Vol. 21, No. 6 June 2013

In the News State Department tones down criticism

Gross on agenda but keeps Cuba on terrorist list for now Josefina Vidal, Roberta Jacobson discuss BY ANA RADELAT including travel documents to some of them.” Furthermore, said the report, “there was no fate of USAID subcontractor ...... Page 2 hile its condemnation of Cuba was muted this year, the State Department indication that the Cuban government provided W weapons or paramilitary training to terrorist has decided to keep the island on its groups.” Better Mexican ties? annual list of terrorist-hosting nations. Diplomat says Cuba-Mexico relations will But it also said “the Cuban government con- Placed on that blacklist for the first time in tinued to harbor fugitives wanted in the United improve under Peña Nieto ...... Page 3 1982, Cuba remained there for decades because States” — a reference to a tiny group of Amer- it harbored a dozen members of the Basque sep- icans that includes Joanne Chesimard, a left- aratist group ETA and members of the Revolu- wing militant who shot and killed a state troop- Political briefs tionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). ‘People’s cardinal’ relocated to Cienfuegos; er on the New Jersey Turnpike 40 years ago. But these reasons are losing force. In its lat- Washington-based attorney Robert Muse said 22% of residential water wasted .....Page 5 est terrorism report, released May 30, the State there’s no reason to keep Cuba on the list — Department noted that “in November, the Gov- which also includes Iran, Syria and Sudan — ernment of Cuba began hosting peace talks be- just because it harbors American fugitives. Provinces tween the FARC and Government of Colombia.” He points to dozens of other nations that An in-depth look at Cuba’s 2 newest provin- It added that “reports in 2012 suggested that haven’t signed extradition treaties to the United ces, Artemisa and Mayabeque ...... Page 6 the Cuban government was trying to distance States, including Indonesia, China, Kuwait, itself from Basque Fatherland and Liberty Vietnam and Cambodia. Executives on trial (ETA) members living on the island by employ- “None of those countries are on the State Could ongoing corruption trial scare away ing tactics such as not providing services, See Terrorism, page 3 potential foreign investment? ...... Page 8 Cuba’s growing network of cybercafés Tourism plans Marrero unveils long-term plan to dramat- ically boost hotel rooms, tourist amenities isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, says critic over next 7 years ...... Page 9 BY VITO ECHEVARRÍA Referring to a BBC report, Henken said each he Cuban government is trying to play cybercafé (or telepunto) has just three comput- Santa Claus six months before Christmas. ers, limiting access for locals. HughesNet pulls plug T “There will be only 354 of these public access Hughes Network System cuts satellite link It just announced — with much fanfare — an expansion of Internet access for locals by computers in the entire country,” he lamented. to access Internet in Cuba ...... Page 11 opening 118 cybercafés throughout the island. “This amounts to one cybercafé for every 65,000 But Baruch College professor Ted Henken, people. And this will allow each user, of those 65,000 people, exactly one hour of access every Cuba vs. Guatemala who was declared persona non grata two years five years —assuming everyone on the island What Cuba can learn from ultra-productive ago by Cuban security agents for interviewing would want to use these cybercafés.” dissident bloggers, isn’t buying any of it. Guatemalan sugar sector ...... Page 12 Henken also said that such “wider access” Speaking earlier this month at New York Uni- comes with strings attached. versity, Henken — who moderated an event fea- Through state telecom monopoly ETECSA’s Bookshelf turing visiting Cuban bloggers — detailed why local server Nauta, the Castro regime will still ‘What I Learned About Cuba,’ ‘Che Wants this “news” shouldn’t be taken too seriously. snoop on all communications by local cus- Given that users will pay $5 an hour for full to See You’, ‘My Lost Cuba’ ...... Page 15 tomers, as well as filter all content. Internet access, Henken said authorities use “The new Cuban telecom law all but declares pricing to limit access, since they know the aver- publicly that users will be monitored, with the CubaNews (ISSN 1073-7715) is published monthly age salary for locals is only $20 a month. by CUBANEWS LLC. © 2013. All rights reserved. government reserving the right to block users Annual subscription: $398. Nonprofit organizations: “A user who seeks to go online for just one who engage in activities that ‘undermine public $198. Printed edition is $100 extra. For editorial in- hour each day over the course of a month would safety, or the country’s integrity, economy, inde- quires, please call (305) 393-8760, fax your request have to shell out $150 — more than seven times pendence and sovereignty,’” he said. Such users to (305) 670-2229 or email [email protected]. Cuba’s $20 average monthly wage,” he said. See Internet, page 4 2 CubaNews v June 2013 POLITICS Gross case on the agenda during Vidal-Jacobson meeting BY ANA RADELAT He’s serving a 15-year jail sentence in last time she got a visa to come to the United ecent talks between a State Department Havana; since his incarceration, the Mary- States, in April 2012, Vidal participated in ral- official and a high-level Cuban diplomat land resident has lost more than 105 pounds. lies aimed at freeing the jailed Cuban spies. Rhave breathed new life into talks over The U.S. continues to reject the idea of Low-key or not, the visit provoked anger jailed American subcontractor Alan Gross. trading Gross for four Cuban intelligence offi- from Cuban-American lawmakers, who wrote Josefina Vidal, director of the North Ameri- cers convicted of espionage in 1998 and held Jacobson demanding to know why Vidal had can bureau at the Cuban Foreign Ministry, in a Florida jail since then, said the official. been given a U.S. visa. spent a week in late May in Washington, René González, a fifth Cuban convicted of “Given her rank at the Ministry of Foreign where she met with Roberta S. Jacobson, as- spying, was released in October 2011 and Affairs, her sole mission is to promote the sistant secretary of state for Western Hem- given three years of probation, which was Cuban regime’s propaganda, undermine U.S. isphere affairs, and other U.S. officials. required to be completed in the United States. interests and justify brutal oppression against Since twice-a-year talks between Cuba and But González was allowed to return to Cuba pro-democracy activists in Cuba,” wrote Reps. the United States for his father’s funeral in April and a federal Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Mario Díaz-Bal- have been suspend- judge allowed him to stay there, provided that art (R-FL) and Albio Sires (D-NJ). ed, the meeting he renounce his U.S. citizenship. “In addition, she has been at the forefront between Vidal and defending the Cuban regime’s unjust holding Jacobson served as STATE DEPARTMENT ‘PLEASED’ WITH VIDAL VISIT of a U.S. citizen and harboring U.S. fugitives. an opportunity to While the release of any other Cubans con- With that in mind, we would like you to raise issues that were victed of espionage is unlikely, the State De- answer the following questions: What was the normally discussed in partment could make a humanitarian gesture purpose and intent of Vidal’s trip to Washing- those talks. — such as granting U.S. visas for the wives of ton? What issues were discussed during your They included joint the jailed men — that could open the door to meeting with Vidal? Can you provide us an efforts against drug Gross’s release. update on the Alan Gross case?” trafficking, migration The official said nothing definitive has been The State Department has yet to respond to issues and measures Roberta S. Jacobson put on the table, but noted “movement” in the the letter. to prevent oil spills. case, which has put relations between Wash- Gross, 64, was a subcontractor for the U.S. ington and Havana in a deep freeze since GROSS FAMILY SETTLES LAWSUIT WITH DAI Agency for International Development when Gross’s arrest three and a half years ago. A few days after Vidal returned to Havana, he was arrested in December 2009 and later The official also said the State Department the Castro government agreed to allow a U.S. convicted of subversion. was pleased with Vidal’s low-key visit. The doctor to travel to Cuba to examine Gross, who is said by family members to be in poor health. Cuba disputes this and says its prison- er been treated very well at the military hos- Party dumps leaders in Artemisa, Matanzas pital that has served as his jail. he Cuban Communist Party (PCC) Guilarte has been named head of a commit- Under contract with a Bethesda, Md., com- has replaced top leaders in two tee to plan for the 2014 congress of the pany called Development Alternatives Inc., Tprovinces — Artemisa and Matanzas Confederation of Cuban Workers (CTC). Gross traveled undercover to Cuba five times — following rather contradictory patterns. Perhaps that means Guilarte is back in before his arrest, distributing high-tech com- In Artemisa, provincial first secretary the game and in good standing. Maybe he’ll munication equipment to the island’s small Ulises Guilarte de Nacimiento was abrupt- even be nominated as CTC’s general secre- Jewish community and to dissidents. ly booted out without any explanation. tary at some point or named to a Politburo In November, Gross and his wife Judy sued In his place, authorities selected José position in charge of controlling mass orga- DAI and the federal government for $60 mil- Antonio Fariñas, who until this latest pro- nizations or some other key position. lion, saying he had been sent to Cuba without motion was head of the Industry and One thing is clear: his replacement, proper training, protection or information Construction Department at the PCC’s Fariñas, doesn’t measure up in any way. about tough Cuban laws against USAID-fund- Central Committee. He’s much older and for many years now ed activities. This was surprising because no one ever has been disconnected from current re- A federal judge dismissed the lawsuit criticized Guilarte publicly. A young profes- forms going on in Artemisa and the neigh- against the United States. Gross had hoped sional from the former province of La Hab- boring province of Mayabeque, which were the lawsuit would prompt the Obama admin- ana, this rising star was known for being both spawned by the dissolution of La istration to escalate its efforts for his release. popular, efficient and straightforward. Habana province. Gross did agree to settle with DAI, though He distinguished himself during the Having been a department head at the the amount of the settlement wasn’t disclosed. Sixth Party Congress and its debates over Central Committee implies that Fariñas fol- Jim Boomgard, DAI’s chief executive offi- the Lineamientos (guidelines). lows a strong bureaucratic style where tak- cer, said in a statement that neither party When Guilarte was named to head the ing orders is standard procedure. admits fault in the settlement. He also said the PCC apparatus in the new province of A few days later, the first secretary of the settlement allows DAI to work with the Gross Artemisa, there was unanimous approval, PCC in Matanzas province, Omar Ruíz family to bring him home. and many saw him as a potential Politburo Martín, was appointed to the Secretariat of Boomgard described Gross as “a commit- member. His implementation of reforms in the Central Committee. Replacing him is ted development professional with many Artemisa and his handling of the Mariel Manuela Teresa Rojas Monzón, an indus- years of experience providing humanitarian port project made him even more visible, trial engineer with 20 years of grass-roots and development assistance worldwide.” q and foreign observers began praising him. Party experience who did not come from But not to worry. the Central Committee’s bureaucracy. Washington-based journalist Ana Radelat has On Jun. 10, Cuban media announced that – DOMINGO AMUCHASTEGUI been covering Cuba-related issues on Capitol Hill for CubaNews since the newsletter’s birth in 1993. June 2013 v CubaNews 3 POLITICS Envoy: Mexican-Cuban ties will improve under Peña Nieto BY VITO ECHEVARRÍA edly considered setting up a exico’s up-and-down relationship with bottling facility in Cuba Cuba is now on a more secure footing before backing away from Mthan it’s been in years, claims Mexi- the idea. can career diplomat Roberta Lajous Vargas. One area of Mexican- Speaking last month at New York’s CUNY Cuban commercial activity Graduate Center, Lajous — Mexico’s ambas- hit hard by the diplomatic sador to Cuba from 2002 to 2005 — said that spat was oil exploration. with President Enrique Peña Nieto now in By the time Mexican state power, her country’s ties with Cuba will take a oil monopoly Pemex had positive turn. signed a non-binding letter “I am sure they are already changing under of intent in 2012 to search Peña Nieto’s administration,” she said, noting for petroleum off Cuba’s that an encounter between Mexico’s new Gulf of Mexico coast, vari- leader and Cuban President Raúl Castro dur- ous foreign oil companies ing January’s CELAC (Community of Latin had already started their American and Caribbean States) summit in Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto shares a laugh with Raúl Castro. own exploration efforts. Chile went very well. Lajous suggested, howev- “There are issues to iron out, such as the later to call Fox “despicable and treacherous.” er, that Pemex has other priorities. Cuban debt with Mexico [which reportedly But she said other factors were also at play. “What we’re looking for is more U.S. tech- stands at $400 million], and the renewal of “As of today, because of humanitarian rea- nology and capital to develop Mexico’s oil Cuban trade with Mexico [bilateral trade in sons, trade between United States and Cuba industry,” she said. 2011 came to $373 million],” she continued. [after 2000] is larger than between Cuba and That means Pemex needs more advanced “Mexico had been a main supplier of indus- Mexico,” she said. U.S. deepwater drilling know-how in order for trial goods to Cuba, since we were the geo- Before the explosion of U.S. food exports the Mexican oil sector to move forward — graphically closest country to Cuba, and there into Cuba, Mexico was one of many countries thereby slowing down, if not halting, any real was a U.S. embargo.” supplying Cuba with consumer goods. The Pemex participation in future Cuban oil explo- Lajous said relations hit a low point in the most conspicuous of those goods was Coca- ration projects due to the U.S. trade embargo. early 2000s, when then-President Vicente Fox Cola, which was canned by Mexican bottler Russia’s Zarubezhneft, which had planned told Fidel Castro — who was attending an FEMSA and readily found at Havana “dollar to drill offshore in 2012, was forced to delay international conference in Monterrey — to stores” and resorts. its efforts because it had to find a rig with arrive, give his speech, eat and leave his coun- In the early 2000s, despite the bad blood minimal U.S.-made components — in order to try as soon as possible. This led Fidel years between Fox and Fidel Castro, Femsa report- avoid embargo-related legal hassles. q

opening the door,” he said. “We have a broad democratic agenda in the Terrorism — FROM PAGE 1 During the Organization of American Western Hemisphere,” he said. States General Assembly, held May 4-6 in The Latin American Working Group dis- Department’s list of terrorist-sponsoring Guatemala, the White House came under fire agrees. It reminded its supporters in a May 31 nations,” Muse said. “So there is obviously no for classifying Cuba as a state sponsor of ter- letter that Obama can take Cuba off the ter- requirement that countries that do not extra- rorism. rorist list at any time, despite the report. dite fugitives to the U.S. be listed as terrorist- In addition, anti-embargo groups and liber- “We don’t believe that Cuba’s inclusion in sponsoring countries. But can it nevertheless al lawmakers have been trying to convince the 2012 report means that the Obama admin- be a valid reason for inclusion on the list? The the administration that the island nation poses istration has discarded the possibility of answer, as a matter of U.S. law, is no.” no threat to Washington. delisting Cuba; we are not throwing up our Muse also said the Castro regime refuses to hands in despair,” said Mavis Anderson, sen- extradite U.S. citizens as a direct response to ARGUMENTS AGAINST TAKING CUBA OFF LIST ior associate at LAWG. U.S. rejections of its requests for Cuban citi- But there are still good reasons for the “Removing or adding a country to the list is zens to be returned to the island. United States not to delist Cuba just yet. not tied to the publication of the annual Although it said Cuba has “deficiencies” in Among those is Cuba’s continued imprison- report, and other major issues of importance combatting money laundering, the State ment of Alan Gross, a subcontractor for the to the president may well delay but not derail Department praised Cuba for joining the Fi- U.S. Agency for International Development this decision.” nancial Action Task Force of South America who was convicted of subversion and sen- It’s unclear how strongly Cuba feels about against Money Laundering (known by the tenced to 15 years in jail. its placement on the terrorist list. Spanish acronym GAFISUD) last year. “There’s no upside to it,” said Eric Farns- All countries on the list are subject to strict This contrasts with the 2011 report , which worth, a former State Department official and sanctions — but those are no more strict than sharply criticized Cuba for “[refusing] to sub- now vice-president of the Americas Society. the longstanding U.S. trade embargo against stantively engage directly with the FATF.” “In the current environment, I don’t see what Cuba, which can only be ended by an act of The State Department is required by law to good it would do.” Congress. give Congress an annual assessment of trends And there would be plenty of downside. Not Farnsworth said the designation gives and events in overseas terrorism. only would delisting Cuba provoke a large Cuba “a black eye” and could make other Muse said the latest report’s change in tone segment of the Cuban exile community, said nations queasy about dealing with the island’s is aimed at making it easier for the White Farnsworth; it would also send a conflicting communist government, adding that “I don’t House to take Cuba off the list if it wants to. “It signal to other countries the United States is think they want the United States always look- seems to me, the Obama admi-nistration is trying to push towards democracy. ing over their shoulder.” q 4 CubaNews v June 2013 POLITICS Council of Ministers addresses economic ills, corruption BY DOMINGO AMUCHASTEGUI technologies, the use of GPS and, in particu- Furthermore, as Perfeccionamiento Empre- t a special meeting of Cuba’s Council of lar, a program to sell fuels to the private sector sarial was implemented, it became crystal- Ministers in early May, key leaders but without raising transport fares. clear by the early 2000s that of the 3,700 indus- Aaddressed some of the biggest long- She urged her audience to look at the “true tries and services in Cuba’s state sector, fewer term threats to Cuba’s economic health. causes” of corruption that allow such serious than 1,000 would qualify as productive enti- Adel Yzquierdo Rodríguez, minister of scams to flourish in the first place. ties. Most of the rest were simply dragging on economy and planning, named three factors But the real news was a report submitted by in a state of bankruptcy that had existed for 30 that keep the economy from expanding: con- Salvador Pardo Cruz, Cuba’s new minister of or 40 years, surviving only thanks to huge and tinued losses and waste in state-run entities, industry. Since 1990, he said, some 2,000 fac- non-productive subsidies. the lack of necessary leadership by govern- tories and other entities have suffered serious These “white elephants” — the focus of ment investors, and the inadequacy of con- deterioration, breakdown or outright paralysis Pardo Cruz’s analysis — are for the most part tracts among entities and institutions. due to lack of maintenance and obsolete or impossible to save, and today represent an Yzquierdo said Cuba’s new investment law deficient equipment. insurmountable burden. — now under review — will define the role of As a result, he said, between 2001 and 2010 What will the government do, keep subsi- foreign investment in the state, private and the island had to import more than $680 mil- dizing them for another 50 years? Transfer mixed sectors. lion worth of commodities and items that had them to cooperatives that might use them to Rodrigo Malmierca, minister of foreign previously been produced in Cuba. produce something else in the form of cottage trade and investment, said that medical and industries? Declare a firesale of some sort? other services “continue to be the main GETTING RID OF WHITE ELEPHANTS The most expedient solution is to follow the source of hard curency for the country, and Despite Pardo Cruz’s insistence that reno- only example at hand, that of the sugar indus- has great potential keep increasing.” vating these plants and seeking to prolong try: close them. This isn’t entirely an IMF or Gladys Bejerano, general comptroller and their life span is of utmost importance, a solu- “shock-therapy” recipe but a step-by-step dis- vice-president of the Council of State, dis- tion is virtually impossible. mantling operation, as was done with the cussed corruption under the euphemistic title That’s because most of the equipment and obsolete sugar sector in 2002. of “detected irregularities,” focusing on how machinery he’s referring to was made in the The closing down of non-productive entities the violations of contracts by certain foreign former Soviet Union and his allies and pur- is spelled out in black and white in the Party’s companies have “affected the economy.” chased by Cuba through barter deals. Lineamientos (guidelines). But will they do it? She also talked about one of Cuba’s most Even then, the equipment was largely con- The report by Pardo Cruz, despite his urge persistent corruption scams: the theft of fuel sidered obsolete, based on outdated technolo- for recovery, is a blunt reminder that Cuba from refineries, storage facilities and gas sta- gy from the 1940s and 1950s. needs to face this old and costly challenge. q tions, and the sale of that fuel to the private Those countries knew they were selling Former Cuban intelligence officer Domingo sector at a 60% discount off the official price. junk to Cuba, whether it was weapons, trans- Amuchastegui has lived in Miami since 1994. He Bejerano described some of the measures port equipment or cement plants. Some of this writes regularly for CubaNews on the Communist the government has put in place to stop this machinery is so old that any talk of “recovery” Party, Cuba’s internal politics, economic reform never-ending scam, including automated is, in most cases, out of the question. and South Florida’s large Cuban exile community.

Internet — FROM PAGE 1 risk having ETECSA cut off their web ses- Official: EU-Cuba accord likely by year’s end sions, he added, if it deems they “violated any he European Union expects to reach a top trading partners and ranks first when it of the ethical norms of behavior which the “contractual framework” agreement comes to foreign investment in Cuba. Cuban state has established.“ Twith Cuba by year’s end, said a top EU He added that the island’s proposed new Even with upgraded Internet links to the official. To date, 14 of the EU’s 27 member investment law will significantly encourage outside world, thanks to the new fiberoptic states have signed cooperation agreements European investment, and that both parties cable linking Cuba to Venezuela, he said, local with the Cuban government. are working jointly on projects connected to connection speeds will remain agonizingly Christian Leffler is director for the CELAC (Comunidad de Estados de Latino- slow, lowering the value of that $5/hour fee. américa y el Caribe). Henken also laughs off Cuba’s insistence Americas at the European External Action Service (EEAS) — an agency that’s particu- In mid-May, Rogelio Sierra, vice-minister that market forces will not regulate access to of Cuba’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs knowledge through the web — in supposedly larly close to the European Commission and Lady Ashton. (Minrex), signed an accord with his Dutch putting government-controlled educational, counterpart, Karen Van Oesterom. This research and health uses of the Internet over Following a recent visit to Havana to bilateral treaty encompasses trade, invest- the general public’s demand for wider access. negotiate the future characteristics of the ments, agriculture, water management, “The high price placed on this new avenue EU-Cuba accord, he spoke of a “consensus health, biotechnology, culture and sports. of public access is nothing if not based on to move forward” and noted that Cuba is the The imminent signing of this overall “con- market rates — monopolistic ones at that.” only country in Latin America lacking such tractual framework” between the EU and Still, one of the guest speakers at NYU, fem- an agreement with Brussels. Cuba will render the 10-year-old Posición inist blogger Yasmín Portales, said even this “We came with our ideas and expressed Común sponsored by former Spanish small opening “will change the dynamic of them,” Leffler told reporters. “We discussed President José María Aznar obsolete. access to the web throughout the country, as our discrepancies to understand each It’ll also represent Havana’s full normal- much to establish blogs and social network other’s views and to look for areas of con- ization of ties with the EU and its member profiles as it is to inform and [form] opinions.” vergence in which we can cooperate bilater- states — further isolating Washington when She also said that Cuba’s evolving blogos- ally or at a multilateral level.” it comes to the Cuba issue. phere “will not stop being a fascinating sub- Leffler said the EU remains one of Cuba’s – DOMINGO AMUCHASTEGUI ject in the short term.” q June 2013 v CubaNews 5 POLITICAL BRIEFS U.S., CUBA TO RESUME MIGRATION TALKS IN JULY In their own words … The United States and Cuba will resume migra- tion talks Jul. 17, the State Department announced. “The reason we’re doing this is because it’s, of course, good for the Cuban Reuters said the announcement was a tentative people. This is something we feel is good for us, but it’s not meant to be a signal sign of a new thawing in relations after more than of anything or indicate a change in policy.” two years of heightened tensions over the jailing — State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki, commenting Jun. 20 on the resumption of an American government contract worker. of talks in Havana on direct mail service between the United States and Cuba, which It came as Cuban and U.S. officials were meet- was suspended in 1963. Separate talks on immigration issues are to resume Jul. 17. ing in Washington for two days of technical discus- sions exploring the possibility of restoring direct “The measures that have been put in use for managing the land for decades mail service for the first time since 1963. have not led to the necessary increase in production. We must put all producers The new round of migration talks will take place on the same level, unleash their productive forces and boost their efficiency.” Jul. 17, but they do not appear to represent a signi- — Cuban Vice President Marino Murillo, telling the Council of Ministers in a Jun. 4 ficant change in U.S. policy towards Cuba. meeting that Cuba must “rectify the distortions that have impacted economic results.” “Continuing to ensure secure migration between Cuba and the United States is consistent with our “These actions and any direct or indirect help hurt the unity of Latin America interest in promoting greater freedoms and in- and the Caribbean, diminish independence and hurt the efforts of Venezuela creased respect for human rights in Cuba,” a State and other states in favor of peace.” Department official told Reuters. Migration between the two countries has long — Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez, speaking Jun. 2 after Venezuelan politician been a thorny issue due to several mass exodus Henrique Capriles met Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos in Bogotá, sparking events over the years that brought hundreds of claims by Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro they were plotting to overthrow him. thousands of Cuban exiles to south Florida. Migration talks were revived by the Obama ad- “This is a great opportunity. A minimal one for now, but it exists.” ministration in 2009, but suspended again in 2011 — Ariel Valdes, a 38-year-old artist, speaking Jun. 4 to the Associated Press about the when subcontractor Alan Gross was sentenced to Cuban government’s establishment of new Internet centers throughout the island. 15 years for installing Internet networks for Cuban Jews in a program Cuba considers subversive. “For us, this is a service that opens doors to the Internet and to a lot of infor- mation that was a little difficult to reach before.” CUBA-L SERVICE NEEDS YOUR HELP — URGENTLY — Alberto Tamargo, a 33-year-old dentist who was quoted in the same story above. The University of New Mexico, where the Cuba- L Direct server is housed, is asking the news serv- “After I finished school, I did my two years of social service at a radio plant. ice to pay — once again — $1,500 for housing its Now I’d like to keep working as an engineer. It’s humiliating to work fixing cell- equipment at the UNM Computing Center. phones, but this is the way to earn money. I have to think of my family.” Listserv administrator Nelson Valdes is seeking — donations to help make this annual payment. Alexei, a young man sitting at a table on Calle Real in downtown Cárdenas. Alexei “As you know, we do not charge for our service. was quoted in a Jun. 1 article in Global Post under the byline of Boston University And we request a donation once a year. We are professor Stephen Kinzer, who took a group of journalism students to Cuba for a week. doing so now,” said Valdes in a Jun. 7 note to sub- scribers. “If we do not cover our minimal comput- “Even in a restricted environment, I think we could probably get more busi- er costs, we will have to end our service within the ness by letting people who are legally allowed to go know that instead of going next three weeks. Please be generous.” down to Miami, you’d probably have a better time if you come through Tampa.” Checks should be made payable to Cuba-L’s par- — Joe Lopano, CEO of Tampa International Airport, upon his return from a May 29- ent organization, ZunZum Project Inc. All contri- June 2 trade mission to Cuba organized by the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce. butions, gifts and bequests are tax-deductible. Details: Nelson P. Valdes, Cuba-L Direct, ZunZum “I have not lived here for so many years. But every time I come here, I am Project, 619 Girard NE, Albuquerque, NM 87106. amazed [by] the amount of concerts, lectures, and presentations. It is such a cul- Tel: (505) 255-1131. Email: [email protected]. tured and educated country!” — Solomon Mieklowsky, a Havana-born professor who teaches at New York’s LEAKY PIPES WASTE 22% OF HOME WATER SUPPLY Manhattan School of Music. Mieklowsky was recently quoted in “Dissident Voice.” The Castro regime’s past agricultural policies blocked needed growth in production, and 22% of “Cuba is one of the 16 countries of the world which have already reached the the water that reaches Cuban homes is wasted 1996 World Food Summit’s goal of halving the total number of their undernour- because of leaks, according to a 2,700-word report ished. This was made possible by the priority the government has set on ensur- published Jun. 3 in the daily newspaper Granma. ing the right to food and the policies it has implemented.” Inés María Chapman, head of the National Inst- — José Graziano da Silva, director-general of the Food & Agricultural Organization. itute for Hydraulic Resources, admitted that the plumbing in Cuba homes is so deteriorated that one-fifth of the water that reaches them is wasted. “There are really only 600 or 800 Jews in the whole country. The rest have The main sources of the waste, Chapman said, converted to Judaism so that they can get matzo and kosher meat.” are leaks in the homes’ pipes and rooftop water — Jaime Suchlicki, director of the University of Miami’s Cuba Transition Project. tanks — which most families have installed to cap- ture water when it is available and save it for the “The island has been scoured from end to end. There aren’t very many hid- many other times when the supply is cut off. den Jews left to find.” Chapman said the government has budgeted — Ruth Behar, a Cuban-American anthropologist who estimates that, given money to update the only island enterprise that the island’s unusually high rate of conversions and mixed marriages, there makes plumbing supplies, 30 years old and pro- are no more than 25 Cubans with what she considers fully Jewish roots. ducing only 40% of the country’s needs because of its “high level of deterioration and obsolescence.” 6 CubaNews v June 2013 GEOGRAPHY Artemisa and Mayabeque — Cuba’s 2 newest provinces and abundant labor force. This poor performance is rather due to the This is the 10th installment in a series of monthly articles on Cuba’s same reasons that have crippled agriculture nationwide for decades, and provinces by Cuban-born cartographer Armando H. Portela, who has has little to do with the local geography. a Ph.D. in geography from the Soviet Academy of Sciences. Portela, a The two provinces have nearly 80,000 acres of vacant cropland, a sur- resident of Miami, has written for CubaNews since its birth in 1993. prisingly high figure for a country where food demand is chronically high and soils are good. But it isn’t clear whether BY ARMANDO H. PORTELA the reported 434,400 acres of grassland is rtemisa and Mayabeque, Cuba’s really used for cattle or simply to hide aban- two newest and smallest provinces, doned croplands under a misleading classifi- Awere created in 2010 by the breakup cation — a common practice in Cuba. of the old La Habana province, and by seizing a big lump of neighboring Pinar INFRASTRUCTURE del Río province. While the two provinces together con- To some extent, Artemisa and Maya- sume only 2% of all electric power generated beque are the backyard of the capital, pro- in Cuba, they have 20% of all generating ducing most of the food consumed in capacity, largely in the thermal power plants Havana. They are also home to key indus- at Mariel (Artemisa) and Santa Cruz del tries serving the island’s needs and em- Norte and Energas-Jaruco (Mayabeque). ploying Havana’s abundant skilled man- Large cement plants at Mariel and Arte- power, as well as some of the island’s misa produce more than 860,000 metric tons most dense transport and communica- of gray cement annually, equivalent to 50% of tions infrastructure. Cuba’s output (see CubaNews, March 2012). Artemisa and Mayabeque also hold This key industry is vital for the island’s much of Havana’s freshwater reserves investment projects. and carefully hide the island’s main Oil and natural gas fields along the north- defense systems. ern shore of Mayabeque — from Canasí in Not surprisingly, the provinces’ agricul- the east, near the border with Matanzas pro- tural output far exceeds their own needs. vince, to Guanabo in the west, at the edge of With only 7% of Cuba’s total inhabi- the city of Havana — produce roughly half of tants, Artemisa and Mayabeque produce Cuba’s total output of hydrocarbons. nearly 20% of all roots, tubers and plan- Compared to the rest of Cuba, population tains, which are the main staples of the growth is relatively stagnant — 4.3 per 1,000 Cuban diet. Top, antiquated gas station in Mariel, a port in the province inhabitants for Artemisa and 0.8 per 1,000 They also grow 8% of the island’s gar- of Artemisa; bottom, historic building in city of Artemisa. for Mayabeque from 2007 to 2011. However, den vegetables, but they lag way behind the 2012 census resulted in a downward cor- their potential to grow food for a market of nearly three million con- rection. It showed Artemisa’s population to be 487,339 (3.8% less than sumers (that’s more than 25% of the entire population of Cuba, not what was estimated in 2011), and Mayabeque at 371,198 (down 2.6% ). including the 1.3 million tourists who visit the capital every year). Since nearly all births in Cuba take place in state-run hospitals and Together, the two provinces produce only 4% of Cuba’s rice, 6% of funeral services are centralized, there’s little room for mistakes in the nat- its corn, 7% of its beans and 6% of its fresh milk. Production of other ural growth of the population. That means unregistered migration — staples — from meat to eggs and dairy products — is extremely low most likely emigration abroad — accounts for the drop. considering the potential offered by the best soils on the island, as Both Artemisa and Mayabeque suffer from serious, long-term environ- well as the provinces’ flat terrain, plentiful groundwater resources See Provinces, page 7 June 2013 v CubaNews 7

Provinces — FROM PAGE 6 mental problems. This ills include the deple- tion of freshwater resources, salinization of agricultural soils, deforestation — especially in the critical coastal mangrove forests — wastewater mismanagement, soil erosion, unsustainable mining practices and the inten- sive use of military infrastructure in a rela- tively small area. q

TO OUR READERS: From time to time, CubaNews receives requests for back issues of our newsletter. In our office, we keep print copies going back to September 1993. If you would like an old issue, please email a request to [email protected] or send a note to Larry Luxner, Editor, CubaNews, PO Box 1345, Silver Spring, MD 20915-1345 — USA. 8 CubaNews v June 2013

FOREIGN INVESTMENT Are Cuba corruption trials scaring off potential investors? BY VITO ECHEVARRÍA “I think the trials will cast somewhat of a which took seven years to put together — isk capital, which can translate to finan- shadow over FDI in Cuba as it has taken so may indicate at least one guarantee of trouble- long for these cases to be brought to trial,” free investing in Cuba: conducting such ven- cial losses in most countries, means far said one foreigner, speaking on background. Rmore in Cuba: possible jail time. tures on the Castro regime’s slow timetable. The plight of these unlucky Canadians has Some people suggest businessmen like Media reports on the criminal trials of for- led at least one prospective investor to put eign businessmen ensnared in Raúl Castro’s Cuba on hold. Yacoubian were compelled to bribe local offi- anti-corruption campaign have sparked a “Right now, we feel much safer investing in cials in order to guarantee major transactions debate among Cuba experts on the future of Haiti than Cuba, said Douglas Clayton, CEO in the foreseeable future. Yet officials of firms joint ventures on the island. of Cayman Islands investment firm Leopard like Esencia Group have been adept at avoid- In late June, Sarkis Yacoubian, the owner of Capital, which has ventures in Haiti, Cambo- ing such traps. Canadian importing firm Tri-Star Caribbean, was found guilty of bribery and other related charges, and sentenced to nine years in jail. His cousin, Krikor Bayassalian, got a four-year “Right now, we feel much safer investing in Haiti than Cuba. prison sentence. Two other men, Amado Fah- The risks to foreign investors in Cuba go beyond financial, kre and Stephen Purvis, top executives of the British firm Coral Capital Ltd., were released and are hard to assess ... The world is full of exciting frontier for time already served (see story below). A trial date for Canadian entrepreneur Cy opportunities, and capital flows to wherever it’s most welcomed.” Tokmakjian, owner of the Tokmakjian Group, — DOUGLAS CLAYTON, CEO OF CAYMAN ISLANDS-BASED INVESTMENT FIRM LEOPARD CAPITAL has yet to be set. Ever since all the men were arrested back in 2011, rumors had spread about what kinds dia, Laos, Burma, Thailand and Bangladesh. “I don’t think Esencia ‘conducted this ven- of corrupt practices they were charged with. “The risks to foreign investors in Cuba go ture’ under the Cuba timetable because they By the time the trial began for Yacoubian, beyond financial and are hard to assess,” he wanted to, but rather because they had to, just those details were reportedly revealed: told CubaNews. “The world is full of exciting like all the other groups looking at the same bribery, tax evasion and “activities damaging frontier opportunities, and capital flows to type of opportunities,” said a prospective for- to the economy” — with the first charge wherever it’s most welcomed.” eign investor who asked not to be named. involving thousands of dollars in payouts to Regardless of the outcome of Tokmakjian’s “If anything, it has taken Esencia longer woefully underpaid Cuban officials. trial, it’s likely that whatever assets Tri-Star, than some of the other players as they started One of them, for example, allegedly Tokmakjian Group and Coral Capital had in earlier. I don’t think there is anything Esencia involved a $50,000 bribe to grease a 2008 deal Cuba will stay in the hands of local officials. could have done to really influence the on earthmoving equipment. Meanwhile, Cuba’s recent announcement timetable,” said the investor. Some wonder if Cuba’s anti-corruption tri- that it will proceed with a multimillion-dollar Arch Ritter of Ottawa’s Carleton University als will hurt or actually help the country’s golf and luxury real estate venture involving is a veteran observer of Canadian investments future efforts to attract foreign investment. the U.K. investment outfit Esencia Group — See Corruption, page 9 Canadian gets 9-year jail term despite spilling the beans or almost two years as he sat in a Havana Yacoubian transferred to Canada to serve out mally accused in April of bribery, tax evasion prison awaiting trial on corruption his sentence back home. and “activities damaging to the economy.” Fcharges, businessman Sarkis Yacoubian “To my knowledge it is the first time that Yacoubian disputed many of the specifics of held out hope that by collaborating with the any Canadian businessman has been sen- the case but he said he decided to cooperate Cuban authorities and fingering a wide web of tenced for corruption,” said John Kirk, a pro- with the Cubans, exposing what he called the foreign and domestic corporate intrigue, he fessor at Dalhousie University’s Department “black forces” of corruption and naming more would get some leniency. of Spanish and Latin American Studies who than a dozen foreign firms and executives. “They are going to bring down my sen- has written several books on Cuba. “I told them how these schemes were tence, provided that I go along with them,” he “Clearly this is intended to send a message done,” he told the Star. “It was just eating me had told the Toronto Star in a series of exclu- to Cubans and foreign investors alike,” he alive. Maybe in my conscience I wanted my sive jailhouse phone interviews. said. “Several deputy ministers in Cuba and company to be brought down so that I could But that didn’t happen. dozens of bureaucrats have also received tell once and for all things that are going on.” Three weeks after he was put on trial in late heavy sentences.” In September 2011, Cuban authorities ar- May, Yacoubian finally got word he has been Yacoubian’s cousin and business associate, rested Cy Tokmakjian, 73, whose $80 million sentenced to nine years in jail. a Lebanese citizen named Krikor Bayassalian, Tokmakjian Group company is one of the “We were shocked,” said his brother, Krikor was sentenced to four years as a co-defendant. largest foreign operations in Cuba. His family Yacoubian. We were anticipating less with the The details of the key Canadian connection told the Star he has still not been charged. collaboration, but they did not budge much.” to Cuba’s widening corruption scandals were Krikor Yacoubian says the family won’t ap- Krikor says his jailed brother was stunned revealed last month in a joint investigation by peal his brother’s sentence but to immediate- when he got the news from his Cuban lawyer. the Toronto Star and Miami’s Spanish-lan- ly start the lengthy legal and diplomatic man- “He was silent for awhile, for a good guage newspaper El Nuevo Herald. euvers to get Sarkis transferred to Canada un- minute,” he said. “Not tearful or angry. He Arrested in July 2011 and detained without der a treaty Canada signed with Cuba in 1999. said, ‘OK let’s go to the next step.’” charges, Yacoubian — a McGill University “I don’t want my brother to rot in Cuba,” That next step, the family says, will be a graduate who operated a $30 million trading said Krikor Yacoubian. protracted battle to try to get the 53-year-old company called Tri-Star Caribbean — was for- – THE TORONTO STAR June 2013 v CubaNews 9

TOURISM CARIBBEAN BRIEFS

PUERTO RICO TO HOST ONE-DAY CUBA SEMINAR Marrero reveals tourism growth plans The Puerto Rico Manufacturers Association BY DOMINGO AMUCHASTEGUI Cuba’s tourism industry is aiming ever is planning an educational forum Aug. 1 on the timely topic “Cuba: Reality Today and wenty years ago, when Cuba’s tourism higher, well above figures published as re- cently as a month ago Opportunities in the Future.” industry was still in its infancy, a well- (see CubaNews, May The event, to take place at Fajardo’s El Con- T 2013, page 1). Officials say they’re working to known Dominican economist attending quistador Hotel & Casino, will feature Larry offer a variety of services and leisure activi- a Havana conference declared: “Thank God Luxner, editor of CubaNews, on a panel with for the U.S. embargo. If it’s lifted, the Carib- ties, as well as sophisticated luxury options Ted Piccone of the Brookings Institution and bean will have to meet its biggest rival.” and some significant mega-projects. the University of Miami’s José Azel discussing These days, Cuba has indeed become a Marrero’s ministry now expects Cuba to “Reform and Change in the Cuban Economy.” serious competitor — not just for the neigh- have 85,500 hotel rooms by 2020, up from the Also on the agenda: Gerardo González of boring Dominican Republic but many other previous estimate of 78,000. Inter-American University; Roberto Orro of major Caribbean tourist destinations from In addition to what’s already been reported, Caribbean Analysis Unit; economist José Villa- Barbados to the Bahamas. Cuban and European companies will develop mil of Estudios Técnicos; Henry Chiles of Crown Orchard in Charlottesville, and Todd Haymore, Virginia Secretary of Agriculture. The Cuba event’s afternoon session features Miami attorney Tim Ashby; Jay Brickman of Crowley Maritime; José Raúl Perales, execu- LARRY :LUXNER LARRY tive director of the American Association of Chambers of Commerce of Latin America; Philip Peters of Antilles Resources and David Lewis, vice-president of Manchester Trade. Details: Puerto Rico Manufacturers Associa- tion, PO Box 195477, San Juan, PR 00919-5477. Tel: (787) 641-4455. URL: www.prma.com.

Historic buildings bask in the late afternoon glow of Havana’s seafront Malecón, a favorite of tourists. JAMAICA, CUBA SIGN CULTURAL AGREEMENT Jamaica and Cuba have signed a cultural Argentina’s Palermo Business Review says a 10,000-room project in the vicinity of Antilla cooperation and exchange accord that builds “Cuba has reaped the benefits of tourism to (Las Tunas) at Península de Ramón, along on an earlier pact dating from the 1970s. improve its economic status in recent years. Carmona, Caimán and Baracutey beaches. The agreement was signed Jun. 7 in Havana Its growth has been phenomenal.” In a recent Frank P. Oltuski, marketing vice-president by Lisa Hanna, Jamaica’s minister of youth edition, the Guía de El Viajero [Traveler’s at Gaviota, recently announced that a huge, and culture, and by her counterpart, Rafael Guide] published by Spain’s influential news- modern marina will be built at Punta de Bernal, Cuba’s minister of culture. paper El País, called Havana “the safest city in Hicacos, with berthing space for 1,300 yachts. Speaking at the signing ceremony, Hanna Latin America and the Caribbean.” “This will be Gaviota’s biggest investment noted that Jamaica and Cuba are two of the And earlier this year, the Barbados-based and one of the most important in the Carib- world’s strongest cultural brands — with Cuba Caribbean Tourism Organization ranked bean,” Oltuski said, noting that the marina’s known for its resilience and artistic strength, Cuba second in overall value, exceeded only location puts it close to Varadero’s major and Jamaica for music and sports. the Dominican Republic. hotels, protects it from northeasterly winds. “We are promoting and advancing a cultural Last year, Cuba’s tourism income reached Next to that marina, Spain’s Grupo Meliá revolution in Jamaica, and Cuba can help us to $2.6 billion, up 4.4% from 2011 figures. That’s will build the 423-room Hotel Marina Vara- make that happen,” she said, adding that according to Tourism Minister Manuel Mar- dero, according to Francisco Camps Orfila, opportunities exist for both countries to share rero Cruz, speaking at last month’s FIT 2013 deputy director of Melia Group Cuba. best practices and exchange talent that can tourism fair in Varadero. Significantly, 570,000 A number of historic, boutique hotels in improve their cultural products. local Cubans stayed at island hotels last year. Old Havana — these include the Packard, “It is a pleasure for Cuba to sign this cooper- While Marrero didn’t disclose figures on New York, Red, Malecón and Prado — will be ation agreement with Jamaica which strength- import expenditures, he did say that daily upgraded and remodeled, while the Manzana ens the collaboration between our two coun- income per tourist now exceeds 104 CUC. tries as part of one family for the benefit of He also revealed that Cuba’s tourism trans- de Gómez will be completely remodeled. Jamaicans and Cubans,” said Bernal. port fleet now consists of 350 first-class buses In addition, large and famous hotels like and 4,360 rental cars, and that 65% of the the Habana Libre, Comodoro and Riviera are in line for major capital repairs. Finally, the island’s 60,552 hotel rooms are located in Corruption — FROM PAGE 8 four- and five-star properties. Martí Theater and the legendary Sloppy Joe’s Meanwhile, eight hotels will be completed are being completely restored. in Cuba. He says these trials will better define this year: Coralina and Flamingo II (Cayo In all, Cuba’s strategy to develop its tourism what the Cuban authorities view as prosecu- Coco); Palacio de Iznaga and Panchito (Trini- industry between now and 2020 will require table “corrupt practices” but says more can dad); Alabastro (Holguín); Piedra Movida billions of dollars worth of investment by for- be done to avoid future problems. (Cayo Santa María, Villa Clara), and two lux- eign partners. And a key component of this “I think that a clearer definition of what is ury hotels along Ancón Beach (Trinidad). 2020 strategy is the coming investment law, legal and illegal would be of benefit to foreign In addition, the following existing resorts soon to be enacted by the Castro government. investors and governments,” Ritter said. “For will be expanded and upgraded: María La It isn’t an accident that Cuban newspapers a couple of decades, it was illegal but tolerat- Gorda (Cabo San Antonio, Pinar del Río); like Granma have recently praised the role of ed for foreign companies, embassies and Prado Costa Verde and Playa Pesquero (Hol- foreign investors throughout Latin America international institutions to make under-the guín) and the Internacional and Paradisus — something that would have been consid- table salary supplements for their employees. Princesa del Mar (Varadero). ered blasphemy only 10 years ago. q Clearing this up would be beneficial.” q 10 CubaNews v June 2013 AGRICULTURE Vivero Alamar offers insights into urban organic farming BY IVET GONZÁLEZ / INTER PRESS SERVICE from José Graziano da Silvam the director- are actually priced lower than those produced he people are the only thing that mat- general of the UN Food and Agriculture with agrochemicals and sold in private farm- ters,” says agronomist Miguel Ángel Organization, who visited the co-op in May. ers markets, where the prices are set in accor- TSalcines, who then lists a series of other In 2012, it produced 400 tons of vegetables, dance with supply and demand. “secondary” factors that have turned Vivero 5.5 tons of medicinal and spiritual plants used “The affordable prices are the biggest Alamar — an urban cooperative farm on Hav- in religious rituals, 2.6 tons of dried herbs and attraction. A head of lettuce costs four pesos spices, and 350 tons of worm manure. (5¢) here, and everywhere else they charge ana’s outskirts — into a rare success story in 10 pesos,” said customer Sonia Ricardo. “The Cuba’s depressed agricultural sector. It also produced 30,000 ornamental plant and fruit tree seedlings and three million veg- vegetables here are fresh, they have no pesti- “We offer flexible hours, relatively high wa- cides, and the service is really fast.” ges and professional upgrading among other etable seedlings, some for their own planting needs, others for sale to other farmers. Despite these low prices, the cooperative is benefits that make the co-op an attractive opt- able to earn good profits. Production chief ion. This is how we attract high quality human Fresh vegetables, especially lettuce, are the products most sought after by locals in Ala- Gonzálo González said 85% of its products are resources, which are crucial today in order to sold directly to the population, and the rest go produce more organic food,” said Salcines, mar, who have begun to learn in recent years — like people in the rest of Cuba — about the to restaurants like La Bodeguita del Medio. president of Vivero Alamar, where production Since it first started out with just five peo- has been chemical-free since 2000. benefits of including more greens in the tradi- tional Cuban diet of rice, beans, ple, Vivero Alamar has progressively moved The co-op’s recipe for success also includes “viandas” towards a closed-loop farming system that transparent accounting, equitable profit shar- (starchy tubers and plantain) and pork. “The first time we planted cauliflower, in reduces waste and environmental damage. ing, interest-free loans for the workers, free “We try to buy as few inputs from outside lunches and support for women workers with 2000, it all got left in the fields because as possible,” said González. “That’s what led young children or others in their care: they nobody knew what it was,” said plant health to the idea of producing our own manure and are allowed to arrive up to an hour later than engineer Norma Romero. In her view, one of various bio-pesticides and fertilizers.” the official beginning of the work day, at 7 the most important contributions made by the The co-op has also established links with 17 a.m., Salcines said. more than 33,000 urban and suburban farms scientific centers for the incorporation of new Human capital played a decisive role in rais- in Cuba has been the expansion of access to organic farming techniques and products. ing production at this urban agriculture ven- and consumption of vegetables. Today, the 149 men and 46 women who ture, founded in 1997 on an initial 800 sq work here are striving to raise production by meters of land in Alamar, 15 km east of down- VIVERO ALAMAR NOW A TOURIST ATTRACTION 40% to reach the farm’s full potential output. town Havana. Thanks to a new initiative at Vivero Alamar, They’ve also expanded into raising rabbits This is why Salcines believes that the key to recipes for the preparation of different veg- and sheep, in order to include meat in its sales achieving food security in Cuba lies in agri- etables and mushrooms accompany the lists to the public and improve protein consump- cultural workers with a “vocation” for farm- of products available at the coop’s sales outlet, tion among the 30,000 nearby residents. ing, as well as training. as part of its business and educational strate- The staff — 175 co-op members and 20 em- gy. The shelves also stock pickled vegetables, ployees — boasts a high overall level of edu- COOPERATIVE PRODUCES 230 CROP VARIETIES fruit preserves and garlic paste, produced cation, with 92 university graduates and 42 In 2012, world food prices skyrocketed as a through its own small industry sideline. technical college graduates. result of poor crop yields in the United States Although organic produce can be prohibi- “A farm can do much more than produce and other centers of agricultural production. tively costly in other countries, the organic food,” said Salcines, as he watched tourists The Caribbean countries, which are net food fruits and vegetables sold by Vivero Alamar enjoy an organic lunch at Vivero Alamar. q importers, suffered the greatest impact in the region, says the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC). Less than 5% of Cuba’s population suffers Private co-op to open produce market from malnutrition, but the country was forced wholesale fruit and vegetable market President Raúl Castro began agricultural to spend over $1.6 billion on food imports last reforms in 2009 as part of a broad effort to year, an unsustainable expenditure for an eco- run by a private cooperative will open AJul. 1 in Havana, the first such market modernize Cuba’s Soviet-style economy. nomy in crisis for more than 20 years. With the country importing 60% of its Reducing this massive expenditure by rais- since Cuba monopolized wholesale opera- tions in the ‘60s, Reuters reported Jun. 21. food and private farms outperforming state ing domestic food production remains a chal- farms on a fraction of the land, authorities lenge for the Castro regime. In fact, in the The opening of this wholesale market is part of a new system of produce sales in are gradually deregulating the sector and first quarter of 2013, Cuba’s National Office of leasing fallow land to would-be farmers. Statistics reported a 7.8% drop in agricultural Havana and Artemisa and Mayabeque pro- vinces,” said a TV newscast, adding that At the same time, the state is licensing production other than sugarcane. private truckers and vendors as part of an “There’s a big demand that needs to be met, three others would follow in the capital. opening to small businesses. Some 400,000 which is why we’re able to sell everything we The government will own the premises, people now work in the “non-state” sector. grow,” said co-founder Salcines. but the market will be leased to a coopera- The state says it’ll hold onto medium- The co-op now covers 10 hectares and pro- tive that will operate it “on the basis of sup- sized establishments or lease them to pri- duces more than 230 crop varieties (primarily ply and demand,” the report said. vately run co-ops free of state control and garden vegetables, as well as fruits, grains The private co-op will be the first to oper- setting of prices, which it views as prefer- and tubers) in greenhouses and open fields. ate in Cuba outside of farming and is one of able to businesses owned by individuals. In the midst of a generally inefficient agri- some 200 privately run wholesale markets Farmers and consumers have long com- cultural sector, Vivero Alamar has achieved of all types set to open in coming months, plained that Cuba’s state monopoly on food consistent growth for more than 15 years, ranging from food services and construc- sales discourages production, is wasteful thanks to the constant upgrading of its organ- tion to transportation and shrimp breeding. and leads to poor-quality produce. ic farming methods. That’s earned it praise June 2013 v CubaNews 11 TELECOMMUNICATIONS HughesNet cuts off satellite link for Cuban Internet users BY VITO ECHEVARRÍA down on illicit satellite use to prevent Cubans lish fiberoptic cable and satellite telecommu- esidents of Havana and other Cuban from watching TV Martí — the U.S. govern- nications facilities linking the U.S. and Cuba,” cities who were quietly using a U.S.- ment-sponsored anti-Castro station — and as well as to “license persons subject to U.S. Rbased broadband satellite link for clan- other unauthorized activities like broadband jurisdiction to activate and pay U.S. and third- destine Internet access suddenly found them- Internet access. country service providers for telecommunica- selves cut off in late May, according to an Hughes Network told CubaNews “no com- tions, satellite radio and satellite television entrepreneur who declined to be identified. ment” when asked for clarification, though services provided to individuals in Cuba.” That source mentioned that an undisclosed one legal expert suggested that it may have Yet, according to legal experts who have number of Cubans previously had their cut off service for accounts it suspected were followed this issue, Washington hasn’t friends and relatives in the United States and being used in Cuba was to avoid penalties by amended any policies to make this into a real- elsewhere set up accounts for them with the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of ity. That’s ultimately why Cubans have sud- HughesNet, a unit of Hughes Network Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) dently found themselves without Systems LLC based in Germantown, Md. If Hughes shut the service down, it must HughesNet’s service. Once those accounts were set up, it was have thought that providing it was illegal “If Hughes was providing services to resi- simply a question of getting the needed equip- under the embargo,” said Hal Eren, a former dents inside of Cuba or any Cuban national, ment to these residents. OFAC official who now advises U.S. firms that requires compliance with OFAC licens- “Lots of people [in Cuba] have been using hoping to conduct business in Cuba, Iran and ing and clearance from the Bureau of Infor- this provider to access the Internet,” the busi- other countries subject to OFAC sanctions. mation and Security at the Department of Commerce,” said New York-based attorney nessman told CubaNews. “So what people did was to buy the equipment in the U.S. and CONFUSION OVER WHAT’S LEGAL, WHAT’S NOT Antonio Martínez II, whose practice includes bring it to Cuba. Hundreds of units have been “Even if it was illegal, it sounds like it would U.S.-Cuba issues. installed in Cuba. This was their way of get- have been licensed by OFAC, given the over- There is a general OFAC license for tele- communications-related transactions under ting Internet access outside of [Cuban] gov- arching U.S. policy vis-a-vis Cuba in this ernment control.” area,” said Eren. 31 CFR 515, the Cuban Assets Control section Independent news reports report that up to “Cutting the service off could mitigate any of the Code of Federal Regulations that regu- 30,000 satellite dishes have been smuggled applicable penalties. If the service was illegal, lates all sanctions related to Cuba. “Without knowing the details, Hughes may into Cuba and are being used throughout the Hughes could face a civil penalty from OFAC have decided it was simply not worth the island — in part to get unbridled access to if it knew or had reason to know that the serv- ices were going to Cuba. In this case, it appar- compliance hassles or there may have been U.S. and other TV channels they’d otherwise unknowingly a missed compliance step.” not be able to access. ently did not know and it is quite probable that it would not have had reason to know.” Martínez told CubaNews that the State One report illustrated an ingenious scheme Department’s designation of Cuba as a state Eren’s remarks highlight the confusion to disguise satellite dishes as colorful boogie sponsor of terrorism prevents U.S. telecom boards normally used by young surfers, com- over the legality of this activity at the U.S. end. firms from being able to legally offer their plete with convincing artwork and catchy slo- Back in 2009, President Obama explicitly services to Cuban nationals. gans like “Local Motion” and “Life Is Better directed the secretaries of state, treasury and “As long as Cuba is on the terror list, the When You Surf.com.” commerce to do whatever was needed to Terrorism Risk Insurance Act is triggered, In the past, local authorities have cracked authorize American telecom firms “to estab- depriving Cuba of sovereign immunity in U.S. courts and subjecting it to lawsuits and enforcement of judgments,” he said. “This spurs the cottage industry of suing Reader responds to story on charter flights Cuba in U.S. courts and obtaining large e: “Cuba’s hope for U.S. travel boom hit- problematic. Travel between our two coun- default judgments.” ting roadblock with charter flights declin- tries is not ‘open’ to a ‘free market’ since it is For example, in 2002, authorities seized R there was a lot of useful informa- still highly restricted. more than $100 million in long-distance fees ing,” tion in your article, but I think your title was Even the general license for Cuban-Ameri- owed to Cuban telecom firms. This caused a misleading and incorrect. cans does not permit travel if there are no spike in long-distance costs, bringing the I have attached current scheduled flights close relatives to visit. average cost of U.S.-to-Cuba phone calls to $1 to Cuba from the U.S. which do not include People-to-people programs are required per minute, and more than $2.50 per minute all the extra flights put on by all the charter by their U.S. license to be highly structured from Cuba to the U.S.,” said Martínez. companies during June and July. and are generally quite expensive to operate. “So, if we are going to be sincere in the There are certainly 60 or more flights Even so, more than 400 of these licenses effort to establish more telecommunications weekly — including new flights to Santa and Internet with Cuba, we have to look at the have been issued, which reflects increased environment we are operating in, [which is] Clara and Manzanillo. demand. There is also an increasing number While ABC and Xael reduced flights from hostile to basic business if all parties have to Tampa, Island Tours increased their sched- of university programs which have now been operate in fear. The provider payor has to ule and Xael introduced its new flight from set up since the general license for academic worry if it is in compliance with a myriad of Fort Lauderdale to Santa Clara in addition to travel was issued in 2011. regulations and reports, and the recipient its new flights to Havana. Next season, I believe it will be more chal- payee has to worry if it will even receive the CTS has always suspended its Los Ange- lenging to find enough hotel space in Cuba payment for the services or goods rendered, les flight during ‘off-season’ when there are for all the groups which have requested pro- or see it seized in a judgment execution.” q far fewer people-to-people programs (from grams than it will be to find the charter June through October). flights to bring them. Vito Echevarria, a New York-based freelance The authorization of many additional ‘gate- — Bob Guild, Vice-President journalist, has written for CubaNews since our way cities’ in the United States was always Marazul Charters Inc., North Bergen, NJ establishment in 1993 about business, music, cul- ture and sports, and more recently e-commerce. 12 CubaNews v June 2013 AGRICULTURE What can Cuba learn from Guatemala’s sugar industry? BY LARRY LUXNER they should be grateful for their jobs. come close to Guatemalan standards, at least t’s a 30-minute helicopter ride from the Or a social worker in the nearby town of as long as the Castro regime is in power. shiny glass skyscrapers of Guatemala City Santa Lucia Cotzumalguapa using handmade “Our industry’s competitiveness is based Ito the sprawling La Unión sugar mill in puppets to teach expectant single mothers on three elements: productivity, R&D and Guatemala’s department of Escuintla, not far how to care for their new babies. technology. We offer the best working condi- from the country’s Pacific coast. But I did see all those things, and more, in tions possible because this translates into bet- A few months ago, I got the chance to take the company of Fundazucar’s assistant direc- ter productivity,” said Estrada, whose organi- such a trip, as a guest of two powerful organi- tor, Griseldo Say López, and ASAZGUA zation was founded in 1957 to represent zations — the Guatemalan Sugar Producers spokesman Otto René Estrada. Guatemala’s wealthy sugar interests. ALL PHOTOS ALL BY LUXNER LARRY

Santiago Pérez Suy earns Q21.60 per hour cutting cane at Ingenio La Unión, which has 8,700 workers and ranks as Guatemala’s third-largest sugar exporter. Association [Asociación de Azucareros de What became clear after a morning tour of “All this is based on social responsibility. In Guatemala, or ASAZGUA] and its social wel- Guatemala’s third-largest sugar operation — an industry as competitive as sugar, we have fare arm, Fundazucar. followed by a presentation at the Centro Gua- to respect our workers. This is fundamental.” Upon arrival at La Unión, I expected to find temalteco de Investigación y Capacitación de Fernando Letona should know. As human dozens of cane-cutters working the fields, fill- la Caña (Cengicaña) and a later meeting with resources manager at La Unión, he’s in ing containers with caña and maybe later eat- ASAZGUA President Armando Boesche back charge of the well-being of 8,700 workers. ing lunch in a communal cafeteria. in Guatemala City — is that when it comes to “They’re very graphic,” Letona said as we What I didn’t expect were colorful cartoons efficiency and productivity in the sugar indus- gazed at the huge banners tacked on the walls on the walls of their army-like barracks, in- try, Cuba sure has a lot to learn. of Tehuantepec barracks, home to some 400 structing these campesinos how to go to the There’s also an element of exploitation in cane-cutters (known in Spanish as cortadores). bathroom and use toilet paper. the industry that’s made such high productiv- La Unión has four more barracks just like Or posters trying to convince them why ity possible — which is why Cuba will never See Guatemala, page 13

Poor single mothers in Santa Lucia learn infant- raising skills through Mejores Familias, a national program funded by the sugar industry’s Fundazucar. June 2013 v CubaNews 13 include fringe benefits, which come to 42% of Under Guatemalan law, all workers have Guatemala — FROM PAGE 12 wages. After taxes and social security, work- the right to form unions — as long as a mini- ers keep an average of Q3,500 ($450). mum of 28 workers petition for one — but so Tehuantepec, each with their own dormito- far, only one of ASAZGUA’s member compa- ries, clinics, dining rooms and exercise areas. “They get paid every Saturday, in cash. And every Christmas and Holy Week, they can go nies, Palo Gordo, is unionized. “All these workers have come from the alti- This is one factor, but only one, that ex- ,” he said. “Work hours are 6:30 a.m. back to their villages in the altiplano,” Letona plano said. “We have a turnover of only 0.85% per plains how Guatemala has become — by far until 3 p.m., with a 15-minute rest in the morn- — the top sugar exporter in Central America, ing and half an hour for lunch. Breakfast and month, and each harvest, nine out of 10 of our want to come back.” and the third-most productive sugar producer dinner are served in the comedor, while lunch cortadores in the world after Colombia and Swaziland. is served in the field, from food trucks.” PRODUCTIVITY COMES AT A STEEP PRICE In the 2011-12 harvest, Guatemala export- Letona said that feeding workers well has ed 1.65 million metric tons of sugar — more resulted in dramatically higher yields. Not that they have much of a choice. than Cuba’s entire sugar crop, and more than “Before we invested in all this, each corta- Guatemala, with the highest proportion of the sugar exports of El Salvador, Nicaragua, dor was cutting 2.5 tons per day. Now they cut indigenous people anywhere in Latin America, Honduras, Costa Rica and Panama combined. six to seven tons, and some up to 12 tons,” he also ranks as one of the region’s poorest. Guatemala now ranks as the world’s fourth- explained. “It’s evident that this investment Its 15.2 million inhabitants have been rav- largest sugar exporter (after Brazil, Thailand has had positive effects on productivity.” aged by civil war, and its wealth is concentrat- and Australia), according to the International Workers normally earn 3,800 quetzales per ed in the hands of relatively few families — as Sugar Organization, while Cuba ranks sev- month ($485), which translates into Q21.60 or is the sugar sector, which (unlike the case in enth, just ahead of Colombia. around $2.75 an hour, he said. That doesn’t pre-1959 Cuba) was funded by local capital. See Guatemala, page 14

Cuba ends sugar harvest at 1.51 million tons uban raw sugar production weighed in the first foreign company since the revolu- at just 1.51 million tons for this season, tion to produce sugar when it began admin- CReuters reported Jun. 17 from Havana. istering one of the eight mills this year. That’s 8% above the previous season but a Agreements with the other seven mills far cry from the 1.68 million tons forecast. are under discussion, says the Cuban Cham- “Mills opened and closed, opened and ber of Commerce. At least three other com- closed, opened and closed even though man- panies are negotiating management deals. agers said they were ready for the harvest,” “We hope this will push the Cubans to a- Cuban Vice President José Ramón Machado llow more foreign participation in the indus- try,” a representative of one company told Ventura was quoted on TV as saying. Reuters, asking that his name not be used. Sandy also put a dent in the harvest be- Theoretically, the state-run sugar indus- fore it began. The storm damaged mills and try has been open to direct investment since flattened cane in eastern Santiago de Cuba 1995, but in practice there’s been little inter- and Holguin provinces in late October. The est on the government’s part except in a few two provinces produced 70,000 tons less joint ventures making sugar derivatives. than forecast before Sandy hit. The Sugar Ministry was closed two years The harvest runs from December to April ago and replaced by state-run AZCUBA, but often stretches into May and June. Only with subsidiaries in each province. eight of Cuba’s 56 mills were built after the AZCUA hopes to reverse a decline in out- 1959 revolution, the last in the 1980s. put from 8 million tons in 1990, with plans to Brazilian builder Odebrecht SA became produce 2.4 million tons by 2015. Trucker loads raw sugarcane at Ingenio La Unión. 14 CubaNews v June 2013 ment of Cengicaña, which has 75 employees “Technologically, our best relations are with Guatemala — FROM PAGE 13 and operates on a $2 million annual budget. Florida, Colombia, Brazil and Argentina. With “Before that, each ingenio did its own R&D,” Cuba, there isn’t really anything substantial But when it comes to productivity, Guate- he said, noting that Cengicaña is one of only because their sugar industry is dead.” mala’s performance is even more impressive. six sugar research centers financed by the pri- Armando Boesche is general manager of In 2008, according to ASAZGUA, Colombia vate sector (the others are in Australia, Brazil, ASAZGUA. We interviewed the 73-year-old ex- led the world in productivity, with 14.6 tons of Colombia and Ecuador). “Each sugar produc- ecutive at his wood-paneled office on the 19th sugar per hectare under cultivation, followed er pays a quota depending on its production.” floor of the swanky Euro Plaza skyscraper. by Swaziland (13.9) and Guatemala (12.2). In the last 27 years he’s headed the organi- The next nine countries, in descending zation, Guatemala’s area under cultivation has rank for productivity, were Australia, Sudan, tripled, while yield has jumped from 66.3 tons China, Brazil, Mexico, United States, India, per hectare in 1984-85 to 95.4 tons/ha today. Thailand and South Africa. Daily milling capacity, meanwhile, has near- Cuba wasn’t even on the chart. LUXNER LARRY ly tripled from 53,093 tons in the 1984-85 sea- In 2012, sugar exports to the United States, son to 151,673 tons in 2011-12. Canada, South Korea, Mexico, Chile and oth- “Guatemala is a small country, not like Bra- er customers generated $843.7 million in for- zil or Colombia, so productivity for us is very eign exchange for Guatemala and employed important,” Boesche said proudly. “With what 350,000 people, 73,000 of them directly. we export, we could supply all of Central That ranks just behind coffee ($955.9 mil- America including Panama.” lion) in terms of importance for the country, Aerial view of Guatemala’s sprawling La Unión mill. Around 2005, Guatemala’s raw sugar output but well ahead of Guatemala’s two other key surpassed Cuba’s. Since then, it’s kept going agricultural exports: bananas ($469.9 million) In the 21 years since Cengicaña’s creation, up even as Cuba’s sugar industry stagnates. and cardamom ($250.3 million). it’s introduced 1,875 sugar varieties to Guate- Yet even if Cuba could replicate Guatemala’s Sugar today represents 14.4% of Guatem- mala (including 1,155 brought from Florida, success, it’s not clear that it should — given ala’s total exports, 27.1% of its agricultural 164 from Mexico, 120 from Brazil, 60 from the legacy of U.S. sugar barons controlling the exports and 3% of its GDP. Barbados, 58 from Australia and Louisiana island’s economy, with Cuban complicity. “Something elemental we’ve done is to give each, 54 from Cuba and 53 from Puerto Rico). Luís Antonio Velasquez, Guatemala’s ex- workers dignified, decent jobs so that they’ll minister of economy, is now a private agribusi- feel content with what they’re doing,” he said. COULD CUBA COPY GUATEMALA’S SUCCESS? ness consultant advising ASAZGUA. “You’ll see the same at any ingenio. In Cuba, Guatemala now cultivates 235,000 hectares “In February 1998, I was one of 40 Guate- a cortador doesn’t want to cut sugar because of caña, mainly in the departments of Escuint- malan businessmen invited by [then-Presi- he won’t earn any money. Here, he has the la, Suchitepequez, Retalhuleu and Santa Rosa. dent] Alvaro Arzú to accompany him to Cuba possibility to improve his standard of living.” Unfortunately, said Melgar, the Guatemalan and re-establish diplomatic relations,” he told In Cuba, by comparison, an average mache- sugar industry “has learned nothing from us. “We invited Cuba’s ambassador at the time tero earns the equivalent of $40 a month, plus Cuba” in the last 50 years. to tour our sugar industry, and he said to me, a “stimulus” bag containing two bars of soap, “After the United States and Cuba broke re- ‘I wish my country could be like Guatemala.’” a bottle of cooking oil and some pasta. lations, the U.S. began to distribute to Central Our humble advice to that naïve ambassa- Cengicaña’s director-general, Mario Melgar, America and the Caribbean its sugar quota. So dor: Keep on dreaming. says Guatemala has the “recipe for success.” the great majority of countries in Central “We would be happy to invest in Cuba,” said Melgar partly credits the 1992 establish- America began their sugar boom after 1960, Velasquez. “We have the technology, we have when many Cuban profession- the money and we have the entrepreneurial als came here to work in our spirit — but only when Cuba gives us clear sugar industry,” he said. rules. The problem is, they don’t know how to “We have had some inter- run a business.” q change with Cuba, and some- Washington-based journalist Larry Luxner has times we’ve sent congresses edited CubaNews since 2002. In April, he spent a there, but not very frequently,” week in Guatemala researching the country’s palm Melgar told CubaNews. oil, sugar, banana, vegetable and coffee sectors. LARRY LUXNER LARRY

“I like to work here,” says propaganda poster at Guatemala’s Ingenio La Unión (above). June 2013 v CubaNews 15 BOOKSHELF Personal memoirs of Cuba by Zamora, Bustos & González-Falla in which thousands of young men and women eriodically, CubaNews presents reviews of CHE WANTS TO SEE YOU books we think will interest our readers. around the world, inspired by Che Guevara PThis month, we offer three autobiogra- For the first time, Ciro Bustos, Che’s right- and his Cuban comrades, believed they could phies: “What I Learned About Cuba By Going hand man in the struggle for Argentina, tells change the world through armed revolution ... to Cuba,” “Che Wants to See You: The Untold his story. As a young man inspired by the the journal of a life lived to the limit in pursuit Story of Che Guevara” and “My Lost Cuba.” example of Cuba, Bustos was determined to of an ideal, with all of its consequences.” bring revolution to the country he shared Details: Jessica Turner, Verso Books, 20 Jay WHAT I LEARNED ABOUT CUBA with his hero. After a failed attempt to liberate Argentina, St., Suite #1010, Brooklyn, NY 11201. Tel: (718) his book is about one man’s trips to it wasn’t until 246-8160. Email: [email protected]. Cuba and about the relationship be- 1966 that he Ttween the United States and that nation. MY LOST CUBA was again Born in Havana in 1941, Antonio Zamora — contacted by In Cuba, during the late ‘50s and early ‘60s, a Miami lawyer and part-owner of CubaNews the Cubans many families fled as political exiles from — came to the United States in the early ‘60s. and told, everything they knew, finding themselves At the age of 20, Zamora took joined in the “Che wants starting over from scratch in America. failed Bay of Pigs invasion, was captured and to see you.” Many people think they know what Cuba imprisoned for nearly two years, and then was Under false was like before Castro, and what it will be like freed with most other prisoners in 1962 as a papers, Bus- after Castro — but nobody can truly know result of negotiations by the International Red tos crossed unless he or she lived it. Cross. the border Celso González-Falla transports us there in In 1963, he into Bolivia, a stunning new novel, “My Lost Cuba,” which was commis- where Che documents the life of a wealthy family who sioned as an Guevara was lives in Habana in 1958, a turning point in the officer in the in hiding. It country: the last year of Fulgencio Batista’s Navy and in was here that dictatorship in Cuba. 1971 became Che first Enriched by a cast of colorful characters and a U.S. citizen. shared his based on the events of his life, author Gonzá- Since his plans for a lez-Falla not only explores the everyday life of first trip back continental a family in Havana, but also pulls us in further to his home- revolution. Bustos was to be one of the few with a look at the political, social and historical land in 1995, surviving members of Che’s guerrilla force. aspects of this fascinating time and place. Zamora has He was captured and interrogated by the “Beautifully written, My Lost Cuba touches been to Cuba CIA, and ultimately sentenced to 30 years in on the truth that Cubans love democracy; the more than 40 prison. After serving three of those years, he importance of family life in Cuban culture; times, travel- was unexpectedly pardoned by the short-lived how Cubans work very hard, and play hard; ing not only government of a leftist Argentine general. why nobody believed Cuba would be convert- under specific Though he lived in Chile and Argentina for ed to communism, and the drastic contrast license to attend meetings and conferences, several more years, Bustos ultimately had to between life in the city versus the country.” but also under general license to conduct pro- flee to Sweden to escape the anti-leftist “dirty Celso González-Falla was born in Havana fessional research, as well as on family visits. wars” that claimed the lives of many of his and attended both Colegio de Belén and Uni- It is unusual for a Cuban-American to travel friends. Bustos suffered greatly for his deci- versidad Caólica de Santo Tomás de Villa- to Cuba so often. In his case, it is even more sion to fight for his ideals. nueva, earning a degree in civil law in 1958. strange because of Zamora’s age and political Though his experience was harrowing, he González-Falla became involved in the coun- background. As a result of all these comings also came away with many precious memo- terrevolution against Fidel Castro, avoiding and goings, he has accumulated a wealth of ries of his time with Che. Bustos, who now arrest by seeking political asylum at the knowledge well worth sharing. lives in Malmo, Sweden; the Spanish version Chilean Embassy in April 1961 and coming to Simply put, this book — Texas two months later. “What I Learned of his book, “El Che Quiere Verte,” was pub- About Cuba By Going to Cuba” (ISBN 978- lished in Argentina in 2007. González-Falla is a member of the Texas Bar 1484-82373-6, price $15.00) — is about what Now available in English, and a founding partner of the Porter Taylor & he has learned about Cuba by going to Cuba. “Che Wants to See González law firm in Corpus Christi, Tex. In the immediate months and years ahead, You: The Untold Story of Che Guevara” (ISBN: 978-1-78168-096-4, $34.95) is a testament to “My Lost Cuba” (ISBN 978-1-62087-467-7, the discussion within the United States and the revolutionary spirit of his times, as well as price $24.95) will be available in September. the Cuban-American community concerning a highly important historical contribution that Details: Jennifer Tucker, Smith Publicity, 1930 “what to do about Cuba” is certain to increase cuts through the myths and inaccuracies to E. Marlton Pike, Suite #I-46, Cherry Hill, NJ significantly. shed a new light on Che’s life and death. 08003. Tel: (856) 489-8654 x303. Fax: (856) Without a doubt, this 140-page volume avai- This 496-page book tells a story only he is 504-0136. Email: [email protected]. lable through CubaNews will be contributing able to recount: what really happened in Boli- in a positive way to that important discussion. via in 1967 and why he did not betray Che. “Bookshelf” is an occasional feature of Zamora frequently lectures on Cuban top- “The last vital element that completes the CubaNews in which we summarize works ics in national and international forums. He is jigsaw of Che Guevara’s extraordinary life ... we think will interest our diverse audience. an adjunct law professor at Florida Internatio- This long-awaited book is both an important If you would like your book, report, novel nal University, where his main course is contribution to history and a gripping read,” or scholarly publication to be featured in an Caribbean law and development. says Richard Gott, author of “A New History of upcoming issue, please email a request to Details: Antonio Zamora, Cuba Libre Publica- Cuba.” [email protected] or send a review copy tions LLC, 1408 Brickell Bay Drive, Suite #1211, Adds Jon Lee Anderson: “The account of an to Larry Luxner, Editor, CubaNews, PO Box Miami, FL 33131. Email: [email protected]. extraordinary period in contemporary history 1345, Silver Spring, MD 20915-1345 — USA. 16 CubaNews v June 2013

CALENDAR OF EVENTS CARIBBEAN UPDATE If your organization is sponsoring an upcoming event, please let our readers know! You already know what’s going in Cuba, Fax details to CubaNews at (301) 949-0065 or send e-mail to [email protected]. thanks to CubaNews. Now find out what’s happening in the rest of this diverse and Jun. 2 6: “Homenaje a Juan Manuel Salvat,” Casa Bacardi, Miami. MCs: María P. Acosta and fast-growing region. Carmen de Toro de Gómez. Panelists: Eduardo Zayas-Bazán (NACAE); Rogelio A. de la Torre Subscribe to Caribbean UPDATE, a (Círculo de Cultura Panamericano); Armando Cobelo (Editorial Cubana Luís J. Botifoll); Mig- monthly newsletter founded in 1985. Cor- uel Zaldívar (Fundación Padre Félix Varela); Pedro Corzo (Instituto de la Memoria Histórica porate and government executives, as well as scholars and journalists, depend on this Cubana contra el Totalitarismo); Angel Cuadra (Pen Club de Escritores Cubanos en el Exilio), publication for its insightful, timely cover- Ángel de Fana (Plantados). Details: Institute of Cuban and Cuban-American Studies, University of age of the 30-plus nations and territories of Miami, 1531 Brescia Ave., Coral Gables, FL 33146. Tel: (305) 284-2822. Email: [email protected]. the Caribbean and Central America. When you receive your first issue, you Jun. 2 7: A conversation with dissidents Guillermo Fariñas and Elizardo Sánchez, Center for have two options: (a) pay the accompany- Strategic & International Studies, Washington. Speakers: Carl Meacham, director of the CSIS ing invoice and your subscription will be Americas Program, and Tomás Bilbao, executive director of the Cuba Study Group. Free but processed; (b) if you’re not satisfied, just seating is limited; to RSVP, send name and affiliation as soon as possible. Event to be conduct- write “cancel” on the invoice and return it. There is no further obligation on your part. ed in Spanish; simultaneous translation not be available. Details: CSIS, 1800 K Street NW, 4th The cost of a subscription to Caribbean Fl., Washington, DC 20006. Tel: (202) 887-0200. Fax: (202) 775-3199. Email: [email protected]. UPDATE is $281 per year. A special rate of $142 is available to academics, non-profit Jul. 2 0 : “The Art of Looting,” Newman Alumni Center, Coral Gables, FL. One-day seminar organizations and additional subscriptions featuring Christopher Marinello, executive director of the Art Loss Register; Willi Korte, co- mailed to the same address. founder of the Holocaust Art Restitution Project, and Chris Roach of Adams & Reese. “We’ll To order, contact Caribbean UPDATE at discuss prospects for the recovery of Cuban collections as well as groundbreaking efforts to 116 Myrtle Ave., Millburn, NJ 07041, call us deter the sale and purchase of pre-Revolution items.” Cost: $130. at (973) 376-2314, visit our new website at Details: Mastrapa Consultants www.caribbeanupdate.org or send an Inc., PO Box 248334, Coral Gables, FL 33124-8334. Tel: Email: [email protected]. email to [email protected]. We accept Aug. 1 -3: Association for the Study of the Cuban Economy, 23rd Annual Meeting, Hilton Visa, MasterCard and American Express. Miami Downtown Hotel. This year’s theme: “Reforming Cuba?” ASCE officials say they are “working toward bringing Cuba-based economists and scholars to the conference.” Invited speakers include Armando Nova (Centro de Estudios de la Economía Cubana); Karina Gálvez (Revista Convivencia); computer science professor José Luís Leyva Cruz (University of Cama- güey); Lenier González and Roberto Viega (co-editors of Espacio Laical); independent lawyer Laritza Diversent (Jurisconsulto de Cuba) and mathematician and Estado de Sats coordinator Antonio Rodiles. Keynote speaker: Harvard economist George Borjas. Cost: $75 for members, Editor $175 for non-members (rising to $100 and $200 after July 15). Details: Ted Henken, ASCE, PO n LARRY LUXNER n Box 28267, Washington, DC 20038-8267. Email: [email protected]. URL: www.ascecuba.org. Washington correspondent Aug. 2 : “Cuba: Reality Today and Opportunities in the Future,” El Conquistador Hotel & n ANA RADELAT n Casino, Fajardo, P.R. Hosted by the Puerto Rico Manufacturers Association, this one-day con- Political analyst ference will feature editor Larry Luxner; Ted Piccone of Brookings; University of CubaNews n DOMINGO AMUCHASTEGUI n Miami’s José Azel; Gerardo González of Inter-American University; Roberto Orro, Caribbean Analysis Unit; Jay Brickman of Crowley Maritime; AACCLA Executive Director José Raúl Feature writers n VITO ECHEVARRÍA n Perales; Phil Peters of Antilles Resources and David Lewis, VP of Manchester Trade. Details: n DOREEN HEMLOCK n PRMA, PO Box 195477, San Juan, Puerto Rico 00919. Tel: (787) 641-4455. URL: www.prma.com. Cartographer n ARMANDO H. PORTELA n

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