CUBA NEWS
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Bush lashes Castro, lawmakers seek
sanctions curb
WASHINGTON, 20 (AFP) - As Cuba celebrated
its independence day, President George W.
Bush said he was committed to punishing
Fidel Castro's government even as lawmakers
here sought to curb US sanctions.
"On behalf of the people of the United
States, I send greetings to all people of
Cuban heritage who celebrate the anniversary
of the birth of the Republic of Cuba,"
Bush said in a statement.
"We stand firmly with the 11 million
Cubans who still suffer under the repressive
Castro dictatorship, and who dream of a
prosperous and free future. The United States
is working for the day when a free Cuba
will rejoin the community of democracies
in the Americas," he said.
Meanwhile, US lawmakers introduced legislation
under which all US sanctions against Cuba,
including restrictions on trade an travel,
would expire in one year unless renewed
by the Congress annually.
"Our bill would not end the sanctions
now. Instead, it would simply subject them
to annual renewal procedures," the
same in force with regard to sanctions on
Myanmar, said Democratic Senator Max Baucus,
a lead sponsor of the legislation.
Cuban Dollar Stores Asked to Raise Prices
By ANDREA RODRIGUEZ, Associated
Press Writer. Thu May 20, 8:24 PM ET
HAVANA - Cuban officials have asked managers
of dollar-only stores to mark up prices
of their products - including staples like
cooking oil, pasta and milk - by between
10 percent and 30 percent, according to
a document obtained Thursday by The Associated
Press.
The communist government abruptly closed
the stores early last week, blaming new
U.S. measures aimed at squeezing the island's
economy.
Identical "closed for inventory"
signs went up at shops selling clothes,
toys and furniture, while long lines of
Cubans waited at other stores to buy food
and personal hygiene products - nearly the
only items still sold for dollars.
Officials have said the stores would reopen,
with items selling for higher prices, but
have not given a date. Gasoline prices will
also increase, the government has warned.
Cuba was forced to implement liberal reforms
in the early 1990s to cope with the loss
of Soviet aid and trade. Possession of dollars
was legalized in 1993 to draw hard currency
from growing tourism and family purchases
at the state stores.
The government has steadily offered more
and more goods in U.S. currency while the
Cuban ration book of items available in
pesos has withered.
The document, issued by the Domestic Trade
Ministry, was directed to managers at stores
that only accept U.S. dollars and provides
a detailed list of price increases.
It is dated May 17, and attributed to Jacinto
Angulo Pardo, an official at the ministry.
The prices of staple goods - such as baby
food, soup, cereal, pasta, meat, cooking
oil and dairy products, excluding milk -
will increase by 10 percent, according to
the document.
Other foods, like dried fruit, olives and
condiments, will increase by 15 percent,
as will the prices of film and office supplies.
Laundry detergent will cost between 12
percent and 20 percent more, and hand soap
will cost between 20 cents and 80 cents,
up from 15 cents and 70 cents.
Clothing, shoes, electrical goods and furniture
will increase between 10 percent and 15
percent. Building materials will go up 10
percent, as will personal hygiene items
like deodorant, shampoo and shaving cremes.
Among the steepest increases will be imposed
on leather goods, which will rise up to
20 percent; imported cigarettes, up 20 percent;
alcohol, up 25 percent; and local handicrafts
and souvenirs, which will rise by 30 percent.
Cigarettes produced locally will increase
by about 10 percent, as will national brands
of alcohol, excluding Havana Club.
The new prices will take effect once the
dollar-only stores reopen.
Two years ago, a similar document was circulated.
But dollar-only stores were not shut down
as they were this year, and the cost of
some items, like cooking oil, were reduced
after customers complained.
For many Cubans, rations now cover eight
eggs, a pound of chicken, about a pint of
cooking oil, six pounds of rice, a half-pound
of a ground meat-soy mixture, and a few
other goods each month. The rest must be
purchased at far higher prices either in
pesos or in dollars.
The dollar-only shops have been associated
with social inequalities that have worried
Cuban leaders. The elite, with access to
greenbacks, can easily buy everyday goods
that a doctor cannot on a salary equivalent
to $25 a month.
The U.S. proposals aim to reduce hard currency
on the island by limiting how often Cuban-Americans
can visit relatives, decreasing how much
they can spend, and prohibiting money transfers
to Cuban officials and Communist Party members.
Fidel Castro's government has denounced
the proposals, and officials organized a
huge protest march last week in Havana.
U.S. to deny visas for resort chain
execs
By George Gedda, Associated
Press Writer. Thursday, May 20, 2004.
WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration has
notified a Jamaica-based resort firm that
its top officers will be denied entry into
the United States because of investments
the company made on property confiscated
from Americans in Cuba.
Letters were sent to officers of Superclubs,
a resort chain with properties throughout
the Caribbean, including several in Cuba,
said a senior U.S. official, asking not
to be identified.
Visas would be denied to top executives,
shareholders, their spouses and minor children
starting 45 days after the date on the letters.
It was not clear how many people would be
affected.
Efforts to reach a Superclubs spokeswoman
in Jamaica on Thursday were unsuccessful.
The authority for canceling visas is contained
in legislation approved in 1996.
One purpose of the law, sponsored by former
Sen. Jesse Helms, R-N.C., and Rep. Dan Burton,
R-Ind., is to discourage foreign companies
from investing in Cuba on properties confiscated
from Americans. Such seizures were common
in the early years of the revolution.
The 45-day grace period will enable Superclubs
to reconsider its investment in Cuba, according
to the official. It is not clear whether
the U.S. action applies to more than one
Superclubs property there.
The Title IV provision of the Helms-Burton
law has been invoked only on rare occasions
over the years. Shortly after the legislation
was signed by President Clinton in 1996,
it was imposed against Sherritt International
Corp., a Canadian mining firm.
Two weeks ago, the Bush administration
vowed to aggressively pursue enforcement
of Title IV as part of a series of measures
aimed at weakening Fidel Castro's government.
The new policy also calls for deployment
of additional personnel to strengthen enforcement
of Title IV.
Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, a Cuban-American
Republican from South Florida, has strongly
supported enforcement of Title IV as a means
of discouraging foreign companies from investing
in Cuba.
She said she had not been notified of the
action against Superclubs but added that
it did not come as a surprise because of
Bush's recent endorsement of Title IV.
"If true, this is great news,"
Ros-Lehtenin said in an interview.
Robert Muse, an international lawyer with
expertise on Cuba, said the administration
probably pursued a Jamaica-based target
because the country lacks strategic importance
compared with some European Union countries
that could be subject to Title IV action.
The most prominent potential EU target
would be the Spanish-based Sol Melia hotel
chain, which has numerous properties in
Cuba.
Muse suggested that, at least until recently,
the Bush administration had no incentive
to impose Title IV sanctions against Spanish
interests because of Spain's troop commitment
to Iraq.
The EU regards Title IV as a violation
of World Trade Organization rules but will
not file a complaint so long as no EU company
is targeted, Muse said.
In 1960, numerous American properties in
Cuba were confiscated without compensation.
In the early 1970s, a U.S. government commission
validated 5,911 property claims made by
American citizens.
Immigrations officials can deport accused
Cuban spy
MIAMI, 15 (AP) - Officials have ruled that
a former Cuban intelligence officer can
be deported, though it's unclear whether
he actually will be returned to the communist
island.
Lazaro Amaya La Puente was taken into custody
by federal agents on March 13, 2003 at his
job at a run-down hotel in Miami's Little
Havana neighborhood, officials said. He
was never criminally charged.
The Board of Immigration Appeals ruled
May 4 that Amaya could be deported because
he failed to register as a foreign agent
and overstayed his visa after coming to
the United States in 2000, immigration officials
said Friday.
Amaya is now at the Krome Detention Center
in southwest Miami-Dade County awaiting
removal proceedings, said immigration and
customs spokeswoman Nina Pruneda. According
to federal authorities, Amaya gathered intelligence
on human rights activists and U.S. Interests
Section personnel while in Cuba.
Amaya's wife and two children live in Cuba.
Because no agreement exists between the
United States and Cuba, in the past U.S.
officials have returned to the island nation
only those whom Cuba has agreed to accept.
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