Chronicle on Cuba - September 2008

US-Cuba Relations

September 1: Members of the United States men’s team will come home from the World Cup qualifying match with an uncommon souvenir: a stamp in their passports from La República de Cuba. The United States national team has not played in Cuba since 1947, when it lost, 5-2, in Havana. (In 1991, a United States under-21 team participated in the Pan American Games in Cuba.) An economic, commercial, travel and financial embargo imposed on Fidel Castro’s Cuba in February 1962 remains in effect, to varying degrees, and American citizens still face travel restrictions. “Obviously, it’s a unique situation for all of the history,” Sunil Gulati, the president of the United States Soccer Federation, said in a telephone interview. The 20-player United States team is gathering in Miami, where it will train at Barry University before boarding a charter flight to Havana on September 4. The team will train in Cuba the next day, play the game on September 6, and return home immediately after the match (The New York Times, 1/9/08).

September 3: Senator Barack Obama called on President Bush to lift US travel for and other restrictions on family remittances, visits and humanitarian care packages to Cuba because of damage to the island country for 90 days because of Hurrican Gustav. “I wish to express my deepest sympathies for those affected by Hurricane Gustav, particularly the untold number affected in Cuba, who face the daunting task of reconstructing their lives with the weight of the failed Castro regime on their shoulders,” said Obama in a statement. “This is a time when the Cuban people – not (Fidel) Castro – need and deserve American compassion and assistance. Make no mistake – the embargo must remain, and I strongly oppose any aid to the Castro regime,” said Obama. “The Cuban American community stands ready to directly assist their family members in this time of need. A failed Bush administration policy, however, stands in the way of moral and necessary aid,” he added. Raul Martinez, the former Hialeah mayor now running for Congress as a Democrat against Miami-area incumbent Republican Representative Lincoln Diaz-Balart, also called for a temporary suspension of the restrictions in a separate statement, because of the damage in Cuba from Hurricane Gustav is heavy and Cubans need help (Washington Bureau, 3/9/08).

September 4: Cuba said it will appeal to the US Supreme Court part of a lower court decision against five Cuban agents who have been imprisoned nearly 10 years on espionage charges. Cuban Parliament President Ricardo Alarcon said lawyers would ask the nation's highest court to reverse a decision upholding sentences against two of the men, one sent to prison for 15 years and the other for life. "We're going to appeal to the Supreme Court of the United States, to the World Court, to the interplanetary court (…) to fight against this infamy," he said in a news conference. Alarcon, point man for Cuba's US policy, said the US 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta, Georgia, had denied Cuba's most recent attempt to have the convictions overturned. The sentences for the other three agents were earlier found to be excessive and sent back to a lower court for review, which the Cubans will not appeal. The men, known in the island as the "Five Heroes," were sent to the United States to infiltrate exile groups opposed to the Cuban government, the Cuban Government says. In 1998, they were arrested and accused of being unregistered agents of the Cuban government, and in one case of conspiring to murder members of the exile group, Brothers to the Rescue (Reuters, 5/9/08).

September 4: The United States State Department said that it had offered humanitarian aid to Cuban victims of Hurricane Gustav, provided that it went through relief organizations and not the government of President Raúl Castro. “The US government informed the Cuban government that we’re prepared to offer hurricane assistance to the Cuban citizens,” said Heide Bronke, a State Department spokeswoman. “We’ve made the offer, but we haven’t heard from them yet.” All six Cuban-American members of Congress have called for the Bush administration to aid victims of the storm, which tore through the western province of Pinar del Río and the Isle of Youth over the weekend, causing what the Cuban government estimates to be billions of dollars in damage. The offer from the United States, which was made through the Cuban Interests Section in Washington, calls for an initial $100,000 in emergency aid. The State Department also offered to send disaster experts from the United States Agency for International Development to Cuba to assess damage. Initial estimates by the United States put the number of Cubans affected by the storm at 500,000. Whether Cuba would accept such assistance from Washington remains to be seen. The countries have a long history of animosity when it comes to disaster aid (The New York Times, 5/9/08).

September 4: Several South Florida organizations mobilized to ship money and supplies to the victims of Hurricane Gustav in Cuba, Haiti, and other Caribbean points. Deepening local concern about the death and destruction wreaked by storms in both countries underscored once again the profound links that exist in South Florida between expatriates and their homelands -- and the complicated politics that even humanitarian aid can ignite. Jewish Solidarity and Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul urged people to make contributions and said they have plans to ship supplies to Cuba as soon as feasible. Catholic Charities announced plans to provide financial aid to hurricane victims on several Caribbean islands (The Miami Herald, 5/9/08).

September 6: Clint Dempsey scored late in the first half and the United States held on to beat Cuba 1-0 in a sloppy and low-energy World Cup qualifier, the Americans' first match on the island since 1947. Half of the lights at rain-soaked Pedro Marrero Stadium went out in the 86th minute, causing a brief delay. Afterward, Cuba nearly tied it after a free kick, but US goalkeeper Tim Howard came up big. The US, trying to qualify for South Africa 2010 for its sixth straight World Cup, took the lead in Group One of the semifinals in the North and Central American and Caribbean region. Cuba's last World Cup was in 1938 (AP, 7/9/08).

September 6: Cuba politely declined a US offer to send a disaster assessment team to the island after Hurricane Gustav, saying it would rather Washington suspend restrictions on travel and the sale of food and other materials it needs to recover. Cuba's Foreign Ministry did not mention some US$100,000 in humanitarian aid that Washington offered to send through nonprofit groups, along with the assessment team. It said in a statement that it appreciated the US government gesture recognizing the destruction that Gustav caused. The Cuban statement was released as forecasters predicted another powerful hurricane, Ike, will likely sweep across the length of the island. "Today when the country's east already is under storm alert with the threat of Hurricane Ike, just as powerful as Gustav, Cuba affirms that in reality the only correct, ethical (action) ... would be the total and definitive elimination of the harsh and cruel economic, commercial and financial blockade applied over nearly a half century against our nation," the statement said (Declaración del MINREX; AP, 6/9/08).

September 7: US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said that it would be unwise for Washington to lift an embargo against Cuba, despite its pleas following Hurricane Gustav. Cuba spurned an offer from the US to send hurricane victims $100,000 in aid through relief organizations and said on Saturday that the United States should instead sell it relief supplies and allow food sales on credit. Rice said US President George W. Bush had made clear that Washington would be "responsive" to the Cuban regime if it was prepared to free political prisoners and had a process for free and fair elections, among other reforms. "We see nothing that suggests that has come about. What we can't do is to have the transfer of power from one dictatorial regime to another. That is not acceptable," she said during a visit to Morocco. "I don't think that in the context of what we see now that the lifting of the embargo would be wise," she said (Reuters, 7/9/08).

September 9: The United States is reaching out to help Cuba in the wake of Hurricanes Gustav and Ike despite Havana's rejection of an earlier offer to send assistance, the US State Department said. The State Department said Washington had reiterated its offer to send a humanitarian assessment team to Cuba in response to Hurricane Ike. "Our offer to send a team in the wake of Hurricane Ike remains on the table," the State Department said. The State Department said the United States was providing $100,000 in immediate emergency assistance to nongovernmental organizations responding to Hurricane Gustav. Washington has increased authorizations for US-based aid groups to provide larger amounts of humanitarian assistance, including cash donations, to help the Cuban people, the State Department added. The department said Washington also would expedite applications of up to $10 million per donor for up to 90 days (Reuters, 9/9/08).

September 10: US Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez said the United States is being frustrated in attempts to provide aid for victims of Hurricanes Gustav and Ike by a Cuban government intent on playing politics. Instead of accepting the offer, Cuba has said it would be more helpful if the United States dropped its 46-year-long trade embargo against the island. Cuba's talk of the embargo "obviously seems to have the ring of politics overriding the needs of the people" and "has nothing to do with humanitarian aid," Gutierrez told the press in a telephone interview from Washington. "We believe we could be of great help to the Cuban people, but the offer was rejected, and it's very frustrating because we want to help," he said. The United States has said it is providing $100,000 in emergency assistance and requested that the Cubans let it send in a team to assess what further help is needed. There have been calls in the US Congress for the Bush administration to temporarily lift its limits on remittances and travel to Cuba so that people in the United States can help storm-stricken family members in Cuba. But Gutierrez said, "That's not something we believe is relevant to this." "It seems like we're being put in a position whereby we can be accused of not helping because the regime in Cuba doesn't allow us to help," Gutierrez said (Statement by Carlos Gutierrez; Reuters, 10/9/08).

September 10: Cardinal Francis George, speaking as President of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), has asked the US government to lift its ban on remittances and travel to Cuba in a letter to President George W. Bush. “In light of the devastation and humanitarian disaster caused by recent hurricanes in Cuba and the efforts of extended families, friends and organizations to reach those in need, I urge you to suspend – even temporarily - Treasury and Commerce Department restrictions and licensing requirements for humanitarian travel and remittances by American citizens and assistance by not-for-profit organizations,” Cardinal George wrote. “At times of crisis, there are simple and basic acts of charity on which people rely,” he continued. Saying the United States can be “rightly proud” of its tradition of humanitarian assistance, the cardinal urged that everything be done to facilitate relief efforts, whether through private donations or organizations like Catholic Relief Services. “Removing restrictions on remittances and travel to Cuba are a necessary step which I urge you to take without delay,” Cardinal George wrote (CNA, 10/9/08).

September 11: Cuba has turned down US storm relief handouts, but is asking for trade restrictions to be lifted so it can buy American materials to assist in its recovery from Hurricane Ike, officials said. "Cuba hasn't asked the United States government to give it anything," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement published in the Communist Party newspaper Granma. "Simply that it lets us buy." The Foreign Ministry said it has for the second time turned down a US government offer to send a disaster assessment team to the island, insisting that Cuban experts are capable of assessing damage wrought by Ike when it ravaged the island this week. Cuba says it wants some US trade restrictions lifted instead, so it can buy American roofing and other construction materials to repair homes and the island's damaged electrical grid. It also wants the US to allow lenders to give credits to help Cuba buy US foods, which law already permits Americans to sell to the island (Statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; AP, 11/9/08).

September 12: The American Red Cross is committing $1 million from its International Response Fund to support the disaster relief efforts of the Red Cross in Cuba in response to the devastation caused by two consecutive hurricanes. Nearly 400,000 people remain in shelters and the agricultural sector is severely damaged. "The situation in the Caribbean, particularly in Cuba and Haiti, is desperate and our hearts go out to the people impacted by the recent calamities," said David Meltzer, senior vice president of international services at the American Red Cross. "The infrastructure has been hit hard," says Jose Reyes, disaster management delegate in Cuba for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. "In addition, about one-third of the population was evacuated during the storms and 30,000 houses were destroyed and 320,000 houses were affected." A cargo plane carrying emergency kits for 3,300 families already arrived in Cuba from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies' regional disaster unit in Panama. More supplies will be transported as needed (PRNewswire, 12/9/08).

September 13: As damage estimates continue to mount in Cuba, the US government has responded with expedited licenses for agencies that provide humanitarian aid. Several local groups reported getting new licenses in recent days at a faster pace than usual.  The US government also increased the amount of cash that groups with existing authorizations could send to Cuban storm victims. Despite those changes, the embargo can spook individuals who are otherwise inclined to help. Tom Cooper, of South Florida's Gulfstream Air, has agreed to help Jewish Solidarity and another local charity take food and powdered milk to Cuba. His company operates daily charter flights to the island, but is uncertain about taking relief shipments. His lawyers are checking on whether the company is allowed to deliver aid supplies. Several aid groups say that once goods reach Cuba, they move through a relatively swift distribution system. Catholic Charities, for example, is using local donations to purchase 40,000 pounds of beans, rice and canned goods for the island. The goods are turned over to Catholic Relief Services, the US church's international relief and development arm. That agency has a license to ship humanitarian items, and is currently preparing at least five containers for Cuba. In Havana, workers from Caritas Cuba, a charity church branch, will meet the shipment when it arrives. Government trucks distribute the aid. ''Things have gone relatively smoothly as long as we inform the government we are coming,'' said Lynn Renner, Catholic Relief Services' Caribbean representative. ``The government has assured Caritas that everything that comes into the country will be distributed immediately on a fast track (..) because the needs are tremendous right now'' (The Miami Herald, 13/9/08).

September 14: The Cuban government asked Washington for a six-month reprieve on embargo rules that prohibit the communist country from making purchases from American companies, saying devastation from Hurricanes Gustav and Ike make it critical. Washington and Havana have been embroiled in a diplomatic dispute over hurricane aid since Hurricane Gustav smashed into western Cuba on August 30. Washington offered $100,000 and a humanitarian assessment team, and the Cuban Foreign Ministry answered by saying what it needed was purchasing credits. Havana sent a second, more harshly worded note when Washington made the same offer after Hurricane Ike devastated eastern Cuba. The statement released on September 11 called US Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutiérrez a hypocrite, and said US diplomats were cynical liars. But this new diplomatic note takes a much softer tone. ''The Cuban Interests Section in Washington wishes to communicate to the government of the United States that our country cannot accept a donation from the country that blockades us, although it is willing to purchase the indispensable materials that the North American companies export to the markets, and requests authorization for the provision of same, as well as the credits that are normal in all commercial operations,'' the statement said. ``If the government of the United States does not wish to do so permanently, the government of Cuba requests that at least it do so during the next six months, especially if the damage caused by Hurricanes Gustav and Ike is taken into account, as well as the fact that the most dangerous months of the hurricane season are still ahead.'' There was no immediate response from Washington (Nota del MINREX; The Miami Herald, 14/9/08).

September 15: The US State Department said it regretted that Cuba has rejected its offer of up to 5,000,000 dollars in aid for the victims of Hurricanes Gustav and Ike. Washington "informed the Cuban government (on September 13) that the US is committed to providing up to five million dollars in relief assistance for Cuban hurricane victims," Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters. The US government "could fly emergency relief supplies to Cuba as soon as they, the Cuban government, authorize such assistance," he added. On September 14 "the Cuban government informed us that they would not accept a donation from the United States," McCormack said. "And our reply was that we regret that Cuban authorities have not accepted this offer of humanitarian assistance for the Cuban people," he said (AFP, 15/9/08).

September 16: A civilian aircraft was ready to be loaded with supplies to help residents of this hard-hit province and fly out of Miami, but Havana rejected the US humanitarian assistance offer -- repeating that what it really needs is a temporary suspension of the trade embargo. Assistant Secretary of State Thomas Shannon called the offer made to Cuban diplomats ''unique and unprecedented,'' because in the interest of speeding up delivery, the US government was prepared to turn over up to $2 million in plastic sheeting, hygiene kits, blankets and other items directly to the Castro government -- an exception Washington was willing to make because of the extreme humanitarian need. The initial flight loaded with $348,000 in goods was part of a $5 million aid package the Cuban government shunned, saying in a statement that it cannot accept help from a ``government that blockades them.'' Henrietta Fore, director of the US Agency for International Development, told reporters that about $3 million in cash will make its way to the storm-wracked island anyway through various nongovernmental organizations, earmarked for some 35,000 hurricane victims. ''This was a genuine offer,'' Fore said in a conference call with reporters. ``We knew of the dire need. This was an important, serious offer of humanitarian assistance. We are hoping the Cuban government will reconsider'' (Press Statement by the State Department; The Miami Herald, 16/9/08).

September 16: The American Red Cross is committing $1 million from its International Response Fund to support the disaster relief efforts of the Red Cross in Cuba in response to the devastation caused by two consecutive hurricanes. Nearly 400,000 people remain in shelters and the agricultural sector is severely damaged. "The situation in the Caribbean, particularly in Cuba and Haiti, is desperate and our hearts go out to the people impacted by the recent calamities," said David Meltzer, senior vice president of international services at the American Red Cross (Medical News Today, 16/9/08).

September 17: Hundreds of Cuban writers, musicians and artists are asking the US to ease trade restrictions and speed the import of food and building supplies to help the island rebuild after Hurricanes Ike and Gustav. The two storms caused US$5 billion in damage as they ripped across Cuba this month. A letter addressed to the world's artists and intellectuals was signed by musicians Silvio Rodriguez, Pablo Milanes and Chucho Valdes, writers Miguel Barnet and Roberto Fernandez Retamar, dancer Alicia Alonso and painter Roberto Fabelo, among others (AP, 17/9/08).

September 17: Bypassing its trade embargo on communist Cuba, the United States announced approving 250 million dollars in "farm sales" to Havana after Hurricanes Gustav and Ike devastated Cuba's crops. The licenses for agricultural sales, which include food and construction materials, were approved after Ike lashed Cuba a week ago and "wood, a material essential to rebuilding, is included," read a State Department communique delivered to reporters at the US Interests Section in Havana. State Department officials in Washington regretted that Cuba rejected up to five million dollars in aid for the victims of Hurricanes Gustav and Ike. After being hit hard by two hurricanes in less than two weeks, desperate Cuba last week urged Washington to ease its trade embargo to allow US firms to open private lines of credit for food imports to the cash-strapped island of more than 11 million people. The bilateral breakthrough "is more or less what they (the Cubans) are asking for, not credit because our law does not permit it. That will have to be through third parties. The license includes food and wood," a US diplomat in Havana told the press (AFP, The Globe and Mail, 17/9/08).

September 17: The US Secretary of Commerce visited South Florida to speak about the US government's offers to help people in Cuba who are victims of hurricanes Ike and Gustav. During his visit to the National Hurricane Center, Carlos Gutierrez focused on what the US is doing to help hurricane victims in Cuba. "We are ready with a planeload of materials that would have been in Havana or wherever they would tell us to send it within 36 hours," Gutierrez said. "They rejected that offer." Hurricanes Gustav and Ike have brought some of the biggest blows to Cuba, which is only 90 miles from the US, so far during this hurricane season. After touring the National Hurricane Center, Gutierrez said aid has been offered repeatedly to Cuba, but it was turned down. First, the Cuban government did not like the idea of a US assessment team coming in to survey the damage, so another deal was put on the table. "Five million dollars without the condition of having to send an assessment team. We did something that's frankly unprecedented," Gutierrez said (Local 10, 18/9/08).

September 17: Cuba, devastated in recent weeks by two powerful hurricanes, has too much dignity to accept aid from the United States, former leader Fidel Castro said in a column published the official media. He said the United States had done billions of dollars in damage to Cuba with its 46-year-old trade embargo against the island and does not understand "that the dignity of a people has no price." Cuba suffered $5 billion in damages from hurricanes Ike and Gustav, but the government has rejected offers of up to $5 million in US aid. "If instead of five million they were one billion, the answer would be the same," wrote Castro. "The wave of solidarity with Cuba, that encompasses countries big and small, with resources and without, would disappear the day that Cuba quit being dignified," Castro said (Playing the Good Guy Role At Our Expense?; Reuters, 17/9/08).

September 18: Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque presented a draft resolution in Havana that will be subjected to approval by the UN's General Assembly on October 29. The motion is entitled "The need to put an end to the economic, commercial and financial blockade of the United States against Cuba." Perez Roque said Washington's more than 50-year-old blockade is the main obstacle hindering development in the country and is making it more difficult for the Cuban people to recover from the devastation that resulted from the hurricanes Gustav and Ike (Report on UN Resolution 62/3; ACN, 18/9/08).

September 18: Cuba accused the US government of lying about its aid to the island following hurricanes Ike and Gustav and said the 46-year-old US trade embargo against Cuba is hurting recovery from the storms. Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque said the Bush administration was conducting "a propaganda operation" to make it look like it was helping the island after the storms caused $5 billion in damage. The United States has said it gave $100,000 in aid for Cuba and accelerated the approval of $250 million in agricultural sales from US companies. It also offered $5 million in aid that Cuba rejected, saying it would not accept US help due to the embargo imposed a few years after the now ailing Fidel Castro took over the island in a 1959 revolution. Perez Roque, in a news conference, said the licensing of agricultural sales, permitted under the embargo, was routine procedure and did not represent aid because Cuba pays in cash for what it buys from US farmers. "To try to present this process and the licenses they say they've granted in recent days as proof of their willingness to cooperate is really a coarse manipulation," he said. As for the $100,000, "we don't have the slightest idea where they've distributed this money nor have we asked for it." He also said the United States had exaggerated when it said in a recent statement that private US groups gave $61 million in humanitarian aid to Cuba last year. The actual amount, Perez Roque said, was $6.1 million. He said the number of US nongovernmental organizations operating in Cuba had dropped from 160 before the Bush administration took office seven-and-a-half years ago to 21 (Conferencia de prensa de Pérez Roque; Reuters, 18/9/08).

September 18: According to an article carried by the official press, Cuban leader Fidel Castro accused the US government of cynicism and spreading lies for claiming that it had granted 250 million dollars’ worth of agricultural licenses as humanitarian aid to Cuba following the havoc wreaked by two hurricanes. "The government of that country presented to the world an authorization for the sale of food and lumber, as if it was a new decision linked to the disaster caused by hurricanes Gustav and Ike. A total joke," sneered Castro in comments made on the government-sponsored Web forum Cubadebate. Castro claimed that the US State Department used "the same lie twice" when it declared that it had green-lighted 250 million dollars in agricultural sales to the island, including lumber (Twice the Same Lie; AFP, 18/9/08).

September 20: Solidarity actions in favor of the five Cubans held in US jails, like the recent concert in New York and other demonstrations, help raise awareness about the case, though millions of Americans still need to know about it, said Cuban Parliament President Ricardo Alarcon. In statements to the Cuban News Agency, Ricardo Alarcon said “we are quite far from talking about what can be described as a massive solidarity movement in the Unites States. Unfortunately millions of Americas do not have the slightest idea of what happened in Miami, while the demonstrations that took place around September 12 were not practically covered by the mass media” (ACN, 20/9/08).

September 21: US Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez released a statement regarding the United States' fourth offer to send humanitarian aid to Cuba. “Our most recent offer was in direct response to the Cuban government's plea for construction materials. In addition to our previous offers, USAID is prepared to deliver, via air and sea, building supplies and shelter kits that could provide temporary and permanent housing that will help 48,000 Cubans”, the statement says. " We understand the difficulties caused by such devastating storms and we want to give the people of Cuba the materials needed to begin to recover. We hope the Cuban government will consider our genuine offers of assistance and that the best interests of the Cuban people will come before political differences. The United States stands ready to provide relief to the Cuban people." The latest aid package includes aircraft filled with 8,000 Family Emergency Shelter and Emergency Household Kits, followed by a shipment of supplementary material to include: zinc roofing and lumber for residential repair to complement the 8,000 Family Emergency Shelter Kits (Statement by Secretary Gutierrez; US Department of Commerce Press Release, 21/9/08).

September 22: The democratic candidate for the presidency of the USA, Barack Obama, expressed his interest in "easing" the restrictions on remittances sent by Cuban-Americans to relatives on the island. The democratic candidate said that the freedom of the Cuban people is a matter of national interest and that is why pressure must be put on the president of that country, Raúl Castro, and his Government to obtain the release of all political prisoners and promote political freedom, of expression, of the press and worship. To achieve that, it is necessary that the USA moves toward a new age of different politics that allows to advance into the 21st century and not to remain in the 20th. We can start by easing the restrictions on the remittances sent by relatives of the Cubans and also lifting travel restrictions so that the Cuban-Americans can visit their families in the island with more frequency," he elaborated. However, he made it clear that he will maintain the embargo on the Caribbean island -- for leverage in case a direct negotiation takes place -- until there is a clear sign that there is political freedom in Cuba (EFE, 22/9/08).

September 22: Cuban Parliament President Ricardo Alarcón praised the increasing worldwide solidarity with five Cubans imprisoned in the United States. Alarcon started a visit to Venezuela as part of a campaign to free the Cuban Five, as these men are internationally known. “The struggle in favor of the Cuban Five has not stopped. Now, we are going to have two legal battles that will take place almost simultaneously: one in Miami and the other before the US Supreme Court,” he noted. The Cuban official said that, after a decision made by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta earlier this year ratifying the sentences against Gerardo Hernandez and Rene Gonzalez, the only solution is to appeal to the Supreme Court. “Otherwise, there would be no solution, in particular for the situation of Gerardo, whose sentence of two life terms was ratified,” Alarcon said. As to Ramón Labañino, Antonio Guerrero and Fernando Gonzalez, the  President of the Cuban Parliament recalled that their cases have been sent back to Miami where they will receive new sentences (ACN, 23/9/08).

September 23: The Cuban government has not officially responded to Washington's latest no-strings offer to provide $6.3 million in light construction materials to benefit hurricane victims. Havana has rejected three previous offers. The US State Department told Cuban diplomats in Washington on September 19 that the US Agency for International Development (USAID) was ready to send $6.3 million in corrugated zinc roofs, nails, tools, lumber, sheeting and light shelter kits by ship to benefit some 48,000 people hit by back-to-back devastating hurricanes. But speaking at a New York church on September 22, Cuba's vice president said Washington can keep making its proposals, but what it should really do is lift the trade embargo. ''They will continue making proposals,'' First Vice President José Ramón Machado Ventura said at a speech in Manhattan. ``If they really want to help the Cuban people, why don't they lift the embargo? They try to say that Cuba is trying to sacrifice its own people for politics when the most politicized thing is the blockade.'' Havana has already turned down flights full of disaster relief supplies and has not responded officially to the latest offer from Washington (The Miami Herald, 23/9/08).

September 24: Federal authorities are investigating how a Cuban migrant headed for the US died from a head injury. Customs and Border Protection officials intercepted three boats carrying 33 Cuban migrants and 7 alleged smugglers in the waters south of Key Largo late on the night of September 23. Coast Guard authorities boarded the boat shortly after and discovered that one of the migrants - an adult man - had a severe head injury. A helicopter airlifted the man to the Opa Locka airport, where waiting paramedics pronounced him dead. The other 39 people, including the alleged smugglers, are on board Coast Guard cutters while federal authorities investigate (AP, 24/9/08).

September 24: Without ever pronouncing the two words ''United States,'' Cuba's First Vice President José Ramón Machado Ventura condemned Washington, telling the leaders gathered at the United Nations that the country's quest for fast money at the expense of the poor was to blame for the world crises currently threatening the ``existence of mankind.'' Speaking at the UN's 63rd General Assembly, Machado Ventura said Washington's manipulative trade policy stifled growth around the world. ''Fabulous fortunes cannot be wasted while millions are starving and dying of curable diseases,'' Machado Ventura said. ``For a large part of the nonaligned nations, the situation is becoming unsustainable. Our nations have paid and will continue to pay the cost and consequences of the irrationality, wastefulness and speculation of a few countries in the (…) north.'' ''The rise in oil prices is the result of irrational consumption, strong speculation and imperial war adventures,'' he said in his remarks. Machado Ventura also repeated his country's demand that the US end its decades-long trade embargo. He only obliquely referred to the latest US offer of about $6 million in humanitarian assistance to help those suffering after Hurricanes Gustav and Ike tore through the country. ''Cuba has asked for no gifts from the United States government. It has simply asked and asked again that it be allowed to purchase in the United States the materials that are indispensable for the reconstruction of homes and power grid and that US companies be authorized to grant Cuba private commercial credits to buy food,'' he said (Address by Machado Ventura at the UN General Assembly; The Miami Herald, 25/9/08).

September 24: US Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez released the following statement regarding the Cuban government’s five-day silence following our fourth offer of humanitarian aid in the wake of Hurricanes Gustav and Ike: “Our offer is unprecedented and unconditional. We regret that the Cuban government has failed to move quickly to accept our latest offer of humanitarian assistance. On Friday [September 19], the United States extended its fourth offer, which was in direct response to the Cuban government’s plea for construction materials. In addition to the aid contained in previous offers, the US Government was prepared to deliver, via air and sea, building supplies and shelter kits that could provide temporary and permanent housing that could bring relief to more than 135,000 Cubans. By all accounts the situation in Cuba demands immediate attention, so it is regrettable that the Cuban government has allowed the situation to persist so long. Getting aid to the Cuban people has been a top priority. Reports from news agencies and relief organizations that have visited the island indicate that as many as 2.5 million Cubans were relocated during the storms, and 200,000 remain without homes. We understand the tremendous struggles left in the wake of Hurricanes Gustav and Ike, and we want to offer the Cuban people the supplies they need to begin recovery. The United States will continue to stand ready to provide relief to the Cuban people” (US Department of Commerce Press Release, 24/9/08).

September 25: Fidel Castro mocked US President George W. Bush for the speech he gave on the spiraling US financial crisis. In an article published in Cuba's leading newspapers, the convalescing 82-year old Castro derided Bush's failure to assign blame for the collapse of US financial institutions. "Looks like 'democratic capitalism' doesn't include self-criticism," Castro wrote. "In any case, we must not be ungrateful or impolite: we have to thank Bush for his brilliant insight on political theory," Castro added, tongue-in-cheek. Bush delivered a 13-minute televised speech urging the US Congress to pass his government's 700 billion dollar bailout plan for Wall Street (Bush’s Self-Criticism; AFP, 25/9/08).

September 26: Southern Baptists will send two containers of relief supplies to Cuba to help victims of Hurricanes Gustav and Ike rebuild their homes and lives. An agreement negotiated with the US and Cuban governments will allow a container of building supplies and food to be sent to both of the Baptist conventions -- eastern and western -- on the island nation 90 miles off the Florida Keys, according to Jim Brown, US director for Baptist Global Response, a Southern Baptist international relief and development organization. Assessment teams of representatives of the International Mission Board, Florida Baptist Convention and BGR toured opposite ends of Cuba, evaluating needs and discussing possible responses with Cuban government officials. "The entire island of Cuba has been damaged in one degree or another by both Gustav and Ike," Brown said. "Most of the damage was related to housing -- houses destroyed or damaged, roofs gone or partially destroyed, crops damaged or destroyed, areas of sporadic flooding, electric infrastructure damaged, and destroyed personal items. There also is a tremendous need for food and water." The government dispatched soldiers to clean up roads and fallen trees and Cuban Baptist churches leaped into action after the storm, meeting needs out of the limited resources immediately available to them, Brown said (Baptist News, 26/9/08).

September 26: The third annual Baseball Film Festival at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum concluded in New York with the presentation of three awards for films determined by a panel of four judges. The festival kicked off with a salute to the 20th anniversary of Bull Durham. Nine films were screened at the Museum on topics that included themes of American and international culture. "We really learned something from every film," said judge and Albany Times Union sportswriter Mark McGuire. The Award for Best Film went to Cuban Ian Padron's Fuera de Liga (Dreaming in Blue), which chronicles the history of the most popular team in Cuban baseball and the obsession Cuban fans have with the sport. The film was the first screening of the weekend and took home the award for best overall entry (Baseball Hall of Fame Press Release, 26/9/08).

September 29: The United States government denied re-entry visas to two Prensa Latina correspondents working at the United Nations after they spent their holidays in Cuba. A statement issued in Havana by the news agency General Management says that Ilsa Rodríguez Santana and her husband Tomás Anael Granados Jiménez had been assigned to the United Nations for the last three years. Rodríguez Santana and Granados Jiménez have been working with Prensa Latina for four decades. The two of them are senior journalists with previous expertise as news correspondents in India, Zimbabwe, China and New York, the text added. The journalists denounced before the United Nations Correspondents Association (UNCA) that they have been denied their re-entry visas into the US  (Prensa Latina, 29/9/08).

September 29: Fewer Cubans have been apprehended this year trying to enter the United States, according to the US Coast Guard. The agency said it had seen 25% fewer Cubans trying to illegally enter the country this fiscal year, which ends on September 30. That amounts to 2,140 people, compared with 2,868 migrants last year. The decline has come after an ailing Fidel Castro resigned as Cuba's president in February, ceding control of the communist nation to his brother after nearly a half-century in power. Still, plenty of Cubans are trying to make the 90-mile trip to the United States. Officials sent 29 Cubans back in four different incidents over the past week. The Coast Guard said almost 100 Cubans in the most recent two-year period died or are missing and presumed dead attempting the trip to the US (The Miami Herald, 29/9/08).

September 29: Cuban authorities are detaining three Miami-Dade brothers who fled to Cuba earlier this year when they were charged with defrauding $119 million from Medicare, US officials familiar with the case confirmed. News of the Benitez brothers' current status surfaced in recent days in the Dominican Republic, where the son of one of the siblings arrived from Cuba. After being briefly detained, the son told Dominican authorities that his father and two uncles were being held in prison in Cuba, according to published reports. It was unclear whether US authorities were trying to negotiate with the Cuban government on the release of Carlos, Luis and Jose Benitez, who were arrested in mid-September in Cuba on immigration violations, according to two US law enforcement officials. The State Department did not immediately respond for comment. This summer, the FBI teamed up with authorities in the Dominican Republic to seize the brothers' property, bank accounts and other assets purchased in that country, allegedly with their Medicare millions. The Benitez brothers are among 56 defendants charged with Medicare fraud since 2004 who have fled South Florida to avoid prosecution, according to federal records (The Miami Herald, 30/9/08).