Chronicle on Cuba - February 2007

US-Cuba Relations

February 1: A top Cuban official said he didn't expect any change in the near future in US policy toward the island. "There is not the slightest doubt the current policy will continue for a while, as long as there is this man who stole the presidency," Parliamentary President Ricardo Alarcon said in reference to US President George W. Bush. Speaking during a conference on education, Alarcon, who is in charge of designing Cuban policies toward the United States, also said he didn't expect the United States to change its stance even if opposition Democrats should win the 2008 presidential election. "There is no reason to believe either that under a Democrat there would be any change in the panorama of this half-century," said Alarcon in reference to the 48 years the communist government led by Fidel Castro has been in power. (AFP, 1/2/07)

February 1: US Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez said that Washington is willing to help Cuba make the transition to a more open, democratic society. Speaking to reporters during a one-day visit to Mexico, Gutierrez said the US supports a ''peaceful transition to democracy.'' Gutierrez, who was born in Cuba, said the United States does not plan to meddle in Cuban politics but wants to see the country make the transition to democracy. ''The future of Cuba is in Cuba,'' he said, but added that ''if we can be of help, we are ready to help in that transition.'' Gutierrez did not elaborate, but last September he suggested that Cubans could work with the Organization of American States and other groups to hold a referendum on whether they want to live in democracy. (The New York Times, 1/2/07)

February 1: Herzfeld Caribbean Basin Fund has long prepared for a capitalist renaissance in Cuba once Fidel Castro dies. Now the fund seems poised to reap hefty profits as Castro's long-time reign over the tiny Communist nation appears to be in its final days. Thomas Herzfeld created the closed-end fund (its ticker symbol is CUBA) 14 years ago in Miami amid speculation that Castro's health was taking a turn for the worse and the US was planning to lift its 45-year embargo against Cuba. “At the time, no one wanted to underwrite it. We did it ourselves," Herzfeld said. "Our belief was once trade is resumed in Cuba there will be a boom in the country. Because (that market) is starting from such a low economic base, the percentage in gains would be phenomenal." After Castro's ailing health last July forced the 80-year-old to temporarily relinquish power to his brother, Herzfeld anticipated that the end of economic sanctions might also be near. The market appears to be making the same bet. (Dow Jones Newswire, 1/2/07) 

February 2: At least 38 Cuban doctors who defected from a mission in Venezuela have been stranded for months in Colombia, where they have been refused refugee status as they await word on possible asylum in the United States, according to a relief organization. The doctors find themselves in Bogota despite a shift in US policy, announced in August, that allowed Cuban medical personnel working abroad to come to the United States once they passed routine background checks. Most of the defecting doctors who fled to Colombia have been waiting as long as six months for a response, according to an advocacy group in Miami and several doctors who spoke to the press. Jorge Toledo, a 39-year-old physician, and his wife, ophthalmologist Leticia Viamonte, were told in a December 27 letter that their request to enter the United States under the Cuban Medical Professional Parole program was denied. The decision cannot be appealed. (AP, 2/2/07)

February 5: The Bush administration's new budget calls for a slight increase in US aid for Latin America, with a few targeted nations like Colombia, Ecuador and Haiti getting the lion's share of the money, and a big jump in US funding for controversial programs to promote democracy in Cuba. The 2008 fiscal year budget request asks for $46 million for the Cuba programs, compared to $9 million in the 2006 budget. The proposed boost to Cuba programs is in keeping with last year's recommendations by an interagency commission to augment such aid to $80 million over two years in order to help and hasten a move toward democracy on the island. The 2008 budget proposed $38.7 million for Radio and TV Martí -- similar to current levels. The Cuba programs usually come under attack in Congress, where a group of lawmakers tables amendments that seek to cut or eliminate the programs. The attempts have been unsuccessful so far. (The Miami Herald, 6/2/07)

February 5: The Cuban government denounced the use by the United States of a new legal subterfuge to not accuse Luis Posada Carriles of terrorism and murder, an official note said. In a note published in official daily Granma, the Cuban Foreign Affairs Ministry said, on February 1, Washington authorities should have supported charges that impede acceptance of the appeal presented by that criminal’s defense attorney. Cuba says crimes against humanity were committed by this Cuban-origin individual, who was member of the Central Intelligence Agency. The note said that Posada Carriles has been granted impunity, even when US entities recognize that "he has a criminal record and has been involved with people and organizations that promote and use terrorist violence." [Declaration by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs] (Prensa Latina, 5/2/07)

February 5: Cuba blasted a new move by a US-funded TV Marti to provide its anti-Fidel Castro programming to Spanish-language stations in Miami that are picked up by popular illegal satellite dishes on the island. The Miami station WPMF-TV, an affiliate of the Spanish-language Azteca Americas network, in December announced plans to air the Marti programming daily. It appears to be the first time Marti programming has been broadcast on US airwaves. TV Marti is paying $195,000 for six months worth of broadcasts. ''They are trying new ways to get their meddlesome and subversive messages, designed to destabilize the Cuban revolution, seen and heard in our country,'' an article in the Communist Party newspaper Granma said. ''The authorities of our country, with the support of the vast majority of the people, are taking and will take the necessary measures'' to halt this new effort to bring TV Marti programming to the country, Granma said. (AP, 6/2/07)

February 5: American cyclists could be absent from the upcoming Tour of Cuba because the US government has denied their athletes visas, Jose Pelaez, president of the Cuban Cycling Federation told Cuban radio. Pelaez, who is also president of the Pan-American Cycling Federation, said the cyclists would continue to seek visas until the last possible moment. The Tour, which will take place from February13-25, has attracted cyclists from Venezuela, Panama, Ecuador, Germany, Canada, San Marino and Austria. (Xinhua, 5/2/07) 

February 7: The US Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) is calling for an increase of broadcasts to critical anti-American nations like Iran, North Korea, Cuba and Somalia.  The BBS, an independent federal agency responsible for all US government and government sponsored, non-military, international broadcasting, oversees the Voice of America (VOA) and under its new plan, the majority of the station's English language programming would be cut to make room on the budget. The BBG will increase its Cuban programming, after signing a contract in Miami to give its anti-Castro networks, Radio and TV Marti, further availability on the communist island. Currently, under Cuban law, satellite receivers are illegal, however, many still own them, and will now be able to pick up TV Marti, broadcasting from South Florida. (AHN, 7/2/07)

February 8: In almost equal measure, Americans say they do not like Fidel Castro but want the United States to re-establish regular diplomatic relations with the communist island nation after 46 years of estrangement. Less than half of those polled think Cuba will become a democracy after the 80-year-old revolutionary leader dies or permanently steps aside. However, 89 percent in The Associated Press-Ipsos poll say they think Cubans will be better off or about the same when Castro is gone. The poll showed 64 percent of respondents had a very or somewhat unfavorable opinion of Castro, who has said he will be a Marxist-Leninist until the day he dies. Castro got slightly better reviews from younger people -- 60 percent of those younger than 35 had an unfavorable view of Castro while 66 percent of older people felt that way. Younger people were more likely to reserve judgment about him. Among people 18-34, about 35 percent said they don't know enough about Castro to have an opinion, while 24 percent of those 35 and older said that. Even so, a large majority of people -- 62 percent -- said the United States should re-establish diplomatic ties. The scant contact between the two countries is now handled through Switzerland or via low-level diplomatic offices called interests sections. Among Hispanics, 70 percent say Cubans will be better off after Castro, compared with 53 percent of non-Hispanics. (AP, 8/2/07)

February 8: Some Cubans welcomed a poll released the day before showing that most Americans favor renewed diplomatic ties with the communist-governed island. While the AP-Ipsos poll showed 64 percent of respondents had an unfavorable opinion of Fidel Castro, 62 percent said the United States should re-establish diplomatic ties broken off in 1961. Only 30 percent said it should not. Cubans interviewed in the streets of Havana — while told about support for the embargo — tended to assume that renewed diplomatic ties would mean a broad range of closer ties. And they liked that idea. In December, a Gallup Poll survey conducted without government approval in Cuba's two biggest cities found that those surveyed were most likely to cite the United States as the "ideal partner" for increased commercial ties with Cuba. Cuba's government had no immediate reaction to the poll. (AP, 7/2/07)

February 8: The US Department of Homeland Security's US Coast Guard, 7th District, repatriated 49 Cuban migrants to Bahia de Cabañas, Cuba. On February 3, the crew of an HC-130 Hercules located 17 Cuban migrants on a rustic vessel approximately 60 miles southwest of Key West. At the request of U.S. Citizen and Immigration Service, one of the 17 migrants will be taken to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba for further disposition. (US Fed News, 8/2/07)

February 8: New proposals in the Democrat-controlled Congress to relax US sanctions against Cuba will not get past a White House set on confrontation, Cuba's top diplomat in the United States said. Dagoberto Rodriguez, the chief of the Cuban Interests Section in Washington, said legislative moves to ease a ban on travel to Cuba would likely be blocked or vetoed by US President George W. Bush. Other proposals include easing restrictions on Cuban American family travel and cash remittances to Cuba, and relaxing payment requirements on food exports to Cuba under an exception to the trade embargo.  "We see as positive any step in the direction to establish a communication with Cuba and we applaud those efforts in the Congress. We think it is the right thing to do," Rodriguez said in an interview. But he added: "We think a change of policy would be very difficult under this administration." Despite the temporary sidelining of Fidel Castro due to emergency surgery six months ago, Rodriguez said Cuba is stable and its socialist system will continue. (Reuters, 8/2/07)

February 8: The United States does not harbor "absolutely any" intention of militarily attacking Cuba, said the US Secretary of Commerce, Carlos Gutiérrez. "We want them to know that we do not have imperialist aspirations for Cuba," said Gutiérrez in an interview with the press. "We are not interested in going there and pulling people out of their houses. There is absolutely no military objective. And I say it because those are things that the regime has said to the Cuban people in the last 47 years," he added. (Reuters, 8/2/07)

February 9: Bills from both the Democratic and Republican Parties have been submitted to the United States Congress as part of a package calling for a change in US policy towards Cuba, which include proposals to lift the US economic embargo and ease travel restrictions to the Caribbean island. Public pressure is building on US President George W. Bush to shift his policy on Cuba, as it is on the Cuban regime to implement economic, social and political changes. It is unlikely that any significant changes will take place in either of the two countries. If the reforming legislature introduced in Congress does go through, a presidential veto is likely to be waiting. Similarly, the Cuban regime will exercise caution when it comes to implementing changes, which in turn means that any reforms will take a long time to become a reality. (Global Insight Daily Analysis, 9/2/07)

February 12: US Catholic Bishop Thomas Wenski said Cuba is going through a period of uncertainty, since no one there knows what will happen after Fidel Castro's death. Bishop Wenski recently returned from Cuba. He was there as part of a charity related gathering. Wenski told the press he spoke with several people on the island about what they believe will happen once the ailing dictator dies and his brother Raul takes over. "In my short visit to Cuba, I did not find anyone who had a clear idea of what was gonna happen,” Bishop Wenski said. “Everybody is a little bit uncertain and in that population, some of the uncertainty translates to fear." Bishop Wenski said the church will play a role as an agent of reconciliation when Castro dies and his brother Raul takes the reins of power in Cuba. (13 Central Florida News, 12/2/07)

February 13: State Agriculture Commissioner Roger Johnson said he has been invited to bring a delegation of North Dakota food exporters and processors to Cuba in May. "The Cubans are very interested in the commodities and products that North Dakota has to offer," Johnson said in a statement. He is organizing a trip to Havana May 21-25, to finish signing contracts for a $20 million purchase agreement. So far, $10 million worth of products has been contracted and delivered by North Dakota producers, Johnson said. "We hope to finish contracting the remaining $10 million and act on any future sales contracts," Johnson said. (AP, 13/2/07)

February 13: A Cuban exile militant being held in Texas on fraud charges has hired a Miami criminal defense lawyer who previously represented an exile colleague convicted of weapons charges in South Florida. Luis Posada Carriles, charged in El Paso federal court with lying about how he sneaked into the United States, will be represented by attorney Arturo Hernandez. ''I'm looking forward to the challenge,'' said Hernandez, who will file his formal notice of appearance on Posada's behalf on February 15. Hernandez worked during the past year with a team of lawyers for Posada's benefactor, Santiago Alvarez, a wealthy Miami real estate developer who pleaded guilty in September along with his employee, Osvaldo Mitat, to conspiring to possess illegal weapons. (The Miami Herald, 13/2/07)

February 13: The lawmaker leading the US House Committee on Foreign Affairs said that Congress should try to reduce the influence of the Non-Aligned Movement at the United Nations. "The pace of UN reform remains excruciatingly slow. The secretariat is hamstrung from the top down by a management structure that is at best obsolete," Democrat Tom Lantos, 77, told a hearing on the UN's future. "And the grouping of states still known as the Non-Aligned Movement -- and I wonder what they are non-aligned against this time -- has far too much sway in blocking reforms, polluting human rights mechanisms, and bashing the democratic state of Israel," said the Hungarian-born representative for California.  At a September summit in Havana, the group reiterated its rejection of what it called a unipolar world dominated by the United States and its allies. (AFP, 13/2/07)

February 13: A TV Marti executive charged with failing to disclose about $112,000 in kickbacks he pocketed from a video vendor pleaded guilty in Miami federal court. Jose M. Miranda, nicknamed "Chema," accepted about 73 checks from Perfect Image Film and Video Productions from November 2001 to December 2004 while the vendor was doing business with the TV Marti operation. Miami-based TV Marti is part of the federal government's Office of Cuba Broadcasting, a taxpayer-funded television network that attempts to beam news and other programming into Cuba. Its programs, however, have largely been jammed by the Cuban government since its launch in 1990. Miranda, the former director of TV Marti programs, admitted to receiving the kickbacks while he approved requisitions and invoices for services by Perfect Image, according to the US attorney's office. (The Miami Herald, 14/2/07)

February 14: A wing under construction at St. Brendan Catholic School in Miami harbors a pile of goodwill -- some of it withering in the dank humidity -- that was meant to be delivered to Cuba's needy. Donated diapers, baby formula, wheelchairs, even Christmas decorations are stacked from floor to ceiling. But for almost two years, the Archdiocese of Miami has had little face-to-face contact with Catholics in Cuba, a byproduct of tightened travel restrictions for religious organizations imposed by the US Treasury Department. Reverend Fernando Heria, St. Brendan's pastor and an archdiocese spokesman, said the Cuba-bound goods sometimes expire or rot, so the archdiocese tries to give perishable goods to Miami's needy before they go bad. The church would send the aid with Catholics who traveled to the communist island or ship it with their humanitarian license, which expired in 2005, Heria said. ''Whenever we limit the flow of communication between people, it serves to alienate us, as opposed to unite us,'' Heria said. The archdiocese sent about 50 clergy and laypeople a year to Cuba under its religious license but now sends fewer than five. The Catholic umbrella organization had a religious travel license for a decade, but the Treasury Department has yet to answer the diocese's request to renew the license, Heria said. US Jewish groups would drop in on Cuba's biggest synagogue, Beth Shalom, up to three times a month, bringing care packages stuffed with matzoh crackers, school supplies, and nonprescription drugs for Cuba's Jewish community of about 1,500. The visits have tapered off to six or seven a year, and donations have dried up, said William Miller, head of Beth Shalom in Havana. (The Miami Herald, 14/2/07)

February 14: Top US diplomat to Latin America, Thomas Shannon, and Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns were in Argentina and Brazil to discuss everything from energy collaboration with Brazil to dealing with nations like Venezuela and Cuba, with which the United States has strained relations. The trip also laid the groundwork for President Bush's visit in March to Brazil, Uruguay, Colombia, Mexico and Guatemala. Burns called 2007 ''a year of engagement'' with Latin America. (The Miami Herald, 14/2/07) 

February 14: The Castro government has asked the International Telecommunication Union to make a greater effort to prevent the United States from continuing to "violate" Cuba's broadcast spectrum, the Cuban press reported. Fabio Leite, deputy director of the UN agency's Radiocommunication Bureau, was cited by Juventud Rebelde newspaper as saying that Cuban Information Minister Ramiro Valdes made the request. "He asked us to make the greatest effort in the ITU to end this flagrant violation of international law and the permanent aggression on the part of the U.S. government against the Cuban government," Leite, who is in Havana for the International Informatics Convention and Exposition 2007, said. The Cuban Communist Party daily Granma complained about the US government's move to lease airtime on a private television station in Miami that is carried on the DirecTV and Dish satellite systems to ensure that Washington-funded Television Marti can be seen on the island. (EFE, 14/2/07)

February 14: Communist Cuba remained one of the more important markets for American farmers in 2006 despite a decades-old trade embargo, a US-based organization that tracks the sales said. US food exports to Cuba totaled $340.4 million last year, placing Cuba 34th out of 227 agricultural product export markets, the US-Cuba Trade and Economic Council reported, based on US government export data. That is a slight dip from $350 million in 2005 and $392 million in 2004, the council said, with total sales to Cuba exceeding $1.5 billion since they began five years ago. The United States was the top exporter of food to Cuba in 2004 and 2005. The figures for 2006 are not yet available. The council has monitored the cash-only sales since they were approved by the US Congress in 2000 as an exception to the trade embargo imposed on Cuba after Fidel Castro's 1959 revolution. (Reuters, 14/2/07)

February 15: An anti-Castro Cuban militant is to face trial in the US in May, charged with lying to immigration officials. Luis Posada Carriles has been held in an immigration detention centre in Texas since 2005 after crossing the border illegally from Mexico. Both Venezuela and Cuba want to put Mr Posada on trial for allegedly masterminding the bombing of a Cuban jetliner in 1976 that killed 73 people. A US judge ruled that Mr Posada can not be deported to Cuba or Venezuela. (BBC, 16/2/07)

February 15: Four members of the US House proposed easier rules for selling food to Cuba, such as letting Cuba pay US banks directly instead of routing the money through foreign banks. The legislation also would clarify the meaning of cash sales to Cuba. The Bush administration says Cuba must pay before ships leave US ports. The bill would allow payment before delivery in Havana. US farm and agribusiness groups see Cuba as a natural, nearby market. For years they have campaigned for sales despite the overall US embargo on trade with the island. Food sales have been permitted since 2000. Representative Jerry Moran, Kansas Republican, said in a statement "this is an opportune time to encourage the United States to change its trade policies toward Cuba." He cited the decision by Fidel Castro to temporarily give up power. "In addition to the clear benefits that opening this market would have for our domestic producers, millions of Cubans are in need of access to a safe and abundant food supply," said Representative Stephanie Herseth, South Dakota Democrat and a sponsor of the bill with Moran, Missouri Republican Jo Ann Emerson and Arkansas Democrat Mike Ross. (Reuters, 15/2/07) 

February 16: Spurred by events in South Florida, a national group is urging students to read books that have been burned in Cuba. The organization, FREADOM, launched the project last month to bring attention to documents and books, such as the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights and George Orwell's Animal Farm, that the Cuban government has banned and set afire. The project is a takeoff on campaigns encouraging people to read banned books. "Banning a book is the intent to kill," said Walter Skold, co-chairman of FREADOM, a group of librarians, authors and human rights activists. "Burning it is the crime of murder." The project came about in part from a controversy in Miami-Dade County public schools over the children's book Vamos a Cuba. The Miami-Dade School Board pulled the book last year after Cuban exiles complained it was an inaccurate portrayal of life on the communist island. Among critics of the book's removal were Cuban librarians. Skold, a middle school teacher from Maine, said many media outlets reported the criticism without disclosing that some books are prohibited in Cuba. (Sun Sentinel, 16/2/07)

February 16: Concerned about a possible mass exodus of Cubans, the Department of Defense plans to spend $18 million to prepare part of the US Navy base at Guantánamo Bay to shelter interdicted migrants, US officials told the press. The new installation is needed because terrorism suspects occupy space on the base used in past emergencies to hold large numbers of migrants, Bush administration officials directly involved said. They note that the facilities are designed to house people from any Caribbean nation who attempt to enter illegally -- not just Cubans. But they say privately that Fidel Castro's illness and temporary hand-over of power to his brother Raúl last summer injected a renewed sense of urgency into plans to handle a mass exodus. The administration quietly requested the funds about a month ago and Congress has approved it. The officials, who were authorized to speak on the subject but requested anonymity because of the sensitive nature of Cuban issues, say there is no sign a Cuban migration crisis is brewing, but they acknowledge predicting one is difficult. (The Miami Herald, 16/2/07)

February 17: Cuba unveiled a marble plaque commemorating the interview 50 years ago by New York Times reporter Herbert Matthews that helped build the legend of Fidel Castro, the state news agency Prensa Latina reported. The plaque was placed on the spot where Matthews met with Castro at his hideout in the Sierra Maestra mountains of south eastern Cuba. Castro had taken to the hills two months earlier with a handful of men who survived a disastrous landing from Mexico to launch a guerrilla movement against US-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista. The government had claimed Castro was dead. Matthews' article, published by The New York Times on February 24, 1957, showed Castro was still alive and fighting. It immediately made the 30-year-old firebrand an international figure. (Reuters, 17/2/07)

February 17: The Bush administration remains hopeful that the death of Fidel Castro will unleash grass-roots pressure among Cubans for democratic change -- but many analysts see little threat to the regime under the thus-far seamless succession of brother Raul. As US officials see it, the seismic political event for Cuba has yet to come.  "We don't feel that we've lost an important moment, because quite frankly, we don't see any significant possibility of change of any kind until Fidel is gone," Tom Shannon, the top State Department aide for Latin America, said. (AP, 17/2/07)

February 19: The American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) said it supports new legislation in Congress that promotes agriculture sales to Cuba, while removing burdensome restrictions impeding trade to that country. H.R. 1026, sponsored by Jerry Moran (Republican-Kansas), would allow US agriculture to continue selling goods to Cuba with the potential for a significantly increased share of the market, according to AFBF. The legislation contains four main provisions supported by AFBF, including: Allowing individuals making agricultural sales with Cuba to travel on a general license; issuing visas to Cuban inspectors to enter the US to inspect processing facilities;  Clarifying payments of cash in advance; and allowing direct wire transfers from Cuban financial institutions to those in the US. (AFBF Press Release, 19/2/07)

February 20: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is concerned about a report of deteriorating health of independent journalist Alfredo Pulido Lopez, who has been imprisoned in Cuba for almost four years. Pulido Lopez, 46, is suffering from serious breathing and stomach ailments, his wife Rebeca Rodriguez Souto told CPJ. The journalist is receiving medical care in prison, but his wife said the living conditions are unbearable. According to Rodriguez Souto, Pulido Lopez is being held in a room with at least 100 hardened prisoners in Camaguey's Kilo 7 Prison, where he was transferred in August 2004. Rodriguez Souto said that her husband has witnessed continuous acts of violence among the inmates and fears for his life. CPJ's attempts to reach Kilo 7 Prison in Camaguey were unsuccessful. (CPJ Press Release, 20/2/07)

February 20: Despite pressure from members of Congress and business groups, the United States has no plans to soften its policies toward Cuba as the island heads into the post-Fidel Castro era, Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez said. "Now isn't the time to ease the restrictions," Gutierrez said in an interview with the press ahead of a speech he was to deliver to business groups on Cuba policy. Gutierrez said Castro has tried to blame the United States for the country's economic problems but that Castro's own policies are responsible. "This isn't about American policy. It's about Cuban policy," he said. He added that he sees little prospect for change in Cuba under Raul Castro, who has been acting president since his elder brother fell ill in late July. "There is nothing in his past to suggest that he (Raul) is a reformer," Gutierrez said. Interest in Cuba comes naturally to Gutierrez, who was born in Havana and left Cuba at age six for Florida with his family. Now 53, he joined President Bush's cabinet in 2005 after serving as chairman of the board and CEO of the Kellogg Co. Gutierrez sought to put to rest the notion among Cuban officials that the United States is intent on recapturing the dominant role it played on the island before the 1959 revolution that brought Fidel Castro to power. "We have no plans to confiscate any property," he said. "We have no military plans. Our goal is to be of help. We know we can be of help. The destiny of Cuba is in the hands of Cubans on the island, not people in Washington or someplace else." (AP, 21/2/07)

February 20: The transition in Cuba is already taking place and Argentina might have an important role to play in the process of democratization of the island, said the US Cuba Transition Coordinator. In an article published in the newspaper La Nación, of Buenos Aires, Caleb McCarry, emphasizes that Cuba is going through a historical moment that clearly shows signs of change. However, the US official indicates that the United States must continue to exert pressure on the communist regime, even without Fidel Castro in power.  (OCB, 20/2/07)

February 21: Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez had some straight talk for lawmakers and business groups pressing for a softer approach toward a post-Fidel Castro Cuba. The Bush administration won't waver from its tough stance toward Havana, he said. ''The question is not when will the US change its policy. The question is when will the Cuban regime change its policy,'' said Gutierrez, the highest ranking Cuban American in the Bush administration and co-chairman of a high level government commission that makes recommendations on Cuba. He dismissed Cuba's argument that the US sanctions against the island are to blame for its hardships. The United States, Gutierrez noted, supplies one-third of the island's food and medicines, and millions of mostly Canadian and European tourists have traveled to the island but there's been no improvement in the plight of the Cuban people. Apparently directing some of his remarks to Cubans on the island, he added that President Bush ``has no imperialist intentions. We have no military intentions to occupy the island. We will not confiscate property or support any arbitrary claims for property.'' (The Miami Herald, 22/2/07)

February 21: A federal judge denied a request by anti-Castro militant Luis Posada Carriles to be released from jail while immigration officials figure out where to deport him. US District Judge Philip R. Martinez threw out Posada's lawsuit after federal prosecutors said immigration officials could not release him because he is in the custody of the US Marshals Service. Posada, a former CIA operative suspected of bombing a Cuban jet 31 years ago, left Department of Homeland Security custody after his indictment last month on suspicion of lying in a citizenship application. Posada, 79, was arrested two years ago on an immigration violation after he reported paying a smuggler to sneak him into Texas from Mexico. (AP, 22/2/07)

February 21: Three Cuban boxers who defected from their national team while visiting Venezuela in December were denied entry to fight professionally in the United States, their Miami manager said. Attorney Tony Gonzalez , the boxers' manager, said 2004 Olympic champions Yan Barthelemi, Yuriorkis Gamboa and Odlanier Solis, who are currently in Colombia, had received clearance from the Department of Homeland Security for P1 visas for athletes and entertainers. But the US consular office in Bogota has denied the fighters' requests. Gonzalez said the three fighters already are training and had targeted February 23 night's card at Miccosukee Indian Gaming for their professional debuts. But the delay in obtaining their clearance to travel to the United States will keep their fight plans on hold. (The Miami Herald, 22/2/07)

February 23: The US Attorney's Office charged two men with obtaining fraudulent licenses for religious travel to Cuba by making up churches. Victor Vazquez and David Margolis obtained the licenses to travel under false pretenses, according to court records. The agencies sold the authorization to travel under the licenses for $250 a piece to more than 4,500 customers who could not have gone to Cuba legally, the affidavit stated. Vazquez, of Miami, and Margolis, of Fort Lauderdale, were each charged with one count of conspiring to violate Cuba-related travel regulations. Vazquez also was charged with two counts of making false statements on the applications for the religious licenses. Each charge carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison. The prosecution is the first for the Cuban Sanctions Enforcement Task Force, a federal interagency commission launched in October to crack down on illegal travel to Cuba and to limit the flow of dollars into the country. It was unclear whether the people who traveled to Cuba using the licenses would be prosecuted. (Sun Sentinel, 23/2/07)

February 23: The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists expressed concern over the decision taken by Cuban press authorities in relation with Havana correspondents for the Chicago Tribune, the BBC and a major Mexican newspaper that they can no longer report from the island. "We are dismayed by the Cuban government's decision to effectively ban two well-respected journalists from doing their jobs by not renewing their press credentials," said Carlos Lauria, the group's Americas program coordinator. "The decision comes in clear reprisal for their independent reporting. We urge the Cuban government to review its decision and allow the journalists to continue reporting from Cuba." The Inter-American Press Association said it also condemned the measures, calling them "another manifestation of the arbitrary handling of freedom of expression and press in that country." (AP, 23/2/07)

February 23: Former US Vice President Al Gore’s documentary on climate change has Cuba's vote. The Union of Young Communist's newspaper reported acting Cuban President Raul Castro "recognized the effort of the former vice president to denounce" global warming during a two-hour meeting with youth leaders. Cuba's official and only television media showed Gore's documentary "An Inconvenient Truth" on prime time this month and an update by Gore, giving the one-time presidential contender more positive publicity than any other US leader in decades. (Reuters, 25/2/07) 

February 26: US President George W. Bush decreed a continuation of restrictions on ships traveling from US territory to Cuba because the Havana government might resort to the “reckless” use of force against US vessels. The "declaration of national emergency" was running out, but Bush extended it by issuing a presidential notice and transmitting it to Congress. The restrictions were originally issued on March 1, 1996 by his predecessor, Bill Clinton, in response to the Cuban shootdown "in international air space" of two light aircrafts owned by a Cuban exile organization, according to the proclamation released. The document affirms that, since then, “the Cuban government has not demonstrated that it will refrain from the future use of reckless and excessive force against U.S. vessels or aircraft that may engage in memorial activities or peaceful protest.” The Secretary of Homeland Security, Michael Chertoff, may make rules and regulations governing the anchorage and movement of any vessel in the territorial waters of the United States, which may be used, or is susceptible of being used, “for voyage into Cuban territorial waters and that may create unsafe conditions and threaten a disturbance of international relations.” In the notice, the President argued that the expansion of the restrictions’ scope in 2004 was due to the fact that the Cuban government would have taken a series of steps “to destabilize relations with the United States, including threatening to abrogate the Migration Accords with the United States and to close the United States Interests Section” in Havana. (EFE, 27/2/07)

February 27: Repression is increasing in Cuba under the control of Raul Castro, and the domination of the government by his brother, Fidel, is nearing an end, Bush administration officials said. “In Cuba, this year will mark the end of the long domination of that country by Fidel Castro,” Mike McConnell, the nation's new spy chief, told Congress. McConnell told the Senate Armed Services Committee that significant positive change immediately after Fidel Castro's death was unlikely. He said Raul Castro has had the opportunity to solidify his control in the seven months since his brother's incapacitating illness. (AP, 27/2/07)

February 27: Lazaro Medina's happiness that six of his countrymen finally reached Key West was tempered with his disappointment that he hadn't known they were making another desperate voyage from Cuba. "I would have left," said Medina, one of a group of 15 Cubans who reached an abandoned bridge in the Florida Keys in January 2006, only to be sent back home and then -- after a court intervened -- invited to return to the United States legally. Like the six who made it over, Medina, 37, has been attending meetings with government functionaries but has received no assurance he will be given the permit required to leave the country. "I guess they thought the permits wouldn't come. They took another chance and they made it. I'm really happy for them," he said from his home in Matanzas province. The group landed on Higg's Beach, said Victor Colon, assistant chief patrol agent in Miami. There were 23 people on the overloaded boat, all part of a "cooperative" trip, rather than a smuggling venture, he said. The Border Patrol processed the group at its Pembroke Pines station, Colon said. Because they reached land, they apparently will be allowed to stay in the United States. (Sun Sentinel, 28/2/07)

February 27: US Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez told the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research lifting sanctions will not solve Cuba's problems. Fidel Castro and his brother, Raul, have "destroyed the ability for Cubans today to succeed, prosper and make a life for themselves," he told the nonpartisan Washington institution. "The United States is ready to help the Cuban people peacefully usher in a new era," said Gutierrez, co-chairman of the Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba.  Despite nearly $1 billion funneled into Cuba by the Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba, the majority of its residents remain "economic captives" mired in "indentured servitude," he said. Gutierrez said it is "naive" to believe the lifting of US sanctions would force any kind of change in the repressive government. Instead, he called for a continuation of working directly with citizens of the island by providing emergency food, water, fuel, medical supplies and education. Education is the key to ending the nearly 50 years of oppression under Castro, he said, adding the United States has no military plans to occupy Cuba. (UPI, 27/2/07)

February 27: A college professor was sentenced to five years in prison after pleading guilty to lesser charges in a case alleging that he and his wife spied for the Cuban government. Carlos Alvarez, 61, and his wife, Elsa, 56, were sentenced by US District Judge K. Michael Moore on reduced charges they received in a federal plea agreement. Elsa Alvarez was sentenced to three years in prison and one year of probation. Carlos Alvarez also received three years' probation. They apologized at the sentencing hearing but said they were not communists or supporters of Fidel Castro. They were trying to establish open dialogue with Cuba, where both were born before coming to the United States, they said. Carlos Alvarez said he once advocated removing Castro from power by force but later decided discussion would be more effective. "The methods and channels that I used were, unfortunately, wrong," he said. He pleaded for leniency for Elsa Alvarez, who said her husband had acted in good faith and did not profit from the Cuban government. "As we know, a good motive is never an excuse for criminal conduct," Moore said before handing down the sentences. "Their behavior undermined US foreign policy." Carlos Alvarez, a professor at Florida International University, was accused of spying for decades on Cuban-American exile groups and prominent individuals in Miami, as well as reporting on US political affairs. His wife, also a university employee, was implicated to a lesser degree in the suspected spying. (AP, 27/2/07)

February 28: A US new spy chief is replacing Norman Bailey as the intelligence community's point man on Cuba and Venezuela just three months after Bailey took the job. Bailey's departure came as Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell told a Senate panel that Fidel Castro's domination over Cuba would end this year and that his brother Raúl was consolidating his position in power. There was no immediate word on how Bailey's departure will affect US intelligence gathering and analysis on Cuba at a sensitive time, when the ailing leader Fidel Castro, 80, has been ''temporarily'' replaced by Raúl Castro. Bailey told friends about the decision in an e-mail on February 25, a copy of which was obtained by the press. It said McConnell was overhauling the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and eliminating the three country ''mission managers'' who supervise intelligence gathering in critical countries like North Korea and Iran. Intelligence officials denied Bailey's version, saying that the Cuba and Venezuela position will be retained and that several candidates already were being considered for the post. (The Miami Herald, 28/2/07)