Latin America
Related: About this forumImagine: Cuba
Weekend Edition August 29-31, 2014
Time for a Little Anarchy in America?
Imagine: Cuba
by MATEO PIMENTEL
Imagine living in the worlds most literate nationa nation where health care is free and universal, and of the highest quality by world standards.
Imagine that, in this nation, education (also free and universal) is not only considered a human right, but it is also higher in quality than that of the wealthiest, most super industrialized country the world has ever known.
Imagine that this nation actively seeksfrom social to governmental dimensionsto correct and eradicate racism, and racist proclivities, so as to ensure a truer, more democratic inclusion for all.
Imagine its dedication to gender equality and womens rights: more than forty percent of its parliament is female; more than sixty percent of its university positions are occupied by women; and all its women receive maternity leave for eighteen weeks with full pay.
More:
http://www.counterpunch.org/2014/08/29/imagine-cuba/
MADem
(135,425 posts)DUers wouldn't tolerate that--there'd be a revolution before nightfall...
The author of that piece, I notice, doesn't LIVE in Cuba--he's a happy camper on the "Mexican - US border." Wonder what side? He coyly doesn't say....
Judi Lynn
(160,621 posts)MADem
(135,425 posts)Mika
(17,751 posts)You've got the priorities straight. Internet over all. Yep. That'll accomplish much more than Cuba already has accomplished.
More laughable doggerel from you.
MADem
(135,425 posts)I'd say that's--to quote YOU--
Typical answer from you.
If you wanted to post that insult directed at me from Cuba, it would take you an hour if you were lucky.
And by lucky, I mean a friend of Fidel or Raul.
Mika
(17,751 posts)I text and Facebook with my Cuban friends all of the time.
And no, to preempt your typical accusation, they're no friends of any Castros.
Maybe you should get acquainted with some real Cubans IN Cuba. That way you could converse with them regularly, and possibly see what utter bullshit you're peddling here.
Have a nice evening.
Marksman_91
(2,035 posts)But then when I use the fact that I constantly communicate with friends and family in Venezuela to tell me about how the situation is down there, and even revisit the country from time to time, then the chavistas in this forum don't seem to give a crap and just accuse me of being a right-wing fascist or something like that.
MADem
(135,425 posts)People who get "perks." Not regular Cubans, who listen to the oligarchs talking on TV about what is said on "the internet" and get pissed off because THEY don't have the capability of seeing that very "internet" for themselves.
If five hours on the net cost you a month's salary (which is the going rate in Cuba right now), I'll bet you wouldn't be "on the net" much, either--I know I wouldn't!!!
Judi Lynn
(160,621 posts)Why wouldn't you have a better grasp than that?
Trying to red-bait Mika? Stupid idea. Underhanded cheap-shot, and malicious.
Where were you a couple of years ago when stories were posted on the US setting up its own "Twitter"-like anti-Cuba crap trap. Zun-Zeneo (the Cuban name for the sound of a hummingbird). You would have learned enough then to recognize the error of your ways in trying to ride that Cuba internet horse past its death.
The most recent one we've had has been yet another filthy ploy from USAID:
US sent Latin youth undercover in anti-Cuba ploy
By DESMOND BUTLER, JACK GILLUM, ALBERTO ARCE and ANDREA RODRIGUEZ
Aug. 4, 2014 6:22 PM EDT
WASHINGTON (AP) Fernando Murillo was typical of the young Latin Americans deployed by a U.S. agency to work undercover in Cuba. He had little training in the dangers of clandestine operations or how to evade one of the world's most sophisticated counter-intelligence services.
Their assignment was to recruit young Cubans to anti-government activism, which they did under the guise of civic programs, including an HIV prevention workshop. Murillo was instructed to check in every 48 hours and was provided with a set of security codes. "I have a headache," for instance, meant the Costa Rican thought the Cubans were watching him and the mission should be suspended.
Over at least two years, the U.S. Agency for International Development best known for overseeing billions of dollars in U.S. humanitarian aid sent nearly a dozen neophytes from Venezuela, Costa Rica and Peru to gin up opposition in Cuba. The danger was apparent to USAID, if not to the young operatives: A USAID contractor, American Alan Gross, had just been hauled away to a Cuban jail for smuggling in sensitive technology. He remains there still.
USAID hired Creative Associates International, a Washington-based company, as part of a civil society program against Cuba's communist government. The same company was central to the creation of a "Cuban Twitter" a messaging network revealed in April by The Associated Press, designed to reach hundreds of thousands of Cubans.
More:
http://bigstory.ap.org/article/us-sent-latin-youth-undercover-anti-cuba-ploy
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August 13, 2014
The Latest USAID Plot
Will They Ever Leave Cuba Alone? No.
by WILLIAM BLUM
The latest exposed plot to overthrow the Cuban government Oh, pardon me, I mean the latest exposed plot to bring democracy to Cuba
Our dear friends at the Agency For International Development (USAID), having done so well with their covert sub-contractor Alan Gross, now in his fifth year in Cuban custody and their Cuban Twitter project, known as ZunZuneo, exposed in 2012, aimed at increasing the flow of information amongst the supposedly information-starved Cubans, which drew in subscribers unaware that the service was paid for by the US government and now, the latest exposure, a project which sent about a dozen Venezuelan, Costa Rican and Peruvian young people to Cuba in hopes of stirring up a rebellion; the travelers worked clandestinely, using the cover of health and civic programs, or posing as tourists, going around the island, on a mission to identify potential social-change actors to turn into political activists.
Can you believe that? Can you believe the magnitude of naiveté? Was it a conviction that American exceptionalism would somehow work its magic? Do they think the Cuban people are a bunch of children just waiting for a wise adult to come along and show them what to think and how to behave?
One of these latest USAID contracts was signed only days after Gross was detained, thus indicating little concern for the safety of their employees/agents. As part of the preparation of these individuals, USAID informed them: Although there is never total certainty, trust that the authorities will not try to harm you physically, only frighten you. Remember that the Cuban government prefers to avoid negative media reports abroad, so a beaten foreigner is not convenient for them.
Its most ironic. The US government could not say as much about most of their allies, who frequently make use of physical abuse. Indeed, the statement could not be made in regard to almost any American police force. But its this Cuba that doesnt beat or torture detainees that is the enemy to be reformed and punished without mercy 55 years and counting.
More:
http://www.counterpunch.org/2014/08/13/will-they-ever-leave-cuba-alone-no/
MADem
(135,425 posts)You don't need to net nanny.
And your uncivil language Stupid idea. Underhanded cheap-shot, and malicious. is, as it always is, noted. Don't discuss ideas, now, toss insults and ascribe motives--it's so much easier than actually making a case.
I'm not "trying to red bait" anyone.
Here's the bottom line--if you're talking to someone on the internet in Cuba extensively, they are either a tourist or associated with the regime. No one else can afford it. That's just a FACT.
Try looking at the material I provided. Live, and learn, instead of goading and insulting.
You keep throwing stuff at me that talks about EVERYTHING except the internet access issue I raised.
And you do realize that the "twitter stunt" the US pulled didn't hurt in stimulating an appetite for increased access to the internet. Cuban students are DEMANDING change, and eventually they're going to get it, too. I support them in their quest.
Why is it "OK" for information to be free everywhere except places like Cuba and North Korea?
Answer--it's NOT OK.
Mika
(17,751 posts)The primary change that Cuban students are demanding is the ceasing of the US's extraterritorial sanctions on Cuba and businesses, as well as the unjust violation of American's constitutional right to travel by the US gov't.
MADem
(135,425 posts)I think the Cuban students want INTERNET ACCESS, so they can decide for THEMSELVES what to believe.
Watch this:
If you dare to have your preconceived notions challenged, that is.
Oele
(128 posts)MADem
(135,425 posts)Because ordinary Cubans don't have access to the internet in that fashion, seeing as four hours on it would cost a state worker their entire month's pay.
Maybe YOU should get acquainted with some real Cuban IN Cuba--the ones who don't work for the regime, that is.
Thanks for making it clear where your perspective is coming from. The fact that you admit/insist (proudly) that you communicate with people in Cuba lets us know precisely with whom you're communicating--and that's just a simple fact. "Ordinary Cubans" don't have access to the internet. People in the Castro club, though, do.
I think you need to watch this film:
Notice how I responded to you with facts rather than personal insults (like "clueless" -- which, plainly, I am not) --you should try it sometime, Mika.
Mika
(17,751 posts)Yes. My friends are all personal friends with Fidel himself. Oh noes111! You blew my deeeep cover.
Its not an insult to say that your above commentary is idiotic. Its a fact that it is.
No matter, keep on spewing your dark fantasies here. I'll continue to carry on as usual ... talking to my friends in Cuba, Facebooking with them, texting with them, writing letters, etc etc.
http://www.dimecuba.com/en
(Click on Text Messages to and from Cuba to see rates)
MADem
(135,425 posts)But if you're just an ordinary Cuban, you do NOT have internet access. You cannot afford internet access. If you're communicating with someone in Cuba, it's on a satphone paid for by someone over HERE-- or via a for-profit corporation acting as middleman for a price, as your dot COM website proves.
Gee, I wonder who owns that for-profit enterprise? I know it doesn't have Cuban ownership. Let's have a look, shall we?
Registry Domain ID:
Registrar WHOIS Server: whois.ovh.com
Registrar URL: http://www.ovh.com
Updated Date: 2013-07-28T01:15:06.0Z
Creation Date: 2012-06-26T15:34:12.0Z
Registrar Registration Expiration Date: 2016-06-26T15:34:12.0Z
Registrar: OVH, SAS
Registrar IANA ID: 433
Registrar Abuse Contact Email:
Registrar Abuse Contact Phone: +33.899498765
Domain Status: clientTransferProhibited
Domain Status: clientDeleteProhibited
Registry Registrant ID:
Registrant Name: Padron Israel
Registrant Organization: Uniontel Communications, LTD
Registrant Street: Room 1203, 12/F, Tower 3, China Hong Kong City. 33, Canton Road, TST, KL
Registrant City: Kowloon
Registrant State/Province:
Registrant Postal Code: 0000
Registrant Country: HK
Registrant Phone: +852.58086044
Registrant Phone Ext:
Registrant Fax:
Registrant Fax Ext:
Registrant Email:
Registry Admin ID:
Admin Name: Suarez Antonio
Admin Organization:
Admin Street: dimecuba.com, office #4714883, c/o OwO, BP80157
Admin City: 59053
Admin State/Province:
Admin Postal Code: Roubaix Cedex 1
Admin Country: FR
Admin Phone: +33.899498765
Admin Phone Ext:
Admin Fax:
Admin Fax Ext:
Admin Email:
Registry Tech ID:
Tech Name: Suarez Antonio
Tech Organization:
Tech Street: dimecuba.com, office #4714883, c/o OwO, BP80157
Tech City: 59053
Tech State/Province:
Tech Postal Code: Roubaix Cedex 1
Tech Country: FR
Tech Phone: +33.899498765
Tech Phone Ext:
Tech Fax:
Tech Fax Ext:
Tech Email:
Name Server: dave.ns.cloudflare.com
Name Server: lady.ns.cloudflare.com
DNSSEC: signedDelegation
URL of the ICANN WHOIS Data Problem Reporting System:
http://wdprs.internic.net/
http://whois.domaintools.com/dimecuba.com
And, fwiw, you don't have to telegraph the weakness of your argument by disparaging my comments with terms like "spewing" and "idiotic." You clearly cannot argue from strength if you resort to those tactics. I also think if you are going to snark about my "uninformed" and "unintelligible" POV, as you rudely did in your subject line, you might try at least being "intelligible" yourself--you don't acquit yourself well at all by insulting me in such fashion and AND misspelling not just one, but both words!
18. Uniformed and mostly uniteligible.
I haven't been "uniformed" in many years...
So, you can play the sarcasm/smilie game all you'd like, but the truth is that your bargain rates need to be subsidized by friends abroad. For the ordinary Cuban with no friends or family abroad, well, they're screwed. When you make twenty bucks a month, those rates are just out of reach. A thirty minute call would be a month's salary. Now THAT is a "dark fantasy." Only wait--it's a reality.
Here, again:
EX500rider
(10,856 posts)Private citizens are prohibited from buying computers or accessing the Internet without special authorization; foreigners may access the Internet in large hotels but are subject to firewalls; some Cubans buy illegal passwords on the black market or take advantage of public outlets to access limited email and the government-controlled "intranet"
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/cu.html
Mika
(17,751 posts)Thanks for the CIA's "latest".
Scootaloo
(25,699 posts)Judi Lynn
(160,621 posts)The Shifting Policy Landscape of Development Education
Autumn 2011.
Cuba's Model of Development: Lessons for Global Education
~snip~
Cubas Development Model
From the outset of the Cuban revolution in 1959 education has been a priority for its leaders. In 1961 Cuba launched a year long literacy campaign to address the high levels of illiteracy that were part of the social neglect characteristic of the pre-revolutionary period under US-sponsored dictator Fulgencio Batista. The literacy campaign was a great success and in 2011 the United Nations Education Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) revealed that the Cuban Literacy Program was implemented in 12 other Latin American states with plans to expand this model to other regions (Cuba Sí, summer 2011:6). UNESCO also praised Cubas expenditure on education which according to the United Nations Human Development Report 2010 was 13.8 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) compared to 5.2 per cent in Brazil and 4.9 per cent in Argentina in the same period; countries with much bigger economies in the American Hemisphere. Cubas commitment to education as an essential human right available to all citizens means that it is available free at the point of delivery. Education in Cuba is not a privilege, particularly at third level, available only to those who can afford to pay for it as is the case in Ireland and Britain.
Cuba has a similarly socialised approach to healthcare with just under 10 per cent of GDP spent on health (UN, 2010) compared to 6.1 per cent in Ireland, 6.9 per cent in Britain and 7.1 per cent in the United States. As a result Cuba can boast of a developed world life expectancy rate of 79 years which is just behind that of the US (79.6) Britain (79.8) and Ireland (80.3). But the success of Cubas health system is more than just a matter of statistics and free access; it is built upon an effective public model that Barry and Lynch suggest is a protective and supportive system for Cuban citizens, run by the state, but in a decentralised and integrated system (2008: 156). The preventative component of the Cuban health system is key and is constructed around an effective primary care programme which not only prevents illness but promotes healthy lifestyles. As Barry and Lynch argue:
health is viewed as enabling people to achieve their full capacity, irrespective of age or ability, and with full cognisance of the wider determinants of health, such as housing, education, nutrition and exercise (2008: 157).
However, the benefits of Cubas system are felt well beyond its own borders. In 1999 Cuba established a Latin American School of Medicine which trains doctors and medical personnel from other parts of the Americas, including the United States, and Africa. Almost 10,000 students from 29 countries are enrolled in the school with students committing themselves to return to their countries and work in communities lacking adequate healthcare (Medical Co-operation with Cuba, 2011). Cuba itself now has as many doctors servicing its 11 million citizens as there are in Britain meeting the needs of 60 million people. Michael Tynan, Emeritus Professor of Paediatric Cardiology at Kings College, London has been engaging in medical exchanges with Cuba since 1987 and found that Cubas commitment to public health has been the heartbeat of their socialist programme both domestically and internationally since their struggle against Batista in the 1950s. He adds that [c]onsidering the intensification of the blockade, Cubas achievements in the field of healthcare particularly in the areas of infant mortality, life expectancy and internationalism are nothing short of miraculous (Cuba Sí, summer 2011: 30).
Cubas internationalism includes the Henry Reeve Brigade, a specialist medical team of 1,200 personnel set up in 2005 to respond to humanitarian emergencies and disasters anywhere in the world. In 2005, it was the first team on the ground following the Pakistani earthquake in Kashmir and six months later the last to leave. More recently, Cubas medical personnel were the first on the scene in the Haitian earthquake in 2010 because they already had a 350-strong team on the ground which immediately went to work in providing primary care and obstetrical services as well as operating to restore the sight of Haitians blinded by eye diseases (Aljazeera, 16 February 2010). This team was later strengthened by Cuba after the earthquake struck and treated 30,000 cholera patients between October and December 2010 (Independent, 26 December 2010).
It was notable that, while the efforts of Western development agencies in Haiti were highly praised, the work of the Cuban medics was largely ignored by the media. Aljazeera was one of the few news organisations to highlight Cubas efforts in Haiti noting that their pivotal work in the health sector has received scant media coverage (16 February 2010). The London Independent also acknowledged the medias sidelining of Cubas medical work in Haiti with a piece titled Cuban medics put the world to shame. It placed Cubas work in Haiti in an international context noting that [a] third of Cuba's 75,000 doctors, along with 10,000 other health workers, are currently working in 77 poor countries, including El Salvador, Mali and East Timor (Ibid). In addition to the work of the Henry Reeve Brigade, Cubas medical efforts have included an international programme called Operation Miracle, which began with ophthalmologists treating cataract sufferers in impoverished Venezuelan villages in exchange for oil. This initiative has restored the eyesight of 1.8 million people in 35 countries, including that of Mario Teran, the Bolivian sergeant who killed Che Guevara in 1967 (Ibid).
More:
http://www.developmenteducationreview.com/issue13-viewpoint2?page=show
(That last line's a killer, isn't it? Wow.)
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Mika
(17,751 posts)Just ask our resident "expert".
Judi Lynn
(160,621 posts)if you can't whip around fast anytime you want, and troll the hell out of progressives?
Life would have no meaning, Mika, for a small cluster we know!
Judi Lynn
(160,621 posts)Diario de Cuba
Last updated: Sep 1, 2014 - 7:31 a.m.
http://www.diariodecuba.com/etiquetas/yaima-pardo.html
Real "expert", for sure! Only the best will do!
By the way, I wouldn't go to one of those links for any reason. Absolutely no doubt whatsoever they can't be trusted. Ever. Someone really has a lot of hatred to have this kind of drive.
Judi Lynn
(160,621 posts)You probably have the better overview, right?
MADem
(135,425 posts)Who knew the UN was running around measuring bandwidth? I couldn't help but notice that you AVOIDED providing any proof that any "groups" within the UN "say" Cuba has "no problem" with internet access. Because I don't think they ever said that. And if they did (and I doubt they did), yes, I DO have the better overview--as does any literate person reading the newspapers.
You're grasping at straws, you know, when you deny something that is OBVIOUS to the entire world, and has been covered in newspapers from left to right to center. The lack of adequate internet access in Cuba is plain and simple FACT.
Do you think that Americans would put up with paying five bucks an hour for something on the high end of dial-up speed? Never mind that a minimum wage worker in America can make in three hours what a government worker in Cuba makes in a month.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_in_Cuba
Here's a little film for you, to give you some insight on the reality of internet access in Cuba:
Judi Lynn
(160,621 posts)Cuba tops the class in UN development report
Saturday, October 31, 2009 - 11:00
By Jenny Francis
The United Nations Development Program's Human Development Report 2009 was released on October 5. It again highlighted some of Cuba's extraordinary achievements.
The report is the most commonly referenced source on development statistics and measures. It compares the development status and progress in every country.
Among this year's wide-ranging statistics, the report provides a summary indicator of people's well-being using the Human Development Index (HDI). The HDI combines measures of life expectancy, literacy, school enrolment and gross domestic product (GDP) per capita for 182 countries and territories.
The results for Cuba, an impoverished small island subjected to a crippling economic blockade from the United States, stand out, primarily in the areas of the health and education of its people.
Cuba's education index is equal highest in the world, along with Australia, Finland, Denmark and New Zealand. Cuba's education index is 0.993 of a possible score of 1.
Its adult literacy rate is 99.8% and school enrolments are 100%. Public expenditure on education in Cuba is 14.2% of total government expenditure. This is higher than Australia (13.3%) and the US (13.7%).
Cuba tops the world in the ratio of female to male enrolment in primary, secondary and tertiary education, at 121%.
Cuba's life expectancy is 78.5 years, the highest along with Chile in Latin America and the Caribbean. It compares favourably with Australia (81.4 years) and the US (79.1 years).
While Cuba ranks at or near the top in health and education measures, its low GDP per capita, the third element of the HDI, reduces its HDI score. With GDP included, the report ranks Cuba 51st overall in the overall HDR ranking.
More:
https://www.greenleft.org.au/node/42708
EX500rider
(10,856 posts)That would involve US navy ships keeping other ships out. No such thing.
I think the word they were looking for was US embargo.
In 2005 Cuba had exports of $2.4 billion, ranking 114 of 226 world countries, and imports of $6.9 billion, ranking 87 of 226 countries.[ Its major export partners are Canada 17.7%, China 16.9%, Venezuela 12.5%, Netherlands 9%, and Spain 5.9%.
Mika
(17,751 posts)em·bar·go
emˈbärgō
noun
1. an official ban on trade or other commercial activity with a particular country.
EX500rider
(10,856 posts)Words do have meanings.
Mika
(17,751 posts)That's why I posted one definition of embargo, which validates its being used correctly when discussing the US embargo on Cuba.
EX500rider
(10,856 posts)Marksman_91
(2,035 posts)Meaning it's an embargo that only stops any trade with te US and nobody else. They're still free to trade with any other country they wish. Hell, Canada is a big US buddy and is right next to them, and they trade freely with Cuba. Is trade with the US so important that that's what's keeping Cuba from developing? Please, tell me, from the viewpoint of an economist who's an expert on the US embargo, how it's keeping Cuba from realizing its full potential. And none of your anecdotal bs from your clearly pro-Castro Cuban friends, I mean actual numbers that economists worldwide can agree on.
Judi Lynn
(160,621 posts)We saw trolls wander all over the place in a quest to smear the only country which has stood up to the bully from the North all these long years, and refused to bow down, as it did when right-wing filthy, violent, wildly corrupt US-supported killer cretins like Fulgencio Batista were sitting in the President's office.
They have attempted to tell DU'ers, who've known about Cuba for years and years, or in some cases, have lived there, have married their spouses there, have family members there, or have made trip after trip there, established friendships there, one poster here has taught classes in Cuba, others have been all over the island from end to end, at their own leisure, and trolls try to tell them how Cuba is. It must be completely comical to these Cuba travelers and aficionados.
Real damage to the country, to its citizens has been done under the effects of the U.S. embargo, called "bloqueo" in Cuba, and over the years, additional anti-Cuban legislation has been added, the last by the towering, fetid, grotesque racist of the U.S. Senate, Jesse Helms in his Helms-Burton Act, which added additional extraterritorial power to the embargo, even as European countries, and Canada, etc. all immediately reacted in describing it as being illegal in international law. Something to be proud of, isn't it?
A couple of examples must be repeated for this thread, even as they have been discussed over and over again by legitimate DU members for years:
Cuba, Mexico upset by US move to halt energy meeting
Mon Feb 6, 2006 2:31 PM ET
By Marc Frank
HAVANA (Reuters) - Cuba and Mexico on Monday condemned the U.S.-ordered eviction of 16 Cuban officials from an American-owned hotel in Mexico City during a conference with U.S. energy companies.
The Cuban officials, including a vice minister, were told to leave the Sheraton hotel on Friday during a conference organized by the U.S.-Cuba Trade Association, which opposes the U.S. embargo on Cuba.
The Cuban government said the action showed that the 45-year-old embargo was an international blockade that infringed the rights of third countries, contrary to the U.S. position, which says the embargo is a bilateral affair.
"The tentacles of the U.S. government's blockade and criminal economic war against Cuba reach any corner of the planet, including to the detriment of other nation's sovereignty and laws," the official Cuban daily Granma said.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2089709
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More:Mexico to Probe Hotel That Expelled Cubans
By LISA J. ADAMS
Associated Press Writer
February 6, 2006, 11:16 PM EST
MEXICO CITY -- Mexico launched an investigation Monday into whether the U.S. government pressured an American-owned hotel into expelling Cuban guests or whether the guests were asked to leave because of their nationality.
The meeting between Cuban officials and U.S. energy executives was moved to another hotel Saturday after the Hotel Maria Isabel Sheraton asked the Cubans to leave.
Mexico's Foreign Relations Department said Monday if the Sheraton had violated Mexican trade and investment protection laws, it would "apply the fines provided for under the law."
Cuba criticized the expulsion, with the Communist Party daily Granma saying in an editorial that "the tentacles of the blockade and the U.S. government's criminal economic war against Cuba are willing to reach beyond any boundary on the planet, even to the detriment of the laws of other nations."
Kirby Jones, president of the U.S.-Cuba Trade Association, said the U.S. government pressured the hotel's owner, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc., arguing that the U.S. company was violating a law that strengthened U.S. trade sanctions first imposed against Cuba in 1961.
The 1996 Helms-Burton law "does not exist, and should not be applied, in our nation," Mexican Foreign Secretary Luis Ernesto Derbez told a Mexico City radio station in an interview.
http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-mexico-us-cuba,0,5438838.story?coll=sns-ap-nationworld-headlines
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Canadian Guilty on 21 Counts in Cuba Trade Case
by Steve Eckardt
3 April 2002
PHILADELPHIA - Canadian citizen James Sabzali was found guilty here today on 20 counts of violating the U.S. Trading with the Enemy Act and a single count of conspiracy in connection with sales of water purification supplies to Cuba. He now faces up to life in prison and over US$5 million in fines.
Prosecutors previously declared their intention to seek a dozen years' sentence, according to Sabzali.
The 43-year-old salesman is the first Canadian to be criminally convicted for violating the U.S. embargo against Cuba. Seven of the charges against him are for actions taken on Canadian soil.
Canadian law makes it illegal to comply with the U.S. embargo.
"I'm shocked," declared Sabzali, who had fully cooperated with the five-year investigation, "it doesn't make any sense."
"It's unbelievable," said Sharon Moss, Sabazli's Canadian-born wife, clearly shaken by the verdict.
While the jury convicted Sabzali for sales made from Canada to Cuba , it found him not guilty on all charges up to March 1995, during his employment by Purolite International, a Canadian company.
Sabazli's April 1995 appointment as North American director of marketing for the U.S. corporation Bro-Tech, itself in the dock along with two of its executives, apparently triggered guilty findings on seven subsequent violations of the Trading with the Enemy Act, despite the sales being conducted from Canada. Failing to commit these violations would have subjected Sabzali to Canadian criminal penalties for complying with the U.S. embargo.
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:http://www.canadiannetworkoncuba.ca/Documents/Sabzali-Eckardt.shtml
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Thursday, 4 April, 2002, 09:45 GMT 10:45 UK
Canadian convicted of trading with Cuba
By the BBC's Mike Fox in Montreal
A US court has convicted a Canadian national of breaking the 40-year old American trade embargo against Cuba, in one of the first cases of its kind.
The man, James Sabzali, and two American company executives were found guilty of trading with an enemy of the United States by selling water purification chemicals to Cuba.
Prosecutors said the three men conspired to use foreign subsidiaries to channel American products to Cuba.
Mr Sabzali faces a maximum sentence of more than 200 years in jail although prosecutors have recommended less than five. He is to be sentenced on 28 June.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/1910284.stm
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