CUBA NEWS WEEK OF JANUARY 19, 2020
This week the Cuban government announced that the island would not have propane gas for consumers during the next few months because the U.S. government fined a Panamanian company in November for transporting liquified propane gas to Cuba. The Cuban government has not been able to establish another provider for said gas, and the island will suffer major cutbacks for the immediate future. In a country where over ninety percent of the population uses this fuel for cooking, and probably close to three-quarters of hot water heaters in the country run on that same gas, the news did not warrant a headline. The inability to cook at home in a country where the average salary hovers around thirty US dollars a month and eating out is not an option, I feel warrants a headline, and an explanation of what exactly is being done to ensure a steady supply of gas by the islands octogenarian and nonagenarian rulers and their appointed surrogates. Blaming the United States is great and an easy out, but after sixty years of American sanctions and an embargo that has not changed much in sixty years, you would think they could figure out a way around it, but then confronting American “aggression” is the reason for their existence.
The headline in the “Rebel Youth” newspaper on January 14th, 2020 was “Science Guarantees Our Military Invulnerability,” the article vaguely describes seven members of the military who were awarded prizes for developing technological innovations that guarantee the island’s military preeminence. Could one of those awards be for the person who developed the audio weapon that was used against U.S. diplomats in Havana? Funny that the name of the newspaper continues to be “Rebel Youth,” while the head of the “revolutionary” communist party is almost ninety-years old! “Elderly Rebels” would be a more appropriate name for the newspaper. That same day another article states that members of Cuba’s Communist Youth Union, UJC its’ Spanish acronym, must be a blend of unconformity and compromise. I imagine the unconformity is probably towards anything foreign that doesn’t please the island’s leaders and compromise with those same leaders and their dictates.
The 29th edition of Havana’s International Book Fair takes place from February 6 to February 16, 2020, and Vietnam is the honorary invitee.
Cuba’s 59th National Baseball Series ended on January 18th, 2020 when the Matanzas Crocodiles defeated the Bulls from Las Tunas in the sixth game of the championship series. Matanzas is now the reigning champion of the sixteen-team league.
By Frank Gonzalez
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