Cuba News articles from March 2001

Cuba News archives from March 2001

Government cuts long-term tourist projections to lower end of ranges.(Cuban tourism)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 1, 2001... HAVANA -- The softness in the recent tourism arrivals has prompted the government to scale back growth projections for the island's most important industry once again. After experiencing 20% annual growth during the early and mid 1990s --...

Havana moves against corruption: Business practices make enforcement difficult.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 1, 2001... HAVANA -- As the effects of private enterprise filter through the economy and growing numbers of Cubans have contact with foreigners and get access to dollars, corruption is a growing problem that has become an open concern for the country's...

Clinton releases Cuban assets to exile families.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 1, 2001... WASHINGTON -- On his last day in office, former President Clinton issued an executive order releasing $96 million in frozen Cuban money to the families of three exile pilots shot down by the Cuban Air Force in 1996. The payment was the...

ITC finds end of embargo would have limited impact on US, Cuba economies.(International Trade Commission)(Statistical Data Included)
March 1, 2001... WASHINGTON -- An independent federal agency has determined that US economic sanctions have had a minimal impact on the economies of Cuba and the United States and that an end to sanctions would result in a modest up tick in trade. The...

Government paints bright digital future, but money and politics stand in the way.(Cuba)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 1, 2001... HAVANA -- There still are not enough phones. Electricity service, though vastly improved, remains sketchy and thousands of people in Cuba only will have a color television because of a program to reward party loyalists with new sets. (See...

Rules for Cuba sales stalled by Congress, State Department.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... WASHINGTON -- Key lawmakers have moved to restrict Commerce Department regulations that would implement a law Congress approved last year to allow food sales to Cuba and other countries under sanctions. A draft of the regulations -- which...

Crackdown reveals widespread abuses in public housing.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 1, 2001... HAVANA -- After numerous warnings and repeated stories about the dangers of illegal real estate transactions and improper construction practices, the government has moved against thousands of Cubans who have sold their houses in violation of...

Hard-line Cuban exile may head State Department Latin Desk.
March 1, 2001... WASHINGTON -- Otto J. Reich, a Cuban exile with a long career in Latin American issues and longtime links to hard-line anti-Castro groups, is the top contender for the job of Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs. ...

US shipping company gets first license for Havana routes.
March 1, 2001... MIAMI -- US shipping company Crowley Liner Services has received a Treasury Department license to serve Havana. The license would allow the company to include Havana in weekly routes from Port Everglades, FL, Jacksonville, FL and several...

Cuba's first offshore oil well expected to be dry.
March 1, 2001... HAVANA -- Despite claims by Cuban officials that everything was going exceedingly well for Cuba's first offshore oil well, officials at Brazilian oil company Brasoil say they believe the $15 million project will ultimately come up dry. ...

Oil accord makes Venezuela Cuba's largest trading partner.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 1, 2001... CARACAS -- Venezuela has become one of Cuba's leading oil suppliers since signing an accord last year to provide fuels under favorable terms. Industry sources say state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela is now providing the full 53,000 b/d of...

BMW opens first repair shop in Cuba.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... HAVANA -- Trying to get parts for an old Lada, much less a 1959 Chevy, can be next to impossible. But diplomats and other foreign residents living in Cuba can now get service with a smile for their BMWs. The German luxury auto maker...

Cuba's self employed continue to dwindle as government measures prompt many to quit.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 1, 2001... HAVANA -- The number of self employed Cubans continues to decline, the result of an acute shortage of start up capital, harassment by the government and a lack of customers with income to spend. In 1996, the year in which self employment...

CubaNews Products & Services.
March 1, 2001... 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...

Hope fading that sugar industry can meet lowered expectations for this year.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 1, 2001... Cuban officials are hoping world sugar prices will remain relatively strong as this year's harvest continues to show signs of trouble. The government still officially expects production of 3.7 million tons, an 8.8% drop from the previous year,...

FACTS AND STATISTICS.(Cuban economy)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 1, 2001... Hard currency retail sales in 1996 $170 million Hard currency retail sales in 2000 $450 million Percentage of domestic production sold locally for hard currency ...

Fidelismo.(Fidel Castro)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... A monthly report on Cuba's maximum leader Shuttle diplomacy A report out of Mexico claims that in 1994, during the rafter crisis of that year, then Mexican President Carlos Salinas de Gotari tried to act as an intermediary to solve the...

Spanish firm signs deals to sell Cuban shrimp and lobsters.(Pescanova)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 1, 2001... HAVANA -- Spain's Pescanova has signed an exclusive deal to market Cuban shrimp exports for the next 30 years. Officials estimate total sales could top $100 million within three years. Most of Cuba's natural shrimp fisheries are overfished...

RUMOR OF THE DAY.(appointment of Leonardo Andollo to second-in-command of Cuba's General Staff)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... HAVANA -- The appointment of Div. Gen. Leonardo Andollo as second-in-command of the General Staff indicates to some that more senior officers in the military with careers dating back to the Revolution may be losing out to a younger generation...