The Murderous Unwanted Cuban Privilege: Cuban vs Haitian Immigration  10/31/02 AfroCubaWeb: "Had we not politicized our immigration laws by granting Cubans preferential entry and residency prerogatives in order to use this as a destabilization weapon against that country, by creating mass hysteria and inciting the commission of crimes in order to achieve the end goal, we would not find ourselves now attempting to explain the difference between two similar socio-economic effects."

Cuban leader's son visits Zayed University  10/31/02 Gulf News: in Abu Dhabi.

BACARDÍ: LA GUERRA OCULTA  10/29/02 Jiribilla: de Pedro Perez Sarduy

LATAM: Cuba Ratifies Tlatelolco Treaty  10/28/02 Black World Today: "Cuba ratified the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean this week, making the region the world's first nuclear weapons-free zone. Cuba was the only country in the region that had not yet fully adhered to the agreement, better known as the Tlatelolco Treaty. ''The ratification of the Tlatelolco Treaty reaffirms Cuba's commitment to and respect for the principle of nuclear non-proliferation in a global context,'' the Ministry of Foreign Relations said in a communique released Friday."

Cuba will not participate in the Central American Games due to lack of security for its athletes  10/28/02 Granma: "One of the most virulent Miami groups, made desperate by the mafia’s loss of prestige and growing opposition to the blockade by prestigious and influential sectors in the United States in favor of the normalization of relations between the two countries, has drawn up plans for acts of violence against our country and, among others, the assassination of José Ramón Fernández, president of the Cuban Olympic Committee. The Salvadoran government does not possess either the will or the capacity to control the actions of terrorist groups and elements operating there, whether resident in the country or arriving there from Miami."

Cuba: "no" a juegos Centroamericanos  10/27/02 BBC

Hush Hush Palm Beach Civil Rights Suit Alleges Widespread Corruption & Brutality  10/27/02 CopWatch: This matter is going to jury trial Nov 12. The Fanjul family is steeped in corruption and, along with the Barcadis, are the major funders of anti-Cuba activity in Florida.

Madison's Cuban sister city raises foreign policy issues  10/25/02 Badger Herald: "We had trouble obtaining the special license from the Department of the Treasury to travel to Cuba," Gonzales said. "The early days were very difficult. Over time, our humanitarian work was important enough that we were able to get the licenses to go. Since then, 350 Madisonians have traveled to our sister city, offering assistance." "Our primary mission is humanitarian -- the State Department allows us to go freely and legally, leaving from the United States rather than going through Mexico or Canada," said Ald. Todd Jarrell, District 8. Jarrell visited Camaguey during late September, and returned this month."

Harte institute's new Web site links U.S., Mexico, Cuba  10/25/02 Corpus Christi Caller Times: "On the web at: www.gulfbase.org Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi's Harte Research Institute recently took its research about the Gulf of Mexico onto the information superhighway, launching its new tri-national Web site, GulfBase."

Recibe Fidel a Primer Ministro de Mozambique  10/25/02 Juventud Rebelde: "Con el propósito de revisar la marcha de las relaciones bilaterales y consolidar los lazos de amistad entre Cuba y Mozambique, el Comandante en Jefe Fidel Castro y el Primer Ministro de Mozambique, Pascoal Manuel Mocumbi, sostuvieron conversaciones oficiales en la mañana de este viernes."

Tough Days for Art Festivals  10/25/02 US Visa News: "The American Arts Alliance is pushing Congress to pass legislation which will process the admission of overseas artists in various visa categories to the United States. Festival organizers seem to be reacting with grace and dignity, acknowledging the need for increased security in the wake of the terrorists' attacks but just asking for expedited handling from the INS. Artists affected are not only those from the countries you would expect. Consider bands such as Craolba Ruh, a band from Northern Ireland, which had to cancel three performances at the Old Songs Festival in Altamont, New York. Not even Ted Kennedy could get them past the new regulations, and that says a lot these days. Russian, Iranian, Cuban, and performing artists from dozens of other nationalities are being kept out of community events that truly provide rich cultural introductions in rural parts of the United States, communities which otherwise would never be exposed to these type of events."

Cuba: Gov't Invites Exile Community To New Talks  10/24/02 Black World Today: "A new meeting with Cuban emigrés convened by the government of Fidel Castro for April will give representatives of the Cuban exile community an opportunity to express their interest in easier access to and from this socialist Caribbean island nation."

U.S. works for regime change in Cuba, too  10/23/02 USA Today

OFAC Harasses US Cuba Sister Cities members over April Conference  10/23/02 USCSCA: "We are getting scattered reports that OFAC (Office of Foreign Assets Control) is sending letters of "Requirement to Furnish Information" pertaining to our sister city gathering in Cuba. People who did not participate in any way are getting these (scary and lengthy) letters as well as several sister city delegates."

Cuba to invite exiles to migration conference  10/21/02 Sun Sentinel, Florida: The third "Nation and Emigration'' conference sponsored by the Cuban government will be held April 11-13 in Havana, said Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Aymee Hernandez."

No se podrá ignorar el daño causado con esta arbitraria decisión  10/20/02 Rebelion: "Ramsey Clark habla sobre los Cinco Patriotas cubanos"

Cuban praises jailed spy  10/19/02 Miami Herald: "In Cuba's first comments about a U.S. intelligence analyst who confessed to spying for the communist island for 16 years, Foreign Minister Felipe Pérez Roque on Friday expressed ''profound respect and admiration'' for the convicted spy. Ana Belén Montes was sentenced Wednesday to 25 years in prison on espionage charges. Answering questions on a live Internet forum, Pérez Roque said he hoped someday ``it will be unnecessary for men and women of the moral stature of Ana Belén Montes and of the five Cuban heroes -- also unjustly imprisoned in the United States -- to sacrifice their lives, their families and their personal interests.''

Protecting Us from Cuban Congas  10/18/02 US Visa News

Florida gubernatorial candidate reaps benefits from couple who oppose Cuba embargo  10/17/02 AP: "A couple that held a fund-raiser Thursday for Bill McBride, Florida's Democratic nominee for governor, have fought for years to end the U.S. trade embargo against Cuba and once had Elian Gonzalez over for dinner."

Judicial Watch sues Gov. Bush over records requests  10/17/02 AP: "The request asked for the inspection and examination of records concerning "Cuba; Cuban-Americans and/or Florida's population of Cuban-Americans; Cuban-American and/or Hispanic voting patterns; Cuba-U.S. trade policy and procedures; Fidel Castro; Elian Gonzalez." It also asked for communications and documents between the governor's office and the "President and/or The White House." "What we're searching for is an explanation," Garcia said. "Why is there such a huge contradiction between what (Gov. Bush) claims Cuba policy is and what it really is. It's laughable and he should be ashamed. Could there be something? This is one way to find out."

Cuban dissident to be released after serving 3 years, wife says  10/17/02 Miami Herald: "Dr. Oscar Elías Biscet, one of the most prominent political dissidents imprisoned in Cuba, will be released Oct. 31 after serving a three-year sentence, his wife said Wednesday. Elsa Morejón told El Nuevo Herald from Havana that the authorities asked her to report at 8 a.m. that day to the Cuba Sí prison in the eastern city of Holguín to pick up her husband."

Cuban Pitcher Wants Bonus of More Than $14.5 Mln, Agent Says  10/16/02 Bloomberg

Emir of Qatar decorates Cuban ambassador  10/16/02 Granma: "High points in Qatar-Cuba relations are Emir Sheik Hamad Bin Khalifa al Thani’s visit to the island in September 2000, when cooperation accords were signed in the areas of health, economy, science and technology, and President Fidel Castro’s journey to Doha, in May 2001. In November 2001, both nations signed a reciprocal investment promotion and protection agreement."

UN Launches Emergency Relief Efforts for Cuba  10/14/02 AgWeb

U.S. says spy for Cuba was acting from beliefs  10/14/02 IHT: "Law enforcement and intelligence officials said Montes was motivated by her political beliefs and apparently took no money from the Cuban government other than payment of some expenses for her travel to meet with its agents."

ALGUIEN HIZO ESTALLAR EE.UU. By Amiri Baraka  10/13/02 Jiribilla: a translation of Baraka's "Somebody Blew Up America," the poem that is causing the NJ political establishment so much heartburn.

US House moves bill for ties with Cuba  10/13/02 Times of India: "Twenty-three members of the US House of Representatives have introduced a bill to normalize US relations with Cuba. The bill, introduced Friday, is sponsored by both Democrats and Republicans, California Democrat Cal Dooley's office said."

JFK Aides Say Bush Is Wrong On Crisis  10/11/02 Washington Post: "Two top advisers to President John F. Kennedy said President Bush is misreading history when he cites Kennedy's actions in the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis to justify a preemptive military strike against Iraq. "I would flunk him in history," said Arthur Schlesinger Jr., one of several Kennedy administration figures who are here to join President Fidel Castro and key former Soviet officials at a three-day conference marking the 40th anniversary of what is often called the world's closest brush with nuclear war."

US contingent heads to Cuba to revisit '62 missile crisis  10/10/02 AP

Símbolo de dignidad y rebeldía  10/10/02 Granma: Carlos Manuel de Céspedes

Stopped at the Border  10/10/02 MSNBC: "New restrictions signed by President George W. Bush in May have been making it impossible for many foreign artists to get into the country in time for their scheduled appearances. You might expect delays for performers from Iraq and Libya, but why Cuba, Russia and Northern Ireland? From the Afro-Cuban All Stars, a popular Buena Vista Social Club spinoff that was just forced to cancel a five-week U.S. tour, to Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami, who missed the premiere of his new film “Ten” at the New York Film Festival a week ago, scores of performers have found just how narrow the United States’ open doors have become post-9-11. Hardest hit have been those from seven nations designated in the new U.S. Enhanced Border Security and Visa Reform Act as “state sponsors of terrorism”: Iraq, Iran, Syria, Libya, North Korea, Sudan and Cuba. Anyone from those countries, artist or not, must now submit to lengthy background checks by the FBI. In addition, the U.S. government now requires a 20-day wait on applications from citizens of 26 countries (the State Department declines to identify them, but they are believed to be mostly Islamic nations in Asia and North Africa). Add to this brew backups at the Immigration and Naturalization Service, and you have a recipe for creative constipation. It once took weeks to get a U.S. visa; it can now take six months—and no one seems to have warned artists about the delay."

The Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962: A Political Perspective after 40 years  10/10/02 National Security Archives: "Watch this site from 10-12 October for daily press releases from the conference in Havana including documents, audio tapes from the Kennedy White House and reconnaissance and other photographs from the crisis."

Lawyer: Cuban Pitcher Released, Flies To Florida  10/10/02 NBC6, Florida

CASTRO'S SHADOW  10/10/02 New Yorker: Otto Reich's story.

Appeal to help Cuba hurricane victims  10/9/02 BBC: "The International Red Cross has launched an appeal to help thousands of people made homeless after two hurricanes hit the west coast of Cuba less than a fortnight apart. Hurricanes Isidore and Lili battered the whole country, especially the tobacco-growing province of Pinar del Río and the nearby Isla de la Juventud, causing widespread devastation. Cristina Estrada, a regional spokeswoman for the Red Cross, told BBC News Online that only the country's prompt and well-organised evacuation procedures ensured no-one was killed."

Art group to visit Cuba  10/9/02 News Press, Florida

Qatar, Cuba chambers sign agreement  10/9/02 The Peninsula, Qatar: "Antonio Corona, president of the CCC, signed a cooperation agreement with the Qatar Chamber of Commerce and Industry (QCCI). The deal was signed by Corona and Mohamed Khalid Al Mana, QCCI chairman. The main objective of the agreement is to help businessmen from Qatar and Cuba to explore prospects of trade and investment in each other’s countries."

Report: Religion in Cuba still reined-in  10/8/02 Miami Herald: "Cuban security agents often spy on those who worship in churches on the island, and the government of Fidel Castro continues to keep a tight grip on religious activity, the State Department said Monday in a report on religious freedom around the world." Is there a chapter in the State Department report on repression of Native American religions and AfroCuban religions in the US? AfroCubaWeb will be detailing the repression of AfroCuban religions in the Florida penal system.

Ventura complains wife barred from his Cuba trip  10/8/02 Pioneer Press, Minnesota: ""The Cuban people were actually protecting me from my own country down there," Ventura told Lewis. He said the incident occurred at Club Havana during his last night in Havana, the place where he said he won a Cuban dance contest. "We're sitting in there, right, and I've got four Cuban bodyguards as well as my two — lackeys, as you'd call them, Jason," Ventura told Lewis. And halfway through the night, one of the Cubans — apparently there's informants everywhere you go down there, it's like James Bond — one of the informants informed them that there were two Americans in there watching me. And they wanted to know if they should get me out of there."

Pitcher Who Fled Cuba Team Said to Be in U.S.  10/7/02 Reuters: " Star Cuban pitcher and potential Major League baseball prospect Jose Ariel Contreras, who defected while on tour in Mexico last week, is in San Diego where he is being interviewed by immigration officials, a U.S. official said on Monday."

Cuban Official Denied U.S. Visa  10/7/02 Washington Post

Cuba cancels 'welcome tax'  10/6/02 Toronto Star: "But there is still confusion over just who will be hit by the new tax. A group representing Cuban-born immigrants to Canada, many of whom are now Canadian citizens, is fearful the tax will be used to penalize those who regularly take shoes, clothing and other essentials home to relatives during regular visits to the island. "This is very discriminatory," said John Conroy, spokesperson for the Cuba Canadian Foundation, a group representing the estimated 50,000 Cubans living in Canada."

Cuba Policy Statement by Annie Betancourt, Miami  10/4/02 anniebetancourt.com: from the widow of a Bay of Pigs veteran - "As a U.S. Congresswoman, I will not be afraid to take the first steps to make a change to this policy by considering different options, and working with my colleagues in Congress to build consensus. Even former supporters of our current policy, such as Republican US House Majority Leader Dick Armey, realize that we need to take a different path to help the Cuban people and change is imminent. While I served on the Committee of Economic Development and International Trade in the Florida House of Representatives, a study was conducted to determine the impact of future commerce between Florida and a free Cuba. The study found that Florida would benefit from open trade, and it would stimulate our economy. I will fight to bring new economic choices to South Florida without compromising the human rights of the Cuban people."

Grenada And Cuba Exchange Ambassadors  10/4/02 CNS News: "Grenada is warming up to Cuba again, accepting the first Cuban ambassador to be posted to Grenada since 1983. In that year, the U.S. invaded Grenada to drive Cuban communists out of the tiny Caribbean nation. Humberto Rivero Rosario served as a Cuban diplomat in Grenada for three years before the invasion. Grenada Prime Minister Keith Mitchel is expected to name a Grenadian ambassador to Cuba sometime next week. Cuba and Grenada became close allies in 1979, a concern for the United States. President Reagan and many in his administration were concerned that Granada's Marxist government was allowing Cuba to gain undue influence in Grenada."

Democrat running for House wants to alter Cuba policy  10/4/02 Miami Herald: "Democratic congressional candidate Annie Betancourt has issued a strong critique of U.S. policy toward Cuba and says she would work to change it if elected, drawing a clear line on a controversial policy issue between herself and her Republican opponent, Mario Diaz-Balart. In a letter posted on her website, www.anniebetancourtcom, Betancourt, a state representative running for the U.S. House in District 25, suggests the United States should increase trade with Cuba and allow U.S. citizens to travel there. She said current policy has ''failed miserably'' to topple Fidel Castro."

License allows U students and staff to travel to Cuba  10/4/02 Minnesota Daily

Negativa de visa a escritor cubano entorpece nexos con pueblo EEUU  10/4/02 Prensa Latina

Salvador Gonzalez Visa Delay Stops Trip to US  10/3/02 AfroCubaWeb: by Ned Sublette. See our page on Salvador González, the famed muralist of Callejon de Hamel.

Interview with Felipe Pérez Roque, Cuban Minister of Foreign Relations - CUBA 'S FUTURE IS NOT ABOUT ISOLATION  10/3/02 Radio Progresso, Miami

Report from Cuba on Lili's effects  10/3/02 WFTS

Cuba: Business Deals Threaten U.S. Embargo  10/2/02 Black World Today: "The pragmatic world of business could play an instrumental role in bringing about a loosening, and eventual lifting, of the United States' four-decades-old embargo against Cuba. ''It will be difficult to stuff the genie back in the bottle,'' said Cuban researcher Lázaro González, commenting on the impact of the first U.S. food and agribusiness trade fair in Havana, which ran Sep 26-30. ''How can these farmers be told that they cannot come back to Cuba?'' González, vice-director of the University of Havana'a Research Centre on the United States, asked IPS."

Artistic License, Revoked  10/2/02 City Pages, Minnesota: "Danielson says that the deck was being stacked against her clients well before 9/11. In June 2001, the INS bowed to the demands of labor-starved American business and agreed to offer faster case-by-case visa processing for a fee. For $1,000, applicants would be sped through the system in a mere 15 days. (The regular fee is $130, the average waiting period up to four months). The rub, according to Danielson, is that the INS had long been in the habit of efficiently processing artists' requests--a vital accommodation, since performers often have to negotiate bookings on short notice. Under the new pay-as-you-go system, only high-buck clients get that kind of consideration. "Initially, they said they would expedite requests from nonprofits," Danielson says. "They don't. We try to send an expedite request through without $1,000, and they pay no attention. Or they send us a form telling us to send $1,000."

Lili causes widespread destruction, second hurricane in 10 days  10/2/02 Granma

LEGISLADORES MEXICANOS PIDEN EXPLICACIONES DEL CANCILLER POR SU POLÍTICA HACIA CUBA  10/2/02 Radio Habana: "Legisladores mexicanos exigieron al Senado de ese país que llame a cuentas al canciller Jorge Castañeda, porque con sus acciones y declaraciones está poniendo en juego los históricos nexos entre Cuba y México. Afirmaron los legisladores que Castañeda está jugando al subversivo con un país como Cuba, que tiene un marco legal establecido y con el que México ha mantenido excelentes relaciones durante toda su historia."

Bioven, Cuban firm in biotech joint venture  10/2/02 The Star, Malaysia: "BIOVEN Holdings Sdn Bhd will team up with foreign partners in Cuba to spearhead the development of biotechnology products in Malaysia. The move would enable the company to benefit from its partners’ ready access to up-and-running biotechnology projects, said Bioven chairman Mukhriz Mahathir. “This joint venture is the first of many more. Bioven is in discussions with several other biotech institutes in Cuba for similar types of collaboration,” he said after the signing of an agreement between Bioven and Heber Biotec SA in Kuala Lumpur yesterday." Soon to be a target of the Banana Republic of Florida.

Hurricane Lili Threatens Cuba  10/1/02 AP

Hurricane Lili batters Cuba  10/1/02 BBC

"México tiene que regresar a Cuba"  10/1/02 BBC Mundo: "El recién destituido embajador de México en Cuba, Ricardo Pascoe, concedió una entrevista exclusiva a la BBC para hacer un recuento de las relaciones bilaterales durante su gestión al frente de la embajada. Según Pascoe, la política de la Cancillería mexicana ha llevado la comunicación entre los dos países a su mínima expresión y afirma que, de continuar así, llegarán a cero durante el sexenio del presidente Vicente Fox. "En la actualidad se ha llegado a un rompimiento de relaciones de facto, aunque no de jure", dijo el embajador y agregó que hoy prácticamente no existe relación entre los dos países."

Visa Red Tape Is Tying Up Arts Venues  10/1/02 LA Times: "Denying performers entry to the U.S. results in a wave of canceled concerts. One official says the cost could reach millions of dollars nationwide."

U.S. COMPANIES MAKE MILLIONS AT CUBA BUSINESS FAIR  10/1/02 PBS: "Nearly 300 U.S. agribusinesses, farmers and farm state lawmakers visited Cuba over the weekend for the first U.S. trade show on the Caribbean island in four decades, racking up sales of at least $66 million in cash, Cuba's food import agency says."

Mexican diplomat blasts Fox's policy toward Cuba  10/1/02 The News, Mexico

Brazil's gathering clouds  10/1/02 Washington Times: The Rev. Moon's artful propagandists at it again - "Brazil's presidential election is Oct. 6, and polls show Luiz Inacio "Lula" da Silva, now in his fourth run for the presidency, with a 20-point lead. Mr. da Silva is co-founder with Fidel Castro of a network of terrorist groups, Marxist parties, and radical enemies of the United States, known as the "Forum of Sao Paulo," named after the Brazilian city where it first met in 1990. Revolutionary leftists (like Nicaragua's Sandinistas, El Salvador's FMLN, the Cuban Communist Party, and Brazil's Worker's Party), terror-sponsoring states (such as Iraq, Libya, Syria), and terrorists (like the Irish Republican Army, the Basque ETA, Colombia's FARC, and some of the most notorious Middle Eastern terror groups), converge and conspire at the Forum of Sao Paulo. The most recent meeting was last December in Havana, Cuba."

Guerrillero»	«Pinar del Río
El Habanero»	«La Habana
Tribuna de La Habana»	«Ciudad de La Habana
Girón»	«Matanzas
Vanguardia»	«Villa Clara
5 de Septiembre»	«Cienfuegos
Escambray»	«Sancti Spíritus
Invasor»	«Ciego de Ávila
Adelante»	«Camagüey
26»	«Las Tunas
La Demajagua»	«Granma
Ahora»	«Holguín
Sierra Maestra»	«Santiago de Cuba
Venceremos»	«Guantánamo
Victoria»	«Isla de la Juventud

Radio Ciudad de La Habana	Radio Metropolitana
Tiempo 21	Radio Cadena Habana
Radio Sancti Spíritus	CMHW Villa Clara
Radio Victoria	Radio Ciudad del Mar

Bohemia	Habanera
Giga	Temas
Prisma	Negocios en Cuba
Alma Mater	Caimán Barbudo
Mujeres	La Jiribilla
La Gaceta de Cuba	Zunzún
Avances Médicos de Cuba	Travel Trade Cuba
Somos Jóvenes	Opus Habana
Tricontinental	Cine Cubano
Revolución y Cultura	Cuba Internacional
Ciencias de la Información	Salsa Cubana
Juventud Técnica	Pionero
Opciones	El economista
Notinet	El Fénix
Orbe	Senderos

Ceniai	IslaGrande
Infocom	Cubaweb
Infomed	Citmatel
Archivo Nacional	Cubaciencia
Cubanic	Cubarte
Cienfuegos	UPEC
Redsolar	Gobierno cubano
Sitio de Elián	Cuba demanda
Cuba contra el bloqueo	CubAhora
Sitio del Ajedrez en Cuba	Marinas Puertosol
Directorio Turístico de Cuba	Ballet Nacional de Cuba
Casa de las Américas	NO al ALCA

Cuba in the News
Archive for 10/02

List of Cuban provincial papers and other sites

Contacting AfroCubaWeb

Copyright © 1997 AfroCubaWeb, S.A.

Cuba in the News Archive for 10/02

List of Cuban provincial papers and other sites

Contacting AfroCubaWeb

Copyright © 1997 AfroCubaWeb, S.A.

Cuba in the News
Archive for 10/02