LATIN AMERICA REVIEW

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP88T00792R000100020038-6
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 33
• Document Creation Date: December 27, 2016
• Document Release Date: December 20, 2013
• Sequence Number: 38
• Publication Date: June 19, 1987
• Content Type: REPORT

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Latin America
Review
19 June 1987
--SeeFet,_
ALA LAR 87-014
19 June 1987
Copy 427
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Latin Ameni
Review
19 June 1987
Page
Articles
Colombia: Working To Sustain Growth
Despite the drop in international coffee prices since mid-1986,
Colombia's economy continues to perform well, and GDP growth
this year may come close to matching the 5.3-percent rise in 1986.
3
Jamaica: A PNP Without Manley
The question of whether opposition People's National Party leader
Michael Manley can recover from illness and effectively lead the
PNP into the national election and beyond hangs over the party's
future and is certain to have a major impact on political events in
Jamaica
Brazil-USSR: Growing Efforts at Technological Cooperation
Soviet efforts to increase scientific and technological cooperation
with Brazil have gained momentum in the past year. Brasilia is
responding cautiously, in the face of bureaucratic disagreements and
financial constraints.
Dominica: New Opportunities and Risks for Leftists
The leftist-dominated Labor Party of Dominica is gaining popular
support and may turn the momentum of a recent string of local
election victories into the stiffest challenge Prime Minister Charles
has faced since assuming office in 1980.
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ALA LAR 87-014
19 June 1987
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Briefs
Venezuela: Major Oil Find
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Cuba: New Hard Currency Restrictions
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Bolivia: Maneuvering for Succession
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Dominican Republic: High-Level Military Corruption
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Cuba Chronology
21
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Articles have been coordinated as appropriate with other offices
within CIA. Comments and queries regarding this publication may
be directed to the Chief, Production Ste, Office of African and
Latin American Analysis,
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ami CI
Latin America
Review
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Secret
ALA LAR 87-014
19 June 1987
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aetTel
Colombia: Working
To Sustain Growth
Despite the drop in international coffee prices since
mid-1986, Colombia's economy continues to perform
well, and GDP growth this year may come close to
matching the 5.3-percent rise in 1986. President
Barco's efforts to reduce Colombia's dependence on
coffee, to give the private sector a greater role in
shaping economic development, and to increase
foreign investment in the energy sector are keeping
the economy moving forward. Although insurgents
have temporarily disrupted the flow of oil through the
country's major pipeline this year, foreign investor
and lender confidence remains high. Bogota
successfully issued $50 million in floating rate notes in
the London market recently, and the government is
likely to gain up to $800 million in commercial bank
loans this year.
Laying the Groundwork
Barco, who took office last August, inherited an
economy strengthened by nearly two years of
domestic stabilization efforts and increased revenues
from coffee, oil, and coal exports. Tight limits on
government spending set by Barco's predecessor and
new taxes had cut the public deficit in half by 1985;
last year, it fell further, to 1.5 percent of GDP. Major
Colombian firms were able to refinance their foreign
debts in 1985, halting the erosion of foreign exchange
reserves. A reform begun in 1982 of the ailing
domestic financial system?which had suffered from
a lack of liquidity, widespread corruption, and insider
loans made by the banks?has left the banking sector
in its best shape in a decade.
Real GDP grew 5.3 percent in 1986, up from 2.3
percent in 1985, with the mining sector?mainly oil
and coal?leading the way. Increased oil production
from the Cano Limon field made the nation self-
sufficient by March 1986, and total production
increased 70 percent to an average of 300,000 barrels
per day. Coal production from El Cerrejon project
increased by 51 percent and gold production by 12
percent.
3
Coffee was also a major contributor to growth in
1986, with total sales of more than 10 million 60-kilo
bags?up 15 percent over 1985. The textile industry,
which began to revive in 1985, showed improved
performance in 1986?growing by 40 percent.
Contraband textiles from Panama and East Asia had
captured almost 30 percent of the local market during
1980-82, but this second-most important industry
(next to foodstuffs) was reinvigorated through
financial infusions, changes in market strategies, and
new technology.
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In 1986, soaring coffee prices, increased energy
exports, and lower world interest rates improved
Colombian external accounts, leading to the first
current account surplus since 1979. Coffee, which led 25X1
export gains, accounted for more than 50 percent of
total foreign sales.
Coping With Declining Coffee Earnings
This year, however, coffee prices have been cut nearly
in half. Combined with a falling volume of coffee
exports, the lower prices have caused earnings in the
first quarter of 1987 to drop more than $200 million
below the same period last year. Foreign exchange
reserves fell $211 million during the same period, but
the Finance Minister has stated that the country's
current $2.7 billion in reserves are adequate to sustain
GDP growth of 4 to 5 percent this year, and that
Colombia will continue to service its $13.5 billion
public-sector debt as long as commercial banks keep
their credit lines open. Nonetheless, in a
precautionary move, the Central Bank reportedly has
sold some of its gold holdings to increase the liquidity
of its reserves. Business and opposition leaders are
pressing Barco to review his debt policy, with an eye
to obtaining a debt rescheduling with lower interest
rates.
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ALA LAR 87-014
19 June 1987
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CCU CL
Colombia: Selected Economic
Indicators, 1982-87
Note scale change
Real GDP Growth Consumer Price Inflation
Percent
6
4.5
3
1.5
0
Money Supply Growth
Percent
24
22
20
18
16
Merchandise Imports, f.o.b.
Billion US $
6
Percent
32
24
16
8
0
Government Deficit
as a Share of GDP
Percent
6
4.5
3
1.5
0
Real Urban
Minimum Wage
Percent
28
4.5 21
14
1.5 7
0
1982 83 84 85 86a 87b 1982 83 84 85 86887b
a Estimated.
b Estimates assuming Bogota maintains
its stabilization program.
313058 6-87
Colombian Coffee: Price Trend,
1985-87 a
US $ per pound, New York market
2.4
1.8
1.2
0.6
It II
0 Sep Nov Jan Mar May Jul Sep Nov Jan Mar May
1985 1986
a Data for coffee prices through 21 May 1987.
1987
313059 6-87
Bogota is adjusting its trade policy to stimulate new
exports through the Export Promotion Fund, which
awards incentive payments to exporters of
nontraditional goods. At the same time, Barco's
administration has kept its monthly imports close to
$345 million, compared with $380 million per month
originally planned for 1987, although further
adjustments may be necessary. Although coffee prices
have dropped below the $1.30-per-pound level that
Bogota had projected for 1987, the Finance Minister
says that the decline will be partially offset by
increased exports of petroleum, coal, and
nontraditional products.
Outlook
US Embassy officials expect the economy to grow by
at least 4 percent in 1987. Manufacturing activity has
continued to grow at a 6-percent rate thus far this
year, and the Embassy expects this performance to
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Colombia: Balance of Payments, 1982-87
Million US $
(except where noted)
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986 .
1987b
Current account balance
-3,055
-3,003
-1,401
-1,220
597
-575
Trade balance
-2,244
-1,494
246
149
1,838
990
Exports, f.o.b.
3,114
2,970
4,273
3,883
5,638
5,130
Coffee
1,577
1,536
1,799
1,712
2,973
1,620
Oil
279
378
445
410
604
1,375
Coal
0
0
0
121
212
280
Imports, f.o.b.
5,358
4,464
4,027
3,734
3,800
4,140
Net services and transfers
-811
-1,509
-1,647
-1,369
-1,241
-1,565
Interest on debt
988
937
940
1,234
1,222
1,300
Debt amortization
336
636
704
645
908
1,000
Financial gap
-3,391
-3,639
-2,105
-1,865
-311
-1,575
Direct investment
337
514
561
728
679
500
New medium- and long-term
capital inflows (net)
1,322
983
1,278
1,330
1,751
1,900
Short-term capital and errors
and omissions (net)
1,732
2,142
266
-193
-2,119
-825
Other financial items
External debt (yearend)
9,528
10,554
11,611
12,847
14,989
15,513
Short term
3,109
2,872
2,230
1,966
2,000
2,000
Debt service ratio (percent) c
32
29
33
34
37
? 45
Foreign exchange reserves at
end of year d
3,861
1,901
1,364
1,595
2,696
2,300
. Estimated.
b Projection-assumes Bogota maintains its stabilization program.
c As a share of exports of goods and services.
d Excludes gold.
continue. Lower coffee prices have not yet resulted in
a real drop in income in the coffee-growing areas
because the government is supporting the domestic
producer price. Funded by Coffee Federation levies
made in years when prices were high, this pricing
policy will help keep production as well as the
domestic purchasing power at relatively high levels
this year.
Prospects for nontraditional exports are generally
good. Peso devaluations are making Colombian
manufactured goods, shrimp, and tobacco more
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competitive. Combined crude oil and coal exports are
expected to double to $1.7 billion this year, overtaking
coffee in the export earnings rankings.
To attract investment and technology in the computer
and related services sector, the government has
decided to make patent and trademark legislation
more effective. The Finance Minister told
international bankers this past spring that a bill with
eased terms for foreign participation and for debt-for-
equity swaps in the banking sector-an area
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Jamaica: A PNP
Without Manley
This article analyzes the near-term prospects for the
opposition People's National Party (PNP) in the even,
its leader, former Prime Minister Michael Manley, is
unable to resume his responsibilities because of
illness. The article speculates about the course that a
future PNP government might take without Manley
at the helm.
The question of whether Manley will return to
effectively lead the PNP into the national election anc
beyond hangs over the party's future and is certain to
have a major impact on political events in Jamaica.
many PNP officials fear Manley will
not have recovered sufficiently to undertake the kind
of rigorous campaign they think will be needed to
ensure victory over Prime Minister Edward Seaga and
his Jamaica Labor Party (JLP). Should Manley return
to power and become incapacitated or resign at some
point, we believe his departure could seriously
threaten the dominance of PNP moderates and
possibly lead to a resurgence of the party's radical
leftist wing.
The Campaign Period
Although reliable polls indicate the PNP is likely to
win the next election?which must be called by
December 1988?by 10 to 15 percentage points,
Manley's inability to return as a vigorous party leader
could, in our view, jeopardize the opposition's bid to
defeat Seaga. According to the US Embassy in
Kingston, infighting occurs typically in the PNP even
when Manley is fully in charge, but the party tends to
become badly divided and much less effective
politically when his firm leadership is absent.
9
Camera Press ?
Michael Manley, leader of
People's National Party
Manley's prolonged political inactivity or death
almost certainly would trigger debilitating party
infighting. PNP chairman
P. J. Patterson?a political moderate?has
temporarily consolidated his position as acting party
leader, but the party would not replace Manley unless
he died. We believe Manley's continued absence or
inactivity, however, could prompt radicals to make
strong bids for key party positions at the PNP annual
conference scheduled for September. In Manley's
absence, Patterson reportedly calculates he would
have the support of roughly 1,400 of the 2,000 voting
delegates at the conference.
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Nevertheless, leftists probably sense an opportunity to
regain influence lost following the party's massive
defeat in 1980. Many rank-and-file leftists reportedly
are backing Patterson's chief rival, Portia Simpson, as
successor to Manley.
some prominent leftists grudgingly assess Patterson as
more competent than Simpson and would support him
until they rebuild their own power bases in the party.
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19 June 1987
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A PNP Government
Even if Manley leads the PNP to victory in the
election, there is a reasonable chance that health and
other personal reasons might prompt him to step down
as Prime Minister before his five-year term ends.
moderate party leaders
and prominent leftists believe that a reelected
Manley, having achieved vindication for his electoral
loss to Seaga in 1980, would resign within two years.
Patterson no doubt would look for Manley to clear the
way for him to lead the party into the next election by
retiring at least a year before his term ends. Although
Manley favors Patterson as his eventual successor,
many party insiders believe that Manley's
Secret
endorsement is not enough to fend off strong
challenges from other contenders or radical factions,
As Prime Minister, Patterson would, in our view,
attempt to maintain the relatively moderate image
and policies developed by Manley in opposition.
Patterson's power base in
the party is the moderate wing of Manley loyalists
who reject the radical ideology adopted by the PNP in
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the 1970s. Patterson would
have difficulty changing political direction without
risking the support of this key group.
Despite the moderates' dominance of the party, we
believe that a PNP government?with or without
Manley?would adopt a more nonaligned foreign
policy. On the one hand, the Embassy says the PNP
does not want to antagonize the private sector or the
United States and would not seek to expand state
ownership or nationalization of business. On the other
hand, the party is on record as opposing the
Caribbean Basin Initiative and strongly criticizing US
policy in Central America.
Moreover, even though the current PNP leadership
understands the importance of friendly relations with
the United States, Embassy
reporting indicates a PNP government would
reestablish diplomatic ties to Cuba?broken by Seaga
in 1981?and allow Havana to reopen an embassy in
Kingston. The PNP and Cuba recognize the need to
be more cautious and subtle than in the 1970s in their
relationship, which would nevertheless be warm,
Should the radicals at
some point regain positions of power in the party?
a distinct possibility in the absence of Manley's
charismatic leadership?we believe the PNP's
relationship with Cuba would become much closer
and more open while relations with the United States
would be correspondingly cooler.
Reverse Blank
We also believe that the PNP would scale down the
close cooperation with Washington in
counternarcotics efforts pursued by the Seaga
government. Although the PNP and JLP probably
both receive some funding from drug traffickers,
drug kingpins
have increased their support to the opposition because
of the government's aggressive marijuana eradication
program. In our judgment, the PNP is unlikely to see
any political advantage to be gained at home by
maintaining the momentum of the widely unpopular
eradication efforts begun by Seaga. The result, in our
view, would be a rebounding of Jamaica's drug
industry and an increased flow of marijuana to the
United States regardless of who would lead a PNP
government.
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Brazil-USSR:
Growing Efforts at
Technological Cooperation
Soviet efforts to increase scientific and technological
cooperation with Brazil have gained momentum
during the past year. Exchange visits by scientists are
increasing and Moscow shows mounting interest in
acquiring Brazilian fiber optics and microcomputers.
Brasilia is responding cautiously, in the face of
bureaucratic disagreements and financial constraints.
We believe Brazil will continue to move carefully in
expanding technological cooperation, but increased
friction with the United States would strengthen
Brazilian nationalists, who advocate accelerating
scientific dealings with the Soviets.
New Soviet Overtures
Moscow stepped up its drive to promote a bilateral
exchange of technology in a meeting of the Brazilian-
Soviet Mixed Commission in Brasilia last April.
Soviet Interests
Although the Brazilians seem to favor restricting
technological cooperation to pure science, the Soviets
are interested in applied technology, especially fiber
optics and computer hardware.
Space Cooperation. Moscow continues efforts, begun
in 1984, to build ties to Brazilian space scientists. The
Brazilian press reports that two Soviet space scientists
visited Brazil last year and offered to supply rockets
for Brazilian telecommunications and research
satellites. According to the same press account, the
Bilateral Mixed Commission meeting in Moscow in
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late February assessed the possible installation of
Brazilian research equipment on the Soviet orbital
station MIR and Brazilian participation in the
manned Soviet space mission to Mars in 1992.
Fiber Optics. The Soviets are demonstrating a
growing interest in acquiring fiber-optic technology,
and two Brazilian companies are negotiating possible
sales agreements with the USSR. One firm is
negotiating the sale of terrestrial and submarine
cable,
deal is reportedly languishing because, in order to
fulfill the contract, the Brazilian company would need
to purchase fiber-optic cable in the United States or
elsewhere. The second company, ABC X-TAL, sells
telecommunications equipment to several East
European countries and is discussing the sale of
single-mode optical fiber to the Soviets. Although the
company is unable to export optic fibers, it is
expanding its domestic production capability to begin
exporting to the USSR and other foreign purchasers,
according to Embassy reports.
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Computer Technology. The USSR has encouraged
the Brazilian computer industry to participate in
Soviet-sponsored, high-tech expositions. The Soviet
Ambassador recently acknowledged his country's
intention to purchase Brazilian-made
microcomputers. Nevertheless, a push by the Soviets
for programs to promote an exchange of computer
technology has been unsuccessful,
Although the Soviet Union is a
potentially large market for Brazilian computers,
security and commercial considerations are likely to
impede Brasilia's willingness to authorize future
equipment sales by Brazilian businessmen.
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ALA LAR 87-014
19 June 1987
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The Future Brazilian Response
Brazilian self-interest will be the primary factor
guiding the pace and scope of future technology
transfers with the Soviet Union. We judge that, for
Brazil, the search for lucrative new export markets
and the desire to acquire inexpensive technology will
be the main factors in establishing parameters for
governing the exchange of applied technology with the
Soviets. Pure scientific cooperation so far has been
limited to a fairly small number of academic
exchanges. Financial constraints and a desire to
evaluate the findings from recent exchanges will
probably work to slow the future pace of scientific
cooperation.
Although most of the key Brazilian scientific
decisionmakers seem willing to move forward
cautiously, we believe the stridently anti-Communist
Brazilian military, through its representatives on the
National Security Council, will weigh in forcefully
against the transfer of what it deems sensitive
technology. The National Intelligence Service, for
example, reportedly favors restricting exchanges with
the Soviet Union to the pure sciences. We doubt the
military high command will authorize exchanges in
the area of applied science because of their potential
military or industrial application
The Ministry of Science and Technology, under the
direction of Renato Archer, will probably take the
lead in promoting increased cooperation. Archer, an
ardent nationalist and opponent of US efforts to alter
Brazil's market reserve policy on informatics,
probably supports increased cooperation with the
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Soviets partly to underscore Brazil's sovereignty in
deciding technology transfer issues. His trip to
Moscow last November was probably meant to signal
Brasilia's willingness to acquire technology
worldwide, despite ideological differences. Press
reports suggest that the leadership of the National
Council for Scientific and Technological Development
shares this motivation.
Implications for the United States
The likelihood of a visit to Brazil later this year by
Soviet Foreign Minister Shevardnadze will provide
additional opportunities for the USSR to push for
expanded scientific and technological cooperation.
Shevardnadze may find a more receptive ear should
tensions between Washington and Brasilia heighten
over trade disputes and Brazil's foreign debt. In this
event, we believe chances are good that nationalistic
elements in the Brazilian Government, supported by
jingoistic sectors in the Congress, would press hard for
accelerating technological trade with Moscow, and
that the ability of military leaders to act as
counterweights would be reduced. Moreover, the
country's businessmen would have a freer hand in
negotiating new deals. In such an environment, the
SNI could eventually face increased difficulty in
trying to monitor and prevent the trade diversions of
sensitive, applied technology.
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Dominica:
New Opportunities
and Risks for Leftists
The leftist-dominated Labor Party of Dominica (LPD)
is gaining popular support and may turn the
momentum of a recent string of local election victories
into the stiffest challenge Prime Minister Eugenia
Charles has faced since assuming office in 1980.' In
our view, aside from Michael Manley's People's
National Party in Jamaica, the LPD?which won 43
percent of the vote in the general election in 1985?
has the best chance of any leftist party in the
Caribbean region to come to power in the next few
years. The possible revelation of the party's close ties
to Libya and the Prime Minister's efforts to placate
organized labor, however, could jeopardize its
popularity
Opposition Strategy
Since ending an 18-month boycott of parliamentary
sessions last December, the LPD has focused its
efforts on winning seats on local councils as a first
step in its push toward the next general election,
mandated to be called by July 1990. Although the
five-member councils have little power, the US
Embassy in Bridgetown, Barbados, reports that the
results of local elections are often an indicator of the
popularity of a political party. The Embassy reports
that popular dissatisfaction with high rates of
unemployment?estimated by the Embassy at
between 20 and 25 percent?has helped LPD
candidates to sweep the seats in several local contests
since January.
In view of the Prime Minister's recent efforts to
outmaneuver the LPD, the opposition's strategy to
challenge her through local elections faces a crucial
test in July in Portsmouth, the hometown of brothers
Michael and Roosevelt (Rosie) Douglas, LPD leaders.
'The LPD was formed in 1985 by the merger of the former rulin
Dominica Labor Party and the United Dominica Labor Party
Although Portsmouth has been the principal power
base of Dominican labor parties for over 25 years,
Embassy officials report that a realignment of voting
districts in April, undertaken at Charles's instruction,
was designed to concentrate the voting strength of the
ruling Dominica Freedom Party (DFP) supporters.
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Potential Pitfall
Despite the LPD's recent gains, the party's close links
to Libya pose a serious threat to continued popular 25X1
acceptance of the LPD.
ties to Libya are at the center of a tactical
struggle between the party's radical and dominant
moderate leftist wings. 25X1
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The US Embassy
reports that LPD moderate leftists, led by Michael
Douglas, believe the best path to electoral victory is to
avoid alarming the traditionally conservative
Dominican populace. Michael Douglas's faction
reportedly is concerned?correctly, in our view?that
closer relations with Libya would alienate many
voters.
In an effort to limit potential damage to the party's
image, the LPD executive committee has attempted
to rein in Rosie.
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The LPD's near-total dependence on foreign funding
constrains the party's moderate leftists from forcing
Rosie to sever ties to Libya.
In a recent conversation with
US Embassy officials, Michael admitted the party
remains dependent on Rosie's fundraising because his
own efforts have failed to secure alternative financial
backing. Nevertheless, Michael stated that he met
secretly with a police official to request that two
additional LPD representatives Rosie planned to
dispatch to Tripoli in June be prevented from
departing Dominica.
Secret
Outlook
Disclosure of the placement of a permanent
representative in Libya, a distinct possibility, in our
view, would seriously harm the LPD's ability to
moderate its leftist image. Within the LPD, we
believe the revelation of Rosie's unilateral action
would underscore Michael Douglas's relative lack of
control over his brother and the small contingent of
extremists supporting him. For her part, the Prime
Minister almost certainly would use the knowledge of
the posting of an LPD member to Libya to try to sway
public opinion against the LPD. Moreover, we believe
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she could strike a serious blow to the unity of the
opposition party if she revealed Michael Douglas's
collusion with the police against members of his own
party
In addition to realigning the Portsmouth voting
district, the Prime Minister is taking other measures
to counter the LPD's recent gains and may be laying
the groundwork for an early election, according to the
US Embassy. Although relations between public
employees and the government?Dominica's largest
employer?appeared headed toward a confrontation
earlier this year over layoffs and salary issues, the
Embassy reports that the Prime Minister in April
announced a wage plan to regain civil servant votes.
Embassy reporting indicates that, in the months
ahead, Charles will be cautious about adopting any
austerity measures that would jeopardize
employment. The Prime Minister reportedly will have
some added leeway to try to alleviate the rate of
joblessness by implementing a number of small-scale
public works projects with new funds obtained from
the IMF and the World Bank.
17
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Major Venezuelan Oil Find
Aruba .
(Nets -
Netherlands Antilles
Meth.,
* CARACAS
P
El Furrial
oilfield ?
Martinique"'",
*CASTRIES
St. Lucia
KINGSTOWN*
St. Vincent and
the Grenadines
BRIDGETOWN'
* Grenada
ST.
GEORGE'S
Trinidad
and
rPORT- Tobago
SPAIN
Venezuela _
Venezuela
Colombia
Boundary representation is
not necessarily authoritative
Brazil
0
0
200 Kilometers
200 Miles
Secret
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Latin America
Briefs
Venezuela Major Oil Find
Cuba
The discovery of a large oilfield in eastern Venezuela may double that nation's
reserves of relatively valuable light crude and will probably enhance
creditworthiness, but Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)
constraints will limit near-term export prospects. Venezuelan petroleum officials
believe, on the basis of preliminary assessments, that recoverable crude could total
as much as 10 billion barrels, which would increase the nation's total proved
reserves by one-fifth.
The discovery provides Caracas a psychological lift at a time of economic
stagnation and balance-of-payments difficulties, but Venezuela is unlikely to
realize immediate financial benefits. Caracas is constrained under its OPEC
agreement to limit output below its existing production capacity. The find,
however, will bolster Venezuela's role as a major oil producer well into the 1990s
and could improve the confidence of international creditors in Caracas's economic
prospects.
New Hard Currency Restrictions
Cuba has introduced new measures requiring residents to trade in their foreign
exchange for government vouchers, according to press reports. Cubans use hard
currency acquired through remittances or foreign travel to buy consumer goods at
special hard currency stores or on the black market. The government vouchers will
be accepted at the hard currency stores; it is unclear if they will hold their value in
the underground economy. The government's acquisition of private hard currency
holdings will marginally improve Havana's reserve balances, and may also
enhance monitoring of black-market activity. Cuban citizens will almost certainly
see the new measure as yet another bureaucratic intrusion on their daily lives.
Bolivia Maneuvering for Succession
Rumors that President Paz has colon cancer are prompting several ambitious
opposition and ruling party leaders to begin maneuvering to succeed him. If Paz
were to depart the scene, Vice President Garrett would be first in the official line
of succession. His leftist leanings have made him unpopular with the military and
his own party, however, lessening his chances of serving as more than a stand-in
president.
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ALA LAR 87-014
19 June 1987
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both Garrett and Planning Minister Sanchez de Lozada?one
of Paz's most trusted advisers?have been seeking support in Congress and the
Cabinet,
If Paz leaves office suddenly, Garrett's lack of popularity makes a smooth
transition unlikely. Banzer, who provided stability and prosperity from 1971 to
1978, has support within the military and private sector. He would most likely be
the choice of the military if it had to step in and appoint a civilian president or call
an election. Bedregal, who has devised and implemented unilateral foreign policy
initiatives, often without Paz's knowledge, has backing from the left and labor that
could give him a chance at the presidency.
Dominican Republic High-Level Military Corruption
Widespread, high-level corruption in the Dominican military threatens to
undermine its ability to maintain civil order despite recent efforts to remedy this
problem by the country's most senior officer
skimming and other corrupt practices in the military continue to occur while
President Balaguer's administration levies highly publicized charges of graft
against the previous government. Press reports say Balaguer openly sanctions the
traditional practice of officers accepting a 10-percent commission on military
purchases as long as the bidding occurs openly.
continue to receive excessive benefits and
payoffs even though Secretary of State of Armed Forces Lt. Gen. Antonio Imbert
Barrera is refusing to sign routine requests for expenditures believed to be
fraudulent
Imbert most likely is following Balaguer's instruction to proceed cautiously
because the President believes that graft is so deeply ingrained that any sudden
change may be too disruptive.
officers are withholding information from Balaguer, suggesting to us that
corruption in the military is even more rampant than Balaguer believes. We judge
that Imbert's hesitancy to report fully, combined with budgetary constraints and
the dearth of well-trained officers, will substantially limit efforts to root out the
corruption.
If the graft remains unchecked, the armed forces, in our view, will have difficulty
improving their limited capability to respond effectively to the periodic civil
disturbances that are likely to ensue as popular discontent with the economy grows
in the coming months. Corruption and concern with personal gain have helped to
create inertia at the highest levels of the Dominican military and have deterred it
from putting much-needed effort into increasing professionalism in the officers
corps,
at the top in the armed forces has made the military ill prepared to handle
protracted urban unrest or acts of terrorism
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aet:f CI
Cuba Chronology
March 1987
I March
Soviet CPSU Politburo member B. N. Yel'tsin heads a delegation that arrives in
Havana en route to Nicaragua. He is met at the airport by Carlos Rafael
Rodriguez. Fidel and Raul Castro discuss social and economic developments with
Yel'tsin.
Soviet Army General A. D. Lizichev, chief of the main political directorate of the
Soviet army and Navy arrives in Havana on a working visit. He meets with
division Gen. Ulises Rosales del Toro.
Pravda reports that V. K. Gusev, First Deputy Chief of the CPSU Central
Committee for Trade and Consumer Services, headed a delegation of party
workers visiting Cuba from 18 to 27 February to discuss social problems and party
leadership.
2 March Cuba and Canada sign a fishing agreement that will keep the fishing quota
Canada assigns the Cuban fleet unchanged from last year.
3 March
4 March
Vice President of the National Assembly Severo Aguirre del Cristo heads a
delegation of the People's Government departing for P'yongyang to attend a
consultative meeting from 6 to 10 March.
Politburo member Jorge Risquet receives Silvet Frichot, a member of the
Seychelles People's Progressive Front, to discuss the international situation and
bilateral relations.
Havana Radio Reloj reports a low rate of sugar production in Matanzas Province
during February. Yields diminished, losses increased, and sugarcane harvest is
late.
Havana Radio Reloj reports that audits by the State Committee for Finance show
low productivity, singling out the Ministry of the Steelworking Industry.
Interior Ministry Brig. Gen. Luis Felipe Denis Diaz dies at age 53. He was the
former Deputy Chief of the Central Committee of the Military Department of the
Cuban Communist Party.
Dr. Herbert Weiz, Deputy Chairman of the East German Council of Ministers,
receives Ismael Clark, head of the Cuban delegation to the 18th session of the
subcommission for scientific-technical cooperation.
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aCCFCIL
5 March
6 March
Vilma Espin, president of the National Social Prevention and Attention
Commission, reports a gradual decrease in crime in 1986. Recreational options for
youth will include opening 3,000 dance locations and nine video halls.
Soviet CPSU member Yel'tsin arrive? back in Havana from Nicaragua and is
greeted at the airport by Fidel Castro. Members of his delegation tour Havana and
later depart for Moscow.
At the UN meeting in Geneva, Raul Roa Kouri, head of the Cuban delegation to
the 43rd session of the UN Commission on Human Rights, says the US never
respected human rights in its international relations and even in its own territory.
At a news conference in Havana, Minister of Construction Levi Farah says that
60,000 tons of white cement?which is currently imported?will become available
annually when a production line in Siguaney, Sancti Spiritus, becomes operational.
Uruguayan Foreign Minister Enrique Iglesias arrives in Havana and is greeted at
the airport by Foreign Minister Malmierca and Deputy Foreign Minister Alarcon.
Malmierca and Iglesias discuss bilateral relations.
National Coordinator of the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution
Armando Acosta arrives in Berlin to discuss bilateral relations.
Vice Minister of the Fishing Industry Enrique Oltuski reports that Mexico and
Cuba are conducting negotiations to maximize exploitation of their common
fishing waters.
Uruguayan General Director of Foreign Trade Isidoro Onara heads a special
mission to Havana to explore mutual exchange possibilities.
Foreign Ministers Malmierca and Iglesias sign an economic, industrial, scientific,
and technical cooperation agreement. The Cuban-Uruguayan protocol has a five-
year term, which can be extended without another agreement.
Carlos Rafael Rodriguez receives Uruguayan Foreign Minister Iglesias to discuss
bilateral relations and economic matters.
Fidel Castro presides over the honorary committee for the Third International
Medical Technology Fair: Health for All. The fair will take place from 23 to 30
April and will inaugurate the Palace of Conventions exhibit hall.
7 March Raul Castro and Div. Gens. Rogelio Acevedo Gonzalez and Sixto Batista Santana
meet with Soviet General Lizichev, who visits Guantanamo and Holguin.
Soviet General Lizichev and Division General Rogelio Acevedo exchange views on
the Communist party's political work in their respective armed forces, stressing the
importance of political work in combat readiness.
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8 March
9 March
10 March
11 March
Uruguayan Senate Vice President Jose Battle expresses his satisfaction with a
meeting with Fidel Castro in which they exchanged views for more than four
hours.
Havana Radio reports that Uruguayan legislators and their Cuban counterparts
reached significant agreements with Flavio Bravo on the Latin American foreign
debt, the need for a new international economic order, and the Central American
crisis.
Dominican President Joaquin Balaguer, speaking with agricultural producers in
Palmar de Ocoa, expresses his admiration for Fidel Castro and announces his
country will continue in cultural and sports exchanges with Cuba.
Havana Radio Periodico del Aire reports that Uruguayan Foreign Minister
Iglesias said he and Fidel Castro discussed the foreign debt, economic problems,
and the Central American situation, on which they have similar positions.
Vice Foreign Minister Raul Roa Kouri reports to the Spanish press EFE that
Cuba is confident that Latin America will not yield to US maneuvers and
pressures to approve an anti-Cuban resolution at the UN meeting on human rights
in Geneva.
Foreign Minister Malmierca delivers a message of greetings from Fidel Castro to
Guyanese President Desmond Hoyte.
The Uruguayan trade delegation signs a declaration with Cuba. Cuba will import
Uruguayan canned meat, frozen poultry, and PVC compound, and a joint project
is planned in 1987 between the Cuban and Uruguayan tobacco enterprises.
The Politburo of the Communist Party approves a national nutrition program to
promote an adequate diet for the people. The Ministry of Public Health is the
program coordinator.
Politburo member Jorge Risquet represents Cuba at the Soviet-Angolan-Cuban
meeting in Moscow during which the international situation, particularly South
Africa, is discussed. Unconditional solidarity with the ANC and SWAPO are
expressed.
The Interior Ministry reports the attempted hijacking to the United States of
Cubana Airlines Flight 706 departing from Rancho Boyeros Airport to Nueva
Gerona, Isle of Youth. The would-be hijacker, Juan Carlos Jimenez Gonzalez, is
killed.
Politburo member Jorge Risquet meets in Moscow with Anatoliy Dobrynin to
discuss the international situation and Soviet-Cuban cooperation.
23
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%.
12 March
13 March
Culture Minister Armando Hart meets in Havana with Italian Under Secretary
for Foreign Affairs Agnelli, who is in Cuba presiding over the Italian delegation to
the fifth Bilateral Economic-Industrial Meeting.
Vilma Espin, Jaime Crombet, and Fidel Castro Diaz-Balart attend the opening of
a food radiation plant, the only one of its kind in Cuba and in the Caribbean. Cuba
is the 10th country in the world capable of radiating goods at a commercial level.
Fidel Castro visits the Camaguey School of Medical Sciences, where he receives a
report on the progress of the educational center and the Carlos J. Finlay
detachment. He speaks with a variety of students attending the institute.
In Guyana, Foreign Minister Malmierca speaks on behalf of Latin America and
the Caribbean, calling on the United States to give due respect to the peoples who
struggle for their total independence, and to cease its policy of hostility toward
Nicaragua.
Cuban Ambassador to Ankara, I. Tapanes Vento, says "There are no Cuban
soldiers or advisers in Syria. If any, there may be Cuban personnel such as doctors,
engineers, or nurses."
Havana Radio Progreso reports that representatives from the USSR, Poland,
Czechoslovakia, and Cuba have signed in Havana a cooperation agreement for the
steel industry.
14 March North Korea's Foreign Minister Kim Yong-nam meets with ICAP President Rene
Rodriguez Cruz.
15 March Fidel Castro tells Veja reporters that present-day Latin America is different from
that of the 1960s because it is no longer dragged along by the United States.
16 March
On Uruguayan TV, Fidel Castro underscores the enormous importance of the
Soviet peace program, stressing that CPSU General Secretary Gorbachev is being
especially responsible, as the leader of a great nation should.
A cooperation agreement between the state arbitration organs of Cuba and
Bulgaria is signed at the Bulgarian Embassy in Havana. The agreement will
strengthen the juridical system in the two countries' socialist economies.
On Uruguayan TV, Fidel Castro speaks of the Third World's unpayable and
irrecoverable foreign debt and he reiterates his support for Brazil's decision to
suspend interest payments on its foreign debt for an indefinite period of time.
Brazilian Foreign Minister Roberto de Abreu Sodre visits Cuba. Sodre is the first
Brazilian Foreign Minister to make an official visit to Cuba since relations were
broken in 1964.
Secret 24
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17 March
Foreign Ministers Malmierca and Sodre discuss bilateral relations, the
international situation, the foreign debt, and the Central American conflict.
Jozef Czyrek, member of the Politburo and Secretary of the Polish United
Worker's Party, arrives in Havana and is welcomed by Politburo member Jorge
Risquet.
Foreign Minister Malmierca and Minister of External Relations and Cooperation
of Burkina Leandre Bassolet meet in Havana to discuss bilateral relations, the
activities of the Nonaligned ministerial meeting held in Guyana, and the
international situation.
Foreign Trade Minister Ca brisas meets with Brazilian Foreign Minister -Abreu
Sodre to discuss topics of mutual interest and expanding ties between the two
governments.
Fidel Castro, accompanied by Brazilian Foreign Minister Abreu Sodre, lays the
cornerstone for the future Brazilian Embassy, located in Miramar. The
ambassador's residence will be in Cubanacan.
Carlos Rafael Rodriguez receives Abreu Sodre, who conveys a message from
President Jose Sarney. Sodre says his trip to Cuba is characterized by a feeling of
reencounter between the two peoples.
Fidel Castro and Zimbabwean Foreign Minister Mangwende discuss the situation
in southern Africa, reaffirming Cuba's and Zimbabwe's determination to step up
the struggle against the apartheid regime.
Havana press reports that a thermoelectric plant being built on the outskirts of
Matanzas with the cooperation of French experts is nearing completion. The plant
will be the largest one in Cuba, costing nearly $200 million.
Ethiopian Foreign Minister Berhanu Bayih is met at the Havana airport by
Politburo member Jorge Risquet. Berhanu and Foreign Minister Malmierca
discuss bilateral relations, Central America, and international affairs.
Cuban scientists visit Brazil for the first time to tour facilities that manufacture
vaccines and serums. The Cuba Scientific Investigations Center is preparing to
supply Brazil with immunological material.
Cuban Ambassador to Ankara Israel Tapanes Vento terms the allegations in
publications, especially in Tercuman, of Cuban trainers in Syrian terrorist camps
as nonsensical and entirely false. He says there are no Cuban soldiers or advisers in
Syria.
Fidel Castro receives Burkinan Foreign Minister Bassolet to discuss the
international situation, the results of the ministerial meeting in Guyana, and the
evolution of relations and cooperation between the two countries.
25
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v
18 March
19 March
Isidoro Malmierca and Abreu Sodre sign an agreement for scientific-technical and
technological cooperation and a memorandum for the establishment of an ad hoc
commission to review standing legal documents pertaining to Cuba and Brazil.
Havana Radio Reloj announces that Cuba has donated 18 tons of foodstuffs to the
75,000 Ecuadorean people left homeless as a result of the earthquakes that struck
two weeks ago.
Fidel Castro receives Ethiopian Foreign Minister Berhanu Bayih. Berhanu
conveys a message to Fidel from President Mengistu Haile-Mariam.
Div. Gens. Senen Casas, Sixto Batista, and Rafael Valdes chair the first national
meeting on the methods of the new military recruitment system in Ciego de Avila
Province.
Jesus Escandel, secretary for international relations of the Central Organization of
Cuban Trade Unions, meets in Mexico City with Mexican trade union leaders to
discuss bilateral cooperation.
Foreign Ministers Malmierca and Bassolet sign a protocol for 1987-89 that will
provide increased cooperation in culture, education, and sports. The agreement
includes resources to establish a field school to train young Burkinan students.
The joint Spanish-Cuban Economic and Industrial Commission begins its third
round of talks in Havana at the Sierra Maestra Hotel. Miguel Angel Fernandez
Ordonez of Spain and Ernesto Melendez preside.
Fidel Castro meets with Brazilian journalists in Havana. He tells them that his ties
to Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev are excellent, but that the road chosen by
Gorbachev does not necessarily apply to Cuba.
Fidel Castro tells Brazilian journalists that the Third World as a whole, not only
Latin America, is in no condition to pay its foreign debt. He also says there are no
dissidents imprisoned in Cuba.
Politburo member Jorge Risquet meets North Korea's Foreign Minister Kim
Yong-nam to discuss bilateral relations, the international situation, and the recent
meeting of the Cooperating Bureau of the NAM on Latin America and the
Caribbean in Guyana.
Vice Foreign Minister Mazola accompanies Ethiopian Foreign Minster Berhanu
Bayih to Santiago de Cuba, where they visit the Siboney farm and Moncada
Barracks as well as the 300 Ethiopian students studying at Oriente University and
the Higher Institute of Medical Sciences.
Julius Nyerere, former President of Tanzania and President of the Chama Cha
Mapinduzi Party (Revolutionary Party of Tanzania) visits Cuba and is greeted at
the airport by Fidel Castro.
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20 March
21 March
22 March
East Germany's Minister of Foreign Trade Gerhard Beil receives Deputy Foreign
Minister of Foreign Trade Jose de la Fuente to discuss the commodity exchange in
1987 and the implementation of cooperation projects in the field of light industry.
Fidel Castro and Kim Yong-nam discuss economic cooperation and preparations
for the meeting of representatives of nonaligned countries to be held in P'yongyang
in June.
The delegation of the State Planning Commission, headed by Polish Vice Premier
Manfred Gorywoda, ends talks with the Central Planning Board. Economic
cooperation and trade exchange in the years 1986 to 1990 were discussed.
Vice Premier Gorywoda is received by Carlos Rafael Rodriguez and Vice
President of the Council of Ministers Osmani Cienfuegos to discuss deepening
economic cooperation.
President of the opposition Dominican Revolutionary Party Dr. Jose Francisco
Pena Gomez heads a 111-member delegation that arrives in Havana to visit areas
of economic, social, and historic interest.
Havana Tele-Rebelde reports that a French construction firm will begin building a
deepwater harbor at Matanzas Bay that will have a capacity to service ships of
150,000 tons.
Politburo member Jorge Risquet and Yasin al-Basri, head of the Beth Party
National Command Foreign Relations Bureau, sign cooperation accords for 1987
and 1988 between the PCC and the Iraqi party.
Mohamed Cherif Messaadia, member of the Politburo of the National Liberation
Front Party of Algeria, arrives in Cuba for an official visit and meets with Raul
Castro to discuss the current international situation and bilateral relations.
Soviet Foreign Minister Shevardnadze receives Deputy Foreign Minister of Cuba
Jose Viera in Moscow to discuss international issues of mutual interest and
bilateral relations.
Radio Progreso reports that the 1986 mortality rate caused by infectious and
parasitic diseases has dropped to 1.5 percent. The infant mortality rate was 13.6
percent per every 1,000 live births?a 50-percent drop in the last 11 years.
Minister of Higher Education Fernando Vecino Alegret receives Jose Francisco
Pena Gomez. Alegret explains that Cuba has 14 higher education centers and 32
other organizations and approximately 300,000 university students.
27
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OM' CI
Foreign Trade Minister Ricardo Cabrisas meets in Havana with Beergoonath
Ghurburrun, Mauritian Trade and Navigation Minister, to discuss establishing
trade relations.
23 March Fidel Castro presides over the opening session of the Sixth Conference of the Latin
American and Caribbean Planning Ministers and Chiefs.
? 24 March
Foreign Minister Malmierca and PLO official Faruq Qaddumi discuss the
Nonaligned Movement, the meeting of the Committee of the Nine for Palestine to
be held in April, and the Central American situation, particularly US aggression
toward Nicaragua.
Fidel Castro and Julius Nyerere examine Third World problems, particularly
those in connection with industrialized countries, and Castro reiterates that Cuba
supports everything involving the work of the South-South Commission.
Raul Castro receives a delegation headed by Petr Slezko, Soviet CPSU member
and First Deputy Chief of the Propaganda Department, to discuss ideological
work.
Minister President of the State Committee for Economic Cooperation Ernesto
Melendez arrives in Georgetown to attend the 12th session of the Cuba-Guyana
Intergovernmental Mixed Commission meeting being held from 18 to 25 March.
Carlos Rafael Rodriguez and Pedro Miret greet Gunther Kleiber, Politburo
member of the German Socialist Unity Party. Kleiber will visit places of economic
and social interest while in Cuba.
Chief of the PLO Political Department Faruq Qaddumi lectures at the African
and Middle East Center, demanding that a UN-sponsored international meeting
be held to solve the Palestine problem.
Transport Minister Diodes Torralba Gonzalez arrives in Brazil for a nine-day
visit, meeting with his counterpart Jose Reinaldo. Torralba says his visit may pave
the way for the purchase of $15 million in equipment.
Algerian official Mohamed Cherif Messaadia and Jorge Risquet begin official
talks on the international political situation. Messaadia visits the Hermanos
Ameijeiras Hospital and the Nino Lopez National School of the Communist Party
of Cuba in Havana.
Cuba and the USSR sign a 10-year intergovernmental agreement for the
exploitation of the Yavarov forests in the Soviet Union. Cuban construction
workers are living in the area of Yavarov.
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acute'
25 March
The Cuban delegation to the first Latin American and Caribbean
Interparliamentary Conference on the Environment condemns the arms race.
Blanco Fong Lam, head of Cuba's delegation, reports Cuban life expectancy is
74.2 years.
Fidel Castro meets with the heads of the delegations attending the Sixth
Conference of the Latin American and Caribbean Planning Ministers and Chiefs
to discuss economic problems and Cuba's economic and political development.
Vice Minister of Communications Manuel Garcia Fernandez tells journalists in
Brazil that Brazil will participate with the USSR, East Germany, Yugoslavia, and
Hungary in installing 130,000 new telephone lines in Cuba.
First Vice Minister Jose Viera meets with his Soviet counterparts Yuriy Volskiy
and Anatoliy Kovalev to discuss strengthening cooperation. Viera also meets with
Deputy Foreign Minister Loginov and Collegium member Vladimir Petrovskiy.
PLO official Faruq Qaddumi meets with Carlos Rafael Rodriguez, Interior
Minister Abrantes, and ICAP President Rene Rodriguez. At the end of his visit to
Cuba, Qaddumi describes PLO-Cuba ties as solid.
A 1987-88 protocol is signed in Havana by Jorge Risquet and Mohamed Cherif
Messaadia in order to expand Cuban-Algerian ties and provide for the exchange of
expertise.
CEMA support to the industrial development of Vietnam, Cuba, and Mongolia
represents one of the main topics on the work agenda of the CEMA Machine
Building meetings. Fidel Castro meets with the delegates attending the meetings.
Fidel Castro meets with the Director of the Pan American Health Organization,
Dr. Guerra de Massedo, to discuss the family physician program.
The presidents of the Cuban-Bulgarian Intergovernmental Commission for
Economic, Scientific, and Technical Cooperation Antonio Esquivel Yedra and
Andrey Lukanov meet in Havana to discuss cooperation in the field of machine
building.
26 March Fidel Castro and Mohamed Cherif Messaadia, member of the Politburo of the
National Liberation Front Party of Algeria, meet.
Fidel Castro receives East German official Gunther Kleiber who conveys a
personal message from Erich Honecker, General Secretary of the SED Central
Committee. Domestic and foreign policy issues were also discussed.
Fidel Castro, Carlos Rafael Rodriguez, and East German official Gunther Kleiber
attend the inauguration of a knitting mill in eastern Havana. Fidel talks with
workers and leaders of the mill.
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27 March
28 March
29 March
Soviet CPSU Politburo member Viktor Chebrikov, who is also chairman of the
USSR Committee for State Security, arrives in Havana and is met at the airport
by Raul Castro and Div. Gen. Jose Abrantes Fernandez.
Soviet CPSU Central Committee member Carlos Rafael Rodriguez meets in
Havana with Aleksey K. Antonov to ..:xchange opinions on several matters related
to multilateral cooperation among CEMA countries.
Carlos Rafael Rodriguez and Gunther Kleiber sign an economic protocol on
further instances of cooperation, such as the setting up of a brewery and a plant for
the production of basic materials for chipboard manufacture in Cuba.
Raul Castro, Jorge Risquet, and Jozef Czyrek, member of the Political Bureau of
the Polish Communist Party, exchange views on the international situation and
express satisfaction over the development of Polish-Cuban relations.
Economic Cooperation Minister Ernesto Melendez signs a new trade agreement
with Guyana at a joint commission meeting in Georgetown. Cuba will also
increase the presence of its medical personnel.
Fidel Castro meets in Havana with Dominican Technical Secretary of the
Presidency Guillermo Caram to discuss the international economic situation,
especially in Latin America.
Fidel Castro meets in Havana with Andres Franco Montoro, former governor of
Sao Paulo, Brazil, to discuss the international economic situation, especially in
Latin America.
UNITA rebels say they attacked and destroyed a Cuban military base near the
central city of Huambo on 16 March, killing 15 Cuban soldiers, according to a
statement distributed in Lisbon.
Guyana's President Desmond Hoyte says in Caracas that his country has had
cordial economic, diplomatic, and political relations with Cuba since 1972, and
adds that these will increase.
Soviet official Viktor Chebrikov explains to Fidel Castro the restructuring process
that is taking place at all levels in the USSR. Relations between the US and the
USSR and the situation in Latin America are also discussed.
President of the South-West African People's Organization Sam Nujoma arrives
in Havana and is welcomed by Jorge Risquet. Nujoma says South Africa has
heightened actions against Namibia by using biological warfare.
Foreign Minister Malmierca greets Olympic Committee Chairman, al-Shai Jabat
Radmud. A sports agreement is signed to assist Kuwait in basketball, water polo,
volleyball, and boxing.
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ov?irt
30 March
31 March
Nairobi press reports that Ugandan President Museveni is looking to Libya and
Cuba for arms and military assistance. A first group of 50 to 100 Cuban advisers
is said to have arrived recently, according to reliable sources in London.
Politburo member Jorge Risquet welcomes Yugoslav Central Committee member
Marko Orlandic. They discuss the need to further strengthen Communist party
and political relations, international issues, and the Nonaligned Movement.
Deputy Foreign Minister Alarcon complains at a news conference of the US
refusal to grant visas to Cubans who were invited to participate in the Antillean
meeting marking the 84th anniversary of the founding of the University of Puerto
Rico.
Jorge Risquet reiterates Cuba's decision to remain in Angola as long as the
Government of Angola considers it necessary, at a ceremony commemorating the
11th anniversary of the Angolan victory over South Africa.
Fidel Castro accompanies Viktor Chebrikov on a tour of the Institute of Genetic
Engineering and Biotechnology, the Institute of Tropical Medicine, the Exact
Sciences Institute, and the Los Naranjos Genetic Enterprise.
Sam Nujoma visits the Isle of Youth. He is greeted by almost 1,200 Namibian
children studying there.
UN Secretary General Javier Perez de Cuellar reports that Cuba is appointed,
among other countries of the international community, to compose the
intergovernmental group in charge of monitoring the South African oil embargo.
The sixth meeting of the joint CEMA-Mexico Cooperation Commission is held in
Havana for the first time. Cooperation in agriculture, fisheries, industrial
development, and foreign trade is discussed, and a cooperation agreement is
signed.
Cuba and Cape Verde sign a trade protocol on goods and services for the period
from 1987-90. The agreement includes partial compensation and a memorandum
of understanding.
Some 100 Cuban fishermen, technicians, and operators return home from Peru
after a long stay. Cuba sent boats with full crews to Peru to carry out the social
project resulting from an agreement.
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