This action proves that, despite the reopening of relations between the two countries, the exchange continues to be closed as denounced last week by director of the contest in the Caribbean, university professor Dovier Antonio Ripoll Méndez in the send-off ceremony to the Cuban delegation. He said that the refusal was made by officials of the US Treasury Department and its representation in Cuba, he stressed that nothing can overshadow the talent, the commitment, the values and the patriotism of Pinar del Rio's students, who will be in the hearts and on the minds of their comrades from Havana who will compete in South Dakota.
At the UH School of Maths and Computing – where the act was held- Ripoll Méndez said that it is quite difficult to win a place in contests of this kind, and the students of Pinar del Río, like the rest of his colleagues, were amongst 46,381 participants who grouped in more than 15 teams representing more than 2,200 universities, from 100 countries this year. Chairperson of the University Student Federation Jennifer Bello Martínez praised the students' preparation, sacrifice and knowledge to take part in the greatest, most prestigious and oldest international event of the Programming Contests since 1970. The send-off ceremony was attended by Minister of Higher Education José Ramón Saborido Lodi among others.
Cuba 50 