PRESIDENTIAL INAUGURATION Gala snubs Cuban foundation (CANF)

More than a thousand miles from Miami, President Bush's inauguration and the related festivities are exposing an ongoing rift in Cuban exile politics.

The Congressional Hispanic Leadership Institute, which is hosting an inaugural eve function in the capital Wednesday to celebrate the growing influence of Hispanics in politics, has rejected an offer from the Cuban American National Foundation to be a sponsor of the event, signaling an interest in distancing itself from the prominent Cuban advocacy group.

Foundation Director Alfredo Mesa, who last week said his group was cosponsoring the event, said Monday that he was later told that the foundation's money would not be accepted because the Hispanic institute doesn't accept contributions from nonprofit groups. Sponsors of the event include corporations such as Altria Group, BellSouth, Carnival, Ford Motor Co. and General Motors.

But Miami Republican U.S. Rep. Mario Díaz-Balart, whose brother, U.S. Rep. Lincoln Díaz-Balart, chairs the Hispanic institute, said its board of directors declined to accept the foundation's money or its involvement. The $25,000 contribution would have purchased a table for foundation members and entitled the group to be listed in the program as a sponsor.