The greatest challenge to affecting change in current U.S. policies toward Cuba, of course, is the fractious political environment and correspondingly disparate views (both in the public and within government) on what should be done. Nearly everyone seems to agree on a key point about Cuba policy: the embargo and related travel ban have not […]
At this point, it is unlikely that anyone has missed word of Arizona’s new immigration law. SB 1070 was signed by Governor Jan Brewer on April 23 and is the nation’s toughest law on unauthorized immigration. For the month since its passing, the country and the hemisphere have been abuzz debating the controversial nature of […]
Brazil’s President Lula is a largely beloved figure, in his country and abroad: Barack Obama is widely quoted as having told Lula, upon meeting at the G20 summit in London in April 2009, that the Brazilian leader was “the most popular politician on earth.” But even Lula appears to have some issues that he cannot […]
In the face of machismo and homophobia on the island and in much of the Hemisphere, and despite an international community that may be tending more towards tolerance of LGBT individuals but is still far from fully accepting these into society, Cuba—as we’ve noted previously—has a surprisingly high level of institutional support for the gay, […]
Cuba offers payback plan for frozen bank accounts (Reuters) After freezing hundreds of millions of foreign businesses’ dollars in Cuban banks over the last 1-2 years, Havana is now offering a 2 percent interest rate and a five-year plan to pay these funds out to the companies that are owed. One loophole-sounding proviso: the payments […]
Inflammatory phrases like “Havana’s human rights hell” and “11 million Cubans enslaved for the last 50 years” are just that—inflammatory. They do nothing to encourage any sort of international understanding or change on the part of the Cuban regime. Nor do they advance the cause of detente between the United States and Cuba, or indeed, Cuba and […]
The death last week of Orlando Zapata Tamayo, the hunger-striking Cuban prisoner, has proven to be a international issue of grand proportions, and Havana is stubbornly pushing back against the waves of pressure from friends and foes abroad. On Wednesday, authorities arrested or detained at least 30 recognized dissidents in order to prevent them from […]
This was a week of international attention for Cuba. On Tuesday, Orlando Zapata Tamayo—a 42-year-old plumber imprisoned in 2003 who was serving a 36-year sentence for disobedience of the government, among other charges—died in prison after an 85-day hunger strike in protest of inhumane prison conditions. His death drew condemnation from the United States, Canada, Spain […]
High-level U.S.-Cuba talks on migration did occur on Friday, and the five-hour talks were open and frank. State Department officials called for the release of detained U.S. contractor Alan Gross. The Cuban side listened, though without indicating how they would proceed. Cuban officials brought up their own demand for the release of the Cuban Five. […]
Republican Representative Lincoln Diaz-Balart (Florida) is one of the staunchest congressional supporters of the U.S. trade embargo against Cuba. In a noon conference today, Diaz-Balart announced that he would not run again in his Florida election district: he will retire from politics and return to practicing law. In that context, he said, he would work […]
Canada keeps a much lower profile in the hemisphere than the outspoken United States; perhaps it is the simple comparison to Washington which allows it to maintain largely friendly relations with every government in the West. Still, it is interesting that Cuba’s two large northern neighbors would have such very different relationships with Havana. One […]