Vol. 21, No. 6 June 2013 In the News State Department tones down criticism Gross on agenda but keeps Cuba on terrorist list for now Josefina Vidal, Roberta Jacobson discuss BY ANA RADELAT including travel documents to some of them.” Furthermore, said the report, “there was no fate of USAID subcontractor .........Page 2 hile its condemnation of Cuba was muted this year, the State Department indication that the Cuban government provided W weapons or paramilitary training to terrorist has decided to keep the island on its groups.” Better Mexican ties? annual list of terrorist-hosting nations. Diplomat says Cuba-Mexico relations will But it also said “the Cuban government con- Placed on that blacklist for the first time in tinued to harbor fugitives wanted in the United improve under Peña Nieto ............Page 3 1982, Cuba remained there for decades because States” — a reference to a tiny group of Amer- it harbored a dozen members of the Basque sep- icans that includes Joanne Chesimard, a left- aratist group ETA and members of the Revolu- wing militant who shot and killed a state troop- Political briefs tionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). ‘People’s cardinal’ relocated to Cienfuegos; er on the New Jersey Turnpike 40 years ago. But these reasons are losing force. In its lat- Washington-based attorney Robert Muse said 22% of residential water wasted .....Page 5 est terrorism report, released May 30, the State there’s no reason to keep Cuba on the list — Department noted that “in November, the Gov- which also includes Iran, Syria and Sudan — ernment of Cuba began hosting peace talks be- just because it harbors American fugitives. Provinces tween the FARC and Government of Colombia.” He points to dozens of other nations that An in-depth look at Cuba’s 2 newest provin- It added that “reports in 2012 suggested that haven’t signed extradition treaties to the United ces, Artemisa and Mayabeque ......Page 6 the Cuban government was trying to distance States, including Indonesia, China, Kuwait, itself from Basque Fatherland and Liberty Vietnam and Cambodia. Executives on trial (ETA) members living on the island by employ- “None of those countries are on the State Could ongoing corruption trial scare away ing tactics such as not providing services, See Terrorism, page 3 potential foreign investment? ........Page 8 Cuba’s growing network of cybercafés Tourism plans Marrero unveils long-term plan to dramat- ically boost hotel rooms, tourist amenities isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, says critic over next 7 years ...........................Page 9 BY VITO ECHEVARRÍA Referring to a BBC report, Henken said each he Cuban government is trying to play cybercafé (or telepunto) has just three comput- Santa Claus six months before Christmas. ers, limiting access for locals. HughesNet pulls plug T “There will be only 354 of these public access Hughes Network System cuts satellite link It just announced — with much fanfare — an expansion of Internet access for locals by computers in the entire country,” he lamented. to access Internet in Cuba ...........Page 11 opening 118 cybercafés throughout the island. “This amounts to one cybercafé for every 65,000 But Baruch College professor Ted Henken, people. And this will allow each user, of those 65,000 people, exactly one hour of access every Cuba vs. Guatemala who was declared persona non grata two years five years —assuming everyone on the island What Cuba can learn from ultra-productive ago by Cuban security agents for interviewing would want to use these cybercafés.” dissident bloggers, isn’t buying any of it. Guatemalan sugar sector .............Page 12 Henken also said that such “wider access” Speaking earlier this month at New York Uni- comes with strings attached. versity, Henken — who moderated an event fea- Through state telecom monopoly ETECSA’s Bookshelf turing visiting Cuban bloggers — detailed why local server Nauta, the Castro regime will still ‘What I Learned About Cuba,’ ‘Che Wants this “news” shouldn’t be taken too seriously. snoop on all communications by local cus- Given that users will pay $5 an hour for full to See You’, ‘My Lost Cuba’ ........Page 15 tomers, as well as filter all content. Internet access, Henken said authorities use “The new Cuban telecom law all but declares pricing to limit access, since they know the aver- publicly that users will be monitored, with the CubaNews (ISSN 1073-7715) is published monthly age salary for locals is only $20 a month. by CUBANEWS LLC. © 2013. All rights reserved. government reserving the right to block users Annual subscription: $398. Nonprofit organizations: “A user who seeks to go online for just one who engage in activities that ‘undermine public $198. Printed edition is $100 extra. For editorial in- hour each day over the course of a month would safety, or the country’s integrity, economy, inde- quires, please call (305) 393-8760, fax your request have to shell out $150 — more than seven times pendence and sovereignty,’” he said. Such users to (305) 670-2229 or email [email protected]. Cuba’s $20 average monthly wage,” he said. See Internet, page 4 2 CubaNews v June 2013 POLITICS Gross case on the agenda during Vidal-Jacobson meeting BY ANA RADELAT He’s serving a 15-year jail sentence in last time she got a visa to come to the United ecent talks between a State Department Havana; since his incarceration, the Mary- States, in April 2012, Vidal participated in ral- official and a high-level Cuban diplomat land resident has lost more than 105 pounds. lies aimed at freeing the jailed Cuban spies. Rhave breathed new life into talks over The U.S. continues to reject the idea of Low-key or not, the visit provoked anger jailed American subcontractor Alan Gross. trading Gross for four Cuban intelligence offi- from Cuban-American lawmakers, who wrote Josefina Vidal, director of the North Ameri- cers convicted of espionage in 1998 and held Jacobson demanding to know why Vidal had can bureau at the Cuban Foreign Ministry, in a Florida jail since then, said the official. been given a U.S. visa. spent a week in late May in Washington, René González, a fifth Cuban convicted of “Given her rank at the Ministry of Foreign where she met with Roberta S. Jacobson, as- spying, was released in October 2011 and Affairs, her sole mission is to promote the sistant secretary of state for Western Hem- given three years of probation, which was Cuban regime’s propaganda, undermine U.S. isphere affairs, and other U.S. officials. required to be completed in the United States. interests and justify brutal oppression against Since twice-a-year talks between Cuba and But González was allowed to return to Cuba pro-democracy activists in Cuba,” wrote Reps. the United States for his father’s funeral in April and a federal Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Mario Díaz-Bal- have been suspend- judge allowed him to stay there, provided that art (R-FL) and Albio Sires (D-NJ). ed, the meeting he renounce his U.S. citizenship. “In addition, she has been at the forefront between Vidal and defending the Cuban regime’s unjust holding Jacobson served as STATE DEPARTMENT ‘PLEASED’ WITH VIDAL VISIT of a U.S. citizen and harboring U.S. fugitives. an opportunity to While the release of any other Cubans con- With that in mind, we would like you to raise issues that were victed of espionage is unlikely, the State De- answer the following questions: What was the normally discussed in partment could make a humanitarian gesture purpose and intent of Vidal’s trip to Washing- those talks. — such as granting U.S. visas for the wives of ton? What issues were discussed during your They included joint the jailed men — that could open the door to meeting with Vidal? Can you provide us an efforts against drug Gross’s release. update on the Alan Gross case?” trafficking, migration The official said nothing definitive has been The State Department has yet to respond to issues and measures Roberta S. Jacobson put on the table, but noted “movement” in the the letter. to prevent oil spills. case, which has put relations between Wash- Gross, 64, was a subcontractor for the U.S. ington and Havana in a deep freeze since GROSS FAMILY SETTLES LAWSUIT WITH DAI Agency for International Development when Gross’s arrest three and a half years ago. A few days after Vidal returned to Havana, he was arrested in December 2009 and later The official also said the State Department the Castro government agreed to allow a U.S. convicted of subversion. was pleased with Vidal’s low-key visit. The doctor to travel to Cuba to examine Gross, who is said by family members to be in poor health. Cuba disputes this and says its prison- er been treated very well at the military hos- Party dumps leaders in Artemisa, Matanzas pital that has served as his jail. he Cuban Communist Party (PCC) Guilarte has been named head of a commit- Under contract with a Bethesda, Md., com- has replaced top leaders in two tee to plan for the 2014 congress of the pany called Development Alternatives Inc., Tprovinces — Artemisa and Matanzas Confederation of Cuban Workers (CTC). Gross traveled undercover to Cuba five times — following rather contradictory patterns. Perhaps that means Guilarte is back in before his arrest, distributing high-tech com- In Artemisa, provincial first secretary the game and in good standing. Maybe he’ll munication equipment to the island’s small Ulises Guilarte de Nacimiento was abrupt- even be nominated as CTC’s general secre- Jewish community and to dissidents.