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CUBA
NEWS
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US lawmakers sign 10-million-dollar food deal
in Cuba
HAVANA, 15 (AFP) - Cuba is to buy 10 million
dollars' worth of food from the US state of Montana,
according to a memorandum signed here by two US
lawmakers and the president of Cuba's food import
agency Alimport.
Democratic Senator Max Baucus and Republican
Representative Dennis Rehberg signed the document
with Alimport boss Pedro Alvarez during a visit
here.
Baucus said the accord marked the start of a
strong and lasting relationship between Cuba,
its people, and the state of Montana.
Baucus is sponsoring a Senate bill seeking to
abolish restrictions on US travel to Cuba.
Alvarez said that since imports of US food produce
began in December 2001, "We have purchased
more than 500 million dollars' worth. Right now
we have paid nearly 400 million dollars"
for the produce, he said.
Alimport buys food for Cuba's 11.2 million people
and its tourism industry.
Earlier Sunday the two US lawmakers met with
the speaker of Cuba's National Assembly, Ricardo
Alarcon, and other government officials.
And they also briefly visited with Cuban dissident
Oswaldo Paya, in a meeting at the dissident's
home in Havana's El Cerro neighborhood in which
the fate of jailed dissidents was discussed, sources
said.
Baucus "was very interested in the situation
of the political prisoners ... by our civic work,
and he also said he would soon be talking with
Mr. Fidel Castro," Paya told reporters in
reference to the Cuban president.
"It was a good meeting," Baucus said
as he left Paya's home after the hour-long meeting.
Paya said the US lawmakers had given him expressions
of support which he said were "very valuable."
Baucus and Rehberg arrived in the communist island
this weekend at the head of a 28-strong delegation
of political aides and businessmen from their
home state of Montana.
The two foreign lawmakers also met with the wives
of imprisoned political dissidents.
he Cuban government in April launched its toughest
crackdown against dissidents in years, netting
75 opponents who were given summary trials, convicted
and sentenced to lengthy jail terms.
The move brought an outcry from the United States
and the European Union.
U.S. Lawmakers Express Concerns Over Cuba
HAVANA - Democratic Sen. Max Baucus told President
Fidel Castro he was concerned about the human
rights situation in Cuba during a four-hour meeting
that ended early Monday, members of the American
delegation said.
Baucus, the highest ranking American official
to visit Cuba since a March crackdown that put
75 dissidents behind bars, traveled to the island
over the weekend with Republican Rep. Dennis Rehberg
and a group of Montana farm leaders and foreign
policy specialists.
Baucus and Rehberg, both from Montana, have been
leaders of congressional efforts to eliminate
restrictions on travel to and trade with the communist-run
island.
"It was a very fruitful conversation,"
said Anya Landau, of the Washington-based Center
for International Policy. "Everyone expressed
their opinions, but there were things that both
delegations did not agree upon."
The meeting began about 10 p.m. Sunday and wound
up about 2 a.m. Monday, just hours before the
bulk of the delegation returned to the United
States.
Earlier Sunday, the lawmakers met for an hour
with Oswaldo Paya, Cuba's best-known democracy
activist.
Paya is a top organizer of the Varela Project,
a signature-gathering drive seeking guarantees
for freedom of speech, assembly and business ownership.
Castro's government has not recognized the project,
and many of its organizers were arrested in the
crackdown that put opposition members in prison
for terms ranging from six to 28 years.
During their visit, Baucus and Rehberg also signed
a memorandum of understanding to sell the Cuban
government up to $10 million of products from
the state, such as cattle, wheat, barley and dried
beans.
A U.S. law passed in 2000 created an exception
to the U.S. sanctions, allowing American producers
to sell their products to Cuba on a cash basis.
US lawmakers visit Cuban dissident Oswaldo
Paya
HAVANA, 14 (AFP) - Two US lawmakers held a brief
meeting with Cuban dissident Oswaldo Paya during
which they discussed the fate of jailed dissidents
and other issues, sources said.
Democratic Senator Max Baucus and Republican
Representative Dennis Rehberg met with Paya for
about one hour at the dissident's home here in
Havana's El Cerro neighborhood.
Baucus "was very interested in the situation
of the political prisoners ... by our civic work,
and he also said he would soon be talking with
Mr. Fidel Castro," Paya told reporters in
reference to the Cuban president.
"It was a good meeting," Baucus said
as he left Paya's home.
Paya said the US lawmakers had given him expressions
of support which he said were "very valuable."
Baucus and Rehberg arrived in Cuba this weekend
at the head of a 28-strong delegation of political
aides and businessmen from their home state of
Montana.
The two foreign lawmakers also met with the wives
of imprisoned political dissidents after earlier
meeting with the speaker of Cuba's National Assembly,
Ricardo Alarcon, and government officials.
The government in April launched its toughest
crackdown against dissidents in years, netting
75 opponents who were given summary trials, convicted
and sentenced to lengthy jail terms.
The move brought an outcry from the United States
and the European Union.
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