Vol. 14, No. 2 April 2006 www.cubanews.com In the News Oil politics prompted U.S. action against Mexico City hotel, says event organizer Shrinking appetite BY ANA RADELAT U.S. food exports to Cuba drop to $350m, clear there’s a consequence for maintaining the embargo,” namely, it prevents U.S. energy com- the first decrease since 2001 ........Page 2 he politics of petroleum may have prompt- ed the U.S. government to crack down on panies from tapping into a close source of oil off a Mexico City hotel that was hosting a the coast of Cuba. Starwood gets its way T “It meant that it’s OK for China and India to U.S.-Cuba energy summit, its organizer said. take out oil 60 miles from the United States, but U.S. commission OKs company’s inclu- Kirby Jones, a Washington-based consultant not us,” he complained. sion in Cuba claims program ........Page 2 who put together the Feb. 2-4 meeting, told Just before the start of the summit, OFAC CubaNews he’s organized nine meetings in the notified Starwood Hotels and Resorts World- Chinese buses past between Cuban officials and Americans wide Inc. that one of its properties, the 755- interested in traveling to Cuba or selling food to room Sheraton Maria Isabel in Mexico City, was Castro says he’s negotiating to buy 8,000 the island. None of these previous meetings in violation of U.S. sanctions because it had pro- buses from China’s Yutong ..........Page 3 caused problems with the Treasury Depart- vided services to the Cuban government. ment’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). Unexpectedly, at the end of the summit’s first Forbidden goodies Jones usually holds his summits in Cancún. day, Jones was told that the Cuban delegation But that resort was battered by Hurricane Wil- had to leave the hotel. The 16-member delega- Irish firm supplies Cuban hard-currency ma last year, so Jones was forced to move the tion included officials from state oil company shops with scarce U.S. goods ......Page 4 event to Mexico City and postpone it from CUPET as well as Raúl Pérez Prado, vice-minis- December to February. ter of basic industry, and Maria de la Luz, min- SPECIAL REPORT Jones said press accounts of his summit ister of foreign trade. prompted a strong reaction from the Bush ad- Jones also said the summit’s high-profile U.S. Abortion is a key form of birth control in ministration because “for the first time, it was See Summit, page 6 Cuba, with scarcely a debate on the wide- spread practice ...............................Page 8 National Endowment for Democracy gets Another bitter harvest Cuba unlikely to meet target of 1.3 million $2.4m in U.S. funding for Cuba programs tons of sugar this season ............Page 10 he National Endowment for Democracy Federación Sindical de Plantas Eléctri- (NED) received nearly $2.4 million in fis- cas, Gas y Agua (Federation of Electric, Caribbean calling T cal 2005 from the U.S. State Department Gas and Water Plants) Cuba seeks to expand trade ties with En- for Cuba-specific programs. $177,696 to promote labor rights and defend A detailed explanation of the programs and independent labor unions and workers in Cuba. glish-speaking islands .................Page 11 the amount NED got from the U.S. government Working with independent labor leaders, the to implement them will appear in the organiza- Federation will produce a report on labor rights Business briefs tion’s 2005 annual report, scheduled to be pub- violations inside Cuba. The group will also sup- port a training center in Havana that will train Oklahoma pursues $4m wheat sale; Cuban lished next month. In the meantime, here’s a summary of the programs and the allocations: Cuban workers in worker rights and distribute cigar industry faces crunch .......Page 12 Afro-Cuban Alliance information inside Cuba on international labor $62,000 to promote discussion about the con- See NED, page 7 Religion news ditions of Afro-Cubans and Afro-Cuban issues. DEAR SUBSCRIBER: Due to technical delays Adventists dedicate church in Camagüey; The Afro-Cuban Alliance will establish a quar- terly journal, Islas, that will be distributed inside connected with our recent move to Florida, we longtime Jewish leader dies .......Page 14 and outside the island. had no choice but to skip the February and The journal will seek to inform Cubans of March 2006 issues of CubaNews and mail out CubaNews (ISSN 1073-7715) is published monthly African descent on the island and in exile about the current April 2006 issue as soon as possible. by Luxner News Inc. © 2006. All rights reserved. civil rights, the hidden history of slavery and As compensation, we’ve automatically extend- Subscriptions: $429 for one year, $800 for two years. racial discrimination in Cuba, the experience of ed your subscription by three months for free. We For editorial inquires, please call (954) 970-4518 deeply regret any inconvenience this may have or send an e-mail to: [email protected]. civil rights movements, and how to organize to bring change. caused you. Thank you for your understanding. 2 CubaNews ❖ April 2006 US-CUBA RELATIONS USCTEC: Food exports to Cuba fell 11% to $350m in 2005 .S. food exports to Cuba under the 2000 ges and other costs. However, the [Cuban] $100 million based on recent corn prices. Trade Sanctions Reform and Export government has not provided any verifiable Alimport, Cuba’s food purchasing entity, UEnhancement Act came to $350.2 mil- data to support their data. Thus, the use of also indicated it would import 140,000 tons of lion in 2005, down 11% from the $392.0 million data reported by [Cuba] is suspect. The [Cu- distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS). in TSRA exports the year before. ban] government has been asked to provide “This agreement represents a significant in- That marks the first time since TSRA’s pas- verifiable data, but has chosen not to do so.” crease in the amount of U.S. corn Cuba in- sage in 2000 that Cuban purchases of U.S. USCTEC attributes the drop in 2005 ex- tends to import this year over previous food and agriculture commodities has actual- ports to “efforts by the [Cuban] government years,” said USGC Chairman Davis Anderson. ly dropped. to increase the motivation of U.S. companies, “The Council’s success in Cuba is very much in line with our work around the world Even so, Cuba still ranks 30th out of 228 organizations, state and local government to develop markets, enable trade and improve countries in terms of U.S. food and commodi- representatives and members of Congress to be more visible in their lobbying efforts for lives,” he said. “As Cuba’s tourism industry ex- ty purchases, according to the New York- pands, its people are finding they have more based U.S.-Cuba Trade & Economic Council. changes in U.S. policy, law, and regulations.” In addition, it said, “the financial largess of money to buy meat, milk and eggs, thus driv- Since 2001, U.S. companies have shipped a ing the increased demand for feed grains.” the governments of Venezuela and China cumulative $1.14 billion in food and related The 700,000 tons set by the agreement with products to Cuban state purchasing agency lessens the interest of the [Cuban] govern- Alimport represents a 44.6% rise over 2004 Alimport, all of it on a cash-only basis. ment to purchase U.S. products regardless of imports of 484,000 tons (19 million bushels). Broken down by commodity, the top 10 cost, quality, or delivery considerations.” “Cuba is a growing market for U.S. feed U.S. exports to Cuba last year were chicken USCTEC also blames “the re-emergences grains,” noted Ken Hobbie, USGC president ($60.0 million); corn ($49.4 million); wheat and/or continuations of import relationships and CEO. “It was a very fruitful visit for the ($47.2 million); rice ($39.2 million); soybeans (barter, substantial credits, political motiva- Council. We were able to learn more about ($32.7 million); powdered milk ($29.6 mil- tion) with Brazil, Argentina, Vietnam, Mex- their corn, sorghum and barley needs. We lion); soybean oil ($25.7 million); soybean oil- ico, Canada, France and other countries.” were also able to identify areas where they cake ($15.1 million); beans ($10.8 million) 700,000 TONS OF CORN need technical support, such as in formulat- and lumber ($5.2 million). Together, these 10 ing livestock rations and using DDGS.” commodities comprised 94% of all exports. Meanwhile, Cuba has agreed to import Under the memo of understanding, USGC According to USCTEC, “the data does not more U.S. corn, as part of a memorandum of agreed to “help expand Cuba-U.S. bilateral include transportation charges, bank char- understanding signed in late January with the commerce and lift the current U.S. restric- ges or other costs associated with exports U.S. Grains Council (USGC). tions that affect trade and travel with Cuba, a from the United States to Cuba. Under the deal, Cuba will buy 700,000 met- valuable market for U.S. food products.” “The government of Cuba reports data that ric tons (27.5 million bushels) of U.S. corn in Details: Ken Hobbie, CEO, USGC, Washing- includes transportation charges, bank char- 2006. The value of the agreement is nearly ton. Tel: (202) 789-0789. Fax (202) 898-0522. Cuba claims commission approves Starwood petition BY ANA RADELAT years, until Cuban authorities seized its office in The FCSC also rejected a $30,000 claim by downtown Havana and ordered the RCC’s dissolu- Julieta Rosseau López, whose parcel of land near or more than 30 years, there were 5,911 officially registered claims against Cuba.