Hugo Cancio** intended “bridge between Cuba and the United States" English online newspaper ONCUBANEWS published –on March 17, 2024– a story about photographers capturing cyclone sceneries. Cuban architecture was the main issue on March 21st, and in between those two headings was a mix of Rita Longa artwork, Soccer, and a link to an EFE story from March 15th, which confirmed that over 70% of Cuban income is spent on food. However, any mention of the public protests in several eastern cities in Cuba was ignored, censured, or intentionally left out.
Mr. Cancio also ignored Naturpaz several letters and emails requesting a meeting to inspect the inventory of trucks in his flamboyant car dealership duly approved by the White House to sell cars and trucks to Cuba. The intentions of our first independent and vocal Eco-pacifist ONG in Cuban history was to weigh its chances to get a friendly deal to buy trucks to support the transportation of seeds in Pinar del Rio, Matanzas, and Cienfuegos three provinces where Naturpaz community councils’ leaders Roberto Blanco Gil and Juan Alberto De La Nuez have contacted several needed farmers and urban neighbors waiting for donations of seeds to grow crops under Naturpaz program “Seeds For Cuba”.
Naturpaz ended up filing a complaint before the US Department of Commerce (DOC OIG) against Mr. Cancio and his business practices. The complaint argued that such negation of equal opportunity denied the approval premises required for such enterprise as a needed improvement in private property rights serving Cuban civil society. Instead, this license is unfair in helping mostly apocryphal businesspersons intertwined with the Cuban military apparatus.
It appears that in addition to being unconcerned about the ecological non-governmental Naturpaz, Mr. Cancio and his "informative bridge" ONCUBANEWS appear to be unaware of the freedom struggles of the Cuban people.
** Hugo Cancio is an American businessman and political activist born in Cuba. He is the founder and CEO of Fuego Enterprises, a holding company active in media and entertainment, telecommunications, travel and real estate in both Cuba and the United States, which does business with the Cuban government. He publishes the bilingual magazine ONCUBANEWS. Shortly after President Barack Obama's election, he visited Cuba and met with an official from the Central Committee of the Cuban Communist Party to promote Cuban culture in the United States.