The seventh Summit of the Americas conference was held this past weekend in Panama City, Panama. Leaders and foreign dignitaries from Latin America, North America, the Caribbean, and Central America were in attendance. The 2015 Summit of the Americas was the first allow Cuba to participate and attend the conference. According to NPR, Pope Francis played a significant part in deliberations to extend an invitation to Cuba.

In conferences past, President Obama’s attempts to discuss particular policy issues were met with resistance as many countries felt strongly that Cuba should be included as members of the region. Cuba’s participation at the conference could mark more cooperation with other countries in the Americas in conjunction with US foreign policy.

Cuba’s participation in the 2015 Summit of the Americas was a momentous and historic occasion because it marked the first meeting of Cuban and American heads of states meeting since the Cold War. At the beginning of the conference on Friday night, Castro and Obama were photographed shaking hands. On Saturday, April 11th 2015, President Barack Obama and President Raúl Castro met publicly and engaged in discussion for over an hour at the summit.

During the meeting on Saturday, major talking points for President Obama focused on the acknowledgement of the United States’ differences and missteps, especially that America was not perfect. President Obama asserted that the nation would continue to remain in opposition to oppressive governments. He said that “the United States will not be imprisoned by the past. We are looking to the future.”

President Raúl Castro stated that he was willing to discuss with the United States as long as mutual respect was established. Castro reiterated that he wanted to see that the embargo would be lifted. He noted that President Obama was brave to take steps towards the removal of the embargo, a major foreign policy decision. Castro told Obama that he had read his books and felt that he was humble. Castro stressed the importance of Cuba being removed from the U.S terror list and was hoping that  decision could be reached in a timely manner.

Granma reported that Castro was very pleased to be invited to the conference and meeting with fellow leaders of other countries. They also included that Castro spoke about Cuba’s continued position as an ally for Venezuela.

http://en.granma.cu/mundo/2015-04-12/7th-summit-of-the-americas-an-historic-event

http://en.granma.cu/mundo/2015-04-11/raul-castro-and-barack-obama-meet-at-the-7th-summit-of-the-americas

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2015/04/11/398950752/historic-meeting-expected-between-obama-castro-at-americas-summit 

http://www.npr.org/2015/04/11/398917315/obama-castro-shake-hands-ahead-of-historic-meeting-saturday

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/13/world/americas/talks-with-cuba-earn-us-raves-in-latin-america.html?ref=world&_r=0

The Centre for Socio-Economic Studies and Democracy conducted a survey of over 1000 residents in Havana about their interest in establishing a pluralist system with multi-party elections and a free market economy. Cubanet said that 938 respondents reported that they were in favor of an open political system. Roberto Vasquez Diaz, one of the lead members of the survey said that 71.7% of the respondents were in agreement.

This research study comes as midterm elections are scheduled for April 19th according to Granma, the official state publication. Biographies of the candidates for the partial election will be distributed equitably for positions in the Municipal Assemblies of People’s Power. This is apparently a hallmark of the Cuban electoral process. 27,379 proposed candidates are slated to be on the ballot on April 19th. Biographic materials about the candidates have been made available in public spaces as campaigning is prohibited in order to guarantee equal access to the electorate says Granma.

http://en.granma.cu/cuba/2015-03-31/electoral-process-moving-forward

http://en.granma.cu/cuba/2015-04-06/midterm-elections-to-take-place-april-19

http://www.cubanet.org/noticias/cubanos-quieren-pluripartidismo-y-elecciones-segun-encuesta/

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Officials for the Cuban postal service, Correos de Cuba were arrested and sentenced to jail for embezzlement. Sentences issued ranged between 1 to 10 years in prison according to Cubanet and Granma. The reported amounts of money embezzled were almost 1 million Cuban pesos and 30,000 convertible cuban pesos. Bank documents were forged, unjustified paymen other forms of fraud were corroborated by top officials. The former director of the Correos de Cuba was sentenced to 1 year in jail and the Head of Accounting received a five year sentence.

http://www.cubanet.org/noticias/empleados-de-correos-de-la-habana-a-la-carcel-por-malversacion/

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Cubanet reported that seven Cubans escaped from an immigration detention center in the Grand Cayman last Sunday night. Eleven Cuban immigrants were waiting to deported when they attempted to escape. Five men were caught and the other seven are unaccounted for. There has been an increase of Cuban “rafters” recently as a result of the slow response to repatriation for the detainees by the Cuban government and the back log of detainees. Compass Cayman reported that there are 42 Cuban detainees being held in the immigration center.

http://www.cubanet.org/noticias/seis-cubanos-se-fugan-de-un-centro-para-inmigrantes-de-islas-caiman/

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Airbnb, a popular and controversial online based home rental service is now expanding its operations for American tourists in Cuba. The use of the service in New York City had serious implications for the hospitality and rental markets. Landlords threatened tenants with eviction for their short term lease of their rooms.

Airbnb announced that they would be expanding operations for U.S citizens to book rooms in Cuba starting last Thursday. This expansion does not come without a caveat, U.S travelers can only visit under one of the 12 U.S approved categories of legal travel. Travelers can now fill out an honor form in regards to reasons for traveling to Cuba.

According to alJazeera’s report, this is the most noteworthy expansion of an American business in Cuba since the attempts to reestablish diplomatic ties began last year. As a result of these talks, the prohibitive trade embargo has become more lax on restrictions for businesses.

In the past three months, Airbnb has sent representatives to Cuba to enlist homeowners to list their properties. There are currently over 1000 properties listed on the Airbnb now with the majority in Havana and Cienfuegos.

One major facet of Cuba’s economy is tourism, especially private rooms and houses for tourists. Airbnb could bolster small business in Cuba. Airbnb has not faced any resistance for either the Cuban or American authorities.

While Airbnb sounds promising, a major concern that threatens the usability of the website is limited internet access for most Cubans as previously reported and has already created concerns. Skift has reported that five Airbnb profiles have been identified as the holders of 689 listings on the site. Michael, Jorge, Fatima, Luis, and Raul are all in charge of these listings. Airbnb had to release a statement that offered an explanation as to why these five were in charge of the properties. They explained the Cuban Five as “hosting partners” that acted as a middleman for homeowners due to the lack of access to internet.

This monopoly of “hosting partners” due to lack of internet access for most homeowners that would be posting on the site poses significant questions of whether or not these transactions are authorized. As American tourism increases in Cuba, it is crucial to be mindful of the possibility for these “hosting partners” to exploit fellow Cubans as they attempt to connect homeowners with the site. Especially as Skift reported that “most users are not Internet savvy.”

http://skift.com/2015/04/07/5-airbnb-cuba-hosts-manage-half-of-the-islands-inventory/

http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2015/4/2/airbnb-rentals-for-us-travellers-to-cuba.html 

http://www.cubanet.org/actualidad/actualidad-destacados/casas-de-alquiler-turistas-comienzan-a-preferirlas/ 

Foreign Relations

ACN, a state affiliated press outlets reported that a delegation of Cuban journalists travleed to the United States in the past week to report on the negotiation proceedings between Cuba and the United States to restore diplomatic relations. Journalists from other state affiliated media sources including Granma, Juventude Rebelde, and Cubadebate were represented in the delegation.

Radio Rebelde announced that the opentable conversations were occuring in a respectful environment. The Department of State has made it clear that there is a particular concern about the question of human right violations in Cuba. Cubadebate provided live updates during the sessions and a detailed transcript. A major topic of contention was whether or not Cuba would be removed from the United States’ terror watch list for sponsoring international terrorism. U.S Secretary of State John Kerry has been outspoken about his apprehensiveness to remove Cuba from the list, especially in regards to restoring and reopening embassies and the appointment process.

Fidel Castro’s son Fidel Castro Diaz-Balart was photographed with reality television heiress Paris Hilton in Havana. The story was published in Cubanet which included a “selfie” with the heiress at the XVII Festival de Habano. Festival de Habano, is the festival held in celebration of Cuban cigars and the cigar making process. It is a tourist attraction that recives a significant amount of international attention.

Education 

María Victoria Villaviencio, the Director of International Relations at the Ministry of Higher Education signed 10 additional agreements with the Mexican group ANUIES (The National Association of Universities and Higher Education Instiutions) that will allow for the continutation of collaboration between Cuban and Mexican universities. This is in hopes to increase academic services and career oppoturnities for Cuban and Mexicans.  ACN reports that implementation of this strengethened collaboration will be completed through the installment of computerized systems. Jamie Valls, the ANUIES representative expressed significant interest in the potential for international organizations and buisnesses to become involved in projects and intiatives that stem as a result of this cooperation.

The article on ACN referenced that the cause for this agreement was rooted in the decline of degree candidates in Mexico during the past academic year.Upon further investigation, I found that the ANUIES represents 152 public and private higher education institutions in Mexico.This was not reflected in the ANUIES reflection on the coverage of the educational summit. It does seem apparent that both countries have been able to develop more elaborate programs and increase the size of their academic populations as a result of this partnership.

 

 

http://www.cubanews.ain.cu/cuba/2552-cuban-journalists-travel-to-us-to-cover-talks 

http://www.cubadebate.cu/noticias/2015/02/27/abre-ronda-de-conversaciones-cuba-eeuu-en-el-departamento-de-estado/#.VPTDB1PF9J0

http://www.radiorebelde.cu/noticia/dialogo-cuba-estados-unidos-transcurre-clima-respetuoso-20150227

http://www.cubanews.ain.cu/science/2546-cuba-and-mexico-sign-university-cooperation-agreements

http://www.anuies.mx/content.php?varSectionID=163&varIDNoticia=226

 

 

The contingent of Cuban medical professionals that traveled to Sierra Leone has reportedly helped cure 260 patients infected with the Ebola virus who were in serious condition. The 164 Cuban health workers were dispatched to 4 different treatment centers in the country. ACN provided a glowing report in regards to their efforts.

La Granma (the Official Party Publication) published a story about the medical professionals when they departed last October. They reported that there were 102 nurses and 63 doctors participating on the trip and over 80% at served on previous international health missions in other African countries.

Cuba is known for it’s medical contributions to the international community. Currently, there over 11,000 Cuban health care professionals participating in Brazil’s Mais Medicos program to alleviate the massive strain on Brazil’s medical infrastructure. While the report hailed the important and valuable work that members of the Cuban medical community were doing, there was no reflection on the pressing concerns for public health in Cuba.

One of the most shocking concerns that Cubanet reported are the discrepancies between the calls for an ambulance to be dispatched and the arrival of an ambulance. This has happened on multiple occasions and a shortage of ambulances for use is central to the problem. One elderly woman passed away when an ambulance was called at 11:00am and did not arrive until 6:00pm. Another woman who was 101 years old had to wait from 10:00am to 9:00pm to be transferred to the hospital for treatment of pneumonia.

A Ministry of Public Health official from the Playa municipality spoke anonymously and said that the Cuban Ministry of Public Health has a large fleet of ambulances that would eliminate these issues. While the ambulances might be owned by the Ministry of Public Health, they are not being dispatched for most Cubans. Hospital workers reported that only Cubans who are receiving expedited or timely ambulance service are those who are admitted under police control.

This past week researchers from the University of Leuven in Belgium discovered a new strain of HIV in Cuba. This strain is significantly more aggressive than common HIV strains. Those infected are developing AIDS in a three year time frame versus the typical ten year period. This has received significant international attention as it presents a potentially massive public health crisis. The sample size for the study conducted was relatively small with only 95 patients.

As Cuba is receiving more international attention, especially in the field of health and science will this international focus change or create state responses to these critical and lethal health disparities.

http://en.granma.cu/cuba/2014-10-02/raul-bids-farewell-to-medical-brigade-headed-to-sierra-leone

http://www.cubanews.ain.cu/science/2523-cuban-physicians-cure-260-ebola-patients-in-sierra-leone

http://www.cubanet.org/destacados/la-muerte-viaja-en-ambulancia/

Today, Netflix announced that they would that their online video streaming service would now be available for $7.99 a month in Cuba. Access to the service requires an international payment method and internet access. Netflix has now become the first U.S based company to enter the Cuban market following the relaxed trade restrictions following talks with Cuba and the United States.

The two major barriers that render this extension of Netflix’s online subscriptions to Cuban residents a gesture of economic diplomacy are the cost of a Netflix subscription and the limited access to internet for the Cuban population. Netflix’s expansion of service to Cuba reflects the company’s plan of global conquest to provide streaming services in every country by 2016.

First, the $7.99 USD subscription fee is equivalent to almost one-fourth of the average salary in Cuba which is 471 pesos or $20 a month according to the National Statistics and Information Office. Cubanet reported that home internet connections were prohibited for most Cubans and the charges in government run internet cafes to browse the web were extremely high. The CIA World Factbook records that the ownership of computer by private citizens is illegal. From a financial standpoint, the returns from Netflix’s decision to extend operations to Cuba seem minimal as most citizens face economic barriers to online activity. These barriers are rooted in a significant lack of disposable income for a product that would consume one-fourth of a monthly salary for average Cubans and the significant cost to access an internet connection.

Secondly, most Cubans do not have immediate access to an internet connection, especially not connections that are free or inexpensive. Around 27% (3,090,796) of Cubans have access to internet according to the International Telecommunication Union. Currently, there are 5,360 broadband internet subscribers in the country. Additionally, the average browser loading time for desktops in Cuba is 59.2 seconds in comparison to 5.7 seconds in the United States. Connectivity in the government run internet cafes are extremely slow and as previously mentioned, very costly.

According to the CIA, the Cuban government owns and controls all broadcast media in the country including radio and television. Netflix announced that they were not working with the Cuban government in the selection of content for Cuban subscribers, but clients would have access to a “curated” selection presumably with similar programming found for other Latin American countries with Netflix.

The decision to expand Netflix’s streaming operations to include Cuba is figurative and allows Netflix to become the FIRST in different avenues in the avenues of Cuba/U.S trade are slowly opened. This story was largely reported on non-Cuban news outlets. The only Cuban affiliated news outlet that reported Netflix’s service announcement was Cubanet which operates in Florida with submissions from Cuban journalists. Granma, ACN, and other Cuban news sources did not report this story.

http://www.internetlivestats.com/internet-users-by-country/

http://www.eltiempo.com/entretenimiento/cine-y-tv/netflix-en-cuba/15220395

https://pr.netflix.com/WebClient/getNewsSummary.do?newsId=1896

http://www.cubanet.org/noticias/netlix-comienza-a-ofrecer-su-servicio-en-cuba/