April 29

FROM CUBA
Cuban ministry owes workers back pay since August
The Ministry of Construction owes back pay to workers who rebuilt and refurbished schools in Havana July and August last year and officials claim they have no budget to settle.
HAVANA

FROM CUBA
Cuban cattle rustlers becoming more brazen in Jaruco
Cattle rustlers are becoming more brazen in Jaruco, a small community south of Havana, taking 11 head of cattle in 39 days and slaughtering them, in one case, very close to the owner's home.
HAVANA

FROM CUBA
Cuban political prisoner Orlando Fundora placed in solitary confinement
Political prisoner Orlando Fundora has been placed in solitary confinement for refusing to follow orders in the maximum security Combinado del Este prison, according to his wife, Yolanda Triana Estupiñán.
HAVANA

FROM CUBA
The Ladies in White meet monthly to read their husbands' letters from prison
About a dozen wives of dissidents imprisoned a year ago, known as the Ladies in White for the color of the clothes they've adopted, have met once a month to read out loud the letters received from their husbands.
HAVANA

Yahoo! News
• Cuban Refugee Recovers At NAS Jax After Rescue Off N.C. Coast
• Suspect in Corruption Lands in Mexico
• CREW Files FEC Compliant Against Martinez for Senate and U.S.-Cuba Democracy PAC

The Miami Herald
• Former exile criticizes Cuba dissidents, praises Spanish election

External links

Cuban activist unrepentant
On his first day at home after more than two years in prison, Juan Carlos Gonzalez Leiva, a blind attorney and one of the leaders of Cuba's rural opposition movement, called his long-awaited trial a "circus" and said he would not renounce his defense of human rights.
Sun-Sentinel, FL.

Cuba deports Mexican businessman
Carlos Ahumada, arrested in Cuba last month at Mexico's request, was put on a charter flight to Mexico City, Cuban officials said. Mr Ahumada has been on the run since videos appeared in which he was shown allegedly giving bribes to a politician close to the mayor of Mexico City.
BBC, UK.

Kerry's Cuban Problem
But what Kerry should be most worried about is the Cuban vote. If he handles his Florida campaign right, Kerry could win a much larger share of this exile constituency than the paltry 18 percent Gore won in 2000 and do as well as Clinton's 39 percent, which would make victory in the state likely. But if he keeps going the way he has been, Kerry will get fewer Cuban votes even than Gore did and in all likelihood lose the state.
Ann Louise Bardach / Slate Mahazine.

Compassionate conservative policy toward Cuba
Want to help the poor and oppressed of Cuba without aiding and abetting the Castro regime? There is a way, and it starts with milk and medicine.
Town Hall, DC.

Leader touts 'more and better socialism'
Cuba's top labor leader said this year's May Day celebration will be dedicated to showing the United States that the island nation is working toward "more and better socialism" -- not a transition to U.S.-style democracy.
CNN.

Documentary revisits 7 from Cuban exodus
Seven years later, the same Spanish TV program tracked down the same balseros now living here and updated their earlier reports for "Balseros," the Oscar-nominated documentary showing tonight at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Union Theatre, 2200 E. Kenwood Blvd.
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, WI.

April 26

FROM CUBA
Unexplained railway incidents could endanger trains in Cuba
In the last ten days several unexplained incidents have been reported by passengers and crew of the Morón-Havana rail line that could be endangering the trains.
SANTA CLARA

FROM CUBA
Government weekly in Cuba acknowledges public apathy for the first time
In what some observers called a first, the Cuban government weekly La Vanguardia acknowledged a general lack of interest on the part of the population toward participation in Revolutionary organizations.
CIEGO DE ÁVILA

The Miami Herald
• 'Brothers' recalled during dedication
• Cuba hails long terms for six plane hijackers
• Miami station fined for its Castro prank

Yahoo! News
• Report: U.S. Fugitive Relaxing in Cuba
• Miami radio station fined over Castro crank call
• Suit Filed Over Arrests After Elian Raid

External links

Dance Cuba Documentary Tracks Washington Ballet's Unprecedented Visit to Cuba
One Washington Ballet dancer, Laura Urgelles, came from Cuba but was granted political asylum in the United States. She did not accompany the troupe to Havana, because the Cuban authorities did not grant her a visa..
Voice of America, DC.

Cuba falls short in effort to embarrass U.S. on human rights
When it comes to being accused of keeping political prisoners incommunicado and denying them access to international human-rights monitors, Cuba is generally in the hot seat.
Orlando Sentinel, FL.

Excitement builds for course in Cuba
As May closes in, many college students are preparing for warmer, study-free days. Call it "summer vacation." Maria R. Harvey's plans for the month involve a trip to an exotic Caribbean island 90 miles off the southern coast of Florida. Call it "Cuba."
The Saginaw News, MI.

Marian College professor will give talk about life in Cuba
Marian College professor Shane Boeder will give a presentation, "Cuba: Helping Hands Defy U.S. Embargo," at 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 27 at Marian's Hornung Student Center's Giddings & Lewis Lounge, 45 S. National Ave.
Fond du Lac Reporter, WI.

Close, but No Cigar on Cuba
I was surprised at the naivete of Courtland Milloy's April 19 column, "Cuba's Desire for Equality Ignores Obvious." He seems to think that racial issues would be dealt with "if only Fidel knew" what effect they have on the future of Cuba.
The Washington Post, DC.

Cuba remembered
In the May issue of National Geographic Magazine, photographer Jim Richardson's story begins: "Every time I headed back to Cuba, I was afraid the town would be gone."
Salina Journal, KS.

'I've committed many sins'
So it might not have been judicious to accept chocolates from Saddam, but George Galloway is happy to discuss swimming with Castro, his new party's chances in the Euro elections - and his own on Judgment Day.
The Guardian, UK.

Mediterranean Cuba? No thanks
As Cyprus prepares to vote on a UN plan today, one thought comes to mind. It is strange how northern Cyprus and Cuba have much in common. Both the internationally unrecognized Turkish statelet in the eastern Mediterranean and the globally isolated Communist holdover in the Caribbean are strategically positioned island states that have been shunned by many in the outside world for decades. Prisons in the sun, some call them.
Daily Star, Lebanon.

Cuban Contreras is smoked
Jose Contreras pitched perfectly awful last night. Perfect for the Red Sox [stats, schedule]' interests, awful for the Yankees. "Of all my outings, this is the worst I've felt after one because aside from the fact I usually work hard, I worked extra hard and prepared myself,'' said Contreras, who coughed up five runs, all earned, in only 3 innings in the Yankees' 11-2 loss to the Red Sox last night.
Boston Herald, MA.

One Cuba, Two Realities
Lance Johnson, The Day's managing editor, traveled with other members of the Associated Press Managing Editors executive committee on a fact-finding mission to Mexico City and Havana. The following article is based on travels in Cuba and numerous interviews with Cuban and American officials and Cuban dissidents.
The Day, CT.

April 23

FROM CUBA
Vitamins are hard to find in Havana pharmacies
For the last two months, two vitamin supplements that used to be widely available in pharmacies have become hard to find.
HAVANA

FROM CUBA
Cuban children besiege tourists despite police efforts
A substantial number of children here besiege tourists that go through the city, lately using their bicycles to stay one step ahead of police whose job it is to safeguard those very tourists.
MORÓN

FROM CUBA
Police carry out sweeps in several areas in Cuba
Some 60 police officers and paramilitary brigades carried out a sweep in the Cayo Hueso neighborhood of Havana.
HAVANA

FROM CUBA
Cuban pedicab drivers arrested
Three pedicab drivers were arrested and fined 500 pesos for transporting foreign tourists in their vehicles.
HAVANA

FROM CUBA
Drought in western Cuba: no yams to propitiate the gods
Enrique is country folk from Dimas, in the westernmost end of the island, an area that has been suffering from drought for over a year now.
HAVANA

Yahoo! News
• Cuba Withdraws Guantanamo Resolution
• Cuba Denies Knowledge of U.S. Fugitive
• Six Cubans Get 20-24 Years for Hijacking
• Philanthropist Flees U.S. to Avoid Charges

The Miami Herald
• Funds raised for four convicted in Panama
• 6 Cubans who hijacked jet receive long prison terms
• Panama sentences dismay Miami exiles

Information Bridge Cuba Miami
• Cruz Delia Aguilar Moras' statement after her husband's temporary release from prison
• State company and dollar store robbed in Havana
• Political Prisoners In a Hunger Strike At Prison Ceramica Roja In Camaguey
• Wife of Roberto de Miranda in guarded condition in the hospital Hermanos Almejeiras
• Present condition of political prisoner Jorge Olivera Castillo

External links

US court sentences Cuba hijackers
A US court has sentenced six Cuban men to prison terms of 20 years or more following their convictions for hijacking a plane from Cuba to the US.
BBC News, UK.

Debating policy toward Cuba
The compassionate conservative way is to push for openings that will help the poor without bulwarking the Castro regime: The provision of material help should work alongside the future liberation of Cuba, not run counter to that hope.
Town Hall, DC.

Cuba comes alive in one-day photo exhibit
Cuba, a land so close to the United States yet so far away, will be the focus of an exclusive, one-day show of photographic works by Roberto Salas, who along with his father Osvaldo has chronicled Cuba from Castro to Che to the present day.
Sacramento State University, CA.

Cuban odyssey
For more than 20 years, saxophonist Jane Bunnett has immersed herself in the rhythms and folklore of Cuba.
Kansas.com, KS.

Vermont couple faces fines for Cuba trip
A retired couple from Strafford, Vermont is facing $55,000 in fines for trips to Cuba they made while writing a travel book for bicyclists.
Capital News 9, NY.

President Bush may reduce amount of money families can send to Cuba
The Bush administration is considering making significant cuts in the amount of money Americans are allowed to send to family and others in Cuba, according to sources familiar with the discussions of the president's Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba.
Sun-Sentinel, FL.

Mugabe, Castro to SA?
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and his Cuban counterpart Fidel Castro may be among the guests to celebrate South Africa's ten years of democracy next week.
News24.com, SA.

'Dance Cuba': Politics and Pirouettes
When he led the Washington Ballet to Cuba for a groundbreaking string of performances in 2000, Artistic Director Septime Webre was carrying a load of personal as well as professional baggage. As "Dance Cuba: Dreams of Flight," a documentary about the trip, makes clear, it was a highly charged adventure.
The Washington Post .

Alejandro Sanz Finds His Voice
There are also songs with a socially conscious edge not previously evident in Sanz's work, including the anguished protest of "Sandy a Orilla do Mundo (Sandy at the Edge of the Earth)," about an oil spill that spoiled Spain's Costa de la Muerte in 2002, and the melancholy "Labana" (a slang name for Cuba's capital), which chronicles the great risks taken by common folk trying to escape Cuba's political oppression in rickety vessels aimed at Florida.
The Washington Post.

God's 'amazing grace' at work in Cuba convention
The Florida Baptist Convention has been faithful partners with Haitian Baptists since 1995 and Cuban Baptists since 1996. Our participation in these countries was encouraged and supported by their fellow countrymen who are members of the 235 Hispanic and 261 Haitian congregations affiliated with the Florida Baptist State Convention.
Florida Baptist Witness.

April 21

FROM CUBA
Vandalism directed at Cuban dissident's home
Someone pelted the home of Cuban dissident Henry Saumel with jars of human excrement during the nights of April 15 and 16.
HAVANA

FROM CUBA
Cuban women must register to be able to buy sanitary pads
Women in Villa Clara province must have registered by April 16 to be allowed to buy their allotment of sanitary pads seven times a year, according to an announcement by CMHW, provincial radio net.
SANTA CLARA

FROM CUBA
Cuban dissident arrested at work
Dissident Augusto Hernández was arrested April 2 at his workplace because of his activities in opposition to the government.
HOLGUÍN

FROM CUBA
Trial against blind lawyer González Leiva and fellow activists
ten activists of the Cuban Foundation of Human Rights, incarcerated since March 4, 2002, will be brought to trial any time after next week .
HAVANA

The Miami Herald
• 4 Cuban exiles convicted in plot to murder Castro
• High court to decide fate of refugee

Yahoo! News
• Miami Cop Has Million-Dollar Cuban Baseball Collection
• Canada's Fed Cup team opens qualifying tournament with sweep of Cuba

External links

Making the Law in Cuba
On June 6, 1898, in one of the first significant battles of the Spanish-American War, the United States Navy cruiser Marblehead entered Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, and repelled the Spanish artillery mounted on the hills overlooking the bay. Four days later a battalion of American marines arrived, inaugurating the American occupation that has continued to this day.
The New York Times (sub).

Cuba's Desire For Equality Ignores ObviouS
Whenever Fidel Castro, 78, announces a new program to advance the cause of social justice, his comrades in this tropical socialist republic lavish him with praise. Even when the inner workings of his central government muck up and fail to deliver, there is no public criticism of the leader -- just a hopeful refrain from the faithful that the problem would be fixed "if only Fidel knew."
The Washington Post.

A Better View Of Our Neighbor To the South
I was here as part of a research project, sponsored by the Institute for Advanced Journalism Studies based at Delaware State University, to examine the influence of Africans in the Americas.
The Washington Post.

Cuba inspires artist
Leopoldo Castano of Olympia captured Cuba on film during a trip to Havana, Cienfuegos and Trinidad in 2003. His work will be on display during the upcoming Arts Walk.
The Olympian, WA.

April 19

FROM CUBA
High-ranking Cuban government officials arrested in corruption sweep
At least 26 persons, including the Provincial and the Economic Directors of the Internal Commerce Ministry, were arrested March 20 in Camagüey on suspicion of corruption by the Department of State Security.
HAVANA

FROM CUBA
Police take their time to investigate robbery at PhysEd school in Cuba
Monday at 2:00 p.m. employees of the Manuel Fajardo PhysEd school were still waiting for police to come investigate a robbery that took place between last Saturday and Sunday.
HAVANA

The Miami Herald
• During unrest, Cuban doctors treated Haiti's many wounds
• Other view of Cuba base: a migrant promised land
• Cuba's human rights record censured; activist punched
• GOP counts on Florida Cubans

Yahoo! News
• US slams Cuba for assault, intimidation at UN rights meeting
• Castro tells US filmmaker Stone he has no intention of stepping down
• Cuba, N. Korea Criticized on Human Rights
• Cuba to Buy $106M More in U.S. Food
• Former Bay of Pigs POW Seeks Cuba Trade
• Cuban exiles welcome censure of Cuba by UN rights body
• Havana slams UN censure on rights as Washington, dissidents celebrate

Media silent over imprisoned Cuban doctors
The WMA is urging its 80 national medical association members to write to their governments and to the European Commission requesting them to put pressure on the Cuban government to disclose information about what, if any, trials the six are facing and the exact nature of their sentences, and to ask for their fair and humane treatment in prison.
NewsMax.com

UN must condemn Cuba for beating of NGO representative
The beating by Cuban officials of a member of a nongovernmental organization at the United Nations in Geneva should be considered a criminal act for which the Cuban government must be censured, Freedom House said today.
Freedom House

World's worst regimes unveiled
Freedom House released its annual list of the world's most repressive nations before the United Nations Commission on Human Rights. Five of the fifteen countries are members of the UN body, which is charged with monitoring and condemning human rights violations.
World's worst regimes unveiled Freedom House

External links

Cuban delegate 'sucker-punches' rights activist
A Cuban delegate felled anti-Castro activist Frank Calzon with a sucker punch in Geneva yesterday during a fracas after the U.N. Human Rights Commission decided by a single vote to censure the communist regime for its human rights record.
The Washington Times.

U.N. Vote Lost On Cuba
A vote castigating Cuba's government for terrible rights abuses by a U.N. human rights body should have been a no-brainer. But this is Cuba we're talking about, and there are no no-brainers when it comes to votes on Cuba at the U.N. commission.
South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

Cuba spends $100m on US food
The US says much of the produce is destined for the tourist market The Cuban government has agreed to buy more than $100m worth of American food and agricultural produce.
BBC, UK.

Miami man builds vast Cuban baseball memorabilia collection
A 1935 Havana baseball team jersey worn in a game. A payroll detailing how a young Tommy Lasorda made about $1,400 for four months of pitching in the Cuban Professional League. A silver coffee pot given to Leo Cardenas for the 1968 All-Star Game. Sandy Amoros' spikes.
San Jose Mercury News, CA.

Cuba slams US over Guantanamo
Hundreds of suspects are being held at Guantanamo Bay At the UN Human Rights Commission meeting in Geneva, the Cuban delegation has tabled a resolution on arbitrary detentions in Guantanamo Bay.
BBC, UK.

U.N. panel criticizes Cuba over freedoms
The U.N. human rights commission narrowly passed a resolution Thursday criticizing a lack of basic freedoms in Cuba and urging the socialist government to allow international observers to inspect conditions on the island.
The Dallas Morning News.

Stone puts tough questions to Castro for documentary
A select few Cubans witnessed the unthinkable Wednesday night: American filmmaker Oliver Stone shone a bright light in Fidel Castro's face and grilled the Cuban leader.
The Dallas Morning News.

U.S. firms peddle their wares in Cuba
The Cuban government can't get enough of American farm products. This week 400 U.S. farmers and food traders arrived in Havana to peddle their wares.
MSNBC News.

Doing Business With Havana
It used to be called "trading with the enemy" and still is, in some quarters. But a growing number of U.S. businessmen, like Florida rancher John Parke Wright IV, say they're selling to their "amigos Cubanos."
CBS News.

April 16

FROM CUBA
Peaceful ceremony classified as terrorist act by policea
Agents of the Department of State Security told a group of dissidents planning a quiet ceremony for April 11 in commemoration of three youths executed by the government last year that the ceremony would be considered a "terrorist act" and that participants would be punished accordingly.
HAVANA

FROM CUBA
Cuban independent journalist evicted for the third time
Independent journalist Richard Roselló, 39, was evicted for the third time as a result of a campaign waged against him by State Security operatives, he said.
HAVANA

FROM CUBA
Swedish tourist assaulted on Havana's waterfront boulevard
Three prostitutes and their pimp assaulted a Swedish tourist on Havana's fashionable Malecón, the city's waterfront boulevard, and took his wallet late at night on April 10. Police apprehended the four and recovered the wallet a short while later.
HAVANA

FROM CUBA
Secondary school roof collapses in Havanad
The roof over two classrooms in a recently-refurbished secondary school collapsed over the weekend, probably as a result of a rain storm.
HAVANA

Yahoo! News
• Cuba Frees One of 75 Dissidents Jailed
• Cuba, N. Korea Criticized on Human Rights
• Cuban exiles welcome censure of Cuba by UN rights body
• Cuba to seek support in UN to censure US over Guantanamo
• Castro tells US filmmaker Stone he has no intention of stepping down

The Miami Herald
• Miami pays $90,000 to Los Van Van promoter to settle legal case

April 14

FROM CUBA
Some residents of provincial town forbidden from traveling to Havana
Local authorities have forbidden certain residents of the town of Amancio Rodríguez, in Cuba's eastern province of Las Tunas, from traveling to Havana.
HAVANA

FROM CUBA
Twenty arrested in eastern Cuba for smuggling beef
About 20 people were arrested April 5 and 6 in raids directed against illegal butchers and distributors of beef cattle in the municipality of San Cristóbal in Pinar del Río province.
HAVANA

FROM CUBA
The Passion of the Christ hot item in Havana video rentals
Mel Gibson's most recent movie, The Passion of the Christ, is the hot item in Havana's clandestine video rental houses.
HAVANA

FROM CUBA
U.S. editors meet with Cuban independent journalists
Eleven editors from the Associated Press news service met with three Cuban independent journalists in Havana.
HAVANA

Information Bridge Cuba Miami
• Political party unified after a two year division
• A fast in solidarity with the political prisoners

The Miami Herald
• Selling the farm? Americans flock to Cuba talks
• Migrants' boat is sold on eBay
• Vote on U.N. human rights resolution on Cuba nears
• Miami man is top Bush campaigner

Yahoo! News
• Cuba Agrees to Buy $13M in Food From U.S.
• Bush, Fox, discuss UN rights meeting
• HBO to air Oliver Stone's revamped documentary on Castro

External links

Cuba's businesses feel pinch as dollar is squeezed from economy
For years, Cuba's cash-starved businesses and state-run agencies have been allowed to develop specialities far outside their mandates to stay afloat. This practice appears to be ending.
Financial Times, UK.

Old Havana restoring hidden treasured murals
Painstakingly recovered from under 27 layers of paint, the colonial-era murals at 12 Tacon St. are known to local art historians as the "Sistine Chapel of Old Havana." Located halfway between Old Havana's cathedral and the port, the colorful floor-to-ceiling murals offer a window into the city's past.
Sun-Sentinel, FL.

Castro Stays Confident, Even Fierce, in His Twilight
When Mr. Stone asks if a person who protested would be in trouble, Mr. Castro suddenly drops the virtuous indignation and looks at his guest through narrowed eyes. "Hombre," he says, "he is sentenced to 20 years in prison." And then he smiles, a crafty, wizened grin that signals that he is in the final throes of his tenure as president-for-life.
NY Times.

Cuba May Buy South Dakota Products
Farm leaders say Cuba wants to buy at least ten million dollars of agricultural products from South Dakota. South Dakota Value-Added Agricultural Center President Gary Duffy says making that happen will take persistence and patience.
KELOLAND, United States.

Feds take on Cuban 'godfather'
A former Cuban policeman, who was captured by Fidel Castro's soldiers at the Bay of Pigs, is facing trial in Florida accused of heading a multi-million dollar organised crime network known as The Corporation. But is Jose Miguel Battle Snr really El Padrino (The Godfather) or just a sick old man?
BBC, UK.

A stone for Castro
Only a handful of people are likely to remember this, but in the late 1950s, about the time Cuban revolutionary Fidel Castro embraced the Soviet Union and became the bane of U.S. presidents, a novelty song about him was a minor hit. A chorus that went something like "Fee-del, Feeee-del, why don't you go back to Oriente Province, go back to the hills?" occasionally would be interrupted for spoken-word zingers such as "When poor Fidel was only nine, he lost his mother - man, what a crap game that was!"
Newsday.

April 12

FROM CUBA
Bus receipts and the new inspectors
Sometimes a government decision uncovers a situation that was otherwise hiding in plain view. Such was the case of the 80 new inspectors that, the announcement said, would begin monitoring the payment of the appropriate fares on city buses starting April 1.
HAVANA

Yahoo! News
• Cuban Band's Visas Denied Before U.S. Tour
• Salem plastic surgeon planning on taking supplies to Cuba
• Cuba ready to buy from South Dakota, farm leaders say

External links

Old Havana restores historic murals hidden under paint
Painstakingly recovered from under 27 layers of paint, the colonial-era murals at No. 12 Tacon St. are known to local art historians as the "Sistine Chapel of Old Havana." .
Orlando Sentinel (subscription), FL.

A sailing voyage to Cuba requires provisions and planning
The departure date for a sailing trip to Cuba that has been in the planning stages for months is approaching with increased speed. When I first thought of this adventure, at least six months ago, the specific date in April was a long, long way off.
Sarasota Herald-Tribune, FL.

Photos reveal friendship with Hemingway
In the spring of 1933, Ernest Hemingway had escaped the Great Depression on a borrowed boat to Cuba, where he fished, drank and gathered material for his next novel, "To Have and Have Not." With him for three weeks in the bars and bistros was a young Walker Evans, who would soon become known as one of the great American photographers of the 20th century.
The News-Press, FL.

Sierra Leone And Cuba Come Together
The Federal Republic of Sierra Leone and the Republic of Cuba yesterday, April 7th, 2004 signed an agreement to strengthen the friendly relationships existing between the two countries.
AllAfrica.com, Africa.

Congressman, farm leaders head to Havana
Congressman Butch Otter and leaders of a half dozen farm groups head for Cuba today for a week-long mission to sell Idaho commodities. Otter and representatives of the state's bean, dairy, grain, potato and lentil industries will meet in Havana with Foreign Minister Felipe Perez and Pedro Alvarez, president of the Cuban food important company, Alimport.
KTVB (subscription), ID.

Cuba, Mexico and the UN vote on human rights
Cuban officials persist in their recurrent suppression of truth regarding abuses of human rights committed by the Communist government led by Fidel Castro. This as the annual April vote on a resolution - sponsored this year by Honduras - before the Geneva-based United Nations Commission on Human Rights, condemning human rights practices on the island, approaches.
Mexidata.info, United States.

Cubans risk prison for a steak
Cattle graze along the vast grasslands and gentle hills of eastern Cuba, but Giorgina Brooks cannot remember the last time she had a good steak. "It's been years and years," said Brooks, 47, as she gazed at a few nearby cattle munching on grass.
Billings Gazette, MT.

April 9

FROM CUBA
Tourist attraction neglected by administrators
"They not only mistreat the employees; they are also cheating the tourists of a quality experience," said an employee of the La Redonda lake tourist attraction.
HAVANA

Yahoo! News
• Mother of Cuba Hijacker Mourns Son
• Two Cuban Migrants Acquitted of Assault

April 8

FROM CUBA
Fines in Cuba more lucrative for city than issuing licenses
In spite of the scarcity of licensed pedicabs, the municipal government in Morón refuses to grant would-be entrepreneurs licenses to operate them.
HAVANA

FROM CUBA
Police raid self-employed vendors in Santa Clara, Cuba
A number of police and price inspectors made a sweep directed against self-employed vendors offering their wares on the periphery of the No. 2 Agricultural Market in Santa Clara April 1, levying fines on some and dispersing them.
SANTA CLARA

FROM CUBA
Pneumonia in Havana on the increase in March and April
An increasing number of cases of pneumonia have been reported in Havana during March and April, mostly among children.
HAVANA

FROM CUBA
Roaches proliferate in Havana
Cockroaches are proliferating in several Havana municipalities and the Public Health department doesn't seem capable of solving the problem.
HAVANA

FROM CUBA
Private vendors reappear in Cuban agricultural markets
In what appears to be a 180 degree turnaround in government policy toward them, private vendors started showing up again in the agricultural markets April 1.
HAVANA

The Miami Herald
• Officer overreacted, rafter testifies

External links

Cuba divides Chilean ruling coalition
During a heated debate with visitors dislodged from the galleries the initiative was presented by the junior partner of the ruling coalition, Christina Democrats and the two main Conservative opposition parties.
Marco Press.

Present Proof On Bio-Weapons
It's time for Bolton to speak candidly, either in a public setting or behind closed doors. If national security adviser Condoleezza Rice can testify before Congress about the Sept. 11 attacks, surely John Bolton should be delineating in greater detail the bio-threat he sees in the Caribbean.
Sun-Sentinel, FL.

April 5

FROM CUBA
Anti-government slogans pop up again in Cuba
Anti-government graffiti showed up a scant two hours after similar slogans had been erased from the lobby of a building in the Vedado section of Havana.
HAVANA

FROM CUBA
Water scarce in areas of Havana
Several areas of Havana have seen water become more scarce for at least a month.
HAVANA

The Miami Herald
• U.S.-based flying clinic ends eye visit to Cuba

External links

Congressman sets second trip to Havana
Republican Congressman Butch Otter is headed back to Cuba this month to cash in on the island's demand for agricultural products. The five-day trade mission beginning next Monday includes representatives of the state's bean, dairy, grain, potato and lentil industries.
KBCI 2, IH.

Once scorned, tattoos are now the rage
When Che Alejandro got his first tattoo with a sewing needle 12 years ago his parents were so angry they threw him out of the house. Ink on skin was synonymous with prison life and "anti-social" behavior; too much rock 'n' roll, too little revolution.
Sun-Sentinel, FL.

The 'Crimes' of the Jailed Cuban Librarians
We hope that librarians everywhere read "Mr. Castro's Prisoners"and write the United Nations Human Rights Commission not only to ask that the United Nations condemn the human rights abuses in Cuba but also explicitly to call for the immediate release of the 75 dissidents rounded up in the March 2003 crackdown. .
The New York Times.

Cuba tests Jews' faith
Growing up in Cuba, they were typical Jewish kids. But as the years rolled by and they became men, one abandoned his faith for the sake of revolution while the other fought to save his Jewish community from the ravages of change.
The Dallas Morning News.

Union City man makes documentary about Cuban tradition
Set to the sounds of Rumba beats reminiscent of its street corner glory days in old Havana, Union City-raised Juan Carlos Rojas captures this aspect of his Cuban heritage in a 20 minute documentary entitled Rumbo a la Rumba.
The Hudson Reporter, NJ.

Boxers Prepare for Cuba Trip
Uganada's Olympic-bound boxers will, in a trip to Cuba in July, have an opportunity of getting closer to the lucrative prizes set by tycoon Michael Ezra for excellence at the Athens Games.
AllAFrica.com.

Cuban Connection
One of the most striking photographs in Pamela Thompson's exhibit, "Cuba on the Wall," which opens tonight in Anchorage, is a picture of Thompson herself. She's somewhere in the town of Trinidad, in the middle of Cuba's southern coast, beating the heck out of a bongo drum. Backward ball cap. Eyes closed. In the moment.
Anchorage Daily News.

April 2

FROM CUBA
Authorities to prosecute dog fights
Authorities here have announced they will prosecute illegal dog fights that have proliferated for years under the shadow of official indifference.
HAVANA

Yahoo! News
• Honduras to Sponsor Resolution on Cuba's Human Rights Situation
• Cuba opens doors to journalists in campaign to polish human rights image
• Migrant Released From Hospital

The Miami Herald
• Cuban bishop celebrates 25 years at Mass

External links

Another Survivor Released; Body Found Believed Migrant
William Villavicencio Perez, 31, is expected to be released from Holy Cross Hospital Thursday. Carlos Bringier Hernandez, 38, was released Monday. Only Milena Gonzalez remains hospitalized.
Local10.com, FL.

Cuba allows reporters into two prison hospitals
Although two jailed dissidents, Orlando Fundora and Roberto de Miranda, had recently been treated in the hospital's intensive care unit, they were transferred out, officials said. Fundora was still at the hospital in another unit, and de Miranda was transferred to a medical ward at another prison, officials said. Reporters did not have access Wednesday to any jailed dissidents or to inmates outside the medical centers.
Sun-Sentinel, FL.

Exiles worry they help Castro by sending cash to Cuban relatives
América Puig does not own a home or expensive clothing, and the closest thing she has ever come to a vacation is a weekend road trip across Alligator Alley. The daycare worker, 52, saves every extra penny for something closer to her heart: sending cash and gifts to her twin sister in Havana, Rita María, whom she has not seen in seven years.
Sun-Sentinel, FL.

Foreign Minister On Cuba Official Visit
Angolan Foreign minister João Bernardo de Miranda will on Thursday start a three-day official visit to the Republic of Cuba. A note from the Department of Information and Documentation of the Foreign Ministry released today here states that the head of the Angolan diplomacy will start common interest conversations with local authorities, which could lead to the signing of political and diplomatic cooperation agreements.
Angola Press.

Inside Castro's Prisons
For five hours on Wednesday, uniformed Interior Ministry officers rapidly ushered a bus load of media through the freshly-painted rooms and halls reeking of disinfectant. Intensive care units were outfitted with air conditioners and freshly starched sheets topped with yellow towels twisted into the shape of a swan dressed beds.
CBS News.

Give Me a Rebel, but Hold the Politics
Why the renewed interest in Che, when so many communist governments have failed? Mr. Trigiani said, "I think there are many reasons for this and one of them is Mike Tyson."
The New York Times.

Morality for Sale
The best hope of breaking their grip may be the creation of a democracy caucus now being pushed by Chile, Poland, South Korea and the United States. Caucus supporters are meeting here to discuss how to outmaneuver the dictatorships and steer the commission back to the core values of the United Nations Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
The New York Times.