CubaNews articles from August 2004

CubaNews archives from August 2004

CancerVax, Repsol grab headlines as foreign investors watch Cuba closely.
August 1, 2004... On Jul. 15, California-based CancerVax announced it had won Treasury Department approval to develop three experimental cancer drugs in a venture with a Havana lab--marking the first time the Bush administration has given its blessing to a deal...

Perfeccionamiento empresarial makes little headway in Cuba despite success.
August 1, 2004... The process known as perfeccionamiento empresarial--an economic system based on capitalist management techniques--was the trailblazer, and actually the backbone, of economic reforms in Cuba by the mid-1980s. Yet its influence has been...

Obscure dissident Manuel Gutierrez strives to be heard.
August 1, 2004... On the outskirts of western Havana, where the stately palms of Miramar's Quinta Avenida give way to the rundown tenements of Santa Fe--sits the crumbling house of Manuel Gutierrez. From here, the 53-year-old activist runs a little-known...

Havana Club, section 211 battle heats up on Capitol Hill.
August 1, 2004... The face-off over who owns the Havana Club rum brand continues in Congress, with two groups of lawmakers pushing differing proposals in July aimed at settling a dispute with the World Trade Organization. Sen. Pete Domenici (R-NM) and Rep....

House votes to ease new limits on gift packages to Cuba.(House of Representatives )
August 1, 2004... The House of Representatives has begun its annual assault on the U.S. embargo against Cuba, with a vote to ease President Bush's new restrictions on sending gift parcels to Cuba. On Jul. 7, the House adopted on a 221-194 vote an amendment...

Ignoring U.S. threats, Caricom deepens ties with Havana.
August 1, 2004... When the White House decided in June to force Jamaica's SuperClubs to scale bank its investments in Cuba, the move was strongly criticized and ridiculed by many observers. Critics charged that the United States was picking on a small island...

Remirez to direct PCC's international relations unit.(Department of International Relations of the Cuban Communist Party)
August 1, 2004... Fernando Remirez de Estenoz has been chosen as head of the Department of International Relations of the Cuban Communist Party's Central Committee. He replaces Jose Ramon Balaguer, who several months ago left that position to take over as...

Roque released from jail; 317 still behind bars.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2004... The number of prisoners of conscience held in Cuba has remained nearly constant over the past six months, according to a human rights group that tracks inmates held for political reasons. Elizardo Sanchez, head of the Cuban Commission on...

U.S. issues 20,000th immigration visa of 2004.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2004... Washington's top diplomat in Cuba said the United States has fulfilled its commitment this year to grant permanent immigration visas to at least 20,000 Cubans, and it was now Cuba's turn to honor its obligations under migration accords. ...

Uruguay resists calls to restore Cuba ties.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2004... Despite pronouncements by all presidential candidates that they favor restoring diplomatic ties with Cuba, the Uruguayan government continues to insist that it has no plans to resume such ties at this time. Foreign Minister Didier Opertti...

In their own words ...
August 1, 2004... "The Commission calls on President Bush and our congressional representatives to tear down this shameful wall that separates Cuban families and violates every principle for which this country stands." --Alvaro Fernandez, president of the...

Scholars to present over 40 papers at ASCE Miami meeting.
August 1, 2004... The following papers, generally listed in the order of discussion, will be presented Aug. 5-7 at the 14th annual conference of the Association for the Study of the Cuban Economy in Miami. For more information on ASCE, please write to...

Redford's 'Motorcycle Diaries' offers new look at Che's life.
August 1, 2004... Veteran actor Robert Redford is set on promoting a Spanish-language film that he produced late last year covering the early days of Ernesto "Che" Guevara. "The Motorcycle Diaries" is based on the well-acclaimed autobiography of the same...

Guevara in black and white.
August 1, 2004... A new 305-page memoir entitled "Self-Portrait: Guevara" offers rare black-and white photographs from the Guevara family album of Che in his mid-30s, disguised as a balding old man with crooked teeth with his wife Aleida March de la Torre. ...

Eusebio Leal: fixing up Old Havana, one street at a time.
August 1, 2004... When he was 16 years old, Eusebio Leal Spengler landed his first job as a lowly municipal clerk at the Palacio de los Capitanes Generales, an ornate Cuban Baroque palace located at the Plaza de Armas in the heart of Old Havana. Forty-six...

Cuba's path to a market economy: lessons from Vietnam?
August 1, 2004... The following is excerpted from a paper presented Aug. 6 by Chantal Agarwal at the ASCE annual conference in Miami. Ms. Agarwal, a graduate of George Washington University, is a research assistant at the Lexington Institute. For the complete...

Miami woman sues club med over property.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2004... A 95-year-old woman who said her family owned part of Cuba's Varadero beachfront before the 1959 revolution is suing the Paris-based Club Med resort chain for building and operating a luxury hotel on confiscated land. Elvira de la Vega...

256-room hotel planned for Vedado.(La Rampa )(Brief Article)
August 1, 2004... A 22-story hotel will be built along Vedado's La Rampa in Havana, according to a government press release. The project, which received the 2003 City of Havana Architecture and Engineering Award, will be constructed in the area formerly...

ECLAC urges Cuba to expand private sector.
August 1, 2004... While acknowledging Cuba's social service achievements, a regional United Nations economics commission is recommending in a new report that the Castro government allow more private enterprise. The suggestions by the UN Economic Commission...

Petrobras to build lubricants factory.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2004... Brazil's state oil company Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. (Petrobras) will sink $20 million in a lubricants plant in Cuba. Jose Eduardo Dutra, president of Petrobras, was due to sign an agreement Aug. 2 in Havana. The deal is in line with calls...

Havana steel plant sees exports rising.
August 1, 2004... Cuba's largest iron and steel plant, Empresa Siderurgica Jose Marti, reported $10.7 million worth of exports during the first six months of 2004, up from $8.2 million during the first half of 2003. The plant, located in the Havana...

Splash Tropical Drinks signs contract for retail sales.(Splash Tropical Drinks)
August 1, 2004... Florida-based Splash Tropical Drinks, which entered the Cuban market by selling frozen daiquiri and pina colada mix to Alimport, has just signed a contract with state entity CIMEX for the supply of food items to dollar stores throughout Cuba....

Execs seek Mexican trade office in Havana.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2004... Several months after Mexico closed the Havana office of Bancomext (National Bank of Foreign Commerce) amid a diplomatic spat, Mexican businessmen are flocking to Cuba to negotiate a future presence here. The entrepreneurs want "to install...

Soybean oil, rice lead U.S. exports to Cuba.
August 1, 2004... U.S. food exports to Cuba during May came to $33.95 million, according to Commerce Department figures cited by the weekly newsletter Economic Eye on Cuba. That brings to $206.8 million the value of U.S. exports to Cuba under the Trade Sanctions...

Cuba pays Russia $100 million for 2 planes.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2004... Cuba will pay Russian aircraft manufacturer Ilyushin $100 million for two passenger jets. Cubana de Aviacion and Ilyushin Finans Co. signed an agreement Jul. 14 for delivery next spring of two large IL-96 planes that can transport at least...

Spanish venture produces Cuban wines.(Bodegas del Caribe)(Citricos Caribe)(Palacio de Arganza)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2004... The joint venture Bodegas del Caribe, founded three years ago, is producing Cuban wine from grapes harvested in the municipalities of Batabano, Banao and El Wajay, all located in La Habana province. The firm, an association between the...

UBS accused of laundering money for Cuba.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2004... Three U.S. lawmakers are accusing Switzerland's biggest bank, UBS, of laundering $3.9 billion for Cuba between 1996 and 2003. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), said UBS carried out 1,900 transactions in the seven-year period. "We want to...

Gulfstream begins Miami-Havana flights.(Gulfstream Air Charter Inc)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2004... Gulfstream Air Charter Inc. has begun daily charter service between Miami and Havana, using 19-seat Beechcraft jetprop aircraft. The flights, which began Jul. 12 and continue through Aug. 31, leave Miami International Airport at 12:30 p.m....

Pebercan completes drilling on oil well.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2004... Pebercan, listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the "PBC" symbol, on May 19 completed its Seboruco 7 oil well. The target was reached at a depth of 1,500 meters and at 2,000 meters northeast of the shore. The structure was then drilled...

Experts debate 'power struggle' between Castro brothers.(Cuba's political future)
August 1, 2004... He's one of the most recognizable and controversial political figures of modern times. His younger brother is the world's longest-serving defense minister. Fidel and Raul Castro form a political and economic dynasty that has dominated Cuba--and...

Castro regime studies military recruitment plan.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2004... Cuba has ordered a study of its military recruitment program, hoping to enlist more young men in the armed forces during a period in which authorities say they are increasingly concerned about a U.S.-led military attack. Associated Press...

Swiss gallery Nevartos highlights popularity of Cuban art.
August 1, 2004... More and more foreigners to Cuba--stumbling upon Havana's emerging art scene--are flying back home with work from contemporary artists. Sooner or later, it was inevitable that an art gallery would come along to sell such works online. ...

Calendar of events.(Calendar)
August 1, 2004... If 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. Aug. 5-7: Association for the Study of the Cuban Economy, 14th annual...