Elderly Havanans Living on the Edge / Iván García
Iván García, Translator: Unstated
In spite of his osteoarthritis and mild senile dementia, Demetrio,
76-years-old, works as a night watchman at a primary school four nights
a week. On his days off he get up before 5 AM to buy bread for the
owners of various private cafes.
He is paid 480 pesos per month to purchase the bread, which combined
with his 280 peso custodian's salary and his 211 peso pension brings in
a total 971 pesos a month. From this Demetrio takes 500 pesos to a
currency exchange and buys 20 convertible pesos, or CUC's, at the
exchange rate of 25 pesos per CUC. With these CUC's he then buys cooking
oil, canned tomatoes, soap and other essential items.
With the remaining 471 pesos he must think up ways to pay for light and
groceries. As a result there is no way this old man, burdened by
ailments, can prepare two hot meals a day. This senior citizen no longer
thinks about repairing his dilapidated apartment. Or about buying
clothes or shoes. A widower of six years, his mission is simply to
survive the harsh conditions of olive green socialism.
What concerns him most is being able to have four dishes for dinner:
rice, beans, a salad or vegetable, and some form of protein, such as
eggs, chicken, pork or catfish. Before going to bed, he prays that the
Lord will take him. He wants to be together again with his wife.
Compared to Raudel, another one of Havana'sunfortunates, Demetrio is
"rich." Raudel is 73-years-old and sleepsat night when and wherever he
can — a park, a doorway or an abandoned building. He is part of the herd
of homeless vagrants whom the official press ignores.
Raudel is a "buzo," as they call those who search through trashbins and
garbage cans. He usually "dumpster dives" in Reparto Sevillano. In a
frayed and dirty bag he collects "cucumbers" (liter and a half plastic
bottles) and empty glass bottles. Those who sell vinegar and tomato
concentrate pay him a peso for each bottle.
On a good day, Raudel can make 50 to 60 pesos — enough to pay 30 pesos
for a small plate of rice, boiled vegetables and a slice of meat insome
little privately owned cafe.
He spends the rest of the money on the drink of the forgotten — homemade
rum manufactured from household alcohol filtered through a coil with
industrial charcoal and horse shit.
Sometimes he gets a free meal when, while rummaging through garbage, he
finds a can of food and the remnants of a meal. The "grand prize" is
when he comes across an alarm clock that works, circuit boards for
computers or televisions and foreign magazines in good condition. He
knows people who will pay good money for these things.
He sleeps six to seven hours when and wherever he can. He lays out an
old, dirty bedspread and goes to sleep, drunk and unwashed. The worst
thing for a homeless Cuban is when the weather turns cold or a storm is
approaching. Then Raudel pays 10 pesos to the custodian of a state
garage who lets him sleep in a Russian truck.
Don't even ask about his health. He doesn't remember the last time he
caught a cold. The future? He just lives day to day. He is happy when
the trashcans have lots of plastic bottles and plenty of food, and
Vincente has "train spark" (cheap rum) for sale. Everything else is
nonsense.
Photo: The elderly are not the only ones living on the edge in Havana
today. There are also men and women under 50, such as this couple
photographed by Yuri Valle Roca at the corner of 12th and 23rd streets
in Vedado.
July 30 2012
http://translatingcuba.com/elderly-havanans-living-on-the-edge-ivn-garca/
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
The Deadly Proclamation
The Deadly Proclamation / Yoani Sánchez
Translator: Unstated, Yoani Sánchez
proclamaSix years. So much and so little has happened. Of the seven
names mentioned in that "Proclamation of the Commander in Chief to the
People of Cuba" only three remain unharmed. As if the text was not only
news of Fidel Castro's illness but also a curse that would fall on those
mentioned. José Ramón Balaguer, whom the ailing leader appointed to head
up the National and International Public Health Program, would leave
this branch of the ministry in mid-2010. Faced with the death from
starvation and cold of dozens of patients at the Havana Psychiatric
Hospital, the unconditionally loyal functionary was passed to another
post, perhaps to avoid ending up in court. Another of those mentioned,
Carlos Lage, dramatically lost his position as Secretary of the
Executive Committee of the Council of Ministers. Assumed by many
analysts as a possible successor to the Cuban "throne," his ouster was a
hard blow to those who were betting on a reformist line within the
government itself.
And what to say about Felipe Pérez Roque? Who in that announcement –
read several times on the night of July 31, 2006 – was assigned to
manage the health, education and energy programs. Only twenty months had
passed and already he was accused of having become addicted to "the
honey of power." The spell of the Proclamation was having a contrary
effect… instead of sealing the ascent it certified the fall. The same
finger that had pointed out these men as faithful choices to carry on
his work, later identified them as traitors. The old maxim that
proximity to power is as lucrative as it is dangerous, exemplified in a
short space of time. Another of the mentioned, Francisco Soberón,
president of the Central Bank, would also be replaced; he would leave by
the back door to write his memoirs, some said; to avoid public
punishment, said others.
Only three of the names mentioned in that foreboding text remain
untouched. One of them is José Ramón Machado Ventura who has become the
second in command. Nor has Estaban Lazo been ousted, because he learned
well the lesson not to let his own light shine too brightly. And the
third of the "survivors" is Raúl Castro himself. Principle beneficiary
of the "proclamation/will," the former Minister of the Armed Forces also
has been the most cursed. Because his account now carries not only his
own sins but also those inherited from his brother: delayed reforms,
massive layoffs, the invasive marabou weed that continues to run wild,
cuts in the basic ration basket, and that damned glass of milk that
never materializes on our tables – no matter how many times it is
promised – along with a long list of et ceteras. It would not surprise
me to hear a new proclamation any day now, in which the
General-President delegates his duties to someone who carries the same
name. The next damned president of our national history.
31 July 2012
http://translatingcuba.com/the-deadly-proclamation-yoani-snchez/
Translator: Unstated, Yoani Sánchez
proclamaSix years. So much and so little has happened. Of the seven
names mentioned in that "Proclamation of the Commander in Chief to the
People of Cuba" only three remain unharmed. As if the text was not only
news of Fidel Castro's illness but also a curse that would fall on those
mentioned. José Ramón Balaguer, whom the ailing leader appointed to head
up the National and International Public Health Program, would leave
this branch of the ministry in mid-2010. Faced with the death from
starvation and cold of dozens of patients at the Havana Psychiatric
Hospital, the unconditionally loyal functionary was passed to another
post, perhaps to avoid ending up in court. Another of those mentioned,
Carlos Lage, dramatically lost his position as Secretary of the
Executive Committee of the Council of Ministers. Assumed by many
analysts as a possible successor to the Cuban "throne," his ouster was a
hard blow to those who were betting on a reformist line within the
government itself.
And what to say about Felipe Pérez Roque? Who in that announcement –
read several times on the night of July 31, 2006 – was assigned to
manage the health, education and energy programs. Only twenty months had
passed and already he was accused of having become addicted to "the
honey of power." The spell of the Proclamation was having a contrary
effect… instead of sealing the ascent it certified the fall. The same
finger that had pointed out these men as faithful choices to carry on
his work, later identified them as traitors. The old maxim that
proximity to power is as lucrative as it is dangerous, exemplified in a
short space of time. Another of the mentioned, Francisco Soberón,
president of the Central Bank, would also be replaced; he would leave by
the back door to write his memoirs, some said; to avoid public
punishment, said others.
Only three of the names mentioned in that foreboding text remain
untouched. One of them is José Ramón Machado Ventura who has become the
second in command. Nor has Estaban Lazo been ousted, because he learned
well the lesson not to let his own light shine too brightly. And the
third of the "survivors" is Raúl Castro himself. Principle beneficiary
of the "proclamation/will," the former Minister of the Armed Forces also
has been the most cursed. Because his account now carries not only his
own sins but also those inherited from his brother: delayed reforms,
massive layoffs, the invasive marabou weed that continues to run wild,
cuts in the basic ration basket, and that damned glass of milk that
never materializes on our tables – no matter how many times it is
promised – along with a long list of et ceteras. It would not surprise
me to hear a new proclamation any day now, in which the
General-President delegates his duties to someone who carries the same
name. The next damned president of our national history.
31 July 2012
http://translatingcuba.com/the-deadly-proclamation-yoani-snchez/
Havana Club rum dispute isn’t over yet
Posted on Tuesday, 07.31.12
Havana Club rum dispute isn't over yet
The litigation between Bacardi and Cuba over the use of the Havana Club
trademark in the U.S. market is over, but Cuba is still trying to hold
on to the name.
By MIMI WHITEFIELD
mwhitefield@MiamiHerald.com
It seemed like it was last call on Bacardi's nearly two-decade fight
with French spirits maker Pernod Ricard and Cuba over the use of the
Havana Club rum trademark in the American market a few months ago when
the U.S. Supreme Court declined to intervene in the trademark clash.
While the litigation is over, Cubaexport, Pernod Ricard's Cuban partner
in the distribution of the island's most iconic rum, is still trying to
hold on to the right to the Havana Club name in the U.S. market.
Bacardi has won a string of U.S. court victories against Cubaexport, the
latest the Supreme Court's May 14 decision against reviewing the case,
setting the stage for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to cancel
Cuba's right to the U.S. trademark.
But Cubaexport's attorneys have filed a petition with the trademark
office, saying the trademark registration can't be revoked and remains
"frozen while the embargo of Cuba is in place.''
Cubaexport "can go back and take one more bite of the apple,'' says
Patrick Ross, a spokesman for the USPTO. But when the trademark office
makes its determination, "this is their last shot as far we're
concerned,'' he said.
The case began in 1994 when Bacardi applied for a U.S. trademark for
Havana Club rum after it purchased rights to the brand from the
Arechabalas, a family who made rum in Cuba and sold Havana Club in the
United States as far back as the 1930s.
The only problem: After the Arechabala family went into exile, their
registration lapsed in 1973. Cubaexport jumped on it, successfully
registering the Havana Club mark in 1976, and suing when Bacardi tried
to register it nearly two decades later.
Bacardi and Havana Club were both top rum brands in Cuba at the time of
the 1959 revolution and the Castro government expropriated the holdings
of both the Bacardi and Arechabala families.
Who owns the trademark in the United States might seem like something of
a moot point since the U.S. embargo precludes the sale of Cuban-made rum
here.
But this rum war is all about the future and rum dominance when there is
no longer an embargo.
To that end, Pernod held a conference call on the day of the Supreme
Court decision to announce a new trademark, Havanista, had already been
registered. Havanista, Pernod said, is a premium Cuban rum that would be
launched exclusively for the U.S. market after the embargo is lifted.
"Listening to a conference call about the launch of a product that
doesn't look like it's being launched any time soon was a bit weird,''
noted Olly Wehring, the editor of the just-drinks blog.
While the name may be new, the labels on the prototype Havanista
bottles, with their red circle rimmed in gold and the little figure of
Giraldilla — symbol of Havana, mimic Havana Club labels. Cuban-made
Havana Club that is.
The distinction is important because Bacardi has been selling a rum,
made in Puerto Rico from the Arechabala family recipe under the Havana
Club name in Florida since 2006 and plans to expand sales nationwide
soon, said Patricia M. Neal, a spokeswoman for Bacardi U.S.A.
In the United States, Neal points out, common law "ownership rights are
secured through use" and are separate from a trademark registration.
"Bacardi owns the U.S. rights to the brand based on use and as a
successor to the original owners,'' she said.
Cubaexport's attorneys don't see it that way. "Bacardi shouldn't be
allowed to try to expropriate that mark by selling tiny quantities of
Puerto Rican rum under a deceptive name,'' said David H. Bernstein, a
partner at the New York law firm Debevoise & Plimpton.
Paris-based Pernod, which formed a joint venture with a Cuban rum
company in 1993 to market Havana Club, now distributes the brand in more
than 120 countries and has survived international challenges from
Bacardi over use of the name. This year it expects to sell 4 million
9-liter cases of Havana Club. The brand also is sold in Cuba.
Neal said she expects the USPTO will formally cancel Cubaexport's
trademark "in due course,'' allowing Bacardi's own application for the
Havana Club mark to go forward.
But Bernstein said in a June letter to the USPTO that Cubaexport's
registration couldn't be canceled or declared expired because it would
be a transfer of property in which a Cuban national has an interest —
and that would be a violation of the embargo.
"The Havana Club trademark is an asset just like any other," Bernstein
said in an interview.
The embargo prohibits most financial transactions with Cuba unless they
are licensed by the U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control.
"Cubaexport's registration remains frozen in its previously existing
state — neither renewed nor canceled nor expired — for the duration of
the U.S. embargo of Cuba in the absence of an applicable general or
specific license from OFAC,'' Bernstein wrote.
That reasoning is similar to the rationale employed by OFAC when it
declined to issue a license to Cubaexport in 2006 so it could pay $500
to renew the Havana Club trademark. Because the trademark office
couldn't accept the payment in the absence of a license, Cubaexport's
registration was declared "cancelled/expired.'' That set the stage for
Cubaexport's last lawsuit.
After consulting with the State Department, OFAC said giving Cubaexport
a license "would be inconsistent with U.S. policy.'' Complicating
matters was Section 211, which was attached to a 1998 federal spending
bill and prohibits any trademark actions or payments in connection with
a confiscated business or assets.
Cubaexport challenged OFAC's determination in federal court in
Washington, D.C., and lost. It also lost on appeal, setting up a
potential Supreme Court showdown.
Now the dispute is back in the trademark office's court.
If the trademark is canceled, Cuba has threatened to retaliate against
U.S. trademarks that are registered on the island. For decades,
representatives of U.S. companies have trekked to Cuba or hired Cuban
law firms to make sure registrations for marks such as McDonald's Golden
Arches and Pepsi are current. Cuba says U.S. companies have some 6,000
registrations on file.
"The disrespectful attitude of the United States in depriving the
legitimate holders of the Havana Club trademark may put in risk the
trademark rights and patents of U.S. nationals in our country,'' said
Maria de los Ángeles Sánchez, director of Cuba's Office of Patent
Rights, in a statement.
"Cuba reserves the right, like any sovereign country, to act at the
appropriate time,'' she said.
"It is a possibility that Cuba could retaliate and it always has been,
but that is not their style,'' said Kirby Jones, who has made a career
of legally taking U.S. companies and politicians on trips to Cuba.
If Cuba wanted to make good on the retaliation threat, it could have
done so in 2006 when it lost a U.S. trademark case over Cohiba cigars,
he pointed out. But it didn't.
In 2001, former President Fidel Castro even said in a speech that
instructions had been given to the Cuban rum industry to begin producing
Bacardi. Nothing seemed to come of it.
Still, Jones recalled an incident at a Havana reception Castro was
hosting for a visiting U.S. delegation during a heated moment of the
Havana Club dispute. "The waiters began pushing out carts full of
bottles and crystal glasses,'' he said. When the bottles were lifted up,
he saw the Bacardi label.
"It was a joke,'' Jones said. "Having done that, it [the retaliation]
never happened.''
Registering the Havanista trademark was something of an insurance policy
to make sure Pernod will be able to distribute a premium Cuban rum in
the U.S. market some day.
"With Havanista, if the embargo is lifted, we will be happy to bring the
unique quality and taste of Cuban rum to U.S. consumers,'' said Jérôme
Cottin-Bizonne, chief executive of Havana Club International, a
joint-venture between Pernod Ricard and Corporación Cuba Ron.
Pernod Ricard said it has no plans to develop the Havanista brand
anywhere except in the United States. "Havanista is dedicated to future
use, and in the U.S. only,'' the spirits company said.
http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/07/20/v-fullstory/2923729/havana-club-rum-dispute-isnt-over.html
Havana Club rum dispute isn't over yet
The litigation between Bacardi and Cuba over the use of the Havana Club
trademark in the U.S. market is over, but Cuba is still trying to hold
on to the name.
By MIMI WHITEFIELD
mwhitefield@MiamiHerald.com
It seemed like it was last call on Bacardi's nearly two-decade fight
with French spirits maker Pernod Ricard and Cuba over the use of the
Havana Club rum trademark in the American market a few months ago when
the U.S. Supreme Court declined to intervene in the trademark clash.
While the litigation is over, Cubaexport, Pernod Ricard's Cuban partner
in the distribution of the island's most iconic rum, is still trying to
hold on to the right to the Havana Club name in the U.S. market.
Bacardi has won a string of U.S. court victories against Cubaexport, the
latest the Supreme Court's May 14 decision against reviewing the case,
setting the stage for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to cancel
Cuba's right to the U.S. trademark.
But Cubaexport's attorneys have filed a petition with the trademark
office, saying the trademark registration can't be revoked and remains
"frozen while the embargo of Cuba is in place.''
Cubaexport "can go back and take one more bite of the apple,'' says
Patrick Ross, a spokesman for the USPTO. But when the trademark office
makes its determination, "this is their last shot as far we're
concerned,'' he said.
The case began in 1994 when Bacardi applied for a U.S. trademark for
Havana Club rum after it purchased rights to the brand from the
Arechabalas, a family who made rum in Cuba and sold Havana Club in the
United States as far back as the 1930s.
The only problem: After the Arechabala family went into exile, their
registration lapsed in 1973. Cubaexport jumped on it, successfully
registering the Havana Club mark in 1976, and suing when Bacardi tried
to register it nearly two decades later.
Bacardi and Havana Club were both top rum brands in Cuba at the time of
the 1959 revolution and the Castro government expropriated the holdings
of both the Bacardi and Arechabala families.
Who owns the trademark in the United States might seem like something of
a moot point since the U.S. embargo precludes the sale of Cuban-made rum
here.
But this rum war is all about the future and rum dominance when there is
no longer an embargo.
To that end, Pernod held a conference call on the day of the Supreme
Court decision to announce a new trademark, Havanista, had already been
registered. Havanista, Pernod said, is a premium Cuban rum that would be
launched exclusively for the U.S. market after the embargo is lifted.
"Listening to a conference call about the launch of a product that
doesn't look like it's being launched any time soon was a bit weird,''
noted Olly Wehring, the editor of the just-drinks blog.
While the name may be new, the labels on the prototype Havanista
bottles, with their red circle rimmed in gold and the little figure of
Giraldilla — symbol of Havana, mimic Havana Club labels. Cuban-made
Havana Club that is.
The distinction is important because Bacardi has been selling a rum,
made in Puerto Rico from the Arechabala family recipe under the Havana
Club name in Florida since 2006 and plans to expand sales nationwide
soon, said Patricia M. Neal, a spokeswoman for Bacardi U.S.A.
In the United States, Neal points out, common law "ownership rights are
secured through use" and are separate from a trademark registration.
"Bacardi owns the U.S. rights to the brand based on use and as a
successor to the original owners,'' she said.
Cubaexport's attorneys don't see it that way. "Bacardi shouldn't be
allowed to try to expropriate that mark by selling tiny quantities of
Puerto Rican rum under a deceptive name,'' said David H. Bernstein, a
partner at the New York law firm Debevoise & Plimpton.
Paris-based Pernod, which formed a joint venture with a Cuban rum
company in 1993 to market Havana Club, now distributes the brand in more
than 120 countries and has survived international challenges from
Bacardi over use of the name. This year it expects to sell 4 million
9-liter cases of Havana Club. The brand also is sold in Cuba.
Neal said she expects the USPTO will formally cancel Cubaexport's
trademark "in due course,'' allowing Bacardi's own application for the
Havana Club mark to go forward.
But Bernstein said in a June letter to the USPTO that Cubaexport's
registration couldn't be canceled or declared expired because it would
be a transfer of property in which a Cuban national has an interest —
and that would be a violation of the embargo.
"The Havana Club trademark is an asset just like any other," Bernstein
said in an interview.
The embargo prohibits most financial transactions with Cuba unless they
are licensed by the U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control.
"Cubaexport's registration remains frozen in its previously existing
state — neither renewed nor canceled nor expired — for the duration of
the U.S. embargo of Cuba in the absence of an applicable general or
specific license from OFAC,'' Bernstein wrote.
That reasoning is similar to the rationale employed by OFAC when it
declined to issue a license to Cubaexport in 2006 so it could pay $500
to renew the Havana Club trademark. Because the trademark office
couldn't accept the payment in the absence of a license, Cubaexport's
registration was declared "cancelled/expired.'' That set the stage for
Cubaexport's last lawsuit.
After consulting with the State Department, OFAC said giving Cubaexport
a license "would be inconsistent with U.S. policy.'' Complicating
matters was Section 211, which was attached to a 1998 federal spending
bill and prohibits any trademark actions or payments in connection with
a confiscated business or assets.
Cubaexport challenged OFAC's determination in federal court in
Washington, D.C., and lost. It also lost on appeal, setting up a
potential Supreme Court showdown.
Now the dispute is back in the trademark office's court.
If the trademark is canceled, Cuba has threatened to retaliate against
U.S. trademarks that are registered on the island. For decades,
representatives of U.S. companies have trekked to Cuba or hired Cuban
law firms to make sure registrations for marks such as McDonald's Golden
Arches and Pepsi are current. Cuba says U.S. companies have some 6,000
registrations on file.
"The disrespectful attitude of the United States in depriving the
legitimate holders of the Havana Club trademark may put in risk the
trademark rights and patents of U.S. nationals in our country,'' said
Maria de los Ángeles Sánchez, director of Cuba's Office of Patent
Rights, in a statement.
"Cuba reserves the right, like any sovereign country, to act at the
appropriate time,'' she said.
"It is a possibility that Cuba could retaliate and it always has been,
but that is not their style,'' said Kirby Jones, who has made a career
of legally taking U.S. companies and politicians on trips to Cuba.
If Cuba wanted to make good on the retaliation threat, it could have
done so in 2006 when it lost a U.S. trademark case over Cohiba cigars,
he pointed out. But it didn't.
In 2001, former President Fidel Castro even said in a speech that
instructions had been given to the Cuban rum industry to begin producing
Bacardi. Nothing seemed to come of it.
Still, Jones recalled an incident at a Havana reception Castro was
hosting for a visiting U.S. delegation during a heated moment of the
Havana Club dispute. "The waiters began pushing out carts full of
bottles and crystal glasses,'' he said. When the bottles were lifted up,
he saw the Bacardi label.
"It was a joke,'' Jones said. "Having done that, it [the retaliation]
never happened.''
Registering the Havanista trademark was something of an insurance policy
to make sure Pernod will be able to distribute a premium Cuban rum in
the U.S. market some day.
"With Havanista, if the embargo is lifted, we will be happy to bring the
unique quality and taste of Cuban rum to U.S. consumers,'' said Jérôme
Cottin-Bizonne, chief executive of Havana Club International, a
joint-venture between Pernod Ricard and Corporación Cuba Ron.
Pernod Ricard said it has no plans to develop the Havanista brand
anywhere except in the United States. "Havanista is dedicated to future
use, and in the U.S. only,'' the spirits company said.
http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/07/20/v-fullstory/2923729/havana-club-rum-dispute-isnt-over.html
Cuba car crash fallout turns focus on dissidents' funds
1 August 2012 Last updated at 10:50 GMT
Cuba car crash fallout turns focus on dissidents' funds
By Sarah Rainsford BBC News, Havana
It is just over a week since Oswaldo Paya, one of Cuba's most prominent
dissidents, was killed in a car crash.
In that time, the authorities have gone from fending off his family's
allegations of foul play to parading proof that he received foreign
funding for his political activities.
Communist-run Cuba bans all opposition parties and routinely dismisses
vocal government critics as mercenaries, sponsored to subvert the
revolution.
But the latest revelation about Mr Paya receiving overseas money appears
to have sparked a new government campaign to discredit dissenters and
warn them that Cuba will not permit any kind of Arab Spring to spread here.
It began on Monday when one of the survivors of the car crash, Jens Aron
Modig, was brought to speak to journalists at an official news
conference in Havana.
Mr Modig is a member of Sweden's Christian Democratic Party.
Infographic from the Cuban authorities showing the location of the car
accident Cuban officials insisted all along that the crash was an accident
Still in police custody, he admitted he had travelled to Cuba twice to
deliver money to Mr Paya and "share experiences" with young political
activists.
Both he and - in a video played to the press - the driver of the car,
Angel Carromero, confirmed that the crash which killed Mr Paya was an
accident and their vehicle was not forced off the road.
Mr Carromero, a member of the youth branch of Spain's governing Popular
Party, is still being held as an investigation into possible murder
charges continues.
After a week behind bars, Mr Modig was promptly released and flew home
the next day.
Foreign funding
Cuba has been busy using his statement to make its point about
dissidents ever since.
"They are vulgar agents paid, supplied and instructed by the government
of the United States and its allies. They betray their country for
cash," was the view of a lengthy editorial in the Communist Party
newspaper Granma on Tuesday.
"Paya's death is tragic, but it led to a revelation that undermines his
standing," believes Stephen Wilkinson, editor of the International
Journal of Cuban Studies.
Many dissidents argue that they accept foreign support because they are
barred from jobs in a predominantly state-controlled economy; others see
no reason to refuse help if they are acting according to their own
principles.
But Mr Paya always made a point of his independence. In particular he
refused funding from the US, as Miami has long been the launch pad for
attempts by Cuban exiles to oust the Castros from power.
"The fact there was a conspiracy by the right-wing in Sweden and Spain
to assist him is very significant. It delegitimises the movement
completely and the Cubans will go heavy on that," Mr Wilkinson says.
Henrik Ehrenberg, a spokesman for Sweden's Christian Democratic Party
told the BBC that any cash carried by its members to dissidents is
"private money".
But Mr Ehrenberg added that "quite a number of Christian Democrats" had
visited Cuba to show "moral support and solidarity" for Mr Paya's civil
rights movement.
Cuba sees such things differently.
Mr Modig's confession has sparked a wave of official reports of what the
government styles as foreign-backed plots to foment an uprising.
On Tuesday night, TV viewers were shown excerpts from interviews with
young Mexican men who recounted being sent to Cuba in March to disrupt a
visit by Pope Benedict.
The Mexicans named well-known Cuban dissidents they said they had been
instructed to contact and call "onto the streets (… to) take over
churches to demonstrate against the government and show that it is
oppressing Cuban citizens".
The report alleged that they were recruited by Cuban exiles in Miami but
arrested before the Pope arrived in Havana. Their confessions were
apparently held back for an opportune moment.
Now it all appears intended to warn supporters of Cuba's opposition
activists that their "activity against the constitutional order" is well
known.
'Not Libya'
But the strong reaction may also suggest a degree of concern.
As conflict rages in Syria, Cuba has stressed what it sees as yet more
foreign interference in a sovereign state: a popular uprising provoked
by influence-hungry western powers, unrelated to any grievances on the
ground.
And just last week President Raul Castro himself warned that "groups"
backed by Cuba's ideological enemy, the US, were attempting to provoke
in Cuba "what happened in Libya and what they are trying to do now in
Syria".
"Our vocation is peaceful," Mr Castro stressed, "but we will defend our
people."
Tuesday's Granma editorial talked of attempts to deliver 10,000 mobile
phones to the island and distribute information about the Arab uprisings
online.
"They are probably worried about that," opposition activist Antonio
Rodiles, who was detained at Mr Paya's funeral and held for 24 hours
before being released without charge.
But Mr Rodiles believes Cuba is far from any similar uprising.
It is a view shared by diplomats in Havana. Internet access remains very
limited even in the capital - a recent seminar on using social networks
like Facebook and Twitter attracted just a few dozen activists - and
dissident groups, they say, remain divided and heavily infiltrated by
state security.
"I don't think they [the authorities] are overly concerned. I think they
know what's going on and they have a handle on it," argues Dr Wilkinson.
That is certainly the message people here are being sent this week, as
Cuba affirms that the death of Oswaldo Paya was an accident and works to
discredit his political demands.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-19075435
Cuba car crash fallout turns focus on dissidents' funds
By Sarah Rainsford BBC News, Havana
It is just over a week since Oswaldo Paya, one of Cuba's most prominent
dissidents, was killed in a car crash.
In that time, the authorities have gone from fending off his family's
allegations of foul play to parading proof that he received foreign
funding for his political activities.
Communist-run Cuba bans all opposition parties and routinely dismisses
vocal government critics as mercenaries, sponsored to subvert the
revolution.
But the latest revelation about Mr Paya receiving overseas money appears
to have sparked a new government campaign to discredit dissenters and
warn them that Cuba will not permit any kind of Arab Spring to spread here.
It began on Monday when one of the survivors of the car crash, Jens Aron
Modig, was brought to speak to journalists at an official news
conference in Havana.
Mr Modig is a member of Sweden's Christian Democratic Party.
Infographic from the Cuban authorities showing the location of the car
accident Cuban officials insisted all along that the crash was an accident
Still in police custody, he admitted he had travelled to Cuba twice to
deliver money to Mr Paya and "share experiences" with young political
activists.
Both he and - in a video played to the press - the driver of the car,
Angel Carromero, confirmed that the crash which killed Mr Paya was an
accident and their vehicle was not forced off the road.
Mr Carromero, a member of the youth branch of Spain's governing Popular
Party, is still being held as an investigation into possible murder
charges continues.
After a week behind bars, Mr Modig was promptly released and flew home
the next day.
Foreign funding
Cuba has been busy using his statement to make its point about
dissidents ever since.
"They are vulgar agents paid, supplied and instructed by the government
of the United States and its allies. They betray their country for
cash," was the view of a lengthy editorial in the Communist Party
newspaper Granma on Tuesday.
"Paya's death is tragic, but it led to a revelation that undermines his
standing," believes Stephen Wilkinson, editor of the International
Journal of Cuban Studies.
Many dissidents argue that they accept foreign support because they are
barred from jobs in a predominantly state-controlled economy; others see
no reason to refuse help if they are acting according to their own
principles.
But Mr Paya always made a point of his independence. In particular he
refused funding from the US, as Miami has long been the launch pad for
attempts by Cuban exiles to oust the Castros from power.
"The fact there was a conspiracy by the right-wing in Sweden and Spain
to assist him is very significant. It delegitimises the movement
completely and the Cubans will go heavy on that," Mr Wilkinson says.
Henrik Ehrenberg, a spokesman for Sweden's Christian Democratic Party
told the BBC that any cash carried by its members to dissidents is
"private money".
But Mr Ehrenberg added that "quite a number of Christian Democrats" had
visited Cuba to show "moral support and solidarity" for Mr Paya's civil
rights movement.
Cuba sees such things differently.
Mr Modig's confession has sparked a wave of official reports of what the
government styles as foreign-backed plots to foment an uprising.
On Tuesday night, TV viewers were shown excerpts from interviews with
young Mexican men who recounted being sent to Cuba in March to disrupt a
visit by Pope Benedict.
The Mexicans named well-known Cuban dissidents they said they had been
instructed to contact and call "onto the streets (… to) take over
churches to demonstrate against the government and show that it is
oppressing Cuban citizens".
The report alleged that they were recruited by Cuban exiles in Miami but
arrested before the Pope arrived in Havana. Their confessions were
apparently held back for an opportune moment.
Now it all appears intended to warn supporters of Cuba's opposition
activists that their "activity against the constitutional order" is well
known.
'Not Libya'
But the strong reaction may also suggest a degree of concern.
As conflict rages in Syria, Cuba has stressed what it sees as yet more
foreign interference in a sovereign state: a popular uprising provoked
by influence-hungry western powers, unrelated to any grievances on the
ground.
And just last week President Raul Castro himself warned that "groups"
backed by Cuba's ideological enemy, the US, were attempting to provoke
in Cuba "what happened in Libya and what they are trying to do now in
Syria".
"Our vocation is peaceful," Mr Castro stressed, "but we will defend our
people."
Tuesday's Granma editorial talked of attempts to deliver 10,000 mobile
phones to the island and distribute information about the Arab uprisings
online.
"They are probably worried about that," opposition activist Antonio
Rodiles, who was detained at Mr Paya's funeral and held for 24 hours
before being released without charge.
But Mr Rodiles believes Cuba is far from any similar uprising.
It is a view shared by diplomats in Havana. Internet access remains very
limited even in the capital - a recent seminar on using social networks
like Facebook and Twitter attracted just a few dozen activists - and
dissident groups, they say, remain divided and heavily infiltrated by
state security.
"I don't think they [the authorities] are overly concerned. I think they
know what's going on and they have a handle on it," argues Dr Wilkinson.
That is certainly the message people here are being sent this week, as
Cuba affirms that the death of Oswaldo Paya was an accident and works to
discredit his political demands.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-19075435
Opera Unfolds When A Cuban Cabaret Is Shut Down
Opera Unfolds When A Cuban Cabaret Is Shut Down
by Nick Miroff
July 31, 2012
Ulises Aquino was already one of Cuba's best-known baritones when he
founded his own company, Opera de la Calle, or Opera of the Street, in
2006. By combining Cuban rhythms and dance with his formal musical
training, he won fans at home and abroad.
Aquino also considers himself a good "revolucionario," meaning he's a
loyal supporter of Cuba's socialist system. And when President Raul
Castro urged Cubans to increase productivity by starting small
businesses, Aquino answered the call.
He cleaned up a vacant, trash-strewn lot in Havana and built a
restaurant and cabaret, El Cabildo, where his Opera of the Street could
finally have a home.
It was a big hit. And true to socialist principles, Aquino split
earnings among his 130 employees, held free children's theater on
weekends and kept his prices low.
But it didn't last a year.
Aquino says a team of inspectors sent by Havana city authorities
interrupted the show on July 21 as the stunned audience looked on.
"They ordered me off the stage and began a four-hour inspection," he
says. "They told us to shut down the kitchen and freeze all sales."
Ulises Aquino, a prominent Cuban singer, is the owner of the caberat and
restaurant. He describes himself as a strong supporter of Cuba's
socialist system and split the earnings among his 130 employees.
Owner Blames Bureaucrats, Not Castro
The officials ordered El Cabildo closed and Aquino's business licenses
revoked for two years. His supplies lacked proper receipts, they said,
and he had too many chairs. But the most severe charge was personal
enrichment, meaning he wasn't authorized to charge a $2 cover at the door.
No hearing. No appeal. Just a stern letter from officials who weren't
interested in helping bring Aquino into compliance. But he's not blaming
Raul Castro.
"This kind of thing is the exact opposite of what our government has
been telling us," Aquino says. "The people behind this are the midlevel
bureaucrats who see Cuba changing and know that they're going to lose
their power. They are the ones holding our country back."
Raul Castro himself told Cubans in a recent speech that bureaucrats who
stand in the way of change will be swept aside. He's laid out plans to
resuscitate Cuba's state-run economy by creating millions of jobs in new
small businesses and cooperatives.
But the process is dragging. Closing El Cabildo has eliminated 130 of
the jobs created for Cubans like Angel Basterrechea, who fears he may
have lost the highest-paying job he ever had.
"Life has changed for me and for my family since I started working
here," says Basterrechea, who Aquino hired to help build El Cabildo and
work as a night watchman. "I've made $120 — even $160 — a month and
that's more than I've ever made."
A Test For Reforms
No one is getting rich on that sort of wage in Cuba, where the average
state salary is a meager $20 a month. But even a modest display of
success may have led to Aquino's downfall.
Related NPR Stories
Two self-employed florists prepare bunches of flowers in Havana last
year. The Cuban government is stepping up economic reforms and estimates
that in four or five years, nearly half the workforce will be employed
in the private sector.
Cuba's New Mantra: Viva Private Business
Just before Aquino was busted, the cabaret was featured in a Reuters
article that called it "Cuba's largest private business" and laid out
his profit-sharing model for socialist enterprise.
Aquino insists he broke no laws and that he's the one on the side of the
Cuban Revolution, not the local officials who shut him down.
"I am a revolutionary because I'm not a conservative," he says. "This
was done by people who pretend to be revolutionary but are fakers,
lacking in any ethical principles. This is not what the revolution is
about."
Aquino's case is a test for Castro and his reformers as they begin an
experiment converting state-owned companies into employee-run
cooperatives. If they intervene and help Aquino reopen, it'll send a
message to lower-level officials that small businesses that create jobs
deserve support.
If they let El Cabildo remain shuttered, they'll be sending a different
signal: that the skeptics are right, and Cuba hasn't changed much after all.
http://www.npr.org/2012/07/31/157656452/opera-unfolds-when-a-cuban-caberat-is-shut-down
by Nick Miroff
July 31, 2012
Ulises Aquino was already one of Cuba's best-known baritones when he
founded his own company, Opera de la Calle, or Opera of the Street, in
2006. By combining Cuban rhythms and dance with his formal musical
training, he won fans at home and abroad.
Aquino also considers himself a good "revolucionario," meaning he's a
loyal supporter of Cuba's socialist system. And when President Raul
Castro urged Cubans to increase productivity by starting small
businesses, Aquino answered the call.
He cleaned up a vacant, trash-strewn lot in Havana and built a
restaurant and cabaret, El Cabildo, where his Opera of the Street could
finally have a home.
It was a big hit. And true to socialist principles, Aquino split
earnings among his 130 employees, held free children's theater on
weekends and kept his prices low.
But it didn't last a year.
Aquino says a team of inspectors sent by Havana city authorities
interrupted the show on July 21 as the stunned audience looked on.
"They ordered me off the stage and began a four-hour inspection," he
says. "They told us to shut down the kitchen and freeze all sales."
Ulises Aquino, a prominent Cuban singer, is the owner of the caberat and
restaurant. He describes himself as a strong supporter of Cuba's
socialist system and split the earnings among his 130 employees.
Owner Blames Bureaucrats, Not Castro
The officials ordered El Cabildo closed and Aquino's business licenses
revoked for two years. His supplies lacked proper receipts, they said,
and he had too many chairs. But the most severe charge was personal
enrichment, meaning he wasn't authorized to charge a $2 cover at the door.
No hearing. No appeal. Just a stern letter from officials who weren't
interested in helping bring Aquino into compliance. But he's not blaming
Raul Castro.
"This kind of thing is the exact opposite of what our government has
been telling us," Aquino says. "The people behind this are the midlevel
bureaucrats who see Cuba changing and know that they're going to lose
their power. They are the ones holding our country back."
Raul Castro himself told Cubans in a recent speech that bureaucrats who
stand in the way of change will be swept aside. He's laid out plans to
resuscitate Cuba's state-run economy by creating millions of jobs in new
small businesses and cooperatives.
But the process is dragging. Closing El Cabildo has eliminated 130 of
the jobs created for Cubans like Angel Basterrechea, who fears he may
have lost the highest-paying job he ever had.
"Life has changed for me and for my family since I started working
here," says Basterrechea, who Aquino hired to help build El Cabildo and
work as a night watchman. "I've made $120 — even $160 — a month and
that's more than I've ever made."
A Test For Reforms
No one is getting rich on that sort of wage in Cuba, where the average
state salary is a meager $20 a month. But even a modest display of
success may have led to Aquino's downfall.
Related NPR Stories
Two self-employed florists prepare bunches of flowers in Havana last
year. The Cuban government is stepping up economic reforms and estimates
that in four or five years, nearly half the workforce will be employed
in the private sector.
Cuba's New Mantra: Viva Private Business
Just before Aquino was busted, the cabaret was featured in a Reuters
article that called it "Cuba's largest private business" and laid out
his profit-sharing model for socialist enterprise.
Aquino insists he broke no laws and that he's the one on the side of the
Cuban Revolution, not the local officials who shut him down.
"I am a revolutionary because I'm not a conservative," he says. "This
was done by people who pretend to be revolutionary but are fakers,
lacking in any ethical principles. This is not what the revolution is
about."
Aquino's case is a test for Castro and his reformers as they begin an
experiment converting state-owned companies into employee-run
cooperatives. If they intervene and help Aquino reopen, it'll send a
message to lower-level officials that small businesses that create jobs
deserve support.
If they let El Cabildo remain shuttered, they'll be sending a different
signal: that the skeptics are right, and Cuba hasn't changed much after all.
http://www.npr.org/2012/07/31/157656452/opera-unfolds-when-a-cuban-caberat-is-shut-down
US keeps Cuba on its terror black list
US keeps Cuba on its terror black list
2012-08-01 11:00
Washington - The United States kept Cuba on a black list of alleged
state sponsors of terrorism for the 30th year running, the State
Department said on Tuesday in an annual report.
Cuba angrily denounced the action as another US attempt to justify its
50-year-old trade embargo on the communist-ruled island.
"Cuba's foreign ministry energetically rejects that such a sensitive
issue as terrorism be used for petty political purposes and demands that
the government of the United States stop lying," it said in a statement.
The Americas' only one-party communist regime is one of four countries
perennially on the black list - along with Iran, Sudan and Syria - a
distinction that comes with stiff trade sanctions, including blocks from
receiving financial assistance from the US.
The report accused Cuba of harbouring members of illegal armed groups,
including Basque separatist group Eta and Colombian leftist militants
Farc, as well as fugitives wanted in US courts.
The US designates both Farc and Eta as terrorist groups.
Accusations dismissed
Additionally, the US found "deficiencies" in Cuba's efforts to uphold
international standards for combating money laundering and the financing
of terrorist groups.
However, there was no evidence Cuba gave weapons or paramilitary
training to militants, and press reports indicated the Castro regime was
trying to distance itself from the Basque separatists living there, the
department said.
Havana has routinely dismissed the accusations involving the Farc and
Eta members lobbed by Washington in its yearly report.
There have been some calls from within the US to take Cuba, already
subject to a full US economic embargo since 1962, off the terror list.
They argue that there are no objective criteria to decide which
countries should be listed and which should not, and say the eternal
blacklisting fails to acknowledge progress in the Caribbean nation and
is not productive toward efforts to improve relations between the two
rival neighbours.
North Korea was removed from the US list in 2008.
Venezuela called out
The US also noted Iran "sought to expand its activities in the Western
Hemisphere", adding that the "most disturbing manifestation" of this was
a failed plot using contacts with a Mexican drug cartel to assassinate
the Saudi ambassador to the US.
The report called out the government of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez
for maintaining "its economic, financial, and diplomatic cooperation
with Iran as well as limited military related agreements".
Growing antagonism between Washington and Caracas in 2010 led both
countries to withdraw their ambassadors.
But the report commended Mexico for remaining "vigilant against domestic
and international terrorist threats", including by co-operating on the
sting operation that foiled the Saudi ambassador assassination plot.
- AFP
http://www.news24.com/World/News/US-keeps-Cuba-on-its-terror-black-list-20120801
2012-08-01 11:00
Washington - The United States kept Cuba on a black list of alleged
state sponsors of terrorism for the 30th year running, the State
Department said on Tuesday in an annual report.
Cuba angrily denounced the action as another US attempt to justify its
50-year-old trade embargo on the communist-ruled island.
"Cuba's foreign ministry energetically rejects that such a sensitive
issue as terrorism be used for petty political purposes and demands that
the government of the United States stop lying," it said in a statement.
The Americas' only one-party communist regime is one of four countries
perennially on the black list - along with Iran, Sudan and Syria - a
distinction that comes with stiff trade sanctions, including blocks from
receiving financial assistance from the US.
The report accused Cuba of harbouring members of illegal armed groups,
including Basque separatist group Eta and Colombian leftist militants
Farc, as well as fugitives wanted in US courts.
The US designates both Farc and Eta as terrorist groups.
Accusations dismissed
Additionally, the US found "deficiencies" in Cuba's efforts to uphold
international standards for combating money laundering and the financing
of terrorist groups.
However, there was no evidence Cuba gave weapons or paramilitary
training to militants, and press reports indicated the Castro regime was
trying to distance itself from the Basque separatists living there, the
department said.
Havana has routinely dismissed the accusations involving the Farc and
Eta members lobbed by Washington in its yearly report.
There have been some calls from within the US to take Cuba, already
subject to a full US economic embargo since 1962, off the terror list.
They argue that there are no objective criteria to decide which
countries should be listed and which should not, and say the eternal
blacklisting fails to acknowledge progress in the Caribbean nation and
is not productive toward efforts to improve relations between the two
rival neighbours.
North Korea was removed from the US list in 2008.
Venezuela called out
The US also noted Iran "sought to expand its activities in the Western
Hemisphere", adding that the "most disturbing manifestation" of this was
a failed plot using contacts with a Mexican drug cartel to assassinate
the Saudi ambassador to the US.
The report called out the government of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez
for maintaining "its economic, financial, and diplomatic cooperation
with Iran as well as limited military related agreements".
Growing antagonism between Washington and Caracas in 2010 led both
countries to withdraw their ambassadors.
But the report commended Mexico for remaining "vigilant against domestic
and international terrorist threats", including by co-operating on the
sting operation that foiled the Saudi ambassador assassination plot.
- AFP
http://www.news24.com/World/News/US-keeps-Cuba-on-its-terror-black-list-20120801
Cuba charges Spaniard in dissident Paya's death
Posted on Tuesday, 07.31.12
Cuba charges Spaniard in dissident Paya's death
By PETER ORSI
Associated Press
HAVANA -- Cuba has charged a Spanish citizen with the equivalent of
vehicular manslaughter in a car accident that killed prominent dissident
Oswaldo Paya and another government opponent, official media said Tuesday.
Angel Carromero, who was driving the car carrying Paya when it crashed
in eastern Cuba July 22, "has been accused of the charge of homicide
while driving a vehicle on public roads," Communist Party newspaper
Granma said.
Under the penal code, a person convicted of violating traffic laws or
rules resulting in the death of another can be sentenced to one to 10
years in prison.
In videotaped testimony played for journalists Monday, Carromero said he
lost control of the car when it suddenly entered an unpaved area of road
under construction and he slammed on the brakes, causing it to skid.
An investigation found that Carromero was speeding and failed to heed
traffic signs warning of the construction. Cuban authorities had hinted
earlier that charges might be forthcoming.
The next step is for prosecutors to formally say what sentence they will
seek, according to a Spanish Embassy spokesman. He said Carromero was
transferred to Havana and received a consular visit there on Monday.
"He is in good health and calm," spokesman Francisco de Borja said.
Granma said Carromero and Swedish citizen Jens Aron Modig, who was also
riding in the car, entered the country July 19 on tourist visas and, "in
violation of their migratory status, got involved in clearly political
activities contrary to the constitutional order."
Both Carromero and Modig are affiliated with conservative political
parties in their home countries. They said they brought 4,000 euros
($4,900) for Paya's organization and helped organize dissident youth wings.
Cuba's government considers the small opposition to be subversive, and
objects to foreign-based efforts to support them.
Granma pointedly said that Modig was allowed to return to Sweden "in
spite of the illegal activities he carried out."
Modig tweeted Tuesday that he was back in Stockholm and needed rest.
"Have European soil under my feet. So nice!"
"I'm very happy that Aron Modig is now in Sweden again and is resting
with his family," Christian Democrats party leader Goran Hagglund said
in a statement. "It's been a period of great worry after this horrific
accident. ... We're proud of (Modig's) efforts for democracy and freedom."
Elizardo Sanchez, a de-facto spokesman for the Cuban opposition,
insisted that doubts will remain until both Europeans are able to speak
from their own countries.
"Whatever they say while in the hands of police or the government of
Cuba is necessarily skewed, contaminated, due to the lack of
guarantees," Sanchez said. "The Swede can't speak freely because his
friend is still prisoner in Cuba."
In the long, unsigned editorial titled "Truth and Rightness," which took
up half of the newspaper's first two pages, Granma railed against a
series of "counterrevolutionary" attempts against its sovereignty,
blaming foreign interests in Madrid, Stockholm, Washington and Miami.
"They dream of destabilizing the country, creating conditions to repeat
what happened in Libya and Syria and provoking a U.S. military
intervention," the newspaper said.
The editorial ticked off a list of purported attempts to stir unrest and
foment dissent through social media and cellphones, and longtime
complaints about U.S. contacts with the dissidents and USAID
democracy-building programs.
Since 2009 Cuba has held American citizen and USAID subcontractor Alan
Gross, sentenced to 15 years under a statute governing crimes against
the state after he was discovered importing communications equipment
onto the island and setting up satellite Internet networks.
Granma also alleged that in March, eight Mexican youth traveled to Cuba
on tourist visas with the intention of distributing propaganda, inciting
protest and disrupting Pope Benedict XVI's visit.
Later Tuesday, Cuban state television aired a 15-minute program
including video of four Mexicans who were detained. They told the
cameras their objective was to distribute "subversive" material
including flyers and to deliver computing equipment, cell phones, memory
sticks and documents to dissidents. They said they wanted to encourage
dissidents to occupy churches, protest in the streets and generally make
the Cuban government look bad and "provoke" a reaction.
The Mexicans were subsequently deported. Four others apparently came and
left unbothered.
The program said they were "recruited" by anti-Castro groups in Florida
and a man identified by Granma as Rene Bolio Hollaran, a former member
of Mexico's conservative National Action Party, or PAN.
The mini-documentary offered few and confusing details of the purported
operation and did not explain clearly the links between those involved
or how they were recruited, nor did it say why the information was being
unveiled four months after Benedict's March 26-28 visit.
Rodrigo Ivan Cortes, the PAN's secretary for international affairs, said
someone with the name of Rene Bolio Hollaran apparently belonged to the
party at one point, but no longer, and brushed off the allegation.
"This is a smoke bomb to distract attention from the core problem, which
is an authoritarian regime that does not respect fundamental rights like
association and expression," Cortes said. "This has no substance or
grounding."
Granma also criticized the U.S. State Department, Republican
presidential candidate Mitt Romney and the Chilean presidency for being
among a "handful of slanderers" who called for a transparent probe of
the crash.
Soon after the July 22 accident, speculation spread that a second
vehicle was pursuing the car carrying Paya and might even have run it
off the road, leading dissidents and others to demand transparency.
Carromero and Modig said no other car was involved, but Paya's family
said it reserved the right to doubt the official account and asked to
speak independently with the witnesses.
---
Associated Press writers Andrea Rodriguez and Anne-Marie Garcia in
Havana, Louise Nordstrom in Stockholm and E. Eduardo Castillo in Mexico
City contributed to this report.
http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/07/31/v-fullstory/2923241/cuba-charges-spaniard-in-dissident.html
Cuba charges Spaniard in dissident Paya's death
By PETER ORSI
Associated Press
HAVANA -- Cuba has charged a Spanish citizen with the equivalent of
vehicular manslaughter in a car accident that killed prominent dissident
Oswaldo Paya and another government opponent, official media said Tuesday.
Angel Carromero, who was driving the car carrying Paya when it crashed
in eastern Cuba July 22, "has been accused of the charge of homicide
while driving a vehicle on public roads," Communist Party newspaper
Granma said.
Under the penal code, a person convicted of violating traffic laws or
rules resulting in the death of another can be sentenced to one to 10
years in prison.
In videotaped testimony played for journalists Monday, Carromero said he
lost control of the car when it suddenly entered an unpaved area of road
under construction and he slammed on the brakes, causing it to skid.
An investigation found that Carromero was speeding and failed to heed
traffic signs warning of the construction. Cuban authorities had hinted
earlier that charges might be forthcoming.
The next step is for prosecutors to formally say what sentence they will
seek, according to a Spanish Embassy spokesman. He said Carromero was
transferred to Havana and received a consular visit there on Monday.
"He is in good health and calm," spokesman Francisco de Borja said.
Granma said Carromero and Swedish citizen Jens Aron Modig, who was also
riding in the car, entered the country July 19 on tourist visas and, "in
violation of their migratory status, got involved in clearly political
activities contrary to the constitutional order."
Both Carromero and Modig are affiliated with conservative political
parties in their home countries. They said they brought 4,000 euros
($4,900) for Paya's organization and helped organize dissident youth wings.
Cuba's government considers the small opposition to be subversive, and
objects to foreign-based efforts to support them.
Granma pointedly said that Modig was allowed to return to Sweden "in
spite of the illegal activities he carried out."
Modig tweeted Tuesday that he was back in Stockholm and needed rest.
"Have European soil under my feet. So nice!"
"I'm very happy that Aron Modig is now in Sweden again and is resting
with his family," Christian Democrats party leader Goran Hagglund said
in a statement. "It's been a period of great worry after this horrific
accident. ... We're proud of (Modig's) efforts for democracy and freedom."
Elizardo Sanchez, a de-facto spokesman for the Cuban opposition,
insisted that doubts will remain until both Europeans are able to speak
from their own countries.
"Whatever they say while in the hands of police or the government of
Cuba is necessarily skewed, contaminated, due to the lack of
guarantees," Sanchez said. "The Swede can't speak freely because his
friend is still prisoner in Cuba."
In the long, unsigned editorial titled "Truth and Rightness," which took
up half of the newspaper's first two pages, Granma railed against a
series of "counterrevolutionary" attempts against its sovereignty,
blaming foreign interests in Madrid, Stockholm, Washington and Miami.
"They dream of destabilizing the country, creating conditions to repeat
what happened in Libya and Syria and provoking a U.S. military
intervention," the newspaper said.
The editorial ticked off a list of purported attempts to stir unrest and
foment dissent through social media and cellphones, and longtime
complaints about U.S. contacts with the dissidents and USAID
democracy-building programs.
Since 2009 Cuba has held American citizen and USAID subcontractor Alan
Gross, sentenced to 15 years under a statute governing crimes against
the state after he was discovered importing communications equipment
onto the island and setting up satellite Internet networks.
Granma also alleged that in March, eight Mexican youth traveled to Cuba
on tourist visas with the intention of distributing propaganda, inciting
protest and disrupting Pope Benedict XVI's visit.
Later Tuesday, Cuban state television aired a 15-minute program
including video of four Mexicans who were detained. They told the
cameras their objective was to distribute "subversive" material
including flyers and to deliver computing equipment, cell phones, memory
sticks and documents to dissidents. They said they wanted to encourage
dissidents to occupy churches, protest in the streets and generally make
the Cuban government look bad and "provoke" a reaction.
The Mexicans were subsequently deported. Four others apparently came and
left unbothered.
The program said they were "recruited" by anti-Castro groups in Florida
and a man identified by Granma as Rene Bolio Hollaran, a former member
of Mexico's conservative National Action Party, or PAN.
The mini-documentary offered few and confusing details of the purported
operation and did not explain clearly the links between those involved
or how they were recruited, nor did it say why the information was being
unveiled four months after Benedict's March 26-28 visit.
Rodrigo Ivan Cortes, the PAN's secretary for international affairs, said
someone with the name of Rene Bolio Hollaran apparently belonged to the
party at one point, but no longer, and brushed off the allegation.
"This is a smoke bomb to distract attention from the core problem, which
is an authoritarian regime that does not respect fundamental rights like
association and expression," Cortes said. "This has no substance or
grounding."
Granma also criticized the U.S. State Department, Republican
presidential candidate Mitt Romney and the Chilean presidency for being
among a "handful of slanderers" who called for a transparent probe of
the crash.
Soon after the July 22 accident, speculation spread that a second
vehicle was pursuing the car carrying Paya and might even have run it
off the road, leading dissidents and others to demand transparency.
Carromero and Modig said no other car was involved, but Paya's family
said it reserved the right to doubt the official account and asked to
speak independently with the witnesses.
---
Associated Press writers Andrea Rodriguez and Anne-Marie Garcia in
Havana, Louise Nordstrom in Stockholm and E. Eduardo Castillo in Mexico
City contributed to this report.
http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/07/31/v-fullstory/2923241/cuba-charges-spaniard-in-dissident.html
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