Chronicle on Cuba - July 2007

Foreign Affairs

July 1: Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez ended his two-day visit to Teheran, the third leg of a three-nations tour that began in Russia and stopped over in Belarus. Iran plans to join a Latin American initiative designed to counter US-led efforts for free trade in the region, the official Web site of Iran's president office reported. The report said visiting Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez welcomed Iran 's observer membership in the Cuban-Venezuelan-backed alternative to the Free Trade Area of the Americas, known by its Spanish acronym ALBA. "The pillars of world arrogance have been shaky. Victory will be realized by resorting resistance and steadiness," Iran 's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said during his meeting with Chavez. (Arab Monitor, AP, 2/7/07)

July 1: The president of Bolivia, Evo Morales, said that he trusts any "instructions" that Fidel Castro may provide regarding how to tackle issues like the boom in the use of biofuels. In an interview with the newspaper “Folha de Sao Paulo”, Morales cited a recent meeting with Castro in Havana: "I was anxious, eager to step in (to Castro's room)," he said. "When we talked and I heard him speak of his principles of solidarity, of his concerns regarding the environment and energy production, of his views on the use of ethanol and other biofuels, I got so emotional I felt like crying.” (AFP, 2/7/07)

July 2: Climate change, the environmental challenge of the 21st century, is to be the focus of debates at the 6th International Convention on the Environment and Development, which began in Havana. More than 200 experts are expected at the event, including Achim Steiner, executive director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), who will give a master lecture. The event continues through July 6 at the International Convention Center, and seeks to join in science’s mission of finding alternatives for sustainable development, said Gisela Alonso, chairwoman of the Cuban Environmental Agency. (Granma International, 2/7/07)

July 3: Miguel Figueroa, general secretary of the Canadian Communist Party, defined his country’s current foreign policy as "greater alignment with the United States," but with "contradictions between the big Canadian corporations and those of its neighbor." In an interview with daily Granma, Figueroa said his party considers the situation a sort of antagonism among associates; a unity and contradiction at the same time. Relations with Cuba have been guided by a foreign policy different from that of the United States, he said. Currently, some 600,000 Canadians visit the island each year and there is business and other sectors that function well, he added. (Granma, 3/7/07)

July 3: Zoila Miriam Hernández, a Guatemalan citizen residing in Cuba claimed that the local Guatemalan Embassy is selling visas for $6,000 USD to Cuban citizens who want to leave the island. Hernández reported the shady goings-on to the Guatemalan Foreign Affairs Ministry and to the Migration Department but, according to her, “the officials showed no interest in the case.” (Prensa Libre, 3/7/07)

July 3: Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque welcomed Indian Parliamentarian Rahul Gandhi, grandson of former Prime Minister Indira Ghandi, during his visit to the island. The legislator and the Cuban diplomat discussed the relations between both nations and the work accomplished by the Indian delegation during its stay in Cuba. The parliamentarian was interested in the programs implemented in Cuba to treat and prevent AIDS, and explained that he would visit institutions devoted to this purpose. Indian Ambassador to Cuba Mitra Vasisht and Foreign Ministry Asia Department Director Alberto Blanco attended the meeting. (Prensa Latina, RHC, 3/7/07)

July 3: UN Under Secretary General Achim Steiner arrived in Cuba to participate in the 6th International Convention on the Environment and Development that began at Havana's Convention Center with the participation of nearly 700 national and  foreign specialists from 30 countries. Steiner, who is also the Executive Director of the UN Environment Program (UNEP), was welcomed at Havana's José Martí International airport by the First Vice-Minister of the Cuban Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment, Fernando González. (ACN, 3/7/07)

July 4: The Ladies in White, wives and relatives of 75 dissidents imprisoned in the spring of 2003, expressed their appreciation to the Chilean Senate for its solidarity with the Cuban political prisoners. In a letter released to the media in Havana, the Ladies in White express their belief that "it is no interference to show concern over the lack of freedom and democracy endured by a sister nation." Last June 6, the Chilean Senate passed a resolution asking the Chilean government to reject all forms of politically or ideologically motivated imprisonment in Cuba, and urged the leaders of the island to put an end to this practice. (EFE, 5/7/07)

July 4: The federal government wants "to build a new understanding" with Cuba and, to that end, it sought to depoliticise the issue of human rights, said the Foreign Undersecretary for Latin America, Gerónimo Gutiérrez, to members of the Mexican delegation attending the 9th Inter-Parliamentary meeting between both nations. Mexican congress representatives concurred that the inter-parliamentary meeting should focus on trying to resolve the issue of the Cuban debt to the National Foreign Trade Bank, currently before the Paris-based International Chamber of Commerce. The Mexican ambassador to the Organization of American States, Gustavo Albin Santos, claimed that President Felipe Calderón wishes that Cuba were restored to its rightful place in the inter-American system. However, he observed that it will be a long-term process because "it takes two to tango." (La Jornada, 4/7/07)

July 4: In Berlin, the representative of the Latin American Federation of Rural Women FLAMUR-CUBA, Magdelivia Hidalgo, called upon the EU and Germany to assist in the protection of the rights of Cuban civil society. Hidalgo is an economist and founder of FLAMUR-CUBA, an NGO established in 1996 to improve the living conditions of women, strengthen individual initiative and eradicate gender-based violence. FLAMUR-CUBA brings together 1006 women from across the island, all currently involved in a signature campaign called “With the same currency,” demanding the right to pay for everything in national currency throughout the country. (EFE, 5/7/07)

July 4: Cuba and Iran are considering sending doctors to South Africa. South Africa is recruiting some 1,000 doctors from Tunisia and luring back medical professionals from Britain and elsewhere to reverse a brain drain that has hit its public health system, its health minister said. (Reuters, 4/7/07)

July 5: The first results of Cuban Venezuelan cooperation in the field of environmental conservation was exposed by a panel of experts from both countries during the 6th Convention on Environment and Development. The representative of Cuba's Environment Agency, Juan M. Martinez informed that the group discussed integration in the prevention and mitigation of the world's environmental problems as well as those of both nations. The agenda includes joint work in integral coastal management, strengthening specific legislation and the protected natural areas as well as training human resources. (Radio Habana Cuba, 5/7/07)

July 6: The 9th Cuba-Mexico Inter-Parliamentary Conference continued with analysis of bilateral relations existing between the two countries and legislative bodies. Also on the list is education, culture and health, as well as possible joint actions in the Inter-Parliamentary Union and Latin and Central American Parliaments. The meeting, officially opened on July 5 by the island's Parliament President Ricardo Alarcon, is attended by senators and deputies from all parties represented in the Mexican congress and a deputy delegation from the Cuban Peoples' Power National Assembly. Alarcon highlighted the current position of Mexican senators and deputies to build from solid foundations of historic relations and guaranteed the Cuban Assembly's support. (Prensa Latina, 6/7/07)

July 6: Mexican Senate leader Manlio Fabio Beltrones advocated strengthening the historic links between Cuba and his country, in the framework of the Ninth bilateral Inter-Parliamentary Conference taking place in Havana. Beltrones said the event is an ideal opportunity to confer on bilateral relations the value they deserve. Mexican Senator Carlos Navarrete also called to end any cooling of diplomatic relations, and stressed that he hopes the conference paves the way for a new stage in Cuba-Mexico ties. Navarrete sustained the parliamentary talks will help increase commercial, diplomatic, cultural, and educational cooperation. (Prensa Latina, 6/7/07)

July 6: The 9th Cuba-Mexico Inter Parliamentarian Conference was closed one day before scheduled. Delegations from both countries agreed on condemning the construction of the wall in the Mexican border with the US, and the US embargo against the island. Also, Cuban and Mexican parliamentarians agreed on developing better cooperation on issues like illegal trafficking of persons and human rights. On this last subject, both parties agreed that the conclusions of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva allow better conditions for addressing “an open, respectful, frank, unprejudiced and unconditional parliamentary dialogue on this matter”. (El Universal, 7/7/07)

July 6: A group of 13 illegal Cuban immigrants –nine men and four women— arrived at the coast of Honduras. Some 93 illegal Cubans have arrived in Honduras this year, while some 400 made it in 2006, and 171 in 2005. (AP, 6/7/07)

July 8: Cuba's Council of State Vice President Esteban Lazo carried out a visit to Haiti, to analyze the island's collaboration to that Caribbean nation, the national television reported. During his stay there, Lazo held talks with Haitian President Rene Preval, mayors, power officials, and a Venezuelan delegation presided over by Deputy Foreign Minister Rodolfo Sanz. His official agenda also included the opening of one of the two ophthalmologic centers donated by Cuba to freely help out people from that country. In the act, Lazo said that Cuba will continue supporting Haiti not only in public health, but also in other important economic and social sectors. (Prensa Latina, 8/7/07)

July 8: Former Chilean president and UN Special Envoy for Climate Change Ricardo Lagos believes that it is the Cubans who are "responsible" for the future of their country, regardless of those from abroad who offer to collaborate. "It is they who must define their own future. The world often wants to assist but, in the end, the road to that future is built independently by each country," he indicated. He said that "working with those in charge of the situation there" helps more than "speaking publicly" about it. (Europa Press, 8/7/07)

July 9: Bolivian President Evo Morales praised the unconditional solidarity of the Cuban people and Fidel Castro thanks to which nearly 100,000 Bolivians have recovered their sight through the Operation Miracle free-eye surgery program. During the inauguration of the fifth of 20 hospitals that Cuba will donate to the Andean nation this year, in the locality of Aiquile, in the central department of Cochabamba, the Bolivian leader said that Cuba and Fidel Castro have allowed the Bolivian people to have high-quality health professionals at their service and also state-of-the art technology in 25 hospitals. For his part, Cuba's ambassador to La Paz, Rafael Dausá, ratified the commitment of the Cuban health personnel to continue giving a high-quality solidarity service to the Bolivian people. (ACN, 10/7/07)

July 10: A group of 120 Haitians who suffered in May a shipwreck close to the Eastern coast of Cuba, on their way to the US, was voluntarily deported to their country, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported. The IOM said the group, who stayed in a camp in Punta de Maisi, in the Eastern most part of the island, received support from Cuban authorities.   (EFE, 10/7/07)

July 10: After serving as Cuban Ambassador for six years, Jorge Bolaños said goodbye to Mexico. During the farewell function, Emma Castro, sister of Fidel Castro, said that the time is right for reconciliation between Mexico and Cuba, since both governments have shown their willingness to end the feud. The Undersecretary for Latin America and the Caribbean, Gerónimo Gutiérrez, informed that the Foreign Department had already received a request for an agreement from the Cuban government for Manuel Aguilera, who will replace Bolaños as the new Cuban Ambassador to Mexico. (Reforma, 11/7/07)

July 10: Honduran President Manuel Zelaya said that his country will soon sign a maritime boundary agreement with Cuba, a country that appears on his trip schedule for 2007. The leader did not say when he will visit the island, although an official source revealed that the signature of the maritime boundary agreement has already been delayed because Honduras did not agree with Havana’s attempt to lay claim to a strip of 10 nautical miles. (EFE, 10/7/07)

July 10: Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Aziz Pahad and Deputy Finance Minister Jabu Moleketi are currently in Cuba to strengthen South Africa's already existing bilateral ties with the Latin American country. Deputy Ministers Pahad and Moleketi are visiting Cuba as part of their four-nation tour which also includes Panama, Mexico and Spain. The visit is aimed at consolidating South Africa's commitment to political, economic and trade relations with Cuba, the Foreign Affairs Department said. "Cuba is one of South Africa's most important political partners in Latin America and the Caribbean, with whom South Africa has the strongest bilateral exchanges in a variety of fields of socio-economic activity," the department said. (BuaNews, 10/7/07)

July 11: The President of Cuba’s National Assembly (Parliament) Ricardo Alarcon and his Panamanian counterpart Elias Castillo opened in Panama City the 11th Inter-Parliamentary Meeting between both countries. The island's delegation, which arrived in Panama on July 10, is expected to start a two-day meeting with Panamanian deputies at the National Congress. The aim of the encounter is to analyze issues of bilateral and international interest. The Cuban parliament leader's agenda includes meeting with First Vice president and Foreign Minister Samuel Lewis and also with members of the Pro-Cuba Five Committee. (Prensa Latina, 11/7/07)

July 11: The president of Costa Rica, Oscar Arias, ruled out a restoration of diplomatic ties with Cuba during his term in power. "I belong to a whole generation of Latin Americans that always protested against US interference in Latin American politics and I raised my voice for the peoples’ right to self-determination,” he said. "I have supported for many years the right of the Cuban people to raise its voice as well so that some day the Cuban regime asks of its people what it is they wish for," he added. (EFE, 11/7/07)

July 12: Cuba granted its agreement to the appointment of the new Mexican ambassador in Havana, Gabriel Jiménez Remus, former leader of the National Action Party (PAN), and requested the same for its newly appointed representative in Mexico city, Manuel Aguilera de la Paz. (La Jornada, 12/7/07)

July 12: Panama and Cuba parliaments' top representatives inked a joint declaration, aimed at enhancing bilateral cooperation in several spheres. The President of Cuba’s National Assembly (Parliament) Ricardo Alarcon and his Panamanian counterpart Elias Castillo signed the document after concluding two-day sessions of the 11th Bilateral Inter-Parliamentary Group Meeting. The Cuban delegation expressed gratitude for the Panamanian historic position of "supporting the island in the struggle for the unconditional lighting of the US-imposed economic, trade and financial blockade."  The Cuban parliamentary group recognized the Panamanian National Assembly support in the international drive for the release of five Cubans imprisoned in the US. Both representatives also denounced that the release in the US of Luis Posada Carriles sets a dangerous precedent. They termed as “excellent” the course of the Operation Miracle free eye surgery program. The document says that its results have been much more effective since the opening of the "Omar Torrijos" Ophthalmologic Center in Veraguas. Surgeries done under this program have surpassed 8,000 and research of low-income patients over 10,000. The inter-parliamentary commission agreed to meet again in 2008 in Cuba. (Prensa Latina, 12/7/07)

July 12: The authenticity of the Cuban rumba group Los Muñequitos de Matanzas received raving audience reviews at the recently concluded 2007 Montreal Jazz Festival. The legendary group from the north-western Cuban province of Matanzas performed before thousands of people, giving the best of their traditional repertoire while showing that rumba is alive in today's Cuban music. The Muñequitos de Matanzas traveled west to British Colombia, where they will play a concert in the city of Harrison. (Radio Habana Cuba, 12/7/07)

July 12: Fifteen Cuban rafters who lost course on their way to the United States are in Colombia. Oscar Galvis, spokesman for the Colombian Security Administrative Department said that the Cubans -- 14 men and a woman, between 25-42 years old—arrived in the port of Cartagena after been rescued in international waters close to Mexico. (AP, 13/7/07)

July 16: A transfer of power in Cuba to acting President Raul Castro could pave the way for a debate on its return to the Organization of American States, the head of the hemispheric forum said. "There has been some change (...) that leads us to think that there is a transition, a certain shift in the balance of power in Cuba," Jose Miguel Insulza told reporters when asked if Cuba was drawing closer to the rest of the Americas. "I would not dare forecast anything, or say how deep these changes are or where are they are leading to. But I do think it is going to be possible to re-establish a long overdue dialogue about Cuba in our organization," Insulza said. The OAS Secretary General said he does not want "to reopen old wounds" and that a discussion about the return of Cuba to the OAS would only take place if all member states agreed. "If any member country does not think that it's the right time to change our stance toward Cuba, I'm sorry but I won't impose that," Insulza said. (Reuters, La Nación, 16/7/07)

July 17: In Cancún, Mexican State Judicial Police officers arrested eight Cubans who had in their possession weapons and vehicles stolen in the United States and Mexico. Two of the detainees, unable to produce any form of valid ID, are considered to be illegal immigrants. (Notimex, 17/7/07)

July 17: Cuba has expressed confidence in relations with Zimbabwe and pledged to continue supporting the country in the health, social security, education and energy sectors to improve the lives of the people. Visiting Cuban Communist Party Secretary for International Relations Fernando Remirez de Estenoz made this statement in an address to journalists soon after paying a courtesy call on Vice President Joice Mujuru. "There is need to strengthen links between the two political parties and co-operation, especially on health, education, social security and energy sectors so that we improve the lives of our people," said Remirez de Estenoz, who is leading a delegation of the Central Committee of Cuba’s Communist Party on a week-long working visit. The delegation is on a social responsibility tour programme and has already visited Angola and South Africa. The Cuban official said Zimbabwe and Cuba "have been working together since the days of the liberation struggle and after independence we continued to support the Zimbabwean people". He added that he had discussed with Mujuru on how best the two countries, which are both under Western sanctions, could further strengthen the relations. (The Herald, 17/7/07)

July 17: Deputies of eight countries, members of the Latin American Parliament (PARLATINO), debated in Havana different problems that are affecting indigenous people and other ethnicities in the region. In the first session at the Hotel Nacional, participants tackled indigenous rights and legislation, territorial security, and promotion of public policies, oriented to these populations. Ramses Torres, president of the PARLATINO Committee for Indigenous People and Ethnicities, told the press this meeting will transmit proposals to the regional countries so they can be put into practice and make possible constitutional reforms in favor of multicultural societies. Cuban Parliament President Ricardo Alarcon called to create inclusive societies in this region, integrating all its nations. "To achieve that, we need to make many changes, work hard, and contribute from the theoretical and normative point of view," Alarcon said when opening the sixth meeting of the Latin American Parliament Ethnics Committee. Particularly, he referred to the problems of the indigenous people on the continent, and urged to regain the original values of those civilizations, such as their ethics, human spirit, fraternity, and solidarity. (Prensa Latina, 17/7/07)

July 19: Mexican fishermen rescued a group of 10 Cuban immigrants who lost course in the Gulf of Mexico, 370 kilometers northwest of Puerto Progreso, Yucatan Peninsula, a spokesman for the Mexican Marine Secretariat reported. (EFE, 19/7/07)

July 19: Prime Minister Stephen Harper waded into the sticky topic of relations with Cuba for the first time, putting him slightly out of step with his Barbadian host. Harper is in the Caribbean region pushing his hemispheric prescription of democracy, open markets and free trade, and said Canada is ready to start talks on a pact with the 15-member countries of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). But when asked if he had plans to visit Cuba, the largest country in the region and one of the biggest economies, Harper said he had no such plans. He said Canadian governments have often, ''expressed concerns about certain aspects of governance and human rights in Cuba.'' Barbadian Prime Minister Owen Arthur responded by underlining Cuba's right to choose its own path. He said ''civilized relationships'' between civilized countries were not based on teaching lessons but on ''respect for people's sovereignty and non-interference and the right for people to pursue alternative paths to their development.'' (Canadian Press, 19/7/07)

July 22: The Sao Paulo Forum reiterated in Managua its support to Cuba. "We back the Caribbean island's people (…) faced with the US blockade, and declare our solidarity and immediate freedom of these five Cuban heroes," the resolution said in reference to the five Cubans imprisoned in the US. The support to the island's people and government was the first agreement inked by representatives from 19 political organizations of 13 countries, who concluded a two-day working meeting in Managua. (Prensa Latina, 22/7/07)

July 26: Hugo Chávez promised his close friend and ally Fidel Castro that he would continue the Cuban leader's decades-long fight against U.S. imperialism once the aging revolutionary icon has passed away. ''Fidel, I assume the commitment of continuing your struggle, your endless battle. I assume it. We, your children, assume it,'' said Chávez, a former paratroop commander who is steering Venezuela toward socialism. During his televised speech, he praised his mentor for living life to the fullest despite his age.  ''There's Fidel, soon he's going to turn 81 years old, fighting, living each day of his fruitful life intensely,'' Chávez said. ``I know you are not going to leave yet. No, I know it.'' (AP, 27/7/07)

July 30: Cuban Minister of Culture, Abel Prieto extolled the solidarity of Chileans with the Cuban Revolution and its struggle for the liberation of the five anti-terrorists unjustly imprisoned in the US. At the commemoration of the 54th anniversary of the Assault on the Moncada Garrison, Prieto said actions of solidarity such as these are important in a selfish world where persons die because medical care became a capitalist business. Before hundreds of Chilean friends, at the capital’s Convention Center Diego Portales, the Cuban official said in many parts the dominant philosophy is "every man for himself." The Minister took part in the 10th Ibero American Conference of Ministries of Culture. (Prensa Latina, 30/7/07)

July 30: The Pablo Neruda Ibero-American Poetry Award, granted this year to Cuban poet and essayist Fina García Marruz, was handed over to the island's Minister of Culture Abel Prieto by Chilean President Michelle Bachelet. Bachelet said that the work of García Marruz "comes to us along with the echoes of so many essential writers: narrators, poets, essayists and playwrights who were born in Cuba and whose work has been praised in the Americas and around the world." The Chilean leader highlighted García Marruz's dedication to the study of the poetry of Cuban national hero José Martí and Chilean Gabriela Mistral. During a special ceremony, held on the occasion of the 10th  Iberoamerican Conference of Culture Ministers in the Chilean city of Valparaíso, Bachelet highly praised the work of the Cuban poet, who could not attend the event due to health reasons. Cuban Minister of Culture Abel Prieto received the Award on behalf on García Marruz. (ACN, 30/7/07)

July 30: The 14th Contingent of the Latin American and Caribbean Brigade of Voluntary Work was welcomed at Julio Antonio Mella International Camp, located at the Havana municipality of Caimito. The Vice President of the Cuban Institute of Friendship with Peoples (ICAP), Enrique Roman, welcomed the 253 members of that group, coming from 10 countries of the area, who have visited the country in several occasions. (Prensa Latina, 30/7/07)