CubaNews articles from December 2002

CubaNews archives from December 2002

Republican sweep of Congress unlikely to alter direction of U.S. policy on Cuba.
December 1, 2002... Republicans boosted their majority in the House and wrested control of the Senate from Democrats thanks to the Nov. 5 elections. But the GOP's increased power won't do much to dampen growing congressional sentiment to ease Washington's tough...

BrasCuba steps up local cigarette sales as venture's Latin export market shrinks.
December 1, 2002... Felicio Ferraz doesn't smoke. Neither does Orlando Flores Vega. But both men's jobs depend on getting Cubans who do smoke to buy their cigarettes with dollars, not pesos. "This market is very price-sensitive," says Ferraz, a native of...

Cuba claims `genocidal' U.S. embargo has cost $70 billion. (US-Cuba Relations).
December 1, 2002... A lengthy report by Cuba to the United Nations General Assembly claims the U.S. embargo has cost Cuba's economy $70 billion since its imposition in 1962--not including $54 billion in damages "caused by acts of sabotage and terrorism carried out...

Correction.(Nota de correccion)
December 1, 2002... A front-page story in the September 2002 issue of CubaNews reported that Spain's Melia hotel chain is based in the Canary Islands. In fact, Melia headquarters is in Majorca, part of Spain's Balearic Islands. We regret the error.

EU, Canada watch jealously as U.S. food sales to Cuba jump. (Foreign Trade).
December 1, 2002... Cuba's European and Canadian trading partners are feeling left out while their American rivals sell more food than ever to Cuba, and get paid rapidly--and in cash--from the Cuban government. This resentment was plainly evident at the 20th...

Sherritt releases 3Q earnings. (Companies).
December 1, 2002... Sherritt International Corp. reported a net loss of C$1.1 million (7 cents a share) for the third quarter of 2002, compared with net earnings of C$23.5 million (18 cents a share) for the year-ago period. Even so, consolidated revenue for...

In their own words ...
December 1, 2002... "The government of the United States, responsible for the world's largest and most sophisticated intelligence apparatus, has no moral authority or justification whatsoever to endorse these assertions against our diplomats." --Luis M....

South Korea to open Havana trade office. (Foreign Trade).
December 1, 2002... South Korea, which maintains no diplomatic relations with Cuba, will open a trade office in Havana as early as next year, according to the Yonhap news agency. Two separate memoranda of understanding on trade and investment were signed Nov....

Guantanamera--not just a song anymore. (Foreign Trade).
December 1, 2002... Internacional Cubana de Tabacos, a 50-50 joint venture between Altadis S.A. and the Cuban government, has begun producing and exporting machine-made mini-cigars under the Guantanamera brand. Miguel Angel Casas, president of ICT, said the...

Letters to the editor.(Carta al editor)
December 1, 2002... Very good article about Enrique Oltuski (Nov. 2002, page 8). When I hear people in Cuba defending Fidel and their own ideals--as Oltuski does--I sometimes wonder if they really believe what they are saying or if they cannot admit that maybe...

Entrepreneur Cy Tokmakjian brings Hyundais to Havana. (Newsmakers).
December 1, 2002... Armenian by heritage, born in Syria, educated in Canada and making a fortune in Cuba. That about sums up the life and career of Cy Tokmakjian, one of the most successful foreign investors in Cuba today. The 61-year-old entrepreneur is...

Provimar to launch airport duty-free shopping in Cayo Coco. (Tourism).
December 1, 2002... Spanish retailer Provimar will open two new duty-free shops at Cayo Coco's international terminal in early December. The new airport is to include a 100-sq-meter shop for cigarettes, drinks, chocolates, jewelry and perfumes, and a...

Tourism official says industry is finally recovering. (Tourism).(Articulo breve)
December 1, 2002... More than a year after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Cuba's tourist arrivals "are finally beginning to return, little by little, to previous levels," said Rosadela Mejias, director of international relations at the Cuban Ministry of Tourism....

Sime: growth in industrial exports to boost ministry's 2002 output. (Tourism).
December 1, 2002... SIME, the Spanish acronym for Cuba's Ministry of Steel, Machinery, Electronics and Recycling, is now the country's second-largest employer after the sugar industry. Although it was stripped of its responsibility for communications and...

Despite limited market, Cubacel monopoly rakes in profits. (Telecommunications).
December 1, 2002... Cuba boasts the highest literacy rate and the lowest incidence of infant mortality of any country in Latin America. But when it comes to telecommunications, Cuba remains stuck in the Dark Ages. Fewer than 600,000 access lines serve the...

Tobacco industry: $47 million in losses.(Articulo breve)
December 1, 2002... The Cuban government says the island's tobacco industry suffered $47 million in losses as a result of two back-to-back hurricanes that ravaged Pinar del Rio province this year, including damages to 11,172 curing houses. Vice President...

Iberostar adds hotel to Cuba portfolio.(Articulo breve)
December 1, 2002... The Spanish chain Iberostar will begin managing the four-star, 410-room Hotel Bella Costa in Varadero by year's end. The hotel is owned by Cubanacan S.A. and was previously run by the German chain LTI, which has reduced its commercial...

Lula win could fortify Brazil-Cuba links.(Articulo breve)
December 1, 2002... Last month's overwhelming election victory of Luiz Inacio "Lula" da Silva as president of Brazil will probably strengthen bilateral relations between that country and Cuba. "I expect political and economic ties will be much stronger with...

Minvec: $5.4 billion in foreign investment.(Articulo breve)
December 1, 2002... Marta Lomas, Cuba's minister of foreign investments and cooperation (Minvec), claims that in the last 10 years, Cuba has received $5.4 billion in foreign investment and $1.835 billion in sales of goods and services, of which $768 million are...

Tehran, Havana hope to expand relations.(Articulo breve)
December 1, 2002... Cuban Vice President Juan Almeida Bosque has called for an expansion of cultural, economic and political ties between Iran and Cuba. The Iranian news agency IRNA said that in a Nov. 7 meeting with Tehran's ambassador in Havana, Ahmad...

Castro seeks ties with black U.S. farmers.(Articulo breve)
December 1, 2002... President Fidel Castro hopes to create trade links with thousands of black American farmers as a means of securing their political support for lifting the embargo. Both the NAACP and the National Association of Black Farmers, which...

"Sister City" concept pays off for Cuba.(Articulo breve)
December 1, 2002... Representatives from 147 cities in 20 countries attended last month's 10th Annual Meeting of World Municipalities for Cooperation and Solidarity with Havana. At the event, Glasgow Mayor Alex Mosson and others condemned the U.S. embargo and...

U.S. entrepreneur plans magazine on Cuba.(Articulo breve)
December 1, 2002... Massachusetts entrepreneur Rob Sequin hopes to launch Havana Business Journal, a full-color publication with original Cuba-related news and display advertising aimed at individuals and small businesses. "As sanctions against Cuba are eased,...

CTP makes new Cuba database available.(Articulo breve)
December 1, 2002... The University of Miami's Cuba Transition Project is developing several databases that will interest anyone following events in Cuba. The first of these, Cuba On-Line, is now fully operational and available free of charge to academic...

2 Canadian universities win Cuba grants.(Articulo breve)
December 1, 2002... Two Canadian institutions, the University of New Brunswick and the University of Guelph, will each receive grants of C$750,000 for educational programs in Cuba. UNB, located in Fredericton, will receive its grant over a six-year period to help...

U.S. now Cuba's 10th-largest trade partner.(Articulo breve)
December 1, 2002... The United States will have exported $160 million worth of food commodities to Cuba in 2002, edging out Brazil as the island's 10th-largest trading partner. Total Cuban trade in 2001 was $6.448 billion, of which more than $5 billion was with...

J-V inaugurates condo project in Siboney.(Articulo breve)
December 1, 2002... The Edificio Simona, a luxury apartment building with 70 units, has opened in Havana's upscale Siboney district, four years after the founding of Inmobiliaria Havana with Cuban, Italian and Spanish capital. The same company recently broke...

Qatar, Cuba to cooperate in oil, gas sector.(Articulo breve)
December 1, 2002... The wealthy Gulf state of Qatar will set up a joint technical team with Cuba to identify areas where the two countries can cooperate in the hydrocarbon sector. Abdallah Bin-Hamad al-Attiyah, Qatar's minister of energy and industry, told...

Cuba hopes to lure wealthy Arab tourists.(Articulo breve)
December 1, 2002... The Cuban government hopes to attract rich tourists from across the Arab world, and to that end co-sponsored a recent conference in the United Arab Emirates. The Dubai meeting--hosted by Mohebi Aviation, a subsidiary of the Zainal Mohebi...

Granma suffering from emigration, environmental decay. (Geography).
December 1, 2002... Granma is one of five provinces created in 1976 following the breakup of the old Oriente province. It is Cuba's 6th-largest province, covering 8,372 sq kms (3,234 sq miles), or 7.5% of the country's total land area. The territory combines...

Calendar of events.(Calendario)
December 1, 2002... 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. Dec. 2-5: 26th Annual Miami Conference on the Caribbean, Loews Miami Beach...