CUBA NEWS
La Tienda de Cubanet

March 2005

March 25

FROM CUBA
Four men attack dissident who suffers cut hand in attack in his home
Four men, allegedly led by the first secretary of a local branch of the Communist Party, forced their way into the home of dissident medical doctor Darsi Ferrer and beat him up.
HAVANA

FROM CUBA
Denied telephone for not participating in block committee activities
An employee of the state-run Cubapetroleo Company was denied the installation of a telephone in his home because he failed to participate in activities of the Commitees for the Defense of the Revolution, known popularly as bloc committees.
SANTA CLARA

FROM CUBA
Emigration offices runs out of forms for exit permits
The emigration office in the "10 de Octubre"district in the capital has run out of forms for those wishing to leave the island legally.
HAVANA
FROM CUBA
Independent journalist accused of stealing and butchering a cow
An independent journalist who called authorities when she discovered a bloody machete in the entrance to her home was later accused by police of of stealing and butchering a cow.
SANTA CLARA
FROM CUBA
Washroom attendance fired after requesting exit permit to emigrate to the U.S.
Félix Cárdenas Pérez, a retiree working as a bathroom attendant on Santa Clara's boulevard, lost his job last week after applying for a permit to emigrate.
SANTA CLARA
FROM CUBA
Dissident fined for using a home-made stove
Luis Enrique Junquera García, a delegate of the dissident Liberal Democratic Party, told the inspectors he had no other means of preparing meals for his children, aged 10 and 12 years.
RANCHUELO

The Miami Herald
• Castro puts special peso above dollar in its value
• Lawmakers advocate lifting travel sanctions
• Cuban man suspected of torture is released
• Dissidents energize exiles, lawmakers
• Family makes epic journey to America

Yahoo! News
• EU development chief Michel urges Cuba to turn page, open new dialogue

Mission improbable
Cuba and human rights: Neither American toughness nor a European charm offensive is likely to persuade Fidel Castro to reverse his crackdown on dissent.
The Economist.
Progress in efforts to tap Cuban expertise
Malaysia's initiative to tap Cuban expertise moves a notch higher with the Second Joint Commission Meeting (JCM) to be hosted in Putrajaya today.
The Star Online, Malaysia.

March 21

FROM CUBA
Two brothers released from prison after three years for insulting Fidel Castro
Two human rights activists were released from prison this week after three years of imprisonment for insulting President Fidel Castro, public disorder and resisting arrest.
CIEGO DE AVILA

FROM CUBA
Dissidents stopped by police outside of the U.S. Interests Section
Two dissidents were stopped last week by police officers after leaving the U.S. Interests Section where they had surfed the Interet.
HAVANA

FROM CUBA
Anti-government slogans appear in Santa Clara
A group of garbage collectors saw some anti-government slogans painted on walls at a pickup point last week, prompting a team of state security agents with sniffing to cordon off the area.
SANTA CLARA
FROM CUBA
Dissident criticizes conditions at Guines provincial jail
Santiago Adrían Palomo of the dissident November 30 Democratic Party says conditions in the Guines provincial jail are worse than those the Cuban government alleges about the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay.
SANTA CLARA

The Miami Herald
• Castro backers confront silent demonstrators
• Cuban immigrants find themselves stuck after being denied benefits
• Cuban exiles, the CIA and a secret war: A new book focuses on a post-Bay of Pigs program to get rid of Castro
• Q&A with Don Bohning
• Spanish government speaks to Cuban exiles
• Castro gives upbeat portrayal of future
• Aznar condemns Spain's foreign ties
• Twin drives put focus on dissidents
• U.S. Cuba trade expert quits
• Ex-Spanish leader blasts Cuba, Venezuela ties

Yahoo! News
• Prisoners' Wives Want Cuba Media Space
• Castro Slightly Strengthens Cuban Peso
• Cuba Dissidents Face Internal Divisions

Cuba criticised over dissidents
Amnesty International has accused the Cuban authorities of holding 71 prisoners of conscience, often in brutal conditions.
BBC, UK.
U.S. to Focus on Cuba, North Korea, Burma at Human Rights Meeting
At this year's meeting of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, the United States will sponsor a resolution on Cuba and co-sponsor resolutions on North Korea and Burma, senior Bush administration officials say.
Washington File.
Female Castro Supporters Break Up Protest
With shouts of "Viva Fidel," female government supporters interrupted a weekly silent protest by wives of political prisoners held after Sunday church services.
Yahoo! News.

March 15

FROM CUBA
Cuban workers resent unkept promises
Workers at the Ramiro Lavendero cigarette factory here say they are very unhappy the government has not kept to its commitments when it recently distributed just part of a suite of working clothes.
RANCHUELO

FROM CUBA
Worker fired for advocating human rights in Cuba
Lázaro Oliva worked at the dental clinic for 15 days before he was fired for belonging to a human rights advocacy group, the Partido Federalista de Cuba.
SANTA CLARA

FROM CUBA
Cuban government opponent threatened in Manicaragua
A man who called himself Roberto and said he was the chief of "Confronting subversive enemy activity" visited government opponent Raúl Rangel the afternoon of March 10 at home in Manicaragua and threatened him with the loss of his job.
SANTA CLARA
FROM CUBA
Areas of Placetas without power for 13 days
La Vigía district of Placetas has been without power for 13 days since the electric transformer burned out. Residents say they have asked that repairs be made, but the Electric Company alleges they have no transportation to move the needed equipment.
PLACETAS
FROM CUBA
Food scarcity becoming critical in eastern Cuba province
The 25,000 residents of Campechuela, in easternmost Granma province, are facing food shortages approaching the critical point as a result of the prolonged drought affecting the region.
SANTIAGO DE CUBA

The Miami Herald
• Cubans will unite to resist U.S.-style change, Castro's brother vows
• Castro opponent says his life was threatened
• Exile group may visit Cuba
• Cuba reinstating economic controls

Yahoo! News
• Aide says Blanco feared offending Castro while in Cuba
• Intellectuals Back Cuba Over Rights Record
• Journalists have most hazardous year in a decade

External links

Latin Jews finding a home in South Florida
Mariano Moshe Otero grew up struggling to understand both his faiths."We were brought up in a Christian home but knowing we were Cuban Jews," said Otero, 43, a former Evangelical minister who is now pursuing rabbinical studies in Miami
Sun-Sentinel, FL.


March 11

FROM CUBA
Authorities to fire teacher who threatened student
Authorities at the "Gilberto Arocha" secondary school said a teacher who, while reportedly drunk, threatened to kill a 15-year-old 10th grade student last Wednesday would be fired.
HAVANA

FROM CUBA
Police confiscate vendor's wares
Police and government inspectors raided a house in Managua, on the outskirts of Havana, and confiscated all home-made merchandise belonging to a street vendor who tries to make a living in the underground economy.
HAVANA

FROM CUBA
Shortage of cigarettes in Santiago de Cuba
Police and government inspectors raided a house in Managua, on the outskirts of Havana, and confiscated all home-made merchandise belonging to a street vendor who tries to make a living in the underground economy.
HAVANA
FROM CUBA
Travelers stranded in Ranchuelo
Travelers in Ranchuelo who expected to board a bus or train to Santa Clara the morning of March 3 found themselves stranded with little recourse but their wits.
RANCHUELO
FROM CUBA
Demand exceeds capacity at computing center
As many as 40 would-be students could not register for computer instruction at the Youth Computing Club in Ranchuelo February 28 due to the small size of the hall, said Ismary Pozo, a frustrated registrant.
RANCHUELO
FROM CUBA
Churches and convents apparently targeted in thefts
The situation came to the attention of the province's bishop, Msgr. Siro, who issued a letter to be read in all parishes and other religious facilities, alerting nuns, priests and parishioners alike to the danger.
HAVANA

The Miami Herald
• Exile group may visit Cuba
• Cuba reinstating economic controls
• Cuban dissidents seek support for peaceful rally
• 'Havana Night Club' is a spectacle -- but just too Vegas
• Activist says his project tackles Cuba's 'culture of fear'

U.S. Trade With Cuba? You Bet!
New rules implemented by Washington could make it harder for U.S. agricultural producers to sell to Cuba, but Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco is seeking a bigger piece of the pie - already worth some $1 billion for her state.
CBS News.

March 7

FROM CUBA
Ag worker fired, threatened with eviction
Agricultural worker Raúl Rivero Ferrer was fired from his job at the Arroyo Naranjo farm, and now administrators want him to vacate the house he has occupied with his family for the last 13 years, claiming the house is a benefit that goes with employment.
HAVANA

FROM CUBA
Drought in Cuba attracts water vendors
The ongoing drought in the area has brought out people who supply water for a price in Ranchuelo, and since February 22, several can be seen plying the town's streets.
RANCHUELO

FROM CUBA
Police shoot unlicensed bread peddler
Police took a few pot shots at a man they say they found peddling bread without the appropriate license in the La Chirusa sector of Santa Clara.
SANTA CLARA
FROM CUBA
Police raid self-employed street vendors in Santa Clara
Police made yet another sweep February 26 directed against the self-employed street vendors who try to eke out a living on the periphery of the San Miguel market in Santa Clara, arresting a number of them and imposing fines of up to 1,500 pesos.
SANTA CLARA
FROM CUBA
Cuban families evicted from make-shift housing
About 250 strong, police and housing inspectors charged into "El Fanguito" marginal housing area in Cienfuegos February 22, evicting settlers and demolishing their jerry-built houses.
CIENFUEGOS
FROM CUBA
Handle with care: Casket ready to come apart before burial
The grieving relatives of Bienvenida Moreno, deceased at age 83, were too worn-out to protest by the time a funeral-home employee pointed out her poorly-made casket was about to lose its bottom.
SANTA CLARA
FROM CUBA
Surgical personnel centralized in Santa Clara
In an apparent attempt to centralize surgical services in the province, surgical personnel from the Celestino Hernández Rubao hospital in Santa Clara, as well as personnel from the nearby municipalities of Placetas and Remedios, have been told to report to the Arnaldo Milián Castro provincial hospital, also in Santa Clara.
SANTA CLARA
FROM CUBA
Books, radios, and a copier confiscated from independent libraries in Cuba
Two officers from the Department of State Security who gave their names as Frank and Ahmed called at the home of María Elena Mir, in Guanabo, a beach community east of Havana, and confiscated several boxes of books and 25 portable radios.
HAVANA
FROM CUBA
Two cases of AIDS detected in Cuban prison
A medical survey carried out at the Mar Verde prison in the city of Santiago de Cuba detected two inmates who have been infected with the AIDS virus.
SANTIAGO DE CUBA
Cuba reinstating economic controls
Cuba is gradually returning to tight state control of its whole economy. Some analysts say it's preparing for a day when Fidel Castro no longer rules.
The Miami Herald

The Miami Herald
• Castro foes testify, support the U.S.
• Cuba's bid may stall FTAA talks
• Cuban show plans dream gig in Miami
• Cuban church: Prelate treated rudely at MIA
• Dissidents feud on Cuba's future
• Cuba, Haiti criticized in U.S. rights report

Sherritt, Cuba to Spend $450 Mln to Boost Mine Output
Sherritt International Corp., which produces nickel and cobalt, and Cuba plan to spend as much as $450 million to boost production by almost half at a mining joint venture in the country.
Bloomberg.
Yahoo! News
• Canadian airliner heads back to Cuba after losing part of rudder
• Blanco heads to Mexico, Cuba on trade trip
Speak truth to tyranny
Cuba's embattled dissident movement is back in action -- after suffering a vicious crackdown only two years ago. In March 2003, Cuba's dictatorship began rounding up dozens of activists who increasingly had pushed for democratic changes.
The Miami Herald.

External links

Film satirizes life in tragic absurdity
Jokes, riddles and satire are the antidotes to rigid government pronouncements and decrees. A well-placed pun or double entendre helps deflate tensions at home over empty kitchen cupboards, hourslong blackouts or the cavernous gap between average Cuban state salaries and the cost of living.
Sun-Sentinel, FL.

Eight charged in attempts to smuggle people into U.S. from Cuba
Eight Cubans are charged with alien smuggling and conspiracy following their failed attempts to bring a total of 103 migrants by boat to the United States, authorities said Friday.
Sun-Sentinel, FL.

New export rules on Cuba could backfire in Congress
The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control has just announced new trade guidelines that reinterpret payment procedures for U.S. food exports to Cuba. In October 2000, the U.S. Congress authorized cash-only sales of American food items to the island under the Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act.
Orlando Sentinel.


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