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Cuba dollar tax comes into force
A 10% tax on the
exchange of US dollars has come
into force in Cuba.
The measure was originally
planned for last Monday, but was
deferred for a week to allow
people to change their dollar
reserves into Cuban pesos.
The move will affect Cuban
citizens who receive money from
relatives overseas as well as
foreign visitors.
A ban on the free circulation of
dollars came into effect one
week ago, affecting millions of
Cubans who use dollars to buy
certain goods.
The government said the move was
a response to the toughening of
the US embargo on Cuba wanted by
the Bush administration.
Tighter economic restrictions
were introduced in May this
year.
Cubans in the US can now only
visit the island once every
three years and can only send
money to their immediate
relatives.
Some analysts believe the new
tax is a "desperate measure"
aimed at raising cash.
As a consequence of the new
measure, Cubans supported by
relatives living in the States
may be worse off.
The amount people receive from
family members abroad - more
than us$800 million dollars a
year - is more than Cuba's
earnings from its major export,
sugar.
The tax will also affect the two
million tourists visiting Cuba
each year, including US citizens
who defy a ban on travel.
Cuba made US dollars legal
tender a decade ago after the
collapse of the Soviet Union
forced it to embrace foreign
capital and legalize some forms
of private enterprise.
But experts have warned that the
new tax might generate new
problems.
"The main impact could be that
it will create a black market
which you typically see in
countries, like Venezuela, which
have restrictions on capital,"
said Jose Barrionuevo, head of
strategy for Latin American
emerging markets for Barclays
Capital.
He believes the measure might be
dropped soon if it proves
counterproductive.
Peruvian police seize 880 kg of
cocaine
Peruvian police
seized more than 880 kg of
cocaine and arrested 20 drug
trafficking suspects in Piura
province in northern Peru on
Saturday, police said Sunday.
The drugs were hidden in a
container loaded with frozen
fish, Peru's anti-drug police
chief told reporters. The
suspects had planned to
transport the cocaine to the
United States or Europe, he
said.
With an annual output of 250
tons, Peru is the world's second
largest cocaine producer after
Colombia. Peruvian police has
confiscated more than 10 tons of
drugs since the beginning of the
year.
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In the
market for a change? Click
here! |
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Quake of Magnitude Seven Hits
Colombian Atlantic Coast
An earthquake measuring seven on
the Richter scale struck ealry
Monday monring off the west
coast of Colombia, seismic
officials in the United States
and France said.
The epicenter of the quake was
95 kilometers (60 miles)
northwest of the Atlantic
coastal city of Buenaventura,
the US Geological Survey in
Colorado said on its website,
and occurred at a deth of 10
kilometers.
The quake was also reported by
the Earth Sciences Observatory
in Strasbourg, France.
The region has been hit by a
half dozen of quakes of
magnitude six or more in the
last 15 years; one of them,
measuring seven, struck in
November 1991.
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LATIN AMERICA
Monday
15 November 2004
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Today's Stories:
 Cuba
dollar tax comes into force
Peruvian
police seize 880 kg of cocaine
Quake
of Magnitude Seven Hits
Colombian Atlantic Coast |
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Cuban Convertible Peso:
The Cuban Convertible Peso is
nothing more than an attempt
made by the Cuban financial
authorities to take out all USD
currently in circulation, and
offer a currency that is in all
senses equal to those USD.
There are a some scams and
cheats in the streets based in
the ignorance of the common
traveller of the differences
between the Convertible and Not
Convertible pesos.
All
Convertible Pesos have
the phrase "convertible pesos"
both in the front, and the back,
click in the images to see the
bills in detail.
$100
Front
Cuban
Peso:
The rate of change of the
Cuban Peso with
the USD or the Convertible Peso
is of 1/26 (October/2002).
$1 Front
Click
here for more info on Cuban
currency.
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