USAID Administrator Samantha Power To This Week Visit EU High Representative For Foreign Affairs Josef Borrell. Will Cuba Be On The Agenda? Can They Avoid It? 649 Mentions On USAID Internet Site

Politico
Arlington, Virginia
14 November 2021

Excerpt: "Programming to strengthen democracy and fight corruption has been core to USAID's work for decades and is one of Administrator Power's top priorities for the agency."

US Agency For International Development
Washington DC
12 November 2021

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell hosts USAID administrator Samantha Power in Brussels.

On November 19, Administrator Power will travel to Brussels, Belgium. While in Brussels, Administrator Power will participate in the European Union’s Foreign Affairs Council Development Ministers Meeting to discuss U.S. government and USAID strategic and policy priorities with the European Union (EU) and its member states. Administrator Power will also hold bilateral meetings with key EU leaders including Josep Borrell, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the European Commission, and Jutta Urpilainen, Commissioner for International Partnerships.

From USAID: Cuba

USAID provides on-going humanitarian assistance to political prisoners and their families, and politically marginalized individuals to alleviate the hardships suffered because of their political beliefs or efforts to exercise their fundamental freedoms. Since the program’s inception, USAID has provided nutritional food items, vitamins, over-the-counter medicines, and toiletries to thousands of Cuban families, providing an invaluable lifeline to improve their physical and psychological well-being.

USAID supports broad-based development activities by providing technical and material assistance to organize, train, and energize small groups of people within their communities. These efforts empower Cuban citizens to work together in an independent manner and reduce their dependence on the state. USAID also provides trainings on documenting human rights abuses according to international standards and raises awareness of such abuses within Cuba and around the world.

USAID has provided basic news and information about issues relevant to Cubans from inside Cuba and around the world. USAID programs have disseminated books, magazines, newspapers, and pamphlets to broad segments of the population. USAID also helped train hundreds of journalists over the last decade whose work has appeared in major international news outlets.

USAID programs reflect the principles enshrined in the United Nations Convention on Human Rights (link is external) and Inter-American Democratic Charter (link is external), such as freedom of assembly, freedom of speech, and freedom of religion. USAID’s FY2015 budget for our programs in Cuba is $6.25 million. USAID Contact Email: cubaoffice@usaid.gov

LINK To USAID Foriegn Assistance Data For Cuba (2001-2022)

650 Items Listed On 15 November 2021 And 649 Items Lists On 16 November 2021: https://www.usaid.gov/site-search/Cuba

The White House
Washington DC
15 November 2021

Statement by National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan on Cuba’s November 15 Protests

This July, the world watched as Cubans bravely took to the streets in historic protests, asserting their rights to freedom of expression and freedom of peaceful assembly. In advance of peaceful demonstrations planned for today, the Cuban regime predictably deployed a set piece of harsh prison sentences, sporadic arrests, intimidation tactics, and acts of repudiation all in an attempt to silence the voice of Cuban people as they clamor for change, demand an end to political violence, and implore the regime to liberate the hundreds of peaceful protestors detained after July 11 just for wanting a greater say in the future of their country.

By its actions, the Cuban regime failed to respect the civil and political rights enumerated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and international human rights treaties ratified by Cuba, including the right to peaceful assembly and association, the right to freedom of opinion and expression, and freedom from arbitrary arrest, detention, or exile. There is no denying the regime’s brutal crackdown in response to July 11, which were broadcast in real time for the world to see.

The United States is committed to supporting the agency of the Cuban people as they seek to promote democratic change as an inclusive and broad-based social movement. We urge the Cuban regime to refrain from violence against peaceful protestors and to immediately release all those unjustly detained, and we call on the international community to voice their support for the Cuban people.

The Cuban regime should take this opportunity to listen to their people: to hear their frustrations and look for ways to work together to better serve the needs and ambitions of all Cubans. The United States will not waver in its support of Cubans’ pursuit of fundamental freedoms and a democratic and prosperous society.

United States Department of State
Washington DC
16 November 2021

Denunciation of Cuban Government’s Response to Peaceful Demonstrations
Ned Price, Department Spokesperson

The United States commends the courage and will of the Cuban people who stood in the face of government repression to make their voices heard yesterday. The Cuban regime again blocked the voices of the Cuban people rather than listen to them, forgoing opportunities for dialogue and positive change for the future of Cuba.

Cubans throughout the island sought to demonstrate peacefully and ask their government to respect their fundamental freedoms and address their needs. They wanted to speak freely to their government, to decry the corruption and economic mismanagement that has left them without food, medicine, or medical supplies. The Cuban regime again denied them that chance. The authorities surrounded the homes of organizers and influencers to prevent them from exercising their rights of freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, repressed the protests where they did occur, and arrested demonstrators. The Cuban government aimed to hide what was happening from the rest of the world by revoking professional journalists’ credentials and cutting communication to organizers. Nevertheless, the international community once again witnessed the stifling of liberty by Cuba’s authoritarian regime.

Just as they did on July 11 and throughout this summer, the Cuban people courageously and peacefully attempted to initiate a discussion with their government. Time and again, the Cuban government rejected that effort with repression, sending security, police, and government-backed mobs to bully those who seek a democratic transition. We reiterate our call to the international community to press Cuba’s repressive regime to listen to its people. We join the international community in condemning the mass arrests of Cuban protestors, seeking the release of those unjustly detained in Cuba, and supporting the Cuban people’s desire to determine their own future.

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US Subsidiary Requests 30-Day Court Delay In Libertad Act Lawsuit. Will US Court Approve? Other Requests Were From EU-Based Defendant Parent Companies. Iberostar Waiting 528 Days For EC Guidance September 27, 2021

European Commission (EC) Reports "Several" EU-Based "Persons and Companies" With Libertad Act Title III Engagement. Iberostar Of Spain Waiting 528 Days For EC Guidance 26 September 2021 

During United Nations Meetings, European Commission And United States Continue 2021 Theme For Cuba: Neither Party Wants To Discuss- So They Don’t. For EC, Title III Not As Important As Advertised 23 September 2021

At U.S.-EU Summit Will Cuba Be Mentioned By President Biden, President Michel, Or President von der Leyen? Trajectory Suggests Not. How Does Borrell Square Statements With Action? June 14, 2021 

After Four Meetings In Brussels, Representatives Of EC, EU, and United States Have Not Discussed Cuba Despite EC Commitment To Do So May 26, 2021  

Third Meeting In Two Months- EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Borrell Again Does Not Discuss Cuba With U.S. Secretary Of State Blinken. Confirms Cuba Not Important To EU-U.S. Relations. May 04, 2021 

EC Now Has To Decide What It Perhaps Doesn’t Want To Decide- Iberostar Of Spain Libertad Act Lawsuit Is First To Report U.S. Court Recognizing EC’s Interest In Title III Lawsuits April 26, 2020  

EC/EU May Today Find End Of “Comity” By United States Courts. After One Year Waiting, EC/EU May Have Run Out Of Time. April 15, 2021  

Second Visit In Three Weeks- U.S. Secretary Of State To Brussels. EC Writes It Will "Address" Cuba. Did Not Last Time. EU Defendants Waiting One Year For Guidance. April 13, 2021  

Lost In Translation- EP Member & Media Report EC Will “mediate” With Biden Administration About Cuba On Terrorism List. Problem- EC Wrote “we will address this issue” April 02, 2021 

Confusing Message By EC/EU Not Including Libertad Act In Agendas For Meetings With Secretary Of State Blinken. Not As Important As Advertised? March 25, 2021  

In Brussels Will U.S. Secretary Of State Blinken Discuss Cuba, Libertad Act And Venezuela With EC/EU Officials?  Will He Rebuff, Sway Or Be Swayed?  Quid Pro Quo? March 23, 2021  

EC Responds To European Parliament Inquiry About EU Ambassador To Cuba Letter To President Biden- Navarro "Committed Two Major... Failures..." March 12, 2021 

USDA Updates Usage In Cuba Of MAP And FMD Funding Authorized By 2018 Farm Bill. In Four Funding Periods In Four Years, Two Uses Of MAP; No Uses Of FMD. Anemic Response By Export Advocates.

In 2018, legislative advocates maintained that inserting a Market Access Program (MAP) and Foreign Market Development (FMD) provision in the Farm Bill was critical to “laying the groundwork” for increasing exports of agricultural commodities and food products to the Republic of Cuba.  Statements from members of Congress included: “… an important first step to regaining our presence in Cuba.”   

Most observers reasonably concluded that legislative advocates- within the United States Congress and organizations located in Washington DC and located outside of the beltway would have prominently teed-up at least one high-profile applicant to publicize in advance they would use the provision if it became law or at least one high-profile applicant to immediately and publicly request funding when the Farm Bill became law on 21 December 2018.   

The most significant impact of a low number of MAP/FMD requests in 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022 is what the lack of interest portends for other legislative efforts in the United States Congress to rescind prohibitions upon the provision of payment terms for agricultural commodity and food product exports from the United States to the Republic of Cuba.   

Use to date of USDA MAP/FMD Republic of Cuba-focused funding provisions in the 2018 Farm Bill remains anemic.  Since 2018, two entities have used MAP funding in the Republic of Cuba.  No entity has used FMD funding in the Republic of Cuba.  The USDA reported no applications were rejected. 

Since 2018, a total of eleven (11) applications were received by the USDA to use MAP and/or FMD in the Republic of Cuba.  According to the USDA in early 2021, “Although the table indicated nine expressions of interest over two years, these represent fewer than nine organizations as some of the organizations applied in multiple years.  The earlier table only included those entities that expressed interest in Cuba directly, not anyone that sought to add Cuba to a regional program.”    

According to the USDA in early 2021, at least one participant in 2021 and 2020 sought to add the Republic of Cuba to a regional program for MAP, but none for FMD.  No entity pursued or was rejected for activities in the Republic of Cuba through a regional program.  In some respects, that some entities applied more than once, but did not ultimately use MAP and/or FMD in the Republic of Cuba is more consequential because it begs the question- why did the entities apply, but not choose to use MAP and/or FMD in the Republic of Cuba?  

One entity received MAP funding (US$60,000.00) in the Republic of Cuba- Denver, Colorado-based Potatoes USA which in November 2020 delivered to the Republic of Cuba 33,118 pounds of potato seeds valued at US$44,760.00.  Sample costs are ineligible for MAP or FMD funding.  

In 2020, one (1) entity applied to use, but did not use FMD funding and four (4) entities applied to use MAP funding while one (1) entity (Potatoes USA) used MAP funding.  From the USDA, “… any unspent funds would normally remain in participants’ agreements, available for the agency to approve for plans a participant submits in a future year.”     

For PY 2021, three entities applied to use MAP funding in the Republic of Cuba; one entity used MAP funding in the Republic of Cuba.  

For PY 2022, three entities applied to use MAP funding in the Republic of Cuba; no entity has yet used MAP funding. LINK To USDA list of the 67 entities receiving MAP funding for FY 2022. 

In 2021, sixty-seven (67) entities received funding for MAP and twenty-one (21) entities received funding for FMD.  

From the USDA in early 2021, “Most MAP programs operate on a January to December year, however, some run on a July to June year.  The regulations allow groups to continue already approved activities up to thirty days after the end of the program year.  Thus, the latest a participant could continue an activity funded by MAP 21 would be July 30, 2022, if their MAP 21 program began June 1, 2021.  A participant would have until the end of January 2022, if their MAP program began January 1, 2021.  The MAP regulations allow a participant to file claims up to six months after the end of the program year.”   

From the USDA: “In 2021, FAS is transitioning FMD program funding from a fiscal year basis to a calendar year basis to better meet the administrative needs of recipient organizations.” 

Under the Market Access Program, USDA provides competitive, cost-share assistance to U.S. exporters and agricultural, fish, and forest product trade organizations for international marketing and promotion of U.S. commodities and products. More information about the program and the FY 2021 funding opportunity is available at: https://www.fas.usda.gov/programs/market-access-program-map

Under the Foreign Market Development Program, USDA partners with nonprofit agricultural and forest product trade associations to build longer-term international demand for U.S. commodities. More information about the program and the FY 2021 funding opportunity is available at: https://www.fas.usda.gov/programs/foreign-market-development-program-fmd.” 

What Is FMD & MAP? 

The USDA does not provide any payments to selected applicants in advance of the applicant making disbursements. The USDA provides payment upon receipt of an invoice from the applicant. The invoices are audited by the USDA and a claw back of payments is permitted. Any Republic of Cuba-related invoice is likely to receive additional scrutiny due to an amendment to the Farm Bill submitted by The Honorable Marco Rubio (R- Florida), a member of the United States Senate.  

MAP: “Through the Market Access Program (MAP), FAS partners with U.S. agricultural trade associations, cooperatives, state regional trade groups and small businesses to share the costs of overseas marketing and promotional activities that help build commercial export markets for U.S. agricultural products and commodities.”  

“MAP reaches virtually every corner of the globe, helping to build markets for a wide variety U.S. farm and food products. FAS provides cost-share assistance to eligible U.S. organizations for activities such as consumer advertising, public relations, point-of-sale demonstrations, participation in trade fairs and exhibits, market research and technical assistance. When MAP funds are used for generic marketing and promotion, participants must contribute a minimum 10-percent match. For promotion of branded products, a dollar-for-dollar match is required. Each year, FAS announces the MAP application period and criteria in the Federal Register. Applicants apply for MAP through the Unified Export Strategy (UES) process, which allows eligible organizations to request funding from multiple USDA market development programs through a single, strategically coordinated proposal. FAS reviews the proposals and awards funds to applicants that demonstrate the potential for effective performance based on a clear, long-term strategic plan.”  

FMD: “The Foreign Market Development (FMD) Program, also known as the Cooperator Program, helps create, expand and maintain long-term export markets for U.S. agricultural products. Under the program, FAS partners with U.S. agricultural producers and processors, who are represented by non-profit commodity or trade associations called “cooperators,” to promote U.S. commodities overseas.”  

“The FMD program focuses on generic promotion of U.S. commodities, rather than consumer-oriented promotion of branded products. Preference is given to organizations that represent an entire industry or are nationwide in membership and scope.  

FMD-funded projects generally address long-term opportunities to reduce foreign import constraints or expand export growth opportunities. For example, this might include efforts to: reduce infrastructural or historical market impediments, improve processing capabilities, modify codes and standards, or identify new markets or new uses for the agricultural commodity or product.  

Each year, FAS announces the FMD application period and criteria in the Federal Register. Organizations apply for the FMD program through the Unified Export Strategy (UES) process, which allows applicants to request funding from multiple USDA market development programs through a single, strategically coordinated proposal. FAS reviews the proposals and awards funds to applicants that demonstrate the potential for effective performance based on a clear, long-term strategic plan.”  

Value Of MAP/FMD   

For the United States business community, the MAP/FMD amendment to the Farm Bill was significant, but more likely to provide greater financial value to the government of the Republic of Cuba than to United States food product and agricultural commodity exporters using provisions of the Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act (TSREEA) of 2000.   

The likelihood of a value to United States taxpayers, as members of the United States Senate have posited, of US$28.00 returned for every US$1.00 in expenditures of MAP/FMD throughout the world, and now including the Republic of Cuba, will be challenging to measure- but it will be important to measure and the USDA should focus upon the cost-benefit analysis.

LINK TO PREVIOUS FMD/MAP USDA ANALYSES

53-Minute Meeting Between President Biden And EC President Von Der Leyen. Again, Nothing About Cuba Libertad Act Lawsuits. EC Won't React Until A U.S. Court Issues A Verdict & Damages Assessed.

The White House
Washington DC
10 November 2021

Readout of President Biden’s Meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen


President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. met today with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. They welcomed the revitalization of U.S.-EU ties, which has led to the resolution of long-standing trade differences as well as cooperation on ending the COVID-19 pandemic, fighting climate change, and investing in the infrastructure needs of the 21st century. The leaders addressed the humanitarian situation on the European Union’s border with Belarus and expressed deep concern about the irregular migration flows. They discussed our shared commitment to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. In addition, they expressed their continued support for political and economic stability in Northern Ireland.

The White House press office says the meeting started at 10:26 am [and ended at 11:19 am].

Participating in the President’s meeting with Her Excellency Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission:

United States
The President
T.H. Jake Sullivan, Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs
T.H. Daleep Singh, Deputy Assistant to the President & Deputy National Security Advisor & Deputy NEC Director
T.H. Peter Harrell, Special Assistant to the President & Senior Director for International Economics & Competitiveness, NSC
T.H. Dr. Amanda Sloat, Special Assistant to the President & Senior Director for Europe, NSC
Ms. Kelly Adams-Smith, Chargé d’affaires, U.S. Mission to the European Union
Ms. Laura Hochla, Director for European Affairs, NSC

European Commission
H.E. Ursula Von der Leyen, President of the European Commission
Mr. Bjoern Seibert, Head of Cabinet
H.E. Stavros Lambrinidis, Ambassador, European Union Delegation
Mr. Fernando Andresen Guimaraes, Diplomatic Advisor
Mr. Eric Mamer, Chief Spokesperson
Ms. Dearbhla Doyle, Head of Political, Security and Development Section, European Union Delegation

Background

The Brussels, Belgium-based European Commission (EC) manages the interests for the twenty-seven (27) country members of the Brussels, Belgium-based European Union (EU). Since March 1996, the EC has publicly opposed Title III and Title IV of the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity Act of 1996 (known as “Libertad Act”). Title III authorizes lawsuits in United States District Courts against companies and individuals who are using a certified claim or non-certified claim where the owner of the certified claim or non-certified claim has not received compensation from the Republic of Cuba or from a third-party who is using (“trafficking”) the asset. Title IV restricts entry into the United States by individuals who have connectivity to unresolved certified claims or non-certified claims.  One Canada-based company and one Spain-based company are currently known to be subject to this provision based upon a certified claim and non-certified claim. 

In May 2019, the Trump-Pence Administration (2017-2021) made operational Title III of the Libertad Act. Thus far, of the forty-two (42) Title III lawsuits filed, ten (10) company defendants whose headquarters are in EU-member countries.  For 546 days, EU-based defendant Palma, Spain-based Grupo Iberostar (2019 revenue approximately US$2.5 billion) has awaited a response for legal guidance from the EC.  LINK To Libertad Act Lawsuit Statistics   

Despite response to a letter from a member of the Brussels, Belgium-based/Strasbourg, France-based European Parliament (EP) that he would discuss issues relating to the Republic of Cuba, since 20 January 2021 when the Biden-Harris Administration (2021- ) became operational, neither EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice President of the European Commission Josef Borrell nor United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken, nor any senior-level official of the EC or Biden-Harris Administration has confirmed that the Republic of Cuba and the Libertad Act have been included in subjects discussed during more than twelve meetings in nearing nine months.  

The absence of the Republic of Cuba as a subject reinforces that the Biden-Harris Administration has no overt interest in engaging issues relating to the Republic of Cuba- and will not be proactive in discussions with the EC.  And that the EC will not likely engage until it must- when a court renders a verdict against an EU-based defendant or an EU-based defendant seeks approval of a settlement with a plaintiff.  Delaying diplomatic unpleasantness until absolutely necessary so not to impact efforts and cooperation in areas of consequence.  

LINK: Report From The Commission To The European Parliament And The Council Relating To Article 7(A) Of Council Regulation (EC) No 2271/96 (‘Blocking Statute’) 

Related Analyses 

US Subsidiary Requests 30-Day Court Delay In Libertad Act Lawsuit. Will US Court Approve? Other Requests Were From EU-Based Defendant Parent Companies. Iberostar Waiting 528 Days For EC Guidance September 27, 2021

European Commission (EC) Reports "Several" EU-Based "Persons and Companies" With Libertad Act Title III Engagement. Iberostar Of Spain Waiting 528 Days For EC Guidance 26 September 2021 

During United Nations Meetings, European Commission And United States Continue 2021 Theme For Cuba: Neither Party Wants To Discuss- So They Don’t. For EC, Title III Not As Important As Advertised 23 September 2021

At U.S.-EU Summit Will Cuba Be Mentioned By President Biden, President Michel, Or President von der Leyen? Trajectory Suggests Not. How Does Borrell Square Statements With Action? June 14, 2021 

After Four Meetings In Brussels, Representatives Of EC, EU, and United States Have Not Discussed Cuba Despite EC Commitment To Do So May 26, 2021  

Third Meeting In Two Months- EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Borrell Again Does Not Discuss Cuba With U.S. Secretary Of State Blinken. Confirms Cuba Not Important To EU-U.S. Relations. May 04, 2021 

EC Now Has To Decide What It Perhaps Doesn’t Want To Decide- Iberostar Of Spain Libertad Act Lawsuit Is First To Report U.S. Court Recognizing EC’s Interest In Title III Lawsuits April 26, 2020  

EC/EU May Today Find End Of “Comity” By United States Courts. After One Year Waiting, EC/EU May Have Run Out Of Time. April 15, 2021  

Second Visit In Three Weeks- U.S. Secretary Of State To Brussels. EC Writes It Will "Address" Cuba. Did Not Last Time. EU Defendants Waiting One Year For Guidance. April 13, 2021  

Lost In Translation- EP Member & Media Report EC Will “mediate” With Biden Administration About Cuba On Terrorism List. Problem- EC Wrote “we will address this issue” April 02, 2021 

Confusing Message By EC/EU Not Including Libertad Act In Agendas For Meetings With Secretary Of State Blinken. Not As Important As Advertised? March 25, 2021  

In Brussels Will U.S. Secretary Of State Blinken Discuss Cuba, Libertad Act And Venezuela With EC/EU Officials?  Will He Rebuff, Sway Or Be Swayed?  Quid Pro Quo? March 23, 2021  

EC Responds To European Parliament Inquiry About EU Ambassador To Cuba Letter To President Biden- Navarro "Committed Two Major... Failures..." March 12, 2021 

"...impose tangible and significant consequences" On Cuba Reports The United States Department Of State

United States Department of State
Washington DC
8 November 2021

Briefing With Mr. Nd Price, Spokesperson

QUESTION: On Cuba. Yesterday Jake Sullivan said that the circumstances had changed in the island. What does he mean? Is the U.S. mulling new sanctions? Is anything else to sanction?

MR PRICE: Well, I think what the National Security Advisor was referring to is that events in Cuba, certainly the events of July 11th, the events subsequent to July 11th, they have weighed heavily on our approach. And we have not been shy in speaking about and calling out the human rights abuses, the repression, the arbitrary detentions that have taken place in Cuba, since July 11th. And our policy, both before July 11th and certainly since, has focused on support for the Cuban people and accountability for the Cuban officials who have been responsible for some of the human rights abuses that we have seen.

We are – the world is expecting protests in the coming days as well, as the Cuban people have made clear that they will once again peacefully march in the streets to make clear their aspirations for democracy, human rights, civil liberties, and political rights. We have centered our efforts in Cuba, when it comes to Cuba, on this question of the rights of the Cuban people, and steps that we can take to advance the cause of democracy on the island. And we have sought, in doing so, to impose tangible and significant consequences in connection with the abuses that I mentioned before. And we are prepared to continue doing so should the repression, should the human rights abuses, should the abuses of the Cuban regime not cease.

Why Has President Biden Not Followed-Through With His Campaign Statements About Cuba? No Politics Here And "Circumstances have changed," Shares Jake Sullivan, National Security Advisor

CNN
Atlanta, Georgia
7 November 2021

Fareed Zakaria, GPS (Excerpts Courtesy Of CNN)

FAREED ZAKARIA, CNN ANCHOR: This is GPS, the GLOBAL PUBLIC SQUARE. Welcome to all of you in the United States and around the world. I'm Fareed Zakaria coming to you live from New York.

ZAKARIA: Is America back atop the world stage or are we in a post- American world? I will talk to the president's National Security adviser, Jake Sullivan.

JAKE SULLIVAN, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: American leadership has to have a different character.

ZAKARIA: On the show last week, Gordon Brown, the former prime minister of Britain, said America knew how to lead in the unipolar world but it's learning to lead in a multipolar world. Do you think that's an accurate characterization, and are you learning to lead?

SULLIVAN: Well, I definitely think that American leadership has to have a different character in the world we operate in today. And it has to be more collaborative. It has to listen more. It has to consult more. And ultimately it has to pull together collisions and countries to solve big problems. We did that with the European Union standing side by side to put forward a global methane pledge that 100 countries have signed on to. We've done that in the Quad countries in the Indo-Pacific, on n everything from vaccine deployment to technology. So I do believe that the style of American leadership in today's global landscape has to shift. We are showing in concrete ways how that can improve the lives of people in the United States and around the world and it's a method we will keep at. I think Joe Biden is uniquely suited to exercise this form of leadership because there's a personal dimension to it, there's a relationship dimension to it, and there's an element to it that is very much about allies and partners, and President Biden feels all of that in his bones.

ZAKARIA: When I talk to people in Europe and Asia, American allies, the one thing that they say that bothers them a great deal about the Biden foreign policy is that it still maintains a lot of the protectionism of the Trump foreign policy. Tariffs, quotas, the use of national security as a, frankly, bogus excuse to put tariffs on, to buy America provisions. And to them this seem like a concession to the Trump -- or what was meant to be a kind of sharp break with American foreign policy with Trump and America first. And they see Biden as simply continuing that core element of America first.

SULLIVAN: President Biden has departed in profound ways from President Trump's policies and has overtly rejected the idea of America first. In fact he has said that America first makes America last. He's taken two trips to Europe so far. On the first trip he resolved a 17-year long dispute between Boeing and Airbus and set a blueprint for how the United States and Europe could work together to take on China's non- market economic practices. On the second trip, he resolved President Trump's steel tariff dispute with Europe, not only creating a circumstance in which those tariffs get relaxed but also having the United States and Europe propose the first-ever carbon base sectoral agreement for steel and aluminum that itself will serve as a blueprint for protecting workers in both Europe and the United States against China's overcapacity and achieve climate goals that produce overall emissions in a sector that accounts for 10 percent of global emissions. So I actually think if you look at the president's trade and economic policy particularly as it relates to Europe, you see a study in contrast with President Trump.

ZAKARIA: There are some areas where President Biden campaigned and promised certain changes in policy again, reversing Trump-era policies. He said he'd get back in to the Iran deal. He said he would get back to essentially relations with Cuba as they were under President Obama. And he said they would get rid of the tariffs on China. He criticized them all. I'm sure there are individual explanations for each one, but one common theme they all have is they would draw a lot of Republican opposition. Is the administration hamstrung by its fears about domestic opposition, political opposition? And are you as a result playing defense on issues where the president made campaign promises?

SULLIVAN: So, first, the president has, over the last 10 months, followed through on an unbelievable number of the things he said he was going to do. On Cuba, things have changed quite a bit this year. We saw just in July substantial street protests, some of the most significant protests in a very long time, and a brutal crackdown by the government that continues to this day, as they hand down sentences to some of those protesters. So circumstances have changed, and that requires the president to consider what the best way forward to support the Cuban people is, as we move.

iAero Airways Receives Authorization From U.S. Department Of Transportation For Additional Flights To Cuba

Air Cargo World
Seattle, Washington
5 November 2021

Airlines receive expanded approvals for US-Cuba humanitarian cargo ops
iAero can operate through Jan. 28, Skyway approved for flights to Cienfuegos


By Caryn Livingston

U.S.-based carriers iAero Airways and Skyway Enterprises this month received approvals from the Department of Transportation (DOT) to expand or amend their earlier applications to operate humanitarian cargo flights between Miami and Cuba, after earlier exemptions arrived too late and did not enable easy transport to all areas of Cuba.

LINK TO USDOT DECISION (5 November 2021)

LINK TO IAERO LETTER (1 November 2021)

LINKS To Previous Analyses

Another Charter Company Obtains US Department Of Transportation Authorization For Flights To Cuba- 508 Through 31 May 2022 October 20, 2021
USDOT Authorizes Third U.S. Cargo Company To Operate Flights To Cuba October 14, 2021
From Havana Times: DHL "Temporarily" Suspends Non-Document Deliveries To Cuba Citing Air Cargo Disruptions September 22, 2021
USDOT Authorizes Cargo Flights From United States To Six Airports In Cuba Through 30 November 2021 August 15, 2021
U.S. Department Of Transportation Denies Cuba Cargo Flight Charter Requests; Two Companies Oppose November 18, 2020

Skyway Enterprises Receives Additional Authorization From U.S. Department Of Transportation For Additional Flights To Cuba

Air Cargo World
Seattle, Washington
5 November 2021

Airlines receive expanded approvals for US-Cuba humanitarian cargo ops
iAero can operate through Jan. 28, Skyway approved for flights to Cienfuegos


By Caryn Livingston

U.S.-based carriers iAero Airways and Skyway Enterprises this month received approvals from the Department of Transportation (DOT) to expand or amend their earlier applications to operate humanitarian cargo flights between Miami and Cuba, after earlier exemptions arrived too late and did not enable easy transport to all areas of Cuba.

LINK TO USDOT DECISION (5 November 2021)

LINK TO SKYWAY LETTER (28 October 2021)

LINKS To Previous Analyses

Another Charter Company Obtains US Department Of Transportation Authorization For Flights To Cuba- 508 Through 31 May 2022 October 20, 2021
USDOT Authorizes Third U.S. Cargo Company To Operate Flights To Cuba October 14, 2021
From Havana Times: DHL "Temporarily" Suspends Non-Document Deliveries To Cuba Citing Air Cargo Disruptions September 22, 2021
USDOT Authorizes Cargo Flights From United States To Six Airports In Cuba Through 30 November 2021 August 15, 2021
U.S. Department Of Transportation Denies Cuba Cargo Flight Charter Requests; Two Companies Oppose November 18, 2020

Cuba Continues To Report On Activity Of MSME's- The Numbers Increase.

Prensa Latina News Agency
Havana, Republic of Cuba
5 November 2021

Employment options in private sector grow in Cuba


Havana, nov 5 (Prensa Latina) Minister of Labor and Social Security of Cuba, Marta Elena Feitó, said today that self-employment (private sector) is reaffirmed as a viable employment option as she commented on its growth.

The official shared on Twitter that after the process of improving economic actors in the country, until November 3, 16,847 ventures were registered in this sector, which shows its relevance for the production of goods and services. According to data from the ministry, 11,590 are new proposals and 5,257 correspond to modifications made by people who already had a license. The most represented provinces are Havana, with more than 5,000, followed by Matanzas (2015) and Santiago de Cuba (1,826).

The most requested areas correspond to accommodation and food service and manufacturing industry. Other activities include beauty and domestic work, as well as agriculture, forestry, livestock and fishing. Cuba is carrying out a process of expansion and improvement of the economic actors, which includes the possibility for a self-employed worker to carry out various activities, in addition to the approval of private and state micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).

In total, the Ministry of Economy and Planning (MEP) has given the green light to 416 applications for MSMEs since the end of September this year, among which 397 are private and nine state-owned, as well as 10 non-agricultural cooperatives. Currently 15 companies have completed all the procedures and are ready to operate, as reported this Friday by the MEP. Fifty-seven percent of new groups are reconversions of pre-existing businesses, while 43 percent correspond to new ventures. It is estimated that these MSMEs will create 5,893 new jobs in the economy, averaging about 14 workers hired in each one.

Joint Venture Between Banco de Sabadell Of Spain And Banco International de Comercio In Cuba Will Provide Financing In Foreign Currency To MSMEs & Non-Agricultural Cooperatives

Diario De Cuba
Madrid, Spain
2 November 2021

A Cuban-Spanish financial company will grant credits in foreign currency to MSMEs and cooperatives in Cuba

The Government opens a second call for the registration of MSMEs and non-agricultural cooperatives.


The Central Bank of Cuba authorized the granting of foreign currency loans to non-agricultural cooperatives and small and medium-sized enterprises (MIPYMES) through Financiera Iberoamericana SA, a Cuban-Spanish company based in the Miramar Business Center, reported the Prensa Latina agency.

The new regulation aimed at the Cuban private sector was included in Official Gazette No.125 and should come into effect at the end of this week. According to the Excelencias Cuba Guide, Financiera Iberoamericana is a joint venture owned jointly by the Spanish Banco de Sabadell and Banco Internacional de Comercio S.A. The entity's corporate purpose is to grant short, medium and long-term financing to legal entities within the national territory, as well as to financially mediate.

This Monday also opened a new call for the presentation of applications for the creation of MSMEs and non-agricultural cooperatives on the island, reported the Cuban News Agency. On this occasion, projects related to activities in the construction sector as well as transport services may be presented, although the possibility of requesting the approval of activities corresponding to the previous call, such as food production, exports, local development projects, businesses in science and technology parks as well as technology-based, circular economy and recycling, manufacturing and information technology projects.

In the last two months, the Cuban government has approved 324 MSMEs, of which 307 are private and eight state-owned, in addition to nine non-agricultural cooperatives (CNA). Political Science graduate Dimas Castellanos stated in DIARIO DE CUBA that, although MSMEs "constitute a positive step, the grasp of the power of the ruling class has restricted their scope until they are reduced to a change of form to preserve the content, and therefore insufficient to get the country out of the chronic crisis in which it finds itself. " One of the criticisms the legislation has received is the lack of incentive for foreign investment. The economist Pedro Monreal affirmed in his social networks that "there is uncertainty regarding the possible association of private SMEs and foreign capital, and offers an asymmetric treatment to private and state actors." On the other hand, people who decide to associate with one of these companies will not be able to do so with others, which could end up causing the appearance of phantom partners and front men.

Financiera Iberoamericana SA

Financiera Iberoamericana SA was approved by Agreement of the Executive Committee of the Council of Ministers, dated November 22, 1999, and created by Public Deed No. 201, dated February 24, 2000, issued by the Special Notary of the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Cuba.

It is a joint venture owned jointly by Banco de Sabadell (50%) and Banco Internacional de Comercio S.A (50%). Its corporate purpose is to grant short, medium and long-term financing to legal entities within the national territory, as well as to financially mediate in the terms and conditions provided in the License granted by the Central Bank of Cuba through Resolution 32, of May 21, 1999. Among the authorized operations are:

- Grant, manage, promote and participate in the granting of credits, loans and other forms of financing to entities that operate in the national territory.
- Carry out financing activities for productive, commercial and project activities, as well as real estate promotions.
- Develop and implement credit and specific regime management modalities, such as financial leasing, factoring, confirming and forfaiting
- Provide financial engineering services, consulting in economic, financial and commercial matters, accounting and statistical services, automated systems and electronic means of payment, as well as training of personnel in these matters.
- Offer financial and management services such as coverage of interest rates and exchange risk, guarantees, guarantees and trusts.
- Carry out all legal non-bank financial intermediation businesses with Cuban entities (including those with foreign capital) and foreign entities that have commercial relationships and operations with Cuban entities.

The governance and direction of the Company correspond, firstly, to the Shareholders' Meeting, which is the supreme body, and secondly, to the Board of Directors as the administration and execution body.Financiera Iberoamericana SA, consolidating its already solid reputation and maintains its record of zero defaults and zero delinquencies.

Diario De Cuba
Madrid, Spain
2 November 2021

Una empresa financiera cubano-española otorgará créditos en divisas a las MIPYMES y cooperativas en Cuba

El Gobierno abre una segunda convocatoria para la inscripción de MIPYMES y cooperativas no agropecuarias.


El Banco Central de Cuba autorizó el otorgamiento de créditos en divisas a las cooperativas no agropecuarias y a las pequeñas y medianas empresas (MIPYMES) a través de la Financiera Iberoamericana S.A., una empresa cubano-española con sede en el Centro de Negocios de Miramar, informó la agencia Prensa Latina.

La nueva regulación dirigida al sector privado cubano fue incluida en la Gaceta Oficial No.125 y debe entrar en vigor a finales de esta semana. De acuerdo con la Guía Excelencias Cuba, la Financiera Iberoamericana es una empresa mixta propiedad conjunta del español Banco de Sabadell y el Banco Internacional de Comercio S.A. La entidad tiene como objeto social otorgar financiamientos a corto, mediano y largo plazo a personas jurídicas dentro del territorio nacional, así como intermediar financieramente. Este lunes también abrió una nueva convocatoria para la presentación de solicitudes de creación de MIPYMES y cooperativas no agropecuarias en la Isla, informó la Agencia Cubana de Noticias.

En esta ocasión se podrán presentar proyectos relacionados con actividades del sector de la construcción así como servicios de transporte, aunque se mantiene abierta la posibilidad de solicitar la aprobación de actividades correspondientes a la convocatoria anterior, como es la producción de alimentos, las exportaciones, los proyectos de desarrollo local, los negocios en parques científicos y tecnológicos así como los de base tecnológica, economía circular y reciclaje, manufactura e informática.

En los últimos dos meses el Gobierno cubano ha aprobado 324 MIPYMES, de las cuales 307 son privadas y ocho estatales, además de nueve cooperativas no agropecuarias (CNA). El licenciado en Ciencias Políticas Dimas Castellanos afirmó en DIARIO DE CUBA que, aunque las MIPYMES "constituyen un paso positivo, el aferramiento al poder de la clase gobernante ha restringido su alcance hasta reducirlas a un cambio de forma para conservar el contenido, y por tanto insuficiente para sacar al país de la crisis crónica en que se encuentra". Una de las críticas que ha recibido la legislación es la falta de incentivo a la inversión extranjera. El economista Pedro Monreal afirmó en sus redes sociales que "hay indeterminación respecto a la posible asociación de PYMES privadas y capital extranjero, y ofrece un tratamiento asimétrico a actores privados y estatales". Por otra parte, las personas que decidan asociarse a una de estas empresas no lo podrán hacer con otras, lo que podría terminar provocando la aparición de socios fantasmas y testaferros.

Financiera Iberoamericana S. A.

La Financiera Iberoamericana S. A. fue aprobada por Acuerdo del Comité Ejecutivo del Consejo de Ministros, de fecha 22 de noviembre de 1999, y creada mediante Escritura Pública No. 201, de fecha 24 de febrero de 2000, emitida por la Notaría Especial del Ministerio de Justicia de la República de Cuba. Es una empresa mixta propiedad conjunta de Banco de Sabadell (50%) y el Banco Internacional de Comercio S.A (50%).

Tiene como objeto social otorgar financiamientos a corto, mediano y largo plazo a personas jurídicas dentro del territorio nacional, así como intermediar financieramente en los términos y condiciones dispuestos en la Licencia otorgada por el Banco Central de Cuba mediante Resolución 32, del 21 de mayo de 1999. Entre las operaciones autorizadas se encuentran:

- Otorgar, gestionar, promover y participar en la concesión de créditos, préstamos y otras formas de financiamientos a entidades que operen en el territorio nacional.
- Realizar actividades de financiación de actividades productivas, comerciales y de proyectos, así como promociones inmobiliarias.
- Desarrollar y poner en práctica modalidades crediticias y de gestión de régimen específico, tales como arrendamiento financiero, factoraje, confirming y forfaiting
- Brindar servicios de ingeniería financiera, de consultoría en materia económica, financiera y comercial, servicios contables y estadísticos, sistemas automatizados y de medios de pago electrónicos, así como entrenamiento de personal en estas materias.
- Ofrecer servicios financieros y de gestión tales como, cobertura de tasas de interés y riesgo cambiario, avales, garantías y fideicomisos.
- Realizar todos aquellos negocios lícitos de intermediación financiera no bancaria con entidades cubanas (incluidas aquellas con capital extranjero) y extranjeras que tengan relaciones comerciales y operaciones con entidades cubanas.

El gobierno y dirección de la Sociedad corresponden, en primer lugar, a la Junta de Accionistas, que es el órgano supremo, y en segundo lugar, al Consejo de Administración como órgano de administración y ejecución.Financiera Iberoamericana S.A., consolidando su ya sólida reputación y mantiene su récord de cero impagos y cero morosidad.

U.S. Agricultural/Food Product Exports To Cuba Increased 25.8% In September; Remain Up 79.5% Year-To-Year

ECONOMIC EYE ON CUBA©
November 2021

September 2021 Food/Ag Exports To Cuba Increase 25.8%- 1
52nd Of 225 September 2021 U.S. Food/Ag Export Markets- 2
Year-To-Year Exports Increase 79.5%- 2
Cuba Ranked 54th Of 2021 U.S. Ag/Food Export Markets- 2
September 2021 Healthcare Product Exports US$59,496.00- 2
September 2021 Humanitarian Donations US$1,885,898.00- 3
2021 Obama Administration Initiatives Exports Continue- 3
U.S. Port Export Data- 16

SEPTEMBER 2021 FOOD/AG EXPORTS TO CUBA INCREASE 25.8%%- Exports of food products and agricultural commodities from the United States to the Republic of Cuba in September 2021 were US$20,281,503.00 compared to US$16,117,329.00 in September 2020 and US$28,779,856.00 in September 2019.

September 2021 Exports Included: Chicken Leg Quarters (Frozen); Chicken Meat (Frozen); Chicken Legs (Frozen); Soybeans; Woodpulp; Olive Oil; Cocoa; Coffee; Corn Chips.

January 2021 through September 2021 exports were US$226,712,431.00 compared to US$126,262,312.00 for the period January 2020 through September 2020.

Since December 2001, agricultural commodity and food product exports reported from the United States to the Republic of Cuba is US$6,522,939,855.00

This report contains information on exports from the United States to the Republic of Cuba- products within the Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act (TSREEA) of 2000, Cuban Democracy Act (CDA) of 1992, and regulations implemented (1992 to present) for other products by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the United States Department of the Treasury and Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) of the United States Department of Commerce.

The TSREEA re-authorized the direct commercial (on a cash basis) export of food products (including branded food products) and agricultural commodities from the United States to the Republic of Cuba, irrespective of purpose. The TSREEA does not include healthcare products, which remain authorized and regulated by the CDA.

Click here for a list of agricultural commodities eligible for export to Cuba under Section 902(1) of the Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act of 2000

LINK TO COMPLETE REPORT IN PDF FORMAT

Beginning Today Residents Of Cuba May Purchase And Install Residential Solar Systems. Cost 55,000.00 Pesos (US$2,300.00). Call 7833-3333.

On 28 July 2021, the Ministry of Finances and Prices of the Republic of Cuba reported  individuals subject to Republic of Cuba jurisdiction would be authorized to import, importantly  absent tariffs and fees, photovoltaic systems and parts for non-commercial use. LINK To Official Notice  The resolution states that the individual is responsible the installation of the photovoltaic system and its maintenance.   The photovoltaic system must be compatible with and be connected to the national grid.  

Granma
Havana, Republic of Cuba
4 November 2021

Starting today, Copextel will commercialize solar PV systems with 1 kW injection into the electricity grid for the residential sector.  Although the service is expected to be extended to the rest of the country in the coming months, at this point it will only be sold in the capital, according to Tribuna de La Habana.  The customer can go in person or call the Copextel call center at 7833-3333; In either case, the system will be automatically reserved until a technician visits it, within seven calendar days, to assess requirements that ensure the proper functioning of the equipment.  The customer can make the purchase by electronic payment or by requesting a credit in a banking institution. The cost of 55,000 pesos includes all system components as well as their transportation and technician visits for installation and assembly. After that, the buyer must go to the electricity company and conclude the contract to connect the national electrical system.  Among the requirements: available ceiling (ceiling) or floor surface 12.5 square meters, from concrete (panel); If it is soil, it must be paved (cement or asphalt) and exposed to the sun all year round. It shall be located, preferably, horizontally or, failing that, in such a way as to allow the settlement of the solar PV system.  LINK To Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06uuP2yc0-0 

Prensa Latina News Agency
Havana, Republic of Cuba
4 November 2021

Cuba furthers renewable energy uses for domestic market 

Havana, Nov 4 (Prensa Latina) Cuba promotes the use of renewable energies for the residential sector of photovoltaic solar systems for its CUP commercialization, as announced by the state-run company Copextel.  These systems use solar panels and inverters that help convert available solar energy into electricity for consumption at homes, businesses and industries, generating significant savings for the electricity bill, the Ecosol Power Division Manager Rolando Gómez told Cubadebate.  The devices allow users to cogenerate electricity or inject energy in parallel, either for self-consumption or for dispatch to the National Electric Power System, Gómez added.  Copextel company will be responsible for commercializing photovoltaic solar systems to the residential sector from November 4, thus injecting 1 kilowatt power to the electrical grid.  According to Copextel, installing photovoltaic solar systems requires essential conditions such as a ceiling surface (roof) or a 12,5 sqm concrete floor.  Customers will be able (from Thursday) to go to the Electric Company to contract the connection to the National Electroenergetic System only in Havana in the first stage.  Payment can be made in cash, electronically, or request a loan at a bank for the amount of CUP 55,000 (approximately $2,300).  This is the first time such systems are marketed to the Cuban people in CUP.  

Link To Recent Analysis 

Cuba Suspends Tariffs And Fees For Non-Commercial (SME's Next?) Solar Systems. Another Opportunity For Biden-Harris Administration To Support U.S. Exporters And Florida Companies Should Benefit.  July 30, 2021 

Granma
Havana, Republic of Cuba
4 November 2021

Paneles solares, sombras donde debe dar el sol (+ Video) 

La única fábrica de paneles solares que existe en Cuba aspira a estabilizar su producción y apoyar al país en la  transformación de la matriz energética 

El costo de las materias primas se ha reducido en los últimos años y la potencia de los paneles ha aumentado, lo que hace más eficiente el proceso productivo. Pinar del Río.-En una pared de la Empresa de Componentes Electrónicos Ernesto Che Guevara cuelgan todos los tipos de paneles solares fabricados en la industria en los últimos 20 años. 

La colección abarca desde los pequeños módulos de cinco watts, que hoy parecen una reliquia, hasta los de 380 que se hacen por estos días; y constituye una suerte de memoria histórica de la producción que se ha modernizado con el paso del tiempo. Tanto es así que, aparte de ella, no hay mucho más que recuerde aquellos primeros años en que todo se hacía a mano, por decenas de obreros que soldaban, una a una, cada celda fotovoltaica, y quienes poco a poco han dado paso a las máquinas, en busca de eficiencia.  María del Carmen Santalla, una de las fundadoras, recuerda que al principio todo era prácticamente artesanal. Entonces, la producción anual de paneles de la unidad empresarial de base (UEB) Energía Fotovoltaica, enclavada dentro de Componentes Electrónicos, apenas alcanzaba un megawatt pico (mwp) de generación. Pero los programas de electrificación rural emprendidos en el país y en otras naciones como Bolivia y Venezuela, en el marco de la Alianza Bolivariana para los Pueblos de Nuestra América (alba), le darían luz verde para su desarrollo. 

Primero, la capacidad se incrementó a dos mwp. Luego, la introducción de una nueva línea, con un grado considerable de automatización, le permitió crecer a diez mwp en 2010. A principios de ese año, directivos de la entidad, ubicada en la ciudad de Pinar del Río, le aseguraron a Granma que el 65 % de los paneles ensamblados históricamente había tenido como destino la exportación, y que la demanda seguía creciendo continuamente. En julio de 2015, el Comandante de la Revolución Ramiro Valdés Menéndez destacó la importancia de la planta y de incrementar la utilización de la energía solar. «El sol no se acaba y está en todas partes. Hay pocas fuentes de energía con esas características. Por eso, esta es una industria con un gran horizonte», señaló. La UEB recién acababa de recibir una nueva inyección de equipos, que propiciaría el incremento de la producción. Sin embargo, ni la voluntad del país de transformar su matriz de generación, ni la disminución de los costos de las materias primas, ni el esfuerzo de Componentes Electrónicos para actualizar su tecnología han impedido los largos periodos de interrupción. 

UNA INDUSTRIA EN STAND BY 

En 2020, por ejemplo, la industria no recibió materia prima. De modo que se limitó a laborar en el primer trimestre del año con un remanente de los insumos que quedaron de 2019. Después, no le quedó más remedio que parar. Tras una larga pausa de 15 meses, la producción volvió a activarse a media máquina en junio pasado, pero solo con un turno de trabajo, de al menos dos posibles. «Ahora mismo hay compañeros nuestros reubicados en otros centros, que no se han podido incorporar», lamenta María del Carmen Santalla. 

Aun cuando en los últimos dos años no ha habido un sector de la economía cubana ajeno a los efectos de la crisis generada por la covid-19, el colectivo de la planta pinareña asegura que sus problemas datan de mucho antes de la aparición del coronavirus. De hecho, en 2019, cuando el sars-cov-2 aún no había comenzado a hacer estragos, la fabricación de paneles vino a arrancar en el mes de agosto, precisamente por falta de insumos. «La historia de la fábrica siempre ha sido la misma respecto a las interrupciones», advierte José Antonio Páez, especialista del departamento de Tecnología y Calidad. 

Félix Andrés Pérez, director de la UEB Energía Fotovoltaica, coincide en que las paradas provocadas por la inestabilidad en el suministro de las materias primas han sido un tema delicado, por el éxodo de trabajadores que implica. «Hay pasos de la línea en los que alcanzar un grado adecuado de especialización necesita tiempo. No se trata solamente de preparar un operario para manejar un equipo, sino de que logre el nivel que responda a la capacidad productiva de la planta y a la calidad que se requiere», dice. «Aquí las personas han estado reubicadas en los hospitales, en la campaña antivectorial, en labores agrícolas», cuenta María del Carmen Santalla. «Cada vez que comenzamos una producción, hay que preparar personal porque perdemos mucha gente». 

KILOWATTS EN SACO ROTO 

Aunque en varias ocasiones ha llegado a trabajar a plena capacidad, en tres turnos diarios de ocho horas, para la planta pinareña esa ha sido la excepción y no la regla. José Antonio Páez asegura que «la política del Estado es cambiar la matriz energética, para reducir la dependencia de los combustibles fósiles, pero no ha habido la solvencia económica requerida. «Hace algún tiempo se manejó aquí un proyecto para llegar a 50 MW anuales, que en cinco años hubiera tenido un impacto similar al de un generador térmico de la central Guiteras. Se hicieron los estudios, pero al final todo quedó ahí», rememora el especialista. 

Ni siquiera la capacidad instalada en la industria se ha aprovechado de modo estable, a pesar de los resultados que arrojan los parques fotovoltaicos montados con los paneles ensamblados en ella. Yanet Páez Hernández, directora territorial de la Empresa de Fuentes Renovables de Energía, señala que las tres instalaciones con tecnología cubana que existen en la provincia (hay otras cinco de tecnología china) generaron en lo que va de año 6 123 MW, para un ahorro de 1 592 toneladas de combustible, y dejar de emitir a la atmósfera 4 898,4 toneladas de dióxido de carbono. Ante los problemas recurrentes, José Antonio Páez comenta que han tratado de sobrevivir a toda costa, que la industria se las ha arreglado para irse actualizando, a la par de las tendencias en el mundo y de los formatos de paneles más vendidos. «Es imposible estar siempre al nivel de los más modernos, pero intentamos insertarnos en los que más se fabrican, porque es al mismo tiempo la materia prima que más abunda y la menos costosa». 

Siguiendo ese principio, Félix Andrés  Pérez explica que la planta asumió en junio la producción de 5 000 módulos de 340 w, con los insumos de un donativo de la Unión Eléctrica, y está haciendo ahora los primeros 7 000 de un nuevo encargo, que debe llegar a las 27 000 unidades y dar garantía de trabajo hasta el primer trimestre de 2022. Para el director de la UEB, el encuentro del Presidente Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez con científicos y expertos en el tema de las fuentes renovables de energía (FRE), durante la sesión más reciente del Consejo Nacional de Innovación, y la comparecencia del  ministro de Energía y Minas, Liván Arronte Cruz, en la última jornada de la Asamblea Nacional, en la que afirmó que el país cuenta con una estrategia a largo plazo para incrementar la generación con las FRE y depender menos de los combustibles fósiles, constituyen una señal de esperanza. «Somos la única fábrica de paneles que existe en Cuba y tenemos más de 20 años de experiencia en su producción –dice–. Por tanto, podemos ayudar a concretar ese objetivo de transformar la matriz de generación eléctrica».

Prensa Latina News Agency
Havana, Republic of Cuba
4 November 2021

Solar panels, shadows where the sun should shine (+ Video)  

The only solar panel factory that exists in Cuba aspires to stabilize its production and support the country in the transformation of the energy matrix The cost of raw materials has been reduced in recent years and the power of the panels has increased, which makes the production process more efficient. Pinar del Río. 

On a wall of the Ernesto Che Guevara Electronic Components Company hang all the types of solar panels manufactured in the industry in the last 20 years. The collection ranges from the small five-watt modules, which today seem like a relic, to the 380-watt modules that are made these days; and it constitutes a kind of historical memory of production that has been modernized over time. So much so that, apart from her, there is not much else that recalls those first years when everything was done by hand, by dozens of workers who welded, one by one, each photovoltaic cell, and who little by little have given way to machines, in search of efficiency.  

María del Carmen Santalla, one of the founders, remembers that at the beginning everything was practically handmade. At that time, the annual production of panels of the photovoltaic energy base business unit (UEB), located within Electronic Components, barely reached one megawatt peak (mwp) of generation. But the rural electrification programs undertaken in the country and in other nations such as Bolivia and Venezuela, within the framework of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (alba), would give it the green light for its development. First, the capacity was increased to two mwp.  

Then the introduction of a new line, with a considerable degree of automation, allowed it to grow to ten mwp in 2010. At the beginning of that year, executives of the entity, located in the city of Pinar del Río, assured Granma that 65% of the panels assembled historically had been destined for export, and that the demand continued to grow continuously. In July 2015, the Commander of the Revolution Ramiro Valdés Menéndez highlighted the importance of the plant and of increasing the use of solar energy. «The sun does not end and it is everywhere. There are few energy sources with these characteristics. For this reason, this is an industry with a great horizon ”, he pointed out. The UEB had just received a new injection of equipment, which would lead to increased production. However, neither the will of the country to transform its generation matrix, nor the decrease in raw material costs, nor the effort of Electronic Components to update its technology have prevented long periods of interruption.  

AN INDUSTRY IN STAND BY  

In 2020, for example, the industry received no raw materials. So he limited himself to working in the first quarter of the year with a remnant of the supplies left over from 2019. Afterwards, he had no choice but to stop. After a long 15-month hiatus, production resumed at mid-machine last June, but only with one shift, out of at least two possible. "Right now there are colleagues of ours relocated to other centers, who have not been able to join," laments María del Carmen Santalla.  

Even though in the last two years there has not been a sector of the Cuban economy oblivious to the effects of the crisis generated by covid-19, the collective of the Pinar del Río plant assures that its problems date from long before the appearance of the coronavirus. In fact, in 2019, when sars-cov-2 had not yet started to wreak havoc, panel manufacturing started in August, precisely due to a lack of supplies. "The history of the factory has always been the same with regard to interruptions", warns José Antonio Páez, specialist in the Department of Technology and Quality. 

Félix Andrés Pérez, director of the UEB Energía Fotovoltaica, agrees that the stops caused by the instability in the supply of raw materials have been a sensitive issue, due to the exodus of workers that it implies. “There are steps along the line where it takes time to achieve a suitable degree of specialization. It is not just a matter of preparing an operator to handle a piece of equipment, but of achieving the level that responds to the productive capacity of the plant and to the quality that is required, "he says. "Here people have been relocated to hospitals, in the anti-vector campaign, in agricultural work," says María del Carmen Santalla. "Every time we start a production, we have to train staff because we lose a lot of people."  

KILOWATTS IN BROKEN SACK  

Although on several occasions it has come to work at full capacity, in three daily eight-hour shifts, for the Pinar del Río plant that has been the exception rather than the rule. José Antonio Páez assures that “the State's policy is to change the energy matrix, to reduce dependence on fossil fuels, but there has not been the required economic solvency. “Some time ago a project was managed here to reach 50 MW per year, which in five years would have had an impact similar to that of a thermal generator at the Guiteras plant. The studies were done, but in the end everything stayed there, ”recalls the specialist. Not even the installed capacity in the industry has been used in a stable way, despite the results produced by the photovoltaic parks assembled with the panels assembled in it.  

Yanet Páez Hernández, territorial director of the Renewable Energy Sources Company, points out that the three facilities with Cuban technology that exist in the province (there are another five with Chinese technology) generated 6 123 MW so far this year, for savings of 1,592 tons of fuel, and stop emitting 4,898.4 tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Faced with recurring problems, José Antonio Páez comments that they have tried to survive at all costs, that the industry has managed to keep updating, along with world trends and the best-selling panel formats. "It is impossible to always be at the level of the most modern, but we try to insert ourselves in those that are manufactured the most, because it is at the same time the most abundant raw material and the least expensive".  

Following this principle, Félix Andrés Pérez explains that in June the plant assumed the production of 5,000 340-watt modules, with inputs from a donation from the Unión Eléctrica, and is now making the first 7,000 of a new order, which must reach 27,000 units and guarantee work until the first quarter of 2022. For the director of the UEB, the meeting of President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez with scientists and experts on the subject of renewable energy sources (FRE), during the most recent session of the National Innovation Council, and the appearance of the Minister of Energía y Minas, Liván Arronte Cruz, in the last day of the National Assembly, in which he affirmed that the country has a long-term strategy to increase generation with FRE and depend less on fossil fuels, are a sign of hope. "We are the only panel factory that exists in Cuba and we have more than 20 years of experience in its production," he says. Therefore, we can help to achieve this objective of transforming the electricity generation matrix ”.

Ministry of Transport of the Republic of Cuba (MINTRANS): Before 2030, MINTRANS plans for 45% of the total number of vehicles owned by Republic of Cuba government-operated companies will be electric vehicles.  A goal is to introduce more than 56,000 electric vehicles of which about 36,000 will be imported while 17,000 will be retrofitted from existing combustion engine vehicles.  A goal is to install 38,000 charging stations throughout the country with 16,000 fast charging stations and the remainder slow or semi-fast charging stations.  An additional 2,000 slow and fast charging stations will in public places while 180 50KV fast charging stations will be located to supply public services.  The first Cuban company to utilize electric vehicles in the Republic of Cuba was Republic of Cuba government-operated Aguas de la Habana.  The company operates a twenty-two Nissan e-NV200 vehicles.  LINK To YouTube Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNhxN0aevXc

Irony: Bacardi Assets Seized In 1960 By Cuba. Venezuela And Cuba Are Allies. Venezuela Seizes U.S. Company Assets. Bacardi Marketing Venezuela Rum Benefits Venezuela Financially & Politically

Defining Irony… Good for me but not for thee?

Bacardi Assets Expropriated In 1960 By Cuba
Bacardi Vocal Critic Of Cuba
Bacardi Successfully Lobbies In 1998 For Law Preventing Cuba Origin Expropriated Trademarks From Registration In The United States
Venezuela Provides Since 2000 Substantial Financial Support To Cuba
Venezuela In 2007 Expropriates Assets Of United States Companies
Bacardi Signs Global Distribution Agreement In 2016 For Rum Produced In Venezuela Benefiting Nicolas Maduro Administration By Providing Employment, Export Revenues, Prestige
Venezuela In 2017 Expropriates Assets Of United States Companies
United States Since 2017 “Has Made More Than 350 Venezuelan-Related Designations
United States In 2019 Ceased Recognizing Nicolas Maduro As President Of Venezuela
Obama, Trump, Biden Administrations Maintain Cuba Providing Crucial Support For “Authoritarian” Maduro Administration in Venezuela
Obama, Trump, Biden Administrations Maintain Venezuela Migration Destabilizing Brazil, Chile, Colombia, And Peru Among Other Countries
Santa Teresa Rum From Venezuela Wins Awards; Available In The United States

Hamilton, Bermuda-based Bacardi Limited (2020 revenue approximately US$6.4 billion) is the “World’s largest privately-held spirits company.”  The company has an office in Coral Gables, Florida.  

Bacardi Limited 2020 Corporate Responsibility Report: “Because we will continue to rely on a steady supply for many generations to come, we build sustainable partnerships to source our supply chain materials. By only working with suppliers who commit to the highest standards of labor and human rights, health and safety, environmental protection, and business integrity. This applies to all partners providing goods and/or services to BacardiLINK To Report  

LINK: Congressional Research Service (CRS) Venezuela: Background And U.S. Relations (28 April 2021)  

A Timeline:  

Bacardi assets in the Republic of Cuba expropriated in 1960 without compensation by the government of the Republic of Cuba.  

Bacardi criticizes the commercial, economic, and political system of the Republic of Cuba and specifically focuses wrath towards Paris, France-based Pernod Ricard (2020 revenue approximately US$9.3 billion) for its engagement with the government of the Republic of Cuba and Republic of Cuba government-operated companies relating to the Havana Club rum brand.  From the company: “Pernod Ricard is a convivial, responsible and successful global wine and spirits group. Number 2 worldwide with a clear ambition to become the leader of our sector, we have one of the most comprehensive portfolio of the industry with 240 premium brands available in over 160 countries.”  

El Ron de Cuba: “Shaped by Cuba’s climate, geography, history and people, rum is an essential part of the nation’s culture. As its finest expression, the Havana Club range represents this rich heritage.  In 1993, Pernod Ricard S.A. and The Cuba Ron SA Corporation created the joint venture Havana Club International S.A., to bring Havana Club to consumers around the world. Produced by Maestros del Ron Cubano following traditional Cuban methods, our rums are now the most rewarded Cuban rums with 27 medals in tasting competitions in the last four years, enjoyed by Cantineros and rum drinkers around the world. Havana Club embodies the spirit of Cuba.”  LINK: https://www.pernod-ricard.com/en/brands/havana-club 

Excerpt From The New York Times (16 October 2021): “Instead of joining the scores of businessmen fleeing the country to escape kidnappings, arrest or financial ruin, the aristocratic Vollmer family that runs Santa Teresa chose to stay and engage with Sabaneta’s criminal gangs and with the socialist government that had once promised to destroy the country’s elite. In the process, the Vollmers have gone from declaring bankruptcy to becoming exporters of an award-winning vintage rum.  Santa Teresa is now Venezuela’s largest rum maker, surpassing its prepandemic sales this year. Its flagship product, a vintage blended rum called 1796, has won multiple awards and is now available in high-end bars around the world, thanks to a distribution deal with the alcohol giant Bacardi.”  

From Bacardi Limited: “About BACARDÍ® Rum – The World’s Most Awarded Rum: In 1862, in the city of Santiago de Cuba, founder Don Facundo Bacardí Massó revolutionized the spirits industry when he created a light-bodied rum with a particularly smooth taste – BACARDÍ. The unique taste of BACARDÍ rum inspired cocktail pioneers to invent some of the world’s most famous recipes including the BACARDÍ Mojito, the BACARDÍ Daiquiri, the BACARDÍ Cuba Libre, the BACARDÍ Piña Colada and the BACARDÍ El Presidente. BACARDÍ rum is the world’s most awarded spirit, with more than 800 awards for quality, taste and innovation. Today, BACARDÍ rum is made mainly in Puerto Rico where it is crafted to ensure the taste remains the same today as it did when it was first blended in 1862. www.bacardi.com  The BACARDÍ brand is part of the portfolio of Bacardi Limited, headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda. Bacardi Limited refers to the Bacardi group of companies, including Bacardi International Limited.”  

From Wikipedia: “In 199[8], Otto Reich, a lobbyist in Washington on behalf of Bacardí, drafted section 211 of the Omnibus Consolidated and Emergency Appropriations Act, FY1999 (Pub.L. 105–277 (text) (pdf)), a bill that became known as the Bacardi Act. Section 211 denied trademark protection to products of Cuban businesses expropriated after the Cuban revolution, a provision sought by Bacardí. The act was aimed primarily at the Havana Club brand in the United States. The brand was created by the José Arechabala S.A. and nationalised without compensation in the Cuban revolution, the Arechabala family left Cuba and stopped producing rum. They therefore allowed the US trademark registration for "Havana Club" to lapse in 1973. Taking advantage of the lapse, the Cuban government registered the mark in the United States in 1976. This new law was drafted to invalidate the trademark registration. Section 211 has been challenged unsuccessfully by the Cuban government and the European Union in US courts. It was ruled illegal by the WTO in 2001 and 2002. The US Congress has yet to re-examine the matter. The brand was assigned by the Cuban government to Pernod Ricard in 1993.”  

SANTA TERESA is an independent rum brand owned by Ron Santa Teresa, a publicly traded company headquartered in El Consejo, Venezuela, and controlled by the Vollmer family for five generations. In 2016, SANTA TERESA forged a global distribution alliance with Bacardi Limited, headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda. Bacardi Limited refers to the Bacardi group of companies, including Bacardi International Limited.  For more information please visit: https://www.santateresarum.com/”  

https://media.bacardilimited.com/story/15194/santa-teresa-1796-takes-gifting-to-new-heights-this-summer  

https://media.bacardilimited.com/story/15151/santa-teresa-rum-1796-wins-gold-medal-at-2021-london-spirits-competition  

About SANTA TERESA: “To commemorate the bicentennial of the Hacienda Santa Teresa, the fourth generation of the Vollmer family (Alberto J. Vollmer), challenged the Master Distillers to elaborate the best crafted rum in the world. The final result was SANTA TERESA 1796. Launched in 1996, it is a bold and elegant rum with blends of up to 35 years of aging in bourbon oak barrels then further aged through the artisanal Spanish Solera Method, resulting in a rum that is rich, refined yet unexpectedly dry. Each aspect of SANTA TERESA 1796, from the special pot still rum, the artisanal production process, to the bottling system, and the hand application of the wax used to seal the cork, makes every bottle a unique piece. It is the perfect spirit for whisky drinker looking to discover new flavors, with notes of wood, dark chocolate, leather and nuts.”  

United States Department of State
Washington DC

Since 2017, the United States has made over 350 Venezuelan-related designations, pursuant to various Executive Orders (E.O.), the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, and the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act. Designations include former President Maduro and those involved in public corruption and undermining democracy under E.O. 13692 (Blocking Property and Suspending Entry of Certain Persons Contributing to the Situation in Venezuela) and E.O. 13850 (Blocking Property of Additional Persons Contributing to the Situation in Venezuela). In 2017, the Department of the Treasury has designated two individuals for involvement in narcotrafficking under the Kingpin Act, including former Vice President (and nominal Minister of Oil) Tareck El Aissami. Additionally, E.O. 13850, in conjunction with determinations made by the Secretary of the Treasury, authorizes sanctions against persons determined to be operating in the gold, oil, financial, and defense and security sectors of the Venezuelan economy. and was the basis for the January 2019 designation of Venezuelan national oil company Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PdVSA). The Central Bank of Venezuela is also designated under E.O. 13850. 

On August 5, 2019, the President signed E.O. 13884 which blocks all property and interests in property of the Government of Venezuela that are in the United States or that are within the possession or control of any United States person. In conjunction with E.O. 13884, Treasury also issued General License 31, which authorizes, among other things, transactions with Guaido and the National Assembly, activities for the official business of certain international organizations, and activities NGOs undertake to support humanitarian projects to meet basic human needs in Venezuela. Additionally, Treasury maintains broad exemptions for transactions relating to humanitarian goods and General License 39 specifically addresses activities in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.  For additional information about the Venezuela sanctions program, please visit the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) website.  On March 26, 2020, the Department of Justice charged former President Maduro and 14 other current and former Venezuelan officials, including his vice president for the economy, his Minister of Defense, and the Chief Supreme Court Justice with offenses related to narco-terrorism, corruption, and drug trafficking, and other criminal charges.

About Bacardi Limited (Wikipedia): 

Bacardi Limited (/bəˈkɑːrdi/; Spanish: [bakaɾˈði]) is one of the largest privately held, family-owned spirits companies in the world. Originally known for its eponymous Bacardi white rum, it now has a portfolio of more than 200 brands and labels. Founded in Cuba in 1862 and family-owned for seven generations, Bacardi Limited employs more than 7,000 people with sales in approximately 170 countries. Bacardi Limited refers to the Bacardi group of companies, including Bacardi International Limited.  Bacardi Limited is headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda, and has a board of directors led by the original founder's great-great grandson, Facundo L. Bacardí who is chairman of the board.

The original Bacardi distillery in Santiago de Cuba. 

Early history

Facundo Bacardí Massó, a Spanish wine merchant, was born in Sitges, Catalonia, Spain, in 1814, and emigrated to Santiago, Cuba in 1830. At the time, rum was cheaply made and not considered a refined drink, and rarely sold in upmarket taverns or purchased by the growing emerging middle class on the island. Facundo began attempting to "tame" rum by isolating a proprietary strain of yeast harvested from local sugar cane still used in Bacardi production today. This yeast gives Bacardi rum its flavour profile. After experimenting with several techniques for close to ten years, Facundo pioneered charcoal rum filtration, which removed impurities from his rum. Facundo then created two separate distillates that he could blend together, balancing a variety of flavors: Aguardiente (a robust, flavorful distillate) and Redestillado (a refined, delicate distillate). Once Facundo achieved the perfect balance of flavors by marrying the two distillates together,  he purposefully aged the rum in white oak barrels to develop subtle flavors and characteristics while mellowing out those that were unwanted. The final product was the first clear, light-bodied and mixable "white" rum in the world. 

Moving from the experimental stage to a more commercial endeavour as local sales began to grow, Facundo and his brother José purchased a Santiago de Cuba distillery on February 4, 1862, which housed a still made of copper and cast iron. In the rafters of this building lived fruit bats – the inspiration for the Bacardi bat logo It was the idea of Doña Amalia, Facundo's wife, to adopt the bat to the rum bottle when she recognized its symbolism of family unity, good health, and good fortune to her husband's homeland of Spain. This logo was pragmatic considering the high illiteracy rate in the 19th century, enabling customers to easily identify the product. The 1880s and 90s were turbulent times for Cuba and the company. Emilio Bacardí, Don Facundo's eldest son, known for his forward thinking in both his professional and personal life and a passionate advocate for Cuban Independence was imprisoned twice for having fought in the rebel army against Spain in the Cuban War of Independence.

Emilio's brothers, Facundo and José, and their brother-in-law Enrique 'Henri' Schueg, remained in Cuba with the difficult task of sustaining the company during a period of war. With Don Facundo's passing in 1886, Doña Amalia sought refuge by exile in Kingston, Jamaica. At the end of the Cuban War of Independence during the US occupation of Cuba, "The Original Cuba Libre" and the Daiquiri cocktails were both created, with the then Cuban based Bacardi rum. In 1899, Emilio Bacardí became the first democratically elected mayor of Santiago, appointed US General Leonard Wood.

Bacardi Building 

During his time in public office, Emilio established schools and hospitals, completed municipal projects such as the famous Padre Pico Street and the Bacardi Dam, financed the creation of parks, and decorated the city of Santiago with monuments and sculptures. In 1912, Emilio and his wife travelled to Egypt, where he purchased a mummy (still on display) for the future Emilio Bacardi Moreau Municipal Museum in Santiago de Cuba.[11] In Santiago, his brother Facundo M. Bacardí continued to manage the company along with Schueg, who began the company's international expansion by opening bottling plants in Barcelona (1910) and New York City (1916). The New York plant was soon shut down due to Prohibition, yet during this time Cuba became a hotspot for US tourists, kicking off a period of rapid growth for the Bacardi company and the onset of cocktail culture in America.

In 1922 the family completed the expansion and renovation of the original distillery in Santiago, increasing the sites rum production capacity. In 1930 Schueg oversaw the construction and opening of Edificio Bacardí in Havana, regarded as one of the finest Art Deco buildings in Latin America, as the third generation of the Bacardí family entered the business. In 1927, Bacardi ventured outside the realm of spirits for the first time, with the introduction of an authentic Cuban Malt beer: Hatuey beer.

The "Cathedral of Rum" at the Bacardi distillery in CatañoPuerto Rico, near San Juan 

Bacardi's success in transitioning into an international brand and company was due mostly to Schueg, who branded Cuba as "The home of rum", and Bacardi as "The king of rums and the rum of Kings". Expansion began overseas, first to Mexico in 1931 where it had architects Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe and Felix Candela design office buildings and a bottling plant in Mexico City during the 1950s. The building complex was added to the tentative list of UNESCO's World Heritage Site list on 20 November 2001. In 1936, Bacardi began producing rum on U.S. territory in Puerto Rico after Prohibition which enabled the company to sell rum tariff-free in the United States. The company later expanded to the United States in 1944 with the opening of Bacardi Imports, Inc. in Manhattan, New York City.[16] During World War II, the company was led by Schueg's son-in-law, José "Pepin" Bosch. Pepin founded Bacardi Imports in New York City, and became Cuba's Minister of the Treasury in 1949. 

Cuban Revolution

During the years of the Cuban Revolution, the Bacardí family (and hence the company) supported and aided the rebels. However, after the triumph of the revolutionaries, and turn to Communism, the family maintained a fierce opposition to Fidel Castro's policies in Cuba in the 1960s. In his book Bacardi and the Long Fight for Cuba, Tom Gjelten describes how the Bacardí family and the company left Cuba in exile after the Cuban government confiscated the company's Cuban assets without compensation on 14 October 1960, particularly nationalizing and banning all private property on the island as well as all bank accounts. However, due to concerns over the previous Cuban leader, Fulgencio Batista, the company had started foreign branches a few years before the revolution; the company moved the ownership of its trademarks, assets and proprietary formulas out of the country to the Bahamas prior to the revolution and already produced Bacardi rum at other distillery sites in Puerto Rico and Mexico. This helped the company survive after the Cuban government confiscated all Bacardí assets in the country without any compensation. In 1965, over 100 years after the company was established in Cuba, Bacardi established new roots and found a new home with global headquarters in Hamilton, Bermuda. In February 2019, Bacardi's CEO, Mahesh Madhavan, stated that Bacardí's global headquarters would remain in Bermuda for the next "500 years" and that "Bermuda is our home now."

Bacardi Building, Bermuda. Location of Bacardi's world headquarters 

In 1999, Otto Reich, a lobbyist in Washington on behalf of Bacardí, drafted section 211 of the Omnibus Consolidated and Emergency Appropriations Act, FY1999 (Pub.L. 105–277 (text) (pdf)), a bill that became known as the Bacardi Act. Section 211 denied trademark protection to products of Cuban businesses expropriated after the Cuban revolution, a provision sought by Bacardí. The act was aimed primarily at the Havana Club brand in the United States. The brand was created by the José Arechabala S.A. and nationalised without compensation in the Cuban revolution, the Arechabala family left Cuba and stopped producing rum. They therefore allowed the US trademark registration for "Havana Club" to lapse in 1973. Taking advantage of the lapse, the Cuban government registered the mark in the United States in 1976. This new law was drafted to invalidate the trademark registration. Section 211 has been challenged unsuccessfully by the Cuban government and the European Union in US courts. It was ruled illegal by the WTO in 2001 and 2002. The US Congress has yet to re-examine the matter. The brand was assigned by the Cuban government to Pernod Ricard in 1993. Bacardi rekindled the story of the Arechabala family and Havana Club in the United States when it launched the AMPARO Experience in 2018, an immersive play experience based in Miami, the city with the highest population of Cuban exiles. AMPARO “is the story of the family’s entire history being erased and their heritage ‘stolen’” according to playwright Vanessa Garcia.

Bacardi and Cuba today

Bacardi drinks are not easily found in Cuba today. The main brand of rum in Cuba is Havana Club, produced by a company that was confiscated and nationalized by the government following the revolution. Bacardi later bought the brand from the original owners, the Arechabala family. The Cuban government, in partnership with the French company Pernod Ricard, sells its Havana Club products internationally, except in the United States and its territories. Bacardi created the Real Havana Club rum based on the original recipe from the Arechabala family, manufactures it in Puerto Rico, and sells it in the United States. Bacardi continues to fight in the courts, attempting to legalize their own Havana Club trademark outside the United States.

Bacardi Bat in the Bacardi Building in Cataño, Puerto Rico

Brands

Bacardi Limited has made numerous acquisitions to diversify away from the eponymous Bacardi rum brand. In 1993, Bacardi merged with Martini & Rossi, the Italian producer of Martini vermouth and sparkling wines, creating the Bacardi-Martini group. 

In 1998, the company acquired Dewar's scotch, including Royal Brackla and Bombay Sapphire gin from Diageo for $2 billion. Bacardi acquired the Cazadores tequila brand in 2002 and in 2004 purchased Grey Goose, a French-made vodka, from Sidney Frank for $2 billion. In 2006 Bacardi Limited purchased New Zealand vodka brand 42 Below. In 2018, Bacardi Limited purchased tequila manufacturer Patrón for $5.1 billion. Other associated brands include the Real Havana Club, Drambuie Scotch whisky liqueur, DiSaronno Amaretto, Eristoff vodka, Cazadores Tequila, B&B and Bénédictine liqueurs. Rum: Bacardi, Havana Club (USA only), Castillo, Banks, Pyrat XO Reserve, Oakheart Spice Rum; Tequila: Patrón, Corzo, Cazadores, Camino Real; Scotch whisky: Dewar’s, Aberfeldy, Craigellachie, Royal Brackla, Aultmore, The Deveron, Glen Deveron, William Lawson's; Bourbon: Angel's Envy, Stillhouse Black Bourbon; American Whiskey: Stillhouse; Cognac: Otard, D'ussé Cognac, Gaston De LaGrange; Cachaça: Leblon Cachaça; Vodka: Grey Goose, Eristoff, Ultimat Vodka, Russian Prince, Stillhouse Classic American Vodka, 42 Below, Plume & Petal; Gin: Bombay Sapphire, Bosford, Oxley; Vermouth: Martini & Rossi, Noilly Prat Sparkling wine: Martini Prosecco, Martini Asti, Martini rosé; Liqueur: Benedictine, St-Germain, Get 27, Get 31, Nassau Royale, Martini Spirito, Patrón liqueurs.

In 1964 Bacardi opened its new US offices in Miami, Florida. Exiled Cuban architect Enrique Gutierrez created a building that was hurricane-proof, using a system of steel cables and pulleys which allow the building to move slightly in the event of a strong shock. The steel cables are anchored into the bedrock and extend through marble-covered shafts up to the top floor, where they are led over large pulleys. Outside, on both sides of the eight-story building, more than 28,000 tiles painted and fired by Brazilian artist Francisco Brennand, depicting abstract blue flowers, were placed on the walls according to the artist's exact specifications. 

The Bacardi building in Miami, Florida, the former U.S headquarters.

In 1973, the Company commissioned the square building in the plaza. Architect Ignacio Carrera-Justiz used cantilevered construction, a style invented by Frank Lloyd Wright. Wright observed how well trees with taproots withstood hurricane-force winds. The building, raised 47 feet off the ground around a central core, features four massive walls, made of sections of inch-thick hammered glass mural tapestries, designed and manufactured in France. The striking design of the annex, affectionately known as the 'Jewel Box' building, came from a painting by German artist Johannes M. Dietz. In 2006, Bacardi USA leased a 15-story headquarters complex in Coral Gables, Florida. Bacardi had employees in seven buildings across Miami-Dade County at the time.[38] 

Bacardi vacated its former headquarters buildings on Biscayne Boulevard in Midtown Miami. The building currently serves as the headquarters of the National Young Arts Foundation. Miami citizens began a campaign to label the buildings as "historic". The Bacardi Buildings Complex has been a locally protected historic resource since Oct. 6, 2009, when it was designated by unanimous decision by the Historic and Environmental Preservation Board. University of Miami professor of architecture Allan Schulman said "Miami's brand is its identity as a tropical city. The Bacardi buildings are exactly the sort that resonate with our consciousness of what Miami is about". In 2007 Chad Oppenheim, the head of Oppenheim Architecture + Design, described the Bacardi buildings as "elegant, with a Modernist [look combined with] a local flavour." The current American headquarters is in Coral Gables, Florida. The 300 employees occupy 230,000 square feet (21,000 m2) of leased office space.

LINK TO COMPLETE ANALYSIS IN PDF FORMAT

Despite Statement To The Contrary, Cuba Has Purchased Powdered Milk From The United States. Cuba Seeks Payment Terms, So TSREEA Cash-In-Advance Requirement Makes New Zealand More Attractive

“Precisó que ni para lo que queda de octubre ni tampoco en noviembre se avizora disponer de la leche en polvo importada, debido a que se está trayendo de lugares muy lejanos como Nueva Zelanda, ya que el bloqueo norteamericano nos impide comprarla en el mercado estadounidense.” 

“She specified that neither for the remainder of October nor for November is it foreseeable to have imported powdered milk, because it is being brought from very far away places such as New Zealand, since the North American blockade prevents us from buying it in the United States market.”  English Translation 

The above statement is inaccurate. 

The Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act (TSREEA) of 2000 re-authorized the direct commercial (on a cash basis only) export of food products (including branded food products) and agricultural commodities from the United States to the Republic of Cuba, irrespective of purpose.  Since December 2001 when the first purchases were delivered using provisions of the TSREEA, more than US$6,502,658,352.00 in agricultural commodities and food products have been delivered directly from the United States to the Republic of Cuba.  

The Cuban Democracy Act (CDA) of 1992 re-authorized the direct commercial (payment terms determined by seller and buyer) export of medical equipment, medical instruments, medical supplies, and pharmaceuticals from the United States to the Republic of Cuba.  There are end-user reporting requirements to ensure the exports.  Since 2003, more than US$26,993,781.00 in products have been delivered directly from the United States to the Republic of Cuba.  

Powdered Milk Exports From The United States To The Republic Of Cuba 

2008- US$13,304,622.00 (4.08% of total 2008 exports to Cuba)
2006- US$12,568,170.00 (3.69% of total 2006 exports to Cuba)
2005- US$29,584,712.00 (8.44% of total 2005 exports to Cuba)
2004- US$25,691,962.00 (6.55% of total 2004 exports to Cuba)

Links To Related Analyses 

Coffee & Charcoal Have Been Imported From Cuba; U.S. Companies Want More. Agricultural Commodities/Food Products/Healthcare Products Have Been Exported To Cuba; U.S. Companies Want More. October 02, 2021 

U.S. Agricultural Commodity Exports To Cuba Increase 83.1% In August 2021; Up 87.4% Year-To-Date.  October 06, 2021 

Noticias de Cuba
Havana, Republic of Cuba
29 October 2021

Ministra de Comercio Interior esclarece situación con dietas médicas y otros alimentos  

La Habana, 29 oct (ACN) Betsy Díaz Velázquez, titular del Ministerio de Comercio Interior (MINCIN), afirmó que es falsa la noticia de que las dietas médicas vayan a eliminarse, es decir, la entrega de los alimentos que la componen, además de aclarar que problemas con el embarque desde los puertos de origen de productos como el pollo y el arroz han impedido su arribo al país en el tiempo previsto. 

Consultada por la Agencia Cubana de Noticias, la Ministra explicó que desde septiembre enfrentamos una situación de déficit de las importaciones de leche en polvo, lo cual afectó a las provincias de Guantánamo, Santiago de Cuba, Holguín, La Habana y Pinar del Río, dependientes de esos arribos desde el extranjero, no así en las restantes pues con la producción de leche fluida han podido cubrir sus destinos. 

Señaló que, por tanto, no es una afectación total en todo el país y por esa dificultad solo se pudo garantizar en septiembre el 50 por ciento de las dietas médicas que llevan este alimento, aunque con el acopio de lo logrado por la Agricultura se ha tratado en los mencionados territorios de asegurar en octubre la leche que se da a los niños de cero a seis años, a quienes tienen enfermedades crónicas de la infancia y a las embarazadas con prescripción médica. 

Precisó que ni para lo que queda de octubre ni tampoco en noviembre se avizora disponer de la leche en polvo importada, debido a que se está trayendo de lugares muy lejanos como Nueva Zelanda, ya que el bloqueo norteamericano nos impide comprarla en el mercado estadounidense. 

Lea aquí: Esclarecen inquietudes de la población relacionadas con registros del consumidor

Como parte de lo anterior no ha sido posible hacer coincidir tres elementos claves: la disponibilidad de financiamiento, de buques y de proveedores, pero aun resueltos estos asuntos está el factor tiempo dado que la travesía desde esa nación demora más de 45 días, y para el venidero mes se hace muy difícil contar en el país con el mencionado alimento, manifestó la titular del MINCIN. 

Subrayó que aun en medio de tales adversidades y de incumplimientos significativos en la entrega de leche fluida por la Agricultura, situación que sus productores enfrentan con un grupo de medidas, no se van a suprimir las dietas médicas, pues estas llevan como complemento nutricional alimentos al ser considerados el primer medicamento. 

Se trata de una noticia falsa que ha estado circulando, por lo cual aclaramos que mientras los facultativos de Salud Pública sigan indicándolas a los consumidores que la necesiten, corresponderá al Ministerio de Comercio Interior garantizar el alimento que se demande, dijo Díaz Velázquez. 

Aunque estamos ante una situación temporal a la que se buscan soluciones, estamos claros que la mejor respuesta a las dificultades con la disponibilidad de un recurso tan vital para la población como la leche está en producirla en el país, en sustituir su importación, y a eso nos ha convocado la dirección de la Revolución. 

Respecto a la distribución de pollo explicó que aunque se trae de mercados cercanos como Estados Unidos, con limitaciones en las transacciones comerciales y financieras, entre lo que se contrata, paga y embarca, el ciclo para su arribo al país demora unos 10 días, pero en los últimos meses llegó a extenderse a 50 días a causa de los daños que provocó el reciente huracán a su paso por Nueva Orleans, de contracciones en los puertos y déficit de fuerza de trabajo. 

Manifestó que eso condujo a que se alargara el ciclo de reaprovisionamiento y por ello el pollo previsto a entregar a la población en agosto se pasó para septiembre, y el de este mes en octubre, aunque las medidas adoptadas deben permitir que en los primeros 15 días de noviembre comience a acortarse el ciclo, a estabilizarse la distribución, incluyendo la de las dietas médicas pues también una parte se vieron afectadas. 

En relación con el anuncio hecho de distribuir durante seis meses en las bodegas tres libras adicionales de arroz por consumidor, como resultado de las ventas en moneda libremente convertible, Díaz Velázquez dijo que en octubre no ha sido posible cumplir ese compromiso, pues mayoritariamente este producto viene de Vietnam, donde debido al impacto de la COVID-19 no pudo asegurarse su embarque en tiempo. 

Los buques están en travesía, pero ésta demora de 40 a 50 días, por lo que a finales de noviembre llegarán al país, y entonces procederemos de inmediato a la entrega a la población de ese arroz, que en nada tiene que ver con el que se incluye en los módulos de alimentos donados por naciones amigas, ni con las siete libras que se venden como parte de la canasta familiar normada; ninguna sustituye a otra y todas sí se complementan, aclaró. 

De manera tal que puede darse el caso que en un territorio coincidan a la vez las tres entregas del propio cereal, pues seguiremos recibiendo donaciones de países amigos, para lo cual se diseñó una estrategia de distribución, pero que también sabemos se ha demorado un poco más de lo previsto en llegar a Las Tunas, Granma, Villa Clara y Sancti Spíritus, señaló la Ministra de Comercio Interior. 

Finalmente informó que se empezó con una segunda vuelta en La Habana y Santiago de Cuba, y por estos días finales de octubre y a inicios de noviembre empezamos de nuevo por las primeras provincias en recibir el módulo, acotó. 

Noticias de Cuba
Havana, Republic of Cuba
29 October 2021

Minister of Internal Trade clarifies situation with medical diets and other foods Havana 

Betsy Díaz Velázquez, head of the Ministry of Internal Trade (MINCEN), affirmed that the news that medical diets are going to be eliminated is false, that is, the delivery of the food that compose it, in addition to clarify that problems with the shipment from the ports of origin of products such as chicken and rice have prevented their arrival in the country in the expected time.  

Consulted by the Cuban News Agency, the Minister explained that since September we have faced a situation of deficit in imports of powdered milk, which affected the provinces of Guantánamo, Santiago de Cuba, Holguín, Havana and Pinar del Río, dependent of these arrivals from abroad, not so in the rest because with the production of fluid milk they have been able to cover their destinations. He pointed out that, therefore, it is not a total affectation throughout the country and due to this difficulty, only 50 percent of the medical diets containing this food could be guaranteed in September, although with the collection of what has been achieved by Agriculture, it has been possible to guarantee treaty in the aforementioned territories to ensure in October the milk that is given to children from zero to six years old, to those with chronic childhood diseases and pregnant women with a medical prescription.  

She specified that neither for the remainder of October nor for November is it foreseeable to have imported powdered milk, because it is being brought from very far away places such as New Zealand, since the North American blockade prevents us from buying it in the United States market. 

Read here: They clarify concerns of the population related to consumer records As part of the foregoing, it has not been possible to match three key elements: the availability of financing, ships and suppliers, but even when these issues are resolved, there is the time factor since the journey from that nation takes more than 45 days, and to next month it will be very difficult to have the aforementioned food in the country, said the head of MINCIN. He stressed that even in the midst of such adversities and significant non-compliance in the delivery of fluid milk by Agriculture, a situation that its producers face with a group of measures, medical diets will not be abolished, since they take as a nutritional supplement food to the be considered the first medicine.  

It is a false news that has been circulating, for which we clarify that as long as Public Health physicians continue to indicate them to consumers who need it, it will be up to the Ministry of Internal Commerce to guarantee the food that is demanded, said Díaz Velázquez. Although we are facing a temporary situation to which solutions are sought, we are clear that the best answer to the difficulties with the availability of a resource so vital to the population as milk is to produce it in the country, to substitute its importation, and to that the leadership of the Revolution has summoned us.  

Regarding the distribution of chicken, he explained that although it is brought from nearby markets such as the United States, with limitations in commercial and financial transactions, between what is contracted, paid and shipped, the cycle for its arrival in the country takes about 10 days, but In recent months it has been extended to 50 days due to the damage caused by the recent hurricane as it passed through New Orleans, contractions in ports and a shortage of workforce. He stated that this led to the restocking cycle being lengthened and therefore the chicken planned to be delivered to the population in August was passed to September, and that of this month in October, although the measures adopted must allow that in the first 15 days November began to shorten the cycle, to stabilize the distribution, including that of medical diets as a part was also affected.  

In relation to the announcement made to distribute an additional three pounds of rice per consumer for six months in the wineries, as a result of sales in freely convertible currency, Díaz Velázquez said that in October it had not been possible to fulfill that commitment, since this product was mostly it comes from Vietnam, where due to the impact of COVID-19, its shipment could not be secured in time. The ships are in transit, but this takes 40 to 50 days, so at the end of November they will arrive in the country, and then we will proceed immediately to the delivery to the population of that rice, which has nothing to do with what it is included in the modules of food donated by friendly nations, nor with the seven pounds that are sold as part of the regulated family basket; None substitutes for another and all do complement each other, he clarified.  

In such a way that it may be the case that in a territory the three deliveries of the cereal itself coincide at the same time, as we will continue to receive donations from friendly countries, for which a distribution strategy was designed, but we also know that it has been delayed a bit. more than expected to reach Las Tunas, Granma, Villa Clara and Sancti Spíritus, said the Minister of Internal Trade. She finally informed her that a second round was started in Havana and Santiago de Cuba, and in these days at the end of October and at the beginning of November we started again in the first provinces to receive the module, she said.

Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center References Its Clinical Trials For Cuba's CIMAvax-EGF. After Five Years Of Activity, RPCCC Continues Refusal To Provide Data/Comment On Joint Venture Status.

Prensa Latina News Agency
Havana, Republic of Cuba
1 November 2021

Cuban president highlights cooperation opportunities with US

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel on Monday highlighted cooperation possibilities between Cuba and the United States if the government of that country lifted the blockade policy. On Twitter, the president reflected on these opportunities and shared an article about the clinical study of the Cuban vaccine against lung cancer by the Roswell Park Institute, based in the United States. “How much more could Cubans and Americans do together for humanity if the government of that country put aside its obstinate and cruel policy against #Cuba? Again science showing us the way forward,” the head of State specifically wrote. Washington has kept an economic, commercial and financial blockade against Cuba for more than six decades and tightened it with 243 unilateral measures that have been maintained during the Covid-19 pandemic. Both the international community and representatives from US business, scientific, governmental and artistic sectors, among others, favor the lifting of the blockade. Recently, Cuban scientists sent a letter to President Joe Biden in which they expressed their willingness to collaborate with that nation and mentioned the possibility of sharing information on Covid-19 vaccines developed by Cuba.

https://www.plenglish.com/news/2021/11/01/cuban-president-highlights-cooperation-opportunities-with-us/

http://www.cubadebate.cu/noticias/2021/10/31/instituto-roswell-park-de-estados-unidos-iniciara-estudio-clinico-con-vacuna-cubana-contra-cancer-de-pulmon/

Cubadebate.cu
Havana, Republic of Cuba
31 October 2021

Instituto Roswell Park de Estados Unidos iniciará estudio clínico con vacuna cubana contra cáncer de pulmón

El Instituto Roswell Park de Estados Unidos anunció el inicio de un estudio clínico con la vacuna cubana CIMAvax-EGF en la prevención del cáncer de pulmón.

El nuevo ensayo que se inicia en los Estados Unidos busca tratar a los pacientes fumadores con alto riesgo de desarrollar un cáncer de pulmón, así como pacientes con cáncer en estadios tempranos con riesgo de recaer con la enfermedad. El medicamento cubano CIMAvax-EGF, una inmunoterapia que logra reducir drásticamente los niveles de factor de crecimiento epidérmico (EGF) en la sangre, ha demostrado su eficacia en el tratamiento del cáncer de pulmón avanzado. A partir de los resultados obtenidos en los dos países, los investigadores del Centro de Inmunología Molecular y el instituto Roswell Park, ubicado en el estado de Nueva York, comienzan a explorar su uso para prevenir la formación del cáncer de pulmón. Este sería el segundo ensayo clínico en curso con CIMAvax-EGF en Roswell Park, donde se ha demostrado la seguridad de este medicamento, y se explora su uso combinado en varias indicaciones de cáncer. Al respecto, el presidente de BioCubaFarma, DrC. Eduardo Martínez Díaz, refirió en su Twitter: El cáncer es una de las principales causa de muerte en #Cuba y en el mundo. La evaluación de la capacidad de prevenir el cáncer de pulmón usando la vacuna cubana CIMAva-EGF, en estudios clínicos en Cuba y en #EEUU es una esperanza para la humanidad. https://t.co/6EDANCK7id— Eduardo Martínez Díaz (@EdMartBCF) October 31, 2021

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2HPljarV6o

Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center
Buffalo, New York
29 October 2021

Researchers Aim to Prevent Lung Cancer With Latest CIMAvax-EGF Clinical Trial

Prevention study is recruiting lung cancer survivors as well as those at high risk due to smoking history

Immunotherapy CIMAvax-EGF to be used in an interventional study Receptor found on lung cancer cells also discovered in people without cancer CIMAvax may have ability to deplete EGF protein, preventing cancer or recurrence

BUFFALO, N.Y. — A groundbreaking international collaboration brought an innovative lung cancer immunotherapy from Cuba — CIMAvax-EGF — to Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center. Now researchers at the Buffalo-based center are now examining whether this immunotherapy developed to treat lung cancer might prove to be an effective tool for preventing the often-deadly disease. Led by Mary Reid, MSPH, PhD, the interventional early-phase clinical trial is currently recruiting for participants who fall into two groups, or cohorts — middle-aged individuals who currently smoke or have quit smoking within 15 years and carry other lung cancer risk factors like COPD, family history of the disease or have high-risk occupational exposures but have not been diagnosed with cancer AND lung cancer survivors who have completed treatment. “If you’ve had lung cancer and survived it, your biggest fear is that the tumor is going to come back, and we’d like to do anything we can to prevent that,” says Dr. Reid, who is also the Chief of Screening, Survivorship and Mentorship at Roswell Park. “I think CIMAvax shows great potential to help this group as well as individuals who are past or current smokers at risk for lung cancer.” This immunotherapy works by blocking a protein known as epidermal growth factor (EGF), which lung cancer cells need to grow. CIMAvax produces antibodies against EGF, mounting an immune response, capturing the protein so that it no longer circulates in the blood and no longer reaches the cancer cells. The cells end up “starved,” as the protein cannot connect to its receptor, known as EGFR, on the cell and cancer growth is inhibited. Previous studies have shown that EGFR has been found in the airways of cancer-free subjects as well as people diagnosed with cancer. Dr. Reid and team are looking to learn whether the antibodies created by CIMAvax may drive down the risk for developing lung cancer.

“No one deserves to get lung cancer,” says Dr. Reid. “We need to offer people something to reverse damage done by smoking exposure. If we could have an easy-to-administer medication someone can get on an outpatient basis that could prevent them from progressing to cancer — that would be a quality-of-life game-changer. So we’re exploring whether CIMAvax has that potential.” CIMAvax-EGF has been developed over the course of more than 25 years by researchers at the Center for Molecular Immunology (CIM) in Havana, Cuba. The CIM is currently conducting an identical prevention study in their country. For full study and enrollment details, please visit the CIMAvax page on the Roswell Park website or call 1-800-ROSWELL (1-800-767-9355). Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center is a community united by the drive to eliminate cancer’s grip on humanity by unlocking its secrets through personalized approaches and unleashing the healing power of hope. Founded by Dr. Roswell Park in 1898, it is the only National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center in Upstate New York.

https://www.roswellpark.org/newsroom/202110-researchers-aim-prevent-lung-cancer-latest-cimavax-egf-clinical-trial

https://www.roswellpark.org/cimavax

Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center
Buffalo, New York
20 December 2020

8. New Options for Patients With Lung Cancer

Lung cancer remains the biggest cancer killer, and Roswell Park is helping to reverse that trend through collaboration with other major centers and international innovators. Grace Dy, MD, Chief of Thoracic Oncology, led Roswell Park’s contributions to seminal studies published in the New England Journal of Medicine this year about two new precision-medicine treatment options for patients whose lung cancers display particular molecular characteristics that can be identified through next-generation sequencing. She is also leading the only U.S. clinical trials of CIMAvax-EGF, a unique immunotherapy for lung cancer that was developed by scientists in Cuba.

Related Analysis (most recent first) 

Will Cuba Seek EUA From United States FDA? Not Required, But Politically Might Be Prudent Marketing Strategy To Reinforce What Cuba Can Do Under Sanctions June 23, 2021 

Could Buffalo, New York-based Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center Be A Defendant In A Libertad Act Lawsuit? Is This What Title III Intended?  December 24, 2020 

Roswell Park In Buffalo, New York, Has Unique Partnership With Cuba; Has It Explored COVID-19 Treatment?  June 15, 2020 

Roswell Park Announces Joint Venture In Cuba For Healthcare Product Development September 26, 2018 

Air Canada & UPS Deliver 1st Cancer Vaccine For Use In FDA-Approved Clinical Trial; RPCI Seeks US Carrier  November 22, 2016 

Who Will Provide Cargo Services For Roswell Park? UAL, DEL, AA, FDX Or JBU November 14, 2016 

From The Atlantic: How FedEx (Might Have) Helped Commence A Cancer Vaccine Clinical Trial  November 08, 2016

Cuba Sends Minister And Ambassador To COP26 In Scotland

United Nations Framework Convention On Climate Change (UNFCCC)

Type of Party
Non-Annex I
Ratification status
Party to Paris Agreement
Date of signature
22 April 2016
Date of ratification
28 December 2016
Party to Kyoto Protocol
Date of signature
15 March 1999
Date of ratification
30 April 2002

In the United Kingdom, Cuba’s Environment Minister to attend COP26 

“Upon his arrival in this capital, the ambassador of the Caribbean island here, [H.E.] Barbara Montalvo [Alvarez], greeted [H.E. Elba Rosa Perez Montoya] Perez, diplomatic sources reported to Prensa Latina.  The head of Citma [Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment of the Republic of Cuba] is leading the Cuban delegation to COP26 that began on Sunday in the Scottish city, and which will celebrate on Monday and Tuesday the high-level segment, with the participation of more than a hundred world leaders.  On Monday, the Cuban minister is scheduled to attend the premiere of a documentary on Life Task, as the plan designed by the Cuban state to tackle climate change is called, at the University of Glasgow.”

In Second Read-Out From President Biden's Visit To Europe, Cuba Referenced. Among Near Zero Cuba References From President's Meetings With Foreign Leaders Since Inauguration

The White House
Washington DC
29 October 2021

Readout of President Biden’s Meeting with Secretary of State Cardinal Parolin of the Holy See

After an audience with His Holiness Pope Francis, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. met Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Parolin. President Biden thanked Cardinal Parolin for the Vatican’s active leadership in fighting the climate crisis— both through advocacy and encouraging the climate neutrality of hundreds of Christian organizations worldwide. The leaders discussed efforts to rally global support for vaccinating the developing world against COVID-19. President Biden thanked the Vatican for speaking out on behalf of the wrongfully detained, including in Venezuela and Cuba. The leaders committed to continue using their voices to advocate for personal and religious freedoms world-wide.

PCC Official Reports Horrific Data About Economy Of Cuba In 2021 And Expectations For 2022 And Beyond. Unofficial Exchange Rate Inflation Of 6,900%? Inflation Target Of 1,200%?

NOTE: Mr. Marino Murillo leads the Permanent Commission for the Implementation and Development of the Guidelines of the Communist Party of the Republic of Cuba (PCC).

Prensa Latina News Agency
Havana, Republic of Cuba
27 October 2021


Havana, Oct 27 (Prensa Latina) The purchasing power of Cubans was greatly affected after nine months of monetary regulation, due to inflation higher than expected, explained today the head of the Commission for the implementation of the Guidelines, Marino Murillo .

Before the deputies to the National Assembly of People's Power (parliament), the official detailed some of the results observed after the implementation of this task on January 1 of this year, which implied wage and price reforms, and the elimination of the monetary and exchange duality.

The designed retail inflation predicted a growth of 1.6 times in total sales, while the population's income would do so around five times, which meant an increase in the consumer price index of 60 percent, said Murillo. However, the reality shows a significant deterioration in the purchasing power of the population, fundamentally of the lower-income sectors, he added, and exemplified that the basic basket of goods and services was 1.85 times higher than the planned design and, therefore, Therefore, it was above the minimum pension that took that value as a reference.

The supply deficit, where the crisis generated by Covid-19, the economic blockade of the United States and its coercive measures on the island, among other factors, have a negative effect on the implementation of the ordinance. Other elements are added, such as the increase in the prices of transport, construction materials and food, as well as an informal exchange rate that fluctuates around the value of one dollar for each Cuban peso, when the official rate is one per 24.

This exchange rate difference, although it occurs in the underground market, generates an inflation of 6,900 percent and impacts all economic actors, said Murillo.

In this sense, he warned of the risk that this represents, since on the one hand raw materials are acquired under an exchange rate (1x24), while prices are formed under the other (1x70), which allows different economic actors to generate profits although do not generate wealth. This can have an impact on imported products having lower prices than national ones, in an economy that needs to produce and generate offers, in addition to being one of the distortions that the ordering task sought to eliminate.

The head of the Implementation Commission commented that according to studies carried out in more than 1,800 business structures of different conformation, in this sector the design foreseen at the beginning of the year has been generally fulfilled, since they managed to make the necessary adjustments and greater transparency of accounting. However, retail inflation and circulating money are alerts for the design of the economy plans and the budget for 2022.

To achieve a monetary balance, the State had to collect 92 percent of people's income, but the calculations point to figures that are around 67 percent, while there are more than 59 billion pesos (2.458 billion dollars ) On circulation. Faced with these realities, the government adopted 35 measures to stop inflation, but the business sector has to react and produce wealth, Murillo stressed, adding the need for greater participation by national producers to meet the demands. Likewise, greater control of liquidity in the hands of the population and compensatory measures are needed to care for the most vulnerable.

Granma
Havana, Republic of Cuba
27 October 2021

What has been the impact on the economy after the implementation of the Ordering Task? (+ Video)

Murillo Jorge explained that the financial statements presented by the companies to the National Office of Statistics and Information have been taken as a source of information, and that these data are expressed in Cuban pesos with the exchange rate of 1x24, where appropriate.


Author: Yaditza del Sol González

Marino Murillo said that retail inflation, higher than designed, has reduced the purchasing power provided by the wage reform, the growth of pensions and Social Assistance, especially in the lower-income sectors. Photo: Ariel Cecilio Lemus

A look, from the economic point of view, at the results of the implementation of the Ordinance Task, its impact on the business system, as well as wholesale and retail inflation, and the changes in the current monetary environment, offered to the deputies Marino Murillo Jorge , head of the Permanent Commission for the Implementation and Development of the Guidelines.

As part of the implementation, he explained, a temporary work group was created, taking into account that it was necessary to rectify, on the fly, design problems and make adjustments to the process, as initially anticipated, also based on the difficult situation presented by the national economy and deviations from the context in which the ordinance had to be carried out.

To date, he pointed out, this group has held 93 meetings and 294 issues have been presented, while 256 decisions have been made, which led to the issuance of 171 legal norms, of which 30 are already in process. To measure the results of the implementation of the Regulation, it is necessary to make a comparison against the design of the Task itself, that is, to see what has happened in practice in recent months, he argued.

As part of this reflection, Murillo Jorge explained that the financial statements presented by the companies to the National Office of Statistics and Information have been taken as a source of information, and that these data are expressed in Cuban pesos with the exchange rate of 1x24, in the corresponding cases.

Until the end of the second semester –since some financial indicators were carried up to the month of August–, net sales in the business system are in the order of 308 billion and 14 billion of exports, he said. "The profits, in an environment of devaluation of the peso in the first semester, were 33 billion."

He affirmed that there are accumulated losses of about 7 billion, and 82% are concentrated in the agricultural sector, provincial commercial activities and others subordinate to the territorial government, among others. Some companies, technologically similar, had losses and others did not, the latter tell us about their ability to withstand devaluation and management efficiency, he clarified. On the expenses for losses and shortages of assets, 1,609 million pesos are recorded, of which 632 million in the company Medicuba S.A. and 572 in the Provincial Commerce Company of Havana, 75% of the total.

Before the Ordering Task, in a 1x1 environment, for each peso of sale the companies received 14 cents from the Budget, which implied that a company that received a subsidy from the State could have profits and, in addition, distribute it among its workers, said the Head of the Permanent Commission for the Implementation and Development of the Guidelines. Now, he said, he stayed at four cents, and that is a positive result of the Ordinance, since the subsidy is reduced to the inefficiencies of the business system.

Of those four cents, 75% - he mentioned - are associated with the consumption subsidy, which for next year, if prices stabilize, will gradually be eliminated, and then we would be talking about not subsidizing products, but people, which is the objective. Referring to the profitability of business structures, he pointed out that, on average, they work with 17%, and that some companies, such as the agricultural sector, work with a lower rate, specifically 6%.

WHAT HAPPENS TO WHOLESALE AND RETAIL INFLATION?

Murillo Jorge indicated that for the first year a devaluation of 2,300% was designed in the wholesale circuit, with a wholesale inflation target of 1,200%, and according to the estimates for the end of the year, this figure will not be reached. “The expected adjustment of the economy, that wholesale prices would grow less than the devaluation, was achieved. The problem is in retail inflation. He argued that whenever it devalues ​​in those magnitudes, there is price growth and, therefore, inflation.

On the other hand, in the informal currency market there is an exchange rate of 1x70, which represents an inflation of 6,900%, and affects both wholesale and retail inflation, he said.

«This translates, for example, into the fact that an economic actor that obtains raw materials in the environment of state-owned companies (1x24) and sets a price in the 1x70 area, is going to have large profits without being very efficient or productive, and that it can be taxed to increase inflation conditions in the future ».

"Furthermore, if prices in the domestic economy are formed on the basis of 1x70, and imported prices are multiplied by 24, then domestic products would be more expensive than imported ones." To regulate this, the Ministry of Finance and Prices is working on a wholesale price policy for 2022, in order to manage these exchange rate differences, he reported.

Among the recommendations to develop this policy is to take into account the behavior of the prices of the foreign investment sector and other actors, given that they have grown at a higher rate, as well as the incidence of the exchange gap in the formation of prices. of non-state economic actors. In short, he continued, in the business system the peso was devalued, a process of correction of relative prices began, the designed economy was adjusted and accounting has become transparent.

Regarding retail inflation, he explained that according to the design of the Task, total sales were going to grow 1.6 times and the income of the population, five times, and under that calculation the decision was made to do the Ordering and wage reform. All the salaried workers were supposed to be better than before the Task; more, in practice it has happened that people are facing prices up to ten times higher than expected in retail inflation, he explained.

"Where retail prices grow the most is in transportation, in housing (for example, buying building materials), and in food, and all of this has a great impact on domestic life," he said.

On the other hand, the average salary is 3,888 pesos, and the reference basket of goods and services designed was 1,528 pesos, which was what a person should consume in the month; However, the cost levels of that basket have been rising, especially in Havana and in the eastern provinces, he said.

For example, in March that basket was 2,347 pesos, in May 2,628 pesos, in June 2,700 pesos and in August 2,821 pesos, he said. "This last value, the one for August, is 1.85 times the cost of the basket that we made to calculate the minimum pension, which means that those who have a pension and minimum wage, today are not consuming what was planned." And while anti-inflationary measures were designed, they did not have all the desired effect, he added. "Today a Cuban eats something on the street is costing him twice as much as designed."

All this means that retail inflation, higher than designed, has reduced the purchasing power provided by the salary reform, the growth of pensions and Social Assistance, especially in the lower-income sectors, he said. He emphasized that, if we want there to be a monetary balance, the State has to collect 92% of the population's monetary income, and according to the latest estimates, the figures are around 67%.

Finally, he mentioned that the scenario in which the development of the economy has become very complex as a result of the intensification of the economic blockade of the US Government, the worsening of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the consequences of the international economic crisis. The combined effects of the situation on the economy and the expected processes of the Ordinance have generated manifestations not associated with what was designed, he pointed out.

Although main risks were identified, including inflation, there are objective conditions that favor inflationary risks such as the supply deficit, the increase in the population's income, which increases its solvent demand, the exchange rate of the informal market by above the official, and the high fiscal deficit, he commented.

Murillo Jorge added that one of the main impacts of the Ordinance process is the devaluation of the CUP, which has made it possible to advance in the complex process of correction of relative prices in the business sector, leading to a real devaluation. As a final recommendation, he called on the business system to take advantage of this correction, as well as to apply the measures designed to make its management more efficient.

Diario de Cuba
Madrid, Spain
28 October 2021

Marino Murillo, known as the czar of the economic reforms of the PCC


By Irene Pérez cubadebate

The head of the so-called Permanent Commission for the Implementation and Development of the Guidelines of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC), Marino Murillo Jorge, admitted to the National Assembly of People's Power on Wednesday that "retail inflation has been the main deviation of the Task Ordering ".

"The costs of the reference basket of goods and services are almost double the numbers designed, while the purchasing power that the wage reform gave has been 'greatly affected', fundamentally in the lower income sectors," said Murillo, according to picked up the official website Cubadebate.

The so-called "czar of economic reforms" of the PCC acknowledged that after the start of the regulation the authorities had to "adjust certain decisions", due "to design problems and the process of putting into practice the monetary and exchange unification, as well as due to deviations derived from the difficult context that the Cuban economy has experienced ".

In this regard, he said that up to August "256 decisions had been approved (change in the electricity rate and the salary scale of the rum masters, for example) and 171 legal norms had been issued."

Without going into details, he added that of the total, 234 decisions have been complied with —with 155 legal norms—, while ten are in process, nine are pending, two are unfulfilled and one was without effect. In the words of the official, measuring the result of the Ordering Task "is not saying whether it went well, badly or partially", since it must be compared with the design of the measure to "have a more realistic idea of ​​how things have been in details. ".

For this year, he reminded him, a wholesale inflation of 1,200% was designed. In January, prices grew 224% compared to December, in February 12% more, while in June against May it grew 6.53%, he exemplified. This situation had to do with the increase in the cost sheet of the electricity and tobacco company, according to the data presented.

Murillo Jorge announced that the expected adjustment in the economy of wholesale prices growing less than the devaluation level designed was achieved. "The problem is retail inflation, not wholesale inflation," he said.

The growth in prices of state-owned companies (222% inflation) is below design. "The inflation that has occurred wholesale in the business sector has been giving it a profitability of 11% and that of foreign investment a 28% profitability," he added. Murillo Jorge admitted the existence of "many deficiency problems", and justified that profitability should also be influenced by pricing policy.

Regarding the informal market, he said that it already has an inflation of 6,900%, influencing both the retailer and the wholesaler. "The strategic objective of the ordering task was for national productions to be cheaper than imports. But if a price of 1x70 is formed, national productions would be more expensive," he said.

Given this, the Head of the PCC reforms said that "work is being done by the Ministry of Finance and Prices, because a wholesale price policy is necessary to manage these different exchange rates in the economy."

Regarding retail inflation, he recalled that according to the "Task design", total sales were going to grow 1.6 times and the population's income five times, and under that calculation the decision was made to make the Regulation and salary reform. "All of us were supposed to be better off than before the Task; but in practice it has happened that people are facing prices up to ten times higher than expected in retail inflation," he admitted.

He said that "where retail prices grow the most is in transportation, in housing (for example, buying building materials), and in food, and all of this has a great impact on domestic life."

"The average salary is 3,888 pesos, and the reference basket of goods and services designed was 1,528 pesos, which was what a person should consume in the month; however, the cost levels of that basket have been increasing, especially in Havana and in the eastern provinces, "he added. "For a Cuban to eat something on the street today is costing him twice as much as designed," he said about a situation that has been hitting the population for months.

The translation of all this is that "the purchasing power provided by the salary reform, the growth of pensions and Social Assistance has been reduced, especially in the lower income sectors," he acknowledged. In the official's words, to achieve "a monetary balance, the State has to collect 92% of the population's monetary income, and according to the latest estimates, the figures are around 67%."

For Cuban economist Pedro Monreal, "in the absence of positive results, the 'system' seems to move towards an anti-inflationary program based on the controversial capacity of centralized planning to create business efficiency, and on a welfare vision of poverty alleviation." The analyst said in his account on Twitter that "the main bet of the anti-inflation program seems to be the offer response of the state company, but it works in a centralized planning scheme that has not worked well anywhere else." For Monreal, "a safer bet would have been to support private agriculture."

"The initial design of the 'ordinance' adopted a problematic sequence: hitting the demand without first ensuring responsiveness. What happened was not inevitable. The design imaginary failed," he said. On the other hand, for Monreal, informing "that the greatest monetary liquidity occurs in a context in which income has been 'polarized' is a 'pious' way of saying that 'ordering' has increased inequality. It was also said that could be the subject of a 'long conversation'. When? "he wondered.

Turkey-Cuba: In Exxon Mobil Libertad Act Lawsuit, Cuba Claims Companies Are Government Instrumentalities Thus Shielded By FSIA.  Judge In Halkbank Lawsuit Dismisses Similar Argument. 

Turkey-Cuba Connectivity: In Exxon Mobil Libertad Act Lawsuit, Cuba Claims Two Companies Are Government Instrumentalities And Shielded By Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA).  Judge In Turkey’s Halkbank Lawsuit Dismisses Somewhat Similar Argument. 

“The appeals court said that even if the law “confers sovereign immunity in criminal cases, the offense conduct with which Halkbank is charged falls within FSIA’s commercial activities exception to sovereign immunity.” 

The Trump Administration on 2 May 2019 made operational Title III of the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity Act of 1996 (known as “Libertad Act”). Title III authorizes lawsuits in United States District Courts against companies and individuals who are using a certified claim or non-certified claim where the owner of the certified claim or non-certified claim has not received compensation from the Republic of Cuba or from a third-party who is using (“trafficking”) the asset.   

The sixteen (16) Republic of Cuba government-operated entities which have been named as a defendant within one or more of the forty-two (42) lawsuits filed since 2019 using Title III of the Libertad Act: 

Corporacion Cimex S.A. (Cuba)
Corporacion Cimex S.A. (Panama)
Corporacion de Comercio Y Turismo Internacional Cubanacan S.A.
Corporacion Habanos S.A.
Empresa Agropecuaria Nuevitas
Empresa Cubana Exportadora De Alimentos Y Productos Varios
Empresa Extrahotelera Palmares S.A.
Empresa Forestal Integral De Camaguey
Grupo de Turismo Gaviota S.A.
Grupo Empresarial Agrícola, Grupo Empresarial Agroforestal
Grupo Empresarial Viajes Cuba
Grupo Hotelero Gran Caribe
Grupo Internacional De Turoperadores Y Agencias De Viajes
Havanatur S.A. (Cuba)
Havanatur S.A. (Panama)
Union Cuba-Petroleo

LINK To Libertad Act Title III Lawsuit Filing Statistics
LINK To Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act Text

LINKS To Relevant Analyses 

Exxon Mobil Responds With 1,452 Pages To Cuba In Libertad Act Lawsuit: FSIA Jurisdiction Is Key September 29, 2020 

Might Jurisdiction Defense By King & Spalding In Turkey’s Halkbank Case Be Instructive For Libertad Act Lawsuits? Exxon Mobil? December 19, 2019

Reuters
London, United Kingdom
22 October 2021

A U.S. appeals court ruled on Friday that state-owned Turkish lender Halkbank (HALKB.IS) can be prosecuted over accusations it helped Iran evade American sanctions.  The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said even if the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act shielded the bank, the charge against Halkbank falls under the commercial activity exception. Robert Cary, an attorney at Williams & Connolly which represents Halkbank, declined to comment. There was no immediate comment from the Turkish foreign ministry or Halkbank.  

Prosecutors accused Halkbank of converting oil revenue into gold and then cash to benefit Iranian interests and documenting fake food shipments to justify transfers of oil proceeds.  They also said Halkbank helped Iran secretly transfer $20 billion of restricted funds, with at least $1 billion laundered through the U.S. financial system. Halkbank has pleaded not guilty to bank fraud, money laundering and conspiracy charges over its alleged use of money servicers and front companies in Iran, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates to evade sanctions.  The bank had argued it is immune from prosecution under the federal Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act because it was "synonymous" with Turkey, which has immunity under that law.  

The court said Halkbank was conflating its purpose - to act as a repository for the Turkish government's Iranian oil and gas proceeds - with its action, which was a scheme to participate in money laundering.  The appeals court said that even if the law "confers sovereign immunity in criminal cases, the offense conduct with which Halkbank is charged falls within FSIA’s commercial activities exception to sovereign immunity." 

Halkbank had been appealing an Oct. 1 ruling by U.S. District Judge Richard Berman allowing it to be prosecuted.  Berman has overseen several related cases, including the conviction of former Halkbank executive Mehmet Hakan Atilla and a guilty plea by Turkish-Iranian gold trader Reza Zarrab. Halkbank's case has complicated U.S.-Turkish relations, with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan backing Halkbank's innocence in a 2018 memo to then-U.S. President Donald Trump. The case was decided by Judges Amalya Kearse, Joseph Bianco and Jose Cabranes, who wrote the opinion. The lower court had scheduled a trial to start for May 3, but the proceeding was stayed during the appeal and a new trial has yet to be scheduled.  

United States Department Of State Comments About Cuba: 15 July 2021 And 15 November 2021

United States Department of State
Washington DC
26 October 2021

Briefing with Ned Price, Spokesperson

QUESTION: On Cuba.

MR PRICE: Sure.

QUESTION: President Diaz-Canel has said that the U.S. is fomenting the protests by dissidents (inaudible) for mid-November. Diaz-Canel said this behavior by the U.S. is not new. What’s your comment on it, and how is it affecting the review of the Cuba policy by the Biden administration?

MR PRICE: Look, the Cuban people’s protests, peaceful protests on and after July 11th and with the upcoming plans for November 15th, the Cuban people are voicing their concerns about freedom, about democracy, and the failures of that very regime, the Cuban regime, to meet their own needs, the needs of the Cuban people. We support, as we have said, the rights of the Cuban people and people everywhere to exercise their freedoms of expression, their ability to assemble peacefully. We call on the Cuban Government to respect these rights and to see this not as an attack but as an opportunity to listen, to listen to their own people and to do what is right for Cubans and for Cuba.

The Cuban regime is failing to meet the people’s most basic needs. That includes food. That includes medicine. Now is a chance to listen to the Cuban people and to make a positive change. Again, we commend the people of Cuba for peacefully showing the strength of their will and the power of their voice, which, after the protest of July 11th, the government has consistently attempted to silence, including through violent oppression, including through unjust detentions of hundreds of protesters, including through the detention of journalists, of activists, internet censorship, and other tactics that we reject. We stand with every Cuban seeking a government that respects their human rights and fundamental freedoms.

QUESTION: So the U.S. is not behind – is not, like, supporting these kind of protests?

MR PRICE: We stand with the right of the Cuban people and the right of people everywhere to assemble peacefully, to have their voices heard. But what we have seen in Cuba since July 11th, what I suspect we will see mid-next month in Cuba, is a demonstration not of the desires of the United States Government. What we have seen, what we will say – what we will see is a manifestation of the unmet needs, of the unmet aspirations of the Cuban people, and the Cuban people’s clear attribution of responsibility for those unmet needs and unmet aspirations to the Cuban Government.