http://cubamoneyproject.org/?p=1270
$600,000 in hurricane funds used for Cuba program<http://cubamoneyproject.org/?p=1270>Filed under News <http://cubamoneyproject.org/?category_name=news> {no comments<http://cubamoneyproject.org/?p=1270#commentlist> } The U.S. Agency for International Development gave a Virginia company $600,000 in hurricane funds to help carry out a program aimed at boosting Cubas civil society, FedSpending.gov records<http://www.usaspending.gov/search?query=&searchtype=&formFields=JTdCJTIyTWFqb3JBZ2VuY3klMjIlM0ElNUIlNUQlMkMlMjJDb250cmFjdGluZ0FnZW5jeUNvZGUlMjIlM0ElNUIlNUQlMkMlMjJNYWpvckZ1bmRpbmdBZ2VuY3klMjIlM0ElNUIlNUQlMkMlMjJGdW5kaW5nQWdlbmN5Q29kZSUyMiUzQSU1QiU1RCUyQyUyMlBTQ0NhdGVnb3J5Q29kZSUyMiUzQSU1QiU1RCUyQyUyMlByb2R1Y3RvclNlcnZpY2VDb2RlJTIyJTNBJTVCJTVEJTJDJTIyUHJpbmNpcGFsTkFJQ1NDb2RlJTIyJTNBJTVCJTVEJTJDJTIyUHJpbmNpcGFsTkFJQ1NEZXNjcmlwdGlvbiUyMiUzQSU1QiU1RCUyQyUyMkxlZ2lzbGF0aXZlTWFuZGF0ZXMlMjIlM0ElNUIlNUQlMkMlMjJDb250cmFjdFByaWNpbmclMjIlM0ElNUIlNUQlMkMlMjJBc3Npc3RhbmNlVHlwZSUyMiUzQSU1QiU1RCUyQyUyMlJlY2lwaWVudENhdGVnb3J5JTIyJTNBJTVCJTVEJTJDJTIyVHlwZW9mU3BlbmRpbmclMjIlM0ElNUIlNUQlMkMlMjJGaXNjYWxZZWFyJTIyJTNBJTVCJTVEJTJDJTIyRmVkZXJhbEF3YXJkSWQlMjIlM0ElNUIlMjJSTEFBMDAwODAwMDE4JTIyJTVEJTJDJTIyQ29udHJhY3RvclR5cGUlMjIlM0ElNUIlNUQlMkMlMjJFeHRlbnRDb21wZXRlZCUyMiUzQSU1QiU1RCU3RA==#>show. <http://cubamoneyproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/money-trail.jpg>International Relief & Development, or IRD <http://www.ird.org/>, received a total of $3,096,978 in USAID <http://www.usaid.gov/> funds in 2008 and 2009, records show. USAID gave the company the $600,000 in hurricane funds on Sept. 24, 2008 (see enlarged timeline <http://cubamoneyproject.org/?page_id=1284>). The Arlington, Va., company works in more than 40 countries, but does not mention any Cuba work on its website. Company officials have made public meetings they have with Bisa Williams<http://niamey.usembassy.gov/ambassador2.html>, the State Departments former coordinator of Cuban Affairs, and staffers of Sen. Robert Menendez <http://menendez.senate.gov/>, a New Jersey Democrat and outspoken critic of the Cuban government. In October 2010, IRD and a Washington, D.C., church hosted a reception for Williams, now the U.S. ambassador in Niger, the companys newsletter<http://www.ird-dc.org/newsletter/newsletter_10-10.html>reported. Then on Feb. 17, IRD said: Nick Demeter, Elizabeth Creel, and Sandy Acosta Cox, a consultant working on IRD US programs, met with staff from the office of New Jersey Senator Robert Menendez to discuss the senators priorities for Latin America and the Caribbean .We discussed IRDs work in Colombia and Haiti as well as mutual interests in promoting civil society in Cuba. Menendezs staff expressed interest in meeting with some of the Cubans that IRD has worked with in the past and offered to organize a small briefing for Senate staff who are interested in Cuba. I dont know if it is standard procedure to divert hurricane funds into civil society programs, but Ill investigate the issue and post any information I find. Below is a screenshot of an IRD newsletter touting the Williams reception. <http://cubamoneyproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/bisa-reception.jpg> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ --------------------------------------------------------------------------- LAAMN: Los Angeles Alternative Media Network --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Unsubscribe: <mailto:[email protected]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe: <mailto:[email protected]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Digest: <mailto:[email protected]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Help: <mailto:[email protected]?subject=laamn> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Post: <mailto:[email protected]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Archive1: <http://www.egroups.com/messages/laamn> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Archive2: <http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/laamn/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/laamn/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
