US cable: Cuba to be insolvent within 2-3 years - Yahoo! News: "HAVANA – A newly released confidential U.S. diplomatic cable predicted Cuba's economic situation could become 'fatal' within two to three years, and detailed concerns from other countries' diplomats — including China — that the communist-run country has been slow to adopt reforms.
The cable was written in February, months before Cuban President Raul Castro announced a major revamp of the island's economy, laying out plans to fire a half-million state workers and open up the island to expanded forms of private enterprise.
The cable, sent by the U.S. Interests Section in Havana, which Washington maintains instead of an embassy, was released Friday by WikiLeaks. It was apparently written by America's chief diplomat on the island, Jonathan Farrar.
There was no immediate reaction from the Cuban government, but the cable's release is not likely to help improve U.S.-Cuban relations already strained by the long detention of an American contractor on suspicion of spying — not to mention 50 years of Cold War animus.
It details a breakfast meeting held by the Interests Section's chief economic officer with diplomats from some of Cuba's main trading partners, including China, Spain, Canada, Brazil and Italy, as well as France and Japan, both of which are among the island's top creditors.
'All diplomats agreed that Cuba could survive this year without substantial policy changes, but the financial situation could become fatal within 2-3 years,' the cable said, adding that Italian diplomats cited sources within the Cuban government as predicting that the island 'would become insolvent as early as 2011.'
Even the Chinese diplomat expressed what the cable referred to as 'visible exasperation.' It said the Chinese were particularly annoyed by Cuba's insistence on retaining majority control of any joint venture.
'No matter whether a foreign business invests $10 million or $100 million, the GOC's (Government of Cuba's) investment will always add up to 51%,' the cable quoted the unidentified Chinese commercial counselor as saying.
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