Posted on Wednesday, 05.29.13
Cuban dissident says security forces are studying Vladimir Putin's rule
By Juan O. Tamayo
jtamayo@ElNuevoHerald.com
Cuban security officers are studying post-communist changes in Russia —
and being nicer to dissidents — in preparation for a possible transition
away from the island's totalitarian system, leading opposition activist
Guillermo Fariñas said Tuesday.
Some of the officers fear a sudden collapse of the communist system and
"don't want to suffer the same fate as the followers of (Moamar)
Kaddafi" in Libya, Fariñas said during a lengthy visit Tuesday to El
Nuevo Herald and The Miami Herald.
They favor a slow transition that would allow them to seize ownership of
state enterprises, he added, like the massive grab for public assets
that the Sandinistas staged in Nicaragua as they left power in 1990 and
became known as the "Piñata."
Fariñas said he has friendly contacts with a half-dozen lieutenant
colonels or colonels because they studied together in military high
schools. He also served one year in Angola with a commando unit and
spent three years at a military academy in the Soviet Union.
Some of the military officers told him they have been attending weekly
lectures on the transitions in Russia and Belarus that they refer to as
"Putinismo," he said, in an apparent reference to Vladimir Putin's
authoritarian yet capitalist rule.
They also told him that some of ruler Raúl Castro's advisers have
suggested that 15 to 25 dissidents should be allowed into the national
parliament, Fariñas added. Castro replied that he agreed, but that
brother Fidel would never allow it.
Some of the Interior Ministry officers in charge of monitoring and
repressing dissidents also are "taking care not to get blood on the
hands," the activist said, to avoid punishments later in case Cuba
shifts significantly toward democracy at some point.
State Security officials used to boast in the 1990s that the island's
communist system would never change. But now they tell him that they are
only following orders, said Fariñas, who has staged more than 20 hunger
strikes during his 21years as a dissident.
One State Security agent now politely asks Fariñas' mother to put
together the dissident's daily medicines before taking him for
questioning from his home in the central city of Santa Clara, the
dissident said.
And one of the harshest State Security officers in the city, a
28-year-old who turned out to be the son of a bus driver at Farinas'
military school, now tells the dissident when other government opponents
confront him, the activist said.
Fariñas said the officer tells him that he is sometimes forced to get
tough when dissidents spit at him, swear at him and his mother or jeer
him as "nalgón" – big butt.
Those and other Fariñas comments could not be independently confirmed,
but other dissidents in Cuba, including human rights activist Elizardo
Sanchez Santa Cruz, have previously said that he does have access to old
friends in the security forces.
Fariñas said that he in fact ran into Miguel Diaz Canel — a fellow Santa
Clara native and classmate in the military high school — six weeks
before his promotion to First Vice President of the Council of State,
No. 2 behind Raúl Castro.
Fariñas said he was walking by the home of Diaz Canel's parents on Jan.
4 when he spotted the old friend parking his car, one of the
Chinese-made Geely vehicles used by high government officials.
Diaz Canel shook his hand warmly and asked about his health as they
spoke for about 15 minutes, the dissident said, largely about the
135-day hunger strike in 2010 that put him in the hospital several times.
The vice president noted in the chat that Fariñas refused to speak to
several government envoys during the strike, the dissident said, and
asked if Farinas would talk to him in case of another hunger strike.
Fariñas said he told Diaz Canel that they could indeed speak, and the
government official replied that "he would keep that in mind." But he
added that he would have to report the conversation to his superiors in
Havana.
Fariñas also said he would oppose an unconditional lifting of the U.S.
embargo and added that while he respects the Catholic Church and its
bishops, he has been "disappointed" with Cardinal Jaime Ortega.
If the Cuban government ever agrees to talks with the opposition, he
added, Ortega should not be part of the negotiations.
Fariñas said he expects to go to Puerto Rico and later to Belgium, to
pick up the $60,000 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Conscience awarded to
him by the European Parliament in 2010, before he returns to Havana
around mid-July.
http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/05/29/3421213/cuban-dissident-says-security.html
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
Cuba To Offer Public Internet At Cyber Cafes, But Access Comes With Hefty Price Tag
Cuba To Offer Public Internet At Cyber Cafes, But Access Comes With
Hefty Price Tag
By Robert Schoon (r.schoon@latinospost.com) | First Posted: May 28, 2013
03:50 PM EDT
Cuba has announced Tuesday that it is joining the information age
starting on June 4, with public Internet access available at 118
Internet centers across the island. But according to the Associated
Press report, Internet access for average Cubans and the web in peoples'
homes will remain quite limited.
The Internet cafes, including 12 in the capital Havana, will be
connected to Cuba's mainline to the Internet: a fiber optic, underwater
cable which connects from Cuba to Jamaica, and eventually to Venezuela,
that has been providing web access to some on the isolated island since
August of last year. That was one year behind schedule, according to the
Havana Times, which said the cable from Venezuela was supposed to be
ready in July of 2011.
Until now, only a few places, like tourist hotels, foreign companies,
the Cuban government and some Cuban businesses have been able to use
that Internet mainline. Now authorities say they will open cyber cafes
for citizens of Cuba. According to the government's Official Gazette,
people will be able to sign up for either temporary or permanent
accounts with the state telecommunications concern Etecsa and use one of
the 118 cybercafes to access the web.
But the cost of accessing the Internet will remain prohibitively high
for many Cubans. Internet access will be charged at the equivalent of
$4.50 — $5 USD per hour for access to the wider web — while access to a
Cuba-only intranet will cost significantly less, at the equivalent of 60
cents per hour. Pay for government employees averages the equivalent of
$20 USD per month in Cuba, says the Havana Times. Still, this is more
Internet access and at a slightly cheaper cost than before, when the
limited Internet that one could find cost $8 per hour.
The AP reports that 2.9 percent of Cubans have Internet access, though
it could be as much as 5 to 10 percent due to Cubans' under-reporting.
For those in the minority who can afford Cuba's Internet, the web still
comes with a filter: pornography and content deemed politically
unacceptable is censored. It's not clear presently if those restrictions
will continue into the new system.
http://www.latinospost.com/articles/20177/20130528/cuba-offer-public-internet-cyber-cafes-access-comes-hefty-price.htm
Hefty Price Tag
By Robert Schoon (r.schoon@latinospost.com) | First Posted: May 28, 2013
03:50 PM EDT
Cuba has announced Tuesday that it is joining the information age
starting on June 4, with public Internet access available at 118
Internet centers across the island. But according to the Associated
Press report, Internet access for average Cubans and the web in peoples'
homes will remain quite limited.
The Internet cafes, including 12 in the capital Havana, will be
connected to Cuba's mainline to the Internet: a fiber optic, underwater
cable which connects from Cuba to Jamaica, and eventually to Venezuela,
that has been providing web access to some on the isolated island since
August of last year. That was one year behind schedule, according to the
Havana Times, which said the cable from Venezuela was supposed to be
ready in July of 2011.
Until now, only a few places, like tourist hotels, foreign companies,
the Cuban government and some Cuban businesses have been able to use
that Internet mainline. Now authorities say they will open cyber cafes
for citizens of Cuba. According to the government's Official Gazette,
people will be able to sign up for either temporary or permanent
accounts with the state telecommunications concern Etecsa and use one of
the 118 cybercafes to access the web.
But the cost of accessing the Internet will remain prohibitively high
for many Cubans. Internet access will be charged at the equivalent of
$4.50 — $5 USD per hour for access to the wider web — while access to a
Cuba-only intranet will cost significantly less, at the equivalent of 60
cents per hour. Pay for government employees averages the equivalent of
$20 USD per month in Cuba, says the Havana Times. Still, this is more
Internet access and at a slightly cheaper cost than before, when the
limited Internet that one could find cost $8 per hour.
The AP reports that 2.9 percent of Cubans have Internet access, though
it could be as much as 5 to 10 percent due to Cubans' under-reporting.
For those in the minority who can afford Cuba's Internet, the web still
comes with a filter: pornography and content deemed politically
unacceptable is censored. It's not clear presently if those restrictions
will continue into the new system.
http://www.latinospost.com/articles/20177/20130528/cuba-offer-public-internet-cyber-cafes-access-comes-hefty-price.htm
Cuba to offer public Internet at salons islandwide
Posted on Tuesday, 05.28.13
COMMUNICATIONS
Cuba to offer public Internet at salons islandwide
By ANDREA RODRIGUEZ
Associated Press
HAVANA -- Cuban authorities said Tuesday that they will begin offering public Internet access at more than 100 cyber-salons across the island, though home Web service remains greatly restricted.
Starting June 4, people can sign up with state telecom Etecsa for temporary or permanent accounts to use one of the 118 centers, according to a measure enacted with its publication in the government's Official Gazette.
"New areas for (Internet) navigation will gradually be incorporated," official newspaper Juventud Rebelde reported.
Until now, the Internet has been limited to places such as tourist hotels that charge $8 an hour for creaky Wi-Fi, foreign-run companies and some sectors of Cuban business and government. Residential dial-up accounts are rare and restricted.
According to government statistics, only 2.9 percent of Cubans said they had access to the Worldwide Web – though outside observers put the likely figure at 5 to 10 percent, taking underreporting into account.
About 16 percent were able to go partway online via a domestic Intranet and email, often through workplace or school hookups or places such as computer clubs and post offices.
"Great! I knew this was coming," said Camila Delgado, a 44-year-old shop worker in Havana, though she added that "there's still a ways to go to be like everywhere else on the planet. We don't have access at home and the prices are prohibitive."
Indeed, some scoffed at the new cyber-centers' price tag of $4.50 an hour, a stiff fee for islanders whose state salaries average about $20 per month plus an array of subsidized goods and services.
"It's a real bargain," snarked a user on state news website Cuba Si who gave the name Osvaldo Ulloa. "I mean, I work for a week and then I can get online for hour – fabulous."
Even for those who are already able to access the wider Internet, some sites are censored for things including pornography or politically objectionable content. It was not clear whether the new service will block such pages, and neither the Gazette nor Juventud Rebelde mentioned the issue.
The Internet is a highly politicized issue on the island, with critics pointing to restrictions as an example of infringement upon freedom.
Authorities say that the limitations are due more to technical reasons and that Cuba has the obligation to prioritize its limited capacity for things that benefit the public good, such as research and work centers or universities.
Earlier this year, Cuba began sending and receiving data traffic through a fiber-optic cable strung from Venezuela in 2011 that provided the island's first hard-wired Internet connection to the outside world.
Expanding connectivity options for Cubans "is consistent with Cuba's stated strategy of continuing to facilitate more and more access to new technologies, depending on the availability of resources and with a focus that favors social use," Juventud Rebelde said.
http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/05/28/3421157/cuba-to-offer-public-internet.html
COMMUNICATIONS
Cuba to offer public Internet at salons islandwide
By ANDREA RODRIGUEZ
Associated Press
HAVANA -- Cuban authorities said Tuesday that they will begin offering public Internet access at more than 100 cyber-salons across the island, though home Web service remains greatly restricted.
Starting June 4, people can sign up with state telecom Etecsa for temporary or permanent accounts to use one of the 118 centers, according to a measure enacted with its publication in the government's Official Gazette.
"New areas for (Internet) navigation will gradually be incorporated," official newspaper Juventud Rebelde reported.
Until now, the Internet has been limited to places such as tourist hotels that charge $8 an hour for creaky Wi-Fi, foreign-run companies and some sectors of Cuban business and government. Residential dial-up accounts are rare and restricted.
According to government statistics, only 2.9 percent of Cubans said they had access to the Worldwide Web – though outside observers put the likely figure at 5 to 10 percent, taking underreporting into account.
About 16 percent were able to go partway online via a domestic Intranet and email, often through workplace or school hookups or places such as computer clubs and post offices.
"Great! I knew this was coming," said Camila Delgado, a 44-year-old shop worker in Havana, though she added that "there's still a ways to go to be like everywhere else on the planet. We don't have access at home and the prices are prohibitive."
Indeed, some scoffed at the new cyber-centers' price tag of $4.50 an hour, a stiff fee for islanders whose state salaries average about $20 per month plus an array of subsidized goods and services.
"It's a real bargain," snarked a user on state news website Cuba Si who gave the name Osvaldo Ulloa. "I mean, I work for a week and then I can get online for hour – fabulous."
Even for those who are already able to access the wider Internet, some sites are censored for things including pornography or politically objectionable content. It was not clear whether the new service will block such pages, and neither the Gazette nor Juventud Rebelde mentioned the issue.
The Internet is a highly politicized issue on the island, with critics pointing to restrictions as an example of infringement upon freedom.
Authorities say that the limitations are due more to technical reasons and that Cuba has the obligation to prioritize its limited capacity for things that benefit the public good, such as research and work centers or universities.
Earlier this year, Cuba began sending and receiving data traffic through a fiber-optic cable strung from Venezuela in 2011 that provided the island's first hard-wired Internet connection to the outside world.
Expanding connectivity options for Cubans "is consistent with Cuba's stated strategy of continuing to facilitate more and more access to new technologies, depending on the availability of resources and with a focus that favors social use," Juventud Rebelde said.
http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/05/28/3421157/cuba-to-offer-public-internet.html
American held in Cuba Suit against US dismissed
Posted on Tuesday, 05.28.13
American held in Cuba: Suit against US dismissed
By JESSICA GRESKO
Associated Press
WASHINGTON -- A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit brought by an
American imprisoned in Cuba against the U.S. government, for whom he was
working when he was arrested.
Judge James Boasberg wrote Tuesday in an opinion dismissing the case
that federal law bars lawsuits against the government based on injuries
suffered in foreign countries.
The lawsuit was filed last year by Alan Gross. He was working for the
U.S. Agency for International Development and its contractor Development
Alternatives Inc. when he was arrested in 2009.
Gross had been working to bring internet access to the Communist island
and was sentenced to 15 years in prison for his work.
The lawsuit said he wasn't prepared for his job's risks.
Gross settled with Bethesda, Md.-based DAI for an undisclosed amount
earlier this month.
http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/05/28/3421214/american-held-in-cuba-suit-against.html
American held in Cuba: Suit against US dismissed
By JESSICA GRESKO
Associated Press
WASHINGTON -- A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit brought by an
American imprisoned in Cuba against the U.S. government, for whom he was
working when he was arrested.
Judge James Boasberg wrote Tuesday in an opinion dismissing the case
that federal law bars lawsuits against the government based on injuries
suffered in foreign countries.
The lawsuit was filed last year by Alan Gross. He was working for the
U.S. Agency for International Development and its contractor Development
Alternatives Inc. when he was arrested in 2009.
Gross had been working to bring internet access to the Communist island
and was sentenced to 15 years in prison for his work.
The lawsuit said he wasn't prepared for his job's risks.
Gross settled with Bethesda, Md.-based DAI for an undisclosed amount
earlier this month.
http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/05/28/3421214/american-held-in-cuba-suit-against.html
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
Antonio Castro's Golf Swing
Cuba: Antonio Castro's Golf Swing
May 28, 2013
Haroldo Dilla Alfonso
HAVANA TIMES — When I read the news about the trophy Antonio Castro had
won at an international golf tournament, I could not help but bring
Pierre Bourdieu to mind.
A requisite read, Bourdieu was a social scientist who wrote about a
broad range of topics and had something interesting to say about all of
them. One of the concepts he coined was that of the "distinction". For
Bourdieu, this was a kind of condensation of consumption habits and
behaviors which underpinned the lifestyle of a specific social class.
All elites cultivate their own distinction on the basis of their history
and power. When Cuba's Sierra Maestra rebels took power, they began to
construct theirs.
At first, it drew from an austere, popular and anti-urban discourse
which found its supreme embodiment in the figure of Ernesto Che Guevara,
a man of undeniable stoicism and a known aversion to bathing.
Afterwards, following the demise of the epic-heroic age, the new
political class began to develop a taste for the abundance afforded by
power.
Appearances, however, had to be kept, and such indulgences were carried
out at the expense of the State (no one had any private means of
accumulation), under the threat of a supreme authority that would
decapitate those who indulged in excess, drew too much attention to
themselves or proved disloyal.
In any event, these individuals had their own, inherit limitations in
this regard, a view of the world that often confounded prosperity with
what Marc Bloch called "obscene abundance."
They were people prone to lavish feasts and heavy drinking, who traveled
around the world with their own, personal gymnasiums, who filled up
planes with all sorts of worthless souvenirs from Madrid, who were
insatiable procurers of sex, of the cheap and expensive kind alike. They
were, however, incapable of grasping the elegance of an adagio or the
difference between the wines of the new and old continents.
I don't know whether this is an excessively cruel remark, but, whenever
I think about these people, I invariably bring to mind the image of
Cuba's last foreign minister [Felipe Perez Roque] to be defenestrated,
beer in hand and trousers rolled up, wiggling his blubbery physique to a
popular tune at that rural festivity, whose video is still being played
on the Internet.
The economic reforms Cuba undertook in the 1990s, and particularly those
implemented as of 2008, have been very shy, in more than one sense of
the word. We've seen no shortage of shyness, however, in the opening of
consumption spaces and the tolerance shown to material accumulation by
what appears to be the new social base of Cuba's coming capitalism:
black market lynchpins, the heirs of political fortunes, competitive
managers, salaried consultants and show business and art-world flaneurs.
This new, emerging elite sets itself apart from its predecessor through
its lifestyle. The previous elite were a class of blood-suckers that fed
on the body of producers like a mass of leeches.
Though dependent on State protection and assets (without which no one
can survive in Cuba), the economic prowess of this emerging economic
elite is derived, to a considerable degree, from the market itself.
They, and they alone, are the ones who benefit from the recent
liberalization which granted Cubans the right to stay at hotels,
purchase houses and cars, travel abroad (with visas that attest to hefty
bank accounts), and enjoy other services which can be secured in the
black market at exorbitant prices, Internet included.
Only they – and this is perhaps what is most important – can
continuously move between the private and public spheres, from the
regular Cuban peso economy to the Cuban Convertible Peso market, from
the realm of business to the world of politics – and to secure the
differential benefits derived from crossing the many borders that
characterize Cuba's current, fragmented reality.
Consequently, Cuba's new elite bears an incipient touch of bourgeois
distinction, visible in the glitter of galas held at select locations
around Havana, or the lush private banquets which were, formerly, the
luxury of consecrated officials and ambassadors.
Several chroniclers of our time, such as Lois Parsley and Sandra Weiss,
have written about the members of this new elite and their luxury-filled
nights. In a recent article, curiously entitled "Glamour is Back in
Havana", Weiss describes the sight of an orange Hummer, rolling noisily
down the city's pot-holed streets.
This is the world that Antonio Castro [son of Fidel Castro] belongs in.
The indignation over the likely costs of his golf hobby that many
readers have felt is understandable.
Cuba is a country where people quarrel over a dollar with the same
passion with which Robinson Crusoe guarded his corral of evasive goats.
The issue of money, however, is secondary, for any company could well
have paid for his training and even directed Antonio's golf balls, via
remote control, towards all of the 18 available holes.
A tournament winner as well-known as Antonio Castro is well worth the
trouble, hence the fact that his victory at a second-rate event has been
given so much coverage you would think he was Tiger Woods and the
tournament a major championship.
In contrast to his brothers – unremarkable in different ways – he plays
a visible, public role. And, unlike his cousins, Antonio Castro is an
apolitical creature. You don't see him launching anti-imperialist books
or leading conga-lines in favor of the LGTB movement. You see him,
rather, smoking fine cigars next to an international, nicotine-loving
jet set.
He holds no high-sounding government positions. He is a mere
vice-chairman in Cuba's Baseball Federation. Though seemingly
insignificant, this places him in a good position to manage the opening
of the country to professional sports and, ultimately, become the owner
of a team, as many multi-millionaires around the world have done,
including Silvio Berlusconi and Sebastian Piñera.
Though undeniably a poster-boy for the regime, Antonio Castro is not an
insignificant man. He is a peculiar but key component of what we have
termed the Castro Dynasty. As such, between puts, Antonio Castro is
slowly becoming part of a de-facto elite that will have considerable
influence over Cuban politics for many years to come.
http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=93698
May 28, 2013
Haroldo Dilla Alfonso
HAVANA TIMES — When I read the news about the trophy Antonio Castro had
won at an international golf tournament, I could not help but bring
Pierre Bourdieu to mind.
A requisite read, Bourdieu was a social scientist who wrote about a
broad range of topics and had something interesting to say about all of
them. One of the concepts he coined was that of the "distinction". For
Bourdieu, this was a kind of condensation of consumption habits and
behaviors which underpinned the lifestyle of a specific social class.
All elites cultivate their own distinction on the basis of their history
and power. When Cuba's Sierra Maestra rebels took power, they began to
construct theirs.
At first, it drew from an austere, popular and anti-urban discourse
which found its supreme embodiment in the figure of Ernesto Che Guevara,
a man of undeniable stoicism and a known aversion to bathing.
Afterwards, following the demise of the epic-heroic age, the new
political class began to develop a taste for the abundance afforded by
power.
Appearances, however, had to be kept, and such indulgences were carried
out at the expense of the State (no one had any private means of
accumulation), under the threat of a supreme authority that would
decapitate those who indulged in excess, drew too much attention to
themselves or proved disloyal.
In any event, these individuals had their own, inherit limitations in
this regard, a view of the world that often confounded prosperity with
what Marc Bloch called "obscene abundance."
They were people prone to lavish feasts and heavy drinking, who traveled
around the world with their own, personal gymnasiums, who filled up
planes with all sorts of worthless souvenirs from Madrid, who were
insatiable procurers of sex, of the cheap and expensive kind alike. They
were, however, incapable of grasping the elegance of an adagio or the
difference between the wines of the new and old continents.
I don't know whether this is an excessively cruel remark, but, whenever
I think about these people, I invariably bring to mind the image of
Cuba's last foreign minister [Felipe Perez Roque] to be defenestrated,
beer in hand and trousers rolled up, wiggling his blubbery physique to a
popular tune at that rural festivity, whose video is still being played
on the Internet.
The economic reforms Cuba undertook in the 1990s, and particularly those
implemented as of 2008, have been very shy, in more than one sense of
the word. We've seen no shortage of shyness, however, in the opening of
consumption spaces and the tolerance shown to material accumulation by
what appears to be the new social base of Cuba's coming capitalism:
black market lynchpins, the heirs of political fortunes, competitive
managers, salaried consultants and show business and art-world flaneurs.
This new, emerging elite sets itself apart from its predecessor through
its lifestyle. The previous elite were a class of blood-suckers that fed
on the body of producers like a mass of leeches.
Though dependent on State protection and assets (without which no one
can survive in Cuba), the economic prowess of this emerging economic
elite is derived, to a considerable degree, from the market itself.
They, and they alone, are the ones who benefit from the recent
liberalization which granted Cubans the right to stay at hotels,
purchase houses and cars, travel abroad (with visas that attest to hefty
bank accounts), and enjoy other services which can be secured in the
black market at exorbitant prices, Internet included.
Only they – and this is perhaps what is most important – can
continuously move between the private and public spheres, from the
regular Cuban peso economy to the Cuban Convertible Peso market, from
the realm of business to the world of politics – and to secure the
differential benefits derived from crossing the many borders that
characterize Cuba's current, fragmented reality.
Consequently, Cuba's new elite bears an incipient touch of bourgeois
distinction, visible in the glitter of galas held at select locations
around Havana, or the lush private banquets which were, formerly, the
luxury of consecrated officials and ambassadors.
Several chroniclers of our time, such as Lois Parsley and Sandra Weiss,
have written about the members of this new elite and their luxury-filled
nights. In a recent article, curiously entitled "Glamour is Back in
Havana", Weiss describes the sight of an orange Hummer, rolling noisily
down the city's pot-holed streets.
This is the world that Antonio Castro [son of Fidel Castro] belongs in.
The indignation over the likely costs of his golf hobby that many
readers have felt is understandable.
Cuba is a country where people quarrel over a dollar with the same
passion with which Robinson Crusoe guarded his corral of evasive goats.
The issue of money, however, is secondary, for any company could well
have paid for his training and even directed Antonio's golf balls, via
remote control, towards all of the 18 available holes.
A tournament winner as well-known as Antonio Castro is well worth the
trouble, hence the fact that his victory at a second-rate event has been
given so much coverage you would think he was Tiger Woods and the
tournament a major championship.
In contrast to his brothers – unremarkable in different ways – he plays
a visible, public role. And, unlike his cousins, Antonio Castro is an
apolitical creature. You don't see him launching anti-imperialist books
or leading conga-lines in favor of the LGTB movement. You see him,
rather, smoking fine cigars next to an international, nicotine-loving
jet set.
He holds no high-sounding government positions. He is a mere
vice-chairman in Cuba's Baseball Federation. Though seemingly
insignificant, this places him in a good position to manage the opening
of the country to professional sports and, ultimately, become the owner
of a team, as many multi-millionaires around the world have done,
including Silvio Berlusconi and Sebastian Piñera.
Though undeniably a poster-boy for the regime, Antonio Castro is not an
insignificant man. He is a peculiar but key component of what we have
termed the Castro Dynasty. As such, between puts, Antonio Castro is
slowly becoming part of a de-facto elite that will have considerable
influence over Cuban politics for many years to come.
http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=93698
Small fleet of Cuban boats grows in the Keys
Posted on Tuesday, 05.28.13
Small fleet of Cuban boats grows in the Keys
BY KEVIN WADLOW AND DAVID GOODHUE
KeysNet.com
Boats assembled from roofing tin, scrap lumber and foam plastic form a
ramshackle fleet moored off Islamorada's Whale Harbor.
"People have to be really desperate to go to sea aboard one of these,"
said Officer Janette Fernandez Costoya of the Florida Fish and Wildlife
Conservation Commission.
The collection of recovered refugee crafts from Cuba temporarily stored
at the agency's Whale Harbor station grew Friday when the seventh
homemade vessel in five weeks was recovered from the Atlantic off the
Upper Keys.
One is a welded rebar frame packed with plastic foam sheets and
spray-foam insulation. Others float on hulls of hammered sheet metal
barely hanging onto wooden frames.
"They've usually got an engine they pulled out of some vehicle, or a
makeshift sail," Costoya said, hefting a mast fashioned by popping
branches from a tree limb still covered with bark.
Some emigrants from Cuba's political repression and floundering economy
manage to arrange pickup by smugglers aboard speedboats from the U.S.
Others, unable to afford the high cost, "build these in the woods and
slip away at night."
Some of the escape boats are found with emigrants still aboard. Others
were left adrift after Cubans were taken aboard more substantial
vessels. If stopped by the U.S. Coast Guard at sea, those people are
returned to Cuba.
That happened May 10 to about a dozen Cubans stopped by the Coast Guard
about 15 miles off Islamorada. Recreational fishermen Doug Peterson and
Stu Kingma saw the makeshift sailboat cruising near the Islamorada Hump.
"The boat next to us circled them, and then called the Coast Guard,"
Peterson said. "They showed up right away."
Coast Guard spokesman Petty Officer 3rd Class Mark Barney said those
migrants have been returned to Cuba.
There is no atypical increase in Cubans making the journey across the
Florida Straits, he said, but this time of year usually is busy. "The
better the weather gets, the more we get," Barney said.
Cuban emigrant arrivals are down about 25 percent compared to the same
time period in 2012, said Elee Erice, a spokeswoman with U.S. Customs
and Border Protection. From October 2011 to April 30, 2012, the agency
reported 217 maritime arrivals. This year so far, there have been 166
maritime arrivals.
The number of Cubans intercepted at sea also is down so far this year by
about 35 percent, according to Coast Guard data. From October 2011 to
April 30, 2012, 816 Cubans were stopped at sea. During the same time
period this year, that number is 526.
Sometimes, the Wildlife Commission officers recover the homemade boats
with no idea what happened to those aboard.
Almost all those venturing to sea aboard the small boats are men,
Costoya said. "One group I found had a woman with a 2-year-old child,"
Costoya said. "I couldn't believe it. She said it was worth the risk to
give her child a better life."
Officer Sebastian Dri recently found a group of eight Cuban men aboard
one of the boats off Key Largo's South Sound Creek. The Cubans said the
crossing took four days.
"I asked a guy how they navigated," Dri said. "He pointed to this little
compass he had strapped on his wrist. It was like something out of a
gumball machine."
Costoya said the homemade craft boats are towed to shore to avoid
problems. "They're a nuisance so we bring them in," she said. "We can't
leave them out there. Somebody operating their boat at night could
easily hit one, and you never know where they're going to end up."
http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/05/28/3420333/small-fleet-of-cuban-boats-grows.html
Small fleet of Cuban boats grows in the Keys
BY KEVIN WADLOW AND DAVID GOODHUE
KeysNet.com
Boats assembled from roofing tin, scrap lumber and foam plastic form a
ramshackle fleet moored off Islamorada's Whale Harbor.
"People have to be really desperate to go to sea aboard one of these,"
said Officer Janette Fernandez Costoya of the Florida Fish and Wildlife
Conservation Commission.
The collection of recovered refugee crafts from Cuba temporarily stored
at the agency's Whale Harbor station grew Friday when the seventh
homemade vessel in five weeks was recovered from the Atlantic off the
Upper Keys.
One is a welded rebar frame packed with plastic foam sheets and
spray-foam insulation. Others float on hulls of hammered sheet metal
barely hanging onto wooden frames.
"They've usually got an engine they pulled out of some vehicle, or a
makeshift sail," Costoya said, hefting a mast fashioned by popping
branches from a tree limb still covered with bark.
Some emigrants from Cuba's political repression and floundering economy
manage to arrange pickup by smugglers aboard speedboats from the U.S.
Others, unable to afford the high cost, "build these in the woods and
slip away at night."
Some of the escape boats are found with emigrants still aboard. Others
were left adrift after Cubans were taken aboard more substantial
vessels. If stopped by the U.S. Coast Guard at sea, those people are
returned to Cuba.
That happened May 10 to about a dozen Cubans stopped by the Coast Guard
about 15 miles off Islamorada. Recreational fishermen Doug Peterson and
Stu Kingma saw the makeshift sailboat cruising near the Islamorada Hump.
"The boat next to us circled them, and then called the Coast Guard,"
Peterson said. "They showed up right away."
Coast Guard spokesman Petty Officer 3rd Class Mark Barney said those
migrants have been returned to Cuba.
There is no atypical increase in Cubans making the journey across the
Florida Straits, he said, but this time of year usually is busy. "The
better the weather gets, the more we get," Barney said.
Cuban emigrant arrivals are down about 25 percent compared to the same
time period in 2012, said Elee Erice, a spokeswoman with U.S. Customs
and Border Protection. From October 2011 to April 30, 2012, the agency
reported 217 maritime arrivals. This year so far, there have been 166
maritime arrivals.
The number of Cubans intercepted at sea also is down so far this year by
about 35 percent, according to Coast Guard data. From October 2011 to
April 30, 2012, 816 Cubans were stopped at sea. During the same time
period this year, that number is 526.
Sometimes, the Wildlife Commission officers recover the homemade boats
with no idea what happened to those aboard.
Almost all those venturing to sea aboard the small boats are men,
Costoya said. "One group I found had a woman with a 2-year-old child,"
Costoya said. "I couldn't believe it. She said it was worth the risk to
give her child a better life."
Officer Sebastian Dri recently found a group of eight Cuban men aboard
one of the boats off Key Largo's South Sound Creek. The Cubans said the
crossing took four days.
"I asked a guy how they navigated," Dri said. "He pointed to this little
compass he had strapped on his wrist. It was like something out of a
gumball machine."
Costoya said the homemade craft boats are towed to shore to avoid
problems. "They're a nuisance so we bring them in," she said. "We can't
leave them out there. Somebody operating their boat at night could
easily hit one, and you never know where they're going to end up."
http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/05/28/3420333/small-fleet-of-cuban-boats-grows.html
Unofficial Pastors, Half Free
Unofficial Pastors, Half Free / Luis Felipe Rojas
Posted on May 27, 2013
The U.S. State Department's annual report on religious freedom in the
world noted a slight improvement in Cuba, but placed the country as one
of those who remain on the black list, along with China, Iran and North
Korea.
Cuba improved in practice, says the document, but it also presents the
complaints of groups and independent pastors who claim to be monitored
by the government and suffer occasional arrests.
Pastor Manuel Alberto Morejon Soler, general supervisor of the Christian
Alliance and a resident of Havana, has a different view. To Morejon, the
Office of Religious Affairs and the Cuban Council of Churches (CIC) come
together and help each other with censorship and surveillance.
The pastor, who is defines himself as an independent, says that "only
the official churches are benefiting from the support of the Office of
Religious Affairs [of the Cuban Communist Party] and CIC, as the Bibles
and other resources entering the country and are distributed by these
entities."
A year ago, this pastor, with the 'apostle' Carlos Montoya Palomino, of
the same denomination, asked to attend some meetings of the ICC in the
interest of evaluating whether or not to join it. It has been over
twelve months and they have not yet been sent the official invitation.
"Several years ago the Cuban government froze an account of $ 26,000
belonging to the Seminary of the West Baptist Church in Villa Clara, and
that nothing is said about this," the pastor reported.
Morejon Soler does not see the improvements highlighted in the State
Department report and he believes that the 2012 reporting period, "was
very repressive." While there is a refusal to allow independent churches
on the island to have their own media, churches and other denominations
covered under the umbrella of CIC may buy cars, rent phone lines and
enjoy other benefits.
The Christian Alliance received an offer to transfer the donations they
received in the United States, but finding themselves in a legal limbo,
they are unable to issue paychecks, according to pastor Morejon. He
concludes, "They are not just bureaucratic procedures, rather they are
very sophisticated and have us tied hand and foot."
Having Faith is a heroic act
Carlos Montoya Palomino believes that faith in Cuba is a luxury. He says
it as someone who has gone through numerous vicissitudes.
It is precisely the "Lack of an Act of Worship and Religious Association
that gives human beings the right to wear their faith freely clearly
that makes it more difficult to live full freedom in Cuba," Montoya adds.
27 May 2013
http://translatingcuba.com/unofficial-pastors-half-free-luis-felipe-rojas/
Posted on May 27, 2013
The U.S. State Department's annual report on religious freedom in the
world noted a slight improvement in Cuba, but placed the country as one
of those who remain on the black list, along with China, Iran and North
Korea.
Cuba improved in practice, says the document, but it also presents the
complaints of groups and independent pastors who claim to be monitored
by the government and suffer occasional arrests.
Pastor Manuel Alberto Morejon Soler, general supervisor of the Christian
Alliance and a resident of Havana, has a different view. To Morejon, the
Office of Religious Affairs and the Cuban Council of Churches (CIC) come
together and help each other with censorship and surveillance.
The pastor, who is defines himself as an independent, says that "only
the official churches are benefiting from the support of the Office of
Religious Affairs [of the Cuban Communist Party] and CIC, as the Bibles
and other resources entering the country and are distributed by these
entities."
A year ago, this pastor, with the 'apostle' Carlos Montoya Palomino, of
the same denomination, asked to attend some meetings of the ICC in the
interest of evaluating whether or not to join it. It has been over
twelve months and they have not yet been sent the official invitation.
"Several years ago the Cuban government froze an account of $ 26,000
belonging to the Seminary of the West Baptist Church in Villa Clara, and
that nothing is said about this," the pastor reported.
Morejon Soler does not see the improvements highlighted in the State
Department report and he believes that the 2012 reporting period, "was
very repressive." While there is a refusal to allow independent churches
on the island to have their own media, churches and other denominations
covered under the umbrella of CIC may buy cars, rent phone lines and
enjoy other benefits.
The Christian Alliance received an offer to transfer the donations they
received in the United States, but finding themselves in a legal limbo,
they are unable to issue paychecks, according to pastor Morejon. He
concludes, "They are not just bureaucratic procedures, rather they are
very sophisticated and have us tied hand and foot."
Having Faith is a heroic act
Carlos Montoya Palomino believes that faith in Cuba is a luxury. He says
it as someone who has gone through numerous vicissitudes.
It is precisely the "Lack of an Act of Worship and Religious Association
that gives human beings the right to wear their faith freely clearly
that makes it more difficult to live full freedom in Cuba," Montoya adds.
27 May 2013
http://translatingcuba.com/unofficial-pastors-half-free-luis-felipe-rojas/
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