Topic: Havana

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62-year-old woman swimming strong in her attempt to cross the Florida Straits

Navigating shark and jellyfish-infested waters, an American woman is attempting to become the first person to swim from Cuba to Florida, unaided by a shark cage or wetsuit.
Cuban car crash: Driver contributed financial support for dissidents

The Spanish driver in a crash that killed two Cuban dissidents last week is being held while charges are formalized. Could his support for dissidents play into a diplomatic crisis?
Latin America Monitor Who would be better for Cuba: Romney or Obama?

US elections always matter in Cuba, writes a guest blogger. The island has been under a half-century US embargo.
Dutch bank pays steep price for ignoring US sanctions on Iran and Cuba

Dutch bank ING has agreed to pay a record $619 million fine after admitting that it moved money from Iran and Cuba through US banks despite sanctions forbidding the practice.
Latin America Monitor Disappointing month for foreign investment in Cuba

Foreign companies look to be pulling out of oil exploration in Cuba, and Havana Club rum is fighting to retain its name in US markets, writes a guest blogger.
Repsol 'almost certain' to end offshore oil drilling in Cuba

Spanish oil company Repsol announced its potential withdrawal from exploration in Cuba, after spending close to $150 million on a dry well. What does this mean for Cuba?
May Day: Around the world, anger and fear

Continuing economic turmoil around the globe gave this year's May Day rallies an undertone of angry class conflict.
Imagining Cuba after Chávez

Venezuela provides Cuba with up to $15 billion a year, which helps offset the US embargo. But there is the real possibility Chávez may not win or survive another six-year term as president.
Can Colombia's Santos unify the Americas?

Building consensus is important as the Americas struggle with high crime and violence. At this weekend's Summit of the Americas in Colombia, all eyes are on President Santos.
John Hughes ‘Spring’ delayed as Cuba follows China's model

Pope Benedict XVI’s call for 'authentic freedom' during his recent visit to Cuba is unlikely to spur democracy. But other factors suggest economic changes are under way, patterned after the Chinese example, namely creating a market economy under an authoritarian, communist political system.
Chavez leading rival in run-up to Venezuela elections

The president of Venezuela has a double-digit lead over opposition candidate Henrique Capriles.
Latin America Monitor The pope in Cuba: a reporter's notebook

Beyond the frustrations of reporting in Havana lies the real story: Cuba, for all its romance and beauty, remains an authoritarian state, writes Girish Gupta.
Latin America Monitor Pope in Cuba: Trip shows how church playing balancing act (+video)

The pope did not meet with dissidents. But his trip was about building on gains the church has won in Cuba, says guest blogger Anya Landau French.
Fidel Castro, excommunicated in 1962, meets with Pope Benedict

Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro, who once outlawed religion, met with Pope Benedict XVI today. Benedict's visit is part of a new Catholic strategy in a changing Cuba.
Pope schedules last-minute meeting with Fidel Castro

Pope Benedict XVI's decision to meet with the former Cuban leader angered Castro critics because, they say, it gives the Cuban government legitimacy.
Latin America Monitor Pope in Cuba: Will he raise case of jailed American?

Many are watching to see if the pope mentions the case of imprisoned US aid worker Alan Gross. But the delicacy of his trip to Cuba makes it unlikely, writes guest blogger Girish Gupta.
Catholicism in a communist land: Pope Benedict XVI travels to Cuba

Cuba was declared an atheist state after the 1959 revolution, but many dissidents are looking to Pope Benedict XVI to help bring more political reform to the island.
Latin America Monitor Cuba embargo turns 50: is this what JFK intended?

Ten presidents later, the US still prohibits nearly all trade and financial transactions with Cuba. But the embargo may work against our national interests, writes guest blogger Landau French.
Latin America Monitor Bash America? The Castros play to their base in Cuba

Cuba's Raul Castro attacked imperialism at last weekend's Communist Party conference, while Fidel Castro earlier criticized US Republican candidates.
Latin America Monitor Cuban 'revolution': 'If I work hard, I'll make more money'

Just as Iran's President Ahmadinejad visited Havana and dismissed capitalism as in decay, Cubans are warming to an increasingly free market on the island.
Thirty ideas from people under 30: The Change Agents

They are explorers and activists, artists and educators, farmers and faith leaders – even mayors. And they have trenchant suggestions on how to improve the world.
Latin America Monitor Fidel Castro death rumor shows paradoxes in Cuba

As 2012 kicks off, blogger Anya Landau French weighs in on the Cuban economic and social developments that she will assess as she visits Havana next week.
Latin America Monitor After dramatic 2011 in Cuba, will US-Cuban policy shift in 2012?

Guest blogger Melissa Lockhart reviews a year of what she calls big change in Cuba, little change in US policy.
12/29/2011 10:49 am
Latin America Monitor Is it time for Obama to simply ask Cuba's President Castro to free Alan Gross?

US officials are proposing new measures to force Cuba to release USAID worker Alan Gross from prison, but guest blogger Anya Landau French suggests trying something different.
12/02/2011 11:00 am
Latin America Monitor Burma sanctions should be model for Cuba embargo

The byzantine Cuba embargo in many ways ties the US's hands, says guest blogger Anya Landau French, so maybe it’s time to apply the Burma sanctions model – defend it or lose it – to Cuba.
11/28/2011 12:07 pm