Tag: Cuba

• Wednesday, September 28th 2016 - 09:50 UTC

  Obama names first ambassador in Cuba in fifty years, but needs Senate confirmation

  

  The United States has tapped Jeffrey DeLaurentis, United States' top diplomat in Havana, to become the first official ambassador to Cuba in five decades. “The appointment of an ambassador is a commonsense step forward toward a more normal and productive relationship between our two countries,” President Barack Obama said in a statement.

• Tuesday, September 6th 2016 - 19:36 UTC

  Cuba looking for new oil supplier and begins implementing social security tax

  

  President Raul Castro has asked Russia to consider beginning to supply Cuba with oil. Before the Soviet Union’s disintegration in 1991, the ex URSS was Cuba’s main supplier under favorable trade terms. Russia's official news network revealed the news, allegedly in a direct request from Castro to president Vladimir Putin.

• Thursday, September 1st 2016 - 10:45 UTC

  First US commercial flight lands in Cuba in more than half a century

  

  United States Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx stepped onto Cuban soil from the first U.S. commercial flight to the island nation in more than half a century on Wednesday, a JetBlue Airways flight from Florida, marking a big step in restoring normal relations between the U.S. and Cuba.

• Friday, August 5th 2016 - 20:54 UTC

  Cuba admits Venezuelan recession is hitting hard: Chavist oil shipments down 20%

  

  Venezuela’s grim situation is impacting not only millions of households around the country: it is also sending panic waves across the Caribbean all the way to Cuba, a solid ally that for decades now has relied heavily on Chavismo’s generosity.

• Monday, May 16th 2016 - 05:46 UTC

  Brazil warns neighbors about “propagating falsehoods over the internal political process”

  

  Brazil's interim government dismissed criticism by populist countries in Latin America, including Venezuela, Cuba and Bolivia, over the impeachment process of Dilma Rousseff, who was suspended as president by the senate.

• Monday, May 2nd 2016 - 08:39 UTC

  “Adonia”, the first US cruise vessel in fifty years to dock in Havana on Monday

  

  The first US cruise ship bound for Cuba in half a century set sail from Florida on Sunday, marking a new milestone in the rapprochement between Washington and Havana. The Adonia, a vessel from the Carnival cruise's Fathom line, raised its anchors and departed from Miami, the heart of the Cuban diaspora in the United States, around 4:00 pm.

• Friday, April 29th 2016 - 05:59 UTC

  Hammond becomes first foreign secretary to visit Cuba since 1959

  

  Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond became on Thursday the first British Foreign Secretary to visit Cuba since 1959. In a series of high-level meetings, the Foreign Secretary will call on his Cuban counterpart Bruno Rodríguez and other government leaders to discuss the recent social and economic changes in Cuba, human rights, trade and investment, and the fight against global health threats such as the Zika virus.

• Friday, April 22nd 2016 - 15:51 UTC

  Carnival cruise to Havana triggers controversy with Cuban/Americans who allege discrimination

  

  A federal lawsuit is claiming that Carnival Corporation is discriminating against Cuban-Americans who weren’t allowed to book tickets on a cruise to the Castro brothers dominated country. CNN reports that when Carnival announced plans for a cruise ship from its Fathom line to sail from Miami to Havana in May, Francisco Marty jumped at the opportunity to surprise his children with a trip back to their native land.

• Thursday, February 18th 2016 - 07:08 UTC

  Obama expected to make a historic visit to Cuba sometime in March

  

  United States President Barack Obama will make a historic visit to Cuba within the next month, the culmination of his efforts to end a half-century of tensions between Havana and Washington, ABC and CNN reported late Wednesday.

• Tuesday, February 2nd 2016 - 12:07 UTC

  Havana Club rum war: Bacardi appeals US decision to let Cuba have the trademark

  

  Bacardi filed suit on Monday against the United States demanding an explanation of its decision to let Cuba sell Havana Club rum in the United States once the U.S. trade embargo against the Castro brothers' island is lifted.