Chronicle on Cuba - October 2006

Highlights

Domestic Affairs: The Cuban government insists that Fidel Castro is recovering. The controversial dissident Congress of Independent Libraries starts in different provinces amid harassment and repression by Cuban authorities. The government appoints a new Minister of Transportation. In the wake of an investigation on corruption by state journalists, Cuban authorities announce a study about what is wrong with the Cuban socialist system.
 
Economy: Cuban official press reveals how customers are cheated by state-run enterprises. Canadian Sherritt International Corp. announces plans to expand its business on the island nation. Representatives from sectors such as transportation, tourism, electronics, and fishing attend the 4th session of the Cuba-China Business Committee. Spanish entrepreneurs express their interest for continuing business with Cuba. Cuban trade jumps 27 percent compared with the same period in 2005.

Foreign Affairs: Mexican president elect Felipe Calderón expresses his decision to maintain cordial relations with Cuba. Amid international tension provoked by North Korea’s nuclear tests, Cuba signs in Pyongyang a protocol with this Asian nation on exchange of commodities in 2007. Guatemala’s Vice President Eduardo Stein visits  Cuba. The president of Cuba’s National Assembly visits Spain.

Security: For the fourth time in recent years, representatives from the Colombian government and the National Liberation Army (ELN) hold conversations in Havana.

US-Cuba Relations: Cuba releases its annual report to the UN General Assembly on the impact of the US embargo. US officials believe that Fidel Castro has terminal cancer. According to official statistics, nearly 6,000 Cubans reached or attempted to reach US soil by sea in 2006.