CubaNews articles from January 2003

CubaNews archives from January 2003

Cuba faces severe economic hardships even though GDP to rise by 1.5% in 2003.
January 1, 2003... In late November--a month before Cuba's National Assembly convened in Havana--Vice President Carlos Lage warned fellow comrades that 2003 would be one of Cuba's most difficult years since the 1959 revolution. Cuba, he cautioned, "is facing...

Planned U.S.-Cuba business conference generates interest, and a few questions.
January 1, 2003... Up to 300 executives of U.S. agribusiness, pharmaceutical and lumber companies--as well as state agriculture officials and various members of Congress--are expected to shell out $1,500 or more apiece to attend the U.S.-Cuba Business Conference...

Cuba's 2003 sugar harvest lucky to exceed 3 million tons. (Commodities).
January 1, 2003... In a twist of irony, Cuba's 2002-03 sugar har vest started in mid-December at a Cienfuegos sugar mill named Mal Tiempo, which means "bad times" in Spanish. And that pretty much sums up the fate of Cuba's troubled sugar industry. After a...

Reich's chances for renomination at State look very slim. (US/Cuba Relations).
January 1, 2003... Secretary of State Colin Powell has apparently won a battle with the White House over the re-appointment of Otto Reich, the top U.S. diplomat to Latin America. Reich had a one-year recess appointment. But as his term neared an end in...

Fidel: Caricom si, FTAA no! (Trade).
January 1, 2003... President Castro is spearheading an aggressive campaign to win Cuba full membership in the 15-nation Caribbean Community (Caricom), while leading an equally vocal attack against the proposed Free Trade Area of the Americas. At present,...

In their own words ...
January 1, 2003... "If Americans can travel to Iraq and Iran, two-thirds of the so-called `Axis of Evil,' why can't they travel to Cuba?" --Rep. William Delahunt (D-MA), predicting Dec. 14 that the ban on U.S. travel to Cuba will be lifted within two years....

Cuba to buy Kentucky burley tobacco. (Agribusiness).
January 1, 2003... Cuba, world-famous for its tobacco products, is now importing tobacco from the United States for the first time in more than 40 years. Cuban food import agency Alimport has agreed to purchase $1 million worth of burley tobacco, as part of a...

Letters to the editor.(Carta al editor)
January 1, 2003... In your latest issue (CubaNews, Dec. 2002, page 4), you include a graph showing Cuba's debt to the rest of the world. Unfortunately, you have used information from the [University of Miami's] Cuba Transition Project which is confused or...

Hotelier Marcelo Montenegro has eye on the big prize. (Newsmakers).(Entrevista)
January 1, 2003... Today, it's an empty field populated only by stray goats and palm trees. But within two years, this picturesque plot of land where Marcelo Montenegro stands will be the center of a thriving hotel complex--and one of the largest beach resorts in...

Online venture offers users new way to send cash to Cuba. (Money).
January 1, 2003... In 1998, the Clinton administration authorized money transfer agencies to wire funds directly from the United States to Cuba. Today, those remittances are believed to reach $800 million a year--a lucrative market that's attracted not only...

Collectors dubious of Castro-era coinage. (Money).
January 1, 2003... Before Fidel Castro's rise to power, most Cuban coins were minted in the United States. Then Washington and Havana broke diplomatic ties, and Cuba's coinage began to be produced in Spain and various Eastern European countries--right up until...

Visa Gold to auction off treasures found in 1839 shipwreck. (Trade).
January 1, 2003... Visa Gold Explorations Inc., the Canadian underwater exploration and salvage firm that has recovered over 8,000 artifacts from a shipwreck off Cuba's northern coast, plans to sell many of the items it exhibited in a Toronto art gallery last...

Ministry says tourism is back on track.(Articulo breve)
January 1, 2003... Cuba's Ministry of Tourism says 107,299 visitors came to the island in October, up 10% from the 97,773 who visited in October 2001. That marks the first monthly increase since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, which put a dent in the Caribbean...

BWIA, Cayman Airways now serve Havana.(Articulo breve)
January 1, 2003... BWIA International will begin flights between Port of Spain and Havana sometime in January. Kenneth Valley, Trinidad and Tobago's trade and industry minister, said that as part of Trinidad's initiative to host the permanent Free Trade Area of...

Cuba struggles to maintain aging railway.(Articulo breve)
January 1, 2003... Cuba is trying to keep its 165-year-old railway running, despite economic problems and complaints about delays and aging engines. Associated Press reports that the railway, born Nov. 19, 1837, is the oldest in Latin America, predating...

Cuba expects 70,000 cruise passengers.(Articulo breve)
January 1, 2003... Last year, 60 cruise ships docked at Cuban ports, carrying a total of 45,000 passengers. This figure is expected to jump to 70,000 in 2003, according to Cubatur and Havanatur, the two state entities in charge of organizing excursions and...

Top 100 hotel chains include 2 Cuban firms.(Articulo breve)
January 1, 2003... State entities Cubanacan S.A. and Gran Caribe S.A. are among the world's top 100 hotel chains, according to Hotels magazine. Cubanacan ranks 74th, with 12,130 rooms in 47 hotels (up from 10,859 rooms in 46 hotels a year earlier). Grupo Hotelero...

Varela Project enjoys support--in Miami.(Articulo breve)
January 1, 2003... Some 73% of Cuban-Americans living in South Florida now "support" the Varela Project, a dissident reform movement in Cuba. The Varela Project Survey, conducted in November by Bendixen & Associates and backed by the Miami-based Cuba Study...

N.C. Turkeys, apples on their way to Cuba.(Articulo breve)
January 1, 2003... North Carolina firms have shipped $3.7 million worth of turkeys and apples to Havana, the result of contracts signed following a September food expo in the Cuban capital. Carolina Turkey of Mount Olive sent off three containerloads with...

Construction minister replaced.(Articulo breve)
January 1, 2003... Fidel Castro has dismissed his construction minister, Juan Mario Junco, 45, replacing him with Fidel Fernando Figueroa, who had been first vice-minister of construction since 1997. The Communist Party daily Granma carried a short statement...

Cuba admits big consumer fraud problem.
January 1, 2003... The Cuban government has completed its 4th National Domestic Economy Control Check--and the results aren't encouraging. Maria Isabel Cardenas, an official of Cuba's National Association of Economists and Accountants (ANEC), told the daily...

Cuba trails in press freedom.(Articulo breve)
January 1, 2003... CUBA TRAILS IN PRESS FREEDOM COUNTRY RANKING SCORE Costa Rica 15 4.25 Ecuador 20 5.50 Uruguay 21 6.00 Chile 24 6.50 Paraguay 32 8.50 El Salvador 33 ...

Cuban envoy to Honduras sworn in.(Articulo breve)
January 1, 2003... Alberto Gonzalez Polanco presented his credentials to Honduran President Ricardo Maduro in mid-December, becoming Cuba's first ambassador to Honduras since the two countries severed diplomatic ties in 1961. The new ambassador, speaking in...

Havanatur pushes Jardines del Rey.(Articulo breve)
January 1, 2003... Havanatur provided services to 170,000 tourists in 2002, says general manager Benito Perez Oramas. The state entity, which falls under the umbrella of CIMEX, said that this year, 7,500 tourists visited Jardines del Rey through Havanatur, 85% of...

JETRO opens Havana liaison office.(Articulo breve)
January 1, 2003... Japan's External Trade Organization (JETRO) has opened a branch in Cuba, with the goal of boosting bilateral trade. Among the most promising Cuban exports to Japan, say JETRO officials, are coffee, honey, fruit juices, vegetables, citrus,...

Basque companies form export group.
January 1, 2003... Around 30 companies headquartered in Spain's autonomous Basque region have jointly established Grupo de Exportacion a Cuba (Gececuba), which will insure the companies' risks in connection with investments on the Caribbean island. Cesce,...

Auto racket, crime scandals taint Havana.(Articulo breve)
January 1, 2003... Two major scandals have rocked Havana recently. The first involved visiting Latin American university students who were authorized to buy imported cars. As soon as they got their permission and bought their cars, the students began selling...

Important contact info for your next business trip to Cuba. (Contacts In Cuba).(Directorio)
January 1, 2003... Please note that all telephone and fax numbers in this contact list must be predeced by +53 7, the international dialing code for Havana, Cuba. CONSULTANTS, LAW FIRMS AND RESEARCH CENTERS Cameron Young, President Berger Young &...

Calendar of events.(Calendario)
January 1, 2003... 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. Jan. 15: "How to Accelerate Transition in Cuba," Casa Bacardi, Miami....