Nov 4 (Belly of the Beast) The U.S. presidential election is just one day away, and Trump is vying to return to the White House.
As president, he launched an unprecedented economic war on Cuba that contributed to destroying its economy. Instead of reversing Trump’s policies, Biden embraced them.
Do Trump’s rank-and-file supporters support his hard-line policy toward Cuba? Are they even aware of it?
Would Kamala Harris continue Biden’s Trumpian Cuba policy or return to Obama’s engagement?
Belly of the Beast journalist Liz Oliva Fernández tries to answer those questions and more HERE
Havana, Nov 6 (RHC) The President of the National Assembly of People’s Power (Parliament) of Cuba, Esteban Lazo, has arrived in Beijing today to conclude his official visit, which will last until November 12.
Lazo will hold bilateral meetings with the leaders of the government, the Communist Party of China, and Zhao Leji, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, the highest legislative body in China.
Tomorrow he will meet with the main authorities of the country, and then travel to Shandong Province, where he will visit places of socio-economic and cultural interest, and engage in bilateral dialogues with the leaders of the region.
The Cuban delegation also includes Susely Morfa González, member of the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and the head of its Department of Social Affairs; Mayra Arevich Marín, the Minister of Communications; leaders of parliamentary committees, and other officials.
As part of their tour of Asia, the representatives of the Caribbean island previously visited Vietnam and Laos. (Source: PL)
Oct 30 (Belly of the Beast) Since 2017, Cuba has been subject to a barrage of U.S. sanctions imposed by Donald Trump and largely kept in place by Joe Biden.
Among the most damaging has been the activation of an obscure but potent provision known as Title III. Part of the 1996 Helms-Burton Act, Title III allows U.S. claimants whose property was nationalized during the Cuban Revolution to sue companies for doing business on that property.
In 2022, a Miami judge ruled that four major cruise liners owed $439.2 million dollars to a company led by the grandson of Sosthenes Behn, a Nazi-connected telecommunications tycoon who had held a lease – now expired – to operate a cargo business on three piers in Havana.
It was the first successful Title III lawsuit against a company doing business in Cuba and contributed to chilling investment toward Cuba.
Last week, a federal appeals court overturned the ruling.
Belly of the Beast journalists Reed Lindsay and Daniel Montero exposed the politics and lobbying behind the law enabling the lawsuit and its ruinous impact on Cuba.
Read the article, originally published in The Miami New Times, HERE.
Tehran, Nov 2 (Prensa Latina) The development of bilateral cooperation is part of Iranian Minister of Communications and Technology Seyed Satar Hashemi’s agenda, based on technological diplomacy, during his visit to Cuba, an official source reported on Friday.
Facilitating and expanding cooperation between private companies from Iran and Venezuela, as well as communications and information technologies, is one of the topics of the meetings between the minister with his counterpart and other top officials from that South American country, according to a dispatch from the official news agency IRNA circulating in this capital.
At the end of his stay in Venezuela, Hashemi, who is heading delegation that is expanding cooperation with the Caribbean countries, will travel to Cuba, where he will meet with his counterparts from Communications and Trade Development, the source added.
The visitor and hosts plan to sign a memorandum of understanding on postal cooperation between Tehran and Havana, which might significantly increase the volume of trade between the two countries, IRNA pointed out.
Brussels, Nov 1 (Prensa Latina) The European Union defended the lifting of the US blockade against Cuba, saying that this would facilitate the economic opening of the country, benefiting the people.
After the United Nations General Assembly again called for the end of the blockade against Cuba, the EU said that the measure has a detrimental impact on the country’s economic situation.
The EU believes that lifting the blockade may facilitate the opening of the Cuban economy for the benefit of the people, stressed the delegation to the United Nations, which added that foreign trade and foreign investment in Cuba are damaged by the legislative framework approved by the United States in 1962.
The request of the United Nations General Assembly last Wednesday was again forceful in its demand to end the blockade against Cuba with 187 votes in favor, two against (the United States and Israel) and the abstention of Moldova.
Since 1992, the General Assembly has maintained a firm and almost unanimous stance against US blockade on Cuba, whose total losses are estimated at 499 billion dollars over more than six decades.
Hanoi, Nov 2 (Prensa Latina) The chairman of Vietnam’s National Assembly (Parliament), Tran Thanh Man, reaffirmed on Saturday his country’s will to deepen “the special, exemplary, and faithful ties of solidarity between Vietnam and Cuba”.
Sixty-four years after Havana and Hanoi established diplomatic relations, the close ties historically cemented by President Ho Chi Minh and the historic leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro, have continuously developed into an exceptional bond of high political trust, Thanh Man underscored when receiving Cuban National People’s Power Assembly (ANPP) Chairman, Esteban Lazo.
The leader of the Vietnamese Legislature pointed out that the regular exchange of visits, overcoming all geographical distances, is of great importance to further consolidate and develop this special relationship, which is getting stronger every day.
Thanh Man voiced gratitude to the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC), the State, the National Assembly, and the Cuban people for the deep love professed to late General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV), Nguyen Phu Trong, whose funeral rites Lazo personally attended.
The Cuban ANPP Speaker, in turn, referred to the importance of his working visit, which comes at significant moment for the bilateral political and economic ties.
Lazo agreed with his host that the exchange of high-level delegations contributes to strengthening and demonstrating the will to develop relations between the two countries, especially between their legislative bodies.
Prior to talks, Tranh Man, Lazo, and their respective delegations, visited a photo exhibition in the main hall of the National Assembly, depicting main events during high-level mutual visits over the last decades.
Port-au-Prince, Nov 2 (Prensa Latina) The Communication Unit of the State University of Haiti (UEH) announced today that a group of students and their professors will travel to Cuba as part of the CUBAYITI research project.
CUBAYITI “National Constructions and Anthropology of Cuba and Haiti” brings together researchers from the Languages, Discours, Représentations (Ladirep) laboratory and Cuban academics from the Cuban Institute of Anthropology and the Juan Marinello Cultural Research Institute.
Also participating in this project are French experts from the Migration and Societies Research Unit, Université Paris Cité and Université Côte d’Azur, the digital newspaper Haiti Libre reported.
The intensive course will be held from November 4 to 8 at the venue of the Alliance Française in Havana.
All students will have the opportunity to present their research projects.
According to the newspaper, the event is organized under the motto “National identities and endogenous otherness: an approach from the epistemologies of the South.”
During their stay, participants will attend lectures, practical workshops and do group work monitored by supervisors.
Professors will discuss with their Cuban and French counterparts the progress of their respective areas of the joint research project.
Havana, Oct 28 (Prensa Latina) Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister Anayansi Rodríguez on Monday the style letters from Ambassadors Marianick Tremblay (Canada) and Nakamura Kazuhito (Japan).
The ceremonies took place at the headquarters of the Cuban Foreign Ministry.
Cuba and Canada established diplomatic relations in 1945, and have maintained major economic ties.
For many years, Canada has been one of Cuba’s major tourist-sending markets.
Cuba and Japan, in turn, established diplomatic relations for the first time on December 21, 1929, but they were severed during World War II.
That suspension lasted until November 21, 1952, when authorities from both nations agreed to reestablish official ties.
The two states now enjoy strong relations, according to various statements by their governments, which have also reiterated their willingness to work to increase and diversify friendship and cooperation.
Havana, Nov 1 (Prensa Latina) The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Tanzania, Mahmoud Thabit Kombo, is beginning a working visit to Cuba, the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced.
According to the statement, “the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Eastern Africa of the United Republic of Tanzania, His Excellency Mr. Mahmoud Thabit Kombo” will conclude his visit on the 5th of November.
The agenda of the Tanzanian Foreign Minister includes “conversations with Cuban authorities and other activities of interest.”
Cuba established diplomatic relations with Tanzania in 1962 and shortly after, in 1964, began to provide assistance to that country, mainly in the areas of Education and Health.
Tanzania, located on the east coast of Central Africa, supports Cuba’s fight against the United States’ blockade, which hinders the economic growth and social development of the island.
Mexico’s President, Claudia Sheinbaum, speaks at a press conference at the National Palace in Mexico City Oct 31, 2024 Photo: EFE
The Mexican president also recalled that Mexico has maintained a historic position against the U.S. blockade of Cuba, stating: “We have never been in favor of the blockade. We will be supportive for humanitarian reasons.”
Oct 31 (teleSUR) In an act of solidarity and humanitarian support, the government of Mexico has sent 400,000 barrels of oil to Cuba. This gesture comes at a critical time for the island, which faces serious difficulties with its national electricity system, as well as the crisis emerging after the impact of Hurricane Oscar.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum confirmed the shipment on Thursday, underlining the importance of this aid: “Yes, it’s 400,000 barrels. Just to give you an idea, Mexico produces between 1.6 and 1.8 million barrels a day, so this amount represents less than one day of production,” Sheinbaum explained, emphasizing that the decision responds to humanitarian reasons and Mexico’s commitment to international solidarity.
The Mexican president also recalled that Mexico has maintained a historic position against the U.S. blockade of Cuba, stating: “We have never been in favor of the blockade. We will be supportive for humanitarian reasons.”
This support is part of a broader context, as Mexico voted in favor of lifting the blockade at the UN General Assembly.
On October 23, Sheinbaum announced her intention to send fuel to the island to help with the recovery of the electricity system, which suffered a significant disconnect on October 18.
According to local reports, the tanker Vilma left the port of Pajaritos in Veracruz for Cuba last Sunday, transporting light crude oil, which is highly valued on the market.
