Regular commercial flights between Cuba and the U.S. officially resume
JetBlue airline flight 387 landed at Santa Clara’s Abel Santamaría International Airport at 10:56am, today August 31, thus marking the official resumption of regular commercial flights between Cuba and the U.S., suspended for over half a century

Author: Sergio Alejandro Gómez | informacion@granma.cu
Author: Ángel Freddy Pérez Cabrera | freddy@granma.cu
august 31, 2016 13:08:12

JetBlue airline flight 387 landed at Santa Clara’s Abel Santamaría International Airport at 10:56am, today August 31, thus marking the official resumption of regular commercial flights between Cuba and the U.S., suspended for over half a century.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx was among the 150 passengers onboard the Airbus A320 which flew the route between Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Santa Clara.
During his visit to Cuba, the U.S. official is scheduled to hold meetings with his Cuban counterpart and other authorities of the island, in Havana.
In addition to JetBlue, American Airlines, Frontier Airlines, Airways, Silver Airways, Southwest Airlines, and Sun Country Airlines, also received licenses to operate flights from six U.S. cities (Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Chicago, Minneapolis and Philadelphia) to nine destinations on the island: Camagüey, Cayo Coco, Cayo Largo, Cienfuegos, Holguín, Manzanillo, Matanzas, Santa Clara and Santiago de Cuba.
Beginning in September, JetBlue will fly Monday, Wednesday and Friday between Fort Lauderdale and Santa Clara, with the schedule set to increase to daily flights from October.
The first flight from Fort Lauderdale to Camagüey is scheduled to depart on November 3 and to Holguín on November 10.

Mutual compensation: a complex issue
Deputy Foreign Minister Abelardo Moreno describes second informative meeting between Cuba and the U.S. to discuss compensation claims by both parties
Author: Laura Bécquer Paseiro | laura@granma.cu
august 2, 2016 09:08:37

Photo: Jose M. Correa
During a press conference in Havana, yesterday August 1, Deputy Foreign Minister Abelardo Moreno described the second informative meeting between Cuba and the U.S. held in Washington, July 28, to discuss compensation claims by both parties.
Talks on mutual compensation, as part of the process of normalization of relations between the two countries, are currently in their initial stage, and of a highly complicated nature, technically and legally, explained Moreno, who led Cuba’s delegation to the meeting.
He recalled that since the very first nationalizations laws were established, after the triumph of the Revolution, Cuba has always been willing to compensate foreign individuals and companies affected.
Moreno noted that agreements regarding nationalized property were reached with Canada and five European countries some time ago. Plans with the United States for compensation included a defined time frame, but the actions of the U.S. government prevented their realization.
He clarified that the July 28 meeting involved an exchange of information, specifically on the two countries’ legal frameworks, giving continuity to a first meeting on the issue held in Havana in December of 2015.
No decision has been made regarding actual negotiations on compensation, but the exchange of information will continue over coming months, Moreno said.
He noted that many elements are involved in this discussion, most importantly the U.S. blockade which remains in full force. Cuba’s claims, originally presented in 1999 and 2000, are based on rulings made by Cuban courts placing the value of material and human damages caused by the blockade at 300 billion dollars.
Washington’s claims, Moreno reported, were established by the Justice Department’s Foreign Claims S

Pro-Cuba legislation inches forward in Congres
The debate over Cuba is gaining strength in the U.S. Congress, despite that fact that a year and a half after President Barack Obama called for lifting the blockade, no concrete steps have been taken
Author: Sergio Alejandro Gómez | informacion@granma.cu
june 27, 2016 11:06:49

Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) and Jeff Flake (R-Ari¬zona) are pushing through a bill to lift travel restrictions to Cuba in the U.S. Senate. Photo: www.article.wn.com Photo: Granma

The debate over Cuba is gaining strength in the U.S. Congress, despite that fact that a year and a half after President Barack Obama called for lifting the blockade, no concrete steps have been taken.
Last week, as part of the 2017 Financial Services and General Government Bill, the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee approved four amendments to remove restrictions on travel to Cuba; authorize private loans for the sale of agricultural products to the island; expand exports of equipment and telecommunications services; and allow airplanes from third countries flying to or from Cuba to refuel in the Bangor International Airport, in the state of Maine.

Continue reading Pro-Cuba legislation inches forward in Congress →