JUTINICU- Santiago de Cuba, September 19, 2000
News release by: Antonio Alonso, ANAIC- President.

A newly created team of rural inspectors has been harrassing the farm workers, with the imposition of out-of-proportion fines, apparently justified but evidently arbitrary, under the present economic situation.
The cutting of precious timber is regulated, only 250 cubic feet to be kept by the cutters, while all the timber must be sold to State Forest Enterprise, which pays only 60 Cuban pesos (3.00US) for 1,000 cubic feet. However, the State Forest Enterprise sells the obtained cedar to the State-controlled “Empresa Cubatabaco” for $500.00 U.S. per cubic meter (3.28 cubic feet) for the assembly of cigar boxes for the export market.
This Team of inspectors also fines for any contractual failure with the State Storage Enterprise. The sanction could go up to 10 times the value of the timber, considering the “black market” value.
This team also has the power to fine for any bad practice on the rotation of the land, any deficiency on the conservation of the soil, or any failure in animal control.
All these measures have provoked a general discontent among the farm workers, who, through hard work, barely survive, and when they are economically affected by arbitrary measures, without any agency in place for recourse, all these sanctions could be doubled and tripled if they are not paid on time and there is no administrative procedure or legal right to appeal.