Topic: Cuba

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Latin America Monitor What's the role of Afro-Colombian and Colombian women in the FARC peace talks?

Colombian women have faced internal displacement, militarization, sexual violence, and the forced recruitment of their children into the conflict. Their input is vital at the negotiating table, says a WOLA blogger.
IKEA apologizes for using forced labor to make furniture

IKEA 'deeply regrets' using forced labor of political prisoners in East Germany to make some of its furniture during the 1980s, the company's country manager in Germany said. Embarrassed by media reports, IKEA launched an internal investigation a year ago into whether it had used forced labor behind the Iron Curtain.
A role reversal as former colonies meet former colonists at Ibero-American summit

Spain and Portugal, once the heavy hitters in the annual meeting of Iberian and Latin American nations, are now looking to their one-time colonies for help amid their debt crisis.
The Monitor's View China's new leaders can't rule by pedigree

Xi Jinping, the new leader of the Communist Party, takes power along with others as descendants of Mao's revolutionary elite. But China needs rulers open to change, not those who cling to hereditary privilege.
The Dutch woman who ran away with Colombia's FARC

Tanja Nijmeijer moved to Colombia in 2002 where she joined the FARC guerrillas in their fight against the Colombian state. She will be a part of their negotiating team during peace talks in Cuba this month.
Latin America Monitor How will Cuban Americans impact Obama's Cuba policies in his second term?

Cuban Americans voted for Obama in record numbers, signifying a shift in this constituency's views on US policies in Cuba.
Latin America Monitor Obama won record Cuban American vote

Exit polls demonstrate that, for the first time in over half a century, engaging Cuba is no longer the political liability it once was.
Latin Americans love Obama – so why the 'collective shrug' on reelection?

Obama is considered more popular in Latin America than his predecessor. But the region's self-confidence makes it feel far less buffeted by a particular president's outlook.
Latin America Monitor Cuban waters come up dry on oil

International oil companies have been searching for crude off the coast of Cuba for the past few years, but all came up short. In hindsight, did the drilling program make sense?
Urban gardening on the rise in Mexico City

Mexico City’s municipal government has helped thousands of families build gardens on their rooftops, which can help alleviate poverty and provide residents with their own healthy food.
Latin America Monitor More migration reform: Cuba opens door to many illegal emigres and defectors

Allowing more Cubans to return to Cuba will help accelerate the warming trend between the island and its diaspora, and could lead to a change in US policy toward the island.
Cuba to welcome back many who left

In order to normalize relations with Cubans abroad, Cuba's most recent policy is expected to allow the return of many now banned from the island, estimated any anywhere from 70,000 to 300,000.
Hurricane Sandy's punch may be felt from Norfolk, Va., to Boston

Tropical-force winds, with hurricane-force gusts, could stretch from coastal Virginia to Boston by early Tuesday, latest forecasts show. Hurricane Sandy is still expected to combine with a nor'easter, into a 'Frankenstorm.'
Opinion It's almost Nov. 6. Do you know what books Obama and Romney have been reading?

John F. Kennedy, Harry S. Truman, Theodore Roosevelt, Thomas Jefferson – many of America's presidents were avid readers, and that informed their decisions. It gave them critical perspective. Americans should be curious about the reading habits of President Obama and Mitt Romney.
Hurricane Sandy liveblog: Which way is Sandy headed? The latest 'Frankenstorm' track (+video)

A Frankenstorm? The National Hurricane Center computer models are forecasting a track that shows Hurricane Sandy heading toward Delaware.
Hurricane Sandy tears through Bahamas, weakens to Cat. 1

Hurricane Sandy has left 22 people dead in the Caribbean, but winds weakened to Category 1 hurricane strength. Hurricane Sandy killed 11 people in Cuba.
Cuba: Hurricane Sandy leaves destruction in its wake (+video)

Hurricane Sandy knocked down trees, clogged streets and killed at least three people in the Caribbean. The storm is expected to hit the U.S. East Coast over the weekend and into next week. Flooding, high winds and downed trees are of concern.
Latin America Monitor Will Obama and Romney broach Latin America in tonight's debate?

From Hezbollah and Iran in the Americas to free trade agreements, Romney and Obama could discuss an array of important regional topics during tonight's final debate. But will they?
Latin America Monitor Can Fidel Castro still sway Cuba? (+video)

Fidel Castro debunked rumors he was dead in the state-run newspaper today. Some say that since he ceded control to brother Raul in 2006, US-Cuba relations are likely to remain unaltered when Fidel dies.
Uruguay's Senate approves abortion bill: Will there be a ripple effect?

Uruguay's Senate approved a bill legalizing first-trimester abortions, and the president says he will sign it. Abortion is still a political hot potato in Latin America, but some say such legislation could spread.
Global News Blog Good reads: a 'hidden' nuclear crisis, how China sees the US, and 'Chilecon Valley'

This week's long-form good reads may change your perspective on which country is rolling out the welcome mat for foreign entrepreneurs, the 'end' of the Cuban Missile Crisis, and how China views the US.
Exit visas: Finally a political opening in Cuba?

In addition to the economic reforms seen over the past several years in Cuba, easing foreign travel could portend the kinds of political reforms global actors have been clamoring for.
Cuban Missile Crisis: the 3 most surprising things you didn't know

Fifty years ago, the Cuban Missile Crisis brought the United States and the Soviet Union within a hair’s breadth of nuclear war. Here are three things that many Americans don’t know about what historians routinely call “the most dangerous moment in human history.”
Appeals court throws out bin Laden driver Hamdan conviction

In a 3-0 ruling, the appeals court said that material support for terrorism was not an international-law war crime at the time Hamdan engaged in the activity for which he was convicted.
Latin America Monitor End of the exit visa in Cuba? (+video)

Cubans have long been unable to travel freely, but the government has lifted the restriction on exit visas in some cases. It's a major step forward for the country and its people, argues a guest blogger.