No More War: Cuba Sends Mds, Not Guns, to Africa's Most Impoverished

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Vol. 13, No. 6 July 2005

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In the News From strawberry daiquiri mix to soymilk,

OFAC overruled Florida firm sees huge potential in Cuba House panel votes to roll back restrictions BY LARRY LUXNER out of a nondescript industrial park that also houses companies like Lucent Technologies, B- on U.S. food sales to Cuba ...... Page 2 wo gregarious New Yorkers with a back- ground in food service think they’ve dis- Link Florida Ltd. and Sea Aerospace Group. T covered how to make it big in Cuba. The two men met around 15 years ago, while they were running separate restaurants within Accor takes over Brooklyn-born Richard Waltzer, 36, and his the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Naples, Fla. They French hotel giant to manage the legen- business partner, 42-year-old Craig Jacobs, ori- decided to start a business in logistical procure- dary Riviera, Capri hotels ...... Page 3 ginally from Queens, both drive Hummers and ment for hotels throughout the Caribbean. they’re both certified executive chefs. “If you have eight or ten hotels and they’re all They’re also co-owners of Fort Lauderdale- using a separate olive oil, the hotels have no real May 20th memories based Splash Tropical Drinks, which has sold at value to a manufacturer,” explained Jacobs, a Dissidents’ Havana meeting makes head- least $1 million worth of commodities to Cuban graduate of the New England Culinary Institute. lines, though not in Cuba ...... Page 4 state entity Alimport since late 2002. “But if you get them to all use the same olive oil, That makes Splash one of the very few South then they present a value to the manufacturer, Florida companies already profiting from a 2000 giving you — the hotelier — better leverage.” Political briefs law which allows U.S. food exports to Cuba on a Waltzer, who attended New York’s Culinary Radio, TV Martí broadcasts questioned; cash-only basis. Institute of America, said “we followed the EU nixes sanctions for now ...... Page 5 “Cuba is the best-paying customer for us,” McDonald’s system of giving customers exactly says Jacobs. “They pay faster than any other what they expect every time, predictable quality country we do business with in the Caribbean.” and consistency.” Newsmakers CubaNews interviewed Waltzer and Jacobs Especially when it comes to fruity drinks. Vicki Huddleston, former top diplomat in last month at their warehouse, which operates See Splash, page 6 Havana, warns that current U.S. policy toward Cuba is a big mistake ...... Page 8 No more war: Cuba sends MDs, not guns, Spain tries again Politics aside, Spanish firms try to recov- to Africa’s most impoverished countries er lost ground in Cuba ...... Page 10 BY OUR HAVANA CORRESPONDENT entific and technological expertise already fter nearly four decades of engagement working throughout the continent. 14 little songs with Africa, Cuba’s health and education- In South Africa alone, for example, there are U.S., Cuba wage legal war over ownership A al services are more in demand than ever 500-odd Cuban doctors, architects and engi- neers. According to South Africa’s Public Ser- of melodies from the 1930s ...... Page 11 by Africa’s poorest nations. At the moment, some 4,000 Cubans are work- vice Commission, one of the most sought-after ing on various technical and scientific missions specialties is clinical engineering in medical in over 20 African countries. equipment — a rare specialization that requires Business briefs more training than electrical engineering. Cuentapropista permits revoked; U.S. law In the first half of 2005 alone, Havana has received visits from several heads of state and Louis Pienaar, economic counselor at the fails to stem remittances ...... Page 12 ministers, resulting in the signing of trade and South African Embassy in Havana, said his cooperation accords with Swaziland, Rwanda, See Africa, page 14 Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau and Angola. Holes in the embargo DEAR SUBSCRIBER: Due to serious and un- U.S. investors help fund public companies In addition, the vice-president of Cuba’s State Council, Esteban Lazo, recently toured Kenya, foreseen computer software problems that would doing business in Cuba ...... Page 15 Sudan and Namibia, meeting presidents and have further delayed the printing and distribution government ministers along the way. of CubaNews via e-mail, we’ve had no choice but CubaNews (ISSN 1073-7715) is published monthly This boost in Afro-Cuban relations seems to to skip our June issue and mail out the current by Luxner News Inc. © 2005. All rights reserved. be marked by emphasis on diversification of July issue as soon as possible. As compensation, Subscriptions: $429/year. For subscription or edito- Cuban exports, above all in biotechnology and we have automatically extended all paid subscrip- rial inquiries, call us at (301) 365-1745, send a fax to tions by two months for free. We deeply regret any (301) 365-1829 or e-mail us at [email protected]. pharmaceuticals, as well as the “knowledge industry” led by thousands of specialists in sci- inconvenience this problem may have caused you.

2 CubaNews O July 2005 POLITICS House panel votes to defund enforcement of OFAC ruling House of Representatives panel has vot- organizations (see box below for complete list of in 2005 unless Congress can find a way to ed to strip the Treasury Department of co-signers) complained that the new OFAC quickly overturn this change in the payment A money to enforce a new Bush adminis- rule threatens $450 million in annual U.S. requirements and facilitate easier travel,” the tration ruling that opponents say threatens food exports to Cuba. letter to lawmakers warned. continued U.S. food exports to Cuba. The letter, citing USDA figures, says sales “The Congressional intent expressed in The House Appropriations Committee, by of agricultural products to Cuba for the first passage of the Trade Sanctions Reform and voice vote, on Jun. 21 approved an amend- four months of 2005 are 26% below the year- Export Enhancement Act to allow normal ment sponsored by Rep. Jo Ann Emerson (R- ago period. This includes a 65.8% drop in sales cash sales of U.S. agricultural products to MO) that would effectively prevent the of soybean oil. Other commodities with lower Cuba must be restored.” Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign sales include soybeans (-15.4%); corn (-14.5%); Last month, Pedro Alvarez, chairman of Assets Control from enforcing a rule passed concentrated milk (-38%); pasta (-92%); grapes Cuban state purchasing agency Alimport, told in February that requires Cuba to pay for U.S. (-56%); spices (-219%) and cotton (-22.7%). the US-Cuba Trade Association in a video food purchases before they leave port. hookup from Havana that due to the bureau- Under the original rule, ships bound for USCTA TO OFAC: YOU UNDERESTIMATED US cracy and expense caused by the new rules, Cuba could be dispatched while U.S. compa- The USA Rice Federation says U.S. rice his entity has been forced to buy $300 million nies awaited payment. sales to Cuba in 2005 have dropped 52% by in wheat, corn, soybeans, rice, poultry and That amendment, which must be approved volume from the same period in 2004, as Cuba pork from other nations that it otherwise by the full House and Senate, is attached to a turns back to its traditional rice suppliers — would have sourced from the United States. bill funding Treasury and other federal agen- Vietnam and China — for purchases. “If those who put in place the latest OFAC cies for fiscal 2006. It’s likely that a similar In addition, reports USDA, sales of several regulations on trade with Cuba thought the amendment will be attached to the Senate bill. commodities to Cuba came to a complete halt voice of U.S. agribusiness would be silenced, In a letter to Emerson and three of her col- during the first four months of 2005, including they were wrong,” Kirby Jones, president of leagues — Bill Delahunt (D-MA), Jeff Flake logs and wood chips, fruit and vegetable the US-Cuba Trade Association, told Cuba- (R-AZ) and Jerry Moran (R-KS) — more than juices, cheese, soups and fresh tomatoes. News Jun. 23 during a visit to Havana. “In fact, 40 companies, state agencies and industry “Sales will continue to decline dramatically I think they have served to mobilize us.” K

FC Stone (IA) Perfected Foods Co. (FL) Entities protesting OFAC rule Kaehler’s Homedale Farms (MN) Port Manatee Commerce Center (FL) Ag BioTech Inc. (NY) Louis Dreyfus Corp. (CT) Port of Corpus Christi (TX) AlaCaribe Initiative Inc. (AL) Molimar Export Consultants (PA) Port of Mobile (AL) American Farm Bureau Federation (DC) National Ass’n of State Departments of Agriculture Sunlight Foods Inc. (FL) American Meat Institute National Association of Wheat Growers The Rice Company (CA) Buffalo Hills Bison Co. (MN) National Chicken Council (DC) The Scheye Group Ltd. (IL) Buffalo International (FL) National Foreign Trade Council (DC) United Americas Shipping Services (FL) National Milk Producers Federation (DC) U.S. Apple Association Cattleman’s Meat Co. (MI) National Pork Producers Council (DC) U.S.-Cuba Trade Association (DC) Ciervo de Oro Foods (CA) Navarretta Group (CA) U.S. Dairy Export Council Crowley Liner Services (FL) North Dakota Farm Bureau U.S. Rice Producers Association Cuba Trade Coalition (AL) North East Food Distribution Co. (MA) U.S. Wheat Associates Dolphin Shipping & Trading Co. (GA) Northern Gulf Trading Group (AL) USA Rice Federation FAR Trading Consultants (GA) PS International (NC) Virginia Apple Trading Co. (VA)

Louisiana state officials plan 2nd trade mission to Cuba ouisiana officials will return to Cuba this ject of our exclusive interview with Gov. was a success and that trade with Cuba month as a followup to a trade mission in Blanco (see CubaNews, May 2005, pages 8-9). should be a priority. L March that generated a commitment by Two Louisiana companies, AnPro Trading Last year, the value of Louisiana exports to Cuban officials to buy $15 million worth of LLC and Louisiana Rice Mill, have already Cuba totaled just under $165 million, up 9.5% Louisiana products over the next 18 months. benefitted from the trip. AnPro has shipped from the previous year. The export figures in- Felipe Martínez, speaking at a Jun. 16 160 tons of whey powder, a dairy product clude goods that are produced in other parts meeting of the World Trade Club of Greater used in processing food and animal feed. of the country but transported to New New Orleans, said the island is “a natural trad- “We received our funds on May 18 and it Orleans for export through the city’s port. ing partner” for the Bayou State, and that op- went completely smooth, without any prob- Exports to the nation from Louisiana have portunities for Louisiana businesses abound. lems,” Peter Legemaate, CEO of AnPro, told grown every year since 2001, when an exemp- Martínez, project manager for the state’s the New Orleans Times-Picayune. tion to the U.S. trade embargo allowed food to Department of Economic Development, While Legemaate wouldn’t give the value of be shipped from the Port of New Orleans to joined Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco on a the exports, Martínez estimated that AnPro’s Cuba for the first time in 40 years. three-day mission to Cuba in mid-March. deal and one that’s close to completion with However, in the first quarter of 2005, the The trip — whose highlight was a lunch Louisiana Rice Mill would be worth $3 mil- value of Louisiana exports to Cuba fell 18% to with Fidel Castro that later generated consid- lion, about 20% of the total agreement with Al- $44 million compared with the same quarter erable controversy — was the first ever by a import, Cuba’s state food purchasing agency. last year, perhaps because of a stricter rules Southern governor to Cuba, and was the sub- That, he said, proves Gov. Blanco’s mission placed on the U.S. embargo. K

CubaNews O July 2005 3 TOURISM Cuban exile appeals ruling in Club Med property lawsuit BY ANA RADELAT “By 1996, however, Congress and the pres- Robert Muse, a Washington attorney who 95-year-old Cuban exile and her son ident had incorporated into a federal statute a represents U.S. claimants, told CubaNews the have asked a federal appeals court to clear statement of the rights of displaced de la Vega case has “no chance” because of A allow them to sue Club Med over dis- Cuban property owners to seek redress in the act of state doctrine. “Nationalizations puted property in Cuba. U.S. courts for injuries suffered at the hands have been described by the U.S. government Elvira de la Vega Glen and her son Robert of traffickers in their expropriated property,” as a quintessential official act,” he said. are trying to sue Club Med because they say said the lawsuit. Things would be very different for the exile the French company illegally built and oper- The statute in question is a provision of the family, however, if any president stops sus- ated a 337-room luxury hotel on what had 1996 Helms-Burton Act known as Title III. pending Title III. “Theirs is a classic Title III been their family’s property in Varadero. Cuban exiles like de la Vega Glen were not eli- Helms-Burton action,” Muse said. A federal district court in Florida rejected gible to file a claim with the Foreign Claims Club Med built the hotel on the disputed their lawsuit in May, saying the Supreme Settlement Commission (FCSC) for their property in Varadero in 1997 and operated it Court has recognized the power of the Cuban expropriated properties in Cuba because they until 2003, when it was sold to Spanish hotel government to expropriate property within its were not U.S. citizens at the time of the company Grupo Pinero. Formerly known as borders. seizures in the early 1960s. the Club Med Varadero, the hotel is now In ruling on the case, the Supreme Court called Bahia Principe Varadero. invoked the “act of state” doctrine which pro- LAWYER SAYS SUIT HAS ‘NO CHANCE’ Last month, the Cuban-American Bar Asso- hibits lawsuits that are based on the official Helms-Burton addressed the exiles’ inabili- ciation happened to devote its annual meeting policy or actions of another country. ty to join the group of certified claimants by to the subject of confiscated property. But the de la Vegas were undaunted. They opening the door to federal courts to exiles Ernesto Hernández-Cata, an economics hired a top Washington law firm, Crowell & who want to sue foreign investors who’ve be- professor at Johns Hopkins University, Moring, and its lobbying affiliate, C&M Capi- nefited from expropriated property in Cuba. warned that foreign companies “will not in- tol Link, to represent them in the case. But there’s a problem for the exiles like the vest one cent in Cuba” unless a post-Castro Stewart Newberger, an attorney with Crow- de la Vegas who want to sue any of the foreign government deals with property rights is- ell & Moring, appealed the decision to the investors who flocked to Cuba after the col- sues, while Miami lawyer Luís Suárez said the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. District Court of lapse of the Soviet bloc in the 1990s. issue of confiscated property presents “very Appeals on Jun. 21. The Title III provision that allows the exile conflicting emotions” for Cubans on both The appeal said the lower court erred, lawsuits has been suspended by the president sides of the Florida Straits. because, when the Supreme Court issued its every six months since its taken effect and is “If you’re a Cuban who is living in a home decision on expropriated property in Cuba, likely to continue to be waived. President in Cuba, you’re obviously very scared,” Suá- the “U.S. foreign property regarding Cuba Bush must again decide whether to suspend rez told fellow delegates. “If you’re us, you’re was still in its formative stages.” the measure at the end of June. looking at it as a moral and ethical issue.” K Accor to take over management of Riviera, Capri hotels BY LARRY LUXNER recent tightening of restric- rench hotel group Accor S.A. will man- tions against Americans travel- age Cuba’s legendary Riviera and Capri ing to Cuba. F hotels, Reuters reported Jun. 16. The French conglomerate is The value of Accor’s new management con- one of the world’s four largest tract wasn’t disclosed by Eric Peyre, Accor’s hotel operators, with about 4,000 properties. country sales manager for Cuba. Accor already manages the He did, however, tell Reuters correspon- 188-room Hotel Seville in Old dent Marc Frank “we are very excited. Our Havana. The elegant property imaginations are already hard at work. We — built in 1908 and completely can do many things with these two classic renovated in 1993 — was a establishments and their nightclubs.” favorite hangout of Chicago The 215-room Capri, located in Havana’s gangster Al Capone, who once Vedado district only two blocks from the rented out the entire 6th floor. Hotel Nacional, was run for the Mafia by U.S. Spanish chain Sol Meliá, actor George Raft until Castro came to power which operates 21 hotels in 1959. The hotel, which has been closed for throughout the island, said its more than a year, will get a $15 million reno- Salon Rojo at Havana’s Capri, which is getting a $15 million facelift. Cuba revenues were up 15% in vation to be financed by Amorin, a Portu- the first quarter of 2005, and guese company. era and Capri,” said Peyre, adding that that it has two more hotel projects underway. An unspecified lesser amount will be spent Accor’s revenues from the two hotels jumped According to Reuters, 17 foreign compa- on upgrading the Riviera, as well as another 67% over the past two years. “Business is nies handle close to half the 41,000 hotel hotel in Varadero, which Accor manages for good and we are expanding.” rooms available in Cuba, most under manage- state-run hotel chain Gran Caribe. According to government figures, Cuba’s ment and marketing agreements, but some as The 386-room Riviera, inaugurated in 1950 tourism revenues reached $2.3 billion last joint ventures. and run for years by Mafia boss Meyer year, accounting for over 40% of the island’s Details: Eric Peyre, Sales Manager/Cuba, Lansky, is located along the Havana water- foreign-exchange earnings. Accor, 5ta Ave. e/72 y 76, Miramar, La front, not far from the U.S. Interests Section. Peyre said the industry remains attractive Habana. Tel: +53 7 204-3353. Fax: +53 7 204- “Cuba is truly unique, and so are the Rivi- to investors despite the Bush administration’s 8587. E-mail: [email protected].

4 CubaNews O July 2005 POLITICS APCS dissident meeting in Havana: winners and losers BY DOMINGO AMUCHASTEGUI All in all, the APCS represented 360 very attended the meeting, though Cuban authori- rganizers of the Assembly to Promote small opposition groups — some 140 people ties prevented a few EU journalists, two for- Civil Society (APCS) — Marta Beatríz showed up the first day and around 80 the mer EU members of parliament and three O Roque, Felix Bonne Carcasés and next day. current MPs from attending the event. René Gómez Manzano — view their May 20- The group adopted a well-publicized 10- Despite statements by several Miami-based 21 event in Havana as a major success. point resolution that called for the release for organizations saying that Poland’s Lech Wal- According to them, the fact that the gath- all political prisoners, democratization of esa, the Czech Republic’s Vaclav Havel and ering was held at all, in the face of official Cuban society, human rights, the abolition of Russia’s Mikhail Gorbachev would attend, Cuban hostility, was thanks to international the death penalty, an end to the socialist polit- none of the three former leaders showed up. support and thousands of local followers. In ical system, economic openness and guidance Interestingly, more than 30 opposition other words, Cuban authorities were impo- to the Cuban people in its peaceful struggle groups refused to take part in the meeting, tent to stop the preparations. for democracy. and some others that were initially involved For most of the Miami-based exile organi- Two days later, Bonne Carcasés — in a decided to withdraw their support. zations, it was a victorious achievement, radio interview with journalists from Miami — For example, Cambio Cubano’s Eloy Guti- showing how weak the Cuban system is at said the APCS’s most important organization- érrez Menoyo said that to support U.S. poli- present. These organizations actively funded al task now is to start the creation of comités de cies against Havana is to be “an annexionist the event and helped generate considerable acción cívica (civic action committees) result- movement.” Espinosa Chepe, just recently out media coverage, though Roque’s sister and ing in a nationwide network. of prison, said “President Bush made a mis- others in Havana grumbled about their inabil- take [to support APCS]. It does not contribute ity raise the hoped-for $130,000. In the end, SOME DISSIDENTS BOYCOTT GATHERING to reconciliation.” they claimed to have received only $50,000. Some European embassies attended the Oswaldo Payá, whose Christian Liberation After calling the Cuban government a “Sta- meeting by sending second-rank diplomatic Movement enjoys considerable support linist regime” and repeatedly chanting slo- officials; the U.S. Interests Section was repre- among EU nations, said he wouldn’t attend gans calling for freedom and the downfall of sented by its top two diplomats in Havana, the meeting because it was nothing but “a big Fidel Castro, participants listened to a short James Cason and Daniel Sainz. fraud against the opposition.” address by President Bush from Washington. All foreign correspondents based in Havana In addition, Ladies in White — a group of wives of political prisoners — also refused to participate, saying such a confrontational event would be counterproductive to their Florida’s Graham urges U.S. to extradite Posada goal of winning freedom for all political pris- etired Florida lawmaker Bob Graham does not comply with this case?” he said, oners in Cuba. says President Bush must extradite noting that three principles should guide R the White House in this case. accused Cuban-born terrorist Luis SECOND-GUESSNG CASTRO’S MOTIVES Posada Carriles to Venezuela or face dis- “First, a country should have the right to Meanwhile, Reuters correspondent Anth- credit among the international community request someone who has committed a ony Boadle characterized the APCS as “a U.S.- over its anti-terrorist policy. crime against that country or someone within the country.” Second, “is to broadly backed umbrella organization that joins doz- Graham, a former governor and U.S. sen- ens of small dissident groups across Cuba.” ator who made an unsuccessful bid for the interpret the first,” while the third guideline is “the that the final decision for extraditing The Miami Herald columnist on Cuban White House in 2000, told the Colombian affairs, Pablo Alfonso, told a popular TV polit- newspaper El Tiempo that “if I were presi- someone should always be in the hands of the president of the nation.” ical talk-show that he disagreed with the dent of the United States, I would certainly notion that the Cuban government had been extradite Luís Posada to Venezuela.” Meanwhile, Cuban exiles in the Sunshine State are split along generational lines on forced to accept the meeting. Posada, who sneaked into the United Other correspondents expressed similar States in late March and is now being held whether to hand over the accused militant. An opinion poll carried out by Bendixen views and all coincided in one crucial ques- in Texas on immigration charges, is sus- & Associates of Coral Gables, Fla., showed tion: Why did the Cuban government allow pected in several acts of anti-Castro terror- that 65% of Cuban-Americans of all ages had this meeting? ism over the last 40 years. a positive opinion of the 77-year-old Posada. Perhaps Castro’s strategy is to divide his Among other things, Posada is accused of Yet only 47% of exiles under 50 years of age foes while keeping the current focus on masterminding a 1976 Cuban airliner bomb- felt that way, while 75% of exiles over 50 accused terrorist Luís Posada Carriles and ing that killed 73 people over Barbados. He viewed him favorably. U.S. responsibility for his actions. escaped a Venezuelan prison while prosecu- “Cuban exiles feel that when Posada was According to The Economist, “Doubtless, tors were appealing two previous acquittals. committing all of these acts of violence, that he [Castro] senses a propaganda victory over Posada was also charged with trying to was the strategy then and he was following the issue — one well worth a shrewd tactical assassinate Castro during a summit in Pan- orders from the CIA,” Bendixen told the concession to the dissidents.” ama, though he was later pardoned by Pan- Miami Herald. “And they don’t think it’s fair For Castro, even more important than ama’s outgoing president, Mireya Moscoso. to punish him now because the strategy has dividing his foes is attempting to prove how Graham, a Democrat and ardent support- changed.” close the APCS project is to U.S. policies and er of the U.S. embargo against Cuba, Bendixen questioned 300 Cuban exiles actions, and highlight the “annexationist” warned that if Bush does not comply with living in Miami-Dade and Broward counties nature of their political discourse. Venezuela’s extradition request, he will lose over a two-week period in May. U.S.-born The fact is that three days before the meet- all credibility in the fight against terrorism. Cuban-Americans weren’t included in the ing, Fidel Castro was able to mobilize 1.2 mil- “What credibility does the U.S. have poll, which has a margin of error of plus or lion people to march in front of the U.S. when Washington requests extraditions and minus 5 percentage points. Interests Section in Havana, on the issue of Posada Carriles and his U.S. protectors. K

July 2005 O CubaNews 5 POLITICAL BRIEFS EU BACKS AWAY FROM SANCTIONS AGAINST CUBA The European Union won’t revive diplomatic In their own words … sanctions against Cuba, despite the expulsion of “I have a message for those assembling to protest oppression in Cuba: As several EU lawmakers who tried to attend an you struggle for the freedom of your country, the American people stand with opposition conference in Havana last month. you ... We will not rest. We will keep the pressure on until the Cuban people According to Reuters, EU foreign ministers enjoy the same freedom in Havana that they have in America.” meeting in Luxembourg have decided to main- — President George W. Bush, in a text read to hundreds of dissidents at an tain the suspension of measures that led to a so- unprecedented May 20 gathering in Havana. called “cocktail war” in which the Cuban authorities froze out European envoys after they invit- “The U.S. has not given us a cent, although it is an objective reality that the ed dissidents to national day receptions. U.S. government has extended its support to the opposition all this time.” The Czech Republic led efforts to reimpose the sanctions, arguing that the EU should — Marta Beatríz Roque, ex-political prisoner and organizer of the May 20 event. respond to Fidel Castro’s refusal to admit European Parliament members and journalists “They put this on by themselves, they didn’t have any assistance from us. hoping to attend the Assembly to Promote Civil This is a real exercise, example, to me of grass-roots democracy.” Society gathering on May 20. — James Cason, chief of the U.S. Interests Section in Havana. But Spain convinced a big majority of member states that the move would be counterproduc- “We are not going to that assembly on May 20 because it is a big fraud tive, noting that political dialogue with Havana against the opposition. The individuals who run the assembly have sabotaged had only just resumed and it was a step forward every civic project — especially the Varela Project and the National Dialogue that the authorities had permitted the dissident — with lies, provocations and other maneuvers.” meeting at all. — Oswaldo Payá, prominent dissident, head of the Christian Liberation A leading Cuban opposition figure who visit- Movement and founder of the Varela Project. ing Brussels urged EU governments to rethink their policy toward the Caribbean island and “Those who attack us do not represent more than a fraction of 1%. You [for- stop helping European companies that skimped eign journalists] have helped create them. We will deal with them in due time.” on labor rights when investing there. — , in his only public comment on the dissident meeting. “We recognize that the EU has good inten- Fidel Castro tions, but words alone will not do it. Sanctions did not work, but lifting them didn’t work “The current Cuban government isn’t interested in a constructive dialogue either,” said Eduardo Pérez Bengochea, a repre- with the European Union, as evidenced by the facts witnessed.” sentative of three Cuban dissident groups. — Cyril Svoboda, Czech foreign affairs minister, following Cuba’s expulsion of several diplomats from EU countries who had hoped to attend the dissident meeting. RADIO, TV MARTÍ BROADCASTS RAISE CONCERN Continuing delays in the purchase of an aircraft “We must give serious thought to the incident of the expulsions, but allow- to broadcast TV and Radio Martí’s signals to ing the meeting to be held is a very positive step. This is what interests all of Cuba is stoking fears on Capitol Hill that the spe- us Europeans, that there may be a transition process and a political debate in cialized C-130 currently being used may be reas- Cuba. We want to do it through dialogue, and that is why we hope Cuban signed to Iraq, reports the Miami Herald. authorities will cooperate and help us in working together inside the EU.” At issue is the allocation of $10 million to buy — Spanish foreign affairs minister Miguel Angel Moratinos. an airplane and broadcasting equipment that would replace the Commando Solo turboprops “This incident is not acceptable. The members of parliament of Europe and now airing the signals of the U.S.-funded Martís. of any country for that matter have the right to travel and even to take part in The moving transmissions are said to be more meetings with the opposition if they consider it important.” difficult to jam than the current transmissions — , EU commissioner for cooperation and humanitarian aid. from blimps anchored in the Florida Keys. Louis Michel U.S. officials told the Herald that the battle cen- “We were not invited [to the meeting] and we do not have any interest in ters on whether the $10 million should come participating, because we are an independent people. We have a different polit- from the Pentagon, which would be responsible ical line toward reconciliation among all Cubans, including the government. for buying and operating the C-130, or the State President Bush made a mistake [by supporting it].” Department, which has paid for the Martí broad- — Prominent dissident , who was recently freed from prison. casts for over a decade. Oscar Espinosa Chepe A State Department official who asked not to be identified told the Herald that the Bush “It’s fantastic. Numerous points [adopted by the APCS resolution] corre- administration still considers the airplane a prior- spond with what exiles are clamoring for since a long time ago. This shows ity. Yet Cuban-American lawmakers aren’t taking that exiles in Miami and dissidents [in Cuba] are no different.” any chances. — Ninoska Pérez Castellón, spokeswoman for the Cuban Liberty Council, a In letters to Defense Secretary Donald Rums- Miami-based exile group that opposes dialogue with the Castro government. feld, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and President Bush, Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) “It’s become an icon for bad stories, and at some point you wonder [about] warned that “the Castro regime in Cuba must the cost-benefit ratio. How much do you get out of having that facility there? Is continue to be a focal point for your global strate- it serving all the purposes you thought it would serve when initially you began gies to promote freedom and democracy as anti- it, or can this be done some other way a little better?” dotes to extremism and terrorism ... The C-130 — Sen. Mel Martínez (R-FL), in a Jun. 11 speech urging the Bush adminis- plane being used for transmissions of Radio and tration to close the detention center at Guantánamo Naval Base, Cuba. TV Martí is a critical instrument for the imple- mentation of this agenda.”

6 CubaNews O July 2005 “Each year, we provide OFAC with a synop- “They’re absolutely professional, some of the Splash — FROM PAGE 1 sis of every trip we take, where we went, who most professional people we’ve ever dealt “Throughout our logistical procurement we saw. We only spend money to help further with. The Cubans know exactly what they business, we noticed that many hotels in the the marketing of our product,” said Jacobs. want, and how much they want to pay for it.” Caribbean were serving a strawberry daiquiri “OFAC knows us very well. They call us the that consisted of grenadine and lime juice. It foremost experts on doing business in Cuba.” NOT AIMING AT JUST TOURISTS ANYMORE was terrible,” said Waltzer. “There was no About 75% of that business consists of trop- Asked how Cuba compares to Jamaica, consistency in ﬂavor. We sat at corporate ical drinks, which are available in a variety of Grand Cayman and other Splash customers in meetings and asked the hotels, ‘if we can flavors including piña colada, strawberry terms of volume, Waltzer said “Cuba is proba- develop a product that’s much better than daiquiri, mango daiquiri, margarita, banana bly somewhere in the middle, but its potential what you have now, for nearly the same price, would you buy it?’ They said yes.” That led to the establishment of Splash LUXNER

Tropical Drinks in 1996. Within a few years, Y the company was landing contracts to supply drink concentrates to Sandals, SuperClubs, LARR Marriott and other all-inclusive resort chains throughout the Caribbean. Splash also sells to Sysco Food Service, which in turn sells to thousands of distribu- tors across the United States and Puerto Rico. According to Waltzer, Splash now employs around 200 people and operates two manufacturing facilities: a 10,000-sq-foot plant in Fort Lauderdale, and a 20,000-sq-foot factory in Orlando. Annual revenues are in the “multi- millions of dollars,” though Waltzer declines to be more speciﬁc.

HAVANA FOOD SHOW TRIGGERS SALES Considering its extensive footprint throughout the Caribbean, it was only a matter of time Craig Jacobs and Richard Waltzer hold jugs of Splash concentrate at their Fort Lauderdale warehouse. before Splash awoke to the Cuba potential. Waltzer’s first trip to Havana was back in daiquiri and blue lemonade. is probably greater than the rest of the September 2002, when Connecticut trade One container of Splash frozen concentrate Caribbean combined.” show organizer Peter Nathan put together the contains 1,200 cases, and a case — which He insisted that only a handful of the 250 or first-ever U.S. Food & Agribusiness Exhibi- costs Alimport around $60 apiece — contains so U.S. companies which exhibited at the tion in Havana. six half-gallon plastic jugs of concentrate 2002 food show in Havana are still doing busi- “I flew down, set up a booth at the show and made from an all-natural, fresh fruit base. ness with Cuba on a regular basis. wound up getting a contract with Alimport,” One jug of concentrate is enough to make “We’ve been there from the very begin- said Waltzer. “After the show, for the next 64 drinks. Those drinks sell for $2.00 to $3.00 ning, and obviously those companies which year or two, I kept going down there, devel- or more at hotels such as Havana’s Sol Meliá have stuck by them will get preferential treat- oping a business relationship with Alimport.” Cohiba, the Hotel Nacional and dozens of ment because you’re showing your loyalty.” That groundbreaking event was made pos- establishments along the Varadero beach That loyalty could certainly help Splash as sible by the Trade Sanctions Reform and Ex- hotel strip. it starts expanding into other food products port Enhancement Act of 2000 (TSRA) which that have nothing to do with tropical drinks. allows U.S. agricultural sales to Cuba on a “The tourism market is a very small per- cash-only basis. NO DELAYS, NO PROBLEMS “We manufacture and sell a very cost-effec- centage of what we’re doing because there’s a TSRA, as the law is known, was essentially whole world of products that the Cuban peo- a humanitarian gesture aimed at helping tive product that streamlines our operational procedures,” Waltzer told CubaNews. “It’s in a ple need. That’s really what we’re targeting Cuba’s 11.2 million people recover from the now,” said Jacobs. effects of Hurricane Michelle. concentrate form so the customer doesn’t need to use as much of it as with fresh fruit. He pointed out that Cuba’s Ministry of Yet in a twist of irony, that same loophole in Food (Minal) manufactures yogurt, soymilk, the embargo also allowed companies like It’s not as messy, and there’s no waste or sardines, popcorn kernels, peanut butter and Splash to begin selling food items to the spoilage. It’s shelf-stable.” spices. These products end up at supermar- Cuban government that would largely benefit At the company’s Fort Lauderdale ware- kets run by Cimex and other state entities. Cuba’s tourism industry. house, Splash products are loaded onto pal- lets and trucked to nearby Port Everglades. “I’m an American businessman exporting AN EYE TO THE FUTURE capitalism and helping our export deficit and From there, Crowley transports the contain- ers to Havana, where they arrive a day and a “Cuba subsidizes yogurt every day to kids our U.S. economy,” Waltzer boasted shortly in school. We’ve been working on [that con- half later. Jacobs says the short transit time after getting his first deal with Alimport tract] for some time. Also, you have to earn a (CubaNews, December 2003, page 7). Since means Alimport doesn’t have to hold as much relationship with these companies to find out then, Alimport CEO Pedro Alvarez and his inventory, which is a big plus. what they need on a month-to-month basis. deputies have contracted for over $1 million Getting paid isn’t an issue, and neither is We have a doctor on our staff and we’re trying worth of Splash products. OFAC’s recent ruling that U.S. companies to open up medical sales to Cuba.” The two men have since been to Cuba over must use letters of credit in order to satisfy Things Cuba specifically needs — which 50 times, though Jacobs says they’re extreme- the “payment in advance” requirement. are allowed under TSRA — include fruit ly careful to abide by the laws of both coun- “As long as we’re getting paid, there’s no purées, colorings, flavorings, vitamins and tries — and to not run afoul of regulations set issue,” said Waltzer, lavishing praise on Alim- sugar derivatives. Other products are out of by the Treasury Department’s Office of port’s Pedro Alvarez and his team. Foreign Assets Control. “They’re very shrewd negotiators,” he said. See Splash, page 7

CubaNews O July 2005 7 AGRICULTURE AGRICULTURE BRIEFS REVIVING COFFEE IN SANTIAGO DE CUBA More sugar mills may be closed down The replacement of old coffee plantations uba has begun preparing sugar workers their salaries while they’re retrained mainly with new ones is at the center of a local strate- for mill closings in the wake of this for agriculture-related jobs on lands that were gy in Santiago de Cuba to recover Cuba’s tra- Cyear’s record-low crop and the prospect dedicated to sugar cane. ditional coffee production levels. that next year’s will be more or less the same, This season’s output of only 30 tons per Experts monitoring the initiative tell Radio Reuters reported Jun. 28. hectare was blamed on drought, though June Havana Cuba that the program could turn cof- Estimated output of 1.3 million tons of raw rainfall appears to have eased the situation a fee plantations into some of the country’s sugar was the lowest since 1908 and has bit in central and eastern Cuba. most productive within 10 years. forced the country to import sugar to meet International and local experts said general The plan includes setting up nurseries with contracts and cover its 700,000-ton domestic neglect of the state-run industry was the millions of coffee seedlings, as well as on-time consumption commitment. underlying reason for its rapid decline from a planting and efficient coffee bean collection Juan Varela Perez, Cuba’s top sugar re- peak of 8 million tons when the Soviet Union during the upcoming harvest. Other key porter who often speaks for the Sugar Minis- guaranteed a market at subsidized prices. measures are aimed at countering the effects try, confirmed to Reuters that a top-level re- of drought, such as the cultivation of trees that provide coffee plantations with shade. view of the industry was underway and that BRIGHT SPOT: ORGANIC SUGAR? some mills would close down. In somewhat more encouraging news, organ- Meanwhile, the coffee-roasting plant in San- “Another group of mills will cease opera- ic sugar from Villa Clara province is being tiago de Cuba has been upgraded at a cost of tions so that in the coming harvest the most introduced to European and Asian markets, $3 million. Equipped with new German tech- efficient and economically justifiable oper- Radio Havana Cuba reported Jun. 7. nology, the plant will process 1.5 tons of cof- ate,” Varela said. “The mills that are closed Esperanza Martínez, an executive of an un- fee per hour, increasing production three-fold. will be transformed into agricultural compa- identified Cuban state sugar enterprise, told In addition, five Italian-made machines have nies or ranches and the land freed from cane RHC that at the recent Nuremberg Interna- been installed to package and seal pure coffee production will be planted with other crops or tional Fair, “we learned from our clients about in four-ounce bags to be distributed through used as pasture.” the good performance of our products in such the state-run retail network. The government hasn’t commented direct- a demanding market like Europe.” ly on the harvest and future plans, but Presi- Martínez said that the Cuban product has DROUGHT TAKES TOLL ON CITRUS PRODUCTION dent Fidel Castro called the industry the been recognized by prestigious international Cuba’s largest citrus orchard reported final country’s ruin earlier this year. firms such as Germany’s Ecocert, Japan’s JAS tonnage would be 425,000 tons of grapefruit Cuba imports around 15,000 tons of low- and others which will allow her company to and oranges, 75,000 tons less than expected grade white sugar from Colombia each further increase production of organic sugar. due to dry weather. month, with purchases expected to continue Cuban experts say that over the past few “Despite irrigation difficulties, Matanzas cit- at a similar pace at least through November. years, the demand for organic foodstuffs has rus workers have collected 400,000 tons, with In 2002, Cuba shut down 71 of 156 mills and jumped by over 160% in Europe, Japan and the 25,000 tons of oranges still to be harvested relegated 60% of sugarcane plantation lands to United States. In Japan alone, organic prod- before the season ends,” official Radio Reloj other uses, but the massive restructuring ucts account for $3 billion in annual sales. said Jun. 27 in a report picked up by Reuters. failed to halt the industry’s decline or improve Martínez said Paraguay, Brazil, Ecuador The state-run Jagüey Grande orchard, east efficiency. and Argentina are Latin America’s leading of Havana in Matanzas province, accounts for Industry insiders believe only 40 to 50 mills exporters of organic sugar, which is light around 50% of Cuba’s citrus crop and 70-80% will remain in the future. brown in color. In Cuba, the planting and cul- of all citrus-related exports. Some 200,000 workers have been laid off in tivation of organic sugar is supervised by The orchard, which utilizes Israeli irrigation recent years, with the government paying Ecocert, which certifies its quality. K technology, produced 435,000 tons during the 2003-04 season and had planned to produce 500,000 tons this season. Data on fresh fruit No deal was ever reached, though the com- — FROM PAGE 6 and juice exports this season wasn’t available, Splash pany has done business with Cubalse, Minal, but presumed similar to the 2003-04 season. the question, like PVC resins and flashlight Cimex, Habaguanex and other state entities. Jagüey Grande exported 19,500 tons of batteries, but they won’t be off-limits forever. Waltzer said Splash products are now avail- fresh fruit in 2003-04, with the remainder “These things we’re not allowed to sell, so able at “100 to 200 points of sale” throughout processed into 39,000 tons of concentrate and we just take note of it,” said Jacobs. “People Cuba, including the Hotel Habana Libre, the 600 tons of extract. like us who put in time and effort, and have Restaurante El Patio and Ambos Mundos in The government hoped increased produc- forged relationships without any financial Old Havana, the Jazz Café in Vedado and at tion at Jagüey Grande would compensate for gain for many years, will be first in line when SuperClubs in Varadero. damage caused in August by Hurricane Char- Cuba opens up.” In December 2003, when CubaNews asked ley at the Ceiba orchard in Havana province, In the meantime, Splash has acted as a con- the company’s former Cuba sales rep, Bob where 65,000 tons of fruit were lost, and by sultant to other U.S. firms hoping to crack the Guilmartin, what Splash’s ultimate goal was, severe drought conditions in central and east- Cuban market — not always an easy task. he responded: “To expand into virtually every ern Cuba which caused similar damage. Said Jacobs: “We field calls [from compa- single outlet possible, from all-inclusive and Israeli investors, operating through the nies] all the time, but we’re not a guided trav- boutique hotels to restaurants and cafeterias.” Panama-based BM Group, have a 50% stake in el operation. We find that brokering products That’s still the company’s goal, yet even the Heroes de Girón citrus plant at the into Cuba is a difficult task in itself. You need Jacobs admits it’s unlikely that Splash daiquiri orchard and provide financing for the crop. to be the manufacturer of the product.” mix will ever be used by bartenders at El Some 60% of Cuba’s orchards are dedicated Several years ago, Splash hinted that it had Bodeguita del Medio or La Floridita — Ernest to oranges, 30% to grapefruit, and 10% to reached a preliminary agreement with Hav- Hemingway’s favorite Havana watering holes. limes, of which 80% is processed into juice, 5% ana Club International S.A. — a 50-50 venture “Floridita makes its daiquiris from scratch,” exported fresh and sold to the tourism indus- between French drinks giant Pernod Ricard he said. “You’re talking about two of the most try, and the rest used for local consumption. and the Cuban government — to help market classic daiquiri joints in Cuba. They’re not Citrus is Cuba’s No. 2 agricultural export Havana Club rum throughout Cuba. gonna change. That would be blasphemy.” K after tobacco, earning around $100 million.

8 CubaNews O July 2005 NEWSMAKERS Vicki Huddleston: Current Cuba policy a big mistake BY LARRY LUXNER sion at the U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince, general, though she insists she “didn’t start t was 1991, but Vicki Huddleston remem- Haiti (1993-95), then as U.S. ambassador to out being pro-active” as chief of USINT. bers her first and only meeting with Fidel Madagascar (1995-97) and finally as the State “After a year and a half in Cuba, I felt I had ICastro like it was yesterday. Department’s deputy assistant secretary for enough information and a sense of the coun- “We had just signed a tripartite agreement African affairs (1997-99) — Huddleston in late try, but I proceeded very slowly. My first and with Cuba on Angola and Namibia,” she re- 1999 was appointed chief of the U.S. Interests major contacts were always with the Cuban called with a touch of nostalgia. “Jeff Davidow Section in Havana. government,” she told CubaNews. was leading a delegation to Havana to witness The cautious diplomat only criticized Fidel the signing, and as the [State Department’s] Castro by name once, a faux pas that got her into hot water with Communist authorities. new director of Cuban affairs, I had to go. LUXNER “So Fidel Castro offers this opulent recep- Y “I said he was a man of the past, not a man of the future. After that, I realized that I tion at the Palacio de la Revolución, and the LARR only two women there are me and the Soviet shouldn’t criticize him again.” ambassador’s wife. “Fidel immediately comes over to our table, SHORTWAVE DIPLOMACY looks at me and says, ‘And who are you? Huddleston said she “pushed the envelope Someone’s spouse?” just as far as I could” with regard to handing “I said, ‘No, I’m the director of Cuban af- out thousands of cheap, $10 AM/FM/short- fairs.’ Castro responds, ‘Oh, I thought I was.’” wave radios to anyone who would take them. After some polite chuckles, said Huddle- The shortwave feature is particularly useful ston, the old revolutionary left the American to Cubans who want to listen to Radio Martí, delegation, only to return 15 minutes later for whose AM transmissions are jammed by the a rather lengthy political discussion. Cuban government. “That was probably the last conversation Yet Huddleston said “I always told people between Castro and a top U.S. official,” said they could use the radios to listen to Fidel’s Huddleston. “It was indicative once again of speeches, or Radio Martí, VOA, evangelical the pragmatic policies of the first Bush admin- stations, the BBC, whatever they wanted.” istration, where there could be conversation “For a whole year, the Cuban government — if not with Castro himself, then at least with Huddleston: newest public critic of U.S. policy never complained about the radios, only when the Cuban government.” I began distributing them outside Havana. The first woman ever to hold that post, she After they began criticizing the program, I FASCINATION WITH CUBA DATES BACK TO ‘89 remained in Havana from 1999 to 2002, a gave out more radios to human-rights acti- Huddleston’s point in telling the story is three-year span that witnessed some of the vists. They would run out the back door. We that such pragmatism is no longer possible in most difficult moments in recent U.S.-Cuban gave them out at the residence. Whenever I the second Bush administration, where Cuba relations, including the tumultuous Elián traveled, I’d leave them in restaurants, hotels, policy is controlled by a handful of right-wing González affair. give them to kids on their bicycles. zealots who are pushing this nation danger- During her tenure, Huddleston won praise “I’ll always remember these girls on the ously close to a confrontation with Cuba. from the Cuban exile community, and consid- side of the road. They had been visiting their “It isn’t gonna be easy,” she warns. “If Cas- erable notoriety in Cuban government cir- brother in prison, who had been sentenced to tro feels he’s losing control, he will do some- cles, for passing out shortwave radios and 20 years for killing a pig. For them, the radios thing bad or use some incident to make us meeting regularly with dissidents. were like a gift from heaven.” pull away. U.S. politics will interfere, but we Huddleston said the first Bush administra- need to figure out how to stay the course. We VICKI’S DOGGED DETERMINATION tion and the Clinton administration that fol- need to move away from interest groups that From all accounts, Huddleston — a likeable lowed both “had good policies toward Cuba” may not have the same goals as we all have, woman fluent in Spanish and French — was such as people-to-people exchanges, coopera- which is a peaceful democratic transition.” quite popular with fellow Western diplomats. tion on anti-narcotics programs and the Huddleston obviously has strong opinions, Her local civic activities even extended to the spread of information. and since retiring from the Foreign Service National Association of Afghan Hounds, an “For 18 months, the [current] Bush admin- earlier this year, she’s free to express them. affiliation that made headlines after Huddle- istration continued and in fact expanded this. That she did during a May 13 briefing on ston’s dog, an Afghan hound named Havana, They authorized the outreach program in Capitol Hill, and later the same day in a won an islandwide competition. which USINT spent $280,000 to distribute lengthy interview with CubaNews. Yet that victory was short-lived when the books and radios. We distributed 40,000 A former Peace Corps volunteer in Peru, club’s president, Amalia Castro, expelled the books, which was the genesis of the inde- Huddleston, who disdains titles and enjoys diplomat (but not her dog) for having hosted pendent library movement. We were given being addressed simply as “Vicki,” began her dissidents at the U.S. residence. more money. We got journalists to talk with Cuba career in 1989, working under the first “The government you represent has main- dissidents. We were really having an impact President Bush. During that time, she said, tained a policy of hostility against our people within the wider dissident movement.” “we talked to the Cubans, we negotiated with and government,” wrote an angry Castro, ex- them, and the result was removal of all Cuban plaining that Huddleston’s behavior was FROM HAVANA TO BAMAKO troops from Africa, and the end of Cuban incompatible with the association’s morals. But this wasn’t enough for the Bush White assistance to Central America. By the end of No matter that the real reason Castro was House, which wanted to squeeze Castro even the Bush administration, Cuba no longer had furious was that her pooch had lost out to further — and that annoyed Huddleston. any sizeable importance as a world player.” Havana in the competition. “I told the administration we’d gone about After three consecutive assignments unre- Huddleston says that same kind of dog-eat- as far as we were gonna go, that we had to lated to Cuba — first as deputy chief of mis- dog logic applies to U.S.-Cuban relations in have some kind of relationship here. But the

CubaNews O July 2005 9 attention away from migration issues, said a the presidential elections of 1992, which put Huddleston — FROM PAGE 8 former State Department Cuba ofﬁcer, to Bill Clinton into the White House; Castro’s administration turned to the right. They want- focus on subversion of Castro’s government.” 1996 shootdown of Brothers to the Rescue air- ed to do more. They wanted to be in their And what a shame that is, said Huddleston planes, which led directly to passage of the face. And that’s not the mandate you should — because that’s no way to win the hearts Helms-Burton Act, and of course the 2001 tan- give a diplomat.” and minds of the Cuban people. gle over Elián González. She added: “You don’t want somebody rep- During her three years in charge of USINT, “That stopped in its tracks Clinton’s new resenting your government who doesn’t said the diplomat, she encouraged the measures designed to weigh the costs of iso- agree with the policy, such as myself. That issuance of U.S. visas to elderly people hoping lation against the beneﬁts of empowering the wouldn’t work.” to visit their children in South Florida and Cuban people, providing humanitarian aid So in late 2002, Huddleston was reassigned elsewhere. Such visas jumped from 10,000 to and getting information into the country,” to Bamako as U.S. ambassador to the West 40,000 annually, earning her praise from said Huddleston. “Castro used [the Elián African nation of Mali — a move investigative Cuban-American groups. saga], I’m convinced, so that it would not continue. I believe he felt the Clinton administration’s end game would be to lift the travel ban, and Cuba wasn’t ready for that yet.”

“After Castro dies, things could get out of hand ... The policy CURRENT POLICY ISOLATES U.S. DIPLOMATS we have right now could possibly lead to an invasion, either by Of course, none of these events compares to what many pundits are now calling the “bio- accident or by circumstance. That’s what you want to avoid.” logical solution.” “I believe that probably the major mobiliz- — VICKI HUDDLESTON, FORMER CHIEF OF THE U.S. INTERESTS SECTION IN HAVANA ing event we’re going to see in our time is Fidel Castro’s death. That’s why I’m particularly worried,” Huddleston said. “I’m very journalist Ann Louise Bardach, writing in her “But my proudest moment was when concerned that our policy is controlled by a book “Cuba Conﬁdential,” attributes to arch- Jimmy Carter went to the University of Hav- very hardline approach to Cuba. conservative Cuban exile Otto Reich. ana, saying ‘Allow the Varela Project,’” she “One approach to policy says we want “During his one year at State, Reich lost no recalled with glee. “The dean attacks Carter, change — peaceful, democratic change — time in reconﬁguring the administration’s Carter defends the Varela Project and this is and it will come because we’ve empowered Cuba team. Suspected moderates from the all live on the radio. There was real opportu- the people and helped the dissidents. Another Cuba desk at the State Department and CIA nity, real hope. This was the Cuban Spring. side says it has to be imposed. This is basical- were marginalized, with special attention paid This was when Cubans really thought some- ly the far right-wing position, that there’s no to the U.S. Interests Section in Havana,” thing could change. It seemed to me the same way you can have change in Cuba because according to Bardach. attitude prevailed in Miami.” the system is corrupt.” “Respected veterans such as Jeffrey De And for awhile it did. That is, until one In the meantime, charges Huddleston, Laurentis were gently ushered out of Havana more in a series of what she calls “mobilizing recent U.S. policy toward the Castro government has only served to isolate American while Vicki Huddleston, chief of the Interests incidents” brought things crashing back to diplomats from the realities on the ground. Section, was transferred to Mali and was re- reality — the March 2003 arrest and impris- “The United States is absolutely without in- placed by veteran Latin American hand James onment of 75 dissidents, journalists and formation about what’s going on in the Cuban Cason. The new Interests Section replace- activists opposed to the Castro regime. ments have been instructed to shift their Other such “mobilizing incidents” include See Huddleston, page 10

Virgin Atlantic inaugurates nonstop London-Havana flights irgin Atlantic Airways has begun direct flights between London has become our second most-important market after Canada.” and Havana, in a move expected to generate $60 million in Virgin Atlantic operates twice weekly flights using a Boeing 747- Vannual income for Cuba. 400 aircraft. Flight VS063 departs from Gatwick on Thursday and The inaugural flight Jun. 27 carried the airline’s founder, Sir Sunday at 9:30 a.m., arriving in Havana at 2:10 p.m. Flight VS064 Richard Branson, who posed on the wing of his departs Havana on Thursday at 4:35 p.m., arriv- jumbo jet with two dancers from Havana’s ing at Gatwick the next morning at 6:10, and Tropicana cabaret, along with British light- departs Havana on Sunday at 4:20 p.m., arrives weight boxer Amir Khan. in Gatwick the next morning at 5:55. He was welcomed at Havana’s José Martí In- Virgin Atlantic’s larger rival British Airways ternational Airport by Cuban Tourism Minis- stopped flying to Havana three years ago. ter Manuel Marrero, British Ambassador John “A lot of the U.K. travel trade have been look- Dew and the president of Cuba’s Civil Aviation ing for something like Virgin flying into Cuba,” Institute, Rogelio Acevedo. Joe Prem, director of Cuba Select Travel, a Branson expects Virgin to fly 150,000 to British tour operator, told Reuters. 200,000 passengers after three years in opera- During the 1st quarter of 2005, some 43,900 tion. The lights — initially set for twice a week British citizens visited Cuba, up 35% from the — are being sold in conjunction with the air- Virgin Atlantic now flies London-Havana route year-ago period. British vacationers now out- line’s Virgin Holidays program, which is one of number Italian, French and German tourists. the largest such programs in Great Britain and the most extensive of Virgin Atlantic is 51% owned by Branson’s Virgin Group and 49% by its kind in the Caribbean. Singapore Airlines Ltd. “We plan to expand the market dramatically,” Branson said at a The airline began flying to the Caribbean in 1998 with service to news conference. He added that Virgin Atlantic expects to carry Barbados, Antigua and St. Lucia, subsequently introducing flights to 42,000 passengers to Cuba in the first year alone. Trinidad & Tobago in 2003, and Nassau this year. Since 1998, Virgin Added Marrero: “This is good for Cuba, because British tourism has flown two million passengers from London to the Caribbean.

10 CubaNews O July 2005 FOREIGN INVESTMENT Spanish companies in Cuba seek to recover lost ground BY OUR HAVANA CORRESPONDENT Victor Moro, president of the Spanish Busi- tries. He told CubaNews that Spanish compa- ness Association in Cuba, bilateral trade is val- nies “have a great capacity to adapt to the uba’s trade relations with Spain haven’t Cuban economy at all levels.” always followed political realities. The ued at around $850 million. The association C currently has 150 members and is viewed as In fact, Cuba remains the third-largest mar- 13th meeting of the Entrepreneurial the embryo of a future Spanish Chamber of ket for Spanish exports to Latin America. Bilateral Committee in late May proved that. Commerce in Cuba. While the Cuban economy seems to be The gathering, held in Havana, was headed Among the obstacles to a wider trade flow, recovering, Arenas warned that Spanish exec- by Javier Gómez Navarro, president of the Su- Gómez Navarro mentioned financial issues. utives are worried about increasing imports perior Council of Trade Chambers of Spain. Spain’s government lines of credit are cur- from the United States, as well as Cuba’s Gómez Navarro met with several top rently blocked by overdue payments and growing alliance with Venezuela. Cuban leaders including Raúl Alvarez de la Cuba’s massive foreign debt. “The Spanish business community prefers Nuez, minister of foreign trade; Marta Lomas, These issues are being negotiated by both to compete in an expanding market than to be minister of foreign investment and economic governments, he said, pointing out that leader in a restricted market. Cuban econom- cooperation, and Francisco Soberón, presi- Cuba’s pending debt could be used to gener- ic evolution can bring about the reorientation dent of the Central Bank. ate new investments, and that any progress of several activities,” he said, asking for Rumors that Cuba was no longer interested along those lines would have the total support “maximum consideration to laws and current in doing business with medium and small of Spain’s business sector. commitments.” enterprises, but only big multinationals, came One of the meeting’s objectives was to rec- Gómez Navarro added: “We are conscious tumbling down. tify the current trade imbalance by helping of Cuba’s problems, above all financial, and Gómez Navarro, who assumed his post Cuba diversify its exports. we are ready to work with our governments only three months ago, dedicated his first trip Besides doing business with small and to find creative solutions.” abroad to Cuba, apparently intending to medium-sized enterprises, said Gómez Nav- At the meeting, Alimport’s Pedro Alvarez, smooth over rough spots and solve pending arro, there’s also the possibility of attracting who had chaired the committee on the Cuban problems. big corporations in addition to Repsol-YPF, side, was replaced in this post by Oscar Bas- During 2004, bilateral trade registered a 5% which is already prospecting for oil off Cuba’s ulto, co-chairman of Habanos S.A. The switch growth over the previous year. Spain is now Gulf of Mexico coast. was done ostensibly to allow Alvarez to con- Cuba’s top European trade partner, account- “There is no lack of interest on the Spanish centrate all his efforts on buying food coming for 34% of all Cuban-EU trade. It also side,” he pointed out, “and proof of this are modities from the United States. receives 8% of Cuba’s exports, mainly tobac- the trade missions we organize each year.” With a hint of jealousy in his voice, Arenas co, rum, shellfish, coffee and tropical fruits. Juan Arenas, co-chairman of the Spanish wished him success and asked Alvarez to buy Worldwide, Spain is surpassed only by Vene- side, said trade flows have continued in spite something from Spain from time to time zuela, accounting for 10% of overall trade. of political tensions between the two coun- “because we also want to sell.” K

said. “They did, and visits to activists through- mat husband Robert, now lives in New Huddleston — FROM PAGE 9 out the island ended. That’s all gone. Even Mexico. In between occasional lectures, she’s government. Our Interests Section is clearly more, USINT doesn’t know what’s going on in working on her new book, tentatively called not dealing with the government. There are the countryside. “The Cuban Spring.” She envisions the book really no back channels. That makes it even “Those visits provided valuable insights to be a sort of guide on how to bring a peace- worse. On both sides, we’re gonna be on alert into the daily lives of average Cubans,” she ful, democratic transition to Cuba once Fidel with our military, the Cubans will be worried continued. “You can’t think that you’re going Castro is gone from the scene. about the same things, so we’re setting our- to carry out the kind of programs we did in “In all these things, there has to be some- selves up for an incident.” Eastern Europe in Cuba if we’re just sitting thing in it for the Cuban government. But you She continued. “The strongest institution in there in our beautiful building.” can’t give Cuban-Americans a veto on these Cuba is the military. After Castro dies, they things,” she offers. “That’s why you have an will back someone or put their own person in NEW BOOK IN THE OFFING executive branch that should be making poli- power. They will clamp down because they’ll Huddleston also has a word of advice for cy. We shouldn’t be allowing them or any oth- fear a mass migration. If that happens, the U.S. diplomats when it comes to handling er nationality to control our foreign policy.” U.S. might retaliate. Things could get out of Cuban dissidents: treat them with caution. On that score, she says, the new U.S. regu- hand. There could be an incident in which “My rule was, never tell them what to do. lation allowing travel to Cuba only once every Cuban-Americans clash with security forces. Let them make up their own minds. No. 2, three years instead of once a year — and then “If we’re not talking to each other, if we always find out if they want you there. They only to immediate family members — “is just didn’t always want me there. No. 3, the worst have both our militaries on alert, the policy we terrible” from a humanitarian point of view. have right now could possibly lead to an inva- thing you can do is connect the human-rights “I want to see us go back to the policies [of sion, either by accident or by circumstance. activists to anything negative.” That’s what you want to avoid.” Huddleston also advises keeping a low pro- Clinton and Bush Sr.]. Go back to allowing On a more practical level, says Huddleston, file about what you’re going to do. Cuban-American travel so we can get infor- USINT staffers may no longer leave the She recalled that at one point, the adminis- mation into Cuba,” Huddleston argues. “The Havana metro area because of a Cuban gov- tration was mulling the idea of U.S. scholar- Cuban-Americans are automatic bridge-buil- ernment decree that was ordered in retalia- ships for deserving young Cuban students. ders. Lifting the travel ban is fine, but I don’t tion for a State Department prohibition “The more you do without talking, the better, want people to say, she’s just another person against Cuban diplomats venturing past but the administration announced the pro- who, as soon as she retires, says this is a Washington’s Beltway. gram. And once they made clear that the crazy policy. I want people at least to listen.” “We told the Cubans they couldn’t travel scholarships were for sons and daughters of Though Vicki Huddleston also suggests — outside Washington, and I fought against this, dissidents, it was dead on arrival.” ever so gently — that “if Cuba policy is in the warning that they’d do the same to us,” she Huddleston, along with her retired diplo- hands of women, maybe there is hope.” K

CubaNews O July 2005 11 ENTERTAINMENT Sleeper hit ‘Habana Blues’ featured at French film festival BY VITO ECHEVARRÍA grandfatherly músicos reflecting upon their ductions and Warner Brothers España. panish filmmaker Benito Zambrano was glory days of pre-1940 Cuban rhythms (see According to Maestranza, the movie has the brainchild behind the sleeper Cuban related story, box below). already sold over 600,000 tickets in Spain Instead, “Habana Blues” strives to capture S hit film “Habana Blues” — a movie about alone, and has also been screened in Portu- the sounds of today’s Cuba like son, salsa, hip- two young Cuban musicians and their strug- gal, Italy, Switzerland, Belgium, and Holland, hop and reggae. These musical styles are as well as throughout Latin America. gle to secure a recording contract, which they present throughout the film, and they accent believe will earn them a better existence out- “Habana Blues” director Zambrano, who studied at the International Cinema and Tele- side of present-day Cuba. vision School in Havana, explained to Cannes To the surprise of many critics, “Habana Film Festival organizers his motivations Blues” was selected among the films to be behind the making of a film about Cuba: screened at the Cannes Film Festival, held in “I couldn’t possibly deal with a story that mid-May. Jurors included actors Javier Bar- would be a vague criticism of Cuban reality. dem and Salma Hayek; filmmaker John Woo There were already far too many foreigners and writer Toni Morrison. who took the liberty of telling the Cubans It shared space with movies made by both what was right and what wasn’t. I didn’t want Hollywood and independent production com- to be as presumptuous as them. That’s also panies, such as the Tommy Lee Jones film why I felt like writing a story which was based “Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada,” the on concrete Cuban reality and then expanded Chinese drama “Three Times” by director Hou Stars of Benito Zambrano’s film “Habana Blues” into issues as universal as possible — and Hsian Hsien), “A History of Violence” by Cana- entertaining at the same time.” dian director David Cronenberg and “Broken some of the issues the film touches upon, The Hollywood trade paper Variety gave Flowers” by American director Jim Jarmusch. such as poverty and clandestine emigration. “Habana Blues” front-page treatment during The two musicians in “Habana Blues” are “Habana Blues,” which was made in Hav- the film Festival, noting that its eventual U.S. played by up-and-coming Cuban actors Alber- ana in 2004, has already been a major hit in release “should generate arthouse interest to Joel García and Roberto San Martín. The Spain since its March 2005 release there. It offshore for the infectiously upbeat ambience movie, which also co-stars Cuban actress was produced by Spain’s Maestranza Films in of its early reels and classy soundtrack.” Yailene Sierra, is a far cry from “Buena Vista collaboration with the Cuban film institute For more info on “Habana Blues” please visit Social Club” — which portrayed a group of ICAIC, French production firm Pyramide Pro- www.warnerbros.es/movies/habanablues/. Cuban record labels to go online U.S., Cuba battle over 14 songs DAE, the digital arm of Spanish authors’ society SGAE, is build- Fourteen songs are at the center of a U.S.-Cuban copyright dis- ing a comprehensive online music store for Latin repertoire from pute involving the immensely popular Buena Vista Social Club. S Los Angeles-based Peer International Corp. is suing a Cuban Spain and Latin America, Billboard magazine reported Jun. 23. state entity, Termidor Music Publishers, in a London court. Peer The first step in SDAE’s initiative involves digitizing more than 8,000 claims that its copyright to the songs — dating back to the 1930s songs from leading Cuban labels EGREM (3,000 tracks), Bis Music — was unlawfully taken over by the Castro government in 1959. (3,000), Abdala (1,800) and Producciones Colibrí (300). The material Termidor sought to register itself in Great Britain as owner of involves such internationally known names as Compay Segundo, the songs’ copyrights. However, Editora Musical de Cuba, which Chucho Valdes & Irakere and Silvio Rodríguez. turned rights to the 14 songs over to Termidor, argues that its orig- Billboard says SDAE has struck a deal to make the tracks available inal contracts with Peer are null and void because they were as downloads on RealNetwork’s Rhapsody by early September. “unconscionable bargains” not recognized by law. Telefónica’s Terra España unit, the leading Spanish download serv- The Buena Vista Social Club album, released in 1997 by U.S. gui- ice, will begin selling the repertoire online in July at www.musicapre- tarist Ry Cooder, was followed later by a documentary of the same mium.terra.es; other leading music services are expected to follow by name. Both sparked an international surge of interest in Cuban late 2005. Rights payments will be handled by SDAE. music, turning once-obscure Cuban musicians like Ibrahim Ferrer Mario Rigote, SDAE’s marketing director, says the initiative aims “to and Omara Portuonda into worldwide pop stars. generate SGAE members’ authors rights and to promote quality Latin Yet Peter Prescott, a British lawyer representing the Cuban gov- music.” SGAE has over 60,000 members, including 3,000 from Cuba. ernment, said in court papers that many of the composers received “We want to give the world’s Latin-produced Latin music catalogs the “only a few pesos and maybe a drink of rum” for their work. The same online selling conditions as Anglo-Saxon catalogs enjoy today,” five composers of the songs in question have all died, though Rigote says. “We will negotiate first [with labels] in countries where Cuban lawyers say their heirs could benefit from royalty payments. SGAE has offices — which it does in Cuba, Brazil and Mexico.” A hearing at London’s High Court ended after video links to wit- According to Rigote, the latest deals cover virtually all Cuban reper- nesses in Cuba broke down, prompting Judge John Lindsay to toire recorded during the last 40 years that is available domestically. move the case to Havana. SDAE will concentrate on independent catalogs. “By building up a On May 25, Lindsay acknowledged in an AP story that he’d have no jurisdiction as a judge in Cuba, but that “if he received permis- truly indie catalog,” Rigote says, “we are in a much stronger position to sion from the Cuban authorities, he would travel there in negotiate with big download services.” September as a special examiner and hear testimony.” The Cuban deals also involved SDAE setting up online stores for Lawyers for Peer were hoping the case would remain in London, EGREM and Bis. Egrem.net launched on the label’s 40th anniversary though opposing lawyers wanted the proceedings moved to Cuba, in March; a Bis site will be live by year’s end. arguing it was too expensive and difficult to bring frail, elderly “It has been hard work to persuade [Cubans] to put their catalogs musicians to Britain in order to testify. online,” Rigote admits. “So we set up their own download services for them to sell directly before the catalogs become available elsewhere.”

12 CubaNews O July 2005 nificant factor: bad roads. The oil-powered plant, located in the eastern BUSINESS BRIEFS The lack of resrouces has left all but the province of Holguín, is undergoing major main roads unattended and highly deteriorat- repairs to one of its power generation units TENN. LAB SELLS BLOOD-CLOT DEVICES TO CUBA ed. Cuban authorities say 60% of all accidents with the aim of achieving greater efficiency in Tennessee-based Wortham Laboratories were concentrated in six of the island’s 14 the consumption of petroleum. Inc. says it has become the first U.S. company provinces, where preventive work such as Initially, authorities had planned for the to make a substantial direct sale of medical repair of traffic signs and enforcement of traf- repairs to the steam generation mechanism to goods to Cuba in more than 40 years. fic laws will be stepped up. take about 60 days, but once the operation Wortham Laboratories Inc. announced in was under way other problems were found in mid-April that it had completed clinical tests BLACKOUTS BLAMED ON SLOW PLANT REPAIRS the electric generator, forcing more complicat- in Cuba for its blood-clotting device, known as Repairs are taking longer than expected at ed repairs to be undertaken and the time FastAct, and that Cuba has declared its intent Cuba’s Felton theremoelectric plant — the required for the task to be extended. to buy the product. country’s largest — and the resulting wide- Engineer Eric Kinzan, one of the Felton No dollar amount for the contract has been spread blackouts are inconveniencing resi- chiefs, said that the repairs will finally be done released either by Wortham Labs or by Alim- dents in Havana and at other locations, the about mid-July, and the plant will be operating port, the Cuban agency involved in the deal. news agency EFE reported Jun. 27. at full capacity and can then be reintegrated A separate entity, Medicuba, is overseeing the medical aspects of the purchase. Medi- cuba is interested in FastAct because it saves lives and minimizes both surgery time and Poll: Little change in cash remittance flow to Cuba post-surgery hospital stays, lowering costs. ubans living in the United States still 14 and results were based on phone inter- Wortham Labs says that during clinical tests send around $460 million a year to rel- views with 1,000 Cuban adult immigrants in Cuba beginning a year ago, company Catives on the island despite restric- throughout the United States. It has a 3% founder and surgeon Leon Wortham worked tions tightened by the White House last margin of error. side by side with surgeons in Cuban hospitals. summer, according to the Miami Herald. But a separate survey by an Inter-Ameri- Also, he personally held training sessions with The newspaper, quoting the results of can Dialogue researcher — based on inter- Cuban doctors. two surveys, reported May 26 that many views with some 200 people who live on the Navarretta Group, a San Diego consulting Cubans on the island who receive the cash island — showed while 58% of recipients firm, helped Wortham introduce the device to transfers believe they’re getting less money said they continue to receive the same Cuba. The CEO of that company, Michelle than before. They assume the Castro gov- amount of money from relatives abroad, Butler, said that last year, she got a two-year ernment is taking a bigger bite of the remit- 29% reported that they’re getting less funds. license from the Department of Commerce tances — a key source of Cuban respondents were nearly evenly for Wortham to export FastAct to Cuba. income in Cuba. The main U.S. obstacle for medical sales to “Now that it is clear to Cuba has been an end-use monitoring regula- them how much money is tion, forcing the seller to make sure the prod- arriving, the Cuban gov- ucts won’t be re-exported or used in Cuba's ernment is now getting a dollar sector. Butler says FastAct will only be higher and higher per- used in hospitals accessible to the Cuban pop- centage of that money,” ulation at large. said Miami pollster Details: Wortham Labs, 6340 Bonny Oaks, Sergio Bendixen of Chattanooga, TN 37416. Tel: (423) 296-0090. Bendixen & Associates. Michelle Butler, CEO, Navarretta Group, 5938 The survey indictes Rancho Mission Rd. #123, San Diego, CA that 69% of respondents 92108. Tel: (619) 921-6881. Fax: (619) 563- continue to send the 0955. E-mail: [email protected]. same amount of money as before the new restric- OCTOBER IS WORST MONTH FOR HURRICANES tions went into effect last A study of hurricane patterns stretching June. Among the poll’s back more than 200 years shows that hurri- other findings: 76% of Storefront of a Miami agency that wires money to Cuba for a fee. canes are most prevalent in October, and in remittance senders said the western region of Cuba. they left Cuba in 1990 or later; 70% said split in their views on what prompted chan- From 1799 to 2004, says experts at the they have incomes of less than $30,000; 77% ges in cash flow: 13% blamed new measures Cuban National Weather Center, the island are not U.S. citizens; 83% use international imposed by the Cuban government while was hit 109 times by churning tropical winds companies like Western Union to send 11% pointed to tightened U.S. restrictions. of over 118 km/hr, some of the largest hitting money to the island, and 48% of the money But Manuel Orozco, a senior associate at Pinar in 1924 or Santa Cruz del Sur in 1932, goes to residents of Havana. the Inter-American Dialogue, said the when tidal flooding killed about 3,000 people. In addition, 89% of respondents claimed Cuban government now pockets up to 20% their remittances were going to parents, of U.S. dollar remittances, in part because siblings or children, and that 97% of the of a 10% fee imposed last year by the gov- TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS BECOMING MORE DEADLY funds were being spent on basic needs. ernment on exchanges of dollars and kick- More than 4,300 traffic accidents were re- backs from transaction fees charged by corded between January and May of this year, According to the Bendixen survey, some 440,000 Cuban Americans send $150 an wire transfer companies. 92 more than in the first five months of 2004. average of seven times per year — about Based on the estimate of $460 million in So far this year, 378 people have died in $1,050 annually — providing the island with annual remittances, the government’s 20% accidents — 34 more than the year-ago period a steady cash flow of at least $460 million. cut would amount to about $92 million. — while 3,313 people were injured. Other estimates have placed the annual Details: Bendixen & Associates, 3300 Rice The main causes of accidents in Cuba, like flow of all remittances to Cuba from all St. #9, Coconut Grove, FL 33133. Tel: (305) everywhere else, are speeding, not paying countries at up to $1 billion. 529-9916. Fax: (305) 529-9069. E-mail: attention to the road, driving while under the Bendixen’s survey was conducted Feb. 8- [email protected]. influence of alcohol and technical or mechani- cal failures. But in Cuba, there’s another sig-

CubaNews O July 2005 13 into Cuba’s National Electricity Generation down from 209,000 just five years ago. Guevara and René Ramos Latour (Nicaro) fac- System. Last fall, the Castro government stopped tories and the ferronickel plant recently For several weeks, the blackouts have been issuing cuentapropista licenses for some 40 agreed with a Chinese enterprise, this means gradually getting longer and now amount to 5- categories of jobs ranging from computer pro- annual Cuban nickel production could rise to 6 hours per day, or night, in the capital and gramming to auto repair. 121,000 tons within the next three years. the central province of Matanzas. Self-employment in these areas was legal- At the beginning of June, state-run Union ized in 1993, though AP reports that “new op- ITALIAN-CUBAN GARMENT VENTURE ANNOUNCED Electrica admitted that there had been “break- timism based on oil prospects off Cuba’s nor- The Cuban company Auge has signed a pro- downs in the transmission lines and the gen- thern coast and strengthened ties with China duction agreement with the Italian firm erators” caused by weather problems. and Venezuela has prompted Castro to recen- Acropoli Impex S.A. to make garments for the The blackouts are reminiscent of the ones tralize state decision-making and crack down international market. at the end of last year, when power was shut on those working for their own financial The clothing will be sold under the line off for up to 10 hours daily after a serious gain.” MINAS and produced at a factory equipped breakdown at another plant. Under new rules announced in the Tribuna with high-tech Rimoldi machines. The plant, story, street vendors must new sell their mer- whose location was not disclosed, will pro- 2,000 SELF-EMPLOYMENT PERMITS REVOKED chandise in their own homes, rather than on duce women’s lingerie, bathing suits and Cuban authorities have revoked over 2,000 the streets, which complies with the original pullovers made of knit, lycra and jersey, licenses from self-employed workers across objective of distributing such services among other options. The bathing suits will the island, reported the government weekly throughout Havana neighborhoods. be exported to Spain, while pullovers will be Tribuna de La Habana on Jun. 19. sold to clients in the Dominican Republic. The action is part of Fidel Castro’s ongoing SHERRITT: CUBA OPERATIONS MORE PROFITABLE campaign to reassert state control over the Canada’s Sherritt International reported HABANOS OPENS CIGAR SHOP IN SHANGHAI economy, which has seen a growing disparity higher profits in its oil and gas activities to Habanos S.A., the world leading distributor between Cubans who work privately and reach $16.9 million during the first quarter of of premium cigars, has opened its first fran- those who don’t. A so-called cuentapropista 2005, mostly from its Cuban operations. chised store in Shanghai. La Casa del Habano can earn earn more in a day than the $12 that That’s up 21.3% from the year-ago period, is the company’s fourth outlet in China. The the average state worker makes in a month. said Sherritt's quarterly report, which indicat- new store will sell about 20 Cuban cigar Odalys González, director of the provincial ed that higher world fuel prices compensated brands and over 30 kinds of cigar products. Office of Labor and Social Security, told the for lower production volumes. Habanos set up its first Chinese outlet in newspaper that Cuba’s Labor Ministry has During the first quarter, production aver- Guangzhou in September 2003; later that year, been conducting interviews with cuentapropis- aged 39,219 b/d in the blocks Sherritt oper- it established another store in Shenzhen. tas to determine how they obtained the mate- ates. That quantity excludes production of Manuel Garcia, vice-president of Habanos, rials and skills they’re selling, such as food for Block 7 in the Santa Cruz del Norte field. said the company will open 8-10 franchises in private restaurants and cafeterias. Sherritt kept active during the first quarter major Chinese cities over the next five years. Those who lost their licenses had apparent- four drilling platforms, in which a total of Habanos sells 100 stogies a year at its 87 loca- ly violated rules that allow a very limited num- seven development wells and one exploratory tions worldwide. ber of Cubans to be self-employed. well were opened. González said the process, which ended in The Toronto-based conglomerate sells all its CUBA INTRODUCES NEW PREMIUM RUM BRAND areas outside Havana last October, is to con- oil to the Cuban state. Despite lower produc- French drinks conglomerate Pernod Ricard, clude in the capital this month and will be re- tion, Sherritt expects average output this year which has a 50-50 venture with the Cuban peated every two years to weed out violators. of 20,000 barrels a day, which requires gross state to produce Havana Club rum, has be- Approximately 150,000 Cubans, or 2.1% of production of 43,000 b/d. come the world’s No. 3 liquor company with the island's total work force, is self-employed, Details: Thien Ly, Investor Relations, Sher- its purchase of British rival Allied-Domecq. ritt International, 1133 Yonge St., 5th Floor, Pernod Ricard helped set up the venture in Toronto, ON M4T 2Y7. Tel: (416) 924-4551. 1993; today, Havana Club ranks 44th on the LUXNER PHOTO SITE REVAMPED Fax: (416) 935-2289. E-mail: [email protected]. list of the world’s top premium spirits (see Luxner News Inc., which publishes this CubaNews, April 2005, page 3). The venture newsletter, is proud to announce the re- NEW NICKEL MINE BEING EXPLOITED IN MOA is believed to generate annual sales of around design of its global stock photo website. The Che Guevara nickel refinery in Moa, $200 million, with profits of some $40 million. Holgúin province, has begun mining a new In 2004, Havana Club sold two million nine- Visitors to www.luxner.com will find a field, replacing a previous one, Yagrumaje, liter cases, a 7.5% jump over the 1.9 million sleek new look, a completely revamped that had been depleted after 20 years in use. cases sold in 2003. That followed a 10.7% user interface and easy access to over Industry sources say this will guarantee the increase over the 1.7 million cases sold in 10,000 color images from 75 countries in necessary raw material to obtain nickel plus 2002, and growth of 13% the year before that. Latin America, Caribbean, Africa, Middle cobalt at the Che Guevara refinery, which has The venture produces a variety of Cuban East and Europe. a capacity of 30,000 tons a year. rums, including aged Silver, Especial, The site boasts extensive coverage of To exploit this field, the enterprise has Reserva, 3 Years Old, 7 Years Old, Cuban Cuba, with nearly 900 pictures taken in 11 introduced new equipment and will comply Barrel Proof and 15 Years Old. of the island’s 14 provinces. with strict environmental norms for the con- Meanwhile, Cuba’s newest rum brand, 11- The site is an ideal resource for compa- servation of the site. year-old Añejo Superior Santiago, was intro- nies needing photographs to illustrate bro- This follows an agreement between the duced earlier this month in Santiago de Cuba. chures, annual reports or presentations. Cuban government and Canada’s Sherritt Corporación Cuba Ron says it will distribute Use our searchable database to find International to expand their joint venture, 30,000 bottles of the new brand throughout exactly what you need. We offer quality which includes the Pedro Sotto Alba nickel Cuba, along with othe prestigious brands photos at competitive rates and can e- processing plant in Moa and the refinery in such as Cubay, Guayabita del Pinar and mail high-resolution scans or have CDs Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta. Aguardiente São Can. overnighted to our clients in most cases. The 50-50 venture, valued at $450 million, The new Cuban rum is made with syrup Details: Luxner News Inc., 10454 Parth- foresees expansion of the Pedro Sotto Alba derived from Cuban sugar cane and submit- plant to 16,000 tons a year, an increase of ted to controlled distillation until a nice eau- enon Ct., Bethesda, MD 20817. Tel: (301) almost half its original capacity. Combined de-vie is obtained, from which the rum is 365-1745. E-mail: [email protected]. with production increases from the Che manufactured, then aged in white oak barrels.

14 CubaNews O July 2005 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY Servimatica leads Cuba’s computer manufacturing sector BY OUR HAVANA CORRESPONDENT capacity and, wherever possible, they install a faster microprocessor as espite all the hype about Cuba becoming a leader in the IT sec- well as a CD-ROM reader and a hard disk of higher capacity. tor, the fact is that the island — where computer ownership and This, says Miguel Cuni, extends the useful life of a PC at only a frac- DInternet access is carefully monitored — has only one comput- tion of what a totally new computer would cost. This recycling program er assembly plant. The Havana factory is run by Servimatica, which may be extended in the near future to the recovery of equipment from has 200 employees. factories, companies and other institutions. Servimatica belongs to the Industrial Enterprise for Information In related news, Cuba will gradually switch to the open-source Linux Technology (GDEME), one of 10 entities be-

longing to the Group of Electronics, which in TINA turn is attached to the Ministry of Informa- LA tion and Communication Technologies. This

group also produces solar panels, electric PRENSA switchboards and office furniture. Its general director, Manuel Cuni Jiménez, says Servimatica aims to assemble 120,000 PCs this year — up from last year’s 38,000. By 2006, says Servimatica’s director, Benito José Batista, the enterprise will manufacture 200,000 PCs, and the following year, as many as 300,000 or 400,000 computers. By Benito José Batista international standards, of course, this is tiny, but it could make a big difference in a country of 11 million people. Servimatica’s assembly line has a capacity for 500 PCs a day, though Quality control inspection at the Servimatica factory outside Havana. that should rise to 1,064 per day this month with the introduction of a second assembly line. For now, the factory makes PCs with parts and operating system for its state computers, eliminating its exclusive use components from China and Southeast Asia. Standard models include of Microsoft Windows, the daily Juventud Rebelde reported May 18. Celeron and Pentium-4 chips, as well as CD and DVD players, high- Roberto del Puerto, director of the state office of information tech- capacity hard disks and processing speeds of up to 3.0 GHz. nology, said Cuba already has about 1,500 computers using the Linux Another area Servimatica is exploring is the recycling of old PCs. system, a free operating system whose technical data is open for pub- Each year, says Miguel Cuni, millions of perfectly usable computers lic viewing. Del Puerto said his office was working on a legal frame- are discarded as newer, faster machines replace them on the market. work that would allow the replacement of the Windows system. Those PCs can be used in applications which do not require latest-gen- Although Windows is used on about 90% of the world’s PCs, some eration processing speeds. governments and large entities have switched to the free Linux system This is particularly helpful to developing countries which can use or threaten to do so to get discounts. the computers in academic or government applications. At the Details: Servimatica, Carretera de Andrade, Km.1.5, Wajay, Maria- moment, workers at Servimatica take old PCs, increase their RAM nao, Habana. Tel: +53 7 260-3985 / 260-4027. E-mail: [email protected].

Meanwhile, Ghana’s ambassador to Cuba, Isaac Omane, thinks Africa — FROM PAGE 1 traditional diplomatic and political links with Cuba will serve as a nation of 44 million people represents a huge potential market for basis to expand economic ties. That was the goal of a recent seminar Cuban products. He told CubaNews that for the next annual Havana organized by the Ghanaian Embassy in Havana. International Fair, South Africa would send a large delegation of “We are also not satisifed,” said José Luís Padrón, Cuba’s vice-min- executives from the automotive, chemical products, fuels, plastics, ister of foreign trade, referring to the fact that Africa represents only metals, textile and transportation industries. 2% of Cuba’s international trade. Cuba has accords with South Africa in public health and biotech- Omane says his country has become a key player in West Africa, nology, said Ana Blanca Torres of Heber Biotec, the commercial unit “an environment of peace and political stability for many years, with of Havana’s Center for Genetical Engineering and Biotechnology. sustained economic growth.” This enterprise won the bid to supply a vaccine against hepatitis- Eric Owusu-Boaleng, a counselor at the Ghanaian Embassy in B, for which a joint venture was created, the Institute of Biological Havana, said Ghana offers a potential for trade with Cuba speciﬁcal- Vaccines of South Africa. Located in Cape Town, the plant is already working and has begun ly in cocoa, one of Ghana’s major exports. Other possibilities include exports to Mozambique, Botswana, Namibia, Lesotho and Zambia. exports of gold, diamonds, manganese, bauxite and other minerals, Heber Biotec has also participated in bids for Zimbabwe and Kenya. as well as processed foods, forestry products, textiles and hides. Further strengthening Afro-Cuban relations was the recent visit to Omane also highlighted Cuban vaccines and the ﬁght against Cuba of Lindiwe Hendricks, South Africa’s vice-minister of trade and tropical diseases; he says there’s interest in Ghana to manufacture industry. Hendricks said South African companies are interested in such vaccines — as well as other pharmaceutical products — under joint ventures in infrastrucure, investments and hotel management. license from Cuba. Traditional Cuban exports to South Africa include tobacco, rum, Interestingly, during President Bush’s recent tour of African coun- seafood and citrus citrus. More recently, Cuba has been shipping tries, Ghana’s government news agency barely covered the visit — non-conventional products like sophisticated medical equipment for but that same day it published two articles about Cuba agreeing to cardiology, neuroscience and biotechnology. send 100 doctors to Ghana as part of an anti-AIDS program. South Africa is also targeting the island as a launching platform for Is all this a sign of the times? Maybe so. As Nelson Mandela ob- exports to the Caribbean and Latin America — a topic likely to be served during a visit to Cuba after his 1990 release from prison: “No discussed at the next meeting of the Cuba-South Africa Commission. other country in the world has shown such altruism for Africa.” K

CubaNews O July 2005 15 OPINIONS LETTERS TO THE EDITOR READER: ARTICLE ON ELDERLY CUBANS IS BIASED While no one would disagree that Cubans Gaping hole in U.S. anti-Castro policy? living on a peso pension today have difﬁculty BY PAOLO SPADONI Spanish conglomerate Altadis, 20% of Swiss making ends meet, the article by Diana ast June, the United States reinforced its giant Nestlé and 6% of Brazil’s Souza Cruz. Marrero, “For older Cubans squeezed out of decades-long economic embargo against British American Tobacco (also with signif- job market, life is a constant struggle” L Cuba with new restrictions on U.S.-based icant U.S. capital) owns 75% of Souza Cruz, (CubaNews, May 2005, page 1) is both biased which — in partnership with the Castro gov- travel and remittances to the island. and erroneous. ernment — enjoys a virtual monopoly on cig- Perhaps the news that the Cuban govern- The basic goal of these measures, accord- arettes in Cuba’s hard-currency stores. ing to the State Department, is “to isolate the ment announced a substantial increase in Altadis has invested almost $500 million in monthly pensions arrived too late for inclu- Cuban government economically and deprive a 50-50 joint venture with Cuba’s Habanos sion in the article, but that does not excuse it of U.S. dollars.” S.A. for the exclusive right to market Cuban the reporter’s failure to mention the many There is little doubt that Washington’s tobacco products internationally. Nestlé has a other long-standing programs provided free in recent moves on Cuba will intensify pressure venture with the Cuban company Coralsa that Cuba to assist retirees, including educational on its communist neighbor and deny a signiﬁ- produces and markets Cuba’s best-selling soft programs, day-care centers for the elderly, cant amount of hard currency resources to the drinks and mineral waters. recreational activities and expanded health cash-strapped Castro government. In recent months, U.S. indirect business care programs. However, more serious than these over- sights is the fact that the writer repeats twice in this short piece that Cuba has a forced LUXNER

Y retirement age. There is no mandatory retirement age in LARR Cuba. Workers are entitled to retire and receive a pension at age 60 for men and 55 for women, and many do, but they are not required to retire. In fact, there are monetary incentives that encourage workers to continue working. As noted in another article in this same issue of U.S. investors have stakes in Spain’s Sol Meliá and Brazil’s Souza Cruz, both of which are active in Cuba. CubaNews, the minimum wage more than doubled as of May 1. However, while U.S. direct business links links with Cuba have become even more Moreover, a person who continues working with the island have been severed, the pres- important, mainly thanks to new operations past the minimum retirement age required for ence of American investors in foreign firms on the island by multinational oil companies. eligibility receives a 1.5% increase in the pen- that operate in Cuba is actually on the rise. American entities own approximately 22% sion he or she will receive at retirement for The growth of U.S. indirect business con- of Spain’s Repsol YPF, a substantial amount of each additional year worked. nections with Cuba is an important and large- shares of Brazil-based Petrobrás, and even It seems the writer didn’t enter many work- ly unexplored development that defies the about 14% of China’s Sinopec. Between June places while in Cuba; if she had, she would logic of economic sanctions and undermines and July 2004, Repsol spent about $50 million have been able to interview many Cuban men their main goals. drilling for oil in Cuba’s virgin Gulf of Mexico and women eligible for retirement who contin- Under the embargo, direct investments in waters and said it would continue studying ue to work. Cuba are prohibited for U.S. entities. But the the area and may drill again next year. CubaNews readers deserve more thorough Treasury Department authorizes a U.S. firm Petrobrás is also considering exploration in and accurate reporting about such a sensitive or individual to invest in a third-country com- the same area and has announced it’ll invest subject. pany that has commercial activities in Cuba as $20 million to build a lubricants plant in Cuba. — Debra Evenson (Chicago, IL) long as this investment is not a controlling Sinopec, China’s No. 2 oil company, has just interest, and provided that a majority of the signed an agreement with Cuba’s state-run DIANA MARRERO RESPONDS: revenues of the third-country company are Cubapetróleo to jointly produce oil on the While I appreciate your interest in Cuba, I not produced from operations within Cuba. coast of western Pinar del Río province. differ on the conclusions you drew from read- Thus, if the investment is an indirect one, a American investments in foreign compa- ing my piece. U.S. entity should have no problem in building nies that operate in Cuba are perhaps the Regarding the mandatory retirement age in a Cuba-related stock portfolio. most emblematic example of gaping holes in Cuba, this point has been reported before, and U.S. entities hold publicly traded shares of Washington’s effort to economically isolate is an issue that was mentioned to me by the several major foreign firms that have provided the Castro government. elderly Cubans I spoke with. For instance, the the Castro government with much-needed As multinational corporations headquar- 69-year-old quoted in the story told me he was capital, technology, management expertise, tered in a foreign country can rely on U.S. forced to retire at age 60, and I have no reason and new markets for its main exports. capital to help finance their business activities to suspect what he said. For instance, individuals subject to U.S. law on the island, one is left wondering if it makes Perhaps I could have written more about the hold more than 15% of the shares of Spain- any sense for the United States to keep using services the elderly do receive in Cuba. based Sol Meliá and France-based Accor. economic sanctions as a tool to achieve ambi- However, those services cannot make up for Sol Meliá is the leader in the island’s leisure tious foreign policy goals. the fact that many elderly Cubans still struggle industry, with equity interests in four hotels Cuba’s front door may be closed to U.S. to stretch their earnings in order to buy food. and 23 management contracts. Accor mana- investors, but the back door is wide open. Regarding the increase in Cuba’s monthly ges several hotels in Cuba operating under K pensions, it was not necessary to mention this, the Sofitel, Coralia and Mercure brands (see Paolo Spadoni is a PhD candidate at the since a more detailed article about the increase related story, page 3 of this issue). University of Florida’s Department of Political was published in the same issue (see page 6). In addition, U.S. investment funds and indi- Science. This article originally appeared in the Adding that piece of news would have only vidual shareholders own about 25% of French- South Florida Sun-Sentinel. served to repeat what was in another story.

16 CubaNews O July 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 fast-growing region. Jun. 19-24: 13th International Expocaribe Trade Fair, Santiago de Cuba. More than 180 Subscribe to Caribbean UPDATE, a enterprises representing agriculture, metalworking, health, culture, higher education, monthly newsletter founded in 1985. Cor- porate and government executives, as well fishing, tourism, transport and water resources to attend; participation from 13 countries. as scholars and journalists, depend on this publication for its insightful, timely cover- Jun. 20-Jul. 6: Carlos Manuel Cárdenes: 25 Years Ago, Photographs of the Mariel age of the 30-plus nations and territories of Boatlift.” In 1980, photographer Cárdenes recorded the arrival of thousands of Cuban the Caribbean and Central America. When you receive your first issue, you refugees in Key West. “The images in this documentary reflect the confusion, concern, have two options: (a) pay the accompany- ing invoice and your subscription will be courage and hope that this group of immigrants brought with them.” Details: Miami- processed; (b) if you’re not satisfied, just Dade Public Library, 3443 Segovia St., Coral Gables, FL 33134. Tel: (305) 442-8706. write “cancel” on the invoice and return it. There is no further obligation on your part. Jul. 1-31: “Chronicling the Cuban Exodus: Cuban Exile Periodicals, 1959-2004,” Miami. The cost of a subscription to Caribbean UPDATE is $267 per year. A special rate of UM’s Cuban Heritage Collection offers an overview of its Cuban Exile Periodicals Collec- $134 is available to academics, non-profit tion and examines how these periodiquitos help capture the Cuban exile experience. organizations and additional subscriptions mailed to the same address. Details: Otto G. Richter Library, University of Miami,1300 Memorial Drive, 2nd Floor, To order, contact Caribbean UPDATE at 116 Myrtle Ave., Millburn, NJ 07041, call us Coral Gables, FL 33134. Tel: (305) 284-4900. URL: www.library.miami.edu/umcuban/. at (973) 376-2314, visit our new website at www.caribbeanupdate.org or send an Jul. 2: Caribbean Community (Caricom) heads of government and opposition leaders e-mail to [email protected]. We accept meet in St. Lucia, prior to annual summit of Caricom leaders. URL: www.caricom.org. Visa, MasterCard and American Express.

Jul. 3-10: 5th International Convention for Environment and Development, Havana. Themes include environmental business management, tourism, hydraulic resource management and coastal ecosystem management. Additional programming, visits and meetings. Cost: $1,900 from Cancún. Global Exchange will facilitate licensed travel to Cuba in accordance with U.S. law. Details: JoJo White, Global Exchange, San Francisco. Tel: (800) Editor & Publisher 497-1994. E-mail: [email protected], or Martha Sentí Darias, Dirección de Medio I LARRY LUXNER I Ambiente, Havana. Tel: +53 7 867-0598. Fax: +53 7 867-0615. E-mail: [email protected]. Washington correspondent I ANA RADELAT I Jul. 17-21: 17th Caribbean Geology Conference, San Juan. URL: www.onecaribbean.org. Political analyst I DOMINGO AMUCHASTEGUI I

Sep. 26-30: 12th Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association conference, St. Kitts. Event will Feature writers I VITO ECHEVARRÍA I bring 1,000 cruise executives together for 5 days of networking. Details: Candice Adams- I SANTIAGO FITTIPALDI Kimmel, Adams Unlimited, New York. Tel: (212) 956-5900. E-mail: [email protected]. I HELEN SIMON I Cartographer I ARMANDO H. PORTELA I

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