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US authorities order ex-Cuban government employee's deportation

MIAMI, 23 (AFP) - US immigration authorities ordered the deportation of a former Cuban government employee accused of persecuting dissidents in his communist-led home country.

Luis Enrique Daniel Rodriguez, a former Cuban interior ministry employee, was detained in July after a judge issued a deportation order.

Rodriguez, 37, has been held at an immigration detention facility in Miami.

US authorities accuse him, among other things, of breaking into the homes of two Cuban dissidents in Havana, including the residence of Elizardo Sanchez, head of the Cuban Committee for Human Rights and National Reconciliation, Rodriguez's attorneys said.

But Sanchez has denied that Rodriguez took actions against him.

Rodriguez's attorney say their client, who admitted having worked for the Cuban government, is a defector and denied he committed human right abuses.

"Human rights violators cannot and will not use the United States as a safe haven," said Jesus Torres, head of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency's Miami office.

Cubans Put Up 'Anti-Imperialist' Images

By Andrea Rodriguez, Associated Press Writer, Wed Dec 22.

HAVANA - Cuban art students and cartoonists painted an American eagle cartoon Wednesday on the asphalt of Havana's coastal highway so cars can drive over it as they pass the U.S. diplomatic mission, the latest salvo in a spat over pro-dissident Christmas decorations hung by the Americans.

Police closed off two blocks of the highway as the students drew the colorful cartoon of an aggressive-looking eagle with an enormous "B" on its chest - referring to the U.S. "bloqueo," or trade sanctions. The government has used the figure in a televised campaign to criticize four decades of sanctions.

"This character represents the blockade and will be squashed by all the cars and people who pass by here," said Ernesto Padron, a well-known cartoonist working on the painting.

Dozens of other artists worked on billboards outside the mission. They said they planned to paint a caricature of James Cason, chief of the U.S. Interests Section, as well as images protesting the U.S.-led war in Iraq.

U.S. officials declined to comment Wednesday on the painting.

The row began last week when Cason ignored orders by the Cuban government to remove Christmas decorations including a sign reading "75" - a reference to 75 Cuban dissidents arrested in a crackdown last year.

The Cuban government then erected a billboard outside the U.S. mission emblazoned with photographs of U.S. soldiers abusing Iraqi prisoners and the word "fascists" overlaid with a "Made in the U.S.A" stamp.

"We reject the U.S. operations against Cuba and against Iraq," Lisandra Ramirez, 18, said as she painted.

Earlier in the week, thousands of university students rallied outside the U.S. Interests Section to protest the Christmas display.

U.S.-Cuba relations, never good during four decades of communist rule on the island, have deteriorated during President Bush (news - web sites)'s administration, which has toughened economic sanctions and publicized its plan for a democratic Cuba after Fidel Castro.

Cuban officials charged last year that the imprisoned dissidents got money from U.S. officials to undermine the island's government - a charge the activists and Washington denied. The dissidents were sentenced to up to 28 years in prison, but 14 have since been released for medical reasons.

Castro Walks in Public 2 Months After Fall

By Anita Snow, Associated Press Writer, Thu Dec 23.

HAVANA - Cheered by hundreds of lawmakers, a smiling Fidel Castro walked in public Thursday for the first time since shattering his kneecap in a fall two months ago.

Legislators looked stunned, then smiled and applauded, when Cuba's 78-year-old president entered the main auditorium of the Convention Palace on the arm of a uniformed schoolgirl to attend a year-end National Assembly meeting.

"Long live Fidel!" a lone deputy shouted as Castro took his seat, followed by a shout of "Long live a free Cuba!"

Castro's quick recovery from breaking his left kneecap into eight pieces was likely to dampen the latest round of rumors questioning his health. Because of his larger than life role in Cuba, his well-being has become a continual source of speculation, both on and off the island, as he has grown older.

The man who has ruled this communist country for nearly 46 years has emphasized he remains firmly in control of the government's daily affairs ever since he stumbled and fell after a speech in October.

Castro is the world's longest ruling head of government and among the longest presiding heads of state. Britain's head of state, Queen Elizabeth II (news - web sites), was crowned in 1953 - six years before Castro's triumph in the Cuban Revolution.

In his role as president of Council of State, the Cuban government's executive body, Castro also controls one of the five remaining communist states in the world, and the only one in the Western Hemisphere. The others are in Asia: China, Vietnam, North Korea and Laos.

Wearing his olive green uniform, Castro stood erect Thursday, walking slowly and stiffly about 100 yards across the full front row of the assembly, then up the stairs to the main stage, where he took a seat next to his younger brother and designated successor, 73-year-old Defense Minister Raul Castro.

Along with the schoolgirl, two men stood nearby as Castro climbed the stairs - one of the hardest things to do after breaking a kneecap, doctors say.

At one point, Castro stopped and extended his arm in greeting to national and international journalists covering the meeting.

Castro is also a National Assembly deputy and he almost always participates in the occasional sessions held each year. During the morning meeting, he frequently consulted with aides about the annual report by Economics Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez and chatted animatedly with his brother.

Castro made headlines around the globe when he fell Oct. 20 in the central city of Santa Clara, also breaking his right arm. Initially immobilized in a sling, the arm evidently healed in a few weeks.

After staying out of the spotlight for several weeks, Castro began making public appearances again, often seated in a wheelchair.

In November, he surprised many when he suddenly stood up from his wheelchair during a state visit by Chinese President Hu Jintao, leaning on a metal cane with an arm support. Last week, he stood unassisted for several minutes during a visit by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

Until Thursday, however, he had not been seen walking in public.

In the last several years, Castro's knees have seemed more wobbly, his step less steady. But given his age, he appears to be strong and maintains a busy schedule that frequently includes all-night meetings with aides and visitors.

Cuba reports economic growth

AAP, December 24, 2004.

Cuban tourism and the economy overall continued the steady growth of recent years in 2004 despite a pair of devastating hurricanes, increased U.S. sanctions and higher oil prices, the island's top economic planner said on Thursday.

In his annual year-end report, Economics Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez told Cuba's National Assembly that 2004 had been "extraordinarily difficult" in part because of more than US$2 billion ($A2.61 billion) in damage caused by Hurricanes Charley and Ivan.

Cuba, which imports about half of the petroleum it needs, also has been hit hard by oil prices. It also received fewer visitors than expected this year because of the tightening of American restrictions on travel to the communist-run island.

Nevertheless, the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, using traditional criteria for calculating gross national product, reported last week that Cuba's economy grew 3 per cent in 2004. Growth was 2.6 per cent the year before.

Rodriguez, using a different formula Cuban planners devised to take into consideration the communist nation's broad social safety net and heavily subsidized services, said Thursday the economy grew 5 per cent this year.

More than a decade ago, many Cuba watchers had predicted the economy would collapse as it struggled with the sudden loss of critical Soviet aid and trade.

But it has steadily grown since, in large part because of a new focus on tourism as its No. 1 source of foreign currency needed for international trade.

Rodriguez said 2.05 million people visited Cuba in 2004, despite stepped-up U.S. restrictions announced in the summer that cut the number of authorized family visits to the island by Cuban-Americans from once annually to once every three years.

He projected as many as 2.3 million people would visit Cuba in 2005.

Rodriguez said the government's expectations for 2005 were low for the sugar industry, which was once the economic motor of this Caribbean nation. The industry has been undergoing a major restructuring in recent years.

The news was brighter for nickel, another major Cuban commodity sold abroad. Rodriguez projected production would reach 77,000 metric tons next year to be sold at favourable prices on the international market.

During a state visit here by Chinese President Hu Jintao last month, Cuba agreed to begin providing 4,400 metric tons of nickel annually to the fellow communist nation. The same agreement calls for a US$500 million ($A652.66 million) Chinese investment in a new nickel plant in Moa, in Cuba's eastern province of Holguin.

Pebercan Discovers a New Deposit in Cuba

MONTREAL, Dec. 24 /CNW Telbec/ - (PBC-TSX) : PEBERCAN is pleased to announce that it has made a new discovery on SANTA CRUZ, in the Republic of Cuba. Identified through the results of the seismic campaign acquired in 2003 on the off-shore area of Block 7, this new oil field could measure up to 20 km2.

The first analysis of the oil produced by the SANTA CRUZ 100 well shows a higher grade of oil than that produced up until then on the CANASI and SEBORUCO fields. The results of the ongoing supplemental analysis will be communicated during the course of January 2005.

Upon completion of the first production tests, the SANTA CRUZ 100 well flows 1,300 barrels per day on a 14mm choke.

PEBERCAN is already preparing an appraisal program for this structure, on which it is the operator. Two appraisal wells are being prepared and should be conducted during the first half of 2005.

At the same time, PEBERCAN continues the development of the SEBORUCO field. Drilling of the SEBORUCO 15 and SEBORUCO 103 wells are still ongoing and drilling of the SEBORUCO 9 well should begin in early January 2005.

PEBERCAN Inc. is involved in the exploration, development and operation of oil reserves in the Republic of Cuba. Its mining domain includes five concessions covering 6,155 km2, including Block 7, the only concession operated to date. PEBERCAN sells all of its production to the Cuban government. The Company's shares are listed on the TSX under the symbol PBC.

The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are associated with known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may mean that the Company's actual results, returns and realizations will differ greatly from the future results, returns or realizations expressed or assumed by these forward-looking facts.

For further information

PEBERCAN Inc.: Cédric Sirven, Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer, (514) 286-5200, Fax: (514) 286-5177, info@pebercan.com
RENMARK Financial Communications Inc.: Henri Perron: hperron@renmarkfinancial.com
Franca Filippone: ffilippone@renmarkfinancial.com
Media - Cynthia Lane: clane@renmarkfinancial.com, (514) 939-3989, Fax: (514) 939-3717, www.renmarkfinancial.com

Cuba's "El Duque" lands with baseball's White Sox

CHICAGO, 23 (AFP) - Cuban pitcher Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez, a member of three World Series championship teams who missed most of the past two baseball seasons, signed a two-year deal with the Chicago White Sox.

Hernandez, who will make 3.5 million dollars in 2005 and 4.5 million in 2006, missed all of the 2003 season and half of the 2004 campaign following surgery to repair a partially torn rotator cuff.

The 35-year-old hurler played for the New York Yankees during their 1998, 1999 and 2000 title seasons - his first three Major League Baseball campaigns after defecting to the United States from Cuba.

Hernandez went 61-40 record with a 3.96 earned-run average in six US seasons, all with the Yankees.

"Orlando is a great addition to our starting rotation," White Sox general manager Ken Williams said. "He is a proven winner with a history of pitching well in big games, especially when you look at his post-season record."

Hernandez posted a 9-3 playoff record with a 2.65 earned-run average. His nine playoff triumphs rank third on the all-time Yankees list, trailing only Andy Pettitte's 13 and 10 by Whitey Ford.

Cuba Said to Retaliate Against Dissidents

HAVANA, 24 (AP) - Shortly after dissidents launched a new magazine, the Cuban government retaliated by confiscating various books and written documents, a political activist said Thursday.

Manuel Cuesta Morua, a well-known intellectual who helped present the magazine "Consensus" Tuesday, said authorities entered the house of his former partner that night and took all of the books, writings and computer discs he had left there.

"It's a clear and direct message of intolerance," Cuesta Morua said in a statement.

According to the activist, authorities presented a search warrant and said they took the belongings "to look for counterrevolutionary literature." They said they believed there were documents connected to U.S. institutions, he said.

Dozens of dissidents arrested in a government crackdown last year were accused of accepting money from U.S. officials to undermine the island's government - a charge the activists and Washington denied.

Collaborators said the magazine was necessary to broaden the spectrum of opinions presented in Cuba's state-run media.

The first printed edition of "Consensus" contained an interview with dissident writer Raul Rivero - recently released from prison - and articles about the death penalty and the situation of women in Cuba.

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