CubaNews articles from December 2006

CubaNews archives from December 2006

Democrats to challenge Bush over Cuba as Fidel's condition remains a mystery.(Fidel Castro)
December 1, 2006... By electing Democratic candidates to Congress last month, American voters have opened the door to a fresh debate on the U.S. embargo against Cuba--and the distinct possibility of a range of policy changes sooner rather than later. The new...

Aging leadership threatens continued relevance of Cuba's Communist Party.(Communist Party of Cuba)
December 1, 2006... With 80-year-old Fidel Castro in the hospital and nine years after the 5th Congress of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC), more than a third of the members of the Party's Central Committee are--like Fidel--out of the "major leagues" of political...

Treasury cracks down on foreign banks operating in Cuba.
December 1, 2006... The U.S. Treasury Department's efforts to prevent foreign banks from conducting dollar transactions with the Castro regime are infuriating Cuba's Central Bank. In November, after two of Switzerland's leading financial institutions--UBS and...

Fidel's prolonged absence changes little in Washington.(Fidel Castro)
December 1, 2006... President Fidel Castro's continued absence from view has convinced many Cubans he'll never regain power--but so far, it hasn't prompted any changes in U.S. policy toward the island. The Bush administration's hard line against changing its...

Vermont couple appealing fine awaits action by OFAC.(Office of Foreign Assets Control)(Loy Harrell )(Rae Harrell )
December 1, 2006... Two Vermonters are among a handful of people awaiting reviews by the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control under a relatively new system for processing appeals by U.S. citizens fined for traveling to Cuba in violation of the...

Poll: 47% of Cubans approve of Fidel and Raul.(Fidel Castro)(Raul Castro)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... A Gallup poll released Dec. 15 shows that 47% of Cubans surveyed support the Castro government, while 40% disapprove of Fidel and Raul. Gallup officials told the Miami Herald that their September poll of 1,000 ordinary people in the cities...

TV, radio Marti to broadcast via Fla. Stations.
December 1, 2006... Taxpayer-funded TV and Radio Marti will spend $377,500 to air select programs on South Florida broadcast stations over the next six months, using loopholes in a law that prohibits the propaganda channels from distribution within the United...

"In their own words...".
December 1, 2006... "Something is very wrong with him. The government set this date for his reappearance. They will have to give Cubans an explanation now because people want to know." --Prominent Cuban dissident Manuel Cuesta Morua , commenting to Reuters on...

UNDP ranks Cuba 50th in 2006 human development index.(United Nations Development Program)
December 1, 2006... Diehard believers in Cuba's system of governance can leap for joy at the UN Development Program's 2006 Human Development Index, which puts Cuba squarely in the top third of the world's nations. Diehard detractors can find a rock to hide...

Jamaica boosts trade ties with Cuba.
December 1, 2006... Trade between Cuba and Jamaica is increasing as the Caribbean's largest English-speaking island and its largest Spanish-speaking island discover an appetite for each other's products. Hard numbers are difficult to come by, though it's...

Cuba waives Guyana debt, trains doctors.
December 1, 2006... The Cuban government has written off $1 million in Guyanese debt, following the recently concluded 23rd session of the Guyana-Cuba Joint Commission. A statement from Cuba's Ministry of Foreign Trade and International Cooperation said the...

Haiti's preval, Cuba sign cooperation pact.(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... Haiti and Cuba have signed a cooperation program for 2006-07 to serve as basis to the Joint Commission meeting of both countries. Haitian President Rene Preval and Esteban Lazo, vice-president of Cuba's Council of State, penned the...

St. Vincent premier mum on Cuban 'justice'.(Ralph Gonsalves)
December 1, 2006... Ralph Gonsalves, prime minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, refused to condemn Cuba's spotty record on human rights and political prisoners in a recent interview. Gonsalves, who becomes chairman of the 15-member Caribbean Community...

Canadian food exporters try to win back Cuban customers.
December 1, 2006... With U.S. competition not what it was only two years ago, Canadian food exporters are now trying to regain lost market share in Cuba. U.S. food exports to Cuba took off in 2001, after Congress approved an exemption to the trade embargo...

Oliver Stone film draws fine.(Oliver Stone)(Ixtlan Corp.)(Office of Foreign Assets Control)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... The Office of Foreign Assets Control has imposed a $6,322 fine on Ixtlan Corp., producers of Oliver Stone's controversial HBO documentary about Fidel Castro. "Ixtlan and four individuals negotiated services in which the Cuban government or...

Cuban Jews celebrate 100th anniversary of community life.
December 1, 2006... As the world focuses its attention on the ailing Fidel Castro, Cuba's Jews are enjoying a rare celebration of their own. All throughout December, the island's tiny Jewish community marked its 100th anniversary with religious services,...

Cuba among top destinations for desperate Gazans.(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... Travel agents in the Gaza Strip are reporting a brisk demand for visas to Cuba, one of the few places that welcomes Palestinians, often as means of getting to a third country. Associated Press reported Dec. 14 that two of the most popular...

Cuba claims 12.5% GDP growth in 2006.
December 1, 2006... The Cuban government says the island finished 2006 with a record 12.5% economic growth, topping even last year's performance of 11.8% and the 5% it claimed in 2004. But independent sources such as the Economist Intelligence Unit and the...

Ministry delays new labor regulations.(Ministry of Labor and Social Security)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... Cuban labor authorities announced the postponement of regulations on labor discipline hours and day schedules, which come into force on Jan. 2, but will not be put in effect until Apr. 1. The three-month postponement of Resolution 187.2006...

Havana Club boasts record rum exports.(Havana Club International)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... Havana Club International--a 50-50 joint venture between the Cuban government and France's Pernod-Ricard--says it'll close 2006 with rum sales at a record 3.0 million cases. Manuel Arias, HCI's Havana-based sales manager, said the rum is...

Fewer Canadians, Europeans visit island.(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... Cuba expects to end 2006 with a record 2.5 million tourists, up 7.7% from the 2.3 million tourists who came in 2005, according to the Ministry of Tourism. Tourism generated gross revenues of over $2 billion in 2005 and is among Cuba's...

Miami exec forms Cuba investment committee.(Hugo Cancio)(Fuego Entertainment Inc.)
December 1, 2006... Hugo Cancio, President and CEO of Fuego Entertainment Inc., a public media and entertainment company, announced Nov. 20 he'll establish an exploratory group called the U.S.-Cuban Investment Committee to help in the reconstruction of his native...

Cuba to triple rice production by 2015.
December 1, 2006... Cuba hopes to take advantage of improved weather to increase rice output and reduce record imports in coming years. "This year the state sector will harvest 61,000 tons of rice and the popular movement 141,000," said state-run Radio Reloj,...

Italian company to light up Habana Vieja.(C.R. Technologic System wins contract)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... Italy's C.R. Technologic System has won a contract to illuminate Old Havana's historic quarter, reports Prensa Latina. The company's manager, Carlos Rovelli, and its Cuba representative, Eduardo Gonzalez, told the state-run news service...

Reuters: forex earnings jump by $3 billion.
December 1, 2006... Cuba's foreign-exchange earnings swelled by $3 billion this year due mainly to a jump in service exports, a government source with access to trade data told Reuters. The island's balance of payments will be in the black for the third year...

Qatari firm to construct 5-star resort.
December 1, 2006... The Persian Gulf emirate of Qatar has reportedly signed a $75 million joint venture to build a five-star luxury hotel on Cayo Largo del Sur, along Cuba's south coast. Cuba's state-run Gran Caribe and Qatar's Kiar Investment Co. will build...

GEO to keep running Gitmo migrant center.(GEO Group Inc.)(Migrant Operations Center)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... The GEO Group Inc. announced Nov. 2 that it's been awarded a contract by the U.S. Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement for the continued management and operation of the Migrant Operations Center at Guantanamo Bay. The center houses...

Cuba issues new banknotes.(Central Bank of Cuba)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... Cuba's Central Bank has announced it will issue a new series of convertible peso banknotes to combat increasing attempts to counterfeit the notes. The new series will be printed in 1, 3, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100-peso denominations. This...

Pinar del Rio: tobacco king in Cuba's westernmost province.(Province overview)
December 1, 2006... With the Gulf of Mexico to its north and the Caribbean Sea to its south, Pinar del Rio is the westernmost and the third-largest province in Cuba, covering 10,904 sq kilometers (4,212 sq miles). That's equivalent to 9.9% of Cuba's total land...

Index of newsmaker profiles: 2002-2006.(List)
December 1, 2006... Here's a complete listing of the 39 newsmaker profiles that have appeared in CubaNews since June 2002, when we began running this feature. All profiles start on Page 8 of the issue indicated. Alarcon, Ricardo, president of Cuba's National...