Story has been corrected to say the Oloffsons were German-Haitian.

Nor was he a Swedish sea captain, as some say. Nadege sent me this document written by Harold Courlander, an important cultural figure who spent a lot time at the Oloffson in the 1930s and 1940s. That was around the time the original owners were there, so he is a very reliable source.

The iconic #Oloffson Hotel of Graham Greene fame, was burned down at the weekend. A great loss of Haitian 'gingerbread' architecture. Like other journalists, I spent many nights there in the past. Greene set some famous scenes there in his novel, 'The Comedians'.

In a perilous sign of insecurity in Haiti's capital, the landmark Marriott hotel is "suspending its activities." An official tell me: "The degrading security conditions are making the safety of guests and employees increasingly difficult to guarantee, and this is something that we cannot play with."

A lot has been made of Trump's "art of the deal." But it didn't go so well for him in #Panama . Remember his hotel deal that fell apart in 2018? www.univision.com/univision-ne...

#Cuba tightens rules again and strips private sector #Mipymes of BtoB licenses. Can only now work with state wholesalers. This appears to be a major blow for the currently constituted private sector.