“Responding to the severest crack-down by the Castro government on human rights activists in recent memory, on Tuesday, April 8, 2003, the U.S. House of Representatives passed by an extraordinary 414-0, a resolution ‘regarding the systematic human rights violations in Cuba committed by the Castro regime; calling for the immediate release of all political prisoners […]
4/3/2003
“Two armed men commandeered a ferry today [April 3, 2003] in Havana and set a course for Florida, the second time in two days that Cuban hijackers have taken hostages as they tried to flee to the United States. The F.B.I. said 15 to 20 people were aboard the 45-foot government-run ferry, which runs between […]
4/1/2003
“A man using two fake hand grenades commandeered a passenger plane from Cuba to Florida on Tuesday [April 1, 2003], in a 14-hour ordeal that, for a few hours at least, united the U.S. and Cuban governments in an effort to stop the hijacking. The truce was short-lived: Within hours of the plane’s landing in […]
3/26/2003
“U.S Congressman Jeff Flake (R-AZ), a leading actor in the House Cuba Working Group, a bipartisan fifty-member coalition that supports easing U.S. sanctions against Cuba, introduced a resolution before the Congress on March 26, 2003, calling for the Cuban government to release all detainees and to respect internationally recognized human rights standards…Cuba’s actions have sparked […]
3/24/2003
“On Monday, March 24, 2003, the U.S. Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has published new regulations impacting Cuban travel. OFAC’s program brochure on Cuba and industry overviews for the financial community and exporters & importers have been updated accordingly.” “Embargo Update: Overview of Recent Developments,” Cuba Policy Foundation, March 28, 2003 […]
3/22/2003
“According to the New York Times, ‘Cuban authorities said those [dissidents] arrested were traitors organized and paid by the United States, specifically by James Cason, the chief American diplomat in Havana. Mr. Cason has held numerous high-profile meetings with dissidents, and has made some strongly critical statements against the government,’-(March 22, 2003)” “Embargo Update: Overview […]
3/21/2003
“In a letter to Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) and Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-SD), on Friday, March 21, 2003, ten U.S. Senators announced the formation of the bipartisan ‘Senate Working Group on Cuba.’ The letter said the working group would ‘examine U.S. policies toward Cuba, including trade and travel restrictions,’ citing Americans’ right […]
3/19/2003
“… [A] Cuban passenger airliner was high jacked to Florida during a trip between destinations on the island. Thirty-seven persons, including six high jackers, arrived in the aircraft at Key West International airport on March 19 [2003]. The six high jackers will be prosecuted in the United States. Many passengers on the plane have returned […]
3/18/2003
“…Havana, 18 March [2003]…Cuban experts asserted that the behaviour meetings with Cuban dissidents and independent journalists of James Cason, Chief of the U.S. Interest Section in Havana, is in violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Missions and foments internal subversion on the island. In a forum broadcast by radio and television, the panelists agreed […]
3/15/2003
“In early March [2003], the Cuban government announced that American diplomats stationed at the U.S. Interests Section in Havana cannot travel beyond Havana province without prior approval by the government of Cuba. The American government reciprocated by requiring approval for Cuban diplomats stationed at the Cuban Interests Section in Washington, DC, to travel beyond the […]