Tourist
Cuba Awaits New Trump Proposals
Cuba Awaits New Trump Proposals / Iván García Ivan Garcia, 14 June 2017 — What you lose last is hope. And those who have plans to immigrate to the United States maintain bulletproof optimism. Close to a small park in Calzada street, next to Rivero’s funeral home, dozens of restless people await their appointment for […] Continue reading
Whom Do They Serve?
Whom Do They Serve? / Fernando Dámaso Fernando Damaso, 28 June 2017 — Whether at the municipal or provincial level, the people’s administrative councils are supposed to be looking out primarily for the interests of their constituents and, in conjunction with them, carrying out the duties of local governance. But due to the inaccessible and […] Continue reading
In Cuba, Growing Numbers Of Bloggers Manage To Operate In A Vulnerable Gray Area
In Cuba, Growing Numbers Of Bloggers Manage To Operate In A Vulnerable Gray Area July 2, 20178:26 AM ET CARRIE KAHN In recent years, a growing number of news and political websites have popped up in Cuba. Some are taking advantage of what they say has been a small but vibrant opening afforded them since […] Continue reading
Elliott Abrams: Has Trump Made the Right Move in Cuba?
Elliott Abrams: Has Trump Made the Right Move in Cuba? Elliott Abrams, Newsweek • June 22, This article first appeared on the Council on Foreign Relations site. Congratulations to President Trump for a serious (though not total) reversal of the terrible Obama policy toward Cuba. Why? Because the Obama policy was values-free, granting all sorts […] Continue reading
Trump’s Cuba policy tries to redefine ‘good’ U.S. tourism. That includes putting them back on tour buses.
Trump’s Cuba policy tries to redefine ‘good’ U.S. tourism. That includes putting them back on tour buses. By Nick Miroff June 17 at 2:43 PM The American traveler in Cuba — sweating, disoriented and probably a bit woozy from the rum drinks — is once more at the heart of the struggle for the island’s […] Continue reading
Americans will still be able to travel to Cuba, but rules will be stricter
Americans will still be able to travel to Cuba, but rules will be stricter BY MIMI WHITEFIELD mwhitefield@miamiherald.com The good news for Americans who want to travel to Cuba is they still can, but a draft of President Donald Trump’s presidential policy directive indicates they shouldn’t even think of sneaking away for a day on […] Continue reading
The Cuban visa business: murky but profitable
The Cuban visa business: murky but profitable BY ABEL FERNÁNDEZ abfernandez@elnuevoherald.com Despite the recent start of regular commercial flights to Cuba by U.S. airlines and a record number of passengers, the process of traveling to the island can be murky and confusing to U.S. visitors. After decades of charter flights, the U.S. commercial flights are […] Continue reading
Drug smuggling a risk if US relations with Cuba shift, officials say
Drug smuggling a risk if US relations with Cuba shift, officials say By Patrick Oppmann, CNN Updated 1005 GMT (1805 HKT) June 12, 2017 Havana, Cuba (CNN)For Cuban officials on the front lines of the fight against drug trafficking, the Trump administration’s threat to roll back improved relations between the United States and the communist-run […] Continue reading
Economic Crime, the Pitfall in the Path
Economic Crime, the Pitfall in the Path 14ymedio, Generation Y, Yoani Sanchez, 22 May 2017 — The saleswoman described her merchandise in a murmur: loggerhead turtle steaks, beef and shrimp. The man salivated, but replied that he could not buy any of those products, the most persecuted in the informal market. Every opponent knows that […] Continue reading
Reagan: Won’t visit Cuba until people are free
Reagan: Won’t visit Cuba until people are free May 30, 2017 Michael Reagan Perspective Expedia is now booking hotels in Cuba. American Airlines is flying American tourists from Miami to Havana. For more than a year American-owned cruise lines have been hauling U.S. citizens by the thousands to the Castro brothers’ beautiful socialist paradise 90 […] Continue reading
Cuba needs new laws and stronger action targeting human trafficking – UN rights expert
Cuba needs new laws and stronger action targeting human trafficking – UN
rights expert
21 April 2017 – A United Nations human rights expert has urged Cuba to
consider introducing new legislation to ensure that everyone who falls
victim to trafficking in persons can be identified and helped, and the
authorities can take action against offenders.
“Although cases of trafficking… Continue reading
In the twilight of the Castros
In the twilight of the Castros
By Stephen Kinzer APRIL 14, 2017
SANTA CLARA, Cuba
THIS PROVINCIAL CAPITAL in central Cuba throbbed with life on a recent
Saturday night. In one plaza, a Beatles cover band sang “Ticket to Ride”
for an enthusiastic crowd. Exuberant groups of gay men made their way
toward a club that stages drag shows and… Continue reading
Cuba: more reliant on the US than ever
Cuba: more reliant on the US than ever ROBERTO ÁLVAREZ QUIÑONES | Los Ángeles | 27 de Marzo de 2017 – 16:38 CEST. The best way to appreciate how that Cuba’s economy today depends on the US more than ever before in its history is to engage in a very simple mental exercise: imagine that […] Continue reading
Felipe Calderón “I Ask The Cuban Government To Rectify This Absurdity”
Felipe Calderón: “I Ask The Cuban Government To Rectify This Absurdity” / 14ymedio 14ymedio, Havana, 22 February 2017 — Just five years ago, Mexican President Felipe Calderón was greeted warmly in Havana during an official visit. However, this week the now former president was denied entry to the island to participate in the Oswaldo Payá […] Continue reading
Cuban Government Blocks Several Guests From Entering Cuba For The Oswaldo Payá Award
Cuban Government Blocks Several Guests From Entering Cuba For The Oswaldo Payá Award / 14ymedio 14ymedio, Havana, 21 February 2017 – The Cuban government has mobilized in the last hours to prevent several guests from arriving in Havana to attend to Oswaldo Paya Award ceremony, scheduled for tomorrow, Wednesday, at 11:00 am. Former Mexican President […] Continue reading
Normalizing The Communists Who Run Cuba Makes This Survivor Sick
Normalizing The Communists Who Run Cuba Makes This Survivor Sick Totalitarianism touches every aspect of every person’s life, and Cuban communism has been traumatic for adults and children not drunk with fanaticism. By Armando Simón JANUARY 16, 2017 Ever since the death of that psychotic dictator Fidel Castro, I have been experiencing déjà vu. At […] Continue reading
What is Cuba like? It’s complicated
What is Cuba like? It’s complicated By Daniel Dauplaise Published 5:22 pm, Sunday, January 1, 2017 STAMFORD — The first question that I get from everyone when I tell them I went to Cuba is always a broad one — “How was it?” It’s asked in a way that indicates general curiosity. After all, it’s […] Continue reading
Cuba No Es Fi(d)el – Impressions on the Duelo Nacional
Cuba No Es Fi(d)el: Impressions on the Duelo Nacional 14/12/2016 14:27 Stefano Piano Strategy & Public Policy Consultant, Part-time Writer Clarissa Parenti Linguist, Media Planner, Part-time writer The Duelo Nacional might imply that Cuba stopped for Fidel Castro’s death. Our conversations with Cubans suggest a rather different story. Since the death of Fidel Castro was […] Continue reading
HBO Documentaries Illuminate Castro’s Brutal Cuba
HBO Documentaries Illuminate Castro’s Brutal Cuba Two offerings coincide with strongman’s death. Glenn Garvin | December 3, 2016 HBO should get a little trophy from the television industry for giving executives something to talk about at holiday parties besides falling ratings and the specific level of Hell that should be reserved for whoever invented this […] Continue reading
Cubans Directed To Be Sad
Cubans Directed To Be Sad / 14ymedio, Luz Escobar and Mario Penton 14ymedio, Luz Escobar/Mario Penton, Havana/Miami, 29 November 2016 — Women crying on camera, Facebook profiles turned into portraits of Comandante Fidel, long lines to bid farewell to his absent ashes. No reggaeton in the streets, no “good morning” from the announcers on national […] Continue reading
Red ink – The high human cost of the Cuban revolution
Red ink: The high human cost of the Cuban revolution BY GLENN GARVIN ggarvin@miamiherald.com LINKEDIN Danilo Maldonado’s collision with the Cuban revolution is, in some ways, a silly asterisk to history. And in others, it practically defines the country’s dilemma of the past 57 years, a state that defines itself as the people’s political vanguard, […] Continue reading
Fidel Castro – Unwitting father of modern Miami
Fidel Castro: Unwitting father of modern Miami BY ANDRES VIGLUCCI The Gateway to the Americas: That’s how Miami’s business and civic leaders would grandly if sporadically label the city in the middle of the last century. In reality, the slogan was wishful thinking, little more than the stuff of promotional brochures. Contrary to the historic […] Continue reading
Fidel Castro is dead
Fidel Castro is dead BY GLENN GARVIN ggarvin@MiamiHerald.com Fidel Castro, who towered over his Caribbean island for nearly five decades, a shaggy-bearded figure in combat fatigues whose long shadow spread across Latin America and the world, is dead at age 90. His brother Raul announced the death late Friday night. Millions cheered Fidel Castro on […] Continue reading
U.S. businesses to pressure Trump to keep ties to Cuba
U.S. businesses to pressure Trump to keep ties to Cuba Alan Gomez , USA TODAY 4:12 p.m. EST November 20, 2016 MIAMI — A powerful coalition of U.S. companies is preparing to appeal to President-elect Donald Trump’s business instincts and drop his vow to reverse one of President Obama’s signature achievements: renewed relations with Cuba. […] Continue reading
Why Do We Cubans Put Up With All This?
Why Do We Cubans Put Up With All This? / Cubanet, Roberto Jesús Quiñones Haces Cubanet, Roberto Jesús Quiñones Haces, Guantanamo, Cuba, 3 November 2016 — In talking to fellow countrymen and foreigners, the question comes up: Why do we Cubans have put up with so much abuse from the Castros? The question is raised […] Continue reading
Voices – Trump Win Casts Shadow on U.S., Cuba Relations
Voices: Trump Win Casts Shadow on U.S., Cuba Relations by LUISITA LOPEZ TORREGROSA Jet Blue and American flights loaded with tourists, businessmen, academics and journalists fly in and out of Cuba every day, perhaps the most dramatic and visible sign of the thaw in Washington-Havana relations since the restoration of relations nearly two years ago. […] Continue reading
Building Socialism in Cuba
Building Socialism in Cuba As pressure for economic liberalization grows, what would it take to turn Cuba into a socialist democracy? by Samuel Farber In July 2016, thanks to a 20 percent reduction in oil shipments from Venezuela, Cuba’s economy minister Marino Murillo announced a 6 percent cut in electricity and a 28 percent cut […] Continue reading
Congress Should Put the Brakes on ‘Engaging’ Cuba
Congress Should Put the Brakes on ‘Engaging’ Cuba U.S. exporters can sell to only one customer—the Castro government. Ana QuintanaRandall Ramos October 6, 2016 Will Congress lift the ban on private financing towards Cuba’s agriculture sector? Proponents of a bill to do just that claim it would benefit American farmers as well alleviate the suffering […] Continue reading
A new sponsor for Castro?
A new sponsor for Castro? ROBERTO ÁLVAREZ QUIÑONES | Los Ángeles | 3 de Octubre de 2016 – 09:51 CEST. The Castro regime is immersed in an intense propaganda and diplomatic offensive preparing its usual draft resolution in the UN General Assembly to condemn the US trade embargo against Cuba. This time, however, Havana harbors […] Continue reading
Cuba’s Frozen Revolution
Cuba’s Frozen Revolution September 27, 2016 By Tad Boniecki HAVANA TIMES — I came to write this piece because I was fascinated reading the Lonely Planet’s account of Cuban history. Wanting to share it, I summarized it. Yet I realized that something vital was missing from the Lonely Planet, namely a summing up of Cuba […] Continue reading
Despite Obama’s claims, Cuba’s the same
Despite Obama’s claims, Cuba’s the same Thursday, September 8, 2016 | Bill Bumpas, Chad Groening (OneNewsNow.com) Christian human rights organizations are alarmed at the wave of repression against Christians in Cuba – despite the normalization of relations between the United States and the communist island. Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) reports a government crackdown on freedom […] Continue reading
The Sorry Tale Of Cuban Communism
The Sorry Tale Of Cuban Communism Daniel J. Mitchell – September 06, 2016, 11:25 am Before communism arrived in Cuba, it was one of the most prosperous societies of the Americas. Now, its economy and society are both severely crippled by it. Communism should be remembered first and foremost for the death, brutality, and repression […] Continue reading
THE AMERICAN FUGITIVES OF HAVANA
THE AMERICAN FUGITIVES OF HAVANA By Jon Lee Anderson , AUGUST 31, 2016 When a cold war winds down, what happens to its spies and traitors? The British double agents Kim Philby, Guy Burgess, and Donald Maclean were able to see out their days in Moscow while it was still ruled by Communists, without fears […] Continue reading
Foundation seeks to revoke residency for Cubans who visit the island
Foundation seeks to revoke residency for Cubans who visit the island NORA GÁMEZ TORRES ngameztorres@elnuevoherald.com When President Barack Obama announced that he would reestablish diplomatic relations with Cuba, one part of the Cuban American community — especially the so-called historical exile population — felt it had been betrayed. Now, 1 ½ years later, a Miami […] Continue reading
More bad news for new ideas in Cuba
More bad news for new ideas in Cuba BY PAUL HARE paulhare@bu.edu Very few without Castro in their name have survived in the leadership of the Cuban Revolution as long as Eusebio Leal. And he didn’t do it by the conventional means of silence and obedience. He brought loyalty but also ideas to the Castros. […] Continue reading
Where Hip Hop Fits in Cuba’s Anti-Racist Curriculum
Where Hip Hop Fits in Cuba’s Anti-Racist Curriculum The country’s education leaders confront deep-seated discrimination in the classroom through rap. Alexandre Meneghini / Reuters I was sitting with the Afrocentric rapstress Magia López Cabrera in her modest Havana walk-up in June when Cuba’s prominent black-history scholar Tomás Fernández Robaina showed up for a café con […] Continue reading
The Hidden Pastors Of Cuba’s Evangelical Churches
The Hidden Pastors Of Cuba’s Evangelical Churches / 14ymedio, Ricardo Fernandez 14ymedio, Ricardo Fernandez, Pinar del Rio, 26 June 2016 – Religious visas for foreign pastors invited to Christian events exist in all countries, but in Cuba they serve as a mechanism of repression and blackmail by the state, with the aim of silencing the […] Continue reading
Backlash in Cuba
Backlash in Cuba Obama’s historic visit was a smash hit in Havana. Fidel Castro wasn’t going to take that lying down. By ANN LOUISE BARDACH June 10, 2016 HAVANA—These days Fidel Castro doesn’t often leave his comfortable home in Siboney, a leafy suburb west of this city. But on April 19, the 89-year-old Cuban leader […] Continue reading
Opening to Cuba is ‘irreversible,’ senior Obama aide says
Opening to Cuba is ‘irreversible,’ senior Obama aide says By Karen DeYoung June 9 at 7:26 PM President Obama’s opening to Cuba is irreversible and remaining legislative restrictions on relations between the two countries — including a U.S. travel ban and trade embargo — are likely to be lifted by Congress “sooner than people think,” […] Continue reading
When Will the Government of Cuba Have Normal Relations With the Cuban People?
When Will the Government of Cuba Have Normal Relations With the Cuban People? / 14ymedio, Henry Constantin 14ymedio, Henry Constantin, New York, 31 May 2016 — This video is mute. Like Josefina Vidal, an official from Cuba’s Ministry of Foreign Relations (MINREX), and José Ramón Cabañas, Cuba’s ambassador to the United States, when I asked […] Continue reading