Cuba and UNESCO evaluate cooperation in education and science

Posted on September 5, 2026 by Anthony Brenner

Havana, September 4 (Prensa Latina) Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel and UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Priority Africa and External Relations Lidia Arthur today assessed bilateral cooperation in education, science and culture.

During a meeting at the Palace of the Revolution, the president emphasized the historic ties between the Caribbean nation and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and highlighted the alignment of principles between the aims of the multilateral organization and the objectives of the Cuban Revolution.

Díaz-Canel emphasized that science, innovation, and culture are fundamental pillars of government management, and reaffirmed the country’s commitment to universal, free, and inclusive education and health, in defense of cultural sovereignty.

According to a report from the Presidency of the Republic on its website, the head of state referred to the successful start of the school year, both in general education and in higher education, despite the complex energy situation aggravated by the unilateral coercive measures of Washington.

In that regard, he praised the work of the teachers, who continued classes even during the blackouts.

The Cuban president also mentioned the recent graduation of more than 50,000 professionals, including Palestinian doctors, as a demonstration of the island’s internationalist vocation, in line with UNESCO’s principles of cooperation.

In the meeting, Díaz-Canel condemned the US blockade and defined it as a silent genocide, while reaffirming the will of the Cuban people to resist and move forward.

He also reaffirmed Havana’s support for all UNESCO programs and the work of its Regional Office in the country.

For its part, the UNESCO leadership congratulated the Cuban government for ensuring the continuity of the educational process in such adverse circumstances.

He considered that compliance with the curriculum is an example of resilience that strengthens society and families.

Brito reaffirmed the international organization’s commitment to Cuba and highlighted ongoing joint projects, such as the implementation of five green schools, developed in conjunction with the Ministry of Education, focused on the use of solar energy and adaptation to climate change.

The deputy director general recognized Cuba as a regional leader in defending education and health as human rights, as well as in using science for development and peacebuilding.

The meeting was attended, on the Cuban side, by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bruno Rodríguez, and other authorities from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

ool/mks

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Cuba reaffirms in Belgrade the validity of the principles of the Non-Aligned Movement

Posted on September 2, 2026 by Anthony Brenner

Belgrade, September 1 (Prensa Latina) Cuba’s First Deputy Foreign Minister, Gerardo Peñalver, reaffirmed today the validity of the principles of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), during the Commemorative Meeting of the organization’s 65th anniversary.

The Cuban diplomat, who is attending as a special envoy of President Miguel Díaz-Canel, conveyed his country’s gratitude to the Ugandan presidency of the Movement and to the Serbian authorities for organizing the meeting, while also expressing Cuba’s “genuine pride” in being a founding country of the Non-Aligned Movement.

According to the text released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Peñalver stressed that the founding principles of the Movement remain fully valid in the current international context and that its activism as the voice of the countries of the South “is more necessary than ever in the face of the colossal challenges of today.”

The first deputy minister denounced that the US administration has intensified the blockade against Cuba through an “energy embargo that amounts to a naval blockade,” secondary sanctions against third countries, and a persistent threat of direct military aggression.

Peñalver explained that these policies have generated painful consequences for the Cuban people, including a waiting list of more than 90,000 patients for surgical procedures, the depletion of the basic list of medicines and the impossibility of thousands of containers with food and medical devices reaching Cuban ports.

“There is no doubt about the genocidal dimension that the policy of economic strangulation against Cuba has acquired,” the diplomat stated, while reaffirming the island’s determination to resist and seek development alternatives through its own efforts in defense of its sovereignty.

Peñalver quoted Cuban Revolution leader Raúl Castro to emphasize that “the security and peace of the rich are not those for which poor countries fight,” and recalled that Cuba aspires to “peace with sovereignty, with independence, with dignity, with justice, with development.”

The deputy minister thanked the Non-Aligned Movement for its historic condemnation of the blockade, the energy embargo, and the inclusion of Cuba on the unilateral list of state sponsors of terrorism, as well as for its recognition of the cooperation that the island maintains with numerous member states of the Movement.

He made special mention of the interventions of the President of Ghana and the Minister of the Presidency of Namibia, who supported Cuba and rejected the blockade in the plenary session.

Peñalver closed his speech with words from the historical leader of the Revolution, Fidel Castro, who warned that “the success and future of the Non-Aligned Movement will depend on not allowing itself to be penetrated, confused or deceived by imperialist ideology.”

“It is time to reaffirm our anti-imperialist, anti-neocolonialist and anti-fascist ideas, which are at the heart of the history of the Non-Aligned Movement,” the Cuban diplomat concluded.

car/mks

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Rubio’s Cuba Report, Graded by a Historian

Posted on August 29, 2026 by Anthony Brenner

August 26 — Belly of the Beast

Marco Rubio’s State Department accuses Cuba of fueling “far-left terror” in the United States and recruiting solidarity activists to “turn America against itself.”

According to Teishan Latner, a leading scholar of U.S.-Cuba left solidarity, the claims are the same ones the FBI and CIA made in the 1960s and 1970s. They were as spurious then, he says, as they are now.

This week, Belly of the Beast journalist Yohan Rodríguez speaks with Latner about how the State Department twisted his scholarship into a sweeping McCarthyite conspiracy theory to criminalize U.S. social justice movements and justify possible military action against Cuba.

When the State Department released its report “Cuba: The Capital of 21st Century Communism” last month, historian Teishan Latner recognized the material — some of it seemed to be drawn directly from his own writing.

Latner, a history professor at Thomas Jefferson University, has spent over a decade researching the ties between the Cuban Revolution and the U.S. left. His 2018 book on the subject, Cuban Revolution in America: Havana and the Making of a United States Left, 1968-1992, is the first multi-decade scholarly account on the subject.

According to Latner, the State Department report regurgitates false claims the FBI and CIA made about U.S.-based activists in the 1960s and 1970s, when the agencies alleged that U.S. solidarity delegations served as a recruiting pipeline for Cuban intelligence.

“There’s no evidence that Cuba has actually successfully recruited anyone who has been a member of a U.S. solidarity brigade,” Latner said.

Asked how he’d grade the report if a student submitted it as a paper, Latner said: “It would probably be a very poor grade, especially on the basis of evidence.”

While the report may be laughable as a work of scholarship, Latner says it serves a political purpose: to crack down on progressive organizations and leaders, and to strengthen the case for the administration’s hostile policy against Cuba.

Watch Belly of the Beast journalist Yohan Rodríguez’s interview with Latner HERE.

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ALADI and Cuba for the integration of the island’s MSMEs into regional trade

Posted on August 28, 2026 by Anthony Brenner

Montevideo, August 27 (Prensa Latina) Cuba and the Latin American Integration Association (ALADI) today signed a Memorandum of Understanding to strengthen cooperation and promote actions in areas of interest to the island and the regional integration process.

The aim is to promote the integration of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) on the island into the regional economy.

The document was adopted by the Directorate of Communication and Promotion of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment of Cuba (ProCuba) and the General Secretariat of ALADI.

The agreement was endorsed with the presence of the Secretary General of ALADI, Sergio Abreu, and the Ambassador of Cuba and Permanent Representative to that organization, based here, Lissett Pérez.

Also participating were Benjamín Blanco, Undersecretary of ALADI, and Yamila Martínez, Economic and Commercial Counselor of the Cuban Embassy and Alternate Representative of her country to ALADI.

The Memorandum establishes a framework for developing joint actions related to conducting studies on the integration process, promoting trade in sectors that are priorities for Cuba, and strengthening business capabilities.

It aims to boost the participation of Cuban micro, small and medium-sized enterprises and promote training activities in areas of interest, contributing to expanding their opportunities for integration into the markets of the region.

lam/ool

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Cuba and the price of defending dignity

Posted on August 27, 2026 by Anthony Brenner

Paris, August 26 (Prensa Latina) One of the achievements of the Triumph of the Revolution was the dignity of the Cuban people and the end of their humiliation; hence the spirit of resistance that Fidel Castro instilled, Salim Lamrani declared today.By Antonio Rondón

The French writer and professor noted that the Italian Gianni Minà, in an interview with Fidel, asked him what quality in a human being he most appreciated, and Fidel replied that it was loyalty to principles.

When asked what he detested most, Fidel replied that it was the betrayal of principles, recalled the specialist on the dispute between Cuba and the United States, in statements to Prensa Latina.

Therefore, the resistance of the Cuban people today is based on adherence to the principles of national sovereignty, social justice, socialism, internationalism, and the basic dignity of the human being, he commented.

Cubans are willing to engage in dialogue, but not to have the conditions for good relations dictated to them, noted the doctor and researcher from the Sorbonne University.

That’s why the United States is wrong in its political projection, from an operational point of view, because the Cubans have already shown that they will not give in on matters of principle and will remain faithful to them, the specialist argued.

We must recognize the resilience of the Cuban people. No one expected that when the oil embargo was introduced last December—it was imposed at the end of January, but no tanker had arrived since December—Cuba would hold out for more than two months, he commented.

But Cuba has already been resisting a medieval measure for almost nine months, an energy blockade that has a dramatic impact on all aspects of society, Lamrani said.

“This is because Cuba knows what it would mean to give up, because giving up would mean returning to the era of humiliation,” he said.

“It would be a return to the era when the President of the United States sends a special envoy to Cuba, without notifying the President of the Republic, to publicly humiliate you,” the researcher emphasized.

It is often said that after life, the most important thing is dignity, “although sometimes dignity is more important than life because living without that condition is living on your knees, something that makes no sense and Cuba has demonstrated that,” the specialist stated.

That has also been one of the achievements of the Cuban Revolution. That is why Fidel Castro obtained unanimous support. He managed to express the people’s deep yearning for dignity, he said.

The first conquest of the 1959 Revolution is the conquest of dignity, to definitively end the era of humiliation. That is why the Cuban people resist, because defending dignity is part of the Cuban people’s identity, Lamrani affirmed.

Few countries in the world had to fight for independence under such adverse conditions, and it was a 30-year struggle for that independence, the longest war in the Latin American region, the expert noted.

After an American intervention, which led to 60 years of a pseudo-republic, and despite that, despite the geographical fatalism and despite the fact that the United States dominated the Cuban economy and controlled the political situation, Cuba managed to achieve its independence, he pointed out.

This indicates that the core of resistance existing in the Cuban people is very strong, and that is why they have not managed to create a division in the revolutionary unity, an ever-present objective of the US government to end the Revolution, he explained.

They have not achieved that goal, and there is that legacy of what Fidel taught about not giving in, even in the most adverse circumstances, he stressed.

mem/to

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Cuba: Immunology Center develops cancer drug despite US blockade

Posted on August 26, 2026 by Anthony Brenner
Scientists at Cuba’s Center for Molecular Immunology (CIM) have created 2C12, a cancer drug similar to pembrolizumab, which is now ready for clinical trials. Photo: CIM social media.

Havana is developing accessible therapeutic options for the population, given the high prices of cancer treatments globally and the economic war waged by the White House.

August 25, 2026 — teleSUR

The Center for Molecular Immunology (CIM) in Cuba is conducting studies for a new cancer treatment, given the impossibility of accessing the usual therapy with pembrolizumab, due to the economic, commercial and financial blockade of the United States .

In a social media post, the CIM stated that pembrolizumab treatment is highly effective in helping the body’s natural defenses recognize and fight cancer cells more effectively, but its high cost and the embargo against Cuba make it inaccessible. This led them to develop 2C12 , a similar drug that is now ready for patient trials .

In this first stage, the clinical study will be conducted in several hospitals in Havana with people who have advanced melanoma , that is, cases of skin cancer that cannot be treated by surgery or that have spread to other parts of the body, the CIM reported.

According to information published in the local newspaper Granma , the Cuban therapeutic candidate has similar characteristics to pembrolizumab , a drug used internationally in certain cancer treatments by stimulating the immune response against tumor cells. The efficacy and safety of 2C12 will be determined through clinical trials .

Recently, Cuba’s Deputy Minister of Public Health, Dr. Carilda Peña García, stated that the intensified Washington embargo has affected healthcare protocols in the country. Fuel shortages and financial obstacles to acquiring supplies are also hindering the production of medicines and vaccines for the prevention of communicable diseases.

Cuba’s Ministry of Public Health has repeatedly denounced that US sanctions affect the care of cancer patients by preventing access to drugs for cancer treatment and also to supplies for their local production.

READ ALSO:

“Attack on the right to health”: Cuba condemns US sanctions against its medical services

On January 29, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order authorizing punitive tariffs on imports from countries that supply oil to Cuba, after declaring a state of emergency due to the alleged Cuban threat to US national security.

The Cuban government claims that Washington is using the energy blockade to stifle its economy, make living conditions unbearable for its population , and provoke destabilization and a change of political regime.

Author: teleSUR – abl – JDO

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The dignity, independence, and sovereignty of Cuba have also been defended by its women

Posted on August 26, 2026 by Anthony Brenner
Photo: Courtesy of the FMC Photo: Ronald Suárez Rivas

This was affirmed in Pinar del Río by the General Secretary of the Federation of Cuban Women (FMC), Teresa Amarelle Boué, on the occasion of the organization’s 66th anniversary

August 24, 2026  — Granma

Pinar del Río – The dignity, independence, and sovereignty of Cuba have also been defended and built by its women.
These 66 years signify that Cuban women have ceased to be spectators and have become protagonists of their own history.
This was affirmed in this province by the member of the Political Bureau and General Secretary of the Federation of Cuban Women (FMC), Teresa Amarelle Boué, during the main event commemorating this new anniversary of the organization, on August 23rd.
Amarelle Boué also recalled that the triumph of the Revolution and the emergence of the FMC (Federation of Cuban Women) meant that millions of women had the opportunity to study, work, improve themselves, research, produce, and lead in all areas of the economic, political, social, and cultural life of our country.
Currently, “we are the majority in sectors such as education, health, science, and the judicial system, among others,” she said, adding that “there is an increasingly greater female presence in the non-state sector, in agricultural production cooperatives, and in access to leadership positions.”
As an example, she stated that Cuba has the second-highest percentage of women in its Parliament in the world.
The General Secretary of the FMC also addressed the main challenges facing the organization, in a context marked by the intensification of the U.S. blockade, which severely impacts the lives of the Cuban people.
“We must pay special attention to vulnerable individuals and families and contribute, together with the relevant institutions, to finding solutions; we must focus particularly on our young women who are not in school or work; it is essential to continue working for gender equality and the prevention of violence,” she emphasized.
During the event, held at the Hermanos Cruz People’s Council, awards were presented to the provinces of Artemisa, Matanzas, Cienfuegos, and Villa Clara, all recognized for their outstanding work within the FMC, and to Pinar del Río, which received the National Vanguard designation.

Photo: Ronald Suárez Rivas
Photo: Ronald Suárez Rivas

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Solar-Powered Tricycles Keep Havana Streets Clean

Posted on August 23, 2026 by Anthony Brenner

August 22, 2026 — Belly of the Beast

Garbage has piled up on Havana’s street corners for months, a byproduct of the fuel shortages that have ground the Cuban government’s waste collection to a halt since the Trump administration imposed its oil blockade on the island.

In Vedado, one local business has stepped up to provide a solution — solar-powered tricycles.

El Rampeño uses electric tricycles and trucks to collect trash door-to-door. Customers pay 100 pesos a month, or roughly 14 cents. Vulnerable households receive the service for free.

“Due to the situation with the United States, especially the fuel issue, the government doesn’t have enough fuel to collect the garbage,” said Yasiel Hernández, El Rampeño’s president.

The neighbors have noticed the difference.

“This corner was full of trash,” one resident said. “Now it’s not anymore.”

Watch the video HERE.

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“I am a product of Cuba’s solidarity,” says Colombian doctor

Posted on August 18, 2026 by Anthony Brenner

Bogotá, Aug 17 (Prensa Latina) While attending to dozens of patients in Cali, one of the cities hardest hit by a deadly earthquake, Colombian doctor Diana Hernández recounts how the importance that Cuba gives to life was engraved in her heart.

A graduate of the Latin American School of Medicine (ELAM) in 2012, this woman, born in Cali but a resident of Popayán by choice, passionately defends all the learning she received on the island as part of her training to become a health professional.

She kindly agreed to sacrifice some of her precious free time to answer my questions. She did so in the early morning hours when she had a few free minutes amidst the hustle and bustle that Cali is experiencing these days due to the earthquake that has already left a tragic toll of more than 130 dead in that city alone.

Although the chances of finding life are reduced, he tells me that hope has not yet been lost of rescuing those who may still be trapped.

“The solidarity has been endless, and in the first few days many who were near the sites where the buildings collapsed were willing to help, and it was also key to getting some people out at the beginning,” he says.

It also refers to the need for staff support to help sustain and build the city at a time when hundreds of damaged health centers are being reported.

“The hospital network was affected, the University Hospital was greatly affected, there are health centers on the hillsides, in certain parts of the city, that cannot operate where they were in the physical structure and have had to move to other places,” he says.

One question arises: how much of what was learned on the island applies to this context?

“Studying in Cuba undoubtedly gave me many possibilities and many dimensions; it taught me to build a solid scientific education, but above all a human one. It was a people who welcomed me with love, who accompanied me during those years, who taught me, but also who inspired me,” she recounts, moved.

“I experienced hurricanes when I was a student, seeing how the entire country mobilized and, above all, the importance of protecting life, that is something that stayed with me,” she confesses.

Hernández clarifies that she is not the only ELAM graduate who went to Cali to help the victims, and as proof, she sends me a photo where she is accompanied by two other doctors. She also emphasizes that there are several others in other regions of the country.

Since yesterday, news has been circulating that the Los Mambí-10 de Agosto Humanitarian Brigade, comprised of professionals trained on the island, has departed for Chocó, one of the poorest departments, while others are providing their services in Buenaventura and Pereira. The doctor is in Cali with a group of specialists who, she tells me, wanted to join in order to “amplify hope” and “provide the best possible support.”

Even though there are many things to tell, the memory of the island keeps creeping in.

“Wherever we arrive, they immediately know that we are Colombians who graduated in Cuba and—I know this happens to many people in many places—then they say: the Cuban doctors have arrived. That also reminds us of what Fidel [Castro] told us: that we were Cubans born abroad,” he acknowledges, his voice breaking.

Diana had no qualms about sharing with me personal decisions and experiences that also stemmed from the altruism she learned on the island.

She tells me how, once she graduated, she refused to do her social service in a town near the capital, which cost her a sanction, and instead went to the Colombian Massif, a large mountain system in the Andes where the Magdalena River originates.

He explains that everyone who studied in Cuba created an unbreakable network.

“Being part of ELAM connects us at heart (…) we all know that if we need something for ourselves or for the patients, we are there, and I think that is very valuable,” she says.

I asked him his opinion on a possible break in relations between his country and the island, and his response was emphatic.

“Behind the relations between states are families, communities, and decades of cooperation and solidarity. I am a testament to that solidarity. The doctors who are here—and not only doctors, because Cuba has trained many Colombians in different fields—that is something Colombia should not forget,” he emphasized.

Finally, he summarized in one sentence what he believes the largest island in the Caribbean represents for the world.

“Cuba is a heritage of the people,” asserted Colombian doctor Diana Hernández with conviction.

ode/ifs

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Russia delivered humanitarian aid to Cuba

Posted on August 18, 2026 by Anthony Brenner

Moscow, August 17 (Prensa Latina) During a visit to Havana, a delegation from the Russian Civic Chamber donated humanitarian aid to Cuba to support the country’s population, the Russkiy Mir.ru channel reported today.

According to the report, which cited the Russian Civic Chamber as its source, the delegation from the Slavic nation donated food, sweets, portable flashlights, USB drives, and first aid kits to the Cuban population suffering from an energy crisis due to Washington’s actions.

The donation ceremony took place during a meeting with the board of directors of the Cuban Institute of Friendship between Peoples (ICAP), within the framework of the commemorative events for the centenary of Fidel Castro.

Nikita Anisimov, a member of the Russian Civic Chamber and the Rossotrudnichestvo Public Council, emphasized that Russia stands in solidarity with Cuba and will continue to support it in all international forums in which its NGOs participate.

The first vice president of the Cuban Institute of Friendship between Peoples, Noemí Rabasa, expressed her gratitude to Russia for its help at a time when Cubans lack basic products such as medicine, fuel and food.

During the trip, Russian representatives participated in the Solidarity Forum organized by the Cuban Institute of Friendship Among Peoples. As part of the cultural program, Russian violinist Pyotr Lundstrem, a guest of the Havana International Book Fair, gave a concert for the Cuban public.

idm/gfa

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