April 2012 Issue

BY DOMINGO AMUCHASTEGUI

For years, certain Cuban-American lawmak-ers, so-called “sources” in Miami and offi-cials of Florida’s judicial system have

repeatedly accused the Cuban government andits leaders of being involved in drug trafficking.

It didn’t matter that Cuba’s highest-rankingdefector, Brig. Gen. Rafael del Pino, denied it.Nor did it matter when top officials of the DrugEnforcement Administration, including Gen.Barry McCaffrey, spoke favorably of Cuba’s co-operation with the DEA over the years.

And it didn’t matter that key officials at Inter-pol have praised Cuba’s efforts at drug interdic-tion. The fabrication keeps getting repeated.

More recently, during a Feb. 1 hearing of theSenate Caucus on International Narcotics Con-trol, Sen. Dianne Feinstein singled out Cuba asa potential Caribbean drug smuggling leader.

“I would be remiss not to mention Cuba,”

declared the Democrat from California. “Just 90miles from Florida, Cuba has the potential to bea major transshipment point for illicit drugs.”

Evidence? None. Primary or secondary sour-ces to support this assertion? None at all.Imagination? A great deal of it.

A few days later, University of Nebraska polit-ical science professor Jonathan C. Benjamin-Alvarado questioned Feinstein’s statement.

“It’s really irresponsible for her to say that,”he said. “It sets in motion that the Cuban gov-ernment is doing nothing, which is absolutelynot true, and it insinuates that it is descendinginto some sort of narcostate.”

A U.S. senator lying? Impossible. But perhapsthis professor is a leftist or a Castro sympathiz-er, as some folks in Miami might suggest.

Look then at the U.S. government’s most re-cent assessment: the 2012 International Narco-tics Control Strategy Report (INCSR), submit-

BY VITO ECHEVARRÍA

The Cubans haven’t bought a single grainof American rice for years. But when itcomes to U.S. beans, state purchasing

agency Alimport can’t seem to get enough.According to USDA figures, dry bean exports

to Cuba reached $7.7 million last year, up from$5.6 million in 2010 and $4.3 million in 2009.

That’s still a lot less than the record $10.9 mil-lion worth of beans sold in 2006, though dra-matically more than in 2007 and 2008, when U.S.farmers exported only $73,000 and $68,000worth of beans to Cuba (see chart, page 3).

Those dramatic ups-and-downs have to domainly with Alimport’s consistent efforts to findthe most beans for the money. The agency be-gan buying beans in 2003, when Alimport’sthen-CEO, Pedro Alvarez, signed a memo ofunderstanding with the Port of Corpus Christi.

That year, improving ties between the two na-tions resulted in nearly $1.2 million worth of drybeans shipped to Cuba from the Texas port.

It was also the same year Pat Wallesen visitedCuba for the first time. Wallesen is managingpartner of WestStar Food Co. in Corpus Christi,a major U.S. exporter of dry beans.

“The Cubans are opportunistic buyers,” saidWallesen, telling CubaNews that global commo-dity prices have fluctuated not only for beanslately, but other crops as well. He put total annu-al dry bean purchases at 45,000 metric tons.

“They buy when the time is right. They buyfrom the U.S. between November and Febru-ary,” he said. WestStar Foods sometimes sup-plies the Cubans with its own inventory ofbeans; other times the Texas company sourcesthose beans from elsewhere, usually fromNorth Dakota suppliers.

As much as 25% of dry beans eaten in Cubacome from the United States, he said, with theremainder imported mostly from China. Canadais also an alternate supplier.

Contrary to public perception, the bulk ofwhat’s being shipped from the United States

In the News

Advertising everywhereCompetition heats up in Cuba’s rapidlydecentralizing economy ................Page 3

SEC pressures TelefónicaSpanish telecom giant is hounded over itsbusiness interests in Cuba ............Page 4

Political briefsRubio lifts hold on Jacobson nomination;Miami-Dade proposal under fire ...Page 5

Manufacturing in troubleManufacturing’s share of Cuba GDP takesa steep tumble ................................Page 7

NewsmakersArgentine master chef Guillermo Pernotbrings Cuban cuisine to D.C., Philly, Atlan-tic City and Orlando ......................Page 8

Prieto calls it quitsCuba’s popular “hippie” culture minister isnow an advisor to Raúl Castro ......Page 9

Pope’s pilgrimmageWinners and losers from Benedict XVI’shistoric 48-hour trip to Cuba ......Page 10

Castro’s secretsLatell’s new book claims Fidel knew aboutJFK assassination in advance .....Page 14

Chico and RitaCuba’s first animated film a joy to watch,but not yet a box-office hit ..........Page 15

See Drugs, page 2

CubaNews (ISSN 1073-7715) is published monthlyby CUBANEWS LLC. © 2012. All rights reserved.Annual subscription: $398. Nonprofit organizations:$198. Printed edition is $100 extra. For editorial in-quires, please call (305) 393-8760, fax your requestto (305) 670-2229 or email [email protected].

Is Castro’s Cuba a budding narcostate?U.S. officials clearly suggest otherwise

See Beans, page 3

Despite fall in U.S. food exports to Cuba,shipments of beans edge up every year

Vol. 20, No. 4 April 2012

2 CubaNews v April 2012

Competition heats up in a rapidly decentralizing economyBY DOMINGO AMUCHASTEGUI

If an expanding, fast-growing, vibrant mic-roeconomy in the hands of private, familyor cooperative ownership is a key indicator

of progress, then Cuba is apparently on theright track. Billboards, brochures and leafletsare sprouting up everywhere.

So are collective taxis known as “boteros”— or trucks loaded with passengers — whoseowners are making fortunes on a daily basis.

Some of the most thriving businesses in-volve real-estate transactions, and signs ad-vertising houses and apartments big andsmall are becoming quite visible.

Well-known dissident Vladimiro Roca, onthe eve of Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to theisland, said “there are no changes in Cuba” —a comment that echoes similar accusations bythe Obama administration.

Yet hundreds of thousands of people are nolonger dependent on state salaries, but ratheron their own efforts and creativity. They maysucceed or not, but that’s how a market econ-omy works.

By 2015, half of Cuba’s labor force will beworking on their own. At present, the islandboasts more than 360,000 self-employed peo-ple and small businesses registered and pay-ing taxes. According to experts, for each ofthese officially registered people there arethree or four more who have not registeredbecause of mistrust or wait-and-see attitudes.

And this is just in the urban economy. Inrural areas, the changes are overwhelming.The amount of wealth among private farmersand coops is staggering; one such familyrecently bought a mansion in Havana for750,000 CUC — and beach hotels in Varaderoare packed with well-off, self-made Cubans.

Thousands of restaurants, quarries, shops,empty lots and other former state establish-

ments— as well as equipment, vehicles andtools — are being leased to individuals, fami-lies and cooperatives.

Likewise, hundreds of thousands of hec-tares of land have been allocated to finquerosand private farmers. Despite lingering exam-

ECONOMY

ples of forced procurement at fixed prices,most goods and crops are now moving freelyacross state and private produce markets.

While Cuba’s state banking entities are be-ginning to ease on credit and loans to supportthis economic surge — as well as grantingspecial support for low-income families andtheir housing needs — private money lendersare surrepitiously financing startups.

These include several recently opened, andvery successful, paladares that got 35,000 to

40,000 CUC from such lenders. These privaterestaurants make anywhere from 6,000 to8,000 CUC per month.

The same applies to another flourishing pri-vate business in Cuba: the renting of rooms,apartments and houses for foreign tourists.

Competition is fierce. Getting the neces-sary supplies, funds and other resources isbecoming a major headache for these newlyestablished businesses. Logistics are subjectto extreme tensions because of growingdemand; prices are subject to more competi-tive standards than just a few years ago, andthose who failed have learned the lesson.

But this competition isn’t limited only tonew ventures. In Cuba today, there’s a grow-ing and fierce rivalry between private enter-preneurs and the state sector.

Government-owned restaurants are losingtheir old customers. Fancy restaurants —even in Old Havana — sit half-empty or worsemost of the time, while state-run hotels are nomatch for casas particulares in either price orquality. State-produced mattresses and furni-ture sell for prices 2-3 times higher than thosemade by the “non-state sector.”

The UBPC (coops strongly subject to statecontrol until the recent past and which arenow being transformed) occupy 38% of thebest farmland in Cuba, while producing only18% of the food. At the same time, the privatecoop sector has 20% of the land but producesmore than 60% of all food crops.

Bureaucrats within the state sector mightbe thinking about retaliation, wondering howto stop the trend. But deep down, they knowthis is no longer possible. Only better quality,lower prices and more efficient services willallow the state to successfully compete withthe new, emerging economy.

And who said Cuba wasn’t changing? q

Cartoon chef beckons diners to Paladar La Unica.D

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See Drugs, page 3

Drugs — FROM PAGE 1

ted by the State Department.Recognition and praise for Cuba’s policies

against illicit drugs and trafficking can befound in every single paragraph of the 466-page report’s three pages devoted to Cuba.

“Bilateral interdiction efforts and GOC[Government of Cuba] intensive police pres-ence on the ground have limited the opportu-nities in or around Cuba for regional traffick-ers,” it says. “Cuba’s domestic drug produc-tion remains negligible. Its counternarcoticsefforts have prevented illegal narcotics traf-fickers from having a significant impact onthe island.”

According to the report, in 2011 the Cubangovernment interdicted 9.01 metric tons ofillegal narcotics, including 8.3 metric tons in“wash-up events.” That’s a 360% increase fromthe previous year’s 2.5 metric tons.

In addition, government anti-drug forces

reported disrupting three smuggling eventsand captured six traffickers (three from theBahamas and three from Jamaica).

Statistics on arrests or prosecutions werenot made available, but by the U.S. govern-ment’s own admission, last year Cuba report-ed 45 real-time reports of “go-fast” narcoticstrafficking events to the U.S. Coast Guard.

It said the Cuban border guard’s email andphone notifications of maritime smuggling tothe United States “have increased in quantityand quality, and have occasionally includedphotographs of the vessels suspected of nar-cotrafficking while being pursued.”

INCSR PRAISES ‘CONTINUED COOPERATION’

To combat the limited domestic productionof marijuana, says the INCSR, Cuba set upOperation Popular Shield in 2003. Efforts toprevent any domestic development of nar-cotics consumption remained in effect and in2011 and netted 9,830 marijuana plants and

1.5 kg of cocaine, compared to 9,000 marijua-na plants and 26 kg of cocaine in 2010.

Elsewhere, the INCSR asserts that “Cubacontinues to demonstrate commitment to ful-filling its responsibilities as a signatory to the1988 UN Convention [and all previous agree-ments in this field].”

Furthermore, it says, the Cuban govern-ment “continues to exhibit counternarcoticscooperation with partner nations” such as theU.S., Mexico, Jamaica and the Bahamas.

In addition, the INCSR notes that “the Cu-ban government presented the United Stateswith a draft bilateral accord for continuedcooperation, which is still under review.”

It concludes with the following paragraphs:“Cuba continues to dedicate significant re-

sources to preventing illegal drugs and illegaldrug use from spreading on the island, so farsuccessfully. The technical skill of Cuba’sBorder Guard, Armed Forces and police give

April 2012 v CubaNews 3

Drugs — FROM PAGE 2

Beans — FROM PAGE 1

Corpus Christi, Tex., is a key port for U.S. dry bean shipments to Havana, 850 nautical miles to the south.

isn’t black beans but pinto beans. Wallesensays that’s because they’re usually cheaper.

Also, because of Alimport’s long-standingsensitivity to prices, virtually none of the U.S.beans being consumed in Cuba are canned.

“I doubt you will find any canned beans inCuban supermarkets, since they’re so muchmore expensive,” Wallesen told us.

The increase in dry bean sales comes afterU.S. rice sales to Cuba have virtually dried up.Before the 1959 revolution that brought FidelCastro to power, Texas and Louisiana rice far-mers supplied the bulk of Cuba’s rice needs;rice now comes mainly from Vietnam.

Overall, U.S. food exports to Cuba under

the 2000 Trade Sanctions Reform and ExportEnhancement Act fell 6% in 2011 from theyear before, and Brazil emerged as the topfood exporter to Cuba for the first time.

Meanwhile, Wallesen wonders if theCubans will keep buying significant quantitiesof U.S. dry beans in the short term because ofhigher global prices for beans and other farmgoods these days (see chart, below left).

“The drought in Mexico pushed their pur-chases up, and [world] prices have gone up,”he said. The Northarvest Bean Growers As-sociation, a trade group headquartered inFrazee, Minn., said the price per cwt (100 lbs)was around $49.00, up $2.30 from Februaryand $19.10 above the year-ago price.

Aside from his own firm, said Wallesen,there are few major U.S. suppliers of beans

for the Cuban market. Some of the others arecommodity trader PS International, based inChapel Hill, N.C.; St. Hilaire Seed Co., basedin St. Hilaire, Minn., and another Minnesotaentity, Anderson Seed Co.

The latter two were owned by local busi-nessman Ron Anderson until recently.

Anderson, another active bean exporter toCuba, went through serious financial woesearlier this year. In February, LegumexWalker, a specialty grain company based inWinnipeg, bought out his two firms.

“Both our St. Hilaire Seed subsidiary andour Canadian-based parent, Legumex Walker,have sold dry beans into the Cuban marketand expect to continue to do so under theright market conditions,” said Legumexspokesman Jon Austin. q

Cuba a marked advantage against drug traf-ficking organizations attempting to gainaccess to the Caribbean‘s largest island inboth size and population.

“Greater communicationand cooperation among theU.S., its international part-ners and Cuba, particularly inthe area of real-time tacticalinformation-sharing andimproved tactics, techniquesand procedures,” says theINCSR, “would likely lead toincreased interdictions anddisruptions of illegal traffick-ing.”

Clearly, the study casts lit-tle doubt on Cuba as a reliablepartner in the war on drugs.

Col. Lawrence Wilkerson, ex-chief of staffto former U.S. Secretary of State ColinPowell, is a promi-nent critic of current policytoward Cuba. The military man, who spent 31

years in the Army, recalling his latest trip toCuba.

“Two different Coast Guard attachés withthe U.S. Interests Section in Havana told methat when it comes to terrorism, counter-nar-

cotics and every other illicitactivity, their relationship withthe Cuban military is the bestin the Caribbean, even betterthan with Mexico,” saidWilkerson, speaking during aJan. 18 policy debate inWashington. “But our militarywouldn’t like to publicizethat.”

Indeed, Feinstein’s accusa-tions are reminiscent of thosemade by another lawmaker —Michele Bachmann (R-MN)— who suggested lastNovember that Hezbollah ter-

rorists were building missile sites in Cuba.Then, as now, these false charges are sole-

ly for political gain — without any considera-tion for ethics or credibility. q

Irving L. Horowitz, who was the HannahArendt Distinguished University ProfessorEmeritus of Sociology and Political Scienceat Rutgers University, died Mar. 21 fromcomplications related to heart surgery.Among other things, Horowitz, 83, edit-

ed with Jaime Suchlicki 11 editions of “Cu-ban Communism” which became a standardwork on Cuba and its post-1959 history.“Dr. Horowitz was a friend, colleague

and contributor to the Institute for Cubanand Cuban-American Studies [at theUniversity of Miami],” Suchlicki said. “Atowering figure in the humanities andsocial sciences, he was also a Cuban schol-ar, concerned with the violation of humanrights in Cuba and the totalitarian nature ofthe Castro regime.”His loss, said Suchlicki, “leaves a vacu-

um in the social sciences and in Cubanstudies. His brilliant mind and his commit-ment will be missed.”

RIP: Irving L. Horowitz

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SEC pressures Spain’s Telefónica over Cuba business tiesBY VITO ECHEVARRÍA

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Com-mission is hounding Spanish telecom-munications giant Telefónica over its

business dealings with Cuba.In a Nov. 29 emailed letter to Telefónica

CEO César Alienta Izuel, Cecilia Blye — thehead of SEC’s Office of Global Security Risk— cited a September 2009 news report inwhich Telefónica allegedly confirmed itsinterest in investing in Cuba.

Blye, who asked Alienta if the liquidation ofhis company’s Cuba affiliate, Telefónica DataCuba (TDC), was completed in 2005, advisedhim to “describe any equipment, technologyor support that you have provided into Cuba,directly or indirectly, and any agreements youhave had with the government of Cuba.”

Even though Blye didn’t directly threatenTelefónica with legal action if it failed to com-ply with the SEC’s request, the letter’s veryexistence — and the fact that it mentionedWashington’s designation of Cuba as a statesponsor of terrorism — suggested that heragency would find a legal cause of actionagainst Telefónica if necessary.

TELEFÓNICA HAS NO IMMEDIATE CUBA PLANS

Meanwhile, the Madrid newspaper El Paíscarried a report about the SEC’s legal harass-ment of Telefónica. That article included notonly Blye’s letter to the company but also theDec. 30 response by Telefónica’s chief finan-cial officer, Miguel Escrig Meliá, who con-firmed in writing that TDC had been liquidat-ed in September 2005.

“U.S. sanctions against Cuba permit, invarying degrees, activities in connection withthe provision of telecommunications servic-

es,” Escrig Meliá wrote, noting that some ofTelefónica’s subsidiaries in Spain and LatinAmerica have roaming agreements with tele-com providers in Cuba.

The CFO also said that after having studiedthe potential purchase of Cuban state phonemonopoly Etecsa, his company decided not togo ahead with the acquisition — and that ithas no plans to do so.

The timing of the SEC’s pursuit of informa-tion from Telefónica is curious, since thatcompany has invested in telecom servicesthroughout Latin America for years.

More importantly, the SEC’s letter appearsto contradict the Obama administration’s poli-cy of encouraging open telecom links be-tween the United States and Cuba.

CUBA EXPERT SAYS POLITICS IS TO BLAME

In April 2009, President Obama exemptedthat portion of the U.S. trade embargo whichprohibited American phone companies fromdoing business with the Marxist regime.

Even though the new policy technically cov-ered only prospective U.S. telecom deals withCuba, even efforts by Spain’s Telefónica tomodernize Cuba’s telecom infrastructurewould have still worked toward achieving theWhite House’s goal of a more open flow ofcommunications on the island.

New York attorney Tony Martínez, whoclosely follows trade and regulatory issuesaffecting Cuba, said he saw this coming.

“It is not surprising that the SEC made itsinquiry to Telefónica,” he told CubaNews.“The designation of a country being on theState Sponsor of Terror List has wide-rangingimplications for that country.”

Martínez said Cuba’s continued presence

TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Ancient mills and old equipment aretaking their toll on Cuba’s sugar har-vest, with scattered media and source

reports indicating that many mills will haveto remain open in May to meet output tar-gets, Reuters reported Mar. 9.

Fifteen mills opened in December, anoth-er 28 in January and three in February, inthe first harvest since the Sugar Ministrywas replaced in November 2011 by a state-run holding company.

The industry hopes to reverse a longdecline, with plans calling for output toreach 1.45 million tons, compared with the1.2 million tons Reuters estimates Cubaproduced during the previous harvest.

While there appears to be enough caneto meet this year’s production plan, millingin May is costly as summer rains set in andyields drop due to hot and humid weather.

Official media reported eastern Santiago

de Cuba was milling at just 60% capacitydue mainly to mill problems and “the con-stant breakdown of harvesting equipment,”but was nevertheless performing betterthan all the other 13 sugar-producing pro-vinces except Sancti Spíritus.

In neighboring Holguín, mills producedjust 52% of their daily target on Mar. 6,according to the provincial radio station.

Key sugar-producing provinces such asMatanzas, where local media reported a17,000-toe shortfall, and Camagüey, Ciegode Avila, Holguín, Las Tunas and Granma— where sources said there were similardeficits — will now have to mill throughMay to meet production targets.

Cuba consumes 600,000 to 700,000 tonsof sugar annually and has a 400,000-ton tollagreement with China. Cuban sugar is alsosold for export on the spot market.

– REUTERS NEWS SERVICE

Cuba struggles to hit sugar projections

on that list makes Obama’s telecom liberaliza-tion policy virtually meaningless, since underthe Terrorism Risk Insurance Act, Cuba hasno sovereign immunity in U.S. courts.

That, in turn, makes prospective U.S.phone revenues destined for Cuban coffersvulnerable to seizure from American plaintiffswith multmillion-dollar default judgments (seeCubaNews, June 2010, Page 11).

Martínez recalled that at a Feb. 14 compli-ance conference in Washington hosted by theTreasury Department’s Office of ForeignAssets Control (OFAC), officials warned thatforeign companies doing business with coun-tries on the terror list would be subject tomore U.S. government scrutiny.

In addition, the 1996 Helms-Burton Acteffectively discourages foreign firms from do-ing business with both the U.S. and Cuba —even though in practice, it has been selective-ly enforced due to diplomatic pressure fromCanada and the 27-member European Union.

Martínez insists that Washington politics isbehind the latest harassment of Telefónica.

“It is irrelevant that the reasons for Cubabeing on that list are domestic political rea-sons. It is on the list, and the enforcementagencies have to carry out the law until it is nolonger there,” he told CubaNews by email.

“The subtle and indirect manipulation tohammer Cuba comes from Capitol Hill, wherethe pro-embargo Congressional cadre press-es executive agencies to do more on Cuba.

“Rather than Congress doing an objectiveoversight of our failed policies with Cuba atthe expense of both the U.S. and Cuban eco-nomies, this political manipulation ensuresthat scenarios like Telefónica will continue.”

MARTÍNEZ TO COMPANIES: MAKE SOME NOISE

Martínez has a few suggestions for compa-nies like Telefónica that find themselvesunder undue OFAC scrutiny.

“Comply with U.S. laws by ensuring youhave an active sanction compliance programin place, and expect that any foreign companyin Cuba that happens to also do business inthe United States to be under economic sur-veillance by U.S. agencies and embassies,”the lawyer advised.

“Those companies who do business in theU.S. need to get politically active and informtheir congressmen and senators. Foreign com-panies need to complain to their respectiveforeign ministries so this matter is brought upin the context of diplomacy as well.”

El País noted that other Spanish companiessuch as Repsol-YPF SA and BBVA have beensubjected to similar pressure from OFAC overits dealings with Cuba and Iran.

El País didn’t disclose how it re-ceivedcopies of SEC’s correspondence with Telefó-nica, though it’s our guess that company attor-neys or top officials leaked it to the newspaperin order to step up Spanish and EU pressureagainst the White House to back off. q

“Let all those you meet know, whether near or far, that I have entrusted to theMother of God the future of your country, advancing along the ways of renewaland hope, for the greater good of all Cubans. I have also prayed to the Virgin forthe needs of those who suffer, those who are deprived of freedom, those who areseparated from their loved ones or who are undergoing times of difficulty.”— Pope Benedict XVI, in a Mar. 27 homily at the basilica housing the original statue

of the Virgin Mary in Santiago de Cuba, the first leg of his three-day trip to Cuba.

“I beg Your Holiness to intercede for those who are in prison because of theirconvictions. I implore Your Holiness to take up the defense of those Cubans whoare demanding freedom at the risk of persecutions and humiliation.”— Lech Walesa, founder of the Solidarity movement and former president of Poland,

in a Mar. 8 letter to Pope Benedict XVI on the eve of the pontiff’s visit to Cuba.

“Our people welcome our beloved René to the country and will not cease in thestruggle for his definitive return, along with his four dear brothers.”— Official Cuban TV announcer, in a Mar. 30 newscast following the return of con-

victed Cuban 5 spy René González. On Mar. 19, U.S. District Judge Joan Lenardgranted González permission to visit Cuba to see his brother, who is dying of cancer..

“He is going to follow that order to the letter. Like I said from the beginning,this has nothing to do with politics. It’s a humanitarian visit.”

— Philip Horowitz,González’s Miami lawyer, saying his client will obey the order toreturn to Florida since he doesn’t want to jeopardize the cases of his four colleagues.

“The Cuban government wages a permanent campaign of harassment andshort-term detentions of political opponents to stop them from demandingrespect for civil and political rights. Criticism of the government is not toleratedin Cuba and it is routinely punished.”— Amnesty International, which on Mar. 22 put four jailed Cubans on its global list

of prisoners of conscience — the only inmates in Cuba to have such a designation.

“We are updating our economic model, but not talking about political reform.”— Marino Murillo, Cuba’s minister of economy, speaking Mar. 27 in Havana to a

room packed with foreign journalists covering the papal visit.

“Anyone who can figure out how to keep a 1957 Chevy running is going to fig-ure out how to organize online. I think you would be shocked at how quicklythings would begin to unravel for the regime if the people of Cuba had unfilteredaccess to the Internet and social media.”

— Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), one of several speakers at a recent Heritage Foundationpanel in Washington examining the role of Internet access and social media in Cuba.

“I’ve had so many people ask for the posters. They want to hang them insidetheir homes, because if they put them on the door someone will steal them.”

— Rev. Gustavo Cuñil of Santiago de Cuba, talking Mar. 31 about color posters ofPope Benedict XVI with Miami Herald’s visiting correspondent, Mimi Whitefield.

“I’m very happy he’s coming. I was here when [Pope] John Paul came, andthere were always plenty of tourists that followed.”

— Juana de Armas, a shopkeeper in Old Havana.

“Hofstra Law is excited to be one of the first law schools to take advantage ofthe government’s endorsement of educational exchange with Cuba, and we hopethat our program will provide students with an academically and culturallyenriching experience. This expansion of our study-abroad offerings alsoresponds to the complexities of the legal field, which increasingly demandsfuture lawyers to be prepared for an ever-more interconnected world.”

— Nora Demleitner, dean of the Maurice A. Deane School of Law at New York’sHofstra University, 30 of whose students are now in Cuba studying export

laws and controls. Hofstra is the first U.S. law school ever to apply for Am-erican Bar Association accreditation for a study-abroad program in Cuba.

In their own words …


RUBIO LIFTS HOLD ON JACOBSON NOMINATION

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) said he’ll lift his holdon Roberta Jacobson’s nomination as assistantsecretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs— a job that includes overseeing U.S. relationswith Cuba, the Miami Herald reported Mar. 23.Rubio’s change of heart comes “following

months of negotiations with the administration inthe hopes of cracking down on abuses of the peo-ple-to-people Cuba travel policy,” his office said.“This policy has been abused by some people

who are more interested in profiting from tourismthan in a meaningful effort to bring about demo-cratic change in Cuba,” Rubio said in a statement.“In doing so, they have also undermined our

entire Cuba policy by providing hard currency to acruel regime that oppresses its people.”Rubio said that as a condition for lifting his nom-

ination hold, he asked the administration toenforce its own regulations and stop what hecalled “the more egregious abuses.”The State Department agreed to make changes

that will require applicants to show how their itin-eraries constitute purposeful travel that would sup-port civil society in Cuba and help promote theirindependence from Cuban authorities, Rubio said.

STATE BARS CUBAN DIPLOMATS FROM NYC EVENT

The State Department says it rejected applica-tions from two senior Cuban diplomats to travelto New York to attend the annual Left Forum, butnot for political reasons, said the Washington Post.According to State Department spokeswoman

Victoria Nuland, they were denied because U.S.diplomats in Havana are routinely refused per-mission to travel outside the Cuban capital (seearticle on Left Forum, page 6 of this issue).

LAWYER: COUNTY CAN’T ENFORCE FOREIGN POLICY

Florida had no authority to enact a pending lawthat would prohibit local governments from hir-ing firms that do business with Cuba, Reutersreported Mar. 22, because federal law trumpsstate law when it comes to foreign policy.That’s the word from Miami-Dade County

Attorney Robert Cuevas, who insists the countryshould not enforce the law now awaiting FloridaGov. Rick Scott’s signature.The new law is the latest in a long-running

series of attempts to set foreign policy towardCuba at the local level in Florida, which is hometo about 1.2 million Cuban-Americans.It would bar local governments from awarding

contracts of $1 million or more to companies thatengage in business with Cuba. It would also forcefirms bidding on such contracts to submit affi-davits certifying they do not do business in Cuba.Cuevas told county commissioners that federal

law does not authorize states to enact suchrestrictions and they need not enforce it.He cited several previous court rulings that

state and local governments cannot interferewith the federal government's ability to set for-eign policy nor can they adopt sanctions thatexceed those set by Congress.“If the county were to violate federal law in this

area, it would be exposed to liability under feder-al civil rights laws,” Cuevas said.

POLITICAL BRIEFS


committee to pressure Washington to lift thetravel ban (see CubaNews, May 2011, page 6).

To get OnCuba off the ground, Cancio as-sembled a team of writers, photographers,editors, designers and translators in Cuba ledby veteran magazine editor Tahimi Arboleya.

Their aim: to share the mystery and allureof Cuba, as Arboleya puts it in her first edi-tor’s column. That includes culture, history,nature, daily life and travel. There’s a guide tocurrency exchange and Customs issues.Plans call for a business section soon.

Advertisers in the first edition are charter

flight operators, Miami companies that shipfreight to Cuba, restaurants in Havana includ-ing Paladar La Guarida and Café Laurel, andsome of Cancio’s own ventures: consultingcompany Cuba Business Development Groupand mobile telephone business Mascell.

Cancio said a full-page ad in OnCuba nowretails between $1,800 to $2,000, but priceswill vary based on the number of editionsbooked and on magazine volume.

He’s hoping to expand circulation to moreairlines that serve Cuba and plans to speakwith Cayman Airways, Cubana de Aviaciónand others for placement on their flights.

“Our long-term goal is for this magazine tobecome the magazine for all travelers toCuba,” he said.

Initial reaction to OnCuba has been posi-tive. Readers said they like the timely contentand artsy photos. But questions surfacedabout its financial viability.

The magazine must print different versionsfor competing charter companies. It willdepend on ads mainly from a limited pool ofU.S. companies that serve tourism to Cuba.And some wonder how many Cuban enter-prises can afford its glossy ads.

Cancio says he’s looking beyond the printedition to draw readers and advertisers. Histeam has also launched a website, Facebookpage, Twitter account and YouTube channelto engage audiences.

Details: Hugo Cancio, Fuego Media Group,8010 NW 156th St., Miami, FL 33016. Tel: (786)347-5244. URL: www.oncubamagazine.com.

arrived in the United States in 1980 — at theage of 16 — and has been back to Cuba often.

Cancio, a longtime anti-embargo activist, isa music promoter who’s brought big-nameCuban artists like Silvio Rodríguez and LosVan Van to the United States.

One year ago, he and New York attorneyAntonio Martínez formed a political action

In-flight magazine now available on charter flights to CubaBUSINESS

BY DOREEN HEMLOCK

Anew in-flight magazine is now being dis-tributed on U.S. charter flights to Cuba.The monthly magazine, OnCuba, is the

brainchild of entrepreneur Hugo Cancio andhis Miami-based Fuego Media Group.

And the inaugural March issue is full-colorand glossy, with 48 pages of articles, photosand charts. Features in that issue include theisland’s patron saint Virgin of Charity, painterBonachea, hurdle jumper Dayron Robles,Cuba’s Oscar film entry “Habana Station” andplaces to hear live music in major cities.

All articles are published both in their orig-inal Spanish and in English.

Cancio said he printed 22,000 copies forMarch, hoping to capitalize on a surge of trav-elers to Cuba for Pope Benedict XVI’s Mar.26-28 visit. He aims to print an initial 15,000 to20,000 copies monthly after that for the half-dozen companies that operate charter flightsto Cuba from Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, Tampa,New York and other U.S. gateway cities.

Cancio told CubaNews the idea for the newmagazine came one day when he was atMiami International Airport and overheard agroup of Americans on a National Geographicexpedition discussing where in Cuba to go inbetween their programmed events.

Some asked questions about how currencyexchange worked on the island.

“I love Americans traveling to my nativecountry, so it came to me: It’s time for us toput together a magazine,” said Cancio, who

Hugo Cancio and the April edition of his magazine.

Cuban diplomats sound off at New York’s annual Left ForumBY VITO ECHEVARRÍA

The Left Forum, an annual event hostedby New York’s Pace University, held adiscussion titled “New Developments in

Cuba” — yet the Mar. 17 seminar was over-shadowed by the absence of its original guestspeakers: Juan Lamiguero, deputy chief of theCuban Interests Section in Washington, andPatricia Pego Guerra, its first secretary.

Event organizers explained that the StateDepartment had denied their request to trav-el to New York (Cuban diplomats stationed inWashington must get explicit U.S. permissionto travel beyond the Beltway).

In their place came half a dozen membersof Cuba’s mission to the United Nations, ledby Pedro Nuñez Mosquera, Cuba’s envoy tothe UN, and his deputy, Oscar León González.

After his speech, Nuñez Mosquera contras-ted Cuba’s gradual economic changes underRaúl Castro to the dramatic market reformsundertaken long ago by China and Vietnam.

“We cannot be in a hurry. We must be care-ful to do what Cuba can do, because China is10,000 miles away. It is not suffering an eco-nomic blockade. They have their own peculi-arities,” he said. “We can never forget that we

are 90 miles from a country whose govern-ment has made it clear that they want todestroy the Cuban revolution.”

Nuñez Mosquera added: “Our main objec-tiv is to save the Cuban system of social jus-tice, that nobody will be abandoned. How wedo that must be only through the Cuban way.”

The diplomats also discussed Raúl’s ongo-ing campaign against corruption, which haslanded several foreign businessmen in jail in-cluding Canadian entrepreneurs Cy Tokmak-jian and Sarkis Yacoubian, and British real-estate developer Amado Fakhre.

CubaNews asked whether all this may hurtthe government’s efforts to attract investors.

Diplomatic functionary Jairo Rodríguezinsisted that his government puts priority ontransparency — and that regardless of whathappens to the businessmen, Cuba’s econo-my will still have foreign input.

“Should we allow foreign investors to en-rich themselves through corrupt [Cuban] of-ficials, without taking into account the nation-al law?” said Rodríguez. “These challengescan only be answered by the Cuban people.”

Speculation was raised on a possible “spyswap” — perhaps following Obama’s re-elec-

tion — in which the “Cuban Five” will be ex-changed for U.S. prisoner Alan Gross, who’sserving a 15-year sentence in Cuba for illegal-ly distributing telecom equipment.

“The Cuban Five should never have beenincarcerated, because it was clear that theywere fighting against terrorism,” said NuñezMosquera. “What will happen during the sec-ond term of Obama? I don’t know. Of course,Cuba will be interested in finding a solutionthat would be acceptable to everybody.”

Just a few days after the diplomat’s state-ment, René González — who had beenbehind bars for 13 years and was on probationsince last October — received permission tovisit his seriously ill brother in Cuba.

Rodríguez was also asked his opinion ofOccupy Wall Street protesters, who wereegged on during the forum by filmmakerMichael Moore and later arrested by NYPDofficers after marching on Zuccotti Park.

“It is curious these things are happening inrich countries, where they’re not supposed tohappen,” he said sarcastically. “As Cuban dip-lomats, we’re not supposed to interfere in theinternal affairs of other states. But what I seeis a reflection of what’s going on in society.” q


Manufacturing’s share of Cuban GDP takes a steep tumbleECONOMY

BY ARMANDO H. PORTELA

Cuba’s manufacturing sector has per-formed poorly over the past decade(2003-11) when compared to what the

nation achieved two decades earlier (1983-91).Manufacturing’s share of Cuba’s GDP is

now 13.1% — down from 36.1% in the periodright before the collapse of the Soviet bloc,when the island suddenly lost its economicumbrella, including markets, suppliers, finan-cial guaranty and political patrons.

For instance, fertilizer production — a keyindicator in a country that was largelydependent on sugar exports for most of itshistory — is currently just over one-fifth whatit was in the 1980s. This isn’t the only cause ofproblems in the agriculture sector, but cer-tainly accounts for part of its downfall.

It’s the same story with other industries,some of them essential to Cuba’s economy.Others aren’t so fundamental, but their failureforces Cuba to divert some of its surplus cashto imports, such as tires and batteries.

It’s impossible to depict the collapse ofCuba’s manufacturing sector in a few graph-ics on one page, but the pattern is the samefor many key products including cement (seeCubaNews, March 2012, page 8), concrete pre-fabs, textiles, milled rice, petroleum products,chemicals, food preserves, home appliance,vehicle assembly and soap, to name a few.

Exceptions do exist, such as electric powergeneration, which is 26% higher today thantwo decades ago. That’s thanks in part to nat-ural gas usage by Energas, a Cuban-Canadianventure that currently generates 11.6% of theelectricity produced in Cuba.

Under current circumstances, it’s nearlyunthinkable to return to previous output lev-els. It is not just a matter of investments, ener-gy or the availability of raw materials.

It also has to do with quality and competi-tiveness — factors generally disregarded byCuba’s state-run manufacturing entities.

Other factors holding Cuba down includethe island’s enormous industrial investmentsof the 1970s and ‘80s which today cannot besaved, and an immense bureaucratic appara-tus that prevents individual entities from mak-ing timely decisions about technology, freelyusing their income, receiving or disclosinginformation, or lobbying for their needs.

Nevertheless, Cuba’s domestic market —strongly dependent on imports in a cash-starved environment — offers strong poten-tial for manufacturing growth. And a global-ized market would give Cuba’s manufacturingsector a chance to play a prominent role as aprovider of goods and services. q

different restaurants. They have some lousyfood and some great food,” he explained. “Wecame back with the idea of discovering thesepaladares and the beauty of the Cuban cuisinethat has since been lost.”

Pernot (no relation to Pernod-Ricard, theFrench conglomerate that produces HavanaClub rum in a joint venture with the Cubangovernment) discussed his trip with one ofthe restaurant’s two owners, Barry Gutin.Together, they hatched a brilliant idea: Pernotwould go back to Cuba, and arrange to bring

Argentine chef brings Cuban cuisine to 4 U.S. restaurantsBY LARRY LUXNER

Washington’s most popular Cuban res-taurant is owned by two Jews fromPhilly and managed by an Israeli

who’s never been to the island. Its chef is anArgentine whose sole connection to Cuba ishis wife — a distant relative of the island’sthird president.

And its moderately expensive food, somecritics say, is distinctly un-Cuban.

Yet the Cuba Libre Restaurant & Rum Bar— located at 9th and H streets at the entranceto Washington’s Chinatown — continues topack customers in night after night.

On Friday and Saturday evenings, the CubaLibre’s dining room magically becomes astage where professional salsa dancers thrillpatrons with their colorful exotic floor shows.

And unlike any other restaurant we knowof, this one has actually braved official bur-eaucracy on both sides of the Florida Straitsto not only bring Cuban chefs to the UnitedStates, but American foodies to Cuba as well.

“We’re sold out on the first trip, and start-ing to book the second one already. I think it’sgoing to be in October of this year,” saidGuillermo Pernot, the restaurant’s BuenosAires-born chef. “The New York Times is goingwith us, a lady named Marian Burros whowrote an article about food in Cuba, and nowshe’s going to revisit the island.”

Pernot, 56, spoke to CubaNews last month,squeezing us in for a few minutes at hisrestaurant before the dinner rush.

The award-winning chef, who came to theU.S. in 1975, is married to Lucia Menocal, adistant cousin of Aurelio Mario Gabriel Fran-

NEWSMAKERS

model for the famous statue that graces theentrance to the University of Havana).

“My wife said, ‘why don’t you go with Maríaand spend the New Year in Havana?’ In a mat-ter of a week, I got my papers in order and left.

“While I was in Cuba, I started looking at

Top: Chef Guillermo Pernot of Cuba Libre in Washington, D.C. Above left: Duo of skirt steak with onion-lemon sauce, mushroom escabeche salad, pan-roastedmahi-mahi, black rice asopado and chipotle allioli. Above right: salmón con salsa de guindas with roasted sweet potato mash and fennel-cherry blossom salad.

the best Cuban chefs to the U.S. for a visit.“I went back to Havana in March, brought

all the chefs together and made a proposition:let me spend time in the kitchen with you andsee exactly what you’re doing. Then I will pickfive of you, take you to the United States andwe’ll make a paladar there — three nights inPhiladelphia and three in Washington.”

A CROSS-CULTURAL CULINARY EXPERIENCE

Pernot selected five chefs, four of whomaccepted immediately. The only one to de-cline was Lilliam Domínguez, proprietor of LaCocina de Lilliam — one of the most expen-sive yet highly regarded paladares in Cuba.

“The U.S. Interests Section in Havana wasvery interested and offered to help me asmuch as possible to expedite their papers,” hesaid. “I try not to get involved with politics, butsince it’s a good thing to bring artists andmusicians, I thought, ‘why not chefs?’

Everything worked out, and the first chef tovisit was Luís Alberto Alfonso Pérez — knownas Lucio — of El Gijones, back in February.

His signature four-course menu: lobstersalad, pineapple sorbet and truffle oil-infusedblack sesame seeds, followed by eggplant-wrapped raviolis, lamb ropa vieja filling, then“chuleta de jabalí lechal” — baby wild boarrib chop, sour orange-canela compote andyucca tamal — topped off with flan de queso.

Pernot’s next Cuban visitor will be AlainRivera of Doctor Café, who arrives in June.

His four-course menu sounds equallymouth-watering: “merluza al escabeche” —fresh cod in vinegar-chili sauce, lamb tongueand beet salad — followed by fresh corn pasta

See Pernot, page 9

cisco García Menocal, who served as Cuba’spresident from 1913 to 1921.

“We both used to work at the Four SeasonsHotel in Philadelphia, 24 years ago,” he toldus. “I was in the dining room, and Lucia wasthe night manager at the hotel’s front desk.”

In December 2010, Pernot’s sister-in-law —a professor at Yale — announced she wasgoing to Cuba for the first time in more than50 years, in order to gather research to writea book about her illustrious family (Lucia’sgrandmother, Maria Wilson Menocal, was the

cannelloni and sweet crab meat enchilado fill-ing, then a third course of grilled yellowfintuna, malta-honey reduction, ruby red grape-fruit and lavender supreme, finished off withchilled mango soup and Cuba Libre’s ownfiver-year-old rum ice cream.

Conversely, Pernot and his wife Lucia arebringing Americans to Cuba to sample thosesame dishes at the source, under a special“people-to-people” license provided by InsightCuba, a division of Cross-Cultural Solutions.

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Pernot — FROM PAGE 8

A large advertisement at the entrance to therestaurant, and on its website, proclaims:“Taste what Cuban cuisine is today. Meet thechefs that inspired Cuba Libre’s new menu.Dine at the premier paladares, hand-selectedby Chef Pernot. Visit the Cuban Culinary As-sociation and interact with students workingto restore Old Havana.”

At $4,000 per person, the trip isn’t cheap —but the whole concept of traveling to Cuba stillhas that forbidden fruit appeal, so it’s no sur-prise that all 18 slots quickly filled up. In fact,the cross-cultural culinary exchange has gonefar more smoothly than Pernot anticipated.

“The Cuban government has been verywelcoming,” he told us. “Knock on wood, theyhaven’t given us any trouble so far.”

Unfortunately, the same can’t be said aboutsome restaurant patrons.

“One woman came in here very upset, ask-ing how come we arrange trips to Cuba, say-ing it’s obscene and why are we feeding thegovernment,” Pernot said. “I told her we’renot interested in helping the Cuban govern-ment. We just want people to experience foodin Cuba today. That’s all we care about.”

Cuba announced Mar. 6 that Culture Minister Abel Prieto will bereplaced by his first vice-minister, Rafael Bernal Alemany, whohas worked with Prieto for the last 15 years.

Prieto, meanwhile, will become an advisor to President Raúl Cas-tro. That means the long-haired politician is joining Raúl’s inner cir-cle, which already consists of Marino Murillo (minister of econom-ics); Leopoldo Cintra Frías (minister of the Revolutionary ArmedForces); Gladys Bejerano (general comptroller) and Luís A. Rodrí-guez López-Callejas (CEO of GAESA, the holding company for theCuban Ministry of Defense).

Abel Prieto, 61, is without a doubt one of the most popular leadersin Cuba — especially among intellectuals, artists, scientists and largesegments of the political class. With his typical ‘60s hippie look, hewas always known as an open-minded, straightforward man who wasnot afraid to speak his mind.

Generally regarded as a minor expert in literature by bureaucratsin the Ministry of Education, Prieto reluctantly joined the all-power-ful Politburo in the early 1990s. But he never showed any particularinterest in positions or titles. His eventual resignation from the Polit-buro was accepted during last year’s Sixth Party Congress, wherePrieto insisted on dropping his ministerial post at some later date.

Yet being chosen by Raúl as his advisor is a clear indication of howmuch the old leaders value Prieto.

A lifelong fan of the Beatles, Prieto pushed for the construction ofJohn Lennon’s statue in Havana’s Vedado district, in a park wheremany young people used to hang out. He persuaded Fidel Castro toattend the statue’s inauguration, where Prieto and his friends sang“Imagine” — and then listened to Fidel apologize for not having cor-rectly understood the Beatles’ contribution to the world.

Years later, in 1993, when Fidel starting blasting away at the manyartists and intellectuals who were “betraying” their country, Prietointerrupted the old comandante to disagree. It takes a special kind ofcourage to do this, and everyone saw it.

Prieto, who along with Fidel spent many hours in a meeting lastmonth discussing current events with 100 or so intellectuals fromLatin America, Europe and the Caribbean, is also responsible for pro-moting a wide range of debates, discussions and publications.

In other recent government appointments:n Vice President José R. Fernández, 88, was replaced by Politburo

member Miguel Mario Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, 51. Fernández hasbeen a key military and political leader for more than 50 years. He’llcontinue to work with Raúl Castro as a personal advisor.

Díaz-Canel, formerly minister of higher education, has been char-acterized as a “rising star” among the younger generation. He’s beenrepeatedly praised by Raúl for his excellent performance as aCommunist Party leader in Villa Clara and Holguín over the last 20years. Díaz-Canel is being replaced as minister of higher educationby his first vice-minister, Rodolfo Alarcón Ortíz.

n Dr. José Miyar Barrueco, 79, is stepping down as minister of sci-ence, technology and the environment. He’s being replaced by ElbaRosa Pérez Montoya, who is in her early 50s and has most recentlyheaded the science department of the Party’s Central Committee.

Miyar, for many years Fidel Castro’s personal assistant, secretaryof the Council of State and a member of that body, will now be incharge of OSDE (Organización Superior de Dirección Empresarial),which oversees R&D, production and marketing for Cuba’s biotechand pharmaceutical industry.

n Army Corps Gen. (ACG) Leonardo Andollo has been appointedfirst vice-chairman of the Comisión Permanente de Implementacióny Desarrollo, next in line to Murillo. Andollo, 67, joined the revolu-tion as a teenager. In 1989, when he was only 44, he was promoted tobrigadier-general — the youngest in Cuba. A member of the CentralCommittee since 1986, he is a key figure in FAR’s economic activitiesand the implementation of Perfectamiento Empresarial..

n ACG Samuel Rodiles Planas, 80 and one of the oldest generalsstill on active duty, has been named chairman of the Institute of Phy-sical Planning. His mission: to reorganize and regulate Cuba’s con-struction industry by individuals, state entites and foreign investors.

Second-in-command of the Western Army in the early 1990s andthen in charge of the Defense and Security Committee of Cuba’sNational Assembly and Inspector Chief of the General Staff, thisaging veteran has been on the Central Committee since 1965 and amember of the National Assembly since 1992.

– DOMINGO AMUCHASTEGUI

Larry Luxner is a longtime freelance journalistand photographer based in Bethesda, Maryland.He has been editor of CubaNews since May 2002.

Prieto quits as culture minister, becomes advisor to Raúl

Amnon Pick, the restaurant’s Israeli-borngeneral manager, joined the company in 2004when it opened in Atlantic City. He helpedopen the Washington location in October2010, working with Cuba Libre’s parent com-pany, Guest Counts Hospitality.

‘CUBA LIBRE’ OWNERS LOOKING TO EXPAND

The D.C. restaurant seats 236, including 26patrons in the main bar. In the summer, anadditional 74 people can sit out on the patio.Pick says “business is pretty good, with lunch-es averaging 100 and dinners of 150-200 dur-ing the week, and 400-500 on the weekends.”

The first Cuba Libre restaurant opened inPhiladelphia, so it’s an 11-year-old concept.

“We try to put you in the street scene ofOld Havana and give you a high-energy diningexperience,” said Pick, who grew up in theMediterranean resort town of Caesaria. “Ourservers are dressed in guayaberas to createthe feeling that you’re in Havana. It’s alwaysfun to see the impression of guests walking inhere for the first time.”

How Cuban is the food at Cuba Libre really,we asked Pick.

“It’s what we call nuevo cubano,” he replied.“We do have traditional food, but we want torepresent Cuba as it should have been al-

lowed to develop culinarily, but because ofcommunism wasn’t allowed to. If their chefswere given the right tools, they’d be in a muchmore advanced stage today.”

Pernot agrees wholeheartedly.“The Americans are eating Cuban food that

is 50 or 60 years old,” he insisted. “Cuba haschanged. It’s no longer just rice and beans,and ropa vieja. Our menu has a couple of clas-sic dishes, but also new items, and for this rea-son some people say this is not Cuban food.My own brother-in-law refuses to eat here.”

But business is business, and Pernot saidthe owners — who don’t discuss revenues orprofits — want to open outlets next in Atlantaand Boston, and possibly Chicago, though notNew York (“too expensive,” he says) or LosAngeles (“the West Coast is too far”).

What about South Florida, home of theworld’s largest Cuban exile community?

“That’s something we’ve thought about inthe past,” said Pick. “Miami already has lots ofCuban restaurants, so we’re not eager to gothere. But if the opportunity is right, of coursewe would.” q


BY DOMINGO AMUCHASTEGUI

Last month, as the visit of Pope BenedictXVI to Cuba drew nearer, oppositionforces in Miami and Havana staged an

intense war of words by every means at theirdisposal. They urged no less than “rabo y ore-jas” (literally, maximum performance deman-ded of good bullfighters)from the Vatican.

Anything else, theysaid, and the popewould just be playinginto the hands of theCastro brothers.

Regarding theCatholic Church inCuba, there was a realcontest to see whowould insult CardinalJaime Ortega y Alaminoand the church in gen-eral for its complicitywith the Cuban regime.

Condemnation of thatregime and promotionof its downfall were its chief de-mands; noth-ing short of this was acceptable. Miami-basedexiles urged the opposition to take to thestreets and fight for what they believed in.

A showdown was needed to expose theCastro regime; it was also necessary to “spoilthe pope’s fun” in Cuba, in the words of Mau-ricio Claver-Carone, head of the Washington-based US-Cuba Democracy PAC.

In the minds of these hardline exiles, thepope was obligated to meet with dissidentsand politicize his 48-hour visit at all costs. Butthe Vatican publicly announced that the popewould not engage in any kind of talks withopposition forces, thereby following theexample set by John Paul II in 1998.

WHAT DID THE POPE ACTUALLY SAY?

It is significant that Benedict — who ar-rived in Cuba directly from Mexico — did nothold talks there with opposition parties suchas the PRD, the PT or the Zapatistas, all ofwhich represent large constituencies.

Three days before Benedict’s arrival on theisland, an attempt to “occupy” churches inHavana, Holguín and Pinar del Río failed com-pletely. Also unsuccessful was an attempt bythe Ladies in White to stage protests.

No significant incidents were reported inSantiago de Cuba or the national sanctuary atEl Cobre. Few people took to the streets insupport of the opposition. Of course manyreasons exist for this.

A special report published by The Econo-mist describes Cuba’s opposition as follows:“The traditional dissident groups are small,faction-ridden and heavily infiltrated by statesecurity. Some are opportunists and havebeen easy for the regime to caricature asagents of the United States.”

Obviously enough, they were the losers.

A political tug-of-war was sparked by some-thing the pope said before arriving in Cuba:“It is evident today that Marxist ideology inthe form it was conceived does not corre-spond currently with reality.” He added: “Newmodels must be built with patience and in aconstructive way.”

no use anymore ... and has failed in Cuba.”This isn’t just a gross manipulation of what

the pontiff had actually said, but overlooksthe fact that similar statements can be foundin 19th-century literature and the works ofMax Weber and Antonio Gramsci — not tomention what Fidel Castro told visiting Ame-rican journalist Jeffrey Goldberg a year ago.

Benedict and his entourage expressed theirsatisfaction with the visit, particularly how atevery occasion he was able to publicly conveykey concepts and ideas criticizing “fanat-acism” while advocating for “the strengthen-ing of religious freedom.”

The pontiff also spoke of “consolidatingsocial bonds and securing the rights of futuregenerations,” and the need to expand churchfreedoms in Cuba.

The pope’s meetings with both Raúl andFidel Castro were well-publicized, though nospecifics were disclosed.

All this makes the Vatican look great, withone notable exception. Conspicuously absentwere any meetings or dialogue with other reli-gious communities in Cuba, especially thosewith African religions and their well-knownsyncretic interactions with Catholicism.

Others in Miami and Cuba began rephras-ing the pope’s comments, as a general state-ment and not referring specifically to Cuba,by quoting him as having said “Marxism is of

Pope Benedict’s pilgrimage to Cuba: Winners and losersINTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

BENEDICT’S 48-HOUR WHIRLWIND VISIT TO CUBA

Pope Benedict XVI’s call for changes inCuba and the world should also focuson churches, say members of Cuban

civil society who, independently of theirbeliefs or ideologies, recognized the impactof the pope’s visit to this socialist nation.

Convinced many people “will not yet fullycomprehend” the real importance of Bene-dict’s Mar. 26-28 visit, Rev. RaimundoGarcía told IPS that the Catholic Church isdemonstrating its power of renewal “amidstvery complicated circumstances.”

“It is evident that Cuba increasingly doesnot match the image that many have of itbeing frozen in space and time,” the retiredpastor of the Presbyterian ReformedChurch in Cuba said via email.

García, who’s also director of the Chris-tian Center for Reflection and Dialogue inCuba, acknowledged what he called thechurch’s “capacity for dialogue” with thegovernment. “This might be the right timeto reach out,” he said.

Fourteen years after Pope John Paul II’svisit — which was considered a turningpoint in relations between the CatholicChurch and the Cuban state — Benedictfound a society that is increasingly hetero-geneous, Catholic intellectuals RobertoVeiga and Lenier González acknowledgedin a joint response to questions from IPS.

Espacio Laical, a magazine of the Havanaarchdiocese’s lay council, editorialized thatby outlining “how much remains to be doneto achieve a better country,” Benedict pro-moted truth and life, marriage and the fam-ily, freedom and justice, dialogue and socialinclusion, forgiveness and reconciliation.

This proposal, the magazine’s editorsadded, consists of the need for “a method-ology of relating to and accompanying anextremely diverse society, in which move-ments are taking shape that defend agen-das related to religious, environmental,immigration, sexual orientation, genderand political issues.”

They also cited the need to include bothCubans on the island and in the diaspora.

“Some émigrés do not want any ties withtheir homeland or political groups, oneither end of the spectrum, and do notagree with dialogue and consensus as amethodology for building the country,” thetwo editors said in their response.

The word “dialogue” is at the center ofmany analyses on this issue, includingamong communists and sexual rights ac-tivists like Dr. Alberto Roque, who pub-lished an article on his blog, [email protected], questioning whether or not theCatholic Church also “perceives itself aspart of the world” that must change.

– INTER PRESS SERVICE

The 2012 papal visit: A view from Havana

See Pope, page 13



SEC PROBES OREGON FIRM OVER CUBAN NICKEL

Federal officials are investigating Portland-based Esco Corp. for using nickel obtainedfrom Cuba in violation of the trade embargo,OregonLive.com reported Mar. 17.Esco lawyers said they expect the compa-

ny to face fines of no more than $5.5 million,but acknowledge penalties could be more,according to a public filing with the U.S.Securities and Exchange Commission.Disclosure of the violation by a Canadian

subsidiary comes at a delicate moment forEsco, a company whose managers have beentrying to take the manufacturer public on theNasdaq exchange. Esco announced its plansin May for a $175 million public offering thathas since languished.The Cuban disclosure was contained in a

317-page amended IPO document filed byEsco and appearing on the SEC’s website.“We learned that a foundry operated by

one of our foreign subsidiaries had been pur-chasing and using material from a distributorthat obtained the material from a supplierthat procured the source material fromCuba,” said the statement.“We voluntarily reported the violation to

OFAC, stopped purchasing from the distribu-tor, temporarily halted production at thefoundry and sequestered all inventory con-taining Cuban material. In July 2011, we re-sumed production at the foundry with mate-rial provided by another supplier and subse-quently received a license to sell most of theinventory that contained Cuban material.”The OFAC investigation could take months

to complete, said the company, warning thatpenalties could be significant because eachpurchase of Cuban material and each sale ofa product containing the material couldresult in a fine of up to $65,000.Esco has four foundries in Canada, among

about 30 plants worldwide. It’s possible aCanadian subsidiary of Esco did businesswith a Cuban supplier without perhaps realiz-ing the ramifications.The Cuban connection could embarrass

Esco, which makes parts such as teeth forgigantic mining shovels. But a $5.5 millionfine would hardly set the company back. TheSEC filing showed Esco’s net sales jumpedto $1.12 billion in 2011, up 32% from $850million in 2010. Gross profit grew 34%, from$223 million in 2010 to $299 million last year.

FRENCH TRADE MISSION UPBEAT ABOUT CUBA

A business delegation that included execu-tives of 17 French corporations spent threedays in Havana March 5-7 to scout for invest-ments in energy, transportation, telecom andagribusiness, reported CubaStandard.com.The Mar. 5-7 mission followed a November

2011 visit by Foreign Trade Secretary PierreLellouche, who expects French investmentsin Cuba to rise from €150 million ($201 mil-lion) to €250 million ($335 million) this year.“Despite the U.S. embargo, the improve-

ment of the economic situation since 2009

BUSINESS BRIEFS grants some flexibility to Cuban authoritiesto update its economic model and the minis-terial reorganization following the PartyCongress in April 2011,” the Mouvement desEntreprises de France (Medef) said in aninvitation letter to delegation participants.The delegation was headed by Pierre

Pringuet, CEO of Pernod Ricard SA. TheParis-based liquor giant is the foreign part-ner in the Havana Club rum joint venture.The group met, among others, Deputy For-

eign Minister Dagoberto Rodríguez. Thiswas the second Medef delegation to visitCuba since 2008, said CubaStandard.com.Lellouche was the highest-ranking French

official to visit Cuba in nine years. Francesuspended bilateral government cooperationin 2003, after Cuba imprisoned 75 people in acrackdown. In December 2010, a week afterCuba announced it had freed all of the 75,France and Cuba resumed cooperation.Politics aside, the main stumbling block is

Cuba’s debt and its falling behind on pay-ments to French government agency Coface,which has not provided credit guaranteesrelated to Cuba since 2006. A Cuban delega-tion traveled to France in January to discussdebt issues; neither Coface nor the Cubangovernment made an announcement aboutthe outcome of the talks.In its latest Cuba risk assessment, Coface

predicts “mediocre” growth for 2012, citingthe slowness of reforms and a slow shift ofworkers from state to private-sector jobs.Coface expects rising unemployment, infla-

tionary pressure, slowing tourism, and a fallin nickel prices to depress growth this year.

SANTIAGO GETS EXPERIMENTAL SOLAR POWER

A microphotovoltaic system has been con-nected to the power grid in Santiago deCuba, with a view to evaluating the technolo-gy under tropical weather conditions andleading feasibility studies before it is extend-ed to the rest of Cuba, ACN said Feb. 18.Rubén Ramos, director of the Center for

Solar Energy Research (CIES), said the newsystem — made up of 30 solar panels — willfeed 7.5 kilowatts into the grid.During 2012, the system’s power should be

doubled to 70 kw/day. Because of its climate,said Ramos, Cuba has great solar energy po-tential that would enable the development oftechnological solutions to replace fossil fuel.

CUBAN MARINE SCIENTIST WINS PEW AWARD

Fabián Pina Amargós, a scientist with theCenter for Coastal Ecosystems Research inCayo Coco, Cuba, has been awarded a 2012Pew Fellowship in Marine Conservation forhis project to study and conserve goliathgrouper populations in Cuba.The Pew fellowship — which gives recipi-

ents $150,000 for a three-year project aimedat addressing conservation challenges facingthe oceans — is the first ever given for re-search in Cuba, and will be conducted undera U.S. Treasury Department license.Pina Amargós hopes to establish important

scientific data and better management rec-ommendations for goliath grouper in Cuba,the Caribbean, and the Gulf of Mexico.

Details: Jo Knight, Pew Marine Fellowship,Ocean Division, 901 E Street NW, Washington,DC 20004-2037. Tel: (202) 552-2070. Fax:(202) 552-2299. Email: [email protected].

Cuba will soon embark on testing anew AIDS vaccine on human subjects,Caribbean360.com reported Mar. 7.

Speaking at a biotechnology conferencein Havana, a leading Cuban researcher saidCuba’s top biotech teams have successfullytested a new AIDS vaccine on mice, and areready to soon begin human testing.“We are now preparing a very small,

tightly controlled Phase One clinical trialwith HIV-positive patients who are not inthe advanced stages of disease,” saidEnrique Iglesias, who heads the vaccinedevelopment team at Havana’s Biotech andGenetic Engineering Center (CIGB).Iglesias, addressing the Havana 2012

International Biotechnology Conference,said the Teravac-HIV 1 vaccine was madefrom recombinant proteins aiming to“cause a cellular response against HIV.”However, he quickly downplayed high

hopes for a long-awaited AIDS vaccine.“So far, there have been more than 100

clinical tests [on humans] with HIV” inCuba and other countries, he said, “and allof them have failed.”Cuba spends more than $200 million a

year on AIDS prevention and care pro-

grams, including free care with anti-retrovi-rals, some of them Cuban-made. The CIGB,which groups about 20 research units inHavana, drives exports of Cuban biotechproducts including vaccines and otherdrugs. Cuba exports $400 million a year inthese products, making them its second-largest export by value after nickel. Some 600 scientists from 38 countries

attended the biotech conference, amongthem Nobel-winning U.S. chemist andmolecular biologist Peter Agre.In related news, CIGB-300 — a synthetic

anti-tumor, peptide-based drug designed totreat uterine cancer — received an awardfrom the Latin American Society ofPharmacology. The drug, patented in 2001,is being mass-produced to be used in clini-cal trials that started in 2006 for stage oneand two of uterine cancer.CIGB project leader Silvio Perea said the

drug has been submitted to clinical trials toconfirm its therapeutic efficacy.

Details: Dr. Luís Herrera Martínez, Direc-tor-General, Centro de Ingeniería Genética yBiotecnología, Ave. 31 e/158 y 190, Playa,Habana. Tel: +53 7 271-8008. Fax: +53 7273-6008. Email: [email protected].

Cuba: AIDS vaccine testing on humans?


BY PATRICIA GROGG / INTER PRESS SERVICE

Excessive delays by the Cuban govern-ment in evaluating foreign aid projectsfor their compatibility with the country’s

economic planning policies have createduncertainty for aid organizations, which havesometimes even been forced to return fundsto donors due to missed deadlines.

“A lot of money is being lost simplybecause of bureaucracy,” an economist whoasked to remain anonymous told IPS.

Representatives from several NGOs withoffices in Cuba said the most serious aspect ofthis problem is that many of these projectsare related to food security.

“We’ve been in an impasse for the last threeyears, where we don’t know exactly what roleor part will be given to cooperation,” saidPepe Murillo of the Mundubat Foundation, aSpanish NGO that’s been working in Cuba inthe areas of agriculture and rural develop-ment since 1996.

A project by Mundubat and Japan toimprove drinking water and sanitation servic-es in the municipality of Isla de la Juventud, asmall island off the southwest coast of themain island, has benefited almost 80,000 peo-ple in its capital, Nueva Gerona, and in thesurrounding countryside since 2011.

NGOs: WITH MERGER, IT’S LIKE ‘STARTING OVER’

Within the process the government callsthe “updating” of Cuba’s economic model, allforeign aid received by Cuba must be includ-ed in the “national economic plan” to ensurethat it is in line with economic planning goals.

The “economic and social policy guidelinesof the party and the Revolution,” Cuba’s roadmap for modernizing its economy, also statethat it is necessary to “perfect and comple-ment the legal and regulatory framework” foraid that is given and received.

Red tape threatens international development aid for CubaINTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

EU’s Cuba mission fronts Quinta Avenida, Havana.

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Foreign aid has been regulated to date byResolution 50, passed in 2008, which modifiedResolution 15 of 2006, regarding the “normsfor economic collaboration that Cuba re-ceives.” These regulations primarily spell outthe obligations and duties of NGOs and otherorganizations involved in cooperation.

In 2009, the ministry for foreign investmentand economic cooperation was merged withthe ministry of foreign trade, which sincethen has overseen this sector.

Some NGOs that operate in Cuba say it was

like starting over, with new experts, workingmethods and assumptions.

“Trade relations have been thrown togeth-er with cooperation with civil society organi-zations from the European Union and coun-tries from other regions that are here basedon solidarity, which has nothing to do withforeign trade,” said Eva Fernández, of theSpanish NGO Acsur Las Segovias.

In addition, the economic plan has becomea straitjacket that is keeping projects frommeeting deadlines. First they must beapproved by the ministry of foreign trade, andthen by the ministry of economy and planning— a slow-moving, complicated process.

“We have projects that have been waiting

for two years for a decision on whether or notthey will be included in the economic plan,”said Paola Larghi, of the International Com-mittee for the Development of the Peoples, anItalian NGO that’s been working in Cuba for20 years.

Larghi says the process lacks clarity andtransparency — and that delays in decision-making are having a major impact on NGOswith respect to planning and donations.

“Because of this, cooperation funds arebeing sent back, for projects that could not beimplemented,” Murillo said.

Elio Perón, a consultant with the Dutchorganization Hivos, the Humanist Institute forDevelopment Cooperation, said the philoso-phy of including aid projects in the economicplan is aimed at improving efficiency.

“That is the Bible, full of good intentions,”he remarked.

Perón said the problem is the result of ad-ministrative changes Cuba is trying to intro-duce, which “unfortunately” have not foundthe best channel.

“It is a question of putting new conceptsinto practice; as I see it, it is an administrativeproblem, not a political position,” he said.

BUREAUCRACY ENDANGERS FOOD PROGRAMS

On that point, NGO representatives agreedthat the political stance toward them thatexisted in the 1990s has been replaced by a“technocratic and bureaucratic” approach,which especially affects projects related tofood production.

“That sector, which the government of RaúlCastro has made a national priority, is the onethat is experiencing the greatest difficulties atthis time,” Murillo explained.

“We have pointed out that contradiction,but the response [from officials] is always thesame: if it is not in the ‘guidelines’ or the eco-nomic plan, it does not go forward.”

Sources with the EU delegation in Havanatold IPS that a dozen European NGOs cur-rently have aid projects in Cuba. In addition,the EU subsidizes plans implemented byEuropean “non-state actors” that do not nec-essarily have offices in Cuba.

The NGOs arrived on the island during theheight of the 1990s economic crisis, to pro-vide aid and show solidarity with the Cubanpeople. “Those were times when people werepredicting the collapse of socialism here,”Perón recalled.

In the opinion of the Hivos consultant, theauthorities don’t seem to have realized that areduction in aid from NGOs translates intodecreased political potential, solidarity andinternational influence.

“The most intelligent thing,” he said,“would be to especially support these organi-zations that are in solidarity with Cuba.” q

Patricia Grogg reports regularly from Havanafor Inter Press Service, a UN-affiliated, nonprofitprogressive news organization based in Rome.

Then who’s the net winner?According to Elizardo Sánchez Santacruz, a

professional dissident for the last 30 years,“the winner from this visit was the [Cuban]regime itself in terms of international legiti-macy and public image. The Pope’s messageswere extremely cautious not to bother theregime; it’s obvious that the Catholic Church,in Cuba and the Vatican, want to maintain andimprove their relations with the regime.”

Sánchez is right that the Cuban governmentis “the big winner,” but wrong about some-thing else: The degree of international legiti-macy that government has achieved isn’tthanks to the visit of Pope Benedict XVI, oreven that of Pope John Paul II in 1998.

These were steps in a long chain of eventslinked to Cuba’s international standing overthe years on key issues, and the degree to

which the world at large condemns the U.S.embargo. The current scope and pace of re-forms in Cuba only adds more legitimacywhile improving the regime’s public image.

Before the pope it was Brazilian PresidentDilma Rousseff. In a few days, MexicanPresident Felipe Calderón will arrive.

And a few more days after that, the 46-member Organization of American States willhold its annual summit in Cartagena,Colombia, where it’ll debate the need to incor-porate Cuba as an active and legitimate par-ticipant in future OAS summits.

All of this is what has given the Cuban gov-ernment international legitimacy. Don’tblame the pope for this. q

Pope — FROM PAGE 10

CORRECTION: In our March 2012 issue weran a news brief about Sherritt’s earnings, butneglected to credit CubaStandard.com as thesource of the information. We regret the error.


BOOKSHELF

Latell’s new book a fanciful attempt at rewriting history

‘Castro’s Secrets: The CIA and Cuba’s Intelligence Machine’

Later this month, Brian Latell’s newest work, “Castro’s Secrets:The CIA and Cuba’s Intelligence Machine,” will hit the book-stores. It’s his second book, actually.

The first one, “After Fidel” — though essentially based on second-and third-hand versions, and Miami gossip — had a final chapter dis-cussing the role of Raúl Castro. And that chapter,much more balanced than the others, upset quite alot of exiles in South Florida.

Now, “Castro’s Secrets” revists a number of epi-sodes connected, in one way or another, to the CIAand Cuba’s intelligence service (DGI), which was un-der the direct orders and supervision of Fidel Castro.(Fellow comandantes Ramiro Valdés and ManuelPiñeiro, known as Redbeard, played minor roles).

The problem is that this second book is basedalmost exclusively on secondary sources, including ahuge number of public documents, books and testi-monies. No primary sources, from either the CIA orthe DGI, are quoted to support the alleged “secrets.”

Nor are any new facts provided to substantiate anyof Castro’s so-called secrets.

Well-known episodes of the Cold War, and in par-ticular of U.S. hostility and assassination plans against the CubanRevolution and Fidel Castro, are the object of various reinterpreta-tions, as are some of Cuba’s major intelligence operations.

But these are entirely based on recent testimonies given to theauthor by agents who defected mostly in the 1960s, ‘70s and ‘80s.

The crux of these testimonies are aimed at proving one thing: thatFidel Castro knew in advance about the plot to kill John F. Kennedy.

This is the backbone, the very essence, of Latell’s book. Com-pared to the JFK conspiracy, the other topics in “Castro’s Secrets”seem like minor anecdotes. At the time of their defection, those

agents were debriefed and squeezed to the last drop by the CIA andthe FBI. But Latell — himself an ex-CIA analyst — seems unsatisfiedwith the work of his colleagues, so he goes back in time to ask thequestions, and get the facts straight, something his colleaguesapparently had not been able to do.

Shame on Latell’s fellow spies who overlookedsuch crucial questions and stories. Shame on thoseexperts at the CIA, the FBI, the Warren Commissionand the Church Committee for handling the case soinefficiently. And from there, Latell draws the mostfantastic conclusions ever made by a former U.S.intelligence man.

It would be interesting to see if Latell could sustainhis arguments in a federal court, where — mostprobably — his case would be dismissed for lack ofsubstantial evidence, not to mention extremelybiased testimonies from witnesses who 40 years latercome up with versions that sound quite differentfrom their exhausting debriefing sessions in the past.

There’s another problem. More than 80% of hisinformation attempting to prove Fidel knew in ad-vance comes from just one source: Florentino Aspil-

laga Lombard, a DGI case officer who defected in 1987 in Bratislava.That agent, who previously worked for Cuba’s counter-intelli-

gence services, claims that when he was a teenage rookie at CI,someone shared with him vital inside information on the JFK assas-sination — thereby allowing him to point the finger at Fidel.

Latell needs to prove that this key source, Aspillaga, is evensmarter than James Bond.

For that sake, he states that this agent was “the most informed,highly decorated officer ever to defect from Cuban Intelligence.”

BY DOREEN HEMLOCK

Did Fidel Castro have a moral responsi-bility to warn the Americans if he had ahint that communist sympathizer Lee

Harvey Oswald might kill President John F.Kennedy on Nov. 22, 1963?

That’s the thorny question former CIA offi-cer Brian Latell leaves readers to ponder inhis latest book, “Castro’s Secrets: The CIA andCuba’s Intelligence Machine” (Palgrave-Mac-millan; ISBN 978-0-230-62123-7; hardcovercost, $27; release date: Apr. 24).

Latell gives no definitive answer, but sug-gests that since Castro knew the Americanswere trying to kill him, the Cuban leader keptmum about Oswald’s possible intentions “act-ing in self-defense.”

The 264-page book, including detailednotes, draws largely on interviews withCuban spies who defected — and with formerand current CIA officers — to construct a pic-ture of Cuban intelligence mainly from theearly years of the Cuban Revolution until thecollapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

It describes Fidel as the supreme master ina top-notch spy system that the CIA longunderestimated. “They were better than us,”Latell quotes an American intelligence officer

as saying. “In truth, we lost during most of theCold War to the Cubans.”

Havana’s spy network was particularlyskilled in counterintelligence and the use ofdouble agents. Indeed, Rolando Cubela — atop CIA contact who was supposed to provokea coup to overthrow Castro — turned out tobe a double-agent who told the Cubans allabout the American plan, Latell said.

The engaging book focuses on the early1960s and specifically on two key incidents:the Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962 andKennedy’s assassination in 1963.

It relies heavily on testimony by ex-intelli-gence officer Florentino Aspillaga Lombard,the son on a Cuban security officer who re-portedly worked with Fidel before defecting.

On the missile crisis, Latell claims that Fi-del, then only 36, pushed for a preemptivenuclear strike on the United States that couldhave proved catastrophic for both neighbors.

Fidel believed a U.S. attack or invasion ofCuba was imminent and wrote to Moscowthat “the Soviet Union must never allow thecircumstances in which the imperialistslaunch the first attack against it.”

That “Armageddon letter” hastened Mos-cow’s decision to broker a peaceful deal with

JFK to end the missile crisis, Latell wrote.In his memoirs, Soviet Premier Nikita

Khrushchev later described Fidel as “youngand hotheaded.” Latell quotes Khrushchevrecalling: “I told Castro…You wanted to starta war with the United States. If the war wouldhave begun, we would somehow have sur-vived, but Cuba no doubt would have ceasedto exist. Yet you suggested a nuclear strike!”

On JFK’s murder, the book claims that topCuban authorities knew that Oswald went tothe Cuban consulate in Mexico City threetimes between Sept. 27 and Oct. 2, 1963, seek-ing a tourist visa. Denied entry to Cuba, Os-wald left the consulate saying, “I’m going tokill Kennedy for this.”

Weeks later, just hours before JFK wasshot, Cuban officers in Havana asked youngspy Aspillaga to switch from his usual task ofmonitoring of CIA communications to listeninstead for news in Texas.

“Castro knew,” Latell said Aspillaga Lom-bard told him, recalling the orders given tohim that morning of Nov. 22, 1963. “Theyknew Kennedy would be killed.”

Details: Elisabeth Tone, Marketing Assistant,Palgrave-Macmillan, 175 Fifth Ave. Suite #203,New York, NY 10010. Tel: (646) 307-5343. Fax:(212) 982-5562. URL: www.palgrave.com.

See Latell, page 15


Not true at all. Other men and women withgreater credentials are walking the streets ofAmerica as normal U.S. citizens.

If Aspillaga was what Latell tells us, thenwhy was he never sent abroad on risky, com-plex missions as others were? Why wasn’t ituntil 1986 that he got his first assignment ov-erseas — and why in Bratislava of all places,working under the cover of Cubatecnica?

Surely an agent with such brilliant creden-tials, as those portrayed repeatedly by Latell,should have been named to key intelligenceposts like New York, Paris, Prague, Madrid orMexico City. By any standard, Bratislava wasa third-rate assignment within the DGI.

JUST ANOTHER CHEAP CONSPIRACY THEORY

Most of the testimonies quoted by Latell aspart of his “secrets” come not from direct par-ticipants but were rather overheard; indiscre-tions of other agents in gross violation of thenorms of compartmentalization and sourceprotection, things these defectors learnedcasually or by chance.

If Cuban intelligence is, according to Latell,“one of the world’s best and most aggressiveintelligence services” that regularly outper-formed both the CIA and the FBI, then how isit possible these defectors were the benefici-aries of so many monumental indiscretions? Itjust doesn’t add up, to say the least

Latell plays very well with words. He neverstates that Fidel Castro was behind JFK’s as-sassination. He’s more careful. He says Fidelknew in advance, quoting Aspillage in a “sen-sational revelation” that “Castro knew onehundred percent that they were going toshoot at Kennedy.”

So Fidel was aware that Kennedy was goingto be shot, and in Dallas? That can only lead toone obvious conclusion: if the Cuban leaderreally did know in advance, it’s because hewas part of the conspiracy.

Despite Latell’s efforts to construe anentirely new “conspiracy theory” in whichFidel Castro and Cuba are a guilty party in themurder of John F. Kennedy, he can’t hidefrom what is evident and factual. Grudgingly,he has to quote more qualified authors whohave already dealt with this issue.

“The overwhelming majority of Americans,as well as most conspiracy theorists, have dis-carded the theory that Cuba was behind theassassination.” The Warren Commission, theChurch Committee and the House Assassina-tions Committee, along with five millionpages of declassified CIA files and other gov-ernment documents, have confirmed that “nosmoking gun” points at Cuba.

This is the official, well-documented posi-tion of the U.S. government. Latell’s efforts toprove otherwise smack of sheer manipulationand a total lack of credibility.

– DOMINGO AMUCHASTEGUI

ARTS & CULTURE

The marketing of “Chico and Rita” revivedthe popularity of pre-Castro era Cuban cultureto a European and American audience en-thralled with bands like Buena Vista SocialClub and spin-off acts like Compay Segundoand Ibrahim Ferrer during the late 1990s.

They and the foreign tourists who visitedCuba in recent years helped fuel the film’ssuccess in the two countries, Spain and Eng-

land, where it was originallyreleased.

According to the Holly-wood Reporter, the film’s dis-tribution in Spain by WaltDisney International result-ed in more than $1 millionof gross receipts at theatersin that country.

And even though it lostout to Johnny Depp onAcademy Awards night,“Chico and Rita” still won aGoya award in Spain forbest animated feature film.

Referring to the movie’sOscar nomination, Mariscaltold Reuters he was “verysurprised, because normal-ly animation is an Americanmarket. It’s very strangethat Hollywood saw our filmand liked it enough to nomi-nate it.”

Mariscal is right: “Chicoand Rita” bumped off Holly-

wood heavyweights Steven Spielberg andPixar Animation Studios, whose “The Adven-tures of Tintin” and “Cars 2” were expected tobe nominated in that Oscar category.

“Chico and Rita won prizes internationally,but is not a success from an economic point ofview,” says Trueba. “It’s more of an ‘art film’.Film animation for adults is something new,risky enough, unlike children’s animation,which is a very safe market, since parents arealways looking for films to take their kids to.”

One benefit of the movie’s Oscar nomina-tion is its expanding audience in the U.S. mar-ket. Dave Jesteadt, director of the film’s U.S.distributor, GKIDS/LumaFilms, told Cuba-News recently that “Chico and Rita” on theverge of going beyond the art-house crowd inNew York and Los Angeles.

“We are at around $150,000 in U.S. box-office revenues, but that is only after twoweeks of release and in a small number of the-aters,” he notes.

“It’s continuing to open over the next fewmonths, so this is just the beginning. TheOscar nomination definitely boosted interestin theaters and audiences, and sent the filmfrom 10 or so theaters to over 100 [in theUnited States], and possibly many more.”

Like Buena Vista Social Club more than adecade ago, “Chico and Rita” has proven onceagain that among Cuba’s most enduringexports is its music and culture. q

BY VITO ECHEVARRÍA

Last February’s Academy Awards had asurprise nomination connected to Cuba:“Chico and Rita” competed for best ani-

mated feature film, losing to the Johnny Depp-voiced movie “Rango.”

“Chico and Rita” — which has received ravereviews worldwide — is an animated cartoonfilm about the romanticups and downs of a tal-ented Cuban jazzpianist and a sultrysinger during the late1940s who both trek toNew York in search offame and fortune.

The movie — madeon a $13 million budget— is a collaborationbetween Spain’s Fer-nando Trueba (whosefilm “Belle Epoque”won an Oscar for bestforeign-language filmin 1993); artist/design-er Javier Mariscal, andthe British animationcompany Magic LightPictures.

It uses the romancebetween the two maincharacters to bring tolife Cuba’s vibrantmusical scene duringthe pre-Castro days.

At that time, Cuban bands were often indemand at concert halls and VIP nightspots inNew York, Las Vegas and elsewhere. SomeHavana-bound flights from U.S. cities back inthose days even included Cuban musicianswho entertained their fellow passengers.

Financing came from U.K. sources andSpanish broadcasters TVE and TV3, whileGrammy-winning Cuban musician BeboValdés — an innovator of his country’smambo sound — performed the film’s sound-track, which also incorporates the legendaryLatin jazz music of Dizzy Gillespie, TheloniousMonk, Chucho Valdés, Charlie Parker, TitoPuente, Chano Pozo and Ben Webster.”

DESPITE PRIZES, FILM NOT A FINANCIAL SUCCESS

Even so, actual Cuban input for the moviewas strictly musical.

“We did not receive any help from theCuban government. I neither asked for it norhad any agreement with them,” Trueba said.“What we received was much help and collab-oration with Cuban musicians — both insideand outside the island.”

It’s no surprise that Trueba and Mariscalworked together in this film. Back in 2000,they also collaborated on the Latin jazz docu-mentary “Calle 54” – which brought togethersome of the same musicians highlighted inthis film too.

Former Cuban intelligence officer DomingoAmuchastegui has lived in Miami since 1994. Hewrites regularly for CubaNews on the CommunistParty and South Florida’s Cuban exile community.

Latell — FROM PAGE 14

‘Chico and Rita’ not yet a box-office hit


CARIBBEAN UPDATEYou already know what’s going in Cuba,

thanks to CubaNews. Now find out what’shappening in the rest of this diverse andfast-growing region.Subscribe to Caribbean UPDATE, a

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INTERNATIONAL STOCK PHOTOSIf your business needs high-quality photo-graphs of Cuba — or anywhere else — toillustrate annual reports, articles, bro-chures or presentations, you’ve come tothe right place. Luxner News Inc. has over20,000 color images on file from 95 coun-tries in North, South and Central America,the Caribbean, Africa, Europe, the Mideastand Asia, depicting a variety of topicsranging from agriculture and aerospace totourism and zoology. For details, pleasecall Luxner News Inc. at (301) 452-1105or search our user-friendly website at:

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(ISSN 1073-7715), founded in 1993,is published monthly by CUBANEWS LLC, POBox 566346, Miami, FL 33256-6346.

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If your organization is sponsoring an upcoming event, please let our readers know! Fax details to CubaNews at (3 0 1 ) 9 4 9 -0 0 6 5 or send e-mail to [email protected].

Apr. 17 : Panel discussion on the 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion. Moderator: José Azel. Panelists:former CIA analyst Brian Latell and Pedro Roig, former director of the Office of Cuba Broad-casting. Cost: $10. Details: Vanessa López, Institude for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies, 1531Brescia Avenue, Coral Gables, FL 33146-2439. Tel: (305) 284-5386. Email: [email protected].

Apr. 17 : “Cuba in the 21st Century,” International Institute for the Study of Cuba, Universityof London. Keynote speakers: Carlos Alzugaray Treto (University of Havana) and Dr. RafaelHernández, editor-in-chief of Temas magazine (Havana). Alzugaray, Cuba’s ex-ambassador tothe EU, will speak on Cuban foreign policy economic reform. Hernández will speak on “Cuba:In Transition to What?” Cost: £25. Details: Olga Jiménez, IISC, PO Box 1406, Tring, Herts, GreatBritain. Tel: +44 795 638-1640. URL: Email: [email protected]. www.cubastudiesjournal.org.

Apr. 18 : “Cuba: Today and Tomorrow,” Association for the Study of the Cuban Economy,The New School, Arnhold Hall, 55 West 13th Street, 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10011. Keynotespeakers: Harvard University professor Jorge Domínguez and Bob Kerrey, former U.S. sena-tor and governor of Nebraska. No charge; limited seating. Details: ASCE, PO Box 28267, Wash-ington, DC 20038. Email: [email protected]. URL: http://cubatodayandtomorrow.eventbrite.com.

Apr. 18 : “Flawed Trial of the Cuban Five as Described in Stephen Kimber’s Book: What LiesAcross the Water,” UC-Washington Center. Host: Wayne Smith. Presenter: Stephen Kimber,Canadian journalist and author. Free. Details: Juanita Islas, Center for International Policy, 1717Massachusetts Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20036. Tel: (202) 232-3317. Email: [email protected].

Apr. 20 -2 2 : Intensive Certificate Program in Cuban Studies, University of Miami. Three-dayprogram “is designed for professionals and others interested in Cuba and its future.” Topicsrange from the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis to Cuban civil society today, the Cuban diasporaand current business challenges and opportunities. Professors: José Azel, Andy Gómez, BrianLatell, Vanessa López, Pedro Roig and Jaime Suchlicki. Cost: $495 (including recommendedbooks for the course). Details: Vanessa López, Institude for Cuban & Cuban-American Studies,1531 Brescia Avenue, Coral Gables, FL 33146. Tel: (305) 284-5386. Email: [email protected].

Apr. 20 -2 4 : “Culinary Tour of Havana.” Join Chef Guillermo Pernot and his wife Lucia on atrip to Cuba, meet the chefs that inspired the new menu at Washington’s Cuba Libre bar andrestaurant. Dine at Bar Oviedo, El Gijonés, La Cocina de Lilliam, La Guarida. Travel providedby Insight Cuba, a licensed provider of people-to-people travel. Cost: $4,000 per person, dou-ble occupancy. Details: Emily Jarmuth, Sales & Marketing Director, Cuba Libre Restaurant, 8019th St. NW, Washington, DC 20001. Tel: (202) 408-1600. Email: [email protected].

Aug. 4 -6 : “Where is Cuba Going?” 22nd Annual Meeting of the Association for the Study ofthe Cuban Economy, Hilton Miami Downtown Hotel. Speakers at this key event include JorgeDomínguez (Harvard); Richard Feinberg (University of California-San Diego) and EusebioMujal-León (Georgetown). “We are also working towards bringing Cuba-based economistsand scholars to the conference.” Registration before July 15: $75 for members, $175 for non-members. Details: ASCE, PO Box 28267, Washington, DC 20038-8267. Email: [email protected].

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

Documents

April 2012 Issue