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NEWS ABOUT: Raul Castro

Castro Slaps Down US Overtures

(Newser) - Raúl Castro has warned the US not to expect any changes to Cuba's communist system, saying that while Barack Obama's administration was less "aggressive," he was not prepared to make peace. His comments came after Hillary Clinton made several remarks suggesting better relations if Cuba changed... More »

Cuba's Black Market Hits the Internet

(Newser) - The Internet has lured Cuba's black marketeers online, GlobalPost reports. In a nation that bans most private commerce, a Craigslist-style website has emerged offering everything from American razor blades to True Blood DVDs. Buyers with fatter wallets can pick up computer equipment, a $6,000 illegal Internet hookup, or a... More »

Castro Purges Party on Video

(Newser) - Raul Castro firmly ratchets up his grip on power in a three-hour video being shown to Cuba's Communist Party members, the Financial Times reports. The video features scenes from a March politburo meeting during which Castro fired most of Fidel's cabinet, along with testimony from security officials. Those who have... More »

Untapped Oil Could Lube US-Cuba Ties

(Newser) - Oil trapped deep in the Gulf of Mexico could help ease the US-Cuba trade ban and decades of strained relations, the Washington Post reports. With 5 billion to 20 billion barrels of crude lying untapped in Cuba's territorial waters, some experts argue it's time for US companies to help drill... More »

US Wants Informal Chat on Cuba Ties

Casual discussions could pave road to 'open relationship'

(Newser) - The US is inching toward loosening relations with Cuba on the heels of President Obama’s Latin American trip, the New York Times reports. Cuban diplomats are set to meet informally with US officials to “test the waters,” an administration official said, mulling future talks over migration, drug... More »

Fidel: Raul's Overture Was 'Misinterpreted'

Ex-prez puts a chill on warming relations between US, Cuba

(Newser) - What President Obama took to be a historic overture from Cuba was actually just a misunderstanding, according to Fidel Castro. The former president—apparently enraged by suggestions that Cuba make concessions in return for improved US-Cuban relations—wrote in his online column that Obama "misinterpreted" his brother Raul's statement... More »

Obama Calls For 'New Beginning' With Cuba

(Newser) - Adding warm words to the ongoing thaw in US-Cuba relations, President Obama said today he sought "a new beginning" with the island's communist regime, the Los Angeles Times reports. Obama spoke after arriving at the Summit of the Americas in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. "I... More »

Kinsley: Cuba Policy Hasn't Just Failed—It's Backfired

If we can be sure of anything, this is it

(Newser) - It's time—actually it's way overdue—for America to admit that its Cuba policy simply hasn't worked, writes Michael Kinsley in the Washington Post. The US has been "unrelentingly hostile" to Havana, but to what end? Communism has collapsed just about everywhere else, but here it survives "unreformed... More »

Obama, Castro Say They're Ready to Talk

Cuban-American relations look set to be best in 50 years

(Newser) - An unusually direct exchange between Barack Obama and Raul Castro is moving Cuban-American relations towards their warmest since the Eisenhower administration, the AP reports. After Obama said yesterday that it was up to Cuba to take the next step, Castro swiftly replied that Cuba is "willing to discuss everything—... More »

Fidel Meets With US Lawmakers

(Newser) - Cuba appears to be serious about trying to normalize relations with the US. A day after Raul Castro met with a delegation of US congressional representatives, the big man himself did the same, Reuters reports. Fidel, replaced by his brother 14 months ago as head of state when his health... More »

Raul Castro Holds First Meeting with US Leaders

Holds 'constructive dialogue' with six congresspeople

(Newser) - Raul Castro met with six visiting members of the Congressional Black Caucus for more than four hours yesterday in his first face-to-face discussions with US leaders since he became Cuba's president last year, the AP reports. Castro spoke with Rep. Barbara Lee, a California Democrat, and other members of the... More »

Senate Eyes Lifting All Travel Bans to Cuba

But Cuban-American senator fights colleagues to block it

(Newser) - A bipartisan group of senators is set to introduce a new bill on US-Cuban relations tomorrow that would remove all legal barriers to traveling to the island, reports the Washington Post. The bill goes far beyond earlier efforts to relax travel restrictions and enjoys support from committee leaders, top Republicans,... More »

Cuba Sackings May Be Olive Branch to US

Castro replaced 'pugnacious' minister with diplomat

(Newser) - Raul Castro’s overhaul of Cuban ministers may be meant to ease tensions with the US under President Obama, writes Tim Padgett in Time. Cuba’s president replaced a “pugnacious” former foreign minister who had close ties to Fidel with a longtime UN ambassador—and the move occurred the... More »

Fidel Spotted Strolling Around Havana

Residents see frail Comadante in public for first time in years

(Newser) - Residents of Havana say they’ve spotted the unmistakable figure of El Comadante shuffling around the city in recent weeks, the New York Times reports. Fidel Castro hasn’t been seen in public since undergoing emergency surgery in 2006, and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez hailed the jaunts as "a... More »

Raul Castro Ousts Top Fidel Loyalists

(AP) - President Raul Castro abruptly ousted some of Cuba's most powerful officials today, remaking the government in the biggest shakeup since he took over from his ailing brother Fidel Castro a year ago, the AP reports. The changes replaced some key Fidel loyalists, including the longtime foreign minister, with men closer... More »

A Year In, Raúl's Cuba In Midst of New Revolution

Fidel's younger brother raises country's global profile, begins reform

(Newser) - Today marks the first anniversary of Raúl Castro's rise to the top of Cuban politics, and as the Miami Herald reports, he has lots to celebrate. Latin America's continuing leftward shift has seen regional leaders cozy up to Fidel's brother, and Russia has used Cuba to expand its presence... More »

Castro Hints at His Own Failing Health

He says he may not be lucid in 4 years; again praises Obama

(Newser) - Fidel Castro hinted in a new column that his health is failing, the AP reports. The 82-year-old former Cuban leader wrote yesterday in his online column that Cuban officials "shouldn't feel bound by my occasional reflections, my state of health or my death." He also had warm words... More »

Fan Fidel Hails 'Sincere' Obama

Castro was glued to inauguration coverage

(Newser) - Cuba's ailing former dictator Fidel Castro has spoken warmly about President Barack Obama, and his brother Raul is hinting about a face-to-face meeting, reports Australia's Age. Fidel, 82, spent Tuesday watching TV coverage of the inauguration and spoke glowingly about America's new president as "absolutely sincere" to Argentine President... More »

Hey Sean, Put Down Your Pen

Adoration of Cuban dictator is misguided, dangerous

(Newser) - Sean Penn may be “the finest character actor around,” but he's “no journalist,” writes Roger Cohen in the New York Times. Penn’s recent “fawning tributes” to Cuban president Raúl Castro show the actor has “delusional, dangerous” beliefs about the dictator—a fact... More »

Cuba Embargo Has Backfired: Time to End It

(Newser) - The Cuban embargo has failed to encourage democracy there, and the president-elect should do something about it, writes Eugene Robinson in the Washington Post. It's time to “bring five decades of counterproductive American policy toward Cuba to a definitive end.” While engagement with other Communist regimes has worked... More »

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