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Spain says Cuba's release of dozens of political prisoners would improve its relations with the European Union and the United States and could eventually lead to the lifting of the long-standing U.S. embargo against the Communist-led island. Speaking Wednesday in Madrid, Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Ángel Moratinos told Parliament that the releases would have "political consequences" in U.S. relations with Cuba and prompt a shift in EU policy toward the island. Moratinos' remarks coincided with the arrival of a 12th freed political prisoner in Madrid. Another eight are expected in the Spanish capital this week. Cuba has agreed to release 52 political prisoners in a deal involving Madrid and the Roman Catholic Church.
By Patricia GroggHAVANA (IPS) - Talks between the government of President Raúl Castro and leaders of the Catholic Church in Cuba may alleviate internal tensions and lead to the release of political prisoners, although the dialogue should be extended to include other social sectors in the country, religious leaders and analysts told IPS.Castro met Wednesday with the archbishop of Havana, Cardinal Jaime Ortega, and with the head of the Cuban bishop's conference, archbishop Dionisio García, to discuss "matters of common interest" and the "favourable development of relations between the Catholic Church and the Cuban state," according to official sources.The meeting, requested by the Church, went on for over four hours, and touched on topics like conditions of prison inmates and the Ladies in White, who hold a peaceful protest march every Sunday demanding the release of their husbands and sons, who they consider political prisoners.In early May the cardinal successfully interceded with the authorities for the silent protests to be allowed without hindrance.
By Jonathan J. Levin March 31 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. House of Representatives may pass a bill next month that would ease restrictions on agricultural exports to Cuba and lift a ban on travel to the island, the measure’s sponsor said. Congressman Collin Peterson, chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, said he needs backing from one more lawmaker to assure the panel will pass the legislation. He expects to secure that pledge after Congress’s Easter recess, and for the measure to get approval by the full House. “Cuba used to be one of our big markets,” Peterson, a Minnesota Democrat, said in a telephone interview yesterday. The bill “would help us get those markets back.”
Thursday, 25 February 2010 15:30

Betting On Thaw In U.S./Cuba Relations

By Ben Dummett Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES TORONTO (Dow Jones)--Leisure Canada Inc. (LCN.V) hopes to start construction before the end of the year on what would be Havana's first hotel/conference center built to North American building standards, expecting a continued thawing in Cuba-U.S. relations to spur an influx of visitors to the Caribbean island. Located on the beach in the area of Havana known as Embassy Row, Leisure Canada's Monte Barreto development will consist of a 750-suite hotel, a conference center and vacation club, including a fractional ownership component. It will be built to Florida hurricane standards, and meet the room size and other standards used by the Hiltons and other well-known hotel operators, said Robin Conners, Leisure's chief executive.
Thursday, 24 December 2009 09:48

End the U.S. embargo of Cuba

The Seattle Times editorial board calls for the end of the U.S. embargo of Cuba. SEN. Maria Cantwell calls our attention to a law, signed by President Obama, allowing Cuba to buy U.S. farm produce and pay after the goods are shipped. The law reverses a Treasury ruling during the Bush years that Cuba had to pay in advance ˜ a ruling that stopped the trade altogether. This page favors the new law, which will allow a few of our state's farmers to make a little bit of money. But we would go much further. We would end altogether the embargo, which was imposed under President Kennedy almost a half-century ago.
By James Anderson (AP) August 28, 2009 SAN FRANCISCO DE PAULA, Cuba — New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson said Wednesday that he's just a governor on a trade mission and carries no message from the U.S. government as he visits Cuba this week. But he does plan to report his impressions to President Barack Obama. Richardson spoke outside Havana while visiting Ernest Hemingway's former home, where he donated a replica of a telephone used by Hemingway to curators on behalf of his state. He said all U.S. citizens should be able to visit such cultural gems. "I think enhancing cultural and artistic and educational ties is a prelude to diplomatic and commercial ties. It always happens that way," Richardson told The Associated Press. "I'm for enhanced tourism travel for Americans." Richardson said that travel should go beyond the so-called people-to-people educational and cultural contacts promoted by the Bill Clinton administration.
Thursday, 04 June 2009 13:20

OAS ends Cuba suspension after 47 years

BY Anahi Rama SAN PEDRO SULA, Honduras (Reuters) The Organization of American States lifted its 47-year suspension of Cuba on Wednesday in a move backed by Washington, but Cuban state-run TV said Havana had no interest in rejoining the group. "Cuba has not asked for nor does it wish to return to the OAS, which is steeped in a submissive and shady history," said anchorman Randy Alonso. There was no immediate reaction from officials of Cuba's communist-run government. But former Cuban leader Fidel Castro said in April that Cuba had no desire to rejoin the OAS, which he has criticized as an instrument of U.S. policy, and did not want to "hear the vile name of that institution." The 34-member hemispheric body, meeting in Honduras, unanimously scrapped a 1962 decision at the height of the Cold War that barred Cuba as revolutionary leader Fidel Castro took it toward communism and an alliance with the Soviet Union. While leftists in Latin America hailed the OAS vote as a diplomatic victory for Cuba, Washington said it had succeeded in ensuring that Cuba could not rejoin the group without moving toward democracy and respect for human rights. U.S. President Barack Obama has taken…
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