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U.S. Mission Flouts Cuba Christmas Warning

By Vanessa Arrington, Associated Press Writer. December 15, 2004.

HAVANA - U.S. diplomats on Wednesday ignored a warning from the Cuban government to immediately take down Christmas decorations outside its offices or face unspecified consequences.

The trimmings of Santa Claus, candy canes and white lights wrapped in palm trees still stood on the mission's seaside lawn a day after the warning. The element that irked the Cuban authorities most was a sign among the decorations that reads "75" - a reference to 75 Cuban dissidents jailed last year, according to U.S. Interest Section Chief James Cason.

A reporter who drove past the interest section Wednesday saw the sign and the other decorations were still displayed along Havana's coastal Malecon highway. There were no onlookers or even traffic because of a tidal surge that threatened the area with flooding.

"Our intent, in the spirit of Christmas, was to call attention to the plight of these 75," Cason told reporters. "We're prepared to pay whatever price for the things we believe in."

Cuban Foreign Ministry officials insisted the decorations be taken down in meetings Saturday and Tuesday, Cason said. The U.S. Interest Section refused, and was told it would face unspecified consequences.

"They could expel us, they could continue to hinder our activities," Cason said. "We don't know what they're going to do."

U.S. relations, never good during Fidel Castro's four decades of communist rule, have deteriorated under the Bush administration, which has toughened economic sanctions and publicized its plan for a democratic Cuba after the death of the 78-year-old leader.

The United States and Cuba have not had diplomatic relations since shortly after Castro took over. In lieu of embassies, interest sections provide consular services and limited official contact.

The dissidents imprisoned last year were accused of receiving money from U.S. officials to undermine the island's system - a charge the activists and the U.S. government denied.

They were sentenced to up to 28 years in prison, but 14 have been released for medical reasons.

Cason said the Cuban government was annoyed by an event at the mission for relatives of political prisoners and a Christmas party held for their children. He said state security officers outside his house intimidated the children as they arrived to the party.

"Our position is that our Christmas decorations are up through Christmas," he said. "It's a matter of principle to us."

US: Cuban war games a distraction

WASHINGTON, 14 (AFP) - A series of mass exercises by Cuba's military, including a simulated invasion by US forces, represents an attempt by Havana to distract people from their daily hardships, the US State Department said.

These "exercises are just, I would say, one or more of the many things that the Cuban government does to try to distract people from the problems that they face in their daily lives," State Department spokesman Richard Boucher told reporters here.

Cuba on Monday launched its biggest military exercises in almost 20 years involving hundreds of thousands of troops and reservists and millions of civilians who will participate in civil defense drills.

Asked about the emphasis on repelling a fictional invasion of Cuban shores, Boucher replied: We don't think there is any justification, or any particular foundation for this kind of charge."

"The United States has repeatedly called for a peaceful transition to democracy in Cuba. We think that's what the Cuban people deserve, and we think they deserve it in a peaceful fashion," Boucher stressed.

Castro, Chavez: Cuba, Venezuela trade pact to beat US version

HAVANA, 15 (AFP) - Cuban President Fidel Castro and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez announced formation of a trade bloc to challenge a US bid for a free-trade area of the Americas.

Castro said the alternative to the US-backed economic system was conceived as "a battle fought with the same rules and regulations as those imposed by the (US) empire to divide the people."

Chavez was in Cuba to commemorate his first visit to the Communist island 10 years ago. Castro and Chavez are each other's only close ally in the Caribbean. Venezuela is Cuba's supplier of oil, which Cuba pays partly in cash and partly with doctors, nurses, sports coaches and literacy experts.

Chavez arrived in Havana late Monday, and was met by Castro, 78, who is recovering from a broken knee and arm from a fall in October.

Chavez placed a wreath at a monument to independence hero Jose Marti before sitting down to talks with Castro at the Palace of the Revolution.

Their agenda was not made public. Cuban authorities said only that they would have a "broad program of activities."

Still, the two said their alternative to the US Free Trade Area of the Americas, would face a challenge from their Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas, or ALBA, in its Spanish initials, meaning "dawn." The pact is named for South American liberator Simon Bolivar.

"It is an alternative to the perverse FTAA, which they have been trying to impose on us for years," Chavez said. "FTAA is dead!"

However, Cuba is in desperate need of energy assistance.

Basic Industry Minister Marcos Portal Leon was fired October 14, amid a paralyzing energy shortage and controversial decisions about the nickel industry.

The ministry is among the country's most important as it handles power generation, oil, nickel, rubber and pharmaceuticals. Portal was replaced by Yadira Garcia.

A government statement criticized Portal for having rejected colleagues' advice and consequently making mistakes.

A breakdown in May at Cuba's main oil-fueled power plant in Matanzas province, took months to repair and blackouts have been rampant.

And amid breakdowns at other plants, power output plunged to about 50 percent of demand a few months back, officials said.

Led by Castro since 1959, Cuba has been in economic straits since the collapse of the Soviet bloc, which once provided subsidized food and fuel.

Havana has been unable to complete a Soviet-technology nuclear reactor planned for Juragua.

Cuba's oil-burning plants rely on Venezuelan oil because Cuban crude, which is high in sulfur, requires costly cleaning.

Venezuela, Latin America's only OPEC member, delivers 53,000 barrels of crude a day to Cuba.

A ceremony at Karl Marx theater marked the 10th anniversary of Chavez's first visit to Cuba, before becoming president.

Venezuelan students and patients in Cuba were on hand as were members of Cuban government youth and student organizations.

Cuba steps up wargames in warning to US

HAVANA, 14 (AFP) - Cuba pressed with its biggest military exercises in decades, with 400,000 reservists joining regular forces and millions of civilians in wargames which the authorities say are aimed at deterring a US invasion.

The second day of the "Bastion 2004" exercise went ahead as the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies said Cuba has increased defence spending for the first time in many years in "a reflection of growing tensions between Washington and Havana."

Cuban regular troops are also taking part in the exercises, heavily covered by the communist nation's official media.

Trucks towing armored cars and officers armed for battle were mobilized on the streets of Havana. Massive underground shelters where planes, tanks and heavy artillery are housed were opened to combat troops.

"The enemy will never catch us by surprise," the communist party daily, Granma said.

"The only way to stop aggression is to make it abundantly clear that, in this case, Cuba will become from one end (of the island) to the other an enormous wasp's nest that no aggressor, however powerful, will be able to overcome," Defense Minister Raul Castro said Monday.

"In the end, (the aggressor) will have to withdraw, bloodied and defeated, because this would be a war of all of the people," Castro, a younger brother of President Fidel Castro, warned.

Raul Castro said last week the exercises were in part to make sure that Washington "does not commit the errors it committed in Vietnam and that it is now committing in Iraq. So that they do not underestimate our people, who are united and more powerful than those in Iraq."

The IISS said in its annual Military Balance 2004/2005 report that most of the Soviet-made weapons used by the Cuban armed forces are outdated and considered obsolete by most experts.

Cuba's army is estimated at 38,000 troops with about 900 tanks. There is also a small navy and air force.

According to Cuban officials, the military has divided the island of 11 million people into 1,400 "defense zones" intended to be able to operate independently in case of war.

Squadrons trained in guerrilla tactics have several special Cuban-made arms including "Alejandro" rifles that fire anti-tank grenades and "Mambi" rifles designed to puncture heavy armor, as well as mines and anti-tank units.

Each zone has an anti-air heat-guided missile launcher.

The United States on Monday rejected assertions that it planned an invasion. "We don't think there is any justification, or any particular foundation for this kind of charge," said US State Department spokesman Richard Boucher.

These exercises "are just, I would say, one or more of the many things that the Cuban government does to try to distract people from the problems that they face in their daily lives," Boucher said.

The communist-run island sits some 90 miles (145 kilometers) off the coast of Florida.

Despite the military exercises and rhetoric, a delegation of US lawmakers and businessmen was to start talks in Havana on Wednesday about selling about 100 million dollars of US food and agricultural products to Cuba.

The war games also went ahead as the ailing President Castro welcomed Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, his only close ally in the Americas, whose government helps keep Cuba's economy afloat with cut-rate oil.

The two presidents were to have talks on Tuesday, with energy expected to be a key topic.

With its oil-burning plants, Cuba relies on imports from Venezuela, Latin America's only OPEC member, delivers 53,000 barrels of crude a day to Cuba. It is also a major supplier to the United States.

US food firms to hold talks in Cuba

HAVANA, 14 (AFP) - A group of US lawmakers and businessmen will hold talks in Cuba this week on supplying about 100 million dollars of food products to the cash-strapped nation, the state Alimport company announced.

The negotiations from Wednesday to Friday will go ahead as Cuba stages a huge military exercises which the government says is intended to prepare for any attempted US invasion.

Cuba has been the target of a US embargo since 1962, but since 1991 the US agriculture industry has been allowed to sell food to the communist nation after Congress permitted "humanitarian" sales.

Up to October, the sales totalled 894 million dollars and were expected to pass one billion dollars by the end of the year, Alimport said.

According to US media reports, more than 165 US companies will be represented at the Havana talks and Senator Max Baucus, the senior Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, is expected to attend as well as state lawmakers and agricultural officials.

Portuguese SATA airliner returns to Cuba after false bomb alert

LISBON, 15 (AFX) - A SATA plane, heading to Portugal from Cuba, has been forced to return to the pacific island after a passenger found a message warning that a bomb was on board, a spokeswoman for the Portuguese airliner said.

The message was later determined to be a hoax.

SATA, which is based on Portugals mid-Atlantic Azores archipelago, flies mostly charters and regular routes between Portugal and destinations in Europe and North America.

The Airbus 310, which can carry up to 280 passengers, returned to the resort of Varadero shortly after takeoff late yesterday and the passengers disembarked without incident, she said.

The plane resumed its journey to Lisbon some five hours later, after a police search of the plane found no evidence of a bomb.

'A passenger found the words 'Bomb on Board' written in the pages of an in-flight magazine while the plane was still on the runway but only told a crew member after the plane was in the air', the spokeswoman said.

The airline staff member immediately informed the pilot who decided to return to Varadero, she said.

'It was a hassle for the passengers, but fortunately nothing was found on the plane', she added.

Copyright © 2004 AFP AFX.

Iran, Cuba Sign Mou On Labor Cooperation

MADRID, Dec 15 Asia Pulse - Iran and cuba signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to bolster labor and employment cooperation in the Cuban capital Havana on Tuesday.

According to a report released by the Iranian embassy in Havana, the agreement was signed between the Iranian Minister of Labor and Social Affairs, Nasser Khaleqi, and his Cuban counterpart, Alfredo Morales Cartaya.

The MoU sets the framework for expanding cooperation in research towards better security and health standards for laborers in the sugarcane industry, adoption of proper labor standards, classification of occupations and training of labor inspectors.

Under the MoU, the two countries are to exchange information and experiences pertaining to their labor markets and services with the end in view of eliminating their unemployment problems.

The sides are also slated to expand social insurance and work to increase their presence in international conferences, particularly in the International Labor Organization.

The Iranian minister, heading a high-ranking delegation, arrived in Havana Tuesday night last week. His visit is on the invitation of Morales Cartaya. He and his delegation left Havana yesterday.

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