[NYTr] Despite Int'l Condemnation, Bush Regime Tightened Cuba Blockade
 
Date: Tue, 18 Sep 2007 21:39:43 -0500 (CDT)

Via NY Transfer News Collective  *  All the News that Doesn't Fit
 
Agencia Cubana de Noticias (ACN) - Sep 17, 2007
http://ainch.ain.cu/mailman/listinfo/ingles

Despite International Condemnation:
Bush Continued to Tighten the Blockade Against Cuba

By Angel Rodriguez Alvarez
AIN Special Service

The UN General Assembly condemned for the 15th consecutive year in 
2006, Washington's economic, commercial and financial blockade against 
Cuba with 183 votes in favor of the island's Resolution. Faced with an 
overwhelming majority vote, far from re-analysing its policy like any 
sensible government would do, the White House not only ignored the vote 
but tightened its measures aimed at strangling the Cuban people. 

The Bush administration's response was strengthened even further by the
measures that can be found in the Bush Plan to annex Cuba and dedicated
to tighten its economic war against the island. 

During the second half of 2006 and the first of the current year there
has been a major persecution by the US government against Cuban
commercial operations with companies from around the world and against
the island's financial transactions. Such actions have caused 29
effects destined to hurt the Cuban economy.  Two thirds of these have
been executed by the Office of Foreign Assets Control, OFAC, of the
Treasury Department.  

OFAC has persecuted European banking institutions as well as different
firms inside and outside the US, like the Dresser-Rand Group which was
fined $171,305 dollars for exporting good and services to Cuba without
a license. Also included in the list of fines:  US Cuba Labor Exchange, 
$13,950 dollars for offering trips to Cuba without a license; the US 
Council of Churches had to pay $34,000 dollars because some its members 
and followers have travelled to Cuba for tourism rather than for 
religious purposes. Among those that were sanctioned are the Vasper 
Corporation,  $23,800; Coda International Tours, $3,500; and the
Kinecta Federal Credit Union Bank, $3,102 for not having a
license to transfer funds to a Cuban national. 

Washington is also prohibiting academic exchanges between universities
and scientific research in the most diverse spheres between both
nations. In October of 2006, for example the Treasury Department denied
over 200 travel licenses to the island for specialists particularly
interested in the Second Congress of the Inter-American Psychology
Society constituting a flagrant violation of citizen's rights supported
by the US Constitution. 

An idea of the magnitude is that only between May of 2006 and the same
month of 2007, at least 30 countries suffered the effects of
Washington's extraterritorial laws, among them: Germany, Australia,
Brazil, Canada, Britain, Denmark, Sweden, Spain, Finland, Japan,
Mexico, Norway and Switzerland. During the first half of 2007, and as
part of the Bush attack, virtual pro-consul Caleb McCarry, named as
coordinator for Cuba's Transition,  visited nine European countries
aimed at pressuring them to play a more active role in Washington's
strategies against the island. With the same objective Kristen Madison,
Under Secretary of State for the Western Hemisphere travelled to
another four European countries.  And to finish off the previous trips,
Condoleezza Rice did the same for those that had any doubt that these
plans against the Cuban people are a priority for the current
administration. 

Now the United Nations is ready to once again debate the issue of the
blockade, the tightened and very incomplete relations of US actions
against Cuba, is an example of the "respect" Washington has for the
decisions and resolutions adopted by the majority of the UN member
nations in the name of the international community.
                                 *
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