BLOGGER THRILLED WITH POTUS RESPONSE TO HER Q&AS

C O N F I D E N T I A L HAVANA 000695 SIPDIS STATE FOR WHA/CCA RZUNIGA AND WHA/PD MLEE NSC FOR WHD EGRAY E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/23/2019 TAGS: PREL PHUM PGOV CU SUBJECT: BLOGGER THRILLED WITH POTUS RESPONSE TO HER Q&AS REF: A. A) HAVANA 527 ("QUESTIONS FROM YOANI SANCHEZ TO POTUS") ¶B. B) BLOGGERS BEATEN BUT NOT DETERRED (HAVANA 684) ¶C. C) NSC-USINT EMAIL OF 11/12/2009 AND USINT-WHA/CCA OF 11/17/2009 Classified By: Principal Office Jonathan Farrar for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) USINT Poloffs delivered on November 18, 2009 President Obama's responses to Cuban blogger Yoani Sanchez's questions on Cuba - U.S. relations (REF A). Last August, Sanchez had posed seven questions to POTUS and seven for Cuban President Raul Castro (the two sets were different). She was not expecting an answer from the latter, because she confided that she had never sent them to the Cuban President, and, from her ebullient reaction, she was not expecting a reply from President Obama either. ¶2. (C) Sanchez was thrilled with the fact that she had gotten a response, asking us: "You're not kidding, right? This is for real?" Sanchez, Cuba's most famous blogger, said that she would like to post the original questions first, and then follow up with the responses (REF B). She originally said that she would probably post the answers mid-week on Thanksgiving week, but was considering posting them earlier as we left her house. Her blog is ww.desdecuba.com/generaciony ¶3. (SBU) USINT gave Sanchez the original set in English and a Spanish translation (REF C). FARRAR