U.S. antiterrorist paranoia aimed at Cuba, other countries

Translated by Brian Schwarz

Originally published in the Cuban state-sponsored news source “Granma” (granma.cubaweb.cu) under the heading Paranoia antiterrorista de EE.UU. arremete contra Cuba y otros países. Pictured at right: Cuban President Raúl Castro

WASHINGTON, D.C. – As part of its antiterrorist paranoia, the U.S. government announced Sunday it will be reinforcing security measures at air terminals throughout the country. The new measures apply stricter controls to passengers arriving from 14 nations, Cuba among them, which Washington accuses of “terrorism supporters”.

North American authorities said the decision is part of a campaign to implement “long term, sustainable security measures”, according to new regulations of the U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA).

A high official declared to the AFP news agency [afp.com/afpcom/en] that the controls apply to all passengers who come from or have passed through 14 countries, which include, apart from Cuba, Iran, Sudan, and Syria, and other countries such as Afghanistan, Libya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Somalia and Yemen. The other countries have yet to be specified.

The desperate measure applies to all airlines, be they U.S. airlines or not, and will be effective in the U.S. as of Sunday at midnight.

A political website, which cites a high-ranking official from the Obama administration, also said that “100 percent of those passengers born in or who arrive from those countries will be subject to a rigorous body search and a manual inspection of their personal effects”.

According to U.S. authorities, in a DPA transmission, these procedures guarantee maximum air security in the country from this point forward.

The new supervisory measures will also include, “when necessary, the latest, most advanced detection and imaging technologies,” Europa Press added.

Cienfuegos Refinery completes annual production plan

Translated by Brian Schwarz

Originally published Friday, December 11, 2009 in "Cinco de Septiembre" (5septiembre.cu) under the heading Cumple Refinería de Cienfuegos plan anual de producción by Ramón Barreras Ferrán

[NOTE: Free press does not exist in Cuba, hence the “official” tone of this article.]

CIENFUEGOS, CUBA – In another demonstration that stability and efficiency are primary strengths of the Cienfuegos Petroleum Refinery since restarting operations, the plant’s annual production plan – which calls for more than 20.8 million barrels of processed crude – has been completed 11 days ahead of schedule.

That figure is expected to grow in the remaining days of December, bringing the number closer to 40 million barrels of processed crude. The new success of the Cuban-Venezuelan joint venture company, PDV-Cupet, which is charged with administration of the plant, makes for an excellent introduction to the next Summit of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA), the first diplomatic efforts for which began in Havana today.

In time, [the success of Cienfuegos plant] will be joined by the kick off of the plants that will form [the company] Polo Petrochemicals of Cienfuegos, the first of which will be POLIALBA, or the Polyethanol Bags Factory.

The project to increase capacity from 65,000 to 150,000 barrels of crude daily at the Camilo Cienfuegos Refinery now will successfully be under way.

As part of the anticipated investments in the expansion program, four new storage tanks are in the final phase of completion, thanks to the progress made by the builders using a designated automatic welding machine for making the five steel wrings that hold the structure together.

Currently, the plant has the capacity to store 4.2 million barrels. The new tanks will be essential to hold even more crude and to securely maintain finished products, such as aircraft fuel.

The expansion program has the possibility of increasing added value through profound conversion schemes and by obtaining prime materials for the petrochemicals industry, which will guarantee its economic viability.

Planned projects include reactivating the diesel hydrorefinery in order to improve production quality, completing a comprehensive study of the bay for the provision of crude and delivery of finished products in a secure manner, as well as the revitalization of the Matanzas-Cienfuegos oil pipeline.

The building of a liquid natural gas plant that would double the country’s current production capacity is also forecast.