Chronicle on Cuba - August 2005

Foreign Affairs

August 1: The European Union has a "positive approach to Cuba" and it is confident that it is moving toward an extensive dialogue with Fidel Castro's government based on "mutual respect," said Great Britain's ambassador to Cuba, John Dew, in an interview. Dew, whose country now holds the rotating presidency of the European Union, told the Cuban Catholic publication Palabra Nueva that the European Union does not see "major long-term obstacles that can prevent dialogue based on mutual respect." "I am optimistic. I think that a good opportunity exists to develop a new dialogue with the Cuban government and with a variety of groups in Cuban society, which is normal in any country. Obviously, for any dialogue to take place, both parties must be willing to move ahead," he declared. Dew, who began his assignment in Havana in October 2004, pointed out that the European countries "are responsible collectively for the majority of Cuba's foreign trade, foreign investment, and foreign tourism." "We have a long-term perception about Cuba.” "We want to have a dialogue as extensive and as varied with Cuba as possible, and with the largest number of sectors in Cuban society," the ambassador told this publication of the Archdiocese of Havana. (AFP, 1/8/05)

August 1: A Russian official has called the United States' creation of a post responsible for preparing for a change of power in Cuba a resurgence of "imperialist big-stick" policy, and a display of "extreme hostility" to Cuba. "This is another anti-Cuban gesture and a demonstration by US authorities of their extreme hostility to their island neighbor, the victim of almost 50 years of unjust trade sanctions," said Karen Khachaturov, the head of the Russian Committee for Cooperation with Latin America. (RIA Novosti, 1/8/05)

August 2: Members from the Canadian World Wildlife Fund (WWF) are contributing to the preservation of the Jardines de la Reina National Park, in southern Cuba. The Canadian team, along with a group of specialists from the Coastal Ecosystem Center from Ciego de Avila province, completed a survey of the flora and fauna in the region. The teams also created a plan, which includes surveillance and environmental education programs for the surrounding municipalities. (AIN, 2/8/05)

August 2: More than 300 members of a Latin American solidarity brigade started voluntary work in the town of Caimito, 30 miles from Havana, repairing two school installations. The 12th contingent of the Latin American and Caribbean Brigade is made up of 327 Latin American friends of Cuba from 16 Latin American countries, who will collaborate in the repairing of institutes "Jorge Dimitrov" and "Luis Augusto Turcios Lima". (Prensa Latina, 2/8/05)

August 2: Bahamas Agriculture and Fisheries Minister V. Alfred Grei began a four day visit to Havana following an invitation from the Cuban government. The minister will meet with agriculture and fishing specialists, researchers and officials during his visit. (Prensa Latina, 2/8/05)

August 3: The Mexican government expressed surprise over Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Pérez Roque's earlier statement that bilateral relations will never be normal while President Vicente Fox is in office. The Fox administration believes Pérez Roque "is not contributing to elevating the level of relations between our countries," presidential spokesman Rubén Aguilar said. "Relations are going well. We are surprised at the Cuban minister's statements," Aguilar said. The Mexican press published Pérez Roque's statement in Panama that stressed "the relationship with Mexico is damaged. At present, relations between Mexico and Cuba are not normal." "They cannot be normal, because Mexico's government aligned itself with the maneuvers of the United States at the UN Human Rights Commission," Pérez Roque said, insisting normalization cannot occur before Fox leaves office in 2006. (El Universal, 3/8/05)

August 3: A group of 119 Cuban specialists will join the sports cooperation program with Venezuela. The group includes several ex-baseball players that in addition to coaching, hope to play on teams of veterans from the local leagues. (Prensa Latina, 4/8/05)

August 4: Cuba maintains extensive friendly relations with more than 800 cities of the world, half of which is in brotherhood with Cuban cities and the rest is about to do so. Julio Espinosa, general coordinator of the Foreign Relations Commission of the National Assembly, highlighted the links with foreign cities. He said that these links are more numerous with Spain for historic reasons, but added that besides Mexico, Italy is also outstanding for its strong friendship. (Prensa Latina, 4/8/05)

August 4: The European Commission (EC) affirmed that "frequent" contact is maintained with Cuban dissidents. According to the Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid, Louis Michel, the Human Rights Working Group, comprised of representatives of the European embassies in Havana, met frequently with local opposition leaders between April and June. (Notimex, 4/8/05)

August 4: World Council of Churches (WCC) Secretary General Samuel Konia said that the US embargo on Cuba should be lifted immediately. Konia, whose visit at the invitation of the Cuban Council of Churches is winding up, said there is absolutely no justification for continuing the US embargo, and criticized President George W Bush´s measures curtailing travel to Cuba. The WCC leader said his interview with Fidel Castro was very positive. During his meeting with Castro, Kobia expressed his concern about the need to build more temples in Cuba, as well as having access to the media in order to disseminate the mission of the church. Kobia also held a meeting with the Catholic Archbishop of Havana, Cardinal Jaime Ortega. (Prensa Latina, La Jornada, 5/8/05)

August 4: The Government of Ecuador announced the shipment to Cuba of a food donation to assist the victims of hurricane "Dennis." The Department of Foreign Affairs indicated that the aid consists of "non-perishable food" obtained through donations from several private companies and with the support of the United Nations World Food Programme (UNWFP), which facilitated the collection of the products. (EFE, 4/8/05)

August 5: Several conferences by Foreign Affairs Minister Felipe Pérez Roque, People's Power National Assembly President Ricardo Alarcón, and Foreign Deputy Minister Rafael Daussá stand out among the many activities the Cuban young delegates are holding to prepare for the 16th World Festival of Youth and Students Venezuela will host on August 8-15. The 1,500-strong Cuban delegation, which is considered multinational because it encompasses one hundred youths from Third World nations, will be one of the largest at the festival. (Prensa Latina, 5/8/05)

August 8: The case of the Yucatan Peninsula fishermen imprisoned in Cuba for the last two months remains uncertain, since Mexico has not been informed of the legal process they are facing. On this matter, the president of the Human Rights Commission of the State of Yucatan (Codhey), Sergio Salazar Vadillo admitted that it is not known what will be the fate of Jimmy Enrique Fuentes, Juan Ramón Barco Rivero, and Luis Nicolás Chan Campos, arrested in early June for alleged human trafficking. (Progreso, 8/8/05)

August 8: Two Cuban citizens remain in custody at Roissy-Charles de Gaulle airport, in Paris, after communicating to the French government their wish to request political asylum. The organization Reporters Without Borders (RSF) confirmed the identity of one of them, 42-year-old Eliécer Carlos Pereira, an oppositionist linked to the independent press inside the island. The other person detained is Arelys Souchay, who claims to be a member of the Cuban Liberal Democratic Party. (Encuentro en la Red, 9/8/05)

August 10: Amnesty International expressed its deep concern about the possibility that fifteen people, who remain in detention following a recent government crackdown on dissidence in Cuba, may be “subjected to harsh or disproportionate prison sentences solely for exercising their right to freedom of expression, association and assembly.” In a statement, AI condemns the detentions, and demands from Cuban authorities the release of all political prisoners. [Cuba: No Dissent Allowed] (Europa Press, 10/8/05)

August 10: Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi said in Tehran that his country and Cuba have obtained favorable achievements in various areas as agriculture, biotechnology and industry. He made the remark in a meeting with the outgoing Cuban Ambassador Jose Ramon Rodriguez, reported the Information and Press Department of the foreign ministry. (IRNA, 10/8/05)

August 10: As librarians from around the world gather in Oslo for the opening of the conference of the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA), a new "cold war" controversy is erupting over Eastern European demands for a resolution condemning the persecution of independent librarians in Cuba. The mood of revolt was expressed in a statement by the Estonian Library Association, which declared its support of the independent library movement in Cuba, and protested against the persecution and repression of independent librarians by the “anti-democratic [Castro] regime." Officials from the Polish Librarian's Association have said they will introduce a resolution regarding human rights violations in Cuba. For more than a year the Cuban issue has ignited a controversy within the normally placid world of librarians, where Cuban delegates to IFLA have said that previous IFLA statements condemning the suppression of intellectual freedom in Cuba were lies inspired by CIA-paid Western librarians. (Friends of Cuban Librarians, 10/8/05)

August 11: New Mexican ambassador to Havana, José Ignacio Piña Rojas, announced that one of the goals of his mission in the Island will be to cement a migratory agreement to resolve the situation of the 1,500 Cuban illegal immigrants that arrive in Mexican territory every year. Among the "important and delicate" matters that the new ambassador will have to deal with is that of the Cuban debt to Mexico's National Foreign Trade Bank (Bancomext), estimated at approximately $400 million USD. Piña Rojas will also strive for the reinforcement of the commercial ties between both nations, following a 60 % decline last year. As well, the new Ambassador has instructions to request information on the case of Carlos Ahumada, said presidential spokesman Rubén Aguilar. (El Informador, Grupo Reforma, Boston Globe, 11/8/05)

August 11: Cuba's foreign minister, Felipe Pérez Roque, suggested in a speech to the World Festival of Youth in Caracas, Venezuela, that the 34-country Organization of American States, headquartered in Washington, D.C., should be "blown up.'' ''As a priority of our anti-imperialist struggle -- we must oppose the mechanisms of imperial domination in the region: The OAS must be blown up in pieces,'' Pérez Roque was quoted by news agencies. (La Tercera, DPA, 12/8/05)

August 12: Dominican Leonel Fernandez, thanked the Cuban government for the scholarships provided to 96 young Dominicans, who recently graduated from the medical school in the island. In statements to the Cuban press, the Dominican president said allowing young people from the Dominican Republic and other Latin American nations to study in Cuba was a gesture of solidarity and highlighted how expensive it is to study the subject in other countries. (AIN, 12/8/05)

August 12: Nine Cubans aboard a small boat reached the Atlantic coast of Honduras but intend to continue their trip to the United States. The "balseros," seven men and two women, came ashore 300 km to the north of Tegucigalpa, after 13 days at sea. (AP, 12/8/05)

August 14: A book coming out in Colombia about Pablo Escobar, based on revelations by his erstwhile lieutenant, says the slain king of cocaine enjoyed the collaboration of Cuba's Fidel Castro in the shipment of tons of drugs to the United States. John Jairo Velasquez Vasquez, known as "Popeye" and considered "the man closest to" Escobar, says the links between the late drug kingpin and the Cuban leader were forged in the 1980s in Sandinista-ruled Nicaragua. The former leader of the Medellin cartel "always looks for ways to get his drugs on U.S. streets, by way of non-allied governments or enemies of the United States," according to excerpts from the book published in the magazine “Semana”. In Cuba, an agreement was reached allowing Escobar to move large quantities of cocaine over two years from the Colombian port of Buenaventura to the Mexican coast. Once in Cuba, the shipments were placed under the control of the Cuban military. Army General Arnaldo Ochoa and Interior Ministry Colonel Tony La Guardia were responsible for the operation on the Cuban end. Velasquez said that after the Cuba route was discovered by US authorities, who seized a large shipment of cocaine, Castro ordered "a farse of an investigation" of Ochoa and several others. After a show trial on corruption and drug trafficking charges, Ochoa and La Guardia, along with two others, were executed by firing squad in 1989. (EFE, 14/8/05)

August 14: Mexico will not intervene in a possible process of political transition in Cuba, confirmed the new Mexican ambassador to Cuba, José Ignacio Piña Rojas. "Obviously, we are interested in what happens in Cuba, but just as we are with any other country in the world," he stressed and added that a change of government with its own specific characteristics in any country does not affect bilateral relations with Mexico. (El Universal, 14/8/05)

August 14: The Canadian group Medical Equipment Modernization Opportunity (MEMO), is packing some of the 300 used computers it received from St. Joseph’s Care group, Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre and a local citizen for shipment to Cuba. Gary Cooper said there’s one big problem with the health-care system on the island nation. “The equipment they are using dates back to the 1950s and ’60s,” says Cooper, who belongs to the Thunder Bay group that last year brought millions of dollars worth of medical supplies from closed city hospitals to the communist state. The new packing was done by youth from Nipigon’s St. Mary’s Church in a holding area at the former McKellar hospital site. Enough supplies for between three and five ocean-going containers are stored there, including more than 100 manually operated hospital beds, operating room tables, and freezers and refrigerators donated by the public. (The Chronicle Journal, 14/8/05)

August 15: The Islamic Republic of Iran and the Republic of Cuba will issue a joint stamp in order to foster bilateral cooperation, the Iranian ambassador to Cuba announced. “In a meeting with Alberto Perez Romero, the director of Cuba’s State Post Company, Iran and Cuba reached an agreement on the issue in order to promote cultural and postal cooperation between the two countries,” Ahmad Edrisian said. “The project was welcomed by the Cuban official, and he also called for the establishment of trilateral ties between Iran, Cuba, and Venezuela in light of the extensive postal cooperation between Cuba and Venezuela,” he added. (MNA, 15/8/05)

August 15: A group consisting of at least 20 Cubans plans to visit Paraguay in September with their own communication equipment. It has been reported that the mission is designed to provide medical and social assistance to poor communities of the interior of the country. In justifications given at the Paraguayan Embassy in Havana, they contended that the pieces of equipment are portable and that they are designed "to navigate" through the Internet to enable them to closely follow events affecting Cuba. Intelligence agents are, however, suspicious that their intentions might be different because there are no mechanisms in place to closely and duly monitor the activities the islanders will carry out in the country, as well as that of hundreds of others that are reportedly already staying in Paraguayan territory. (ABC Color, 15/8/05)

August 16: The global alliance Action by Churches Together (ACT) has been busy helping victims left homeless in the Granma region of Cuba after Hurricane Dennis ravaged the island between 7 and 9 July. ACT has been working to re-house approximately 700 homeless, many of whom continue to shelter temporarily in schools and other public buildings after their houses were partially destroyed in the violent winds. José Marin, the liaison officer for religious matters, accompanied a delegation of the Cuban Council of Churches (CCC) – a member of ACT International – to the region. In total 23,000 roofs in Granma province were partially or completely ruined by the hurricane. An impressive 7,000 have already been repaired. (Christian Today, 16/8/05)

August 15: The Government of Honduran President Ricardo Maduro will not name a new ambassador to Cuba, it was reported in Tegucigalpa. The Government of Cuba designated Dr. Alberto González Polanco as its ambassador in Honduras, whereas Tegucigalpa will maintain in Havana a representation of lesser status. (ACAN-EFE, 16/8/05)

August 17: Fidel Castro is worried about the impact Brazil's political crisis might have on the "continuity" of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's administration, according to the Brazilian ambassador to Cuba, Tilden Santiago. The allegations of corruption involving the PT [Workers' Party] and the federal government are, the ambassador says, being "strongly" felt around the island. "He (Castro) holds President Lula in high esteem, above all because he sees Lula as the Latin American political figure who most contributes to the integration of the continent. He has already told me so several times. So on Fidel's part, there is a strong preoccupation with the importance of the Lula administration's continuity," he said. "Since the crisis, he and other Cuban authorities have told me so." (BBC, 18/8/05)

August 17: The government majority within the Finance Commission of the National Assembly of Venezuela authorized the Ministry of the Interior and Justice to finance an overhaul of the national system of citizen identification, with the help of the government of Cuba. The Venezuelan government clarified that this "technical project will be carried out under the terms of the agreement of collaboration signed by the authorities of the Cuban Ministry of Information Technology and Communications and of the Ministry of the Interior and Justice of Venezuela," and that it is a part of the so-called Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (ALBA). (El Nacional, 18/8/05)

August 18: The Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Ralph Gonzalves, arrived in Cuba to attend the first graduation of the Latin American School of Medicine. Gonzalves arrived at the invitation of Fidel Castro and was welcomed at the Jose Marti International airport by Marta Lomas, minister of Foreign Investment and Economic Cooperation and Deputy Foreign Minister Rafael Daussá. (AIN, 18/8/05)

August 18: Bolivia's Movement Toward Socialism (MAS) leader Evo Morales highlighted the first graduation from the Latin American School of Medicine in Cuba as proof of the island's policy of solidarity. Morales told the press he regretted not being able to attend the graduation ceremony due to MAS electoral campaign obligations, as he has to take part in the candidate selection process. (Prensa Latina, 18/8/05)

August 19: Fidel Castro received Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Ralph Gonzalves to talk about an ophthalmic assistance program for the Caribbean currently in progress, called "Vision Now". Gonzalves told the press he had a meeting with Castro, in which they exchanged on how to improve and extend the program and its benefits in Latin America, and discussed other education and political issues in the region. (Prensa Latina, 19/8/05)

August 20: Fidel Castro met with more than 20 leaders and high-ranking dignitaries from Latin America, the Caribbean community and other guests to the first graduation of students at the Latin American School of Medicine. Castro welcomed Hugo Chávez Frías, president of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela; the Prime Ministers of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Ralph Gonzalvez; Antigua and Barbuda, Baldwin Spencer; St. Kitts and Nevis, Denzil Douglas; Dominica, Roosevelt Skerrit; Alejandro Serrano, vice president of Ecuador; and ministers from Barbados, the Bahamas, Guyana, Belize, the Dominican Republic, St. Lucia, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Guatemala and Surinam. The guests also included Daniel Ortega, former Nicaraguan president; Shafik Handal, the former presidential candidate of El Salvador; and Lucius Walker, director of Pastors for Peace. (Granma International, 20/8/05)

August 20: A Latin American medical school created as a regional initiative in 1998 after two hurricanes devastated Caribbean and Central American nations graduated its first class. Students at the school come from Latin American, Africa and the United States. Most come from low-income families and receive a free education on the condition they return home to serve their communities after graduation. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and Fidel Castro handed out diplomas to several of the 1,500 graduates. ''This graduation was just a dream nearly seven years ago,'' Castro said at the ceremony. ''Today is proof of the capacity of human beings to reach the most lofty goals.'' Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, Panamanian President Martin Torrijos, Ecuadorian Vice President Alejandro Serrano and the prime ministers of St. Lucia, St. Kitts and Nevis, Grenada, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Dominica, and Antigua and Barbuda, were present at the ceremony. [Fidel Castro’s speech] (The New York Times, EFE, 21/8/05)

August 20: Cuba and Panama restored diplomatic ties, one year after they were broken off in a dispute sparked by the decision by Panama's previous president to pardon four Cuban exiles accused of trying to assassinate Fidel Castro. Castro and Panamanian President Martin Torrijos looked on as a document was signed in Havana declaring normal relations ''inspired by the spirit of fraternity that has always linked these two countries.'' Venezuela’s president Hugo Chavez was witness to the ceremony. Chavez, Torrijos and other regional leaders traveled to Havana to attend the first Latin American Medicine School graduation. (The New York Times, Prensa Latina, 20/8/05)

August 20: Outgoing Cuban Ambassador to Tehran Jose Ramon Rodriguez met with Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad in the Iranian capital. Presidential Office Media Department said that Ahmadinejad called the Tehran- Havana ties excellent, brotherly and growing. "Our relations with Cuba are strategic and deep-seated and our people follow the news on Cuba with great interest and are sensitive in developments in the region," Ahmadinejad said in the meeting. Iran and Cuba signed a comprehensive document for bolstering bilateral cooperation, in Havana, in January. According to the document, Iran and Cuba would expand cooperation in various commercial, banking, agriculture, health and cultural fields. (IRNA, 22/8/05)

August 21: Cuba and Venezuela have sealed a commitment over the next 10 years to restore the sight of millions of Latin Americans who lack the economic resources for an operation, as part of the extension of the “Mission Miracle” program throughout the region. This was announced by Fidel Castro and Hugo Chávez during edition No. 231 of the popular television space "Aló Presidente," transmitted from the Sandino municipality in the extreme west of the island’s Pinar del Río province. Christened the “Sandino Commitment”, the program proposes to attend to 600,000 patients per year in the Cuban facilities involved in the mission and in Venezuelan health centers to be brought into the humanitarian project, including military hospitals. (Granma International, 21/8/05)

August 22: Two Cubans who entered Paraguay and got settled in Caaguazu Department reportedly gave weapon training to residents in the area, specifically to peasants and militants of the Free Fatherland Party (PPL). Investigators of the Antikidnapping Police Division discovered strong evidence of the presence in the area of two Cuban citizens who gave military training to peasants in several districts of Caaguazu Department. Investigators conducted searches in Caaguazu and Canindeyu departments after the body of Cecilia Cubas was found at a house in the Mbocayaty neighborhood of the City of Nemby. One of them said: "In conversations with local residents, we learned about the presence of foreigners in the area. Residents first told us that these men were Colombians, but later they confirmed that the foreigners were Cubans." (ABC Color, 22/8/05)

August 23: Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez left Cuba after a four-day visit during which he attended the graduation of the first class from a regional school of medicine and joined with his friend and mentor Fidel Castro in blasting US "imperialism." But in remarks to reporters before his departure, the Venezuelan uncharacteristically passed on an opportunity to take another verbal shot at Washington, saying he was unconcerned about right-wing televangelist Pat Robertson's on-air suggestion that the US government assassinate Chavez. Venezuela's president placed no importance on the preacher's statements and said that "I was working late with Fidel and this morning also. We were doing the accounts of PetroCaribe, a proposal for regional integration for supplying fuel." "That is much more important," he said, adding that "what someone said over there (in the United States) (...) doesn't matter to me." With regard to the controversy, Castro said, "I believe only God can punish crimes of such magnitude. I always say that God is helping Chavez and his friends." (EFE, 23/8/05)

August 23: The government of Honduras has asked Cuba to bring home some of the more than 200 Cuban doctors who have been working in this country in recent years, saying the emergency that prompted their "importation" has passed, local media reported. Newspapers cited Foreign Minister Mario Fortin as saying that Honduras no longer needs so many Cuban doctors, though the country could use additional anesthesiologists and nurses. "We have already notified the government of Cuba that the circumstances in which the convention was adopted have changed," Fortin said. He referred to a pact that includes a scholarship plan for Hondurans to attend a medical school on the Communist-ruled island, from which 215 of them graduated last week and where another 215 are still pursuing their studies. The accord, signed in the wake of Hurricane Mitch's devastating passage over Central America in November 1998, also involved deployment of Cuban physicians to poor regions of Honduras, whose health-care system is inadequate. (AFP,EFE, 23/8/05)

August 23: The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria will provide Cuba with millions of dollars over the next three years to help improve quality of life and treatment for people living with HIV/AIDS and to reinforce efforts to prevent the spread of the disease. The 14.6 million dollars to be contributed by the fund between 2005 and 2008 "entails direct benefits for the community," said María Julia Fernández, a Cuban woman who has been living with HIV - the virus that causes AIDS - for almost 20 years. A specialist at the National Centre for the Prevention of Sexually Transmitted Infections and HIV/AIDS, with many years of experience as a community health counsellor, Fernández now devotes all of her energies to providing support for individuals diagnosed as HIV-positive, she told IPS. The Global Fund will provide Cuba with a total of 26.1 million dollars over the 2005-2008 period, reported Raffaella Garutti of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), who is responsible for overseeing the project's execution. Garutti told the press that the Cuban initiative is considered the best "of all the projects supported by the Fund in 133 countries." (IPS, 23/8/05)

August 24: Twenty-five prospective teachers from Antigua will shortly be off to Cuba for training. The move is part of a new government initiative to source trained teachers at lower cost. Deputy Chief Education Officer Reginald Peterson said that while the programme offered locally at the Antigua State College is of a high standard, the opportunity to send potential teachers off for training under the current agreement with Cuba offers greater benefits to both the students and the Ministry of Education. (Antigua Sun, 24/8/05)

August 24: The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply worried about the health of imprisoned journalist Adolfo Fernández Saínz, who began a hunger strike to protest the mistreatment of another imprisoned dissident. Fernandez Saínz began the strike on August 19, after learning that imprisoned dissident Arnaldo Ramos Lauzurique had been beaten by a prison officer two days before and later placed in a punishment cell, according to his daughter, Joana Fernández Nuñez. He will continue his hunger strike until Ramos Lauzurique is taken out of the punishment cell, she said. Fernández Saínz, 57, one of 24 independent Cuban journalists now imprisoned, is currently at the Holguín Provincial Prison in eastern Holguín Province, hundreds of miles from his home in Havana. (CPJ Press Release, 24/8/05)

August 24: Uruguayan airline Pluna will be transporting to Cuba 53,000 visually-impaired patients from Venezuela and several countries of the Caribbean to undergo surgery in the island, reported in Caracas the vice-president of the state Venezuelan airline Conviasa, Gerardo Cabañas. A Pluna Boeing 737-200 will take the patients from Caracas, Santo Domingo, Puerto España, as well as Aruba and Curazao to Havana, where they will be operated on to restore their sight. This effort is part of a regional initiative by Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez to conduct this type of operations in the Caribbean island. (AFP, 24/8/05)

August 25: Senegalese Jacques Diou, FAO Director-General, has arrived in Havana at the invitation of Cuban government for a working visit. Diou thanked the Cuban government for the invitation and the cooperation the island has shown with the world organization, at the bilateral level and in South-South cooperation. (Prensa Latina, 25/8/05)

August 25: Over the past two months, Venezuelans' opposition to the country adopting the Cuban system as an example of government has increased, reversing what had been a trend of "acceptance" of the Havana government model since 2002. According to the recent Omnibus opinion poll conducted by Datanalisis, 76.3% of Venezuelans reject the National Executive's taking Fidel Castro's regime as a model. The criticism comes from sectors that identify with President Hugo Chavez as well as from inhabitants who oppose him or who consider themselves not politically aligned (the neither-nor sector). The opinion poll reveals that 60.6% of "pro-government" people have a critical position on the Cuban issue. This perception is repeated in 97.5% of the citizens who oppose President Chavez and 78% of Venezuelans who do not identify with any political group. (El Universal, 25/8/05)

August 25: The Committee to Protect Journalists released a statement denouncing that the Cuban government jailed a second independent journalist who covered an unprecedented opposition meeting in May. Albert Santiago Du Bouchet Hernandez was arrested on 6 August, tried three days later and handed a one-year jail term without the knowledge of his family, who found out about his detention only after he smuggled a note out of prison. He joins 24 independent Cuban journalists jailed for their work. He is director of the independent news agency Havana Press, which sends reports to the Miami-based website Nueva Prensa Cubana. (BBC, 25/8/05)

August 26: Fidel Castro made a special appearance at the TV program Round Table, in which he dealt with the tragic death of 31 people when the speed boat in which they were traveling on capsized. Castro quoted from the Mexican press that has reported on how an organization, linked to Cuban American National Foundation (CANF) and based on the state of Quintana Roo, carries out smuggling operations. Boat supply centers operate in Grand Cayman, Honduras and Port Juarez. Cubans are smuggled into the latter and placed in safe houses. Those who do not have enough money to pay are then used to sneak drugs into the US in the case of men, while the women are forced to become prostitutes in Cancun, Castro said. Castro slammed the Mexican authorities for being tolerant. He said that from 2001 to 2004 only 8 Cubans were repatriated and barely 16 in 2005 out of a total of 300 who are in custody in immigration centers in Mexico. (Prensa Latina, 27/8/05)

August 29: The Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), José Miguel Insulza, said that the US justice system should extradite Cuban anti-Castro firebrand Luis Posada Carriles to Venezuela by way of contribution to the antiterrorist war. "I hope political criteria do not prevail that result in the circumvention of obligations incurred in the war on terrorism, because there could not be any plausible explanation for any decision that would hinder this process," affirmed Insulza in a program on state TV channel Venezolana de Television. (Europa Press, 29/8/05)

August 29: The Salvadoran president Antonio Saca said that the "super-puppet of the United States" label given him by Fidel Castro constitutes "an affront" to the people and the government of El Salvador. "The statements of President Castro, of Cuban dictator Fidel Castro, are an affront to the people of El Salvador, they are an affront to the government of El Salvador ", Saca told the press. Castro had said in Havana that the Salvadoran government, which supports with troops the United States war effort in Iraq, is a "super-puppet" of Washington, and praised Schafik Handal, historical leader and parliamentary representative of the Frente Farabundo Martí (FMLN), a former Salvadoran guerrilla organization and currently a left-wing political party. (AFP, 29/8/05)

August 29: South African Mpumalanga's department of health and social services is reconsidering its Cuban medical student programme. Spokesperson Mpho Gabashane said the programme wasn't always financially viable and that only 12 of the 23 students sent to Cuba in 1997 and 1998 were working at state hospitals in the province. "It's still early, but a decision has to be made if the programme will continue or not," he said. He said 10 of the 13 students in the 1998 group had to be brought back before they could complete their studies after concern was raised about the selection process. Gabashane said the department had failed to prepare the students sufficiently for their trip. He said one of the students was sent back to South Africa because he took a photo of a naked woman. "Some of the students thought they were going to a country like England, or a democracy. Now, we show students videos of Cuba and teach them about the country's laws," he said. (News24.Com, 29/8/05)

August 29: Reporters Without Borders (RSF) called on the European Union to make "any softening in the EU stance on Cuba strictly conditional on the release of the independent journalists imprisoned in Cuba." RSF said in a letter to the British presidency of the European Union that continuation of the suspension of the sanctions "would violate the Common Position adopted by the European Union in 1996, which aims to 'encourage a process of transition to a pluralist democracy and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms" in Cuba. [RSF’s letter to the British Presidency of the EU] (EFE, 29/8/05)

August 30: Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Ernesto Derbez affirmed that his government would be ready to collaborate with Cuba to fight Mexico-based human trafficking networks that smuggle Cuban illegal migrants out of the island if the Cuban authorities make an official request. "We would gladly work with the Cuban authorities, to see how we can also help fight the trafficking of Cuban citizens," said Derbez. The Foreign Minister was responding to questions regarding accusations made by Fidel Castro, to the effect that in Mexico operates a Cuban-immigrant trafficking network, run by radical anti-Castro elements from Miami and tolerated by the Mexican and American governments. (AFP, 30/8/05)

August 30: Dissidents from around the world gathered in the Polish port of Gdansk, where Lech Walesa urged them to follow the freedom-fighting example of Solidarity, the trade union he helped transform into a pro-democracy powerhouse 25 years ago this month. As part of nationwide celebrations of the first Solidarity strikes against Poland's communist regime, Mr Walesa welcomed activists from as far as Cuba, Burma and the Middle East. "The struggle for liberty employed by the brave Polish people (...) is a source of inspiration in this tragic era that we Cubans are enduring," Oscar Espinosa Chepe, an independent journalist and economist sentenced to 20 years in jail in his native Cuba, said in a message to the conference. (Irish Times, Swissinfo, 31/8/05)

August 30: A court in Montpellier, France, over-ruled an order for the deportation of a Cuban couple in consideration of "personal safety risks to which (these two persons) are exposed" in Cuba. Walfrido Rodríguez, member of the National Civic Movement of Cuba, declared to have left the island with his wife Margarita Santana in an attempt to reach Spain via Moscow, to escape police persecution in Cuba. (AFP, 30/8/05)

August 31: Kim Jong-il, general secretary of the Korean Workers' Party and chairman of the National Defence Commission of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, and Kim Yong-nam, president of the Presidium of the DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) Supreme People's Assembly, received a congratulatory message from Fidel Castro Ruz, first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba, president of the Council of State and president of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Cuba, on the occasion of the 45th anniversary of the opening of diplomatic ties between the two countries. (KCNA, 31/8/05)

August 31: Honduran President Ricardo Maduro announced that the 300 Cuban doctors currently working in this country will remain for one more year, although the agreement on health care cooperation between Tegucigalpa and Havana will be reviewed. "The Cuban doctors will remain. This is in response to the general opinion of the Honduran people, and that I myself share, that they are doing a good job," Maduro said. The president indicated that the decision was made by a commission comprised of, among others, the Medical School of Honduras. (AFP, 31/8/05)