US Port Renews Deal with Havana
for Shipments to Cuba
Daniel McNeel, executive
director of Gulfport,
Mississippi, and Pedro Alvarez,
head of ALIMPORT, Cuba´s food
import company, have renewed an
agreement to increase shipments
from that harbor to Cuba.
The accord with Gulfport, the
third most important southern US
seaport, was first signed in
2003. McNeel said he would be
pleased if the renewal signed
Thursday would help boost
bilateral trade exchange.
McNeel called Cuba a natural
destination since a ship is able
to cover the distance between
the two countries in barely 26
hours, but transactions remain
unidirectional since US laws
forbid imports from from the
Island.
Alvarez said that such hostile
policy hinders traffic between
Gulfport and Cuban ports. Today
the trips are limited to three
or four, when the real flow
could range between 12 and 15.
That estimate does include
cruise ships that could have
trips daily.
Washington exceptionally
authorized in December 2001
limited food sales to Cuba,
whose agriculture had been
harshly hit by Hurricane
Michelle. Since then, imports
have surpassed US$ 1 billion. In
2002 the figure stayed below
US$176 millions and climbed to
US$470 millions in 2003.
For his part, Alvarez
highlighted the increasing
number of US citizens and
companies opposing Washington's
hostility against the island and
on bilateral exchange, and
voiced Cuba's interest to foster
and enhance trade beyond the
food industry.
Venezuela Denounces At UN U.S.
Intrusion on Its Internal
Affairs
Venezuela has
rejected at the UN Security
Council statements by the US
Department of State over
Caracas´ purchase of Russian
military weapons as an intrusion
in its internal affairs.
Venezuela´s Ambassador to the
United Nations Imeria Núñez
denounced that a Washington
representative twisted the true
objective of the weapon
purchase. Venezuela aims only
--she assures-- to protect
civilians and national
sovereignty.
Núñez denied the US accusations
that those weapons would fall
into the hands of criminals and
that Venezuela was sheltering
criminals and terrorists.
The Venezuelan official recalled
that the US lacks moral
authority to question the
purchase of weapons and urged
Washington to stop meddlling
with the internal affairs of
other nations.
The diplomat spoke before a UN
Security Council session
Thursday on the illegal traffic
of small and medium-size
weapons. Núñez recognized that
the indiscriminate and
uncontrolled use of weapons
worsen the insecurity situation
in the planet.
However, Núñez said this must
not infringe the countries´
right to free determination to
defend from colonial control and
other ways domination and
foreign occupation.
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Mexico rejects CIA comments
on potential instability
Mexican Interior Minister
Santiago Creel Miranda on
Thursday rebuffed a brief
from the US Central
Intelligence Agency (CIA),
which indicated that several
Latin American countries,
including Mexico, are
"potentially" unstable.
"The analysis made by the
CIA is false. It is
regrettable an agency of a
foreign government is
addressing Mexican matters.
It is unacceptable," Creel
told reporters. "We know the
CIA often makes mistakes."
The comments resulted from a
brief of CIA Director Porter
Goss on Wednesday which said
Venezuela, Colombia, Haiti,
Cuba and Mexico are
potentially unstable.
"Campaigning for the 2006
presidential election in
Mexico is likely to stall
progress on fiscal, labor
and energy reform," Goss
said before the US Senate's
Select Committee on
Intelligence.
In response, Creel said it
is an electoral competition
rather than a conflict as
the CIA said. "Perhaps there
is a mistake in translation,
I don't know," he added.
Creel is considered a
possible candidate of the
ruling National Action Party
in Mexico's presidential
race next year.
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