Vol. 15, No. 5 May 2007

www.cubanews.com

In the News Long-running rum war between Bacardi, Pernod Ricard shifts to federal courts Fidel’s recovery Despite his improving health, don’t expect BY ANA RADELAT and politics between the powerful Bacardí exile family and the Castro government, which has a Fidel to return to power ...... Page 3 fter bouncing from the Patent and Trade- mark Office to federal courts to Congress willing ally in Pernod Ricard. A to the World Trade Organization, the bit- “I’m certain there is some long-term animosi- Phone home ter fight over the Club trademark has ty between the Bacardi family and the Cuban U.S. carriers pay ’s Etecsa $102m to finally shifted back to the courtroom. regime. They have long memories and under- The combatants are Havana Club Holdings standably so,” said Mark Orr, vice-president of complete long-distance calls ...... Page 4 (HCH) — a 50-50 venture between the Cuban Pernod Ricard North America. “But I’ve also government and French drinks conglomerate seen that the French are stubborn and have Vitral closes down Pernod Ricard — and Bacardi, the giant spirits long memories, too.” Feisty Catholic newspaper in Pinar del Rió empire owned by Cuban exiles whose property Huge amounts of money have been spent on was expropriated by the Castro government in legal fees over the Havana Club name and there publishes its last issue ...... Page 5 the 1960s. is no indication that spending on lawsuits will Federal district courts in Washington and stop anytime soon. Yadira’s invitation Delaware are considering lawsuits that could Pernod has good reason to fight alongside Top Cuban official invites U.S. energy com- determine which party in this battle will ulti- the Cuban government for Havana Club. HCH mately control the name of one of the world’s has resulted in untold hundreds of millions of panies to develop oil sector ...... Page 7 most famous rums: Havana Club. dollars in revenues and profits following a wide- But there’s more to the battle over Havana spread global marketing effort. Newsmakers Club than the lure of potentially billions of dol- Last year, the venture sold over 2.6 million lars in U.S. rum sales. The more than decade- nine-liter cases of rum, primarily in Spain, Italy Cynthia Thomas, founder of Texas-Cuba long fight has also become a feud of principle See Havana Club, page 2 Trade Alliance, sees big potential for Lone Star commodity exporters ...... Page 8 Smuggling trial raises questions about Taking on traffickers Miami lawyer Nicolás Gutiérrez sues vio- Major League Baseball’s future in Cuba lators of Helms-Burton Act ...... Page 10 BY VITO ECHEVARRÍA and his co-conspirators planned to relocate the Expensive painting n April, Cuban exile sports agent Gustavo ballplayers to and the Dominican “Gus” Domínguez was convicted of nearly Republic, so that they could get false passports Florida’s Fanjul family sues Sotheby’s to I two dozen charges at a federal court in Key there, and re-enter the United States to compete recover valuable piece of art ...... Page 11 West, Fla., for his role in smuggling then- as free agents in the MLB. unknown baseball players out of Cuba and har- Domínguez, vice-president of Total Sports In- Business briefs boring them once in the United States. ternational in Encino, Calif., is scheduled for Prosecution witnesses, including an admitted sentencing on July 9. According to his lawyer, J. Cuba aspires to single-currency system; drug felon, testified that Domínguez financed a Stephen Salter, the sports agent’s legal battles aren’t over. VCRs may now be imported ...... Page 12 2004 smuggling operation that brought five defecting Cuban baseball players to the Florida “There’s no relief regarding venue [as a legal Keys. Two of them are currently playing minor issue],” Salter told CubaNews in a recent e-mail. Provinces: Guantánamo league baseball for the Atlanta Braves and Ari- “We do plan to appeal. The issue of being cut off Guantánamo, famous for U.S. base, is one zona Diamondbacks, while the other three are from arguing and using the ‘wet foot/dry foot’ policy and the Cuban Adjustment Act immedi- of Cuba’s poorest provinces ...... Page 14 no longer playing baseball. Among other things, the prosecution intro- ately comes to mind, [as does] the issue of these duced bank records in support of its case charges requiring proof of ‘specific intent.’” CubaNews (ISSN 1073-7715) is published monthly against Domínguez, 48, showing how he funded That substantive legal argument was thrown by Luxner News Inc. © 2007. All rights reserved. out by Federal District Court Judge K. Michael Subscriptions: $429 for one year, $800 for two years. the ballplayers’ escape from Cuba in “go-fast” For editorial inquires, please call (301) 452-1105 boats normally associated with drug-traffickers, Moore, who agreed with federal prosecutors or send an e-mail to: [email protected]. and their subsequent arrival in Florida. that wet-foot/dry-foot was irrelevant in the The prosecution also alleged that Domínguez See Baseball, page 4 2 CubaNews ❖ May 2007

Havana Club — FROM PAGE 1 and Canada. That’s up from 1.5 million cases in 2001, and 300,000 cases when the venture began in 1994.

LARRY LUXNER Business is so good that a $66 million dis- tillery has opened at San José de las Lajas, 20 miles east of Havana. Manuel Arias, the ven- ture’s chief of domestic sales, says exports of Havana Club might reach 5.0 million cases by 2013 (see CubaNews, February 2007, page 4). Havana Club rum is now 79th on the Im- pact list of the world’s 100 top-selling spirits brands. That’s still way behind Bacardi, which is No. 6, with 2006 sales of 19.3 million cases. But Bacardi’s overall sales are dropping, while Havana Club has seen average annual growth of 11.6% over the last five years. That makes Havana Club the 13th fastest-growing spirits brand in the world. THE HAVANA CLUB RUM SAGA: A TIMELINE OFAC AT CENTER OF TRADEMARK CONTROVERSY One of the latest court fights over the Hav- 1959 — The takes place. The Arechabala family, with the exception ana Club name was filed last September by Cubaexport — the Cuban partner of Pernod of one member who is imprisoned, leaves Cuba. — against the Treasury Department’s Office 1960 — The assets of the Arechabalas are nationalized. of Foreign Assets Control. 1966 — The Cuban government — through a company called Cubaexport — registers Orr said the venture’s registration was due the Havana Club name in 80 countries, but not in the United States, where it is prohibited by to be renewed on July 28, 2006, and that the embargo from selling the rum. Cubaexport duly filed an application with the PTO. But OFAC advised the PTO it could not 1973 — The Arechabala trademark registration in the United States lapses. accept the fee for doing so. 1976 — The U.S. registers the Havana Club trademark with the U.S. Patent and The Pernod suit said OFAC had improper- Trademark Office (PTO). ly denied Cubaexport’s request for a license. 1993 — The Cuban government enters into a 50-50 joint venture with French drinks To date, the court has not decided whether to conglomerate Pernod Ricard, forming Havana Club Holdings (HCH). hear Cuba’s lawsuit over its right to pay fees to renew the trademark. 1995 — The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control grants a license “If OFAC has actually done its homework, to transfer the Havana Club trademark from Cubaexport to HCH. Bacardi petitions the it would have concluded…that issuing a Patent and Trademark Office to cancel the registration. license is what it should do,” Orr said. 1995 — Bacardi begins to sell a Bahamas-made rum called Havana Club in the United Bacardi has had an application at the PTO States. to license the Havana Club name for over a decade. The company claims Castro illegally 1996 — HCH sues Bacardi for trademark infringement. Bacardi stops production of seized the property of the Arechabala family, Havana Club rum. the original producers of Havana Club rum. 1997 — Bacardi buys the Havana Club mark from the Arechabalas for an undisclosed Bacardi also says it paid the Arechabala amount of money. family for the rights to the name of the 1998 — Before a federal court can rule on HCH’s trademark infringement case, a law famous rum in 1997. But the Cuban government and HCH say called Section 211 comes into effect. It prevents recognition of trademarks confiscated with- the trademark was abandoned by the Arecha- out compensation by Cuba. balas when they failed to renew it in 1973. The 1999 — HCH’s lawsuit against Bacardi is dismissed. The judge rules that Section 211 Havana Club trademark lapsed in the United prevents the court from ruling on the case. An appeal is rejected and the Supreme Court States that year. says it won’t review the rejection. “The Arechabalas never abandoned the trademark,” Bacardi spokeswoman Patricia 2000 — The European Union files a complaint about Section 211 with the World Trade Neal told CubaNews. “They had no means to Organization. be reunited with their product.” 2002 — The WTO rules that the United States can make its own trademark laws, but Most of the Arechabala family left Cuba in must apply equally to everyone. It recommends the United States amend Section 211 so that 1959. On Jan. 1, 1960, the company was it applies to confiscated property everywhere. nationalized and its private assets seized. 2006 — In August, the PTO denies the Cuban government’s renewal of the Havana BACARDI LAUNCHES ITS OWN HAVANA CLUB Club registration. A few days later, Bacardi announces it will relaunch its Havana Club Days after the PTO declined to renew Cu- brand. About a week later, Pernod Ricard sues Bacardi, saying its claim to brand ownership baexport’s Havana Club registration, Bacardi announced it would launched its own brand of is false and its product misleads consumers into thinking the Bacardi rum is made in Cuba. Havana Club in Florida “with stunning pack- In September, Cubaexport sues OFAC, saying it improperly denied the license that would aging that combines elegant 1930s details allow Cuba to pay a fee to renew the trademark. Cubaexport also petitions the PTO to with a contemporary silhouette,” Bacardi’s reverse its decision to not renew its Havana Club trademark. announcement said. “Havana Club transports consumers back 2007 — Sen. Bill Nelson and Rep. Robert Wexler — both Florida Democrats — introduce to the time it was created: sultry nights, legislation that would make Section 211 compliant with WTO ruling. See Havana Club, page 6 May 2007 ❖ CubaNews 3 POLITICS Despite recovery, don’t expect Castro to return to power BY BRIAN LATELL in-chief as a doddering old man now unable to spoken “briskly,” while “in good spirits and ine months since the dynastic transfer make such day-to-day decisions himself. walking with a steady pace.” of power, the possibility that Fidel All those around him realize that if Fidel But he was photographed at that meeting NCastro will reappear in public remains were to be seen in public, rather than in a pre- again wearing baggy athletic clothes and, in doubt. recorded TV session that could be edited, his according to the Chinese account, remained The first of May, international labor day, every gesture, step, and word would be scru- after all these months in a hospital room. The Chinese probably intended no irony by has always been among Castro’s favorite holi- tinized for tremors or slips that might display his deterioration for all to see. expressing hopes for his “early recovery.” days — one he has frequently used in the past Perhaps the most unmistakable evidence of More than 80 years old, the cumulative toll to inform the Cuban people, attack the United his debility came from his outspoken niece, of the three life-threatening surgeries Castro States, and ruminate endlessly about whatev- Raúl’s daughter Mariela, who has been has reportedly endured has surely been dev- er new concerns were on his mind. emerging as an unofficial Castro family and astating. In late April, a senior American intel- Through last year he did not fail to speak regime spokesman. She told Spanish ligence official confirmed in a meeting with on seven consecutive May Days. He did not reporters in late April that although Fidel is reporters that Castro indeed suffers from appear on May 1, 2007, either. “rapidly improving,” he will “not govern again Parkinson’s disease as well as diverticulitis Thus, like his failures to appear last Sep- in the same fashion as before.” and perhaps Crohn’s disease, a debilitating tember during the non-aligned nations con- She had some other remarkably candid inflammation of the digestive tract. ference, or on Dec. 2 on armed forces day, things to say too. Since Fidel yielded power The brew of powerful medications he takes Fidel’s protracted withdrawal increasingly last July, “he has been very respectful in not to treat his infirmities and associated pain points to the likelihood that he will not be able wanting to interfere in the decisions being probably has debilitating side effects. to return to the full exercise of power. made.” She added that “he is very careful not If, as suspected, he was diagnosed with Cuban spokesmen have not been encour- to influence the decisions” of his successors Parkinson’s eight or 10 years ago, the med- aging that expectation. Foreign minister who have assumed huge new responsibilities. ications to control its characteristic tremors Felipe Pérez Roque said in Hanoi in mid-April Recent photographs released by the Cuban and physical rigidities may no longer be pro- that Fidel is “gradually recuperating.” government suggest Fidel is physically viding much relief. Ricardo Alarcón, ’s Natio- stronger than before. He has recently been Some of those medications can cause inter- nal Assembly, said Apr. 25 that Fidel is “very seen with foreign visitors, in one photograph mittent cognitive impairment. Not surprising- well” but that “it will be preferable that he standing for the first time, outside in a garden ly, therefore, the unnamed U.S. intelligence reappear on television before attending a with Gabriel García Marquez. In late April, briefer told reporters that available evidence mass public event.” after a meeting with a visiting Chinese suggests Fidel’s health remains precarious. Unintentionally, one supposes, Alarcón Politburo member, he was reported by the So if this analysis is generally correct, how conveyed the impression of his commander- Chinese government news service to have much longer will it be before Fidel’s official and final abdication? As Cuban leaders pon- der that possibility, they should review the text of an important speech Castro delivered Fidel is back .... but what does that really mean? at the University of Havana in March 1966. ow there are no doubts. Fidel did not ing on, warning, adopting key decisions, Without naming Mao Tse-tung, Castro die, and it seems he is not planning to being informed constantly. denounced him and other elderly Chinese Ndo so any time soon. All of this, as well as key decisions, are leaders with whom he was then bitterly at The fact remains that all the short-term now taken together with his brother Raúl odds. Castro told his student audience that predictions made by John Negroponte on closer than ever. This is what I have termed Mao should step down and pass power to a behalf of U.S. intelligence agencies and the a “shared interim,” meaning a power-sharing younger generation of leaders. many predictions made by Cuban-American formula in which plays a lesser, That is what he would do when he grew too sources in and around Miami, proved to be and inevitably, declining role, yet remaining old or infirm to govern effectively, Castro sug- absolutely wrong. very influential on major decisions for sever- gested. “When in obedience to biological law So is Fidel making a comeback? And if so, al years to come. we become unable to run this country, we will what happens now? At the same time, Raúl’s leadership con- know enough to leave our post to other men able to do it better.” Anyone knowledgeable of how Cuba’s tinues to expand, growing stronger and more decisive. He brings in his renown style Fidel was not yet 40 when he said this. He power structure and how Fidel’s personality of collective and team leadership, with the was healthy, filled with youthful audacity and works, knows perfectly well that he is not latter being reinforced by growing numbers self-confidence, not imagining that decades making a comeback for one simple reason: of middle-aged and younger figures. later his criticism of Mao might be turned he was never away, separated nor excluded Raúl will play a decisive role in shaping against him. from the key decisions and policy actions what will be the crucial issue: What comes So, as has been his custom when delivering undertaken since July 31. Some may dis- after the brothers are gone? It is here where such perorations, he reiterated the now agree with this assertion and are now dis- he will make his most important contribu- incriminating thought to his audience: “We cussing if there is a comeback and what if. tion along with fully implemented, and ex- hope that all revolutionaries, as we become Of course, Fidel Castro will not be, can- panding, reforms of which perfeccionamien- old, will be capable of understanding that we not be, the kind of leader he was before, per- to especial is just the tip of the iceberg. are biologically and lamentably old.” sonally supervising everything and every- Most people, including the political class one, from macro policy issues to minor at large, will tend to buy into this perspective Brian Latell, author of the book “After Fidel: issues, moving across the entire island. This as an inevitable outcome of having such an The Inside Story of Castro’s Regime and Cuba’s Fidel is not there anymore. extraordinary leader as Fidel Castro, with all Next Leader,” is a senior research associate at the But he is there, supervising, calling on of his good and bad attributes. University of Miami’s Institute for Cuban and other Politburo and cabinet officials, check- – DOMINGO AMUCHASTEGUI Cuban-American Studies. CubaNews profiled the ex-CIA official in our March 2007 issue (page 8). 4 CubaNews ❖ May 2007 POLITICS Treasury: U.S. phone carriers paid Cuba $102m in 2006 BY ANA RADELAT The contracts between U.S. phone compa- the data from a congressional source. .S. telecommunications companies paid nies and Etecsa are licensed by Treasury’s López said Cuba may have tried to block the Castro government nearly $102 mil- Office of Foreign Assets Control, and consti- calls from the United States after Fidel Castro Ulion last year to complete long-distance tute a rare example of U.S.-Cuba commerce. stepped down from power because Telecom phone calls from the United States to Cuba, Legislation passed in 1992 opened the door New Zealand — which reroutes U.S. calls to according to data obtained by CubaNews. for U.S. phone companies to negotiate agree- Cuba — showed a dramatic increase in the The Treasury Department has reported to ments with the Cuban government. number of calls it handled in the second half Congress that Cuba received $57.8 million of the year. Telecom New Zealand paid Etecsa from U.S. carriers in the second half of 2006, U.S. PAYMENTS TO CUBA, 2006 about $2.8 million in the first half of the year up from $44.2 million in the first half of 2006. and $6.8 million in the second half. Enrique López, owner of Miami-based COMPANY AMOUNT “The Cuban government may have wanted information technology firm AKL Group Inc., to keep out news with a tainted flavor from Sprint/Nextel $51,206,171 exiles in the United States,” López said. “And said the increase in payments in the latter AT&T Corp. 16,154,193 part of 2006 could be attributed to the normal I can’t blame them.” increase in phone traffic to Cuba during the Verizon Business 15,933,542 Teleglobe America, a subsidiary of a com- Christmas-New Year’s holiday season. Telecom New Zealand 9,534,571 pany in India, also reported a much larger But it could also be related to Fidel Castro’s Teleglobe America 7,084,942 payment to Cuba in the latter half of 2006. But transfer of power to his brother Raúl in iBasis Inc. 1,293,360 López said the telephone reports are incom- August amid concern among exiles about the Telefónica Larga Distancia P.R. 607,160 plete because they fail to include the number of minutes of long-distance calls to Cuba that political situation on the island. Asia Access Telecom 84,624 Sprint/Nextel handled more traffic than each carrier handled, or how much each car- any other U.S. phone company, paying the Allied Communications Inc. 65 rier paid Etecsa per minute for those calls. Cuban state-owned phone monopoly Etecsa Above data is contained in Treasury’s Mar. 27 report to Congress. “We could be paying more than what’s $51.2 million last year. That’s just over half allowed by law,” said López. But Treasury’s the total (see chart at right). But the 1996 Helms-Burton Act set a cap on Millerwise said that’s not likely, noting that The payments reflect the amount U.S. car- how much U.S. carriers could pay the Cuban “the reality of modern communications is that the rate has been falling.” riers owe Etecsa, minus the amount Etecsa government at $1.20 a minute. It also required Several carriers contacted about their Cuba owes U.S. phone companies to handle calls Treasury to issue biannual reports on this that originate in Cuba. Those are far fewer telephone traffic, including Sprint/Nextel and than calls originating in the U.S., and most trade to Congress. AT&T did not respond to requests for infor- are collect calls. The latest report, which Treasury refused mation on the number of minutes charged. A AT&T Corp., which at one time handled to make public, was dated Mar. 27 and ad- 1996 estimate put total US-Cuba telephone most calls to Cuba, paid Etecsa more than $16 dressed from Treasury Secretary Henry traffic at 80 million minutes. million, while Verizon Business (formerly Paulson to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Millerwise also said a tally of how many MCI WorldCom) paid out nearly $16 million. Treasury spokeswoman Molly Millerwise minutes of calls have been made to Cuba and López suggested Sprint/Nextel’s share is so suggested that CubaNews file a Freedom of other information is missing from the Bush large because it’s the only U.S.-based carrier Information Act petition to obtain the records, administration’s Cuba telephone reports due that provides Internet service to Cuba. though that proved unnecessary when we got to “editorial changes” adopted by Treasury.

‘COTTAGE INDUSTRY’ FACES EXTINCTION Baseball — FROM PAGE 2 athletes get to the United States while cashing A few things make the Domínguez case in on their ballplaying skills. Domínguez case, and that it did not negate stand out. “It will likely have a chilling effect on new the illegal actions committed by Domínguez For one, he’s the first sports agent to repre- agents [or smugglers] getting involved with and his co-defendants to facilitate the smug- sent ballplayers defecting from Cuba, as well smuggling Cuban players to the U.S., at least gling of Cuban ballplayers. as the first sports agent convicted of helping in the near future,” says sports agent Joe Salter hopes an appellate judge would apply smuggle ballplayers into the United States. Kehoskie, who has represented Cuban and that controversial policy toward the The second factor is that, given the increas- Dominican baseball players for years. whom Domínguez helped smuggle into the ingly sophisticated means smugglers are “As for existing agents, one of the ironies of country, the argument being that if the Cu- using to bring Cubans to the United States for the Domínguez case is that the trend of smug- bans’ presence was legal once reaching U.S. large sums of money, this is the first such gling Cuban players to the U.S. had really soil — regardless of what happened after- case linking this illicit trade with Major cooled off in the last two years after being hot wards — the case against Domínguez would League Baseball. from 2000 to 2005. Agents have been connect- be thrown out. The agent’s first Cuban client was René ed to approximately 12 smuggling trips from The venue of the trial, Key West, was an Arocha, who in 1991 was the first such defec- 2000 to 2005 but, to my knowledge, there has issue unto itself before the trial even began. A tor, and eventually went on to play for the St. not been a single Cuban player smuggled to federal district court in Key West was chosen Louis Cardinals. the U.S. in the last two years.” by prosecutors, since it was likely they want- With Cuba still generating a large pool of Kehoskie suggested this is likely due to in- ed to minimize the number of Cuban-Ameri- baseball talent, and Major League Baseball creased smuggling prosecutions in South can jurors who would be sympathetic to still very much interested in signing players Florida and because of the huge sums of Domínguez and his group. into its lucrative franchises, some people money lost by agents like Domínguez and oth- Just before the trial began, the co-counsel question whether the Domínguez conviction ers on failed deals — in instances where play- for Domínguez, Susan Dmitrovsky, filed a will put out of business what has become a ers have gotten hurt, fired the agent or motion for a change in venue to Miami, but cottage industry of various opportunistic indi- weren’t as good as originally believed. Moore dismissed it without explanation. viduals who helped talented but poor Cuban See Baseball, page 13 May 2007 ❖ CubaNews 5

POLITICAL BRIEFS FREEDOM HOUSE ATTACKS MORATINOS VISIT In their own words … Freedom House has sent a letter to Spain’s for- eign minister, Miguel Angel Moratinos, express- “Unfortunately, those dreams [of a better life] were stifled by a cruel dicta- ing disappointment that he met with Cuban auth- torship that denies all freedom in the name of a dark and discredited ideology. orities during an Apr. 2-3 visit to the island — but Some of you still have loved ones who live in Cuba and wait for the day when not with members of Cuba’s dissident movement. the light of liberty will shine upon them again. That day is nearing.” The visit by Moratinos was the first by an EU — President Bush, speaking Apr. 28 at a Miami-Dade Community College com- foreign minister since Cuba’s human rights crack- mencement speech that was also attended by key Cuban-American lawmakers. down in 2003. During the visit, Moratinos met with several “For eight months, he has been fighting for his own life. Today we can tell high-ranking Cuban officials, including acting you that Fidel has won the fight ... and now he is consolidating the victory, and president Raúl Castro. The foreign minister had a for that reason he hasn’t been present here as all of us would have wanted.” lower-ranking official meet with dissidents after — Vice President Carlos Lage, speaking Apr. 30 in Barquisimeto, Venezuela. his departure, in a move possibly designed to avoid upsetting Cuban authorities. “Now, it looks like cold water’s getting poured all over that [talk of correct- In response, four of the six dissident leaders ing flaws in Cuba’s communist economy]. That, to me, is the clearest sign that invited boycotted the gathering. Fidel Castro is getting better and getting closer to coming back to office.” “Spain has long served as a model of a peaceful — Phil Peters, vice-president of the Lexington Institute, in an Apr. 28 piece by Carol democratic transition and has played an impor- Williams of the Los Angeles Times entitled “Hold the Reforms: Castro is Back.” tant role in encouraging democratic reform around the world,” wrote Jennifer Windsor, Freedom House’s executive director. “People are talking in Cuba. When the talk is going to materialize into “The decision not to personally meet with those action, I don’t know. But this moment of succession, the transfer of power, has broadened the parameters of what is discussable, what is permissible. There individuals on the front lines of the peaceful are still parameters, but the borderlines are fuzzier.” struggle for democracy sent an unfortunate — if Damian J. Fernández unintended — message that the human rights — , director of Florida International University’s Cuban issue is not a top priority in Spanish foreign policy.” Research Institute, quoted in the same article. In its letter, Freedom House urged the Spanish government to reject Cuban demands that the “Fidel is in the way. He’s prolonging a real transition. Whatever support Raúl agenda for talks with Spain not include discus- has been able to build can run out quickly if he’s not able to deliver the goods.” sions regarding political prisoners. — Frank Mora, professor of national security strategy at the National War College. Details: Amanda Abrams, Freedom House, Washington. Tel: (202) 747-7035. “We demand justice and we won’t stop speaking out until the truth about the double standard of the U.S. government is told in every corner of the planet.” FEISTY CATHOLIC MAGAZINE VITRAL CLOSES DOWN — Arleys Santana Bello, Havana general secretary for the pro-government The Roman Catholic magazine Vitral, one of Federation of Cuban Women, in an Apr. 27 condemnation of the decision by a the few publications in Cuba not controlled by the Texas federal court to free alleged terrorist Luís Posada Carriles. government, announced Apr. 10 it was closing down due to lack of resources. “We’re having difficulties and are trying to transform a sugar-dependent The fortnightly magazine published by the economy to services, in particular tourism. We must share experiences and Catholic Diocese of the western city of Pinar del learn from each other.” Rio has provided a rare space for critical debate — Denzil Douglas, prime minister of the nation of St. Kitts-Nevis (pop- within communist-run Cuba since 1994. ulation 40,000, on his country’s recently signed cooperation accord with Cuba. “It’s a problem of resources. We do not have material,” a staff member told Reuters. “This year only two editions have appeared. The current one “Because it’s become such a global symbol of what has gone wrong with America — not just a symbol of our colonial impulses but of the anti-imperial- is the last.” ist fight throughout — it’s something Cuba uses to greater ben- The magazine’s editor, Roman Catholic layman efit than getting the base back.” Dagoberto Valdes, could not be reached immedi- Julia Sweig ately for comment. — , director of Latin studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, Western diplomats in Havana said Valdes had telling the Los Angeles Times why Cuba doesn’t really want Guantánamo back. told them he was having trouble getting hold of 40 boxes of paper and toner needed to produce “They are depressed. They are in shock. [These exiles] never imagined that each edition on six photocopiers. Valdes com- a transfer of power could take place while Castro is still alive. Now they don’t plained he was not allowed to buy a printer have the slightest idea what to do.” despite having the money, one diplomat reported. — Alfredo Duran, Bay of Pigs veteran and former chair of the Florida Democratic The publication was supported by the former Party, quoted in an Apr. 26 essay by Max J. Castro and published in The Nation. bishop of Pinar del Rio, José Siro Gonzalez, a social progressive, but its future has been in “What do you call a U.S. policy that allows a notorious international terrorist doubt since his retirement in January. to walk free on bail? A policy that detains and fines a class of New York high- Vitral, named after the Spanish word for stained school students for taking a study trip over spring break? A policy that has glass, was distributed from hand to hand through been repudiated at the by virtually every other country in the the church’s Cuban social network, reaching world? A policy that, after 48 years of abject failure, is still based on the false 10,000 subscribers. assumption that success — in the form of “regime change” — is just An editorial in Vitral’s last edition called for a around the corner? Imperial. Illogical. Irrational. Insane.” political opening in Cuba, while criticizing the — Apr. 26 editorial in The Nation entitled “Changing Course on Cuba.” government’s “anachronistic and ethically unac- ceptable” economic policies. 6 CubaNews ❖ May 2007 Bacardi’s marketing of a rum with the Ha- Havana Club — FROM PAGE 2 exclusive focus on confiscated property in vana Club name, even if it’s limited to Florida, Cuba violated international law. It said the law swanky nightclubs and pulsating Latin music prompted another lawsuit. must be changed to pertain to illegally confis- in a place that socialites frequented to experi- PERNOD: BACARDI IS ‘DUPING THE CONSUMER’ cated property everywhere or penalties ence an exotic landscape,” said Bacardi. would be imposed. The company also issued a release quoting In August, Pernod sued Bacardi in Delaware, where the distilling giant In the last three Congresses, lawmak- Ramón Arechabala on the rum’s qualities. ers have introduced legislation that “It is great, unbelievable,” Arechabala said. is incorporated, claiming that Bacar- di’s brand ownership is false and that would amend Section 211 but not repeal “It’s based on the secret recipe that we gave it, as HCH wants. to Bacardi so they could make it the same way its product misleads consumers. At issue is the label on Bacardi’s prod- The latest attempt to amend Section we used to in Cuba.” 211 was introduced by Sen. Bill Nelson Bacardi tried to market a Havana Club uct, which says Havana Club and — underneath the name — men- (D-FL) in March. tions the rum is made in Nelson’s bill deletes “designated Puerto Rico. national” — a term the U.S. govern- Orr claims use of the ment uses in its embargo against Havana Club name on a Cuba — and replaces it with the rum that’s not produced following phrase: in Cuba is a scam. “What “Used in connection with a we’re saying is ‘you’re not business or assets that were selling the genuine article confiscated unless the original and you’re duping the owner of the mark, trade name, consumer.’” or commercial name, or the But Neal insists the bona fide successor-in-interest rum’s Puerto Rican origin has expressly consented.” is printed in clear letters An identical bill was spon- on the label. sored in the House by Rep. “Consumers are very Robert Wexler, a Democrat savvy people and they can who represents Florida’s 19th Worker checks bottles of Bacardi rum at distillery in Cataño, read the label,” she noted. Congressional District. Puerto Rico; at right, Bacardi’s own version of Havana Club. The company also says It’s unclear whether the leg- brand in 1995. But it removed that product the rum was once made by islation will win approval in from the shelves after HCH sued the compa- the Arechabalas at a distillery in Congress, which failed to act ny for trademark infringement. Cataño, Puerto Rico, as well as in the last two attempts to win Cuba during World War II in order approval of similar legisla- SPANISH COURT REJECTS BACARDI CLAIM to ensure a continuous supply to the tion. Neal is confident the The trademark battle has had reverbera- U.S. mainland and escape a higher legislation will move for- tions across the Atlantic as well. Earlier this wartime tax on exports from Cuba. ward. Orr is not. year, the Provincial Court of Madrid rejected If the legislation is not Bacardi’s claim over ownership of the Havana SECTION 211 MAY BE AMENDED approved in this Congress, Club brand in Spain. While most of the rum war’s bat- there many be new pres- “The court ruled that Bacardi’s claims over tlegrounds are in federal courts, sures from the WTO on the the brand’s ownership in Spain were unfound- Congress is also involved in the bit- U.S. government to repeal ed, as the trademark had never been used by ter dispute. Section 211. the previous owner and wasn’t renewed when In 2000, the WTO ruled on a Meanwhile the battle it expired,” according to a Pernod statement. European Union complaint about over who has the rights to Bacardi’s latest production of Havana Club Section 211 — a provision in a 1998 Havana Club rum could go rum is limited to the state of Florida, with bot- congressional spending bill that pro- on for years in the federal courts. tles retailing for $20 each. Neal and other Ba- hibits the PTO and the courts from recogniz- Declared Bacardi spokeswoman Amy cardi officials refused to disclose how many ing recognition of trademarks confiscated Federman: “Bacardi will defend any Havana bottles have been sold, though she insisted without compensation from Cuba. Club-related suits vigorously and is confident that “we’re very pleased with our sales.” The WTO determined that Section 211’s Bacardi will ultimately prevail.”

Police to bring their own eclectic brand of music to Cuba in December he Police may be giving their Cuban fans a free show this dations. Immediately, musicians started showing up every night, Christmas, reports Fox News. The super rock group, which sources said, wanting to meet and jam with Sting. T recently reunited for a sellout world tour, has received an invi- Sting is not the only member of the Police who has been to Cuba tation from the Cuban government to perform there in December. and wants to go back. Stewart Copeland and Andy Summers each The Havana show would be the last one in North America, ending went there for a Music Bridges concert in February 1999 where they the Police’s massive tour that begins May 28 in Vancouver. performed with an eclectic group including Bonnie Raitt, Lisa Loeb, The invite stems from a recent visit to Havana over the 2006 Christ- Peter Frampton, Gladys Knight, Joan Osborne, J.D. Souther, Burt mas holiday by Sting and Trudie Styler where they met with many Bacharach and the Indigo Girls. local musicians and poets. The group would not be the first to play Cuba. Audioslave was the “They were overwhelmed by the Cuban culture and the arts and first American rock act there, in 2005. the musicality,” a source told Fox News. “The people were very gen- Several years ago, sources say, Paul McCartney was scheduled to erous to them with their time.” give his own outdoor show in Havana, but his beer sponsor wanted to The couple evidently started out the vacation at one of Havana’s cover a historic statue with a huge plastic bottle. The show was sum- large tourist hotels, but quickly moved to more intimate accommo- marily cancelled. May 2007 ❖ CubaNews 7 ENERGY Cuba again invites U.S. oil giants to invest in oil sector BY DOMINGO AMUCHASTEGUI national, Spain’s Repsol-YPF, Norway’s Norsk due to its success in Venezuela and other he presence of oil in Cuba has become Hydro and China’s Sinopec. Together, they countries over the last 10 years. a very hot issue — generating interna- represent a cumulative investment of $1.5 bil- Until recently, China’s role in the oil sector T tional coverage and several bills pend- lion to date. was limited to leasing drilling equipment and ing in the House of Representatives. In 1991, total production was only 500,000 other services. Last year, however, Sinopec In Miami, the main topic of conversation tons. Twelve years later, this has jumped began leasing several onshore blocks and is among Cuban exiles, along with the current seven-fold to 3.9 million tons (of which crude now an active participant in oil drilling and state of Fidel Castro’s health, is whether Cuba oil represents 2.9 million tons and natural gas extraction in Pinar del Río province. has petroleum, who is going to get what, and 920,000 tons). In addition, Cuban authorities say they’ve what it all means within the context of current By 2010, output should reach five million completed a project to develop ocean thermal US-Cuba relations. tons, with the main users Cuba’s cement energy conversion plants, taking advantage of In March, Havana was the venue for an industry and its thermoelectric plants. year-round ocean temperatures of 28-30 international geology conference, at which This year alone, according to García, 39 degrees C. Although this type of plant re- many highly qualified experts and oil indus- new wells will be drilled onshore, leading to a quires high up-front investment, it produces try officials took place. 40% increase in production. This represents electricity at very low cost and is expected to At the conference, Cuba’s minister of basic investment of $300-400 million by the foreign pay for itself rather quickly. industry, Yadira García, reiterated what has operators as well as Cuba’s state-run oil enti- Also important to Cuba’s overall energy been emphasized several times in public and ty, Cubapetróleos (Cupet). picture is ethanol. Despite Fidel Castro’s in private: Cuba’s readiness to welcome U.S. No specifics were disclosed concerning off- recent rantings against biofuels — fuels pro- companies in the development of its oil sector shore drilling, though García expressed hope duced from corn, soybeans and other com- in Cuba's 112,000-sq-km exclusive economic that Repsol’s deep-water drilling will lead to mercial crops — Cuban authorities have zone in the (see CubaNews, positive results by 2008. made very clear their intent to significantly September 2006, page 7). During the conference, Cuban experts expand the island’s ethanol production from Cuba has 59 offshore and 28 onshore oil announced a project to transform the island’s sugarcane. blocks open to foreign investment; 16 are heavy sulphur-laden crude into synthetic oil At least seven new refineries are being built already under contract by foreign companies, for national consumption and export. while existing ones are being expanded, and eight are currently under negotiations, and 35 Manuel Marrero, chief adviser to García cooperation with Brazil continues. It seems are available. These contracts are in the and one of the island’s most renown petrole- fairly certain that ethanol will become yet hands of Malaysia’s Petronas, India’s ONGC um engineers, said this decision has already another component in Cuba’s so-called Videsh, Canada’s Pebercan and Sherritt Inter- been taken in spite of the high costs involved, Energy Revolution.

Refinery to reopen this year City of Havana pushes energy efficiency A modernized oil refinery in Cuba is avana uses 25-30% of all the electricity Fidalgo said savings in the state sector set to go online in December as part of an generated in Cuba. While that’s a small- depend mainly upon energy use plans ap- ambitious strategy to turn the island into Her percentage than in previous years — proved by government and not on the internal a net oil exporter, the daily newspaper due to the economic and social development measures adopted by institutions themselves. Juventud Rebelde reported Apr. 23. achieved by other provinces — it points to the José Martí International Airport is among Havana’s top 10 energy users. Overhauled with capital from a Cuban- fact that the nation’s capital still plays a cru- cial role in Cuba’s efforts to save energy. Due to the characteristics of the services it Venezuelan joint venture, the Within city limits, there are 200 state instal- provides, it has a high degree of incidence on refinery in south-central Cuba will meet lations considered to be high energy users. peak demand hours, between 6 and 10 pm. the island’s own demands, and earmark Periodic checks by the provincial electricity During no time of day can it save electricity 9,000 barrels of gasoline a day for export, company are supposed to bring out deficien- because that would affect passenger comfort. said the Communist paper. cies and provide solutions. According to the story, the airport’s “Cubans and Venezuelans are making Constant blackouts caused by a lack of gen- three terminals use over 25% of the electricity capital repairs and modernizing the Cien- erating capacity are now a thing of the past, billed nationally to Empresa Cubana de Avia- fuegos refinery, which is expected to Granma reported Mar. 21. ción y Servicios Aeronauticos (ECASA), said Niurka Izquierdo, an engineer assigned by process 65,000 oil barrels a day by the However, electrical engineer Ana Fidalgo, an executive of the capital’s electric utility, the utility to periodically monitor demand. end of 2007 or early 2008,” said Cuba’s notes that present efforts center on a more Nevertheless, she sees continued improve- vice-president, Carlos Lage. complex issue. ment coming in the energy efficiency index, The Camilo Cienfuegos oil refinery, “There is no habit of designing and imple- that is the correlation between the quantity of built by the Soviets in the late 1980s, menting internal energy efficiency plans, and kilowatts per hour spent within a certain peri- began operating intermittently in 1991. many times management underestimates its od and the number of passengers that are But it shut down four years later, and its importance at the time of planning new transported during a given time span. facilities were mothballed. investments,” she said. Izquierdo said 40% of the fixed overhead of In the first half of 2005, Venezuela’s “Even today in the city of Havana, there are José Martí International Airport goes to ener- gy carriers, and within that 30% corresponds state-owned PDVSA estimated the cost of places that don’t have use plans for energy carriers, others know nothing about them, or to electricity payments. reactivating a part of the refinery at $83 create them starting from very generalized Seen independently, Terminal 3 — used for million. A joint venture was established concepts,” she said. “This impedes evaluating international flights — had until recently the in April 2006, with the Cuban govern- costs with certainty and identifying the activi- worst ratio of all, due to the low efficiency of ment investing 51% and PDVSA 49%. ties that have a negative impact on the energy its air-conditioning system, said Rafael de la efficiency indexes.” Rosa, chief of the airports energy group. 8 CubaNews ❖ May 2007 NEWSMAKERS Cynthia Thomas, founder of Texas-Cuba Trade Alliance

BY LARRY LUXNER years later, made that memorable first trip to ture and people available to make it happen, n May 28, Cynthia Thomas will head to Cuba; she came back convinced Washington but small and medium-sized companies don’t Havana for Alimport’s 2007 U.S.-Cuba was on the wrong track. know how to do it. And because of President OTrade Round — marking her 35th trip “I did a lot of research and realized that it Bush, it was politically challenging for the to Cuba. was just a failed policy,” she told CubaNews in state of Texas to organize trade missions to But her very first visit to the Caribbean an interview last month in Grapevine, Tex. Cuba,” she explained. island, in December 2000, is still the one that sticks out in her mind. “It was a 10-day trip, and we stayed at the Martin Luther King Center in Miramar,” she recalled. “We slept in bunk beds. It was run by the Baptist church and was extremely well- LARRY LUXNER run, but we had no air-conditioning or hot water. We had been there for eight days when Vicki Huddleston [chief of the U.S. Interests Section in Havana at that time] invited us to her house, and I remember excusing myself to use the restroom. It was like paradise.” Now, Thomas enjoys both air-conditioning and hot water when she travels to Havana, as president of the Texas-Cuba Trade Alliance. Until recently, the Dallas-based nonprofit was barely known outside the Lone Star State. But lately, it has been making waves in an effort to promote increased sales of rice, cot- ton, grains and other Texas agricultural com- modities to Cuba. That’s easier said than done, considering that Texas is one of the most conservative states in the nation — as well as the home of President Bush, quite possibly the fiercest opponent of improved relations with Cuba who’s ever occupied the White House. “Yes, Texas is conservative but what makes us unique is that it’s a wildcat state, with “Yes, Texas is conservative, but what makes us unique is that it’s a petroleum and cattle,” she said. “People saw wildcat state, with petroleum and cattle. People saw opportunities opportunities, took risks. It’s that culture that spawned companies like Southwest Airlines. and took risks. It’s that culture that spawned companies like There’s a real strong can-do attitude here.” Southwest Airlines. There’s a real strong can-do attitude here.” ALLIANCE FOCUSES ON FOOD SHIPMENTS With 22 million people, Texas ranks No. 3 — CYNTHIA THOMAS, FOUNDING PRESIDENT OF THE TEXAS-CUBA TRADE ALLIANCE in population after California and New York, and No. 2 in size after Alaska. Its relatively high per-capita income and “So the first thing I did was organize agri- Bush wasn’t the only factor. sprawling metropolitan areas — Dallas-Fort culture groups in Texas. We drafted legisla- “Because of Tom DeLay’s prior position in Worth, Houston, San Antonio, Austin and El tion, and in May 2001 succeeded in getting Congress, there were a lot of reservations in Paso, to name a few — make it a potentially the first U.S. resolution passed at a state level Texas about being visible [with regards to lucrative market for Cuban exports. calling for an end to the embargo. Gov. Rick Cuba], simply because they didn’t want to But since trade for now is only one-way — Perry tried to stop it, but he didn’t want to cross him,” she added. “He controlled a lot of and restricted to agricultural commodities oppose the ag groups.” the purse strings.” under the 2000 Trade Sanctions Reform and Opposition from exiles also threatened to Export Enhancement Act (TSRA) — the THE BUSH FACTOR disrupt the newly formed organization’s activ- Texas-Cuba Trade Alliance is focused mainly In 2003, Thomas and a few other like-mind- ities, including a 2003 seminar in Houston. on Texas food shipments to the island, and on ed individuals including Parr Rosson of Texas “You occasionally get handfuls of nasty e- efforts to end the U.S. embargo. A&M University established the Texas-Cuba mails,” she told us. “Some Cubans in Houston “Before the 1959 revolution, essentially all Trade Alliance as a nonprofit. Help also came and Austin tried to tell people we were sneak- the rice produced in Texas went to Cuba,” she from the Texas Farm Bureau, based in Waco. ing around, doing a workshop on Cuba and pointed out. “So when the embargo went into “Since a lot of the board members are agri- having U.S. taxpayers subsidize trade. place, all of a sudden, it hammered the indus- culture trade groups and had the ability to “They wrote to the Houston Chronicle, try- try overnight. Close to 20 mills shut down.” lobby on their own, we decided to focus strict- ing to get them to do a negative story, and Thomas, a native of Tulsa, Okla., has a long ly on education, and helping break through they ended up doing a nice story. They also background in policy analysis, as well as a the barriers to entry. I got the IRS to recognize tried to get the Sheraton in Houston to cancel master’s degree from the University of Min- us as a Section 501(c)(3) charity,” she said. the conference, but failed.” nesota’s Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs. “Companies like Cargill and ADM that are Today, the TCTA has around 50 member In 1995, Thomas moved to Dallas, and six going into Cuba already have the infrastruc- companies and organizations. Membership in May 2007 ❖ CubaNews 9 the alliance is basically free — and from time placed New Zealand as Cuba’s main source of explains why so many poultry and rice com- to time the TCTA sponsors events such as the powdered milk. panies have joined the alliance. “Doing Business in Cuba” seminar held Apr. In 2005, the state’s share of total food “Members get introductions to entering the 26 in Dallas, which attracted 30 executives. exports to Cuba by value was 11.46%, up from Cuban market — and the expertise of all the Thomas has personally led 15 to 20 trade 10.17% in 2004 and 2.09% in 2003. But last board members, for free,” she said. “That missions to Cuba as president of Tri Dimen- year, that tumbled to 6.54%, said Rosson. way, they can know who the buyers are. Then sion Strategies LLC, her own consulting firm. On the other hand, Texas is a major pro- the next time, they can do it on their own.” In September, Texas agricultural groups ducer of chicken and rice — two of the top In 2002, she said, Dallas-based Exxon Corp. will host a four-day trade mission to Cuba. U.S. agricultural exports to Cuba. That applied for a travel license to “poke around” in Participants will pay roughly $1,200 each including airfare from Miami, lodging, meals and ground transportation within Cuba. TEXAS SEEKS TO BOOST EXPORT SHARE So how much business is there really in Cuba for Texas-based companies? Using a share of production method, Texas exports of farm products to Alimport have PORT OF CORPUS CHRISTI come to $113 million since December 2001, according to Rosson. “Texas agribusinesses are well-positioned to respond to the expanding Cuban market due to quick delivery time from Texas ports, the availability of high-quality products and competitive pricing,” he said. During 2006, Texas exports to Cuba were valued at $22.3 million — down from the $40 million range in 2004 and 2005. “Two important reasons for this decrease,” said Rosson, “is that the U.S. has exported increasing amounts of soybeans and soybean products, of which Texas has an extremely small share of U.S. production, and a decrease in exports of dry milk, which is com- Cynthia Thomas, founder of the Texas-Cuba Trade Alliance, in front of historical marker in Grapevine (left); ing mainly from Texas” — which recently dis- bagged beans are loaded onto a vessel at the Port of Corpus Christi in late 2006 for shipment to Cuba. Cuba, but OFAC denied the request. “One of the things that’s challenged Texas companies to date is that containerized ship- ping is so far away, it doubles or triples the cost of your product,” said Thomas. “For example, from a factory in Dallas to the Port of Houston, you’re looking at a four-hour drive. But if you have to truck your product to Jacksonville, that takes 18 or 20 hours. With gas prices maybe hitting $4 a gallon this sum- mer, it’ll be dramatically cheaper if you can get that product on a ship in Texas.” “My one piece of advice is, in meetings with Alimport, meet the buyers. Pedro Alvarez is not a buyer. By meeting the buyers, you find out their unique issues and the challenges they’re facing that are inhibiting them from buying more goods.” Of course, things will dramatically change once the U.S. and Cuba can trade freely. “From Texas, you’d have many more indus- tries open up — petroleum, IT and the tech- nologies that run hotels, air-conditioning and ventilation systems. We’ve got two companies headquartered in Texas — American Airlines and Continental — that are flying people from Miami to Havana,” said Thomas. “Now, we fly from Houston to Austin or San Antonio for the day. Once Cuba opens up, you’d be able to do business day trips to Havana.” Details: Cynthia Thomas, President, Texas- Cuba Trade Alliance, PO Box 515322, Dallas, TX 75251.Tel: (972) 527-7505. Fax: (972) 527-9449. E-mail: [email protected]. 10 CubaNews ❖ May 2007 LEGAL AFFAIRS Lawyer Nicolás Gutiérrez takes on property “traffickers” BY VITO ECHEVARRÍA confiscated property investments in Cuba, Regarding the former Sánchez property, iami attorney Nicolás J. Gutiérrez Jr. compensate the legitimate owners or lose Gutiérrez sued all the resort chains that were has made it his life’s work pursuing their U.S. visas,” says Gutiérrez. on the 75-km stretch of coastline. Mlawsuits against people and compa- “Sherritt International [a Canadian conglo- “Besides Sol Meliá and Superclubs, other nies who “traffic” in property confiscated by merate with substantial nickel mining, power foreign hoteliers that have built or operated the Castro regime. generation and tourism operations in Cuba] hotels on that same beach include LTI and Gutiérrez, 43, was born in Costa Rica to chose the latter option, as did Grupo BM [an Maritim (Germany); Delta and Air Transat Cuban exile parents. He graduated from the Israeli-controlled entity that built Havana’s (Canada); Accord, Club Med and Bouygues University of Miami in 1985 Miramar Trade Center and has (France), and Blau and Grubarges (Spain). and from Wash-ington’s invested heavily in citrus “We have proceeded against each of these Georgetown Univer-sity Law exports in Matan-zas traffickers via the same administrative Title Center in 1988. province],” said Gutiérrez. IV proceedings with the State Department, The lawyer currently repre- PUNISHING SPAIN’S MELIÁ but State did not pursue the others very vig- sents around 350 clients who orously as of yet. However, the Germans and Because the State Depart- the Canadians have withdrawn their invest- have filed claims under Title ment is responsible for enforc- III of the 1996 Helms-Burton ments over the past few years under our ing Title IV, political considera- relentless and sustained .” Act, which bars foreign tions — such as the level of investors from dealing in land relations between the United LAWYER FIGHTS INVESTMENT IN SUGAR confiscated by the Cuban gov- States and the target country Gutiérrez is a board member of both the ernment after 1959. —may take precedent over South Florida Water Management District That may seem like a large the claimant’s legal rights. and the National Association of Sugar Mill number, but it really isn’t when This happened with the Owners of Cuba, which represents the former considering the fact that some Sánchez family’s legal claim owners of 161 mills nationalized by Castro. 9,000 U.S. corporations and against Spanish hotel conglom- Even though there is no known foreign individuals have filed claims Attorney Nicolás J. Gutiérrez Jr. erate Sol Meliá, though it was investment in Cuba’s sugar sector, Gutiérrez against the Castro govern- not nearly as successful as has also taken legal action on behalf of former ment. Of that total, 5,911 have been certified some had predicted it would be. sugar-mill owners to prevent the possibility of by the U.S. Claims Settlement Commission, “Sol Meliá was forced to negotiate with us joint ventures in that sector. an agency of the Department of Justice. for a settlement in the millions of dollars “While there have not yet been any suits, Those individual claimants include people [mediated by the State Department], but in we were able to successfully pressure a Euro- who were Cuban nationals at the time of the the end backed out, since the State Depart- pean/Middle Eastern banking consortium to confiscation of their properties. ment was still unwilling to vigorously enforce withdraw from lending the Cuban Sugar “Court lawsuits can now only be brought this provision,” says Gutiérrez. Ministry about $350 million a decade ago to based upon common-law principles, which is Madrid has traditionally enjoyed good rela- increase production, which would have been difficult and subject to many legal hurdles, tions with Washington, particularly after the collateralized with liens on specific sugar-pro- since Title III lawsuits under Helms-Burton 9/11 terrorist attacks, which brought Bush ducing properties — all confiscated from are currently suspended,” says Gutiérrez. and former Spanish Prime Minister José members of our association,” he said. “So far, default judgments have only been María Aznar together in the much-publicized obtained against the Cuban government [not war against terrorism. GUTIÉRREZ: DO YOUR HOMEWORK FIRST It’s perhaps no surprise that Gutiérrez him- private foreign traffickers], in cases involving ‘RELENTLESS AND SUSTAINED PRESSURE’ death, torture, rape, etc., not for property con- self has good reason to represent the former fiscation,” Gutiérrez recently told CubaNews. Because of that, the Bush administration is sugar-mill owners. Before Castro’s rise to “Thus, the somewhat more viable route reluctant to strain relations needlessly by fully power, his family owned 100,000 acres of [although still difficult, due to minimal State enforcing Helms-Burton against Spanish sugar plantations throughout Cuba. Department enforcement] is using Title IV to hotel companies like Sol Meliá. These legal actions highlight the risks that pressure out-of-court settlements with the “Under EU pressure, Bush has suspended some foreign companies might assume when traffickers, despite the fact that the relatively Title III every six months,” laments Guti- they invest in Cuba. low compensation offers often are unattrac- érrez. “Title IV, while not likewise suspend- If there’s significant change in Cuba’s polit- tive to potentially large claimant families.” able, has only been minimally enforced, due ical system in the near future, more pre-Cas- to this same pressure. IF TITLE III DOESN’T WORK, TRY TITLE IV tro property owners and their estates will like- “Among the few Bush actions under Title ly want to contact the Foreign Claims Settle- Indeed, pressure from the European Union IV, Superclubs — a Jamaican hotel chain — ment Commission to certify whatever claims has compelled both the Clinton and Bush was forced to withdraw from its joint venture they have against the Cuban government. administrations from fully enforcing Title III with the Cuban government on the Sánchez But before doing that, suggests Gutiérrez, of Helms-Burton, due to heavy European in- family’s beachfront property in Holguín “claimants should have various kinds of own- vestment in the Cuban economy. province in May 2004, due to my efforts.” ership documents, including actual deeds, Nevertheless, there’s another provision of Gutiérrez noted an interesting point about both U.S. and Cuban tax records, affidavits, Helms-Burton — Title IV — that prevents top the Sánchez family’s lawsuit: the fact that it wills and references in historical/trade publi- officials of foreign entities that “traffic” in con- was actually against multiple defendants, cations.” fiscated Cuban properties subject to U.S. because the long-confiscated pristine beach- claims from entering the United States. front property has been used by various for- Details: Nicolás J. Gutiérrez Jr, Borgognoni “This non-suspendable [but not fully en- eign hotel chains, a scenario seen at various & Gutiérrez, 2665 South Bayshore Drive, forced] exclusion of foreign trafficker officials all-inclusive resort sites, such as Playa Suite #701, Miami, FL 33133. Tel: (305) and their family members is precisely to pres- Dorada and Punta Cana in the nearby Domini- sure foreign companies with substantial U.S. can Republic, as well as similar sites in 860-2060. Fax: (305) 860-2068. E-mail: business ties to either withdraw from their Mexico, Jamaica and the Bahamas. [email protected]. May 2007 ❖ CubaNews 11 LEGAL AFFAIRS Fanjul family petitions to recover confiscated artwork BY VITO ECHEVARRÍA refused, citing client confidentiality. ing out of Cuba],” he said. “We have some he Fanjul family — one of the most Despite Great Britain’s diplomatic ties with vague ideas.” prominent sugar-holding families in Cuba and Sotheby’s refusal to name the paint- One press report, an April 2005 article in T pre-Castro Cuba, is suing to recover a ing’s owner, the billionaire sugar family was Australian newspaper The Age, noted that the rare painting worth up to $4 million. not dissuaded from tracking town the paint- Fanjuls hired a risk consultant and art spe- When the Fanjuls fled Cuba, they lost their ing and claiming it. cialist from Lloyd’s of London, who back in fortune to the Castro regime. Assets included SECRET SMUGGLERS? 2000 started investigating a lead that their four sugar mills, a cattle ranch, a rice mill, 13 painting was previously in Italy, and eventual- Neither the Fanjul family nor officials of ly found out that an Italian art dealer, Bruno houses, four apartment buildings, Aubusson Sotheby’s could be reached for comment for tapestries and rare furniture that once be- Scaioli, had bought the painting from the longed to French aristocrat Marie-Antoinette. Cuban authorities in the early 1990s, sent it to To add insult to injury, one of the Fanjuls’ Europe, had it authenticated by Blanca Pons- former Havana homes became a personal res- Sorella, and that it was available for sale. idence of Fidel Castro. Singham submitted a complaint to the State In addition, the family had to abandon the Department, invoking Title IV of the Helms- Michaelangelo, Caravaggio, Goyam Murillo, Burton Act to prevent Sotheby’s U.K. officials Boucher, and Sorolla y Bastida masterpieces as well as Scaioli from entering the United collected during the pre-Castro period. States. He also accused the art house of vio- The family’s entire art collection — which lating the Trading With the Enemy Act in eventually fell into the hands of Cuba’s dealing with artwork from the Castro regime. Marxist government — is estimated by the In addition, five members of Congress even Miami Herald to have been worth between wrote to State and Treasury to push for sanc- tions on behalf of the Fanjuls. $20 million and $60 million. Sorolla’s “Málaga Portí” is worth up to $4 million. Two members of the Fanjul family, Alfy and LAWYER: FANJUL SATISFIED WITH OUTCOME José “Pépe,” used their New York real-estate this story, though attorney Shanker Singham Given that the penalties for violating the assets to buy sugar properties in South Flor- did talk to us. Enemy Act are alarming — up to $1 million in ida and the Dominican Republic — yet the Singham, then a partner at the Miami firm fines and 10 years in jail — and the fact that Fanjuls never forgot their lost masterpieces. of Steele Hector & Davis, was hired by the Sotheby’s head office is in New York, that The controversy now underway involves Fanjuls in the mid-1990s to come up with a legal action quickly led to negotiations the Castro regime’s confiscation of a painting creative legal theory to prevent the Sorella between Sotheby’s CEO William Ruprecht called “Málaga Portí” by the Spanish impres- painting from ever being auctioned off. and the Fanjuls at their Palm Beach, Fla., res- sionist Joaquín Sorolla. In 1993, the painting, During a recent phone interview, Singham idence in February 2005. valued at $2-4 million, found its way to the — who’s now a partner at Washington law “We have agreements with Sotheby’s not to Sotheby’s auction house in London, where it sell these paintings [the entire Fanjul art col- sat for two years. firm Squire Sanders & Dempsey LLP — told CubaNews there was no way to explain how lection],” Singham told CubaNews. “Also, they The painting was about to be put up for sale [Sotheby’s] will hold onto the paintings until to the highest bidder, after being authenticat- the painting ended up at Sotheby’s, except to say that most likely, elements within the title issues are resolved.” ed by Blanca Pons-Sorella, the artist’s great- According to press reports, Sotheby’s has granddaughter. Castro regime probably had the painting sold set up a screening process, where, along with The Fanjuls eventally founded out about for cash to an overseas collector, who later holding onto any Fanjul artwork that unwit- Sotheby’s having the painting authenticated, brought it to Sotheby’s for auction. tingly ends up for auction at their salesroom, asserted its ownership of it, and demanded to “There was a huge amount of secrecy [sur- an internal list of “red flag” names will be know its whereabouts. The auction house rounding the smuggling of the Sorella paint- maintained — consisting of dealers, bankers and others involved in the trade of stolen art- works that Sotheby’s will avoid. Cuba makes cover of Cigar Aficionado — again Both the Fanjuls and attorney Singham igar Aficionado magazine is rolling out the value of the U.S. trade embargo, as the seem to be satisfied with Sotheby’s actions. a June issue packed with Cuba news 1999 issue did. “What Sotheby’s is doing is pretty dramat- Cthe Miami New Times predicts Miami New Times suggests the ic,” says Singham, noting that the Fanjuls will is “sure to raise hackles in our magazine may be pulled off the likely make an effort to keep their agreement banana republic.” racks again, if exiles have their way. with Sotheby’s in effect indefinitely, since Last time the magazine did a sim- “First Amendment champions there’s concern that other artworks previous- ilar series, in June 1999, the newspa- need only look at recent events ly owned by them may have also been spirit- per reported Apr. 27, Miami-Dade such as the unsuccessful campaign ed out of Cuba, and ended up in the hands of County bureaucrats pulled it from to ban a children’s book from private collectors in Europe and elsewhere. newsracks at Miami International Miami-Dade school libraries and The Fanjuls have shown the lengths they’ll Airport. That issue featured photos the school board’s ongoing quixot- go to penalize anyone who’s tried to profit off of Fidel and then-President Clinton ic battle to reinstate the ban,” the their confiscated Cuban possessions, whether on the cover with the tagline, “Cuba: Is it newspaper reminded its readers. it’s real estate or obscure paintings. time to end the embargo?” Gordon Mott, Cigar Aficionado’s exective Details: Shanker Singham, Market Access While the latest issue’s cover image — editor, couldn’t be reached for comment, palm trees — is more benign, the inside while Miami airport spokesman Greg Chin WTO Practice, Squire Sanders & Dempsey, pages explore travel to Cuba (including told Miami New Times he was unaware of 1201 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, ways to “sidestep” restrictions) and debate the issue. DC 20044-0407. Tel: (202) 626-6860. Fax: (202) 626-6780. E-mail: [email protected]. 12 CubaNews ❖ May 2007 “For us, this action is unacceptable,” Norma “A true manifestation of this is the recent BUSINESS BRIEFS Goicochea Estenóz, Cuba’s ambassador to formalization of the technical cooperation Austria, told reporters at the Cuban Embassy agreements which would pave the way for RODRÍGUEZ: CUBA SHOULD HAVE ONLY ONE PESO in Vienna. Solomon Islanders to train in Cuba in the Cuba’s economics minister says the govern- According to an AP wire story, Bawag PSK health sector and for Cuban medical brigades ment hopes to return to a single currency — — linked to the collapsed U.S. commodities to serve in Solomon Islands,” said Waena. a departure from the current two-currency broker Refco — was bought in December by a “Although Solomon Islands is a small devel- system that makes many consumer goods consortium headed by New York private equi- oping nation, we do share the same concerns unattainable for most Cubans. ty company, Cerberus Capital Management. and uphold the same values as the Republic of “We have been advancing toward monetary Since U.S. law prohibits not only American Cuba,” he said, adding that his tiny country unification,” Economics Minister José Luís businesses but also their subsidiaries abroad “will continue to play its role to consistently Rodríguez told reporters during a late April from conducting any commerce with Cuban strive to forge the financial, economic and briefing on the Cuban economy. “That’s the nationals, the bank said in April that it had commercial freedom of Cuba from the cordon path.” He did not provide specifics. ended its relationship with its Cuban clients. imposed by the United States of America.” Estenóz said his embassy had been in touch Today, the regular is what CUBA TO PLANT 150 MILLION TREES IN 2007 Cubans use for virtually all government serv- with several Austrian ministries and the speak- ices — including utilities, transportation and a er of parliament and had been told that the Cuba will plant 150 million trees this year, monthly food ration — and it is the only cur- matter would be looked into. A Bawag part of the world campaign “Plant for the rency accepted at popular farmers’ markets. spokesman hinted that the bank wanted to Planet,” said forestry official Elias Linares. But the convertible Cuban peso, which is seek special authorization from U.S. authori- This international call to save the forests of tied to foreign currencies, is the only money ties to resume serving Cuban nationals. the planet has been launched by the UN accepted for electronics, packaged food and The Cuban ambassador was accompanied at Environment Program, and its objective is to other goods at most government-run stores. the Vienna news conference by Lissethe plant one billion trees in the world in 2007. Cuban government workers, who earn Grana, whose brother was told to close his He explained that Cuba’s 2007 reforestation about $15 a month, can’t afford most of the account and even pay a fee. program is being coordinated by the Minis- items available in convertible Cuban pesos at “This is an insult,” said Grana, a travel agent tries of Agriculture and Sugar, the National the foreign-currency stores, which are high- who holds both Austrian and Cuban citizen- Hydraulic Resources Institute, the Revolutio- priced even by U.S. or European standards. ship and has lived in Austria for 13 years. nary Armed Forces and Cuban farmers. Havana has boosted its forested areas from Those who shop at the stores are mostly SOLOMON ISLANDS RECEIVES CUBAN ENVOY foreigners or the estimated 57% of Cubans 3,155 acres in 1997 to over 4,000 acres in 2007. who receive cash remittances from family liv- The South Pacific’s Solomon Islands on Cuban expert Isabel Russo led a conference ing outside the country. Apr.4 received its first-ever Cuban ambassador on urban forestry in Cuba, in which she spoke Until a little over two years ago, the U.S. in the capital city of Honiara. about planting trees in the “Mi Programa Ver- dollar also circulated one-to-one alongside the Jorge Rey Jiménez presented his credentials de” (My Green Program) project for Havana convertible Cuban peso. to Governor-Gen. Nathaniel Waena, who said which, this year, will plant 2.5 million trees. The Central Bank later “revalued” the con- the event opens a new chapter in ties between Cuba hopes to have 7.9 million acres of for- vertible peso so it trades at one to $1.08. That Cuba and the Solomons (population 552,000). ests, or 29.3% of the island’s territory, by 2015. exchange doesn’t take into account a sur- charge of about 10% to change U.S. dollars with the convertible pesos. Customs: VCRs may now be brought into Cuba 2 EUROPEAN BANKS REJECT CUBAN ACCOUNTS ffective May 1, Cuban customs offi- ■ electric generators cials once again will allow arriving ■ radio transmission equipment and trans- Barclays Bank has told the London branch- ceivers es of two Cuban organizations to take their Epassengers to import video cameras ■ wireless telephones that operate in accounts elsewhere in what is seen as the lat- and other image-reproducing equipment, bands other than 40-49 MHz and 2,4 and 5 est example of pressure exerted by Washing- according to Resolution 99/2007 of the GHz ton on British companies to enforce its embar- Ministry of Finance and Prices. Since July 2002, the importation of such ■ wireless microphones go, The Guardian reported Apr.16. ■ The long-standing accounts held by state- equipment had been banned, regardless of wireless facsimile terminals manufacturer or country of origin. ■ telephone switchboards and equipment run Havana International Bank and Cubana- ■ can are understood to be healthy. Now, Cuban authorities say that, due to professional radio and TV receivers dif- Nevertheless, a Barclays spokesman said: “current technological development of the fering from household models; image-reproducing equipment, as well as ■ GPS devices “We operate in a number of jurisdictions ■ around the world and that requires careful the extensive use of these incorporated to satellite receiver antennas and stations other devices,” the import of these items by ■ satellite communication ground stations monitoring to ensure compliance with differ- ■ ent regulations.” national passengers is permitted. freezers of more than 7 cubic feet of The Cuban government was not pleased. The resolution was published Apr. 26 in capacity the Gaceta Oficial, where all laws and gov- ■ air conditioners “We are aware of the intensification of U.S. ■ pressure in various countries in order to make ernment decisions are made public. electric kitchens and furnaces of all Under the new regulations, passengers types, models and capacities them comply with the regulations of the ■ blockade imposed on Cuba. These pressures can now import household appliances val- electric ovens, showers, water heaters include the banking and financial system,” ued at up to $300. and fryers of all types, models and capaci- said a Cuban Foreign Ministry statement. Recently excluded from the banned list ties, including microwave ovens ■ Colin Burgon, a British member of were personal computers and peripherals, electric irons without sprinklers con- Parliament, said he was outraged by the due to the high demand by students and suming over 290 watts/hour Barclays decision, telling reporters “This is professionals, and the government's new ■ electric irons with sprinklers consuming totally unnecessary. We have on the statute policy to extend computer skills throughout over 703 watts/hour book robust legislation that protects U.K. citi- the population. ■ electric bread toasters zens and visitors from discrimination.” However, the following items still may Details: Aduana General de la Republica, Meanwhile, Cuba is protesting the move by not be imported into Cuba: Havana. URL: www.aduana.islagrande.cu. an Austrian bank to disown its Cuban clients. May 2007 ❖ CubaNews 13 OPINION Small Vermont college launches Cuba study program BY HELEN J. SIMON ities took place in June 2004,” Treasury sector officials crafted an agreement with spokeswoman Molly Millerwise told Cuba- Cuba to export $7 million worth of cows, progressive college in Burlington, Vt., apples and powdered milk to the Caribbean is planning to send its first study- News. “At that time, we began requiring that licensable study abroad programs be at the island. About 75 heifers were sent and an A abroad students to Havana next year — arrangement was made to ship Vermont milk despite tightened U.S. laws that have slashed grad or undergrad level only and last no less than 10 weeks.” via a California dairy cooperative. But the such academic programs in half since 2003. apple part of the package never materialized Two officials from Burlington College were Millerwise said Treasury’s Office of For- eign Assets Control issued 90 licenses related and Vermont officials became somewhat dis- scheduled to travel to Cuba May 5-12 to ink a couraged by what they perceived as Cuba's final agreement with the University of Havana to educational activities in Cuba last year — half of the 181 issued in 2003. reluctance to pursue the matter. that will send five to 10 students to study Vermont Lt. Gov. Brian Dubie, who traveled there starting January 2008, according to the Sherman said many schools had shorter programs and chose to cancel them in light of to Cuba and was instrumental in drafting the college’s academic dean, Michael Sherman. 2004 accord, told CubaNews he’s pleased the The trip is the culmination of several years the new rules, noting that we were willing to make that commitment.” Burlington College deal is becoming reality. of planning and follows a formal visit by col- “It’s clearly in the direction of where we left lege officials in December to craft general The Burlington College students will be allowed to take any courses offered by the our last visit [to Cuba],” he said. guidelines for the program, he said. Other aspects of Vermont-Cuba trade are Burlington College, which calls itself “an University of Havana, but must speak Spanish since all classes are taught in that language, somewhat on hold, however. Vermont and alternative liberal arts college” and has about other interests were very close to finalizing a 140 students, initially obtained a Treasury Sherman said. They’ll be required to live as a group in housing approved by the University deal to send 500 head of cattle to Cuba last Department license to travel to Cuba in summer, “but then Fidel got sick,” said Dubie. March 2005 and has renewed it every year of Havana and Burlington College. “That was a setback, the fact that they had since then. Total cost for the semester in Havana will other issues to deal with.” Sherman said the semester-abroad pro- be $10,000 to $15,000, he said, adding that Dubie said those discussions are ongoing gram will give Burlington College students details are still being worked out. but that the market is very competitive, with exposure to a culture few of their counter- Sherman said Cuba was a natural focus for Canadian companies also seeking to sell cows parts will ever experience. the college, which has had an inter-American to Cuba. The Cuba study program is coming to studies program for some time. fruition at time when stricter rules introduced “There’s a lot of interest in Cuba here and Details: Michael Sherman, Academic Dean, by the White House have led many U.S. aca- elsewhere and it’s been stimulated somewhat Burlington College, 95 North Ave., Burlington, demic institutions to suspend such initiatives. by trade exchanges worked out in Vermont to VT 05401. Tel: (800) 862-9616. E-mail: msher- “The most recent changes to the require- send cows and milk products,” he told us. [email protected]. URL: www.burlington.edu. ments for travel to Cuba for educational activ- In 2004, Vermont government and private

Baseball — FROM PAGE 4 — MLB would consider scouting for Cuban sing how to approach the possibility of normal baseball talent in a better-organized manner. relations with Cuba a year and a half ago. However, Kehoskie doesn’t see sports That’s opposed to the current situation, According to an MLB press release, there agents getting out of representing Cuban with Cuban players individually defecting and were just six Cubans on Opening Day major ballplayers altogether — just exiting the alien- later trickling into MLB. league rosters versus 98 from the Dominican smuggling end of that Republic, 51 from Venezuela, and 28 from business. Puerto Rico. Between 20 and 30 Cuban defec- “I doubt there will be tors are currently playing in the minors. any change in terms of “I believe Cuba is by far the greatest

interest in representing LARRY LUXNER untapped source of potential MLB players on Cuban players, especial- Earth,” says Kehoskie. ly players who get out of “If Cuba were to completely open up, I Cuba on their own. With believe there are at least 25 to 50 Cuban play- millions of dollars in ers, especially pitchers, who could reach the potential commissions at major leagues within a year or two of signing stake in Cuba, interest in an MLB contract. Cuban baseball players “Overall, there could be as many as 500 to will likely remain high,” 1,000 Cuban players signed to professional he said. contracts within the first three to five years of “However, I doubt that an open Cuba,” he said. agents will return to Unknown slugger at bat during a game in Havana’s Estadio Latinoamericano. “The comparison I use is this,” says Kehos- risking criminal prose- kie. “The Dominican Republic has approxi- cution, and hundreds of New York Times reporter Michael Schmidt mately eight million people and no structured thousands of dollars in upfront expenses, to amateur baseball program, and yet there are smuggle players to the United States.” wrote that “baseball is contemplating a strate- gy for teams to sign Cuban players in an currently about 1,200 Dominican players MLB MULLS POST-EMBARGO STRATEGY effort to create an orderly system for acquir- under contract at all levels of pro baseball. Joe Garagiola Jr., MLB’s senior vice-presi- ing talent from the island,” should the United “Cuba, on the other hand, has approxi- dent of baseball operations, was among those States ever lift its trade embargo. mately 12 million people and one of the most recently quoted by the New York Times in say- Schmidt cited three baseball officials and a structured baseball programs on Earth, yet ing that — assuming a political opening scholar who were briefed of the plans. The there are less than 40 Cuban players current- occurs between Cuba and the United States article said baseball officials began discus- ly under contract in pro baseball.” 14 CubaNews ❖ May 2007 PROVINCES Guantánamo, famous for U.S. base, loses people every day

This is the 9th in a series of monthly articles on Cuba’s 14 provinces by geographer Armando H. Portela, who has a Ph.D. in geography from the Soviet Academy of Sciences. Portela currently resides in Miami.

BY ARMANDO H. PORTELA ocated at Cuba’s eastern tip, Guantánamo is a land of geographi- cal contrasts that contains important natural resources and per- L haps the island’s best-preserved wilderness. Guantánamo covers 6,168 sq kms (2,382 sq miles), or 5.6% of the country’s land area. It is a small province by Cuban standards, not only in terms of area, but also in terms of population and economic impact. POPULATION In 2006, Guantánamo had only 511,224 inhabitants, or 4.6% of Cuba’s population. Traditionally, the province has reported the country’s high- est birth rate as well as the highest rate of immigration to other FC provinces. At present, nearly 1% of Guantánamo’s people leave the province every year. From 1993 to 2005, some 57,750 guantanameros departed — equivalent to 11.3% of the province’s entire population. The provincial capital, also known as Guantánamo, has 208,726 inhab- itants. The 2nd-largest city is Baracoa, with 39,190 residents. To-gether, the two cities house 48.5% of Guantánamo’s population. The rest live in towns with under 10,000 people, including Jamaica (8,000), Imías (8,000), El Salvador (6,000) and San Antonio del Sur (5,000). GEOGRAPHY Cuba’s thickest and best-preserved forests cover most of the moun- tains of Guantánamo, which receives Cuba’s highest average annual H rainfall and ironically is also the driest province in Cuba. Mountains make up 75% of Guantánamo’s land area. Curiously, there is no unified name for the province’s main mountain range. Rather, they have colorful, local names such as Cuchillas del Toa, Sierra del Purial, Sierra de Mariana and Meseta del Guaso. Blocking the free flow of the Atlantic Ocean’s humid trade winds, the Area of Detail mountains are a formidable barrier for rains and divide the pro-vince into two very different landscapes. Along the northern windward slopes, average annual rainfall exceeds 3,400 mm (134 inches). A dense rainforest, often growing over thick weathering crusts, shelters numerous plants and animals found nowhere else in the world. H South of the watershed, on the leeward side of the winds and rains, a narrow belt along the coast from Guantánamo Bay to the Point of Maisí receives less than 600 mm H (24 inches) of rainfall yearly, and xerophytic thorn bushes predomi- FC nate. Capiro Sabanalamar r. Another outstanding geogra- La Máquina phic trait of this part of the island is the series of spectacular mar-ine La Tinta

terraces at Punta de Maisí (see spe- cial report in CubaNews, April 2007, page 10). Unique in the world and often featured in geography textbooks, dozens of such steppes carved on limestone were created by the combined effects of marine abra- sion and tectonic upheaval over millions of years. To some extent, the largely mes- May 2007 ❖ CubaNews 15 tizo inhabitants are physically distinguishable from other Cubans. The U.S. NAVAL BASE AT GUANTÁNAMO local Spanish and even some staples of the local diet contrast with the rest of the island. These distinctions make Guantánamo unique — to the point that driv- ing through the province is almost like being in another country. ECONOMY Guantánamo’s economy is mainly agricultural, with 40% of its land area devoted to farms. But arable land, found only in the Guantánamo Basin and at Caujerí, is scarce and poor. Nearly 20% of the province’s farmlands reportedly suffer from saline intrusions. As part of the Cuban sugar industry’s recent downsizing, the gov- ernment has dismantled three out of the province’s six sugar mills, leav- ing a fourth producing only molasses. The dismantled mills — Costa Rica (formerly Ermita); (Isabel) and Paraguay (Los Caños), along with El Salvador (Soledad), which will produce molasses — together yielded some 90,000 metric tons of sugar annually in their hey- day. But authorities became increasingly unable to operate the mills after the collapse of the Soviet bloc. Another two mills, Héctor Infante (Romelié) and Jorge Prieto (Santa Cecilia), were shut by authorities before 1990. The two surviving mills, Argeo Martínez (Esperanza) and Manuel Tames (San Antonio), have a daily grinding capacity of 4,000 to 4,500 tons, giving the province a total sugar production of between 40,000 and 50,000 tons per harvest. That compares to the 1980s, when Guantánamo produced 140,000 tons per season. While sugar production is now negligible, Guantánamo still produces 25% of Cuba’s coffee crop, ranking second after . The coffee plantations are located in the mountains, where deep soils, cool temperatures and high humidity provide excellent growing conditions for the bean. Nevertheless, plantations have been pretty much neglect- 5 km 0 ed, driving down both yields and quality. Annual production of coffee 3 miles today is less than 5,000 tons. On the other hand, Guantánamo is beginning to benefit from pro- duction of high-value organic coffee. Sources say that in 2002, the province exported around 70 tons of such coffee to Europe, with the beans certified by the German agency BCS Öko-Garantie GmbH. In order to win that kind of certification, coffee producers must use biological rather than chemical means to fertilize crops and protect

LARRY LUXNER them from plagues and insects. Their reward: considerably higher prices on the world market. Some 3,000 hectares of land have been devoted to organic coffee production in Guantánamo, with the goal of eventually boosting output to 800 tons a year. Guantánamo is also Cuba’s leading cacao producer, averaging some 1,700 tons annually. That’s considerably lower than the 6,800 tons produced per year in the early 20th century, before plantations were abandoned as a result of Cuba’s sugar expansion. Aided by the dry climate, a facility at Caimanera produces 115,000 tons of table salt a year, equivalent to 70% of Cuba’s annual consump- tion. A furniture factory in the capital supplies Cuba’s tourist sector. With only 303 rooms in poor-quality hotels, tourism capabilities are limited to the city of Baracoa. However, Guantánamo’s outstanding tropical landscapes and virgin shores offer an important potential for future development. INFRASTRUCTURE Guantánamo’s network of highways and railroads is very limited. Some mountain settlements are actually inaccessible by modern means of transportation. Guantánamo’s sugar production, as well as part of the production of neighboring Santiago de Cuba province, is exported through Boquerón, where facilities for bulk shipping can handle about 5,000 tons daily and store up to 20,000 tons. Two domestic airports, located in Guantánamo and Baracoa, sup- port some domestic traffic. Before the economic collapse of the ‘90s, light planes linked some isolated settlements such as Maisí on Cuba’s eastern tip, but local air service has since been suspended. Provincial radio stations here play a key role in personal communi- cations among rural guantanameros. Through radio broadcasts, people send messages to relatives or friends, usually in order to arrange meetings. A typical message might be: “To Pedro at La Tinta, meet Mongo and his wife coming Woman sells U.S. eggs along a street in the city of Guantánamo, while horses from Capiro on Saturday at dawn at the Río Yumurí. Make sure to transport a family in rural Guantánamo, one of the poorest of Cuba’s provinces. bring an extra mule with you.” 16 CubaNews ❖ May 2007 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 May 1-31: “Cuban Women Who Made Great Contributions in Cuba” Stephen P. Clark fast-growing region. Center, 111 NW 1st St., Miami. Mariana Grajales, Ana Betancourt de Mora, Amelia Pelaez Subscribe to Caribbean UPDATE, a and Lydia Cabrera are among Cuban women whose legacy is honored by special exhibit co- monthly newsletter founded in 1985. Cor- porate and government executives, as well sponsored by the University of Miami’s Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies as scholars and journalists, depend on this and the Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners. No charge. Details: Barbara Gutiér- publication for its insightful, timely cover- rez, Public Affairs, University of Miami. Tel: (305) 284-5500. E-mail: [email protected]. age of the 30-plus nations and territories of the Caribbean and Central America. May 21: “The Successful Transition of Hungary to Democracy” Presentation by Andras When you receive your first issue, you Simonyi, Hungarian ambassador to the United States. No charge. Details: Institute for have two options: (a) pay the accompany- Cuban and Cuban-American Studies, University of Miami, PO Box 248174, Miami, FL ing invoice and your subscription will be 33124. Tel: (305) 284-2822. Fax: (305) 284-4875. E-mail: [email protected]. processed; (b) if you’re not satisfied, just write “cancel” on the invoice and return it. May 14-17: International workshop on the effects of iron on human health, Havana. De- There is no further obligation on your part. tails:Centro Nacional de Biopreparados (BIOCEN), Carretera de Beltran, Km 1.5, Bejucal, The cost of a subscription to Caribbean UPDATE La Habana. Tel: +53 7 881-7024. Fax: +53 7 883-1144. E-mail: [email protected]. is $267 per year. A special rate of $134 is available to academics, non-profit May 20: “Danzas & Primavera” Recital by Cuban violinist Andrés Trujillo and pianist Dar- organizations and additional subscriptions mailed to the same address. Details: Institute for Cuban & Cuban-Ameri- leen Trujillo, Casa Bacardi, Miami. Costa: $20. To order, contact Caribbean UPDATE at can Studies, University of Miami, PO Box 248174, Miami, FL 33124. Tel: (786) 287-7324. 116 Myrtle Ave., Millburn, NJ 07041, call us at (973) 376-2314, visit our new website at May 23-29: Or Hadash/Next Generation Jewish Humanitarian Mission to Cuba. Orlando’s www.caribbeanupdate.org or send an young Jewish professionals organization lead smission to support Cuba’s tiny Jewish com- e-mail to [email protected]. We accept munity. Details: Congregation Ohev Shalom, 5015 Goddard Avenue, Orlando, FL 32804. Visa, MasterCard and American Express. Tel: (407) 645-5933 x233. Fax: (407) 296-7101. E-mail: [email protected]. May 28-31: Alimport’s 2007 US-Cuba Trade Round, Havana. Annual event for U.S. agricul- tural exporters, associations, farm bureaus, state officials, shippers and freight operators. Alimport expects to formalize contracts for at least $100-150 million at this important event. Details: Yaili Escobar Rodríguez, Alimport, Infanta 16, 3er Piso, Vedado, Ciudad de La Hab- ana. Tel: +53 7 836-2014 / 836-9583. Fax: +53 7 836-3400. E-mail: [email protected]. www.cubanews.com May 31: “Will Cuba Follow the Chinese Model?” Discussion with James Kilpatrick, Brian Editor & Publisher ■ LARRY LUXNER ■ Latell, Jorge Piñon, Antonio Jorge; Jaime Suchlicki to moderate. Cost: $10. Details: Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies, University of Miami, PO Box 248174, Miami, FL Washington correspondent 33124. Tel: (305) 284-2822. Fax: (305) 284-4875. E-mail: [email protected]. ■ ANA RADELAT ■ Political analyst Jun. 19-21: “Conference on the Caribbean: A 20/20 Vision” Washington. Heads of govern- ■ DOMINGO AMUCHASTEGUI ■ ment of all 15 Caricom member countries to meet with President Bush; private-sector and Feature writers industry events also scheduled; 1,000 people expected to attend. Details: Ambassador Ells- ■ VITO ECHEVARRÍA ■ worth John, Embassy of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, 3216 New Mexico Ave. NW, Wash- ■ HELEN J. SIMON ■ ington, DC 20016. Tel: :(202) 364-6730. Fax: (202) 364-6736. E-mail: [email protected]. Cartographer ■ ARMANDO H. PORTELA ■

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