Vol. 12, No. 3 March 2004

www.cubanews.com

In the News Treasury announces Cuba crackdown;

The Famous Five opponents smell election-year politics Lawyers for 5 jailed Cuban spies prepare BY LARRY LUXNER elers are permitted to bring back from Cuba. for Mar. 10 hearing in Miami ...... Page 3 arly last month, the Treasury Department Revoking that $100-per-passenger allowance announced that its Office of Foreign would further squeeze the Castro regime and E Assets Control (OFAC) would freeze the “reinforce the seriousness” of U.S. travel restric- Cohibas, anyone? assets of Cuba-run travel companies and pursue tions to Cuba, according to the OFAC website. Cigar exports to recover in 2004, say ex- civil and criminal action against U.S. citizens Treasury official Juan Carlos Zarate, howev- perts at VI Habano Festival ...... Page 4 who do business with those companies. er, declined to comment on specific measures Then, on Feb. 26 — the same day OFAC lift- his office might take with regard to Cuba. ed the U.S. travel ban against Libya — President “We’re reviewing our current regulations to Political briefs Bush signed an executive order that expands see if any improvements can be made,” he told UN appoints human rights czar for Cuba; Washington’s authority to inspect U.S. yachts CubaNews. “We’re talking about taking a fresh look at existing laws and regulations, with no exiles forge “transition” plan ...... Page 5 sailing to Cuba, place guards on vessels and in some cases confiscate the boats. promise to change anything.” Bush justified the tough new policy, warning Zarate’s official title is deputy assistant secre- Census silence U.S. boaters that they could be injured or even tary for the Treasury Department’s Executive 18 months after Cuban population census killed by the Cuban military’s “potential use of Office of Terrorist Financing and Financial Crime. As such, he oversees not only OFAC but still no word on results ...... Page 7 excessive force” if they entered Cuban waters. There’s also talk that OFAC might slash the also U.S. efforts to fight money laundering by al- $1,200 in annual remittances that Cuban-Ameri- Qaeda and other terrorist groups. Newsmakers cans may send their relatives each year, while In an exclusive, hour-long interview at his of- When it comes to Cuba, British entrepre- maybe eliminating the $100 allowance for rum, fice one block from the White House, Zarate See Zarate, page 2 neur Steve Marshall has his finger in just cigars and other souvenirs which licensed trav- about everything ...... Page 8 Foreign firms that offer Cuba-related Beautiful babes Despite red tape, modeling agencies hire Cuban girls on the cheap ...... Page 10 websites fear they’ll be targeted next BY VITO ECHEVARRÍA and PreciosFijos.com. He wouldn’t disclose an- FAR extends reach iven the number of online services that nual sales, but did say he has 20,000 clients. Like the 10 entities singled out by Treasury, Manuel Marrero is latest military man to thrive on the Cuban exile community in GSouth Florida and elsewhere, many in the most of these companies have no interests in occupy high tourism post ...... Page 11 e-commerce industry are wondering if the U.S. the United States; they therefore fall well out- Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign As- side of U.S. jurisdiction. Business briefs sets Control (OFAC) will expand its growing Even so, owners of such companies are reluc- blacklist to include their ventures too. tant to talk on the record. Havana Club ranks 50th on top spirits list; In a recent e-mail to , Philip Agee These companies cater mainly to U.S. credit- CubaNews La. port seeks Cuba trade ...... Page 12 — the former CIA agent who now runs the trav- card holders who order consumer products to el site CubaLinda.com — said “I know of the be delivered to relatives and friends in Cuba. new [OFAC] measures, but I don’t have any Best pollo in town Some of the most successful are the online comments to make at the moment. Opened in 1947, Havana’s Restaurante El supermarkets, such as PreciosFijos.com and Since the beginning, these Cuba-based online CubaGiftStore.com, and money transfer outfits Aljibe still lures crowds ...... Page 14 entities have used online credit card processing like Cash2Cuba.com, Duales.com and Trans- firms — such as InternetSecure in Canada and cardinter.com (Transcard Canada) as well as WorldPay.com, a subsidiary of the Royal Bank CubaNews (ISSN 1073-7715) is published monthly online travel agencies like CubaLinda.com and of Scotland — to circumvent the embargo. by Luxner News Inc. © 2004. All rights reserved. GoCubaPlus.com. That lets U.S. clients have their credit cards Subscriptions: $429/year. For subscription or edito- Enzo Ruberto, who runs ICC Corp. out of an rial inquiries, call toll-free (800) 365-1997, send a fax debited by a non-Cuban entity, while still paying to (301) 365-1829 or e-mail us at [email protected]. office in Thunder Bay, Ontario, has 30 employ- ees and 140 websites including Cash2Cuba.com See OFAC, page 6 2 CubaNews ❖ March 2004 OFAC’s new policies — particularly the one “For those of us who have close personal Zarate — FROM PAGE 1 restricting U.S. boaters from sailing to Cuba ties to Cuba, the destruction of civil society is said “the most significant action” taken yet by — don’t really amount to much. a sheer travesty,” he said. “I’ve never been to OFAC against Castro was the Feb. 9 designa- “This is the United States government ap- Cuba, but it’s long been a topic of discussion tion of 10 companies involved in Cuba’s lucra- plying existing law,” he told the South Florida in our family. And it’s always been clear to me tive tourism industry. Sun-Sentinel. that Cuba is in a very different category from “It’s the first time we’ve actually identified Zarate, 32, is one of more than a dozen the other countries under U.S. sanctions.” entities that are owned by the Cuban govern- high-ranking Bush administration officials of One reason for that is Cuba’s proximity to ment,” he said. “In so doing, we’re trying to Cuban origin who are directly involved in for- the United States; the island is certainly a lot raise awareness with the American people closer than Libya, North Korea, Iran, Iraq or and internationally as well.” Sudan. It also attracts many more tourists than the five other countries combined. TRANSFERS MUST BE BLOCKED That’s why Zarate is particularly proud of The 10 entities singled out by Treasury the White House for eliminating the so-called LARRY LUXNER Secretary John Snow during his speech to “people-to-people” licenses, most of which cheering Cuban-American exiles in Miami are expired on Dec. 31. all owned by the Cuban government. They “What we saw was an abuse by the compa- include Havana-based Corporación Cimex nies marketing those programs,” he said. S.A. and Grupo Cubanacán, along with sub- “People were traveling on tourist packages sidiaries operated by those state-owned giants instead of engaging in academic pursuits. The in the Caribbean, Canada, Europe and South flip side of that was that the regime itself co- America (see box, page 6). opted the process and in many instances “We have notified U.S. financial institutions began taking control of those programs. So that any assets or transfers related to those we eliminated that licensing provision.” entities must be blocked,” said Zarate. “So if you have a dollar transfer in place between ZARATE: CASTRO SQUANDERED HIS CHANCE Cubanacán and Havanatur and the funds are At present, roughly 13% of OFAC’s budget clearing throught New York, that would now goes to enforce Cuba-related sanctions. While be blocked. Absent a license to do business critics accuse the White House of squander- with these designated parties, it is now illegal Treasury’s Juan C. Zarate: Time to get tough. ing taxpayers’ money when it should be fight- for U.S. citizens to provide services to any of ing al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups that those companies.” mulating Cuba policy. Others include the threaten Americans, Zarate claims the admin- On the other hand, Zarate reassured us State Department’s Otto Reich; top USAID istration’s current Cuba policy is justified. that it’s not OFAC’s goal to punish non-Cuban official Adolfo Franco; Emilio González, chief “President Bush well over a year ago pro- companies from providing services to the of the Cuba portfolio at the National Security vided the Castro regime with an opportunity Castro government. Council, and Mauricio Tamargo, chairman of to re-engage in a relationship with us,” he ex- “Our powers are limited, but the power of the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission. plained. “As a precondition, the president any sanctions the U.S. wields stems from the Zarate has had direct oversight of OFAC indicated that Castro would have to allow for use of the dollar and access to the U.S. finan- ever since his office was established one year free elections and open up Cuba’s economy as cial system,” he said. “We don’t want to affect ago in the reshuffling that followed establish- an important first step. It was a historic cross- commerce underway between Cuba and legit- ment of the mammoth Department of Home- roads for relations between the U.S. and imate 3rd-party countries like Canada. There land Security (DHS). Before that, OFAC re- Cuba, and the Castro regime rejected it out- is a qualitative difference between entities ported to the Treasury Department’s under- right. That has resulted in increased enforce- owned by the Cuban government and foreign secretary for enforcement. ment of existing law.” companies merely doing business in Cuba.” He added: “The reason we’re focusing so Rep. Lincoln Díaz-Balart (R-FL), a staunch AN ‘ABUSE’ OF PEOPLE-TO-PEOPLE LICENSES intently on the travel industry is that it’s such supporter of the embargo, praised the recent The product of a Cuban mother and a a seminal part of the regime’s ability to sur- White House crackdown on Cuba, telling the Mexican father, Zarate was born in California, vive and perpetuate itself. Over 70% of Cuban Miami Herald that “the Castro regime har- graduated from Harvard Law School in 1997 tourism is segregated, and it doesn’t allow the bors terrorists and has repeatedly hampered and worked as a prosecutor in the Depart- interactions that we all want.” U.S. anti-terrorist efforts since Sept. 11, 2001. ment of Justice’s Terrorism and Violent Crime On Oct. 10, the Department of Homeland President Bush’s commendable action will Section before taking on his current job. See Zarate, page 3 reduce the resources available to the Cuban terrorist regime.” RAISED EYEBROWS IN MIAMI AND HAVANA DOC rules against piano donations to Cuban schools OFAC’s threats are meeting, however, with he U.S. Department of Commerce would not be consistent with U.S. foreign a great deal of skepticism from observers on has revoked the export license it has policy toward Cuba.” all sides of the Cuba debate. T granted annually since 1995 to Send a Last year, the Treasury Department re- “This is not new,” says Enzo Ruberto, a Piana to Havana, a non-profit group that do- fused to renew the group’s license to tune Canadian businessman who runs Precios- nates pianos to music schools in Cuba. the pianos once they arrive in Cuba. With Fijos.com and Cash2Cuba.com. “The foreign The DOC’s Bureau of Industry and Secu- the force of three U.S. agencies arrayed against them, it will be hard for them to con- travel companies identified [by Snow] are all rity told group founder Benjamin Treuhaft 100% owned by Cuban government corpora- tinue their humanitarian task, said Treuhaft, tions. For the past 40 years, Cuban companies that “after reviewing your application to though he promised to find a way. have been banned from doing business inside export pianos and other musical parts and “The Cuban kids’ incredible motivation the U.S. There’s no change here, other than instruments, bicycles and building supplies and will to succeed is infectious,” he said. that the Bush administration has now decided to Cuba, the Department of Commerce, Details: Benjamin Treuhaft, Send a Piana, to enforce this during an election year.” upon the advice of the State Department, 39 E 7th St. #3, New York, NY 10003. E-mail: Even Joe García, executive director of the has concluded that export of these items [email protected]. URL: www.sendapiana.com. Cuban American National Foundation, said March 2004 ❖ CubaNews 3 LEGAL AFFAIRS Lawyers for ‘Miami 5’ spies await crucial Mar. 10 hearing BY LARRY LUXNER prison. The five Cubans are now doing time at ing,” said committee coordinator Gloria La ttorneys for the “Miami Five” — a federal penitentaries in California, Colorado, Riva in a phone interview with CubaNews, group of five Cuban nationals serving South Carolina, Texas and Wisconsin. though she added that “some people are A long jail sentences after they were con- “This is a basic denial of human rights,” afraid of donating” to the charity due to the victed in 1998 of spying for the Castro regime said Weinglass, “because under the Constitu- U.S. embargo against Cuba. — will argue at a Mar. 10 hearing in Miami for tion, spouses cannot be prevented from see- The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of a retrial. Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) had held up $1,200 in donations from overseas because The five men are Ramón Labañino, Antonio the name “Cuba” appeared in the bank drafts, Guerrero, René González, Fernando Gonzá- according to Ian Thompson, a lawyer with lez and Gerardo Hernández. They were sen- International Peace for Cuba. tenced to terms of between 15 years and dou- La Riva said “this has affected the timeli- ble life in prison, on charges of conspiracy and ness of the donations, so we’re going to have acting as foreign agents. to find alternative means for other donations The Cuban government, which regards the to come in” for future advertisements. five as heroes, counters that they were mere- Besides La Riva, those endorsing the Times ly “gathering valuable intelligence” on right- ad include Alice Walker, Noam Chomsky, wing extremist groups in Miami that have per- Ramsey Clark, Rigoberta Menchu, the petrated terrorist activities against Cuba. Propaganda poster urges freedom for “the five.” National Lawyers Guild and the International Leonard Weinglass, a New York lawyer rep- Association of Democratic Lawyers. resenting Guerrero, told CubaNews that the ing their inmate husbands, even under La Riva said her group will stage a major lengthy sentences these men received were Bureau of Prisons regulations.” protest Mar. 5 in New York, with similar unjustified, since “not a single page of classi- He added: “I visited three of the five, and demonstrations planned for Los Angeles, fied information” was ever passed to Havana. they’re very strong men who are holding up Milwaukee, Chicago and elsewhere. Another “Right from the beginning, this case has very well under very difficult circumstances.” protest is set for Mar. 10 in Miami, to coincide been a political case involving U.S policy A San Francisco-based group, the National with a hearing by three judges from the toward Cuba, rather than a typical criminal Committee to Free the Cuban Five, spon- Atlanta-based 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. justice case where charges are being brought sored a full-page ad Mar. 3 in the New York Details: Gloria La Riva, National Commit- for violations of domestic law,” he said. Times. The ad itself cost $43,000, not includ- tee to Free the Cuban Five, 2489 Mission St., Weinglass also criticized the fact that the ing $7,000 more in related publicity costs. Room #24, San Francisco, CA 94110. Tel: State Department has denied visas for wives “We received over $10,000 from the Cuban (415) 821-7575. E-mail: freethefive@freethe- of two of the men to visit their husbands in community in Miami alone, which is surpris- five.org. URL: www.freethefive.org.

— FROM PAGE 2 spection. More than 44,000 passengers were seizures — most of them related to the unli- Zarate screened as they departed the United States, censed importation of Cuban cigars and rum. Security — acting on orders from the White and some 50,915 passengers were screened “If people are engaging in activities that run House and in conjunction with OFAC and upon their return for Cuba. afoul of U.S. law, they’re subject to OFAC other agenices — began inspecting 100% of all OFAC says 275 passengers were prevented fines,” said Zarate. “What we’re trying to do is Cuba-bound charter flights originating in from boarding after examinations revealed enforce the law more effectively.” Miami, New York and Los Angeles, the three that they didn’t qualify for travel to Cuba One way of catching those who break the designated “gateway” cities for such flights. under any OFAC category. In addition, more law is by stepping up enforcement at airports As of Feb. 10, according to OFAC, 569 than 1,000 flights returning from Cuba were throughout Canada and the Caribbean. flights had been targeted for outbound in- targeted for inspection, resulting in 376 Customs inspectors are now stationed at pre-clearance facilities at six facilities in Canada, looking for telltale signs that tourists Cuba now ranks 35th in U.S. food purchases have been to the forbidden island. Similar inspectors are on the job in Bermuda, Nassau uba is now the 35th-largest market in U.S. food sales to Cuban food purchasing and Aruba, Zarate told . the world for U.S. food exports, agency Alimport made the United States CubaNews “It’s not about harrassing people, but effec- Caccording to the New York-based U.S.- Cuba’s 7th-largest trading partner in 2003, Cuba Trade and Economic Council. according to official figures. tively enforcing U.S. law,” he said in response That’s up from 50th in 2002 and 144th in “While the Bush administration is trying to a question about the wisdom of punishing 2000, says Council President John Kavulich. to intensify pressure on Cuba and sever busi- little old ladies for bringing Bibles to Cuba in He said Cuba’s purchases of U.S. farm com- ness links with the Castro government, such violation of the travel ban. “We look at each modies doubled last year to $256.9 million. an attempt is increasingly at odds with the situation on a case-by-case basis. The fines One company, Archer Daniels Midland of position of the U.S. business community and range from very low amounts up to $55,000, Decatur, Ill., accounted for 50% of total sales its allies in Congress,” said Paolo Spadoni, a depending on how forthright the person is.” to Cuba, followed by Cargill and FCStone. Cuba analyst at the University of Florida. Asked about a possible link between Exports consisted mainly of 10 commodities Spadoni told the South Florida Sun-Senti- OFAC’s get-tough attitude against Castro and led by soy, wheat, corn, rice and poultry. nel that “with Cuba’s food purchases from the president’s need to win Florida’s 25 elec- A smaller volume of processed foods, lum- the U.S. up by more than 80% in 2003 after an toral votes in November, Zarate sighed. ber and even newsprint have also been ex- impressive 2002, it is likely that anti-embar- “This is not about politics, it’s about good ported to Cuba under the Trade Sanctions go forces will keep pushing for a lifting of policy,” he insisted. “The enforcement of U.S. Reform Act of 2000, which allows agricultur- trade and travel restrictions with the island.” law is something this administration is proud al exports to Cuba on a cash-only basis. – LARRY LUXNER of, and if God willing the president is re-elect- ed, we will move forward on this policy.” 4 CubaNews ❖ March 2004 EXPORTS Cuban cigar exports to recover in 2004 after difficult year BY OUR HAVANA CORRESPONDENT ments with 31 exclusive distribuors of Cuban attended by 868 guests from 56 countries. uban tobacco production has recovered cigars worldwide, and 86 Casas de Habanos Prizes were awarded to Cuban cigar produc- from devastating damages left by two from Beijing to Beirut. Three new Casas de ers as well as two retailers, Jesús Llanos of Csevere hurricanes in 2002, said Oscar Habanos should boost sales to the Chinese Spain and Mohammad Zeidan of Lebanon. Basulto, president of TabaCuba and co-chair- market this year. The auction led by Paul Simon of Sotheby’s “From 2000, frankly, things have been in London presented five lots, the first of man of Habanos S.A. going south, but that goes for most markets which was bought for $26,000, the second for Losses due to the 2002 hurricanes affected on a global basis,” Si- mainly tobacco processing houses in the mon Chase, director westernmost province of Pinar del Río. More of Hunters & Fran- than 54,000 of those houses had to be rebuilt. kau, sole distributor This year’s crop looks promising, said of Habanos in Britain, Basulto, speaking at the VI International Hab- told Reuters. “In spite LARRY LUXNER ano Festival held Feb. 23-28 in Havana. of wars, pestilence According to TabaCuba figures, Cuba pro- and all the rest, I saw duced 303 million cigars in 2001, of which 153 the first sign of recov- million were exported or sold at dollar stores ery in 2003.” across Cuba. The remaining 150 million units were sold to Cuban nationals in pesos. NEW HUMIDOR No production figures have been released At present, Cuban since 2001, though the Cuban government cigars are available in reports that cigar and tobacco-related exports 34 brands and 80 siz- came to $142 million in 2002, up from $216 es. Montecristo is the million in 2001 and $166 million in 2000 (these most popular fol- figures do not include $30 million in annual lowed by Partagas, domestic sales). Romeo and Julieta, The Cohiba, considered Cuba’s most prized cigar, is widely counterfeited. Last year’s tobacco crop totaled 38,000 met- Hoyo de Monterey ric tons — similar to previous years — and and Cohiba. $54,000, the third for $70,000 and the fourth exports are presumed to have increased, Last month, Habanos put two new cigar for $50,000. The last one was purchased by a though no dollar figure was given for 2003. products on the market: the Montecristo hu- French executive of Altadis for $250,000, According to TabaCuba, the world market midor and the Habanos Hoyo de Monterrey bringing the total to $450,000. for premium cigars is 300-400 million units, of Colección cigar case. The main exhibitors at the event were com- which Corporación Habanos S.A., a 50-50 ven- According to company sources, the Monte- panies dealing in accessories for smokers: ture between Madrid-based Altadis S.A. and cristo humidor is “an authentic masterpiece humidors, memorabilia, antiques, handicrafts government-run Empresa Cubana del Tab- made by Cuban artisans that bears the name and specialized magazines like Spain’s Epicur, aco, has a 30% share. of the most prestigious Cuban cigar, which is the French magazine Líamateur de Cigare made from the excellent Vuelta Abajo leaves, and New York-based Cigar Aficionado. CUBAN CIGAR SALES TUMBLE IN ASIA, CANADA the western region with the best tobacco plan- The trade fair also attracted producers of Because of the U.S. embargo, no Cuban tations in Cuba.” wine, rum and other spirits, while for the sec- cigars may be sold in the United States. Eur- The VI International Habano Festival ond year in a row, the festival included a fash- ope, on the other hand, last year snatched up closed in the early hours of Feb. 28, after an ion show. Also included in the program was 67% of Habanos’ total exports, followed by auction of five lots that netted $450,000 for the launching of two new Cuban gourmet cof- Canada and Latin America (16%), the Middle Cuba’s national health system. fee brands: mountain-grown Montecristo East (13%) and the Asia-Pacific region (4%). The gala dinner — served in the gardens of DeLeggend and premium coffee brand Spain is the single biggest customer for the exclusive El Laguito banquet hall —was Cohiba Atmosphere. Cuban cigars, with more than 25 million units sold annually there. According to a Reuters report, Asian cigar Foreign trade rose 13.2% in 2003; exports up 18% sales have been hammered by last year’s SARS outbreak, while heightened U.S. securi- uba’s foreign trade rose by 13.2% in Europe accounted for 41% of Cuba’s 2002 ty has cut into the Canadian cigar business. 2003 after falling by more than $900 trade, North and South America 39% and “It is a bit difficult to smoke a cigar if you Cmillion the year before, as the foreign- Asia 18%. Havana’s top trading partners, in have a mask over your face,” Hong Kong en- exchange crisis forced the Castro govern- descending order, were Venezuela, Spain, trepreneur David Tang told Reuters, though ment to slash imports by $694 million, while China, Canada, Netherlands, Italy, United he added that there’s been a “surge of recov- exports fell by $226 million. States, Mexico, France and Russia. ery” in Asia this year. Official figures show that total trade came Petroleum and its derivatives comprised The news agency reported that SARS and 21% of imports ($975 million); food ($929 mil- to $6.335 billion in 2003, compared with lion) accounted for another 20%. Those per- U.S. terror alerts have discouraged Ameri- $5.596 billion in 2002, a 14% decline com- cans from traveling north of the border to buy centages were unchanged from 2002. pared with $6.5 billion in 2001. Of the 2003 Sugar exports, meanwhile, fell to less than the Cuban cigars that are prohibited at home. figures, imports accounted for $4.643 billion, One-third of the 1 million premium Cuban $300 million, while nickel exports topped up 11.6%, and exports $1.694 billion, up 18%. $600 million and tobacco held its own at cigars sold in Canada were bought by Ameri- Cuba’s trade deficit was $2.949 billion, cans, said Habanos retailer Raymond Chu of around $200 million. Other key exports in- compared with $2.724 billion in 2002 and clude shellfish ($70 million, down from $100 Windsor, Ontario; in frontier towns, as much $3.176 billion in 2001. It was the first such million in 2002); pharmaceuticals ($60 mil- as 80% of Cuban cigars go to U.S. customers. trade deficit reported by Havana since 1994. lion); and citrus (no figure given). Habanos reports that it now has agree- March 2004 ❖ CubaNews 5 POLITICAL BRIEFS UN’S CHANET TO PROBE HUMAN RIGHTS IN CUBA In their own words … The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has appointed French magistrate Christine Chanet its special representative to “Cuba is for the most part, not at all a salient issue outside of [Miami]. It report on Cuba’s human rights situation. doesn’t register politically outside of this city.” In a Jan. 27 statement, the UN said Chanet will — Jorge Domínguez, a Harvard University professor of government and Cuba announce her findings at the commission’s annu- expert, speaking Feb. 19 at Florida International University. al session Mar. 17 in Geneva, Switzerland. The commission, created in 1946, is composed of the “Dominguez’s remarks are a clearly calculated political maneuver to weaken United States and 52 other members, and meets the Cuban-American support for President Bush.” for six weeks each year in Geneva. — Rep. Lincoln Díaz-Balart, (R-FL), responding to the professor’s FIU speech. In her first report, Chanet said dozens of Cu- ban dissidents were being held in alarming con- “Cuba believes the international community cannot abandon Haiti. The situ- ditions following their imprisonment early last ation is getting worse. Collaborating with Haiti has become a duty for all of us.” year. She also said her appeals to Fidel Castro to — Felipe Pérez Roque, Cuba’s foreign minister, speaking Feb. 19. pardon the dissidents had gone unanswered. “The personal representative of the High “Bush couldn’t debate a Cuban 9th-grader, who knows more than he does.” Commissioner has received particularly alarming information about the conditions of detention of — Fidel Castro, in a 4-1/2 hour speech to economists Feb. 15 in Havana. these people,” she said, adding that prisoners are often transferred from one jail to another, often “The U.S. government reiterates once again that there is no reason for us to far from their families, making visits difficult. attack Cuba. The Cubans are fabricating the ‘threat’ of a U.S. military attack to Chanet’s appointment follows a UN resolution engender fear in the population, to spend scarce resources to maintain large that invited the Castro regime “to endeavor to military, security and intelligence structures, and to justify extreme measures realize progress in the field of human rights and in a vain attempt to crush Cuba’s nascent independent civil society.” civil and political rights.” — James Cason, chief of the U.S. Interests Section in Havana, in a statement Chanet, who headed a UN human rights com- released to reporters Feb. 20. mittee in 1997 and 1998, has also served as a member of a UN committee against torture. “It has meant very much to me that Cubans have understood what I’m doing. Sometimes in my own country, I am severely criticized by people who FLORIDA LAWMAKERS PROPOSE TRANSITION PLAN don’t bother to read me at all.” Cuban-American congressional leaders in — Pulitzer Prize-winning author Alice Walker, speaking at the Havana Interna- Florida have unveiled their own plan for a transi- tional Book Fair, where her 1976 novel “Meridian” was released in Spanish. tion to democracy in a post-Castro Cuba, in what The Miami Herald calls “a clear indication of the “The State Department told us they were getting slots ready for as many as vision some exile leaders have for the island that 50,000 [refugees] at Guantánamo, and they would like humanitarian organiza- they fled years ago.” tions to be involved in caring for these people.” The plan, announced Feb. 20, calls for the pri- — An unidentified relief agency official, telling Reuters about Washington’s plans vatization of joint ventures between the govern- to use the U.S. Naval Base at Guantánamo, Cuba, to house Haitian refugees. ment and foreign investors, endorses the right of urban property dwellers in Cuba to remain in “These are not times for aggressions or threats, these are times of unity. We their homes as long as old private owners are have to show the U.S. government and its lackeys our will to face these new properly compensated, and suggests that govern- threats and aggressions, and our determination to fight and win.” ment-owned land be redistributed to small- and medium-sized private farmers to help foster a — Declaration issued by the Confederation of Cuban Workers and middle class. reproduced Feb. 17 in the CTC’s weekly newspaper, Trabajadores. “We will make sure that this plan becomes part of the Bush commission,” Rep. Lincoln Díaz- “There is demonstrated bipartisan, bicameral interest in the Cuba travel leg- Balart (R-FL) told the Herald. “The solution of islation and we feel strongly that allowing floor consideration of the free-stand- Cuba is not in Washington, but to have freedom. ing bill is the right thing to do.” We insist that Cuba has to have plurality.” — Sens. Max Baucus (D-MT), Larry Craig (R-ID), Byron Dorgan (D-ND) and Mike Enzi The newspaper says the proposal is also a (R-WY), in a Feb. 12 letter to Senate majority and minority leaders. “clear rejection” of Oswaldo Payá’s Proyecto Varela, a referendum signed by over 20,000 “We’re cracking down. We mean business. We’re cutting off American dol- Cubans to create change on the island by work- lars headed to Fidel Castro, period.” ing within the communist constitution. — Treasury Secretary John Snow, in a Feb. 9 speech to prominent Cuban- “It’s important for us to set the tone that there Americans at the Omni Colonnade Hotel in Coral Gables, Fla. will be no fundamental change in Cuba’s system if you go along with the constitution drafted by “I think it’s a good step in the direction of cutting of funds for the survival of Fidel Castro,” said Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R- a dictatorship.” FL). “This sets up a new path.” — Cuban exile activist , commenting on Snow’s remarks. On the other hand, many other well-known Ninoska Pérez Castellón Cuban exiles have expressed support for the Varela Project, including Archbishop Agustín “Our intention is to mobilize people using the [government] mecha- Roman; Joe Garcia, executive director of the nisms that they have available to them.” Cuban American National Foundation; and — Vladimiro Roca, spokesman for the United For All Movement dissident Carlos Saladrigas, a prominent Cuban-American group, which on Feb. 10 unveiled a list of 36 specific proposals to businessman. achieve a peaceful transition to democracy in Cuba. 6 CubaNews ❖ March 2004 Henry Martínez, head of Duales.com, a online embargo breakers. — FROM PAGE 1 OFAC Toronto company that does money transfers, “We have full interaction with all other law- for goods and services related to Cuba. said his U.S. and Canadian lawyers have ad- enforcement agencies, and we will use them Along with the online Cuban-based firms vised him that “there are no valid grounds or at every opportunity, as part of the president's themselves, such online credit-card debitors merits to approach companies outside U.S. initiative,” said the bureaucrat. “Any informa- also fall outside U.S. jurisdiction. jurisdiction, unless there is a breach of Cana- tion that comes to our attention [from other That leads some observers to speculate dian law or a specified international treaty.” agencies] will be submitted for enforcement that OFAC would somehow have to pressure It’s apparent that since OFAC won’t be able action by OFAC.” these firms into giving up information on to gather information on such transactions Yet many question the wisdom of President their U.S. customers in order to make its from these firms, the agency will have to find Bush’s “get tough” attitude toward remit- “crackdown” effective, or at least discourage ways of getting that data from the U.S. credit- tances and other online transactions. them from continuing to do business with card holders themselves. Damián Fernández, a Cuban affairs expert Cuba-based entities. OFAC: WE’LL FIND YOU NO MATTER WHAT at Miami’s Florida International University, However, Rick Nugent, chairman and CEO says OFAC’s new measure will go against of InternetSecure, told Despite these obstacles, an OFAC official what he calls the “politics of affection” that us he felt “absolutely no who asked not to be identified insisted that drive even the most rabidly anti-Castro pressure at all” from his agency will succeed in catching credit- OFAC to disclose infor- Cuban-Americans to send money and mer- card users who conduct future e-commerce chandise to their relatives. mation on U.S. credit- transactions with Cuba. card transactions his Ruberto says he’s deeply dismayed by “If we can assert jurisdiction [against these OFAC’s enforcement action. firm has processed for individuals], we will,” he warned. Cash2Cuba.com and That same OFAC official wouldn’t com- “The average transaction of all our sites is similar entities. ment on what, if anything, the agency can do under $180. Our No. 1 selling item is food, Simon Fletcher, a to discourage foreign firms like Internet- bought by hard-working people who are send- spokesman with World- ICC’s Enzo Ruberto Secure, Transcard Canada and WorldPay ing badly needed humanitarian aid to their pay.com, was far more from facilitating Cuba-related online transac- mothers, fathers and family. We know both blunt about how he tions for U.S. customers. the sender and recipient, and they appreciate would handle such a request from OFAC. However, OFAC may have special leverage when they receive these goods from their “We do not discuss the confidential details over WorldPay, since the British company family abroad.” of specific customer accounts,” Fletcher said. happens to have a U.S. operation based in He added: “We find it very hard to believe “We operate internationally, as do our custo- Sterling, Va., just outside Washington. that President Bush, leader of the most pow- mers. We are unaware of any concerns raised When it comes to ordinary U.S. customers, erful, richest and most liberated free country of this nature. However, if any government the OFAC official said his agency can count in the world, is thinking of taking extreme, was to raise them with us, we would consider on information-gathering techniques from unnecessary actions that will directly punish them and act appropriately and responsibly.” other government agencies to eventually im- the people of Cuba by depriving them of pose civil and even criminal penalties against assistance sent to them by their families.” The 10 bad guys on OFAC’s list: 1. CORPORACIÓN CIMEX S.A. — New OFAC rules choke off legal U.S. travel to Cuba (a.k.a. Cimex Cuba, Comercio Interior, Mercado Exterior), Edif. Sierra Maestra, he Bush administration’s crackdown expire; now, the only U.S. citizens without Ave. 1ra e/0 y 2, Miramar, Playa, Havana. on U.S. travel to Cuba has “reduced family in Cuba who may visit the island 2. CUBANACÁN GROUP — (a.k.a. El T the number of non-Cuban-Americans legally are journalists, athletes, researchers, Grupo Cubanacán), Calle 68 esq. 5ta-A, visiting the island to a trickle,” according to executives of U.S. food and agribusiness Apartado 16046, Miramar, Havana. a Feb. 19 report by Reuters. firms, and participants in a limited number 3. CUBANACÁN INTERNATIONAL Since last October, when President Bush of humanitarian and religious delegations. B.V. — Visseringlaan 24, 2288 ER Rijs- issued a directive to the Treasury and Michael Zuccato, president of Los Angeles-based Cuba Travel Services, told wijk, Zevenhuizen, Netherlands. Homeland Security departments to step up enforcement of travel restrictions, OFAC Reuters that OFAC’s new crackdown “had a 4. CUBANACÁN U.K. LTD. — Unit 49, has screened more than 44,000 Cuba-bound tremendous impact on the flow of people. Skylines Village, Limeharbour, Dock- passengers on direct charter flights from Business is down by 30%.” lands, London E14 9TS, United Kingdom. Miami, New York and Los Angeles, and In 2003, some 160,000 U.S. citizens made 5. HAVANATUR BAHAMAS LTD. — nearly 51,000 people returning from Cuba. authorized visits to Cuba; 85% of those peo- East Bay Street, Nassau, Bahamas. As a result, 275 passengers were denied ple were Americans of Cuban descent, who 6. HAVANATUR CANADA INC. — boarding because they didn’t qualify for may visit relatives in Cuba once a year. The (a.k.a. Caribe Sol), 818 rue Sherbrooke travel licenses under OFAC’s newly revised rest traveled on special permits for busi- E., Montreal, Québec, H2L 1K3, Canada. categories. Government agents also made ness, cultural, academic and religious trips. 7. HAVANATUR CHILE S.A. — (for- 376 seizures involving the unlicensed In addition, an estimated 22,000 to 25,000 merly known as Guamatur S.A.), Avenida importation of Cuban cigars and rum. Americans defied the travel ban and visited 11 de Septiembre 2155, Edificio Panora- What’s really dramatic, however, is the Cuba via third countries such as Mexico, mico, Torre C, Oficina #805, Providencia, drop in legal travel by Americans on “peo- the Bahamas or Jamaica. Santiago, Chile. ple-to-people” exchanges and cultural trips. OFAC’s increased vigilance and willing- 8. HAVANATUR S.A. — offices in seven Most of the organizations offering such ness to impose hefty fines on tourists who Cuban locations: Pinar del Río, Havana, trips — such as New York’s Center for defy the travel ban “increases the hassle fac- Cienfuegos, Cayo Coco, Camagüey, Hol- Cuban Studies and San Francisco-based tor,” said John Kavulich, president of the guín and Santiago de Cuba. Global Exchange —were booked in Novem- U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic Council. ber and December with ordinary U.S. citi- “If someone thought twice about traveling 9. HAVANATUR S.A. — Maipú 464, zens rushing to get a glimpse of Cuba to Cuba before Snow’s speech,” Kavulich Piso 10, 1006 Buenos Aires, Argentina. before the door slammed shut Dec. 31. told Reuters, “they should now think six 10. TIENDAS UNIVERSO S.A. (a.k.a. That’s the day OFAC let those licenses times before traveling without a license.” www.cuba-shop.net); no address given. March 2004 ❖ CubaNews 7 DEMOGRAPHICS Little to show 18 months after hyped-up population census BY ARMANDO H. PORTELA Distribution Office. But those requirements, But statistics show an alarming collapse he findings of the “most important soc- not to mention special rules for living in Hav- triggered by the onset of the economic slump. ial research” in decades — as Cuba’s ana or Varadero, are ignored by some people In fact, Cuba’s average annual population T official media dubbed the latest census hoping to cheat the system by not reporting growth rate dropped to only 0.23% in the peri- — have vanished. the departure of relatives in order to keep od from 2000 to 2002, compared to 1.1% in the their food quota for as long as possible. years before the crisis. And the slowdown was Eighteen months after completing the well- hardly gradual. publicized Census of Population and Housing According to the Statistical Yearbook 2003, Cuba’s most populous (and most densely pop- It showed an abrupt plunge from 1.2% in in September 2002, authorities remain silent ulated) province as of Dec. 31, 2002, was the 1992 to 0.35% in 1994 and 0.16% in 1995. That about results that should have been disclosed corresponds to the sudden loss in Soviet sub- by last July at the latest. sidies to the Cuban economy, and the dramat- A handful of figures gathered during the ic drop in per-capita GDP. Since then, the pace survey ended up in the Statistical Yearbook of growth has averaged only 0.3% a year. 2003, whose publication was delayed until the The reason: Cuba’s birth rate dropped from third quarter by the National Bureau of a stable 0.8% a year in the late 1980s to 1.3% in Statistics (ONE in Spanish). the late ‘90s. More importantly, emigration These figures only include the total popula- from Cuba jumped from near-zero in the late tion, some indicators of the overall education 1980s to 0.3% in 2001. level, the percentage of dwellings built after Emigration alone represented a net loss of 1959, percentage of bohíos (rural straw huts) 247,000 inhabitants — or 2.2% of the popula- percentage of dwellings with electricity and tion — over the nine-year period ending in the unemployment rate. City of Havana, with 2,175,900 inhabitants, fol- 2001. During the same period, Cuba’s net pop- Meanwhile in Havana, officials answer that lowed by Santiago de Cuba (1,043,100); ulation gain was 303,644, according to statis- the official census figures are in the hands of Holguín (1,037,700); Granma (837,200); Villa tics released by ONE. the “highest authorities.” But the real reasons Clara (836,200) and Camagüey (792,000). While a solution to these patterns remains for the silence remain elusive and rumors The least-populated were Ciego de Avila elusive, they have an immediate effect on the abound — ranging from the poor quality of (414,500); Cienfuegos (399,000) and the spec- aging of the population and the burden that the information gathered to any sort of em- ial municipality of Isla de la Juventud (80,700). future generations will have to support. barrassing revelations that the survey could Population growth from 1997 to 2002 was “Cuba is a country suffering an acute aging have turned up. fastest in the province of La Habana (0.67%) process,” said Juan Carlos Alfonso Fraga, Curiously, the recorded total population at and in Isla de la Juventud (0.63%), and slowest director of the census, in a 2002 interview car- census time (11,177,743 inhabitants) falls in Villa Clara (0.15%); during that time, the ried by the official Cuban media. He said that short of all previous official estimates. The population actually dropped by 2% in the City over 14% of Cubans are 60 or older, and that Statistical Yearbook projects an estimated of Havana. Cuban women aren’t having enough baby population of 11,250,979 by Jun. 30, 2002 — or It seems apparent that specialists have mis- girls to guarantee future population growth. 73,236 fewer than the real number. calculated the stagnation of Cuba’s population The average age of Cuba’s working popula- In 1987, officials were projecting a popula- which was triggered by the economic crisis tion will be 42 years in a decade, when the rev- tion of 11,844,200 by 2000, a prediction that during the 1990s. olution’s first baby boomers will be reaching turned out to be off by 760,000 inhabitants, or Authorities tend to disregard the impact of retirement, since in Cuba, women retire at 55 6.8% of the total population. shrinking living standards on population and men at 60. By 2025, every working-age The government nominally controls all pop- growth, attributing it mainly to the behavior Cuban will be maintaining two fellow citizens ulation movements, either through the of a well-educated population, as is the case in either too young or too old to be productive. mandatory Residence Register or the Food Western Europe. That compares to a 1:1 ratio now. 8 CubaNews ❖ March 2004 NEWSMAKERS Internet guru Steve Marshall seeks new Cuba ventures BY LARRY LUXNER Between 1997 and 1999, Marshall bought ital advertising to attract both Cuban and for- eign firms, since under the Castro regime, TV tephen A. Marshall’s business card is cer- over 200 domain names relating to Cuba, spending $28,000 to register the domains and and regular outdoor billboard advertising for tainly eye-catching. “Four companies, commercial products is forbidden. same vision,” boasts the bilingual , another $200,000 in “finding specific informa- S tarjeta tion to coincide with each domain, translating “We now have over 100 websites with con- which lists the names, e-mail addresses, web- tent in three languages, English, Spanish and sites and logos of four entities offering free- the information into two further languages and creating various designs to suit the dif- French. We’ve also begun translating the sites zone services, Internet access, wireless solu- ferent sites series I have.” into Italian and German. tions and online travel bookings. Marshall estimates that his business activi- “It’s not an easy thing to accomplish,” he Yet Marshall’s interests extend far beyond ties will ring up $3 million in revenues this said, adding that “in many ways, I’m a perfec- that. year. He plans to use the profits to build even tionist.” From telecom to tropical fish, the British more websites. To some people, however, Marshall is far entrepreneur seems to have his finger in just “My dream about everything Cuban — especially things for 2004 is to ac- that happen to end in dot.com. tivate all my geo- “I work in import and export, representing graphical sites food manufacturers, and I do as much con-

in three lan- LARRY LUXNER sulting as I can, because I enjoy it,” he told guages, which CubaNews. “But I’m always reverting back to would take us up my passion, which is the Internet.” to 200 sites,” he Marshall, the owner of over 120 Cuba-relat- told CubaNews. ed websites, spoke to us recently from his According to office at the Marina Hemingway outside Hav- Marshall, his ana. From his spacious window, one can gaze sites generate a out at boats in the nearby channel and the combined 60 to blue Atlantic Ocean beyond. 70 million hits Originally from Yorkshire, England, the 35- per month, with year-old businessman settled here eight years unique visitors ago after living in Spain, France and Russia. accounting for “I came to Cuba because one of my part- 10% of the total. ners in Russia had a draft of the Cuban for- He says the eign investment law, and I was the only per- advantage of son there who spoke Spanish. So they asked owning so many Steve Marshall at his office in Havana’s Marina Hemingway tourist complex. me to read through it, and give him my opin- URLs is that ion,” he explained. “I found it was quite inter- search engines like Google are forced to treat from perfect. esting. I had traveled quite extensively before all his websites as separate URLs, and there- In 1997, he paid $75,000 for a RE/MAX that and said to myself, ‘why not take a look fore list all of them accordingly. That maxi- franchise from the company’s Puerto Rico and see what Cuba was about?’” mizes the number of people who visit his sites subsidiary in order to sell real estate out of In February 1995, Marshall caught a flight in search of Cuba-related information. his Havana office. Two years later, the Den- from Moscow directly to Havana with the In addition, he boosts the number of poten- ver-based parent company, RE/MAX Interna- intention of spending a short time in Cuba. tial visitors his sites will generate, because tional Inc., sued Marshall, denouncing the After three weeks, he returned to Moscow, foreign-language sites will be listed on search use of its name in Cuba as illegal. sold all his shares in the company and moved engines specifically for those languages. Even after a federal judge in Colorado permanently to the Caribbean island a year For example, www.bonjourcuba.com will be ordered him to stop using the RE/MAX name later. Before long, he married a local woman, listed on the French search engine Voila. and logo, Marshall persisted, which resulted with whom he has two daughters. Some of these URLs are rather unusual. in Marshall being cited for contempt of court, “Cuba is very similar to everywhere else One of the newest, www.5taavenida.com, will making him subject to arrest if he set foot on I’ve worked,” he said. “I don’t have foreign be a “surreal” virtual website showing man- U.S. soil. partners. I work alone. That makes it sort of a sions, embassies and hotels along Quinta Marshall was eventually dropped from the one-man band, even though we have 20 to 60 Avenida in Havana’s upscale Miramar district. lawsuit, which also named the RE/MAX offi- employees at any one time.” Another, www.cubaphotobank.com, will allow cial who sold him the franchise in violation of users to browse through thousands of stock the U.S. embargo against Cuba. INVESTING IN CUBA-RELATED DOMAIN NAMES photographs of Cuba. “All we do right now is promote long-term What seems to take up most of Marshall’s Late last year, Marshall took his Internet real-estate rentals,” he said. “We’re no longer time and energy are the dozens of websites he ventures to a new level by launching a digital involved in sales because there’s no more has registered, all of them related to Cuba in advertising firm, Digital Panorama S.A. sales going on.” some way (see chart, page 9). The new site, at www.digitalpanorama.net, Nevertheless, Marshall has sold around 60 Among the most popular of these websites: is dedicated to the design and implementation condos, ranging from $90,000 studios to www.vamosacuba.com, www.gocubaplus.com, of advertising banners on Marshall’s other $400,000 penthouse apartments, and contin- www.cubavip.com and www.cubasports.com. sites. These ads will be aimed at clients inter- ues to operate his www.realestatecuba.com “Most of these websites were built years ested in reaching out to travelers bound for site unhindered. ago, and only provide factual information on Cuba. Potential advertisers include Spain’s Robert Sajo, a Canadian businessman who Cuba. I personally like providing information Air Europa, Iberia Airlines and Ciego Mon- built Cuba’s Internet infrastructure from to third parties,” he said. “They are starting to tero, a joint-venture mineral water bottler. scratch, has known Marshall since 1995, when produce revenue because people are looking Marshall predicts that latest venture will Sajo’s company, ICC Corp., installed his first for information.” make $50,000 a month. He’s counting on dig- server in Havana. March 2004 ❖ CubaNews 9 “Steve Marshall is a very hard-driving busi- ing to Marshall, who explained how it’ll work. “We have the only travel website that offers nessman,” said Sajo, speaking by phone from “Let’s say a local company has seven offices classic cars,” he said. “I don’t mean a classic the Dominican Republic, where he now lives. around Havana. Those offices need to be shell built with an engine from another car. “I couldn’t get along with the Cubans and attached by some form of communications We’re talking about cars built to their original they were restricting me too much, so I said method. What’s available? You can dial up be- specifications.” the hell with it. On the other hand, Steve is tween each other, or use a regular phone net- totally different. He had the possibility to work. Both of those are expensive and would FISHY BUSINESS make himself an independent businessman in require the use of landlines, limiting the The entrepreneur also sees dollar signs in Cuba, which they don’t allow anymore. He phone calls they receive. Our system con- the export of tropical fish. was recognized by the Cuban Chamber of nects the offices wirelessly, and provides “Cuba has unique salt-water species,” he Commerce, and that gives him a lot more them with a virtual private network with explains. “Some of them, such as the tiger leverage than I had.” encrypted channels.” angelfish which are endemic to Cuba’s Nicaro Bay area, are very much sought after because of their patterns and markings. A six-inch- long fish could be worth $4,000 to $5,000. “You’ve got to be a collector of tropical fish “These businesses interest me because they’re extremely complicat- to understand the potential value, and the fact is that the more exclusive the species, the ed. They require a lot of logistical knowledge that is overlooked.” more valuable it is. It’s the same with birds.” What would really boost Marshall’s busi- — STEVE MARSHALL nesses is an end to the embargo. Americans would then be able not only to visit Cuba but also invest in condos and time- shares there. The value of Marshall’s domain Marshall said “we’ve got all the approvals names, real-estate ventures and just about FROM TOURISM TO TELECOMMUNICATIONS everything else would skyrocket. Marshall says the real “bread-and-butter” now and we’re rolling it out soon.” “I think it’s a shame that so many Ameri- revenues come from his import-export and Tourism comprises a big part of Marshall’s cans are being deprived of the possibility of consulting ventures. interests, and these include not only hotel visiting such a beautiful place as Cuba,” he “These businesses interest me because projects in Varadero and apartment rentals in said. “My country, the U.K., was founded on they’re extremely complicated. They require Miramar, but also offbeat ideas like the clas- the same morals as the U.S., but we would not a lot of logistical knowledge that tends to be sic car rally he’s trying to organizing from allow a ban such as that to exist. I think it’s a overlooked,” he said. Havana to Varadero to Trinidad. He’s current- constitutional right that people should be able At the moment, Marshall told CubaNews ly looking for German and other European to travel unless there’s a military threat, and that he’s acting as a consultant for Velocicom, auto manufacturers to sponsor the event. Castro represents no military threat.” a wireless entity registered in the British Vir- This goes hand-in-hand with a new venture Adds Sajo: “There’s a tremendous amount gin Islands and funded by Russian investors. to offer tourists the chance to rent chauffeur- of opportunity in Cuba, but it all depends on The venture is worth $2.4 million, accord- driven 1950s American gas-guzzlers in Cuba. the old man and what he permits.”

SOME OF STEVE MARSHALL’S MANY WEBSITES GEOGRAPHIC URLs: Cuba-perladelsur.com AVAILABLE URLs: Cuba-weather.com Cuba-lahabana.com Cuba-lasterrazas.com Cuba-coins.com Cuba-greetings.com Cuba-pinardelrio.com Cuba-escambray.com Cuba-literature.com Cuba-photos.com Cuba-havanacity.com Cuba-topesdecollantes.com Cuba-seafishing.com Cuba-cruises.com Cuba-matanzas.com Cuba-bayamo.com Cuba-hunting.com Cuba-familytravel.com Cuba-villaclara.com Cuba-cayosantamaria.com Cuba-coffee.com Cuba-air.com Cuba-ciegodeavila.com Cuba-santalucia.com Cuba-sugar.com Cuba-specials.com Cuba-cienfuegos.com Cuba-cemeteries.com Cuba-allrum.com Cuba-economy.com Cuba-camaguey.com Cuba-easternbeaches.com Cuba-songs.com Cuba-culturaltours.com Cuba-sanctispiritus.com Cuba-musical.com Cuba-education.com Cuba-holguin.com CLASSIC URLs: Cuba-dance.com Cuba-ecotourism.com Cuba-santiagodecuba.com Cubavip.com Cuba-cine.com Cuba-healthtourism.com Cuba-granma.com Cubanculture.com Cuba-marinas.com Cuba-josemarti.com Cuba-isladelajuventud.com Cubafirst.com Cuba-airport.com Cuba-che.com Cuba-guantanamo.com Cubasports.com Cuba-beaches.com Cuba-hemingway.com Cuba-lastunas.com Cubaone.com Cuba-restaurants.com Cuba-trinidad.com Cubaadvice.com Cuba-museums.com Cuba-religion.com Cuba-soroa.com Cuba-yachts.com Cuba-commerce.com Cuba-varaderobeach.com E-COMMERCE URLs: Cuba-nightclubs.com Cuba-heroes.com Cuba-cayolargo.com Gocubaplus.com Cuba-golfclubs.com Cuba-lodgings.com Cuba-cayococo.com Bonjourcuba.com Cuba-transport.com Cuba-spa.com Cuba-cayolevisa.com Cubanbaseballtravel.com Cuba-famous.com Cuba-disco.com Cuba-cayoguillermo.com Vamosacuba.com Cuba-insurance.com Cuba-zoo.com Cuba-cayosabinal.com Uscubatravel.com Cuba-medical.com Cuba-botanicalgardens.com Cuba-giron.com Cuba-ecoturism.com Cuba-sport.com Cuba-nationalparks.com Cuba-guama.com Ciaocuba.com Cubatradefairs.com Cuba-incentivetourism.com Cuba-guardalavaca.com Realestatecuba.com Cuba-events.com Cuba-bedandbreakfast.com Cuba-baracoa.com Digitalpanorama.net Cuba-shopping.com Cuba-biz.com 10 CubaNews ❖ March 2004 MARKETING Despite difficulties, foreign agencies hire Cuban models BY VITO ECHEVARRÍA use restaurants like La Maisón in Havana’s told CubaNews in a recent e-mail that he does uring Cuba’s economic opening in the Miramar district as a meeting point for mod- not want to provide details for the time being. early 1990s, a multitude of European els seeking work. Bengsch’s main Cuban As dynamic and catchy as it may sound for Dpublications fawned over the island’s modeling shoots were done for British and such modeling outfits to go to Havana and beautiful young women. Magazines began German catalogs. scout out attractive new faces on the cheap, providing extensive coverage of the unspoiled “Last season, we did a big job with there are some big negatives. These include beauties living not only in Havana, but in Mercedes-Benz,” he told CubaNews. “We had bureaucratic red tape, a lack of infrastructure slower-paced provincial towns as well. security. We had five or six models, top-notch. (which complicates production crews’ ability The ensuing tourism boom, with amateur The [Mercedes] car for the assignment was to process film and equipment) and the ever- fashion shows put together on short notice at flown to Cuba. A famous actor from Cuba was present “police-state” environment. various hotels and popular nightclubs like even involved.” These and other problems cut into tight “1830” along Havana’s Malecón, simply rein- deadlines, which are often not respected in forced the potential appeal that Cuban models NO ATTITUDE PROBLEM HERE Havana. would have overseas. Although the fees paid by these agencies One prominent Italian photographer, Fabio Sooner or later, someone was going to set pale in comparison to the $10,000-plus per day Fasolini of Milan’s Studio FP, has worked with up an agency specializing in such models. fees common in New York or Paris, the 20 to 30 Cuban models over the years. Canadian businessman Dean Bornstein, money these models take home is still a for- Fasolini told CubaNews he’s found himself having to work around the island’s stifling who has extensive TV and film production ex- tune by Cuban standards — not to mention perience, runs The Havana Company, a multi- police presence. “When I had problems with the international exposure and potential for the Cuban government, I solved these situa- media production outlet with offices in more lucrative jobs, should they get visas to Toronto and Havana. tions alone,” said the photographer, who’s emigrate from Cuba. done shoots in Cuba for cosmetics maker Bornstein’s agency represents 75 Cuban As Bornstein said, the appreciation these models, some of whom have been able to get Lancome and various European magazines. models have for gaining such prestigious Indeed, the local police usually suspects work overseas. His large crop of local beau- work influences the conspicuous absence of ties — ranging from blonde hair and blue- prostitution or other illicit activities when “prima donna” attitudes prevalent among U.S. beautiful Cuban women are seen publicly eyed types to dark and lovely Afro-Cubanas and European models — a welcome change — are often willing to work for far less than with foreign men. for talent scouts in search of new faces. While photographers like Fasolini and their counterparts in New York, Paris and Bornstein’s website notes an interesting Milan. As he told Cigar Aficionado magazine modeling agencies have to grapple with local summary of modeling assignments and TV conditions in Cuba, the best hope for up-and- last May, “the talent is all here, it’s just a ques- ads previously done in Cuba with Cuban fash- tion of packaging and marketing it.” coming Cuban models is to travel to Europe ion models. These include Omo detergent to pursue their dreams. In the United States, the full-figured “Latin (for Danish TV), Nescafé (for Australian TV) look” is now in vogue, thanks in part to Jean-Luc Brunel, owner of Paris-based and Axe body spray (for French TV). Karin Models, did some photo shoots of Hispanic celebrity Jennifer López. However, Print ads shot in Cuba have appeared in the embargo against Cuba precludes any pos- Cuban models in the 1990s. He said that Vogue, Elle, Marie Claire, Petra and Allegra Europe is now the only alternative for these sibility of Cuban beauties getting work with magazines, and Spain’s newspa- U.S. modeling agencies. That lack of competi- Vanguardia girls, due to restrictions stemming from the tion from New York and Miami explains the per, as well as catalogs for the Madrid depart- U.S. embargo against Cuba. success of Bornstein’s Canadian outfit. ment store chain El Corte Inglés. “They cannot come to the U.S. on a work Bornstein himself was unavailable for com- Besides The Havana Company, a modeling permit,” he said. “America is 50% of Karin’s ment, though according to his company web- agency called Habanatopia is now being business. “Even for those who can go to site, the firm conducts casting services for formed. Founder Romulo Sans, a Spaniard, America, the whole process is very long.” various Cuba-related projects including fea- ture films, commercials, music videos, maga- zines, print advertising and fashion catalogs, Cuban exiles will soon be able to visit without visas as well as other film and print media. until recently, most of them had to obtain a The site also asserts that The Havana ffective Jun. 1, nearly all Cuban natives Company is in the process of setting up a living outside Cuba will be able to visit separate Cuban visa in order to travel there. database of Cuban actors and models, as well E the island of their birth without a visa, The new policy was announced in Septem- as musicians, athletes and extras for future as long as they have a valid Cuban passport. ber by Foreign Minister Felipe Pérez Roque, projects that require them. As Bornstein told The decision “constitutes a new signal of whose office said the decision to drop the Cigar Aficionado, models lucky enough to goodwill by the revolutionary government, visa requirement was made despite “the land these assignments typically make which is directed to keep facilitating ... con- renewed hostilities, the campaigns of lies, around US$1,250 per day for a commercial tacts between Cubans who live abroad with the blockade, the aggressive statements and fashion shoot, with an undisclosed amount their relatives living in Cuba,” according to a terrorist action plans by the extreme right of going to the Cuban government. statement issued by the Foreign Ministry. Miami against Cuba.” Even for not-so-glamorous models, things The new policy could affect nearly a mil- It added that some Cubans could be aren’t so bad. lion Cuban-born people living in the United excluded from the new relaxed policy “in “You have very decent, very normal models States, Latin America, Europe and else- cases of exceptional, repugnant or damaging in Cuba. You can pay them just $250 a day, where. It was confirmed in an e-mail to AP by activity against the country’s interests.” said Christian Bengsch, owner of the German Lazaro Hernández, a spokesman at the The measure is timed to take effect just a production company Take Me to Cuba. “Their Cuban Interests Section in Washington. few days after the conclusion of a long- ‘connection’ gets a small cut of that money — The regime considers all people born on delayed May 27-29 immigration conference the model keeps the rest.” the island Cuban citizens, even if they’ve expected to attract hundreds of overseas That ‘connection’ Bengsch refers to is an adopted citizenship of another country. But Cubans to Havana. informal group of well-connected locals who March 2004 ❖ CubaNews 11 TOURISM TOURISM BRIEFS CANADA STILL TOP SOURCE OF VISITORS TO CUBA Army colonel is new tourism minister Cuba is now the 8th most popular tourist he Castro regime has dismissed career Cubanacán, Juan José Vega, was fired, spark- destination in the Americas, up from 23rd a bureaucrat Ibrahim Ferradaz as Cuba’s ing rumors that millions of dollars had disap- decade ago, according to Radio Havana Cuba. T tourism minister and replaced him with peared from the company, which employs Canada sent the most visitors to Cuba dur- a younger military officer, in what appears to 30,000 people and owns 51 hotels containing ing 2003 — some 450,000 people — which be an effort to put the country’s most lucra- 13,000 rooms. represents a 30% jump over 2002 figures. tive industry under the control of Cuba’s Industry officials said Vega and three other Other important sources of tourism to Cuba Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR). top executives at Cubanacán were fired for were, in descending order, Italy, Germany, France, Spain, Great Britain and Mexico. Manuel Marrero Cruz, a 40-year-old colo- financial mismanagement and poor labor poli- nel, was named to head the Ministry of Tour- Total arrivals climbed 13% last year to cies, though the Tourism Ministry denied 1,905,682, with officials expecting at least two ism in mid-February. that anyone had been fired for corruption or Marrero had formerly served as president million visitors this year. Tourism revenues, embezzlement. meanwhile, grew by 18.9% in 2003. That’s 8% of Grupo de Turismo Gaviota, a corporation Ferradaz, 54, had served briefly as minister owned by Cuba’s Revolutionary Armed For- higher than the Caribbean area in general, say of investments and cooperation before his industry sources. ces. Gaviota controls about 8,500 of the is- appointment as tourism minister in 1999 to land’s 41,000 hotel rooms as well as a subsidi- One out of nine tourists visiting the Carib- replace Osmany Cienfuegos, whose dismissal bean last year came to Cuba, even with the ary that operates domestic tourist flights. also followed the firing of several lower-level “This is another indication of the senior exclusion of U.S. tourists, which represent al- ranks of the FAR taking control of the econo- tourism officials. most 50% of all tourists visiting the Caribbean. my’s principal hard currency-earning sector, According to a report issued last year by Cuba began the year 2004 with 40,963 hotel which is tourism,” said Brian Latell, a scholar the University of Miami’s Institute for Cuban rooms (up from 39,553 at the beginning of at the Center for International and Strategic and Cuban-American studies, “the Cuban mil- 2003) distributed in 271 hotels, in which 70% Studies, in a phone interview with CubaNews. itary’s diverse business ventures bring in an are either four- or five-star hotels. “It reflects one of the Faustian bargains estimated $1 billion a year. The military is not Out of the nearly 41,000 rooms, 19,960 Castro has made for his regime to survive: to only a largely self-financing institution but a rooms (48% of the total) operate under joint permit a corrupting force within the FAR.” major player in the overall Cuban economy. ventures with hotel chains led by Sol Meli, No official explanation was given for In 2003, Latell wrote that “most of the offi- Superclubs, Accor, Blau, Red Deer, Sandals, Marrero’s appointment, which merited a few cers involved in enterprise management since Iberostar, Occidental Hoteles, LTI, Piñero, terse lines in the Communist daily newspaper the 1990s are cronies of Raúl Castro. They Hoteles C, Barceló, Venta Club and Riu. Granma. It came only a few weeks after now control the lion’s share of the economy, another Gaviota executive, Manuel Vila, was including Gaviota and the entire sugar sector. HIGHER EURO PUTS PRESSURE ON INDUSTRY made president of Cubanacán S.A., Cuba’s [Raúl] knew this would make them prone to Despite the impressive numbers, Cuba’s largest tourism group. corruption, but it was a risk he had to take, to tourism sector is under mounting pressure to Last November, Vila’s predecessor at assure the loyalty of the armed forces.” lower its prices in Europe — the consequence of a weak dollar and an unusually strong euro. Cuba is the only Caribbean country that sells its tourism product for euros in countries Cuba’s latest lure: Cienaga de Zapata that use the currency. uban state-tourism chain Horizontes That was an advantage when the euro was Hoteles plans to boost adventure and introduced in 2002, but these days — with the Crisk attractions this year, with special euro trading at 1.28 to the dollar — it makes emphasis on Cienaga de Zapata in southern Cuba’s luxury hotels at least 30% more expen- Matanzas province. sive for Europeans than similar resorts in Cienaga de Zapata, one of the Western Mexico or the Dominican Republic. Hemisphere’s most important swamps, cov- Foreign hotel managers and travel agents in ers 1,520 sq kilometers and is 175 kilometers Cuba worry that business will now go to long. The region, which extends from Punta cheaper destinations. Some of them have Gorda to Jagua Bay along Cuba’s south coast, already dropped summer prices for selected offers excellent sites for nature tourism and European markets and are seeking to have scuba diving. price cuts for the winter in place before the Cienaga de Zapata was declared a Bio- Berlin tourism fair later this month. sphere Reserve by UNESCO in 2000, and is included in the list of Wetlands of Interna- LEISURE CANADA NAMES NEW PRESIDENT tional Importance by the Ramsar Conven- Leisure Canada Inc., which is planning four tion, signed in Ramsar, Iran, in 1971. major hotel resorts in Cuba, has named Guy The region is inhabited by hundreds of Chartier president and chief operating officer. bird species, including hawks, humming- Chartier, with over 20 years of experience in birds and parrots, so it’s an excellent spot for model an the travel industry, most recently served as birding. Three diving centers, Playa Larga, existing ho- president of Amero Capital, a Montreal-based Playa Girón and Caleta Buena, are staffed by tel or build corporate firm specializing in the financing, internationally certified diving instructors. a new one restructuring and strategic planning of hospi- Two hotels already serve tourists visiting at the bone- tality, leisure and IT projects. the swamp: the 68-room Hotel Playa Larga and fishing resort of Las Salinas. The project, to be He’s also worked for Wardair Canada, Sen- the 280-room Hotel Playa Girón. marketed under the Grand Slam name, is part neville Hotels and Contiki Holidays Canada. More hotels are coming. Ceiba Finance Ltd., of an agreement signed Jan. 6 with state-run Details: J.J. Jennex, Investor Relations, LCI, a British growth fund registered in the Rumbos S.A. to create a chain of small hotels Vancouver. Tel: (604) 990-9599. Fax: (604) across Cuba aimed at upscale visitors. Channel Islands, says it’s negotiating to re- 990-9584. URL: www.leisurecanada.com. 12 CubaNews ❖ March 2004 McBride said that the port, with annual rev- “We are working with other state entities on BUSINESS BRIEFS enues of $20 million, is the nation’s largest a national wholesale distribution system for export facility for agricultural bagged com- the most widely used products,” the trade REPSOL YPF TO BEGIN DRILLING FOR GULF OIL modities. It is also a key importer of petrole- minister told the Cuban magazine Opciones. Spanish oil major Repsol YPF will start um and energy products. De la Nuez insisted that centralization of exploring for oil off Cuba by April at the lat- Last year, Port Charles handled 1 million imports like computers, tires, metals, wood est, Reuters reported Feb. 24. The Castro gov- tons of cargo, 40% of which was rice. and spare parts would increase efficiency. ernment has granted Repsol the right to “Prior to the embargo, we were one of the Indeed, centralizing imports would increase explore five blocks in the Gulf of Mexico off largest export points for rice into Cuba,” he bargaining power and lower prices, but it the west coast of Cuba. said. “In recent years, since farm trade with could also take companies longer to obtain “We have done the seismic studies ... and Cuba has opened up, we have been shipping products and possibly result in production dis- we are going to start the first survey at the small amounts of rice to Cuba.” ruptions and shortages. end of March or at the start of April,” said McBride told CubaNews he has not received Repsol Chairman Alfonso Cortina. “These are any letters, phone calls or e-mails from angry CIENFUEGOS AIRPORT GETS $750,000 FACELIFT high-risk areas, but we are optimistic.” Cuban-American exiles. A $750,000 expansion of Jaime González In December, Cuba estimated its 2003 oil In December, Florida’s Manatee County International Airport in Cienfuegos has given production at 260.4 million barrels, a 2.5% Port Authority approved a similar memo of the facility two new terminals, a VIP lounge, a increase over 2002. understanding with Alimport — but only after clinic, a cafeteria and a modern waiting hall. According to Reuters, foreign companies port officials agreed to remove a 44-word sen- Rogelio Acevedo, president of the Cuban led by Canada’s Sherritt International Corp. tence that encouraged the port to actively Civil Aeronautics Institute, praised the work- and Pebercan Inc. have joint ventures and oppose the U.S. embargo against Cuba (see ers who completed the expansion in 85 days production deals with state oil entity Cubape- CubaNews, January 2004, page 12). and said the newly remodeled facility will troleo, and account for 60% of the island’s oil Details: Adam McBride, Director, Port of attract more foreign tourists to Cienfuegos and gas output. A 112,000-sq-km area in Lake Charles, PO Box 3753, Lake Charles, LA and Cuba’s south-central coastal area. Cuba’s Gulf waters was opened to foreign 70602. Tel: (337) 439-3661. Fax: (337) 493- exploration in 1999. 3523. E-mail: [email protected]. RUSSIANS OFFER CUBA CHANCE TO SETTLE DEBT Besides Repsol and Sherritt, which have The Putin government has presented Cuba signed exploration contracts, Brazil’s Petro- FOREIGN TRADE CHIEF PUSHES CENTRALIZATION bras is doing a feasibility study in the area. with proposals to settle Cuba’s debt with the Raúl de la Nuez, Cuba’s foreign trade minis- Details: Repsol YPF, Ave. 3ra y 78, Havana. former Soviet Union and its outstanding debt ter is defending the “recentralization” of trade, Tel: +53 7 204-4789. Fax: +53 7 204-6597. to Russia. which involves — among other things — sys- According to Russia’s Finance Ministry, FORBES SAYS CASTRO IS WORTH $150 MILLION tematically reviewing the imports of all state- Havana’s debt to the USSR is denominated in run companies and in some cases stripping transferable rubles, Soviet rubles and dollars, Fidel Castro has a personal fortune of $150 them of import rights. and hovers around $25.2 billion. Cuba also million, says Forbes magazine, up from $100 Sources say the Foreign Trade Ministry owes part of a $350 million credit issued by million in 1998. recently canceled the authority of 54 out of 69 Russia in the early 1990s. Although Castro wasn’t among the 587 on companies to import PCs and computer parts. Other major debtors, according to the the Forbes billionaire list, he did make it into a special list for kings and heads of state. “The fatigues-fitted Cuban leader has lord- ed over an impoverished nation of 11 million Havana Club rum ranks No. 50 on top 100 spirits list people for the last 45 years,” according to the avana Club rum now ranks 50th on the venture, which is believed to generate magazine’s website. “El Lider is believed to the Impact Databank list of the annual sales of $170 million and profits of have several lavish homes throughout Cuba. Hworld’s top 100 premium distilled around $40 million. According to Forbes He travels exclusively in a convoy of black spirit brands, up from 53rd last year. magazine, the Cuban government earns $23 Mercedes-Benzes." The index, published in Impact’s Feb. 1 million a year in hard currency from HCH, Six years ago, when Forbes ranked Castro issue, shows that Havana Club sold 1.9 mil- since the state pays no taxes and can pocket one place below Queen Elizabeth II and three lion nine-liter cases in 2003, up 10.7% from more of the profits than Pernod Ricard. behind Saddam Hussein, he reacted angrily. the 1.7 million cases sold in 2002. That fol- On Jan. 29, a division of the U.S. Patent “They have accused me of all sorts of lows impressive growth of 12.0% and 12.8% and Trademark Office rejected motions to things, but never this. What right do they in the two previous years. cancel the U.S. registration of the Havana have to write such lies?” Castro fumed at the Even so, Havana Club’s total worldwide Club trademark by HCH. That was a major time. “All the judges of the world together sales are less than a tenth of that of its chief defeat for Bacardi, which argued that the cannot show that in nearly 40 years of revolu- rival, Bacardi. As in previous years, Bacardi trademark had been registered at the PTO tion, any minister, high-level official or leader is still the world’s most popular spirits under allegedly fraudulent circumstances. of this country has ever appropriated even brand, with 19.7 million cases of rum sold in As always, Bacardi officials made them- one dollar from the state.” 2003, a 1.5% gain over the 2002 figure of 19.4 million cases. selves unavailable for comment. LA. PORT SEEKS EXPANDED TRADE WITH CUBA But Smirnoff, produced by Diageo PLC, Other rum brands listed in Impact’s top 100 index include Diageo’s Captain Morgan Louisiana’s Port of Lake Charles has decid- is now running a close second, at 18.7 mil- ed to explore business opportunities with lion cases, and is likely to overtake Bacardi (No. 11, with 5.6 million cases); Brugal of Cuba and lobby Congress to end trade restric- next year if the famous vodka can sustain the Dominican Republic (No. 17, with 4.0 tions against the Castro government. the 10% growth it enjoyed in 2003. million cases); Pernod Ricard’s Montilla On Feb. 23, the Lake Charles Port Board Havana Club rum is produced at distiller- (No. 46, with 2.0 million cases); Bacardi’s approved a letter of intent with Cuban food ies in Santa Cruz del Norte and elsewhere in Castillo (No. 57, with 1.6 million cases); Dia- purchasing agency Alimport. Port Director Cuba by Havana Club Holdings (HCH), a geo’s Cacique, bottled in Venezuela (No. 64, Adam McBride told CubaNews that under the joint venture between France’s Pernod with 1.5 million cases); Santa Teresa, also agreement, the port will “work together to Ricard and the Cuban government. from Venezuela (No. 70, with 1.4 million provide competitive shipping arrangements On Mar. 8, HCH will kick off a week-long cases) and Jamaica’s Appleton Estate (No. and identify suppliers of agircultural products celebration marking the 10th anniversary of 90, with 1.1 million cases). for Cuba.” March 2004 ❖ CubaNews 13 University of Miami’s Cuba Transition signs and posters in its Paris office (see During this four-week program, 42 medical Project, are Japan ($2.33b); Argentina CubaNews, September 2003, page 9). professionals from 15 nations will travel to ($1.97b); Spain ($1.82b); France ($1.69b); “It’s a question of principles and of law. We Manzanillo and Havana to deliver training and Venezuela ($821m); China ($682m); Italy are going after everyone who betrays the resources directly to Cubans in need of spe- ($486m); Mexico ($400m) and the United moral rights of my client,” said Díaz López’s cialized eye care treatment. This visit will Kingdom ($389m). lawyer, Randy Yaloz. “Is RSF above the law?” mark the seventh time ORBIS has traveled to Cuba also owes the Netherlands ($326m); RSF’s president, Robert Ménard, responds Cuba since its first visit in 1991. Germany ($290m): Czech Republic ($227m); that the cause of press freedom in Cuba is The ORBIS team will place special emphasis Belgium ($218m); Canada ($145m); Panama more important than protecting the rights of on the areas of cornea, cataract, oculoplastics, ($100m); Switzerland ($69m); Austria ($63m); the deceased photographer’s daughter. “The glaucoma and pediatric ophthalmology, which Brazil ($40m); Trinidad & Tobago ($30m); Castro regime wants to destroy that cause, are often under-diagnosed or under-treated in Uruguay ($30m) and Sweden ($22m). and this photo is a good pretext,” he said. developing countries. Details: Cuba Transition Project, PO Box Details: Lucy Morillon, RSF, 5 rue Geoffroy- “ORBIS’s DC-10 program serves as an inter- 248174, Coral Gables, FL 33124-3010. Tel: Marie, 75009 Paris, France. Tel: +33 1 4483- national ophthalmic symposium for Cuba, and (305) 284-2822. Fax: (305) 284-4875. 8484. Fax: +33 1 4523-1151. E-mail: commu- is often a catalyst to new initiatives,” said the [email protected]. URL: www.rsf.org. group’s president and executive director, CUBA, ARGENTINA NEGOTIATE DEBT RELIEF Kathy Spahn. Cuba is seeking agreements that would OFAC: EDITING CUBAN MANUSCRIPTS IS ILLEGAL The world’s only flying eye hospital features boost its trade with Argentina by 50%. The Treasury Department’s Office of For- a complete on-board operating room, laser ex- During the last eight years, bilateral com- eign Assets Control (OFAC) is warning pub- am room, sterile room, recovery room, techni- merce reached $891.2 million, with a favor- lishers they could “face grave legal conse- cal training center, and a 48-seat classroom. able balance of $752.4 million for Argentina. quences for editing manuscripts” from any of While surgery is taking place in the operat- Foreign Minister Felipe Pérez Roque is at- the countries under U.S. sanctions, the New ing room, doctors and nurses sitting in the tempting to negotiate the island’s $1.97 billion York Times reported Feb. 28. classroom will be able to watch procedures debt with Argentina (see previous news item) “Anyone who publishes material from a live via 16-cameras and 54-monitors and ask as well as cement the rapidly improving ties country under a trade embargo is forbidden questions via a 2-way audio system. Eye sur- between Buenos Aires and Havana. to reorder paragraphs or sentences, correct geries will also be beamed live to hundreds of Nestor Kirchner, who became Argentina’s syntax or grammar, or replace ‘inappropriate trainees in a nearby auditorium. president in May 2003, last year changed its words,’ according to several advisory letters Details: Tamara Hood, Media Relations Dir., 10-year-old policy of condemning Cuba’s from the Treasury Department in recent ORBIS Int’l, 520 8th Avenue, 11th Floor, New human rights violations at the UN and voted months,” said the Times. York, NY 10018. Tel: (646) 674-5570. E-mail: for the first time to abstain. That drew the “Adding illustrations is prohibited, too,” it [email protected]. URL: www.orbis.org. wrath of the Bush administration but elicited said. “To the baffled dismay of publishers, edi- PRENSA LATINA LAUNCHES WEBSITE IN ENGLISH praise from Fidel Castro, who’s invited Kirch- tors and translators who have been briefed ner for an official visit to Cuba next month. about the policy, only publication of ‘camera- Prensa Latina, a news agency owned by the ready copies of manuscripts’ is allowed.” Cuban government, has inaugurated an KORDA DAUGHTER SUES RSF OVER IMAGE OF CHE The OFAC letters concerned Iran, but English-language website designed to make The daughter of famous Cuban photogra- experts quoted by the Times say that logic available up-to-the-minute news to a potential pher Alberto Korda is suing the French “would seem to extend to Cuba ... and other market of over 3 billion people worldwide.” human rights group Reporters sans nations with which most trade is banned with- Leonel Nodal, editor-in-chief of Prensa Frontières (RSF) for 1.14 million euros. out a government license.” Latina’s foreign language services, said Feb. Diana Díaz López, who lives in Cuba, con- Details: www.treasury.gov/offices/eotffc/ofac/ 17 that the new service would “prioritize news tests RSF’s unauthorized use of Korda’s fam- sanctions/t11cuba.pdf. from Cuba, Latin America and the Caribbean, while at the same time covering important ous 1960 portrait of Che Guevara in his trade- OFFICIAL JOBLESS RATE DROPS TO 2.3% mark beret, in a campaign against the Castro events in other regions of the world.” government’s repression of press freedom. Cuba’s unemployment rate came to 2.3% in Besides its usual fare of political news, the In June 2003, Díaz López took RSF to court 2003, according to Alfredo Morales, the minis- new service features special sections on eco- in Paris, demanding that the group stop using ter of labor and social security. nomics, the arts, entertainment, science and the Korda photo altogether. The organization Morales told Spanish news agency EFE that technology, sports and tourism. Elsy Fors, a did so, but continued to store the offending Cuba has over 4.6 million job positions, of veteran Cuban journalist, will manage the new which 128,122 were created last year — 48% website on a day-to-day basis. of them in Cuba’s eastern provinces. Details: Prensa Latina, Havana. Tel: +53 7 BUSINESS GUIDE TO CUBA He added that Cuba’s unemployment rate is 832-1957. Fax: +53 7 33-6968. URL: one of the lowest in the world and equivalent www.plenglish.com. The Business Guide to Cuba is the most to what the European Union has targeted for comprehensive research report on Cuban its member nations by 2010. CUBA PROMOTES ‘ULTRA-FROZEN’ LOBSTER business and politics available today. Of course, the unofficial figure is significant- Cuba has begun production of “ultra-frozen” With more than 300 pages of exclusive ly higher, and tens of thousands of Cubans lobster, according to the country’s Ministerio information, data, charts and maps on all are clearly underemployed, though no one de la Industria Pesquera. It’s part of an effort productive sectors of the economy — as knows exactly how many. to boost seafood exports, reports the newspa- well as a list of official contacts, business per Trabajadores. practices and even Cuban street slang — ORBIS BRINGS ‘FLYING EYE HOSPITAL’ TO CUBA Ultra-frozen means maintaining the lobster the Business Guide to Cuba is your No. 1 ORBIS International, a nonprofit organiza- at very low temperatures with nitrogen, which resource on potential investment opportu- tion dedicated to eliminating avoidable blind- preserves aroma, flavor and texture. The nities and pitfalls in this emerging market. Copies of the guide are available for only ness worldwide, on Feb. 23 began a hands-on industry is also seeking ways of adding value, $99 each, shipping and handling included. medical skills exchange program in Cuba that such as selling lobster in halves and looking To order your copy, call us toll-free today will run until Mar. 19. for more attractive presentations. at (800) 365-1997, fax us at (301) 365-1829 The program will be conducted onboard Cuba is also making gains with cultivated or send an e-mail to [email protected]. ORBIS’s “flying eye hospital,” a state-of-the-art shrimp by introducing a species known as Visa, MasterCard and Amex accepted. training and surgical facility within a convert- vanamei, which commands higher prices on ed DC-10 aircraft. the international seafood market. 14 CubaNews ❖ March 2004 SMALL BUSINESS Havana’s El Aljibe, established in 1947, still draws crowds BY TRACEY EATON about 50,000 remaining enterprises, nearly all ergio Garcia Macias runs one of Cuba’s owned by Cuban families, were seized, most popular eateries, featuring a 56- according to Carlos Alberto Montaner, a prominent Castro critic and author. S year-old secret recipe for roast chicken TRACEY EATON that has drawn the likes of Hollywood star “To own property was a path to power, and Jack Nicholson and former President Jimmy Fidel Castro was determined that nobody on Carter. the island would have power except himself,” In the capitalist world, Garcia would proba- Montaner wrote in the book, “Journey To the bly be a millionaire, some kind of poultry Heart of Cuba.” king, maybe even the chicken czar of the The original Rancho Luna closed in 1961. Caribbean. But he shrugs at the thought and The second restaurant in Vedado shut down says he isn’t bitter, at least not now, four two years later. Garcia went from job to job in decades after Cuba’s socialist government the government, handling administrative nationalized his family business. duties for state-run restaurants. But these “My biggest satisfaction isn’t money. It’s were desk jobs far from the place he loves — seeing that a customer is satisfied,” Garciá the kitchen. That changed in 1993. Cubanacán, the said from his restaurant, El Aljibe. “This island’s No. 1 chain of state-run restaurants, restaurant is my life.” hotels and shops, asked if García would help El Aljibe is among the many Cuban institu- revive Rancho Luna. He agreed and it opened tions that faded away soon after the revolu- under a new name, El Aljibe. tion, only to be rescued years later to help prop up the ailing economy. Others include FAMOUS PATRONS two of Ernest Hemingway’s old haunts, La Bodeguita del Medio and El Floridita in Old Sergio García in his kitchen at El Aljibe, Havana. Word of his famed roast chicken again Havana, and the majestic Hotel Nacional, a spread, and soon El Aljibe resembled his favorite of 1950s Hollywood that has been ren- tives, to heat their ovens. restaurant of old, drawing everyone from Customers soon included Hollywood stars director Steven Spielberg and actor Danny ovated for today’s visitors. Errol Flynn and Ava Gardner, undefeated These vintage attractions draw tens of thou- Glover to Roman Catholic cardinals from the boxer Rocky Marciano, baseball great Stan Vatican and members of the Kennedy family. sands of tourists a month, pumping millions Musial and many more. of dollars into the economy. And like El Aljibe, “I have a deep sentimental attachment to El “Cuba had a class society then. There were Aljibe and not just because of the superb they’re among the crown jewels of Cuba’s $2- rich and poor. But Rancho Luna brought to- billion-per-year tourism industry. chicken,” said Wayne Smith, the top U.S. gether everyone, Cuban millionaires, sports diplomat in Havana during the Carter admin- A big chunk of the profits, no doubt, would stars, working-class electricians. Once you be going to Garcia and other innovators if not istration. got to Rancho Luna, the class differences dis- “When I was in Cuba the first time in, as for the socialist revolution. But he points with appeared. Everyone was the same,” said Gar- third secretary of the old American Embassy pride to other gains, saying, for instance, that cia’s son, Sergio, who helps operate El Aljibe. from 1958 to 1961, my wife and I ate fre- a share of El Aljibe’s revenues goes toward The Garcia brothers soon expanded, open- quently at Rancho Luna. In fact, it was one of his country’s universal health care system. ing a second Rancho Luna in Havana’s our favorite places. You would see everyone Garcia pulls a sheet of paper from his jack- Vedado neighborhood. from movie stars and prominent people to et pocket and reads the latest numbers: Over Times were good, though it wasn’t always common folks, all having a good time.” the last decade, $777,444.31 in El Aljibe prof- easy. Garcia recalled going out at 2 a.m. to Supermodel Naomi Campbell is another its have gone toward health care. This year buy rice, chicken and produce for the restau- fan. During one visit to the island, she alone, he said, the figure will exceed $70,000. rants. The streets weren’t safe — the police ordered take-out from El Aljibe for 25 people. had a reputation for being brutal and corrupt EL ALJIBE’S HUMBLE BEGINNINGS A chicken meal now fetches $12 — the — and Garcia said he regularly had to bribe monthly wage for the average Cuban — and Garcia, 73, said he never dreamed his roast government inspectors to stay in business. includes rice, beans, fried potatoes and salad. chicken would become such a smash. But he learned and adapted. The money Customers can eat all they want, and many He and his older brother, Pepe, 82, opened started rolling in, and his $2.50-a-plate chick- do. Fidel Castro hasn’t eaten at the 260-seat their first restaurant, El Aljibe’s predecessor, en wasn’t the only reason. restaurant, workers say, but he did stop by to in 1947. Located in the countryside west of Garcia invented a dice game called The pick up Spielberg one day and they drove off Havana, it was called Rancho Luna. Liar and it became a sensation at his restau- in a Mercedes for a long conversation. Their late mother, Tona Macias, came up rants. Casinos were legal then, and Charles The restaurant, located in Havana’s Mira- with the chicken recipe. Garcia won’t reveal “Lucky” Luciano, Meyer Lansky and other mar district, operated all this year, despite any family secrets but says the recipe American mob leaders held sway. major renovations. Workers erected a tent includes garlic and bitter orange, a key ingre- next to the restaurant while the floor and roof dient that softens the meat. BACK TO THE KITCHEN were replaced and customers, including visit- Whatever it was, customers liked it, he After the 1959 revolution, the state began ing U.S. lawmakers, continued to pour in. It said. “We started with nothing and did no nationalizing private businesses — or stealing also stayed open when hurricanes Isidore and advertising. I was just 17. We were very poor. them, depending on your point of view. Lily swept across the island in 2002. But clients came, and the business grew and The idea was to put land and businesses in “We didn’t stop service for a minute. grew.” the hands of a benevolent state that would not Everyone else closed,” said García. “We got a Back then, Rancho Luna was a rustic place, exploit the people, Castro loyalists say. The lot of business because we were the only ones topped with a thatched roof. And the brothers regime also seized American-owned property, open.” did things the old-fashioned way. They used then worth $1.8 billion. This story originally appeared in The Dallas coal, the same kind used to power locomo- The confiscations went on until 1968 when Morning News and is reprinted with permission. March 2004 ❖ CubaNews 15 BOOKSHELF AGRIBUSINESS BRIEFS OFFICIALS SAY URBAN AGRICULTURE A SUCCESS The Cuban family; Lonely Planet’s Cuba Urban agriculture, a Cuban initiative begun in 1987, accounted for production last year of osemarie Skaine’s new book, “The Lonely Planet has published the third edi- 3.7 million tons of fruits and vegetables. Cuban Family: Custom and Change in tion of its popular Cuba guidebook, and the Officials of Cuba’s Agriculture Ministry say R an Era of Hardship,” explores how rela- Sunday Times of London says the new version they expect to see a 300,000-ton increase in tionships of blood, marriage, sex, and resi- by Conner Gorry (ISBN #1-7405-9120-8) — the 2004 figures, reaching 4.0 million tons this dence work in each type of Cuban family, par- and sold in the U.S. for $21.99 and in the Uni- year for the first time. ticularly as it is affected by Cuba’s struggle to ted Kingdom for £12.99 — is the best one yet. Growth will be based on both an increase in transform its economy. “So, what has changed?” writes Times critic the area devoted to urban agriculture, totaling It also examines historical perspectives on Anthony Sattin. “Well, at first sight it looks 45,000 hectares, and a rise in yield due to bet- the contemporary Cuban family, ethnicity and very much like the old guide, but there are ter use of organic fertilizers, irrigation and race, marriage, the extended family, the emi- some significant improvements between the local seed production. grating family, U.S. citizenship issues, reli- covers: a totally revamped introduction, a re- Besides increasing food availability, urban gion, and the Cuban-American family. written history section and a new chapter on agriculture has also created 320,000 jobs The 232-page book (ISBN #0-7864-1677-7) food and drink. And the mapping has im- throughout Cuba, said the officials. costs $38.50 and is the latest work by Skaine, proved, though for Cuba I still find it too dark an Iowa sociologist who has also written on the page [the 468-page guidebook contains RAPCO WINS EXPORT CONTRACT FOR FIELD PEAS 28 pages of color photos and 77 maps]. “Paternity and American Law” (2003), “The “Perhaps the greatest change is the move An Illinois-based agribusiness consulting Women of Afghanistan Under the Taliban” from its backpacker origins to the centre firm and an international trader have agreed (2002), “Women College Basketball Coaches” stage. Here is a book designed to suit most, if to export 15,000 tons of dry field peas to Cuba (2001), “Women at War” (1999) and “Power not all, of us,” writes Sattin. later this year. and Gender” (1996). “Take the coverage of Varadero, for in- Risk Assurance Programs Co. (RAPCO) is Tables list such details as population num- stance. The Caribbean’s largest resort is just now looking for Illinois farmers who want to bers, age, life expectancy, growth, birth, and the sort of place old-style Lonely Planet participate in the program by planting crops of death rates, immigration and mortality rates, authors might have damned, but Gorry is dry field peas. HIV rates, and literacy. extremely polite, pointing out that it ‘lacks a “The yields are similar, if not better than, Skaine says her new book also includes certain intimacy,’ unsurprising for a resort of current soybean crops,” said RAPCO’s chief narratives of childhood memories from pre- some 15,000 rooms. executive officer, Ron Hagemann. revolutionary Cuba to the late 20th century, “The emphasis on recommended hotels Details: RAPCO, 1201 S. 7th Street, Rochelle, providing fresh insights into the cultural and restaurants has also shifted away from IL 61068. Tel: (815) 561-8664. Fax: (815) value attached to the family. budget places and now has plenty of top-end, 562-5185. E-mail: [email protected]. Details: McFarland & Company Inc. Publi- mid-priced and family suggestions. All this HOLGUÍN TO GET MODERNIZED CORN MILL shers, PO Box 611, Jefferson, NC 28640. Tel: makes for an impressive book.” (336) 246-4460. Fax: (336) 246-5018. URL: URL: http://shop.lonelyplanet.com/prod- The eastern province of Holguín will soon www.mcfarlandpub.com. uct_detail.cfm?productID=2260&affil=lpdp. have a state-of-the-art corn mill, after a nearly one-year upgrading process. The plant, which was used to process flour for over 20 years, was totally remodeled using technology sup- Bro-Tech fined $250,000 for Cuba deal plied by the Italian firm Milservis. early two years after they were convict- “After almost four years of litigation, Mr. According to Cuban media, the factory, ed and then granted a new trial, a Penn- Brodie and his family are gratified to be able which in 2004 will produce 120 tons of corn Nsylvania company and two of its offi- to get this behind them and move along with meal, including flavored meal, will have a cials pleaded guilty yesterday to violating the their lives,” Brodie attorney Steven Kimelman packing line to sell its products in the domes- U.S. embargo on trade with Cuba. told the Inquirer. tic hard-currency market. Part of the $2 mil- Bro-Tech Corp. and its vice-president, Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph G. Poluka lion investment was used to install a line of Donald E. Brodie, pleaded guilty to one count conceded that difficulties of a retrial were part electrofilters to prevent pollution. of violating the Trading with the Enemy Act, of the government’s decision, but he added In addition, a group of silos was built to reported the Philadelphia Inquirer. U.S. Dis- that Bro-Tech and the two executives pleaded store up to 1,300 tons of cereal, enough to trict Judge Mary A. McLaughlin immediately guilty to felonies and paid fines in full. guarantee a 15-day supply of the raw material. imposed a stipulated sentence: a $250,000 fine The indictment alleged violations of the for the company and one year’s probation and U.S. ban on trade with Cuba involving sales CIEGO DE AVILA TO SHIP PINEAPPLES TO AFRICA a $10,000 fine for Brodie. from 1992 to 2000 of about $2 million worth of Experts from the Bioplants Center in central James E. Sabzali, Bro-Tech’s marketing ion-exchange resins used in water purifica- Ciego de Avila province are carrying out a director, pleaded guilty to one count of smug- tion. Bro-Tech sold the chemicals through for- broad research project, with an eye to export- gling. He was sentenced to a year’s probation eign firms in Canada, Mexico, Italy, Spain and ing nearly one million in-vitro pineapple plants and fined $10,000. the United Kingdom that have offices in Cuba. to Africa. Lawyers for the company and Brodie The Brodies testified in their defense, say- The center sent 195,000 pineapple plants to declined to tell the Inquirer why they pleaded ing they never intended to violate the Cuban Ghana last year. Two European firms closed a guilty. The unusual plea agreement and stipu- embargo but also acknowledging they did not deal with the center, due to the high quality of lated sentence appeared to have been an challenge Bro-Tech employees when they pineapple clones, which are highly demanded effort by defendants and prosecutors to cut heard the resins might be sold to Cuba. in other countries, because they meet interna- their losses and avoid a protracted retrial and The trial drew intense interest in Canada, tional standards for weight and size, explained further appeals. which does not honor the Cuban embargo and Ramón Santos Bermúdez, the center’s direc- Had Brodie and Sabzali been reconvicted, whose law prohibits Canadian firms from tor-general. they would have faced no-parole prison terms complying with the trade ban. Prosecutors Cuba leads the Third World in obtaining in- of three to four years and fines of up to argued that foreign nationals in the United vitro plants, especially fruit, ornamental $250,000. States are bound by U.S. laws. plants, vegetables, timber and sugarcane. 16 CubaNews ❖ March 2004 CALENDAR OF EVENTS CARIBBEAN UPDATE If your organization is sponsoring an upcoming event, please let our readers know! You already know what’s going in Cuba, Fax details to CubaNews at (301) 365-1829 or send an e-mail to [email protected]. thanks to CubaNews. Now find out what’s happening in the rest of this diverse and Mar. 4-13: “El Caballero de París,” a poetic multimedia stage performance by Alonso fast-growing region. Subscribe to Caribbean UPDATE, a Menendez about Spanish-born emigré and Cuban folk legend José María López Lledin. monthly newsletter founded in 1985. Cor- Cost: $20. Details: Here and Now 2004, Miami Light Project, 3000 Biscayne Blvd., Miami, porate and government executives, as well FL 33137. Tel: (305) 576-4350. Fax: (305) 576-6480. URL: www.miamilightproject.com. as scholars and journalists, depend on this publication for its insightful, timely cover- Mar. 11: Andrew S. Natsios, administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Develop- age of the 30-plus nations and territories of ment (which funds the Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies), to speak about the Caribbean and Central America. When you receive your first issue, you Cuba at a Miami luncheon sponsored by ICCAS. Cost: $30. Details: ICCAS, PO Box have two options: (a) pay the accompany- 248174, Coral Gables, FL 33124-3010. Tel: (305) 284-2822. URL: www.miami.edu/iccas. ing invoice and your subscription will be processed; (b) if you’re not satisfied, just Mar. 11-15: X Feria Internacional de la Información, Automatización y Comunicaciones write “cancel” on the invoice and return it. Informatica 2004, Pabexpo, Havana. Details: Melchor Gil Morell, Palacio de Convenciones, There is no further obligation on your part. The cost of a subscription to Caribbean Havana. Tel: +53 7 57-4075. Fax: +53 7 57-4582. E-mail: [email protected]. UPDATE is $267 per year. A special rate of $134 is available to academics, non-profit Mar. 18-20: Literary Feasts 2004, Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Ann Louise Bardach to promote organizations and additional subscriptions the revised edition of her book “Cuba Confidential: Love and Vengeance in Miami and mailed to the same address. Havana.” Details: Broward Public Library Foundation, 100 S. Andrews Ave., Fort Lauder- To order, contact Caribbean UPDATE at 116 Myrtle Ave., Millburn, NJ 07041, call us dale, FL 33301. Tel: (954) 357-7381. URL: www.broward.org/library/literaryfeast/htm. at (973) 376-2314, visit our new website at www.caribbeanupdate.org or send an Apr. 6-10: VII Feria Internacional de la Construcción/FECONS 2004. Details: Ricardo e-mail to [email protected]. We accept Pérez, Palco, Havana. Tel: +53 7 881-8385. E-mail: [email protected]. 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Apr. 27-30: 6th Annual Conference on Sustainable Tourism Development. Sponsored by Caribbean Tourism Organization and Association of Caribbean States. Details: Ricardo Pérez, Palco, Havana. Tel: +53 7 881-8385. E-mail: [email protected].

May 4-8: Expoagua 2004, Pabexpo, Havana. Details: Minerva Ugalde Teyra, Palacio de Convenciones, Havana. Tel/Fax: +53 7 879-6786. E-mail: [email protected].

May 21-28: St. Augustine-Baracoa Friendship Association humanitarian mission to Cu- Editor & Publisher LARRY LUXNER ba. Cost: $1,100 including airfare. Details: Sali McIntire, PO Box 861086, St. Augustine, Washington correspondent FL 32086. Tel: (904) 461-3175. E-mail: [email protected]. URL: www.staugustine-baracoa.org. ANA RADELAT Political analyst Jun. 6-9: International Rum Festival 2004, Havana. Event, to coincide with 485th anni- DOMINGO AMUCHASTEGUI versary of Havana’s founding, will feature nine rum brands: Havana Club, Legendario, Feature writers Arecha, Santiago de Cuba, Mulata, Cubay, Bucanero, Varadero and Caney. Details: Belkys VITO ECHEVARRÍA DOUGLASS G. NORVELL Acosta, Dirección de Exportaciones y Ventas al Mercado Interior, Ministerio de la Industria Cartographer Alimenticia, Ave. 41, #4455, Havana. Tel: +53 7 203-3518 x52. E-mail: [email protected]. ARMANDO H. PORTELA Graphic designer JESSICA MUDJITABA

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