The Bush administration recently reached deals with two South Florida commercial Spanish-language TV and radio stations to broadcast Radio and TV Marti. The Martis are run by the U.S. government and have historically been beamed into Cuba as part of an effort to overthrow the Castro government. The deal comes despite a U.S law prohibiting broadcasting of propaganda inside the country. We host a debate on the issue. [includes rush transcript]

The watchdog group - Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington - has called for a Congressional investigation into whether Radio and TV Marti can be broadcast over the commercial airwaves in Southern Florida. The Martis are run by the U.S. government and have historically been beamed into Cuba as part of an effort to overthrow the Castro government.

The Bush administration recently reached deals with two South Florida commercial Spanish-language TV and radio stations to broadcast the Martis. The government is paying the stations almost $200,000 to air a daily hour of Radio Marti programming for six months. This is despite a U.S law prohibiting broadcasting of propaganda inside the country.

Radio and TV Marti have also come under fire for mismanagement and corruption. In November, a senior TV Marti executive was indicted by federal prosecutors in a kickback-for-contracts scheme. The Inspector General's office has already launched a review into the operations of the Office of Cuba Broadcasting which oversees the Martis. And Massachusetts Congressman William Delahunt - who is slated to head the Oversight and Investigations subcommittee for the House International relations Committee - has promised to hold hearings on the Martis later this month.

We host a debate on the issue:

• Joe Garcia, director of the Hispanic Strategy Center at the New Democratic Network. He is the former Executive Director of the Cuban American National Foundation and a current board member.
• John Nichols, professor of communications at Penn State University. He specializes in international communications and telecommunications policy. Nichols is the Co-author of the book, "Clandestine Radio Broadcasting."
• Joe O'Connell, director of Public Affairs for the International Broadcasting Bureau -- the US Government Organization that oversees Radio and TV Marti, as well as the Voice of America.