On January 5, 2000, the U.S. government decided to send 6-year-old Elián González back to his family in Cuba. After a dangerous boat trip from Cuba to Florida—which his mother did not survive and he completed in the end on an inner-tube—Elián in 1999 became a controversy between the United States and Cuba: should he […]
Cuba’s Tropicana nightclub marks 70th anniversary (Reuters) The Tropicana, Havana’s pre-revolution international celebrity haunt, celebrated its 70th anniversary on December 30, its future bright as a money-maker for the Cuban government. Under Fidel Castro, most such establishments in Cuba were closed during the 1960s. But the Tropicana, with its scantily-clad female dancers in feathers and […]
Jorge Castaneda is a policymaker and professor of great interest who writes about Mexico and Latin America as a whole. During my time working in Washington DC, it seemed like he put off many policymakers inside the Beltway during his time as Mexico’s Foreign Minister as part of the Fox Administration from 2000 to 2003. […]
After the detention in Cuba this month of a U.S. government contractor distributing cell phones and laptops, Congress has called new attention to the secretive pro-democracy program that ballooned under the George W. Bush administration and funded this contractor’s mission on the island. House Representative Howard Berman (D-California) and Senator John Kerry (D-Massachusetts) in particular […]
The twilight of 2009 gave cause to celebrate for gay rights activists in Latin America. Same-sex marriage was legalized in Mexico City ten days ago to campaigners’ chants of “yes we can.” In a separate motion the city assembly also sanctioned adoption by gay couples. Then, in Ushuaia, Argentina’s southernmost city, Alex Freyer and José […]
The holiday season is less of an affair in Cuba than elsewhere: only in 1990 did the regime remove references to atheism from its constitution, and it was not until 1998—after Pope John Paul II visited the island and met with Fidel—that December 25 was restored as a national holiday. Still, New Year’s Eve (tonight) […]
Following a Juanes concert in Havana this year and a more recent Kool and the Gang performance there, Carlos Varela—sometimes known as the Cuban Bob Dylan—is the latest example of the musical and cultural exchanges that have been allowed to expand under the Obama administration. At the highest levels of government, relations remain strained between […]
Above: a report on the exchange this month between the Pope and the new Cuban ambassador to the Vatican. Interesting fact: the U.S. ambassador in the Holy City is also Cuban. Miguel Díaz, a well-respected Catholic theologian born in Cuba, was named by the Obama administration earlier this year.
As the U.S. band Kool and the Gang played in Havana this weekend, Raúl Castro made his annual address to the Cuban Councils of State and Ministers. Many had looked forward to the former event as the most recent of several cultural exchanges between the United States and Cuba that indicate improving ties between the […]
Every year at about this time gadflies of the region indulge in the publication of the Latinobarómetro poll. The survey chronicles opinion on a spate of questions among 18 Latin American nations. This year (the survey focus changes a bit every year) views on democracy and the free market formed the basis of pollster’s questions. […]
Even as many foreign partners have seen their funds in Cuba frozen and had great trouble this year transferring profits and funds abroad, they seem to be sticking around. In July 2008, the government said there were 246 foreign investment projects in the country; now state media reports 258 joint venture and other investment projects […]
Above, see the full Great Decisions Television episode on Cuba from this fall. Overview Cuba has had a difficult year as its economy suffered from (1) the lingering effects of three hurricanes in 2008 and (2) the strain that continuing global economic downturn has had on state coffers as exports and foreign investment declined. The […]
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