CubaNews articles from April 2004

CubaNews archives from April 2004

New decree limits dollar transactions as Cuba tightens controls once again.
April 1, 2004... Effective this month, the Castro government will further restrict the circulation of dollars in Cuba--representing yet another erosion of market reforms and what some observers call an unrealistic desire by hardliners in Havana to "turn back...

U.S. to Bermuda: watch out!(Bermuda's commercial relations)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... The top U.S. diplomat in Bermuda warns that the tiny British colony's warming ties with Cuba could lead to a deterioration of relations with Washington. Denis Coleman, the U.S. consul general in Hamilton, said in a TV interview that by...

Cuban universities adapt to the times with business, management courses.
April 1, 2004... Managers looking to long-term business opportunities in Cuba will be pleasantly surprised to learn that Cuban universities are turning out graduates trained in capitalist management techniques. As described in their catalogues, the...

Dispute leads Bancomext to shut its Havana office.(Banco Nacional de Comercio Exterior S.N.C)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... The Mexican government has decided to close the Havana branch of Banco Nacional de Comercio Exterior (Bancomext) over a dispute involving Cuba's longstanding $380 million debt to Mexico. Official sources quoted by the Mexican newspaper La...

General Cigar, Bacardi appeal U.S. trademark decisions.
April 1, 2004... Stockholm-based Swedish Match plans to appeal a U.S. court ruling that blocks its subsidiary, General Cigar Holdings, from selling cigars in the United States under the world-famous Cohiba brand. On Mar. 30, Judge Robert Sweet of U.S....

Fla. may tax charter flights.(Florida)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... The Florida Legislature is considering the imposition of a tax on charter airlines that fly to Cuba. Rep. David Rivera (R-Miami), chief sponsor of the bill--known as Charter Travel to Terrorist States--says the fee makes sense because "the...

Mobile phone service for the masses?
April 1, 2004... Cuba will reportedly offer wireless phone service to local residents in pesos for the first time ever. "Starting the second half of this year, the population will benefit from the installation and distribution of cellular telephones, a...

Persistent emigration takes its toll on Cuba's population.
April 1, 2004... Cuba has lost a sizable part of its population in the last decade, as the endless economic crisis and the collapse of living standards force people to leave home. According to official statistics, 243,432 Cubans left the island of their...

Entry procedures eased for Cuban exiles.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... The Castro government will make it easier for Cubans living abroad to enter the country by doing away with entry visa requirements. Cubans will still need to get a one-time security clearance, which Cuba calls an "entry authorization."...

Uruguayan lawmakers condemn spying case.(spying by Cuban intelligence services)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Uruguay's Chamber of Deputies voted 41-36 to condemn what it called the tapping of its telephones by Cuban intelligence services. According to the Miami Herald, the Mar. 3 vote came after Nationalist Party deputy Jaime Trobo told the...

Vatican appoints new envoy to Cuba.(John Paul II has appointed Archbishop Luigi Bonazzi the new apostolic nuncio)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... John Paul II has appointed Archbishop Luigi Bonazzi the new apostolic nuncio in Cuba, three months after his first appointee to the post was slain in Burundi. Bonazzi, 55, until now has been apostolic nuncio in Haiti, said Father Ciro...

French City adopts independent libraries.(Strasbourg)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... The mayor of Strasbourg, France, will sponsor a twinning program between its municipal libraries and the independent libraries of Pinar del Rio province in western Cuba. In a Mar. 19 letter, Mayor Fabienne Keller and the president of the...

In their own words ...(quotes about Cuba and Castro)
April 1, 2004... "President Bush remains strongly committed to supporting the efforts of Cubans to build an independent civil society and free the flow of ideas and information to, from and across the island. The Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba, which...

Spaniards pour $105 million into Cuban cement venture.(Las Pailas de Cemento S.A.'s joint venture with Cemvid to form Cementos Cienfuegos S.A.)
April 1, 2004... Cuba's ruling Marxists are finally distancing themselves from their hero, Karl Marx--even going so far as to remove his venerated name from one of the island's largest cement plants. The once-aging, inefficient factory along Cuba's south...

'Organoponicos' flourish in Venezuela.(organic farming)
April 1, 2004... Much has been made of the encroaching "Cubanization" of Venezuela--a process President Hugo Chavez has encouraged through his close friendship with Fidel Castro and his acceptance of medical and other assistance in exchange for subsidized...

Sugar harvest pegged at 2.4 million tons.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... The province of Camaguey became the first in Cuba to produce 200,000 tons of raw sugar in the 2003-04 season, reported local media, as the industry struggled to top last year's 2.2 million tons by early May. Despite improvements in...

Cuba urges rice farmers to 'think small'.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Cuba is attempting to boost rice production by encouraging cultivation in small paddies through a program involving 190,000 farmers across the island. More than 130,000 hectares are already planted with rice as a result of the initiative,...

Pedro Alvarez: Cuba hungry for American food imports.
April 1, 2004... A little-known commodities expert just a few years ago, Pedro Alvarez has rapidly become one of the most important bureaucrats in Cuba. These days, it seems Alvarez is quoted more frequently in the U.S. media than any other Cuban official...

Orbis International brings its 'flying eye hospital' to Cuba.
April 1, 2004... Eleven-year-old Giselle Perez Elias of Manzanillo lay in her hospital bed, doodling on an electronic sketch pad as she awaited cataract surgery in her right eye. Down the hall, doctors were already operating on a 7-year-old girl, their...

Bahama-based retailer John Bull mulls Cuban expansion.(The John Bull Group)
April 1, 2004... The John Bull Group, a leading duty-free retailer in the Bahamas, says it may open a third luxury boutique in Cuba--nearly 10 years after inaugurating its first Cuban outlet in Varadero. "Business is increasing and tourism is growing. This...

Economy off to good start in 1Q 2004.(Cuban economy in first quarter)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Led by Canadians, tourism arrivals to Cuba jumped by over 10% during the first quarter of 2004, while nickel and cobalt prices stayed near historic highs, sugar production was slightly above the year-ago period and agriculture --especially...

Labor Ministry releases job statistics.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Almost 20% of Cuba's labor force, or some 900,000 people, work for themselves or in cooperatives, according to the Labor and Social Security Ministry. Of Cuba's 4.6 million-strong labor force, 3.7 million people work in the public sector,...

Miami poll: hardline attitudes persist.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... A new Miami-based Cuban exile group has commissioned a poll that reaches the following conclusion: most Cuban-Americans maintain hardline attitudes towards Fidel Castro and want the U.S. embargo to continue. The Feb. 16-24 survey of 600...

Iran to export cars, shoes and textiles.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Iran will soon begin exporting automobiles to Cuba, said Tehran's envoy in Havana, Ahmad Edrisian. The diplomat, following a Mar. 24 meeting with Foreign Trade Minister Raul de la Nuez, also said Iran plans to sign joint ventures with Cuba for...

Crackdown begins on use of state cars.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Inspectors will be fanning out across Cuba this month, checking that executives of Cuban state-run companies have complied with a January order that they assign themselves and their employees only certain types of cars, and stripped-down...

Honey production rising in Sancti Spiritus.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Production of honey for export is rising at a processing plant in Sancti Spiritus province, reports Cuba's Ministry of Agriculure. The plant has so far this year processed 1,266 tons of honey, "much more than last year"--though how much...

Book Fair generates $3 million in sales.(The 13th International Book Fair)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... The 13th International Book Fair in Cuba concluded with sales of over $3 million, and attendance of 3.5 million people in 34 localities throughout the island. At the fair's closing in Santiago de Cuba, Iroel Sanchez--president of the Cuban...

MEDICC needs executive director.(Medical Education Cooperation with Cuba)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Atlanta-based Medical Education Cooperation with Cuba (MEDICC) is seeking candidates to fill the position of executive director. Established in 1997, MEDICC lets participants observe innovative health practices in Cuba, where health...

Slick lifestyle mag comes to Havana.(The H)
April 1, 2004... Havana now has its own answer to Miami Beach's Ocean Drive magazine: The H. The glossy new bilingual magazine made its debut at a Mar. 22 cocktail party at the Hotel Riviera, billing itself as "Havana's essential lifestyle magazine." ...

OFAC targets Toronto travel agency.(Office of Foreign Assets Control, Hola Sun Holidays Ltd.)
April 1, 2004... The Bush administration says Toronto-based Hola Sun Holidays Ltd. is linked to the Cuban government and therefore prohibited from doing business in the United States. The travel agency "provides easy access to U.S. individuals traveling to...

Virgin Atlantic to begin serving Havana.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Virgin Atlantic said it plans to begin flying to Havana and Nassau starting in July 2005. The announcement was made by CEO Richard Branson, who also plans on hiring 770 employees beginning immediately. "Following the last recession, Virgin...

Mexicana to launch flights to Varadero.(Mexicana Airlines going to Varadero Cuba)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Mexicana de Aviacion will soon start flying to Varadero, reports El Sol de Mexico. Armando Gomez, the airline's regional manager in Havana, said 83,000 passengers flew Mexicana to Cuba in 2003, in 365 round-trip operations. The plan is to...

After 7 years, Buena Vista Social Club still drums up sales.
April 1, 2004... A Cuban musical phenomenon took place when American guitarist Ry Cooder visited the island in 1996 and got a group of veteran son musicians to record some tracks at a Havana studio. The result of that collaboration was the CD "Buena Vista...

Greece debates whether to let Fidel attend Olympics.(Fidel Castro )
April 1, 2004... Cuba -- which dreams of hosting the Olympics in 2012--for now will be content to repeat its 2000 feat and place among the top 10 medal winners at this summer's Games in Athens. "Our delegation's main objective is to equal or surpass our...

Sherritt urges rapid nickel expansion while price is high.
April 1, 2004... Toronto-based Sherritt International Corp. says it needs to "make something happen" by September to get expansion of its Cuban nickel project underway, or it will miss a chance to take advantage of the recent strength in world nickel prices....

Calendar of events.(Calendar)
April 1, 2004... OIf your organization is sponsoring an upcoming event, please let our readers know! Fax details to CubaNews at (301) 365-1829 or send an e-mail to larry@luxner.com. Apr. 8: "The Outrageous Federal Sugar Subsidy Program," National Press...