Raul Castro
Cuba’s Raul Castro dismisses harsher US tone under Trump
Cuba’s Raul Castro dismisses harsher US tone under Trump – Castro’s comments to Cuba’s National Assembly were his first on Trump’s June announcement of a partial rollback of the Cuba-U.S. detente – He also rejected any “lessons” on human rights from the U.S., saying his country “has a lot to be proud about” on the […] Continue reading
Why liberals should support Trump — not Obama — on Cuba policy
Why liberals should support Trump — not Obama — on Cuba policy BY MIKE GONZALEZ, OPINION CONTRIBUTOR – 06/27/17 11:00 AM EDT 54 Was President Obama’s opening to the Castro government motivated by a real belief that it would help Cubans, or was it a vanity project from the start? We will never know for […] Continue reading
Cuba should return its terrorists to US, terror victim’s son says
Cuba should return its terrorists to US, terror victim’s son says By Eric Shawn Published June 26, 2017 Fox News They sought safety on the shores of Cuba from American justice. Now Joe Connor wants them back. “Get these guys back, as a starting point for any further opening up of Cuba,” Connor insists. An […] Continue reading
Cuba and the United States Return to the Trenches
Cuba and the United States Return to the Trenches / Iván García Iván García, 19 June 2017 — For both countries it amounts to a remake of the Cold War, this time in version 2.0. It will take time to determine the scope of the contest or if the new diplomatic battle will involve only […] Continue reading
Consensus and Dissent in the Face of Trump’s Cuba Policy
Consensus and Dissent in the Face of Trump’s Cuba Policy 14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar, Havana, 19 June 2017 – Over the weekend the official media have repeated ad nauseam the declaration of the government in response to Donald Trump’s speech about his policy toward Cuba. The declaration’s rhetoric recalls the years before the diplomatic thaw, when […] Continue reading
Trump And Cuba, Or How To Bet On The Wrong Winner
Trump And Cuba, Or How To Bet On The Wrong Winner 14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar, Havana, 13 June 2017 – In less than 72 hours President Donald Trump will declare in Miami the new basis for the United States government’s policies towards Cuba. At that time the decisions of his predecessor Barack Obama, during the process […] Continue reading
Trump rolls back some, not all, changes in US-Cuba relations
Trump rolls back some, not all, changes in US-Cuba relations Darlene Superville, Michael Weissenstein and Josh Lederman, Associated Press, Associated Press • June 17, 2017 MIAMI (AP) — Pressing “pause” on a historic detente, President Donald Trump thrust the U.S. and Cuba back on a path toward open hostility with a blistering denunciation of the […] Continue reading
Cuba Says President Trump’s Speech Was ‘Loaded With Hostile Rhetoric’
Cuba Says President Trump’s Speech Was ‘Loaded With Hostile Rhetoric’ Associated Press 8:39 AM ET (WASHINGTON) — The Cuban government is rejecting what it calls the “hostile rhetoric” of President Donald Trump’s speech announcing a new U.S. policy toward the island, but says it is willing to continue “respectful dialogue” with the U.S. on topics […] Continue reading
The End Of The Cycle For Two Caudillos
The End Of The Cycle For Two Caudillos 14ymedio, Yoani Sanchez, Havana, 12 June 2017 — His mother died, his brother emigrated and now no one brings flowers to the tomb of one of those many young Cubans who lost their lives on the African plains. His death served to build the authoritarian regime of […] Continue reading
Populism Cuban Style: Conquests, Threats and Leadership
Populism Cuban Style: Conquests, Threats and Leadership 14ymedio, Yoani Sanchez, 6 June 2017 — The leader speaks for hours on the platform, his index finger pointing to an invisible enemy. A human tide applauds when the intonation of a phrase demands it and stares enraptured at the bearded speaker. For decades these public acts were […] Continue reading
Trump considers reversing historic Obama-era opening with Cuba
Trump considers reversing historic Obama-era opening with Cuba Tracy Wilkinson President Trump is expected to roll back parts of the historic Obama-era opening with Cuba, siding with hawks who oppose detente and rejecting demands from U.S. businesses for whom the island is a ripe potential market. The decision follows an inter-agency administration review of one […] Continue reading
Trump’s new Cuba policy: What’s at stake for the island?
Trump’s new Cuba policy: What’s at stake for the island? By Will Grant Cuba correspondent, BBC News From the section Latin America & Caribbean Warmer ties with Cuba after almost 60 years of hostility was one of President Barack Obama’s main foreign policy legacies. He and Cuban leader Raul Castro agreed to normalise diplomatic relations […] Continue reading
Cuba’s Parliament Positions Its New Straitjacket
Cuba’s Parliament Positions Its New Straitjacket Reinaldo Escobar, 1 June 2017 — With its usual unanimity, the National Assembly of People’s Power, on Thursday, supported the documents submitted to it by the Council of State. The extraordinary session put the final stitch in the straitjacket that the Communist Party of Cuba (CCP) is placing on […] Continue reading
Cuba: More Castroism but Without the Castros
Cuba: More Castroism but Without the Castros / Iván García Iván García, 17 May 2017 — In front of an old mansion on 17th Street in Vedado that now serves as the headquarters of the Union of Writers and Artists, there is a poster showing hundreds of men dressed in battle fatigues and lined up […] Continue reading
Martha Beatriz Roque: “The Cuban Opposition Has Not Found The Right Path”
Martha Beatriz Roque: “The Cuban Opposition Has Not Found The Right Path” 14ymedio, Mario Penton, Miamia, 25 May 2017 — On the verge of being operated on in Miami for a traumatic cataract caused by a punch from a Cuban State Security agent during one of the many acts of repudiation against her, the dissident […] Continue reading
Officials: Trump may roll back Obama opening with Cuba
Officials: Trump may roll back Obama opening with Cuba By Patrick Oppmann and Elise Labott, CNN Updated 0903 GMT (1703 HKT) May 31, 2017 Story highlights Officials: Trump may reverse Obama-era policies softening relations with Cuba Gesture would fulfill campaign promises to Cuban-American voters and anti-Castro Congress members Havana, Cuba (CNN)President Donald Trump is expected […] 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
Can We Progress in Cuba under the Current Model?
Can We Progress in Cuba under the Current Model? May 29, 2017 HAVANA TIMES — I couldn’t help but think about the analogy of a popular Cuban saying when reflecting upon the prospects we have of our economy progressing by 2030, while reading about a case in the Juventud Rebelde newspaper last week. The article […] Continue reading
Number of Political Prisoners Doubles In Last Year, According To Human Rights Group
Number of Political Prisoners Doubles In Last Year, According To Human Rights Group 14ymedio, Havana, 8 May 2017 – The number of political prisoners has doubled this year, according to the most recent report from the Cuban Commission on Human Rights and National Reconciliation (CCDHRN), which counts 140 people charged for these reasons in April, […] Continue reading
Can Libertarians End the Communist Monopoly in Cuba?
Can Libertarians End the Communist Monopoly in Cuba? Quornsum May 8, 2017 By Dries Van Thielen Ever since some guy on a motorcycle and another guy in the Sierra Maestra hunted President Fulgencio Batista away, the government in Cuba consisted solely of members from the Cuban Communist Party. Thusly, all 612 seats in parliament are […] Continue reading
Cuba: Another perspective
Cuba: Another perspective U.S. Rep. Roger Marshall wants to sell Kansas wheat to Cuba (“Congressman reflects on a recent Cuba trip,” High Plains Journal, April 10), and has filled a bill that “allows” American banks and to finance the Cuban government’s purchase. Really? Cuba has one of the worst credit records in the world. Americans […] Continue reading
If Venezuela Goes to Hell, Will Things Look Bad for Cuba?
If Venezuela Goes to Hell, Will Things Look Bad for Cuba? / Iván García Ivan Garcia, 28 April 2017 — Soot covers the unpainted facades of buildings on Tenth of October Boulevard. Old American cars from the 1950s, rebuilt with modern diesel engines and now privately operated as taxis, transit across asphalt, leaving behind a […] Continue reading
May Day in Havana Dedicated To Maduro, Interrupted by a US Flag
May Day in Havana Dedicated To Maduro, Interrupted by a US Flag 14ymedio, Havana, 1 May 2017 — The mobilization for the May Day parade began in Havana before midnight the day before. With the first light of dawn, the mass rally in Plaza of the Revolution began, with allusions to the late President Fidel […] Continue reading
Protester disrupts start of Cuba’s annual May Day parade
Protester disrupts start of Cuba’s annual May Day parade President Raul Castro in attendance as man breaks through security By Associated Press , Hatzel Vela – Reporter Posted: 11:40 AM, May 01, 2017 Updated: 12:37 PM, May 01, 2017 HAVANA – A protester has briefly disrupted the start of Cuba’s largest annual political event, sprinting […] Continue reading
Protester disrupts start of Cuba's annual May Day parade
Protester disrupts start of Cuba’s annual May Day parade
President Raul Castro in attendance as man breaks through security
By Associated Press , Hatzel Vela – Reporter
Posted: 11:40 AM, May 01, 2017
Updated: 12:37 PM, May 01, 2017
HAVANA – A protester has briefly disrupted the start of Cuba’s largest
annual political event, sprinting in front of May Day… Continue reading
Cuban Counterintelligence Plays Hardball with Journalists
Cuban Counterintelligence Plays Hardball with Journalists / Iván García Ivan Garcia, 17 April 2017 — Money is no object. When it comes to thwarting, harassing and repressing intellectuals or journalists, there are always enough funds in military’s coffers to write a blank check. Solid numbers are hard to come by but, according to conservative estimates, […] Continue reading
The King, The President and The Dictator
The King, The President and The Dictator
14ymedio, Yoani Sanchez, Havana, 23 April 2017 — In the palace of the
Captains General in Havana there is a throne awaiting its king. It was
prepared when Cuba was still a Spanish colony and a monarch has never
sat in its imposing structure. The visit of Spain’s King Felipe VI visit
may… Continue reading
Should U.S. Companies Hit ‘Pause’ on Doing Business in Cuba?
Should U.S. Companies Hit ‘Pause’ on Doing Business in Cuba?
Apr 20, 2017
President Trump’s government has yet to reveal its hand on the issue of
reconciliation with Cuba. There had been a lot of progress towards
greater ties following President’s Obama’s overtures in December 2014:
Some cooperation agreements were signed – particularly in aviation and
communications — and Google… 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 opposition candidates say targeted for reprisals
Cuba opposition candidates say targeted for reprisals AFP April 12, 2017 Havana (AFP) – Cuban dissidents planning to run in the communist country’s local elections in November have been arrested, threatened and otherwise harassed by the authorities, one of their leaders said Tuesday. At least five would-be candidates have been charged with crimes such as […] Continue reading
Cuban Opponents Who Bet On The Ballot Box
Cuban Opponents Who Bet On The Ballot Box 14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar, Havana, 3 April 2017 – In any part of the world, the first option a politician has to participate in power is usually through elections, but in Cuba this path seems the most Utopian. However, on the eve of the start of the electoral […] Continue reading
Health Of Three Siblings On Hunger Strike In Cuba Worsens
Health Of Three Siblings On Hunger Strike In Cuba Worsens 14ymedio Havana, 27 March 2017 — The health of the siblings Fidel Batista Leyva, and Anairis and Adairis Miranda Leyva is worsening, as Monday marked their 21 days on a hunger strike, according to their mother, Maydolis Leyva Portelles, who spoke with 14ymedio. Members of […] Continue reading
PostCastro Cuba isn't that different from before
Post-Fidel-Castro Cuba isn’t that different from before
Deepa Fernandes, PRI’s The World
For years, opponents of Cuba’s socialist revolution pegged the system’s
downfall to the inevitable death of its leader, Fidel Castro. Yet,
months after Castro’s death, there have been no major protests on the
streets of Havana, no popular uprising against the ruling Communist Party.
As Gladys Esther Marta… Continue reading
PostCastro Cuba isn’t that different from before
Post-Fidel-Castro Cuba isn’t that different from before Deepa Fernandes, PRI’s The World For years, opponents of Cuba’s socialist revolution pegged the system’s downfall to the inevitable death of its leader, Fidel Castro. Yet, months after Castro’s death, there have been no major protests on the streets of Havana, no popular uprising against the ruling Communist […] Continue reading
Raul Castro Squandered His Last Chance
Raul Castro Squandered His Last Chance / 14ymedio, Yoani Sanchez 14ymedio, Generation Y, Yoani Sanchez, Havana, 22 March 2017 — A year ago Cuba had a once in a lifetime opportunity. US President Barack Obama came to the island willing to turn the page on political confrontation. The gesture transcended the diplomatic situation, but Raul […] Continue reading
The Government Prohibits Berta Soler From Leaving Cuba
The Government Prohibits Berta Soler From Leaving Cuba / 14ymedio 14ymedio, Havana, 21 March 2017 – This Tuesday, the Cuban government prevented Berta Soler, leader of the Ladies in White movement, from traveling outside the country because of an unpaid fine for for an alleged infraction “against public adornment.” Meanwhile, the authorities accuse her of […] Continue reading
Repression in Cuba Comes in Many Forms
Repression in Cuba Comes in Many Forms March 7, 2017 By Osmel Ramirez Alvarez HAVANA TIMES — Every Sunday, there is the “Los Chinos” agro-market fair in the city of Holguin in eastern Cuba. Trucks loaded with produce come from all over the country, mainly from its central provinces. As there is competition and since […] Continue reading
Raúl Castro slams Trump – and I’m forced to agree with the dictator. How sick is that?
Raúl Castro slams Trump – and I’m forced to agree with the dictator. How sick is that? BY FABIOLA SANTIAGO fsantiago@miamiherald.com Cuban dictator Raúl Castro has no moral authority to condemn any democratically elected world leader. Not when the most distinguishing trait of his and his late brother’s legacy is death, prison and exile for […] Continue reading
Cuba Kills Another Dissident
Cuba Kills Another Dissident After Obama’s detente: More tourists on the island and more repression. By Mary Anastasia O’Grady March 5, 2017 5:08 p.m. ET Score another kill for the Cuban military dictatorship: Last month it eliminated Afro-Cuban dissident Hamell Santiago Más Hernández, an inmate of one of its most notoriously brutal prisons. The remarkable […] Continue reading
HUMAN RIGHTS? CUBA ARRESTS, ORDERS TRIAL FOR HOMESCHOOLING PARENTS
HUMAN RIGHTS? CUBA ARRESTS, ORDERS TRIAL FOR HOMESCHOOLING PARENTS Father reports: ‘They are making inquiries as if we were criminals’ Published: 16 hours ago BOB UNRUH Even as President Trump prepares to undo some of Barack Obama’s executive orders to normalize America’s relations with Cuba, the communist island nation remains far short of international human-rights […] Continue reading