Cuban dissident takes refuge in Argentine embassy in Havana
pedro martori
There are 25 messages in this issue.
Topics in this digest:
1. Trade stays brisk as U.S., Cuba spar
From: "PL" <pl.n...@pandora.be>
2. Bean seller finds Cuba a worthwhile market
From: "PL" <pl.n...@pandora.be>
3. US eases sanctions against Cuba, Iran, Sudan
From: "PL" <pl.n...@pandora.be>
4. Cuban dissident takes refuge in Argentine embassy in Havana
From: "PL" <pl.n...@pandora.be>
5. Castro's granddaughter becomes U.S. citizen
From: "PL" <pl.n...@pandora.be>
6. State delegation making trip to Cuba for trade talks
From: "PL" <pl.n...@pandora.be>
7. Cuban family seeks painting left in Cuba
From: "PL" <pl.n...@pandora.be>
8. Maine agriculture trade mission to Cuba brings back contracts
From: "PL" <pl.n...@pandora.be>
9. Cuban doctor returns home from Argentina
From: "PL" <pl.n...@pandora.be>
10. Christmas in Cuba
From: "PL" <pl.n...@pandora.be>
11. Cuba puts up massive billboard showing Iraqi prisoner abuse in front of U.S. mission in Havana
From: "PL" <pl.n...@pandora.be>
12. American business leaders talk about food exports to Cuba
From: "PL" <pl.n...@pandora.be>
13. Powell chides Cuba over battle of Christmas decorations
From: "PL" <pl.n...@pandora.be>
14. Cuba agrees to buy $125 million in American farm goods
From: "PL" <pl.n...@pandora.be>
15. Despite Federal Chill, States Keen to Trade with Cuba
From: "PL" <pl.n...@pandora.be>
16. Another welcome Cuba sale
From: "PL" <pl.n...@pandora.be>
17. CUBA BUYS MILLIONS OF DOLLARS OF FARM GOODS
From: "PL" <pl.n...@pandora.be>
18. Devout thousands walk, even crawl, to honor saint
From: "PL" <pl.n...@pandora.be>
19. Aviators killed in Cuba to get Dade memorial
From: "PL" <pl.n...@pandora.be>
20. Restrictions reduce U.S. travel to Cuba by more than half
From: "PL" <pl.n...@pandora.be>
21. U.S. diplomats in Cuba shine light on prisoners
From: "PL" <pl.n...@pandora.be>
22. Alabama trade mission increases sales to Cuba
From: "PL" <pl.n...@pandora.be>
23. Cuban FM condemns EU foreign policy
From: "PL" <pl.n...@pandora.be>
24. Class Takes Rare Trip to Cuba
From: "PL" <pl.n...@pandora.be>
25. Liberating Cuba from Communism
From: "PL" <pl.n...@pandora.be>
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Message: 1
Date: Thu, 23 Dec 2004 12:16:40 +0100
From: "PL" <pl.n...@pandora.be>
Subject: Trade stays brisk as U.S., Cuba spar
Posted on Wed, Dec. 15, 2004
Trade stays brisk as U.S., Cuba spar
BY TRACEY EATON
The Dallas Morning News
HAVANA - (KRT) - Even as Washington steps up the pressure on Fidel Castro's
government, hundreds of American business people swept into Havana on
Wednesday to sign tens of millions of dollars in trade deals with Cuba.
The Bush administration has taken a hard line on Cuba, seeking to cut off
the flow of cash to the island nation, strangle the economy and force Castro
from power. U.S. officials say that is one way to bring about a rapid,
peaceful transition to democracy in Cuba.
But farmers, rice growers, shipping company executives and others from
Texas, Florida, Alabama and other states say forget about Cold War politics
and let's make a deal.
"More than 50,000 Americans were killed in Vietnam. But we do business with
Vietnam. We do business with Red China. Why not do business with Cuba?" said
Terry Coleman, a Democrat and speaker of Georgia's House of Representatives.
"Cuba should be one of our closest allies and trading partners in the
hemisphere," said Coleman, who joined the Americans promoting trade with
Havana.
The United States slapped a brutal economic embargo on Cuba in the early
1960s, but in 1991 began allowing American companies to sell food and
agricultural products to the socialist nation.
Since then, American companies have sold $733 million in products to the
country, according to the U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic Council in New York.
Cuban officials on Wednesday said the figure was even higher - an estimated
$894 million now, and expected to surpass $1 billion by year's end.
Exact numbers aside, one thing's certain: Trade continues between the
hemispheric neighbors even as relations sink.
In the latest diplomatic stink, Cuba demanded that U.S. officials take down
Christmas lights in front of their office, known as the U.S. Interests
Section. The reason: The display includes a huge No. 75, a tribute to 75
dissidents, journalists, librarians and pro-democracy activists jailed and
sentenced to harsh prison terms in spring 2003. More than a dozen have since
been released for medical reasons.
James Cason, chief of the U.S. mission, said Cuban officials told him to get
rid of the lights or they'd retaliate - just how he's not sure.
His response: Stick it in your Christmas hat. The lights are staying up.
The No. 75 symbol is "a reminder of those arrested for thinking and speaking
independently," Cason told reporters. "The Castro regime is now threatening
this diplomatic mission with retaliation. Our position is that all our
decorations are up through Christmas."
As for U.S. trade with Cuba, Cason said in an interview that he believes the
Cuban government has been making "politically motivated purchases" to try to
build support for a lifting of the longtime trade embargo. But he doesn't
believe the tactic will work because, as he sees it, the socialist economy
is failing and running on fumes.
Americans in Havana this week said they just want to make some money.
"We are Americans in Cuba, and we are working under U.S. laws. We are
helping to put American-produced food on the table in Cuba. It doesn't
matter what the politicians say," said John Parke Wright IV, a cattle
rancher from Florida.
Trying to prevent Cubans from buying the food they need is a "criminal act,"
he said. "It's not right to try to starve an island."
---
These were the 10 biggest agricultural exports from the United States to
Cuba in October 2004 under the Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement
Act of 2000, which reauthorized the direct sale of food and agricultural
products to the island.
1. Corn: $5,345,499; 27.55 percent
2. Poultry: $2,942,065; 15.16 percent
3. Wheat: $2,940,242; 15.15 percent
4. Powdered milk: $2,066,033; 10.64 percent
5. Wood (pitch pine, pine, yellow poplar): $1,502,880; 7.74 percent
6. Vegetable oil cake: $1,293,582; 6.66 percent
7. Durum: $1,070,482; 5.51 percent
8. Hams: $696,001; 3.58 percent
9. Malt: $511,996; 2.63 percent
10. Eggs: $316,430; 1.63 percent
Total value: $18,685,210; 96.25 percent
Source: U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic Council in New York
---
© 2004, The Dallas Morning News.
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/world/10425597.htm
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Message: 2
Date: Thu, 23 Dec 2004 12:18:28 +0100
From: "PL" <pl.n...@pandora.be>
Subject: Bean seller finds Cuba a worthwhile market
December 16, 2004
Last modified December 16, 2004 - 12:15 am
Bean seller finds Cuba a worthwhile market
By BECKY SHAY
Of The Gazette Staff
Jim Stinehagen has put in long days this week negotiating to make a huge
sale of Montana products to Cuba.
On Wednesday Sen. Max Baucus announced an agreement with the Cuban
government to purchase $15 million in agricultural products from Montana.
About $10 million of that deal is peas, lentils and beans from Yellowstone
Bean Co., of which Stinehagen is president and CEO.
"It really was quite a day," Stinehagen said in a telephone interview with
The Gazette from Cuba. "That $10 million in sales rolls seven times, so that
means $70 million to the Montana economy."
This is Stinehagen's fifth trip to Cuba and he is amazed at how fast things
moved during this excursion now that he knows who to talk to and "how to
make things work." The first round of negotiations was Wednesday afternoon,
Stinehagen said, with another round scheduled for today and an agreement
will probably be signed Friday.
A year ago, Stinehagen sealed a deal to send 6.6 million pounds of dry
beans, worth about $1.5 million, to Cuba. The people he has worked with on
this trip told Stinehagen they "appreciate having such a high-quality
product."
"Cuba only has so much money - $1 billion a year to feed 11.2 million people
," Stinehagen said. "They have to buy right."
Stinehagen said the agreement calls for shipping 21,000 metric tons,
beginning in March and continuing each month through June. He intends to go
to Cuba and meet each shipment.
"We're going to be busy," he said.
Yellowstone Bean Co.'s northern location makes it difficult to compete,
Stinehagen said. The company has an operation in Corpus Christi, Texas, that
helps ease freight and shipping difficulties, he said.
"We have a tremendous freight advantage on the water out of Corpus to Cuba,"
Stinehagen said.
Yellowstone Bean Co., which has elevators in Bridger, Terry and Powell,
Wyo., is also shipping to Haiti, Puerto Rico and Mexico.
Although Baucus has worked to make the sales happen, government restrictions
make them difficult to complete, Stinehagen said. A self-described "die-hard
Republican," Stinehagen said he is getting irritated with the federal
administration that is eating up time and money with paperwork demands.
"Every shipment we have a notebook of paperwork about an inch thick,"
Stinehagen said. "They are making it as difficult to do business as they
can."
The large sales and good business relationship is worthwhile, he said.
"My greatest feat in 2004 was Cuba became my largest customer, it took out
Wal-Mart," Stinehagen said.
Working out sales with the mega-retailer Wal-Mart is "like getting turned
into a junkyard with a bunch of vicious dogs," Stinehagen said. The Cubans
are tough negotiators, he said, but "when you have a deal, you have deal."
The sales worked out in this week's agreement will stretch across 18 months,
according to Baucus' office. Montana products are still being sold to Cuba
from the senator's trip there last year with businesspeople.
Rich Owen, a member of the board of directors of CHS, said the organization
continues to send an average of about 100,000 bushels of wheat to Cuba each
month. The shipments are the results of an agreement reached last year when
Owen made a trip to Cuba with Baucus.
"It's not a huge business, but it's a steady business and a real good
relationship," Owen said. "Business is continuing, we're still moving grain.
The trip down there really was a great thing for Montana."
Copyright © The Billings Gazette, a division of Lee Enterprises.
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Message: 3
Date: Thu, 23 Dec 2004 12:19:34 +0100
From: "PL" <pl.n...@pandora.be>
Subject: US eases sanctions against Cuba, Iran, Sudan
US eases sanctions against Cuba, Iran, Sudan
The United States has eased sanctions against Cuba, Iran and Sudan to
facilitate literary and scientific exchanges.
A new rule, released by the Treasury Department, enables Americans persons
to freely engage in most ordinary publishing activities with individuals and
groups in the three countries.
Restrictions on "certain interactions" with the local governments in the
area of publishing will be maintained, but the department did not specify in
its statement how broad they will be.
Robert Werner, director of the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) that
is charged with enforcing sanctions, said people seeking to publish works by
Cuban, Iranian and Sudanese authors in the United States, or to publish
their own materials in the three states, will henceforth be able to do so
"without seeking permission" from his office first.
"This rule provides clarity and promotes important policies aimed at the
free exchange of ideas without undermining the national security objectives
of these country sanctions," Mr Werner stated.
Although introduced at different times, the US sanctions against Cuba, Iran
and Sudan bar most types of trade or other exchanges because the US
Government believes these countries promote terrorism, suppress basic
freedoms, and are run by oppressive governments.
All three nations are listed by the US State Department as state sponsors of
terrorism.
While easing the restrictions on publishing, the Treasury Department made
clear the bulk of other sanctions against the three will remain in place
because they are "critical to US interests with respect to dangerous
regimes, terrorists, narcotics traffickers and the proliferation of weapons
of mass destruction".
-AFP
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200412/s1267092.htm
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Message: 4
Date: Thu, 23 Dec 2004 12:21:14 +0100
From: "PL" <pl.n...@pandora.be>
Subject: Cuban dissident takes refuge in Argentine embassy in Havana
Cuban dissident takes refuge in Argentine embassy in Havana
12-16-2004, 16h25
BUENOS AIRES (AFP) - A Cuban dissident, Hilda Molina, has taken refuge
in the Argentine embassy in Havana, a top Argentine official told AFP.
Molina, a renowned neurosurgeon, has been campaigning for 10 years to
be able to travel to Argentina to see her son, Roberto Quinones, as well as
two grandchildren she has never met and other members of her family.
Jorge Arguello, head of the Argentine national assembly's foreign
affairs commission, told AFP that Molina was in the mission.
"She is inside the embassy," said Arguello, who added that once the
case has been checked, "Argentina will have to make a decision about this
topic."
La Nacion newspaper reported earlier that Molina, 61, and her mother,
Hilda Morejon, 84, had entered the Argentine mission in a bid to seek
asylum.
Argentina's ambassador to Cuba, Raul Taleb, was rushing back to Havana
from Buenos Aires to handle the case, Arguello said.
Earlier this month, Argentine President Nestor Kirchner wrote to his
Cuban counterpart Fidel Castro, asking him to allow Molina to visit
Argentina.
Castro wrote back saying that Molina's family should visit her in
Cuba. The ambassador to Havana said Wednesday that the response "did not
satisfy the government.
http://www.turkishpress.com/world/news.asp?id=041216162507.fixaz80e.xml
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Message: 5
Date: Thu, 23 Dec 2004 12:22:12 +0100
From: "PL" <pl.n...@pandora.be>
Subject: Castro's granddaughter becomes U.S. citizen
Castro's granddaughter becomes U.S. citizen
Associated Press
December 16, 2004, 11:03 AM EST
MIAMI Cuban President Fidel Castro's granddaughter, who fled to America in
1993, has become an U.S. citizen.
Alina Salgado, 26, is the daughter of Alina Fernandez, Castro's daughter
living in exile in the United States.
Salgado was sworn in at the Miami Beach Convention Center on Wednesday,
among 6,000 people who became Americans during two naturalization
ceremonies. She refused to comment.
``I want to keep my life private and personal,'' Salgado said in a telephone
interview.
Fernandez also refused to comment.
In 1993 Fernandez left Cuba wearing a wig and carrying a counterfeit Spanish
passport.
She left her then 16-year-old daughter in Cuba and after arriving in the
U.S. appealed to Castro to allow the girl to come to America. Salgado joined
her mother a few days later.
Fernandez had said it was her daughter who advised her to leave Cuba.
Copyright © 2004, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
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Message: 6
Date: Thu, 23 Dec 2004 12:24:41 +0100
From: "PL" <pl.n...@pandora.be>
Subject: State delegation making trip to Cuba for trade talks
State delegation making trip to Cuba for trade talks
The Associated Press
12/16/2004, 11:11 a.m. CT
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) -- Agriculture Commissioner Ron Sparks and other
Alabama leaders have left for Cuba in one of several trade visits to the
communist country this year.
The Alabama Department of Agriculture & Industries described the trip
Wednesday as "part of an ongoing trade relationship that has developed into
more than $15 million in annual sales from Alabama."
Stateline.org, which tracks government issues and news, reported that at
least 10 states are participating in this week's visit.
Sparks has expressed concern about the federal government's attempts to
tighten rules regarding exports to Cuba.
"Exporting to Cuba is good for our state's economy because it helps support
local families and local businesses," he said in a prepared statement.
Alabama's exports to Cuba include poultry, timber and snack foods. The
department's trade mission is possible because of a license received from
the federal government to participate in events promoting exports of
agricultural products and prepared foods. The five-day trip's itinerary
includes visits to a cigar factory, a genetic and biotech center and a rum
museum.
Three cocktail parties also are on the agenda.
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Message: 7
Date: Thu, 23 Dec 2004 12:25:58 +0100
From: "PL" <pl.n...@pandora.be>
Subject: Cuban family seeks painting left in Cuba
Cuban family seeks painting left in Cuba
Miami, FL, Dec. 16 (UPI) -- A wealthy south Florida family is accusing
Sotheby's auction house of knowing where a valuable painting is, but
refusing to disclose the information.
The Malaga Port painting by Spanish impressionist Joaquin Sorolla y Bastida
was appropriated by the Fidel Castro regime when the Fanjul family left Cuba
for the United States, The Miami Herald reported Thursday.
The family, which runs one of the major sugar producing operations in the
United States, said it believes the painting was smuggled out of Havana in
the last 16 years and now is in the possession of an art dealer in Italy.
The family said it wants the painting and someone held accountable for
violating the U.S. trade embargo against Cuba by dealing for the painting.
"We don't like the idea that our collection is being sold by the people who
stole it," said Jose "Pepe" Fanjul, 60. "Anyone who deals in stolen Cuban
art should be branded as a thief."
The family has filed complaints with the federal government charging
Sotheby's knows who has the painting.
http://washingtontimes.com/upi-breaking/20041216-113917-2442r.htm
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Message: 8
Date: Thu, 23 Dec 2004 12:27:04 +0100
From: "PL" <pl.n...@pandora.be>
Subject: Maine agriculture trade mission to Cuba brings back contracts
Thursday, December 16, 2004 1:30 pm
Maine agriculture trade mission to Cuba brings back contracts
Associated Press
©Copyright 2004 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not
be pu
AUGUSTA, Maine - Cuba has agreed to purchase up to $10 million worth of farm
products including potatoes, apples, and dairy cattle from Maine producers,
Gov. John Baldacci said Thursday.
"This agreement shows the importance of increasing our reach across state
and national boundaries to enable Maine agricultural producers and other
businesses to gain new markets," Baldacci said in a written statement.
Baldacci announced the agreement during a breakfast speech to Maine business
hosted by the World Affairs Council. The announcement came at the end of a
trade mission to Cuba involving representatives from the state´s potato,
apple, dairy, cattle and maple syrup industries.
The delegation sent to Cuba included Agriculture Commissioner Robert Spears,
former Gov. Kenneth Curtis, Doyle Marchant, president of Cedar Spring
Agricultural Company, and agricultural growers and producers from around the
state.
State officials hoped the mission eventually would lead to contracts
producing more than $1 million in sales to Cuba. They were not expecting to
sign contracts.
Ned Porter, deputy agricultural commissioner, said the news was promising
for Maine´s agricultural producers.
"I hope it´s the start of a long-term trading relationship that benefits
both parties," he said. "Maine growers will do their best to put their best
foot forward."
Four decades of trade sanctions against Cuba have been tightened under the
Bush administration, but Cuban officials are optimistic that President Bush
in his second term will start heeding requests from U.S. business interests
and lawmakers _ particularly those from farm states _ to ease restrictions.
Under an exception to the sanctions, American agricultural goods can be sold
to Cuba on a cash-only basis. Since the island began taking advantage of the
exception in 2001, it has contracted to buy more than $900 million in farm
goods.
While individual companies in Maine have visited Cuba to investigate export
opportunities, the trip was described as the state´s first coordinated
effort.
Maine exported $309.7 million in food and agricultural products in 2003,
primarily to Canada, which accounted for $217.2 million of that total,
according to the Maine International Trade Center.
http://news.mainetoday.com/apwire/D870T5501-350.shtml
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Message: 9
Date: Thu, 23 Dec 2004 12:28:20 +0100
From: "PL" <pl.n...@pandora.be>
Subject: Cuban doctor returns home from Argentina
hursday, December 16, 2004 · Last updated 11:15 p.m. PT
Cuban doctor returns home from Argentina
By VANESSA ARRINGTON
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
HAVANA -- A prominent Cuban doctor returned home Thursday after an overnight
stay at the Argentine Embassy that raised tensions between the two nations
amid reports she was seeking political asylum.
Dr. Hilda Molina, 61, denied she had sought refuge at the embassy, telling
reporters at her home in Havana that she wanted Argentina's help arranging a
teleconference with her son, an exile living in the South American country.
"I was discussing something that didn't have anything to with political
asylum," said Molina, a brain surgeon who has held top government posts in
Cuba.
She said she ended up staying overnight because her 84-year-old mother, who
had accompanied her to the embassy Wednesday, fell ill while they were
there. Argentine officials offered to let them stay at the embassy until she
felt better.
Several international journalists spent Thursday gathered outside the
embassy, waiting for Molina and her mother to leave. Late that night,
however, it was discovered that Molina was already back home.
Once a friend of President Fidel Castro, Molina is now considered an
opponent of his communist government. Cuba has repeatedly refused her
requests for permission to travel to Argentina to visit her son and two
grandchildren.
The respected Argentine daily La Nacion reported early Thursday that Molina
intended to seek political asylum, citing two unnamed diplomatic sources.
The Argentine government remained silent about the case.
In Buenos Aires, Molina's son denied the report, saying his mother was just
a "guest" at the embassy.
"My mother doesn't want this to affect diplomatic relations between the
countries, or be turned into a political act," said Roberto Quinones, also a
doctor.
However, the case had already strained relations.
Earlier this month, Argentine President Nestor Kirchner wrote a letter to
Castro, asking him to let Molina visit Argentina. Castro declined and
instead invited the family to spend Christmas with their mother in Cuba.
After Castro's response was made public Tuesday, Argentine Ambassador to
Cuba Raul Taleb, in Buenos Aires at the time for personal reasons, was
ordered not to return to the Caribbean island.
Cuba's response "was not to the liking of the Argentine government," Taleb
told Argentine radio Wednesday.
Molina said she was sorry the case had become politicized, though she
thanked Kirchner for his help. She reiterated she had no plans of leaving
Cuba for good.
"This is my country ... the land where I want to die, regardless of
disagreements I have with the (island's) system," she said.
---
Associated Press writers Vicente Panetta in Buenos Aires and Andrea
Rodriguez in Havana contributed to this report.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/aplatin_story.asp?category=1102&slug=Cuba%20Argentina
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Message: 10
Date: Thu, 23 Dec 2004 12:29:56 +0100
From: "PL" <pl.n...@pandora.be>
Subject: Christmas in Cuba
December 17, 2004 Edition
Christmas in Cuba
New York Sun Staff Editorial
December 17, 2004
URL: http://www.nysun.com/article/6475
Fidel Castro's regime in Cuba actually banned Christmas from 1969 to 1997,
so it's somewhat in character for the Havana government to want the American
Interests Section there to take down its Christmas lights. Wags may wonder,
though, whether the same lights would be allowed on a government outpost
here in America, where, at the behest of the American Civil Liberties Union
and other secularist groups, courts in recent years have reined in religious
displays on government property.
The American display in Cuba consists of a snowman, Santa Claus, a pole
strewn with lights in the shape of a Christmas tree, and the number "75,"
which is said to represent the number of pro-democracy dissidents that
Castro's regime jailed last year. Probably enough secular symbols are mixed
in there to satisfy the American judges; it's not as if the State
Department's outpost at Havana were doing anything respecting an
establishment of religion via the display of, say, a nativity scene.
We wouldn't want to liken the communist persecution of Christians, in Cuba
or anywhere else, to the excesses of American judges. The American abuses,
at least, take place in the context of a genuine rule of law and of judges
appointed through a free and democratic process. And in the context of a
First Amendment clause prohibiting Congress from passing laws respecting an
establishment of religion. To whatever extremes that clause has been
interpreted, the fact remains that it is one reason that religion has
flourished in hundreds of varieties in America, free from the detrimental
influence of government endorsement.
Still, as recent Supreme Court cases involving school vouchers, the Ten
Commandments in the courtroom, and the words "Under God" in the Pledge of
Allegiance indicate, Americans are still grappling with the interpretation
of the First Amendment more than 200 years after it was written. One of the
justices, Antonin Scalia, addressed this question when he spoke recently
here in New York at a synagogue that was founded 350 years ago. According to
the national director of the Anti-Defamation League, Abraham Foxman, who
recounted the talk in a column in yesterday's New York Sun, Justice Scalia
maintained that neither the Constitution nor the First Amendment dictates
separation of church and state, and that, as the justice put it, the
founders mandated "not neutrality between religiousness and
nonreligiousness," but rather neutrality "between denominations of
religion."
Mr. Foxman, for whom we have a high regard, quoted James Madison as an
advocate of the wall of separation. He might, too, have quoted Thomas
Jefferson, who also leaned toward the separationist side. But there is a
complementary strand among the founders, among them Samuel Adams and George
Washington, who, while favoring the First Amendment, were ardent public
advocates of the importance of religion. In his farewell address of 1796,
for instance, Washington said, "Of all the dispositions and habits which
lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable
supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of patriotism who should
labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness - these firmest
props of the duties of men and citizens. The mere politician, equally with
the pious man, ought to respect and to cherish them. A volume could not
trace all their connections with private and public felicity."
Washington went on, "Let it simply be asked, Where is the security for
property, for reputation, for life, if the sense of religious obligation
desert the oaths which are the instruments of investigation in courts of
justice? And let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can
be maintained without religion. Whatever may be conceded to the influence of
refined education on minds of peculiar structure, reason and experience both
forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of
religious principle."
This is the problem with Cuba and the other communistic and atheistic
regimes. It is one thing to respect atheists and to protect their rights, as
America's Constitution and tradition do. It is another to found one's
ideology in opposition to the idea of God, as communism does. What Cuba is
afraid of is different from what the ACLU and Mr. Foxman are concerned
about. Castro's regime truly trembles before religion. It could not survive
if religion were free to prosper. So in the darkness of Communist Cuba the
regime quails before the lights that are up at the American Interests
Section.
http://www.nysun.com/article/6475
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Message: 11
Date: Thu, 23 Dec 2004 12:53:47 +0100
From: "PL" <pl.n...@pandora.be>
Subject: Cuba puts up massive billboard showing Iraqi prisoner abuse in front of U.S. mission in Havana
Cuba puts up massive billboard showing Iraqi prisoner abuse in front of
U.S. mission in Havana
By Associated Press, 12/17/2004 12:04
HAVANA (AP) Cuba responded Friday to U.S. diplomats' refusal to take down
Christmas decorations by putting up a huge billboard in front of the U.S.
Interest Section emblazoned with a swastika and showing photographs of Iraqi
prisoners being abused by American soldiers.
The billboard, put up overnight, had a large swastika in red and the word
''fascists'' covered with a ''Made in the U.S.A.'' stamp. It sat prominently
on the Malecon, Havana's coastal highway, facing the mission's offices.
An American diplomat in Havana speaking on condition of anonymity said
Friday that the torture of prisoners at Iraqi Abu Ghraib prison has been
reported and discussed openly, and that those responsible are being
prosecuted.
''On the other hand, the Cuban government does not allow a single word of
dissent in its media, jails those who dare espouse different ideas and has
not allowed (anyone) to visit Cuban political prisoners since the late
1980s,'' the official said.
The U.S. Interest Section, headed by chief James Cason, ignored a demand
earlier this week to remove Christmas decorations that included a reference
to dissidents jailed by Fidel Castro's government.
The trimmings included a Santa Claus, candy canes and white lights wrapped
around palm trees and a sign reading ''75'' a reference to 75 Cuban
dissidents jailed last year.
All of the decorations will stay up until after the holidays, the U.S.
official reiterated Friday.
Cuban Parliament Speaker Ricardo Alarcon called the sign ''rubbish'' this
week, and said Cason seems ''desperate to create problems.''
Cuba had warned the U.S. Interest Section to remove the decorations or face
unspecified consequences.
No other officials from Castro's administration have commented on the spat.
http://www.boston.com/dailynews/352/world/Cuba_puts_up_massive_billboard:.shtml
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Message: 12
Date: Thu, 23 Dec 2004 12:54:40 +0100
From: "PL" <pl.n...@pandora.be>
Subject: American business leaders talk about food exports to Cuba
American business leaders talk about food exports to Cuba
UNDATED Two years ago this month, nearly 30 U-S business representatives
came to Havana to sign agreements with Cuban officials to export food to the
Caribbean island.
This week, more than 340 people, including a delegation led by Alabama
Agriculture Commissioner Ron Sparks, are attending the latest round of
talks, in which communist officials hope to sign deals worth about 100 (m)
million U-S dollars.
With that growing interest has come increased pressure on the U-S government
by the American companies and even members of Congress to lift trade and
travel restrictions against Cuba.
More than 165 U-S companies are to be represented in this week's talks,
which started Wednesday and concludes today.
Copyright 2004 Associated Press.
http://www.whnt19.com/Global/story.asp?S=2705343
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Message: 13
Date: Thu, 23 Dec 2004 12:56:01 +0100
From: "PL" <pl.n...@pandora.be>
Subject: Powell chides Cuba over battle of Christmas decorations
Powell chides Cuba over battle of Christmas decorations
Posted: Friday December 17,2004 - 02:53:38 pm
WASHINGTON (AFP) - US Secretary of State Colin Powell chided Cuba for
displaying Nazi swastikas and pictures of Iraqi prisoner abuse to counter US
Christmas decorations in Havana that paid tribute to jailed Cuban
dissidents.
AFP/File Photo
"I don't think that is very wise on their part," Powell said in the
latest volley in the holiday season row that has erupted in the Cuban
capital.
The Cubans were infuriated when the US special interests section in
Havana put up Christmas lights that included a neon "75" -- a pointed
reference to 75 dissidents detained in a crackdown last year.
They responded by mounting their own display in front of the US
mission, including pictures of prisoner abuse at Iraq 's Abu Ghraib prison
and red flags emblazoned with the symbol of Nazi Germany.
Powell, speaking in an interview with the Associated Press, refused to
back down on the US decorations, which he called a gesture of solidarity
with political prisoners in Cuba.
"And the Cuban government's response is to put forward and show the
world a swastika?" he said, according to a State Department transcript.
"I don't think that is very wise on their part, and we will continue
to stick by our troops down there, our diplomats down there and our
Christmas display, with the "75."
State Department spokesman Richard Boucher rejected Cuban complaints
that the reference to the 75 dissidents was a political provocation.
"We think it's appropriate for this season to put up Christmas lights
and to remember the people in jail," he said. "If the Cuban government
thinks that there is a different way to commemorate the season, let them try
to explain it."
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Message: 14
Date: Thu, 23 Dec 2004 12:57:45 +0100
From: "PL" <pl.n...@pandora.be>
Subject: Cuba agrees to buy $125 million in American farm goods
Cuba agrees to buy $125 million in American farm goods
- VANESSA ARRINGTON, Associated Press Writer
Saturday, December 18, 2004
(12-18) 00:16 PST HAVANA (AP) --
Cuba has agreed to buy about $125 million in farm goods from U.S. companies
attending trade talks in Havana, officials said.
The deals, which were agreed on during three days of negotiations that ended
Friday, surpassed expectations, Pedro Alvarez, chairman of the Cuban food
import company Alimport, told The Associated Press.
Cuba had expected to sign deals worth about $100 million going into the
talks, he said.
More than 300 people, primarily producers of American farm goods, attended
the meetings, as did several lawmakers -- including Sen. Max Baucus of
Montana, the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee.
On Thursday, Cuban President Fidel Castro addressed the group for several
hours on subjects ranging from Cuba's health care system to a recent
government decision to take the American dollar out of circulation on the
island.
Despite the positive vibes, Alvarez on the opening day of talks told the
group that recent actions by the U.S. government prompted the Cuban
government to buy some farm products from countries other than the United
States.
Beginning a few weeks ago, some companies trading with Cuba found that
payments made by the island were not being credited to bank accounts in the
United States on instructions from the U.S. government.
The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control, which
administers policy regarding a four-decade trade embargo against Cuba, has
since let transactions proceed on a case-by-case basis.
The action led Cuba to buy 385,000 tons of products -- including wheat,
corn, soy products, powdered milk and chicken -- from other countries,
Alvarez said. The purchases meant U.S. companies missed out on about $100
million, he said.
"Food shouldn't be used as a political instrument," he told the AP.
Banks and the U.S. Treasury department have questions about whether a 2000
law permitting agricultural trade with Cuba requires that U.S. exporters be
paid before shipping their products to Cuba.
Some exporters currently ship products to Cuba before getting paid, but
Cuban importers do not get the goods until they pay the U.S. exporter.
Under an exception to the embargo, American agricultural goods can be sold
to the island on a cash-only basis. Including this week's deals, Cuba has
contracted to buy more than $1 billion in American farm goods -- including
shipping and hefty bank fees to send payments through third nations -- since
it began taking advantage of the exception in 2001.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2004/12/18/international0316EST0432.DTL
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Message: 15
Date: Thu, 23 Dec 2004 12:59:26 +0100
From: "PL" <pl.n...@pandora.be>
Subject: Despite Federal Chill, States Keen to Trade with Cuba
Despite Federal Chill, States Keen to Trade with Cuba
Posted Wednesday, December 15, 2004 :: infoZine Staff
by Kathleen Murphy - State officials from Alabama, Louisiana and Maine will
visit a Cuban cigar factory and tour a rum museum this week while
encouraging President Fidel Castro's communist regime to buy more U.S.
agricultural products.
Stateline.org - Alabama, Louisiana and Maine are among a number of states
trying to drum up trade with Cuba despite a federal embargo first imposed by
Dwight Eisenhower in the late 1950s shortly after the revolution that
brought Castro to power. Congress amended the embargo in 2000, allowing
agricultural products to be sold to island nation 90 miles south of Florida.
The action came after Illinois Gov. George Ryan (R) led a delegation to Cuba
in 1999, becoming the first governor to visit since before the Bay of Pigs
invasion in 1961 when about 1,300 members of a CIA-supported Cuban exile
force launched an invasion that ended in failure.
In July 2002, North Dakota Gov. John Hoeven (R) visited Cuba and two months
later then-Gov. Jesse Ventura of Minnesota (I) traveled there. South
Carolina Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer visited in January, 2004.
During the latest state visit to Havana this week, state officials will try
to help U.S. companies negotiate cash-only contracts for sales of
agriculture and health-related goods under the narrow confines of U.S.
restrictions. Last July, the Bush administration tightened limits on travel
and currency transfers, but sales of the type states are pushing were
unaffected.
At least 10 states will be represented at this week's trade fair, Michelle
Butler, CEO of the Navarretta Group, a San Diego firm that analyzes the
Cuban market and arranges business meetings, told Stateline.org. However,
not all will have officials present.
Maine is providing $250 stipends for the trip to industry representatives
who hope to sell apples, potatoes, maple syrup and dairy products, said
Maine Agriculture Commissioner Robert Spear. Spear, who traveled to Havana
on Sunday (12/12), said Cuba's controversial record on human rights isn't a
deterrent to capitalizing on export trade opportunities.
"We're looking to help our farmers and develop export trade. That's our
priority. As far as I know, it probably hasn't been fair down there, but I
think there is a future for them, and a future for trade. The first
(exporters) that can get in may succeed in the future," Spear said.
While Spear and others see the trade trip as potentially opening the door to
an untapped market, others have criticized it as a political event. "The
government of Cuba has continued to politicize the commercial process," said
John Kavulich, president of the U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic Council, a
non-partisan research group that has tended to be critical of Cuba's
commercial activities.
Politicians such as Rep. Peter Deutsch, D-Fla., have questioned the legality
of agreements to facilitate Cuba's import of farm products. Idaho, Montana,
California, South Carolina and Kansas are among states that have signed such
deals. Deutsch said Cuba has been pressuring U.S. firms that want to sell
agricultural products to the regime to become more politically active and
work to abolish the embargo.
Emory University political scientist Juan del Aguila agrees with Deutsch
that the commercial activity is politically motivated. "From the standpoint
of the Cuban government, the purchases serve more than an economic need.
They serve a broader, longstanding foreign policy and political goal which
is to recruit American firms on behalf of ending the commercial embargo," he
said.
Despite the Bush administration's hard line, U.S. trade with Cuba has grown
steadily and reached $321 million this year as of September. Archer Daniels
Midland Co. of Decatur, Ill., ranked first among all U.S. companies,
exporting $8.9 million worth of corn to Cuba last year.
Maine, California and Texas have passed resolutions encouraging trade with
Cuba, and more than half the states are making sales there. Among the top
U.S. exporters to Cuba are North Dakota, Iowa and Illinois. Other states
active in Cuban trade are Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana,
Mississippi, Pennsylvania and Texas, according to federal trade data.
Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius (D) signed an agreement in January with Cuba's
largest food importer aimed at increasing trade. A South Carolina delegation
signed a similar agreement. Other state agreements struck with Cuba have
included:
a.. South Dakota's delegation agreed to sell 5,000 metric tons of peas in
October.
b.. Vermont contracted in August to send $6 million in powdered milk to
Cuba.
c.. Montana agreed in September 2003 to sell $10 million in farm products
to Cuba such as wheat, dry beans and peas. Iowa is among the top exporters
of corn and soybeans to Cuba, but Gov. Tom Vilsack (D) expressed ambivalence
about promoting trade with the Caribbean island nation.
Vilsack said, "I have deep concerns about the human rights situation in Cuba
and have been unwilling to travel to Cuba for that reason. Having said that,
our secretary of agriculture, Patty Judge has been promoting trade with
Cuba, primarily to benefit our farm families who are struggling for new
markets. I think it's a matter of opening up opportunities for family
farmers so that they have better incomes."
Rich Waltzer, president of Splash Tropical Drinks of Fort Lauderdale, Fla.,
said he has sold millions of dollars worth of daiquiri mix, soy milk, orange
juice, sardines and other products to Cuba since September 2002.
"Cuba is our neighbor. Cubans want to put the past in the past. What are you
going to do, alienate them for the next 1,000 years? It doesn't make sense.
I am creating jobs, new jobs in the state of Florida. It's the next untapped
economy worth billions of dollars for the United States," Waltzer said.
Send your comments on this story to letters at stateline dot org Selected
reader feedback will be posted in the Letters to the editor section.
Stateline.org Staff Writer Pamela Prah contributed to this report.
Source: Contact Kathleen Murphy at kmurphy at stateline dot org - © 2004
stateline.org
http://www.infozine.com/news/stories/op/storiesView/sid/4811/
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Message: 16
Date: Thu, 23 Dec 2004 13:00:59 +0100
From: "PL" <pl.n...@pandora.be>
Subject: Another welcome Cuba sale
Another welcome Cuba sale
By The Helena IR - 12/19/04
Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., helped pull off another Cuban deal last week,
getting that island nation to buy $15 million worth of Montana agricultural
products and showing once again that the U.S. trade embargo against Cuba
really hurts no one but us.
That's because practically every other country in the world already has open
trade with Cuba, so the United State's embargo is pointless - a case in
which former Cubans living in Florida still are wagging the dog of U.S.
foreign policy to the detriment of U.S. exports.
Currently, the only trade allowed between the U.S. and Cuba involves food
and medicine, but it's no small transaction. Cuba has bought goods from this
country worth more than $400 million this year, with total sales since
nearing $1 billion since the 1962 embargo was modified in 2001. That makes
Cuba the 22nd biggest U.S. agricultural market.
It's still possible, however, that the latest deals will fall through.
That's because the U.S. Treasury Department, which administers the embargo,
is suggesting that U.S. law requires that Cuba pay cash in advance. In other
words, trade goods should not leave U.S. ports before the money is in hand.
Cuba has been paying for the products after the ships embark, but before the
goods are delivered.
It was in reaction to that kind of hair splitting that Baucus threatened
earlier this month to block President Bush's Treasury Department
appointments, saying the department's position "takes this administration's
dangerous obsession with Cuba to a whole new level."
Baucus, who was instrumental in obtaining last year's deal with Cuba for
$10.4 million in agricultural products, is right to work for more trade with
Cuba and an end to an embargo that stopped making sense long ago - except to
politicians who remain convinced that former Cubans can deliver Florida in
the next election.
http://www.helenair.com/articles/2004/12/19/opinions_top/a04121904_01.txt
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Message: 17
Date: Thu, 23 Dec 2004 13:03:40 +0100
From: "PL" <pl.n...@pandora.be>
Subject: CUBA BUYS MILLIONS OF DOLLARS OF FARM GOODS
December 19, 2004
CUBA BUYS MILLIONS OF DOLLARS OF FARM GOODS
The deals were agreed on during three days of negotiations that ended
Friday.
State Agriculture Commissioner Roger Johnson says he doesn't know yet if the
deal with the Cuba includes any North Dakota farm products.
The North Dakota Farm Bureau is on a trade delegation to Cuba this week.
The farm group received a 25-thousand-dollar grant earlier this year from
the state Agricultural Products Utilization Commission.
The North Dakota group is part of a delegation of about 300 people from the
U-S attending the meetings.
Cuba agreed to buy five-thousand metric tons of North Dakota peas in
October -- and Johnson says a deal is in the works for another 20-thousand
metric tons.
http://www.kxma.com/news/local.asp?ID=4657
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Message: 18
Date: Thu, 23 Dec 2004 13:02:08 +0100
From: "PL" <pl.n...@pandora.be>
Subject: Devout thousands walk, even crawl, to honor saint
Posted on Sun, Dec. 19, 2004
Devout thousands walk, even crawl, to honor saint
BY GARY MARX
Chicago Tribune
EL RINCON, Cuba - (KRT) - Smoking a cigar and dragging a 100-pound stone
chained to one leg, Tomas Poblar is lying on his back and pushing himself
down a highway in an annual pilgrimage to honor St. Lazarus, patron saint of
the sick and poor.
A lonely figure moving at a snail's pace as trucks and cars rumble by,
Poblar said his dayslong ordeal - completed for 52 consecutive years - is
his way of honoring a saint he says healed a crippling injury.
"I was on the seas and my ship capsized and I was hurt and couldn't walk,"
said Poblar, 74. "I prayed and was able to walk again. I made a promise to
do this every year for the rest of my life."
It was early afternoon and Poblar had covered about 13 miles in three days.
He had about 4 miles to go to reach his destination: a simple white church
in this village outside Havana.
Each year on the night of Dec. 16, thousands of Cubans walk, crawl or
literally drag themselves to the St. Lazarus shrine in the one of the most
public outpourings of religious faith in this island nation.
Poblar and many devout pilgrims are dressed in clothing fashioned out of
burlap sacks, a sign of respect and act of penance for the humble saint who
seems to have a special following among the poor.
The pilgrimage is a raucous affair, blending elements of a street party with
stunning displays of devotion in a communist nation that has become more
tolerant of religion.
Along the road to the shrine, teenagers drank rum and danced to hip-hop,
rock and salsa music while couples pushed baby strollers and quietly held
candles and flowers as offerings to St. Lazarus and his Afro-Cuban
counterpart, Babalu Aye.
Vendors hawking roast pork sandwiches, fried rice and other foods competed
for attention with table after table of brightly colored religious statues
and other religious items for sale.
"Come look at the crocodile with two bodies - eight feet and one head!" a
man shouted through a loudspeaker.
Curious onlookers stepped into a makeshift tent, where they peered at a dead
6-inch crocodile under glass and a life-sized sheep with two heads that had
been eviscerated and stuffed.
Cubans participating in the procession told one story after another of
miracles attributed to St. Lazarus, or San Lazaro in Spanish, whose gaunt
figure - crutches under each arm, dogs at his feet - lined the roadside on
this cold, cloudy night.
Alicia Socorro, a 26-year-old student, walked nearly seven hours from
downtown Havana to the church to pay homage to St. Lazarus for providing a
new home for her family.
Maria Elena Hernandez, 54, was accompanied on the pilgrimage by her husband,
daughter and son-in-law. Hernandez thanked St. Lazarus, as she does every
year, for curing her daughter of Hodgkin's disease two decades ago.
Henry Rodriguez's uncle and friend were crawling about 2 miles of the route
as a show of gratitude to the saint they believe helped win their early
release after serving a year of an 8-year prison sentence.
"They asked San Lazaro for their freedom and they got it," said Rodriguez,
26. "I believe in him. He's done miracles."
The crowds continued converging on the church as the clock neared midnight,
when the ceremony marking a day of celebration for St. Lazarus would begin.
Beggars with effigies of the saint sat on the floor just inside the church,
where hundreds more believers pushed their way toward an altar and handed
candles, cigars and flowers to church workers, who placed them near a statue
of the saint.
One man stood expressionless as he held six burning candles aloft. The hot
wax covered his hand and forearm. Another man who had crawled on his belly
to the altar collapsed. He was carried away on stretcher by Red Cross
volunteers.
The noise was deafening. As more worshipers packed into the church, a
fistfight broke out in the crowd, sending people scrambling for the exits.
"This is a house of God!" shouted a priest over the loudspeaker. "No
fighting inside."
Suddenly, the church's bells began ringing. It was midnight.
"Viva San Lazaro!" a priest shouted in Spanish. "Viva!" the crowd roared.
The crowd began to pray and a few minutes later it was over. Many people
began filing out of the church. Others were just arriving, as they would
over the next several days.
At 1:30 a.m., Poblar was still inching toward the church. He had about 2
miles to go.
---
© 2004, Chicago Tribune.
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/world/10454439.htm
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Message: 19
Date: Thu, 23 Dec 2004 13:05:37 +0100
From: "PL" <pl.n...@pandora.be>
Subject: Aviators killed in Cuba to get Dade memorial
Posted on Sun, Dec. 19, 2004
BAY OF PIGS INVASION
Aviators killed in Cuba to get Dade memorial
After four years of planning, work is set to begin on an airport
memorial for the anti-Castro aviators who died in the Bay of Pigs invasion.
BY REBECCA DELLAGLORIA
rdella...@herald.com
The quarter acre between a flight school and a repair hangar at the
Kendall-Tamiami Executive Airport is nothing more than a strip of grass.
Within a year, a restored B-26 bomber -- the kind flown during the Bay
of Pigs invasion more than four decades ago -- will sit atop a platform on
the patchy ground. Beside it will rise a monument to the 10 Cuban-exile
pilots and four American airmen killed in the ill-fated battle.
''For me it was a privilege to fly with these people, the ones who
died -- the Americans, the Cubans,'' Gustavo C. Ponzoa said at a
groundbreaking ceremony on Saturday.
On April 15, 1961, the pilot flew on a mission that destroyed part of
Fidel Castro's Cuban air force while it was on the ground, paving the way
for the start of the Bay of Pigs invasion two days later.
The memorial to the pilots has been in the works for years.
''The idea has been cooking for a long time,'' said Leo Bellón, an
architect who designed the future site of the Bay of Pigs Air Battle Museum.
``The pilots of the Bay of Pigs are getting older, so if we don't do it now,
they'll die off.''
DIMENSIONS
When construction begins, likely by next spring, a four-column
monument made of white Carrara marble will be erected. It will stand 20 feet
tall and 30 feet long and wide. Inscribed on the columns will be the names
of the fourteen men who died fighting Cuban forces -- along with the other
pilots from Brigade 2506.
One of those pilots was Thomas ''Pete'' Ray. His daughter, Janet Ray
Weininger, witnessed the ceremony with pride.
''My father was from the deep South. He believed deeply in his
country,'' said Weininger, who won an $86.5 million judgment last month in
Miami after suing the Cuban government and Castro for executing her father.
`FOUGHT FOR FREEDOM'
''He wasn't someone who talked about freedom,'' she said. ``He was
someone who went out and fought for freedom.''
Miami-Dade County provided the land for the memorial. Bellón, the
architect, donated his work. Also contributing will be concrete company
executive José ''Pepe'' Cancio, a former county commissioner, and builder
Juan Delgado.
Cuban Pilots Association president Amado Cantillo, who fought with the
invasion force on the beach, said the idea came when he realized that the
Liberation Air Force was the only group from Brigade 2506 that didn't have
its own memorial.
''We came back and there were monuments for the infantries and
monuments for the Navy,'' Cantillo said, ``and no monuments for the
pilots.''
In 2000, the United States Air Force Museum donated the bomber, which
had been sitting at a California airport for nearly 20 years.
Refurbishing the plane took eight months, and it now bears the
markings of the Cuban air force -- which were applied as deception -- as did
the 15 B-26s used during the invasion.
Initially, the refurbished plane was to be displayed in the Freedom
Tower in downtown Miami, but financial and logistical complications made
that impossible.
At the groundbreaking, Ponzoa, 80, recalled that the number of the
aircraft he flew was 931 -- coincidentally, the same as the number on the
plane displayed at Kendall-Tamiami Executive Airport.
''To have a plane with the number I flew makes me so proud,'' Ponzoa
said, his eyes welling with tears.
Though history has labled the Bay of Pigs invasion a disaster, County
Commissioner Javier Souto believes some people don't understand its
significance.
''The world could have changed that day,'' said Souto, also a veteran
of the invasion. ``This will help remind the world what happened. There will
be no mistake about it.''
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/world/cuba/10450863.htm
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Message: 20
Date: Thu, 23 Dec 2004 13:07:25 +0100
From: "PL" <pl.n...@pandora.be>
Subject: Restrictions reduce U.S. travel to Cuba by more than half
Restrictions reduce U.S. travel to Cuba by more than half
By Rafael Lorente
Washington Bureau
December 21, 2004
WASHINGTON · The number of passengers flying to Cuba from the United States
has plummeted since last year, according to figures compiled by the State
Department. The trend suggests tougher travel restrictions put in place last
summer by the Bush administration are having the intended effect.
Since July, when the regulations took effect, 50,558 seats have been
reserved on charter flights to Cuba, most originating in South Florida.
During the same period last year, the number was more than twice as high:
118,938 seats.
President Bush's new travel restrictions allow Cuban-Americans to visit
relatives in Cuba only once every three years. Until this year, such trips
could be made every year.
The regulations also limit visits to immediate family members, defined as
spouses, parents, children, siblings, grandchildren and grandparents.
The restrictions came from recommendations issued in May as part of the
423-page report of the Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba. Appointed
by the president, the commission was asked to issue recommendations to speed
up a transition to democracy on the island.
One of the main ways to do so, in the view of Bush administration officials,
is to squeeze Cuban President Fidel Castro's government by restricting the
flow of U.S. dollars to the island.
The restrictions, which were aimed at Cuban-Americans who visit family
members in Cuba, have had a particularly dramatic effect during this time of
holiday travel.
Reservations are down to 13,735 this month, a decrease of two-thirds from
December of last year.
"It's clear that these new travel restrictions that have been imposed by
President Bush are dividing Cuban families on both sides of the straits,"
said Ingrid Vaicius, an associate at the Center for International Policy, a
liberal Washington think tank that advocates overturning travel restrictions
to Cuba. "Separating families during the holidays is a symbol of a policy
that is unjust and ineffective all year round."
Thomas Cooper, president of Gulfstream Air Charter, said his Dania-based
company has gone from flying 500 people a week to flying fewer than 100. The
company has also has scaled back to 19-passenger airplanes from the
125-passenger jets it had been using.
He said much of his business now comes from American farmers traveling to
Cuba to sell agricultural products.
The new regulations "didn't really affect farmers much," he said.
Other charter companies have felt the difference, too.
"Traffic's definitely down," said Robert Hodell, co-owner of Tico Travel, a
Fort Lauderdale-based travel agency. "We've noticed a big difference between
this year and last year."
That has proponents of a tough policy on Cuba looking forward to more from
the Bush administration.
Already, the administration has cracked down on travel by non-Cubans and has
begun judicial proceedings against some people who traveled to Cuba
illegally.
The administration also is looking at ways to get Radio and TV Marti
broadcasts through Cuban jamming operations and has begun reviewing millions
of dollars in U.S. food sales to Cuba.
A proposed change under consideration would force Havana to pay American
farmers in cash before goods leave U.S. ports. That could drastically reduce
food sales to Cuba.
"This good result is part of a more comprehensive and carefully calibrated
policy execution by the Bush administration," said Jason Poblete, a
Cuban-American attorney and lobbyist in Washington.
"When you review the total policy ... for the past two years, it is clear
that the regime will continue to feel increasing pressures in 2005 in
several areas."
Rafael Lorente can be reached at rlor...@sun-sentinel.com or 202-824-8225
in Washington.
Copyright © 2004, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
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Message: 21
Date: Thu, 23 Dec 2004 13:10:23 +0100
From: "PL" <pl.n...@pandora.be>
Subject: U.S. diplomats in Cuba shine light on prisoners
Wednesday, December 22, 2004
Apparently, Cuban officials have not heard the Christmastime admonition not
to pout or shout. They are crying about holiday decorations at U.S.
government offices in Cuba.
U.S. policy toward Cuba is too often mired in outdated Cold War
sensibilities that seem more concerned about capturing the votes of Cuban
immigrants living in Florida than in helping the Cuban people.
However, in the latest snit between the U.S. and Cuban government, U.S.
diplomats deserve an honorable mention for best holiday decorations at their
mission building in Havana. (It's not called an embassy because the two
countries don't have diplomatic relations.)
Amid candy canes and Santa Claus and palm trees decorated with white lights
is a sign with the number "75."
It stands for the number of dissidents jailed in Cuba this year.
Cuban officials told the U.S. Interest Section to take down the decorations,
but U.S. officials refused.
"Our intent, in the spirit of Christmas, was to call attention to the plight
of these 75," U.S. Interest Section Chief James Cason explained.
The U.S. diplomatic mission also had a Christmas party for children of Cuban
political prisoners.
Unlike trade embargos and limits on visits to the island nation, this action
gets a strong message across to the Cuban government without harming the
Cuban people.
The message to Cuban leader Fidel Castro: Ho, ho, ho. The decorations won't
go.
http://www.pantagraph.com/stories/122204/opi_20041222002.shtml
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Message: 22
Date: Thu, 23 Dec 2004 13:09:13 +0100
From: "PL" <pl.n...@pandora.be>
Subject: Alabama trade mission increases sales to Cuba
Alabama trade mission increases sales to Cuba
By PHILLIP RAWLS
The Associated Press
12/21/2004, 4:21 p.m. CT
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) -- An Alabama trade mission to Cuba lined up $18
million in sales of agricultural products and more deals are expected to
result from the trip, state Agriculture Commissioner Ron Sparks said
Tuesday.
The deal is the biggest yet with the communist island nation since Alabama
agriculture officials began pursuing trade in 2002, Sparks said.
"Clearly, the results from this trip show how Alabama profits from exporting
to Cuba," he said.
Alabama's delegation spent Wednesday through Saturday in Cuba, and it was
one of several from the United States that participated in trade
negotiations last week. Cuban officials said they agreed to buy $125 million
in farm goods from the U.S.
Sparks said $50 million of those sales will be shipped through the port of
Mobile. Mobile officials have worked for years to re-establish the thriving
trade that existed between Mobile and Havana before 1961, when the U.S. put
trade restrictions on Cuba.
Cuba's deals with Alabama-based agricultural companies include $10 million
over a three-year period for wooden utility poles, and $8 million for
poultry products in the first few months of 2005. Sparks said he expects
Alabama-based companies to make another big poultry sale later in 2005.
The trade mission included representatives of some Alabama-based snack food
companies, including Golden Flake and Bud's Best Cookies, both of
Birmingham, and it appears a sales agreement will result from the trip,
Sparks said.
A 2000 federal law allows the sale of agricultural products to Cuba on a
cash-only basis. The Bush administration is reviewing whether the policy can
continue under the current practice - Cuba paying for the goods before they
are unloaded in Cuba - or whether Cuba must start paying for the products
before they leave the United States.
Sparks, who has led four trade missions to Cuba, said Tuesday he favors
keeping the present policy and believes sales would drop if it were changed.
"It's either Alabama fills these chicken orders or Brazil fills these
chicken orders. If someone else fills those orders, we are not going to get
them back," he said.
Senate budget committee Chairman Hank Sanders, who participated in the trade
mission, is an advocate of free trade and free travel with Cuba. He said it
makes no sense that the U.S. trades with China and Vietnam but maintains
restrictions on Cuba.
"The present situation only benefits some in Florida who don't want any
relationship," Sanders, D-Selma, said.
During the trade trip, Alabama's delegation got to meet with Cuban President
Fidel Castro.
Sparks said the conversation politely focused on trade and farm products.
"We did not talk about national policy and our president," he said.
Copyright 2004 The Associated Press.
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________________________________________________________________________
Message: 23
Date: Thu, 23 Dec 2004 13:13:18 +0100
From: "PL" <pl.n...@pandora.be>
Subject: Cuban FM condemns EU foreign policy
Cuban FM condemns EU foreign policy
www.chinaview.cn 2004-12-23 10:26:06
HAVANA, Dec. 22 (Xinhuanet) -- Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perezon
Wednesday criticized the diplomatic sanctions of the European Union against
his country and called the bloc to change its foreign policy.
Speaking at a meeting of the National Assembly of People's Power, Perez
said it was a mistake to impose sanctions on Cuba, which would impair
EU-Cuban bilateral relations.
Some people in the EU also admitted that this policy was a serious
mistake, Perez added.
Meanwhile, Perez said Cuba would follow the situation closely when EU
foreign ministers discuss EU-Cuban relations in January.
In March 2003, the Cuban government jailed 75 dissidents who conspired
to threaten state security. On June 2003, the EU suspended its diplomatic
contacts with Cuba.
After Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero came into
office, he began to repair relations with Cuba, and resumed official
contacts. He also urged other EU countries to improve relations with Cuba.
Enditem
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-12/23/content_2371328.htm
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Message: 24
Date: Thu, 23 Dec 2004 13:14:14 +0100
From: "PL" <pl.n...@pandora.be>
Subject: Class Takes Rare Trip to Cuba
Class Takes Rare Trip to Cuba
December 22, 2004
At a time when educational exchange programs with Cuba are disappearing, a
class from the University of California, Davis, will travel to Havana Jan. 2
carrying money belts filled with Canadian currency and a curiosity about one
of the last communist countries.
The Cuba program will be an intensive 10-week experience filled with side
trips across the island to African-Cuban and other cultural enclaves,
Spanish and music classes, and individual ethnographic studies of Cubans.
It has drawn 10 students who will have an international experience unlike
any other, reports UC Davis comparative literature professor Marc Blanchard,
a Cuba cultural scholar who has visited the island more than a dozen times
in the past decade.
"I take kids abroad to Paris every summer for a class on expatriate
literature but it's not a big deal: They have corn flakes and cell phones,
and everybody speaks English," Blanchard said. "They will have none of that
in Cuba."
"This is one of the last non-global places on the planet," added his
co-instructor, music professor Pablo Ortiz.
Students will take four classes during the quarter. Several will interview
popular musicians to create ethnographic studies of an elite group who,
because of their popularity among tourists, earn as much as $40 an hour
compared to the $20-$40-a-month salaries earned by lawyers, professors and
doctors.
For the UC Davis faculty and students making the trip, it will be an
educational opportunity that is quickly disappearing for others elsewhere
across the country. New Bush administration restrictions and a Cuban
retaliation for using U.S. dollars have put almost all American educational
programs to the Caribbean island out of business, say university
administrators.
However, UC Davis was committed to offering students this unusual
international educational experience, said William Lacy, vice provost for
outreach and international programs.
Under the leadership of Chancellor Larry Vanderhoef and other advocates on
campus, international education has become a top priority at the Northern
California research university, where nearly 20 percent of the 23,000
students study abroad during their undergraduate career.
"I really do feel that this kind of bridge-building is our best hope for
world peace," Vanderhoef said. "What better place to prepare those world
citizens, people who can see bridges instead of boundaries, than at our
colleges and universities? I hope that a global perspective will eventually
permeate our curriculum and our discussions and that the day will come when
all of our students will be able to have an experience in another culture."
The federal government changed its rules in June for cultural exchanges in
Cuba, boosting the required stay from two to 10 weeks, a logistical and
fiscal problem for many universities. Several universities, including UC
Berkeley, have suspended their programs.
The added length of stay increased the individual costs for students in the
program. That, combined with the uncertainty of changing regulations from
both the U.S. and Cuban governments, made for a rough ride this fall for UC
Davis administrators and students who wanted to stick with the program.
UC Davis applied for and received a license from the U.S. Department of the
Treasury that allows UC Davis students to study in Cuba. While in the
country, each student has been asked to carry a copy of the license.
In Cuba, students will be eating mostly pork, chicken, rice and beans, a
challenge for vegetarians in the group. The students have been asked to
bring vitamin supplements, aspirin and other medicines common in the United
States, since such commodities don't exist in Cuba. Often water and
electricity will be cut off during the day, and students will be totally
dependent on public transportation, Blanchard said.
To gain access to a computer or phone, they'll have to visit a hotel near
their rooms in a converted Havana mansion.
Because students will have no access to automated teller machines or banks,
they must bring cash for their expenses. In addition, because the Cuban
government is charging a 15 percent surcharge on the use of American
dollars, the class has been urged to exchange dollars for another currency,
such as Canadian dollars or euros, before they leave on the trip.
Blanchard and Ortiz have planned a curriculum that will steer the students
away from the popular tourist clubs that attract Canadians and Europeans to
Cuba.
The class will take overnight excursions to Santiago de Cuba, a city dating
to the 16th century that houses a large African Cuban community, as well as
Trinidad and Pinar del Rio.
Three of the 10 students are African American, including Jade Turner, a
fourth-year political science major from Roseville who has been dogging the
Educational Abroad offices since June because she wanted to go to Cuba.
Turner said she is attracted to Cuba because she wants to study the African
diaspora in the Caribbean.
Although she's traveled to Jamaica with her parents, this will be her first
solo trip abroad.
"I'm excited about being independent and getting out of my comfort zone,"
Turner said. "Because of the cost to go, I can't spend a lot of money, but
I'm looking forward to seeing the big picture in Cuba, the people and what
their life is like."
Students will be paying nearly $11,000 for the 10-week program, due to the
Cuban government fees on top of round-trip airfare, housing, meals, travel
and sundry expenses. That is about $5,000 more than it costs for students
living off campus to attend UC Davis for a quarter. Several of the students
will be attending with the help of financial aid.
A similar quarter-long educational program this coming spring to London,
where living expenses are considerably higher than in Cuba, will cost
students about $500 less.
Turner and other students will be reporting on their Cuban experiences
through stories that will posted on the UC Davis homepage
http://www.ucdavis.edu.
Media contact(s):
. Marc Blanchard, Comparative Literature, (530) 752-4787,
mebla...@ucdavis.edu (Professor Blanchard will be available by e-mail
only after Dec. 22)
. Pablo Ortiz, Music, (530) 752-7509, pvo...@ucdavis.edu (Professor Ortiz
may also be reached at home (530) 759-9807)
. Jade Turner, (530) 756-1667, jetu...@ucdavis.edu
. Susanne Rockwell, UC Davis News Service, (530) 752-9841,
sgroc...@ucdavis.edu
http://www.news.ucdavis.edu/search/news_detail.lasso?id=7224
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Message: 25
Date: Thu, 23 Dec 2004 13:15:16 +0100
From: "PL" <pl.n...@pandora.be>
Subject: Liberating Cuba from Communism
Liberating Cuba from Communism
12/23/2004
By Ryan Mauro
For a half-century now, Fidel Castro has been in power in Cuba, just 90
miles away from Florida. Unfortunately, not only could this have been
prevented, but the United States today has the resources to finally give the
Cuban people the freedom they deserve, without a shot being fired. The mass
opposition to Castro's dying regime makes it a unique opportunity and an
obligation to free the Cuban people. Elimination of the Castro regime will
also help win the War on Terror.
Human Rights and the Threat to Freedom
Western democracies' misunderstanding of how Communists "hijack"
revolutions, genuine revolutions, for their own causes may prove to be our
own downfall one day. It certainly has led to the downfall of many countries
to tyranny, and none is a better example than Cuba. Every single Communist
take-over has come about using the "hijacking" technique, where revolutions,
even "democratic" ones, are led by covert Communists, whom steal the freedom
of millions. Remember, the US didn't know Castro was a Communist until years
after his takeover.
Thus, it can be said that Castro's first mass human rights abuses was his
takeover, which instead of bringing freedom, brought tyranny. If Castro did
such an evil thing, we subsequently should not have been surprised at the
mass human rights abuses that would follow. According to the Black Book of
Communism, from the beginning of his reign, Castro has imprisoned at least
100,000 people and killed up to 15-17,000 people.
Regarding the "hijacking of revolutions", resolution adopted by the Second
Congress of the Communist Party of Cuba in 1980 stated: "... the importance
of continuing to promote the consolidation of a common front to back the
indispensable structural transformations required by the region. This
process is backed by the active, large-scale incorporation of Christian
groups and organizations in the struggles for national liberation and social
justice, as has occurred in Nicaragua and El Salvador."
He also declared in an interview with Le Figaro Magazine: "The United States
wanted us to make a strategic and tactical error and proclaim a doctrine as
a communist movement. In fact, I was a communist...I think that a good
Marxist-Leninist would not have proclaimed a socialist revolution in the
conditions that existed in Cuba in 1959. I think I was a good
Marxist-Leninist in not doing that, and when we did not make known our
underlying beliefs. What the United States wanted was to judge, to know what
we thought, and we did not want to allow ourselves to be maneuvered or
manipulated by it. I think it was an excellent thing that we did not
proclaim the Marxist-Leninist or socialist nature of the revolution at the
time." [1]
Castro's first attempt to destroy the freedom of people other than Cubans
was as early as 1948, when he assisted the revolt in Colombia, while
simultaneously trying to overthrow the dictator of the Dominican Republic.
If Castro was a freedom-fighter, this would be a good deed, but we all know
that if these attempts were successful, an old tyranny would be replaced
with a new tyranny with more allies.
Human rights abuses would even extend to foreigners. For example, in
Vietnam, it is believed Cuban forces were deployed to help with the torture
and interrogation of American POWs [2] , which may mean Castro had a role in
the disappearance of POWs in the Korean War and Vietnam War, where American
prisoners were tested on, and sometimes even transported to East Bloc
countries. Many of them are thought to still be alive. [3]
Castro has never ended his dream to make other countries a model of his own
evil rule (a dream he carried out in Grenada, and we all know where that
led). The best example of this is Venezuela, which produces up to a fourth
of the oil the United States imports, and is a key strategic country.
Because Chavez began modeling his country after that of Castro, we should
not be all that surprised of its support for terrorism-both Islamic and
drug-oriented-just like I explain in my previous article, "The Latin
American Bloc: The Ignored Danger to Freedom".
Chavez, an open admirer of Castro, China and Communism, quickly seized power
after his election. To prepare for his totalitarian rule, he created the
Circulos Bolivariano, the Venezuelan version of Cuba's Revolutionary Defense
Committees. The Circulos Boliviariano have seized police stations throughout
the country, and seized factories of the largest oil companies. This oil was
later delivered to Castro for free or at outrageously cheap prices, allowing
the Cuban regime to stay afloat.
Castro's plans to assist Chavez emanate from his original plan he made for
Chile's Salvador Allende, which involved sending in Cuban special forces to
assist the totalitarian shift. Opposition sources in Venezuela claim this
has already occurred, as Cuban advisors and intelligence officers have been
seen populating Venezuelan intelligence services, merchant-marine schools,
ports, Chavez' Presidential Guard, and all aspects of the oil industry. [4]
When the opposition forces rose and nearly forced Hugo Chavez out of power
in Venezuela, Fidel Castro was sure to come to the aid of this enemy of
freedom. Cuban special forces took over security, helped secure his
position, and ultimately, led to the protection of the rule of Chavez. [5]
As I explain in my previous articles, the victory in Venezuela set the stage
for quasi-socialist takeovers in Brazil, Argentina, Ecuador, and the rest of
Latin America. It is likely, if not probable, that Castro's dreams of a
successful Latin American revolution, led by and loyal to himself, will
indeed come true in the next 5-6 years.
Violations of Treaties
You may be surprised to learn that Cuba not only violates international
treaty by having chemical and biological weapons, and sponsoring terrorism,
but also was so bold as to break Cold War agreements in the 1960s and 1970s.
Presidential reports to Congress cited violations of treaties by Cuba in
September-October, 1962. The report described the violation as the
"deployment of offensive weapons (MRBM and IRBM missiles; medium bombers) in
Cuba, September-October, 1962). Cuba was also listed as violating arms
agreements from 1970 to 1974 by "deploying and tending Soviet nuclear
missile-carrying submarines in Cuban territorial waters, 1970-1974). [6]
It is clear that Cuba uses treaties and any attempt at a "soft approach" to
Cuba to further its goals. For example, just days after Jimmy Carter told
Americans to stop being so paranoid about the threat from Communism (May 22,
1977), Cuba dispatched a major military force to Ethiopia, to further
international Communism. [7] Anyone who appears to be a threat to Cuba, like
Ronald Reagan for example is considered a target for assassination, a
propaganda attack, or other ways to minimize their ability to threaten Cuba.
While governor, Ronald Reagan received a package with an undertaker's
needle, only days after speaking out against Fidel Castro, along with a
death threat. It was signed by "friends of Cuba". Whether this was on the
orders of Cuban intelligence or not, it shows that Cuba can and probably
will utilize friendly assets here in the United States. [8]
Cuba's Intelligence War Against the United States
September 1998: Ten people are arrested in Miami as Cuban spies trying to
infiltrate military sites and groups of Cuban exiles. The action led to the
subsequent arrest of six more of Castro's spies.
December 1998: Three Cuban diplomats at the United Nations headquarters are
expelled for intelligence-related activities.
May 2000: A senior immigration official in Miami is arrested for providing
classified information to Cuba.
June 2001: Five Cuban spies are arrested in Miami. One of which is found to
be involved in the Cuban attack on two planes in 1996 that killed 4
dissidents.
September 2001: Ana B. Montes, a top Pentagon intelligence analyst, is
arrested for being a Cuban agent.
Fall 2001: Press reports that FBI believes that Cuba's DGI has a network of
at least 300 agents in the United States and Canada, trying to infiltrate
Cuban exile groups, and military sites. Most focus was on military and
civilian aviation.
August 2002: Cuba's former ambassador to the United Nations testifies that
most Cubans attached to their UN mission are intelligence officers.
October 16, 2002: A senior DIA intelligence analyst is arrested for spying
for Cuba for sixteen years as one of the most senior experts on the Cuban
military. Some of what was passed along was so secret it couldn't even be
mentioned in court, but it is known she helped Cuba identify four undercover
American agents, learn details about US surveillance of the armed forces,
and information on the December 1996 war games in the Atlantic Ocean. [9]
November 2002: America expels four more Cuban diplomats for spy-related
activity.
May 13, 2003: Fourteen Cuban diplomats are expelled from the UN mission for
spying. [10]
State Sponsor of Terrorism
Cuba's reputation as a state sponsor of international terrorism began in
1959, when the intelligence services made contact with the various "armies
of national liberation" (the Communist attempt to thwart being labeled
terrorists) in Africa. Raul Castro also made a visit to the Gaza Strip to
show his solidarity with the Palestinian movements. Cuba quickly became a
training base for anti-government guerilla fighters and militants from
Chile, Guatemala (EGP), the Dominican Republic and Venezuela (MIR and FALN).
The EGP in Guatemala would go on to ally with the FMLN in El Salvador in the
1980s.
At the end of the 1950s, and into the early 1960s, Cuba also directed its
allied Communist Parties to join with Castro's regime in sponsoring
terrorism, drug trafficking and organized crime. As explained in Joseph
Douglass' Red Cocaine, these crime syndicates were infiltrated and
"hijacked" by Cuban intelligence. Throughout the book, Cuba is identified
as one of the primary reasons for the War on Drugs, and Douglass describes
in chilling detail, what a massive role Cuban intelligence played in the
drug plague. Do to these operations, crack cocaine and heroin was
introduced, modified drugs came into the country, and Cuba used these
opportunities to corrupt a startling number of politicians, law enforcement
officials, banks, top businesses and corporation, and overall, to corrupt a
major part of American society. If there is one book I would ask my readers
to buy about Cuba or drugs or even Soviet "active measures", it would be
Joseph Douglass' Red Cocaine. There is simply too much information in it to
be posted here.
By 1961, Cuba began selling arms to the FLN group of Algeria, and trained
future rebellion leaders from Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Mali, Nigeria, South
Africa, Spanish Guinea, Tanganyika and Zanzibar. This was the beginning of
Cuba's major involvement in the Communist campaign in Africa. Communism's
first victory in this arena occurred in Zanzibar in 1964, where a
Cuban-trained Communist (John Okello) led the overthrow of the pro-American
leader. The new regime became a friend of the Soviet Union and Cuba, and
ally in the struggle for Africa. The continued hotspot of this struggle for
the time would center in Congo in 1965, where Cuba actively supported the
guerillas they had previously trained.
The early 1960s also saw Cuban sponsorship of anti-American guerilla forces
in Venezuela, and coordination between most of the Latin American Communist
Parties (under Cuba's direction) in sponsoring similar forces in Haiti,
Paraguay, Guatemala, Colombia and Honduras. The focus was primarily on Latin
America, but the Palestinian movement did not go without notice. Cooperation
with Fatah elements began in 1965 in Syria and Algeria. As intense as the
sponsorship of terrorism was, 1966 would become the year it would become
clear the threat from Castro in this area.
The year 1966 saw the creation of the Organization for the Solidarity with
the Peoples of Africa, Asia and Latin America to find a common standards
among the wide range of "liberation movements" Castro and his allied
Communist Parties would assist; The National Liberation Directorate to
coordinate Castro's efforts to sponsor the different groups; and The Latin
American Solidarity Organization which would oversee the North American
terrorist activity. The next two years would also see new attention being
given to "liberation movements" in the Middle East besides that of the
Palestinians. Special support was given to the NLF forces in South Yemen.
The Communists also saw it fit to ally with the Middle East terror sponsors.
Cuba made an alliance with Syria to jointly support the Eritrean Liberation
Front and Fatah. Syria would soon reduce its support for Fatah, forcing Cuba
to take over as the main sponsor of Fatah and the majority of Palestinian
movements. Cuba even went so far as to sent military advisors to terrorist
training camps in Jordan in 1968 to help oversee the training of the
Palestinian Fedayeen, and to manage high-level contact with Fatah.
At the end of the 1960s, Cuba was sponsoring the M19 of Colombia, the Siad
Barre of Somalia, and the terrorist groups previously mentioned. Seeing the
success in Africa in particular, Castro accelerated his cooperation with
terrorists in 1974 by forming an alliance with Libya. This was also the year
that the National Liberation Directorate was re-organized as the America
Department of the Central Committee, which still carried out the same
objectives as it always has. The America Department began sponsoring the
Sandinistas of Nicaragua and the Tupamaros of Uruguay, and began
consolidating remnants of anti-Western forces into common fronts throughout
North and South America.
Cuba's training of special forces in biological terrorism, and passing of
this information to terrorist groups, emanates from a declaration in 1966.
The Soviet Military Encyclopedia explains this declaration as the "use of
'biological weapons, narcotics, terrorist activities, poisons and other
methods. This definition accords with a decision made at the Tri-Continental
Conference of world revolutionary groups held in Havana in January 1966. The
decision called for the planned destabilization of the United States and
explicitly detailed such activities as the exploitation and undermining of
American society through the trafficking of drugs and promotion of other
corrupting criminal activities." [11]
The creation of today's modern terrorism began in the East Bloc and Cuba.
Among those trained by Castro was Illich Ramirez Sanchez, or, "Carlos the
Jackal", who is suspected of having had some involvement in founding
Al-Qaeda (his terrorist graduates comprised the core of the group), and he
has even "appointed" Bin Laden as his successor in the struggle against
imperialism in the mid-1990s. He also has praised Fidel Castro and Hugo
Chavez, who have tried to get him out of jail for his terrorist acts.
In Africa, Cuba's assistance to Communism's war on the free world was
bringing results. By supplying arms and money to MPLA, led by Angostino
Neto, began winning the multi-way civil war in Angola once Portugal
withdrew. In return for the dispatching of East Bloc military forces to help
MPLA, Nemo agreed that his offensives would spread to Zambia, Zaire, and the
Congo. By the end of the Communist takeover, Cuba would deploy 36,000 troops
and 300 tanks to the war. [12]
Contact was established with Yasser Arafat, resulting in close cooperation
in regards to helping Palestinian militants and the movement of the nucleus
of training camps for worldwide militants to Lebanon. In 1974, Latin
American militants first received training in Lebanon. Cooperation with
Syria increased again, as Castro contributed military personnel to assist
them in the Yom Kippur War against Israel until it ended in 1975, when up to
3,000 Cuban personnel were in Syria. Meanwhile, Cuba also deployed tens of
thousands of soldier to Ethiopia to help secure the Pro-Communist regime led
by Mengistu Haile Mariam.
In 1974, Cuba directly sponsored an attack on an American politician.
According to KGB files, the kidnapping and murder of the American ambassador
to Nicaragua in December of 1974 was supported and approved of by Fidel
Castro and DGI, the Cuban intelligence service. This obviously marks a bold
new phase that would continue to escalate as long as no consequences were in
store for the Castro regime. Seeing this escalation, we cannot be surprised
at allegations of covert sponsorship of terrorism today. [13]
The Communist sponsors of terrorism, seeing no consequences for their
actions, decided to take it all a step further in 1975. Cuban intelligence
officers infiltrated Canada, and began training black American citizens so
that they could later join the Black Panthers terrorist group. The most
favored recruits were sent for training in Havana, Cuba, and would become
the hierarchy of the group. The country became one of the most popular spots
for receiving training in guerilla warfare and terrorist operations. By the
next year, the CIA believed that at least 300 Palestinians alone were being
trained in Cuba.
I personally find Cuba's assistance to homegrown American terrorists the
most intriguing. I quote the following page from the book, Reagan's War by
Peter Schweizer, page 53: "The Weathermen were not students philosophizing
about a revolution after reading Karl Marx in Poli Sci 101. They began an
armed struggle and maintained extensive contact with foreign intelligence
agents in countries such as Cuba, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and North
Vietnam.
Miniskirted Bernardine Dohrn and the group's other leader, Mark Rudd, would
travel to New York and meet with spies from the Cuban Mission to the United
Nations. There they arranged for Weathermen to be trained in the use of
weapons by Cuban military officers during visits to Cuba. They received
money and advice on organizing their movement. North Vietnamese intelligence
officers gave them advice on how to find recruits who were physically
capable of doing battle with police. And when the Weathermen had to flee the
FBI, Cuban spies developed a system of codes that permitted secret
communication with the radical group.
'SDS was the group we concentrated on in those days', an ex-Cuban
intelligence agent told the FBI. 'Oh, we didn't start it. But we radicalized
it, we gave it form. Every leader came and left [Cuba] with new ideas.'
One of those who traveled to Cuba was Gregg Daniel Adornetto. After his
visit he joined an underground terrorist group in the San Francisco area
known as the Emiliano Zapata Unit. The group bombed literally dozens of
targets in the Bay Area, and maintained contact with a Cuban intelligence
officer named Andres Gomez. The FBI broke up the group with a series of
raids, arresting seven of its members. Adornetto was among them, and he
began talking to agents. Gomez, he said, had been working with the group on
a special project he said. The plan was to kill Ronald Reagan. 'If Gomez
dies, his body must be burned and his fingers cut off so he cannot be
identified,' Adornetto said he was instructed."
As a result, friendships with other state sponsors continued to grow. South
Yemen would ally with Cuba, and both would send forces to help Ethiopia
fight their war against Somalia, a pro-American nation that had invaded
Ethiopia. They would also find partnership in assisting the Dhofaris forces
fighting in Oman. Saddam Hussein's regime saw what was going on, and wanted
in on the action. By forming good relations with Castro, Cuban military
advisors would arrive in Iraq. As state sponsors took the offensive, so did
the groups sponsored by them. The Congolese National Liberation Front
(trained by Cuba) invaded Zaire; The Liberation Movement of Southern Sudan
launched an offensive in Sudan with help from Cuba and Ethiopia; FMLN
launched an offensive in El Salvador, armed with Cuban weapons; The EGP of
Guatemala began kidnappings; and Islamic radicals in Iran, with political
support from Castro, took power in Iran. All while this was going on, Libya
and Cuba jointly made the World MATHABA to coordinate the terrorist and
"liberation" activities around the world.
In 1983, the Cuban-financed Macheteros (Puerto Rican terrorist group) became
violently active in the United States, and still Castro went free. Chilean
MIR, Macheteros, Mexican terrorist groups (financed by bank robberies in
Mexico by Cuban intelligence), Palestinian Intifada, Yasser Arafat's
militants, Palestinian National Authority, and other groups would all
receive new, increased assistance from the Castro regime. Again, going free,
Castro increased his support for terrorism.
In early 1989, a Cuban general was chosen to be the orchestrator of a plot
to blow up a US transmission balloon in the Florida Keys. The next year,
despite condemning Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, Cuban military advisors
arrived in Iraq to give Saddam Hussein the intelligence it had collected
regarding American military activity in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait-both pre-war
and post-war. In Uruguay, the Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement received
explosives and other arms from Cuba, which would be used in several attacks
on American interests in the country.
Over the next decade, direct, overt Cuban sponsorship of terrorism
increased, probably due to the collapse of the Soviet Union, an economic
collapse, and US pressure. However, during the next decade, US intelligence
on Cuba would be dismantled, and US intelligence as a whole wounded, nearly
beyond repair. It is possible we simply lack the intelligence to know what
Castro is up to. What we do know is that Cuba gave the ETA Basque terrorist
group a headquarters in Havana, maintained high-level contact with Arafat
and the Palestinian Liberation Organization, and their air force destroyed
two private planes carrying Cuban dissidents, resulting in the deaths of
three American citizens (February 24, 1996). It is believed that the PLO
still has close relations with Castro, and that intelligence cooperation and
joint training of militants is going on to this day, although little is
known.
Despite its weakened position, Cuba still provided safe haven to US
fugitives including the former leader of the Black Liberation Army, and
members of the Republic of New Afrika Movement, Macheteros, Basque ETA,
FARC, ELN, and according to the testimony of arrested Cuban spies, move
people, arms and explosives into the country. [14] In 1999,
Worldnetdaily.com reported that Cuban intelligence officers and military
engineers were involved in Thailand, assisting the drug trafficking rebels
whom were also allied to Al-Qaeda. [15]
September 11, 2001 brought new urgency to the Cuban threat. Although I
consider it unlikely that Cuba had a role in the terrorist events of that
horrible day, Fidel Castro's sponsorship of terrorism must be dealt with. I
have heard some say that Cuba should be taken off the list of state sponsors
of terrorism, but I challenge those allegations. After all, Air Force One
was hacked into on 9-11 (reported and later denied), something that only an
extremely advanced intelligence service with cyber warfare capabilities
could do-either China, Russia or Cuba. The Cuban-Russian base at Lourdez
which specializes in that type of activity is the most likely candidate.
It appears that do to the demise of Communism around the world, Fidel Castro
has decided to rise up the Marxist-Leninist version of Islam, more commonly
known as radical Islam, which sponsors terrorism (just like the old
Communist regimes did). To be precise, radical Islam is just Communism using
Islam to make strict rule (an idea that came about do to East Bloc
infiltration, propaganda, and active measures). But I will save that
discussion for another time. For those reasons, Cuba is promoting the spread
of Islamic revolution. Fidel Castro is quoted as saying: "A world order
based on the Koranic model, which was proposed by Imam Khomeini as a
substitute for Western models of state administration, must figure in the
agenda of every future forum for alternative world orders. We also have a
common enemy that always threatens us-an enemy that has invaded all the
countries of the world."
It is known that Fidel Castro's regime operates in a similar way as to
Saddam Hussein-it is unlikely citizens can do much in the way of sponsoring
terrorism without some kind of knowledge by the regime. Castro's regime
takes strenuous note-taking on the activities of its people, and has one of
the best intelligence services on the planet, which has successfully
penetrated the United States many times. For this reason, the fact that a
young Afghan terrorist who was trained in northeast Afghanistan claimed to
have seen Cubans being trained at the camps of Osama Bin Laden and the
Taliban is suspicious. This testimony was found out by the press in the
first quarter of 2000, well-before the media took a hard look at what was
going on in central Asia. [16]
I was unable to confirm (or find proof to the contrary) of the allegation by
Newsmax.com's Dr. Nemets and Dr. Tarda, two researchers I hold in very, very
high esteem, that linked Mohammed Atta to Castro. On December 2nd, they
wrote in Newsmax.com that US special services have received information that
Mohammed Atta, the ringleader of the 9-11 hijackers, had links to Cuban
intelligence which included a meeting with a high-ranking representative in
spring of 1999. The meeting occurred in Miami, fairly close to the flight
school where the hijackers were being educated in how to carry out the plot.
>From this information, the two writers felt it was likely that Russia's
Lourdez electronic espionage base in Cuba. This base specialized in
gathering classified data on the flight paths of civilian airliners,
flight-codes for all sorts of aircraft including those belonging to the air
force, and even is known for hacking into US Air Traffic Control. Within 2
months of September 11th, Russia closed this base down. It is probable we
will never know the true role on this base in the intelligence war. [17] But
what we do know is that Cuba's armed forces went on high alert after the
9-11 attacks.
These develops made me look back to Cuba earlier in 2001. During the spring,
Castro traveled to Libya, Iran and Iraq, to express support, friendship, and
of course, to demonstrate a common front against the United States. A
quasi-alliance with Iraq seemed to be formed, but even more disturbing, was
what Castro sent to the leaders of Iran:
"You overthrew the shah 22 years ago, but there is another shah one thousand
times stronger and better armed...This shah is imperialism, and its main
stronghold is only miles away from our border... [America] has military
bases and aircraft carriers everywhere and its nuclear warheads aimed in
every direction, but it can be toppled just like your shah was overthrown."
This occurred less than six months before 9-11. Of course, this does not
necessarily show Cuba had a role, but his rhetoric does show Cuba is allied
to the state sponsors of terrorism (which we already knew from Cuba's
dealing with dual-use items with Iran).
By October 2001, serious questions were being raised about Cuba. Rep. Robert
Menedez of New Jersey testified that three Afghan terrorists were captured
in the Cayman Islands with false passports and $2 million on their way back
to Cuba, and the press also learned about how two Cuban spies recently
arrested in Florida had stolen highly-classified information on the US
mailing and post office systems and their security. This made some people
question if the anthrax attacks were supported by Cuba and Iraq together or
perhaps by Cuba alone. [18] Around the same time, two other people were
arrested in Panama for financial connections to Al-Qaeda. They were arrested
en route to Cuba.
On November 4, 2001, while opposing the war in Afghanistan, Castro warned
that US imperialism would suffer for their attack. He predicted that
Afghanistan would become a new "Vietnam War" for US forces, take 20 years to
destroy the Taliban, and we would never be successful in eradicating
Al-Qaeda. The mere fact that Castro opposed the War on Terror, and appeared
to hope for US suffering in the war, should classify him as a threat. [19]
Castro's sponsorship of terrorism has not stopped to this day, despite the
pressure applied. As one of the managers and sponsors of the Sao Paulo
Forum, Cuba is still an intricate part of the terrorist network. The Forum
is where virtually all anti-American forces come together including rogue
states, Communist parties, and terrorist groups of all kinds, to discuss a
common strategy against the West. The Forum in December 2001, 4 months after
9-11, was unusually large. It consisted of representatives from:
Fidel Castro's Communist Party of Cuba
Da Silva's Workers Party of Brazil
Daniel Ortega's Sandinistas
Argentina's Communist Party
Peru's Communist Party
Chile's Communist Party
Colombia's Communist Party
Uruguay's Communist Party
Venezuela's Communist Party
Hugo Chavez's regime in Venezuela
Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq
Bashar Assad's regime in Syria
Lucia Inacio Lula da Silva's regime in Brazil
Fidel Castro's regime in Cuba
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's regime in Iran
Mu'ammar Gadhafi's regime in Libya
Kim Jong-Il's regime in North Korea
ELN terrorist group of Colombia
FARC terrorist group of Colombia
FMLN terrorist group of El Salvador
Irish Republican Army terrorist group of the United Kingdom
Basque ETA terrorist group of France and Spain
PFLP-GC terrorist group. [20]
As late as September 2002, Cuba's "cooperation" in the war on terrorists in
general and specifically Al-Qaeda was described as poor or non-existent.
State Department officials claim that Castro was given the US false leads on
potential terrorist attacks, and providing a large amount of disinformation
that was tying up US intelligence resources. The only information Cuba ever
gave on Bin Laden or Al-Qaeda militants, they said, was at least a decade
old. [21]
Although opposing the war in Iraq is not a crime at all, assisting the
Saddam regime during the war is. Agustin Blazquez has reported to
Newsmax.com that a friend of his, Carlos Wotzkow, said that every day for
one week, hundreds of Iraqis dressed in the traditional clothing of Kuwaitis
had been arriving in Cuba alongside women and children. They arrived using
Air France, and possibly came from Syria (after escaping Iraq). [22]
Weapons of Mass Destruction
I am discouraged to see how long it took for people to recognize the threat
of weapons of mass destruction in Cuba. The same regime exists that began
the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, with the same rhetoric and political
system. Despite the end of the Missile Crisis, Castro's efforts to develop
weapons of mass destruction have all but ended. For example, in 1990,
according to Cuban defectors, Russia still maintains nuclear bombers in
Cuba, and nuclear material and MiG-29 fighters were moved into Cuba from the
former Soviet Union. In April 1991, US intelligence discovered that at least
one SS-20, with a range of 3,000 miles with the capability to launch three
warheads filled with WMDs, were in Cuba. An obvious violation of the 1962
treaties and the INF Treaty. [23]
Defectors have said that there is a chemical and biological weapons site at
Kimonor, which was built by the Soviets in 1981 and today is the primary
site for Cuba to train its special forces in weapons of mass destruction.
The testimony indicates that the chemical weapon known as yellow rain is
being produced and modified there. Another site is available at Jardin de
Orquilles, which specializes in the use of biological weapons in attacks on
water supplies. The propaganda that goes along with the training of the
special forces seems to indicate that the tactics that would be used with
the weapons at the site are primarily aimed against the United States. [24]
It is now believed that there are at least a dozen chemical and biological
weapons sites known by US intelligence, and they are believed to be
first-rate. [25] I highly suggest reading, "Castro: A Threat to the Security
of the United States", a report written in 1997 by Dr. Manuel Cereijo, which
identifies these sites.
The report explains how Cuba studies how to use marine technology to conduct
biological warfare, and unique tactics to use such as how to let containers
loose in the ocean to infect the United States. All the tactics studied were
aimed at the United States. Advanced binary chemical and biological weapons,
Novichok-class agents (the deadliest in the world), A-232, VX, and many
other weapons are believed to be researched and developed. The testimony of
Ken Alibek, the former head of the Soviet Union's "civilian" biological
weapons program, has said that rogue states like Iraq learned their
deception programs (to hide WMD) from Cuba, which has the best program for
that purpose in the world. Alibek also testifies that the Soviet Union's
deadliest chemical and biological agents are now in Castro's hands,
including genetically-altered strains of anthrax and possibly smallpox, and
that he is positive Castro has an extremely advanced, and massive, WMD
program. I encourage people to buy his book, Biohazard.
In 1998, Insight Magazine ran an investigation into Cuba's WMD programs.
They confirmed these findings, and added more. The most advanced and most
new facilities for WMDs in Cuba are adjacent to SS-20 medium-range ballistic
missile purchased from the Soviet Union, which can carry warheads with
weapons of mass destruction deep into the US homeland. Besides testing WMDs
on people in prison, the weapons are being tested on rats, birds, and
insects. Among the items being researched are landmines with needles
infected with tetanus. Additional information covered was Cuba's connections
to Mexico's Zapatistas (a massive Marxist movement which is putting
pro-Castro politicians in power throughout the country). [26]
Not long after the war in Afghanistan, the look at Cuba's possession and
acquisition of weapons of mass destruction-specifically chemical and
biological weapons, became intense. The height of the worry resulted in a
very temporary media frenzy over the issue, around September 2002, which
resulted in (or was caused by) a US accusation that Iran and Cuba were
trying to exploit the ban on biological weapons by buying dual-use items for
their programs in this area. [27]
Part of the deception program, it has been alleged by Venezuelan opposition
forces, is the movement of Cuban biological weapons labs to Venezuela. They
claim that one such lab was airlifted out of Cuba by a Venezuela C-130
immediately once the American press reported on its existence-reportedly
moved to San Antonio Los Altos near Caracas. Cuban technicians and
scientists have been seen by witnesses at the location. These same sources
claim that the "verbal message" Castro wanted to give to Saddam Hussein in
July 2002 had to do with cooperation in the biological weapons arena (an
interesting allegation if you read my article, "West Nile Virus: The
Underreported Allegations"). If true, this lends credibility to the
testimony of Chavez' private pilot, whom defected recently, Air Force Major
Juan Diaz Castillo, that: "With Castro, Chavez always discussed U.S. world
dominance and how it could be contained. Of the solutions discussed, the
most recurring centered on biological weapons." [28]
Tularemia, anthrax, smallpox, epidemic typhus, dengue fever, Marburg and
Ebola are all believed to be among the weapons being researched and
developed by Castro, alongside the genetically-modified agents. There are
about 160 small, dispersed sites with at least 10,000 scientists, engineers
and physicians contributing to the WMD program, under the guise of
biotechnology research for civilian use. [29] The same reported cited
explains that Castro's cyber warfare program began in 1991, which is being
used to develop capabilities to gather intelligence, hack into computer
networks, destroy electronic or computer equipment using electromagnetic
radiation, and the use of computer viruses.
Coupling all this with the allegations that Cuba was trading
biological-chemical weapons technology (under the guise of dual-use
technology) with Iran, Iraq and Syria [30] , may mean that action should be
taken against Fidel Castro. Military means are not even needed, as an
isolated Cuba with a supported dissident movement could easily change the
entire picture.
The United States' ignorance of the moment at hand to deliver a fatal blow
to Castro's regime, without a single American loss, may result in another
generation of tyranny and oppression for the freedom-loving Cuban people.
SOURCES
[1] "Soviet Strategic Deception" by Brian D. Dailey and Patrick J. Parker.
1987. Pages 376-377.
[2] "Honor Bound" by Stuart Rochester and Frederick Riley.
[3] "Betrayed" by Joseph D. Douglass.
[4] Insight Magazine, December 27, 2002.
[5] Newsmax.com, October 7, 2002.
[6] "Soviet Strategic Deception" by Brian D. Dailey and Patrick J. Parker.
1987. Page 213.
[7] US News, June 6, 1977.
[8] "Reagan's War" by Peter Schweizer. Page 52.
[9] Associated Press, October 16, 2002.
[10] Associated Press, May 13, 2003.
[11] http://www.123cuba.com/Castro-WTC.html. Cites Dr. Ehrenfeld's paper on
the subject.
[12] "Reagan's War" by Peter Schweizer. Page 81.
[13] "Reagan's War" by Peter Schweizer. Page 103.
[14] Testimony of Alejandro Alonso on December 30, 2000 confirms this.
[15] Worldnetdaily.com, December 14, 1999.
[16] Associated Press, March 4, 2000.
[17] Newsmax.com, December 2, 2001.
[18] Newsmax.com, October 26, 2001.
[19] Insight Magazine, September 16, 2001.
[20] Washington Times, October 6 2002; Washington Times, December 10, 2002.
[21] Washington Times, September 18, 2002.
[22] Newsmax.com, May 12, 2003.
[23] "Origins of the Fourth World War" by JR Nyquist. Page 210.
[24] "America the Vulnerable" by Joseph Douglass and Neil Livingstone. 1987.
[25] The Australian, September 29, 2001, Agustin Blazquez.
[26] Insight Magazine, July 20, 1998. Martin Arostegui.
[27] Middle East Newsline, September 27, 2002.
[28] http://militaresdemocraticos.surebase.com/denuncias/en/20021219-04.html
[29] http://www.autentico.org/guara/oagmc073.html
[30] World Tribune, June 11, 2002.
Ryan Mauro has been a geopolitical analyst for Tactical Defense Concepts
(www.tdconcepts.com), a maritime-associated security company, since 2002. In
2003, Mr. Mauro joined the Northeast Intelligence Network
(www.homelandsecurityus.com), which specializes in tracking and assessing
terrorist threats. He has been published in WorldNetDaily.com, Newsmax.com,
StrategyPage.com, WorldTribune.com, HomelandSecurityUS.com, JRNyquist.com
and in the Turkistan Newsletter (Turkistan Bulteni). He is a frequent writer
for Milnet.com as well. He has appeared on radio shows including The Al
Rantel Show, WIBG Radio, WorldNetDaily Radioactive with Joseph Farah, Jeff
Nyquist Program, Kevin McCullough Show, Laurie Roth Show, Tovia Singer Show,
Stan Major Show, and Preparedness Now. His book "Death to America: The
Unreported Battle of Iraq" is scheduled to be published in the coming
months.
http://globalpolitician.com/articles.asp?ID=257&t=Liberating+Cuba+from+Communism
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