July 30

FROM CUBA
Workers not paid while auditors search for irregularities
The 250-some workers of a seed producing company in Bayamo have not been paid their salaries since June while auditors peruse the books looking for reported irregularities committed by a company executive.
HAVANA

Yahoo! News
• Oil won't be invigorating Cuban economy
• Sharks, detention and the American dream: memories of the 94 Cuban exodus
• 'Fahrenheit 9/11' to be broadcast on Cuban TV

The Miami Herald
• Firm finds petroleum off coast
• Cuban composers' work showcased

External links

Cruise Passenger Spots Cuban Refugees
Two days ago, the Brodsky family was out on a Royal Caribbean cruise and having a great time coming back from the Cayman Islands, still 200 miles from shore. One family member saw a disconcerting speck on the horizon, and after he viewed it with a brand-new zoom lens video camera, the family had the ship turn around.
NBC6.net, FL.

Senate race spotlights Cuba policy
Fidel Castro and U.S. policy on Cuba have emerged as critical topics in the Republican race for the U.S. Senate, signaling the importance that the leading contenders place on support from South Florida's Cuban exile community..
Sun-Sentinel.com, FL.

WSU baseball team eager for chance to play in Cuba
Wichita State is awaiting approval from the U.S. government to play a series of baseball games in Cuba this fall. Bill Pintard, director of Global Partners Inc., said he'd like to take the Shockers to Cuba for a trip similar to the one he helped orchestrate with the Southern California baseball team in January 2003.
Kansas.com, KS.

Diaries' Is Guevara's Early Years
"The Motorcycle Diaries,'' a Robert Redford-produced accounting of Che's youthful escapades across South America, opened Thursday in Guevara's native Argentina and is coming in September to American audiences. It has screened in Cuba to enthusiastic audiences.
The New York Times.

Cuba's State-Owned Label Going Worldwide
Cuban state-owned record company Egrem is getting an international launch for the first time in its 60-year history.
Billboard.

Hasta la vista: Visa problems stalemate Cuban show at the Weisman
International tensions and visa problems have prompted the University of Minnesota's Weisman Art Museum to cancel an exhibition of conceptual art from Cuba that was scheduled to open in early 2005.
Minneapolis Star Tribune (subscription), MN.

July 28

FROM CUBA
Security tight in Santa Clara for July 26 celebration
Contrasting with the mass rallies of previous anniversaries, this year's July 26 celebration in Santa Clara's Ernesto (Che) Guevara Square will be limited to 30,000 carefully selected invitees who have been given a long list of strict do's and don'ts'.
SANTA CLARA

FROM CUBA
Santa Clara militarized
Santa Clara residents say they are getting weary from all the effort authorities have been putting into the city ever since it was announced that the national celebration for July 26 would be held here. .
SANTA CLARA

Yahoo! News
• US stands by Cuban sex tourism allegations after Castro denials
• Cuba and Japan Olympic baseball favourites after US failure

The Miami Herald
• Castro-Bush feud turns personal
• Kerry to court Cubans unhappy with president

External links

Get-Tough Policy on Cuba May Backfire Against Bush
The Bush administration, which has undertaken a number of tough measures against Cuba in this pre-election season, is finding opposition to some of them from large numbers of Cuban-Americans, a group whose electoral support the White House hoped to solidify.
New York Times, NY.

Tester's Take: Who Will Stand Up In Little Havana?
There is a lot of talk about the Kerry presidential campaign making inroads with the Cuban Exile Community. The conventional wisdom is that if Kerry can peel away some of that 80 percent of the Cuban vote that went to George W. Bush in 2000 there is a chance the Massachusetts senator could carry Florida.
NBC 6.

Castro, in Revolution Day speech, slams Bush's past drinking
Fidel Castro's ongoing battle with President Bush turned personal Monday night as the Cuban president brought up his nemesis' past drinking habits.
Sun-Sentinel, Fl.

Let Castro Be One To Say No
The Bush administration is convinced that tightening the economic noose on Cubans will spur a revolt against Fidel Castro's dictatorship. But if that were the case, then Cuba would have been liberated decades ago.
Sun-Sentinel, Fl.

Race steward pitches for reunion trip to Cuba
Charlie Miranda is heading the attempt for the same group to return to the Cuban capital of Havana for a 50-year reunion in December. It's a group that includes 95-year-old coach Andrew Espolita and 11 of the 12 surviving members of the squad, which was led then by 9-year-old shortstop Tony LaRussa.
Muskegon Chronicle, MI.

A Spitting Image of Cuba
Among the many fruit trees in my grandparents' yard in Cuba was a tall guava tree. It stood over the patio and in the summers it produced so much fruit that my brothers and I could not eat enough to keep up with it, though we tried, scurrying up its narrow trunk and picking as many as we thought we could handle.
Ernesto Mestre-Reed / The New York Times.

July 26

FROM CUBA
National media issues warning to swimmers
According to the report, drowning is the third leading cause of death for all ages, and the second for people under 20. Last year, 266 people, or one every day and a half, on average, died by drowning.
HAVANA

FROM CUBA
Room for rent
A Canadian visitor to Havana last spring found lodgings through the Internet: an air conditioned room with bath in a spacious apartment on Empedrado Street. Online, 30 dollars a day for an attractive room in Old Havana seemed very reasonable.
SANTA CLARA

Yahoo! News
• Cuba Releases Well-Known Dissident Roque
• One of Cuba's best-known dissidents is released
• Cuban Dissident Calls for Referendum
• Mexico, Cuba Ambassadors Return to Posts
• Cuban ambassador in Mexico, ending three-month spat
• Semester at Sea, si! Cuba, no!
• Cuban Artists Perform for Fidel Castro
• Contreras, Yanksare happy family

The Miami Herald
• Florida companies send goods to Cuba under embargo exception
• Cuba mystery money gets scrutiny
• Prominent dissident Roque released for health reasons
• Cuban Artists Perform for Fidel Castro
• An untold chapter in the life of Celia Cruz
• Trying to connect with Celia -- and aching to join her

External links

Cuban dissident freed, vows to keep pushing for reform
Only hours after her release Thursday from prison, one of Cuba's most prominent dissidents pledged to continue working to bring democratic reforms to this nation's one-party state. "Prison doesn't erase ideas. The ideas continue there," said Martha Beatriz Roque, a 59-year-old economist and the only woman among the 75 opposition figures incarcerated last spring by Cuban President Fidel Castro.
Chicago Tribune.

Cuba woman dissident 'released'
Cuba has freed Martha Beatriz Roque, a prominent opponent of Fidel Castro, on health grounds
BBC News, UK.

New rules cut Cuba flights to a trickle
Nearly a month after the U.S. government clamped down on travel to Cuba, local air charter companies say their businesses have been decimated, passengers have yet to receive new licenses required for travel and thousands have voiced their opinions to the Treasury Department about the proposed new rules.
Sun-Sentinel.

In Cuba, drought hits crisis level
Farmers, city dwellers and officials scrape for fresh water as island nation endures a long dry spell that has intensified since 2002
Chicago Tribune (subscription), IL.

Cuba's music: A dance of life
Though it seems a century ago, it's only been six years since music fans in the United States first got the opportunity to see Cuban bands play their music live.
Sun-Sentinel.com, FL.

Let's bomb Havana with Big Macs
Tomorrow Fidel Castro will remind the Cuban people how 51 years ago he launched the revolution that made him unchallenged Maximum Leader in Cuba for the past 46-plus turbulent years.
San Francisco Chronicle, CA.

UBS accused of "laundering" Cuban money
Three members of the United States House of Representatives have accused Switzerland's largest bank, UBS, of laundering money for the Cuban government.
Swissinfo - Switzerland.

Contreras finds pieces to his puzzling year
For all of his struggles early in the season, Contreras, an enigmatic right-hander, has an 8-3 record and a season-low 4.84 earned run average. He has gone at least six innings and allowed no more than one earned run in four of his five starts since his family defected from Cuba on June 21.
The new York Times .

Visa lottery frees Cuban ballplayer
No one on the Braden River Junior All-Star baseball team will have traveled a longer road to Saturday's state tournament than Rudy Marrero.
Sarasota Herald-Tribune, FL.

Rum maker longs to return to Cuba
El Coco, they called it. It was a 98-year-old palm tree that withered and died in 1960 after Fidel Castro took power. It stood in front of the Bacardí rum factory. Now company executives hope to plant a new coconut palm, after Mr. Castro is gone. They say they'll put it in the same patch of green earth where the first tree sprouted in 1862.
Tracey Eaton / The Dallas Morning News.

Dengue control : Experts fly to Cuba
A team of medical experts will soon fly to Cuba to study its methods, including the effectiveness of 'Bacillus thuringien' (BT) bacteria, used by Cuba in eradicating dengue mosquito menace, Health and Nutrition Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva told the 'Sunday Observer', yesterday.
Sunday Observer, Sri Lanka.

July 22

FROM CUBA
Love story of the "New Man"
They liked each other. They had a lot in common. They haven't seen each other again. There was no disagreement between them. It's just that neither one of them "is up for that sort of thing." Soon, they won't remember each other.
HAVANA

FROM CUBA
Cuban beachgoers closely watched
Cubans are only allowed at Esmeralda beach in Holguín province, a popular tourist destination, under strictly regulated conditions and are closely watched while there, said local human rights activist Guillermo Llanes.
SANTA CLARA

Yahoo! News
• U.S. Grants 20,000th Cuban Immigrant Visa
• Ailing Maradona at odds with ex-wife over Cuba return
• Madre Cuba

The Miami Herald
• Denied U.S. visa, opposition journalist seeks French aid

External links

U.S. to respond to Bahamas/Cuba relations
The United States government is to respond to an announcement made by Foreign Affairs Minister Fred Mitchell that The Bahamas would be setting up a consulate office in Cuba as part of an initiative to further strengthen ties with the communist country.
Nassau Guardian, Bahamas.

Rays' closer hopes to reunite with Family
With mixed emotions, Rays closer Danys Baez watched Yankee Pitcher Jose Contreras reunite with his family last month after two years apart.
Tampa Bay's 10, FL.

Pedro Pan Lift
I was born in Cuba in 1951 during the Batista regime. In 1959 Fidel Castro overthrew that hated regime and promised a democratically elected government. Pretty soon my mother and other Cubans realized that all those promises were nothing but lies and empty promises. When Castro declared himself a Communist my mother decided to leave Cuba.
HistoryBuff.com.

July 20

FROM CUBA
Authorities collect all firearms in central Cuban province
"This is not the first time they pick up all firearms," said a local resident who asked not to be named, "every time a member of the Political Bureau or the Council of State is coming this way, the same thing happens."
HAVANA

FROM CUBA
Daughter of Cuban dissident expelled from university because of her father
Miguel Tejeda Tenorio, secretary general of the Union of Christian Workers, says his daughter was expelled from university because of her relationship with him. .
HAVANA

FROM CUBA
Fifteen workers walk of a contruction job in protest in Cuba
Fifteen works on a construction project walked off the job in protest over working conditions, said independent union leader William Toledo Terrero. .
SANTA CLARA

The Miami Herald
• Cuban national ordered deported
• Cuba and Mexico restore ties
• Cuba puts focus on corruption
• Cuban gymnast hopes to find glory with U.S.
• 7 Cubans arrive in Keys
• Martinez gambling on Cuba stand
• Castro lures sex tourism, president says
• Cuba, Mexico try to get in step
• U.S. allows firm's deal with Cuba
• Region's leaders turn to Cuba trade talks
• Dancing with Fidel in a changing Cuba
• I rebelled for good reason, Venezuelan ex-officer says

Yahoo! News
• Cuba, Mexico agree to send back ambassadors after spat
• Canadian under-18 women's basketball team loses 58-38 to Cuba
• Bush says US has 'particular duty' against human trafficking, slams Cuba
• Brigades Work Against U.S. Policy in Cuba

External links

Hopes wither as worst drought in 40 years hits eastern Cuba
The ochre field that once produced tender corn, beans and yuca for Rogelio Maura's family is sun-parched and barren. Withered pastures and cracked fields extend for miles across the eastern Cuban province of Holguín and into neighboring Las Tunas and Camaguey.
Sun-Sentinel, FL.

Bush Speech on Human Trafficking Targets Castro
President Bush on Friday furthered his effort to raise the importance of cultural issues in the campaign, tailoring a speech here on sex trafficking to appeal to Florida's Cuban exiles and to religious conservatives.
The Washington Post.

A Risky Route to Freedom
Nine rafters slipped out of Cuba on May 3, guided by a full moon and buoyed by hope and ocean currents. After two days at sea, in the black and cold of 2 a.m., a screw shook loose from their old outboard and it sputtered to a stop. As the screw plunged into the shark-filled depths, their spirits sank with it.
The Washington Post.

Group assesses trade with Cuba
Agricultural trade with Cuba is increasing, but it will be some time before it gets substantial imports from South Dakota, according to two participants on a trade mission to the communist country.
Rapid City Journal, SD.

For Cachao and Bebo, a Mighty Second Wind
That the Latin music industry is obsessed with youth, packageable personalities and a marketable product with crossover potential is hardly news. And some recent successes -- think Ricky Martin, Paulina Rubio or Enrique Iglesias -- indicate that the payoff can be substantial.
The Washington Post.

Power struggle within Cuba?
He's one of the most recognizable and controversial political figures of modern times. His younger brother is the world's longest-serving defense minister. Fidel and Raul Castro form a political and economic dynasty that has dominated Cuba - and defied the United States - for more than half a century.
Tracey Eaton / The Dallas Morning News.

U.S. Permits 3 Cancer Drugs From Cuba
The federal government is permitting a California biotechnology company to license three experimental cancer drugs from Cuba, making an exception to the policy of tightly restricting trade with that country.
The New York Times.

Tampa protest shows divide on Bush's Cuba travel policy
Rolando Carbonelo considers himself a Republican. He voted for President Bush in 2000 and he maintains that "he has not been a bad president overall." But this year, the Tampa resident said, he's voting for John Kerry.
St. Petersburg Times, FL.

Freedom in Cuba goes backwards
I returned from my first news assignment to Cuba in 2001 mildly optimistic that the only communist country in our hemisphere was changing -- that Fidel Castro was about to loosen up. I returned from a visit last year, not nearly so hopeful.
Detroit Free Press.

Americans' visits to Cuba continue
Many tourists in Havana pay tribute to Ernest Hemingway by drinking a frozen daiquiri alongside the life-size bronze statue of the late author at El Floridita restaurant, his onetime watering hole.
AZ Central.com, AZ.

New look at Old Cuba
A lavishly illustrated book unlocks the palatial homes, rich interiors and elegant furnishings of the country's past.
Orlando Sentinel, FL.

Exiles
Once they considered themselves black freedom fighters. The FBI considered them armed and dangerous. After more than a generation as fugitives in Castro's Cuba, they are living pieces of unfinished business.
The Washington Post.

Faith, Fidel and the feds: 2 Cuban pastors walk tough line
Those were tough times for Rhode González Zorrilla, 52, and Dora Arce Valentín, 45. Tougher than for many other children in Cuba because their fathers were pastors. With a constitution that until a decade ago plainly stated Cuba was an atheist country, you had to be special indeed to speak up publicly and embrace God.
Orlando Sentinel, FL.

July 16

FROM CUBA
Ex-members of Cuban Armed Forces veterans association said to abuse membership cards
Some former members of the Association of Combatants of the Revolution have been accused of abusing the membership cards they kept when they didn't renew their membership.
HAVANA

FROM CUBA
Three Cuban dissidents freed from jail
Three members of the outlawed Pedro Luis Boitel Democratic Party, arrested on charges of promoting enemy propaganda and insult, were freed after spending more than a month in jail.
SANTA CLARA

FROM CUBA
Dissident's home stoned
Dissident José Rivero Monteagudo said he was reading when his house was showered with rocks on the eve of the tenth anniversary of the sinking of the "13 de marzo" tug.
SANTA CLARA

The Miami Herald
• Dissident seeks movement 'free of foreign influence'
• Victims of tugboat's sinking by Cuban vessels honored

July 14

FROM CUBA
Party officials in Cuba disrupt arts students' launch of papier-mâché boat
Communist Party officials in Batabanó stopped the launching of a papier-mâché boat that was somehow supposed to stand for drug addiction and hauled three art students and their professor to Party headquarters to "discuss the incident" July 3.
HAVANA

FROM CUBA
Drought in Cuba extends to hydroelectric output
The continuing drought affecting the easternmost Cuban provinces has also had an effect on hydroelectric facilities that supply power to outlying or isolated communities.
HAVANA

Yahoo! News
• Cuba informs US of drug kingpin arrest
• NFTC Urges Congress to Protect American Trademarks in Cuba

External links

A vote for the Cubans
The GOP defections, coming four months before the election, make a strong statement against the political manipulation of Cuba policy.
Palm Beach Post, FL .

Music: a window on a new Cuba
New book by Eugene Robinson looks at how Cubans express their hopes, frustrations and political dissent, through music.
MSNBC.

Germany sees Cuba as the team to beat
The world's number 11 women's volleyball team, Germany, sees Cuba as its strongest opponent in the second series of the 2004 World Grand Prix, which features four world-class teams.
Jakarta Post, Indonesia.

July 12

FROM CUBA
Residents in Cuba concerned about overflowing septic tanks
Residents of Guaicanamar, just outside Jaruco and south of the city of Havana, say they are concerned about the proliferation of overflowing septic tanks in the area, since the last such situation two years ago was followed by an outbreak of hepatitis. .
HAVANA

FROM CUBA
More than 40% of postal parcels lost in Cuba
More than 40% of the postal parcels mailed this year have never reached their destination, according to a recent study. Among the missing: a refrigerator, a pair of pants, a cellular phone, a fan.
SANTA CLARA

Yahoo! News
• Club Med built on property that Cuban exiles claim
• Hernandez Pitches Yankees to Victory
• U.S. Humanitarian Group Arrives in Cuba
• U.S. Women Volleyball Team Loses to Cuba
• Climate changes force Cuba to scramble to adapt agriculture
• Chiron Is Fined for Trading With Cuba
• Bush losing support among key Cuban-American electorate: survey

The Miami Herald
• U.S. aid group visits Cuba, defying law
• Drug baron reported held entering Cuba
• Smuggler's penalty voided
• Join reform push, activist tells exiles
• 12 Cubans are returned to island
• Club Med sued in Miami over use of land in Cuba
• Queen of Salsa's posthumous memoir offers pleasantries about everyone -- except Castro
• Club Med built on property that Cuban exiles claim

External links

Coast Guard: new ban on boats to Cuba
No U.S. vessels will be allowed to travel to Cuban waters without a special permit, the Coast Guard announced Thursday.
Washington Times, DC.

Hernandez stars in Yankees win
Orlando Hernandez pitched five solid innings in his first major league start since 2002, leading the New York Yankees to a 10-3 win over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in American League play on Monday.
TVNZ, New Zealand.

Cuba's complex reality defies simple solutions
While immigration reform is the acknowledged "third rail" of American politics -- touch it and you immediately anger some constituency -- U.S. policy toward Cuba comes a close second. There are two distinct arguments on how to treat this pesky dictatorship 90 miles from our coast, and proponents of either position pillory anyone who deviates.
Heritage.org, DC.

Keep the Cuba embargo? YES
Some people do not understand the embargo of Cuba. Its purpose is to keep American hard currency out of the hands of a Communist thug by restricting most trade and travel. Since the military controls all tourism-related business ventures in Cuba, lifting the U.S. travel embargo would put at least $5 billion to $6 billion directly into Castro's hands every year.
Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart / New York Daily News.

Keep the Cuba embargo? NO
The thought of a government enforcing restrictions that keep people away from their loved ones and prevent money from being sent to feed and clothe needy relatives conjures up images of life behind the Iron Curtain. If only these policies were that dated and the countries so distant!
Rep. Joseph Crowley / New York Daily News.

Propping up a tropical tyranny
For those Canadians who cling to the conceit that Cuba's socialist system presents a humane and economically viable alternative to Western capitalism, this week's Post series on Fidel Castro's tropical tyranny should be required reading.
National Post (subscription), Canada.

Cuban defector close to signing with Mets
The New York Mets agreed to a three-year, $3 million contract with Cuban defector Alay Soler, a right-hander who ranked among the best in the Cuban leagues in earned-run average. Soler is somewhere around 24 years old and has had at least one major arm surgery.
Chicago Tribune (subscription), IL.

Hip-hop not getting bad rap in Cuba
Seven men, some wearing nothing but bikini underwear, spent a recent morning rolling around on the floor, chanting, running in circles and literally banging out tunes using old Soviet typewriters as instruments.
Tracey Eaton / The Dallas Morning News.

Cuban system on decline
With some of its best athletes and coaches defecting on a regular basis, Cuba may not be as dominant in Athens as in past Olympics. Cuba has less funding for its once-powerful sports system and has been competing less on an international basis leading up to Athens.
South Florida Sun-Sentinel, FL.

July 8

FROM CUBA
Woman dies after five-hour wait for ambulance
Delfina Fundora checked into the Managua polyclinic Thursday with what doctors called an ischemic attack. Medical personnel called for an ambulance to transport Fundora to the hospital, but ambulance central said at the time that they had no vehicles available. .
HAVANA

FROM CUBA
Rain probabilities poor
The probabilities of rain in the coming months that would alleviate the year-long drought Cuba has been suffering through are slight, said meteorologist Roger Rivero, of the Camagüey investigative center.
SANTA CLARA

Yahoo! News
• House Votes to Overturn Bush Rules on Cuba
• Church Groups Lead Annual Relief to Cuba
• Powell prescribes Cuba travel waiver for U.S. medical students
• Crude Near Cuba
• Americans Still Traveling to Cuba
• Ex-Olympic Wrestler Charged in Fla. Crash
• Self-mutilation

External links

Spanish Seek Oil Off Cuba, as Americans Watch Silently
Recent announcements from Repsol YPF, the big Spanish oil and gas company, indicate an ambitious expansion program, with projects planned for countries like Libya and Equatorial Guinea that are not for the risk-averse. But none has attracted as much attention as its gamble on Cuba.
The New York Times.

Powell prescribes Cuba travel waiver for US medical students
Days before tighter restrictions on travel to Cuba went into effect last week, Powell quietly agreed to tweak the new rules to allow a small group of U.S. students attending medical school on the island to continue to do so.
USA Today.

Cuba Rules Scare Medical Students
American medical students in Cuba have rushed back to the United States, missing their final exams, over fears that U.S. authorities will jail them, fine them thousands of dollars, or revoke their citizenship for studying medicine on the island.
Sun-Sentinel, FL.

Garcia finds Cuba stand-in
The Cuban flag was hung from a balcony of the Dominican National Palace for the benefit of actor Andy Garcia in the Dominican Republic's capital, Santo Domingo. The building was being used Saturday in the filming of "The Lost City," which the Cuban-born Garcia is acting in and directing.
Denver Post, CO.

Cuba's Communists launch crackdown
Cuba's ruling Communist party has launched a far-reaching assault on "corruption and illegalities" that could lead to the expulsion of moderate members. The campaign - yet to be reported by official government media - reflects the party's ideological retrenchment and underlines the extent to which the government has renounced its timid market-oriented reforms of the early 1990s.
Financial Times, UK.

Joel Casamayor ? The Cool Cuban Fights On
Look into the eyes of Joel Casamayor. At once intense, yet relaxed, arrogant, yet focused, the eyes of the Cuban defector turned world champion hold stories that most of us could never fathom.
Maxboxing.

Family members fighting for painter's artwork from ASU
Now several family members, including Alvarez's ex-wife in Cuba and his current wife in Spain, have contacted the university and claimed ownership of the works.
Tucson Citizen, AZ.

Chid Cuba trip called off
New Bush administration guidelines regarding educational trips to Cuba have sent 16 UW students scrambling to find new travel plans during early fall.
The Daily.

July 5

FROM CUBA
Judge bars paroled dissident from traveling to Havana
Paroled Cuban dissident Juan Carlos González said the judge in charge of his case, Juan Enrique Balar, barred him from traveling to Havana June 30.
HAVANA

FROM CUBA
Energy cuts affect workers' salaries
Energy-saving rolling blackouts decreed by authorities in Villa Clara province are adversely affecting workers' wages as businesses close and workers fall short of production goals.
HAVANA

The Miami Herald
• Torture suspect arrested
• Torture suspect from Cuba has closed court hearing
• Democrats say Cuba travel restrictions could help Kerry
• Cuba sanctions hit home for families in Miami
• Repatriated exile: Government will let him leave Cuba and return
• Guayabera's origin remains a puzzle

Yahoo! News
• Top Cuban Legislator Criticizes U.S. Plan
• Musicians Criticize U.S.-Cuba Travel Ban
• List of U.S. government rules on Cuba travel and remittances
• Cupid-hit Cubans hurry to tie and untie the knot
• No more lonely nights for Contreras
• Garcia Films 'Lost City' Scenes in Palace
• New US restrictions

External links

Court decision may open door for Cuban, Haitian detainees
A prominent Cuban exile activist said Thursday that a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling on alleged terrorists held at the U.S. Navy base at Guantanamo Bay might help secure the release of Cubans and Haitians detained there.
Sun-Sentinel, FL.

Coast Guard returns 23 Cubans found at sea
The U.S. Coast Guard on Thursday returned to Cuba 23 migrants who were found at sea in the past week, officials said.
Sun-Sentinel, FL.

Cuban musicians criticize U.S. rules that enforce travel limits
A group of musicians on Wednesday criticized new U.S. regulations that will further limit travel to Cuba, urging the United States to build bridges to the island instead of tearing them down.
Sun-Sentinel, FL.

A life's love of Cuba, salsa
An icon of almost unimaginable importance among Hispanics, Celia Cruz is a daunting subject for a memoir. So it's understandable that Celia: My Life, the singer's as-told-to autobiography with writer Ana Cristina Reymundo, doesn't fulfill all the expectations one might have.
The Orlando Sentinel, FL.

New Cuba Travel Limits May Sway Voters
Carlos F. Lazo, an American military medic on 15 days' leave from Iraq, wanted to see his teenage sons in Cuba. He flew to Miami, only to be told that new Bush administration rules designed to punish Cuba made it impossible.
The Washington Post.

For many in Cuba, marriage is for the birds
When Yanet Vázquez finally decided to end her marriage, she and her soon-to-be ex-husband strolled into a notary public's office, plunked down $4 and were blissfully divorced in 20 minutes. "It was quick and easy," said Ms. Vázquez, 31, a cashier. Indeed, getting unhitched in Cuba is about as cheap and effortless as it gets, experts say. The country's liberal divorce laws also fuel one of the world's highest divorce rates.
Tracey Eaton / The Dallas Morning News.

Cuba 'humbling' for church group
After four days celebrating the 50th anniversary of the evangelical church in Cuba, a 10-member team from The Rock Church found themselves locked in an airport terminal for close to 12 hours on Monday.
The Gloucester County Times, NJ.

Castro hopes Maradona will come back to Cuba
Fidel Castro said yesterday that he hopes Diego Maradona can return to Cuba, where he spent several years undergoing drug rehabilitation. Maradona, 43, has been receiving medical treatment in Argentina in recent weeks for serious heart and lung problems.
Independent, UK.

Volunteers collect supplies for Cuba
A caravan of volunteers stopped in Nashville last night to collect medical and school supplies before heading to Cuba next month, in defiance of government restrictions on aid and travel to the island.
The Tennessean, TN.

Will the new Cuba trade embargo backfire?
The rationale is that depriving the Castro regime of dollars from tourists or goods from American factories will turn up the pressure on the leader himself, hastening his downfall.
BBC News, UK.