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US changes tone toward Cuba's Raul Castro: analysts

Antonio Rodriguez

WASHINGTON, 26(AFP) - Washington switched gears toward Cuba this week when it responded to interim leader Raul Castro's wishes for normal relations with an offer to lift economic sanctions in return for initial steps toward democratization.

Nearly a month after longtime strongman and US nemesis Fidel Castro handed the reins of power to his younger brother Raul while he recovers from surgery, Washington renewed President George W. Bush's 2002 proposal to end its 44-year-old embargo on the country.

The offer was rejected by both Fidel Castro and Miami's anti-Castro Cuban-American community at the time.

But it was floated again this week by a senior US official after Raul told the official Cuban communist daily, Granma, that he desired normal relations, while adding that "At this stage, they should understand that force and threats will get them nowhere with Cuba."

On Wednesday, Thomas Shannon, the top US diplomat for the Americas, picked up the gauntlet by prodding the interim Cuban chief to democratize the regime, saying that could get the embargo lifted.

"The offer is still on the table," Shannon said, referring to the 2002 bid.

The US has been pushing Cuba for a more democratic regime since shortly after the official announcement on July 31 that Fidel Castro, who has ruled Cuba for nearly five decades, would delegate his powers to his brother for some months.

"Shannon has made a response to Raul Castro's interview published last week," said Marifeli Perez-Stable, a Cuba expert at the Inter-American Dialogue, a Washington think-tank.

Perez-Stable said it was worth noting that Shannon had not conditioned lifting the embargo on establishment of an open-market economy, as Bush did four years ago, but on the release of political prisoners, respect for human rights and the beginnings of a transition to democracy.

"That means that Washington is accepting the idea that the communist system can change from within, and indicating an incremental and gradual change instead of demanding democracy immediately," she said.

She pointed out that Shannon described Cuba as a "slow-motion transition."

Shannon changed the tone of US policy, becoming the first senior diplomat to ask for "patience" so long as so little was known about Havana's inner workings, she said.

So far, only the official Juventud Rebelde newspaper has responded to the US offer, calling it a "two-bit comedy show."

The US embargo was set in 1962, and reinforced by the Helms-Burton law in 1996 which ties its lifting to Cuban democratization.

The embargo was further bolstered by Bush in 2004, who reduced the number of family visits Cuban Americans may make to the island as well as the amounts of US dollar remittances they may send.

Ian Vasquez of the Cato Institute said the moment in which Shannon renewed the proposal made it clear that he aimed his message at "those Cubans who want change and who are perhaps negotiating possible changes within the regime."

Shannon himself put it: "For now, the future leadership structure still has not been defined."

In the often paradoxical nature of politics, ending the embargo could benefit the Bush administration, because the Helms-Burton law prohibits US officials from talking with either one of the Castro brothers.

"The law leaves Washington isolated," Vasquez said.

That has prompted several US legislators to amend the legislation, so when change does come to Cuba, the United States' hands will not be tied by its own rules.

Report: India, Pakistan leaders to talk at nonaligned meeting venue in Cuba next month

AP. India News, August 26, 2006.

Leaders from India and Pakistan are likely to meet on the margins of a meeting of nonaligned countries in Cuba next month for talks aimed at reviewing a slow-moving peace process between the two South Asian neighbors, a newspaper report said.

India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf will hold talks on the sidelines of a summit meeting of the Nonaligned Movement to be held mid-September in Havana, Cuba, The Indian Express said.

The two sides are expected to assess the progress made in their peace dialogue to resolve their decades-old disputes, including that over the future of the Himalayan region of Kashmir.

The talks are likely to focus on whether Pakistan is acting on a commitment given by Musharraf when the peace dialogue began in January 2004 that the government would not allow Pakistani territory to be used for terror attacks against India.

India's external affairs ministry spokesman said Saturday he could not confirm reports about the Singh-Musharraf meeting in Havana. "I have no information as yet about this," said Navtej Sarna.

India accuses Pakistan of not doing enough to rein in militant groups in its territory, specially in the Pakistan-controlled portion of Kashmir.

The Muslim majority Himalayan region of Kashmir is split between the two countries with separatists fighting for independence in the Indian part. India says Pakistan provides the separatists sanctuary and training, a charge Islamabad denies.

India is worried that the militants are becoming active in other parts of the country, given the numerous terrorist attacks in recent months.

After numerous rounds of peace talks, India called off a scheduled meeting between top-level bureaucrats from the two sides after the July 11 train bombings in Bombay.

Indian investigators have said Lashkar-e-Tayyaba, a Pakistan-based militant group, was involved in the series of bombings during rush hour which left more than 200 people dead and 800 others wounded.

Professor Says He Collaborated With Cuba

Yahoo! Asia News, Saturday August 26, 9:28 AM

A psychology professor accused of being a Cuban agent admitted Friday that he was a "collaborator" with Cuba's intelligence service, communicating with officials using a short-wave radio, sophisticated encryption techniques and a code name, "David."

Carlos Alvarez insisted, however, that he had distanced himself from the communist government by the time he confessed details of his work last year. He also denied being a Cuban agent and said he was never employed by that government.

"I was not an agent of the Cuban government. I was a collaborator, which is very different," the Florida International University professor testified.

"I was collaborating, basically, sharing insights and information with the Cuban government for some years," Alvarez said. "Information that I felt was pertinent."

Alvarez's surprise admission came during a hearing on a defense motion contending that the FBI promised him immunity if he fully confessed his involvement with Cuba. The motion also contends that the confession was coerced, even though the FBI agents repeatedly told Alvarez he was not under arrest and was free to leave the interviews on June 22-23 and July 1, 2005.

If Alvarez prevails on the motion, his confession to the FBI won't be admissible at trial.

Prosecutors, however, have other evidence in the case, including material from telephone wiretaps and a listening device in the home of Alvarez, 61, and his 56-year-old wife, Elsa, who is also charged.

The couple have pleaded not guilty to charges of being unregistered Cuban intelligence operatives for more than two decades, reporting mainly on activities of Cuban-American exile groups in Miami and on U.S. political developments.

Carlos Alvarez said he quit providing information to Cuba by 1998, well before he was approached by two FBI agents in June 2005 at a Miami supermarket about his involvement.

The government contends Carlos Alvarez continued his work until at least 2004. Prosecutor Brian Frazier cited recent meetings between two Cubans, including one he described as an intelligence officer.

In videotaped transcripts of his FBI interviews, Alvarez repeatedly agreed with the FBI agents when they said his confession was voluntary and that he was free to go anytime. Alvarez testified Friday that he feared that contradicting the agents would subject him to criminal prosecution and result in a scandal for his family.

The FBI agents Alvarez confessed to, Albert Alonso and Rosa Schureck, testified earlier this week that they never promised him immunity.

The agents also testified that their ultimate goal was to turn Alvarez into a "double agent" who would spy for the U.S. against Cuba. Alvarez, however, said Friday that he hadn't heard that before.

It was unclear when a ruling on the defense motion would be issued.

The Alvarezes are scheduled to stand trial in early 2007. Prosecutors cannot use Carlos Alvarez's admission in Friday's hearing against him in trial, according to previous U.S. Supreme Court rulings.

SMU Business Students to Visit Cuba

By Anabelle Garay, Associated Press Writer. August 3025 2006.

DALLAS (AP) -- When a group of MBA students from Southern Methodist University departs for Cuba on Saturday, their questions about the communist island's future will have a real sense of urgency.

Their trip comes at a time of renewed interest and speculation in the politics and business of the island. Longtime leader Fidel Castro, 80, had emergency intestinal surgery last month and temporarily ceded power to his brother Raul, who has shown interest in greater flexibility of the state-controlled economy in the communist country.

The students know Cuba poses an untapped opportunity because of its proximity to the U.S. and potential to provide cheaper labor. Some will explore how they would improve infrastructure on the island, others will have an eye toward manufacturing possibilities in Cuba, said MBA student Philip Cormier, 42.

"For me, I'm going to go over there and just absorb, taking a look at an economy and a culture that's likely going to change and be there before it changes," Cormier said.

The group of 85 students and administrators is expected to meet with businesses leaders and visit a tourist resort and American mission during the four-day trip. They'll attend a presentation on Cuba's public health system, economy, culture and business.

"So you'll hear multiple perspectives on what they think is going to happen when Castro is gone and once his brother is gone," said Cormier, who is vice president of marketing for ACE Cash Express in Irving.

Only a few business schools in the U.S. travel to Cuba. SMU led its first group of students to the island last year as part the curriculum for the executive MBA program at the Cox School of Business. The trip aimed to give students the chance to observe the effects of the embargo and consider future business opportunities.

"After four days of intensive presentation, meeting and tours, our students walk away with a much better understanding of what it would take to conduct business in Cuba's economic and cultural climate," said Tom Perkowski, director of the EMBA program at SMU. "And given the events of the last several days, those opportunities may come sooner than we thought last year."

An embargo prevents commercial exchange with Cuba and limits many Americans from visiting the island. Recently, the Bush administration revived a four-year-old proposal in which the United States would move toward lifting the embargo against Cuba in return for reinstatement of democratic processes on the island.

Navajo Company to Sell Products to Cuba

By Felicia Fonseca, Associated Press Writer, August 25, 2006.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) -- A Navajo Nation agriculture company has signed a letter of intent to sell its products to Cuba, marking New Mexico's first agricultural agreement with the Communist country.

"This is a big market out there," said Rep. Tom Udall, D-N.M. "I see this as laying the groundwork for many future trade deals with Cuba."

The agreement was signed Tuesday in Havana, Cuba, between the Navajo Agricultural Products Industry and Cuba's state food purchasing agency, Alimport.

Udall and NAPI general manager Tsosie Lewis were among a group of people who traveled to Cuba earlier this week to negotiate potential purchases from New Mexico. The two met over three days with Pedro Alvarez Borrego, chairman and chief executive of Alimport.

It was unclear when the sales would begin. Prices must be set and other details worked out before an official contract is signed.

NAPI cultivates wheat, apples, yellow corn, onions and pinto beans on 68,000 acres of land near Farmington, N.M., and would sell those products to Cuba.

"We are honored that our products will help feed the Cuban people," Lewis said.

A U.S. embargo imposed several years after Cuban leader Fidel Castro came to power in 1959 put a halt on trade with the country. But under a 2000 law passed by Congress, Alimport can negotiate the purchase of agricultural products directly from U.S. suppliers on a cash-only basis paid in advance by Cuba.

Udall said those restrictions make trade with Cuba "very, very difficult."

"I think we would be better off dropping these restrictions and having free trade with Cuba," he said.

Despite the restrictions, 35 states have entered into agreements to sell American products to Cuba since the law was passed, bringing in about $1.8 billion, he said.

"This agreement could mean millions of dollars for Native Americans in New Mexico," Udall said.

NAPI is one of the Navajo Nation's largest employers of Navajo people, with about 400 workers. The agreement is important to the company as it aims to further market its products globally. The company already has an agreement with Mexico to sell pinto beans.

The company plans to expand its operations in the next five years, and if successful, it could help solve some of the unemployment problems that plague the reservation, Udall said.

If the Navajo company talks to the Cubans in advance, they can grow products that fit the country's needs, he said.

Miami school board wants Cuba book off its shelves

MIAMI, 22 (AFP) - Miami's school board decided to appeal a ruling ordering its libraries to reinstate a children's book about Cuba, which exiles claim paints an overly rosy picture of the communist-run island.

"We will (appeal) all the way to the Supreme Court, if necessary," said Frank Bolanos, one of the main leaders of the campaign to ban "A Visit to Cuba" from schools, and who has taken up the issue in his campaign for a state senate seat.

The Miami school board on Tuesday decided 5-2 to appeal an earlier ruling by a judge who ordered schools to return the controversial book to its shelves.

The school board had removed the children's book from schools after a parent complained it fails to describe the tough conditions in Cuba, where he said children are indoctrinated and food was rationed.

But in July, a federal judge ordered the book back on school shelves, saying the board could not use its authority to suppress ideas it did not share.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) sharply criticized the Miami school board.

"If we removed every book that offends one person, or even a group of people, our school library shelves would be nearly empty," said ACLU spokesman Brandon Hensler.

He said the ACLU, which had sued against the withdrawal of the books, is prepared to continue litigating. "We are confident that free speech will prevail at all levels."

The book, aimed at children aged five to seven, contains color pictures of people, buildings and landscapes in Cuba, and simple sentences, such as one that says "the people work, eat and study like you."

Published in English and Spanish, it is part of a series of books about different countries.

Miami is home to numerous Cuban-Americans, many of whom risked their lives to flee their Caribbean island homeland.

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