Seven Cuban doctors sue Cuba and Venezuela over "modern slavery"

http://english.eluniversal.com/2010/02/22/en_pol_esp_seven-cuban-doctors_22A3470091.shtml

Seven Cuban doctors sue Cuba and Venezuela over "modern slavery"
POLITICS
Seven Cuban doctors and a nurse sued Cuba, Venezuela and the state-run oil company Petróleos de Venezuela (Pdvsa) for alleged conspiracy to force them to work in conditions of "modern slaves" in order to pay off the Cuban debt with the Venezuelan government for oil supply.

The defendants "intentionally and arbitrarily" held the health staff in "debt servitude" and the staff became "economic slaves" and "political advocates," according to the complaint filed in the United States, Efe reported.

The charges were made last Friday in a Federal Court in Miami by doctors Julio César Lubian, Ileana Mastrapa, Miguel Majfud, María del Carmen Milanés, Frank Vargas, as well as John Doe and Julio César Dieguez, and the nurse Osmani Rebeaux.

In the complaint, the leading defense attorney Arístides Cantón argued that the plaintiffs travelled to Venezuela in "deceit" and "threats," and were forced to work unlimited hours in a social welfare program known as "Mission Barrio Adentro," in areas with high rate of crime.

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Damn fascist Cuban doctors.

Elian's drunken uncle's CANF lawyers?

Does jurisdiction even exist any more?

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Yes, obviously they are making this up.

That's an interesting point, whether there's jurisdiction in this case. Judge Balthazar Gaston (Spain) is investigating Tony Blair, the British Prime Minister, for crimes against humanity carried out in Iraq. I don't know about US law, but aren't the Ecuadorian natives taking a case against Chevron in US courts for pollution in Ecuador? PDVSA does business in the US, has a US subsidiary, therefore the Cuban lawyers may be using a similar logic?

There's no US companies involved.

Its a typical Miami political gambit to garner support among the radical RW exile community - and no matter how frivolous the suit might be, or lacking any US jurisdiction, it will inflame old hatreds and mobilize the exile base.

Like the Elian Gonzales case - no jurisdiction - but many careers were made by the various politicos and lawyers. One of the lead lawyers for the drunken uncle, one of a legal group hired by the CANF for the trumped-up case, went on to become Miami's mayor (and a major plank of his platform was his representation of the drunken uncle's case against Elian's father in Cuba).

That's how politics works in exilio dominated Miami. Little to do with anything real or truly representational of the needs of the community.






One more for Judi Lynn ;)

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make the pitch, get them to jump ship. We've heard it over and over.

Miami's celebrity baseball agent, Joe Cubas chased and hounded Cuban ballplayers all over the map snagging them and treating them to dinner, booze, etc., and finally winning them over and signing them up and moving them to the States. He did this enough time they started realizing his schemes were a criminal ripoff of their money, and they brought a joint suit against him, and finally he was banned from going anywhere near baseball ever again. This left him with the chance to follow his first love, selling real estate.

"Exiles" have chased down entertainers, ballet dancers, doctors, boxers, on and on and on, endlessly.

They also try to bribe Cubans who get in the US news, like Elian's father, Juan Miguel Gonzalez, and the little girl "Elisabeth's" father who came to claim her when her mother, who travelled here legally tried to kill herself, once she was harassed by other Cuban "exiles" in Florida when she expressed her wish to return to Cuba, driven out of Florida by the same people who got the government to cut off her social security, food stamps, taxpayer-supported housing, welfare, etc., etc. (which is available for ALL Cuban immigrants through the Cuban Adjustment Act).

Even though the mother expressed her wish for the child to be taken to Cuba to live with her father, the "exile" community fought it, got lawyers, and attempted to bribe HER father, as well, to move to the U.S. and live here as a wealthy man, which he declined.

Even people living far away from Florida have heard about this other level of warfare by right-winger loon "exiles": highjacking vulnerable Cuban citizens through bribery, economic seduction, etc.

WOW!!!!!11!!1!!!!!1!!!!!!! Marisleysis Gonzalez! Jeez! Does that bring back a flood of vomit, or what!

She should be given an award for the Number One Scenery Chewer EVER to be seen on US News TV reports. Just seeing her image traumatized me so much I need to check into the nearest hospital for treatment, just like Marisleysis!

http://home.att.net.nyud.net:8090/~elian/Elian137EasterNewsConf.jpeg
Too bad that adventure was the last campaign for New Hampshire's Senator Bob Smith! How heart-breaking it was seeing him commandeer the military airplane to zip the entire Gonzalez clan to the Washngton D.C. area to intercept little Elian Gonzalez as he being reunited with his father, the image of Senator Bob Smith toddling with the little stuffed animal too heart-breaking for words, as he was turned away. Awwww. So damned sad.

Call them refugees from communism and the poverty and lack of freedom it brings.

not that they would get anywhere in Cuba or Ven. the US judge will decide on jurisdiction I assume but its not like Ven or Cuba would have to honor the decision anyway.

Elian certainly did fall in US jurisdiction. the child was in the US. didn't the judge rule that it was the responsibility of the Immigration to decide???

the subject of the Cubans' complaint is certainly a valid point for debate regardless of legal jurisdiction though. Oil for servitude.

Evidently the parties in the lawsuit think they can get a US court award damages, and they can try to get them from PDVSA assets in the US. The case would drag on for several years. But if they win it, then there's another issue, there would be a potential charge against both Venezuelan and Cuban officials for abusing their rights. I think most of this case is weak, but the US courts are full of such cases.

.... is in the country of residency of the parents of a minor child (according to the Hague Convention on child custody, which the US and Cuba are signatories).

In regards to Cuba, jurisdiction is all about Title III of Helms-Burton - and that's just why every president has waived Title III of H-B every 6 months since its passage.

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the correct decision of course. but not that Cuba had jurisdiction over the matter.

Can't legally bring a custody case to fruition where there is no jurisdiction. The 11th court and the supreme court agreed that jurisdiction was in Cuba, and since there was no custody dispute in the country of residence of both the minor and the parent, Cuba, there was no basis for a custody claim in the US. This was a determination based of the Hague Convention, as Dr mika mentioned.

Citgo is a wholly owned subsidiary of Petroleos de Venezuela SA - and PDVSA is heavily involved funding the state missions. This means there's money in the US the lawyers can go after. Regarding whether a US judge can award damages for actions taking place elsewhere, the Ecuador jungle case is an example where somebody thinks this works.

If it were up to me, I would say there's NO jurisdiction in either case, but if the Ecuador jungle case is valid, then the Cuban case is valid, and those Cuban doctors may be getting rich after they are awarded a piece of Citgo. That is if there's any Citgo left after ExxonMobil, Conoco, Cemex, Santander, and the others who are after the Venezuelan government get their shares. And PDVSA needs to be careful, because those courts could start doing their nasty business in Europe, where PDVSA also has properties. There may be Cuban doctors headed for the UK, Germany, Santo Domingo, and other places where PDVSA owns property.

HOGANSBURG — Though spring fever is setting in, heating help is still on the way to the St. Regis Mohawk tribe.

For the third year in a row, the tribe will receive funds from Venezuelan government-owned Citgo. Qualified applicants will receive approximately 100 gallons of free home heating fuel to help get them through the winter, according to the tribe.

Other than the five boroughs of New York City, the tribe is the only community in the state to receive help, according to Citgo officials.

"It's for tribes in the north for whom heating becomes a survival issue," said David T. Staddon, director of public information for the tribe. "We are the northernmost tribe in the state."

http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/article/20100224/NEWS05/302249986

have to look that up for sure but St. Croix being a US territory and PDVSA being a Ven government asset that can be a source for any award damages if the case ever reached such a conclusion. I wonder if the US government would attempt to expropriate the refinery in St. Croix???

given that Spain and the UK are both EU.

However - it's thought that currently there are approximately 50 countries in which Blair dare not step foot as they have laws against the crime of aggression. Apparently he has a team giving him expert advice on where its safe for him to travel. Hopefuly they'll fuck up and he'll be arrested somewharer or other.

because it will backfire so badly, it will be fun to watch.

Very Alice-in-Wonderlandy. There a heck of a lot more "debt slaves" than these guys if this is allowed to go forward. But merely trying to make sense won't get you far nowadays,

The Narcissus Society
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/23/opinion/23iht-edcohen.html?th&emc=th

Welcome to D.U. :hi:

I stumbled across this forum today. Interesting indeed.

Welcome here. :hi:

Thanks for posting the article. Good reading.

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They are civilians. Furthermore, I think US soldiers can make a case their contracts were violated when they are sent to illegal wars, such as Iraq. I wonder what the US courts would do?