European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - November 22, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Friday november 22, 1991 the stars and stripes a Page 7castro s brother linked to drug deals by the new York times Miami a senior cuban and nicaraguan officials including the brother of Fidel Castro helped the Medellin Cartel smuggle cocaine into the United states during the mid-1980s, a founding member of the colombian drug group testified wednesday. In his second Day of testimony at the Federal court trial of panamanian Gen. Manuel Antonio Noriega Carlos Lehder Rivas said he met twice in Havana with Gen. Raul Castro cubans minister of defense to gain permission for cocaine shipments to Fly Over cuban territory on their Way to Florida. Later Lehder said the Cartel organized a cocaine smuggling route out of Nicaragua with the approval of sandinista leaders and the assistance of cubans top intelligence operative in Managua. For at least a decade there have been reports that cuban and sandinista officials were working with the Cartel and the Reagan and Bush administrations have said so in arguing that the two latin american governments should be isolated. But until Lehder took the stand wednesday no Leader of the Medellin Cartel had Ever made such assertions publicly. No documentary evidence was introduced to corroborate his assertions. A the cubans were in charge of that cocaine conspiracy in Nicaragua a Lehder testified. He said he attended several meetings in Managua in his role As head of the cartels transportation operations. A it was not the sandinista government it was the cubans who were in charge of organizing and running the cocaine smuggling network from Nicaragua to the United states he said. As a result of discussions with the cuban and nicaraguan governments the Cartel a did Fly cocaine through Nicaragua during 1984, Lehder testified. He said the Cartel was required to pay both governments but he did not specify the amount paid and did not say whether payments were made to the National Treasury of each country or to individuals. Lehder said the Cartel turned to Nicaragua As an alternative to Noriega who he said had become increasingly greedy and demanding. Lehder a politically explosive account of the Medellin cartels dealings with the two latin american governments that were most hostile to the United states during the 1980s came during questioning about the drug related activities of Noriega. The former panamanian dictator is being tried on 10 counts of cocaine trafficking Money laundering and racketeering. Lehder one of nine founding members of the Medellin Cartel is serving a sentence of life plus 135 years in a . Prison. Asked to respond to Lehder a testimony Ariel Ricardo a spokesman for the cuban interests Section in Washington dismissed the Case against Noriega As Quot More a political show than a real trial. If i was Carlos Lehder and i received the same Sweet Deal from the prosecutors that he received 1 could say practically anything  brisk commute Rhoda Story uses her Cross country Sld to get to work on tuesday after More than a foot of Snow blanketed Denver and Colorado s front Range. A new cold front was expected to bring More Snow to the Pacific Northwest on thursday before moving on to the Northern Rockies. See More weather details on Page 11.bombs taken from fiery site of train wreck Shepherdsville by. Apr workers gingerly moved a Boxcar filled with Cluster bombs away from the site of a train derailment that sparked a fire and prompted the evacuation of 3,000 people. Meanwhile with the fire out authorities planned thursday to remove a Tanker car carrying 30,000 Gallons of the highly flammable liquid propylene oxide. It Wasny to known when people living within a mile of the area would be allowed to return Home. A we just want to be very careful a said Dick Bussard a spokesman for Cox the company that operated the freight train. The car carrying the bombs flipped Over during tuesdays derailment. Workers used Bales of Hay and other materials wednesday to Cushion its Interior As they set it upright before moving it away from the wreck. The Tanker with the flammable liquid was coupled to another car that was dangling off the partially collapsed Railroad Bridge Over the Salt River. A the position its in if it were to fall we would have a breach and in a sure we would have a fire and or an explosion a said Everett Roberts a Deputy state fire marshal. Railroad officials said the Accident was caused by a garbage truck that struck the Bridge and knocked the Railroad bed several inches out of alignment. Two people in the truck suffered minor injuries. A spokesman for waste management systems of Kentucky which owns the truck said the crash occurred when the Driver tried to take the ll-foot-6-Inch-High vehicle under the Bridge which has a clearance of Only 10 feet 9 inches. New study proves Ozone weakening scientist says Washington up a  study provides the first evidence of a summertime thinning of Earth a protective Ozone layer Over portions of the Northern hemisphere including the United states a scientist said wednesday. Or. Robert Watson a Nasa scientist who co chaired the committee that conducted the study said evidence shows 3 percent of the summertime Ozone layer Over the Middle latitude regions was lost during the 1980s, and he predicted a similar loss Over the next decade. Many scientists Are concerned that a depletion of the Ozone layer which absorbs the suns harmful ultraviolet rays could Lead to higher rates of skin cancer suppression of the human immune system genetic mutations and damage to crops and Marine life. The study was conducted by a committee of scientists sponsored by the . Environment program and the world meteorological organization. Watson said the research also shows a wintertime Ozone depletion of 6 percent in the Middle latitude regions during the 1980s, and he projected a similar decline Over the next decade. The findings related to wintertime depletion support a Nasa report that was released last april showing Ozone depletion Oyer parts of the United states was occurring twice As fast As previously thought. Watson said the findings could have dire consequences for Marine life As Well As people because an increase in ultraviolet radiation reaching Earth could kill phytoplankton on which Marine life feed. The major cause of Ozone depletion is the release of Man made chlorofluorocarbons or rfcs mainly used in refrigeration aerosols and Industrial solvents. Watson said scientific studies show increased radiation exposure causes suppression of the immune response system that protects people from diseases. Recent studies also Snow that increased radiation exposure makes some individuals More prone to Cataract induced blindness he said. Cities show 10% drop in dirty air by the los Angeles times los Angeles a air pollution in the nations smog Giest cities dropped 10 percent during the past decade and 10 million fewer americans Are breathing unhealthful air . Environmental Protection Agency chief William k. Reilly said wednesday. Despite the gains Reilly appeared concerned Over Calls to relax environmental controls because of the economic downturn. He warned that 74 million americans still live in cities that fail to meet Federal clean air standards in 1990, the 15 most polluted . Cities were los Angeles Houston Atlanta Pittsburgh Philadelphia new York Denver Dallas Washington Detroit Chicago Seattle Kansas City Boston and san Francisco. A we celebrate clean Aires Success but increasingly see lamentations about its costs Reilly told 150 people attending town Hall of California a Public affairs forum at the los Angeles Biltmore hotel. A we cannot As a nation reconsider objectives set so carefully and after such review every time we enter a period of economic difficulty a Reilly said after his speech. During the past several months some of the Epars environmental programs have been targeted by Cost conscious critics within the Bush administration. They have proposed changes in the nation s wetlands policy that could remove restrictions on development from 30 percent to 50 percent of All existing wetlands. In addition the Council on competitiveness headed by vice president Dan Quayle is attempting to weaken proposed enforcement provisions of the Federal clean air act approved last year. Still Reilly repeatedly urged the nation to a stay the  among the gains he outlined were a 10 percent reduction in Urban smog nationally an 85 percent reduction in atmospheric Lead Levels a 29 percent Cut in Carbon monoxide Levels an 8 percent drop in smog forming nitrogen dioxide emissions and a 24 percent reduction in Fulfur dioxide emissions that cause acid rain and acid fog