Blockade

Full steam ahead for the Blockade: U.S. Prevents Spanish Bank from Offering Services to Cuba

U.S. Prevents Spanish Bank from Offering Services to Cuba

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Madrid, Sep 10 (Prensa Latina) The economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the U.S. on Cuba over 54 years ago, prevented Spanish Banco Santander from offering services to representatives of the Caribbean island in this country, trascended here today.

A press release of Havana’s embassy in Madrid revealed the system of sanctions of Washington prevented the Santander from having sales outlets at the Cuban General Consulates in the cities of Barcelona, Sevilla and Santiago de Compostela.

‘It is disappointing that three Cuban consulates have been banned from receiving services from a Spanish entity to improve attention to their users’, lamented the Cuban ambassador to Spain, Eugenio Martinez.

The diplomat attributed those restrictions to ‘obscure and unjustified unilateral decisions of the U.S. that affect negatively the Cubans and third countries’.

How is it possible that two months after the visit to Havana of President Barack Obama, last March, a subsidiary of the Santander bank in Catalonia tells the Cuban consul in Barcelona that they could not put an outlet to facilitate users the payment of consular tariffs through magnetic cards, asked Martinez.

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blockade continues

The blockade continues Bruno Rodríguez Parilla, Minister of Foreign Relations

Cuban Foreign Minister: The blockade continues
Bruno Rodríguez Parilla, Minister of Foreign Relations, this afternoon September 9, presented the report calling for an end to the U.S. blockade of Cuba which will be debated in the UN next month
Author: International news staff | informacion@granma.cu
september 9, 2016 15:09:48

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Photo: Cubaminrex

Minister of Foreign Relations Bruno Rodríguez Parilla, this afternoon September 9, presented the country’s report on United Nations General Assembly Resolution 70/5, entitled, “The Necessity of Ending the Economic, Commercial, and Financial Blockade Imposed by the United States on Cuba,” in a Havana press conference.

During the reading of the report, which will be discussed for the 25th time by the General Assembly in October, the minister reaffirmed that the blockade continues despite statements made by the U.S. President almost two years ago calling for its end. This policy has been maintained and continues having a profound impact on the Cuban economy, and limiting the right to development of the Cuban people, the minister insisted.

“The blockade hurts the Cuban people. Need and hardship are daily occurrences for the Cuban family. The impact of the blockade on Cuba cannot be underestimated. It is the principal obstacle to national development,” Rodríguez said.

“We recognize the progress in relations between the governments of Cuba and the United States, but effects include those on food, the pharmaceutical industry, foreign trade, and international cooperation, among others,” he reported, adding that no sector is exempt from the blockade’s impact, not health, social security, services, or education.

Between April of 2015 and March of 2016, the blockade’s damage to Cuba has been estimated to be approximately 4.68 million dollars, Rodríguez reported.

“For these reasons, the Cuban government will present to the UN General Assembly, the report entitled The Necessity of Ending the Economic, Commercial, and Financial Blockade Imposed by the United States on Cuba,” he said.

 

Brazil, Coup

Unasur calls meeting of foreign ministers following coup in Brazil

Unasur calls meeting of foreign ministers following coup in Brazil
Rousseff’s removal from office has prompted varied reactions among governments of the region, several of which have described it as a “coup”
Author: Prensa Latina | internet@granma.cu
september 2, 2016 15:09:50

Women shout slogans during a protest against Brazil's interim President Michel Temer and in support of suspended President Dilma Rousseff at Paulista Avenue in Sao Paulo, Brazil, May 17, 2016. The banner reads " Dilma stays, Temer out". REUTERS/Nacho Doce - RTSER1B

The Brazilian people remain mobilized in the streets against the coup.
QUITO.— The Secretary General of the Union of South American Nations (Unasur), Ernesto Samper, will begin a round of consultations with member country foreign ministers, in order to arrange a meeting and address the issue of the removal from office of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff.
In a statement released yesterday the regional mechanism noted that the move in Brazil “raises concerns and has regional implications, consideration of which justifies an extraordinary meeting of foreign ministers,” as reported by PL.
Rousseff’s removal has prompted varied reactions among governments of the region, several of which have described the move as a “coup”.
The protests following the vote by the Brazilian Senate to impeach the president have multiplied across more than a dozen states; however incidents have only been recorded in São Paulo.
There, in the same place where just a few hours before a group opposed to Rousseff had celebrated her removal with honking, cake and champagne, supporters of the former president confronted the Military Police, who attempted to disperse two protests against the Temer government.
The two demonstrations departed from the São Paulo Art Museum, in the financial heart of the country, toward the center of the city and, for the third straight night, police fired tear gas to disperse the demonstrators.
In Brasilia, hundreds of supporters of the Workers’ Party mobilized, as they have done since Monday, in support of the former president.
A crowd gathered to hear Rousseff’s brief farewell speech following her ousting and sang the national anthem in front of the Palacio de la Alvorada, the presidential residence.
Several hundred gathered that evening on the Explanada de los Ministerios, facing the Brazilian Congress, to express solidarity with Rousseff.
Protests against Michel Temer also multiplied across Río de Janeiro, where hundreds of people demonstrated in the center of the city, and other capitals of the interior, such as Porto Alegre, Salvador, and Vitoria.

Venezuela

President Nicolás Maduro reports arrests, including 92 Colombian paramilitaries camped 500 meters from Miraflores Presidential Palace

Chavista mobilization peacefully answers opposition offensive
Venezuelan Chavista mobilization peacefully answers opposition offensive
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro reports arrests, including 92 Colombian paramilitaries camped 500 meters from Miraflores Presidential Palace
Author: Dilbert Reyes Rodríguez | | informacion@granma.cu
september 2, 2016 10:09:46

Photo: AVN
CARACAS.—With an impressive mobilization in the streets of this capital city, the revolutionary people of Venezuela confirmed their support to the Bolivarian government and rejection of violence, frustrating a coup offensive announced for September 1 by the opposition leadership.
“Peace has triumphed once again. They threatened to assault Caracas and the people of Caracas came out onto the streets by the thousands,” President Nicolás Maduro said, as he addressed the Chavista crowd that filled Bolívar Avenue and other principal streets.
The President reported that the coup attempt was turning out to be a fiasco, as several plans for violence by paramilitaries around the country were dismantled, while recognizing the sensibility and adherence to constitutional law shown by those participating in the opposition march of 30,000 held in the capital.
“We have been capturing mercenaries in the northern zone of Caracas, among them an encampment of 92 Colombian paramilitaries deployed 500 meters from Miraflores, and important right wing leaders with plans to place bombs, with weapons, with millions of real and counterfeit dollars, prepared to attack their own people,” he detailed.

Continue reading President Nicolás Maduro reports arrests, including 92 Colombian paramilitaries camped 500 meters from Miraflores Presidential Palace →