REVISED APRIL.Qxp

Vol. 14, No. 2 April 2006

www.cubanews.com

In the News Oil politics prompted U.S. action against Mexico City hotel, says event organizer Shrinking appetite BY ANA RADELAT U.S. food exports to Cuba drop to $350m, clear there’s a consequence for maintaining the embargo,” namely, it prevents U.S. energy com- the first decrease since 2001 ...... Page 2 he politics of petroleum may have prompt- ed the U.S. government to crack down on panies from tapping into a close source of oil off a Mexico City hotel that was hosting a the coast of Cuba. Starwood gets its way T “It meant that it’s OK for China and India to U.S.-Cuba energy summit, its organizer said. take out oil 60 miles from the United States, but U.S. commission OKs company’s inclu- Kirby Jones, a Washington-based consultant not us,” he complained. sion in Cuba claims program ...... Page 2 who put together the Feb. 2-4 meeting, told Just before the start of the summit, OFAC CubaNews he’s organized nine meetings in the notified Starwood Hotels and Resorts World- Chinese buses past between Cuban officials and Americans wide Inc. that one of its properties, the 755- interested in traveling to Cuba or selling food to room Sheraton Maria Isabel in Mexico City, was Castro says he’s negotiating to buy 8,000 the island. None of these previous meetings in violation of U.S. sanctions because it had pro- buses from China’s Yutong ...... Page 3 caused problems with the Treasury Depart- vided services to the Cuban government. ment’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). Unexpectedly, at the end of the summit’s first Forbidden goodies Jones usually holds his summits in Cancún. day, Jones was told that the Cuban delegation But that resort was battered by Hurricane Wil- had to leave the hotel. The 16-member delega- Irish firm supplies Cuban hard-currency ma last year, so Jones was forced to move the tion included officials from state oil company shops with scarce U.S. goods ...... Page 4 event to Mexico City and postpone it from CUPET as well as Raúl Pérez Prado, vice-minis- December to February. ter of basic industry, and Maria de la Luz, min- SPECIAL REPORT Jones said press accounts of his summit ister of foreign trade. prompted a strong reaction from the Bush ad- Jones also said the summit’s high-profile U.S. Abortion is a key form of birth control in ministration because “for the first time, it was See Summit, page 6 Cuba, with scarcely a debate on the wide- spread practice ...... Page 8 National Endowment for Democracy gets Another bitter harvest Cuba unlikely to meet target of 1.3 million $2.4m in U.S. funding for Cuba programs tons of sugar this season ...... Page 10 he National Endowment for Democracy Federación Sindical de Plantas Eléctri- (NED) received nearly $2.4 million in fis- cas, Gas y Agua (Federation of Electric, Caribbean calling T cal 2005 from the U.S. State Department Gas and Water Plants) Cuba seeks to expand trade ties with En- for Cuba-specific programs. $177,696 to promote labor rights and defend A detailed explanation of the programs and independent labor unions and workers in Cuba. glish-speaking islands ...... Page 11 the amount NED got from the U.S. government Working with independent labor leaders, the to implement them will appear in the organiza- Federation will produce a report on labor rights Business briefs tion’s 2005 annual report, scheduled to be pub- violations inside Cuba. The group will also sup- port a training center in Havana that will train Oklahoma pursues $4m wheat sale; Cuban lished next month. In the meantime, here’s a summary of the programs and the allocations: Cuban workers in worker rights and distribute cigar industry faces crunch ...... Page 12 Afro-Cuban Alliance information inside Cuba on international labor $62,000 to promote discussion about the con- See NED, page 7 Religion news ditions of Afro-Cubans and Afro-Cuban issues. DEAR SUBSCRIBER: Due to technical delays Adventists dedicate church in Camagüey; The Afro-Cuban Alliance will establish a quar- terly journal, Islas, that will be distributed inside connected with our recent move to Florida, we longtime Jewish leader dies ...... Page 14 and outside the island. had no choice but to skip the February and The journal will seek to inform Cubans of March 2006 issues of CubaNews and mail out CubaNews (ISSN 1073-7715) is published monthly African descent on the island and in exile about the current April 2006 issue as soon as possible. by Luxner News Inc. © 2006. All rights reserved. civil rights, the hidden history of slavery and As compensation, we’ve automatically extend- Subscriptions: $429 for one year, $800 for two years. racial discrimination in Cuba, the experience of ed your subscription by three months for free. We For editorial inquires, please call (954) 970-4518 deeply regret any inconvenience this may have or send an e-mail to: [email protected]. civil rights movements, and how to organize to bring change. caused you. Thank you for your understanding. 2 CubaNews ❖ April 2006 US-CUBA RELATIONS USCTEC: Food exports to Cuba fell 11% to $350m in 2005 .S. food exports to Cuba under the 2000 ges and other costs. However, the [Cuban] $100 million based on recent corn prices. Trade Sanctions Reform and Export government has not provided any verifiable Alimport, Cuba’s food purchasing entity, UEnhancement Act came to $350.2 mil- data to support their data. Thus, the use of also indicated it would import 140,000 tons of lion in 2005, down 11% from the $392.0 million data reported by [Cuba] is suspect. The [Cu- distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS). in TSRA exports the year before. ban] government has been asked to provide “This agreement represents a significant in- That marks the first time since TSRA’s pas- verifiable data, but has chosen not to do so.” crease in the amount of U.S. corn Cuba in- sage in 2000 that Cuban purchases of U.S. USCTEC attributes the drop in 2005 ex- tends to import this year over previous food and agriculture commodities has actual- ports to “efforts by the [Cuban] government years,” said USGC Chairman Davis Anderson. ly dropped. to increase the motivation of U.S. companies, “The Council’s success in Cuba is very much in line with our work around the world Even so, Cuba still ranks 30th out of 228 organizations, state and local government to develop markets, enable trade and improve countries in terms of U.S. food and commodi- representatives and members of Congress to be more visible in their lobbying efforts for lives,” he said. “As Cuba’s tourism industry ex- ty purchases, according to the New York- pands, its people are finding they have more based U.S.-Cuba Trade & Economic Council. changes in U.S. policy, law, and regulations.” In addition, it said, “the financial largess of money to buy meat, milk and eggs, thus driv- Since 2001, U.S. companies have shipped a ing the increased demand for feed grains.” the governments of Venezuela and China cumulative $1.14 billion in food and related The 700,000 tons set by the agreement with products to Cuban state purchasing agency lessens the interest of the [Cuban] govern- Alimport represents a 44.6% rise over 2004 Alimport, all of it on a cash-only basis. ment to purchase U.S. products regardless of imports of 484,000 tons (19 million bushels). Broken down by commodity, the top 10 cost, quality, or delivery considerations.” “Cuba is a growing market for U.S. feed U.S. exports to Cuba last year were chicken USCTEC also blames “the re-emergences grains,” noted Ken Hobbie, USGC president ($60.0 million); corn ($49.4 million); wheat and/or continuations of import relationships and CEO. “It was a very fruitful visit for the ($47.2 million); rice ($39.2 million); soybeans (barter, substantial credits, political motiva- Council. We were able to learn more about ($32.7 million); powdered milk ($29.6 mil- tion) with Brazil, Argentina, Vietnam, Mex- their corn, sorghum and barley needs. We lion); soybean oil ($25.7 million); soybean oil- ico, Canada, France and other countries.” were also able to identify areas where they cake ($15.1 million); beans ($10.8 million) 700,000 TONS OF CORN need technical support, such as in formulat- and lumber ($5.2 million). Together, these 10 ing livestock rations and using DDGS.” commodities comprised 94% of all exports. Meanwhile, Cuba has agreed to import Under the memo of understanding, USGC According to USCTEC, “the data does not more U.S. corn, as part of a memorandum of agreed to “help expand Cuba-U.S. bilateral include transportation charges, bank char- understanding signed in late January with the commerce and lift the current U.S. restric- ges or other costs associated with exports U.S. Grains Council (USGC). tions that affect trade and travel with Cuba, a from the United States to Cuba. Under the deal, Cuba will buy 700,000 met- valuable market for U.S. food products.” “The government of Cuba reports data that ric tons (27.5 million bushels) of U.S. corn in Details: Ken Hobbie, CEO, USGC, Washing- includes transportation charges, bank char- 2006. The value of the agreement is nearly ton. Tel: (202) 789-0789. Fax (202) 898-0522. Cuba claims commission approves Starwood petition BY ANA RADELAT years, until Cuban authorities seized its office in The FCSC also rejected a $30,000 claim by downtown Havana and ordered the RCC’s dissolu- Julieta Rosseau López, whose parcel of land near or more than 30 years, there were 5,911 officially registered claims against Cuba. tion on Sept. 30, 2003. the town of Colón was seized by the Cuban gov- F Now there are 5,912. Because of the seizure, Starwood asked the U.S. ernment in 1968. But the commission deter- On Mar. 2, the U.S. Foreign Claims Settle- government to establish a second Cuban claims mined that López was not a U.S. citizen at the ment Commission (FCSC) approved a new claim program. The first had required all property claims time of the seizure and therefore had no right to for $50 million made by Starwood Hotels and against Fidel Castro’s government to be filed by file a claim. Resorts Worldwide, Inc. July 6, 1972 and resulted in 5,911 certified claims to Mauricio Tamargo, chairman of the FCSC, The same commission rejected two other peti- the State Department. told CubaNews that his agency is reviewing two tions filed under a reopening of the 1960s-era The FCSC complied, reopening the claim pro- other claims that were filed before last month's Cuban claims program, and is currently review- cess in August to all personal property taken from deadline. ing two others. U.S. citizens by the Castro regime after May 1, One is from Miami resident Iraida Rivero Starwood — which is currently at the center 1967. The deadline to file a new claim was Feb. 13. Mendez, who made a claim for $260,000 for a of a debate involving U.S.-Mexico relations (see Although Starwood said its lost property was family home in Havana. The other is from story, page 1) — was able to make a claim for two worth $63.7 million, the FCSC determined its Connecticut attorney Richard H. Lamere, who large parcels of land near Havana’s José Martí claim to be worth only $50 million. It said part of seeks $82,698 for 22 acres of land that Lamere International Airport. The land was owned by the property Starwood claimed had been seized by said was used by Israel’s BM Group to cultivate the Radio Company of Cuba, a subsidiary of ITT. the Cuban government in 1968, and that its worth grapefruit trees. Starwood, which owns the Sheraton hotel should be valued at $1 an acre, the price of land Washington lawyer Robert Muse, who repre- chain, acquired RCC as part of the recent then, rather than $30 an acre the land is worth now sents some of the original certified claimants, breakup of ITT. The commission also rejected a $1.4 million said he was surprised so few Cuban-Americans Although it was a U.S. company, the Cuban claim by Felice Kirzner Shonfeld, a Miami attorney seized the opportunity to file claims. Most exiles government let RCC continue to operate on the who said the Cuban government had seized the weren’t U.S. citizens during the period of expro- island because it facilitated telephone communi- contents of three safety deposit boxes once owned priations covered by the first claims program, so cations between Cuba and the United States, a by her father that contained thousands of gold they were barred from participating in it. service that’s allowed under the embargo. coins and gold jewelry. “This corroborates the idea that Cuban- But in 1992, Hurricane Andrew destroyed a The commission's rejection was based on the Americans have decided they are better served receiving station in Florida City, Fla., that was fact the Cuban government seized the property in outside the claimholder class,” Muse said. picking up the company’s signals. The company 1961 and that Shonfeld’s claim should have been “They feel they can do better for themselves out- operated with a skeleton crew for another 11 made under the first Cuban Claims Program. side the established claims process.” April 2006 ❖ CubaNews 3 FOREIGN TRADE CARIBBEAN BRIEFS JAMAICA SOURCES CHEAPER CUBAN CEMENT Cuba to buy 8,000 new Chinese buses Jamaica’s Carib Cement has turned to Cuba to help supplement its cement production, fol- BY OUR HAVANA CORRESPONDENT locomotives powered by 2,500-hp engines lowing the shortfall that the company says uba’s Ministry of Transport has already from the 7th of February factory in Beijing. was due to inclement weather last year. purchased 1,000 buses from China’s In related news, China’s Haier Group in The Jamaica Observer reports that Carib CYutong Corp. and is said to be negotiat- mid-March began delivering the first lot of Cement — which has been criticized for its ing to buy an additional 7,000 buses this year. 300,000 high-performance refrigerators con- failure to meet local demand after having All these new vehicles — along with fitting tracted late last year by Cuba. been given a virtual monopoly on the local old ones with new motors and the possible The appliances, assembled in three differ- market — now faces a 40,000-ton shortfall, or purchase of 500 Chinese railway cars — could 4% of its normal output. cost Cuba more than $1 billion. The cement manufacturer had initially stat- But now, for the first time in years, Cuba ed that it was looking to its sister firm, has the cash to pay for such necessities. In Arawak Cement of Barbados, to make up the fact, the island’s foreign-exchange earnings deficit, and in fact bought bag cement from jumped by more than 30%, or $2.5 billion, last Arawak between December and January. year, thanks largely to income derived from However, the company’s marketing manag- the export of medical services to Venezuela er, Alice Hyde, confirmed that the bulk ver- and various Caribbean islands. sion came from Cuba. While the 11,250 tons On Feb. 16, Fidel Castro spoke at a cere- of Cuban cement was far less expensive than mony marking the arrival of 246 buses manu- the Bajan brand, it carried a 40% duty because factured by Yutong Bus Co. Ltd. of Zheng- Cuba isn’t a member of Caricom. zhou, in China’s central Henan province. The import from Cuba came to light due to According to Reuters, the large blue buses Brand-new Yutong buses ply the streets of Havana. a complaint about quality from one construc- tion site. However, the Jamaica Bureau of with air-conditioning are already being used ent models, were purchased as part of an to transport tourists, and will soon replace di- Standards says that tests done on the Cuban energy-saving program instituted by the product surpassed the bureau’s standards. lapidated Soviet-era buses on intercity routes. Castro regime. Haier has also agreed to pro- Reuters, citing unidentified sources, said duce one million TV sets, using Chinese com- CUBA PLANS EMBASSIES IN 4 CARICOM STATES $400 million in trade cover is being provided ponents but with a Cuban design. Cuba will open embassies in four more by China’s Sinosure, an insurance and export Haier is China’s largest appliance maker credit agency, to guarantee financing for Caribbean countries, giving it a diplomatic and the fourth-largest company of its kind in presence in all 15 Caribbean Community Chinese exports to Cuba. the world, with $2.1 billion in annual sales. According to Prensa Latina, the Sinosure member states for the first time. During the first 11 months of 2005, bilater- The new embassies, in Antigua, Dominica, document “expresses the importance that al trade came to $777 million, up 62.5% from Fidel Castro has given to paying all of Cuba’s St. Vincent and Suriname, will open by the the January-November 2005 period. The end of April, said Alejandro Merchante Caste- financial commitments with China, and increase was mainly due to $560 million in Beijing’s satisfaction for Havana’s strict com- llanos, Cuba’s ambassador to Caricom. Chinese exports to Cuba, up 91% from the “We will be completing all the countries of pliance of its duties.” year-ago period. Cuba is paying for the buses over a four- Caricom,” Castellanos said in a Mar. 10 story Despite the warming Havana-Beijing com- by AP. “This is a decision of our country to de- year period at 5% interest. mercial relations, it still doesn’t compare to Yutong is said to be China’s biggest auto- velop relations with all of them. The integra- Cuba’s past ties with the Soviet Union. tion of the Caribbean is very important to us.” motive manufacturer. There are already 800 “You can’t say our relations are like with buses in the country, from the initial contract Caricom, which is based in Georgetown, the Soviets,” Cuban economist Omar Ever- Guyana, has consistently voted in the United for 1,000 vehicles. These include both buses leny told Reuters correspondent Marc Frank. Nations to end the 46-year U.S. economic delivered directly from China, and those “They are strictly commercial, though with blockade of Cuba. assembled at an automotive plant in Guanajay. very low interest, and behind that political This facility is to expand its production relations are excellent.” CUBA OFFERS GUYANA 965 SCHOLARSHIPS capacity from three to six buses per day. A Details: Steven Zhang, Yutong Bus Co. Ltd., second plant in Havana is being readied to Zhengzhou, Henan 450016 China. Tel: +86 Cuba will grant nearly 965 scholarships to assemble up to nine vehicles daily. The idea is 371 6671-8887. Fax: +86 371 6680-6005. Guyanese students over the next five years, to introduce 600 units for interprovincial serv- E-mail: [email protected]. set up an eye-care clinic in eastern Guyana, ice and later, add vehicles to municipal routes. and send 20 doctors to work for free in South In a recent speech, Castro said the Chinese America’s only English-speaking country. buses offer low fuel consumption, a high qual- CubaNews relocates to Fla. The scholarships would be given to medical ity-to-price ratio and comfort. Some 30 buses Luxner News Inc., which publishes this students, said Robert Persaud, a spokesman for Guyanese President Bharrat Jagdeo. will be put immediately into service on the newsletter, has transferred its office to South Florida effective Mar. 1. “We will see the benefits of this down the Havana-Pinar del Río route. road, in about six to seven years when the Castro also announced that bus tariffs for From now on, please address all sub- scription requests, renewal payments, let- doctors start to return,” Persuad told AP. interprovincial routes would be increased, but The announcement followed a visit to Cuba ters, press releases and other editorial cor- would still be only a fraction of what private by Jagdeo, who met with Fidel Castro to dis- CubaNews vehicles charge for the same distance. The respondence to , 3005 Porto- cuss new programs to provide Cuban health- state will subsidize 20% of the tariffs, while the fino Isle, Coconut Creek, FL 33066. care assistance to Guyana. remaining 80% will be borne by passengers. Our new telephone number in Florida is Cuba plans to send 20 doctors to Guyana; 43 Next on the list will be about 200 railway (954) 970-4518, while our new fax number specialists currently work at reduced cost in cars for passengers, 200 for fuel transport and is (954) 977-2923. Not changing is our rural dispensaries, Persaud said. Cuba also 100 wagons for the transport of food and con- e-mail address, [email protected],or intends to build a state-of-the-art ophthalmolo- struction materials. our website: www.luxner.com. gy unit in eastern Guyana, which will treat This follows the arrival of 12 Chinese diesel patients from throughout the Caribbean. 4 CubaNews ❖ April 2006 FOREIGN TRADE Irish trading firm supplies Cuba with scarce U.S. goodies BY VITO ECHEVARRÍA canned tomato products to pastas, canned to supply the Cuban firm CubaLub with simi- nder U.S. law, it’s illegal for U.S. beef, powdered milk, frozen meats from lar oils for its operations). Uruguay); brand-new American-made com- exporters to sell non-food items to 2003 SALES OF $34 MILLION UCuba. Over the years, however, various puters and servers such as IBM and Dell, as foreign manufacturers and trading compa- well as refurbished computers from those Unipro also supplies the Cuban firm nies have been supplying the island with U.S.- brands, and Compaq and HP; computer MetalCuba with a variety of building supplies made apparel, footwear, computers and peripherals such as memory chips, USB for Cuba’s construction industry, such as win- household products — in many instances dow frames, aluminum sidings, locks and conducting such trade under the radar. other items from Italian manufacturer All.co. One of these companies is United Products During a recent phone conversation with Ltd. (Unipro), a Irish firm doing business in CubaNews, Raul Delmonte Padrón, who runs Cuba since 1994. Unipro’s office in the Havana neighborhood of Unipro’s 35-employee operation in Cuba Miramar, declined to comment on the Irish includes a 2,600-sq-meter in-bond warehouse company’s business activities in Cuba. at the Zona Franca de Habana in Berroa. According to Unipro’s website, the conmpa- It is responsible for importing a variety of ny generated Cuba-related sales of $34 million consumer merchandise for sale in Cuba’s in 2003. However, no figures were provided hard-currency shops — items ranging from for the years before or after 2003. Brazilian-made ladies’ shoes to Chinese-made Unipro’s website mentions that it imports toys, Italian crystal and salon-grade Italian Unipro’s Havana headquarters automotive supplies for Cuban construction hair care products distributed by Cimex. and industrial vehicles from brands such as cables, CD-ROM disks, hard drives, modems, Fiat-Iveco, Volvo, Bomag, Caterpillar, Hitachi, FROZEN MEAT TO FIRESTONE TIRES routers and switches; office supplies and Fiat-Hitachi, Komatsu, Atlas Copco and Astra, Unipro also imports various household equipment; and tires from U.S. brands like as well as motors from Fiat, Deutz, Lombar- products; furniture for office and restaurants, Firestone and Goodyear. dini, Cummings and Perkins. and apparel from no-name brands such as The Cuban store chains that carry con- Remarkably, Unipro’s website says that it “GAS” which appear to be knockoffs of the sumer products imported by Unipro are also imports International and Freightliner- popular international brand Diesel. Caracol, Tiendas Universo, and TRD, as well brand trucks and tractors.. Also on its list are leather purses and hand- as the hard-currency shops run by Cimex. bags; smoked salmon from Chile; assorted Unipro also imports items for industrial NO EXPLANATIONS GIVEN seafood products such as bacalao, tuna, squid use, such as Italian-made engine lubricants Delmonte declined to explain how his firm and even shark; assorted food products (from and motor oil (which includes an agreement managed to ship into Cuba forbidden U.S.- made goods, especially high-tech computer equipment from popular brands like IBM and Dell, as well as trucks and tractors from Visit Cuba, virtually, via Google Earth International Freightliner and Caterpillar. ant to take a trip to Cuba without League Labyrinth, a pirate’s lair of islands That, and also garage equipment and tools leaving your computer? Download strung along the coast just south and west from brands such as Corghi, Chinook, W Google Earth (free at google.ear- of Santiago de Cuba. Flexbimec, and Beta Tools. th.com), then fly over Cuba while remem- What could be more fun? Unipro’s claims that it’s involved in various bering favorite sites or planning a project. Well, I suppose you could use this tool electrical engineering projects throughout the This program is so wonderfully idiot- for business purposes. How about checking island, providing Italian-made electrical sup- proof that you will be zooming in on a site transportation routes? While the program plies to Cuban government clients Tecnoim- seconds after you put the name of the town is not yet real-time (soon you will be able to port, MININT, Sepsa, and Tecnotex, as well as (i.e. Havana) in the little window at the top see whose car overnighted at yout ex’s), for the country’s lucrative tourism sector, in left and click on the emblem. you can still see roads, railroads and ports, specific hotels. Zooming down on Old Havana, I could along with any potential obstacles. Check Among Unipro’s other customers are count the cars in the parking lot of the out agricultural uses of long landscapes, or Cuban state entities such as Gaviota, Cuba- Hotel Inglaterra and see buyers and sellers potential water supplies. Cuba is covered electrónica, Corporación Atlántida, Produim- huddled together in the informal real-estate with reservoirs, which was a surprise. port and Tecnotex; as well as the Ministry of market at the foot of Prado José Martí. Combining what you read with what you Agriculture and the Ministy of Public Health. With a little imagination, I strolled along see is a real advantage. Unipro doesn’t just import consumer and Calle Obispo’s pedestrian street. Moving to Consider, as I did, reading the article on industrial goods into Cuba. Vedado, a cloud cover obscured some pollution in Havana’s Río Almendares (see In a partnership with the Ministry of Light streets, but further west the pools and man- Cuba News, December 2005, page 15) while Industry, Puntex-Unipro also runs a 100-per- sions of Miramar stood out sharply. viewing the river on Google Earth. sonnel plant in the Havana area, where sou- Moving to the south coast, the Bay of The program gives an excellent view of venir T-shirts are made for the “dollar stores” Pigs jumps off the screen with blues and the river, right down to boats at the docks. and souvenir shops for sale to tourists. Details: Raúl Delmonte Padrón, Unipro, greens alongside swamps commemorating Seeing the polluted river, just a short dis- Calle 8, #318 e/3ra y 5ta Ave., Miramar, La the birth of bad intelligence. tance from hotels and tourist beaches adds Habana. Tel: +53 7 204-0033. Fax: +53 7 204- Then, I found myself where I have to the story’s impact. 0928. E-mail [email protected], or Philip always wanted to be: right smack dab in the I can’t wait for the real-time version. Holmes, Unipro, Dublin, Ireland. Tel: +353 1 middle of that dream driver, the Twelve – DOUGLASS NORVELL 676-1516. E-mail: [email protected]. URL: www.uplgroup.com. April 2006 ❖ CubaNews 5 POLITICAL BRIEFS FLA. LAWMAKER SEEKS TO OUTLAW CUBA TRAVEL In their own words … Florida State Rep. David Rivera wants to make it impossible for state-run colleges and universi- “Acts of repudiation are occurring all over the country. But this phrase ties to sponsor or promote trips to Cuba, even doesn’t convey the raw fear felt by the victims,When a government-mobilized for legitimate research, the Miami Herald mob gathers at the home of a free-thinking Cuban and offers hateful chants, reported Feb. 28. threats or violence, the victim suffers enormously, as do family members.” Rivera said the recent arrests of Florida — Michael E. Parmly, chief of the U.S. Interests Section in Havana, lashing out International University professor Carlos M. at what he called a “sinister wave of repression” now underway in Cuba. Alvarez and his wife, Elsa, an FIU counselor — both accused of being agents for Cuba for more “I prefer not to talk of breaking relations. We have the intention of continu- than two decades — compelled the Cuban- ing our presence here, as long as they let us.” American legislator to draft the bill. Carlos Alvarez mostly traveled to Cuba as a facilitator — Michael Parmly, commenting Jan. 26 on Cuba’s angry reaction to an electronic for a group not affiliated with FIU. news board streaming human rights messages from the U.S. mission in Havana. “The FIU spy case vividly demonstrates the security risks associated with state employees “This community must face the realization that politicians, especially nation- traveling to terrorist countries,” Rivera said. al politicians, come here to Miami when they need our votes and forget their “The integrity of the entire university communi- promises. President Bush came here and said he would review this policy, and ty is undermined by this activity. My bill simply nothing has happened. Cuban voters will be looking into this reality a little bit seeks to protect higher education from the when they cast their votes.” threat of espionage activities.” — Pepe Hernández, head of the Cuban American National Foundation, suggest- FIU professor Lisandro Pérez, who has trav- ing it’s time for Cuban-Americans to drop their staunch loyalty to the GOP. eled to Cuba often for research, called Rivera’s bill political demagoguery. “It’s all too easy while we sit in a courtroom, in a very antiseptic environ- “He [Rivera] wants to build a career using the ment, to ignore the danger and risk that these Coast Guard officers undertake Cuba topic, which you can always count on here every day in the real world.” locally to grab people’s emotions,” Pérez said. — U.S. District Judge K. Michael Moore, who sentenced two Cuban-American men “This is just a blatant effort on his part to get to 10 years in prison at a Fort Lauderdale trial for an Oct. 13, 2005, smuggling some political limelight.” operation that ended in the drowning of a 6-year-old Cuban boy. The bill would specifically prohibit colleges and universities from using any state funds, as “Until a full evaluation of what happened is carried out and this music pro- well as private donations and grants, to “imple- gram complies with all the established requirements, free of all the banality ment, organize, direct, coordinate, or administer and frivolousness that so annoy viewers, the show will remain off the air.” activities related to or involving travel to a ter- — Cuba’s Institute of Radio and Television, in a Feb. 15 apology to TV viewers, rorist state.” responding to complaints following the broadcast of the lavish wedding of Jorge Added University of Florida professor Terry Martínez, star of Cuba’s “El Expreso” variety show, at Havana’s Hotel Capri. McCoy, an expert in Latin American studies: “The post-Castro era is getting closer. It would be in [America’s] interest to have institutional “I lost my mother five years ago, and all I have is my father.When you can’t reach out, it’s like a trauma, not being able to see your loved ones as you’d academic relationships in place.” like. There are moments that it makes me cry. It’s very hard.” Rivera proposed a similar bill two years ago, but it died in the Florida Senate. — Mario Ernesto Romero, whose family is separated by a Bush administration rule limiting visits to relatives in Cuba to once every three years. CASTRO NOT THE ONLY THING ON THEIR MINDS Cuban-Americans in South Florida have other “The attempt and practice of encouraging the spread of channels having concerns besides Fidel Castro and the future of anti-Cuban propaganda is taking on a political connotation in our country, their homeland. since they serve the [U.S.] empire in its plans to annihilate the Cuban nation.” That’s the conclusion of a new poll conducted — Communist Party newspaper Juventud Rebelde, editorializing against the by two researchers, Jessica Lavariega Monforti proliferation of illegal antennas and satellite TV dishes throughout Cuba. of the University of Texas and Lisa García Bedolla of the University of California. “At home, the kids watch cartoons, but I’m careful to disconnect the device Asked what’s the No. 1 political issue, 33% of when someone comes over who’s not in on the secret, because there are many respondents said the war in Iraq and terrorism, monitors.” while 27% put Cuba and Castro at the top and 11% — Unidentified woman quoted in an EFE story on the anti-antenna crackdown. said the economy is most important. The pollsters say their survey — conducted in “The [Cuban] government’s human rights record remained poor, and the February of 600 Cuban-Americans in Miami- government continued to commit numerous, serious abuses. At least 333 Dade County — shows the broadening of opin- Cuban political prisoners and detainees were held at years’ end.” ion as younger generations and new arrivals — U.S. State Department 2005 Human Rights Report. focus on other issues beyond communist Cuba. The poll, which has a 3% margin of error also found that when deciding on a presidential candi- “I keep it in my drawer as a reminder that I am an immigrant running an im- migration service. Whenever I feel my head getting big, I reach down there.” date to support, half of Cuban-Americans polled said the candidates’ position on ''Iraq/terrorism'' — Emilio González, the new chief of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, is the most important issue, while 16% said the referring in a Miami Herald article to a prized possession he keeps in his economy was the key factor. Only 11% cited U.S. desk: the $254.93 ticket his parents bought to get the family of four out of relations with Cuba as the No. 1 issue when Cuba aboard a Spanish passenger ship in 1961. deciding who to support. 6 CubaNews ❖ April 2006

Summit — FROM PAGE 1 “closed” stickers on the hotel on the grounds The expelled Cuban delegation moved to a it breached safety and licensing laws, but the Mexican-owned hotel, the Mision Colón Re- participants, which included executives from Sheraton remained open, arguing it could not forma, and the summit was concluded there. ExxonMobil and Caterpillar, also were also a kick out its 550 guests with no warning, But Jones said he doesn’t know if he’ll con- concern to U.S. officials. “They thought, ‘Oh Reuters reported. tinue to hold these types of exchanges my God, these are big shots talking to the Mexican officials said the country’s sover- between the Cuban government and U.S. Cubans, we have to stop it.’” business interests. “I’m going to let the dust OFAC spokeswoman Molly Millerwise said settle before I decide,” he told us. Starwood was issued a warning letter that it The incident also raised questions over could be in violation of the embargo, but that whether OFAC was setting new enforcement OFAC never told the company the Cuban offi- standards that prohibited U.S. companies cials had to be evicted from the hotel. around the world from selling a soft drink or “It was standard operating procedure,” to renting cars to Cuban officials. send the letter, she told us. It also provoked a strong reaction from sev- But it’s unclear how Starwood could have eral U.S. lawmakers, many of them members assured OFAC it wasn’t violating the embargo of the Cuba House Working Group, a caucus — short of asking Cuban officials to leave. seeking greater opportunities for travel and Millerwise denied the focus of the summit trade with Cuba. — oil production — had anything to do with No less than 25 of them including Reps. Jeff the agency’s decision to begin an investiga- Flake (R-AZ), JoAnn Emerson (R-MO), Bob tion. Other government sources said Jones Etheridge (D-NC) and Ray LaHood (R-IL) had “thumbed his nose” at OFAC by organiz- wrote to Treasury Secretary John Snow on ing this conference, and others in the past, Feb. 21, demanding that OFAC explain its without seeking permission from the agency. actions. Jones says he hosts his conferences in “We believe this incident is an overreach- Mexico because it is not governed by the U.S. ing application of U.S. law that could have sig- embargo laws. In fact, Mexico is among sev- nificant worldwide implications,” the letter eral countries, including Canada, that have said, pointing out that 12 Cuban musicians approved laws that make it illegal for their cit- who were staying at the Maria Isabel at the izens to obey the U.S. embargo on Cuba. time of the incident weren’t asked to leave. That’s why the incident stirred such deep The letter also questioned OFAC’s logic, resentment in Mexico. asking “would a U.S. company that owns a Outraged Mexicans held protests outside restaurant in London be subjected to penalty the Maria Isabel, which is located across the if someone from an embargoed nation has street from the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City. Kirby Jones, left, and lunch there? If a U.S.-owned movie theater in They burned an American flag and accused the Sheraton Maria Isa- a foreign country sold a ticket to a Cuban, is Washington of violating Mexican sovereignty. bel Hotel in Mexico City, that company subject to a penalty?” On Mar. 1, Mexico City authorities lifted a focus of the dispute. OFAC didn’t respond to the letter. closure order against the hotel only a day According to the Miami Herald, a person after they demanded it shut. eignty had been abused and deployed a team close to Starwood Hotels & Resorts World- “We are confident that in these few hours of inspectors who reported that the hotel had wide — speaking on condition of anonymity the hotel has rectified practically all the irreg- carried out unauthorized construction work because of the delicate legal nature of the ularities,” city official Virginia Jaramillo told and lacked bar licenses, parking spaces and matter — said the hotel had asked the mem- reporters after hotel managers met with gov- emergency exits. bers not to send the letter because “the full ernment officials and the local American Despite the outrage, Mexican President story is not known” and that it contained Chamber of Commerce. Vicente Fox stopped short of issuing a diplo- statements which could compromise the com- Mexico City authorities had slapped matic protest to Washington over the incident. pany’s legal position. ❑ U.S.-Mexico hotel spat another blow for the embargo THE ECONOMIST warned by the U.S. Treasury Department. Braille, for example. Jaramillo ordered the hen local governments plunge into Treasury says in turn that it was applying the Sheraton to close. Officials slapped stickers foreign policy, they risk embarrass- trade embargo that prevents American-owned announcing this on its doors. At the last ing their national counterparts. companies from providing services to Cubans. minute, that was changed to a fine of 225,500 W The hotel may be next door to the American That is what has happened in the latest tiff pesos ($21,100). embassy, but the application of foreign law on By then, the government had criticised between Mexico and the United States. Mexican soil was calculated to cause outrage. Jaramillo, who is from the leftish opposition It began in early February, when Ameri- The government of President Vicente Fox is party of Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the can businessmen and local officials from keen to remain on good terms with George frontrunner in July’s presidential election, Texas and Louisiana gathered at a Sheraton Bush’s administration. At first it said the affair for political grandstanding over the issue. hotel in Mexico City to discuss with Cuba’s was a private matter. Throughout the Cold War, Mexico man- communist government whether the So it was left to Virginia Jaramillo, the dele- aged to stay on good terms with Cuba while island’s oil industry might in future be gada (mayor) of Cuauhtémoc, the Mexico City allowing America’s CIA to spy on the activi- opened to American investment. district where the hotel is located, to defend ties of Cubans in Mexico. The meeting was rudely interrupted national honor. That kind of balancing act seems to have when the hotel evicted the 16-member She argued that the hotel was guilty of dis- gotten harder. As for the United States, it Cuban delegation (while keeping their crimination. Her officials pored over the fine has become ever more heavy-handed in deposits). Starwood, the American company print of local regulations and discovered a slew enforcing an embargo that many of its citi- that owns the hotel, says it acted after being of violations — the hotel lacked menus in zens disagree with. April 2006 ❖ CubaNews 7 rights and democracy in Cuba. Endowment Cuban leadership to promote greater aware- NED — FROM PAGE 6 support will cover the operating costs and ness of citizen participation, entertainment laws and the activities of global unions. program activities of CCHR’s Miami office, and events at the local level. People in Need Foundation which works on behalf of human rights and Disidente Universal de Puerto Rico $99,900 to support the spread of informa- human rights activists in Cuba. (Universal Dissident of Puerto Rico) tion inside Cuba through local samizdat liter- CubaNet $67,200 to increase the flow of independent ature. PINF will send Eastern Europeans who $67,500 to promote the free flow of infor- information to Cuba and within Cuba. were active in producing samizdat during the mation to and from Cuba. CubaNet will pro- Disidente will publish and distribute in Cuba 1980s to Cuba to work with local journalists vide humanitarian and material assistance to its monthly journal, El Disidente, and main- and dissident groups to develop a work plan Cuban independent journalists on the island, tain its website, www.disidenteuniversal.org, to produce printed materials and a video-jour- hire a professional editor, and send represen- containing articles and editorials from nal on life in Cuba. tatives to Europe and Latin America to pro- activists living on the island, dissidents living PINF will also organize the second meeting mote international solidarity with independ- in exile, international news organizations, and ent Cuban journalists. an up-to-date list of political prisoners in Cuba. Fundación Hispano Cubana (Hispano- Cuban Foundation) $76,000 to increase the flow of independent information to Cuba. The Foundation will LARRY LUXNER publish and distribute in Cuba three editions of its journal Revista Hispano Cubana. The journal features articles and editorials on politics, human rights, and social and cul- tural issues. The Foundation will post each edition on the journal’s website, as well as prepare 16 previous editions of the journal in CD-ROM format. Partners of the Americas $86,712 to strengthen women’s groups in Cuba and increase collaboration in Latin America. Partners will provide printed train- ing material to women's groups to strengthen their technical capacity in the areas of social Propaganda billboard in Baracoa, eastern Cuba, marks the 45th anniversary of the Cuban Revolution. communication, women’s legal rights, and leadership development. Partners will also facilitate links between of the International Committee for Demo- Center for International Private Enter- prise Cuban and non-Cuban women's rights groups cracy in Cuba in Brussels. interested in working with Cuban NGOs. People in Peril Association $123,288 to increase the flow of independ- $16,900 to promote independent research ent information to Cuba with the help of the Red Feminista Cubana Inc. (Cuban and think tanks in Cuba. People in Peril will Pan-American Development Fund. CIPE will Feminist Network) work with independent activists and intellec- distribute its award-winning magazine Per- $82,228 to promote women’s rights in tuals to conduct research and analysis on spectiva in Cuba. Perspectiva provides practi- Cuba. Red Feminista will establish contacts issues of political and economic transitions. cal information and analysis on democratic, with women’s movements throughout the People in Peril will pair Cuban researchers market-oriented reforms to its readers. world, collect materials, and initiate a series of with a group of Slovak former dissidents and Bibliotecas Independientes de Cuba training programs inside Cuba for independ- leaders of the democratic transition to assist (Independent Libraries of Cuba, or BIC) ent women activists. them in their research and to share with them $133,773 to promote intellectual freedom Red Feminista will expand its women’s net- their experiences. and debate inside Cuba. BIC will continue to work in Cuba from 2 to 6 groups to dissemi- Asociación Encuentro de la Cultura Cu- provide direct financial and material assis- nate information on strategies and activities of bana (Cuban Culture Encounter Association) tance to independent libraries in Cuba and women’s movements in other countries. $200,000 to promote free debate and dis- promote international awareness of the Group for Corporate Social Responsi- cussion about Cuban politics and the future of library movement. bility in Cuba (GCSRC) Cuba. Endowment support will cover partial BIC staff will travel to Latin America and $213,108 to promote labor rights and administrative expenses that will enable En- Spain to meet with libraries, universities, defend independent labor unions and workers cuentro to publish its journal Revista Encuen- think tanks, and other organizations to enlist in Cuba. GCSRC will conduct an international tro and continue its web-based daily newspa- their support for individual libraries and the informational campaign about the violation of per, Encuentro On-Line, and its internet chat libraries movement. international labor conventions and promote portal, Connections. Center for a Free Cuba corporate responsibility in Cuba by docu- Encuentro will publish four editions of its $55,000 to provide humanitarian assistance menting the labor rights conditions in Cuba, journal to be distributed in Cuba and abroad. and emergency relief to political prisoners participating in a public hearing of the OAS National Democratic Institute for and their families. Assistance will go to family Inter-American Commission for Human International Affairs members of the nearly 300 prisoners detained Rights, and holding a conference, in Spain, $175,000 to support peaceful democratic in Cuba because of their political beliefs. Directorio (Democratic Directorate) with experts, union activists, and investors. change in Cuba. NDI will help Varela Project Last, GCSRC will continue to provide train- representatives in Miami develop the organi- $663,690 to promote access to objective information and news in rural communities ing and material support to labor activists zational capacity of their newly registered inside Cuba. non-profit, and continue to build awareness of inside Cuba. The Directorio will establish a shortwave radio station specializing in pro- For the full list of grants for Latin American and support for the Varela Project and the and Caribbean nations, call NED’s manager National Dialogue in the Latin America. gramming devoted to community develop- ment and community news. of public affairs, Jane Riley Jacobsen in Wash- Cuban Committee for Human Rights ington at (202) 293-9072 x232, or see http://- $65,000 to advance the cause of human The station will reach out to youth and women as well as moderate elements of inthenameofdemocracy.org/?q=en/node/8. ❑ 8 CubaNews ❖ April 2006 DEMOGRAPHICS Abortion is preferred method of birth control in Cuba BY ARMANDO H. PORTELA If accurate, this last estimate would put the uba’s abortion rate has decreased over number of abortions in Cuba at that time the last decade, but still remains a wide- roughly at 209,900, for an shocking rate of Cly used method of birth control and a 77.7 per 1,000 women of childbearing age — hot topic among demographers. the third-highest in the world according to A glance at the official statistics reveals that this source. abortion — more than emigration or higher In contrast, only 140,276 births were re- mortality — is what’s keeping Cuba’s popula- corded in 1996, translating into a ratio of three tion stagnant. abortions for every two births. In fact, Fidel Castro is said to have com- Another natural reason for the drop in abor- plained to Carindal Tarcisio Bertone, archbi- tions is that today ,there are fewer women of childbeaing age as the population pyramid be- shop of Genoa, during an October 2005 meet- comes narrower at its base (see CubaNews, ing in Havana that “the spread of abortion is January 2006, page 3). among the causes of the country’s demo- While in 1987 — at the height of the abor- graphic crisis.” tion practice — there were 1.15 million The cardinal later told Italian newspaper La women 15 to 24 years old, this group shrank Stampa that “Fidel Castro is asking us [the to 710,000 in 2002. Women younger than 20 Catholic church] for help to combat the are most likely to get abortions, followed by plague of abortion in Cuba.” women ages 20 to 24. There’s certainly been a substantial drop in Combined, these two groups account for abortions over the past 15 years, but this is more than two-thirds of all abortion patients. due to an increase in the use of menstrual Among women under 25, there are two abor- regulation methods as an alternative to surgi- tions induced for every birth. cal abortion, as well as a decline in the num- It is also possible that a number of abor- ber of young women of reproductive age. tions performed by doctors escape the official Abortion is legal in Cuba and has been records. After the onset of the economic crisis available upon request since the late 1960s. in the 1990s, physicians — like other profes- Free health care, widely accessible medical sionals — have increasingly retreated to ille- services throughout the island and few obsta- 166,059 live births registered that year. gal “private” practices, selling their services cles for carrying out abortions has made this Not surprisingly the number of births to patients in need of urgency, quality and dis- the preferred method to stop undesired preg- dropped rapidly since the early 1970s as the cretion. nancies. abortion curve soared. For decades, abortion Statistical comparison is difficult and risky, A general urge to limit the size of the fami- in Cuba became the main birth-control as abortion is a very restricted practice for lies, in the absence of religious or other ethi- method and continues to remain a viable most countries and a large number of abor- cal deterrents, has led to a boom in the num- option for many couples. tions go unnoticed for the records. Neverthe- ber of surgical abortions. In 1986, the number Between 1968 and 1974, the rate of abor- less, scholars and specialists agree that of abortions peaked at 160,926, compared to tions quadrupled from 15.0 to 62.5 per 1,000 women of reproductive age (12 to 49 years old). Since then, abortion rates fluctuated between 42 and 55 abortions per 1,000, aver- aging 50.4 per 1,000 rom 1972 to 1990. Between 1991 and 2004, the rate fell rapid- ly to 24.7 per 1,000. An increase in the use of menstrual regula- tion as abortive method, which doesn’t re- quire a previous pregnancy test, nor require parental consent for teenagers, has cut into the number of surgical abortions in the past 15 years, though levels remain fairly high — considering that 70% of women of childbear- ing age currently use contraceptives. Cuba’s Ministry of Public Health (MIN- SAP), as quoted by L. Alvarez in “El aborto en Cuba” (Havana, 1994) estimated the actual abortion rate above 50 per 1,000 in the early 1990s, or roughly twice the acknowledged level at that time. In 1997, MINSAP found that 68.8% of all menstrual regulations were in fact confirmed abortions and that 93% of all regulations were performed in diagnosed pregnancies. A study published by the New York and Washington-based Alan Guttmacher Institute reported that “in 1996, 60% of the [abortion] procedures were menstrual regulations.” April 2006 ❖ CubaNews 9 In a short reference to the problem during Abortion — FROM PAGE 8 a February 1998 gathering of the National MEDICAL BRIEFS Cuba’s abortion rates rank among the highest Assembly, a few days after the visit of Pope NOT EVERYONE WELCOMES CUBAN DOCTORS John Paul II to Cuba, Castro criticized the in the world. The presence of Cuban doctors in Guate- Figures available from 58 countries where practice altogether. “Abortion should not be used as an anti- mala, Venezuela, Honduras and elsewhere is abortion is legal and statistics are fairly sparking controversy both at home and acceptable show that Cuba was fourth in the birth method,” he declared, pointing to his abroad, the Miami Herald reported Mar. 5. frequency of abortions, outranked only by duty as a “revolutionary and public figure” to Recent media reports from Havana suggest three formerly communist states: Romania, oppose it, but in the same breath adding that that Cubans increasingly resent the absence Russia and Belarus. he didn’t want to “return to the Middle Ages of physicians once provided free of charge by Meanwhile authorities rarely show public and invent anew the chastity belt.” a state-run system whose strength was in a concern about the prevalence of abortion; the But with the number of births over the past massive network of neighborhood doctors — and not in its hospitals or technology. One recent UN mission to Cuba found a clinic in Santiago de Cuba where 60 of the 140 staff doctors were abroad. And it’s not just a problem for Cubans. In Venezuela, the doctors’ association sued the Chávez government for using doctors unlicensed to practice in that country. The program continued despite a court ruling backing the association. Likewise, the Professional Association of Honduran Doctors has complained about the presence of Cuban healthcare workers there, at a time when 1,500 recent Honduran med- ical graduates are out of work. FIDEL OFFERS AMERICANS FREE EYE SURGERY Fidel Castro has invited U.S. citizens too message is often ambiguous and incidental. decade falling to a point where the population poor to afford eye care to come to Cuba for Only a few references to the issue can be is nearly stagnant, there is no evidence that a treatment. He even offered to send an air- found in Castro’s public appearances, while drop in abortions will make much of a differ- plane to Florida to fly patients to Havana. the official media seems unconcerned. ence. Quite the opposite, the drop in the num- “I wonder if [the Bush administration] will “Abortion is no longer forbidden, but the ber of births hints that abortions are frequent authorize our plane to pick them up in large number of abortions worries us,” Castro and have a powerful limiting influence on pop- Florida, or if they prefer that these people stay said in February 1999 during a visit to Cara- ulation growth. blind,” he said. Castro boasted hat Cuba cas to attend the inauguration of Venezuelan Any policy discouraging the practice of would be able to perform as many as 150,000 President Hugo Chávez. “We try to avoid the abortion will promote the natural growth of eye operations “for the impoverished people need for them in first place; then we can make Cuba’s population — albeit in a partial fash- of the United States.” abortions unnecessary.” ion, since other factors such as higher mor- Cuba and Venezuela together have included Two years later, during a health conference tality and emigration also contribute to stag- Americans in their “Operation Miracle,” in Havana, Castro said: “We have to wage the nation. which offers free eye treatment to six million battle against too many abortions. This re- But those factors are likely to continue, people in Latin America and the Caribbean flects deficiencies in sexual education among given the current rundown condition of the over a 10-year period. many of our young people.” Cuban economy. ❑ CUBA HELPS FIGHT AIDS IN ZIMBABWE A group of Cuban doctors are using Cuba’s educational model to teach HIV/AIDS preven- OFAC suspends Fla. travel agency’s license tion in Zimbabwe, which has one of the high- est rates of HIV infection in Africa. The Office of Foreign Assets Control has Florida, told the Herald that OFAC agents According to Prensa Latina, AIDS has now revoked the license of La Estrella de Cuba, handed his managers at various stores let- claimed some 24,000 lives in the Caribbean, one of Florida’s top Cuba travel agencies. ters explaining that they no longer could with HIV prevalence ranging from 1% to 3% The Miami Herald reports that OFAC’s book travel to Cuba. throughout the region. move could affect tens of thousands of peo- “I cannot take any new customers,” Ga- In Cuba, however, the infection rate is under ple who have been searching for ways to loppi told the paper. “Our license has been 0.2% and prevention of mother-to-child infec- travel to Cuba from the United States, in the suspended: the travel service provider, the tion remains highly effective. wake of the Bush administration’s tightened carrier service provider and the remittance The goal, as explained by Dr. Manuel Casa- travel restrictions imposed in 2004. forwarder. Obviously, we’re not pleased nueva to 1,000 experts from 22 countries at Treasury spokeswoman Molly Millerwise the recent 9th International Seminar on Pri- said OFAC is conducting on-site audits at with it. It comes as a surprise.” Estrella de Cuba, one of the biggest of mary Health Care in Havana, is for health agencies that do business with Cuba, aiming staff to improve knowledge on the fatal dis- to complete 25 audits this year. about 250 licensed Cuba travel agencies nationwide, booked 300 to 500 passengers ease in Zimbabwe, a desperately poor country “Instances of serious license violations which has been ridden by the epidemic. may result in license suspension, cease-and- to Cuba every month. Galoppi said the OFAC suspension was Casanueva explained that AIDS has become desist orders or penalties imposed under the leading cause of death in sub-Saharan the Trading With the Enemy Act,” she said. based on “a violation based on a technical Africa, with 15 million cases — and that the Pierre Galoppi, owner of La Estrella de procedure,” but he declined to explain this worst thing is ignorance about the infection, Cuba, which has several offices in South in greater detail. its evolution, safe sex and the need to strictly follow treatment. 10 CubaNews ❖ April 2006 AGRICULTURE Cuba won’t reach even modest sugar target of 1.3m tons

stocked in the mills the chopped sugarcane quickly loses its content of sucrose and becomes worthless to grind. Another condition for the harvest to suc- ceed was achieving an 11% sugar yield of the cane entering the mills. Just 1% below this tar- get removes 100,000 tons of sugar from the final tally. As result, the industrial process is troubled by other ailments like large amounts of wasted fuels, more sugar escaped with molasses and idle machinery, transport and manpower. One solution is already being considered by the ministry authorities: extending the harvest beyond the 84 days planned, the cus- BY ARMANDO H. PORTELA güey, Villa Clara, Ciego de Avila and Pinar del tomary way to sort out the problem created by the industry’s shabby conditions. arly troubles in Cuba’s sugar harvest Río, this last a minor producer but with an important mill — the 30 de Noviembre at San This year only 42 sugar mills are active out put at risk the timid goal of producing of 84 remaining in Cuba after the 2002 down- Ejust enough sugar to serve domestic Cristóbal — active this season. What’s worse, as reported by the official sizing that dismantled another 72 mills. Those needs. with a symbolic surplus for exports. 42 were specially chosen in the hope that At least, attaining the target of producing media, is that far from improving, the gap between expected and actual performance grinding with the most reliable mills in a 1.3 million tons of sugar in a short efficient gradually deepens nationwide. Every 1% short harvest started at the sugarcane ripen- harvest seems again beyond the reach of the below the industrial capacity target of 79.5% ing peak would finally bring some efficiency industry, which is plagued by delayed starts, costs the sector 15,000 tons of sugar. to the troubled sector. frequent breakdowns and lower sugar yields. Coincidentally or not, it’s evident that all Meanwhile, Cuba is missing its best chance The premise of grinding at no less than the worst performing mills, except the 30 de to cash in on the best sugar market since 79.5% of industrial capacity to reach the goals Noviembre and Abraham Lincoln in Havana, Soviet subsidies vanished in the early 1990s. seem unlikely. are located in the devastating path of Hur- World sugar prices exceeded 19c/lb in late In late January, 10 of the 37 active mills ricane Dennis of July 2005 (see CubaNews spe- January through February, peaking at were operating below 70% capacity, with five cial report, August 2005, pages 1, 3, 6 and 7) 20.46c/lb on Feb. 3, twice the prevailing price of them even below 60%. The biggest prob- Having frequent unplanned interruptions of a year ago and over three times the prices lems surfaced in the key provinces of Cama- usually lead to an even worse problem: while during the 2003-04 season. ❑ Urban agriculture flourishes for those who can afford it BY OUR HAVANA CORRESPONDENT Dr. Adolfo Rodríguez Nodals, head of the ipality of Isla de la Juventud. armers’ markets offer Cuban city dwell- National Urban Agriculture Group, explained Since 75% of Cuba’s population lives in ers a tempting variety of vegetables and that small urban organic gardens are more urban areas, authorities say it makes sense to F spices — but prices are still too high for resistant to climatic setbacks because the use the surrounding areas for growing food the average family living on two salaries. retention walls that line the beds afford good crops. Problems persist in 611 ha of gardens with deficient irrigation systems, as well as in According to official figures, the urban agri- protection against strong winds and rains. As for the drought, water supply was guar- the construction of new gardens in Havana culture sector employed 354,999 workers in anteed for these orchards. and other densely populated areas. 2005, and produced just over 4.0 million tons Rodriguez said 3,810 organic gardens now Recently appointed Agriculture Minister of fresh vegetables, herbs and spices in small cover 1,183.4 hectares nationwide, with yields Maria del Carmen Pérez said Cuba must state-run organic gardens and intensive com- averaging 20 kg per square meter per year. make adjustments in the system and locate munity and household gardens. The 6,964 intensive vegetable gardens, cover- additional available lands for gardens. The target for 2006 is 4.3 million tons of ing 7,557 ha, were more vulnerable to climat- Enclosed gardens are another type of areas fresh vegetables, herbs and spices. The urban ic adversity, and as a consequence suffered a surrounding the cities where vegetables are agriculture program has 10,152 points of sale reduction in output over the last three years, grown in structures enclosed by insect mesh throughout Cuba. yielding just under 15 kg/sq meter. and thatched roofs, and semi-protected crops At a national gathering to evaluate the Other alternative urban agriculture efforts, are grown in structures covered only by progress of urban agriculture during 2005, such as home gardens promoted by local thatched roofs. Fidel’s 2nd-in-command and younger brother community groups, reached a total of 385,559 According to Ministry of Agriculture data, Raúl Castro recalled when the organic agri- gardens covering 12,774 ha nationwide, pro- there are 23.5 hectares of semi-protected hor- culture initiative was launched 18 years ago. ducing 730,000 tons of crops destined prima- ticulture and 100 hectares of protected horti- Participants highlighted that in a year rily for family consumption. In addition, culture with a further 42 hectares currently marked by three major hurricanes and the 139,960 community gardens covering 30,975 under development. most severe drought in 105 years, the ha produced 2.2 million tons of produce. Urban agriculture also includes the raising orchards bordering Cuban cities have proven Despite preventive measures, natural disas- of livestock, poultry, sheep, goats and rabbis. to be an open-air technology more resistant to ters kept several provinces from achieving Last year, Cuba produced 104,881 tons of adverse weather conditions, mainly due to the their production goals in 2005, among them pork in authorized outlying areas and 47,717 fact that the recovery process is much faster Cienfuegos, Matanzas, Camagüey, Sancti Spí- tons of other types of meat, as well as 3.6 mil- than in other traditional methods. ritus, Las Tunas and the special island munic- lion liters of goat milk and 470 million eggs. ❑ April 2006 ❖ CubaNews 11 FOREIGN TRADE Cuba slowly boosts trade with its Caribbean neighbors BY LARRY LUXNER to Trinidadian government statistics, the goods to the U.S. if it contains Cuban materi- espite talk about regional and econom- country’s exports to Cuba came to TT$109.8 al. I’m sure the business community is not ic integration, the English-speaking million ($17.4 million), almost all of which aware of this.” DCaribbean until recently had little to do was ammonia and other petrochemicals. That Yet at least one Trinidadian company with the biggest Caribbean island of all: Cuba. represented just 0.26% of Trinidad’s world- seems to be aware. A leading manufacturer of But that’s changing as Jamaica and wide exports by value. disposable diapers and sanitary napkins that Trinidad & Tobago shed their fear of U.S. ret- Trinidad’s imports from Cuba in that year already exports 90% of its production to near- ribution and deepen ties with the Castro totaled only TT$12.1 million ($1.9 million) — by Caribbean countries like Belize and regime; and as former British colonies from less than a thousandth of total imports — and Jamaica says Cuba is the ultimate big prize. Belize in the west to Guyana in the east are consisted mainly of cigars and corrugated “Cuba has 11 million people and it’s the paper products. biggest consumer market in the Caribbean. lured by the promise of Cuban doctors in That’s why everybody exchange for better relations. is watching it,” said a Also strengthening ties with Cuba are the company official. “To nearby Dominican Republic and French- say there’s demand is a speaking Haiti, where — despite kidnappings lie,” he cautioned, and violence — over 700 Cuban physicians LARRY LUXNER “because demand has have remained to bring health care to some of to be backed by money.” the most desperately poor people in the With a local portfolio Western Hemisphere. of around $30 million, “We cannot afford to anger our big neigh- Republic Bank Ltd., bor and benefactor, the United States,” Ray- Trinidad’s largest finan- mond Joseph, Haiti’s ambassador in Washing- cial institution, is one of ton, recently told CubaNews. “But at the same several foreign banks time, we wonder whether the Cuban people that currently maintain should be suffering for the sins of Mr. Castro.” representative offices in Compared to Haiti, Cuba is a wealthy coun- Havana; others include try. In fact, the Castro government claims that Netherlands Caribbean Cuba enjoyed 11.8% economic growth last Bank N.V. of Curaçao, year and will see a 10% rise in 2006, although Spain’s Banco Bilbao Viz- its methodology for calculating GDP growth caya (BBV) and Banco is based on a local formula yet to be accepted Industrial de Venezuela. by any global organization.. Says Lyndon Guiseppi, Still, it’s clear that Cuba has emerged from Busy street in Port of Spain, Trinidad — financial capital of the Caribbean. managing director of Tri- its “special period” of austerity imposed after nidad’s RBTT Merchant the collapse of Soviet subsidies in the early Natasha Mustapha, CEO of the Trinidad & Bank Ltd.: “Through our corporate division, 1990s. Since then, the island has moved away Tobago Manufacturers Association, says that we’ve been doing trade financing in Cuba, a from sugar as its main export, with tourism, while the challenges are numerous, so are the place where we see tremendous opportunity. medical services, nickel, family remittances possibilities. We’re very comfortable doing business and pharmaceuticals now accounting for most “What is difficult for us to understand is there.” of its foreign-exchange earnings. Cuba’s way of doing business. It’s not what we Not everyone is quite so candid. Kept afloat with cheap Venezuelan oil and are accustomed to. It’s a bit of a cultural shift “We conduct our dealings as any bank Chinese credits, the Cuban economy is no for us. Cuba is still a communist state, you would from a credit standpoint,” said one longer in a free fall. In fact, a record 2.5 mil- need a license to import everything and that Caribbean-based banker who asked that nei- lion tourists are expected to visit the island is controlled by the government,” she said. ther he nor his institution be identified in this this year, bringing in well over $2 billion. In addition, Trinidadian companies face article for fear of provoking overzealous U.S. Two Jamaican hotel chains, SuperClubs repercussions from the United States for trad- Treasury officials. “Our office in Havana and Sandals, already manage a number of all- ing with Cuba under the Helms-Burton Act. offers trade finance lines, which we extend to inclusive resorts throughout Cuba, while a “Local [Trinidadian] companies have to de- Cuban government entities. We’re looking to Bahamian company, John Bull Ltd., operates cide which is more important,” said Mus- see if we could possibly establish facilities for luxury retail shops in Havana and Varadero. tapha. “As long as the embargo is in place, if foreign investors.” Cuba’s strongest economic partner in the they’re trading with the U.S., they can’t trade He added: “The buying potential is certain- Caribbean appears to be the twin-island with Cuba. If they do, they could lose their ly there, so we don't have a problem with republic of Trinidad & Tobago. American business, including the shipment of Cuba’s ability to purchase. We also have In late November, Trinidad’s House of raw materials and exports. It’s sort of a dou- financing arrangements in place that Cuban Representatives passed a bill to improve trade ble-edged sword.” companies can benefit from. We take the risk relations with Cuba, which already enjoys That’s led Trinidadian opposition leaders away from suppliers by financing them up associate member status within the 15-mem- like Basdeo Panday to question Prime front, and then getting paid directly by the ber Caribbean Community (Caricom). Minister Patrick Manning’s open embrace of Cuban companies afterward.” And in early February, Jerry Narace — Fidel Castro. How quickly this particular bank collects Trinidad’s ambassador to Cuba — declared “What is going to happen to our business- its debts from the Cubans depends on the his country would open a Havana trade and men? Do they know the consequences of trad- nature of the companies themselves. “We deal investment office within the next six months ing?” Panday recently said, warning that it’s mainly with [Cuban state-owned retail con- to promote bilateral commerce. illegal for companies that import raw materi- flomerate] Cimex and [state telecom monop- Yet trade between Cuba and Trinidad als from Cuba to ship them to the U.S. oly] Etecsa,” said the official. “We have stayed remains rather negligible. In 2004, according “Third countries are forbidden to export away from smaller companies.” ❑ 12 CubaNews ❖ April 2006 Centro de Imunología Molecular, is unclear. This program, which will involve the simul- BUSINESS BRIEFS “We believe that the proposed merger of taneous deployment of four drilling rigs, is CancerVax and Micromet is consistent with based on a firm budget of $111 million for the BUENA VISTA COPYRIGHT SPAT BACK IN COURT our objective of maximizing value for our association (including the operating invest- A copyright dispute between Cuban and stockholders, and will result in an organiza- ments and expenses), and if the conditional U.S. publishing companies over some songs tion with a robust pipeline of drug candidates additional program is completed, this may rise that featured in the hit Buena Vista Social as well as significant experience in drug dis- to $183 million. Club is back in court, reports AP. covery and development,” said CancerVax’s “Through this program, Pebercan can hope The High Court case in London, brought by president and CEO, David F. Hale. to have by end-December 2006 a greatly U.S.-based Peer International, had to be post- Details: Hazel Aker, Senior Vice-President, increased production level between 13,000 poned when Judge John Lindsey traveled to CancerVax, 2110 Rutherford Road, Carlsbad, barrels per day with the firm program and 18, Cuba in September to obtain witness testimo- CA 92008. Tel: (760) 494-4214. Fax: (760) 500 b/d with the conditional program (gross ny from elderly musicians. 494-4282. E-mail: [email protected]. share),” Pebercan said in a press release. Peer claim contracts with Cuban composers, “Finally, the receivables that the company dating back to the 1930s, were unlawfully PANAMA TRADE OPPORTUNITIES ABOUND has been due from Cupet for several years taken over by the Cuban government, which Since Panama and Cuba signed a reciprocal have been fully settled during January, and came to power in the 1959 revolution. It is investment promotion and protection accord, this boosts the company’s capacity to finance suing a Cuban firm, Termidor Music negotiations and trade have grown substantial- its 2006 work program.” Publishers, who has sought to register itself ly, reported a Cuban official at Expocomer Details: Marc Sengès, General Secretary, in Britain as the owner of the songs’ copy- 2006, the International Panama Fair. Pebercan, 507 place d'Armes, 19e étage, Bur- rights (see CubaNews, July 2005, page 11). Edilia Prince, the Cuban Foreign Ministry’s eau 1900, Montréal, QC H2Y 2W8. Tel: (514) All five composers of the 14 songs at issue director of trade policy for Latin America and 286-5200. E-mail: [email protected]. are now dead, but lawyers for Termidor say the Caribbean, pointed out the potential is their heirs could benefit from royalty pay- enormous, especially in tourism and services, MEXICO’S TRADE SURPLUS WITH CUBA UP 29% ments. When the case opened in May, they as well as for traditional Cuban products like Mexico’s trade surplus with Cuba rose 28.7% claimed the musicians received “at most a few rum, cigars, beer and the Ciego Montero line year-on-year to $181.9 million during the first pesos and maybe a drink of rum.” of water and soda. 11 months of 2005, reversing a downward Luís Gutiérrez, director of fairs and events trend, according to Mexican government for- VENEZUELA, CUBA FORM CREATIVE VENTURES for Cuba’s Chamber of Commerce, comment- eign trade data. Venezuela and Cuba will form three new ed on ensuing talks to send a Panamanian During that same period, Mexican exports joint ventures to be involved in publishing, trade mission to Cuba mid-year, at which time to Cuba stood at $200 million, a 26% year-on- recording and film production. The announce- many more initiatives could surface. year increase. Since 2000, when President ment was made Feb. 13 during the Havana Vicente Fox took office, such exports have PEBERCAN TO SPEND $111m ON CUBA DRILLING International Book Fair. jumped by 106%. The companies will be part of the Cultural Canada’s Pebercan announced an ambitious Mexican exports to Cuba are dominated by Fund of the Bolivarian Alternative for the drilling program during 2006 for its Block 7, aluminum and related products, followed by Americas (ALBA), intended to finance cultural which it holds in a venture with Cuban state other products such as shoe polish, wheat projects for developing countries. petroleum monopoly Cupet. flour, polymers and chemical products, paper In statements to Cuban television, Adán Nine wells are planned — six wells on Santa and corrugated cardboard, iron and steel Chávez, Venezuela’s ambassador to Cuba, said Cruz (four development wells and two assess- wire, and polyvinyl chloride (PVC). ment wells), two wells on Seboruco and one negotiations for creation of the three entities HERZFELD CUBA FUND POSTS RECORD GAINS are well advanced, and that the editorial firm on Canasi (to assess the westward extent of is destined to print books for children and the field). If certain conditions are met, an In late March, the Herzfeld Caribbean Basin adolescents, as well as an analytical magazine. optional program will also be developed with Fund (NASDAQ symbol CUBA) made another The discographic firm will bear the ALBA eight wells to be drilled: Santa Cruz (one record high net asset value of $8.90. This rep- seal, while the film production company will assessment well), one well on Seboruco, four resents a gain of 13.7% year-to-date, unaudited. also carry the ALBA brand. wells on Tarara and two wells on Guanabo. The NAV is up 111.7% from inception (adjust- CANCERVAX, GERMAN DRUG FIRM TO MERGE California-based CancerVax Corp., which Oklahoma seeks $4 million wheat deal with Cuba has been heavily involved in Cuba’s biotech espite the state’s current dry condi- Wheat delivery to Cuba most likely will industry, announced it will merge with tions, Oklahoma wheat is still valu- be in August. Germany’s Micromet AG. able enough to spur a $4 million deal Peach added: “Our location helps make In July 2004, CancerVax announced that it D with Cuba, reports the Daily Oklahoman. us an attractive supplier of agricultural pro- had won U.S. Treasury Department approval ducts to Cuba. Their traditional suppliers to develop three experimental cancer drugs in Officials from the state Agriculture De- have been European and South and Central a venture with a Havana laboratory — mark- partment recently returned from Cuba with ing the first time the Bush administration had a promise from Alimport to buy wheat from American countries, but we can offer lower given its blessing to a deal involving Cuba’s two companies, Wheeler Brothers Grain in transportation rates along with high-quality blossoming biotech industry. Watonga, and W.B. Johnston Grain of Enid. products. They are very much aware of this Under that arrangement, CancerVax and its “We received a verbal commitment that and want to do business with us.” Irish affiliate, Tarcanta Ltd., “obtained exclu- they will purchase 25,000 metric tons of Ok- Oklahoma timber suppliers could also sive rights to complete the clinical develop- lahoma wheat sometime this spring,” said benefit, thanks to high demand for wood ment of three specific active immunotherapeu- state agriculture secretary Terry Peach. products following last year’s damaging tic product candidates that target the epider- “They also showed a great deal of interest hurricane season. mal growth factor receptor signaling pathway in purchasing Oklahoma pork. They asked Details: Mark Hodges, Executive Director, for the treatment of cancer” (see CubaNews, that we send representatives from Oklahoma Wheat Commission, 800 NE August 2004, page 1). Oklahoma companies to Cuba in April for a 63rd, Oklahoma City, OK 73105. Tel: (405) Given its proposed merger with Micromet, trade show where some sort of agreement 521-2796. Fax: (405) 848-0372. E-mail: CancerVax’s future relationship with CIMAB could be finalized.” [email protected]. S.A., the commercial arm of Cuba’s state-run April 2006 ❖ CubaNews 13 ed for distributions). “Nobody has the right to deny any nation tion of the port’s capabilities to load rice in The following are companies in the fund’s the option of nuclear energy for peaceful bulk as well as other products. portfolio which have made new yearly highs use,” said Ricardo Alarcón, president of The port’s business director, Michael Pérez, in 2006: Florida East Coast Industries (FLA), Cuba’s National Assembly, during a visit to said that in 2003, Corpus Christi became the Bancolombia S.A (CIB)., Telefonos de Mexico Havana by Iranian parliament speaker first U.S. port to sign a commercial agreement S.A. de C.V. (TMX), Grupo TMM S.A. (TMM), Gholamali Haddadadel. “What the world aimed at promoting free commercial trade Mastec Inc. (MTZ), Cemex S.A. de C.V. (CX), should fight is the monopoly that some have between the two countries. Grupo Televisa S.A. (TV), Consolidated Water over weapons of mass destruction and, in par- Since then, some 50,000 tons of wheat and Co. (CWCO), Coca Cola Femsa (KOF), Gar- ticular, nuclear arms.” 1,000 tons of beans and other products have min (GRMN), Grupo Casa Saba S.A. de C.V. In 2002, the Bush administration accused been shipped to Cuba through Corpus Christi. (SAB), Watsco (WSO), and Atlantic Telenet- Cuba of developing biological weapons capa- Details: Rubén Bonilla, Port of Corpus Chris- work (ANK). bility and exporting dual-use technology to ti, PO Box 5080, Corpus Christi, TX 78465. Separately, Thomas J. Herzfeld Advisors Iran. Havana insists its $1 billion biotech Tel: (361) 882-5633. Fax: (361) 882-7110. Inc. says the firm’s managed account pro- industry is dedicated to producing medicine, gram, which invests exclusively in closed- such as the world’s only vaccine against CIGAR INDUSTRY FACES UPHILL BATTLE IN 2006 end funds, also made a record high of $2.86 meningitis B. Cuba sold about 160 million cigars last year, million per unit ($600,000 at inception) and up Cuba has exported technology to Iran since in line with recent years’ sales, said a tobacco 6.1% year to date. 1994 and an industrial plant, built on the out- executive quoted by AP. The Herzfeld Caribbean Basin Fund Inc. skirts of Tehran with Cuban know-how, pro- Sales numbers in recent years have aver- (CUBA) is a closed-end fund, listed on NAS- duces interferon and hepatitis B vaccines. aged around 150 million cigars. DAQ, which is the only fund investing in the Manuel Garcia, vice-president of Cuba’s Caribbean Basin. WORLD FOOD PROGRAM FEEDS HUNGRY CUBANS Habanos S.A., told reporters the world market Details: Thomas J. Herzfeld Advisors Inc., Hundreds of thousands of Cubans, particu- for premium cigars is about 400 million, half PO Box 161465, Miami, FL 33116. Tel: (305) larly children and pregnant women, receive of which are sold in the United States. 271-1900. Fax: (305) 270-1040. E-mail: food under projects by the UN World Food European countries are the largest market [email protected]. Program, according to the agency’s new rep- for Cuba’s $350 million cigar industry, led by resentative in Havana. Spain, France and Germany. Asia is also a CUBA SEEKS TO BUY 3 RUSSIAN PLANES Myrta Kaulard told AP that the program growing market for Cuban cigars, Garcia said. A Cuban delegation has expressed interest has invested some $234 million over 40 years Cuba commercializes its premium cigars in purchasing three Russian passenger air- in the projects, which focus on food for vul- exclusively through Habanos, a joint venture lines, after visiting an aircraft manufacturing nerable groups — primarily in the island’s between the island’s government and the plant Friday in Ulyanovsk, about 550 miles eastern regions — and emergency help after Franco-Spanish joint venture Altadis S.A east of Moscow. natural disasters like hurricanes and “We had a very good year in 2005, but the The delegation said it wanted to buy three droughts. uncertainties are growing hourly,” said Simon of the Tu-204-100s from the Aviastar-SP plant Cuba’s main nutritional problem is a lack of Chase, marketing director at Hunters & for Cubana Airlines. Jorge Martí Martínez, vegetables in a diet too rich in grains and oils, Frankau, exclusive Habanos distributors for Cuba’s ambassador in Moscow, said the plane Kaulard said. Frequent hurricanes and a hot, Britain, in an interview with Reuters. “is unique, reliable and competitive in price.” sometimes dry climate also challenge Cuba’s Last month, British lawmakers voted to ban According to Martínez, Cuban airline com- ability to properly feed all people year-round. smoking in all pubs, clubs and indoor public panies already utilize about 20 Russian airlin- Among other things, the WFP spends $5 spaces in England from mid-2007, adding to ers, and that the contract to buy three more million a year to fight anemia. Last year, an the growing list of countries taking a tough planes would be signed soon, after specialists emergency project to feed Cubans affected by stand against smoking. worked out the details of the agreement. drought benefitted 773,000 children. Spain, Cuba’s largest cigar market, banned Martínez also said the quality of education Despite Cuba’s challenges, said Kaulard, smoking in all offices and certain other public offered by the Ulyanovsk Institute of Civil the island has become a donor to the WFP in places as of Jan 1. Aviation was very high, adding that more than recent years, sending crackers to Haiti and “World cigar consumption has not been 400 Cuban pilots, engineers and navigators sugar to Jamaica, Honduras and North Korea. affected yet,” said Habanos vice-president had completed studies there last year. Details: Myrta Kaulard, Country Dir., World Javier Terres. But retailers in Spain are not He said if a contract were signed with Food Programme, Calle 36, #724 e/7ma y17, replenishing their stocks due to the two- Aviastar-SP, Cuba would send more students Playa, La Habana. Tel: +53 7 204-2039. Fax: month-old ban, he told Reuters. to the Ulyanovsk institute. +53 7 204-1505. E-mail: [email protected]. CUBA LEADS CARIBBEAN IN TOURISM GROWTH IRAN CEMENTS CONTROVERSIAL CUBA TIES PORT OF CORPUS CHRISTI, ALIMPORT SIGN MoU In 2005, the Caribbean received over 42 mil- Iran has agreed to build a $200 million The Port of Corpus Christi, Tex., and Cu- lon visitors, but the pace of growth was half cement plant in Cuba, reports the Tehran- ban food purchasing agency Alimport have that of the previous two years, says the based Mehr News Agency. signed an agreement to promote commercial Caribbean Tourism Organization. In addition, Iran will also construct a power trade between the United States and Cuba. Last year, Cuba received 2.3 million tourists, plant aimed at generating at least 500 to 1,500 Prensa Latina, quoting Alimport Chairman a 13.2% jump, while the Dominican Republic MW of electricity for Cuba. In addition, says Pedro Alvarez, says that “by signing this welcomed 3.7 million tourists, a 7% increase. the agency, “the Islamic Republic will supply agreement, Alimport commits itself to Tourism in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin the raw materials and chemicals needed for increasing its imports from that U.S. port, Islands, meanwhile, grew by around 3%. rubber and plastic production in Cuba.” which will be immediately implemented.” On Feb. 14, Cuba broke its one-day record Mohsen Shaterzadeh, an official with the Port Director Rubén Bonilla handed over the with 65,280 arrivals. Previously, the highest Iranian Ministry of Industries and Mines, said keys of Corpus Christi to Alvarez, who offi- mark was reached on Mar. 25, 2005, with bilateral trade has increased from $20 million cially invited the city’s mayor to visit Cuba in 64,956 visitors registered in hotels and other to around $90 million. He predicted that April for an annual business meeting. tourism facilities, according to a report “trade volume between the two countries will Alvarez explained that Cuba imports released by the Cuban Ministry of Tourism. soon hit $600 million.” 100,000 tons of U.S. frozen chicken per year Over the last 15 years, Cuba has averaged It helps that Fidel Castro is one of the under TSRA, and that he seeks a container- 14% annual growth. This year, tourist authori- strongest defenders of Iran’s controversial ship connection between Corpus Christi and ties expect a 10% jump in arrivals to 2.5 mil- nuclear energy program. Havana. Other prospects include the evalua- lion, and an 8.1% rise in tourism income. 14 CubaNews ❖ April 2006 RELIGION Cuba’s Jewish community mourns loss of longtime leader BY LARRY LUXNER Cuba, it’s because of his leadership. It was his job, his work, his life.” t was December 1999 — barely two years after Pope John Paul II’s Miller was born in Sancti Spíritus province in 1925; his parents had visit to officially atheist Cuba — and Fidel Castro was meeting with moved to Cuba from Lithuania in the early 1900s. He studied dentistry I70 religious leaders on the touchy subject of declaring Dec. 25 a at the University of Havana and was considered one of the island’s best national holiday. specialists in facial reconstruction surgery. Castro then turned to Dr. José Miller, president of Cuba’s 1,200- Since 1981, Miller had also been the president of the Patronato, a member Jewish community, and asked for his opinion of Christmas, large synagogue in Havana’s once-fashionable Vedado district. After a given that no Jewish holidays were being heart attack forced him to retire in 1994, Miller dedicated himself to given equal consideration. saving Cuba’s dwindling Jewish community from extinction. Miller stood up and declared that “as a Jew, To that end, he managed to revive smaller synagogues in Camagüey I would feel very happy with the designation and Santiago de Cuba. But he was also criticized by Cuban exiles in of Dec. 25 as a national holiday, because after Miami as a tool of the Castro regime for refusing to support the dissi- all, what is Christmas if not the celebration of dent movement or speak out against repression in Cuba. one of the greatest Jews in history, Jesus of “The government does not manipulate me,” Miller insisted in a 2003 Nazareth?” interview with CubaNews. “What interests me is how Castro acts tow- That story is told by Rev. José López, sec- ard the Jewish community. I don’t ask anyone in the Jewish communi- retary of the Cuban Council of Churches. ty what he thinks about politics. We’re not pro-Castro or anti-Castro López considered himself a close friend of here. If someone wants to be a dissident, let him be one — but not Miller, who died Feb. 27 at the age of 80. inside the Patronato.” “We will never forget his words on many Dr. José Miller Avner Tavori, a spokesman for the World Jewish Congress, called occasions that showed his love for Cuba, his Miller “a veteran friend and leader of the Jewish community in Cuba, Jewish principles and affection for his Christian brethren,” López said. where he maintained authentic Judaism in the most creative way.” “He was the person who, for many years, insisted that the Jewish Praise also came from Stanley Cohen, international chairman of the community belong to the Cuban Council of Churches. He always got B’nai B’rith Cuban Jewish Relief Project (see CubaNews, January 2006, the same answer, that we were an organization of churches, of believ- page 15). ers in Christ,” he said, adding that finally, after careful consideration, “Dr. Miller was a true humanitarian and leader, and without his guid- Miller was welcomed as a “fraternal associate” and thereafter invited ance over these many years, I do not believe that the community could to all official functions. be as vibrant as it is today,” said Cohen. “He was not only a good friend, Eddie Levy, chairman of the South Florida organization Jewish but a brother in our work to make the Jewish community of Cuba Solidarity, told the Miami Herald: “If there is a Jewish community in strong. At this point, I have no idea who will take his place.” ❑ Church groups challenge OFAC on religious travel to Cuba ver 100 members of Congress are chal- larly dismaying because, for many denomina- more closely monitor the specific program of lenging the Treasury Department’s tions, the individual church is not a separate religious activities in Cuba.” Orules that have halted the ability of legal entity and it’s viewed as the local level of While Millerwise declined to comment on some religious organizations to travel to Cuba. the national church,” said Martin Shupack, individual licenses, Rev. Stan Hastey, execu- “We understand the complicated political associate director for public policy in the tive director of the Washington-based Alliance reality that exists between the U.S. and Cuban Washington office of Church World Service, of Baptists, said he received a warning letter governments,” reads a Mar. 3 letter spear- which now has a more restricted license. last year and sent documentation about some headed by Reps. James P. McGovern (D-MA), “That seems to be making decisions ... on 300 travelers who went on more than 20 trips Jeff Flake (R-AZ) and Barbara Lee (D-CA). religious matters that’s beyond the compe- to Cuba over an 18-month period. “However, we believe it is inappropriate and tence of the government.” Hastey learned in June that his organiza- unacceptable for politics and government to The growing reaction to regulation chan- tion’s license was suspended because one serve as a hurdle and now as a barrier to faith- ges comes after the policy was modified in group’s itinerary “did not demonstrate a pro- based connections between individuals. If any- September 2004 and some religious organiza- gram of full-time religious activities.” He said thing, these connections foster greater reli- tions were issued warnings about it in March that trip included an overnight stay at a beach gious freedom in Cuba and contribute to a se- 2005. Since then, some mainstream religious resort that has ties to a religious group. verely lacking. free-flowing exchange of ideas organizations have found that their requests “The purpose of the overnight there was to between the two countries,” the letter states. to OFAC for license renewal were denied. visit a church, not to go to the beach,” he said. Adelle Banks of Religion News Service “OFAC previously issued religious organi- He now cannot travel to Cuba unless his own writes that the 105 signatories include repre- zations broad licenses that allowed them to Washington congregation applies for a sentatives of the National Council of Chur- select who they wanted to travel and placed license, which it has not yet done. ches, the American Baptist Churches USA no restriction on the number of travelers,” Some religious leaders say their contact and the Alliance of Baptists — which no spokeswoman Molly Millerwise told RNS. with Cubans has been reduced from regular longer have licenses — and organizations “However, OFAC became aware that a trips to e-mail correspondence. such as the Presbyterian Church (USA) number of large organizations were abusing “We no longer have personal contact with whose Cuban travel has new restrictions. their religious travel licenses by soliciting par- our global partners in Cuba and we can no Religious leaders say they’re perplexed by ticipation beyond their own organizations for longer participate in missions trips between the actions of Treasury Office of Foreign As- trips to Cuba, yielding less control of the trav- the two denominations and our partners in sets Control, which has given individual con- el groups and their activities in Cuba.” Cuba," said the Rev. Elizabeth Carrasquillo, gregations less restrictive licenses than the She added that some congregations are program associate for the Latin America and ones national religious groups have had. permitted to have a broader license, “where Caribbean office of Global Ministries, the mis- “The issue of individual congregations still leaders of the groups are more likely to know sion arm for the Christian Church (Disciples being able to get general licenses is particu- the individuals personally and are able to of Christ) and the United Church of Christ. ❑ April 2006 ❖ CubaNews 15 RELIGION RELIGION BRIEFS CASTRO INVITES NEW POPE TO VISIT CUBA Bible distributors spread the Gospel Fidel Castro has invited Pope Benedict XVI BY DOUGLASS NORVELL Bibles in Cuba and CEO Steve Thomas says to visit Cuba, says Italian news agency ANSA. Castro extended the invitation in late Febru- ant to see a divinely inspired market- he’s “blessed to have a good relationship with the government.” ary via Cardinal Raffaele Martino. The cardi- ing plan that puts foreign products in nal’s visit follows Benedict’s recent suggestion at least 10% of Cuban households? Working through a Bible society in Matan- W zas, the Herald has delivered 40,000 Bibles so for Cuba to “open its heart” to God and the Then take a look at U.S.-based Bible distribu- rest of the world. tors, who have worked within the framework far, using a logistics manager in Spain. The last batch was printed in Colombia, but the The late Pope John Paul II made the first of a self-proclaimed godless state with aston- papal visit to Cuba in 1998, around the same ishing results: Bibles are being shipped into Herald shops for the best deal. Even with the best deals, the Herald is more expensive than time that Castro granted some rights to the Cuba by the hundreds of thousands. the slimmed down Bibles published by the Catholic Church in Cuba, though not many. Business models and marketing strategies WBDC, coming in at $5.75 per copy. BBC, commenting on the report, said it differ significantly among Bible distributors Horizon International, a California Bible came as a surprise, not least because it was focused on Cuba. distributor, serves a special market niche — Joseph Ratzinger who personally drafted the The corporate steamroller of Bible distribu- illustrated children’s Bibles — and has deliv- Vatican’s first tough denunciation of liberation tion is the World Bible Distribution Center in ered 150,000 copies thus far. theology and its link to Marxism in the 1980s. Dallas, where CEO Dale Randolph reports At The Bible Site, God’s own Soldiers of For- Cuban Cardinal Jaime Ortega said the Feb- deliveries of 100,000 New Testaments to Cuba tune claim to represent “persecuted Chris- ruary meeting took place in an atmosphere of in 2003. Recently, Randolph sealed a deal to tians” who “dare to make contact” by distrib- great cordiality, with “words of great friend- ship another 100,000 complete Bibles during uting Bibles in Cuba. The group’s manifesto is ship for the Pope uttered by President Castro.” 2006 at a delivery cost of $4 apiece. available in a book advertised on its website FARRAKHAN, IN CUBA, DENOUNCES U.S. POLICY “We work closely with the lady in charge of entitled, “The End of the Spear” and pictures religious affairs,” said Randolph. “Her second a light plane flying off into the high jungle. No The Nation of Islam’s controversial leader, in command wants a million copies.” one could be reached at the group’s contact Louis Farrakhan, criticized the Bush adminis- Randolph’s “lady in charge” is Rodhe Gon- number, presumably because its members tration’s response to the Katrina disaster and zales Zorilla, the secretary of Cuba’s Consejo were busy sharpening their spears. expressed his loyalty to the Cuban revolution de Iglesias, which coordinates relations with All is not rosy between the Cuban govern- during a visit to Havana last month. ecclesiastical organizations at home and ment and the Bible distribution industry. The Farrakhan, well-known in the United States abroad. An administration insider and a player Voice of the Martrys at persecution.com for his anti-Semitic and racist views, became in religious circles, Zorilla regularly appears in reports that on Oct. 9, 2005, five secret police leader of the Nation of Islam in 1977 and is a Granma, the Party mouthpiece. burst into a home in Colón and seized a small prominent figure in the African-American Not to let such a powerful force such as col- printing press and printed copies of the community. The Nation of Islam currently has lective Christianity go unchecked, the Castro Gospels of St. John. mosques in over 120 cities throughout the regime has a watchdog agency, the Office of Apparently, you can import, but not pro- United States, Europe and the Caribbean. Religious Affairs, which is a part of the Cen- duce Bibles in Cuba. According to Prensa Latina, “this is the tral Committee of the Communist Party. This Given this success, corporate readers may third time that Farrakhan has visited Cuba office counsels over 100 religious groups that want to study the tactics of Bible distributors and his invariable position in solidarity and include Jews and Yorubas, but not Catholics. operating in Cuba. Warning: for full coopera- defense of the Revolution has been main- The “Herald of Truth” also distributes full tion, a small donation may be required. ❑ tained during the years.” Seventh-day Adventists dedicate new church in Camagüey ore than 1,000 Seventh-day Adventists and visitors attended said. explaining that the building had been condemned. the Feb. 15 dedication of a new church sanctuary in Cama- He then noticed on the back wall a picture of the biblical patriarch Mgüey, the third-largest city in Cuba. Adventist believers were Jacob struggling with the angel. “The thought came to me: Why not joined at the convocation by top Communist Party officials, the bish- have this church pray to God and see if God doesn’t provide the same op of the Catholic Church and other religious leaders, reports the results today as he did before? And so I asked the church to pray and Maryland-based Adventist News Network. they did.” Camagüey’s new Iglesia Adventista de Garrido was built by For more than 30 years, says the Adventist News Network, “the Maranatha Volunteers International, an Adventist lay organization. church in Cuba has suffered extreme difficulties, but it has flourished Since 1994, when Maranatha first came to Cuba, 80 buildings have and emerged as an energetic, excited and positive influence in Cuba.” been refurbished and 100 new churches have been built. Seventh-day Today, says ANN, “the Castro government is interested in seeing Adventists now make up Cuba’s largest Protestant denomination, churches involved in solving Cuba’s social dilemmas, including rising with 29,000 congregants worshipping in 560 churches, large and crime and drug use. Some see this interaction as a convenient rela- small. That’s up from 117 church buildings only nine years ago. tionship, but the freedom to worship by singing, praying and meeting Daniel Fontaine, president of the church in Cuba, says as many as together opens unimaginable doors for the church that today is more 35,000 people come to church weekly. “Church membership has alive than ever.” more than doubled since 1994 as a direct result of the work of Fontaine says that besides evangelism, “the church has certain Maranatha,” he said, noting that in the mid-1990s Maranatha also programs that [as much as we can] we try to implement and help the remodeled the church headquarters in Havana, the seminary com- community, for example, programs to stop smoking, for family plex including the administration building, dormitories and a multi- growth, to prevent domestic violence and conduct health seminars.” purpose building with a cafeteria and dining area. Fontaine adds that the church continues to “ask for access to the Don Noble, Maranatha’s president, calls Garrido a miracle. press, TV and radio so that through them we can communicate with “When they first brought me to the church [in 2001], it had been the people. We’ve accomplished some of that, but we’d like to do destroyed by bats. So we affectionately called it the ‘bat’ church,” he more. We’ve been promised that it will happen.” 16 CubaNews ❖ April 2006 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 (954) 977-2923 or send e-mail to [email protected]. thanks to CubaNews. Now find out what’s happening in the rest of this diverse and fast-growing region. Apr. 4-6: 10th Annual Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Investment Conference, Fairmont Subscribe to Caribbean UPDATE, a Southampton, Bermuda. Cost: $975. Details: Caribbean Hotel Association, 1000 Ponce de monthly newsletter founded in 1985. Cor- porate and government executives, as well León Avenue, 5th Floor, San Juan, Puerto Rico 00907. Tel: (787) 725-9139. Fax: (787) as scholars and journalists, depend on this publication for its insightful, timely cover- 725-9108. E-mail: [email protected]. URL: www.caribbeaninvestment.org. age of the 30-plus nations and territories of the Caribbean and Central America. Apr. 13: “Doing Business in Cuba,” Citrus Club, Orlando, Fla. Co-sponsors include A.R. When you receive your first issue, you have two options: (a) pay the accompany- Savage & Son of Tampa, Gulfstream International Airlines of Miami, National Foreign ing invoice and your subscription will be Trade Council, USA*Engage, Alamar Associates and the Fund for Reconciliation and processed; (b) if you’re not satisfied, just write “cancel” on the invoice and return it. Development. Cost: $175. Details: US-Cuba Trade Association, 2300 M St. NW, Suite #800, There is no further obligation on your part. Washington, DC 20037. Tel: (202) 530-5236. Fax: (202) 530-5235. URL: www.uscuba.org. The cost of a subscription to Caribbean UPDATE is $267 per year. A special rate of $134 is available to academics, non-profit Apr. 25-29: CTC-8 Conference on Sustainable Tourism Development, Condado Plaza organizations and additional subscriptions Hotel, San Juan, Puerto Rico. Cost: $300. Details: CTO, New York. Tel: (212) 635-9530. mailed to the same address. To order, contact Caribbean UPDATE at 116 Myrtle Ave., Millburn, NJ 07041, call us May 9-10: 6th Euromoney/LatinFinance Caribbean Investment Forum, Sherbourne Con- at (973) 376-2314, visit our new website at ference Centre, Bridgetown, Barbados. Key speakers include prime ministers of Antigua, www.caribbeanupdate.org or send an e-mail to [email protected]. We accept Grenada, Barbados and St. Lucia. 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May 24-Jun. 29: University of Miami Semester in Cuban Studies. “An intensive program of studies to learn and understand Cuban history, culture and contemporary events.” The courses are “Cuba After Castro” taught by Andy S. Gómez and “History of Cuba” taught by Brian Latell and Jaime Suchlicki. Cost: $5,316 (courses may be audited for $250 each). Details: Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies, PO Box 248174, Miami, FL Editor & Publisher 33124. Tel: (305) 284-2822. Fax: (305) 284-4875. URL: www.miami.edu/miamisemester. ■ LARRY LUXNER ■

Washington correspondent May 25-27: “Women, Gender and Rights,” Hotel Nacional, Havana. Sponsored by Natio- ■ ANA RADELAT ■

nal Union of Jurists, Federation of Cuban Women & National Center for Sexual Education. Political analyst Details: Yamila González Ferrer, Organizer. Tel: +53 7 832-8680. Fax: +53 7 833-3382. ■ DOMINGO AMUCHASTEGUI ■ Feature writers Jun. 13-16: 7th International Conference on Disasters, Pabexpo, Havana. Details: José ■ VITO ECHEVARRÍA ■ ■ HELEN SIMON ■ Llanes Guerra. E-mail: [email protected]. URL: www.loseventos.cu/desastres2006. Cartographer ■ ARMANDO H. PORTELA ■

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