Ecuador niega ser destino del barco norcoreano retenido en Panamá con armas

EFE

El Ministerio de Defensa de Ecuador negó hoy que el barco norcoreano retenido en Panamá y en cuyo interior se han encontrado armas procedentes de Cuba tuviera como destino el país andino, tal como indicaba un mensaje de Twitter recibido por el expresidente colombiano Alvaro Uribe, quien lo reenvió ayer.

El mensaje recibido por Uribe de un remitente no revelado señala que tiene información de que el barco no se dirigía a Corea del Norte sino a Ecuador y que parte de esas armas serían descargadas en territorio colombiano.

"Le adelanto que el barco no iba a North Corea. Este barco se dirigía a Ecuador y parte de esas armas para su país. Saludos", señala parte del mensaje reenviado por Uribe, que gobernó Colombia de 2002 a 2010.

El ministerio ecuatoriano de Defensa, en un comunicado, declaró hoy "enfáticamente, que el buque norcoreano, detenido en el canal de Panamá, y en cuyo interior se encontró armamento procedente de Cuba, no tenía como destino Ecuador".

La nota rechaza las manifestaciones del exmandatario colombiano, "quien públicamente solicita que se investigue la supuesta vinculación de nuestro país como uno de los destinos de esa embarcación".

Defensa añade que esta información "ha sido negada por las propias autoridades cubanas y panameñas, quienes confirman que el buque viajaba con rumbo a Corea del Norte".

En la nota, la ministra de defensa, María Fernanda Espinosa, afirma que "este tipo de declaraciones entorpece el proceso de construcción de una cultura de paz basada en el fortalecimiento de la región latinoamericana".

"No permitiremos que se muestre a Ecuador y a nuestros países hermanos como armamentistas, cuando nos hemos proclamado desde las plataformas de integración regional (Unasur, Mercosur, Celac y Alba) como una región de paz, que apoya las negociaciones que, en este sentido, lleva adelante Colombia", señaló.

El mercante norcoreano "Chong Chon Gang" fue retenido por las autoridades panameñas hace diez días debido a que información de inteligencia sugería que podía transportar drogas, pero durante la revisión lo que se hallaron fueron las armas, de acuerdo a la versión oficial.

Las autoridades de La Habana admitieron el pasado martes que enviaron en el buque hacia Corea del Norte ese material militar de su propiedad y que se trata de equipo "obsoleto" que iba a ser reparado en el país asiático y devuelto a la isla.

La carga militar, que no fue declarada ante las autoridades panameñas por el mercante, estaba oculta bajo 10.000 toneladas de azúcar cruda distribuida en más 220.000 sacos de 45 kilos, que están siendo sacados del barco a hombros por cerca de dos centenares de agentes panameños.

Se trata de "dos complejos coheteriles antiaéreos Volga y Pechora, nueve cohetes en partes y piezas, dos aviones Mig-21 Bis y 15 motores de ese tipo" de aeronave, todos de fabricación rusa y que datan de la década de 1950, según el Gobierno de Raúl Castro.

Corea del Norte defendió el miércoles la legalidad del envío aludiendo a un "contrato legítimo" con Cuba, exigió la liberación "sin demora" del buque y sus 35 tripulantes, y acusó a Panamá de "asaltar" el barco "bajo el pretexto de buscar drogas" que finalmente no se encontraron

Panamá espera la llegada, el próximo 5 de agosto, de una misión de las Naciones Unidas para que inspeccione el cargamento y determine si se está ante la violación de alguna de las resoluciones que prohíben a Corea del Norte importar o exportar cualquier tipo de armamento.

Portraits of smiling dictators decorate seized North Korean ’weapons’ ship

sorry for them. they missed fidel & raul castro's portraits.

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photoblog

Carlos Jasso / Reuters

The Chong Chon Gang docks at the Manzanillo International Container Terminal in Colon City, Panama, on Tuesday.

Carlos Jasso / Reuters

Portraits of former leaders Kim Jong Il (right) and Kim Il Sung are seen in one of the rooms aboard the North Korean-flagged Chong Chon Gang after it docked in Colon City, Panama, on Tuesday.

By Ian Johnston, Staff Wrtier, NBC News

If the loyalty of the crew of a North Korean cargo ship detained in Panama after weapons were found on board was ever in doubt, photographs from inside the ship suggest they were devoted to the rogue communist state’s ruling family.
At least two different rooms on the Chong Chon Gang had pictures of President Kim Il Sung  - the founder of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea – and his late son Kim Jong Il.
Both sets of photographs of the smiling, late dictators were given pride of place, high on the walls.

Carlos Jasso / Reuters

Portraits of crew members are seen in one of the rooms inside the Chong Chon Gang on Tuesday.

Carlos Jasso / Reuters

Portraits of late North Korean leaders Kim Jong Il and Kim Il-sung are seen in one of the rooms on the Chong Chon Gang on Tuesday.

Carlos Jasso / Reuters

Part of a green missile-shaped object is seen aboard the Chong Chon Gang on Tuesday.

There were also photographs of the 35-strong crew, who have been detained in Fort Sherman, a former U.S. military base in Panama.
Other images from the ship showed more of the military equipment that was on its way from Cuba to North Korea -- possibly in breach of United Nations sanctions.
Cuba’s government said that the ship was carrying “240 metric tons of obsolete defensive weapons -- two anti-aircraft missile complexes Volga and Pechora, nine missiles in parts and spares, two Mig-21 Bis and 15 motors for this type of airplane, all of it manufactured in the mid-20th century -- to be repaired and returned to Cuba."
Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli said late Monday that “sophisticated missile equipment” had been found.
The U.N. is set to investigate the situation but one expert said he thought Cuba’s actions were a breach of the embargo.

Arnulfo Franco / AP

Military equipment is seen in containers aboard the North Korean-flagged vessel on Tuesday.

James Hardy, Asia-Pacific editor of respected military affairs magazine Jane’s Defence Weekly, said the equipment Cuba said was on the ship was “pretty well covered” by U.N. Security Council Resolution 1874.
The resolution says all member states shall “prevent the direct or indirect supply, sale or transfer” to North Korea of “any battle tanks, armored combat vehicles, large caliber artillery systems, combat aircraft, attack helicopters, warships, missiles or missile systems as defined for the purpose of the United Nations Register on Conventional Arms, or related materiel including spare parts.”
Hardy said that the “argument that it is just for repair doesn’t wash – it would be covered by ‘direct or indirect supply, sale or transfer.’”
“So in short, Cuba appears to be in breach – and pretty heavily,” he said.

Alejandro Bolivar / EPA

Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli (left) speaks with officials during a tour of the ship on Tuesday.

Arnulfo Franco / AP

A crew member sleeps on a mattress aboard the seized ship on Tuesday.

Alejandro Bolivar / EPA

A group of men work clearing a container hidden in the North Korean flagged ship Chong Chon Gang, docked at the pier in Manzanillo, Colon, Panama, on Tuesday.

Hardy added that the presence of MiG-21s in the shipment was “particularly intriguing given that North Korea has been trying to acquire MiG-21 engines and spare parts via a former Mongolian Air Force commander.”

However, he said that it was “probable” that Cuba was looking to have some of the equipment refurbished by North Korea.
“The S-125 Neva/Pechora … and S-75 Volga-M … systems are both in North Korean service … but Pyongyang is also believed to have more up-to-date systems in service, including an S-300 'look-alike' long-range surface-to-air missile system shown at a 2012 military parade,” Hardy added.
The United Nations said in a statement Tuesday that it expected Panama would notify the U.N.’s committee on North Korean sanctions and that an expert panel “created specifically to investigate such incidents will be conducting a thorough review.”
“If it is confirmed that the vessel was carrying arms or related materiel and that the shipment was part of a purchase or sale to or from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, then there would indeed be a breach of the U.N. sanctions regime relating to that country,” the U.N. statement said.
Related:

• Full North Korea coverage from NBC News

Carlos Jasso / Reuters

A worker inspects the North Korean-flagged ship Chong Chon Gang on Tuesday.

Arnulfo Franco / AP

A Panamanian police stands guard in an empty corridor aboard the North Korean-flagged ship on Tuesday.

N. Korean ship has history of drug smuggling, says State Department

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Daring migrant tries to enter Spain on ferry propeller

ITN

U.S. Launches Drone from Aircraft Carrier for First Time

ExtraWorldNews 

breitbart

(AP) - A drone the size of a fighter jet took off from the deck of an American aircraft carrier for the first time Tuesday in a test flight that could eventually open the way for the U.S. to launch unmanned aircraft from just about any place in the world.

The X-47B is the first drone designed to take off and land on a carrier, meaning the U.S. military would not need permission from other countries to use their bases.

"As our access to overseas ports, forward operating locations and airspace is diminished around the world, the value of the aircraft carrier and the air wing becomes more and more important," Rear Adm. Ted Branch, commander of Naval Air Forces Atlantic, said after the flight off the Virginia coast. "So today is history."

The move to expand the capabilities of the nation's drones comes amid growing criticism of America's use of Predators and Reapers to gather intelligence and carry out lethal missile attacks against terrorists in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Yemen.

Critics in the U.S. and abroad have charged that drone strikes cause widespread civilian deaths and are conducted with inadequate oversight.

Still, defense analysts say drones are the future of warfare.

The new Joint Strike Fighter jet "might be the last manned fighter the U.S. ever builds. They're so expensive, they're so complex, and you put a human at risk every time it takes off from a carrier," said James Lewis, senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

"This is the next generation of military technology _ the unmanned vehicles, the unmanned submersibles, the unmanned aircraft. This will be the future of warfare, and it will be a warfare that is a little less risky for humans but maybe a little more effective when it comes to delivering weapons and effect."

While the X-47B isn't intended for operational use, it will help Navy officials develop future carrier-based drones. Those drones could begin operating by 2020, according to Rear Adm. Mat Winter, the Navy's program executive officer for unmanned aviation and strike weapons.

The X-47B is far bigger than the Predator, has three times the range and can be programmed to carry out missions with no human intervention, the Navy said.

While the X-47B isn't a stealth aircraft, it was designed with the low profile of one. That will help in the development of future stealth drones, which would be valuable as the military changes its focus from the Middle East to the Pacific, where a number of countries' air defenses are a lot stronger than Afghanistan's.

"Unmanned systems would be the likely choice in a theater or an environment that was highly defended or dangerous where we wouldn't want to send manned aircraft," Branch said.

During Tuesday's flight, the X-47B used a steam catapult to launch, just as traditional Navy warplanes do. The unarmed aircraft then landed at Naval Air Station Patuxent River in Maryland.

The next critical test for the tailless plane will come this summer, when it attempts to land on a moving aircraft carrier, one of the most difficult tasks for Navy pilots.

Earlier this month, the X-47B successfully landed at the air station using a tailhook to catch a cable and bring it to a quick stop, just as planes setting down on carriers have to do.

The X-47B has a wingspan of about 62 feet and weighs 14,000 pounds, versus nearly 49 feet and about 1,100 pounds for the Predator.

While Predators are typically piloted via remote control by someone in the U.S., the X-47B relies only on computer programs to tell it where to fly unless a human operator needs to step in. Eventually, one person may be able to control multiple unmanned aircraft at once, Branch said.

The group Human Rights Watch said it is troubled by what it described as a trend toward the development of fully autonomous weapons that can choose and fire upon targets with no human intervention.

"We're saying you must have meaningful human control over key battlefield decisions of who lives and who dies. That should not be left up to the weapons system itself," said Steve Goose, director of the arms division at Human Rights Watch.

Developed by Northrop Grumman under a 2007 contract at a cost of $1.4 billion, the X-47B is capable of carrying weapons and providing around-the-clock intelligence, surveillance and targeting, according to the Navy, which has been giving updates on the project over the past few years.

The X-47B can reach an altitude of more than 40,000 feet and has a range of more than 2,100 nautical miles, versus 675 for the Predator. The Navy plans to show the drone can be refueled in flight, which would give it even greater range.

Navy unveils powerful ship-mounted laser weapon

U.S. News

U.S. Navy

The Laser Weapon System (LaWS) temporarily installed aboard the guided-missile destroyer USS Dewey.

By Courtney Kube, NBC News

The U.S. Navy announced Monday that it is preparing to deploy a new weapon that can disable a hostile boat and even destroy a surveillance drone overhead — all without dispensing any expensive ammunition.

The Navy released this video showing its new laser weapons system during an exercise at sea. The laser is capable of destroying planes, drones and boats.

It is the Navy's Laser Weapons System (LaWS), a laser mounted on a ship that is so strong it can ignite a drone, sending it crashing and burning to earth in mere moments.

The USS Ponce, an amphibious transport docking ship, will be the first Navy vessel to deploy with the LaWS, officials announced Monday.

The new laser will be installed on the Ponce over the next year and operational in summer 2014. The Ponce is now based in the Fifth Fleet area, which covers the Persian Gulf and the Horn of Africa.

The LaWS will initially be used to combat small boats that pose a threat to larger U.S. Navy vessels — much like the small Iranian fast boats that pester U.S. ships in the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz.

The Navy plans to use the laser to combat missiles and other threats from the air, to ward off threatening ships and to stop other foreign threats. Eventually the system will be able to stop an incoming missile.

While making the announcement in Maryland today, Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Jonathan Greenert praised the LaWS ability to take out targets at a tiny fraction of the cost of other conventional weapons.

He claimed that the LaWS can shoot down a small drone for about $1 worth of electricity and, once the laser is operational, it should be able to replace a Gatling gun, whose rounds can cost several thousand dollars each.

A defense official also stressed that the laser will not have full capability to take down a larger target for a decade or so.

Despite speculation the laser is deploying to the Fifth Fleet to warn Iran, a U.S. military official says that the real reason it's going to that region is that it is "the hardest environment" the Navy has available to test the new system.

58 injured when commuter ferry crashes in Manhattan

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Steve Jobs’ Superyacht Impounded in Payment Dispute

Wired/ By Damon Lavrinc

The megayacht that Steve Jobs commissioned in the final years of his life has been impounded in Amsterdam after a payment dispute by the designer, Philippe Starck.

The Venus, a 100-million-euro, 260-foot-long yacht, made its unofficial debut in late October. It’s currently stuck in the Port of Amsterdam after Starck hired a debt-collection agency to attempt to remit the final payment for his design.

According to lawyers at Ubik – Starck’s design company – speaking with Reuters, the designer has only received 6 million of the 9-million-euro commission and is seeking the rest of the payment before the Venus will be released.

“These guys [Jobs and Starck] trusted each other, so there wasn’t a very detailed contract,” Roelant Klaassen, a lawyer for Ubik, told Reuters.

The Venus is a floating ode to both Jobs and Starck’s minimalist aesthetic. Made entirely out of aluminum, with 40-foot-long floor-to-ceiling windows lining the passenger compartment and seven 27-inch iMacs making up the command center.

In Walter Isaacson’s biography of Jobs, the late Apple CEO is quoted as saying that, “I know that it’s possible I will die and leave Laurene with a half-built boat, but I have to keep going on. If I don’t, it’s an admission that I’m about to die.”

Ferry de Cayo Hueso a La Habana?

Segun Aldo Rosado-Tuero >>

Masked men stole 70 gold bars from fishing boat in Curacao

what the hell were doing 70 gold bars on a fishing boat?

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By Karen Attiah, The The "Summer Bliss" fishing boat sits docked at the Willemstad port in Curacao, on Nov. 30. Masked men in jackets emblazoned with the word "police" boarded the "Summer Bliss" in an early morning assault on Friday and stole 70 gold bars worth an estimated $11.5 million, police spokesman Reggie Huggins said.

Masked men in jackets emblazoned with the word "police" boarded a fishing boat Friday in Curacao and stole 70 gold bars worth an estimated $11.5 million, officials in the southern Caribbean island said.

The boat's captain was struck in the head in the early-morning assault before the thieves made off with the gold in three cars, police spokesman Reggie Huggins said. Authorities believe there were at least six men involved in the heist. No suspects were in custody.

Huggins declined to say who owned the approximately 476 pounds of gold but he said it was a legal shipment that was being trans-shipped through Curacao and officials in the island had been advised in advance that it was coming as part of normal security protocols. He declined to disclose the eventual destination of the metal.

"Authorities knew of the shipment because the official procedure was followed," the spokesman said.

Huggins said that guards to the port area let the assailants inside a restricted area in the mistaken belief that they were customs officials. The men's jackets had the word "police" in English but in Curacao the word would be written in Papiamento, one of the island's three official languages, as "polis." During the robbery, crew members said they wore hoods and masks and made off with the gold in a matter of minutes.

"The crew said it was like a movie operation, very fast," Huggins said.

The captain and three crew members were from the South American country of Guyana, he said.

The boat, by its appearance, would seem an unlikely place to stash that amount of gold. The "Summer Bliss" is a fishing boat with rust streaks on its white cabin and no visible security.

A crew member who gave his name as Raymond Emmanuel told The Associated Press that they left Guyana four days ago and arrived early Friday in Curacao. Contradicting police, he said they were delivering the gold to a company in Curacao but said he did not know the name of the business.

He referred questions about the source of the gold to the captain, who was meeting with authorities on the Dutch Caribbean island and was not immediately available.

Emmanuel said the gold was locked away when the thieves boarded the vessel. "They took everything," he said. More on NBC >>

Las FAR y el Asbesto: Una teja por familia

varias curiosidades nos trae el granma de hoy en La más honrosa misión, donde resena el empleo de un buque "multiproposito" de las far [no de la marina de guerra, sino de las far]  para trasladar 43,700 tejas de fibrocemento desde la'bana hasta el puerto de santiago de cuba.    

para dejar claro que es asunto de generales y no de marineros "El miembro del Buró Político, viceministro de las FAR, general de cuerpo de ejército Ramón Espinosa Martín, recibió al buque y expresó que esta es otra contribución de las Fuerzas Armadas a la recuperación de la región oriental".  

la foto en plano cerrado -como es costumbre- que publica el granma, muestra una pequena nave poco artillada con una plataforma porta-helicopteros.

considerando que una teja de asbesto-cemento tiene un peso minimo de 16kg, la carga total de las 43,700 tejas considerando las estibas rebasaria ligeramente las 700 toneladas. 

descartando las viviendas totalmente destruidas, se estima entre 27 y 30 mil las viviendas que perdieron sus techos. luego como es posible que el granma afirme que 37,400 tejas favoreceran a 37 mil familias [del total 6 mil 300 estan destinadas al sector estatal]. una teja por familia!!!     

por otro lado granma se refiere a tejas de fibrocemento, cuando realmente las que se producen en cuba son de asbesto-cemento. las cubiertas ligeras como soluciones para techos tan extendidas en cuba que dejan desprotegidos a viviendas, escuelas, almacenes y animales con el primer viento platanero, tienen tantas contraindicaciones que violan las mas elementales normas constructivas, que su empleo mundial se remite solo a regiones de extrema pobreza.
y ello lo conocen perfectamente las autoridades cubanas -y supongo que el plumifero de turno del granma, aunque sobre esto ultimo no estoy seguro por la tradicional indigencia cultural de estos sueldistas de la propaganda oficial-, por lo que emplean el termino fibrocemento y no el de asbesto-cemento, cuyo impacto en la salud humana esta largamente documentado. 

a los nocivos efectos del asbesto ha estado expuesta durante decadas la poblacion cubana [techos y tanques de agua], los ninos en las escuelas, los constructores, los trabajadores que laboran en las plantas de tejas y la poblacion en general.  

El "Ana Cecilia" llega a La Habana???

tvnportal

First direct US shipment to Cuba in 50 years... by tvnportal

The Origins of “Glomar” Declassified

A USGS Satellite photo of the Glomar Explorer in Suisun Bay, CA

UNREDACTED/ By William Burr

On 19 March 1975, the New York Times’ front page included Seymour Hersh’s headline story, “C.I.A. Salvage Ship Brought Up Part of Soviet Sub Lost in 1968, Failed to Raise Atom Missiles.” This was the story of the ship Glomar Explorer, constructed by one of Howard Hughes’ companies under CIA contract, and built to salvage a Soviet submarine three miles in Pacific waters. The National Archives has recently declassified in full, in response to a mandatory declassification review appeal, the record of a White House discussion that same day about Hersh’s story. President Gerald Ford met with White House advisers, Secretary of Defense James Schlesinger, and CIA director William Colby and discussed a response to the disclosure of “Operation Matador,” the code name for the salvaging project. Schlesinger wanted to confirm the story because it was “a major American accomplishment”, a “marvel,” and going public would help it avoid looking like “part of a covert operation.” Unpersuaded, Colby wanted to keep the lid on it. Recalling the May 1960 U-2 affair, when President Eisenhower acknowledged his responsibility which led to the collapse of the Paris summit meeting in May 1960, Colby wanted to take a different tack: “We should not put the Soviet Union under such pressure to respond.” With U.S.-Soviet détente under pressure in the United States, Colby thought it better to avoid new tensions in relations with Moscow.  More >>

British ship in Cuba to mark 250th anniversary of the Battle of Havana

HAVANA, Cuba (AP) -- A British fleet-support ship has docked in Havana's harbor as Cuba and the U.K. prepare to mark the 250th anniversary of the Battle of Havana.

The gray RFA Fort Rosalie arrived Wednesday morning with more than 100 crewmembers aboard. It tied up at the cruise ship terminal and was greeted by a band playing both countries' national anthems.

British forces laid siege to Havana in June 1762 during the Seven Years' War. At the time, the city was an important base for Spanish military power in the Western Hemisphere.

Havana remained under British control until the following year, when Spain ceded Florida under a treaty. The Fort Rosalie usually aids British Navy operations. Its visit coincides with British cultural week, which includes cinematic, theatrical and musical events.

Massive fire on nuclear powered submarine

Security Clearance/

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Matt Rutherford - Solo Sail Around the Americas

Matt Rutherford

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Coast Guard cutter sinks tsunami 'ghost ship'

but they missed several shots at close range against a helpless and motionless target

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Teenager rescued after 28 days adrift at sea in small boat

[AP]  Adrian Vasquez, left, an 18-year-old Panamanian who worked in a seaside resort hotel, receives medical attention aboard an Ecuadorean navy ship on Sunday.

By msnbc.com staff and news services

Updated at 6:01 a.m. ET: A teen has apparently survived 28 days adrift in the Pacific Ocean after going on a fishing trip with two friends, according to reports. Adrian Vasquez, who was rescued by the Ecuadorean navy on Sunday, said he stayed alive by drinking rainwater and eating raw fish, the BBC reported.

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Se hunde el mayor dique flotante de Cuba

Foto de coleccion: DIQUE FLOTANTE DE LA HABANA (CUBA) CONSTRUIDO EN NEWCASTLE (INGLATERRA) TALLERES SWAN & HUNTER [1897]

LA HABANA, Cuba (Agencias, www.cubanet.org)  – Un dique seco flotante, el mayor de las dársenas de acero cubanas, se hundió el pasado sábado 12 de enero, al concluir una reparación de gran envergadura en los astilleros de Casa Blanca, según dijeron fuentes de la isla que reprodujo la cadena Univisión Radio.

El dique, que de acuerdo con reportes extraoficiales fue adquirido por Cuba a Alemania en la década de los años 70 a un costo de más de $300 millones,  “se hundió a 15 metros de profundidad después de la botadura del barco extranjero Platiniun, que estaba siendo reparado”, dijo un obrero que no se identificó.

En condiciones normales, al concluir la reparación de los barcos, los tanques del dique se inundan y bajan para que el barco reparado quede flotando. Pero esta vez el dique bajó y de repente se precipitó al fondo de la bahía. Se cree que el sistema de desagüe y bombeo pudo haber sufrido fallas en el momento de botar el barco. “El hundimiento del dique era inminente sobre todo por su antigüedad. Tampoco cumplía con los requerimientos técnicos para montajes de barcos de gran calado”, dijo uno de los técnicos de montaje de obra, que se negó a revelar su nombre.

La dársena, con una tara de más de 100 toneladas de acero, ya presentaba graves problemas. “Inseguridad en el blindaje, tanques de lastre, motores y plataforma corroída por el salitre. En el 2001 se planificó una reparación general en los astilleros de Curazao, pero resultó fallida por temor a que sufriera un naufragio durante el trayecto. En los años siguientes, el dique fue sometido a reparaciones insuficientes”, señaló un empleado relacionado con los astilleros.

El astillero cuenta con otro dique de menor capacidad para reparaciones de barcos pequeños que pasan por la isla y que pagan esos servicios en divisas. Pero la mayor fuente de empleo estaba en ese dique de gran proporción, advirtieron los trabajadores de la plataforma accidentada. Como resultado de tal incidente, todos sus empleados “dejaron de percibir la divisa (entre 30 y 40 CUC) del mes de enero”, indicó un obrero portuario.

Hasta el momento, las autoridades cubanas no han informado sobre las causas del desastre, ni a la prensa ni a los más de 800 obreros que laboran en el astillero.  Luego del hundimiento, algunos de los empleados  fueron expulsados y se espera que muchos más pudieran terminar en la calle por falta de trabajo.

License for ferry to Cuba denied

By Doreen Hemlock, Sun Sentinel

Just two weeks after a Fort Lauderdale company publicly complained of government delays on its application for ferry service to Cuba, a U.S. Treasury agency has denied the request.

Officials at Havana Ferry Partners say they will appeal. Its executives see no reason why U.S. authorities allow planes to carry U.S. passengers to Cuba but not ferries. Current U.S. regulations allow both "aircraft and vessels" to serve Cuba as an exception to the U.S. embargo against the communist-led island.

"We're not going away," said Leonard Moecklin Sr., Havana Ferry's managing partner.

The denial came from the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control, which oversees the 50-year-old U.S. embargo against Cuba. Its Feb. 27 letter said ferry service to Cuba is "beyond the scope of current policy."  More >>