Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, host of the 17th BRICS Summit, warmly greeted his Cuban counterpart Miguel Díaz-Canel today with an embrace and a firm handshake that spoke volumes beyond words.
The encounter took place during the afternoon session of the forum’s opening day, which is being held for the first time in South America with the participation not only of the bloc’s five founding members but also of a growing constellation of invited nations expanding the reach of the Global South.
Among them is Cuba, widely recognized for its enduring resilience under what is considered the longest economic blockade in modern history.
For many attending the summit at Rio de Janeiro’s Museum of Modern Art, Lula’s greeting was more than a simple gesture. It was seen as a political affirmation, evoking the years when Lula shared platforms with the historic leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro, whether in Porto Alegre or at meetings of the São Paulo Forum.
As the founder of Brazil’s ruling Workers’ Party, Lula has long viewed Cuba not only as a symbol of steadfastness but also as an essential voice for the Caribbean and Latin America in multilateral arenas. Without uttering a word, Lula’s greeting suggested that Cuba, a nation subjected to an unjust blockade for more than six decades, stands firm and speaks on behalf of many.
Analysts regard Cuba’s invitation to the summit as an act of diplomatic sovereignty, as well as a reaffirmation of regional integration.
Despite internal challenges, Havana remains the most politically influential force in the insular Caribbean, with a legacy of international solidarity that continues to earn respect across Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
As the major powers within BRICS — China, India, Russia, Brazil, and South Africa — deliberate on alternative currencies, energy transitions, and new global power balances, Cuba’s presence is a reminder that the geopolitics of the Global South also carries Caribbean and island perspectives.
In alignment with Lula’s gesture, the final BRICS declaration condemned the use of unilateral trade sanctions and tariff increases as tools of political pressure.
However, the document did not directly name the United States or the administration of former President Donald Trump.
According to the declaration, the imposition of unilateral coercive measures violates international law.
BRICS rejected such actions, including secondary and extraterritorial sanctions, noting that these measures “have severe negative impacts on human rights, including the rights to development, health, and food security for the general population of the affected states.”
Cuban American activist Rosa María Payá was voted into the OAS’s Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) on June 27 despite concerns from an independent panel of her “conflicts of interest” and lack of knowledge about human rights law. The Trump administration lobbied hard for the organization to select Payá, with whom it has close ties.
Payá runs Cuba Decide, which is backed by groups bankrolled by the U.S. government. She has also been a vocal supporter of Washington’s sanctions against Cuba, which have contributed to shortages in food, medicine and electricity on the island.
“Payá’s long record of support for the crushing embargo against Cuba runs directly counter to the commission’s purported mission of protecting human rights,” said Michael Galant, an analyst at the DC-based Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR), which submitted a report on Payá to the American University Washington College of Law panel that evaluated her.
The panel noted that Payá “demonstrated limited substantive knowledge of the norms, jurisprudence or doctrine of international human rights law.” It also expressed concern about her membership in various civil society organizations.
Payá has leveled unfounded accusations against left-leaning governments in the region, such as calling Colombia’s Vice President Francia Márquez a supporter of terrorism. Márquez has criticized sanctions on the island as well as the U.S. government’s designation — absent any credible evidence — of Cuba as a “State Sponsor of Terrorism.”
Meanwhile, Payá has maintained warm relations with right-wing leaders like Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro and Donald Trump. In 2020, Payá praised then de facto Bolivian president Jeanine Áñez (now in prison for leading a coup) weeks after her government committed massacres that were condemned by the IACHR.
OAS States Buckle Under U.S. Pressure
Payá was admitted into the IACHR in the first round of voting by twenty of the thirty-two OAS states that voted.
“A fervent advocate of human rights violations has now become one of the seven custodians of human rights in the region,” said Galant. “Her election to the commission is a stain on the institution, a reminder of the U.S.’s outsized and pernicious influence at the OAS.”
The Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a statement soon after the vote accusing the White House of “blackmail” by threatening to cut aid budgets in the region if member states did not vote for Payá.
Payá’s selection was expected given Washington’s history of arm-twisting OAS member states to do its bidding.
Before the OAS General Assembly in Antigua and Barbuda, the State Department announced on June 24 that Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau would “meet with foreign counterparts and heads of delegation to advocate for the election” of Payá.
The State Department also put out a statement praising Payá and “urging” member states to support her candidacy.
After the OAS vote, Payá thanked Secretary of State Marco Rubio for paving the way for her selection to the commission through “bold leadership” and an “unwavering defense of freedom in our hemisphere.”
Trump Goes After Cuban Medical Teams
Payá’s selection to the human rights commission comes at a time when the Trump administration is ramping up its campaign to pressure other countries into cutting ties with Cuba’s medical missions. This campaign already appears to be impacting the IACHR, which recently sent an unprecedented request that member states submit information within thirty days about Cuba’s medical cooperation in their countries.
“The IACHR may be acting as an enforcer for the United States, a kind of policing arm advancing Washington’s agenda of tightening the sixty-year-old blockade to try to overthrow the Cuban government,” said Francesca Emanuele, a senior international policy associate at CEPR whose research is focused on the OAS. “The timing is highly suspicious, especially given the context, which puts at risk public officials who are working to expand access to health care in their countries.”
The letter was sent on May 20 by Javier Palummo Lantes, the IACHR’s special rapporteur on economic, social, cultural and environmental rights.
In the letter, Palummo submits a laundry list of requests for information about past and present Cuban medical missions, including details of the contracts, documentation of legal complaints, and information about medical personnel who have abandoned the missions.
“To issue such a sweeping request to all countries and announce that the information will be made public seems either malicious, externally driven, or dangerously naive,” said Emanuele.
The Trump administration has ratcheted up a long-running campaign to pressure Global South countries into cutting ties with Cuban health professionals under the guise of concern for human rights, claiming Cuban doctors are victims of “forced labor.”
Extensive research and interviews with the doctors themselves tell a different story. While available information indicates the Cuban state takes the lion’s share of payments for the missions in most cases, the Cuban doctors and nurses volunteer for missions abroad and are paid many times more than their salaries back on the island.
The Cuban medical teams most often are posted in urban neighborhoods and remote rural areas home to the poorest of the poor. The teams have also been dispatched in response to international health emergencies such as Ebola and COVID-19, and natural disasters including earthquakes in Pakistan and Haiti.
U.S. Leans on the Caribbean
The Trump administration’s propaganda and coercive diplomacy aimed at Cuba’s medical cooperation, coupled with harsher sanctions, is a part of its “maximum pressure” strategy to bring about regime change via economic strangulation.
The Cuban people bear the brunt of these policies, but government officials in other countries are now feeling the pinch.
In February, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced visa restrictions for foreign government officials — and their families — who have welcomed the Cuban medical teams. And last month, Rubio announced that unnamed Central American officials had had their visas restricted.
The threats to restrict visas initially sparked outrage across the Caribbean, with several heads of government openly defying the United States.
But some governments may be bending to U.S. pressure.
The Bahamas announced in June it would cancel contracts with Cuban doctors after its talks with Washington.
The Bahamas health and wellness minister, Michael Darville, said his government would try to “enter into direct employment contracts” with the Cuban health personnel in the country but indicated that such an arrangement would need approval from the Trump administration.
“The services they provide in the country are needed, and so the [Bahamas] Ministry of Foreign Affairs is presently in discussions with their counterparts in the United States,” said Darville.
Meanwhile, Guyana is reconsidering its agreement with Cuba in response to U.S. demands.
“We are working to ensure that the people who come here from Cuba meet the definition because of what the U.S. secretary of state mentioned, that the conditions of work here don’t run afoul of the requirements set by the United States of America,” said Guyana’s vice president, Bharrat Jagdeo, at a news conference.
A Tool of U.S. Policy
The OAS has long served as a tool of U.S. foreign policy, supporting U.S.-backed dictators like Chile’s Augusto Pinochet as well as armed interventions, including the 1954 coup that toppled Jacobo Árbenz, Guatemala’s democratically elected president. At the insistence of the United States, Cuba was suspended from the OAS three years after its 1959 revolution.
Washington lost some control over the organization during the Pink Tide of the 2000s, when South American presidents like Hugo Chávez, Evo Morales, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and the Kirchners pushed back against U.S. hegemony in the region.
But in 2015, the OAS took a sharp turn to the right under the leadership of Luis Almagro, who wielded the organization to back far-right politicians worldwide, from Spain’s Vox Party to Argentina’s president, Javier Milei, and to vocally support Israel even as it committed genocide in Gaza. During Trump’s first term, Almagro said a U.S. military intervention in Venezuela should not be ruled out, a position that contradicted the OAS Charter’s principles of nonintervention and respect for national sovereignty.
Almagro, who counted on strong support from the Trump administration and Cuban-American hardliners like Rubio, also opened the OAS’s doors to prominent Cuban opposition figures, including Payá.
Almagro stepped down three weeks ago and was replaced by Albert Ramdin, a Surinamese diplomat who was voted in with strong support from Caribbean nations.
Even if Ramdin wants to change the course of the organization, his options may be limited given that its budget is largely subsidized by the U.S. government. The United States hosts the OAS headquarters and is its largest financial contributor at more than $60 million in 2024.
Washington may have even more leverage as the Trump administration proposed slashing its contributions to the organization by 75 percent in its congressional budget request.
The budget request includes $2.9 billion for a new America First Opportunity Fund (A1OF), which the State Department could spend at its discretion to “make America safer, stronger and more prosperous.” The OAS was not mentioned as a potential beneficiary of this funding, but contributions to the United Nations budget were given as an example of how some of these funds may be used.
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, July 6 (Prensa Latina) Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel today denounced the consequences of the coercive measures imposed by the United States on the construction of the Caribbean country’s social and development project.
“The blockade is an act of aggression, the offensive application of which, when applied extraterritorially, damages the sovereignty of all states,” the president stated during his address at the XVII BRICS Summit, addressing the panel on “Strengthening Multilateralism, Economic and Financial Affairs, and Artificial Intelligence.”
Díaz-Canel recalled that in recent days, the US government approved a new package of measures, through a Presidential Memorandum, aimed at combating the country’s economic crisis.
“No other country has had to build its social and development project under the prolonged, cruel, and systematic application of an economic, commercial, and financial siege by the greatest power in history,” he noted.
The head of state emphasized that in the 21st century, there is no place for unilateral listings and certifications based on criteria he described as unfounded, such as Cuba’s designation on the list of states that sponsor terrorism.
The United States has no moral authority or international mandate to certify Cuba or any other country, he said.
To face common challenges, Díaz-Canel emphasized, humanity urgently needs solidarity, respect for differences, dialogue, cooperation, and integration.
“A firm and renewed commitment to multilateralism is urgently needed to guarantee peaceful coexistence and promote sustainable, equitable, and inclusive development for all peoples,” he stated.
In this context, the Cuban president expressed the importance of strengthening the BRICS group and expressed the Caribbean nation’s commitment to this task.
“Present and future generations have the right to live in a world of peace and security, where social justice, respect for cultural, ethnic, and religious diversity, and democratic access to science and technology prevail,” he reflected in his speech.
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, July 6 (Prensa Latina) Bolivian President Luis Arce called here today in a speech to demand an end to the United States economic, commercial, and financial blockade against Cuba.
“Let us continue on the irreversible path of multipolarity, where unilateral coercive sanctions, such as the criminal economic and commercial blockade against our sister Republic of Cuba, have no place,” he stated, calling Washington’s retaliation an unjust measure that violates human rights.
Speaking at the 17th BRICS Summit (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) in Rio de Janeiro, Arce warned that this weapon of economic warfare, maintained for more than six decades, “limits the full development of the brave, dignified, and supportive Cuban people.”
He maintained that the common struggle to achieve a profound reform of global governance implies the rejection of current hybrid wars and the United States’ military intervention strategies, which are reiterated through NATO or through bombings such as those recently carried out in support of Israel’s unjustified aggression against Iran.
“It is inconceivable that the Security Council (of the United Nations) continues to be held hostage by a few countries and by obsolete operating mechanisms, such as the veto, which perpetuates imperialism’s impunity to violate human rights, sovereignty, and the right of peoples to self-determination,” he said.
Arce emphasized that we must reaffirm our firm condemnation of Israel’s genocide against “our Palestinian brothers and sisters,” and demand a solution that allows them to live in peace and dignity in their own territory.
In his words, he warned about what he called modernized colonialism and a “multidimensional form of warfare in which economic and political attacks interact.”
He indicated that this is a new style that uses corruption, drug trafficking, disinformation, and international crime as political weapons, within the context of a series of destabilizing actions; and that maintains the economic blockade and other forms of aggression against countries and governments seeking self-determination.
The dignitary warned that along these lines, military action cannot be ruled out to disrupt democratic processes that seek to break free from Western dependence.
“Bolivia has not escaped this type of war,” Arce stated, “wound by actors historically known for their alignment with the United States’ policies of domination, and which has been joined by factions of the popular camp won over to a line of action other than that of emancipation,” the head of state concluded.
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, July 6 (Prensa Latina) Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi reviewed bilateral relations in the areas of economic cooperation, development partnerships, financial technology, and other sectors.
At a meeting on the sidelines of the 17th BRICS Summit in Rio de Janeiro, the two dignitaries also explored opportunities for ties in the areas of capacity building, science and technology, disaster management, and healthcare, according to diplomatic sources from the South Asian nation.
The Cuban president expressed his interest in India’s Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI), highlighting that country’s experience in the digital sphere.
Meanwhile, the Indian head of government expressed his gratitude for the Caribbean island’s recognition of Ayurveda and pledged his support for efforts to integrate this traditional Indian system into the Cuban public health system.
Modi proposed recognizing Cuba’s Indian pharmacopoeia, which will facilitate access to generic medicines from the South Asian nation.
Both leaders agreed to work on issues of interest to the Global South, such as health, pandemics, and climate change, and highlighted cooperation between their countries at the multilateral level.
The Indian prime minister had previously met with Díaz-Canel at the BRICS Summit in Johannesburg in 2023, where Cuba was a special guest, Indian diplomatic sources noted.
Trump administration officials and members of the Cuban exile community have pushed for a tougher line on Cuban leadership, arguing that the communist government represents a major national security threat. | Ramon Espinosa/AP
Cuba has taken five deportation flights since Trump took office, but the administration appears disinterested in improving relations with Havana.
Countries throughout the Western Hemisphere and Africa are finding ways to take advantage of President Donald Trump’s eagerness to thwart migration. But it’s not working for Cuba.
Even as Cuba continues to accept its citizens deported from the U.S., the island nation finds itself increasingly at odds with the Trump administration, a senior Cuban official told POLITICO.
The deterioration in relations between Havana and Washington comes as Trump administration officials and members of the Cuban exile community have pushed for a tougher line on Cuban leadership, arguing that the communist government represents a major national security threat. The U.S. is also facing a wave of migration from Cuba that has seen hundreds of thousands of Cubans enter the country since the Covid-19 pandemic.
In an exclusive interview, Johana Tablada, one of the top Cuban officials in the country’s foreign ministry that works on relations with Washington, said that the bilateral relationship is currently “at zero” and that “the State Department is not interested in having conversations with Cuba that have existed” even when both sides were most at odds in the past.
She added that under President Donald Trump, she and Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernandez de Cossio have been snubbed by the State Department when they visited Washington — a change from past administrations, where Cuban officials were at least granted meetings with their U.S. counterparts.
The icy attitude from the Trump administration is surprising, per Tablada, given that Cuba proposed further dialogue with the United States on migration and has continued upholding a 2017 agreement between both countries allowing for deportation flights of Cuban nationals back to the island. Since Trump returned to the White House, Cuba has accepted five deportation flights.
Tablada’s comments suggest that caving to the Trump administration’s anti-migration efforts in exchange for goodwill elsewhere has its limits.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, backed by former special envoy Mauricio Claver-Carone, has especially pushed for a tough line on Cuba. Claver-Carone said in February that the administration had “very creative” policy options at its disposal to induce the collapse of Cuba’s communist government, long a dream of many in Miami’s Cuban exile community.
The Trump administration restored Cuba in January to a list of state sponsors of terrorism and reinstated a barrage of other sanctions lifted at the end of the Biden administration. A new State Department policy has also threatened visa restrictions on government officials in Cuba and other countries found to be responsible for labor rights abuses against Cuban doctors on state-sponsored medical missions around the world — a major source of income for the Cuban government.
Tablada blames the impasse in relations on those who advocate for maximum pressure on Cuba within the U.S. government. She denied allegations that Cuba mistreats doctors on medical missions or supports terrorist groups around the world. Tablada accused Rubio and others of stoking tensions to justify further reprisals.
“They’re doing everything possible to blow up what’s left of the relationship and the adult in the room is the Cuban government,” argued Tablada. “If we did what they wanted, we’d be giving a pretext for those people who want to break off relations, create a migration crisis and prompt a military intervention from the United States.”
The State Department and the White House National Security Council did not respond to requests for comment.
Despite the headwinds, Tablada says Cuba remains undeterred in its effort to build strong ties with the American people. “We’re going to continue cultivating our relations with the United States, which have a long history and have been neighborly and reciprocal,” she said.
Rome, July 3 (Prensa Latina) The city hall of the Italian commune of Empoli welcomed the Hero of the Republic of Cuba, Gerardo Hernandez, to an event in support of the Caribbean nation, where they also condemned the US blockade.
Marco Papacci, president of the National Association of Italy-Cuba Friendship (ANAIC), emphasized that the event, presided over by Leonardo Masi, mayor of that town in the central Italian region of Tuscany, reaffirmed the close ties of brotherhood and solidarity between the peoples of both nations.
In his exchange with Hernandez, one of the five anti-terrorist fighters imprisoned for many years in US prisons for defending their country, Masi emphasized the goal of promoting actions to demand an end to Washington’s measures against Cuba, which violate human rights.
The Cuban hero, a Parliament member and of the Council of State, explained the repercussion of the blockade imposed by the US government for more than 60 years, which has severely impacted the island’s development and the lives of its citizens.
For her part, Marianna Gorpia, secretary of the Anaic circle in Empoli, noted that “in recent days, the blockade has been reinforced by the Trump administration, which included Cuba on the list of countries that finance terrorism, an unfounded decision and a historical falsehood,” with the aim of increasing pressure.
Gorpia also recalled the bond that has united Empoli and Cuba since the 1990s, thanks in large part to the association’s activities. “We have managed to carry out numerous projects, thanks in part to the willingness show by both the local mayor’s office and other regional institutions.”
In a message posted on social media, the mayor of Empoli expressed, following that meeting with Gerardo Hernandez, that “following the even greater restrictions imposed by the United States on June 30, 2025, we commit to the city council expressing its opinion on this matter again.”
NEW YORK — At a June 28 program here, sponsored by the New York-New Jersey Cuba Sí Coalition, Bob Schwartz, executive director of Global Health Partners, announced a national effort to raise $150,000 to send 150 pacemakers to Cuba. The effort is part of the Saving Lives Campaign. Cuba Sí has set a goal to raise $10,000.
The featured speaker at the event was Ambassador Yuri Gala López, the deputy permanent representative of Cuba to the United Nations. Some 30 people attended.
“Speaking about health care in Cuba means speaking about Fidel Castro,” Gala said. “From the very beginning of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel envisioned health care as a universal human right and an essential pillar of the revolution.” Health care in Cuba is free and accessible to all.
Cuba’s record in health care extends to its internationalist solidarity, he said. The Latin American School of Medicine has trained 31,000 doctors from 122 nations free of charge. Cuban medical professionals have served in 165 countries, often in the most remote areas.
For many countries, including Haiti, one of the poorest in the world, Cuban medical volunteers provide care at no cost, Gala said. Governments that can afford it, pay Cuba something. In these cases, the income helps fund Cuba’s free health care system.
The medical volunteers receive their regular pay, plus bonuses. “Our doctors have saved millions of lives,” he said.
Because of how the Cuban Revolution transformed conditions for working people, Gala said, Cuba’s health indicators are in many cases comparable to those in developed countries. But the impact of the U.S. economic war on Cuba for more than six decades, undermines the gains Cuba has made.
A few years ago infant mortality in Cuba was four deaths per 1,000 live births, Gala said. Because of the embargo, it’s now at seven. By comparison, in the U.S., the richest country in the world, it’s a little more than five.
“We have shortages in food, fuel, transport, medicines and technology,” he said, noting this was mostly due to Washington’s embargo.
Washington is also waging a “vicious disinformation campaign against the volunteer medical brigades Cuba sends abroad,” he said. U.S. officials outrageously say Cuba is engaged in “human trafficking,” and they’ve announced they will impose visa restrictions on anyone linked to the Cuban medical missions. Their goal is to smear the Cuban Revolution and cut off legitimate income. Their charges are “baseless and absurd.”
On June 30, just two days after the New York meeting, Trump signed a presidential memorandum announcing stepped-up attacks on Cuba, including tightening restrictions on travel by U.S. residents to the island.
‘From our hearts to Cuban hearts’
“Global Health Partners has been raising funds for medical supplies in Cuba for three decades,” Bob Schwartz said. He noted that during the COVID pandemic Cuba developed its own effective vaccines, but they needed 27 million syringes to administer them. “We took a goal of sending a million syringes to Cuba, but we ended up with 6 million, enough to vaccinate 20% of the population.
“As Ambassador Gala said, the embargo impacts every sector of the Cuban economy,” Schwartz said. “But above all it affects public health, especially children and the elderly.”
The event included a slide show on the 2025 May Day rally in Havana, and a new documentary by Belly of the Beast called “Teresita’s Dream: Cuba’s battle against Alzheimer’s.”
Other speakers included Brima Sylla, vice president of the Amazon Labor Union, and Colette Pean, from the December 12 Movement.
To contribute to the Saving Lives Pacemaker Campaign, make your check payable to Global Health Partners with “pacemakers” on the memo line, and mail it to: Global Health Partners, 39 Broadway, Suite 1540, New York, NY 10006. To pay by debit or credit card, visit ghpartners.org.
Table tennis World Cup winner Hugo Calderano has been barred from entering the United States because of a visit to Cuba in 2023.
The Brazilian, who had been expected to compete at the WTT Grand Smash in Las Vegas, confirmed he had been denied a visa in a post on his social media channels on Friday.
According to US regulations, any individual who has travelled to Cuba is required to obtain a visa, even if they qualify for the country’s visa waiver programme (VWP), which the 29-year-old does through his Portuguese citizenship.
However, if an individual has travelled to a country on the US’ list of state sponsors of terrorism – which includes Cuba, North Korea, Iran and Iraq – they are no longer eligible for the VWP.
Calderano had been in Havana, Cuba’s capital, for the ITTF Pan American Championships two years ago, where he won his fourth singles title.
Hugo Calderano in action during the men’s teams quarter-finals at the Paris Olympics. Photo: AP
“I followed the same protocol as all my previous trips to the United States using my Portuguese passport,” Calderano said. “When I was informed of the situation, I mobilised my entire team to obtain an emergency visa, but unfortunately, there was not enough time.
“It is frustrating to be left out of one of the most important competitions of the season for reasons beyond my control, especially coming off such positive results.”
The WTT Grand Smash events are the sport’s biggest competitions, equivalent to tennis’ grand slams, and represent a huge blow to Calderano’s ambitions.
In April, he won the ITTF Men’s World Cup in Macau, followed by a silver medal at the ITTF World Table Tennis Championships Finals in Doha a month later.
The withdrawal of fourth seed Calderano meant Chinese duo Liang Jingkun and Xiang Peng moved up a place each in the men’s rankings to fourth and ninth, respectively.
Meanwhile, two further withdrawals lower down the rankings saw compatriots Lin Gaoyuan move from 17th to 15th and Chen Yuanyu from 19th to 16th.
Former US President Joe Biden had removed Cuba from the list in January in one of his last acts before stepping down, but his successor Donald Trump signed an order banning nationals from 12 countries from entering the US and placed restrictions on seven others – which included the Caribbean island.
However, Trump said the ban would not apply to those travelling for major sporting events.
On July 2, the Cuban women’s national volleyball team also said they were denied visas ahead of their trip to Puerto Rico for the Women’s Final Four tournament.
Trump’s order, revived from his first term, fully restricts nationals of Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen from entering the US.
The entry of nationals of Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela was partly restricted.
The Post has contacted the US Consulate General in Hong Kong for comment.
Dani Hernádez, NBC principal dancer and General Director of the National Ballet School in Cuba. VNS Photos Đoàn Tùng
Two principal dancers of Ballet Nacional de Cuba tell Việt Nam News how their dance careers took off.
July 5, 2025 — Việt Nam News
Enrolled to study at the National Ballet School of Cuba aged 13, Dani Hernádez is now the school’s General Director. Việt Nam News asks him about training a new generation of dancers.
Việt Nam News: What do you love most about dance as a career, as a professional dancer?
Dani Hernádez: Well, as a career, ballet is something extraordinary. Dance itself is one of the manifestations that allows human beings to express from within all the feelings and sensations they may have throughout their lives. In fact, dance is considered the first form of human expression as it evolved through the ages.
And that’s precisely what makes me happy. Ballet allows me to express all those feelings I have. It allows me to play characters I’ve never met, and through dance I can connect with those stories, with those great stages that humanity has had for so long.
There’s nothing more gratifying for a dancer after a performance than the applause of an audience. And that’s what fulfils us most, no matter where we’re performing, knowing that the audience understood, connected and was part of what we’re delivering. And that is despite all the physical effort, exhaustion, mental work and study.
So, is ballet your life?
Yes, ballet is my life. It’s what makes me feel happy with every step I take. And it’s what I’ll take with me everywhere in the future.
LIFETIME’S WORK: Dani Hernádez performs ‘Swan Lake’ with Viengsay Valdés at Hà Nội Hồ Gươm Opera House.
As a dancer, do you think you represent the best of Cuba?
Yes. Ballet itself is one of the main pillars of Cuban culture today. In fact, our small island State boasts one of the world’s great ballet schools: the Cuban School of Ballet. Today, I am not only the principal dancer trained by this school, but I am also the General Director of the National Ballet School of Cuba.
In Havana, there are over 200 students in that school alone. Nationally, there are seven schools: six in the provinces and one in Havana.
Ballet is very demanding. What is your secret to becoming successful – as a dancer, teacher, and now director?
The secret lies in the student’s perseverance. Just that: perseverance. Discipline, taking care of your body, knowing how to train each day, recovery times and consistent, daily work.
These were the lessons our teachers taught us; they are the lessons we uphold today and pass on to all new generations, both inside and outside of school. And this is what has made Cuban ballet recognised worldwide.
Cuba is a young ballet country compared to Europe or the US. What makes Cuban ballet special?
The Cuban Ballet School was the youngest to be established. First there was the Italian school, then the French, Russian, Danish, English and finally, the Cuban school. Since then, there have been no more officially recognised schools.
And that’s what makes Cuban ballet great: having its own methodology, developed by our founders Fernando, Alicia and Alberto Alonso, passed down through generations. And now, as director, it’s my turn to continue that legacy.
What’s your impression of Việt Nam? If you choreographed a piece about Việt Nam, what would it be about?
Well, this is my second time here. From the moment we arrived, we received very special recognition and attention from all quarters. The most impressive was the public.
When we first performed at this very theatre, the reception was like we were back on the big stages of Cuba, with the warmth of the audience, the interaction and the mutual understanding.
If I had to choreograph a ballet about Việt Nam, it would be about its people, its history, its perseverance in the face of adversity.
Yankiel Vásquez, NBC principal dancer.
Yankiel Vasquez, principal dancer of Ballet Nacional de Cuba, tells Việt Nam News what it means to be a dancer.
Việt Nam News: What do you like most about ballet as a career?
Yankiel Vasquez: What I like most, and what we all like most, beyond travelling, is that we’ve been to several countries, and they’re all different cultures. But the most important thing is that we make so many friends, and that’s what we’ll stay with for life.
You’ve travelled a lot, but can you name three places that impressed you the most?
Oh, I really like Spain. I really like Spain, followed by China and Việt Nam.
FAN FAVOURITE: Yankiel Vásquez performs ‘The Dying Swan’ in Hà Nội
What do you think about the people here in Việt Nam?
The way you treat your people since we arrived has been impressive. The human quality, and the way they’ve treated us.
Do you think dancers like you represent the best of Cuba?
Cuban dancers are spread all over the world. And wherever there’s a Cuban dancer, I think we’ll be the best representative because we’re always giving our best.
What is the biggest sacrifice you’ve made to become a professional dancer?
In my personal case, I left home at a young age. When you do that, you separate yourself from your family. It’s very difficult, because you struggle from a young age. It’s difficult, but at the same time, it makes us stronger.
That’s one of the greatest sacrifices I think I was able to overcome. It was like a 3-4 hour drive. I’d leave on a Sunday, stay all week, and return on Friday.
What did your parents do?
Well, my dad had already passed away and he was a grocer, and my mom was a housewife.
Do you remember your first time going to Havana to study ballet? Did someone accompany you, and were you sad or excited?
I just went alone. The first few days were sad, because I couldn’t go home. At least when I was in Pinar del Río, I could go weekly, so I’d be there for two days. But when I was in Havana, I went very rarely. Even when I joined the company, I couldn’t spend the holidays with them anymore. It was a very radical change.
Would you like to come back to Việt Nam and perform again?
Oh, of course. It’s been a very nice experience. And I’ve already said it: the treatment has been wonderful. I’m beyond grateful for that. VNS
