HavanaReporterYEAR VIIINº 10MAY 31, 2018HAVANA, CUBAISSN 2224-5707Price: 1.00 CUC1.00 USD1.20 CAN

Y O U R S O U R C E O F N E W S & M O R EA Bimonthly Newspaper of the Prensa Latina News Agency

©THE

Economy

More Cuban Women in Politics

Artes de Cuba Wins U.S. Capital

Cuba Promotes New Recreational Options for Tourists

Cuba to Focus on Inequality & the Caribbean Region as ECLAC

President

Brazil & Argentina: The Face of Latin America in Russia

P. 11

P. 14

P. 15

Photo Feature

Sports

Cuba, the EU Strengthen Cooperation Ties

P. 3

P. 4 P. 6-7

President: Luis Enrique González.Information Vice President: Hector Miranda.Editorial Vice President: Lianet AriasChief Editor: Luis MelianTranslation: Dayamí Interian / Yanely Interian

HavanaReporterTHE

A Bimonthly Newspaper of the Prensa Latina News AgencySOCIETY.HEALTH & SCIENCE.POLITICS.CULTURE

ENTERTAINMENT.PHOTO FEATURE.ECONOMY SPORTS.AND MORE

YOUR SOURCE OF NEWS & MORE

Graphic Designers: Paola A. GonzalezChief Graphic Editor: Francisco GonzalezAdvertising: Javier GarcíaCirculation: Commercial Department.Printing: Imprenta Federico Engels

Publisher: Agencia Informativa Latinoamericana, Prensa Latina, S.A.Calle E, esq. 19 No. 454, Vedado, La Habana-4, Cuba.Telephone: (53)7838-3496 / 7832-3578 Fax: (53)7833-3068E-mail: thehavanareporter@prensa-latina.cu

2 TOURISM

HAVANA.- The Cuban authorities showed their capacity to recover from natural disasters and their flexibility to go into businesses during the 38th edition of the International Tourism Fair FITCuba 2018.

Held in Cayo Santa María, in the central province of Villa Clara, the fair allowed participants to approach a wide range of businesses and learn about the Cubans’ endeavor to develop the tourism industry, considered the driving force of the national economy.

Safety, a variety of attractive recreational modalities, the country’s landscapes and the Cubans’ kindness, were included among the main topics raised at the meeting.

The participants especially highlighted the feeling of safety prevailing in the country as one of the essential topics to guarantee a sustainable development in this field.

Different topics were dealt with during the fair, where participants expressed admiration at the recovery actions conducted on the island after being hit by hurricane Irma last September, which affected 85 percent of the tourist facilities.

As announced, the 39th edition of the International Tourism Fair, to take place May 7-11, 2019, will be dedicated to Spain as the guest country of honor. Cuban Minister of Tourism Manuel Marrero commented that in 2019, Havana will celebrate its 500th anniversary. The city was founded on November 16.

Marrero also explained that FITCuba 2018, held from May 2-5, was attended by 319 participants from 62 countries. This figure includes 168 specialized journalists from all over the world.

The Cuban minister expressed confidence in the development of the tourism industry in the country, because of its safety and potential.

Marrero described FITCuba as a successful meeting in which several business opportunities were launched. In this sense, he referred to the E (Encanto, Charm) Hotel chain, which inaugurated the Palacio de Arena and Hotel Sagua facilities during the fair. The latter is one of the most luxurious hotels of the territory.

After the impact of hurricane Irma, infrastructures and service are being improved, he added.

In spite of the obstacles Washington has in place against Havana from the economic and commercial points of view, 73 officials of U.S. tourist companies participated in the event, including the Marriott chain.

The Cuban hotel industry is composed of 69, 041 rooms at present – 63 percent of which are four and five-star hotels and 74 percent are located on the coast.

About 110, 416 people work in the Cuban tourism sector. Of this figure, 41.2 percent are women and 48 percent are under the age of 45.

In 2017, the country received 4, 689, 896 foreign visitors, which represented an 11.6 percent increase over the previous year. However, in the first eight months of 2017, the island experienced a 26 percent increase, a figure that decreased because of hurricane Irma in September.

The United States, Russia, Italy and France were the markets that experienced the highest growth, though Canada continues being at the top, with 1, 134, 225 visitors.

Cuba Displays its Potential at Tourism FairText & Photos by RobertoF. CAMPOS

3CUBA

PARIS.- Cuba and the European Union (EU) strengthened their cooperation ties during the first Joint Council in Brussels, headed by Cuban Foreign Affairs Minister, Bruno Rodríguez, and head of the EU diplomacy, Federica Mogherini.

The meeting, whose significance was highlighted by both parties, was held after the Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement became effective on November 1st, 2017. The latter was signed by Havana and Brussels in 2016 in order to create a framework for improved bilateral relations.

At the conclusion of the Council, Mogherini stressed at a press conference the importance of the agreement, which “will now provide new opportunities to foster investment and trade exchange, and will allow to better support the Cuban economic and social updating process, as well as to contribute to its sustainable development.”

Mogherini also described the agreement as “ a historical and positive step” that has allowed taking relations between Cuba and the European bloc to a higher level.

For his part, Rodríguez denounced the blockade imposed by the United States against his country, which “continues to be the main obstacle for the full development of economic and commercial ties between the EU and Cuba.”

He added that the government of President Donald Trump has strengthened the implementation of that hostile policy, especially in the financial field, with a strong

extraterritorial impact that affects European banks and companies.

The Cuban minister appreciated the traditional stance the EU has adopted against the blockade, a siege that has been applied for over 60 years.

On the relations with the EU, he remarked that the conditions are favorable to continue increasing ties, and added that both sides have shown “the capacity to build spaces for dialogue and mutual cooperation, and the determination to favor the elements that join us over those that make us different.”

NEW COOPERATION AGREEMENTS

The main results of the EU-Cuba Joint Council included the signing of a cooperation agreement aimed at promoting renewable energies in the Caribbean nation.

During the meeting, both parties signed the agreement which will allocate 18 million Euros towards the development of power generation on the island through clean energies.

The High Representative of the EU diplomacy also noted that another agreement is being negotiated in the field of food safety and sustainable agriculture, and to support exchanges as part of the European Year of Cultural Heritage.

According to the European Commission, the EU nations are at present the main foreign investors in Cuba, from which they import goods amounting to 471 million Euros, and to which they export goods totaling over 2 billion Euros.

Cuba, the EU Strengthen Cooperation TiesBy LuisaMariaGONZALEZ

PHO

TOS:

Inte

rnet

4 SOCIETY

HAVANA.- The new organs of the Cuban People’s Power, the Municipal, Provincial and National Assemblies, as well as the Council of State membership, show that more Cuban women are taking part in political decision-making.

The electoral process started last year and concluded with the election of the new members of the People’s Power National Assembly (ANPP), which is the supreme power of the State, as stipulated by the Cuban Constitution.

The National Assembly, the only body in Cuba that is vested with both constituent and legislative authority, represents the Cuban people’s sovereign will and its members are voted on every five years, the Constitution explains.

Established on April 18 and 19, the ninth legislature consists of the 605 members elected on March 11, 2018, of which 322 are women, accounting for 53.22 percent. This is an unprecedented event in the history of the Cuban Parliament.

The youngest of them all, Leydimara de la Caridad Cárdenas Isasi, a 19-year-old technician and district delegate, read the parliamentarian deputies’ oath.

Different generations of Cuban women are represented in the new Parliament, whose average age is 49 (13.66 percent are under 30); while 87.5 percent are university graduates and 51.8 are black and mixed-race women.

Additionally, 55.59 % of them are constituency delegates and 66.14 were elected for the first time.

Lawyer Ana María Mari Machado, 54, was elected Vice President of the National Assembly, and Miriam Brito Sarroca, 57, was ratified as the ANPP secretary.

A total of 79 women are members of the People’s Power organs (24.5 percent), 37 are presidents of the people’s councils (constituencies) and 8 are presiding over their respective People’s Power Provincial Assemblies for the 2019-2023 term.

The Council of State, which is the supreme representation of the Cuban government, is presided over by Miguel Díaz-Canel. It also consists of one first vice president and five vice presidents, of whom 3 are women –one serving for another term. Of the other members of the Council of State, 12 are women –five serving for the second time.

WHO ARE THE WOMEN IN THE

COUNCIL OF STATE?Among the reelected women are

Teresa María Amarelle Boué, 54, president of the Federation of Cuban Women, and Susely Morfa González, 35, president of the Young Communist League. Meanwhile, the newly elected members include hammer thrower, Yipsy Moreno González, 37, one of the country’s sporting figures.

In addition, important Cuban ministries continue to be headed by women. The new Council of Ministers will be announced before the National Assembly during an ordinary session in July.

More Cuban Women in

PoliticsBy MartaDENIS

PHO

TO: T

on

yHER

NÁ

ND

EZ

Leydimara de la CaridadCÁRDENAS

HEALTH & SCIENCE 5

HAVANA.- A humanitarian project implemented in Cuba 14 years ago has restored vision to more than three million patients from 34 countries.

The architects of this initiative, the historic leader of the Cuban Revolution Fidel Castro (1926-2016), and the leader of the Bolivarian Revolution Hugo Chávez (1954-2013), made true the dream of returning the vision to patients from Latin America and other regions that cannot afford an eye surgery.

Millions of appointments and consultations have been offered to identify the cases that require surgery, the deputy director of the Ramón Pando Ferrer Cuban Ophthalmology Institute (ICO), Reinaldo Ríos Caso, told The Havana Reporter.

“This is one of the activities that provided a major boost to ophthalmology in Cuba. This is why when I am asked who are the most benefited from Operation Miracle, I reply: ophthalmology studies and the Cuban patients,” the director commented.

“We had this incredible and accelerated training of specialists; almost 900 were trained in four to five years. Likewise, the latest technology was introduced at the time and was spread nationwide,” he said.

POPULATION AGING AND EYE HEALTHThe aging population in Cuba has been confirmed

by the latest studies, which show that over 20% of the national population is above 60 years old.

This biological process is connected with the appearance of vision problems such as cataracts, which make vision difficult, Ríos added.

There are other afflictions such as glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, detached retina, age-related macular degeneration, dry eyes and dropped eyelids, commented Ríos, who is also a member of the Cuban Ophthalmology Society’s board of directors.

“In summary, the visual system is prone to diseases typical of old age and we are prepared to effectively cope with them, which are likely to be ever more apparent among our aging population,” he stressed.

In spite of the difficulties, he added, Cuba has leading-edge technology made in developed countries such as Japan, China, Germany, Italy and France. “Actually, if we could buy that technology in our region, the costs would be lower but, fortunately, we can get them,” Ríos noted.

OPERATION MIRACLE GOES FAR BEYOND CUBA

In its early years Operation Miracle was only implemented in Cuba, but thanks to the formation of human resources, we thought it was more convenient and cheaper to take the services directly to the patients, the official indicated.

For that reason, he said, ophthalmological centers were created in other countries, such as Venezuela, Bolivia, and Nicaragua, among others. Our role is to send ophthalmologists, technicians, optometrists and nurses.

In addition to the Central American, Caribbean and South American countries, our services also benefit some African nations, including Angola and Mali, among others.

Ríos mentioned that the Cuban Ophthalmology Institute plans to continue developing leading-edge technology as part of its work projections. At present, he said, we have the latest equipment used in cataracts surgery: the femtosecond laser-assisted, the most accurate until now.

According to the World Health Organization, there are about 285 million people in the world who suffer from visual impairment. Of these, 39 million are blind and 246 million have little vision.

Eighty percent of the total number of visually-impaired cases in the world can be prevented or cured, the UN organization said.

HAVANA.- The Cuban National Zoo received a donation of 42 animals of 13 species from Guatemala, including the Orix Cimitarra antelope, which had not been exhibited at the zoo for several years now.

Three specimens of Bengal tigers and several species of primates – including spider monkeys, capuchin monkeys and baboons, among others –were brought from Guatemala’s La Aurora Zoo.

The new collection also consists of several birds, including some specimens of black swans and several species of parrots, such as “the white-crowned,” never seen on the island.

In a press release, the scientific and cultural institution referred to the importance of increasing the number of primates in the country and highlighted the significance of this exchange. This, they noted, allows the recovery, reproduction and conservation of species without damaging their environment.

According to the press release, once the quarantine period is over, similar exchanges will be conducted with Mexican zoos.

The Cuban National Zoo is located in Boyeros municipality, a region with a markedly varied topography that allows for the creation of the appropriate conditions for the animals.

The entity, which exhibits specimens from almost all over the world, received a donation from Namibia at the beginning of this decade: 144 animals of 22 different species.

Known as Noah’s Ark, the donation included the transfer of antelopes, elephants, rhinoceros, vultures, ostriches, hyenas, lions, leopards and porcupines, among others.

In December 2014, the institution welcomed heads of state and representatives of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), who toured the zoo as part of the activities conducted prior to the 5th CARICOM Summit held in Havana.

Operation Miracle, a Project for Those in Need

Cuban Zoo Exhibits New Species

By ReinaMAGDARIAGA

By AnaLauraARBESU

PHO

TO: C

ou

rtes

y o

f th

e Zo

o

PHO

TOS:

PL

WASHINGTON.- Cuban artists' performances at the Kennedy Center in D.C. have been met with hearty ovations and strong interest.

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is the venue of this event which showcases about 400 Cuban artists and singers – over 200 of them living in Cuba, and the rest, from the United States and other countries.

“Culture has been a bridge of commitment between Cuba and the United States, and we hope that this continues to be the case,” said Cuban ambassador José Ramón Cabañas at the opening of the festival on May 8. The festival features music, visual arts, theater, dance, films, design and fashion shows.

“In Cuba, we still believe that to be cultured is the only way to be really free,” the ambassador said at the beginning of the gala, which featured the performances of singers Omara Portuondo and Aymée Nuviola; pianists Aldo López-Gavilán and Jorge Luis Pacheco, and the Miguel Faílde orchestra.

“We gave 11 performances in five days,” Ethiel Fernández Faílde, director of the aforementioned orchestra, told The Havana Reporter, adding that the festival was an important showcase for Cuban music, particularly the danzón, the country’s national dance.

In relation to the world of music, a wide-ranging number of performances were conducted, including classical works, jazz and popular dance music. These performances featured Lyceum Mozartiano de La Habana; Yissy and Bandancha, and the famous Los Van Van orchestra, among other artists and bands.

“Let’s hope that as a result of this festival, other doors open; that the cultural ties grow stronger, and not only the cultural ties, but relations between the two countries too,”

López-Gavilán, an artist who was acclaimed because of his virtuosity at the piano with Pacheco, told The Havana Reporter.

Visual arts also had a great impact on the audience. The works exhibited represent some of the most renowned Cuban artists from the island, such as Manuel Mendive, Roberto Fabelo and Roberto Diago, and talented artists living in the United States, such as José Parlá and Emilio Pérez.

“Dialogue, hugs and understanding between people are essential and effective; it’s important that these happen, and I hope more activities between Cuba, the United States and the world come up because of this,” stated Mendive of the festival, which closes on June 3rd.

The Kennedy Center also welcomed the Malpaso Company and its contemporary style, as well as the Irene Rodríguez Company and its strong flamenco style, in representation of the dance field, in addition to the Cuban National Ballet and its stunning classical style.

“Being here and having the opportunity to share with the great U.S. audience, and that they can learn about the Cuban art, has been an achievement for all,” Irene Rodríguez commented about their participation in the event.

The theater was also present on the stage through the El Público group - which performed the work The Bitter Tears of Petra Von Kant – and Argos Teatro – which performed the piece 10 millions.

A screening of six films on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the Latin American New Film Festival, a fashion show by the Arte Moda project, and a poster exhibit, were also included among the activities conducted as part of the festival: the major cultural event dedicated to Cuba in the United States.

Artes de Cuba Wins U.S. Capital

By MarthaANDRES

6 SPOTLIGHT

Ambassador CABAÑAS

SPOTLIGHT 7

PHO

TOS:

PL

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT(THR is not responsible for any changes made by sponsoring organizations)thr@prensa-latina.cu

8 CULTURE

UPCOMING EVENTS

Circuba Festival (Jun. 24-29)

Lizt Alfonso´s Dance Company (Jun. 1-3 & 8-10)

Laura Alonso´s Ballet Company

(Jun. 15-17)

30th International Festival

Boleros de Oro(Jun. 19-24)

CIEGO DE AVILA.- The weather center recently opened here will be responsible for the workshops Cuba conducts for Caribbean nations on the topic of facing climate change.

For two years now, the island has been conducting courses to specialists of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) on the reduction of disasters, an initiative former Cuban president Raúl Castro proposed during the Fifth CARICOM Summit, held in Havana in 2014.

Cuban Minister of Science, Technology and Environment Elba Rosa Pérez pointed out that the new scientific institution, located in Ciego de Avila province, has the conditions, leading-edge technology and competent staff to conduct such courses.

“We are confident that it can become an excellent convention center in Cuba’s central region for the training of future specialists in this scientific field,” she said.

Pérez added that this is an ideal location for holding events

on weather forecasts and climate change, as well as for providing technical assistance and new technical-scientific services to sectors of the economy and society.

The institution, she noted, will be an essential tool for the management of risks of disaster and for the adaptation to climate change, in view of the Caribbean region’s sustainable development.

“Natural disasters in the region are increasing and we need to be well prepared in advance in order to limit human and material losses,” she stressed.

For his part, researcher Oscar Benedico, director of the weather center, commented that the center´s leading-edge equipment allows the use of higher-precision forecast models, in addition to an early warning system that detects the

proximity of phenomena such as hurricanes.

This technology also allows continuous weather surveillance and faster data transmission which will contribute to agro-meteorological issues.

“Today, we have all the conditions created to inform the population and the state institutions about any potential

phenomenon, so that decisions can be taken in the due time and everything is ready to face the event,” stressed Benedico.

He also indicated that they count on a highly-experienced staff, which guarantees precision when offering weather forecasts, in addition to conducting national and provincial studies and projects

aimed at strengthening the overall weather service.

We also work in close coordination with the ministries of Agriculture and Tourism, important economic sectors of the territory, on future climate patterns related to climate change, so that they can adapt appropriately and mitigate damages.

Cuban Scientific Center will Strengthen Climate Change Resilience

LATIN AMERICA &THE CARIBBEAN 9

By NeisaMESA

PHO

TO: P

L

HAVANA.- Cuban artist Leandro Soto’s exhibit ‘Crónicas visuales’ (Visual Chronicles) shows a mixture of cultures and experiences, which are the result of the artist’s travels around the world.

The National Fine Arts Museum exhibited this work at the Cuban Art Building recently, including paintings inspired by the Machu Picchu sanctuary in Peru; the Tohono O’odham’s vision from Arizona (USA), and even the Indian philosophical traditions, among other experiences.

The exhibit, which comprised different formats, showed a set of mythologies and images by the painter-pilgrim, who shared his vision, teachings and learnings based on an approach from the South, from the Caribbean as a whole –basic

foundations that have survived until the present for people to somehow interpret the complexities of life.

“This is an important exhibit because it summarizes several years of research, and I can share it with different generations,” the artist told The Havana Reporter.

INTERACTION WITH THE WORKSAfter touring the exhibition, Soto

highlighted the peculiarities of some of the pieces included in this work, like ‘Ancestros’, an acrylic on canvas that portrays the ceiba tree in a combination of lines, African elements and offerings.

As the ceiba “is a sacred tree, you can approach it in search of protection. The golden lines symbolize the energies that are being channeled, and the offerings are made following the style of a comic, which is different,” the artist commented.

Cuban Artist Leandro Soto & his Colorful Chronicles

10 CULTURE

By AmeliaROQUE

The pipes aboriginals smoke, as well as elements of the indigenous communities, roots, plants, cactuses, and cigars – which are always respected, and whose plant is sedative and has its own power - were also part of the exhibit.

IN SEARCH OF MEANINGSPhD Grisel Pujalá, one of the curators

of this exhibit, says that the cultural research Leandro Soto (Cienfuegos, Cuba, 1956) conducted is part of the work by a group of contemporary artists, who have included ‘ethnographic aesthetic’ in their works since the 1990s.

In this sense, Pujalá refers to Germans Nikolaus Lang, Rainer Wittenborn and Lothar Baumgarten; Uruguayans Carlos Capellán and Rimer Cardillo; Argentinean Cesar Paternosto, and Chilean Cecilia Acuña, including Cuban-American performance artist Ana Mendieta and the work she conducted

in the 1970s and 1980s, “each of them, with their own style.”

In the case of this artist, “as a traveler and observer, he searches for meanings and investigates different communities to save stories that were long forgotten… His work can be seen as a testimony of a creative process that’s constantly changing.”

Leandro Soto, who has conducted over 20 exhibits in the last decade, has been granted artistic scholarships in Arizona, Milwaukee, Ohio, Jamaica and New Delhi, among other places.

As a professor, he has conducted lectures in universities from the United States, India and Havana. He has also been granted several acknowledgements, such as the Distinction of the National Indigenous Institute for his anthropological research and his artistic contribution to Tabasco, Mexico (1993).

Cuba Promotes New Recreational Options for Tourists

PHOTO FEATURE 11

PHO

TOS:

Co

urt

esy

of C

ub

an S

pel

eolo

gis

ts

CIEGO DE AVILA.- The Rocarena Climbing Park, located in the northern keys of the Ciego de Avila province, is the only of its type in Cuba. The park was opened as part of strategies aimed at offering new recreational activities to national and foreign visitors.

The center, situated in Cayo Coco, is certified by the German company TuvSud and run by the Cuban Group Palmares.

The park includes 90 different types of horizontal climbing attractions of varying degrees of difficulty.

Rocarena is 13 meters high, distributed among three levels and 18 flagpoles, each measuring 32 meters.

The recreational center has a capacity of 120 people.

Text & Photo by SahayETAYO

HAVANA.- False accusations and media campaigns have been launched against Latin American governments to remove their leaders from the political life, a strategy that many consider a revival of the Condor Plan - though the methods are different from its earlier iteration.

This plan, also known as Condor Operation was implemented in the Southern Cone from 1970 to 1980 by military regimes sponsored by the United States with the purpose of eliminating the opposition, mainly from the left.

The intention of this operation at the time was to silence the opposition’s voice through murder, torture and disappearances. At present this plan uses many different ways to politically disqualify the left.

A new Operation Condor is in force in the region, said former Ecuadorian president Rafael Correa, who added that now, through false accusations of corruption, these plans try to delegitimize former presidents with the purpose of damaging their reputation and pushing them out of the electoral arena.

The most recent case is that of the Brazilian Workers’ Party (PT) founder, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, imprisoned following an order of first-instance judge Sergio Moro,after being sentenced by a court to 12 years and one month of imprisonment for an alleged case of corruption - without any evidence.

Lula’s detention caused a wave of uproar in the region, where political leaders denounced that the true intention of the process against the former Brazilian president was to prevent him from running as candidate in the new presidential elections, to take place in October.

Until now and in spite of his illegal imprisonment, the PT founder leads the opinion polls, with a great advantage over the extreme right-wing candidate Jair Bolsonaro.

Lula’s persecution is a new stage of the judicial parliamentary coup conceived by the Brazilian senate in 2016 against president Dilma Rousseff, accused of an alleged violation of the fiscal norms.

Rousseff, democratically elected by over 54 million people, was removed by the senate with 61 votes in favor and 28 against.

This kind of ‘soft’ or ‘gentle’ coup – because the military force is not used –had already been staged in 2012 in Paraguay against the then president Fernando Lugo, who was removed from his post as a result of an express trial promoted at the Parliament by the opposition.

In relation to the campaign against the Latin America´s progressive governments, Bolivian president Evo Morales warned that the region faces a second

Operation Condor, though now it is implemented through the judicial coup.

“When a left president or governments that opposes the policy of plunder emerges, these coups are staged,” Morales wrote in his Twitter account.

The Bolivian president himself was the target of a media war in 2015 aimed at damaging the center of gravity of the process of change.

A defamation campaign tried to damage the image of Bolivia’s first indigenous head of state, in spite of the major beneficial changes made in that country since Morales took power.

Suffices to say that in about a decade, Bolivia was removed from the list of South America’s most underdeveloped countries and became the first in the region’s economic growth. In that period, over 2 million people were lifted out of poverty.

President Morales has pointed out that OAS Secretary General Luis Almagro is behind the plans against the left and progressive governments.

The reimplementation in Latin America of methods used in the past to generate chaos and violence and create a pretext for a U.S. intervention is a topic that has also been raised by Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

“The Right, both in Venezuela and in the region, is encouraged by the Operation Condor, which hopes to take us back to the time of control, of plunder. That’s the oligarchy we have in our country,” Maduro once said.

Some experts consider that there are similarities between the dirty war waged on the Bolivarian Revolution in Venezuela and what the Chilean newspaper ‘El Mercurio’ did from 1970 to 1973 against the democratic government of president Salvador Allende.

Forty years after the mass repressions and the coups d’état staged in South America, history repeats itself, although today other methods are used to destabilize the governments, including the psychological war, the media campaigns, the promotion of street violence and incitement to discontent and social disobedience.

HAVANA.- U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo must solve many difficult tasks in his role as one of the main ‘firefighters’ and executors of President Donald Trump’s policies, which have been described as erratic and contradictory on occasions.

Pompeo officially took on his position on May 2 after receiving the endorsement of the Senate (on April 26) by 57 votes in favor and 42 against – one of the closest margins in the recent history of Secretary of State endorsements.

The worsening of the Middle East conflict as a result of the escalation of

aggressive actions against Syria and Iran, as well as Washington’s withdrawal from the nuclear pact with the Persian nation and the transfer of the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, are some of the matters the new head of the U.S. diplomacy must address.

These topics have reduced the former CIA director´s time and energy to tackle issues related to the Latin American and Caribbean countries. Some experts consider

Pompeo to be Trump’s most loyal policy executor in the region.

The new Secretary of State has taken his post at a time in which Washington’s links with Latin America and the Caribbean are characterized by high levels of mutual distrust, as a result of Trump’s xenophobic statements and controversial stance.

Experts consider Pompeo’s stance to be more conservative than that of his predecessor – Rex Tillerson–suggesting he is capable of implementing tougher

policies on topics such as drugs, immigration and security, and especially on Venezuela.

On July 2017, when he was still the CIA director, Pompeo openly said at an event on security held at the Aspen Institute, in Colorado: “We strongly hope that a transition can take place in Venezuela and the CIA is doing its best to understand the dynamics there.”

Another controversial issue in hemispheric relations is the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which Trump considers to be absolutely negative to U.S. interests.

THE MIDDLE EAST & THE KOREAN PENINSULA

Pompeo will be very busy with the topic of the Middle East, particularly after the White House announcement on May 8 when Trump stated his country would withdraw from the so-called Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) signed in 2015 between Iran and the Group 5+1 (United States, United Kingdom, France, Russia and China, plus Germany).

Washington’s withdrawal from the pact caused widespread rejection among the international community, including Secretary General of the United Nations António Guterres, who commented that

the JCPOA was an important achievement in terms of the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, as well as in the field of international diplomacy.

Another issue that has occupied much of Pompeo’s time is the arrangement of the summit between Trump and the leader of the People’s Democratic Republic of Korea (PDRK) Kim Jong-un, to be held on June 12 in Singapore.

In over a month, the U.S. Secretary of State travelled twice to Pyongyang. The most recent visit took place on May 9 and 10, after which he returned to Washington with three U.S. citizens who were imprisoned there. They were released by the North Korean authorities as a gesture of goodwill.

In light of these events, few analysts expect that links between the United States and Latin America will improve in the coming months. Rather, specialists on the topic predict a virtual neglect of the region.

Nevertheless, it seems the U.S. is able to find the time to implement and strengthen any measures in the region aimed at advancing their interests, namely aggressive policies against any nation or progressive movement that might interfere with Washington’s hegemonic wishes.

Revival of Operation Condor?

Mike Pompeo’s Daunting Tasks

By CarmenESQUIVEL

By RobertoGARCIA

12 POLITICS

U S A - L AT I N A M E R I C A

HAVANA.- The Mariel Container Terminal, located in the Special Development Zone was granted the Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) certificate, which will contribute to increasing the terminal’s efficiency and competitive capacitites.

Charles Baker, general manager of the entity, said that this endorsement will allow meeting the clients’ safety standards.

The terminal is located in the northern region of Artemisa province, about 45 kilometers west of Havana.

AEO is a condition through which the terminal is considered a safe and reliable port operator in Cuba’s foreign trade’s chain of supply.

After conducting an inspection, the General Customs of the Republic of Cuba (AGR) decided to grant the certificate to the terminal for a three-year period.

“This shows that the entity is adequately meeting the safety standards and its customs and tax obligations,” said Idalmis Rosales, AGR Deputy Director.

“Recognition from other international customs entities will allow speeding up the arrangements of the import and export processes, and will make them more efficient,” Baker noted.

The official also highlighted that the terminal aims to become an entity of reference for the transfer of goods in the region.

Since the opening of the port, in 2014, investments have been directed towards extending the dock, developing the road infrastructure and dredging the bay.

The latter will allow the entry of deep draft ships to the port; that is, the entry of the so-called Pospanamax ships, which are 335 meters long.

With that purpose in mind, for the rest of the year and during the first nine months of 2019, dredging will be conducted. After that, a transfer traffic could be established in Cuba, the official said.

In order to start these operations, talks are being held with some shipping companies.

The Mariel Container Terminal looks forward to operating 340, 000 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit) by the end of this year. Such a figure would constitute a

significant increase compared to last year’s traffic, Baker indicated.

In fact, last year the entity operated 335 TEU, which was 2% more than in 2016.

“At present, 26 movements per crane-hour are being conducted there on average. Thus, if a ship needs one thousand movements and two cranes are used, the operations finish in 24 hours,” Baker said,

Equipped with camera systems, sensors and safety mechanisms, the terminal includes different facilities and state-of-the-art technology.

At present, the entity is run by the company PSA International, of Singapore – a world leader in port development, investment and operation.

The Mariel Special Development Zone covers 465 square kilometers and has, at present, 34 clients and one dealer - whose productions and services will be offered either to the local market or to export.

The entity’s priorities include the design of strategies aimed at attracting investment in the country, which is done through incentives, including customs tax exemption.

Mariel Container Terminal: For a More Competitive Foreign Trade

By IvetteFERNANDEZ

ECONOMY 13

PHO

TOS:

Em

ilio

HER

RER

A

CharlesBAKER

HAVANA.- Cuba, as temporary president of the ECLAC, has defined the fight against inequality and a renewed focus on the Caribbean region as major pillars of its two-year term.

“We take on the pro-tempore presidency of the Economic Commission for Latin American and the Caribbean (ECLAC) with great commitment and awareness of the challenges we are facing, and we are focused on further promoting cooperation among the countries of the region,” stated Cuban president Miguel Díaz-Canel during his speech at the 37th session of ECLAC, held in Havana at the beginning of May.

“We will concentrate our efforts in supporting ECLAC’s vocation to attain a fair, equitable and inclusive world,

which acknowledges people as the core of a sustainable development. We will strive to promote unity within diversity,” the president stressed.

For his part, Cuban Minister of Foreign Trade and Investment Rodrigo Malmierca highlighted that the country will pay closer attention to the topic of inequality during the presidency of the Commission.

“Our country, as well as ECLAC, is of the opinion that we are facing a key issue: no development can be reached without equality, just like equality

cannot be a c h i e v e d without development,” the minister told the press in the framework of the meeting, held from May 7-11.

The official noted that there are also similarities between the United Nations’ sustainable development goals for 2030 (SDGs) and Cuba’s goals, as stated in the medium-term plan and the conceptualization of the national economic and social development model.

The idea then is to modestly support the efforts ECLAC and other organizations – including the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) – are making to promote regional cooperation and integration, he added.

According to the expert, the SDG include ambitious objectives,

which can be reached according to Cuba’s perspective. In fact, the island is one of the few countries that fulfilled the commitments previously made as part of the so-called Millennium Development Goals, endorsed by the United Nations.

The minister emphasized that implementing the goals is difficult for many developing countries, due in part to the challenges related to neoliberal globalization, whose devastating effects increase inequality and misery in the world.

“As part of the pro-tempore presidency of ECLAC, we will endeavor to support the search for solutions,” the minister indicated, while recalling the particularly complex situation the insular Caribbean states face because of their vulnerability to climate effects.

Rich countries try to reduce the economic development measurement criteria in relation to macro-economic indicators such as the Gross Domestic Product, but that is insufficient, he commented.

Meanwhile, ECLAC Executive Secretary Alicia Bárcena told The Havana Reporter, “we are really optimistic, first of all because

Cuba is part of the Caribbean. Cuba has expressed its willingness to support the Caribbean.”

“The island is an important leader in many of the areas promoted by the ECLAC, and I would say that it also has that beauty, as former president Raúl Castro said here during the ECLAC summit, of how we integrate, of how we join together as part of our diversity; unity within diversity,” she stressed.

Bárcena added that as mentioned during the ECLAC meeting, Latin America and the Caribbean is a peace zone, a region with a huge potential to achieve a higher integration, especially in view of the complex multilateralism and the uncertain global scenario.

The Caribbean faces problems that the region as a whole should address as part of their solidarity, including its vulnerability to natural disasters and the foreign debt, she commented.

“The entire region should declare its solidarity with this area. Cuba has done so, and doing it in Cuba is very important. All the ECLAC meetings, from now on, will deal with the topic of the Caribbean in their first session. I think that’s essential,” she concluded.

PHO

TOS:

PL

Cuba to Focus on Inequality & the Caribbean Region as ECLAC President

14 REGIONAL AFFAIRS

By MasielFERNANDEZ

Minister RodrigoMARMIERCA

President MiguelDIAZ-CANEL

SPORTS 15

Brazil & Argentina: The Face of Latin America in Russia

W O R L D F O OT B A L L C U P

HAVANA/BRASILIA.- As has been the case for years now, the Brazilian and Argentinean teams will be Latin America’s greatest hope during the World Football Cup. The upcoming games will take place in several Russian cities from June 14 to July 15.

Sixty years after winning the Jules Rimet Cup in Sweden, the Brazilian squad will arrive in the Land of the Tsars convinced that under the guidance of Adenor Leonardo Bacchi “Tite”, winning the world cup is possible.

When introducing the 23 men that will wear the “verdeamarelha” shirt, the Brazilian manager praised the level of his athletes, based on “the games they played during the South American qualifying tournament and the friendly matches so far held, and on the team’s consistency.”

Only Thiago Silva, Marcelo, Fernandinho, Paulinho, William and Neymar Junior know what competing in this kind of event is like, in which, according to Tite, the psychological and emotional factors are essential.

Of the 23 players selected, only six are champions of the Confederations Cup and four have won the Olympic title, including Neymar, the figurehead of a squad in which the absence of right winger Dani Alves – because of an injury – will no doubt be felt.

According to Rodrigo Lasmar, the team’s doctor, Neymar is recovering from a toe surgery and will be ready to play in the friendly match against Croatia scheduled for June 3 in Liverpool, the United Kingdom.

In the Russian World Cup, Brazil will compete in Group E, where it will have to face Switzerland on June 17; Costa Rica on the 22nd, and Serbia on the 27 in order to have a chance at their sixth world title – a dream that, according to a poll conducted by the MDA Institute, 51.9 percent of the Brazilians think can come true.

Argentina, for its part, will have to face a lot of uncertainties in Russia.

For Lionel Messi, the team’s main leader, the World Cup will be essential to his hopes to sit at the same table as Pelé and Maradona. According to critics, he must win a world title in order to beat- or even reach – those football gods.

“I hope football pays me back its debt,” the star of the FC Barcelona club said at the end of 2017. Messi is considered by most of the experts as the best footballer of the recent decade and one of the most brilliant of all time.

But no matter how many matches he wins - with sublime genius - as part of his progress as a player, Messi has a clear maxim: football is a team sport. Nevertheless, it will be a challenging tournament for Argentina this year.

In spite of being canonized in their respective countries and all over the

world, neither Maradona nor Pelé won a world cup on their own. No matter how much fans try to glorify the legends, both players depended a lot on the performance of their teammates – goalkeepers, defenders, mid-fielders and forwards.

That’s precisely the point in which Argentina fails, although nobody can forget that this country is the present world runner-up – after being defeated by the powerful and fearful German team in the Brazilian 2014 final by 1-0, in overtime.

The Argentineans don’t take real advantage of the fact that they are blessed by having Messi on their squad. And in several instances, many world class players preferred to leave all the responsibility to the genius from Rosario instead of optimizing the game and diversifying tactical variants. (Confusing and I don’t understand)

In the qualifying rounds of the Russian World Cup, Argentina was able to qualify just by pure chance – in the last phase of the South American qualifying tournaments. It seemed unbelievable. The superstars played as plebeians and the prestigious coaches turned into obsessed conservatives. Everybody walked up and down the runway of shame. Only Messi was able to save the honor of the two-time world champion.

And now what? With Jorge Sampaoli as manager of the team, it seems a time of progress and improvement would begin. But everything remains almost the same: Argentina is playing poorly and depends on Messi.

While Brazil is the main candidate to the world title in Russia 2018, together with Germany, Spain and France, the Argentinean squad also has chances of winning the title, though in order to get to the podium, all the stars should play together.

That is, Di María should avoid injuries during the crucial moments of the championship; Higuaín, Agüero and the forward players should send the ball to the back of the net – and not to the stands – defenders and Mascherano should work closer and avoid the “leaks”, and Sampaoli’s offensive should understand, once and for all, the meaning of the word ‘teamwork’.

For the time being, the ‘crack’ promised to travel all the 70 kilometers that separate his native town of Rosario from the sanctuary of the Virgin of San Nicolás if he’s able to lift the trophy of champion on behalf of his country.

By YasielCANCIO & MoisésPEREZ

16