Tag Archives: Cuba

Politico reports: In 2021, like many Cubans and Cuban Americans that summer, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio was jamming to “Patria y Vida,” the Grammy-winning protest anthem that became a rallying cry for dissidents in Cuba. The hip-hop song, whose title translates to “Homeland and Life,” directly rebuked Fidel Castro’s revolutionary slogan, “Patria o Muerte” — “Homeland or Death.” That was …

The Associated Press reports: The Biden administration on Tuesday is notifying Congress of its intent to lift the U.S. designation of Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism, the White House announced, as part of a deal facilitated by the Catholic Church to free political prisoners on the island. Senior U.S. administration officials, who previewed the announcement on the condition …

Bloomberg reports: Electricity went out across the entirety of Cuba after the island’s main power plant failed and the government throttled key industries in an effort to save fuel. In a post on X, the Ministry of Energy and Mines said the unexpected failure of the 330-megawatt capacity CTE Antonio Guiteras plant at about 11 a.m. Friday had caused a …

Reuters reports: Cuba said late on Saturday it had thwarted a terrorist plot hatched in neighboring south Florida, according to a report broadcast on state-run media, after a man allegedly arrived on the island by jetski to commit acts of violence. The resulting investigation, which state-run media said was still underway, alleged the plot was tied to at least two …

The Associated Press reports: A former American diplomat who served as U.S. ambassador to Bolivia has been arrested in a long-running FBI counterintelligence investigation, accused of secretly serving as an agent of Cuba’s government, The Associated Press has learned. Manuel Rocha, 73, was arrested in Miami on Friday on a criminal complaint and more details about the case are expected …

The Texas Tribune reports: Mexico will deport certain migrants from some of its northern border cities as part of an agreement with U.S. immigration officials who have reported a sharp increase of migrants attempting to cross the border in recent weeks, according to Mexico’s immigration enforcement authority. Mexico’s National Migration Institute said that it wants to “depressurize” the border cities …

Reuters reports: The United States has resumed full immigrant visa services at its embassy in Cuba’s capital, five years after Washington closed consular services in Havana due to a spate of unexplained health incidents. In a statement last week, the embassy confirmed that it would begin processing immigrant visas on Wednesday, including permits for Cubans reuniting with family in the …

The Associated Press reports: Serious, standing upright and dressed in long gala dresses – despite the midday Cuban heat – Lisset and Liusba quietly walk up the ten steps of the notary office, their hands clenched and shaking. Less than a few feet ahead walk their two young daughters. Nearly an hour later, when they walked out of the doors, …

The BBC reports: Cuba has voted to legalise same-sex marriage in a national referendum. About two-thirds of the population voted to approve reforms in a new Family Code, which will also allow surrogate pregnancies and give gay couples the right to adopt children. It marks a big moment for Cuba, which saw gay people persecuted and sent to work camps …

Reuters reports: Cubans will cast ballots this Sunday on whether to approve a new ‘family code’ that would legalize gay marriage and boost women’s rights, with the government urging citizens to vote “yes” despite anger over the worst economic crisis in decades. The Communist-run government – long the vanguard of Latin America’s left – has in the last week flooded …

Via press release from the US Embassy in Havana: Consistent with our commitments under the Los Angeles Declaration on Migration and Protection to facilitate safe, orderly, humane, and regular migration, the United States is today announcing an expansion of regular pathways available to Cubans wishing to come to the United States and an increase in personnel at the U.S. Embassy …

From the Justice Department: Yesterday, a federal judge in Miami ordered that a Hialeah resident who allegedly submitted more than $4 million in fraudulent health care claims to Medicare be detained pending trial, after the defendant was arrested on board a jet ski headed south from Key West toward Cuba. According to allegations in the criminal complaint, from February through …

Politico reports: Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador will skip the Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles later this week over objections to President Joe Biden’s guest list for the event. López Obrador confirmed his decision Monday following weeks of threats that he would to stay home if the White House refused to invite authoritarian leaders from Cuba, Nicaragua …

Reuters reports: The administration of President Joe Biden on Wednesday revoked a series of restrictions on flights to Cuba imposed by his predecessor, including ending a prohibition on U.S. airline flights to Cuban airports other than Havana. The U.S. Transportation Department (USDOT) issued the order at the request of Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who said the action was “in …

Reuters reports: Cuba’s communist government is seeking to rally support for a new family code that would open the door to gay marriage and boost women’s rights, but experts and a recent survey suggest an upcoming referendum vote may not provide a rubber stamp. The new code would legalize same sex marriage and civil unions, allow such couples to adopt …

Mediaite reports: The Department of Homeland Security reminded Floridians ahead of a flotilla scheduled to travel near Cuba on Thursday that it was “illegal” to travel to the island nation without permission from the federal government. “It is illegal for boaters to depart with the intent to travel to Cuba for any purpose without a permit,” the department said in …

Florida Politics reports: Gov. Ron DeSantis said he supports demonstrators showing support for the protests in Cuba, but he does not support those demonstrators blocking major South Florida thoroughfares. Demonstrators supporting the protests in Cuba marched to Miami’s Palmetto Expressway Tuesday, where several of them sat down in the roadway. Traffic was eventually blocked in both directions. “We can’t have …

The Associated Press reports: Demonstrators expressing solidarity with the thousands of Cubans who waged a rare weekend of protests around their island nation shut down a stretch of a major South Florida expressway Tuesday. The large group gathered at a busy Miami intersection chanting support for the Cubans, who had taken to the streets of several communities around the communist …

Mediaite reports: Miami mayor Francis Suarez appeared on Fox News Tuesday to offer suggestions on the United States should respond to the unrest in Cuba, where tens of thousands of protestors have risen up against the communist regime. Suarez told Fox News anchor Martha MacCallum he thinks military options should be on the table. “Are you suggesting air strikes in …

CNBC reports: “We stand with the Cuban people and their clarion call for freedom and relief from the tragic grip of the pandemic and from the decades of repression and economic suffering to which they have been subjected by Cuba’s authoritarian regime,” President Joe Biden said in a statement Monday. “The Cuban people are bravely asserting fundamental and universal rights. …