The U.S. Department of State announced Tuesday that it is ordering the ejection of 15 Cuban employees from its embassy in Washington. The department said in a statement that the decision was made because of Cubaās āfailure to take appropriate steps to protect our diplomats,ā who experienced sonic attacks that affected the health of at…
Several U.S. diplomats had to leave Havana last year after they mysteriously started to lose their hearing, and officials said an advanced sonic weapon is to blame, The Associated Press reports. The hearing loss began in the fall of 2016, and a U.S. investigation determined that the diplomats had been attacked by a weapon that…
President Trump is preparing a sweeping executive order that would clear the way for the C.I.A. to reopen overseas āblack siteā prisons, like those where it detained and tortured terrorism suspects before former President Barack Obama shut them down. President Trumpās three-page draft order, titled āDetention and Interrogation of Enemy Combatantsā and obtained by The…
Fidel Castro, Cubaās former president and leader of the island nationās mid-20th century Communist revolution, passed away Saturday at age 90, state TV announced. After leading a guerrilla coup against Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista, Castro ruled the country as a one-party state for four-plus decades before stepping down in 2008 due to illness, handing over…
The Obama administration on Friday further lifted restrictions on Cuba, announcing that U.S. travelers can now bring back an unlimited amount of Cuban cigars and rum. The Treasury Departmentās move is just the latest step the administration has taken to normalize relations with Cuba. “In all cases, the Cuban-origin goods must be imported for personal…
Officials were bracing for Hurricane Matthew to hit Florida, as the storm was expected to regain Category 4 strength before making landfall. At 5 a.m. Wednesday, Matthew was located about 65 miles northwest of Cuba and was making its way north. The storm has killed nine people so far and left a damaged Haiti, still…
Donald Trumpās company officials were secretly doing business in Cuba during the U.S. embargo against the communist island-nation, according to a Newsweek report. An article by reporter Kurt Eichenwald posted early Thursday, citing documents he obtained, says Trump employees visited Havana during Fidel Castroās presidency and, despite the clear violation of federal law, spent at…
On Wednesday, JetBlue is inaugurating the first commercial jet service between the U.S. and Cuba, with a morning flight from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, to Santa Clara, Cuba. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx will be on the flight, signaling the historic nature of the first regular passenger fight between the U.S. and Cuba in 50 years. A…
Colombiaās government and the FARC rebels reached a final peace deal Wednesday, bringing to a close a 50-year-old guerrilla war. Cuba and Norway were mediators in the talks between the two parties and they said they have reached an accord to work to build a stable peace. The agreement foresees the demobilization of FARC and…
The Pentagon announced Monday that 15 detainees at the prison at Guantanamo Bay have been sent to the United Arab Emirates as part of the Obama administrationās plans to close the facility. Twelve of the prisoners transferred out are from Yemen, and three are from Afghanistan, an official told the Associated Press. āThe United States…
The Rolling Stones played a historic free gig Friday night in the country where their āsubversiveā music was once banned by the Communist ruling party. As many as a million peopleāone in every 11 Cubansāare expected to flock to the concert, which comes just three days after a groundbreaking visit to Havana by President Barack…
President Obama’s Speech To The People Of Cuba. Obama delivered an amazing and powerful speech to the people of Cuba today. Watch below.
President Obama Arrives in Cuba for Historic Trip to the Island Nation Watch LIVE COVERAGE of this historic visit. President Barack Obama arrives in Cuba on Sunday for a 48-hour visit, making history by venturing into what was once enemy territory and generating enthusiasm among Cubans who have seen their Communist government vilify 10 previous…
President Barack Obama is planning to attend the Tampa Bay Raysā exhibition game against the Cuban national baseball team in Havana this month, a White House official announced Tuesday. Ben Rhodes, deputy national security adviser for strategic communications and speechwriting, tweeted the news after Major League Baseball and the playersā association said they finalized details…
President Barack Obama on Tuesday will present a long-awaited plan to Congress to shut down the controversial detention facility at Guantanamo Bay. He is expected to discuss Guantanamo from the Roosevelt Room at 10:30 a.m. ET, the White House said. U.S. officials say the long-awaited plan, which has been on Obama’s agenda since he took…
President Barack Obama will be the first sitting U.S. President to visit Cuba in 88 years, when he visits Havana in March, White House press secretary Josh Earnest announced Thursday. The visit, which is scheduled for March 21-22, is another big step by the administration in ongoing efforts to normalize diplomatic relations with Cuba. The…
Pope Francis will meet with Patriarch Kyril, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, in Cuba this month. Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said the meeting, which will be the first in nearly 1,000 years to bring together the head of the Catholic and Russian Orthodox Church, was ābeautiful news.ā
President Barack Obama to meet with Cuba leader Raul Castro on Tuesday during the UN General Assembly. It will be his second face-to-face with the communist leader since the U.S. and Cuba restored diplomatic relations in late 2014.
Pope Francis will visit Cuba from September 19 to 22 as part of a tour that will later take him to the United States. He will give a mass on September 20 in Havana’s Plaza de la Revolucion, and he will also visit Holguin and Santiago de Cuba.
The White House is preparing new rules to temper the U.S. trade embargo on Cuba, allowing U.S. companies to establish offices in the island nation for the first time in more than 50 years, Reuters reported Thursday. The new rules, which could be announced as soon as Friday, would make it easier for airlines and…
Hillary Rodham Clinton will ask Congress on Friday to seize what she calls a “decisive moment” and lift the five-decade-old trade embargo against Cuba. The Democratic front runner was speaking Friday in South Florida, home to many Cuban-Americans. For years, it has been the base of powerful anti-Castro sentiment that has made the embargo untouchable,…
Cubaās official embassy in Washington will open its doors Monday as the island nation fully restored diplomatic relations with the U.S. at midnight. The U.S. Interests Section in Cuba has also transitioned into an official diplomatic mission, marking the first time the two countries have operated full-fledged embassies in Havana and Washington since they cut…
The United States and Cuba have agreed to open embassies in each other’s capitals, the biggest tangible step in the countries’ historic bid to restore ties after more than a half-century of hostilities. President Barack Obama is expected to announce the agreement Wednesday at the White House. The Cuban Foreign Ministry said the embassies in…
The White House announced Tuesday that it intends to remove Cuba from the American governmentās list of nations that sponsor terrorism, eliminating a major obstacle to the restoration of diplomatic relations after decades of hostilities.
Raw: Historic Handshake Between Obama, Castro President Barack Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro on Friday exchanged a historic handshake at the opening of the ‘Summit of the Americas’ in Panama. Obama has taken steps to normalise relations between the U.S. & Cuba. Cuba is still on the ‘State sponsors of Terror’ list, but many…
The State Department has released the latest evidence of normalizing relations with Cuba. In a tweet they wrote: Department of State ā@StateDept 2m2 minutes ago Secretary @JohnKerry shakes hands with Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno RodrĆguez on sidelines of Summit of the Americas. They attached this image
The US has reportedly confirmed that it enabled leader of the Cuban Five espionage agents to father a child from prison 2,245 miles away. In one of the more bizarre twists to last weekās diplomatic breakthrough, the US Justice Department has confirmed that the leader of a Cuban spy ring serving life in a California…
Cold War Update – Normalized Relations With Cuba. President Obama decides to lift America’s long-standing embargo against Cuba, thanks in part to Pope Francis.
Time for a new approach, Obama said. The United States is ending an outdated approach “that for decades has failed to advance U.S. interests” This will end over 50 years of isolationist policy towards Cuba making it possible to do business, and travel to the country.
The U.S. is starting talks with Cuba to normalize full diplomatic relations and open an embassy, according to U.S. officials. The expanded relationship would also open imports of Cuban cigars somewhat, according to a CNN report. Obama plans to overhaul Cuba’s policy while Cuba plans to free 53 political prisoners and to allow U.S. debit…
