Chronicle on Cuba - February 2007

Foreign Affairs

February 1: Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said that Cuba's Fidel Castro has visibly improved, describing how the ailing Cuban leader has gained weight and is walking around and studying. "A notable improvement," Chavez said, describing Castro's condition when the two met recently in Havana. "He has gained several kilograms, and I think he is walking about more than me, analyzing, studying," Chavez said at a news conference in Caracas. (AP, 1/2/07)

February 1: Reporters Without Borders issued its 2007 annual press freedom survey. The survey reports on press freedom in 98 countries and includes the main violations of journalists’ rights in 2006 and regional aspects of media and Internet freedom. “The report lists the worst violations in repressive countries, including major culprits North Korea, Eritrea, Cuba and Turkmenistan, but also looks at democracies, where progress needs to be made too,” the organisation said. [Cuba: Annual Report 2007] (RWB Press Release, 1/2/07)

February 2: A high court ruled in favor of a Cuban dissident who was recently deported from Bolivia for criticizing President Evo Morales, saying a law prohibiting foreigners from involvement in the Andean country's politics is unconstitutional. Cuban doctor Amauris Sanmartino, currently in exile in Colombia, said he has not decided whether he will return to his home in the Bolivian city of Santa Cruz, 340 miles east of La Paz, where he was arrested in December for publicly decrying Morales' close ties to Havana. "Justice has been slow, but has now arrived," Sanmartino told Bolivian television from Colombia, where he had been flown upon his deportation in January. Morales administration officials declined to comment on the court's decision, saying they had not yet received a copy of the ruling. (AP, 3/2/07)

February 3: One year after their arrival in Bolivia, Cuban doctors have made 3,370,000 consultations, and saved the lives of 4,300 people, a Cuban diplomat revealed in La Paz during a meeting of solidarity with the island. During his address to the Congress of the Bolivian Movement of Solidarity with Cuba, the counselor minister of the Cuban embassy, Danilo Sanchez, said that, at present, there are 1,721 Cuban health workers throughout Bolivia. He also said these experts have assisted 3,730 births, noting a decrease in infant mortality rate. Over 4,600 surgeries have been performed and 197,000 medical examinations have been done in the 20 integral hospitals donated by Cuba, Sanchez added. Operation Miracle, a Cuban-Venezuelan Project providing free eye operations, has also contributed to important results, with 61,146 people having benefited so far. (Prensa Latina, 3/2/07)

February 3: Iran opened one of its nuclear sites to a large number of local and international reporters and a delegation of foreign ambassadors in an effort to show the transparency of its program before a United Nations Security Council deadline this month. Delegations from the Non-Aligned Movement, Group of 77 and League of Arab States arrived at the Isfahan Uranium Conversion Facility in central Iran with nearly 100 reporters. The delegation included representatives from the United Nations nuclear agency from Algeria, Cuba, Egypt and Malaysia, though none were official inspectors. (The New York Times, 3/2/07)

February 5: The 9th International Meeting on Globalization and Development Problems started in Havana, attended by 170 economy specialists of the economy and other social scientists from some 40 countries and hundreds of Cubans. According to experts, the meeting, that will last four days, is aimed at analyzing and exchanging current advances and challenges facing the economy and world society, specifically in Latin America and the Caribbean. Representatives of international and regional organizations from the UN, World Trade Organization, World Bank, the Latin American Economic System, the Latin American Integration Association, the International Monetary Fund and Inter-American Development Bank are expected to attend this event. (Prensa Latina, 5/2/07)

February 5: Reporters Without Borders condemned the detention of journalist Ramón Velázquez Toranso of the independent news Libertad, who has been held in the provincial prison in the eastern province of Las Tunas since his arrest on 23 January and who went on hunger strike on 30 January. Around 40 journalists have been detained, attacked or threatened, some of them several times, since Raúl Castro took over as acting president six months ago. “The occasional hint of an opening under Raúl Castro’s interim regime has not been translated into any progress in press freedom,” Reporters Without Borders said. “Independent journalists continue to be subjected to harassment and violence by State Security. All Velázquez did was peacefully demonstrate for more freedom of expression.” [25th Journalist Arrested] (RWB Press Release, 5/2/07)

February 6: Cuba and Argentina became part of the 58 countries that signed the UN Convention against people of forced disappearance, in a ceremony held in the Quai d’ Orsay palace of Paris. Cuban Ambassador to France Rogelio Sanchez participated in the ceremony, while First Lady Cristina Fernandez and Foreign Minister Jorge Triana were the attendees on the Argentinian side. "In the Working Group negotiations, held before the Convention, as part of this process, our country had an active role in the framework of the Latin American and Caribbean Group", the Cuban ambassador said. "The Convention is of great significance for many countries, especially all those that have deeply suffered that scourge, and especially some in Latin America", Sanchez highlighted. (Prensa Latina, 6/2/07)

February 6: Forty-five writers from 22 countries have received Hellman/Hammett grants this year in recognition of the courage with which they face political persecution, Human Rights Watch said. The Hellman/Hammett grants, administered by Human Rights Watch, are given annually to writers around the world who have been targets of political persecution. Miriam Leiva, from Cuba, received one of the Awards. Leiva, a journalist, is one of the founders of Damas de Blanco (Ladies in White), a group of wives and mothers of imprisoned dissidents. She was in charge of the international section of the magazine De Cuba, published by a group of independent journalists, which has been shut down in the face of threats of arrest by the security police. After the crackdown in the spring of 2003, many Cuban journalists stopped writing or would not sign their names, but Leiva continued to write critical articles and sign all her work. She drafted most of the Damas de Blanco declarations, despite being followed, watched, and threatened by the Security Police. (HRW Press Release, 6/2/07) 

February 6: A government group has shelved conference plans at a Hilton hotel following suggestions that the US chain will not accommodate delegates from Cuba at its UK branches. The House of Commons Scottish Affairs Select Committee is boycotting the Dundee Hilton, where it was scheduled to meet later this month. Member Ian Davidson MP said it was decided at a meeting that it would not be appropriate to stay at the hotel following comments made by a Hilton spokeswoman in London, who indicated that Cubans may be barred from staying in their UK hotels as part of the US embargo against the communist country. Linda Bain was responding to reports that an Oslo hotel owned by the chain refused a booking by a Cuban trade delegation last month. Norwegian trade unions and anti-racist organisations are said to be boycotting the hotel chain until the policy is changed. The Scottish Affairs Committee now plans to demonstrate its opposition by booking another venue for its meeting at the end of the month. (Scottish Press Association, 6/2/07) 

February 6: The Organization of American States Secretary General, Jose Miguel Insulza, said he hoped the lack of dialogue with Cuba is only temporary recalling that the majority of OAS members have bilateral relations with the island’s government. The Secretary General said that the island “has bilateral relations with the majority of the OAS members, so I hope that the lack of dialogue about or with Cuba is only a temporary situation. We cannot help the people of Cuba if we cannot talk to them.” He stressed that it is the government of Cuba—“not the people and country of Cuba”—that has been excluded from active participation in the OAS since 1962. (OAS Press Release, 7/2/07)

February 7: Cuba will deport reputed drug kingpin Luis Hernando Gomez Bustamante to Colombia, which plans to extradite him to the United States, a government official told the press. The Colombian official said Gomez was expected to arrive in Bogota on February 8 and would be held at its heavily fortified chief prosecutor's office compound before being extradited to the United States. An extradition order has been signed, the official said. Gomez, an alleged top boss of Colombia's Norte del Valle cartel known by his alias "Rasguño," is wanted on a US indictment in New York on drug trafficking, racketeering and money-laundering charges. He has been held in Cuba since his 2004 arrest at a Havana airport on charges of carrying a false passport. He had fled Colombia after Washington offered rewards of $5 million each for the South American country's top drug traffickers. (AP, 7/2/07)

February 8: Fidel Castro's health has improved following a post-intestinal surgery period in which the aging revolutionary icon temporarily stopped eating, Venezuela's ambassador to Cuba said. Ali Rodriguez Araque said Cuban officials observing Castro have seen "a significant improvement in his health, even his appearance," which was clear from footage of a recent meeting between Castro and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez — one of the 80-year-old Cuban leader's closest allies. "He's improving progressively. The problem is that at first he didn't ingest food, now he is ingesting food and that has helped him significantly," Rodriguez told Venezuelan state television. Rodriguez Araque said he expected the situation in Cuba would remain normal when Castro dies. "I think there's been much preparation for a situation of this type," he said. (AP, 8/2/07)

February 8: Energy and development were on the table at the Ninth International Economists Meeting on Globalization, attended by over 1,500 delegates from 55 countries. The sessions included speeches by Venezuelan Deputy Energy Minister Bernard Mommer on natural resources and sovereignty, and John Saxe Fernandez, from the Mexican Autonomous University, on Mexico-Cuba relations, homeland security, integration and energy colonialism. Malay Chandra Muzaffar, president of the International Movement for a Fair World, will talk on how to control natural resources, mainly oil, and Venezuela ambassador to Cuba Ali Rodriguez, also former OPEC general secretary, on energy integration in the ALBA. Other issues included international cooperation and development, and new guidelines for development in the Caribbean. (Prensa Latina, 8/2/07)

February 8: The Inter-American Press Association condemned the latest conviction and jailing of a journalist by Cuba's 48-year-old Communist regime and called on Havana to release all of the 27 independent reporters the press group says are held there as political prisoners. The Miami-based organization, which seeks to promote respect for freedom of expression throughout the Western Hemisphere, commented on the case of Ramon Velazquez Toranso.  Velazquez, who worked for the not-officially-recognized Libertad news agency, was arrested on January 23 along with his wife and the couple's daughter. The women were later released, but Velazquez was convicted in summary proceedings on the charge of "constituting a social danger" and jailed.  The press group said the reporter had suffered harassment from state security forces throughout 2006, and that his principal "offense" lately appears to have been taking part, along with his wife and daughter, in a peaceful march for human rights on December 10. Velazquez has been on a hunger strike in jail since January 30, according to the IAPA. (EFE, 8/2/07)

February 8: Havana accused the Czech Republic and other European countries of planning "a new conspiracy" against Cuba, within which the EU group wants to take "a position of intervener" again, the Cuba daily Granma wrote. This "latest trick," mainly initiated by the Czech Republic and assisted by "convert" countries such as Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Lithuania and Slovenia, is aimed to achieve "a joint agenda" through which they would "undermine the independence and sovereignty of the people of Cuba," the paper wrote. But Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg rejected the allegations. "The Czech Republic is naturally not preparing any coup against Cuba. We consider the speculation an attempt to divide European countries before the approval of the EU medium-term and long-term strategy towards Cuba," Schwarzenberg told the press. It is a clear effort to prevent the strategy from being approved, he said. The support for human rights and political freedoms in Cuba is part of the Czech Republic's foreign policy, Schwarzenberg said. (CTK, 8/2/07)

February 8: The debates on the polemic reform of the United Nations Security Council started in New York with strong criticism by Cuba, who regarded the Security Council as a "frozen structure." The composition and working methods of the Security Council "do not reflect the realities of the world of today, and do not adequately represent the members of UN," Cuban Ambassador Rodrigo Malmierca said. (Prensa Latina, 8/2/07)

February 10: India's Minister of State for External Affairs Anand Sharma will co-chair the Indo-Cuban Joint Commission Meeting in Havana. The Joint Commission will review and expand cooperation in areas such as Information Technology, Biotechnology, Energy, Sports and Science and Technology. Cuba has recently awarded two off-shore oil blocs to India's oil company, ONGC Videsh Ltd. Besides this, OVL has got 30 percent share in six more off-shore blocs in a Consortium led by the Spanish oil company, Repsol. Indian biotech companies, Biocon and Panacea, have established joint ventures to produce vaccines using Cuban technology. The minister will hold talks with the foreign minister of Cuba and other cabinet ministers. (IRNA, 10/2/07)

February 11: In an interview published by the newspaper “O State of Sao Paulo”, Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim affirmed that lifting the embargo imposed on Cuba 45 years ago by the United States would be the best way to contribute to the democratization of the island. "Lifting the blockade would be the best course of action to assist in the re-democratization process, without losing sight of the achievements of the Cuban Revolution and without hurting the national pride of the Cuban people," said the head of the Brazilian diplomacy. Last week, Amorim held consultations in Brazilia with US Under-Secretary for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns. When the interviewer asked if Burns was concerned about any influence that Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez might have on the transition in Cuba, Amorim replied, "I’d be concerned if anyone tried to intervene, even the Cuban exiles." "The process of transition in Cuba, which I do not know how quickly or in what fashion will occur, is a task to be undertaken exclusively by the Cubans," he said. "Cuba’s friends can assist so that there is always dialogue with other countries," but Cubans "do not like mediators, not even to facilitate a dialogue with the United States," he added. (AFP, 11/2/07)

February 12: Thousands of Cuban doctors and other medical personnel working in President Hugo Chávez's popular health clinics in poor neighbourhoods have left Venezuela, according to Cuban doctors and Venezuelan health volunteers. Though some 15,000 remain, the departures have forced the government to close many of the clinics, severely disrupting the “Barrio Adentro” program -- Inside the Barrio -- that many say helped Chávez win a recall referendum in 2004 and a resounding reelection December 3. ''They began to remove them eight or 10 months ago,'' said Judith Aponte, coordinator of the volunteer neighborhood health committee in the Caracas barrio of Santa Eduwigis. “It's not clear why the Cubans left, though some Cuban doctors still here say those who left had fulfilled their three-year assignments. Hard facts about the program are often elusive. Even the pro-Chávez government ombudsman, Germán Mundaraín, complained in a December report that it was ''very difficult to obtain up-to-date information on spending figures and health indicators'' related to the program. ''The information is managed by Cuba, not by Venezuela,'' says María Elena Rodríguez, who coordinates health research for the independent human rights group Provea, ``When we asked for cost figures last year, [the Venezuelan health ministry] said, `If you get that information, please send it to us!''' The doctors' departure is not believed to be connected to the defections of several of the Cuban medical personnel. Nearly 50 such defectors are reported to be living in Colombia while awaiting US visas. (The Miami Herald, 12/2/07)

February 12: The head of the Organization of American States said he is open to a dialogue with Cuba, which was expelled from the body more than 40 years ago. OAS Secretary-General Jose Miguel Insulza told a news conference in the Peruvian capital, Lima, that the body should initiate "at least a significant dialogue with Cuba," since many OAS member countries maintain diplomatic relations with the island nation. "I'm not calling for Cuba's return to the OAS (...) but it seems to me that the OAS should get involved in at least initiating a significant dialogue with Cuba." "The sooner the better," Insulza said of potential talks, alluding to the fact that OAS members do not need to wait until Fidel Castro's death to discuss the country's possible return to the body. Cuba was expelled from the OAS in 1962 after member nations said its communist regime went against OAS principles. (AP, 13/2/07)

February 13: The deputy speaker of the British Parliament, Sylvia Heal, called for improved European relations with Cuba that were upset by human rights concerns in 2003. "We hope that the European Union will continue to work with the Cuban government so that there will be improvement in some things that have been a little difficult," Heal, a Labour Party MP, told the press during a four-day visit to Havana.  She urged Brussels to build on common ground with Havana. "That's the important thing, that we maintain a dialogue," she said before a lunch meeting with Ricardo Alarcon, president of Cuba's National Assembly. (Reuters, 13/2/07)

February 13: Reporters Without Borders took issue with comments by Cuban communications minister Ramiro Valdes describing the Internet as a “tool for global extermination” and as a “wild colt” that needed to be tamed. Valdes also insisted that, if few Cubans were online, this was due to a US embargo that prevented Cuba from have decent Internet connections. In RWBs’ view, it is in fact due to the Cuban government’s desire to control the flow of information throughout the country. An investigation carried out by RWB revealed that the Cuban government uses several mechanisms to ensure that the Internet is not used in a “counter-revolutionary” fashion. Firstly, the government has more or less banned private Internet connections. To visit websites or check their e-mail, Cubans have to use public access points such as Internet cafes, universities and “Youth computing centers” where it is easier to monitor their activity. Then, the Cuban police has installed software on all computers in Internet cafes and big hotels that triggers an alert message when “subversive” key-words are noticed. (RWB Press Release, 13/2/07)

February 13: India and Cuba renewed bilateral science and technology agreements and reviewed their relations during a visit by Indian Foreign Minister Anand Sharma. "The economic relations with Cuba are going very well, but they will go even better," said Cuban Vice President Carlos Lage, who cautioned however that the deals would not lead to "spectacular leaps" in bilateral relations. Lage said Sharma's trip represented "the traditionally friendly and fraternal relations that have always existed between Cuba and India." Sharma headed an Indian delegation to an intergovernmental meeting that opened in Havana the previous day. On the opening day, Sharma underscored "his country's willingness to increase economic and cooperation relations" with Cuba "to raise them to the rank of the political relations," the Cuban official newspaper Granma said. (AFP, 13/2/07)

February 13: President Felipe Calderon's administration has held discussions with Cuba on improving relations after a series of diplomatic spats in recent years, Mexico's foreign secretary said. "Mexico has a border with the Caribbean and it is a top priority to relaunch dialogue and political understanding," Patricia Espinosa said in a speech before the Senate. "With Cuba, we have had diplomatic contacts with the aim of promoting a rapprochement." (AP, 13/2/07)

February 13: The government of Nicaragua restored diplomatic relations with Cuba by swearing in Ambassador Luis Cabrera, after a nearly 17 year-long political hiatus between Managua and Havana. Foreign Minister Samuel Santos swore in Ambassador Cabrera as his representative extraordinary and plenipotentiary before the government of Cuba. (Notimex, 13/2/07)

February 14: Barbados will strengthen its ties with Cuba in the areas of education, sport, health care and in the response to natural disasters. That is according to ambassador of Cuba, Pedro Roque, who made a courtesy call at the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) headquarters. According to Roque, the free eye operations for Barbadians will continue, and at this stage, Cuba is selecting a team to come to Barbados to test patients in March or April of 2007. Addressing the concern that some people have had complications due to the eye surgery, Roque said this was the exception to the rule. "If we are receiving 200 000 patients in Cuba, about 40 or 50 will have a problem." The Cuban ambassador also mentioned that talks are ongoing about the possibility of introducing into Barbados a programme to study and speak Spanish called "Yes, I can". "This is a Cuban programme that can be presented by the radio, television and it is free. We have the books, videos -- all of the materials which will be given to the Ministry of Education -- here," the Cuban ambassador said. (Barbados Advocate, 14/2/07)

February 14: A delegation from Belarus visiting Cuba held working meetings with the top management of the Cuban institute of radio and television, where they discussed avenues and forms of cooperation. The meetings were a follow up of an agreement signed in November 2006 in Minsk by the two parties. The Belarusians provided Ernesto Lopez, the president of the Cuban institute, with insight into the activity of the Belarusian national TV and radio company. The sides agreed to exchange TV programs on various topics, to make programs about Belarus and Cuba on their respective channels, to provide each other with urgent news in a timely manner, to tap into the potential of the satellite channels Belarus-TV and Cubavision Internacional for transmitting TV sketches about life in Cuba and Belarus, to buy each other’s TV series, exchange reporters and specialists, to hold Days of Belarusian and Cuban television and radio and other events. (BelTA, 14/2/07)

February 14: Cuban daily Granma reproduced the text of a resolution passed by the Spanish Communist Party (PCE) denouncing European Union attempts to interfere in Cuba’s internal affairs. The paper set aside two complete columns on one of its international pages for the document released by the PCE Executive Committee, highlighting EU complicity with the US government. Sponsored by the Czech Republic, the European Union decided to elaborate "a long and medium term strategy" on Cuba, which follows the Plan Bush patterns, including a secret section similar to that elaborated in Washington, the text reads. The document points out the White House has been working on the creation of a group called "Group of friends of a democratic Cuba," composed of the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Lithuania and Slovenia. (Prensa Latina, 14/2/07)

February 14: Visiting Canadian and US chefs highlighted the Cuban traditional cuisine, during a 10-day tour of several provinces. During a meeting with members and directives of Cuba's National Culinary Association, the visitors said they found delightful and magnificent dishes and very creative and high-skilled cooks on the island. The 15-member delegation called for the strengthening of bilateral relations among Canadian, US and Cuban cuisine professionals, Trabajadores newspaper reported. The US and Canadian visitors were awarded the Culinary Friendship Award by the The Chef's House, a social institution in the Cuban capital. (CAN, 14/2/07)

February 15: North Korean Leader Kim Jong-il received a congratulatory message from the First Vice-President of the Council of Ministers of Cuba Raul Castro Ruz on the occasion of his birthday. The message said: “Please accept my warmest congratulations sent to you on behalf of the Cuban government and the Communist Party of Cuba and the Cuban people on your birthday. It gives me great pleasure to most sincerely wish you success in your work to lead the heroic Korean people linked with the Cuban people by the ties of fraternal solidarity. (KCNA, 15/2/07) 

February 15: The Czech Foreign Ministry has selected 17 projects aimed at the support of human rights and civil society in Belarus, Cuba, Iraq, Georgia, Myanmar, Serbia and Moldova, the ministry told the press. The Foreign Ministry this year allotted 20 million crowns for these projects that are designed to support democracy. The concrete sums that will go to finance individual projects and that will range from hundreds of thousands to millions of crowns will still be a subject for discussion, the ministry said. It is certain that the Institute of Documentary Film will receive a ministry grant for the project named Documentary Cuba as well as the non-profit People in Need society that prepared projects aimed at Cuba and also Moldova and Myanmar. (CTK, 15/2/07)

February 16: Canada is prepared to draw on its long relationship with Cuba to act as a "bridge" between Washington and Havana in the post-Castro era, Michael Wilson said. Wilson, who is approaching his first anniversary as Canadian ambassador in Washington, said he is acting on a mandate from Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who wants Ottawa to become more active diplomatically in the Western Hemisphere. "That's our neighbourhood," Wilson said. He said Canada has developed relations not only with officials in Fidel Castro's government, but also members of the island's fragmented opposition groups, and Ottawa has pushed Havana to release political prisoners and open its economy. Canada can also draw on its business investments and tourism spending in Cuba to curry influence, the former Conservative cabinet minister said. "We have a dialogue, and that is different from the United States because they have nothing like this type of dialogue," Wilson said. "Because of that dialogue, we have an understanding of how Cuba thinks. We also have an understanding of how Washington thinks. Cuba sees us as a North American country with which they can have some sort of dialogue.” "We can build a greater understanding between the two countries." (Toronto Star, 17/2/06)

February 19: The first group of 27 Pakistani students arrived in Cuba and 368 more will also follow them, education official Dr S Mehmood Raza said. The statements were made during an orientation session for students who want to study in Cuba, organised by the Pakistani Higher Education Commission (HEC). Gustavo Machín Gomez, ambassador of the Republic of Cuba, was the chief guest on the occasion. Addressing the students, the Cuban ambassador said that Cuba had offered 1,000 medical scholarships to Pakistani students, adding that the students would receive education from medical institutes recognised by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and related international organisations. “Pakistani students will receive the best medical education and will be among the 27,000 other international students belonging to around 120 countries studying in Cuba,” he said, adding, “it is the first time Cuba is going to receive Muslim students and the people and government of Cuba are excited about this.” (Daily Times, 19/2/07)

February 19: The Ladies in White, an organization comprising relatives of Cuban political prisoners, congratulated Germany's Hans-Gert Poettering for being chosen as speaker of the European Union's legislature with the conviction that his "continued support" will help them achieve their goals. "We are pleased to congratulate you on your well deserved election as president of the European Parliament," the Ladies in White said in a letter released in Havana. "We are convinced that with your continued support we will achieve our goals. Receive our best wishes for success in your responsible position, and for your personal good health and good fortune," the letter said. Poettering, a Christian Democrat elected as parliament speaker last month, spoke out against the January 2005 suspension of the political sanctions the EU had imposed on Havana after the arrests and imprisonment in Spring 2003 of 75 peaceful Cuban dissidents and the execution of three would-be ferry hijackers. (EFE, 19/2/07)

February 19: Cuba, whose doctors have experimented with dozens of alternative treatments, is training Panamanian therapists in the medical use of hypnosis, the government news agency AIN reported. The agency said that 80 Panamanians graduated from courses held in the Central American country under a program with Cuba's Higher Institute of Medical Sciences, based in the eastern city of Santiago. Cuba's best-known researcher in the field, Alberto Cobian, has said that hypnosis can be useful in treating stress, bronchial asthma, sexual dysfunction and some types of skin diseases, as well as offering some anesthetic effects, the agency reported. (AP, 19/2/07)

February 21: The first eight power generators donated by Venezuela to Nicaragua have been successfully installed and will be shortly linked to the national power grid thanks to the collaboration of Cuban and Venezuelan specialists. Gabriel Alvarado, one of the technicians overseeing the installation, said that the generators work perfectly after long-duration tests. The plants, which have a potency of 2.3 megawatts each, were installed in the district of Las Brisas, northwest of the capital. Another 22 power plants will be installed in Los Brasiles, in the municipality of Ciudad Sandino. Cuba-Venezuela cooperation with Nicaragua is part of agreements subscribed in the framework of the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (ALBA), an initiative promoted by Presidents Hugo Chavez and Fidel Castro to promote regional integration and solidarity and as an alternative to free trade agreements. (CAN, 21/2/07)

February 21: More than a hundred Cuban doctors are in Bolivia assisting the victims of heavy rains and floods caused by the El Niño weather phenomenon that have been lashing the country over the last days. Cuban ambassador to Bolivia Rafael Dausa said the Cuban doctors are assisting the evacuated people and victims of the natural disaster. He said the doctors will stay in Bolivia as long as needed. The Cuban health experts were located in rural and indigenous communities, in the eastern departments of Santa Cruz and Beni, and El Chaco in Cochabamba. (CAN, 22/2/07)

February 22: During a meeting with journalists, Cuban ambassador to Austria Norma Goicochea criticised the Czech Republic saying it is one of the EU countries that pursues "the EU's Latin American strategy that is close to the USA," the Austrian news agency reported. She said that Cuba is afraid that the US Administration of President George W. Bush is planning to topple the Cuban regime and that it wants to engage the EU in it. Goicochea said that the Czech Republic is the leading force of the EU countries that want to push through the EU a Cuban policy close to the USA. She said that the EU governments siding with the United States support a strategy that disrespects the Human Rights Charter and the right to self-determination and sovereignty of states, and bears clear signs of interference. Besides the Czech Republic, these countries include, Hungary, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia, Goicochea said. Cuba accused EU countries of preparing a new plot against the "island of freedom" in early February already. (Czech Happenings, 22/2/07)

February 23: The press watchdog group Reporters Without Borders denounced a decision by the Cuban government to withdraw the accreditation of two foreign correspondents and not grant an entry visa for a third. Cuba ordered Cesar Gonzalez-Calero, the Spanish correspondent of Mexico City daily El Universal; and Gary Marx, a reporter with the Chicago Tribune to leave the country and denied a visa to BBC correspondent Stephen Gibbs, the Paris-based group known by its French initials RSF said in a statement. "When the Cuban authorities are not cracking down on Cuba's independent journalists, they target foreign correspondents. The reasons for these expulsions are clear," RSF said. "The Cuban regime is hard put to understand that the press is not a propaganda tool. It should realize the foreign media is not there to please any government, any more than Cuba's own media should be." (EFE, 24/2/07)

February 25: Nicaragua and Cuba will increase cultural exchange, particularly in the areas of literature and arts and crafts, reported the Cuban Minister of Culture, Abel Prieto, who concluded a visit to the Central American country. Prieto, who received the Order “Rubén Darío” for Cultural Independence from the Nicaraguan President, Sandinista leader Daniel Ortega, avoided elaborating about these exchanges. (EFE, 25/2/07)

February 26: Fifty nine prisoners of conscience who remain imprisoned since the spring of 2003 sent a letter to the President of the European Parliament, Hans-Gert Pöttering, asking that the institution intensify demands for their freedom. The letter to Pöttering was announced by independent economist Oscar Espinosa Chepe, condemned to 20 years in prison in 2003, and one of the few who are serving their sentence under house arrest according to the terms of a provisional release. (EER, 26/2/07)

February 26: The human rights arm of the Organization of American States opened two weeks of sessions that will total 49 hearings -- including five on Venezuela and one on Cuba that will be held behind closed doors. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) also will hold hearings on complaints brought by individuals and nongovernmental groups against the Colombian, Brazilian, Haitian and US governments. (The Miami Herald, 26/2/07)
 
February 26: The international representative of the Cuban opposition coalition Arco Progresista, Dirk Van den Broeck, from Belgium, was expelled from Cuba last February 21 when he attempted to enter the country via the Varadero airport. Dirk Van den Broeck, who is also secretary of the international association Cuba-Europa en Progreso, was making his 15th trip to Cuba since 1999. (EER, 26/2/07)

February 27: Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki met with Cuba's Foreign Trade Minister Raul De La Nuez Ramirez who is currently visiting Tehran to attend an international conference on the position and role of Latin America. During the meeting, Mottaki pointed to the two countries' joint political stances concerning the different world developments and stressed the need for increased cooperation between Iran and Cuba in the economic sector, a statement released by the Iranian Foreign Ministry's Information and Press Bureau said. He further noted the two countries' high economic potentials, and said that Iranian companies can transfer their experiences to Cuba in many fields such as damn, refinery and power plant construction, and auto manufacturing. The minister further described formation of the joint economic commission as facilitator of the two sides' economic ties, and voiced Tehran's preparedness to take giant steps in developing mutual economic cooperation. For his part, Ramirez, who has also taken the trip to Tehran to endorse the two countries' preferred trade agreement, pointed to the two countries' common stances in the face of international issues, and described the organization of the Latin America conference as a valuable initiative by Iran. (FARS News Agency, 27/2/07) 

February 28: The 6th Hemisphere Conference against Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) and pro Peoples Integration will be held in Havana on May 3-5. The gathering is promoted by the Hemispheric Social Alliance and its Cuban branch, which brings together men and women of all races in the continent to discuss alternatives to present free trade options, to fight foreign debt, militarization, and unfair World Trade Organization policies. (CAN, 28/2/07) 

February 28: Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque arrived in Tegucigalpa where he will sign bilateral cooperation agreements, and inaugurate an ophthalmologic hospital donated by the Cuban government. In a press release, the Honduran chancellery said the Cuban official is expected to meet with President Jose Manuel Zelaya, and his counterpart, Milton Jimenez. Perez Roque’s agenda also includes a visit to the community of Villa de San Francisco, about 12.4 miles east of Tegucigalpa, where he will inaugurate the mentioned hospital, the note added. The minister will also meet with members of the Cuban medical brigade in Honduras. As many as 300 Cuban doctors are currently working in the country, while about 1,000 Honduran students are being trained on the island. This is Perez Roque´s second visit to the Central American country, with the first one in December 1998. (Prensa Latina, 28/2/07)

February 28: A delegation of the Cuban Communist Party, headed by Fernando Remirez de Estenoz, chief of the International Relations department of the Cuban Communist Party, arrived on official visit in Beijing, China's capital. On his first day in Beijing, Remirez held talks with his counterpart Wang Jiarui, member of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, Prensa Latina reported. The two party officials discussed topics related to cooperation between the two political organizations and reviewed the current situation in the two countries. (CAN, 28/2/07)

February 28: A Cuban dissident who was recently deported from Bolivia for criticizing President Evo Morales plans to relocate to Norway, his wife said. Cuban doctor Amauris Sanmartino, currently in exile in Colombia, was arrested in December in the Bolivian city of Santa Cruz, 340 miles east of La Paz, for publicly decrying Morales' close ties to Havana. Despite a recent Bolivian court decision that overturned his deportation and allowed him to return to Bolivia, Sanmartino and his Bolivian wife, Normina Chavez, have decided to accept an offer of asylum from Norway. ''We're happy,'' Chavez told the press. ''To tell you the truth, we applied to other countries as well, but we know that Norway offers a good situation.'' Sanmartino was deported under a 1996 law that forbids foreigners from ''intervening in any way in internal politics or inciting the alteration of the social or political order.'' (AP, 28/2/07)

February 28: Reporters Without Borders voiced surprise at the 22-month prison sentence which Roberto de Jesus Guerra Perez, a correspondent of the Miami-based Payolibre and Nueva Prensa Cubana websites and the US government-funded Radio Marti, received from a Havana court on a charge of "disturbing the peace”. RWB said it hoped the 19 months he has already spent in detention will be deducted from the time he has to serve. "Such a severe sentence for 'disturbing the peace' is in itself surprising," Reporters Without Borders said. "Guerra was held for 19 months without being charged before being tried. We obviously hope this long period already spent behind bars will be discounted from his sentence and that he will be released soon."  The organization added: "Prior to his arrest, Guerra was repeatedly harassed because of his journalistic activities, and the peaceful demonstration in which he took part on 13 July 2005 was just used as a pretext for imprisoning him." (RWB Press Release, 28/2/07)

February 28: Cuba’s State Council designated Pedro Ross as Ambassador to Angola, official daily Granma reported. Ross was former Secretary General of Cuba’s Workers Union (CTC), since 1990 until last September when the 19th CTC Congress elected Salvador Valdés Mesa as Ross’ substitute. (AFP, 28/2/07)

February 28: Fidel Castro received Venezuelan Minister of Energy, Rafael Ramírez. Ramírez was heading the Venezuelan delegation to 7th Mixed Intergovernmental Commission. According to Cuban news agency Prensa Latina, the meeting coincided with Castro’s thirty-minutes conversation with president Hugo Chávez during the Venezuelan TV broadcast of “Hello President”. (AFP, 28/2/07)

February 28: Honduras named its first ambassador to Cuba in 45 years, completing the restoration of diplomatic ties with the communist-run island that were severed during the Cold War. ''Today, we have sealed our relationship with Cuba,'' said President Manuel Zelaya following a two-hour meeting with visiting Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque. Zelaya announced that Juan Ramon Elvir will be sent to Havana as Honduras' ambassador. Honduras broke off diplomatic relations with Havana in 1962, when Cuba was expelled from the Organization of American States. It renewed formal relations with the island in January 2001, but did not name an ambassador until now. In recent years, some ties between the two countries -- like medical services -- have increased. About 340 Cuban doctors have served in this Central American country, and around 500 Hondurans study medicine in Cuba. (AP, 1/3/07)