Cuba NEWSTRACK
Cuba-Caribbean Consulting, LLC.
All rights reserved
JANUARY, 2003
01/02/2004
Cuba Recibió 1,9 Millones De Turistas En 2003.
La Habana, 2 ene (EFECOM). - Cuba recibió 1,9 millones de turistas 2003, lo que
representa un incremento del 13 por ciento respecto a 2002 y demuestra una
"significativa recuperación" del sector, informó hoy la televisión cubana. Esta fue
precisamente la cifra que las autoridades turísticas cubanas habían calculado que
arribarían en el año que acaba de concluir.
01/03/2004
Cuba Niega Tener Deuda Con Compañía Italiana Parmalat.
La Habana, 1 ene (EFECOM). - La empresa cubana importadora de alimentos "Alimport"
negó hoy de forma categórica que tenga alguna deuda con la compañía italiana Parmalat.
01/03/2004
Gulfport, Pascagoula Ports Call Cuba Trip A Success; Face-To-Face Visits
Strengthen Ties
THE SUN HERALD - Officials from the ports of Gulfport and Pascagoula felt they got
what they expected out of their recent trip to Cuba. Don Allee, director of the
Mississippi State Port at Gulfport, came back with a guarantee that Cuba will use
Gulfport as much this year as last. Pascagoula received "every indication" it will continue
to play a large role in trade with Cuba.
01/04/2004
Washington Expulsa A Diplomático Cubano
Associated Press – WASHINGTON - El Departamento de Estado expulsó a un
diplomático cubano, acusándolo de asociarse con delincuentes, dijeron funcionarios
estadounidenses.
01/04/2004
Firman Acuerdo Con Un Estado De EEUU
Agence France Presse - LA HABANA - Por primera vez en 45 años, Cuba suscribió un
memorando comercial con el gobierno de un estado norteamericano, Kansas, en el cual
piensa adquirir alimentos por $10 millones, informó ayer el presidente de la empresa
estatal cubana Alimport, Pedro Alvarez.
01/07/2004
Cuba Says U.S. Trying To Scuttle Migration Accords.
HAVANA, Jan 7 (Reuters) - Cuba said on Tuesday U.S. officials canceled biannual
migration talks and accused an "aggressive" Bush Administration of seeking to scuttle
migration agreements between the two countries.
Washington has criticized the lack of progress at the migration talks, citing Cuban refusal
to discuss a list of 200 Cubans, mostly professionals such as doctors, who Havana will
not allow to leave even though they have U.S. visas. U.S. officials also complain they
have been allowed few visits since last March to the interior of Cuba to check on the
well-being of boat people who the United States has returned to the island.
01/07/2004
Cruce De Críticas Con Estados Unidos Por La Política Argentina Hacia Cuba.
EL CRONISTA Buenos Aires. - NORIEGA DIJO QUE HAY DECEPCIÓN EN
WASHINGTON Y BIELSA LO CONSIDERÓ UN AGRAVIO - Noriega: "Estoy
particularmente decepcionado con el canciller argentino, Rafael Bielsa" Un cruce de
críticas puso una inesperada cuota de tensión anoche en la relación entre Estados Unidos
y la Argentina. El canciller Rafael Bielsa calificó como "un agravio" las declaraciones del
subsecretario de Estado norteamericano, Roger Noriega, quien dijo que su gobierno
estaba "decepcionado" por la política argentina hacia el régimen cubano de Fidel Castro.
"Lamento estas manifestaciones parciales, sesgadas, en relación con la política exterior
argentina que me afectan y agravian", respondió Bielsa a la agencia de noticias Télam.
Según despachos de agencias internacionales, el funcionario estadounidense sostuvo que
la política del presidente Néstor Kirchner hacia Cuba es motivo de "preocupaciones" y
"decepciones".
01/07/2004
Traductor De Bush Multado Por Ir A Cuba
El Nuevo Herald - Los viajes de estadounidenses a Cuba pueden ser problemáticos, pero
son populares, hasta el punto que el traductor del presidente George W. Bush se dio un
brinco a la isla y ahora está metido en problemas con el Departamento del Tesoro.
01/07/2004
Top Bush Administration Official Warns Castro
Roger Noriega, Assistant Secretary Of State For Western Hemisphere Affairs,
Accused Fidel Castro Of Sowing Unrest.
NEW YORK - (AP) -- The U.S. administration's point man on Latin America accused
Fidel Castro on Tuesday of promoting ''provocative'' policies to destabilize democratic
governments and warned the Cuban leader that he was ``playing with fire.''
Roger Noriega, assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs, also singled
out Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, calling on him to observe the rule of law in the
run-up to a possible referendum on his presidency.
01/08/2004
Cuba Signs Trade Deal With South Carolina.
Havana, Jan 8 (EFE) - Cuba and the state government of South Carolina signed an trade
agreement here Thursday that provides for thousands of tons of farm products to be sold
to the island at a cost of $10 million.
01/08/2004
Powell - Cuba Has Tried To Destabilize The Region For Decades.
Washington, Jan 8 (EFE) - Echoing comments made earlier this week by his deputy for
Latin America, Secretary of State Colin Powell said Thursday that Cuba has tried to
destabilize the region throughout the nearly two decades he has been serving in senior
government posts.
01/09/2004
Cuban Envoy Lashes Out At U.S. State Department Canceled Talks On Migration
South Florida Sun-Sentinel - WASHINGTON - Dagoberto Rodriguez, the lead Cuban
diplomat in Washington, on Thursday accused the State Department of using lies as
pretexts to cancel migration talks that were to have taken place this week between the
two countries.
01/09/2004
Líder Ortodoxo Llevará A Cuba Mensaje De Paz Y Derechos Humanos.
MEXICO DF, ene 8 (Reuters) - El patriarca ecuménico Bartolomé, líder espiritual de 300
millones de cristianos ortodoxos en el mundo, llevará a Cuba un mensaje de paz y
respeto a los derechos humanos en su primera visita a la isla del 21 al 26 de enero.
El primado del cristianismo ortodoxo viajará a La Habana para inaugurar la catedral de
San Nicolás, una pequeña iglesia que está siendo construida con el financiamiento del
gobierno comunista cubano. Este es el viaje más importante a Cuba de un líder religioso
desde que el Papa Juan Pablo II realizó su histórica visita en enero de 1998.
01/10/2004
New Cuban Law Limits Access To The Internet
HAVANA - (AP) -- Under a new law announced Friday, Cuba tightened its control over
the Internet, prohibiting Internet access over the low-cost government phone service most
ordinary citizens have at home. The move could affect hundreds, perhaps thousands of
Cubans who access the Internet without authorization from their homes, using computers
and Internet accounts that have been borrowed or purchased on the black market for $50
for 80 hours a month.
01/10/2004
Aumenta El Control Estatal De Internet
Associated Press - LA HABANA - Cuba ha aumentado su control sobre la internet al
prohibir el acceso a la red global a traves del sistema telefnico estatal de bajo costo que la
mayor a de los ciudadanos ordinarios tienen en sus casas, segn una nueva ley anunciada
ayer.
01/10/2004
Texas Firms Jump Into Cuba Business
As 2003 drew to a close, Texas began to grab some agricultural trade with Cuba just as
the Bush administration clamped down on travel there. In the two years since Congress
has allowed American farmers to export to the socialist nation, $328 million in U.S.
beans, rice, chicken and other goods have sold to Alimport, Havana's food-buying
agency. Such agribusiness giants as Archer Daniels Midland, Cargill and Tyson
dominate the market.
01/10/2004
Cuba - U.S. Diplomat Is Called A Liar
HAVANA -- Cuba called the top U.S. diplomat for Latin America a liar on Friday,
rejecting his assertions that President Fidel Castro was sowing unrest in the region.
Roger Noriega, U.S. assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs, made the
statements Tuesday during a news conference in New York.
01/12/2004
Deuda de Cuba con PDVSA se acerca a los 900 millones de dolares
Grupo de Diarios America. - La deuda que mantiene Cuba Petroleo con Petroleos de
Venezuela, que tiene como origen el Convenio Integral de Cooperacion entre Cuba y
Venezuela, se acerca a los 900 millones de dolares, afirmo ayer el vocero de la asociacion
civil Gente del Petroleo, Edgar Paredes.
01/12/2004
Bush Attacks Cuba And Other Latin America Rivals.
MONTERREY, Mexico, Jan 12 (Reuters) - U.S. President George W. Bush told Latin
Americans on Monday they had a "God-given right" to freedom in a sharp attack on
Cuba's Fidel Castro and other rivals in a region where anti-U.S. sentiment is rising.
Bush patched up his friendship with Mexican President Vicente Fox earlier on Monday
after a year of disputes over the Iraq war, but he had only stern words for other Latin
American leaders who have fallen foul of Washington.
01/12/2004
Bush Llama A Transición A La Democracia En Cuba.
MONTERREY, México, ene 12 (Reuters) - El presidente de Estados Unidos, George W.
Bush, exhortó el lunes al fin del liderazgo del presidente Fidel Castro en Cuba y al inicio
de una democracia en la isla caribeña, en unas palabras al comienzo de la Cumbre
Extraordinaria de las Américas.
01/13/2004
Sebelius Ready To Do Business With Cubans
Knight Ridder News Service - Gov. Kathleen Sebelius has signed a joint communique
with Cuba's largest food importer, hoping to increase trade between Kansas companies
and the island country. Under the deal, the Empresa Comercializadora de Alimentos,
also known as Alimport, will spend $10 million on Kansas agricultural products.
In return, Kansas will try to promote business opportunities in the Cuban market and
encourage normalization of trade relations between the United States and Cuba.
01/13/2004
Exiliados de tendencias diversas dialogarán en el Centro Carter
El Nuevo Herald - Organizaciones del exilio cubano, de un amplio y variado espectro
político, se reunirán la próxima semana en Atlanta, Georgia, bajo los auspicios del Centro
Carter, para intercambiar opiniones y buscar un consenso con vistas a una transición
democrática en Cuba.
01/14/2004
Trade With Cuba Stirs Political Controversy But S.C. Farmers May Win The Prize
Cigar
The Post and Courier - South Carolina jumped headfirst into a stew of international
politics when it sent a trade delegation to Cuba last week, but in doing so, it walked away
with a lucrative deal for the state's farmers. The visit, led by Lt. Gov Andre Bauer,
resulted in a commitment from the Cuban government to buy $10 million worth of the
state's agricultural goods. The four-day trip was capped off with a private, three-hour
conversation with Cuban President Fidel Castro, who sent the Americans home with
boxes of his favorite Cohiba cigars. While no one doubts the potential economic benefits
to the state's farmers and agricultural suppliers, some are concerned that Cuba appears to
be conditioning such trade agreements on delegations agreeing to lobby against the longstanding Cuban trade embargo.
01/14/2004
Bush Lays Into Americas Summit With Attack On Cuba And The Left:
The Guardian - President George Bush has struck a bullish note at the Summit of the
Americas in Monterrey, Mexico, railing against Fidel Castro and promising to support
"struggling" populations in other Latin American hotspots. Confronting those who
accuse him of heavy-handedness in security, trade and geopolitics, Mr Bush admonished
several left-leaning governments, urged a crack down on countries regarded as corrupt,
and reaffirmed his commitment to push forward the controversial pan-American free
trade deal.
01/14/2004
Llegan Dos Cruceros Italianos Con Casi 2.000 Turistas.
La Habana, 14 ene (EFE). - Los cruceros "European Vision" y "Caribe", pertenecientes a
una compañía italiana, llegaron hoy a Santiago de Cuba con más de 1.900 turistas.
Los vacacionistas a bordo de ambos navíos, que pertenecen a la compañía italiana
"Festival Crusies", conocerán sitios de interés histórico y cultural de esta oriental
provincia de Cuba, a unos 970 kilómetros al este de la capital.
01/17/2004
Puede Convertirse Santiago De Cuba En La Capital De Los Cruceros Para El
Caribe Oriental
SANTIAGO DE CUBA.— En poco tiempo esta ciudad, por su ubicación geográfica, está
llamada a ser la capital de los cruceros para el Caribe oriental, afirmó Lázaro González,
jefe de operaciones de CUBANCO, compañía que atiende esta modalidad turística.
01/15/2004
Estiman Que En 2004 Podria Empeorar Relacion Cuba-Estados Unidos.
La Habana (Notimex) - A ambos lados del estrecho de Florida, muy pocos tienen dudas de que
las relaciones entre Cuba y Estados Unidos podrían atravesar uno de sus peores momentos este
año en que George W. Bush buscará su reelección presidencial. Apenas iniciado 2004, La
Habana y Washington se involucraron en una precoz escalada de tensiones con descalificaciones
mutuas cuyo telón de fondo, a juicio de los medios oficiales de la isla, podría ser la conquista de
Bush del bastión electoral del sur de la Florida.
01/17/2004
AFTER CASTRO - Planning On Cuba Urgently Needed, U.S. Told U.S. Officials And
Relief Experts Are Stepping Up Planning For Ways To Deliver Assistance To Cuba After
The Castro Government Is Gone.
WASHINGTON - A top U.S. official and several public health experts Friday warned of the
urgent need to plan for chaos, shortages and a potential migrant crisis in a post-Castro Cuba.
01/20/2004
First Chinese Tour Group Arrives In Cuba
Text of report in English by official Chinese news agency Xinhua (New China News Agency) Havana - A Chinese tour group arrived [on] Tuesday [20 January] in Havana, capital of Cuba,
the first approved travel destination in the Americas for Chinese tourists. The 20-member tour
group from Beijing will spend four days at the tourist resort of Varadero in Havana, then
continue their trip to Chile, Brazil and Peru on a 19-day Latin American tour. The Chinese
tourists, the first arriving in Cuba in an individual way, chose to spend the Spring Festival, the
lunar Chinese New Year, in the Caribbean country.
01/20/2004
Workers Rush To Finish Orthodox Church On Eve Of Patriarch's Arrival
HAVANA (AP) - Hammers clanged inside a small Byzantine sanctuary as workers rushed to
finish the church on the eve of Wednesday's arrival of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew,
spiritual leader of the world's 300 million Orthodox Christians. "We thank the people of Cuba
for this gift," Metropolitan Athenagoras, regional leader of the Greek Orthodox Church, said
Tuesday outside the new St. Nicholas church built by Fidel Castro's communist government.
01/22/2004
National Council Of Churches To Send Delegation To Cuba.
Agence France Presse - A delegation of the US National Council of Churches left for Cuba
Thursday on a six-day visit. The trip includes consultations with Cuban churches, celebration of
the consecration of a Greek Orthodox cathedral in Havana, and possibly a meeting with
President Fidel Castro on political dissidents, the council said.
01/23/2004
Dj. Cuba Gave Intelligence On Us To Iraq During War -Report
NEW YORK (ODJ Select via COMTEX) -- (Dow Jones)--Cuba supplied information to former
Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's intelligence service on the movement of U.S. troops and other
military activities, The Washington Times reports in its Friday edition, citing a senior U.S.
Defense Department official. Intelligence ties between the the two countries are believed to be
an offshoot of Cuba's covert oil-purchasing arrangement with Iraq under Hussein, the report
said. According to the newspaper, Cuba is known to have extensive "coverage" of U.S. military
bases. A second U.S. official said the CIA had no information about the intelligence sharing
between Iraq and Cuba, the report said.
01/22/2004
Corpus Cristi Ships Beans To Cuba
KRIS-TV - The Port of Corpus Christi is sending another large shipment to Cuba. The shipment
consists of 6.6 million pounds of beans currently sitting in a warehouse. They will be shipped to
he communist country sometime next week. This past October 20-tons of wheat was exported to
Cuba. Port chairman Ruben Bonilla says the shipments will hopefully lead to more business and
trade between the two countries.
01/24/2004
Politics Complicates Church Leader's Visit
Opposing Political Forces Complicate Orthodox Christian Patriarch Bartholomew I's
Schedule In His Supposedly Non-Political Visit To Cuba.
Associated Press – HAVANA - Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I's schedule was thrown into
disarray Friday amid disorganization and rival political forces tugging at the visit here by the
spiritual leader of the world's 300 million Orthodox Christians.
A previously planned meeting with Cuba's Roman Catholic cardinal was suspended abruptly
Friday morning for unexplained reasons, then rapidly rescheduled.
01/25/2004
Disminuye el ritmo de la inversión extranjera
Reuters - LA HABANA - El número de compañías extranjeras involucradas en empresas mixtas
con el Estado cubano se ha reducido el año pasado en más de 60, según informó ayer sábado la
prensa estatal.
01/25/2004
Cubanos Naufragan En Internet
Los cubanos de a pie, comunes y corrientes ciudadanos de la isla, no pueden navegar en la red de
redes. La dictadura castrista decretó su naufragio a principios de año, mediante la Resolución
No.180/2003 del Ministerio de Comunicaciones que resolvió: ``Disponer que la Empresa de
Telecomunicaciones de Cuba S.A. (ETECSA) emplee todos los medios técnicos necesarios que
permitan detectar e impedir el acceso al servicio de navegación por internet, desde líneas
telefónicas que operan en moneda nacional no convertible a partir del 1ro de enero del 2004''.
01/25/2004
Politics Tinges Orthodox Clergy's Visit To Cuba; Questions Of Motivation Follow
Trip To Country With Only 52 Followers
The Dallas Morning News - HAVANA – Fidel Castro is Cuba's original barbudo, the
bearded one. But some new whiskers are in town, and they're whipping up a storm of
confusion. Patriarch Bartholomew and his flowing beard are in Havana today to
celebrate the opening of a new church, the first built in communist Cuba in 45 years. And
even though he's the spiritual leader of tens of millions of Orthodox Christians, he's a
mystery in Cuba.
01/25/2004
U.S. Clamping Down On Americans' Visits To Havana
THE WASHINGTON TIMES - The Bush administration is making it very hard for
American tourists to lie on the white sand beaches of Cuba's Varadero or enjoy a daiquiri
at Old Havana's El Floridita without facing a stiff fine when they get home. The result,
officials say, is a sharp drop in the number of Americans visiting Cuba — legally or
illegally — and pumping dollars into the Cuban regime. Even Cuban-Americans are
coming under increased scrutiny if they try to visit the island more than once a year or
carry more money to their relatives than is permitted.
01/26/2004
Castro Welcomes Orthodox Leader Bartholomew I, The Spiritual Leader Of The
World's Orthodox Christians, Exchanges Gifts With Cuban Leader Fidel Castro In
A Ceremony Consecrating A Cathedral.
Associated Press - HAVANA - President Fidel Castro, whose communist Cuba was once
officially atheist, on Sunday gave the key for a new Byzantine cathedral to the spiritual
leader of the world's 300 million Orthodox Christians. Consecrating the new St. Nicholas
cathedral, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, in turn honored Castro with his church's
Cross of St. Andrew the Apostle, which is given to supporters of the Orthodox faith.
01/26/2004
Baucus Seeks Visa For Cuban Vet To Expedite Cattle Sale
Associated Press - HELENA – Sen. Max Baucus is asking Secretary of State Colin
Powell to let Cuba send a veterinarian to Montana to expedite a sale of state cattle to that
country. The Montana Democrat traveled to Cuba last September with Rep. Denny
Rehberg, R-Mont., and some Montana agriculture producers. The trip led to a $10 million
sale of Montana farm goods and cattle to Cuba. Cuba is one of the few nations that have
not closed their borders to Montana cattle and beef since the discovery of mad cow
disease in Washington state, Baucus said in his letter to Powell.
01/28/04
CUBA ESTUDIO TRANSICION
MIAMI/LA HABANA (UNIVERSAL).- Los políticos del exilio deberían tener un papel
secundario en el proceso de transición en Cuba, según un estudio de la Universidad de
Miami (UM) difundido hoy cuando en diversos foros se analiza cómo será el
postcastrismo.
01/29/2004
Masones Conmemoran Natalicio Del Apóstol
LA HABANA, 29 de enero (www.cubanet.org) - Como ya es tradicional, los masones
conmemoraron el aniversario 151 del Apóstol José Julián Martí Pérez con una pequeña
peregrinación y la colocación de una ofrenda floral en su estatua ubicada en el Parque
Central de esta capital.
01/29/2004
56 Sugar Mills In Cuba 2003/04 Crop Year
Latin America News Digest - Cuban sugar crushing mills total 56 in the current 2003/04
crop year, up from 30 units in the year-ago period, it was reported on January 28, 2004.
The 56 mills work with 72 pct of their production capacity in the current season, while
those working in the previous crop year used 62 pct of their capacity. Other eight units
are expected to start operations in February 2004, according to the Cuban Government.
The country's 2003/04 sugar output is expected to reach some 2.6 million tonnes, an
18.2 pct increase year-on-year, according to the Sugar Ministry.
01/31/2004
THE U.S. AND CUBA
Bush, exiles plotting to kill me, Castro says
Cuban leader Fidel Castro repeats a claim that President Bush wishes to kill him,
but he makes the accusation more pointedly than before. U.S. officials and exiles
dismiss Castro's assertion.
The Miami Herald - Cuban President Fidel Castro on Friday accused President Bush and
Cuban Americans in Miami of plotting to assassinate him -- a charge that he has made
before but never so explicitly.
01/31/2004
Critican Al Patriarca Por Visitar La Isla
El Nuevo Herald - La Iglesia Ortodoxa de Rusia reaccionó con firmeza a la reciente visita
del Patriarca de Constantinopla, Bartolomé I, a Cuba, donde inauguró una pequeña
basílica construida por el gobierno de la isla.