Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit CUBANEWS FROM RADIO HAVANA CUBA E-mail: rhc@radiohc.org http://www.radiohc.org The following items are taken from Radio Havana Cuba's news service for Thursday, January 7, 1999. Today's stories: 1.- CUBAN PRESIDENT FIDEL CASTRO DETAILS DRUG TRAFFICKING OPERATIONS IN CUBA, ORGANIZED BY EUROPEAN BUSINESS EXECUTIVES 2.- CANADIAN FOREIGN MINISTER LLOYD AXWORTHY ARRIVES IN CUBA FOR BRIEF OFFICIAL VISIT 3.- CUBAN FOREIGN MINISTER ANNOUNCES POSSIBILITY OF UPCOMING VISIT OF CUBAN PRESIDENT FIDEL CASTRO TO HAITI 4.- EXPOCUBA CELEBRATES 10th ANNIVERSARY 5.- ACTIVITIES COMMEMORATING 40th ANNIVERSARY OF THE CUBAN REVOLUTION 6.- CUBAN TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE DRAMATICALLY INCREASED IN 1998 7.- CASA DE LAS AMERICAS LITERARY PRIZE FOR 1999 CUBAN PRESIDENT FIDEL CASTRO DETAILS DRUG TRAFFICKING OPERATIONS IN CUBA, ORGANIZED BY EUROPEAN BUSINESS EXECUTIVES Havana, January 7(RHC)-- Cuban President Fidel Castro has provided details concerning drug trafficking operations in Cuba, organized by European business executives who established an import-export firm in Havana. In a continuation of our coverage of the Cuban leader's five-hour speech Tuesday evening, on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the founding of Cuba's National Revolutionary Police -- the first half of which was aired Wednesday evening on Cuban TV -- President Castro said the nation was always aware of the risks involved in an economic opening and the development of tourism. But, he said, Cuba didn't have an alternative due to the collapse of the Soviet Union and the intensification of Washington's blockade. Fidel Castro said two Spanish citizens, Jose Royo Llorca and Jose Anastasio Herrera are implicated in the shipment of Colombian and Peruvian cocaine to Europe and the United States, using Cuba as transhipment point. The operation was discovered in Cuba due to information provided by Colombian authorities, who in early December discovered containers with seven tons of cocaine in three Colombian ports. President Castro said that in 1998, the amount of drugs that washed up on Cuban shores doubled with respect to the previous year. Water-proof packages of cocaine are dropped from aircraft out of Colombia and picked up by speedboats out of Miami or the Bahamas -- but sometimes the operation isn't successful and the drugs wash up on Cuban shores. The Cuban leader also spoke of prostitution and procurement and the illegal trafficking of human beings. Admitting that prostitution is on the rise in Havana, he said there will be a stepped-up campaign to send these women to re-education centers and to slap stiffer prison sentences on pimps. The Cuban president said that in recent months, authorities have frustrated 90 human trafficking operations, organized by foreigners abroad, involving 660 persons whose lives could have been placed in danger. The leader of the Cuban Revolution said Cuba has repeatedly called on the United States to step up bilateral cooperation in this activity, but has thus far received no response. CANADIAN FOREIGN MINISTER LLOYD AXWORTHY ARRIVES IN CUBA FOR BRIEF OFFICIAL VISIT Havana, January 7(RHC)-- Canadian Foreign Minister Lloyd Axworthy arrived today in Cuba for a brief official visit. Axworthy was received by his Cuban counterpart Roberto Robaina, with whom he immediately began official conversations. The Canadian foreign minister is in Havana to sign an accord on the exchange of Canadians in Cuban prisons for Cubans in Canadian prisons, where they could serve out the remainder of their sentences in their respective countries, and to ratify previous bilateral agreements on the fight against drug trafficking, cooperation between the two countries' universities and human rights. Cuba has stated that relations with Canada are close and friendly, despite some differences in ideas and criteria. The visit comes just eight months after Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien arrived in Cuba, in the first such visit since the 1970s -- a visit that, according to international media outlets, irritated political leaders in Washington. Axworthy will leave Havana this evening en route to Kingston, Jamaica -- a tour that will also take him to Mexico and Nicaragua. CUBAN FOREIGN MINISTER ANNOUNCES POSSIBILITY OF UPCOMING VISIT OF CUBAN PRESIDENT FIDEL CASTRO TO HAITI Havana, January 7(RHC)-- During his 48-hour visit to Haiti, Cuban Foreign Minister Roberto Robaina announced the possibility that Cuban President Fidel Castro will soon visit that Caribbean nation, at the invitation of Haitian President Rene Preval. Preval travelled to Cuba last November to expand trade relations with Cuba and to thank the Cuban government and people for the medical assistance offered to Haiti in the wake of Hurricane Georges. On Wednesday, the second of a two-day visit to Haiti, Robaina travelled to several regions in that country where Cuban doctors and health workers are offering medical assistance to the population. One of those visits occurred in Jeremie, the provincial capital of Gran Dance, in the southwest of the country. Jeremie's San Antonio hospital, built in 1923, is the only hospital in a province with 600,000 inhabitants. Twenty-one Cuban medical specialists are working at the hospital, while another 22 Cuban health workers are providing their services in outlying regions of the province. During his visit, Robaina was accompanied by the Haitian president, who told local residents that due to policies adopted by the Cuban government over the past 40 years, Cuba today has one doctor for every 160 inhabitants, while Haiti has one doctor for every 10,000 inhabitants. Upon arriving home late Wednesday, the Cuban foreign minister said one of the most emotional moments of his visit was when an 11-year-old Haitian child gave him a letter for President Castro, asking if he could study in Cuba. The child said he wanted to be able to help his family and his people. EXPOCUBA CELEBRATES 10th ANNIVERSARY Havana, January 7(RHC)-- A commemorative plaque as founding member of Havana's EXPOCUBA Exhibition Center was given to Cuban President Fidel Castro during an activity commemorating the center's 10th anniversary. EXPOCUBA Director Pedro Abreu presented the General Secretary of Havana's Communist Party, Esteban Lazo, with the plaque. Abreu explained that over the last ten years, more than eight million people have visited EXPOCUBA, which is a reflection of the achievements of the Cuban Revolution. He pointed out that despite the Special Period, EXPOCUBA has continued growing. Cuban Vice President Jose Ramon Fernandez, also on hand at the event, recalled that the Cuban president came up with the original idea of the cultural center, which was inaugurated on January 4, 1989. He emphasized that the prestige of EXPOCUBA has transcended the island's border and has helped to attract business executives to Havana's International Trade Fairs, which are hosted at EXPOCUBA. The Cuban vice president characterized EXPOCUBA as "a true example of a socialist enterprise." During the activity on Wednesday, the "EXPOCUBA Founding Members" medal was also given to 94 workers at the exhibition center. President of the Cuban Parliament, Ricardo Alarcon, also inaugurated the exhibition "Revolucion Si," commemorating the 40th anniversary of the Cuban Revolution. The exhibit includes some 60 photographs taken during crucial moments of the Revolution, as well as documents and historic objects. Among the items on display are a pair of ballet shoes used by the island's prima ballerina Alicia Alonso, the boxing gloves of three-time Olympic boxing champ, Teofilo Stevenson and objects used during Cuba's literacy campaign. ACTIVITIES COMMEMORATING 40th ANNIVERSARY OF THE CUBAN REVOLUTION Havana, January 7(RHC)-- The closing ceremony in a series of activities commemorating the 40th anniversary of the Cuban Revolution was held in the Ukraine with the participation of nearly 200 parliamentarians, government representatives, politicians and members of social organizations. The reception was held at the Cuban embassy in Kiev, during which a number of ambassadors accredited to Ukraine also attended. In his message of congratulations to the Cuban people and their leader, President Fidel Castro, the Ukrainian Foreign Minister Boris Tarasiuk thanked Cuba for the medical assistance given to over 10,000 children affected by the Chernobil nuclear accident. Meanwhile in Rio de Janeiro, Catholic priest Father Frei Betto said that in Cuba "there is social justice not seen in Brazil," and that many of the island's difficulties are due to Washington's almost 40 year-long blockade. CUBAN TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE DRAMATICALLY INCREASED IN 1998 Havana, Janaury 7(RHC)-- Cuban technical assistance offered to countries in Latin America and the Caribbean dramatically increased during 1998 with the participation of over 2182 of the island's specialists. In exclusive statements to the Prensa Latina News Agency, the Deputy Minister for Foreign Investment and Economic Cooperation, Raul Taladrid, pointed out that the figure does not include Cuban medical brigades, which are offering their services to the victims of Hurricanes Mitch and Georges, in Central America and Haiti. The Cuban official stated that the technicians and specialists offer services in Mexico, Ecuador, Haiti, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Peru and other countries in the fields of construction, education, sports, health, sugar production and agriculture. In addition, Raul Taladrid referred to the strengthening of relations with the Caribbean Community, CARICOM, and the Association of Caribbean States. He added that Cuba has cooperation agreements with 80 percent of the Caribbean nations and that negotiations are currently underway with St. Lucia, the Bahamas, and Trinidad and Tobago. CASA DE LAS AMERICAS LITERARY PRIZE FOR 1999 Havana, January 7(RHC)-- Over 300 works from 18 countries are competing in the Casa de las Americas Literary Prize for 1999, which commemorates its 40th anniversary. The director of Casa de las Americas' Literary Research Center pointed out that so far, they have received 329 works, of which 102 are novels, 106 short stories, 23 testimonials and 98 in the category of Brazilian literature. The prize consists of three thousand dollars and the publication of the works. The jury includes writers from Argentina, Guatemala, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, Puerto Rico, Uruguay, Paraguay and Venezuela. [c] 1999, Radio Habana Cuba All rights reserved Articles cannot be reproduced, reprinted or published in any system without the consent of RHC. This prohibition includes the distribution of this material via Usenet News, "bulletin board" services, e-mail lists, print media, radio and television. For the complete RADIO HAVANA CUBA NEWSCAST and other features, please write for our daily broadcast schedule. We welcome your comments and suggestions. 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