Vol. 13, No. 1 January 2005

www.cubanews.com

In the News Cuba tightens foreign-exchange rules

Adios, free zones? as Alimport continues to buy U.S. food Government says Cuba’s zonas francas do BY TRACEY EATON “Families can barely feed themselves, and not create enough jobs ...... Page 3 uban President Fidel Castro summed up there is little room for luxuries like children’s 2004 like this: “There couldn’t have been toys or a night out with the family,” said James Offshore bonanza C a worse year, and there couldn’t have Cason, the top U.S. diplomat in Cuba. “Castro is been a better year, either.” determined to remain on the wrong side of his- Sherritt, Pebercan strike oil near Santa Two hurricanes, a stubborn drought, spiral- tory, while Cubans wait for his strange and Cruz del Norte ...... Page 4 ing energy costs and stepped-up U.S. sanctions unsuccessful experiment to come to an end.” hammered the economy. But Castro supporters Undaunted, Castro celebrated his 46th year in Uruguayan friends say Cuba survived and even moved forward. power on New Year’s Day. He has outlasted nine The economy grew at a rate of 5%, and unem- American presidents and is working on his 10th. Tabaré Vázquez vows to restore full dip- ployment dropped to 2%. A reserve containing He is the longest-ruling head of government on the planet. lomatic relations with Havana ...... Page 6 up to 100 million barrels of oil was discovered off the northern coast (see page 4). “He’s a tough old bird,” said a veteran foreign And in late December, Castro delivered some journalist, stunned to see the Cuban leader Caracas connection remarkable news, saying for the first time that walking in public the other day just two months Venezuela, Cuba sign sweeping free-trade the island was finally emerging from the “Spe- after he shattered his kneecap in a fall televised around the world. and investment accord ...... Page 7 cial Period,” an economic austerity program launched in 1991 after the collapse of Cuba’s When Castro began his revolutionary cru- chief sponsor, the former Soviet Union. sade in 1953, he was a feisty young lawyer. Newsmakers Castro’s critics say the regime’s economic fig- Now 78, he’s one of the most recognizable Robert Werner takes helm of Treasury’s ures are revolutionary nonsense. And they con- political figures of modern times. And some say OFAC at a critical time for agency that en- tend that living standards are actually sinking. See Castro, page 3 forces embargo against Cuba ...... Page 8 OFAC’s anti-Castro crusade devastates OFAC’s blacklist Travel agency accused of helping U.S. cit- Miami agencies catering to Cuba travel izens circumvent Cuba ban ...... Page 11 BY SANTIAGO FITTIPALDI blow (see our exclusive interview with OFAC’s Business briefs obody’s sure how badly Cuba’s economy new director, Robert Werner, on page 8). During the latter half of 2004, according to Latest sugar crop projected at 1.8m tons; was hurt in 2004 by tough new U.S. re- Nstrictions on travel and remittances, but industry figures, 50,588 seats on charter flights Mexican firms avoid Cuba ...... Page 12 one thing’s for sure: those restrictions have had to Cuba were reserved. That’s down from a crippling effect on South Florida travel agen- 118,938 seats during the same period in 2003. Lada room to grow cies, which are reeling from a drop in business. And last month, reservations fell to 13,735 — a two-thirds drop from December 2003. Russian automaker tries to win back con- Local executives interviewed by CubaNews say the traditional December travel season — Leading air-charter operator Marazul, which fidence of Cuban buyers ...... Page 14 usually accompanied by increased remittance has been arranging travel to Cuba for 25 years, — was a bust this year. is a case in point. In December 2003, it handled Pyongyang and WMD With U.S. Census data showing 66% of all 3,500 passengers flying to and from Cuba. In December 2004, says vice-president Is North Korea helping Cuba acquire bio- Cuban-Americans living in Florida, companies authorized to engage in travel, remittances and Armando García, that number dropped to only logical weapons? ...... Page 15 package deliveries to Cuba have spawned a vir- 260. As a result, the company has had to lay off tual cottage industry. more than 65% of its employees. CubaNews (ISSN 1073-7715) is published monthly Yet, with the Treasury Department’s Office of Before the tougher restrictions took effect in by Luxner News Inc. © 2005. All rights reserved. Foreign Assets Control now allowing exiles to June, Marazul flew two weekly Miami-Havana Subscriptions: $429/year. For subscription or edito- visit the island only once every three years and charter flights using a 123-seat Continental rial inquiries, call us at (301) 365-1745, send a fax to Airlines Boeing 737, and one weekly flight on a (301) 365-1829 or e-mail us at [email protected]. limiting remittances only to immediate family members, the sector has been dealt a severe See Travel, page 2 2 CubaNews ❖ January 2005 tion was driven by concerns over how to stay violation of U.S. law. Travel — FROM PAGE 1 competitive in the new business environment. As such, he believes December may have 55-passenger American Eagle ATR. It also Others have taken more desperate steps. been a stronger travel month than official operated a charter from New York JFK using José Martín, president of Rumbos Travel, data suggest, as many may have simply pur- Delta Airlines equipment. became one of Miami’s most vocal opponents chased tickets to third-country destinations That flight was eliminated in July, and Mar- of the new regulations, citing not only con- that have also become an important vehicle azul now operates only two charters a week cerns about his travel business but also a for the transfer of money and goods. from Miami using the smaller ATRs. With the need to visit the island frequently to attend to De Salas estimates informal couriers now ethnic travel market dwindling, most of Gar- his ailing mother and son. In August, he com- charge as much as 25% of the amount of cash cía’s current passengers are U.S. executives mitted suicide. sent, up from a previous 15%. involved in legal food trade with the island. Martin’s widow, Sandra, said OFAC in- There are also legal loopholes, he says, The use of smaller aircraft and the higher formed her that she would need to apply for a with travel under religious licenses being one cost of processing passengers to comply with new license to run the business, as the previ- of the most popular. Church and synagogue ous one was issued under her husband’s U.S. regulations, García says, has boosted leaders holding licenses have been organiz- round-trip airfares by $100 or more. It now name and was not transferable. The company — which once ran a network ing group tours to Cuba for “religious purpos- costs an average $500 to make the 55-minute es” since new restrictions were imposed, pro- trip and back. of seven branches in Miami, Hialeah, Sara- sota, Tampa and West Palm Beach — now viding a more direct and legal route. DELAYS, CONFUSION AT OFAC operates out of a single location in Hialeah. “Cubans in South Florida,” concludes de Salas, “have adapted quickly to restrictions on That doesn’t bode well for many South “The restrictions have made it much more difficult for Cuban-Americans and more both sides.” On the other hand, Marazul’s Florida working-class exiles who are eligible García says the restrictions have had a ripple to travel but remain sensitive to price shifts. recently arrived Cubans to visit the island, but this hasn’t stopped them from seeking alter- effect on South Florida’s economy. Another obstacle, he told CubaNews, has “This is a chain,” he says, “that affects been confusion over the application process native routes,” says Hans de Salas, a research associate at the University of Miami’s Insti- everything from travel agencies, the airport — especially after the U.S. Treasury’s Office and even the many stores where exiles buy of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) changed tute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies. products to take to Cuba.” application forms and guidelines several BACK-DOOR ROUTES TO HAVANA times over the past few months. García hopes OFAC will accelerate the Delays in securing licenses are a recurring De Salas says there is evidence suggesting approval process, in a move that would lend complaint. Although OFAC said it approved many are traveling to Cuba via third-country some relief by allowing those waiting for 2,600 and rejected 3,600 of the 6,200 applica- routes such as Cancún and Nassau, albeit in licenses to finally make the trip to Cuba. tions for family licenses it received between Aug. 10 and Nov. 10, García suspects the fig- ures are inaccurate. Marazul alone, he says, has helped 2,500 to ADIOS FOR CUBA’S FREE-TRADE ZONES? 3,000 prospective travelers file applications. uba’s free zones could disappear in a In each free zone, there are only three or Many of them have been waiting for months relatively short time, warn European four companies that produce something; for a reply from Washington. Cexecutives interviewed by the BBC. the rest of us are inherently importers,” Dania-based Gulfstream Air Charter, which According to the executives, who asked said one executive who has already been operates flights to Cuba, has seen profits drop to remain anonymous, the Castro regime told to start packing his bags. 30% since the summer, according to company has offered them three options: get accred- The first option, to try to get accredited president Thomas Cooper. ited through the Cuban Chamber of Com- by the Chamber of Commerce, involves “How do you complain against the presi- merce, form joint ventures with the gov- bureaucracy so burdensome that it could dent of the United States?” he told AP. “We are ernment or offer their goods on consign- just punishing the Cuban people.” ment. Otherwise, these companies must POLICIES DROVE ONE MAN TO SUICIDE leave the country. Vice President Carlos Lage confirmed Toda Cuba Travel Envio, a smaller Miami these options, adding that “we will do what agency authorized to organize travel and send is convenient in each case, as part of a pro- LARRY LUXNER remittances, is also feeling the pinch. cess that has been in place for some time.” Revenues from travel and package deliver- Lage, speaking with British journalists, ies fell by 70% in 2004, according to owner said the zones will not close altogether, Rolando Suárez. He says the Bush adminis- “but we are adapting the function, objective tration’s decision to halt clothing shipments and mission of the free zones as zones of to Cuba was especially damaging, as it cut the interchange, warehousing and commercial average number of pounds shipped. relations.” Entrance to a free zone just outside Havana. After OFAC announced its new policy, The free zones were born over a decade Suarez closed his doors for two months. He ago as a way of luring foreign capital. The take years. The other possibility, forming later reopened, mainly to provide immigration Cuban government sought to utilize them ventures with a Cuban state company, and income tax services, but only after relo- as platforms to encourage the establish- seems more simple but it implies govern- cating to cheaper office space. ment of productive enterprises. ment control over the business. And work- Many of his long-time competitors, Suárez In the beginning, the idea was that these ing on consignment means that companies contends, have shut down altogether. tax-free zones would bring money, techn- leave their products in Cuba and charge “At first there was lots of confusion as to nology and markets, in addition to being a according to how much is sold. what was happening and what this all meant,” source of jobs at a time when the island “In the next few months,” according to he says, “and some people just decided to get was facing huge unemployment. the BBC, “foreign business executives who out of the business.” However, most of the companies using today operate in the free zones must decide Two large players, Almacen El Español and free zones today import products that ar- among these three options or leave their Cuba Envios, opted to merge in November. rive in Cuba completely finished — gener- Cuba business behind.” Although neither company would comment ating few jobs in the process.“ – LARRY LUXNER on terms of the deal, it appears the consolida- January 2005 ❖ CubaNews 3 State banks can no longer process compa- sion for most transactions. Castro — FROM PAGE 1 nies’ foreign exchange or convertible peso In November, Castro banned the use of the it’s time to christen him with an “ism.” The transactions without Central Bank approval. U.S. dollar, which since 1993 had circulated world has seen Leninism, Maoism and Stalin- Resolution 92/2004 allows each ministry to freely, replacing it with the convertible peso. ism. Why not Fidelism, argues Reinaldo Esco- set an amount of company spending that does “This fits in with the move away from mar- bar, editor of Consenso, a fledgling Havana not need prior approval, but the bank ket reforms over the last few years,” a West- magazine that is critical of the government. reserved the right to cancel the privilege if it ern diplomat told Reuters, “and the reasser- “He has been in power for 46 years, longer finds evidence of improper use of funds. tion of central control over all important com- than Lenin or Stalin. He has total legitimacy to “Experience shows it is necessary to move pany decisions.” launch Fidelism,” Escobar said. “Whether it to a new organizational phase that concen- Foreign businessmen hold mixed views will be successful or not is another question.” trates all foreign exchange earnings in the about the government’s increased control DOLLAR CRUNCH LEADS TO FOREX CONTROLS Whatever the case, no one disputes that it’s been a tough year for Cuba. “[Fidel Castro] has been in power for 46 years, longer than Lenin According to a Cuban government report, Hurricanes Ivan and Charley wrecked tens of or Stalin. He has total legitimacy to launch Fidelism. Whether it thousands of homes and caused $82 million in will be successful or not is another question.” damage. Power plant failures triggered a sum- mer of blackouts and $76 million in unexpect- — REINALDO ESCOBAR, EDITOR OF CONSENSO, A CUBAN MAGAZINE LAUNCHED BY DISSIDENTS ed costs and lost productivity. The drought in the eastern province of Camagüey killed 127,600 cattle and dried up 200,000 tons of vegetable crops in 2003 and 2004. Central Bank ... and centrally approve the use over foreign exchange and its stripping com- And U.S. sanctions limiting visits by Cuban- of convertible pesos by Cuban entities,” the panies of what flexibility they have. Reuters Americans deprived Cuba of millions of dol- resolution states. quoted one banker as saying “this means lars during the last half of 2004. According to Reuters, the Central Bank there is a greater possibility of debts being On Dec. 30, the Castro regime announced took the first step toward controlling 6,000 paid, but at the same time decision-making it would further limit the use of foreign ex- state companies’ use of foreign exchange in will slow even further than it already has.” July 2004, when it banned them from using change by state-run companies — in what DESPITE PROBLEMS, CUBA KEEPS BUYING FOOD experts said was the final move in an 18- U.S. currency in their domestic operations in month drive to control hard currency and eli- favor of the convertible peso. It also ordered Through it all, Cuba’s state food purchasing minate Cuba’s dependence on the U.S. dollar. them to seek permission for any dollar trans- agency Alimport has continued buying agri- Effective immediately, all foreign exchange action with foreign firms of over $5,000. cultural commodities from U.S. exporters. and its Cuban equivalent, the convertible The companies were left relatively free to Since 2001, thanks to the Trade Sanction Re- peso, has been turned into a single account use their convertible pesos as they saw fit, but form and Export Enhancement Act (TSRA), controlled by Cuba’s Central Bank. under 92/2004 they must now seek permis- the Castro government has spent an estimat- ed $1 billion on corn, rice, wheat, soybeans and other farm products. Government claims Cuba’s GDP grew 5% in 2004 At a mid-December conference in Havana, more than 300 executives met with Alimport uba’s economy grew 5% in 2004, based 32.5% in 2004 and imports rose 14.3%, based CEO Pedro Alvarez, and many walked away on a locally devised formula and mainly on a 7.5% rise in nickel output and with contracts large and small. Cdespite natural disasters, energy woes higher world nickel prices, as well as the Alimport agreed to buy $18 million from and new U.S. economic sanctions. increased cost of importing fuel and food. Alabama companies alone, including $10 mil- On Dec. 30, Reuters quoted José Luís That, says Reuters, would place exports at lion worth of wooden utility poles over a Rodríguez, Cuba’s economy and planning around $2.2 billion and imports at $5.3 bil- three-year period; lumber is considered an minister, as saying the growth figure was lion, compared with exports of $1.65 billion agricultural commodity and therefore consti- based on a Cuban formula that included the and imports of $4.6 billion in 2003. tutes an eligible export under TSRA. value of free health and education. Sugar milling, said Rodríguez, rose 14.4% The Bush administration is reviewing whether to let the policy continue under the “The figure [36.4 billion pesos] was elabo- in 2004, though it was expected to fall sharply in 2005. He gave no figure for non- current practice — payment for goods before rated taking into account prices charged for they’re unloaded in Cuba — or to make Al- these services in market economies,” said sugar agriculture, which has been plagued by Cuba’s worst drought in 70 years. He said import start paying for the products before Rodríguez. only 10 of 22 industrial sectors were func- they leave the United States. This is the first time Cuba didn’t use tra- tioning in 2004, but gave few details. “Clearly, the results from this trip show ditional methods to report growth. The mining and metals sector rose 10.7%, how Alabama profits from exporting to Interestingly, the UN Economic Commis- electronics 4%, construction 11.2%, tourist Cuba,” said the state’s agriculture commis- sion on Latin America & the Caribbean said arrivals 7.6% and communications 12.5%. Yet sioner, Ron Sparks. Cuba’s GDP grew only 3% in 2004. ECLAC for the first time in a decade, oil production Like Alabama, the state of Maine also sent also put Cuba’s current-accounts deficit at didn’t increase, said Rodríguez, who a large delegation to the Alimport event. Of- $100 million, compared with $155 million in declined to elaborate on that. ficials are hopeful Cuba will buy millions of 2003. It gave no figure on Cuba’s foreign He also didn’t mention foreign invest- dollars worth of apples, potatoes, maple syrup debt, reported as $11 billion in 2003. ment, which analysts say has fallen to a and dairy cattle from Maine producers. In December, the National Assembly ap- trickle over the last few years. Said Gov. John Baldacci: “This shows the proved a 2005 budget of 21 billion pesos, an In fact, says Reuters, “Cuba stopped pro- importance of increasing our reach across 8% rise over the 2004 budget. The deficit was viding foreign debt and detailed current- state and national boundaries to help Maine forecast as 1.6 billion pesos — 3.7% of GDP, accounts information in 2002, and has been agricultural producers gain new markets.” compared with 3.5% of GDP in 2004. providing less and less information on the The minister said Cuba’s exports jumped domestic economy.” Tracey Eaton is Havana correspondent for the Dallas Morning News. 4 CubaNews ❖ January 2005 ENERGY & MINING Sherritt, Pebercan discover oil near Santa Cruz del Norte BY OUR HAVANA CORRESPONDENT Sherritt would drill two test wells and explore sulfur in a proportion close to 20%. wo Canadian energy conglomerates, three other nearby potential deposits in 2005. Information released at the session of the Sherritt International Corp. and Peber- From Dec. 14 to Dec. 19, when it was National Assembly where Castro spoke hints T can Inc., have discovered a new oil field closed to study its characteristics, the well that new discoveries are not limited to Santa off Cuba’s northern coast. produced about 1,000 tons. This well is to be Cruz del Norte. “We have a new oil discovery — the first kept in “experimental production” over the Sherritt and Pebercan are the largest for- since 1999,” Fidel Castro said in a speech to next few months to observe its performance eign companies owning joint ventures with the Cuba’s National Assembly in late December. Cuban government, accounting for 60% of The Santa Cruz oil field, 53 kms east of Cuba’s oil and gas output. Havana and 145 kms south of Key West, Fla., Other companies have tried to find oil in the will go into production in 2006. area. Spanish oil company Repsol YPF report- ed the first test well drilled in the deep water

The Santa Cruz-100 oil well proved its high LARRY LUXNER production capacity only five days after initial was not commercially viable, but the company trials began. The oil found is 18° API (lighter plans to drill again in 2006. than the Varadero or Yumuri crudes), with The 112,000-sq-km area was opened to for- very little water content and good pressure, eign exploration in 1999. To date, Repsol and meaning it doesn’t need pumping. Sulfur con- Sherritt have signed exploration contracts, tent is below 5%. taking six blocks and four blocks, respectively, But while Castro was quick to brag that the off the northwest coast. Brazilian state oil entity Petrobras is also area contains 100 million barrels of reserves, Oil derrick on Cuba’s north coast near Matanzas. sources close to the situation told Canada’s looking at existing data from two deepwater National Post that more drilling is needed to and define the parameters of the oil field. blocks, while two Chinese companies are also ascertain the size of the field. Meanwhile, in the first half of 2005, Sherritt studying various blocks. “There’s a vague idea of what the reserves and Pebercan plan to drill two evaluation wells In 2003, Cuba produced 26 million barrels are, but until other wells are drilled, the full east of the capital and one to the west of Santa of crude oil (around 71,300 bbl/day), enough size won’t be known,” an industry source told Cruz-100. This procedure is essential in order to meet half its needs. Cuba imports the rest the Toronto newspaper. to gain better understanding of the deposit of its oil from Venezuela. In a press release, Montreal-based Peber- found. In 2004 it also produced 653 million cubic can said the oil field could measure up to 20 The two-year (2005-07) schedule set for the meters of gas. sq kms. Both Castro and Pebercan said the oil development stage includes the building of Cuban crude comes from onshore wells is of higher quality than the crude oil already ground facilities to collect and transport the that dot the northwest coast along Havana and being drilled in the area. crude and associated natural gas. Develop- Matanzas provinces. The poor-quality oil is According to Petroleum News of Calgary, ment wells hended to exploit the oil field will burned in modified power plants and factories, Pebercan was incorporated in 1987 and has also be built during that period. and the gas is used to generate electricity and confined its operations to Cuba, where it Ground facilities will include a pipeline to for cooking fuel. holds 1.5 million gross acres and produced take the crude to the central station of Boca Details: Cédric Sirven, Vice-President, Peber- 12,800 bpd from gross proveN and probable de Jaruco where it is processed. The quality can, 507 Place d’Armes, #1900, Montreal PQ reserves of 67 million barrels. of the crude found and its low sulfur content H2Y 2W8. Tel: (514) 286-5200. Fax: (514) In his speech, Castro said Pebercan and will allow mixing with lighter crudes and less 286-5177. E-mail: [email protected]. Nickel production lends a boost to Cuba’s steel industry n 2004, Cuban nickel production rose 6.9% and bars of several sizes and forms, steel flats This enables the Cuban group to have techni- to over 70,000 tons. That has helped Cuba’s and angles, as well as wire rod in coils from cal support, response capacity and production Isteel industry, which exported $90 million this plant, are now sold in Canada, Mexico, that meets ISO 9002 standards. worth of wires, cables, scrap metals and other Guatemala, Honduras, Costa Rica, Bahamas, Another joint venture, ACCSA, is based in products — a 16% jump over 2003 figures. Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, Colom- Honduras. The venture has 60% Cuban capital The sector comprises 126 companies and bia, Ecuador and Venezuela. and 40% Honduran capital, and operates a bar 30,000 workers. Another big producer is Empresa de Ace- mill in San Pedro Sula. That mill utilizes steel Antillana de Acero, Cuba’s first steel plant, ros Inoxidables de Las Tunas. That plant from Antillana de Acero and sells its products went into operation in 1959, with two Siemens broke its 2000 production record of 89,000 in Central America. Martin furnaces of 70 tons each, and a rolling tons by ending 2004 with an output of 97,000 The Ministry of the Steel, Mechanic and tons of carbon steel. Recycling Industry seeks foreign investors mill to produce corrugated bars. The Acinox plant in Havana opened in with financing and marketing expertise to pro- Since then, this plant — on the outskirts of 1996, and specializes in high-quality refracto- duce an array of products. Havana — has expanded significantly. In ry materials. Its products have shown out- These include farm equipment, modular 1983, two 70-ton, high-power electric arc fur- standing performance in the presence of liq- construction systems, aluminum carpentry naces with Danieli technology, as well as uid metal under temperatures of 1,700° C. and PVC, steelworks, gastronomic and med- another ladle-type furnace, were installed. Depending on local demand, the factory ical equipment and furniture, bolts and nails, A continuous casting system with two of produces bricks, wet mortar, concrete, seal- as well as industrial waste processing. these newer furnaces allowed for the disman- ing paste and other materials. It also runs a Details: Acinox S.A. Compañía Siderurgica tling of the old Martin furnaces. research center in Nicaro, Holguín province. de Aceros Inoxidables, Ave. 1ra #3405, e/34 y By 2000, Antillana de Acero was producing Tor-Panel is a joint venture based in Barce- 36, Miramar, La Habana. Tel: +53 7 204- 255,000 tons of steel, although its current pro- lona, owned 51% by Acinox and 49% by Panel- 6723; 204-6724. Fax: +53 7 204-6564; 204- duction capacity is 500,000 tons. Cuban billets fisa, a Spanish producer of bolts and fittings. 2872. E-mail: [email protected]. January 2005 ❖ CubaNews 5 POLITICAL BRIEFS CUBA RE-ESTABLISHES CONTACT WITH EU NATIONS In their own words … The European Union’s executive Commission welcomed Cuba’s decision to renew ties, saying “The Holy See strongly desires that obstacles which block free communica- Jan. 10 it would quickly send Louis Michel, its tion and exchange between the Cuban nation and part of the international humanitarian aid and development commission- community be overcome soon, thus reinforcing through respectful and open er, to Havana to discuss future bilateral relations. dialogue with everyone, the conditions necessary for real development.” This follows an announcement by Cuba’s for- — Pope John Paul II, in an indirect plea to end the U.S. embargo against Cuba. eign minister, Felipe Pérez Roque, to end the so- He spoke Jan. 8 after meeting Cuba’s new envoy to the Vatican, Raúl Roa Kuri. called “cocktail wars” and re-establish formal contact with France, Britain, Germany, Italy, “Fidel Castro’s willingness to crush dissent in Cuba is matched, it seems, Austria, Greece, Portugal and Sweden. Formal only by Europe’s lack of resolve to stand up to the Caribbean dictator.” contacts had resumed a month earlier with Spain, — The Wall Street Journal, in a Jan. 10 editorial criticizing the EU’s decision to Belgium and Hungary. resume a diplomatic dialogue with the Castro government. Pérez Roque said Cuba made the move after an EU commission recommended that member states stop inviting Cuban dissidents to national “Would God grant that our children and the Cuban people do not inherit our day celebrations at their embassies in Havana. hates and miseries, but rather our faith so that they can construct their own history.” The EU froze relations with the Castro regime in June 2003 following a crackdown on opposi- — Noted dissident Oswaldo Payá, speaking at a laying of a time capsule in the tion, in which 75 dissidents were rounded up and backyard of Jim Cason, chief of the U.S. Interests Section in Havana. jailed for terms of between six and 28 years. Since then, 14 dissidents have been freed in an “The message I deposit here is a well-known secret. All the Cuban people effort by Castro to win back EU support. Sixty- want this ... I’m sure that very soon we can read it out in public places without one dissidents remain behind bars. fear of arrest.” — Fellow dissident Manuel Vasquez Portal, speaking at the same ceremony. NEW MAGAZINE ON DISSENT INFURIATES REGIME Shortly after dissidents launched a new maga- “If they try it, they have to attack Cuba, then use military occupation and zine, the Cuban government retaliated by confis- attempt a regime change. They can try, but they will be handed a defeat they cating various books and written documents. will never forget.” Manuel Cuesta Morua, a well-known intellectu- — Ricardo Alarcón, president of Cuba’s National Assembly, declaring Dec. 6 that al who helped present the magazine Consenso in the Bush administration’s goal of “liberating” Cuba is destined to fail. late December, told AP that authorities entered the house of his former partner that night and “I want to be clear that my role is not political. My role is strictly economic. took books, writings and computer discs. I am there on a trade mission. When I’m in Cuba, I try to keep my nose out of “It’s a clear and direct message of intolerance,” the political affairs between Castro’s government and the U.S. government.” Cuesta Morua said, adding that authorities pre- — Patty Judge, Iowa’s secretary of agriculture, who came back from a Havana sented a search warrant and took the belongings conference last month with $9 million in contracts for Iowa companies. “to look for counterrevolutionary literature” sup- posedly connected to U.S. institutions. “I’ll never ever, ever be hurt by someone who will criticize something I may Collaborators said the magazine was necessary say or do without having learned first who in their family was executed by to broaden the spectrum of opinions presented in Fidel Castro, who was that child they lost at sea on a raft.” Cuba’s state-run media. — Alfredo Mesa, the new 29-year-old executive director of the Miami-based Cuban The first printed edition of Consenso contained American National Foundation, in a Dec. 11 interview with the Sun-Sentinel. an interview with dissident writer and poet Raul Rivero, as well as articles about the death penalty “This character represents the blockade and will be squashed by all the cars and the situation of women in Cuba. and people who pass by here.” S.D. LIBRARY SUPPORTS COUNTERPART IN CUBA — Ernesto Padrón, a well-known Cuban artist who painted an American eagle on the asphalt of Havana’s Malecón, right in front of the U.S. Interests Section. A small-town library in South Dakota has taken a stand for intellectual freedom. The Public Library Board of Trustees in Vermi- “Long live Fidel! Long live a free Cuba!” lion, S.D., voted in November to start sending — unidentified admirer, shouting praise as Fidel Castro walked in public Dec. books to Havana’s Dulce María Loynaz Library. 23 for the first time since shattering his kneecap in a fall two months earlier. That library is one of around 250 “independent libraries” founded since 1998. In March 2003, it “My first memory of Fidel Castro is when I was 4 years old. I remember him was raided, along with many others. Héctor Pala- from television, and I used to kiss the TV set. When I heard that Fidel was cios, the husband of library director Gisela Pala- coming to Santiago de Cuba, my father took me to the airport. I was right next cios, was arrested and sentenced to 25 years in to the stairs where Castro descended. And he picked me up and kissed me.” prison. Most of the library’s books were confis- — Adriana Bosch, whose documentary on Castro will air Jan. 31 on PBS-TV. cated and many were ultimately burned. “Cuba’s independent librarians have been tar- “If mankind unites in faith, unites in prayer, unites in the constancy to work geted for repression because of their principled toward making things better, I think that these large-scale phenomena we’ve challenge to censorship,” said Jon Flanagin, pres- been able to predict will be less severe.” ident of the Vermillion library trustees. “We felt — Lazaro Cuesta, a well-known babalao priest, predicting Cuba will face we had a moral obligation to offer our support.” everything from environmental disaster to a military invasion in 2005. Details: Mark Wetmore, Vermilion, SD. Tel: (605) 624-3748. E-mail: [email protected]. 6 CubaNews ❖ January 2005 LATIN AMERICA Uruguay, Panama to restore diplomatic ties with Havana BY LARRY LUXNER ing President Jorge Batlle in April 2002, after Cuba, and they admire the fact that Castro ruguay plans to re-establish diplomatic Uruguay sponsored a United Nations resolu- has stood up to Washington for over 40 years. relations with Cuba, following the victo- tion condemning the regime’s human-rights “My gut feeling is that Chávez, who is abso- Ury of leftist politician Tabare Vazquez in record. Fidel Castro responded by calling lutely delighted that Vázquez won, will strike the country’s Oct. 31 presidential elections. Battle a “lackey” of the White House, prompt- a deal,” said one observer who asked not to Vázquez, a 64-year-old oncologist and ex- ing Batlle to break ties immediately. be named. “As soon as Vázquez announces mayor of Montevideo, said he and his Frente “We bade farewell to the Cuban ambassa- that he’s re-established relations with Cuba, Amplio (FA) coalition will place greater Chávez will supply cheap oil to Uruguay.” emphasis on social issues while distancing Despite his many differences with Váz- himself from the United States on a range of quez, Lacalle told CubaNews he thinks the re- economic, trade and foreign policy issues. sumption of ties with Havana is a good idea.

This follows a recent trend in which Latin LARRY LUXNER “I think it’s much better to have relations, American voters have replaced their pro- so we can help the dissidents inside Cuba — Washington, conservative governments with especially with a foreign affairs minister who leftist ones. The trend began with the 1998 says publicly that he’s a Marxist-Leninist.” election of populist Hugo Chávez in Vene- zuela, and has continued with the victories of Luís Inazio “Lula” da Silva in Brazil, Nestor Kirchner in Argentina, Ricardo Lagos in Chile Montevideo graffiti urges solidarity with Castro. and Lucio Gutiérrez in Ecuador.

Vázquez will be inaugurated Mar. 1 for a dor with a feeling of sorrow, but after rela- LARRY LUXNER five-year term, taking charge at a time of se- tions between the two countries are re-estab- vere economic crisis. According to the state- lished, we will welcome him back with joy, in run National Institute of Statistics, 31% of accordance with the friendship and affection Uruguay’s 3.4 million people are poor; of that Cubans inspire in us,” said Vázquez’s choice percentage, almost 100,000 are destitute. for foreign minister, Reinaldo Gargano, whom “Everything indicates that with the inaugu- Lacalle calls a “diehard Marxist.” ration of Vázquez, we will put an end to neo- In fact, not only will Uruguay re-establish liberal policies to focus attention on social its largely symbolic relations with Cuba, it will problems, and abandon automatic alignment also push for Cuba to become an associate The Cuban Embassy in Montevideo is to reopen. with the United States to shift towards Mer- member of Mercosur, along with Mexico. cosur and reintegration with the rest of Latin Said Lacalle: “Mercosur turned 10 years Lacalle added, however, that “before, our America,” said political analyst Jaime Yaffé. old on Jan. 1. It was founded by me and three embassy in Havana was much more political Luís Alberto Lacalle, president of Uruguay other presidents, and was always meant to be and apt to help the dissidents. Now it will be a from 1990 to 1995, told CubaNews that the an economic and commercial venture. Now pro-Castro embassy.” they’re putting political content into a treaty election “gives the FA coalition a majority in PANAMA’S NEW LEADER ALSO RESTORES TIES both houses, so they’ll have no excuses in the that doesn’t allow it.” future for not getting things done. That puts a The promise to resume ties with Havana Meanwhile, Cuba and Panama will restore lot of responsibility on this new government.” became an election issue in Uruguay, a tradi- consular relations, which are just short of full Among other things sure to alienate the tionally progressive country whose people diplomatic ties. Bush administration, Vázquez said his first have warm feelings for Castro. Even though The accord between Panamanian President official act will be to resume diplomatic ties trade between the two nations is negligible, Martin Torrijos and Cuba’s vice-president, with Cuba. Those ties were broken by outgo- thousands of Uruguayans have studied in Carlos Lage, came Nov. 19, on the sidelines of the 14th Ibero-American Summit in San José, Costa Rica. A day earlier, the summit nations, PDVSA selling more lubricants to Cuba including Panama, condemned the action that led to the diplomatic break in late August: for- enezuela’s state-owned oil company, has been marketing PDV lubricants for more mer Panamanian President Mireya Mos- Petróleos de Venezuela S.A., is consol- than 10 years. coso’s release of four Cuban exiles accused of V diating its lubricants business in Cuba, “We feel that 2005 will really be an impor- trying to assassinate Fidel Castro. one of its largest markets in the Caribbean. tant year, and that is based not only on future Moscoso’s pardon, just six days before Francisco Jiménez, managing director of work, but also in the entire group of new PDVSA subsidiary Deltaven, said his division clients that we’ve been able to attract during leaving office, outraged Cuba as well as Vene- is reponsible for selling PDV-brand fuels, 2004,” he said. “This has allowed us to deter- zuela, which had issued an arrest warrant for lubricants and other oil derivatives in Vene- mine that Deltaven and MICASA must jointly the group’s leader, Luís Posada, who is want- zuela, as well as Trinidad & Tobago, Curaçao convert the PDV brand to the forefront of the ed in the 1976 bombing of a civilian jetliner in and other markets. Cuban market.” which 73 people died. “Twelve years ago, these products entered Jorge Samker, director of Transgaviota, Torrijos has denounced the pardons grant- Cuba for the first time under the Maraven which serves the oil derivatives market in ed by his predecessor. Panama’s new foreign brand name, and achieved an excellent repu- Santiago de Cuba, said that “after a study that minister, Samuel Lewis, told AP “this is a clear tation in the eyes of consumers. Currently, it we did, it was concluded that we should uti- and effective step down the right path.” is enjoying a new resurgence in that market,” lize PDV and for the short term we have done The two sides are discussing the reopening Jiménez told Radio Havana Cuba so. I believe that it is going to be the product of consulates, though Amado Riol, spokes- Vladimir Velasco Izquierdo, president of for Transgaviota in coming years.” man for the Cuban consulate in San José, said Havana-based Mercado Internacional de Details: Transgaviota, Carr. Caney, Vista Al- a complete resumption of ties will need furth- Centro America (MICASA), said his agency egre, Santiago de Cuba. Tel: +53 22 668-7005. er talks and “could take a little longer.” January 2005 ❖ CubaNews 7 LATIN AMERICA Venezuela, Cuba sign sweeping trade, investment accord BY OUR HAVANA CORRESPONDENT vares or in other mutually acceptable curren- To boost sporting activities in Venezuela, idel Castro and his protege, Venezuelan cies. Cuba also guarantees that Venezuelan Cuba will offer the use of its installations and President Hugo Chávez, have signed a state investments on the island will remain anti-doping control equipment under the F far-reaching economic integration pact 100% the property of the Venezuelan state. same conditions granted to Cuban athletes. that covers everything from import tariffs to In shipping, Cuba extends the same treat- At the moment, more than 15,000 doctors oil prices to health services. ment to Venezuelan-flag vessels as that and other medical professionals participate in The accord, signed Dec. 14 in Havana, was enjoyed by Cuban ships in its waters, includ- the Barrio Adentro mission. The Cuban gov- of course praised lavishly by both the Castro ing cabotage services between Cuban ports. ernment will train Venezuelan students in and Chávez governments. Just as predictably, Likewise, Cuba grants Venezuelan airlines medicine, with the expectation that this pro- it raised an immediate red flag in Washington. the same privileges as those enjoyed by gram could train tens of thousands of doctors “We are troubled that a country with a dem- Cuban airlines with respect to the transport of within the next 10 years. ocratic tradition like Venezuela would want to passengers and cargo to and from Cuba. Integrated health services offered by Cuba, strengthen its ties to the only undemocratic The price of oil exported by Venezuela to now covering 15 million Venezuelans, will be regime and closed economy in the hemis- Cuba will be fixed on the basis of world mar- offered in highly preferential conditions and phere,” said State Department spokesman ket prices, according to the current Caracas economic terms, to be mutually agreed upon. Richard Boucher. agreement between both countries. However, VENEZUELA’S COMMITMENT TO CUBA in considering the traditional volatility of oil CUBA’S COMMITMENT TO VENEZUELA prices, Cuba offers Venezuela a guaranteed Effective immediately, Venezuela elimi- Under the pact, Cuba will eliminate all tar- price of not less than $27 per barrel. nates any kind of non-tariff barrier on all im- iffs and non-tariff barriers on Venezuelan im- Furthermore, Cuba will offer 2,000 scholar- ports originating in Cuba. It also exempts any ports. In addition, all taxes on the profits of ships per year to young Venezuelans for any Cuban state investment or joint venture from Venezuelan state investments, joint ventures course of advanced study that may be of inter- Venezuelan taxes during the period of recoup- and Venezuelan private capital in Cuba are est to Venezuela, especially scientific re- ing the investment. exempt for a specified period. search. Cuba will also make available any Venezuela offers Cuba any scholarships Exports of Cuban goods and services may methods, programs and educational tech- needed for studies in the energy sector, and be paid for with Venezuelan products in bolí- niques of interest to Venezuelan educators. agrees to preferential funding of infrastruc- ture projects in energy, power generation, road construction, port development, water, sewer and irrigation projects. THE 8th UJC CONGRESS: FACTS & FIGURES The Chávez government extends “prefer- Here are some results from the VIII Congress of Cuba’s Unión de Jovenes Comunistas (Union of ential facilities for vessels and aircraft flying Communist Youth), held Dec. 2-5 in Havana. Information compiled by Domingo Amuchastegui. the Cuban flag in Venezuelan territory, within the limits permitted by its legislation.” Membership Promotions Likewise, Venezuela places at Cuba’s dispo- Current membership stands at 557,298, which is Former UJC First Secretary Otto Rivero was pro- sal its air and maritime transportation equip- 104,692 more than the VII Congress in 1998. moted to vice-president of the Council of Minis- ment and infrastructure on a preferential ters. Of every 100 UJC members, 63 are being basis, in order to support Cuba’s plans for Structure promoted to Party ranks at the age of 30, for a economic and social development. 49,054 base organizations (comités de base), as grand total of 133,283 such promotions since the It also encourages joint ventures with well as the National Committee (like the Central last Congress. Of 19 National Bureau members, Cuban capital for the downstream processing Committee of the Cuban Communist Party) and eight are females but only two are black and of raw materials, and promotes collaboration the National Bureau (like the Politburo). three are very light mestizos — contrasting with with Cuba in biodiversity studies. remarks by Raúl Castro on the need to diversify. Specifically, negotiations are underway with state coal entity CorpoZulia, based in the The 19 new leaders of the UJC’s National Bureau: city of Maracaibo, for the supply of 500,000 Julio Martínez, first secretary tons of coal annually for a thermoelectric Hassán Pérez Casabona, second secretary plant to be built in Cuba by a Chinese firm. Osvaldo L. Enrique Bravo, education, sports and health China is also interested in building a plant Rolando E. Yero Travieso, ideology to produce stainless steel, which would use Maday Iglesias Pérez, young workers and combatants Cuban nickel and Venezuelan coal. Kenia Serrano Puig, international relations “Cuba has the nickel, we have the coal, and Miriam Y. Martín González, chair of the José Martí pioneer organization the Chinese have the capital and are interest- Israel Sosa Rámos, organization ed in a stainless-steel plant,” said Orlando Or- Enrique Gómez Cabezas, coordinator of social workers and higher education programs tegano, Venezuela’s deputy minister of mines, Lissette Díaz Castro, formation program of young trainees in education and health in a report carried by Reuters. Eduardo Tirado Castillo, national director of people’s camping Venezuela and Canada’s Sherritt Internatio- Pedro Orlando Martínez Fernández, chief of UJC section at Ministry of Interior nal also propose building a coal-building ther- Grisel Vergel Mora, organization at FAR’s political directorate moelectric plant in Mariel, west of Havana. Yoel Queipo Ruíz, UJC’s first secretary for Ciudad de La Habana State-owned Petróleos de Venezuela S.A. Joan Cabo Mijares, national president of FEU (PDVSA) is negotiating to buy an interest in Dámara Sánchez López, UJC provincial committee in Camagüey the Cienfuegos refinery, which was begun by Idioleydis Alvarez Bello, national committee of agricultural sciences the Soviets but never finished. Alfredo Bárzaga Sánchez, UJC provincial first secretary in Santiago de Cuba Finally, Venezuela pledges to develop proj- Leyra Sánchez Valdivia, UJC municipal committee in Boyeros ects with Cuba in the area of telecommunica- tions, including the use of satellites. 8 CubaNews ❖ January 2005 NEWSMAKERS An exclusive interview with OFAC Director Bob Werner BY LARRY LUXNER Homeland Security and other agencies. lying about having been to Cuba within the oliticians, academics and Cuban exiles Without our government partners, we would last three years.” can debate the U.S. embargo until not be able to do what we do.” Another problem was that “the concept of P they’re blue in the face. While OFAC’s enforcement of the anti- only immediate family being allowed to travel But when it comes to actually enforcing Cuba embargo certainly generates the most hasn’t quite sunk in,” said Werner. “A good the bloqueo, the buck stops at the desk of headlines, it’s only one of 29 sanctions pro- example of that would be a parent who is Robert W. Werner. grams under the agency’s jurisdiction. clearly eligible under the definition [of imme- A former federal prosecutor who’s also re- The U.S. government also maintains sanc- diate family], who wanted to visit a relative in gulated casino gambling, Werner took over tions against Iran, Sudan and North Korea; Cuba, but wanted to bring a child who fell out- Oct. 1 as director of the Treasury Depart- other programs deal with drug trafficking, side that definition.” ment’s Office of Foreign Assets Control. He Under the new rules, Cuban-Americans replaced Richard Newcomb, who had head- may visit only parents, grandparents, spous- ed the agency for 17 years. es, siblings and children — not aunts, uncles “Rick Newcomb did a fabulous job at or cousins. Before July 2004, no such limita- OFAC. He really was the father of this insti- tions existed. LARRY LUXNER tution,” Werner told CubaNews during an ex- REDEFINING THE FAMILY clusive interview at his second-floor office in the Treasury Department annex, only two Werner claims these harsh restrictions blocks from the White House. “But my ad- have resulted in “positive developments” vantage is that I have a fresh perspective and from the U.S. point of view. am able to look at things in a new way.” “What we’re seeing is that the policies in place are having the desired effect on the EFFECTIVE ENFORCEMENT, MINIMAL BURDEN regime,” he told us. “My understanding is Werner, 45, grew up in Hartford, Ct., and that Cuba has had to close a terminal at earned a law degree from New York Univer- Havana airport [as a result of fewer exile sity. As director of Connecticut’s gaming flights from Miami]. There are signs the office, he was responsible for regulating two country is becoming very stressed for U.S. casinos run by Native American tribes. currency. These are all a direct result of the Werner also worked as a federal prosecu- new sanctions.” tor in the U.S. Attorney General’s Office in Critics on both sides of the aisle complain that the Bush administration — which talks a Connecticut, and served in the Justice lot about family values — has no business Department’s Office of Legal Counsel. defining what a family is. At the Treasury Department, he was Sensitive to such criticism, Werner hints assistant general counsel for enforcement Robert Werner took over Oct. 1 as OFAC’s chief. there might be some wiggle room here. and intelligence, counselor to general coun- “OFAC should be willing to continually re- sel and chief of staff at the Financial Crimes terrorism and weapons of mass destruction. examine the family definition to make sure Enforcement Network. “Not all the sanctions programs are the we’ve got it right,” he said. “That’s an issue Werner’s private-sector experience in- same,” the OFAC chief told us. “We still have we’re willing to look at, though any re-exami- cludes work as a partner at Bingham Dana residual work associated with sanctions nation of the family definition would be done LLP (now Bingham McCutchen) and as an against Iraq and Libya, as well as persons in conjunction with the State Department.” officer at Phoenix Home Life Mutual In- indicted for war crimes.” On the other hand, Werner said he would surance Company (now The Phoenix Com- AN AVALANCHE OF APPLICATIONS not re-examine other controversial aspects of panies). Werner is also a former law clerk to the tougher Bush administration policy. Associate Justices Lewis F. Powell Jr. and Clearly, however, a big chunk of Werner’s These include limiting family visits to once Anthony M. Kennedy. workday is taken up by Cuba issues — even every three years and doing away with the “I think that having been a regulator in more so after last June, when the Bush admin- exemption that allowed legal travelers to several kinds of industries and having been istration unveiled tough new rules limiting bring back up to $100 worth of rum, cigars in the private sector, I’m very conscious of a travel by Cuban-Americans hoping to visit and other Cuban souvenirs. desire to marry effective enforcement of our their families on the island. “When you add up the $100 exemptions, it programs with minimizing the burden this “After we implemented the new regulatory amounts to a lot of money, but it also exposes places on people and businesses,” he said. procedures on Cuba travel, we obviously had people to products that they generally don't “With regard to Cuba, this means that a balloon of applications which required more have access to,” he said. “It’s like ivory trad- when we get license applications, we consid- resources. We were snowed under, but we’re ing. You don’t want to stimulate a desire for er them quickly. Our response time is getting through them.” such commodities.” prompt, and we take the time to understand Werner said OFAC has received between What about people who intentionally violate the needs behind the application.” 14,000 and 17,000 applications since the laws the travel ban? CUBA EMBARGO ONLY ONE OF 29 SANCTIONS were tightened in June, of which “in excess of Is there any sense, we asked Werner, in 11,000” have already been processed. threatening a retired Catholic couple from As director of OFAC, Werner oversees 140 “Most of these applications were not neces- Michigan with $110,000 in penalties for flying staffers and a budget exceeding $20 million. sarily people who are eligible under the cur- to Cuba via Canada to distribute Bibles? Or in “That’s a lot smaller than people think,” he rent regulations,” he explained. “There’s a lot throwing the book at an elderly grandmother said. “We leverage the resources of the en- of confusion. Some forms we got more than who broke the law by participating in a bicy- tire department. For example, Customs is a once. Most of the ones that came in had prob- cle tour of the island? critical part of the OFAC mission. We’re con- lems. Either they weren’t filled out complete- “The way it works is, we’ll get a referral stantly coordinating with the Department of ly, or there was evidence that people were from Customs that someone has traveled to January 2005 ❖ CubaNews 9 Cuba illegally. We review the facts and assess institutions to become concerned that the The letter also questions the “extraordi- a penalty based on those facts. transactions they were being asked to pro- nary legal risks” of Cuba paying for goods in “But we definitely take into account mitiga- cess fell outside the parameters of what was advance of shipment and having them remain ting circumstances,” he explained. “If some- permissive. It would be very speculative for on U.S. soil. These Cuban goods would be one goes to Cuba and engages in a substantial me to say. It may have been publicity-related.” subject to court-ordered seizures that could export business, they’ll get hit with a much Regardless of what triggered it, warns the result from legal claims against Cuba. larger fine than if a couple travels to Cuba to American Farm Bureau Federation, going Meanwhile, three U.S. senators have com- pass out religious materials. through with the proposal would be detrimen- plained to Treasury Secretary John Snow. “We also consider other things: Do people tal to U.S. farmers and ranchers. “OFAC’s mission is to enforce sanctions in respond to our requests? Do they engage us “There is no reason to change rules of pay- place against Cuba, not to regulate or inter- in a conversation about the violation, or do ment that might reduce the market for the fere in lawful commerce between the United they simply ignore us? The longer you wait to deal with us, the bigger a problem you’ll face.” Werner adds: “The way we justify it is that consistent enforcement of the policy is essen- “OFAC should be willing to continually re-examine the family tial to making it work. Every person who trav- els illegally to Cuba undermines the integrity definition to make sure we’ve got it right. That’s an issue we’re of the program. If it’s OK for them to travel willing to look at, in conjunction with the State Department.” without a license just because they feel like traveling and because the purpose of their trip — ROBERT WERNER, DIRECTOR OF THE OFFICE OF FOREIGN ASSETS CONTROL is righteous, where does that stop? The fact is that as a government, we’re not leaving that up to people’s discretion.” wide number of products produced by our States and Cuba,” wrote Max Baucus (D-MT), WHAT DOES ‘PAYMENT IN ADVANCE’ MEAN? members and exported to Cuba, including Larry Craig (R-ID) and Byron Dorgan (D- wheat, rice, corn, soybeans, chicken, pork, ND). “Since the TSRA law expressly codified One of the biggest controversies swirling eggs, dairy products, apples and even live the right of U.S producers to sell food and around OFAC these days, however, has noth- animals,” AFBF President Bob Stallman said medicine to Cuba, any attempts by OFAC to ing to do with traveling to Cuba. Rather, it in a recent letter to President Bush. inhibit such sales must necessarily be inter- concerns the possibility that U.S. law will be The petition, endorsed by a coalition of ag- preted as a conscious and intentional decision changed to prevent American companies ricultural groups, claims all farm exports by OFAC to flout the will of Congress.” from shipping food products to Cuba unless since TSRA’s passage have met both the letter Baucus has threatened to block any new the Castro government pays cash in advance. and spirit of the law. Exported farm products Treasury nominees that come before the Sen- Since passage of the Trade Sanction Re- have not been unloaded in Cuba until pay- ate if OFAC goes ahead with such plans. form and Export Enhancement Act (TSRA) in ment is received. Additionally, requiring pay- “Moving to obstruct lawful trade after three 2000, payment from Cuba has only been ment prior to shipment would be contrary to years of it functioning without incident takes required prior to goods being released to the standard methods of international business. this administration’s dangerous obsession buyer, not prior to shipment. “We urge you not to make unnecessary and with Cuba to a whole new level,” he warned. Werner was reluctant to discuss this issue harmful changes to the implementation of “I will not sit idly by if the Treasury Depart- since OFAC hasn’t issued any new guidelines TSRA,” said Stallman. “Cuba has become our ment attempts to rewrite legislation Congress on TSRA. But he did offer the following: 22nd-largest agricultural market, valued at intended to facilitate trade with Cuba. I am “We don’t know precisely what triggered it, almost $400 million per year. It is a market we prepared to hold up the next significant Trea- but something caused a number of financial cannot afford to lose.” sury nominee until this gets resolved.” Following lawsuits, OFAC eases policy on publications from Cuba, Iran, Sudan .S. publishers can breathe a little easier, now that the to blocking free exchange of ideas and therefore unconstitutional. Treasury Department has ruled they may publish books and One of the two suits was filed by representatives of the Uarticles by citizens of Cuba, Sudan or Iran. Association of American Publishers, PEN American Center in Sep- The new rule was announced in mid-December by Treasury’s tember. Iranian Nobel winner Shirin Ebadi filed a related complaint Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). It comes after Iranian nearly two months ago. Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi sued the United States The plaintiffs said OFAC’s crackdowns against scientists and cul- because OFAC rules blocked her from signing a contract with the tural figures who have business with Cubans, Iranians and Sudanese Boston-based Strothman Agency, which wanted to represent her. have cost them about $30 million in fines over the past 10 years. OFAC’s previous policy effectively discouraged the publication of They cited the case of musician Ry Cooder, who was fined $25,000 dissident speech from those three countries. in 1999 for working with Cubans to record the Grammy-winning “That is the opposite of what we want,” Stuart Levey, Treasury’s album “Buena Vista Social Club.” According to lawyers, when undersecretary for the Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelli- Cooder tried to record a second album in Cuba, OFAC first denied gence, said in a statement. “This new policy will ensure those dissi- permission, then reversed itself but made the trip contingent on dent voices and others will be heard without undermining our sanc- Cooder agreeing to forgo all profits. tions policy.” Despite the new rule, reports the New York Times, some activities OFAC Director Robert Werner said people wanting to publish remain restricted, including the development, production and mar- Cuban, Iranian or Sudanese works in the United States will be able keting of software, general marketing activities unrelated to a writ- to do so “without seeking permission” from his office first — as long ten publication and the operation of a publishing house or sales out- as the authors aren’t government representatives. let in Cuba, Iran or Sudan. “This rule provides clarity and promotes important policies aimed Treasury spokeswoman Molly Millerwise told the Times that at the free exchange of ideas without undermining the national OFAC’s new regulations were not issued in response to the lawsuits. security objectives of these country sanctions,” said Werner. Rather, she said, the rules are “more of a clarification” that the The action follows two lawsuits against Treasury Secretary John department had been considering “since we were first asked how Snow and other officials claiming the restrictions were tantamount the regulations apply to publishing activities.” 10 CubaNews ❖ January 2005 MEDICINE U.S. humanitarian groups boost medical shipments to Cuba BY HELEN SIMON $3,000 to send, Schwag said. Once in Cuba, ment’s Office of Foreign Assets Control Vermont-based nonprofit organization the government pays to transport the sup- (OFAC) and the IRS. that ships donated medical supplies to plies to their final destination. Cuba has its own set of bureaucracy, and A Cuba is trying out a novel way to cover CMT isn’t Vermont’s only link to Cuba. In the red tape gets even thicker if the goods are its transportation expenses. September, the nation’s 2nd-smallest state in going through Canada. “It’s unbelievable the Caribbean Medical Transport says medical population signed an agreement to sell $7 mil- amount of obstacles to do something pretty simple,” Schwag said. personnel traveling with the goods will con- lion worth of powdered milk, dairy cows and apples to Cuban food purchasing agency Al- Treasury spokeswoman Molly Millerwise tribute $500 each toward the cost of sending import (see CubaNews, October 2004, page 3). said OFAC considers each request for a li- the 25,000-lb commercial shipping containers. Although CMT has been sending supplies cense to ship to Cuba on a case-by-case basis. The first group will travel to Havana Jan. 22- to Cuba since 1996, it applied its travel license The agencies that become involved and the 29, said CMT founder Rick Schwag. Ten to 15 for the first time in 2004, Schwag said. time it takes for licenses to be issued depend people are expected to go, or five per 40-foot on the nature of the shipments. Some licens- container. The U.S. government allows that MEDICAL LICENSES INVOLVE LOTS OF RED TAPE es can be issued in a few weeks; others could many to accompany each container to moni- CMT is one of a handful of U.S.-based non- hypothetically take one or two years, she said. tor deliveries or plan future ones, he said. profits that send donated medical equipment CMT currently has licenses to ship to the Schwag, 51, a Philadelphia native who has and pharmaceuticals to Cuba to ease short- Hatikva Synagogue in Santiago de Cuba and lived in Vermont since 1980 and whose back- ages resulting from the U.S. trade embargo. the Catholic group Caritas in Havana. ground is in religious studies and real estate, Cuba’s needs range from vitamins, sutures says he needs medical technicians and pro- and surgical gloves to EKG machines, dental FRESH NEW PAINT FOR A CUBAN HOSPITAL fessionals to help identify priorities. chairs and ambulance tires. Another nonprofit group, Pittsburgh-based “I want to send stuff that’s the most valu- Medical goods can be sent to Cuba under Global Links, began sending medical supplies able to send,” Schwag told CubaNews, adding the 1992 Cuban Democracy Act. But export- to Cuba in 1994 at the request of the Pan that in addition to meeting their Cuban coun- ing is a complicated process, Schwag said. American Health Organization, said Execu- terparts, U.S. delegates will also do a little A license, valid for two years, is needed for tive Director Kathleen Hower. sightseeing on the side. each category of item and different destina- Global Links exports to more than half a Participants will pay their own airfare, hotel tion. Exporters have to deal not only with the dozen other countries in the Americas, but and ground transportation, plus the $500 for State Department and the Commerce De- shipping. Each container costs $2,500 to partment, but also with the Treasury Depart- See Humanitarian, page 14 Put off by Bush’s Cuba policy, Nathan sets sights on Libya BY LARRY LUXNER Land o’ Lakes margarine, Wrigley’s chewing “I’m interested in Libya for basically the oodbye Havana, hello Tripoli” seems to gum and other U.S. brands not sold in Cuba same reasons I was interested in Cuba,” be the new strategy for Peter Nathan, since the revolution. Nathan told us. “Initially, the U.S. relaxed the Gchief of PWN Exhibicon International. As a result of the show, Cuban state food embargo with Cuba for medical products, and Nathan, you may remember, is the trade- purchasing agency Alimport signed $95 mil- later agricultural goods. When I read last show organizer who two years ago pulled off lion in contracts with U.S. food companies. March that the U.S. was also relaxing its the first U.S. food exhibit in Havana since the Coincidentally, the White House unveiled embargo against Libya, I thought it was time tough new travel 1959 revolution. to investigate the opportunities.” restrictions against Nathan, 71, has been in the exhibition busi- But Nathan’s attempts to repeat the highly U.S. boaters sailing to successful show ended in frustration after he ness for 47 years. He organized the first U.S. Cuba on Feb. 26, 2004 trade show in the Soviet Union in 1971, and encountered what he calls “politically motiva- — the same day ted” opposition from the White House. the first U.S. trade show in China in 1980. OFAC lifted the long- A similar trade show is planned for Libya “After the agricultural show in September standing travel ban 2002, I reapplied immediately for a license next summer, and has already been certified against Libya. That by the U.S. Commerce Department. from OFAC [Office of Foreign Assets Con- followed a declaration trol]. They denied me the license on two or Nathan has been to Libya twice, and he by Libya’s dictator, says the Libyans, like the Cubans, welcome three different occasions over the next six Col. Muammar Qad- months,” Nathan told CubaNews in a phone dafi, renouncing ter- American visitors with open arms. conversation from his office in Westport, Ct. rorism and weapons “Tripoli is very interesting, actually some- “Each time, I was told it was officially be- Peter Nathan of mass destruction. what like Havana; rundown, nice people, right cause [the event] was not consistent with U.S. Qaddafi had already agreed to compensate on a major body of water. However, trying to policy on Cuba. But indirectly, unofficially, I families of those who died when Pan Am 103 do business in Libya makes Cuba seem like a was told the show was so successful, and that was destroyed over Lockerbie — a terrorist piece of cake,” he said. Fidel Castro was so pleased with it, that it act blamed on secret Libyan agents. “They are very disorganized, and there’s embarrassed the Bush administration.” Today, there’s a Libyan Interests Section in plenty of infighting. Getting a visa — even if In fact, Nathan’s trade fair — attended by Washington, and a U.S. Interests Section in you’ve been there before — is a real trial, a over 750 U.S. business executives — also at- Tripoli, and it seems only a matter of time headache. But there are many opportunities tracted 20,000 Cubans eager to see and taste before full diplomatic relations are restored. which I hope can work in my favor.” everything from California raisins to Wiscon- Meanwhile, U.S. trade delegations have Details: Peter Nathan, PWN Exhibicon Inter- sin cheese. been streaming to Tripoli, and Texas oilmen national, 70 Terra Nova Circle, Westport, CT Many left the Pabexpo convention center are already in the North African desert 06880. Tel: (203) 222-8660. Fax: (203) 222- toting plastic shopping bags filled with Spam, nation, eager to get the crude flowing again. 8335. E-mail: [email protected]. January 2005 ❖ CubaNews 11 TOURISM TOURISM BRIEFS SANDALS TO MANAGE NEW VARADERO RESORT Travel agency added to OFAC blacklist Jamaica’s Sandals Resorts International will BY LARRY LUXNER manage the new 434-room Hotel Princesa del not make them all Cuban companies,” he Mar in Varadero —bringing to three the num- he Treasury Department’s Office of said. “They’ve taken five addresses that we ber of resorts now being run by the all-inclu- Foreign Assets Control has blacklisted may have had over the last seven years.” sive chain in Cuba. T Tour & Marketing International Ltd. for He added: “They did no investigative work The five-star hotel came under Sandals man- illegally funneling funds to Cuba. whatsoever. It’s like suing Marlboro instead agement on Nov. 1, 2004, following the sign- A press release from Juan Carlos Zarate, of Philip Morris. In this case, they’ve gone to ing of a contract between Sandals and Gaviota, head of Treasury’s financial crimes and ter- our website, taken a commercial name and a hotel chain run by Cuba’s armed forces. rorist financing division, says T&M is a haven’t even bothered to investigate the true “We are excited about this new develop- Cuban-owned and Cuban-operated travel name of our company and where it’s based.” ment,” Sandals director Dr. Jeffrey Pyne told agency that “generates resources that the If they had, Marshall said, U.S. officials the Jamaica Observer. “Our travel partners, Cuban regime uses to oppress its people.” would’ve discovered that the company focus- particularly in Europe, the U.K. and Canada, es on European tourists through French and The company also caters to U.S. citizens have given tremendous support to our busi- Italian websites like www.bonjourcuba.com. trying to evade the embargo, said Zarate. ness in Cuba and we are thrilled to be able to Marshall says his company brought over By banning T&M from doing business with include such a spectacular resort in our 3,000 tourists to Cuba in 2004, of which only U.S. nationals, he said, the Bush administra- Cuban operations.” 6-7% were Americans. Whether on not those tion is stepping up its efforts to “choke off dol- Of the 434 suites at Sandals Princesa del lars streaming to the Castro regime.” people came to Cuba legally isn’t his concern. “We’re probably the only online company Mar, 360 are junior suites, 72 are full one-bed- Yet T&M’s British founder, Steve Marshall, room suites, and two are presidential suites. says such accusations are baseless — and that specifically does not focus on U.S. clients,” he said. “We’re not here to police Among the hotel’s amenities are an outdoor potentially damaging to relations between the pool, a nearby 18-hole golf course, four tennis United States and the European Union. U.S. citizens. That’s not our role, and as a Bri- tish company, we reject extraterritorial laws.” courts, a sauna, a steamroom, eight jacuzzis, “This is yet another clear message from the fitness facilities, onsite scuba diving, a spa and U.S. administration that they are willing to Marshall said the British Embassy in Washington has filed a complaint with OFAC a range of water sports. ride roughshod over any nation’s sovereignty The resort also boasts eight gourmet spe- and laws, including that of the United King- on his behalf, and that “the U.K. government will make short work of this ludicrous ruling cialty restaurants offering French, Italian, dom,” Marshall told CubaNews in an e-mail. Japanese and Caribbean cuisine among oth- “If the U.S. wishes to oppress the desires of in due course.” This isn’t the first time Marshall has run ers, and guests have access to 10 full-service its nationals to visit a nation just 90 miles from bars, including a one-of-a kind cigar bar. its shores, then that’s their issue. British afoul of U.S. authorities. In 1997, he paid $75,000 for a RE/MAX Sandals first brought its management exper- nationals and citizens of the world have rights tise to Cuba in 1999, when it assumed control to travel where they wish, and we cater to franchise from the company’s Puerto Rico subsidiary in order to sell real estate out of of the 350-room Beaches Varadero resort. those people and will continue to,” he said. The group expanded its Cuban operations in OFAC’s action, the 14th of its kind since his Havana office. Two years later, the Den- ver-based parent company, RE/MAX Interna- September 2002 when it took over manage- President Bush took office in 2001, includes ment of Sandals Royal Hicacos Resort & Spa. the freezing of all T&M assets “in the posses- tional Inc., sued Marshall, denouncing the use of its name in Cuba as illegal. Both Varadero resorts are managed by sion of persons subject to U.S. jurisdiction.” Sandals under an agreement with Cubanacán, In justifying its decision, Treasury asserts Even after a federal judge in Colorado ordered him to stop using the RE/MAX name another major Cuban hotel company. that T&M “has five offices in Cuba, one in In June, Jamaica’s SuperClubs pulled the Spain, one in England and another in the Bri- and logo, Marshall persisted, which resulted tish Virgin Islands,” and that “the firm’s main in Marshall being cited for contempt of court, plug on two of its Cuban properties, less than officials are Cubans living on the island.” making him subject to arrest if he ever set a month after the Bush administration in- Not so, says Marshall, who told CubaNews foot on U.S. soil. voked a section of the 1996 Helms-Burton Act that he runs his own company, which is reg- Marshall was eventually dropped from the that penalizes those who do business in Cuba. istered in the British Virgin Islands and has a lawsuit, which also named the RE/MAX offi- As a result, SuperClubs no longer manages representative office in Havana. cial who sold him the franchise in violation of the 480-room Breezes Holguín or the 436- “There are literally hundreds of British the U.S. embargo against Cuba. room Grand Lido Varadero. It continues to companies with offices in Havana. That does Vito Echevarría contributed to this story. manage three other hotels: Breezes Jibacoa, Breezes Varadero and Breezes Cayo Coco. Details: Leo Lambert, Sandals Resorts Inter- Cuba receives 2 million tourists in 2004 national, Montego Bay, Jamaica. Tel: (876) 906-9380 or (876) 979-9130. uba’s tourism minister said a record two German and Spanish visitors. In 2003, around CAYO COCO TO GET PROTECTED STATUS million people visited the island in 2004, 130,000 Cuban-Americans also visited the Cdespite U.S. efforts to undermine the island, but that number was slashed by half in Cuba’s Cayo Coco tourist mecca will soon country’s largest source of foreign exchange. the latter part of 2004 following tough new trav- get protected status thanks to its regional “The U.S. government increased the unjust el restrictions imposed by the White House. environmental diversity, namely its man- blockade imposed on our country and pledged groves, coral reefs and marine life. Tourism and related activities generated $2.1 to affect the unstoppable development of our The area boasts a rich and varied fauna with industry,” Tourism Minister Manuel Marrero billion in 2003, with those earnings up 15% in over 170 species and the Loma del Puerto told reporters last month. 2004, according to Cuba’s economy and plan- dunes, the country’s second-highest, measur- “These two million visitors represent an 8% ning minister, José Luís Rodríguez. ing between 10 to 14 meters. increase over last year and are one more dem- Tourism now accounts for 41% of Cuba’s total The area, which is located off the coast of onstration that Cuba is not alone,” he said. foreign-exchange earnings, up from only 4% in the central province of Ciego de Avila, is part Cuba’s largest single source of tourists is still 1990. At the moment, Cuba has around 41,000 the Sabana Camagüey Archipelago Canada — about 450,000 of them in 2004 — fol- hotel rooms, 70% of them in four- and five-star Biodiversity Conservation Project which is lowed by Europeans, namely Italian, French, properties. supported by the UN Development Fund. 12 CubaNews ❖ January 2005 withered plants. Yet the final estimate proved breaching trade sanctions against Cuba. BUSINESS BRIEFS worse than August’s, industry sources said. The Guardian reported Dec. 9 that the fine “It is a disaster,” a local sugar expert told was levied against Santander’s Bahamas unit 68% of ‘05 BUDGET TO FUND SOCIAL PROGRAMS Reuters. “The crop will come in at 1.7 to 1.8 for a transfer of funds through Cuba in 2001. Cuba has allocated 68% of its 2005 budget to million tons.” Santander refused to comment on the fine “activities and sectors supporting social devel- Cuba sells abroad all but 700,000 tons of its and the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of opment,” reports state-run Prensa Latina. crop, mainly to Russia and China. But it has Foreign Assets Control wouldn’t elaborate In the presence of Fidel Castro, Cuba’s rub- been known to sell more to meet contractual upon the sketchy details provided on its web- ber-stamp parliament approved the budget obligations and then purchase sugar abroad. site. The website indicates that Santander did Dec. 24, announcing that “Cubans and their The 2002-03 sugar crop was the lowest in 70 not voluntarily disclose the transaction. integral development are the most important years at 2.2 million tons, after the Communist- The Spanish bank was fined under the range in this society.” run country shuttered 71 of 156 state mills of civil penalties used by Treasury, which can The budget for education, health, social and relegated 60% of sugar lands to other levy financial penalties of up to $55,000 for security and aid, culture, sports and science is uses. An additional 20 mills will remain closed each violation. Criminal penalties for violating 10.58 billion pesos, representing 68% of the this harvest for lack of cane. the sanctions range from 10 years in prison, total. Of that, education is getting 4.11 billion $1 million in corporate fines and $250,000 in pesos, an 11.3% increase over 2004. INFANT MORTALITY IS LOWEST IN LATIN AMERICA individual fines. A total of 2.35 billion pesos is earmarked for Cuba’s infant mortality fell to 5.8 per 1,000 health, up from 9.4% in 2004, while 2.3 billion live births in 2004, which the government SWISS FIRM LAUNCHES REMITTANCE WEBSITE pesos will go for social security payments (up claims is the lowest in Latin America. That’s Switzerland’s AWS Technologies S.A. has 7%) and 654 million pesos for social aid institu- down from 6.3 per 1,000 live births in 2003, opened a website for money transfers to Cuba. tions and programs for the disabled (up 5.7%). reports the Communist Party daily Granma. The site, at www.aws-transaction.com, “em- Cultural and artistic activities will get 641 Infant mortality measures the number of phasizes a personalized service to the client million pesos (up 12.5%), while sports will children who die before they reach their first and the collaboration of Cuban businesses receive 272 million pesos (up 8.8%). birthday. Worldwide, it’s seen as an important with experience and skill in the area of remit- Cuba’s military will get 1.46 billion pesos, measure of a nation’s development. tances to Cuba.” due to “the need to continue strengthening Cuba’s infant mortality rate is lower than According to AWS, any user having a credit national defense amid U.S. hostility and that of the United States (7.0) but higher than card can send money to his family or friends increasing threats against our country.” that of Canada (5.0). in Cuba. The remittances will be received in Meanwhile, the central province of Villa offices throughout the country where the cur- CUBANS TO BUILD HIGHWAY IN VIETNAM Clara has Cuba’s longest life expectancy, at 78 rency can be withdrawn in U.S. dollars or in Vietnam and Cuba on Dec. 12 signed a con- years. A baby boy born there today can expect Cuban convertible currency. tract in Havana through which the Quality to live to 76, while the average life expectancy The client in Cuba will be given a debit card Couriers International (QCI) enterprise will for females is nearly 80. that is rechargeable and valid in over 7,000 commercial establishments. construct an expressway from Ho Chi Minh SANTANDER FINED FOR EMBARGO VIOLATIONS City to Trung Luong. Matthias Zehnder, executive director of Cuban engineers will be in charge of the Spain’s Banco Santander Central Hispano AWS, says his goal is “to facilitate this option project, which should take 36 months to com- has been fined $20,000 by U.S. authorities for as one of the main avenues of remittances to plete at a cost of $417 million. In November, Cuban employees of the Ho Chi Minh Construction Group marked the COMCE: Mexican investors shying away from Cuba company’s 30th anniversary. Between 1973 and 1982, Cuba sent 35,000 tons of materials exican entrepreneurs are slashing said, adding that Mexican executives don’t and equipment to Vietnam for the construc- their investments in Cuba due to a recognize Cuba’s potential in a number of tion of hotels, hospitals and highways. Mlack of knowledge of the island’s attractive areas like tourism and biotech. productive sectors and because they fear a “But COMCE will dedicate itself to cor- EXPERTS: SUGAR CROP ONLY 1.8 MILLION TONS backlash from Washington, reports recting this, and it is going to intervene in Cuba’s drought-ravaged sugar crop will Mexico City’s El Economista. the matter.” come in at no more than 1.8 million tons, Valentín Díez Morodo, president of the During the first nine months of 2004, down from 2.52 million tons a year ago, say Mexican Foreign Trade, Investment and Mexico exported $109.6 million worth of industry sources. Technology Council (COMCE), told the products to Cuba, while Cuba sent $14.7 The last time Cuba, one of the world’s top newspaper he thinks “there is an entrepre- million in merchandise to Mexico. sugar exporters, produced less than 1.8 mil- neurial sector breakdown, due to not In December, Mexico’s private sector lion tons of sugar was in 1909. knowing, fear and a lack of initiative to conditioned Cuba’s request to expand the According to Reuters, only four of Cuba’s 65 intensify contacts with Cuba.” bilateral Economic Complementation functioning mills were scheduled to open in According to the UN Conference on Agreement (ACE) on Havana paying its December, with the rest coming online in Trade and Development, Canadian compa- $400 million debt to Bancomext, Mexico’s January and February. nies have channeled $220 million in direct national foreign trade bank. “Given the limited amount of cane this time, foreign investment to Cuba, while Mexico ACE involves the elimination of duties there are not early dates to begin milling,” doesn’t even appear on UNCTAD’s top 10 on a substantial number of products traded said Juan Varela Pérez, Cuba’s top sugar list of foreign investors in Cuba. between the two countries. reporter, in his daily radio spot. Many Mexican companies do not invest Mexico’s ambassador to Cuba, Roberta The harvest usually begins in November or in Cuba, Díez said, “due to their presence Lajous, who is being replaced, said she’s December and runs into May, but Cuba is in in other countries that are not necessarily worried “to see Mexican entrepreneurs the grip of the worst drought in 40 years (see friends of Cuba” — a clear reference to the pulling out of Cuba instead of going in.” our special report on the drought and sugar, 1996 Helms-Burton Act which sanctions She told officials that “currently we have CubaNews, December 2004, page 10). companies which trade with the island. only one single new investment, in connec- The August crop estimate was 2 million tons “Mexican companies, instead of intro- tion with shrimp fishing, when there are and September’s was postponed in hopes that ducing their products directly, must trian- many other fields in which Cubans are ad- light rain in drought-parched eastern and cen- gulate in order to avoid a problem,” he vancing and they are starved for capital.” tral Cuba would put some life into stunted and January 2005 ❖ CubaNews 13 Cuba. These have a great deal of potential but treatment of patients with cancer,” said during the first year of operation. Teledata will have been limited by U.S. retrictions against Agustín Lage Davila, General Director of the have a spread of 5 cents a minute, of which Cuba that directly prejudice companies that Center of Molecular Immunology (CIM). around 60% will go towards operation and engage in this type of service.” Founded in 1991, CIM is based in Havana maintenance. For an estimated 10 million min- Zehnder said his company takes special pre- and employs over 400 people, including 150 utes per month traffic, Teledata expects to get cautions to safeguard the security of custo- scientists. CIM research programs are $500,000 per month as net revenue. mers’ transactions. For example, when a first- focused on cancer therapeutics, autoimmune Of this, the operating expenses will account time customer uses the online system, he has diseases and renal transplants. for $300,000, hence a net profit of $200,000 to send by fax a copy of his passport with a CIMAB is CIM’s commercial branch, mar- per month is likely to accrue to Teledata. signed letter indicating that he agrees the keting products developed by CIM scientists. Total investment in equipment is around terms and conditions of the service. Details: Normando Iznaga, Head of Business $3.6 million, according to the company, which The Swiss company will operate and invoice & Development, CIMAB S.A., Box 16040, La also has a U.S. subsidiary in White Plains, its Internet clients in euros. It will not accept Habana 11600. Tel: +53 7 271-5057. Fax: +53 N.Y. (see address below). liability for U.S. clients who use the platform 7 33-3509. E-mail: [email protected]. Details: Teledata Informatics Ltd., 65 Court to send $300 every trimester to their relatives; St., Suite #19-25, White Plains, NY 10601. Tel: it also won’t violate any provision of the U.S. PENNSYLVANIA, FLORIDA SHIP CATTLE TO CUBA (914) 686-2100. Fax: (914) 686-7900. E- embargo, it said. Dennis Wolff, Pennsylvania’s agriculture mail: [email protected]. Details: AWS Technologies, Techno-Pole 1, secretary, said his state will ship 200 Holstein PO Box 47, 3960 Sierre, Switzerland. Tel: +53 and Jersey cattle to Cuba as part of a recent ETECSA: 85% OF TELEPHONE LINES NOW DIGITAL 7 881-5599. Fax: +41 27 456-7882. trade agreement. More than 85% of Cuba’s telephone lines “Pennsylvania’s agricultural products are have been digitalized, reports state phone AIRLINE LAUNCHES MIA-HAV CARGO FLIGHTS known worldwide for quality,” Wolff said on monopoly Etecsa. Air MarBrisa has launched weekly direct air Dec. 9. “Earlier this year, I discussed dairy By the end of 2004, all provincial capitals cargo service between Miami and Havana. genetics in detail with President Castro dur- and other key territories on the island were The airline, incorporated in 1998, has a fleet ing a trade mission to Cuba. using the new technology, which improves of Fairchild Metro and Antonov airplanes. Its “Since the first cattle from Pennsylvania voice transmission quality and allows for Havana-bound flights depart from MIA every shipped so successfully, Cuba is interested in other services. Wednesday and Saturday, carrying licensed purchasing another group of the state’s bred Luís Sánchez Echevarría, Etecsa’s planning cargo such as perishables, food samples, gov- cattle. We believe this is a great step towards manager, told the state-run AIN news agency ernment procurement shipments, animals, increased trade with Cuba, and a great sign to that within the next three years, the company human remains and hazardous materials. the international community that will gradually substitute telephone lines still The airline’s director is Mercedes Costa, a Pennsylvania genetics are a good investment.” connected to analog equipment. former executive with IBC Airways (see The cattle, whose value wasn’t disclosed, Cuba acquired its first international tele- CubaNews, November 2004, page 11). will be sent from the Pennsylvania Holstein phone operating exchange in 1991 for the Air MarBrisa currently flies to the U.S. Association’s export facility in Middletown. 11th Pan-American Games in Havana. Naval Base at Guantánamo Bay as well as var- Meanwhile, 22 Florida-bred cattle were Following that, other units were installed in ious destinations in North, Central and South shipped Jan. 1 from Pt. Everglades to Havana. Havana and Varadero. Etecsa’s national digi- America. Its cargo clients include General John Parke Wright, CEO of Naples-based talization process began in 1998, four years Motors, DHL Worldwide, Ford Motor Co. and J.P. Wright & Co., said the six bulls and 16 after the company’s establishment. the Federal Bureau of Prisons. heifers were raised in Florida’s prime cattle Details: Mercedes Costa, Air MarBrisa Air country of Levy, St. Lucie, Suwannee and SHERRITT MAY BUILD POWER PLANT IN MARIEL Cargo, 2361 NW 67th Ave., Bldg. #700, Bay Highlands counties. Toronto-based Sherritt International is in 103, Miami, FL 33122. Tel: (786) 265-8411 The shipment is the first part of a nearly $1 discussions with Cuba’s government regard- or 265-8005. Fax: (786) 265-0109. E-mail: million order totaling 300 head of Florida-bred ing the development of a coal-fired thermo- [email protected]. cattle. The rest is expected to ship within the electric project at Mariel, just west of Havana. next few months. Venezuelan companies are also considering CIMAB, CHINESE FIRM SIGN BIOTECH DEAL Details: Kristina Watson, Pennsylvania De- the project. Cuban biotech company Cimab S.A. has partment of Agriculture, Harrisburg, Pa. Tel: “That was reported in Cuba. We haven’t signed two licensing agreements with China’s (717) 787-5085., or J. Parke Wright, PO Box made a final decision on that and we haven’t Biotech Pharmaceutical Ltd. (BPL) for the 649, Naples, FL 34106. Tel: (239) 649-7800. announced it, so I can’t comment,” said com- joint development, production and marketing Fax: (239) 649-7840. E-mail: [email protected]. pany spokeswoman Deanna Horton. of monoclonal antibodies for the treatment of Meanwhile, Sherritt’s 80-megawatt expan- autoimmune diseases and lymphomas. ETECSA IN VOIP VENTURE WITH INDIAN FIRM sion of its 33-megawatt Boca de Jaruco ther- The entities have also agreed to work India’s Teledata Informatics Ltd. has formed moelectric plant in Cuba is “on track” and due together on research, development, produc- a venture with Cuba’s state-run Etecsa to for completion in November 2005, she said. tion and marketing of new humanized mono- enter the Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) Construction began in late 2004 and will clonal antibodies specific for extra-cellular business for international long-distance. involve close to $100 million in investment. matrix molecules involved in metastases and The venture, involving Teledata’s Singapore- Sherritt is financing and constructing the angiogenesis malignant processes. based Infosoft Systems unit, will terminate plant, and will operate it. Also under consider- BPL is a joint venture between Beijing calls to Cuba totaling 15 million minutes a ation is a 70-megawatt second phase, but that Jingyitaixiang Technology Development Co. month, netting monthly profits of $200,000. decision is subject to gas availability, “so we Ltd., Shanxi Xinyutong Material Commerce “As per the agreement, we will set up neces- haven’t made an announcement on that yet,” Co. Ltd., China International Science Center. sary equipments on the build-operate-own- said Horton. Under the deal, CIMAB will receive royal- transfer model for VOIP traffic routing, and Through the Energas venture, Sherritt and ties on resulting product sales, and BPL will manage the system and use our software for Cuba’s respective oil and electricity compa- finance product development, clinical trials, call-routing facility. The facilities created by nies — Cubapetróleo (Cupet) and Union Eléc- regulatory submissions and sales. Teledata will route the calls to Cuba from trica (UNE) — each own 33% of Boca de Jar- “With one of the agreements, we are open- Singapore,” said K. Padmanabhan, managing uco and the 173-megawatt plant in Varadero. ing a new path in research collaboration with director of Teledata. Details: Deanna Horton, VP/Investor Rela-- our joint-venture company BPL in the field of Padmanabhan, quoted in a press release, tions & Corporate Affairs, Sherritt Internatio- specific passive immunotherapies for the said 180 million minutes of traffic is assured nal, Toronto. Tel: (800) 704-6698. 14 CubaNews ❖ January 2005 AUTOMOTIVE Russia’s Lada seeks to overcome negative image in Cuba BY VITO ECHEVARRÍA mar Trade Center, says that its Cuban clien- Corporación Automotríz Latinoamericana S.A. ne of the most enduring legacies of tele consists mainly of state entities like Auto- (CALSA), exclusive distributor of Toyota cars Cuba’s long years of alignment with the import, Tecnoimport, Emiat and Emed, and Hino trucks. CALSA has a warehouse in OSoviet bloc is the proliferation of Rus- along with the popular taxi company Pana- Berroa, and sells Yokahama tires, Yuasa car sian Ladas, Czech Skodas and Polish Fiat Pol- taxi, which uses the Lada 2107 in its fleet. batteries, and imported auto parts. skis on the streets of Havana. CubaNews attempted to reach Ibrahim Ca- CALSA’s current Cuban clientele includes Older Cuban drivers, accustomed to the big Cubalse, tourism entities Transtur and American gas-guzzlers of the 1950s, have long Gaviota, and the holding company Cimex despised the cramped, boxy Eastern Euro- (which bought 600 Toyota cars from CALSA pean cars. But that’s now changing thanks to for its car rental division in late 2003). Along with CALSA and the Tokmakjian the introduction of new, stylish, roomier autos. Group, RASA also has competition from Fin- New York Times The reported in mid- auto Internacional Ltd., an Italian company November that Izhavto, which manufactures whose owner, Massimo Bonanno, ships a vari- the Lada, is under intense pressure to sell cars ety of vehicles into Cuba, including South Ko- overseas, following production overruns that rea’s Kia, India’s Tata Motors and an assort- have boosted output from 27,400 units in 2000 ment of jeeps, trucks, buses and mopeds to 94,200 in 2003. made by Italy’s Piaggio. To that end, Lada’s dealership in Havana, Lada 2115 on display at the Galería de Paseo. Finauto’s Cuban clients include state enti- Rusia Automotríz S.A. (RASA) is attempting ties SIME, Etecsa, Cubalse, Cimex, Transtur the impossible: to successfully market its new brera, RASA’s sales executive, and Svetlana and rental agency Palco. Within the Cuban line of cars to both Cubans and foreigners liv- Musina, chief of RASA’s public relations, market, Finauto is also the exclusive supplier ing on the island. though neither was available for comment. of Ravaglioli garage equipment from Italy. RASA hopes the new vehicles, comparable Perhaps RASA’s biggest competitor for Despite all that competition, Russia’s Lada in design to Audi and Volvo, will spur sales, business from state entities and individual shouldn’t be dismissed just yet, says a foreign despite Lada’s negative image and competition buyers is the Tokmakjian Group Inc., a Tor- entrepreneur working in Cuba. from new Japanese and Korean models that onto-based car distributor that has exported “The main problem with foreign [non-Rus- enjoy much better credibility among prospec- over 10,000 Hyundai and other vehicles to sian] cars is that they are very expensive, dou- tive car buyers. Cuba between 1999 and 2002. ble in most cases. Parts are all imported, so Since July 2003, when it inaugurated its That company’s CEO, Cy Tokmakjian, has showroom at Havana’s Galería de Paseo shop- just signed a $16 million contract with Cuban ping mall, RASA says it has sold over 2,000 government entity ITH for over 1,000 Hyun- cars in Cuba. These include the Lada 2110, dai and Suzuki cars and buses. The vehicles which costs $11,231, the Lada 2112 ($10,730) purchased by ITH will be used by tourism and the Lada 2115 ($10,400). The Niva, an outfits Transtur and VeraCuba for private LARRY LUXNER SUV-like vehicle, sells for only $7,557. rentals, taxis, and tour buses. RASA, with local subsidiaries at the Mira- Another potential RASA rival is Panama’s

Humanitarian — FROM PAGE 10 the Cuban program is its largest, she said. equipment refurbished an entire hospital. While Global Links ships exclusively Another year, the organization transported Russian-built Lada on a side street in Old Havana. through Halifax, Nova Scotia, CMT routes its 7,000 gallons of recycled paint. donations through Jacksonville, Fla., as well Although Schwag said he initially had the cost is through the roof, and the roads as Canada, depending where the goods have doubts about the worthiness of that donation, tend to destroy these new cars very quickly. I been collected in the United States. Another it turned out to be one of the best ever sent. think the Russian cars make a great alterna- option CMT has yet to use is shipping from The paint was used to paint 15 or 20 hospitals tive for any company from a practical and eco- Tampico, Mexico, to Cuba. from “one end to the other,” he said. nomic point of view. They’re cheap to buy and In its early years, CMT sent about one con- “It made such a difference because the great on gas, which is very expensive.” tainer a year; it expects to ship about 12 hospitals were a little bit dingy and it so The executive adds: “Ladas are very sturdy between March 2004 and March 2005. improved the spirits of the people.” for the hard Cuban road conditions, and they Hower said Global Links has shipped Once the goods arrive in Cuba, Schwag seem to last a lot longer than other cars. Our almost 65 containers with materials worth an personally makes sure they get to their company had bought Kia, Peugeot, Hyundai, estimated $75 million since 1994. intended recipient. So far, he said, very few Toyota and three Ticos [used Daewoo sub- CMT receives its donations from hospitals, things have become lost along the way. compact cars]. drug companies, religious groups, academic Schwag says CMT is non-political and “The Ticos turned out to be the best value institutions, individuals and municipalities in makes a big effort not to upset any of the par- over time, especially when you consider ev- so-called sister-city relationships with com- ties involved in the highly politicized Cuba erything — upfront cost, annual gas consump- munities in Cuba, Schwag said. debate. “We just care about the patient and tion, maintenance and repairs. We’ll start re- It also transports donations gathered by getting what he or she needs,” he said. placing them next year, maybe with Ladas.” other nonprofit groups that aren't licensed to Details: Rick Schwag, Caribbean Medical Details: Rusia Automotríz S.A., Centro de ship to the island. Transport, Lyndon, Vt. Tel: (802) 626-5578 Negocios Miramar, Oficina 205, Edif. Santiago In 2004, CMT shipped equipment and sup- or Kathleen Hower, Exec. Dir., Global Links, de Cuba, 5ta Avenida e/76 y 78, La Habana. plies sent by Boulder, Colo., to its sister city 4809 Penn Ave. #2, Pittsburgh, PA 15224. Tel: Tel: +53 7 204-3552 or 204-3558. E-mail: of Yateras in Guantanamo province. That (412) 361-3424. URL: www.globalinks.org. [email protected]. January 2005 ❖ CubaNews 15 INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS Cuba, North Korea and weapons of mass destruction

The following analysis was prepared by the the October 1962 missile crisis — when Cas- hosts also conducted more serious business. University of Miami’s Institute for Cuban and tro beseeched Soviet premier Nikita Khrush- With “consensus on all the issues,” Castro’s Cuban-American Studies and does not neces- chev to use the island as a launch pad for a and Kim Jong Il’s armed forces “exchanged sarily reflect the opinions of CubaNews or its preemptive nuclear strike against the United views on strengthening cooperation in mili- States — cannot be forgotten. Moreover, nei- tary fields” and declared that “the Cuban publisher. We invite readers with opposing ther Kim Jong Il nor Fidel Castro is averse to army and people will fight shoulder to shoul- viewpoints to e-mail us at [email protected]. the politics of brinkmanship. der with the Korean army and people in [an] anti-U.S. joint front.” he recent, unprecedented mobilization KOREAN, CHINESE VISITS NO COINCIDENCE Vice Marshal Kim Yong Chun’s stay in the of the Cuban military has little to do Recent visits to Cuba by high-ranking emis- island also coincided with the visit of China’s T with an imminent U.S. invasion. saries of Kim Jong Il should be enough to president Hu Jintao to Cuba. The reason the Castro regime is spending warrant a further inquiry into Kay’s remarks. Hu extended an economic lifeline to Cas- an estimated $1.2 billion a year of Cuba’s In June, North Korea’s vice minister of for- tro’s regime with the commitment of as much scarce resources on its armed forces has to eign affairs, Choi Su Hon, traveled to Havana as $1.5 billion in Chinese government-backed do with reasserting the dominant institutional to “strengthen bilateral relations.” investments to exploit Cuba’s strategic nickel role of the military in Cuba’s totalitarian soci- As reported by Cuba’s state-run press, the and cobalt ores. The presence of both Chi- ety, instilling anti-American sentiments in the North Korean minister arrived in the island na’s and North Korea’s leaders was no coin- Cuban people, and assuring an orderly suc- with instructions from Kim Jong Il to “devel- cidence. Are the Chinese and North Koreans cession after Fidel Castro’s death under the op mutual ties in various spheres.” cooperating to support the Cuban military? martial rule of Defense Minister Raúl Castro. And in late November, Vice Marshal Kim Given Pyongyang’s efforts to develop nu- However, what may be of genuine concern Yong Chun, chief of staff of the Korean Peo- clear weapons and the missile technology to for Cuba’s neighbors is Castro’s new cam- ple’s Army, spent five days with his generals put them within reach of U.S. cities, it is dis- paign to upgrade his armed forces’ capabili- evaluating Cuba’s military infrastructure. concerting that Kay’s suggestion of an arms ties and reach. In addition to meeting with Defense deal between the two allies — and perhaps With the Cuban military involved in virtu- Minister Raúl Castro and the heads of all involving China — has largely been ignored. ally every sector of the Cuban economy and branches of Cuba’s military establishment, Particularly worrisome is the apparent fail- managing the island’s lucrative tourism indus- Vice Marshal Kim Yong Chun and his staff ure of Washington policymakers to demand try, Defense Minister Raúl Castro certainly toured manufacturing and assembly facilities further inquiries in order to either substanti- has the means at his disposal to pursue his of the Unión de Industrias Militares, the ate or debunk such an alarming assertion. big brother’s rearmament ambitions. island’s defense industry conglomerate. If Iraqi documents or other evidence en- DOES CUBA HAVE NORTH KOREAN SCUDS? Culminating his visit, Vice Marshal Kim countered by American inspectors were to in- met with Fidel Castro to discuss “the interna- deed reveal that Cuba has acquired or is look- That Cuba is seeking to rearm has not been tional situation, the relationship between the ing to acquire ballistic missiles from North kept a state secret. In September, Gen. DPRK [North Korea] and Cuba, and Cuba’s Korea, the geopolitical challenges and secu- Leopoldo Cintra Frías, head of Cuba’s West- steps to cope with the U.S. blockade.” rity threats facing the United States may be ern Army and directly responsible for pro- After indulging in anti-American rhetoric, even greater, and closer to home, than tecting the senior leadership in Havana, jour- the North Korean delegation and their Cuban heretofore thought. neyed to Beijing to confer with Chinese Defense Minister Cao Gangchuan. On top of the Cuban general’s agenda was “further cooperation between the Chinese CUBA’S MOST IMPORTANT DEFECTIONS* and Cuban armies under the fast-changing in- 1960: Former Cuban Agriculture Minister Raúl Chibas, a close associate of Fidel Castro, ternational situation.” More to the point, Cin- flees with his wife in a motorboat. tra Frías laid on the table the Cuban military’s 1965: Castro’s sister Juanita leaves by plane. “need to modernize as soon as possible.” 1987: A former senior Cuban military officer, Brig. Gen. Rafael del Pino Díaz, defects in a With the island’s tourism earnings in the hands of Cuba’s Defense Ministry and Hav- small plane with his wife and three children. ana’s urgency to rearm, the question remains, 1990: Ramón González Vergara, a top Cuban official in Moscow, flees with his family. what is Castro seeking to acquire? 1993: About 34 Cuban athletes defect during the Pan-American Games in Puerto Rico. In Beyond spare parts to keep its few dozen addition, singer Albita Rodríguez and her band refuse to return home after a U.S. trip, and operational MiG jets flying and aging tanks Castro’s daughter Alina Fernández Revuelta defects. and armed vehicles running, one disturbing 1995: Baseball pitcher Orlando “El Duque” Hernández flees and becomes a star pitcher possibility arises from the findings of U.S. for the New York Yankees. inspectors during their search for weapons of 1996: Boxers Joel Casamayor and Ramón Garbey defect just before the start of the mass destruction in Iraq. Olympics, and baseball pitcher Rolando Arrojo departs and signs on with the Yankees. In October 2003, Dr. David Kay, then lead- 1997: Former Olympic wrestler Alexis Vila Perdoma flees. ing the Central Intelligence Agency’s WMD investigations in Iraq, disclosed on the ABC 2002: Alcibiades Hidalgo, former Cuban ambassador to the UN, becomes one of the high- News program This Week that his team had est-ranking Cubans to leave. found evidence of “North Korean missiles 2003: Cuban pop star Carlos Miguel and his mother remain in Mexico City after he per- going to Cuba.” forms a concert. Also, five dancers with the National Ballet of Cuba slip away during a U.S. Although it may seem irrational for the tour and ask for asylums, and athletes Janerky de la Peña, Michel Brito Ferrer and Charles Cuban government to incite a crisis with León Tamayo defect at the World Gymnastics Championships. Washington by importing North Korean 2004: Forty-three members of a dance troupe performing in Las Vegas seek asylum in Scuds capable of hitting targets within the one of the biggest mass defections of entertainers ever. *compiled by AP continental United States, the precedent of 16 CubaNews ❖ January 2005 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) 365-1829 or send an e-mail to [email protected]. thanks to CubaNews. Now find out what’s happening in the rest of this diverse and Jan. 3-14: “The Cuban Revolution: 1959 to the Present.” Credit course to be taught by fast-growing region. Harvard professor Jorge Domínguez at University of Miami. Regular UM tuition and fees Subscribe to Caribbean UPDATE, a monthly newsletter founded in 1985. Cor- apply. Details: Cuba Transition Project, University of Miami, PO Box 248174, Coral Gab- porate and government executives, as well les, FL 33124. Tel: (305) 284-2822. Fax: (305) 284-4875. E-mail: [email protected]. as scholars and journalists, depend on this publication for its insightful, timely cover- Jan. 8: Sacred Film Festival, New York. Caribbean Cultural Center to screen “When the age of the 30-plus nations and territories of Spirits Dance Mambo,” a documentary about the 1950s mambo craze in New York. Cost: the Caribbean and Central America. When you receive your first issue, you $7. Details: Caribbean Cultural Center, 408 West 58th St., New York. Tel: (212) 307-7420. have two options: (a) pay the accompany- ing invoice and your subscription will be Jan. 11: “Cuba: What’s Next?” Lecture by professor Jorge Domínguez, Casa Bacardi, processed; (b) if you’re not satisfied, just Miami. Cost: $15. Details: Cuba Transition Project, University of Miami, PO Box 248174, write “cancel” on the invoice and return it. Miami, FL 33124. Tel: (305) 284-2822. Fax: (305) 284-4875. URL: www.miami.edu/iccas. There is no further obligation on your part. The cost of a subscription to Caribbean Jan. 13: “Cuba 2005,” Brookings Institution, Washington. Panel features Spain’s ambas- UPDATE is $267 per year. A special rate of sador Carlos Westendorp y Cabeza; Daniel Erikson of Inter-American Dialogue; econo- $134 is available to academics, non-profit organizations and additional subscriptions mist Jorge Pérez-López and Kevin Whitaker, chief of State Department’s Office of Cuban mailed to the same address. Affairs. No charge. Details: Cuban Research Institute, FIU, Miami. Tel: (305) 348-1991 To order, contact Caribbean UPDATE at or Paige Bennett, Association for the Study of the Cuban Economy. Tel: (703) 920-1234. 116 Myrtle Ave., Millburn, NJ 07041, call us at (973) 376-2314, visit our new website at Jan. 14-Feb. 12: “Shared Vision” — an exhibition of photographs of Baracoa, Cuba, at www.caribbeanupdate.org or send an e-mail to [email protected]. We accept Florida Gulf Coast University, Fort Myers. Funded by National Endowment for the Arts, Visa, MasterCard and American Express. Florida Department of State’s Division of Cultural Affairs and the Florida Arts Council. Details: Soledad McIntire, St. Augustine-Baracoa Friendship Association, PO Box 861086, St. Augustine, FL 32086-1086. Tel: (904) 461-3175. URL: www.staugustine-baracoa.org.

Jan. 31: “Fidel Castro” to air on PBS-TV’s American Experience series. Controversial two-hour documentary by acclaimed Cuban exile producer Adriana Bosch will carry Spanish subtitles on CC3. Details: WGBH-TV, Boston. URL: www.pbs.org/amex/castro.

Feb. 2-9: Humanitarian trip to Baracoa, Cuba. Visits to institutions for the blind and Editor & Publisher LARRY LUXNER handicapped, museums, etc. For members of St. Augustine-Baracoa Friendship Associa- Washington correspondent tion only. Cost: $1,200 (incl. airfare Miami/Holguín, overland travel, meals, lodging). De- ANA RADELAT

tails: Soledad McIntire, St. Augustine-Baracoa Friendship Association, PO Box 861086, St. Political analyst Augustine, FL 32086-1086. Tel: (904) 461-3175 or 806-1400. E-mail: [email protected]. DOMINGO AMUCHASTEGUI Feature writers Mar. 3: Cuban Film Poster & Arts Festival, Kensington, Md. “World-class collection of VITO ECHEVARRÍA Cuban film posters from the late 1950s to mid-1980s.” Details: Banning+Low, 3730 How- SANTIAGO FITTIPALDI HELEN SIMON ard Avenue, Kensington, MD 20895. Tel: (301) 933-0700. URL: www.banningandlow.com. Cartographer ARMANDO H. PORTELA

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