http://cubamoneyproject.org/?p=960
Cuban companies snag $1-million-plus in U.S. funds<http://cubamoneyproject.org/?p=960>Filed under News <http://cubamoneyproject.org/?category_name=news>, Where the $ goes <http://cubamoneyproject.org/?category_name=where-the-goes> {no comments <http://cubamoneyproject.org/?p=960#commentlist>} The U.S. government has spent nearly $1 billion in Cuba since 2000. More than $1 million went directly to Cuban government-operated companies, but most of the American tax dollars were spent at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, or Gitmo <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guantanamo_Bay_Naval_Base>, where detainees from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are kept. These U.S. government expenses, found at FedSpending.org<http://www.fedspending.org/>, include: - $880,209 for intelligence services (this contract went to Zel Technologies Inc <http://www.zeltech.com/>, which describes its intelligence services here <http://www.zeltech.com/Intelligence.asp>). - $479,394 for quick reaction capability equipment, electronic countermeasures and counter-countermeasures (not a misprint: its counter-countermeasures) - $362,711 for maintenance, repair or alteration of tunnels and below-ground structures - $136,533 for special purpose clothing - $104,187 for night vision equipment - $71,530 for hazard-detecting instruments - $70,797 for combat, assault and tactical vehicles - $29,177 for guns, up to 30 mm U.S. government spending in Cuba totaled $957,780,551 from the year 2000 through May 2009, according to FedSpending figures. Of that, the Department of the Navy spent $794,737,223; the Defense Logistics Agency, $72,151,815; and the Department of the Army, $56,412,246. (Download 21-page PDF<https://sites.google.com/site/cubamoneyproject/cuba-contracts/cuba-contracts.pdf?attredirects=0&d=1>showing breakdown of the $957 million; or 2-page summary<https://sites.google.com/site/cubamoneyproject/cuba-summary/cuba-summary.pdf?attredirects=0&d=1>of those expenses). Some expenses look odd, but probably have a perfectly reasonable explanation. These include: - $27,780 for screws - $24,322 for badges and insignia - $55,704 for mens underwear and pajamas - $69,650 for womens clothing - $115,358 for toiletries, including $11,628 for toilet paper Then there are seemingly routine expenses: - $683,226 for laundry and dry-cleaning services - $378,518 for kitchen equipment and appliances - $234,884 for draperies, awnings and shades - $61,584 for bags and sacks - $58,178 for photographic supplies - $57,015 for phonographs, radio and TV sets - $3,979 for insect and rodent control - $528 for cutlery and flatware Listed under unknown was a whopping $1,084,233. The State Department reported $2,474,116 in Cuba expenses. (Download 2-page summary<https://sites.google.com/site/cubamoneyproject/state-dept-summary/state-dept-summary.pdf?attredirects=0&d=1>). FedSpending.org does not specify how much was spent at Gitmo and how much outside the base. However, it appears most of the $2.4 million was spent off the base. A breakdown of the $2.4 million shows that $435,109 went to miscellaneous foreign vendors. Its not clear who received the money. I imagine recipients include U.S. government employees and American contractors, who must spend money on the island to survive. I wonder if any of this money *reached Cuban dissidents or bloggers.* FedSpending numbers show that at least $1,120,668 went directly to state-run companies in Cuba. This includes: - $306,260 to Cubalse (I suspect that some or all of this was for housing) - $227,971 to Sociedad Inmobiliaria Siboney S.A. (probably more housing) - $222,305 to Oro Negro (fuel) - $174,965 to Central Nacional de Tarjeta Cubalse (looks like money for fuel cards) - $113,955 to CIMEX<http://www.cimexweb.com/transformer.asp?event=PortalHome&inc=256&lang=sp&bw=ie>, a sprawling state-run company with everything from jewelry and convenience stories to gas stations. - $75,212 to Tiendas Panamericanas (food, groceries and other supplies). Also listed: $62,346 to local markets. Its not clear if these are state-run or private. The budget figures show that the U.S. Agency for International Development paid $6.5 million to Creative Associates International, located at 5301 Wisconsin Ave., NW, in Washington, D.C. That information has been reported. See, for instance, the AP story<http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=10317191&page=1>published April 8, 2010. 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