U.S. blockade infringes on the Human Rights of Cubans

Havana, Dec 10 (Prensa Latina) Cuban President, Miguel Diaz-Canel, said today that the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed on his country by the United States for more than six decades seeks to deprive Cubans of their human rights.

Diáz-Canel so reflected on his X account, on the occasion of the 76th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and praised his country’s achievements regarding human rights.

“To deprive the people of those rights, the United States resorts to the blockade against Cuba, while accusing the Revolution and socialism of depriving the people of those rights,” the president denounced on the social network.

In another message on the platform, he warned that the world should not celebrate Human Rights Day at a time when bombs fall on Gaza or Lebanon and ‘those committing genocide crown their crime by stealing more land from Syria’.

‘Let the philosophy of dispossession disappear, and the philosophy of war will disappear too,’ he wrote in X.

Despite the tough economic scenario and the pressures of the U.S. government and its blockade policy, Cuba strengthens its legal framework and guarantees the full exercise of Human Rights.

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Blinken rules out change of US policy towards Cuba

Before a congressional committee, Blinken ruled out any shift in policy towards Cuba, as well as the inclusion of the island from the terrorism list

Havana, Dec 12 (RHC) Despite the increasing calls for change in the United States, the country’s chief diplomat, Antony Blinken, has stated that there will be no policy shift towards Cuba until January 20, 2025.

Blinken confirmed this Wednesday before a congressional committee that he does not anticipate any change in US policy towards Cuba before President Joe Biden’s term ends next month.

He also reiterated this when asked about the possibility of the Biden administration reviewing Cuba’s potential removal from the list of countries supporting terrorism.

Cuba was first added to the list of state sponsors of terrorism in 1982 during the administration of Ronald Reagan, and it remained on the list until 2015, when then-President Barack Obama removed the Caribbean nation from the list in an attempt  to initiate a process of rapprochement with the island during the final stages of his presidency.

However, in January 2021, just days after leaving the White House, President Trump reinstated Cuba’s inclusion on the list, a decision that Biden has maintained. (Source: Prensa Latina)

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Cuba ratified social inclusion and Human Rights as top priority

As part of the International Human Rights Day, the Federation of Cuban Women defended its guarantees for the exercise of Human Rights in this population sector on the island

Havana, Dec 11 (RHC) Broad social inclusion, respect for women’s rights, and rejection of racism and other discriminatory practices, were the focus of the debates this Tuesday in Cuba for the International Human Rights Day.

In this context, the Federation of Cuban Women (FMC) defended its guarantees for the exercise of Human Rights in this population sector on the island.

During a discussion with a group of members, FMC leader Teresa Amarelle emphasized that the organization prioritizes the preservation, promotion, and safeguarding of women’s well-being.

In a recent statement, the members emphasized the importance of implementing policies and initiatives to advance women in Cuban society. These initiatives aim to eliminate all forms of violence and promote equality and social justice, ensuring access to healthcare and education for all.

Furthermore, they acknowledged the progress in decision-making processes and the respect for their sexual and reproductive rights.

As part of the Day, the University of Havana hosted a panel discussion on the social integration of members of the National Association of the Blind, the Association of the Deaf, and the National Association of Persons with Physical Disabilities.

The event was attended by representatives of United Nations agencies in Cuba and focused on social inclusion, accessibility, and public policies.

The panelists discussed the progress made in these areas as well as the challenges, such as the need for a comprehensive law to protect the rights of people with disabilities.

Prior to the date, the Cuban Association of United Nations hosted a conference on tackling racism and racial discrimination, which addressed the obstacles in this field, the importance of honoring African heritage and its rich cultural diversity, public policies, and the impact of media and social media in eliminating racial prejudices.

The civil society of Cuba commemorated the International Day of Human Rights with progress in this area, 76 years after the adoption of the Universal Declaration of these principles.

The Cuba Pavilion in Havana was the focal point for discussions among activists from social organizations on the island, who work to promote and safeguard human rights for all, without discrimination based on social status. (Source: Prensa Latina)

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UAE and Cuba foster constructive cooperation, ambassador says

Havana, Dec 9 (Prensa Latina) The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Cuba today promote a growing relationship forged in ties of friendship and collaboration, a cooperative stance that also extends to the rest of the Caribbean, said Ambassador Hazza Alkaabi here.

During a ceremony to celebrate the 53rd anniversary of the founding of the UAE as a country, the head of mission recalled the visit in November 2023 of President Miguel Diaz-Canel to the UAE, the first by a Cuban dignitary, followed by that of Prime Minister Manuel Marrero in February this year, which strengthened bilateral ties.

He noted that since last year, more than 10 agreements and memorandums of understanding have been signed between the UAE and Cuba to diversify and expand ties in different fields.

Cuba’s rich culture, its dedication to education and health, and international solidarity serve as an inspiring example for all, Albaaki asserted. “Together we have created the basis for boosting our bilateral relations, increasing high-level official visits and exchanges between both sides to develop projects and initiatives of important social impact¨, the ambassador noted in his speech.

He explained that the cooperation programs with the island are aimed at supporting food sustainability and renewable energy projects that are crucial during these difficult times Cuba is going through as it faces a national energy crisis.

The ambassador noted that in recent years the UAE has been fostering ties with the Caribbean in areas such as diplomacy, trade and investment, while through the Caribbean Renewable Energy Fund and the Pacific Partnership Fund it is implementing two projects to support island states in developing their transition to clean energy.

He stressed that UAE National Day not only marks the union of the seven emirates, ‘but also symbolizes the strength, unity and progress achieved together since December 2, 1971’.

The diverse Cuban representation was headed by Deputy Foreign Minister Josefina Vidal and the president of the National Institute of Hydraulic Resources, Antonio Rodriguez.

Omar Shehadeh, Emirati Foreign Ministry envoy for the Caribbean and Pacific States, traveled to Havana for the occasion as a guest of the Emirates.

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Kids from Santa Clara who played in the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania

(Belly of the Beast)

Aug 15, 2024 #littleleaguebaseball#bellyofthebeastcuba#littleleagueworldseriesMeet the Santa Clara Bombardiers, Cuba’s top little league baseball team. They won Cuba’s title this year and will be the second team to represent the island at the Little World Series 2024 in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, following Bayamo’s appearance last year.

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Cuba holds event on Afro-descendants, equality, and social justice

Havana, Dec 9 (Prensa Latina) Cuba is holding the International Conference “Cuba 2024 Decade of Afro-Descendants” at the Havana-based Conference Center and other venues from this Monday to December 13.

Themed “Equality, Equity, and Social Justice,” the event’s first two days will be held in this meeting institution with panels leading to the National Program against Racism and Racial Discrimination and its 12 sub-programs.

The International Conference will find new stages where delegates can meet with the inhabitants and enjoy music from genres such as rumba, jazz, and son.

Other visits will include the Museum of Literacy, an elementary school, a special education school at the Havana-based Ciudad Libertad school complex, the “Enrique Jose Varona” Center for the Study of Educational Sciences, and the Cintio Vitier Community Project, focused on plastic arts.

The organizing committee noted that participants would visit the Quintin Bandera Cultural Center in Old Havana and the Rebel Slave Museum in Matanzas province.

Music, lectures, and book launching in Calle de Madera in Havana’s historic center, among other initiatives, characterize an event dedicated to defending the rights of Afro-descendants, recognizing their contributions, and preserving their cultural heritage.

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Cuban Musician Defies Criticism in U.S., Gives Back to Cuba

Dec 3 (Belly of the Beast) Cuban pianist Dayramir González considers himself an ambassador for Cuban music in the U.S. He has kept close ties to Cuba’s cultural life since moving to the U.S. in 2010… and he has been criticized in the U.S. for it. Yet, every year, he returns to his country for the Jazz Plaza Festival. “I have a responsibility to the amazing education I received in Cuba.”

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Club of Journalists of Mexico awards prize to Prensa Latina

Mexico City, Dec 5 (Prensa Latina) The Club of Journalists of Mexico today awarded the international prize to the Latin American Information Agency Prensa Latina, which it recognized for offering a voice to oppressed peoples.

In presenting the medal and diploma to the first vice president of the news agency, Luisa María González, the organization recalled the birth of that media outlet in Cuba on June 16, 1959 and its struggle to “break the information siege and monopoly of the large transnational corporations.”

“We are very excited and grateful to receive an award of this kind for the work that Prensa Latina has been doing for more than 65 years, but if this award also comes from professional colleagues and from Mexico, a country so beloved and admired by Cuba, it takes on a very special dimension,” said González.

He considered the award to be an incentive for the media to continue “doing the journalism that has characterized it for more than six decades: professional, objective, always committed to the truth, to the dissemination of just causes and the struggles of the peoples of Latin America and other continents.”

Prensa Latina, with a total of 35 correspondent offices, is currently present in practically all Latin American countries, as well as in the United States (Washington and the headquarters of the United Nations), Africa, Asia and the main capitals of Europe.

During the ceremony held at the Club de Periodistas in this capital, awards were also given to professionals, programs and media outlets, including the national La Jornada and Channel 22, and the international Sputnik and Russia Today.

On behalf of the government and President Claudia Sheinbaum, the political advisor of the Social Communication Coordination of the Presidency of the Republic, José Alfonso Suárez del Real, expressed congratulations to each of the 57 winners in the 72nd edition of the contest.

He singled out the country’s current administration as one that firmly believes in and shares the interests of responsible freedom of expression.

Every year, the Club of Journalists of Mexico and the Antonio Sáenz de Miera Fieytal Foundation organize the National Journalism Contest, founded in 1952.

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Cuba advocates for unity and common challenges with Caricom

Photo: @DiazCanelB

Havana, December 8 (Radio Habana Cuba) — “Caribbean nations will always be able to count on Cuba,” President Miguel Díaz-Canel said on Sunday, recalling this date in 1972 that marked the beginning of diplomatic relations with a group of countries in that region.

The president quoted on the social network X the historical leader of the Cuban revolutionary process, Fidel Castro, who in 1998 stated that “we believe in the strength of a united Caribbean. We are convinced that together we will overcome the great challenges that await us.”

The fraternal ties of the Caribbean island and the 14 Caribbean states, members of Caricom, were recalled by the Cuban president and other officials of his government, in activities celebrating the 52nd anniversary of the establishment of political ties.

On the occasion of the celebration, Díaz-Canel received last Friday, at the Palace of the Revolution (headquarters of the Government), the 14 ambassadors of the countries that make up Caricom. “We met to embrace each other,” said the president.

He also highlighted the ties of brotherhood with these nations, which, led by Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica and Trinidad Tobago, formalized, on that date, diplomatic relations with Cuba to break the diplomatic isolation imposed by the Government of the United States, since the beginning of the 1960s.

This fact shows the deep ties of brotherhood that unite us, and the continuity of the ideology and the work of our historical leaders, who forged the bases for the consolidation of our relations, framed in principles of solidarity, friendship, selflessness and gratitude, said the Cuban president on the occasion.

In the same vein, and through the social network itself, Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez ratified the solidarity position of the Cuban government and people with the Caribbean nations, which have always supported the island’s cause for the end of the US blockade of more than six decades.

The remaining Caribbean territories also developed ties of friendship and collaboration with Cuba, which led to the implementation of the Caricom-Cuba summit mechanism in 2002.

At that meeting, the subregional bloc and Havana agreed to establish December 8 as the date of celebration for the beginning of their ties.

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Cuba thanks Mexico for recognition of Cuban literacy method

Mexico City, Dec 8 (Prensa Latina) The Cuban ambassador to Mexico, Marcos Rodríguez, today thanked the governor of Chiapas, Eduardo Ramírez, for his recognition and wishes for the future implementation of the Yo Sí Puedo program, to lift half a million people out of illiteracy.

“We appreciate the kind words of Governor @ramirezlalo_ towards Cuba during his inauguration, as well as the recognition and wishes for the future implementation of the Yo Sí Puedo program, to lift half a million Chiapas residents out of illiteracy,” he said on X.

Yes, I Can is a Cuban teaching method in which numbers are used to facilitate the learning process of reading and writing by associating numbers with letters, and through which more than 10 million citizens in thirty countries have been taught to read and write.

The diplomat attended Ramírez’s inauguration on Sunday, wishing him success in his administration. He also reaffirmed the southern state’s willingness to strengthen its cooperation programs with the island.

During the ceremony, “we exchanged experiences with great friends who have helped strengthen the historic relations between Cuba and Mexico, and we reaffirm our commitment to continue promoting cooperation in all spheres,” added Rodriguez.

The day before, the ambassador held a meeting, which he described as fruitful, with Cuban doctors who provide their collaboration in various municipalities of Chiapas.

With them, “we discussed the state of cooperation, the altruistic work they do, concerns, and ongoing communication with the Brigade and @EmbaCuMex,” he wrote.

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