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Drug smuggling a risk if US relations with Cuba shift, officials say
Drug smuggling a risk if US relations with Cuba shift, officials say By Patrick Oppmann, CNN Updated 1005 GMT (1805 HKT) June 12, 2017 Havana, Cuba (CNN)For Cuban officials on the front lines of the fight against drug trafficking, the Trump administration’s threat to roll back improved relations between the United States and the communist-run […] Continue reading
Havana: Clandestine Business Deals, Poverty and Glamor
Havana: Clandestine Business Deals, Poverty and Glamor / Iván García Ivan Garcia, 26 April 2017 — When night falls, it’s not advisable to walk through certain neighborhoods in Havana. Like the one from El Curita Park, on Reina and Galiano, up to the corner of Monte and Cienfuegos. In addition to the disagreeable odor from […] Continue reading
Social justice in Cuba? No racism?
Commentary: Social justice in Cuba? No racism? Javier Garcia-Bengochea Guest Columnist Privacy Policy It ain’t what you don’t know that hurts you. It’s what you think you know that just ain’t so … Hall of Fame pitcher Satchel Paige paraphrasing Mark Twain. It’s called fake news. For decades, Cuba has promoted a false narrative regarding […] Continue reading
The Thousand Faces of “Journalism”
The Thousand Faces of “Journalism” / Miriam Celaya Cubanet, Miriam Celaya, Havana, 29 March 2017 – An opinion piece published in recent days by El Nuevo Herald gives me a disturbing feeling of déjà vu. It is not the subject – overflowing with a number of articles by different authors – but its focal point, […] Continue reading
The secrets of Santería lie deep in these Cuban families
The secrets of Santería lie deep in these Cuban families BY MIMI WHITEFIELD mwhitefield@miamiherald.com PALMIRA, CUBA José Entenza Montalvo, a babalawo, or priest, shows the faded handwritten books, some more than a century old, where special knowledge of medicinal herbs and plants and the names of those initiated as babalawos are recorded. For Entenza, the […] Continue reading
The Socioeconomic Legacy Of Fidel Castro
The Socioeconomic Legacy Of Fidel Castro / Miriam Leiva ABC International, Miriam Leiva, 26 November 2016 — Fidel Castro left Cuba in disastrous economic conditions after exerting absolute power for more than 47 years. His brother received a country “on the precipice” on 31 July 2006. Raul Castro has had to eliminate the “genial” initiatives […] Continue reading
Cuba’s Surge in Tourism Keeps Food Off Residents’ Plates
Cuba’s Surge in Tourism Keeps Food Off Residents’ Plates By AZAM AHMEDDEC. 8, 2016 HAVANA — For Lisset Felipe, privation is a standard facet of Cuban life, a struggle shared by nearly all, whether they’re enduring blackouts or hunting for toilet paper. But this year has been different, in an even more fundamental way, she […] Continue reading
Fidel Castro is dead
Fidel Castro is dead BY GLENN GARVIN ggarvin@MiamiHerald.com Fidel Castro, who towered over his Caribbean island for nearly five decades, a shaggy-bearded figure in combat fatigues whose long shadow spread across Latin America and the world, is dead at age 90. His brother Raul announced the death late Friday night. Millions cheered Fidel Castro on […] Continue reading
What’s next for Fidel Castro’s large immediate family in Cuba?
What’s next for Fidel Castro’s large immediate family in Cuba? BY JUAN O. TAMAYO El Nuevo Herald The death of Fidel Castro has raised uncomfortable questions about the future of his immediate family, a group remarkable both for its size — at least seven, and maybe up to 11 sons and daughters — and for […] Continue reading
Cuba historian confirms military taking over operations
Cuba historian confirms military taking over operations BY MARIO J. PENTÓN AND LUZ ESCOBAR mpenton@elnuevoherald.com HAVANA In the early 1990s, with Havana in ruins and Cuba mired in a devastating economic crisis, the island’s government granted historian Eusebio Leal Spengler and his office broad and rare powers to return Old Havana to its former glory. […] Continue reading
Travel, Whatever the Cost
Travel, Whatever the Cost / 14ymedio, Marcelo Hernandez The “last minute” terminal in Havana for the purchase of interprovincial bus and train tickets. (14ymedio) 14ymedio, Marcelo Hernandez, Havana, 18 July 2016 – “Give me the suitcase, I’m off to the countryside,” says the chorus of a tune that gets more popular during the school holidays. […] Continue reading
Minister Abelito’s Second Go-Round
Minister Abelito’s Second Go-Round / 14ymedio, Ernesto Santana 14ymedio, Ernesto Santana, Havana, 11 July 2016 — At the end of his first stint as Minister of Culture (1997-2012), comments were frequently heard about Abel Prieto’s desire to leave the job. The most practical said it was due to illness, the most romantic claimed he wanted […] Continue reading
Backlash in Cuba
Backlash in Cuba Obama’s historic visit was a smash hit in Havana. Fidel Castro wasn’t going to take that lying down. By ANN LOUISE BARDACH June 10, 2016 HAVANA—These days Fidel Castro doesn’t often leave his comfortable home in Siboney, a leafy suburb west of this city. But on April 19, the 89-year-old Cuban leader […] Continue reading
Cuba, a failed experiment
Cuba, a failed experiment Terry SavageContact Reporter If you ever wondered what a country would look like after 50 years of total government economic controls, you need only to make a trip to Cuba, which I did last week. The history of that nation is a story with endless political ramifications, both for those who […] Continue reading
Why Cuban cab drivers earn more than doctors
Why Cuban cab drivers earn more than doctors by Johnny Harris on October 26, 2015 On his worst days, Rafa, a Cuban taxi driver, makes $60 from all his rides. A doctor in Cuba makes around $45 in a month. The colossal disparity between these two salaries is one of the many perplexing realities of […] Continue reading
Want to Invest in Cuba? Meet Your Partner, Castro’s Son-in-Law
Want to Invest in Cuba? Meet Your Partner, Castro’s Son-In-Law Michael SmithSep 30, 2015 12:01 am ET (Bloomberg) — Omar Everleny Pérez
is eager to show me how far Raúl Castro’s overhaul of Cuba’s socialist economy has advanced, and so, on a muggy evening in August, the 54-year-old economist invites me into his home in […] Continue reading
Want to Do Business in Cuba? All Roads Lead to Raúl Castro’s SonLaw
Want to Do Business in Cuba? All Roads Lead to Raúl Castro’s Son-in-Law Things are changing rapidly in Cuba, and people from around the world are eager to get in on the action. Wait until they meet their new partner. September 30, 2015 Michael Smith Propaganda outside Mariel, a new base for private investment. The […] Continue reading
Gangs in Havana, Crime Gains Ground
Gangs in Havana, Crime Gains Ground / Cubanet, Ernesto Perez Chang Posted on August 23, 2015 The landscape could become very similar to those found in Central American countries where the issue is out of control Cubanet.org, Ernesto Perez Chang, Havana 20 August 2015 – Hector arrived in Havana at the end of 2005. He […] Continue reading
Why N.J. Cuban-Americans Menendez & Sires detest Obama’s Cuba policy
Why N.J. Cuban-Americans Menendez & Sires detest Obama’s Cuba policy Jonathan D. Salant | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com on August 09, 2015 at 8:00 AM, updated August 09, 2015 at 12:54 PM WASHINGTON — It is said that politics stops at the water’s edge. For U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez and Rep. Albio Sires, that’s […] Continue reading
Cuba – Transforming a Revolution
Cuba: Transforming a Revolution Castro and Obama balance gradual normalization with showing benefits for both US and Cuba Patricia Alejandro YaleGlobal, 23 July 2015 CAMBRIDGE, MA: During the 1990s, the popular assumption was that most Cubans, if they had a choice, would leave their country for the United States in a heartbeat. Today, while many […] Continue reading
Opening for Business
Opening for Business A former Marielito positions himself as an entrepreneur in the new Cuba. BY JON LEE ANDERSON One night not long ago, in a new restaurant in Havana called VIPs, the owner, a white-haired Catalan named Jordi, was speculating about what life might be like in Cuba after a reconciliation with the United […] Continue reading
Betting On Cuba’s Economic Future As Havana Becomes Las Vegas Again
Betting On Cuba’s Economic Future As Havana Becomes Las Vegas Again Steven Dudash , Contributor For most Americans, Cuba is an isolated third-world island country with a backward economy and a regrettable political and human rights record. After 56 years of the Castro regime, this reputation has been well-earned, but there was a time when […] Continue reading
Cuba – Private Sector Entrepreneurs Feel Smothered by the Government
Cuba: Private Sector Entrepreneurs Feel Smothered by the Government / Ivan Garcia Posted on June 24, 2015 Iván García, 17 June 2015 — Amid spider webs and musty smells, in a corner of his garage where things that no longer work go to retire, Leonardo has stacked molds for making candies and desserts. There are […] Continue reading
Cuba on the cusp
Cuba on the cusp Like it or not Cuba is changing, and it is changing fast By Matthew Emery Cuba is a country of contradiction and ambiguity, stunning landscape and architectural deterioration, of endearing calm and relentless angst. It is, in effect, a national catch-22 caught in a revolutionary time warp long past its prime. […] Continue reading
Invest in the Riskiest Economies of Latin America?
Invest in the Riskiest Economies of Latin America? Analysis of the investment horizon of the riskiest economies in Latin America according to David Osio, CEO of Davos Financial Group MIAMI–(BUSINESS WIRE)– For large and small investors, economies that offer alarming news about their environment may also provide investment opportunities or production sectors with particularly attractive […] Continue reading
In Cuba, prosperity will require changes to government control
In Cuba, prosperity will require changes to government control By Karen DeYoung February 14 at 3:30 AM HAVANA — When Cuba was hit with rolling blackouts a decade ago, Fidel Castro decided to save energy by ordering everyone on the island to switch from incandescent to fluorescent lighting. Millions, perhaps billions, of bulbs were ordered […] Continue reading
5 ways Cuba-US agreement will make waves
5 ways Cuba-US agreement will make waves The historic opening between the two countries could have an impact on travel and business in the long-term, though changes are likely to happen gradually. By Whitney Eulich, Staff writer DECEMBER 19, 2014 MEXICO CITY — US President Barack Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro made history this […] Continue reading
Cuba’s currency unification
Analysis: Cuba’s currency unification By Domingo Amuchastegui Cuba’s reforms and changes, aiming at a complete redesign of its rigid, state-controlled socialist experience, has come to a point of no return. There’s no turning back, and the Achilles Heel of this present stage is the effort to put an end to the two-tier currency system, with […] Continue reading
Blacks and Mixed-Race Still Marginalized in Cuba
Blacks and Mixed-Race Still Marginalized in Cuba / Ivan Garcia Posted on May 5, 2014 Every summer since 2009, in line with the economic openings of General Castro, Gerald, the owner of a photography business, has rented a room in a hotel in Varadero for 5 nights. Gerald, a white man married to a mixed-race […] Continue reading
Tampa investors long to reconnect with Cuba
Tampa investors long to reconnect with Cuba By Paul Guzzo | Tribune Staff Published: April 6, 2014 TAMPA — Few lost more than the Lykes family of Tampa when Fidel Castro came to power in 1958 and nationalized Cuba’s private property. Their 15,000-acre spread in Oriente province had been identified by Fortune magazine a few […] Continue reading
Communist Cuba to see rare political reform campaign
Communist Cuba to see rare political reform campaign Havana (AFP) – A campaign seeking political change in one-party Communist Cuba will soon be launched with backing from domestic and international groups, a prominent dissident announced Wednesday. The campaign seeks to gather the 10,000 signatures necessary under Cuban law to submit a constitutional reform measure to […] Continue reading