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Archive: 4/08-9/08
THE CUBA WE DON'T KNOW 9/28/2008 The Oregonian: "Black Cubans especially are wary of outsiders wishing to overthrow the Castro regime. They admit the revolution has been imperfect, but it also led to the end of codified racism and brought universal education and access to jobs to black Cubans. Without the revolution, they wonder, where would they be? "
Kangamba: La epopeya de una resistencia 9/27/2008 Jiribilla: "La victoria, si se paga a un alto precio, es también amarga”, afirmó el cineasta Rogelio París sobre su película Kangamba, nuevo filme cubano que tuvo su premier mundial el 26 de septiembre en la sala Chaplin de la Cinemateca de Cuba, donde se mantendrá hasta el próximo 4 de octubre.
Una coproducción del Instituto Cubano del Arte e Industria Cinematográficos (ICAIC) y el Ministerio de las Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias (MINFAR), Kangamba recrea la epopeya de resistencia y coraje que protagonizaron 92 asesores cubanos y cerca de 800 combatientes angolanos de las FAPLA cuando fueron atacados por las fuerzas de la UNITA, muchas veces superiores en hombres y armamentos, en el pequeño poblado de Cangamba. Allí, en medio de la selva, cubanos y angolanos aguantaron el cerco por siete días, sin agua, comida ni medicamentos, defendiendo bajo el fuego sostenido de artillería y morteros un terreno comparable al de un campo de fútbol, hasta que el arribo de refuerzos puso en fuga al enemigo."
Challenges to Diaz-Balarts draw national attention 9/27/2008 Miami Herald
U.S. curbs post-storm aid to Cuba 9/27/2008 Miami Herald
Jamaican Gov't sends storm aid to Cuba 9/23/2008 Jamaica Gleaner: "IT WAS no easy task on Saturday in Santiago de Cuba for the 16 crew members from the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) Coast Guard, who toiled for almost seven hours in the heat of the sun, unloading relief items.
The 2,771 boxes, which included food, household supplies and pharmaceuticals, were taken to Cuba on the JDF Coast Guard's Middlesex vessel."
Cuba's vice president warmly welcomed in N.Y. 9/23/2008 Miami Herald
Russian deputy PM visits Cuba to assess Ike damage 9/17/2008 Caribbean Net News
Storm damage may speed Cuba reforms, say economists 9/17/2008 Caribbean Net News
Russia to help Cuba build space center 9/17/2008 Reuters
Russia to share space technology with Cuba 9/17/2008 RIA Novosty
US eases embargo on storm-hit Cuba 9/17/2008 The Australian
US gives green light to food sales to hurricane-hit Cuba 9/16/2008 AFP: "Bypassing its trade embargo on communist Cuba, the United States has approved 250 million dollars in "farm sales" to Havana, including food and construction materials in an aid offer after Hurricanes Gustav and Ike devastated Cuba's crops leaving potential for a food crisis, US diplomats said."
Cuba Needs A Gentle Storm of Generosity 9/16/2008 Cuba Central
The Good Samaritan; A study of Cuba 9/16/2008 Final Call: by Louis Farrakhan
Official information on preliminary data of damages caused by Hurricanes Gustav and Ike 9/16/2008 Granma
Cuba rejects relief aid from US - Cuban government says it cannot accept help from a country with an economic embargo against it 9/16/2008 McClatchy
Cuba artists ask US to ease sanctions after storms 9/16/2008 Miami Herald: "Hundreds of Cuban writers, musicians and artists are asking the U.S. to ease trade restrictions and speed the import of food and building supplies to help the island rebuild after Hurricanes Ike and Gustav.
The two storms caused US$5 billion in damage as they ripped across Cuba this month.
A letter addressed to the world's artists and intellectuals was signed by musicians Silvio Rodriguez, Pablo Milanes and Chucho Valdes, writers Miguel Barnet and Roberto Fernandez Retamar, dancer Alicia Alonso and painter Roberto Fabelo, among others."
Telethon raises money for Cuban hurricane victims 9/16/2008 Miami Herald: "A South Florida Spanish-language television station has raised about $200,000 in a telethon for hurricane victims in Cuba.
América TeVé (WJAN-Channel 41), located in Hialeah Gardens, organized the drive earlier this month after hurricanes Gustav and Ike dealt consecutive blows to the island nation, causing deaths, widespread flooding and destructive winds.
Religious leaders and business owners helped encourage South Florida residents to give, and Cuban music stars Isaac Delgado and Roberto Torres gave on-air performances."
Cuba: Democracy for a Possible Nation 9/16/2008 Real Instituto Eelcano: "The aim of this Working Paper is to provide some conclusions and practical recommendations regarding possible policies to be implemented by governments interested in favouring -as third
parties- the success of a gradual democratic transformation of the Cuban regime on the basis of an
agreed and non-violent process."
Cuba Supporters in Canada Launch Hurricane Relief Fund 9/14/2008 Global Research
An Eyewitness Account - Cuba After Gustav and Ike 9/12/2008 Counterpunch
Cuban Intelligence Research Center 9/12/2008 CubanIntelligence.com
A new anti-Cuba spectacle in Miami 9/12/2008 Granma: "That same horde comprising the Díaz-Balart brothers and the underground mechanism of manipulation, not just of public opinion, but of the police-judicial apparatus and Mafioso politicking, organized a new anti-Cuban cabaret a few months ago in which the star of the show was one Christopher Simmons, an officer with the military intelligence reservists.
Con una puntería mediática calibrada por sus apoyos mafiosos, Simmons has infested the city’s press publications with his prophecies, premonitions and super-lucid visions to condemn the omnipresence, not just in Florida but throughout the world, of legions of Cuban spies who are, of course, placing in the empire’s security in extreme danger."
Cuba offers alternatives to US hurricane relief 9/6/2008 Reuters: "The Foreign Ministry said Washington should "allow the sale to Cuba of those materials considered indispensable and suspend the restrictions that prevent U.S. companies from offering private commercial credits to our country for the purchase of food in the United States.""
Two Russian aid planes land in hurricane-stricken Cuba 9/4/2008 Russia
Barack Obama and His International Impact 9/1/2008 Islas
Reflections on the Race Problem in Cuba 9/1/2008 Islas: Cuba: Intolerance versus Nation - Economics: A Crossroads and Challenge for Cuba’s African Descendents- An Anonymous Social Fabric: Exclusion, Difference, and Integration - The United States: Not as Racist as Cuba? Agujero - Negro [Black Hole] - The Shackles of Gratitude - Recurring Racism - Blacks in Cuba
Bush wants to impose Posada Carriles on Honduras 8/29/2008 Granma: [History of the Bin Laden of the Americas]
Miami: The power of Cuban exiledom totters 8/21/2008 Cuba Now
Sudden order for Posada to stand trial 8/15/2008 Granma: "BARELY three days after the vice president of Panama confirmed that his country is to apply for the extradition of Luis Posada Carriles, the Court of Appeals in New Orleans, which has broken records in its slowness in considering the case, has suddenly ordered that the terrorist be tried in El Paso on charges of immigration fraud."
The Shape of Cuba's Reforms 8/14/2008 Counterpunch
Cubainformación denuncia censura de video en You Tube 8/11/2008 Aporrea, Venezuela: La mas fea no perdona - "En los mensajes nos confirman que You Tube ha retirado dicho video de numerosas cuentas, incluida una abierta por Cubainformación, tras las presiones del propio Armando Valladares y de la Human Rights Foundation, organización con sede en Nueva York dedicada a la defensa de la política exterior de EEUU en el mundo. En estos momentos, todos los videos en You Tube referentes al caso respaldan posiciones de defensa de la figura de Valladares, como el titulado "Armando Valladares, el gulag de Castro"."
Santeros cubanos festejarán cumpleaños de Fidel Castro con rito 8/11/2008 Reuters
Perspectiva del Partido Arco Progresista 8/6/2008 Univision
El Partido Independiente de Color 8/5/2008 Granma: by Silvio Castro
Russia may eventually retrieve its military presence in Cuba and Vietnam 8/5/2008 Pravda
55 Years After Moncado - Reflections on the Cuban Revolution 8/4/2008 Counterpunch: "US ineptitude, however, does not solve Cuba’s problems. Aging Cuban revolutionaries, no matter how frustrated by the vicissitudes of daily life, can boast about accomplishing their goals. Cuban won independence after numerous wars and uprisings since the 1860s. Cuba defended its revolution over fifty years against constant US aggression. Cuba established a system of social justice and rights – the right to eat, have housing, medical care, education, etc… As a kind of gravy over the meat of success, Cubans danced – and still mambo -- on the world stage, as liberators of parts of Africa, slayers of the Monroe Doctrine, purveyors of emergency medical teams that saved Pakistanis, Hondurans and many others from the aftereffects of natural disaster. Cuban doctors rescued the vision of countless third world people. Cuban artists, athletes and scientists have etched their names on the honor roles of talent throughout the world."
Putin says Russia needs to go back to Cuba 8/4/2008 Reuters: "We need to reestablish positions on Cuba and in other countries," news agency Interfax quoted Putin as saying at the weekly presidium meeting of key government ministers... Putin's remarks came after Russian Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin reported on a recent three-day visit to Cuba, where he discussed a raft of trade and investment issues and met with Raul Castro, Fidel's brother and now the island's leader."
El significado de un Centenario 8/2/2008 Jiribilla: por Fernando Martínez Heredia - "En la lucha contra el racismo existen profundas diferencias entre la posición oficial de la Revolución y las ideas que manejamos nosotros, por una parte, y lo que sucede en la práctica social, por la otra. Tiene gran importancia la dimensión histórica del racismo, como uno de los elementos que participó en la construcción de Cuba como realidad específica, es decir, en el nacimiento y primeros desarrollos de la cultura nacional, y el proceso histórico de las transformaciones, las derrotas y las permanencias del racismo en la cultura cubana hasta hoy. En la actualidad es vital que no nos conformemos con formar parte de una elite consumidora de las mejores ideas, satisfecha con el nivel “superior” que posee, sino que actuemos como institución en la lucha contra el racismo, con la mayor energía y eficacia posibles.
¿Por qué los debates del VI Congreso de la UNEAC, y los innumerables eventos, divulgaciones y conocimientos adquiridos sobre este tema en los últimos años no se generalizan, y no llegan a convertirse en sentido común? ¿Por qué no resulta posible llevarlos a la escala de la sociedad? ¿Por qué no pueden llegar a ser la guía de las instituciones y de las prácticas de nuestro estado para escolarizar e instruir a la población, para divulgar, para entretener educando? Cansa repetir que nuestro inmenso sistema educacional no es un lugar de formación antirracista, y nuestro sistema de medios de comunicación, totalmente estatal, tampoco lo es."
Partido Arco Progresista - Su estructuración 7/31/2008 Univision: "La incorporación de quienes ven en el socialismo la posibilidad de espiritualizar metas sociales colectivas desde los valores cristianos, junto a los que enfatizan la tradición liberal que dio paso al socialismo es una ganancia que fortalece nuestras opciones y abre la posibilidad de una controversia más fecunda entre los que, independientemente de los matices, intentamos conjugar derechos humanos, libertades, solidaridad, equidad social y democracia."
Specter requests meeting with Raul Castro 7/30/2008 USA Today: "Specter said he met with Fidel Castro during previous stops in Cuba and talked to him about drug interdiction. He said he'd like to follow that up with Raul Castro, as well as to discuss trade and tourism during a visit there. He said he believes the United States is "on the cusp" of re-establishing formal relations with Cuba.
"I've been to Cuba three times and I think the chances are really on the horizon for re-establishing relations with Cuba now that Fidel Castro is no longer in charge," Specter said."
Florida Travel Agents Fight Higher Bond on Cuba Trips 7/27/2008 NYT: "Teresa Aral, a travel agent in South Florida, was greatly relieved after learning she did not have to pay the state a quarter of a million dollars to keep booking trips to Cuba. For now, at least.
Ms. Aral, along with 15 other agents providing charter flights to Cuba, filed a lawsuit in Miami against the State of Florida, challenging a new law requiring them to post a one-time $250,000 bond and disclose the names of clients in order to continue their business with Cuba. But earlier this month, a federal judge temporarily lifted the measure while he considered its legality."
Massive USAID fraud: Congress bends to Bush 7/25/2008 Granma
McCain Campaign Running Obama-Castro Ad 7/24/2008 Huffington Post
Cuba silent on Russian bomber report: Fidel Castro 7/24/2008 Reuters: "On Tuesday, U.S. Air Force Gen. Norton Schwartz told the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee that if the Russians did refuel the bombers in Cuba "we should stand strong and indicate that that is something that crosses a threshold, crosses a red line for the United States of America."
US funds to right-wing Cuban-American groups frozen 7/23/2008 Kos
Cuba: crean partido opositor 7/22/2008 BBC: "Tres grupos opositores, dos del interior de Cuba -la Corriente Socialista Democrática y el Partido del Pueblo- y otro de Miami -la Coordinadora Socialdemócrata en el Exilio-, se fundieron en un único partido político de tendencia socialdemócrata. Sobre Arco Progresista, BBC Mundo conversó en La Habana con el historiador Manuel Cuesta Morúa, líder de la agrupación recién formada y con la profesora Denia Rodríguez del Toro, que ocupa hoy una de las vicepresidencias del partido. ..."Una de las dificultades de la oposición es el alejamiento de la gente, nosotros somos una de las organizaciones que mejor ha sabido captar la sensibilidad de un ciudadano que tiene el mercado en la cabeza pero la sociedad en el corazón", expresó Cuesta Morúa."
Funding for free Cuba is frozen 7/22/2008 Miami Herald
Cuba to Grant Private Farmers Access to Land 7/19/2008 NYT: "Under the new system, private farmers, who have continued to exist under Cuba’s socialist system, would have access to the plots for up to a decade, with leases renewable if conditions were met and taxes paid. Cooperatives and state farms would also qualify for more land, for up to 25 years. But the fields would stay in the hands of the government, which controls an estimated 90 percent of the island’s economy."
How the Crumbling Economy will Change Cuba Policy - Will Miami's Cubans Vote Blue? 7/14/2008 Counterpunch: "The rise of Cuban American economic power, primarily tied to the conversion of farmland to platted subdivisions, dovetailed with the economic model-- suburban sprawl-- that is now in shambles."
U.S. Mercenary Company Implicated in Mexican Torture Videos 7/14/2008 Huffington Post: La mas fea no perdona -- "the trainers are from a Miami-based private security company called "Risks, Incorporated." The company, incorporated in London, boasts "Psychological torture is the main tactic used in professional interrogations, it works and leaves no physical marks. We do this interrogation technique and others on some courses to show how easy it is to break a hostage and we're being nice!"
Cuba to establish eye centre in Delta 7/14/2008 Vanguard, Nigeria: "CHAIRMAN of the Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission, DESOPADEC, Chief Wellinghton Okrika, says Cuba is set to establish a specialist eye centre in the state, just as the Commission received over N200million worth of specialized medical equipment from donor agencies abroad."
Castro warns Cubans of coming hardships 7/12/2008 Miami Herald: "He warned that the amount of land dedicated to food cultivation is down 33 percent in the past nine years. To import the same amount of food the country consumed in 2007, cash-strapped Cuba will need to spend $1 billion more this year.
That means Cuba may have to slow down efforts to raise salaries, a key issue for the average worker who makes about $17 a month."
Cuban parliament discusses resources, wages at opening session 7/12/2008 Sun Sentinel
Fidel Castro and the FARC - Eight Mistaken Theses of Fidel Castro 7/11/2008 Global Research
Ruling delayed on ban of academic trips to Cuba 7/11/2008 Miami Herald: "A final decision on the legality of a Florida law banning academic trips to Cuba was delayed once again Friday, after a federal court judge gave both sides more time to compose their final arguments.
In dispute is a law passed by the Legislature two years ago that restricts state universities and community colleges from sponsoring academic trips to Cuba. In October 2006, the ACLU of Florida and several state university professors and academic organizations filed a lawsuit against the state and the case has been creeping through the court system ever since."
Cuba approves new licenses for rural bus, taxi operators 7/10/2008 Sun Sentinel: "The Raul Castro government has approved yet another small economic reform: new licenses for private bus and taxi operators aimed at easing Cuba's transport crunch.
Transport Minister Jorge Luis Serra said the licenses will be offered mainly in rural areas on select routes. The government will establish routes, timetables and prices, and it will provide fuel, state-run Radio Rebelde reported."
Esteban Lazo praises work of Union of Writers and Artists 7/9/2008 Granma: Estaban Lazo, an AfroCuban, is a member of the Buro Politico and vice president of the Cuban Council of State.
Miami TV Invites Terrorists to Talk Openly About Attacks on Cuba and Venezuela 7/7/2008 Counterpunch: published 6/04, background on Comandos F4, a member of whom provided torture training to the Mexican police.
Company that Led Training in Torture Techniques for Mexican Police Is Risks Incorporated of Miami, Florida 7/7/2008 NarcoNews: "Trainer Gerardo “Jerry” Arrechea is a high-ranking member of the Comandos F4, an armed Cuban terrorist organization. The foreign company captured on video training police in León, Mexico, in torture techniques is Risks Incorporated of Miami, Florida, and Great Britain, Narco News has learned. The Mexican daily El Universal identified the leaders of the torture workshop as “Jerry Wilson” of Great Britain and Cuban-Mexican Gerardo Arrechea on July 3, but officials refused to identify the company for which they worked… The Comandos F4 have openly stated to US media that they are prepared to carry out armed attacks against the Cuban government."
Diplomats deny egging on July 4th protests in Cuba 7/3/2008 Sun Sentinel
Posada may face extradition to Panama 7/2/2008 Sun Sentinel
In defiance of U.S., European Union scraps its Cuba sanctions 6/20/2008 AP: "The European Union on Thursday agreed to lift diplomatic sanctions against Cuba, but it's unlikely that the United States will budge on its embargo any time soon, federal officials and local groups said moments after the EU announcement."
Bank ditches UK firms trading with Cuba 6/16/2008 Guardian: "A Somerset health shop selling Cuban sugar and a London tobacconist dealing in Habanos cigars are among British businesses told by a bank to cut their ties with the island or move their accounts.
Lloyds TSB has written to customers who have dealings with Cuba saying they will have take their accounts elsewhere, apparently in the wake of threats by the US government, which operates an embargo against Cuba.
The US has said it will prosecute any businesses that have any dealings with Cuba and also have a branch in the US."
Cuba deports 4th U.S. fugitive 6/14/2008 AP: "Cuba on Friday turned over to U.S. authorities an American fugitive sought on charges of sexual abuse of a minor and possession of child pornography."
The Puerto Rican Experience - The Puzzle of Race and Politics 6/4/2008 Counterpunch: [closely parallels Cuba] - "Governor Rossello himself made the decision to use the entire U.S. census survey instrument without any modification in tune with the social, economic and political reality of Puerto Rico. The outcome, in an island with a strong African and Taino cultural and phenotypical influence, resulted in 80.5% of the population self-identifying as white. Therefore, Puerto Rico is “whiter” than the United States.
The bureaucratic decision of former Governor Rossello basically enabled a “whitening” process that was accelerated by Puerto Rico’s colonial status. Since the Spanish-American War, Puerto Rico, while it has not experienced a dramatically large black emigration (or received white immigrants to the island in large numbers) Puerto Rico’s “white” population has grown from 48.5% (1802) to 80.5% in 2000."
Hacia el centenario de la fundación del partido independiente de Color:
Aproximación crítica a tres nuevas contribuciones 6/1/2008 Caribbean Studies: de Tomás Fernández Robaina - " Silvio Castro Fernández. 2002. La masacre de los Independientes de Color en 1912. La Habana: Editorial de Ciencias Sociales - María de los Ángeles Meriño Fuentes. 2006. Una vuelta necesaria a mayo de 1912: El alzamiento de los Independientes de Color. La Habana: Editorial de Ciencias Sociales (Pinos Nuevos). - Ricardo Rey Riquenes Herrera. 2007. Guantánamo en el vórtice de los Independientes de Color. Guantánamo: Editorial El Mar y la Montaña."
Another Perspective on Cuba & Castro's Response (Middle Ground) 5/30/2008 Davey D's Hip Hop News: " I challenge anyone to find even ONE black face among all the protesters filmed during the Elián González affair in 2000. You won't
Reason: Black Cubans, once they arrive automatically become part of the American Black immigrant underclass. Most black Cubans live in places Like Overton, while the Haitian and Dominican black populations. Black Cubans are not welcomed, nor embraced openly by white Cubans in Miami. This is a holdover from plantation times, and a Spanish colonial mindset that has only festered in the Deep South (you can't get any deeper south then Florida) and with the help of rabid right wing groups like "brothers to the rescue" (they should be more aptly named "White Cuban brothers to the rescue") and other far right American organizations."
It's All About Vagueness - Puerto Rico, Obama and the Politics of Race 5/29/2008 Counterpunch: "Duany writes that Puerto Ricans have developed an elaborate racist vocabulary to refer to racially stereotyped characteristics. Kinky hair, for example, is referred to as “bad” (“pelo malo”). Meanwhile racial prejudice is apparent in folk humor, beauty contests, media portrayals, and political leadership. “In all these areas,” Duany says, “whites are usually depicted as more intelligent, attractive, refined, and capable than are blacks.”
All of which is not to say that racism in Puerto Rico works in the same way as the United States. However, the island is hardly a “racial democracy” as some of the island’s boosters have claimed. Indeed, many Puerto Ricans deny their cultural heritage and physical characteristics and buy into an ideology of “whitening” through intermarriage with light skinned groups. Interestingly, a whopping 81% of Puerto Ricans called themselves “white” on the 2000 U.S. census."
Hitting Cuba through Bolivia - USAID Objective: Bolivia 5/29/2008 Global Research: "In summary, Casals & Associates, Inc., has distributed $18.8 million dollars to more than 450 organizations, in its more than three years of operations in Bolivia. The beneficiaries of the USAID largesse have worked to fight the initiatives of the Constituent Assembly, foment separatism in Santa Cruz and Cochabamba, influence indigenous communities and undermine their support for the government of Evo Morales. Some projects have been dedicated to the dissemination of information that might create a negative image among the population of Evo, the country’s situation, and the revolutionary path he has taken.
It’s interesting to understand why USAID chose Casals & Associates, Inc. for this work. This firm has around 40 clients, of whom at least 17 are distinctly dependent on the U.S. government. Among these dependents The Office of Cuba Broadcasting (Radio Martí), the Voice of America and Worldnet Television (TV Martí).
Casals & Associates also works with USAID not only in Bolivia, but with the Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean (Cuba), the Office of Democracy and Governance, as well as the Office of Transition Initiatives (Transition to what? This is the new name for “regression.”) It works for the International Trade Administration within the Department of Commerce (blockade against Cuba).
Other clients include the Department of Defense, especially the Army and the Marines. The recently created Department of Homeland Security has also contracted its services, in particular for the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration (Cuban exiles).
In case anyone reading the word Cuba or Cuban repeatedly in this article should think that I’m being paranoid about Casal & Associates, Inc., keep in mind that the president of this business is Beatriz C. Casals, something which caught my attention, and upon searching for a few details about her I found that she is…CUBAN."
USAID reveals its plans for subversion in Cuba 5/29/2008 Granma: "getting a slice of the cake, were: The pseudo Czech NGO People in Need; Global Partners, IBMC, Loyola University, the Center for Democracy in the Americas, Jackson State University, the Mississippi Consortium for International Development, the International Resources Group, the Panamerican Development Foundation, Partners of America, the Alliance for Family, the Trade Council of Hungary and the millionaire TV Martí.
No diplomat – not even the Czech agent Kolar – was present.
In what is equivalent to confessing authentic espionage operations against Cuba and in Cuban territory, "Pepe" Cárdenas, the former CANF director who replaced the supremely corrupt Adolfo Franco, insisted on the need to identify NGOS in third countries that can channel USAID’s resources for subversion.
He stressed the need to dispatch to Cuba, via such intermediaries, "propaganda pamphlets, cell phones and modern communications equipment," as well as "to train Cubans resident in third countries."
Highlighting the philosophy behind the significant expansion of the USAID’s Cuba Program, Cárdenas announced that its budget of $13 million in 2007, "shot up" to $45 million in 2008.
He then moved on to the new geography of this monumental squandering, noting Chile, Peru, Argentina, Colombia and Puerto Rico as countries most inclined to develop this clandestine operation."
Otra vez raza y racismo 5/26/2008 Caminos: "Con este tema, la revista Caminos del Centro Memorial Dr. Martin Luther King —recientemente presentada en la sede de esta institución, ubicada en la localidad capitalina de Pogolotti, en la capital habanera—, da continuidad no sólo a una edición anterior sobre el mismo tópico, aparecida en 2002, sino que ahora acoge nuevos acercamientos y reflexiones sobre un asunto afincado en los orígenes de la nación cubana .
Ha animado también la aparición de este número de Caminos, el hecho de la creación de la Comisión para Celebrar el Centenario del Partido Independiente de Color (PIC), a la labor de cuyo presidente, Fernando Martínez Heredia, y de su secretaria, Leyda Oquendo, debe buena parte de la organización del dossier.
Si bien la publicación de esta revista viene a llenar ciertos vacíos sobre raza y racismo en Cuba, el propósito de sus editores es contribuir a un debate necesario, a la vez, que dar fe -desde distintas miradas y expresiones de la sociedad cubana- de cómo se ve, se piensa y se siente el tema de la raza entre nosotros."
Raza y religión: entre República, brujería y civilización 5/26/2008 Cuba Literaria: publicado en 2005
Caminos magazine devotes its last issue to the ever controversial race question in Cuba 5/26/2008 Cuba Now: "Cuba’s Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Center has published yet another issue of Caminos magazine, perhaps the only publication in the country devoted to socio theological thinking, which has become an unavoidable point of reference to understand different edges of Cuban social thinking."
Reflections of Fidel - The empire’s hypocritical politics 5/26/2008 Granma: "José Hernandez, one of the Cuban American National Foundation directors whom Obama praises in his speech, was none other than the owner of the Caliber-50 automatic rifle, equipped with telescopic and infrared sights, which was confiscated, by chance, along with other deadly weapons while being transported by sea to Venezuela, where the Foundation had planned to assassinate the writer of these lines at an international meeting on Margarita, in the Venezuelan state of Nueva Esparta.
Pepe Hernández’ group wanted to return to the pact with Clinton, betrayed by Mas Canosa’s clan, who secured Bush’s electoral victory in 2000 through fraud, because the latter had promised to assassinate Castro, something they all happily embraced. These are the kinds of political tricks inherent to the United States’ decadent and contradictory system."
Obama and the US-Latin America Time Bomb - Defusing US Policy Toward Latin America Requires Cutting the Wires in Proper Order 5/26/2008 NarcoNews
The Buying of "Democracy" Agents in Cuba 5/24/2008 Counterpunch: By NELSON P. VALDÉS - "In fiscal year 2008-2009 the United States government has budgeted $45,000,000 to finance the opposition against the revolutionary government in Cuba. The money is used to fund rightwing exile organizations, eastern European rightwing politicians involved with Cuba and money oriented "civil society" promoters. Some of the money ends up in Cuba. The details of such counterrevolutionary program is little known by the world… The money provided to the "dissidents" seem to be mere peanuts, when compared to the total amount of money appropriated by the US Congress. Indeed, it is obvious, that the "dissidents" provide the "cover" for the real entrepreneurs in Florida to enrich themselves. One can very well assume that if the US AID grants a lump sum of, say, $5 million to a Miami "democracy promotion organization" and then the organization puts the money in a bank to get yearly earnings - the earnings might be sufficient to finance the "dissidents". "
CUBAN-AMERICAN RESPONSE - Foundation warm to Obama's ideas - Sen. Barack Obama spoke to an enthusiastic Cuban-American crowd. 5/24/2008 Miami Herald: "When Obama arrived, the room burst into a standing ovation as people yelled and snapped pictures. His speech was frequently interrupted by applause."
Obama says his Cuba policy is based on 'Libertad' 5/23/2008 AP: "Obama said McCain has been "going around the country talking about how much I want to meet with Raul Castro as if I'm looking for a social gathering. That's never what I've said and John McCain knows it."
Obama says he would meet with Cuba's leaders 5/23/2008 LA Times: "Sen. Barack Obama called today for "direct diplomacy, with friend and foe alike," saying he would meet with Cuba's Communist leaders in hopes of advancing democracy on the island. In a luncheon speech to the most powerful Cuban exile group in the country, the Illinois Democrat vying for his party's presidential nomination also said he would immediately allow unlimited family travel and remittances. "It's time for more than tough talk that never yields results. It's time for a new strategy. There are no better ambassadors for freedom than Cuban Americans," he said, noting the prospects for influencing Cuba's political course by engagement and example.
The annual Cuban Independence Day banquet of the Cuban American National Foundation cheered Obama's avowed commitment to fostering democracy in Cuba. But the audience showed its wariness of his talk of meeting with Cuban leaders. Mere handfuls applauded that statement from among the crowd of at least 500.
Obama contrasted his plan to break nearly half a century of deadlock in U.S.-Cuba relations with the stated intentions of Republican rival Sen. John McCain. He said the Arizona senator "joined the parade of politicians who make the same empty promises year after year, decade after decade" when he promised Tuesday to maintain the status quo of refusing any dialogue with the Cuban leadership."
Transcript of Barack Obama Speech to Cuban American National Foundation 5/23/2008 Miami Herald
Cuba outlines its case against diplomat who carried funds from Miami to dissident 5/22/2008 Florida Sun Sentinel: "The U.S. State Department has dismissed the allegations of improper conduct, saying that private American groups are allowed to give humanitarian aid to Cuba." [Not over $300 per quarter, and that only to relatives?]
CANF, ‘Bush’s absurdity’ and Barack Obama 5/22/2008 Progresso Weekly: "There is at least one Miami Cuban still alive, a close friend of Jorge Mas Canosa’s, who is aware that the Cuban exile leader tried to meet with Fidel Castro in the early 1990s. The meeting to set up the possible encounter was held in his Miami office. Present that day, and conduit to this whole affair, was Angel Fernandez Varela. There exists a notarized affidavit in Miami, signed by Fernandez Varela, which details the happenings of that meeting and the three persons present that day.
I have written about this before, I know, but I believe this little piece of Miami history is worth repeating. Certain people in this town have a tendency to conveniently forget. At the time of this meeting between my father (Fernandez Varela) and Mas Canosa, Cuba was facing one of its worst economic moments. The island was traversing what is known as the “Special Period,” and the island nation was lacking for everything -- from food and clothes to electricity."
From Havana - 'One Step at a time' 5/22/2008 Progresso Weekly: "Will marriage be permitted? For the time being, I don't think so. I believe the solution will be to give homosexual couples the same legal rights enjoyed by couples in a consensual heterosexual marriage, which are plenty. As for the rest, the future will tell."
Dodd, Richardson Response to McCain’s Cuba Attacks on Obama 5/22/2008 Time Magazine: “John McCain needs to explain why continuing to do exactly what George Bush has done will somehow produce a different result. The Senator McCain I used to know was open to negotiations with Cuba to lift the embargo, but now he’s taking a hard line position, embracing a policy that has failed the Cuban people and the American people alike for fifty years. Instead of four more years of George Bush’s policy, Barack Obama will help bring liberty to Cuba through direct diplomacy and change that allows for unlimited family visitation and remittances to the island. It’s time to reject a Bush-McCain approach that has isolated us in our own hemisphere, so that we can have renewed American leadership under Barack Obama.” – Senator Chris Dodd
Cuban dissidents defend receiving aid from abroad 5/21/2008 AFP
US to allow Americans to send cell phones to Cuba 5/21/2008 AP
Hialeah or Havana? Miami, Cuba and the Presidential Campaign 5/21/2008 Counterpunch: "For instance, in Miami we can now see that much of the anti-Castro rhetoric served the further purpose of enforcing Miami's political orthodoxy, where the stakes had less to do with claims against stolen property in Havana, than monopolizing government contracts in Miami for roads, for the airport, for water pipes and infrastructure.
Cuban American developers, who fund much of the paid-for editorial content on conservative Spanish language radio as well as campaign contributions, are down on their luck in the midst of a housing crash they helped trigger through manipulation of zoning changes and policies here, Tallahassee, and Washington.
It is not "all about money" but it is also not all about values of pre-Castro Cuba, either. Simply, there is money in Havana and there is none, in South Dade farmland / cash machine.
If they are not already doing business in Havana, through Spanish or Canadian corporations, Cuban American businessmen are watching competitors secure advantage, contacts and experience."
Obama's Message Of Hope Needs Elaboration In Florida 5/21/2008 Tampa Tribune: "On Cuba, Obama is refreshingly unafraid to question the effectiveness of the long embargo. He would talk with Cuba's leaders about a better future. That stance won't play well with the most vocal of Florida's older Cuban-American community, but the younger generation and mainstream Florida are eager to hear what Obama wants to see happen in Cuba."
McCain lashes Obama over Cuba 5/20/2008 AFP: "Cuban exiles have traditionally been a safe vote for Republican presidential candidates in the key battleground state of Florida.
But Obama's call for lifting parts of the five-decade-old sanctions against Cuba has drawn some support, amid frustration over travel and money transfer restrictions imposed by President George W. Bush in 2004.
The Illinois senator, who has called US policy on Cuba a "failure," proposes lifting the travel and remittance restrictions as a first step toward transforming relations with Cuba."
Top US diplomat in Cuba funnels funds to dissidents: Havana 5/20/2008 AFP: "Josefina Vidal, Cuba's top diplomat for issues related to the United States, told a news conference that Michael Parmly -- chief of the US Interests Section, a quasi-embassy as the countries do not have full diplomatic ties -- personally supported an alleged dissident funding network, as a "common courier."
Vidal charged the United States with working with an anti-Castro Cuban activist in Miami, Santiago Alvarez, whom she said was in jail in the United States for illegal arms possession but nonetheless was able to organize the operation providing funding and material support to dissidents in Cuba.
Alvarez "manages to get things together to send money and material support to mercenaries in Cuba with the support of the chief of the US Interests Section in Havana, Mr. Michael Parmly," Vidal charged."
Next President Must Resolve Immigration, Cuba Issues 5/20/2008 Council on Foreign Relations: "James T. Hill, the former commander of U.S. Southern Command, says many of the issues affecting U.S. relations with Latin America are tied to domestic political matters in the United States. Foremost among these, he says, is the need for a comprehensive plan to solve the problem of illegal immigrants. He also says it is time for the United States to abandon its efforts to isolate Cuba, and instead to start a dialogue with the country. On security issues, he says the real security threats come from gang crimes and other internal issues, and that there is little need for most Latin American countries to have such large standing armies. What is necessary, Hill says, is for the armies to improve the local police forces."
McCain talks tough on Cuba, criticizes Obama 5/20/2008 Detroit Free Press: "Now, I know that John McCain likes to characterize this as me immediately having Raul Castro over for tea. What I’ve said is that we would set a series of meetings with low level diplomats, set up some preparation but that over time I would be willing to meet and talk very directly about what we expect from the Cuban regime,” said Obama."
More details released on US Interests chief, Miami support to dissidents 5/20/2008 Sun Sentinel: "Last night, a former top American diplomat to Cuba, Wayne Smith, criticized the United States' continued involvement with dissidents.
"It's like putting a target on the back of their heads when you say your objective is to bring down the government and one of your means of doing so is to give assistance to the dissidents in Cuba," he said of the opposition. "That's turning them, for all to see, into paid agents of a foreign government."
Posada, the Exiles and the CIA Failed - Cuba Will Live 5/19/2008 Counterpunch
CUBA: Exhibitionists Common but Ignored 5/19/2008 IPS: "The decision not to broadcast (on state television) the documentary ‘Mírame mi amor’ (roughly, Look at Me, Love) indicates how much fear surrounds the topic," Julio César González Pagés, the coordinator of the Ibero-American Masculinity Network (RIM), told IPS.
"No debate is taking place about how we are implicated in forms of sexuality that are not sanctioned by traditional society," he said.
"This issue is about violence against women, and their right to public spaces," said González Pagés, a professor at the University of Havana, who does not see why indecent exposure ("flashing") should be accepted as "a necessary evil."
Cuba Publishes Environmental Indicators 5/17/2008 Climate and Capitalism: "The 71-page book includes data related to population, atmosphere, water, soils, biodiversity, energy, wastes and other topics including Cuba’s impressive efforts to plan and implement sustainable development policies.
Because Internet connections to Cuba are often overloaded and slow, Climate and Capitalism is making this important publication available for downloading through our website."
Los colores de la nación 5/17/2008 Jiribilla: "Con el tema "Raza y racismo", La Jiribilla, revista de cultura cubana, propone a sus lectores un acercamiento plural, polémico y multisemántico a una problemática poco tratada en nuestros medios de comunicación.
Con toda intención se unen, esta vez, las revistas Caminos y La Jiribilla para dar a conocer una parte imprescindible de nuestra memoria histórica e identidad cultural, al tiempo que la inclusión de variados materiales —que van desde artículos hasta fotos, letras de canciones y documentos inéditos— abre nuevas oportunidades para contribuir desde el pensamiento y la cultura a la lucha contra las manifestaciones de racismo aún presentes en la Cuba actual."
Raza y racismo 5/17/2008 Jiribilla: [issue devoted to race and racism] - "Con toda intención se unen, esta vez, las revistas Caminos y La Jiribilla para dar a conocer una parte imprescindible de nuestra memoria histórica e identidad cultural, al tiempo que la inclusión de variados materiales —que van desde artículos hasta fotos, letras de canciones y documentos inéditos— abre nuevas oportunidades para contribuir desde el pensamiento y la cultura a la lucha contra las manifestaciones de racismo aún presentes en la Cuba actual."
Raza y racismo - Los colores de la nación 5/17/2008 Jiribilla: "Con el tema "Raza y racismo", La Jiribilla, revista de cultura cubana, propone a sus lectores un acercamiento plural, polémico y multisemántico a una problemática poco tratada en nuestros medios de comunicación.
Con toda intención se unen, esta vez, las revistas Caminos y La Jiribilla para dar a conocer una parte imprescindible de nuestra memoria histórica e identidad cultural, al tiempo que la inclusión de variados materiales —que van desde artículos hasta fotos, letras de canciones y documentos inéditos— abre nuevas oportunidades para contribuir desde el pensamiento y la cultura a la lucha contra las manifestaciones de racismo aún presentes en la Cuba actual.
Ha animado también la aparición de este dossier, el hecho de la creación de la Comisión para Celebrar el Centenario del Partido Independiente de Color (PIC)."
¿Guerrita de razas o masacre racial? 5/17/2008 La Jiribilla: foto de Evaristo Estenoz, "director de Previsión, el órgano de prensa del Partido Independiente de Color," y de Pedro Yvonet, "uno de los líderes del Partido Independiente de Color"
Cómo surgió la cultura nacional (capítulo 1) 5/17/2008 La Jiribilla: de Walterio Carbonell, 1961
Documentos del Partido Independiente de Color 5/17/2008 La Jiribilla
José Martí: apuntes sobre su antirracismo militante 5/17/2008 La Jiribilla: por Leyda Oquendo
Raza y Racismo 5/17/2008 La Jiribilla: edition devoted to "Race and Racism"
Castro Defends Fugitive Sought by U.S 5/11/2008 AP: from several years back.
Cuba Hands Voice Opposition to Columbia Dean 5/8/2008 NY Sun: "Cuban-Americans and other close watchers of events in Cuba are voicing strong opposition to the appointment of John Coatsworth as dean of Columbia's School of International and Public Affairs… At the heart of the debate is a book issued in 2004 by Harvard's David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies, when Mr. Coatsworth was its director. In a preface to the book, which is titled "The Cuban Economy at the Start of the Twenty-First Century," Mr. Coatsworth claimed that Cuba's economy was only one of two in Latin America that grew in the 1980s, attributing that to "careful management of its economic relations with the Soviet Bloc led by the Soviet Union."
"The benefits of this strategy were impressive," Mr. Coatsworth wrote, citing, "rising standards of living in a society characterized by a high degree of equality and universal access to employment, basic nutrition, housing, education and medical care." When the Soviet Union ceased to exist, he wrote, "Cuba confronted an economic catastrophe roughly equivalent to what would occur in the rest of Latin America if the U.S. government were suddenly to impose an economic embargo on trade and investment in the Western Hemisphere."
Cuba USAID program gets overhaul 5/7/2008 LA Times: "Now the U.S. Agency for International Development, which oversees the program, is trying to persuade Central European and Latin American nongovernmental groups to join U.S. organizations in applying for its grants.
A chief goal, officials say, is to spend most of the $45-million budget on communications equipment, such as cellphones and Internet gear, that possibly could be smuggled into Cuba to increase its people's exposure to the outside world."
Luis Posada Carriles, a terror suspect abroad, enjoys a 'coming-out' in Miami 5/7/2008 LA Times: "No, the man being honored by 500 fellow Cuban Americans at a sold-out gala was Luis Posada Carriles, the former CIA operative wanted in Venezuela on terrorism charges and under a deportation order for illegally entering the United States three years ago.
Posada, 80, has mostly kept a low profile since his release from a Texas prison a year ago and a federal judge's dismissal of the only U.S. charges against him -- making false statements to immigration officials.
But recent events like the Friday dinner and an exhibition and sale of his paintings last fall show that the man who spent his life trying to topple the communist government of Fidel Castro has returned to the social forefront of this city's exile community."
PA’RRIBA LOS PELOS - Sobre el discurso racial en el rap cubano 5/1/2008 Esquife: [one of few sites in Cuba to reference AfroCubaWeb, though we hear that many people access us] - "El rap, como género musical que tiene el lenguaje como vehículo de expresión de sus ideas y que se alimenta de la realidad circundante, denuncia desde su postura social esos remanentes del racismo que otrora imperara en Cuba. Dentro del universo creativo del rap la racialidad tiene un peso importante, en tanto se erige como elemento identitario de los raperos. En sus textos se evidencia, en primer lugar, un intento por validar los derechos del negro, su lugar en la sociedad y su función en la construcción de la identidad del cubano.
Las composiciones de rap están plagadas de elementos que identifican al negro y contribuyen a mantener su estereotipo. Entre ellos figuran la nariz ñata, el pelo ensortijado, los labios gruesos y la música (específicamente, la conga y la rumba). Se hace una remembranza de los tiempos de la esclavitud a partir de la alusión al palenque, el mayoral, el cimarrón o el látigo y, a menudo, se trabaja el espacio de la loma o el monte como el lugar donde el sujeto encuentra protección y tiene su hábitat natural, alejado de la sociedad en que se siente y es discriminado."
Agent Kolar, Bush’s new hope for destabilizing Cuba 4/30/2008 Granma: "Kolar did not suspect at that moment that before the year was over his troop of conspirators would be dispersed by a hurricane: a report in December from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) revealing that USAID officials assigned to Cuba concealed the final destination of $65.4 million in grants from this federal agency that went to their friends in Miami and Washington.
The suspects indicated by the GAO report included two of Kolar’s best supporters: Frank Calzón and Orlando Gutierrez-Boronat, who received millions in subsidies."
The Mob's President: Richard Nixon's Secret Ties to the Mafia 4/27/2008 Crime Magazine: published 1/06 - "Three Syndicate gamblers from Cleveland — including Morris ''Moe'' Dalitz, a friend of Nixon's best buddy Bebe Rebozo — were part owners of Lansky's glittering Hotel Nacional in Havana. In fact, during the Batista regime, as recalled by Mafia hit man Angelo ''Gyp'' DeCarlo, ''The Mob had a piece of every joint down there. There wasn't one joint they didn't have a piece of.''
In a noteworthy reversal of that situation, the Cuban dictator owned part of at least one Mob-run gambling operation in the United States. Batista was partners with New Orleans godfather and future Nixon benefactor Carlos Marcello of a casino in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana called ''The Beverly Club.''
Another Rebozo associate, Tampa godfather Santos Trafficante, was the undisputed gambling king of Havana. Trafficante owned substantial interests in the San Souci – a nightclub and casino where fellow gangster Johnny Roselli had a management role.
The relationship between Nixon and Rebozo tightened in Cuba in the early ‘50s, according to historian Anthony Summers, when Nixon was gambling very heavily, and Bebe covered Nixon's losses – possibly as much as $50,000. Most of Nixon's gambling took place at Lansky's Hotel Nacional. Lansky rolled out the royal treatment for Nixon, who stayed in the Presidential Suite on the owner's tab."
In Cuba, Raúl Castro is Doing Things His Way 4/24/2008 COHA: "Raúl Castro’s far-reaching reforms attract almost no White House attention and was greeted by scarcely a yawn on the part of the media • The maddening fact of life is that as seen from Washington, the U.S.-Cuban dispute is non-negotiable—a situation like no other in the world."
Esteban Lazo receives Mahathir 4/21/2008 Granma: "ESTEBAN Lazo Hernández, [AfroCuban] member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of Cuba and vice president of the Council of State, yesterday received Doctor Mahathir Bin Mohamad, former prime minister and outstanding Malaysian political figure, who is in Cuba to participate in the First International Conference of the Defense Information Studies Center (CEID).
In their talks, both leaders exchanged information on the regional and international situation and highlighted the role being played by both Malaysia and Cuba in strengthening the Non-Aligned Movement and in the struggle for peace, against terrorism and for a better world."
Will Washington’s Blindness Continue to Prevent it from Registering the Fundamental Changes Now Taking Place in Havana? 4/15/2008 COHA
Cuban leaders plan more reforms 4/12/2008 BBC: "It will now be easier for state workers to own their homes and pass them on to their children. Wage limits are to be removed to allow more incentives.
Raul Castro has introduced a series of reforms since taking over as president from his brother Fidel in February.
These include the removal of some restrictions on the purchase of electrical goods such as mobile phones, microwave ovens and DVD players.
The state has also lifted a ban on its people staying in hotels previously reserved for foreigners - a measure which has only now been officially acknowledged in the latest edition of Granma."
Cuba speeds up private title to state housing 4/11/2008 Reuters
Cuba removes wage limits in latest reform 4/10/2008 Reuters: "Under Labor and Social Security resolution nine, and for the first time in decades, there is no limit on a state employee's earnings, state-television reported.
"For the first time it is clearly and precisely stated that a salary does not have a limit, that the roof of a salary depends on productivity," economic commentator Ariel Terrero said."
Flow of Cubans leaving by sea rising: U.S 4/10/2008 Reuters
$253 Million Verdict Against Cuba 4/6/2008 Reuters: "The case involved Rafael del Pino Siero, a U.S. citizen who was a friend of Fidel Castro but turned against him after the bearded revolutionary took power in 1959, the Herald said.
It said Del Pino Siero, who broke with Castro over suspicions he was a communist, was captured while trying to help a Cuban escape to Miami in July 1959.
He died in his Cuban prison cell 18 years later at age 51, leaving behind in Miami two children, Rafael del Pino Jr. and his sister Milagros Suarez."
Fidel's successor gives Cubans the freedom to watch foreign television 4/4/2008 Independent
Human rights group blasts Cuba for abuses 4/4/2008 McClatchy: "The human rights arm of the Organization of American States on Friday condemned Cuba for multiple violations, drawing an angry response from its allies Venezuela and Nicaragua, which argued that Havana had been unable to defend itself.
In its 2007 annual report, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, a semi-autonomous unit of the OAS, said Cuba restricted political rights and freedom of expression, lacked free elections and an independent judiciary and "created a permanent panorama of breached basic rights for the Cuban citizenry."
Cuito Cuanavale revisited 4/3/2008 Granma: BY PIERO GLEIJESES - "THIS year marks the 20th anniversary of the opening of the battle of Cuito Cuanavale, in south-eastern Angola, which pitted the armed forces of apartheid South Africa against the Cuban army and Angolan forces.
General Magnus Malan writes in his memoirs that this campaign marked a great victory for the South African Defence Force (SADF). But Nelson Mandela could not disagree more: Cuito Cuanavale, he asserted, "was the turning point for the liberation of our continent -- and of my people -- from the scourge of apartheid". Debate over the significance of Cuito Cuanavale has been intense, partly because the relevant South African documents remain classified. I have, however, been able to study files from the closed Cuban archives as well as many US documents. Despite the ideological divide that separates Havana and Washington, their records tell a remarkably similar story."
Fund aimed at Cuba investment grows 4/3/2008 Reuters: "CEIBA Investments, a closed-end fund that invests only in Cuba, plans to list on the London Stock Exchange in June, a sign of growing interest in the socialist state since Fidel Castro was sidelined by illness.
The fund, registered in the Channel Islands, announced this week it raised its capital by 18 million euros (14 million pounds) to 88 million euros in a share placing that was 70 percent oversubscribed."
Obama's Disappointing Incrementalism on Cuba 4/1/2008 TPM: "But one of the really interesting lines from the general and heartily agreed to by the conservative organizer and also the pundit was:
No one serious can support our policy towards Cuba. Fifty years of failure. We need to engage those people. Commerce and travel, exchange between their people and our people. . .well, you know what I mean. Cuba is an easy fix. Castro's brother, Raul, is lifting all sorts of restrictions on his public, and we're doing squat. If we want to steal Hugo Chavez's thunder in Latin America, then open up to Cubans and see where the currents take us. Can't get worse than the "zero" we have achieved thus far."
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