What Will Raul Do Next?

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April 2009
- US Wants Informal Chat on Cuba Ties
  
  New York Times | Apr 27, 09 8:58 AM CDT
  
  (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 trafficking, and other issues in efforts at “a serious, civil, open relationship.” More »
- Fidel: Raul's Overture Was 'Misinterpreted'
  
  Associated Press | Apr 22, 09 7:10 AM CDT
  
  (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 that Cuban leaders would be willing to discuss everything, including human rights, reports the AP. More »
- Obama Calls For 'New Beginning' With Cuba
  
  Los Angeles Times | Apr 17, 09 10:58 PM CDT
  
  (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 am prepared to have my administration engage with the Cuban government on a wide range of issues," he said. More »
- Obama, Castro Say They're Ready to Talk
  
  Associated Press | Apr 17, 09 5:32 AM CDT
  
  (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—human rights, freedom of the press, political prisoners, everything." More »
- Cuba Poisons US Diplomats' Pets: Report
  
  The Hill | Apr 11, 09 3:12 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - President Obama better hide the family dog when he reaches out to Cuba, The Hill reports. As Obama and Congressional Democrats seek warmer relations with the island nation, the State Department released a 2007 report saying Havana has been poisoning the pets of US diplomats in Cuba. "The apparent goal has been to instigate dissension within US ranks," says the report. More »
- Raul Castro Holds First Meeting with US Leaders
  
  Associated Press | Apr 7, 09 7:15 AM CDT
  
  (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 delegation behind closed doors. "I'm convinced Raul Castro wants a normal relationship with the United States," Lee said after the meeting adjourned around midnight. "He's serious.” More »
March 2009
- Raul Castro Ousts Top Fidel Loyalists
  
  Associated Press | Mar 2, 09 7:45 PM CST
  
  (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 to Raul. They also reduced the enormous powers of a vice president credited with saving Cuba's economy after the fall of the Soviet Union. More »
February 2009
- A Year In, Raúl's Cuba In Midst of New Revolution
  
  Miami Herald | Feb 24, 09 6:27 AM CST
  
  (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 in the western hemisphere. Castro might be in for even greater rewards if, as expected, Barack Obama overhauls American policy toward the island nation. More »
January 2009
- Hey Sean, Put Down Your Pen
  
  New York Times | Jan 5, 09 10:36 AM CST
  
  (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 that “Penn as Harvey Milk gets,” while “Penn the foreign correspondent flails.” More »
- Cuba Embargo Has Backfired: Time to End It
  
  Washington Post | Jan 2, 09 1:52 PM CST
  
  (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 to our benefit, the shunning of Cuba has only strengthened Fidel Castro’s outsider credentials. More »
- Raul Castro: Outside Forces Can't Harm Us
  
  Miami Herald | Jan 1, 09 9:09 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Raul Castro marked the 50th anniversary of his brother's rise to power by declaring that the revolution is "stronger than ever" but warning Cubans that more hardships lie ahead, the Miami Herald reports. Though he didn't mention the US by name, Castro said that outside forces could not harm the nation. He warned, however, that it could "self-destruct from within." More »
December 2008
- Cubans Mark 50 Years of Fidel
  
  New York Times | Dec 31, 08 5:44 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - New Year's Day marks a sober occasion for Cuban-Americans: Fidel Castro's takeover 50 years ago and the exile and family separations that ensued. Many Cubans once hoped the dictator would bring them prosperity. Today, with their beloved island in decay and many lives lost in attempts to flee, few of the 850,000 transplants to South Florida have cause to celebrate, the New York Times reports. More »
- Castro Calls for More Work, Less Welfare
  
  Reuters | Dec 28, 08 4:30 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Saying Cuba’s finances “don’t square up,” President Raul Castro called for belt-tightening measures in the wake of three hurricanes and a global recession that have hobbled the communist nation. The state plans to dole out fewer worker subsidies, halve the number of overseas trips, and halt costly programs that reward workers with free vacations. Cuba’s GDP experienced a slower-than-expected growth rate of 4.3% this year. More »
- Castro Offers Prisoner Swap, Talks With US
  
  Reuters | Dec 18, 08 5:45 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - In another sign of a potential thaw in US-Cuban relations, Raul Castro offered today to release five political dissidents if the US frees five Cubans jailed on spy charges. Castro says the prisoner swap could precede talks between himself and Barack Obama, Reuters reports. “Give us back our five heroes," said Castro. "That is a gesture on both parts." More »
November 2008
- Raul Castro Offers to Meet Obama at Gitmo
  
  Nation | Nov 27, 08 2:04 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - Raul Castro wants to normalize trade with the US and he's eager to meet with Barack Obama in order to do so, the Cuban leader told actor Sean Penn in an interview in the Nation . Castro said it wouldn't be fair to expect either leader to go to the other's country first, and suggested a meeting on neutral ground—like Guantanamo Bay. More »
July 2008
- Cuban Youth Prefer Facebook to Revolution
  
  Christian Science Monitor | Jul 26, 08 9:51 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Cuba's youth are restless, but many are more concerned about access to Facebook, flat-screen TVs, and trips abroad than political change, reports the Christian Science Monitor . Young people say that they pressured Raul Castro to allow cell phone and computer ownership, but they remain disillusioned about the prospects for greater change. More »
- Cuba Rebuilds Spy Network in Fla., Agent Says
  
  Miami Herald | Jul 5, 08 3:59 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Cuba has rebuilt its spy network in Florida to its highest level in 10 years, a US Army expert on Cuban agents tells the Miami Herald . The FBI rounded up more than a dozen spies in 1998, but they have all been replaced, bringing Florida’s spy population to around 210, Lt. Col. Chris Simmons said. His revelation is the first in recent years by a US official on Cuban spies. More »
June 2008
- Europe Votes to Lift Cuba Sanctions
  
  AFP | Jun 20, 08 8:20 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The European Union has agreed to lift sanctions against Cuba, much to the annoyance of the White House. "We see encouraging signs in Cuba and I think that we should show the population in Cuba that we are ready to work with them," an EU official tells the AFP. It's a largely symbolic victory for Cuba and Spain—which lobbied for the change—because sanctions have been suspended since 2005. More »
- Hard Workers in Cuba Will Finally Get Their Due
  
  Miami Herald | Jun 12, 08 4:42 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Raul Castro has ordered employers to create new salary structures that include extra pay for increased productivity—a bold departure, by Cuban standards, from Socialist orthodoxy, the Miami Herald reports. Under the current system, workers get a flat fee based on their job descriptions with no hope for incentives. Low productivity is common, and Fidel's brother is anxious to kick-start the economy. More »
- Cuban Prez OKs Sex Change Operations
  
  Reuters | Jun 6, 08 6:27 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Cubans can now have free sex change operations, Reuters reports. The latest legal change under President Raul Castro was pushed by his daughter, Mariela Castro, who heads a sex education center and says she has a 28-person waiting list. Cuba allowed a sex change 20 years ago, but sparked so much outcry that Havana canceled the program. More »