Anti-U.S. protest blocks hotel over Cuban eviction

[Judi Lynn]

Anti-U.S. protest blocks hotel over Cuban eviction
Tue Feb 7, 2006 5:38 PM ET

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Protesters waving Cuban flags blocked the entrance to a U.S.-owned Sheraton hotel in Mexico on Tuesday, calling for the closure of the hotel because it evicted Cuban officials on the orders of Washington.
(snip)

Mexican presidential spokesman Ruben Aguilar said Mexico was looking into the eviction and would apply the full force of the law against the Sheraton if a crime had been committed.

Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide Inc., which owns Sheraton hotels, said the company had been asked by the U.S. Treasury Department to tell the Cuban officials to leave the hotel because of the terms of the U.S. embargo on the island.

On Tuesday, Mexican newspapers were filled with angry opinion pieces railing against perceived U.S. meddling in Mexico.
(snip)

"Very basically, U.S. law would apply to U.S. corporations or subsidiaries of U.S. corporations, no matter where they may be -- whether it's in Mexico City or in Europe or South America," McCormack said.
(snip/...)

http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=worldNews&storyID=2006-02-07T223815Z_01_N07236408_RTRUKOC_0_US-MEXICO-CUBA-USA.xml

[sasha031]

1. good, kick the hotels out of their country

we sure do know how to make more enemy's

[pinniped]

2. Good, like that POS*, I fully believe in the right of the people....

to organize.

Disclaimer- that POS* really doesn't believe in the right to organize

I know the POS* may not know this, but Mexico is a sovereign country with its own laws.

--therefore subject to U.S. laws and regulations.--

[burrowowl]

5. LOL

I know the POS* may not know this, but Mexico is a sovereign country with its own laws.

--therefore subject to U.S. laws and regulations.--

[Mika]

3. Huh? Castro didn't do this?

BREAKING NEWS BREAKING NEWS BREAKING NEWS BREAKING NEWS BREAKING NEWS
Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that
this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that Castro did this Castro did that

[HuffleClaw]

4. good

this childish bullying and petty hatred has got to be opposed.

[Judi Lynn]

6. Mexico-US row over Cuban eviction

Last Updated: Wednesday, 8 February 2006, 04:08 GMT

Mexico-US row over Cuban eviction



The hotel now faces a big fine, Mexican officials say

The authorities in Mexico say a US-owned hotel in Mexico City may have broken the law by expelling a group of Cuban officials.

The delegation was ordered out of the Hotel Maria Isabel Sheraton last week at the behest of Washington, because of the US embargo against Cuba.

Foreign Minister Luis Ernesto Derbez said the US law could not be applied in a third country.

Some 30 people held an anti-US rally outside the hotel.
(snip/...)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4691782.stm

[Judi Lynn]

7. Globe and Mail: Mexico says it could close U.S.-owned hotel that expelled

Mexico says it could close U.S.-owned hotel that expelled Cubans
LISA J. ADAMS
Associated Press

~snip~
The hotel -- part of the chain of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. -- said in a statement it “deeply regrets this incident and any inconvenience it may have caused.”

The statement said Starwood's policy “is not to discriminate against any person because of their nationality or any other reason, and to always respect the laws of countries where its hotels are located.”

Mexican Foreign Relations Secretary Luis Ernesto Derbez said the Mexican government is considering a diplomatic complaint against the United States in the case.

He said his department had formally started a complaint process against the Sheraton for violating investment and trade protection laws, and that the hotel would have 15 days to respond. The hotel could face fines of nearly $500,000 (U.S.) or even be shut down, officials said.

“I think that there was evident contempt for Mexican law on the part of the Hotel Maria Isabel Sheraton ... and it is going to be punished for discrimination, consumer fraud and, moreover, for applying laws that do not apply in Mexico,” Mr. Derbez told reporters in London, where he is on an official visit.

About 30 people protested outside the hotel on Tuesday, waving Mexican and Cuban flags and yelling “Get out Yankees!” The demonstrators plastered the glass doors with signs reading “Shut down” and “Closed for bowing to U.S. imperialism and harming national sovereignty.”
(snip/...)

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20060208.wmexcuba0208/BNStory/International/home

[Tempest]

8. Fox better make sure there's quick action on this

He's already behind in the polls for the upcoming election.

[maddezmom]

9. kick

[Judi Lynn]

10. Anti-US protest blocks hotel in Mexico City

Anti-US protest blocks hotel in Mexico City
09 February 2006

MEXICO CITY: Protesters waving Cuban flags blocked the entrance to a US-owned Sheraton hotel in Mexico City yesterday, calling for it to be closed because it evicted Cuban officials on orders from Washington.

About 30 people shouted "Yankees out" as they demonstrated outside the hotel over its eviction of the 16 Cubans who were staying there last week for a conference with US energy companies.

Presidential spokesman Ruben Aguilar said Mexico was looking into the evictions and would apply the full force of the law against the Sheraton if a crime had been committed.

"It is an unacceptable application of a foreign law in our country, which goes against all principles of international law," Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Derbez said in a radio interview.

Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide Inc, which owns Sheraton hotels, said it had been asked by the US Treasury Department to tell the Cuban officials to leave the hotel because of the terms of the US embargo on the island.
(snip/...)

http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3566130a12,00.html

[katinmn]

11. The US Govt should have told the US energy cos to leave, if anyone

You can't tell people to leave a place in their own fucking country!!

[Judi Lynn]

12. Mexico and Cuba Protest Hotel's Expulsion of Havana Delegation

Mexico and Cuba Protest Hotel's Expulsion of Havana Delegation
By JAMES C. McKINLEY Jr.
Published: February 7, 2006

MEXICO CITY, Feb. 6 — Mexico and Cuba criticized the United States on Monday for demanding that the Sheraton Maria Isabel Hotel here order a group of Cuban officials, who were meeting last week with representatives of American oil companies, to check out of the hotel and leave the premises.

On Friday, the United States Treasury Department contacted the company that owns the Sheraton and warned them that they were violating federal laws against trading with Cuba by allowing the meeting to take place in their hotel.

The hotel told the Cuban representatives to leave, and sent their room deposits to the Treasury Department. The meeting was moved to a hotel not owned by an American company.
(snip)

Ricardo Ruiz Suárez, a spokesman for the Mexico City government, said the hotel's owners could be prosecuted under several Mexican laws that ban discrimination based on national origin or ideology.

"There are laws, federal as well as local, that obligate service providers to provide those services in a general manner, without any discriminatory attitudes," he said.
(snip/...)

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/07/international/americas/07mexico.html

[KamaAina]

13. I'm surprised the Cubans even stayed there in the first place

Why give your business to someone from a country that's bent on destroying you? :eyes:

edit: speling

[madrchsod]

14. this has been televised on the spainsh language tv stations

here in the usa-has there been anything on the north american press?

[Judi Lynn]

15. Mexico City Sheraton evictions result in protests

Wednesday, February 8, 2006 - Page updated at 12:00 AM
Mexico City Sheraton evictions result in protests
By Reuters and The Associated Press

MEXICO CITY — Protesters waving Cuban flags blocked the entrance to a U.S.-owned Sheraton hotel in Mexico on Tuesday, calling for the closure of the hotel because it evicted Cuban officials on the orders of the United States.

Mexico issued a complaint on Tuesday against Sheraton, saying the company violated investment and trade-protection laws.

The U.S. Treasury Department confirmed that the Hotel Maria Isabel Sheraton in Mexico City was told to expel the Cuban delegation in compliance with the U.S. embargo against business with Cuba or Cubans. The meeting was moved to a Mexican-owned hotel Saturday.

"The hotel in Mexico City is a U.S. subsidiary, and therefore prohibited from providing a service to Cuba or Cuban nationals," said Brookly McLaughlin, a spokesman for the department's Office of Foreign Assets Control. He was referring to the Helms-Burton law, which tightened U.S. trade sanctions first imposed against Cuba in 1961.

Mexican Foreign Relations Secretary Luis Ernesto Derbez said the Mexican government is also considering a diplomatic complaint against the United States in the case.

He said his department had formally started a complaint process against the Sheraton for violating investment and trade protection laws, and that the hotel would have 15 days to respond. The hotel could face fines of nearly $500,000 or even be shut down, officials said.
(snip/...)

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2002791281_sheraton08.html

[Boredtodeath]

20. The hotel could face fines .... or even be shut down

If they're not careful, they could face a great deal more than a shut down.

American companies in foreign countries would be wise to look back in history at things like the Danish Embassy in Syria. Piss off the locals, and there's no TELLING what can happen to their pretty little hotel.

[SpiralHawk]

16. The Absolute Arrogance of Gringo Arbusto

Senor Smirk is AWOL in the realm of diplomacy. As usual.

[hughee99]

17. Careful, this can be a slippery slope...

If the US government has no place to request/demand/require that foreign components of US based companies adhere to US policy then there may be many larger issues at stake, IMHO.

[Judi Lynn]

18. Great article from the San Diego Union:

Mexican threat to prosecute U.S. hotel over Cuba embargo displays dilemma businessmen face

By Julie Watson
ASSOCIATED PRESS

1:20 p.m. February 8, 2006

MEXICO CITY – Mexico's vow to prosecute an American-owned hotel for adhering to the U.S. embargo of Cuba puts American businesses in a dilemma: Whose laws do they obey – those of their homeland or those of their host? No matter what they do, they could face legal action.
(snip)

“This is kind of one of the rare moments that really brings out the ugliness of the Helms-Burton law that puts American business in a tight position,” said Al Zapanta, president of the 2,000-member U.S.-Mexico Chamber of Commerce, referring to the 1996 U.S. law that strengthened sanctions in place against Cuba since 1961.
“You have to go into the international marketplace and you have to operate within the laws of the host country.”
(snip)

Larry Rubin, chief executive officer of the American Chamber of Commerce in Mexico, said the hotel should have consulted Mexican authorities before booting the Cubans.
Corporations have to find a balance,” said Rubin, whose 2,000 members represent 93 percent of U.S. investment in Mexico. “If it goes against Mexican law, then we cannot apply it, because first we have to abide by Mexican law. ... I mean you don't see American corporations down here breaking contracts and solving the matter in the U.S. court system. It just doesn't operate that way.”
(snip)

A Mexican businessman found himself caught between the two countries' politics in 1996.

The U.S. government warned Javier Garza Calderon, president of the Mexican company Grupo Domos, that if he did not pull his investment in Cuba's telephone company, he and his family would lose their U.S. visas. Garza Calderon's children were in U.S. schools at the time.
(snip/...)

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/mexico/20060208-1320-mexico-us-cuba.html

[cantstandbush]

19. Before very long, America will stand alone against the world.

Except maybe for the UK and Canada.