Chronicle on Cuba - December 2007

Highlights

Domestic Affairs: Fidel Castro is nominated for a seat in Cuba’s National Assembly. Over twenty dissidents are arrested. Cuban police surround and enter into a church in Santiago de Cuba. The annual Latin American Film Festival takes place in Havana. A cryptic letter by Fidel Castro sparks a wave of speculation about his political future. The Sixth Legislature of the Cuban Parliament holds a two-day meeting.

Economy: Cuban farmers are being offered more land to boost agricultural production. Ramiro Valdes, Communications and Information Technology Minister, travels for a working visit to China. The Fourth Petrocaribe Summit takes place in Cienfuegos. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez oversees the reopening of an oil refinery renovated with his country's help. Cuba says its economy grew 7.5 percent in 2007.

Exile Community: A Spanish court rejects a lawsuit against Fidel Castro filed by the Committee to Aid Dissidents 2506. The 30th anniversary of the creation of the Antonio Maceo Brigade in solidarity with Cuba is commemorated in Havana.

Foreign Affairs: Fidel Castro praises Hugo Chavez for his "courage" and "dignity" in facing defeat of Venezuela’s constitutional referendum. Mexico restores its relations of respect and dialogue with Cuba. Cuba says it will accept regular UN monitoring of its human rights record as of 2009. A group of Spanish citizens are deported after attending a protest staged by dissidents in Havana. Cuban Vice President Esteban Lazo visits Ethiopia. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez meets with Fidel Castro and is welcomed at Santiago de Cuba during a visit to the island.

US-Cuba Relations: US presidential candidates take stances on policy toward Cuba. US Coast Guard says that 2007 experienced the greatest number of Cuban migrant interdictions since the 1994 rafter crisis. Several Cuban artists defect to the US. More than 500 American artists and academics sign a letter demanding the end of the embargo. The US embassy in Madrid rejects a petition of asylum to a Cuban diplomat. Several Cubans die and others are arrested after a failed attempt to get to the United States by boat.