The Obama administration has acknowledged that environmental degradation and climate change are two of the most pressing issues for the contemporary global community. In response, a release from the Council on Hemispheric Affairs (COHA) argues that if sustainability is really a concern of Washington’s, then that is reason enough to consider greater levels of cooperation […]
A number of articles that paint a rosy (and touristy) picture of Cuba have cropped up in various U.S. cities in recent weeks. Because each piece makes a largely emotional and romantic presentation of the island, they likely attract a good number of U.S. readers seeking to reaffirm the Cuba of their imaginations. Cuba enchants […]
After 15 years of requests, Cuban-Argentine neurosurgeon Hilda Molina was at last granted the necessary permission to leave Cuba and visit her son, grandchildren and ailing mother, all of whom reside in Argentina. Until now, she has been repeatedly denied permission to travel on the basis that her medical knowledge was “Cuban property,” such that last […]
BBC World and BBC Persian services have done a remarkable job in the last two weeks highlighting the Muslim world after President Obama’s speech in Cairo, elections in Lebanon and today’s election in Iran, as well as international links to changing events in the region. To begin, various stories put out by BBC, while not directly […]
As a great fan of films from Latin America and abroad, I would like to present to readers of the Latin America Blog one of our fellow bloggers, Sean Murphy of FPA’s Global Film Review Blog. Sean seeks to give interesting and concise reviews on his impressions of films from around the globe, and has […]
There is an article here that was recommended to me recently, and although some of its observations are sound enough, some are not. The author’s general argument is that the U.S. policy of pushing for “change” and “freedom” in Cuba is really about a desire for economic change, open markets and freer capital flow, hidden […]
Big newspapers in Trinidad and in Jamaica ran stories today on Caribbean neighbor Cuba. The Jamaica Observer posted a story as a follow-up to last week’s conference on Caribbean Studies in Kingston and its presentation on “US-Cuba Relations: A Roundtable Discussion with Washington Think Tanks.” During the session, this piece reports, Daniel Erikson of the Inter-American […]
The rare independent journalism that exists in Cuba gives an important glimpse into daily happenings in the country and provides a good idea of what it means to live in a nation that identifies as Communist/socialist. I find that events in Cuba can actually succeed in surprising me every so often, which in turn reminds […]
A comment at the end of this article (about emigration from Cuba) struck me today as wonderfully insightful. The editorial, called “La emigración: un fenómeno alarmante,” was published in an online magazine called Vitral: La Libertad de la Luz, compiled by the diocese in Pinar del Río (Cuba). The author recognizes that external actors, e.g. the international community and the United […]
U.S. Charges Couple With Spying for Cuba Today the U.S. Justice Department charged that a former State Department analyst and his wife (Walter K. Myers, age 72, and Gwendolyn S. Myers, 71) worked as spies for Cuba for nearly three decades, passing “secret diplomatic information” by way of a short-wave radio to Cuban handlers. The […]
Yesterday’s decision by the OAS to allow Cuba to reapply for membership in the group (see previous post) spurred quick and, for the most part, predictable responses from the relevant actors we noted—Cuban leadership, certain members of U.S. Congress, and Hugo Chávez and Daniel Ortega. Cuban officials, for their part, rejected the invitation to rejoin. Ricardo Alarcón, President […]
This is an historic day. I’ll allow the New York Times to report: After two days of intense negotiations, the Organization of American States agreed Wednesday to lift a cold war provision that suspended Cuba from the group but also accepted a list of conditions, backed by Washington, that Havana would have to meet before […]
El Salvador’s new president, Mauricio Funes, was inaugurated yesterday in front of an audience of several prominent heads of state (including Brazilian President Lula da Silva) and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Today, Cuba and El Salvador signed an agreement to fully normalize relations—a significant and symbolic act for Funes on his first day […]
Today marked the beginning of the new economic measures meant to cut energy costs on the island. Local media and food industry sources reported the following developments: All provincial governments and most state-run offices and factories (which encompass 90 percent of Cuba’s economic activity) were ordered to reduce energy consumption by a minimum of 12 […]
The Cuban government indicated yesterday—through Cuban Interests Section head Jorge Bolaños—that it was willing to open high level talks on migration, as proposed last week by the Obama administration. Bolaños formally accepted the U.S. offer and also expressed interest in (eventually) resuming direct U.S. mail service to the island and initiating additional bilateral dialogue on […]