Washington, June 5 (Prensa Latina) The Green Party in California urged the United States government to remove Cuba from the list of state sponsors of terrorism and to end all economic sanctions currently imposed on the Caribbean nation.

President Donald Trump reinstated Cuba under the arbitrary State Sponsor of Terrorism (SSOT) designation almost simultaneously with his reinstatement to the White House on January 20, reversing a decision made by his predecessor, Joe Biden, six days earlier.

“Cuba’s arbitrary designation has subjected it to new international sanctions and financial restrictions that further limit the country’s ability to conduct crucial financial transactions, such as the purchase of food, medicine, and oil to supply its national electricity grid,” the document emphasized.

Therefore, the Green Party of California “strongly urges the President to remove Cuba” from SSOT and to oppose “any legislation that seeks to prevent Cuba’s removal from said list.”

Furthermore, it resolves to urge members of Congress from California “to pass legislation that eliminates those aspects of the embargo (blockade) that have become law and eliminate all sanctions imposed by the United States against Cuba.”

At the same time, “allow the people of the United States and Cuba to travel and trade freely between the two countries, and oppose any legislation that seeks to codify the embargo, the SSOT, or other sanctions against Cuba.”

The text also emphasized the damage caused to Cuba by the economic, commercial, and financial blockade of the past 64 years, which impedes most Cuban relations and trade not only with the northern nation but also penalizes third countries.

“The consequences of this embargo (blockade) continue to inflict daily hardship and deprivation on the Cuban people, generating shortages of basic goods such as food and medicine, and severely restricting international financial and trade opportunities,” the resolution stated.

He also explained that the economic blockade “prevents Cuba from obtaining vital medical equipment and supplies, and even hinders the humanitarian response to natural disasters.”

President Trump, he said, has the authority to remove Cuba from the SSOT list by executive order.

The UN estimated last year that at current prices, the annual cost of this hostile policy is around five billion dollars.

On October 30, the UN General Assembly voted for the thirty-second time to lift the embargo on Cuba, with the almost unanimous support of the international community (187 of 193 countries) and opposition only from the United States and its staunch ally Israel.

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Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla denounced that these measures not only affect mobility, but also harm contact between families and bilateral cultural and professional exchanges.

June 5, 2025 – teleSUR

The Cuban government on Thursday described as “racist” the recent restrictions imposed by the United States (US) that limit entry into its territory to citizens of several countries, including Cuba.

The controversial measure was signed Wednesday by US President Donald Trump, who established total bans for citizens of twelve countries and partial restrictions for seven others, including Cuba. According to the White House, the decision responds to “deficiencies in vetting and background checks” that pose a risk to national security.

On his X social media account, Rodríguez harshly criticized the measure, pointing out that it has “racist undertones” and is supported by anti-Cuban politicians within the U.S. government. The foreign minister emphasized that these restrictions harm contact between Cuban families and hinder the personal, academic, and cultural exchanges that have served as a bridge between the two peoples.

Among the countries with a full ban are Afghanistan, Iran, Libya, and Somalia , while the list of partial restrictions includes nations such as Laos, Sierra Leone, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela, in addition to Cuba. The decision is based on a report prepared by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other Cabinet officials, Trump explained.

Tensions between Cuba and the United States are escalating with this new measure, which once again jeopardizes the possibility of maintaining family and professional ties.

Cuba’s response makes it clear that these restrictions are not only a bureaucratic obstacle, but also a political barrier that hinders relations between the two countries.

Author: teleSUR – alr – YSM

Havana, June 5 (Prensa Latina) President Miguel Díaz-Canel asserted today that enemies of the Revolution are attempting to manipulate the opinions of university students regarding recent measures taken by Etecsa, with the goal of promoting the subversion of public order in Cuba.

During the podcast Desde la Presidencia, the head of state commented that the opinions of students at the island’s universities refer solely to their disapproval of the redesign of the services of the Telecommunications Company SA (Etecsa).

He also explained that higher education students respectfully expressed their concerns about the new mobile internet rates through organizations such as the University Student Federation and the Union of Young Communists.

He also considered that the attempt to distort student demands and destabilize the country contrasts with the meetings between company executives and the nation’s university community.

In his opinion, the criticism unleashed in the country’s higher education institutions did not arise spontaneously, but rather due precisely to manipulation on digital platforms or communication strategies designed to discredit the Revolution.

There is a campaign on social media with the clear objective of discrediting the Revolution, he reiterated, and denounced that videos and photos were manipulated to depict supposed opposition demonstrations, in order to create a rift between young people and the government.

In his address to the Presidency, the president proposed a critical approach to the measures announced by the company to address its serious financial problems, which threaten to cause a collapse of the Cuban telecommunications system.

Díaz-Canel was joined by Deputy Minister of Communications Ernesto Rodríguez and Etecsa President Tania Velázquez, who analyzed the causes and consequences of the entity’s lack of liquidity.

rc/raj

Washington, June 4 (Prensa Latina) President Donald Trump signed a proclamation today to prohibit and restrict travel from several countries to the United States, including Cuba and Venezuela, citing alleged security risks.

The Proclamation completely restricts and limits entry from 12 countries “with deficiencies in vetting and background checks, and which pose a very high risk to the United States,” he said.

This group includes Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen.

While it “partially restricts and limits” the entry of citizens of seven nations that, according to the directive, “also represent a high level of risk to the United States,” including Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela.

Regarding Cuba, President Trump repeats the false and arbitrary arguments that the island is a state sponsor of terrorism and that “the Cuban government does not cooperate or share sufficient law enforcement intelligence with the United States.”

He said that “historically, Cuba has refused to accept the return of its deported citizens.”

In line with the Proclamation, “the Report on Foreign Stays,” Cuba had an overstay rate of 7.69 percent for B1/B2 visas and an overstay rate of 18.75 percent for F, M, and J visas.

The measure establishes exceptions for legal permanent residents, current visa holders, certain visa categories, and individuals whose entry serves the national interests of the United States, he emphasized.

He further noted that “the restrictions and limitations imposed by the Proclamation are necessary to obtain the cooperation of foreign governments, enforce our immigration laws, and promote other important foreign policy, national security, and counterterrorism objectives.”

He added that, after reviewing a report submitted by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in coordination with other Cabinet officials, Trump determined that the entry of citizens from certain countries should be restricted or limited in the interest of the aforementioned.

Pursuant to President Trump’s Executive Order 14161, issued on January 20, 2025, entitled “Protecting the United States from Foreign Terrorists and Other Threats to National Security and Public Safety,” national security agencies conducted a comprehensive assessment of the alleged risk.

Trump made the final decision to sign this proclamation after the anti-Semitic attack in Boulder, Colorado, last Sunday, an unidentified White House official told local media, although the idea had already been floated in Washington.

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Washington, June 4 (Prensa Latina) The Richmond, California, City Council approved a Proclamation urging the United States government to remove Cuba from the arbitrary list of state sponsors of terrorism and to lift all economic sanctions.

Issued in a solemn session and signed by Mayor Eduardo Martínez, Vice Mayor César Zepeda, and Council Member Claudia Jiménez, the proclamation emphasized that, for the past 64 years, the United States has imposed an economic, commercial, and financial blockade on Cuba.

The unilateral blockade—which at current costs represents losses to the Cuban economy of approximately five billion dollars each year—impedes most relations and trade with the northern nation and punishes other countries that attempt to interact with the island, he noted.

“The consequences of this embargo (blockade) continue to inflict daily hardship and deprivation on the Cuban people, generating shortages of basic goods such as food and medicine, and severely restricting international financial and trade opportunities,” the text, approved Tuesday night, emphasized.

He added that it prevents Cuba from obtaining vital equipment and supplies and even hinders the humanitarian response to catastrophic events such as recent hurricanes.

He recalled that, in 2021, Cuba was reinstated on the list of state sponsors of terrorism at the end of Donald Trump’s first term in the White House, reversing the decision of the Barack Obama-Joe Biden administration in 2015.

With the influence of the Cuba solidarity movement here, in recent years many initiatives to end the embargo have been promoted and approved in municipal councils, state legislatures, and unions representing millions of people in the United States.

On October 30, 187 of 193 countries voted in favor of lifting the embargo on Cuba in the UN General Assembly, with the United States and Israel opposing it.

“On behalf of the Richmond City Council, I hereby urge our Congressional delegation to pass legislation that eliminates those aspects of embargo that have been codified in law,” the mayor emphasized in the Proclamation.

He also insisted that the United States lift all sanctions against Cuba and allow both countries to travel and trade freely.

At the City Council meeting, the Proclamation was presented to Cuban Embassy diplomats David Ramírez and Yasser Ibarra.

Since September 1999, Richmond and the Havana municipality of Regla, Cuba, have been twinned.

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June 3, 2025 — Belly of the Beast

Cuba’s national men’s basketball team was supposed to play their final game of the FIBA AmeriCup qualifiers last February in Puerto Rico. But the players never made the flight. Cuba had to forfeit the match when nearly all its players as well as the coaches and support staff were denied U.S. visas to attend the game.

Hear from the players themselves in our report HERE.

Cuban basketball players have been denied visas in the past, but Cuba’s Basketball Federation says this is the first time this has happened on this scale. Only two players – both living outside the island – were granted visas.

“We’re traveling as players, not tourists,” said Arle Zaporta, the team’s center. “Sports are sports. We just want to play.”

This March, 14 Cuban athletes were denied visas to participate in the World Masters Athletics Indoor Championship in Gainesville, Florida.

Cuba’s Olympic Committee denounced last week that Cuban sports officials had also been denied visas this year.

The trend is concerning for Cuban athletes as they begin qualifiers for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

“Our teams will always be in [regional] groups with countries that require a visa, like Puerto Rico and the U.S.,” said Dalia Henry, president of Cuba’s Basketball Federation. “There has to be a way for us to be allowed to…participate and qualify in the same way as everyone else.”

TRANSCRIPT

Cuba’s men’s national basketball team was supposed to play in February in the FIBA AmeriCup Qualifiers in Puerto Rico. But the team never got on the plane. Cuba was disqualified as a no-show after the U.S. denied visas to every Cuban player on the island.

“Our goal was to qualify for the AmeriCup and we were just one step away,” says Arle Zaporta, Center for the Cuban National Basketball Team.

“Finding out we weren’t going to Puerto Rico was a tremendous blow to our morale,” says Michel Espinosa, Forward for the Cuban National Basketball Team.

“It’s the first time a Cuban basketball team is denied U.S. visas. Only two of our players, who live abroad, received the visa. The rest of the players here in Cuba didn’t get the visa,” says Dalia Henry, President of the Cuban Basketball Federation.

“It made me sad because it was a big opportunity for me and the team,” adds Arle Zaporta.

“It was an awful shock because we had our hopes set on being in the AmeriCup,” adds Michel Espinosa.

“It made the players lose confidence and affected them mentally,” says Ariel Ferrán, Point Guard for the Cuban National Basketball Team. 

“We had to fight hard to get to that point. And we were not eliminated because we played poorly, but because of visas,” says Michel Espinosa.

“We know there was a change of government in the U.S., but if we played last year in Orlando, how can we now be denied visas to play in Puerto Rico?,” says Osmel Planas, Head Coach of the Cuban National Basketball Team.

Cuban athletes are often denied U.S. visas. Cuban sports officials say this is the first time it has happened to so many players.

“We’ve previously had issues getting the whole team to a tournament,” adds Dalia Henry.

“We need a visa for the U.S. and Puerto Rico. We travel with an official passport, which doesn’t require a visa for most countries,” says Michel Espinosa. 

“This is the second time I’m denied a U.S. visa. It’s unfair that a Cuban team can’t participate because of political reasons,” says Arle Zaporta.

“U.S. policy toward Cuba will become harsher.  It will continue to limit Cuban sports and Cuban athletes who are training despite the economic hurdles our country faces right now,” adds Dalia Henry. 

“It’s hard to convince our athletes to train daily when we have limitations in transportation, food and equipment. It’s not easy. We have no privileges. Our only privilege is to keep working, getting better and getting results,” adds Osmel Planas.

“Every player is proud to represent their country and we know it’s a long road. We need to be disciplined and focus on our goals,” says Michel Espinosa. 

“We work hard. With love and sacrifice. We give everything we have in every training session and every game,” says Arle Zaporta.

The 2028 Olympic Games will be held in Los Angeles

“This is a big concern for Cuba’s sports authorities. Our teams will always be in [regional] groups with countries that require a visa, like the Virgin Islands, Bahamas, Puerto Rico 

and the U.S. There has to be a way for us to be allowed to have the same rights as other federations, to be able to participate and qualify in the same way as everyone else,” adds Dalia Henry.

“We’re traveling as players, not tourists. Sports are sports. We just want to play. 

This shouldn’t happen to any country in any sport,” says Arle Zaporta.