Business between Cuba and four of its top five trading partners has declined sharply in 2009 in a painful reflection of the island’s economic crisis. China, Spain, Canada and the United States all reported 20 to 50 percent declines in exports to and (minus the USA) imports from Cuba. Percent change in Imports from/Exports to […]
As noted last week, telecommunications companies from the United States were in limbo on the question of doing business in Cuba: the Obama administration had given them the green light, but Cuba remained silent. Only when permission was given by both sides would they be able to forge ahead with ambitious plans for laying cables […]
For a country where only 2.1% of the population has regular access to global internet, Cuba has a surprisingly vibrant blogosphere (see the Committee to Protect Journalists’ special report here). And Cuban bloggers have recently been testing the bounds of free expression and tolerated opinions in the nation, writing vivid accounts of everyday life and […]
The most intriguing headlines of the day: Divided Cuban community meets on “Planet Facebook” Reuters reports that a number of Cubans on the island have been able to open accounts on Facebook, the social networking site with 300 million subscribers globally. For Cubans, the site acts as a forum with family and friends that have […]
Lazaro Barredo Medina, editor of the Communist Party’s Granma newspaper, wrote a full-page (signed) opinion piece on Friday telling Cubans to start preparing for life without ration books. He argued that the “libreta” had outlived its usefulness (it’s been around since 1962), and is now an inefficient expenditure by the state as Cuba tries to […]
A small Miami-based telecommunications company—TeleCuba Communications Inc.—announced today that the U.S. government (i.e. the Treasury Department) has given it permission to lay the first optical communications fiber from the United States to Cuba. They are the first so far: President Obama eased long-standing restrictions on telecommunication links to Cuba in April, but other companies have […]
From Phil Peters’ The Havana Note, this might be the most concise and apt summary I’ve seen of the inconsistencies in U.S. policy toward Cuban immigrants. It is a strong argument for revision of those policies, as it directly responds to the opposition’s claims, as well: “If you believe in the embargo as an instrument of pressure, […]
In September, the Associated Press reported that Cuba had adopted a policy that would allow access to the Internet through computer facilities at post offices. Previously, Cubans could access e-mail through the island intranet at such hubs, but had little general web access. The announcement signaled a policy change (the resolution that changed the policy […]
Please excuse the downtime over the last several days on this site. FPA is working hard on resolving several issues, and we should be back up and running on all cylinders soon. Thanks to all, Melissa
Jokes between U.S. and Cuban officials? Very unusual. Humor does not usually enter the US-Cuban relationship, but this is funny: At a New America Foundation reception today, Jorge Bolaños—the Cuban representative in Washington in lieu of a formal ambassador—related a story in which the State Department recently denied a visa to Ricardo Alarcón, the president of […]
Yoani Sanchez, the famous “Generation Y” blogger from Cuba, comments in today’s Huffington Post on the gap between Cuba’s projection of above-average health to the international community and the actual situation on the ground, which goes unmentioned by state-run media. The country’s practical troubles may explain why Cuba changed its tune in the course of […]
Actor Alec Baldwin ran a piece on Cuba in the Huffington Post today as a response to the recent announcement that the New York Philharmonic would no longer perform in Havana at the end of this month. The Orchestra’s decision came after the U.S. Treasury Department denied the necessary permission for travel to Cuba to […]
This upcoming week and month will bring attention from the FPA towards Latin America. In addition, Fareed Zakaria interviewed Alvaro Uribe, President of Colombia last week and the interview was aired this past Sunday. Brazil and Rio de Janeiro has also won their bid to host the first Olympics for Brazil and South America as […]
Around 200,000 private farmers and their families grow and cure tobacco for cigars under contract with the Cuban state, and tens of thousands more roll the leaves into puros for export. Cuba’s cigar brands, which include Cohiba, Montecristo, Trinidad and Partagas, dominate the global premium market: their sales comprise 70% of the world total (even while they […]
Raúl’s promise of a new socialist model continues to evolve in practice: The Cuban state began a trial program yesterday that closed state-run lunchrooms in four government ministries and instead provided workers with a small stipend for lunch, equivalent to about 60-70 cents. The idea is to see how well it works and whether the lunchroom […]