MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Cuba and US hold historic meeting at highest level in Panama
US Secretary of State John Kerry and Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez have held talks, in the highest level meeting between the two countries in more than half a century. The two were involved in closed-door discussions after arriving in Panama for a summit. Read full article
Comments
Disclaimer & comment rulesAnd the world goes on.....
Apr 10th, 2015 - 07:36 am - Link - Report abuse 0Other than in Cuba it really isn't that big a deal.
Cuba must be very careful. Those North-American Nazis are not to be sniffed flower.
Apr 10th, 2015 - 11:20 am - Link - Report abuse 0Caution. Do not trespassing!
Pretty soon USA companies and individuals will own all of Cuba and they'll be working for us again.
Apr 10th, 2015 - 12:43 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Won't be long now.
@3 Obvious you have never been to Cuba.
Apr 10th, 2015 - 01:18 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Cubans don't work and if they do it is the worst work ethic. They are accustomed to standing around on the streets doing nothing and have no capitalist ambitions. (Apart from the little shit who stole my camera when I was there).
I see a lot of Americans having high hopes of setting up business there that will ultimately fail.
#4 Klingon
Apr 10th, 2015 - 03:18 pm - Link - Report abuse 0I too vacationed there and the country has a long way to go regarding making it easy for outside investment. The only real sector open is tourism, but that's heavily controlled by the government.
5 Chicureo
Apr 10th, 2015 - 04:51 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Americans seem to forget that Cuba has many foreign financial partnerships already.
Notably, China.
China has an interest in the energy sector, as does Canada.
Who knows what else China is into, but I saw Chinese guests of the government touring Varadero in Mercedes with gov. licence plates.
Cuban tourist all-inclusive facilities are run in joint partnership with Spain's IberoStar chain.
Mgmt. personnel have their Cuban counterparts.
The Italians run many hotels also, and they are involved heavily in the dive facilities. At certain times of the year, you cannot book diving because it is pre-sold to Italian tour groups.
Russians appear to be preferred customers, though several locals told me they were often unpredictable or violent when drinking - that is, all the time.
I did not see any Russian families - just Mafia types and their girlfriends.
Lots of Spanish and Italian tourists, as well as Brits.
Didn't see many Canadians outside of Varadero or Havana.
The Americans will likely have to go in as partners, rather than own anything outright.
It is indeed a step in the right direction and a U.S. overdue recognition by the of the failure of half a century of pressures and illegal actions aimed to overthrow the Cuban regime, making an example out of the island.
Apr 10th, 2015 - 05:00 pm - Link - Report abuse 0For the U.S., the Cuban Revolution that overthrew dictator Fulgencio Batista in 1959 was indeed a “bad example,” not to be replicated.
This lead to decades of trampling democracy in Latin America, as U.S. embassies and secret services actively plotted to overthrow suspected governments and prop up U.S. puppets instead. The apex of these actions was the 1973 overthrowing of Chile's democratically elected president Salvador Allende and the installation of August Pinochet's murderous regime at his place.
The costs to Latin America in terms of eroded democracy, human suffering and delayed development remain to be tallied.
When I said that Latam left would spin this here is what I was exactly talking about. Read #7
Apr 10th, 2015 - 05:36 pm - Link - Report abuse 0The US only had to let Castro die, let the succession wars begin and support the most pro US faction that emerges. Nowbody was nostalgic after the USSR fell and with it the Eastern block. But this will not be the case in this hemisphere. Latinamericans left wing Mecca is Cuba and the Obama administration has gifted the Castros with immortality.
8 CD2
Apr 10th, 2015 - 06:59 pm - Link - Report abuse 0I agree, they should have waited 2 more years until the brothers passed.
However, with passing of the USSR, 26 years ago, the once bright Communist Ideal is now very tarnished and many Cubans feel they could do a better job as a Democracy, should they be able to run things themselves without the Castros.
The older people loved it, with trading partners within the Communist Bloc, and lots of Soviet investment and free technology, even the younger people who were children then, acknowledge “life was good under the Soviets”, but NOT now.
In fact, there is an undercurrent of resentment towards the Soviets 'abandoning' Cuba, literally overnight.
I like the Cubans I've met and they are generally, well-educated and innovative.
Hopefully, they can make a success of their new relationship with the US and set an example.
Of course, for that to work, they need to overcome the pervasive corruption that they have learned, in order to survive.
trolls....Argentines, Brazilians, Brits......lend me your ear. Help me locate YB..........he needs to be downed.
Apr 10th, 2015 - 08:37 pm - Link - Report abuse 0#6 Troy
Apr 10th, 2015 - 08:45 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Yes, lots of foreign investment, but with the Cuban government as your partner. I envision Hilton, Marriott, etc... To handle all the curious American tourists.
Mining nickel, offshore oil exploration, sugar and banana production is all tied up. No one in their right mind would start an assembly plant.
It is a great place for physical therapy and sports medicine.
10
Apr 10th, 2015 - 10:26 pm - Link - Report abuse 0What's up Pops...?
Ya got to be kidding me....Where would I find another soft target to ridicule...?
Live and let live.....
This summit will result in the biggest change in the relations between the US and Latin America in the last 20 years.
Apr 11th, 2015 - 03:21 am - Link - Report abuse 013 Hepatia
Apr 11th, 2015 - 03:31 am - Link - Report abuse 0You'll belong to China long before any changes resultant of the summit take place.
USA is forced to change, maybe they mean it...
Apr 11th, 2015 - 12:25 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Obama has limitations of what he can do without an act of Congress. Even members in his own party are not on board of a lot of his actions. The prudent opinion is one of what and see when he opens his mouth.
Apr 11th, 2015 - 06:04 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Yet no-one comments on the Vene-Cuba issue?
Apr 12th, 2015 - 04:10 am - Link - Report abuse 0Are you all asleep?
This will be a huge step-change for Maburro now his 'brothers' are changing focus.
The bus driver is very concerned about it. That is one reason he did not present Obama with...“10 million” signature petition the drop the designation. BTW.....WTF did he think that would accomplish even if he did present it? It's not American voters. Also Dilma told him to back off as well.....she needs the USA.
Apr 12th, 2015 - 02:18 pm - Link - Report abuse 0One thing that confuses me......and the trolls do not answer. In the OAS charter is specifically states to “promote democracy”
Article 2
b) To promote and consolidate representative democracy, with due respect for the principle of nonintervention;
Chapter II, Article 3:
d) The solidarity of the American States and the high aims which are sought through it require the political organization of those States on the basis of the effective exercise of representative democracy;
Article 9
A Member of the Organization whose democratically constituted government has been overthrown by force may be suspended from the exercise of the right to participate in the sessions of the General Assembly, the Meeting of Consultation, the Councils of the Organization and the Specialized Conferences as well as in the commissions, working groups and any other bodies established.
Democracy all over the OAS charter.....what the fuck is Cuba doping there? Venezuela is losing democracy.......Ecuador passing away with each year Correa is in office. The OAS is as tits on a bull as the UN......only in the OAS.....it's a blatant lie with LATAM. Those brothers need to hurry up and build their tombs.
Congratulations To Venezuela's Bolivarian Socialism; 200% Inflation Is An Achievement
Apr 12th, 2015 - 02:42 pm - Link - Report abuse 0This isn't perhaps the sort of thing that we normally congratulate people on, managing to so entirely screw up a national economy so as to generate 200% annual inflation. But we really should give credit where such credit is due. It is an achievement to manage to follow economic policies that blockheaded so, in the spirit of being entirely fair, congratulations to Venezuela’s Bolivarian socialism. It’s worth noting further that the reason for this stunning success of theirs is not because they’re a bit left wing, nor because they’ve tried to make the lives of the poor a bit better. It’s because they’ve ignored the most important rule of trying to run an economy, they’ve failed to understand that markets really do work. Something that we all need to recall in our own countries as various people tell us that we’ve got to excise market forces from one or another part of our own economies. There’s ways to deal with the effects that we don’t want from market forces: but ignoring or trying to abolish them leads to, well, to success like that that Venezualan Bolivarian socialism is currently experiencing.
Stevie, “We are all Chavez” Bahahahahaha
Hyperinflation, Starvation, Mass Murder
That's Bolivarian Socialism
Gads how can some people be so stupid?
19 YB
Apr 12th, 2015 - 03:20 pm - Link - Report abuse 0“Gads how can some people be so stupid?”
You must be asking “STEVIE” - he is all about Chavez
20. Stevie and all the rest of the idiots that think Collectivism/Statism in any form has a happy ending.
Apr 12th, 2015 - 03:37 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Stevie won't talk about Venezuela.
I just laugh every time he posts remembering “we are all Chavez” nonsense. If he had any self worth he wouldn't post here any longer.
Cuba was so F&%)ed without any of this. I love how they talk about negotiations and compromises, like this shit island has any strength. Their economy is fatal with Maduro failing and note that they got into bed with B. Hussein Obama and not the Chinese. A dictatorship propped up that has interesting days ahead. Was it the US president that did this or the communist in chief? It would be interesting to see how a Rubio white house handles the island.
Apr 16th, 2015 - 01:04 am - Link - Report abuse 0Commenting for this story is now closed.
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