Chronicle on Cuba - July 2005

Foreign Affairs

July 1: Revolutionary fighter Che Guevara's daughter has written a book about Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez based on interviews in which they discussed his childhood, family and relationship with Fidel Castro. "It is always thrilling to know a bit more about a human being who has decided to transform society, especially when that transformation is meant to improve the lives of his people," Aleida Guevara wrote on the book's back cover. The book, published by Ocean Press and titled "Chavez: Venezuela and the New Latin America," was presented in Havana by the author and Adán Chávez, Venezuela's ambassador to Cuba and also the president's brother. (Las Vegas Sun, 2/7/05)

July 2: Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister Rafael Daussá is starting a working visit to the city of Salamanca, Spain, host of the Ibero-American Summit to be held in October this year. (Prensa Latina, 2/7/05)

July 3: Sir Richard Branson, the billionaire head of the Virgin Group, has been hailed as a "true revolutionary" by the communist Cuban government. The "tribute" was paid by Cuba's minister for tourism during a lunch with Mr. Branson in Havana, after Virgin Atlantic's first direct flight to the Caribbean island. Manuel Marrero Cruz told the British tycoon he was "a brave man" because he was prepared to do business with Cuba while America was still punishing his country with a trade embargo imposed 45 years ago. "You are a true revolutionary because you have stood up to the Americans just as Cuba has done for decades," Mr. Cruz said. (The Sunday Telegraph, 3/7/05)

July 3: The 25th International Caribbean Festival began in the eastern city of Santiago de Cuba and is dedicated this year to Venezuela, its people, culture and history. Over 300 Venezuelans will share their dance, theatre, music and other artistic manifestations with their counterparts in the region. The “Fire Festival”, as it is also known, will have the participation of over 2,700 creators and intellectuals from Haiti, Curacao, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Trinidad and Tobago, Costa Rica, Bermudas, Colombia, Argentina and other Caribbean nations. (AIN, 4/7/05)

July 3: The Canadian group Westwinds Jazz and Concert Band made their debut in Havana at the Almendares Park amphitheater together with locals Bobby Carcases, AfroJazz and Novel Voz. The jazz band's presentations are being coordinated by the Havana offices of the Canada-Cuba Sports and Cultural Festivals and are part of the commemoration of the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries. (AIN, 3/7/05)

July 4: Since 1990, communist Cuba has treated free of charge 18,000 Ukrainian children for hair loss, skin disorders, cancer, leukemia and other illnesses attributed to the radioactivity unleashed by the 1986 power plant explosion in Chernobyl, the worst civilian disaster of the nuclear age. Up to 800 children travel to the Tarará Pediatric Hospital each year for at least two months, accompanied by parents or tutors. Some stay years. Most get treatment for hair loss, spending 15 minutes a day under an infrared light after a lotion made from human placenta is applied to their heads. Hair grows back in 60 percent of cases, said Dr. Giraldo Hernández. Many children suffer from vitiligo, a patchy loss of skin pigmentation, which is treated with another placenta-based lotion and lots of sunlight on the beach. Psoriasis is also common. More serious cases of cancer require chemotherapy or surgery. Six leukemia patients have received bone marrow transplants in Cuba. (Reuters, 4/7/05)

July 4: Mayors from 11 countries converged on Cuba's second largest city for the fourth meeting of mayors in support of Santiago de Cuba. The visiting municipal officials hail from Mexico, the US, Spain, Martinique, France, Italy, Portugal, Venezuela, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador and Jamaica. (Radio Habana Cuba, 5/7/05)

July 5 : Strategies to strengthen relations between Cuba and the Caribbean Community were on the agenda at the 26th CARICOM Summit of Heads of State, which finished on the island of Saint Lucia. (Radio Habana Cuba, 5/7/05)

July 5: The Canadian women's baseball team is helping baseball-mad Cuba into the international women's game by playing the Cubans in a five-game exhibition series starting on July 7 in Havana. Manager Andre Lachance of Burlington, Ontario, rounded out the Canadian roster by adding 10 players to the team at the conclusion of the Canadian women's championships in Mississauga, Ontario. Lachance said it was important to field a team this year in order to have an event before next year's World Cup, but also to help Cuba prepare for the World Cup. (Canadian Press, 5/7/05)

July 6: Renowned Canadian ecologist David Suzuki delivered a master conference at the 5 th International Convention on Environment and Development, taking place in Havana. Some 150 experts from 25 countries, including Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Argentina, Italy, Portugal and Spain, are attending the event. (Radio Habana Cuba, 6/7/05)

July 6: For the first time, the Dominican Republic will host the ministerial meeting of Cariforum - a regional organization made up of 15 Caribbean member-nations of Caricom, Haiti, Cuba and the host country. The 14th Cariforum Ministerial Meeting will be held July 14-15 and will focus on the future of European cooperation with the Caribbean region, said Onofre Rojas, the European Funds national coordinator in Santo Domingo. (AIN, 7/7/05)

July 6: Cuban Government Minister Ricardo Cabrisas arrived in China on a working visit. Upon his arrival in Beijing, Cabrisas held talks with Chinese Health Minister Gao Qiang on mutual cooperation in that field. He also met with Tang Ruoxin, president of the Sinosure company which is in charge of commercial relations with foreign enterprises. Following a meeting with Chinese entrepreneurs who maintain economic and commercial relations with Cuba, Ricardo Cabrisas continued with his working agenda in China, which includes a tour of the central Henan and eastern Fujian provinces. He will be meeting with trade officials in those Chinese territories. (AIN, 7/7/05)

July 8: Fidel Castro sent his condolences to British Queen Elizabeth II for the terror bombings in London, saying his nation knew what it was like to suffer from terrorism. "We have received with profound consternation the news of the attacks using explosives on the public transportation system in London, which has cost dozens of lives and hundreds of wounded," Castro wrote in the note published in the Communist Party daily Granma. "At this hour of mourning for Great Britain, let me express to you and your people our deepest condolences," the letter said. "Let me assure you that the people of Cuba, who have been the victims of terrorism for more than four decades, share your pain and reject this unjustifiable attack against the British people." (AP, 8/7/05)

July 8: Air Supply is performing for two nights in Cuba, adding the communist country to a list of exotic venues including North Vietnam, Lebanon and mainland China. Vocalist Russell Hitchcock said the rock group produces music that is able to transcend language. "We're always very excited to take our music to places we've never been before," he said at a news conference in Havana. Cuba invited Air Supply to the island, indicating a new pattern of encouraging rock and pop music in a country where rockers were once chastised for having long hair. (Canadian Press, 9/7/05)

July 9: Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez has offered his country’s support to Cuba in a gesture to help the island on its efforts to deal with the damage inflicted by hurricane Dennis. "We are confident that the Cuban people will come out of this stronger than before, as it has always done before," Chavez noted in a message in which he also offered Caracas' aid to Haiti, where the hurricane left 22 dead. Chavez spoke at a rally in which he praised the work of Cuban teachers who are helping in the Venezuelan Literacy Program. (Prensa Latina, 9/7/05)

July 10: Hurricane Dennis interrupted a five-game women's series between Canada and Cuba. Canada won the first two games before the storm pounded the island, killing 10 people. Latinoamericano Stadium, where the series was to be played, is now being used as a shelter for local citizens. (The Globe & Mail, 11/7/05)

July 11: During an appearance on state television evaluating damages inflicted to the Caribbean island, Fidel Castro said the European Union could save its money to assist Cuba, because his government was only accepting humanitarian aid from "friendly" nations such as Venezuela. (AP, 12/7/05)

July 11: The Committee to Protect Journalists is very concerned about the deteriorating health of several imprisoned Cuban journalists who have been jailed for more than two years, and it renews its call for the immediate and unconditional release of the 23 writers and editors unjustly jailed for reporting and commenting on the news. In a series of interviews with relatives of the jailed writers and editors, CPJ has found that several journalists who were ill before being jailed have seen their health worsen in prison, while others have contracted new illnesses behind bars. [Health of jailed Cuban journalists deteriorates] (CPJ Press Release, 11/7/05)

July 12: In the wake of Hurricane Dennis, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has released $50,000 in aid for Cuba. An OCHA spokesperson in Geneva said that the funds “will help with emergency response coordination and the purchase of relief items”. (EFE, 12/7/05)

July 12: France has invited Cuban authorities to its Bastille Day reception, breaking ranks with other European Union countries opposed to rewarding a communist government that silences dissent. Invitations were sent to Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque and other members of Cuba's Communist government and cultural milieu for the July 14 event, a French diplomat said. In compensation, French ambassador Marie-France Pagnier will hold a working meeting with dissidents and European ambassadors at her residence. "It was a dead-end. We could not invite both the government and dissidents at the same time. So we are going to invite some Cuban authorities," said French press attache Renaud Collard. French diplomats expect other EU members to follow their lead over the next year until EU policy on Cuba comes up for review. But other European diplomats said inviting Cuban dissidents for "a cup of tea" was not enough. "It is ironic that Bastille Day, when the French revolution began, is being used to befriend the last authoritarian regime in the Americas," said one diplomat who asked not to be named. (Reuters, 12/7/05)

July 12: Panama and Cuba could make progress toward re-establishing diplomatic relations during the upcoming Summit of the Association of Caribbean States (ACS) after ties were broken in 2004, said Panamanian foreign minister Samuel Lewis. Lewis recalled that during the November 2004 Ibero-American Summit in Costa Rica, Cuba and Panama agreed to re-establishing consular relations, as a first step towards full diplomatic relations. (AP, 12/7/05)

July 12: The remains of Cuban Captain Hermes Peña Torres, a bodyguard of Argentinean- Cuban revolutionary leader Ernesto Ché Guevara, were identified in the province of Salta, Argentina, where he died in April 1964, confirmed Raúl Juan Reynoso, an Argentinean Federal Judge in Orán. Peña Torres was a member of the Ejército Guerrillero de los Pobres (EGP – Guerrilla Army of the Poor). His remains were found in the cemetery in the Northern city of Orán, less than 50 kilometres away from the Bolivian border. (La Tercera, 13/7/05)

July 12: A Venezuelan cargo ship with hurricane emergency aid is scheduled to arrive in Cuba, officials said. Fidel Castro expressed appreciation for aid from Venezuela, "a sister country with which we have excellent relations," during a seven-hour television broadcast detailing damage left by Dennis. Cuban officials estimate they need at least 400 million dollars just to rebuild or repair the affected homes. That money might come from "savings" or possibly "we'll have to ask for help from friends," Castro said. A Venezuelan ship transporting items that include some 1,000 tonnes of diesel, 20,000 roofing sheets, and 50 electricity pylons is due to arrive in Cuba, Castro said. (EFE, 13/7/05)

July 13: Cuba's communist government is expanding a humanitarian mission that has already sent a fifth of the island's doctors to work in Venezuela, committing more aid to its close ally as Cuba receives massive shipments of Venezuelan oil. The Venezuelan government says the program involves about 20,000 Cubans, including more than 14,000 physicians -- an estimated 20 percent of Cuba's doctors. Fidel Castro has pledged to have up to 30,000 health care workers in Venezuela by the end of the year. But so many doctors have gone to Venezuela that some Cubans complain health care on the island is suffering. Castro insists they are mistaken, and that there are enough doctors to go around. Both countries, he says, are reaping the benefits of cooperation. ''This is the first time I've left Cuba, and I've never seen anything like this,'' said Dr. Leonardo Hernandez, 27, checking the pulse of a Venezuelan 2-month-old boy in a home where wires dangled from light fixtures and concrete walls were covered in grime. When he and his colleagues arrived two years ago, they found malnourished children and widespread diarrhea. Now, they say, vitamins are making the children healthier, and there have been vast improvements in sanitation. Cuban doctors who accept an invitation to work in Venezuela receive an extra stipend of $186 a month from the Venezuelan government, while Cuba continues to pay their families their regular salaries, commonly in the range of $25 a month. (AP, 13/7/05)

July 13: Cuban dissident leaders told French Ambassador, Marie-France Pagnier, that the European Union (EU) is giving in to the government of Fidel Castro, without any gestures of political opening. “It’s a prerogative of the French government, (but) virtually all oppositionists believe it’s an erroneous policy to marginalize the dissidents and favour the government”, said Vladimiro Roca, a representative of All United. Also present were Elizardo Sánchez, of the Cuban Commission for Human Rights and National Reconciliation, Martha Beatriz Roque, president of the Assembly for the Promotion of Civil Society; Oswaldo Payá, of the Christian Liberation Movement; and Manuel Cuesta, of Arco Progresista. (AFP, 13/7/05)

July 14: Mahamoudou Ouedraogo, Minister of Culture, Arts and Tourism of Burkina Faso, signed a cooperation agreement with Cuba that broadens bilateral relations. "Cuba represents a model to follow in fine arts, particularly sculpture and painting, but also in literature and the performing arts," he said in talks with Cuban Deputy Culture Minister Ismael Gonzalez. (Prensa Latina, 14/7/05)

July 14: Mexico “views favourably” the policy of “inclusion, not isolation” adopted by Madrid toward Cuba and Venezuela and wishes that the cases of these two countries be addressed in the context of the next Ibero-American Summit, said Mexican foreign minister, Luis Ernesto Derbez. At a joint press conference with his Spanish counterpart, Derbez said that both countries agree “on the need to find solutions, within the Ibero-American community, to regional issues, particularly vis à vis Cuba and Venezuela, in an appropriate institutional framework that fosters dialogue and cooperation as opposed to other methods”. (AFP, 14/5/07)

July 14: After months of snubbing Europe by refusing to attend diplomatic cocktail parties, the Cuban government broke the ice by sending Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque and other well-known Cuban figures to the French Embassy for its Bastille Day celebration. Perez Roque spent about an hour at the event, joined by Abel Prieto, the island's culture minister; Alicia Alonso, the director of the National Ballet of Cuba; and Eusebio Leal, Havana's city historian. "I think it's clear that the policy of confrontation with our country (…) has failed, and our presence here is testimony to that," Perez Roque told the press as his car was leaving the embassy. "I've come here with a feeling of national pride and dignity, and they've treated me well." A day before the Bastille Day celebration, the French government invited several dissidents to its embassy, a gathering Perez Roque called "irrelevant." He said the activists are "mercenaries" paid by the United States whose time has passed. (AP, 14/7/05)

July 15: France moved beyond EU nations toward normal relations with Cuba, inviting Communist officials to a Bastille Day celebration for the first time in two years, reversing an EU policy of inviting dissidents instead. "France seeks to open frank and constructive dialogue, which is indispensable to understanding and progress," said French Ambassador Marie-France Pagnier. "The time has come to take the honest, courageous and sometimes difficult and painful steps to build the foundation for this dialogue," she said. "I am sad," said Portugal's ambassador, Mario Rodino de Matos. "It is a success for France, but I would have preferred that the European Union keep a unified position," he said, as other European diplomats regretted in private France's loner role. (AFP, 15/7/05)

July 15: Hundreds of Venezuelan doctors have marched through the country's capital, Caracas, demanding the expulsion of Cuban doctors. President Hugo Chavez says he invited the medical staff into the country to provide free health care for the poor. But Venezuela's doctors, who are also asking for better wages, say the Cubans are taking their jobs. They say the government is trading its oil revenues to pay for some 20,000 Cuban doctors and dentists. Dressed in white medical gowns and bearing national flags, some 400 doctors and medical staff carried banners reading 'No More Cubanisation!' as they marched. (El Universal, BBC, 15/7/05)

July 15: The European Union's revolving presidency - currently held by Great Britain - expressed its concern about recent incidents in Havana when the Cuban regime broke up a peaceful ceremony by dissidents. The EU presidency's office said in a short communique released by the British Embassy in Havana that it viewed with "concern" the manner in which Cuban authorities broke up a small peaceful demonstration on July 13 along the capital's coastal Malecón highway. The statement recalled that on June 13 the EU Foreign Relations Council had condemned the actions of Cuba's communist government against freedom of expression and assembly on the island. (EFE, 15/7/05)

July 18: Reporters Without Borders deplored the use of violence by State Security and National Revolutionary Police on the Isle of Youth against Lamasiel Gutiérrez Romero, an independent journalist of the Nueva Prensa Cubana news agency, who was roughed up, held for seven hours and fined for resisting the authorities as she was about to travel to the Cuban mainland on 14 July. [Authorities rough up independent journalist] (RSF Press Release, 18/7/05)

July 19: Mexico should demand an explanation from the US as to how the alleged terrorist Luis Posada Carriles passed through its territory to get to the US, said the president of Cuba’s National Assembly of the People’s Power, Ricardo Alarcón. He added that while Cuba has no evidence to suspect a Mexican government conspiracy to allow Posada to use its territory to reach the US, it is a serious issue when a fugitive accused of terrorism can enter a national territory undetected. (El Universal, 19/7/05)

July 20: Argentina will send humanitarian aid to mitigate the damages caused by ravaging Hurricane Dennis, said the Foreign Ministry in a communiqué. The communiqué also indicates that the White Helmets Commission will send 820,000 purification tablets to the island to treat 2.5 million litres of water for human consumption. (AFP, 20/7/05)

July 22: Venezuelans' support for Fidel Castro's model of government and the installation of socialism in the Southern nation has been growing, two recent polls show, although a majority remains critical of the Cuban system. A poll released by the Caracas-based Datanálisis company showed 11.6 percent approved using Castro's Cuba as a model for Venezuela, while 63.2 percent said they were opposed. Another nationwide poll, carried out by Seijas & Asociados in late May and early June, showed that about 48 percent of respondents preferred a socialist over a capitalist system, with less than 26 percent preferring the latter. Datanálisis director Luis Vicente León warned, however, that the various poll results must be analyzed ''with tweezers'' and do not necessarily mean that Venezuelans want a Cuban-styled system in their country. Venezuelans, León said, associate the Cuban system not with socialism but with communism, which the majority abhors. ''There remains a very high level of rejection of extreme models such as communism,'' he said. (The Miami Herald, 22/7/05)

July 22: Officials of the Inter-American Press Association agreed at their quarterly review of press freedom in the hemisphere that countries warranting special attention are the United States, Mexico, Cuba and Venezuela. On Communist Cuba, IAPA said that "official censorship has increased" along with discrimination against independent journalists. The organization also publicly asked the Cuban government to release 24 imprisoned journalists, 12 of whom have serious health problems or have contracted illnesses in prison and are being denied access to adequate medical attention. [IAPA Press Release] (EFE, 22/7/05)

July 24: France called for the immediate release of Cuban dissidents rounded up two days ago prior to a planned protest outside the French embassy in Havana. ``The French authorities are following this situation with the greatest attention so that all those arrested be freed without delay,'' the French foreign ministry said in a statement. The protest was aimed at encouraging France and other European Union governments to keep pressure on Havana to release dissidents jailed in 2003. France said it would continue to work with its European partners to press for the release of all political prisoners in Cuba and the respect for human rights. "It is determined to pursue its efforts relentlessly to achieve this goal through contacts with the Cuban authorities and maintaining a close and regular dialogue with opposition groups and civil society in the country,'' the statement said. (Reuters, 24/7/05)

July 24: The European Union voiced deep concern over Cuba's latest clampdown on dissidents, lamenting a renewed hardening of stance in Havana six months after the EU suspended sanctions against the island state. The European Commission, the EU's executive arm, welcomed news that key opposition figure Marta Beatriz Roque had been released, but condemned the rounding up of more than a dozen dissidents. "The European Commission remains extremely concerned about the current political situation in Cuba," it said in a statement. "Recent events appear to show a clear hardening in the attitude of the government of Cuba." "While the Commission is pleased at news of the release of Martha Beatriz Roque, the arrest of a number of Cuban dissidents on (Friday) nevertheless illustrates the extreme social tension in Cuba at the present time." (ANSA, 24/7/05)

July 25: Recent crackdown on dissidents in Havana prompted the leader of the European Parliament's centre-right, Hans-Gert Poettering, to write to the UK presidency calling for a "clear reaction" to the arrests at member state level. "The EU policy towards Cuba has failed. It was a mistake of the Council not to continue the diplomatic sanctions that were lifted in January 2005", Mr Poettering wrote. "It was wrong as there has been no progress with regard to the human rights situation and political freedom in Cuba", he added. The criticism comes on top of Polish Members of the European Parliament, Boguslaw Sonik and Jacek Protasiewicz's attacks on the EU's approach to Havana in May. A UK foreign office spokesman said that while relations between London and Havana are hardly warm, "the UK has a policy of constructive engagement with Cuba, of dialogue with both the government and with civil society". EU opinion on Cuba remains slightly divided despite the unanimous decision to keep talking to Castro, however. (EUObserver, 25/7/05)

July 25: Reporters Without Borders roundly condemned the arrest of independent journalist Oscar Mario González of the Grupo de Trabajo Decoro news agency, who was detained at the same time as at least 15 other dissidents on the morning of 22 July. Referring to the 21 other journalists already being held in dreadful conditions in prisons throughout the island since 18 March 2003, the organisation said González had become "the 22nd example of the deplorable state of press freedom in Cuba." (RWB, Press Release, Canadian News Wire, 25, 28/7/05)

July 25: The Czech Republic protested against the arrest of over 20 Cuban dissidents on July 22, and called on the Cuban government to observe basic human rights and to release all political prisoners, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. The Czech Republic has been an outspoken critic of the dictatorial regime in Cuba for a time. "The Foreign Ministry of the Czech Republic voices a deep concern over the latest wave of reprisals against the members of political opposition and civic society in Cuba," reads the statement. (CTK, 25/7/05)

July 26: Fidel Castro said that "Operation Miracle", through which Havana contributes toward the recuperation of sight by tens of thousands of Latin Americans, will now include the nations of the Caribbean Community (Caricom). Castro made the disclosure in a speech marking National Rebellion Day in recognition of the attack on the Moncada Barracks, which preceded the Cuban revolution. He said the Cuban-Venezuelan "Operation Miracle" is a humanitarian triumph that would allow thousands of poor Venezuelans to have cataract and other eye operations in Cuba. Castro said that the first set of patients from the Caribbean have already been treated in Havana. (CMC News Agency, 27/7/05)

July 26: Waving signs, launching fireworks and chanting "Viva Fidel," more than 1,000 people protested in front of the US Embassy in Mexico to mark the 52nd anniversary of the start of the Cuban revolution. Braving a driving rain, demonstrators gathered at a monument to national hero Benito Juárez, then marched dozens of blocks before invading the nation's capital's well-kept Reforma Avenue and erecting a makeshift stage in front of metal barriers guards set up to protect the embassy. Police blocked traffic for more than an hour as a string of organizers shouted discourses praising Fidel Castro and attacking a decades-old US embargo on the Communist island. (AP, 26/7/05)

July 27: The European Commission - the EU's executive - acknowledged that the bloc's rapprochement with the Cuban Communist regime has not served to mitigate repression on the island, but it has brought about "positive things" by reinforcing the role of the internal dissident movement, a high ranking official said. "It is true that suspending, in January 2005, the sanctions imposed in June 2003 has not alleviated repression on the island. But neither were results obtained in the 18 months the sanctions were in effect," Amadeu Altafaj, spokesman for European Development and Humanitarian Aid Commissioner Louis Michel, said. According to the spokesman, the new EU policy, championed by Spain, has fostered "some positive elements," as "dialogue and contacts with the dissident movement have intensified over these months," and "for the first time in many years, the Assembly to Promote Civil Society in Cuba was held, on May 20." (EFE, 27/7/05)

July 27: In Caracas, before a group of Uruguayan business people, Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez, said that Cuba should be able to attend the Summit of the Americas that will take place in Mar del Plata, Argentina. “Demands for Cuba’s participation in the next Summit of the Americas would be a real show of courage, unity and bravery on the part of the peoples of the Americas”, said Chávez during the opening ceremony of the First Venezuela-Uruguay Macro Negotiation Round. “If one of us doesn’t go, nobody goes”, he added. (World Data Service, 27/7/05)

July 27: Mexico's foreign secretary said that there are "no problems" in his country's relations with Cuba despite tensions that strained bilateral ties last year. Luis Ernesto Derbez's comments came after Mexico announced that it had received Havana's approval of Jose Ignacio Piña as the country's new envoy to Cuba. Since February, there has been no Mexican ambassador assigned to the communist island, but Derbez said that this had not affected tourism, investment, legislators' visits or cultural relations between the two countries. (EFE, 27/7/05)

July 28: Fidel Castro was absent from the 4th Presidential Summit of the Association of Caribbean States (ACS) that is taking place in Panama. Responding to the press, Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque said that all co-ordinating mechanisms are valid, and can contribute to solve problems like the foreign debt strangling Latin America and the Caribbean. ''The Venezuelan effort to establish PetroCaribe to supply oil on easy payment terms to Caribbean countries is very important.'' Thirteen of the 15 members of the narrower Caribbean Community group, or Caricom -- mainly island nations -- have already signed onto Venezuela's oil initiative. Cuba managed to get a clause condemning the US economic boycott inserted in a draft resolution of the summit declaration, which also stated support for greater representation of developing countries on the UN Security Council. T he Cuban delegation also presented a proposal for a special declaration on terrorism, which ministers should formally approve. (The New York Times, Prensa Latina, 28/7/05)

July 29: Cuban Vice President Carlos Lage met with Panamanian President Martin Torrijos within the framework of the 4th Presidential Summit of the Association of Caribbean States (ACS), that opened in Panama. Cuba and Panama resumed consular relations shortly after Torrijos took office. Havana had severed diplomatic links last year in reaction to outgoing Panamanian president Mireya Moscoso's pardoning Luis Posada Carriles. (Prensa Latina, 29/7/05)

July 29: Cuba regarded the 4th Summit of the Association of Caribbean States (ACS) and the Declaration of Panama, as very positive, Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque said. In a conversation with journalists, he assured the meeting had a very constructive and comprehensive character, most clearly demonstrated by the Panama Declaration which rejects terrorism as well as condemn the over 40-year-old US economic blockade of Cuba. Perez Roque said that co-operative meetings such as this assist the search for solutions to regional problems such as external debt, development, and terrorism. (Prensa Latina, 29/7/05)

July 29: The World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Dr. Samuel Kobia started a pastoral visit to Cuba, responding to an invitation from the island's Council of Churches. Kobia´s agenda includes meetings with religious leaders and visits to sites of social interest in several Cuban provinces. The World Council of Churches, founded on August 23, 1948 in Amsterdam, has its current headquarter in Geneva and assembles 342 churches in over 100 countries, as well as 400 million Christians from the evangelic and protestant faiths. (Prensa Latina, 29/7/05)

July 29: Cuban foreign minister, Felipe Pérez Roque, said relations with Mexico remain “troubled”. “Relations with Mexico have been affected; there are no normal relations between Cuba and Mexico, there can’t be because (...) Mexico sided with the United States in a campaign against Cuba at the UN Human Rights Commission”, he said to the media. (AFP, 29/7/05)

July 31: Ecuador's president, Alfredo Palacios, thanked Cuba for her support to social programs implemented by local governments in an effort to upgrade the living standards of poor people. Palacios attended the signing of several cooperation agreements on different branches between the Consortium of Ecuador’s Provincial Councils (Concope) and Cuba, under the auspice of the United Nations. Ramiro Gonzalez, Pichincha’s civil governor and CONCOPE’s highest representative and the Cuban ambassador, Ileana Diaz Arguelles, signed the agreements promoting economic, scientific and technical cooperation. (Prensa Latina, 31/7/05)

July 31: Cuba's Vice President Carlos Lage affirmed that the Venezuela’s initiatives, Petrocaribe and Miracle Mission, were very well received by the IV Summit of Caribbean States Association (ACS) that met in Panama City. This type of ACS conference is essential to discuss the present world political situation and the fight against poverty, injustice and the pernicious effects of colonialism, Lage told Prensa Latina and a group of special Cuban envoys. (Prensa Latina, 31/7/05)

July 31: Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez announced that 100,000 Latin Americans will undergo eye surgery in Cuba this year, as part of the island's Milagro (Miracle) Medical Program, which he said will also include patients from the United States as well.
During his weekly radio and TV appearance, President Chavez said the Cuban medical initiative is a free-of-charge eye surgery program for poor Latin American and Caribbean people. Chavez said patients from the US were also being included since the Bush administration continues to exclude a sizeable portion of the population from health care. The Venezuelan leader said the Milagro project is one of the initiatives of the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (ALBA), and is being jointly implemented by Venezuela and Cuba in order to offer assistance to those who most need it. (AIN, 1/8/05)