His son, Jorge Mas Jr., announced his father's death in a news conference where he was joined by more than 30 board members and officers of the anti-communist Cuban American National Foundation his father headed.
"Unfortunately he will never set foot in a free Cuba," Mas Jr. said, his lower lip quivering and his eyes welling with tears. "But his spirit and the legacy that he has left us will."
Dr. Alberto Hernandez, Mas' physician who will also be the foundation's interim chair, said the exile leader died of respiratory and cardiac failure caused by cancer. He also suffered from Paget's disease, a hereditary bone affliction.
The death of Mas leaves the exile community looking for a new leader.
Mas, who many said wanted to be president of Cuba, rose to power utilizing hefty political contributions. He modeled his organization after the typical American political action committee and delivered thousands of Cuban exile votes to the Republican Party.
"Jorge has been a very important part of shaping U.S.-Cuba policy for a number of years, formulating and passing important legislation," said U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, (R-Fla).
The legislative achievements include the 1996 Helms-Burton Act, which made the U.S. embargo on Cuba law and provided for lawsuits against foreign companies doing business with properties illegally confiscated after the communist revolution.
Mas pushed for the 1992 Cuban Democracy Act, also known as the Torricelli Bill, which tightened the embargo on Cuba. The controversial Radio Marti and TV Marti, which is not seen on the island due to jamming, are also creations of Mas. He served as the chair of the board for the U.S. Information Agency stations that beams uncensored news to Cuba.
"Without Jorge Mas Canosa none of that legislation would have been enacted into law," Ros-Lehtinen said.
He was also chair of the president's advisory committee for the Office of Cuba Broadcasting, which oversees the operation of Radio and TV Marti.
He was accused of overreaching and controlling the daily operations of the station to push his agenda.
A year-long investigation conducted by the U.S. Information Agency indicated that interference in station practices by Mas undermined U.S. immigration initiatives related to Cuba.
The report said Mas placed cronies on the Radio Marti staff to assure his political viewpoint was represented in broadcasts and that he arranged for reprisals against staff members who refused his orders. However, an investigation by the State Department's Inspector General earlier said there was no evidence he arranged reprisals against the staff.
President Clinton, in Vancouver, British Columbia, for a summit with Asia-Pacific leaders, praised Mas.
"Jorge was a born leader and organizer whose tenacity, strength of conviction and passion I greatly admired. He galvanized his community, his adopted country and people around the world for the cause of freedom and democracy in Cuba," Clinton said in a statement.
Even his detractors recognize the power he wielded.
"Had it not been for Jorge Mas Canosa, we probably would have had normal relations with Cuba. He has almost single handedly blocked all that," said Wayne Smith, who headed the U.S. Interest Section in Havana during the Carter administration.
The official Cuban news agency, Prensa Latina, described Mas in an obituary yesterday as ''a promoter and partisan of all actions against the revolutionary government of Cuba.''
Mas built a small family telecommunications business into a publicly traded $475 million company. MasTec and its earnings catapulted both Mas and his son onto the list of the Top 10 richest Hispanics.
11-24-97
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