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In tough economic times, public opinion
shifts on Cuba embargo
By
David Adams,
Times Latin America Correspondent
In Print: Monday, September 14, 2009
We all know how Cuba excites passions in political debates from Miami to
Tampa.
Thursday night,
Rep. David Rivera, a Miami Republican, and Naples cattleman John Parke
Wright IV locked horns over United States policy toward Cuba in a debate
held in the wood-paneled enclave of downtown Tampa's University Club.
Rivera, a rising Cuban American political star, voiced the unbending
attitudes of Miami's hard-line exile community — no normalization of
relations until democratic elections are held and the political prisoners
are freed. Wright, who travels to the island frequently selling bull semen
to his counterparts in Cuba's anemic agricultural sector, called for an
immediate end to the 47-year-old embargo. It's not working, he said, and
it's hurting Florida.
The rhetoric of the debate, organized by
Tampa Bay Council of World
Affairs & Commerce, wasn't that surprising. What was surprising was
the apparent unanimity of support for Wright's side. In the middle of a
deep recession, a roomful of business people, a number of them with Cuban
ties, expressed little patience for a state legislator whose one-note
foreign policy seems to be holding Florida's faltering economy hostage.
"Prior to 1960, over 50 percent of the Port of Tampa's trade was with
Cuba," Wright said. "Cuba has been cut off by our heavy hand, for almost
50 years."
Florida's phosphate fertilizer and livestock industries are poised to
capitalize on Cuba's need to regenerate its food production, he pointed
out. He also invited Rivera to help revive the Hav-a-Tampa cigar factory
in Tampa, which closed recently with a loss of 495 jobs. Why not let Tampa
import Cuban tobacco, he said.
Don't be fooled, Rivera says. Doing business with Cuba won't help ordinary
Cubans. "There's only one business in Cuba, It's called Castro Inc."
Rivera has a point. Almost everyone in Cuba works for the state, and
salaries don't cover basic needs, despite free health care and education.
Private enterprise is only permitted in a tiny sector of the economy —
roadside car tire repairs, private taxis and a handful of small,
family-run restaurants and bed and breakfast lodgings — but it is strictly
licensed and subject to all kind of restrictions, as well as heavy taxes.
During the debate, moderated by Jack Harris, the morning talk show host
with WFLA-AM Radio, Rivera and Wright fielded questions from a panel of
journalists, including this reporter, as well as the audience, which
directed all its questions at Rivera.
Why keep the embargo when most Cuban-Americans don't support it any more,
asked Alexis Muellner, editor of the Tampa Bay Business Journal. He
cited a recent opinion poll that found 41 percent of Cuban Americans do
not support the embargo, against only 40 percent who are in favor of
keeping it.
Rivera dismissed the poll as lacking "empirical" veracity, even though it
was conducted by a leading pollster and merely confirmed several other
recent polls.
When it comes to Cuba, why can't we put jobs first and communism second,
as we happily seem to be able to do in China and Vietnam, a member of the
audience asked.
Rivera sought to back up his arguments by noting that Cuba is on a
official blacklist of state sponsors of terrorism, a designation made by
the Department of State. While that remains true, most experts, including
officials at the Pentagon, have long argued that Cuba's removal from that
list was way overdue.
"Cuba is not a terrorist nation," Wright argued. "It's a great tourist
destination."
Rivera held up the cause of Cuba's 206 political prisoners as a reason for
not relaxing U.S. policy. But his argument that the embargo is the proper
punishment for human rights violations fell flat. Many of the political
dissidents in Cuba do not support the embargo.
Toward the end, Rivera began to lose his composure under the barrage of
pointed questions. But, he remained gracious. Wright was "misguided" but
"well-intentioned," he conceded.
But as Florida's economic crisis deepens, these days it's an open question
as to who is more misguided on Cuba.
Contact David Adams at dadams@sptimes.com.
Miami Herald August 3, 2009
Cuba enters crisis mode as economy worsens
Cuba clicked into crisis mode Friday,
postponing a key Communist Party congress aimed at charting a
post-Castro future and announcing that its woeful economy is even worse
than expected.
Cubans will have to make do with less, top
communists suggested, as they insisted the armed forces are strong
enough to deal with any unrest.
The island's top two political bodies -
the Council of Ministers and the Communist Party's Central Committee -
huddled in secret on how to guide Cuba through what President Raul
Castro was quoted as calling a "very serious" crisis.
Miami Herald July 25, 2009
Man challenges
Cuba travel ban
An American is trying to get cited
by U.S. Customs officials for making several illegal trips to Cuba in an
effort to contest the U.S. travel ban on Cuba.
BY AMY TAXIN
Associated Press
LOS ANGELES -- A U.S. citizen trying to challenge the ban on
travel to Cuba on Friday bemoaned his inability to get arrested or cited
-- even after having his passport stamped in Havana and bringing back
Cuban memorabilia.
Mytchell Mora, a 39-year-old freelance entertainment news producer, said
he told U.S. customs officials he broke the law after flying through
Costa Rica home to Los Angeles early Friday.
Officials punched some information about him into a computer and sent
him home without punishment, Mora said. They didn't even confiscate his
Cuba T-shirt or postcards.
"I am just so
surprised nothing happened to me,'' Mora, who lives in West Hollywood,
said in a phone interview.
"What
can you really do when you're saying, `take me to jail or give me a
ticket,' and they do nothing to you?''
Mora hoped to get arrested or cited after
his fourth trip to Cuba so he could challenge the country's travel ban,
which he says discriminates against anyone who isn't Cuban American and
punishes Cuba's people, not its government. Mora said he hopes he may
still be cited so he can challenge the policy in U.S. courts.
Most Americans who travel to Cuba do so on the sly, sneaking in and back
without permission from U.S. authorities.
But Mora is trying to make a point.
He traveled to Cuba without permission in
1999 and 2000. About six months after the second visit, he got a letter
from the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control
saying he had to explain why he went to Cuba, who he stayed with and how
much money he spent -- and could face fines or jail time if he failed to
respond within 10 days.
He wrote back asking to exercise his Fifth Amendment protection against
self-incrimination and never heard back.
Mora returned to Cuba in 2002 and told the
Communist Party newspaper Granma which flight he would take to return to
the United States.
Upon arriving in Los Angeles, he was pulled out of line by U.S.
authorities who said they were waiting for him.
After answering questions about why he
went to Cuba, Mora was released and his bags were not checked.
On Friday morning, Mora said he immediately told U.S. authorities that
he broke the law and should be subject to a secondary inspection and
have his bags checked. Mora said a supervisor was called over and typed
information into a computer, but let him keep his souvenirs and leave
the airport.
The Associated Press left a message Friday for U.S. Customs and Border
Protection.
During his eight-day trip to Cuba, Mora spent about $50 in
government-controlled stores on a green and red Che Guevara beret, a
Cuba T-shirt, Cuban flag refrigerator magnets and postcards featuring a
picture of Fidel Castro shaking hands with author Ernest Hemingway.
"They
say if you buy these clothes or anything else, it goes to Castro's
hands,'' Mora said in Havana. "I don't think $30 for a shirt is going to
make or break this guy. The money I spend goes to the people and their
homes, not the government.''
Helpful Links on Cuba
Listed in the link below is a report and helpful information on the Cuban agricultural
sector and a listing of all products which can be legally exported to Cuba. The report was compiled by the University of Florida for USDA.
http://www.fas.usda.gov/itp/cuba/
CubaSituation0308.pdf
With specific regard to rules, regulations and trade
sanctions on exporting to Cuba, go to the following USDA websites:
http://www.fas.usda.gov/itp/cuba/cuba.asp
http://www.fas.usda.gov/itp/sanctions.asp
http://www.fas.usda.gov/itp/cuba/title_ix.html
What you need to know about the US Embargo and travel
to Cuba.
http://www.treas.gov/offices/enforcement/
ofac/programs/cuba/cuba.pdf
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BREAKING
NEWS |
General David Petraeus,
Commander USCENTCOM
to Address Tampa Bay Council
of World Affairs
TAMPA...General David H. Petraeus has accepted an
invitation to address members of the Tampa Bay Council of World
Affairs & Commerce and invited guests as part of its Distinguished
Speakers Series on February 3, 2010. The special evening
program will be co-hosted with the US Global Leadership
Coalition, www.usglc.com,
which is a Washington, D.C. based organization dedicated to
promoting global issues and challenges of the 21st century.
Location to be announced at a later date.
General David Petraeus, Commanding General, US Central Command
will talk about the role of the 61 Nation Coalition in the Middle East and the
Afghanistan war, plus the extraordinary global challenges and
opportunities of the 21st century call for a new vision of America's
engagement in the world involving effective use of development, diplomacy
and defense.
Tickets will be FREE for members and invited guests.
For additional information, please
visit
www.tampabayworldaffairs.com.
Florida Conference on Global
Trade Planned for 2010
TAMPA....The Tampa Bay Council of World Affairs & Commerce
will partner with the Florida Economic Development Council, FEDC,
to hold a statewide conference on international trade. The
conference is scheduled for May20-21, 2010 and will held at
the Intercontinental Hotel in Tampa.
This will be the first statewide conference on international trade
since the mid 90's. Enterprise Florida International will provide
assistance in developing workshops and programs which benefit
both economic development and business professionals who have an
interest developing in global trade opportunities.
A committee composed of Gene Gray, Hillsborough County Economic
Development; Jim Pyburn, Port of Tampa; Charlotte Starfire,
Sun Trust Bank; Debra Wilkinson, Broward County Economic
Development; George Martinez, USDOC Intl Trade and Steve Albee,
Tampa Bay Council of World Affairs & Commerce will be developing the
conference agenda and programs with the help of Manny Mencia, Sr.VP
Intl, Enterprise Florida and Amy Evancho, CEO, FEDC.
Attendance at past conferences exceeded 400 business and
governmental executives statewide. The conference will follow the
FEDC Annual Meeting being held the same week.
Q&A
Floridians should want offshore
drilling, says former lawmaker from Texas
By Nicole Norfleet, Times Staff Writer
In Print: Friday, July 31, 2009
TAMPA...Former U.S. Rep. Charlie Stenholm of Texas wants to educate
people in the bay area about the benefits of drilling for oil and gas
in their own back yard.
He paraphrases the late social commentator Will Rogers: "It ain't
people's ignorance that bothers me so much. It's them knowing so much
that ain't so is the problem."
Stenholm, 70, spoke in Tampa on July 31 to the Tampa Bay Council
of World Affairs& Commerce about offshore drilling, America's
dependence on foreign oil and climate change policy.
The lifelong Democrat, who says he represents the oil and gas
industry, has been traveling the country telling people how using
American oil reserves is what's best for the country.
Why do you feel that it is essential
to open up access to America's oil and natural gas reserves?
Well, you know, I would think particularly Floridians would see the
answer to that question. When you look at what's happening now to
tourism, when we saw $4.50 gasoline last year, the disruption to our
economy and all of the ramifications of that, that is why last year
the Congress passed the law opening up onshore and offshore drilling
opportunities again to allow us to develop our own natural resources.
So that's why it's so critical now to the very economic future of our
country.
Is there really enough readily
accessible oil in the United States to make a difference?
Nobody knows. Nobody can answer that question. All we're saying is,
"Doesn't it make sense to test and to see what we got rather than to
assume it's not there?" … The question that we pose to the people of
Florida: Wouldn't you like to know if you have a large gas field
somewhere off your shores that can help provide cleaner burning fuel
and that can help make sure we are not as dependent upon other sources
for energy?
Recently on South Padre Island in Texas, oil blobs washed up on the
shore. Why should Florida take the risk with its beaches?
What happened to Padre Island, I don't
want it happening anywhere. And if you look at the track record of the
oil and gas industry, there has been minimal spillage in the last 20
years. Minimal. And it's getting better every day because oil
companies are very sensitive to that, the liability that goes along
with that and the fact that the oil companies are as environmentally
sensitive as anyone. You have to realize — and we don't know where
this oil came from — we have natural seepage in the ocean. It occurs
naturally, and you can't stop it naturally. We're trying. If we know a
natural seepage, I guarantee you folks in the oil industry are No. 1,
going to try to retrieve it and No. 2, stop it from naturally seeping
and being wasted.
What are the costs of pending climate
change legislation?
No. 1, if you look at (the American Clean Energy and Security Act,
which has been passed by the House but has yet to be approved by the
Senate), oil and gas is charged with 44 percent of the carbon
emissions into the environment. Oil and gas got 2 percent of the
credits. Okay, well, that means the oil and gas industry is going to
have to pass on those costs — to whom? Those who consume gasoline. In
the case of our farmers, the diesel cost of fertilizing. In the case
of our food industry, those who utilize trucking in order to get the
food products from where they are grown to the grocery store. So the
legislation for some apparent reason decided that producing oil and
gas in the United States is not in our best interests, but at the same
time we are saying that we have to reduce our reliance on foreign oil
and gas. I don't understand that logic. In fact, there is no logic to
it.
Miami Herald, July 28, 2009
Supporters of drilling eye area off Florida's Gulf
coast
Proponents of oil drilling
opened another front in the long-running battle to open waters in the
Gulf of Mexico to oil exploration.
BY LESLEY CLARK
WASHINGTON -- Two senators from oil-producing states have
introduced legislation that would bring oil drilling to within 45
miles of Florida's Gulf coast.
The bill sponsored by Sens. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Mary
Landrieu, D-Louisiana, would effectively void a 2006 law crafted by
Florida's congressional delegation, which put a massive swath of
federal waters close to the state off-limits until at least 2022.
The sponsors said Monday the legislation would benefit states by
giving them a cut -- 37.5 percent -- of the revenue from offshore
oil and gas exploration off their coasts.
But Florida Sen. Bill Nelson, who has already threatened to
filibuster a similar Senate measure that also aims to open up the
eastern Gulf, decried the bill as a giveaway to the oil industry.
"This isn't even thinly veiled,'' Nelson said. "It's an oil industry
bailout plan. And it's Alaska and Louisiana's senators' plan to
boost their own revenues in tough economic times. But even in the
toughest of times, there are some things states shouldn't sell out,
like Florida's economy and environment.''
COVETED AREA
Nelson's office said the proposal mirrors an amendment in a
Senate energy bill that would permit oil-drilling rigs within 45
miles off Florida's coast. The provision, authored by Sen. Byron
Dorgan, D-N.D., also opens up the Panhandle's Destin Dome, a
geological formation off the state's Gulf coast that energy
companies have long eyed.
The industry believes the area contains 2 trillion cubic feet of
natural gas -- enough to heat 2 million homes for 15 years.
The 2006 compromise legislation set a no-drilling zone at 125 miles
off the Panhandle and 235 miles off Tampa and coastal communities to
the southwest.
But Landrieu and Murkowski argue that federal data estimates the
Outer Continental Shelf holds considerable reserves of oil and
natural gas.
"At a time when we are struggling to create jobs and produce
affordable energy, ignoring the immense natural resources just off
our shores is inexcusable,'' Murkowski said.
PRESSURE MOUNTING
The bill comes as
environmentalists and most of Florida's congressional delegation are
already looking to fend off the Dorgan provision, which does not
include revenue-sharing for the states.
Pressure has increased to allow drilling off Florida, driven in part
by rising fuel prices. The Florida House in May approved a proposal
that would have allowed oil and gas exploration within three miles
of the coast.
It died in the state Senate, but a leasing provision that gives
states money could embolden legislators to reconsider the bill.
Jackie Savitz, senior
director of the environmental group Oceana's climate and energy
campaign, said the organization fears Dorgan's provision could
become part of the Senate climate change bill that is expected to be
debated when Congress returns from its August break.
Oceana is asking its members to write and call their senators to
block the Dorgan provision, arguing that exploring for natural gas
and oil could imperil Florida beaches and runs counter to efforts to
address climate change.
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