Cuba News articles from January 2001

Cuba News archives from January 2001

Strange behavior shows priorities have shifted for Cuba.(greater emphasis placed on bolstering position at home)
January 1, 2001... WASHINGTON -- Once concerned primarily with overcoming the economic crisis that threatened the stability of the regime following the end of Soviet assistance in the early 1990s, the Cuban government now appears to be focusing most of its...

Cuban web entrepreneur planning to go public.(Steve Marshall plans "reverse take over" for his three Cuban firms)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... NEW YORK -- British entrepreneur Steve Marshall is planning to take his Cuban operations public this year on the Canadian stock exchange via a novel route. Marshall says he is planning to sell the internet and communications assets he owns to a...

Calls to Cuba continue but little progress is made in resolving cut off.(telephone calls to and from the United States still difficult)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... WASHINGTON -- Telephone calls between the United States and Cuba have continued, albeit with difficulty, even after the Dec. 15 cutoff of direct links by the Cuban government. Although the cutoff has not severed communications, placing...

Cuba not a high priority for Bush administration.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... Little Cuba experience among top administration officials WASHINGTON -- Gen. Raul Castro recently urged Washington to normalize relations with Cuba while his brother Fidel Castro was still alive because it will get "more difficult" later...

Raul Castro: Reconciliation later will be difficult.(vice president urges United States to normalize relations with Cuba)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... HAVANA -- First vice president and armed forces chief Raul Castro said the United States should move to normalize relations with Cuba now because doing so later will be more difficult. In a television interview, the brother of Cuban leader...

Government claims strong growth continued in 2000 but many areas failed to perform as hoped.(tourism, sugar, nickel, and trade in Cuba)(Statistical Data Included)
January 1, 2001... The Cuban government's claim that the economy grew by 5.6% despite some of the worst market conditions in a decade is an outstanding success, but officials seem more cautious with their forecasts for 2001. The report on the economy...

Havana considers cellular to provide rural phone service.(plan would be cheaper than fixed-line infrastructure)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... HAVANA -- The government is considering plans to install cellular phone systems in remote areas as a way of avoiding the cost of building fixed-line infrastructure, according to Communications and Information Minister Roberto Ignacio Gonzalez...

Cuban refineries able to process local crude for first time last year.(Brief Article)(Industry Overview)
January 1, 2001... HAVANA -- After years of virtual paralysis, Cuba's oil refining sector is staging a modest comeback. State oil company Cupet reported that its three operating refineries processed about 54,700 b/d of domestic and imported crude, an...

Venezuela begins oil shipments to Cuba.(Petroleos de Venezuela)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... CARACAS -- State oil company Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) has begun shipments of crude oil and refined products to Cuba under an agreement signed in October. The accord, widely criticized as a subsidy to the island, allows Cuba to buy up to...

Cimex reports nearly $1 billion in sales but some businesses lag.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... HAVANA -- State-owned holding company Cimex reportedly had sales of nearly $1 billion last year, according to top company officials and local business sources. The company has extensive operations in tourism, retail sales, trade and real...

Cuba claims that foreign investment is up even as joint ventures are down.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 1, 2001... HAVANA -- Without releasing any actual dollar figures, Foreign Investment Minister Marta Lomas said that the amount of foreign investment doubled last year compared to 1999, even though the number of new joint ventures was down sharply. In...

Sugar harvest facing trouble as bad weather delays mill openings.(Brief Article)(Industry Overview)(Statistical Data Included)
January 1, 2001... HAVANA -- The sugar harvest is facing serious problems as wet weather delayed cane cutting. Only a few sugar mills met their December targets. Government sources say that just three out of 24 operating in December attained their goals. In...

COMMODITY EXPORT MARKETS.(nickel and sugar)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 1, 2001... The release of data on the performance of the economy last year demonstrated Cuba's vulnerability to volatile commodities prices. Even though the government claims strong economic growth for a second year in a row, Cuba's trade balance...

Santeria priests forecast turmoil, promiscuity for 2001.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... HAVANA -- In their annual prophecy of the year ahead, a group of Santeria priests say 2001 will bring natural and political storms, rising promiscuity and good crops. The priests, called the Organizing Committee for Letter of the Year, said...

2001 is year of victorious revolution.(year-naming tradition in Cuba continues)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... HAVANA -- Accompanied by fanfare and banner headlines in the official press, the National Assembly has dubbed 2001 "the year of the victorious revolution in the new millennium." The government since the 1959 revolution has a tradition of...

Radio Free Cuba?(Radio Rebelde heard in Miami after technical problems)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... MIAMI -- Listeners in Miami got a rude awakening Dec. 16 when popular local AM station Radio Mambi was knocked off the air by technical problems. Listeners who tried to tune in instead found themselves listening to Cuba's Radio Rebelde, which...

Fidelismo.(Fidel Castro quotes from the news)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... A monthly report on Cubas maximum leader Not exactly an exchange of love notes "I wish them the actuarial tables in Cuba." US Secretary of state Madeleine Albright referring to Cuba's average life expectancy for males of 68.4...

Brother of minister arrested for corruption.(El Gordo Romay)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... HAVANA -- The brother of Fisheries and Merchant Marine Minister Orlando Rodriguez Romay reportedly has been arrested and is being interrogated by state security on suspicion of corruption. Known as "El Gordo Romay" to distinguish him from...