Vol. 14, No. 4 September 2006 www.cubanews.com In the News Fidel’s transfer of power to Raúl sparks U.S. debate over direction of Cuba policy New spy mission CIA forms new bureaucracy to keep tabs BY ANA RADELAT street party in Miami’s Little Havana, where for several days and nights thousands of Cuban on Cuba and Venezuela ................Page 3 hile the Bush administration says it won’t change its policy towards Cuba, exiles sang, danced and celebrated in the Fidel Castro’s decision to cede power to streets, convinced that Fidel Castro was either Free-zone blues W dead or near death. his brother Raúl has touched off a new debate The 80-year-old revolutionary admitted Sep. 6 Closing of the Havana free-trade zone at on the effectiveness of the embargo. that he’s lost 41 pounds since his surgery, de- Berroa irks foreign investors .......Page 4 Undoing the embargo would not be easy. tails of which remain a state secret. Speculation Congress would have to repeal several laws and is that he may have colon cancer, though no one India drills for oil settle all U.S. property claims against the Cuban outside Cuba knows for sure. government. It would also require a 180-degree It’s also not clear whether Fidel will receive India’s ONGC Videsh, Cupet sign offshore turn by the White House, which has threatened foreign dignitaries during the 14th Non-Aligned to veto any attempt to weaken the embargo and petroleum exploration deal ..........Page 7 Summit in Havana, expected to be attended by refuses to consider Raúl Castro’s administration 116 countries and at least 50 heads of state. a valid transitional government. All indications point to Raúl firmly in control Nickel politics “We have no plans to reach out to Cuba,” said of Cuba, with the help of six other officials who Sherritt: U.S. threat to stymie Cuban nick- White House spokesman Tony Snow, reacting have been assigned the day-to-day responsibili- to the Cuban government’s shocking announce- ties of running the Cuban government. el exports is ‘ridiculous’ ................Page 8 ment Jul. 31 that Fidel was relinquishing the Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R-FL), one of the presidency to Raúl in the wake of emergency staunchest supporters of the embargo, dismiss- Cuba and China surgery for a still-undisclosed condition. es Raúl as “an appendage of Fidel.” Similarities yes, but vast differences div- That announcement sparked an enormous See Embargo, page 2 ide the two Marxist nations .........Page 9 Cuba after Castro: Leading pundit offers Louisiana calling again A year after Katrina, state officials once views on what’ll happen after Fidel dies again courting Cuba ....................Page 10 BY DOMINGO AMUCHASTEGUI 2004 to a correspondent for the French newspa- Jewish dilemma aúl Castro will pull Cuba out of stagnation per Le Monde, “Everybody wants economic and push forward reforms aimed at trans- changes, except Fidel.” Like other Cubans, island’s few Jews won- R forming the Cuban economy into a more And this course of action, inspired and repre- der about a post-Fidel future ......Page 11 socialist market-oriented system dominated by sented by Raúl, is not a secret nor a hidden ten- capitalist standards of organization, manage- dency within Cuba’s power structure and politi- Business briefs ment and fiscal policy. cal class at large, military as well as civilian. It is That will effectively end the “other blockade” something that ensures Raúl ample popular Spain’s Barceló plans 6 new Cuban hotels; imposed upon the Cuban economic by Fidel recognition and support. Fidel is not ignorant of such circumstances citrus crop is recovering .............Page 12 Castro when — after discussion of the new investment law in September 1995 — the older and is very much aware of the expectations sur- Castro declared that “no more reforms and rounding this “provisional” substitution. Provinces: Isla de la Juventud changes were needed.” Being at the helm of the Cuban revolution since Day One — with his charisma and out- An updated analysis of Cuba’s only island In 1997, after the Fifth Party Congress adopt- ed an economic program to rescue and expand standing oratorical skills — made Fidel Castro municipality ..................................Page 14 the pace of reforms, Fidel became the chief what he was and still is. At the same time, it did opponent of perfeccionamiento empresarial — a overshadow the role of his brother Raúl to the CubaNews (ISSN 1073-7715) is published monthly set of ideas and actions that symbolized pre- point where today, when many people are still by Luxner News Inc. © 2006. All rights reserved. cisely the course of action that his brother Raúl wondering who he really is and what role might Subscriptions: $429 for one year, $800 for two years. had been advocating since the deterioration of he play now. For editorial inquires, please call (954) 970-4518 These lines are not meant to be a biography or send an e-mail to: [email protected]. relations with the Soviet Union after 1979. As a high-ranking Cuban official admitted in See Raúl, page 6 2 CubaNews ❖ September 2006 in the early 1960s, virtually transferring by U.S. citizens could file lawsuits against Embargo — FROM PAGE 1 authority over the embargo from the presi- Cuba in relation to confiscated properties. But businesses that have long sought an dent to Congress. In a letter to the Foreign Relations and Bud- opening to Cuba are keeping an wary eye on One thing the White House could do imme- get Committees of both the House and the a market that has been off-limits to most diately is ease travel restrictions, which Bush Senate, Bush said the postponement “is nec- American industries for 45 years. toughened after assuming office in 2001. The essary in the national interests of the United Castro’s departure from power, if it is per- president could scrap some of those limita- States and will accelerate the transition manent, would deprive embargo supporters tions, including one that allows Cuban- towards democracy in Cuba.” from a polarizing figure to rail against. But it Americans to visit relatives on the island only Helms-Burton establishes in Chapters III also plunges Cuba into uncertainty, a turnoff once every three years. and IV sanctions to be applied to foreign firms for likely investors. Another step Bush could take is to make it that have business operations in Cuba. It also Tom Moushian, a Cuba specialist with the easier to sell food to Cuba, rolling back his permits the filing of lawsuits against busines- U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said big busi- requirement Cuba to pay for agricultural ses or individuals that make use of properties ness is watching the situation, and that vari- products before they leave U.S. ports. formerly owned by U.S. citizens or companies ous chamber's members have contacted him But the White House is unlikely to do any nationalized by the Cuban government. seeking information on what’s happening in of those things. Another provision denies entry to US terri- Havana. But Moushian can’t tell them much Instead it has repeatedly pointed to a report tory of executives of companies doing busi- because there's too much uncertainty. issued last month that recommended lifting ness in Cuba. “We are hopeful for positive change and sanctions only if Cuba took steps towards a And thanks to a separate provision included free market and free elections. by Sen. Bob Menendez, (D-NJ) — then a more openness. But businesses like pre- “We will support you in your effort to build dictability, and we have none of that now,” member of the House of Representatives — a transitional government in Cuba committed Helms-Burton also bars a lifting of sanctions Moushian told CubaNews, adding that he to democracy, and we will take note of those, doubts Congress could come up with enough while Raúl Castro is in power. in the current Cuban regime, who obstruct Menendez said the only way he’d seek a votes to overturn the vetoes President Bush your desire for a free Cuba," Bush said in a change the law is “if Raúl is elected in free and has threatened every time Congress attempts statement following Fidel's transfer of power fair elections” — a pretty unlikely scenario. to weaken the embargo. to his brother. But Rep. Jeff Flake (R-AZ), a member of the THINGS WASHINGTON CAN DO The report, a follow-up to one issued in bipartisan Cuba Working Group, said he plan 2004 from the administration’s Commission to introduce legislation that would modify or Chris Garza, a lobbyist for the American for Assistance to a Free Cuba — which also eliminate that section of Helms-Burton that Farm Bureau, said it might be difficult for recommended getting U.S. advisers on the addresses conditions for lifting the embargo. Congress to ease the embargo in 2006, since ground within a few weeks of Fidel’s depar- “We’ve been begging for years to modify it's an election year and there's little time left ture from power — was attacked by the Cu- Helms-Burton, because nobody believes in the congressional calendar. ban government as yet another example U.S. wholesale change is really going to happen,” “But I think the big push will come next interference in its affairs. said Flake, whose previous attempts to alter year, and agriculture will be there,” he said. Cuba policy have faltered because of Bush’s There are also political reasons to take at DEBATE OVER HELMS-BURTON veto threats. And there are other problems, least some steps to ease the embargo.