CubaNews articles from January 2005

CubaNews archives from January 2005

Cuba tightens foreign-exchange rules as Alimport continues to buy U.S. food.
January 1, 2005... Cuban President Fidel Castro summed up 2004 like this: "There couldn't have been a worse year, and there couldn't have been a better year, either." Two hurricanes, a stubborn drought, spiraling energy costs and stepped-up U.S. sanctions...

Government claims Cuba's GDP grew 5% in 2004.
January 1, 2005... Cuba's economy grew 5% in 2004, based on a locally devised formula and despite natural disasters, energy woes and new U.S. economic sanctions. On Dec. 30, Reuters quoted Jose Luis Rodriguez, Cuba's economy and planning minister, as saying...

OFAC's anti-Castro crusade devastates Miami agencies catering to Cuba travel.(Office of Foreign Assets Control)
January 1, 2005... Nobody's sure how badly Cuba's economy was hurt in 2004 by tough new U.S. restrictions on travel and remittances, but one thing's for sure: those restrictions have had a crippling effect on South Florida travel agencies, which are reeling from...

Adios for Cuba's free-trade zones?
January 1, 2005... Cuba's free zones could disappear in a relatively short time, warn European executives interviewed by the BBC. According to the executives, who asked to remain anonymous, the Castro regime has offered them three options: get accredited...

Sherritt, Pebercan discover oil near Santa Cruz del Norte.(Sherritt International Corp.)
January 1, 2005... Two Canadian energy conglomerates, Sherritt International Corp. and Pebercan Inc., have discovered a new oil field off Cuba's northern coast. "We have a new oil discovery--the first since 1999," Fidel Castro said in a speech to Cuba's...

Nickel production lends a boost to Cuba's steel industry.
January 1, 2005... In 2004, Cuban nickel production rose 6.9% to over 70,000 tons. That has helped Cuba's steel industry, which exported $90 million worth of wires, cables, scrap metals and other products--a 16% jump over 2003 figures. The sector comprises...

Cuba re-establishes contact with EU nations.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... The European Union's executive Commission welcomed Cuba's decision to renew ties, saying Jan. 10 it would quickly send Louis Michel, its humanitarian aid and development commissioner, to Havana to discuss future bilateral relations. This...

New magazine on dissent infuriates regime.(Consenso)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Shortly after dissidents launched a new magazine, the Cuban government retaliated by confiscating various books and written documents. Manuel Cuesta Morua, a well-known intellectual who helped present the magazine Consenso in late...

S.D. library supports counterpart in Cuba.(library in South Dakota supports Havana's Dulce Maria Loynaz Library)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... A small-town library in South Dakota has taken a stand for intellectual freedom. The Public Library Board of Trustees in Vermilion, S.D., voted in November to start sending books to Havana's Dulce Maria Loynaz Library. That library is...

In their own words ...
January 1, 2005... "The Holy See strongly desires that obstacles which block free communication and exchange between the Cuban nation and part of the international community be overcome soon, thus reinforcing through respectful and open dialogue with everyone,...

Uruguay, Panama to restore diplomatic ties with Havana.
January 1, 2005... Uruguay plans to re-establish diplomatic relations with Cuba, following the victory of leftist politician Tabare Vazquez in the country's Oct. 31 presidential elections. Vazquez, a 64-year-old oncologist and ex-mayor of Montevideo, said he...

PDVSA selling more lubricants to Cuba.(Petroleos de Venezuela S.A.)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Venezuela's state-owned oil company, Petroleos de Venezuela S.A., is consoldiating its lubricants business in Cuba, one of its largest markets in the Caribbean. Francisco Jimenez, managing director of PDVSA subsidiary Deltaven, said his...

Venezuela, Cuba sign sweeping trade, investment accord.
January 1, 2005... Fidel Castro and his protege, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, have signed a far-reaching economic integration pact that covers everything from import tariffs to oil prices to health services. The accord, signed Dec. 14 in Havana, was of...

An exclusive interview with OFAC Director Bob Werner.(Office of Foreign Assets Control of the United States)(Interview)
January 1, 2005... Politicians, academics and Cuban exiles can debate the U.S. embargo until they're blue in the face. But when it comes to actually enforcing the bloqueo, the buck stops at the desk of Robert W. Werner. A former federal prosecutor who's...

U.S. humanitarian groups boost medical shipments to Cuba.(Caribbean Medical Transport )
January 1, 2005... A Vermont-based nonprofit organization that ships donated medical supplies to Cuba is trying out a novel way to cover its transportation expenses. Caribbean Medical Transport says medical personnel traveling with the goods will contribute...

Put off by Bush's Cuba policy, Nathan sets sights on Libya.(Peter Nathan of PWN Exhibicon International next show confirmed )
January 1, 2005... Goodbye Havana, hello Tripoli" seems to be the new strategy for Peter Nathan, chief of PWN Exhibicon International. Nathan, you may remember, is the tradeshow organizer who two years ago pulled off the first U.S. food exhibit in Havana...

Travel agency added to OFAC blacklist.(Office of Foreign Assets Control)
January 1, 2005... The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control has blacklisted Tour & Marketing International Ltd. for illegally funneling funds to Cuba. A press release from Juan Carlos Zarate, head of Treasury's financial crimes and...

Cuba receives 2 million tourists in 2004.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Cuba's tourism minister said a record two million people visited the island in 2004, despite U.S. efforts to undermine the country's largest source of foreign exchange. "The U.S. government increased the unjust blockade imposed on our...

Sandals to manage new Varadero resort.(Sandals Resorts International )
January 1, 2005... Jamaica's Sandals Resorts International will manage the new 434-room Hotel Princesa del Mar in Varadero--bringing to three the number of resorts now being run by the all-inclusive chain in Cuba. The five-star hotel came under Sandals...

Cayo Coco to get protected status.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Cuba's Cayo Coco tourist mecca will soon get protected status thanks to its regional environmental diversity, namely its mangroves, coral reefs and marine life. The area boasts a rich and varied fauna with over 170 species and the Loma del...

68% of '05 budget to fund social programs.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Cuba has allocated 68% of its 2005 budget to "activities and sectors supporting social development," reports state-run Prensa Latina. In the presence of Fidel Castro, Cuba's rubberstamp parliament approved the budget Dec. 24, announcing...

Cubans to build highway in Vietnam.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Vietnam and Cuba on Dec. 12 signed a contract in Havana through which the Quality Couriers International (QCI) enterprise will construct an expressway from Ho Chi Minh City to Trung Luong. Cuban engineers will be in charge of the project,...

Experts: sugar crop only 1.8 million tons.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Cuba's drought-ravaged sugar crop will come in at no more than 1.8 million tons, down from 2.52 million tons a year ago, say industry sources. The last time Cuba, one of the world's top sugar exporters, produced less than 1.8 million tons...

Infant mortality is lowest in Latin America.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Cuba's infant mortality fell to 5.8 per 1,000 live births in 2004, which the government claims is the lowest in Latin America. That's down from 6.3 per 1,000 live births in 2003, reports the Communist Party daily Granma. Infant mortality...

Santander fined for embargo violations.
January 1, 2005... Spain's Banco Santander Central Hispano has been fined $20,000 by U.S. authorities for breaching trade sanctions against Cuba. The Guardian reported Dec. 9 that the fine was levied against Santander's Bahamas unit for a transfer of funds...

Swiss firm launches remittance website.(AWS Technologies S.A)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Switzerland's AWS Technologies S.A. has opened a website for money transfers to Cuba. The site, at www.aws-transaction.com, "emphasizes a personalized service to the client and the collaboration of Cuban businesses with experience and...

COMCE: Mexican investors shying away from Cuba.
January 1, 2005... Mexican entrepreneurs are slashing their investments in Cuba due to a lack of knowledge of the island's productive sectors and because they fear a backlash from Washington, reports Mexico City's El Economista. Valentin Diez Morodo,...

Airline launches MIA-HAV cargo flights.(Air MarBrisa)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Air MarBrisa has launched weekly direct air cargo service between Miami and Havana. The airline, incorporated in 1998, has a fleet of Fairchild Metro and Antonov airplanes. Its Havana-bound flights depart from MIA every Wednesday and...

Cimab, Chinese firm sign biotech deal.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Cuban biotech company Cimab S.A. has signed two licensing agreements with China's Biotech Pharmaceutical Ltd. (BPL) for the joint development, production and marketing of monoclonal antibodies for the treatment of autoimmune diseases and...

Pennsylvania, Florida ship cattle to Cuba.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Dennis Wolff, Pennsylvania's agriculture secretary, said his state will ship 200 Holstein and Jersey cattle to Cuba as part of a recent trade agreement. "Pennsylvania's agricultural products are known worldwide for quality," Wolff said on...

Etecsa in VOIP venture with Indian firm.(Teledata Informatics Ltd)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... India's Teledata Informatics Ltd. has formed a venture with Cuba's state-run Etecsa to enter the Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) business for international long-distance. The venture, involving Teledata's Singapore-based Infosoft...

Etecsa: 85% of telephone lines now digital.
January 1, 2005... More than 85% of Cuba's telephone lines have been digitalized, reports state phone monopoly Etecsa. By the end of 2004, all provincial capitals and other key territories on the island were using the new technology, which improves voice...

Sherritt may build power plant in Mariel.(Sherritt International)
January 1, 2005... Toronto-based Sherritt International is in discussions with Cuba's government regarding the development of a coal-fired thermoelectric project at Mariel, just west of Havana. Venezuelan companies are also considering the project. "That...

Russia's Lada seeks to overcome negative image in Cuba.(Rusia Automotriz S.A.)
January 1, 2005... One of the most enduring legacies of Cuba's long years of alignment with the Soviet bloc is the proliferation of Russian Ladas, Czech Skodas and Polish Fiat Polskis on the streets of Havana. Older Cuban drivers, accustomed to the big...

Cuba, North Korea and weapons of mass destruction.
January 1, 2005... The following analysis was prepared by the University of Miami's Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of CubaNews or its publisher. We invite readers with opposing viewpoints to e-mail us...

Calendar of events.(Events in and about Cuba)(Calendar)
January 1, 2005... 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. 3-14: "The Cuban Revolution: 1959 to the Present." Credit course to be...