OAS Votes to Readmit Cuba

Alberto Granado lived out his days teaching in Cuba

(NEWSER) - Alberto Granado, the man whose motorcycle adventures with Che Guevara would ultimately alter the course of Latin America, has died today in Cuba at the age of 88. The epic journey undertaken in 1952 by the two Argentine med students formed the political convictions that turned Guevara into an icon, and ultimately brought Fidel Castro to power. Both Granado and Guevara kept diaries on the journey, which served as the basis of the film, The Motorcycle Diaries. More»

Cuban leader 'thin' but 'looks good'

(AP) - New photographs of a smiling, tracksuit-clad Fidel Castro greeting workers at a scientific think tank were posted on the blogs of two Cuban journalists and a media website yesterday, offering a rare glimpse of the reclusive revolutionary leader in a public forum. Castro, 83, appears slightly stooped but otherwise healthy in the pictures, which were said to have been taken Wednesday during a visit to the National Center for Scientific Investigation in Havana. More»

New book reveals Juanita Castro's involvement with US intelligence

(NEWSER) - The sister of Fidel and Raúl Castro worked with the CIA in the 1960s, while the agency was planning to assassinate Fidel and overthrow the revolutionary government. In a new book, Juanita Castro, who now lives in Miami, reveals that she hid opponents of her brothers' regime in her home and that their mother frequently interceded with Raúl to help political prisoners. "The CIA wanted to talk with me," Castro says. "I was left half-shocked, but in any case I told them yes." More»

(NEWSER) - A retired State Department worker and his wife were charged today with spying for Cuba for nearly 3 decades, CNN reports. Appearing before a federal magistrate in Washington, DC, Walter Kendall Myers, 72, and Gwendolyn Myers, 71, were indicted for conspiracy, providing classified information, and wire fraud. They each face up to 35 years in prison for conveying information from State documents, often by memory. More»

Cuba calls decision to revoke suspension 'a major victory' but won't rejoin

(NEWSER) - Cuba has decided not to rejoin the Organization of American States despite the group lifting the country's 47-year suspension, the Voice of America reports. Cuba's parliament leader called the decision to lift the ban "a major victory," but said Cuba hasn't changed its thinking on the group and still considers it to be working for US interests at the expense of Latin American and Caribbean states. More»