Chronicle on Cuba - January 2010

Highlights

Domestic Affairs: National Assembly’s President calls for the election of district delegates. Some 26 patients in a Cuban mental hospital die from hypothermia. Cuban authorities step up harassment of opponents with brief detentions and physical intimidation. Cuba begins performing state-sponsored sex-change operations. The Catholic Church in Havana states that Cuba's economic situation may be close to free fall.
 
Economy: Cuban small farmers and agricultural cooperatives increase their sales. A shortage of hard currency remains the most pressing problem for the island’s government. Canadian airlines expand access to Cuban skies. Cuba receives more tourists and less revenue. ALBA members initiate transactions with Sucre.

Exile Community: Exile organizations help collect aid for the victims of Haiti’s earthquake.  A meeting of Cubans residing abroad with authorities from the island take place in Havana. Performances by famous Cuban band Los Van Van spark debates in Miami.  

Foreign Affairs: President Raul Castro meets in Havana with Saint Lucia’s Prime Minister. Suriname opens its embassy in Havana. Panama cancels Operation Miracle and sends Cuban doctors back home. After the earthquake, Cuba increases the number of physicians and nurses and sends tons of medical equipment and supplies to Port-au-Prince. Ramiro Valdes heads the official delegation to the presidency assumption of Evo Morales. Human Rights Watch criticizes Cuba’s human rights record. Cuba and Russia hold meetings in Moscow. A Cuban delegation visits Tehran. 

US-Cuba Relations: Cuba denounces new US security measures for air travelers from the island. The US State Department denies the claim that a US government contractor detained on the island is a spy. The Cuban government agrees to let the US military use restricted Cuban air space for medical evacuation flights from Haiti. Cuban and US negotiators will meet in February for a second round of talks on migration issues.