Havana, June 27 (Latin Press) The Cuban Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bruno Rodriguez, today denounced the US government’s measure preventing the attendance of the Cuban women’s volleyball team at the Final Four Norceca tournament.
“The denial of visas for Puerto Rico tournament, is part of the racist and xenophobic list of visa restrictions prepared by the Secretary of State,” said the foreign minister on social network X.
“It seeks to prevent the development of Cuban sport, which it already limits with a renewed blockade,” he concluded.
A note issued this Thursday by the Cuban Volleyball Federation (FCV) reported that the team would be unable to attend the Norceca Final Four, scheduled for July 16-21, due to the denial of visas.
The FCV explains that this procedure, contrary to the commitments inherent in the responsibility assumed by countries hosting international sporting events, Impedes the presence of Cuba on a list included in the classification route to the Central American and Caribbean Games and eligible for the rankings of North America and world.
Confronting a sudden decline in US tourism arrivals, Cuba has unveiled an ambitious and transformative plan to develop a “Caribbean Schengen” — a groundbreaking regional visa initiative meant to facilitate borderless movement across a series of Latin American nations. The plan seeks to facilitate easier bureaucratic clearance, lure long-haul visitors from Asian and other emerging markets, and revamp regional tourism by promoting multi-destination holidays. As Cuba’s traditional dependence on American visitors declines, this visionary approach marks a timely move toward increased regional integration and worldwide competition within the tourism industry.
In a bold and unprecedented tourism proposal, Cuba has introduced a vision to create a unified regional visa system across Latin America—similar to Europe’s Schengen Area. Announced during a high-level meeting in Bogotá with airline and tourism representatives, the initiative—coined informally as the “Caribbean Schengen”—aims to stimulate regional tourism and attract visitors from long-haul markets such as China, Russia, and Turkey.
The core objective is to allow a tourist arriving in Havana to seamlessly continue their journey to destinations like Cartagena, Cancún, or Lima without facing immigration obstacles at each border. While ambitious, the plan represents a critical response to Cuba’s deepening tourism crisis and underscores a regional strategy to overcome bureaucratic inefficiencies and fragmented travel systems.
Why Cuba Is Proposing a Regional Tourism Visa
Cuba’s tourism industry has undergone a dramatic contraction over the past seven years. In 2017, the country welcomed approximately 4.7 million tourists. By 2024, that number had plummeted to 2.2 million. The decline is attributed to multiple converging factors: the lingering impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, a domestic energy crisis, and increasingly restrictive U.S. policies—especially Cuba’s renewed designation as a state sponsor of terrorism, which has discouraged even European travelers from visiting the island.
In response, Cuba’s Ministry of Tourism is spearheading a plan not just for national recovery but regional revival. The concept is clear: to offer international travelers a seamless and attractive multi-country experience in Latin America, encouraging them to explore beyond a single destination—without facing repetitive visa processes or border delays.
Reimagining Latin America as an Integrated Travel Corridor
The Caribbean Schengen proposal seeks to turn Latin America into a more unified, traveler-friendly destination by reducing immigration barriers across participating countries. The strategy mirrors the European Schengen Zone, where citizens and tourists can move across 27 countries without additional visas or passport checks.
Such a vision, if realized, would offer transformative potential for Latin American tourism by encouraging longer stays, increased spending, and multi-country itineraries from long-haul travelers. Rather than competing for visitors individually, countries could leverage their collective appeal and natural complementarities—beaches, colonial cities, jungles, and cultural diversity—as part of a unified offering.
China as the Central Pillar of Cuba’s Tourism Pivot
Confronted with a steep drop in arrivals from the United States, Cuba is redirecting its tourism focus toward fast-growing international markets. China, in particular, has become the cornerstone of this new direction.
Cuba now operates two direct weekly flights between Beijing and Havana and has removed visa requirements for Chinese citizens—a strategic move to lower barriers and attract more high-spending tourists from Asia. These steps position China as a key driver in Cuba’s recovery and in the broader regional tourism strategy.
Cuba’s tourism ministry believes that capturing Chinese outbound travelers—especially those seeking culturally rich, warm-climate destinations—can rejuvenate not only Cuba’s market but also that of neighboring countries. The idea is simple: by fostering joint strategies and connectivity, the region can benefit from shared growth.
Expanding Beyond the “Sun and Sand” Model
Cuba acknowledges the urgent need to broaden its tourism offerings beyond traditional models to remain competitive in a shifting global travel landscape. The traditional “sun and beach” model, long the hallmark of Caribbean travel, is no longer sufficient in a competitive global market.
The country is working to broaden its appeal by offering experiential travel—cultural heritage, eco-tourism, medical tourism, and historic tours. Cuba’s tourism roadmap includes not just increasing hotel capacity and flight routes, but also updating infrastructure, promoting regional partnerships, and modernizing migration systems to align with international standards.
This diversification is crucial if Cuba and its regional neighbors are to attract travelers from markets such as China, Russia, and Turkey—who often seek rich cultural experiences in addition to leisure travel.
Challenges Facing the “Caribbean Schengen” Vision
Despite its forward-looking potential, the concept of a shared Latin American visa is beset with significant hurdles. Unlike Europe, Latin America does not have the same level of institutional, political, or economic cohesion.
The region is characterized by diverse migration systems, fragmented infrastructure, political volatility, and divergent national interests. Multilateral negotiations on tourism are often slow-moving, and trust between nations can be fragile. There is no supranational body equivalent to the European Commission that can enforce or mediate a shared visa policy across Latin America.
Creating a “Caribbean Schengen” would require harmonized legal frameworks, interoperable technology platforms, border control modernization, and above all—political will from multiple governments. These are complex, long-term endeavors that could take years, if not decades, to fully materialize.
Is the Proposal More Symbolism than Strategy?
Some observers argue that the proposal may be more of a symbolic gesture than a feasible policy. Cuba’s domestic tourism infrastructure continues to struggle with structural issues—from electricity shortages and supply chain gaps to an international image stained by political and human rights criticisms.
Even with functional hotels protected by private generators, the broader appeal of the country is undermined by internal instability and restrictive economic conditions. Without addressing these core issues, simply facilitating multi-country travel might not be enough to restore Cuba’s position as a top destination.
Nevertheless, the regional visa idea serves as a compelling narrative tool—a vision that positions Cuba as a thought leader in Latin American tourism reform and a call for cooperation in times of shared crisis.
Strategic Timing in a Time of Transition
The proposal comes at a time when global tourism is undergoing realignment. As Western travel patterns become less predictable and Asia-Pacific demand surges, Cuba’s turn toward Eastern markets and regional integration could place it ahead of the curve.
With the right investment and collaboration, a regional visa model—even if partial—could begin to reshape the tourist flows to Latin America. Early progress could include bilateral or trilateral visa agreements, regional marketing campaigns, and pilot projects in select tourist corridors.
Frequently Asked Questions About Cuba’s Regional Visa Proposal
What is the “Caribbean Schengen” concept proposed by Cuba? Cuba’s tourism ministry is proposing a regional visa system inspired by Europe’s Schengen Area. The goal is to enable tourists to travel across participating Latin American countries—such as Cuba, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru—without needing multiple entry visas, thereby boosting regional tourism and simplifying travel logistics.
What drives Cuba’s strategic focus on attracting travelers from China, Russia, and Turkey over traditional markets? Cuba is shifting its focus toward emerging travel markets due to a sharp decline in American tourists, driven by diplomatic tensions and travel restrictions. China, in particular, offers a vast pool of outbound travelers. By improving air connectivity and removing visa barriers, Cuba aims to attract tourists who may explore multiple destinations across Latin America.
What are the major challenges to implementing a regional visa? The proposal faces institutional, political, and logistical barriers. Latin America lacks unified migration systems and supranational governance. Political instability, economic disparity, and varied border security practices make a fully integrated visa system difficult to implement in the short term.
How is Cuba’s energy crisis impacting tourism operations? While widespread blackouts affect residents, most hotels maintain uninterrupted service using independent generators. The government has prioritized the tourism sector as a vital source of economic stability, though this has sparked criticism over imbalanced resource allocation that overlooks citizens’ basic needs.
What are the next steps for this proposal? While no official roadmap has been established, Cuba is likely to continue lobbying for regional support and may pursue bilateral visa agreements or limited pilot projects. Partnering with countries such as Mexico, Colombia, and Peru could lay the groundwork for deeper regional travel unification in the future.
Rhetoric or Regional Reset?
Cuba’s proposal for a “Caribbean Schengen” is bold, timely, and rooted in real economic urgency. While its implementation faces formidable roadblocks, the vision shines a spotlight on the need for Latin America to modernize, integrate, and diversify its tourism offerings.
Whether it serves as a symbolic diplomatic overture or evolves into a tangible policy, the idea forces important conversations around shared regional strategy, international competitiveness, and the future of tourism in a post-pandemic, multi-polar world.
In response to declining US tourist numbers, Cuba has proposed a transformative Caribbean Schengen-style visa to boost regional tourism and attract travelers from emerging global markets. This bold strategy aims to simplify cross-border travel in Latin America and strengthen the region’s global tourism appeal.
Cuba may still be a long way from leading a fully integrated travel bloc—but its voice is helping shape the debate about how Latin America can respond collectively to the shifting tides of global tourism.
China and Cuba officially launched their first regularly scheduled international freight corridor, Havana, Cuba, June 25, 2025. /CMG
China 26-Jun-2025 — CGTN
On June 25, China and Cuba officially launched their first regularly scheduled international freight corridor.
The ribbon-cutting ceremony was attended by Cuba’s Transport Minister, Eduardo Rodriguez Davila, Deputy Minister of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment Debora Rivas, Chinese Ambassador to Cuba Hua Xin, and senior representatives from both countries’ airlines.
Built on the existing Beijing-Havana passenger service, this new air link will operate two weekly flights, each with a 20-tonne cargo capacity.
It slashes transit times for goods shipped from China from several weeks by sea to under 24 hours by air, meeting the urgent, high-value transport needs of Sino-Cuban trade.
More than 600 people came out to Havana’s Acapulco Cinema for a special screening of our documentary film From Gaza to Cuba. See what people said about the event HERE
Belly of the Beast celebrated its five-year anniversary in April with a powerful night of documentary cinema at Havana’s iconic Acapulco Cinema. The screening brought together voices from Cuba and around the world, united by stories of resistance, solidarity and truth. Watch here.
Havana, June 24 (Prensa Latina) President Miguel Díaz-Canel welcomed the First International Peace Forum held in Brussels, where the promotion of war conflagrations as mere business was condemned, according to the Cuban Communist Party today.
The political organization revealed the head of state’s message of greeting, who considered the event “to acquire special relevance” due to the “urgency imposed by the war, the destruction, the death, and the displacement of thousands of innocent people.”
According to Fidel (historic leader of the Cuban Revolution), fighting for peace is the most sacred duty of human beings, regardless of their religion or country of birth, the color of their skin, their age or their youth, Díaz-Canel stated.
“True to its legacy and tireless work to preserve peace, Cuba reaffirms its vocation and commitment to this cause,” he added.
He also reiterated that the Forum is “transcendental” because it occurs when “the genocidal regime of Israel unleashes a war against the Islamic Republic of Iran with the support of its main ally, the United States government, which puts the Middle East and humanity in general at risk.”
“We must coordinate our efforts to combat war, armed conflict, militarization, blockades, and climate change, and promote, through responsibility, disarmament, effective multilateralism, sustainable development, dialogue, cooperation, and internationalist solidarity,” he recommended.
He also commented that “peace goes far beyond the absence of war or military activities.”
“Peace must be conceived as the elimination of imbalances caused by the theft of resources, the imposition of wills, colonialist practices, and everything that violates human dignity,” he asserted.
The president referred specifically to the “noble and courageous Palestinian people, who daily suffer the genocide of the Zionist entity, the injustice, and the violation of their most sacred right: the right to life.”
“To our Palestinian brothers,” he said, “our admiration, respect, and firm and unconditional support.” Let us work together to achieve a just and lasting peace, to build a new political and economic order, and for the well-being and security of our peoples, Díaz-Canel suggested.
The First International Peace Forum concluded this Tuesday. It brought together more than 50 delegations from all continents in Brussels, Belgium, where they advocated for multilateral dialogue, disarmament, and conflict resolution through diplomatic means.
The largest of the Antilles will be in charge until August 15. Photo: United Nations
Comprising 33 nations, the entity advocates nuclear disarmament as a top priority
June 24 (Granma) Yesterday, Cuba assumed the role of Coordinator Country of the Group of 21 (G-21) in Geneva, within the context of the United Nations Conference on Disarmament. This was announced by Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, member of the Political Bureau and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Cuba, who added that the G-21 is the largest consultation group at the Conference. Comprising 33 nations, the body advocates “nuclear disarmament as a top priority in this multilateral sphere,” the Cuban Foreign Minister emphasized in X. The Conference on Disarmament was recognized in 1978 by the Tenth Special Session of the United Nations General Assembly on Disarmament. It was conceived as the only multilateral forum for negotiation on disarmament in the international community. The Conference was preceded by the Ten-Nation Disarmament Committee (1960), the Eighteen-Nation Disarmament Committee (1962-1968), and the Conference of the Disarmament Committee (1969-1978). According to the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Cuba will be in charge of leading the Group until August 15.
The forum and its predecessors have negotiated important multilateral arms limitation and disarmament agreements: The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), The Biological Weapons Convention (BWC), The Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT).
Source: United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs
Santiago de Cuba, June 23 (Prensa Latina) With the goal of boosting trade in the region, the ExpoCaribe 2025 International Fair, Cuba’s second trade fair, opened today in this city. This time, it will feature 35 countries and more than 300 companies.
Host Governor Manuel Falcón, in welcoming the participants, emphasized that the fair is taking place in a difficult economic situation exacerbated by the US blockade of Cuba.
He also described the urgent need to fight for peace and respect for the self-determination of peoples, the integration of Latin America and the Caribbean, and the strengthening of trade among nations as the most viable path to addressing the great challenges facing societies.
First Deputy Minister of Foreign Trade and Investment, Carlos Luis Jorge, explained that the event will facilitate the identification and consolidation of interests, combined with economic and commercial complementarity among nations in the Caribbean region and beyond.
He also thanked Santiago de Cuba and its authorities for reopening its doors, for the extra effort they have put into ExpoCaribe 2025 despite the complex situation the country is facing, and for organizing the event, which he predicted will be a success.
The Minister of People’s Power for National Trade of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Luis Villegas, called on participants and organizers to make this fair an economic engine that will drive Cuba’s development.
Villegas considered the alliances that ExpoCaribe 2025 will generate to represent an economic rebellion of the global South, a starting point for the development of trade in the region, and praised the strengthening of economic, political, and solidarity ties between Venezuela and Cuba.
The opening ceremony was presided over by Beatriz Johnson, a member of the Party Central Committee and First Secretary in Santiago de Cuba; Governor Manuel Falcón; Carlos Luis Jorge, First Deputy Minister of Foreign Trade and Investment; and Antonio Carricarte, President of the Chamber of Commerce of the Republic of Cuba.
HAVANA, Cuba, Jun 23 (ACN) Cuba had a remarkable performance at the Troyes-Aube International Athletics Meet in France, securing three gold medals, one of them a record, as part of its preparatory tour for the World Championships in September in Tokyo.
The star of Sunday’s event was Lisyanet Ruiz, who won the 100-meter hurdles with a 12.81 seconds time, a record for the event, thus improved the 12.97 seconds held by Italian Giada Carmassi since 2024 and shaved one hundredth of a second off her personal best of 12.82, achieved in May during a national event.
In the same meeting, Greisys Robles confirmed her consistency with a time of 12.92 seconds, securing second place—the ninth time this season that the Cuban hurdler has dipped under 13 seconds.
The bronze medal went to Italy’s Eliza Maria Di Lazzaro (12.98).
Another outstanding moment was that of sprinter Reynaldo Espinosa, who won the 100-meter dash in 9.95 seconds, although it cannot be recognized as a personal best due to a tailwind exceeding the permitted limit (+2.3 m/s) . His best legal time remains 9.96, achieved in Salamanca in 2024. He is now joined on the podium by Dominican Franquelo Perez (10.10) and Colombian Abello Neiker (10.12).
Roxana Gomez dominated the 400 meters, clocking 50.98 seconds, very close to the 50.67 seconds that gave her gold a few days earlier at the Barrientos Memorial, while Burundi’s Sita Sibiri (52.21) and France’s Diana Iscaye (52.89) completed the top three.
In the two laps of the oval, Dayli Cooper once again shined with 2:00.21 minutes, her best time of the year, to take the silver medal, surpassed only Australia’s Bendere Oboya (2:00.16) and Britain’s Revee Walcott-Nolan (2:00.24) in third.
With this result, Cooper continues showing solid progress ahead of the global event.
Cuban delegation will continue its competitive journey on June 26 at the Malaga International Meeting in Spain, with the participation of several of its leading athletes, including long jumper Maykel Masso, who is returning to the international stage after an injury in 2023.
Moscow eyes deeper Latin American trade links via the Caribbean nations strategic port of Mariel
Russia and Cuba are working to establish a joint logistics hub at the Caribbean nation’s most significant deep-water port to boost cooperation, RIA Novosti reported on Monday.
The project, aimed at streamlining trade flows between Moscow and Latin America, was confirmed on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF 2025), which wrapped up last week.
Tatyana Mashkova, head of Russia’s National Committee for Economic Cooperation with Latin American Countries, told the outlet that the two sides are working “in parallel” to set up the hub at Cuba’s Port of Mariel.
Situated at the mouth of the Gulf of Mexico, Mariel features a container terminal, free-trade zone, modern warehousing, and rail links. The area offers business-friendly tax breaks and customs preferences designed to encourage investment and local production. Several Russian companies are already present at the site.
Mashkova said Russian and Cuban business representatives are also discussing ways to strengthen financial cooperation, including with backing from the Russian Export Center. The goal is to facilitate bilateral trade and reduce logistical barriers.
“Our companies could benefit from this Cuban platform to deliver their goods more actively throughout the region,” she stated, pointing to opportunities across Central America and the Caribbean.
Cuba has also offered to host an industrial park for the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) within the Mariel special economic zone. The proposed 50-hectare site would be leased to the bloc for 50 years, with an option to extend. The park would allow EAEU members to localize production, invest directly, and expand access to Latin American markets.
The EAEU brings together five post-Soviet nations: Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Russia. Cuba has been cooperating with the bloc for several years and became an official observer in 2020.
Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the Vatican’s Foreign Minister, visited Cuba earlier this month to commemorate 90 years of diplomatic relations between the island and the Holy See, marking the first official visit of a representative of Pope Leo XIV.
Gallagher met with Cuba’s President Miguel Díaz-Canel and held mass at the Cathedral of Havana. The last three popes have visited Cuba.
Pope Francis was instrumental in facilitating the negotiations that led to the historic normalization of relations between Cuba and the U.S. in 2014.
