Cuba Embargo in Florida Goes Too Far, Court Says

Courthouse News Service
By IULIA FILIP

Florida cannot stop companies with remote business ties to Cuba from bidding on state or local public contracts, the 11th Circuit ruled.

     Florida passed the Cuba Amendment in May 2012 to ostensibly prevent companies that did business in Cuba or Syria, or were related to such companies, from bidding on state or local public contracts worth at least $1 million. Slated to take effect on July 1, 2012, the law would have applied to any company whose subsidiaries, parent companies or affiliates had business ties to Cuba or Syria, including distant foreign affiliates.

     It also would have required companies to certify that they did not have business operations in any of the two countries when submitting a bid or renewing a contract with a government agency. Any agency or local government entity participating in the contract could impose a civil penalty of $2 million or twice the amount of the contract against companies that filed false certifications.

     Coral Gables-based company Odebrecht Construction sued the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) in June 2012 to prevent it from enforcing the amendment against the company. Odebrecht, whose Brazilian parent company had unrelated foreign subsidiaries that did business in Cuba, was one of more than 200 Florida businesses potentially affected by the amendment.

     Claiming that most of its income comes from infrastructure and transportation projects, Odebrecht said the law would prevent it from bidding on high-value public contracts in Florida, including several FDOT contracts worth up to $1.8 billion for which it qualified.

     Odebrecht argued that the law violated the supremacy clause of the U.S. Constitution because it conflicted directly with the federal regime of sanctions against Cuba, and weakened the president's ability to formulate uniform policies concerning Cuba. A federal judge agreed last year and blocked the amendment before it took effect.

     A three-judge panel of the 11th Circuit refused to lift the injunction last week, finding that the state law conflicted with the comprehensive economic sanctions the federal government had imposed for decades to limit American companies from doing business in Cuba.

More on Courthouse News Service >>

Cuba Embargo in Florida Goes Too Far, Court Says

Cuba-US: For Those Who Oppose Sanctions

capitolhillcubans

In El Nuevo Herald, Roland Behar writes about Cuban pro-democracy leader and Estado de Sats founder, Antonio Rodiles:

Rodiles holds that history has proven that the Cuban government has always used the funds at its disposal for any purpose, except for the improvement of the quality of life of the population and the development of the nation. Rodiles reminds us that during the era of Soviet subsidies, those funds were used to foment subversion throughout the world, instead of to create a productive and industrial base. He also reminds us that during the 1990s, after the disappearance of the USSR, the embargo had a real effect, which led to "concessions" unlike any we have seen during these times of "openings." Once Chavez began cooperating, the "openings" were eliminated, culminating with the horrible Black Spring of 2003.  He sent a clear message to those who from the comfort of Miami, coincide with the Cuban government and advocate for easing economic sanctions, pointing to their responsibility -- [for if sanctions are eased] as the Cuban government once again begins to feel economically stable, the first thing it will do is imprison all those who oppose it.

Cuba-US: For Those Who Oppose Sanctions

Cardinal Scolds Dissidents, Pope Blesses Dissidents

capitolhillcubans

Yesterday, Cuba's Cardinal Jaime Ortega (once again) scolded dissidents who support sanctions.
Meanwhile, today in Vatican City, Pope Francis met the leader of Cuba's Ladies in White, Berta Soler, and bestowed his blessing upon her.
Soler supports sanctions against the Castro regime.
Oh, the irony.
In October 2011, upon turning 75-years old, Cardinal Ortega presented his resignation as Archbishop of Havana to then-Pope Benedict XVI.
We pray Pope Francis finally accepts his resignation -- for the Cuban people deserve better.

Cardinal Scolds Dissidents, Pope Blesses Dissidents

Cuba-US: The Will of Taxpayers Will Ultimately Prevail

capitolhillcubans

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit ("the Court") has upheld a challenge by Brazil's Odebrecht against a Florida law banning contracts with companies with business ties to Cuba and Syria.

This law was passed by a near-unanimous vote in the Florida legislature and approved by over 62% of Miami-Dade County voters.

Sadly, Odebrecht -- a key business partner of Cuba's dictatorship -- chose to legally challenge the will of Florida's taxpayers, rather than sever its ties with the Castro brothers.

In sum, the Court held that the Florida law "conflicts" with federal sanctions towards Cuba because it fails to address some of the current exemptions in U.S. law -- namely the cash-sale of agriculture and medical products.

We respectfully disagree with this decision, for under its controlling precedent in Faculty Senate of Florida International University v. Winn, 616 F.3d 1206 (11th Cir. 2010), the Court had previously upheld a state ban on academic travel to Cuba, despite an explicit exemption for academic travel under federal law.

Furthermore, we believe taxpayers have an inherent right to decide where (and with whom) they want their money spent.

Needless to say, we respect the Court's decision.

Fortunately though, we live in a representative democracy, where the voice and the will of the taxpayer will ultimately prevail.

Cuba-US: The Will of Taxpayers Will Ultimately Prevail

Tribunal rechaza ley de Florida contra firmas que comercien con Cuba

cafefuerte

Por Redacción CaféFuerte

El gobierno de la Florida perdió una batalla legal por impedir el acceso a contratos estatales y locales a compañías que mantengan vínculos comerciales con Cuba.

El Tribunal de Apelaciones de Atlanta ratificó este lunes el fallo de un juez federal de Miami que echó atrás una ley firmada por el gobernador Rick Scott para bloquear contratos por $1 millón de dólares o más a compañías que mantienen negocios con la isla.

"La ley de la Florida va mucho más allá de la ley federal por numerosas vías y menoscaba el ejercicio del Presidente [de Estados Unidos] sobre una discreción dada por el Congreso", decretó un panel de tres jueces del Onceno Circuito. La decisión fue unánime.

El dictamen judicial consideró inadecuado que la legislación aprobada en Florida "penaliza a las empresas estadounidenses por las actividades de negocios de sus compañías matrices o sus filiales en el extranjero, sin importar lo remoto de la conexión".

En conflicto con Washington

"La ley entra en conflicto directamente con el extenso y altamente calibrado régimen de sanciones contra Cuba, promulgadas por los poderes legislativo y ejecutivo durante casi cincuenta años", agregó el documento.

En otras palabras: que la Florida no puede obstruir las decisiones estratégicas trazadas en Washington sobre asuntos de política exterior y comercio global, ni tiene jurisdiccióin para convertirse en un nuevo brazo legal del embargo.

La decisión constituye un duro golpe a Scott y la Legislatura estatal de la Florida, y le da un espaldarazo legal a la firma Odebrecht Construction USA, radicada en Coral Gables.

Después de amplios debates en torno a la propuesta legislativa, especialmente en el condado Miami-Dade, el gobernador Scott había firmado la ley el 1ro de mayo del 2012.

Apenas semanas después Odebrecht Construction USA apeló la medida ante un tribunal federal de Miami y el juez Michael Moore dictó una orden preliminar congelando la aplicación de la ley. El Departamento de Transporte de Florida (FDOT) ripostó apelando el veredicto ante el Onceno Circuito de Atlanta, a fines del pasado año.

Daños irreparables

El panel de tres jueces había escuchado los argumentos de ambas partes en una audiencia celebrada el pasado marzo.

El fallo de los jueces de Atlanta mantiene en pie la orden preliminar de Moore, aunque no se trata de una decisión judicial permanente. Odebrecht Construction USA podría solicitar una extensión permanente del fallo de este lunes.

No se descarta una apelación del FDOT ante el pleno de jueces del Tribunal de Atlanta.

En la orden divulgada este lunes, el juez Stanley Marcus recordó que países como Canadá, Noruega, Suiza y Singapur han expresado su preocupación sobre el hecho de que la ley floridana entra en conflicto con los compromisos establecidos por Estados Unidos ante la Organización Mundial de Comercio (OMC).

El juez Marcus observó que Odebrecht Construction USA sería "irreparablemente perjudicada" por la ley, en cambio, el Estado de Florida no se ve afectado del mismo modo por haberla revertido.

Más de 200 empresas con un largo historial de negocios en Florida y con nexos potenciales con Cuba, estarían entre las beneficiadas por la acción judicial.

Largo servicio en Miami

Desde su fundación en 1990, Odebrecht Construction USA ha recibido 35 contratos  públicos en Florida, con ganacias estimadas en unos $4,000 millones de dólares. Entre sus obras figuran el Centro de Artes Escénicas de Miami, la Arena American Airlines y el estadio de la Univesidad Internacional de la Florida (FIU).

En un comunicado, Odebrecht Construction USA dijo sentirse satisfecha con la decisión del tribunal, y recordó su aval de 23 años de trabajo y participación en el acontecer del Condado Miami-Dade.

"Vamos a continuar defendiendo nuestro derecho a servir al Estado de la Florida y a sus gobiernos locales, y permanecemos plenamente comprometidos con el cumplimiento de todas las leyes locales, estatales y federales", expresó la compañía.

Odebrecht Construction USA, que no tiene directamente negocios en la isla, es subsidiaria de Odebrecht SA, radicada en Brasil y con millonarias inversiones en territorio cubano.

Mientras el conglomerado brasileño está enfrascado actualmente en la modernización del Puerto del Mariel, al oeste de La Habana, con una inversión de $800 millones de dólares, la filial de Coral Gables obtuvo un contrato en el 2011 para la reconstrucción del Puerto de Miami, y tiene pendiente un ambicioso proyecto de infraestructura y transporte público, adyacente al aeropuerto internacional de Miami, por $512 millones de dólares.

El llamado Airport City está aún pendiente de una decisión de la Comisión de Miami-Dade, que debe tomar una decisión en las próximas semanas.

Tribunal rechaza ley de Florida contra firmas que comercien con Cuba

Académicos de Cuba y EEUU publicarán recomendaciones para normalizar relación

www.uv.mx

organizado por el agente de inteligencia del servicio exterior cubano por mas de tres decadas, carlos alzugaray treto, un documento referativo puede leerse  aqui >>

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ABC.es

EFE

Académicos de Cuba y EEUU presentarán en Washington un libro con más de 20 recomendaciones dirigidas a los Gobiernos de ambos países para crear espacios de normalización de las relaciones bilaterales en temas como medio ambiente, comercio, viajes, y seguridad y terrorismo.

El documento elaborado por expertos de la Universidad de La Habana y de la American University incluye las recomendaciones producidas desde 2009 dentro del proyecto Talleres Académicos Cuba- Estados Unidos (TACE), informó hoy la agencia oficial cubana Prensa Latina.

Con versiones en inglés y español, el libro será presentado el 30 de mayo en Washington durante el próximo congreso de la Asociación de Estudios Latinoamericanos (LASA) y se prevé su posterior lanzamiento en Cuba.

Los académicos cubanos Milagros Martínez y Carlos Alzugaray, quienes participaron del proyecto, indicaron a Prensa Latina que las recomendaciones abarcan los temas de "medio ambiente, intercambios académicos, seguridad y terrorismo, comercio y desarrollo y libertad de viaje".

Martínez resaltó que los talleres fueron expresión de "diplomacia académica" y consideró que se trata de una importante experiencia en un escenario de "conflictos tan tensos" como los que marcan las diferencias políticas de Cuba y EEUU desde hace más de medio siglo.

"Todo lo que sea recomendaciones que impliquen mayor fluidez entre académicos y estudiantes universitarios puede ayudar mucho, porque para poder hacer cambios hay que entenderse y para entenderse hay que conocerse", afirmó la especialista.

Según la académica, en el proyecto participaron también "personas que tuvieron acceso a sus Cancillerías" y que pueden interactuar con los Gobiernos, dado el interés de presentar los resultados del ejercicio "a instancias gubernamentales que decidan cuáles recomendaciones implementar".

Por su parte, Carlos Alzugaray cree que actualmente se viven condiciones "más favorables" y en Estados Unidos existe "un creciente ambiente político interno de las fuerzas favorables a la normalización de las relaciones".

"Si uno analiza lo que los 'tanques pensantes' norteamericanos han venido diciendo sobre Cuba se verá que son más constructivos", añadió.

Alzugaray opinó que aún cuando el presidente de EEUU, Barack Obama, no ha hecho todo lo que podría, existe "una actitud distinta", y en su última campaña no adoptó "una posición dura" contra Cuba.

En ese sentido, se refirió a la política de Obama de eliminar restricciones a los cubanoamericanos para que visiten la isla y de permitir más viajes de ciudadanos norteamericanos como parte de los intercambios educativos, culturales y religiosos.

Los expertos cubanos coincidieron por otra parte en que el tema del terrorismo "es imprescindible" dentro del conjunto de recomendaciones de TACE.

Según subrayaron, la mayoría de los observadores estima que la inclusión de Cuba en la lista de Estados Unidos de países patrocinadores del terrorismo "desprestigia" ese informe del Departamento de Estado.

Académicos de Cuba y EEUU publicarán recomendaciones para normalizar relación

Diaz-Balart: Why the U.S. Embargo Remains Necessary

capitolhillcubans

By former U.S. Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart in The Miami Herald:

At this time, when the democratic opposition within Cuba is acquiring greater strength and showing extraordinary political maturity, I believe it is important to remember the reasons for the existence of the U.S. embargo and the three conditions for its lifting.

When I arrived in the U.S. Congress in January 1993, I was able to confirm that U.S. law did not prohibit trade and financing with the Cuban regime by the great majority of U.S. corporations. I was truly impacted by the fact that U.S. law only prohibited trade and financing with the Cuban regime by foreign subsidiaries of U.S. companies, but not by U.S. companies inside the United States (in other words, the overwhelming majority of U.S. firms).

Mass U.S. tourism to Cuba was also not barred by law. All existing sanctions at that time were contained in executive orders that, of course, could be lifted by other executive orders, at any time, by any president.

Since I was convinced that no dictatorship in history has ever given anything to the democratic opposition in exchange for nothing, and since I did not have confidence that the President of the United States would insist that a genuine democratic transition for the Cuban people be underway before lifting the embargo on the regime, I decided to codify — to enact into law — those executive orders: the prohibitions on commerce, on financing, and on mass U.S. tourism to Cuba. And to condition the lifting of those sanctions (commonly known as the embargo) on three conditions within Cuba: 1) the liberation of all political prisoners, without exceptions; 2) the legalization of all political parties, without exceptions, of the independent press and free labor unions; and 3) the scheduling of free elections with international supervision for the Cuban people.

In March 1996, with the decisive help of Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Sen. Bob Menéndez, I achieved codification passed by Congress. All the executive orders that constituted the embargo were made part of U.S. law, as well as the three conditions for their lifting. I believe it was the most important achievement of my 18 years in the U.S. Congress.

I was convinced then, and I continue to believe, that the U.S. embargo and the conditioning of its lifting — upon the requirement that a genuine democratic transition based on the three conditions be underway in Cuba — constitute instruments of great importance in the hands of the Cuban opposition.

Diaz-Balart: Why the U.S. Embargo Remains Necessary

Must-Read: Cuba's Oil Bust

capitolhillcubans

By Mary Anastasia O'Grady in The Wall Street Journal:

Remember all the hype about Cuba drilling for oil in Caribbean waters and American companies missing out on the bonanza because of the U.S. embargo? Well, like all the other Cuban get-rich-quick schemes of the past 50 years, this one seems to have flopped too.

Last week, Florida's Sun Sentinel reported that "after spending nearly $700 million during a decade, energy companies from around the world have all but abandoned their search for oil in deep waters off the north coast of Cuba near Florida." Separately, CubaStandard.com reported on Friday that "the shallow-water drilling platform used by Russian oil company OAO Zarubezhneft will leave Cuban waters June 1, to be redeployed to Asia."

According to the Sun Sentinel story, Jorge Piñon, an oil-industry guru who had been cheering Cuba's exploration attempts, said "Companies are saying, 'We cannot spend any more capital on this high-risk exploration. We'd rather go to Brazil; we'd rather go to Angola; we'd rather go to other places in the world where the technological and geological challenges are less.'"

It wouldn't be the first time the dictatorship thought it had found a short cut to wealth. In 1970 it put all its faith in the "ten-million ton harvest," which promised to get the nation off Soviet dependency by forcing every Cuban to work in the cane fields. It failed.

Then there was that cow, Ubre Blanca, literally "white udder" in Spanish. She was a cross between two breeds and in 1982 Cuba claimed that she produced a world-record of 24 gallons of milk in one day. When she died, in 1985, Fidel Castro instructed Cuba's genetic scientists to get to work on making more of her. Almost 30 years later Cuban researchers were still at it. In June 2002, the Telegraph reported that "Dr Jose Morales, the head of the White Udder cloning project, is confident that a breakthrough is imminent. 'We're very close,' he said. 'We have big things coming. This project is very important to Comandante Castro.'"

Then came promises of an oil boom and last week the predictable bust. The Brazilian state-owned Petrobras had given up on deep-sea drilling in Cuban waters in 2011. Repsol  gave up in May 2012. The deep water platform it was using was then passed to Malaysia's state-owned Petronas, which also came up empty. Venezuela's PdVSA had no luck either. In November Cuba announced that the rig that had been in use would be heading to Asia. Last week came the end of shallow-water drilling.

The loss to the regime is not just about the foreign exchange that oil implied. The threat of spills, as well as lost opportunity for American companies, were ways for Cuba to engage the U.S. and perhaps even get the embargo lifted without having to make any human-rights concessions. Some Democrats, whose party is more often found in opposition to oil exploration, tried to help. At a House subcommittee hearing in November 2011 on the matter, Rep. Ed Markey (D., Mass.) argued that "companies like Exxon Mobil,  Chevron and the ConocoPhillips should be doing the "first drilling" in Cuban waters. "I would hope that the Majority's opposition to lifting the embargo against Fidel does not outweigh their fidelity to creating more jobs for American businesses and American workers in our own country."

For now Mr. Markey's dreams of helping the dictatorship are, at best, on hold. And Cuba remains a tropical backwater whose only claim to fame is its large collection of political prisoners.

Must-Read: Cuba's Oil Bust

Cuba y la asintota a los Derechos Humanos obamistas

raulito el general de despachos, se sigue moviendo asintoticamente al eje establecido por la administracion obama para levantar las restricciones comerciales en materia de "derechos humanos" formales.  el same sex marriage de marielita esta a la vuelta de la esquina, lo que dara un impulso significativo a los kerry, hagel y colaboracionistas yumas y cubanos.

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Prensa Latina

La Habana, 15 abr (PL) El gobierno cubano ejecuta acciones para fortalecer el marco jurídico e institucional que garantiza la promoción y protección de los derechos humanos en la isla, según informaciones tributadas por entidades estatales y no gubernamentales. La aplicación de leyes, políticas y programas, así como la ratificación de instrumentos internacionales forman parte de las acciones que aparecen reflejadas en el informe que Cuba presentará el próximo 1 de mayo ante el Consejo de Derechos Humanos, en su Examen Periódico Universal (EPU).

El texto -que publica una página web de Naciones Unidas- fue elaborado con la participación de organismos estatales y la sociedad civil y recoge que la isla ratificó desde febrero de 2009 la Convención Internacional para la Protección de Todas las Personas contra las Desapariciones Forzadas.

Con este paso, suman 42 los instrumentos en materia de derechos humanos asimilados por el país caribeño, cuyo gobierno asegura que realiza análisis y consultas internas para la futura adhesión o ratificación de otros.

Respecto a las nuevas normas que amplían la base legislativa de los derechos humanos, el documento del EPU, elaborado a partir de las recomendaciones del ejercicio cumplido por La Habana en 2009, contiene las emitidas para el usufructo de tierras, la actualización migratoria, la seguridad social y el trabajo privado.

Los temas migratorio y de las formas no estatales de gestión se encuentran entre los que mayores titulares de prensa generan en torno a la nación caribeña, donde está en marcha un proceso de actualización socio-económica que busca elevar la productividad y la eficiencia dentro del socialismo.

En enero de este año entraron en vigor el Decreto Ley 302 y otras disposiciones que eliminaron la solicitud del permiso de salida para los viajes al extranjero y el requisito de la carta de invitación, así como extendieron de 11 a 24 meses la permanencia fuera del país sin perder la residencia.

Las nuevas medidas posibilitan la salida de menores de 18 años previa autorización de sus padres o representantes legales y el hecho de que emigrados podrán visitar la isla por hasta 90 días, a diferencia de los 30 fijados anteriormente.

También normalizan la entrada temporal de quienes migraron ilegalmente después de los acuerdos migratorios de 1994 con Estados Unidos, si han transcurrido ocho años de su salida; y amplían las causas de la repatriación.

Respecto al sector privado, unos 400 mil cubanos incursionan en más de 180 actividades, con destaque para la contratación de personas, la venta de alimentos, el transporte de pasajeros y cargas y el alquiler de viviendas.

Cuba labora además por alcanzar un desempeño cualitativamente superior en la impartición de justicia, con especial énfasis en la preservación de las garantías procesales en el juicio oral y la interacción más efectiva entre el acusado y su abogado, refleja el informe del EPU que se presentará en Ginebra, Suiza.

A finales del año pasado, altos funcionarios del Tribunal Supremo Popular y la Fiscalía General comentaron a Prensa Latina que en 2013 se trabajará en la adecuación de normas y el establecimiento de otras.

El Código penal, el sistema de justicia de menores infractores y las leyes de Procedimiento Penal, Ejecución de Sanciones y de Policía están en la agenda, precisaron.

ale/wmr

Cuba y la asintota a los Derechos Humanos obamistas

A vueltas con el embargo y el viaje de Beyoncé, Jay-Z, etc.

El Tono de la Voz/ Jorge Ferrer » 

De interés el post de Achy Obejas sobre la visita de Jay-Z y Beyoncé a La Habana. Al menos tiene bastante más interés y ¡sobre todo ritmo! que la Open Letter que el primero echó a rodar esta mañana.

Léanlo.

AO esgrime ahí el argumento de la ineficacia del embargo. Es un argumento que permanece enhiesto, pero con la ropa hecha jirones, de viejo. (¿Girones?) «¡Levántenlo por inocuo!», claman quienes ven en él a un rey desnudo. Yo creo desde hace mucho tiempo que a estas alturas el embargo o es token o es oportunidad redundantemente perdida. Y siempre da mayores réditos una moneda de cambio que un cambio sin réditos.

Hay algo, sin embargo, que me parece todavía más siniestro en ese paisaje de la permisibilidad de los viajes a Cuba desde EE.UU. que describe AO. Díganle siniestro o risible o absurdo o wtfaquesco. A saber, la circunstancia de que todo norteamericano que desee viajar a Cuba ha de solicitar una licencia que eleve su viaje a la categoría de «intercambio cultural». O religioso…

Para recibir una de esas licencias, que parece ser se conceden con munificencia, los turistas (o las agencias que los llevan al parque temático) han de convertirse de repente en «activistas culturales» o antropólogos aficionados y mostrar un programa que incluya visitas a entidades gubernamentales cubanas: hospitales, escuelas, etc., donde sus guías les cantarán las bondades de la revolución a ritmo de rap-propaganda. De hecho, el gobierno de los EE.UU. prohíbe a sus ciudadanos que viajen a Cuba como turistas, salvo y solo salvo que se avengan a someterse a la propaganda castrista. Es una suerte de «si vas a broncearte a Varadero o a pasear por la Habana Vieja y Trinidad, no; pero si vas a que unos entrenados ñángaras te expliquen las bondades de la revolución, entonces aquí tienes tu licencia y dale a ser intoxicado».

No se veía situación más absurda desde que… No se me ocurre nada, no, de tan endemoniadamente absurda que es.

A vueltas con el embargo y el viaje de Beyoncé, Jay-Z, etc.

OLPL: On Business With the Castro Regime

capitolhillcubans

During an interview with TV Marti this week, Cuban artist and blogger, Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo, expressed his frustration with the dealings of foreign governments and companies with the Castro regime.

Pardo Lazo, who accompanied fellow blogger Yoani Sanchez during her visit to New York and Washington D.C., stated:

"No one tells the Cuban government that the next investment for this port or for that project will no longer be available because it is violating the fundamental human rights of its citizens.  It is being assumed that there are no Cuban citizens.  Since we have been displaced by the Cuban government for decades, they act as if there's nothing to discuss with the Cuban people.  So they only speak with the repressors of the Cuban people, with the functionaries of the Cuban government."

We couldn't agree more.

Sadly, some want the U.S. to act in the same fashion.

OLPL: On Business With the Castro Regime

A new era: Beyonce & Jay-Z have persimission from Obama's goverment to tourist trip to Cuba

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

A new era: Beyonce & Jay-Z have persimission from Obama's goverment to tourist trip to Cuba

Alto funcionario diplomático cubano participa en foro de Diálogo Interamericano

TVMartiNoticias

Alto funcionario diplomático cubano participa en foro de Diálogo Interamericano

U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor in Cuba to look for economic opportunity with Tampa

Tampa Bay Times

U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Tampa, traveled to Cuba yesterday on a "four-day, fact-finding visit to, foremost, learn about opportunities to poise Tampa as a gateway to Cuba, and create economic opportunities for small businesses in this area," her office said this morning.

Rep. Castor traveled to Cuba with staff and the Center for Democracy in the Americas.

Her objectives:

Local Economic Ties

Enhance relationships between people and businesses in Cuba and Tampa. Tampa can serve as a “gateway” for those traveling to Cuba. This will give Tampa Bay an economic edge as the relationship moves forward.

·         Meeting with MINTUR, the Ministry of Tourism

·         Meeting with the leadership of the Asociación Nacional de Economistas de Cuba (ANEC) (English:  National Association of Cuban Economists) to learn about the economic transformations in Cuba.

·         Visit the small family farm of Miguel Martínez, who has been growing tobacco there since before the Cuban Revolution.

·         Meeting with Marta Nuñez, an expert in gender studies, and Daybel Pañellas, sociologist at the University of Havana, to discuss how economic reforms are affecting women. 

·         Visit Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology

Tampa Cultural Ties

Improved people to people exchanges will create a culture for change and cooperation between the two countries.

·         Walk through Old Havana talk with cuentapropistas (private, small business owners), visit homes.

·         Meeting with Chief of Mission of the U.S. Interests Section in Havana, John Caulfield, to discuss issues of family reunification and visas for Cubans wishing to visit family in Tampa Bay.  Also focus on aiding Americans, church mission groups and others who visit Cuba.

·         Visit to Hemingway’s house, Finca Vigía, and a meeting with the Vice-Minister of Culture, Fernando Rojas, and the winner of the national poetry award, Pedro Pablo Rodriguez.

·         In Viñales, delegation will stay in “casas particulares,” rooms in local homes that have been set up to receive travelers.

Humanitarian

Rep. Castor has continued to push for improved human rights in Cuba. She has met with dissidents like Yoani Sanchez and Pedro Pablo Alvarez in the United States, and will use this trip as an opportunity to expand on those conversations.

·         Meet with Orlando Marquez and/or Cardinal Jaime Ortega of the Catholic Archdiocese to discuss human rights and the relationship between church and state.

·         Lunch with foreign diplomats – EU, Canada, Norway, and Brazil.

·         Meeting with MINREX, the Foreign Ministry of Cuba.

Florida Environmental Concerns

Cuba continues to plan to drill for oil offshore and that remains a concern for Rep. Castor. She will press for the need for cooperation and safety in the Gulf of Mexico, particularly after the BP Oil Blowout in 2010.

·         Ministerio de Energía y Minas, the Ministry of Energy

U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor in Cuba to look for economic opportunity with Tampa

Residentes en EEUU no podrán recibir beneficios durante estancia en Cuba

lo que no aclara la periodista es como el burocratismo del ssa podra detectar y actuar contra

esta modalidad de vacilon kubiche con larga data de ejecucion.
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cafefuerte

Por Ivette Leyva Martínez

Las personas que reciben ayuda suplementaria del Seguro Social y viajen para una estancia prolongada en Cuba perderían sus beneficios después de un mes de permanencia fuera de Estados Unidos.

Las autoridades de la Administración de Seguridad Social (SSA) en Miami aclararon a CaféFuerte el reglamento que rige el acceso a los beneficios de asistencia social luego de crecientes interrogantes en la comunidad sobre la posibilidad de que residentes y ciudadanos estadounidenses cobren sus mensualidades mientras se encuentran en Cuba.

"La persona no es elegible para beneficios de Ingreso Suplementario o SSI [Suplemental Security Income, SSI, por sus siglas en inglés] durante cualquier mes completo que esté fuera de Estados Unidos", explicó María Díaz, portavoz de la SSA en el distrito Sur de la Florida.

Reglas claras

El programa gubernamental de SSI hace pagos mensuales a personas -adultas o menores- con escasos ingresos, tengan más de 65 años, sean ciegas o tengan otro tipo de discapacidad.

La funcionaria aclaró también que ciudadanos estadounidenses que se radiquen en Cuba no podrán recibir sus pagos allí, según el reglamento establecido por el Departamento del Tesoro.

"Si usted es un ciudadano de EEUU, puede recibir los beneficios retenidos, debido a su estancia en Cuba, una vez que esté en un país donde se pueden recibir esos pagos", dijo. "No en Cuba".

Los pagos no podrán ser cobrados ni enviados a la isla a través de intermediarios.

Las inquietudes y quejas sobre el asunto se han disparado tras la entrada en vigor en Cuba de una nueva política migratoria, el pasado 14 de enero, la cual permite a los cubanos emigrados estancias de hasta 90 días en la isla. Los residentes en el extranjero podrán incluso solicitar su retorno y residencia permanente en el país, previa petición ante las representaciones diplomáticas o el Ministerio del Interior (MININT).

Viajando a Cuba

La flexibilización implementada por el gobierno de Raúl Castro incluye la opción de que las personas puedan permanecer fuera del país por 24 meses sin necesidad de solicitar un permiso, lo que abre la alternativa de poder acogerse a la Ley de Ajuste Cubano (CAA) y poder retornar a la isla sin clasificar como emigrado ante las autoridades cubanas.

Numerosos cubanos con residencia legal o naturalizados estadounidenses están viajando a Cuba por largos períodos o planean establecerse allí con su retiro. El gobierno cubano ha reconocido que anualmente retornan unos mil emigrados para quedarse en el país, muchos de ellos procedentes de Estados Unidos.

Unos 380 mil cubanos han obtenido residencia legal en Estados Unidos y más de 189 mil se han naturalizado como estadounidenses durante los últimos 12 años.

De los cubanos que han llegado a Estados Unidos durante su vejez, centenares de ellos se han acogido al programa de SSI. Actualmente la ayuda consiste en $710 dólares mensuales, y no excluye que el beneficiario pueda acogerse a otros programas de asistencia social.

RESPUESTAS DE LA SSA SOBRE EL COBRO DEL INGRESO SUPLEMENTARIO

¿Las personas que reciben ayuda suplementaria o SSI pueden estar en Cuba durante meses y seguir recibiendo el pago?

No. La persona no es elegible para beneficios de SSI durante cualquier mes completo que esté fuera de Estados Unidos. Para obtener más información sobre la Seguridad Social fuera de los Estados Unidos, haga clic en el enlace "Sus pagos mientras esté fuera de los Estados Unidos".

¿En qué plazo de tiempo la persona pierde los pagos de SSI?

Los beneficios de SSI cesarían después de 30 días consecutivos fuera de Estados Unidos. Se reanudarían (si todavía cumplen con todos los requisitos de elegibilidad) después de 30 días continuos después del regreso a Estados Unidos.

¿Pueden cobrarse en Cuba los pagos de la Seguridad Social o ser depositados en una cuenta bancaria y posteriormente trasladados a Cuba si el beneficiario de la Seguridad Social es un ciudadano o residente en Estados Unidos?

No. El reglamento del Departamento del Tesoro prohíbe enviar pagos a Cuba. Si usted es un ciudadano de EEUU, puede recibir los beneficios retenidos, debido a su estancia en Cuba, una vez que esté en un país donde se puede recibir pagos. Vea el enlace anteriormente mencionado para la lista de países a los que podemos enviar pagos.   

¿Es legal que una persona nombre a un amigo o familiar para recibir la asistencia a su nombre en EEUU o recibir los beneficios en un banco mientras esté en Cuba?

No. No es permisible recibir los beneficios a nombre de otro adulto.

Más información sobre el programa de SSI aquí >>

Residentes en EEUU no podrán recibir beneficios durante estancia en Cuba

Preserving Stability in Cuba After Normalizing Relations with the US

coha.org

BY Dr. Timothy Ashby, Senior Research Fellow, Council on Hemispheric Affairs

Source: Reuters

Cuba under Raul Castro has entered a new period of economic, social, and political transformation. Reforms instituted within the past few years have brought the expansion of private sector entrepreneurial activity, including lifting restrictions on the sales of residential real estate, automobiles, and electronic goods. Additional reforms included, more than a million hectares of idle land has been leased to private farmers where, citizens have been granted permission to stay in hotels previously reserved for tourists, and freedom being granted for most Cubans to travel abroad. Stating that it was time for the “gradual transfer” of “key roles to new generations,” President Raul Castro announced that he will retire by 2018, and named as his possible successor a man who was not even born at the time of the Cuban Revolution. [1]

The twilight of the Castro era presents challenges and opportunities for U.S. policy makers. Normalization of relations is inevitable, regardless of timing, yet external and internal factors may accelerate or retard the process. The death of Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez is likely to undermine the already dysfunctional Cuban economy if it leads to reductions in oil imports and other forms of aid. This could bring social chaos, especially among the island’s disaffected youth. Such an outcome would generate adverse consequences for U.S. national and regional security. To maintain Cuba’s social and economic stability while, reforms are maturing, the United States must throw itself open to unrestricted bilateral trade with all Cuban enterprises, both private and state-owned.

The collapse of Cuba’s tottering economy could seismically impact the United States and neighboring countries. It certainly did during the Mariel Boatlift of 1980, precipitated by a downturn in the Cuban economy which led to tensions on the island. Over 125,000 Cuban refugees landed in the Miami area, including 31,000 criminals and mental patients. Today, the United States defines its national security interests regarding Cuba as follows:

• Avoid one or more mass migrations;
• Prevent Cuba from becoming another porous border that allows continuous large-scale migration to hemisphere;
• Prevent Cuba from becoming a major source or transshipment point for the illegal drug trade;
• Avoid Cuba becoming a state with ungoverned spaces that could provide a platform for terrorists and others wishing to harm the United States. [2]
All of these national security threats are directly related to economic and social conditions within Cuba.

U.S. policy specifically supports “a market-oriented economic system” toward Cuba, yet regulations prohibit the importation of any goods of Cuban origin, whether from the island’s potentially booming private sector – including 300,000 agricultural producers – or State Owned Enterprises (“SOEs”). [3],[4] Such a policy is counterproductive to U.S. interests. Regardless of over 400,000 entrepreneurs, including agricultural cultivators, it could be many years, if ever, when Cuba’s private sector would be ready to serve as the engine of economic growth. SOEs employ 72 percent of Cuban workers. [5] A rational commercial rapprochement towards Cuba would; therefore, require a change in current laws and in the system of regulations prohibiting the importation of Cuban goods and products. Normalized bilateral trade will benefit the Cuban people by helping to provide economic stability and fostering the growth of a middle class – both of which are essential for the foundation of democratic institutions. Two-way trade must include both Cuba’s private sector as well as SOEs.

Cuban SOEs are in a state of gradual transition like other parts of the economy. In December 2012, the Cuban government authorized a wide range of co-ops that will allow workers to collectively open new businesses or take over existing SOEs in construction, transportation and other industries. Considered a pilot program that is a prime candidate for an expansion, the co-ops “will not be administratively subordinated to any state entity.”[6] Many Cuban officials, well aware of the limits to small-scale entrepreneurism, appear to harbor hope that co-ops could shift a large portion of the island’s economy to free-market competition from government-managed socialism. In other transitional states, particularly in post-socialist economies, co-ops have served as commercial bridges between state-owned and privatized business. Of the 300 largest co-ops in the world, more than half are in United States, Italy, or France. [7]

Ironically, the outputs of such co-ops, including agricultural products which could find strong demand in the American market, are barred by short-sighted federal regulations, thus hampering if not defeating what could be a major U.S. policy goal.

The United States has been actively trading with foreign SOEs for years. The People’s Republic of China – a one party and communist state – is the United States’ second largest trading partner, and Chinese SOE’s account for a large percentage of the nearly $400 billion USD in goods exported to America each year. Venezuela is in the top fifteen of U.S. trading partners, and the bulk of that country’s exports are petroleum products deriving from the state-owned PDVSA (which in turn owns Houston-based CITCO oil company). Another communist country, Vietnam – which initially was the subject of a U.S. economic embargo similar to that imposed on Cuba – is the second-largest source of U.S. clothing imports and a major manufacturing source for footwear, furniture, and electrical machinery. [8] On these matters, the Cuban government has said that it wants to “replicate the paths of Vietnam and China.” [9]

Keep reading on coha.org >>

Preserving Stability in Cuba After Normalizing Relations with the US

Latin Builders question firm's Cuba ties

Naked Politics

Posted by Patricia Mazzei/

Contractor Odebrecht USA has invited construction trade organizations to attend an information session Monday on a massive new project for Miami International Airport called Airport City. But don’t expect to see the Latin Builders Association there.

The LBA will skip the session because a subsidiary of Odebrecht’s Brazilian parent company is renovating the Cuban Port of Mariel. That connection has put the Coral Gables-based Odebrecht USA in political hot water. Several county commissioners have opposed giving the firm any more work.

“We must be steadfast in our resolve for our brothers in Cuba,” LBA President Bernie Navarro wrote in a letter. “We can’t allow Odebrecht to traffic with our suffering. Our position is not negotiable.”

Navarro, however, made sure to call Gilberto Neves, Odebrecht USA’s president, “a class act.” “His actions and respect for this community are not the same as those of his corporate parent,” he wrote.

Navarro’s letter was distributed by Mauricio Claver-Carone, executive director of the U.S.-Cuba Democracy Political Action Committee in Washington that has vocally complained about Odebrecht’s ties to Cuba. A handful of Miami-Dade cities have approved legislation opposing Airport City.

“I don’t know what’s driving them,” Neves told The Miami Herald’s editorial board last week about the cities’ resolutions. “I hope that the benefits of [the project] outweigh that.”

Latin Builders question firm's Cuba ties

EEUU le gana los habanos a Cuba

eldiariony

Felipe Gonzalez con su Cohiba/ plataformaciudadanaya

RICHMOND, Virginia — La empresa General Cigar Co. Inc. puede seguir utilizando el nombre de la marca registrada Cohiba para sus puros en Estados Unidos, dijo ayer una comisión federal.

Es el fallo más reciente en una batalla legal de casi 16 años con la empresa nacional cubana de puros por esa marca de Cuba.

General Cigar, con sede en Richmond, Virginia, y subsidiaria de la sueca Match AB, indicó que la Comisión de Juicios y Apelaciones sobre Marcas Registradas rechazó el pedido de Cubatabaco de que fuera cancelado el uso del nombre por parte de la firma estadounidense.

La comisión falló que, como los tribunales decretaron que Cubatabaco no puede vender sus puros en Estados Unidos, carece de personalidad jurídica para litigar en ese país por la marca registrada Cohiba.

General Cigar dijo que ha vendido sus puros Cohiba de procedencia dominicana en Estados Unidos desde principios de la década de 1980. Recibió su primer registro de esa marca en territorio estadounidense en 1981.

Los cigarros Cohiba fueron creados en Cuba en 1966 para ofrecer su producto a Fidel Castro y los mandatarios que iban de visita a la isla.

EEUU le gana los habanos a Cuba

Federal appeals judges, meeting in Miami, question state’s controversial Cuba law

MiamiHerald.com

By Patricia Mazzei

A panel of skeptical federal appeals judges meeting in Miami Thursday sharply questioned a Florida law prohibiting the state and local governments from hiring companies with business ties to Cuba.
Several questions from the three-judge panel centered on whether the law would conflict with the federal government’s power to set foreign policy. Last year, U.S. District Judge K. Michael Moore blocked the law from taking effect, ruling in favor of Odebrecht USA, the Coral Gables-based subsidiary of the Brazilian engineering and construction conglomerate. The state appealed.
On Thursday, 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Stanley Marcus asked Gregory Costas, an attorney for the Florida Department of Transportation, if the law would ban companies permitted under federal law to do some business with Cuba — such as providing agricultural equipment or medical supplies — from obtaining government contracts in Florida.
“That would be doing business with Cuba,” Costas responded.
“Isn’t that a square collision with the federal regime?” Marcus said.
Odebrecht sued FDOT over the law, approved by a near-unanimous majority of state legislators and signed by Republican Gov. Rick Scott. It would prohibit state and local government agencies from awarding contracts worth at least $1 million to U.S. firms whose foreign-owned parent companies or subsidiaries work in Cuba or Syria. An affiliate of Odebrecht USA’s parent company is heading a major expansion of the Cuban Port of Mariel.
Costas argued that Odebrecht USA had not proved it would be caused “irreparable harm” by the law, because the firm had not bid for an FDOT project in 15 years. But that view was too narrow, Marcus suggested, since the law affects all government agencies.
“The legislation goes farther than the [transportation] department,” he said.
The law would prevent Odebrecht USA, which does not work in Cuba or Syria, from bidding on future public contracts, essentially killing its business, said Jim Moye, an attorney for the firm.
“If you can’t bid work, you’re out of business,” said Moye, who was asked far fewer questions than Costas. “That’s their lifeblood.”
The law has caused political turmoil for the governor, who flew to Miami to sign it last year only to later issue a written statement suggesting the legislation was unconstitutional. That prompted swift backlash from Cuban Americans, prompting the governor to clarify that his administration would defend the law.
Scott stood by the law Thursday.
“Look at what Syria’s doing now,” he told a Miami Herald reporter after an interview with the newspaper’s editorial board. Scott pointed to recent reports of a chemical weapon being used in an attack in Syria’s ongoing civil war.
The political fallout has also extended to local governments, particularly in light of Odebrecht’s latest proposal to develop 33 acres around Miami International Airport as part of a $512 million project known as Airport City.
Several county commissioners have said they don’t want to give Odebrecht more business, after reluctantly awarding the firm the contract to rebuild wharves at PortMiami. Odebrecht also has done extensive business at the airport and the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts.
Last year, 62 percent of Miami-Dade voters approved a nonbinding ballot question to ban the county from hiring companies that “actively” do business with state sponsors of terrorism. Since then, elected officials in several cities, including Miami Beach, Miami Lakes and Sweetwater, have approved identical measures opposing the hiring of Odebrecht for the Airport City project, citing the intent of the challenged law.
“It’s just about, I think, sensitivity to other people who suffered through atrocity,” said Miami Beach Commissioner Jonah Wolfson, who sponsored his city’s resolution. “They’re benefitting tremendously economically from a deal like this, and it just doesn’t seem right.”
The resolution has the support of Mauricio Claver-Carone, executive director of the U.S.-Cuba Democracy Political Action Committee in Washington that pushed for the state legislation.
“How is it that the number one business partner of the Cuban dictatorship is the number one recipient of projects and money from the Cuban-American community?” he said. “That is unheard of.”
The judges did not say when they would rule.
After Thursday’s hearing, Gilberto Neves, president and CEO of Odebrecht USA, appeared hopeful.
“I think we’ll be OK, but we’re anxious to see the final result,” he said.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/03/21/3299069/federal-appeals-judges-meeting.html#storylink=cpy

Federal appeals judges, meeting in Miami, question state’s controversial Cuba law

U.S. Intelligence Director: Castro Urgently Needs Hard Currency

capitolhillcubans.

The U.S. should not lift sanctions and economically rescue the Castro dictatorship.

By Admiral James Clapper, Director of National Intelligence, during today's hearing of the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence:

Cuban President Raul Castro is proceeding cautiously with economic reforms to reduce the state’s direct role in the economy and diversify trade relations, while preserving socialism and the regime. Measures implemented since 2011 to expand self-employment, permit sales of vehicles and property, and lease state lands to farmers are generally popular but have failed to produce much growth. With their primary patron Hugo Chavez’s death, Cuba’s leaders are urgently trying to attract foreign investment partners and increase their access to hard currency and foreign credit.

A priority for Cuban leaders is ensuring that economic reform does not increase pressure for a political opening and greater individual rights. There is no indication that Castro’s efforts, including his stated interest in laying the groundwork for a generational transition in leadership, will loosen the regime’s grip on power. The stiff prison term imposed on USAID subcontractor Alan Gross for facilitating uncensored Internet connectivity demonstrates the Castro regime’s sensitivity to public access to technology and information beyond its control. Indeed, harsh government repression of peaceful protests and an upswing in short-term arrests of dissidents indicate economic changes will not be coupled with political changes.

Havana recently announced a new travel and migration policy for most Cubans that will no longer require exit permits and extends the time Cubans can remain abroad without forfeiting property and other rights. The new policy has thus far only prompted a modest boost in US visas. The US Interests Section in Havana recently implemented process improvements that dramatically reduced wait times for nonimmigrant visa appointments. Countries around the region are watching for any indication of significant increases in Cuban nationals arriving under the new travel policy, but to date they have seen no such increases.

U.S. Intelligence Director: Castro Urgently Needs Hard Currency