Cuba News articles from December 2000

Cuba News archives from December 2000

Claimants launch new push to sanction Spanish firm.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2000... WASHINGTON -- Spanish hotel chain Sol Melia -- and other foreign hoteliers with operations in Cuba -- have come under a new attack by a powerful lawmaker who is trying to help an exile family in a property dispute over confiscated land. ...

Putin visit may yield breakthrough on nickel project.(visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to Cuba)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2000... A possible deal to complete the Las Camariocas nickel plant in Moa will be one of the main orders of business at mid-December meetings scheduled for Havana between Russian president Vladimir Putin and Cuban leader Fidel Castro. Russian...

Cuba, US make minor deals in migration talks.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2000... HAVANA -- Cuban and US officials reached several minor new accords during the latest round of immigration talks. The accords concern medical exams for would-be Cuban emigrees and measures against document fraud. Cuba also agreed to consider...

Washington bars US diplomats from flying on Cubana de Aviacion.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2000... WASHINGTON -- Citing safety concerns, the State Department has forbidden US diplomats and government officials from travelling on domestic flights operated by state-owned Cubana de Aviacion airlines. The State Department also suggested that...

Cuba holds strong position in telephone payment dispute.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2000... WASHINGTON -- Fidel Castro may win a dispute with the United States over a new Cuban tax on calls between the two nations because US companies -- and their competitors in other countries -- are under pressure to pay a new levy on calls. ...

New rules on Cuba trade stalled by bureaucracy, uncertain election.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2000... The Embargo WASHINGTON -- The Clinton administration has made little progress in drafting regulations that would allow the sales of food and agriculture products to Cuba, opening the door to the possibility that the next administration...

Entrepreneurs in tourism sector falling victim to corruption.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2000... HAVANA -- Petty extortion rackets are beginning to develop in the tourism sector. Currently, most of the extortion is aimed at casas particulares, private homes in which tourists can rent rooms, and paladares, small home-based restaurants....

General Cigar sues Altadis for unfair business practices.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2000... WASHINGTON -- US tobacco company General Cigar, which is being sued by a Cuban tobacco company over its use of the Cohiba brand name, has returned the favor by pressing its own suit against a giant Cuban-European joint venture that is the...

Drop in cigar exports is steeper than first thought.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2000... HAVANA -- The troubles in Cuba's cigar sector are even worse than first reported. (See CubaNews, November 2000, page 3.) Industry sources say exports this year could drop to as low as 100 million, well below the 1999 figure of 150 million...

Cuban cigars step into low-end market.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2000... HAVANA -- Cuban cigars are reaching out to the proletariat, instead of only to the elite. The bust of the cigar boom had dampened demand for higher-prices smokes, and led to a surge in sales of low-end Cuban cigars. French firm Coprova,...

Cuba concerned about impact of higher oil prices on economy.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2000... HAVANA -- Cuban officials are becoming increasingly concerned about the inflationary impact of higher oil prices. The government has kept a lid oil inflation by keeping salaries low and maintaining tight monetary discipline. However, a...

Italian institute promotes business with Cuba.(Italian Institute for Foreign Trade)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2000... HAVANA -- The Italian Institute for Foreign Trade, created in 1926 as an agency for Italy's Ministry of Foreign Trade, is planning to open an office in Havana to help Italian businesses negotiate contracts with the Cuban government. The...

Castro clashes with allies in bid to shore up support at home.(Fidel Castro)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2000... HAVANA -- In a rash of attacks that have proven surprising for their vitriol, Fidel Castro in recent weeks blasted some of Cuba's top trading partners. Castro is known for his attacks against the United States. But, during the Nov. 17-19...

Officials concede sugar harvest will shrink, place hopes in high prices, low costs.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2000... HAVANA -- Cuban officials appear to be preparing the population for a poor sugar harvest. Officials now publicly concede the harvest will produce less than last year's output of just over 4 million tons. Top industry officials blame a...

Report advocates new openings to Cuba.(US Council on Foreign Relations)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2000... WASHINGTON -- The Council on Foreign Relations has asked the next president to further ease restrictions on US agricultural sales to Cuba, to allow all Americans to travel to the island and to cooperate with Cuban authorities on environmental...

Outlook for reducing dependence on dollar worsens.(Cuba economic policy)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2000... HAVANA -- Central Bank President Francisco Soberon has acknowledged publicly that the government's long-held goal of ending the use of the US dollar in Cuba is nowhere near to being realized. In all acknowledgment that the Cuban peso...

CubaNews Products & Services.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2000... Business Guide to Cuba The Business Guide to Cuba is the most comprehensive research report on Cuban business and politics available. With more than 300 pages of exclusive information, data and maps on all of the productive sectors of the...

COMMODITY EXPORT MARKETS.(Cuba)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2000... As 2000 comes to an end, official references to the economic situation often are confusing and contradictory. Though it is consistently described as improving, government officials have been making periodic references to the problems world oil...

Grumbling heard in armed forces over political hack.(Sixto Batista Santana)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2000... HAVANA -- There is growing discontent within the normally compliant Cuban military as a result of the appointment last year of Gen. Sixto Batista Santana as head of the Central Political Directorate of the General Staff. Batista Santana...

Fidelismo.(Fidel Castro's political activity)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2000... A monthly report on Cuba's maximum leader Castro at the Wheel A senior Cuban official reports that Fidel Castro personally approves the assignment of cars to state officials and business leaders. Castro reportedly pores over lists of...

From ideological diversion to revolutionary hero.(John Lennon honored by Fidel Castro)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2000... HAVANA -- Decades after his songs were branded "ideological diversionism" by Cuban authorities, the late Beatle John Lennon was honored as a hero in a Havana ceremony attended by President Fidel Castro. Castro was present when a bronze...