CubaNews articles from May 2007

CubaNews archives from May 2007

Long-running rum war between Bacardi, Pernod Ricard shifts to federal courts.(Bacardi Corp.)
May 1, 2007... After bouncing from the Patent and Trademark Office to federal courts to Congress to the World Trade Organization, the bitter fight over the Havana Club trademark has finally shifted back to the courtroom. The combatants are Havana Club...

Smuggling trial raises questions about Major League Baseball's future in Cuba.
May 1, 2007... In April, Cuban exile sports agent Gustavo "Gus" Dominguez was convicted of nearly two dozen charges at a federal court in Key West, Fla., for his role in smuggling then-unknown baseball players out of Cuba and harboring them once in the United...

Despite recovery, don't expect Castro to return to power.(Fidel Castro )
May 1, 2007... Nine months since the dynastic transfer of power, the possibility that Fidel Castro will reappear in public remains in doubt. The first of May, international labor day, has always been among Castro's favorite holidays--one he has frequently...

Fidel is back.... but what does that really mean?(Fidel Castro)
May 1, 2007... Now there are no doubts. Fidel did not die, and it seems he is not planning to do so any time soon. The fact remains that all the short-term predictions made by John Negroponte on behalf of U.S. intelligence agencies and the many...

Treasury: U.S. phone carriers paid Cuba $102m in 2006.
May 1, 2007... U.S. telecommunications companies paid the Castro government nearly $102 million last year to complete long-distance phone calls from the United States to Cuba, according to data obtained by CubaNews. The Treasury Department has reported to...

Freedom house attacks Moratinos visit.(Miguel Angel Moratinos)(Brief article)
May 1, 2007... Freedom House has sent a letter to Spain's foreign minister, Miguel Angel Moratinos, expressing disappointment that he met with Cuban authorities during an Apr. 2-3 visit to the island--but not with members of Cuba's dissident movement. ...

Feisty Catholic magazine Vitral closes down.
May 1, 2007... The Roman Catholic magazine Vitral, one of the few publications in Cuba not controlled by the government, announced Apr. 10 it was closing down due to lack of resources. The fortnightly magazine published by the Catholic Diocese of the...

In their own words ...
May 1, 2007... "Unfortunately, those dreams [of a better life] were stifled by a cruel dictatorship that denies all freedom in the name of a dark and discredited ideology. Some of you still have loved ones who live in Cuba and wait for the day when the light...

Police to bring their own eclectic brand of music to Cuba in December.
May 1, 2007... The Police may be giving their Cuban fans a free show this Christmas, reports Fox News. The super rock group, which recently reunited for a sellout world tour, has received an invitation from the Cuban government to perform there in December....

Cuba again invites U.S. oil giants to invest in oil sector.
May 1, 2007... The presence of oil in Cuba has become a very hot issue--generating international coverage and several bills pending in the House of Representatives. In Miami, the main topic of conversation among Cuban exiles, along with the current state...

Refinery to reopen this year.
May 1, 2007... A modernized oil refinery in Cuba is set to go online in December as part of an ambitious strategy to turn the island into a net oil exporter, the daily newspaper Juventud Rebelde reported Apr. 23. Overhauled with capital from a...

City of Havana pushes energy efficiency.
May 1, 2007... Havana uses 25-30% of all the electricity generated in Cuba. While that's a smaller percentage than in previous years--due to the economic and social development achieved by other provinces--it points to the fact that the nation's capital still...

Cynthia Thomas, founder of Texas-Cuba Trade Alliance.
May 1, 2007... On May 28, Cynthia Thomas will head to Havana for Alimport's 2007 U.S.-Cuba Trade Round--marking her 35th trip to Cuba. But her very first visit to the Caribbean island, in December 2000, is still the one that sticks out in her mind. ...

Lawyer Nicolas Gutierrez takes on property "traffickers".
May 1, 2007... Miami attorney Nicolas J. Gutierrez Jr. has made it his life's work pursuing lawsuits against people and companies who "traffic" in property confiscated by the Castro regime. Gutierrez, 43, was born in Costa Rica to Cuban exile parents. He...

Fanjul family petitions to recover confiscated artwork.
May 1, 2007... The Fanjul family--one of the most prominent sugar-holding families in pre-Castro Cuba, is suing to recover a rare painting worth up to $4 million. When the Fanjuls fled Cuba, they lost their fortune to the Castro regime. Assets included...

Cuba makes cover of Cigar Aficionado--again.(Brief article)
May 1, 2007... Cigar Aficionado magazine is rolling out a June issue packed with Cuba news the Miami New Times predicts is "sure to raise hackles in our banana republic." Last time the magazine did a similar series, in June 1999, the newspaper reported...

Rodriguez: Cuba should have only one peso.
May 1, 2007... Cuba's economics minister says the government hopes to return to a single currency--a departure from the current two-currency system that makes many consumer goods unattainable for most Cubans. "We have been advancing toward monetary...

2 European banks reject Cuban accounts.
May 1, 2007... Barclays Bank has told the London branches of two Cuban organizations to take their accounts elsewhere in what is seen as the latest example of pressure exerted by Washington on British companies to enforce its embargo, The Guardian reported...

Solomon Islands receives Cuban envoy.
May 1, 2007... The South Pacific's Solomon Islands on Apr.4 received its first-ever Cuban ambassador in the capital city of Honiara. Jorge Rey Jimenez presented his credentials to Governor-Gen. Nathaniel Waena, who said the event opens a new chapter in...

Cuba to plant 150 million trees in 2007.(Brief article)
May 1, 2007... Cuba will plant 150 million trees this year, part of the world campaign "Plant for the Planet," said forestry official Elias Linares. This international call to save the forests of the planet has been launched by the UN Environment...

Customs: VCRs may now be brought into Cuba.(Brief article)
May 1, 2007... Effective May 1, Cuban customs officials once again will allow arriving passengers to import video cameras and other image-reproducing equipment, according to Resolution 99/2007 of the Ministry of Finance and Prices. Since July 2002, the...

Small Vermont college launches Cuba study program.(Burlington College)(University of Havana)
May 1, 2007... A progressive college in Burlington, Vt., is planning to send its first study-abroad students to Havana next year--despite tightened U.S. laws that have slashed such academic programs in half since 2003. Two officials from Burlington...

Guantanamo, famous for U.S. base, loses people every day.(Country overview)
May 1, 2007... This is the 9th 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. Located at Cuba's eastern tip,...

Calendar of events.(Calendar)
May 1, 2007... If your organization is sponsoring an upcoming event, please let our readers know! Fax details to CubaNews at (301) 949-0065 or send e-mail to larry@cubanews.com. May 1-31: "Cuban Women Who Made Great Contributions in Cuba" Stephen P....