All posts by JaimeM

Cuba Safest Travel Destination

Cuba Wins Excelencias Award as Safest Travel Destination 18-01-2018

From: Bob Guild [mailto:bguild@marazul.com]
Sent: Wednesday, January 24, 2018 11:45 AM
To: Martha Honey <mhoney@responsibletravel.org>
Subject: RE FITUR 2018 – Madrid Spain CUBA wins award as Safest Travel Destination at International Tourism Fair

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Cuba Wins Excelencias Award as Safest Travel Destination 18-01-2018

Cuba has won the Excelencias Award as the safest country for tourism at the International Tourism Fair Fitur 2018, which is unfolding in Madrid through January 21.

The award was received by the Cuban minister of the industry, Manuel Marrero, who heads the island’s delegation to that event, reported Gustavo Machin, Cuban Ambassador to Spain, in his Twitter account.

The delegation from the Caribbean country is made up of executives from the main hotel chains, as well as the associates Melia Hotels, Iberostar, Blue Diamond, among others. Also participating are the top business management organizations Viajes Cuba and Cubasol.

Inaugurated this Wednesday by the Spanish monarchs Felipe VI and Letizia, the fair is attended by European and Canadian tour operators and there is a strong presence of Latin American delegations. In total, more than 10,000 companies participate and it is expected that the visits will reach 250,000 people.

The list of exhibitors (from 165 countries) reaches 816, eight percent above the 2017 version, with a 13 percent increase in foreign participation, which represents 54 percent of the total. Source: Prensa Latina

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Cuba Tourism Safety

Cuba is a safe place for U.S. citizens, according to travel expert Journalist Christopher P. Baker

Cuba is a safe place for U.S. citizens, according to travel expert
Journalist Christopher P. Baker refuted claims that Cuba is an “unsafe” destination while the island was awarded the Excellence Prize as the safest country for tourism, at the 38th International Tourism Fair in Madrid, Spain

Author: Redacción Digital | internet@granma.cu
january 23, 2018 12:01:54

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In his January 21st article, journalist and tourism expert Christopher P. Baker noted that he believes Cuba to be “the safest place in the Americas outside Canada,” and recommends U.S. citizens visit the island. Baker goes on to note that on January 18, 2018, Cuba was named “Safest Country for Tourism” at the 38th annual                                                                                                                                                         International Tourism Fair (FITUR), in Madrid, Spain. However, the island continues to be the only nation to which U.S. citizens are prohibited from traveling as tourists. Despite this “More than 615,000 U.S. travelers visited Cuba in 2017—a banner year as overall tourism to Cuba topped 4.5 million,” according to Baker.He also recalled that there is comparatively little crime on the island, “Gun crime is unheard of in Cuba. Violent crime is rare,” something that has been recognized by the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Diplomatic Security, he notes. Thus, “the notion of Cuba being unsafe is bogus,” according to the expert, who highlighted the absurdity of allegations of supposed “sonic attacks” against some 20 or so U.S. diplomats and their family members in Havana.

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CUBA vs Donald Trump

Washington creates Internet Task Force to promote subversion in Cuba

Washington creates Internet Task Force to promote subversion in Cuba
The United States government announced this Tuesday, January 23, the creation of a new Internet Task Force, aimed at subverting Cuba’s internal order
Author: Redacción Internacional | internacionales@granma.cu
january 24, 2018 08:01:44

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The United States government announced yesterday, January 23, the creation of a new Internet Task Force, aimed at subverting Cuba’s internal order.
“The Department of State is convening a Cuba Internet Task Force composed of U.S. government and non-governmental representatives to promote the free and unregulated flow of information in Cuba. The task force will examine the technological challenges and opportunities for expanding internet access and independent media in Cuba,” according to the body’s official website.
In the past phrases like promoting “freedom of speech” and “expanding access to the internet in Cuba” have been used by Washington as a pretext for schemes to destabilize the country using new technologies.
One of the most well-known examples of this was the ZunZuneo plan, exposed in 2014 by Associated Press. Advertised as a messaging platform similar to Twitter and aimed at Cuban youth, the real intention behind ZunZuneo was to promote actions to subvert the country’s internal order.

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CUBA vs Donald Trump

The United States’ new strategy and the approach toward Our America

The United States’ new strategy and the approach toward Our America
Less than a year after entering the White House, President Donald Trump announced the new National Security Strategy of the United States on December 18, 2017
Author: Abel González Santamaría | internet@granma.cu
january 5, 2018 13:01:15

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Photo: Granma
Less than a year after entering the White House, President Donald Trump announced the new National Security Strategy of the United States on December 18, 2017. On presenting the document, Trump said that his country has entered a “new era of competition,” in which its global leadership is threatened by Russia and China, although he noted, “We will attempt to build a great partnership with these and other countries.”
The document constitutes the strategic guide for the U.S. government’s foreign and security policy over the coming years. Politicians, analysts, and academics from around the world are attempting to assess its 68-page content, in order to determine the implications it will have for their countries and regions. The National Security Act of 1947 states that these reports have both a public and a “classified” version.
The public version of the security strategy has been freely available since 1986. As such, this is a carefully drafted document that presents the vision the United States government wishes to impose on the rest of the world. On this occasion, an attempt is made to define what could be considered the “Trump doctrine” for foreign and security policy, which has a marked imperialist character. The document presented defends the President’s nationalist electoral platform of “America First,” which has meant in practice “The Military-Industrial Complex First,” aimed at reestablishing U.S. global hegemony.

APPROACH TO LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN

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