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☆ For U.S. Cuban claims holders, spy Manuel Rocha's plea deal raises fresh questions
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-14 | by ( Michelle Caruso-Cabrera | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Raul Rubiera | Miami Herald | Getty ImagesWhen Carolyn Lamb saw news of Cuban spy Victor Manuel Rocha's arrest on the news last December, she recognized him immediately. The lower the value of the claims, the less the Cuban government would have to pay in any future negotiated settlement. Ashby assumed Rocha's paranoia about eavesdropping was in response to the George W. Bush administration's opposition to the Cuba claims buying business. But according to the Justice Department, by that point Rocha was already in his third decade as a Cuban agent. File photo of former US ambassador to Bolivia, Manuel Rocha, talking to the press on the 11th of July 2001.

Persons: V, Manuel Rocha, Steel Hector, Davis, Raul Rubiera, Carolyn Lamb, Victor Manuel Rocha's, Rocha, Lamb, Lamb's, Castro, Justin Solomon, CNBC Castro didn't nationalize, of Rocha, Fidel Castro's, It's, Jason Poblete, Poblete, John Kavulich, Sears Roebuck, Timothy Ashby, Ashby couldn't, Ashby, George W, Bush, Little, Covert, Gonzalo Espinoza Organizations: Miami Herald, Steel, Cuban, US State Department, National Security, Cuban Telephone Company, " Beverage Company, CNBC, Pepsi, General Electric, Century Fox, Cuba Trade, Economic Council, Justice Department, Citizen, State Department, National Security Council, DOJ, Cubans, FBI, AFP, Getty Locations: America, Omaha, Bolivia, Cuba, Havana, United States, Cuban, Rocha, Columbia, Dominican Republic, Honduras, Mexico, Argentina, Miami, Chile

☆ Cuba Charges 30 Over Massive Chicken Heist
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-10 | by ( Feb. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

HAVANA (Reuters) - Cuba has charged 30 people for stealing 133 tonnes of chicken and selling them on the street in a rare major heist at a time of food shortages in the communist-run nation. The chicken had been earmarked for Cuba`s "rationbook" system introduced after the late Fidel Castro's 1959 revolution to provide subsidized staples for all. Rigoberto Mustelier, director of government food distributor COPMAR, said the quantity stolen was the equivalent of a month`s ration of chicken for a medium-sized province at current distribution rates. The amount of chicken available via the rationbook has fallen sharply in recent years as economic crisis has brought scarcities of food, fuel and medicines. Authorities did not say when the chicken theft took place, but noted it likely occurred between midnight and 2 a.m., when they detected fluctuations in the temperature of the cold storage facility.

Persons: Fidel Castro's, Rigoberto Mustelier, Dave Sherwood, Andrew Cawthorne Organizations: TV, Authorities Locations: HAVANA, Cuba, Havana, Cuban

☆ Henry Kissinger, the towering American diplomat, dies at age 100
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Marty Steinberg | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +25 min

President Gerald Ford (left) and Secretary of State Henry Kissinger talk together in the Oval Office, February 19, 1975. In his 2001 book "The Trial of Henry Kissinger," social critic Christopher Hitchens called him a war criminal. North Vietnam's Le Duc Tho (left) and US National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger at the Paris peace talks, January 1973. Chairman Zedong of the People's Republic of China meets U. S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger on Nov. 12, 1973. On a helicopter during the period of shuttle diplomacy in the Middle East, Henry Kissinger talks to his wife, Nancy.

Persons: Henry Kissinger, —, Richard Nixon's, Kissinger, Richard Nixon, Richard Corkery, Duc Tho, Gerald Ford, Benjamin E, Ford, Warren Burger, Kissinger's, Paula, Gene, Forte, Seymour M, Hersh bashed Kissinger, Walter Isaacson's, Christopher Hitchens, Greg Grandin, Niall Ferguson, Kant, Clausewitz, Bismarck, Barry Gewen, Gewen, Elizabeth Holmes, Nixon, George Shultz, Holmes, Heinz Alfred Kissinger, Louis, Walter, Hitler, Kissingers, Fritz Kraemer, William Yandell Elliott, Spengler, Toynbee, Metternich, Castlereagh, Alfred Eisenstaedt, Mike Wallace, Wallace, Kennedy, Johnson, Republican Nelson Rockefeller, George Romney, Hubert Humphrey, Democratic Sen, George McGovern, McGovern, Nguyen Van Thieu, Reg Lancaster, Tho, Thieu, Mao, Gen, Agha Muhammad Yahya Khan, Nicolae Ceausescu, Zhou Enlai, Leonid Brezhnev, Andrei Gromyko, Dirck, Sen, Henry Jackson, Charles Vanik, Brezhnev, Spiro Agnew, Archibald Cox, Cox, Robert Bork, White, Alexander Haig, Anwar Sadat, David Hume Kennerly, Marxist Salvador Allende Gossens, Fidel Castro's, Martin Bernetti, Allende, Augusto Pinochet Ugarte, Pinochet, Ann Fleischer, Elizabeth, David, Nancy Maginnes, Rockefeller, Jill St, John, Candice Bergen, Shirley MacLaine, Liv Ullman, Diane Sawyer, , Napoleon, Nancy, David Rubinger, Maginnes, Moshe Dayan, Robert Dallek, Nixon's, Bob Woodward, Carl Bernstein, Paula Kissinger, Brooks Kraft Organizations: Gould, Kissinger Associates, National Security, Waldorf, Astoria, Richard Corkery | New York Daily, Forte, Soviets, State, Chief, New York, Theranos Inc, Economic, Nuremberg, George Washington High School, City College of New, Army, 84th Infantry Division, U.S ., Hesse . Harvard, Harvard, Confluence, Foreign, Eisenhower, Republican, Republican National Convention, Rockefeller and Michigan Gov, Democratic, District of Columbia, US National Security, Getty, Paris Peace, North, Nationalist, China, Bettmann, East Pakistan, of, U.S, Soviet Union ., Ballistic, Soviet, Washington, Egyptian Third Army, Department, West, Marxist, Museum, AFP, CIA, Israeli, Southern California Quaker, White, Partners, Power Locations: New York City, U.S, Connecticut, Richard Corkery | New, United States, Vietnam, Saigon, Viet, Soviet Union, Communist China, Israel, Egypt, Syria, Chile, Pakistan, Theranos, Ukraine, Russia, Davos, Switzerland, Fuerth, Germany, Bavarian, American, Nazi Germany, London, New York, City College of New York, Ahlem, Hanover, German, Krefeld, Hesse, Cambodia, Massachusetts, Haiphong, Paris, North, China, Washington, Taiwan, People's Republic of China, Beijing, Moscow, India, East, Bangladesh, Shanghai, USSR, Soviet, Kremlin, Dirck Halstead, Ohio, Saudi, Japan, Sinai, Alexandria, Cairo, Suez, Americas, Santiago, Cuba, Chilean, America, Europe, Virginia, Southern California

☆ Cuban family business produces flour from coconut and yucca amid shortages
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-28 | by ( Alien Fernandez | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] Entrepreneur Gabriel Perez, 38, poses for a photo as he checks slices of banana put to dry in his farmland in the rural outskirts of Havana, Cuba, November 22, 2023. REUTERS/Alexandre Meneghini Acquire Licensing RightsHAVANA, Nov 28 (Reuters) - On a small farm outside Havana, a Cuban family-run business produces gluten-free flour from banana, coconut and yucca, preferring locally-sourced ingredients to pricey imports as Cubans seek innovative solutions to a growing food crisis. His business, Bacoretto, dries and mills yucca, rice, banana and coconut into organic flour preferred by gluten-intolerant consumers, who have only recently been able to find food products tailored to their dietary needs in Cuba. Byproducts of their processes are used to make coconut oil, coconut-fiber rope, vinegar and fermented products and sweets, Perez told Reuters. It produces 6 to 8 kilograms (13.2 to 17.6 pounds) of flour a week, Perez said, in small batches, in addition to byproducts, with a staff of eight people.

Persons: Gabriel Perez, Alexandre Meneghini, Perez, Fidel Castro's, Alien Fernandez, Nelson Acosta, Bill Berkrot Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Havana, Cuba, Rights HAVANA, Caribbean

☆ EU human rights envoy in Cuba to discuss aftermath of 2021 protests
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

European Union's Special Representative for Human Rights, Eamon Gilmore, speaks during a meeting with Cuban authorities in Havana, Cuba, November 24, 2023. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, on a visit to Cuba earlier this year, announced Gilmore`s visit but told reporters the EU would not "impose" demands on the island`s government. Rights groups say around 1,000 Cubans were jailed for their political beliefs following the demonstrations and several subsequent protests. "No one is convicted for their political opinions," Cuba`s foreign ministry said prior to Gilmore`s visit on social media. "We call on the Cuban government to respect the human rights of everyone, including the rights of political prisoners and those unjustly detained."

Persons: Eamon Gilmore, Alexandre Meneghini, Gilmore, Josep Borrell, Fidel Castro's, Luis Barrios Díaz, la Torre, Barrios Diaz `, Dave Sherwood, Alien Fernandez Organizations: Human Rights, Cuban, REUTERS, Rights, EU, European Union, U.S, U.S ., Thomson Locations: Havana, Cuba, Rights HAVANA, United States, EU, Cuban

☆ Cuban clock maker keeps on ticking despite economic woes
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

HAVANA, Nov 10 (Reuters) - Cuban watchmaker Ernesto Barrios saw an opportunity to make up for lost time two years ago after authorities lifted a ban on private companies that had been in place since shortly after Fidel Castro's 1959 revolution. "We don't have to import any of our materials," he said. "Years ago there was a great diversity of Russian watches in Cuba and today that watch market is empty," he said. His "Made in Cuba" watches, he said, are on display in various hotels in Havana, as well as in some stores in the Cuban capital. Reporting by Nelson Acosta, editing by Dave Sherwood and Sandra MalerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Ernesto Barrios, Fidel Castro's, Luz, Barrios, Nelson Acosta, Dave Sherwood, Sandra Maler Organizations: Reuters, Thomson Locations: HAVANA, Cuban, Cuba, wristwatches, Havana, Soviet Union

☆ Mexico will help, provide oil to Cuba, Lopez Obrador says
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Mexico's President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and Chile's President Gabriel Boric (not pictured) deliver a statement to the media at La Moneda government palace in Santiago, Chile, September 10, 2023. REUTERS/Ivan Alvarado//File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsMEXICO CITY, Oct 16 (Reuters) - Mexico will help Cuba, including providing it with oil, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Monday. Mexico began regularly shipping crude oil to Cuba at the end of the first quarter of this year. "However we can help the people of Cuba, we're going to do it," said Lopez Obrador in a regular press conference. He said Mexico did not have to request permission from any foreign government to aid Cuba, which he said suffered from an "inhumane and unjust" embargo.

Persons: Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, Gabriel Boric, Ivan Alvarado, we're, Lopez Obrador, Fidel Castro's, Ana Isabel Martinez, Anthony Esposito Organizations: La, REUTERS, MEXICO CITY, Mexico, Thomson Locations: Santiago , Chile, MEXICO, Mexico, Cuba, Mexican, United States

☆ Cuba condemns EU Parliament resolution calling for sanctions against president
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

HAVANA, July 12 (Reuters) - Cuba's National Assembly said on Wednesday it "strongly condemns" a resolution by the European Parliament, which criticized the country's human rights record and called for EU sanctions against Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel and other top officials. "The European Parliament lacks the moral, political and legal authority to judge Cuba," Cuba's parliament said in a statement. The European Parliament resolution proposes "autocratic regimes should not participate in such summits" and strongly condemns Cuba's human rights record, saying this could jeopardize a 2016 cooperation deal between Cuba and the EU, its top trade partner. The European Parliament resolution said it "deeply deplores" this comment. In May, Borrell said the EU Special Representative for Human Rights, Eamon Gilmore, will visit the island in November to evaluate the consequences of the 2021 protests.

Persons: Miguel Diaz, Fidel Castro's, Josep Borrell, Borrell, Eamon Gilmore, Nelson Acosta, Sarah Morland, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: National, Cuban, EU, of, Caribbean, Communist, Cuba's National Assembly, Human Rights, Thomson Locations: HAVANA, Cuba, America, Caribbean, Brussels, Caribbean States, United States

☆ Cuba calls US nuclear submarine in Guantanamo Bay 'provocative escalation'
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( Nelson Acosta | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

HAVANA, July 11 (Reuters) - Cuban authorities on Tuesday said the U.S. recently had a nuclear-powered submarine at its military base at Guantanamo Bay and called the action a "provocative escalation" of tensions weeks after Washington alleged that there was a Chinese spy base on the island. Washington did not confirm that there was a submarine at the naval base. It said Cuba was looking to distract from the two-year anniversary of largest street protests seen in Cuba since Fidel Castro's 1959 revolution. Critics have said the Guantanamo Bay prison has been used for arbitrary detention and torture of people suspected of terrorism. In June, Havana and Beijing rejected reports citing U.S. officials alleging that China was using Cuba as a spy base.

Persons: Washington, Fidel Castro's, William LeoGrande, Critics, Nelson Acosta, Sarah Morland, Matt Spetalnick, David Gregorio Our Organizations: Washington, U.S . State Department, State Department, House, U.S . Department of Defense, Washington's American University, Reuters, United, Thomson Locations: HAVANA, U.S, Guantanamo, Chinese, Cuba, Cuban, China, Washington, Havana, Beijing, United States, Caribbean

☆ Cuba says US responsible for 2021 protests, biggest in decades
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( Nelson Acosta | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/4] People clash with plain clothes police during protests against and in support of the government, amidst the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Havana, Cuba July 11, 2021. "The United States has a direct responsibility for the disturbances of July 11 and 12, 2021," the Communist Party-run Granma newspaper said in a front-page editorial ahead of the anniversary of the protests. The U.S. State Department said it was not behind the 2021 protests and reiterated calls for the immediate release of some 700 Cuban political prisoners. "More than anything, this editorial reflects the state of relations between the United States and Cuba," said Arturo Lopez-Levy, a foreign relations expert at the Autonomous University of Madrid. Two years after the protests, some Cuban emigres have called for events to commemorate the date.

Persons: Alexandre Meneghini, Fidel Castro's, Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Arturo Lopez, Levy, Lopez, Nelson Acosta, Sarah Morland, Matt Spetalnick, Bill Berkrot Organizations: REUTERS, Communist Party, White, Cuba, U.S . State Department, Cuban, European Union, Autonomous University of Madrid, Thomson Locations: Havana, Cuba, HAVANA, United States, Washington, U.S, Cuban

☆ Cuban lawmakers vote for president amid crisis, no change expected
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

HAVANA, April 19 (Reuters) - Cuban lawmakers convened on Wednesday to appoint a new president for the next five years, at a time of social and economic crisis near unprecendented since Fidel Castro's 1959 revolution. Lawmakers and the newly elected leaders will face daunting challenges during their coming five-year term. Candidates for president and legislative leaders were proposed in secret by lawmakers prior to Wednesday's session, then vetted by a National Candidacy Commission. The 470 lawmakers slated to vote were elected on March 26 in a popular ballot with no opposition candidates. The newly elected president is scheduled to address the nation later in the day.

☆ In pioneering workshops, U.S. trains Cuban entrepreneurs to do business
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Dave Sherwood | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/3] Cuban entrepreneurs Maria Puga and Ana Torres pose for a photo at their atelier in Havana, Cuba, April 3, 2023. "Cuba's state-run economy has traditionally not delivered, and recently has delivered even less," Ziff said in an interview. The United States, which says it operates "transparently" in Cuba, is not alone in seeking to promote Cuba's fledgling private sector. Diplomat Ziff said the United States was seeking ways to ease the burden of U.S. sanctions on private business but in a way that would not inadvertently benefit the Cuban government. "The biggest impediment to doing business in Cuba is the Cuban government," Ziff said.

☆ Cuba suffers third major blackout in a week
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

HAVANA, Cuba, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Cuba on Tuesday suffered its third major blackout in little more than a week, leaving a vast swath of the center and east of the island without power, energy officials said on state-run TV. The blackout Tuesday spanned 430 miles (700 km) from Cienfuegos province in south-central Cuba to Guantanamo, on the far southeastern tip, leaving more than half of the country´s population of 11 million without power. On Saturday, another blackout cut power for millions of people from Matanzas, east of Havana, to Guantanamo, an outage power officials attributed to a "human operation error." The Minister of Energy and Mines said last week that rolling blackouts would resume and last until May while the country overhauls decades-old oil-fired power plants ahead of the summer season. Cold War-era embargo on Cuba, which complicates financing and purchase of parts, fuel and capital investment.

☆ Chaos and intrigue reign in UK court fight over Castro-era Cuban debt
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( Michelle Caruso-Cabrera | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

The Cuban government and an investment firm are battling in a British court over decades-old debts racked up by the communist-run island nation. Kin Cheung | APIllegally recorded videos, chaotic protests and testimony from an imprisoned Cuban bank official marked the first week of a high-stakes trial in the UK High Court between Cuba and an investment fund. Adding to the intrigue: a court attendee who's a dead ringer for Raul Castro's son and Fidel Castro's nephew, Alejandro. Cuban officials say the man is just a press officer for the Cuban Embassy in the UK. Debt in distressDefaulted sovereign debt, like that of Cuba, trades on the secondary market.

☆ 'Deadly' double agent Ana Montes who was a US spy for communist Cuba freed from prison after 20 years
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-08 | by ( Bethany Dawson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Ana Montes, seen as "one of the most damaging spies" in US history, has been released from prison. When she was working a clerical job at the Department of Justice, Cuban authorities identified her as someone who would be sympathetic to their cause. She was able to pass highly sensitive information over to Cuban authorities through memory alone. "She compromised everything — virtually everything — that we knew about Cuba and how we operated in Cuba and against Cuba," Van Cleave said. Chris Simmons, a former investigator with the DIA, described Montes as "a very deadly woman, a very dangerous woman," NBC reported.

☆ Cuba says U.S. greenlights MLB players for World Baseball Classic
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

HAVANA, Dec 24 (Reuters) - Cuba said on Saturday the United States had granted permission for some of its top ballplayers to participate in the World Baseball Classic on the national team. The team will be the first since Fidel Castro's 1959 Revolution to include Cuban players from both countries. Vice Foreign Minister Carlos Fernandez de Cossio told Reuters earlier this month the United States was blocking some of Cuba's top players from participating in the Classic. Cuba has asked several players who in recent years had defected from the Caribbean island - long famed for its baseball talent - to represent their home country in the event. As a result, Cuba's baseball talent has fled the country in unprecedented numbers in the past decade, emptying dugouts and denting national pride.

☆ Backstage, stars shine at Cuba's National Ballet
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/5] Ballet dancers react backstage as they perform "Giselle" during the 27th Alicia Alonso International Ballet Festival of Havana, at the National Theatre, in Havana, Cuba, October 30, 2022. REUTERS/Alexandre MeneghiniHAVANA, Nov 18 (Reuters) - Cuba's National Ballet, founded in 1948 in Havana, became a pet project of Fidel Castro's 1959 revolution. Castro gave aspiring dancers free training, underwrote the companies' infrastructure, and cemented the national ballet's reputation for beauty and talent. Communist-led Cuba is struggling through economic crisis but its talented dancers continue to practice and perform. Reporting by Alexandre Meneghini, Writing by Dave Sherwood, Editing by Rosalba O'BrienOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Cuba and U.S. spar over U.N. resolution calling to end embargo
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

HAVANA, Nov 3 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden's administration on Thursday voted against a U.N. General Assembly resolution calling for an end to the U.S. economic embargo on Cuba, leaving relations frosty between the two longtime rivals. The non-binding resolution was approved by 185 countries and opposed only by the United States and Israel, with Brazil and Ukraine abstaining. It was the 30th time the United Nations has voted to end the embargo. "Cuba does not need lessons on democracy and human rights, much less from the United States," Gala said. "If the United States government was really interested in the welfare, human rights and self-determination of Cubans, it could lift the blockade."

☆ Cuba hosts first U.S. business conference in years, seeks investment
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Marc Frank | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] Cuba's Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Carlos Fernandez de Cossio listens to Phil Peters, founder of FocusCuba, during a conference in Havana, Cuba, October 26, 2022. "Almost everything we do is with the new booming private sector," said Cuban-American Hugo , whose Miami-based Fuego Enterprises Inc (FUGI.PK) operates an online food market that processes 4,000 orders in Cuba per day. "It is important American businesses see this for themselves," said Cancio, who was attending the conference. The Biden administration has loosened some restrictions on Cuba around remittances, tourism and migration. It has also expressed interest in supporting Cuba's private sector.

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