Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov Thursday told Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel that Moscow continued to reject the economic, commercial, and financial blockade imposed by Washington on Havanna. The Russian diplomat also met with former President Raúl Castro and with his Cuban counterpart, Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla during the last stop of his Latin America and Caribbean tour which included Brazil, Venezuela, and Nicaragua.
Iconic Cuban Revolution leader Raúl Castro Friday opened the Cuban Communist Party convention which will mark the end of his days as First Secretary by making it clear nobody had forced him to make that decision and he supported a closer dialogue with giant neighbours the United States.
Iconic leader Raúl Castro is expected to step down as First Secretary of Cuba's Communist Party (PCC) as the VIII Congress of the PCC is set to start this Friday at the Havana Convention Center, under the title “The Congress of the historical continuity of the Cuban Revolution.”
The United States on Thursday announced travel sanctions against Cuba's Raul Castro and his family, accusing the former president of violations of human rights. In his continued role as the first secretary of the ruling Communist Party, “Raul Castro oversees a system that arbitrarily detains thousands of Cubans and currently holds more than 100 political prisoners,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said.
Twitter has restored some of the accounts of Cuban state-run media, journalists and government officials it had blocked on Wednesday, although others like that of Communist Party leader Raul Castro remain suspended.
Venezuela's former intelligence chief, Cristopher Figuera, who fled the country after backing a failed uprising against President Nicolas Maduro in April, has told the Washington Post the regime could still fall.
Cuban Communist Party leader Raul Castro said on Wednesday Cuba would never abandon its ally Venezuela despite US “blackmail”, even as the Trump administration threatened more sanctions over its support.
Hundreds of Cubans marched peacefully through Havana calling for an end to animal cruelty on Sunday in what organizers believe was the first independent march authorized by the one-party state.
Prince Charles will make the first-ever official British royal visit to Cuba in March, his office announced on Friday, to mark improving ties between the two nations. The heir to the throne and his wife Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, will make a four-day visit to Cuba during a wider tour of the Caribbean, his Clarence House official residence said.
Latin American leftwing governments which strongly oppose Washington's policies for the region gathered in Havanna at the XVI Summit of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples and the Treaty of Commerce of the Peoples (ALBA - TCP) to renew their regional commitment.