Topic: Raul Castro

Top galleries, list articles, quizzes

Sixth Summit of the Americas: 8 things to watch

Yes, the Summit of the Americas in Cartagena will debate drug policy and Cuba. Here are eight other topics to be discussed at the Summit.
5 countries with the longest ongoing US sanctions

Sanctions are once again leading the news with trade embargoes tightening around Iran and debates over whether to loosen US restrictions on Cuba and Myanmar.
Are you up on Latin American news? Try our quiz.

Test how well you kept up with Latin America's big events of 2011.
In Pictures: Urban gardens
The world in 2011: Trends and events to watch in every region

Monitor staff writers and correspondents in each of the world's regions share what they expect to be top headlines in 2011.

All Content

Latin America Monitor
Look who got a US visa: Raúl Castro's daughter

Mariela Castro, daughter of Cuban President Raúl Castro, will travel to California this week on a US visa to attend a conference. But many Cuban scholars were denied entry, writes a guest blogger.
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.
Change Agent
Actor-activist Sean Penn says he's in Haiti for the long haul

Sean Penn's role in Haiti has evolved from heading a band of volunteers and serving as unofficial mayor of a homeless camp to becoming ambassador-at-large for President Michel Martelly, the first non-Haitian to receive the designation.
Latin America Monitor
Americas Summit: Will there be consensus on Cuba?

Cuba, as always, was not invited to the Summit of the Americas in Colombia this weekend. But its participation at future meetings could become a major issue.
Sixth Summit of the Americas: 8 things to watch

Yes, the Summit of the Americas in Cartagena will debate drug policy and Cuba. Here are eight other topics to be discussed at the Summit.
‘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.
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.
Why the pope wants stronger ties with Mexico and Cuba

While the Catholic church is bolstering the faithful in Mexico and Cuba, it is also seeking closer ties with national governments during Pope Benedict XVI's first visit to these countries.
Latin America Monitor
Obama administration 'gets real' on Cuba

Congressman David Rivera pressed Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Cuba this week. Her response showed an awareness of "what is really going on in Cuba," writes a guest blogger.
Latin America Monitor
Summit of the Americas standoff: Cuba wants in

President Obama could take the high road and allow Cuban President Raul Castro to observe the Summit of the America's in Cartagena, writes guest blogger Anya 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.
5 countries with the longest ongoing US sanctions

Sanctions are once again leading the news with trade embargoes tightening around Iran and debates over whether to loosen US restrictions on Cuba and Myanmar.
US foes unite: Nicaragua's Daniel Ortega cozies up to Iran's Ahmadinejad

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran will be the guest of honor at the inauguration of Nicaragua's newly-reelected president, Daniel Ortega.
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.
Are you up on Latin American news? Try our quiz.

Test how well you kept up with Latin America's big events of 2011.
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.
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.
For Cubans, new property rights – and the return of an old anxiety

President Raúl Castro's latest reform lets Cubans buy and sell property for the first time in decades. But the reform has some worried that it could reintroduce pre-revolution class divisions.
Latin America Monitor
How the IMF and World Bank could save Cuba's economy – defying the US embargo

A new Brookings Institution report from Richard Feinberg offers a plan for the international community to aid Cuba's economic reforms, even in the face of US opposition.
Freedom may be messy, but it beats despotism

The Arab Spring toppled dictators in Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya. Yemen and Syria may be next. Though trials remain, we are witnessing an extraordinary fight for freedom. What emerges may not be the kind of democracy Westerners want, but it beats tyranny.
Latin America Monitor
New optimism in Cuba about economic reforms, Freedom House study reveals

The Freedom House report on Cuba released today finds that Cubans see real economic change there, and more Cubans now would rather work for themselves than hold once-prized state jobs.