Chronicle on Cuba - December 2004

US-Cuba Relations

December 1: One of the five Cuban prisoners incarcerated in the United States has been placed under severe limitations. No reason has been given to Gerardo Hernández for confining him to his cell over the past few weeks, providing him with cold food only and giving him reduced bathing time, reported the Cuban daily Juventud Rebelde. The newspaper described the punishment as effective solitary confinement at the California prison in Victorville where Hernández is being held. (Radio Habana Cuba, 1/12/04)

December 1: US filmmaker Oliver Stone's letter to Fidel Castro was made public in Cuba. Stone´s letter was sent on October 26 from London, according to Granma newspaper. The paper says the existence of the letter was known on November 24 through the Cuban embassy in Spain. In his letter published by Cuban newspapers, Stone calls Fidel an incredible man, "first you fall and fracture your knee and instead of relaxing and allowing doctors to administer anesthesia, as most people would do, you keep on working during surgery." (Prensa Latina, 1/12/04)

December 2: Senator Byron Dorgan (Democrat-North Dakota) said the US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) is quietly using new tactics and resources to stop legal sales of American farm products to Cuba. Senator Dorgan said he is calling on the Treasury Department's Inspector General to investigate whether OFAC is exceeding its legal authority by using its resources to block Cuba food sales. OFAC's top job is to track terrorists' funding sources, Dorgan noted. The new effort diverts attention and resources from that, in addition to hurting US farmers at a time when farm incomes need bolstering. (Hindustan Times, 2/12/04)

December 3: The Bush administration has temporarily halted the transfer of money to US agricultural firms selling goods to Cuba. Congress Daily reported that the move, apparently aimed at discouraging trade with the communist nation, comes amid a review of existing law to investigate whether Cuba is required to make advance payments for US farm products. (UPI, 3/12/04)

December 3: President George W. Bush will be committed during his second term to the "liberation of Cuba" by extending moral and political support to the Cuban people, a top State Department official said. Roger Noriega, who heads the department's Latin American bureau, also said once Fidel Castro is no longer in power, the United States is ready to support broad economic and political changes in Cuba "to ensure that vestiges of the regime don't hold on." Noriega noted Washington has a blueprint for providing social, economic and other types of assistance to Cuba in the post-Castro era. (Canadian Press, 3/12/04)

December 3: Spain's push for a more flexible EU policy toward Cuba is "wrong-headed," the top US diplomat for Latin America said. "Making concessions to a regime of that nature is really a wrong-headed policy," Roger Noriega said. "Foreign Minister (Felipe) Perez Roque said months ago that Spain would come crawling on its knees to Havana. I laughed when I read that. And my guess is that Perez Roque is doing the laughing now," Noriega said. (EUBusiness, 3/12/04)

December 4: Michael and Angela McCarthy a Port Huron, Michigan, couple is driving to Washington to find out how much the US government will fine them for their illegal trip to Cuba. In April 2001, when the couple crossed the border from Ontario into Michigan, an officer asked them where they'd been, and they answered truthfully -- Cuba -- and mentioned they had brought back a couple of cigars. Administrative Law Judge Irwin Schroeder could make them pay up to $110,000 after considering their case during a hearing. The McCarthy case is one of about 20 now before judges of the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Asset Control, according to the Center for International Policy, which advocates ending travel restrictions to Cuba. Many more cases get settled before they ever reach a judge. (AP, 4/12/04)

December 5: According to Cuban sources from the Tourism industry, during 2004 travels from Cuban Americans to the island have decreased significantly. “For Christmas 2003 we processed documents for 3,500 persons, while this year the number only rose to less than 250”, said Armando García, vice president of Marazul, a travel agency. Other tour operators have said that tickets prices have gone up by 30 %. Non-official statistics reveal that in 2003 over 154,000 persons travelled to Cuba, while only 30,000 travelled during 2004. This reduction resulted in lost income of 66 million USD, compared to year before. (DPA, 5/12/04)

December 7: Banco Santander Central Hispano, the Spanish bank which owns Abbey National, has been fined $20,000 (£10,000) by the US authorities for breaching trade sanctions against Cuba. The fine has been levied against Santander's bank in Nassau, Bahamas, for a transfer of funds through Cuba in 2001. Information posted on the treasury department's website showed that the Spanish bank was fined last month. Santander was fined under the range of civil penalties used by the department, which can levy financial penalties of up to $55,000 for each violation. Criminal penalties for violating the sanctions range from 10 years in prison, $1m in corporate fines and $250,000 in individual fines. (The Guardian, 9/12/04)

December 8: The US Treasury Department announced that it had identified as Cuban-owned and operated a travel agency offering US citizens special rates on trips to the island and helping them evade Washington's travel ban to Havana. The company, Tour & Marketing International LTD, helps US citizens travel to Cuba via third countries. A communique from Treasury's assistant secretary of its financial crimes and terrorist financing division, Juan Carlos Zarate, said the agency "generates resources that the Cuban regime uses to oppress its people" and helps people violate US economic sanctions against the island's Communist government. Tour & Marketing International has five offices in Cuba, one in Spain, one in England and another in the British Virgin Islands. The firm's main officials are Cubans living on the island. (EFE, 8/12/04)

December 8: A Senate Democrat threatened to block the president's Treasury Department appointments as the Bush administration reconsiders a rule for companies that sell food and agricultural products to Cuba. Senator Max Baucus of Montana, the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, said a potential revision threatens to obstruct trade and "takes this administration's dangerous obsession with Cuba to a whole new level." "I will not sit idly by if the Treasury Department attempts to rewrite legislation Congress intended to facilitate trade with Cuba," he said. (AP, 8/12/04)

December 9: Changing the method of payment for US farm goods sold to Cuba could be detrimental to America’s farmers and ranchers, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation. AFBF, and an extensive coalition of agricultural associations, sent a letter to President Bush asking him to instruct the Office of Foreign Assets Control to not change the method of payment procedures used in agricultural exporting to Cuba. The letter was prompted by indications that the OFAC, an office under the Treasury Department, is considering new guidelines to interpret payment terms in a way that would force US exporters to receive payment before goods leave US ports. The value of US agricultural exports to Cuba has reached about $400 million per year. (AFB, 9/12/04)

December 9: Agriculture Secretary Dennis Wolff announced that Pennsylvania will export the first live cattle shipment made from the US since bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or mad cow disease, was found in a cow in Washington state last December. In January 2005, some 200 Holstein and Jersey cattle, predominately from Pennsylvania, will be exported to Cuba as part of a recent trade agreement. Pennsylvania's agricultural products are known worldwide for quality," said Wolff. "Earlier this year, I discussed dairy genetics in detail with Fidel Castro during a trade mission to Cuba. Since the first cattle from Pennsylvania shipped so successfully, Cuba is interested in purchasing another group of the state's bred cattle. We believe this is a great step towards increased trade with Cuba, and a great sign to the international community that Pennsylvania genetics are a good investment." (PRNewswire, 9/12/04)

December 9: The Head of the Cuban Communist Party's Ideology Office concluded the 6th National Festival of Written Press by calling on Cuban journalists to take a firm stance against what he called "the moral decadence and arrogance" of the United States government. Rolando Alfonso Borges warned that the swing to the right witnessed in President George W. Bush' administration and the escalation of the media war against perceived enemies of the US made military aggression against Cuba increasingly possible. (Radio Habana Cuba, 10/12/04)

December 10: Cuban dissidents placed their wishes for a democratic Cuba in a time capsule and buried them in the garden of the top US diplomat in Havana, along with a copy of George Orwell's "Animal Farm." The candle-lit ritual was planned by US mission chief James Cason to mark International Human Rights Day. "This is a ceremony of hope," said leading Cuban dissident Oswaldo Paya, who heads the Varela Project, a signature drive calling for a referendum on civil liberties under Fidel Castro's communist government. The time capsule will be opened when Cuba holds democratic elections, said Cason, who asked a dozen dissidents to write messages to future Cuban voters. (Reuters, 10/12/04)

December 10: The top American diplomat in Cuba said the end is near for Fidel Castro and his government and that even Castro's supporters are preparing for a transition to democracy. US Interests Section Chief James Cason spoke at his official residence where dissidents gathered for a time capsule ceremony marking International Human Rights Day. Castro's government "is on its last legs," Cason said as dissidents filled the capsule with messages spelling out their dreams for a different kind of Cuba. "Even regime supporters are discreetly preparing for the inevitable democratic transition" on the communist-run island, the American official said. (AP, 10/12/04)

December 12: After years of fighting defensive maneuvers to keep US sanctions on Cuba intact, changes in Congress and the White House have emboldened pro-embargo legislators to consider more aggressive policies against the island. The addition of Florida's Mel Martinez to the Senate, the strengthening of the Republican majority in Congress and Condoleezza Rice's nomination as secretary of state have shifted the balance of power in favor of the pro-embargo camp, analysts and congressional officials say. "We're going to get together and form a coalition with other members of like mind to have a proactive stance," said Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (Republican-Florida). Ros-Lehtinen, Martinez and Representatives Lincoln and Mario Diaz-Balart, brothers and Miami Republicans, have created a congressional bloc, tentatively named the Cuba Democracy Group, to counter the bipartisan Cuba Working Group, which favors more trade with the island. Much of the Cuba Democracy Group's efforts will target freshmen legislators who might be unfamiliar with Cuban issues. (The Miami Herald, 12/12/04)

December 13: The military exercises organized by the Cuban government seek to prevent people on the Communist-ruled island from focusing on their problems, the US State Department said. The maneuvers represent "one or more of the many things that the Cuban government does to try to distract people from the problems that they face in their daily lives," department spokesman Richard Boucher said at a daily press briefing. Boucher dismissed that as a pretext, saying that "we don't think there's any justification or any particular foundation for this kind of charge." He also reiterated Washington's repeated calls for a peaceful transition toward democracy in Cuba. "We think that's what the Cuban people deserve and we think they deserve it in a peaceful fashion," he said. (EFE, 13/12/04)

December 13: Two years ago in December, fewer than 30 US business representatives came to Havana to sign agreements with Cuban officials to export food to the Caribbean island. This week, Cuba expects more than 340 people — primarily producers of American farm goods — to attend the latest round of talks, in which communist officials hope to sign deals worth about $100 million. "This shows a great interest on the part of American businesses," Pedro Alvarez, chairman of the Cuban food import company Alimport, said. Alvarez was optimistic that President Bush in his second term will start heeding requests from US business interests and lawmakers — particularly those from farm states — to ease restrictions. "I have absolute confidence that intelligence will prevail," Alvarez said. "I think the time is right." More than 165 US companies will be represented in this week's talks. Senator Max Baucus of Montana, the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, is expected to attend, as well as several state lawmakers and agricultural commissioners. (AP, 13/12/04)

December 15: Cuba's most senior US diplomat says he has been warned by the government of serious consequences unless he takes down Christmas decorations in Havana. James Cason says he will not remove the display at the American interests section, which includes a reference to 75 dissidents jailed last year. Cuba has twice told US diplomats to remove all decorations immediately. The display at the US interests section includes a huge white Santa Claus, an image of galloping reindeer and a flashing sign wishing Cubans a Happy Christmas. A large figure 75, is picked out in neon, inside a large circle. James Cason, head of the interests section, says the decorations will remain in place until the end of the holidays and that any action taken by Cuba against US personnel or the US mission in Havana will not affect his government's determination to draw attention to human rights. "Our intent, in the spirit of Christmas, was to call attention to the plight of these 75," Cason told reporters. "We're prepared to pay whatever price for the things we believe in." (BBC, AP, 15/12/04)

December 15: The US State Department said it was "troubled" by Venezuela's economic pact with Cuba. "We are troubled that a country with a democratic tradition like Venezuela would want to strengthen its ties to the only undemocratic regime and closed economy in the hemisphere," spokesman Richard Boucher said. The comments came after Venezuela and Cuba signed an economic integration agreement and Caracas adopted internal measures similar to Cuba's. (UPI, 15/12/04)

December 15: US Senator Max Baucus said in Havana that Cuba's recent decision to release seven of the so-called Group of 75 dissidents jailed last year was "very important." The Montana Democrat attended the opening of a round of trade negotiations between Cuban and US companies meeting in Havana's Palacio de las Convenciones to commemorate the third anniversary of the initiation of such operations. "I congratulate Cuba for having freed several opponents," Baucus said, adding that the relationship between Havana and Washington is a "two-way street" and suggesting that the United States should respond positively to the development. (EFE, 15/12/04)

December 15: Pedro Alvarez, the president of Alimport, the Cuban state import agency, said that in 2004 imports from the United States would account for nearly $480 million, triple the figure for 2002. Several agreements were signed between Alimport and US companies - including several from Montana - for nearly $40 million in agricultural and food products like frozen chicken and milk. (EFE, 15/12/04)

December 15: The president of the Cuban National Assembly, Ricardo Alarcón, was complaining about the Christmas decorations in the garden of the US Interests Office in Havana, among them the number "75," alluding to the group of peaceful dissidents jailed in spring of 2003. "It was a horrible thing done by this gentleman (Interests Office chief James Cason), who was desperate to provoke (us). I don't think this deserves comment," Alarcón said in brief statements to foreign correspondents at the premiere of a film about five Cuban spies serving long sentences in the United States. (EFE, 15/12/04)

December 16: Cuba has agreed to purchase up to $10 million worth of farm products including potatoes, apples, and dairy cattle from Maine producers, Governor John Baldacci said. The announcement came at the end of a trade mission to Cuba involving representatives from the state's potato, apple, dairy, cattle and maple syrup industries. (The Boston Globe, 16/12/04)

December 16: The United States has eased sanctions against Cuba, Iran and Sudan to facilitate literary and scientific exchanges. A new rule, released by the Treasury Department, enables American persons to freely engage in most ordinary publishing activities with individuals and groups in the three countries. Restrictions on "certain interactions" with the local governments in the area of publishing will be maintained, but the department did not specify in its statement how broad they will be. (ABC, 16/12/04)

December 17: Cuba put up several huge billboards near the US mission with pictures of abused Iraqi prisoners and American soldiers pointing a rifle at children, in response to a US Christmas display in support of imprisoned Cuban dissident. Two billboards with photos of hooded and bloodied inmates at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison, a swastika and the word "fascists" in bold red letters were erected across the street from the US diplomatic mission, where the display of Christmas lights includes the number 75, in reference to 75 pro-democracy activists imprisoned for lengthy terms last year. Another billboard faces the back of the building, with large photos of US soldiers searching and pointing a rifle at children, presumably in Iraq. A US diplomat called the billboards fanatical. (EFE, Reuters, 7/12/04)

December 17: US Secretary of State Colin Powell chided Cuba for displaying Nazi swastikas and pictures of Iraqi prisoner abuse to counter US Christmas decorations in Havana that paid tribute to jailed Cuban dissidents. "I don't think that is very wise on their part," Powell said in the latest volley in the holiday season row that has erupted in the Cuban capital. Powell, speaking in an interview with the press, refused to back down on the US decorations, which he called a gesture of solidarity with political prisoners in Cuba. "And the Cuban government's response is to put forward and show the world a swastika?" he said, according to a State Department transcript. "I don't think that is very wise on their part, and we will continue to stick by our troops down there, our diplomats down there and our Christmas display, with the "75." (AP, 17/12/04)

December 17: US officials were critical after Cuba used Nazi swastikas and pictures of Iraqi prisoner abuse to counter US Christmas decorations in Havana. “Any government that puts up swastikas ought to answer its own questions about why it does that," State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said. (The Globe and Mail, 17/12/04)

December 18: Cuba has agreed to buy about $125 million in farm goods from US companies attending trade talks in Havana, officials said. The deals, which were agreed on during three days of negotiations, surpassed expectations, Pedro Alvarez, chairman of the Cuban food import company Alimport, told the press. Cuba had expected to sign deals worth about $100 million going into the talks, he said. More than 300 people, primarily producers of American farm goods, attended the meetings, as did several lawmakers — including Senator Max Baucus of Montana, the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee. Fidel Castro addressed the group for several hours on subjects ranging from Cuba's health care system to a recent government decision to take the American dollar out of circulation on the island. (AP, 18/12/04)

December 19: Fidel Castro said that "the risks of attack (by the United States) are real," Cuban television reported. The island's leader, who is the overall commander of the Cuban military, "closely followed" the unfolding of the military maneuvers and "drew up important plans directed at strengthening the country's defense," the television said. In several working sessions, Castro "was informed of the activities carried out all over the island and gave instructions about crucial defense matters," it added. The Cuban president "acknowledged the quality of the preparation and specialization" by the exercises' participants, and was reported to be "impressed" by the country's advances in its defense, Cuban TV declared. (Prensa Latina, EFE, 19/12/04)

December 20: Police and the US Coast Guard searched for refugees in the ocean waters off Palm Beach County after a suspected Cuban national swam to shore in this exclusive town wearing just his underwear. After being taken into custody, the refugee, who was described as being in his 30s, told authorities he had been on a roughly 15-foot, homemade raft containing six other men, who were mostly in their 20s. He said the raft's engine stalled about two miles offshore and he and two other men decided to swim to shore. He said he lost track of the other two during his more than 17-hour swim to shore and does not know what happened to them. (Sun Sentinel, 21/12/04)

December 20: Five thousand Cuban students rallied outside the US diplomatic mission in Havana, denouncing US policy toward their country, Iraq and elsewhere. Communist youth, university, and high school leaders blasted "US imperialism" at the evening rally between anti-war and nationalist songs, as two powerful members of the Communist Party Political Bureau, Vice President Carlos Lage Dávila and National Assembly President Ricardo Alarcón, looked on. "The new fascism of the United States continues harassing our revolution (...) As long as the provocations continue, we will do what is needed to fight them," said the leader of Havana University students, Carlos Lage Codorniú. The event, celebrating the 82nd anniversary of the University Students Federation, was held in front of the US mission, on Havana's busy sea-side drive, to protest a Christmas display that has angered local authorities. The rally was broadcast live by the state-controlled media. (Reuters, 20/12/04)

December 21: The number of passengers flying to Cuba from the United States has plummeted since last year, according to figures compiled by the State Department. The decrease suggests tougher travel restrictions by the Bush administration are having their intended effect. Since July, when the new regulations took effect, 50,558 seats have been reserved on charter flights to Cuba, most originating in South Florida. During the same period last year, the number was 118,938. (Chicago Tribune, 21/12/04)

December 21: The United States Interests Section in Havana (USIS) withdrew a visa issued to dissident Osvaldo Alfonso, who was recently released from prison for health reasons. Alfonso, 39, had been granted a visa as a political refugee and had plans to immigrate to the US with his family. During his 20 months in prison, Alfonso suffered serious nervous disorders, which led to an attempted suicide. His case received particular attention during the summary trials of April 2003. Alfonso testified then that he was manipulated by USIS in his opposition activities. Images of his trial were broadcast by the official media and used by Foreign Minister Felipe Pérez Roque as “proof of US interference in their internal affairs”. (El Nuevo Herald, 21/12/04)

December 21: An Alabama trade mission to Cuba lined up $18 million in sales of agricultural products and more deals are expected to result from the trip, state Agriculture Commissioner Ron Sparks said. The deal is the biggest yet with the communist island nation since Alabama agriculture officials began pursuing trade in 2002, Sparks said. "Clearly, the results from this trip show how Alabama profits from exporting to Cuba," he said. Alabama's delegation was one of several from the United States that participated in trade negotiations last week. Cuban officials said they agreed to buy $125 million in farm goods from the US. (AP, 21/12/04)

December 22: The Cuban Olympic Committee said that athletic exchanges between the Communist island and the United States, which had continued despite decades of animosity between the two nations' governments, have been reduced to near zero by a recent tightening of the US embargo. The committee mentioned what it termed "the intensification of the blockade," lamenting its effect on the Cuban people "and particularly on its athletic sector." Washington last summer began applying a series of measures to tighten the 42-year-old US embargo against Cuba in hopes of speeding up a democratic transition on the island. The new restrictions reduced the number and kind of approved visits by US citizens to the island. (EFE, 22/12/04)

December 22: Cuban art students and cartoonists painted an American eagle cartoon on the asphalt of Havana's coastal highway so cars can drive over it as they pass the US diplomatic mission, the latest salvo in a spat over pro-dissident Christmas decorations hung by the Americans. Police closed off two blocks of the highway as the students drew the colorful cartoon of an aggressive-looking eagle with an enormous "B" on its chest. . "This character represents the blockade and will be squashed by all the cars and people who pass by here," said Ernesto Padrón, a well-known cartoonist who worked on the painting. The government has used the figure in a televised campaign to criticize four decades of sanctions. A two-storey high cartoon depicted the top US diplomat in Cuba, James Cason, as a huge Father Christmas - whose sack contains bombs, not presents. (Sun Sentinel, BBC, Reuters, 22/12/04)

December 22: Cuba's Foreign Minister, Felipe Perez Roque, said in Havana that his country is ready to respond in kind to the latest US provocations by resorting to options that "will become public at the appropiate time." Speaking to the press at Havana´s Convetion Center, Perez Roque said that his country is endowed with “an arsenal of ideas” to counter what he deemed subversive actions by the US Interests Section in Havana. (Prensa Latina, BBC Mundo Latino, 23/12/04)

December 22: US immigration authorities ordered the deportation of a former Cuban government employee accused of persecuting dissidents in his communist-led home country. Luis Enrique Daniel Rodriguez, a former Cuban interior ministry employee, was detained in July after a judge issued a deportation order. Rodriguez, 37, has been held at an immigration detention facility in Miami. US authorities accuse him, among other things, of breaking into the homes of two Cuban dissidents in Havana, including the residence of Elizardo Sanchez, head of the Cuban Committee for Human Rights and National Reconciliation, Rodriguez's attorneys said. But Sanchez has denied that Rodriguez took actions against him. (AFP, 22/12/04)

December 23: Cuba has agreed to buy more than $1 million worth of yellow peas from North Dakota while industry officials sort though a new trade proposal that could change future negotiations. A North Dakota trade delegation secured a deal in October to sell 5,000 metric tons of peas to Cuba, with a verbal agreement for an additional 20,000 metric tons. A contract was completed for about 10,000 metric tons to be shipped early next year, the North Dakota Dry Pea and Lentil Association said. (AP, 23/12/04)

December 24: The US mission in Cuba stepped up its Christmas symbols battle with the Cuban government by sending holiday postcards with the number 75 representing dissidents held prisoner by the communist-led island. The card is decorated with a shackled peace dove behind bars and a padlock with the number 75 for the dissidents who were rounded up in a government crackdown on the opposition last year. "Peace on earth, goodwill toward all," says the postcard sent to foreign diplomats and journalists. The card is signed by the chief of the US special interests section, James Cason, and his wife Carmen. (AFP, 24/12/04)

December 28: Hundreds of Cuban children have rejected, through drawings and writings on the road surface, the latest acts by the US Interest Section (SINA) in Havana against the island, Juventud Rebelde daily informed. Gathered in front of the SINA, the children made paintings about peace and human understanding. “We cannot just stand here doing nothing over the US provocative acts,” some of the children said. (Prensa Latina, 28/12/04)

December 28: US Representative Arthur Davis said he will ask the US Treasury Department not to change Cuba trade policies, because new rules could damage Alabama's growing trade relationship with the nation. Alabama-based agricultural companies have built an $18 million export industry since 2002, when the state first began pursuing trade with Cuba. "If there was a significant problem with late payments, it would make sense to tighten the cash schedule but Cuba has made its payments in a timely fashion," Davis (Democrat-Birmingham), told the press. "It's either Alabama fills these chicken orders or Brazil fills these chicken orders. If someone else fills those orders, we are not going to get them back," said Alabama Agriculture Commissioner Ron Sparks. Alabama's exports include poultry, timber and snack foods. (AP, 29/12/04)

December 29: Cuba´s government has asserted that countering US hostilities against the country is one of the main priorities of Cuban foreign policy. After assessing Cuba’s strategy in the face of mounting US hostile policy towards the island in 2004, Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque asserted that “the US imperialism has once again failed in its bid to overthrow or weaken the Cuban Revolution”. "We reiterate our deep conviction in the ideas we defend," stressed Perez Roque, Granma daily reported. (Prensa Latina, 29/12/04)

December 31: The first shipment of Florida-bred cattle to Cuba in more than 40 years was leaving from Port Everglades, near Fort Lauderdale. Twenty-two beef cattle were on a cargo chip for the three-day trip to Havana, said J.P. Wright & Co. Inc., which has a contract to ship the livestock under an exemption to the long-standing US trade embargo on Cuba. The shipment is the first part of a nearly $1 million order totaling 300 head of Florida-bred cattle. The rest is expected to ship within the next few months. (Sun Sentinel, 31/12/04)

December 31: Cuban Parliament Chairman Ricardo Alarcón has denounced that the imprisonment of five of his countrymen in the United States clearly demonstrates Washington's complicity with terrorist groups based in South Florida. If those youths had really sought to harm that country, the White House spokespersons, so prolific telling lies against Cuba, would mention it every day, as they do with accusations that Cuba is producing biological weapons, Alarcón said. (Radio Habana Cuba, 31/12/04)