Army General Raul Castro, President of the Councils of State and Ministers, received Raul Sendic Rodriguez, Vice-president of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, who is on an official visit to Cuba.

U.S. Secretary for Agriculture Tom Vilsack has said that this year the Department plans to open a permanent office in Cuba to boost trade, before a possible lifting of the blockade.

Cuban President Raul Castro bestowed the highest Cuban distinction on His Holiness Kirill, leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, the Jose Marti Order, on this Saturday.