Here we go again. I suppose old habits die hard.
The hostile language we have just heard from the Foreign Minister of Cuba seems straight out of the Cold War era and is not conducive to constructive progress. We will not respond in kind to painfully familiar rhetoric that we have heard in years past – rather, I am prepared to acknowledge that there is a new chapter to this old story.
In recent months, since the start of the Obama Administration, the United States has undertaken several steps to reach out to the Cuban people in support of their desire to freely determine their country's future. We have promoted family visits and the free flow of information to and from the Cuban people. The United States lifted restrictions on family visits and remittances and expanded the amounts of humanitarian items that the American people can donate to individuals in Cuba. The United States has enhanced the ability of U.S. telecommunications companies to pursue agreements to provide service to Cuba and has made it easier for U.S. agricultural producers to pursue contracts with Cuban buyers. These are important steps and we hope they can be the starting point for further changes in the relationship.
Mr. President, it is equally important to note that the United States has demonstrated that we are prepared to engage the Government of Cuba on issues that affect the security and well-being of both our peoples. Specifically, we have resumed bilateral discussions on migration, we have initiated talks to re-establish direct mail service between the United States and Cuba, and we stand by to provide assistance should Cuba be ravaged again by hurricanes as it was in 2008. We believe that any resolution commenting on the relationship between Cuba and the United States of American should reflect these constructive developments. Sadly, the resolution under discussion fails in that regard and regrettably, the Government of Cuba has not yet reciprocated these important steps taken by my government.
Mr. President, at the same time, we must point out that the United States of America, like all Member States, has the sovereign right to conduct its economic relationship with another country as it sees fit. The U.S. economic relationship with Cuba is a bilateral issue and part of a broader set of relations. The steps the United States has taken to improve communications and exchanges with the Cuban people are undertaken with a continuing firm commitment to encouraging the Cuban government to respect basic norms embodied in the Inter-American Democratic Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
As we discuss our differences on this subject, we must remember one important commonality - the United States, like most Member States, is firmly committed to supporting the desire of the Cuban people to determine freely their country's future.
Respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms are part of this organization's core values. We should not lose sight of that in a stale debate bogged down in the rhetorical arguments of the past. That kind of debate does nothing to help the Cuban people.
Mr. President, I must address two significant distortions in the Cuban position. First, my delegation regrets that the delegation from Cuba continues to label inappropriately and incorrectly U.S. trade restrictions on Cuba as an act of genocide. Such an egregious misuse of the term diminishes the real suffering of victims of genocide elsewhere in the world. Second, it is erroneous to charge that U.S. sanctions are the cause of deprivation among the Cuban people. The U.S. maintains no restriction on humanitarian aid to Cuba. In fact, the U.S. is a major source of humanitarian assistance to the Cuban people and the largest provider of food to Cuba.
In 2008, the United States exported agricultural products, medical devices, medicine, wood, and humanitarian items to Cuba. In agricultural products alone, the United States sold $700.1 million of goods to Cuba. Once again, in 2008, the United States was Cuba's fifth largest trading partner.
As we have sought to reach out to the Cuban people, we have called upon the Cuban government to take steps to respond to the desire of its citizens to enjoy political, social, and economic freedoms. There are many things the Government of Cuba could do to signal its willingness to engage constructively with its own people and with the United States. Positive measures could include liberating the hundreds of prisoners of conscience in Cuban jails, ratifying the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, reducing the excessive charges on remittances flowing into the country, demonstrating greater respect for freedom of speech, ending the practice of arresting political opponents on vague and arbitrary charges such as "social dangerousness," and permitting the visit of UN rapporteurs on human rights and torture.
As other delegations consider this resolution, we do hope that they will not lose sight of the undeniable fact that the Cuban government's airtight restrictions on internationally-recognized social, political, and economic freedoms are the main source of deprivation and the primary obstacle to development in Cuba.
Mr. President, because it does not reflect current realities, my delegation will vote against this resolution. At the same time, the United States will continue to work to expand opportunities for the people of Cuba to empower themselves through access to information and resources. We will continue to engage the Government of Cuba on issues of mutual concern and national security. We await a constructive Cuban response to our initiatives. In the meantime, it is high time for this body to move beyond the rhetorical posturing of the past, to recognize the situation in Cuba for what it is today, and to encourage progress towards genuine change.
Thank you Mr. President.
Cuba's response here
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Obama Administration Applies Bush Policy to NY Philharmonic
New York Philharmonic Won't Go to Cuba Without Patrons
By DANIEL J. WAKIN, New York Times October 2, 2009
Violinists, bassoonists and timpanists in Cuba? Fine. A bevy of rich Americans? Sorry.
The New York Philharmonic scratched its trip to Cuba at the end of October because the United States government was barring a group of patrons from going along, the orchestra said on Thursday. Without them and their donations, the Philharmonic said, it could not afford the tour.
About 150 board members and other donors had promised to pay $10,000 each to spend Oct. 30 to Nov. 2 in Havana, where the orchestra was to play two concerts, said Zarin Mehta, its president. The money was to have covered the cost of the proposed trip, which came at the invitation of the Cuban government.
Supporters, both individuals and executives of donor companies, usually tag along with major orchestras when they travel around the world. For some, the travel amounts to high-class tourism, along with a chance to make business connections in foreign capitals. In effect, orchestras would not be able to raise tour money without giving the donors a chance to accompany them.
“The patrons were excited about giving us the money with the opportunity of going to see Havana and be a witness and support their orchestra,” Mr. Mehta said. “This is what’s important to them.” Mr. Mehta said he would not consider taking the patrons’ money while leaving them behind.
“I wouldn’t want to insult them,” he said. “I think it’s most likely they would say, ‘Go another time.’ ” That’s what the orchestra will try to do, he said.
Mr. Mehta said he had hoped that pressure applied by New York elected officials — including Senator Charles E. Schumer and Representatives Steve Israel and Charles B. Rangel, who have supported the trip — would help to have the decision overturned. “They haven’t been successful,” he said. “They’re befuddled.”
The spokesman for the State Department, which guides the Treasury Department in deciding which Americans can go to Cuba, said the reason was simple.
The sanctions on Cuba permit performing artists to enter, said the spokesman, P. J. Crowley, but “there’s no permitted category of travel that would include the Philharmonic patrons. Basically they’re tourists, and we don’t license tourist travel to Cuba under the present circumstances.”
He said there was also an economic component to the decision: the wealthy patrons could spend large amounts of money in Cuba, which would effectively violate economic sanctions.
In response to the Philharmonic’s position that it could not go without the financial supporters, he said, “Perhaps the New York Philharmonic should have checked with the government before announcing the trip.”
The cancellation was an embarrassment and something of a setback in the New York Philharmonic’s effort to cast itself as the nation’s flagship traveling orchestra. It made headlines with a trip to Pyongyang, North Korea, nearly two years ago (no United States government permission for patrons was required) and leaves on Sunday for an Asian tour that will take in another Communist nation, Vietnam.
The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control issues licenses to visit Cuba because of the longstanding economic sanctions aimed at the island’s Communist government.
According to the orchestra, the office said informally that the players and staff members would be allowed to go, but not the patrons.
A lawyer for the orchestra has delivered a brief to the licensing office, making its case that the categories are elastic and an exception should be made for the donors. Several board members were allowed to accompany the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra when it visited Havana in 1999.
The trip plans came about amid a warming of relations between Cuba and the United States. The Obama administration has restarted talks about migration and eased limits on remittances and travel by Cuban-Americans to the island to visit relatives. But as a sign of the political thorniness involved in closer ties, the administration extended for a year the law used to impose the trade embargo on Cuba.
Bills pending in both houses of Congress would lift travel restrictions on all Americans to Cuba. The bills have a surprising level of bipartisan support, helped by lobbying by agricultural and business groups eager to expand commercial ties.
“This exposes how arbitrary the rules are governing American citizens’ rights to travel to Cuba,” Julia E. Sweig, an expert on Cuba at the Council on Foreign Relations, said of the Treasury Department’s position. “If you have a family member there, you can go. If you play an instrument or sport, you can go. But if you’re a philanthropist who wants to support arts in Cuba, you can’t?”
J. Christopher Flowers, a Philharmonic trustee, said he was still hoping to go to Cuba with the orchestra someday. “It sounds absolutely fascinating,” he said, but he declined to offer an opinion on the decision. “It’s up to the government to make the rules and for us to follow them,” he added. “It’s not for me to try to figure out our policy with respect to Cuba.”
Mr. Flowers said he did not know whether he would have spent much money in Cuba. “I’ve never been there,” he said.
Mr. Mehta said the next opening for a Cuba trip would probably come in June or July. The orchestra will try to come up with concerts quickly to play at its Avery Fisher home for the time it would have been in Havana.
As for programming on those dates, Mr. Mehta said, Latin American music is a distinct possibility. “The thought has crossed our minds.”
Ginger Thompson and Mark Landler contributed reporting from Washington.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/02/arts/music/02orchestra.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=Cuba%20NY%20Philharmonic&st=cse
NY Philharmonic cancels trip to Cuba this month
Thu Oct 1, 2009 6:02pm EDT
By Jeff Franks and Michelle Nichols
HAVANA/NEW YORK (Reuters) - The New York Philharmonic has put off plans to perform in Cuba for the first time this month because the U.S. government has not allowed its sponsors to travel to the communist-led island.
"The postponement is due to existing U.S. Government restrictions on travel to Cuba which would affect project funders and supporters, without whose financial support the trip is not possible," it said in a statement on Thursday.
Known for groundbreaking musical diplomacy with visits to countries such as reclusive communist North Korea last year, the orchestra had planned to travel to Havana from October 30 to Nov 2 to perform two concerts.
But while the United States appears to be easing its long isolation of Cuba and the orchestra said its trip had the support of U.S. President Barack Obama's administration, the State Department and the Treasury Department, there were problems associated with long-imposed travel restrictions.
About 150 patrons and supporters had pledged to pay about $10,000 each to accompany the orchestra on the trip to Cuba.
The orchestra had applied for a license for the group to accompany it and, while they had not officially been denied, U.S. officials said there was no category that would allow them to go to Cuba under the current travel regulations, New York Philharmonic spokesman Eric Latzky said.
The orchestra will try to travel to Cuba at a later date.
"The New York Philharmonic intends to reschedule these concerts when travel restrictions for project funders are resolved," it said without naming the funders and supporters who would be affected by the restrictions.
Washington and Havana have been at odds since Fidel Castro took control of Cuba 50 years ago in a revolution against a U.S.-backed dictator and steered the island toward communism.
Under a trade embargo enforced against Castro's government since 1962, Americans cannot spend dollars in Cuba without permission from the U.S. Treasury.
Obama eased sanctions this year by lifting restrictions on travel and cash remittances by Cuban Americans in a move to improve ties with Havana, though he has said the trade embargo will stay in place until Cuba undertakes democratic reforms.
When orchestra president Zarin Mehta met with Cuban officials and toured facilities in Havana in July, he said he expected the orchestra to be criticized if went ahead with a visit to the island 90 miles south of Florida.
When the orchestra performed in Pyongyang in February 2008, critics questioned the appropriateness of the visit to North Korea, whose government Washington considers one of the world's most repressive.
The orchestra opened its 2009/10 season in New York City on September 16 and its program includes tours of Asia and Europe with debut performances in Hanoi and Abu Dhabi. The orchestra has performed in at least 418 cities worldwide since 1930.
The New York Philharmonic was founded in 1842 by a group of local musicians and plays about 180 concerts a year. In late 2004, the philharmonic gave its concert number 14,000 -- a milestone unmatched by any other orchestra in the world.
(Reporting by Michelle Nichols, editing by Anthony Boadle)
http://www.reuters.com/article/artsNews/idUSTRE59073820091001
By DANIEL J. WAKIN, New York Times October 2, 2009
Violinists, bassoonists and timpanists in Cuba? Fine. A bevy of rich Americans? Sorry.
The New York Philharmonic scratched its trip to Cuba at the end of October because the United States government was barring a group of patrons from going along, the orchestra said on Thursday. Without them and their donations, the Philharmonic said, it could not afford the tour.
About 150 board members and other donors had promised to pay $10,000 each to spend Oct. 30 to Nov. 2 in Havana, where the orchestra was to play two concerts, said Zarin Mehta, its president. The money was to have covered the cost of the proposed trip, which came at the invitation of the Cuban government.
Supporters, both individuals and executives of donor companies, usually tag along with major orchestras when they travel around the world. For some, the travel amounts to high-class tourism, along with a chance to make business connections in foreign capitals. In effect, orchestras would not be able to raise tour money without giving the donors a chance to accompany them.
“The patrons were excited about giving us the money with the opportunity of going to see Havana and be a witness and support their orchestra,” Mr. Mehta said. “This is what’s important to them.” Mr. Mehta said he would not consider taking the patrons’ money while leaving them behind.
“I wouldn’t want to insult them,” he said. “I think it’s most likely they would say, ‘Go another time.’ ” That’s what the orchestra will try to do, he said.
Mr. Mehta said he had hoped that pressure applied by New York elected officials — including Senator Charles E. Schumer and Representatives Steve Israel and Charles B. Rangel, who have supported the trip — would help to have the decision overturned. “They haven’t been successful,” he said. “They’re befuddled.”
The spokesman for the State Department, which guides the Treasury Department in deciding which Americans can go to Cuba, said the reason was simple.
The sanctions on Cuba permit performing artists to enter, said the spokesman, P. J. Crowley, but “there’s no permitted category of travel that would include the Philharmonic patrons. Basically they’re tourists, and we don’t license tourist travel to Cuba under the present circumstances.”
He said there was also an economic component to the decision: the wealthy patrons could spend large amounts of money in Cuba, which would effectively violate economic sanctions.
In response to the Philharmonic’s position that it could not go without the financial supporters, he said, “Perhaps the New York Philharmonic should have checked with the government before announcing the trip.”
The cancellation was an embarrassment and something of a setback in the New York Philharmonic’s effort to cast itself as the nation’s flagship traveling orchestra. It made headlines with a trip to Pyongyang, North Korea, nearly two years ago (no United States government permission for patrons was required) and leaves on Sunday for an Asian tour that will take in another Communist nation, Vietnam.
The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control issues licenses to visit Cuba because of the longstanding economic sanctions aimed at the island’s Communist government.
According to the orchestra, the office said informally that the players and staff members would be allowed to go, but not the patrons.
A lawyer for the orchestra has delivered a brief to the licensing office, making its case that the categories are elastic and an exception should be made for the donors. Several board members were allowed to accompany the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra when it visited Havana in 1999.
The trip plans came about amid a warming of relations between Cuba and the United States. The Obama administration has restarted talks about migration and eased limits on remittances and travel by Cuban-Americans to the island to visit relatives. But as a sign of the political thorniness involved in closer ties, the administration extended for a year the law used to impose the trade embargo on Cuba.
Bills pending in both houses of Congress would lift travel restrictions on all Americans to Cuba. The bills have a surprising level of bipartisan support, helped by lobbying by agricultural and business groups eager to expand commercial ties.
“This exposes how arbitrary the rules are governing American citizens’ rights to travel to Cuba,” Julia E. Sweig, an expert on Cuba at the Council on Foreign Relations, said of the Treasury Department’s position. “If you have a family member there, you can go. If you play an instrument or sport, you can go. But if you’re a philanthropist who wants to support arts in Cuba, you can’t?”
J. Christopher Flowers, a Philharmonic trustee, said he was still hoping to go to Cuba with the orchestra someday. “It sounds absolutely fascinating,” he said, but he declined to offer an opinion on the decision. “It’s up to the government to make the rules and for us to follow them,” he added. “It’s not for me to try to figure out our policy with respect to Cuba.”
Mr. Flowers said he did not know whether he would have spent much money in Cuba. “I’ve never been there,” he said.
Mr. Mehta said the next opening for a Cuba trip would probably come in June or July. The orchestra will try to come up with concerts quickly to play at its Avery Fisher home for the time it would have been in Havana.
As for programming on those dates, Mr. Mehta said, Latin American music is a distinct possibility. “The thought has crossed our minds.”
Ginger Thompson and Mark Landler contributed reporting from Washington.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/02/arts/music/02orchestra.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=Cuba%20NY%20Philharmonic&st=cse
NY Philharmonic cancels trip to Cuba this month
Thu Oct 1, 2009 6:02pm EDT
By Jeff Franks and Michelle Nichols
HAVANA/NEW YORK (Reuters) - The New York Philharmonic has put off plans to perform in Cuba for the first time this month because the U.S. government has not allowed its sponsors to travel to the communist-led island.
"The postponement is due to existing U.S. Government restrictions on travel to Cuba which would affect project funders and supporters, without whose financial support the trip is not possible," it said in a statement on Thursday.
Known for groundbreaking musical diplomacy with visits to countries such as reclusive communist North Korea last year, the orchestra had planned to travel to Havana from October 30 to Nov 2 to perform two concerts.
But while the United States appears to be easing its long isolation of Cuba and the orchestra said its trip had the support of U.S. President Barack Obama's administration, the State Department and the Treasury Department, there were problems associated with long-imposed travel restrictions.
About 150 patrons and supporters had pledged to pay about $10,000 each to accompany the orchestra on the trip to Cuba.
The orchestra had applied for a license for the group to accompany it and, while they had not officially been denied, U.S. officials said there was no category that would allow them to go to Cuba under the current travel regulations, New York Philharmonic spokesman Eric Latzky said.
The orchestra will try to travel to Cuba at a later date.
"The New York Philharmonic intends to reschedule these concerts when travel restrictions for project funders are resolved," it said without naming the funders and supporters who would be affected by the restrictions.
Washington and Havana have been at odds since Fidel Castro took control of Cuba 50 years ago in a revolution against a U.S.-backed dictator and steered the island toward communism.
Under a trade embargo enforced against Castro's government since 1962, Americans cannot spend dollars in Cuba without permission from the U.S. Treasury.
Obama eased sanctions this year by lifting restrictions on travel and cash remittances by Cuban Americans in a move to improve ties with Havana, though he has said the trade embargo will stay in place until Cuba undertakes democratic reforms.
When orchestra president Zarin Mehta met with Cuban officials and toured facilities in Havana in July, he said he expected the orchestra to be criticized if went ahead with a visit to the island 90 miles south of Florida.
When the orchestra performed in Pyongyang in February 2008, critics questioned the appropriateness of the visit to North Korea, whose government Washington considers one of the world's most repressive.
The orchestra opened its 2009/10 season in New York City on September 16 and its program includes tours of Asia and Europe with debut performances in Hanoi and Abu Dhabi. The orchestra has performed in at least 418 cities worldwide since 1930.
The New York Philharmonic was founded in 1842 by a group of local musicians and plays about 180 concerts a year. In late 2004, the philharmonic gave its concert number 14,000 -- a milestone unmatched by any other orchestra in the world.
(Reporting by Michelle Nichols, editing by Anthony Boadle)
http://www.reuters.com/article/artsNews/idUSTRE59073820091001
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Menendez Role in Removing Non-tourist Travel
Baucus bill portends Dem fight over Cuba
By Alexander Bolton - 05/03/09 08:01 PM ET
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) is set to introduce legislation that would open the door to more agricultural exports to Cuba, taking advantage of President Obama’s pledge to “seek a new beginning” with the island nation.
The bill will likely trigger a fight with Democratic proponents of the Cuba embargo policy, Sen. Robert Menendez (N.J.), chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, and Florida Sen. Bill Nelson.
But Democrats from agricultural states, such as North Dakota Sen. Byron Dorgan, will side with Baucus. American farmers view Cuba as a lucrative, largely untapped market.
A Senate official working on Cuba policy closely informed The Hill that Baucus is expected to drop his bill this week.
Baucus said in an interview that he thought he would do so, but said he was not 100 percent certain.
The Finance panel chairman has introduced legislation aimed at increasing agricultural exports to Cuba in previous years.
In 2007, Baucus pushed the Promoting American Agricultural and Medical Exports to Cuba Act. The Finance Committee held hearings on the bill but it did not receive a vote on the Senate floor.
Dorgan and Democratic Sens. Jeff Bingaman (N.M.), Maria Cantwell (Wash.), Tom Harkin (Iowa), Mary Landrieu (La.), Blanche Lincoln (Ark.), Mark Pryor (Ark.), Debbie Stabenow (Mich.) and Ron Wyden (Ore.) signed on as co-sponsors.
The bill would have prohibited the president from restricting payments from Cuban financial institutions and directed the secretary of Agriculture to promote exports to Cuba.
“We expect to introduce something soon,” said Dan Virkstis, a spokesman for Baucus and the Finance Committee. “It will be similar to the chairman's bill last Congress — focused on opening trade and travel markets for U.S. farmers, ranchers and families.”
Congress passed legislation in 2000 allowing Cuba to buy agricultural commodities from the U.S., but farm lobbyists say the Treasury Department curbed exports by interpreting the law to require payment before goods are shipped.
Farm lobbyists see a golden opportunity to change that in the wake of Obama’s directive making it easier for Cuban Americans to travel and send money to Cuba.
Cuba policy has already flared as a controversial subject within the Democratic caucus this year. Menendez and Nelson threatened to vote against a $410 billion omnibus spending bill in March because it contained language they feared would weaken the embargo.
Menendez withdrew his objection after receiving assurances from the Treasury Department that the provision would not impact Cuba policy significantly.
Some Cuba policy watchers suspected that Menendez may have had a behind-the-scenes impact on Obama’s decision not to also allow U.S. citizens to travel to Cuba for cultural, academic and humanitarian purposes. This would have marked a return to the policies in effect at the end of the Clinton administration.
Menendez spoke to Denis McDonough, director of strategic communications at the National Security Council, shortly before Obama announced his Cuba order. McDonough advises the president on Cuba policy.
But one Senate Cuba expert noted that Obama’s directive fulfilled promises he made on the campaign trail and that Obama had not pledged to return entirely to Clinton-era Cuba policies.
Given the likely opposition from Menendez, Nelson and Florida Republican Sen. Mel Martinez, it may take some time before Baucus can move his bill to the floor.
This week, the Senate resumes consideration of housing legislation, a measure that has become less controversial since the Senate voted against an amendment known as cramdown. The proposal, pushed by Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (Ill.), would have given bankruptcy judges power to write down mortgages for homeowners in default.
Also this week, members of the Senate Appropriations Committee will continue work on a supplemental spending bill to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. A Democratic leadership aide said that bill could reach the floor before the Memorial Day recess or in early June.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has said he also wants to take up a railroad antitrust bill and legislation addressing executive compensation.
http://thehill.com/homenews/news/19479-baucus-bill-portends-dem-fight-over-cuba
By Alexander Bolton - 05/03/09 08:01 PM ET
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) is set to introduce legislation that would open the door to more agricultural exports to Cuba, taking advantage of President Obama’s pledge to “seek a new beginning” with the island nation.
The bill will likely trigger a fight with Democratic proponents of the Cuba embargo policy, Sen. Robert Menendez (N.J.), chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, and Florida Sen. Bill Nelson.
But Democrats from agricultural states, such as North Dakota Sen. Byron Dorgan, will side with Baucus. American farmers view Cuba as a lucrative, largely untapped market.
A Senate official working on Cuba policy closely informed The Hill that Baucus is expected to drop his bill this week.
Baucus said in an interview that he thought he would do so, but said he was not 100 percent certain.
The Finance panel chairman has introduced legislation aimed at increasing agricultural exports to Cuba in previous years.
In 2007, Baucus pushed the Promoting American Agricultural and Medical Exports to Cuba Act. The Finance Committee held hearings on the bill but it did not receive a vote on the Senate floor.
Dorgan and Democratic Sens. Jeff Bingaman (N.M.), Maria Cantwell (Wash.), Tom Harkin (Iowa), Mary Landrieu (La.), Blanche Lincoln (Ark.), Mark Pryor (Ark.), Debbie Stabenow (Mich.) and Ron Wyden (Ore.) signed on as co-sponsors.
The bill would have prohibited the president from restricting payments from Cuban financial institutions and directed the secretary of Agriculture to promote exports to Cuba.
“We expect to introduce something soon,” said Dan Virkstis, a spokesman for Baucus and the Finance Committee. “It will be similar to the chairman's bill last Congress — focused on opening trade and travel markets for U.S. farmers, ranchers and families.”
Congress passed legislation in 2000 allowing Cuba to buy agricultural commodities from the U.S., but farm lobbyists say the Treasury Department curbed exports by interpreting the law to require payment before goods are shipped.
Farm lobbyists see a golden opportunity to change that in the wake of Obama’s directive making it easier for Cuban Americans to travel and send money to Cuba.
Cuba policy has already flared as a controversial subject within the Democratic caucus this year. Menendez and Nelson threatened to vote against a $410 billion omnibus spending bill in March because it contained language they feared would weaken the embargo.
Menendez withdrew his objection after receiving assurances from the Treasury Department that the provision would not impact Cuba policy significantly.
Some Cuba policy watchers suspected that Menendez may have had a behind-the-scenes impact on Obama’s decision not to also allow U.S. citizens to travel to Cuba for cultural, academic and humanitarian purposes. This would have marked a return to the policies in effect at the end of the Clinton administration.
Menendez spoke to Denis McDonough, director of strategic communications at the National Security Council, shortly before Obama announced his Cuba order. McDonough advises the president on Cuba policy.
But one Senate Cuba expert noted that Obama’s directive fulfilled promises he made on the campaign trail and that Obama had not pledged to return entirely to Clinton-era Cuba policies.
Given the likely opposition from Menendez, Nelson and Florida Republican Sen. Mel Martinez, it may take some time before Baucus can move his bill to the floor.
This week, the Senate resumes consideration of housing legislation, a measure that has become less controversial since the Senate voted against an amendment known as cramdown. The proposal, pushed by Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (Ill.), would have given bankruptcy judges power to write down mortgages for homeowners in default.
Also this week, members of the Senate Appropriations Committee will continue work on a supplemental spending bill to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. A Democratic leadership aide said that bill could reach the floor before the Memorial Day recess or in early June.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has said he also wants to take up a railroad antitrust bill and legislation addressing executive compensation.
http://thehill.com/homenews/news/19479-baucus-bill-portends-dem-fight-over-cuba
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Summary of legal changes by OFAC and BIS
OFAC and BIS Ease Certain Travel and Trade Restrictions Concerning Cuba
Summary from the law firm of Kelley Drye
09/09/09
The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) made regulatory amendments that relax the trade and travel restrictions involving Cuba. To comply with President Obama’s April 13, 2009 directive, the agencies have eased restrictions regarding family travel and remittances, the sending of gifts, the donation of consumer communications devices, as well as restrictions related to the telecommunications industry.
Some of the major provisions include the following:
Travel and Remittances
OFAC has eased restrictions for U.S. citizens who are either traveling to visit Cuba, or sending remittances to “close relatives” who are nationals of Cuba. A “close relative” includes immediate family members, cousins, and second cousins. Anyone who shares a common dwelling with the U.S. traveler may accompany him/her. There are no limits on the duration or frequency of these visits.
BIS has lifted the 44-pound limit on personal baggage previously in place for travelers to Cuba. OFAC has increased the amount that travelers currently can spend in Cuba to $179 per day.
Persons subject to U.S. jurisdiction may now send remittances (including from inherited blocked accounts) to any close relative who is not a “prohibited official of the Government of Cuba” or a “prohibited member of the Cuban Communist Party.” There are no limits on the amounts of remittances or frequency with which they may be sent. Additionally, authorized travelers may carry up to $3,000 worth of such remittances with them when traveling to Cuba. Restrictions for remittances for emigration purposes still apply. Remittances may be made from depository institutions, and OFAC will now allow such institutions to set up testing arrangements and exchange authenticator keys with Cuban financial officials.
Gifts
BIS has eased restrictions on gifts sent to Cuba. Generally, donors may send one gift parcel valued at less than $800 to any eligible donee each month. The types of eligible items that can be included in such parcels have also been expanded. Gifts may be sent to individuals, other than certain Cuban Government and Cuban Communist Party officials. They may also be sent to any charitable, educational, or religious organization that is not controlled by or administered by the Cuban Government or Cuban Communist Party.
Consumer Communication Devices
BIS has also created a license exception that authorizes, under certain circumstances, the export or reexport of commodities and software, excluding encryption source code. Such commodities and software must be used to exchange information and facilitate interpersonal communications, must be donated, and must be widely available for retail purchase in the United States. Specifically, the items include mobile phones, SIM cards, personal digital assistants, laptop and desktop computers and peripherals (monitors, keyboards, mice, etc.), internet connectivity devices, satellite-based television and radio receivers, digital music and video players and recorders, personal two-way radios and digital cameras. The exports or reexports may be to anyone except certain Cuban Government or Communist Party officials, or organizations administered by them. The exception imposes no limits upon the frequency or value of these shipments.
Telecommunications
OFAC and BIS have eased in several ways the regulations concerning telecommunications transactions and the travel related to those transactions.
First, persons subject to U.S. jurisdiction may now contract with and pay non-Cuban telecommunications services providers to provide services to any Cuban individuals other than certain Cuban Government or Communist Party officials.
Second, telecommunications service providers may now (a) make payments incident to the provision of telecommunications services between the U.S. and Cuba and the provision of satellite radio or satellite television services to Cuba; and (b) enter into and perform under roaming services agreements with telecommunications service providers in Cuba.
Third, transactions incident to establishing facilities to provide telecommunications services linking the U.S. and Cuba are now authorized by license.
In addition to these three changes, travel-related transactions incident to the commercial export of telecommunications-related items and participating in telecommunications-related professional meetings are now permitted, with some restrictions.
Agricultural and Medical Sales
Finally, OFAC created a new general license that authorizes, with some conditions, travel-related transactions that are directly incident to the commercial marketing, sales, negotiation, accompanied delivery, or servicing in Cuba of agricultural commodities, medicine, or medical devices that appear to be consistent with BIS’s export or reexport licensing policy. Certain employees may rely upon this general license, which also requires that travelers submit a report regarding those transactions to OFAC at least 14 days before departure for Cuba and within 14 days of return.
For help with applying for any of these new licenses or with questions regarding any of the new regulations, please contact:
Darryl W. Jackson
(202) 342-8478
djackson@kelleydrye.com
David H. Laufman
(202) 342-8803
dlaufman@kelleydrye.com
Brian Churney
(202) 342-8434
bchurney@kelleydrye.com
Summary from the law firm of Kelley Drye
09/09/09
The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) made regulatory amendments that relax the trade and travel restrictions involving Cuba. To comply with President Obama’s April 13, 2009 directive, the agencies have eased restrictions regarding family travel and remittances, the sending of gifts, the donation of consumer communications devices, as well as restrictions related to the telecommunications industry.
Some of the major provisions include the following:
Travel and Remittances
OFAC has eased restrictions for U.S. citizens who are either traveling to visit Cuba, or sending remittances to “close relatives” who are nationals of Cuba. A “close relative” includes immediate family members, cousins, and second cousins. Anyone who shares a common dwelling with the U.S. traveler may accompany him/her. There are no limits on the duration or frequency of these visits.
BIS has lifted the 44-pound limit on personal baggage previously in place for travelers to Cuba. OFAC has increased the amount that travelers currently can spend in Cuba to $179 per day.
Persons subject to U.S. jurisdiction may now send remittances (including from inherited blocked accounts) to any close relative who is not a “prohibited official of the Government of Cuba” or a “prohibited member of the Cuban Communist Party.” There are no limits on the amounts of remittances or frequency with which they may be sent. Additionally, authorized travelers may carry up to $3,000 worth of such remittances with them when traveling to Cuba. Restrictions for remittances for emigration purposes still apply. Remittances may be made from depository institutions, and OFAC will now allow such institutions to set up testing arrangements and exchange authenticator keys with Cuban financial officials.
Gifts
BIS has eased restrictions on gifts sent to Cuba. Generally, donors may send one gift parcel valued at less than $800 to any eligible donee each month. The types of eligible items that can be included in such parcels have also been expanded. Gifts may be sent to individuals, other than certain Cuban Government and Cuban Communist Party officials. They may also be sent to any charitable, educational, or religious organization that is not controlled by or administered by the Cuban Government or Cuban Communist Party.
Consumer Communication Devices
BIS has also created a license exception that authorizes, under certain circumstances, the export or reexport of commodities and software, excluding encryption source code. Such commodities and software must be used to exchange information and facilitate interpersonal communications, must be donated, and must be widely available for retail purchase in the United States. Specifically, the items include mobile phones, SIM cards, personal digital assistants, laptop and desktop computers and peripherals (monitors, keyboards, mice, etc.), internet connectivity devices, satellite-based television and radio receivers, digital music and video players and recorders, personal two-way radios and digital cameras. The exports or reexports may be to anyone except certain Cuban Government or Communist Party officials, or organizations administered by them. The exception imposes no limits upon the frequency or value of these shipments.
Telecommunications
OFAC and BIS have eased in several ways the regulations concerning telecommunications transactions and the travel related to those transactions.
First, persons subject to U.S. jurisdiction may now contract with and pay non-Cuban telecommunications services providers to provide services to any Cuban individuals other than certain Cuban Government or Communist Party officials.
Second, telecommunications service providers may now (a) make payments incident to the provision of telecommunications services between the U.S. and Cuba and the provision of satellite radio or satellite television services to Cuba; and (b) enter into and perform under roaming services agreements with telecommunications service providers in Cuba.
Third, transactions incident to establishing facilities to provide telecommunications services linking the U.S. and Cuba are now authorized by license.
In addition to these three changes, travel-related transactions incident to the commercial export of telecommunications-related items and participating in telecommunications-related professional meetings are now permitted, with some restrictions.
Agricultural and Medical Sales
Finally, OFAC created a new general license that authorizes, with some conditions, travel-related transactions that are directly incident to the commercial marketing, sales, negotiation, accompanied delivery, or servicing in Cuba of agricultural commodities, medicine, or medical devices that appear to be consistent with BIS’s export or reexport licensing policy. Certain employees may rely upon this general license, which also requires that travelers submit a report regarding those transactions to OFAC at least 14 days before departure for Cuba and within 14 days of return.
For help with applying for any of these new licenses or with questions regarding any of the new regulations, please contact:
Darryl W. Jackson
(202) 342-8478
djackson@kelleydrye.com
David H. Laufman
(202) 342-8803
dlaufman@kelleydrye.com
Brian Churney
(202) 342-8434
bchurney@kelleydrye.com
AP and NY Times on extended visit of US official to Cuba
US, Cuba held unannounced talks
By MATTHEW LEE and PAUL HAVEN (AP)
NEW YORK — A senior American diplomat has held unannounced, high-level talks in Havana with the Cuban government, three State Department officials told The Associated Press on Tuesday, raising hopes for a thaw in long-icy relations.
The talks were the first of their kind in years between representatives of the U.S. and Cuban governments, the bitter Cold War rivals among whom trust appears to be gradually building.
Bisa Williams, the U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs, met with Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister Dagoberto Rodriguez, visited an area affected by hurricanes in the Western province of Pinar del Rio and toured a government agricultural facility during a six-day trip to Cuba this month, the officials told AP.
The meetings came on the heels of Sept. 17 talks on the possibility of restarting direct mail service between the countries, suspended since 1963. Those discussions had been public, but neither country had previously revealed that Williams remained in Havana for five extra days.
One U.S. official described the talks as "respectful" and said they were more significant for having taken place, than for any substantive breakthroughs between the two sides, which have been at odds since shortly after former Cuban leader Fidel Castro marched into Havana on New Year's Day 1959.
"We were going over ground we haven't gone over for a long time," said the official. "Each side was taking advantage of the opportunity to size each other up."
The official was not authorized to publicly discuss details of Williams' visit and spoke on condition of anonymity. The Cuban government did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
State Department spokesman Ian Kelly confirmed Williams remained in Cuba and met with officials after the postal talks, but offered few details.
"Williams met with host government officials and a wide range of representatives from civil society to gain a full appreciation of the political and economic situation on the ground," he told AP.
Kelly said Williams followed up on ongoing U.S.-Cuba migration talks, the next round of which he said are tentatively scheduled to take place in December. One of the officials said those talks were likely to be held in Havana.
The last time a senior U.S. official traveled to Cuba for talks of any kind was in 2002, but Williams' extended, wide-ranging and unpublicized trip here this month was different.
U.S.-Cuban relations have improved considerably since President Barack Obama took office in January, saying he was ready to extend a hand of friendship to America's traditional foes. In addition to the mail talks, Obama has loosened financial and travel restrictions on Americans with relatives on the island.
The Americans have also made other small but significant gestures — like turning off an electronic sign that had streamed anti-Castro messages from the windows of the U.S. Interests Section, which Washington maintains in Cuba instead of an embassy. The Cubans then took down dozens of large black flags they had set up nearby to block the view.
Cuban President Raul Castro and his brother, Fidel, have both had warm words for the American leader, with Fidel Castro last week praising Obama as courageous for taking on climate change.
Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez said Monday in a speech at the United Nations that the communist government is ready to normalize relations with its larger neighbor and will work with Washington in the meantime on other issues such as fighting drug smuggling.
He said Cuba has sought full diplomatic relations with the U.S. for decades and repeated Raul Castro's offer to sit down with Obama for a "respectful, arm's length dialogue with the United States, without overshadowing our independence, sovereignty and self-determination."
Cuba experts say it remains to be seen whether the diplomacy of small measures is a path to ultimately reaching agreement on core issues, though diplomats on both sides have privately voiced optimism.
Obama has left intact the 47-year trade embargo on the island, and U.S. officials have said for months that they would like to see the single-party state accept some political, economic and social changes.
Associated Press writer Paul Haven reported from Havana, Cuba.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5isn-A6X47PLC4dRexapk4yFMmbyQD9B17BEO0
***************************
September 30, 2009
U.S. Official Meets With Cuban Authorities
By GINGER THOMPSON, New York Times
WASHINGTON — In another sign of improving relations between Cuba and the United States, a senior State Department official has talked with high-level Cuban officials in Havana about a variety of issues, including ways to improve cooperation on migration and the fight against drug trafficking.
State Department officials said the main purpose of a trip two weeks ago by the official, Bisa Williams, was to discuss restarting mail service between the United States and the Communist-ruled country.
But a State Department spokesman, Charles Luoma-Overstreet, said Tuesday that Ms. Williams was also able to meet with a senior member of Cuba’s Foreign Ministry for broader talks and was given the opportunity to tour a Cuban agricultural facility and areas affected by hurricanes in the Western province of Pinar del Río.
The talks were first reported by The Associated Press.
Mr. Luoma-Overstreet said Ms. Williams, an acting deputy assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs, was the highest-ranking State Department official to visit Cuba since 2002; in 2004, the Bush administration ended twice-a-year migration talks with Havana.
The Obama administration restarted those talks this year, hosting a Cuban delegation in New York. President Obama has also lifted Bush administration limits on remittances and travel for Cuban-Americans with relatives on the island.
Among other small but significant gestures, United States officials turned off an electronic sign that streamed anti-Castro messages on the windows of the United States Interests Section, the diplomatic complex Washington maintains in Havana. In return, Cuban officials lowered dozens of large black flags they had raised to block the view of the sign.
“Look at the momentum; look at the pace of these steps,” said Julia E. Sweig, a Cuba expert at the Council on Foreign Relations. “It’s a departure from many, many years of practice.”
State Department officials offered few details of Ms. Williams’s talks with Cuban authorities. And some played down the significance of the talks, in a nod to the political problems that changes in Cuban relations can create both here and in Havana.
Just before Ms. Williams traveled to Cuba, President Obama signed a one-year extension of the Trading With the Enemy Act, which is the law used to impose a trade embargo against Cuba.
And administration officials have repeatedly said they would not make any moves to ease the embargo until the Cuban government adopted democratic reforms.
“While neither side is saying what was discussed,” said Sarah Stephens, executive director of the Center for Democracy in the Americas, “I believe that the president has authorized these talks because he has a plan for bridging the chasm between Cuba and the United States that has existed for 50 years.
“This did not have to happen,” she added. “These talks are taking place because the president decided it’s the right thing to do.”
By MATTHEW LEE and PAUL HAVEN (AP)
NEW YORK — A senior American diplomat has held unannounced, high-level talks in Havana with the Cuban government, three State Department officials told The Associated Press on Tuesday, raising hopes for a thaw in long-icy relations.
The talks were the first of their kind in years between representatives of the U.S. and Cuban governments, the bitter Cold War rivals among whom trust appears to be gradually building.
Bisa Williams, the U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs, met with Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister Dagoberto Rodriguez, visited an area affected by hurricanes in the Western province of Pinar del Rio and toured a government agricultural facility during a six-day trip to Cuba this month, the officials told AP.
The meetings came on the heels of Sept. 17 talks on the possibility of restarting direct mail service between the countries, suspended since 1963. Those discussions had been public, but neither country had previously revealed that Williams remained in Havana for five extra days.
One U.S. official described the talks as "respectful" and said they were more significant for having taken place, than for any substantive breakthroughs between the two sides, which have been at odds since shortly after former Cuban leader Fidel Castro marched into Havana on New Year's Day 1959.
"We were going over ground we haven't gone over for a long time," said the official. "Each side was taking advantage of the opportunity to size each other up."
The official was not authorized to publicly discuss details of Williams' visit and spoke on condition of anonymity. The Cuban government did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
State Department spokesman Ian Kelly confirmed Williams remained in Cuba and met with officials after the postal talks, but offered few details.
"Williams met with host government officials and a wide range of representatives from civil society to gain a full appreciation of the political and economic situation on the ground," he told AP.
Kelly said Williams followed up on ongoing U.S.-Cuba migration talks, the next round of which he said are tentatively scheduled to take place in December. One of the officials said those talks were likely to be held in Havana.
The last time a senior U.S. official traveled to Cuba for talks of any kind was in 2002, but Williams' extended, wide-ranging and unpublicized trip here this month was different.
U.S.-Cuban relations have improved considerably since President Barack Obama took office in January, saying he was ready to extend a hand of friendship to America's traditional foes. In addition to the mail talks, Obama has loosened financial and travel restrictions on Americans with relatives on the island.
The Americans have also made other small but significant gestures — like turning off an electronic sign that had streamed anti-Castro messages from the windows of the U.S. Interests Section, which Washington maintains in Cuba instead of an embassy. The Cubans then took down dozens of large black flags they had set up nearby to block the view.
Cuban President Raul Castro and his brother, Fidel, have both had warm words for the American leader, with Fidel Castro last week praising Obama as courageous for taking on climate change.
Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez said Monday in a speech at the United Nations that the communist government is ready to normalize relations with its larger neighbor and will work with Washington in the meantime on other issues such as fighting drug smuggling.
He said Cuba has sought full diplomatic relations with the U.S. for decades and repeated Raul Castro's offer to sit down with Obama for a "respectful, arm's length dialogue with the United States, without overshadowing our independence, sovereignty and self-determination."
Cuba experts say it remains to be seen whether the diplomacy of small measures is a path to ultimately reaching agreement on core issues, though diplomats on both sides have privately voiced optimism.
Obama has left intact the 47-year trade embargo on the island, and U.S. officials have said for months that they would like to see the single-party state accept some political, economic and social changes.
Associated Press writer Paul Haven reported from Havana, Cuba.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5isn-A6X47PLC4dRexapk4yFMmbyQD9B17BEO0
***************************
September 30, 2009
U.S. Official Meets With Cuban Authorities
By GINGER THOMPSON, New York Times
WASHINGTON — In another sign of improving relations between Cuba and the United States, a senior State Department official has talked with high-level Cuban officials in Havana about a variety of issues, including ways to improve cooperation on migration and the fight against drug trafficking.
State Department officials said the main purpose of a trip two weeks ago by the official, Bisa Williams, was to discuss restarting mail service between the United States and the Communist-ruled country.
But a State Department spokesman, Charles Luoma-Overstreet, said Tuesday that Ms. Williams was also able to meet with a senior member of Cuba’s Foreign Ministry for broader talks and was given the opportunity to tour a Cuban agricultural facility and areas affected by hurricanes in the Western province of Pinar del Río.
The talks were first reported by The Associated Press.
Mr. Luoma-Overstreet said Ms. Williams, an acting deputy assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs, was the highest-ranking State Department official to visit Cuba since 2002; in 2004, the Bush administration ended twice-a-year migration talks with Havana.
The Obama administration restarted those talks this year, hosting a Cuban delegation in New York. President Obama has also lifted Bush administration limits on remittances and travel for Cuban-Americans with relatives on the island.
Among other small but significant gestures, United States officials turned off an electronic sign that streamed anti-Castro messages on the windows of the United States Interests Section, the diplomatic complex Washington maintains in Havana. In return, Cuban officials lowered dozens of large black flags they had raised to block the view of the sign.
“Look at the momentum; look at the pace of these steps,” said Julia E. Sweig, a Cuba expert at the Council on Foreign Relations. “It’s a departure from many, many years of practice.”
State Department officials offered few details of Ms. Williams’s talks with Cuban authorities. And some played down the significance of the talks, in a nod to the political problems that changes in Cuban relations can create both here and in Havana.
Just before Ms. Williams traveled to Cuba, President Obama signed a one-year extension of the Trading With the Enemy Act, which is the law used to impose a trade embargo against Cuba.
And administration officials have repeatedly said they would not make any moves to ease the embargo until the Cuban government adopted democratic reforms.
“While neither side is saying what was discussed,” said Sarah Stephens, executive director of the Center for Democracy in the Americas, “I believe that the president has authorized these talks because he has a plan for bridging the chasm between Cuba and the United States that has existed for 50 years.
“This did not have to happen,” she added. “These talks are taking place because the president decided it’s the right thing to do.”
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Punishment of Colorado Company for Embargo Violation
Department of Justice Press Release
For Immediate Release
September 17, 2009 United States Attorney's Office
District of Colorado
Contact: (303) 454-0100
Boulder Company Sentenced for "Trading with the Enemy"
DENVER—Platte River Associates, a Boulder company, was sentenced last week by Chief U.S. District Court Judge Wiley Y. Daniel to a fine of $14,500, for trading with the enemy, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the FBI announced. Platte River Associates was also ordered to pay a $400 special assessment to a victims of crime fund. The company had pled guilty through its corporate counsel to the trading with the enemy charge on October 3, 2008. They were originally charged by Information on July 15, 2008. They were sentenced on September 9, 2009.
In an unrelated case, the President of Platte River Associates, Jay E. Leonard, was sentenced to serve 12 months of supervised probation for unauthorized access of a protected computer. Leonard pled guilty on October 2, 2008, and was sentenced on December 16, 2008. He was originally charged with a misdemeanor in a separate Information on July 15, 2008.
According to the Information, as well as the stipulated facts contained in the plea agreements, Platte River Associates (PRA) sells software that aides in oil and gas exploration. On October 13, 1998, federal agents visited the Boulder office of PRA, putting them on notice that dealing either directly or indirectly with embargoed countries, including Cuba, is prohibited.
On August 1, 2000, a Spanish oil company called Repsol purchased PRA software. In October of 2000, a Repsol employee traveled to PRA’s Boulder office for software training. The Repsol representative brought with him data to be used in creating a model for oil and gas exploration on a laptop computer. PRA assigned a geologist to work with the Repsol employee. The Repsol employee told the geologist that the data being used for training was for a Cuban project. During the course of the training the president of PRA, Jay Leonard, learned that the data being used involved Cuban waters. There was no attempt on the part of PRA to stop providing the training. As the Repsol employee was leaving the United States, Customs seized his laptop computer. An analysis of the laptop revealed materials related to a potential Cuban project.
The Information charged the defendant corporation with providing specialized technical computer software and computer training, which was then used to create a model for the potential exploration and development of oil and gas within the territorial waters of Cuba, without first having obtained a license from the Secretary of the Treasury.
According to the Information charging Platte River Associates’ President Jay E. Leonard, as well as the stipulated facts in that plea agreement, on October 30, 2005, Leonard illegally accessed the website of Zetaware, an oil and gas exploration software company that is a direct competitor of Platte River Associates. During the intrusion, Zetaware’s password protected files were downloaded via a wireless computer network in the Houston, Texas International Airport. Subsequent analysis by the FBI confirmed that Leonard used PRA assets and resources to intentionally access Zetaware’s password-protected website without authorization, in an attempt to obtain confidential information.
On November 7, 2008, Leonard chaired a PRA staff meeting where he led a discussion about a tentative plan to exploit and unlawfully utilize the downloaded Zetaware files for economic gain.
The Information charged the defendant with using a wireless network connection to access a password protected computer website.
The Platte River Associates case was investigated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The Jay Leonard case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
“Trading with the enemy is a serious crime, and in this case, a Colorado company has been rightfully held accountable for committing that crime,” said United States Attorney David Gaouette.
“Preventing sensitive technologies and information from being exported to prohibited countries is a primary mission area for ICE,” said Jeffrey Copp, special agent in charge of the ICE Office of Investigations in Denver. “ICE uses its unique customs law enforcement authorities and investigation skills to ensure that these sensitive technologies don’t fall into the wrong hands.” Copp oversees a four-state area, which includes Colorado.
Both cases were prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Bob Mydans.
For Immediate Release
September 17, 2009 United States Attorney's Office
District of Colorado
Contact: (303) 454-0100
Boulder Company Sentenced for "Trading with the Enemy"
DENVER—Platte River Associates, a Boulder company, was sentenced last week by Chief U.S. District Court Judge Wiley Y. Daniel to a fine of $14,500, for trading with the enemy, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the FBI announced. Platte River Associates was also ordered to pay a $400 special assessment to a victims of crime fund. The company had pled guilty through its corporate counsel to the trading with the enemy charge on October 3, 2008. They were originally charged by Information on July 15, 2008. They were sentenced on September 9, 2009.
In an unrelated case, the President of Platte River Associates, Jay E. Leonard, was sentenced to serve 12 months of supervised probation for unauthorized access of a protected computer. Leonard pled guilty on October 2, 2008, and was sentenced on December 16, 2008. He was originally charged with a misdemeanor in a separate Information on July 15, 2008.
According to the Information, as well as the stipulated facts contained in the plea agreements, Platte River Associates (PRA) sells software that aides in oil and gas exploration. On October 13, 1998, federal agents visited the Boulder office of PRA, putting them on notice that dealing either directly or indirectly with embargoed countries, including Cuba, is prohibited.
On August 1, 2000, a Spanish oil company called Repsol purchased PRA software. In October of 2000, a Repsol employee traveled to PRA’s Boulder office for software training. The Repsol representative brought with him data to be used in creating a model for oil and gas exploration on a laptop computer. PRA assigned a geologist to work with the Repsol employee. The Repsol employee told the geologist that the data being used for training was for a Cuban project. During the course of the training the president of PRA, Jay Leonard, learned that the data being used involved Cuban waters. There was no attempt on the part of PRA to stop providing the training. As the Repsol employee was leaving the United States, Customs seized his laptop computer. An analysis of the laptop revealed materials related to a potential Cuban project.
The Information charged the defendant corporation with providing specialized technical computer software and computer training, which was then used to create a model for the potential exploration and development of oil and gas within the territorial waters of Cuba, without first having obtained a license from the Secretary of the Treasury.
According to the Information charging Platte River Associates’ President Jay E. Leonard, as well as the stipulated facts in that plea agreement, on October 30, 2005, Leonard illegally accessed the website of Zetaware, an oil and gas exploration software company that is a direct competitor of Platte River Associates. During the intrusion, Zetaware’s password protected files were downloaded via a wireless computer network in the Houston, Texas International Airport. Subsequent analysis by the FBI confirmed that Leonard used PRA assets and resources to intentionally access Zetaware’s password-protected website without authorization, in an attempt to obtain confidential information.
On November 7, 2008, Leonard chaired a PRA staff meeting where he led a discussion about a tentative plan to exploit and unlawfully utilize the downloaded Zetaware files for economic gain.
The Information charged the defendant with using a wireless network connection to access a password protected computer website.
The Platte River Associates case was investigated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The Jay Leonard case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
“Trading with the enemy is a serious crime, and in this case, a Colorado company has been rightfully held accountable for committing that crime,” said United States Attorney David Gaouette.
“Preventing sensitive technologies and information from being exported to prohibited countries is a primary mission area for ICE,” said Jeffrey Copp, special agent in charge of the ICE Office of Investigations in Denver. “ICE uses its unique customs law enforcement authorities and investigation skills to ensure that these sensitive technologies don’t fall into the wrong hands.” Copp oversees a four-state area, which includes Colorado.
Both cases were prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Bob Mydans.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
New Mexico governor makes "intriguing" Cuba visit
Mon Aug 24, 2009 8:11pm EDT
By Esteban Israel
HAVANA (Reuters) - New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, who has a history of diplomatic troubleshooting, may try to push U.S.-Cuba relations forward on what one expert called an "intriguing" visit to Cuba this week.
A spokeswoman in Santa Fe, New Mexico, said Richardson was to arrive in Havana on Monday and return home on Friday on a trip officially billed as a trade mission for New Mexico farm products.
A statement said the governor, who ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic presidential nomination last year, would be accompanied by several New Mexican officials whose primary aim is increasing the state's agricultural sales to the communist-led island.
Richardson, who was U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and energy secretary under President Bill Clinton, served as a special envoy on diplomatic missions to countries such as North Korea, Myanmar and Cuba.
In 1996, he met with then-Cuban leader Fidel Castro and negotiated the release of three political prisoners.
"His visit is intriguing because he has a record as a diplomatic troubleshooter. He knows Cuba, and he could play the same role for the Obama administration as President Clinton just played in North Korea," said Cuba expert Phil Peters of the Lexington Institute in Washington.
Earlier this month, Clinton went to North Korea on what was called a private humanitarian trip and procured the release of two U.S. journalists jailed on charges they entered the country illegally.
U.S. President Barack Obama has said he wants to "restart" long-hostile U.S.-Cuba relations and has eased the 47-year-old U.S. trade embargo against the island.
But he has said further lifting of the embargo will occur only if Cuba makes progress on political prisoners and human rights.
Cuba has said it is willing to discuss everything with the United States, but will make no unilateral concessions.
U.S. farm products are exempt from the embargo, which was imposed in 1962 in an attempt to undermine Castro, who transformed Cuba into a communist state after taking power in a 1959 revolution.
The New Mexico press release did not say with whom the delegation would meet. Richardson, it said, is paying his own expenses during the trip.
(Additional reporting by Jeff Franks; editing by Jeff Franks)
By Esteban Israel
HAVANA (Reuters) - New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, who has a history of diplomatic troubleshooting, may try to push U.S.-Cuba relations forward on what one expert called an "intriguing" visit to Cuba this week.
A spokeswoman in Santa Fe, New Mexico, said Richardson was to arrive in Havana on Monday and return home on Friday on a trip officially billed as a trade mission for New Mexico farm products.
A statement said the governor, who ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic presidential nomination last year, would be accompanied by several New Mexican officials whose primary aim is increasing the state's agricultural sales to the communist-led island.
Richardson, who was U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and energy secretary under President Bill Clinton, served as a special envoy on diplomatic missions to countries such as North Korea, Myanmar and Cuba.
In 1996, he met with then-Cuban leader Fidel Castro and negotiated the release of three political prisoners.
"His visit is intriguing because he has a record as a diplomatic troubleshooter. He knows Cuba, and he could play the same role for the Obama administration as President Clinton just played in North Korea," said Cuba expert Phil Peters of the Lexington Institute in Washington.
Earlier this month, Clinton went to North Korea on what was called a private humanitarian trip and procured the release of two U.S. journalists jailed on charges they entered the country illegally.
U.S. President Barack Obama has said he wants to "restart" long-hostile U.S.-Cuba relations and has eased the 47-year-old U.S. trade embargo against the island.
But he has said further lifting of the embargo will occur only if Cuba makes progress on political prisoners and human rights.
Cuba has said it is willing to discuss everything with the United States, but will make no unilateral concessions.
U.S. farm products are exempt from the embargo, which was imposed in 1962 in an attempt to undermine Castro, who transformed Cuba into a communist state after taking power in a 1959 revolution.
The New Mexico press release did not say with whom the delegation would meet. Richardson, it said, is paying his own expenses during the trip.
(Additional reporting by Jeff Franks; editing by Jeff Franks)
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