A Breath of Fresh Air

HAS E-COMMERCE DENTED THE political roadblocks to doing business with Cuba? Look no further than Cubanacan.cu. Follow along as we order fan in four easy steps.

As the afternoon heat scorches the streets of Havana 250 miles away, I sit in Miami's air conditioning and type Cubanacan's Web address.

Web users are presented with a roster of goods normally available only in the island's state-owned stores and only for U.S. dollars.

That's right. With just a few key strokes--and a Visa or MasterCard, even those issued by U.S. banks--people outside Cuba can pick up pricy presents for their friends and family on the island. Delivery is simple: The products are physically in Cuba. From appearances, nearly all the shoppers who use the site live in the United States.

The U.S. Treasury Department, responsible for enforcing the 40-year-old embargo against Cuba, has no official position on Cubanacan.custyle business, LATIN TRADE was told. That may be because virtual store operations are linked to a Canadian financial institution, outside the Treasury Department's jurisdiction.

On a fast connection, I choose from among four fan models. I tap in my virtual registration information, my credit card number and, in about 15 seconds, the transaction is wrapped up.

From Canada, Careebe Consolidated Management Co. charges about US$30 ($45.38 Canadian) to my MasterCard, then lets me know that complaints or inquiries should be directed to cubaweb@cubaweb.cu. An e-mail message confirming the transaction follows immediately. Three days later, I get another e-mail message, this time from Galerias Comodoro, which handles the product deliveries in Cuba, to confirm it has the fan. The note also thanked me for my business.

In Havana, meanwhile, an employee at Galeria Comodoro's Tiendas Universo verifies my brother Julio's address and sets a time for delivering the fan, a Vince brand put together in Cuba and sold by Copextel, a corporation of the Cuban Ministry of Steel and Industry (which handles all the electric appliances at Cubanacan). Just 72 hours after I sit down at the computer, my brother is sitting comfortably in the cool breeze of his new electric fan. This level of commercial efficiency is astonishing, especially in a city accustomed to a bureaucracy as oppressive as the August heat.

COPYRIGHT 2000 Freedom Magazines, Inc.
COPYRIGHT 2000 Gale Group