Cuba's largest newspaper publishes critical letters on economy
May 31, 2010, El Nuevo Hearld - In recent months, Cuba's largest newspaper has published letters to the editor on how to fix the nation's economy. Read More
"Ladies in White" say Cuba prisoner plight goes on
May 30, 2010, Reuters - The Cuban government has not yet improved conditions for political prisoners or released any as had been hoped after recent talks between Catholic Church leaders and President Raul Castro, Cuba's "Ladies in White" dissident group said Sunday. Read More
US steps up Cuba cooperation after Gulf oil spill
May 26, 2010, Reuters - The U.S. government has licensed a Houston-based oil drilling group to travel to Cuba to start cooperation on safety and environmental practices following the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Read More
Cuba to improve conditions of prisoners: source
May 22, 2010, Reuters - Cuba has agreed to move political prisoners held in far-off jails to facilities closer to their hometowns and transfer sick prisoners to hospitals, a dissident said on Saturday, following talks between Catholic Church leaders and President Raul Castro this week. Read More
Church leaders ask Raúl Castro to free dissidents
May 21, 2010, El Nuevo Herald - Catholic church leaders in Havana said they are negotiating for the release of dissidents. Read More
U.S. approvals of Cuba travel providers make big jump
May 20, 2010, El Nuevo Herald - The U.S. agency that enforces Cuba sanctions approved 42 new travel and other service providers this year, compared to none in 2009, in what government officials described as a push sparked by changes in the Obama administration policy and the bureaucracy.Read More
Washington, Havana talk about oil spill risk to Cuba
May 19, 2010, Reuters - The United States and Cuba, close neighbors but ideological foes, are talking about the potential risks from a huge Gulf of Mexico oil spill that forecasters say could be carried to Cuban shores by strong ocean currents. Read More
Cuba's disaffected youth finds its voice
May 18, 2010, The Independent - Their music is banned by the state, but rappers Los Aldeanos are still making a big noise in Havana. Read More
Cuba letting drivers rent buses, make money
May 17, 2010, Reuters - The Cuban government has begun renting its smaller city buses in Havana to the bus drivers in another minor move under President Raul Castro to ease the state's hand in Cuba's socialist economy. Read More
Cuba: EU has 'no moral authority' on human rights
May 17, 2010, EUbusiness - Cuba lashed out at the European Union's policy of linking dialogue with the communist government to human rights on the island, saying the EU does not have "any moral authority" over Havana. Read More
Cuba cedes to farmers right to purchase supplies
May 17, 2010, Reuters - Cuba's private farmers will purchase supplies directly in future instead of having them allocated by the state, the government said on Sunday, in the latest concession to their demands for more autonomy. Read More
Cuba’s Produce Market Maze
May 16, 2010, Havana Times -"Now there’s next to nothing and the produce is often horrendous,” commented an angry and exasperated customer.. Read More
Cuba today: Communism is a failure
May 16, 2010, Gainesville Times - Today the people of Cuba are living under a form of the Stockholm Syndrome: Smiling contentedly, living day to day on the government babble and the food dole. Read More
Cuba’s medical diplomacy
May 15, 2010, Financial Times - Such “medical diplomacy” has been part of Cuba’s foreign policy almost since the revolution – and has grown in intensity over the past few years, fuelled above all by strong demand from Venezuela. Read More
Spanish artists launch 'platform for democracy' in Cuba
May 13, 2010, AFP - "The Platform for Spaniards for the Democratisation of Cuba" aims to defend "the basic and essential human rights" of the people of the communist-ruled island and help them choose between "democracy and totalitarianism." Read More
THE OPPENHEIMER REPORT - Hugo Chavez ceding too much control to Cuba
May 13, 2010, Miami Herald - ...it's also a reflection of growing anxiety within Venezuela's political and military circles over the growing influence of Cuban advisors in key government offices. Read More
Cuban Farmers: A New Breeze of Fresh Air is Blowing
May 12, 2010, Granma - The final sessions –from May 14 through the 16- will be the ideal opportunity to devise strategies for the variety of problems –some of them very complex- debated during the assemblies held at cooperatives, municipalities and provincial plenary meetings.. Read More
In Cuba, Russian Tourists Peer Into Soviet Past
May 12, 2010, NPR - Communist Cuba once relied on the Soviet Union for its food, cars, oil and, of course, missiles. Now, as relations with Moscow warm up again, the island is angling for a new Russian export: tourists. Read More
Cuba mulls foreign buyout after worst sugar harvest in a century
May 10, 2010, UPI - Cuba is considering foreign -- possibly Brazilian -- buyout of its troubled sugarcane industry after the worst harvest in more than a century cost a minister his job and led to recrimination and government threats to punish other officials suspected of poor performance. Read More
Petrobras gets more time to decide Cuba oil plans
May 10, 2010, Reuters - Cuba has given Brazil's state-owned oil company Petrobras a six-month extension on its May deadline to decide whether it will drill a well in Cuban waters, a Petrobras spokesman said on Thursday. Read More
Cuba suffers exodus of the best and the brightest as economy remains in the doldrums
May 9, 2010, Guardian - Havana is being emptied of young people who are choosing emigration after Raúl Castro's promises of more freedoms come to nothing. Read More
Fidel Castro: Oil spill shows corporate domination
May 8, 2010, Associated Press/Seattle Times - Fidel Castro says the spreading oil slick fouling the Gulf of Mexico is proof that the world's most powerful governments cannot control large corporations that now dictate the public's destiny. Read More
Vatican foreign minister to visit Cuba in June
May 6, 2010, Associated Press/Fox News - The Vatican's foreign minister is coming to Cuba next month to lead discussions on the island's economic challenges and the effects of emigration and the families torn apart by it. Read More
Repsol has contract for oil rig said Cuba-bound
May 5, 2010, Reuters - Spanish oil giant Repsol YPF has contracted with a unit of Italian oil company Eni SpA for a drilling rig that some sources said was bound for operation in Cuba's still untapped offshore fields. Read More
Democrats criticize Radio, TV Martí
May 4, 2010, El Nuevo Herald - U.S. Senate Democrats, arguing that Radio and TV Martí have failed to make any visible inroads in Cuba, recommended Monday the stations be moved from Miami to Washington and folded into Voice of America. Read More
Cuba dismisses transportation, sugar ministers
May 3, 2010, Associated Press/Fox News - President Raul Castro has fired Cuba's transportation minister for professional mistakes and replaced the head of the Sugar Ministry after he admitted incompetence, the latest in a growing series of leadership shake-ups. Read More
Cuba visitors must have travel health insurance
May 3, 2010, Associated Press/Chicago Sun Times - Cuba has quietly begun requiring foreign tourists and Cubans who live overseas to hold travel insurance approved by island authorities, while making those who don't have coverage buy a local policy that can cost over $3 a day. Read More
Cuban opposition allowed to hold protest march
May 2, 2010, Associated Press/Center for Democracy/Americas - Cuba allowed a small group of dissidents to hold a protest march on Sunday after the country's top Roman Catholic clergyman negotiated with authorities, ending three straight weeks of ugly confrontations. Read More
Cubans urged on May Day to work hard, resist critics
May 1, 2010, Reuters - A sea of red-clad Cubans paraded through Havana's Revolution Square on Saturday in a politically charged May Day celebration that urged rejection of international criticism of the island's human rights policies and harder work to bolster socialism. Read More
House panel mulls bill to ease Cuban embargo
April 29, 2010, Reuters - Business and human rights groups urged Congress on Thursday to ease the decades-old embargo on Cuba by passing a bipartisan bill to lift a ban on travel to the communist country and remove certain obstacles to legal farm sales. Read More
Arrested, tried, jailed -- in less than 2 days
April 29, 2010, El Nuevo Herald - The jailing of a Cuban dissident arrested in an apparent family dispute was called `political repression' by human rights activists. Read More
Cubans go to polls as dissident group harassed
April 25, 2010, Reuters - Cubans voted on Sunday in municipal elections touted as proof of democracy on the communist-led island, but at the same time the dissident "Ladies in White" were manhandled by government supporters as they tried to march for the freedom of political prisoners. Read More
United by pain, Cuba's Ladies in White vow to keep marching.
April 24, 2010, El Nuevo Herald - Raúl Castro has clearly had enough of the Ladies in White, who have grown from a handful of protesters into a symbol of the Cuban dissident movement. Read More
Cuba's `Johnny Appleseed'
April 20, 2010, Miami Herald - A Cuban agricultural scientist who uses a guitar and a song to spread the benefits of organic farming has won the prestigious Goldman Prize, a $150,000 award presented each year to grass-roots ``environmental heroes.'' Read More
Ashton staying away from EU-Cuba meeting
March 30, 2010, EUbusiness - EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton will not attend a European Union ministerial meeting with Cuba in Madrid next week, her office said Monday. Read More
Dreaming of Cuban Profits in Post-Embargo World
March 28, 2010, New York Times - Although Cuba remains closed to American investment, dreamers in both countries are actively considering the money-making possibilities that the island might offer once the half-century-old travel and trade embargoes imposed by the United States become policies of the past. Read More
Cuba Readies for U.S. Tourists With Luxury Hotels
March 26, 2010, Bloomberg - Cuba’s hotels could manage a sudden influx of 1 million American tourists if the U.S. Congress lifts its 47-year ban on travel to the Communist island, Tourism Minister Manuel Marrero said. Read More
Cuba's food shortages
March 25, 2010, The Economist - Hungry for change/The timidity of agricultural reform Read More
Senator puts hold on US funding for Cuba opposition
March 25, 2010, Yahoo/AFP - Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry has placed a hold on US funding for pro-democracy opposition activities in Cuba, the senator's office told AFP on Friday. Read More
Cuban dissidents praise Obama, government silent
March 25, 2010, Reuters - Cuban dissidents applauded President Barack Obama on Thursday for denouncing their ill treatment by the Cuban government and said it had helped their cause. Read More
Cuba eyes foreign investment to halt sugar decline
March 25, 2010, Reuters - Cuba may open sugar production to foreign investors for the first time since the 1959 revolution as it seeks to reverse the once proud industry's relentless decline, business sources said this week. Read More
Obama Calls Human Rights Situation in Cuba ‘Deeply Disturbing’
March 24, 2010, Bloomberg - President Barack Obama said the human rights situation in Cuba is “deeply disturbing” and accused the Cuban government of responding “to the aspirations of the Cuban people with a clenched fist.” Read More
Ladies in White march on Cuba crackdown anniversary
March 18, 2010, Reuters - With tourists looking on, hundreds of pro-government protesters shouted down 40 members of the Cuban opposition group "Ladies in White" in Old Havana on the anniversary Thursday of a 2003 crackdown on dissidents. Read More
Amnesty calls for more freedom in Cuba
March 16, 2010, Associated Press/ABC News - The human rights group Amnesty international appealed to Cuban President Raul Castro to release political prisoners and scrap laws that restrict fundamental freedoms.. Read More
Cuba criticizes US ruling on Internet access
March 15, 2010, Associated Press/Seattle Times - Cuba says a U.S. ruling that makes it easier for companies to provide Internet communications services on the island is meant to destabilize the country, not loosen Washington's 48-year economic embargo. Read More
Cuba slams EU parliament condemnation as "cynicism"
March 11, 2010, Reuters - Cuba accused the European Parliament of "great cynicism" on Thursday for condemning the communist island for the death of an imprisoned hunger striker, and it vowed not to bow to international pressure over human rights. Read More
Bacardi's fight to retain Havana Club name resurfaces in Congress
March 4, 2010, Miami Herald - A House panel heard arguements from both sides over a measure critics say benefits Bacardi. Read More
Cuba pushes Latin American cooperation without U.S.
February 23, 2010, Reuters - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov would visit Cuba from Feb. 11 to 13, in a bid to boost cooperation and cement bilateral ties, a foreign ministry spokesman said Thursday. Read More
Staunch anti-Castro U.S. congressman to retire
February 11, 2010, Reuters - Republican U.S. Representative Lincoln Diaz-Balart, one of Congress' staunchest supporters of the U.S. trade embargo against Cuba, said on Thursday he would not seek re-election to his Florida congressional district. Read More
Cuba travel bill buried in political agenda
February 9, 2010, Reuters - A bipartisan drive in Congress to end a Cold War-era travel ban on Cuba was buried during the healthcare reform debate but its supporters hope to dig it out this year. Read More
Russian foreign minister to visit Cuba next week
February 5, 2010, People's Online Daily - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov would visit Cuba from Feb. 11 to 13, in a bid to boost cooperation and cement bilateral ties, a foreign ministry spokesman said Thursday. Read More
Lech Walesa in Miami: Changes will soon come to Cuba
February 3, 2010, Miami Herald - Solidarity leader and Nobel Peace prize winner Lech Walesa said political change is coming to Cuba and the world must prepare for the `real Cuba.' Read More
Cuba's Internet revolution edges forward, with limits
February 3, 2010, AFP - Yoan used to earn 25 dollars a month working as a computer technician for a state company -- and an extra 500 dollars selling Internet access on Cuba's vast and varied black market. Read More
Cuba gives its citizens 2 months to register guns
February 1, 2010, Associated Press/Fox News - Cuba has declared a two-month amnesty for citizens to register unlicensed guns, and says those passing aptitude and psychological tests will be allowed to keep their weapons. Read More
Economic crises, `spy' capers among obstacles to change
January 31, 2010, Miami Hearld - An Obama administration that made several friendly gestures toward Cuba, hoping to at least warm 50 years of enmity, wound up its first year with mostly harsh retorts from Havana. Read More
Two prominent Cuban exile leaders dismiss conference in Havana
January 27, 2010, El Nuevo Herald - The president of the Cuban American National Foundation and a director of the Cuban Liberty Council ridiculed a three-day conference that opens Wednesday in Havana and has drawn about 450 Cuban expatriates from around the world.. Read More
Steps to transition of post-Raul Castro Cuba envisioned
January 21, 2010, El Nuevo Herald - In a study on Cuba's future, an expert said leader Raúl Castro likely would strengthen the military and implement other safeguards before he dies or retires. Read More
Haiti quake may be opening for US-Cuba cooperation
January 20, 2010, Reuters - The earthquake in Haiti is an opportunity for the United States and Cuba to set aside politics and work together to help a neighbor after it seemed their brief rapprochement under U.S. President Barack Obama was over, Cuba experts said. Read More
Fidel still holds reins of power
January 12, 2010, Miami Herald - Opinion piece by Cuba expert Brian Latell. Read More
Sherritt power venture plans third Cuba plant
January 11, 2010, Reuters - Canadian mining and energy company Sherritt International (S.TO) will build a third gas-fired power plant in Cuba in conjunction with its state partners.. Read More
Spanish EU presidency defends plan for change in Cuba ties
January 11, 2010, EU Business - The Spanish EU presidency defended Monday its proposal for a new bilateral agreement on ties with Cuba, saying this would legally commit the communist island to improving human rights. Read More
Solution to Cuba claims issue proposed
January 9, 2010, El Nuevo Herald - Some foreign investors are seeking permission to buy claims against Cuba for U.S. properties it seized and then swap them with Havana. Read More
Angry Cuba demands removal from U.S. terrorism list
January 8, 2010, Reuters - Cuba angrily rejected on Friday U.S. accusations that it supports terrorist groups and demanded its removal from a U.S. list of "state sponsors of terrorism." Read More
Spain: Cuba erred in expelling politician
January 5, 2010, Associated Press/Boston.com/Boston Globe - Spain's foreign minister criticized Cuba on Tuesday for denying entry to a Spanish politician who has promoted ties with opposition figures on the Caribbean island. Read More
A terrorism designation Cuba doesn't deserve
January 5, 2010, Washington Post - Under new rules prompted by the failed Christmas Day terrorist attack, airline passengers coming to the United States from 14 nations will undergo extra screening.. Read More
Cuba 09 unrefined nickel output at 70,100 tonnes
January 5, 2010, Reuters - Cuba's unrefined nickel plus cobalt production weighed in at 70,100 tonnes last year, down slightly from the 70,400 tonnes reported in 2008, state-run media said on Tuesday. Read More
Cuban efforts to reduce bulk food imports on track
January 3, 2010, Reuters - Cuban rice production jumped 44.6 percent, dried beans 9.6 percent and milk 10.8 percent in 2009 as a five-year government plan to boost output and reduce bulk food imports registered its first results. Read More
Creditors still fret despite Cuba improvements
December 21, 2009, Reuters - Cuba managed to stop the hemorrhaging of foreign exchange that left it unable to pay many bills the past year,.. but creditors who are owed an estimated $2 billion do not expect to be paid in full any time soon. Read More
Cuba says economy to grow 1.4 pct in 2009
December 20, 2009, Reuters - Cuba's economy will grow 1.4 percent this year, the government said on Sunday, falling short of official forecasts and marking the communist-run island's slowest growth rate for at least six years. Read More
Amid crisis, Cuba falls short on home-building
December 17, 2009, Associated Press/ABC News - Cuba built about 20,000 homes in 2009, meeting barely 60 percent of its modest annual construction goal and further exacerbating a severe housing crunch.. Read More
Lift of American travel ban to Cuba could renew Transat's U.S. interests
December 17, 2009, Canadian Press - Transat A.T. Inc. (TSX:TRZ.B) says its longstanding desire to purchase a U.S. tour operator could be bolstered by moves south of the border to lift the ban on travel to Cuba by Americans. Read More
Investors sticking it out in crisis-prone Cuba
December 17, 2009, Reuters - The number of joint ventures and other investment projects in Cuba remained stable this year despite a liquidity and payments crisis, according to testimony before a parliamentary commission published on Thursday. Read More
Obama Pick for Salvador Post Withdrew Prior Nomination Over Cuba Concerns
December 17, 2009, Fox News - President Obama's recent nominee for ambassador to El Salvador was forced to withdraw her nomination to another diplomatic post a decade ago following concerns about ties to Cuba.. Read More
U.S. travel industry gearing up for return to Cuba
December 16, 2009, Reuters - ..the U.S. travel industry is gearing up for a return to its largest Caribbean destination before Fidel Castro's 1959 revolution. Read More
American subcontractor's arrest in Cuba confirmed
December 14, 2009, El Nuevo Herald - An American man arrested in Cuba was handing out computers and communications equipment `on behalf of the Obama administration.' Read More
Castro says US on offensive in LatAm despite Obama
December 14, 2009, Associated Press/Guardian - Fidel Castro says President Barack Obama's "friendly smile and African-American face" are hiding Washington's sinister intentions for Latin America - more evidence of a new cooling in U.S.-Cuba relations after a thaw had seemed possible just months ago. Read More
Senate backs move to boost farm trade with Cuba
December 14, 2009, Reuters - The U.S. Senate approved a provision on Sunday to facilitate cash sales of U.S. farm goods to Cuba, overturning restrictions by former President George W. Bush's administration, a senator said. Read More
Cuba fighting blogs with blogs?
December 13, 2009, El Nuevo Herald - Cuba is counter-attacking its cyber-foes with government backers calling them mercenaries and CIA agents, but sometimes admitting it's difficult to fight Internet critics like well-known blogger Yoani Sánchez. Read More
Venezuela, Cuba sign $3 billion in joint projects
December 12, 2009, Reuters - Cuba and Venezuela signed cooperation deals worth nearly $3 billion on Saturday, underscoring Caracas' role as the communist-run island's closest political and commercial ally. Read More
Pro-government crowd pursues Cuban rights marchers
December 9, 2009, Associated Press/ABC News - Hundreds of government supporters shouted insults and pro-Castro slogans at about 50 wives, mothers and other female relatives of Cuban political prisoners as they marched Wednesday through a crowded Havana neighborhood in the name of human rights. Read More
Cuba opens first sugar mill of season
December 4, 2009, Reuters - The first of 44 Cuban sugar mills scheduled to grind during the 2009-2010 harvest opened on Thursday, official media reported, with final output by May forecast at 1.3 million to 1.4 million tonnes of raw sugar. Read More
Cuban dissident groups unite, decry repression
December 3, 2009, Associated Press - Activists from 32 little-known organizations opposed to Cuba's communist government issued a call for an end to social repression on the island.. Read More
Cracking Cuba
December 3, 2009, Los Angeles Times - U.S. sanctions have failed to bring down the Castro brothers. It's time for carrots instead of a stick. Read More
Will ordinary Cubans reap the spoils of American tourism?
December 2, 2009, Global Post - Who will benefit if the US lifts travel restrictions to Cuba — the Cuban government or ordinary Cubans? Read More
African-American group challenges Cuba on race
December 1, 2009, El Nuevo Herald - The Cuban government must confront a legacy of discrimination against black Cubans on the island, a group of prominent African Americans charged. Read More
More Cubans Urge for Change in Politics, Economy
December 1, 2009, Angus Reid Global Monitor - The number of Cubans calling for an overhaul of the country’s political system has increased, according to a poll by the International Republican Institute. Read More
Let Americans travel to Cuba
November 28, 2009, Miami Herald - Other Views - FOREIGN POLICY - BY LILLIAN MANZOR Read More
Cubans fear hard times ahead, impatient for change
November 27, 2009, Reuters - Cubans are bracing for hard times in 2010 as President Raul Castro slashes imports and cuts government spending to get Cuba out of crisis -- and they are growing impatient with the slow pace of economic reform. Read More
Cuba begins war games with U.S. invasion in mind
November 26, 2009, Reuters - Cuba began its biggest military maneuvers in five years on Thursday, saying they were needed to prepare for a possible invasion by the United States. Read More
Husband of Cuban blogger Yoani Sanchez attacked
November 21, 2009, Reuters - The husband of Cuban dissident blogger Yoani Sanchez said he was attacked by government supporters as he waited on Friday to confront state security agents accused of detaining and beating his wife two weeks ago. Read More
Willy Chirino -- Why he wants to perform in Cuba
November 21, 2009, Miami Herald - ***Video*** Cuban-American musician Willy Chirino is interviewed by Miami Herald Editorial Page Editor Myriam Marquez about his desire to perform in Cuba. Read More
U.S. agent for Cuba gets life in prison
November 20, 2009, Miami Herald - Thirty years of spying for Cuba will send a retired State Department official to prison for life after he and his wife pleaded guilty Friday to sending secrets to the United States' longtime antagonist. Read More
Engaging Cuba on Human Rights
November 19, 2009, The Wall Street Journal - a scathing new Human Rights Watch (HRW) report, "New Castro, Same Cuba," will make lifting sanctions against the Castro regime—on travel, remittances, trade—more difficult for President Obama. Read More
Blogger in Cuba has Washington's ear
November 19, 2009, Miami Herald - Cuba's celebrated and increasingly brassy blogger Yoani Sánchez emerged Thursday as a player in U.S.-Cuba relations, scoring a lengthy reply from President Barack Obama to her questions.. Read More
President Obama's Responses to Yoani Sanchez's Questions.
November 19, 2009, Generacion Y - A blogger in Cuba who's not afraid to take on the authorities has gained attention at the White House and on Capitol Hill. Read More
Cuba's Raul Castro crushes dissent like Fidel: report
November 18, 2009, Reuters - Cuba's Raul Castro has kept the system his brother Fidel used to repress critics, refusing to free scores of people imprisoned years ago and jailing others for "dangerousness," Human Rights Watch said in a report issued on Wednesday. Read More
Cuba dissident ends protest fast amid health rumor
November 17, 2009, Associated Press/ABC News - Martha Beatriz Roque's condition and the extent of her fast were not clear until the 64-year-old appeared at a news conference in Havana on Tuesday. Read More
Poll: Cubans `frustrated' over life in Cuba
November 17, 2009, Miami Herald - A poll conducted in Cuba shows residents unhappy with their government and pessimistic about the economy. Read More
Pro-Cuba embargo money flows to US lawmakers
November 16, 2009, Associated Press/MSNBC - "For some of these folks, it's OK for unions to support pro-labor members. It's OK for trial lawyers to help elect pro-litigators. It's OK for the Jewish community to help elect pro-Israel," Claver-Carone said, adding, "But somehow it's not OK for the Cuban community to help elect members and candidates that help and support conditioning business and tourism with the Castro regime with human rights and democratic reforms." Read More
Chavez asking Cubans to 'bomb clouds' amid drought
November 15, 2009, Reuters - Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez says he will join a team of Cuban scientists on flights to "bomb clouds" to create rain amid a severe drought... Read More
U.S. expresses outrage over `assault' on Cuban blogger Yoani Sánchez
November 11, 2009, El Nuevo Herald - The U.S. State Department has told Cuba it deplores last week's ``assault'' on blogger Yoani Sánchez, one of the toughest of several expressions of support for the Havana writer.Read More
Cuba orders extreme measures to cut energy use
November 11, 2009, Reuters - Cuba has ordered all state enterprises to adopt "extreme measures" to cut energy usage through the end of the year in hopes of avoiding the dreaded blackouts Read More
More Democrats oppose lifting Cuban travel ban
November 7, 2009, Miami Herald - The bill to lift the ban on travel to Cuba could be in peril as more Democrats say they are against it. Read More
Vatican official seeks more access to Cuban media
November 7, 2009, Associated Press/Boston.com/Boston Globe - A senior Vatican official said Friday he has asked Cuba's government to allow the Roman Catholic Church more access to mass media, saying Cubans are a religious people and should be given broadcast access to their pastors.Read More
Cuban blogger Yoani Sanchez detained, beaten on way to march
November 6, 2009, Miami Herald - Cuba's best-known blogger Yoani Sanchez said state security officials seized and assaulted her in an effort to block her participation in a march against violence. Read More
EU leader: Cuba must make human rights gestures
November 5, 2009, Associated Press/ABC News - The European Union's development commissioner wants Cuba to show signs it's serious about protecting fundamental human rights. Read More
The Cause of the Fall
November 4, 2009, Newsweek - Three new books argue over how the impossible—the fall of the Berlin Wall—came to pass. Read More
Obama's Cuba policy in spotlight at BU
November 4, 2009, Boston Globe - The Obama Administration's Cuba policy will get some high-level scrutiny at Boston University on Friday, from leading political players as well as prominent academics. Read More
Russia state oil company to explore for oil in Cuba
November 3, 2009, Reuters - Russian state oil company Zarubezhneft signed contracts with Cuba on Tuesday to search for oil along Cuba's northern coast...Read More
Cuba says foreign trade down 36 percent in 2009
November 2, 2009, Reuters - Cuba opened its annual international trade fair on Monday with the news its foreign trade was down 36 percent this year as the communist-ruled island battles the effects of the global economic recession.Read More
From Cuba with Love, They Can't Wipe The Smile Off My Face
October 29, 2009, The Huffington Post - A collection of Yoani Sanchez's Blogs "De Cuba, com carinho...", From Cuba with Love, will be launched this afternoon in Brazil.Read More
U.N. again condemns U.S. embargo of Cuba
October 29, 2009, Miami Herald - The United States found itself up against virtually the entire world Wednesday as country after country at the United Nations denounced the nearly 50-year-old trade embargo against Cuba,.Read More
AP Interview: Cuba FM says ready for talks with US
October 28, 2009, Associated Press/NPR - Cuba is willing to hold talks with the United States "on any level," Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez said Wednesday...Read More
Obama's Cuba policy faces a world of expectation
October 28, 2009, The Los Angeles Times - The world is eager for President Obama to lift the U.S. embargo on Cuba, which nearly every nation opposes. But though he has relaxed some curbs, for now he still backs the embargo.Read More
U.S and Cuban scientists plan joint Gulf research
October 28, 2009, Reuters - U.S., Cuban and Mexican scientists have drawn up plans for joint research in the Gulf of Mexico, in another sign of improvement in long-hostile U.S.-Cuba relations.Read More
Cubans fear more gov't control of farmers markets
October 28, 2009, Associated Press/CBS News - Price controls would end one of the country's few private business initiatives just as Cubans hoped the economy would loosen up under Raul Castro...Read More
U.S. calls to Cuba have decreased
October 21, 2009, Miami Herald - Possibly because more Cuban Americans are visiting Cuba these days, the number of calls to Cuba have gone down, as have U.S. payments for the calls.Read More
"Cuba:Waiting for a Revolution"
October 21, 2009, The Huffington Post - From Adrian Baschuk's documentary, which can be viewed on Current TV.Read More
Cuban newspaper deletes online column critical of regime
October 21, 2009, Miami Herald - A Cuban newspaper has deleted an online column harshly attacking the government's tight controls on information and arguing that a well-informed citizenry is required for a ``more full and democratic socialism.'' Read More
Cuba's declining trade betrays depth of its crisis
October 20, 2009, Reuters - Business between Cuba and four of its top five trading partners has declined sharply this year in a reflection of the communist-led Caribbean island's deep economic crisis, trade reports from the countries said. Read More
Castro's Man in Europe
October 20, 2009, The Wall Street Journal - Havana's man in Europe is returning from Cuba with a simple request: For his EU partners to drop their focus on human rights. After a two-day visit with the Cuban government, Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos will press his Continental counterparts to scrap their 1996 "Common Position" on Cuba in order to fully normalize ties with Raul Castro's dictatorship. Read More
Spanish FM shuns dissidents during Cuba visit
October 19, 2009, Associated Press/ABC News - Spain's foreign minister met with Cuban leader Raul Castro and other government leaders Monday during an official visit that has caused a stir for who he wouldn't see: top political opposition leaders on the island. Read More
Cuba cracks down on unlicensed home improvements
October 15, 2009, Associated Press/CBS News - Cuba has quietly made it easier to obtain state permission to build or remodel homes even as it pledges to crack down like never before on unlicensed residential construction, including routine do-it-yourself projects. Read More
Cuba stops blogger traveling to NYC to accept prize
October 13, 2009, Reuters - Cuba will not allow dissident blogger Yoani Sanchez to travel to the United States to receive a journalism prize, Columbia University said on Tuesday. Read More
Miami firm says it will lay first US-Cuba fiber
October 13, 2009, Associated Press/CBS News - A small Miami-based company said the U.S. government has given it permission to lay the first optical communications fiber from the U.S. to Cuba. Read More
Faced with a deep recession, Cuba tries socialism lite
October 13, 2009, Miami Herald - Facing a severe and protracted economic downturn, Cuba's government is scaling back socialism in an attempt to save it. Read More
Cuban-American generational shift brings new attitudes toward Cuba
October 12, 2009, St. Petersburg Times - Travel to Cuba has always been a touchy subject for young Cuban-Americans. For years many have stifled their curiosity out of respect for the pain of their elders. Read More
Domestic challenges put brake on U.S.-Cuba thaw
October 9, 2009, Reuters - U.S.-Cuba relations have warmed under U.S. President Barack Obama, but domestic political and economic problems weighing on both governments are likely to slow any major progress in ending 50 years of hostility. Read More
Raul Castro runs Cuba like "military corporation": author
October 6, 2009, Reuters - "Without Fidel. A Death Foretold in Miami, Havana and Washington" by journalist, author and Cuba-watcher Ann Louise Bardach seeks to shed light on the circumstances surrounding Fidel Castro's near-death from colon surgery in 2006 and his handover last year to his younger brother, Raul Castro. Read More
Spying for Fidel: The Inside Story of Kendall and Gwen Myers
October 5, 2009, Washingtonian.com - This spring, a couple from Washington’s social elite—a trusted diplomat and a former Hill aide—were arrested after allegedly spying for Cuba for 30 years. This is the story of their unusual marriage and what brought them to Fidel.Read More
Cuba slashes tobacco acreage amid flagging demand
October 5, 2009, Reuters - Cash-short Cuba is slashing the amount of land devoted to growing its famous tobacco by more than 30 percent as the global recession and worldwide spread of smoking bans bite into sales of the country's prized cigars. Read More
**VIDEO** Bloggingheads: Opening Cuba
October 3, 2009, New York Times - Steven Clemons of The Washington Note and Ann Louise Bardach, author of "Without Fidel," discuss whether the status quo in Cuba will ever change. Read More
US diplomat met with Cuban dissidents in Havana
September 30, 2009, Associated Press/ABC News - A senior U.S. diplomat who traveled to Havana for the highest-level talks with Cuban officials in decades also met with opposition activists to discuss their political views, three dissidents and a State Department official said Wednesday. Read More
AP Newsbreak: US, Cuba held unannounced talks
September 29, 2009, Associated Press/ABC News - The talks were the first of their kind in years between representatives of the U.S. and Cuban governments, the bitter Cold War rivals among whom trust appears to be gradually building. Read More
Foreign suppliers in Cuba fret over payments crisis
September 29, 2009, Reuters - Many foreign suppliers and investors in Cuba are still unable to repatriate hundreds of millions of dollars from local accounts almost a year after Cuban authorities blocked them because of the financial crisis. Read More
Cuba somewhat conciliatory toward Washington at UN
September 28, 2009, Associated Press/Seattle Times - Cuba told the United Nations Monday that the communist regime is ready to normalize relations with the United States and will work with Washington.. Read More
Bills could transform U.S./Cuba business
September 28, 2009, Miami Herald - The sweeping new rules released last month that loosen the 49-year-old U.S. embargo against the island came from the executive branch and the Office of Foreign Assets Control. Read More
Cuba: Obama has not met policy change promises
September 28, 2009, Reuters - President Barack Obama has not fulfilled his promises to change U.S. foreign policy and may not be fully in control of the government, Cuba's foreign minister told the United Nations on Monday. Read More
Cubans on island wary of politics behind Juanes concert
September 17, 2009, Miami Herald - Many Cubans see politics behind Sunday's concert by Colombian rocker Juanes, but they expect the event to attract a large crowd. Read More
Cuba says US should lift embargo unconditionally
September 16, 2009, Associated Press/Fox News - Cuba will not make any political or policy concessions to improve relations with the U.S. - no matter how small, Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez said Wednesday, snubbing Washington's suggestions that some reforms could lead to better ties. Read More
'Old friends' Cuba, China strengthen ties
September 16, 2009, McClatchy News Service - Why is the world's third-largest economy spending hundreds of millions of dollars in Cuba. Read More
Obama extends Cuba embargo 1 year
September 14, 2009, Associated Press/Fox News - President Barack Obama has extended the U.S. trade embargo on Cuba for one year, the White House said in a statement released on Monday. Read More
Connecting businesses in Cuba
September 14, 2009, Miami Herald - Cuba's business institutions could play a key role, as trade between the U.S. and the island accelerates in spite of the half-century embargo. Read More
In tough economic times, public opinion shifts on Cuba embargo
September 14, 2009, St. Petersburg Times - Thursday night, Rep. David Rivera, a Miami Republican, and Naples cattleman John Parke Wright IV locked horns over United States policy toward Cuba in a debate held in the wood-paneled enclave of downtown Tampa's University Club. Read More
Cab capitalism: Cuba allows new private taxis
September 11, 2009, Associated Press/ABC News - About 60 would-be taxi drivers lined up early Friday at a Transport Ministry office in central Havana to fill out forms for permission to use their own cars as taxis - a rare dose of the free market on an island whose economy is dominated almost entirely by the state. Read More
FACTBOX: Big potential in mostly untapped Cuba telecom market
September 11, 2009, Reuters - U.S. President Barack Obama has relaxed aspects of the U.S. trade embargo against Cuba to allow U.S. telecommunications companies to provide services to the communist-ruled island. Read More
U.S.-Cuba postal talks seen as test for future ties
September 10, 2009, Reuters - The United States and Cuba will discuss on Thursday the possible resumption of long-suspended direct postal service in another small step toward seeking better relations after 50 years of hostilities. Read More
From truffles to fox furs, U.S. ships more than food to Cuba
September 5, 2009, Miami Herald - Despite a rigid embargo that has spanned half a century, the United States is playing a major role in feeding Cuba. Read More
Drop in imports highlights Cuban economic crisis
September 5, 2009, Miami Herald - Official data released by the Cuban government shows that imports shipped by sea plunged. Read More
U.S. allows unlimited visits to relatives in Cuba
September 3, 2009, Reuters - Americans with relatives in Cuba can send them unlimited cash and visit the island as long and often as they would like under new rules that fissured a nearly five-decade trade embargo on Thursday. Read More
Cuban black market suffers in corruption crackdown
September 3, 2009, Reuters - A crackdown on corruption by President Raul Castro is causing consternation among ordinary Cubans, who say it is biting into the flourishing black market and reducing a prized source of cheaper food and other items. Read More
US, Cuba to discuss resuming direct mail
September 1, 2009, Associated Press/MSNBC - The United States and Cuba will start talks this month on resuming direct mail service between the two countries for the first time in nearly half a century. Read More
Trademark wars: US goods carry famous Cuba brands
August 29, 2009, Associated Press/Seattle Times - As the U.S. and Cuba consider better ties, such trademark issues would have be settled before any easing of the embargo. Read More
Fidel Castro slams U.S. for battle over healthcare
August 19, 2009, Reuters - Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro criticized the United States on Wednesday for being willing to spend billions on its high-tech military but finding it difficult to approve healthcare reform that would protect its poor people. Read More
Latin leftists fear a Honduras coup domino effect
August 19, 2009, Associated Press/MSNBC - It's a glimmer of hope for the region's conservative elite, which has watched with dismay over the past decade as a wave of leftist presidents has risen to power, promising to topple the establishment and give greater power to the poor. Read More
American bishops' visit aims to speed Cuba-U.S. thaw
August 17, 2009, Reuters - U.S. Catholic bishops think U.S. President Barack Obama needs to move more quickly to patch up long-bitter relations with Cuba and they hope to speed things up with a visit to the communist island this week. Read More
CBSNews.com's Birthday Gift to Fidel: A Story Devoid of Castro Critics
August 13, 2009, NewsBusters - No Castro critics, domestic or foreign, were cited in the story, although Siegelbaum made sure to note how a "U.S.-based religious group, Pastors for Peace" got to hang out on Wednesday with the aging despot. Read More
As Castro Turns 83, Cuba Caught Between Past, Future
August 13, 2009, CBS News - Former Cuban President Fidel Castro turns 83 Thursday, his birthday defying all predictions of his death. Read More
Cuban government reduces prices on 24 basic goods
August 11, 2009, El Nuevo Herald - The Cuban government is implementing a price reduction of up to 20 percent on 24 basic goods sold at foreign-currency stores, including food products like ground meat, chicken and canned milk, as well as soap and toothpaste. Read More
Cash-strapped Cuba says toilet paper running short
August 10, 2009, Reuters - Cuba, in the grip of a serious economic crisis, is running short of toilet paper and may not get sufficient supplies until the end of the year. Read More
In Cuba, the ox may be mightier than the tractor
August 9, 2009, Associated Press/Boston.com - President Raul Castro is promoting the beasts of burden as a way for the economically strapped communist country to ramp up food production while conserving energy. Read More
The portable Castro: Cuba issues Fidel dictionary
August 8, 2009, Associated Press/MSNBC - Cubans accustomed to hourslong speeches, thousand-word essays and lengthy interviews can now get Fidel Castro at a glance, thanks to a new dictionary of El Comandante's teachings. Read More
Cuba publishes collection of Fidel Castro thoughts
August 4, 2009, Reuters - Taking a leaf from China's Chairman Mao, Cuba has published a collection of the thoughts of its former leader Fidel Castro, who led the country for 49 years before resigning last year. Read More
Cuban grocery stores stay closed, sparking rumors
August 3, 2009, Associated Press/CBS - Upscale grocery stores that were scheduled to close two days last week for inventory remained shuttered Monday - sparking rumors of food shortages because of the country's dire economic situation. Read More
Castro says Cuba to cut spending, communism secure
August 1, 2009, Associated Press/Fox News - Raul Castro announced Saturday that Cuba will cut spending on education and health care, potentially weakening the building blocks of its communist system in a bid to revive a foundering economy. Read More
Cuba shuts factories, cuts energy to save economy
July 31, 2009, Associated Press/ABC News - Cuba has ordered austere energy savings this summer to cope with rising budget deficits and plummeting export profits. Read More
Cuba's Communist Party postpones key congress
July 31, 2009, Reuters - Castro said the party has to carefully analyze economic matters to determine "what must be perfected and even eliminated" as Cuba moves into the future Read More
Yoani Sánchez, a blogger in Cuba, is awarded a special citation for her blog, Generación Y
July 27, 2009, Press Room/Columbia University - The Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism today announced the 2009 winners of the Maria Moors Cabot Prize for outstanding reporting on Latin America and the Caribbean. Read More
U.S. turns off Havana news ticker that angered Cuba
July 27, 2009, Reuters - The United States has turned off a news ticker at its diplomatic mission in Havana that long had irritated the Cuban government, in another sign of efforts to improve relations with Cuba. Read More
Cuba's outlaw mattress makers thriving
July 26, 2009, El Neuvo Herald - A flourishing black market of mattress-making entrepreneurs has sprung up to help Cubans get a good night's sleep. Read More
Raul Castro says Cuba must put land to better use
July 26, 2009, Associated Press/MSNBC - Raul Castro said Sunday that the global economic crisis means tougher times ahead for Cuba, but the country has no one to blame but itself for poor farm production that leads to frequent shortages of fruits, vegetables and other basics. Read More
Slow pace of reform troubles Cubans
July 26, 2009, Al Jazeera - It is an uncanny thing when you are in Cuba. With no cameras around, most Cubans on the street will speak freely about their frustrations and complaints after more than 50 years of socialist revolution. If the camera goes on, however, almost everyone demurs. Read More
Castro speech likely to reflect tough times in Cuba
July 24, 2009, Reuters - Cubans are not likely to hear much encouraging news about their economy or the state of U.S.-Cuba relations when President Raul Castro gives his main speech of the year on Sunday amid difficult times on the communist-led island. Read More
Cruise companies rise on sector's surge, U.S.-Cuba talks
July 15, 2009, Reuters - Cruise companies leapt alongside a broad rise in consumer discretionary stocks on Wednesday, partly boosted by news that U.S. and Cuban officials began their first talks on Cuban migration this week. Read More
Migration talks with Cuba to begin Tuesday in New York
July 14, 2009, Miami Herald - Several members of Congress said the U.S. and Cuba will revive immigration negotiations on Tuesday in New York. Read More
Bacardi boss eyes Cuba embargo developments
July 13, 2009, Royal Gazette - Bacardi International's president and CEO Michael Brennan will be watching with keen interest to see whether the US lifts its trade embargo with Cuba. Read More
Paul Haven appointed AP chief in Havana
July 10, 2009, Associated Press/Forbes - Paul Haven has been appointed The Associated Press chief of bureau in Havana, Cuba, following three years of leading the cooperative's news operations in Spain and Portugal as Madrid bureau chief. Read More
Brazil to help finance Cuban port project
July 09, 2009, Reuters - Brazil said on Thursday it would give Cuba up to $300 million in credits to start rebuilding the island's port of Mariel. Read More
Cuban offshore oil drilling plans postponed again
July 07, 2009, Reuters - Cuba and a consortium of foreign oil companies have once again postponed plans to drill for oil in the island's still-untapped fields in the Gulf of Mexico. Read More
Cuba Keeps Ill Writer Jailed as Norway Awards Prize: Commentary
July 02, 2009, Bloomberg - A few weeks ago, Normando Hernandez Gonzalez got the kind of news that usually prompts cheers and emotion-filled toasts. Read More
Regime fears silent majority
July 02, 2009, Miami Herald - On June 24, five Cuban dissidents received the annual Democracy Award given by the National Endowment for Democracy. José Daniel Ferrer, Iván Hernández and Librado Linares are serving long prison terms for their peaceful opposition. Imprisoned for 17 years, Jorge Luis García, known as Antúnez, was released in 2007. Read More
A Dissident Deflected
June 25, 2009, Washington Post - Why doesn't President Obama have time for Cuba's pro-democracy opposition? Read More
Cuba lags region in telecoms, Internet access
June 25, 2009, Reuters - Communist Cuba may boast a doctor on every block and schools for all its children, but when it comes to telephones, computers and the Internet it lags behind other countries in the hemisphere. Read More
The Havana Obsession
June 22, 2009, Newsweek - Why all eyes are on a bankrupt island. Read More
Clive Thompson on Cuba's Potential Tech Boom
June 22, 2009, Wired - Now that President Obama is talking about opening up trade, Cuba experts predict that the country could explode with creativity and entrepreneurial innovation. "There's tremendous potential," says Gustav Ranis, an economic-development expert at Yale. Read More
U.S., Cuba close to resuming migration talks
June 19, 2009, Miami Herald - The State Department said it is looking to confirm dates for biannual talks with Havana. Read More
Cuba says economic crisis slows output, closes factories
June 14, 2009, Reuters - Cuban factories are closing down and production is being cut at other workplaces as the international financial crisis weighs on the import-dependent Caribbean island Read More
Change in Cuba "inevitable", says acclaimed blogger
June 14, 2009, Reuters - Cuban dissident blogger Yoani Sanchez says the island is headed for "inevitable" change since former leader Fidel Castro retired, and Cubans have become more outspoken than ever in their criticism of the government. Read More
Cuba rejects offer to rejoin OAS
June 08, 2009, AP/CBS News - Cuba is formally rejecting an offer to rejoin the Organization of American States, echoing the sentiments of Fidel Castro who has long maintained his island has no use for the group. Read More
US wins clout with OAS deal on Cuba, experts say
June 06, 2009, AP/ABC News - U.S. support for ending Cuba's nearly 50-year-old suspension from the Organization of American States has given the Obama administration greater clout in the region at little cost, according to diplomats and experts. Read More
2 Cuban spies believed to be `true believers'
June 06, 2009, AP/Miami Herald - A couple suspected of operating as Cuban spies in the U.S. for nearly 30 years appear to be 'true believers' -- one of the reasons their trail was so hard to pick up.. Read More
FACTBOX: Cuba spy allegations in U.S. in recent years
June 05, 2009, Reuters - The arrests of former U.S. State Department official Walter Kendall Myers and his wife Gwendolyn Myers were the latest on a long list of cases brought by U.S. authorities against alleged spies for Cuba. Read More
Couple accused of spying for Cuba for 30 years
June 05, 2009, AP/The Independent - A retired State Department worker and his wife have been arrested on charges of spying for Cuba for three decades. Read More
Cuba announces resignation of central bank chief
June 04, 2009, Reuters - Cuba announced the resignation of its veteran central bank chief on Thursday as the communist-ruled state grapples with a deepening economic crisis. Read More
OAS ends Cuba suspension after 47 years
June 04, 2009, AP/News Daily - The Organization of American States cleared the way for Cuba's possible return to the group by lifting a 47-year ban on the communist-run country. Read More
OAS' Cuba move touches off outcry
June 03, 2009, Miami Herald - A decision to retract the Organization of American States' 1962 suspension of Cuba was met with swift calls by some U.S. lawmakers to cut off funding. Read More
Austerity bites as Cuba fails to revamp
June 03, 2009, Financial Times - Cubans are suffering the toughest austerity measures since the post-Soviet crisis of the 1990s, despite diplomatic achievements that have left the US isolated in its tough policy towards the Communist nation. Read More
Cubans face hardship under new austerity measures
June 01, 2009, Reuters - Cubans faced power blackouts, longer waits for buses, uncomfortable working conditions and skimpier lunches on Monday as the government introduced austerity measures to cope with a growing economic squeeze. Read More
Don't readmit Cuba, Miami exiles to urge OAS
June 01, 2009, Miami Herald - Following Cuba's acceptance of a U.S. request to restart immigration talks, a Miami exile group opposes reintegration of Cuba into the Organization of American States. Read More
Cuba criticizes Microsoft blocking Messenger
May 30, 2009, AP/MSNBC - Cuba criticized Microsoft on Friday for blocking its Messenger instant messaging service on the island and in other countries under U.S. sanctions, calling it yet another example of Washington's "harsh" treatment of Havana. Read More
Amnesty International report on Cuba
May 28, 2009, Amnesty International - Restrictions on freedom of expression, association and assembly persisted. Journalists and political dissidents faced harassment and intimidation by security officials... Read More
U.S. gives Cuba plan to OAS
May 28, 2009, Miami Herald - The United States submitted a proposal to let Cuba back into the OAS if Havana abides by the organization's democratic principles. Read More
Cuba announces new austerity plan
May 27, 2009, BBC - Cuba has announced it will introduce an austerity programme in June to try to offset the impact of the international financial crisis and reduce energy use. Read More
Cuba foreign income could be slashed by $1 billion
May 26, 2009, Reuters - Cuba is facing a "very hard" economic blow in 2009 as depressed nickel prices and reduced tourism revenue could slash foreign income by $1 billion. Read More
OAS - Letting Cuba in would be `perversion of principle'
May 26, 2009, Miami Herald - As the nations of the Western Hemisphere prepare to meet in Honduras for the General Assembly of the Organization of American States, the question again arises as to whether this hemisphere stands with the principles of democracy or the terror and misery of tyranny. Read More
Relishing the Idea of a Post-Castro Cuba
May 25, 2009, Barrons - An outspoken dissident argues that lifting the longstanding U.S. trade embargo would quickly undermine the Castro brothers' power. Read More
Movie documents Cuban Freedom Flights
May 25, 2009, Miami Herald - ***IC TOP PICK*** The first full-length documentary on the Cuban Freedom Flights, which brought 265,000 refugees to South Florida between 1965 and 1973, directed by filmmaker Joe Cardona, will debut this week. Read More
Cuba lowers 2009 growth forecast to 2 percent
May 23, 2009, Reuters - Cuba's economy is expected to grow just over 2 percent this year, down from a previous forecast of 6 percent. Read More
Obama in fresh overture to Cuba on immigration
May 23, 2009, AP/Wall Street Journal - In a fresh overture to Cuba, President Barack Obama is asking the communist government to resume talks on legal immigration of Cubans to the United States. Read More
Warning on relations with Cuban regime
May 22, 2009, Irish Times - A LEADING Cuban dissident has criticised Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin for not meeting opposition figures during an official visit to the island in February, saying that such visits serve only to legitimise the island’s regime. Read More
Moving beyond Fidel
May 21, 2009, Miami Herald - How could he be back if hardly anyone sees him? After March's ministerial changes, Raúl Castro finally has his own government. The Comandante is old and physically diminished, which is probably why he won't go public. Read More
Cuban corporation says cash crunch slows payments
May 21, 2009, Reuters - A cash crunch is causing one of Cuba's largest business corporations, Cimex, to put off payments for some products. Read More
Clinton says Cuba not ready for OAS
May 20, 2009, AP/USA Today - Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Wednesday that Cuba shouldn't be allowed to rejoin the Organization of American States until it makes political reforms, releases political prisoners and respects human rights. Read More
Just a Minute With: Cuban musician Eliades Ochoa
May 20, 2009, Reuters - He worked as a radio station musician in the 1960s before becoming leader of Cuarteto Patria, a group founded in 1939 that championed Cuba's traditional "son" style. Read More
Cuba's economy to falter in 2009 -Cuban experts
May 18, 2009, Reuters - A Cuban university think-tank said on Monday Cuba's economy would grow only slightly or shrink in 2009 as the island's financial problems persist against the backdrop of a global downturn. Read More
No bloom yet in U.S.-Cuba ties after April overtures
May 17, 2009, Reuters - The United States and Cuba offered a glimmer of hope last month that they might be ready to end years of hostility, but neither side has moved much since then to widen that window of opportunity. Read More
'No progress' at EU-Cuba meeting
May 11, 2009, BBC - The European Union has said it made no headway with Cuba on its human rights record, following talks in Brussels. Read More
EU says no progress with Cuba on human rights
May 11, 2009, Reuters - The European Union and Cuba disagreed over the communist island's human rights policy. Read More
Baucus bill portends Dem fight over Cuba
May 5, 2009, The Hill - Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) is set to introduce legislation that would open the door to more agricultural exports to Cuba, taking advantage of President Obama’s pledge to “seek a new beginning” with the island nation. Read More
Havana's historic architecture at risk of crumbling into dust
May 3, 2009, Sun Sentinel - Ray Sanchez at the Havana Bureau desk describes how chunks of this city's rich and eclectic architectural history tumble to the ground every few days, piece by piece, forever lost in the rubble. Read More
U.S. wants Cuba to act like slave: Fidel Castro
May 1, 2009, Miami Herald - Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro on Thursday derided U.S. steps toward improving relations with the communist island. Read More
Raul Castro: Obama's Cuba policy changes 'minimal'
April 29, 2009, Associated Press/ABC News - Raul Castro dismissed Barack Obama's policy changes toward Cuba as "achieving only the minimum," and said Wednesday that it is up to the U.S. - not Cuba - to do more to improve relations. Read More
As trade push mounts, diplomats are talking
April 28, 2009, Miami Herald - Washington talks to Havana as advocates for lifting the embargo vow to keep pushing. Read More
U.S., Cuban Diplomats Hold Second Round of Talks
April 27, 2009, Diplomatic Times Review - During the April 27, 2009, Daily Press Briefing at the U.S. Department of State, spokesman Robert Wood, Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs , took questions from reporters about U.S.- Cuba relations. Read More
OPPENHEIMER REPORT - Castro brothers' power struggle may doom Obama's overtures
April 23, 2009, Miami Herald - Fidel Castro's latest comments about last weekend's 34-country Summit of the Americas seem to support a growing theory among U.S. and Latin American leaders -- that there is a split between Cuban leader Raúl Castro and his nominally retired brother Fidel. Read More
Mixed signals from Cuba cool hopes for quick thaw
April 23, 2009, Sun Sentinel - The Obama administration is reaching out to Cuba, but Havana is sending back mixed signals, raising questions about how to re-engage the communist-led island Read More
Fidel Castro: Obama 'misinterpreted' Raul's words
April 23, 2009, Associated Press/FOX News - Fidel Castro says President Barack Obama "misinterpreted" his brother Raul's remarks regarding the United States Read More
Cuba to limit foreign companies' cash transactions
April 21, 2009, Reuters - Cuba's central bank has said it will limit cash withdrawals and deposits in Cuban bank accounts held by foreign companies and joint ventures. Read More
Obama says ready to listen to South America's leaders
April 18, 2009, Reuters - U.S. President Barack Obama sat down with South American leaders on Saturday, saying he was ready to listen and learn after promising an era of more regional cooperation and a new start with communist Cuba. Read More
President Barack Obama seeks 'a new beginning' with Cuba / video
April 18, 2009, Sun Sentinel - President Barack Obama ushered in a new U.S. relationship with Cuba on Friday and set the stage for talks with Cuban President Raul Castro on some of the contentious issues that have divided their nations for 47 years. Read More
Obama 'seeks a new beginning' with Cuba, talks
April 17, 2009, Associated Press/MSNBC - The United States and Cuba built momentum toward renewed ties on Friday, with President Barack Obama declaring he "seeks a new beginning" - including direct talks - with the island's communist regime. Read More
OAS chief says it's time to reactivate Cuba's membership
April 16, 2009, Miami Herald - Cuba should be reincorporated to the Organization of American States as the first step to its path to democracy, the hemispheric organization's secretary general said Thursday on the eve of the Fifth Summit of the Americas. Read More
Obama says Cuba should make next move on relations
April 16, 2009, Associated Press - President Barack Obama wants Havana to make the next move to improve U.S.-Cuba relations. Read More
Cuba must meet rights norms to rejoin OAS - Canada
April 15, 2009, Reuters - Cuba would have to meet minimum standards on human rights and democracy before Canada supported any reintegration of Havana into the Organization of American States. Read More
Cubans cheer US family travel rules, but want more
April 14, 2009, Time Magazine - Word that President Barack Obama had loosened restrictions on family travel and remittances, elicited cheers and a few tears in Havana on Monday. Read More
President Obama reaches out to Cuba before summit
April 14, 2009, Sun Sentinel - Expectations run high that the new president will establish a new tone in Latin America Read More
After Obama olive branch, next move is Cuba's
April 13, 2009, Miami Herald - Cuba watchers are waiting to see how Cuba will respond if President Obama, as expected, lets Cuban Americans travel freely to the island. Read More
FACTBOX: Obama eases family, telcoms ties to Cuba
April 13, 2009, Reuters - Here is a listing of the key actions in President Obama's Cuba Changes. Read More
Restrictions on Cuban Americans' travel to Cuba to be lifted
April 13, 2009, Miami Herald - Calling it ''extending a hand to the Cuban people,'' the Obama administration on Monday announced it is lifting travel and gift restrictions for Cuban Americans, allowing them to travel freely to the island and send additional financial help to family members. Read More
White House Announces Easing of Cuba Restrictions
April 13, 2009, New York Times - In abandoning longstanding restrictions on the ability of Cuban-Americans to visit and send money to family members on the island, President Obama demonstrated Monday that he was willing to open the door toward greater engagement with Cuba — but at this point, only a crack. Read More
Weighing The Embargo Against Cuba - Audio
April 12, 2009, NPR - Host Scott Simon discusses the pros and cons of lifting the embargo with two former heads of the U.S. Interests Section in Havana, James Cason and Vicki Huddleston. Read More
Cubans optimistic that improved relations with U.S. could be near
April 12, 2009, Sun Sentinel - Ray Sanchez: Days before the Obama administration appears ready to make fence-mending with the island a focus of the Summit of the Americas in Trinidad, Cubans are hopeful of a dialogue-based approach to improved relations. Read More
Obama may face pressure over ties with Cuba at summit
April 12, 2009, USA Today - President Obama prepares to meet with Latin American leaders at the Summit of the Americas. Read More
Castro: Americans Summit to keep 'excluding' Cuba
April 5, 2009, Associated Press - A summit of leaders from across the Americas won't start for almost two weeks. But Fidel Castro is already complaining about its closing statement. Read More
U.S to Lift Some Cuba Travel Curbs
April 4, 2009, Wall Street Journal - President Barack Obama plans to lift longstanding U.S. restrictions on Cuba, allowing Cuban-Americans to visit families there as often as they like and to send them unlimited funds. Read More
Technology helping lift veil on real Cuba
April 4, 2009, Miami Herald - Cuba's new generation will keep exposing the contradictions that have left them poorer but wiser. Read More
US congressional delegation in Cuba
April 3, 2009, Associated Press - Seven members of the Congressional Black Caucus arrived in Cuba on Friday to discuss improving relations with the communist government. Read More
Executives at Miami conference forecast growing trade with Cuba
March 21, 2009, Sun Sentinel -Political changes in Washington and Havana are stoking hopes for U.S.-Cuba business. Read More
Another leading official ousted
March 6, 2009, Miami Herald - The head of the Cuban Communist Party's Foreign Relations Department was removed from his post. Meanwhile, Fidel Castro was decribed as `lucid.' Read More
Cuba buzzing over cabinet shuffle
March 5, 2009, Sun Sentinel - From smoke-filled cafés to the staid official bureaucracy, Cubans are trying to decipher how the reshuffling will affect them and the prospect for change on the communist island. Read More
2 Cuban officials resign all party, gov't posts
March 5, 2009, USA Today - Two of Cuba's most prominent officials have resigned from all Communist Party and government posts after they were criticized by Fidel Castro, as a major leadership house-cleaning continued to send shock-waves through the country's power structure. Read More
Cuban government undergoes massive restructuring
March 2, 2009, Miami Herald - In a surprise move, Cuban broadcasters on Monday announced a government restructuring of some of its top officials, including Vice President Carlos Lage and Foreign Minister Felipe Pérez Roque. Read More
Raul Castro ousts top Cubans loyal to Fidel Castro
March 2, 2009, Fox News - President Raul Castro abruptly ousted some of Cuba's most powerful officials Monday, remaking the government in the biggest shakeup since he took over from his ailing brother Fidel Castro a year ago. Read More
Who's in and who's out in Cuba government shakeup
March 2, 2009, Associated Press - Who's in and who's out in the shakeup of Cuba's government announced Monday Read More
Use "Smart Power" to Help Cubans
February 24, 2009, Brookings - ...if President Barack Obama wishes to change the U.S. policy toward Cuba, he has ample authority to do so. If he takes charge of Cuba policy, he can turn the embargo into an effective instrument of ''smart power'' to achieve the United States' policy objectives in Cuba. Read More
U.S. Congress set to open Cuban exiles' passage to island
February 24, 2009, Miami Herald - A huge spending bill being debated by Congress would effectively lift the restrictions on Cuban-American families' travel to the island. Read More
Congress easing restrictions on Cuba travel
February 23, 2009, ABC News - Democrats controlling Congress are loosening restrictions on allowing people of Cuban descent to visit their relatives on the island. Read More
The Obama Mystique in Cuba
February 19, 2009, U.S. New & World Report - Despite positive signals from Castro, there are still hurdles to any improvement in U.S.-Cuba relations Read More
A Bailout for Castro Too?
February 14, 2009, American Thinker - The "U.S. embargo," has always exempted medicine and humanitarian supplies, by the way. In fact the U.S has always provided millions more in such aid to Cuba than those who scold us from the Latin American Summit and UN General Assembly. Read More
Lift the Cuban embargo
February 12, 2009, USA Today - "Columnists' opinion" - Kathleen Parker is a member of USA TODAY's board of contributors
Read More
The Method Behind Russia’s Cuba Madness
February 12, 2009, The New Republic - Last week, Cuban President Raúl Castro wrapped up a whirligig tour through Moscow, the first visit by a Cuban leader in a quarter century. Read More
U.S. food sales to Cuba soar 61 percent in 2008
February 11, 2009, Reuters - The value of U.S. agricultural sales to Cuba soared 61 percent in 2008 to $710 million, a record amount since American producers began exporting to Cuba under a 2001 amendment. Read More
Congressional bill would end ban on travel to Cuba
February 11, 2009, Miami Herald - A bipartisan bill that would open the door to unfettered travel to Cuba was introduced in Congress last week. Read More
Cuba looks to expand Internet access
February 10, 2009, Reuters - Cuba wants to expand access to the Internet but has been held back by economic problems and bandwidth limitations.Read More
Congress members seek end to Cuba travel ban
February 9, 2009, Sun Sentinel - Nine representatives introduced a bill calling for an end to the 46-year-old ban on travel to Cuba. Read More
Fidel Castro says he doesn't doubt Obama 'honesty'
January 22, 2009, Guardian - Fidel Castro watched the U.S. inauguration on television, breaking a monthlong silence with an essay published Thursday in Cuba's state-run press. Read More
Fidel Castro breaks silence to praise Obama
January 22, 2009, Reuters - Cuba's Fidel Castro praised U.S. President Barack Obama on Wednesday for his "noble intentions" but said in his first opinion column in five weeks that the new American leader had many questions to answer. Read More
Cuba denies Fidel Castro at death's door
January 22, 2009, Reuters - Cuban President Raul Castro dismissed rumors that his older brother Fidel Castro was at death's door. Read More
Castro says he probably won't be around in 4 years
January 22, 2009, Associated Press - Fidel Castro said Thursday he doubts he'll make it to the end of Barack Obama's four-year term and instructed Cuban officials to start making their decisions without taking him into account. Read More
Cuba policy under Obama predicted to be more open
January 19, 2009, Miami Herald - Once in office, President-elect Barack Obama is likely to do more on Cuba policy than lifting the travel ban on Cubans visiting the island, experts say. Read More
U.S. keeps an eye on Fidel Castro's shaky health
January 13, 2009, Miami Herald - Fidel Castro's public absences have elevated unconfirmed reports of a grave illness. Read More
Cuba policy experts say US should engage Cuba
December 17, 2008, Associated Press - Latin American and Caribbean leaders called for the creation of a regional union that would exclude the U.S. and oppose outside interference. Read More
Andres Oppenheimer reflects on Castro's revolution - Video -
December 12, 2008, Miami Herald - Miami Herald columnist Andres Oppenheimer dissects the Cuban Revolution on the eve of its 50th anniversary. View Video
The End of the End of the Revolution
December 5, 2008, New York Times - A lenghty, but detailed account of author Roger Cohen's time spent in Cuba. Read More
Obama Will Change Cuba Policy—But How?
December 5, 2008, U.S. News & World Report - A first step: easing some of the tough Bush restrictions and, maybe, expanding a dialogue. Read More
Cuba sees Obama proposals as positive first step
December 5, 2008, Reuters - Proposals for easing Washington's restrictions on the communist-run island. Read More
AP Analysis: Obama free to change US-Cuba policy
December 2, 2008, Associated Press - Barack Obama will be the first American president in nearly 50 years to have a relatively free hand in deciding whether to ease punitive Cold War-era policies toward communist Cuba. Read More
For America's New Kennedy, A Détente With the Castros
November 29, 2008, Newsweek - Barack Obama's inauguration is still nearly two months away, but you can already hear the thawing sound over the Florida Strait. Read More
Russian president visits Cold War ally Castro
November 28, 2008, Associated Press Russia's president met with Cuba's Castro brothers Friday during the final leg of a Latin America tour. Read More
The Sound Of Change
November 26, 2008, Time Magazine - Is this the year for change? Quizás, they say in Cuba: maybe. Read More
Two views on U.S. policy on Cuba
November 16, 2008, Miami Herald - Two Cuban Americans with opposing views on U.S. policy on Cuba wrote essays for The Miami Herald explaining their positions. Read More
Raul Castro names new foreign investment minister
November 12, 2008, Reuters - Cuban President Raul Castro has named United Nations Ambassador Rodrigo Malmierca to be Cuba's minister of foreign investment. Read More
China expands trade with Cuba
November 11, 2008, Miami Herald - Most recvent photo of Fidel Castro and Chinese President Hu Jintao Read More
U.S.-Cuba policy: Time for reform, easing restrictions
November 5, 2008, Reuters - If votes in the United Nations serve as a gauge of global opinion, 98.9 percent of the world opposes the U.S. trade embargo on Cuba Read More
Patchy blockade
August 14, 2008, The Economist - The trade embargo that sometimes bites. Read More
Out of sight but not out of mind, Castro turns 82
August 13, 2008, Reuters - Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro turned 82 on Wednesday. Read More
Will U.S. businesses be Cuba's new compadres?
August 10, 2008, San Francisco Chronicle - Castro's departure could mark a new economic policy. Read More
Cuba to Allow Thousands to Own Homes
April 12, 2008, New York Times - Thousands of Cubans will be able to get title to state-owned homes, a step that could lay the groundwork for broader housing reform. Read More