July 10 (Belly of the Beast) Welcome to the second installment of Belly of the Beast’s newsletter: Cuba in Context.
This is your one-stop shop for breaking news, incisive reporting, and the untold stories about Cuba and U.S.-Cuba relations.
INTERVIEW OF THE WEEK: Hal Klepak
Russian warships visiting Cuba are “not even a significant problem for the United States” – Hal Klepak, professor of military history at the Royal Military College of Canada
After the recent Havana visit of Russian warships, Belly of the Beast journalist Liz Oliva Fernández interviewed Hal Klepak, professor of military history at the Royal Military College of Canada and former advisor to the Canadian foreign minister, defense minister and commander of the Army.
Klepak puts the visit of the Russian ships in context, responds to the question of whether they represented a threat to the United States and explains how the U.S. government’s economic war against Cuba has pushed the island closer to Russia.
Paris, Jul 24 (Prensa Latina) Cuba on Wednesday ratified in the voice of its highest sports authority, Osvaldo Vento, the commitment to promoting sports as an instrument of inclusion and a boost to sustainable development.
The president of the National Institute of Sports, Physical Education and Recreation (INDER) is heading the Cuban delegation at the high-level forum “Changing the Game,” which was held on Wednesday at the headquarters of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
Vento told Prensa Latina that the healthy and inclusive practice of sports has been one of the principles defended by the Cuban Revolution since its beginnings, more than six decades ago.
In that regard, he praised the participation of women and disabled people, in line with the right to physical education, sports and recreation enshrined in the Cuban Constitution.
Referring to the ministerial event and its call to recognize the transforming and progressive role of sports, the INDER president noted that Cuba considered it a violation of his country has suffered more than 60 years of an economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the United States.
San Salvador, Jul 23 (Prensa Latina) The Association of Health Professionals from El Salvador who Graduated in Cuba, called for actions of solidarity with the island and to exclude it from the list of states sponsoring terrorism.
The United States must remove Cuba from the list that they draw up of states that allegedly do not cooperate with “US counterterrorist efforts,” which is a continuation of the interventionist policy that seeks to destabilize and pressure the Cuban government, without considering the humanitarian consequences that such actions entail, the statement said.
This decision obstructs Cuba’s progress in fundamental areas, especially in the health sector, where its professionals strive daily to improve the quality of life of the population, the association highlighted and considered that Cuba demonstrated on countless occasions its commitment to peace and international cooperation in the fight against terrorism.
The group called on the international community to condemn this policy and to demand Washington to stop it.
“The health and well-being of the people should not be held hostage by hostile and outdated policies that do not reflect the reality or aspirations for peace of the Cubans and Latin American peoples,” the statement added. “Peace, justice, and solidarity must prevail over interventionism and coercion.”
New Delhi, Jul 23 (Prensa Latina) Nilson Acosta, vice president of the National Heritage Council, noted the importance of Cuba’s participation in a UNESCO event here to analyze processes on sites of outstanding universal value.
The World Heritage Committee of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), which chose India to host its 45th meeting, has the power to decide which property is inscribed on the list of outstanding places due to its cultural and natural contribution or is removed from that list because it has lost its outstanding universal value, Acosta told Prensa Latina.
Participants in the event are also analyzing the state of conservation of those sites and even if necessary the inclusion of properties in the list of endangered heritage, he added.
According to the Cuban delegate, the meeting is also an opportunity to examine issues and strategies for the projection and implementation of the convention on cultural and natural heritage, the instrument that establishes which places should be treasured for present and future generations.
Acosta pointed out that in Cuba’s case there is a sustained experience of years of work by the World Heritage Committee, and recalled that Cuba was a member of that group four times.
The vice president of the National Heritage Council stressed that Cuba is cooperating with other countries in the region to reach common issues and consult on aspects related to the implementation of the convention.
Cuba maintains the aforementioned cooperation as part of the Grulac, which brings together the Latin American and Caribbean nations, to reconcile decisions in a common goal, he stressed.
The event, which runs from July 21 to 31, aims to examine 27 nominations of sites to join the prestigious list of World Heritage.
On Tuesday, deliberations began on the state of conservation of 124 natural or cultural wonders already registered on the World Heritage List, including 57 that are considered in danger.
HAVANA, JULY 22 (Radio Havana Cuba) DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER ELIO EDUARDO RODRÍGUEZ PERDOMO IS HEADING THE CUBAN DELEGATION PARTICIPATING IN THE FIRST PREPARATORY COMMITTEE OF THE IV INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON FINANCING FOR DEVELOPMENT, WHICH IS BEING HELD IN ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA, FROM JULY 22 TO 26.
DURING HIS INTERVENTION AT THE GENERAL DEBATE OF THE EVENT, RODRÍGUEZ PERDOMO URGED TO ADVANCE TOWARDS THE IMPLEMENTATION OF A MULTILATERAL MECHANISM FOR THE RENEGOTIATION OF PUBLIC DEBT, WITH A SIGNIFICANT PARTICIPATION OF THE COUNTRIES OF THE SOUTH, WHICH WOULD ALLOW A FAIR, BALANCED AND DEVELOPMENT-ORIENTED TREATMENT.
HE ALSO HIGHLIGHTED THE CENTRAL ROLE OF SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION AS A MEANS OF MOVING TOWARDS MORE SUSTAINABLE AND EQUITABLE DEVELOPMENT MODELS, BASED ON THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF THE G77 AND CHINA SUMMIT HELD LAST YEAR IN HAVANA.
THE VICE FOREIGN MINISTER ALSO REJECTED THE APPLICATION OF UNILATERAL COERCIVE MEASURES, INCOMPATIBLE WITH INTERNATIONAL LAW AND THE UNITED NATIONS CHARTER, WHICH PREVENT OUR COUNTRIES FROM ENTERING INTERNATIONAL MARKETS UNDER EQUAL CONDITIONS.
CUBA IS SUFFERING THE CONSEQUENCES OF 62 YEARS OF A TIGHTENED BLOCKADE AND, MORE RECENTLY, OF ITS ARBITRARY INCLUSION IN THE FALSE UNILATERAL LIST OF STATES ALLEGEDLY SPONSORING TERRORISM.
THE CUBAN DELEGATION REITERATED THE NEED FOR THE IV INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON FINANCING FOR DEVELOPMENT, TO BE HELD IN SPAIN FROM JUNE 30 TO JULY 3, 2025, TO ESTABLISH CLEAR GUIDELINES FOR A PROFOUND REFORM OF THE INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL ARCHITECTURE IN TERMS OF GOVERNANCE, REPRESENTATION AND ACCESS TO FINANCING, WHERE A GREATER NUMBER OF DEVELOPING COUNTRIES HAVE A VOICE AND A VOTE. (SOURCE: CUBAMINREX)
Addis Ababa, Jul 23 (RHC) Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister Elio Rodriguez Perdomo held talks today with Zimbabwe’s Deputy Minister of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion, David Kudakwashe Mnangagwa, on bilateral issues.
Rodriguez Perdomo revealed in his account on the social network X that “we reviewed the positive progress of bilateral relations and noted the potential for deepening them”.
The meeting took place within the framework of the first session of the Preparatory Committee for the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development, which will be held until July 26.
The Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister arrived in the capital the day before and also held an exchange with his Egyptian counterpart, Dahlia Tawakol, during which they positively evaluated the progress of relations between the two countries and agreed on the willingness to strengthen them.
He also discussed bilateral relations with Burundi’s Minister of Finance, Budget and Economic Planning, Audace Niyonzima. Niyonzima expressed his support for Cuba’s struggle against the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the U.S. government. (Source: Prensa Latina)
Havana, July 23 (Radio Havana Cuba) Cuba has received more than one million international visitors this year, according to an official report.
Granma newspaper, in its Tuesday edition, reproduces data from the National Statistics and Information Office (ONEI), which certifies this statistic.
The article adds that the main countries of origin are Canada, the community of Cubans living abroad, the Russian Federation, the United States, Germany, Mexico, France, Spain, Argentina and Italy.
According to ONEI, at the end of June, Cuba received one million 680,485 travelers, an increase of 101.1 percent over the same period last year.
Of the total, one million 309 thousand 836 were international visitors, almost 11 thousand 300 more than last year.
According to the information, in the last three months there has been a decrease in the number of international visitors arriving in the country, but there is a recovery compared to previous years. (Source: Prensa Latina)
A PRODUCT OF THE CUBAN CENTER FOR MOLECULAR IMMUNOLOGY (CIM), THE CIMAVAX THERAPEUTIC VACCINE AGAINST LUNG CANCER, THE FIRST TO BE REGISTERED IN THE WORLD, IS EXTENDING ITS BENEFITS TO A GREATER NUMBER OF PEOPLE.
NOW, CITIZENS OF BELARUS WILL HAVE ACCESS TO THE IMMUNOGEN AFTER THE CENTER FOR EXPERTISE AND TESTING IN HEALTH CARE GRANTED ITS REGISTRATION THIS MONTH.
THE EURASIAN NATION JOINS COUNTRIES IN SOUTH AMERICA WHERE THE VACCINE IS CURRENTLY MARKETED, INCLUDING PARAGUAY, PERU AND COLOMBIA.
THIS IS YET ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF THE REMARKABLE RESULTS ACHIEVED BY THE CUBAN BIOTECHNOLOGY AND PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRIES, DESPITE THE OBSTACLES IMPOSED BY THE US BLOCKADE.
CIMAVAX, AN INNOVATIVE PRODUCT, HAS DEMONSTRATED ITS EFFICACY AND SAFETY. ITS USE HAS SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVED THE SURVIVAL AND QUALITY OF LIFE OF PATIENTS.
IT IS AN EFFECTIVE ALTERNATIVE FOR PEOPLE FIGHTING THIS DEVASTATING DISEASE THAT CAUSES MANY DEATHS EVERY YEAR.
THE CUBAN IMMUNOGEN ATTRACTED THE INTEREST OF THE ROSWELL PARK CANCER RESEARCH INSTITUTE IN NEW YORK, USA, WHICH JOINED THE CIM YEARS AGO TO PROMOTE THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE VACCINE.
OF COURSE, THIS FRUITFUL ALLIANCE IN FAVOR OF THE HEALTH OF THE PEOPLES HAS NOT BEEN FREE OF OBSTACLES DUE TO THE ECONOMIC SIEGE, BUT THE DRUG HAS BEEN MAKING HEADWAY IN THE NORTHERN COUNTRY DUE TO ITS ACHIEVEMENTS.
IN CUBA, MORE THAN 10,000 PEOPLE HAVE BENEFITED FROM CIMAVAX IN THE DIFFERENT LEVELS OF MEDICAL ATTENTION OF THE PUBLIC HEALTH SYSTEM.
MORE THAN 20 YEARS OF INTENSE RESEARCH BY THE CUBAN SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY MADE CIMAVAX POSSIBLE, A HOPE FOR MANY AND CLEAR EVIDENCE OF THE DEVELOPMENT ACHIEVED BY CUBAN BIOTECHNOLOGY, CURRENTLY A REFERENCE IN THE WORLD.
Havana, Jul 20 (Prensa Latina) Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel highlighted the unity of the people as the main weapon to resist and overcome the country’s complex economic situation, aggravated by Washington’s intensified blockade.
After the Third Ordinary Session of the National People’s Power Assembly (ANPP, Parliament), the head of State urged to multiply the best economic and social practices, to promote the country’s integral growth.
He highlighted that throughout the nation, encouraging experiences of economic management and social development are being promoted, which shows how much can be done, even in the most adverse circumstances.
He highlighted the sustained and marked effort of management groups who know how to impose themselves with the audacity to address problems, focus on solutions, and “have banished the word of the route from the daily philosophy”.
Furthermore, he pointed out that the six new laws approved during the meeting by the ANPP respond to demands of public interest and the expansion of the rights of the citizens of the Caribbean country.
He specified that the regulations are of great transcendence for society, they develop constitutional precepts and three of them are present for the first time in the island’s legal universe.
In this ordinary period of sessions of the ANNP, developed since Wednesday and preceded by the work of the 11 permanent commissions of the legislative body, the parliamentarians debated and approved legislation related to unprecedented legal issues in the Caribbean country.
The deputies gave the green light to the Law of Transparency and Access to Information, a norm which constitutes the highest expression of the political will of the State and the Government to make its management transparent in a context of economic and media war.
In addition, it regulates, controls, and promotes the culture of transparency in public management, contributes to popular control over acts of this nature, and also to the fulfillment of “Sustainable Development Goal 16” and its targets.
The legislators approved the Law of Decorations and Honorary Titles, a legal instrument that updates the methodology and organization of this area, and approved the Law of Administrative Procedure, a legislation without regulatory precedents in the country.
They also decided to approve the Laws on Migration, Citizenship and Foreigners, which will update the Cuban migration system and strengthen ties with Cubans living abroad.
During the sessions, the deputies received an update on the progress made in the implementation of the Government’s projections to correct distortions and boost the economy during 2024.
According to Prime Minister Manuel Marrero, Cuba will have among its priorities in the second half of the year, the policy of monetary, price and fiscal control, the promotion of domestic production and supply to the population.
Likewise, the increase of foreign currency income, the diversification of exports and, standing out, the improvement of the socialist state enterprise.
