Cubanews

This section provides information for people who travel to Cuba and/or want to know or read about what is happening in Cuba.  We write and select articles that we think will interest you the most.  We happen to believe that today that much of the American news media is little more than organizations owned by rich guys and manufacturers of war equipment marching in lock-step with the American politicians they helped put into public office.  All the more reason to read Cubanews for the stories many in our government and the media don't want you to hear.

July 27, 2007 - Pastors for Peace challenge embargo.

June 21, 2007 - Rangel plans to introduce legislation to ease travel ban

January 29, 2007 - Lawmakers see an end to the travel embargo coming soon.

October 25, 2005  Cuba Tourism sector recovering quickly from Hurricane Wilma.

September 03, 2005  According to CNN.com Fidel Castro has offered to send 1100 doctors and 26,000 tons of medicine to treat victims of hurricane Katrina. Hopefully, the US will take him up on his offer.

August 08, 2005  Ibrahim Ferrer dead at 78

July 14, 2005  Hurricane Dennis damage update - July 14, 2005

July 14, 2005   Hotel Saratoga to open in Old Havana on September 01, 2005

May 10, 2005  Audioslave, an American rock band, plays to tens of thousands at a concert in Havana

March 30, 2005  US congressmen speak out against trade and travel restrictions (from Granma Internacional)

October 28, 2004   Cuba to stop accepting US dollars. Bring Euros!

October 28, 2004  UN votes to end US blockade against Cuba, again 179 to 4

September 16, 2004  House drops debate on Cuba travel ban - Write your congressman to complain!

September 09, 2004  US Senate Panel approves lifting travel ban (from Reuters)

August 17, 2004   Treasury department reviews new Bush measures against Cuba

August 15, 2005

From Granma Internacional

WHILE it is still not possible to definitively quantify the magnitude of the damages left in the wake of Hurricane Charley, preliminary evaluations indicate considerable harm done to the electric system and housing.

According to a spokesman for the National General Staff of the Civil defense, the following deaths were reported: in Havana province, Jesús Rosado Méndez, of Alquízar (when a palm tree fell on his house and it collapsed); Ivá Núñez Díaz, of Güira de Melena (when a building collapsed); Juan José Figueroa Alonso, of Mariel (drowned) and Jesús Suárez Sanz, of San Antonio de los Baños, (when a tobacco shed collapsed), while five people were reported injured in the capital, one of them seriously.

More than 215,000 people were evacuated from the most dangerous areas, of which only 35,749 were housed in shelters, given that the rest went to the houses of relatives, neighbors and friends, showing once again the spirit of solidarity of the Cuban people in times of catastrophe.

Efforts to repair damage to high-tension wires, posts, cables and transformers - essential materials to reestablish electric service to the city of Havana, the province of Havana and Pinar del Río Province, are being checked daily by representatives of the country’s leadership, the Ministry of Basic Industry and the National Electric Company at every level.

On Sunday, Víctor Puentes Monto, director of Nacional Regulation, told Juventud Rebelde that "in the case of the city of Havana, the provincial Electric Compnay director, Rosell Guerra, informed that of the city’s 224 circuits, 159 now have electricity. The other 65 are pending."

By 7 a.m. Saturday, some 10,381 houses had been affected by Charley’s passing, and 383 of them had totally collapsed, according to Juan Carlos Cruz, provincial director of the Unit of Housing Investment in Havana.

The water supply situation has improved within the last 24 hours, according Alfredo Pérez, provincial delegate of the Ministry of Hydraulic Resources in Havana. All water sources were reestablished in the eastern section of the city, some in the south, and in the municipality of Cotorro, he told JR. The most critical problems are in the central-western area, he said, given that the electricity was yet to be reestablished for the Sur, El Rincón and Los Meireles reservoirs.

In the Province of Havana, there were at least 989 buildings that were totally destroyed, and 1,020 partially destroyed, and 9,000 other houses suffered damage. In Pinar del Río, Havana Province and the city of Havana, some 502 schools were damaged.

July 2004

Pastors for peace greeted at the border by approximately 100 federal agents representing numerous agencies. They had been delivering Humanitarian aid to Cuba. Your tax dollars at work.

July 01, 2004

House members to block funding on Bush's new travel restrictions

WASHINGTON - (Daily Journal) - House members will attempt to block funding for new travel and spending restrictions on Cuban Americans that the Bush administration will begin enforcing. Calling the new limits cruel and immoral, House members said they will try to prevent the Treasury Department from spending money to enforce the regulations. The lawmakers met with Treasury and State Department officials to urge the administration to back off its latest effort to clamp down on the Castro regime. "These new rules and regulations are at best mean-spirited and immoral; they have no rationale that is acceptable," said Rep. William Delahunt, D-Mass., a leader of Congress' Cuba Working Group. "And they inflict pain and anguish on families not only in Cuba but here in the United States." The new sanctions also came under fire from a Florida lawmaker who has been a consistent backer of the administration's travel embargo to Cuba. Rep. Jim Davis, D-Fla., said that the regulations, which limit Cuban Americans to one trip to their homeland every three years, will hurt innocent people in both countries. Davis also introduced legislation to reverse the new changes and maintain the current standards, which allow Cuban Americans to visit once a year and lets them send a maximum of $1,200 a year to families in Cuba.

Cubans, he said, depend on their U.S.-based relatives "not only for moral support but also for the delivery of food, medicine, clothing and money." Delahunt said the meeting with Dan Fisk, the deputy assistant secretary of state, and Office of Foreign Assets Control Director Richard Newcomb, was tense. Of particular concern, said Rep. Jo Ann Emerson, R-Mo., is the new limit on visits. "I don't know that I have ever seen anything that is so antifamily in my life," she said, noting that a person visiting a dying mother in Cuba would not be allowed to return for a funeral if it were to take place in the same three-year period. "It makes me mad to talk about them." Other new rules limit travel for athletic teams, prohibit Cuba travelers from bringing up to $100 worth of merchandise back to the United States as previously allowed, and allow Cuban Americans to send money home only to immediate family members. We believe that family members and loved ones in Cuba should be able to live the same free and prosperous lives we enjoy in the Untied States," said Treasury Department spokeswoman Molly Millerwise. "These strengthened measures, which will choke off the hard currency aiding and abetting the Castro regime, will help bring that day closer." House members said they are supporting Davis' legislation, but their first and best opportunity to block the new sanctions will be in the treasury appropriations bill that is expected to come up next month.

June 17, 2004

OFAC announces new regulations that will make it more difficult for Cuban Americans to visit their families in Cuba.

Click this link to read the new regulations:  http://www.treas.gov/offices/eotffc/ofac/actions/20040616.html

The New regulations will clearly have a negative effect on both Cubans in Cuba and Cuban Americans who wish to visit their family members there. This appears to be the latest attempt of a desperate president who's popularity has plummeted in recent months to gain popularity in southern Florida. However, we feel that this will backfire as most of the Cuban Americans that we talk to are opposed to the new regulations. Many have called the new regulations unconstitutional and have even compared Bush to Castro in regards to their stances on the liberties of their people. It seems like the last 40 plus years of the failed embargo might clue the US government in to the fact that IT DOESN'T WORK.

Prominent American Leaders Call Upon Administration to Lift All Restrictions on Humanitarian Trade and Travel to Cuba

 WASHINGTON, May 20 /PRNewswire/ -- A bipartisan group of prominent
business leaders, ex-government officials, elected officials and humanitarian
leaders from across the nation today, in an open letter to President Bush,
called on the administration to work with the majority of members of Congress
who seek to lift all restrictions on humanitarian trade and free travel to
Cuba.
    The letter was issued by Americans For Humanitarian Trade With Cuba (AHTC)
in response to the administration's recent adoption of measures that would
limit Cuban American family visits, humanitarian aid and travel recommended by
its interagency Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba.
    "These draconian and anachronistic limits on family interaction play right
into Castro's hands," AHTC Chairman Sam Gibbons, a former 34-year member of
Congress from Tampa and WWII war hero, said.  "It's time we turned the tables
on Castro by increasing -- not limiting -- American interaction with the
people of Cuba by allowing free travel and normal humanitarian trade."
    "Mikhail Gorbachev asked President Bush to 'tear down the wall of embargo'
when he came to Miami to support the majority of Cuban Americans who want more
engagement with Cuba.  Instead, President Bush has built a wall so high we
cannot even see our families in Cuba anymore," said one of the signers of the
letter, Silvia Wilhelm, President of Miami-based Puentes Cubanos and a member
of AHTC's Advisory Council.
    Text of the letter and list of signers follow:

    May 20, 2004

    Dear Mr. President,

     We are proud of the historic tradition of Americans meeting the needs of
     hungry and sick people wherever they are found. Americans have been long
     recognized for being generous and giving. Few people have stronger
     historic, cultural and particularly family ties to Americans than the
     people of Cuba.  For humanitarian reasons alone, they deserve our
     support.

     In this spirit, we are concerned that your recent moves to limit Cuban
     Americans' ability to help family in Cuba contradicts that historic
     tradition.  Despite the passage of legislation in 2000 which has allowed
     some American companies to make cash sales of food to Cuba, ordinary
     Cubans are also paying a bitter price for the continued restrictions on
     the sale of U.S, food and medical products.  The recent tightening of
     American travel limits the interaction so widely appreciated by the Cuban
     people.

     For our country to continue to deny the Cuban people the normal transfer
     of food and medicines and normal contact with American citizens achieves
     nothing.  Forty-three years of the strongest embargo in our history has
     resulted in increased hardship for the people of Cuba while making no
     change whatsoever in the political makeup of the Cuban government.  We
     can no longer support a policy carried out in our name which causes
     suffering of the most vulnerable-women, children and the elderly.

     We call upon you to work with a majority of members of the U.S. Congress
     who seek to lift all restrictions on the sale of agricultural products
     and medicines to Cuba including restrictions on travel to Cuba, which
     hinder the ability to meet with Cuban counterparts, block efforts to
     achieve humanitarian trade and violate Americans' fundamental right to
     freedom of movement. These changes would be totally consistent with
     current U.S. policy as expressed by the Department of State and spelled-
     out in the Cuban Democracy Act and the Helms-Burton laws to "support the
     Cuban people."

    Sincerely,

    David Rockefeller; South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford; Carla Anderson
Hills, former U.S. Trade Representative under first President Bush; Paul
Volcker, former chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank; Frank Carlucci, Reagan
National Security Adviser; James Schlesinger, former Nixon CIA Director and
Secretary of Defense; John Whitehead, former Assistant Sec. of State; General
Jack Sheehan, former NATO Supreme Allied Commander; Peter H. Coors, Chairman,
Coors Brewing Company, Colorado; Craig L. Fuller, Former Chief of Staff, Vice
President Bush and President, National Association of Chain Drug Stores;
Francis Ford Coppola, producer/director;  Dwayne Andreas, Chairman Emeritus,
Archer Daniels Midland Company;  Mayor Micheal Dow, Mobile, Alabama;  Bob
Odom, Louisiana Commissioner of Agriculture; former U.S. Surgeon General
Julius Richmond; Oliver Stone, producer/director;  Dr. Alberto Coll, Pell
Center, Rhode Island (Cuban American); Silvia Wilhelm, Puentes Cubanos, Miami
(Cuban American); Richard E. Feinberg, Former NSC Chief for Latin America,
President Clinton; Phil Baum, American Jewish Congress; Lloyd M. Bentsen, Jr.,
former Treasury Secretary under President Clinton; Reginald K. Brack, Jr.,
former Chairman, Time Inc.;  Dr. Joan Brown Campbell, Chautauqua Institution;
A.W. Clausen, former Chairman BankAmerica Corporation and former President
World Bank;  Mark O. Hatfield, former U.S. Senator, Oregon, Chairman
Appropriations Committee; Dennis Rivera, President 1199, National Health &
Human Service Employees Union;  Kurt L. Schmoke, Former Mayor, Baltimore;
Sargent Shriver, Special Olympics International; Malcolm Wallop, Former U.S.
Senator, Wyoming; George Sturgis Pillsbury, Sargent Management Company,
Minnesota; Jim Winkler, General Secretary  United Methodist Church;  A.J. Pete
Reixach, Director, Port of Freeport, Texas and Former  Pres., Gulf Coast Ports
Association; Rev. Dr. Robert Edgar, former U.S. Representative, now General
Secretary of the National Council of Churches of Christ of the U.S.A

     CONTACT: Lissa Weinmann (718) 416-1653

Policy on Cuba will cost Bush votes, group warns

A group of exiles says new restrictions on travel to Cuba will hurt relatives on the island -- not Fidel Castro's government.

By Luisa Yanez. lyanez@herald.com. Posted on Tue, May. 11, 2004

A new Bush administration policy limiting travel and cash remittances to Cuba will cost the president votes in South Florida come November, a group of exiles who favor eased relations with the island warned Monday.

Four days after President Bush's announcement, leaders of five organizations said at a press conference they will encourage exiles to work against the president's reelection -- putting them at odds with other exiles who support Bush's new policy.

''Some 140,000 Cuban exiles visited the island last year; 100,000 of those lived in South Florida,'' said Andres Gomez, head of the Antonio Maceo Brigade. "This will mean many of those who can't travel to the island will vote against Bush -- and for a candidate who allows travel to Cuba.''

The group of exiles, who often stage political battles with staunch anti-Castro exiles because they favor an easing of the U.S. embargo on the island, called the new restrictions ''a violation of their civil rights.'' The restrictions will be a blow to the Cuban people who depend on money from relatives in Miami-Dade and elsewhere in the United States to get by, they said.

Without their ragtag humanitarian aid, their relatives, not Fidel Castro's government, will suffer, they said.

''This is a political mistake and it's inhumane,'' said Max Lesnick of the Alianza Martiana. ''This will boomerang'' on the administration.

But other groups such as the powerful Cuban American National Foundation support tighter travel restrictions.

The group that held the press conference blamed the tightening of rules on ''the Cuban right who have no feelings for those on the island,'' Gomez said.

Last week, Bush said he will cut back Cuban Americans' family visits to the island from once a year to once every three years.

He'll also limit the length of a visit to 14 days, cut the amount U.S. visitors can spend there, and limit which relatives can travel there.

He also will restrict who can receive money, which can no longer be sent to individuals but only to a single household.

The president called for spending an extra $45 million over the next two years, putting the tighter sanctions in place and also the purchase of an airplane to better fight Cuba's jamming of Radio and TV Martí.

Felix Ramirez, 51, who arrived in the United States in 1969 and says he visits the island three times a year and sends cash to relatives regularly, said he has a terminally ill sister in Matanzas. He fears he won't see her again.

''She's dying,'' he said. "In three years, she'll be dead and buried and I can visit her bones in some cemetery.''

April 26, 2004

A student group from Michigan heading to Cuba. Click here for the story.

April 14, 2004

U.S. business sector interested in trade without restrictions

BY MARIA JULIA MAYORAL —Granma daily staff writer—

FOUR months after an earlier meeting in Havana, more than 400 representatives from 172 U.S. businesses and associations yesterday began the first round of negotiations for 2004 with the Cuban food import company Alimport at the capital’s International Conference Center.

Those attending the event range from the directors of small and medium-sized companies to executives from some of the most important agribusiness corporations in that nation, based in 30 states, Puerto Rico and Washington D.C. This demonstrates a growing interest among those sectors in extending trade and eliminating restrictions that currently impede the purchase of goods, services and technologies developed in Cuba.

Businesspeople and political figures who spoke during the opening session referred to the obstacles imposed by the U.S. government. A Republican congressman from Idaho, C.L. Otter, referred to trade links as a source of jobs for his fellow citizens and emphasized the importance of pursuing Congress calls for the normalization of bilateral exchange.

According to Gary Sebree, president of the U.S. Rice Federation, Cuba could become the main market for his group’s producers if normal conditions existed. Gregory Webb, from the ADM grain company, equally emphasized the need to work towards eliminating the obstacles, adding that the long-term goal is to be associated with Alimport.

Loretta Sánchez, a Democratic congresswoman from California, said that Cuba “may offer services and technologies that we need in the United States.”

March 26, 2004

Effective July 1, 2004, Air Canada will boost its non-stop flights between Toronto and Havana, Cuba to daily service operated with Airbus A319 aircraft.  In the meantime, the carrier has introduced a larger Airbus A320 aircraft on the route in response to customer demand for the popular new service launched only last December.

US Senate votes to end funding for enforcement of the Travel ban against Cuba

The following is from cnn.com on October 23, 2003

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Defying a threatened presidential veto, the Senate joined the House Thursday in moving to end four-decade-old restrictions on travel to Cuba.

"It is not constructive at all to try to slap around Fidel Castro by imposing limits on the American people's right to travel," said Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-North Dakota.

The Senate voted 59-36 to bar the use of government money to enforce current travel restrictions. Last month a nearly identical measure passed the House, setting up a showdown with the administration, which says President Bush will veto a $90 billion Transportation and Treasury Department bill if contains the Cuba language.

"The administration believes that it is essential to maintain sanctions and travel restrictions to deny economic resources to the brutal Castro regime," the White House said in a statement.

The Treasury Department estimates that about 160,000 Americans, half of them Cuban-Americans visiting family members, traveled to Cuba legally last year. Humanitarian and educational groups, journalists and diplomats are also allowed visits, but thousands of other Americans visit illegally, by way of third countries, risking thousands of dollars in fines and imprisonment.

Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, who co-sponsored the amendment to the spending bill with Dorgan, said the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Asset Control, a key office in the fight against terrorism and drug trafficking, shouldn't be devoting resources to American tourists going to Cuba.

"Ten percent of the OFAC budget is used to track down little old grandmas from the West Coast who through a Canadian travel agency chose to bike in Cuba," he said.

Opponents warned that the provision sent a wrong signal at a time when the Castro regime has escalated its crackdown on dissidents. "Why should we now open up travel to Cuba to give additional cash flow to the Castro regime?" asked Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, chairman of the Appropriations Committee.

Travel, trade, not another crackdown, can aid Cuba

By DeWayne Wickham of USA Today                      Oct 13, 2003

The Bush administration's reasoning for tightening travel restrictions to Cuba needs a reality check.

President Bush said Friday that he has ordered a crackdown on illegal travel to the communist country. He announced initiatives "intended to hasten the arrival of a new, free, democratic Cuba."

Bush said he's doing this to stanch the flow of dollars to the government of Fidel Castro; to stem prostitution on the island, "a rapidly growing part of Cuba's tourism industry" that he said is encouraged by the Castro government; and to make it easier for people who want to leave Cuba to enter the United States.

Coming as it does just 13 months before the next presidential election, Bush's tough talk on Cuba has the unmistakable ring of a stump speech that caters to his political base in South Florida.

Illegal travelers to Cuba (about a third of the roughly 200,000 Americans who visit annually) aren't propping up the Castro regime. Most of the dollars that end up in Cuba come from Americans — largely, Cuban-Americans — who travel there legally and from people in the U.S. who send legal "remittances" of up to $1,200 a year to family members and friends. The State Department reports that those remittances total $800 million to $1 billion annually.

If Bush makes good on his promise to "increase the number of new Cuban immigrants we welcome every year," he will no doubt also increase the flow of remittances back to Cuba from those new immigrants. In other words, Bush's policy of going after illegal travelers while increasing the flow of Cuban immigrants into the U.S. won't be very effective if his goal truly is to reduce the amount of U.S. dollars that end up in the Cuban treasury.

Bush's assertion that his new policy is also meant to disrupt a growing, government-backed "illicit sex trade" spurred by tourism must have caused a lot of nervous laughter in Nevada, one of this nation's top tourist destinations. After all, prostitution is legal in most of that state's counties.

If Bush is serious about fostering change in Cuba, he will end both the restrictions that keep most Americans from traveling to Cuba and the long U.S. economic embargo. The vast majority of Cubans I've met during reporting trips to the island long for a better life there. Many even say the Castro government could do a better job. But most of them — like most Americans — are patriotic. They rally to support their government in the face of the United States' decades-old effort to topple Castro.

Even many of the dissidents and so-called independent journalists I've talked to in Cuba oppose the embargo. While it offers false hope to the aging vanguard of anti-Castro Cubans in South Florida, the embargo holds little promise of ever actually dislodging the island's communist government.

Bush's effort to destabilize Cuba by cracking down on illegal travel there while promoting increased Cuban migration here is a domestic political move, not a thoughtful act of foreign policy. Travel and trade have brought about impressive change in China and Vietnam. They can accomplish the same in Cuba — if given the chance.

Castro's alleged oppression of dissidents is not what keeps him firmly in power. Instead, the Cuban people continue to circle the wagons around him in response to the ill-conceived efforts of a long succession of U.S. administrations to bring down his government.

DeWayne Wickham writes a weekly column for USA TODAY.

Cuba: Cuban-Americans will not need permission to travel to Cuba

Sep. 20. 2003

Cuba: Cuban-Americans will not need permission to travel to Cuba
JOHN PAIN
Associated Press

MIAMI - Cuban natives living in the United States soon will no longer need permission from the Castro government to travel to the communist island if they hold a Cuban passport, a Cuban official said Tuesday.
Lazaro Herrera, a spokesman with the Cuban Interests Section in Washington, said the change will take effect early next year. Cuban exiles now wishing to visit their homeland must obtain special permission before making the trip.
The proposed change was announced by Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque at a meeting with about 300 Cuban-Americans in New York on Saturday, Herrera said. The Cuban government is changing its policy to try to improve relations with Cuban exiles, Herrera said.
"For many years, we've been making steps with the Cuban community abroad that haven't been able to advance more because" of the opposition of Miami's Cuban-Americans, he said. "Now there has really been a generational change in Florida, where there is a majority of Cubans who support normal relations with the island."
Herrera said details of the change were still being decided in Havana. Officials there were likely to make an announcement, but he did not know when. He declined further comment.
A U.S. State Department official had no immediate comment. U.S. policy allows Cuban-Americans to visit relatives on the island once every 12 months without permission, but additional trips must be approved by the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control.
The Cuban American National Foundation supports the announced visa policy, executive director Joe Garcia said.
"It's pretty ridiculous that nationals of the country needed a visa to enter their own country," Garcia said. "If this means that entry and exit will be easy in Cuba, we certainly will try to take advantage of it to try to get assistance and aid to dissidents on the island."
Garcia said it was the Castro government's human rights abuses, not Miami opposition, that prevented better relations with exiles.

US Congress votes to end funding for enforcement of the travel ban to Cuba!

September 10, 2003

On September 09, 2003 the US congress passed the Flake amendment which would end funding of the enforcement of the Travel Ban to Cuba. The amendment passed by a vote of 227-188. The Congress has passed similar amendments in the recent past, but the Senate has not put it to vote yet. Other amendments which also are also aimed at easing the Cuba trade embargo also passed. The Delahunt/Flake amendment on remittances, won 222-196. The Davis amendment on educational travel, won 246-173 Please write to your senators letting them know how you feel about the matter. Cuba Travel USA firmly believes in your right to travel.

From Granma Internacional

Exile leader stays in Cuba

Thursday, August 7, 2003 Posted: 8:45 PM EDT (0045 GMT)

HAVANA, Cuba (CNN) -- A Cuban exile leader from Florida who has returned to visit to his homeland said Thursday that he would remain in Cuba to work for change.

Eloy Gutierrez Menoyo -- a former revolutionary fighter with Fidel Castro in the 1950s who later opposed the Cuban ruler's regime -- told reporters Thursday at Havana's Jose Marti International Airport that he would stay in the Communist nation to "rebuild the Cuban revolution."

"I come here to claim a legal space for the opposition, and I know that it will not be easy," Gutierrez Menoyo said. "It's a right as a Cuban to be here. The Cuban government is not making any concession. I don't have to ask anyone permission to live in my own country."

The Castro government, which jailed him for more than 20 years before sentencing him to exile, had no immediate comment.

Gutierrez Menoyo, 68, is a controversial figure among many Cuban exiles in the United States.

He opposes the U.S. embargo of Cuba and any other American tactics to oust Castro. He also has given up calls for an armed resistance in favor of working for movement toward democracy, even if Castro remains leader.

Gutierrez Menoyo has criticized exiles for having a too cozy relationship with the United States and has called on them to keep a distance from U.S. leadership to have what he calls a truly homegrown opposition movement.

Some exiles call him a virtual agent of Castro.

Born in Spain, Gutierrez Menoyo moved to Cuba with his family as a child.

In the 1950s, he commanded a guerrilla front to help overthrow the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista, who was ousted in 1959.

Gutierrez Menoyo later headed another commando force combating Castro's government in the 1960s.

He was captured and served 22 years in prison before being released in 1986 through the intervention of Spanish Prime Minister Felipe Gonzalez Marquez.

Upon his release, the Cuban government sentenced him to exile.

In Miami, he married and had three children, and became leader of a group called Cambio Cubano, which means Cuban Change in Spanish.

Castro's government permitted him to come back for visits because he gave up his revolutionary stance and follows a more moderate approach, calling for peaceful steps toward free and fair elections and other civil changes. He also supports dialogue with the Cuban government.

Still, brief visits are all that have been allowed. He continues to call for changes that Castro will not accept and has told Cubans they cannot just wait for Castro to die before they obtain the freedoms they seek.

On Thursday, Gutierrez Menoyo was scheduled to return to Miami with his family, and he told reporters he'd have an announcement at the airport.

"As a peaceful activist, my attitude should not be seen as a challenge," he said, calling himself a "social democrat."

"I come with a transparent agenda to work with peace and reconciliation of all Cubans."

Asked whether it is naive to think he can live and operate freely in the country, he responded, "The day that I lose my dreams, I will be naive. I have come here in the hope that intelligence will reign in the face of the naiveté of those believing a system like this can last for eternity.

"We have to build peaceful solutions. There has to be dialogue. It has to be understood. And this has to be done despite the ambitions and personal interests of one man."

After his announcement, his wife and children boarded their plane, while he got in a taxi and went to the house where he grew up.

Before boarding the plane, his wife, Gladys Gutierrez Menoyo, said she supports her husband and hopes to be reunited with him in Cuba.

CNN Havana Bureau Chief Lucia Newman contributed to this report.

Story below from Granma Internacional

Cuba, tourism destination for the Chinese

Havana. July 24, 2003

CHINA and Cuba signed today in Beijing a memorandum of understanding via which tourist groups from that densely populated country of 1.3 billion inhabitants will vacation on the island.

The agreement was signed in the Beijing Hotel by Sun Gang, vice president of the Chinese State Tourism Council and Marta Maíz, the Cuban deputy minister of tourism.

In this way, Cuba has become the first country in the Western hemisphere to obtain the status of Approved Tourist Destination by the Chinese government.

To date, this giant Asian nation, the most populated in the world, has 28 memorandums of understanding with various states and regions.

The number of Chinese visitors abroad rose to 16 million last year.

U.S. citizens choose Cuba as
favorite destination

From Granma Internacional - July 29, 2003

NEW YORK.— Readers of a U.S. travel magazine have selected Cuba as their preferred destination within the Caribbean, despite the ban on travel to the island, where they are furthermore not supposed to spend any money.

Cuba was chosen by the readers of Travel and Leisure as the best Caribbean island in the publication’s annual survey.

It is the first time that the island – a favorite U.S. destination before 1959 – headed the poll, and last year it stood in eighth place. It was followed by Bermuda, the Grenadines, St. John’s and the Virgin Gorda.

Cuba already receives one million-plus tourists per year, above all from Italy, Spain and Canada.

On June 16, U.S. legislators asked President George W. Bush to eliminate the restrictions on travel to Cuba, which has confronted a U.S. economic blockade since 1961.

Republican representative Jeff Flake stated that the government should not decide people’s destinations, given that U.S. citizens can visit other socialist countries like China, North Korea and Vet Nam, while being threatened with fines if they spend dollars in Cuba.

Since Bush reached the White House in January 2001, more than 1,200 U.S. citizens have been threatened with fines of up to $55,000 USD for violating the travel restrictions imposed on Cuba. That figure is more than double that of persons fined during Bill Clinton’s eight-year mandate. (AFP)
 

Cuban tourism up

Cuban tourism is reported to be up 16% in 2003 over last year.

Will the "Freedom to travel to Cuba" pass this year?

Wyoming Republican Sen. Mike Enzi and Montana Democratic Sen. Max Baucus agree that U.S. citizens should be able to travel to Cuba, but they disagree over how to force action on a bill that would permit it.

Enzi was one of 15 members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee who voted on Thursday to approve Robert F. Noriega's nomination to serve as Department of State assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere Affairs. Three Democrats on the committee voted against the nomination.

A majority of senators must vote in favor of top administration officials.

Enzi would like to see the full Senate take up the nomination, but thanks to Baucus that will not happen.

The Montanan said on Thursday that he plans to place a "hold" on Noriega's nomination until the Senate has an opportunity to vote on a bill that would prohibit the president from directly or indirectly blocking travel to Cuba.

Placing holds on nominations or legislation is a common tactic that senators use if they oppose a bill or nominee.

Baucus said he does not object to Noriega's nomination, but is simply using it to pressure Majority Leader Sen. Bill Frist, R-Tenn., to act on the bill permitting travel to Cuba.

Enzi does not agree with Baucus' use of the "hold" tactic.

"I have that ingrained sense that you don't trade votes," Enzi said. "I really don't like people to put holds on a nominee or an issue to push an issue that is not related."

Enzi noted that Wyoming state law prohibits state legislators from trading votes. He served in the Wyoming House from 1988 to 1991 and the Wyoming Senate from 1992 to 1995.

Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Richard G. Lugar, R-Ind., said that Baucus has not told him about his intention to hold up the Noriega nomination. He did say that he planned to hold a hearing on the bill to permit travel to Cuba.

"I indicated early on to Sen. Enzi that we would have a hearing on it," Lugar said.

Enzi said that he believed if the committee process is allowed to work the bill permitting travel to Cuba could pass.

"If we are able to do it through committee, it will come up for a vote in the Senate," Enzi said.

Lugar said that a majority of senators would support the bill, but it would likely face problems in the House. The Bush administration has opposed permitting travel to Cuba.

A bill must be passed by both the Senate and House and signed by the president to become law.

In 1960, President Dwight Eisenhower responded to Fidel Castro's nationalization of the property of U.S. companies by imposing an embargo on Cuba that is still in place. In 1958, Eisenhower banned travel to Cuba. After the Supreme Court ruled that this ban was unconstitutional, Eisenhower banned Americans from spending money in Cuba. That ban, like the embargo, remains in place.

Baucus Enzi say removing the travel restrictions say it will lead to trade between the United States and Cuba. They say that interactions between citizens of the United States and Cuba would weaken Castro's grip on the Caribbean nation.

Drought over past 10 years killing parts of Cuba

Drought is severely affecting various zones in Cuba's eastern region, and meteorological predictions confirm that the trend will continue over the next few years.  The volume of rainfall in Cuba has dropped in the last 10 years. In May this year, the start of the rainy season on the island, it was further decreased in the provinces stretching from Camagüey to Guantánamo. Experts from the Institute of Meteorology Climatic Center cited by Trabajadores weekly affirm that this has worsened the situation. In Las Tunas province, 670 kilometers east of Havana, the drought is so serious that it is being felt in the population's water supplies, agriculture, fishing and cattle raising - the sectors most affected to date, add these sources. The level of the province's main reservoir, El Rincón dam, is in a "critical state" with only 4.2 million cubic meters of water out of a 21.4-million capacity. Fishing executives calculate the imminent loss of 1,200 tons of fish. In Holguín, another of the eastern provinces, the drought is endangering farming production, water supply sources and soil layers. Last year alone, lack of moisture in the soil meant that the distribution of root vegetables, grains and fresh vegetables fell by some five kilograms per capita in the first few months to 1.3 in the latter ones. In addition, the severe water shortage has resulted in 91 forest fires damaging over 5,000 hectares and, at the present moment, the province's 17 reservoirs contain 346 million cubic metric of water - 62% of their total capacity. Included in the Meteorological Scientific Group's measures to deal with this phenomenon are water saving methods, more appropriate use of the soil, and initiating a drought warning system aimed at farmers and organizations, enabling them to be prepared and work on finding crops that are more resistant to water shortages.

Editor's note.....The primary business of Cuba Travel USA during the first 20 years we went to Cuba was bass fishing in fresh water lakes.  Many of those lakes just about dried up.....more or less killing the bass fishing programs (for sport and research) on most Cuban lakes.

Is Bush really that dumb?  He says the United States will not tolerate a dictator in this hemisphere!!

There seems to be an escalating rattling of sabers for the United States when it comes to Cuba. On April 10, Hans Hertell, the U. S. Ambassador to the Dominican Republic said, "I think what is happening in Iraq is going to send a very positive signal, and it is a good example for Cuba." Bush later said the United States would not tolerate a dictatorship in the Western Hemisphere. Of course, he wasn't serious. Most of the really brutal military dictatorships in the Western Hemisphere have been created by the United States. The democratically elected Arbenz government in 1954 in Guatemala was replaced by CIA stooges in a military dictatorship that lasted until just recently. The democratic government of Juan Bosch in the Dominican Republic was overthrown by LBJ and replaced by a military junta. The democratic government of Allende in Chile in 1976 was overthrown by Pinochet with support from the CIA and Kissinger. But recent history aside, is it really possible that Bush wants to invade Cuba? Castro seems to think so. In his May Day Speech to a million people in Havana, he said, "I don't think that a fascist regime can be established in the United States. Serious mistakes have been made and injustices committed in the framework of its political system-many of them still persist-but the American people still have a number of institutions and traditions, as well as educational, cultural and ethical values that would hardly allow that to happen. The risk exists in the international arena. The power and perogatives of that country's president are so extensive, and the economic, technological and military power network in that nation is so pervasive that due to circumstances that fully escape the will of the American people, the world is coming under the rule of Nazi concepts and methods." Like the ancient empires of Athens, Rome and England, there could be democracy at home and crushing imperialism abroad. Can the United States win a war against Cuba as easily as it seems to have won against Afghanistan and Iraq? First, it is important to understand that the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are not by any means over. Many of the Arab fighters believe they have lured the United States into a trap that will eventually destroy them. Resistance in Afghanistan and Iraq has not ended. The United States controls only the major cities. In classic guerrilla strategy, the rebels control the countryside and believe they will eventually choke the occupying army. What is the Bush Administration planning for Cuba, Castro wonders: "Physically eliminating me with the sophisticated modern means they have developed, as Mr. Bush promised them in Texas before the elections? Or attacking Cuba the way they attacked Iraq? "If it were the former, it does not worry me in the least. The ideas for which I have fought all my life will not die, and they will live on for a long time. "If the solution were to attack Cuba like Iraq, I would suffer greatly because of the cost in lives and the enormous destruction it would bring on Cuba. But it might turn out to be the last of this Administration's fascist attacks, because the struggle would last a very long time. "The aggressors would not merely be facing an army, but rather thousands of armies that would constantly reproduce themselves and make the enemy pay such a high cost in casualties that it would far exceed the cost in lives of its sons and daughters that the American people would be willing to pay for the adventures and ideas of President Bush.

Editor's note....As Molly Ivans calls George W. Bush...."a home grown Texas dope" seems appropriate!

Would you like to help Cubans?....here is how

John Dubois loves Cuba. It's been the favourite vacation spot for him and his wife, Marion, for years. But what the Caribbean hotspot offers Dubois as a tropical paradise of sun, surf and sand, hardly matches what he offers in saving lives. For the last three years, the 62-year-old Woodstock-area businessperson has quietly scraped and scrounged across Ontario to find desperately needed medical supplies and equipment for the poorest regions of the impoverished communist country. "There's a great need for it," said Dubois, the founder of two car dealerships -- Dubois Mazda and Dubois Honda. "Generally, the people there don't have the money or the availability to buy it. Cuba has a plethora of doctors and facilities, but they badly lack medical supplies and equipment. " Dubois' efforts to help the Cuban people began with a single suitcase full of medical supplies, especially antibiotics for children. Yesterday, Dubois was overseeing the loading of two ocean-going freight containers with tons of equipment and supplies, including antibiotics, dialysis machines and anything else he could find. Since 2001, he has sent four containers to the island nation. Add to that the two that will leave tomorrow and another two he'll send before the end of the year. Dubois became aware of the dire shortage of medical equipment while staying with a Cuban doctor while he was taking a Spanish course. The doctor, a pediatrician, gave Dubois a tour of the facility where he worked. "Less than half of the equipment they had was functional, and all of it outdated, back to the early 1980s. So, when I got back, I started scrounging around to see if I could find some equipment for them." Dubois connected with doctors at hospitals in Toronto and found there were others who shared his compassion. But they also had equipment -- outdated by Canadian standards, but not by Cuba's. Word spread, and now Dubois oversees an informal network of volunteers, including medical professionals, truckers and expatriate Cubans, who keep the newly-formed Dubois Charitable Foundation afloat. The charitable status allows Dubois to issue tax receipts for donations. Some of the equipment he's sent to Cuba includes dozens of dialysis machines, X-ray machines equipped for mammograms, adjustable hospital beds, and, of course, medicine. Dubois maintains an inventory list that's matched against the needs of medical facilities. He follows up the delivery with a visit to the facilities "to ensure the equipment is being used for the people, not the elite or tourists." Much of the transportation cost to pick up donations is provided free by trucking companies, much of it by Woodstock's Magic Transportation owned by Bev Skillings. For costs that aren't covered by donations, Dubois picks up the tab, about $6,000 a freight container. On a recent flight from Cuba, Dubois met a Canadian returning from medical school. He asked the man about a shipment of dialysis machines. When the man realized it was Dubois sending them, he grabbed his arm and said, " 'Since those machines arrived, they have saved lives every day,' " Dubois recalled. "It was probably the greatest feeling I've ever had in my life," he said. "But we like what we do. It enhances our vacations and . . . it makes you feel good."
 

Editors note.....we at Cuba travel USA, started the same way by taking a suitcase full of medicines at a time.  Over the 26 years we have gone to Cuba, our clients have provided $millions in medicines and medical supplies to the Cuban people.  We urge every American who goes to Cuba to do the same.  THANKS!

Bush Administration has totally lost it...they are no doubt criminally ill

32 charges of selling water purification equipment to Cuba.  YUK!!!!  These Bush bastards are beyond belief!

A U.S. federal judge has granted a motion for a retrial for Canadian salesman James Sabzali, convicted last April for violating the U.S. embargo against Cuba, because of prosecutorial misconduct. In a 31-page ruling, Justice Mary McLaughlin wrote she was "very concerned" by "inflammatory language . . . strewn throughout the (prosecutor's closing) argument." Declaring that "it is never proper to throw around such inflammatory language in a criminal trial," McLaughlin wrote that a prosecutor's "repeated" charges of defense lying served to "stir up the jury" and had "no place in the argument of an Assistant United States Attorney." While finding that prosecutorial misconduct required she set aside Sabzali's convictions on one count of conspiracy and 20 counts of violating the U.S. Trading with the Enemy Act, the judge rejected a defense motion for acquittal, leaving the Hamilton native under indictment for 76 embargo violations and conspiracy. Thirty-two of these charges are for sales of water purification supplies to Cuba that took place while Sabzali was living in Canada and employed by the Canadian company Bro-Tech. The U.S. Justice Department undertook a five-year investigation that resulted in a three-week trial. The case aroused an outcry in Canada and inspired two diplomatic protests by Ottawa to Washington over what many regarded as an "extraterritorial" effort to impose U.S. law upon Canada. Canadian law bars its citizens from complying with Washington's 42-year-long embargo against Cuba. The current ruling "doesn't have a word to say about the issues that Canada was concerned about," according to a U.S. federal official who asked not to be identified. "Good news, but not great news," Sabzali said Tuesday in an interview. "It's a break in the case. When you have to start fabricating evidence and lying to secure a conviction, it shows something is wrong." Still, Sabzali said he remains "disappointed that the judge didn't decide for acquittal." In an electronic mailing to supporters, he wrote the ruling "suggests a negotiated settlement" might be in the offing. Federal prosecutor Joseph Poluka said in an interview his office was reviewing Monday's ruling, calling it "appealable." "We're considering every option," Poluka said. "The two key possibilities are an appeal (of this ruling) or a retrial." No date for a retrial has been set pending the review. Sharon Moss, Sabzali's wife, said, "I have no idea what's next. I hate to think about going through this another time. We can only pray." Moss and Sabzali, 44, moved to suburban Philadelphia in 1996 along with their two children. The overturning of the verdicts against him and his two American co-defendants means the removal of his post-conviction electronic shackle and the lifting of his curfew. However, the passports of Sabzali and his family remain in U.S. government hands, along with the deed to their house.

Editors note:  This is the same Bush family that lied to the American people and the courts in order to get the travel restrictions regarding US citizens travel to Cuba.  At least, John Dean, of Watergate fame, now believes that the Bush lies to the American people about the WMD will turn out to be a far worse scandal than Watergate.

American boaters in trouble with US for taking humanitarian supplies to Cuba (June 3, 2003)

Amnesty Accuses Bush Administration embargo as ineffective (June 2)

Amnesty International wants the U.S. government to rethink its embargo against Cuba, a measure the group said has not helped improve human rights.

"We recognize that the embargo is an ineffective mechanism for promoting human rights, and the organization is gravely concerned that in some situations it has contributed to abuses," said Dr. William F. Schulz, executive director of Amnesty International USA.

In a report released Monday, the human rights watchdog criticized a recent crackdown on Cuba's opposition, the country's use of the death penalty and the quick trials and executions of three men convicted of trying to hijack a ferry.

Havana has defended the crackdown as necessary for national security and justified the use of the death penalty to stop a wave of armed hijackings earlier this year.

While Amnesty International said that the harsh measures were "reprehensible," it also said the embargo has failed to stop such practices and may have been used as an excuse for Cuba's "repressive policies."

Castro wows them in Argentina

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina -- To the cheers of thousands of screaming Argentines, Cuban leader Fidel Castro criticized U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East and Latin America in a speech Monday.

Castro, who attended Sunday's inauguration of President Nestor Kirchner, was on his first trip to this economically troubled South American country since 1995.

Dressed in a dark blue suit and tie, Castro drew shouts of "Ole! Ole! Ole!" and "Fidel! Fidel!" as he spoke for more than two and a half hours outdoors on a crisp winter night.

Castro began by paying homage to Argentina-born revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevara, who served as one of his top advisers during the 1959 revolution.

"He was a wonderful human being, extremely intelligent and cultured, and who had an enormous sense of solidarity," he said.

Castro then compared his country's achievements in health care and education to levels attained by the United States in the same field. But his criticism of the U.S-led war in Iraq drew the loudest applause.

"We send our doctors, not bombs, to the farthest corners of the world to help save lives, not kill them," he said to a roar of cheers.

"The people of Buenos Aires are sending a message to those in the world who want to ride roughshod over our cities and our countries in Latin America," he added in a thinly veiled reference to the United States.

The George W. Bush 40 second message to the Cubans (May 20, 2003)

"Today, Cubans around the world are celebrating May 20, Cuban Independence Day. On behalf of the people of the United Stars I greet the Cuban community. My hope is for the Cuban people to enjoy the same freedom and rights as we do. Dictatorships have no place in the Americas. God bless the Cuban people who are fighting for their liberty. Thank you."

editor's note:  With the new Patriot Act I, the possibility of the Patriot Act II and the new Homeland Security Agency, Americans may soon be hoping that we can enjoy the same freedoms and rights the Cubans do.  While they are getting more freedoms....Americans are getting less!

Philip Agee, former CIA agent, believes US is preparing invasion of Cuba

The former CIA official also recalled how, in the past, that agency manipulated civil organizations (political parties, trade unions, and groups of business people, intellectuals, students, women, religious communities and the media) in order to provoke wars against alleged enemies of U.S. interests, and through such campaigns had managed to topple governments in nations such as Guatemala, Brazil, Ecuador, Chile, Guyana; as well as last year’s attempted coup in Venezuela.

With respect to Cuba, he commented that the same methods are being applied in order to encourage and support civil groups opposed to the Cuban government and the Revolution. As an example, he mentioned the so-called independent journalists, independent libraries and civil rights activists, stating: "they are not, nor were they ever, independent in any sense whatsoever."

Agee added that he believes the escalation of tension by the U.S. government against Cuba is preparatory for a war against the country.

New Bush plan turns out to be a big nothing plan

Tuesday, May 20, 2003; 11:46 AM

WASHINGTON - President Bush voiced solidarity Tuesday with Cubans striving to "enjoy the same freedoms and rights as we do" in a radio message in Spanish timed to coincide with Cuban Independence Day.

"Dictatorships have no place in the Americas. May God bless the Cuban people who are struggling for freedom," Bush said.

The taped message to those living under the regime of Fidel Castro was aired Tuesday morning by Radio Marti, a U.S. government station beamed into Cuba.

The president also planned to meet later in the day with Cuban dissidents and former political prisoners to "hear their stories," said White House spokesman Ari Fleischer.

In his 40-second radio message, Bush said: "On behalf of the people of the United States, I send greetings to the Cuban community. My hope is for the Cuban people to soon enjoy the same freedoms and rights as we do."

Tuesday was the 101st anniversary of Cuban independence.

With that anniversary in mind, Cuban-American and other groups have been lobbying the White House for changes in policy toward Cuba.

The most powerful of the anti-communist exile groups, the Cuban-American National Foundation, urged the administration to adopt a regime change policy for Cuba.

It also called for "massive" assistance to democracy advocates in Cuba and for the indictments of Fidel Castro ands his brother, Raul, for their alleged role in the shooting down of two private, unarmed Miami-based planes north of Cuba in 1996.

Other Cuban-American groups favored stepping up economic pressure on the regime by sharply restricting the flow of dollars to the island from U.S. relatives and friends.

From the liberal side, the Washington Office on Latin America recommended lifting restrictions on travel to Cuba by Americans and to pursue a policy of engagement with the island. They see these steps as the best hope for improving the country's human rights conditions.
 

Bush to announce his new Cuba policy on May 20

The Bush administration is in a bind over Cuba. President Bush is preparing to announce a policy response tomorrow, which is on Cuban Independence Day.

In an interview on ABC, Ricardo Alarcón pointed to a March 28 demonstration in Miami that featured some members of Congress and included a banner that read, "Iraq now, Cuba next.''

Bush will prevent student and education groups from traveling to Cuba

Organizers of educational study groups that travel to Cuba are expressing dismay over newly-tightened US restrictions that will soon make it even harder for Americans to travel to the island.

Currently Americans seeking to travel legally to Cuba must do so under the aegis of an educational, humanitarian and religious organization possessing a special license from the Treasury Department.

In March the Bush Administration announced it would not issue new licenses and would not renew the existing licenses to organizations currently authorized to lead such study tours.

Organizers say the exchanges -- designed to foster "people-to-people exchanges"-- are the latest casualty of worsening relations between Havana and Washington.

"It's so unfortunate," said Kirsten Moller, an official with Global Exchange, a San Francisco-based nonprofit which arranges study and travel tours to Cuba and other destinations

Under the new rules "75 percent of the people who travel with us will no longer be able to," said Moller.

Without such contacts "it will be much easier for Americans to demonize Cubans and for Cubans to demonize Americans," she said. "It's keeping people and ideas apart."

Cuba calls it "an irrational act of vengeance"

The Cuban government on Wednesday called the U.S. expulsion of 14 diplomats ''an irrational act of vengeance'' and said it would take its time to respond to what it called ''the new provocation'' by the U.S. government.

The diplomatic ejections served as further proof that an effort is under way to sabotage the migration accords, create a crisis and prompt a confrontation that would culminate with the closure of each country's de facto embassies, a Cuban Foreign Ministry statement published in Granma, the Communist Party daily, said.

''With these actions, the American government shows, once again, that it has openly launched a course of provocations and foreign meddling against Cuba,'' the statement said.

The expulsions -- the largest ouster of Cuban diplomats from U.S. soil -- were announced Tuesday. State Department officials said seven diplomats from Cuba's U.N mission in New York and seven from the Cuban Interests Section in Washington were ordered to leave because all 14 were engaging in "inappropriate and unacceptable activities.''

A group of US Senators introduce Free Travel to Cuba legislation

A group of US senators introduced legislation to lift a ban prohibiting Americans from traveling to Cuba, undeterred by the recent crackdown on dissidents in the Communist island.  "After 43 years, it ought to be clear to everyone that the embargo has failed to weaken (Cuban President Fidel) Castro," said Senator Max Baucus of Montana, the main sponsor of "The Freedom to Travel to Cuba Act."  "A better approach is to reach out to the Cuban people. Ending the travel ban is the best way to do this," said Baucus, the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee. Other senators who are co-sponsoring the legislation include senators Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island, Larry Craig of Idaho, Tim Johnson of South Dakota, Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico, Mike Enzi of Wyoming, Byron Dorgan of North Dakota, and Mark Dayton of Minnesota. Baucus decried Cuba's human rights abuses -- including the recent crackdown on dissidents -- as "appalling," but said democracy is better served by reaching out to the Cuban people than by trying to isolate the regime.  "By continuing and even strengthening the embargo and travel ban in Cuba, we are only further closing off the country and preventing democracy," he said. Tens of thousands of Americans visit the island every year, but US officials have said tourist dollars only prolong Castro's rule. Interest groups which support lifting the travel ban, as well as a four-decade-long trade embargo against Cuba, cheered the new proposed legislation. "This bill is a clear demonstration of solidarity with the Cuban people at a time when they need it most," said Wayne Smith, Senior Fellow at the Center for International Policy, and a former US Interests Section Chief in Havana. "Legalizing travel to Cuba is needed, now more than ever, so that engagement with Cuba can replace isolation of Cuba, as the best instrument for America to influence democratic openings there," Smith said.

Cuba will promote ecotourism (May 15, 2003)

Cuban tourist authorities will promote ecotourism and adventure tourism in 64 areas of the archipelago.  Officials from the Ministry of Tourism pointed out that 27 areas would be commercialized immediately, since they already meet the essential conditions to develop that activity.  According to experts, nature tourism is a complement to beach or city options, in addition to allowing vacationers to enjoy a tourist product with a high added value.  In 2002, the 855 rooms devoted to that modality in Cuba received over 158 tourists-days, and reported a growing trend.  Moreover, total revenues by concept of ecotourism increased to nearly 19 million dollars, including 8.5 million dollars in the extra-hotel network.

The Cuban response to the US evictions of 14 diplomats

Statement from the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs
On May 12, the U.S. mission to the United Nations in New York sent a communication to our mission to that agency informing that seven Cuban diplomats had been engaging in activities beyond their official capacity and considered injurious to the United States. The note states that unless Cuba can offer information to justify such conduct, it will ask the mission to make the necessary arrangements for the seven officials and their families to leave the country within 48 hours. This is obviously the first phase in an operation to expel our diplomats in New York for no reason whatsoever. Subsequently, on May 13, the U.S. State Department informed the Cuban Interests Section in Washington of its decision to declare seven diplomats "personae non grata," giving them 10 days to leave the country. The Minister of Foreign Affairs rejects this new escalation of U.S. government aggression towards our country and our diplomatic representatives in Washington and New York. With these acts, the U.S. Government is once again demonstrating that it has openly adopted a provocative and meddling course against Cuba. As our government has repeatedly charged, this arbitrary decision is yet further evidence of a plan against Cuba aimed at sabotaging the migratory agreements, creating a crisis and propitiating a confrontation between the two countries. The expulsion of the Cuban diplomats pursues the objective of provoking an escalation culminating in the closure of both countries' Interests Sections, as has been historically demanded by the anti-Cuban mafia in Miami. The U.S. government is trying to adversely affect the prestige of Cuban diplomacy, while demonstrating its frustration at the recent defeats it suffered at the Human Rights Commission in Geneva and at the UN Economic and Social Council, when Cuba was newly elected by acclamation as a member of that commission. Expelling 14 diplomats is an irrational act of revenge on Cuba by the U.S. government. It is a sign of the growing desperation of extremist sectors demanding a hardening of the blockade and fresh aggressions on a people they have been unable to sway after more than 44 years of heroic resistance. Cuba will not be intimidated by this or any other provocation. Cuba will not renounce the struggle for its independence and sovereignty. Cuba knows that it has right on its side and can count on the unity and determination to fight of its entire people. Cuba will take the time it needs to respond to this new provocation from the U.S. government.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
May 13, 2003 
New legislation proposed for "freedom to travel" to Cuba

A group of U.S. legislators on Wednesday introduced a bill to eliminate travel restrictions to Cuba, despite a recent political crackdown on the island's dissidents.

Though the "Export Freedom to Cuba Act" appeared unlikely to win passage, it was backed by members of the U.S. Congress who said it would punish President Fidel Castro by allowing ordinary Americans to travel there.

"We believe that if you want to drive the Cuban government crazy, you should let them deal with Spring Break," said Rep. Jim McGovern, a Montana Democrat, referring to college students who often indulge in heavy drinking and carousing during spring vacations.

Members of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate frequently introduce bills and amendments that aim to chip away at the travel and trade embargo in place for nearly four decades but this effort came amid rising tensions between Washington and Havana.

On Tuesday, Washington expelled 14 Cuban diplomats from the United States and has expressed concern about recent repression in Cuba, including the imprisonment of 75 prominent dissidents to long jail terms and the execution of three men who hijacked a ferry in a failed bid to reach the United States.

It was unlikely the bill would pass, however, as it lacked the crucial backing of the House Republican leadership and the White House.

The Bush administration has said it will veto any legislation that lifts economic and travel sanctions against Cuba.

editor's note:  It should be obvious to all Americans that it is the White House and the Republican leaders who do not understand the real meaning of freedom.  Travel is a Constitutional Right....these insane spending money restrictions are a fraud.  Those supporting this denial of freedom should be voted out of office.

Pastors for Peace plans a caravan to Cuba again this summer

The Cuban people need many things.  Here is the list that Pastors hopes to deliver:

MATERIAL AID LIST

Alternative transportation/energy equipment: Bicycles, solar panels

(especially 160 WaHp and 80 Wp), charge

regulators (esp. 12V/15amp), batteries (esp. 6V/220Ah), invertors (esp.

150W 12V DC-110V AC and 812W 12V DC-

110V AC), installation kits, 20-channel transceptors DR-130, yagi antennas

(esp. w/3 elements TG-1403), fluorescent

lamps (esp. 20W-110V AC), aerogenerators, solar heaters, solar dryers, and

solar dehydrating machines.

Educational supplies: School buses, mobile libraries (bookmobiles) and

learning centers, IBM 486 or better --

compatible computers, hard drives, dot matrix and laser printers, modems,

scanners, multimedia kits,

computer disks and printer ribbons, notebooks, paper, pens, pencils,

crayons, etc. (must be new, half-used

notebooks or boxes of used crayons or pencils are not acceptable and will

be discarded.), laboratory

equipment: microscopes, chemical reagents, etc., overhead projectors,

mimeograph machines, slide

projectors, educational games and toys, new sheets, towels and

toothbrushes (for boarding schools), cleaning

supplies.

Sports/arts/cultural equipment: Sports equipment including: basketballs,

soccer balls, volley balls, handballs,

baseballs, softballs, tennis balls and rackets, ping pong balls and

paddles, racket balls and rackets, equipment

for water polo, baseball gloves and bats, rubber balls for rhythmic

gymnastics, new swim suits,

new tennis shoes, uniforms for Judo/Karate (gi) and Tae Kwon Do (topok),

musical instruments, sheet music

paper, art supplies, new dance shoes, leotards, tights, and fabric for

dance costumes.

Bibles: All Bibles must be in Spanish. (IFCO can order the Bibles for you

at wholesale cost).

Food: Powdered milk: must be in original factory-sealed containers, Soy

milk, infant formula, dietary

supplements (Ensure).

Home supplies: new white t-shirts, material to make shirts and blouses in

all boys­Ý and girls­Ý sizes (all Cuban

children receive school uniforms; they need white tops to go with them),

new children­Ýs shoes and sneakers,

schoolbags/backpacks, soap and detergent, toothbrushes, new baby and

toddler clothes, cloth diapers.

PLEASE NOTE THAT NO USED CLOTHING WILL BE ACCEPTED ON THE CARAVAN DUE TO

MEXICAN

CUSTOMS REGULATIONS.

Construction supplies/tools: for rebuilding schools and day care centers;

contact IFCO/Pastors for Peace

formore specific information.

Medical supplies/medicines: these have some special requirements.

The expiration date on all medicines must be no earlier than January 1,

2004

The expiration date on all medical supplies must be no earlier than

January 1, 2004

Neither expired medicines nor expired medical supplies will pass through

Mexican customs

Ÿ

Ÿ

Sample medications will be accepted only if sorted into different bags or

boxes by specific type of

medication. Please follow these guidelines; failure to do so will result

in extra work for caravanistas at

orientation, and may delay our arrival in Cuba. Please note that

medications and medical supplies which

are opened or not having the above expiration dated will not be accepted

on the caravan due to

Mexican customs regulations.

Biomedical equipment/medical supplies: Ambulances, IBM 486 or better --

compatible computers for rural

pediatric hospitals and polyclinics, modems, special equipment for blind,

deaf or disabled children. Pediatric

and Geriatric medical journals and journals of obstetrics and neonatology.

Fetal heart monitors,

Sonogram/ultrasound machines, incubators and other equipment for prenatal

monitoring. Gasometers (to

measure blood oxygen) and Respirators, Defibrillators, Cardiac monitors,

Pulse Oximeters, Glucometers,

Sphyngomanometers (aka blood pressure machine), EKG/Electrocardiogram,

Hemodialysis machines,

Echocardiogram, IV solution pumps, Otoscope (used to look in the ear),

Ophthalmoscopes (devise to look in

the eye),

Endoscopes-Sigmoidoscope-Anoscopes-Esophagoduodenoscopes-Nasopharyngoscopes-

Bronchoscopes (long tubes with cameras), Autoclave (sterilizes medical

equipment), Xray machines,

Electrocautery machines (electric device used for surgery), ABG machines

(used to analyze ph and oxygen

amount of blood specimens), Ventilators (used to push oxygen into lungs

aka life support machine),

Incontinence pads (ie Depends). Eyeglasses and blank lenses to make them.

Folding wheel chairs, crutches

and canes must be new or in excellent condition and packed in boxes; loose

canes and crutches will be

discarded. Micro-sutures must be in factory-sealed packaging.

If you have access to other medical supplies call IFCO/ Pastors for Peace

for guidance.

Basic science research equipment: Fluorometer, Spectrophotometer, high

pressure Liquid Chromatography

system (to study amino acisd in biological fluids), Gas Chromatography,

Cell Counter, Centrifuge machine

Medicines: All medicines must be in factory-sealed packages and must have

an expiration date no earlier

than January 1, 2003. Please prioritize prescription pediatric medicines

for asthma, cancer and childhood

diseases, also Antibiotics of any type, and Anticonvulsants. If you have

access to large quantities of medicine

not on the list below, or access to medical equipment, please contact

IFCO/Pastors for Peace.

1. Prescription Pediatric Medicines for Asthma, Cancer and other Childhood

Diseases:

Simple L-Amino Acids 5% X 500 mg Tolerex X 8 over X 80 mg

Complex L-Amino Acids 10% X 500 ml Tienam (Imipen) 500mg bbo

Soy Lipids 10% X 500ml Bromocriptin (parlodel) 2.5mg X 30 tablets

Ketamine 10mg X 2ml bbo Dehidralizine 20mg X 5 Amp

Desmopresine Nasal Drops Insulin

2. Anti-Cancer Drugs

Ametopterin (Methotrexate) Ametopterin (Metrotexate) Ametopterin

(Metrotexate)

L-Asparaginas 5000 u bb Bleomycin Bisulfan

Cyclophosphamide Cytosine Arabinoside (Cytarabine) Efudix Cream

Epirubicine (Doxorrubicine) Epirubicine (Doxorrubicine) Procarbazine

Vincristine Sulphate

3. Antibiotics

Cafaroline Sodium Cefazoline Sodium (Cefamezine) Cefuroxime Sodium

(Zinacef)

Sodium (Rocephin) Cefotaxime Sodium (Claforan) Amikacine (Amikin)

Gentanicine Kanamicine Chloranphenical succinate

Fostemicine - intravenous Penicillin - Benzatinic Penicillin - G. Sodium

Meticilin - Sodium (Colbonin) Azoclicin - Sodium (Securopen) Ticarcilin

(Ticarpen)

Ceftriaxone

4. Bronchial Dilators (Anti-Asthmatics)

Aminophyline Aminotiline Salbutamol

Teofiline - simple suppositories Teofiline Ketotifene Tablets

Cromoclicate - disodium spray Cromoclicate - disodium (Intal) Terbutaline

Spray (Arubendol)

5. Vitamins

Vitamin A Vitamin B-1 Vitamin B-6

Vitamins and Minerals Vitamins and Multivitamins for children and pregnant

women

6. Psychopharmaceutical products 4

Diazepan

Imipramine

Chloropromacine Chloropromacine

Fluspirilene Amitriptiline

Mecluzine (Meclizine)

7. Anti-histamines -- Difenhidramine

8. Analagesics -- Ointments for Arthritis ( i.e., Bengay)

The Friendshipment is also collecting children­Ýs aspirin and other

non-prescription medication.

Fidel says

Everything began with the arrival in Cuba of Mr. Cason.

The arrest of several dozens of mercenaries who betrayed their homeland in exchange for the privileges and money they receive from the government of the United States, and the death penalty for common criminals who hijacked a passengers ferry in Havana Bay with a gun and five knives, were the result of a conspiracy concocted by the government of that country and the Miami terrorist mob. This should be obvious to anyone.

The Cuban authorities cannot be held accountable in any way for these events. This is something I intend to explain, as well as the reasons and objectives behind every measure, why and what reason they were adopted.

The current president of the United States, with a minority of the total number of votes, acceded to power through a scandalous fraud for which the Miami mob applied in the United States the methods they had learned from their Batista-henchmen fathers and other corrupt politicians from the U.S. neocolony of Cuba, ousted from power by the Revolution.

On November 4, 2000, tens of thousands of African Americans were prevented from voting, many thousands of voters made mistakes on their ballots because of a change in the order of the candidates’ names, and there was further fraud perpetrated during vote counting. This was how, by a margin of a few hundred votes, Bush obtained a majority in the state of Florida that determined his election.

A grateful man, he does not hide his obligation to the Miami mob and the compromises he reached with these people during a meeting in Texas.

Even before the election, at a rally held on August 5 commemorating the 26t^h of July in Pinar del Río, I literally said to Mr. Bush, and I quote:

"I am very much aware of what you have recklessly told your close and indiscreet friends in the Cuban American mob: that you can solve the problem of Cuba very easily, in clear reference to the methods used in the sinister period when the Central Intelligence Agency was directly involved in assassination plots against our country’s leaders."

Bush’s pledge was that he would solve the problem by literally removing me, something that, quite honestly, after 40 years of aggression and crimes against Cuba, could neither surprise me nor worry me much.

His administration has been just as hostile and reactionary as everyone expected.

Editors note:  Entire speech can be read in Granma Internatioinal: http://www.granma.cu/ingles/

US has ordered 14 Cuban diplomats to leave our country for spying (May 13, 2003)

The Bush administration has declared the diplomats persona non grata in response to "inappropriate and unacceptable Cuban activities ... deemed harmful to the United States," the official said.

Seven of the diplomats are based in Washington, at the Cuban interests section in the Swiss Embassy, and seven are at the U.N. mission in New York. They were informed by letter Monday evening.

They have 10 days to leave, the U.S. official said.

The Cuban diplomats from the U.N. mission are said "not to be at the top level but at various levels of the mission," a U.S. official said. The FBI and CIA tracked their activities, the official said.

In November 2002, two Cuban diplomats were expelled from the mission to the United Nations and two others were expelled from the Cuban interests section in Washington.

I have been asked to help get American cities and their communities to form US-Cuba Sister Cities programs

I have been asked to help get Americans and American cities to form US-Cuba sister cities programs.  If you or your community want to help, please contact me (Dan Snow).

Cuban tourism is up 19% so far this year

CUBA recorded 770,000 visitors during the first quarter of 2003; a record total representing a 19% increase on the same period last year, reported Radio Rebelde. Tourism authorities brought these statistics to light during the 23rd International Tourism Convention, which began on Monday (May 5) at the Varadero beach resort, one of the country's main tourist areas, situated 150 kilometers east of Havana. This year's figure represents an increase of 2% in comparison to the early months of 2001, the best period the island experienced since tourism dramatically dived in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks in the United States. At the Varadero meeting, attended by some 2,000 tour operators, 900 of which have come from 60 different countries including the United States, the committee organizer commented that the numbers "demonstrate the importance of a peaceful, healthy and safe tourism." According to those representing the so-called leisure industry, Cuba represents the most attractive market for the United States, but the laws of the embargo prohibit U.S. citizens from visiting the island without a special permit from Washington. Nevertheless, official statistics indicate "a rise in the numbers of U.S. tourists in Cuba via third countries," currently calculated at more than 100,000 annually. Mexico constitutes the second largest source of tourists for the island, with 98,000 travelers in 2001, and some 82,000 in 2002.

US-Cuba Sister Cities denied license by Bush Administration

This is what Uncle Sam says:

All Bush cares about is the election

No final decision has been made, the officials said. A major concern is to avoid steps that could harm President Bush's chances of winning Florida, a linchpin state, in his reelection bid next year.

Measures under active consideration, sources said, include:

• Reducing staffing levels at the U.S. Interests Section in Havana. Such a move would force Cuba to reciprocate with a reduction of diplomatic staff in Washington.
• Suspending the 30 or so weekly charter flights that carry exiles on humanitarian visits to Cuba.
• Placing new limits on remittances that Cuban Americans may send to relatives on the island.
• Suspending export licenses to U.S. companies selling agricultural goods to Cuba.
• Tightening existing restrictions on travel to Cuba. Last year, an estimated 176,000 U.S. citizens visited the island, mostly for family visits allowed by the Treasury Department, which regulates travel to nations hostile to the United States.
• Note:  Bush would gladly stab the Cuban Americans in the back if he thought it wouldn't hurt his election chances in Florida.

US gives $hundreds of thousands to dissidents to try to overthrow Cuban government

Cuba Crackdown:

A Revolt Against the National Security Strategy?

By ROBERT SANDELS

Since becoming principal officer at the U.S. Interests Section in Havana in September 2002, James Cason has increased official U.S. connections with Cuban dissidents. Entering directly into Cuba domestic politics, Cason helped launch the youth wing of the dissident Partido Liberal Cubano. Nowhere in the world, said Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque, would it be legal for a foreigner to participate in the formation of a political party. In October 2002, Cason invited a group of dissidents to meet with U.S. newspaper editors at his residence in Havana. Although it has become routine for heads of the U.S. mission to seek out dissidents, it was unusual to meet them at home.

Feb. 24 of this year, he participated in a meeting of the dissident Assembly for the Promotion of Civil Society at the home of prominent dissident Marta Beatriz Roque. Also present at the meeting were several reporters to whom Cason repeated his criticisms of President Fidel Castro's government and reaffirmed U.S. support for dissidents.

Cason organized two other such meetings at his residence in March even after receiving a formal complaint from the Foreign Ministry.

In a recent television interview in Miami, Cason said the help he gave dissidents was "moral and spiritual" in nature. But, according to the testimony of several Cuban security agents who infiltrated the organizations that received U.S. support, the Interests Section became a general headquarters and office space for dissidents. Some of them, including Marta Beatriz Roque, had passes signed by Cason that allowed them free access to the Interests Section where they could use computers, telephones, and office machines.

The State Department calls these activities "outreach." However, under the United States Code, similar "outreach" by a foreign diplomat in the United States could result in criminal prosecution and a 10-year prison sentence for anyone "who agrees to operate within the United States subject to the direction or control of a foreign government or official (Title 18, section 951 of the United States Code).

On March 4, Castro warned that Cuba might close the Interests Section. "Cuba can easily do without this office, an incubator for counterrevolutionaries and a command post for the most offensive subversive actions against our country," he said. In April, the Foreign Ministry sent the United States government a note saying the government was forced to act against the dissidents due to the "declared purpose" of the United States to overthrow the government of Cuba.

On March 18, the government began rounding up dissidents including members of Oswaldo Paya's Varela Project--though not Paya--independent journalists, and several leading dissidents such as Martha Beatriz Roque. Sentences handed down ranged from six to 28 years. The formal charge against most of the defendants was crimes against the "independence or territorial integrity of the state."

In an April 9 news conference, Foreign Minister Perez Roque gave Cuba's explanation for the arrests. "We have run out of patience with Mr. Cason and his irresponsible actions. He is the person most responsible for what has occurred."

That was the short explanation. In the exhaustive presentation that followed, Perez Roque made the case that the Bush administration had radically increased hostility toward Cuba to destabilize its government.

The much-praised Varela Project is an especially interesting case. According to the documents Perez Roque presented at the news conference, the Varela Project referendum was financed by the United States and organized with the help of Carlos Alberto Montaner, a Cuban exile based in Spain, assisted by Spanish officials.

In a letter in 2001 to Osvaldo Alfonso, one of those arrested, Montaner mentioned money sent to Cuba to underwrite the project and said, "Very soon, some high-level Spanish friends will call you to talk about the Varela Project." Montaner suggested several people, including Paya, to help set up the project.

Arrests condemned as crackdown on rights

The arrests generated nearly universal condemnation. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said the United States was "outraged," and Secretary of State Colin Powell demanded that Cuba release the "prisoners of conscience." Neither Boucher nor Powell explained away the evidence that the dissidents were paid agents of the United States.

The Cuban government has always maintained that dissidents are created and funded by the U.S. government. Under that rationale, Cuban law makes collaboration with U.S. policy, especially the 1996 Helms-Burton Act, a criminal offense punishable with lengthy prison terms. In 1997, the National Assembly passed the Reaffirmation of Cuban Dignity and Sovereignty Law as an "antidote" for Helms-Burton, and in 1999, the Protection of Cuban National Independence Law, which criminalized any act of cooperation with U.S. policy toward Cuba. These laws are similar to U.S. laws governing activities of unregistered agents of foreign governments. Evidence supporting the Cuban claim that dissidents are mercenaries of the United States is available on U.S. government Web sites. The Web site of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) lists recipients of U.S. funds to support dissidents, independent journalists, independent librarians, and human rights organizations in Cuba.

For example, in 2000, USAID gave US$670,000 to three organizations to support "the publication abroad of the work of independent journalists from the island...and to distribute their writings within Cuba" (USAID report, Evaluation of the USAID Cuba Program, 2001).

The State Department's 2003 review of the Cuba Program, set up to carry out the regime change directive in the Helms-Burton Act, notes that the Cuba Dissidence Task Group "was created to support the activities of dissident groups in Cuba," especially the Group of Four--the group led by Marta Beatriz Roque. The task group received a US$250,000 grant in 1999.

US$280,000 went to the Cuba Free Press between 1998 and 2000, for "giving voice to independent journalists and writers inside Cuba."

CubaNet, which operates out of Miami, posts the work of independent journalists on its Web site. Florida International University, another USAID grantee, works with CubaNet to translate articles written by dissident journalists into English, French, and German. CubaNet received US$343,000 up through 1997.

U.S. admits/denies it funds dissidents USAID official Adolfo Franco said earlier this year that the agency had spent US$20 million dollar carrying out Helms-Burton mandates since 1997. Nevertheless, another USAID official, Alfonso Aguilar, denied that the agency funded dissidents, though he claimed it was legal to do so. He admitted that USAID gives money to nongovernmental organizations that in turn pay dissidents. But he argued that Perez Roque's accusations were "outrageous," because the payments did not come directly from the U.S. government.

Despite the implied USAID principal that indirect payments are a legitimate means to fund internal opposition in sovereign countries, the State Department said Perez Roque's accusation that the United States fabricated Cuban dissidence was "ludicrous."

Part of the case against Hector Palacios, a Varela Project supporter sentenced to a 25-year prison term, was that he had received US$3,000 in remittances from organizations in the United States as well as computers and other equipment donated by the Interests Section. Investigators found US$5,000 in cash hidden in a medicine bottle in his house. Another of the prominent writers arrested was Oscar Espinosa Chepe, who received a 20-year sentence. Interviewed on the Pacifica network's radio program Democracy Now (04/09/03), Miriam Leyva, Espinosa Chepe's wife, denied he had collaborated with the United States. She said he had only received US$15 per article from CubaNet in Miami. During the April 9 news conference, Foreign Minister Perez Roque displayed receipts indicating that Espinosa Chepe had received US$7,154 in such payments during 2002. At US$15 per article, Espinosa Chepe would have had to sell 477 articles or 10 every week that year. Perez Roque said that investigators found US$13,660 in Espinosa Chepe's closet and that he had not held a job in 10 years.

Dissidents were often paid with U.S. funds channeled through a Canadian bank. The bank allows Cubans to access U.S.-supplied funds with a Transcard (debit card).

Bush's new initiative and the Cuba crackdown

Almost without exception, media reports and editorials said Castro had taken advantage of the Iraq war to order the crackdown on dissent.

That interpretation, however, fails to consider the current context or the long history of U.S. attempts to overthrow the Cuban government. Indeed, the current crisis, like others, has been treated in the media as just another random act arising from Castro's character flaws and having no connection with any relevant historical event.

Nevertheless, the current crisis may be said to have its origins in President George W. Bush's new-initiative statement. In a May 20, 2002, speech in Miami, billed as an "initiative for a new Cuba," Bush restated U.S. hard-line policy and proposed increased U.S. government aid to dissidents. There seemed to be nothing really new in it, but the Cuban government took it as a new threat, especially since the speech came a few days after State Department official John Bolton announced that Cuba was producing and transferring biological-weapons technology to terrorist states.

Since the Bush speech, the United State has paid increasing attention to the Varela referendum, which essentially proposes a reformist approach to the elimination of the revolutionary state and economy. Administration officials denied there were any new elements in the speech and talked about relying on dissent in Cuba instead of direct outside pressure to bring down the regime.

After he accepted the European Union (EU) Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought last December for leading the Varela referendum, Paya made a triumphal tour that included a stop in Washington where he was cordially received by Secretary Powell. In Miami, he won support from the Cuban American National Foundation (CANF). During the same period, CANF formally embraced the strategy of working for Castro's overthrow through dissidents, outraging other hard-liners who support more aggressive actions from the U.S.

However, if one takes the Varela Project to be a covert U.S. operation, the shift toward reliance on domestic dissidents ushered in by the speech would appear to be the start of an aggressive campaign spearheaded by the Interests Section--Bush's "final solution" to the Cuba "problem."

Castro responded to the Varela referendum with a constitutio