October 31

FROM CUBA
Cuban independent journalist arrested, then freed
During the interrogation Captain Aramís told her she was violating "Gag law". Márquez said she replied she was aware of that, but that she considered the law to be illegitimate. "Do you love your son?", Captain Aramís asked her at that point. Márquez has a six-year old son with her husband, jailed dissident Osvaldo Alfonso.
HAVANA

FROM CUBA
The day the music died; the story of a rock band in Cuba
When Gorki Águila's rock band became too uncomfortable for Cuban cultural authorities, Águila found himself accused of drug trafficking and the band in need of a new leader.
HAVANA

The Miami Herald
• Cuban stars Dueñas, Rodriguez defect
• Cuba travel battle looms
• Local monsignor, influential poet

October 30

Two journalists and four dissidents on hunger strike in prison
Reporters Without Borders today voiced deep concern about the state of health of two independent journalists and four other dissidents who began a hunger strike on 18 October in the Holguín provincial penitentiary in central Cuba, where they are all held, to protest against the placing of Iván Hernández Carrillo, another independent journalist, in a "punishment cell" the previous day.
HAVANA

The Miami Herald
• GOP Will Keep Cuba Travel Ban Intact
• Argentine president's absence stirs debate

Political prisoners hunger for justice
Tony Díaz Sánchez, of the Liberation Christian Movement, is imprisoned at Holguín, 1,000 miles from his hometown, Marianao. To see him, his wife, Gisela, daughters Yeni, 16, and Lázara Massiel, 4, and his brother Carlos must make a long trip, filled with the difficulties of the Cuba of the poor.
Oswaldo Paya, The Miami Herald.

More Cuban doctors for Seychelles
Cooperation in health between Cuba and Seychelles has received a major boost following the announcement that the number of doctors from the Caribbean island working in Seychelles will be increased.
Seychelles Nation, Seychelles.

External links

Two Cuban Stars Defect To U.S.
Cuban baseball stars Maels Rodriguez and Yobal Dueñas confirmed in a radio interview Thursday that they have defected with the goal of playing professional baseball in the United States.
BaseballAmerica.com.

Israeli tourists flocking to Cuba
Israel and Cuba haven't had diplomatic relations since 1973, but that hasn't stopped thousands of Israelis from touring the Caribbean island anyway. "We assume that at least 10,000 Israelis have already visited Cuba," said Daniel Faians, president and CEO of Polaris Group, a large travel wholesaler and airline agent based in Tel Aviv.
Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

Cuba rumors circulate in boater search
A rumored radio broadcast that three missing Naples boaters could be in Cuban territory, perhaps in jail there, made its way to the U.S. State department, prompting an inquiry of the Cuban government.
The News-Press, FL.

'Manteca' Is Too Claustrophobic
Life in present-day Cuba is claustrophobic, at least in the view of actor, poet and playwright Alberto Pedro Torriente. His 1993 play, "Manteca," being presented by Teatro de la Luna, Arlington's Spanish-language theater, makes that point by centering on a family living in a cramped Havana apartment.
The Washington Post.

Congress' message on Cuba
Cues that it's time for the United States--and particularly the Bush administration--to abandon the 40-year-old embargo on Cuba got considerably louder on Thursday, when the Senate voted 59-36 to lift the ban on travel by U.S. citizens. The Senate measure is identical to one passed by the House a month ago.
Chicago Tribune.

Cuban AIDS strategy praised, criticized
The government also closely monitors the lives of those infected with the AIDS virus. Most Cubans who test positive are required to stay in a sanitarium for at least three months. Once there, they can leave only with the permission of the staff. Those who are considered high risk to spread the infection could stay much longer.
Chicago Tribune.

October 27

FROM CUBA
Cubans feel overworked, underpaid.
A substantial number of Cuban workers feel they work too much in less than optimal conditions and are not compensated in direct proportion to their efforts, are some of the findings of a recent study by the Labor Medicine Institute, said a source familiar with the study, which hasn't been published.
HAVANA

FROM CUBA
Single shoes and other oddities of retail Socialism
A sign in Havana's "Fin de Siglo" store offers "Single shoes for sale," a singular example of the quirks of the retail trade under Socialism. The store, renowned for its elegance before the advent of the Revolution, now gives visitors the impression they have entered a museum to decadence.
HAVANA

The Miami Herald
• Network to spotlight Cuban culture in English
• Havana praises U.S. vote against Cuba travel ban
• Deconstructing a famous uncle and his life in Cuba

External links

Congressional Resolve on Cuba
Though normally inclined to follow their president's lead on foreign policy, many Congressional Republicans have now broken ranks on Cuba. By a wide margin, the Senate joined the House on Thursday in voting to ease travel restrictions to Cuba, just two weeks after President Bush vowed to toughen sanctions on the government of Fidel Castro and enforce them more energetically.
The New York Times.

Bush should capitulate on Cuba
The Senate has taken a giant step toward recognizing the right of Americans to travel where they wish, voting 59 to 38 to ease the ban on Americans traveling to Cuba. The House had earlier voted 227 to 188 to do so.
Rocky Mountain News, CO.

Defense lawyers in hijack claim Cuba stymied trip to island
Three Miami lawyers were locked in an airport lounge by armed Cuban guards for hours on their August trip to the island to gather information for their defense of six Cuban men accused of hijacking a plane, federal court documents showed.
Sarasota Herald-Tribune, FL.

What he brought back from Cuba
When USF music professor James Lewis went to Cuba in 1996, he was unaware his short trip would become a three-week journey into Cuban culture and music. His problematic solo voyage by sailboat made the usual three-to-four-day trip last a bit longer than expected.
The University of South Florida Oracle, FL.

Jose: It was tough year
Contreras, the former Cuban national star who signed a free-agent deal with the Yankees in February, spoke yesterday about the difficulties of adjusting to major league hitters, the frustration of being apart from his wife and children, who remain in Cuba, and the uncertainty of being used as a reliever, as well as a starter.
New York Post, NY.

Jamaica gives cautious welcome to US Cuba vote
Jamaica, which like its partners in the Caribbean Community (Caricom), has consistently urged the Americans to normalise relations with Cuba, saw yesterday's development as a positive step forward.
Jamaica Observer, Jamaica.

Editorial: End Cuban travel ban
The regime of Cuban dictator Fidel Castro Ruz is brutal and repressive. On top of everything else, it's racist -- Cuba is now a majority Afro-Cuban nation, but the lighter-skinned ruling regime reserves the harshest penalties for black political dissidents, who clog the island's jails.
Las Vegas Review-Journal, NV .

Cuba's contradictions
As I settle into the plane for my ride home, my mind drifts back to sitting out on the Malecón at 11:30 p.m., surrounded by Cuban youths lining every dry spot on the wall. The waves thundered over the rocks below, sending warm updrafts over the indomitable gray concrete, where I sat cross-legged in my long skirt, facing the roiling black tides. The soft yellow glow of streetlights illuminated my journal.
Seattle Times.

Cuban travel
For 40 years, Cuba has been a sure-fire way for presidents of both political parties to try to gain votes in the Cuban community of South Florida. President Bush is no different, having recently stated he wants to tighten travel restrictions to the impoverished island as part of the trade embargo against Fidel Castro.
Florida Today, FL.

Miami lawyers defending hijackers blocked in Cuban airport
The Cuban government recently locked up in an airport lounge three Miami lawyers who are defending clients in a hijacking case so they could not talk to witnesses or see the crime scene, according to federal court documents.
Sun-Sentinel, FL.

Teachers-in-training try to fill an education gap
If the fresh-faced, young teachers at Victoria del Uvero High School look as though they could be wearing the school's blue uniform rather than leading a class, it's because only a few years ago they, too, were students there.
Sun-Sentinel, FL.

Congress' message on Cuba
Cues that it's time for the United States--and particularly the Bush administration--to abandon the 40-year-old embargo on Cuba got considerably louder on Thursday, when the Senate voted 59-36 to lift the ban on travel by U.S. citizens. The Senate measure is identical to one passed by the House a month ago.
The Chicago Tribune.

An introspective Sanz sings of change
On his latest CD, No Es lo Mismo, Spanish pop singer Alejandro Sanz becomes a little philosophical and takes a swing at Cuba's Fidel Castro. In a way, the title, which means "things are not the same," is appropriate.
Houston Chronicle.

Sunny Havana? Don't Pack Bags Yet
Looking forward to weekends sipping Cuba Libres and smoking cigars in Havana? Well, don't book the flight yet, but this week, both the U.S. Senate and House voted to cut the funding that allows the U.S. government to enforce the travel ban to Castro's Communist Cuba.
CBS News.

October 24

FROM CUBA
Indiscriminate exploitation of sea cucumber in Cuba threatens its survival
The indiscriminate harvesting of sea cucumbers off the coast of Cuba threatens its ultimate survival in the ecosystem, said a member of the Cuban scientific community.
HAVANA

FROM CUBA
Auto theft charge against prominent Cuban dissident dropped
A police prosecutor apologized October 17 to the president of the Democratic Solidarity party, Fernando Sánchez, who had been under investigation for the theft of an automobile.
HAVANA

FROM CUBA
Cuban human rights activists harassed in Camagüey.
Two activists of the Cuban Foundation for Human Rights in Florida, Camagüey province, were called into the operations center of the Department of State Security (DSE) in an apparent attempt to intimidate them into ceasing their activities.
HAVANA

FROM CUBA
Another Cuban activist is "kidnapped" by police
Human rights activist Lázaro Martín was picked up by police near his home October 15 and driven to a remote spot 20 kilometers (12 miles) away.
HAVANA

Yahoo! News
• U.S.-Cuba Trademark Protection Act Gaining Momentum on Capitol Hill
• CIP Says Victory on Senate Vote Says to President Bush: 'Stop Holding Americans Hostage, Lift the Ban on Travel to Cuba'

The Miami Herald
• Senate moves to end Cuba travel ban
• Reliever booed, battered

External links

Senate Approves Easing of Curbs on Cuba Travel
In a firm rebuke to President Bush over Cuba policy, the Senate on Thursday overwhelmingly voted to ease travel restrictions on Americans seeking to visit the island. The 59-to-38 vote came two weeks after Mr. Bush, in a Rose Garden ceremony, announced that he would tighten the travel ban on Cuba in an attempt to halt illegal tourism there and to bring more pressure on the government of Fidel Castro.
The New York Times.

Bush and Congress face clash on Cuba
The 59-36 Senate vote, which mirrors legislation already passed by the House, could force Mr Bush into the first veto of his presidency if he is to maintain the tighter restrictions on Cuba. A majority in Congress has become increasingly disenchanted with the US effort to isolate Cuba, saying it has failed to weaken the Castro regime but has hurt US farmers and businesses.
KATV, AR.

OSU-M educators headed to Cuba
Two educators at The Ohio State University-Mansfield are heading to Cuba next week. OSU-M representatives Evelyn B. Freeman, dean and director of OSU-M, and Barbara A. Lehman, professor of educational teaching and learning, will attend "Reading 2003: Reading for the 21st Century" on Tuesday through Nov. 2 in Havanna, Cuba.
Mansfield News Journal, OH .

Cuban art to spice up campus
Modern art, lively discussion, dance performances and authentic Cuban food. A posh gathering somewhere in Havana? Not quite. It's the opening of "Inside/Outside: Contemporary Cuban Art" at the Charlotte and Philip Hanes Art Gallery in Scales Fine Arts Center.
Wake Forest University Student Newspaper, NC.

Cuban accident leads to a party with Castro
"He spoke to us and threw us a party on his property afterward. He gave us anything we wanted - food alcohol. There was a pool. He hired a 17-person band. A lot of his speech expressed apologies for what happened," said freshman Stephanie Harper.
Pioneer Press Online, IL.

Loosen stance toward Cuba
As a Republican, I am appalled at President Bush's decision to tighten travel restrictions to Cuba and to allow for more dissidents to emigrate to the United States, as a way to destabilize Fidel Castro's government. His argument is that American dollars spent in Cuba only end up in the hands of the elite.
Oregonian, OR.

Another Cuba?
Evo Morales, the new president and a fiery leftist, is unlikely to give poor Bolivians real help. Critics accuse him of once accepting money from Libyan dictator Moammar Qaddafi. And he once asserted, "Latin America must build many Cubas".
World Magazine.

Bolivia may be latest Castro/Chavez victory
While some see this as simply another populist revolt against an elected "neo-liberal" reformer in Latin America, some -- more accurately -- see it as one more defeat for the United States as well as for democracy and free markets in the region. It is also a victory for Cuban dictator Fidel Castro and Venezuela's dictator-in-waiting, Hugo Chavez.
Town Hall, DC.

After 15 months in limbo, Cuban woman freed from jail
Paroled in June 2002, Gonzalez was one of more than 1,100 Mariel felons in an odd legal limbo - released from state prison and ordered deported for their crimes, but detained by the U.S. government because Cuba refuses to take them back.
New Jersey Journal, NJ.

October 22

FROM CUBA
Two Cuban dispensaries closed; doctors to be sent to Venezuela
Two family medicine offices in Alamar, east of Havana, have been closed because the attending doctors are to be sent to Venezuela as part of Cuba's program of aid to that country.
HAVANA

FROM CUBA
Increasing control of pedicabs in Cuba
The controls are implemented by inspectors of the National Tax office and by regular police, who check up on proper paperwork for the vehicles, licenses for transporting passengers, and to make sure that the owner is the one operating the pedicab, a requirement in Cuba, where for an owner to hire a worker is forbidden.
HAVANA

FROM CUBA
Melee at Cuba's Latin American Medical School
The fighting, involving mostly Venezuelan students on the one side, and Dominican students on the other, reportedly began because the Venezuelans were having a party in the nearby town of Santa Fe, to which they didn't allow students of other nationalities.
HAVANA

FROM CUBA
Cuban government tightens control over sale of agricultural products
The provincial Assembly of the Popular Power (provincial government) in Holguín has forbidden the sale of produce by all producers who don't first fulfill their quotas with the government distribution network, Acopio. The prohibition applies equally to small independent farms and to government collectives.
HAVANA

FROM CUBA
Dollar incentives not paid to maritime workers in Cuba
Promised incentive pay in dollars has not been paid to dock workers in Havana for the last three months because dock operators, administrators say, they don't have convertible currency.
HAVANA

A real life story
Julito has been denied going out in the sun for years, his family visits suspended. He also has been denied adequate treatment for his illnesses. He has participated in multiple hunger strikes, and he has forever been made suffer from a mental disequilibrium as a consequence of all those tortures.
HAVANA

External links

Cuba - Lovin' the aliens
I saw poverty, commuters packed into filthy buses like cargo, prisons built for prostitutes, an old woman, who ran into the restaurant where I had just eaten lunch, grab the picked-over chicken bones from my plate, a city that looked like black and white images of Groznyy ­ devoid of colour ­ and hundreds of ordinary people waiting for hours beneath motorway bridges leading nowhere, waiting on the off chance for a lift to friends and relatives in other part of the country. Not happy images, but it is incredible how seductive a place like this can be with dollars in your pocket.
Jonathan Futrell, Living Abroad Magazine, UK.

Two Cuban dancers who defected plan to ask for asylum
Two young Cuban dancers plan to ask for political asylum after they defected while the Cuban National Ballet waited to perform this month in Florida, one of their lawyers said Tuesday.
Sun-Sentinel, FL.

Cuban ambassador defends literacy scheme for Maori
Cuba's Ambassador to New Zealand has defended his country's literacy rates and the sending of education workers here to work with Maori. Miguel Ramirez said Cuba had taught literacy programmes throughout Latin America, using a model based on radio and television.
New Zealand Herald, New Zealand.

Cuba foots bill to teach Kiwis literacy
The Cuban advisers are working at the Te Awamutu-based Te Wananga o Aotearoa (the University of New Zealand) - the country's largest tertiary institution - where they are helping develop a literacy programme called Greenlight. Cuba pays the advisers' wages, and Te Wananga picks up the bill for their living costs.
The New Zealand Herald, New Zealand.

October 20

The Miami Herald
• DeLay criticized for trying to help Bacardi
• Leader opposes Cuba loophole
• Nation fears excess of tourists
• Like a visit to old Havana

Yahoo! News
• Castro Talks With U.S. Tour Operators
• U.S. Tour Operators Visiting Cuba
• Industry Group Pushes Freer Travel to Cuba

External links

Greetings from Cuba / Richard Lapper
How do ordinary people cope with this? What do they think of the lack of freedom and the Castro cult? To find out, I decided to become part of Cuba's transport system. One typically hot and humid morning in July, my Brazilian wife Fatima and I hire a red Hyundai from the Presidente Hotel in Havana. We set off on a 10-day trip during which we would meet doctors and nurses, teachers and students, sugar workers and agricultural scientists, legions of traders and even two senior officers at the ministry of the interior (in effect, political policemen)
Richard Lapper / Financial Times.

Listening post in Cuba still crucial to Kremlin
Just south of the Cuban capital's Jose Marti airport-and clearly visible to passengers on final approach-is a little known Russian military base, one without weapons systems but with scores of antennas and satellite dishes straining to hear some of America's closest held secrets.
NBC News.

Editorial: Cuba's needless isolation
President Bush, unwilling to tackle the difficult issues between the United States and Cuba, has imposed new restrictions on Americans' travel to the island. This will do nothing to loosen Fidel Castro's grip, but it will diminish the contacts that might, in time, lead to better Cuban-American relations.
The Boston Globe.

Editorial: Cuba travel restrictions wrong path
The United States has had a trade and travel embargo on Cuba for 41 years, and as a critic of that policy, Rep. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., puts it, "At some point, we need to concede that our current approach has failed and try something new." Exactly.
Fort Pierce Tribune.

Web sites deliver commerce to islanders
Canadian businessman Enzo Ruberto, who owns gifts2cuba.com, said his site began with "a couple" of customers two years ago, but now generates about 500 transactions a month. Though his site offers hardware, appliances and beauty products, it's the groceries such as $8 vacuum-packed Cubita coffee or $42 skirt steaks that make up the bulk of his business.
Sun-Sentinel, FL.

America's beef with Cuba
The relationship between Kaehler and Castro is amicable enough that Kaehler's family is now on the Cuban leader's holiday card list. A New Year's card signed by Castro is displayed in the farmer's kitchen. A year ago, American political and business interests towards Cuba were joined at the hip. Then Fidel Castro imprisoned more than 70 political dissidents. He also ordered the execution of three Cubans trying to escape the country this past spring.
Minnesota Public Radio.

Anthropologist to present series on 'translating Cuba'
JOPLIN, Mo. - Dr. Ruth Behar, professor of anthropology at the University of Michigan, will begin a series of presentations at Missouri Southern State University with "Translating Cuba: Predicaments of a Diasporic Anthropologist" at 11 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 22 in Webster Hall Auditorium.
Pittsburg Morning Sun, KS.

October 17

FROM CUBA
Housing authorities in Cuba threaten to evict Baptist minister
Housing authorities in Manzanillo, Granma province, have ordered the eviction of a Baptist minister who has been renting the contested home for 9 months.
HAVANA

FROM CUBA
Government to inspect Havana housing stock
A commission made up of architects working for the Institute of Housing has started to inspect this capital's housing stock to assess its condition and relative state of disrepair.
HAVANA

FROM CUBA
Cuban police abuses a minor
A police officer hit Fernando Sánchez Javier, 11-year-old grandson of the president of the Democratic Solidarity Party, according to neighbors who witnessed the incident.
HAVANA

The Miami Herald
• Cuban dancers defect

Yahoo! News
• US repatriates 20 Cuban migrants intercepted off Florida

External links

Manatee votes in favor of sending trade mission to CubaFriday, October 17th
On Thursday night, the county commission voted 5-1 to approve sending a trade mission to Cuba. The commissioners agreed to hire a U.S.-Cuba trade consultant to organize and lead the trip.
Bay News, FL.

Foster freedom in Cuba, but don't subsidize Castro
Just after the greatest amount of exposure Castro's regime received, when former President Jimmy Carter visited Cuba and publicly attacked Castro, came the greatest cycle of repression seen in Cuba in a generation. All Castro did was take all of the positive he could out of Carter's trip and ignore or undermine Carter's courageous attacks.
St. Petersburg Times, FL.

Every day is emotional at Havana International Terminal 2
Five years ago, Iris Ontivero and her husband were among more than 500,000 Cubans who applied for a visa to leave this socialist nation for a new life in the United States.
Gary Marx, Chicago Tribune.

October 15

FROM CUBA
Man fined 8,000 pesos for fishing
Alexis Carvajal, 28, was fined 8,000 pesos (308 dollars) last Friday by a policeman who found him in possession of 15 pounds of fish and four lobsters.
HAVANA

FROM CUBA
Havana hospital operating room closed for six months due to infection
The ophthalmology operating room in Havana's showcase Hermanos Ameijeiras hospital has been closed for over six months now due to contamination by staphylococcus bacteria.
HAVANA

FROM CUBA
East Havana residents without water for six days
By Friday, residents of Alamar in East Havana, had made do for six days without water service in their homes, and were complaining that tanker trucks had not been provided by the municipal authorities.
HAVANA

Family: Cuban passed on secrets
The family of a Cuban man accused of spying says that if he is mistreated they will make public the information he gave them. They say he is ill and should not stand trial.
The Miami Herald, Florida

Top Senate Democrat slams US crackdown on Cuba
The US Senate's top Democrat rejected White House moves to tighten sanctions on Cuba, calling instead for a policy on engagement with the Communist-ruled island
Yahoo! News

Cuba wants 75% debt relief from Argentina
50 million US dollars of the total debt will be exchanged in a five year period for free medical treatment of Argentine patients with complicated diagnosis. Other options include medicine, education and even a plan for the promotion of Argentine sales to Cuba.
MercoPress, Uruguay.

October 14

FROM CUBA
Cuban students displaced to house Venezuelans
More than 200 Cuban nursing students reporting for the start of the school year found themselves transferred to a semi-decrepit school, as some described it, to make way for Venezuelans being trained as social workers by the Cuban government.
HAVANA

FROM CUBA
Cuban dermatologist fired, called "not trustworthy"
Solares recently married a Mexican citizen and had been selected to travel to Venezuela as part of a group of Cuban doctors being sent to render medical services in the South American country.
HAVANA

FROM CUBA
No money to pay the pipers in Cuba
Administrators at the Ranchón Las Vegas restaurant told a trio of musicians who had been playing at the facility that there was no money to pay them their wages for September.
HAVANA

Yahoo! News
• Cuban Dissident Welcomes Bush's Support
• Klayman calls 'wet-foot, dry-foot' policy unconstitutional

The Miami Herald
• Wed in Cuba: She loves me not
• 'La Mamá' of mameys

External links

De-freezing of relations with Cuba
For the first time in fourteen years an Argentine Foreign Affairs minister visited Cuba for 48 hours to re-establish full diplomatic relations and as a clear sign of "political willingness from both governments to give a greater thrust to the bilateral relationship".
MercoPress, Uruguay.

Mr. Castro, Tear Up Cuba's Quarantine
Mimicking Ronald Reagan, Mr. Gorbachev urged President Bush to tear down the U.S. trade embargo. Instead, he should urge Mr. Castro to lift his quarantine on Cuban freedoms -- of speech, of assembly, to organize unions and to travel abroad. That is the only embargo that matters.
Stephen Johnson /The Washington Post, DC.

Cuba: Bush remarks pandering
Cuba's government on Monday accused the Bush administration of pandering to Cuban-American voters and blasted new initiatives aimed at spurring a post-Castro transition as little more than political schemes to secure a Florida election victory.
Sun-Sentinel.

Bush wrong to target Cuba travel
The United States has had a trade and travel embargo on Cuba for 41 years, and as a critic of that policy, Rep. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., puts it, "At some point, we need to concede that our current approach has failed and try something new.
Rocky Mountain News, CO .

President backs Cuba's people
By reinforcing existing laws against travel to Cuba, expanding safe, legal immigration for Cubans, and planning for the future of a Cuba free of tyranny, this administration has made a clear declaration of its support for the Cuban people and their hopes for their homeland.
Sarasota Herald-Tribune, FL.

Bush looking for trouble in Cuba?
A car bomb kills six and wounds 35 in Baghdad. Al-Qaida reportedly is planning new assaults on the United States. Clearly, Fidel Castro is in trouble.
Jesse Jackson / Chicago Sun Times, IL.

Cuba, trade policies faulted
U.S. Rep. Jerry Moran criticized the Bush administration Monday over Cuba policy and trade negotiations involving developing nations' demand for lower agricultural subsidies.
Lawrence Journal World, KS.

No local, national consensus on Cuba.
In Florida, former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev and a Bush Administration official are on opposite sides of the same issue that people in Logansport are.
Pharos-Tribune.

Florida's Cubans are beaming over makeup of playoff teams
It's that feeling that many Cubans have for the Latino players, regardless of the team, that they're going to pull for one of their own. It also helps that a huge percentage of Major League Baseball's Latinos live in Miami, including Sosa and some other Hispanic Cubs.
Chicago Sun Times, IL.

Human-rights hypocrisy
The current Liberal government headed by Prime Minister Jean Chretien has long attempted to trumpet Canada as being at the forefront of a global movement, led by the United Nations, to promote human rights worldwide.
The Washington Times.

Free as a Jailbird in Havana
In the grand scheme of things, it could be worse. Mario Mora Medina could still be in a dank jail cell in St. Martin Parish, Louisiana, stranded with dozens of other Cubans in a legal limbo -- they had finished prison sentences for various crimes but remained in custody of the Immigration and Naturalization Service because they were considered deportable.
Miami New Times.

October 13

FROM CUBA
Drought worsens in eastern Cuba
Holguín province, in eastern Cuba, is undergoing a severe drought and the scarcity of water supplied to agriculture, cattle ranching and the population is reaching crisis levels.
HAVANA

FROM CUBA
Fast boat with Florida registration approaches Cuban coast, flees
A little after noon Sunday, a fast boat with Florida registration approached the Cuban coast near Guanabo beach, east of Havana.
HAVANA

The Miami Herald
• Bush vows to push Castro harder
• To the homeland we say, 'Present'
• Many surprised Cuban dissident didn't win prize

Yahoo! News
• Bush Promises Tighter Embargo of Cuba
• Bush hardens rhetoric on Cuba, denounces repressive regime
• CANF Praises President Bush's Tough Remarks on Cuba
• Cuban diplomat denied permission to attend conference in Mobile

External links

Cuba conference in Mobile opens amid controversy
The fraternal organization, established in 1993 to promote cultural exchanges between Mobile and Havana, was linked by U.S. State Department officials Friday to a Cuban diplomat expelled from the U.S. earlier this year under suspicion of espionage.
Birmingham News, AL.

Top Cuban official barred from Mobile
Cuba's top U.S. diplomat was denied permission by the U.S. Department of State to travel this week to Alabama, where he was scheduled to attend a conference highlighting ties between Mobile and Havana, according to organizers of the event.
Mobile Register, AL.

Bush Seeks Tighter Curb on Cuba Travel
In a Congress largely united on the desirability of transforming Cuba but seriously divided about how to achieve it, Bush's announcement drew calls for a follow-through from some quarters, but others, who belong to a bipartisan majority that favors more engagement after a 41-year-old embargo, criticized it.
The Washington Post.

Post Interview: Powell on Cuba
Excerpts from an Oct. 3, 2003, interview with Secretary of State Colin L. Powell, conducted at the State Department by Washington Post diplomatic correspondents Glenn Kessler and Peter Slevin.
The Washington Post.

Bush Promises Cuban-Americans to Keep Up Pressure on Castro
President Bush announced Friday that the government was tightening a ban on travel to Cuba and making it easier for more immigrants to enter the United States. Mr. Bush said the measures would "hasten the arrival of a new, free, democratic Cuba," adding that "clearly, the Castro regime will not change by its own choice.
The New York Times.

Bush puts Castro's regime in U.S. crosshairs
George W. Bush targeted Cuba yesterday, vowing to hasten the end of one of the world's last Communist regimes and to crack down on Americans who illegally visit the Caribbean island, often by detouring through Canada.
The Globe and Mail, Canada.

Cuban Troupe Cancels 'Sylphides'
The Ballet Nacional de Cuba has announced the cancellation of "Les Sylphides," a 1907 ballet by Michel Fokine that was to be performed at City Center next week and on its national tour, in response to an accusation of copyright infringement by the Fokine Estate in London.
The New York Times.

Hoosiers making a difference in Cuba
Indiana farmers agreed to sell $15 million of goods to communist Cuba this week as U.S. Sen. Evan Bayh declared that expanded American trade with and travel to the island could create a democratic opening.
Madison Courier, IN.

Timeline: US-Cuba relations
As US President George Bush announces fresh measures designed to hasten the end of communist rule in Cuba, BBC News Online looks back at relations between the two countries.
BBC, UK.

Support to Lift Cuba Travel Restrictions Appears to Be Growing in US Congress Deborah Tate.
Support for ending U.S. travel restrictions to Cuba appears to be growing in the U.S. Congress, despite President Bush's vow Friday to tighten enforcement of them.
VOA News.

October 10

FROM CUBA
Good will program for Venezuela takes away 80% of a town's Cuban physicians
Residents are up in arms about a good will government program that has sent 8 of the 10 doctors in their town to Venezuela. As a result, people in town say, at least three family doctors' offices had to be closed, and one doctor has to take care of four other offices.
HOLGUÍN

FROM CUBA
Patients complain of scarcities in medical care in Cuba
Across the board scarcities in medical care have Cuban patients suffering the effects of a lack of adequate medicines, supplies, doctors, even ambulances.
HOLGUÍN

René Montes de Oca Martija released from prison
Montes de Oca was threatened more than once with life in prison if he refused to change his confrontational attitude towards the regime.Information Bridge Cuba Miami

Remarks by the President on Cuba
"First, we are strengthening re-enforcement of those travel restrictions to Cuba that are already in place. U.S. law forbids Americans to travel to Cuba for pleasure. That law is on the books and it must be enforced".
Office of the Press Secretary

The Miami Herald
• White House meeting set for Friday
• Questions arise over Bush panel

Yahoo! News
• Bush announces tightening of Cuba travel restrictions
• Bush Seeks Ideas for Cuba Regime Change

External links

U.S., Cuba Food Trade Working Well
U.S. food and agricultural sales to Cuba are soaring even as relations between the two countries are at their lowest point in years. Dozens of U.S. companies have sold more than $125 million in wheat, rice, poultry and other products to Cuba in the first six months of 2003, according to the U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic Council. That compares to $138.6 million for all of 2002.
USAgNet, WI.

Cuba to expand industrial cooperation with Iran
Cuban Minister of Government Ricardo Cabrisas Ruiz voiced here Tuesday his country's determination to expand industrial cooperation with Iran. Cabrisas, in a meeting with Iranian Minister of Industries and Mines Es'haq Jahangiri, expressed satisfaction over a credit of 20 million dollars extended by Iran to Cuba to develop its agriculture sector.
IranMania News, Iran.

US to turn up heat on Castro
Mr Bush has asked senior administration figures - including Secretary of State Colin Powell - to produce recommendations for what the administration calls the "inevitable democratic transition in Cuba". A senior official in the Bush administration told the AFP news agency that among the steps the president was likely to announce was a tightening of travel restrictions to Cuba.
BBC, UK.

Recent sale to Cuba raises Iowans' hopes about trade
The recent sale of $8 million in corn and soybeans to Cuba is an example of the potential to increase trade between the island nation and Iowa, a group of Iowa officials who signed a trade-promotion agreement last week with Cuban officials said Wednesday.
Des Moines Register, IA.

Top Cuban official barred from Mobile
Cuba's top U.S. diplomat was denied permission by the U.S. Department of State to travel this week to Alabama, where he was scheduled to attend a conference highlighting ties between Mobile and Havana, according to organizers of the event..
Birmingham News, AL.

Cuba sí, Castro quien sabe
The vibrant, colorful, swirling motion of dancers from the Tropicana, the open-aire nightclub enjoyed by tourists and well-healed Cubans, is in stark contrast to the drab scene found in the central slums of Havana.
Joplin Independent, MO.

ASU shows Cuban art
Not only is Cuban art wildly popular, but the Arizona State University Art Museum has begun to specialize in it. The museum has about 60 contemporary works of Cuban art in its collection and in the late 1990s put together a major show of Cuban art that traveled to nine locations in six states.
The Arizona Republic.

Following the Marlins' playoff fortunes is a major challenge for many Cubans
Rodolfo Souza leans into his Soviet-made Selena radio until his bearded face is only inches from its scratchy, high-pitched buzz. Eyes intent, jaw set rigid, he waits several seconds as the static melts into the crisp voice of an ESPN announcer. Suddenly, the Tampa signal comes in strong on his AM dial.
Sun-Sentinel, FL.

October 8

FROM CUBA
Cuban government accuses dissidents of common crimes
In what appears to be a concerted campaign to discredit yet more government opponents, the Cuban government is accusing them of such common crimes as theft, robbery, and car theft.
HAVANA

FROM CUBA
Tourist causeway in Cuba: Hurting the environment and going nowhere
For years now, the Cuban government, in its ever-expanding quest for the hard currency brought in by tourism, has been building causeways to cays off the island's coast which concerned environmentalists have called ecological disasters.
HAVANA

FROM CUBA
Lifeguards fined for selling coconuts to tourists on Cuban
The tourists were reportedly perplexed by the situation, since the reason they had asked the lifeguards for the coconuts is that coconuts are not sold by any government entity at the beaches.
HAVANA

FROM CUBA
Conjunctivitis extends to central provinces in Cuba
Health authorities in Santa Clara confirmed last week 46 cases in the town of Camajuaní, mostly among school-age children, but doctors in the city of Santa Clara proper said the outbreak is present throughout the province.
HAVANA

The Miami Herald
• We can now look inside Cuba's notorious prisons
• 'Because we are human beings . . .'
• The pain in 'Presidio' outweighs facts, figures

Gorbachev soft on Castro
I had dinner with Mikhail Gorbachev the other night and can report that, at 73, the former Soviet president hasn't lost a step and is an engaging dining companion.
Michael Putney, The Miami Herald.

External links

Florida farmers tour Cuba, assess status of cows they donated
John Parke Wright's 15,000-acre family ranch may have been expropriated after Fidel Castro's revolution, but these days the fifth-generation Naples cattle rancher wants to beef up future trade deals and forget about the past.
Sun-Sentinel, FL.

Rising food sales to Cuba from U.S. defy sour relations
Diplomats and experts said Cuban officials are increasing their purchases of U.S. products because shipping and other costs are far cheaper for American goods than those from Europe, Asia and other regions.
Chicago Tribune.

Cubans making it up as they go along
Cubans make ham from algae, dolls from shampoo bottles, and picture frames from old CD cases. They joke that their national pastime isn't really baseball. It's the art of innovation.
Tracey Eaton / The Dallas Morning News.

Cuba: Declassified
It is a strange paradox that revolutions demand a robust enemy to stay alive. The Cuban government always has counted on U.S. antagonism, and since 1959, President Fidel Castro has parlayed imperial paranoia into a career. That is, until the food didn't show up.
The Cavalier Daily, VA.

Having a ball in Cuba
Local baseball players pleasantly surprised by warm welcome in Castro country.
Los Altos Town Crier, CA.

Cuba is now among top 20 buyers of US Corn
Cuba ranked 16th among overseas destinations of US corn in the marketing year that just ended, says a representative of the Iowa Corn Promotion Board and Iowa Corn Growers who visited that nation on a trade mission in late September.
Agriculture.com.

Oliver Stone receives achievement award
"I wanted to show the portrait of a dictator that very few people know about," Stone, 57, told reporters. "I just wanted to say, 'Listen to Fidel Castro speak in his own words, then make up your own opinion."
Boston.com, MA.

Headlines from Cuba show harsh realities
Absolute power's immensely attractive seduction has always attracted bedazzled followers. In 1935, gifted American poet Ezra Pound wrote "Jefferson and/or Mussolini," supporting the Italian dictator. After World War II, Pound was secluded in an asylum.
Larry Daley / Corvallis Gazette Times.

Marlins fans in Cuba follow 'their team'
Gesticulating with their fists in the air and fingers in each others faces, scores of Havana's most devoted baseball fans gather daily under the shady trees of the Central Square to discuss the latest scores and trades of the game that stirs Cubans' passions like no other.
Sun-Sentinel, FL.

October 7

FROM CUBA
Police raid targets flower vendors in Havana
Several units of the Special Police carried out a series of raids October 1, targeting flower vendors operating around the church of Our Lady of Charity in central Havana.
HAVANA

FROM CUBA
Woman hangs herself after being served eviction notice
Maricela Otaño, 40, was found hanging from a wire when police broke into her home in Pinar del Río, in eastern Cuba, after neighbors reported disagreeable odors coming from the house.
HAVANA

FROM CUBA
Assault on the riquimbilis
Today may be the last day Leonardo, 42, can drive his "ruquimbili" out on the streets to support his family; police have started a campaign to eradicate these three-wheeled motorized vehicles from the streets.
HAVANA

FROM CUBA
Young man awaiting trial for ripping Cuban flag
Aldia Héctor Martínez, 26, is awaiting trial for presumably ripping a flag that was hanging from a building in Bayamo, eastern Cuba. Martínez is accused of insulting a patriotic symbol.
HAVANA

The Miami Herald
• Biological warfare capability is denied
• Problems with visas create roadblock for Cuban artists
• Cabinet minister in 1950s Cuba

October 6

FROM CUBA
Raid aimed at private transport providers in central Cuba
Since morning, transportation inspectors and police have been checking credentials of all who own and use cars, pedicabs, motorcycles and horse-drawn carriages, in transporting passengers.
HAVANA

FROM CUBA
Cuban independent journalist attacked by two strangers
Independent journalist Adela Soto was attacked by two strangers Sunday when she alighted in Villa Clara from the train.Soto said the two men pinned her against the walls of the car and beat her up, but didn't take anything before taking off. She said she had made reservations for the 3rd car, seat 73, and that 15 minutes before departure.
HAVANA

René Montes de Oca Martija back in jail
Two months after being released from jail, the General Secretary of The Human Rights Party of Cuba, René Montes de Oca Martija is back in jail.
Information Bridge Cuba Miami.

External links

A Man Who Won't Quit
It has been a turbulent several days for René Montes de Oca Martija. Then again, it has been a turbulent life. Regular readers may recall that Montes de Oca is a dissident in Cuba, an official of the Human Rights party, which takes as its "patron saint," if you will, Andrei Sakharov. In May 2001, I interviewed him when he was on the lam - he had escaped from prison and expected to be caught at any moment. He was, indeed, caught three days after our conversation.
Jay Nordlinger, National Review.

The Last Wall
The changes that have occurred in the world in the past 20 years are truly remarkable. We have left behind the Cold War and the confrontation between two irreconcilable ideological systems. The symbol of divided Europe -- the Berlin Wall, which Ronald Reagan famously urged me to tear down in 1987 -- has long since been destroyed. But one relic of the Cold War remains: the wall of the economic embargo imposed by the United States on Cuba 43 years ago.
Mikhail Gorbachev / The Washington Post.

Newspaper's Cuban Revolt
The idea of censoring the Cuban dictator Fidel Castro - who regularly silences journalists and tortures dissenters in his own country - may sound appealing to some, but when it is done by an American newspaper, the effect is unsettling. That is what happened in New York, where El Diario/La Prensa - the oldest Spanish-language daily newspaper in the United States - killed a column it had sought from Mr. Castro.
The New York Times.

Graying of Cuba poses big problems for stagnant economy
With her cane propped on the stoop behind her, 86-year-old Maria Rodriguez lays out tubes of toothpaste, packets of coffee and thermometers on the narrow steps of a run-down central Havana building on a busy boulevard. After 30 years in the tobacco industry, she now supplements her $3.50 monthly pension peddling odds and ends to passersby.
Sun-Sentinel.

Sen. Dick Lugar: A new opening in Cuba
Little-noticed by outsiders, a courageous and diverse pro-democracy movement has quietly risen above the ramparts of Fidel Castro's repression. Independent journalists are doing their best to provide alternate views, individuals are opening their homes and personal libraries to their communities, independent labor unions are documenting violations of workers rights.
Modesto Bee, CA.

October 3

FROM CUBA
Cuban journalist learns of award from prison
Imprisoned independent journalist Manuel Vázquez Portal recently learned the New York-based Committee for the Protection of Journalists had awarded him one of its International Press Freedom Awards for 2003.
HAVANA

The Miami Herald
• Senator: Embargo has not worked
• Lula: I spoke to Castro about human rights
• Cuban government shot down, executed my dad, daughter says

Yahoo! News
• Thousands more sign petition seeking political, economic change in Cuba
• Daughter of Executed Spy Pilot Sues Cuba
• Activist Pushes for Democracy in Cuba

External links

New petition for Cuba changes
The leading Cuban dissident Oswaldo Paya has delivered more than 14,000 signatures to Cuba's parliament demanding a referendum for sweeping changes in the Communist-run island.
BBC, UK.

Cuban-Americans to Protest Gorbachev's Appearance in Florida
Saturday's appearance of former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev at a Florida summit focusing on the U.S. trade embargo against Cuba will draw protests from U.S. House members as well as anti-Castro Cuban-Americans.
CNSNews.com.

Cuba censors in N.Y.
The idea of censoring the Cuban dictator Fidel Castro - who regularly silences journalists and tortures dissenters in his own country - may sound appealing to some, but when it is done by an American newspaper, the effect is unsettling.
IHT.

We're No. 1, Castro brags in banned column
In the banned column that led to the resignation of the top editor at El Diario-La Prensa, Cuban leader Fidel Castro extols the virtues of the island's educational system, calling it "first in the world." "Cuba's name will go down in history for its contributions in education, culture and health during one of the most difficult periods mankind has known," Castro says in the column.
New York Daily .

October 2

FROM CUBA
Radio equipment meant to jam U. S. broadcast signals to Cuba
The Cuban government agency Radio Cuba has installed a third television channel and a radio transmitter to jam U. S. radio and TV broadcasts. The transmitters have been installed in the Isle of Youth, south of Havana, and were bought with a credit granted by China.
HAVANA

FROM CUBA
Environmental pollution increasing in Eastern Cuba
The mining community of Moa, in eastern Holguín province, is increasingly threatened by the pollution produced by two nickel refining plants and other industries.
HAVANA

The Miami Herald
• Rift with Bush over Cuba policy is still open
• Daughter of Bay of Pigs pilot sues Cuba and Castro

External links

Commentary: Lula in Cuba -- a bold move?
There's no two ways about it: Lula's visit to Cuba will not sit well with the Bush administration. Lula -- President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva -- is Brazil's outspoken head of state who, during his nine months in office, has surprised many a critic by not plunging South America's largest country and economy into ruin.
The Washington Times.

J.P. Wright reports deal with Cuba
An agreement for Cuba to purchase 250 head of Florida beef cattle from J.P. Wright & Co. Inc. in Naples represents the first sale of Florida beef cattle to Cuba in more than 40 years, a release from J.P. Wright stated.
Tampa Bay Business Journal, FL.

October 1

FROM CUBA
Worm infestation paralizes milk cannery in Cuba
A hard-to-erradicate worm infestation at the "Abigail González" condensed-milk cannery in the eastern province of Granma has paralized the plant repeatedly, causing confrontations between workers and management, who blame each other for the problems.
HAVANA

FROM CUBA
Caller ID comes to Havana, at US prices
The Cuban telephone company has started offering caller ID service to subscribers in parts of Havana; the cost, 1.95 dollars a month, seems reasonable until one realizes it amounts to about one-fifth of the average Cuban's monthly salary. And the service is only obtainable for those willing to pay in dollars.
HAVANA

FROM CUBA
One hundred years of solitude
The memory returns to me of that morning the old man came to tell me his great grandson had left together with other men toward the coast with the idea of going into exile in a raft. The important thing was to reach Florida.
HAVANA

The Miami Herald
• U.S. exports account for largest chunk of food product purchases
• Cubans leery of visa rules

External links

Praise, criticism greet changes in Cuba travel rules
Calling it an important goodwill gesture, Cuban-Americans favoring an end to economic sanctions hailed Havana's long-awaited decision to eliminate entry permits for émigrés visiting their homeland. But those who favor the current U.S. embargo on travel and trade with Cuba called the move a ploy aimed at stimulating the island's sagging economy by boosting Cuban-American travel.
Sun-Sentinel, FL.

2 views on Cuba rich in irony
It's heartening to see Aznar and the European Union take a tougher position on Cuba, even if it's more symbolic than substantive. But the truth is that, after 44 years of missed opportunities, there's not much more to do. The septegenarian Castro has done all he can to destroy the dissident movement, to turn good people against one another with spies inside those civil-society networks. And so the Free World is on a death watch. The best we can hope for is that change, when it finally arrives, will come without much bloodshed.
Myriam Marquez, Orlando Sentinel, FL.

Foreign men look for love in Cuba
The number of marriages between foreigners and Cubans has skyrocketed since the early 1990s, when the socialist government turned to tourism to save its economy. But while many relationships succeed, many others fall apart, leaving a trail of heartache, shattered hopes and betrayal.
The Dallas Morning News.

Cuba To Buy $8 Million In Iowa Corn, Soy
The Trade Sanctions Reform Act passed by the U.S. Congress in 2000 allowed American farm producers to sell their goods directly to Cuba on a cash basis for the first time in more than 40 years.
Iowa Channel.com, IA.