In Cuba, Hurricanes Force Raul Castro’s Hand
In Cuba, Hurricanes Force Raul Castro's Hand
New America Media, News report, Louis E.V. Nevaer, Posted: Oct 17, 2008Review it on NewsTrust
Editor's note: Cuba has suddenly changed its mind and agreed to acceptforeign aid as it faces mass starvation and broken infrastructure due tohurricanes Gustav and Ike, reports NAM contributor Louis E.V. Nevaer.Nevaer is the author of NAFTA'S Second Decade: Assessing Opportunitiesin the Mexican and Canadian Markets.
In a stunning about-face, Cuba's president Raul Castro has agreed toaccept foreign aid to avoid a humanitarian crisis.
Six weeks after Hurricanes Gustav and Ike ravaged the island nation,efforts to prevent famine in isolated communities are forcing rapid-firepolitical changes. For more than a month, Mexico, Russia and Venezuelahave been sending aid; now 68 other countries have joined thehumanitarian effort, as well as 12 international agencies. Raul Castrohad, up to now, refused the aid, arguing that spies disguised ashumanitarian workers would infiltrate Cuba. That concern, in the wake ofhuman suffering, has been cast aside; the $51 million USD in aid isdesperately needed, particularly in Pinar del Rio and the city ofCinefuegos.
This comes two days after Cuba's ambassador to Mexico, Manuel Aguilerade la Paz, acknowledged there were food shortages throughout the islandnation, although he was adamant that there would not be famine.
?As reports in Mexico, Spain and on Cuba-based blogs continue todocument the deteriorating situation on the island nation, Cuba'sambassador was forced to make public statements in Mexico City.
Ambassador Aguilera de la Paz conceded there were "limitations" thatrequired "reductions in the diet" of the Cuban people, and "widespreadshortages of some foodstuffs," but he denied there was famine or thepossibility of famine. The ambassador assured reporters that in Cubathere was "an egalitarian distribution system for food that guaranteedthat everyone has access to the minimum food to allow for subsistenceand survival."
??Concerns, however, surfaced that supplies are running low, and thatCuba is preparing the Cuban people for "a difficult winter." Mexican andVenezuelan humanitarian assistance continues to flow into Havana, butreports indicate that damage to infrastructure has resulted in theinability to reach isolated communities, where stories of scarcity andhunger continue to be reported.
As Cuba and Haiti struggle with the human misery left behind byhurricanes Gustav and Ike, Mexican Navy ships have been sent to bothcountries with humanitarian aid. The Mexican Navy vessel, Papaloapan,left Veracruz port bound first for Havana with food, medicine and othersupplies, before continuing to Port au Prince, the Haitian capital.
The Papaloapan is equipped with a working hospital, and it will providemedical assistance to Haiti as needed.? ?In the five weeks since Cubaand Haiti were struck by these hurricanes, damage to each country'sinfrastructure was so extensive that distribution and communication tosmaller communities remains difficult, if not impossible. Despitereassurances from Cuban diplomats in Mexico City, reports of hunger inthe Cuban province of Pinar del Rio continue to make their way to theoutside world: Food prices have risen in Havana between 50 and 100%,rationing has been decreed by the government, and Cubans have beenwarned to prepare for a difficult winter.
Reports of famine were substantiated by Cubans intercepted by theMexican Navy attempting to cross the Yucatan Channel from Pinar del Rioto the resorts of Isla Mujeres and Cancun.
The Mexican Navy has long feared that an uncontrolled exodus of Cubansacross the Yucatan Channel would precipitate a crisis similar to whatoccurred in 1997 when thousands of Albanians crossed the Adriatic Seaand the Italian Navy had to rescue hundreds of refugees.
In 2007 more than 11,000 Cubans illegally entered Mexico, almost allseeking to make it to the U.S. border and seek political asylum. Thisexodus has been fueled by human traffickers who operate safe houses inthe Mexican resorts of Cancun and Isla Mujeres. "The reason why peopleare willing to risk their lives to leave Cuba [by attempting to reachMexico] is the lack of hope and expectations," Sean Murphy, the UnitedStates consul general in Havana, told the New York Times, in October 2007.
This exodus has increased dramatically since Hurricanes Gustav and Ike,forcing two major political changes. First, Cuba and Mexico announcedlast week a new migratory deal. Whereas before Mexican policy was todetain Cubans illegally in Mexico, fine them for not having propertourist documents (the fine was about $80 USD), and giving them 30 daysto leave Mexico (which many did by hopping on a bus to the U.S.-Mexicoborder, then crossing into the U.S. to seek political asylum); Mexicohas now agreed that Cubans detained for entering Mexico illegally willbe returned to Cuba. This is an effort to stop the explosion of Cubansillegally entering Mexico as a way of reaching the U.S.?? The purpose isto deter Cubans from risking their lives crossing the Yucatan Channel ifthey know they are likely to be returned to Cuba if caught, and tointerfere with the thriving business of smuggling Cubans. (Cuba has longcomplained that the "Miami Mafia" is operating human traffickingoperations from the Mexican resorts of Cancun and Isla Mujeres.) Thispast spring and summer 9 Cubans in Merida and Cancun were found shot :law enforcement linked the victims with groups of smugglers who wereoperating safe houses for Cubans crossing the Yucatan Channel.? ?In2007, about 11,000 Cubans entered the U.S. from Mexico; this year thefigures are expected to be 19,000 Cubans.
Mexican officials want to avoid loss of life on the high seas, asoccurred in April when a raft with twelve Cubans drifted into the Gulfof Mexico. Two died, 2 were lost at sea and 8 survivors were airliftedto a hospital near New Orleans after being rescued by the crew of thetanker Eos.
The second development on the diplomatic front occurred this weekendwhen Cuba and the European Union announced plans to normalize diplomaticrelations, which were severed in June 2003 when the EU sought to punishCuba for the arrest of political dissidents. The diplomaticrapprochement is crucial to facilitating humanitarian aid to Cubans.
There is a sense of urgency as government officials in MexicoCity-Havana-Madrid work to reach political agreement to help Cuba in theweeks ahead, the specter of severe food shortages this fall and winterare now accompanied by the threat of disease. to prevent the shortage offood to be compounded by disease, Dengue Fever.
The disease, spread by mosquitoes, is now spreading throughout theravaged provinces of Cienfuegos and Pinar del Rio. "We are going todevelop in the next days of October a campaign through the CDR[neighborhood Committees for the Defense of the Revolution] throughoutthe entire country, a health campaign against the conditions that allowthe spread of Aedes aegypti [Dengue Fever]," Luis Estruch, theVice-Minister of Health told reporters this weekend.
There are no guarantees that these political efforts – $51 million inaid are expected to reach only 135,000 Cuban – will be enough. And whilethe new migratory agreement is an attempt to stop human traffickingacross the Yucatan Channel by discouraging Cubans to risk their lives,there is hope that once Cuban officials meet with EU diplomats in Madridtoday and then in Paris on Thursday more rapid assistance will beforthcoming.
What this means for Raul Castro's administration is unclear, since thepolitical consequences of this humanitarian crisis in Cuba remains agreat unknown.
German Fanz demoted as Cuba coach
German Fanz demoted as Cuba coachReutersMonday October 13 2008
HAVANA, Oct 13 (Reuters) – German Reinhold Fanz has been demoted ascoach of Cuba, a soccer official said on Monday, after his side lost 6-1to the U.S. at the weekend and two of its players defected.Fanz will stay on as an advisor while former coach Raul Gonzalez Trianatakes charge, Cuba Football Association technical director WilliamBennet told Reuters.U.S. and Cuba media reported that midfielder Pedro Faife and forwardReynier Alcantara defected before Saturday's match. State televisionsaid the pair had "betrayed the unity of their team and given in to thetemptation of the empire's money.Fanz, who had coaching spells with Bundesliga clubs Hannover 96 andEintracht Frankfurt, arrived in March aiming for World Cup qualificationand has been working for free with the football association covering hisliving and travel expenses.However Cuba, who last reached the World Cup finals in 1938, have lostall four games of their six-match CONCACAF third qualifying round groupsection and lie bottom of Group One.
Villas and apartments for sale in Cuba
Villas and apartments for sale in Cuba
One of the first opportunities for foreigners to own a property in Cubawill launch this yearTuesday, 14 October 2008
One of the first opportunities for foreigners to own property in Cuba isjust around the corner.
When a new project launches later this year, it will lay the foundingstone of the Carbonera Country Club, the island's first high-end resortwith a PGA golf course.
'Cubans are keen to emphasise that their island has so much more thanthe other Caribbean islands,' says Andrew Macdonald, chief executive ofthe company in charge of developing the resort, Esencia Hotel &Resorts. 'Not only is the medical and educationalinfrastructureexcellent, but it's culturally rich, too.'
The development is a result of the Ministry of Tourism's plans to raisethe raise the bar on its tourist product for the discerning market. 'Foran island the size of Britain, it's amazing that there's only one golfcourse,' adds Mr Macdonald.
Based on a plot of 420 acres on Cuba's north coast, an hour's drive fromHavana and overlooking the Florida straits, the development will include650 apartments and 165 villas for sale. Exact details are beingfinalised, but sales agents Savills quote a starting price for aone-bedroom apartment of £70,000, rising to £150,000 for a three-bedroomapartment.
'The villas are likely to be between 350 square metres and 500 squaremetres with prices starting from £650,000,' says head of global resortsDavid Vaughan (020–7016 3740).
http://www.countrylife.co.uk/news/article/277466/Property_market_opens_in_Cuba.html
Is Fidel Castro seriously an obsessive blogger?
Is Fidel Castro seriously an obsessive blogger?03:38 PM PT, Oct 13 2008
Last week, Tina Brown's news and culture site, The Daily Beast, featureda scoopy piece called "Fidel the Blogger," which explored theastonishing premise that Cuba's jefe emeritus has jumped on the Internetbandwagon and begun spewing out posts in earnest.
Castro, wrote author Maria Ospina, "has discovered a new way to spreadhis opinions. In the last year, he's written more than 150 blogs posts,"and is "posting furiously about the Wall Street meltdown, sports, andhis soft spot for [Barack] Obama's kids." We learned that Castro isdressing the part too. "The politician-turned-blogger has traded hismilitary getup for an informal tracksuit, a more appropriate choice forsomeone who works at a home computer."
Because I speak a poco bit of Spanish, and also write about Web trends,I followed the links in Ospina's story with interest, curious about howa major historical figure like Castro might approach this mostpajama-friendly of mediums. Like such as, did he have anybody copyediting his musings before he posted them? Did he crop his own images?Mix it up with readers in his comments section? And what kind of linklove was the guy giving?
Thing was though, I could never actually find the blog. Ospina hadlinked to two different sites — one called Cubadebate, a site run byCuban journalists that featured an archive page with 150+ links topieces written by Castro, in chronological order (as opposed to thenewest-first order blogs use) up to late September. The description ofthis page reads, "all of the articles published by Fidel which haveappeared as 'Reflections of the Commander in Chief.'"CastroblogA screen grab from the page referenced in the Beast article. The lastentry, #156, is several weeks old.
The second set of links the article provides point to Granma, theofficial news organ of Cuba's Communist Party, where some of Castro'sarticles are also archived.
Looking around a bit more, I found another similar list on the site onACN, the Cuban News Agency, and another one on Cuba.cu, a big Cuban Webportal. But they all seemed to be versions of the same list of printarticles.
I contacted The Daily Beast to see what exactly their definition of ablog was, and whether the Cuban government, the newspaper editorsinvolved or Castro himself had suggested that this was a weblog in anygenerally understood sense.
A publicist replied that the Daily Beast follows Wikipedia's definitionof a blog, the first sentence of which is:
A Web site, usually maintained by an individual with regularentries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such asgraphics or video.
I'd argue that this definition does not cover Web pages that archivedozens of links to newspaper articles — none of which contain images orlinks, comment sections or any other bloggy accouterments. The idea thatan individual "usually maintains" his own blog seems key too, and I'mhaving trouble conceiving of Fidel as in any sense behind the wheel ofthis page. Yes, Fidel's "entries" are definitely regular, and you canfind all of them in one place. But that would probably also mean thispage listing transcripts of President Bush's radio addresses is a blog too.
As for who else is out there calling this a blog, Ospina explained viaemail that Castro "has a section on this government sponsored websitecalled 'Reflections of Fidel' where he shares informal thoughts musingsetc., so it is thought of as his blog." This could well be the case,though Ospina didn't say who thinks of it that way.
She did however acknowledge that "everything he publishes online is alsopublished in newspapers — and is carried by newspapers around theworld."
Which to my ear sounds like a syndicated print column, not a blog. Buttell me if I'm splitting hairs.
— David Sarno
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/webscout/2008/10/fidel-castro-su.html
Doctors-in-waiting … Cuban medical graduates continue to wait on registration
Doctors-in-waiting … Cuban medical graduates continue to wait onregistration – Part II
Tuesday October 14 2008
he doctors a bit of a tap on the wrist, Dr. Benjamin also expressed hisdispleasure at not only the treatment of these doctors, but also theirown self-inflicted injustice. Noting that in the past, some havepractised in his office as assistants to gain experience and keep theirskills alive, he noted that not all were as ambitious in their pursuitof gaining experience.
"There are so many of us in the medical fraternity who would open ourdoors to these doctors if they really wanted to get the experience …my door is always open."
In the same breath, however, he also added that it was a shame that themedical fraternity wasn't rallying behind these doctors, offering asmuch support as they could.
Rest of th Article
Beginning of the Article
The suggestion of having the doctors registered once they would havefound a position under the supervision of an already established orprominent medical practitioner was presented to Dr. Sealy-Thomas duringour interview. Pondering it a bit, she explained that it would be notedand possibly considered by the board, once the application wasaccompanied by a signed document from the established doctor, makingrecommendation and promising supervision.
Today, there are 13 Antiguan doctors waiting to be registered, havingbeen told that the years they spent in Cuba do not make them eligiblefor registration. As there is little communication between the boards,the number of doctors expected next year and in the upcoming years isunclear.
So while more and more of our young doctors (some having begun studiesas soon as they graduated from secondary school) continue to pursuestudies at the AUA Medical School and eventually become registered withlittle or no hassle, our Antiguan doctors who studied in Cuba continueto wait.
While many of the accountants, economists, physiotherapists and evendentists who graduate from Cuba continue to make waves in their careers,having already been employed in prominent establishments, ourCuban-trained doctors continue to wait. Interestingly enough, while onesibling who graduated this year was given a great job in his discipline,his older sibling, having graduated the year before as a doctor,continues to wait.
While we continue to tell our children that they can be anything theywant to be, even doctors, given the opportunities to pursue suchstudies, we tell our graduate doctors they have to wait to practise. Wetell them that they are our future, tease them with opportunities ofattaining medical careers, then slap them in the face and tell them theyare inadequate.
While they watch many of their peers live and excel in their careers,our Antiguan Cuban doctors, the ones we happily sent to Cuba to returnas doctors, continue to wait.
Cuban medical graduates continue to wait on registration
Part II
by ZIA
The proposals
This is not to say that the government and more so the Ministry ofHealth have not attempted to pacify this situation. Toward the end of2007, proposals were devised for the young doctors.
The first option was to return to Cuba for another three years or moreto read for their general comprehensive medicine and gain experience.Having already completed rotations in their study, which are made partof their programme, the Antiguan doctors were not keen on returning toCuba, wary that further problems may be fabricated upon their secondreturn. Additionally, they would be offered US$20 a month by the Cubangovernment for their tenure in Cuba. They were told they'd beresponsible for finding their own means of air transportation to andfrom Cuba. Notably, for many students who study abroad, whether throughscholarship or their own means, it is not uncommon for them to providetheir own air fare and even accommodations.
But given the hindsight of their original scholarship, it'sunderstandable that these doctors would need assistance to "now" bedeemed eligible for registration.
Their second option was the Guyana option. Through coalition with theGuyanese government, an offer was created where the doctors would getthe opportunity to spend a year in Guyana where they'd completerotations at the General Hospital in Georgetown. Not a bad offerconsidering that they'd be given institutional registration in Guyana,and US$500 a month by the Guyanese government (which is the average ratefor a doctor in Guyana) in addition to another US$500 by the Antigua andBarbuda government – a stipend that was eventually given after months ofnegotiations. Accommodations were also sought for our young doctors.
But tally the room and board they'd have to pay in addition to thetransportation to and from the hospital and that US$1,000 begins to lookvery dismal for their survival. Some options of accommodation amountedto as much as US$300 a month per person, which excluded utilities thatcould run them an average of not more than US$300 a month.
To inspect and review this option, two of the doctors accompaniedMinister of Health John Maginley, Dr. Zachariah and Dr. PhilmoreBenjamin to Guyana. To date, although there were six signatures affixedto the proposal, only two have pursued this proposal and are currentlyin Guyana.
Those who remain shared their concerns that have yet to be abated by anymembers of the Medical Board or the Ministry of Health. For one, theywere not about to sign a contract that concluded in an ambiguous stateof their registration upon return.
Being very considerate, Dr. Sealy-Thomas submitted a draft of the letterthat would be given to each doctor. While all the terms and conditionsappeared reasonable and coincided with past discussions, the finalparagraph sparked great debate. The draft read as follows:
Dear Dr. _______,
Members of the Medical Registration Board have reviewed your applicationfor registration as a medical practitioner in Antigua and Barbuda. It isthe Board's view that you require further supervision in a hospital setting.
We are aware that the government of Antigua and Barbuda has accepted thegovernment of Guyana's offer for such further supervision at theGeorgetown Public Hospital in Guyana for one year.
The Board approves of this programme and has agreed that upon completionof the year at the Georgetown Public Hospital, you will be registeredaccording to the relevant legislation.
Sincerely,
For these injured doctors, their main concern, knowing that the currentlegislation is being reviewed, was that they'd return to Antigua aftertheir year's internship and find that they would yet again be ineligibleunder possible changes to the Medical Registration Act.
Dr. Ephraim expressed that all they wanted was a clearly writtendocument guaranteeing them registration upon successful completion oftheir internship in Guyana.
Sharing his views of the Guyanese programme, Dr. Philmore Benjaminadmitted that while the programme may have been a good idea, it was alsodesigned for the Guyanese medical system and not Antigua's.
He further expressed his disappointment with the Board and Cabinet intheir prolonged response to these doctors. Noting that the Guyanesegovernment already recognises them as doctors, and would register themas such, albeit under the institutional provision, they'd still beregistered nonetheless. "If Guyana can recognise them as doctors, Idon't see why Antigua has a problem now."
In response, Dr. Sealy-Thomas offered that the year in Guyana would givethe doctors a chance to put into practice what they had learned, keepingtheir knowledge fresh in their minds, as well as giving them theopportunity to learn more.
"For the two that will return next year, they'll be registered … whilethe others could have gone that route but chose not to."
The third option, more of a shadow option, was to have a Cuban professorcome to Antigua and design an internship programme at the HolbertonHospital. As of July, such a person was here discussing thepossibilities of a programme with doctors at the hospital; it wasunclear even then as to when such discussions would be completed and ifanything would be resolved at all.
And so they wait
So, our Cuban graduated doctors continue to wait.
With their documents, hours of rotations and no registration, ourdoctors remain in waiting as Cabinet and the Medical Registration Boardcontinue to linger on the issue. Just a few weeks ago, the issue wasraised in Cabinet with more promises of the issue to be resolved, theend result of which would be the registration of the doctors. To date,no one has been notified as to the finality of the decision. Dr.Sealy-Thomas was clear, however, in asserting that Cabinet couldrecommend registration, but the final decision was ultimately up to theMedical Registration Board.
Speaking at the graduation ceremony, Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer onlyserved to echo sentiments expressed in past meetings with the doctors.Noting that they were indeed being done an injustice, smiles were againshared as he made promises of resolving the situation. Adding to themantle, Minister of Youth Winston Williams added his outrage at theirinjustice and offered his support. Minister of Education Bertrand Josephupped the ante at the podium guaranteeing all Cuban graduates that oncetheir disciplines could be used in his ministry, there would be jobswaiting for them.
Needless to say, one or two doctors of the nine have gone into theteaching of biology students in the secondary schools. One has joinedthe 2006 registered doctor at the Medical School as a lecturer, two havemigrated (one with encouragement and best wishes from Dr. Sealy-Thomas)and one or two have taken up assistant positions in prominent privatepractices. Others have resorted to medial occupations in the meantime.
Cuban soccer defector: Freedom worth the risk
Posted on Tuesday, 10.14.08
CUBAN DEFECTORCuban soccer defector: Freedom worth the riskAfter Cuban soccer player Reinier Alcantara left the team hotel inWashington, D.C., he ran as fast as he could and with the little Englishhe knew told a cab driver to “Drive me far. . . . Go far, far, far.''
BY MICHELLE KAUFMANmkaufman@MiamiHerald.com
Reinier Alcantara knew, even before he boarded the flight from Cuba toWashington, D.C., last week, that he wouldn't be using his returnticket. He hatched the plan to defect months ago and worked extra hardto make the roster for last Saturday's World Cup qualifier against theUnited States because he figured that would be his chance to escape alife that was getting increasingly more frustrating and depressing.
The only question was when he would make the break. Team security wastight, following the defections of seven members of the Cuban Under-23soccer team in Tampa in March. The phone lines in the players' rooms atthe Doubletree Hotel were disconnected, their passports and visas werecollected by a team official upon arrival in the nation's capital, andcoaches watched their every move.
But then the moment arrived. It was Thursday, early evening, and theteam had just returned from practice. They were milling around thelobby, waiting for dinner, and the coaches walked into the gift shop.Alcantara got up from a sofa, walked down a hallway, found a servicedoor, checked over his shoulder, stepped outside and sprinted towardfreedom.
RUN TO FREEDOM
He ran, and ran, and ran. Six to eight blocks. At full speed, lookingover his shoulder the whole way, worried that someone would snag him anddeliver him back to the Cuban delegation. Finally, when he realizednobody was chasing him, Alcantara stopped at a corner, caught hisbreath, and flagged down a taxi.
He speaks very little English, but he used what he knew when he got intothe taxi cab. ''Drive me far,'' he told the driver, motioning with hishand. “Go far, far, far.''
They drove for nearly half an hour and Alcantara, a 26-year-old forward,got off at a McDonald's. He asked the cabbie if he could borrow hiscellphone to make a call. He called a friend in New Jersey, told himwhere he was, and the friend drove down to meet him.
On Friday morning, Alcantara met up with another friend, who took himshopping for food, clothing and toiletries, and drove home with him toAtlanta, where he will officially seek asylum and begin his new life. OnSaturday night, he watched on television as Cuba lost 6-1 to the U.S. Hefelt bad for his teammates, but said he had no regrets. ''I love myteam, but this is my life, and my future, and I had to do this,'' he said.
Alcantara had no idea that as he was getting over the most challengingday of his life, his teammate, Pedro Faife, was bolting from the teamhotel back in D.C. with relatives, who drove him to their home inOrlando. The two hadn't spoken as of Monday morning, but Alcantaraplanned to get in touch later in the day.
''I feel so happy to finally be here, free to pursue my dreams,''Alcantara said by cellphone Monday morning, on his way to Miami for aseries of interviews with Spanish-language media. “I've been dreamingof this for a long, long time, and I just had to wait for the rightopportunity. It was a very scary decision, and I was nervous that firstnight, but thanks to the support of friends, and so many great people inthis country, I am feeling much calmer.''
TEARFUL MOMENT
Alcantara comes from Pinar del Rio, and said his neighborhood wasdevastated by the recent hurricanes, making an already difficult lifeunbearable. He said his home suffered roof damage and other housesnearby were in ruins. The government made promises to help, but theredidn't seem to be any help in sight. When he entered a grocery storeFriday, his eyes welled with tears.
''It's beautiful to see the amount and quality of food here, thechoices, the possibilities,'' he said. “Meanwhile, people are hungry inCuba, scraping to get by, obsessing about where they'll find dinner. Ihave to be careful with all this great food. If I keep eating, I won'tbe able to run anymore and I'll get out of shape.''
Alcantara stressed that he will always love Cuba, and has only warmfeelings toward his teammates and coaches. But he felt ''trapped'' onthe island, and had traveled enough through soccer to realize what lifewas like in other places. He was in East Rutherford, N.J., and Houstonin 2007 for the Gold Cup, and the thought of defecting crossed his mindthen, but he said family situations back home prevented him from doing so.
This time, nothing was holding him back. He is not married and has nochildren. His parents had no idea he planned to stay, and as of Mondayhe hadn't spoken to them yet. They don't have a telephone, so they'rehard to reach, but also, Alcantara said he wanted to wait a few days tolet the news sink in because he knows how hard it will hit them.
''I'm sure my parents are devastated with my decision, but in time,they'll realize this was the best thing,'' he said. “There is no futurefor me in Cuba, no hope. You can dream there, but your dreams can't cometrue. It's a dead end for athletes, and for people of all professions.We hear promises, but they're never fulfilled. Here, you dream and ifyou work hard enough, and sacrifice, your dreams can be realized.''
HIS DREAM
Alcantara's goal is to play professional soccer, something he is notallowed to do under the Cuban regime. He knows it won't be easy. Hespent the past 48 hours fielding calls from Cuban soccer players whodefected over the past few years — Yaikel Perez, Yenier Bermudez,Yordanny Alvarez, Lester More, and Osvaldo Alonso, who grew up with him,defected last year in Houston during the World Cup, plays for theCharleston Battery and last week was named the United Soccer Leagues'2008 Rookie of the Year.
''Of course, it's a little lonely to be starting all over so far fromthe people you love,'' he said. 'But it gives me courage and hope totalk to all those other guys, to Yaikel and Lester and Osvaldo, guys whodid what I did, who made the same sacrifice. Every one of them told methe same thing. They said, `It won't be easy. There will be pain. But bepatient, work very hard, and everything will work out.' I believe them.I feel, for the first time, that my future will be bright.''
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/americas/cuba/story/725085.html
Cuba names new vice president of cabinet
Posted on Tuesday, 10.14.08
Cuba names new vice president of cabinetAssociated Press
HAVANA — An official with decades of experience in internationalcommerce has been named a vice president of Cuba's Cabinet to overseethe foreign trade and foreign investment ministries.
The 71-year-old Ricardo Cabrisas Ruiz becomes one of seven vicepresidents within the Cabinet. He was previously minister withoutportfolio. The separate Council of State that formally governs Cuba hassix vice presidents.
Cabrisas earlier was commerce minister and ambassador to Japan, and heis often called on to meet foreign dignitaries arriving in Cuba.
The Communist Party daily Granma says Tuesday that the move was proposedby the party's ruling politburo. Fidel Castro still heads that bodydespite resigning as president in February due to illness.
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/americas/cuba/AP/story/725583.html
Spain: PM accepts invitation to visit Cuba
Posted on Tuesday, 10.14.08
Spain: PM accepts invitation to visit CubaBy JORGE SAINZAssociated Press Writer
MADRID, Spain — The prime minister of Spain, which played a key role inpersuading the European Union to lift diplomatic sanctions against Cuba,has accepted an invitation from President Raul Castro to visit nextyear, a Spanish official said Tuesday.
Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos said details of the tripby Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero still need to be worked out, butMoratinos believes it will go ahead. The minister made the announcementafter meeting with his Cuban counterpart, Felipe Perez Roque.
The sanctions were imposed in 2003 after Cuba jailed 75 dissidents. Themeasures were lifted in June. More than 200 dissidents are still servingjail terms in Cuba, although 20 have been released.
In the talks here Tuesday, Spain also agreed to fund a two-year,euro24.5 million (US$34 million) program to help Cuba rebuild homes,schools and other structures destroyed by hurricanes Gustav and Ike thissummer, Moratinos said.
Spain has also agreed to restructure part of Cuba's euro1.5 billion(US$2.1 billion) debt with the Spanish government, and open up a newline of credit worth euro50 million (US$69 million) to euro100 million(US$138 million), Moratinos said.
What will Chávez do without Castro?
Posted on Tuesday, 10.14.08
What will Chávez do without Castro?BY CARLOS ALBERTO MONTANERwww.firmaspress.com
Hugo Chávez has just declared that Fidel Castro is his father. He saysthat Castro phones him constantly and tells him what to do. Chávez obeyshim solicitously, like a good son who admires the wisdom of hisprogenitor. ''The Devil knows more not because he's the Devil butbecause he's old,'' the Venezuelan president has said through laughter.
Chávez laughs a lot, sings and makes many people laugh. Castro laughsless, because his dentures are ill-fitting and slippery, and he neversings because he sings badly and has an intense fear of ridicule. But hedoes send letters and ''little notes'' to his disciple to enlighten him.Chávez receives those lessons and suggestions with great expectation andtalks about them in his weekly reality show, Hello, President!
Recently, Castro explained to Chávez how to build a new internationalfinancial system. While Cuba is an irreparably ruined country (andthat's a fact), Castro insists that he knows a lot about internationalfinance. Could be. As Forbes magazine keeps reporting, his fortuneabroad is among the world's largest. In Cuba, that money is called ''theComandante's accounts,'' and everyone on the island was hoping that hewould use it to palliate the recent catastrophe caused by the twohurricanes.
But Castro didn't think it was a good idea to repatriate his money forenterprises as lacking in glory as rebuilding the 500,000 houses thatwere damaged. That's a vulgarity of “petty history.''
At this stage in Castro's life, he should consider himself blessedbecause Chávez declared himself his disciple, beloved son and apostle ofcollectivist socialism, in an era when those archaic beliefs have beendiscarded. Castro's personal tragedy is that nobody in Cuba pays anyattention to him anymore. In Cuba, for the past many years, people –even those closest to him — have paid him homage and pretended to obeyhim, but they don't take him seriously. They applaud him, because theyhave no other choice, but with profound indifference. No devotion willwithstand half a century of interminable speeches divorced from thereality of a country that is falling apart because of the stubbornstupidity of its ''Maximum Leader,'' as the older people still call him.
In turn, Chávez is a chronic orphan looking for a paternal figure towhom he can cling, a person who desperately needs an ideological guidewho will organize his chaotic mind.
Twenty years ago, he declared himself the son of Norberto Ceresole, anArgentine fascist who had scrambled Peronism with Islam and preached thevirtues of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's Green Book. Chávez was veryhappy with Ceresole, until the day he repudiated him and adopted Castroas his father.
The way Chávez forges political alliances is odd. He takes thoserelationships to a familial plane that expands like the universe.Besides his ''brethren'' Evo Morales, Rafael Correa and Daniel Ortega,he is beginning to talk about ''my brother'' Vladimir Putin of Russiaand ''my brother'' Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iran's petty tyrant, who isintent on wiping Israel off the map.
It is not clear whether, by designating these characters as''brethren,'' Chávez has placed them under Castro's prolific paternity,or if they are his brothers on his mother's side, or sired by SimónBolívar, another figure whose DNA the Venezuelan president hasresolutely appropriated.
What will happen to Chávez when Castro dies and the little notes anddelirious ideas stop flowing? Will the Venezuelan feel totally neglectedand will he fall into a state of deep melancholy, or will he set out toadopt another paternal figure who will compensate his profoundinsecurity? I don't know.
Latin America does not lend itself to political analysis. Over there,the cry might well be “Prozac or death!''
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/columnists/carlos-alberto-montaner/story/725088.html
Zapatero anuncia crédito a Cuba por valor de 100 millones de euros
Zapatero anuncia crédito a Cuba por valor de 100 millones de euros
2 horas, 44 minutos
MADRID (AP) – El gobierno español anunció el martes que abrirá una líneade crédito de hasta 100 millones de euros (casi 137 millones de dólares)para ayudar a Cuba en el proceso de renconstrucción del país tras elpaso de los huracanes "Gustav" y "Ike" hace dos meses.
Los ministros de Exteriores de España y Cuba, Miguel Ángel Moratinos yFelipe Pérez Roque, anunciaron además que el presidente José LuisRodríguez Zapatero visitará la isla el año que viene invitado por suhomólogo Raúl Castro.
La entrevista entre los dos cancilleres constató el buen momento de lasrelaciones bilaterales entre los dos países. Como prueba de estasintonía, España explicó que pondrá en marcha de tres medidas económicasde gran calado.
En primer lugar, el gobierno abrirá una línea de crédito, que, segúnMoratinos, podría ser de entre 50 y 100 millones de euros para ayudar algobierno cubano a comprar bienes y recuperar la producción agrícola,seriamente dañada tras la devastación provocada por "Gustav" y "Ike".
Además, los dos ministros señalaron que se "reestructurará" el pago departe de la deuda de 1.500 millones de euros que Cuba adeuda a España,aunque no precisaron ni la cantidad ni la forma en la que se compensaránestos pagos.
Finalmente, Moratinos anunció que el gobierno invertirá 24,5 millones deeuros (33,7 millones dólares) en un plan de dos años para, dijo,comenzar de forma inmediata las tareas de ayuda en el acondicionamientode viviendas y escuelas destruidas por los huracanes.
http://espanol.news.yahoo.com/s/ap/081014/internacional/eur_gen_espa__a_cuba_1
España tiende la mano a Cuba
España tiende la mano a CubaMoratinos anuncia una ayuda de 24,5 millones de euros para lareconstrucción tras el paso de dos huracanes.- Zapatero, viajará a laisla en 2009
AGENCIAS – Madrid – 14/10/2008
El Gobierno español ha ofrecido hoy a Cuba 24,5 millones de eurosdestinados a la reconstrucción de las zonas afectadas por los huracanesIke y Gustav durante los próximos dos años. Asimismo, el Ejecutivo hamostrado su disposición de revisar la petición de La Habana para haceruna "reestructuración" de la deuda comercial que mantiene Cuba conEspaña, ha informado hoy el ministro español de Exteriores, Miguel ÁngelMoratinos, en una rueda de prensa celebrada en conjunto con su homólogocubano, Felipe Pérez Roque, en Madrid.
Para concretar esta reestructuración de la deuda y las modalidades de laayuda financiera de crédito, una delegación cubana visitará la próximasemana España para reunirse con responsables del Ministerio de Economíay Hacienda. España ha ofrecido a Cuba una línea de financiación decrédito que podría situarse entre 50 y 100 millones de euros.
Moratinos ha subrayado que la relación entre España y Cuba pasa por unmomento de "normalidad" y es "positiva" y que los acuerdos que ambospaíses establecieron durante su viaje a La Habana en abril de 2007 sehan ido desarrollando de "forma satisfactoria".
Tanto es así, que el ministro ha anunciado que el presidente José LuisRodríguez Zapatero ha aceptado la invitación de Raúl Castro de visitarla isla el próximo año, en una fecha aún no determinada.
En opinión de Moratinos, hay progresos en Cuba después de la decisión deFidel Castro de delegar el poder en su hermano Raúl y que esta mejoríase ha visto reflejada en el descenso del "número de presos en situacióndifícil" que había en la isla.
Nada de reformas fuera de la revolución
Por su parte, Pérez Roque, ha asegurado hoy que el Gobierno de RaúlCastro continuará la línea de su hermano y no hará reformas que sesalgan del marco de la revolución y del socialismo, aunque hatransmitido el deseo de la isla de buscar ámbitos de acuerdo con la UE.
"Nadie debe hacerse ilusiones" de que Cuba va a "desertar" en su meta deconstruir una sociedad "justa, incluyente y cada vez más democrática yabierta". Para el ministro cubano, la actual crisis financiera le dice aCuba de que no se puede copiar el modelo capitalista.
"Dios nos libre de intentar hacer en Cuba el sistema dictado de WallStreet. No queremos imitar. Reconocemos el derecho de cada país a hacerlo que considere. Reclamamos igual respeto para nosotros", ha señalado.
No ha hecho mención a la posibilidad de que haya liberaciones de presosen vísperas del comienzo del diálogo entre Cuba y la UE el próximojueves en París, tras aclarar que en la isla "no hay nadie preso porpensar distinto".
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