Written by: Staff, on March 9th, 2010
Cash-strapped Cuba will require visitors to buy health insurance if they want to enter the country, according to a new government measure disclosed on Saturday.
Under the measure, which takes effect in May, the insurance will be sold by foreign companies approved by the Cuban government or by Cuban firms at ports of entry to the [...]
Written by: Staff, on February 10th, 2010
HAVANA – Ernest Hemingway still haunts Cuba; he’s just doing it in wax.
A life-size likeness of the legendary author debuted last week at a wax museum in the eastern city of Bayamo.
Hemingway wrote “The Old Man and the Sea” while living in Cuba and his exploits in literature and life are celebrated in monuments across [...]
Written by: Staff, on February 4th, 2010
CARACAS, Venezuela
President Hugo Chavez has turned to his friends in Cuba for help in tackling Venezuela’s energy crisis, drawing criticism Wednesday from opponents who say that the communist-led island is notorious for its own electricity woes.
The socialist leader announced that Cuban Vice President Ramiro Valdes had arrived on Tuesday to head a Cuban team [...]
Written by: Staff, on December 31st, 2009
Ever so quietly the Cuban government began a campaign to lock foreign travel agencies registered inside and outside Cuba out of the lucrative Cuban American travel market. From early November agencies reported abruptly canceled services for clients arriving in Havana´s terminal 2. Initially the motive was that their receptive agents in Cuba, the likes of [...]
Written by: Staff, on December 16th, 2009
The flurry of news emanating from the U.S between June and October concerning the possible lifting of travel restrictions seems to have died down. Many consider this is because Cuba is refusing to reciprocate or make any democratic concessions whatsoever. Others are suggesting that Raul Castro sees the arrival of millions of US citizens to [...]
Written by: Staff, on November 7th, 2009
In another sign that Cuba´s economy is walking a financial tight rope the government is set to abolish the CUC or Cuban Convertible Peso by March 2010.
Introduced as the brain child of Fidel Castro in a measure to eradicate the U.S Dollar and also reduce the value of remittances, the CUC was an effective method [...]
Written by: Staff, on September 30th, 2009
Cuba´s economy, fundamentally dependent on tourism, continues to ruin relations with Travel professionals and foreign operators located on the island or worldwide. The primary motives being the dreaded “stop sales” emanated by Cuban firms and tourist enterprises to their foreign partner’s months before the next high season approaches with apparently no sales concluded for the [...]
Written by: Staff, on September 30th, 2009
We Reported: July 15th 2009 & July 11th 2009
Today’s news from Reuters September 29th 2009
* Many foreign business accounts blocked in Cuba
* Businessmen complain government offers no explanations
* Cash squeeze after global downturn, hurricane cleanup
HAVANA - Many foreign suppliers and investors in Cuba are still unable to repatriate hundreds of millions of dollars from local [...]
Written by: Steve, on September 29th, 2009
US and Cuban diplomats grow closer to a diplomatic understanding after a high level diplomat spends an extra 5 days in Cuba after the much anticipated direct mail service talks.
It is expected that the talks are nothing more than a preparation between the two countries than, preliminary talks on how to lift the embargo and [...]
Written by: Staff, on September 27th, 2009
If America’s spy satellites are trained on Cuba at this very moment, they’re likely to reveal local tourism officials puffing away on celebratory Cohibas. The reason? While tourism is down big-time across the rest of the Caribbean, tourist arrivals to the Communist isle are up 3.1 percent, year to date. Compare that with Bermuda, Anguilla [...]