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CUBA
NEWS
The Miami Herald
Rice: Cuba is on the verge of a major
transition
By Paul Haven, Posted on
Fri, Jun. 01, 2007.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said
Cuba was on the verge of a ''major transition,''
and chided Spain on Friday for doing business
with Fidel Castro while not working more
to support dissidents in the communist island
nation.
Rice's one-day visit here was meant to
smooth over a three-year downturn in relations
between Washington and the Spanish government,
but the disagreement over Cuba has threatened
to wash away any growing good will. At issue
is Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel
Moratinos' decision to snub Cuban dissidents
on a visit to Havana in April.
''I have made it very clear that I have
real doubts about engagement with a regime
that is anti-democratic. Spain has a different
view on that,'' Rice said during a news
conference alongside Moratinos. "People
who are struggling for a democracy need
to know that they are supported.''
Moratinos replied that he had explained
his government's position that engagement
was the best way to influence Castro's regime,
and added that he hoped Rice would see the
wisdom of the approach in time. As Moratinos
continued to speak, she looked at the crowd
of reporters and silently mouthed what appeared
to be the phrase, "Don't hold your
breath.''
Earlier Friday, Rice said Western democracies
must do more to help democracy win the day
in Cuba, especially considering the lingering
health problems of the 80-year-old Castro.
''There is a major transition coming in
Cuba, and I think democratic states have
an obligation to act democratically,'' Rice
said.
Despite the harsh words, the two senior
diplomats were all smiles at the joint news
conference, calling each other ''Condi''
and ''Miguel'' and kissing each other on
both cheeks. Both stressed that relations
between the United States and Spain remain
fundamentally positive.
Rice arrived just after midday and met
with Spanish King Juan Carlos before the
talks and a working lunch with Moratinos.
She was meeting with Prime Minister José
Luis Rodriguez Zapatero and the head of
Spain's conservative opposition later Friday.
Zapatero has said he would also be glad
to discuss Spain's position on Cuba with
Rice, and hoped his explanation would assuage
U.S. concerns.
''Countries and governments don't have
to have equal visions on every aspect of
international policy,'' Zapatero said earlier
this week. "But it is positive that
we are talking about it. Surely, when we
talk, our positions will become more understandable.''
Zapatero's office has downplayed the significance
of his meeting with Rice, saying it would
be brief and characterizing it as a "courtesy
call.''
Rice's visit was the first by a senior
U.S. official in three years, and she was
candid when asked why it had been so long.
''There is no secret that we have had differences
with Spain on a number of issues, but we
have also had very good cooperation with
Spain on a number of issues,'' she said
aboard the plane.
Cuba to buy $118 million in U.S. food
By Anita Snow, Posted on
Thu, May. 31, 2007.
Cuba agreed Wednesday to buy $118 million
in U.S. food products ranging from pork
and corn to soybeans and Spam, and said
it was negotiating deals that could bring
the total to nearly $150 million.
"The sales this week went beyond all
of our expectations," said Jim Sumner
of the U.S. Poultry and Egg Export Council,
one of more than 200 Americans from 25 states
who visited Havana for talks with communist
officials. "When the embargo is lifted,
which we hope will be very soon, these deals
will be much greater."
Although Washington's 45-year-old embargo
remains, U.S. food and agricultural products
can be sold directly to Cuba under a law
passed by Congress in 2000. Since 2001,
Havana says it has spent more than $2.2
billion on American farm products and related
costs.
A smiling Pedro Alvarez, chairman of the
Cuban food import company Alimport, said
Americans are "recovering the market"
they lost in the 1960s with the imposition
of the embargo.
"The active and massive participation
of the American business community makes
us very happy," said Alvarez, whose
company organized the latest round of negotiations
with U.S. farm producers.
Cuba expects this year to match the $570
million it spent in 2006 on American food
and agricultural products, including shipping
and banking costs.
Cuban Commerce Minister Raul de la Nuez
said most of the food would be sold at heavily
subsidized prices, on the government's food
ration and at public schools and workplace
dining rooms.
"This will help feed our people,"
De la Nuez said.
"We have a common goal of normalized
relations between the United States and
Cuba," Kirby Jones, founder of the
U.S.-Cuba Trade Association in Washington,
told the gathering. "One day, we hope
there will be free and open trade."
© 2007 Miami Herald Media Company.
All Rights Reserved.
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