miami. Our boat was pass-
ing about a mile offshore,
and it looked very beauti-
ful, he said. Weve al-
ways felt Americans are
our friends.
The week-long cruise
will circumnavigate Cuba
and will also stop in Cien-
fuegos and Santiago de
Cuba. As a people-to-peo-
ple trip, the voyage is sup-
posed to encourage inter-
actions with the Cuban
people.
While baking on the
beach is not part of any
people-to-people agenda, a
wide variety of cultural and
artistic activities are per-
mitted.
Its exciting to be part
of this historic voyage,
said Shirley Thurman, a
retiree from St. Augustine
who was making the trip
with her husband. I am so
glad we are normalizing
relations with Cuba. I think
the common people in
Cuba have been the ones
who have suffered over the
years.
Thurman said she had
no desire to come to Cuba
before the U.S. government
began liberalizing travel
rules, making it easier for a
meet demand and keep
prices affordable for rid-
ers, said Javi Correoso,
Ubers public-affairs man-
ager for Florida. Prices go
up because theres not
enough driver-partners on
the road to meet demand
at that specific time. The
more drivers on the road,
the lower the price.
RIDES EVERYWHERE,
BUT THINNED-OUT
REGULATIONS
Uber alone dwarfs Mia-
mi-Dades taxi fleet, with
the company reporting
more than 10,000 drivers
in their own cars compared
to the countys 2,121 regis-
tered cabs and 4,568 li-
censed drivers. Uber needs
a massive roster of free-
lance drivers in order to
provide extensive coverage
and quick pick-ups.
Key to that sprawling fleet
is ease of recruiting: Would-
be drivers with Uber can
register online and submit
to a digital screening of
their driving and criminal
backgrounds. Drivers also
must provide a mechanics
inspection certificate for
their vehicles.
Miami-Dades screening
process of for-hire drivers,
including taxi operators,
constitutes one of the big-
gest obstacles for Uber and
Lyft. The pro-Uber bill up
for a vote Tuesday dis-
mantles much of the coun-
tys role in regulating driv-
Last user: lcastro@miamiherald.com
Historic Cruise
After protests, lawsuits and a change in Cuban policy
that now allows Cuban-born travelers to take cruises to
the island, Carnival's Fathom line leaves Sunday for its
first cruise to Cuba.
Sunday 3:30 p.m.
FLORIDA
Miami
departs Miami
Monday 10 a.m.
arrives Havana
Thursday 7 a.m.
arrives Cienfuegos
Caribbean Sea
100 mile
Source: Fathom
THE TIME IS NOW
TO DO SOMETHING
DIFFERENT
TOWARD CUBA.
Arnie Prez, Carnivals
chief legal counsel who
was aboard the cruise
greater variety of Amer-
icans to travel to the island
as part of an opening to-
ward Havana that began
on Dec. 17, 2014.
But the night that Carni-
val announced the Fathom
Adonia would be making
its first voyage to Cuba, her
husband was on the phone
making reservations for the
cruise.
All the cabins were sold
out for the maiden voyage,
although single occupan-
cies meant the ship trav-
eled somewhat below its
704-passenger capacity.
Prez, the Carnival at-
torney, hadnt been back
since last year when he
began helping negotiating
the deal that led to the
Adonias entry into the
Cuban market.
The only member of his
immediate family who
remains in Cuba is an 89-
year-old aunt who lives
outside Santiago de Cuba.
When the Adonia stops in
Santiago, he plans to see
the aunt he has never met,
he said.
Although the first meet-
ing between the social
impact-oriented Fathom
brand and Cuban officials
was held in July 2015, the
line a subsidiary of Do-
ral-based Carnival Corp.
didnt receive final approv-
al until mid-March, he
Raphael Alvarez, a Miami-Dade taxi cab driver, at an anti-Uber protest in June. The proposed
legislation requires taxis to offer the same kind of ride-hailing app that Uber and Lyft do.
ers throughout the industry,
leaving it to taxi operators
and ride-hailing companies
to screen their own drivers
for driving infractions and
criminal offenses.
Safety has always got to
be No. 1, said Commis-
sioner Daniella Levine
Cava, who favors finger-
print checks, which are not
part of Bovos bill.
The proposed legislation
also would scrap the cur-
rent requirement that taxi
drivers undergo county-run
training on customer ser-
vice, including tips on
popular tourist attractions
and how to treat passen-
gers with courtesy.
On Monday, a group
representing taxi and Uber
drivers in Miami-Dade
wrote the 13-member com-
mission to urge changes to
Bovos ordinance, includ-
ing expansion of current
cabbie training to ride-
Edition: 1st
May 8, 7 a.m.
Atlantic
Ocean
arrives Miami
BAHAMAS
CUBA
Friday 9 a.m. arrives
Santiago de Cuba
MARCO RUIZ mruiz@miamiherald.com
said.
Carnival and Fathom
executives underestimated
the backlash they got in
Miami when they started
to deny Cuban-born trav-
elers passage on the ship in
accordance with a Cold
War-era Cuban policy
barring those born in Cuba
from entering or leaving
the island by vessel.
Cuban exiles swung into
action, protesting what
they saw as a discrimi-
natory policy that didnt
put the Cuban-born on
equal footing with other
travelers. Two lawsuits
were filed against the
cruise lines, and opposition
to the cruise began piling
up. Carnival shifted gears,
saying it would sell tickets
to Cuban-born travelers
and would delay the Ado-
nias first trip, if necessary,
until Cuba changed its
policy.
We made it clear we
wouldnt go if they didnt
change the policy, said
Prez, who was involved in
the last-minute negotia-
tions.
On April 22, a statement
appeared in Granma, the
Communist Party newspa-
per, making it clear that
cruise liners and merchant
ships would no longer be
subject to the policy.
Yes, it should have been
done earlier. They realize
that, Prez said. But he
said that on Sunday, the
day the Adonia left Port-
Miami, he got a message
from the Cuban Embassy
in Washington expressing
hope that the cruise would
go well.
The time is now to do
something different toward
Cuba, Prez said. Were
engaging with people, and
we are hoping for the
best.
hailing drivers.
If someone was to come
into Miami and driver
Uber, he wont know the
city, said Raymond Fran-
cois, director of the group,
the New Vision Drivers
Association of Florida.
They need to keep the
training in order to train
them not only to know the
city, but give them some
tools so they can give bet-
ter service.
Uber and Lyft argue that
their apps, which let pas-
sengers rate drivers after
their rides, serve as the
ideal self-regulation sys-
tem. Drivers who consis-
tently receive low scores
should also receive less
business, with the worst
performers ousted from
the ride-hailing network
altogether.
Another flashpoint for
Tuesday involves pas-
sengers in wheelchairs.
Section, zone: From the front page, State
IMMIGRATION
Panama prepares to
transfer some 3,000
U.S.-bound Cuban
migrants to Mexico
BY MARIO J. PENTN
staff@InCubaToday.com
Panamas Foreign Min-
istry has started a census
count of the more than
670 Cuban migrants cur-
rently housed in the Los
Planes shelter in northern
Chiriqu province, in an-
ticipation for their expect-
ed transfer to Mexico in
coming days.
Another 3,000 Cubans,
most of whom are strand-
ed on the border with
Costa Rica, also will be
allowed into the Los
Planes shelter, counted
and then transferred to
Mexico the final such
airlift for Cuban migrants
on trek to the United
States, Panamanian Presi-
dent Juan Carlos Varela
said last week.
Once the transfer of
those Cubans included in
the census is completed,
those who arrive later will
have to decide which
country they want to
return to, Varela told
local media as the coun-
trys borders shut down to
migrants in transit to the
U.S. We cannot become
the logistical support for
an irregular migration
route.
At least 100 Cubans
making the trek are now
in detention in Puerto
Obalda, on the border
with Colombia, awaiting
for immigration authori-
ties to determine their
fate. Many more Cuban
migrants are likely to face
detention as they contin-
ue to travel from third
countries through Central
America as part of their
route to reach the U.S.-
Mexico border.
The census and reloca-
tion of migrants from
hotels to the Los Planes
shelter began last week.
This is mostly preg-
nant women and families
with children, who should
be taken to a place that
has the services they
deserve, Regional Migra-
tion Director Alfredo
Cordoba said in a tele-
phone interview, adding
that the goal is to con-
centrate all the migrants
in an area where their
basic necessities can be
Miami Herald File, 2015
With spacious trunks, taxis
generally have the ability
to accommodate wheel-
chairs, and county rules
require 3 percent of a taxi
companys fleet to be fully
handicap-accessible with
lifts, ramps and places to
secure a wheelchair. The
new rules for Uber and
Lyft would not require any
of their vehicles to be ac-
cessible.
GREAT TECH, BUT
TAXIS HURTING
Miami-Dades tourism
bureau has been a top
advocate of legalizing Uber
and Lyft, saying travelers
expect to have access to
the high-tech taxi alterna-
tive when they visit. By
offering their service exclu-
sively on smartphone apps,
the companies let pas-
sengers track the cars com-
ing to pick them up and
have the payments made
Last change at: 20:29:11 May 2
TUESDAY MAY 3 2016
MIAMIHERALD.COM
met.
Cordoba added that the
more than 3,000 Cuban
migrants currently in
Panama will be trans-
ferred by groups to Los
Planes, where the govern-
ment has mobilized a
joint task force to handle
the humanitarian crisis.
The task force is made up
of officials from the agen-
cies in charge of civil
emergencies, migration,
border controls and the
national police.
Angel Chale, one of the
stranded Cubans, said he
was hopeful he would
soon resume his journey
to the United States.
I think were at the
end of the process. At
least theyre not still mak-
ing photocopies of our
passports. Thats some-
thing, said Chale, who
moved to Los Planes from
an old warehouse about
one mile from the border
with Costa Rica, where he
slept on the floor with
another 400 Cubans.
Los Planes was original-
ly built to house Swiss
workers who worked on a
nearby dam.
Its about 10 acres, with
nice landscaping and all
kinds of amenities, said
ngela Buenda, the direc-
tor of the National Civil
Defense System . The
only prohibition is that
they cannot go out at
night, for their own securi-
ty.
The complex will soon
offer free Wifi, but for
now the migrants must
connect on a local data
network.
The biggest problem
Ive had with the Cubans
is that when they get
here, because they come
from a place without
freedom, they feel com-
pletely free. And of course
they sometimes confuse
freedom with debauch-
ery, she added.
People smugglers have
turned the northward flow
of migrants into a business
that generates millions of
dollars in profits. Since
October of 2014, nearly
132,000 Central Amer-
icans and about 75,000
Cubans have crossed the
U.S. border, according to
immigration data.
instantly online.
The integrated hailing
service also allows Uber to
pitch itself as a car-pooling
service, with customers
able to buy pieces of
shared routes with other
customers. Alice Bravo,
head of Miami-Dades
transit system, has said she
sees Uber pool as a po-
tential add-on to the coun-
tys transportation net-
work, with roving ride-hail
drivers giving passengers
lifts to nearby bus and
Metrorail stations.
But the soaring popularity
of Uber also has come at the
expense of taxis. In Los
Angeles, taxi rides are down
30 percent since Uber and
Lyft began operating in
2013, according to the Los
Angeles Times. Taxi driver
Rudy Gonzalez told
commissioners earlier this
year that his business was
even worse than it was
when tourism collapsed
after the 2001 terrorist
attacks.
The proposed Miami-
Dade legislation requires
taxis to offer the same kind
of ride-hailing app that
Uber and Lyft do, and
reserves street hails to
cabs. Bovo said he doesnt
want Miami-Dade to wait
for taxis to catch up with
modern technology.
The taxi industry has
really locked itself into the
mentality that whats
worked for them the past
50 or 60 years needs to
stay in place, he said. I
dont know of any business
model in the history of
mankind that doesnt ad-
just to realities.