Wednesday, December 7, 2011

And dumber still (Updated)

The Hilton in Port of Spain, owned by the Trinidadian government and managed by the U.S. company, was to be the venue for tomorrow’s Cuba-Caricom summit. But such a use would involve “services that benefit the Cuban government” contrary to U.S. embargo regulations, so Hilton sought a license from the Treasury Department. The request was turned down and the summit will be moved. Local stories here and here.

Update (12/8): The U.S. Embassy in Port of Spain says Treasury didn’t make a decision on the license application, which was received November 28, so it is wrong to say that the application was rejected. In fact, the U.S. spokesman says, the application is “pending.” The summit is today.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

OMG. Sometimes its really embarassing to be a citizen of this country. Neo-imperialsim 'rears its head'. This hilton episode highlights our overall sick approach to world affairs. Consider , for example, the hyperbolic/mean-spirited US response to Putin and mostly real elections in Russia. No other country in the world had such a tone with russia (or cuba).

Phil Peters said...

"Mostly real?"