A healthier-looking Fidel Castro appeared on Cuban television Tuesday,
speaking slowly and focusing on past memories rather than his recovery
and future in his first lengthy appearance since he fell ill and gave
up power last summer.
Thursday 24 May 2007
Ailing Castro says firmly on road to recovery
Fidel Castro's recovery from intestinal surgery 10 months ago was delayed because the first of several operations he had went badly, the communist leader said in a statement that gave the most detailed account of his health since August.
March 14, 2006 for Wed1306
Cuba by Jacques Clément
That country, with a population of over thirteen million people, including over three million in Havana, has the highest literacy rate and lowest infant mortality rate in Latin America, with average life expectancy of over seventy-five years. They are the only socialist country left in the Northern Hemisphere. The government is undemocratic after three hundred years of colonialism and over sixty-seven years of hating the Americans.
They have a gross domestic product of only $36 billion, of which services represent 68%, industrial, 24% and agriculture, 8%. Exports are equivalent to 20% of their G.D.P. and consist of nickel, 53%, tobacco, 11%, drugs and pharmaceuticals, 10%, sugar, 8% and fish-farm products. Economic growth was at 7 ½% last year and 5.4% is expected this year. With over 200 hotels, tourism is the main source of revenue ($2.1 billion income) with over two million visitors annually and an annual growth rate of over 25% for the eighteenth consecutive year.
It employs over one hundred thousand people (36% being women and 56% being university graduates). Europe (Spain, Italy, Germany and France), have over 700,000 tourists yearly, followed by Canada (600,000+), U.K. (211,000+) and Argentina, Brazil, Russia and Hungary. They have joint venture investments with the same countries as well as with Mexico, Netherlands and Asia. Unemployment is low.
They have no taxes, subsidized housing for the poor families, free health care, free education, housing for the aged, advanced vaccines and biotechnology. In mining, Sherritt International, the Canadian company, is expanding a power-metals project in Cuba,, investing$455 million. Since the 1958 revolution, the U.S. embargo only permits Cuban Citizens living in the U.S. to send $1,500 annually to their families and some food to charitable entities.
The women are participating greatly in Cuba’s political, cultural and social life, representing an average of 66% of all technical and intellectual professions, public sector, 46%, research 49%, university graduates, 63%, doctors, 56%, health and international missions, 52%, attorneys, 71% and 36% as Members of Parliament. Sex equality dates back to 1959. Over one million people have fled to the U.S. since Castro took over and they have 500,000 yearly applications for U.S. visas.
They were a founding member of the World Trade Organization and member of the group of seventy-seven countries including some in Africa, Asia and Latin America.
Please see Wed1306 video Cuba by Jacques Clément, Peter Perkins Brian & Morel Mkt 5:31
Thursday 18 January 2007 People close to Cuba's president, Fidel Castro, are denying Spanish reports that he is gravely ill and close to death. Venezuela's president, Hugo Chavez, says the Cuban leader's condition is not serious and that he continues to recover from last July's stomach surgery. The Spanish newspaper El Pais reported the 80-year-old Mr. Castro was in serious condition after three failed operations and complications from an intestinal infection. Mr. Castro has not been seen in public since the July surgery and his 75-year-old brother, Raul, is running the country.
2006
Wednesday Jan 17, 2007
As it is reported that Fidel Castro is gravely ill and will not recover , we offer another Cuba-related medical story: the Quebec company, Services Sante International, that is offering to arrange speedy health-care services for a fee in Cuba to patients who book their own flights.
2006
Mon 25/12/2006 rci Cuba's acting president says the country's transportation system is practically on the point of collapse. Raul Castro also said there is "no excuse" for many of the problems Cuba faces. The comments were made before the National Assembly and published in state media. They mark a change of style from his brother Fidel, who has not been seen in public since undergoing emergency surgery for intestinal bleeding in July. Meanwhile, a health official in Madrid confirmed Monday that a leading Spanish surgeon travelled to Havana last week to study whether Fidel Castro should undergo more surgery.
Wednesday 27 December 2006 The Spanish surgeon treating Fidel Castro says the ailing Cuban leader does not have cancer and is recovering slowly from a serious operation. Dr. Jose Luis Garcia Sabrido flew to Havana last Thursday to see the 80-year-old Cuban leader and determine how his treatment was progressing. Mr. Castro has not appeared in public since undergoing emergency intestinal surgery in July. He has placed his younger brother, Raul, in charge of the government. Dr. Garcia Sabrido says Fidel Castro does not have cancer and there are no plans for more surgery. The doctor says Mr. Castro is in stable condition and "recovering from a very serious operation."
Tuesday 26 December 2006
Doctor says Castro does not have cancer
The Spanish surgeon treating Fidel Castro said Tuesday the ailing Cuban leader does not have cancer and is recovering slowly from a serious operation.
Sunday 03 December 2006 A huge military parade marking the eightieth birthday of Fidel Castro and the fiftieth anniversary of the revolution ended on Saturday in the presence of about 300,000 Cubans, but without their ailing leader. Mr. Castro's presence at the parade in Havana's Revolution Square had been viewed as a key test of his health and political future. He has not been seen in public since July, when he underwent intestinal surgery and provisionally turned over power to his brother, Raul, the country's defence minister. Raul Castro spoke at the parade, but did not mention his brother's condition or absence.
Sunday 12 November 2006 U.S. officials say Castro terminally ill
That dire view was reinforced last week when Cuba's foreign minister backed away from his prediction that the ailing Castro would return to power by early December. "It's a subject on which I don't want to speculate," Felipe Perez Roque told The Associated Press in Havana.
Monday Sep 11, 2006
The Summit of non-aligned nations in Cuba, which has brought Castro out of convalescence to host next Friday's state dinner. Who among you knew that Cuba was taking over chairmanship of the group from Malaysia?
Monday 11 September 2006 Fidel Castro is planning to host a dinner in Havana this week in what would be his first public appearance since he underwent surgery more than a month ago. The dinner would be part of a meeting starting on Monday involving dozens of heads of state from the Non-aligned Movement. a group with 116 nations. Malaysia will turn over chairmanship of the movement to Cuba. The United Nations Secretary General, Kofi Annan, is also scheduled to attend. The Cuban leader wants to host a dinner for the delegates on Friday. He has been seen in photographs recently showing him eating and greeting visitors.
Tuesday Aug 15, 2006 Boisclair wins Montreal byelection to get legislature seat
Parti Quebecois Leader Andre Boisclair elected to the legislature after easy win in byelection
Tuesday Aug 15, 2006 Sacha's love letter
His father gave us the Charter of Rights. So what is Sacha Trudeau doing writing obsequious agitprop for a communist thug?
rci Cuba's leader, Fidel Castro, said on Sunday that he is "considerably" better, but still at risk, after undergoing abdominal surgery last month. Mr. Castro made the comment in a message sent to Cubans on his eightieth birthday. His comments were carried in Cuba's Communist Youth newspaper, which published four photographs showing the president wearing a sweat suit, sitting up and speaking on the telephone. Mr. Castro temporarily handed over power to his brother Raul before his surgery. His brother was seen in public on Sunday for the first time since the handover when he greeted Venezuela's visiting president, Hugo Chavez, in Havana.
Monday 14 August 2006 maisonneuve.org
CUBAN UPHEAVAL POSTPONED
The Big Seven all go inside with photos of Fidel Castro, the
first images of the dictator published since he handed over authority to
his brother Raul two weeks ago. The photos
show Castro lying in bed in a jumpsuit holding a newspaper. The
Post reports that the photographs of Castro provided a measure of
“relief to Cubans worried that his death could create upheaval in
one of the world’s last communist outposts.” According to the
Globe (not available online), the situation in Cuba could not be further
from “upheaval;” describing an atmosphere of “calm and
normalcy,” its report suggests that Castro’s decline may, in
fact, change nothing at all. The
Star notes that, in a letter published in the Communist Youth
paper Juventud Rebelde, Castro did warn Cubans that “adverse
news” could be on the way regarding his condition but that the
country “will continue marching on perfectly well.” CBC
News: Sunday ran footage of Raul Castro’s first public
appearance since taking over in which he is seen welcoming
Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez to Cuba to mark Fidel’s birthday.
Castro turned 80 yesterday.
Sunday 13 August 2006 Cuba's leader, Fidel Castro, said on Sunday that he is "considerably" better, but still at risk, after undergoing abdominal surgery last month. Mr. Castro made the comment in a message sent to Cubans on his eightieth birthday. His comments were carried in Cuba's Communist Youth newspaper, which published four photographs showing the president wearing a sweat suit, sitting up and speaking on the telephone. Mr. Castro temporarily handed over power to his brother Raul before his surgery. His brother was seen in public on Sunday for the first time since the handover when he greeted Venezuela's visiting president, Hugo Chavez, in Havana.
Thursday 10 August 2006 The government of Cuba has announced a crackdown on illegal television satellite dishes. The Communist Party newspaper Granma says the dishes could be used by the U.S. government to broadcast subversive information as part of its alleged plan to destroy the Cuban revolution. The announcement comes just nine days after Fidel Castro handed over power temporarily to his 75-year-old brother Raul after undergoing a major surgery. Many Cubans use the satellite dishes to watch Spanish-language television broadcast out of Miami. Each of the some 10,000 dishes is linked to dozens or even hundreds of televisions by cables.
Sun 06/08/2006 Cuba's vice-president, Carlos Lage, denied unofficial reports on Sunday that Fidel Castro had underwent surgery almost a week earlier for cancer. Cuban officials continue to insist that the ailing leader of the Carribbean nation is recovering well and could return to power in several weeks. But his location and exact condition remained a mystery six days after he underwent abdominal surgery. Mr. Castro temporarily handed over power to his brother Raul, who has yet to make a public appearance.
Friday 04 August 2006 maisonneuve.org" CASTRO'S LAST STAND?
by Philippe Gohier
August 4, 2006
Where decades of foreign policy and covert CIA operations
couldn’t succeed, nature may finally do the deed. After letting go
of Cuba’s reins for the first (and possibly last) time, Fidel Castro
has not been seen in public since his surgery earlier this week. Raul
Castro, who is in power while his older brother recovers, hasn't been seen
either. The conspicuous absence of visible leadership is fuelling
reasonable questions about whether Fidelismo has come to an end.
The
National reports that George W. Bush greeted the news of Castro’s
possible political retirement by promising to help Cubans “build a
transitional government” that is “committed to
democracy.” It further notes that Republican senators are preparing
an $80 million package for Cuban dissidents looking to topple the
long-standing communist government. In its editorial
today, the Star calls on Stephen Harper’s government to begin
cultivating relationships with the younger generation of Cuban politicians
and “use Canada's leverage to urge more tolerance for political
dissidence, ruthlessly suppressed by Castro, and for political
reform.”
While the push for greater political freedoms in Cuba is no doubt
laudable in principle, there is ample reason to believe that it could meet
substantial resistance. In an insightful piece in today’s Post,
Slate’s Ian
Bremmer describes Raul Castro as a man who is “as reactionary as
he is uncharismatic, a pale reflection of his remarkable elder
brother.” The difficulty in bridging the ideological gap that
separates Cuba from Canada and the US is further compounded by the fact
that Raul’s long-standing role as Cuba’s defense minister
gives him complete control over the island’s army, police and
intelligence services, rendering dissent operations as dangerous as they
are difficult. La Presse’s Mario Roy points out a second obstacle in
an equally compelling editorial (not available online): that the
ideological vacuum left by Castro’s departure will have at least one
other suitor, namely Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez. Given the major changes
potentially afoot in Cuba, MediaScout hopes to see the Big Seven best the
obstacles
to reporting from the country, and allow the Cuban people’s voice to
rise above that of its government.
Friday 04 August 2006 7:48 HAVANA (Reuters) - Cuba said on Friday that acting President Raul Castro was running the country, but provided no new details on the condition of ailing leader Fidel Castro four days after he handed over power temporarily.
nyt Cuba Perks Up as Venezuelan Foils Embargo Cuba’s economy is strong because Venezuela has been using its oil reserves to prop up the Castro government.
nyt Beginning of the End in Cuba
If he can transcend the ideological fixations of the Cuban exile community, President Bush could help Cubans build a better, post-Castro future.
rci The situation appeared calm in Cuba on Thursday in the absence of any new information about the state of health of Fidel Castro. State television repeated an earlier statement that his condition is stable after surgery on Monday and that the defence of the island is assured. However, the government's neighbourhood watch group has increased night patrols. Mr. Castro handed over presidential power on an interim bases to his brother Raul on Monday after the surgery. The younger Mr. Castro did not appear publicly on Thursday.
rci Canadian Foreign Minister Peter MacKay says Canada has always had an independent policy concerning Cuba and will maintain that attitude. Mr. MacKay's remark was the first official comment in the country since Monday when Cuba announced the serious illness of leader Fidel Castro. Mr. MacKay says that while Canada has an independent stance regarding the Caribbean nation, it shares the hope with other nations that the country can one day have a functioning democracy. The minister says that many countries are waiting to see whether the situation will lead to a mass exodus, but that there's no way to predict whether one will occur. Canada has never accepted the 40-year-old U.S. economic blockade of Cuba and has in fact enjoyed friendly business ties with the island, with heavy Canadian investment in minerals and energy. Political relations suffered, however, during the government of former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien when Mr. Castro ignored his requests for the release of political prisoners.
Wed 02/08/2006 The Cuban authorities have issued a statement attributed to Fidel Castro that his health is stable and that he's in good spirits. The 79-year-old Mr. Castro acknowledges that he has undergone a serious operation but cannot provide more details, his health being a "state secret" because of the threat posed to the Cuban government by the U.S. Earlier in the week, it was announced that Mr. Castro had turned over his powers on an interim basis to his 75-year-old brother Raul.
Tuesday 01 August 2006 Castro undergoes surgery, hands reins to brother
Fidel Castro temporarily relinquished his presidential powers to his brother Raul last night and told Cubans that he had undergone surgery.
Wed 02/08/2006 NYT 
Interactive Feature: Fidel Castro Cedes Power
The Times's Anthony DePalma and Abby Goodnough report on Fidel Castro's illness and the reaction among exiles in Miami. Related Article
Castro Is ‘Stable,’ but His Illness Presents PuzzleA statement read on state television after a long day of speculation and rumor gave few details about Fidel Castro's condition.
For Cuban Exiles, a Day Filled With Celebrations, Rumors and the Wait for NewsIn Little Havana in 92-degree heat, one confident crowd wagered that Fidel Castro was not ailing but dead, singing, “Na na na na, na na na na, Fidel, goodbye.
Tue 01/08/2006 Tuesday was the first day in 47 years when Fidel Castro was no longer running Cuba. Mr. Castro underwent an operation on Tuesday, the nature of which wasn't described. The speaker of the Cuban parliament, Ricardo Alarcon, says the 79-year-old leader's condition isn't critical. A letter written by Mr. Castro and read on television on Monday said he was suffering a "sharp intestinal crisis with sustained bleeding." Mr. Castro's brother Raul has been delegated interim president. He didn't appear in public on Tuesday. In Miami on Monday night, hundreds of thousands of Cubans or Americans of Cuban descent engaged in boisterous celebrations. In Washington, the U.S. state department said the American government would support a democratic transition and that Cubans are tired of Communism and want to choose their own form of government.
Friday 28 July 2006 globe Should the U.S. break its Cuba trade embargo?
Trade embargo in place since 1961 has cost America little, until now, thanks to oil discovery
From here on out, say a growing chorus of experts, America will pay a price for maintaining its 45-year trade ban with the communist nation — a strategic and economic price that will have negative repercussions for the United States in the decades to come. .....America's thirst for oil will soon force a fundamental change in Washington's relations with Havana.
Tuesday Jun 13, 2006 U.S. joins list of Cuba's Top 10 trading partners
Canadian businesspeople in Cuba are steaming mad about what they say are unfair U.S. trade practices, as American exporters steadily increase their market share in a country Washington officially regards as an enemy state. Oakland Ross reports.
Monday Apr 17, 2006 Cuba Plans Offshore Wells Banned in U.S. Waters
Monday May 1, 2006 wn
We take pride in the (more often than not coincidental) topicality of Wednesday Night debates and this week is no exception. With the recent visit of Professor René Roy and discussion of Cuba's medical strengths, the signing of the trade pact between Bolivia, Cuba and Venezuela has a much greater relevance to our lives. And as the prospects continue to dim for a peaceful world, blessed with equitable trade, peaceful immigration and sustainable development, the appeal of benign global governance as espoused by the School of Athens grows greater.
Monday Apr 17, 2006 A Debt to CastroBy ANTHONY DePALMA
I blazed through the airport in Nassau, but the Cuban agent there stopped my wife. We were headed to Cuba to research a book on the beginnings of Castro's revolution. Although we each carried an American passport, mine says I was born in New Jersey, U.S.A. Miriam's says Cuba.
2005
Waiting for Havana nyt November 27, 2005
Views of Cuba
Tuesday Dec 20, 2005 nyt Tensions Rise as More Flee Cuba for U.S.
BY ABBY GOODNOUGH
Coast Guard data show that 2,683 Cubans have been intercepted at sea this year, nearly double the amount for all of 2004.
Friday Dec 9, 2005 ec Fidel Castro, Cuba's president, said that half of the country's state-controlled petrol supplies had been stolen in recent years. In October, Mr Castro put youth organisations in control of petrol stations in a drive against corruption.
Friday Dec 9, 2005 globe Cuba fast becomes a hotbed for IT outsourcing
By DAVID PYE
Despite being one of the world's last standing communist regimes, Cuba has proved masterful at reinventing its economic priorities in troubled times.
Wednesday Nov 9, 2005 rci Canada and 181 other member nations of the UN General Assembly have voted in favour of a resolution calling on the U.S. to end its economic embargo against Cuba that has been in effect since 1961. Only four countries voted against the resolution, including the U.S. It was the 14th straight year that the Assembly has voted for an end to the embargo. Assembly resolutions are non-binding
Sunday Oct 16, 2005 ts Cuba, U.S. refuse hurricane help
Havana is still on hold.If anyone were seeking to gauge the ill winds that blow between Cuba and the United States, they need look no farther than the two governments' behaviour during Katrina and Dennis.
Tuesday Oct 4, 2005 rci Canada's foreign minister, Pierre Pettigrew, says the government has again expressed its "preoccupation" about the human rights situation in Cuba. He says he discussed that concern in Ottawa on Monday at a meeting with his Cuban counterpart, Felipe Pérez Roque. The Canadian minister says he expressed particular concern for the 75 dissidents who were jailed by the government of President Fidel Castro in March 2003, including three who are now staging a hunger strike. According to Mr. Pettigrew, his guest replied by referring to his country's "difficult situation."
Monday Aug 29, 2005 cc Chavez and Castro bond against U.S.
They've been called dictators and terrorists by the United States and blamed for brewing trouble throughout Latin America. But Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and his Cuban counterpart, Fidel Castro, insist they represent peace and progress and that Washington's wrath cannot halt their march to help the region's poor.
Sunday Aug 14, 2005 rci Cuba's president, Fidel Castro, celebrated his seventy-ninth birthday on Saturday. After 46 years as president, he is the world's longest-serving leader and the head of the only Communist nation in the Americas. Doctors say that Mr. Castro has made a steady recovery from a fall last October. He suffered a broken left knee and a fractured right arm. Despite his injuries, he has made 38 televised speeches this year---far more than the 15 that he gave last year. In the past several months, he has made friendships with new left-wing governments in Brazil, Uruguay, Venezuela, and Ecuador. Cuba and Venezuela have lately been increasing their cooperation. In April, they signed 50 accords that Cuba expects will help ease its economic plight.
Monday May 23, 2005 rci Cuban dissidents finished their unprecedented two-day meeting near Havana on Saturday by electing a new panel. More than 100 delegates voted for a 36-member steering committee. The committee will elect officers to lead the group. A small number of American and European diplomats attended the event, but some Europeans who entered Cuba on tourist visas were prevented from participating and were forced to leave the country. Among them were journalists from Poland and Italy. Italy and Spain summoned Cuba's ambassadors to express their objections to the expulsions. President Fidel Castro depicted the dissidents' meeting as a ploy by the United States, but he did not move to stop it. Similar attempts to hold dissident meetings in the past were forcibly suppressed.
Monday May 23, 2005 rci A two-day meeting of Cuban dissidents began in Havana on Friday. Cuban President Fidel Castro condemned the meeting but didn't try to stop it. However, he did have expelled a Czech and a German lawmaker upon their arrival at Havana airport. Both had visas and had intended to attend the dissidents' conference.
Mission improbable Mar 23rd 2005
Friday Apr 1, 2005 HAVANA: CUBA REOPENS ITS BORDER TO CANADIAN CATTLE
Cuba has reopened its border to live Canadian cattle. The announcement comes nearly two years after Cuba blocked such imports over a single case of mad cow disease in the western province of Alberta. Canadian Federal Agriculture Minister Andy Mitchell made the announcement Thursday in Havana after meeting with his Cuban counterpart. Canadian exporters will now have access to Cuba to ship live cattle, goats and sheep, meat from these animals, as well as bovine semen and embryos. Mexico has indicated it will begin a regulatory process that will eventually lead to the opening of its border to live Canadian cattle.
Monday Mar 28, 2005 The commissioner of the European Union said Sunday Cuba's president, Fidel Castro, has changed his attitude toward Europe and is prepared to discuss human rights issues. Louis Michel says he had frank talks with the Cuban leader during a three-day visit to re-establish political contacts. A rift developed between the two sides two years ago over the jailing of 75 pro-democracy activists in Cuba.
Dec 31, 2004 ts
A Devil`s Island for our times
It is time to invade Cuba and put an end to what has become another Devil`s Island in the annals of government-sanctioned torture.
Monday Oct 25, 2004 ec Life in Cuba A new campaign against private enterprise comes as Cubans suffer from worsening water and power shortages
WASHINGTON—Many detainees at Guantanamo Bay were regularly subjected to harsh and coercive treatment, according to officials who worked at the prison facility at the U.S. naval base in Cuba.
Monday Sep 13, 2004 bbc 
Castro condemns new US sanctions
Hurricane Ivan bears down on Cuba
Hurricane Ivan has strengthened as it heads towards Cuba after bringing destruction to the tiny Cayman Islands.
Southern Cuba has been feeling the first effects of Ivan's winds, and the island's western tip is expected to take the full force later on Monday.
Monday Sep 13, 2004 cbc IVAN HEADING FOR CUBA MONDAY, FLORIDA WEDNESDAY
Hurricane Ivan pummelled the Cayman Islands on Sunday with winds nearing
250 km/hr, before heading towards Cuba, where it was expected to arrive
early Monday.
Thursday Jul 29, 2004 ts Cuban lessons on fighting AIDS
Revolutionary Cuba is hailed by some as a shining example of how to combat successfully the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Today, Cuba has an HIV infection rate of less than 0.1 per cent, in a region that has one of the fastest growing infection rates in the world.
Tuesday Jun 22, 2004 bbc GROUP DEFIES U.S. LAW TO BRING AID TO CUBA
Wearing T-shirts calling for "Regime Change in the US - Not in Cuba," members of a U.S. humanitarian group defied U.S. travel restrictions and entered Cuba Saturday to deliver tonnes of desperately needed supplies.
Tuesday Jun 22, 2004 bbc 
Castro condemns new US sanctions
Cuban President Fidel Castro has condemned new moves to tighten the US embargo on the island from next month.
Mr Castro told a rally of more than 200,000 people in Havana that the new US rules were "merciless and inhumane".
Saturday 15 May 2004 cbc THOUSANDS OF CUBANS RALLY AGAINST NEW U.S SANCTIONS
Hundreds of thousands of Cubans marched through the streets of Havana
Friday to protest against new U.S. economic sanctions against the
country.
Tuesday May 4, 2004 Mexico and Peru have recalled their ambassadors to Cuba as signs of protests against comments made about them in a speech Havana made on Saturday by Cuban President Fidel Castro. The Cuban leader told one million of his compatriots that Mexico and Peru are lapdogs to the U.S. The Mexican government was also angered sufficiently to order the Cuban ambassador in Mexico City out of the country. Mr. Castro is presumed to be angry that Mexico and Peru voted with the U.S. in favour of a resolution at the UN Commission for Human Rights condemning his government's repression of political dissidence.
Saturday 28 Feb 2004 PHILADELPHIA: U.S.-CANADA EMBARGO CASE ENDS IN COMPROMISE
The three-and-a-half-year-long case of a Canadian businessman accused
by the U.S. of violating its trade embargo against Cuba has ended in
a court in Philadelphia, Pa. Canadian James Sabzali received a year's
probation for having "smuggled" several thousand U.S. dollars worth
of material to the island. He was also fined $10,000 US. Mr. Sabzali
had originally been charged with 75 violations of the U.S. Trading
with the Enemy Act. He was also accused of one count of conspiracy
for having sold $3 million worth of water-purification supplies to
Cuba. If those accusations had not been dropped, the Canadian could
have been sentenced to a life sentence in prison and a fine of $19
million. Critics of the U.S. law in Canada say the embargo against
Cuba is an outrage because the Americans should not be allowed to
enforce U.S. law beyond that country's borders. The Canadian
government sent to Washington two diplomatic letters representing
that point of view. The U.S. prosecutors found Mr. Sabzali guilty
only of one offense committed while he was still a resident of
Hamilton, Ont., and dropped all the others supposedly committed while
he resided in Philadelphia.
Tuesday 17 Feb 2004 The United Nations High Commission for Human Rights has condemned the
conditions in which dozens of Cuban political prisoners are being
held. About 70 Cubans, including activists and journalists, were
sentenced last year to prison terms of as long as 28 years for
supposedly having conspired with the Americans against the government
of President Fidel Castro. The human rights commission says the
prisoners are frequently transferred from one jail to another so as
to keep them far from their families. The commission also says many
of them are being kept in solitary confinement to increase their
physical and moral sufferings. However, the commission also says the
U.S. economic embargo also violates Cubans' human rights. The
commission will formally turn over its report on the situation in
Cuba to the UN next month.
Wednesday Feb 2004 WASHINGTON: U.S. SANCTIONS CANADIAN FIRM BECAUSE OF CUBA
The U.S. treasury secretary, John Snow, has announced that financial
penalities will be imposed on 10 companies, one of them Canadian,
that violated the U.S. economic embargo on Cuba. The tourism
companies organized visits to the island that are forbidden under the
terms of the embargo. The Canadian numbered firm, 29-04-977,
organizes visits for Canadians to vacation in Cuba. It has offices in
Montreal and Quebec City. Mr. Snow explained on Monday that the
government of U.S. President George W. Bush wants to cut off the
sources of finance for Cuban President Fidel Castro's government. Mr.
Snow made his statements in Miami, Fla., a state vital for Mr. Bush's
re-election later this year.
Saturday Jan 24, 2004 bbc Cuba law tightens internet access
The Cuban Government introduces a new law making it impossible for many Cubans to access the internet.
Thursday Jan 22, 2004 The U.S. has accused the Cuban prison authorities of persecuting the
75 political dissidents arrested and sentenced last year in a
crackdown on dissidence. The U.S. state department has repeated
previous demands for the immediate release of the 75 prisoners. Some
of them are serving sentences as long as 20 years. The group of
prisoners includes journalists, human rights activists and
librarians. The department says one detainee was clapped into
solitary confinement for three months for having complained about how
prison guards treated his wife. The department says two well-known
dissidents, economist Martha Beatriz Roque and journalist Oscar
Espinosa Chepe, are in poor health and not receiving adequate medical
care. The department says Americans salute the jailed Cubans for
their courage and insist on Cuba's need for democratic change.
Sunday Jan 4, 2004 cc Marking 45 years of Cuban revolution
Declaring together they have written "an unprecedented page of history," Cuban President Fidel Castro gathered with several thousand members of the Communist party Saturday to celebrate the 45th anniversary of the revolutionary triumph that brought him to power.
2003
Wednesday Nov 5, 2003 bbc 
UN votes against US Cuba embargo
The General Assembly votes overwhelmingly for an end to Americas' 40-year-old blockade against Cuba.
The vote marks the 12th consecutive year that the assembly has called for an end to the blockade.
Only three nations voted against the motion - the US, Israel and the Marshall Islands. Two others abstained.
The US embargo was imposed on Cuba after Fidel Castro defeated a 1961 CIA-backed assault at the Bay of Pigs.
Monday Oct 13, 2003 cbc
BUSH AIMS TO WEAKEN CASTRO'S HOLD ON POWER
U.S. President George W. Bush said he will crack down on Americans
illegally travelling to Cuba in an effort to hasten the downfall of
Fidel Castro's regime.
OTTAWA: CANADA CONCERNED ABOUT U.S. MEASURES AGAINST CUBA RÉGIME
Canada's industry minister, Allan Rock, has expressed concern about
the measures announced on Friday against Cuba's Communist government.
Mr. Rock says he hopes the measures won't affect the many Canadian
businesses operating in Cuba. Earlier, Mr. Bush vowed to tighten
existing restrictions on Americans travelling to Cuba and to crack
down on illegal cash transfers to the island. He also announced the
creation of a U.S. committee to plan the end of communism in Cuba.
Mr. Rock says the Canadian government's concern will be that nothing
happens to impede the ability of the Canadian business community on
the island conduct its affairs normally. Canada froze diplomatic
relations with Cuba in 1999 to protest the treatment of dissidents by
the régime of President Fidel Castro. But relations were normalized
last November. Canada has for decades ignored the U.S. economic
embargo on Cuba. Bilateral trade two years ago was worth $756 million.
Friday Sep 19, 2003 A group of former eastern European leaders has formed a committee to
support democracy and the cause of Cuba's 300 political prisoners.
The idea for the International Committee for Democracy in Cuba came
from the former Czech dissident and president, Vaclav Havel. Its
other former leaders are Arpad Goncz of Hungary and Lech Walesa of
Poland. Other members are Madeleine Albright, a former U.S. secretary
of state; Adam Michnik a former Polish dissident; and a former
Russian dissident Elena Bonner. The three former presidents published
a letter in several European newspapers on Thursday in which they
denounce the "Stalinist" régime of Cuban President Fidel Castro. They
say that the régime shows signs of "weakness and desperation." It
also says the European Union policy of constructive engagement with
Cuba has failed because the régime has refused to change its
behaviour. The letter says the West should make it clear that Mr.
Castro is a dictator and that the West cannot accept a dictatorship
as a partner.
Tuesday Jun 24, 2003 A Cuban human rights group says Cuba's Supreme Court has maintained
most of the harsh prison sentences meted out to 75 political
dissidents by lower courts. The Cuban Human Rights Commission says
the country's high court has maintained the jail terms given to 50 of
them. The dissidents were given an average of 19 years in prison for
allegedly having conspired with the U.S. to overthrow the régime of
President Fidel Castro. The illegal group's president, Elizardo
Sanchez, says a 20-year-term given to poet and independent journalist
Raul Rivero has been upheld. The Commission says most of those jailed
are being held in isolation cells. Governments, international
organizations and Pope John Paul have called for the release of the
dissidents. The European Union has responded by limiting high-level
contacts between its countries and the island. Two weeks ago, Mr.
Castro said that if European embassies are being used for purposes of
subversion, the full rigor of Cuban law will be applied to the
diplomats in them.
Saturday Apr 26, 2003 ts Castro defends strict measures
Sunday Apr 20, 2003 The United Nations Human Rights Commission in Geneva has approved a
resolution calling on Cuba to accept a visit from a UN envoy to
monitor the human rights situation on the island. The resolution
embodied a decision by the Commission last year to send the envoy.
Cuba has so far refused to accept such a visit on the grounds that
the Commission would do better to concern itself with the human
rights situation of the terrorist suspects which the U.S. is holding
at its military base at Guantanamo Bay. The 56-nation Commission
rejected a stronger resolution containing an amendment proposed by
Costa Rica and supported by Nicaragua, Uruguay, Peru, the U.S. and
the European Union. The amendment called on the government of Cuban
President Fidel Castro to release 75 political dissidents who
recently received length jail terms.
Saturday Apr 19, 2003 Cuba says it won't accept a visit from an envoy mandated by the
United Nations Human Rights Commission. Cuba's foreign minister,
Felipe Pérez Roque, says Cuba won't co-operate with the illegal
resolution approved on Thursday by the Commission in Geneva. The
resolution called on Cuba to allow a French judge to visit the island
to assess the human rights situation there. This follows the recent
sentencing of 75 dissidents to jail terms as long as 28 years. Last
week, the Cuban authorities executed three hijackers of a ferry. Mr.
Pérez says the executions, while regrettable, were necessary to stop
hijackings and the beginning of a mass exodus to the U.S. state of
Florida. The minister added that the annual resolutions at the
Commission are engineered by the U.S. as a means of justifying its
decades-long economic sanctions and travel restrictions.
Saturday Apr 12, 2003 bbc Cuba ferry hijackers executed
Cuban authorities say three members of a gang who hijacked a ferry in Havana Bay have been shot dead. lots of good links
Friday Apr 11, 2003 
Cuba cracks down
Fidel Castro's regime feels threatened—by mounting domestic opposition as well as George Bush
In Cuba, summary courts gave prison sentences of up to 28 years to more than 70 dissidents rounded up last month, in the harshest crackdown by Fidel Castro's regime in years.
See Backgrounders | Recent Articles & Profile from the Economist.com
Monday Mar 10, 2003 cbc 
EU OPENS MISSION IN CUBA
In a bid to strengthen ties with Cuba the European Union has opened a
diplomatic office in Havana.
Sunday Mar 9, 2003 TORONTO: SHERRITT TO EXPAND IN CUBA DESPITE TAX DISPUTE
Sherritt International of Toronto says it will continue to expand its
oil and natural gas holdings in Cuba despite a disagreement with the
Cuban government over taxes. Last year, the government in Havana
challenged Sherritt's interpretation of how much tax the company
should pay, resulting in a tax rate of 29 per cent, compared with
only eight per cent the previous year. The Toronto firm says it will
nonetheless develop its energy holdings because oil is profitable
because of the current high world prices. Sherritt is also involved
in nickel mining, hotels, tourism and wireless phone service in Cuba.
Thursday Nov 7, 2002 rci UNITED STATES-CUBA
The United States has expelled four Cuban diplomats for spying. The
diplomats, who worked in Washington and at the United Nations in New
York, have until November 11th to leave the country. Officials with
the U.S. State Department consider the diplomats persona non grata
but refuse to say if they were involved with Ana Belen Montes. She's
the former U.S. defence intelligence officer who was sentenced last
month to 25 years in prison for spying for Cuba. The U.S. and Cuba do
not have diplomatic relations but maintain so-called 'sections of
mutual interest' in each other's capitals. The United States last
expelled a Cuban diplomat in February 2000.
Tuesday Nov 5, 2002 rci HAVANA:
CANADA AND CUBA ATTEMPT TO NORMALIZE RELATIONS
A top Canadian diplomat met with Cuba's Deputy Foreign Minister in
Havana on Monday. Denis Paradis is Canada's Secretary of State for
Latin America. He's in Cuba leading a delegation of Canadian
businesspersons exhibiting goods and services at the International
Fair of Havana. Mr. Paradis met with Fernando Remirez on Monday in an
attempt to normalize relations between the two countries. Canada
maintains diplomatic relations with Cuba, and rejects the U.S.
embargo in favour of a more constructive dialogue, but relations
cooled in 1999 when Canada protested the detention of four prominent
Cuban dissidents. All of the detainees have since been released,
although the last of the four was liberated only last Thursday. Mr.
Paradis is the most senior Canadian official to visit Cuba since
Prime Minister Jean Chretien inaugurated Havana's international
airport in 1998.
Saturday Nov 2, 2002 rci OTTAWA: CABINET MINISTER VISITS CUBA
For the first time in three years, a member of the Canadian
government will visit Cuba. Denis Paradis, the secretary of state for
Latin America, will start a five-day visit on Saturday. There has not
been such a high-level visit to the island since former Foreign
Minister Lloyd Axworthy paid a visit in 1999. Relations soured
between Canada and Cuba three years ago after Cuba ignored a appeal
by Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien in favour of four political
dissidents. The Canadian government responded by reducing the numbers
of high-level contacts between the two governments. Mr. Paradis will
have meetings with high-ranking Cuban civil servants and will
inaugurate an exhibit concerning the late Canadian Prime Minister
Pierre Elliot Trudeau, who was friends with Cuban leader Fidel
Castro.
May 19, 2002 cbc 
CASTRO WANTS CUBAN SOCIALISM FOREVER
Fidel Castro has responded to pressure for democratic reforms in Cuba by
announcing a petition campaign to make the island's socialist system
"untouchable."
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Saturday Jun 1, 2002 Cuban foothold for euro
Tourists visiting the Varadero beach resort are now free to spend in euros as Havana eyes Europe as a source of much-needed revenue.
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Tuesday May 21, 2002
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Cuba condemns Bush over embargo
The Cuban authorities react angrily after President Bush refuses to lift the US trade embargo against Havana unless it enacts deep reforms.
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Ileana Ros-Lehtinen
United States Representative
Republican, Miami, Eighteenth District of Florida
The first Hispanic woman elected to the United States Congress, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen was born in Havana, Cuba on July 15, 1952, and came to the United States with her family fleeing communist aggression when she was seven years old.
Ileana has played a key role in the passage of the Cuban Democracy Act and the Helms-Burton Law. The Congresswoman is widely regarded as an international defender of human rights and democracy.
May 8, 2002 -- MIAMI - Two South Florida members of Congress have asked President Bush to block Jimmy Carter's upcoming visit to Cuba, saying U.S. policy "does not authorize travel by former presidents seeking to appease anti-American dictators."
Reps. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Lincoln Diaz-Balart, both Republicans, wrote their letter in March, when news of Carter's proposed trip surfaced and before Monday's accusations by the Bush administration that the Fidel Castro regime was maintaining a biological-warfare program and possibly exporting bioweapons to other nations.
...Lehtinen also described Carter as "directly responsible for having brought to power the terrorist regime of the Ayatollah Khomeini in Iran."
Jamaica Backs Cuba-Caribbean Trade
..... "However, education and the fight for a free Cuba are my original priorities and the issues that inspired me to go to Congress in the first place."
...Ros-Lehtinen also continues to be outspoken in her defense of democracy and her opposition to Castro, and has criticized what she sees as President Bill Clinton's softening in Cuban relations. She also remains a supporter of immigration and bilingual education.
FEBRUARY 26, 1996 ... And Castro shot them down. And now we're going to sit down and negotiate with Castro? That's like negotiating with, with the Japanese government after Pearl Harbor! Come on, Jose, you still want tOWN and dine and listen to these people with their lies.
...In her new role, Ros-Lehtinen will continue to support Radio and TV Martí, a broadcasting service directed at Fidel Castro's Cuba.
....During this period of August 1967 to August 1968, 19 of our courageous servicemen were physically and psychologically tortured by Cuban agents working under orders from Hanoi and Havana. more
AfroCubaWeb
Google Ileana Ros-Lehtinen Cuba
May 21, 2002 nyt
Embargo Remains Until Cuba Alters Policy, Bush Says
Cuban-Americans in Miami cheered the president's refusal to lift an embargo against Cuba without substantial movement toward democracy.
Monday May 20, 2002 cbc
BUSH CONTINUES HARDLINE POLICIES AGAINST CASTRO
U.S. President George W. Bush marked Cuban Independence Day by
delivering details of a tougher stance against the island nation's
communist leader.
May 19, 2002 nyt Bush Faces Pressure From Congress to Alter Cuba Policy
As President Bush heads to Miami on Monday to lay out tougher travel restrictions on Cuba, a growing number of lawmakers are demanding that Cuba be opened up to tourism and trade.
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Monday May 20, 2002 Americas
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Bush rules out easing Cuba embargo
The US president stands firm on trade sanctions against Cuba - but is expected to propose the resumption of direct mail to the island.
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May 15, 2002 Wed1054 BUSH ADMINISTRATION NOT IMPRESSED BY CARTER SPEECH IN CUBA Jimmy Carter may have made history with his live, uncensored speech on
Cuban television, but his pitch made little apparent impact on leaders
in either Havana or Washington.
Monday May 13, 2002 cnn Cuba revisited by David Jones
It is pleasant from time to time to get back to verities beyond the eternal disputes over softwood lumber or farm supports. Instead, let us examine Canadian and U.S. differences on Cuba and how they occasionally roil our bilateral relations.
Monday May 13, 2002 cnn Bush prepares tougher stand against Castro
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- As former President Carter begins his historic visit to Cuba, hoping to ease tensions between Washington and Havana, President Bush is preparing to toughen his strategy for dealing with Cuban President Fidel Castro, CNN has learned.
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Lift Cuba embargo, Carter tells US
Former US President Jimmy Carter calls on Washington to end its 40-year trade embargo in an historic address to the Cuban people.
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Sunday May 12, 2002 Americas
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Cuba prepares red carpet for Carter
Former US President Jimmy Carter is due to arrive in Cuba on Sunday for a visit many hope will repair deteriorating US-Cuban relations.
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see detail
Sunday May 12, 2002 cnn
Carter hopes to improve U.S.-Cuba relations
HAVANA, Cuba (CNN) -- Former President Jimmy Carter tried to downplay expectations when he announced his trip to Cuba last month, saying he didn't expect the visit would change the Cuban government or its policies.
Saturday May 11, 2002 bbc
Castro hits back at US 'lies'
Cuban President Fidel Castro responds angrily to US accusations that his country is attempting to produce biological weapons
Friday May 10, 2002
Troubled relationship
Daniel Schweimler examines the complicated relationship between Cuba and the US
Tuesday May 7, 2002 nyt
Washington Accuses Cuba of Germ-Warfare Research
The Bush administration has accused Cuba of producing small quantities of germs that can be used in biological warfare.
Monday Apr 8, 2002 nyt
Cuba's PC dilemma
Few Cubans have their own computers and their sale is tightly controlled by the government.
Tuesday Mar 26, 2002 nyt
Bush Is Likely to Approve Carter Trip to Cuba
The White House said that President Bush would urge former President Jimmy Carter to press the Castro government for democratic reforms.
March 11, 2002 np Canadian in U.S. court over trade with Cuba
Canadian in U.S. court over trade with Cuba Could face life in jail Anne Marie Owens National PostTim Shaffer, National Post (JAMES) SABZALI: The U.S. Justice Department watched him for five years.. An Ontario businessman goes to trial in Philadelphia today on charges he conspired to trade with an ...
Sunday Jan 27, 2002 U.S. BEGINS REVIEW OF CUBA POLICY
The Bush administration has begun a review of U.S. policy on Cuba.
February 18, 2002 cu
Bush Hires Hard-Liners to Handle Cuba Policy
The Miami Connection
• The anti-Cuban Miami Mafiosi — the same groups that sponsored the crimes of Orlando Bosch and Luis Posada Carriles 40 years ago — charge with impunity for their electoral services by blackmailing both a president and a people
Sunday Jan 27, 2002 
Cuba 'to buy more US food'
Cuba wants to purchase more food and agricultural products from US companies, following historic shipments of food sent after a 2001 hurricane.
Sunday Jan 27, 2002 
Russia closes Cuba base
Four decades of Russian military presence on Cuba end with the dismantling of a Cold-War era listening post.
Tuesday Jan 22, 2002 bbc
Britain awaits Camp X-Ray report
British officials are due to present a report to ministers on the conditions of al-Qaeda suspects being held in Cuba.
Friday Jan 11, 2002 cbc
AFGHAN PRISONERS LEAVE KANDAHAR FOR CUBA
Under the watchful eye of specially trained guards - and human
rights agencies - the first planeload of Taliban and al-Qaeda
prisoners was on its way to a U.S. prison camp in Cuba on Thursday.
4/Nov/2001 
HURRICANE HITS CUBA, MOVES TOWARDS BIG RESORT
More than half a million people fled to higher ground in Cuba Sunday, as
a powerful hurricane picked up strength before finally smashing into the
island late in the afternoon.
Miércoles, 18 de abril de 2001 bbc 
La ONU censura a Cuba
La Organización de las Naciones Unidas invitó a Cuba a defender los derechos humanos en una resolución que provocó voces de victoria en todos los campos.
News
TV
Havana's black gold
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