Rosneft’s first flight arrives in Cuba in 2025

Posted on March 29, 2025 by Anthony Brenner

Havana, March 28 (Prensa Latina) The International Group of Tour Operators and Travel Agencies, Havanatur SA, today welcomed the first flight of the 2025 spring season from the Russian oil company Rosneft, with 285 visitors.

In a statement, Havanatur reported that two more arrivals are planned for spring, each carrying more than 370 passengers. Travelers will enjoy two-week stay programs designed to enhance the quality of life and develop corporate tourism programs.

Rosneft's first flight arrives in Cuba in 2025

Meanwhile, four arrivals and an increase in passenger volume compared to previous years are planned for the 2025 fall-winter season, according to the Havanatur report.

The tour operator adds that the new arrivals arrived in Matanzas via Juan Gualberto Gómez International Airport on Nordwind Airlines-6101 to Varadero, the country’s main sun and beach destination.

A hub that has established itself as the ideal place to develop programs aimed at workers and their families, with over 11 years of experience since the start of this type of operation under the Havanatur label.

Under the promise of Living More, the document continues, visitors enjoy outdoor physical activities, excursions to explore the Cuban tourist destination, and activities related to conservation and environmental care—pillars that emphasize health, well-being, and quality of life.

Havanatur, the only 100 percent Cuban tour operator, has extensive experience in corporate tourism and intends to consolidate and expand this specialty to other markets and destinations in Cuba with favorable conditions for its promotion as a unique feature, it asserts.

Rosneft's first flight arrives in Cuba in 2025

While taking into account corporate policies that seek to encourage their employees to foster pillars associated with improving health and seeking a higher quality of life.

Authorities and officials from the Ministry of Tourism delegation in Matanzas, along with executives and officials from Havanatur, attended the reception for the Russian oil company’s flight.

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Puerto Rican politician reaffirms support for the Palestinian people in Cuba

Posted on March 29, 2025 by Anthony Brenner

Havana, March 28 (Prensa Latina) The president of the Hostosiano National Independence Movement (MINH), Julio A. Muriente, stated today that “what defines the Palestinian people is not their status as victims, but their courage and perseverance, despite the genocide they suffer.”

Muriente is in this capital with a delegation from the organization, related to the Puerto Rican Mission in Cuba “Juan Mari Brás.”

During the conference “Puerto Rico and Our America in Troubled Times,” held at the capital’s headquarters of the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP), the Puerto Rican leader denounced the United States government’s position on the Palestinian conflict and its desire to colonize various regions of the world.

Likewise, he extended his expression of solidarity to other “sister countries that, like Puerto Rico, fight against colonialism,” such as the Sahrawi people.

“I think about this army that claims to be one of the most powerful on the planet, but in reality it’s dedicated to murdering defenseless and unarmed people,” he continued.

The politician also thanked the Cuban government and party, whom he called “uncompromising brothers,” for their support of the independence causes of these nations.

The MINH aspires to achieve Puerto Rico’s independence and the construction of a just society based on solidarity, freedom, social justice, participatory democracy, and respect for human rights and the natural environment.

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SocIA, an artificial intelligence platform, is presented in Cuba

Posted on March 28, 2025 by Anthony Brenner

Havana, March 27 (Prensa Latina) Cuban software development company Avangenio today presented SocIA, an artificial intelligence platform hailed as a step forward in the digital transformation of society, at the Meliá Cohíba hotel in Havana.

This solution is a step forward in the digital transformation of society, as we have a sovereign platform, generated in Cuba, to provide artificial intelligence (AI) solutions, so necessary for the country at this stage, highlighted Ariadne Plascencia, president of the Information Technology and Communications Business Group.

The project’s technical leader, Vicente Garófalo, explained to representatives of companies, ministries, and various institutions the benefits of SocIA, a new proposal for artificial intelligence tools, as it is an AI agent that enables multiple functionalities, according to Cubadebate.

He explained that SocIA allows simultaneous work with files in various formats, such as text, audio, or video, and integrates with other Avangenio solutions such as NosWork (a type of virtual office) and ERPNext, the digital business environment created there.

With it, users can perform a variety of tasks in real time on any type of device (mobile phones, tablets, or computers), adapting to these environments.

It also allows for generating programmable automated tasks, analyzing data, writing emails, and any other functions that are common today in this type of AI tools, with the unique feature that in SocIA they are integrated into customized agents.

The new software can also be used in any type of environment or business, whether dedicated to the pure or social sciences.

“SocIA is a platform of intelligent agents used for specific needs, synchronized with the organization that employs it, enabling greater synergy to achieve results,” said Alain Abel Garófalo, AI Strategy Leader at Avangenio.

Experts specified that the tool will be marketed with three types of plans: Basic, Team, and Enterprise.

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Cuban actress Mirta Ibarra awarded the 2025 National Film Award

Posted on March 28, 2025 by Anthony Brenner

Havana, March 27 (Prensa Latina) The 2025 National Film Award was granted today to prominent Cuban actress Mirta Ibarra, a prize that will be presented to her this Friday at the Charlie Chaplin movie theater during the closing ceremony of the International Meeting of Restored Films.

The jury, composed of prestigious figures from the country’s seventh art, awarded this prestigious prize to Ibarra in recognition of her ability to portray characters with depth and sensitivity, addressing essential social and cultural themes.

By a majority vote, the jury selected her for her legacy, continuity, integrity, and her long career in Cuban cinema, not only as an actress in iconic films from 1960 to the present, but also for her multiple roles in national cinema and culture over more than 50 years.

This also highlights the impact of her work on Cuban society and her work preserving the legacy of filmmaker Tomás Gutiérrez Alea (Titón), all of which make her one of the most prominent and recognized personalities, not only in the country but also internationally as a 2025 National Film Award winner.

In an interview broadcast on Cuban television, the award-winning actress confessed to feeling moved because this award is also due to Cuban viewers for the reception they give to her films, and because when she walks down the streets they tell her, “We admire you,” “We love you,” “Keep going,” and that fills her with pride, and she has to keep going,” she said.

Ibarra’s extensive filmography includes films such as Strawberry and Chocolate, Up to a Certain Point, It’s Swapped, and Guantanamera, among others.

Born in San José de las Lajas on February 28, 1946, she is a renowned Cuban theater, television, and film actress who has also worked as a screenwriter, playwright, and documentary filmmaker.

Among the major awards she has received for her extensive artistic career are the ACTUAR Lifetime Achievement Award, 2019; the Lucía de Honor Award, 2018; and the National Culture Distinction of 1996, among other equally important recognitions.

She is the widow of Cuban filmmaker Tomás Gutiérrez Alea (Titón, 1928-1996). She has served on the jury at several international film festivals and toured Spain in 2000 and 2001 with the play Obsesión habanera, of which she is the author and star.

In 2008, she made her directorial debut with the documentary Titón: de La Habana a Guantanamera, a posthumous tribute to her lost partner in life.

The actress, a graduate of Latin American Literature from the University of Havana, is also the author of the book Volver sobre mis pasos (Return on My Steps), a compilation of letters written by Titón.

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Venezuela highlights the humanistic vocation of Cuban medical missions

Posted on March 28, 2025 by Anthony Brenner

Caracas, March 27 (Prensa Latina) Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yván Gil highlighted the humanistic vocation of Cuban healthcare personnel, in response to criticism from U.S. State Department Secretary Marco Rubio, it was reported here today.

Only the “atrocious” envy and extreme hatred of a character like him “can lead him to question a mission of love and solidarity with the entire world,” the senior diplomat wrote last night on his Telegram account.

Gil pointed out that Rubio “is incapable of seeing into the eyes of the millions of human beings, women and men, whose lives have been saved thanks to the selflessness of thousands of Cuban doctors.”

He indicated that these specialized personnel have traveled the world, giving their all without asking for anything in return other than the satisfaction of having served humanity.

The Bolivarian foreign minister stated that while Washington imposes blockades and finances conflicts, “Cuban doctors have brought health and hope to millions in the Caribbean, Latin America, Africa, and even Europe, saving lives in the midst of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, which causes COVID-19.”

Although it may weigh heavily on him, “this humanist vocation is only possible thanks to the internationalism and socialism built by the Cuban Revolution,” he pondered.

He stated that, as much as it stings, while Cuba sends medical personnel, the United States exports war and misery.

Rubio, speaking in Jamaica the day before, described Cuban medical missions as an “atrocious practice” and reiterated that “they operate as forced labor in many places.”

Their host, Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness, stated at the joint press conference that Cuban doctors have been a great help to his country, given the shortage of healthcare personnel.

Last week, Jamaica’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Kamina Johnson, affirmed that Cuba’s medical cooperation in her country “is legitimate and not an example of human trafficking.”

Earlier this month, Caribbean Community civil society called for an international movement to support Cuban medical brigades, in light of the U.S. State Department’s announced sanctions against bloc officials linked to these personnel.

In recent days, authorities from several Caribbean countries, including Guyana, Belize, Saint Lucia, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Barbados, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, have come out in defense of Cuban medical missions and recognized their contribution to protecting the health of their people.

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Cuban President evaluates projects in Havana municipalities

Posted on March 27, 2025 by Anthony Brenner

Havana, March 26 (Prensa Latina) Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel is visiting several municipalities in Havana today as part of a tour of the country’s territories to evaluate local and national development projects.

Díaz-Canel is currently inspecting areas of the municipalities of San Miguel del Padrón, Regla, and Plaza de la Revolución to verify the activities of centers of economic and social importance that have potential for the development of these towns and the province in general.

According to Roberto Morales, Secretary of Organization of the Cuban Communist Party (PCC), who accompanies the head of state on the visits, these actions contribute to the dissemination of positive experiences and practices that will allow for greater economic and social development.

The answer to every adversity is unity, cohesion and dedication to each task, Ojeda added in his profile on the social network X.

Also participating in the tour are Livan Izquierdo, first secretary of the Provincial Committee of the PCC in Havana, and Yanet Hernández, governor of the capital, among other leaders.

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Venezuela thanks Mexico for rejecting US sanctions, Mexico denounces blockade against Cuba

Posted on March 27, 2025 by Anthony Brenner

Caracas, March 26 (Prensa Latina) Foreign Minister Yván Gil thanked Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum today, on behalf of President Nicolás Maduro, for her rejection of the most recent U.S. sanctions against Venezuela.

“We express our gratitude for the message from the President of Mexico, who has rejected the Donald Trump administration’s illegal measure of imposing 25 percent tariffs on countries that purchase oil or gas from Venezuela,” the Minister of Foreign Affairs emphasized on the Telegram social network.

Gil affirmed that his analysis is accurate in pointing out that “these economic sanctions negatively impact entire communities.”

The senior diplomat stated that these illegal and unilateral measures, contrary to international law, seek to revive the failed “maximum pressure” campaign of 2017.

The Venezuelan Foreign Minister assured that the Bolivarian Republic will overcome this challenge.

Sheinbaum expressed her disagreement with economic sanctions being imposed on countries because “it is a principle of Mexican foreign policy,” of the entire State and established in the national Constitution.

The dignitary stated that this policy “does not affect a government or a person, but the entire people,” and affirmed that this is why “they have always been against the blockade of Cuba, and we will continue to defend it.”

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Venezuela expressed deep gratitude to the President of Cuba

Posted on March 26, 2025 by Anthony Brenner

Caracas, March 25 (Prensa Latina) On behalf of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, Foreign Minister Yván Gil today expressed his deep gratitude to Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel for his unwavering solidarity in the face of the announcement of more sanctions by the United States.

Through his Telegram account, the top diplomat stated, “Cuba, faithful to its history of resistance, is always at the forefront of denouncing the abuses of imperialism.”

“We want,” he emphasized, “to express our deep gratitude to our brother President of Cuba, Miguel Díaz-Canel, for his unwavering solidarity following the Trump administration’s announcement to impose tariffs on countries that buy Venezuelan oil.”

Gil pointed out that this action exposes the mercenary nature of the United States government and seeks to intimidate the people.

“It will not stop us in our fight for sovereignty and prosperity,” he assured.

On the social network X, the Cuban leader indicated that imperialism insists on economically suffocating Venezuela and harming its people, attacking its strategic natural resources.

“In the face of this latest Yankee outrage, we offer our complete solidarity and reiterated support to this sister nation, led by President Nicolás Maduro,” he stated.

The Venezuelan Minister of Foreign Affairs also expressed his sincere gratitude to Bolivian President Luis Arce “for his message of solidarity toward our migrants.”

He denounced that they have been victims of serious human rights violations by the governments of the United States and El Salvador, which “operate like 21st-century slave traders.”

A warm embrace to the Bolivian people; we will continue working together to build paths toward peace, he said.

Likewise, the highest representative of Bolivarian diplomacy extended his “sincere gratitude” to the Chinese government “for its strong call to lift the illegal sanctions imposed on our country.”

As well as ending the tariff war launched by the Donald Trump administration against Venezuela and other nations.

Gil commented that these actions, which violate international law, only promise losses and setbacks for our people, including American citizens.

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Cuba seeks to develop Artificial Intelligence

Posted on March 26, 2025 by Anthony Brenner

Havana, March 25 (Prensa Latina) Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel today highlighted the Caribbean nation’s potential to advance more rapidly in the introduction of artificial intelligence (AI).

In a meeting with scientists and experts, the president affirmed that the world is advancing in this field, and Cuba cannot be left behind; “We have to do the same thing that was done with biotechnology, because we have the capabilities to position ourselves at the forefront in a short time,” he emphasized.

In this regard, he urged the development of AI in all university programs, including the social sciences and also in medical sciences, where, he said, progress is being made in the use of this tool worldwide.

Díaz-Canel noted that it’s also necessary to extend the AI ​​results obtained in one entity or sector to others that need it, so that it can be used as a service.

Alejandro Rosete Suárez, PhD, from the Department of AI and Information Systems Infrastructure at CUJAE (Technological University), explained that last month, seven of the 12 theses presented at the Faculty of Computer Engineering were about AI.

Cuba, he asserted, has no problem with artificial intelligence training and development; it has world-class specialists; what we need to do is use them more.

The meeting, conducted via videoconference, followed a similar one held on the topic earlier this year.

Also present at the exchange were Vice President Salvador Valdés Mesa and Deputy Prime Minister Eduardo Martínez.

Also in attendance were Susely Morfa, head of the Department of Social Sector Assistance of the Communist Party of Cuba, Deputy Prime Minister Inés María Chapman, and several ministers, among other executives.

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Relations between Cuba and Equatorial Guinea are described as excellent

Posted on March 26, 2025 by Anthony Brenner

Malabo, March 25 (Prensa Latina) Cuban Prime Minister Manuel Marrero today described his country’s ties with Equatorial Guinea as excellent and highlighted the potential for expanding bilateral and interparliamentary cooperation.

In a meeting with the President of the Senate of this African country, Teresa Efua Asangono, both praised the friendship between the two nations and reaffirmed that Equatorial Guinea and Cuba will always be united in defense of sovereignty. The Cuban head of government also expressed satisfaction with the outcome of the visit and emphasized the political common ground and broad cooperation, with more than 500 collaborators from the Caribbean island present.

Marrero expressed his gratitude for Equatorial Guinea’s courageous stance against the blockade imposed on Cuba and its support for the call to remove it from the list of countries that allegedly sponsor terrorism.

The delegation led by the Cuban prime minister arrived in Malabo on March 23 from Namibia, as part of a tour of African countries that began in the Republic of Congo.

This Monday, Cuba and Equatorial Guinea signed an updated Framework Cooperation Agreement, as well as a protocol for the implementation of the Binational Working Group.

The day before, Equatorial Guinean President Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, in a conversation with Marrero, highlighted the importance Cuba places on Africa and the work of the Caribbean nation’s doctors and educators in this country.

At the meeting, described as warm on the Cuban government’s account on the social network X, Marrero expressed his gratitude for the exchange to strengthen the ties between the two nations, forged over more than five decades.

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