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Cuba Tag

Posted by Mary Chastain on September 17, 2017 5 Comments
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said that closing the U.S. Embassy in Havana, Cuba, is under review after numerous diplomats have suffered health problems due to possible sonic attacks. From The Associated Press:
"We have it under evaluation," Tillerson said of a possible embassy closure. "It's a very serious issue with respect to the harm that certain individuals have suffered. We've brought some of those people home. It's under review."

Posted by Mary Chastain on August 24, 2017 17 Comments
CBS News obtained medical records from U.S. diplomats in Cuba that show doctors diagnosed them with brain injuries from possible sonic attacks while in Havana. From CBS News:
The diplomats complained about symptoms ranging from hearing loss and nausea to headaches and balance disorders after the State Department said "incidents" began affecting them beginning in late 2016. A source familiar with these incidents says officials are investigating whether the diplomats were targets of a type of sonic attack directed at their homes, which were provided by the Cuban government. The source says reports of more attacks affecting U.S. embassy workers on the island continue.

Posted by Mary Chastain on June 16, 2017 4 Comments
President Donald Trump announced a few changes to former President Barack Obama's Cuba policy. These changes include different travel requirements and the enforcement of an embargo against the brutal Communist regime:
“You look at what happened and what communism has done,” he listed. “Believers persecuted for preaching the word of God, you watch the Women in White – bruised, bloodied, and captured on their way from Mass, you have heard the chilling cries of loved ones or the cracks of firing squads piercing through the ocean breeze — not a good sound.” “This is the simple truth of the Castro regime: my administration will not hide from it, excuse it, or glamorize it, and we will never, ever be blind to it. We know what is going on and we remember what happened,” Trump promised.

Posted by Mary Chastain on December 13, 2016 15 Comments
Google and Cuba finalized their deal to bring servers to the Communist island to allow high speed internet for users. The Wall Street Journal reported:
Alphabet Chairman Eric Schmidt signed an agreement in Havana on Monday with Cuba’s state telecommunications company, La Empresa de Telecomunicaciones de Cuba SA, concluding months of talks. The Google servers in Cuba will store content such as popular YouTube videos, allowing the content to be delivered more quickly to Cuban users. The move is the latest to improve internet access for the country of 11.2 million people, which has long been one of the world’s most isolated nations.

Posted by Mary Chastain on December 01, 2016 7 Comments
With President-elect Donald Trump a month away from taking the White House, President Barack Obama's administration has put pressure on Cuba's regime to make deals with GE and Google for the companies to operate on the island:
White House officials are unsure how Mr. Trump, the president-elect, will approach Mr. Obama’s Cuba policy. He has said he would reverse the effort to build relations, and this week wrote on Twitter that “if Cuba is unwilling to make a better deal for the Cuban people, the Cuban/American people and the U.S. as a whole, I will terminate the deal.”

Posted by Mary Chastain on November 30, 2016 13 Comments
President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden received praise when they said neither one would attend the funeral of Cuba's oppressive dictator Fidel Castro. It was too good to be true. It seems Obama used a loophole to avoid sending a U.S. delegation to the funeral...by sending two U.S. officials. White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest stated that Obama will send Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes and acting U.S. Ambassador to Cuba Jeffrey DeLaurentis. Despite them being U.S. officials, it is not considered an official U.S. delegation "because the president did not abide by the formal process for naming a delegation." Oh, but it's totally okay because Rhodes planned on traveling to Cuba this week anyway.

Posted by Mary Chastain on November 28, 2016 17 Comments
White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest has announced that President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden will not attend the funeral for Cuba's oppressive murderous dictator Fidel Castro, who died this weekend:
In an effort to halt a series of questions about the potential attendance of various individual government officials, Earnest would confirm only that the president and vice president would not travel to Cuba for the funeral service. He pointedly refused to rule out that Secretary of State John Kerry would attend, but would not confirm his attendance, either.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 26, 2016 14 Comments
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had one of the most cringeworthy statements for departed tyrant Fidel Castro (emphasis added):
The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, today issued the following statement on the death of former Cuban President Fidel Castro: “It is with deep sorrow that I learned today of the death of Cuba’s longest serving President. “Fidel Castro was a larger than life leader who served his people for almost half a century. A legendary revolutionary and orator, Mr. Castro made significant improvements to the education and healthcare of his island nation. “While a controversial figure, both Mr. Castro’s supporters and detractors recognized his tremendous dedication and love for the Cuban people who had a deep and lasting affection for “el Comandante”.

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on November 26, 2016 13 Comments
As Cuban exiles flood into the streets of Miami to celebrate the death of Fidel Castro, I'm reading an article published yesterday—just hours before Castro's death was announced, an article by a Miami Herald reporter who challenged Colin Kaepernick on his fanciful notions about Castro. Earlier this week the San Francisco 49ers quarterback who refused to stand for the national anthem heaped praise on Castro; Herald reporter Armando Salguero took issue with Kaepernick's ignorant and hypocritical comments.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 26, 2016 42 Comments
Fidel Castro, darling of the left, brutal dictator in reality, died overnight. The reactions, needless today, have varied. In Little Havana in Miami, there was dancing in the street. In the real Havana, celebrating his death would likely result in a lengthy prison sentence, so no dancing for them. In the left-wing political circles, there was praise for this communist revolutionary. In the U.S. media, it was like -- let's remember he instituted free health care! Here are some reactions:

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on October 28, 2016 9 Comments
On October 14, 2016, Obama issued a "presidential policy directive" in which he laid out a multi-pronged approach "to promote engagement with the Cuban government and people, and make our opening to Cuba irreversible."  In this directive, Obama directs the Director of National Security to share intelligence with Cuba and to cooperate with Cuban intelligence. Members of Congress are concerned that U. S. intelligence will be shared by Cuba with Iran, particularly in light of Iran's recent assertion that it will "open a new chapter in relations with Cuba." The Washington Free Beacon reports:
Obama administration efforts to bolster the sharing of critical intelligence data with Cuba is likely to benefit Iran, which has been quietly bolstering its foothold in the country with the communist government’s approval, according to conversations with members of Congress and other sources familiar with the matter.

Posted by Mary Chastain on May 02, 2016 11 Comments
Cuba has received their first U.S. cruise ship in the last 38 years as the two countries relax their tense relationship. Carnival's Adonia landed at Havana Bay with 700 passengers at 9:30AM Eastern time. It will also make stops at Cienfuegos and Santiago de Cuba. The ship included Cuban passengers who escaped the Communist regime under Fidel Castro. "I'm just thinking of that day when we left (Cuba) and shaking like a leaf," said passenger Ana Garcia. She left the island 48 years ago. "I'm blessed to be here today and hoping for a better tomorrow for Cuba and my Cuban brothers and sisters," she continued.

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on April 30, 2016 14 Comments
Marco Rubio may be out of the 2016 presidential race, but he's making news for a photo op with Felix Rodriguez. Rodriguez is a former CIA operative who famously helped capture the communist revolutionary, right-hand man to ruthless dictators, and mass murderer Che Guevara. (Rodriguez denies actually killing Guevara -- see below.) Telesur reports:
At an event in Miami commemorating the failed Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba Sunday, U.S. Senator Marco Rubio paid homage to the 2506 Brigade, which led the assault. Organized by the CIA in 1961, the disastrous invasion was soundly defeated by the Cuban military and its people. The former Republican presidential candidate took the opportunity to pose for a photo with Felix Rodriguez, former CIA agent who was a leader in the planning of the Bay of Pigs.
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