Cuban Colada

Washington, Santiago deny a report that Clinton won't back OAS chief's reelection

The State Department has denied a story in the Chilean daily El Mercurio that the Obama administration would not endorse José Miguel Insulza's reelection, the Chilean newspaper La Tercera reported late Sunday. (See blog item below.)
La Tercera said its Washington correspondent spoke with Assistant Secretary of State Thomas A. Shannon Jr., who told him that "the United States has not expressed its position to the Chilean government on this topic." To read the article, click here.
In Santiago, Foreign Minister Mariano Fernández also denied the story. "It is not true," he told La Tercera. "I don't know who is the source. [...] I've talked three times with [President Bachelet] and she has never mentioned the topic to me." To read that article, click here.

Clinton won't back OAS chief's reelection, citing an apparent tilt toward Cuba, Zelaya

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has told Chilean President Michelle Bachelet twice that the United States will not support José Miguel Insulza's bid for Secretary General of the Organization of American States, the Chilean newspaper El Mercurio revealed on Sunday. Insulza is a Chilean national.
According to the newspaper, Clinton was unhappy with Insulza's efforts in June to reinstate Cuba into the OAS without any conditions and told the Chilean delegates at the OAS summit that "the United States does not look kindly upon Insulza's reelection."
In late June, just before Bachelet flew to Washington to meet with President Obama, Clinton sent another message to the Chilean government expressing the same sentiment. This time, Clinton's dissatisfaction was deepened by Insulza's efforts to reinstate José Manuel Zelaya to the presidency of Honduras.
It was because of Clinton's mistrust of Insulza that she proposed Costa Rican President Oscar Arias as the sole negotiator in the Honduran crisis, El Mercurio says.
To read the entire article, in Spanish, click here. (ABOVE: Insulza, left and Zelaya in an undated photo.)

 ---Renato Pérez Pizarro.

Cuba confirms visit by NYPhilharmonic

The visit to Cuba of the New York Philharmonic will be "a great cultural event," the daily Granma said Saturday, confirming the American musicians' trip. (See blog item below.)
Five members of the Philharmonic's board of directors, including its executive director, Zarin Mehta, arrived Friday in Havana "to work with us until Monday to leave everything in order, so the famous group may come in October," Alejandro Gumá Ruiz, vice president for international relations of the Cuban Institute of Music, told Granma.
The Institute invited the Philharmonic. Hosting the visitors will be Roberto Chorens, director of the Cuban Philharmonic Orchestra.
During their stay, the New York musicians will meet with members of the Cuban Philharmonic and welcome Cuban music students to their rehearsals, Gumá said. "We're trying to prepare a program for them that, while not excessively fatiguing, may allow them to learn a lot about the [Cuban] people's concert music and culture," he said. [UPDATE: Mehta told Reuters on Saturday that the trip is not yet a done deal. To read his reservations, click here. See also an Associated Press update published Sunday by clicking here.]
---Renato Pérez Pizarro.

Fidel: Honduras is occupied by the U.S.

Honduras today "is a country occupied not only by the coup-plotters but also by the armed forces of the United States," writes Fidel Castro in his latest article, published Saturday in the Cuban media.
Castro reminds his readers that "the military base at Soto Cano [...] was used by Col. Oliver North when he directed the dirty war against Nicaragua." From there, the United States directed "attacks against the Salvadoran and Guatemalan revolutionaries. [...] It is home to the United States' Joint Task Force Bravo [...] which occupies 85 percent of the area of the base."
"If President Manuel Zelaya is not returned to his post, a wave of coups d'état threatens to wipe out many Latin American governments or place them at the mercy of extreme-right military officers" trained by the Pentagon, Castro warns. "Those dark days are not very distant," he writes.
Castro then gives Zelaya some advice. He should "not now admit any dilatory maneuvers that might wear out the considerable social forces that support him and only lead to an irreparable erosion."
To read the entire article, click here. (PHOTO SHOWS: Castro and Zelaya in Havana on March 4.)
---Renato Pérez Pizarro.

NYPhilharmonic seems set for trip to Cuba

The New York Philharmonic has been invited to perform in Cuba and is "seriously considering" such a project, The New York Times reported Friday. The orchestra's president, Zarin Mehta, and other of its officials were to travel to Havana on Friday to inspect concert halls and hotels, the paper said.
If everything works out right, the orchestra would travel to Havana on Oct. 30 and give two concerts in four days. The Philharmonic's musical director, Alan Gilbert, would conduct.
According to The Times, the invitation came after "several Philharmonic officials had casual conversations with an ABC News official who has contacts with Cuban diplomats in Washington. [...] The ABC official put the two sides together, unofficial contacts ensued, and a formal invitation came last week." The Obama administration has already granted licenses to the orchestra to make the trip.
(I'd be willing to bet that Gershwin's "Cuban Overture" will be on the program. And lots of Lecuona.)
---Renato Pérez Pizarro.

Brazil will help turn Mariel into an oil port

Brazil will make available as much as US$300 million in credit to Cuba to begin the reconstruction of the Port of Mariel, the Reuters news agency reported, citing Brazil's Minister of Industry and Commerce, Miguel Jorge.
Speaking in Havana, Jorge said the project will be led by a Brazilian company and will include the construction of roadways and a railroad. Brazilian officials told Reuters that Cuba expects to pay for the rest of the construction, which could have a total cost of $2 billion.
The port, about 30 miles west of Havana, will become a logistics center for Cuba's fledgling offshore oil industry. In 1980, it served as stage for a massive exodus of Cubans to the United States.
The Brazilian oil company Petrobras will open an office in Havana next week and will conduct exploration in Cuban waters. For more details, click here.
---Renato Pérez Pizarro.

Clinton restates conditions for dialogue

In an interview Tuesday with Globovisión's Leopoldo Castillo, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton touched on several topics regarding Latin America. Here's what she said about Cuba:
CASTILLO: Does the phrase "Freedom for Cuba and the Cuban people" seem to you possible under the Castro regime?
CLINTON: Well, as you know, we are engaged in discussions with the Government of Cuba about matters that we believe are important – migration, for example. But we have made it very clear that we could not do much more in dealing with Cuba unless Cuba changes. The political prisoners need to be released. Free and fair elections need to be held. I’ve always believed that if you think you’re doing a good job for people, then go out and try to persuade them to vote for you in an honest, free, and fair election. So we are opening up dialogue with Cuba, but we are very clear that we want to see some fundamental changes within the Cuban regime.
To read the entire interview in English, click here; in Spanish, click here.

Raúl's daughter on gays and 'democracy'

In London to attend Gay Pride Day, Mariela Castro, director of the National Center for Sexual Education (CENESEX) and daughter of the Cuban president, was interviewed last weekend by BBC World. Excerpts follow:
[...] How long before a Gay Pride Parade is staged in Havana?
I don't know. We Cubans don't like to imitate formulas from other places. We like to learn from other experiences but prefer to create other strategies. We don't march for gay pride. We stage educational and artistic events to seek respect for free sexual orientation and gender identity.
Is there space [in Cuba] for the discussion of all kind of topics?
In Cuba there is space for discussion, but the communications media say something else. [...]
Amnesty International denounces that in Cuba there is no space for freedom of expression. In fact, there are 57 prisoners of conscience.
Let me explain to you. In Cuba, there is freedom of expression because we Cubans say everything that comes into our mind. Who silences a Cuban? No one has, so far.
We have the same problems about freedom of the press that the whole world has. Now, the persons you refer to, their problem is not freedom of expression. They are paid by a power that wishes to dominate Cuba. They are mercenaries. Throughout the world, mercenaries are harshly punished.
The Cuban government said it is willing to turn them over to the United States so long as [the U.S.] returns to us the five Cuban heroes who were unjustly imprisoned for exposing the plans of state terrorism against the Cuban people that are historically organized there.
These mercenaries collaborate for that. It is not for freedom of expression. [...] For serving a foreign power that wishes to dominate Cuba and for receiving salary to do that. That was demonstrated with ample evidence.
Cuban President Raúl Castro has opened a space for discussion or reflection in the country. What have they said about democracy?
Democracy is still an invention that is being experimented on everywhere, in line with the interests of the dominant class. I think that democracy is still an abstract word that we all have to fight to turn into reality.
[...] What type of democracy does Cuba need?
I believe that Cuba needs a socialist, participative democracy.
And a multiparty system?
I don't believe in the multiparty system. I believe in the diversity of opinions, in a participation where we all contribute elements. The multiparty system is a falsehood intended to make you believe that you have democracy. So far, the multiparty system has not guaranteed democracy. [...] So, we have to continue to formulate new ideas in search of democracy.
To read the entire interview, in Spanish, click here.

Editor hints at U.S. role in Honduran coup

President Obama "will have to make a major effort to clear suspicions about the intervention of [United States] institutions in the coup d'état in Honduras," said Rogelio Polanco Fuentes, editor of the newspaper Rebel Youth, on Cuban television Sunday..
Polanco said that "questions exist about the possible participation of circles of power in the U.S." in the ouster of Honduran President José Manuel Zelaya. He alluded to "fundamentalist groups [...] among them the annexationist mafia of Cuban origin." Polanco was not specific about his allegations, but pointed out that Hugo Llorens, who assumed the post of U.S. ambassador to Honduras in September 2008, was director of Andean affairs in the National Security Council during the George W. Bush administration.
"The U.S. ambassador in Honduras has been linked to actions and domestic contacts by Honduran entities that orchestrated the military coup," Polanco said, as reported by Cubavisión. As before, he did not furnish evidence of his allegation.
Polanco spoke on the TV program Mesa Redonda and his comments were published in the Granma and Cubavisión websites. So far, no high-ranking government officials have made statements linking the Obama administration to Zelaya's overthrow.
For continuing coverage of the situation in Honduras, read The Miami Herald.
---Renato Pérez Pizarro.

Havana defaulted thrice in debt payments to Russia but was not fined, audit reveals

The Cuban government failed on three occasions to pay the installments on the US$355 million credit deal it signed with Russia on Sept. 28, 2006, the Russian Federation's Audit Chamber revealed Thursday.
"Since the signing of the agreement," which grants Cuba credit against Russian goods and services, "the Cuban side has three times violated the payment terms," said an Audit Chamber press release, read in Moscow by auditor Viktor Semyonovich Kosourov. "However, access to the credit line was not halted and, as of June 1, 2009, interest penalties for late payment have not been imposed."
During the Russian audit, several "deficiencies" were found in Cuba's selection of Russian suppliers. Havana appears to have placed contracts with companies that have "minimal capitalization and scant production or marketing capabilities," Kosourov said.
The Cubans were not the only negligent party. The audit revealed a lack of control by the Russian authorities over the implementation of the contracts, and poor interaction between the Cuban and Russian authorities, resulting in poor service to the Cuban buyers.
The "deficiencies" caused delays in the negotiation in 2007-08 of another credit agreement between Moscow and Havana.
On Jan. 30, 2009, Russia granted Cuba credit for US$20 million toward the purchase of Russian agricultural, construction and energy equipment.
The Audit Chamber did not disclose the amount of the debt Cuba currently owes to Russia. According to 2005 figures, the debt stood at 17 billion rubles, the Russian newspaper Rusbalt said.
That's US$543,734,016.
The Chamber said it would send a full report, with recommendations, to the Kremlin and to the Russian Ministries of Finance and Economic Development, as well as to the Cuban Ministry of Auditing and Control.
---Renato Pérez Pizarro.