Chronicle on Cuba - January 2005

Domestic Affairs

January 1: Celebrating the first Mass of 2005, before an audience of thousands at the capital’s cathedral, Cardinal Jaime Ortega Alamino, Archbishop of Havana, called upon many Cubans to “banish hatred from their hearts.” Attending the religious ceremony were the “Ladies in White,” a group of wives and relatives of the 75 dissidents imprisoned in 2003. According to the prelate, “there are evils to overcome everywhere, even among us in Cuba,” adding that “there is hatred in many hearts that should be cast out.” (EFE, 1/1/05)

January 3: Cuba's infant mortality, a benchmark the government uses to measure the effectiveness of its health system, fell to 5.8 per 1,000 live births in 2004, the Communist Party daily announced. The story on Granma newspaper's front page said the rate was the lowest in Latin America for the same period. Cuba's infant mortality rate for 2003 was 6.3 per 1,000 live births, the newspaper said. Infant mortality measures the number of children who die before they reach their first birthday. Worldwide, it is seen as an important measure of a nation's development. (AP, 3/1/05)

January 4: Revered priests of Cuba's Santeria religion warned of everything from environmental contamination to male impotence in 2005 as part of their annual New Year's predictions. Cuba and the world are also at risk of widespread disease, betrayal, and military interventions, according to the latest "Letra del Año," or Letter of the Year. "If mankind unites in faith, unites in prayer, unites in the constancy to work toward making things better, I think that these large-scale phenomena we've been able to predict will be less," Lazaro Cuesta, wearing a white cap and all-white outfit, told a news conference. "Not less in quantity, but less in pain and suffering, because we would be prepared to confront the problems," he added. The Yoruba Cultural Association, another Santeria group, made its own predictions, saying 2005 would fall under the sign of "Iroso Meyi" and would be a year of financial difficulties. The association recommended patience and respect for family members, and urged people to take steps to avoid robbery and protect leaders from attack. (AFP, 3/1/05)

January 4: Cuba is undertaking large scale renovation of electro- medical technology with the installation of new equipment in hospitals and health centers throughout the island to improve specialized health services. AIN news agency reported that just a year after the process began, medical services have already improved. (Radio Habana Cuba, 4/1/05)

January 4: Cuba's Council of State announced in a decree signed by Fidel Castro, that elections will be held in April to choose delegates in the country's 169 Municipal Assemblies of People's Power. Cubans will cast their ballots in the first round of voting on April 17th to elect their representatives for 30 months. Candidates who require a second round will be voted on the following Sunday, April 24th. (Radio Habana Cuba, 4/1/05)

January 4: Prisoner of conscience Randy Cabrera Mayor was subjected to attacks by the chief of the re-education division, at “Combinado de Guantánamo” prison. Cabrera Mayor was also subjected to physical abuses for refusing to wear the prison's uniform. The prisoner assumed the position of "plantado" more than 14 months ago, refusing to wear the prison's uniform and also any method of prison re education since the beginning of his incarceration. Cabrera Mayor was sentenced to 26 years, in 1999, for refusing to enlist in the Cuban Military Service, a counter revolutionary crime according to Cuban laws. He was also sentenced for attempting to escape from prison and to exit the country illegally. (Puente Informativo, 4/1/05)

January 5: The Council of State of Cuba has designated the members of the National Electoral Commission (CEN) to supervise the proper management of the elections scheduled for this April, an official note informs. A decree from that state agency notes that the CEN is composed of Roberto Díaz Sotolongo, justice minister, as president; Juan Vela, dean of the University of Havana, as vice president; one secretary; and 14 members. (Granma International, 5/1/05)

 January 6: More than 1.5 million people have visited a monument honoring Ernesto "Che" Guevara in central Cuba since it opened in 1988, local media reported. The year with the highest number of visitors was 1999, two years after the remains of the legendary revolutionary fighter were brought to Cuba, the director of the Guevara complex, Mercedes Piñón, told the provincial state-run newspaper Vanguardia. Nearly half of those visiting the complex are foreigners, hailing primarily from Europe and Latin America. (AP, 6/1/05)

January 8: Wives of jailed Cuban dissidents held a holiday party for the children of political prisoners, handing out gifts paid for by a powerful exile group in Miami. Balloons, holiday wreaths and a Christmas tree surrounded about a dozen children, who opened up presents containing dolls and toy cars. According to the hostess of the party, Laura Pollan, the money for the gifts came from the Cuban-American National Foundation, a lobbying group dedicated to undermining Fidel Castro's government. "The allotment wasn't to go out, or enjoy ourselves, because we are full of pain," Pollan told the press. "It was to provide two hours of happiness to our children." (CNN, 8/1/05)

January 10: The number of political prisoners held in Cuba dropped slightly over the past six months to 294, a veteran rights activist reported. The decline from 317 prisoners six months ago and 315 a year ago is not significant enough to mark a change in the government's policy toward jailed dissidents, said activist Elizardo Sanchez, who heads the Havana-based Cuban Commission on Human Rights and Reconciliation. "The fact that the number of political prisoners has stayed stationary during the last few years reflects the highly repressive position that the government of Cuba maintains," Sanchez wrote in the non-governmental commission's latest report, which was distributed to international journalists. Among those named on the commission's list are all 75 dissidents arrested in a roundup on the opposition in spring 2003 even though 14 of them have since been freed on parole for health reasons. Sanchez said those 14 remained on the list because they were not released unconditionally and could be returned to custody if they violate parole. (AP, 10/1/05)

January 11: Imprisoned independent Cuban journalist Normando Hernandez has been hospitalized for serious health problems, a dissident leader told the press. National Reconciliation and Human Rights Commission (CDHRN) chief Elizardo Sanchez said that Hernandez was in "very delicate health (...) and was admitted at the beginning of the month to the prisoners' unit at the Pinar del Rio provincial hospital" some 150 kilometers (93 miles) from Havana. Sanchez said that family members of Hernandez, who is serving a 25-year prison sentence for dissident activities, had claimed that "the results of the Mantu test, which is used to detect tuberculosis, were altered" when they were given to him. "Normando Hernandez's state of health is rather delicate, given that he also suffers from other ailments, including gastrointestinal problems and hypertension, among other things," Sánchez told the press. (EFE, 11/1/05)

January 11: A moderate group from the Cuban domestic dissidence stated that both the Cuban government and the US Administration are contributing to a “dangerous” political situation and pointed to “persisting lack of direction” in the island’s economic affairs. A report released in Havana by the umbrella organization Arco Progresista examines the Cuban situation on different fronts and concludes that “a lack of direction is the only certainty the Cuban people has.” According to the report, subscribed by the organization’s spokesman, Manuel Cuesta Morúa, the US policy towards Cuba “successfully” seeks to “wear out” the Cuban government and “gradually lay the groundwork for US hegemony over Cuba.” (EFE, 11/1/05)

January 12: With relatives looking on, 23 men arrested nearly three years ago in the violent occupation of the Mexican Embassy went on trial for the assault, which sparked a diplomatic crisis. A government prosecutor sought prison terms of up to 12 years for the men, who allegedly stole a bus and crashed it through the embassy gates in February 2002 amid a wave of rumors the mission was issuing visas to all Cubans who showed up. Members of the group demanded visas and refused to leave before they were arrested, within two days by specially trained Cuban police in a lightning fast pre-dawn eviction. After a full day of testimony, a second day of proceedings was scheduled, the defendants' relatives said. Two relatives per defendant were allowed into the trial at the Popular Municipal Tribunal in Havana in the 10 de Octubre neighborhood. Proceedings were closed to international media and to Mexican diplomats. (AP, CNN, La Jornada, 11/1/05)

January 12: Cuba's Workers Confederation, (CTC) put out a call for its members to massively take to the streets on May 1st, to support all those who fight against war and for the right to a better life. Demonstrations celebrating International Worker's Day will be preceded in Havana by the 4th Hemispheric Meeting Against the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA). (Radio Habana Cuba, 12/1/05)

January 12: The alternative Christian magazine “Espacios”, one of a few independent publications in Cuba's mostly state-run media market, is closing after eight years because it has run out of funding and local church support. "We don't have the money to keep going," Joaquin Bello, director and founder of Espacios, told the press. The magazine touched on topics that are often rarely expressed in Cuban society. Espacios' recent topics have included Cuba's electricity crisis and criticism of the common practice of abortion in Cuba. One writer's critique of Havana's transportation system drew parallels between the city's crowded buses and the slave ships that brought ancestors from Africa. Another writer called for the liberation of Cuban political prisoners, while an editorial cartoonist commented wryly on the lack of material goods on the island. It became clear that the magazine would cease to exist in its current form after Bello met with Cardinal Jaime Ortega, lead bishop in Havana and the island's top Catholic churchman. The cardinal said the church wanted a publication "much more aimed at the laity," focusing mostly on events in the religious community, Bello said. (AP, 12/1/05)

January 13: Leading Cuban dissident Raúl Rivero and two others recently freed from prison hope to leave the island soon to at least temporarily escape Havana's tight security controls, friends said. Rivero, an internationally recognized poet and journalist, plans to move his family to Spain and return to Havana after a year, said Ricardo Trotti, a friend and director of the Free Press Department of the Miami-based Inter American Press Association. Two other freed dissidents, Manuel Vázquez Portal and Jorge Olivera, also are expected to leave soon and several others are mulling over the option, according to fellow dissidents on the island interviewed by phone. Trotti said he had spoken to Rivero. ''He is optimistic (…) that he will be allowed to leave Cuba at the beginning of February, I think under the condition that he return after one year,'' he told the press. (The Miami Herald, 13/1/05)

January 13: The trial for 23 men accused of stealing a bus and crashing it through the gates of the Mexican Embassy nearly three years ago ended with a government prosecutor now seeking 20-year sentences for the two men accused of being the ringleaders. A ruling in the case is expected in about a month. The trial, which lasted just two days, was closed to international media. The prosecutor raised the recommended sentences for Pedro Plasencia Achón and Ramón Méndez Sosa, the alleged leaders of the February 2002 assault that sparked a diplomatic crisis. They were both originally facing 12-year sentences. In addition to the two men's recommended sentences, the prosecutor is seeking 12-year sentences for 10 of the defendants, 10 years for six others and five years for the remaining five. (AP, 13/1/05)

January 16: Cuban authorities seized 589.32 kg of marihuana found bundled in 18 large bales amid a coastal mangrove. Widely regarded as a logical illegal drug transshipment corridor into Europe and the US because of its geographical location, Cuba has implemented an ongoing nation-wide anti-narcotics initiative called "Aché III". (AP, 16/1/05)

January 17: The 46th Casa de las Americas Literary Awards opened in Havana with the presentation of the jury and a speech by well-known Chilean writer Volodia Teitelboim. More than 547 works by writers from 20 countries, mainly Argentina, Brazil and Cuba, are competing for awards in fiction, theater, literary essay, literature for children and youth and Brazilian literature. (Radio Habana Cuba, 17/1/05)

January 17: A new book written by two Spanish journalists aims to show the links between Cuba and international drug trafficking. Santiago Botello and Mauricio Angulo spent a year undercover within drug trafficking gangs on the island gathering information for "Conexion Habana" (Havana Connection), in which they seek to demonstrate that "Cuba does not export drugs, but it allows (drug) trafficking" to occur via its national territory, according to Botello. (EFE, 17/1/05)

January 17: Olympic champion Osleidys Menéndez was named Cuba's female Athlete of the Year in 2004 in a ceremony in the Garcia Lorca Hall of the Grand Theater in Havana. Javelin thrower Menéndez, who won the Athens Olympic gold medal with a throw just one centimetre short of her own world record of 71.54 meters, topped the poll for the award. Boxer Mario Kindelán, the Olympic champion in the 60kg category in Athens, received the award for the male Athlete of the Year. (Xinhua, 19/1/05)

January 17: Efforts aimed at raising educational standards on the island became the focus of discussions during the Plenary Meeting of the Communist Party’s Provincial Committee, held in Havana. Party leaders said that the primary goal remains to meet the growing demand for teachers to guarantee that the principles of individualized student assistance are observed in elementary and secondary education. To that effect, broad efforts are underway to bring retired or inactive teachers back into the classrooms and to persuade young people to pursue teaching careers. (Granma, 17/1/05)

January 18: A group of young former university students requested guarantees from the Cuban authorities to discuss with higher education students a project to restore University autonomy. Entitled “University Students without Borders,” the project developed by the illegal Movement of Cuban Youths for Democracy (MCJD) proposes a plebiscite on the issue to be held in higher learning institutions. The director of the so-called “Center for Alternative Studies,” Rolando Rodríguez, said that a “reassessment” of the project was submitted last July to the Ministries of Justice and Education, as well as the State Council. (Notimex, 18/1/05)

January 19: Cuba is preparing to ask smokers to step outside before lighting up. Beginning on February 7, smoking will be prohibited in theaters, stores, buses, taxis and other enclosed public areas under a new resolution published in Cuba's National Gazette by the Commerce Ministry. Smoking will also be banned in indoor restaurants except in designated smoking areas. Cigarette machines will be taken down. There was no word if smoking would be allowed in bars. The resolution said the move was "taking into account the damage to human health caused by the consumption of cigarettes and cigars, with the objective of contributing to a change in the attitudes of our population." (CNN, 19/1/05)

January 19: A group of Cuban dissidents made public the draft of a motion to be presented to a UN panel which calls the state of human rights on the communist island "highly deficient." The document entitled "Citizens Motion on Human Rights in Cuba - 2004" was presented to journalists by the opposition group Corriente Martiana, which takes its name from Cuban independence hero Jose Martí. The proposal, to be presented to the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations, recommends an amnesty for Cuban political prisoners and national mechanisms to "promote, protect and supervise" the respect for human rights, among other things. Dissident Moisés Leonardo Rodriguez, one of the signatories to the document, said that the document, which was also sent to the Cuban Council of State, was written by a group of Cuban citizens with various political stances who are seeking a solution to the island's human rights problem. The motion proposes, among other things, a reform of the current Constitution and the laws regarding the restriction or elimination of the rights to freely gather, demonstrate and associate, and it calls for the legal recognition of alternative political institutions. (EFE, 19/1/05)

January 19: Shortly after the press conference where the Civil Initiative on Human Rights in Cuba 2004 was explained, independent journalist and leader of Corriente Martiana Moisés Leonardo Rodríguez Valdés was arrested and taken to a police station. Corriente Martiana, a Cuban civil society organization, revealed before national and foreign press correspondents details of the Civil Initiative on Human Rights in Cuba 2004, a summary review of confirmed major violations of citizens’ rights perpetrated last year. (Cubanet, 19/1/05)

January 19: Cuban dissident groups have called on the European Union (EU) to formalize a dialogue with opposition groups on the island. The request was made by the Christian Liberation Movement (MCL) and made public by top dissident and architect of the Varela Project Oswaldo Payá . Payá stressed the need to maintain official contacts with European diplomats in order to “promote peaceful change towards democracy”. The request was made ahead of a meeting of EU foreign minister on 31 January to reconsider diplomatic sanctions imposed on Cuba in the wake of a crackdown on dissidence in March 2003. (WMRC Daily Analysis, 20/1/05)

January 20: International drug traffickers coming through Cuba have become more sophisticated in the way they transport cocaine and marijuana, customs officials said. The drugs are showing up in shoes, toothpaste and electronic goods in the country's airports and ports, Jose Otaño, the second-in-command of Cuba's customs agency, told reporters.

Suitcases made of cocaine and thin travelers whose figures have been filled out with packets of drugs have also become more common, he said. "We don't want drugs here in small or in large quantities,'' Otaño said while giving a tour of a cruise ship terminal and training facility. Since 2000, the customs agency has seized some 350 pounds of drugs, foiled 82 trafficking plans and halted 706 attempts to bring in personal doses of drugs to the island, Otaño said. The number of people detained in these operations was not provided. The efforts are part of a larger campaign called "People Shield,'' or "Coraza Popular,'' launched in January 2003. Since the campaign was launched, and through the end of July 2004, Cuba has seized more than 8 tons of drugs, primarily cocaine and marijuana. (Boston Herald, 21/1/05)

January 23: Members of a banned Cuban dissident group have sent a letter to Fidel Castro outlining their plan to stage a meeting May 20 in Havana. The letter from the group, Assembly to Promote Civil Society, was signed by Martha Beatriz Roque, a member of the "Group of 75" dissidents arrested in the spring of 2003. The letter, copies of which were provided to the foreign press, was also signed by prominent dissidents Felix Bonne and Rene Gomez. "We foresee delegates from the groups making up the assembly, special national and foreign guests, and support personnel, whose total number we estimate at several hundred, taking part in the referenced (event)," the letter says. The signers said they would like the meeting to take place in a "non-public" venue. (EFE, 23/1/05)

January 24: Breakdowns affecting five water pumps in the last 20 days have caused water shortages in the municipalities of Old Havana, Downtown Havana, Cerro, Marianao, Lisa and other areas of Havana that receive their supply from the Southern Basin Water Treatment Plant. This situation is compounded by technical problems also affecting the water treatment facilities at El Gato and Ariguanabo whose causes remain unclear. (Cubanet, 24/1/05)

January 27: Laura Pollán Toledo, wife of political prisoner Héctor Maseda, said that she was harassed by Cuban State Security agents during her last visit to the prison where her husband is kept. “Lieutenant Colonel Luis Mariano asked to me, what was happening to my husband, and I replied that he was forced to undress and perform squats”, Pollán said to the press. “ In regards to Maseda, it all depends on you, collaborate with us so that he can be transferred to Havana”, the agent said, according to Laura. This “collaboration” consisted in her standing outside La Pendiente Prison in Santa Clara and letting her husband know that she would not leave until he accepts the visit and the food. “I refuse to do that, for they want to use me to break his will”, Laura Pollán said. (Puente Informativo, 27/1/05)

January 27: Lamenting the recent billboard showdown between Cuba and the US, the Catholic magazine “Palabra Nueva” said that diplomacy should be used to bridge the differences between the two nations. The publication expressed sadness about a “social environment saturated with situations that put a dampener on the festive atmosphere this Christmas” and went on to say that “the possibilities that the exercise of diplomacy offers to establish bridges for dialogue should not be ignored.” The magazine reminded that this year end was marked in Cuba by military exercises seeking to increase civilian combat readiness in the face of supposedly imminent US aggression and pointed that, “even on Christmas’ Eve,” the parliamentary sessions were broadcast on TV. (AP, 27/1/05)

January 28: This year, authors from Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Cuba won the Casa de las Américas Award in the categories of Best Novel, Theatrical Play, Children’s Book, Literary Essay and Brazilian Literature. By unanimous decision, Cuban author and poet Marilyn Bobes’ book “Fiebre Invernal” (Winter Fever) won the Award for Best Novel. 582 works of literature were submitted for consideration in the 46 th Annual Casa de las Américas Awards. (AFP, 28/1/05)

January 28: The National Council of Cuba's Labor Confederation (CTC) has convened its members to participate in the organization's 19th Congress to be held in Havana in 2006. The call made by CTC General Secretary, Pedro Ross Leal, wrapped up the labor organization's annual two-day meeting, held in Cuban capital's Molecular Immunology Center. The document states that among other issues, the Congress will allow participants to assess the achievements and weakness of the CTC over the past five years, critically examine problems affecting the normal development of activities and define new work priorities for the next five-year period. (Radio Habana Cuba, 29/1/05)

January 28: Cuba's Young Communist League (UJC), along with other youth organizations, paid tribute to National Hero José Martí on the 152nd anniversary of his birth by holding a political-cultural gala in Havana's Anti-imperialist Tribune. The Jose Marti Anti-imperialist Tribune, facing the US Interests Section in Havana, hosted hundreds of students who rejected Washington's politics toward Cuba. (Radio Habana Cuba, 29/1/05)

January 30: Long lambasted as a capitalist vice associated with the mob-run casinos of pre-revolutionary Cuba, bolita, which translates as "little ball" --an underground Cuban lottery based on the Florida Lottery's winning numbers--, has been illegal for decades. But gamblers say their beloved game endures because it's the only way for average workers who don't receive dollar remittances or hard-currency benefits to boost their paltry salaries overnight. Retirees play a few pesos of their minuscule pensions, encouraged by another's good fortune. Others look upon bolita as a sort of illicit stock market. They track the numbers obsessively, playing combinations that haven't hit in weeks or months. According to Cuba's penal code, bankers, collectors and humble listeros (those who make the lists of players) can be jailed for up to three years or fined. If the conviction involves corrupting a minor, the sentence can jump to eight years. (Sun Sentinel, 30/1/05)

January 31: More than 5,000 delegates from 46 countries are attending the 9 th International Pedagogy Congress 2005 and the 1 st World Literacy Congress, inaugurated by the Cuban Minister of Education in Havana. (EFE, 31/1/05)

January 31: Over 78,500 people are engaged in the updating of voter registration rolls for upcoming municipal elections to take place across the island. The high level of activism was described as "typical in Cuban elections, by the president of the National Electoral Commission, Roberto Díaz Sotolongo. (Radio Habana Cuba, 31/1/05)