CubaNews articles from March 2003

CubaNews archives from March 2003

Cuban-Americans debate usefulness of Apr. 11-13 emigration meeting in Havana.(Nation and Emigration Conference )
March 1, 2003... Along-awaited conference between the Castro government and Cuban exiles will finally take place Apr. 11-13 in Havana. Several hundred overseas Cubans are expected to fill Havana's Pabexpo convention center, some coming from as far away as...

Bacardi wins latest legal round in effort to control Havana Club rum trademark.
March 1, 2003... The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has delivered a legal blow to Havana Club Holdings (HCH) through a recent decision that indirectly backs efforts by the Bacardi rum empire to strip the Cuban government of its U.S. rights to the Havana Club...

Lawmakers strip OFAC provisions from final omnibus spending bill.(reforms to Office of Foreign Assets Control)(congressional changes to travel, trade restrictions with Cuba )
March 1, 2003... WASHINGTON -- Congressional negotiators on Feb. 13 dropped five Cuba initiatives from the massive $397 billion fiscal 2003 omnibus bill that will fund most of the federal government this year. "I'm sure [the lawmakers] were aware that...

Cubans make life miserable for U.S. diplomats in Havana. (US/Cuba Relations).
March 1, 2003... The U.S. Interests Section in Havana complains that its diplomats are being hassled by the Cuban government in order "to frustrate routine business, occupy resources, demoralize personnel and generally hinder efforts to advance U.S. policy...

Etecsa, Cubacel to form one big phone monopoly. (US/Cuba Relations).
March 1, 2003... Cuban fixed-line telephone operator Etecsa and mobile provider Cubacel, both state-owned, are close to merging into a single monopoly covering both services, according to recent news reports. "There is going to be a merger," a foreign...

Execs at Cancun meet: it's almost `business as usual' now. (Foreign Investment).(U.S.-Cuba Business Conference )
March 1, 2003... Over 160 executives representing 70 U.S. companies spent two days at the Mexican resort of Cancun last month, expanding on business contacts that have led to over $225 million worth of U.S. agricultural exports to Cuba in just over a year. ...

CPF: end to travel ban would help farmers. (Tourism Briefs).(Cuba Policy Foundation)(Articulo breve)
March 1, 2003... Ending the travel ban to Cuba would pump hundreds of millions of dollars into the bank accounts of America's farmers, says a report commissioned by the Cuba Policy Foundation. The study, conducted by economist Parr Rosson of Texas A&M...

Euro to circulate in Eastern Cuba resorts. (Tourism Briefs).(Articulo breve)
March 1, 2003... Effective Jun. 1, Cuban authorities will extend circulation of the euro to Holguin, Covarrubias and Santa Lucia, three popular resort areas in eastern Cuba. Marta Maiz, vice-minister of tourism, said the euro first began circulating in...

Report analyzes tourism's economic impact. (Tourism Briefs).(Articulo breve)
March 1, 2003... A new study by the Lexington Institute offers an interesting analysis of Cuba's tourism industry, with detailed information about hotels, industry strategy, ecotourism, impact on the economy and the workforce, domestic production and the rise...

In their own words ...
March 1, 2003... "The Bush administration is willing to find any sort of pretext to launching an attack against Iraq. I have the impression [Bush] will be frustrated or disappointed if they don't manage to find a bottle with some kind of liquid that could be...

Herzfeld Caribbean Basin Fund bets on end to U.S. embargo. (Investing).
March 1, 2003... Thomas J. Herzfeld, the man who literally wrote the book on closed-end funds, would rather not say whether he backs Washington's current hard line against Cuba. But the day the embargo becomes history, he and the other 2,000 or so...

Al Fox: one man's lonely crusade to change U.S. policy. (Newsmakers).(better relations with Cuba sought)
March 1, 2003... Albert J. Fox Jr. isn't particularly Cuban, even though his elderly mother Luisa, the daughter of a Spanish opera singer, was born in Havana, and Fox grew up in Ybor City, an immigrant enclave of Tampa, Fla. In fact, the Washington...

Who's who in the Cuba policy debate. (Newsmaker).
March 1, 2003... Alliance for Responsible Cuba Policy: A contributor-supported lobbying group that "believes the time has come to end the embargo and foster better political, economic and cultural relationships between Cuba and the United States." Contact:...

Self-employed entrepreneurs eke out a living in Havana. (Small Business).
March 1, 2003... In Cuba today, some 138,000 people survive as independent entrepreneurs, unattached to any company or state entity. Called cuentapropistas (Spanish for "on their own account"), these people invest in small businesses, set prices according...

Early results point to a disappointing 2003 sugar harvest. (Commodities).
March 1, 2003... As the sugar harvest enters its peak--when all mills are active, cane shows the highest sucrose concentrations and weather conditions are the best--early signals from Cuba hint at disappointing results. According to the few figures released...

Cuba's 2002 food import bill reaches record $794 million. (Commodities).
March 1, 2003... Food now comprises 20% of Cuba's total imports, up from 17% in 1999, with half the protein and 30% of all nutrients in the typical Cuban diet now coming from abroad. In 2002, Cuba's food import bill came to $794.4 million, of which the...

Expert ponders role of Cuba's FAR in post-Castro transition. (Political Analysis).(Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias: revolutionary armed forces )
March 1, 2003... Cuba's Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias (FAR), the most powerful institution in the country, plays a far greater role in Cuba than most people realize, and understanding the FAR will be essential for policymakers hoping to influence events once...

Conrado Martinez dismissed as mayor of Havana. (Political Analysis).(Articulo breve)
March 1, 2003... Conrado Martinez, former president of the Provincial Assembly of the City of Havana, has been fired by Fidel Castro and replaced with Juan Contino, former head of the CDR. In the 1980s, Martinez was a rising star. A UJC (Communist Youth)...

Cuba reports first trade decline since '94. (Business Briefs).(Articulo breve)
March 1, 2003... Cuba's foreign trade tumbled by over $900 million in 2002, with a foreign-exchange crisis forcing the island to slash imports by $677 million, the official Granma reported Feb. 24. "Trade was $5.574 billion, a 13.9% decline compared with...

First-Hand Aid wants to help. (Business Briefs).(search for volunteers to distribute donations in Cuba )(Articulo breve)
March 1, 2003... First-Hand Aid, which sends a humanitarian group to Cuba every four months, is looking for volunteers to bring aspirin, penicillin, toothpaste, soap and other essential supplies. The donations will be used to help sick children throughout the...

Where the new jobs were in 2002. (Business Briefs).(creation of jobs)(unemployment reduction )(Articulo breve)
March 1, 2003... Last year, says Cuba's Ministry of Labor and Social Security, a total of 158,000 new jobs were created--45% of them for women and 64% for "young people." The official unemployment rate among the island's workforce of 4,558,900 fell to 3.3% from...

Envoy to Barbados offers scholarships. (Business Briefs).(Cuban ambassador in Barbados Joaquin Alvarez Portella)(international scholarships in medicine )(Articulo breve)
March 1, 2003... Cuba has appointed Jose Joaquin Alvarez Portella, one of its longest-serving foreign service officers, as ambassador to Barbados and three other Eastern Caribbean island nations: Antigua & Barbuda, Dominica and St. Vincent & the Grenadines. ...

Cuba lifts ban on Argentine dairy imports. (Business Briefs).(Articulo breve)
March 1, 2003... Cuba has resumed importing Argentine dairy products after certifying sanitary conditions at a dozen Argentine processing plants, officials in Buenos Aires said. In a note to Bernardo Cane, president of Argentina's National Agro Food Health...

Namibia's Swapo boosts Cuba relations. (Business Briefs).(Swapo Party)(increased international cooperation )(Articulo breve)
March 1, 2003... Namibia's ruling Swapo Party and the Communist Party of Cuba have agreed to increase cooperation on social and political issues. The Namibian, a newspaper in the capital city of Windhoek, says the bilateral accord was signed by senior Cuban...

Next time, knock--please! (Business Briefs).(couple sues tour operator TUI over being interrupted during love-making by maid during Cuba vacation )(Articulo breve)
March 1, 2003... A man and woman have filed a lawsuit in Hanover against German tour operator TUI for $4,000--the cost of their Cuba vacation. They accuse a maid at their Varadero hotel of interrupting them on two occasions while they were having sex in...

2-volume `Encyclopedia of Cuba' now available.(Resena de libro)
March 1, 2003... Greenwood Press has released its 760-page Encyclopedia of Cuba, a comprehensive work presenting an objective look at the people, history and culture of Cuba. The two-volume set is being promoted as "a unique, thorough and impartial...

Industrialized Cienfuegos now suffers the consequences. (Geography).(Cuba)
March 1, 2003... This is the 8th in a series of monthly articles on Cuba's 14 provinces by geographer Armando H. Portela, who has a Ph.D. in geography from the Soviet Academy of Sciences. Portela currently resides in Miami. Cienfuegos is a relatively new...

Calendar of events.
March 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. Mar. 10-14: XVI World Congress of Sexology, Palacio de Convenciones,...