Mexico City, Jan 16 (Prensa Latina) A Cuban delegation, led by Deputy Foreign Minister Anayansi Rodriguez, is in Mexico to attend the Meeting on Human Mobility on the Northern Route of the Continent this Thursday and Friday.
“We came to Mexico on Wednesday to participate, on behalf of Cuba, in the Meeting on Human Mobility on the Northern Route of the Continent: Towards an orderly, safe, regular, responsible, and humane management,” the official said in a post on X.
Rodriguez noted that the meeting aims “to promote a vision and articulated action on the human mobility processes on the Northern Route to strengthen coordination and cooperation mechanisms to address migration from its structural causes.”
A Cuban Foreign Ministry (MINREX) note states that the Caribbean nation will reaffirm, this time, its commitment to regular, safe, and orderly migration.
It will also advocate for establishing bilateral and multilateral cooperation in this area, based on respect for the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter and International Law.
The delegation also includes Ana Teresita Gonzalez, General Director of Consular Affairs and Attention to Cuban Residents abroad at MINREX, and Eugenio Martinez, General Director for Latin America and the Caribbean at the said Ministry.
Bogota, Jan 16 (Prensa Latina) Colombian Deputy Foreign Minister Jorge Rojas on Wednesday advocated for an end of the blockade imposed for more than 60 years against Cuba by successive governments of the United States.
Rojas expressed this opinion to local W Radio, to which he mentioned Cuba’s recent removal from the State Sponsors of Terrorism (SSOT) list that Washington unilaterally draws up.
He commented that since the beginning of the Government of President Gustavo Petro in 2022, there has been insistence that Cuba be removed from that list, and that its removal from that designation reverses an injustice.
“Cuba has only supported the peace process in Colombia. We have been working with the outgoing Government of the United States, which made this decision, which we welcome and which we hope can be complemented with measures to end the blockade,” Rojas pointed out
He also recalled that Colombia is voting to lift the economic, financial and commercial blockade, which, he acknowledged, is a policy that only serves to harm the people.
In addition to Rojas, Vice President Francia Márquez also demanded the elimination of the rest of the punitive measures against Cuba.
He pointed out that the exclusion from the terrorist list is progress, “but the blockade that has done so much harm to Cuban families still needs to be fully lifted.”
Other political organizations, such as the Common Party, welcomed the decision announced on Tuesday by the White House to remove Cuba from the list, and insisted on the urgency of lifting the economic blockade.
“Cuba should never have been on that list, we know that these actions have been part of the reprisals against the Caribbean island that shows the world that only solidarity can save us as a species,” said that group.
Communist Party of Colombia President Jaime Caicedo assured that Cuba’s removal from the list is the triumph of reason and the persistence of its people, its government, its Party, its Revolution and the clamor of solidarity of the peoples of the world.
He informed that they would continue to fight for the total lifting of the blockade.
Havana, Jan 15 (Prensa Latina) Cuba was removed from the US list of state sponsors of terrorism, which has been celebrated by world leaders and social organizations who also demand the end of the US blockade.
The measure announced on Tuesday by Joe Biden’s administration was received with satisfaction by several countries, especially in Latin America, including Venezuela, Colombia, and Bolivia, as well as representatives of solidarity movements with Cuba.
The Bolivarian government of President Nicolás Maduro described the action of the United States as limited and maintained that such a designation should never have been applied to Cuba, and stressed the need to dismantle the blockade that has affected Cuban society for more than 60 years.
The head of state of Bolivia, Luis Arce, praised the US decision and stated that “reason, truth and justice have prevailed,” after the “unilateral, arbitrary and infamous inclusion (on the list) in 2021,” the dignitary assured on his X account.
The president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, also celebrated the exclusion of Cuba from the list. The president considered that eliminating punitive measures, even partially, constitutes progress.
The Colombian Foreign Ministry also expressed gratitude to the Cuban people for their unrestricted support in the negotiation and dialogue processes necessary to achieve peaceful coexistence in Colombia. “Due to our firm conviction in multilateralism as a principle of international relations, we reject the imposition of sanctions and unilateral measures and therefore, together with other allied countries in the region, we support the efforts and requests for the sister Republic of Cuba to be excluded from this list,” added the note from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America-People’s Trade Treaty welcomed the news and praised “the elimination by the US government of two other unilateral coercive measures.” According to the bloc, despite the limited nature of the decision, it “goes in the right direction and lined with the sustained and firm claim of Cuba” and of numerous international actors, while favoring Cuba on its sovereign path of development.”
In the United States, the National Network on Cuba (NNOC) reaffirmed its commitment to fight against the blockade and noted the efforts of solidarity to achieve the result made public on Tuesday by the Biden administration. The co-president of the NNOC, Cheryl LaBash, told Prensa Latina that “When we fight, we win!”, referring to the “many resolutions that represent more than 60 million people in the United States – municipal councils, state legislatures, unions – who made their voices heard.”
Iraq became the temporary presiding country this Monday, following its selection at a meeting of the Asia-Pacific Group held last year to consider the candidate for the position
Havana, Jan 14 (RHC) The Cuban Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bruno Rodríguez, expressed his congratulations to Iraq on its upcoming role as the president of the G77 and China in 2025.
Through the platform X, Rodríguez expressed his best wishes for the success of the founding country of this group of nations, and reaffirmed Cuba’s commitment to supporting its leadership.
He also acknowledged the efforts made by Uganda in leading the coalition in 2024.
Iraq became the temporary presiding country this Monday, following its selection at a meeting of the Asia-Pacific Group held last year to consider the candidate for the position.
The G77, established on June 15, 1964, by 77 non-aligned nations, is now the largest group of countries in the United Nations, encompassing more than 130 nations and representing over 80% of the global population. (Source: Prensa Latina)
Jan 14 (Belly of the Beast) In a last-second surprise move, the Biden administration has removed Cuba from the U.S. government’s State Sponsors of Terrorism List.
There is “no credible evidence at this time of ongoing support by Cuba of international terrorism,” according to a senior administration official.
There was no credible evidence that Cuba sponsored terrorism when Trump put Cuba on the terror list four years ago.
But Biden ignored calls from across the political spectrum – including the UN, former U.S. officials and members of his own party – until now.
To read more about how Biden embraced Trump’s designation of Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism, check out our latest article by Alyssa Oursler and Jack McGrath.
Biden Also Suspends Title III
The Biden administration will also suspend Title III of the 1996 Helms-Burton Act, according to a senior administration official.
Title III allows U.S. claimants whose property was nationalized during the Cuban Revolution to sue companies for doing business on that property.
Dozens of lawsuits were filed against U.S. and European companies since Trump activated Title III in 2019.
Title III dissuaded foreign companies from investing in Cuba, cutting the island off from investment.
To learn more about Title III and its impact on Cuba’s economy read our article Billboards and Backchannels.
“Unilateral Steps” Could Lead to Prisoner Release
In a third move, the Biden administration is eliminating a list of Cuban “restricted entities” that are off limits to U.S. individuals and companies. The list includes dozens of Cuban hotels.
The list was established after Trump announced his rollback of Obama’s opening with Cuba on June 16, 2017.
A Biden administration official described these moves as “unilateral steps.”
However, the official said the administration expected these measures would lead to the release of “the many dozens of Cubans arrested in connection with the July 2021 protests.”
The official said the Catholic Church has advanced in talks with Cuba to release “political prisoners” and “those who have been detained unjustly.”
Policy Expected to be Short-Lived
Cuba’s designation as a state sponsor of terrorism, Title III, and the raft of other sanctions imposed by Trump, have devastated Cuba’s economy.
Throughout his administration, Biden has ignored calls to return to Obama’s opening, instead embracing Trump’s “maximum pressure” strategy against Cuba.
This sudden change in Biden’s Cuba policy would have been a promising sign for U.S.-Cuba relations and for the Cuban economy.
However, with Cuban-American hardliner Marco Rubio picked as Secretary of State, the incoming administration is expected to reverse the last-second moves.
To read more about Rubio and how his appointment as Secretary of State may affect Cuba policy, read our article HERE.
If you haven’t seen it, don’t miss our groundbreaking documentary about Biden’s Cuba policy, Uphill on the Hill.
Cuba was first unfairly included on the list in 1982 by the presidency of Ronald Reagan. Photo: EFE
Jan 14 (teleSUR) The US State Department on Tuesday removed Cuba from the spurious list of countries sponsoring terrorism, according to a statement issued by the White House.
In the document, the agency confirmed that “the United States maintains as a central objective of its policy the need to achieve greater freedom and democracy, greater respect for human rights, and greater freedom of enterprise in Cuba. To achieve these objectives, practical engagement with Cuba and the Cuban people will be necessary, going beyond what is described in the National Security Presidential Memorandum (NSPM-5) and taking into account recent developments in Cuba and the changing regional and global context.”
Accordingly, the White House announced that NSPM-5 is revoked, whereby “the Secretary of State will immediately rescind the list developed pursuant to Section 3(a)(i) of NSPM-5, and the Secretary of the Treasury will initiate a process to adjust current regulations as a result of this revocation of NSPM-5.”
At the beginning of January 2021, days before Donald Trump left the White House, Cuba was included in the list again, from which it had been removed by the Obama administration in 2015, during the period of bilateral rapprochement that took place at the end of the second term of this American politician.
Cuba was first included on the list in 1982 by President Ronald Reagan.
Havana, Jan 9 (Prensa Latina) Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez expressed Cuba’s solidarity with California, United States, on Thursday, in the face of the forest fires that have spread to that state and have killed at least five people.
“Our solidarity and empathy with #California, USA, in the face of the large-scale fires that have spread in that state and are causing loss of life and considerable material damage in several communities around the city of #LosAngeles,” Rodriguez wrote on X.
The magnitude of the fires, which already have around five active outbreaks (Palisades, Eaton, Hurst, Woodley and Lidia fires), spread rapidly due to the incidence of strong Santa Ana winds, causing the evacuation of at least 30,000 residents in areas of the Los Angeles community.
According to Los Angeles County Fire Department Chief Anthony C. Marrone, many people who ignored evacuation orders have significant injuries.
The flames have devastated Pacific Palisades and left an “apocalyptic” scene in the neighborhood, local media reported, whose images showed that several main roads in Los Angeles were jammed as local residents tried to flee, and many were forced to abandon their vehicles on the roads.
The Government of the United States assigned five Forest Service tanker planes and ten federal firefighting helicopters to quell the calls that are still out of control in the south of that US western state.
In addition, the Forest Service previously positioned dozens of fire trucks that are ready to be deployed as needed.
Havana, Jan 11 (Prensa Latina) Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez expressed gratitude on Saturday for the latest show of solidarity from the Indian Government with the Cuban people and authorities.
“We thank the Government of India for sending a shipment of medicines for the areas hit by Hurricane Rafael in Cuba,” the foreign minister wrote on his X profile.
“This solidarity aid is an example of the friendship that exists between the two nations,” he added.
On Friday, precisely, India reaffirmed its ties of friendship and cooperation with Cuba in the context of the celebration of the 65th anniversary of the establishment of good official relations between both States.
India was one of the first countries to recognize the Cuban State after the revolutionary victory in 1959, Ambassador in Havana Armstrong Changsan said at a ceremony at the Hotel Nacional de Cuba.
In statements to Prensa Latina, Changsan confirmed that a first shipment of medicines had left for Havana to help the victims of the two hurricanes that hit Cuba’s eastern and western regions at the end of last year.
Havana, Jan 13 (Prensa Latina) The Cuban Immunoessay Center signed an agreement for Cooperation in Scientific Research with the Engelhardt Institute of Molecular Biology (EIMB) of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS), it was revealed today.
According to several publications in the official profile of the Cuban institution in X, the agreement is focused on obtaining products that are priorities for medical, sanitary and public health care in both countries.
In this regard, the president of BioCubaFarma, Mayda Mauri, commented that the consolidation of these agreements is the expansion of the internationalization in the research-development activity, which constitutes a priority of attention for this entity in terms of science and innovation in this year 2025.
The Immunoessay Center is a High Technology company that researches, develops, produces and markets products and technologies for in vitro diagnosis, equipment and accessories intended for medical care and the research of hereditary-metabolic, transmissible and chronic non-transmissible diseases.
Another of its lines of work includes technical assistance to laboratories and training of the personnel who employ them in Cuba and in the rest of the world.
SUMA technology stands out among the products of this company and is a fundamental technological support for important national health programs such as the Maternal-Child program for prenatal care and control of mother-fetus transmission of pathologies such as HIV and hepatitis B, as well as in the discovery of congenital malformations.
Caracas, Jan 12 (Prensa Latina) On behalf of President Nicolás Maduro, Foreign Minister Yván Gil today thanked his Cuban counterpart, Bruno Rodríguez, for rejecting the call for intervention in Venezuela by former Colombian President Álvaro Uribe.
“Faced with the threats of a declining empire and its local accomplices, Venezuela is strengthened by the unconditional support of friends and allies in solidarity,” the senior diplomat wrote on his Telegram account.
Gil extended his most sincere thanks to Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez “for his firm rejection of irresponsible calls for military intervention, which threaten the life and peace of our peoples.”
Rodríguez stated in X that “the irresponsible requests for an international military intervention in Venezuela, made by various actors, are a serious fact that we reject and that, if this adventure were to go ahead, it would have considerable and unpredictable consequences for regional peace and security.”
The Bolivarian Minister for Foreign Affairs also valued what he called Iran’s “timely statements” in rejection of plans for military intervention and the hardening of unilateral coercive measures promoted by those who seek to destabilize peace.
He expressed his deep gratitude to the spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic, Esmail Baqai, for his message of congratulations to the Venezuelan people after the peaceful and democratic inauguration of Maduro on January 10.
In an event the day before in Cúcuta, Álvaro Uribe (2002-2010) called for “an international intervention, preferably endorsed by the United Nations,” to remove the legitimate constitutional government of Nicolás Maduro, who was sworn in as President for a new six-year term.
The former Colombian president’s statements were also joined on social network X by the fugitive from Venezuelan justice and resident abroad (Spain) Leopoldo López, who called for “seriously consider the proposal.”
The day before, at the closing ceremony of the International World Antifascist Festival, held in Caracas, Maduro called Uribe “a sad paramilitary character and drug trafficker, murderer, criminal and coward” and called on him to come to the front of the troops, show his face and not send others.
