Viewing from January 2017

CELAC Special Declaration: End the US blockade of Cuba

News from Cuba | Thursday, 26 January 2017

Special Declaration on the need to put an end to the Economic, Commercial and Financial Blockade imposed by the United States of America against Cuba The Heads of State and Government of Latin America and the Caribbean, Gathered in Punta Cana, the Dominican Republic, on occasion of the 5th Summit of ... read more

Never has it been more necessary to effectively advance along the path of unity: Raúl Castro at CELAC

News from Cuba | Thursday, 26 January 2017

"Cuba will not make concessions on its sovereignty and independence" with the United States, Raúl Castro says in his speech at the 5th CELAC Summit, in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, on January 25, 2017 Esteemed President Medina; Esteemed Heads of State and Government of Latin America and the Caribbean; Distinguished Heads of Delegations ... read more

Raúl Castro: Cuba won't compromise sovereignty to normalise US relations

News from Cuba | Thursday, 26 January 2017

President said Cuba hopes to continue to repair relations but made it clear that Trump administration should not expect concessions affecting independence Raúl Castro has said Cuba hopes to continue to normalise relations with the United States but made it clear that the Trump administration should not expect concessions affecting the ... read more

Cuba building new 59 solar parks

News from Cuba | Wednesday, 25 January 2017

HAVANA.— Work brigades from Cuba’s Ministry of Construction (Mincons) have begun to build 59 solar parks across the island, announced the engineering and research services Project Board (FP), responsible for realising investment initiatives, January 19, in the capital. Thirty-three of the parks are scheduled to be completed this year by the ... read more

Rally of the Pencils in Havana, 1961

Cuba's Literacy Revolution

News from Cuba | Tuesday, 24 January 2017

Cuba’s literacy campaign was one of the major achievements of the revolution. Its success continues today, writes SUSAN PIPER IT reads like a fairy story. Thousands of young, eager volunteers armed only with books, pencils and gas lamps venturing inland to the Cuban countryside with one common aim: to teach their ... read more

Rex Tillerson Set to Reverse Obama's Decrees on Cuba

News from Cuba | Tuesday, 24 January 2017

The secretary of state nominee committed to deeply reviewing Obama's overtures to the socialist nation. At his confirmation hearing, former ExxonMobil chief executive Rex Tillerson said he would reverse, or comprehensively review, former President Barack Obama’s executive orders and concessions on Cuba. “There will be a comprehensive review of current policies and ... read more

Recovery efforts advancing in Guantánamo

News from Cuba | Monday, 23 January 2017

70% of homes damaged by Hurricane Matthew, which hit eastern Cuba last October, have already been repaired Guantánamo.– To date, around 29,600 homes, or 70% of the 42,338 damaged by Hurricane Matthew, have been repaired, due in large part to the efforts of the Cuban state to supply materials and several ... read more

Donald Trump speaking at the Bay of Pigs Brigade 2506 during the campaign trail

CSC Statement: New threats to Cuba from Trump administration

Campaign News | Friday, 20 January 2017

CSC Statement: New threats to Cuba from Trump administration CSC is concerned about the future of Cuba-US relations under the new Donald Trump administration in the United States. CSC welcomed the change in US policies towards Cuba under Barack Obama, including the re-establishment of diplomatic relations and the signing of a range ... read more

Thousands arrived at Plaza de la Revolucion in Havana, to mourn Fidel Castro's death

Cuban human rights and the hypocrisy of the media

News from Cuba | Thursday, 19 January 2017

Havana, Cuba - At midnight on November 26, after an uneventful Friday evening, the neighbours called and beckoned me through their front door. A young Cuban family sat transfixed to the television. Raul Castro appeared on screen, his gruff voice creaking with emotion, and announced: "At 10:29 tonight, the commander-in-chief of ... read more

Cuba, US Rush Through Bilateral Deals as Trump Presidency Looms

News from Cuba | Wednesday, 18 January 2017

Trump's statements and Cabinet picks signal a possible rollback of policy reforms toward Cuba. Cuban President Raul Castro and U.S. President Barack Obama are rushing to finish negotiations on a diverse set of bilateral agreements this week, less than 48 hours before U.S. President-elect Donald Trump is sworn in. The first agreement ... read more

U.S. imposes more fines to enforce the blockade

News from Cuba | Tuesday, 17 January 2017

The U.S. Treasury Department has imposed fines on the nonprofit organisation Alliance for Responsible Cuba Policy and the Canadian bank Toronto Dominion (TD), for $10,000 and $955,750, respectively On January 12 and 13, 2017, the U.S. Treasury Department imposed fines on the nonprofit organisation Alliance for Responsible Cuba Policy (ARCP) and ... read more

Cuba reaffirms its commitment to regular, safe, and orderly migration

News from Cuba | Tuesday, 17 January 2017

Press conference with Josefina Vidal Ferreiro, MINREX Director General for the United States, at the International Press Centre, Havana, January 12, 2017, “Year 59 of the Revolution” Josefina Vidal.- Today, January 12, the governments of Cuba and the United States signed a new migration agreement, which went into effect this afternoon. At ... read more

Obama Ends Wet Foot, Dry Foot Policy

News from Cuba | Saturday, 14 January 2017

SOLIDARITY campaigners welcomed US President Barack Obama’s ending of the “wet-foot/dry foot” policy which saw Cuban immigrants risk their lives at sea. The contentious policy, introduced under former president Bill Clinton, stipulated that any migrants intercepted at sea would be sent home, but those who set foot on US soil could ... read more

Raul Castro and Barack Obama began the normalisation of relations process

New US Administration hints tougher policy against Cuba

News from Cuba | Friday, 13 January 2017

HAVANA, Cuba, Jan 12 (ACN) US State Secretary candidate Rex Tillerson said he would suggest president-elect Donald Trump to veto any bill aimed at lifting the nearly-60-year long US economic, commercial and financial blockade of Cuba. According to a Washington Post report commented by Cubadebate website, Tillerson said that the reestablishment ... read more

Obama Announces End to Cuban 'Wet Foot, Dry Foot' Policy

News from Cuba | Friday, 13 January 2017

The Obama administration is ending a policy that granted residency to Cubans who arrived in the United States without visas, the White House announced Thursday. A White House statement said, "The Department of Homeland Security is ending the so-called 'wet-foot/dry foot' policy, which was put in place more than 20 years ... read more

CSC statement on US immigration policy changes

Campaign News | Friday, 13 January 2017

CSC director Rob Miller comments on the recent ending of the 'wet foot, dry foot' immigration policy "We welcome Barack Obama’s move to end the so called ‘wet-foot, dry-foot policy’ which has encouraged illegal and dangerous migration to the United States for the last twenty years. However the fact remains that ... read more

U.S. and Cuba meet to discuss human trafficking and confiscated property claims

News from Cuba | Friday, 13 January 2017

Two separate delegations with representatives from the United States and Cuba will meet in Washington and Havana to discuss human trafficking and confiscated property claims. The meeting in Washington, which begins Thursday and will run through Friday, is the fourth exchange between the two countries on the issue of trafficking in ... read more

Tillerson would recommend veto of bill ending Cuba embargo

News from Cuba | Friday, 13 January 2017

Secretary of State nominee Rex Tillerson said Wednesday that he wouldn't support legislation to end the U.S. embargo against Cuba, a major goal of the Obama administration that now seems likely to go unfulfilled for the next several years. The Obama administration did all it could to ease trade and travel ... read more

Tillerson says Trump is prepping to review Obama’s Cuba policy

News from Cuba | Friday, 13 January 2017

Tillerson said relations with Cuba are on the list of the executive orders the president is preparing to review, starting on Day One. Speaking at the Senate committee hearing on his nomination as secretary of state he told Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) that President-elect Trump “would not immediately approve” a ... read more

Cuban Health Experts to Help Chicago's Poorest Communities

News from Cuba | Thursday, 12 January 2017

Over the past 50 years, Cuba has trained more than 80,000 doctors from Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa, the United States, Pakistan and China for free. Cuban health experts will collaborate with local specialists in Chicago in order to deliver health care assessments to some of the city's most vulnerable communities, ... read more

NUT delegates join in a performance at a school in Pinar del Rio

In Cuba, Art is Part of Everything

News from Cuba | Thursday, 12 January 2017

While working-class British kids are denied access to many of the arts in school, Cuban kids have them woven into their national curriculum, writes KAREN PARKIN IN FRONT of you — a band of strolling musicians with traditional guitars and hand-carved percussion singing folk songs. Beside you, the exquisite, skilful marquetry of ... read more

Cuba, US sign deal on oil-spill prevention

News from Cuba | Tuesday, 10 January 2017

HAVANA — Cuba and the United States have signed an accord on preventing and cleaning up oil spills in the Gulf of Mexico and the Florida Straits. Monday’s agreement is another step in the Obama Administration’s efforts to solidify its legacy of normalisation with Cuba before a Republican administration takes over. The ... read more

It's Time to Give Cuba the Credit It Deserves for Its Global Medical Accomplishments

News from Cuba | Tuesday, 10 January 2017

Doctors trained and sponsored by the Cuban government are providing free health care to vulnerable populations throughout Haiti. Many people will never hear about how at the end of 2016, 38 medical professionals from Cuba’s Henry Reeve Brigade returned home after more than two tireless months of treating Haitians. They were ... read more

Vigilance: The key to Cuba's infant mortality rate

News from Cuba | Thursday, 5 January 2017

Behind the dream materialised in reaching an infant mortality rate below five per 1,000 live births for the ninth consecutive year, are the efforts, dedication, talent and responsibility of Cuban health professionals This is not an isolated or fortuitous event. Above all, it is the expression of what can ... read more

Cuba Maintains Low Rate of Infant Mortality

News from Cuba | Tuesday, 3 January 2017

Havana, Jan 3 (Prensa Latina) Cuba has maintained, for the ninth consecutive year, an infant mortality rate of less than five deaths per thousand live births. In 2016, of 116,869 live births, there were 497 deaths in children under a year old, 38 less than in 2015. The figures translate into ... read more

Sandra Lansky, right, holds a photo of her father, gangster and casino owner Meyer Lansky, during a visit with her son Gary Rapoport, left, at her Seminole Heights home. [JAMES BORCHUCK | Times]

Trump faces decision on letting Americans sue over Cuba property

News from Cuba | Monday, 2 January 2017

Supporters of improved relations with Cuba say President-elect Donald Trump will have a hard time reversing the two years of momentum created by his predecessor. But they acknowledge that Trump, who has signaled that he wants a better deal from Cuba, has at least one potent legal card at his ... read more

New Miami Five Freedom Tour film

Campaign News | Sunday, 1 January 2017

In July 2016 CSC was proud to welcome René Gonzalez and Gerardo Hernández of the Miami Five to Britain for the long awaited Freedom Tour. After sixteen years fighting for their freedom from US jails, and a two year battle against the Home Secretary for visas to visit Britain, René Gonazalez ... read more