Mexico City, Oct 19 (Prensa Latina) Organizations from Mexico and around the world today condemned the maneuvers, pressures and blackmail of the US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, to prevent votes in favor of a Cuban resolution at the United Nations against the blockade.
In a statement signed by, among others, the José Martí Association of Cuban Residents in Mexico, Rubio’s violation of international law was denounced for attempting to prevent countries from exercising their sovereign right to vote on the document, scheduled for the end of October.
“We condemn the threats of sanctions, promises of tariffs, covert reprisals and undue pressure that make up the ‘blackmail diplomacy’ against heads of state and government of several countries carried out by the Secretary of State,” they said.
They considered these actions a flagrant violation of the principle of sovereign equality of States and non-interference in the internal affairs of other nations, established in international law and in the Charter of the United Nations itself.
They also categorically rejected the use of the United Nations (UN) to hold an event on the 19th at the request of the permanent mission of Washington, which “cynically calls it ‘Free Cuba: the oppression that Havana hides’”.
They stressed that, in Rubio’s desperation to avoid another diplomatic defeat, “through this farce, he wants to hide the collective punishment he is inflicting on the entire Cuban people and make the international community his accomplice.”
The organizations reaffirmed that the US blockade, the inclusion of Cuba on the list of countries that supposedly sponsor terrorism, the energy embargo and the constant sanctions on entities and people on the island are in practice “a genocide without bombs”.
They create “food and medicine shortages, deaths and all kinds of hardships,” they declared, stressing that the blockade of more than six decades – and intensified this year – violates the human rights of 10 million Cubans.
They called on all states not to give in to pressure and to vote in accordance with their foreign policy and the rules of international law.
“As has been demonstrated, the vast majority of the General Assembly condemns the criminal blockade, its extraterritoriality and advocates for justice and the right that Cuba has to decide its destiny, as it stated last year with 165 votes in favor of the resolution,” he recalled.
They also urged the people of the world to pressure their rulers to defend their sovereignty and self-determination in this vote.
The signatories of the declaration also include the Mexican Movement of Solidarity with Cuba, the Nuestra América Collective, the Network of Cubans Residing in Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Communist and Popular Socialist parties of Mexico, among others.
Rome, Oct 19 (Prensa Latina) Swiss oncologist and researcher Franco Cavalli warned about the consequences that, in his opinion, the tightening of the United States blockade against Cuba has on the functioning of hospitals, the availability of medicines and the care of patients.
By: Mario Muñoz Lozano
Chief Correspondent in Italy
In an interview with Prensa Latina in this capital, the president of the non-governmental organization mediCuba-Europa described Washington’s policy toward the island as an “attempted genocide,” considering that economic and energy restrictions aggravate the deprivations of the population and compromise essential services.
“This is the definition of genocide, when you try to kill a nation, a people, by starvation or disease for any reason,” explained the renowned specialist, who has been president of the International Union Against Cancer and of the Scientific Committee of the European School of Oncology.
Cavalli, who has five decades of experience in oncology, recalled that he has known and collaborated with the Cuban health system since 1986, which, he affirmed, achieved outstanding results in indicators such as infant mortality and life expectancy, and he gave special importance to family medicine.
The specialist argued that the intensification of restrictions, including what he described as an energy blockade, has aggravated the difficulties of Cuban healthcare centers.
He stated that, during visits made in recent months to hospitals in Havana and Matanzas, he observed serious problems which he attributed to the lack of electricity and resources.
According to their testimony, the power outages compromise the functioning of medical equipment, including incubators, while transportation difficulties affect the arrival of healthcare personnel to their workplaces.
He also drew attention to the shortages of medicines, limitations in performing surgical procedures, and an increase in waiting lists.
Cavalli linked these conditions to the deterioration of the economic situation of families and to possible repercussions on maternal and child health.
“Before, the blockade was criminal; now it is more than criminal, it is an attempt at genocide,” declared the oncologist, who argued that the restrictions can subject the population to deprivations capable of affecting their food and their access to medical care.
The specialist also warned about the obstacles that, as he explained, European medical aid to Cuba faces, despite the increase in contributions received by mediCuba-Europe since the beginning of this year.
He stated that the organization currently has more resources contributed by European citizens, but is having difficulty getting supplies to the island due to transport restrictions, problems moving containers to Cuba, and a lower availability of commercial flights.
According to Cavalli, some shipments remain detained in the Dominican Republic, Mexico and Jamaica, while medicines destined for Cuba are blocked in various parts of Latin America.
The scientist and former Swiss parliamentarian (1995-2007) attributed these difficulties to the tightening of US measures and their repercussions on logistical operations.
Given this scenario, he explained that mediCuba-Europa has focused part of its efforts on solar energy projects, with the purpose of contributing to maintaining essential services.
He added that the organization tries to send pacemakers, cardiac care supplies, and medications when conditions allow.
He considered that the increase in donations demonstrates greater solidarity with Cuba in Europe, although he maintained that restrictions prevent fully converting those resources into effective aid for the population.
Cavalli compared the Cuban situation to the difficulties in delivering humanitarian aid to Gaza and accused the US government, led by Donald Trump, of trying to prevent aid from reaching the island. These statements express his political interpretation of Washington’s actions.
As president of mediCuba-Europe and vice president of mediCuba-Switzerland, the doctor promotes collaborative initiatives with entities in the health system and the biotechnology industry of Cuba.
Shanghai, China, Oct 18 (Prensa Latina) Prensa Latina today proposed establishing a permanent professional training mechanism in artificial intelligence (AI) for journalists and media outlets in the Global South, through cooperation with Chinese institutions and other specialized actors.
The agency’s vice president, Alejandro Gómez, presented the initiative during a speech at the Global South Academic Forum, which brings together more than 200 representatives from developing countries in this city to discuss governance and cooperation.
Gómez highlighted the importance of uniting wills, resources, and talents to tell our own stories and work together in service of the truth.
The executive pointed out that AI poses challenges that transcend the ethical debate about its use and encompass technological sovereignty, informational independence, and the communicational autonomy of peoples.
Gómez pointed out that the major language models mainly respond to developments from the United States and China, so he considered it necessary to expand the capabilities of the Global South to participate in the creation of technologies adapted to their realities.
In that regard, he stressed that cooperation with China can contribute to the exchange of knowledge, specialized training, and the development of solutions that preserve the diversity of languages and perspectives.
The vice president of Prensa Latina stated that the proposal seeks to move from dialogue to a practical and permanent mechanism that allows for the sharing of experiences, strengthening the technical capacities of communication professionals, and promoting the responsible use of these tools.
He also stressed that the objective should not be limited to learning about technologies developed by third parties, but should include acquiring the skills to participate in their development.
Gómez recalled that the Chinese president has pointed out on several occasions that the world is going through a period of unprecedented change in the last century, and considered that the media, especially those from the Global South, still need to explain the scope of these transformations and their impact on daily life.
The executive stated that truth has become a collateral victim of conflicts and power struggles, which reinforces the responsibility of the media to provide contextualized information and contribute to a comprehensive understanding of events.
Referring to Cuba, he denounced the impact of the US economic blockade and argued that this policy limits the acquisition of fuel for electricity generation and hinders the arrival of basic medicines intended for children and the elderly.
The vice president of Prensa Latina questioned the narratives that attribute responsibility for the island’s difficulties to the Cuban government and stated that certain international media outlets present a biased view of the country’s reality.
Gómez also criticized the coverage of Cuba’s economic and social difficulties by the hegemonic US media, as well as the portrayal of the international cooperation of its doctors, teachers, and athletes under accusations of human trafficking and smuggling.
In his opinion, these representations respond to political and editorial interests that condition the information about the island, so he called for strengthening the capacity of the media in the Global South to build their own narratives and offer diverse perspectives on international reality.
Mexico City, Oct 18 (Prensa Latina) The Antifascist Cultural League of Mexico will launch a campaign today to collect funds to send gasoline to Cuba, which is under the economic, commercial, financial and energy blockade imposed by the United States.
In statements to Prensa Latina, Argel Gómez, a member of the organization – which brings together hundreds of artists, journalists and cultural promoters – said that the initiative will be carried out with the slogan “One liter of gasoline for Cuba”.
Gómez explained that the idea is to promote “a large collection of economic resources organized by society, by the supportive people of Mexico, to do everything in our power to send energy” to the largest of the Antilles.
He mentioned as his first purpose giving away “40,000 beautiful prints from a collection of 20 Cuban artists.”
“Each stamp is worth the price of a liter of gasoline here in Mexico, so the goal is to collect 40,000 liters of gasoline in a month to fight, to find a way to get it to the Caribbean nation,” he said.
Regarding the message that such an action sends to Washington, he noted that the aggressiveness of the administration of US President Donald Trump may threaten governments or prevent companies from selling oil to the island, but this act of solidarity cannot be stopped.
According to reports, the campaign will be launched this Sunday, in the context of the Zócalo International Book Fair, in this capital.
For more than six decades, the United States has applied an economic, commercial and financial blockade against the largest of the Antilles, which was tightened last January through an executive order signed by the US president, Donald Trump.
The lack of access to fuel resulting from this worsening situation drastically affects sensitive areas such as electricity generation, the operation of hospitals, food production and distribution, and water pumping in the Caribbean country.
The Republican’s threats and other coercive measures by Washington against the island have sparked rejection and condemnation from popular sectors, governments and politicians in Mexico and other nations of the world.
Shanghai, China, Oct 17 (Prensa Latina) Prensa Latina and teleSUR highlighted here today the importance of South-South cooperation to face the challenges of artificial intelligence (AI) and strengthen the communication sovereignty of developing countries.
Prensa Latina Vice President Alejandro Gómez pointed out that technological advances pose challenges that transcend the ethical debate on the use of AI and encompass technological sovereignty, informational independence, and the autonomy of peoples.
Gómez stated that media outlets in the Global South need to deepen the exchange of knowledge and specialized training to adapt these tools to their cultural and linguistic realities, as well as progressively develop their own models.
The executive highlighted China as a strategic partner for media outlets in developing countries, citing its advancements in artificial intelligence and opportunities for cooperation in technology transfer and professional training.
He also stressed that dependence on technologies developed abroad can limit communication autonomy and reduce the diversity of languages and perspectives present in news content.
In that context, Gómez proposed moving towards a permanent professional training mechanism in artificial intelligence for journalists and media in the Global South, through cooperation with Chinese institutions and other specialized actors.
The initiative seeks to share experiences, develop technical skills and promote the responsible use of these tools in journalistic work, as well as identify opportunities to create solutions adapted to the needs of the participating countries.
Gómez recalled that Prensa Latina was born with the purpose of offering a counter-hegemonic vision of world events and highlighted the importance of uniting wills, resources and talents to tell the stories of the people and work in the service of truth.
For her part, the president of TeleSUR, Patricia Villegas, called for strengthening networks, organization, and common strategies among the region’s media outlets in the face of current communication challenges.
In statements to Prensa Latina, Villegas affirmed that communication constitutes one of the main scenarios of contemporary dispute and warned about the prominence of the so-called cognitive war.
When addressing the impact of artificial intelligence, he considered that this technology can generate new forms of dependency and widen existing gaps, and therefore defended South-South cooperation as a way to promote technology transfer and human capital training.
Both executives are among the guests at the Global South Academic Forum and will participate in panel six, dedicated to communication, the governance of political parties and social mobilization.
The forum brings together in Shanghai more than 200 political, academic and professional representatives from different countries to exchange experiences on governance, modernization and cooperation among the nations of the Global South.
CASA students visit Finca Marta, an organic farm outside Havana, during the spring 2026 semester. Photo: Desmond Silverman-Joseph.
October 15, 2026 — Belly of the Beast
Blake Burdge
The only U.S. study abroad program with a physical presence in Cuba is shutting down after 11 years.
The Consortium for Advanced Studies Abroad (CASA), which brought hundreds of U.S. students to live and study in Cuba, has closed due to “the uncertainty in the U.S.-Cuban geopolitical landscape,” according to a notice on its website. The decision comes amid threats of U.S. military action, an escalation of sanctions and an oil blockade that the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights warns is putting Cuban lives at risk.
Created during President Barack Obama’s opening with the island, CASA aimed to bring students from both countries closer together.
“After 55 years of significant isolation from Cuba, there has never been a more opportune moment for U.S. institutions to engage their students with Cuba’s leading academic talent,” Kendall Brostuen, then director of Brown’s Office of International Programs and chair of CASA’s board, wrote in 2015.
CASA welcomed its first class of 29 students that year. In the following years, students from U.S. universities, including Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard and Vanderbilt, traveled to Havana through the program. They attended class at the University of Havana and Casa de las Américas, a Cuban cultural and research institution specializing in Latin American and Caribbean studies. Students took courses in Spanish, participated in research projects and immersed themselves in Cuban society.
Casa de las Américas, a cultural institution in Havana that hosted the CASA program.
Studying with CASA also exposed U.S. students to Havana’s international academic community.
“You get brought into this small island, but you’re connected to people from all around the world who you wouldn’t have connections with otherwise,” said Justin Jiménez, an Oberlin College graduate who studied in Cuba with CASA in 2017. “There are students from Africa studying medicine, students from Latin America and the Caribbean.”
Jiménez arrived in Havana the day after Donald Trump’s first inauguration, which marked the end of the Obama-era rapprochement between the United States and Cuba.
Trump quickly abandoned Obama’s normalization efforts and revived a Cold War approach, tightening the longstanding embargo and restricting U.S. travel to the island. Biden largely maintained Trump’s hard-line policy.
Despite the renewed U.S. hostility and deteriorating conditions on the island, CASA managed to keep bringing students to Havana.
Trump’s return to office in 2025 ushered in an unprecedented escalation of economic warfare on Cuba, marked by “maximum pressure” sanctions imposed on a near-weekly basis and an oil blockade that has plunged the country into darkness for upwards of 20 hours a day.
The administration has also taken aim at U.S. citizens. On September 30, the Treasury Department eliminated group people-to-people travel, which had allowed organized educational trips from the United States. Accredited U.S. universities can still send students to Cuba for certain academic programs and research. But increased U.S. aggression toward the island has had a chilling effect, as institutions weigh the risks of breakdowns in basic services, civil unrest or possible military conflict.
In April, CASA suspended its fall 2026 program due to “geopolitical tensions and resource stress produced by the U.S. blockade on the island,” according to The Dartmouth.
The spring cohort had already shrunk from 16 to 12 students after four withdrew amid fears of instability. Those who remained were barred from traveling outside Havana over concerns they could be stranded during an emergency. Fuel shortages also disrupted classes at the University of Havana, depriving U.S. students of the opportunity to study alongside Cubans.
“We were on guard to evacuate at any moment if the program became untenable because of the energy situation, or if there was a U.S. invasion,” said Desi Silverman-Joseph, a Brown University senior who studied in Havana this spring.
The Trump administration has not only made academic exchanges with Cuba increasingly difficult, but has also cast them as a threat to U.S. national security. In July, Marco Rubio’s State Department released a 100-page McCarthyite report accusing Cuba of influencing U.S. protest movements, universities and political organizations for more than six decades. The report portrays academic and cultural engagement with Cuba as part of a broader campaign to “turn America against itself.”
That narrative is easier to sustain when U.S. students have fewer opportunities to experience Cuba firsthand and form their own impressions.
“In the United States, when you’re looking at U.S.-Cuba relations, you’re getting a very one-sided view on the situation,” said Camila Sánchez, a Dartmouth senior who studied with CASA this spring. “Being able to go to Cuba and be surrounded by Cuban professors, by Cuban students, and learn from them and their perspectives—that’s so, so, so valuable. You can then take both perspectives and come to your own conclusions about things.”
Former students interviewed by Belly of the Beast described CASA as an experience that reshaped their understanding of Cuba and the possibilities for relations between the two countries.
“I was shaken and saddened when I heard about the program’s closure,” said Ben Stevenson, a Dartmouth student who studied with CASA last year. “We are losing the ability to build relationships with Cubans our age over music, football and philosophy.”
“These relationships could be the foundation for a new, more positive U.S.-Cuba partnership,” he said. “But without these types of exchanges, that may never materialize.”
Islamabad, Oct 13 (Prensa Latina) The Cuban ambassador to Pakistan, Damián Cordero Torres, thanked Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher for the Holy See’s historic support against the United States blockade of his country, the Embassy highlighted today.
The meeting took place in this capital as part of the celebration of the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Pakistan and the Holy See.
During the meeting, the Cuban official expressed appreciation for the Vatican’s historical position in favor of eliminating the US blockade against Cuba and for its willingness to mediate in the search for a constructive dialogue.
The exchange took place in the context of the official visit to Pakistan by His Excellency Paul Richard Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations of the Holy See, to participate in the major bilateral commemoration.
Rome, Oct 13 (Prensa Latina) The Cuban Minister of Science, Technology and Environment (Citma), Armando Rodríguez Batista, stressed today in this capital that developing agri-food systems should be a task not only of the Ministries of Agriculture, but of the entire society.
Speaking at the opening of the World Food Forum’s (WFF) Science and Innovation event, the Cuban minister drew attention to the pillars of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment’s (Citma) policy, the first of which is the need to have science, technology and innovation capabilities at the national level, but also at the local level.
He highlighted that in Cuba a quarter of the science produced is directly related to agriculture, dedicated to the study of pests, new seed varieties, but also to a science that addresses the environmental and social dimension.
He also emphasized the significant role of the social dimension in the scientific approach to agri-food systems in Cuba. “We do not fund any research, development, or innovation project that does not incorporate the social dimension,” he stated.
He stated that for the country this is as important as knowing and studying its ecosystems or the threats associated with climate change, or salinization, considering that Cuba is an archipelago where 90 municipalities are coastal.
Rodríguez asserted that among the priorities of the Cuban science strategy is also having the capacity to manage both national and international projects that allow the development of agri-food systems with diversified sources of financing.
Another key element, he said, is the decision to work so that behind every regulation, every governance, every legal framework, there is a construction based on science.
He mentioned that the country recently passed the law on food sovereignty and security and nutritional education, which was based on the exchange of scientific knowledge.
He added that the General Law of Science, Technology and Innovation was also approved, which includes a Science and Technology strategy that defines the priorities for research based on the development of agri-food systems.
A country’s national environmental strategy, he said, is also key in reflecting the knowledge and development demands of agriculture.
This meant that five of the eight environmental problems defined in the Cuban environmental strategy correspond to issues that have a close direct connection with agri-food systems.
The head of Science, Technology and Environment of Cuba stressed that a third relevant element of the national strategy is the dialogue between scientists, producers and the country’s authorities, seeking a governance that truly reflects the needs and demands of the agri-food systems.
In this regard, he referred to the experience of the National Innovation Council, which promotes best practices in the areas of national life and is led by the President of the Republic with the participation of the Prime Minister, five other ministers, five experts from various fields of national science and an equal number of successful entrepreneurs.
In his address to the WFF, Rodríguez warned that such demands also include the effects of climate change or the impact of the United States’ economic, commercial and financial blockade.
The Cuban official denounced the effects of Washington’s measures against the island, stating that in the agri-food sector alone, they cost more than $440 million in 2024.
He indicated that in the face of these sanctions, the country’s national capabilities in innovation and resilience have prevailed.
Havana, Oct 12 (Prensa Latina) Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel today congratulated the Quisicuba cultural project, which is celebrating 87 years of work in the island’s communities.
In his congratulatory message, the president highlighted his 34 social programs that overflow with solidarity and love for women and men with multidimensional vulnerabilities, and his ability to achieve for them a humanistic and dignified social reintegration.
“Quisicuaba is Cuba, Martí and Fidel,” he added on the social network X.
Quisicuaba places human beings at the center of its objectives, therefore its scope extends to the execution of more than thirty social works, with emphasis on families with specific social determinants.
The community socio-cultural project is a unique and highly sensitive initiative that grows with the contribution of its protagonists for the benefit of thousands of people and is also enhanced by the contribution of Cuban culture.
Havana, Oct 10 (Prensa Latina) Cuba today launched the call for the commemorative day for the 68th anniversary of the Triumph of the Revolution, to be celebrated next January 1 in a context marked by the tightening of the United States blockade.
Speaking at the event commemorating the 158th anniversary of the start of the wars for independence, José Ramón Monteagudo, member of the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC) and head of its Agro-Food Department, affirmed that the Revolution reaffirms itself as a living force, sustained by the strength of a united people and inspired by the legacy of Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro and Army General Raúl Castro.
The official explained that the event aims to highlight the continuity of the revolutionary process and celebrate popular resistance through its political, historical, cultural, and social values, under the premise that unity around the Party is the most valuable strategic weapon.
Among the main actions of the program are the tribute to the heroes and martyrs of the Fatherland, the strengthening of defense preparedness, the promotion of socio-economic priorities and the realization of the transformations underway.
Monteagudo urged political organizations, mass organizations, and state institutions to work intensively with high popular participation to achieve superior results within the framework of the anniversary.
The official recalled the bravery of Carlos Manuel de Céspedes on October 10, 1868, when he gave freedom to his slaves and began the struggle against Spanish colonialism, an example of resistance that remains relevant in the face of attempts at foreign domination.
He recalled that the Father of the Nation warned early on about the expansionist aims of the US government towards the island, a warning that remains highly relevant given the pressures the Caribbean nation is experiencing.
The victory of January 1, 1959, realized Céspedes’s ideals and obliges us to assume the daily responsibility of building a more just, sovereign, and supportive country, he noted.
Despite the difficult economic situation resulting from the Washington blockade, the leader reaffirmed his certainty that unity, firmness, and faith in victory are invincible.
To overcome these challenges and deepen the process of socialist construction, he stressed, the country approved 176 socio-economic transformations distributed across 23 thematic areas, aimed at consolidating social justice, generating wealth, and distributing it equitably.
He stressed that the implementation of these measures requires the understanding and conscious participation of all sectors of society.
The commemorative event marking the start of the wars of independence was attended by the President of Cuba, Miguel Díaz-Canel, as well as other members of the Political Bureau of the PCC and government and state officials.
