Posted on Thu, Dec. 02, 2004
Kellogg Co. Explored Trade With Cuba
KEN GUGGENHEIM
Associated Press
WASHINGTON - As commerce secretary, Cuban-born Carlos Gutierrez would be expected to support President Bush's policies of blocking most trade with Fidel Castro's communist government.
Yet while Gutierrez was chief executive officer of Kellogg Co., the nation's largest cereal maker explored the possibility of doing business with Cuba, participating in a trade show in Havana in 2002.The Treasury Department permitted U.S. companies to attend the event, but the Bush administration made its disapproval clear.
It is not known whether Kellogg pursued trade with Cuba beyond attending the 2002 fair or whether Gutierrez was involved in the company's decision to go the event. Kellogg officials did not respond to requests this week for details.
The company's participation could lead to awkward questions at Gutierrez's Senate confirmation hearing as he defends the administration's position that trade with Cuba only aids Castro's authoritarian government.
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http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/world/10318390.htm(Free registration is required)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Posted on Wed, Dec. 01, 2004
Case dropped against Milwaukeeans who visit Cuba
Associated Press
MILWAUKEE - Milwaukeeans have expressed relief that the federal government has agreed to dismiss, without fines or penalties, the case against them for traveling to Cuba on a church mission without a license.
"It's been looming over our heads for five years," Dollora Greene-Evans said of word that a settlement had been signed by Administrative Law Judge Robert L. Barton Jr. in Washington, D.C.
She, along with William Ferguson Jr. and Theron Mills, faced an administrative hearing and possible fines of $7,500 each or more in connection with a 1999 trip to Cuba.
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The trio was among six members of the Central United Methodist Church who went to Havana to mark the 100th anniversary of its sister congregation, Iglesia Metodista Central de Trinidad.
The federal government contended the three violated the Cuban Assets Control Regulation because they spent U.S. money in Cuba without the necessary license from the U.S. government.
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http://www.duluthsuperior.com/mld/duluthsuperior/news/politics/10312321.htm