Vol. 17, No. 6 June 2009

www.cubanews.com

In the News Telecom ventures show huge potential,

Sixto: ‘I’m sorry’ but face political obstacles in U.S., Cuba Rising political star Felipe Sixto admits BY ANA RADELAT Cuba did from the traffic — and probably much greed destroyed his dream ...... Page 3 uba received more than $214 million from more — since Cuba’s share of the income is U.S. telephone companies last year, capped by U.S. law. Most phone traffic between Where’s the ball? Caccording to documents released by the the two countries originates in the United U.S. Treasury Department — making the pay- States, by exiles calling their families in Cuba. Rest of world still waits for Obama admin- ments a bigger source of foreign exchange for The number of long-distance calls between istration to make a move ...... Page 4 Cuba than sugar, and nearly as big as cigars. Cuba and the United States has steadily in- The phone payments are also a clear indica- creased since the 1992 Cuba Democracy Act Newsmakers tion of how much Cuba could benefit from ex- allowed U.S. telecom companies and the Cuban panded telecommunications links with the state phone monopoly to enter into agreements Cuban top blogger Yoani Sánchez irritates United States. to open direct communications lines. the authorities with her hugely popular “That’s a huge chunk of change, considering The $214 million Cuba received from U.S. the limited amount of traffic the island allows,” telephone traffic in 2008 is a huge increase from ‘Generación Y’ online column ...... Page 8 said Enrique Lopez, a global telecom consultant the $54 million it earned from those fees in 1995 and chief of Miami-based AKL Group. — the first full year contracts were in place 2.5% growth, if that Lopez said Cuba has only 11 phones per 100 between U.S telecom firms and Empresa de Cuba revises 2009 GDP growth forecast inhabitants. International traffic is often limited Telecomunicaciones de Cuba SA (Etecsa). by the Cuban government, he said, whenever Initially, AT&T provided most of the long-dis- from 6% to 2.5% — or less ...... Page 9 there’s an “event” in Cuba, such as rumors of tance service, but other companies, including Fidel Castro’s death or a new report of a crisis Sprint (now Sprint Nextel) and MCI Worldcom, CYO: Room to grow in his health. (now Verizon Business) also signed contracts to Cayo Largo del Sur’s international airport Yet U.S. carriers earned at least as much as See Telecom, page 3 has space, but few tourists ...... Page 10 Center for a Free Cuba gets a new boss: Orbitz chimes in Online travel giant launches site to protest controversial ex-USINT chief Jim Cason U.S. travel ban to Cuba ...... Page 11 BY TRACEY EATON ing to destabilize the socialist regime. And Cas- Farm future gloomy ot long after James Cason became tro loyalists describe its executive director, Frank Calzón, as a former CIA “mercenary.” Official statistics paint dismal picture of America’s top diplomat in Havana, Fidel NCastro called him a “bully with diplomat- A lawyer for Calzón denies the accusations, Cuba’s agriculture output ...... Page 12 ic immunity.” telling Counterpunch in 2005 he’s “never been Cason left the federal government last year, employed by the CIA” and has “has never sup- Tensions at the top but he has a familiar mission: He’s trying once ported violence as a means of liberating Cuba.” Cuban officials attack pro-democracy groups, Analyst Brian Latell analyzes growing fric- again to bring democracy to Cuba. Cason has been named president of the Cason said, because they’re worried about los- tion among Cuba’s leaders ...... Page 14 Center for a Free Cuba, a pro-democracy group ing political control. Already, he said, Cuban based in Washington, D.C. He said a top priori- bloggers have started to break through the Another drought ty will be to “help Cubans get information about socialist government’s grip on information. “Bloggers are dangerous,” Cason, 64, told Lack of rainfall across most of Cuba raises the world and also tell their side of the story.” “That’s the real challenge,” said the diplomat. CubaNews in a recent interview. “The whole alarm for crops, livestock ...... Page 15 “Getting past the censors.” idea of a dictatorship is that you have to control The nonprofit Center for a Free Cuba is a the flow of information. But bloggers are finding CubaNews (ISSN 1073-7715) is published monthly leading recipient of U.S. aid for the island. In ways to communicate. The Cuban government by Luxner News Inc. © 2009. All rights reserved. recent years, it has sent thousands of shortwave is extremely afraid of them.” Subscriptions: $429 for one year, $800 for two years. radios and boxes of books and human rights A senior Cuban official denied that the Castro For editorial inquires, please call (301) 452-1105 regime worries about information from abroad. or send an e-mail to: [email protected]. pamphlets to Cuba. Fidel has blasted the group, accusing it of try- See Cason, page 2 2 CubaNews ❖ June 2009 He quickly put the socialist government on Cason began his part-time job with the Cason — FROM PAGE 1 the defensive. Dozens of American business Center for a Free Cuba in April. He said he’ll “We’re already vaccinated against that,” people had just traveled to Havana for a high- work out of Miami and travel to Washington said the official, who spoke on condition of profile trade show. Cason warned them to when necessary. anonymity. He noted that millions of foreign stay away, calling Cuba “an international USAID is the source of most of the center’s tourists — including hundreds of thousands deadbeat,” a “Freddie the freeloader” with a funding, giving it more than $8 million from of Americans — have visited Cuba in the past “Jurassic Park economy.” 1998 to 2005, the CANF study said. It received decade, and the government hasn’t fallen. Cason also stepped up efforts to help dissi- another $4.29 million in 2006 and 2007. U.S. officials dents and human rights activists, which some CANF estimates that 29% of the center’s say they’re push- critics say led to a huge crackdown, the so- funds in 2005 were spent in Cuba. That was ing for a peaceful called “Black Spring” of 2003 when 75 Cubans higher than some other pro-democracy transition to dem- were jailed. organizations. Only 3% of one group’s funds ocracy in Cuba were spent in Cuba that year. and, toward that CENTER IS ONE OF USAID’S TOP RECIPIENTS CANF is asking federal officials to require end, they’ve sunk State-run media accused Cason of trying “to that pro-democracy groups spend at least 75% millions of dollars foment the internal counterrevolution.” of their resources in Cuba. That way, the foun- into pro-democra- He was unapologetic, telling a reporter in dation says, these groups will “truly bolster cy programs. July 2005 that “...in almost 47 years, nothing the efforts of Cuba’s brave activists.” Since 1996, the has come from being polite to a dictator.” Cason said the Center for a Free Cuba is U.S. Agency for Cason left Cuba in September 2005 and committed to sending as many resources as International went on to Paraguay where he served as U.S. possible to the island. He described the cen- Development has ambassador in Asuncíon for three years. In ter as a streamlined organization with low distributed more administrative costs. than $65 million October 2008, he quit the Foreign Service Retired diplomat Jim Cason and settled in South Florida. Many Cuban- “We don’t even have a secretary,” he said. in pro-democracy Authorities in Cuba block access to the funds to NGOs and universities, said the Americans there applaud the confrontational approach he took in Havana. group’s website: http://cubacenter.org. Cason Cuban American National Foundation. takes that as a sign the group is effective, but But “a lack of oversight and accountability” “Everywhere I go in Miami, people know has made many of these programs “utterly me,” Cason said proudly. he conceded that turning Cuba into a democ- ineffective,” the CANF concluded in March Of all the men and women who have held racy won’t be easy. 2008 (see CubaNews, May 2008, page 1). that post, none has done more to advocate for “A lot of people would love to see change on Cuban liberty than Amb. Cason,” wrote Hen- the island,” he said. “But these are 80-year-old Only 17% of U.S. aid from 1998 to 2006 actu- ❑ ally reached the island, the CANF study said. ry Louis Gómez, editor of the Babalú Blog. guys. They’re not going to change.” The rest of the money went toward research, office supplies, administration, salaries and other expenses in the United States. Felipe Sixto admits greed destroyed his dream “Cuba’s embattled opposition finds itself with little material support from the United ising Cuban-American star Felipe his November 2008 arrest. States as a result of the misdirection of tens of Sixto always wanted to be a lawyer and Prosecutors say he would have kept steal- millions of dollars in U.S. funds,” CANF said. R a politician. His grandfather was the ing if he hadn’t gotten caught. Complicating matters, federal authorities in mayor of Holguin before the 1959 revolution “He only agreed to repay the funds he 2008 charged a former Center for a Free Cuba and his great-uncle was a senator and a vice- embezzled when he was threatened with employee of stealing more than $500,000 in presidential candidate. criminal prosecution,” said a government pro-democracy funds (see box, right). And Sixto might have done it, too. At 29, sentencing document filed Mar. 11. he had just started his dream job at the Sixto admitted buying shortwave radios CASON: CUBA’S A ‘FREDDIE THE FREELOADER’ White House. But then federal authorities through companies he created, then resell- After his arrest, Felipe Sixto admitted buy- accused him of stealing more than half a mil- ing the equipment to the center for a higher ing bulk shipments of Chinese radios via com- lion dollars from the nonprofit Center for a price. He said greed drove him. panies he created, then reselling the equip- Free Cuba — and his world crumbled. “Many people have asked me why I com- ment to the center for a higher price. On Mar. 18, U.S. District Judge Reggie B. mitted the offense. My answer unfortunate- “This case is more than an employee sim- Walton sentenced Sixto to 30 months in jail. ly is based on greed and selfishness,” he ply stealing from his employer,” said a Mar. 11 His family and lawyer had sought probation. said in a Mar. 11 pre-sentencing statement. court document. “It is about a man who over Others asking for leniency included Car- “As a family man I should have thought of the course of years engaged in an intricate los Alberto Montaner, a Cuban author and the consequence of my actions and should scheme to defraud an organization chartered noted critic of the Castro regime, and Car- never have put my family in danger. I under- to help people who were of his own heritage.” melo Mesa-Lago, author of over 60 books stand that I was stupid and selfish.” and ex-director of the University of Pitts- Prosecutors initially accused Sixto of em- According to court documents, Sixto gra- bezzling $541,075. Sixto later estimated the burgh’s Center for Latin American Studies. In his Jan. 21 letter, Montaner said Sixto is duated from high school in 1998, traveled to figure was $576,900, which included $10,200 Cuba twice in 2001, graduated from Florida for a piano, $5,000 for artwork and $16,000 for not “an evil person or a habitual offender” and is “deserving a second chance in life.” International University and joined the Cen- travel and lodging. He apologized for the ter for a Free Cuba in February 2003, earn- crime and a judge in March gave him a 30- Mesa-Lago, in his Jan. 15 letter, said Sixto was one of the top 10 students he’s had in 35 ing $35,000. He left during the summer of month prison sentence. 2007 and was earning $65,000 per year. Cason said the center reported the crime years and was “an incredibly hard worker.” immediately after discovering it. He asked the judge to be “merciful.” In July 2007, Sixto began working at the “We were the victim,” Cason said. “The guy Sixto could have gotten up to 10 years in White House earning $55,000 per year. He was just a crook. And he’s in jail.” jail and a fine of more than $1 million, court accepted a $102,000-per-year position as spe- Cason spent most of his diplomatic career records show. But he apologized. He sold cial assistant to the president, but resigned in Latin America before relocating to Cuba in his belongings and borrowed from his after three weeks because of the criminal late 2002 to head the U.S. Interests Section, father to repay the money he stole. He ad- charges against him. Washington’s de facto embassy in Havana. mitted he had made a terrible mistake after – TRACEY EATON June 2009 ❖ CubaNews 3 Last year, Sprint had the largest access to “The carrot is the money but the stick is Telecom — FROM PAGE 1 Cuban long-distance market through these going to be loss of control,” he noted. provide direct service. hub agreements, paying Etecsa $72.8 million Obama wants U.S. companies to establish But the telephone deals between Cuba and for its Cuba business (see chart, above right). fiberoptic cables and satellite facilities, and the United States soon soured — offering per- Taylor said his company is still paying only allow roaming service agreements with tele- haps a glimpse of the challenges that may 60 cents a minute to Etecsa. com providers in Cuba. face President Obama’s plan to expand U.S. But Lopez said there’s no way Treasury can Two months have elapsed since the presi- telecommunications with Cuba. monitor payments U.S. carriers make to Cuba dent announced his Cuba initiative. But the Obama announced Apr. 13 that he’d let U.S. because the payments are made through Treasury still hasn’t provided U.S. companies firms to provide satellite TV, computer, cell- with any guidance on how the new trade phone and other telecom services to Cuba U.S. TELECOM PAYMENTS TO CUBA would be regulated. (see CubaNews, May 2009, page 1). “We are working closely with other agen- But the first attempt to open up such trade COMPANY AMOUNT cies to finalize these regulations as quickly as was constrained by the Cuban Democracy Sprint Nextel $72,794,349 we can,” a Treasury official said. But the Obama administration has con- Act’s limits on how much Cuba could earn AT&T 55,753,108 from that commerce. straints on what those regulations could Telecom New Zealand* 36,927,050 allow. The Cuban Democracy Act and other It capped Cuba’s share of long-distance fees Verizon Business 22,761,986 federal laws concerning the embargo prohib- to no more than 60 cents a minute. And the Tata Communications* 11,013,107 it U.S. companies from investing in Cuban United States angered the Cuban government iBasis Inc. 8,085,695 telecom infrastructure or establishing other in 2000 by tapping phone revenue that had types of equipment on the island. An act of been frozen by the embargo to pay millions of LD Telecommunications 6,513,744 TLD de Puerto Rico 596,102 Congress would be necessary to change dollars of a court judgment to families of exile those restrictions. pilots whose planes were shot down by the 2008 payments. Source: U.S. Treasury Department. *U.S. subsidiaries Cuban Air Force in 1996. FUTURE ROLE FOR U.S. SMALL BUSINESS? third parties — the foreign companies U.S. GROWING THE ECONOMY VS. LOSS OF CONTROL Sprint’s Taylor wouldn’t say whether his carriers now use to route their calls to Cuba. company would take advantage of Obama’s Cuba responded by imposing a 10% tax on “There are too many companies involved,” opening. AT&T and other companies also U.S.-Cuba telephone traffic. The Treasury Lopez said. declined comment. Department warned U.S. carriers they were Mexico’s Telmex, Canada’s Teleglobe and Lopez said they’re all likely awaiting the forbidden from paying that tax, said Sprint Telecom Italia are the major third parties regulations to see whether new business spokesman John Taylor. involved in U.S.-Cuba telephone traffic. would be profitable — or even possible. Cuba retaliated by cutting the direct lines Lopez said expansion of telecommunica- American companies must also weigh the risk that had been established. Ever since then, tions business with the United States would involved in doing business with Cuba, he said, phone calls between the United States and be very lucrative for Cuba’s struggling econo- since Cuba could end agreements if there’s a Cuba are routed through “hub agreements” my. But it would also threaten the regime’s new political flap or if the Castro regime felt with foreign carriers. need to control sources of information. threatened by an explosion of information. “A Cuban with a cell phone is an instant reporter,” said López. Washington, Havana to start migration talks Despite the difficulties posed by his tele- com initiative, Obama’s offer to loosen restric- uba has agreed to open talks with the 2003. Those were the highest-level talks tions has sparked interest on Capitol Hill. United States on issues ranging from between the two sides. Sen. Mary Landrieu, head of the Senate Cimmigration to anti-narcotics cooper- Bolaños also expressed interest in an Small Business Committee wrote Treasury ation and direct mail service, the Washing- earlier Obama administration proposal to Secretary Tim Geithner on May 11, asking ton Post said May 31, quoting a senior State work toward resuming direct U.S. mail him to make sure the new regulations offered Department official. service to the island, the official said. It has opportunities for small businesses. The resumption of serious bilateral dia- been years since such service existed. Landrieu said she understood only 11% of logue, first reported by CubaNews last CubaNews couldn’t reach Bolaños for Cuba’s people have phone service, 2% mobile month (see CubaNews, May 2009, page 1) comment; Havana’s top diplomat in Wash- phone service and 12% access to computers. is a sign that the Castro regime is warming ington rarely speaks to the press. “With these figures in mind, there appears to President Obama’s call for a new rela- The Cubans also indicated they’d like to to be room for significant growth in the tionship after 50 years of tension. explore the possibilities of additional dia- Cuban telecommunications industry and, in The breakthrough, the Post noted, came logue on counter-narcotics, counter-terror- turn, great opportunities for U.S. businesses,” shortly before Secretary of State Hillary ism and disaster response, the official said. wrote the Democrat from Louisiana. Clinton’s trip to Latin Ameica, where she’s The two governments already work togeth- She asked Geithner whether Small Busi- expected to face pressure to make further er informally to stop drug runners. ness Administration and Export-Import Bank gestures to Cuba, including allowing it into Most Latin American nations want to lift loans could be used to help U.S. firms enter the Organization of American States. a 47-year-old ban on Cuba’s membership in the Cuban telecom market and whether the The State Department official, briefing the OAS at the group’s annual assembly Obama administration “plans to encourage reporters on condition of anonymity, called Jun. 2 in San Pedro Sula, Honduras. the Cuban government to support joint ven- Cuba’s move “a very positive development” “They have to be willing to take the con- tures” between U.S. and Cuban companies. and added: “It’s our hope this will be under- crete steps necessary to meet those princi- In his response, Geithner politely directed stood in the region in a positive way.” ples,” Clinton recently told Congress. Landrieu to pose her question to the Com- No date was set yet for the talks. “We’ve been very clear about that: move merce Department and SBA “as those issues On May 30, Jorge Bolaños, head of the toward democracy, release political prison- fall under their purview.” Cuban Interests Section in Washington, for- ers, respect fundamental freedoms.” An aide to Landrieu said Geithner’s answer “wasn’t as substantial as we had hoped for.” ❑ mally accepted a U.S. offer — made earlier The Castro regime claims it doesn’t even last month — to re-open immigration talks want to be re-admitted into the OAS, which Ana Radelat is a Washington-based freelance that the Bush administration had halted in suspended Cuba’s membership in 1962. journalist and has been covering Capitol Hill for CubaNews since the publication’s birth in 1993. 4 CubaNews ❖ June 2009 POLITICAL ANALYSIS Barack Obama’s Cuba policy: Where’s the ball exactly? BY DOMINGO AMUCHASTEGUI termine the best way to foster democratic After the Summit of the Americas in Port of he Obama administration, ever since change in Cuba and improve the lives of the Spain, the approach and actions by Obama’s April, when it eliminated the travel and Cuban people” (Geithner). foreign-policy team have taken a turn for the remittance restrictions imposed by Washington hopes to implement a “policy worse. Clinton said at congressional hearing T that the Castro regime is in a terminal phase, George W. Bush in 2004 — says the ball is on that will result in a change in Cuba that could bring about a democratic society” (David- about to crumble sooner than later. the Cuban side. But to the rest of the world, it ow), while “the Cubans can work on the kind “We want to see the Cuban government’s remains very much on the U.S. side. of grass-roots democracy that is necessary to reciprocity,” said State Department spokes- Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, a few move Cuba to a better future” (Restrepo). man Robert Wood. “We have some serious days after the summit in Port of Spain, could “We have changed our policy in ways that concerns about the lack of democracy in not have said it better: “We’re facing an we believe will advance liberty and opportu- Cuba. And we want to see steps taken to almost united front against the United States nity for the Cuban people” (Steinberg), and improve the situation there.” regarding Cuba.” everything that’s being done and will be done Is the wording “we want” part of the new Yet those same officials don’t seem to care. is “to extend a hand to the Cuban people.” diplomatic lexicon or is it part of Teddy From Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner to This wording looks, sounds and smells just Roosevelt’s legacy? Constructive engagement Rahm Emanuel, from Undersecretary of State like the infamous “regime change” formulat- or simply bullying? James Steinberg to advisor Dan Restrepo and ed by George W. Bush. Besides, none of the Last month, the State Department once Ambassador Jeffrey Davidow, the wording initiatives hinted at in Obama’s speech — again called Cuba a “terrorist state.” This ac- and tone of every single statement concern- such as telecom ventures — can be imple- cusation is ridiculous. Not one single govern- ing Cuba have been essentially the same. mented by “extending a hand to the Cuban ment in the Western Hemisphere or Western All are pushing “the type of society that we people.” They must come via direct, serious Europe agrees with Washington, and in fact, all know could improve the opportunities for negotiations with the existing Cuban authori- many of them have praised Cuba’s role in try- the Cuban people” (Clinton); a policy “to de- ties, in an atmosphere of normalization. ing to peacefully resolve regional conflicts. But there’s much more here. Keeping Cuba on that terrorist blacklist (along with Sudan, Syria and Iran) is — by every standard — a Little momentum for Cuba farm, travel bills hostile action aimed at blocking other initia- en. Max Baucus kept his promise to government money on transaction fees. tives to improve relations with Cuba by either farm-state constituents in May by rein- The bill would also establish an agricul- Congress or the executive branch. Stroducing a bill that would help farm- tural export promotion program for Cuba. Can U.S. citizens really travel as tourists to ers sell their products in Cuba. To pay for that program, the legislation a terrorist state? Can the United States Baucus’ legislation would also permit would establish a new $1 tax on U.S. air improve trade, financial relations, communi- unlimited travel to Cuba for all Americans. travelers to Cuba. cations and transportation links with a terror- But Baucus (D-MT), head of the Senate The tax provision stalled a similar bill ist state? Obviously not. Finance Committee, unveiled his bill with- Baucus introduced in the last Congress, If the White House wants to come to terms out the fanfare of Senate colleagues who in since revenue raising must, under the U.S. with this “united front,” one special broker February sponsored a bill that would ease Constitution, originate in the House of could help: Brazilian President Luíz Inacio U.S. travel restrictions. Those senators — Representatives. Lula da Silva. Byron Dorgan (D-ND) and Mike Enzi (R- Yet there is no companion bill in the Lula has repeatedly hammered away at his WY) — debated their bill on the Senate House. three recommendations on Cuba: uncondi- floor and a held jam-packed press confer- Another obstacle is that Baucus has in- tional repeal of the U.S. embargo, no precon- ence to lobby for support of the measure. herited the job of promoting President ditions to start bilateral talks, and an under- Instead, Baucus quietly introduced his Obama’s ambitious health-care plan from standing that Cuba has great symbolic value bill by submitting a statement to the Con- throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. an ailing Sen. Ted Kennedy, and is not like- Why does Obama engage in this collision gressional Record. ly to make his Cuba legislation a priority. “Opening Cuba to our exports means course with Havana, while following an entire- The Dorgan-Enzi legislation that is limit- ly different approach when it comes to other money in the pockets of farmers and ranch- ed to lifting travel restrictions also has little ers across America,” his statement said. adversaries? Why, when it comes to Cuba, is momentum. No hearings have been sched- he not ready to turn the page? Is Cuba espe- “Lifting restrictions on Cuba could allow uled on the bill or on companion legislation agricultural exporters in states like North cially hostile to his administration? Does it Dakota and Arkansas to obtain nearly 70% introduced by Reps. Bill Delahunt (D-MA) present a nuclear or biological-weapons threat of Cuba’s wheat market, nearly 40% of its and Jeff Flake (R-AZ) in the House. to the United States? rice market and more than 90% of its poul- Lynne Weil, spokeswoman for the House Of course not. The reason is simple: Flor- try market.” Committee on Foreign Affairs, which has ida’s 27 electoral votes and Cuban-American The Baucus bill would clarify the “cash authority over the House travel bill, said lawmakers in Congress. Cuba remains a only” restriction on agricultural sales to panel chairman Rep. Howard Berman (D- “hostage topic” in U.S. foreign policy, despite Cuba to mean payments must be made be- CA) “has not weighed in on it yet.” the many setbacks this policy has brought to fore goods arrive at Cuban ports. The Bush Nor has House Speaker Nancy Pelosi or Democrats and Republicans alike. administration interpreted the cash only the White House, which would be stripped Within such a context, the ball was, is and provision to mean Cuba had to make pay- of its authority to regulate travel to Cuba will remain in Washington’s court for a long ments — through third parties — before under the bill. time to come. shipments left U.S. ports. In the Senate, Majority Leader Harry Obama, who often praises Abraham Lincoln In addition, Baucus’ bill would let Cuba Reid (D-NV) is said to oppose the Cuba as his role model, should remember one of make direct payments to U.S. banks and travel legislation. the 16th president’s most famous quotes: financial institutions, saving the island’s – ANA RADELAT “The past is the cause of the present, and the present will be the cause of the future.” ❑ June 2009 ❖ CubaNews 5 POLITICAL BRIEFS EL SALVADOR FORMALIZES TIES WITH CUBA In their own words … On Jun. 1, El Salvador and Cuba have re-estab- lished diplomatic relations after a 47-year hiatus. “The country does not need bureaucrats or technocrats; it needs administra- The move came after ex-journalist Mauricio tors [who can ensure] that the money and resources the state has placed in Funes was sworn in as president of El Salvador. their hands are used efficiently. We need to tighten our belts.” In his first act as new leader, Funes said he was —Lázaro Barredo, editor of Cuba’s state-run Communist Party daily newspaper restoring full diplomatic relations with Cuba, be- Granma, writing May 22 about Cuba’s grave and urgent economic problems. coming the last Latin American nation to do so. Under pressure from Washington, El Salvador “Fifty years after the U.S. made Cuba its litmus test for its commercial and severed ties with the communist island in 1961, diplomatic ties in Latin America, Latin America is turning the tables. It is now during the depths of the Cold War. making Cuba the litmus test for the quality of the Obama administration’s “We will immediately establish diplomatic, cul- approach to Latin America.” tural and commercial ties with Cuba, our sister — Julia Sweig, Cuba scholar at the Council on Foreign Relations, quoted May 29 nation,” Funes said during his inaugural address. in a Washington Post article describing the debate on whether to re-admit Cuba Senior diplomats from both countries then into the Organization of American States, from which it was expelled in 1962. signed an accord officially re-establishing ties. El Salvador’s new foreign minister, Esteban “Now more than ever, any actions that confer legitimacy on the unelected Lazo, said “they should never have severed ties regime in Havana would be a betrayal of our Cuban brothers and sisters.” with Cuba,” referring to his predecessors. — Lino Gutiérrez, Roger F. Noriega and Otto J. Reich, three former senior Bush Funes, the candidate of the ex-rebel Farabundo administration officials, in a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN), defeat- ed Rodrigo Avila of the conservative Arena party in March with 51.2% of the vote against 48.7%. “If we invite Cuba back in [the Organization of American States], in spite of their violations, what message are we sending to the rest of the hemisphere — WTO PANEL IN GENEVA CONDEMNS SECTION 211 that it’s OK to move backwards, away from democracy and human rights, that there will be no repercussions for such actions?” Delegates from Cuba, the European Union and — Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ), who has threatened to cut off U.S. funding for the a dozen other nations attending the World Trade OAS — about 60% of the organization’s total budget — if the measure passes. Organization’s Dispute Settlement Panel in Gen- eva condemned Section 211 of the U.S. Omnibus Appropriations Act of 1999, which bars U.S. “Canada’s position is that, like virtually every member of the OAS, we would courts from hearing claims by foreign nationals like to see Cuba re-enter hemispheric affairs at all levels.” asserting rights to trademarks associated with — Peter Kent, Canada’s minister of state for the Americas, quoted May 29 by AP. expropriated property. Section 211 also prevents the U.S. Patent and “Even though our policy toward Cuba has yielded no progress on human Trademark Office from renewing such trade- rights or democratization, we continue to restrict travel there. This policy is mark registrations. illogical and must be changed. Only by engaging with the Cuban government In 2001, the WTO found that Section 211 vio- and Cuban society will we have the platform or the leverage to seriously lates its rules because it applies only to foreign address our concerns without having them brushed aside.” nationals, not to U.S. citizens. — Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), member of the Cuba Working Group, in a statement Jorge Ferrer, a top Cuban diplomat in Geneva, urging support of the bipartisan Freedom to Travel to Cuba Act (H.R. 874). criticized Washington’s “double standard,” which he said “allows Bacardi to sell Havana Club “I see a nearly complete lack of political will on the part of the Cuban gov- brand rum products in U.S. territory, thus ernment to respect universally accepted norms concerning human rights.” encouraging trade of counterfeited goods.” — Elizardo Sánchez, head of the Cuban Commission of Human Rights and Besides Cuba and the EU, 12 other countries National Reconciliation, questioning whether the Castro regime would respect voted to condemn Section 211: Argentina, Boli- human rights in return for normalized relations with the European Union. via, Brazil, Chile, China, Costa Rica, Ecuador, In- dia, Nicaragua, Thailand, Vietnam and Venezuela. “They are one of our closest neighbors, a historical trading partner, and we’ve U.S. AWARDS BIG BUCKS TO FAMILY OF ‘59 SUIDICE drifted too far apart. Where’s the cheapest place for them to buy? It’s here.” James K. Lyons, A federal judge in Miami has awarded more — director of the Alabama State Port Authority, in a Los Angeles than $1 billion in damages against the Cuban Times story about how direct trade with Cuba might benefit the Port of Mobile. government for the 1959 suicide of the father of a Cuban-American man involved in the CIA-backed “This is not a gay pride march. That’s not our intention at this time. In reali- capture and killing of Ernesto “Che” Guevara. ty, we’re identifying with a proposal made by a French activist to designate a Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Peter Adrien said he World Day against Homophobia. Gays are not a problem, homophobia is.” wanted to send a signal to Cuba’s government — Mariela Castro Espín, daughter of Raúl Castro and director of Cuba’s Sexual with the huge damage award, which likely will Education Center, speaking May 17 to thousands of gays, lesbians, transsexuals prove difficult if not impossible to collect. and their families lining Havana’s Calle 23 to celebrate Sexual Diversity Day. But Gustavo Villoldo, 76, and younger brother Alfredo said their lawyers would scour the globe “They are a virtual cartel that controls the travel sector from the United for Cuban assets to satisfy the judgment. States to Cuba, charging egregious fees in collusion with Cuban authorities.” The award came in a lawsuit filed by Villoldo, — Mauricio Claver-Carone, director of the U.S.-Cuba Democracy Political Action who blamed Guevara, Fidel Castro and others for Committee, quoted in a May 19 article in the New York Times about his father’s 1959 suicide in Cuba. how business among the Miami charter airlines is suddenly booming. The family fled to South Florida. Villoldo later took part in the CIA’s 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion and was involved in catching Guevara in Bolivia. 6 CubaNews ❖ June 2009 TOURISM Private sector’s small but crucial role in tourism sector BY DOMINGO AMUCHASTEGUI One of the best arguments is the role of WEBSITES, PALADARES AND FIXERS ll too frequently, so-called experts are particulares (private owners). Contrary to Foreign tourists can compare prices quoted in leading media as saying that what some so-called experts repeat over and online, through websites like revolico.com, A Cubans are legally penalized for having over, Cuba’s tourist industry is not 100% bedincuba.com and mycubatravel.com. contact with foreign tourists, that tourists are owned by the state. Offers range from a simple, $10-a-night kept in isolated hotels, or that such tourists Along with state-run hotels, resorts, restau- room in Bayamo to a $45-a-night room in the have very little contact with average Cubans. rants and transportation services, there’s also best locations of Miramar and El Vedado. Andrés Oppenheimer, in an Apr. 5 opinion a large and significant parallel private sector Rooms and food in cities and towns far from piece in the Miami Herald, quoted James engaged in renting rooms and even houses, Havana are much cheaper. Rates generally Cason — former chief of the U.S. Interests providing B&B accommodations, with option- don’t include meals, but lunch and dinner are Section in Havana, and now president of the al lunch and dinner; transfers to and from air- always available in most apartments. ports, car and motorbike rentals and networks Washington-based nonprofit Center for a Free They offer home-cooked menus with prices of private restaurants known as paladares. Cuba (see this issue of CubaNews, page 1). similar to those of the famous paladares: $10- In his article, Oppenheimer — citing Cason 15 for a seafood, chicken or pork dinner, with and other sources — claimed the following: rice and beans, plantains, soda and coffee. ■ Cuba’s dictatorship penalizes interactions Currently, Havana’s Vedado district has 55 of ordinary Cubans with foreigners. Under legally registered paladares — plus many oth- Law 80, of 1999, it is a crime for Cubans to ers operating without a license — not to men- accept foreign publications from visitors. tion Miramar, Old Havana and other districts. And a 2004 Ministry of Tourism memo to Until very recently, private taxis were also hotel workers prohibits them from interacting available, with a ‘50s-era Ford or Chevy rent- with foreigners outside their workplaces. ing for only $10 a day, not including gas. ■ Virtually all foreign tourists in Cuba stay But in mid-May, authorities announced at hotels in isolated places where they have severe measures against drivers and owners little contact with nontourism workers. Of the of means of transport who offer unauthorized 103 four- or five-star hotels in Cuba, 67% of Sign advertises a casa particular in Sancti Spíritus. rental service in Havana. Those without licen- them are located in Varadero, Cayo Coco and ses to operate as private taxi drivers will be other places in the countryside, and only 19% This isn’t something you find just in Havana sanctioned and vehicles will be confiscated. are in Havana. and its environs. Other cities such as Santiago ■ The rule is directed at a number of auto- Few Americans speak Spanish well de Cuba, Holguín, Cienfuegos, Sancti Spíritus mobiles that offer service without being prop- enough or care to have political conversations and Camagüey have their own well-estab- erly registered and authorized for that work. with ordinary Cubans. Most tourists go to lished networks of entirely private activities. From the employment perspective, each Cuba for three things that start with “s”: sun, Reports published in Canada, Great Brit- particular provides four to six additional jobs songs and sex. ain, Spain and elsewhere regularly highlight — cooks, housekeepers, drivers, suppliers. ■ Over the past decade, more than 15 mil- the many options tourists can look for within lion tourists from Canada, Europe and Latin Another important job is that of the fixer. Cuba’s well-organized private sector. Many of Although lots of business comes through the America have visited Cuba, without any visi- these particulares have associated them- ble impact on the island’s totalitarian system. Internet and by word-of-mouth recommenda- selves in the form of networks encompassing tions from customers to their friends, even “Castro has put in place a tourist apartheid up to 500 houses and apartments, especially more business comes from taxi drivers and system,” Cason told Oppenheimer. “The Cu- for short-stay tourists. bans the tourists are permitted to talk to are If a given apartment or house is rented, the other state employees in the tourist sector trained to say the right thing, spontaneously owner will refer newcomers immediately to who “recommend” various options. hail Fidel and joyously sing Guantanamera.” any renting facility available within the net- This kind of connection is lucrative, with a work. The referring owner gets a $5.00 com- nice little commission paid for every referral. ‘CASAS PARTICULARES’ ARE HARDLY ISOLATED mission per day for his efforts. One more dimension needs to be under- Business is flourishing and, in some cases, stood. A considerable proportion of these par- As a journalist, Oppenheimer agrees with ticulares these comments, but any average tourist it can get complicated. Havana’s recent Huron are owned by former government would laugh at them. Facts, evidence and wit- Azúl scandal provides an excellent example of and Communist Party officials, who due to nesses demonstrate quite the opposite. attempts to expand particulares beyond rea- their many years of service are blessed with Foreign tourists are not placed in isolated sonable limits. houses and cars. Now retired, they make hotels because most of them are visiting the Juan Carlos Fernández García, 47, started extra money renting or operating paladares. city of Havana or Varadero, where there are his business with one modest paladar in the This is a key factor in explaining why Cu- few, if any, “isolated hotels.” 1990s. Eventually, he came to own seven ban authorities tolerate the existence of this It’s the same with Holguín and other major houses, several vehicles, dozens of industrial private sector within the tourism industry. cities, where thousands of foreign tourists machines, tens of thousands of dollars and Cason, Oppenheimer, Otto Reich and oth- move about freely without “state escorts,” and hundreds of costly works of art. ers overlook the presence, numbers and activ- interacting with whomever they wish. It’s true The Huron Azúl systematically violated ities of these particulares. More tourism and that some resorts are relatively isolated be- every regulation in the book — size, number more remittance money will increase their cause of their location — such as Cayo Largo of tables, the serving of red meat and seafood strength and diversity. Simply put, the official del Sur, Cayo Coco or Santa María. — and his electricity bills normally came to tourism industry won’t be able to meet the But any serious debate on the matter leads 10,000 pesos a month. tourist boom that lies ahead — paving the way to evidence showing how wrong such com- Fernández García traveled abroad, directly for future expansion of Cuba’s private sector. ❑ ments are. The truth is that these arguments, importing appliances. State inspectors check- Former Cuban intelligence officer Domingo purely rhetorical, are aimed at preventing or ing on him three times a month never found Amuchastegui has lived in Miami since 1994. undermining closer relations and contacts anything “irregular.” Perks and bribes were He writes regularly for CubaNews about politics between Americans and Cubans. part of his tactics to achieve his stellar results. in Cuba and the South Florida exile community. June 2009 ❖ CubaNews 7 COMMUNICATIONS BUSINESS BRIEFS CIENFUEGOS FACTORY MAKES CEMENT MIXER Radio, TV Martí downsize operations The first Cuban-made cement mixer has been assembled at the SOMEC plant belong- adio and TV Martí will lay off 20% of Critics say hardly anyone listens to Radio ing to the Construction Ministry, in the their workforce in a shake-up aimed at Martí, and virtually no one watches TV Martí. province of Cienfuegos. The Cuban government constantly jams the R retooling the struggling anti-Castro sta- Fidel Figueroa de la Paz, Cuba’s minister of tions in the face of a steep federal budget cut, signals, and many people have said the pro- construction, told the state-run ACN news the Miami Herald reported May 13. gramming is dull. agency that the new mixer — which utilizes In its funding request to Congress, the Official figures on the number of viewers Russian Kraz trucks — costs $6,000 less than agency that oversees the Miami-based Radio and listeners is not known, but U.S. officials similar machines on the international market. and TV Martí submitted a budget allocating have previously said there are between 10,000 He said it’s also more efficient at transport- $32.4 million on the controversial broadcasts and 15,000 satellite dishes on Cuban rooftops ing cement, since it has a capacity of 5 cubic — down from the original $34.8 million. that would allow for access to the broadcasts. meters — the largest of all cement mixers The U.S.-funded broadcasts, aimed at Last year, fewer than 1% of 1,200 people sur- currently used in Cuba. breaking the information blockade in Cuba, veyed by phone said they had listened to While watching the mixer spinning, Figue- will change formats in response to the pro- Radio Martí in the past week, according to a roa de la Paz congratulated the SOMEC work- posed budget cut. Radio Martí will go to an study issued by the Government Accountabi- ers, who aim to produce 40 trucks this year. all-news format, and TV Martí will have a five- lity Office, the investigating arm of Congress. At the moment, some 400 cement mixer minute news update every half-hour, with But the same report said nearly half of new trucks are used by the Construction Ministry, other shows in between. Cuban arrivals to the U.S. said they’d listened though they’ll gradually be replaced by dom- The goal: a smaller staff producing news to the broadcasts in the past six months. estically produced trucks using technology by that’s faster and sharper, in a desperate The budget cut was proposed by the foreign companies involved in joint ventures. attempt to gain audiences for widely criticized Broadcasting Board of Governors, which Replacing the current fleet will bring bene- programs that opponents say are overfunded oversees the stations. The agency sent a fits by itself, since a cement mixer truck has a and underwatched. budget proposal to Congress that includes an life span of 3-5 years, depending on the mix to “We will need to cut 35 jobs, 10 of them overall 3.9% funding increase, a boost reflect- be processed, said Figueroa de la Paz. already vacant,” Pedro Roig, director of the ed in places such as Afghanistan. The Cuba Office of Cuba Broadcasting, told the Herald. program’s budget was cut by about 7%. AZERBAIJAN EYES CUBA’S OIL POTENTIAL “We believe we will be able to meet the “This is a beginning, but the real issue is, what is the rationale for continuing to fund TV Azerbaijan plans to participate in developing challenge and be more flexible. For TV, when oil fields in Cuba in line with a draft coopera- the news is on, we find people’s attention span Martí?” said Rep. Bill Delahunt, the Massa- chusetts Democrat who commissioned a Con- tion agreement, said the country’s minister of is down. What people want is something culture and tourism, Abulfa Garayev. shorter, faster, crisper — a different dynamic gressional report blasting the station’s lack of audience. “Why continue to fund an operation Moscow’s RIA Novosti news agency report- than what we were offering.” ed that the agreement was approved May 19 Radio and TV Martí, which employ a com- that has absolutely zero benefit?” The layoffs and format changes won’t take at a meeting of the Azerbaijani-Cuban bilateral bined 160 people, have long been accused of commission in Baku, and will be signed soon. being federal boondoggles that employ peo- effect ‘til October, but some Martí correspon- dents said they’ve already decided to quit. ❑ “This is certainly a very interesting direc- ple with politically influential friends. tion. And we hope that the work which is due to be completed over the next year will become a reality,” Garayev told journalists. Microsoft blocks Cuba from MSN Messenger Last year, Cuba produced around 4 million uba is criticizing Microsoft for block- ness with markets on the U.S. sanctions tons of oil, while Azerbaijan’s oil production ing its Messenger instant messaging list,” said Dharmesh Mehta, director of reached 45 million tons. At the meeting the Cservice on the island and in other Windows Live Product Management at the sides also discussed cooperation in medicine, countries under U.S. sanctions — calling it company, which expects 2009 revenues of food production, culture and tourism. yet another example of Washington’s $65 billion. The first meeting of the commission was “harsh” treatment of Havana. “Microsoft supports efforts to ensure held in Havana in November 2007. The Associated Press reported Havana’s that the Internet remains a platform for CUBA, VIETNAM BOOST COMMERCIAL RELATIONS criticism followed Microsoft’s announce- open, diverse and unimpeded content and ment that it was disabling the program's commerce,” Mehta said in a statement Cuba will acquire 5.1 million polypropylene availability in Cuba, Syria, Iran, Sudan and emailed to AP. “Governments should exer- bags from Vietnam to pack sugar, as part of a North Korea in order to comply with a U.S. cise restraint in regulating the Internet and deal between the two communist countries. ban on transfer of licensed software to should actively coordinate with other gov- Vietnam’s Nhat Trang Trade & Tourism Co. embargoed countries. ernments to minimize contradictory or con- Ltd. also signed a memo of understanding Cuba’s state youth newspaper Juventud fusing standards.” with Artex — a unit of Cuba’s Ministry of Rebelde said the move “is just the latest turn Internet communications service Skype Culture — in which Cuba will send music and of the screw in the United States’ techno- currently works in Cuba, but according to dance groups to Vietnam to boost the island’s logical blockade against the island.” AP, the government evidently has periodi- cultural presence in southeast Asia. The paper called the technology transfer cally blocked other similar services in the Vu Chi Cong, Vietnam’s ambassador in ban “a truly harsh violation” of Cuba’s past — sometimes including Messenger. Havana, highlighted the role Nhat Trang has human rights. Messenger has been used Microsoft’s move comes six weeks after played in the boosting of commercial relations on the island for a decade without Micro- the Obama administration announced it between the two nations. He said the compa- soft interference, and it wasn’t clear why was lifting some U.S. restrictions on ny, founded in 2001, has sold to Cuba electri- the company is acting now. telecommunications with Cuba in an effort cal appliances, furniture, textiles, shoes, food “Microsoft is one of several major Inter- toward easing the island’s isolation. It is and other product. net companies that have taken steps aimed unclear if those changes will affect the ban In 2008, Nhat Trang’s subsidiary in Cuba at meeting their obligations to not do busi- on export of licensed software. reported $2.5 million in sales. This year, it has signed contracts for $31.3 million. 8 CubaNews ❖ June 2009 NEWSMAKERS Blogger Yoani Sánchez stirs things up in cyberspace BY TRACEY EATON In December, officials summoned Sánchez could access only email accounts or websites osing as a tourist, Yoani Sánchez strolled to a police station and reprimanded her. But based in Cuba, says Freedom House, a 68- into a $153-per-night hotel the other day. that hasn’t stopped her push for greater free- year-old Washington organization that moni- Her husband asked to use the Internet, dom of expression. For example: tors freedom around the world. P ■ but a hotel employee said it was reserved for On Feb. 17, she helped launch a book by Far fewer people — only 240,000, or 2% of a blacklisted Cuban author. the population — had access to websites out- foreigners. ■ Sánchez, 33, pretended to read a newspa- On Mar. 29, she seized an open micro- side Cuba, according to Freedom House. per while capturing the entire exchange on phone at a Havana arts festival, criticized cen- That compares to nearly 30% for the rest of video. It was posted on sorship of the Internet and her blog the next day urged all Cubans to leap over “the wall of control.” and drew praise — and ■ nearly 5,000 com- On May 1, she helped or- ganize a “symphony of pans,”

ments — over the next TRACEY EATON week. urging Cubans to bang kitchen “The skinny one is pots to demand more freedom. cunning,” one visitor These gestures of defiance said. “What brilliance! may seem tame, but Cubans What intelligence! have been jailed for much less. What bravery!” Authorities have the power to “Thank you, Yoani,” imprison even “pre-criminals” wrote another, “for un- — people they fear will commit masking communism.” crimes in the future. Sánchez, a thin, shy former literature stu- Sánchez said she doesn’t dent, said she started her blog as an “exercise worry about prison, telling us in cowardice” in April 2007. Since then, “I don’t have anything, so I Generación Y has exploded in popularity and have nothing to lose.”” gets 11 million to 14 million hits every month. NO PARADISE FOR BLOGGERS Some Cuban officials are suspicious of Sánchez’s meteoric rise and say she’s part of She is part of a broader a U.S.-backed “cyber-army” aimed at destroy- movement that some call “blo- ing the Cuban revolution. goestroikia,” taken from the But that doesn’t faze Sánchez, who says word perestroika, a restructur- she’s becoming so well-known in Havana that ing of the Soviet Union which she can’t walk the streets anymore without led to the country’s demise in someone recognizing her. the 1980s. “I bought sunglasses because I have seri- Sánchez and about 30 other ous problems with my privacy in the street,” bloggers based in Cuba regu- Sánchez told CubaNews over fruit juice and larly post biting commentary coffee at Havana’s Hotel Habana Libre. about life under socialism. “Many people approach me. People of all “Blogs are a way for young ages, young and old. Government supporters people to vent,” says journalist Blogger Yoani Sánchez waits for a ride along a quiet street in Havana. and non-supporters. All kinds of people.” Luís Cino, whose blog is called La Esquina de Cino But so far, she says, “no one has come up to , or Cino’s corner. Latin America and the Caribbean. me to hurt or insult me. People tell me things “Remember we’re talking about a country “Nevertheless,” Cino said, “the regime like, ‘Keep it up.’ ‘Hang in there until the end.’ where the dictatorship 50 years ago abolished seems quite worried about the blogging phe- ‘I read you.’ ‘I read you, but I don’t entirely all forms of free expression outside state con- nomenon, which affects its ironclad monop- agree with you.’” she said. “The diversity of trol. Living a lie and faking it is asphyxiating. oly on information.” opinion is marvelous.”” You reach a point when if you don’t say or Some Cuban government supporters con- write what you think, you explode.” CUBAN DIPLOMAT: YOANI IS A ‘MERCENARY’ But he said blogging isn’t easy in Cuba, tend that Generación Y is part of an informa- tion campaign aimed at smearing Cuba, desta- In 2008, Sánchez made Time magazine’s list where 30 minutes of Internet time can cost as much as $12, amounting to two weeks’ wages bilizing the socialist regime and justifying an of the 100 Most Influential People. Her blog eventual U.S. military intervention. was among the magazine’s 25 Best Blogs of for many Cubans. “Obviously, it’s difficult to have a blog in Rosa Miriam Elizalde, two-time winner of 2009 and has won top international prizes. Cuba’s national journalism prize, calls Sán- But the authorities have refused to let Sán- Cuba, mostly because of limitations on access,” Cino told CubaNews. “In hotels and chez a “cyber-dissident” who repeats State chez leave the country to collect her awards. Department criticisms and stereotypes. “She’s a mercenary of the U.S. govern- Internet cafes, the connection is very expen- sive, besides being quite slow.” Elizalde wrote May 6 that Sánchez portrays ment,” said a Cuban diplomat who spoke on Havana as a “city in ruins,” giving “the worst condition of anonymity. “She’s been manufac- The Committee to Protect Journalists in New York ranks Cuba as the fourth-worst possible impression in the least space possi- tured by the enemies of the revolution.” ble.” She also questioned why the domain for Sánchez and U.S. officials deny such accu- country in the world for bloggers behind Burma, Iran and Syria. Generación Y is registered to a German sations. Cuban authorities are taking no chan- named Josef Biechele and asked how any ces and block her blog from view in Cuba. Some 1.3 million Cubans, or 11.5% of the population, had Internet access in 2008, Cuban could afford the “hundreds of thou- And that’s only made Generación Y more pop- sands of dollars” it must cost to maintain. ular. “There’s nothing more attractive than according to Internet World Stats, a website that which is forbidden,” she quipped. that tracks Internet usage. But most of those See Yoani, page 9 June 2009 ❖ CubaNews 9 foes are trying to destroy her reputation. In June 2008, Fidel Castro wrote about Yoani — FROM PAGE 8 “Some say I’m with the CIA. Others say I’m Sánchez’s blog without naming her. He said her blog posts, “which are immediately Ernesto Hernández, a Cuban writer based with Cuban state security. Extremists from both sides make those arguments,” she said. spread by the imperialist media, are not the in Spain, calls those accusations “laughable.” “There are many defamation campaigns true danger.” The danger, he wrote, is “that Biechele is “an old friend of Yoani’s” in against me on the Internet. I have become there are young Cubans who think this way, Germany. He maintains her website and it radioactive.” special envoys who weaken Cuba internally.” doesn’t cost a fortune, Hernández said. But she said all she’s guilty of is speaking Sánchez said she doesn’t worry about what “Of course the server’s not in Cuba, be- her mind. “I’m not organizing terrorist Castro thinks. cause if it had been, Generación Y wouldn’t attacks,” she told CubaNews. “I don’t have any “Fidel Castro became a part of my life’s have lasted two seconds,” said Hernández, weapons. I don’t have a political program.” past a long time ago,” she said. “We don’t editor of Penúltimos Días, a popular blog. Hernández has never met Sánchez, but need any more leaders in Cuba. We don’t says she’s an example for other bloggers. need to wait for guidance from above. We Biechele couldn’t be reached for comment.” need citizens.” And citizens should fight for a more open society, she said. With that in mind, Sánchez went to the “Some say I’m with the CIA. Others say I’m with Cuban state secu- Hotel Meliá Cohiba on May 9 to secretly shoot video while her husband, Reinaldo rity. Extremists from both sides make those arguments. There are Escobar, was denied Internet access. “You know this violates my constitutional defamation campaigns against me. I have become radioactive.” rights,” Escobar told a hotel clerk. “Discrimi- — YOANI SÁNCHEZ, CUBA’S BEST-KNOWN BLOGGER nation based on national origin is prohibited. It’s as if they said here: ‘This Internet is for the whole world except Mexicans.’” “Aren’t I right?” he asked. YOANI DEFENDS HER RECORD “I’m just doing my duty,” the clerk replied. “Well before Yoani became famous and won Two weeks later, Sánchez and other blog- Cuban officials are sensitive to the foreign prizes, I was following her work,” he said. gers returned to the Meliá Cohiba and the financing of opposition activities. The U.S. “Her blog is, simply, the main reference point hotel gave them access. On May 23, she government, they say, has spent hundreds of for the Cuban blogosphere.” wrote: “The ban seems to have been lifted. I millions of dollars over the past several Some revolution supporters say Sánchez is may sound a bit boastful, but I think that if we decades trying to topple the socialist regime. hostile and ungrateful for the free schooling had not raised a ruckus in recent days Hernández said Castro loyalists accus- and health care she’s enjoyed all her life. denouncing such apartheid, we would have tomed to state-engineered “propaganda” But bloggers scoff at such talk and hammer been deprived of the ability to connect.” ❑ haven’t figured out how to stem bloggers’ ris- away at the socialist system. ing influence, noting that “the blog phenome- “This system was worn out when the Berlin Tracey Eaton, a freelance writer based in St. non is an alien world to them, a godson of sor- Wall fell,” said Sánchez. “But it survives Augustine, Fla., was Havana correspondent for did conspiracies and suspect financing.” because of the whims of a group of elders in the Dallas Morning News from 2000 to 2005. Sánchez, the mother of a 13-year-old boy power. It’s been a long time. I hope it won’t be He is now a regular contributor to CubaNews. named Teo, said Cuban authorities and other much longer.” Write to Tracey at [email protected]. Cuba slashes GDP growth to 2.5%, imposes austerity measures ubans suddenly faced power blackouts, longer waits for buses, 50%, except for workers in mining, construction and heavy industry. uncomfortable working conditions and skimpier lunches as The austerity measures reminded Cubans of the hardships that fol- CPresident Raúl Castro introduced austerity measures to cope lowed the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union and the loss of $5 billion with a growing economic squeeze, Reuters reported Jun. 1. in annual subsidies Moscow provided. The measures followed two weeks of warnings by the Communist- “Everyone is worried about how bad it might get, and if the black- run government that it could not meet rising electricity demand due outs are back,” said a Havana resident employed by the power sector. to a cash crunch that has forced it to restructure debt and put off Cubans typically get free state-provided meals when accompanying payments to foreign businesses. hospitalized relatives, but the new rules put a stop to that, except for Cuba, like other Caribbean countries, has been hit hard by the people traveling from out of town, hospital sources in Havana said. global financial crisis, which has slashed revenues from key exports, A U.S. businessman who sells meat products to the Cuban govern- dried up credit and reduced foreign investment. ment under an exemption to a U.S. trade embargo, told Reuters, “they It is also recovering from three hurricanes that struck last year, have cut their orders by more than 50% for the rest of the year.” causing an estimated $10 billion in damages. Cuba imports two-thirds of the fuel it consumes from Venezuela, All provincial governments and most state offices and factories, which has seen its own oil revenues fall by more than half this year. which make up 90% of Cuba’s economic activity, were ordered to cut Economy and Planning Minister Marino Murillo recently revised energy consumption by at least 12% or face mandatory electricity cuts. Cuba’s official growth forecast for 2009 from 6% to below 2.5%. Some The state-monopolized retail sector and many government offices local economists believe this year’s growth will be 1% or less. were told to keep air conditioners turned off until 1:30 p.m., turn off Raúl, who took over from ailing older brother Fidel, last year, has some lights and shut off freezers for at least two hours a day. launched wage and agricultural reforms in a bid to boost productivity. Long lines formed at bus stops in Havana as the number of routes “Under Raul we thought we were going to get some breathing room were cut, and trains between Havana and provinces were reduced by — and now look,” a middle-aged Havana resident called María told 50%, although more passenger cars were added to each trip. Food allo- Reuters as she waited for a bus in the capital. cations for lunches and snacks at most state workplaces were cut by – REUTERS NEWS SERVICE 10 CubaNews ❖ June 2009 INFRASTRUCTURE Cayo Largo del Sur’s spacious airport is underutilized

BY OUR HAVANA CORRESPONDENT two more on the old Apron-2 close to the run- This is the fifth in a series of articles on way’s southeastern end. ocated on a low sandy key along Cuba’s major Cuban airports. The first, published in The airport operates mostly during the day, south-central coast, Vilo Acuña Interna- our February 2009 issue, looked at the gener- al state of Cuba’s air transportation system. though authorities claim it can remain open at L tional Airport (CYO) at Cayo Largo del night. Air-traffic assistance includes non- Sur serves a medium-sized tourist hub whose The second article (published in March) featured Santiago de Cuba International, the directional radio beacon, distance measuring development has lagged compared to other and omnidirectional radars. Cuban resort destinations. third (published in April) analyzed Jardines del Rey International Airport on Cayo Coco, The airport also has a lighting approach CYO is located at the western end of Cayo and the fourth (published in May) looked at and maneuvering system for night operations. Largo, on the only stretch of land here capa- Holguín’s Frank País International Airport. According to official sources, a fire station is ble of accommodating a 1.9-mile-long airstrip scheduled for future construction. and an entire airport infrastructure relatively The terminal was designed and built in far from the beach hotels. recovered completely from the damage. 1995 by Ottawa-based Intelcan Technosys- Development at Cayo Largo started nearly The international airport — operated by tems to replace an old thatched building too 50 years ago, when a pioneering hotel — the state-run ECASA (Empresa Cubana de Aero- small to serve the airport’s needs. current Gran Caribe Isla del Sur — was built puertos y Servicios Aeronáuticos SA) — was Cayo Largo International can process a to promote tourism for Cubans in the early built in the 1970s and was originally intended maximum 450 to 500 passengers per hour, years of the Castro regime. to be a strategic defense airstrip facing the which seems far beyond its current require- However, the hotel never received a single Caribbean Sea close to the middle point of ments. The airport provides typical services guest and was left to decay for more than two Cuba and just a 30-minute flight from Havana like food, beverage and retailing for normal decades as authorities dropped tourism from and the Florida Straits. and peak capacities. Car rental and travel their list of priorities. Although no other major military facilities agencies are also represented. Things changed, however, and today, Cayo were built on Cayo Largo, a small staff of civil CYO receives eight international flights per Largo del Sur has 1,240 hotel rooms in seven servants and a limited military garrison kept week, mostly from Canada and Western medium and small hotels or villages along the an eye on the key, which was later used as an Europe. There’s a weekly flight from Buenos southwestern shoreline. Two of the largest inaccessible resort for Cuba’s top leadership. Aires and one from Cancún, Mexico. It also hotels are administered by Spainís Sol Meliá. CYO’s airstrip measures 9,842 feet long by gets a daily flight from the Playa de Baracoa In November 2001, Hurricane Michelle 148 feet wide. The NE-SW asphalt runway can airport (UPB) west of Havana, which ferries struck Cayo Largo del Sur, completely accommodate the largest transcontinental air- tourists from the main island. destroying the Villa Caprichio hotel as well as craft. It has four remote standing positions for Landing or taking off from CYO offers pas- some stretches of beach; the island still hasn’t large jets, just in front of the terminal, plus sengers an incredible display of striking trop- ical beauty — shallow emerald waters, coral reefs, blue holes, white-sand beaches, dark green mangrove belts, lagoons and dark-blue deep waters of the Caribbean. See Cayo Largo, page 11 June 2009 ❖ CubaNews 11 POLITICS Orbitz launches website to protest U.S. Cuba travel ban BY VITO ECHEVARRÍA tionship between our two countries?” asked article, online travel agencies like Orbitz have s Congress debates whether to end the Harford, recalling how the State Department taken a hit from the drastic decrease in U.S. ban on tourism to Cuba, one online lifted the U.S. travel ban against China in domestic bookings — especially from compa- Abookings giant isn’t waiting around: 1971. “Our experience with China leads me to nies that have tightened their travel budgets. Orbitz Worldwide. believe that America should follow a similar Last November, Orbitz laid off 100 staffers, After visiting President Obama at the White path of engagement with Cuba.” 10% of its workforce, with more layoff expect- House in March, Barney Harford — the com- Harford is relying heavily on the 14 million ed this year. pany’s president and CEO — did something monthly visitors to www.orbitz.com to drum up Faced with a drop in domestic travel, Orbitz most U.S. travel agencies have been reluctant traffic for Open Cuba. That site lets like-mind- and its online rivals hope to make up for that to do: he’s openly advocating an end to ed visitors share links to friends on social net- by increasing their international bookings. A Washington’s travel ban. works like Facebook, Twitter and MySpace. lifting of the Cuba travel ban would be a finan- Harford, 37 and a British citizen, was named Brian Hoyt, vice-president of government cial shot in the arm for Orbitz and the rest of president of Orbitz in January after having relations at Orbitz Worldwide, told CubaNews the U.S. travel industry. served as president of Expedia.com's Asia- “thousands of people” have signed the peti- So far, Orbitz’s rivals are opting to play it Pacific division. He visited Cuba in 1997 and tion, though he declined to be more specific. safe — and wait to see what Obama does next. fell in love with its sights, music and culture. “We went into this expecting we’d get oppo- “We are closely following the U.S. govern- In a Huffington Post online column posted sition, but the response has been overwhelm- ment’s actions on this and will act according- May 11, he said “visiting Cuba would provide ingly positive,” Hoyt said. “For every seven ly,” said spokesman Dan Toporek of Travelo- Americans with a vibrant cultural and histori- positive reviews, we get maybe three negative city.com, in a recent email to CubaNews. cal experience, and provide a fascinating con- ones. That corresponds to our polls.” Other travel agencies from online rivals like Expedia.com to brick-and-mortar firms like trast to life in the United States.” SIGN THE PETITION, GET $100 OFF SOMEDAY To that end, Chicago-based Orbitz has set Liberty Travel, declined comment altogether. up “Open Cuba” — http://opencuba.org/ — As an incentive to signing the petition and Travelocity.com, in particular, has good where visitors can sign an online petition sharing it with others, Orbitz is offering visi- reason for leaving the Cuba travel issue alone addressed to the White House and Congress tors to its website a $100 coupon toward trav- for the moment. demanding an end to the Cuba travel ban. el to Cuba should the ban be lifted. Orbitz is In 2007, it paid $182,750 to settle a com- The project, inspired by Obama’s success- publicizing this offer aggressively despite the plaint by the U.S. Treasury Department’s ful use of web-based grassroots organizing for risk of this being seen by some as a self-serv- Office of Foreign Assets Control for booking travel to Cuba without an OFAC license near- his presidential campaign, is backed by a sur- ing lobbying effort. ❑ vey recently conducted by Orbitz and market “There’s a risk that there may be backlash ly 1,500 times between 1998 and 2004. from narrow interest groups,” Harford conce- research firm Ipsos showing that 67% of Details: Brian Hoyt, Vice-President/Gov- Americans favor allowing all U.S. citizens — ded in a recent interview with the Chicago not just Cuban-Americans — to visit Cuba. Tribune. “But leaders lead. If we take a few ernment Relations, Orbitz, 1401 “I” Street “Why can’t all of us visit this alluring neigh- bullets for this, that’s part of being a leader.” NW, 12th Floor, Washington, DC 20005. Tel: bor and play a part in transforming the rela- As noted by a recent Wall Street Journal (312) 752-5436. Email: [email protected].

Cayo Largo— FROM PAGE 10 OFAC fines Tex. oil firm $110,000 Yet Cayo Largo del Sur isn’t a top tourist The Treasury Department’s Office of destination in Cuba — and that's because of Foreign Assets Control has fined oil its remoteness. Everything in use here, from drilling manufacturer Varel Holdings Inc. drinking water to food and gasoline, needs to $110,000 for exporting technology to be transported by air or sea from the main- Cuba in direct violation of U.S. law. land. That makes hotel operations more com- OFAC alleged that “between June 2005 plicated than anywhere else in Cuba. and June 2006, a foreign subsidiary of No Cubans live here permanently. The [Dallas-based] Varel made 11 unlicensed small town of Isla del Sol, just off the north- exports of goods in which Cuba or Cuban western end of the airstrip, was built in the nationals had an interest.” 1990s to shelter temporary service personnel. This is the second penalty imposed An aerial taxi connects CYO to Nueva this fiscal year, and the Obama adminis- Gerona on the Isle of Youth to the west, which tration’s first against an oil drilling entity. is the home of many resort workers and also It comes as oil exploration in the deep an alternative destination for vacationers. waters off Cuba’s Gulf of Mexico coast Executive flights are also chartered to CYO. has begun to attract international inter- Between tourists and temporary Cuban est. OFAC has penalized three other U.S. workers, CYO receives anywhere from 50,000 oil companies for similar violations. to 75,000 passengers a year. A handful of air- In 2006, OFAC fined the Dresser-Rand lines use the airport, including the domestic Group $171,300; in 2007, PSL Energy Cubana de Aviación (flights to Havana, Mon- Services paid $164,006, and Platte River treal and Buenos Aires) and Aero Caribbean Associates is facing a legal process that (which flies daily to and from Havana’s Playa (Cancún and Milan). Canada’s CanJet offers could cost upwards of $1 million. de Baracoa airport). once-a-week flights between Cayo Largo and URL: www.treas.gov/offices/enforce- CYO also serves Italy’s Blue Panorama Montreal. Other airlines using CYO: Air Can- ment/ofac/civpen/penalties/04302009.pdf. (Rome and Milan) and Livingston Airlines ada, Germany’s Condor and Italy’s Neos. ❑ 12 CubaNews ❖ June 2009 COMMODITIES Official stats paint dismal picture of Cuba farm output BY OUR HAVANA CORRESPONDENT tary’s direct involvement in farming, stopped en also felt the impact of the acute lack of rain- fter a few consecutive years of climatic the free fall of agriculture momentarily. fall during that period. mishaps and in face of government But it now seems that Cuba urgently needs Then in 2005, and again last year, Cuba was Areluctance to reform its unsustainable new initiatives to curb its growing appetite for devastated by horrific hurricanes. Aside from food imports. the tremendous damage to housing and infra- production madel, Cuban agriculture is facing In early May, Cuba’s Oficina Nacional de its worst crisis since the Soviet collapse of the structure, some crops were literally obliterat- Estadísticas (ONE) released its Panorama ed along the paths of hurricanes Dennis early 1990s. Territorial Cuba: 2008, a compendium of fig- With just a handful of exceptions, farming (2005), Gustav (2008) and Ike (2008). ures for the 2001-08 period that paints a dis- Of 14 crops and products reported by ONE has declined to critically low levels — in some mal portrait of Cuba’s agriculture industry. cases by two-thirds over the last seven years, (12 of them shown in these charts), output The 2003-04 drought — the worst on record dropped significantly in 11 from 2001 to 2008. forcing Cuba to buy more food abroad that since the 1940s — did serious damage. otherwise could be grown at home. The output of sugar, once Cuba’s main ex- Production of rice, the main staple of the port earner, fell by 66.5% since 2001 to a mea- No matter how the medicine is, it seems Cuban diet, dwindled from 325,500 tons in ger 1.2 million tons. Citrus fruit, vulnerable to only a matter of time before the Castro regime 2001 to 161,100 tons in 2005. That’s barely 32 takes drastic decisions to modify the structure lbs per capita, or only 30% of the standard an- wind damage, slid by 58% during that same of agriculture — including allowing some pri- nual per-capita consumption of 110 lbs/year. 2001-08 period. vate initiative in farming and selling produce. Milk production dropped from over 400 mil- Paddy rice jumped 36.9%, while chicken and The initiatives of the mid-1990s, such as the lion liters before the drought to just above 300 cattle brought to the slaughterhouse dropped restructuring of land ownership and the mili- million liters in 2005. Sugar, citrus and chick- See Commodities, page 13 June 2009 ❖ CubaNews 13

Commodities — FROM PAGE 12 Díaz new U.S. envoy to Vatican MEDICAL BRIEFS by 57.4% and 12.7% respectively from 2001 to President Obama has announced that SEX-CHANGE OPERATIONS AT STATE EXPENSE? 2008 — with the notable exception of hogs, Havana-born Miguel H. Díaz, a lay libera- which more than tripled in this period. A year after a ban was lifted, Cuba plans to tion theologian, is his pick to become the soon start performing sex-change operations, Production of eggs shot up by 63.6%, a re- new U.S. ambassador to the Vatican. markable performance for the 7-year period. the president’s daughter said May 28. Díaz, 45, is a strong Obama supporter Mariela Castro, who runs Cuba’s Center for For other products, the drop occurred over and a father of four. He’s an associate pro- a shorter period. From 2004 to 2008, corn Sex Education, said she has identified 19 shrunk almost 55%, beans 44.7% and edible fessor of theology at St. John’s University transsexuals ready to have the procedure. In vegetables 38%. Plantain production (not and Minnesota’s College of St. Benedict comments to a health conference that were shown) fell by 29.7% while roots and tubers — who earned his bachelor’s degree from aired on state TV, Castro did not say when the a key staple of the Cuban diet — fell by 26.7%. Miami’s St. Thomas University, and his surgeries would begin. The exception was production of fresh master's and doctorate in theology from The government headed by her father, milk, which jumped 51.5% to 489 million liters Indiana’s Notre Dame. President Raul Castro, would pick up the tab. in 2008, though that’s still a far cry from the He taught previously at Barry Univer- The first successful sex-change operation more than one billion liters regularly pro- sity in Miami Shores, Fla., and was acade- was performed on the island in 1988, but sub- duced in the late 1980s. mic dean at St. Vincent de Paul Regional sequent procedures were prohibited. The By contrast, the import of some foods leapt Seminary in Boynton Beach, Fla. Díaz is Health Ministry authorized the operations last dramatically in the 2001-07 period. Chicken fluent in Italian, Spanish and French. year, though none has been performed since. purchases abroad rose by 139%, while rice im- Díaz is on the board of the Catholic Some Cubans protested the reversal of the ports went up 131% and beans increased by Theological Society of America and is past- ban, either because of general opposition to 107%. Powdered milk bought abroad jumped president of the Academy of Catholic His- the procedure or for its high costs for a devel- 102%. Finally, corn imports skyrocketed by panic Theologians of the United States. oping country with economic problems. She 653% — more than any other food staple. ❑ also said she supports the lifting of a ban on lesbians being artificially inseminated. CUBA FREE OF SWINE FLU — FOR NOW Cuban Deputy Health Minister Luis Estruch Rancaño said Jun. 1 there are no cases of influenza A/H1N1 at this moment in Cuba. The health official, speaking at Havana’s Pedro Kouri Tropical Medicine Institute, said Cuba’s health and civil defense systems have been active since the virus began to spread. To date, 18,000 cases of the flu have been reported in 63 countries and 116 people have died, while the four people found to have swine flu in Cuba — three Mexicans and one Canadian child — have already been dis- charged from the hospital. MALAYSIA, CUBA WORK ON ‘HALAL’ VACCINE Malaysia and Cuba are jointly working to develop the world’s first halal meningitis vac- cine, according to the Universiti Sains Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur. An article on USM’s website quotes Malay- sia’s former higher education minister, Datuk Mustapha Mohamed, as saying that the vac- cine is critical for Muslims performing their hajj or umrah, since it is derived from plant cell culture rather than animal cell culture. The Malaysian government approved a grant of around $574,000, while Cuba’s Finlay Institute contributed $460,000. “We are like two sides of the same coin. Malaysia has the capital to fund development of Cuban scientific discoveries,” said Cuba’s ambassador to Malaysia, Carlos Amores. “Instead of injecting the bacteria or the virus into the human body, a synthesized polysaccharine cell culture is introduced to simulate and produce the immune reaction in the human body, generating the antibodies required to combat the disease,” he said. The meningitis vaccine will be introduced into the market in 1-2 years, pending compli- ance with safety and registration require- ments, said Cuban news agency Prensa Latina. 14 CubaNews ❖ June 2009 POLITICAL ANALYSIS The Latell Report: Tensions in the Cuban leadership In numerous commentaries or “reflections” The Latell Report is a publication of the cal areas as relations with the United States University of Miami’s Institute of Cuban and as he and the Cuban government prefer to have become unusually clouded. Cuban-American Studies (ICCAS) and no describe them, he has insistently voiced stri- The March 2009 dismissal of Cuba’s foreign government funding has been used in its pub- dent anti-American views that are rarely minister, Felipe Pérez Roque — one of Fidel’s lication. The opinions expressed herein are repeated with the same acidic spins by other previously most loyal acolytes — surely also those of the author and do not necessarily Cuban officials. heightened leadership tensions, especially reflect the views of ICCAS, CubaNews or the It seems reasonable to speculate, therefore, since two other long-prominent officials were U.S. Agency for International Development. that Fidel may be at odds with policy prescrip- disgraced simultaneously (see box below). tions developed within the leadership since Former Vice President Carlos Lage’s dis- BY BRIAN LATELL Raul’s assumed the presidency. Yet, Fidel’s missal was not as surprising as Pérez Roque’s, manifestos, now emanating almost daily from however, because he had been passed over in t is no easier today than it was 50 years ago his convalescent quarters, carry enormous February 2008 for higher office and in the to gauge the state of play within the Cuban weight and have never been contradicted or year that followed his visibility had been Inomenclatura. repudiated. steadily declining. It seems that his dismissal In fact, it is now even more difficult to Remaining unseen and unheard in any pub- had been in the cards for some time. assess how decisions are being made, how lic venues, Fidel’s new prominence must be But, Pérez Roque’s fall was sudden and power is shared and delegated, and who in sowing confusion and resentment among gov- unexpected. Just days after the axe fell he had the leadership tiers below the Castro brothers ernment and party leaders, especially those been scheduled to depart for Japan at the may be rising or falling in influence. responsible for foreign policy. head of an official Cuban mission to discuss Yet there are many reasons to postulate He embarrassed Raúl during the visit earli- technical cooperation. So perhaps even he had that tensions are greater now than at any time no inkling of what was about to befall him. since the Ochoa-de la Guardia purges of 1989. er this year of Chilean President Bachelet by Most importantly, confusion may well be publicly advocating positions at odds with FIDEL LAVISHES PRAISE ON BRUNO RODRÍGUEZ longstanding Cuban government policy. rampant about Fidel Castro’s evolving role. Fidel’s involvement in these dismissals — Almost three years since surrendering TOP-LEVEL DISMISSALS HEIGHTEN TENSIONS perhaps his insistence that they be carried out Cuba’s presidency — but not his position as In a steady stream of commentaries —all but summarily — is suggested by the language he Communist Party First Secretary — he has unleashed against them in one of his reflec- a few concerned with Cuba’s international reasserted some of his historic decision mak- tions. Lage and Pérez Roque had been ing prerogatives. His health has apparently relations — Fidel has made clear that he is “seduced by the honey of power” he wrote. improved and with it perhaps his dissatisfac- once again the ultimate arbiter in this area of The vitriol was characteristic of the brutal way tion with the quality of leadership that his policy making. His musings are prominently in which Fidel had disgraced scores of other brother Raúl, Cuba’s president since Febru- played by all the major Cuban media and are top officials in the past. ary 2008, has been providing. carefully studied and parsed by officials All this suggested that the former foreign Fidel has overruled Raúl by repeatedly ex- throughout the leadership. minister had somehow betrayed his master pressing intransigent positions on prospects And as Fidel’s directorial role has expand- and that the decision to fire him was mainly for improving relations with the United States. ed, the contours of Cuban policy in such criti- Fidel’s, and that it was executed swiftly and mercilessly. Since then, Bruno Rodríguez, the new for- eign minister, has basked in Fidel’s approval. Secret video hints at Lage, Roque ousters He was singled out for praise in Fidel’s reflex- n official video that presents the rea- about retired leader Fidel Castro, current ión of May 2. sons for the ouster of Vice President President Raúl Castro and First Vice Presi- And to be sure there was no confusion in ACarlos Lage and Foreign Minister dent José Ramón Machado Ventura, ac- leadership ranks about his new preeminent Felipe Pérez Roque has been shown for the cording to those familiar with the footage. role, Fidel noted that “at our request” (revert- past several weeks to selected groups of Both versions show conversations be- ing to the use of the royal pronoun he so com- Cuba’s ruling elite, according to a May 23 tween Lage and Pérez Roque in which they monly employed in the past) Rodríguez had article in Miami’s El Nuevo Herald. make jokes about Fidel Castro’s infirmities provided him support. There was no mention The showings began in mid-April before and his years in power, and question Raúl of Raúl in this context. a small group of high-ranking officers of Castro’s ability to govern the country. Meanwhile, hints gleaned from remarks by the Revolutionary Armed Forces and the In a recording made presumably after the Castro brothers in recent months may Ministry of the Interior, as well as top-level the installation of a new Council of State, on have elevated concerns in the nomenclatura government and Communist Party leaders, Feb. 24, 2008, critical comments are heard that Fidel plans to retain his position at the top sources linked to government circles said. about Machado Ventura’s appointment as of the communist party hierarchy and to use it “There is total hermetism regarding First Vice President. In the recording, he is as a cudgel to impose his will. these viewings. It is said that, for the time alluded to as “the man with the hairpiece.” Raúl told actor Sean Penn in October that, being, the high-level people are being sum- The video also shows excerpts from a even after assuming the presidency, he kept meeting of the Political Bureau at which working from his old office. He added that “in moned in small groups to watch the mate- ❑ rial in a room in the Central Committee Raúl Castro flails the behavior of both men. Fidel’s office, nothing has been touched.” building,” said a source who asked for In the video, Raúl says he invited Jaime Brian Latell, distinguished Cuba analyst and anonymity. “Controls are very strict.” Crombet [vice-president of Parliament] to author of the book, “After Fidel: The Inside Story The video is shown in two versions: one listen to what ‘his son-in-law’ said about the of Castro’s Regime and Cuba’s Next Leader,” is a lasting nearly three hours, the other, seven. Comandante,” one source said. Crombet, a senior research associate at ICCAS. Both contain compromising images and veteran revolutionary leader, is the father Latell served in the 1990s as the CIA’s Natio- statements made by Lage and Pérez Roque of Tania Crombet, Pérez Roque’s wife. nal Intelligence Officer for Latin America and taught at Georgetown University for 25 years. June 2009 ❖ CubaNews 15 AGRICULTURE AGRICULTURE BRIEFS ‘ORGANIC GARDENS’ TO EXPAND VEGGIE CROPS Drought threatens crops, livestock Cuba’s urban agriculture system, known as BY OUR HAVANA CORRESPONDENT By the end of April, an agricultural drought organopónicos, produced more than 1.4 mil- — meaning a lack of rainfall more severe than lion tons of vegetables in 2008 and better ith memories of the 2003-04 drought results are expected with the incorporation of — the worst in 55 years — still fresh crops can tolerate — covered 90% of Cuba. The Cuban Institute of Meteorology stated new areas of development, according to state- Win their minds, Cuba’s agricultural in a detailed account that rains were “extreme- run Prensa Latina. authorities have raised the alarm for the pos- ly below normal,” with the largest and hard- Nelson Campanioni of the Fundamental sibility of another severe drought, which est-hit zones in Matanzas, Cienfuegos, Villa Research Institute of Tropical Agriculture would threaten already stressed crops and Clara, Sancti Spíritus, Guantánamo, Granma, (INIFAT) told reporters May 22 this system livestock in an area of the island that was Las Tunas and Santiago de Cuba provinces. has 9,400 hectares dedicated to urban agricul- badly hurt by Hurricane Ike last year. The institute warned of possible damage to ture and intensive vegetable gardens. Another drought would be bad news for the rice paddies in these provinces, since yields New investments are in progress to boost government, which is fighting to slash im- will suffer if the drought persists. It also the available area to 10,000 hectares of which ports of food that could be produced at home. raised the specter of harm to coffee farms in more than 300 are partially protected crops. The economic crisis of the early ‘90s devasta- the mountains, which are now entering the The main purpose of this movement is the production of food, medicinal plants and flow- ers in the cities and neighboring areas and using an agro-ecological agriculture to avoid chemical fertilizers or pesticides. This system constitutes more than 4,000 urban agriculture and intensive vegetable gar- dens, plots, family gardens and suburban farms among other forms of production and which employs about 300,000 people, accord- ing to the article. Campanioni said the goal is to help each Cuban to consume 400 grams of fruits and vegetables per day. Initiated in 1997, urban agriculture is pres- ent in every municipality of Cuba. The institu- ted Cuba’s irrigation capacity, shrinking irri- tion works jointly with the National Group of gated land from nearly Fruits of the Ministry of Agriculture to guar- one million hectares in antee sufficient availability of mangos, guavas the late ‘80s to 180,000 and other tropical fruit. hectares in 2007. Details: Instituto de Investigaciones Funda- It’s still too soon to mentales en Agricultura Tropical, Calles 1 y 2, call it a drought, but for No. 17200, Santiago de las Vegas, La Habana. the first four months of Tel: +53 7 857-9010. URL: www.inifat.co.cu. 2009, rainfall was well below average. AG MINISTRY: 2009 GOOD FOR MANGO HARVEST In large swaths of central and eastern Cuba flowering and berry-growing periods. Mango harvesting in several Cuban — where most of the cattle, rice and sugar- Citrus orchards in Matanzas and Ciego de provinces started in mid-May, with the fruit cane is produced — rainfall is only one-third Avila are under severe stress caused by the being sent to the Ceballos Citrus Co. in Ciego of normal, and in some areas less than 20%. drought, while short-cycle vegetable crops — de Avila province for processing. January to April is considered the core of whose short roots demand frequent irrigation José Ricardo Conde, the firm’s production Cuba’s dry season — which extends from in the absence of moisture — are said to be manager, said his goal this season is to mid-November to mid-May. It customarily facing traumatic conditions. process all the fruit harvested in Matanzas, yields 20% of all annual rainfall, but even this The report warned Cuba’s livestock herds Ciego de Avila, Cienfuegos, Camaguey and scanty amount is crucial for agriculture, as are in deplorable condition, due to a lack of Granma provinces. sugarcane is sprouting after the harvest and pastures, forage and water. The result will be ❑ Conde said the factory is ready to press the planting season starts. a sharp drop in milk and meat yields. over 3,000 metric tons of mangos, turning them into aseptic puree, part of which will be used for export. The rest is to be used as raw material to make other products, including natural juices, LARRY LUXNER nectars and marmalades to be sold at duty- free shops and for domestic consumption. Compote is produced from the mango puree, which is given to children as part of their diet. Cuba’s Agriculture Ministry predicts this will be a good year for mango harvests, given that this crop requires a high temperature and dry climate, and so far conditions have Billboard in drought-stricken central Cuba exhorts the locals: Don't waste even a single drop of water! been optimum. 16 CubaNews ❖ June 2009

CALENDAR OF EVENTS CARIBBEAN UPDATE If your organization is sponsoring an upcoming event, please let our readers know! You already know what’s going in Cuba, Fax details to CubaNews at (301) 949-0065 or send e-mail to [email protected]. thanks to CubaNews. Now find out what’s happening in the rest of this diverse and Until Jun. 8: “CarHavana,” an exhibit of classic American autos of the 1950s by photogra- fast-growing region. pher Melani Lust, Deposito de Automóviles, Calle de los Oficios 13, Habana Vieja. Details: Subscribe to Caribbean UPDATE, a Melani Lust, Westport, Conn. Tel: (203) 247-6983. Email: [email protected]. monthly newsletter founded in 1985. Cor- porate and government executives, as well URL: www.melanilustphotography.com/data/web/HavanaClassicCarExhibit/index.html. as scholars and journalists, depend on this publication for its insightful, timely cover- Jun. 3-11: B’nai B’rith humanitarian mission to Cuba. “Meet Jewish leaders, talk to people age of the 30-plus nations and territories of first-hand, bring needed supplies, tour synagogues in Havana, Santa Clara and Cienfuegos.” the Caribbean and Central America. Cost: $3,375 per-person, double-occupancy including airfare from Miami and all meals and When you receive your first issue, you transportation within Cuba. Details: Stanley Cohen, B’nai B’rith Cuba Jewish Relief Project, have two options: (a) pay the accompany- 1831 Murray Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15217. Tel: (412) 521-2390. Email: [email protected]. ing invoice and your subscription will be processed; (b) if you’re not satisfied, just Jun. 3: “Theatrum Mundi: Journey Through 17 Years of Work,” Cuban Research Institute, write “cancel” on the invoice and return it. There is no further obligation on your part. Florida International University. Speaker: Carlos Estevez. Details: FIU Latin America/Carib- The cost of a subscription to Caribbean bean Center, University Park, Miami, FL 33199. Tel: (305) 348-2894. Email: [email protected]. UPDATE is $281 per year. A special rate of $141 is available to academics, non-profit Jun. 8: “Frank País: Architect of Cuba’s Betrayed Revolution,” Cuban Research Institute, organizations and additional subscriptions Florida International University. Presentation by noted author José Alvarez. Details: Books & mailed to the same address. Books, 265 Aragon Ave., Coral Gables, FL 33134. Tel: (305) 348-2894. Email: [email protected]. To order, contact Caribbean UPDATE at 116 Myrtle Ave., Millburn, NJ 07041, call us Jun. 19: “Canada and the Cuban Revolution,” International Institute for the Study of Cuba, at (973) 376-2314, visit our new website at London. Speakers: Lana Wylie of Ontario’s McMaster University; Cynthia Wright, York Uni- www.caribbeanupdate.org or send an versity, Toronto; Raúl Rodríguez, University of Havana, and John Kirk of Dalhousie Univer- email to [email protected]. We accept Visa, MasterCard and American Express. sity, Nova Scotia. Details: Stephen Wilkinson, IISC, London Metropolitan University, 166-220 Holloway Road, London N7 8DB. Tel: +44 20 7133-2405. Email: [email protected].

Jun. 25: “The Leasing of Guantánamo Bay,” International Institute for the Study of Cuba, London. Book launch by Dr. Michael Strauss, Centre d’Etudes Diplomatiques et Stratégi- ques, Paris. Details: Stephen Wilkinson, IISC, London Metropolitan University, 166-220 Holloway Road, London N7 8DB. Tel: +44 20 7133-2405. Email: [email protected].

Jun. 27: “The 2009 Havana Biennial: A Roundtable Discussion,” Cuban Research Institute, Editor & Publisher Florida International University. Panelists: Elizabeth Cerejido, Aurora Martínez and Charo ■ LARRY LUXNER ■ Oquet. Moderators: Katrin Hansing of FIU and Lillian Manzor of the University of Miami. Washington correspondent Details: Edgezones, 47 NE 25 St., Miami, FL 33127. Tel: (305) 348-2894. Email: [email protected]. ■ ANA RADELAT ■ Jul. 27-Aug. 10: Latidos Cuba dance trip exclusively for 10 travelers anywhere in Canada. Political analyst Led by dance instructor Chen Lizra, trip is “an adventure of sightseeing in Havana, and ■ DOMINGO AMUCHASTEGUI ■ breathtaking countryside in Viñales and Trinidad.” Cost: $1,000 for tour-guide alone; airfare Feature writers to/from Cuba, meals, hotels not included. Details: Latidos Productions, Vancouver, BC. Tel: ■ TRACEY EATON ■ ■ VITO ECHEVARRÍA ■ (604) 708-2170. Email: [email protected]. URL: www.latidosproductions.com. Cartographer ■ ARMANDO H. PORTELA ■

Graphic designer INTERNATIONAL STOCK PHOTOS ■ ■ CARI BAMBACH If your business needs high-quality photo- graphs of Cuba — or anywhere else — to (ISSN 1073-7715), founded in 1993, illustrate annual reports, articles, bro- is published monthly by Luxner News Inc., PO Box 1345, Silver Spring, MD 20915, USA. chures or presentations, you’ve come to Subscriptions: $429/one year, $800/two years the right place. Luxner News Inc. has over (special rates available to academics and non-pro- 17,000 color images on file from 89 coun- fit groups). Please visit www.cubanews.com to learn more about our newsletter. tries in North, South and Central America, To order a subscription, just call at the Caribbean, Africa, Europe, the Mideast (301) 452-1105, fax us at (301) 949-0065 or send an and Asia, depicting a variety of topics e-mail to [email protected]. ranging from agriculture and aerospace to Contents may not be distributed by any means without prior written permission of the publisher. tourism and zoology. For details, please Luxner News Inc. grants authorization to photo- call Luxner News Inc. at (301) 452-1105 copy items for internal or personal use, provided or search our user-friendly website at: the appropriate fee is paid directly to Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, www.luxner.com MA 01923. For details, visit www.copyright.com.