- Cuba’s Enrique Barnet Premieres ‘Verde Verde’
- Concert by Omara Portuondo in Holguin
- Sympathy for Russia, Raul Castro
- Discapacitados de Cienfuegos por una mayor integración social
- Work of Holguin Writer Comes Back
- Holguin Player to int’l Friendly Matches
- Jury of Millions for the Cuban Five Needed
- Más de 2 000 títulos en Feria del Libro de Cienfuegos (+ Fotos)
- Hugo Chavez to Undergo New Surgery in Cuba
- Know Common Elements of a Residential Building in Cuba
- Baseball: Blue Team Continues Best Performance
- Valencia: Images of Repression
- Ricardo Alarcon: We Need a Jury of Millions for the Cuban Five
- Sostiene el sobresaliente la Agricultura Urbana y Suburbana en Cienfuegos (+ Vídeo)
- Cuba Makes Patent Registration Easier
- Significa Abel Prieto antihegemonismo de Premio ALBA
- Exponen patrimonio avileño en la Fortaleza de La Cabaña (+Fotos)
- Chávez: La operación será en La Habana (+Video)
- Murillo conversa con dirigente chino sobre Conferencia del Partido
- Raúl ofrece sus condolencias por la muerte de Vitali Vorotnikov
- Identifican compuesto vegetal que reduce consumo de alcohol
- Dialoga Lazo con líderes religiosos de la Isla (+Fotos)
- Rechazan propuesta que pide revisar política argentina sobre Malvinas
- ONU repudia anuncio sobre nuevos asentamientos israelíes
- Asistirá grupo cubano de teatro callejero a evento internacional
- Llegará mañana a El Salvador presidente de parlamento cubano
- Cuba ofrece condolencias por fallecimiento de exdirigente soviético
- Afirma Irán que países europeos negocian compra de petróleo
- ONU extiende mandato del tribunal especial para Líbano
- Chicago busca impedir manifestaciones populares ante próximas cumbres
Broadening his power base, Economy Minister Adel Yzquierdo Rodríguez added the title of vice president of the Council of Ministers to his job description.
The appointment by Raúl Castro and the Council of State elevates Yzquierdo, a 66-year old engineer, to a position equal to that of his predecessor and former boss, Marino Murillo, who became [...] Continue reading
Due mainly to declining sales in Cuba, Spain and Italy, sales of Havana Club rum stagnated during the first half of the 2011-12 financial year that ended Dec. 31, Pernod Ricard SA said in its half-year report.
The declines in Southern Europe and Cuba were compensated by sales growth in France, Germany and Russia. Reflecting zero percent [...] Continue reading
Vice President Marino Murillo, the chief coordinator of Cuba’s economic reform process, is scheduled to visit China Feb. 19-25, the Chinese foreign ministry announced, according to efe.
No details about Murillo’s schedule are available. A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman only said that, on the background of “deepening mutual trust,” his government hopes Murillo’s visit will “promote [...] Continue reading
Continuing the foray of Cuban state companies abroad, a Venezuelan joint venture of Havana-based Quality Couriers International S.E.A. agreed to build a resort in coastal Venezuela.
Socivireca C.A. signed a $5.3 million agreement with Venezuelan state company Venetur to build the Venetur Gran Caribe resort in 18 months, Venezuelan government news agency AVN reported.
The unusual project, [...] Continue reading
A conflict brewing over the exclusion of Cuba has thrown a wrench into the preparations for the 6th Summit of the Americas, to be held April 9-15 in Cartagena, Colombia.
In an initiative coming from an unexpected actor, Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa proposed at a summit of the 11-member ALBA bloc in Caracas last weekend to [...] Continue reading
As would-be golf resort developers in Cuba are entering the third year in a waiting loop, one of them, Britain-based Esencia Group, announced its fourth annual golf tournament in Varadero.
The Montecristo Cup & Esencia Cup Golf Tournaments 2012 will be held April 19-21 at the Varadero Golf Club.
Plans for four golf resorts collectively worth more than $1 [...] Continue reading
At the ALBA summit in Venezuela this weekend, President Hugo Chávez announced the elaboration of an economic framework — called EcoAlba — for the bloc, as well as the creation of a permanent secretariat, and two small nations officially gained full membership in the trade and integration agreement.
EcoAlba defines economic rules within the ALBA bloc, which “allows [...] Continue reading
Antonio Brufau, president of Spanish oil company Repsol YPF, was in Cuba for a two-day visit to check on recently started exploratory drilling in waters of the Florida Straits, efe reported.
According to company officials quoted by the Spanish news agency, Brufau visited the Sacarbeo 9 platform and met with Basic Industries Minister Tomás Benítez. The [...] Continue reading
Beginning what the country’s aging leaders expect to be a rejuvenation process and a transition of the Communist Party of Cuba away from economic micro-management, 811 PCC delegates met at the first Party Conference ever over the weekend at the convention center in Havana, to discuss internal changes.
The closed-door meeting of the sole political party [...] Continue reading
One the eve of a visit by the Brazilian president to Cuba, Brazil’s Grupo Odebrecht told several media outlets that a subsidiary will form a joint production agreement with state company Azcuba to operate a sugar mill in the province of Cienfuegos.
Although the production agreement is a notch below a direct investment, this is the [...] Continue reading
Talking to Tampa businesspeople Thursday, Rep. Cathy Castor (D-Tampa) reiterated her desire to visit Cuba sometime this year, to position Tampa as a gateway to the island and to express concern about oil drilling that began in Cuban waters this week.
If she indeed visits the island, this would make her the second sitting member of [...] Continue reading
Apparently struck by the economic crisis in Europe, revenues of Habanos S.A. dropped 10.3 percent in 2011, despite a 4-percent rise in sales of Cuban luxury cigars outside the European Union last year, Imperial Tobacco Ltd. said in its 2011 annual report.
The company had reported a 2-percent rise of Cuban luxury cigar sales for the six [...] Continue reading
Barely a month after a change at the helm of Sherritt International Corp., the Toronto-based company announced three executive-level appointments.
Effective Feb. 1, Michael Robins, currently deputy chief financial officer, was promoted to chief financial officer; Dean Chambers, who is currently chief operating officer, will be executive vice president, development; and Brian Tiessen, currently senior vice president [...] Continue reading
By José Manuel Pallí, Esq.
The lethal crumbling of the building at the corner of Infanta and Salud streets, in Centro Habana, puts an exclamation mark to the byzantine debate over whether the changes in Cuba are significant or not.
Some 15 years ago, in the midst of a wave of sympathy (close to mass hysteria) the [...] Continue reading
Continuing on a path of diversification away from Cuba, Toronto-based 360 Vox Corporation announced that a subsidiary entered a five-year asset management agreement for seven hotels in Canada and the United States.
Under the agreement, the company, formerly known as Leisure Canada, will work closely with owner Ivanhoe Cambridge to provide asset management services and oversee [...] Continue reading
Overcoming the objections of Fidel Castro, the Cuban government is beginning to consider large-scale ethanol production on the sugarcane-rich island, a Brazilian official said.
Investment opportunities for Brazilian companies in ethanol production in Cuba are about to open up, said Foreign Ministry spokesman Tovar Nunes after a visit of Foreign Minister Antonio Patriota to Cuba in [...] Continue reading
São Paulo-based Fanavid S.A. will set up a manufacturing facility at the Port of Mariel to supply Cuba, Brazil and the Caribbean region with glass, a Foreign Ministry spokesman in Brazil said after Foreign Minister Antonio Patriota returned from a visit to Cuba.
The plant will go up in the Special Development Zone at the port just west [...] Continue reading
By José Manuel Pallí, Esq.
In a recent interview, the director for technical development at Cuba’s National Housing Institute explained the reasons that led the Cuban government to modify the Housing Law last November through Decreto Ley 288/11. He emphasized the need to bring order and safety to the often-haphazard internal building activity (additions and expansions) [...] Continue reading
Avoiding direct bilateral contact, the United States will continue to work with Cuba through an international forum, the Department of the Interior said in a press statement.
“The United States is participating in multilateral discussions with the Bahamas, Cuba, Jamaica and Mexico on a broad range of issues, including drilling safety, ocean modeling, and oil spill [...] Continue reading
As she is completing her first year in power, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff is planning to visit Cuba late this month, Agência Brasil reported.
The South American power has become an important investor in Cuba over the past few years; Brazilian government loan guarantees are subsidizing an expansion and construction of a container terminal at the Port [...] Continue reading
As of the last week of December, 71 agreements for direct food sales have been signed between agricultural producers and tourism companies, official daily Juventud Rebelde reported.
In an effort to substitute food imports and stimulate private farming, the government passed a decree on Dec. 2 that opened the window for agricultural cooperatives and private farmers [...] Continue reading
The Conference of Catholic Bishops of Cuba announced that Pope Benedict XVI will be in Cuba March 26-28.
According to the official announcement, the Pope is scheduled to arrive in Santiago de Cuba in the early afternoon of March 26 by plane from Mexico. He will be welcomed by Raúl Castro, by members of the episcopal [...] Continue reading
Trying another tool in the effort to close the island’s huge housing gap, the Cuban government announced it will directly subsidize homeowners who want to build, expand or renovate their home.
According to decrees published in the Gaceta Oficial Jan. 4, municipal governments will pay subsidies to low-income homeowners for the purchase of construction material and [...] Continue reading
Following an experiment since 2010 with barbershops and beauty salons that allowed employees to lease the businesses from the state companies that used to operate them, the government published three decrees that allow individuals to rent space and tools from state retail companies to operate a variety of private businesses.
The decrees, effective Jan. 1, maintain [...] Continue reading
After months of silence surrounding a crackdown against corruption that has swept up at least four foreign companies, the government will put some of its cards on the table.
In a speech before the National Assembly, President Raúl Castro announced that the 115 members of the Communist Party Central Committee during a meeting scheduled for Dec. [...] Continue reading
The Cuban government is planning for 3.4 percent growth of the gross domestic product in 2012, Economy Minister Adel Yzquierdo told the national assembly.
According to Yzquierdo, tourism revenues are expected to jump more than 15 percent next year. Growth will also be helped by increased sales of building materials and food import substitution with domestic [...] Continue reading
Cuba’s pharmaceutical and medical exports could benefit from a decision by the just-formed Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) to centralize the purchasing of its member nations’ government healthcare systems.
The 12 member nations decided to consolidate their medical purchasing, Rafael Follonier, coordinator of the UNASUR presidency, announced in a speech in Argentina.
“In little time, in [...] Continue reading
By José Manuel Pallí, Esq.
What is it the Cuban authorities are trying to achieve by reforming the island’s land title recording system? It is clear that they want Cubans to record their socialist “personal” property rights over housing with the Registro de la Propiedad, perhaps to solidify those rights in the face of future claims [...] Continue reading
Venezuela agreed to put Cuba in charge of medical purchases for an expansion of the South American country’s pharmaceutical industry, Telesur reported.
One of 12 health-related agreements signed during a meeting of the bilateral commission in Havana puts the Cuban government in charge of purchases for the construction of pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities in the South American [...] Continue reading
The Cuban government is encouraging foreign companies to invest in non-nickel mining and alternative energies on the island, official business weekly Opciones said, citing the Centro de Promoción del Comercio Exterior y la Inversión Extranjera de Cuba (CEPEC).
While nickel has evolved into the biggest export commodity over the past 15 years, Cuba is struggling to return [...] Continue reading
Squashing a sniper attack from a handful pro-embargo Congresspeople, a broad coalition that included President Barack Obama, a Tampa Congresswoman, the Senior Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, a Miami business group, the Cuban American National Foundation, charter companies, dissidents in Cuba, and liberal foreign-policy advocacy groups in Washington was able to force the removal [...] Continue reading
With more than two weeks of high season left for the year, the number of visitors to Cuba broke the previous annual record of 2.531 million on Dec. 13, the Tourism Ministry announced in a press release.
Meanwhile, Cuba’s main beach destination, Varadero, welcomed visitor No. 1 million on Dec. 15, one week earlier than in [...] Continue reading
In a sign that economic interests are softening the Florida delegation’s once-unanimous hardline stance on Cuba, a Tampa representative in Congress is firing against an intent to reverse a recent easing of travel restrictions.
Democratic Rep. Kathy Castor, in a letter sent on Dec. 13, urged the members of a House-Senate conference committee to eliminate from [...] Continue reading
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