April 30
FROM CUBA / Workers accused of
striking The foreman in charge of a school construction
project classified a workers' protest as a strike, upping the stake for those
implicated since strikes are strictly forbidden in Cuba.
FROM CUBA / Jailed dissidents
to serve sentences far from home Relatives of the nearly 80
government opponents recently sentenced to prison terms averaging 20 years
complain it will be practically impossible for them to visit, since the
dissidents are being transferred to prisons far from home.
Cuba News / Yahoo!
-Cuba: Council Re-Election an Endorsement -Despite crackdown in Cuba,
senators push to lift travel ban -Cuba re-election to U.N. group angers
U.S. -U.S. Protests Cuba's Human Rights Post -Maryland Calls Off
Trade Mission to Cuba -U.S. Exits U.N. Meeting to Protest Cuba
-US angrily denounces Cuba reelection to rights panel
Cuba News / The Miami Herald
-Cuba is reelected to U.N. rights panel; U.S. angered -Powell condemns
Cuba for 'human-rights situation'
Vatican News Agency Fides
Faults Castro for Backsliding / Zenit In this way perhaps
we gave the regime the impression that its leader was covered by our silence
... but it was not a covering, it was only charity, it was offering him a
chance to walk toward the rediscovery of his dignity. But Fidel is using the
fist of his salute against those demanding justice for the people, for the
most elementary expression of democracy such as dissent," the article says.
"
Italy moving against Cuba / BBC
Cuba's recent clampdown on dissidents is alienating Italy, a country
historically close to the Caribbean island. On Tuesday, the Italian lower
house approved a motion calling on the government to halt Italy's economic
aid to Cuba if dissidents are not freed and executions are not stopped.
May Day in Cuba / Michael
Putney / The Miami Herald In Cuba tomorrow hundreds of
thousands of people will gather to observe -- celebrate is too strong a word
-- May Day, the annual homage to labor. It's ironic, because the fruits of
labor in Cuba are reaped mainly by the government, which contracts with
foreign investors to provide workers whom Castro pays in pesos while demanding
that his ''joint venture'' partners pay him in dollars. Fidel Castro rejects
capitalism, you see, unless he's the capitalist.
External
links
Md.
Ship Won't Sail to Cuba / The Washington Post Citing widespread
concern about President Fidel Castro's recent crackdown on dissidents,
Maryland Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. has ordered a state-owned clipper ship to
cancel a five-day trade mission to Cuba.
Cuba
Travel Bill Introduced / AgWeb.com, IA U.S. Senators Mike Enzi,
R-Wyo., Enzi Max Baucus, D-Mont., Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., Jeff Bingaman,
D-N.M., Lincoln Chafee, R-R.I., Larry Craig, R-Idaho, Mark Dayton, D-Minn.
and Tim Johnson, D-S.D., introduced a bill today that would make a simple,
but dramatic change to an important aspect of U.S.-Cuban policy. The Freedom
to Travel to Cuba Act, S. 950, would allow Americans to travel to Cuba free
of the draconian restrictions in place now.
Group shows
solidarity with Cuban internal dissent from the air / Centre Daily Times, PA
Their mission is to show solidarity with internal dissent, so twice in the
mid-1990s, Brothers to the Rescue planes buzzed above Havana rooftops and
dropped leaflets that encouraged civil disobedience.
Outrage as Cuba
keeps UN seat / BBC, UK Cuba rounded up and jailed 75 dissidents for
up to 28 years. Cuba's uncontested re-election to the United Nations'
Commission on Human Rights has sparked outrage among rights campaigners and
in the United States.
Foggy
Bottom Breakdown / The Washington Post Repressing a nation of
millions for more than 40 years can't be simple, but repressing a nation that
makes music as liberating and spirited as the sons, mambos and cha-chas of
this 17-member jazz orchestra -- that must take hard work and a twisted kind
of genius.
Detente a casualty
of crackdown / The Washington Times Mr. Alexander said it was
particularly appalling that those congressional trips to Cuba were used as
evidence by Mr. Castro's government to convict writers, journalists and other
dissidents to lengthy prison terms. "All of those people on Capitol Hill
can now say they know someone who is a political prisoner. That makes it
personal," Mr. Alexander said. "Castro appears to be on a rampage.
You will see no significant change on the island or improvement in relations
until Castro's death."
Cuba reform effort
renewed / The Washington Times Top U.S. officials yesterday warned
Cuban leader Fidel Castro that Washington would work with renewed "vigor"
to bring an end to his communist stranglehold on the island. The United
States would use "new creativity and vigor to hasten the inevitable
democratic transition on the island," said Roger Noriega, President
Bush's pick to be assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs.
Writer
stays true to beleaguered Castro / The Guardian, UK Latin
America's revered leftwing intellectuals, one of Cuban leader Fidel Castro's
few sources of moral support since the collapse of the Soviet Union, are
abandoning him in horror at his recent crackdown on dissidents - but not
writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
Cuba should be denied a seat on
rights panel / José Miguel Vivanco / IHT Few doubt that the
United Nations Commission on Human Rights is faltering in its mission. With
Libya as its chair, and China, Saudi Arabia and Zimbabwe among its voting
members, it is hardly surprising that many of the world's most flagrant human
rights abusers - even those lacking seats on the commission - tend to escape
its condemnation.
Meanwhile: A revolution's
idealism entwined with despair / James Pringle / IHT With the
firing squads out again recently for the first time in three years, I went to
La Cabaña, which was a closed military area when I previously worked
as a correspondent in Havana, and asked a friendly militiawoman where the
earlier shootings had taken place. "Ah you mean the revolutionary
justice sentences," said the handsome mulatta, taking me outside and
pointing to a wall.
The call of
Cuba: More Greenvillians visiting Communist island / Greenville News, SC
Despite a travel and trade embargo against Cuba since 1961, Greenvillians have
been finding ways to visit through educational, humanitarian and religious
channels. And the culture they've found has drawn them back again and again
to the communist island.
No
gray area on Cuba / The Times-Picayune, LA Why should the "French,
Italians, and Spanish have all the business" in Cuba? Because they don't
care what Castro is doing to his people. We, on the other hand, do. There is
no gray area there. Putting the issue of human rights on the back burner in
order to get in on the economic action is deplorable and an embarrassment to
those Cubans who do have morals, character, and integrity.
Chinese
immigrant builds new life in Cuba / Denver Post, CO The writing in
"Monkey
Hunting" is crystalline, occasionally surreal and nothing short of
lovely. There is a rhythm to the narrative that echoes the rich, careful pace
of the Cuban days it describes.
Monster
country restrictions anger customers / New Zealand Herald, New Zealand
Internet job site Monster.com is taking heat over a policy blocking consumers
or employers from seeking work or posting jobs in countries against which the
United States has sanctions - Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Myanmar, North Korea,
Sudan or Syria.
Cuban Crackdown Dims Trade
Hopes / KXMC, ND Agricultural officials had high hopes of selling
more North Dakota grown products to Cuba. But those hopes have dimmed since
Fidel Castro's crackdown on dissidents in the Communist nation. Robert
Carlson is president of the North Dakota Farmers Union.
olitical
crackdown threatens Maryland officials' Cuba trade trip / Baltimora Business
Journal Maryland officials who left Baltimore on the Pride of
Baltimore II last week to promote trade may not be making a scheduled stop in
Cuba, a spokesman for Gov. Robert Ehrlich said Tuesday.
The Cuban Sopranos
/ The Washington Times My first sight on television of Fidel
Castro's "liberation" of Cuba from Batista in 1959, was a firing
squad dispatching political prisoners who had been summarily condemned by the
new dictator. And through the years, Mr. Castro's gulags were filled by
Cubans who dared to wish, however softly, for democracy.
Castro
Fails to Derail Democratic Activists, says Rights Group / Voa News
Cuban authorities say their recent crackdown on dissent has destroyed what the
communist government of President Fidel Castro describes as an attempt by U.S.
diplomats to create political instability on the island.
Bush
shapes policy on Cuba after Castro's crackdown / Financial Times
As the Bush administration prepares its response to the crackdown on Cuba's
dissident movement and Havana's execution of three ferry hijackers, the
political stakes have risen. Florida's 27 electoral votes look increasingly
vital to President George W. Bush's second-term victory strategy, and he will
need the support of Cuban-American voters to secure them.
U.S.
walks out of UN meeting / The Globe and Mail, Canada "It was
an outrage for us, because we view Cuba as the worst violator of human rights
in this hemisphere," said Sichan Siv, the U.S. ambassador to the UN
Economic and Social Council, which elected 24 new members to the top UN
human-rights watchdog. "That's why we decided to walk out."
Cuba bids to host
Olympics / BBC, UK Announcing their bid, which will be submitted on
5 May, the Cuban Olympic Committee emphasised the country's strong amateur
and athletic tradition. "Havana could stage excellent games," said
the committee's president, Jose Ramon Fernandez.
April 28
FROM CUBA / Fisheries idle for
lack of fuel Hundreds of fishermen have been staying home
for the past three weeks, and they point out that the situation is similar at
other fishing ports, such as La Coloma, Cienfuegos, and Manzanillo.
FROM CUBA / Having a cell phone
in Cuba The youngest of my three children asked me the
other day to get him a cell phone.For a Cuban, having a functioning cell
phone is like renting a dream.
Cuba News / Yahoo!
-Cuba "an aberration", US reviewing policy, Powell warns
-Cuba to Bid for 2012 Olympics
CPJ concerned about health of
imprisoned journalist / CPJ The Committee to Protect
Journalists (CPJ) is very concerned about the deteriorating health of Oscar
Espinosa Chepe, an independent journalist who is currently imprisoned at the
national headquarters of the State Security Department (DSE), the Cuban
political police. He was arrested on March 20.
Cuba News / The Miami Herald
The wave of international protests over Cuba's recent crackdown on dissent
continued Saturday with a disclosure by the Vatican that Pope John Paul II
had expressed his sorrow over recent actions by the Cuban government and
pleaded for leniency for 75 dissidents sentenced to long terms in prison.
Editorial: Stand fast on cuba
policy / The Miami Herald For once, the world is united in
condemning the Cuban regime's vile wave of repression -- and that's precisely
where the focus should stay. The United States shouldn't make knee-jerk
policy changes that Castro would exploit to his benefit. It shouldn't curtail
U.S. remittances or travel to Cuba. Nor should the United States cut back on
issuing visas to Cuban émigrés who follow legal channels and
pose no security threat.
Cuba jails peaceful opposition
/ Claudia Marquez Linares / San Antonio Express-News Owning "books
contrary to the socioeconomic process," an old computer and a video
camera and "acting on behalf of a foreign power," were some of the
charges the prosecution put forward during the 18-hour trial of journalists
Maseda and Oscar Espinosa Chepe and the dissidents Hector Palacios, Marcelo
Lopez and Marcelo Cano.
Cuba needs a regime change /
Paul Crespo / The Miami Herald Fidel Castro's recent wave
of murderous repression against peaceful dissidents has again exposed him for
what he has always been -- a brutal dictator. It has also debunked the lie
that economic engagement and a ''more-moderate'' political line can help
reform Cuba's Stalinist system.
April 25
FROM CUBA / Dissidents
transferred to prisons far from home / UPECI Several
dissidents of the almost 80 sentenced recently to long prison terms have been
told they will be transferred to prisons that in most cases are far from
their homes.
Annan: U.N. rights commission
is 'weaker' / The Miami Herald U.N. Secretary General Kofi
Annan Thursday admonished members of the U.N. Commission on Human Rights for
sending weak messages -- just one week after the group decided not to condemn
Cuba for its recent crackdown on dissidents.
Criticism From Leftists
Surprises Cuba / Yahoo! Shocked at Cuba's recent crackdown
on dissent, many leftist intellectuals and authors find themselves
criticizing a government they spent years applauding.
Castro cannot quash all dissent
/ The Miami Herald ''We are not of this world; we are
leaving tomorrow,'' said the jailed Cuban poet and journalist Raúl
Rivero to his wife during a visit at the Cuban Department of State Security
headquarters.
Treat Haitian asylum seekers
fairly, not Cubans worse / The Miami Herald Recent events
have underscored the growing human-rights abuses in both Cuba and Haiti. The
arrests, beatings and prosecutions of dozens of peaceful dissenters in Cuba
followed by summary executions of three accused hijackers remind us how close
the brutal dictatorship is.
April 24
FROM CUBA / Jailed dissidents
to be transferred to penitentiaries / Grupo Decoro Several
dissidents and independent journalists who up to now have been held at the
Department of State Security headquarters, called Villa Marista here, will be
transferred to prisons this week, said family members after visits today.
FROM CUBA / Pedicab drivers
complain of continuing harassment / Lux Info Press Police
fined four pedicab drivers last Wednesday, in what independent union leaders
say is a continuing campaign of harassment.
FROM CUBA / How a dissident is
born / Juan Carlos Linares Searching for the solutions to
the daily problems that afflict the majority of the Cuban people entails
becoming a dissident. As a dissident, one must learn then to cope with the
adjectives: antisocial, worm, unpatriotic, traitor, counterrevolutionary,
imperialist agent, or at the least (or worst) as an informer (for whom or what,
no one is sure).
Statement From The Cuba Policy
Foundation "All of us are appalled at the recent
executions and jailings in Cuba. The regime's sudden, wholesale repression of
human rights is incomprehensible as a matter of policy, and unacceptable as a
matter of principle."
Cuba News / The Miami Herald
-D.C. foes of Cuba embargo quit group -U.S. Admits Backlog in Cuban
Visas -Longing for Cuba - with laughter
Castro as ruthless as Hussein /
Oscar Arias / The Miami Herald The Cuban regime took
another disgraceful and unacceptable step when it sentenced to prison those
who only attempted to defend their fundamental rights and to practice
independent journalism. It was yet another example of the demented
intolerance with which Fidel Castro wields his government.
Cuba News / Yahoo!
-US rejects Cuban complaints, renews criticism of crackdown on dissidents
-Sen. Harkin Seeks Cuba Dissidents Release -Nicaragua Recalls Envoy
From Cuba -The Real Deal On Cuba
North Korea nominated to UN
rights commission / The National Post The United Nations
has listed North Korea and Cuba as candidates for election to its Human
Rights Commission, even though the commission has just censured them for
rights abuses.
Reporters Without Borders
protesters beaten up by Cuban embassy officials / RSF
Reporters Without Borders activists were beaten by staff of the Cuban embassy
in Paris today when they chained themselves to the embassy railings in the
presence of several prominent cultural figures to protest against the
imprisonment of 26 journalists in Cuba.
Reporters Without Borders calls
on French foreign minister to focus on human rights in France's ties with
Cuba / RSF Reporters Without Borders has urged French
foreign minister Dominique de Villepin to step up French contacts with regime
dissidents in Cuba and their families and to give them more support.
Hussein in Cuba? Let it be
true / Jim Defede / The Miami Herald Don't just take my
word for it. I got this information straight from the April 21 issue of the
Egyptian newspaper Soat el Umma, which in Arabic means Voice of the Nation.
External
links
Convicted
Cuban dissidents to be transferred to prisons / Prima News, Russia
Cuban dissidents and journalists sentenced in April of this year to lengthy
prison terms will be transferred this week from pre-trial detention centers
to various prisons in remote areas in the country. Only a few of the convicted
will be serving terms in provinces where they had been arrested and tried.
U.S.
Weighs Tighter Sanctions on Cuba / The Washington Post The Bush
administration is examining ways to tighten its tough policy toward Cuba in
the wake of the communist government's recent crackdown on political dissent
and the criticism it has brought from many who have long advocated normalizing
relations with the island, according to administration officials.
'Dissidents'
Were Informers / The Washington Post Roca recalled that Manuel
David Orrio, a gregarious and accomplished dissident journalist, stood up to
thank Huddleston for hosting and encouraging peaceful opposition to Castro's
authoritarian rule. "He was very well-spoken, talkative and
well-educated, and seemed very convinced of what he was saying," said Roca,
the son of a Cuban revolutionary hero who split with Castro years ago, in a
telephone interview from Havana. "It never occurred to me that he was a
spy."
Pride
II set to sail to Cuba on trade visit / Sunspot.net, MD Hoping to
tap into a potential billion-dollar trade market, Maryland is sending the
Pride of Baltimore II to Cuba to promote the state's agriculture and food
businesses. The trip -- which follows recent crackdowns by Fidel Castro against
dissidents and increased tension between the United States and Cuba -- could
generate millions of dollars in trade for Maryland businesses, officials say.
Lawsuit
follows fear, death in Cuba / CNN Another Isaac sister, Yordanis
Montoya, who lives in the United States, has sued Cuba and both President
Fidel Castro and his brother, Defense Minister Raul Castro, for the "summary
execution and wrongful death" of her brother and for alleged crimes
against humanity. From the safety of democratic soil, she also denounced the
dictator. "I want the rest of the world to know that he's nothing more
than an assassin, that he thinks he's God, but that's a smokescreen; he's
nothing."
The
moral imperative of trading with Cuba / AgWeb.com Outrage is
appropriate right now, but so is wise and dispassionate policymaking. When
emotions begin to ebb, we'll need to try a new approach with Cuba.
Cuba:
La Loggia proposes protesting against dictatorship / AGI Online, Italy
During the broadcast of 'Ballaro', the minister of regional affairs, Enrico
La Loggia, proposed the idea of a protest against the Fidel Castro dictatorship,
and asked the leader of the Margherita party, Rutelli, for the availability
of "the left and a pledge in this direction.
April 23
FROM CUBA / Middle school
teachers double as janitors / Lux Info Press The
administrators of the "Enrique Galarraga" middle school, in Monte
Street, Old Havana, compel the teachers to perform janitorial duties since
the school hasn't had janitors for the last two years.
FROM CUBA / Inmates in the Isle
of Youth overworked and underfed / UPECI Inmates serving
time under the "Los colonos" correctional plan complain they are
overworked and underfed, say human rights activists here, and have no recourse
to even complain.
Cuba News / Yahoo!
-Cuban Diplomat Laments White House Moves -Cuban Crackdown Deepens
Strains With U.S. -Here's Lucie: Arnaz Stars in Machado's Tale of Cuban
Exiles, 'Once Removed', in Miami
April 22
Cuba News / Yahoo!
-Agent Says Cuba's Opposition Is Disabled -Lawmakers Temper Bid to
Ease Cuba Embargo -Cuba Will Bid for the 2012 Olympic Games
Cuba News / The Miami Herald
-Lawsuits filed in U.S. over Cuba crackdown -Art revolutionaries from
Cuba on exhibit
Stand Against Repression / The
Miami Herald Almost two weeks ago, we asked rhetorically:
Where were the Latin American governments regarding the three executions and
the jailing of 75 dissidents in Cuba? We lamented the thunderous silence from
around the hemisphere that seemed to condone the Fidel Castro's actions.
External
links
Cuban Ambassador Responds
to Critics "Our Doctors Are No Damp Squib" / AllAfrica.com
In an attempt to dismiss assertions from captious critics that the Cuban
health experts sent here are in effect a damp squib with little positive
impact on the country's health sector, Mariano Lores Betancourt told The
Independent in an interview last week that his countrymen's expertise is
superior to the average qualification of doctors in Third World countries.
European
nations may downgrade Cuba ties after Castro crackdown / Financial Times
Several European Union countries are preparing to cut back their
diplomatic programmes in Cuba in protest at the political crackdown by Fidel
Castro's regime. Seventy five dissidents were convicted this month on charges
of being US-backed mercenaries conspiring to undermine the Cuban government
and were handed prison sentences of between six and 28 years.
A Man Who Writes
/ Raúl Rivero / The New York Times The letter of the law
concerning the protection of national independence and the economy in Cuba
allows the authorities in my country to sentence me to prison because of the
only sovereign act I have performed since I gained the use of my reason:
writing without being dictated to.
Havana to compete
with New York, others / ESPN.com Cuba will bid for the 2012
Olympics, a decision that will place Havana as the long-shot candidate in a
strong field that already features New York and Madrid, Spain. The Cuban
Olympic Committee will hold a news conference Monday to discuss the bid, the
group said Tuesday.
Castro Kills
Stone / National Review Online The most decisive
counteraction in the West was done by HBO. The movie and television company
had been planning a splashy introduction of an extended documentary on Fidel
Castro by - Oliver Stone. It was all packed up, ready to go. In fact it had
been screened in February at a movie festival in Berlin.
The
imposing Chucho Valdes a master improviser / Edmonton Journal, Canada
When it comes to playing a concert grand piano, sheer physicality can
make a difference. So Cuban pianist Chucho Valdes --who stands six-foot-six
-- has a bit of an advantage from the start.
Castro's Cocky Gamble /
AmericanDaily.com That Castro would seize such an opportunity to
silence his opponents is not surprising. What is truly astounding is the
amount of coverage his minatory actions have received. Numerous Cuban
observers have remarked that America's media includes a disproportionately
high number of Castro myrmidons who regularly overlook his human right
violations.
The
Cuba on the cutting room floor / Globe and Mail, Canada
Unfortunately, there are also some scenes you'll never see. Mr. Stone's shooting
schedule missed the kangaroo-court trials this month that sent 75 of Cuba's
leading intellectuals and dissidents to jail for crimes against the state. Mr.
Stone also missed a cool firing-squad scene.
Towns in
Cuba join sister-city program / The Pantagraph, IL Though the
United States has enforced trade and travel embargoes with the island nation
since 1960, the Twin Cities have started a sister-cities relationship with
two of its towns. Caibarien and Remedios are in the province of Villa Clara,
about 200 miles east of Havana.
Possible
Bush sanctions may affect UA's Cuba initiative / Tuscaloosa, AL "There's
no doubt there's going to be a short-term impact," said Larry Clayton, a
UA history professor and chair of the university's Cuba Committee. "It
doesn't look good. We're trying to be apolitical as possible."
Castro, Human
Rights and Latin Anti-Americanism / FrontPageMagazine.com Recently,
following a pattern understood by all but American liberals, Fidel Castro
again did something he always does in response to U.S. efforts to improve
relations with Cuba. He answered renewed congressional efforts to weaken the
embargo by cracking down on the opposition.
Collaborative mural
focuses on free speech / Yale Daily News Inspired by a spring break
trip to Cuba, members of the service group Reach Out have erected a "Free
Speech Mural" on Cross Campus as a response to recent allegations of
hate speech at Yale and the suppression of free speech in Cuba.
'American Experience'
Turns to Castro / Zap2it.com The documentary will be headed by
Adriana Bosch who did the program's Jimmy Carter special and received WGA and
Peabody nominations for her film on Ronald Reagan. Bosch is specially
qualified for this film, having been born in Cuba and brought to the United
States in 1970.
April 21
FROM CUBA / Relatives report on
visit to political prisoner / Ernesto Roque he women
reported Vázquez is in a cell approximately six by nine feet with three
other inmates, that they are not allowed to have pencil or paper, but that they
could have reading materials provided they are delivered through the case
officer.
FROM CUBA / Sentenced
dissidents decide against appeal / UPECI Human-rights
activists Oscar Elías Biscet and Diosdado González decided not
to appeal their recently-handed down sentences, 25 and 20 years respectively,
saying the court is an instrument of the Cuban Department of State Security.
Cuba News / The Miami Herald
-Seized Cuban planes propel diplomacy debate -U.S. ready in case of
major exodus from Cuba -Cuban intellectuals ask for end to criticism
-Brothers to the Rescue says it will broadcast another message of solidarity
to Castro's opponents in Cuba
Cuba And The United Nations: A
Five-Act Tragedy / The Miami Herald In the movie Dr.
Strangelove, Stanley Kubrick's dark comedy about nuclear war, the character
played by the late Peter Sellers snaps indignantly at two colleagues engaged
in fisticuffs: "You can't fight in here! This is the war room!''
Toward Cuba's reconciliation /
The Miami Herald Envisioning a tyranny-free Cuba may seem
odd today as the Cuban regime terrorizes its own people with summary
executions and a savage crackdown on dissidents. Yet this is precisely the
time for laying the groundwork for a future Cuba where such horrors will not
be repeated.
Castro Dissidents Jailed in
Reprisals / Common Dreams Cuba responded to growing
concerns over its sudden, brutal swoop on opposition groups with a curt
statement that it would not allow UN envoys to investigate human rights
abuses and is studying how to withdraw from a European aid pact.
Castro's Casting Couch / The
Washington Monthly There's clearly a mix of personal and
political motivations at play. Castro and American celebrities seem to be
playing a powerful, fascinating game of seduction. The question is, who's the
Don Juan and who's the dupe?
A life in color / The Miami
Herald He is a reluctant master. With a self-deprecating
smile, Cundo Bermúdez brushes aside attempts by University of Miami
students to call him maestro as they film a documentary about his decades of
painting impressions of Cuba, turning the island into a place aswirl with
baroque opulence and brilliant light.
External
links
Europeans
set to cut back Cuba programmes / Financial Times No action has
yet been taken but a number of western European governments are considering
cutting back cultural, business and other unilateral friendship programmes in
response to the crackdown, which is seen by many as a rebuke to Europe's
policy of engagement with Mr Castro's government. "Logically, we thought,
the island should be opening up. They need cash. They need trade," the
European diplomat said. "Well, we've been reminded that this system
might have a method but there is no logic."
Sounds
of silence from Castro's American friends / The Australian Since
Castro resumed locking up or killing his opponents, Stone has remained
silent. A spokesman for Spielberg said that he was too busy to comment. Ventura,
Redford and Costner have also stayed mum. Only Carter has taken Castro to
task for repaying attempts at friendship with show trials and executions.
Getting
'real' with Cuba / Boston Herald editorial Not, of course, that
Cuba's Fidel Castro has ever really changed his stripes. But when the aging
dictator wants something from the rest of the civilized world, he is good at
soft-peddling his autocratic side. Sometimes, however, passing out the cigars
and rum to pliant members of Congress really doesn't cut it. This is one of
those times
Lula,
The Democrat: Still In Awe Of Castro? / InfoBrazil.com The idea of
criticizing Cuba is anathema to many Brazilians including, it appears,
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. So Brazil really surprised no one last
week when it announced it would abstain, in the United Nations vote to
condemn Cuba for its most recent, flagrant disregard for human rights.
Cuba reaches
out to Vermont / Rutland Herald, VT The Cuban government has
extended an open invitation to Vermont officials and business leaders to
discuss the possibility of importing a variety of the state's farm
commodities and food products.
Crackdown
on dissent a Cuban question mark / St. Petersburg Times Many
theories abound. More straightforward versions focus on Castro's ideological
rejection of any democratic opposition to his rule, as well as possible fissures
in Cuba's powerful one-party state apparatus. Others see more Machiavellian
motives, such as Castro's record of picking fights with the United States to
distract attention from domestic problems, such as energy shortages and food
rationing.
Castro, Human
Rights and Latin Anti-Americanism / FrontPageMagazine.com Castro
answered renewed congressional efforts to weaken the embargo by cracking down
on the opposition. In the past, when then-President Jimmy Carter tried to
improve ties, we wound up with the Mariel exodus and the emptying of Cuba's
jails through migration to the U.S.; when Bill Clinton tried to improve
relations, it ended up with American citizens being blown out of the skies by
Castro's fighter planes and yet another mass send-off to Florida. This time,
when a combination of greedy Republicans from farm states and leftist
Democrats tried to weaken the embargo in the name of free trade, Castro
answered by jailing 79 dissidents for sentences totaling over 2,000 years.
Iran-Cuba to
cooperate in scientific affairs / IRNA Iranian Ambassador to Cuba
Ahmad Edrissian met with Cuban High Education Minister Fernando
Vecino-Alegret in Havana on Monday. The two officials discussed matters of
mutual interest and the Cuban official's upcoming visit to Tehran.
Contreras
Ready to Start Over, as Starter, in Minors / The New York Times
Contreras lives in a free society and is earning $32 million over four years
from the Yankees, but he misses his family terribly and has adjusted poorly
to the bullpen. The Yankees are trying to remedy the second problem by sending
Contreras to Class AAA Columbus, where he will start.
Castro
crackdown slows push for ending embargo / Boston Herald Bay State
congressmen have vowed to continue pushing for an end to the 4-decade-old
embargo on Cuba despite a recent crackdown on dissidents by Fidel Castro.
Malaysia
need to know the real Cuba: Envoy / New Straits Times Online, Malaysia
Countries like Malaysia need to know the reality about Cuba instead of
receiving intermediate and stereotyped news "manipulated by the Western
media", Cuban Ambassador to Malaysia Pedro Monzon Barata said today.
Surviving
Casto - and Harvard, too / The Boston Globe When he arrived in
Miami on Feb. 15, 1995, he couldn't speak English. He was known as ''a Cuban
ref'' - refugee - among his high school classmates, and through high school,
his English bore a thick Spanish accent. By graduation time, though, he
became his school's valedictorian and the first student there to head to
Harvard.
Cuban houseguest
speaks language of friendship / The Cincinnati Post Clifford Smith
didn't give it much thought when his wife Shirley told him she was thinking
of inviting a Cuban to move into their small Norwood home.
U.N.
body's defeat is tyrants' gain / Rocky Mountain News The U.N.
Human Rights Commission - the name has become something of a misnomer - has
failed to condemn Cuba for its wholesale crackdown on the regime's political
opposition.
Chair of African Women
Association in Cuba / AllAfrica.com Angola has been elected to a
one-year term chairpersonship of the Executive Bureau of the Association of
African Women based in Cuba. The Association will be chaired by Angola's
embassy press attache in Cuba, Journalist Luisa Damiao, who was unanimously
elected.
Where
are you now, Fidelistas? / Boston Globe Online In The Washington
Monthly, Cave speculates that the reasons for this strange romance are both
personal and political: They range from resentment of US foreign policy and
the perception of Castro as a fearless David standing up to an American
Goliath to the dictator's personal charisma and his skill at massaging the egos
of his celebrity guests. All that may be so. But one would think that the
recent crackdown in Cuba would serve as a shattering wake-up call even for
the most oblivious.
April 18
FROM CUBA / Dissident Magazine
Ceases Publication / Alén Reinaldo Cosano Alén
"Luz Cubana," an underground magazine published by dissidents here,
ceased publication after twoof its founders were sentenced to prison for
anti-government activities.
FROM CUBA / Assembly to Support
Crackdown Held for Workers / Ariel Delgado Covarrubias
Communist Party militants at the Aurora Company, which cleans the streets and
maintains parks and green areas, held a recent meeting to justify a government
crackdown on dissidents.
Cuba News / The Miami Herald
-Cuba: Executions meant to deter migration -Rights panel wants Cuba
monitored -Judge orders Cuba to pay family -Bush shuts door
Clinton left ajar to U.S. visitors
Cuba News / Yahoo!
-Cuba Sees Victory in U.N. Panel's Vote -Cuba ordered to pay 67
million for 1961 execution of US man -Cuba crackdown stalls Congress
moves to liberalize trade -Cuba wards off explicit criticism of clampdown
at UN rights forum -Playboy Settles Cuban Embargo Complaint
Blame America not the culprit,
example 3: "Rising Dissent, U.S. / MRC Pressure Led to
Cuba Repression," announced the headline over a Reuters story, as if
Castro had nothing to do with it.
Case against Cuba / The
Guardian The only conclusion that we can draw from this brute
repression is that the Cuban government does not trust its people to
distinguish truth from falsehood, fact from disinformation. A government of
the left must have the support of the people: it must guarantee human rights
and champion the widest possible democracy, including the right to dissent,
as well as promote social justice.
U.S. Goal is "Rapid,
Peaceful" Transition to Democracy in Cuba / Washington File
The White House has added its voice to those of the international figures and
organizations denouncing the Castro regime for its arrest and sentencing of
Cuban dissidents it accuses of collaborating with the United States.
External
links
Facing
U.S. Threat of Penalties, Cuba Issues a Defiant Statement / The New York
Times Administration officials said this week that they might stop
family remittances, which amount to as much as $1 billion a year, and end
direct charter flights.
Editorial: Cuban
Litmus Test / The New York Times Even though Fidel Castro has been
brutally cracking down on peaceful dissent in recent weeks, the timid United
Nations Human Rights Commission let Cuba off easily yesterday. The 53-member
body, led by none other than Libya, approved an anemic resolution asking
Havana to accept the visit of a U.N. human rights observer.
Editorial:
Justifying Abuse / The Washington Post But this is not the only
outrage perpetuated at this year's meeting of the Commission on Human Rights,
surely one of the most hypocritical on record. At this session, the
commission also voted against putting Zimbabwe on its list of countries
requiring special observation, against making any special mention of the human
rights violations in Chechnya and against an amendment that condemned Cuba for
jailing dissidents. No resolutions were proposed this year on the treatment
of dissidents in China.
Cuba
says U.N. vote backs crackdown on dissidents / Ocala Star Banner "The
unquestionable majority vote is a clear signal from the Human Rights Commission
that Cuba has the right to apply its own laws," Perez Roque told a news
conference. "We express our profound satisfaction."
Cuba rejects call
for UN envoy / BBC, UK Mr Perez Roque says that is evidence that
his government should be entitled to apply its own laws in the way it sees
fit.
Chavez
Opponents Protest 'Cubanization' of Venezuela / VOA News Opponents
of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez held a demonstration Friday outside the
Cuban embassy in Caracas to protest against what they called the "Cubanization"
of Venezuela.
Fidel
Castro's friends in Ottawa / National Post, Canada Canadian
government issued a statement decrying the "severity" of the recent
crackdown. But Jean Chrétien made clear he still wants good relations. "I
know there is a problem of human rights in that country ... sometimes it's
better, sometimes it's bad ... and we're protesting. But it's better to be
engaged because that's putting pressure."
Solidarity
with Cuba? / Buenos Aires Herald President Eduardo Duhalde could
hardly have picked a worse year to end a 13-year run of Argentine votes in
Geneva condemning Cuba's human rights record with the Fidel Castro régime
behaving worse than at any time in the last 14 years
Slap
on the wrist for Cuba / The Daily Camera Refusing to face reality,
much less grow a spine, the United Nations Human Rights Commission voted
Thursday in Geneva to give Fidel Castro nothing more than a gentle slap on
the wrist for his brutal surge of new human rights violations in Cuba.
New Cuban rights
abuse: no excuse to slow US outreach / Christian Science Monitor
Castro no doubt understood that his actions would stir negative reactions in the
US and bolster the position of pro-embargo hard-liners. Such calculations are
important to the US debate over the embargo on Cuba because Castro knows the
embargo helps keep him in power.
Cuban
intellectuals ask colleagues abroad to stop criticizing island / Herald
Tribune, Florida Signed by 27 of Cuba's best known cultural
figures, the letter describes the "surprise and pain" felt when
liberal intellectuals around the world criticize Cuba for its crackdown on
dissidents, and the separate firing-squad executions of three convicted ferry
hijackers.
Taking Cuban
Song Beyond Its Borders / The New York Times The average person
who has seen Wim Wenders's film "Buena Vista Social Club," about
the band of Cuban musicians convened by the producer Ry Cooder, will probably
remember the 76-year-old Ibrahim Ferrer.
The tyranny of
Castro's regime / The Washigton Times With the one-year
anniversary of former President Jimmy Carter's trip to Cuba fast approaching,
we realize that history has repeated itself and Cuba's brutal dictator Fidel
Castro has played Mr. Carter once again as a fool.
Case against
Cuba won, but family's quest goes on / Houston Chronicle But the
struggle for the widow and four children of Howard Anderson now turns to the
United States and whether the Treasury Department will release money seized
decades ago from the island nation to cover the judgment.
Havana
Announces 2012 Bid Again / GamesBids.com Once again Havana
has announced that it wants to bid for the 2012 Summer Olympic Games. But
it's not the first time the announcement has been made.
Castro
Not Set in Stone / Newsday.com "We should look to him as one
of the Earth's wisest people, one of the people we should consult,"
Stone said at the Berlin Film Festival
Sandoval
Pays Tribute to Trumpet Idols / NPR As a young boy in his native
Cuba, Arturo Sandoval dreamed of learning how to play the trumpet. But when
he approached a local trumpet player for lessons, he was told he had no
talent and never would have. Instead of giving up, he went home and
practiced. Hard.
Open trade
with Cuba, state's delegation urges / Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Arkansas lawmakers still support normalizing relations between the United States
and Cuba despite a crackdown by Cuban authorities that has led to the
imprisonment of as many as 100 people.
CNN
debate yields more heat than light / St. Petersburg Times, Florida
Did he lie in previous interviews about suppressing stories? Were viewers lied
to in stories that were shaded to preserve access? And can viewers trust the
reports of CNN -- or any news outlet -- from inside a brutal dictatorship that
closely monitors journalists? (Cuba is another example.)
Sail-Cuba.com
seeing slow sales / Herald Tribune, Florida This season's version
of sailing to Cuba -- and doing it all legally, even the spending money part
-- apparently is in no danger of being oversubscribed. A calculated guess is
that the May 3 Tampa Bay-to-Marina Hemingway sailing event, which has room
for 75 boats, may start with fewer than 10 boats.
CNN postings send some to
early graves / Cnet News.com Meeting this premature fate were the
likes of U.S. vice president Dick Cheney, former president Ronald Reagan,
Cuban leader Fidel Castro, Pope John Paul II and South African political icon
Nelson Mandela. Their obituaries were mockups prepared in advance of the
actual events.
April 17
FROM CUBA / Interior Ministry
puts on show of force precedes trial / UPECI The Interior
Ministry has shipped an undisclosed number of special troops to the Isle of
Youth just before the trial of eight men who tried to hijack a plane April
10.
Cuba News / Yahoo!
-UN rights body adopts resolution on Cuba, omits mention of clampdown
-Bush could punish Cuba for its crackdown on dissidents: report -UN
rights body turns sights on Cuba -HUMAN RIGHTS: Cuba on Tenterhooks in
U.N. Commission
Cuba News / The Miami Herald
-U.S. vote may end up aiding Cuba at U.N. -Bush administration ponders
sanctions -U.S. calls Cuba measures 'brutal' -Take 2: HBO wants
Stone to reinterview Castro in documentary -'Jewban' couple gather family
for Passover
Censure cuba's reign of fear /
The Miami Herald The Cuban regime deserves serious censure
for its tyrannical contempt of human rights. The U.N. Human Rights Commission
should deliver exactly that today in a resolution condemning the regime's
crackdown and demanding that dissidents be released.
U.S. Official Criticizes Cuba's
Repression of Dissidents / Washington File The Cuban
government's recent crackdown on dissidents is indicative of its failure, and
the United States must continue to support Cuban citizens in their efforts
toward democracy and a better life, says Lorne Craner, assistant secretary of
state for democracy, human rights and labor.
U.S. Official Criticizes Cuba's
Repression of Dissidents / Washington File The Cuban
government's recent crackdown on dissidents is indicative of its failure, and
the United States must continue to support Cuban citizens in their efforts
toward democracy and a better life, says Lorne Craner, assistant secretary of
state for democracy, human rights and labor.
External
links
U.
S. May Punish Cuba for Imprisoning Critics / NY Times Among the
more drastic are the possibility of cutting off cash payments to relatives in
Cuba a mainstay for millions of Cubans or halting direct flights to the island,
the officials said.
Cuba:
Casini asks administration for information on repression / AGI Online, Italy
The President of the House, Pier Ferdinando Casini, at the start of the debate
at Montecitorio over an Italian humanitarian mission in Iraq as requested by
the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Franco Frattini, asked him for information
over the wave of repression underway in Cuba. Cassini announced that the issue
will be debated after Easter.
Belgo-Cuban
relations cool / Expatica.com Belgium's Deputy Foreign Affairs
Minister, Annemarie Neyts, said Tuesday that unless Cuba's dissident
prisoners were released, all communication between the two countries would be
frozen.
U.S.
wants Cuba off U.N. rights commission / San Francisco Gate The
While House urged the U.N. Human Rights Commission to evict Cuba from the
53-nation panel, contending that Fidel Castro's government has no interest in
promoting the commission's mandate to protect freedom.
Aiding freedom's
enemies / The Washington Times CNN broadcast almost nothing about
Mr. Castro's awful human-rights record, a deliberate and shameful omission.
Just seven of 212 stories (or 3 percent) focused on the regime's treatment of
dissidents; only four stories (2 percent) concerned themselves with the lack
of democracy; and only two stories (less than 1 percent) spotlighted the
intimidation of journalists. So much for the "truth."
GOP
Pols Seek Wider Condemnation of Castro's Crackdown / CNSNews.com
Two Republican U.S. House members Wednesday demanded that the Bush
administration be more aggressive in condemning human rights abuses in Cuba
and that it provide information on prisoners to any delegation traveling to
the communist nation.
Cuba
Attacks U.N. Proposal on Jailed Dissidents / NY Times H uman
rights advocates said this year's resolution which was sponsored by Uruguay,
Peru and Costa Rica was weak, especially considering that the panel began its
sessions just as world leaders and rights groups were condemning the Cuban
government for its recent actions.
L.A.
officials tour Cuba / SGVTribune.com Two of the five jet-setting
members of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors are in Cuba this week.
A third went last month, and a fourth visited the island in December. County
insiders say some of the supervisors are interested in potential trade
opportunities between Cuba and Los Angeles County, which has the largest U.S.
port complex.
HBO
Throws a Blockade Around Oliver Stone's 'Commandante' / The Washington Post
Even before last week's executions, Stone's documentary was controversial.
During the Sundance Film Festival, the director said he found Castro to be "warm
and bright," adding, "he's a very driven man, a very moral man.
He's very concerned about his country. He's selfless in that way."
UN
Calls on Cuba to Accept Human Rights Investigator / VOA News "Since
this commission began, nearly 80 representatives of Cuban civil society have
been arrested, convicted, and sentenced to lengthy prison terms," said
Mr. Moley. "In summary, sham proceedings. While we sat in this hall last
Friday, the Cuban government tried and executed three hijackers with little
more than a week between arrest and execution."
Castro
continues to give Cuba a bad name / Nashville City Paper If anyone
wondered if Fidel Castro has mellowed in his old age, the execution of three
would-be ferryboat hijackers by firing squad last week should answer the
question.
Puerto
Rico criticizes Cuba for crackdown on dissidents / Herald Tribune
Puerto Rico's secretary of state criticized Cuba's government Wednesday for a
recent crackdown on dissidents, calling it a step backward for the region.
Fidel, book critic / MSN.com
It's been widely observed lately that Fidel-adoring artists and intellectuals
in the United States never seem to mind whenever Cuba's charismatic dictator
tosses his own country's artists and intellectuals into the slammer, as he did
last month.
Treasury
releases list of companies trading with opposition / The Albuuqerque Tribune
This month, companies including Amazon.com, AAA Travel, Chevron/Texaco,
Citibank, Wells Fargo and the New York Yankees settled claims by the
government that they had some prohibited dealings with sanctioned countries.
Stop
Sending Cubans Back to Castro's Gulag / National Review Online The
barbarity of Fidel Castro's regime became plain to the world last week and so
did the immorality of a Clinton-era policy toward Cubans attempting to escape
Castro's tropical gulag.
The Betrayed
Liberation: Remembering the Bay of Pigs / Myles B. Kantor / NewsMax.com
April 17 marks the 42nd anniversary of the Bay of Pigs, where approximately
1,500 Cuban exiles attempted to overthrow Fidel Castro's totalitarian regime.
To discuss this event is Victor Triay, a history professor at Middlesex
Community College in Connecticut and author of "Bay of Pigs: An Oral
History of Brigade 2506."
Pianist
'Chucho' Valdes brings Cuban feel to U.S. / San Bernardino County Sun
Jesus "Chucho" Valdes enters the Casa del Musica club in Miramar, a
section of outer Havana where Cuba's nouveau riche intermingle with foreign
dignitaries. It's late December and the Havana international jazz festival
has just ended, where the acclaimed pianist has been a star attraction.
Cuban
political repression seen as worst in decades / The Washington Times
The Cuban government has "carried out its most significant act of
political repression in decades," arresting more than 100 people since
mid-March as the world was focused on the war in Iraq, a State Department
official told a House panel yesterday.
Operation
Cuban Freedom NOT! (Part 1) / Humberto Fontova / NewsMax.com
So Castro's air force was NOT obliterated. What WAS obliterated were the
Brigade's ammo ships and control center. They were alone. What the hell was
going on!??
CLAUDIA
MARQUEZ LINARES: Scene from the Cuban crackdown / The Modesto Bee What
are they afraid of? I ask myself this while in my conscience - and in the
consciences of the many journalists and leaders of organizations that were
also victim of confiscations and arbitrary arrest - the hope remains for a
free and democratic Cuba, where to read Vargas Llosa and Milan Kundera will
not be "material proof of an offense."
World
Council of Churches regrets miscarriage of justice in trial of Cuban
dissidents / wcc-coe.org In a letter addressed to the Cuban
President, Fidel Castro, the general secretary of the World Council of
Churches (WCC), Konrad Raiser, expresses regret at the miscarriage of justice
in the recent trial in which Cuban political dissidents were found guilty and
received heavy sentences. He further urges that their sentences be reviewed
and that they be released.
Cuban
Exiles Question US Policy Towards Cuban Dictatorship / VOA News
With Saddam Hussein's removal from power in Iraq, many Cuban exiles say the
United States should turn its attention to another dictator closer to U.S.
shores: Cuban President Fidel Castro.
April 16
FROM CUBA / Dissidents' kin
meet, cheer, at Havana church / Ernesto Roque Palm Sunday
Mass at St. Rita's in Havana closed to strong applause as the parish priest
read a letter from Cuban bishops that referred to dissidents who were
recently sentenced to long prison terms and to others who were executed by the
government.
FROM CUBA / Jailed dissident
learns of his sentence from wife / Grupo Decoro Héctor
Maseda, the jailed independent journalist who was recently tried on charges
of crimes against the security of the State, only learned he had been sentenced
to 20 years in prison when his wife told him during a brief visit.
FROM CUBA / Relatives of jailed
dissident complain about no news of his health / Eduardo Alba
Relatives of Roberto de Miranda, the president of the independent teachers
association who was sentenced to 20 years in prison last week, say they were
not allowed to see him on visiting day, April 8, and can't get information
about his health.
Cuban Bishops Condemn Summary
Execution of 3 Hijackers / ZENIT Learning that "after
a most summary judicial prosecution three assailants were executed who seized
a passenger transport vessel, we, the bishops of Cuba, in complete
concurrence with the magisterium of Pope John Paul II, express once again our
rejection of the death penalty," the brief message stated.
Cuba News / Yahoo!
-U.N. Body Debates Cuba Rights Crackdown -Execution of Cuban hijackers
"arbitrary": OAS human rights Commission -CANF Congratulates
HBO on Pulling Castro Documentary from Schedule -Powell Decries Cuba's
Human Rights Record -Mexico Condemns Executions in Cuba -Cuban
dissidents fear bad human rights rating won't help their cause
Cuba News / The Miami Herald
-Cuba vote postponed amid hot debate -Tougher U.N. proposal on rights
may help Cuba -Homestead girl, 5, hospitalized in Cuba, possibly with
SARS
Mexico's Fox to Support UN
Human Rights Resolution Against Cuba / VOA News Published
reports in Mexico indicate that the government of President Vicente Fox is
planning to vote in favor of a resolution criticizing Cuba at the United
Nations Human Rights Commission in Geneva this week.
Cuba: Executions mark an
unjustifiable erosion in human rights / Amnesty International
In yet another blow to respect for human rights, Cuban authorities have ended
a three-year de facto moratorium on executions by sending three men to their
deaths before an official firing squad, said Amnesty International today.
External
links
Breaking News:
HBO Yanks Heavily Promoted Oliver Stone Documentary of Castro /
BreaKingNewsNet.com HBO said Stone's documentary, which was filmed in
February 2002, is not appropriate given today's circumstances. The network
hopes Stone returns to Cuba to interview Castro about recent events and
updates the documentary.
Collateral
Damage in Cuba / Marcelo Lopez Bañobre / The Washigton Post
Cubans -- at least the ones I know -- have been mostly for the war because it
promised to get rid of a vicious leader: Saddam Hussein. I think Cubans hate
dictatorships so fervently that they would pay just about any price to see a
hated dictator go. Yet when the war began I observed a strange phenomenon: civil
society and human rights movements in Cuba became the first collateral damage
of the Iraqi war. Instead of helping our cause, the war hurt us.
A Purge With a
Purpose / Ann Louise Bardach / The New York Times Indeed, whenever
it looked as if Cuba was on the path to rejoining the world, Mr. Castro has
done something to derail its progress. Recall that he relentlessly battled
Mikhail Gorbachev over perestroika and glasnost. Mr. Castro warned that these
changes would be the Soviet Union's downfall evidently missing the point. In
a new, flattering documentary about Cuba's leader by Oliver Stone, "Comandante,"
Mr. Castro dismisses Mr. Gorbachev as a man "who destroyed his country."
Tour
of Cuban music a rum time for all / Toronto Star You got snap,
crackle and bop and lots of Afro-Cuban sparkle as a bonus.
Mexico
condemns executions in Cuba / San Francisco Gate The Mexican
government issued a statement Monday condemning Cuba's execution of three men
convicted in a brief trial of hijacking a ferry to flee to the United States.
But Mexico remained mum about how it plans to vote on a rights resolution
regarding Cuba at the U.N. Human Rights Commission.
Crackdown stuns
Cuba watchers / Atlanta Journal-Constitution Rarely in its
turbulent 44 years has Fidel Castro's regime reacted so harshly against so
many. Cuba's sweeping crackdown on dissidents, capped by the swift execution
Friday of ferry hijackers, exposes the insecurities of a government that
feels even more threatened, defensive and vulnerable than usual.
Move
to ease Cuba trade stalls / San Francisco Gate Cuba's recent
jailing of dozens of dissidents and the execution of three ferry hijackers
have stalled what had been an increasingly popular drive in the U.S. Congress
to ease trade and travel restrictions on the island.
Wave
of repression sweeps Cuba / The Start, Canada Hard times just got
a hell of a lot harder for Oscar Espinosa Chepe. Sixty-two years old and in
failing health, the independent Cuban economist learned this past week how he
will be spending the next 20 years.
Repressive
regimes crack down on opposition when the world is not watching /
Scotsman.com In Cuba, Fidel Castro has launched one of the biggest
moves to crush dissent for years, and Amnesty International said almost 80
people may now be prisoners of conscience in the country after mass arrests
which began on March 18, two days before the war started.
Castro's
purge infuriates US / The Independent, UK Tensions have
dramatically escalated between Cuba and the US after a brutal crackdown by
the regime of Fidel Castro against opposition leaders that resulted in prison
sentences of 20 years or more for about 75 dissidents last week. All were
convicted after court hearings of no more than one day.
A rum do in
Hemingway's old Havana / Times Online, UK Cuba has changed since
the author's heyday but he'd still find bars to die for, says Nicholas
Rufford of The Sunday Times
Spring
trip shapes minds / The Boston Globe Deep into the night, they
discussed the toilet's healthy, American-style flush, as they changed into
sandals and shorts for an evening in Havana. Then they set off toward the
crowds of Cuban revelers, searching for people-to-people contact.
Yankees
Pay $75,000 To Settle Cuba Dispute / Newsday.com The New York
Yankees paid the government $75,000 to settle a dispute that it conducted
business in Cuba in violation of a long-standing U.S. embargo, according to
documents released Friday.
April 14
FROM CUBA / Government
officials refuse to participate in carpool scheme / UPEC
Havana residents are complaining that high government officials are steadfastly
refusing to participate in the carpooling scheme recently imposed by the
government to alleviate the transportation crisis.
FROM CUBA / Government opponent
arrested when he tried to witness trial / APLO José Ángel
Simón, a 29-year-old dissident in Santiago de Cuba, was arrested April
3 when he tried to enter the provincial court to witness one the recent
trials of human rights activists.
FROM CUBA / Complaints about
bread quality in the Isle of Youth / UPECI Residents of the
Isle of Youth have to put up with poor quality bread, in spite of numerous
complaints to the authorities who claim the solution to the problem is out of
their hands.
FROM CUBA / Grim days / Juan
Carlos Linares Balmaseda Scenes of massive arrests, seizes,
summary trials, heavy sentences and informants, spread throughout the
population the message Cuba government wants to send: Terror.
Cuba News / The Miami Herald
-After Iraq, Cuba not next on U.S. list, Rumsfeld says -Cuba's
brutality an eye-opener for a new generation -'True faces' in Cuba's
dissident crackdown -Hundreds sign letter seeking release of dissidents
-Cuban repression linked to hard times -Executions threaten moderate
exile viewpoints
Cuba News / Yahoo!
-Cuba Executes Men Charged in Hijacking -Cuba sends unequivocal
message with execution of hijackers, crackdown
Cuba's Crackdown the Result of
Internal Developments, Not U.S. Policy / Jaime Suchlicki
The recent violent crackdown on dissidents in Cuba has more to do with Castro's
desire to leave a clean slate for the succession to power of his brother Raul,
than with U.S. policies and actions in the island. Neither the activities of
James Cason, Head of the U. S. Interests Section in Havana, nor U.S. polices,
are the reasons for Castro's actions.
April 11
Cuba News / The Miami Herald
-Powell bashes Cuban 'roundup' -Cuba executes 3 hijackers
-Sister: They were treated like dogs
Cuba News / Yahoo!
-Three leaders of Cuba ferry hijacking executed -Powell Urges Cuba to
Release Dissidents -ASNE Protests Crackdown in Cuban -Cuba
Sentences Last of 75 Dissidents -Mexico's Fox Urged on U.N. Vote on Cuba
-Cuba defends sentences against dissidents, calling them US
'mercenaries' -Cuban Flag Sent by Political Prisoners Makes its Way to
the 59th session of the U.N. Commission on Human Rights
What's Castro up to? / The
Miami Herald Recent events suggest that Fidel Castro is
brewing a new confrontation with the United States. The U.S. needs to be
prepared for another exodus from Cuba, pulled by the promise of freedom here
and pushed by a dictator whose best interest may well be served by letting go
dissidents who had become too vocal.
April 10
Cuba News / The Miami Herald
-Cuba: Dissidents were eroding socialist system -New purpose for
embargo foes -A Pulitzer For Nilo Cruz
Cuba News / Yahoo!
-Chretien admits having "a problem" with Cuba, but will maintain
pressure -Cuba Defends Crackdown on Dissidents
Meanwhile, in Cuba, the tyranny
goes on / Jeff Jacoby, The Boston Globe One of the first
people I met during a week's stay in Havana last year was the economist Oscar
Espinosa Chepe, a once-ardent communist who had turned against Fidel Castro's
dictatorial system. For daring to criticize Cuba's disastrous policies, Chepe
and his wife Miriam had been severely punished.
Listen carefully to Latin
America's response to Cuba's repression: silence / Andres Oppenheimer / The
Miami Herald What irony! The democratic leaders of Mexico,
Brazil, Argentina, Peru and Chile were themselves peaceful opponents until
recently, forced to knock on the doors of foreign governments, international
human rights organizations -- and journalists -- to demand solidarity against
their countries' authoritarian governments.
Cuba's dissidents deserve
support in hour of need / Atlanta Journal-Constitution Now,
while Uncle Sam's eyes are focused on Iraq, would seem to be a good time for
Castro to sneak a crackdown past an international backlash. But the backlash
has come anyway, from the European Union, the Roman Catholic Church,
international human rights organizations and from Capitol Hill, just as
efforts to lift trade sanctions were beginning to make some headway
April 9
FROM CUBA / Independent
journalist sentenced to 26 years; furniture confiscated / UPECI
Independent journalist Víctor Rolando Arroyo was sentenced by the
Provincial Popular Tribunal in Pinar del Río to 26 years in prison and
to have some of his furniture confiscated, said his mother, Martha Carmona.
Outrage over repression in Cuba
spurs campaign for U.N. censure / The Miami Herald Appalled
by the latest round of summary trials and sentencing of dissidents in Cuba, a
group of countries from Latin America and Europe plans to toughen a draft
resolution that would result in censure by the U.N. Human Rights Commission.
Condemn Cuba's Tyranny / The
Miami Herald The U.N. Human Rights Commission should
sanction Cuba's government for its strong-arm crackdown of dissidents and
demand their immediate release. Further, Latin American governments should
see to it that Cuba, whose term expires this year, isn't reelected to the
commission.
Cuba News / Yahoo!
-White House lashes Cuba over dissident crackdown -Cuba Criticized for
Jailing Dissidents -Activists: 74 Cuban Dissidents Convicted
-Cuban courts follow up on crackdown, hand dissidents long jail terms
Confident of winning, Castro
confronts U.S. / Carlos Alberto Montaner / The Miami Herald
We're probably at the brink of another confrontation between Fidel Castro and
the United States. Judging from all the symptoms, Castro is moving his pieces
to generate a new conflict.
Heavy prison sentences -- a
giant step backwards for human rights / Amnesty International
Cuba: Heavy prison sentences -- a giant step backwards for human rightsIn a
move which signals a giant step backwards for human rights, at least 33 Cuban
dissidents arrested in a government crackdown in March have been sentenced to
terms ranging from 14 to 27 years, Amnesty International said today.
External
links
Stifling Dissent
in Havana / The New York Times As soon as the fighting started in
Iraq, Fidel Castro saw his opening. With the world's attention focused
elsewhere, more than 80 Cuban pro-democracy dissidents and independent
journalists were rounded up and tried on trumped-up charges of subversion in
one of Cuba's most severe crackdowns in memory. It is a desperate act of a
discredited leader.
Unlikely
allies condemn crackdown / Sun-Sentinel, FL The Cuban government's
crackdown on independent journalists and other dissidents has created a
strange, if temporary, alliance -- uniting those who favor isolation of the
island and those who prefer closer ties in a chorus of indignant condemnation.
Cuba jailings draw
anger / BBC, UK Cuba's sentencing of more than 30 dissidents to
lengthy prison terms has prompted international outrage. A White House
spokesman said the recent crackdown was proof that President Fidel Castro's
government remained a "totalitarian blight" on the region.
Cuba
jails writers, dissidents / The Dallas Morning News Cuban
authorities on Monday slapped dissidents, journalists and other defendants
with harsh prison terms for alleged subversive acts against the socialist
regime. Family members waiting outside an Old Havana courtroom were angry,
indignant and defiant.
Tapping Cuban
Roots for American Drama / The New York Times The New Theater in
Coral Gables, Fla., commissioned "Anna" and presented it last fall.
Unlike the other finalists, which appeared on Broadway (where "Take Me
Out" is still running), the winning play had not been seen by any of the
five Pulitzer drama jurors, nor by members of the Pulitzer board who made the
award. "Anna" won on the strength of its script alone.
Castro's repression
/ The Washington Times For about 80 defenders of democracy in
Cuba, life has been reduced to the dank darkness of a gulag. These nonviolent
dissidents have been caught up in the worst crackdown on the island in a
decade, and on Thursday, many went on trial for "crimes" of thought
and expression.
Lawsuit
filed in Miami on behalf of jailed Cuban dissident / Sun-Sentinel, FL
An independent Cuban journalist imprisoned in Cuba is suing Fidel Castro and
other Cuban leaders in U.S. District Court, accusing them of torture and
unfairly convicting him in one of many closed-door trials of dissidents on
the communist island.
Get
tough with Cuba / The Globe and Mail, Canada It is time that
Canada identified the Castro regime for what it is -- a totalitarian
dictatorship quite different from Cuba's image as a benign winter playground
for willfully blinkered Canadians. Better to bring the Castro government to
heel through immediate trade sanctions and a total ban on tourism, rather than
having to rely on feigned "extreme concern" over this regime's
regular infringements on citizens' liberties.
Castro's latest purge
/ Cox Newspapers Counting on the war in Iraq as distraction and
using the corollary international fad of anti-Americanism as cover, Fidel
Castro is up to his old tricks. He is heaving dissidents into prison by the
shovelsful.
U.S.
may send Saddam loyalists to Cuba / The National Post, Canada
Saddam Hussein loyalists who take potshots at U.S. troops while wearing civilian
clothes could end up in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, if U.S. forces refuse to
recognize them as prisoners of war.
Spanish
hotel companies to invest in Cuba (Apuesta por Cuba) / Hoover's Online
Leading Spanish hotel groups are determined to extend their market presence
in Cuba. Eight Spanish hotel chains currently operate outlets on the Caribbean
island, accounting for 30 per cent of the country's 40,000 official tourist
hotel beds. Spanish companies are set to increase direct investments in Cuba
during the next few years as part of the construction of eight new hotels.
US
may harden line on Havana / Financial Times, UK James Cason,
principal officer at the US interests section in Havana, told the Financial
Times that a high-level Washington policy review would take place this month,
as soon as senior policymakers found time to turn their attention from the
war in Iraq.
April 8
FROM CUBA / Journalists' wives
praise their performance on the stand / UPECI "Vázquez
held his head high and spoke with precision," said Yolanda Huerga. "I
was very sad, but as I heard him speak, my spirits lifted... I would have run
to him and hugged him," she said.
FROM CUBA / Propane tanks
missing from provincial supplier / Cuba Verdad Two
inspectors working for the provincial supplier of liquefied gas in Havana
province charge a large quantity of 10 kilogram tanks are being stolen from
the company.
Cuba News / The Miami Herald
-Cuba attacks dissent with prison -Cuba Condemned for Jailing
Dissidents -Cuban playwright wins Pulitzer Prize -Cruz's poetry in
motion in passionate 'Anna'
Crimes Against Freedom / The
Miami Herald In Havana yesterday, independent journalist Raúl
Rivero was sentenced to 20 years in prison. Ricardo González Alfonso,
his editor at De Cuba magazine, also was sentenced to 20 years. They are
among some 80 Cubans accused of crimes against the state, including Martha
Beatriz Roque, (20 years) and Héctor Palacios, (25 years).
'We Will Not Give Up' / The
Miami Herald The imprisoned dissidents are all part of a
movement that continues and grows in Cuba regardless of what happens to the
leaders. From the beginning, some pro-democracy Cubans left the island.
Others remained to continue the work.
Cuba News / Yahoo!
-Opponents of US embargo on Cuba lament new crack-down on dissidents
-Canada "extremely concerned" over heavy jail terms for Cuban
dissidents
External
links
Hollywood's
Darling, Liberals' Blind Spot / Richard Cohen / The Washington Post
So I would like to hear some moral outrage about Castro. I would like to see
the vilification of Cuban Americans cease. They have as much right to lobby
the government as do, say, Jewish Americans on behalf of Israel or Greek
Americans on behalf of Greece. I'd like to see anyone interrupt one of
Fidel's marathon soliloquies to ask about human rights violations.
Cuban
Dissidents Get Prison Terms as Long as 27 Years / David Gonzalez / the New
York Times The harsh sentences capped five days of trials in which
state security agents who had infiltrated dissident groups testified against
their supposed colleagues on charges of subversion and collaborating with
American diplomats. Almost 80 people were arrested in an islandwide sweep
that started last month and that has been condemned by numerous human rights
advocates, the European Union and foreign leaders.
Locked
up in Cuba with Castro's key / The Globe and Mail, Canada Dissent
still has no place in Fidel Castro's Cuba. That was the clear message
yesterday when seven dissidents were sentenced to 15 to 25 years in prison in
sham trials. Free thought and its inseparable companion, free speech, exist
at the whim of the leader.
Castro's repression
/ The Washington Times For about 80 defenders of democracy in
Cuba, life has been reduced to the dank darkness of a gulag. These nonviolent
dissidents have been caught up in the worst crackdown on the island in a
decade, and on Thursday, many went on trial for "crimes" of thought
and expression.
Cuban repression alive
and well / Radio Netherlands A Havana court's harsh crackdown on a
large group of Cuban dissidents has been condemned by international rights
groups and set back slowly improving US-Cuban relations. The 79 dissidents
were sentenced to between 10 and 27 years imprisonment for opposing the
government of Fidel Castro.
April 7
FROM CUBA / Finding defense
attorneys hard for dissidents / Ana Leonor Díaz
Finding a defense attorney has turned into a near impossibility for the 78
jailed dissidents and independent journalists who are facing sentences of
between 12 years and life in prison in summary trials taking place in several
Cuban cities.
Cuba: Unfair Trials of
Nonviolent Dissidents / HRW The trials of nonviolent Cuban
dissidents that began this morning should be halted immediately, Human Rights
Watch said today. Human Rights Watch also called on the Cuban government to
drop all charges against the defendants.
Cuba News / Yahoo!
-Cuban dissidents get heavy jail terms -Rights Groups Score Cuban,
Other Repression During Iraq War -Cuba Will Keep Baghdad Embassy Open
-Reporters Testify at Cuba Dissident Trial -Cuba Shows Hijacked
Ferry Rescue Video -Cuba Ferry Captors Nabbed, Hostages Freed
Cuba News / The Miami Herald
-Castro says U.S. envoy encouraging dissidents -Sponsors shelve exile
talks in Havana
April 4
FROM CUBA / Summary trials
leave little time for defense / UPECI Summary trials of
about 70 government opponents and independent journalists starting barely two
weeks after their arrests are causing an upheaval in lawyers' offices here,
say sources who asked to remain anonymous.
Cuba News / Yahoo!
-Cuba Tries First of 80 Dissidents -Trials of Cuban dissidents begin;
journalists, diplomats not admitted -Cuba Resumes Trials of 80 Dissidents
-Cuba Warns of Force to End Hijacking
Cuba News / The Miami Herald
-Trials of Cuban dissidents begin -Accused man in hijacking denied
bond -Spate of hijackings prompts rare U.S. warning to Cubans
Cuban tourism office in Paris
occupied to protest against jailing of 24 journalists / Reporters Without
Borders Some 15 activists from Reporters Without Borders
accompanied by figures from the world of culture occupied the Cuban tourism
bureau in Paris at around 10 a.m. to protest against a wave of arrests of
journalists in Cuba. They symbolically turned the office into a prison,
hanging a banner saying "Cuba = prison" over the facade.
Statement by Cuban dissidents /
PRIMA News With a new spiral of repression being faced by
Cubans these days from the totalitarian regime, we decided to issue another
statement to draw public attention to the facts of abuse and lawlessness in
the country.
Editorial: Crisis brews in Cuba
/ The Miami Herald Unfortunately, three such incidents in
less than two weeks seem somehow related to internal Cuban turmoil -- and may
portend trouble ahead. Cuba appears ripe for another crisis. And crisis is
exactly what dictator Fidel Castro loves -- because he has a knack for
turning his problems into U.S. problems.
Editorial: Judicial warfare
Cuba style / The Miami Herald The regime ruthlessly is
punishing Cubans who promoted free press, democracy and human rights -- what
exists and is protected by law throughout the free world. Instead of using
bombs and guns, the Cuban regime perverts judicial processes to annihilate
its internal enemies.
External
links
Crackdown on Cuban Dissidents /
World Movement for Democracy Please write a letter in Spanish or
your own first language to President Castro and/or to the Cuban Embassy in
your country addressing your concerns for the detainees. Contact information
can be found in the Amnesty International statement below.
Dozens
of Cuban dissidents face trial for subversion / NY Times Ignoring
international condemnation, Cuban authorities began trying dozens of
dissidents today on charges of subversion that could bring life sentences for
some of the government's most outspoken opponents. The trials come amid
deepening political and economic strains. Experts noted that the battered
economy and rising discontent over limited opportunities are driving
desperate attempts to leave the island.
Cuba's
Crackdown / The Washington Post Editorial The timing of the
arrests is not coincidental. The Cuban regime chose to crack down at this
particular moment because the world in general and the United States in
particular are distracted by Iraq. At any other time, such a radical shift in
policy would be front-page news, particularly because the list of those arrested
includes many names widely known in the West. The war also gives Cuban
diplomats a means of grandstanding their way through Geneva and an excuse to
refuse to cooperate with the human rights commission's envoy to their
country.
Trials for Cuban
dissidents begin as opposition grows / Chicago Sun-Times The first
wave of dissidents rounded up in a nationwide crackdown went on trial
Thursday as Fidel Castro's government moved to wipe out growing opposition.
Prosecutors sought life sentences for 12 of the 80 defendants.
Joint
statement by yet free Cuban dissidents / PRIMA News, Russia
Following a wave of political trials that started in Cuba on April 3, leaders
of the Cuban dissident movement have issued a new joint declaration. That is
the second statement of that kind made by dissidents in the past few weeks.
The first one was disseminated in the wake of massive arrests in the mid-March
of this year.
Speedy trials
start in Cuba / PRIMA News, Russia Cuban judiciary wrapped up its
first hearings in the cases of dissidents arrested in March of this year on a
charge of anti-state activity. As expected, the state prosecutor asked to
sentence the defendants to from 12 years to life term in prison. Adolfo
Fernandez Sainz, a correspondent of the Moscow-based PRIMA news agency in
Havana, was tried jointly with six other dissidents, including Martha Beatriz
Roque, leader of the Assembly to Promote the Civil Society in Cuba.
Cuban
authorities hurry to deal with the opposition before capture of Baghdad /
PRIMA News, Russia The trial of Martha Beatriz Roque, leader of
the Assembly to Promote the Civil Society in Cuba, is expected to take place
either on April 3 or 4, her relatives were told by a state security
investigator who is in charge of the dissident's case. Trials of other
arrested dissidents will also be held on those days in provincial towns in
the country.
Incident
surprises family, friends / Sun-Sentinel Like so many others who
have fled Cuba, Adelmis Wilson Gonzalez apparently gave his friends and
family no clue that he planned a brazen escape. Those who knew Wilson
Gonzalez, who surrendered to federal officials in Key West on Tuesday after
hijacking a plane from this sleepy island, were stunned.
Exile
Cuban group plans to organize protests against dissident jailings /
Sun-Sentinel, FL A leading Cuban exile group Tuesday denounced a
crackdown by the Cuban government on dissidents in the communist nation, and
said it would help organize a campaign of public protest to press for the
release of all political prisoners on the island.
Grounds for a separation
/ The Washington Times Though we rarely were able to reach
consensus about grotesque violations in countries such as China or Cuba, my
fellow subcommission members had no trouble condemning the United States for
its alleged transgressions, especially our supposed racism.
Hijackers
'unite' US, Cuba / News24.com, SA The United States and Cuban
governments have become strange bedfellows in a tacit co-operation to stem
the hijacking of boats and planes to American territory at a time when
bilateral relations are at their worst in years
April 3
FROM CUBA / Prosecutors to seek
life term for independent journalist / Ernesto Roque
Prosecutors will seek a sentence of life in prison for recently-arrested
independent journalist Víctor Rolando Arroyo in a trial set for
Thursday, April 3, said Arroyo's wife Elsa González Padrón.
FROM CUBA / Italian man and his
Cuban wife accused of "buying and selling" could lose home / Grupo
Decoro An Italian man and his Cuban wife are facing trial and
may lose their home after being accused of "buying and selling"
their house, a crime under the Cuban penal code.
Cuba News / Yahoo!
-Cuba Begins Trials of Dissidents -U.S. Condemns Dissidents' Trials in
Cuba -Top American diplomat in Havana warns Cubans not to hijack any
more planes or boats -Cuba to Take Lead Role in Hijack Crisis
-Ferry hostage drama continues in Cuba after 20-hour open seas ordeal
-Hijacked ferry back in Cuba after 20-hour ordeal on open seas -Cuban
Exile Group Denounces Crackdown
Dozens of Cuban Dissidents "Will
Be Brought to Trial" / Amnesty International
Following a wave of targeted arrests of dissidents that began on 18 March 2003
in Cuba, Amnesty International is concerned that there may be 77 new prisoners
of conscience on the island, detained for the non-violent exercise of their
rights to freedom of expression and association, the organization said in a
report "Cuba:Massive
crackdown on dissent" released today.
April 2
FROM CUBA / Relatives march on
behalf of arrested dissidents / Ernesto Roque The marchers,
mostly mothers and wives of those arrested, attended Mass at St. Rita's on
5th Avenue, and then marched up and down the avenue, all dressed in white.
FROM CUBA / Man killed in
domestic dispute / William E. Herrera Díaz Marlon
Cabrera, 31, was killed Saturday by his nephews' stepfather after a domestic
dispute at the latter's home in Arroyo Naranjo, Havana.
Where Truth Is a Crime / The
Miami Herald With Cuba set to conduct summary trials as
early as tomorrow, the time to act is now -- before people unjustly are
sentenced to 15 years or more of imprisonment and mistreatment.
Cuba News / Yahoo!
-Cuban government seeking life sentences for at least 10 of 78 dissidents
arrested in crackdown -Cuba Says Hijacked Boat Carries 50 People
-Passenger ferry hijacked in Cuba, US sends negotiators -U.S.
Denies Leniency in Cuban Hijackings -Another Hijacked Cuba Plane Lands
in Fla. -Police: Man who hijacked plane from Cuba to Key West surrenders
-US lambasts Cuban airport security after new hijacking
Cuba News / The Miami Herald
-Miami lawyer picked to head Radio, TV Martí -Hijacked plane
from Cuba 2nd in 2 weeks -Prosecutor: 'We're not lenient' on hijackers
When fearful, Castro fills up
his prisons / Carlos Alberto Montaner / The Miami Herald It
happened again. In recent days, Cuba's political police cracked down on the
opposition democrats and detained nearly 100 people ''on personal orders from
Castro,'' a clumsy excuse offered by Lt. Col. Pichardo, an officer who
alternates his profession as psychologist with the dirty task of jailer.
April 1
FROM CUBA / Political prisoner
Biscet transferred; home searched / UPECI Political prisoner
Oscar Elías Biscet was transferred from his prison cell Saturday night
to State Security headquarters and his home was searched Sunday morning.
FROM CUBA / Independent
journalist may be first to be tried under Gag Law / Ernesto Roque- Cuba
Law 88, enacted in 1999, may be first applied to a recently-arrested
independent journalist. A Department of State Security lieutenant colonel
told Vázquez' wife on Friday that he would be tried under said law.
FROM CUBA / Multiple
irregularities detected in vehicle inspections / Juan Carlos Linares
"In Cuba, it's impossible to freely buy a new car, and almost impossible,
due to high prices, to buy an old one. To boot, the government has forbidden
the sale of cars that came into the country after 1961," said the owner
of a 1948 model.
Cuba News / Yahoo!
-Official: Cuba can prosecute dissidents -Hijacked Cuban plane lands
at Key West, hijacker carries child off plane -Man with hand grenades
holds 46 people on a plane hostage in Cuba
Hijacked Cuban plane lands in
Key West / The Miami Herald A Cuban plane hijacked by a man
claiming to have two grenades and demanding to go to the United States landed
in Key West Tuesday. At about 11:30 a.m., the Soviet-made twin-engine AN-24
touched down at Key West International Airport, shadowed by a Black Hawk
military helicopter.
At the heart of the Varela
Project: people / The Miami Herald I traveled to Cuba last
week for the first time in my life. I was going to make a documentary about
Oswaldo Payá and the Varela Project. I wanted to discover what the
nonviolent reform movement really represented to those living in modern Cuba.
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