A public protest using trash carts took place in Havana that was motivated by problems (lack of buses) in public transit. [Penúltimos Días]
“Why Civil Resistance Works: The Strategic Logic of Nonviolent Conflict“ is an article published in the periodical International Security I referenced in a July 2008 post, which included the Ladies in White as an example of nonviolent civil resistance, that is a worthwhile read as it addresses the “successful employment of nonviolent methods by organized civilian populations including boycotts, strikes, protests, and organized noncooperation to challenge entrenched power and exact political concessions.”
Tags: International Security, Ladies in White, Why Civil Resistance Works: The Strategic Logic of Nonviolent Conflict
The government of Hugo Chávez (Fidel Castro’s protegé and ally) is implementing a “good life card” similar to the rationing booklet used in Cuba, a day after farmer Franklin Brito died from a hunger strike, caused by the Venezuelan government seizing his farm. The creation of the card is taking place in the midst of a two year recession and shortages of food in Venezuela. [ABC]
Tags: Fidel Castro, Franklin Brito, Hugo Chavez, venezuelan government
The Chinese government expects to increase cooperation with Cuba in security and law enforcement stated Zhou Yongkang, an important leader of the Chinese Communist Party.
“We should work together to safeguard in a joint manner the security and interests of both nations,” said Zhou, member of the Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, in a meeting with Army Corps General Abelardo Colomé Ibarra, Cuba’s Minister of the Interior.
According to Who’s Who in China’s Leadership, Zhou has experience in security and law enforcement. He was China’s Minister of Public Security from 2003 to 2007.
ACG Colomé Ibarra also met with Minister of State Security, Geng Huichang, as well as the Minister of Public Security, Meng Jianzhu.
Interestingly, Meng wrote an article titled “Intensify the Construction of Five Capacities, Comprehensively Raise the Level of Stability Maintenance,” where he points to new problems for public security agencies “managing social order.”
Perhaps the article might be used as a blueprint for Cuban state security to head off their social order challenges.
With Spanish anti-riot equipment and Chinese advisement on security issues, the Castro regime, through its police/paramilitary forces, is well prepared to quell any destabilizing situation in the streets of Havana.
[Image: Chinese security forces in anti-riot gear. By China Elections & Governance.]
Tags: Abelardo Colome Ibarra, Chinese Communist Party, Cuban national police, Cuban state security, Geng Huichang, law enforcement, Meng Jianzhu, Minister of the Interior, Ministry of the Interior, Politburo Standing Committee, Security, Spanish anti-riot equipment, Zhou Yongkang
- Preparations for full-scale oil exploration are gaining momentum in Cuba’s Gulf of Mexico waters just 50 miles from the US. [Financial Times]
- “I was at death’s door, but I came back.” [Fidel Castro's interview in La Jornada]
- Eight more arrested according to the Ladies in White. Three human rights activists in Havana and five members of the opposition in Guantánamo. [AFP]
- “I still view corruption as an extraordinary danger to the country, since its “corrosive power” makes it a matter of “national security.” [IPS interview with Esteban Morales]
- The Cuban gov’t is attempting to attract wealthy visitors by allowing the development of golf courses. A new law allows foreign investors to use state-owned land for up to 99 years. [BBC]
Tags: bush administration, Cuba, Esteban Morale, Fidel Castro, Gulf of Mexico, Ladies in White, Obama administration, Oil exploration, U.S. security
Ricardo Pau-Llosa, Cuban-American poet, art critic and collector, who I interviewed twice and published in TheAmericano.com (Fall 2009) and Saw Palm (Spring, 2010), will have part of his extensive collection of contemporary Latin American artworks exibited (beginning today and running through November, 2010) at the Snite Museum of Art – University of Notre Dame.
The exhibit, Parallel Currents: Highlights of the Ricardo Pau-Llosa Collection of Latin American Art, encompasses Pau-Llosa’s three decades of collecting contemporary Latin American art that include paintings and sculptures.
The Snite Museum has published a beautifully illustrated exhibition catalogue (.pdf) that is available online to view here.
(Image: Snite Museum of Art.)
Tags: contemporary Latin American artworks, Latin American art, Latin American artworks, Parallel Currents, Ricardo Pau-Llosa, Snite Museum of Art, University of Notre Dame
The Economist on Max Marambio, Fidel Castro’s Chilean business crony fall from grace, coupled with uncertain economic times on the island.
Tags: Chile, Fidel Castro, Max Marambio, Rio Zaza, The Economist
Hugo Chávez met yesterday with Fidel Castro and his brother Raúl Castro for about five hours during a visit that was not previously announced. [El Universal]
Tags: Fidel Castro, Havana, Hugo Chavez, Raul Castro
Academic with alleged ties to CuIS in Havana
31 August 2010 at 0017 in Commentary, CuIS, Cuban Intelligence Service, Fidel Castro, Intelligence, Nomenklatura by Armando F. Mastrapa 3d | 1 comment
Julia Sweig, the Council on Foreign Relations resident Cuba expert, accompanied Fidel Castro yesterday to the National Aquarium along with journalist Jeffrey Goldberg from the Atlantic magazine and Adela Dworin, president of the Jewish Community of Cuba.
In October 2008, Cuban spy hunter Lt. Col. Chris Simmons of the Cuban Intelligence Research Center appeared on journalist Oscar Haza‘s Miami-based public affairs television program, A Mano Limpia, exposing individuals allegedly associated with Cuban intelligence.
Ms. Sweig, according to Lt. Col. Simmons, has an alleged association to the Cuban Intelligence Service (CuIS).
(Image: In the left photograph, Sweig is seated next to Fidel Castro on his left, and in the right photograph, she is to the right wearing what looks to be a red dress with large circular white patterns. Click on images to enlarge. By Estudios Revolución.]
Tags: A Mano Limpia, Council on Foreign Relations, Cuban intelligence service, CuIS, Fidel Castro, Julia Sweig, Lt. Col. Chris Simmons, Oscar Haza