Spanish

HAVANA, August 31

    SPANISH TOURIST KILLED

    Two young Spaniards are searching for answers in the death of their father, a Spanish national stabbed while on vacation in Cuba.  Jose Moreno, 66 years old, died Aug. 12 in the eastern Cuban province of CamagÙey, his son Andreas said.  "We don't have any details, only that he was stabbed with a steel blade in the heart," he said. "We don't know where his belongings are."

    Cuban authorities informed relatives in Brazil about the death. Moreno was living with his second wife in Porto Seguro, Brazil, about 500 miles (800 km) northeast of Rio de Janeiro, although he held a Spanish passport.  His hometown in Spain wasn't immediately available. Moreno's sons arrived Wednesday to inquire about the case and bring their father's body back to Brazil. The 66-year-old had been on holiday in Cuba alone.

CIEGO DE ÁVILA, August 31

    SPANISH HOTEL CHAIN HAS CUBANS WORKING FOR TIPS

     A number of graduates of the Hotel and Tourism School in Morón, Ciego de Ávila province, complain that they work in hotels operated by the Spanish conglomerate Sol Meliá without salary, and that they are forced to kick back some of what they make in tips. "We are a sort of slave of the year 2002. We live on tips, but they make us hand some of those back, as if it were a tax for letting us work in these facilities," said one school graduate who works as a bartender in the Meliá Cayo Coco, near here.

    The company operates four hotels in the keys just north of the Cuban coast here: the Meliá Cayo Coco, the Sol Club Cayo Guillermo, the Tryp Club Cayo Coco, and the Meliá Cayo Guillermo. It operates other hotels in Cuba, all in partnership with the Cuban government.


HAVANA, August 30

    PROJECT TO REDUCE HAVANA BUS SERVICE UNDER STUDY

    Officials of the Havana Urban Bus Service Company are contemplating reducing the frequency of service to morning and afternoon rush hours and scattered service in between. The project under study defines rush hours as those between 5 and 10 in the morning and between 3 and 8 in the evening; the plan calls for regular service in those time blocks. At other hours, however, service would be extended to one bus an hour or longer, and in some cases, curtailed altogether.

    Very few Havana residents have access to private vehicles, many of which are over fifty years old. Nevertheless, those old cars keep their value; the going price for a 1956 Ford in running condition is 5,000 dollars, even though it may be running with parts adapted from Soviet-era cars or tractors, or even with parts made from scratch by resourceful Cuban mechanics.

    New cars are available in Cuba, but the government generally forbids Cubans from buying them. Only those officials with authorization from their place of employment can buy one, and then only after showing where they obtained the money.


WASHINGTON, D.C., August 21

    HIDALGO SAID: THE CUBAN REVOLUTION WILL DIE WITH THE DICTATOR

    Cuba's Communist system will not, and cannot, survive the death of Cuban dictator Fidel Castro, said in Washington the deserter Alcibiades Hidalgo, former vice-foreign minister, Cuban ambassador to the United Nations, and former member of the central committee of the Cuban Communist Party, The deserter said the ailing, 76-year-old Cuban dictator Fidel CastroÍs appointed successor, his younger brother, Raul, lacked the ability, the health and even the ambition to be more than a brief "transition" figure.

    Raúl would immediately face the twin threats of social unrest, and a military coup. "The Cuban revolution will die with Fidel Castro," Hidalgo emphasized. He described Cuba as a society without hope. "Raul will not be in a position to rule as Fidel does. Most probably, he will view himself as a transition, looking for younger people to pass the reins to but, frankly speaking, I don't see who there is." Fidel Castro has purged most of the promising younger Communist leaders, leaving only courtiers and cronies, Hidalgo said.

    "The entourage around Fidel Castro have no political roots among the Cuban people," the ex-vice-minister said. Although Raul Castro personally appointed his generals, Hidalgo described a world of fear and secrecy, where no one in the elite trusts anyone else. "In every totalitarian regime, you can never be sure what will be the reaction of your nearest colleagues", Hidalgo said. "In Romania, Ceausescu received his punishment from his closest colleagues," he concluded.


HAVANA, August 21

    BUS SERVICE CUT FOR LACK OF FUEL

    Bus service between Aguada de Pasajeros and the provincial capital city, Cienfuegos, has not been running for the last two months due to "lack of fuel," say local officials.

    A journalist in Aguada de Pasajeros said residents typically walk or ride a bicycle between the two cities. "Only certain municipal officials are getting fuel for their cars," said the reporter, adding that "other municipal concerns have had to cut their production plans for lack of oil and gasoline."



FORT WASHINGTON, August 20

    THE WORDS PRONOUNCED BY POPE JOHN PAUL II IN POLAND IN 1979, MUST BE REPEATED TODAY IN COMMUNIST CUBA

    In June 1979, Pope John Paul II uttered words to the Poles, then under Communist rule, that must be repeated today to the Cubans subjugated under another Communist tyranny.

Click here and read Rogelio Madrazo Serra's excellent article


MIAMI, August 20

    CUBAN DICTATOR FIDEL CASTROÍS DAUGHTER WANTS US EMBARGO AGAINST CUBA TO STAY

    Alina Fernández, the estranged daughter of Cuban President Fidel Castro called on Sunday for a continuation of the US economic embargo against Havana, as US lawmakers mull plans to ease sanctions against the Communist island nation. Fernández, a former dissident and vocal opponent of her father, told Fox television that it was more important to tighten the screws on Cuba's Communist system -- to try to force its collapse -- than to attempt to reap economic gain from trade with the island.

    "It used to be a moral issue, but now it's becoming a business issue, and that's the problem. You're not thinking any more about the human rights or the freedom of the Cubans -- solidarity with the Cubans," said Fernandez, who now lives in exile in Miami. Her advice to US government officials and business leaders seeking to resume trade ties was succinct: "Stay away -- that's my idea. You have to think in human terms first."

    By doing away with the trade embargo on Cuba "you'll only be putting money in the dictator's pockets," she said of her father, whom she has not seen or spoken to in 20 years. Castro recently has hosted numerous delegations of legislators, academics and influential US business leaders eager to resume trade relations with Cuba. US President George W. Bush however, has vowed to veto any moves to ease the embargo.


CABAÑAS, August 20

    WATER AND FOOD SERVICE CUT IN HAVANA-SANCTI SPIRITUS TRAIN

    Passengers in the eight-hour train ride between Havana and Sancti Spíritus have had to make do without food or water service for the last six months, said a frequent traveler. The service was discontinued at the same time the frequency of service on the line was reduced to alternate days.

     The passenger also said that occasionally the train is commandeered to transport military personnel, students, or just people that are being taken to a political rally by the government. "People then have to wait for the next train, or find other means of traveling, which is unlikely these days," said the source.


CARACAS, August 19

    PRESIDENT CHAVEZ ANNOUNCES A ñCOUNTERATTACK" TO PROTEST THE SUPREME COURTÍS RULING

    President Hugo Chavez urged supporters on Saturday to stage a nonviolent "counterattack" in protest of the Supreme Court's dismissal of a case against four military officers accused in April's brief coup. "If they think that we are going to take this, they are very wrong. Now what is coming is a counterattack of the people, a revolutionary counterattack," Chavez said in an address to hundreds of supporters in a poor Caracas neighborhood. "Let's not get crazy, no revolutionary should despair," Chavez said on Saturday amid chants of "The angry people are claiming their rights."

    On Wednesday the court ruled there was not enough evidence to proceed with a trial for rebellion as alleged by the attorney general. Other charges may be filed against the four high-ranking military officers. Chavez called for his supporters to join a march for justice to the National Assembly next Saturday as a protest against the decision. The president praised members of congress who launched a probe into the top court's judges, who they accuse of corruption and favoritism.

    "These 11 judges that voted in favor of this decision have no morality to make any other ruling. They are immoral, and I think that there will have to be a book published with their faces, so that the people can see who they are," Chavez said. Eleven supreme court judges voted against bringing the officers to trial, while eight voted in favor. Chavez accuses political foes of manipulating the judges in favor of a dismissal and claimed the decision was part of a plan to destroy his "revolution" and remove him from power.


VIRGINIA, August 18

     SEX TOURISM AND CHILD PROSTITUTION IN CUBA (By: Arch Kielly, LtCol, USAF, Retired)

      Communist Cuba is attempting to right its economic problems by permitting the sexual trade of  its children for badly needed monetary resources.  A generation of young people may have been invested to make CubaÍs tourism more appealing to foreign tourists looking for more than beautiful beaches and soft trade breezes.  Fidel Castro maintains his grip on the Cuban people as long as Cuba is able to produce funds to keep his regime afloat.  Take away tourism dollars and Castro may self destruct and free a generation of CubaÍs children from sexual exploitation.

     Tourism is Cuba's most important moneymaker, generating almost $2 billion last year.  In Spain alone, twenty flights leave for Havana every week, carrying to the Caribbean island a yearly total of some 200,000 single male tourists, all in search of cut-price sex. Most tourists come from Canada, Spain and Italy. Tourism has recently replaced sugar as the single most important export in the economy. Much of this tourism, however, centers on travel for sex. Foreign tour companies use code words such as "Cuba Amor" to advertise package tours. At least one Spanish travel company offers a catalogue of Cuban women who would serve as companions during a touristÍs stay. By 1995 the Italian travel magazine Viaggiare recognized Cuba as the "paradise of sexual tourism," awarding it five stars for its "general erotic level." According to the magazine, Cuba beat out such competitors as Brazil and Thailand (Click here and read the complete article).


ARUBA, August 18

    FOUR CUBAN ACROBATS DEFECT IN ARUBA

    Four Cuban nationals from a traveling dance company have defected and are seeking political asylum in Aruba. Andres Caballero, Omar Blanco Tur, Juan Carlos Iglesias Herrera and Eric Llanes were members of the Cuban troupe "Let's Go Latin," sent by the Cuban government to perform in casinos in Aruba. When the time came to return to the island, the four decided to stay behind. Aruban authorities attempted to deport them, but the four young men asked for political asylum. The four performers have been offered work contracts in Aruba. 

    At a deportation hearing on Friday, August 16, 2002, the four were granted temporary safe haven in Aruba. Attorney Chris Lejuez is representing the Cubans. The Cuban American National Foundation (CANF) has been working arduously for the past several days to assist the four Cubans in their quest to obtain political asylum in Aruba. The CANF has written letters on behalf of the asylum petitioners to Aruban authorities, principally Governor O. Koolman, Minister of Justice Rudy Croes, and Parliament, expressing concern over reprisals the four young men would suffer if forcibly repatriated to Cuba. CANF has also sent appeals to the Netherlands.

HAVANA, August 18

    EL CRISTOÍS RESIDENTES WITHOUT WATER FOR 18 DAYS

    Approximately 14,000 residents of El Cristo municipality, in Santiago de Cuba province, have been without water for the last 18 days, since the water pump broke down. Residents of Boniato, San Vicente, Prosperidad, and Dos Bocas are also affected by the breakdown.

    Residents say the water they get now comes from entrepreneurs who fill 55 gallon drums at the well, transport them in a wheelbarrow and sell them for 12 pesos. Local residents say they are becoming concerned, since local government officials do not seem able to address the problem.


HAVANA, August 17

     CUBAN RAP FESTIVAL STARTS WITH "SOCIAL DENUNCIATION"

    Giving voice to the frustrations of Cuba's urban youth, hometown musicians followed the lead of American rap pioneers as they opened a festival this week slamming the police with an irreverence rarely expressed here publicly. "Police, police, you are not my friend; for Cuban youth you are the worst punishment," 18-year-old Humberto Cabrera sang as the festival got under way Thursday night. ñFor Cuban youth, you are the worst nightmare ... you are the criminal ... I detest you." Behind the rapper stagehands unfurled a banner that said "Social denunciation," a rare expression of public protest in Cuba.

    The Cuban duo Alto Voltaje - High Voltage - also sang out against the police and about the boredom of Cuban youth. ñI'm tired of the routine," sang Alexander Perez and Norlan Leygonier, both 25. ñHow long is this going to last?" They told the audience that on their way to the concert, they were stopped by police officers and asked for their identification - a process they said Cuban youths experience almost daily.

    Because some of their lyrics are critical of Cuba's communist system, friends and neighbors ñtell us we are crazy," said Perez. ñBut they keep following us." ñWe sing about what is happening, we sing from the heart," Cabrera told reporters after the opening concert. The annual festival, which runs through Sunday, features 50 Cuban and 12 foreign rap groups, organizers said. Several thousand people attended the opening concert at an amphitheater in the Lamar neighborhood, just east of Havana.


CARACAS, Venezuela, August 16

    VENEZUELA SUPREME COURT PROBES CUBA OIL DEAL

    Venezuela's supreme court has opened an investigation into a preferential oil sales agreement with Cuba that has been widely criticized by political foes of President Hugo Chavez, a court statement said Thursday. The deal, signed by the left-wing president and Cuban dictator Fidel Castro in Oct. 2000, has been denounced by government opposition groups since the Communist state fell behind in payments late last year.

     Opposition politicians have pushed for an investigation, alleging that the National Assembly never approved the deal as required for all such agreements with foreign governments. " The deputies are also requesting the sales be halted during the investigation, a court spokesman said. The Cuban oil agreement has become a focus for critics of Chavez, who say he is using national resources to subsidize the Communist regime of friend and fellow revolutionary Castro.

     Some employees of the state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) have also challenged the deal, which is part of the "Caracas Accord" to sell oil under lenient terms to Caribbean nations. On Tuesday, a group of PDVSA managers and executives said in an open letter published in a Caracas daily that the agreement violated the state firm's "commercial practices and procedures" and raised concern over the effect of the sales on the oil-reliant nation's faltering economy.


PINAR DEL RÍO, August 16

    TRANSPORTATION CRISIS WORSENS IN CUBA

    Thousands of residents in the 30 towns in rural Sandino municipality, Pinar del Río province, saw their transportation options go from bad to worse when one of the two buses remaining in service was stopped for lack of tires last month. Ten towns now have no bus service at all. Popular Power (local government) officials say the tires are not forthcoming because they don't have hard currency to buy them.

    On August 6, the bus covering the route between Las Martinas and Ciudad Sandino was taken out of service to be used by a military unit. As a result, more than 150 workers did not make it to work and lost the day's wages. Local officials kept mum when confronted by the numerous citizens' complaints, said A local labor activist.


HERRADURA, August 16

    BLACK MARKET OIL PRICE UP BY HALF IN PINAR DEL RIO

    The black market price of oil in Pinar del Río province is up since the end of July, from 80 to 120 pesos per 20 liter can. The more-often used six-liter can has gone from 25 to between 35 and 40 pesos.

    Most people here attribute the increase to the disruption in oil shipments from Venezuela and the consequent reduction in allocations to the government entities from which the oil is usually diverted. Sixty to 70 percent of households use oil for cooking, according to recent estimates.


WASHINGTON, D.C., August 15

    US CALLS CUBAN DICTATOR A DINOSAUR ON 76^TH BIRTHDAY

    The United States labeled Cuban President Fidel Castro a "dinosaur" as he turned 76 years old on Tuesday and issued him a birthday challenge to renounce communism and embrace reform for the benefit of the Cuban people. "I knew there was a reason I wore my tie with dinosaurs," deputy State Department spokesman Philip Reeker said when asked about any birthday wishes Washington might have for its Cuban nemesis.

    He then suggested that Castro take a close look at US President George W. Bush's initiatives for Cuba which promise an easing of sanctions against the island in exchange for broad democratic and market reforms. "If the Cuban government takes these concrete steps toward democracy, President Bush will work with the United States Congress to ease the ban on trade and travel between the United States and Cuba," Reeker said. "So there's a birthday challenge, dinosaurs notwithstanding, for Mr. Castro to once again step back and think about the future of his own people."


CARACAS, August 15

    VENEZUELA SUPREME COURT CLEARS REBEL OFFICERS

    Venezuela's Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed all charges against four military officers accused of leading a coup against President Hugo Chavez. Army Gen. Efrain Vasquez, navy Rear Adm. Hector Ramirez Perez, Vice Adm. Daniel Comisso Urdaneta and air force Gen. Pedro Pereira had been charged with rebellion, which carried a possible 30-year prison term. The defendants said they worked with the acting president to fill a dangerous power vacuum created by Chavez's ouster. They also argued that Chavez's order on April 11 to deploy troops against civilians was unconstitutional.

    The CourtÍs ruling sparked clashes between troops and pro-government protesters that wounded  at least two people. National Guardsmen in armored personnel carriers launched tear gas canisters and fired shots into the air to disperse Chavez supporters who tried to storm the court after the ruling. Protesters fired sporadic shots toward troops and set fire to trash and tires. The U.S. Embassy urged U.S. citizens to avoid the area in downtown Caracas.

    The protests came after the court dismissed rebellion charges against four top officers by an 11-8 vote, ruling that the attorney general had insufficient evidence. The ruling dealt a blow to Chavez, who had recast Venezuela's judiciary after his 1998 election and had counted on its loyalty to his leftist revolution. Opponents seeking to oust Chavez have filed complaints with the court accusing Chavez of corruption, accepting illegal campaign contributions and responsibility for slayings during the April 11 coup.

                  
HAVANA, August 14

     THE CUBAN DICTATORÍS 76^TH BIRTHDAY

     Cuban dictator Fidel Castro celebrated yesterday his 76th birthday, apparently enjoying good health and in full political control after 43 long years in power, Cuba experts and  foreign diplomats said on Monday. It seems that economic crisis and a recent dissident challenge have not weakened his grip over one of the world's last communist societies. The dictator has outlasted nine U.S. presidents, and looks set to survive four-decade-old U.S. economic sanctions that were designed to oust him.

    "There will not be any political change in Cuba while Fidel is alive," said a European diplomat. The major challenge faced by the ruling Communist Party has been the economic difficulties the Caribbean island has faced since the collapse of the Soviet Union over a decade ago. Fuel shortages and power blackouts remain a constant of daily life in Cuba, whose population of 11 million endure economic hardship and growing social disparity between those who have access to dollars and those who do not.

    But the European diplomat says the economic crisis has not translated into a political challenge to Castro's government, though a small opposition movement has begun to emerge. In May, dissidents presented a Project VarelaÍs petition, signed by 11,000 Cubans, asking for a popular vote on moderate reforms to allow freedom of expression, free political prisoners and open up Cuba to private businesses. The government quickly moved to squash the initiative and in three days marshaled over 8 million signatures to push through constitutional amendments ruling out changes to Cuba's socialist system.

CARACAS, August 14

    PRESIDENT CHÁVEZ URGES CALM BEFORE COUP RULING

    President Hugo Chavez on Tuesday urged Venezuelans to remain calm as tension built ahead of this week's supreme court ruling on whether to proceed with the trial of four officers accused of rebellion in April's short-lived coup. Supporters of the leftist president called for street demonstrations to demand the officers be tried in a case that has sparked violent protests in central Caracas.

    Chavez denied opposition accusations that he has threatened the Supreme Court judges to ensure they vote for a trial. "I urge the Venezuelan people to stay calm. Don't be provoked or take action that will help those looking to destabilize the government," Chavez told a conference of public sector workers. Supreme Court judges are scheduled to vote for a third time on Wednesday on whether to proceed with a trial. Judges have already voted twice against a trial, arguing insufficient evidence exists to indict the officers on the rebellion charges alleged by the attorney general.

    Violent clashes erupted last week between police and Chavez sympathizers who demand that the accused officers be sent to trial for betraying the nation. At least nine people were wounded when gunfire broke out on Friday during protests in central Caracas. Unidentified gunmen on Tuesday fired shots at an army general accused in the coup as he drove through a military base in the suburbs of the capital, local media reported.


WASHINGTON, D.C., August 13

    CUBAN DEFECTOR PREDICTS UPRISING

    A former Cuban ambassador to the United Nations who recently defected said Monday that widespread economic problems on the island could produce an uprising against Cuban dictator Fidel Castro and his system. Alcibiades Hidalgo, who arrived in South Florida on July 29, said many aspects of daily life in Cuba could produce a ñsocial explosion" at any time.

    ñThere is lot of concern among the elite that this could occur," said Hidalgo, who also served as chief of staff to Defense Minister Raul Castro, brother of the Cuban dictator. One element of the unrest is what he called ñskyrocketing unemployment across the country." Food is scarce, and many Cubans must get by on one meal a day, he said. If there is an uprising, he said, the top brass of Cuba's military all insist they would use force against the public to preserve the revolution.  The defector said virtually all Cubans have access to the country's cost-free health care system but many basic medicines have not been available for years.

    Hidalgo said Castro, who turns 76 today, has differences with his brother Raul, 71, who is the second ranking official in the Council of State and the Council of Ministers.  Although Raul is the heir apparent, Hidalgo said he drinks too much, has health problems and doesn't sleep much. Fidel, in contrast, takes care of himself, he said. Hidalgo shares the Bush administration's view that congressional attempts to end curbs on Americans' travel to Cuba, if approved, would be an economic windfall for Cuba and a ñgift for Fidel."

DES MOINES, August 13

     CUBAN FARMERÍS SON WINS 2002 WORLD FOOD PRIZE

    A Cuban farmer's son whose hopes of improving the family farm were dashed during Fidel Castro's rise to power has won the 2002 World Food Prize for developing methods to feed millions of starving people. Pedro Sanchez, 62, was named on Sunday as winner of the $250,000 prize for transforming depleted tropical soils into productive agricultural lands.

    ''This prize recognizes the importance of work in tropical soils, the special value of eliminating hunger in Africa,'' Sanchez said. ñIt can be done. The world needs to do it. If we put the resources behind it, it will happen." The 2002 award was announced at the International Horticultural Congress in Toronto, Canada, by Kenneth M. Quinn, president of the Des Moines-based World Food Prize Foundation.

    Sanchez said he once hoped to return to the family farm. ñMy dad had a farm in Cuba and a fertilizer business," Sanchez said. That was in 1958. ñI was going back to Cuba to work on my father's farm. Then, everything got confiscated." Sanchez stayed on at Cornell University, earning his master's degree and then his Ph.D. Sanchez, recently appointed chairman of the U.N. Taskforce on World Hunger, will receive the World Food Prize Oct. 24 at a symposium in Iowa.


CARACAS, August 12

    U.S. WILL OPEN ñOFFICE OF TRANSITION INITIATIVES" IN VENEZUELA

    The U.S. government will open an ñOffice of Transition Initiatives" program in Venezuela. The Venezuelan government fears ñtransition" means ousting their president. U.S. diplomats say the two-year program, to begin this fall, will promote democracy and stability in Venezuela, a top U.S. oil supplier shaken by an April coup, which briefly removed leftist President Hugo Chavez from power.

    But Chavez, his top ministers, ruling party lawmakers and the press seized upon the name. ñTransition" is a ñcode word" for those openly looking to topple the revolutionary government of President Chavez, Foreign Minister Roy Chaderton complained this week. ñThere must be more effective and less controversial ways for our American friends and partners to support democracy in Venezuela," Chaderton said.

    Relations between Chavez and Washington have been marked by distrust since the then-army lieutenant colonel led a failed 1992 coup. For years afterward, Chavez was denied a U.S. visa. Chavez has sparred with Washington over his relations with Cuba and Iraq, his resistance to a Western Hemisphere free trade treaty and his criticism of civilian casualties in the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan.


MADRID, August 12

    CARLOS ANDRÉS PÉREZ PREDICTS COUP IN VENEZUELA

    Former Venezuela President Carlos Andrés Pérez, who survived a coup attempt by President Hugo Chávez in 1992,- said the policies of the current leader would force the military to launch a bloody takeover.

    Pérez, in an interview published by a Spanish newspaper over the weekend, said he opposed a violent overthrow. ñBut I'm convinced that only violence will force Chavez to leave. It is being prepared this very moment,'' Perez said. ñUnfortunately, there will be a coup and there will be blood."

    ñChavez no longer has the support of the people; only the mob supports him," Perez said, claiming Chavez's international backers have dwindled to dictators such as Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, Cuba's dictator Fidel Castro and Moammar Gadhafi of Libya. Perez was interviewed in the Dominican Republic, where he lives part-time.

G INES, August 10

     ONLY IN CUBA! -- IN CASIGUAS, THE COWS DRINK WATER BEFORE THE AREA RESIDENTS

      Officials of the Valle del Perú cattle ranch, near the town of Casiguas, Havana province, didn't have enough fuel to supply water to the townspeople and the cattle, and they decided the cattle came first. On July 31 they ordered that their tankers not deliver any more water to Casiguas, citing they didn't have enough fuel. Previously, the tankers had delivered water to the town, which doesn't have its own water supply.

     Residents said that the manager of the cattle operation, a man known as Romelio, said that the town will get water only when there is extra fuel after the cattle have been provided for. A local resident, said: "There are people who need water, children and older folks, who cannot carry it for miles." At present, residents have no option but to carry containers with water back home. Local government officials say they don't have the resources to provide water service. "We are totally dependent on the managers of the cattle ranch to send us some water," said one resident.


MIAMI, August 9

    GENERAL OLIVA RECEIVES A PRESTIGIOUS PRESIDENTIAL APPOINTMENT (By: Dr. Ariel Remos (DIARIO LAS AMERICAS ¿ August 7, 2002)

    In Washington, the President of the United States of America, George W. Bush, announced the appointment of Major General (DC-Ret.) Erneido A. Oliva, to serve a three-year term as a member of the Board of Governors of the United States Organizations (USO). The USO, that was created on February 4, 1941, is endorsed by the President and the Department of Defense.

    ñI am grateful to DIARIO LAS AMERICAS for providing me with the opportunity to express my appreciation to President Bush for honoring me with this appointment," declared general Oliva from Washington. ñThis appointment will provide me with the opportunity to continue serving this great nation that has welcomed the Cuban exiles as its own sons and daughters, and has made it  possible for us to use the talent given by God to achieve the 'American dream' while  continuing our struggle to bring our democratic ideals to Cuba." "...the Cuban exiles do not wish to return to Cuba, as the communist propaganda machine would like them to believe, to recover positions or properties that do not exist in a country that it is totally destroyed." The hope of the Cuban exiles, emphasized the general, is ñto return only to bring to the Cuban people a democratic system where understanding, forgiveness and reconciliation prevail and in which human and institutional rights are respected by all citizens, so that the Cuban family enjoys the happiness and peace that it deserves".

     The general praised the fact that President Bush, more than any of his predecessors, has publicly recognized many outstanding Cuban Americans of character who have distinguished themselves in this country. ñThe sad part of those success stories is that they could have been achieved in Cuba and could have helped make the island even more prosperous than it was before Castro, instead of what it is today-- the poorest and most unhappy country of the Western Hemisphere. (Click here and read the complete article).


HAVANA, August 8

    CATHOLIC BISHOP DENOUNCES YOUTH DEFECTORSÍ HELPERS

      A Roman Catholic bishop said Wednesday that young Cubans were pressured to defect in Canada during Pope John Paul II's visit there last month. ñNever before has a church delegation been wrapped up in something similar," said Bishop Carlos Baladrón, bishop from Cuba's eastern province of Guantánamo who headed the delegation, and president of the youth commission of Cuba's Conference of Catholic Bishops.

    ñFrom our first days in Canada there were notable pressures by some people living there ... exhorting the Cubans not to return to their country," Baladrón said in a statement sent to international news organizations. Of 200 people who traveled to Canada with the Cuban church delegation, 23 stayed behind, the bishop said.

    Baladrón said news coverage of the Cubans' defection ñindicates that a religious event such as this ... can be taken advantage of by those with determined politic interests." The Cuban delegation left for Canada on July 18 and returned Aug. 2. It was the first time that the Cuban communist government had authorized such a large group to travel abroad for a Roman Catholic gathering.

G INES, August 8

    ARMED FORCESÍ CANNERY POLLUTES MAYABEQUE RIVER

    A GÙines cannery operated by the Cuban armed forces dumps hundreds of liters of oil daily in the Mayabeque river, whose water is used further downstream to irrigate crops. The factory, Conservas Mayabeque, is operated by the Basic Unit of Self-Supply of the Cuban Armed Forces Ministry since it was turned over to them after a three-year period of inactivity.

    The Ministry modernized the facility, installing new machinery, to supply preserves to troops quartered in Havana and to sell in the TRD Caribe dollar stores, also operated by the military as a profitable sideline. In spite of the modernization, oil leaks profusely around the boilers which supply the steam for canning. Area farmers and residents have appealed to colonel Armando García, the factoryÍs director, for relief, without any success so far.


CARACAS, August 7

    VENEZUELA HAS NOT RENEWED OIL SHIPMENTS TO CUBA

    Despite earlier assurances, state-owned oil company Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) has not resumed oil shipments to Cuba. The postponement reportedly has been caused by managers in the company who are adamantly opposed to such action until Cuba repays its debt. Shipments of 53,000 barrels per day were stopped April 11 when Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez was ousted briefly in a failed military rebellion.

      Caracas daily El Universal reported that PDVSA currently does not have the additional volumes of crude oil it needs to resume shipments to Cuba before Sept. 1, which implies that all of the country's oil exports through the end of August have been committed to other clients.

    However, sources in the company said that PDVSA actually may have been forced to postpone the first oil shipment to Cuba by at least a month because of growing internal opposition from middle- and upper-level PDVSA managers to selling any more oil to Cuba until the communist government pays its current debt in full. 

     Active GEC members, read inside our CLASSIFIED PAGES, "Artículos Confidenciales," an important STRATFOR Report and JCS's recently "UNCLASSIFIED" documents, dated 13 March 1962 - Re: "Justification for US Military Intervention in Cuba (TOP SECRET).


HAVANA, August 7

    CUBAN DICTATOR FIDEL CASTROÍS ñBENEFACTOR", LUCIUS WALKER, ROBBED IN HAVANA

    An American pastor taking aid to Havana was robbed and surrounded by a stampede of hundreds of bystanders as police took several pot shots at his assailant, all within his first 48 hours in the city. The 13th Caravan of Pastors for Peace arrived July 21 from México. Two nights later, about 20 from the group visited "Mesón de la Chorrera," on HavanaÍs waterfront Malecón Avenue, in the upscale Vedado district.

    At about 1 a.m., as they were walking back to their tour bus, pastor Lucius Walker stopped at the park across from the establishment and took out a wallet and agenda to jot something down. As he did so, a young man approached him, grabbed his wallet and took off, with Walker in pursuit. The man ran into a building with, by this time, two policemen in pursuit. The thief, evidently, got away.

    A woman with the pastorsÍ group addressed the crowd in Spanish thus: "We have come bringing humanitarian aid to you and see how you thank us, by robbing us. I ask you to recover the documents that were taken from our brother Lucius. We donÍt care if the money is returned or not. I will tell you that I will not come back to Cuba. This countryÍs people do not deserve to be helped. When I return to the United States I will inform my religious community of what happened."

HAVANA, Aug 6

    ROBERTO ROBAINA ADMITS ERRORS 

    Former Cuban Foreign Minister Roberto Robaina says his recent expulsion from the Communist Party was justified and he hopes to rejoin party ranks someday. "I committed many political errors, and especially ethical errors. I recognize I was not upfront with my comrades. They have sufficient motives for feeling betrayed," Robaina told CNN television in Havana. "I consider myself a revolutionary who is willing to demonstrate with his attitude and words that the confidence in me can be recovered."

    The weekend interview, apparently authorized by the government, was Robaina's first since he was dismissed as foreign minister three years ago and appeared a few days after his expulsion from the Communist Party became publicly known. A one-time leader of the Union of Young Communists, Robaina went on to be a member of the Communist Party's Politburo and was considered at one stage to be a possible successor to Cuban dictator Fidel Castro, 75 and in power since 1959.

    But Castro dismissed Robaina as foreign minister in 1999 after he had served six years in the post. Some analysts viewed Robaina as representing the reform-minded wing of the Communist Party, the ruling and only legal party in the country. The party's Central Committee in May also banned Robaina from future leadership posts and recommended that he be expelled from the Cuban National Assembly, the island's legislature that faithfully follows the Communist Party line.


HAVANA, August 3

    CUBAN BISHOP: "NO REPRESSION AGAINST CHURCH IN CUBA"

    The Roman Catholic bishop of the Cuban province of GUANTÁNAMO said the Church is not facing repression on the island, despite the fact that 23 young Catholics defected after attending Pope John Paul II's Sunday in Toronto, Canada.

    Bishop Carlos Baladrón, who led the Cuban delegation to Toronto, said he didn't think the incident would make it harder to get Cuban government permission for church groups to travel abroad in the future. "In order to do something like this (desert), you say things ... that aren't true," said Baladrón. "We haven't had any religious persecution, neither there (in Canada) nor here."  The young defectors hid out in residences throughout Toronto after escaping during the watch of Cuban security police.


HAVANA, August 3

    CRIMES OF PASSION NUMBER ONE CAUSE OF HOMICIDES IN CUBA

    Crimes of passion are at the head of the list as the cause of homicides in Cuba, said a homicide investigator with the Ministry of the Interior. The official confirmed government statistics available on the Internet, which show a net decrease in the number of homicides in the last few years. Women, however, are the victims in 27 percent of all homicides.

    The official also pointed to the prevalence of rape and assault as indicators of violence toward women. As a lesser but still significant cause of homicides, the official referred to the murder of Havana homosexuals by individuals from the eastern end of the island. These crimes are generally associated with robbery.


MIAMI, August 2

    ACCUSED TORTURED FOUND GUILTY

    Accused Cuban torturer Eriberto Mederos was found guilty Thursday morning of lying to obtain his U.S. citizenship. A parade of witnesses testified that Mederos, 79, tortured and abused them while they were imprisoned by the Castro regime at the Mazorra Psychiatric Hospital between 1968 and 1978.

    Prosecutors say Mederos failed to mention his ties to the Communist party or his role in alleged human rights violations when he applied for a visa to enter the U.S. in 1984 or on his citizenship applications in 1993. After seven days of testimony, jurors deliberated 2 ½ hours Tuesday and four hours on Wednesday before telling U.S. District Judge Alan S. Gold that they could not reach a decision. Gold admonished them to keep trying. Deliberations continued for another 90 minutes before he sent them home for the night. On Thursday, the jury came back with a guilty verdict.

CARACAS, August 2

    POSTPONED VENEZUELA COUP RULING SEEN AS ñTIME BOMB"

    A postponed ruling by Venezuela's Supreme Court on whether to send four alleged military coup plotters to trial is a "time bomb" for the politically divided country, a prominent member of President Hugo Chavez's ruling party said on Thursday.

    Supporters and foes of Chavez clashed outside the Supreme Court on Wednesday before it postponed a final decision on whether rebellion charges should be brought against army Gen. Efrain Vasquez, air force Gen. Pedro Pereira, navy Vice Adm. Hector Ramirez and Rear Adm. Daniel Commisso, for their alleged role in a short-lived April coup against Chavez. Several people were injured and several more arrested.

    More than three months after senior military officers briefly deposed Chavez, tensions between the government and its political opponents are still simmering. Each side blames the other for the deaths of more than 60 people in street protests and looting that accompanied the April 11coup. In Wednesday's Supreme Court hearing, 12 of its 20 magistrates failed to support the proposal. Within five days, another magistrate will make a new proposal.


HAVANA, August 1^st.

    VIDEO CIRCULATING ON ROBERTO ROBAINA'S EXPULSION

    Now, Roberto Robaina's expulsion is being carefully explained to Communist government insiders, perhaps because as one-time leader of the party's youth organization and then as foreign minister and a Communist Party leader, he influenced many current Cuban officials. Asked why the Communist Party had not expelled Robaina sooner, the government source said, "they tried to make him see the errors of his ways, and though he admitted making mistakes, they felt he never really accepted the criticism."

    While he was foreign minister, Robaina had unauthorized contacts with foreign officials and businessmen, and made unauthorized statements abroad, the source said, summing up a video being shown to officials in which Defense Minister Raul Castro, Cuban dictator Fidel Castro's younger brother and designated successor, explains the decision. The video goes through a step-by-step chronology depicting Robaina as acting and speaking more and more on his own, despite repeated warnings by the dictator, according to the source.

    In the two hours video Raul Castro reportedly takes Robaina to task for his unauthorized contacts in the 1990s with former Spanish Foreign Minister Abel Matutes, at a time when relations were particularly difficult with the Spain government. Robaina is also criticized in the video, according to the source, for making statements at home and abroad implying he might be in line for Cuba's presidency one day. He is also charged with accepting favors without informing his superiors from the former governor of the Mexican state of Quintana Roo, Mario Villanueva, who was arrested last year in Mexico and faces charges there for alleged connections with the Juarez drug cartel. According to press reports, Robaina is now under house arrest.


HAVANA, August 1^st.

    CUBAN COMMUNIST PARTY EXPELS ROBERTO ROBAINA, FORMER FOREIGN MINISTER

    Cuba's Communist Party has expelled Roberto Robaina, a former foreign minister who was once a rising star under Cuban dictator Fidel Castro, from its ranks for being "disloyal to the revolution and the maximum leader," a government source said on Wednesday. The source, confirming rumors circulating in Havana and some foreign press reports, said the decision was taken at a recent meeting of the Communist Party's Central Committee.

    The Communist Party also banned Robaina from future leadership posts and recommended that he be expelled from the Cuban National Assembly, the island's legislature that faithfully follows the Communist Party line. The government and state-run media have not mentioned the decision and Robaina refused comment when asked about it by foreign reporters on Wednesday in front of his home in Havana.

    Robaina, 46, was once a party golden boy promoted by Castro in the 1990s. A one-time leader of the Union of Young Communists, he went on to be a member of the Communist Party's Politburo and was considered at one stage to be a possible successor to Castro, 75 and in power since 1959. But Castro, in a move that surprised many international observers, dismissed Robaina as foreign minister in 1999 after he had served six years in the post.

WASHINGTON, D.C., August 1st.

    U.S. BACKED DEMOCRACY IN VENEZUELA

    U.S. officials tried to discourage ñundemocratic and unconstitutional moves" against the government of Venezuelan Hugo Chavez during a failed coup this spring, according to a report by the State DepartmentÍs inspector general.

    President Bush administration drew criticism after seeming to acquiesce in ChavezÍs temporary ouster in April. U.S. officials have said the administration recognizes Chavez as VenezuelaÍs legitimate president.

    State Department spokesman Philip Reeker said the inspector general found that U.S. Embassy officials in Caracas and officials in Washington urged the Chavez government to ñconduct itself in a democratic and constitutional fashion." They gave the same admonitions  to the provisional government led by Pedro Carmona, which briefly replaced Chavez, Reeker said.