diff --git "a/Cuba/2018/news_2018_04.json" "b/Cuba/2018/news_2018_04.json" new file mode 100644--- /dev/null +++ "b/Cuba/2018/news_2018_04.json" @@ -0,0 +1,4608 @@ +{ + "title": "News for Cuba from 2018-04-01 to 2018-04-30", + "totalResults": 100, + "headlines": [ + "Demystifying Cuba - William & Mary Alumni Magazine", + "Cuba and The U.S.: \u2018Intimate Diplomacy\u2019 - National Security Archive", + "Before Trump was anti-Cuba, he wanted to open a hotel in Havana - The Conversation", + "Cuba in 1968 - Jacobin", + "How the Castro Family Dominated Cuba for Nearly 60 Years - History.com", + "In Cuba Family Means Collective Wisdom - Northwestern University", + "Miguel Diaz-Canel, 57, chosen as next president of Cuba - PBS", + "Cubans await transition of power away from ruling revolutionaries - The Christian Science Monitor", + "How Much Change Will Cuba\u2019s New President Bring? - Americas Quarterly", + "Time to Tighten the Screws on Cuba? - Council on Foreign Relations", + "Cuba, Long Led By Castros, Hails A New President Outside The Family - NPR", + "Cubans Doubt a Change at the Top Will Bring Change at the Bottom (Published 2018) - The New York Times", + "Cuba's Ra\u00fal Castro hands over power to Miguel D\u00edaz-Canel - BBC", + "Cuba\u2019s National Assembly announces Miguel Diaz-Canel as new president - CNN", + "Cubans, US exiles connect to help rebuild Cuba's Catholic Church - National Catholic Reporter", + "Cuba's new leader vows to modernise economy but no return to capitalism - The Guardian", + "Cuba sees a decline in tourism as U.S. travel to the island drops sharply - NBC News", + "Fidel Died and Ra\u00fal Resigned, but Castros Still Hold Sway in Cuba (Published 2018) - The New York Times", + "Cuba nominates Castro replacement Miguel D\u00edaz-Canel - BBC", + "Ra\u00fal Castro\u2019s Unfinished Legacy in Cuba - Americas Quarterly", + "What Is Cuba\u2019s Post-Castro Future? - Council on Foreign Relations", + "Canada makes Cuba posting a solitary one for diplomats - NBC News", + "Ra\u00fal Castro Prepares to Resign as Cuba\u2019s President, Closing a Dynasty (Published 2018) - The New York Times", + "Cuba Now Has a Non-Castro President. But the Revolution\u2019s Not Over Yet. - Slate", + "Raul Castro stepping down: Miguel Diaz-Canel named sole candidate to succeed Cuba's president - CBS News", + "Cuba Trip Is a Journey for a New Way of Thinking - The Vineyard Gazette", + "Cuba: Change of leadership must herald a new era for human rights - Amnesty International", + "What's in a name? Why a Castro-less Cuba may not mean a changed one. - The Christian Science Monitor", + "This Is Not the 'End of an Era' in Cuba - The Atlantic", + "The state of Raul Castro's economic reforms in Cuba - Reuters", + "Yes, Americans Can Still Travel To Cuba - Forbes", + "Cuba\u2019s historic change in power - The DePaulia", + "Miguel Diaz-Canel named Cuba\u2019s new president - CNN", + "Cuba Is Attracting More Cruise Visits as Traditional Travel Gets Complicated - Skift", + "End of the Castro era: Who's the man likely to be Cuba's next president? - NBC News", + "In Cuba, the Castro era ends this week as Ra\u00fal steps down as ruler - The Washington Post", + "Cuba\u2019s likely new leader, Miguel Diaz-Canel, faces economic and diplomatic challenges - CNN", + "Cuba | Lift travel ban and restrictions placed on child rights defender - ISHR", + "Diaz-Canel Named Cuba's New President - VOA - Voice of America English News", + "Miguel Diaz-Canel: Cuba\u2019s post-Castro president - Al Jazeera", + "What to Expect from a Post-Castro Cuba - Fair Observer", + "More Black Officials in Power in Cuba as Leadership Changes (Published 2018) - The New York Times", + "Cuba's New President Won't Be Named Castro. But Will Anything Else Really Change? - WLRN", + "Cuba president: Ra\u00fal Castro hands reins over to Miguel Diaz-Canel - USA Today", + "Opinion | A New Cuba After the Castros? Not Quite (Published 2018) - The New York Times", + "Ra\u00fal Castro Just Stepped Down. But Cuba\u2019s Castro Era Is Far From Over. - Mother Jones", + "Canada, following U.S. lead, pulls diplomats out of Cuba - USA Today", + "Miguel D\u00edaz-Canel becomes Cuba's president, Ra\u00fal Castro steps down - NBC News", + "Opinion | No more Castroism: Cuba needs to free its own people - The Washington Post", + "Cuba\u2019s Raul Castro steps down as vice president takes over - CNBC", + "Nicaragua's Ortega Has 'Vindicated' Himself. Cuba's Castro Would Have Been Proud. - WLRN", + "Cuba: Change of leadership must herald a new era for human rights - Amnesty International USA", + "Commencement speaker McKenzie Cuba \u2018a Loper through and through\u2019 - UNK NEWS", + "Factbox: Who's who at the top of Cuba\u2019s new government - Reuters", + "Castro launches Mariel boatlift, April 20, 1980 - Politico", + "After six decades of Castro rule, Cubans greet end of era with a shrug - The Guardian", + "Cuba After Castro: A New Beginning? - Fair Observer", + "Who Is Miguel Diaz-Canel, Cuba\u2019s New President? - Institute of the Black World 21st Century", + "From the Castros to Cuba\u2019s new president Miguel D\u00edaz-Canel: continuity or change? - LSE Blogs", + "After Ra\u00fal: What A Post-Castro Cuba Could Look Like - Worldcrunch", + "Cuba\u2019s Leadership Transition Is an Illegitimate Succession of Power - The Heritage Foundation", + "A War of Solidarity - Jacobin", + "Who Is Miguel D\u00edaz-Canel, Cuba\u2019s New President? (Published 2018) - The New York Times", + "Miguel Diaz-Canel is the New President of Cuba - Havana Times", + "Spring Dance: A New Company from Cuba and Old Favorites from Jerome Robbins - WNYC", + "Encuentro Eclesial event unites Cuban Catholics, bridges US-Cuba division - National Catholic Reporter", + "The Modern Lives of Cuba\u2019s Old Movie Theaters - Atlas Obscura", + "Instability Beckons for Cuba as Island Chases U.S. Tourist Revenue - Stratfor", + "The Pearl of Potential - Trail Runner Magazine", + "Capturing Cuba \u2014 Appalachian students share photos from spring break 2018 - Appalachian State University", + "The Outstanding Performers of International Jazz Day - WTTW", + "Opinion | We Shouldn\u2019t Ignore Cuba (Published 2018) - The New York Times", + "A \u201cDoi Moi\u201d or Renovation for Cuba or Else - Havana Times", + "The challenges facing Cuba\u2019s likely new leader - CNN", + "Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel gives first speech in Assembly - Al Jazeera", + "Cubans in Florida Have Waited to See Castros Go, but No One Is Celebrating (Published 2018) - The New York Times", + "Raul Castro steps down as Cuban president, outlines future - The Globe and Mail", + "For The First Time In Decades, A Castro Won't Lead Cuba - Texas Public Radio | TPR", + "Views from a Changing Cuba as Ra\u00fal Castro Steps Down - Toward Freedom", + "Cuba\u2019s Revolution: A new generation takes the lead - People's World", + "JFK \u2018secret\u2019 doomsday map reveals Cuba missile targets - CNN", + "Who is Miguel D\u00edaz-Canel, Cuba's handpicked president? - Miami Herald", + "In Cuba\u2019s Change of Leadership, More Black Officials in Power - Institute of the Black World 21st Century", + "As Cuba Gains a New President, Ra\u00fal Castro Steps Back, Not Down, from Power - Democracy Now!", + "The Story You Didn\u2019t Know About Cuba\u2019s Most Famous Rum - HipLatina", + "The Classic Fords of Cuba - MotorTrend", + "In the Sierra Maestra, Castro revolution lives on - Reuters", + "From Cuba With Love: Yissy Garcia And Bandancha's 'Universo' - 90.5 WESA", + "Canada to return diplomat families from Cuba over health concerns - CNN", + "Cuba\u2019s Cautious Capitalism - Global Finance Magazine", + "Cuba, Long Led By Castros, Hails A New President Outside The Family - KNKX", + "Cuba diversifies key government posts with somewhat younger but loyal leadership - Miami Herald", + "Our man in Havana: music, mojitos and swearing in Spanish - The Guardian", + "Miguel Diaz-Canel replaces Raul Castro as Cuba's president - CNBC", + "After 59 Years, a Castro Is No Longer Official Leader of Cuba - WSJ", + "As Cuba Changes, Orquesta Akok\u00e1n Revives The Golden Age Of Mambo - WYPR", + "Raul Castro\u2019s report card - Al Jazeera", + "Cuba, Long Led By Castros, Hails A New President Outside The Family - Blue Ridge Public Radio", + "Cuba Gooding Jr. Recalls His \u201910 Years in the Wilderness\u2019 \u2014 and Turning Down \u2018Ray\u2019 and \u2018The Last King of Scotland\u2019 - IndieWire", + "Raul Castro to lead Cuba's Communist Party until 2021 - France 24" + ], + "articles": [ + { + "title": "Demystifying Cuba - William & Mary Alumni Magazine", + "title_detail": { + "type": "text/plain", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Demystifying Cuba - William & Mary Alumni Magazine" + }, + "links": [ + { + "rel": "alternate", + "type": "text/html", + "href": "https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMicEFVX3lxTE9ISFJxUEN2cDlKWG54WDhzQS15Nld6ZXMtbzdObDlXYlJ4N0V1Zkd6UklyUXNqNHN3WEtkYk53TVE2TzdmRkRYTGVVR3FyZV9SeDFNUHNFNXhGM2RFN0Y3MkRocnBINzl2MUFHVzlBMDk?oc=5" + } + ], + "link": "https://www.history.com/articles/cuba-after-castro-miguel-diaz-canel", + "id": "CBMicEFVX3lxTE9ISFJxUEN2cDlKWG54WDhzQS15Nld6ZXMtbzdObDlXYlJ4N0V1Zkd6UklyUXNqNHN3WEtkYk53TVE2TzdmRkRYTGVVR3FyZV9SeDFNUHNFNXhGM2RFN0Y3MkRocnBINzl2MUFHVzlBMDk", + "guidislink": false, + "published": "Sun, 01 Apr 2018 07:00:00 GMT", + "published_parsed": [ + 2018, + 4, + 1, + 7, + 0, + 0, + 6, + 91, + 0 + ], + "summary": "Demystifying Cuba  William & Mary Alumni Magazine", + "summary_detail": { + "type": "text/html", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Demystifying Cuba  William & Mary Alumni Magazine" + }, + "source": { + "href": "https://magazine.wm.edu", + "title": "William & Mary Alumni Magazine" + }, + "sub_articles": [], + "status_code": 200, + "response": "---\ntitle: How the Castro Family Dominated Cuba for Nearly 60 Years | HISTORY\nauthor: Erin Blakemore\nurl: https://www.history.com/articles/cuba-after-castro-miguel-diaz-canel\nhostname: history.com\ndescription: In April 2018, it was announced that the island nation long ruled by dictator Fidel Castro and his family would get a...\nsitename: HISTORY\ndate: 2018-04-18\ncategories: ['Latin American & Caribbean History']\n---\nFor nearly 60 years, the Castro family controlled Cuba. But in 2018 it was announced that the island nation long dominated by the specter of its former dictator, Fidel Castro, and his family would get a new leader. In 2019, the 86-year-old Ra\u00fal Castro stepped down and Miguel D\u00edaz-Canel, his handpicked successor, became president and head of state.\n\nThis was the first time Cuba had a non-Castro in power since the Cuban Revolution rocked the island more than half a century ago\u2014and it\u2019s been a bumpy ride. Since taking power in 1959, the Castros oversaw both revolution and modernization, becoming some of the most divisive figures of their time.\n\n**Castro Revolts Against Batista**\n\nIn 1953, the son of a wealthy Spanish sugarcane farmer burst into Cuba\u2019s national consciousness when he helped lead what he hoped would be a successful uprising against Cuba\u2019s new dictatorship. Fidel Castro, then a young attorney with a flair for politics, wanted all of Cuba to rise up against Fulgencio Batista, who had deposed Cuba\u2019s president the year prior. His mission, designed to spark others to revolt, was nothing short of suicidal: Along with his brother Ra\u00fal and about 120 others, he invaded Cuba\u2019s second-largest military garrison. It failed and he was jailed.\n\nBy the time he was released two years later, Fidel was ready for full-scale revolution. He went to Mexico with Ra\u00fal and formed the 26th of July Movement, a revolutionary guerrilla group that included Ch\u00e9 Guevara. Beginning in 1956, they fought Batista\u2019s military until, on January 1, 1959, Batista admitted defeat and fled Cuba. After a short-lived turn in Cuba\u2019s provisional government, Fidel took over." + }, + { + "title": "Cuba and The U.S.: \u2018Intimate Diplomacy\u2019 - National Security Archive", + "title_detail": { + "type": "text/plain", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Cuba and The U.S.: \u2018Intimate Diplomacy\u2019 - National Security Archive" + }, + "links": [ + { + "rel": "alternate", + "type": "text/html", + "href": "https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiigFBVV95cUxQZlVTdUlidHNUVnREc2pVOVNHUWE4ZHUzYTNrTXAxOE5KMVZxMkY4eS0zMHQ4cS1hZldVTE42REd5NnY0cXE1MDZCNHp6SjR2QlFia0xHWU1ncnlWYXF1c01va0Nhd0lxbklSaW1zVVotMEY4V2NtZmFkQzlLTUxKVGM0WHpqdGJ5RlE?oc=5" + } + ], + "link": "https://news.medill.northwestern.edu/chicago/in-cuba-family-means-collective-wisdom/", + "id": "CBMiigFBVV95cUxQZlVTdUlidHNUVnREc2pVOVNHUWE4ZHUzYTNrTXAxOE5KMVZxMkY4eS0zMHQ4cS1hZldVTE42REd5NnY0cXE1MDZCNHp6SjR2QlFia0xHWU1ncnlWYXF1c01va0Nhd0lxbklSaW1zVVotMEY4V2NtZmFkQzlLTUxKVGM0WHpqdGJ5RlE", + "guidislink": false, + "published": "Fri, 20 Apr 2018 07:00:00 GMT", + "published_parsed": [ + 2018, + 4, + 20, + 7, + 0, + 0, + 4, + 110, + 0 + ], + "summary": "Cuba and The U.S.: \u2018Intimate Diplomacy\u2019  National Security Archive", + "summary_detail": { + "type": "text/html", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Cuba and The U.S.: \u2018Intimate Diplomacy\u2019  National Security Archive" + }, + "source": { + "href": "https://nsarchive.gwu.edu", + "title": "National Security Archive" + }, + "sub_articles": [], + "status_code": 200, + "response": "---\ntitle: In Cuba Family Means Collective Wisdom - Medill Reports Chicago\nauthor: Giuliapetroni\nurl: https://news.medill.northwestern.edu/chicago/in-cuba-family-means-collective-wisdom/\nhostname: northwestern.edu\ndescription: By Giulia Petroni Medill Reports HAVANA \u2014 A sunbeam streams through the window and crosses the living room. It is 9 a.m., and Lesbia is opening the shutters while humming the notes of Cuban guajira. They resonate in her mind as the most powerful of memories. It was the late 1970s, and Lesbia was in [\u2026]\nsitename: Medill Reports Chicago\ndate: 2018-04-18\n---\n**By Giulia Petroni**\n\n*Medill Reports*\n\nHAVANA \u2014 A sunbeam streams through the window and crosses the living room. It is 9 a.m., and Lesbia is opening the shutters while humming the notes of Cuban guajira. They resonate in her mind as the most powerful of memories.\n\nIt was the late 1970s, and Lesbia was in her house in Matanzas. Her mom was getting ready to receive family for lunch. Eleven siblings, three children each. It was the same every Sunday: a meal, a guitar and songs until late afternoon.\n\n\u201cSiempre juntos,\u201d says Lesbia. Always together.\n\nThis is how she defines family. It\u2019s the essence of Cuba and, perhaps, an inadvertent product of the socialist experiment.\n\nScarcity forces entire families to live under the same roof. Houses with three bedrooms accommodate up to nine people. The sense of community \u2013 the greatest strength of the Cuban population \u2013 stems from the necessity to share.\n\nPhysical closeness ensures a continuous exchange of knowledge and wisdom. Stories are turned into life lessons that family members pass on to each other.\n\nAt the same time, as the country undergoes historical changes, generational gaps become more tangible: Young Cubans face the limits imposed by the regime and mature a stronger desire for openness.\n\n\nLesbia Alem\u00e0n, 48, has no memory of life before the revolution, but carries vivid remembrances of the hardship that caused Cuban leader Fidel Castro to declare in 1990: \u201cThe events happening right now are beginning to transform the life of our country from a normal situation to a special period in a time of peace.\u201d\n\nAs the Berlin wall fell, the umbilical cord binding the fates of Cuba and the Soviet Union disintegrated. To face the imminent economic collapse, the Cuban government announced a series of restrictive measures on the consumption of electricity and primary goods. With the private sector virtually non-existent and the country unable to afford many imports, products simply became unavailable.\n\nA year later, in 1991, Lesbia became pregnant.\n\nAt that time, she and her husband Kiki lived in Matanzas. Their house was assigned to Kiki after he took part to a so-called \u201cmicrobrigada\u201d \u2013 a collective form of self-help, where workers organized in groups to build semi-prefabricated buildings for themselves and their colleagues.\n\nKiki was a professor, and Lesbia an accountant at a poultry farm. Together, they would make 650 pesos per month, about $35. Faced with massive food shortages and needing nourishment during her nine months of pregnancy, Lesbia bought and butchered a sheep.\n\n\u201cThe special period was difficult for all of us,\u201d says Lesbia. \u201cBut my dad used to say \u2018It\u2019s gonna be just fine. We\u2019ve been through harder times. Before, we couldn\u2019t even study.\u2019\u201d\n\nBefore the revolution, he meant. Before Fidel Castro provided Cubans with free education.\n\nFrom generation to generation, members of a family teach one another that it could be worse, that it had been worse.\n\nToday, sitting in the living room of her three-story house in the neighborhood of Vedado, it is now Lesbia who tells her daughter to appreciate the way things are. Sometimes, however, she finds it difficult.\n\n\u201cShe has different desires,\u201d says Lesbia referring to her daughter, Leslie. \u201cWe have a different mentality.\u201d\n\nLesbia imagines the state as a father, the Cuban people as his children. The government takes care of education and health services, but it simply cannot afford anything else. They can\u2019t have more, she says.\n\n\u2013 \u201cDo you have a dream?\u201d I ask her.\n\n\u2013 \u201cYes, that my family stays healthy,\u201d Lesbia replies. \u201cHere in Cuba.\u201d\n\n\u2013 \u201cDo you feel free?\u201d\n\n\u2013 \u201cI do.\u201d\n\nHer daughter Leslie, 25, doesn\u2019t feel quite the same way. Eager to explore the world, she doesn\u2019t understand the government\u2019s travel restrictions. After all, what does the government get by limiting travel to other countries?\n\n\u201cYo solo quiero ir a conoc\u00e8r el mundo,\u201d says Leslie. I just want to get to know the world.\n\nUntil five years ago, Cuban citizens had to apply for an exit visa to be able to travel, even on vacation. When Lesbia\u2019s cousin got married in Canc\u00f9n, Mexico, she and her family couldn\u2019t go to the wedding, even with all costs covered. The government didn\u2019t grant them permission to leave the country.\n\nAs part of President Ra\u00f9l Castro\u2019s plan of reforms, the government announced in 2013 that citizens needed only a renewed passport and a visa issued by the country of destination. However, a significant constraint still applies: visa and travel expenses. The average salary of a Cuban is 30 CUC (Cuba Convertible Pesos) \u2013 the equivalent of about $30 \u2013 per month, so restriction-free travelling is still an illusion for most.\n\nIf Lesbia\u2019s generation has had decades to get used to the idiosyncrasies of the Cuban political system, Leslie\u2019s generation has not \u2013 at least yet. She and her peers don\u2019t want another revolution, but they do seek economic and social changes. For Leslie, this means mobility, access to information, an open internet, and the chance to earn more money.\n\n\u201cWe know that outside Cuba the world is moving on,\u201d says Leslie, who is willing to promise the Cuban Communist Party leadership peace in return for progress: \u201cLet us have more, we won\u2019t criticize the government.\u201d\n\nEven though the desire to travel and work abroad represents a recurring thought, Leslie is afraid to leave her family and miss her parents as they grow old. She was only 17 when she first introduced them to her boyfriend, Jorge, who has been living with them for seven years.\n\nLeslie met Jorge in Matanzas. He was a taxi-driver and she needed a ride home after a party. They ended up talking until 6 a.m. A year later, Jorgito became part of the family.\n\nTo this day, the four of them make all the decisions together. They are a team.\n\nJust around the corner from the Al\u00e8mans, lives Niria de la Osa. She and her husband were born in the late 1940s, and unlike many younger Cubans, speak perfect English. They\u2019ve been living in their spacious four-bedroom apartment since right after the 1959 Revolution, when the thriving real estate market took the form of apartment trading. Through the permuta system, people could legally exchange properties, getting around the strict rules of buying and selling.\n\n\u201cAfter the revolution, everything became easier for us,\u201d says Niria, who was only 12 when Fidel took power in 1959.\n\nFree healthcare, free education, new apartment.\n\nYet, \u201cin Cuba we have many problems with the houses,\u201d she says. \u201cSo it\u2019s not like you say \u2018I\u2019m going to live by myself and be independent\u2019, because here you can\u2019t do it. We share.\u201d\n\nToday, she and her husband live with their son and his 18-year-old twins.\n\nDayana and Daniela \u2013 smart, motivated and in their first year of university \u2013 dream of travelling the world and getting their master\u2019s degree abroad to eventually come back to Cuba. They were taught that, despite all the difficulties, family always comes first.\n\nProud of their roots and identity, they represent a new generation who seeks for a greater openness, but who\u2019s surprisingly less eager to leave and more willing to stay.\n\n\u2013 \u201cWhat do you see in your future?\u201d I ask them.\n\n\u2013 \u201cFamily. Family means our past, present and future,\u201d they say almost in unison.\n\n\u2013 \u201cWhat is that you like the most about your family?\u201d\n\n\u2013 \u201cAqu\u00ed no se ocultan secretos, y si se ocultan se descubren r\u00e1pido.\u201d Secrets aren\u2019t hidden here, and if they are, they are discovered quickly.\n\nCertainly, life in the States sparks their curiosity. A spotty 30-minute Wi-Fi connection along the seaside promenade, the Mal\u00e8con, makes them wonder about life outside of the island, where their peers in Spain, Mexico and the United States have free access to Google, Facebook and YouTube.\n\nAs the soon-to-be post-Castro era approaches \u2013 President Raul Castro will step down on April 19 \u2013 attitudes shift. And yet, between independence and stability, Dayana and Daniela choose the only reality they know. They choose stability, they choose Cuba." + }, + { + "title": "Before Trump was anti-Cuba, he wanted to open a hotel in Havana - The Conversation", + "title_detail": { + "type": "text/plain", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Before Trump was anti-Cuba, he wanted to open a hotel in Havana - The Conversation" + }, + "links": [ + { + "rel": "alternate", + "type": "text/html", + "href": "https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMinAFBVV95cUxPNWw4R0xRVzlJNGtpdDlKNkU1OEdxT2xzX0cwM2JGSl9MelpSamxPMTJZcXB2UWZ1SEJlZEttNGkxS1VpakxTaUhnc3ZDeUkyd2J5WFE4NEY4VGM5NUNNVVo3aDdjaElHNEp3QWtzd0tpOHlocmQ1ZmM5RFFraW9jZElMS1dTLUwwUEtacjZjamQxQ2wtNzdNN1hSZlo?oc=5" + } + ], + "link": "https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/cuba-launches-process-of-replacing-raul-castro-as-president", + "id": "CBMinAFBVV95cUxPNWw4R0xRVzlJNGtpdDlKNkU1OEdxT2xzX0cwM2JGSl9MelpSamxPMTJZcXB2UWZ1SEJlZEttNGkxS1VpakxTaUhnc3ZDeUkyd2J5WFE4NEY4VGM5NUNNVVo3aDdjaElHNEp3QWtzd0tpOHlocmQ1ZmM5RFFraW9jZElMS1dTLUwwUEtacjZjamQxQ2wtNzdNN1hSZlo", + "guidislink": false, + "published": "Mon, 16 Apr 2018 07:00:00 GMT", + "published_parsed": [ + 2018, + 4, + 16, + 7, + 0, + 0, + 0, + 106, + 0 + ], + "summary": "Before Trump was anti-Cuba, he wanted to open a hotel in Havana  The Conversation", + "summary_detail": { + "type": "text/html", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Before Trump was anti-Cuba, he wanted to open a hotel in Havana  The Conversation" + }, + "source": { + "href": "https://theconversation.com", + "title": "The Conversation" + }, + "sub_articles": [], + "status_code": 200, + "response": "---\ntitle: Miguel Diaz-Canel, 57, chosen as next president of Cuba\nurl: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/cuba-launches-process-of-replacing-raul-castro-as-president\nhostname: pbs.org\ndescription: The virtually certain unanimous approval of the National Assembly will install someone from outside the Castro family in the country's highest government office for the first time in nearly six decades.\nsitename: PBS News\ndate: 2018-04-18\ncategories: ['Politics']\ntags: ['cuba, raul castro']\n---\nBy \u2014 Michael Weissenstein and Andrea Rodriguez, Associated Press Michael Weissenstein and Andrea Rodriguez, Associated Press Leave a comment 0comments Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/cuba-launches-process-of-replacing-raul-castro-as-president Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Miguel Diaz-Canel, 57, chosen as next president of Cuba Politics Updated on Apr 18, 2018 2:25 PM EDT \u2014 Published on Apr 18, 2018 11:44 AM EDT HAVANA \u2014 Cuba on Wednesday selected 57-year-old First Vice President Miguel Mario Diaz-Canel Bermudez as sole candidate to succeed Raul Castro as president of Cuba, the centerpiece of an effort to ensure that the country's single-party system outlasts the aging revolutionaries who created it. The virtually certain unanimous approval of the National Assembly will install someone from outside the Castro family in the country's highest government office for the first time in nearly six decades. The 86-year-old Castro will remain head of the Communist Party, designated by the constitution as \"the superior guiding force of society and the state.\" As a result, Castro is almost certain to remain the most powerful person in Cuba for the time being. His departure from the presidency is nonetheless a symbolically charged moment for a country accustomed to 60 years of absolute rule first by revolutionary leader Fidel Castro and, for the last decade, his younger brother. Nominated as new first vice president was Salvador Valdes Mesa, a 72-year-old Afro-Cuban former union official who has held a long series of high posts in the Cuban government. The government's official Candidacy Commission also nominated another five vice presidents of the Council of State, Cuba's highest government body. Only one of the five, 85-year-old Ramiro Valdez, was among the revolutionaries who fought with the Castros in the eastern Sierra Maestra mountains. Facing biological reality, Raul Castro is working to ensure a smooth transition from him and his small group of former guerrillas to a new generation that can maintain the government's grip on power in the face of economic stagnation, an aging population and waning revolutionary fervor among Cuban youth attuned more to global consumer culture than the anti-capitalist, nationalist messaging of the state-run media. That media went into overdrive Wednesday with a single message: Cuba's system is continuing in the face of change. Commentators on state television and online offered lengthy explanations of why Cuba's single-party politics and socialist economy are superior to multi-party democracy and free markets, and assured Cubans that no fundamental changes were occurring, despite some new faces at the top. \"It falls on our generation to give continuity to the revolutionary process,\" said assembly member Jorge Luis Torres, a municipal councilman from central Artemisa province who appeared to be in his 40s. \"We're a generation born after the revolution, whose responsibility is driving the destiny of the nation.\" Most Cubans know their first vice president as an unremarkable speaker who initially assumed a public profile so low it was virtually nonexistent. Until March, Diaz-Canel had said nothing to the Cuban people about the type of president he would be. The white-haired, generally unsmiling Diaz-Canel had been seen at greatest length in a leaked video of a Communist Party meeting where he somberly pledged to shutter some independent media and labeled some European embassies as outposts of foreign subversion. That image has begun to change slightly this year as Diaz-Canel stepped into the moderate limelight offered by Cuba's Soviet-style state media. With his public comments in March, many Cubans got a glimpse of him as a flesh-pressing local politician, an image familiar to residents of the central province where he was born and spent nine years in a role akin to a governor. Castro entered the National Assembly just after 9 a.m. accompanied by a broadly smiling Diaz-Canel. The 604 assembly members were sworn in \u2014 a 605th was absent \u2014 then voted for the president and vice president of the legislative body itself. The result of the votes for president and vice presidents and other national leaders is expected to be officially announced Thursday, the anniversary of the U.S.-backed Bay of Pigs invasion defeated by Cuban forces in 1961. As in Cuba's legislative elections, all of the leaders being voted in on Wednesday are selected by a government-appointed commission. Ballots offer only the option of approving or disapproving the official candidate. Candidates generally receive more than 90 percent of the votes in their favor. Fidel Castro was prime minister and president from 1959 until he fell ill in 2006. Although Osvaldo Dorticos was president of Cuba during Fidel Castro's time as prime minister, he was considered a figurehead beside the man who led Cuba's revolution, forged its single-party socialist system and ruled by fiat. Associated Press Writer Ben Fox contributed to this report. A free press is a cornerstone of a healthy democracy. Support trusted journalism and civil dialogue. Donate now By \u2014 Michael Weissenstein and Andrea Rodriguez, Associated Press Michael Weissenstein and Andrea Rodriguez, Associated Press\n\nHAVANA \u2014 Cuba on Wednesday selected 57-year-old First Vice President Miguel Mario Diaz-Canel Bermudez as sole candidate to succeed Raul Castro as president of Cuba, the centerpiece of an effort to ensure that the country's single-party system outlasts the aging revolutionaries who created it. The virtually certain unanimous approval of the National Assembly will install someone from outside the Castro family in the country's highest government office for the first time in nearly six decades. The 86-year-old Castro will remain head of the Communist Party, designated by the constitution as \"the superior guiding force of society and the state.\" As a result, Castro is almost certain to remain the most powerful person in Cuba for the time being. His departure from the presidency is nonetheless a symbolically charged moment for a country accustomed to 60 years of absolute rule first by revolutionary leader Fidel Castro and, for the last decade, his younger brother. Nominated as new first vice president was Salvador Valdes Mesa, a 72-year-old Afro-Cuban former union official who has held a long series of high posts in the Cuban government. The government's official Candidacy Commission also nominated another five vice presidents of the Council of State, Cuba's highest government body. Only one of the five, 85-year-old Ramiro Valdez, was among the revolutionaries who fought with the Castros in the eastern Sierra Maestra mountains. Facing biological reality, Raul Castro is working to ensure a smooth transition from him and his small group of former guerrillas to a new generation that can maintain the government's grip on power in the face of economic stagnation, an aging population and waning revolutionary fervor among Cuban youth attuned more to global consumer culture than the anti-capitalist, nationalist messaging of the state-run media. That media went into overdrive Wednesday with a single message: Cuba's system is continuing in the face of change. Commentators on state television and online offered lengthy explanations of why Cuba's single-party politics and socialist economy are superior to multi-party democracy and free markets, and assured Cubans that no fundamental changes were occurring, despite some new faces at the top. \"It falls on our generation to give continuity to the revolutionary process,\" said assembly member Jorge Luis Torres, a municipal councilman from central Artemisa province who appeared to be in his 40s. \"We're a generation born after the revolution, whose responsibility is driving the destiny of the nation.\" Most Cubans know their first vice president as an unremarkable speaker who initially assumed a public profile so low it was virtually nonexistent. Until March, Diaz-Canel had said nothing to the Cuban people about the type of president he would be. The white-haired, generally unsmiling Diaz-Canel had been seen at greatest length in a leaked video of a Communist Party meeting where he somberly pledged to shutter some independent media and labeled some European embassies as outposts of foreign subversion. That image has begun to change slightly this year as Diaz-Canel stepped into the moderate limelight offered by Cuba's Soviet-style state media. With his public comments in March, many Cubans got a glimpse of him as a flesh-pressing local politician, an image familiar to residents of the central province where he was born and spent nine years in a role akin to a governor. Castro entered the National Assembly just after 9 a.m. accompanied by a broadly smiling Diaz-Canel. The 604 assembly members were sworn in \u2014 a 605th was absent \u2014 then voted for the president and vice president of the legislative body itself. The result of the votes for president and vice presidents and other national leaders is expected to be officially announced Thursday, the anniversary of the U.S.-backed Bay of Pigs invasion defeated by Cuban forces in 1961. As in Cuba's legislative elections, all of the leaders being voted in on Wednesday are selected by a government-appointed commission. Ballots offer only the option of approving or disapproving the official candidate. Candidates generally receive more than 90 percent of the votes in their favor. Fidel Castro was prime minister and president from 1959 until he fell ill in 2006. Although Osvaldo Dorticos was president of Cuba during Fidel Castro's time as prime minister, he was considered a figurehead beside the man who led Cuba's revolution, forged its single-party socialist system and ruled by fiat. Associated Press Writer Ben Fox contributed to this report. A free press is a cornerstone of a healthy democracy. Support trusted journalism and civil dialogue. Donate now" + }, + { + "title": "Cuba in 1968 - Jacobin", + "title_detail": { + "type": "text/plain", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Cuba in 1968 - Jacobin" + }, + "links": [ + { + "rel": "alternate", + "type": "text/html", + "href": "https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMifEFVX3lxTE5MaUtROElBMW1oUWVsbWN3Z25ZVGdHM1FBaDVQeEs5NG5jaDlfd0dQanVKa2FMeENfMnA5V292Y1BhZUNkYm1GVzZYN0RHZHA5MVZQWjlaQWhLeVBfWkVVT1dBM2ozVXVaVUdrRXUwcE56VldLRjY0emhTeUI?oc=5" + } + ], + "link": "https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/briefing-book/cuba/2018-04-20/cuba-us-intimate-diplomacy", + "id": "CBMifEFVX3lxTE5MaUtROElBMW1oUWVsbWN3Z25ZVGdHM1FBaDVQeEs5NG5jaDlfd0dQanVKa2FMeENfMnA5V292Y1BhZUNkYm1GVzZYN0RHZHA5MVZQWjlaQWhLeVBfWkVVT1dBM2ozVXVaVUdrRXUwcE56VldLRjY0emhTeUI", + "guidislink": false, + "published": "Sun, 29 Apr 2018 07:00:00 GMT", + "published_parsed": [ + 2018, + 4, + 29, + 7, + 0, + 0, + 6, + 119, + 0 + ], + "summary": "Cuba in 1968  Jacobin", + "summary_detail": { + "type": "text/html", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Cuba in 1968  Jacobin" + }, + "source": { + "href": "https://jacobin.com", + "title": "Jacobin" + }, + "sub_articles": [], + "status_code": 200, + "response": "---\ntitle: Cuba and The U.S.: \u2018Intimate Diplomacy\u2019\nurl: https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/briefing-book/cuba/2018-04-20/cuba-us-intimate-diplomacy\nhostname: nsarchive.gwu.edu\ndescription: Washington D.C., April 20, 2018 \u2013 Back-channel diplomacy, conducted by an ABC News reporter named Lisa Howard resolved a potential crisis with Cuba in mid-1964, according to documents posted today by the National Security Archive. After the CIA obtained \u201cdisturbing\u201d intelligence reports that Fidel Castro had threatened to shoot down U.S. reconnaissance planes in retaliation for the Coast Guard seizure of four Cuban fishing boats, Howard secretly traveled to Cuba to convey a U.S.\nsitename: NSArchive\ndate: 2018-04-20\n---\n**Washington D.C., April 20, 2018 \u2013** Back-channel diplomacy, conducted by an ABC News reporter named Lisa Howard resolved a potential crisis with Cuba in mid-1964, according to documents posted today by the National Security Archive. After the CIA obtained \u201cdisturbing\u201d intelligence reports that Fidel Castro had threatened to shoot down U.S. reconnaissance planes in retaliation for the Coast Guard seizure of four Cuban fishing boats, Howard secretly traveled to Cuba to convey a U.S. government warning to Castro, and returned with his assurances that \u201cnothing will happen to our planes, and that we do not need to send him any warnings\u201d \u2013 a message passed through UN Ambassador Adlai Stevenson directly to President Johnson.\n\nA comprehensive historical account of Howard\u2019s extensive involvement in back-channel diplomacy with Cuba was published today, for the first time, in *Politico Magazine* in an article by Archive analyst Peter Kornbluh \u2013 \"My Dearest Fidel: An ABC Journalist\u2019s Secret Liaison With Fidel Castro.\u201d The article is subtitled: \u201cThe untold story of how Lisa Howard\u2019s intimate diplomacy with Cuba\u2019s revolutionary leader changed the course of the Cold War.\u201d The Archive today posted a selection of Howard\u2019s personal papers and documents on which the article is based.\n\nLisa Howard, a former soap opera actress who transformed herself into one of the leading female television news correspondents in the United States in the early 1960s, first met Fidel Castro when she convinced him to do an ABC News interview in April 1963. Howard was the first woman to anchor a television news show \u2013 \u201cLisa Howard and News with a Woman\u2019s Touch.\u201d Her two ABC specials on Cuba, \u201cFidel Castro: Self Portrait\u201d in 1963 and \u201cCuba and Castro Today\u201d in 1964, provided the most substantive coverage of Castro and the Cuban revolution in the early 1960s.\n\nOff camera, Howard became the central intermediary between Castro and the Kennedy administration in the fall of 1963, turning her home in New York City into a hub of secret diplomatic communications between Washington and Havana. After Kennedy\u2019s assassination, she and Castro collaborated to revive the secret dialogue and establish a back channel to the Johnson White House. According to Kornbluh\u2019s *Politico* article, \u201cher role as peacemaker was built on a complex, little-understood rapport she managed to forge with Castro himself \u2013 a relationship that was political and personal, intellectual and intimate.\u201d She died at age 39 in 1965.\n\n\u201cWith her tireless efforts to achieve an honorable rapprochement with Cuba,\u201d according to Kornbluh, \u201cLisa Howard set the historical stage for the breakthrough in relations more than 50 years later under the Obama administration.\u201d The records of those efforts, he noted, are once again relevant as Raul Castro steps down as president and the Trump administration weighs future U.S. policy toward Cuba in the post-Castro era.\n\nHoward also figures in the **award-winning book** ** Back Channel to Cuba: The Hidden History of Negotiations between Washington and Havana** by Kornbluh and William M. LeoGrande (U. of North Carolina Press, updated paperback, 2015)\n\n\n## Read the documents\n\nDocument 01\n\nOnly a few days after the resolution of the Cuban missile crisis, Lisa Howard presses Fidel Castro for an interview with ABC News. \"Considering the present state of the world crisis, wouldn't this be an ideal moment for you to speak to the American people?\" she suggests. \"I do hope you will permit me to come to Havana and conduct this interview...an interview I believe could be an extremely important one.\" Eventually, the Cuban mission at the United Nations provides her with a visa to travel to the island in April 1963.\n\nDocument 02\n\nAfter meeting and interviewing Fidel Castro in Havana, Howard writes him a very personal letter that combines criticism of the direction of the revolution with her deep sense of the contribution she believes he can make to \"the final betterment of the human condition.\" Convinced that the U.S. government intends to destroy Castro and roll back the Cuban revolution, Howard commits herself to \"do all in my power\" to improve relations. \"I am going to talk to certain people when I return to the states,\" she promises. \"I do not overestimate my influence. But I shall try to help.\"\n\nDocument 03\n\nThe CIA debriefs Howard on her conversations with Castro almost as soon as she returns from Cuba. Their report on Castro's readiness \"to discuss rapprochement\" is sent by CIA deputy director Richard Helms to the White House. The document contains a notation, \"Psaw,\" meaning President Kennedy read the report on Howard and Castro.\n\nDocument 04\n\nHoward writes her own lengthy report to President Kennedy, asking for a face-to-face meeting to personally brief him on Castro's interest in better bilateral relations. She implores the president to \"sit down and negotiate with Fidel.\"\n\nDocument 05\n\nAttwood reports on his contacts with Lisa Howard, including speaking to Fidel Castro's aide, Rene Vallejo, on her telephone late in the early morning hours of November 19, 1963. His report is dated on the day of Kennedy's assassination.\n\nDocument 06\n\nDuring her second trip to Cuba, Lisa Howard films an interview with Che Guevara at the Ministry of Industry on the evening of February 13, 1964. She asks him what \"you would like to see the United States do as regards Cuba?\" Che responds: \"Perhaps the most frank and most objective answer would be 'Nothing.' ... Just leave us alone, not pay any attention to us.\" The interview eventually is broadcast on the ABC News show \"Issues and Answers\" on March 22, 1964.\n\nDocument 07\n\nBased on her private conversations with Castro, Howard drafts a message for Lyndon Johnson regarding the secret talks between Cuba and the U.S. that were taking place before President Kennedy was killed, and Castro's willingness to continue the talks. In the message, Castro suggests using Howard as an intermediary between the White House and Cuba, to maintain a secret channel of communication and move a dialogue toward better relations forward. Howard spends the rest of the spring trying to personally deliver the message to Johnson, only to be blocked by McGeorge Bundy. In early June, she gives the message to UN Ambassador Adlai Stevenson, who passes it directly to President Johnson.\n\nDocument 08\n\nGordon Chase sends a detailed report on his March 7 debriefing with Lisa Howard of her February trip to Cuba and her conversations with Castro. She tells him that \"Fidel very much wants accommodation with the U.S.\" and believes that he is willing to \"kick the Russians out of Cuba\" if he had \"a credible guarantee that we would not try to destroy him.\" Chase reports that he tried to obtain the Castro message for Johnson that Howard has, but she insists that she must give the message to the President herself. Chase gently prods her to provide the message to him, saying that \"if Fidel wanted to say something to us, he had apparently not picked a very good messenger.\"\n\nDocument 09\n\nIn a memorandum to news director Jesse Zousmer, Howard explains why she is waging a \"titanic battle\" over the tone and wording of the script that is to accompany her special hour-long broadcast, \"Castro and Cuba Today.\" She objects to Zousmer's attempts to dismiss Castro as a Communist and cast the Cuban revolution in Cold War terms. \"I cannot, I will not associate myself with a project as dishonest as the one you are trying to present to the American public.\"\n\nDocument 10\n\nUN Ambassador Adlai Stevenson, via Lisa Howard, passes messages from Fidel Castro to President Johnson, establishing a direct back-channel line of communication between the Oval Office and Castro's office. \"Castro told her to tell me that there will be no crisis until after the November elections; that nothing will happen to our planes, and that we do not need to send him any warnings. He will use utmost restraint and we can relax.\" Stevenson also tells Johnson that Castro believes that \"all our crises could be avoided if there was some way to communicate\" and suggests continuing to use Lisa Howard as a go-between to get messages to Stevenson who would pass them on to the president.\n\nDocument 11\n\nNSC aide Gordon Chase reports to McGeorge Bundy on his concerns that Howard's role as an intermediary has now escalated through her contact with Stevenson at the United Nations and the fact that a message has been sent back through her to Castro from the White House. Chase recommends trying \"to remove Lisa from direct participation in the business of passing messages,\" and using Cuban Ambassador to the UN Carlos Lechuga instead. Howard is subsequently cut out of the loop of back channel communications between Cuba and the United States.\n\nDocument 12\n\nHoward drafts a letter inviting Che Guevara to a cocktail party at her home on December 16th. She attempts to invite U.S. officials as well so that they can talk to him informally. None will come. But the progressive senator from Minnesota, Eugene McCarthy, does come to the party and does chat with Che. He briefs the State Department the next day on the substance of their conversation.\n\nDocument 13\n\nNSC aide Gordon Chase reports to McGeorge Bundy on Lisa Howard's efforts to arrange a meeting between U.S. officials and Che Guevara. \"The main problem,\" he notes, \"is to ascertain the truth-e.g. whether Che really has something to say to us or whether this is Lisa Howard building bridges.\"" + }, + { + "title": "How the Castro Family Dominated Cuba for Nearly 60 Years - History.com", + "title_detail": { + "type": "text/plain", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "How the Castro Family Dominated Cuba for Nearly 60 Years - History.com" + }, + "links": [ + { + "rel": "alternate", + "type": "text/html", + "href": "https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMid0FVX3lxTE9KMzEtcEhuTFAtZEJNMjYtaHFVbU1Zb2d4U1VXbzBjaVBKcDBDNTEySUhYN0hNb2xBYXR2SXZtakh2R0Fxd0NRT3NxdTdPbDBtdzhDSzNmLXdiblJaX1JER0pUblNleFN6Z0lvSjJKQjRsZm1KY080?oc=5" + } + ], + "link": "https://www.americasquarterly.org/article/how-much-change-will-cubas-new-president-bring/", + "id": "CBMid0FVX3lxTE9KMzEtcEhuTFAtZEJNMjYtaHFVbU1Zb2d4U1VXbzBjaVBKcDBDNTEySUhYN0hNb2xBYXR2SXZtakh2R0Fxd0NRT3NxdTdPbDBtdzhDSzNmLXdiblJaX1JER0pUblNleFN6Z0lvSjJKQjRsZm1KY080", + "guidislink": false, + "published": "Wed, 18 Apr 2018 07:00:00 GMT", + "published_parsed": [ + 2018, + 4, + 18, + 7, + 0, + 0, + 2, + 108, + 0 + ], + "summary": "How the Castro Family Dominated Cuba for Nearly 60 Years  History.com", + "summary_detail": { + "type": "text/html", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "How the Castro Family Dominated Cuba for Nearly 60 Years  History.com" + }, + "source": { + "href": "https://www.history.com", + "title": "History.com" + }, + "sub_articles": [], + "status_code": 403, + "response": "Error: HTTP 403" + }, + { + "title": "In Cuba Family Means Collective Wisdom - Northwestern University", + "title_detail": { + "type": "text/plain", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "In Cuba Family Means Collective Wisdom - Northwestern University" + }, + "links": [ + { + "rel": "alternate", + "type": "text/html", + "href": "https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMijAFBVV95cUxONnpmUmIwaXdramdQcU9IeVpQcnFIT0ZNRFN4R0NORlFFd0otUXhCbVNzYklpVnJsM1lSSEc4MnhTYVFKY2gwZHlyb01rOVhyVVRIQUVyWWR3eUoxd2Y3LXk4QjZwOGlSVVI5YWVycTVHT0wzUG9HN3kzaklZMmdMZVBTYWZyNFFwNXVuag?oc=5" + } + ], + "link": "https://theconversation.com/before-trump-was-anti-cuba-he-wanted-to-open-a-hotel-in-havana-94689", + "id": "CBMijAFBVV95cUxONnpmUmIwaXdramdQcU9IeVpQcnFIT0ZNRFN4R0NORlFFd0otUXhCbVNzYklpVnJsM1lSSEc4MnhTYVFKY2gwZHlyb01rOVhyVVRIQUVyWWR3eUoxd2Y3LXk4QjZwOGlSVVI5YWVycTVHT0wzUG9HN3kzaklZMmdMZVBTYWZyNFFwNXVuag", + "guidislink": false, + "published": "Tue, 17 Apr 2018 07:00:00 GMT", + "published_parsed": [ + 2018, + 4, + 17, + 7, + 0, + 0, + 1, + 107, + 0 + ], + "summary": "In Cuba Family Means Collective Wisdom  Northwestern University", + "summary_detail": { + "type": "text/html", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "In Cuba Family Means Collective Wisdom  Northwestern University" + }, + "source": { + "href": "https://news.medill.northwestern.edu", + "title": "Northwestern University" + }, + "sub_articles": [], + "status_code": 200, + "response": "---\ntitle: Before Trump was anti-Cuba, he wanted to open a hotel in Havana\nauthor: William M LeoGrande\nurl: https://theconversation.com/before-trump-was-anti-cuba-he-wanted-to-open-a-hotel-in-havana-94689\nhostname: theconversation.com\ndescription: As president, Donald Trump has taken a harsh stance toward Cuba. But his real estate company has tried twice to open Trump properties on the Communist island, allegedly even skirting the law to do so.\nsitename: The Conversation\ndate: 2018-04-16\n---\nPresidents Raul Castro and Donald Trump both canceled trips to April\u2019s Summit of the Americas in Peru, avoiding a potential confrontation \u2013 though U.S. Vice President Mike Pence and Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodr\u00edguez lobbed insults at each other in their stead.\n\nRelations between the United States and Cuba have grown tense under the Trump administration, which tightened economic sanctions against the Communist Caribbean island in 2017.\n\n\u201cWe do not want U.S. dollars to prop up a military monopoly that exploits and abuses the citizens of Cuba,\u201d Trump declared in June 2017. \u201cWe will enforce the ban on tourism. We will enforce the embargo.\u201d\n\nThose who follow Cuba-U.S. relations closely, as I have for 40 years, may recall that Trump has not always been so antagonistic toward Havana. Back when he was a real estate mogul, he was happy to overlook the embargo \u2013 twice, in fact \u2013 for a chance to open a Trump-branded hotel or golf resort in Cuba.\n\n## Trump Tower Havana\n\nIn September 2016, when Trump was the Republican presidential candidate, Newsweek magazine revealed that in 1998, Trump Hotels and Casino Resorts hired a consulting firm to explore business opportunities on the island.\n\nReportedly acting with Trump\u2019s knowledge, representatives from Seven Arrows Investment and Development Corp. traveled to Cuba, which was then led by Fidel Castro.\n\nThere, they met with government officials and business leaders. The goal, a former official with Trump Hotels and Casino Resorts told Newsweek, was to get a jump on the competition if President Bill Clinton opened up Cuba to U.S. business. Ever since President John F. Kennedy imposed an economic embargo on Cuba in 1962, the Cuban market has been closed to most American companies, including the hospitality sector.\n\nBecause their business trip violated the embargo, Seven Arrows advised the Trump organization to disguise its payment to them as a charitable project, according to documents obtained by Newsweek.\n\nThe story broke in the homestretch of the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign. In his defense, Trump argued that although Trump Hotels and Casino Resorts had paid for the exploratory trip, it had done nothing wrong because it did not ultimately invest in Cuba.\n\nTrump was courting conservative Cuban-Americans at the time. Because they generally oppose any dealings with the Castro regime, the Newsweek story was a political problem.\n\nSoon after the article\u2019s publication, Trump was in Florida making campaign promises to \u201creverse\u201d President Barack Obama\u2019s Cuba policy, which had relaxed restrictions on travel and re-established diplomatic ties.\n\n## Golfing and bird-watching in Cuba\n\nBut just months before the Newsweek report, Trump had been actively seeking to take advantage of Obama\u2019s opening to Cuba, which created a wide range of exceptions to the embargo, including allowing U.S. companies to do business on the island.\n\nBetween 2012 and 2015, several Trump Organization executives responsible for developing golf properties traveled to Cuba repeatedly. According to Businessweek magazine, they claimed to be going to the island for golfing and bird-watching.\n\nBusinessweek asked Donald Trump\u2019s son Eric, then an executive vice president at the Trump Organization, whether these trips had a business purpose.\n\n\u201cIn the last 12 months, many major competitors have sought opportunities in Cuba,\u201d he replied. \u201cWhile we are not sure whether Cuba represents an opportunity for us, it is important for us to understand the dynamics of the markets that our competitors are exploring.\u201d\n\nEric\u2019s dad was more direct when asked to comment on the Bloomberg story. \u201cThey had some meetings,\u201d Donald Trump admitted to Jim DeFede, an investigative reporter for CBS Miami.\n\nIn fact, two business consultants reportedly introduced the Trump executives to possible partners in Cuba and even prepared sketches of what Trump Tower Havana might look like. Miguel Flux\u00e0, chief executive of Spain\u2019s Iberostar Hotels and Resorts, which operates 17 hotels in Cuba, also said that the Trump Organization was trying to negotiate opening its own hotels there.\n\nIn early 2016, Wolf Blitzer interviewed candidate Trump and asked if he would open a hotel in Cuba.\n\n\u201cI would, I would,\u201d he said, before apparently acknowledging the legal limitations imposed by the embargo. \u201cAt the right time, when we\u2019re allowed to do it.\u201d\n\n## American hotels in Havana\n\nTrump\u2019s surprising November 2016 victory put any possibility of a Cuba property deal on ice. To avoid potential conflicts of interest, the president\u2019s attorney pledged that the Trump Organization would enter \u201cno new foreign deals\u201d while Trump occupied the White House.\n\nIn June 2017, Trump announced new sanctions tightening the U.S. embargo on Cuba. They specifically target the country\u2019s tourist industry, effectively prohibiting U.S. hotels from doing business on the island.\n\nTrump\u2019s regulations also ban U.S. visitors from patronizing hotels or services run by the Cuban military\u2019s tourism holding company, GAESA, which controls 40 percent of the hospitality business in Cuba. Americans cannot stay at hotels managed by European hotel groups like Iberostar or Meli\u00e1, either, if those companies are partners with GAESA.\n\nAs a result, the only American hotel company currently operating in Cuba is Marriott International, which was given a license by the Obama administration in 2016 to renovate and manage several Havana hotels. Its contract would be illegal under current regulations. Airbnb is also authorized to work in Cuba because it connects visitors with privately-owned home rentals.\n\nMainly, though, foreign hotel chains are reaping the benefits of Cuba\u2019s booming tourism industry. The number of foreign visitors is projected to reach 5 million in 2018, up from 2.5 million in 2010.\n\nThe Spanish hotel group Meli\u00e1, which currently runs 33 hotels in Cuba, will soon open seven more. Iberostar is planning another 12.\n\nBut there\u2019s no Trump Tower Havana on the horizon. With its former CEO in the White House, the Trump Organization is missing out on Cuba\u2019s business bonanza.\n\nOf course, thanks to President Trump\u2019s sanctions, his American competitors are, too." + }, + { + "title": "Miguel Diaz-Canel, 57, chosen as next president of Cuba - PBS", + "title_detail": { + "type": "text/plain", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Miguel Diaz-Canel, 57, chosen as next president of Cuba - PBS" + }, + "links": [ + { + "rel": "alternate", + "type": "text/html", + "href": "https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMingFBVV95cUxNVkFtMmxlelRXSlVLTkN2anAwWENIWEFGQV96aUE5Vno1ME94dXktRUF5aFprcV9fRkxJcVhTVS1qTVMwbkpuVVhfVEt4dkVQSUt0Mi01YmQ0bzlHQWpJcmo1U0RUNzBCVEdlLW9ZWW9nR21ObVRsa0VSWjI5Vy1nNHVHQ1hQbHdaT1FvYnJxN2xDMnlNTlZOdjdGNTNXQdIBowFBVV95cUxQUVBJZTd3OWx4ejFaNWVqZ1R3X29DRzJSRk8xOU9weDFNM2M3WnhKbXI2NjFacEhVYWhPUjI0bDlVb2hpX2YxUnMxaXVWUTQ1djZ4VW1XVEtNbmVYNzVabC1YMmdfYkFQNUZBS1BpUzZKUU92WTc3WFp4a0t0aVM1Um1xUXlXeDhoRnFmTHdrbVNaU3g3cVFRSXU5bF9ORF9hMDZN?oc=5" + } + ], + "link": "https://www.cfr.org/articles/time-tighten-screws-cuba", + "id": "CBMingFBVV95cUxNVkFtMmxlelRXSlVLTkN2anAwWENIWEFGQV96aUE5Vno1ME94dXktRUF5aFprcV9fRkxJcVhTVS1qTVMwbkpuVVhfVEt4dkVQSUt0Mi01YmQ0bzlHQWpJcmo1U0RUNzBCVEdlLW9ZWW9nR21ObVRsa0VSWjI5Vy1nNHVHQ1hQbHdaT1FvYnJxN2xDMnlNTlZOdjdGNTNXQdIBowFBVV95cUxQUVBJZTd3OWx4ejFaNWVqZ1R3X29DRzJSRk8xOU9weDFNM2M3WnhKbXI2NjFacEhVYWhPUjI0bDlVb2hpX2YxUnMxaXVWUTQ1djZ4VW1XVEtNbmVYNzVabC1YMmdfYkFQNUZBS1BpUzZKUU92WTc3WFp4a0t0aVM1Um1xUXlXeDhoRnFmTHdrbVNaU3g3cVFRSXU5bF9ORF9hMDZN", + "guidislink": false, + "published": "Wed, 18 Apr 2018 07:00:00 GMT", + "published_parsed": [ + 2018, + 4, + 18, + 7, + 0, + 0, + 2, + 108, + 0 + ], + "summary": "Miguel Diaz-Canel, 57, chosen as next president of Cuba  PBS", + "summary_detail": { + "type": "text/html", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Miguel Diaz-Canel, 57, chosen as next president of Cuba  PBS" + }, + "source": { + "href": "https://www.pbs.org", + "title": "PBS" + }, + "sub_articles": [], + "status_code": 200, + "response": "---\ntitle: Time to Tighten the Screws on Cuba? | Council on Foreign Relations\nurl: https://www.cfr.org/articles/time-tighten-screws-cuba\nhostname: cfr.org\ndescription: With the Castro era coming to a close in Cuba, it may be time for President Donald J. Trump to take back some of his predecessor\u2019s concessions to Havana.\nsitename: Council on Foreign Relations\ndate: 2018-04-02\n---\n# Time to Tighten the Screws on Cuba?\n\nWith the Castro era coming to a close in Cuba, it may be time for President Donald J. Trump to take back some of his predecessor\u2019s concessions to Havana.\n\nThe U.S. gamble with Cuba has not paid off. President Obama\u2019s attempts to catalyze reforms in the communist country by thawing bilateral relations fell flat. The Trump administration has wisely walked some of these policies back, but many Obama-era concessions remain in place.\n\nWith President Raul Castro\u2019s impending retirement, the United States should consider stepping up pressure on Havana, relenting only when new leadership grants the Cuban people real democratic gains.\n\n## Obama\u2019s Ill-Conceived Gamble\n\nPresident Obama began to ease decades-old restrictions on remittances and travel to Cuba soon after his inauguration. Under his changes, Cuban-Americans were permitted to send unlimited amounts of money to relatives on the island, and Americans were permitted to travel there as individuals rather than in educational or religious groups.\n\nIn 2014, during Obama\u2019s second term, he and Raul Castro restored full diplomatic relations and reopened U.S. and Cuban embassies. In 2016, the president made a historic visit to Cuba, allowed commercial flights between the countries to resume, and permitted cruise ships departing from U.S. ports to dock in Cuba. However, despite the Obama administration\u2019s efforts, the U.S. embargo on Cuba remained in place, impeding attempts to expand trade.\n\nObama argued this normalization with Cuba was required because the previous U.S. policy \u201cwas not working.\u201d In a speech during his 2016 visit to Havana, he called for a real political opening in Cuba. \u201cI believe citizens should be free to speak their mind without fear, to organize, and to criticize their government, and to protest peacefully, and that the rule of law should not include arbitrary detentions of people who exercise those rights,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd, yes, I believe voters should be able to choose their governments in free and democratic elections.\u201d\n\n## Weak Returns\n\nWhat was the impact of Obama\u2019s policy changes? U.S. remittances and tourism to Cuba rose substantially, but trade\u2014limited by the embargo\u2014did not follow suit. Rather, it actually declined: U.S. exports to Cuba (there are almost zero imports from the island) fell from approximately $533 million in 2009 to $283 million in 2017, Obama\u2019s last year in office. No doubt removal of the embargo, which would require U.S. congressional action, would have spurred trade, but there is no reason to think it would have led to political changes.\n\nIn fact, the increases in tourism and remittances and the opening of official diplomatic ties during the Obama years did not spur gains for Cubans on the human rights and political front. The Cuban Commission for Human Rights and National Reconciliation, an independent nongovernmental organization, found that in 2016 Cuban authorities detained 9,940 individuals, a record number. There were 5,155 detentions reported in 2017, but there were likely many more prisoners of conscience. Internet censorship has not diminished nor has access expanded. There have, of course, been no free elections.\n\nIn its latest report on Cuba, Amnesty International stated, \u201cThe Ladies in White, a group of female relatives of prisoners detained on politically motivated grounds, remained one of the primary targets of repression by the authorities. During detention, the women were often beaten by law enforcement officials and state security agents dressed as civilians.\u201d\n\nObama\u2019s Cuba policies may have actually undermined U.S. objectives there. Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush wrote in 2016 that \u201cprominent leaders of Cuba\u2019s peaceful opposition believe President Obama\u2019s concessions to the Castro regime have been counterproductive to the fight for freedom.\u201d\n\n## A One-Sided Bargain\n\nObama\u2019s policies failed for several reasons. On trade, Cuba simply has few products to export to the United States and little money with which to buy U.S. exports. On human rights, the Obama administration failed to demand any improvements from Cuba in exchange for the various diplomatic, trade, and travel concessions it granted Havana. So Cuba\u2019s rulers took what they were offered, but felt little pressure to change. It\u2019s a mystery, in fact, why Obama believed his concessions would inspire any changes in a country with the Communist Party and Raul Castro entirely in charge.\n\n## Trump\u2019s Half Measures\n\nThe Trump administration has left most of Obama\u2019s major changes intact, despite the new president\u2019s tough rhetoric. \u201cThe previous administration\u2019s easing of restrictions on travel and trade does not help the Cuban people\u2014they only enrich the Cuban regime,\u201d President Trump said in June 2017.\n\nUnder Trump\u2019s leadership, the United States has restricted commerce with Cuban entities owned by the military and security services, such as hotels owned by the Cuban army, and it has ended individual travel. The State Department also warned Americans not to visit Cuba following attacks first reported in 2017 on U.S. diplomatic personnel there that left two dozen with serious and unexplained health problems. However, Trump has not altered regulations covering commercial flights and cruises to Cuba or travel by tour groups.\n\nIt is too early to judge whether Trump\u2019s policies will have a significant commercial impact. Cruise ship passenger arrivals appear to be rising, but multiple airlines have canceled flights from the United States due to low demand. The net effect on U.S. citizen travel to Cuba will have to be calculated after another year or two.\n\nOn the human rights side, it is not too soon to conclude that Trump\u2019s policy has had no positive effect. There has been no movement by the Castro regime toward the fundamental U.S. goals of freedom and democracy.\n\n## Looking Past the Castros\n\nThat neither the Obama nor Trump administration has made much headway on improving Cuba\u2019s political and human rights situation might suggest that U.S. influence in Cuba is small. That is, the island has been governed since 1960 by a Marxist regime whose internal policies are determined solely by its ideology, not by the rising or falling of U.S. tourist and commercial dollars or by changes in U.S. rhetoric. In this sense Obama was right in saying the U.S. embargo was \u201cnot working\u201d to induce change in Cuba, but wrong in thinking that ending the embargo would \u201cwork\u201d any better. A vigorous push by the Obama administration for major human rights improvements in exchange for an end to the embargo might have put the regime under serious pressure. Instead, Obama\u2019s policies provided the regime legitimacy while bringing no benefits to Cubans struggling for freedom and human rights.\n\nThe Trump administration will soon face a Cuba that *looks* different\u2014if Raul Castro retires in April as planned, there will be no Castro running the country for the first time in nearly sixty years. But whether the island\u2019s next government will *be* different is another question, for the Communist Party will remain in full control\u2014and Raul Castro will remain the party\u2019s top official. All of the likely candidates for president, including First Vice President Miguel Diaz-Canel, rose through party ranks.\n\nGiven the failure of previous efforts, the United States should maintain or heighten pressure on Cuba for at least two reasons. First, U.S. policy should reflect American values. The United States should refuse to relax any trade policies that will bring economic gains to the regime unless there are tangible benefits for the Cuban people. U.S. actions in multilateral forums such as the Organization of American States (whose hemispheric summit in Lima, Peru, on April 13 will be attended by Trump) and the United Nations can help build international pressure. At the very least, the United States should avoid any words or actions that assist the regime in maintaining its tyranny or undermine the morale of Cubans working peacefully for change.\n\nSecond, Cubans, as well as the international community, will expect improvements with the end of the Castro period. The United States should press hard for change once Raul is out because it\u2019s unclear if the regime will be able to keep its monopoly on power and deny political and human rights progress." + }, + { + "title": "Cubans await transition of power away from ruling revolutionaries - The Christian Science Monitor", + "title_detail": { + "type": "text/plain", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Cubans await transition of power away from ruling revolutionaries - The Christian Science Monitor" + }, + "links": [ + { + "rel": "alternate", + "type": "text/html", + "href": "https://news.google.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?oc=5" + } + ], + "link": "https://magazine.wm.edu/issue/2018-spring/demystifying-cuba.php", + "id": "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", + "guidislink": false, + "published": "Fri, 13 Apr 2018 07:00:00 GMT", + "published_parsed": [ + 2018, + 4, + 13, + 7, + 0, + 0, + 4, + 103, + 0 + ], + "summary": "Cubans await transition of power away from ruling revolutionaries  The Christian Science Monitor", + "summary_detail": { + "type": "text/html", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Cubans await transition of power away from ruling revolutionaries  The Christian Science Monitor" + }, + "source": { + "href": "https://www.csmonitor.com", + "title": "The Christian Science Monitor" + }, + "sub_articles": [], + "status_code": 200, + "response": "---\ntitle: Demystifying Cuba\nurl: http://magazine.wm.edu/issue/2018-spring/demystifying-cuba.php\nhostname: magazine.wm.edu\ndescription: Exploring the island with Alumni Journeys\nsitename: magazine.wm.edu\ndate: 2018-04-01\n---\n\u201cHow many times have I been to Cuba?\u201d This question is a familiar one to me \u2014 and so is the look of disbelief when I share my answer. \u201cAt least 60. I stopped counting a few years ago.\u201d I have been traveling back and forth between the U.S. and Cuba for nearly three decades now \u2014 for my research on Cuba\u2019s cinema, to consult with nonprofit organizations and the media, and to teach William & Mary students of all ages about the island\u2019s culture.\n\nMy most recent visit, as host for a W&M Alumni Journeys trip, was extra special. It marked a series of firsts for me \u2014 including my first experience aboard a cruise ship, the first time I arrived on the island by docking rather than landing, and the first time I glimpsed Havana\u2019s breathtaking skyline from the sea.\n\nFor one week in December, 29 W&M alumni and friends explored together this island that is, as the vintage travel posters note, \u201cso near and yet so foreign.\u201d Our adventure began in Miami, where we converged on the M/S Insignia. As we cruised toward Cuba, we got to know one another at a welcome reception and at a series of shipboard events. I was pleased to present a couple of shipboard lectures, showcasing some of the ways W&M is connected to Cuban culture.\n\nOur first port of call, Havana, welcomed us with its majestic architecture, rich history and attentive inhabitants. We dispersed according to our interests \u2014 some to walk through the restored colonial sector, others to cross the bay for a tour of the massive El Morro fortress that protected the harbor from buccaneers, and still others to explore galleries and art studios or take in the highlights \u2014 while riding in a classic convertible.\n\n\nHavana on my mind: The first port of call was Havana, where alumni and friends explored the restored colonial sector.\n\nBack aboard ship, we then headed west and south around the island. Our entry into our second port awoke us gently. In Cienfuegos, pastel-toned walls lining narrow streets led us to the picturesque main square. From there, we ventured forth to shop for handcrafts, sample some of the island\u2019s iconic flavors (rum and cigars) and take in a flute concert. Others opted to travel by motorcoach to the colonial city of Trinidad, another of Cuba\u2019s renowned UNESCO World Heritage Sites.\n\nOur pilot then followed Cuba\u2019s southern coast, maneuvering close enough for us to track the changing topography and exclaim at the emerald-hued Sierra Maestra mountains. It wasn\u2019t hard to understand why Cuba\u2019s poet laureate, Nicol\u00e1s Guill\u00e9n, described his beloved island as \u201cel largo lagarto verde,\u201d \u201cthe long green lizard.\u201d We docked in the provincial capital of Santiago, home of hillsides and cobblestoned stair-streets, musicians and dancers. There we visited the Plaza Central, strolled leisurely through the open-air markets and ventured forth to the shrine to Cuba\u2019s patron saint, the Caridad de Cobre.\n\nEvenings on board the ship found members of the Tribe gathering in groups, reminiscing about the W&M of old, comparing notes on our daily sojourns and identifying shared interests to forge friendships for the future. On our last evening, we gathered for a group photo and farewell dinner; a toast was proposed, and we raised our glasses to the institution that brought us all together \u2014 William & Mary.\n\nWith the academic year drawing to a close, I\u2019m asked another question: \u201cWould I host a future Alumni Journeys trip to Cuba?\u201d My answer: \u201cAbsolutely!\u201d In fact, I\u2019ve agreed to do so in October 2018. Visit wmalumni.com/travel to learn more and see all the exciting trips offered.\n\nMeeting Tribe alumni, supporters and friends has left me looking forward to another island adventure. Nos vemos!" + }, + { + "title": "How Much Change Will Cuba\u2019s New President Bring? - Americas Quarterly", + "title_detail": { + "type": "text/plain", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "How Much Change Will Cuba\u2019s New President Bring? - Americas Quarterly" + }, + "links": [ + { + "rel": "alternate", + "type": "text/html", + "href": "https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMikwFBVV95cUxNSjdzSVBWdVQ2b1NVM1hoZGkxSHNjRTZLTm4tMU8temdBek1zcFdxYkVYM0hfZkhYcGdDb3ZoTUdDS1BjM3AwbmM0VjhVcW9KYnBERjltWnhhWmNwNU5KTHVIRF9VSG1QRWphVDFVSUFPVWxMdVdFTmx6VTF6bFBCUHpYbHEwUlJtR2JsOFppYThtTUk?oc=5" + } + ], + "link": "https://jacobin.com/2018/04/cuba-1968-fidel-castro-revolution-repression", + "id": "CBMikwFBVV95cUxNSjdzSVBWdVQ2b1NVM1hoZGkxSHNjRTZLTm4tMU8temdBek1zcFdxYkVYM0hfZkhYcGdDb3ZoTUdDS1BjM3AwbmM0VjhVcW9KYnBERjltWnhhWmNwNU5KTHVIRF9VSG1QRWphVDFVSUFPVWxMdVdFTmx6VTF6bFBCUHpYbHEwUlJtR2JsOFppYThtTUk", + "guidislink": false, + "published": "Tue, 17 Apr 2018 07:00:00 GMT", + "published_parsed": [ + 2018, + 4, + 17, + 7, + 0, + 0, + 1, + 107, + 0 + ], + "summary": "How Much Change Will Cuba\u2019s New President Bring?  Americas Quarterly", + "summary_detail": { + "type": "text/html", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "How Much Change Will Cuba\u2019s New President Bring?  Americas Quarterly" + }, + "source": { + "href": "https://www.americasquarterly.org", + "title": "Americas Quarterly" + }, + "sub_articles": [], + "status_code": 200, + "response": "---\ntitle: Cuba in 1968\nauthor: Samuel Farber\nurl: https://jacobin.com/2018/04/cuba-1968-fidel-castro-revolution-repression\nhostname: jacobin.com\ndescription: 1968 was a decisive turning point in the Cuban Revolution.\nsitename: jacobin.com\ndate: 2018-04-29\n---\n# Cuba in 1968\n\n1968 was a decisive turning point in the Cuban Revolution.\n\nIn 1960, less than two years after having overthrown the Batista dictatorship, the Cuban Revolution was well on its way to implementing the Soviet model. Most people at that time still supported the revolution. Notwithstanding the recurring shortages of consumer goods and the housing crisis, most Cubans had benefited from the newly established welfare state, which insured an austere but secure standard of living.\n\nBuoyed by that support and by the people\u2019s enthusiastic response to its resistance to US imperialism, the Cuban leadership pursued its foreign-policy objectives with a revolutionary elan absent in the more cautious and conservative Soviet bloc.\n\nCuba displayed its anti-imperialism with particular vigor in Latin America, where it supported \u2014 and often organized \u2014 guerrilla groups set on overthrowing dictatorial governments. Fidel Castro\u2019s government devoted extra attention to countries that had severed their ties with Cuba following Washington\u2019s directives. That is, Castro\u2019s militant foreign policy was based not only on its revolutionary ideas also but on the Cuban state\u2019s interests.\n\nThis helps explain why Castro maintained friendly relations with corrupt and authoritarian Mexico, the only Latin American country that refused to break diplomatic relations with revolutionary Cuba. In fact, Castro\u2019s government abstained from criticizing Mexico\u2019s crimes, including the October 1968 Tlatelolco massacre.\n\n*Granma*, the official organ of the Cuban Communist Party, adopted a purely \u201cobjective\u201d journalistic posture when covering Tlatelolco, allowing it to avoid any critical analysis of the political actors behind the massacre. While the Mexican left was denouncing the murder of hundreds of demonstrators, *Granma *uncritically reported the \u201cprovisional\u201d figures provided by the \u201cofficial sources\u201d: just thirty dead, fifty-three seriously injured, and fifteen hundred arrested.\n\nReasons of state also explain why, after a rough start, Fidel established friendly relations with Franco\u2019s dictatorship and why the Cuban revolutionary hierarchy, from its official unions and student organizations all the way to the top, did not support the French May \u201868 movement. Not only did French President de Gaulle refuse to toe the US line against Cuba, but he had also agreed to continue trade, which had became of crucial importance to the island following the American blockade. As with Tlatelolco in Mexico, *Granma *limited itself to \u201cobjectively\u201d reporting the events of May \u201868. It strictly avoided making any political inferences or conclusions.\n\nDespite these contradictions, Castro\u2019s early foreign policy was governed by a set of revolutionary ideas that aimed to establish systems similar to Cuba\u2019s across Latin America. His government supported and organized foco groups on the top-down Cuban model, which produced acrimonious conflicts with the gradualist and pro-Moscow Communist parties in countries like Venezuela and Bolivia. It also caused friction with the Soviet Union itself because Castro\u2019s militancy jeopardized the long-standing agreement between the USSR and the United States, which held that the two imperialist powers and their partners would not intervene in each other\u2019s spheres of influence.\n\nThis tension came to a head in 1967, when Moscow began to significantly reduce its oil shipments to Cuba in hopes of pressuring the island into moderating its aggressive foreign policy. But Castro wasn\u2019t swayed. He responded by denouncing the USSR\u2019s friendly overtures to Venezuela and Colombia despite their anti-communist repression. He then refused to send a top Cuban political figure to the celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the Russian Revolution in November 1967. And, at the celebration of the ninth anniversary of the Cuban Revolution in January 1968, he expressly, albeit diplomatically, connected Cuba\u2019s tightened oil rations to the slowdown of Soviet delivery. The USSR then suspended its supply of military hardware and technical assistance.\n\nWhen conflict simmered between a reform-minded Communist government in Czechoslovakia and Moscow, many wondered what the Cuban response would be. For months, *Granma *published very little about Czechoslovakia, entirely ignoring the reformist Prague Spring and its impact on the international left. This changed, however, in mid-July, when the paper began covering the growing confrontation between Czechoslovakia and the USSR in depth.\n\nMost likely, Castro recognized that the key dynamics of the Czech events had shifted. Originally, protesters were calling for internal reform and democratization, which Castro would not want to have publicized on the island. (Likewise, *Granma *did not cover the student movements in Poland and Yugoslavia that had taken place in March and June of that year.) But by July it had become clear that a confrontation between Czechoslovakia and the USSR was coming, one that would bring the issue of national sovereignty to the fore. US imperialist aggression made this question particularly important to Castro, and the conflict brewing between Cuba and the USSR only made the issue more urgent.\n\n*Granma *focused on the external USSR-Czechoslovakia conflict, excluding the internal dimension, and wrote in some detail about other Communist parties\u2019 reactions to the developing confrontation, regardless of which side they supported. It was clear that the newspaper \u2014 and by inference Fidel Castro, his government, and the Cuban Communist Party \u2014 would not take sides. In fact, it was going out of its way to give equal space to both parties.\n\nBut this all changed when Fidel, without having said a word about the conflict, came out in support of the Soviet invasion in August. *Granma *immediately adopted the Soviet line and started publishing statements from Cuban mass organizations praising Fidel\u2019s support of the invasion.Other steps, designed to appease the Soviets and incur favors, followed. Cuba cut back on its support to Latin American guerrillas, and, in the 1970s, it carried out a rapprochement with the pro-Moscow Communist parties in the region by acknowledging that armed struggle represented only one path for revolutionary struggle. In response, these parties recognized Cuba\u2019s vanguard role in the hemisphere\u2019s anti-imperialist struggle.\n\nThis was the beginning of what former Soviet diplomat Yuri Pavlov called the \u201cbelated honeymoon\u201d between the USSR and Cuba, which lasted well into the 1980s. In June 1969, the Cuban representative at the International Conference of Communist Parties in Moscow joined the pro-Soviet majority in denouncing China\u2019s \u201csectarian\u201d position. In return, the Soviet Union sent a flotilla of warships to visit Cuba. An exchange of military delegations soon followed. Marshal Andrei Grechko, the Soviet defense minister, went to Havana in November 1969, and Ra\u00fal Castro, Cuba\u2019s defense minister, traveled to Moscow in April and October 1970. The flow of Soviet arms resumed and then increased, and Fidel Castro approved the construction of a deep-water base for Soviet submarines at Cienfuegos.\n\nMutual state visits came soon after, and Cuba joined the Soviet-led Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA) in 1972. In that period, Cuba turned to Africa as the main focus of its revolutionary foreign policy. There, unlike in Latin America, it shared Moscow\u2019s strategic interests.\n\nWhile appeasing Moscow, Castro nevertheless preserved his right to disagree with some Soviet policies, making Cuba a junior partner, rather than a satellite, of the USSR. In fact, Castro had staked out this position from the beginning. In his speech supporting the invasion of Czechoslovakia, he not only criticized Alexander Dubcek\u2019s \u201cliberalism\u201d but also the USSR\u2019s policy of peaceful coexistence with the United States. The Cuban leader sarcastically wondered if the Soviets would dispatch Warsaw Pact troops to help defend Cuba from an attack by the imperialist Yankees.\n\n# Full Nationalization\n\nThat same year, Castro initiated what he called the Revolutionary Offensive, a project aimed at totally nationalizing the island\u2019s economy. The state had already taken over large and middle-sized businesses in 1960, but family-owned operations remained in private hands.\n\nWithin sixteen days of the announcement, the official press reported that 55,636 small businesses had been nationalized, including bodegas, barber shops, and thousands of *timbiriches* (\u201chole-in-the-wall\u201d establishments). The Revolutionary Offensive gave Cuba the world\u2019s highest proportion of nationalized property.\n\nAccording to Cuban economist Carmelo Mesa-Lago, some 31 percent of these small businesses were retail food outlets, and another 26 percent provided consumer services, like shoe and auto repair. Restaurant and snack shops represented another 21 percent; 17 percent sold clothing and shoes. The rest (5 percent) were small handicraft establishments that manufactured leather, wood products, and textiles. Half of these small businesses were exclusively owner- and family-operated and had no employees.\n\nShortly after nationalization, the state closed one-third of the small enterprises. The only private activity left in Cuba was small-farm agriculture, where 150,000 farmers owned 30 percent of the land in holdings of less than 165 acres each.\n\nOne of the Revolutionary Offensive\u2019s goals was to shut down the many thousand bars in Cuba, both private- and state-owned. The regime wanted them closed not because of opposition to alcohol but because it believed the bars fostered a prerevolutionary social ambiance, antithetic to the Castro government\u2019s militaristic, ascetic, anti-urban campaigns to forge the \u201cNew Man.\u201d\n\nThese campaigns began in 1963, when Castro attacked homosexuality and cultural nonconformity.. Hoping to emphasize the state\u2019s centrality to citizens\u2019 lives, he also went after religious dissenters, including Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses, Catholics, and followers of the secret Afro-Cuban Abaku\u00e1 society. Members of these groups were imprisoned in the Units of Military Aid to Production (UMAP), forced labor camps established in 1965 and disbanded in 1968.\n\nThe Revolutionary Offensive\u2019s nationalization of all small businesses was also intended to provide the state with complete control over agricultural output. Many of the expropriated merchants bought farm products at high prices, reducing the amount available for the state.\n\nIn addition, it granted the state more power over the labor force. Absenteeism and job abandonment, generated by the lack of consumer goods, had become a major problem. To combat it, the Cuban leadership drafted a law against vagrancy, which it enacted on March 28, 1971. The legislation ordered all adult men to put in a full day\u2019s work and established a variety of punishments ranging from house arrest to internment in forced labor rehabilitation centers. Information regarding its enforcement is unknown.\n\nThe Revolutionary Offensive exemplifies Castro\u2019s super-voluntarist, \u201cidealist\u201d approach to socialization. The policy equated private property in general with capitalist private property in particular, a misreading of Friedrich Engels\u2019s *Socialism: Utopian and Scientific. *\n\nThere, Engels distinguished modern capitalism, in which individual capitalists appropriate the products of social and collective activity, from socialism, where both production and its appropriation are socialized. Accordingly, productive property involving collective work is the proper object of socialization, not the individual or family productive unit, let alone personal property.\n\nBesides this confusion, the Cuban government was in no position to take over the distribution of goods and services from small businesses \u2014 the nationalization program reinforced, instead of ameliorated, the shortage of consumer goods.\n\nThe Ten Million Ton Sugar Crop campaign, planned for January 1969 to July 1970, is another example of Castro\u2019s voluntarist orientation. This extravagant effort never achieved its goal. Instead, it diverted scarce production and transportation inputs, causing serious disruptions to the island\u2019s economy.\n\nAs historian Lillian Guerra pointed out, the campaign represented far more than an exercise in voluntarism or \u201cidealism.\u201d It aimed not only \u201cto revive the \u2018j\u00fabilo popular\u2019 (mass euphoria) of the early sixties and thereby restore the unconditional standards of support for government policies\u201d but, more importantly, \u201cto prove the value of labor discipline and enforce it simultaneously.\u201d\n\nLikewise, as Mesa-Lago pointed out, Castro used the Revolutionary Offensive to mobilize as much of the labor force as possible for production, particularly in agriculture, in order to reinforce labor discipline, save inputs, and exhort workers to increase productivity and do unpaid work. In April 1968, the official union confederation recruited a quarter of a million workers to perform farm labor without pay for twelve hours per day over three to four weeks. Some 2.5 million days were \u201cdonated\u201d by workers who spent fourteen weeks on coffee plantations.\n\nThese campaigns were all launched in response to that decade\u2019s economic crisis, one that became qualitatively worse with the criminal economic blockade established by the United States in the early sixties. But the bureaucratic and chaotic top-down administration of the economy generated that crisis.\n\nAs Andr\u00e9s Vilari\u00f1o, a Cuban government economist pointed out, investment inefficiency was one of the principal causes of declining economic productivity in the sixties. For example, expensive imported machinery sat in warehouses and ports for so long, most of it rusted over. Meanwhile, the inadequate supply of consumer goods, combined with the lack of worker control of the production process and the absence of independent unions, engendered a sense of apathy among Cuban workers. The lack of transparency in decision making, not to mention the inaccurate economic information coming from a lower management class fearful of reprisals for reporting bad news, produced bad planning and waste, often aggravated by Fidel Castro\u2019s capricious interventions and micromanagement.\n\nIn one telling case, he tried to introduce a new breed of cattle, the F1 hybrid, against the advice of British experts that he himself had brought to Cuba. The project wasted millions of dollars.\n\n# New Targets\n\nIn 1968, Castro shifted the repression already being deployed on his government\u2019s enemies (even critics from the pro-revolutionary left). First, the government eliminated some of the most excessive forms of punishment, closing, for example, the UMAP agricultural labor camps. Second, government policing efforts zeroed in on any political and cultural expression that deviated from the official party line.\n\nA case in point was the old Communist leader An\u00edbal Escalante. In 1962, he was purged from the government and party and then jailed for his sectarian attempt to accumulate power by excluding revolutionaries who did not belong to the old pro-Moscow Communist Party from government positions. In 1968, he was again purged and jailed, this time on charges of having formed a \u201cmicro-faction\u201d within the Cuban Communist Party critical of Castro\u2019s economic policies. He was also accused of meeting with Eastern European diplomats in order to gain their support. For Fidel \u2014 and his brother Ra\u00fal, assigned to officially charge Escalante \u2014 this \u201cmicro-faction\u201d jeopardized their efforts to impose a single line in the party.\n\nThe affair demonstrates the disproportion between the supposed offense and the punishment. Not only were many of Escalante\u2019s criticisms of Castro\u2019s economic policies correct \u2014 especially with regard to the disastrous ten million ton sugar-crop campaign \u2014 but no evidence ever indicated that Escalante and his small group were conspiring to remove or overthrow the Cuban government with or without the support of Eastern European diplomats. The group may have been \u201cunpatriotic,\u201d as the government charged, but its activities were peaceful and therefore subject to public political debate. Instead, the regime, following the Stalinist tradition, turned it into a criminal case.\n\nCastro had thirty-five of the thirty-seven members of Escalante\u2019s group tried by a so-called War Council (*Consejo de Guerra*), which the government assembled specially to impose stiff sentences. Escalante was sentenced to fifteen years in prison, and thirty-four of his associates were sentenced to terms ranging from one to twelve years. The two remaining members belonged to the armed forces and were therefore referred to the Revolutionary Armed Forces\u2019 prosecutor for processing.\n\nBy adopting these separate paths, the government implicitly recognized most of Escalante\u2019s group as civilians, who were supposed to be processed differently from, and under less onerous rules than, the military. Despite this implicit difference, they faced a War Council, where they earned harsher sentences than they might have received otherwise.\n\nCastro also turned his attention to Cuban dissenters in the cultural realm. In January, 1968, the government opened the Havana Cultural Congress, inviting more than five hundred intellectuals from seventy countries to attend, including prominent left-wing social scientists and historians such as Ralph Miliband and E. J. Hobsbawm, well-known Caribbean and Latin American literary figures like Aim\u00e9 Cesaire, Julio Cort\u00e1zar, and Mario Benedetti, famous European writers such as Michel Leiris, Jorge Sempr\u00fan, and Arnold Wesker, as well as left-wing politicos such as several leaders of the North American SDS and SNCC. The congress, which focused on the topic of political, economic, and cultural anti-imperialism, was ostensibly carried out in an open manner. According to independent observers, all the presentations and resolutions that participants proposed were included without any interference.\n\nThanks to this apparent openness, neither the foreign guests nor many of the invited Cuban intellectuals suspected that an important group of black Cuban intellectuals and artists \u2014 among them Rogelio Mart\u00ednez Fur\u00e9, Nancy Morej\u00f3n, Sara G\u00f3mez, Pedro P\u00e9rez-Sarduy, Nicol\u00e1s Guill\u00e9n Landri\u00e1n, and Walterio Carbonell \u2014 had been excluded.\n\nAccording to the Black Cuban author Carlos Moore, the group had been meeting to discuss the Cuban government\u2019s lack of action against racism, a problem that the revolutionary leaders claimed to have solved with the abolition of racial segregation in the early sixties. In response to a rumor that these intellectuals had drafted a position paper on race and culture in Cuba for the congress, Minister of Education Jos\u00e9 Llanusa Gobel called them in for a private meeting a couple of days before the event began. After listening to their critiques, Llanusa accused them of being \u201cseditious\u201d and told them that the \u201crevolution\u201d would not allow them to \u201cdivide\u201d the Cuban people along racial lines. He explained that the very idea of their \u201cblack manifesto\u201d was a provocation for which they would have to recant or face the consequences.\n\nHe then barred them from the congress. In addition, each member was subjected to various degrees of punishment. The worst was meted to those unwilling to recant, such as Nicol\u00e1s Guill\u00e9n Landri\u00e1n, the nephew of the national poet laureate and then-president of the Cuban writers and artists union. After the congress, he was repeatedly arrested and later left Cuba as an exile.\n\nWalterio Carbonell, one of the group\u2019s leaders, also refused to recant. A Cuban exponent of Black Power politics, he had originally belonged to the old pro-Moscow Cuban Communist Party. Ironically, he had been expelled from that organization for supporting Fidel Castro\u2019s attack on the Moncada barracks on July 26, 1953. After the revolution, he served as Cuba\u2019s ambassador to the Algerian National Liberation Front (FLN). In 1961, he published his *Critique: How Cuba\u2019s National Culture Emerged*, where he argued that black Cubans had played a major role in the war of independence and the establishment of the republic \u2014 a fact that the prerevolutionary white racist culture and institutions had erased. Moreover, he claimed that the black Cuban experience was at the heart of the Cuban Revolution\u2019s radicalism \u2014 accordingly, the struggle against racism strengthened rather than weakened the revolution.\n\nThanks to these arguments, Carbonell endured various forms of detention between 1968 and 1974, including compulsory labor. According to Lillian Guerra, after he was released in 1974, he continued to defend his ideas, so he was interned in various psychiatric hospitals and subjected to electroshock and drug therapy for another two to three years. After that, Carbonell spent his remaining years as a little-known researcher at the National Library.\n\nUnlike Carbonell\u2019s cases, the repression case of Cuban poet and journalist Heberto Padilla became well known very quickly. In 1968, Padilla won was awarded the National Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba\u2019s (UNEAC) most prestigious prize for his book of poems *Fuera del Juego* (Outside the Game). But the government objected to Padilla\u2019s critical, nonconformist spirit and condemned the work, forcing UNEAC to change its line on it as well.\n\nOstracized and unable to publish in Cuba, Padilla was arrested for daring to read several of his new poems in public and trying to publish a new novel. He was compelled to confess, in Stalinist fashion, his political sins in 1971. This provoked an international scandal, and a large group of well-known intellectuals sympathetic to the Cuban Revolution, such as Jean-Paul Sartre and Julio Cortazar, protested. In response, the regime banned and withdrew from the country\u2019s libraries the works of any Latin American and European intellectual who objected to Padilla\u2019s treatment.\n\nIn 1968, the government began using repressive to enforce a monolithic cultural line. This shift created the foundation of what was later called the *Quinquenio Gris*, the five-year period from 1971 to 1976 in which the Castro regime brutally repressed nonconformist expression. In 1971, the National Congress of Education and Culture viciously attacked gay artists and intellectuals, banned gays from representing Cuba abroad in artistic, political, and diplomatic missions, and branded the Afro-Cuban Abaku\u00e1 brotherhood a \u201cfocus of criminality\u201d and \u201cjuvenile delinquency.\u201d Over those five years, the government imposed \u201cparameters\u201d on professionals in the fields of education and culture in order to scrutinize their sexual preferences, religious practices, and relationships with people abroad, among other political and personal issues.\n\nThe late Cuban architect Mario Coyula Cowley insisted that the *Quinquenio Gris* had in fact been the *Trinquenio Amargo* (the \u201cbitter fifteen years\u201d), because it had really started in the second half of the sixties. The hope that Castro would have supported Czech national self-determination and the upheavals of revolutionary 1968 to chart an independent, more democratic course for the Cuban Revolution was quickly lost." + }, + { + "title": "Time to Tighten the Screws on Cuba? - Council on Foreign Relations", + "title_detail": { + "type": "text/plain", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Time to Tighten the Screws on Cuba? - Council on Foreign Relations" + }, + "links": [ + { + "rel": "alternate", + "type": "text/html", + "href": "https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiY0FVX3lxTE1zR3hMMXVWMUxSTERwdHd0QjJQWlJHX1BVbHNOeV9MU1VKOXN2U2J0cXU4NFZ4b0RYaHZ4dzJNcTQyVkJicHlNUVgtay1rY00yUFRNbU9GTWpMQVlpWjUyUC1FNA?oc=5" + } + ], + "link": "https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Americas/2018/0413/Cubans-await-transition-of-power-away-from-ruling-revolutionaries", + "id": "CBMiY0FVX3lxTE1zR3hMMXVWMUxSTERwdHd0QjJQWlJHX1BVbHNOeV9MU1VKOXN2U2J0cXU4NFZ4b0RYaHZ4dzJNcTQyVkJicHlNUVgtay1rY00yUFRNbU9GTWpMQVlpWjUyUC1FNA", + "guidislink": false, + "published": "Mon, 02 Apr 2018 07:00:00 GMT", + "published_parsed": [ + 2018, + 4, + 2, + 7, + 0, + 0, + 0, + 92, + 0 + ], + "summary": "Time to Tighten the Screws on Cuba?  Council on Foreign Relations", + "summary_detail": { + "type": "text/html", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Time to Tighten the Screws on Cuba?  Council on Foreign Relations" + }, + "source": { + "href": "https://www.cfr.org", + "title": "Council on Foreign Relations" + }, + "sub_articles": [], + "status_code": 200, + "response": "---\ntitle: Cubans await transition of power away from ruling revolutionaries\nauthor: The Christian Science Monitor\nurl: https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Americas/2018/0413/Cubans-await-transition-of-power-away-from-ruling-revolutionaries\nhostname: csmonitor.com\ndescription: Cuban President Ra\u00fal Castro is expected to hand the presidency over to Vice President Miguel D\u00edaz-Canel, marking the beginning of a broad transfer of power from elderly rulers to the middle-aged leaders of Cuba's so-called 'lost generation.'\nsitename: The Christian Science Monitor\ndate: 2018-04-13\ncategories: ['Americas']\n---\n# Cubans await transition of power away from ruling revolutionaries\n\nLoading...\n\n| Havana\n\nFidel and Ra\u00fal Castro were scruffy young guerrillas in 1959, when they descended from Cuba's eastern mountains, seized power, and never relinquished it.\n\nAs they aged into their 80s and 90s, the Castros and their fellow fighters cast a shadow so deep that Cubans born in the first decades after the revolution became known as Cuba's \"lost generation,\" men and women who spent their lives executing the orders of graying revolutionaries.\n\nNext week, Ra\u00fal Castro will step down as president after a decade in office, handing the position to a successor widely expected to be Vice President Miguel D\u00edaz-Canel. The April 19 handoff is the centerpiece of a broader transition to a group of leaders from the lost generation, who face an unprecedented test of their ability to guide a nation that has followed the same \"commandantes\" for 60 years.\n\nDespite a series of reforms under Mr. Castro, Cuba remains locked in grinding economic stagnation that has driven hundreds of thousands of Cubans to emigrate in search of better lives. Change will require potentially painful reforms, like the elimination of a dual-currency system that has created damaging economic distortions.\n\n\"A great number of this country's young people will be watching to see if they're capable of changing things, of offering something new, of going beyond what's seemed like a great grayness until now,\" said Yassel Padron Kunakbaeva, a blogger who writes frequently from what he describes as a Marxist, revolutionary perspective.\n\nThe world should expect no immediate radical change from a single-party system dedicated to stability above all else. Ra\u00fal Castro will remain first secretary of the Communist Party, described by the Cuban constitution as the country's \"highest guiding force.\" Castro has said nothing publicly about how he will use that position. But Cuban leaders have been making clear that a generational handover is underway.\n\nOn Feb. 24, Castro awarded one of Cuba's highest honors, the title Hero of Labor, to fellow guerrillas Jos\u00e9 Ram\u00f3n Machado Ventura, a vice president and second secretary of the Communist Party, as well as vice president Ramiro Vald\u00e9s, and former rebel leader and vice president Guillermo Garc\u00eda Fr\u00edas. For many Cubans, the elaborate ceremony in the soaring, newly reopened neoclassical Capitol building had a valedictory tone, a sign that the powerful Mr. Vald\u00e9s and Mr. Machado Ventura will have far less important roles in Mr. D\u00edaz-Canel's administration. While the inner workings of the Cuban government are opaque, both men were widely perceived as conservatives slowing reform.\n\n\"We're practically already in that future that's been talked about so much, that a moment of transition had to arrive,\" Machado Ventura told state television in March. \"Now it's generational. It has to materialize, has to be that way.\"\n\nAlong with D\u00edaz-Canel, a group of middle-aged leaders are being closely watched as candidates for more powerful positions. They include Foreign Minister Bruno Rodrguez, Havana party leader Mercedes L\u00f3pez Acea, economic reform czar Marino Murillo, and L\u00e1zaro Exp\u00f3sito, party head in Cuba's second most-populated province, Santiago.\n\nBehind the scenes, Raul Castro's son, Alejandro, is a powerful figure in the Interior Ministry, who secretly negotiated the reopening of diplomatic relations with the US under President Barack Obama. Castro's former son-in-law, Gen. Luis Alberto Rodr\u00edguez L\u00f3pez-Callejas runs the economic arm of Cuba's military, which controls a vast swathe of state-run businesses ranging from tourism to shipping.\n\nBorn in the years after the Cuban revolution, leaders from the lost generation lack the credentials of their revolutionary predecessors, who were adored by some, despised by others, but always recognized as figures of historical importance endowed with popular credibility among Cubans on the island by their actions on the battlefield. D\u00edaz-Canel and his cohort of middle-aged leaders rose through the Communist Party bureaucracy thanks to their success in local governance.\n\n\"This government that we're choosing today will be a government that will owe its existence to the people,\" D\u00edaz-Canel told state-run media after voting for members of the National Assembly in March. \"The people will participate in the decisions that this government takes.\"\n\nWhatever his style, the Cuba that D\u00edaz-Canel will lead is radically different from the country that he knew as both a child and a younger adult.\n\nFor those growing up in pro-revolutionary families in the heyday of Soviet aid to Cuba, the socialist state was a paternalistic presence that provided modest but comfortable lives to virtually everyone on the island. Russian products filled the stores and Russian cartoons played on Cuban television.\n\n\"There was the sensation that we were living very happily, everyone mixed together, with no pressure to earn money in the marketplace,\" said Abelardo Mena, a fine art curator.\n\nMr. Mena remembers receiving three nearly free toys a year from the government, and never worrying about his parents putting enough food on the table. There were ample supplies of coffee, Russian television sets and wristwatches, and canned meat from Bulgaria.\n\nInstead of defending their homeland, D\u00edaz-Canel's generation fought overseas in wars waged by Cuban forces alongside Soviet allies in Angola and Nicaragua.\n\nFor those who disagreed with the communist system, times were harsh. The government organized public gatherings to \"repudiate\" those who spoke against the system or wanted to emigrate. Gays and even mild dissenters were sent to work camps and \"hippies\" were forced to cut their hair and hide their rock-and-roll records in album covers of more acceptable musicians.\n\nLife changed dramatically after the fall of the Soviet Union, which nearly eliminated Cuba's exports and imports, and cut gross domestic product by more than 30 percent in a crisis known as the Special Period. There were blackouts, shortages, and questions about domestic and foreign policy.\n\n\"We realized we weren't saving much. We weren't ready for the Special Period. Cuba spent 15 years fighting wars in Africa. We gave a lot away for nothing,\" said Carlos Alberto Careaga, a parking attendant at Havana's Commodore Hotel.\n\nD\u00edaz-Canel's generation was marked by three waves of mass migration from Cuba. Some 125,000 fled in 1980 when Fidel Castro allowed free migration from the port of Mariel outside Havana. The Special Period saw tens of thousands more Cubans fleeing on homemade rafts. And Ra\u00fal Castro's elimination of mandatory exit permits for most Cubans saw hundreds of thousands other Cubans leave over the last decade.\n\nAs a result of the migratory waves, hundreds of thousands of Cubans in their 50s and 60s have regular contact with friends and relatives in other countries, a sharp distinction from Cuba's original revolutionaries.\n\nThat increased contact with the outside world is boosted by a broad set of changes implemented by Raul Castro that include the spread of cell phones and internet and a private sector that's come to employ nearly 600,000 Cubans.\n\nCuban officials did not respond to requests by The Associated Press for interviews with D\u00edaz-Canel and other leaders expected to assume higher profiles when a new Cuban government is seated this month. In occasional public statements, D\u00edaz-Canel has given indications of support for some of those changes and hostility toward others. But his most defining characteristic in recent years has been his low public profile. Many Cubans believe he's been trying to avoid the fate of men like former Vice President Carlos Lage and former Foreign Minister Felipe P\u00e9rez Roque, young stars who rose to prominence under Fidel Castro and were pushed out of power in the first years of Raul Castro's presidency.\n\n\"D\u00edaz-Canel has spent years in a very uncomfortable position. No one of his generation has managed to get to the level he's at, and that creates a certain amount of tension,\" said Harold Cardenas, a pro-revolutionary blogger whose work has been supported by D\u00edaz-Canel.\n\nAfter years in the shadows, D\u00edaz-Canel and his generation now must show they are able to lead a nation facing deep economic problems, a hostile US administration, dwindling ranks of regional allies, and increasing disenchantment among younger generations of Cubans. But just a week before a new president takes office, many Cubans are unconvinced leaders from the lost generation will be able to fix the problems they have inherited from the founders of communist Cuba.\n\n\"This generation hasn't been able to make any proposals of its own, and those who've shown initiative have paid a heavy price,\" said Armando Chaguaceda, a Cuban political scientist at the University of Guanajuato, Mexico. \"It's a very gray generation, or so they'd have us believe.\"\n\n*This story was reported by The Associated Press.*" + }, + { + "title": "Cuba, Long Led By Castros, Hails A New President Outside The Family - NPR", + "title_detail": { + "type": "text/plain", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Cuba, Long Led By Castros, Hails A New President Outside The Family - NPR" + }, + "links": [ + { + "rel": "alternate", + "type": "text/html", + "href": "https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMixAFBVV95cUxNal9tZHRxbGxVaDA3T3cwelkxaTR5TlBUcDRJMm5oY0VEUElOLTZhNWZ6a0JQWEs1NW9oNFI4d2ttcHN5bUUxV0psWWNYcFdnQ0dmNVlyS3o3WktyWmFHaWpYR0V4THFVNi12T0xDVUNINW15Y0hsTUVQMEhUMW1nOXN3eFNHakYyVzZPM3hjeFFJRGZMSXE1SzFBWEkzRHFJQ05ER3A4OVgzeVhQSUJUdl84ck9Xc1RDaXRVRmprZ3hrb0Zs?oc=5" + } + ], + "link": "https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/04/19/603920733/cuba-long-led-by-castros-hails-a-new-president-outside-the-family", + "id": "CBMixAFBVV95cUxNal9tZHRxbGxVaDA3T3cwelkxaTR5TlBUcDRJMm5oY0VEUElOLTZhNWZ6a0JQWEs1NW9oNFI4d2ttcHN5bUUxV0psWWNYcFdnQ0dmNVlyS3o3WktyWmFHaWpYR0V4THFVNi12T0xDVUNINW15Y0hsTUVQMEhUMW1nOXN3eFNHakYyVzZPM3hjeFFJRGZMSXE1SzFBWEkzRHFJQ05ER3A4OVgzeVhQSUJUdl84ck9Xc1RDaXRVRmprZ3hrb0Zs", + "guidislink": false, + "published": "Thu, 19 Apr 2018 07:00:00 GMT", + "published_parsed": [ + 2018, + 4, + 19, + 7, + 0, + 0, + 3, + 109, + 0 + ], + "summary": "Cuba, Long Led By Castros, Hails A New President Outside The Family  NPR", + "summary_detail": { + "type": "text/html", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Cuba, Long Led By Castros, Hails A New President Outside The Family  NPR" + }, + "source": { + "href": "https://www.npr.org", + "title": "NPR" + }, + "sub_articles": [], + "status_code": 200, + "response": "---\ntitle: Cuba, Long Led By Castros, Hails A New President Outside The Family\nauthor: Colin Dwyer\nurl: https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/04/19/603920733/cuba-long-led-by-castros-hails-a-new-president-outside-the-family\nhostname: npr.org\ndescription: When Ra\u00fal Castro passed Miguel Mario D\u00edaz-Canel Berm\u00fadez the job, the Communist Party stalwart became Cuba's first president not named Castro in decades. But don't expect radical reforms.\nsitename: NPR\ndate: 2018-04-19\ntags: ['Cuba', 'Raul Castro', 'Miguel Diaz-Canel']\n---\n# Cuba, Long Led By Castros, Hails A New President Outside The Family\n\n**Updated at 1:08 p.m. ET**\n\nMiguel Mario D\u00edaz-Canel Berm\u00fadez has been elected president of Cuba, officially ending the Castro family's decades of domination of the country's highest office. The Communist Party formally announced the presidency's transition from Ra\u00fal Castro on Thursday, in what might better be described as a coronation than an election.\n\nIn fact, if there was any surprise at all, it might be that D\u00edaz-Canel, the 57-year-old party stalwart long expected to succeed Castro, did not win every vote cast after the party nominated him its sole candidate Wednesday. Just 603 of 604 Cuban lawmakers voted for him in a secret ballot that night.\n\nAfter the result was announced Thursday, D\u00edaz-Canel and Castro mounted the dais in front of the National Assembly and embraced in a gesture both real and deeply symbolic.\n\n\"The people have given this assembly the mandate to provide continuity to the Cuban Revolution during a crucial, historic moment that will be defined by all that we achieve in the advance of the modernization of our social and economic model,\" D\u00edaz-Canel told lawmakers in a televised address, as translated by The Associated Press.\n\nHe outlined a vision of gradual policy evolution \u2014 and at the same time, he was careful to add that his predecessor, who has led Cuba since 2008 when his brother Fidel stepped down, would remain very much a force in the government. Ra\u00fal Castro might be passing the presidential torch, as it were, but the 86-year-old leader remains head of the military and the ruling Communist Party.\n\nCastro pledged to lead the party until 2021, at which point D\u00edaz-Canel is expected to replace him in that position, as well.\n\n\"I confirm to this assembly that Ra\u00fal Castro, as first secretary of the Communist Party, will lead the decisions about the future of the country,\" D\u00edaz-Canel said, according to the AP. \"Cuba needs him, providing ideas and proposals for the revolutionary cause, orienting and alerting us about any error or deficiency, teaching us, and always ready to confront imperialism.\"\n\n#### Latin America\n\n## Cuba's New President\n\nStill, beneath the promises of continuity rests an important \u2014 if symbolic \u2014 changing of the guard. At nearly three decades Castro's junior, D\u00edaz-Canel hails from a generation that wasn't even alive when Fidel Castro led the revolution ousting military dictator Fulgencio Batista in 1959.\n\nAnd though he has publicly espoused party orthodoxy, D\u00edaz-Canel has not been a cookie-cutter bureaucrat, exactly. NPR's Carrie Kahn notes that as a young man, the longtime provincial leader who became first vice president \"did sport long hair, loved rock music and even backed a local LGBT-friendly cultural center.\"\n\nIt remains unclear what his tenure in the presidency will spell for Cuba's fraught relations with its capitalist neighbor across the Straits of Florida.\n\nUnder the Obama administration, it had appeared the U.S. and Cuba, long frozen in stalemate, had been headed for a thaw. The two countries re-established diplomatic relations in 2015, and Cuba even hosted Obama on a state visit not long afterward.\n\nBut those newly established ties have frayed since President Trump took office, bringing a much more skeptical view of Cuba into the White House.\n\nIt is unlikely to be lost on the average Cuban, and certainly not on Cuban leadership, that this transition of power is occurring almost 57 years to the day since the Bay of Pigs invasion. That disastrous attempt to overthrow Fidel Castro's then-nascent regime, which was led by Cuban exiles and supported by the CIA, ended within days and in humiliation for the would-be topplers.\n\nFor now, though, history weighs less in the balance than in the present for Cubans, many of whom, Carrie reports, are a little reluctant to talk politics.\n\n\"What everybody is willing to talk about, though, is the poor economy here. On average, you know, a Cuban state salary is about $30 a month. You just can't live off that here,\" she tells All Things Considered.\n\n\"So people are hurting,\" she adds, \"and they really want to see the economy grow.\"\n\n##### Correction April 19, 2018\n\nA previous version of this story incorrectly stated that Miguel Mario D\u00edaz-Canel Berm\u00fadez is Cuba's first president not named Castro in 59 years. In fact, others have held that title at times during the Castros' dominance." + }, + { + "title": "Cubans Doubt a Change at the Top Will Bring Change at the Bottom (Published 2018) - The New York Times", + "title_detail": { + "type": "text/plain", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Cubans Doubt a Change at the Top Will Bring Change at the Bottom (Published 2018) - The New York Times" + }, + "links": [ + { + "rel": "alternate", + "type": "text/html", + "href": "https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMid0FVX3lxTE1pZlNvU3h4Z3ZMcjNZM3N0bXRXRS05RjdYOU5zbTdYdE5vNHpwLWVjTXprNG1lUURSZFEzVnVuWVVvQUk3T1hHYTB0S2hJTzI5Vng1MWhacnJ0ang4ZkhLNWlWQ3pDVDQ4dmd1R01nalE4TU45QjF3?oc=5" + } + ], + "link": "https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/21/world/cuba-castro-diaz-canel.html", + "id": "CBMid0FVX3lxTE1pZlNvU3h4Z3ZMcjNZM3N0bXRXRS05RjdYOU5zbTdYdE5vNHpwLWVjTXprNG1lUURSZFEzVnVuWVVvQUk3T1hHYTB0S2hJTzI5Vng1MWhacnJ0ang4ZkhLNWlWQ3pDVDQ4dmd1R01nalE4TU45QjF3", + "guidislink": false, + "published": "Sat, 21 Apr 2018 07:00:00 GMT", + "published_parsed": [ + 2018, + 4, + 21, + 7, + 0, + 0, + 5, + 111, + 0 + ], + "summary": "Cubans Doubt a Change at the Top Will Bring Change at the Bottom (Published 2018)  The New York Times", + "summary_detail": { + "type": "text/html", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Cubans Doubt a Change at the Top Will Bring Change at the Bottom (Published 2018)  The New York Times" + }, + "source": { + "href": "https://www.nytimes.com", + "title": "The New York Times" + }, + "sub_articles": [], + "status_code": 403, + "response": "Error: HTTP 403" + }, + { + "title": "Cuba's Ra\u00fal Castro hands over power to Miguel D\u00edaz-Canel - BBC", + "title_detail": { + "type": "text/plain", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Cuba's Ra\u00fal Castro hands over power to Miguel D\u00edaz-Canel - BBC" + }, + "links": [ + { + "rel": "alternate", + "type": "text/html", + "href": "https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiY0FVX3lxTFA3N1dGWU4xc25PajlqV3o0eWlhZGJDR0h2Zm52SU1WOHdWNy1Xb0VyREhuM0p3UFJEM00wR05ZZ0xJSzUzVGVyUDUzZW1rNjl4c3RpTU9fUnVJSmNGNXduZkFoRQ?oc=5" + } + ], + "link": "https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/18/americas/cuba-end-of-castro-era", + "id": "CBMiY0FVX3lxTFA3N1dGWU4xc25PajlqV3o0eWlhZGJDR0h2Zm52SU1WOHdWNy1Xb0VyREhuM0p3UFJEM00wR05ZZ0xJSzUzVGVyUDUzZW1rNjl4c3RpTU9fUnVJSmNGNXduZkFoRQ", + "guidislink": false, + "published": "Thu, 19 Apr 2018 07:00:00 GMT", + "published_parsed": [ + 2018, + 4, + 19, + 7, + 0, + 0, + 3, + 109, + 0 + ], + "summary": "Cuba's Ra\u00fal Castro hands over power to Miguel D\u00edaz-Canel  BBC", + "summary_detail": { + "type": "text/html", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Cuba's Ra\u00fal Castro hands over power to Miguel D\u00edaz-Canel  BBC" + }, + "source": { + "href": "https://www.bbc.com", + "title": "BBC" + }, + "sub_articles": [], + "status_code": 200, + "response": "---\ntitle: Cuba\u2019s National Assembly announces Miguel Diaz-Canel as new president | CNN\nauthor: Patrick Oppmann\nurl: https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/18/americas/cuba-end-of-castro-era\nhostname: cnn.com\ndescription: For the first time in the lives of most Cubans, a man not named Castro will lead the Communist-run island nation.\nsitename: CNN\ndate: 2018-04-18\ncategories: ['world', 'americas']\ntags: ['caribbean, cuba, elian gonzalez, fidel castro, government and public administration, latin america, political figures - intl, political parties, politics, raul castro, miguel diaz-canel, environment and natural resources, islands and reefs, landforms and ecosystems', 'caribbean, cuba, elian gonzalez, fidel castro, government and public administration, latin america, political figures - intl, political parties, politics, raul castro, miguel diaz-canel, environment and natural resources, islands and reefs, landforms and ecosystems']\n---\nFor the first time in the lives of most Cubans, a man *not* named Castro will lead the Communist-run island nation.\n\nCuba\u2019s National Assembly announced Thursday that First Vice President Miguel Diaz-Canel, 57, will replace Raul Castro as the head of the Cuban government.\n\nCastro embraced Diaz-Canel \u2013 who wasn\u2019t even born when Fidel Castro led his revolution in 1959 \u2013 during the session Wednesday, all but sealing his status as the island\u2019s next president. That session also included the vote for the new leader, which was 603-1 in favor of Diaz-Canel.\n\nFidel Castro had long said he expected to die while still in office, but after a mystery illness and botched intestinal surgery in 2008, he was forced to step down. He died in 2016.\n\nHis younger brother Raul Castro replaced him as head of state, the Cuban Communist Party and the island\u2019s military, promising to make their revolution \u201cprosperous and sustainable.\u201d\n\nNow Raul Castro, 86, is leaving office, apparently convinced that the best way to ensure the survival of his and his brother\u2019s revolution is to begin a transition he can help oversee.\n\n##### Inside Raul Castro's Cuba\n\n## Heirs apparent?\n\nFor years, many Cubans speculated that Raul Castro\u2019s daughter Mariela \u2013 a member of the National Assembly and advocate for gay and transgender rights \u2013 or his son, Alejandro \u2013 a colonel in Cuban counterintelligence who represented the island in secret talks with the United States \u2013 would be the next Castros to take power.\n\nFidel Castro\u2019s son commits suicide\n\nInstead, legislators selected D\u00edaz-Canel, who had promised to hew closely to the course set by the Castro brothers.\n\n\u201cI believe in continuity,\u201d D\u00edaz-Canel told reporters recently when asked about his vision for Cuba\u2019s future. \u201cI think there always will be continuity.\u201d\n\n\u201cContinuity\u201d most likely means continued restrictions on the private sector for Cubans, tight controls on foreign investment and no openings to the single-party political system.\n\nBefore becoming the heir apparent to Raul Castro, when D\u00edaz-Canel was still climbing his way up the ranks of the Communist Party hierarchy in the island\u2019s provinces, he earned a nickname that stuck with him: \u201cD\u00eda y Noche\u201d or Day and Night.\n\nThe moniker came from low-level government employees who found out the hard way that at any hour Diaz-Canel could show up unannounced to inspect whether workers were actually on the job and not pilfering supplies or taking a nap.\n\nThat fastidiousness and willingness to work around the clock may be key assets in Diaz-Canel\u2019s new position as president.\n\n## Will a new leader make a difference?\n\nFew people expect much to change in the only Communist-run country in the Western Hemisphere, at least not right away.\n\n\u201cCuba will keep being Cuba, no one can change it,\u201d Eli\u00e1n Gonz\u00e1lez, the boy found on an inner tube off the Florida coast in 1999, told CNN. Gonz\u00e1lez, then 5 years old, was placed with relatives in Miami but returned to Cuba with his father following a court battle. He was seen frequently with Fidel Castro, whom he described as being like a father to him.\n\nNow Gonz\u00e1lez, 24, has emerged as one of the most effective advocates for the revolution and many Cubans believe he will one day have a leadership role.\n\n\u201cCuba won\u2019t change if another administration comes, if another president comes,\u201d he said.\n\nCuban leaders say they are \u201cperfecting\u201d their revolution while resisting external pressures to open the economy and political system.\n\n## Castro will remain a powerful figure\n\nEven though Raul Castro, according to Cuban government officials, plans to move to Santiago de Cuba, the city where his brother Fidel was buried, he will still exercise a large measure of control over the Cuban government and have the final say on important decisions.\n\n\u201cRaul Castro, as first secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba, will lead the decisions of greatest transcendence for the present and the future of this country,\u201d Diaz-Canel said in a speech to the Cuban National Assembly in Havana on Thursday.\n\nThis week marks the anniversary of the Cuban government victory over CIA-trained Cuban exile forces at the Bay of Pigs, a highly symbolic moment for Castro to step down and for his replacement to be chosen in the secret vote by the National Assembly.\n\nStacked with members of the Cuban Communist Party, the only political party allowed on the island, and fervent supporters of the revolution, the National Assembly nearly always votes unanimously for the proposals made by the top Cuban leadership.\n\nDespite their efforts to join the National Assembly, government opponents have either lost or not been allowed by the government on the ballot in municipal elections.\n\n## A revolutionary leader\n\nEven as Cuba\u2019s economy struggles and officials tweak the island\u2019s economic model with little apparent success, there was no transformational leader waiting in the wings.\n\n\u201cYou see it on signs everywhere here, \u2018Fidel is Cuba,\u2019\u201d said Vicki Huddleston, the former head of the US diplomatic mission in Havana. \u201cYou won\u2019t be seeing signs that say \u2018Raul is Cuba.\u2019 He was a placeholder. The next head of Cuba will be a placeholder. There is no charismatic leader like Fidel was.\u201d\n\nFor opponents of the Cuban revolution who expected support for the government to crumble when Fidel Castro died, a peaceful transfer of power could indicate they have even longer to wait for change to occur.\n\nSupporters of the Cuban government said their revolution will survive the departure of the Castros.\n\n\u201cMany people say \u2018when the Castros\u2019 mandate ends\u2019 but I don\u2019t believe the ideology will end; not what they have taught us, nor the ideas of the Castros,\u201d Eli\u00e1n Gonz\u00e1lez told CNN. \u201cCuba is more than its government.\u201d\n\nCorrection: A previous version of this article gave the incorrect year of Eli\u00e1n Gonzalez's discovery off the Florida coast. He was found in 1999." + }, + { + "title": "Cuba\u2019s National Assembly announces Miguel Diaz-Canel as new president - CNN", + "title_detail": { + "type": "text/plain", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Cuba\u2019s National Assembly announces Miguel Diaz-Canel as new president - CNN" + }, + "links": [ + { + "rel": "alternate", + "type": "text/html", + "href": "https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMib0FVX3lxTE15X20xUmN6V2pvQ0lEQWVOMll4eEdJcjBYWGlRTlRhaWFzN3czeXVvVFhVOEthRERwb3Y1Ry0xYnBzd1p3dEkwREx1aVM3b25MeDgxQ1NsckJvcnZ5VFhUQ0kzMGVwUHhoUFNJdXZ6SQ?oc=5" + } + ], + "link": "https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-43823287", + "id": "CBMib0FVX3lxTE15X20xUmN6V2pvQ0lEQWVOMll4eEdJcjBYWGlRTlRhaWFzN3czeXVvVFhVOEthRERwb3Y1Ry0xYnBzd1p3dEkwREx1aVM3b25MeDgxQ1NsckJvcnZ5VFhUQ0kzMGVwUHhoUFNJdXZ6SQ", + "guidislink": false, + "published": "Thu, 19 Apr 2018 07:00:00 GMT", + "published_parsed": [ + 2018, + 4, + 19, + 7, + 0, + 0, + 3, + 109, + 0 + ], + "summary": "Cuba\u2019s National Assembly announces Miguel Diaz-Canel as new president  CNN", + "summary_detail": { + "type": "text/html", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Cuba\u2019s National Assembly announces Miguel Diaz-Canel as new president  CNN" + }, + "source": { + "href": "https://www.cnn.com", + "title": "CNN" + }, + "sub_articles": [], + "status_code": 200, + "response": "---\ntitle: Cuba's Ra\u00fal Castro hands over power to Miguel D\u00edaz-Canel\nurl: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-43823287\nhostname: bbc.com\ndescription: For the first time in decades, Cuba has a leader who is not a Castro - but don't expect big changes.\nsitename: BBC News\ndate: 2018-04-19\n---\n# Cuba's Ra\u00fal Castro hands over power to Miguel D\u00edaz-Canel\n\n**Miguel D\u00edaz-Canel has been sworn in as Cuba's new president, replacing Ra\u00fal Castro who took over from his ailing brother Fidel in 2006.**\n\nIt is the first time since the revolution in 1959 that a Castro is not at the helm of the government.\n\nMr D\u00edaz-Canel had been serving as first vice-president for the past five years.\n\nEven though Mr D\u00edaz-Canel was born after the revolution, he is a staunch ally of Ra\u00fal Castro and is not expected to make any radical changes.\n\nThere was \"no room in Cuba for those who strive for the restoration of capitalism\" he said in his inaugural address.\n\n## 'The Revolution continues its course'\n\nHe was elected by the members of the National Assembly, all 605 of whom were voted in in March after standing unopposed.\n\nMr Castro is expected to continue wielding considerable political influence in his role as the leader of Cuba's ruling Communist Party.\n\n## 'Political continuity': Will Grant, BBC Cuba correspondent\n\nCuba's new President, Miguel D\u00edaz-Canel, entered the chamber alongside the outgoing president, Ra\u00fal Castro.\n\nThe moment captured the image of political continuity the Cuban government has been keen to stress: an ordered handover of power from one generation to the next.\n\nThere was a small surprise, a single dissenting vote to D\u00edaz-Canel's nomination as president, as he was confirmed by just 99.83% of the vote.\n\nStill, he had the one and only ballot he really needed: Ra\u00fal Castro's.\n\nIn his inaugural speech, Mr D\u00edaz-Canel said that his mandate was \"to ensure the continuity of the Cuban revolution at a key historic moment\" and assured the members of the National Assembly that \"the revolution continues its course\".\n\nHe said that Cuba's foreign policy would remain \"unaltered\" and that any \"necessary changes\" would be decided by the Cuban people.\n\nA large part of his speech was dedicated to praising his predecessor in office, to whom he said: \"Cuba needs you.\" This prompted the more than 600 National Assembly members to rise to their feet and give the 86-year-old former leader a standing ovation.\n\nAny changes Mr D\u00edaz-Canel will bring in are likely to be gradual, slow-paced and in keeping with the reforms Ra\u00fal Castro introduced since he first took over power from his brother, Fidel.\n\n## Key reforms under Ra\u00fal Castro:\n\n2008: New agricultural strategy is launched, promising to grant a million hectares of land to private farmers\n\n2010: Loosening of rules governing business activities, allowing Cubans to set up their own small private businesses\n\n2011: Opening up of the housing market, allowing Cubans to buy and sell their homes\n\n2013: First wi-fi zones created as part of a push to make the internet more accessible for Cubans\n\n2014: US-Cuban thaw announced leading to the restoration of full diplomatic relations between the former foes\n\n*Source: BBC Monitoring*\n\nThe new leader will have to consider how to overcome the problems caused by the economic collapse of Cuba's ally, Venezuela, and what kind of relationship the Caribbean island wants with the US under Donald Trump.\n\nLast year, the new American president reimposed certain travel and trade restrictions eased by the Obama administration but did not reverse key diplomatic and commercial ties.\n\nBut what most Cubans will judge the new leader on is whether their day-to-day lives improve." + }, + { + "title": "Cubans, US exiles connect to help rebuild Cuba's Catholic Church - National Catholic Reporter", + "title_detail": { + "type": "text/plain", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Cubans, US exiles connect to help rebuild Cuba's Catholic Church - National Catholic Reporter" + }, + "links": [ + { + "rel": "alternate", + "type": "text/html", + "href": "https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMilAFBVV95cUxQTUg2eWhoNmNUc1VwM3RZZ09SclhOY2lXMVhxaFhEUVVKbzJLUHlNWEZIRTA0eC1rdXNfZXlYeC1mb0RBNnNCWURrbmxzejVTN2xDbklkMmxwMUZvbGE3ek5GS1pXdnFpMFNPRUgyOEJ0cktwaEQwRGNOWURtME5tNzBIcnpFQTIwUHM5Y2F1OHhST3d1?oc=5" + } + ], + "link": "https://www.ncronline.org/news/cubans-us-exiles-connect-help-rebuild-cubas-catholic-church", + "id": "CBMilAFBVV95cUxQTUg2eWhoNmNUc1VwM3RZZ09SclhOY2lXMVhxaFhEUVVKbzJLUHlNWEZIRTA0eC1rdXNfZXlYeC1mb0RBNnNCWURrbmxzejVTN2xDbklkMmxwMUZvbGE3ek5GS1pXdnFpMFNPRUgyOEJ0cktwaEQwRGNOWURtME5tNzBIcnpFQTIwUHM5Y2F1OHhST3d1", + "guidislink": false, + "published": "Tue, 17 Apr 2018 07:00:00 GMT", + "published_parsed": [ + 2018, + 4, + 17, + 7, + 0, + 0, + 1, + 107, + 0 + ], + "summary": "Cubans, US exiles connect to help rebuild Cuba's Catholic Church  National Catholic Reporter", + "summary_detail": { + "type": "text/html", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Cubans, US exiles connect to help rebuild Cuba's Catholic Church  National Catholic Reporter" + }, + "source": { + "href": "https://www.ncronline.org", + "title": "National Catholic Reporter" + }, + "sub_articles": [], + "status_code": 403, + "response": "Error: HTTP 403" + }, + { + "title": "Cuba's new leader vows to modernise economy but no return to capitalism - The Guardian", + "title_detail": { + "type": "text/plain", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Cuba's new leader vows to modernise economy but no return to capitalism - The Guardian" + }, + "links": [ + { + "rel": "alternate", + "type": "text/html", + "href": "https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMinAFBVV95cUxQZEh5YlhKUUI2V2ZhSTBsWTc4bDVuWmN1UzZua2tnLTZiRDVFRVNCdWpFdC1mb00wQlZSckVMYnBOd0tHNkNLYW9WalUzSHRrbWtxcnRaakkwZkZhOG9jMzBzQkVFLVN5M2p2STZ4RlZ6QS1EQW1zTXNoaVBfX01qbFpPUHVPQlBFUmF6NXlLNXB1Z2RNRGMzNnRiSTA?oc=5" + } + ], + "link": "https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/sharp-decline-u-s-travel-cuba-spurs-overall-drop-tourism-n868856", + "id": "CBMinAFBVV95cUxQZEh5YlhKUUI2V2ZhSTBsWTc4bDVuWmN1UzZua2tnLTZiRDVFRVNCdWpFdC1mb00wQlZSckVMYnBOd0tHNkNLYW9WalUzSHRrbWtxcnRaakkwZkZhOG9jMzBzQkVFLVN5M2p2STZ4RlZ6QS1EQW1zTXNoaVBfX01qbFpPUHVPQlBFUmF6NXlLNXB1Z2RNRGMzNnRiSTA", + "guidislink": false, + "published": "Thu, 19 Apr 2018 07:00:00 GMT", + "published_parsed": [ + 2018, + 4, + 19, + 7, + 0, + 0, + 3, + 109, + 0 + ], + "summary": "Cuba's new leader vows to modernise economy but no return to capitalism  The Guardian", + "summary_detail": { + "type": "text/html", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Cuba's new leader vows to modernise economy but no return to capitalism  The Guardian" + }, + "source": { + "href": "https://www.theguardian.com", + "title": "The Guardian" + }, + "sub_articles": [], + "status_code": 200, + "response": "---\ntitle: Cuba sees a decline in tourism as U.S. travel to the island drops sharply\nauthor: Carmen Sesin\nurl: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/sharp-decline-u-s-travel-cuba-spurs-overall-drop-tourism-n868856\nhostname: nbcnews.com\ndescription: 2017 was \u201chistorically the best year for Cuba,\u201d according to its Tourism Ministry, but the steep decline in U.S. travelers is affecting the island.\nsitename: NBC News\ndate: 2018-04-25\n---\nCuba had a 7 percent decline in overall tourism during the first three months of 2018, partly caused by a sharp drop in U.S. travel to the island, according to official data released Tuesday.\n\nAmerican travel to the Caribbean island is only 56.6 percent of what it was in 2017, said Michel Bernal, the commercial director for the Cuban Tourism Ministry during a news conference on Tuesday.\n\nA number of issues have led to the steep decrease in U.S. tourism. President Donald Trump\u2019s tightening of travel restrictions, mysterious health attacks that prompted the State Department to issue a travel warning and the effects of Hurricane Irma have all contributed.\n\nBernal said that 2017 was \u201chistorically the best year for Cuba.\u201d Tuesday marked the day in which one million tourists visited the island since January. It hit the mark eight days later than in 2017.\n\nDuring the first trimester of 2018, the top visitors to Cuba were Canadians, followed by Cuban-Americans and other Cubans living abroad. This last group had an increase of 21 percent in comparison to the same period last year. The third largest group of travelers were Americans.\n\nWith the re-establishment of diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Cuba, Americans\u2019 ability to travel to Cuba changed drastically. Before the announcement, in December 2014, most Americans who did not have family ties to Cuba could travel to the island only on guided tours dedicated to \u201cmeaningful interaction\u201d with the Cuban people. Activities that could be considered tourism are illegal under U.S. law. In Cuba, U.S. tour companies contracted guides, tour buses and hotel rooms from the Cuban government before the detente.\n\nUnder the President Barack Obama\u2019s administration, the requirement to travel on guided tours were eliminated and Americans were allowed to travel to Cuba on individual \u201cpeople to people\u201d trips. It was similar to travel anywhere in the world except beach resorts were off limits.\n\nAs a result, U.S. travel to Cuba exploded.Commercial flights between the U.S. and Cuba resumed after more than half a century and Airbnb was allowed to operate in Cuba. By the time Obama left office, American travel to Cuba had tripled.\n\nBecause Americans could not stay in resorts, U.S. travelers poured hundreds of millions of dollars into privately owned restaurants and bed-and-breakfasts. They were essentially supporting Cuba\u2019s emerging private sector.\n\nIn 2017, Cuba received 1.5 million visitors from the U.S., including Cuban-Americans. In total, they had 4.7 million visitors, which was a 16 percent increase from 2016.\n\nThen, Hurricane Irma, a category 5 storm, rammed into the island in September causing billions in damages. The tourism industry felt the impact, though it was the central coastal provinces of the island that were most affected.\n\nAlso, last October, mysterious attacks that caused health ailments in 24 Americans affiliated to the embassy in Havana caused the State Department to withdraw personnel by 60 percent. They made the decision permanent last month. There is also a travel advisory warning Americans to \u201creconsider\u201d traveling to Cuba. Cuban officials have denied any involvement or knowledge of the attacks.\n\nFinally, in November, the Trump administration implemented new travel restrictions. Americans, once again, have to travel as part of organized tour groups run by U.S. companies. The regulations also include a ban on Americans doing business with the large military-run corporations that control the Cuban economy.\n\nThe aim of Trump\u2019s policy is to prevent the military, intelligence and security arms of the Communist government from benefiting from American tourism. But many Cuban analysts agree the policy does just the opposite.\n\nBy last Fall, entrepreneurs in Cuba reported a decline in their business. Adding to the hurricane aftermath, travel restrictions and the advisory, cruise lines have increased their routes to Cuba, according to Tom Popper, president of Insight Cuba, which has been operating tours to the island since 2000. He said this all created a \u201cperfect storm.\u201d\n\nWhen traveling on a cruise, most of the dining and the overnight stays occur on the ship resulting in less accommodations and meals on the island. Also, the routes may include multiple destinations in the Caribbean, diminishing the amount of time spent in Cuba. \u201cMany spend one night in Havana \u2026 that is counted as a visitation,\u201d Popper said.\n\nPopper said he had seen a 35 percent drop in web traffic and bookings last Fall but is now gaining steam again.\n\nThe Cuban government remains \u201coptimistic\u201d it will hit their 5 million goal this year, according to Bernal.\n\n*Additional reporting by NBC News producer Orlando Matos in Havana. *" + }, + { + "title": "Cuba sees a decline in tourism as U.S. travel to the island drops sharply - NBC News", + "title_detail": { + "type": "text/plain", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Cuba sees a decline in tourism as U.S. travel to the island drops sharply - NBC News" + }, + "links": [ + { + "rel": "alternate", + "type": "text/html", + "href": "https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiogFBVV95cUxPMWFfSlU4Rld4S1I2dHBhRllVVm5EaHMtZ0ZrUzVjeG54RUhFTjBOY1ByMmxqdU5XWHp2eXdyS2NWNktHb1pHNVM2Z2VlYl9HdUMzU090ZUljOHR5VEJzWkRqRFdsX013V0wxcFJaZ1R0bUN5LWp0ZW5VcmpWaFlOMmoxcUNycS00NE41eGpLNTAtTkhHYlNYZjVYSmtPUHZVTHc?oc=5" + } + ], + "link": "https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/19/world/americas/cuba-castros-communism.html", + "id": "CBMiogFBVV95cUxPMWFfSlU4Rld4S1I2dHBhRllVVm5EaHMtZ0ZrUzVjeG54RUhFTjBOY1ByMmxqdU5XWHp2eXdyS2NWNktHb1pHNVM2Z2VlYl9HdUMzU090ZUljOHR5VEJzWkRqRFdsX013V0wxcFJaZ1R0bUN5LWp0ZW5VcmpWaFlOMmoxcUNycS00NE41eGpLNTAtTkhHYlNYZjVYSmtPUHZVTHc", + "guidislink": false, + "published": "Wed, 25 Apr 2018 07:00:00 GMT", + "published_parsed": [ + 2018, + 4, + 25, + 7, + 0, + 0, + 2, + 115, + 0 + ], + "summary": "Cuba sees a decline in tourism as U.S. travel to the island drops sharply  NBC News", + "summary_detail": { + "type": "text/html", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Cuba sees a decline in tourism as U.S. travel to the island drops sharply  NBC News" + }, + "source": { + "href": "https://www.nbcnews.com", + "title": "NBC News" + }, + "sub_articles": [], + "status_code": 403, + "response": "Error: HTTP 403" + }, + { + "title": "Fidel Died and Ra\u00fal Resigned, but Castros Still Hold Sway in Cuba (Published 2018) - The New York Times", + "title_detail": { + "type": "text/plain", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Fidel Died and Ra\u00fal Resigned, but Castros Still Hold Sway in Cuba (Published 2018) - The New York Times" + }, + "links": [ + { + "rel": "alternate", + "type": "text/html", + "href": "https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMigwFBVV95cUxOYlFrQXdxUFB2U1N2TkVCd1pIWHF4RzA0ZXgwQVNhSGhidkRlTEdjZUxheXA4RzU5S1ZpMjNHQVByNGZWOGZ2WVhFNTBLRHZsOF9tQ3BBNEhGYllLS3BqUjBGNkEwSG1fLUY0WHdDR3BEbFROMW5mSFZiTDZGUmhhNkRsYw?oc=5" + } + ], + "link": "https://www.americasquarterly.org/article/raul-castros-unfinished-legacy-in-cuba/", + "id": "CBMigwFBVV95cUxOYlFrQXdxUFB2U1N2TkVCd1pIWHF4RzA0ZXgwQVNhSGhidkRlTEdjZUxheXA4RzU5S1ZpMjNHQVByNGZWOGZ2WVhFNTBLRHZsOF9tQ3BBNEhGYllLS3BqUjBGNkEwSG1fLUY0WHdDR3BEbFROMW5mSFZiTDZGUmhhNkRsYw", + "guidislink": false, + "published": "Thu, 19 Apr 2018 07:00:00 GMT", + "published_parsed": [ + 2018, + 4, + 19, + 7, + 0, + 0, + 3, + 109, + 0 + ], + "summary": "Fidel Died and Ra\u00fal Resigned, but Castros Still Hold Sway in Cuba (Published 2018)  The New York Times", + "summary_detail": { + "type": "text/html", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Fidel Died and Ra\u00fal Resigned, but Castros Still Hold Sway in Cuba (Published 2018)  The New York Times" + }, + "source": { + "href": "https://www.nytimes.com", + "title": "The New York Times" + }, + "sub_articles": [], + "status_code": 403, + "response": "Error: HTTP 403" + }, + { + "title": "Cuba nominates Castro replacement Miguel D\u00edaz-Canel - BBC", + "title_detail": { + "type": "text/plain", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Cuba nominates Castro replacement Miguel D\u00edaz-Canel - BBC" + }, + "links": [ + { + "rel": "alternate", + "type": "text/html", + "href": "https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiY0FVX3lxTFBaaWgyZi1NWHdnV2k2cE9yVU5VRFRxWjFYTjVNZVVjT0I2R3lyUXpraHNvZ2JmXzZwUEFCU1lkSGh6RS10a09YVG9WRkdLRXk4Skl0VFAtN2dSUl9HMjdENkpKaw?oc=5" + } + ], + "link": "https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-43816410", + "id": "CBMiY0FVX3lxTFBaaWgyZi1NWHdnV2k2cE9yVU5VRFRxWjFYTjVNZVVjT0I2R3lyUXpraHNvZ2JmXzZwUEFCU1lkSGh6RS10a09YVG9WRkdLRXk4Skl0VFAtN2dSUl9HMjdENkpKaw", + "guidislink": false, + "published": "Wed, 18 Apr 2018 07:00:00 GMT", + "published_parsed": [ + 2018, + 4, + 18, + 7, + 0, + 0, + 2, + 108, + 0 + ], + "summary": "Cuba nominates Castro replacement Miguel D\u00edaz-Canel  BBC", + "summary_detail": { + "type": "text/html", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Cuba nominates Castro replacement Miguel D\u00edaz-Canel  BBC" + }, + "source": { + "href": "https://www.bbc.com", + "title": "BBC" + }, + "sub_articles": [], + "status_code": 200, + "response": "---\ntitle: Cuba nominates Castro replacement Miguel D\u00edaz-Canel\nurl: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-43816410\nhostname: bbc.com\ndescription: The communist state is set to confirm Miguel D\u00edaz-Canel as its first leader who is not a Castro.\nsitename: BBC News\ndate: 2018-04-18\n---\n# Cuba nominates Castro replacement Miguel D\u00edaz-Canel\n\n**Cuba's parliament has picked Ra\u00fal Castro's right-hand man, Miguel D\u00edaz-Canel, as the sole candidate to succeed him, ending the family's long rule.**\n\nMr Castro took over as president from his ailing brother Fidel in 2006.\n\nAn improvement in relations with the US which began under Barack Obama has been partially reversed since Donald Trump entered the White House.\n\nMr Castro is expected to remain a powerful influence in the communist state even after he steps down.\n\nThe National Assembly has voted on the nomination but the result will not be announced until Thursday, when he is expected to formally pass the presidency to Mr D\u00edaz-Canel.\n\nHowever, he will stay on as head of the Communist Party until its next congress in 2021.\n\nThe next Cuban leader will inherit a country in economic stagnation and with a young population impatient for change, BBC Cuba correspondent Will Grant reports.\n\nThere is also the complex task of leading without the same revolutionary past embodied by Ra\u00fal and Fidel, who died in retirement aged 90 in November 2016.\n\n## Who is D\u00edaz-Canel?\n\nHe may have had a relatively low profile when he was first appointed vice-president of Cuba's Council of State in 2013 but he has since become Mr Castro's key ally.\n\nFor the past five years, he has been groomed for the presidency and the handover of power. But even before being named first vice-president, the 57-year-old had already had a long political career.\n\nHe was born in April 1960, little over a year after Fidel Castro was first sworn in as prime minister.\n\nHe studied electrical engineering and began his political career in his early 20s as a member of the Young Communist League in Santa Clara.\n\nWhile teaching engineering at the local university, he worked his way up the ranks of the Young Communist League, becoming its second secretary at the age of 33.\n\nRa\u00fal Castro has praised his \"ideological firmness\".\n\n## Carrying on the Castro model\n\n**Analysis by Will Grant, BBC News, Havana**\n\nIn some respects, Miguel Diaz-Canel is a departure from the past. He is in his 50s and he wasn't even born until after the revolution took power.\n\nYet, he still represents an extension of the Castro model - especially politically.\n\nThe message of political continuity which the Cuban government has stressed from the moment the handover was announced has taken much of the wind out of the sense of renewal.\n\nAt least two of Ra\u00fal Castro's inner circle, men in their late 80s, have remained on the Council of State.\n\nThe biggest challenges, at least in the short term, are economic. He must tackle a complex dual currency system while trying to make sure inflation doesn't rise for ordinary Cubans.\n\nHe must also try to stimulate a stagnant economy. Many are watching to see if he reverses the freeze on new private business licences to at least signal some support for the concept of private enterprise on the island.\n\nAll of this, without the same popular backing of the Castros. He may have his work cut out.\n\n## Will the new president bring real change?\n\nHe is unlikely to make any major changes in the short term, especially while Mr Castro remains a political force to be reckoned with.\n\nAny changes are likely to be gradual and slow-paced. Yet Mr Castro did bring in reforms after he took over as president, most strikingly the thaw in relations with the US which had seemed unthinkable under his brother Fidel.\n\nThe new leader will have to consider how to overcome the problems caused by the economic collapse of Cuba's ally, Venezuela, and what kind of relationship the Caribbean island wants with the US under Mr Trump.\n\nLast year, the new American president reimposed certain travel and trade restrictions eased by the Obama administration but did not reverse key diplomatic and commercial ties.\n\nBut what most Cubans will judge the new leader on is whether their day-to-day lives improve.\n\n\"Right now, we don't know what the future holds,\" Adriana Valdivia, 45, a teacher in Havana, told Reuters news agency.\n\n\"Raul is finished and Fidel is history. I can't see a way out to help Cubans live better, salaries are the same and don't make ends meet, and now Trump is tightening the screws with the blockade, imagine that.\"\n\n\"Politics is not my strong point,\" said Diadenis Sanabria, 34, who works in a state-owned restaurant in the Cuban capital.\n\n\"But I don't think a change of chief is going to change my life.\"\n\n## How representative is Cuba's National Assembly?\n\nOften regarded as a rubber-stamp body, it is officially meeting to swear in its 605 members, who were elected last month.\n\nIt also votes on the composition of the all-powerful Council of State, whose president serves as both head of state and government.\n\nCuba has long maintained it has one of the most inclusive and fairest election systems in the world but critics say that assertion is laughable as the process is fully overseen by the ruling Communist Party.\n\nAll 605 candidates stood unopposed in March." + }, + { + "title": "Ra\u00fal Castro\u2019s Unfinished Legacy in Cuba - Americas Quarterly", + "title_detail": { + "type": "text/plain", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Ra\u00fal Castro\u2019s Unfinished Legacy in Cuba - Americas Quarterly" + }, + "links": [ + { + "rel": "alternate", + "type": "text/html", + "href": "https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiiAFBVV95cUxPT2dTN2hhTHAzVEpGYy1zSWhEeHVwaFk2VFdvenNaamNsZjE1Z3ZGbmE2OU4wUjFNTmNxZUlfZF9KME9EZ3lxdXV0cGlZbXBWVnhxaEVsZERfTzIteVR3YVJXMHJ6UnZiTmgwQkI5NmEtUXB0VnAzMzhMU1RaMDBsZVAwSGxRUGZE?oc=5" + } + ], + "link": "https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/apr/19/cuba-president-miguel-diaz-canel-modernise-economy", + "id": "CBMiiAFBVV95cUxPT2dTN2hhTHAzVEpGYy1zSWhEeHVwaFk2VFdvenNaamNsZjE1Z3ZGbmE2OU4wUjFNTmNxZUlfZF9KME9EZ3lxdXV0cGlZbXBWVnhxaEVsZERfTzIteVR3YVJXMHJ6UnZiTmgwQkI5NmEtUXB0VnAzMzhMU1RaMDBsZVAwSGxRUGZE", + "guidislink": false, + "published": "Mon, 09 Apr 2018 07:00:00 GMT", + "published_parsed": [ + 2018, + 4, + 9, + 7, + 0, + 0, + 0, + 99, + 0 + ], + "summary": "Ra\u00fal Castro\u2019s Unfinished Legacy in Cuba  Americas Quarterly", + "summary_detail": { + "type": "text/html", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Ra\u00fal Castro\u2019s Unfinished Legacy in Cuba  Americas Quarterly" + }, + "source": { + "href": "https://www.americasquarterly.org", + "title": "Americas Quarterly" + }, + "sub_articles": [], + "status_code": 200, + "response": "---\ntitle: Cuba's new leader vows to modernise economy but no return to capitalism\nauthor: Ed Augustin\nurl: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/apr/19/cuba-president-miguel-diaz-canel-modernise-economy\nhostname: theguardian.com\ndescription: Miguel D\u00edaz-Canel, 57, is first non-Castro to lead Cuba in nearly 60 years but successor to Ra\u00fal Castro promises no \u2018capitalist restoration\u2019\nsitename: The Guardian\ndate: 2018-04-19\ncategories: ['World news']\ntags: ['Cuba,Ra\u00fal Castro,World news,Americas']\n---\nCuba\u2019s new president has promised to modernize the country\u2019s economy and make the government more responsive to its people, even as he pledged to uphold the values of the country\u2019s socialist revolution.\n\nMiguel D\u00edaz-Canel was sworn in as president on Thursday, becoming the island\u2019s first leader without the Castro surname for the first time in almost 60 years.\n\nAt a functionalist conference centre in Havana, D\u00edaz-Canel, 57, read a brief speech which sought to reconcile revolutionary continuity with a recognition of the need for change. He said there would be no \u201ccapitalist restoration\u201d, but promised to make better use of the internet** **and push on with \u201cthe modernization of our social and economic model\u201d.\n\nHe finished his address with the familiar rhetorical flourish: \u201cSocialism or Death! We will triumph!\u201d\n\nRa\u00fal Castro, 86 \u2013 who stood down as president after 12 years in the office but remains first secretary of the Communist party \u2013 embraced D\u00edaz-Canel, and gave his presidency a ringing endorsement.\n\nBut he left no doubt where power still lies. In an uncharacteristically long speech, in which he repeatedly joked and went off script, Castro emphasised the need to fight corruption \u2013 and said he would stay on to guide his successor.\n\nCastro said he expected D\u00edaz-Canel to serve two five-year terms as president before replacing him as first secretary of the party when he retires in 2021. \u201cFrom that point on, I will be just another soldier defending this revolution,\u201d Castro said.\n\nAmid the anachronistic language, there were signs that the new president was trying to forge a more modern image for the island\u2019s ruling Communist party.\n\nIn what appeared to be a centrally managed information operation, the hashtag #somoscontinuidad (#wearecontinuity) was trending on Twitter.\n\nInternet access has expanded rapidly in recent years, but still remains below the regional average. All major international news websites can be accessed from the island, but government censors block critical blogs as well as webpages financed by the US state department.\n\nCommunist party insiders say D\u00edaz-Canel is aware of the economic benefits that wider internet access could bring the island\u2019s economy, but fears the island\u2019s political system could be overwhelmed.\n\nUnder the Obama administration, USAid worked on developing a \u201cCuban twitter\u201d aimed at fomenting unrest, and in January the US state department launched a Cuba Internet Task Force, which Havana sees as another attempt to undermine it.\n\nD\u00edaz-Canel assumes office at a tricky time for the island after the Trump administration partially reversed the fragile d\u00e9tente announced by Castro and Barack Obama in 2014.\n\nThe US has said Cuba was \u201cresponsible\u201d for a series of mysterious health ailments affecting US embassy personnel on the island and has withdrawn more than half of its diplomatic staff. Washington has also warned US citizens not to visit the island \u2013 a move which is starting to choke off tourism revenues.\n\nCuba\u2019s main ally, Venezuela, is in crisis, and has heavily cut back on highly subsidized oil shipments to Cuba, upon which the island is heavily reliant.\n\nOne of D\u00edaz-Canel\u2019s first tasks as president will be to unify the island\u2019s byzantine dual-currency system. Analysts say that if not managed correctly, unification could provoke inflation which could hit the purchasing power of poorer Cubans who form the base of the government\u2019s support.\n\nUnlike the carefully orchestrated election, currency unification has the potential to unsettle the island\u2019s seemingly rock-solid political stability.\n\nCubans were divided about the new president. \u201cIt\u2019s not good news for me,\u201d said Liliam Rodr\u00edguez, 33, who works as a tour guide. \u201cHe\u2019s looks like he\u2019s against the private sector in recent speeches.\u201d\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t see him as a president,\u201d Gerardo Cartalla, 56, a taxi driver. \u201cIn the current situation, I\u2019d have liked Ra\u00fal to stay on as president. He\u2019s somebody everybody respects.\u201d\n\n- This article was amended on 19 April 2018 to correct a mistyping of Miguel D\u00edaz-Canel\u2019s name." + }, + { + "title": "What Is Cuba\u2019s Post-Castro Future? - Council on Foreign Relations", + "title_detail": { + "type": "text/plain", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "What Is Cuba\u2019s Post-Castro Future? - Council on Foreign Relations" + }, + "links": [ + { + "rel": "alternate", + "type": "text/html", + "href": "https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiakFVX3lxTE9QbnREZV9QNkJNN19lRG1xUi1EalNqQmZHS2tpVFZEcFI4YWZ6c1ZKdmYxaE5JSEo2QnY0N1RqVmJ0VUdMM2NrU0VwcGdkeVlqMGxTeTRUOUNUVGpBd0pYS29hcmsxS2NlWkE?oc=5" + } + ], + "link": "https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/18/world/americas/raul-castro-resigns-cuba-president.html", + "id": "CBMiakFVX3lxTE9QbnREZV9QNkJNN19lRG1xUi1EalNqQmZHS2tpVFZEcFI4YWZ6c1ZKdmYxaE5JSEo2QnY0N1RqVmJ0VUdMM2NrU0VwcGdkeVlqMGxTeTRUOUNUVGpBd0pYS29hcmsxS2NlWkE", + "guidislink": false, + "published": "Wed, 18 Apr 2018 07:00:00 GMT", + "published_parsed": [ + 2018, + 4, + 18, + 7, + 0, + 0, + 2, + 108, + 0 + ], + "summary": "What Is Cuba\u2019s Post-Castro Future?  Council on Foreign Relations", + "summary_detail": { + "type": "text/html", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "What Is Cuba\u2019s Post-Castro Future?  Council on Foreign Relations" + }, + "source": { + "href": "https://www.cfr.org", + "title": "Council on Foreign Relations" + }, + "sub_articles": [], + "status_code": 403, + "response": "Error: HTTP 403" + }, + { + "title": "Canada makes Cuba posting a solitary one for diplomats - NBC News", + "title_detail": { + "type": "text/plain", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Canada makes Cuba posting a solitary one for diplomats - NBC News" + }, + "links": [ + { + "rel": "alternate", + "type": "text/html", + "href": "https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMilgFBVV95cUxOSmRoVXg2dHFCNXpIbTV1RFNLZy0tbWZNMllFTjlPU2hfbnhGTndlbGJMY090RHRULS00NGhYckNQOTYza2lpN292Nk9leHhtZGZBQUNsTnBZT0Z5dDg3NVE4SFNmM3E1cDVYX2pOM0hxWWFSMmNhVlpmbmFUQTN5bWNWMkpzUVFZQjVBbzNTYTFhSklpemc?oc=5" + } + ], + "link": "https://www.cbsnews.com/news/raul-castro-stepping-down-miguel-diaz-canel-sole-candidate-cuba-president/", + "id": "CBMilgFBVV95cUxOSmRoVXg2dHFCNXpIbTV1RFNLZy0tbWZNMllFTjlPU2hfbnhGTndlbGJMY090RHRULS00NGhYckNQOTYza2lpN292Nk9leHhtZGZBQUNsTnBZT0Z5dDg3NVE4SFNmM3E1cDVYX2pOM0hxWWFSMmNhVlpmbmFUQTN5bWNWMkpzUVFZQjVBbzNTYTFhSklpemc", + "guidislink": false, + "published": "Mon, 16 Apr 2018 07:00:00 GMT", + "published_parsed": [ + 2018, + 4, + 16, + 7, + 0, + 0, + 0, + 106, + 0 + ], + "summary": "Canada makes Cuba posting a solitary one for diplomats  NBC News", + "summary_detail": { + "type": "text/html", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Canada makes Cuba posting a solitary one for diplomats  NBC News" + }, + "source": { + "href": "https://www.nbcnews.com", + "title": "NBC News" + }, + "sub_articles": [], + "status_code": 200, + "response": "---\ntitle: Miguel Diaz-Canel named sole candidate to succeed Castro as Cuba's president\nurl: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/raul-castro-stepping-down-miguel-diaz-canel-sole-candidate-cuba-president/\nhostname: cbsnews.com\ndescription: With Raul Castro stepping down as Cuba's president, 57-year-old Miguel Diaz-Canel is poised to replace him\nsitename: CBS News\ndate: 2018-04-18\ncategories: ['World']\ntags: ['Fidel Castro']\n---\n# Miguel Diaz-Canel named sole candidate to succeed Castro as Cuba's president\n\n**HAVANA --** The Cuban government on Wednesday selected 57-year-old First Vice President Miguel Mario Diaz-Canel Bermudez as the sole candidate to succeed President Raul Castro in a transition aimed at ensuring that the country's single-party system outlasts the aging revolutionaries who created it. The certain approval of Diaz-Canel by members of the unfailingly unanimous National Assembly will install someone from outside the Castro family in the country's highest government office for the first time in nearly six decades.\n\nThe 86-year-old Castro will remain head of the Communist Party, designated by the constitution as \"the superior guiding force of society and the state.\" As a result, Castro will remain the most powerful person in Cuba for the time being. His departure from the presidency is nonetheless a symbolically charged moment for a country accustomed to 60 years of absolute rule first by revolutionary leader Fidel Castro and, for the last decade, his younger brother.\n\nCBS News correspondent Manuel Bojorquez reports from Havana that many on the island do not necessarily foresee any drastic changes, and there are some in the younger generation that were hopeful of some expansion of limited economic reforms and more opportunities. They don't necessarily see it happening this time around although there are some that remain hopeful.\n\nIn the U.S., Cuban exiles and Cuban-American leaders see this as not a true election at all, Bojorquez reports. They see it as a mere passing of the torch from one dictator to another with practically no chances of improving relations between the United States and Cuba.\n\nFacing biological reality but still active and apparently healthy, Raul Castro is stepping down as president in an effort to guarantee that new leaders can maintain the government's grip on power in the face of economic stagnation, an aging population and increasing disenchantment among younger generations.\n\n\"I like sticking with the ideas of President Fidel Castro because he did a lot for the people of Cuba, but we need rejuvenation, above all in the economy,\" said Melissa Mederos, a 21-year-old schoolteacher. \"Diaz-Canel needs to work hard on the economy, because people need to live a little better.\"\n\nMost Cubans know their first vice president as an uncharismatic figure who until recently maintained a public profile so low it was virtually nonexistent. That image changed slightly this year as state media placed an increasing spotlight on Diaz-Canel's public appearances, including remarks to the press last month that included his promise to make Cuba's government more responsive to its people.\n\n\"We're building a relationship between the government and the people here,\" he said then after casting a ballot for members of the National Assembly. \"The lives of those who will be elected have to be focused on relating to the people, listening to the people, investigating their problems and encouraging debate.\"\n\nDiaz-Canel gained prominence in central Villa Clara province as the top Communist Party official, a post equivalent to governor. There, people described him as a hard-working, modest-living technocrat dedicated to improving public services. He became higher education minister in 2009 before moving into the vice presidency.\n\nIn a video of a Communist Party meeting that inexplicably leaked to the public last year, Diaz-Canel expressed a series of orthodox positions that included somberly pledging to shutter some independent media and labeling some European embassies as outposts of foreign subversion.\n\nBut he has also defended academics and bloggers who became targets of hardliners, leading some to describe him as a potential advocate for greater openness in a system intolerant of virtually any criticism or dissent. International observers and Cubans alike will be scrutinizing every move he makes after he officially takes office on Thursday.\n\nTwo years after taking over from his ailing brother in 2006, Castro launched a series of reforms that expanded Cuba's private sector to nearly 600,000 people and allowed citizens greater freedom to travel and access to information.\n\nHe has failed to fix the generally unproductive and highly subsidized state-run businesses that, along with a Soviet-model bureaucracy, employ three of every four Cubans. State salaries average $30 a month, leaving workers struggling to feed their families, and often dependent on corruption or remittances from relatives overseas.\n\nCastro's moves to open the economy have largely been frozen or reversed as soon as they began to generate conspicuous shows of wealth by the new entrepreneurial class in a country officially dedicated to equality among its citizens.\n\n\"I don't want to see a capitalist system, hopefully that doesn't come here, but we have to fix the economy,\" said Roberto Sanchez, a 41-year-old construction worker. \"I'd like to have more opportunity, to buy a car, and have a few possessions.\"\n\nAs in Cuba's legislative elections, all of the leaders selected Wednesday were selected by a government-appointed commission. Ballots offer only the option of approval or disapproval and candidates generally receive more than 95 percent of the votes in their favor.\n\nThe Candidacy Commission also nominated another six vice presidents of the Council of State, Cuba's highest government body. Only one, 85-year-old Ramiro Valdez, was among the revolutionaries who fought with the Castros in the late 1950s in the eastern Sierra Maestra mountains.\n\nState media went into overdrive Wednesday with a single message: Cuba's system is continuing in the face of change. Commentators on state television and online offered lengthy explanations of why Cuba's single-party politics and socialist economy are superior to multi-party democracy and free markets, and assured Cubans that no fundamental changes were occurring, despite some new faces at the top.\n\n\"It falls on our generation to give continuity to the revolutionary process,\" said assembly member Jorge Luis Torres, a municipal councilman from central Artemisa province who appeared to be in his 40s. \"We're a generation born after the revolution, whose responsibility is driving the destiny of the nation.\"\n\nCastro entered the National Assembly just after 9 a.m. accompanied by a broadly smiling Diaz-Canel. Ceremonies continued through lunchtime and broke until Thursday morning, when the new national leadership is expected to be officially announced on the anniversary of the defeat of U.S.-backed invaders at the Bay of Pigs in 1961.\n\nFidel Castro was prime minister and president from 1959 until he fell ill in 2006. Although Osvaldo Dorticos was president of Cuba during Fidel Castro's time as prime minister, he was considered a figurehead beside the man who led Cuba's revolution, forged its single-party socialist system and ruled by fiat." + }, + { + "title": "Ra\u00fal Castro Prepares to Resign as Cuba\u2019s President, Closing a Dynasty (Published 2018) - The New York Times", + "title_detail": { + "type": "text/plain", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Ra\u00fal Castro Prepares to Resign as Cuba\u2019s President, Closing a Dynasty (Published 2018) - The New York Times" + }, + "links": [ + { + "rel": "alternate", + "type": "text/html", + "href": "https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMikwFBVV95cUxQSmlya3pFcTRkVHIxVU95UFRQa0M5MjlxSDNKNWc2VHJCWWNEV0FLM2pibml3SVNxU1BBNzZiMzh0MUpMWXJhS1htLWg5WllTazF0dnVJMWlsd3RFdFNZQ1B4QXVJT3NZVWp1ZW16eldYTXNDd1EyZWNQZTlaWlRuT1BVVE5KaGNZM0gwUU1KUlVyaEE?oc=5" + } + ], + "link": "https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/canada-makes-cuba-posting-solitary-one-diplomats-n866531", + "id": "CBMikwFBVV95cUxQSmlya3pFcTRkVHIxVU95UFRQa0M5MjlxSDNKNWc2VHJCWWNEV0FLM2pibml3SVNxU1BBNzZiMzh0MUpMWXJhS1htLWg5WllTazF0dnVJMWlsd3RFdFNZQ1B4QXVJT3NZVWp1ZW16eldYTXNDd1EyZWNQZTlaWlRuT1BVVE5KaGNZM0gwUU1KUlVyaEE", + "guidislink": false, + "published": "Wed, 18 Apr 2018 07:00:00 GMT", + "published_parsed": [ + 2018, + 4, + 18, + 7, + 0, + 0, + 2, + 108, + 0 + ], + "summary": "Ra\u00fal Castro Prepares to Resign as Cuba\u2019s President, Closing a Dynasty (Published 2018)  The New York Times", + "summary_detail": { + "type": "text/html", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Ra\u00fal Castro Prepares to Resign as Cuba\u2019s President, Closing a Dynasty (Published 2018)  The New York Times" + }, + "source": { + "href": "https://www.nytimes.com", + "title": "The New York Times" + }, + "sub_articles": [], + "status_code": 200, + "response": "---\ntitle: Canada makes Cuba posting a solitary one for diplomats\nauthor: Tim Stelloh; Abigail Williams\nurl: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/canada-makes-cuba-posting-solitary-one-diplomats-n866531\nhostname: nbcnews.com\ndescription: Canada made the decision because of the persistence of unusual health problems that struck Canadians affiliated with the embassy in Havana.\nsitename: NBC News\ndate: 2018-04-17\n---\nCanadian diplomats stationed in Cuba will no longer be accompanied by their families amid a rash of persistent, unusual and unexplained health problems, the country\u2019s foreign affairs department said Monday.\n\nCanada\u2019s embassy will now be designated an \u201cunaccompanied post,\u201d according to a statement from Canadian officials.\n\nThe symptoms, which include dizziness, headaches and an inability to concentrate, also struck 24 Americans affiliated with the embassy in Havana, prompting the State Department to recall all non-emergency personnel in September.\n\nEight Canadians received medical treatment after reporting symptoms last year. Three families returned home.\n\nIn the statement, Canadian officials said that while there had been no new cases, health problems have continued among families who left Cuba.\n\n\u201cIn some cases the symptoms have appeared to lessen in intensity, before reasserting themselves,\u201d the statement said.\n\nMedical researchers at the University of Pennsylvania found that the problems could add up to a new kind of \u201cacquired\u201d brain injury, the officials said, adding that more research was needed.\n\nState Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said last month that it was still unclear who or what was behind the ailments.\n\n\u201cThe investigation continues,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s not something that we\u2019re giving up on.\u201d\n\nCanadian officials said Monday that an environmental assessment of diplomatic quarters revealed no clues. U.S. officials have theorized that a sonic weapon is to blame, and Rex Tillerson, then the secretary of state, attributed the symptoms to \u201chealth attacks\u201d by the Cuban government. Cuban officials, meanwhile, have welcomed FBI investigators and called such theories \u201ccompletely false.\u201d\n\nIn a technical report published last month, computer scientists at the University of Michigan found that the problems may have been caused by two eavesdropping devices \u2014 and the potentially harmful ultrasonic distortion they produce.\n\n\u201cWhile our experiments do not eliminate the possibility of malicious intent to harm diplomats, our experiments do show that whoever caused the sensations may have had no intent for harm,\u201d they wrote." + }, + { + "title": "Cuba Now Has a Non-Castro President. But the Revolution\u2019s Not Over Yet. - Slate", + "title_detail": { + "type": "text/plain", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Cuba Now Has a Non-Castro President. But the Revolution\u2019s Not Over Yet. - Slate" + }, + "links": [ + { + "rel": "alternate", + "type": "text/html", + "href": "https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiswFBVV95cUxOcWlxdFNhdUtsZDFvSjNFU1ZRWlY5ZTA1ZmtjeWRBNUxlc0l2Smg2aVRjVWZpZkpIci0zVTRkMGNJbnM1MmhRY2NoX2U1Z1dob0hvbFRzMzBIZl9qUmhFQnlrWWJjSjNPVW5ya0VLWDRaWkZQOUFFbWtidklVVGRTSDlvajJhZF8xMm5PdFNmLXh5czNGSWNrWHp1aDNRQWZFOWxtR1dlbWVrLTNoTjQxWDY1cw?oc=5" + } + ], + "link": "https://www.cfr.org/articles/what-cubas-post-castro-future", + "id": "CBMiswFBVV95cUxOcWlxdFNhdUtsZDFvSjNFU1ZRWlY5ZTA1ZmtjeWRBNUxlc0l2Smg2aVRjVWZpZkpIci0zVTRkMGNJbnM1MmhRY2NoX2U1Z1dob0hvbFRzMzBIZl9qUmhFQnlrWWJjSjNPVW5ya0VLWDRaWkZQOUFFbWtidklVVGRTSDlvajJhZF8xMm5PdFNmLXh5czNGSWNrWHp1aDNRQWZFOWxtR1dlbWVrLTNoTjQxWDY1cw", + "guidislink": false, + "published": "Wed, 18 Apr 2018 07:00:00 GMT", + "published_parsed": [ + 2018, + 4, + 18, + 7, + 0, + 0, + 2, + 108, + 0 + ], + "summary": "Cuba Now Has a Non-Castro President. But the Revolution\u2019s Not Over Yet.  Slate", + "summary_detail": { + "type": "text/html", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Cuba Now Has a Non-Castro President. But the Revolution\u2019s Not Over Yet.  Slate" + }, + "source": { + "href": "https://slate.com", + "title": "Slate" + }, + "sub_articles": [], + "status_code": 200, + "response": "---\ntitle: What Is Cuba\u2019s Post-Castro Future? | Council on Foreign Relations\nurl: https://www.cfr.org/articles/what-cubas-post-castro-future\nhostname: cfr.org\ndescription: Miguel Diaz-Canel, set to replace Raul Castro as president of Cuba after sixty years of Castro rule, will be faced with the challenges of implementing economic reform and sidestepping regional isolation.\nsitename: Council on Foreign Relations\ndate: 2018-04-18\n---\n# What Is Cuba\u2019s Post-Castro Future?\n\nMiguel Diaz-Canel, set to replace Raul Castro as president of Cuba after sixty years of Castro rule, will be faced with the challenges of implementing economic reform and sidestepping regional isolation.\n\n## By experts and staff\n\n- Published\n\n### By\n\n- Rocio Cara LabradorEditorial Associate\n- Christopher Sabatini\n\nThe departure of Raul Castro this month as president of Cuba will mark the first time in sixty years that the country will not be ruled by someone with the surname Castro. While Raul carried out some incremental reforms, the legacy of Raul and his brother Fidel is one of a long-repressed, economically stunted nation, says Christopher Sabatini, lecturer of international relations at Columbia University\u2019s School of International and Public Affairs and executive director of Global Americans. Though Castroism is expected to continue under apparent successor First Vice President Miguel Diaz-Canel, he represents generational change and is likely to have more contact with Cubans as well as foreign leaders, says Sabatini.\n\n**How will Raul\u2019s presidency be remembered?**\n\nRaul will be seen as a continuation of the Fidel Castro government; with Fidel or Raul having governed since 1959, it\u2019s clearly a family affair. But his time in power will also be remembered as one of marginal, incremental reforms.\n\nWhen Raul took power, he said that the Cuban economy was a failure\u2014something you never would have heard the infamously obstreperous Fidel say. Raul implemented a series of reforms intended to create market incentives in the Cuban economy: he allowed some measures of private enterprise, rewrote the laws for investment, welcomed Brazilian investment in the Mariel Port, and even allowed some forms of private farming to address national food shortages. His saying was: \u201cWithout pause, but without haste.\u201d In other words, he would move the country forward but at his own pace.\n\nRaul\u2019s saying was: \u2018Without pause, but without haste.\u2019 He would move the country forward at his own pace.\n\n\nBut Cuba under the Castros\u2014Fidel and Raul\u2014was still a dictatorship. It\u2019s been a totalitarian state since 1959. There are no democratic elections. Cubans are not allowed to congregate freely and are limited in their freedom of expression and access to information. There\u2019s only one official newspaper run by the Communist Party, and it consists almost entirely of propaganda to support the party and its policies. The result is that Cubans have become atomized.\n\n**Explain how the upcoming selection of new leaders will work.**\n\nIt\u2019s a parliamentary style system. The first round of elections was held in October, when delegates were elected to local councils. Local delegates, together with some national figures and associations such as the ruling Communist Party, then selected provincial delegates from their own ranks. From these were chosen delegates to the National Assembly. All that is left is for the National Assembly to select a Committee of Candidates, from which the next president, the first and second vice presidents, and the Council of State\u2014the group of politicians who meet weekly to review national policy orientation and implementation\u2014will be chosen come April 19.\n\nBut the process isn\u2019t democratic. Only members of the Communist Party are allowed to run. People are only voting from an official, pre-approved slate of candidates. There\u2019s choice, but only within the system. And during the first round of elections at the level of local council, voting was held in the open, with no secret ballot process.\n\n**All signs point to Diaz-Canel being sworn in as president. What do we know about him?**\n\nDiaz-Canel is fifty-seven\u2014relatively young to those who govern today. The average age of the Council of State is now well over sixty years old. He\u2019s the only candidate who was not born during the [Cuban] Revolution. He\u2019s truly a new generation. He\u2019s known to like rock and roll, and is also known to be modest. He used to ride his bicycle to work, and even in these recent elections he waited in line to cast his ballot just like everyone else. He\u2019s kept his head low.\n\nElecting someone other than Diaz-Canel would be an apparent break with the will of the Castros.\n\n\nDiaz-Canel rose through the party itself; he started as a provincial secretary in Santa Clara. He\u2019s been groomed from the beginning. If you speak to the average Cuban, they\u2019ll try to tell you that the election is uncertain and that someone other than Diaz-Canel could be elected, but this is meant to build a facade of a more democratic process rather than a coronation, which is effectively what this election is. Choosing someone else would be more than just breaking with the name of the Castros. It would be an apparent break with the will of the Castros. I don\u2019t expect that to happen.\n\n**What might this regime change mean for the average Cuban?**\n\nThere\u2019s a fair amount of expectation. Most Cubans have waited for a long time for some sort of response to their demands for an end to the Castros. By virtue of his age and provincial background, Diaz-Canel is very aware of these frustrations and will likely be much more in contact with the people.\n\nBut Diaz-Canel will also continue to be surrounded by people who are very committed to Castroism. Raul Castro is going to continue as the secretary-general of the Communist Party and will remain the de facto head of the armed forces. His son, Alejandro, will remain the de facto liaison between the military, intelligence, and civilian sectors. The thing to keep an eye on is how many of the older generation\u2014the former revolutionaries\u2014get elected to the Council of State. Diaz-Canel will have a little more of a free hand if people of his generation and people of his choosing dominate that council.\n\nHaving said that, Diaz-Canel is faced with some very serious challenges. The first is currency unification. There are two currencies in Cuba, which create huge distortions in the economy and act as disincentives to foreign investment. [The Cuban convertible peso (CUC), pegged to the U.S. dollar and used in the tourism industry and to price consumer goods, is worth twenty-five times more than the Cuban peso (CUP), used largely by locals.] Unification could be a very wrenching process, and could even risk inflation and a higher cost of living. The second is, of course, finding ways to generate hard currency. The third is tax collection, and the large number of *cuentapropistas* [self-employed persons] who make up the informal sector and evade taxation. Diaz-Canel will have to show very strong leadership, but always in the context of the revolution.\n\n**How might the upcoming political turnover affect U.S.-Cuba relations?**\n\nI do not expect any changes under the Trump administration, whose policy toward Cuba is being guided by a desire to isolate and coerce changes from the government. The Cuban government does not take kindly to coercion.\n\nAs long as U.S. foreign policy is driven largely by hard-liners, the embargo won\u2019t be lifted no matter who\u2019s in power.\n\n\nI don\u2019t think the passing of the baton from the Castros to Diaz-Canel, or someone else of that ilk, will represent a sufficient change for a shift in U.S. policy. The Helms-Burton Act of 1996, which is still in effect, states that the president can only ask to have the U.S. embargo on Cuba lifted if certain conditions are met, including the release of all political prisoners, respect for freedom of expression, respect for freedom of association, and credible steps toward free and fair elections. As long as policy is driven largely by [Florida Senator] Marco Rubio and other hard-liners, the embargo won\u2019t be lifted no matter who\u2019s in power.\n\n**How might this change affect Cuba\u2019s broader foreign policy?**\n\nDiaz-Canel will be limited by the old-timers. He won\u2019t be embracing the United States for historical reasons. And the relationship with traditional allies will certainly not diminish. Venezuela, for example, has been a political ally and regional banker for a long time; they need each other.\n\nBut just by virtue of being of a younger generation, Diaz-Canel is likely to be more of a world figure. He\u2019s traveled more than either of the Castro brothers did. There will be issues that will require Diaz-Canel to reach out; he\u2019ll likely extend a hand to the European Union, which, with Mexico, has recognized the transfer of power as a potential opening in which, through respectful dialogue, the process of change in Cuba can be positively shaped. We\u2019ll see how that process of engagement shakes out.\n\n*This interview has been edited and condensed.*" + }, + { + "title": "Raul Castro stepping down: Miguel Diaz-Canel named sole candidate to succeed Cuba's president - CBS News", + "title_detail": { + "type": "text/plain", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Raul Castro stepping down: Miguel Diaz-Canel named sole candidate to succeed Cuba's president - CBS News" + }, + "links": [ + { + "rel": "alternate", + "type": "text/html", + "href": "https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMipgFBVV95cUxNUUxKSWs4b0Fud1VESnFGZ0RzOVdnN1JJNGk5aGk3VXB3bFVZVVBBM2VOZlA0TTB0bm9reExod21reUdZeVBSYTg0MHdCVnZ0Wm01X2FpMHFwbWQtUVdJNTFfMS1zcHVMajlzVTB3Yi1vNFBpT0ZsRG5GUHEteDBxNTlvZWl1SHBVNkJOUU9wWnFiektGbEc5UnlqNDNFU2MzMUNzMWNR0gGrAUFVX3lxTE5tQWtoc2FUVTJyVnpjTEF3aVdheld2UVl4di0yd3JmZEFYNHRfenoxSUxOZm5QZ1gxOERXN1FXSVRlZHVzMHg0S0dLVUNRMFhMUnFNVjFObDR5WFdOUk11Rm9CV1d5b0xOMzRoTUZlSF9XLTVPNnFieHliM1oxNVB2cktFRDlDTTZ0OHFsME5ZZ2RFS3ZrdjVtcXFVVGlUcDZxZWZuRXFJOWxQYw?oc=5" + } + ], + "link": "https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/04/cuba-now-has-a-non-castro-president-but-dont-expect-huge-changes.html", + "id": "CBMipgFBVV95cUxNUUxKSWs4b0Fud1VESnFGZ0RzOVdnN1JJNGk5aGk3VXB3bFVZVVBBM2VOZlA0TTB0bm9reExod21reUdZeVBSYTg0MHdCVnZ0Wm01X2FpMHFwbWQtUVdJNTFfMS1zcHVMajlzVTB3Yi1vNFBpT0ZsRG5GUHEteDBxNTlvZWl1SHBVNkJOUU9wWnFiektGbEc5UnlqNDNFU2MzMUNzMWNR0gGrAUFVX3lxTE5tQWtoc2FUVTJyVnpjTEF3aVdheld2UVl4di0yd3JmZEFYNHRfenoxSUxOZm5QZ1gxOERXN1FXSVRlZHVzMHg0S0dLVUNRMFhMUnFNVjFObDR5WFdOUk11Rm9CV1d5b0xOMzRoTUZlSF9XLTVPNnFieHliM1oxNVB2cktFRDlDTTZ0OHFsME5ZZ2RFS3ZrdjVtcXFVVGlUcDZxZWZuRXFJOWxQYw", + "guidislink": false, + "published": "Wed, 18 Apr 2018 07:00:00 GMT", + "published_parsed": [ + 2018, + 4, + 18, + 7, + 0, + 0, + 2, + 108, + 0 + ], + "summary": "Raul Castro stepping down: Miguel Diaz-Canel named sole candidate to succeed Cuba's president  CBS News", + "summary_detail": { + "type": "text/html", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Raul Castro stepping down: Miguel Diaz-Canel named sole candidate to succeed Cuba's president  CBS News" + }, + "source": { + "href": "https://www.cbsnews.com", + "title": "CBS News" + }, + "sub_articles": [], + "status_code": 200, + "response": "---\ntitle: Cuba Now Has a Non-Castro President. But the Revolution\u2019s Not Over Yet.\nauthor: Joshua Keating\nurl: https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/04/cuba-now-has-a-non-castro-president-but-dont-expect-huge-changes.html\nhostname: slate.com\ndescription: Raul's still sticking around.\nsitename: Slate\ndate: 2018-04-18\ncategories: ['The Slatest']\n---\nStarting today, for the first time in 59 years, Cuba will not be led by someone with the last name Castro. The *government* of Cuba, that is. The 86-year-old Raul Castro stepped down as president but remains first secretary of Cuba\u2019s ruling Communist Party. In Marxist-Leninist political systems like Cuba\u2019s, the party and government are deeply intertwined. Titles can also be a bit interchangeable: Raul\u2019s brother Fidel de facto ruled Cuba as prime minister, with a figurehead serving as president, from 1959 to 1976, before he took over the presidency. So it\u2019s safe to assume that Raul will continue to hold a great deal of influence in his semi-retirement, and it\u2019s fair to question the degree to which his successor will be actually running the country.\n\nThat successor, Miguel D\u00edaz-Canel, 57, is a bit of a cipher. A former party boss in the city of Santa Clara and minister for education, he\u2019s been the presumed successor since 2013 when he was elevated to the position of first vice president, even as he has kept a low profile.\n\nHe\u2019s reportedly a supporter of market reforms and advocate for opening up Cuba\u2019s internet, but it\u2019s unlikely that Raul\u2019s handpicked successor will stray far from the Castro path.\n\nIn a leaked video last summer, D\u00edaz-Canel was recorded blasting the independent media and foreign embassies as saboteurs and saying that Obama\u2019s 2015 diplomatic opening had been a plot to \u201cdestroy the revolution.\u201d\n\n\u201cHe is a creature of the revolutionary consensus. We really won\u2019t know until we see him in action, but there\u2019s no evidence to suggest he doesn\u2019t represent continuity,\u201d says Julia Sweig, Cuba analyst and author of the book *Cuba: What Everyone Needs to Know*.\n\nStill, today obviously marks a generational shift. For nearly 60 years, Cuba has been ruled by the same small group of revolutionary veterans who seized power as young men and are now very old men. By contrast, only one of the five vice presidents sworn in Thursday fought with the Castros during the revolution.\n\nRaul, who took over from his brother as president in 2008 and party chief in 2011, is stepping back at a time of deep uncertainty and transition. Once thought of as a hardline Stalinist, he has presided over some limited market reforms, allowing growth in the private sector, without liberalizing the country\u2019s political system. He also oversaw a historic d\u00e9tente with the United States since President Obama\u2019s diplomatic overtures in 2015, though the more than 50-year-old trade embargo, which can only be lifted by Congress, remains in place.\n\nThe Trump administration reversed many of Obama\u2019s moves, putting new restrictions on trade and travel between the two countries, and Cuba\u2019s growing tourism industry has been hit particularly hard. The U.S. has also slashed staff at the U.S. embassy in Havana down to a skeleton crew in the wake of a mysterious illness that some U.S. officials have blamed on Cuban spying or sabotage, which the Cuban government denies.\n\nInterestingly, Mike Pompeo, Trump\u2019s nominee for secretary of the state, told the Senate last week that he wants to improve ties with Cuba and \u201cbuild out a team there.\u201d Sweig suggested that the CIA director may have come to realize that the diplomatic breakdown is affecting the ability of the U.S. to gather intelligence on Cuba during a critical moment.\n\n\u201c[Pompeo\u2019s] own staff may have to persuade him that driving blind during a major transition is a bad idea,\u201d she said. \u201cFor no other reason than to have any kind of direct understanding of what\u2019s happening on the island, we need to get our people back there.\u201d" + }, + { + "title": "Cuba Trip Is a Journey for a New Way of Thinking - The Vineyard Gazette", + "title_detail": { + "type": "text/plain", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Cuba Trip Is a Journey for a New Way of Thinking - The Vineyard Gazette" + }, + "links": [ + { + "rel": "alternate", + "type": "text/html", + "href": "https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiXEFVX3lxTE0zb25HNHhEbFI1MWlLNlYwR09WNDhVWVBBcFNOSXMxMkI1Y3FCc0ctRlo0Z0tOdi0wYW9wYkU3U25uQ2hQMGxHdWwwQ0hIdWU4dF9ONm84VmVDdFRZ?oc=5" + } + ], + "link": "https://vineyardgazette.com/news/2018/04/30/cuba", + "id": "CBMiXEFVX3lxTE0zb25HNHhEbFI1MWlLNlYwR09WNDhVWVBBcFNOSXMxMkI1Y3FCc0ctRlo0Z0tOdi0wYW9wYkU3U25uQ2hQMGxHdWwwQ0hIdWU4dF9ONm84VmVDdFRZ", + "guidislink": false, + "published": "Mon, 30 Apr 2018 07:00:00 GMT", + "published_parsed": [ + 2018, + 4, + 30, + 7, + 0, + 0, + 0, + 120, + 0 + ], + "summary": "Cuba Trip Is a Journey for a New Way of Thinking  The Vineyard Gazette", + "summary_detail": { + "type": "text/html", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Cuba Trip Is a Journey for a New Way of Thinking  The Vineyard Gazette" + }, + "source": { + "href": "https://vineyardgazette.com", + "title": "The Vineyard Gazette" + }, + "sub_articles": [], + "status_code": 200, + "response": "---\ntitle: Cuba Trip Is a Journey for a New Way of Thinking\nauthor: Jared Rivard\nurl: https://vineyardgazette.com/news/2018/04/30/cuba\nhostname: vineyardgazette.com\ndescription: On Dec. 8, 2017, I was fortunate enough to be asked to join a collective of Martha\u2019s Vineyard Public Charter School students and community members to spend 12 days exploring Cuba.\nsitename: The Vineyard Gazette - Martha's Vineyard News\ndate: 2018-04-30\n---\nOn Dec. 8, 2017, I was fortunate enough to be asked to join a collective of Martha\u2019s Vineyard Public Charter School students and community members to spend 12 days exploring Cuba, studying sustainability, self-sufficiency and economics, and learning about the country\u2019s rich history.\n\nOur time in Cuba was made possible through a Martha\u2019s Vineyard Vision Fellowship grant and the efforts of Charter School social studies teacher Jonah Maidoff, along with a supportive faculty and the Island community.\n\nOn Thursday, May 10, students will give a presentation at 5:30 p.m. at the Charter School about the trip to help raise money for Cuban NGO\u2019s. There will be discussions on the impacts of the embargo, Cuban agriculture, the growing tourist industry, as well as pictures from the excursion.\n\nWith the start of the 2017-18 school year Jonah introduced a new element into the curriculum, an immersive study of Cuban history and the current state of the country. Five students would ultimately be selected to participate and visit the country to expand on the research projects they had designed for Jonah\u2019s class and bring back information to their classmates and the community. These students were Keith Chatinover, Claudia Motta, Marshall Davidson, Ruby Jephcote and Tatiana Major. The group was also joined by Sherilyn Geistfeld, an expert on Latin American and specifically Cuban history, and Mary Sage Napolitan from the Island Grown Initiative. I graduated a year earlier but was also invited to join the trip, having traveled with Jonah and our class to Alaska the prior year.\n\nWe arrived in Havana on Dec. 9 and over the course of 12 days traveled to Vinales, Cienfuegos and Trinidad with a number of stops along the way. We spoke mostly in Spanish, with the help of our tour guide Orletiz, to local farmers, business owners and professors. People on the street greeted everyone politely, and the pace didn\u2019t feel as rushed as cities like New York or Boston. Even the street vendors seemed far less aggressive.\n\nVisiting the slums of Casa Blanca, within the city of Havana, we received similar courtesies from everyone we encountered. With the nuns and local children as our guides we were able to explore the community in a way that might not have been available to most tourists.\n\nAs we weaved down the narrow, muddy roads I wondered how I would fare walking through there on my own, even though everywhere we went people said that Cuba is an incredibly safe place. We came up with a number of theories as to why this might be so, but I think the most accurate explanation for the safety and friendliness of the locals comes from a combination of social programs, patriotism and harsh punishment for even minor offences. With most basic needs provided by the government, there seemed to be far less desperate individuals.\n\nOur visit to Vinales still stands out in my mind. Located on the northwestern side of the island, Vinales is one of the country\u2019s major agricultural centers. Within the valley at the edge of one of the country\u2019s largest national parks, the locals grow a variety of crops, particularly tobacco. We were able to witness the extent of Cuba\u2019s self sufficiency and stewardship there. The farms were small, well maintained, and were worked without the use of fossil fuels.\n\nWhen talking with the farmers, it was evident that they understood the importance of minimizing their impact in order to maintain a healthy environment and agricultural system. While many of Cuba\u2019s agricultural practices developed due to a lack of resources during the embargo, over time the practices have been applied with an increasing emphasis on sustainability. Multiple farmers were happy to explain how they use the tobacco stems to ward off insects. Another way around insecticides was presented as the \u201csacrifice plant\u201d where a farmer will place something such as a sweet corn at either end of the plant bed for the insects to feast on. Others described methods more commonly used, such as surrounding the crops with marigolds.\n\nLooking at the Cuban countryside it would seem that these efforts to maintain the island\u2019s natural habitats have been successful. Exploring the countryside I saw what seemed to be an incredible degree of biodiversity compared to what I see wandering New England.\n\nWhat I found equally amazing during the trip was the fresh perspective on Cuban history I gained, along with the history of the Americas. Our visit to Trinidad provided a greatly expanded view of slavery in the colonial Americas, and the brutality of colonial sugar plantations.\n\nMost interesting of all was learning about Cuba since the revolution.\n\nLooking upon Cuban war monuments, you get a very different perspective of Castro\u2019s revolution, the Bay of Pigs, and the Cuban Missile Crisis. Overall, the group\u2019s exploration would offer a much broader understanding of history.\n\nDuring our travels I was frequently reminded of the book Ecotopia written by Ernest Callenbach. The story takes place in a future where the majority of the American West Coast has seceded. The newly formed nation becomes a model of sustainability and environmentalism. The story is written from the perspective of an American journalist who is among the first to visit the country since its formation. He arrives with all kinds of pre-conceived ideas about how horrible life is for the people of Ecotopia, and while he finds some truth to these rumors most of them are quickly proven to be wrong.\n\nOur time in Cuba seemed comparable to the journalist\u2019s exploration of Ecotopia because everyday there was something new that we saw or heard that I felt was truly amazing, and often unique to Cuba, and changed my ideas about the country.\n\nI look forward to sharing more insights, along with the rest of the group, on May 10.\n\n## Comments (18)\n\nKathryn Gidwitz/James Gidwitz, Vineyard Have/ChicagoP. Major, Martha\u2019s VineyardKeith Chatinover, EdgartownJ C Murphy, West TisburyKeith Chatinover, EdgartownJ C Murphy, West TisburyJ C Murphy, West Tisburyrobert skydell, chilmarkFaith Ann Lubitz, Northampton MAScott Prescott, South CarolinaGratefulYuriel, MinnesotaP. Major, Martha\u2019s VineyardWilliam EX PBA, NY/Chilmark/HK and FlDanielrobert skydell, chilmarkJonah, Marthas' VineyardRoberta, Marthas Vineyard## Comments\n\nComment policy \u00bb" + }, + { + "title": "Cuba: Change of leadership must herald a new era for human rights - Amnesty International", + "title_detail": { + "type": "text/plain", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Cuba: Change of leadership must herald a new era for human rights - Amnesty International" + }, + "links": [ + { + "rel": "alternate", + "type": "text/html", + "href": "https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMisgFBVV95cUxOVS1lVkZNLUcwalVzM2otZm9tdENNbXA2SVNkVDEya216RmsyaXFxS3Blelg4d2lIUWJ2S0t4dG1oQUpzemhBeUhfeDUyTlcxcXFDeGwzSUpNS3pJMlFtejc2ZHRBcVdRY3VBZVZfOW5ZTkJzN21WR2R5MTc5ZVZLN3VtSTg2cjFyQ1huN2ZlREZSVTJlcjRNdGtWaFpRci1yR1VCWWtWUThqaHlfbjdlbkR3?oc=5" + } + ], + "link": "https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2018/04/cuba-change-of-leadership-must-herald-a-new-era-for-human-rights/", + "id": "CBMisgFBVV95cUxOVS1lVkZNLUcwalVzM2otZm9tdENNbXA2SVNkVDEya216RmsyaXFxS3Blelg4d2lIUWJ2S0t4dG1oQUpzemhBeUhfeDUyTlcxcXFDeGwzSUpNS3pJMlFtejc2ZHRBcVdRY3VBZVZfOW5ZTkJzN21WR2R5MTc5ZVZLN3VtSTg2cjFyQ1huN2ZlREZSVTJlcjRNdGtWaFpRci1yR1VCWWtWUThqaHlfbjdlbkR3", + "guidislink": false, + "published": "Mon, 16 Apr 2018 07:00:00 GMT", + "published_parsed": [ + 2018, + 4, + 16, + 7, + 0, + 0, + 0, + 106, + 0 + ], + "summary": "Cuba: Change of leadership must herald a new era for human rights  Amnesty International", + "summary_detail": { + "type": "text/html", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Cuba: Change of leadership must herald a new era for human rights  Amnesty International" + }, + "source": { + "href": "https://www.amnesty.org", + "title": "Amnesty International" + }, + "sub_articles": [], + "status_code": 403, + "response": "Error: HTTP 403" + }, + { + "title": "What's in a name? Why a Castro-less Cuba may not mean a changed one. - The Christian Science Monitor", + "title_detail": { + "type": "text/plain", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "What's in a name? Why a Castro-less Cuba may not mean a changed one. - The Christian Science Monitor" + }, + "links": [ + { + "rel": "alternate", + "type": "text/html", + "href": "https://news.google.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?oc=5" + } + ], + "link": "https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Americas/2018/0419/What-s-in-a-name-Why-a-Castro-less-Cuba-may-not-mean-a-changed-one", + "id": "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", + "guidislink": false, + "published": "Thu, 19 Apr 2018 07:00:00 GMT", + "published_parsed": [ + 2018, + 4, + 19, + 7, + 0, + 0, + 3, + 109, + 0 + ], + "summary": "What's in a name? Why a Castro-less Cuba may not mean a changed one.  The Christian Science Monitor", + "summary_detail": { + "type": "text/html", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "What's in a name? Why a Castro-less Cuba may not mean a changed one.  The Christian Science Monitor" + }, + "source": { + "href": "https://www.csmonitor.com", + "title": "The Christian Science Monitor" + }, + "sub_articles": [], + "status_code": 200, + "response": "---\ntitle: What's in a name? Why a Castro-less Cuba may not mean a changed one.\nauthor: The Christian Science Monitor\nurl: https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Americas/2018/0419/What-s-in-a-name-Why-a-Castro-less-Cuba-may-not-mean-a-changed-one\nhostname: csmonitor.com\ndescription: Former President Ra\u00fal Castro, brother of revolutionary leader Fidel, handed over the presidency Thursday to Miguel D\u00edaz-Canel. His first task will be getting the economy back on track, but just how radical an approach he can take is uncertain \u2013 as is whether he wants one.\nsitename: The Christian Science Monitor\ndate: 2018-04-19\ncategories: ['Americas']\n---\n# What's in a name? Why a Castro-less Cuba may not mean a changed one.\n\nLoading...\n\n| Havana and Mexico City\n\nReinaldo Flores, an unemployed transit worker in his 50s, walks through the streets of Cerro, one of Havana\u2019s poorest neighborhoods. The street is flanked by once-grand buildings in faded shades of blue, green, and orange.\n\nIn some ways, it\u2019s a typical day for Mr. Flores: he\u2019s looking for work. But for him and tens of thousands of others across Cuba, today is also dramatically different.\n\nIt\u2019s the first day in his life his president\u2019s named something other than Castro.\n\nCuba\u2019s National Assembly, a group of more than 600 handpicked politicians who run unopposed, nominated the island\u2019s next president this week. Vice President Miguel D\u00edaz-Canel, the only candidate put forth, will be Cuba\u2019s first leader in nearly 60 years who wasn\u2019t part of the revolution that overthrew US-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista and installed a Communist government on the island. Mr. D\u00edaz-Canel is also the first leader in nearly 70 years who isn\u2019t part of the armed forces.\n\nThe changing of the guard \u2013 after decades of leadership by Fidel Castro and 12 years under his brother Ra\u00fal \u2013 is significant. But, observers say, it\u2019s largely symbolic. In a centralized system that works on a \u201cone state, one party\u201d principle of entrenched revolutionary values, the rise of a new head of state without direct ties to the Castros\u2019 uprising is more likely to lay the groundwork for future change than create big waves in the short term.\n\nCuba\u2019s economy is struggling. Vital benefactors like Venezuela are distracted by their own crises, there\u2019s little foreign investment, infrastructure is crumbling, and the dual currency system is increasingly burdensome. These are issues observers say need to be tackled head on. Although Cuba\u2019s \u201cold guard\u201d is nominally clearing the way for a new generation of leadership on the island, Ra\u00fal Castro is still top dog in Cuba\u2019s Communist Party and armed forces, unlikely to give D\u00edaz-Canel much wiggle room to create significant changes anytime soon.\n\n\u201cIf the situation Cubans are living doesn\u2019t improve, the political changes will be in vain,\u201d Mr. Flores says of the historic transition of power.\n\nWhile many in the United States view a non-Castro Cuban president as a chance to shed some of the historic baggage that\u2019s held back relations between the two nations, in Cuba there\u2019s less optimism. Most are wondering what they can expect \u2013 or if they should expect anything at all.\n\n\u201cThe change in government doesn\u2019t leave us with a lot of hope, but it does leave us with a big question: What is going to happen to Cuba?\u201d says Boris Gonz\u00e1lez Arena, a journalist for the local news site Diario de Cuba.\n\n## \u2018Like-minded\u2019 leader?\n\nCuba has changed significantly under Ra\u00fal Castro\u2019s two presidential terms. He did what for many was the unthinkable: warming ties with the United States, allowing private micro-businesses and entrepreneurship to blossom, and doing away with exit visas required for Cubans to leave the island. But he was still a Castro, lending him a certain cachet, and many question whether D\u00edaz-Canel will have the same support for policies that push against the grain of the revolutionary project.\n\nCuba\u2019s economy is weak, with many outside economists pointing to 2016 as a full-blown recession. Sugar harvests were devastated by hurricane Irma, and US tourism dollars that prop up the self-employed are flagging. The dual currency is creating imbalances in human capital, with those working in the tourism sector earning significantly more than highly-trained doctors or engineers.\n\nThe first task for D\u00edaz-Canel will be getting the economy back on track, but just how radically he can approach the problems is at question \u2013 if he has a different approach in mind, to begin with.\n\n\u201cWe have to consider that more likely than not [D\u00edaz-Canel] was chosen as the next leader because he\u2019s like-minded\u201d with the Castro generation, says Gustavo Flores-Mac\u00edas, an associate professor at Cornell University who specializes in Latin American politics. In a video leaked last year, D\u00edaz-Canel is seen lambasting the US and emphasizing the same hardline ideology as his Castro predecessors, accusing dissidents and independent media of subverting the state.\n\nOn Thursday, Castro said he expected the new leader to serve two five-year terms as president and take over for him as head of the Communist Party when Castro steps down in 2021 \u2013 the date many here view as the more realistic gateway to change by a new generation of leaders.\n\nCuban blogger Regina Coyula, who was born just before Castro\u2019s 1959 rise to power, hasn\u2019t written anything about the presidential transition on her widely read blog, \u201cLa Mala Letra\u201d (\u201cBad Handwriting\u201d). For her, this week is less significant than the long game.\n\n\u201cWhatever the new president does will be overseen by the Communist Party,\u201d she says. As head of the party and the armed forces, Castro is still in control of some of the most economically important sectors, like tourism, placing yet another limit on D\u00edaz-Canel\u2019s power.\n\n\u201cThere\u2019s always the chance that [D\u00edaz-Canel] has hidden his true perspective and he will surprise all of us,\u201d says Ms. Coyula, acknowledging that it\u2019s not something she\u2019s holding her breath for. \u201cIn any case, it\u2019s up to him now to bring fresh air into our economy.\u201d\n\nDespite the desire for economic change, not all Cubans on the island want to see a complete overhaul of the Castro\u2019s revolutionary agenda.\n\n\u201cWe want things to change, but we also want the things that make Cuba what it is to remain,\u201d says Aliot Castro, a teenager. He tics off security, public health, and free education as elements that are worth maintaining by any future president. His friend Alejandro L\u00e1zaro agrees about continuity, but \u201cwe want a future with more possibilities for youth, a new way of thinking from the government,\u201d he says.\n\nResidents proudly boast to visitors that violent crime is essentially zero on the island (The US Embassy, however, says nonviolent crimes against tourists are common, like pickpocketing). When the Cuban revolution launched, roughly one-quarter of Cubans could not read. Today, the education system serves as a model for nations around the region, and literacy is almost universal. Medical professionals are essentially exported and traded for needed resources, like oil, with nations from Venezuela to Brazil.\n\n\u201cCuba\u2019s human capital, and its deep investment in human capital for decades, is crucial for the island. It\u2019s something most anyone on the left or right can agree on,\u201d says Mr. Flores-Macias.\n\nToday\u2019s transition of power takes place on the anniversary of the failed US-backed Bay of Pigs operation against Castro, and coincides with new bumps in the US-Cuba relationship. President Trump last year announced some rollbacks to Obama\u2019s historic diplomatic rapprochement with Cuba, and more than half of US diplomats have been ordered off the island following mysterious hearing loss and what were initially described as suspected \u201csonic attacks.\u201d\n\nDuring the conclusion of the two-day National Assembly session today, where Ra\u00fal Castro stepped down, D\u00edaz-Canel promised to defend the regime created by his predecessors.\n\n\u201cThe revolution continues,\u201d he said.\n\nThe Castros\u2019 armed revolution and rise to power via force has little \u201cto do with the changes taking place now,\u201d says Dimas Castellanos, a former university history professor here who researches race on the island. Raul\u2019s generation of guerrilla fighters are giving up their posts, if not all of their power, he says.\n\n\u201cBut even if [D\u00edaz-Canel] doesn\u2019t want to, the new president must make changes. The warehouses are empty. The only thing that can\u2019t happen now is that nothing changes.\u201d" + }, + { + "title": "This Is Not the 'End of an Era' in Cuba - The Atlantic", + "title_detail": { + "type": "text/plain", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "This Is Not the 'End of an Era' in Cuba - The Atlantic" + }, + "links": [ + { + "rel": "alternate", + "type": "text/html", + "href": "https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiiAFBVV95cUxQNHdJSVNZQkZiSTVVb181Q19hYjdEY3hycmk3QTR6ZUVxSUllZG5mU1JfcDh5YVo0Q0h0Ri1yUG9LZnFMX2dEOHY3TXZ6RjlVdnA0dEh0cXF2Q2pZcmwzeURjRUV0SWhHczJIOUtwMmxUcUhFUXdVZS1ZY1M2VDBWV042Ull1NDVC?oc=5" + } + ], + "link": "https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2018/04/cuba-diaz-canel/558566/", + "id": "CBMiiAFBVV95cUxQNHdJSVNZQkZiSTVVb181Q19hYjdEY3hycmk3QTR6ZUVxSUllZG5mU1JfcDh5YVo0Q0h0Ri1yUG9LZnFMX2dEOHY3TXZ6RjlVdnA0dEh0cXF2Q2pZcmwzeURjRUV0SWhHczJIOUtwMmxUcUhFUXdVZS1ZY1M2VDBWV042Ull1NDVC", + "guidislink": false, + "published": "Fri, 20 Apr 2018 07:00:00 GMT", + "published_parsed": [ + 2018, + 4, + 20, + 7, + 0, + 0, + 4, + 110, + 0 + ], + "summary": "This Is Not the 'End of an Era' in Cuba  The Atlantic", + "summary_detail": { + "type": "text/html", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "This Is Not the 'End of an Era' in Cuba  The Atlantic" + }, + "source": { + "href": "https://www.theatlantic.com", + "title": "The Atlantic" + }, + "sub_articles": [], + "status_code": 200, + "response": "---\ntitle: This Is Not the 'End of an Era' in Cuba\nauthor: Ana Quintana\nurl: https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2018/04/cuba-diaz-canel/558566/\nhostname: theatlantic.com\ndescription: The newly elected president represents an evolution of the Castro regime\u2014an act of self-perpetuation masquerading as change.\nsitename: The Atlantic\ndate: 2018-04-20\ncategories: ['Global']\ntags: ['international']\n---\n# This Is Not the 'End of an Era' in Cuba\n\nThe newly elected president represents an evolution of the Castro regime\u2014an act of self-perpetuation masquerading as change.\n\nCuba\u2019s new president, Miguel Diaz-Canel, boasts relative youth and Castro-free genes. But the myth that his election will yield significant change on the island is flat-out wrong.\n\nHis 86-year-old predecessor, General Raul Castro, was due for departure. Fidel was 81 when he handed power over to his little brother. At age 57, Diaz-Canel seems a mere babe when compared to his octogenarian predecessors. Yet in terms of policy, there is little difference between them.\n\nDiaz-Canel\u2019s political education was forged under the Castro brothers. During his military service, he was part of their security detail. The Cold War era was an active time for the young soldier. While 20-somethings in 1980s America were watching music videos, he was Cuba\u2019s Communist Party liaison to Nicaragua, an ally of both Cuba and the Soviet Union. He has not strayed far from the family since then, assuming various roles in the Communist Party and later in government.\n\nHis loyalty has paid off. In 2013, he was appointed First Vice President. Then, on April 18 of this year, the single-party National Assembly elected him president. This was not a difficult choice for the Assembly: Diaz-Canel was Raul Castro\u2019s handpicked successor and the only candidate on the ticket. He assumed office the following day.\n\nThough Raul Castro may no longer occupy the president\u2019s office, he is anything but a has-been. He still controls the island\u2019s power centers: the Communist Party and the armed forces. Article 5 of Cuba\u2019s constitution lays out the party\u2019s supreme authority, stating, \u201cthe Marxist-Leninist Communist Party of Cuba \u2026 is the leading force of society and of the State.\u201d And Cuba\u2019s Revolutionary Armed Forces have been led by the younger Castro since its creation in 1959. (Incidentally, Diaz-Canel is not the first non-Castro president to serve the regime. From 1959 to 1976, Osvaldo Dorticos Torrado held that title. But many today are unfamiliar with his name, because the presidency in Cuba is a powerless role when occupied by someone who doesn\u2019t control the party and the military.)\n\nMuch like in the case of Che Guevara, romanticized recollections of Diaz-Canel as a long-haired, bicycle-riding youth are at odds with the facts. Only a shrewd political operative could have survived the bare-knuckled world of Cuban politics and emerged as president.\n\nImmediately after assuming office, Diaz-Canel ended speculation that he would be an agent of change. \u201cI affirm to this assembly that comrade Raul will head the decisions for the present and the future of the nation,\u201d he announced. \u201cRaul remains at the front of the political vanguard.\u201d Diaz-Canel also vowed to prevent the restoration of capitalism.\n\nThe last 59 years of Cuban history demonstrate that the government exists to serve the Castros\u2019 desire to advance communism. For years, Raul Castro fooled many into believing he was a pragmatic reformer. He pushed surface-level economic changes\u2014enough to provide Cubans with cash, but not so much as to risk inspiring political change. Restrictions were loosened for Cuban entrepreneurs, but only under the strictest of conditions. A license was required for all commercial activity, including driving a cab and repairing a mattress. Government dissidents were excluded for obvious reasons.\n\nWhile regime apologists insisted Raul would open Cuba to the world, he was busy making other plans. Under his leadership, control of Cuba\u2019s state-run economy was slowly transferred to Raul loyalists. His ex-son-in-law, General Luis Alberto Lopez-Callejas, took over GAESA, the Armed Forces Business Enterprises Group. GAESA is run as a state-owned-and-operated holding company of over 50 business entities, from airlines to currency exchange services.\n\nGAVIOTA, the military\u2019s tourism company, is the crown jewel in the GAESA empire and the backbone of the Cuban economy. *National Review* editor Rich Lowry compared the setup to the Pentagon owning the Radisson, Marriott, and Hilton hotel chains. Throw in the auto rental industry, tour guides, and other enterprises that make money off various travelers, and you get the idea.\n\nRaul\u2019s son, Alejandro Castro Espin, became a leading official in Cuba\u2019s domestic intelligence services. Under his father\u2019s direction, Alejandro shifted the mechanisms of political repression. The days of long-term political sentences are gone. In their place have come short-term imprisonments, augmented by the use of government-sponsored mobs to attack counterrevolutionary human-rights activists.\n\nThe regime arrested nearly 10,000 dissidents in 2016 alone, 498 of them during President Obama\u2019s three-day trip to the island. Cuba\u2019s long, sad history of repression will apparently continue under Diaz-Canel. He has lashed out against Cuba\u2019s dissidents and the countries that support them, and he appears to be perfectly fine with censorship.\n\nI grew up in Miami, the daughter and granddaughter of Cuban political refugees. They left during the Mariel boatlift of 1980, after hiding out at the Peruvian embassy in Cuba. My grandfather vividly recalled hearing Fidel Castro and Che Guevara\u2019s firing squads slaughtering counterrevolutionaries. Now, the firing squads have been replaced with subtler means, but the regime remains unalterably opposed to relaxing its iron grip on power. When anticipating the future of Cuba and U.S.-Cuba relations under Diaz-Canel, it would be a safe bet to expect more of the same. Had Cuba wanted to signal to the U.S. and the international community at large that times are changing, the mid-April Summit of the Americas in Lima, Peru, would have been the prime opportunity.\n\nInstead, Cuba gave hopeful well-wishers a single-finger salute. The Castro regime brought its police state to a peaceful gathering in Lima. State-sponsored thugs shut down meetings critical of Cuba and their Venezuelan benefactors. Even on foreign soil, dissent is not tolerated.\n\nIn totalitarian systems, titles really do not matter. Diaz-Canel\u2019s election to the presidency does not represent a new era in Cuba. Rather, it represents an evolution of the Castro regime\u2014an act of self-perpetuation masquerading as change." + }, + { + "title": "The state of Raul Castro's economic reforms in Cuba - Reuters", + "title_detail": { + "type": "text/plain", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "The state of Raul Castro's economic reforms in Cuba - Reuters" + }, + "links": [ + { + "rel": "alternate", + "type": "text/html", + "href": "https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMipgFBVV95cUxPMFBEeVlQTF9fcUowWVR6eThTZjhzaWNLdVBISDMyT1lyY2xESVo0RWVUemY4NFJCUHhWV21aaGVmTlpuVmlhVjNHa2lTZ083UXFyaDZUc1k1QjZDbk1WTmdOMHpGQ3BxbWR5Mmt0Q0pncTJQcFM0aEdocnVYaElCVHBYYk92TzhkcnFuQWduVDIweWZDVTAxNXlFenZaSnJyZHI5VnZ3?oc=5" + } + ], + "link": "https://www.reuters.com/article/world/the-state-of-raul-castros-economic-reforms-in-cuba-idUSKBN1HO0CL/", + "id": "CBMipgFBVV95cUxPMFBEeVlQTF9fcUowWVR6eThTZjhzaWNLdVBISDMyT1lyY2xESVo0RWVUemY4NFJCUHhWV21aaGVmTlpuVmlhVjNHa2lTZ083UXFyaDZUc1k1QjZDbk1WTmdOMHpGQ3BxbWR5Mmt0Q0pncTJQcFM0aEdocnVYaElCVHBYYk92TzhkcnFuQWduVDIweWZDVTAxNXlFenZaSnJyZHI5VnZ3", + "guidislink": false, + "published": "Tue, 17 Apr 2018 07:00:00 GMT", + "published_parsed": [ + 2018, + 4, + 17, + 7, + 0, + 0, + 1, + 107, + 0 + ], + "summary": "The state of Raul Castro's economic reforms in Cuba  Reuters", + "summary_detail": { + "type": "text/html", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "The state of Raul Castro's economic reforms in Cuba  Reuters" + }, + "source": { + "href": "https://www.reuters.com", + "title": "Reuters" + }, + "sub_articles": [], + "status_code": 401, + "response": "Error: HTTP 401" + }, + { + "title": "Yes, Americans Can Still Travel To Cuba - Forbes", + "title_detail": { + "type": "text/plain", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Yes, Americans Can Still Travel To Cuba - Forbes" + }, + "links": [ + { + "rel": "alternate", + "type": "text/html", + "href": "https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMikgFBVV95cUxOMENMZ3NFejdma3NjVE1vTUVxZGtMYlY0VFltelVyUzg2R1FwSFVqUU1LUUdKTXFfVzNqQU82dG9PQ0lkaEd3aWowazQwOFctOWl3ajBGYXdlV3VYaXF3dnozdzhXUVN6NVg1NlNXVWRGN0JNUy0zdGxsR19ERXN4MUtJbEVDQWlfWXBGTVhkMEZqUQ?oc=5" + } + ], + "link": "https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexandratalty/2018/04/23/yes-you-can-still-travel-to-cuba/", + "id": "CBMikgFBVV95cUxOMENMZ3NFejdma3NjVE1vTUVxZGtMYlY0VFltelVyUzg2R1FwSFVqUU1LUUdKTXFfVzNqQU82dG9PQ0lkaEd3aWowazQwOFctOWl3ajBGYXdlV3VYaXF3dnozdzhXUVN6NVg1NlNXVWRGN0JNUy0zdGxsR19ERXN4MUtJbEVDQWlfWXBGTVhkMEZqUQ", + "guidislink": false, + "published": "Mon, 23 Apr 2018 07:00:00 GMT", + "published_parsed": [ + 2018, + 4, + 23, + 7, + 0, + 0, + 0, + 113, + 0 + ], + "summary": "Yes, Americans Can Still Travel To Cuba  Forbes", + "summary_detail": { + "type": "text/html", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Yes, Americans Can Still Travel To Cuba  Forbes" + }, + "source": { + "href": "https://www.forbes.com", + "title": "Forbes" + }, + "sub_articles": [], + "status_code": 403, + "response": "Error: HTTP 403" + }, + { + "title": "Cuba\u2019s historic change in power - The DePaulia", + "title_detail": { + "type": "text/plain", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Cuba\u2019s historic change in power - The DePaulia" + }, + "links": [ + { + "rel": "alternate", + "type": "text/html", + "href": "https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiggFBVV95cUxNaFA5MnMtYTdoTDdFN3B6dmlDLThGVFhQc1NBUzZjZElYQ0pwQjBRMUk5b1NGX2JlNHAtd183Rks5RzVybTBGczFvRXlDclhBUWI2VWdtWHBpSHJKcnNsWFBBMEdPcV9FNldUTnRNU3lyX196MEdYRXJpQzUydjN2YjRn?oc=5" + } + ], + "link": "https://depauliaonline.com/35078/news/nation/cubas-historic-change-in-power/", + "id": "CBMiggFBVV95cUxNaFA5MnMtYTdoTDdFN3B6dmlDLThGVFhQc1NBUzZjZElYQ0pwQjBRMUk5b1NGX2JlNHAtd183Rks5RzVybTBGczFvRXlDclhBUWI2VWdtWHBpSHJKcnNsWFBBMEdPcV9FNldUTnRNU3lyX196MEdYRXJpQzUydjN2YjRn", + "guidislink": false, + "published": "Mon, 30 Apr 2018 07:00:00 GMT", + "published_parsed": [ + 2018, + 4, + 30, + 7, + 0, + 0, + 0, + 120, + 0 + ], + "summary": "Cuba\u2019s historic change in power  The DePaulia", + "summary_detail": { + "type": "text/html", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Cuba\u2019s historic change in power  The DePaulia" + }, + "source": { + "href": "https://depauliaonline.com", + "title": "The DePaulia" + }, + "sub_articles": [], + "status_code": 200, + "response": "---\ntitle: Cuba\u2019s historic change in power\nauthor: Emily McTavish\nurl: https://depauliaonline.com/35078/news/nation/cubas-historic-change-in-power/\nhostname: depauliaonline.com\ndescription: Cuba has new leadership, marking the first time in 60 years the nation is not being led by a member of the Castro family. The new Cuban President Miguel D\u00edaz-Canel, who came through the ranks of the Communist Party, has been largely unknown to the Cuban public and foreign politicians. The 58-year-old politician became the...\nsitename: The DePaulia\ndate: 2018-04-30\ncategories: ['Nation & World']\ntags: ['Cuba,Miguel Diaz-Canel']\n---\nCuba has new leadership, marking the first time in 60 years the nation is not being led by a member of the Castro family. The new Cuban President Miguel D\u00edaz-Canel, who came through the ranks of the Communist Party, has been largely unknown to the Cuban public and foreign politicians. The 58-year-old politician became the new president after Ra\u00fal Castro stepped down on April 19, 2018.\n\nIn the U.S., however, there is doubt that relations with Cuba will improve, even with a new president.\n\nTom\u00e1s Bilbao, managing director of Avila Strategies and an expert on relations between the United States and Cuba, said this change in power is more than symbolic and represents a generational change.\n\n\u201cNow how different he\u2019ll be than Ra\u00fal, we\u2019ll have to wait and see,\u201d Bilbao said.\n\nCastro took over as head of the Cuban government from his older brother, Fidel, in 2008, and he will still remain the head of the Cuban Communist Party. Bilbao said the government\u2019s policies and reforms will continue to be influenced by Castro and older members of the party.\n\n\u201cI think principally what (D\u00edaz-Canel) will be focusing on is maintaining political control while trying to jumpstart the economy,\u201d Bilbao said.\n\nPaul Johnson, founder of Chicago Foods International and co-chair of United States Agriculture Coalition for Cuba, said he is also skeptical of the United States building a better relationship with Cuba and their new president.\n\n\u201cI think what is going to deter this relationship more than this new president is the tone, the rhetoric coming out of Washington D.C. right now,\u201d Johnson said.\n\nPresident Donald Trump\u2019s administration has rolled back many of the previous administration\u2019s initiatives to improve relations with Cuba. Back in November, the president reinstated travel restrictions and released a new list of entities, like bars and hotels, that Americans are barred from doing business with.\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s the wrong message across the board. It appeals to the nationalist sentiment within Cuba,\u201d Johnson said.\n\nUnder Castro\u2019s reign, some enterprise businesses were freed from absolute state control. According to the Cuban Ministry of Labor and Social Security, 578,421 people were registered as self-employed as of October 2017. A majority of those self-employed people are working in activities supervised by Labor Ministry authorities.\n\n\u201cIt is a certain amount of retreat on their part to allow some level of capitalism operate in Cuba, but they think the benefits outweigh the disadvantages,\u201d said Steve Eckhardt, co-coordinator of the Chicago Cuba Coalition and a self-identified socialist.\n\nThe Cuban economy has long suffered from stagnancy. Analysis by the Brookings Institute released in February shows the average gross domestic product growth rate was 2.4 percent during Ra\u00fal Castro\u2019s presidency.\n\n\u201c(Cuba is) behind where they should have been in 1980 let alone 2018,\u201d Bilbao said.\n\nAccording to the Brookings Institute, Cuban government officials have recognized growth is less than half of the minimum annual growth necessary for Cuba to attain a sustainable future.\n\nBilbao said increased foreign investment could assist the Cuban economy, and there is interest abroad in increasing investment on the island. Bilbao said the Cuban government has courted international businesses, but there has been little follow through.\n\n\u201cOnce again, it\u2019s this fear from the Cuban government that is slowing down the progress of things they say were a priority,\u201d Bilbao said.\n\nAmerica has been at at a disadvantage with the decades-long embargo set in place, Bilbao said, compared to other countries that have an easier time doing business in Cuba. States like Illinois, though, have been able to participate in limited trade under the Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act of 2000. Under the act, agricultural commodities, medicine and medical supplies can be exported to Cuba.\n\nJohnson has been working to improve trade relations with Cuba, especially in agricultural exports,for more than 20 years. Johnson said Illinois has historically been instrumental in opening up relations, and the state has many economic opportunities for Cuba\u2019s future.\n\n\u201cIf you look at how they want to evolve economically, soybeans and corn have a part of that,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cIt aligns with Cuba\u2019s interests because they can\u2019t grow soybeans.\u201d\n\nAccording to the Illinois Soybean Association, $50 million of American soybeans were exported to Cuba in 2017. In a statement, Illinois Soybean Growers President Lynn Rohrscheib said,\u201cWe are looking forward to working with the new administration in Cuba to foster better relationships that help both our farmers and the Cuban peo\n\nThe Chicago Cuba Coalition works to end the embargo and travel restrictions between the United States and Cuba, and the organization leads educational trips to the island. Travel to Cuba from the United States is restricted to 12 authorized categories, like educational trips, religious activities and humanitarian aid trips.\n\nAccording to the National Bureau of Statistics for Cuba (ONEI), travel by Americans to Cuba increased by more than 74 percent between 2015 and 2016. In March, the U.S. Department of Transportation proposed new flight routes to Cuba to reallocate routes that were awarded but given up. Both the United States and Cuba can operate up to 20 flights roundtrip daily.\n\nHowever, the State Department is warning Americans not to travel to Cuba since embassy workers in Havana succumbed to mysterious health issues that were at first suspected to be the result of a sonic attack; the cause is currently unknown. Last year, the staff at the United States Embassy was cut by more than half, and members of the Cuban embassy staff in Washington were also evicted. Canada has also cut the number of staff at their embassy in Havana.\n\nFor Johnson, increased travel restrictions and trust in Cuba could have an impact on Illinois exporting crops.\n\n\u201cCuba needs that food, not only to feed the 11 million people of Cuba, which is the same population of illinois, but they have 3 million tourists coming into the country who need to be fed,\u201d Johnson said.\n\nJohnson said he remains optimistic about opening trade relations. He added that he has been working with farmers in the United States who are interested in trading their crops for Cuban commodities like winter vegetables or exotic fruit, which can\u2019t be grown in Illinois.\n\nIf trust is rebuilt between the two countries, \u201cthere\u2019s a lot of synergy that could happen,\u201d Johnson said." + }, + { + "title": "Miguel Diaz-Canel named Cuba\u2019s new president - CNN", + "title_detail": { + "type": "text/plain", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Miguel Diaz-Canel named Cuba\u2019s new president - CNN" + }, + "links": [ + { + "rel": "alternate", + "type": "text/html", + "href": "https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMid0FVX3lxTE02UlVZUFJMRXJtXzctM3NzbmlhS3pHNVlFZ1pGQ2dvS1pCRlhNQzlUZjF2RXdqVFNLM1hCLXlDdml1elZEdWUwS3RTQ3UzM1lOV3NBSVViYm8xRTRjUEhoREI2VUdwV2hGRnVXN1A4RmdGMXM5ODFB?oc=5" + } + ], + "link": "https://edition.cnn.com/2018/04/19/americas/cuba-new-president-named", + "id": "CBMid0FVX3lxTE02UlVZUFJMRXJtXzctM3NzbmlhS3pHNVlFZ1pGQ2dvS1pCRlhNQzlUZjF2RXdqVFNLM1hCLXlDdml1elZEdWUwS3RTQ3UzM1lOV3NBSVViYm8xRTRjUEhoREI2VUdwV2hGRnVXN1A4RmdGMXM5ODFB", + "guidislink": false, + "published": "Fri, 20 Apr 2018 07:00:00 GMT", + "published_parsed": [ + 2018, + 4, + 20, + 7, + 0, + 0, + 4, + 110, + 0 + ], + "summary": "Miguel Diaz-Canel named Cuba\u2019s new president  CNN", + "summary_detail": { + "type": "text/html", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Miguel Diaz-Canel named Cuba\u2019s new president  CNN" + }, + "source": { + "href": "https://edition.cnn.com", + "title": "CNN" + }, + "sub_articles": [], + "status_code": 200, + "response": "---\ntitle: Miguel Diaz-Canel named Cuba\u2019s new president | CNN\nauthor: Patrick Oppmann; Alanne Orjoux\nurl: https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/19/americas/cuba-new-president-named\nhostname: cnn.com\ndescription: Miguel D\u00edaz-Canel was officially named as the new leader of Cuba on Thursday, one day after a secret vote in the country\u2019s National Assembly.\nsitename: CNN\ndate: 2018-04-19\ncategories: ['world', 'americas']\ntags: ['caribbean, cuba, fidel castro, latin america, miguel diaz-canel, political figures - intl, raul castro, diplomatic talks and summits, inter-governmental talks, international relations, international relations and national security, summits of the americas', 'caribbean, cuba, fidel castro, latin america, miguel diaz-canel, political figures - intl, raul castro, diplomatic talks and summits, inter-governmental talks, international relations, international relations and national security, summits of the americas']\n---\nMiguel D\u00edaz-Canel was officially named as the new leader of Cuba on Thursday, one day after a secret vote in the country\u2019s National Assembly.\n\nIt\u2019s the first time in nearly six decades that Cuba is being led by a man not named Castro.\n\nD\u00edaz-Canel, 57, was selected by a vote of 603-1 as the unopposed candidate to replace Raul Castro, 86. Castro embraced D\u00edaz-Canel \u2013 who wasn\u2019t yet born when Fidel Castro led his revolution in 1959 \u2013 during Wednesday\u2019s session, all but sealing his status as the island\u2019s next president.\n\nD\u00edaz-Canel becomes president of the Cuban Council of State and Council of Ministers. The other members of the Council of State also were named Thursday. The makeup of the Council of Ministers will be decided at the next National Assembly, D\u00edaz-Canel said, most likely later this year.\n\nDespite his new title, D\u00edaz-Canel emphasized the continuing leadership role that Raul Castro will play for the country.\n\n\u201cRaul Castro, as first secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba, will lead the decisions of greatest transcendence for the present and the future of this country,\u201d D\u00edaz-Canel said in a speech to the Cuban National Assembly in Havana on Thursday.\n\nCastro will also still be a member of the National Assembly and, even if he is no longer president, remains the most powerful public figure on the island.\n\nStill, Castro made clear D\u00edaz-Canel will ultimately succeed him as head of the Communist Party when he steps down form that post in 2021.\n\n\u201cHe will stay on as first secretary,\u201d Castro said, \u201cto keep the road open.\u201d\n\nRather than split up power between other top officials, Castro said control of the state would eventually be consolidated in D\u00edaz-Canel \u2013 as it was in the Castros \u2013 at least for a while.\n\nCastro said Cuban presidents should be restricted to two five-year terms, a novel idea in a country where his brother Fidel ruled for 50 years.\n\nBut Castro\u2019s ringing endorsement of D\u00edaz-Canel was a clear indication that members of the older generation that fought the revolution are banking on him to steer the government through an economic crisis and increasingly rocky relationship with the United States.\n\nThe transition marks a passing of a torch in Cuba from the revolutionaries who took power at the point of a gun to the younger generation of bureaucrats that have only ever known the Castros\u2019 socialist project.\n\nEven though he has advocated for a greater opening to the internet and is said to seek consensus for various factions within Cuban society, D\u00edaz-Canel echoed hardline revolutionary stalwarts in his remarks Thursday.\n\n\u201cNo one will weaken the revolution or defeat the Cuban people,\u201d D\u00edaz-Canel said. \u201cCuba doesn\u2019t make concessions against its sovereignty or independence.\u201d\n\n## A steady rise to power\n\nAn electrical engineer by training, D\u00edaz-Canel was born a year after Fidel Castro took power. Tall and gray-haired, he speaks in a soft monotone and rarely strays too far from the script in public appearances.\n\nBut while there were other, more dynamic members of his generation who years earlier appeared to have a better lock on the top job, D\u00edaz-Canel quietly made a name for himself as an efficient administrator while serving as the top Communist Party official for the provinces of Villa Clara and then Holgu\u00edn, where Fidel and Raul Castro were born.\n\nD\u00edaz-Canel will be put to the test as he tries to right Cuba\u2019s flagging economy and fend off an increasingly aggressive administration in Washington.\n\nDuring his 90-minute speech Thursday, Raul Castro referred to the recent tensions, criticizing Vice President Mike Pence for walking out of a speech by Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla during the Summit of the Americas in Peru.\n\n\u201cHe couldn\u2019t take it and left,\u201d Castro joked.\n\nPence fired back on Twitter at Castro.\n\n\u201cHey Raul - looks like you\u2019re the one leaving\u2026\u201d read a Tweet on Pence\u2019s official account. \u201cWe\u2019re here standing with the Cuban people. And we\u2019re not going anywhere until Cuba has free & fair elections, political prisoners are released & the people of Cuba are finally free! \u201c\n\nCNN\u2019s Patrick Oppmann reported and wrote from Havana, with Alanne Orjoux writing in Atlanta. CNN\u2019s Jonny Hallam also contributed to this report." + }, + { + "title": "Cuba Is Attracting More Cruise Visits as Traditional Travel Gets Complicated - Skift", + "title_detail": { + "type": "text/plain", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Cuba Is Attracting More Cruise Visits as Traditional Travel Gets Complicated - Skift" + }, + "links": [ + { + "rel": "alternate", + "type": "text/html", + "href": "https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiqgFBVV95cUxNQ2ZKSWFZS19iODZHd2RnY21NWEV5emdKa3JmVzUxV29iaFR4eGxzYTdRa2xsT2ZmTjFsZi13bGQ5RkhMeGRLUFFnMlJ4VXBLMDlfQjdSWGgyUmdlZmNHSWdSN2dxZXdQVTYzVkxEUHZ6cDg5ZEpMaGF3RndTUjJwNnA2bWJwUWNtUm5ybmYwcFJfWmlVdkE1UjY2Rlo1dGZJcXlERW9yYVZ6QQ?oc=5" + } + ], + "link": "https://skift.com/2018/04/17/cuba-is-attracting-more-cruise-visits-as-traditional-travel-gets-complicated/", + "id": "CBMiqgFBVV95cUxNQ2ZKSWFZS19iODZHd2RnY21NWEV5emdKa3JmVzUxV29iaFR4eGxzYTdRa2xsT2ZmTjFsZi13bGQ5RkhMeGRLUFFnMlJ4VXBLMDlfQjdSWGgyUmdlZmNHSWdSN2dxZXdQVTYzVkxEUHZ6cDg5ZEpMaGF3RndTUjJwNnA2bWJwUWNtUm5ybmYwcFJfWmlVdkE1UjY2Rlo1dGZJcXlERW9yYVZ6QQ", + "guidislink": false, + "published": "Tue, 17 Apr 2018 07:00:00 GMT", + "published_parsed": [ + 2018, + 4, + 17, + 7, + 0, + 0, + 1, + 107, + 0 + ], + "summary": "Cuba Is Attracting More Cruise Visits as Traditional Travel Gets Complicated  Skift", + "summary_detail": { + "type": "text/html", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Cuba Is Attracting More Cruise Visits as Traditional Travel Gets Complicated  Skift" + }, + "source": { + "href": "https://skift.com", + "title": "Skift" + }, + "sub_articles": [], + "status_code": 200, + "response": "---\ntitle: Cuba Is Attracting More Cruise Visits as Traditional Travel Gets Complicated\nauthor: Hannah Sampson\nurl: https://skift.com/2018/04/17/cuba-is-attracting-more-cruise-visits-as-traditional-travel-gets-complicated/\nhostname: skift.com\ndescription: Nearly two years after cruise travel between the U.S. and Cuba restarted following a decades-long break, demand for the destination is showing no sign of cooling.\nsitename: Skift\ndate: 2018-04-17\ncategories: ['Tourism']\n---\n# Cuba Is Attracting More Cruise Visits as Traditional Travel Gets Complicated\n\n## Skift Take\n\nWhile Americans lost some of the ability to explore Cuba on their own due to restrictions put in place by the Trump administration, cruise ships are offering organized trips approved by the U.S. government. That seems to be working out well for operators, who are eager to increase their presence in the destination." + }, + { + "title": "End of the Castro era: Who's the man likely to be Cuba's next president? - NBC News", + "title_detail": { + "type": "text/plain", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "End of the Castro era: Who's the man likely to be Cuba's next president? - NBC News" + }, + "links": [ + { + "rel": "alternate", + "type": "text/html", + "href": "https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMimAFBVV95cUxQWklMU1ZNdURVWnpiUGFMalA4R2MwUnphcmpLUDhRRGlmNWR3XzZkeUNKVXB4eGtudEMtUlM0a3BvZG4xUzJ5MFlVQmE2VXQyVFFPR3dTbmJkQjhRTVBGTmdqa0luS1J4c0NGaUY4OFFydE5XQlNSN3VVU1VVNXpqUHV4dVNXYmFlc1BoVW1PLTNCY2g2YlAtNA?oc=5" + } + ], + "link": "https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/for-the-first-time-in-six-decades-cuba-wont-be-led-by-a-castro/2018/04/17/f1df8b3c-3e61-11e8-955b-7d2e19b79966_story.html", + "id": "CBMimAFBVV95cUxQWklMU1ZNdURVWnpiUGFMalA4R2MwUnphcmpLUDhRRGlmNWR3XzZkeUNKVXB4eGtudEMtUlM0a3BvZG4xUzJ5MFlVQmE2VXQyVFFPR3dTbmJkQjhRTVBGTmdqa0luS1J4c0NGaUY4OFFydE5XQlNSN3VVU1VVNXpqUHV4dVNXYmFlc1BoVW1PLTNCY2g2YlAtNA", + "guidislink": false, + "published": "Mon, 16 Apr 2018 07:00:00 GMT", + "published_parsed": [ + 2018, + 4, + 16, + 7, + 0, + 0, + 0, + 106, + 0 + ], + "summary": "End of the Castro era: Who's the man likely to be Cuba's next president?  NBC News", + "summary_detail": { + "type": "text/html", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "End of the Castro era: Who's the man likely to be Cuba's next president?  NBC News" + }, + "source": { + "href": "https://www.nbcnews.com", + "title": "NBC News" + }, + "sub_articles": [], + "status_code": 0, + "response": "Error: " + }, + { + "title": "In Cuba, the Castro era ends this week as Ra\u00fal steps down as ruler - The Washington Post", + "title_detail": { + "type": "text/plain", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "In Cuba, the Castro era ends this week as Ra\u00fal steps down as ruler - The Washington Post" + }, + "links": [ + { + "rel": "alternate", + "type": "text/html", + "href": "https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMigAJBVV95cUxNN3g5S2dRZEtkX3pzRm4zVHNablNQNDJ0cGRqWlRRdjlLck55NllnbFJZV0tFZXNRUC1DU0NsVi15VG03Tnl5ZlpRYU1rMTNRQVY2b0RzczExY1JUbXU1RW5rcmVrbW4wZFJvbWlYNlBxRVJ1RUlsLThWdmpEZU9QV2ZjMWpMcUpXajV1LUlCUVNQYTN2SGFuQmU0T3BpUEd1cEVxdnpEUG5YY2VYbUxaRWRjVzhwbUJ2aG1naDliZzhTektpWjZyOFU3dnpiYloyVHBfQ0VkNktwRGxMMzNPb09SQy1CbWpWYnl0T0tNYmlsZUhWbUFmbEZoSGt4MnRE?oc=5" + } + ], + "link": "https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/who-miguel-d-az-canel-cuba-s-likely-new-president-n860906", + "id": "CBMigAJBVV95cUxNN3g5S2dRZEtkX3pzRm4zVHNablNQNDJ0cGRqWlRRdjlLck55NllnbFJZV0tFZXNRUC1DU0NsVi15VG03Tnl5ZlpRYU1rMTNRQVY2b0RzczExY1JUbXU1RW5rcmVrbW4wZFJvbWlYNlBxRVJ1RUlsLThWdmpEZU9QV2ZjMWpMcUpXajV1LUlCUVNQYTN2SGFuQmU0T3BpUEd1cEVxdnpEUG5YY2VYbUxaRWRjVzhwbUJ2aG1naDliZzhTektpWjZyOFU3dnpiYloyVHBfQ0VkNktwRGxMMzNPb09SQy1CbWpWYnl0T0tNYmlsZUhWbUFmbEZoSGt4MnRE", + "guidislink": false, + "published": "Tue, 17 Apr 2018 07:00:00 GMT", + "published_parsed": [ + 2018, + 4, + 17, + 7, + 0, + 0, + 1, + 107, + 0 + ], + "summary": "In Cuba, the Castro era ends this week as Ra\u00fal steps down as ruler  The Washington Post", + "summary_detail": { + "type": "text/html", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "In Cuba, the Castro era ends this week as Ra\u00fal steps down as ruler  The Washington Post" + }, + "source": { + "href": "https://www.washingtonpost.com", + "title": "The Washington Post" + }, + "sub_articles": [], + "status_code": 200, + "response": "---\ntitle: End of the Castro era: Who's the man likely to be Cuba's next president?\nauthor: Carmen Sesin; Orlando Matos\nurl: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/who-miguel-d-az-canel-cuba-s-likely-new-president-n860906\nhostname: nbcnews.com\ndescription: For the first time in more than 40 years, someone not named Castro will be the president of Cuba.\nsitename: NBC News\ndate: 2018-04-16\n---\nHAVANA \u2014 Thursday will mark the end of an era for Cuba.\n\nThat's the day Ra\u00fal Castro, 86, steps down as Cuba's president, the first time in more than 40 years the country won't be led by a Castro brother. As founders of Cuba's 1959 communist revolution, Fidel and Ra\u00fal Castro directly shaped the country's history and its role in power dynamics across the globe.\n\nNow all eyes are on Miguel D\u00edaz-Canel \u2014 seen by many as Ra\u00fal\u2019s hand-picked successor as the nation's next leader.\n\n\u201cFollowing Cuba\u2019s political system, it\u2019s only logical that D\u00edaz-Canel become president after serving as first vice president for the past five years without any issues,\u201d said Arturo Lopez-Levy, a former analyst with the Cuban Interior Ministry who is now a lecturer at the University of Texas, Rio Grande Valley.\n\nD\u00edaz-Canel, 57, has a long history in Cuba politics. Before his current role, he was the minister of higher education.\n\nD\u00edaz-Canel headed the Communist Party of Cuba in Villa Clara province from 1994 to 2003, at a time when the country was suffering from a severe economic crisis after the fall of the Soviet Union, which had heavily subsidized the island nation.\n\nSome have speculated on D\u00edaz-Canel\u2019s moderate views but, in the past year, he has taken an increasingly hard line, emphasizing the continuation of Cuba\u2019s single-party political system and centrally planned economy.\n\nHe was captured in a video leaked last summer criticizing independent media and telling Communist Party members that the embassies of the U.S., Norway, Spain, Germany, and Britain were supporting \u201csubversive activity.\u201d D\u00edaz-Canel said the Obama administration's 2015 historic re-establishment of relations between the U.S. and Cuba \u201cwas a different way [for the U.S.] to try to reach its final objective to destroy the revolution.\u201d\n\nThe upcoming presidential transition comes at a time when Cubans are feeling frustrated over the slow pace of market-style reforms initiated by Ra\u00fal Castro in 2011 and as relations with the U.S. have cooled significantly under the Trump administration.\n\nThose two issues will likely be major challenges for D\u00edaz-Canel once he takes office.\n\n### Bellwether issues\n\nFacing an economic recession and an average salary of around $30 a month, Cubans will be looking for a better standard of living from their new leaders.\n\n\u201cWhoever takes over in April will have to get Cuba out of this great economic crisis and elevate the quality of life for Cubans,\u201d said Miriam Leiva, a dissident and former senior Cuban diplomat, who was expelled from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1992.\n\nD\u00edaz-Canel will also face the challenge of navigating a complicated relationship with the U.S.\n\nIn early March, the Trump administration announced it would permanently reduce the staff at the U.S. Embassy in Havana by 60 percent. The decision came after the U.S. evacuated nonessential personnel in October after embassy staff members were sickened in a series of unexplained health incidents. As a result, the State Department issued a warning, recommending Americans \u201creconsider\u201d traveling to the island.\n\nCuba denied any role and has cooperated with an FBI investigation.\n\nThe diplomatic incident came on the heels of President Donald Trump's reversal of Obama-era policy changes regarding Cuba. Trump renewed travel restrictions, and Americans now must visit as part of organized tour groups run by U.S. companies.\n\nAs the U.S. has hardened its policy, Cuba has responded with tough talk.\n\nIn November, D\u00edaz-Canel told NBC News during municipal elections, \u201cwe continue to be open to relations\u201d with the United States. But in March, during National Assembly elections, he said the revolution is being \u201cattacked and threatened\u201d by an administration that \u201chas offended Cuba.\u201d\n\n## Who is the man poised to be Cuba's next president?\n\nDuring the past few weeks, Cuban state-run media has increased the amount of news centered around D\u00edaz-Canel, a possible sign of what is to come.\n\nThe National Assembly is expected to ratify D\u00edaz-Canel as the next president on Thursday \u2014 a day before he turns 58 \u2014 and such a move would represent a generational shift from the Castros. As is generally the case with political leaders in Cuba, little is known publicly about D\u00edaz-Canel's personal life. Few who know him are willing to talk about him and the government does not release personal information about politicians.\n\nSeveral people who knew D\u00edaz-Canel during his time in Santa Clara spoke to NBC News and shared their memories of the man they call Miguelito, or Migue, whom they described as down-to-earth and accessible.\n\nGuillermo Fari\u00f1as, one of Cuba\u2019s most prominent dissidents, was friends with D\u00edaz-Canel during their pre-teen years in the 1970s. They played basketball, and despite the racial discrimination that existed at the time, Fari\u00f1as, who is black, said D\u00edaz-Canel didn't show any prejudice.\n\nFari\u00f1as described D\u00edaz-Canel as \"curious, impulsive, aggressive, brave and reckless, and a 'amigo de sus amigos,'\" a true friend.\n\nAs a high school and college student, D\u00edaz-Canel \u201cwas friendly, tall, with long, blondish hair,\u201d said Santiago Alpizar, a Miami attorney who ran in the same social circles. He remembers him at parties where young people listened to American music, even though it was frowned upon by the government at the time. D\u00edaz-Canel was \u201cjovial\u201d and avoided conflict or talk about politics, Alpizar said.\n\nAs a teen and young adult, \u201che was not the person he appears to be today,\u201d Alpizar said.\n\nD\u00edaz-Canel obtained an electrical engineering degree in 1982, fulfilled his military service and served on a mission to Nicaragua, which had a leftist government at the time that was a strong ally of Cuba.\n\nFari\u00f1as said their relationship changed over time after he and other psychology students were almost kicked out of school in 1983 for taking an interest in the work of Sigmund Freud. According to Fari\u00f1as, the communist government allowed them to study only the work of the \u201crusos\u201d (Russians). \u201cD\u00edaz-Canel was no longer the nice friend I knew and advocated for our expulsion,\u201d Fari\u00f1as said.\n\nYet Fari\u00f1as said his most recent experience with D\u00edaz-Canel was unusual for a Communist Party official and a dissident. Fari\u00f1as was recovering from a hunger strike at a hospital that had sustained an electrical explosion, and D\u00edaz-Canel went to visit the patients. Fari\u00f1as was surprised when D\u00edaz-Canel not only came to his hospital room but later asked doctors what he needed for his recovery. When they recommended evaporated milk, he made it happen, Fari\u00f1as remembers.\n\nRam\u00f3n Silverio, who has known D\u00edaz-Canel for decades, described him as \"advanced in his thinking.\"\n\nIn 1984, Silverio had created a place in Santa Clara called El Mejunje (\"hodgepodge\"), to provide a safe space for LGBT people, as well as artists, bohemians and rockers. This was a bold move since Cuba was transitioning from the 1960s and \u201970s when such groups were the targets of repression and imprisonment.\n\nSilverio recalled that D\u00edaz-Canel was one of the political leaders who helped keep the space open, even taking his two young children to the kid-themed events held on Sundays.\n\n\u201cHe was one of those people who went to the theater because he loved it, not because he had to comply with a political task,\u201d said Silverio.\n\n## Agent of change, or of the status quo?\n\nLeiva, the dissident and former senior Cuban diplomat, said there may not be much change if D\u00edaz-Canel becomes president. She points to the fact that Ra\u00fal Castro will remain chief of the Communist Party of Cuba, the most powerful political position in the country and one that, since 1976, the Castros have held along with their presidencies (Fidel died in 2016).\n\n\u201cRa\u00fal Castro, with the *militares*, (military) will maintain power,\u201d keeping D\u00edaz-Canel and others in check, Leiva said.\n\nD\u00edaz-Canel does not have the clout the Castro brothers held as figures of the revolution and, as a result, he will be judged more by the nation's economic performance, according to Lopez-Levy, the University of Texas professor.\n\n\u201cIf he is not able to improve the economic situation, he will have to deal with the political repercussions,\u201d he said.\n\nA change in Cuba\u2019s leadership could affect its relationship with the U.S., one that has become increasingly fractious since Trump took over.\n\nCuba\u2019s economy would benefit tremendously if the U.S. Congress finally lifts the almost six-decade U.S. embargo, said Gustavo Arnavat, a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and a former Obama administration official. The reward, he said, would help Cuba reach its goals of saving the achievements of the revolution, particularly in the areas of health and education, while improving its economic future.\n\nBut he thinks that\u2019s not going to happen until the Cuban government offers something meaningful to the U.S. \u2014 especially to a president who prides himself on doing good deals.\n\n\u201cThe trick is finding what that is,\u201d Arnavat said.\n\n*Carmen Sesin reported from Miami, and Orlando Matos from Havana.*" + }, + { + "title": "Cuba\u2019s likely new leader, Miguel Diaz-Canel, faces economic and diplomatic challenges - CNN", + "title_detail": { + "type": "text/plain", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Cuba\u2019s likely new leader, Miguel Diaz-Canel, faces economic and diplomatic challenges - CNN" + }, + "links": [ + { + "rel": "alternate", + "type": "text/html", + "href": "https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiiAFBVV95cUxQR1l6MF9nc056b1pjclNOenFMSHltQVlHanBSeHdOZzBGYjluQldqS1lUVFF6VnNLUl9mdDNFLWFROFVjYWN6RTZNeldVZ1M2Z0w4Sk1Yb1A4NDIyVzkwZ0NaZHBTVkFjeFdWVTdXeHpNckZsdVpUd1FYWnZUeUdzc3VXM3NqQTFj?oc=5" + } + ], + "link": "https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/18/americas/cuba-new-leader-miguel-diaz-canel-profile", + "id": "CBMiiAFBVV95cUxQR1l6MF9nc056b1pjclNOenFMSHltQVlHanBSeHdOZzBGYjluQldqS1lUVFF6VnNLUl9mdDNFLWFROFVjYWN6RTZNeldVZ1M2Z0w4Sk1Yb1A4NDIyVzkwZ0NaZHBTVkFjeFdWVTdXeHpNckZsdVpUd1FYWnZUeUdzc3VXM3NqQTFj", + "guidislink": false, + "published": "Wed, 18 Apr 2018 07:00:00 GMT", + "published_parsed": [ + 2018, + 4, + 18, + 7, + 0, + 0, + 2, + 108, + 0 + ], + "summary": "Cuba\u2019s likely new leader, Miguel Diaz-Canel, faces economic and diplomatic challenges  CNN", + "summary_detail": { + "type": "text/html", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Cuba\u2019s likely new leader, Miguel Diaz-Canel, faces economic and diplomatic challenges  CNN" + }, + "source": { + "href": "https://www.cnn.com", + "title": "CNN" + }, + "sub_articles": [], + "status_code": 200, + "response": "---\ntitle: Cuba\u2019s likely new leader, Miguel Diaz-Canel, faces economic and diplomatic challenges | CNN\nauthor: Patrick Oppmann\nurl: https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/18/americas/cuba-new-leader-miguel-diaz-canel-profile\nhostname: cnn.com\ndescription: Before becoming the heir apparent to Cuban President Raul Castro, when Miguel D\u00edaz-Canel was still climbing his way up the ranks of the Communist Party hierarchy in the island\u2019s provinces, he earned a nickname that stuck with him: \u201cD\u00eda y Noche,\u201d or Day and Night.\nsitename: CNN\ndate: 2018-04-18\ncategories: ['world', 'americas']\ntags: ['caribbean, cuba, donald trump, fidel castro, international relations, international relations and national security, latin america, miguel diaz-canel, north america, political figures - intl, political figures - us, raul castro, united states', 'caribbean, cuba, donald trump, fidel castro, international relations, international relations and national security, latin america, miguel diaz-canel, north america, political figures - intl, political figures - us, raul castro, united states']\n---\nBefore becoming the heir apparent to Cuban President Raul Castro, when Miguel D\u00edaz-Canel was still climbing his way up the ranks of the Communist Party hierarchy in the island\u2019s provinces, he earned a nickname that stuck with him: \u201cD\u00eda y Noche,\u201d or Day and Night.\n\nThe moniker came from low-level government employees who found out the hard way that at any hour, D\u00edaz-Canel could show up unannounced to inspect whether workers were actually on the job and not pilfering supplies or taking a nap.\n\nThat fastidiousness and willingness to work around the clock may be key assets after D\u00edaz-Canel was nominated to become the next president of the Communist-run island when Raul Castro, 86, steps down Thursday.\n\nIt\u2019s the first time since the 1959 revolution that Cuba has a head of state not named Castro.\n\nAnd it marks a long-awaited generational transition from the now-aging guerrilla fighters who seized power at the point of a gun to government bureaucrats who have lived their whole life under the Castros\u2019 socialist project.\n\nWho would succeed Fidel and Raul Castro has been the subject of intense speculation in Cuba for decades and has led to the fall from grace of more than one official for seemingly vying for the job.\n\n## A steady ascension\n\nAn electrical engineer by training, D\u00edaz-Canel was born a year after Fidel Castro took power. Tall and gray-haired, with the physique of a former body builder who no longer hits the gym that often, D\u00edaz-Canel speaks in a soft monotone and rarely strays too far from the script in public appearances.\n\nBut while there were other, more dynamic members of his generation who years earlier appeared to have a better lock on the top job, D\u00edaz-Canel quietly made a name for himself as an efficient administrator while serving as the top Communist Party official for the provinces of Villa Clara and then Holgu\u00edn, where Fidel and Raul Castro were born.\n\n##### Inside Raul Castro's Cuba\n\nRaul Castro announced in 2013 he would serve a second and final five-year term as president and made clear his thoughts on who should succeed him.\n\n\u201cComrade D\u00edaz-Canel isn\u2019t upstart or an improvisation,\u201d Raul Castro said in a speech to the National Assembly, the government body that elects the president of Cuba. \u201cHis trajectory has lasted nearly 30 years.\u201d\n\nD\u00edaz-Canel was promoted to first vice president and undertook profile-raising trips to represent Cuba at the funeral of close ally Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and on official visits to fellow communist countries China and North Korea.\n\n## \u2018We are defending our revolution\u2019\n\nWhen Cubans went to the polls in March to vote in single-party, single-candidate elections for the Cuban National Assembly, the international press in Cuba was encouraged by government officials to cover D\u00edaz-Canel as he voted in his hometown of Santa Clara.\n\nD\u00edaz-Canel arrived at the polls wearing a short-sleeved shirt and walking hand-in-hand with his wife. Even though he was accompanied by bodyguards, some of whom had previously protected former Cuban President Fidel Castro, D\u00edaz-Canel seemed relaxed and confident.\n\nHe took his place at the end of the line outside the polling station, greeted men with handshakes and women with kisses on the cheek and posed for selfies with children.\n\nCuban state-run TV had live coverage of D\u00edaz-Canel voting, with the anchor referring to him as Cuba\u2019s president before quickly correcting herself.\n\n\u201cWe are defending our process, we are defending our revolution, which continues to be threatened, which continues to be attacked,\u201d D\u00edaz-Canel told the cameras after voting.\n\n## Castro expected to stay on until at least 2021\n\nStill, it\u2019s an open question as to how much power the new leader actually will exercise.\n\nRaul Castro is expected to stay on until at least 2021 as the head of the Cuban Communist Party, which determines the long-term planning for the island\u2019s government.\n\nIt will be the first time since the creation of the positions that the head of the party is not also the president of the government in Cuba.\n\nIt also appears unlikely that D\u00edaz-Canel, who served briefly in the army, will be the top general of the island\u2019s army, which oversees large swathes of the Cuban economy.\n\nWithout his own power base or credentials from fighting in the revolution and subsequent conflicts, D\u00edaz-Canel will have to prove himself as a leader who can bridge the divisions within the Cuban government\n\n\u201cHe wants consensus,\u201d said former Cuban diplomat Carlos Alzugaray. \u201cHe is not the kind of guy like Fidel Castro used to be, who imposed consensus.\u201d\n\n## Will Cuba-US relations change?\n\nUS officials are waiting to see what changes D\u00edaz-Canel will bring to the job.\n\nThe transition is taking place just as the US reduced staffing at the US Embassy in Havana to the lowest levels in 40 years, following mystery health incidents involving US diplomats.\n\nAnd the US-Cuba relationship has again chilled after President Donald Trump said he was \u201ctearing up\u201d former President Barack Obama\u2019s deal with the island and imposed further economic sanctions against the Cuban government.\n\nNow, the US government has less contact and influence with Cuba \u2013 just as US officials are trying to get a sense of what kind of leader D\u00edaz-Canel will be and how much turnover will take place in the upper ranks of the Cuban government.\n\n\u201c(D\u00edaz-Canel) was not particularly involved in the US relationship,\u201d said Ben Rhodes, Obama\u2019s deputy adviser for national security, who led the US delegation in secret talks with Cuba to re-establish relations.\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s not just the person at the top, there\u2019s all manner of positions that are going to turn over,\u201d Rhodes said. \u201cMy concern is that what Trump did is that it was the worst possible timing to empower hardliners in that transition who can now say, \u2018See, we can\u2019t count on the US.\u2019\u201d\n\nAnd despite reportedly having a love for American rock and roll music, D\u00edaz-Canel has increasingly shown himself to be a hardliner when dealing with the US.\n\n\u201cSometimes it\u2019s inexplicable that a country so big, so powerful, has dedicated so much time, resources, evil and perversity to destroying the revolutionary process,\u201d D\u00edaz-Canel said in 2017, as he attended the opening of a museum in Havana showcasing the CIA\u2019s plots against the Cuban government.\n\n## Challenges at home\n\nThe frayed US-Cuban relationship will only be one item on the agenda for the next president of Cuba.\n\nA worsening economic crisis in Cuba\u2019s key ally, Venezuela, has disrupted vital oil shipments to the island.\n\nAnd Cuban officials apparently still cannot work out a solution to unifying the island\u2019s two currencies, which has hobbled the already faltering economy.\n\nFree-market reforms initiated by Raul Castro that allowed thousands of Cubans to go into the private sector have been rolled back after officials complained of a rise in wealth disparity and corruption.\n\nFrustrated by a lack of opportunities and low wages, young Cubans are still moving away from Cuba.\n\nAll those problems and more await Cuba\u2019s new leadership.\n\n\u201cIt must be a very difficult thing to be the president of Cuba,\u201d said Vicki Huddleston, a former head of the US diplomatic mission in Cuba. \u201cYou have a bureaucracy full of great people who are afraid to do anything. It\u2019s a top-down situation. Everything has to come back to you.\u201d" + }, + { + "title": "Cuba | Lift travel ban and restrictions placed on child rights defender - ISHR", + "title_detail": { + "type": "text/plain", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Cuba | Lift travel ban and restrictions placed on child rights defender - ISHR" + }, + "links": [ + { + "rel": "alternate", + "type": "text/html", + "href": "https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMinwFBVV95cUxQaGstMnNQQ1FTbWxWRzJlMnBUR19zZF95WXhWRU1fbzRSZ1NvSE9wWlc1QmlqWG9WYkVwMHN0aHFkWmNRWXBxNUlqdUU2U2NrdllzeEZ3ZzNOdDBuMWM1Qnppak40b1BQZnl2eVd1ZVo0YUVVNENnOXZTUHJLT1NZaVI0QkFIUWxyLXRfZWJFbmtnc2ZzdlIxVk15cDQycm8?oc=5" + } + ], + "link": "https://ishr.ch/latest-updates/cuba-lift-travel-ban-and-restrictions-placed-child-rights-defender/", + "id": 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President - VOA - Voice of America English News" + }, + "links": [ + { + "rel": "alternate", + "type": "text/html", + "href": "https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiiAFBVV95cUxQcXBNRk12TzYxUkI3SFVVVV92cXF5NXpuem1Wd0Nyb191azN4SWEzNFN3UTZMMVY0YkxEdmpJLTQ3dHY5aFBTT1BCSm90X2FsNFd3VGlCNm5NYlNSeF9sOTZHSHg5NnFEeXU5NnF0ZU43Y3JodDUybDEzT0xhaDVpUGhRbURIbXFM0gGLAUFVX3lxTE9hYkF4d1JJSU1RczREUjB3VHlmMFJOdEJGeEVhWU5Oc19maE1ucHdZNFZQNFZoVHIxZ0xoRk5wMXFzOS1qZmdiU25ndi1SVjFPZ3VUdXhOcjNJZGZMWnVpdkYxZTE0ZDltYTVZTEE2bHVMdXRhOFpYYi05TWdVSDhfTndHTjhMRy1VZHc?oc=5" + } + ], + "link": "https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/4/11/miguel-diaz-canel-cubas-post-castro-president", + "id": "CBMiiAFBVV95cUxQcXBNRk12TzYxUkI3SFVVVV92cXF5NXpuem1Wd0Nyb191azN4SWEzNFN3UTZMMVY0YkxEdmpJLTQ3dHY5aFBTT1BCSm90X2FsNFd3VGlCNm5NYlNSeF9sOTZHSHg5NnFEeXU5NnF0ZU43Y3JodDUybDEzT0xhaDVpUGhRbURIbXFM0gGLAUFVX3lxTE9hYkF4d1JJSU1RczREUjB3VHlmMFJOdEJGeEVhWU5Oc19maE1ucHdZNFZQNFZoVHIxZ0xoRk5wMXFzOS1qZmdiU25ndi1SVjFPZ3VUdXhOcjNJZGZMWnVpdkYxZTE0ZDltYTVZTEE2bHVMdXRhOFpYYi05TWdVSDhfTndHTjhMRy1VZHc", + "guidislink": false, + "published": "Wed, 18 Apr 2018 07:00:00 GMT", + "published_parsed": [ + 2018, + 4, + 18, + 7, + 0, + 0, + 2, + 108, + 0 + ], + "summary": "Diaz-Canel Named Cuba's New President  VOA - Voice of America English News", + "summary_detail": { + "type": "text/html", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Diaz-Canel Named Cuba's New President  VOA - Voice of America English News" + }, + "source": { + "href": "https://www.voanews.com", + "title": "VOA - Voice of America English News" + }, + "sub_articles": [], + "status_code": 200, + "response": "---\ntitle: Miguel Diaz-Canel: Cuba\u2019s post-Castro president\nauthor: Al Jazeera Staff\nurl: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/4/11/miguel-diaz-canel-cubas-post-castro-president\nhostname: aljazeera.com\ndescription: Little known about 57-year-old's plans to tackle challenges facing Communist country, including its struggling economy.\nsitename: Al Jazeera\ndate: 2018-04-11\ntags: ['Human Rights, LGBTQ, Miguel Diaz-Canel, Raul Castro', 'News, Human Rights, LGBTQ, Miguel Diaz-Canel, Raul Castro, Cuba, Latin America']\n---\n# Miguel Diaz-Canel: Cuba\u2019s post-Castro president\n\n*Little known about 57-year-old\u2019s plans to tackle challenges facing Communist country, including its struggling economy.*\n\nCuba has formally announced Miguel Diaz-Canel as the country\u2019s new president.\n\nThe 57-year-old father of two was elected president of Cuba on April 19 after Raul Castro, who led the country for 10 years, stepped down.\n\nPolitical campaigning is outlawed in Cuba, so little is known about Diaz-Canel\u2019s plans to navigate the challenges facing the island nation, including its struggling economy.\n\nHowever, Diaz-Canel is expected to continue in the same vein as his predecessor, but would be \u201cpart of the process of change that has been happening in Cuba since 2011\u201d, former Cuban diplomat Carlos Alzugaray told Al Jazeera, adding that the change in power continues the \u201ctransition in progress to a new social-economic model\u201d.\n\nLittle is known about Diaz-Canel\u2019s personal life, which is common of political leaders in Cuba.\n\nHe is a native of Santa Clara, a city in central Cuba known for the 1958 Battle of Santa Clara, in which forces led by revolutionary icon Che Guevara routed troops loyal to then-dictator Fulgencio Batista.\n\nPeople who know Diaz-Canel as a youth claim he maintained long hair and listened to rock music when he became the first party secretary of Villa Clara province, the capital of which is Santa Clara, giving him a seat on the powerful Central Committee of the Communist Party.\n\nHis mother was a teacher and his father an industrial engineer.\n\nDiaz-Canel received his university degree in electronics engineering in 1982 from the Central University of Las Villas and returned there to teach it in 1985.\n\nThat same year, he joined the Cuban Revolutionary Air and Air Defence Force (DAAFAR).\n\n## Political Career\n\nDiaz-Canel\u2019s political career began during the economic downturn known as the \u201cspecial period\u201d from the late 1980s onwards, caused by the fall of the Soviet Union and the end of its support to Cuba.\n\nFrom 1987 to 1989, he served as first secretary of the Union of Young Communists, working abroad in solidarity initiatives in Nicaragua.\n\nIn 1991, he was promoted to the Central Committee of the Communist party.\n\nTwo years later, Diaz-Canel joined the Young Communist League (UJC).\n\nAt the age of 33, he was appointed first secretary of the provincial committee for Villa Clara in 1994 \u2013 adopting a populist move when he rejected the material trappings of the government-issued car issued to most officials, preferring instead to ride his bicycle.\n\nDuring his nine-year spell in charge of the province of Villa Clara, Diaz-Canel demonstrated a progressive stance on social issues, allowing Cuba\u2019s first gay nightclub to remain open.\n\nSince then, he has advocated pro-LGBT legislation and anti-discriminatory clauses in the new labour code.\n\nDiaz-Canel has also spoken about expanding internet access in Cuba, an important issue for activists in the socialist nation.\n\nIn 2003, Diaz-Canel became the first secretary of the province of Holguin in southern Cuba and was welcomed into the highest leadership within Cuba.\n\nIn 2009, he became minister of higher education.\n\nHe became the first vice president in 2013.\n\nDiaz-Canel \u201chas been relatively quiet until recently so that the public hasn\u2019t really heard much from him other than a few select speeches\u201c, Marguerite Jimenez, director for Cuba the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA), told Al Jazeera.\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s only more recently that he has become a more public figure.\u201d\n\n## Cuba\u2019s future\n\nThough he has spoken about these liberalising measures, Diaz-Canel is not known to support changing Cuba\u2019s government from the one-party system in place since the revolution, a demand from anti-Castro politicians in Washington, DC.\n\n\u201cPolitically it\u2019s going to be complicated,\u201d said Alzugaray, adding \u201che has an advantage, he\u2019s going to have Raul Castro around to support him, to continue to be his mentor.\u201d\n\nCastro will remain the head of the ruling Communist Party until 2021 and is expected to continue to play a big role in policy decisions.\n\nAlzugaray said there would probably be \u201ccontinuity\u201d under Diaz-Canel and a \u201cforeign policy which is searching for the diversification of Cuba\u2019s economic partners \u2026 China, Russia, Canada, Venezuela, Brazil, South Africa, Iran and the Arab countries\u201d.\n\nAccording to Jimenez, \u201cWe\u2019re also seeing the EU has taken a much more proactive engagement-oriented approach towards Cuba, by dropping sanctions and establishing renewable energies and agriculture, recognising even though Cuba and the EU may have disagreements \u2013 there\u2019s absolutely still room for dialogue\u201d.\n\n\u201cThe United States should heed that kind of approach \u2026 even though there are disagreements on any number of issues, there\u2019s still room for dialogue and cooperation on mutual interests,\u201d said Jimenez.\n\nOn Cuban-American relations, Alzugaray said: \u201c[Diaz-Canel] will continue the basic policy towards the United States which one can summarise as not accepting any pressure or any imposition or negotiating anything that relates to Cuban sovereignty. But at the same time to be ready to cooperate with the United States on those issues with common interest to both sides.\u201d\n\nAccording to Ted Piccone, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, the Trump administration will most likely \u201cdouble down\u201d on its \u201cembrace of punitive regime change\u201d in Cuba.\n\n## Two currencies\n\nDiaz-Canel is expected to continue much in the same vein as his predecessor, although it has fallen to him to resolve the problem of Cuba\u2019s two currencies, \u201cthis year, if not next year,\u201d Alzugaray said.\n\nAccording to Jimenez, \u201cout of necessity [Diaz-Canel] will be really focused on the Cuban economy and making some reforms to both address some long-standing issues within the state sector and also seeking to expanding and institutionalising elements of the non-state sector to help the economy grow again\u201d.\n\nTwo main areas of development are expected to be increasing internet access and modernising the media in Cuba.\n\nBefore 2015, the majority of internet access was found in state-run hotels or internet shops. An hour of internet access was $1.50, or roughly five percent of the average Cuban monthly salary of $30.\n\nAs of 2017, over 400 WiFi hotspots have opened in the country and are hugely popular.\n\nIn line with greater access to the internet and the information it contains, Diaz-Canel is reportedly a proponent of more critical media coverage of the Cuban government.\n\nThough there are independent media outlets, they are heavily censored by the government in Cuba.\n\nStill, Cubans have access to world news \u2013 including events in Cuba \u2013 through international outlets.\n\nMany Cubans find ways of securing information, including through the \u201cpaquete\u201d, a digital collection of outside news and entertainment media contained on USB drives that are widely distributed on the island by activists.\n\n\u201cToday, news from all sides \u2013 good or bad, manipulated and true \u2013 gets to people. They know [what\u2019s going on],\u201d D\u00edaz-Canel was quoted as saying at a higher education conference, according to Americas Quarterly, a politics-focused publication. \u201cAnd what is worse, then? Silence?\u201d\n\nAccording to Alzugaray, Diaz-Canel \u201chas been very much involved in the process of informatisation of Cuban society\u201d.\n\nAlzugaray added that \u201che talks very openly about the necessity of expanding the use of new technologies\u201d.\n\n*Additional reporting by Bala Chambers*" + }, + { + "title": "Miguel Diaz-Canel: Cuba\u2019s post-Castro president - Al Jazeera", + "title_detail": { + "type": "text/plain", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Miguel Diaz-Canel: Cuba\u2019s post-Castro president - Al Jazeera" + }, + "links": [ + { + "rel": "alternate", + "type": "text/html", + "href": "https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMijwFBVV95cUxPM25veVBZVERBRzB5ZTJkLVM2Tk54bXFIWWVMc2ROSUlrRlVLc1N0Z1Y5UFowTXRoSG9mckVWck1jdmVXWVFKaEllWG5nTnNkY2RGM1NkcXFyQjNvWC04R0p2QkJ5VVVNWmk4VlRTb2UwLW9mRno5ZUp0aTlER01USUY3Y3l4dDFiRTg5UGxaa9IBlAFBVV95cUxQbFhuVkJWeXIyck55REVPNmNRWlY2ZV8tV0tjT3NfMGN6ZUZydXRyMkZHN05yaERXb185bzdjZHowS2RuMWp0LWlicGdzb3lta0JXY1dYdXphd0QzRmxrWGhHNXgwcnYyNTRfcUdqSXI0UEQ4QkNSYWRtNjVreGhmWFNhYUpKRWlKZEZkSVpjUy01bHpB?oc=5" + } + ], + "link": "https://www.voanews.com/a/cuba-new-president-to-be-elected-wednesday/4354067.html", + "id": "CBMijwFBVV95cUxPM25veVBZVERBRzB5ZTJkLVM2Tk54bXFIWWVMc2ROSUlrRlVLc1N0Z1Y5UFowTXRoSG9mckVWck1jdmVXWVFKaEllWG5nTnNkY2RGM1NkcXFyQjNvWC04R0p2QkJ5VVVNWmk4VlRTb2UwLW9mRno5ZUp0aTlER01USUY3Y3l4dDFiRTg5UGxaa9IBlAFBVV95cUxQbFhuVkJWeXIyck55REVPNmNRWlY2ZV8tV0tjT3NfMGN6ZUZydXRyMkZHN05yaERXb185bzdjZHowS2RuMWp0LWlicGdzb3lta0JXY1dYdXphd0QzRmxrWGhHNXgwcnYyNTRfcUdqSXI0UEQ4QkNSYWRtNjVreGhmWFNhYUpKRWlKZEZkSVpjUy01bHpB", + "guidislink": false, + "published": "Wed, 11 Apr 2018 07:00:00 GMT", + "published_parsed": [ + 2018, + 4, + 11, + 7, + 0, + 0, + 2, + 101, + 0 + ], + "summary": "Miguel Diaz-Canel: Cuba\u2019s post-Castro president  Al Jazeera", + "summary_detail": { + "type": "text/html", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Miguel Diaz-Canel: Cuba\u2019s post-Castro president  Al Jazeera" + }, + "source": { + "href": "https://www.aljazeera.com", + "title": "Al Jazeera" + }, + "sub_articles": [], + "status_code": 200, + "response": "---\ntitle: Diaz-Canel Named Cuba's New President\nauthor: William Gallo; Wayne Lee\nurl: https://www.voanews.com/a/cuba-new-president-to-be-elected-wednesday/4354067.html\nhostname: voanews.com\ndescription: Fifty-seven year-old Miguel Diaz-Canel, only candidate for presidency, succeeds Raul Castro, 86, with five-year term\nsitename: Voice of America (VOA News)\ndate: 2018-04-18\ncategories: ['Americas']\ntags: ['Americas, Cuba, raul castro, Miguel Diaz-Canel']\n---\nMiguel Diaz-Canel has been named Cuba's next president, marking the first time in 60 years the communist-run country has had a president outside the Castro family.\n\nThe 57-year-old Diaz-Canel, the only candidate for the job, won a five-year term, according to state media.\n\nThe move was not expected to usher in drastic change. Upon being sworn in Thursday, Diaz-Canel promised to continue the Castros' socialist revolution.\n\n\n**WATCH: US-Cuba Relations Unchanged Under New Cuban President**\n\n\"The mandate given by the people to this house is to give continuity to the Cuban revolution in a crucial historic moment,\" Diaz-Canel said.\n\nDiaz-Canel, a former first vice president, appears to be socially liberal and is considered an acceptable successor to the retiring elderly leaders who fought in the revolution.\n\nHe succeeds 86-year-old Raul Castro, who is resigning after 10 years in office. Raul Castro's late brother, Fidel, served as prime minister and president after the armed Cuban Revolution in 1959 until he became ill in 2006.\n\nWhile the leadership transition is elevating younger leaders, Raul Castro and other older revolutionaries are expected to retain their power, due to their hold on the Communist Party. Castro will remain party leader.\n\n\"Raul Castro, as first secretary of the Communist Party, will lead the decisions about the future of the country,'' Diaz-Canel said in his speech. \"Cuba needs him, providing ideas and proposals for the revolutionary cause, orienting and alerting us about any error or deficiency, teaching us, and always ready to confront imperialism.''\n\nCastro told members of the National Assembly that Diaz-Canel could serve two years as president, and that he will likely eventually take his place as head of the Communist Party.\n\nDiaz-Canel will face pressure to bring greater prosperity to the Caribbean country and revitalize its economy, which is weaker than it was in 1985 when it was supported by the former Soviet Union.\n\nSince Fidel and Raul Castro led a guerrilla movement that overthrew a dictatorship and took over the country in 1959, the name Castro has been synonymous with Cuba. The Castros leave behind a history of defiance against the United States, as well as a long record of oppression.\n\nThe Castros' human rights legacy is one of authoritarianism, says Andrew Otazo of the Cuba Study Group, pointing out that the country does not grant freedom of assembly or freedom of the press, and does not allow democratic elections. He expects little to change in the near future.\n\n\"We will see how things turn out within the medium term, but I do not see a big groundswell of support within the Cuban government for expanding human rights, for instance,\" said Otazo.\n\n**WATCH: As Raul Castro Steps Aside, a New Era for Cuba**\n\n\nState Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said the leadership transition is \"of great concern\" to the Trump administration because it is not democratic.\n\n\"We would like citizens to be able to have a say in their political outcomes, and this certainly does not seem like regular folks will have a say. They basically don't have a real and meaningful choice because it's not a democratic process.\"\n\nNauert said the administration would like to see \"a more free and democratic Cuba,\" but is \"not overly optimistic.\"\n\nIleana Ros-Lehtinen, a Republican U.S. representative from Florida and Cuban American, echoed similar sentiments.\n\n\"It may be that Castro's name is not going to appear as president, but they were never presidents, neither Fidel nor Raul, because they are dictators,\" said Ros-Lehtinen. \"As long as the people of Cuba do not have the opportunity to choose their own government, it is always going to be a dictatorship, no matter who is the head of that government.\"\n\n*VOA's Spanish Service contributed to this report.*" + }, + { + "title": "What to Expect from a Post-Castro Cuba - Fair Observer", + "title_detail": { + "type": "text/plain", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "What to Expect from a Post-Castro Cuba - Fair Observer" + }, + "links": [ + { + "rel": "alternate", + "type": "text/html", + "href": "https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMipAFBVV95cUxPQ0lPWmdRYUdkZjJVcVZ5ZThOaXYzVjRJd2tjVDBGTlhtS1NvZDk4RmxHdzNvOFloQnZ4WHBIbEYxTTh4cG5rTldxREMxdHgxQ2p1MnZvZFV3RGxhaURaY1F2MUNJTmdaNTJSSTFERXhVNFNsTkJ3OGJ3YUg1SEtfeW5ZT1FraGY4TzNFSVpfOFJSVlZHNUJ3cnVKNGVxclNkdlh6dQ?oc=5" + } + ], + "link": "https://www.fairobserver.com/region/latin_america/cuba-raul-castro-miguel-diaz-canel-world-news-34099/", + "id": "CBMipAFBVV95cUxPQ0lPWmdRYUdkZjJVcVZ5ZThOaXYzVjRJd2tjVDBGTlhtS1NvZDk4RmxHdzNvOFloQnZ4WHBIbEYxTTh4cG5rTldxREMxdHgxQ2p1MnZvZFV3RGxhaURaY1F2MUNJTmdaNTJSSTFERXhVNFNsTkJ3OGJ3YUg1SEtfeW5ZT1FraGY4TzNFSVpfOFJSVlZHNUJ3cnVKNGVxclNkdlh6dQ", + "guidislink": false, + "published": "Mon, 30 Apr 2018 07:00:00 GMT", + "published_parsed": [ + 2018, + 4, + 30, + 7, + 0, + 0, + 0, + 120, + 0 + ], + "summary": "What to Expect from a Post-Castro Cuba  Fair Observer", + "summary_detail": { + "type": "text/html", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "What to Expect from a Post-Castro Cuba  Fair Observer" + }, + "source": { + "href": "https://www.fairobserver.com", + "title": "Fair Observer" + }, + "sub_articles": [], + "status_code": 200, + "response": "---\ntitle: What to Expect from a Post-Castro Cuba\nauthor: Knowledge\nurl: https://www.fairobserver.com/region/latin_america/cuba-raul-castro-miguel-diaz-canel-world-news-34099/\nhostname: fairobserver.com\ndescription: Cuba has a new leader, Miguel Diaz-Canel. But former President Raul Castro remains in a position of control over the key drivers of the country\u2019s economy.\nsitename: Fair Observer\ndate: 2018-04-30\ncategories: ['American News', 'Latin America & the Caribbean', 'Opinion', 'Politics', 'US news', 'World Leaders News', 'World News']\n---\n*Cuba has a new leader, Miguel Diaz-Canel. But former President Raul Castro remains in a position of control over the key drivers of the country\u2019s economy. *\n\nFor the first time in almost 60 years, a Castro is no longer Cuba\u2019s head of state. On April 19, Miguel Diaz-Canel was sworn in as Cuba\u2019s president, elevated from his previous role as first vice president. He has promised to modernize the country\u2019s social and economic model, including dismantling its dual-currency system and leveraging the internet for greater good, but he also committed to retain its socialist trappings.\n\nHowever, many Cubans are skeptical of how much good Diaz-Canel could bring them and, in fact, are worried about making ends meet in the new regime, according to experts who spoke to Knowledge@Wharton. The dual currency system has a Cuban convertible peso (CUC) that is pegged to the dollar, and a Cuban peso (CUP) that is worth 1/24th of the CUC. The Cuban peso is used to pay state salaries and to set most domestic prices, while the convertible peso is used by tourists and multinational firms.\n\nDiaz-Canel has limited powers because his predecessor Raul Castro will continue to head the Communist Party of Cuba and control the military that runs much of the country\u2019s businesses. Raul Castro fought with his brother Fidel in the revolution that swept them into power in 1959 and served as Cuba\u2019s president for a decade after Fidel Castro stepped down in 2008. Among the other challenges that Diaz-Canel will face is an increasingly complicated relationship with the US, as the Trump administration has moved to roll back Obama-era policies that promoted renewed relations and business engagement with the island nation.\n\n**More of the Same**\n\n\u201cWhile there is a change of leadership in name, there may not be that much of a change in philosophy,\u201d said Gustavo Arnavat, a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, DC, and a former Obama administration official who represented the US at the Inter-American Development Bank.\n\nArnavat noted that Diaz-Canel has stressed that continuity will be the theme for the transition. \u201cThings will continue in the same direction as laid out by Raul Castro in the last 10 years or so,\u201d he said. \u201cThere is no great optimism that Miguel Diaz-Canel is going to be a major reformer who will [bring] a new day of liberties \u2014 both commercial as well as political \u2014 on the island.\u201d\n\nDiaz-Canel\u2019s ascension as president is not exactly \u201ca major event,\u201d but he will be the face of many economic changes that will \u201cimpoverish Cubans,\u201d according to Lillian Guerra, professor of Cuban and Caribbean history at the University of Florida. \u201cIt represents an effort on the part of Raul to shift blame for a number of policy changes that are coming down the pike that will be tremendously unpopular,\u201d she said. \u201cThis is a strategic move and a pragmatic move, [but] it is not a shift towards liberalization. On the contrary, it is an effort to ensure continuity and stability.\u201d\n\nCuba has undergone numerous transitions over the last 25 years, including the end of the Soviet bloc, Fidel Castro\u2019s illness, his transfer of power to Raul and his subsequent death in 2016, noted Richard Gioioso, professor and director of the Latin American studies program at Saint Joseph\u2019s University in Philadelphia. \u201cThe system has proven itself to be adaptable and resilient,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m not convinced that leadership will really change, since Raul will sit atop the Communist Party.\u201d\n\nArnavat, Guerra and Gioioso discussed the challenges facing Diaz-Canel and Cubans on the Knowledge@Wharton show on SiriusXM channel 111.\n\n**Harsh Times Ahead**\n\nDiaz-Canel inherits all of the challenges that Raul Castro was facing, such as a stagnant economy and unhappiness among Cubans over their standard of living, Arnavat noted. \u201cThey are expecting structural reforms that will allow them to have better lives,\u201d he said.\n\nGuerra highlighted two major changes that will hit Cubans hard in the Diaz-Canel presidency. One is the end of the dual-currency system, which \u201cwill impoverish Cubans even further because those items and goods sold in pesos, which is what they get paid in, will now be sold in dollars,\u201d she said.\n\nThe other is Diaz-Canel giving effect to Raul Castro\u2019s threat since 2011 to end the ration system that enables Cubans to get subsidized bread, rice and other food items. \u201cMost Cubans get most of their calories from the rations they have been getting since 1962,\u201d although it has been \u201chighly diminished\u201d over the years as the government discontinued rations for several food items, Guerra said. \u201cCubans have been terrified of this process. Diaz-Canel will be the face of that.\u201d\n\n**Reining in Entrepreneurs**\n\nThe Cuban state has wrestled with the rise of the entrepreneurial class in the country after 1992, when it first allowed people to be self-employed because the state couldn\u2019t provide full employment, said Guerra. \u201cThe Cuban state has seen the entrepreneurial sector as its primary rival for the tourist dollar but also as a competitor for control of public discourse,\u201d she added.\n\nIn 2017, Raul Castro also attempted to rein in the entrepreneurial class by declaring a moratorium on further licensing for self-employed workers. \u201cHe declared it had been an error to expand [the entrepreneurial] sector to the degree that it had,\u201d Guerra noted. Cuba\u2019s parliament last July passed updated economic guidelines that said a \u201cconcentration of property and financial and material wealth\u201d wouldn\u2019t be permitted in the non-state sector, the *Miami Herald* reported.\n\nExpanded internet access helped grow the entrepreneurial class, especially in tourism with the growth of Airbnb and bed-and-breakfast businesses. But the state also saw it as threat, Guerra explained. Raul Castro has responded by threatening to \u201cincreasingly police the internet, and shut down bloggers,\u201d she said. \u201cHe would do whatever it took \u2014 in fact he used the word censorship \u2014 to ensure that there would be control of information.\u201d\n\n**Crimps on Real Estate**\n\nThe end of the dual currency system will also hurt Cuba\u2019s real estate market, and that is also a matter of concern for many Cubans, said Gioioso. Investors including Cuban Americans in South Florida and elsewhere in the US, in addition to Cubans living in Spain and Mexico, have thronged Cuba\u2019s real estate markets, and \u201ca significant amount of [that] foreign investment is through irregular ways,\u201d he added. Without the dual currency system, much of the foreign investment that was possible through the dollar-linked CUC will face constraints, he said.\n\nA crackdown on errant real estate market practices could hurt some powerful interest groups, too. Guerra said that after Cuba legalized real estate sales in November 2011, remittances from Cubans living overseas jumped, and currently account for more than a billion dollars annually. Much of that money found its way into real estate purchases. Cuba\u2019s generals and CEOs of state corporations that work with foreign investors also invested in real estate because \u201cthey needed someplace to put their millions,\u201d she added. \u201cAt all levels, this appears very much like a traditional military dictatorship. So, there is a lot to be worried about here.\u201d\n\n**Resetting Ties with the US**\n\nDiaz-Canel will also have to think of new ways to engage with the Trump administration, said Arnavat. \u201cIf he wants to have a better relationship with the U.S., he has to figure out a way to give something to Donald Trump that will be of interest in order for Trump to be able to open up again and want to do a deal with Cuba.\u201d\n\nThe Trump administration\u2019s rhetoric over unwinding Obama\u2019s pro-Cuba gestures has not been matched with action, apart from a few rollbacks. Some 80-90% of the more liberal regulations introduced under Barack Obama remain in place, said Arnavat.\n\nGioioso said the Obama administration brought optimism among Cubans about how openness with the US would create better bilateral relations and increase tourism revenues to Cuba. However, Trump\u2019s rollback of some of the Obama-era normalization policies \u201ccreates more confusion than anything else,\u201d and the outlook on that front will depend on how the Trump administration articulates its Cuba policy, he added.** **\n\nDiaz-Canel\u2019s ability to correct any of Cuba\u2019s woes is limited. Guerra noted that as head of the army, Raul Castro is also CEO of GAESA, the army\u2019s business conglomerate. GAESA controls roughly 60% of the country\u2019s economy through its various arms, including the Gaviota hotel chain and TRD, the military retail chain.\n\n\u201cThese are state companies that work with foreign investors in a neo-liberal trade regime of assembly plants and free trade zones on the island that take advantage of poor and very cheap labor,\u201d Guerra said. \u201cAnd they also rake in billions of dollars in tourism. The real power resides in who controls the economy and who controls the military, and that remains Raul Castro.\u201d\n\n**[This article was originally published by Knowledge@Wharton, a partner institution of Fair Observer.*\n\n**The views expressed in this article are the author\u2019s own and do not necessarily reflect Fair Observer\u2019s editorial policy.**\n\n**Photo Credit: Erik Cox Photography** **/ Shutterstock.com**\n\n### Support Fair Observer\n\nWe rely on your support for our independence, diversity and quality.\n\nFor more than 10 years, Fair Observer has been free, fair and independent. No billionaire owns us, no advertisers control us. We are a reader-supported nonprofit. Unlike many other publications, we keep our content free for readers regardless of where they live or whether they can afford to pay. We have no paywalls and no ads.\n\nIn the post-truth era of fake news, echo chambers and filter bubbles, we publish a plurality of perspectives from around the world. 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Contribute Usefully: Add something of value \u2014 a point of view, an argument, a personal experience or a relevant link if you are citing statistics and key facts.Please agree to the guidelines before proceeding." + }, + { + "title": "More Black Officials in Power in Cuba as Leadership Changes (Published 2018) - The New York Times", + "title_detail": { + "type": "text/plain", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "More Black Officials in Power in Cuba as Leadership Changes (Published 2018) - The New York Times" + }, + "links": [ + { + "rel": "alternate", + "type": "text/html", + "href": "https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMimwFBVV95cUxQNkU3R3NkTWotdGJDVVJkMWRmRzFBelNRUVM5M0tQeTNKV24xclhZN3B0cTM0bjliclZwR25EaEZiQW8xb3hvNEluYlNTWjhQQk5kWElVblJKVVQ4NFdqbDdrVlNiWEtKUmZhQTFqWHBWdm9rZnVnTkVneVd1bWMySzc5NHpDTnJ0aHlUOWt2N0hKTFdDTTVGZ3JRSQ?oc=5" + } + ], + "link": "https://www.wlrn.org/show/latin-america-report/2018-04-17/cubas-new-president-wont-be-named-castro-but-will-anything-else-really-change", + "id": "CBMimwFBVV95cUxQNkU3R3NkTWotdGJDVVJkMWRmRzFBelNRUVM5M0tQeTNKV24xclhZN3B0cTM0bjliclZwR25EaEZiQW8xb3hvNEluYlNTWjhQQk5kWElVblJKVVQ4NFdqbDdrVlNiWEtKUmZhQTFqWHBWdm9rZnVnTkVneVd1bWMySzc5NHpDTnJ0aHlUOWt2N0hKTFdDTTVGZ3JRSQ", + "guidislink": false, + "published": "Sun, 22 Apr 2018 07:00:00 GMT", + "published_parsed": [ + 2018, + 4, + 22, + 7, + 0, + 0, + 6, + 112, + 0 + ], + "summary": "More Black Officials in Power in Cuba as Leadership Changes (Published 2018)  The New York Times", + "summary_detail": { + "type": "text/html", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "More Black Officials in Power in Cuba as Leadership Changes (Published 2018)  The New York Times" + }, + "source": { + "href": "https://www.nytimes.com", + "title": "The New York Times" + }, + "sub_articles": [], + "status_code": 403, + "response": "Error: HTTP 403" + }, + { + "title": "Cuba's New President Won't Be Named Castro. 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Not Quite (Published 2018) - The New York Times", + "title_detail": { + "type": "text/plain", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Opinion | A New Cuba After the Castros? Not Quite (Published 2018) - The New York Times" + }, + "links": [ + { + "rel": "alternate", + "type": "text/html", + "href": "https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMihwFBVV95cUxPN1BJSHY5blp1M0Z4T1JXZnFaUlJibXNXNDRBRUlJcm80UndycWtaUFhTWWQ4dzJWRlFZM2VwYU5GYlJSdGw1SjFoN2hOUVZrM2ZtVEpCQWRnelVha2ZMRndpZUwzNTZ2VnhWMHNNOVQ5Um5NZ2tQd1FNeDRMUGs1NTBLS2ZUaVk?oc=5" + } + ], + "link": "https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2018/04/raul-castro-just-stepped-down-but-cubas-castro-era-is-far-from-over/", + "id": "CBMihwFBVV95cUxPN1BJSHY5blp1M0Z4T1JXZnFaUlJibXNXNDRBRUlJcm80UndycWtaUFhTWWQ4dzJWRlFZM2VwYU5GYlJSdGw1SjFoN2hOUVZrM2ZtVEpCQWRnelVha2ZMRndpZUwzNTZ2VnhWMHNNOVQ5Um5NZ2tQd1FNeDRMUGs1NTBLS2ZUaVk", + "guidislink": false, + "published": "Fri, 20 Apr 2018 07:00:00 GMT", + "published_parsed": [ + 2018, + 4, + 20, + 7, + 0, + 0, + 4, + 110, + 0 + ], + "summary": "Opinion | A New Cuba After the Castros? Not Quite (Published 2018)  The New York Times", + "summary_detail": { + "type": "text/html", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Opinion | A New Cuba After the Castros? Not Quite (Published 2018)  The New York Times" + }, + "source": { + "href": "https://www.nytimes.com", + "title": "The New York Times" + }, + "sub_articles": [], + "status_code": 200, + "response": "---\ntitle: Ra\u00fal Castro just stepped down as Cuba's president. But the Castro era is far from over.\nauthor: Megan Jula\nurl: https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2018/04/raul-castro-just-stepped-down-but-cubas-castro-era-is-far-from-over/\nhostname: motherjones.com\ndescription: The new president's \"position on the United States is relatively unknown.\"\nsitename: Mother Jones\ndate: 2018-04-19\ncategories: ['Politics']\ntags: ['Foreign Policy', 'International']\n---\n*Mother Jones Daily*.\n\nFor the first time in more than half a century, Cuba will not be led by a Castro. On Thursday, Ra\u00fal Castro stepped down as the president of the communist nation, a position he\u2019d inherited from his brother Fidel in 2008. His presidency was marked by significant changes for the island, including opening up a small but crucial private sector and renewing diplomatic relations with the United States.\n\nFidel Castro died in November 2016. Ra\u00fal, who turns 87 in June, is expected to hold onto his powerful position as head of the Communist Party of Cuba. On Thursday, Cuba\u2019s National Assembly selected his successor, 57-year-old First Vice President Miguel D\u00edaz-Canel, whom Castro reportedly has been grooming for this position for years.\n\nSo what\u2019s next for a country that has only known one-party family rule since the Cuban Revolution of 1959? We spoke with Peter Kornbluh, director of the National Security Archive\u2019s Cuba Documentation Project, and coauthor of a 2015 *Mother Jones* article on Cuba\u2019s back-channel negotiations with former President Barack Obama. Kornbluh discussed how history will remember Ra\u00fal Castro, the status of Trump-Cuba relations, and what we know about Cuba\u2019s new president.\n\n*Mother Jones*:**What will be Ra\u00fal Castro\u2019s legacy as president of Cuba? **\n\n**PK: **For 10 years, he has been the undisputed leader of Cuba. His legacy is going to be built around several very important initiatives that he undertook that his brother really never did. He attempted to somewhat lessen state control of the daily lives of Cubans. You can see that in his decision to legalize the use of cellphones, legalize the private sale of cars and homes. Under Fidel there was this onerous paperwork and authorization you had to get if you wanted to leave the country. Ra\u00fal basically said people should be free to go and come back, or go and not come back and send remittances.\n\nHe really made the move to try and build a private sector in Cuba. Cuban economists have been saying for almost 30 years that the state simply cannot afford to have everybody on its payroll. Fidel had accepted it under great pressure after the collapse of the Soviet Union, but Ra\u00fal really opened up the private sector. In the short time that he has been president, the private sector has gone from being minuscule to including over half a million people, probably closer to a million Cubans called *cuentapropistas*, self-employed entrepreneurs, working in very small businesses.\n\nPart of Ra\u00fal\u2019s legacy is he didn\u2019t really go far enough with this, that there have been fits and starts. Hardliners have put pressure to halt the growth of the private sector because it portends an inequality in society. Those who are in the private sector making money, particularly in the tourism sector, are becoming the haves, and the vast majority of Cubans in the state sector are essentially the have-nots.\n\nThe third element of his legacy is perhaps one of the most extraordinary. He agreed to normalize relations with the United States of America. In the end, history will record that it was Ra\u00fal who made the agreement with Barack Obama and opened the door to the situation that we have today, and not his brother Fidel.\n\n**MJ: What power will Castro exert from afar? **\n\n**PK: **Even though the mainstream press is saying this is the end of the Castro era, in fact, Ra\u00fal Castro retains two arguably more powerful positions than the presidency: first secretary of the Communist Party and, at least for now, head of the Cuban armed forces. He also has a son, Alejandro, who is very high in the Cuban intelligence community, though it\u2019s somewhat murky what is happening with him right now.\n\nThose positions are important for Ra\u00fal to have the back of the new president, Miguel D\u00edaz-Canel, who, make no mistake, really is the person who Ra\u00fal feels has the capability to lead Cuba forward with a mix of modernization and respect for the principles of the Cuban revolution.\n\n**MJ: What do we know about the new president of Cuba, Miguel D\u00edaz-Canel?**\n\n**PK:** Miguel D\u00edaz-Canel has risen through the ranks of the Cuban Communist Party to the highest point of leadership. He is significantly younger than the leadership generation that is retiring with Ra\u00fal. He rose to be a provincial leader in the Communist Party. He is known to be a listener. He is known not to be an elitist.\n\nHe became education minister in 2009 until 2013, when he was moved to be first vice president. It\u2019s hard to know what his real positions are. On the one hand, he has been caught on tape trying to bolster the hardline side of the Communist Party by railing against more independent websites and news outlets. On the other hand, he is somebody that thought the internet should be expanded significantly in Cuba. I think what\u2019s most significant is that his position on the United States is relatively unknown. He is going to become president in the midst of a tonal attack by the Trump administration.\n\n**MJ: Where do US-Cuban relations currently stand under the Trump Administration?**\n\n**PK: **Cubans and the United States still have to work out what happened with the health problems of US and Canadian personnel in Cuba. [Diplomats experienced mysterious brain injuries in 2016.] They have to work this out, even if it takes Cuban intelligence and CIA officials sitting down very quietly together to discuss what technologies they might be using against one another. We have a travel advisory in place that is hurting US travel to Cuba. That travel advisory is not going to go away until they resolve what happened.** **\n\nThe Trump administration has completely changed from the daylight of the Obama era and a tone of respect and civil dialogue and negotiations with the Cubans, to the darkness of regime-change rhetoric, abusive insults, and being a bully from the bully pulpit. That said, the policy that Obama and Cuba and Ra\u00fal arrived at has not significantly changed. US businesses can still work in Cuba under certain restrictions. We still have various teams of diplomats that meet somewhat regularly. We just had more plane routes approved, more cruise ships approved. It\u2019s not as if relations are being broken, even if the sounds from Washington have gone from being respectful to being abusive and malicious. Hopefully, on the Cuban side, they understand this is part of the theater of the Trump era and they focus on the substance of our relations.\n\nIt would be to the benefit of all that the Trump administration understands that this is a transitional point in Cuba. The best way to take advantage of that is to work toward civil and more normal relations. Trump seems to have no problem having relations with other strongmen around the world. If Trump will stop trying to channel his inner Theodore Roosevelt, as a kind of bully from the imperial Colossus of the North, I think there could be a real opening here.\n\n**MJ: What are Cubans hoping to see from their new president?**\n\n**PK:** Cubans are looking for a significant improvement in their daily existence, which frankly is a struggle. It\u2019s a struggle because there are shortages. It\u2019s a struggle because of the bureaucracy. It\u2019s a struggle because they don\u2019t get paid enough to make ends meet. It\u2019s a struggle because even those in the private sector are being cast in a negative light by the party when in fact they are the ones helping to move Cuba into the modern world. They are the ones in the end who are going to provide a tax base to pay for the substance of the revolution, the health care, the education, the things that the state has done so well for people in the past but can\u2019t afford to do now unless there are significant changes.\n\nEducated Cubans don\u2019t see a future for themselves, and by and large the majority of them try to leave. It\u2019s incredibly disheartening. The Cuban state as a society makes this amazing investment in its young people to educate them, give them incredible skills and talents and creativity. Then they can\u2019t offer them anything that makes it worth staying in their own country.\n\nThere aren\u2019t high hopes that this is going to be some significant change. If anything, there\u2019s a bit of trepidation about who the people who are going to take over really are. D\u00edaz-Canel is perhaps known more in the province where he worked on the ground than he is known nationally. He has kept a low profile as first vice president. Other members of his generation who took a high profile found themselves purged. So he\u2019s a survivor. But you don\u2019t get to be to the top of the Cuban Communist Party and the president of Cuba without being a stalwart member of that system. There\u2019s no evidence there will be a shocking change here. This is going to be a significant transition, but it\u2019s also going to be an evolutionary one.\n\n*This interview has been edited for length and clarity.*" + }, + { + "title": "Ra\u00fal Castro Just Stepped Down. But Cuba\u2019s Castro Era Is Far From Over. - Mother Jones", + "title_detail": { + "type": "text/plain", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Ra\u00fal Castro Just Stepped Down. 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But Cuba\u2019s Castro Era Is Far From Over.  Mother Jones", + "summary_detail": { + "type": "text/html", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Ra\u00fal Castro Just Stepped Down. 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(Fidel died in 2016.)\n\nAnalysts debate how much power D\u00edaz-Canel can wield as president with Ra\u00fal Castro still at the helm of the Communist Party.\n\n\"I think it's going to be very tough for him,\" said Pedro Freyre, chair of international practice for Akerman LLP. \"I don't know that he can do it.\"\n\nD\u00edaz-Canel had long been seen as the overwhelming favorite to replace Castro, after climbing the ranks of the Communist Party.\n\nBefore becoming first vice president, D\u00edaz-Canel was the minister of higher education. From 1994 to 2003, he headed the Communist Party in the province of Villa Clara where he gained prominence. It was a time when the country was suffering from a severe economic crisis after the fall of the Soviet Union, which had heavily subsidized the island. He became known as an easygoing person who wore Bermuda shorts and got around on a bicycle.\n\nThe presidential transition comes at a time when Cuba faces an economic recession and an average salary of around $30 a month. Additionally, Cubans are feeling frustrated over the slow pace of market-style reforms initiated by Ra\u00fal Castro in 2011 and as relations with the U.S. have cooled significantly under the Trump administration.\n\nIn early March, the Trump administration announced it would permanently reduce the staff at the U.S. Embassy in Havana by 60 percent. The decision came after the U.S. evacuated nonessential personnel in October after embassy staff members were sickened in a series of unexplained health incidents. As a result, the State Department issued a warning, recommending Americans \u201creconsider\u201d traveling to the island.\n\nCuba denied any role and has cooperated with an FBI investigation.\n\nThe diplomatic incident came on the heels of President Donald Trump's reversal of Obama-era policy changes regarding Cuba. And as the U.S. has hardened its policy, Cuba has responded with tough talk.\n\nIn November, D\u00edaz-Canel told NBC News during municipal elections, \u201cwe continue to be open to relations\u201d with the United States. But in March, during National Assembly elections, he said the revolution is being \u201cattacked and threatened\u201d by an administration that \u201chas offended Cuba.\u201d\n\nDue to a legal limit established by Ra\u00fal Castro, D\u00edaz-Canel can only govern a maximum of 10 years \u2014 equal to two terms.\n\nRa\u00fal Castro attended the unusual two-day legislative ceremony that started Wednesday where the 605 members of Cuba\u2019s National Assembly voted D\u00edaz-Canel as Cuba's new president.\n\nThe Cuban National Assembly has generally met and selected the president in one day. Its votes are nearly always anonymous and seen as reflecting the will of the country\u2019s top leadership.\n\nAccording to Cuban state-owned media, the decision to extend this year's vote was made to streamline \"a session such importance requires.\"" + }, + { + "title": "Miguel D\u00edaz-Canel becomes Cuba's president, Ra\u00fal Castro steps down - NBC News", + "title_detail": { + "type": "text/plain", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Miguel D\u00edaz-Canel becomes Cuba's president, Ra\u00fal Castro steps down - NBC News" + }, + "links": [ + { + "rel": "alternate", + "type": "text/html", + "href": "https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMilgFBVV95cUxNb1RldGpOVENuMGZFem5TTjBEZFlhN1NjcTRzb3NRZWRkN0lObi0zSTlQeUNmV1p4TkFtQk83WjVONnVEYUhMZ1RmOE5IUFZNSGc5U1BrZ1Y2eUloTlU4TXpNWC1CWjAxSEU0MGFkdDlDNnJYYnUyWWxQZU5BOUp2eGNHdVJ4a29nVWhaYVY3MmQ0QXBNMmc?oc=5" + } + ], + "link": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2018/04/16/canada-following-u-s-lead-pulls-diplomats-out-cuba/522866002/", + "id": "CBMilgFBVV95cUxNb1RldGpOVENuMGZFem5TTjBEZFlhN1NjcTRzb3NRZWRkN0lObi0zSTlQeUNmV1p4TkFtQk83WjVONnVEYUhMZ1RmOE5IUFZNSGc5U1BrZ1Y2eUloTlU4TXpNWC1CWjAxSEU0MGFkdDlDNnJYYnUyWWxQZU5BOUp2eGNHdVJ4a29nVWhaYVY3MmQ0QXBNMmc", + "guidislink": false, + "published": "Thu, 19 Apr 2018 07:00:00 GMT", + "published_parsed": [ + 2018, + 4, + 19, + 7, + 0, + 0, + 3, + 109, + 0 + ], + "summary": "Miguel D\u00edaz-Canel becomes Cuba's president, Ra\u00fal Castro steps down  NBC News", + "summary_detail": { + "type": "text/html", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Miguel D\u00edaz-Canel becomes Cuba's president, Ra\u00fal Castro steps down  NBC News" + }, + "source": { + "href": "https://www.nbcnews.com", + "title": "NBC News" + }, + "sub_articles": [], + "status_code": 403, + "response": "Error: HTTP 403" + }, + { + "title": "Opinion | No more Castroism: Cuba needs to free its own people - 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Academic excellence, campus involvement and a passion for UNK are high on the list. His pick for\nsitename: UNK NEWS\ndate: 2018-04-30\ncategories: ['College of Business & Technology', 'News', 'College of Arts & Sciences', 'Events', 'Featured', 'Photo Galleries', 'Athletics', 'Chancellor Schnoor', 'College of Education', 'Trending']\ntags: ['Brette Ensz', 'Business Administration', 'commencement', 'LPAC', 'McKenzie Cuba', 'Silver Creek', 'Twin River', 'University of Nebraska at Kearney', 'UNK']\n---\nBy TYLER ELLYSON\n\nUNK Communications\n\nKEARNEY \u2013 There are certain things University of Nebraska at Kearney Chancellor Doug Kristensen looks for when selecting a student to speak at commencement.\n\nAcademic excellence, campus involvement and a passion for UNK are high on the list.\n\nHis pick for Friday\u2019s ceremony, senior McKenzie Cuba, checks all those boxes and then some.\n\n\u201cShe really embodies what the very definition of a UNK student is,\u201d Kristensen said. \u201cShe\u2019s a Loper through and through.\u201d\n\nCuba, a business administration major with an emphasis in management and minor in photography, immersed herself in the UNK culture the moment she stepped foot on campus.\n\nThe 2014 graduate of Twin River High School chose UNK because the welcoming campus offers plenty of opportunities to try new things and meet new people. She\u2019s taken full advantage of those opportunities over the past four years.\n\n\u201cYou find your passions through organizations,\u201d Cuba said. \u201cI found my passion in event programming and student affairs because I got involved.\u201d\n\nCuba has held leadership positions with the Loper Programming and Activities Council (LPAC) \u2013 the student-run group in charge of the spring concert, homecoming, talent show, lip-sync contest and other annual events \u2013 since she was a freshman. She\u2019s the current president after spending two years as the event programming chair.\n\nIn addition to those responsibilities, Cuba has served as a FIRST Leader, Blue Gold Welcome coordinator, Loper Leader, New Student Enrollment leader and Student Diplomat \u2013 sharing her Loper pride with incoming freshmen and campus visitors \u2013 and she\u2019s been involved with the Friends mentoring program and The Big Event, a campuswide volunteer project.\n\nBrette Ensz, assistant director of the First Year Program at UNK, called Cuba \u201cthe epitome of a student affairs professional.\u201d\n\n\u201cI cannot express in words the impact Kenzie has made not just in my office, but on me, this campus and this community,\u201d Ensz said. \u201cShe was never focused on adding new events or ideas because they were hers, but because she genuinely could see the impact those events and ideas would have on first-year students.\u201d\n\nCuba, a Silver Creek native, credits her parents Frank and Nancy for instilling that drive in her.\n\n\u201cGrowing up, I was told you can never do anything halfway,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s work before play and you can\u2019t quit.\u201d\n\nThis mindset helped her maintain a 3.99 grade-point average at UNK \u2013 one pesky A-minus from freshman year still haunts her \u2013 and she\u2019s part of the Honors Program, Enactus business organization and Beta Gamma Sigma, Phi Eta Sigma and Mortar Board honor societies.\n\nCuba, who was assistant chief of staff in the UNK Student Government for the 2016-17 academic year, said another great experience was lobbying the Legislature and making sure state lawmakers understood the value of the university system as they debated budget cuts.\n\nOn top of her UNK activities, Cuba is a creative image editor for The Buckle and she has her own photography business, Capturing Images by Kenzie, which she started in high school.\n\nThe 2016 homecoming queen finalist admits she\u2019s still trying to figure out how she balances all these responsibilities. Learning to live with a little less sleep is part of the equation.\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s all worth it because of the outcome at the end,\u201d she said.\n\nCuba, who turns 22 the day after commencement, knows it\u2019s an honor to represent the Class of 2018 at the graduation ceremony. She\u2019s both nervous and excited to talk about the university she fell in love with four years ago.\n\n\u201cThis is your home when you come here,\u201d said Cuba, calling her enrollment at UNK the best decision she\u2019s ever made.\n\nEnsz agrees.\n\n\u201cKenzie is one of those students who leaves everything better than she found it \u2013 no matter how small or big the task,\u201d she said. \u201cI feel privileged to have had the chance to work alongside her and I can\u2019t wait to see what she does next.\u201d\n\nDuring last week\u2019s Applauding Excellence ceremony, Cuba received the Leadership Legacy Award recognizing her impact on campus and she was named the UNK and Nebraska student employee of the year for her work with the First Year Program. The UNK Alumni Association also honored her as one of five Outstanding Senior award winners for her academic excellence, service and character.\n\nKristensen knows this kind of commitment is difficult to replace.\n\n\u201cCampus won\u2019t be the same when she leaves,\u201d the UNK chancellor said. \u201cIn my view, that\u2019s a great legacy.\u201d\n\nLuckily, they don\u2019t have to say their goodbyes just yet.\n\nCuba is enrolling in a graduate program at UNK to pursue a master\u2019s degree in student affairs before deciding where life takes her next.\n\n-30-\n\n**What:** UNK Spring Commencement\n\n**When:** 10 a.m., Friday, May 4\n\n**Where:** UNK Health and Sports Center, 24th Street and 15th Avenue, Kearney\n\n**Social Media:** Follow @UNKearney and #lopergrad Instagram and Twitter to see photos and posts from 2018 graduates, their friends and families\n\n**Live Broadcast:** Watch Commencement live and join in the #lopergrad conversation at http://unk.edu/eventdashboard\n\nWell done Kenzie, Wish you all the best!\n\nCongratulations McKenzie, all your hard work is paying off!!!! You will do well in this world!!!\n\nWow, congratulations! Really awesome, McKenzie!\n\nGreat job Kenzie!!\n\nBest of Luck!!!\n\nFantastic job Kenzie congratulations and happy birthday" + }, + { + "title": "Factbox: Who's who at the top of Cuba\u2019s new government - Reuters", + "title_detail": { + "type": "text/plain", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Factbox: Who's who at the top of Cuba\u2019s new government - Reuters" + }, + "links": [ + { + "rel": "alternate", + "type": "text/html", + "href": "https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMipwFBVV95cUxPSHdyS1JBQnZEcUJhc1M0SkxhZE5SWl9vMFdheFA1eExzR3dFbGkxMG1jd2ZwNVJKSHJRWXNySGdoQ1FNeDE2YmVMSnlOWUxOVS1ONU5tRkVOU01JZkx3SGZ0T3JkWUlxVzFlNWVwb1BvRlpIbnM3UTZjdXRBY0dsOTVjRTJBWm5HMUZmbUtoNTZ0S3NZRnR4RUh3eVhmRG9NcDd6bmR2bw?oc=5" + } + ], + "link": "https://www.reuters.com/article/world/factbox-whos-who-at-the-top-of-cubas-new-government-idUSKBN1HQ38J/", + "id": "CBMipwFBVV95cUxPSHdyS1JBQnZEcUJhc1M0SkxhZE5SWl9vMFdheFA1eExzR3dFbGkxMG1jd2ZwNVJKSHJRWXNySGdoQ1FNeDE2YmVMSnlOWUxOVS1ONU5tRkVOU01JZkx3SGZ0T3JkWUlxVzFlNWVwb1BvRlpIbnM3UTZjdXRBY0dsOTVjRTJBWm5HMUZmbUtoNTZ0S3NZRnR4RUh3eVhmRG9NcDd6bmR2bw", + "guidislink": false, + "published": "Thu, 19 Apr 2018 07:00:00 GMT", + "published_parsed": [ + 2018, + 4, + 19, + 7, + 0, + 0, + 3, + 109, + 0 + ], + "summary": "Factbox: Who's who at the top of Cuba\u2019s new government  Reuters", + "summary_detail": { + "type": "text/html", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Factbox: Who's who at the top of Cuba\u2019s new government  Reuters" + }, + "source": { + "href": "https://www.reuters.com", + "title": "Reuters" + }, + "sub_articles": [], + "status_code": 401, + "response": "Error: HTTP 401" + }, + { + "title": "Castro launches Mariel boatlift, April 20, 1980 - Politico", + "title_detail": { + "type": "text/plain", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Castro launches Mariel boatlift, April 20, 1980 - Politico" + }, + "links": [ + { + "rel": "alternate", + "type": "text/html", + "href": "https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMimgFBVV95cUxPeGtHWE12YjVGT0dxdGhmdllUOGdWUk5NOE1sOXNvVmE0enpZU0kzSG9SZTVQUlNHMFUwd1hQZHh3dzQzUTNlbXlHa2trQXlPNDVTdjg0Z2Z4dEpaTEZ5N2NUZnAyNy00NjFDUzZxS1A2LTA2ekRNaTVkYldWOTAxVVpkRXktQ1dMNXZINzMyVUMxLUl0eHhxT0pn?oc=5" + } + ], + "link": "https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/apr/18/raul-castro-cuba-step-down-leader-miguel-diaz-canel", + "id": "CBMimgFBVV95cUxPeGtHWE12YjVGT0dxdGhmdllUOGdWUk5NOE1sOXNvVmE0enpZU0kzSG9SZTVQUlNHMFUwd1hQZHh3dzQzUTNlbXlHa2trQXlPNDVTdjg0Z2Z4dEpaTEZ5N2NUZnAyNy00NjFDUzZxS1A2LTA2ekRNaTVkYldWOTAxVVpkRXktQ1dMNXZINzMyVUMxLUl0eHhxT0pn", + "guidislink": false, + "published": "Fri, 20 Apr 2018 07:00:00 GMT", + "published_parsed": [ + 2018, + 4, + 20, + 7, + 0, + 0, + 4, + 110, + 0 + ], + "summary": "Castro launches Mariel boatlift, April 20, 1980  Politico", + "summary_detail": { + "type": "text/html", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Castro launches Mariel boatlift, April 20, 1980  Politico" + }, + "source": { + "href": "https://www.politico.com", + "title": "Politico" + }, + "sub_articles": [], + "status_code": 200, + "response": "---\ntitle: After six decades of Castro rule, Cubans greet end of era with a shrug\nauthor: Ed Augustin\nurl: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/apr/18/raul-castro-cuba-step-down-leader-miguel-diaz-canel\nhostname: theguardian.com\ndescription: Cubans view shift with indifference, not hope, as current vice-president Miguel D\u00edaz-Canel is expected to replace Ra\u00fal Castro\nsitename: The Guardian\ndate: 2018-04-18\ncategories: ['World news']\ntags: ['Cuba,Ra\u00fal Castro,World news,Fidel Castro,Americas']\n---\nWhen Cuba\u2019s president stands down this week, it will mark the first time in nearly six decades that the island will be led by somebody whose last name is not Castro.\n\nOn Wednesday, the country\u2019s national assembly selected the current vice-president, Miguel D\u00edaz-Canel, as the sole candidate to replace Ra\u00fal Castro, in a nomination likely to be backed unanimously and officially announced on Thursday.\n\nThe handover will mark the end of an era: Cuba without the Castros has been the holy grail for Florida-based Cuban exiles \u2013 and a policy vigorously pursued by a dozen successive US presidents. But on the streets of Havana, indifference \u2013 not hope \u2013 is in the air.\n\nNo posters or billboards referring to the changeover are to be seen, the identity of the new leader is hardly a topic of conversation, and nobody doubts that the existing political system will remain intact. As the Cuban saying goes: nobody can fix it, but nobody can knock it down.\n\n\u201cA new president isn\u2019t going to change anything so it\u2019s not important for me,\u201d shrugged Mar\u00eda Victoria Esteves, 27, on her way to buy bread. \u201cI think everything\u2019s going to stay the same.\u201dYadiel Sintra, 30, a builder working in Cuba\u2019s private sector, said he wasn\u2019t even aware the country was about to get a new president. \u201cI\u2019ve just found out talking to you!\u201d he said.\n\nD\u00edaz-Canel is widely expected to represent continuity, and few Cubans expect any dramatic shift, said Rafael Hern\u00e1ndez, a political analyst and member of the Communist party.\n\nThere are no direct presidential elections in Cuba. When legislators for the National Assembly were elected this March, 605 candidates stood unopposed. Every one was elected.\n\n\u201cIf a new president were to represent a fundamental change in people\u2019s lives, Cubans would be very focused on this,\u201d he said. \u201cBut the fact is they don\u2019t see it like this.\u201d\n\nThough relieved of the presidency, Castro, 86, will remain a political presence, staying on as first secretary of the Communist party until 2021.\n\n\u201cThe new president will have more power in the day-to-day,\u201d said Hal Klepak, author of a biography of Ra\u00fal Castro. \u201cBut whenever there are crises or major problems with the US, foreign policy, or the economy, Ra\u00fal\u2019s word will remain the last word.\u201d\n\nD\u00edaz-Canel, a cautious reformist hand-picked by Ra\u00fal Castro, will be expected to walk the tightrope of implementing more market-oriented reforms without sacrificing Cuba\u2019s social policies.\n\nHealth and education remain free at the point of use in Cuba. The country has the most doctors per capita of any country in the Americas, and life expectancy is 79. And while Cubans on state salaries feel the pinch when buying meat and vegetables, essential foodstuffs are guaranteed by the state.\n\nHuman rights groups say that the government continues to punish dissent and public criticism.\n\nThe number of long-term political prisoners in Cuba dropped significantly under Ra\u00fal Castro, as the government shifted from long-term incarceration to short-term arrest and release, which typically lasts hours. But the Cuban Commission for Human Rights and National Reconciliation say that last year more than 5,000 people were arrested for political reasons.\n\nAlthough he has been in government for over a decade, D\u00edaz-Canel\u2019s politics are unknown to most Cubans. His relative obscurity reflects the top-down way public affairs are practised on an island where there is only one legal political party, and where political campaigning is prohibited by law.\n\nA former minister of higher education, D\u00edaz-Canel has been criticised for coming across as stiff in his occasional media appearances, but his image is radically different from the late Fidel Castro and his brother Ra\u00fal.\n\nAs the first secretary of the provincial Communist party in Villa Clara province in the 1990s he was known for his long hair, riding his bicycle and walking around in Bermuda shorts. He was a strong advocate for LGBT rights at a time when homosexuality was frowned upon in the province and by many in the party.\n\nCrucially, he was born after the Cuban revolution. If elected, D\u00edaz-Canel will also be the first non-soldier in charge of the nation since 1959.\n\n\u201cAccusations that Cuba is a military dictatorship have cut deep,\u201d said Klepak. \u201cIt\u2019s useful to have somebody who has come up through the system and didn\u2019t arrive there through the use of arms.\u201d" + }, + { + "title": "After six decades of Castro rule, Cubans greet end of era with a shrug - The Guardian", + "title_detail": { + "type": "text/plain", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "After six decades of Castro rule, Cubans greet end of era with a shrug - The Guardian" + }, + "links": [ + { + "rel": "alternate", + "type": "text/html", + "href": "https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMingFBVV95cUxNbzM5VHpXRlVXcThWTG12ZC1wM1VZa0cyX0lCbi1aYTl6bXFzR1Q0a2xNMFVGVDVtM19vUmd0UFVRa1h5WXlsNGVWZFpORkZUbXRmU0haLUY4NjFVWHZmbVZqVjhmb3JzY04zR19hVU9ydVBlSnM1Ql9sZXl2cV9DWjJtS1hyeGdXT3VWTWRUSTVaeEx3MTNDRFMxRkVhQQ?oc=5" + } + ], + "link": "https://www.politico.com/story/2018/04/20/castro-launches-mariel-boatlift-april-20-1980-528819", + "id": "CBMingFBVV95cUxNbzM5VHpXRlVXcThWTG12ZC1wM1VZa0cyX0lCbi1aYTl6bXFzR1Q0a2xNMFVGVDVtM19vUmd0UFVRa1h5WXlsNGVWZFpORkZUbXRmU0haLUY4NjFVWHZmbVZqVjhmb3JzY04zR19hVU9ydVBlSnM1Ql9sZXl2cV9DWjJtS1hyeGdXT3VWTWRUSTVaeEx3MTNDRFMxRkVhQQ", + "guidislink": false, + "published": "Wed, 18 Apr 2018 07:00:00 GMT", + "published_parsed": [ + 2018, + 4, + 18, + 7, + 0, + 0, + 2, + 108, + 0 + ], + "summary": "After six decades of Castro rule, Cubans greet end of era with a shrug  The Guardian", + "summary_detail": { + "type": "text/html", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "After six decades of Castro rule, Cubans greet end of era with a shrug  The Guardian" + }, + "source": { + "href": "https://www.theguardian.com", + "title": "The Guardian" + }, + "sub_articles": [], + "status_code": 403, + "response": "Error: HTTP 403" + }, + { + "title": "Cuba After Castro: A New Beginning? - Fair Observer", + "title_detail": { + "type": "text/plain", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Cuba After Castro: A New Beginning? - Fair Observer" + }, + "links": [ + { + "rel": "alternate", + "type": "text/html", + "href": "https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMisAFBVV95cUxNZnVnd3FReG51LUl6QlBYUl9PMThiTktXaUkwdUlGMHJITTVkbnpOMDRuc3hLZjBwVHVfamNNWEluby0wMG81YUVXMjNzc0x0Q3Y5cWhBNnZkUGlfR1lUalhCRGZqZzdrYWxQTHBYd3JEMDJNNEVBOHVzclBQOEc4eHR1Ynh1Wkktd1FuQ241NHpSQko3U3dJWExEWmwwMVFhc2dGMTFyY2dHZFRtRV9rQQ?oc=5" + } + ], + "link": "https://www.fairobserver.com/politics/raul-castro-political-transition-cuba-latin-america-news-headlines-14219/", + "id": "CBMisAFBVV95cUxNZnVnd3FReG51LUl6QlBYUl9PMThiTktXaUkwdUlGMHJITTVkbnpOMDRuc3hLZjBwVHVfamNNWEluby0wMG81YUVXMjNzc0x0Q3Y5cWhBNnZkUGlfR1lUalhCRGZqZzdrYWxQTHBYd3JEMDJNNEVBOHVzclBQOEc4eHR1Ynh1Wkktd1FuQ241NHpSQko3U3dJWExEWmwwMVFhc2dGMTFyY2dHZFRtRV9rQQ", + "guidislink": false, + "published": "Wed, 18 Apr 2018 07:00:00 GMT", + "published_parsed": [ + 2018, + 4, + 18, + 7, + 0, + 0, + 2, + 108, + 0 + ], + "summary": "Cuba After Castro: A New Beginning?  Fair Observer", + "summary_detail": { + "type": "text/html", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Cuba After Castro: A New Beginning?  Fair Observer" + }, + "source": { + "href": "https://www.fairobserver.com", + "title": "Fair Observer" + }, + "sub_articles": [], + "status_code": 200, + "response": "---\ntitle: Cuba After Castro: A New Beginning?\nauthor: Kinga Brudzinska\nurl: https://www.fairobserver.com/politics/raul-castro-political-transition-cuba-latin-america-news-headlines-14219/\nhostname: fairobserver.com\ndescription: Cuba will remain a one-party authoritarian state, with or without a Castro at the helm.\nsitename: Fair Observer\ndate: 2018-04-18\ncategories: ['Election News', 'Latin America & the Caribbean', 'Opinion', 'Politics', 'South America News', 'World Leaders News', 'World News']\n---\n*Cuba will remain a one-party authoritarian state, with or without a Castro at the helm.*\n\nOn April 19 Ra\u00fal Castro will step down as Cuba\u2019s president, ending almost six decades of his family\u2019s rule of the Caribbean island. Contrary to some expectations, however, Havana will not embark on an extensive process of political transition. Even though the country faces a significant generational shift in power \u2014 most of the regime\u2019s 80 and 90-year-old *historicos* (Ra\u00fal is 85) are also set to retire \u2014 the chances of systemic transformation remain very low. Seasoned analysts and Cuba watchers instead see a continuation of the status quo: a non-Castro in charge, but no transition to a more liberal regime.\n\nThere are several reasons why Cuba will remain in Castro\u2019s grip for the foreseeable future. To begin, Ra\u00fal\u2019s most likely successor, Miguel D\u00edaz-Canel, is considered the Castro brothers\u2019 star pupil. Widely regarded as a non-charismatic but experienced manager, the 58-year-old vice president has risen sharply through government departments and Communist Party of Cuba (PCC) ranks. In 2003 he became a member of the PCC\u2019s principal policymaking committee, the Politburo, followed by education minister in 2009 and vice president of the six-member Council of State in 2013.\n\nD\u00edaz-Canel has also held top positions in the provinces of Villa Clara and Holgu\u00edn. Both are centers of Cuba\u2019s booming tourism industry and burgeoning private sector, regularly highlighted as success stories underpinning Ra\u00fal\u2019s ambitious economic reforms. The vice president\u2019s \u201cgood relations\u2019\u2019 with the Cuban military are also significant. Despite stepping down from the presidency, Ra\u00fal will remain both first secretary of the PCC until 2021 and the unofficial chief of the armed forces.\n\nThere is no other person on the island who knows the military better than the outgoing president. Before replacing Fidel as head of state in 2008, Ra\u00fal served as defence minister from the beginning of the Cuban Revolution in 1959. Indeed, the Cuban army has played an increasingly important role in government over the past decade, with several military officers and Ra\u00fal\u2019s confidants serving as ministers. This has undoubtedly helped the army to consolidate its grip on Cuba\u2019s economy. Through its conglomerate Gaesa, it owns the vast swathes of Cuba\u2019s hotels, foreign exchange houses and ports. According to some economists, the army accounts for approximately 40-60% of the country\u2019s foreign exchange earnings.\n\nConsequently, it remains highly unlikely that the Cuban army will put political reform ahead of profits. Put simply, it has done very well out of economic reforms, which over the past decade have facilitated self-employment activities, tax cuts for companies and increased foreign investment. The army\u2019s position is likely to be emboldened by the fact that despite improved diplomatic ties with the United States since 2014 and signing of the Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement with the European Union in 2017, neither resulted in a loosening of Ra\u00fal\u2019s grip on the country\u2019s political system.\n\nAccording to the Freedom House Index 2017, Cuba was the least free country in Latin America and the wider Caribbean region. Internet censorship and severe restrictions on the press, freedom of expression and assembly remain part and parcel of everyday life on the island. In addition, the Cuban Commission for Human Rights and National Reconciliation, an independent nongovernmental organization, found that in 2016 Cuban authorities detained a record number of 9,940 individuals.\n\nThanks to Fidel and Ra\u00fal Castro, Cuba has been relatively successful in isolating itself from an increasingly interconnected world. However, given Venezuela\u2019s parlous economic conditions, which for years deeply subsidized oil supplies in return for doctors, teachers, sports trainers and military advisors, it will be hard for Havana to stay isolated for too long. Cuba is also facing major economic challenges that will be hard to solve within the existing model. These include weak GDP growth despite surging tourism (0.9% in 2016, as compared to the average of 2.8% between 2013-2015), damage caused by the destructive Hurricane Irma, and a dual-currency system that masks state inefficiencies.\n\nRa\u00fal\u2019s successor must also consider the needs of an aging population (25% of Cubans are over 55 years old) and a Cuban youth that equates political change with greater opportunity. For its part, the government has responded by beginning to consolidate its two currencies, despite fears that it will negatively impact the economy. It\u2019s also likely that the appointment of a \u201cyoung\u201d non-Castro as Cuba\u2019s new leader will be portrayed as a breath of political fresh air. But these changes are hardly Havana taking its first steps toward a bright democratic future.\n\nBy appointing an heir instead of a reformist, Cuba is signaling to the world that it only wants to open and modernize on its own terms. Yet, there is another way. Former authoritarians remaining prominent actors in the new political set up of a country is nothing new: Myanmar, Mexico, Poland, Spain or Tunisia are just a few examples. Indeed, history shows that authoritarian successor parties are quite often freely and fairly reelected to office. But this will not be the case of Cuba in 2018. Instead, an island located a mere 165 kilometers from the world\u2019s leading democracy will remain a one-party authoritarian state, with or without a Castro at the helm.\n\n**[GLOBSEC is a **partner institution** of Fair Observer.]*\n\n**The views expressed in this article are the author\u2019s own and do not necessarily reflect Fair Observer\u2019s editorial policy.**\n\n**Photo Credit: jakubtravelphoto ****/ ****Shutterstock.com**\n\n### Support Fair Observer\n\nWe rely on your support for our independence, diversity and quality.\n\nFor more than 10 years, Fair Observer has been free, fair and independent. No billionaire owns us, no advertisers control us. We are a reader-supported nonprofit. Unlike many other publications, we keep our content free for readers regardless of where they live or whether they can afford to pay. We have no paywalls and no ads.\n\nIn the post-truth era of fake news, echo chambers and filter bubbles, we publish a plurality of perspectives from around the world. Anyone can publish with us, but everyone goes through a rigorous editorial process. So, you get fact-checked, well-reasoned content instead of noise.\n\nWe publish 3,000+ voices from 90+ countries. We also conduct education and training programs\non subjects ranging from digital media and journalism to writing and critical thinking. This\ndoesn\u2019t come cheap. Servers, editors, trainers and web developers cost\nmoney.\n\nPlease consider supporting us on a regular basis as a recurring donor or a\nsustaining member.\n\n### Will you support FO\u2019s journalism?\n\nWe rely on your support for our independence, diversity and quality.\n\n## Commenting Guidelines\n\nPlease read our commenting guidelines before commenting.\n\n1. Be Respectful: Please be polite to the author. Avoid hostility. The whole point of Fair Observer is openness to different perspectives from perspectives from around the world.2. Comment Thoughtfully: Please be relevant and constructive. We do not allow personal attacks, disinformation or trolling. We will remove hate speech or incitement.3. Contribute Usefully: Add something of value \u2014 a point of view, an argument, a personal experience or a relevant link if you are citing statistics and key facts.Please agree to the guidelines before proceeding." + }, + { + "title": "Who Is Miguel Diaz-Canel, Cuba\u2019s New President? - Institute of the Black World 21st Century", + "title_detail": { + "type": "text/plain", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Who Is Miguel Diaz-Canel, Cuba\u2019s New President? - Institute of the Black World 21st Century" + }, + "links": [ + { + "rel": "alternate", + "type": "text/html", + "href": "https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMif0FVX3lxTFBGNkhUeHloUEdHNTRsYWt0NEhubkYxVUpvU3BvQWx4ZXFZazRzeG9DOVpjREJWU0RWeFJuM29GVE55MmxOSlhERU1qbDl5MVViQngzaXoxUjR1cGlXN3hnTXRvVzEyUnNwVUVlaVNFY2JSdTBodHlBNWRkMnRwUTA?oc=5" + } + ], + "link": "https://ibw21.org/commentary/who-is-miguel-diaz-canel-cubas-new-president/", + "id": "CBMif0FVX3lxTFBGNkhUeHloUEdHNTRsYWt0NEhubkYxVUpvU3BvQWx4ZXFZazRzeG9DOVpjREJWU0RWeFJuM29GVE55MmxOSlhERU1qbDl5MVViQngzaXoxUjR1cGlXN3hnTXRvVzEyUnNwVUVlaVNFY2JSdTBodHlBNWRkMnRwUTA", + "guidislink": false, + "published": "Thu, 19 Apr 2018 07:00:00 GMT", + "published_parsed": [ + 2018, + 4, + 19, + 7, + 0, + 0, + 3, + 109, + 0 + ], + "summary": "Who Is Miguel Diaz-Canel, Cuba\u2019s New President?  Institute of the Black World 21st Century", + "summary_detail": { + "type": "text/html", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Who Is Miguel Diaz-Canel, Cuba\u2019s New President?  Institute of the Black World 21st Century" + }, + "source": { + "href": "https://ibw21.org", + "title": "Institute of the Black World 21st Century" + }, + "sub_articles": [], + "status_code": 200, + "response": "---\ntitle: Who Is Miguel Diaz-Canel, Cuba's New President?\nauthor: IBW\nurl: https://ibw21.org/commentary/who-is-miguel-diaz-canel-cubas-new-president/\nhostname: ibw21.org\ndescription: Cuban National Assembly elected Miguel Mario Diaz-Canel Bermudez to succeed Raul Castro as country's head of state. The Cuban National Assembly elected Miguel Mario Diaz-Canel Bermudez, a 57-year-old Cuban born two years after the island\u2019s socialist revolution, as the country's new head of the Council of State and therefore the president of the Caribbean country.\nsitename: Institute of the Black World 21st Century\ndate: 2018-04-19\ncategories: ['Commentaries/Opinions']\ntags: ['Caribbean', 'Cuba', 'Cuban Revolution', 'Fidel Castro', 'Latin America', 'Raul Castro', 'Socialism', 'U.S.']\n---\n*Cuba\u2019s First Vice-President Miguel Diaz-Canel listens to Vietnam\u2019s Communist Party Secretary General Nguyen Phu Trong at University of Havana. Photo by Reuters*\n\n## Cuban National Assembly elected Miguel Mario Diaz-Canel Bermudez to succeed Raul Castro as country\u2019s head of state.\n\nThe Cuban **National Assembly** elected **Miguel Mario Diaz-Canel Bermudez, **a 57-year-old Cuban born two years after the island\u2019s** socialist revolution, **as the country\u2019s new head of the Council of State and therefore the president of the Caribbean country. During his speech after he was sworn-in, Diaz-Canel vowed to be faithful to the legacy of late Cuban President** Fidel Castro** and his revolution.\n\nTwo years after Raul began acting as temporary president in 2006 when **Fidel** became too ill to govern, the younger brother was elected to by the council following a lifelong service to the revolution.\n\nIn 1953 Raul fought alongside his brother at the Moncada barracks oust the authoritarian regime of Fulgencio Batista. When the attempt failed they served 22 months as political **prisoners** together. Raul introduced Fidel to **Che Guevara** in **Mexico **and together they launched the famed ship Granma toward Cuba in 1956 and for three years fought a guerrilla campaign from the Sierra Maestra mountains, overthrowing the Batista government in 1959.\n\nRaul was the minister of defense, vice president and second secretary to the party for the 47 years that Fidel served as the nation\u2019s president. While Raul once managed a close relationship with the Soviets, he also managed to strengthen Cuba\u2019s national economy and political sovereignty as the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991.\n\nAs president, Raul adopted a less militant stance toward socialism and creating space for individual enterprise. He threw out a measure that banned Cubans from interacting with foreign visitors, made it easier for citizens to buy and sell houses and cell phones.\n\nIn 2010 the president reduced the state economy cutting some half a million government** sugar, farming,** construction, health and tourism jobs saying, saying, \u201cEither we change course or we sink.\u201d Raul, now 87, opened up diplomatic ties with the U.S. during his ten-year administration and owing to an agreement with former president** Barack Obama **the island is, little by little, getting Internet access.\n\nEven though the probable president was caught on tape accusing the U.S. and various European countries of wanting to dismantle the revolution, experts say the Diaz-Canel will follow the company line.\n\nDiaz-Canel has been working his way up the **Communist party** hierarchy for nearly 30 years. He was a part of the Communist Youth Union and took part in an international mission in Nicaragua. Between 1994 and 2003 Diaz-Canel was the community party leader of the Villa Clara province, among other party posts. He was promoted to be part of the 14-member Politburo \u2013 Cuba\u2019s communist council and acted as the minister of higher education between 2009 and 2012 when he became vice president and Minister of Cuba.\n\n\u201cHe\u2019s a man without nuances who doesn\u2019t displease, but neither do people fall in love with him. He\u2019s made it clear he won\u2019t be the man of change and who has gotten where he is by completing orders impeccably,\u201d says Francisco Perdomo, a Cuban professor in international relations.\n\nThough described by some as a yes-man, he also has a reputation for being warm and attentive to both Cubans has worked with as well as foreigners.\n\nJohn McAuliffe, executive director of the Reconciliation and Development Fund tells La Tercera that he saw Diaz-Canel at a state function while vice president: \u201cenjoying the music of Los Van Van and talking with politicians from the United States and Chile. He was receptive to whoever wanted to take a photo with him. His informality and accessibility indicated he had a personal style different from the withdrawn generation of Cuban leaders.\u201d\n\nDiaz-Canel knows he has a tough task ahead of him. \u201cS**ociety** is **demanding**more,\u201d he said as vice president. This means expanding Internet to the more than 5 percent of the population that currently has access and creating a more open **media** environment, measures that Diaz-Canel says he supports. Economically, comments Michael Bustamante, a professor at the Florida International University, the biggest challenge the new head of state faces is to unite the dual-monetary system.\n\n\u201cOn Miguel Diaz-Canel falls some of the most complicated economic challenges that the Raul Castro administration couldn\u2019t solve. \u2026 Example number one: the dual monetary system. The unification of the Cuban **monetary system** is critical for its future economic prosperity,\u201d stresses Bustamante to La Tercera. For several years the government has been saying it will converge its two currencies \u2013 the Cuban Peso (CUP) and the Convertible Cuban Peso (CUC). Yet, the CUC, initially introduced in 1994 to strengthen the economy and to be limited to tourist use, has since spread to all areas of the economy and created serious divisions in a society known for its equality.\n\nThough academics are saying Diaz-Canel\u2019s presidency would not be a sea change in terms of introducing revolutionary politics, this is a historical generational shift for the island, the revolution and Latin America that has used Cuba as its socialist example." + }, + { + "title": "From the Castros to Cuba\u2019s new president Miguel D\u00edaz-Canel: continuity or change? - LSE Blogs", + "title_detail": { + "type": "text/plain", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "From the Castros to Cuba\u2019s new president Miguel D\u00edaz-Canel: continuity or change? - LSE Blogs" + }, + "links": [ + { + "rel": "alternate", + "type": "text/html", + "href": "https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiyAFBVV95cUxOSUtUWm9TS05RbDJ1d0FpUUNXaVpEWnBqclF4TzVWc1ZJWDdLNDYyMzBmS3lqZlYzZUlzV2UzcEUzRzRFejJXNW01dGdLZTZEeWVHWlVNeVV5a0RLTV9YX0ZsZWtmTDVGTkM0aEpsVDA5QkM3UnRfZzVPS25TTXVQSml1Sm5Wd1J0MUNUX3U0Rl9fQWVGZThzcWk2em1GcHU2dzZseHVTZzhQREl5TkJJNEFtTGFXNTdaZ2tfM0NFWVpBd21SZ1g4eA?oc=5" + } + ], + "link": "https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/latamcaribbean/2018/04/24/from-the-castros-to-cubas-new-president-miguel-diaz-canel-continuity-or-change/", + "id": "CBMiyAFBVV95cUxOSUtUWm9TS05RbDJ1d0FpUUNXaVpEWnBqclF4TzVWc1ZJWDdLNDYyMzBmS3lqZlYzZUlzV2UzcEUzRzRFejJXNW01dGdLZTZEeWVHWlVNeVV5a0RLTV9YX0ZsZWtmTDVGTkM0aEpsVDA5QkM3UnRfZzVPS25TTXVQSml1Sm5Wd1J0MUNUX3U0Rl9fQWVGZThzcWk2em1GcHU2dzZseHVTZzhQREl5TkJJNEFtTGFXNTdaZ2tfM0NFWVpBd21SZ1g4eA", + "guidislink": false, + "published": "Tue, 24 Apr 2018 07:00:00 GMT", + "published_parsed": [ + 2018, + 4, + 24, + 7, + 0, + 0, + 1, + 114, + 0 + ], + "summary": "From the Castros to Cuba\u2019s new president Miguel D\u00edaz-Canel: continuity or change?  LSE Blogs", + "summary_detail": { + "type": "text/html", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "From the Castros to Cuba\u2019s new president Miguel D\u00edaz-Canel: continuity or change?  LSE Blogs" + }, + "source": { + "href": "https://blogs.lse.ac.uk", + "title": "LSE Blogs" + }, + "sub_articles": [], + "status_code": 200, + "response": "---\ntitle: From the Castros to Cuba\u2019s new president Miguel D\u00edaz-Canel: continuity or change? - LSE Latin America and Caribbean\nauthor: Editor\nurl: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/latamcaribbean/2018/04/24/from-the-castros-to-cubas-new-president-miguel-diaz-canel-continuity-or-change/\nhostname: blogs.lse.ac.uk\ndescription: Miguel D\u00edaz-Canel's presidency is likely to represent a continuation of the \u201cnegotiative process\u201d that has allowed government and society alike to adapt to evolving challenges ever since 1959, write Emily J. Kirk (Dalhousie University) and Isabel Story (University of Nottingham).\nsitename: LSE Latin America and Caribbean - Expert analysis of Latin American and Caribbean affairs from LSE and beyond\ndate: 2018-04-24\ncategories: [\"Cuba at a crossroads, Democracy, Bay of Pigs, Caribbean, Castro, Cuba, Cuba transition, Cuba's new president, Cuban Revolution, detente, dual-currency economy, elections, Fidel Castro, Latin America, Miguel D\u00edaz-Canel, Ra\u00fal Castro, Trump, US-Latin America, emily-j-kirk, isabel-story\"]\n---\n*Miguel D\u00edaz-Canel\u2019s presidency is likely to represent a continuation of the \u201cnegotiative process\u201d that has allowed government and society alike to adapt to evolving challenges ever since 1959, write** ***Emily J. Kirk** (Dalhousie University) *and *** Isabel Story** (University of Nottingham)\n\n\n*.*Since 1959, Cuba has been synonymous with the name \u201cCastro\u201d. First, because of the charismatic Fidel Castro, who led the Revolution until 2006, and then for his pragmatic brother Ra\u00fal, who added the presidency to his leadership of the Revolutionary Armed Forces in 2006 (officially 2008).\n\nThey first came to international attention as guerrilla fighters seeking to revolutionise an economically and socially divided Cuba during the 1950s, when it was effectively under US neocolonial rule. While Fidel occupied the spotlight, lauded and demonised in equal measure, Ra\u00fal also played an active part in shaping the revolution, its ideology, and its international relations.\n\nBut in March 2018, Cuba\u2019s complex election process kicked into action, first with elections for neighbourhood representatives, then filtering up to the municipal level, before finally electing the 605 members of the National Assembly. On 18 April 2018 the National Assembly voted to nominate the candidate for the presidency, as well as the members of the Council of State, and the following day that presidential candidate, Miguel D\u00edaz-Canel, became the new president.\n\nBoth the date and the candidate are significant. Crucially, Miguel D\u00edaz-Canel is the first non-Castro to lead Cuba, and he is also too young to have participated in the 1953-1958 rebellion. But his ascendance to the presidency also coincides with the dramatic failure of the CIA-funded Bay of Pigs Invasion in 1961, which sought to end the revolution and oust the Castro leadership. This anniversary is particularly significant given the increasing hostility of US relations towards Cuba under the Trump administration, which are thrown into particularly sharp relief by the well-publicised efforts of Barack Obama, Ra\u00fal Castro, and Pope Francis to improve relations between 2014 and 2017.\n\n**The past and future of President Miguel D\u00edaz-Canel**\n\nIt is no surprise that Miguel D\u00edaz-Canel was elected, both because he enjoyed the support of Ra\u00fal Castro himself and because he has been a very active member of the Cuban Communist Party for some 30 years.\n\nHe trained as an electrical engineer, served as Minister of Higher Education between 2009 and 2012, and was elected First Vice President of the Cuban Communst Party in 2013, occupying key posts at difficult times.\n\nHe has been described as \u201cplainspoken\u201d, \u201cmoderate\u201d, and \u201cpragmatic\u201d. As former Canadian Ambassador to Cuba Mark Entwistle has noted:\n\nHe does not come from the older generation of the kind of guerrilla fighters from the mountains who derive a lot of their legitimacy from that historical experience \u2026 He comes from a different place, he has a very different style, a different way of presenting himself, and he\u2019s not from the same centres of political power.\n\n\nBut it is also important to consider that having been born in 1960, D\u00edaz-Canel remains a product of the revolution, and indeed he has been a vociferous defender of it.\n\nThus, despite this significant shift in leadership \u2013 itself belying the idea of the Cuban presidency as a dynasty \u2013 it is unlikely that any dramatic changes will take place in the short term. Instead, D\u00edaz-Canel is likely to push ahead with reforms outlined by Ra\u00fal Castro\u2019s government, such as internet access, land reform, and increased private economic activity. This echoes Ra\u00fal Castro\u2019s strategy for a \u201cslow but sure\u201d revolution that changes continuously but cautiously.\n\nIt is also important to remember that even though D\u00edaz-Canel is now president, Ra\u00fal Castro will remain a figure of great importance. He will stay on as leader of the Communist Party of Cuba and as leader of the Revolutionary Armed Forces, with the latter playing an important role systematising organisation and accountability across many areas of state provision.\n\n**Old challenges for Cuba\u2019s new president**\n\nWhile D\u00edaz-Canel may be new to the presidency, the challenges his government faces are longstanding.\n\nThe main problems include ongoing hostility from the US government, housing, transportation, and a dependent economy. Particularly pressing and difficult will be reorganisation of the island\u2019s controversial dual-currency economy, which has led to widening inequality between those paid in local and dollar-convertible currencies. Again, this was a change mooted under Ra\u00fal Castro, but a concrete plan has yet to be implemented.\n\nOn the social front, the new president also faces doubts about the loyalty of the younger generation. As the scholar and former Cuban diplomat Carlos Alzugaray noted in an interview with CNN, \u201cin my time, when Fidel or Ra\u00fal said something, I would do it, even if I had second thoughts; is that how the younger generation [\u2026] is going to react to what D\u00edaz-Canel says?\u201d It may no longer be enough to please the older generation of staunch revolutionaries.\n\nOverall, Cuba may change, but not dramatically. It is important to recognise that the Cuban Revolution is a \u201cnegotiative process\u201d that has survived so long because of the ability of country and government alike to adapt to evolving challenges, usually through periods of prolonged debate.\n\nWhile it is unclear what particular point or event could mark the end of the Cuban Revolution, D\u00edaz-Canel\u2019s presidency and the end of the \u201cCastro era\u201d are more likely to represent the same combination of continuity and change that has characterised revolutionary Cuba ever since 1959.\n\nNotes:\n\n\u2022 The views expressed here are of the authors and do not reflect the position of the Centre or of the LSE\n\n\u2022 Please read our Comments Policy before commenting\n\nFirst of all I would like to refer you to the writers of this article. The birth of the Republic Cuba was May 20, 1902 led by our parents of our country Jose Marti. Mart\u00ed said that \u201cin order to know a people, it must be studied in all its aspects and expressions: in its elements, in its tendencies, in its apostles and in its bandits\u201d. Since the founding of the Communist Party of Cuba, while the Marti cult was growing, the Creole Marxists maintained the greatest reserve, if not hostility, towards the apostle of Cuban liberties.\n\nThe question of rigor to the Ladies. Emily J. Kirk and Isabel Story would be: Opening for whom? Opening how? For the people on foot victim of the Castro-Fascist military Consortium that sells basic necessities with 200% over the purchase price? A working people that receives an average salary that does not exceed $ 30 USD per month. Will this be the openness and respect to which the Ladies referred. Emily J. Kirk and Isabel\n\nAnother recent shamelessness to emphasize, comes from a work published by the official Granma newspaper that signed by Enrique Ubieta and had the title, \u201cIs it possible to unite the best of capitalism and socialism?\u201d.\n\nIn his work, Ubieta affirms this flagrant falsehood. He says that: \u201cCuban capitalism, as in the past, can only be neo-colonial or semi-colonial. The only way for the bourgeoisie to retake and maintain power in Cuba is through an external power; it is the only option to reproduce its capital, and we already know that the Homeland of the bourgeoisie is capital \u201c.\n\nPerhaps Comrade Ubieta, when speaking of external power, refers to the Soviet empire, via primacy, from which, the leader and directly responsible for the disaster enthroned in Cuba, the happily deceased Fidel Castro, retained absolute power for several decades until the happy collapse of that nightmare, the right moment to look for and find the next external way of support and support.\n\nMr. Ubieta conceals the current transition from the always failed real socialism, Marxism, Leninism, etc., to the fascist corporate system of state capitalism without rights or freedoms inaugurated in Germany and Italy by Hitler and Mussolini in the first half of the 20th century and today renamed as socialism of the 21st century or reformulated from mendacious guidelines. Transit initiated by the Castroite elite from its military oligopoly and its absolute police control.\n\nThe shamelessness never comes alone and so we put these, to the consideration of such patient and respected readers, that if they do not live in Cuba, they will see everything with distance and it is possible, even with empathy. It would only be necessary to see who will be the repositories of such empathy, the victims or the professionalism and charisma of the perpetrators." + }, + { + "title": "After Ra\u00fal: What A Post-Castro Cuba Could Look Like - Worldcrunch", + "title_detail": { + "type": "text/plain", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "After Ra\u00fal: What A Post-Castro Cuba Could Look Like - Worldcrunch" + }, + "links": [ + { + "rel": "alternate", + "type": "text/html", + "href": "https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMilwFBVV95cUxPT1FfWUd5OUMxWVFqMnFNN0dHYUpKcGtYM2tvc0NXYnRPMW5BaTVmWkpnd1RWSmdLTXVOR3RSSm5EYl9YbS1JS3AtcjQ4Nl94bVNjZlFBaHJyVTctTDI2enJPVjdkWVpQUWZxamVqN3BlT2RTU01WcTlVOHIyNDFvM2hydDFqckR5c2hxVGZOQ01JYndkd0RJ0gGcAUFVX3lxTE9rT1FtbmdsNGFkSlR6dDlCTHVvSTRSdWFWenlsRmFLd0F2LTJnWXhqOUxOdm5FRTE5NmVLaFc2TkY5UzczMnpTZWFJajlyWWV4Qy1EU01HUkVPaUNfbFhzMVdScEs1LUZwdFdwdjQxX21MUDRjQ290VlRQazVoVDFwOXZ6YmlaXzM1M2NiZGxWUXFpRFlaZjJSeF9MXw?oc=5" + } + ], + "link": "https://worldcrunch.com/in-the-news/after-rauacutel-what-a-post-castro-cuba-could-look-like/", + "id": "CBMilwFBVV95cUxPT1FfWUd5OUMxWVFqMnFNN0dHYUpKcGtYM2tvc0NXYnRPMW5BaTVmWkpnd1RWSmdLTXVOR3RSSm5EYl9YbS1JS3AtcjQ4Nl94bVNjZlFBaHJyVTctTDI2enJPVjdkWVpQUWZxamVqN3BlT2RTU01WcTlVOHIyNDFvM2hydDFqckR5c2hxVGZOQ01JYndkd0RJ0gGcAUFVX3lxTE9rT1FtbmdsNGFkSlR6dDlCTHVvSTRSdWFWenlsRmFLd0F2LTJnWXhqOUxOdm5FRTE5NmVLaFc2TkY5UzczMnpTZWFJajlyWWV4Qy1EU01HUkVPaUNfbFhzMVdScEs1LUZwdFdwdjQxX21MUDRjQ290VlRQazVoVDFwOXZ6YmlaXzM1M2NiZGxWUXFpRFlaZjJSeF9MXw", + "guidislink": false, + "published": "Wed, 18 Apr 2018 07:00:00 GMT", + "published_parsed": [ + 2018, + 4, + 18, + 7, + 0, + 0, + 2, + 108, + 0 + ], + "summary": "After Ra\u00fal: What A Post-Castro Cuba Could Look Like  Worldcrunch", + "summary_detail": { + "type": "text/html", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "After Ra\u00fal: What A Post-Castro Cuba Could Look Like  Worldcrunch" + }, + "source": { + "href": "https://worldcrunch.com", + "title": "Worldcrunch" + }, + "sub_articles": [], + "status_code": 403, + "response": "Error: HTTP 403" + }, + { + "title": "Cuba\u2019s Leadership Transition Is an Illegitimate Succession of Power - The Heritage Foundation", + "title_detail": { + "type": "text/plain", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Cuba\u2019s Leadership Transition Is an Illegitimate Succession of Power - The Heritage Foundation" + }, + "links": [ + { + "rel": "alternate", + "type": "text/html", + "href": "https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMipAFBVV95cUxPY2lDSjZpYndUemJyYzhNakxTSmRYRV80Mkk2STZIZ2pFYUVaOUliVFNNRnVkeUkybnV4cDJ5djY2TUpTQndhNmN0NVo0cnNSVU1aT2QyamRCZkIwQmVBeDBmcmFDRThkNjFPTUhpMUJpV3FMYVhVaHdxYUl2LWJvaWthamRINk5tQTZIb2Z1UklDd3A5ak5sOGUxMlZIM01hNEFXOQ?oc=5" + } + ], + "link": "https://www.heritage.org/americas/commentary/cubas-leadership-transition-illegitimate-succession-power", + "id": "CBMipAFBVV95cUxPY2lDSjZpYndUemJyYzhNakxTSmRYRV80Mkk2STZIZ2pFYUVaOUliVFNNRnVkeUkybnV4cDJ5djY2TUpTQndhNmN0NVo0cnNSVU1aT2QyamRCZkIwQmVBeDBmcmFDRThkNjFPTUhpMUJpV3FMYVhVaHdxYUl2LWJvaWthamRINk5tQTZIb2Z1UklDd3A5ak5sOGUxMlZIM01hNEFXOQ", + "guidislink": false, + "published": "Wed, 18 Apr 2018 07:00:00 GMT", + "published_parsed": [ + 2018, + 4, + 18, + 7, + 0, + 0, + 2, + 108, + 0 + ], + "summary": "Cuba\u2019s Leadership Transition Is an Illegitimate Succession of Power  The Heritage Foundation", + "summary_detail": { + "type": "text/html", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Cuba\u2019s Leadership Transition Is an Illegitimate Succession of Power  The Heritage Foundation" + }, + "source": { + "href": "https://www.heritage.org", + "title": "The Heritage Foundation" + }, + "sub_articles": [], + "status_code": 200, + "response": "---\ntitle: Cuba\u2019s Leadership Transition Is an Illegitimate Succession of Power\nauthor: Ana Rosa Quintana\nurl: https://www.heritage.org/americas/commentary/cubas-leadership-transition-illegitimate-succession-power\nhostname: heritage.org\ndescription: This week will see a historic transfer of power in Cuba. On Thursday, for the first time since the 1959 revolution, Cuba will have a leader whose last name is not Castro.\nsitename: The Heritage Foundation\ndate: 2018-04-18\n---\nThis week will see a historic transfer of power in Cuba. On Thursday, for the first time since the 1959 revolution, Cuba will have a leader whose last name is not Castro.\n\nBut this change does not arise as the result of free and fair elections. Three generations into the revolution, Cubans are still deprived of that right. So instead they will witness an illegitimate transfer of power from one ruthless leader to another.\n\nThe regime\u2019s apologists will herald the transition as a new era for Cuba. In reality, the only thing they are celebrating is biology.\n\nAt almost 87 years old, Raul Castro is the world\u2019s fifth-oldest ruler. His hand-picked successor is rumored to be regime loyalist and current Vice President Miguel Diaz-Canel.\n\nThere should be no illusions about Mr. Diaz-Canel, 58. He cut his teeth under the leadership of both Castro brothers, and he shares their outdated and repressive perspective on governance.\n\nIn a video leaked last year, Mr. Diaz-Canel disparaged Cuba\u2019s dissidents and political prisoners as counterrevolutionaries. He also claimed that he would censor independent media, the internet and other means of free expression.\n\nIn that same video, Mr. Diaz-Canel goes on to criticize countries such as Germany, Norway, Spain, the United Kingdom and, of course, the United States for their \u201csubversive\u201d support of human rights. Clearly, he is a dyed-in-the-wool Castro communist.\n\nAnd even after Mr. Diaz-Canel claims the title of president, Mr. Castro will not amble off into a benign retirement. He will continue to be a guiding voice within the regime as the ideological leader of Cuba\u2019s ruling Communist Party.\n\nTime and time again, regime apologists have been wrong about the future of Cuba. When Mr. Castro took over from brother Fidel in 2008, they claimed Raul would evolve \u201cfrom enforcer to reformer.\u201d It never happened.\n\nRichard Feinberg, a senior fellow with the Brookings Institution, is quite sympathetic with the Castro regime. Yet even he has observed: \u201cIn many ways, Raul Castro\u2019s 10-year presidential rule, ending in February 2018, has been utterly disappointing. Cuba\u2019s economy is stagnant and economic reform has stalled. Political power remains highly centralized and secluded.\u201d\n\nPresident Obama\u2019s much-lauded Cuba policy was supposed to shepherd in a new era. Yet that initiative also failed to bring meaningful change to the island.\n\nMr. Obama\u2019s three years of unconditional concessions to the regime undermined U.S. national security objectives and foreign policy interests. Meanwhile, the Castro regime stubbornly refused to change either its anti-American behavior or its repressive practices in exchange for Mr. Obama\u2019s loosening of the U.S. trade embargo.\n\nCuba remains a nation that fails to provide property rights protections or fair courts for the just resolution of economic disputes. And going into business in Cuba still largely means \u201cpartnering\u201d with commercial wings of the Cuban military, security or intelligence services. Political and religious persecution continues, as well.\n\nIt seems safe to say that nothing will change under Mr. Diaz-Canel. Had Cuba wanted to signal a commitment to reform, last week\u2019s 8th Summit of the Americas in Peru was the prime opportunity. Instead, pro-Castro thugs attacked Cuban human-rights activists and U.S. citizens. Cuban civil society members were held hostage on the island and were unable to attend the gathering. The Cuban delegation also shut down the civil society meeting at the summit.\n\nU.S. policymakers should take this opportunity to review the best course of action toward Cuba. The efficacy of the U.S. trade embargo deserves vigorous debate, but it would be flawed and illogical to presume that a unilateral lifting of sanctions would make matters better.\n\nWhile Mr. Diaz-Canel and Mr. Castro have different last names, they seem to share the same political DNA. U.S. policymakers should condemn this illegitimate transfer of power, and weigh a variety of options to help bring real reform to the island at last.\n\nThis piece originally appeared in the Washington Times" + }, + { + "title": "A War of Solidarity - Jacobin", + "title_detail": { + "type": "text/plain", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "A War of Solidarity - Jacobin" + }, + "links": [ + { + "rel": "alternate", + "type": "text/html", + "href": "https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMilAFBVV95cUxOUzlfS29scTJHZVJxTDBhM2c1SUlyUHlnUllyZzYyeUVFNW9uUkJ5cHRFMjhTTVZhMUthWTVIdGJha3JCdWM1UXo4N2JVQmtJR3Y5clpCYUNpMGdyTjJzUWpOZ25GN1AzY3RBYzVrUDE5X19KbU9waHNEMWNhd3IwRTRpSTEwRk5BakxwN05VVUwycGdR?oc=5" + } + ], + "link": "https://jacobin.com/2018/04/cuba-angola-operacion-carlota-cuito-cuanavale-internationalism", + "id": "CBMilAFBVV95cUxOUzlfS29scTJHZVJxTDBhM2c1SUlyUHlnUllyZzYyeUVFNW9uUkJ5cHRFMjhTTVZhMUthWTVIdGJha3JCdWM1UXo4N2JVQmtJR3Y5clpCYUNpMGdyTjJzUWpOZ25GN1AzY3RBYzVrUDE5X19KbU9waHNEMWNhd3IwRTRpSTEwRk5BakxwN05VVUwycGdR", + "guidislink": false, + "published": "Sat, 28 Apr 2018 07:00:00 GMT", + "published_parsed": [ + 2018, + 4, + 28, + 7, + 0, + 0, + 5, + 118, + 0 + ], + "summary": "A War of Solidarity  Jacobin", + "summary_detail": { + "type": "text/html", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "A War of Solidarity  Jacobin" + }, + "source": { + "href": "https://jacobin.com", + "title": "Jacobin" + }, + "sub_articles": [], + "status_code": 200, + "response": "---\ntitle: A War of Solidarity\nauthor: Jorge Tamames\nurl: https://jacobin.com/2018/04/cuba-angola-operacion-carlota-cuito-cuanavale-internationalism\nhostname: jacobin.com\ndescription: This year marks the 30th anniversary of the battle of Cuito Cuanavale, when Cubans joined Angolans to defeat the South African apartheid regime.\nsitename: jacobin.com\ndate: 2018-04-28\n---\n# A War of Solidarity\n\nThis year marks the 30th anniversary of the battle of Cuito Cuanavale, when Cubans joined Angolans to defeat the South African apartheid regime.\n\nMarch 2018 marked the fifteenth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, an illegal war whose perpetrators have yet to answer to justice. The Bush administration\u2019s failed regime change and the destructive effects of the conflict across the Middle East turned Operation Iraqi Freedom into a symbol of the limits of American power and the folly of military interventionism \u2014 a lesson that Washington\u2019s foreign policy establishment insists on ignoring.\n\nLess remembered, but just as important, is the thirtieth anniversary of the battle of Cuito Cuanavale, which between March 1987 and June 1988 witnessed Cuban and Angolan soldiers fight against the South African Defense Force (SADF) in the largest military confrontation in Africa since the end of World War II. The clash overwhelmed the South African government, which was eventually forced to relinquish its grip on southern Angola and accept Namibian independence. These concessions, in time, helped bring about the end of apartheid rule.\n\nBesides a decisive battle, Cuito Cuanavale also represents a climactic ending to Fidel Castro\u2019s foreign policy in Africa, which between 1963 and 1991 witnessed an ambitious succession of interventions in seventeen countries, involving hundreds of thousands of Cuban soldiers, doctors, and social workers. While these ventures were imperfect, the overlap of both anniversaries offers the opportunity to contrast the sterile brutality of Western interventions with a striking tradition of internationalism.\n\n# Independence and Internationalism\n\nThe most detailed account of Cuban interventions in Africa is found in Piero Gleijeses\u2019 landmark studies, *Conflicting Missions* and *Visions of Freedom*. Gleijeses posits that Castro\u2019s support for African independence movements sprung from a combination of realpolitik and idealism. The Soviet Union\u2019s willingness to bypass Havana and cut a deal with the United States during the 1962 missile crisis had made Cuban leaders painfully aware that their country could become a bargaining chip between superpowers. Accordingly, they sought to boost revolutionary movements abroad in the hopes that they would gain power and provide alternative sources of support for Cuba. As revolutionary leader V\u00edctor Dreke explained, \u201cCuba defends itself by attacking the aggressor.\u201d\n\nThe island\u2019s Latin American neighbors seemed the obvious choice for exporting foquismo, the Guevarist theory of guerilla revolution, but this plan soon ran into difficulties. A string of disappointing ventures, coupled with the Soviet Union\u2019s reticence to alienate governments in the region and the launching of Kennedy\u2019s Alliance for Progress, posed formidable obstacles. With Ernesto Che Guevara\u2019s 1967 capture and murder in Bolivia, the focus on a Latin American revolution came to an end.\n\nAt the same time, Cuba was becoming more involved in Africa. It first intervened in the region between 1961 and 1965, sending military supplies, instructors, and doctors to support Algeria\u2019s National Liberation Front in its struggle for independence and subsequent border war with Morocco. The experience exemplified the idealistic streak in Cuban foreign policy, inviting Charles de Gaulle\u2019s hostility at a time when the island\u2019s resources were stretched thin. \u201cIt was like a beggar offering his help,\u201d remarked Jos\u00e9 Ram\u00f3n Machado Ventura, who directed Cuba\u2019s medical mission, \u201cbut we knew the Algerian people needed it even more than we did and they deserved it.\u201d\n\nChe\u2019s 1964 Africa trip demonstrated an expanding commitment to the continent, with Cubans supporting anticolonial movements in Guinea Bissau, Cape Verde, and Congo, where Guevara personally attempted to organize guerrillas following the coup against Patrice Lumumba. Other interventions, such as the assistance to Western Guinea\u2019s dictator Francisco Mac\u00edas Nguema and the 1978 deployment of twelve thousand soldiers to aid Ethiopia during the Ogaden war, seemed dictated by Cold War dynamics rather than a commitment to emancipatory politics. Indeed, relations with Moscow \u2014 which provided critical military and logistical support, as well as generous economic subsidies \u2014 became a determining factor in Cuba\u2019s foreign policy. The Soviet Union would often dictate the island\u2019s foreign policy positions, as in 1968 and 1980, when it pressured Havana into supporting the invasions of Czechoslovakia and Afghanistan \u2014 the latter a nonaligned state, at a time when Cuba presided over that movement.\n\nThe United States\u2019 impression that Castro was a Soviet stooge, however, was far from accurate. As Gleijeses points out, \u201cCuban leaders were convinced that their country had a special empathy for the Third World and a special role to play on its behalf. The Soviets and their East European allies were white and, by Third World standards, they were rich; the Chinese suffered from great-power hubris [. . .] By contrast Cuba was nonwhite, poor, threatened by a powerful enemy, and culturally Latin America and African.\u201d Castro also exploited his personal fame and Cuba\u2019s record as a Latin American showcase for socialism to leverage independence.\n\nThe best example of such autonomy came in 1975, when Havana set out to defend the Angolan Movement for People\u2019s Liberation (MPLA) from the combined offensive of rival armed groups. Operation Carlota \u2014 named after a Cuban slave who led an uprising in 1843 \u2014 initiated a struggle against South Africa that lasted until 1991, with the withdrawal of the last Cuban troops.\n\nAngola gained independence following Portugal\u2019s 1974 revolution, but the country was split between three rival armed groups. The Marxist-leaning MPLA held the capital, Luanda, and was acknowledged by US diplomats and intelligence officers as the most competent force. But it faced attacks from Holden Roberto\u2019s National Front for the Liberation of Angola (FNLA) and Joseph Savimbi\u2019s National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA). Backed by Mobutu\u2019s Congo, China, France, and the United States, these two groups were poised to expel the MPLA from Luanda before November 11, the first independence day. The SADF, which intervened militarily to bolster Savimbi\u2019s advance, hoped his triumphal march into the capital would establish a friendly regime that safeguarded South Africa\u2019s occupation of Namibia.\n\nAgainst this backdrop, Castro approved an emergency deployment of elite units to defend MPLA-controlled areas. When asked by Soviet authorities about the timing of the operation, the Cubans revealed that their ships and airplanes \u2014 assisted by the governments of Guyana, Barbados, and Jamaica \u2014 were already on the way. They had taken the decision without consulting Moscow. \u201cThe intervention of Cuban combat forces came as a total surprise,\u201d wrote a frustrated Henry Kissinger, whose previous offers for d\u00e9tente were replaced with contingency plans to \u201cclobber\u201d and \u201csquash\u201d the island, establishing a blockade, mining its harbors, and launching airstrikes.\n\nAs declassified documents witness, Kissinger feared a domino effect across Southern Africa, with leftist victories in Angola and Mozambique paving the way for the end of white rule in Rhodesia, Namibia, and South Africa. His concern was well founded. The MPLA\u2019s victory over FNLA and UNITA at the battle of Quifangondo \u2014 in which Cuban forces played a leading role \u2014 galvanized anti-apartheid activists in Namibia and South Africa. \u201cIn Rhodesia they are talking and after ten years they have nothing,\u201d a black man from Soweto told the* New York Times* following the SADF\u2019s retreat in March. \u201cIn Angola and Mozambique they fought, and they won.\u201d The Soweto uprising erupted only three months later.\n\n# Boxing at the End of the World\n\nThe war, however, had only begun. South Africa spent the following decade launching raids from its bases in Namibia into southern Angola, which it transformed into a buffer zone. Savimbi retained his stronghold in Jamba, on the southeastern corner of the country \u2014 a region so remote it is referred to as the land at the end of the world. Tens of thousands of Cuban soldiers were stuck holding a defensive line in the south and southwest while the MPLA fought UNITA and the FNLA\u2019s remnants. The stalemate left Angola divided and ravaged by violence.\n\nMaking matters worse, Cubans argued frequently with Soviet military advisers, who supplied and trained the MPLA\u2019s forces. Led by a World War II veteran, they pressed the Angolans to develop heavy brigades and prepare for a decisive clash with Savimbi and the SADF. Jorge Risquet and Leopoldo Cinta Fr\u00edas, who commanded the Cuban mission, considered guerrilla tactics necessary for the MPLA to win the civil war while Cuban forces protected the country from SADF incursions.\n\nThe Soviet approach turned out to be disastrous, with successive offensives crumbling due to logistical problems and the SADF\u2019s control of airspace. This dynamic came to a tipping point in March 1987, when against Cuban warnings the Angolan army launched another ill-fated attack on Jamba. Crippled by South African artillery and airstrikes, it soon fell back to the village of Cuito Cuanavale. Savimbi and the SADF, sensing the opportunity of a conclusive victory, pressed hard on their heels. While the Security Council demanded the SADF retreat into Namibia, Ronald Reagan provided South Africa with diplomatic support. Cuito resisted thanks to last-minute Angolan and Cuban reinforcements.\n\nThe siege dragged on inconclusively, and the Cuban deployment eventually increased to fifty-five thousand \u2014 an enormous commitment for a country of roughly ten million. Castro, drawing on a boxing metaphor, suggested turning Cuito into a trap for the SADF. \u201cBy going there, we placed ourselves in the lion\u2019s jaws. We accepted that challenge, and from the very first moment we planned to gather our forces to attack in another direction, like a boxer who with his left hand blocks the blow and with his right \u2014 strikes.\u201d Indeed, as the siege tied down the bulk of the SADF in southeastern Angola, Cuban forces were massing on the southwest, getting ready to advance to the Namibian border.\n\nThe operation was extremely dangerous, with fears over the nuclear capacities of the South African regime. Cuban soldiers often moved at night in small columns to avoid detection. Following the construction of the Cahama airstrip, Cuban pilots could reach the Calueque hydroelectric dam, which provided essential resources for SADF operations. The dam\u2019s bombing on June 27, 1988 signaled Cuban air superiority and shattered the SADF\u2019s hopes for military victory.\n\nThe Tripartite Accord, signed by Angola, South Africa, and Cuba at the United Nations headquarters on December 1988, ended international involvement in Angola. It also granted independence to Namibia, in line with UN Resolution 435. While SADF losses were modest, defeat came at a huge strategic cost. \u201cIn Angola black troops \u2014 Cuban and Angolan \u2014 have defeated White troops in military exchanges, and that psychological edge, the advantage the White man has enjoyed and exploited over three hundred years of colonialism and empire, is slipping away,\u201d wrote a South African analyst at the time.\n\nAfrican National Congress (ANC) leaders concurred with this view. Ronnie Kasrils, the ANC\u2019s intelligence chief, described Cuito as \u201ca historic turning point in the struggle for the total liberation of the region from racist rule.\u201d \u201cWithout the defeat of Cuito Cuanavale our organizations would not have been legalized,\u201d Nelson Mandela acknowledged in a 1991 visit to Cuba. \u201cCuito Cuanavale marks the divide in the struggle for the liberation of southern Africa.\u201d Mainstream depictions of South Africa\u2019s transition to democracy often suggest it succeeded thanks to Mandela\u2019s moderation and his willingness to placate former enemies. Mandela\u2019s remarks, however, are a reminder that the struggle to end apartheid demanded violent confrontation with the South African apartheid state. In Pretoria\u2019s Freedom Park, the names of the 2,070 Cubans who fell in Angola remain inscribed next to those of South Africans who died fighting against apartheid rule.\n\n# Death Was Not in Vain\n\nBut Cuba was not only fighting the SADF. Throughout the 1970s and \u201880s, educators and social workers provided Angolans with basic services. Cuban medical missions traveled to the most isolated regions of Angola to provide health care. Cuba also welcomed Angolan and Namibian refugees to boarding schools at the Isle of Youth, an educational project that eventually hosted fifty thousand children from forty-five different countries. Throughout this time Cuban authorities kept a discreet profile \u2014 a decision taken to avoid infuriating the United States but also to let Africans take the lead in their own struggles.\n\nIn many ways Operation Carlota is an example of a just war: undertaken for a righteous cause and waged with genuine concern for the countries involved. But to truly learn from its example, we should recognize that, like any other armed conflict, it was fraught with contradictions and mistakes.\n\nOne of the intervention\u2019s greatest enigmas is the fate of the generals who commanded it. In 1987 Rafael del Pino, a renowned veteran who had served as chief of air forces in Angola, flew a Cessna with his wife and children to Florida, where he joined the opposition. Even more shocking was the case of Arnaldo Ochoa, the war hero who led the advance toward Namibia but was sentenced to death in 1989. During a televised trial, Ochoa pled guilty of abusing his position to smuggle diamonds, ivory, and cocaine, in collaboration with the Medell\u00edn Cartel. In his 1999 account, Cuban writer Norberto Fuentes, previously close to the Castro brothers, suggested leading authorities had orchestrated the smuggling deals with Colombians and Ochoa was used as a scapegoat for political intrigues. True or not, the episode cast a shadow on Cuba\u2019s leaders and disheartened its citizens.\n\nCastro\u2019s African wars generate mixed feelings among everyday Cubans. While many feel a sense of pride at their country\u2019s international achievements, they also view these foreign wars as a messianic project: driven by degrees of ego and idealism, while ignoring more prosaic concerns at home. It is undeniably impressive that such an ambitious foreign policy was conducted with the island\u2019s modest means. But this mismatch became painful in the aftermath the Angola war, when the Soviet Union collapsed and Cuban citizens endured a decade of extreme hardship. In many ways these contrasts are microcosms of the island\u2019s politics more generally, with the revolution\u2019s great achievements in health care and education challenged by economic blockade and stagnation.\n\nAngola\u2019s present state is also dispiriting. While the MPLA had ably led the resistance movement against colonial authorities, it became hollowed out during the civil war. Following the death of historic leader Agostinho Neto and the displacement of his number two, L\u00facio Lara, the force became increasingly corrupt \u2014 a recurrent source of frustration for Cubans in the country. A failed coup d\u2019etat and endless civil war \u2014 fought with increasing brutality, and lasting until Savimbi\u2019s death in 2002 \u2014 made Angolan leaders callous and autocratic. By the time he stepped down in September 2017, Jos\u00e9 Eduardo dos Santos had presided over a petro-state with extreme inequality for almost forty years. In 2013, his daughter Isabel became Africa\u2019s first woman billionaire.\n\nAt a time when capitalism rules uncontested, many other African states have chosen to downplay past ties with Cuba and partner with Western or Chinese investors. Most revolutionary movements did not live up to the high hopes they raised as they fought alongside Cubans, either. In Algeria, the 1965 coup against Ahmed Ben Bella opened an era of authoritarianism; in Ethiopia, Mengistu\u2019s dictatorship led to mass famine. The ANC is also delegitimized by corruption, repression, and incompetence.\n\nThere should be nothing surprising in the realization that Castro\u2019s interventions in Africa were imperfect. But on the anniversary of the Iraq invasion, and with the United States gearing up for new, more devastating wars of aggression, Cuba\u2019s role in Angola should be looked upon as an example \u2014 perhaps the only one in recent history \u2014 of a foreign policy that was proudly interventionist, genuinely committed to emancipation, and in many ways successful. If we are to discuss internationalism in the twenty-first century, we could start from few better places." + }, + { + "title": "Who Is Miguel D\u00edaz-Canel, Cuba\u2019s New President? (Published 2018) - The New York Times", + "title_detail": { + "type": "text/plain", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Who Is Miguel D\u00edaz-Canel, Cuba\u2019s New President? 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The results of the vote, expected to be unanimous, will be announced on Thursday.\n\n\nSalvador Valdes Mesa, 72, a former secretary of the Central de Trabajadores de Cuba, the only permitted labor organization, and a former Minister of Labor, was proposed as the new first vice president. Until now, he was one of the vice presidents of the Government.\n\nAlthough the announcement of the only candidacy was made Wednesday to the 605 deputies, the result of their vote will be made public this Thursday, according to the official legislative program.\n\nThe other proposed vice-presidents are the historic Commander of the Revolution, Ramiro Vald\u00e9s; the Minister of Public Health, Roberto Morales; the Comptroller General, Gladys Bejerano; the president of the National Institute of Hydraulic Resources, In\u00e9s Mar\u00eda Chapman; and Beatriz Jhonson.\n\nThe parliamentary session today began its two-day meeting with the election of the leadership of the National Assembly, which maintained continuity with the reelection of Esteban Lazo as president and Ana Mar\u00eda Mari Machado and Miriam Brito as vice president and secretary, respectively .\n\nRaul Castro appeared dressed in a jacket and tie, without his traditional military dress as head of the Army, accompanied by members of his Government and applauded by the rest of the deputies.\n\nThe 605 deputies today vote on the proposal of the National Candidates Commission but the results will be released on Thursday, although no changes are expected.\n\nD\u00edaz-Canel is a 57-year-old engineer who was previously Minister of Higher Education and headed the Communist Party of Cuba in the central province of Villa Clara and eastern Holguin.\n\nThe arrival to the presidency of Miguel D\u00edaz-Canel represents the generational change that Raul Castro has been preparing during the last years giving responsibilities to leaders born after the 1959 revolutionary triumph.\n\nThe average age of the National Assembly is 49 years and 87 percent of the deputies were born after 1959, according to official data from Parliament.\n\nPoliticians such as the economic vice president Marino Murillo, 57, the communist leader Mercedes L\u00f3pez Acea, 53, the Minister of Public Health, Roberto Morales, 50, or Foreign Minister Bruno Rodr\u00edguez, 60, already occupy prominent positions.\n\nRaul Castro, 86, will leave the Presidency but will remain at the head of the powerful Communist Party of Cuba until 2021, when the it holds its next congress.\n\nCan you Thomas Answeeny relate any changes that have occurred for the people of Cuba within the last six years, other than being allowed to purchase a car?\n\nAs an illustration of the benefits, Multimarcas the State agency offered a 2014 model Kia Picanto for 68,000 Cuban convertible pesos ($68,000 US). you may know that the average Cuban earns $21 per month.\n\nCommunists habitually refer to those who favour freedom of the individual as \u201creactionaries\u201d. I don\u2019t doubt that in your case Moses will take it as a compliment.\n\nI am of the same generation Margaret and have stated many times in these pages and in writing my view that the 1958/59 revolution was necessary.\n\nThe introduction to my book about Cuba says:\n\n\u201cThe author believes that another Cuban revolution (there have been previous ones) was almost inevitable and necessary during the 1950\u2019s in Cuba which was then controlled by the Batista dictatorship which had achieved power in a coup and operated in cahoots with the US Mafia under the leadership in Havana of Meyer Lansky. It is his view that had Fidel Castro remained true to his supposedly original view \u2013 in 1952 he was a candidate for the Orthodox party until the election was cancelled by Batista if he had in 1959 following a period of military rule necessary to establish stable administration, law and order, held free open elections, the Cuba of today would be very different and Fidel Castro like Mahatma Ghandi and Nelson Mandela would have earned a similarly honoured place in world history for freeing his people and introducing real democracy. But Fidel Castro in his craving for control and personal power chose otherwise, he chose communism and dictatorship.\u201d\n\nI don\u2019t know whether you have read the US Cuban Democracy Act. But although i have expressed the view that the ensuing embargo became counter-productive, the expressed purposes of the Act were in themselves excellent. and aimed at supporting the Cuban people. However the history of the US as a neighbour in the Americas is not good. My chapter on the USA commences:\n\nUS policies towards the Latin American countries have been a succession of political blunders of magnitude since the adoption of the Monroe Doctrine in 1823.\u201d\n\nIn these pages there has been discussion about the problems that might occur if and when Cuba achieves freedom and adopts real democracy. Those fears have been based upon the assumption that Cuba would necessarily adopt the US system. There are fortunately however other alternatives such as parliamentary government. Let the US sort out its own problems which in my view would mean a revision of their constitution.\n\nI care about Cuba Margaret because my home is there, I am married to a Cuban. The unfortunate consequence of that necessary revolution was that Cuba merely had one dictator replaced by another.\n\nif Nick you regard fascism as \u201cof the right\u201d, then you should understand Moses\u2019 comment. If that is correct, then moving towards fascism would include democratic socialism, liberals, progressive conservatives and conservatives and even reformers. It may well be from your writings that you dislike all of them compared with communism.\n\nMoses did not say adopt fascism. Politics makes strange bedfellows. Hitler and Stalin a communist made a pact to invade Poland and both did so. Hitler as a National Socialist accepted the overtures of Mussollini a fascist and supported Franco another fascist \u2013 Guernica!\n\nI have yet to see you write here that you oppose dictatorship whether of the left or of the right. I have stated several times that I detest both. So get off the high horse Nick and state your view of dictatorship.\n\nMaybe Cuban elections should be more like u.s. elections. Eh? Well, everyone here in the u.s. knows their vote does not count because u.s. corporations pick the freakin\u2019 president, not the American people. And u.s. corporations are drowning the island of Cuba along with most of the world.\n\nMoses\u2019 reactionary and contradictory comments on HT date back at least six years. Pay him no mind\n\nDumb comments ??\n\nThen you say \u2018To move forward fascism would be an improvement\u2019\u2026\u2026\n\nTalk about dumb comments !\n\nCuba\u2019s electoral farce is based on the Russian model. There would be no need for the Russians to interfere in Cuba. The results are pre-determined. Dumb comment. Likewise, Diaz-Canel is the new President of a totalitarian regime. To move toward fascism would be an improvement. Again, dumb comment.\n\nMr P, I detect a hint in your comment that you suspect Cuba\u2019s electoral process may be democratically imperfect\u2026\u2026..\n\nPerhaps you have a good point.\n\nBut at least Cuba\u2019s election result was not manipulated by the Russians. Furthermore It would be most unlikely that Cuba\u2019s new president decides to start promoting fascism in the way that the current US President has.\n\nI would like to wish Cuba\u2019s new president the very best of luck.\n\nPerhaps he will make some pragmatic moves toward economic reform.\n\nWhatever happens it would be virtually impossible for him to be the least suitable president in The Americas.\n\nI am 81+ years. I worked in an Art Department in Dallas, TX in the 1950\u2019s. When the Cuban Revolution happened, most of the artists stood up and cheered! They, mostly, had been to Cuba \u2013 on vacation/honeymoons \u2013 and realized how the lure of off-shore casinos were NOT benefitting the Cuban population \u2026 I have always been saddened by the non-support of the USA of Cuba and the Cuban people.\n\nThis is akin to rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. Fake elections don\u2019t produce real democratic results." + }, + { + "title": "Encuentro Eclesial event unites Cuban Catholics, bridges US-Cuba division - National Catholic Reporter", + "title_detail": { + "type": "text/plain", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Encuentro Eclesial event unites Cuban Catholics, bridges US-Cuba division - National Catholic Reporter" + }, + "links": [ + { + "rel": "alternate", + "type": "text/html", + "href": "https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMipgFBVV95cUxPT0FLSEtVOTRuYWtwdGNacG9wZnZ1cVc5QnN2bkwyeTV2RDQtMmc5a1JwVFItZlNzRFllVzVhZVdNRlBRUGk5V0lxSG9tNmlqWjRHWkZleUt1UU53c3dobEM4MTNPSmtxSS1YMUozSC1faG5lLXNFcnFNT2JFWi05bnphR2QwNG0tY2VWeGtnYjkyRC03QUJwU21YXzJEcE1MV0J1ZzNn?oc=5" + } + ], + "link": "https://www.wnyc.org/story/harss-dance-cuba-acosta-robbins-new-york-city-ballet/", + "id": "CBMipgFBVV95cUxPT0FLSEtVOTRuYWtwdGNacG9wZnZ1cVc5QnN2bkwyeTV2RDQtMmc5a1JwVFItZlNzRFllVzVhZVdNRlBRUGk5V0lxSG9tNmlqWjRHWkZleUt1UU53c3dobEM4MTNPSmtxSS1YMUozSC1faG5lLXNFcnFNT2JFWi05bnphR2QwNG0tY2VWeGtnYjkyRC03QUJwU21YXzJEcE1MV0J1ZzNn", + "guidislink": false, + "published": "Wed, 18 Apr 2018 07:00:00 GMT", + "published_parsed": [ + 2018, + 4, + 18, + 7, + 0, + 0, + 2, + 108, + 0 + ], + "summary": "Encuentro Eclesial event unites Cuban Catholics, bridges US-Cuba division  National Catholic Reporter", + "summary_detail": { + "type": "text/html", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Encuentro Eclesial event unites Cuban Catholics, bridges US-Cuba division  National Catholic Reporter" + }, + "source": { + "href": "https://www.ncronline.org", + "title": "National Catholic Reporter" + }, + "sub_articles": [], + "status_code": 200, + "response": "---\ntitle: Spring Dance: A New Company from Cuba and Old Favorites from Jerome Robbins | WNYC | New York Public Radio, Podcasts, Live Streaming Radio, News\nurl: https://www.wnyc.org/story/harss-dance-cuba-acosta-robbins-new-york-city-ballet/\nhostname: wnyc.org\ndescription: Cuban-born choreographer Carlos Acosta brings his company to New York for its U.S. debut. And then next month, New York City Ballet begins a weeks-long celebration of Robbins.\nsitename: WNYC\ntags: ['npr, new york, WNYC, arts, culture, news, public, radio']\n---\nIt looks like there's an issue with JavaScript in your browser.\nFor a better experience, we recommend that you enable JavaScript. Go to\nhttps://www.whatismybrowser.com/guides/how-to-enable-javascript/\nto learn more." + }, + { + "title": "The Modern Lives of Cuba\u2019s Old Movie Theaters - Atlas Obscura", + "title_detail": { + "type": "text/plain", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "The Modern Lives of Cuba\u2019s Old Movie Theaters - Atlas Obscura" + }, + "links": [ + { + "rel": "alternate", + "type": "text/html", + "href": "https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMib0FVX3lxTE82aUIyajZkb3BVSnozX2t5Y2RJT09PUmhPUFJSSy1KbExUU3pZUFB0SDI4SFFXczRGOEtSbUVTWXlfdnlGbUdxYkp5X0d6ODFfLWxEdHc5eDVueV9peXNhM0U1YjdrR2pCTDk4Mkw4bw?oc=5" + } + ], + "link": "https://www.ncronline.org/news/encuentro-eclesial-event-unites-cuban-catholics-bridges-us-cuba-division", + "id": "CBMib0FVX3lxTE82aUIyajZkb3BVSnozX2t5Y2RJT09PUmhPUFJSSy1KbExUU3pZUFB0SDI4SFFXczRGOEtSbUVTWXlfdnlGbUdxYkp5X0d6ODFfLWxEdHc5eDVueV9peXNhM0U1YjdrR2pCTDk4Mkw4bw", + "guidislink": false, + "published": "Fri, 20 Apr 2018 07:00:00 GMT", + "published_parsed": [ + 2018, + 4, + 20, + 7, + 0, + 0, + 4, + 110, + 0 + ], + "summary": "The Modern Lives of Cuba\u2019s Old Movie Theaters  Atlas Obscura", + "summary_detail": { + "type": "text/html", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "The Modern Lives of Cuba\u2019s Old Movie Theaters  Atlas Obscura" + }, + "source": { + "href": "https://www.atlasobscura.com", + "title": "Atlas Obscura" + }, + "sub_articles": [], + "status_code": 403, + "response": "Error: HTTP 403" + }, + { + "title": "Instability Beckons for Cuba as Island Chases U.S. Tourist Revenue - Stratfor", + "title_detail": { + "type": "text/plain", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Instability Beckons for Cuba as Island Chases U.S. Tourist Revenue - Stratfor" + }, + "links": [ + { + "rel": "alternate", + "type": "text/html", + "href": "https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiowFBVV95cUxPY3drTVVmbEhqbmJ5RnZ1aER6VnpqQXVmOWlidUtJQzNqMUNYdnA3N1FUTXdXNXhuZ3liNVJwOHZCcmdFQkhQREYxV2xWNUt3RlA3LWJ2VXU5TjBqSXdDODZKemN5S3lhd0VySjVNLVpObC15ZVVtM096Z2JMVEY3MTdVYlN6NGY4Z083MW1ibXBqZXlpTnVTSllXRG1heGt4dDNv?oc=5" + } + ], + "link": "https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/history-of-cuban-cinemas", + "id": "CBMiowFBVV95cUxPY3drTVVmbEhqbmJ5RnZ1aER6VnpqQXVmOWlidUtJQzNqMUNYdnA3N1FUTXdXNXhuZ3liNVJwOHZCcmdFQkhQREYxV2xWNUt3RlA3LWJ2VXU5TjBqSXdDODZKemN5S3lhd0VySjVNLVpObC15ZVVtM096Z2JMVEY3MTdVYlN6NGY4Z083MW1ibXBqZXlpTnVTSllXRG1heGt4dDNv", + "guidislink": false, + "published": "Wed, 11 Apr 2018 07:00:00 GMT", + "published_parsed": [ + 2018, + 4, + 11, + 7, + 0, + 0, + 2, + 101, + 0 + ], + "summary": "Instability Beckons for Cuba as Island Chases U.S. Tourist Revenue  Stratfor", + "summary_detail": { + "type": "text/html", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Instability Beckons for Cuba as Island Chases U.S. Tourist Revenue  Stratfor" + }, + "source": { + "href": "https://worldview.stratfor.com", + "title": "Stratfor" + }, + "sub_articles": [], + "status_code": 403, + "response": "Error: HTTP 403" + }, + { + "title": "The Pearl of Potential - Trail Runner Magazine", + "title_detail": { + "type": "text/plain", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "The Pearl of Potential - Trail Runner Magazine" + }, + "links": [ + { + "rel": "alternate", + "type": "text/html", + "href": "https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMimgFBVV95cUxPS3pnUC13Q3ZPTzl3cWtTeXZnM2NFRTEtR2g0M0M3WW9kZVZRdFItWUxNUnozR3hfempNbzZNTUNxX1RQenJKMFE4WFc5WVd5MWV6MXM0N3BjQklJVndFWHpkTlRLYnRGN1F5elE2aFFLSnp1QjEtYmhOVjA4VXQwalBYdTlvVThYclIycmU1NUJxVkxfTjRTWHR3?oc=5" + } + ], + "link": "https://www.trailrunnermag.com/destinations/international-destinations/the-pearl-of-potential/", + "id": "CBMimgFBVV95cUxPS3pnUC13Q3ZPTzl3cWtTeXZnM2NFRTEtR2g0M0M3WW9kZVZRdFItWUxNUnozR3hfempNbzZNTUNxX1RQenJKMFE4WFc5WVd5MWV6MXM0N3BjQklJVndFWHpkTlRLYnRGN1F5elE2aFFLSnp1QjEtYmhOVjA4VXQwalBYdTlvVThYclIycmU1NUJxVkxfTjRTWHR3", + "guidislink": false, + "published": "Fri, 27 Apr 2018 07:00:00 GMT", + "published_parsed": [ + 2018, + 4, + 27, + 7, + 0, + 0, + 4, + 117, + 0 + ], + "summary": "The Pearl of Potential  Trail Runner Magazine", + "summary_detail": { + "type": "text/html", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "The Pearl of Potential  Trail Runner Magazine" + }, + "source": { + "href": "https://www.trailrunnermag.com", + "title": "Trail Runner Magazine" + }, + "sub_articles": [], + "status_code": 200, + "response": "---\ntitle: The Pearl of Potential\nauthor: Trail Runner magazine\nurl: https://www.trailrunnermag.com/destinations/international-destinations/the-pearl-of-potential/\nhostname: trailrunnermag.com\nsitename: Trail Runner\ndate: 2018-04-27\ncategories: ['International']\n---\nRenowned trail runner Michael Wardian traveled to Cuba with One World Running in 2016. Photo by Brian Metzler\n\n**Already soaking wet, **I was five kilometers into the 2017 La Farola 28K road race when the rain increased. I scanned the wet faces of the elite Cuban runners grinding uphill alongside me. They were completely unfazed. After all, their buses had been two hours late to the start and they are accustomed to constant logistical hardship. A little *lluvia* was nothing to fret about.\n\nI was in Baracoa, Cuba, traveling with One World Running (OWR), a Boulder, Colorado-based organization that gives shoes to runners in developing countries around the world and also organizes the La Farola race, which draws elites from all over Cuba.\n\n\u201cUnderdeveloped and full of potential\u201d is how OWR founder Michael Sandrock describes the running scene he\u2019s watched unfold in Cuba over the past two decades. Most runners have no expendable income for shoes or race travel. There are few running stores and hardly any sponsorship opportunities. It\u2019s like ultrarunning was 40 years ago. It boils down to passion.\n\nBaracoa is one of many rural towns in eastern Cuba that feature countless unexplored trails and roads. The only land access is a four-hour drive on a winding mountain road\u2014La Farola.\n\nRecognized as a showpiece of the Cuban Revolution, La Farola was built in the 1960s after the rebels led by Fidel Castro and Che Guevara overthrew dictator Fulgencio Batista. It arduously snakes through mountainous jungle, reaching almost 2,000 feet with views to the ocean and surrounding jungle.\n\nOWR started the La Farola race seven years ago as a way to draw Cuba\u2019s best runners to the region, and in turn, to give every runner a pair of shoes.\n\nAt the start line, I noticed a young runner hop off a 1950s bus barefoot. The rest of the runners\u2019 shoes were visibly worn. \u201cMost of these shoes are probably from last year,\u201d said Sandrock.\n\nThanks to a donation several years ago, more than half the field was also wearing Boulder Ironman 70.3 shirts. Runners without sweat-wicking material simply wore sun-bleached cotton.\n\nInching alongside the elite men, I was flabbergasted at how low-key the scene felt. There had been no porta potties at the start line, and the rain-slick road had not been closed to vehicles. As we ran, Soviet-Era Ford Caminos (the standard vehicle in Cuba) precariously swerved around blind curves.\n\nLocal farmers, grandmothers and kids manned the water stations, cheering excitedly while scooping cups of unfiltered water from a bucket.\n\n\u201cGracias,\u201d I gasped, gratefully gulping the water, forgetting that my stomach wasn\u2019t Cuban-river strong.\n\nCuba is far from flat\u2014it boasts impressive coastal mountain ranges, with 30-something protected national parks. Arguably the most tenacious trails are in the southeastern Sierra Maestra, Cuba\u2019s highest mountain range.\n\nGran Parque Nacional Sierra Maestra is home to Cuba\u2019s tallest peak, Pico Turquino. It is also where Castro, Guevara and their rebels hid and planned their revolution.\n\nRunning is a celebrated act of freedom and individuality amidst the rigidity of a communist regime. Cubans have little choice about their incomes and jobs, so freedom comes in the form of a passion: art, music, dance, sports. For many, like Ferria, that\u2019s running.\n\n\nUltrarunner Mike Wardian, who traveled to Cuba in 2016 with One World Running, cites Pico Turquino as his favorite trail in the country, describing the terrain as \u201crugged, mountainous, technical, verdant and beautiful with steep drops and dense vegetation.\u201d\n\nRunning Pico Turquino requires more than just having a sense of adventure. It\u2019s an unofficial military area, so you are required to reserve a guide at least one day before starting.\n\nWhen asked about the local trail-running scene, elite Cuban runner Angel Ferria, 54, the top Masters finisher at this year\u2019s La Farola race, says, \u201cThe races here are on roads and the track, but we run on the dirt and grass whenever possible. For example, before and after our workouts on the track we run outside on a grass path.\u201d\n\nRunning is a celebrated act of freedom and individuality amidst the rigidity of a communist regime. Cubans have little choice about their incomes and jobs, so freedom comes in the form of a passion: art, music, dance, sports. For many, like Ferria, that\u2019s running.\n\nBut access to outside information\u2014for example, the Internet\u2014is expensive. Runners learn through word of mouth.\n\n\u201cMy life is running,\u201d says Henry Jean, former Havana Marathon and La Farola champ. \u201cI want to know everything: what you eat, when you train, what is running at altitude like?\u201d\n\nJean lives in Bayamo, a medium-sized town in eastern Cuba. He runs on sidewalks, dirt roads and the local university track. He works as a personal trainer, also doubling as a physical education teacher and coach. When he learned that I competed in ultras, he was flushed to learn everything he could in our few interactions.\n\n\u201cHow does it work? I plugged it in to charge, but it won\u2019t track my runs,\u201d he said referring to the GPS watch that was his prize for winning this year\u2019s La Farola race.\n\n\u201cOh, it needs Wi-Fi,\u201d I replied. Jean laughed, rolled his eyes and flung his hands over his shoulder like he was swatting a fly. The watch wouldn\u2019t be useful in Cuba.\n\nWi-Fi is only accessible in a few rare public Hot Spots, and you need to purchase an access card at a telecommunications store, which usually have hours-long lines.\n\nCuba\u2019s only designated trails are in national parks, but rural towns are full of rugged, often unmarked routes. Everything rural is more or less trail. In Baracoa, you\u2019ll find rocky dirt roads, technical single-track and grass paths. The region\u2019s most prominent mountain, El Yunque\u2014the anvil\u2014rises 1,886 feet (575 meters) above sea level, and is said to be the one of the first sights Christopher Columbus reported of the New World.\n\nOn my first day in Baracoa, two days before the La Farola race, I met Arnoldo Campos, the local co-race director, for a shakeout run. A svelte 2:31 marathoner and former Havana Half Marathon winner, Campos has been running his whole life.\n\nWe met at six in the morning, just as the sun was rising over the coastal horizon, and headed for a mountain some 500 feet above. After two years living in Southern Thailand, where running is far from normal, I expected to be gaped at.\n\n\u201cNo, no,\u201d said Campos, \u201ceveryone accepts runners here. It\u2019s normal.\u201d\n\nWe continued up streets lined with neat pastel, single-room homes. Few were derelict. Those that were, were victims of Hurricane Matthew. Campos\u2019 modest wood home lost its corrugated-steel roof during the storm, which hit the Caribbean in October 2016. \u201cIt was scary, but no one died in Baracoa,\u201d he recounted proudly.\n\nFive miles from town we turned onto a dirt road that snaked up the mountain. Homes became sparser and the terrain more technical. Soon we were on a palm-lined footpath. Topping out, we stopped to take in the view of Baracoa\u2019s bay. Aqua waves rolled inland as hearty palm fronds swayed above us.\n\n**Getting there:** Fly to Holguin or Santiago. Schedule a car service to drive you to Baracoa, in advance. If traveling on the cheap\u2014and if you have time\u2014brave the local buses and expect delays.\n\n**Lodging:** Casa Particulars, Cuba\u2019s Airbnbs, are a shot in the dark, quality wise. Hotels are the safest bet if you\u2019re looking for a comfortable stay.\n\n**Food: **Get ready for lots of arroz congr\u00ed (black beans and rice), without much seasoning. Baracoa has delectably fresh seafood, so any pescado (fish) is a must have. Don\u2019t dare leave without trying some guava, passion fruit, mangos and fresh-squeezed mango juice (jugo de mango). But be sure to wash the skin of any street-bought fruit with clean water.\n\n**Drink:** If you\u2019re not running early, experience a night of Cuban rum, music and dancing. Get yourself a $2 mojito at a local dance hall and try to keep up with the locals\u2019 hips. Good luck.\n\n**Transportation: **There are very few public transit options in Cuba. Taxis are the best way to go if you need to travel via car.\n\n**Best season to visit: **Summers (June through August) are very hot. Avoid these months if you want to run a lot. Find out more about trips with One World Running at *http://oneworldrunning.com/*, including next year\u2019s trip to Baracoa for La Farola race, which is expanding to include non-Cuban runners.\n\n*\u2014Clare Gallagher writes and runs in Boulder, Colorado. When she\u2019s not in the bubble, she seeks and soaks up as much diversity as she can get.*\n\nThis article originally ran in the March 2018 issue of *Trail Runner* Magazine." + }, + { + "title": "Capturing Cuba \u2014 Appalachian students share photos from spring break 2018 - Appalachian State University", + "title_detail": { + "type": "text/plain", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Capturing Cuba \u2014 Appalachian students share photos from spring break 2018 - Appalachian State University" + }, + "links": [ + { + "rel": "alternate", + "type": "text/html", + "href": "https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiVEFVX3lxTE04dVR5WElNMUxaU0tJSi1sZGkwNnVQQW1Cdmo5RzE1aTZPUHpRa2lvZm02d29TbWVraVk0WERQWnFZdEdycGxFV19ObzVVa0Mtd2FtTg?oc=5" + } + ], + "link": "https://worldview.stratfor.com/article/next-cuba-castro-united-states-tourism-diaz-canel-embargo-raul", + "id": "CBMiVEFVX3lxTE04dVR5WElNMUxaU0tJSi1sZGkwNnVQQW1Cdmo5RzE1aTZPUHpRa2lvZm02d29TbWVraVk0WERQWnFZdEdycGxFV19ObzVVa0Mtd2FtTg", + "guidislink": false, + "published": "Fri, 06 Apr 2018 07:00:00 GMT", + "published_parsed": [ + 2018, + 4, + 6, + 7, + 0, + 0, + 4, + 96, + 0 + ], + "summary": "Capturing Cuba \u2014 Appalachian students share photos from spring break 2018  Appalachian State University", + "summary_detail": { + "type": "text/html", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Capturing Cuba \u2014 Appalachian students share photos from spring break 2018  Appalachian State University" + }, + "source": { + "href": "https://today.appstate.edu", + "title": "Appalachian State University" + }, + "sub_articles": [], + "status_code": 0, + "response": "Error: " + }, + { + "title": "The Outstanding Performers of International Jazz Day - WTTW", + "title_detail": { + "type": "text/plain", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "The Outstanding Performers of International Jazz Day - WTTW" + }, + "links": [ + { + "rel": "alternate", + "type": "text/html", + "href": "https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMijwFBVV95cUxPbGQyTHdHYm81X1VGV1huTzJPRHozR1JBZURkRUhLX0Y3YXAwcFRIZUEtalNFVVdEdEJqWC1OYktLbl95WVZKN1Y3WHZ6LWZZT0JzODFGZkQ1bm9pZTQwdmF3Vlp6a01RaVlIN09wQS1YOGtVcDhwSldrWXJxS2NrUnoxZmRwY0t1ZFVYOTlyVQ?oc=5" + } + ], + "link": "https://today.appstate.edu/2018/04/06/cuba", + "id": "CBMijwFBVV95cUxPbGQyTHdHYm81X1VGV1huTzJPRHozR1JBZURkRUhLX0Y3YXAwcFRIZUEtalNFVVdEdEJqWC1OYktLbl95WVZKN1Y3WHZ6LWZZT0JzODFGZkQ1bm9pZTQwdmF3Vlp6a01RaVlIN09wQS1YOGtVcDhwSldrWXJxS2NrUnoxZmRwY0t1ZFVYOTlyVQ", + "guidislink": false, + "published": "Fri, 27 Apr 2018 07:00:00 GMT", + "published_parsed": [ + 2018, + 4, + 27, + 7, + 0, + 0, + 4, + 117, + 0 + ], + "summary": "The Outstanding Performers of International Jazz Day  WTTW", + "summary_detail": { + "type": "text/html", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "The Outstanding Performers of International Jazz Day  WTTW" + }, + "source": { + "href": "https://www.wttw.com", + "title": "WTTW" + }, + "sub_articles": [], + "status_code": 200, + "response": "---\ntitle: Capturing Cuba \u2014 Appalachian students share photos from spring break 2018\nauthor: Chris Grulke\nurl: https://today.appstate.edu/2018/04/06/cuba\nhostname: appstate.edu\ndescription: During spring break of March 2018, 20 Appalachian State University students and three faculty members traveled to Cuba as part of a Walker College of Business international study experience. Travel along with the group and experience Cuba through this photo diary of their trip.\nsitename: today.appstate.edu\ndate: 2018-04-06\n---\nTranscript\n\n**Dave Blanks:** Hi there, folks. My name is Dave Blanks from University Communications and this is Master\u2019s Matter. A little bit different style for this Master\u2019s Matter because usually I am interviewing a professor in their office, along with one of the master\u2019s students that works with this professor, and they talk about their research and how they work together, but this one is a little bit different because it\u2019s for the MBA program. We\u2019re focusing on the international component to the MBA program, more specifically the trip to Cuba. There are other destinations that MBA students can choose for traveling and fulfilling their international component, but this one pertains to the trip to Cuba that was led by Dr. Rachel Shinnar. Dr. Shinnar is a professor in the Department of Management, and every year she takes students to Cuba in conjunction ... it\u2019s a relationship with the University of Havana. Dr. Shinnar, I\u2019ll ask you some questions in just a minute, but before that, we\u2019ll meet our MBA students. We have Chris Grulke and Ben Perez. Chris, let\u2019s start with you. Hello Chris.\n\n**Chris Grulke:** Hello.\n\n**DB:** Hey Chris. So, are you a first-year MBA student?\n\n**CG:** No. I'm on my last year, so I took a little bit of a different path. I went part time and am on my final semester currently.\n\n**DB:** Cool. And Ben Perez is in studio as well. So, Ben, are you a \u2026 what year student are you? You guys are both second year, right?\n\n**Ben Perez: **Yeah, we\u2019re both second year, well, at least I think.\n\n**DB:** Because that\u2019s, usually the international trip happens on your second year. Correct?\n\n**CG:** Most people probably do it that way.\n\n**DB:** OK. All right, cool. So, Dr. Shinnar, what is your role as far as the international trip for MBA students?\n\n**Dr. Rachel Shinnar: **So, MBA students have to take an international component to their degree in order to graduate. And one of the programs that we offer is the program to Cuba. Dr. Meznar, who is the associate dean in the College of Business, he\u2019s the one who initiated this trip. He created it. He formed the relationship with the University of Havana, and I inherited the trip from him five years ago and I am now the official trip leader. I take a group every year. It used to be a combined trip, MBA and undergraduate. Starting this year, it will be an exclusively graduate course, and we will take graduate students mostly from the MBA program but also from across campus to go to Cuba and experience this very different place. And I think the reason we\u2019re including an international component in the MBA is that the business world is becoming an increasingly international, increasingly global, and having an opportunity while you\u2019re a student to go outside of your comfort zone and experience something different and be the outsider \u2014 the one who doesn't speak the local language, the one who maybe doesn\u2019t understand fully the local customs \u2014 is something good to experience. It contributes to personal development and growth.\n\n**CG:** And we had students that had never been on a plane before, students who had never traveled internationally before. So, it was very, very cool.\n\n**DB:** Sweet. So, was this like a reason why you wanted to get into the MBA program, like the fact, or why you chose, why you chose App? Because are all MBA? Do all MBA programs include an international aspect, an international trip?\n\n**BP:** I don't know. When I told \u2014\n\n**DB:** Or is that an App-specific thing?\n\n**BP:** No. I told some people I know who were, who were also in an MBA program at a different school that we have this international component to it and they were kind of confused. They, they'd never, it\u2019s not something that they were doing, but I don\u2019t know, I imagine it\u2019s common in other schools. But the reason why I chose the MBA program is because I\u2019m doing engineering, and so they also teach business courses, and so then there\u2019s this really easy option to just double major and get a double master\u2019s. When I found out about the international program, I was actually kind of not very happy because it was required, and it was a required international trip that I had to pay for, but ...\n\n**CG:** I\u2019ll kind of second that, too.\n\n**BP:** Yeah. And I, you know, I have a family \u2014\n\n**DB:** Sure.\n\n**BP:** I have three kids under the age of four, and I have a wife, and so the financial aspect was a little troubling, but I have to say that I think it was worth it. You know, going on this trip was just really, it made a really big impression on me, and just getting outside of the country and going with people that you don\u2019t know, and you know, bonding with them through the trip, and then experiencing the culture and the customs and coming back and the \u2014 it kind of changes your perspective.\n\n**DB:** How did your wife feel about it?\n\n**BP:** She\u2019s still a little upset ...\n\n**DB:** Uh huh, I bet.\n\n**BP:** ... because I got to go to Cuba.\n\n**DB:** And she got to hang out with the kids, right?\n\n**BP:** Yeah, exactly. So.\n\n**DB:** Well, so, forgive my ignorance, but what do you do on the trip? Is it just like a sightseeing trip, just like, let\u2019s check this place out, let\u2019s broaden our horizons?\n\n**RS:** We try to make sure that there is a strong academic component. So, we meet on campus before we go. We learn about U.S.-Cuba relations, the history of Cuba and it\u2019s fight for independence. It\u2019s struggle for independence maybe is a better word. And then when we\u2019re in Havana, we go to the University of Havana. ASU has an agreement with that university, and we receive lectures from some of the leading professors about various topics: political science, U.S.-Cuba relations, economy, economical changes, the economic system in Cuba, entrepreneurship, the health care system, the education system. So, I think this is not really going to Cuba to be tourists or to play tourist; the students are actually learning a lot and I've been going. This was my fifth time, and I learned something new every time. And so, we\u2019re not really going as tourists. We\u2019re going to learn about that country, about the relationship that Cuba has with our nation, about the Cuban people, history, culture, food. It\u2019s a very broad experience.\n\n**DB:** How was the food?\n\n**CG:** The food was incredible.\n\n**BP:** It was great, yeah.\n\n**DB:** Alright. What was good?\n\n**CG:** It was very fresh. I\u2019d heard people that had been in Cuba before say that the food was monotonous and they ate the same thing over and over, but I thought it was incredible.\n\n**BP:** Lots of vegetables. I just felt really good because everything did feel like it just came right from the farm. It was just great.\n\n**DB:** Did you guys stay? Where did you stay when you were there? Different places or just on the campus? You just went to the lectures on the campus. You stayed somewhere else?\n\n**CG:** Correct. So, we stayed in a hotel on the northern side of Havana. The Hotel Riviera, Havana Riviera. And it was excellent, I thought. Comfortable, clean.\n\n**DB:** How many days is the trip?\n\n**CG:** It\u2019s seven days. We were there from ... we were in Havana from Saturday to Tuesday. Wednesday we picked up and went west to Vi\u00f1uales and we were there for two days, came back to Havana on Friday, flew back out on Saturday.\n\n**DB:** All right. Well, so what do you think you learned from going there? We\u2019ll start with Ben. Did you have expectations when you went in, and were they challenged and what did you learn? That\u2019s a lot of questions, but \u2014\n\n**BP:** No. Yeah. When I went to Cuba, I set kind of like a goal, like what I wanted to do, and that was to connect with the people. And it was really, that\u2019s kind of broad, but I speak Spanish \u2014 well, I claim to speak Spanish \u2014 while I was there, just the ability to speak Spanish and communicate a little better really helped me to make better connections with the people that I met. We had a very packed itinerary, and that\u2019s something that I really appreciated, but I also liked that we had free time where I could go out and roam the streets and talk to people, and it\u2019s a very safe country, and you get there and the people are so welcoming. It\u2019s amazing. They\u2019re so, I mean, they're just so loving and kind, and just open. I don\u2019t know how to explain it because I don\u2019t know. I consider myself a little more reserved, and so to go into this culture where people are just, you know, they just welcome you in so freely, it was, that was a really nice surprise. That was something I really loved \u2014\n\n**CG:** I would say compared to everybody else been besides you, Dr. Shinnar, your, your Spanish was almost fluent or close to it, and so, you know, we would all huddle around Ben and walk around with him to see what people are saying.\n\n**DB:** Ah, that\u2019s cool.\n\n**BP:** Connect with them.\n\n**DB:** Yeah. Did you learn anything, Chris? What did you learn? What\u2019s something you\u2019re gonna \u2014\n\n**CG:** I learned that ... and I\u2019ve continued to think about the trip since we got back all the time. Every day. I learned that one, America really put a hurtin\u2019 on Cuba. You can see that they're closest neighbor has just really tighten the clamps down and stifled their growth, so I really hope that changes soon. The people were so happy, and you know, a lot of them didn\u2019t have very much, and that\u2019s, ya know, to show that you don\u2019t need wealth or things to be really happy. I learned a lot about the economics and political situation, and kind of how that\u2019s changed over the years, the history \u2014 a lot of that.\n\n**DB:** So, Chris and I work together in the same department at App, and we got to see some of your pictures from there and it looked amazing.\n\n**CG:** Yeah, the first thing I did was show everybody the pictures, especially of me, you know, driving the old taxis or sitting in the driver\u2019s seat.\n\n**DB:** You got to drive the taxi? I don\u2019t think I saw that!\n\n**CG:** No, just in the driver\u2019s seat.\n\n**DB:** OK, right. You were pretending.\n\n**CG:** So yeah, they;re pretty jealous.\n\n**DB:** That\u2019s cool. Cuba is not the only place that you can go as a MBA student. What are some other places you can go, Chris?\n\n**CG:** Yeah, I saw, I saw like advertisements for Amsterdam, China, Tokyo or Japan. Did I say Thailand?\n\n**BP:** Yeah, I think the French Alps, French \u2014\n\n**CG:** Oh yeah. France. You can go to France. Brazil.\n\n**RS:** I think the beauty of the Cuba program is that it\u2019s so close ... two-hour flight and we\u2019re there, and we can take full advantage of our first day and our last day. We don\u2019t have jet lag. The climate is wonderful. We get away from snow in Boone, and we\u2019re in the Caribbean sunshine. So, that\u2019s one of the beauties of Cuba. And also, Cuba is seen a little bit as the forbidden fruit because you cannot legally go on your own as a tourist; you have to be part of some sort of program, and we offer that. And so, it\u2019s a rare opportunity to go to Cuba where you could not go on your own.\n\n**CG:** And I think that was a lot of the appeal for the students. I know that\u2019s why I chose Cuba because I was like, well, I\u2019ll never be able to go there by myself or without a group. I didn\u2019t know what to expect until we got into the classroom and we were talking about the history and we did a presentation, and it was really nice to also meet other students that were going so that the airport wasn\u2019t the first time that we were getting to know each other.\n\n**DB:** We\u2019ve got to share some pictures from the trip. Can we do that? Like on the website? That would be cool.\n\n**CG:** Yeah, so we\u2019re putting together a photo diary of the trip.\n\n**DB:** So, we\u2019ll definitely link to that.\n\n**CG:** Yeah, we\u2019ve chosen like 50 pictures, and they\u2019ve got captions, and it kind of talks about our progress through, through Cuba. Yes. We will link to that as well.\n\n**DB:** Ben and Chris, before we go, why did you choose Appalachian for the MBA program? Did you guys go to undergrad here?\n\n**CG:** I did not. I am a staff member at the university, so it was kind of a no-brainer \u2014\n\n**DB:** Right, makes sense.\n\n**CG:** \u2014 to walk out of work and down, you know, 200 feet to the business building and take classes after work.\n\n**DB:** OK, that makes sense. That\u2019s not super compelling, but it makes sense. Ben, what about you, man?\n\n**BP:** I didn\u2019t go here for undergrad, but I got accepted to the engineering physics department, or in the master\u2019s program in the department, and they were offering this dual master\u2019s degree, and so, I figured, well, while I\u2019m here, why wouldn\u2019t I take that? So.\n\n**DB:** You have a lot going on, Ben.\n\n**BP:** Yeah, I do.\n\n**DB:** Yeah, you really do. How old ... all your kids are under four?\n\n**BP:** Under the age of four.\n\n**DB:** Under the age of four and you\u2019re taking, you\u2019re getting two degrees and then you\u2019re going to Cuba, you know, you\u2019re a globetrotter.\n\n**CG:** Well, I have a question for Dr. Shinnar.\n\n**DB:** Yeah, please.\n\n**CG:** So how did you see the group change over time? And like, talk us through any dynamics you saw.\n\n**RS:** So, one of the beautiful things about the Cuba program is that we have very limited internet access, so people are not on their phones, they\u2019re actually with each other, which is I think a very different dynamic from how we behave when we\u2019re here and we have Wi-Fi everywhere we go. And in Cuba, it\u2019s very limited, and so people interacting a lot more than they would if we were maybe in a country where that was free Wi-fi everywhere. So, that\u2019s one thing that I really like about the Cuba program. I also like the opportunity to actually get to know students because I don\u2019t get to do that in the classroom. In the classroom. I see students twice a week for a couple hours, and I don\u2019t really get to know anything about them. In the Cuba program, the students present their research topics before we go and after we come back, and I get to see the dynamics between them and it was really nice, especially in this group, and like I said earlier, I don\u2019t know what the secret sauce was this year, but there was a really strong cohesiveness that built with the group, and our guide would come up to the bus every morning and say, \u201cGood morning, my good family.\u201d And I think that by \u2014\n\n**CG:** Hola Andreas.\n\n**RS:** \u2014 and I think that by the end of the week, we kind of felt like a family. There was this really strong cohesiveness, and people were supportive of each other and embraced each other. And we had people from all walks of life, undergrads, graduate students. We had a nice mix of racial diversity. We had younger students, people who had never been out of the country, people who were experienced travelers. And this group was also adventurous while we were in Havana. We had one free night, and they all went to see a baseball game with local Cubans.\n\n**DB:** Awesome!\n\n**RS:** And I think they had an amazing experience. And I wish I had been there. I was entertaining some of the Cuban professors for dinner. This was something that was very unique about the group this year.\n\n**DB:** Cool!\n\n**RS:** They really wanted to experience Cuba from the Cuban perspective and not from the tourist perspective.\n\n**CG:** Didn\u2019t hurt that we had a phenomenal tour guide and driver. Everybody just connected with them as well.\n\n**RS:** Yeah. So, the guide and the driver were with us every day, all day, all week long. And they become part of the family, too. They\u2019re featured in our photo album, and everybody wrote them a very beautiful thank you card before we left. And I think this is a really long-lasting experience and memory.\n\n**DB:** That\u2019s awesome.\n\n**CG:** I\u2019ve already done a little Facebook chatting with Andreas yesterday.\n\n**BP:** There were so many amazing aspects of the country, or at least of that part of the country that we saw.\n\n**CG:** Ben, was there a favorite part of the trip, or favorite day or favorite activity that we did?\n\n**BP:** I really loved the baseball game, so Cuban \u2014\n\n**CG:** Yeah.\n\n**DB:** That\u2019s amazing.\n\n**BP:** Yeah, Cuban baseball games are incredible. They have what you call an animador, which is someone who gets up, and they kind of like, they lead the crowd \u2014\n\n**DB:** The hype man, the animator!\n\n**BP:** Yeah, right! And he\u2019s not a cheerleader. He\u2019s an animator \u2014\n\n**DB:** Right, yeah, yeah.\n\n**BP:** And he was going from the minute we got there to the minute we left. He was three or four hours just constantly going, going. He was so high energy and so fun. He found out that we were Americans, and he loved it. He was like, \u201cOh wow. Hey, do you know this and know this?\u201d\n\n**CG:** Where were you guys sitting?\n\n**BP:** We were over right behind him.\n\n**CG:** Oh, like third base?\n\n**BP:** Yeah.\n\n**CG:** Did you see us behind the first base dugout?\n\n**BP:** Yeah, yeah totally.\n\n**CG:** Oh, OK.\n\n**BP:** And you were kind of heckling the Mexican team, weren\u2019t you?\n\n**CG:** I just wanted a baseball.\n\n**DB:** What?\n\n**CG:** I just wanted a baseball.\n\n**DB:** You were trying to get a baseball from the Mexican team that was playing?\n\n**CG:** Yeah.\n\n**DB:** Did you get one?\n\n**CG:** No, I didn\u2019t get one.\n\n**DB:** Nope, nope.\n\n**BP:** I think we were on Cuban TV like four times, because the animador would always, you know, call to the camera and whistle, and so we\u2019d all get up right in front of the camera. So, we were probably on Cuban TV.\n\n**DB:** That\u2019s awesome.\n\n**BP:** At least once.\n\n**CG:** So, Dr. Shinnar, after, and maybe you say this to every group, but I just felt like we had such an amazing time, no drama. How do you set up for the next trip?\n\n**RS:** So, I actually, I\u2019m not sure I will be able to replicate the experience we had this year because it was truly exceptional. There was no drama, there were no behavioral problems. Everybody was on time, wherever we needed to be, behaved in ways that I was feeling very comfortable in the way that we represent the university and the U.S. So, we really had zero problems this year, so it\u2019s going to be hard to replicate, but I just want to go back to the question that you asked about the favorite part of the trip. So, our farewell dinner, we always try to step it up a notch with the restaurant that we go to for our last night. And so, we went to a very nice restaurant, and then my co-leader, Dr. Whitaker, asked everyone to step up and share what their biggest lesson was, and every one of the people who came with us on the group, all the students and all the faculty, everybody got up and shared, and our guide was standing in the corner of the room listening, and so many people spoke about how welcoming the Cuban people were and how they felt wanted, and welcome and appreciated, and I could tell that our guide was really moved by what everything that students were saying. And I was very moved as well, because it was really sincere, it came from the heart and it was something that was very unique about this group. That I think everybody took this as a great opportunity to learn and not just as a trip to Cuba to party. And I think that was one of the variables that made the big difference in this year\u2019s group.\n\n**CG:** Well put.\n\n**RS:** Yeah.\n\n**DB:** Chris, we haven\u2019t gotten your, have we gotten your favorite moment?\n\n**CG:** I thought this wouldn\u2019t come back to me.\n\n**DB:** What was your favorite moment? It\u2019s a good question.\n\n**CG:** Yeah, that\u2019s true. It\u2019s hard to pick. I felt like every day we were there, like it was just the best day we\u2019ve had, but to that point, you know? I like the beach day. Of course, I\u2019m \u2014 what beach was it?\n\n**RS:** Cayo Jut\u00edas.\n\n**DB:** Alright.\n\n**CG:** It\u2019s just beautiful sand, beautiful beach. A full day to just relax and unwind. I really liked seeing the University of Havana and learning about their educational system. In Cuba, you don\u2019t pay for education all the way through your master's, which is not like it is in America.\n\n**DB:** It\u2019s a little different.\n\n**CG:** Yeah. Some of the times where we were able to just kind of cruise out on our own, or like enjoy ourselves at a restaurant, that was cool too. Just kick it around with cool people.\n\n**DB:** Dr. Shinnar, or where can people find out more about the trip to Cuba?\n\n**RS:** So, the College of Business has been part of our website that\u2019s focused on international programs, and all the programs are listed there and the links in the emails for the trip leaders would be there. The Office of International Education and Development, they also have an international page with all the different trips. The easiest way is just find out who is the trip leader and reach out to them.\n\n**DB:** Cool, just send an email?\n\n**RS:** Yep.\n\n**DB:** Well, it sounds like an awesome time, y\u2019all. Thanks for talking to me about it today. Anybody have anything else to add?\n\n**CG:** Sign up for Cuba.\n\n**DB:** Go to Cuba.\n\n**CG:** If there are any spots left, there might be like 20 people from last trip going again in January.\n\n**BP:** If we have the same tour guide. Oh yeah, definitely.\n\n**RS:** I\u2019ve been asking for him every year since I first met him three years ago.\n\n**DB:** Let\u2019s give him a shout out. What\u2019s his name?\n\n**RS:** Andreas Perez.\n\n**DB:** How do you say his last name?\n\n**RS:** Andreas Perez.\n\n**DB:** Alright. Andreas \u2014 that was a terrible R roll, I\u2019m sorry.\n\n**CG:** Let\u2019s give a shout out to Rolley.\n\n**BP:** Oh, Rolando, the bus driver. He was amazing.\n\n**DB:** Man. Well, Dr. Shinnar, Ben Perez, Chris Grulke \u2014 thank you all so much for being here today.\n\n**RS, CG,** **BP:** Thank you." + }, + { + "title": "Opinion | We Shouldn\u2019t Ignore Cuba (Published 2018) - The New York Times", + "title_detail": { + "type": "text/plain", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Opinion | We Shouldn\u2019t Ignore Cuba (Published 2018) - The New York Times" + }, + "links": [ + { + "rel": "alternate", + "type": "text/html", + "href": "https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMifkFVX3lxTE5GVXg1XzhpQXU3YThHQS15bkJUSktTYWYzUFF3V3hYQWFqTzR2Vm94bzhDY3FlREdITk1BRlg0M01ZWnZmQ3dKTmF2cERfY0ZENkhQSURpVzFUVjZjRi1Vd3RISHFWM0pkeXUyci1ZZmZTVTVwUkk1ODUxbTZPZw?oc=5" + } + ], + "link": "https://www.wttw.com/playlist/2018/04/27/outstanding-performers-international-jazz-day", + "id": "CBMifkFVX3lxTE5GVXg1XzhpQXU3YThHQS15bkJUSktTYWYzUFF3V3hYQWFqTzR2Vm94bzhDY3FlREdITk1BRlg0M01ZWnZmQ3dKTmF2cERfY0ZENkhQSURpVzFUVjZjRi1Vd3RISHFWM0pkeXUyci1ZZmZTVTVwUkk1ODUxbTZPZw", + "guidislink": false, + "published": "Tue, 17 Apr 2018 07:00:00 GMT", + "published_parsed": [ + 2018, + 4, + 17, + 7, + 0, + 0, + 1, + 107, + 0 + ], + "summary": "Opinion | We Shouldn\u2019t Ignore Cuba (Published 2018)  The New York Times", + "summary_detail": { + "type": "text/html", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Opinion | We Shouldn\u2019t Ignore Cuba (Published 2018)  The New York Times" + }, + "source": { + "href": "https://www.nytimes.com", + "title": "The New York Times" + }, + "sub_articles": [], + "status_code": 403, + "response": "Error: HTTP 403" + }, + { + "title": "A \u201cDoi Moi\u201d or Renovation for Cuba or Else - Havana Times", + "title_detail": { + "type": "text/plain", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "A \u201cDoi Moi\u201d or Renovation for Cuba or Else - Havana Times" + }, + "links": [ + { + "rel": "alternate", + "type": "text/html", + "href": "https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMifkFVX3lxTE82UExvY0Z2MHNjbTdzOWE1WHNDaW1INktFcnVuQTh1QnpYOFZwd2Q1VzhhM1d6Z1I1alNLci10V2EzZzBBX25zaU9qcEVyZzNxcGxKODZocjdLMC1Galg2MnZMUVR3d21QWXNCUUNQQjhQZk8xTWIzSjVUOEpMdw?oc=5" + } + ], + "link": "https://havanatimes.org/opinion/a-doi-moi-or-renovation-for-cuba-or-else/", + "id": "CBMifkFVX3lxTE82UExvY0Z2MHNjbTdzOWE1WHNDaW1INktFcnVuQTh1QnpYOFZwd2Q1VzhhM1d6Z1I1alNLci10V2EzZzBBX25zaU9qcEVyZzNxcGxKODZocjdLMC1Galg2MnZMUVR3d21QWXNCUUNQQjhQZk8xTWIzSjVUOEpMdw", + "guidislink": false, + "published": "Fri, 06 Apr 2018 07:00:00 GMT", + "published_parsed": [ + 2018, + 4, + 6, + 7, + 0, + 0, + 4, + 96, + 0 + ], + "summary": "A \u201cDoi Moi\u201d or Renovation for Cuba or Else  Havana Times", + "summary_detail": { + "type": "text/html", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "A \u201cDoi Moi\u201d or Renovation for Cuba or Else  Havana Times" + }, + "source": { + "href": "https://havanatimes.org", + "title": "Havana Times" + }, + "sub_articles": [], + "status_code": 200, + "response": "---\ntitle: A \u201cDoi Moi\u201d or Renovation for Cuba or Else - Havana Times\nauthor: Circles Robinson\nurl: https://havanatimes.org/opinion/a-doi-moi-or-renovation-for-cuba-or-else/\nhostname: havanatimes.org\ndescription: Cuba can learn from Viet Nam to overcome petty attitudes and vindictiveness such as prohibiting 100,000 Cuban expatriates from visiting their homeland, applying a surcharge on Cuban Americans Visas, Passports and Travel instead of devising events as Viet Nam, that encourage their return and investment.\nsitename: Havana Times\ndate: 2018-04-06\ncategories: ['Opinion']\n---\n# A \u201cDoi Moi\u201d or Renovation for Cuba or Else\n\n**By Alberto N Jones**\n\nHAVANA TIMES \u2013 On February 20th., 2018, I wrote, \u201cThe future of Cuba lies in Asia,\u201d with the sole intention of sharing my extraordinary experience with our readers, from where everyone can extract their own conclusions.\n\nAnti-Cuba ideologues of all stripes outside of Cuba, who oppose any progress in Cuba no matter how small, coincided with extremists on the island who are likewise against the feeble socio-economic changes introduced by the government. They are ready to denounce the slightest mistake, negligence or crimes committed by the anemic private enterprises with threats, fines or shutting them down, for the same crimes in vastly greater scope committed with impunity by the government run enterprises.\n\nMany friends were alarmed by the barrage of heavy artillery fire coming my way; who reminded me about the risks and negative effect it could have on my future travels to Cuba, like what happened to journalist Pedro Gonzalez Munne, who has been barred from visiting Cuba, although he dedicated much of his professional life to promote better relations between the United States and Cuba at his personal risk in Miami.\n\nInterestingly enough, the same words and views expressed in my article, can be found profusely across the front pages of Granma, Juventud Rebelde and Cubadebate without reproach or condemnation from any of those who were prepared to crucify an easy prey.\n\nWhat really matters to me, is to share ideas and my limited knowledge with the Cuban people while hoping to improve their lot, reduce their sufferings and to enable the country to continue its solidarity with others in need.\n\nSince the Special Period in the 1990\u2019s, Cuba has endured a critical financial down turn, which has reversed most of the nation\u2019s gains, demoralized its workforce, corrupted society, vulgarized the population, questioned the value of education, reduced child birth, stimulated migration with the loss of thousands of young, educated men and women, encouraged theft, violence and left a vulnerable aging society without resources and care.\n\nViet Nam went through a greater socio-political upheaval following the collectivization in 1975, which brought hunger, despair and millions of men, women and children left the country by air, land and sea. In 1986, the Party Congress introduced Doi Moi or Renovation, which eliminated the government involvement in non-basic industrial, agricultural and other sectors, liberating the human forces and encouraging the development of small and medium businesses.\n\nOut of the ashes and the devastation left by the brutal war with the United States, Viet Nam evolved into a model agricultural, industrial and prosperous society, which reduced poverty and unemployment from 70 to 10% in less than 35 years. It is the world\u2019s second largest producer of rice, coffee, flowers and others are in the pipeline, with a burgeoning construction, industrial, shipping, fishing and personal goods industry. Meanwhile, Cuba has obstinately persisted with its old socio-economic model that even Fidel declared was not working anymore.\n\nThe recent presence of Nguyen Phu Trong, secretary general of the Communist Party of Viet Nam in Cuba, turned out to be an example of brotherhood, solidarity and hopes of a bright future, by condoning Cuba\u2019s debt and by signing important agreements in agriculture, construction, environment, science and others.\n\nBut the urgent and intractable social ills that afflicts Cuba for decades, demand that the nation go faster and conclude deeper agreements than erasing debts, hand-outs and accepting donations, which are bound to re-emerge, if Cuba does not make decisive, deep structural changes as those taken by Viet Nam in 1986.\n\nBuilding a five star hotel and managing another, will not make a dent in Cuba\u2019s crumbling economy and its people. Albeit the immense human development that Viet Nam has achieved in 35 years, it still has 10 million people living under the poverty line and Cuba has millions of acres of follow lands. Why not consider instead importing hundreds of thousands of tons of rice from thousands of kilometers away, offering Vietnamese the opportunity to lease lands in Cuba and bring this yearly rice flotilla to an end.\n\nThe same can be said about Haiti and other English Speaking Caribbean islands whose tears, sweat and blood of its immigrant community, turned Cuba into the largest sugar producer in the world and an important coffee, cacao and coconut producer at the turn of the past century. Today they are banned from immigrating to Cuba, which can only be explained by xenophobia or prejudice.\n\nI was powerfully impressed by the mindset of the Vietnamese people, who fought decades against brutal wars of conquest by China, Japan, France and the United States, but while remembering these criminal acts, they refuse to be weighted and trapped in the past, preferring to focus their efforts on their brilliant future.\n\nHere too, Cuba can learn from Viet Nam to overcome petty attitudes and vindictiveness such as prohibiting 100,000 Cuban expatriates from visiting their homeland, applying a surcharge on Cuban Americans Visas, Passports and Travel instead of devising events as Viet Nam, that encourage their return and investment.\n\nThe Cuban government is absorbed with menial monetary activities such as penalizing the entire population with at least a 150% surcharge on everything sold in \u201cHard Currency\u201d, while ignoring the Big Picture of promoting the Mariel Special Zone as America\u2019s huge distribution centers for e-commerce giants Ali Baba, Tencent, IKEA, JC.COM, which would boost the shipping business and require the employment of tens of thousands of workers.\n\nThe growth of Cuba tourism, has been a boom for foreign air carriers, from which the dying Cubana de Aviacion receives less than 1%. Likewise, the Caribbean and Central America are in dire need of improved air and sea connections, for which Cuba could explore creating a joint venture with, for example, Singapore Airlines, the best in the business and enabling it to absorb millions of tourists coming to Cuba and by offering the Caribbean the quality service it deserves.\n\nIf at this life and death juncture, the Cuban government does not introduce its own Doi Moi, they may live to regret it.\n\n\nSome genuinely interesting points you have written.Helped me a lot, just what I was\n\nsearching for :D.\n\nCubans are already regretting the dictatorship\u2019s recalcitrant attitude. Cuban government leadership, it would seem, would prefer to remain in the economic stone ages and continue firmly in control of the Cuban people as opposed to modernize the Cuban economy but risk losing power." + }, + { + "title": "The challenges facing Cuba\u2019s likely new leader - CNN", + "title_detail": { + "type": "text/plain", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "The challenges facing Cuba\u2019s likely new leader - CNN" + }, + "links": [ + { + "rel": "alternate", + "type": "text/html", + "href": "https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiqAFBVV95cUxQOFBNZEpYZ1h3aXJqVzBEY2I2cEVQWDN2YTJyMGVfd2Rfd3pKbnFrTE85NHBvSE5SXzRETjZFVEpyVlJhajQ1MlNsNFpUVUYzMlF4dTYyS3NTSGtTcS1wMW8xME5yZnMxZ0dySFNFNnMzRm9rRGx5enk0bXhVbS1Id3NSX29naUpWQ3FsNlRJUFRLRUNQN2VKdHFNdmNrX0JHV1hnNWh0Mzc?oc=5" + } + ], + "link": "https://www.cnn.com/videos/world/2018/04/18/miguel-diaz-canel-cuba-presidential-candidate-oppmann-pkg.cnn", + "id": "CBMiqAFBVV95cUxQOFBNZEpYZ1h3aXJqVzBEY2I2cEVQWDN2YTJyMGVfd2Rfd3pKbnFrTE85NHBvSE5SXzRETjZFVEpyVlJhajQ1MlNsNFpUVUYzMlF4dTYyS3NTSGtTcS1wMW8xME5yZnMxZ0dySFNFNnMzRm9rRGx5enk0bXhVbS1Id3NSX29naUpWQ3FsNlRJUFRLRUNQN2VKdHFNdmNrX0JHV1hnNWh0Mzc", + "guidislink": false, + "published": "Wed, 18 Apr 2018 07:00:00 GMT", + "published_parsed": [ + 2018, + 4, + 18, + 7, + 0, + 0, + 2, + 108, + 0 + ], + "summary": "The challenges facing Cuba\u2019s likely new leader  CNN", + "summary_detail": { + "type": "text/html", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "The challenges facing Cuba\u2019s likely new leader  CNN" + }, + "source": { + "href": "https://www.cnn.com", + "title": "CNN" + }, + "sub_articles": [], + "status_code": 200, + "response": "---\ntitle: The challenges facing Cuba\u2019s likely new leader | CNN\nauthor: Published ; Wed April\nurl: https://www.cnn.com/videos/world/2018/04/18/miguel-diaz-canel-cuba-presidential-candidate-oppmann-pkg.cnn\nhostname: cnn.com\ndescription: CNN\u2019s Patrick Oppmann reports on the man expected to be the next leader of Cuba, Miguel Diaz-Canel, and the challenges facing the country.\nsitename: CNN\ndate: 2018-04-18\ntags: ['caribbean, cuba, latin america, miguel diaz-canel, patrick oppmann, political figures - intl', 'caribbean, cuba, latin america, miguel diaz-canel, patrick oppmann, political figures - intl']\n---\nVideo Ad Feedback\n\nThe challenges facing Cuba's likely new leader\n\nCNN's Patrick Oppmann reports on the man expected to be the next leader of Cuba, Miguel Diaz-Canel, and the challenges facing the country.\n\n2:38\n\u2022 Source:\nCNN\n\nLife in Cuba\n9 videos" + }, + { + "title": "Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel gives first speech in Assembly - Al Jazeera", + "title_detail": { + "type": "text/plain", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel gives first speech in Assembly - Al Jazeera" + }, + "links": [ + { + "rel": "alternate", + "type": "text/html", + "href": "https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiqAFBVV95cUxPYWg4aWVYR05VY2F5a285azM4bkY0X1JQdGV4MF9OZnk1TEJpVV9WZUw2YmhjWW0wZ2hMbHJfRENEd1JMeHplVHR5eEtaQ0pibm1ReGVIeUJSRGhHY244RzdzWFNGUXFXQms0a2VzanRCOHFIcEgtdzR6bmEyUEx3M2pwVGp2VUplTFlyczlsU3ptSWNmQUtmMW9WVHVKbnctUjVCaUtkSk3SAa4BQVVfeXFMT0J5N0g5TTJ2dEN1b19Ea2JNUkYyajlyT1FINXZpS01aUXRBeU9PenowaW9tRDJmbmU4UUtmSXJEN0NsSlRzVWo4Zk9PSW5kbTh0TmdEd0RkMloxR25rTzljTy10UGVwenBDUEJtbWNoZXFXTXZWczhPMVUzV2pqdVgxMTc0OUZPY1NyUFVuOWNsd3M2ZklVWU5mNGE2M3JhdU1GYWZSWmNXTDZBT05B?oc=5" + } + ], + "link": "https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/17/opinion/cuba-castro-united-states.html", + "id": "CBMiqAFBVV95cUxPYWg4aWVYR05VY2F5a285azM4bkY0X1JQdGV4MF9OZnk1TEJpVV9WZUw2YmhjWW0wZ2hMbHJfRENEd1JMeHplVHR5eEtaQ0pibm1ReGVIeUJSRGhHY244RzdzWFNGUXFXQms0a2VzanRCOHFIcEgtdzR6bmEyUEx3M2pwVGp2VUplTFlyczlsU3ptSWNmQUtmMW9WVHVKbnctUjVCaUtkSk3SAa4BQVVfeXFMT0J5N0g5TTJ2dEN1b19Ea2JNUkYyajlyT1FINXZpS01aUXRBeU9PenowaW9tRDJmbmU4UUtmSXJEN0NsSlRzVWo4Zk9PSW5kbTh0TmdEd0RkMloxR25rTzljTy10UGVwenBDUEJtbWNoZXFXTXZWczhPMVUzV2pqdVgxMTc0OUZPY1NyUFVuOWNsd3M2ZklVWU5mNGE2M3JhdU1GYWZSWmNXTDZBT05B", + "guidislink": false, + "published": "Thu, 19 Apr 2018 07:00:00 GMT", + "published_parsed": [ + 2018, + 4, + 19, + 7, + 0, + 0, + 3, + 109, + 0 + ], + "summary": "Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel gives first speech in Assembly  Al Jazeera", + "summary_detail": { + "type": "text/html", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel gives first speech in Assembly  Al Jazeera" + }, + "source": { + "href": "https://www.aljazeera.com", + "title": "Al Jazeera" + }, + "sub_articles": [], + "status_code": 403, + "response": "Error: HTTP 403" + }, + { + "title": "Cubans in Florida Have Waited to See Castros Go, but No One Is Celebrating (Published 2018) - The New York Times", + "title_detail": { + "type": "text/plain", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Cubans in Florida Have Waited to See Castros Go, but No One Is Celebrating (Published 2018) - The New York Times" + }, + "links": [ + { + "rel": "alternate", + "type": "text/html", + "href": "https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMieEFVX3lxTE9xRzJBTS1JLVF6NW9xM09TbDFVa1c5bFJndTRkZERpRExOazZ4Y1J0ZGd0WHJUTlNnZHo2akQ3amg0RGpZTzdjWUNwb3VJLTgyeE1MVXprd3FRNXBKaWtqblZ5cXl5aEdzT0VpYnRTU1RwUFgxVEp1bA?oc=5" + } + ], + "link": "https://www.tpr.org/2018-04-17/for-the-first-time-in-decades-a-castro-wont-lead-cuba", + "id": "CBMieEFVX3lxTE9xRzJBTS1JLVF6NW9xM09TbDFVa1c5bFJndTRkZERpRExOazZ4Y1J0ZGd0WHJUTlNnZHo2akQ3amg0RGpZTzdjWUNwb3VJLTgyeE1MVXprd3FRNXBKaWtqblZ5cXl5aEdzT0VpYnRTU1RwUFgxVEp1bA", + "guidislink": false, + "published": "Thu, 19 Apr 2018 07:00:00 GMT", + "published_parsed": [ + 2018, + 4, + 19, + 7, + 0, + 0, + 3, + 109, + 0 + ], + "summary": "Cubans in Florida Have Waited to See Castros Go, but No One Is Celebrating (Published 2018)  The New York Times", + "summary_detail": { + "type": "text/html", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Cubans in Florida Have Waited to See Castros Go, but No One Is Celebrating (Published 2018)  The New York Times" + }, + "source": { + "href": "https://www.nytimes.com", + "title": "The New York Times" + }, + "sub_articles": [], + "status_code": 403, + "response": "Error: HTTP 403" + }, + { + "title": "Raul Castro steps down as Cuban president, outlines future - The Globe and Mail", + "title_detail": { + "type": "text/plain", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Raul Castro steps down as Cuban president, outlines future - The Globe and Mail" + }, + "links": [ + { + "rel": "alternate", + "type": "text/html", + "href": "https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMingFBVV95cUxOTXJHcUh6YVhSVlo3NHgyMTV1b0RVdGM5LXo3MlBKNTFLV2ZkRXF4SVNUeFlxSGpSVjRyc2doTUNUNG4yU3B2OS1TQUZTb2xpYXljeE01R2lwSEV2NkRGVEtuSUlmSmxxTmFpT2pNbFVhTV91ZExETHpEMlBlWVh2NkhmdHcyU0JJeWFDYTVBdXI4c2lLa2EyYWl2bWh6UQ?oc=5" + } + ], + "link": "https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/4/19/cuban-president-miguel-diaz-canel-gives-first-speech-in-assembly", + "id": "CBMingFBVV95cUxOTXJHcUh6YVhSVlo3NHgyMTV1b0RVdGM5LXo3MlBKNTFLV2ZkRXF4SVNUeFlxSGpSVjRyc2doTUNUNG4yU3B2OS1TQUZTb2xpYXljeE01R2lwSEV2NkRGVEtuSUlmSmxxTmFpT2pNbFVhTV91ZExETHpEMlBlWVh2NkhmdHcyU0JJeWFDYTVBdXI4c2lLa2EyYWl2bWh6UQ", + "guidislink": false, + "published": "Thu, 19 Apr 2018 07:00:00 GMT", + "published_parsed": [ + 2018, + 4, + 19, + 7, + 0, + 0, + 3, + 109, + 0 + ], + "summary": "Raul Castro steps down as Cuban president, outlines future  The Globe and Mail", + "summary_detail": { + "type": "text/html", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Raul Castro steps down as Cuban president, outlines future  The Globe and Mail" + }, + "source": { + "href": "https://www.theglobeandmail.com", + "title": "The Globe and Mail" + }, + "sub_articles": [], + "status_code": 200, + "response": "---\ntitle: Cuba\u2019s new president pledges continuity\nurl: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/4/19/cuban-president-miguel-diaz-canel-gives-first-speech-in-assembly\nhostname: aljazeera.com\ndescription: Miguel Diaz-Canel's election marks first time in nearly six decades the Communist country will not be led by a Castro.\nsitename: Al Jazeera\ndate: 2018-04-19\ntags: ['Miguel Diaz-Canel, Raul Castro', 'News, Miguel Diaz-Canel, Raul Castro, Cuba, Latin America']\n---\n# Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel gives first speech in Assembly\n\n*Miguel Diaz-Canel\u2019s election marks first time in nearly six decades the Communist country will not be led by a Castro.*\n\nThe Cuban National Assembly has formally elected Miguel Diaz-Canel as the country\u2019s new president.\n\nThe vote on Thursday marked the end of an era for Cuba, making Diaz-Canel the first person outside the Castro family to rule the country in 59 years.\n\n\u201cThe mandate given by the people to this house is to give continuity to the Cuban revolution in a crucial historic moment,\u201d said Diaz-Canel during his first speech as president at the National Assembly.\n\n\u201cWhat we\u2019re seeing here which is fascinating, is a new chapter with the same text,\u201d said Lucia Newman, Al Jazeera\u2019s Latin America Editor, reporting from Havana.\n\nRaul Castro, the previous president, stepped down after two five-year terms.\n\nRaul is the brother of the late Fidel Castro, who overthrew dictator Fulgencio Batista in the 1959 revolution and led the country for decades.\n\n\u201cMost Cubans observers also know that with Raul Castro stepping aside, there wasn\u2019t going to be a major change,\u201d our correspondent said.\n\n|\n|\n\n\nDiaz-Canel\u2019s nomination as the head of the 31-member Council of State was officially confirmed on Thursday. He was the only candidate.\n\nThe Castro family had ruled the socialist nation since the 1959 revolution.\n\nCastro will remain the head of the ruling Communist Party until 2021 and is expected to continue to play an important role in policy decisions.\n\n\u201cI think one of the reasons why Diaz-Canel was an obvious candidate was because he\u2019s respected, he is clearly ideologically-sound,\u201d Antoni Kapcia, a professor of Latin America History at the University of Nottingham, told Al Jazeera.\n\n\u201cThe government is unlikely to do anything which is significantly against what they know Raul Castro to want.\u201d\n\n## \u2018Continuity foretold\u2019\n\nAl Jazeera\u2019s Newman said: \u201cThe Communist Party of Cuba is more important than the National Assembly or even the Council of State.\n\n\u201cThey set the guidelines for the country and Raul Castro is going to remain as head of that all-powerful Communist Party. So certainly Diaz-Canel is not going to be able to run off to become the great reformer, even if he wanted to \u2013 and, from what we understand, that is not his position.\n\n\u201cThis is a story of continuity foretold.\u201d\n\nIn his speech, Diaz-Canel said: \u201cThere is no space here for a transition that ignores or destroys the legacy of so many years of struggle.\u201d\n\n|\n|\n\nThe transfer of power comes at a precarious time in Cuba\u2019s history. Cuban allies in Latin America have been voted out of government positions across the region in recent years.\n\nA detente between the US and Cuba, longtime adversaries, has slowed after Donald Trump became president in 2017.\n\n\u201cCuban foreign policy will remain unchanged and we reiterate that no one will be able to weaken the Revolution, nor make the Cuban people yield because Cuba does not make concessions against its sovereignty and independence\u201d said Diaz-Canel.\n\n\u201cWe will never give in to pressure or threats. The changes that are necessary will continue to be decided sovereignly by the Cuban people.\n\n## Limits of detente\n\nKapcia said: \u201cThe deterioration in relations has entirely come from the US point of view. The Cubans very clearly want proper relations with the US. They welcomed Obama.\n\n\u201cThey also knew the limits of the Obama detente and they are cautious.\n\n\u201cBut at the same it\u2019s in their interest to have some kind of end to the embargo, to have normal relations and to avoid a hostility.\u201d\n\nCuba facing economic difficulties after Raul, who succeeded his brother Fidel as president in 2008, initiated market-style reforms that were agreed to in 2011.\n\n|\n|\n\nThough the reforms caused a boom in the Cuban economy, they have since slowed.\n\n\u201cDespite the errors and insufficiencies recognised in this plenary, the situation is more favourable than a few years ago,\u201d Castro, 86, was quoted as saying by party newspaper Granma.\n\nPolitical campaigning is outlawed in Cuba, so little is known about Diaz-Canel\u2019s plans to navigate these challenges.\n\nHowever, there is reason to believe the president will continue with liberalising social policies, given his past support for LGBT rights, expanded internet access and loosening government controls on media.\n\nStill, Diaz-Canel is not known to support changing Cuba\u2019s government from the one-party system in place since the revolution, a demand from anti-Castro politicians in the US.\n\nAccording to Ted Piccone, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, the Trump administration will most probably \u201cdouble down\u201d on its \u201cembrace of punitive regime change\u201d in Cuba after Diaz-Canel assumes power." + }, + { + "title": "For The First Time In Decades, A Castro Won't Lead Cuba - Texas Public Radio | TPR", + "title_detail": { + "type": "text/plain", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "For The First Time In Decades, A Castro Won't Lead Cuba - Texas Public Radio | TPR" + }, + "links": [ + { + "rel": "alternate", + "type": "text/html", + "href": "https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMijAFBVV95cUxNLWpqTlhRMnhVMF83dUxpMnRtaW1lRDljal9XaEFlWmtOVS1aOS1wbmo0c0wyWEFGZkh6X1NHc3hILXpQTkgyNEpxcWx0dU5GblluSHM3UDRjSnQtVmpTZHQwNVZDNXlSRXMxMFFwcjhnbW05RWhYNG9GNXllZERoZFZJaGdVVU9JeVQtNw?oc=5" + } + ], + "link": "https://www.theglobeandmail.com/world/article-diaz-canel-replaces-raul-castro-as-cuban-president/", + "id": "CBMijAFBVV95cUxNLWpqTlhRMnhVMF83dUxpMnRtaW1lRDljal9XaEFlWmtOVS1aOS1wbmo0c0wyWEFGZkh6X1NHc3hILXpQTkgyNEpxcWx0dU5GblluSHM3UDRjSnQtVmpTZHQwNVZDNXlSRXMxMFFwcjhnbW05RWhYNG9GNXllZERoZFZJaGdVVU9JeVQtNw", + "guidislink": false, + "published": "Tue, 17 Apr 2018 07:00:00 GMT", + "published_parsed": [ + 2018, + 4, + 17, + 7, + 0, + 0, + 1, + 107, + 0 + ], + "summary": "For The First Time In Decades, A Castro Won't Lead Cuba  Texas Public Radio | TPR", + "summary_detail": { + "type": "text/html", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "For The First Time In Decades, A Castro Won't Lead Cuba  Texas Public Radio | TPR" + }, + "source": { + "href": "https://www.tpr.org", + "title": "Texas Public Radio | TPR" + }, + "sub_articles": [], + "status_code": 200, + "response": "---\ntitle: Raul Castro steps down as Cuban president, outlines future\nauthor: Michael Weissenstein; Andrea Rodriguez\nurl: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/world/article-diaz-canel-replaces-raul-castro-as-cuban-president/\nhostname: theglobeandmail.com\ndescription: The 86-year-old Castro will remain head of the Communist Party as he hands power over to Miguel Mario Diaz-Canel Bermudez\nsitename: The Globe and Mail\ndate: 2018-04-19\ntags: ['Raul Castro,cuba,miguel diaz-canel,cuba president,president,Cuba,Castro,mr castro,Mr Castro,Diaz-Canel,mr diaz-canel,Mr Diaz-Canel,Communist,Miguel Mario Diaz-Canel Bermudez,Richard Perez', 'Raul Castro,cuba,miguel diaz-canel,cuba president,president,Cuba,Castro,mr castro,Mr Castro,Diaz-Canel,mr diaz-canel,Mr Diaz-Canel,Communist,Miguel Mario Diaz-Canel Bermudez,Richard Perez', 'Social Issues']\n---\nRaul Castro handed over Cuba\u2019s presidency Thursday to a hand-picked 57-year-old successor he said would hold power until 2031, a plan that would place the state the Castro brothers founded and ruled for six decades in the hands of a Communist Party official who remains little known to most people on the island.\n\nMr. Castro\u2019s 90-minute valedictory speech offered his first clear vision for the country\u2019s future power structure under President Miguel Mario Diaz-Canel Bermudez. Mr. Castro said he foresees the white-haired electronics engineer serving two five-year terms as leader of the government, and taking the helm of the Communist Party, Cuba\u2019s ultimate authority, when Mr. Castro leaves that post in 2021.\n\n\u201cFrom that point on, I will be just another soldier defending this revolution,\u201d Mr. Castro said. The 86-year-old general broke frequently from his prepared remarks to joke and banter with officials on the dais in the National Assembly, saying he looked forward to having more time to travel the country.\n\nIn his own half-hour speech to the country, Mr. Diaz-Canel pledged to preserve Cuba\u2019s communist system while gradually reforming the economy and making the government more responsive to the people.\n\n\u201cThere\u2019s no space here for a transition that ignores or destroys the legacy of so many years of struggle,\u201d Mr. Diaz-Canel said. \u201cFor us, it\u2019s totally clear that only the Communist Party of Cuba, the guiding force of society and the state, guarantees the unity of the nation of Cuba.\u201d\n\nHe said he would work to implement a long-term plan laid out by the National Assembly and Communist Party to permit moderate growth of private enterprises such as restaurants and taxis, while leaving the economy\u2019s most important sectors \u2013 energy, mining, telecommunications, medical services and the production of rum and cigars \u2013 in the hands of the state.\n\n\u201cThe people have given this assembly the mandate to provide continuity to the Cuban Revolution during a crucial, historic moment that will be defined by all that we achieve in the advance of the modernization of our social and economic model,\u201d Mr. Diaz-Canel said.\n\nCubans said they expected their new leader to deliver improvements to the island\u2019s economy, which remains stagnant, dominated by inefficient state-run enterprises that are unable to provide salaries high enough to cover basic needs. The average monthly pay for state workers is roughly US$30 a month, forcing many to steal from their workplaces and depend on remittances from relatives abroad.\n\n\u201cI hope that Diaz-Canel brings prosperity,\u201d said Richard Perez, a souvenir salesman in Old Havana. \u201cI want to see changes, above all economic changes allowing people to have their own businesses, without the state in charge of so many things.\u201d\n\nBut in Miami, Cuban-Americans said they didn\u2019t expect much from Mr. Diaz-Canel.\n\nLourdes Diaz, 65, who left Cuba as a child in 1955 before Fidel Castro took power, said life on the island will be \u201cexactly\u201d the same under the new leader. Julio Cesar Alfonso, president of Solidarity Without Borders, called the change of leadership a \u201cfarce.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s a cosmetic change,\u201d said Wilfriedo Allen, a 66-year-old lawyer in Miami who left Cuba in 1961. \u201cThe reality is that Raul Castro is still controlling the Communist Party. We are very far from having a democratic Cuba.\u201d\n\nAfter formally taking over from his brother, Fidel Castro, in 2008, Raul Castro launched a series of reforms that led to rapid expansion of Cuba\u2019s private sector and burgeoning use of cellphones and internet. Cuba today has a vibrant real estate market and one of the world\u2019s fastest-growing airports. Tourism numbers have more than doubled since Raul Castro and U.S. president Barack Obama re-established diplomatic relations in 2015, making Cuba a destination for nearly five million visitors a year, despite renewed tensions in relations under the Trump administration.\n\nStill, the Soviet-style command economy employs three of every four Cuban workers and produces little, while private-sector growth has been largely frozen since last year. Foreign investment remains anemic and the island\u2019s infrastructure is falling deeper into disrepair. The election of President Donald Trump dashed dreams of detente with the United States and, after two decades of getting Venezuelan subsidies totalling more than US$6-billion a year, Cuba\u2019s patron has collapsed economically, with no replacement in the wings.\n\nMr. Castro\u2019s moves to open the economy have largely been frozen or reversed as soon as they began to generate conspicuous shows of wealth by the new entrepreneurial class in a country officially dedicated to equality among its citizens. His inability or unwillingness to fix Cuba\u2019s structural problems with deep and wide-ranging reforms has many wondering how a successor without Mr. Castro\u2019s founding-father credentials will manage the country over the next five or 10 years.\n\n\u201cI want the country to advance,\u201d said Susel Calzado, a 61-year-old economics professor. \u201cWe already have a plan laid out.\u201d\n\nWith Mr. Castro watching from the audience, Mr. Diaz-Canel made clear that for the moment he would defer to the man who, along with his brother Fidel, has ruled one of the world\u2019s last communist governments since 1959.\n\n\u201cI confirm to this assembly that Raul Castro, as first secretary of the Communist Party, will lead the decisions about the future of the country,\u201d Mr. Diaz-Canel said. \u201cCuba needs him, providing ideas and proposals for the revolutionary cause, orienting and alerting us about any error or deficiency, teaching us, and always ready to confront imperialism.\u201d\n\nMost Cubans have known their new President as an uncharismatic figure who until recently maintained a public profile so low it was virtually non-existent. That image changed slightly this year as state media placed an increasing spotlight on Mr. Diaz-Canel\u2019s public appearances, including remarks to the media last month that included his promise to make Cuba\u2019s government more responsive to its people, language he echoed on Thursday.\n\nMr. Diaz-Canel gained prominence in central Villa Clara province as the top Communist Party official, a post equivalent to governor. People there describe him as a hard-working, modest-living technocrat dedicated to improving public services. He became higher-education minister in 2009 before moving into the vice-presidency.\n\nAt the U.S. State Department, spokeswoman Heather Nauert expressed disappointment at the handover, saying Cuban citizens \u201chad no real power to affect the outcome\u201d of what she called the \u201cundemocratic transition\u201d that brought Mr. Diaz-Canal to the presidency.\n\nCuban state media said Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Mr. Diaz-Canel and thanked Mr. Castro for the many years of co-operation between the two countries, while Chinese President Xi Jinping also reaffirmed his country\u2019s friendship with Cuba and expressed interest in deeper ties.\n\nIn a video of a Communist Party meeting that inexplicably leaked to the public last year, Mr. Diaz-Canel expressed a series of orthodox positions that included sombrely pledging to shutter some independent media and labelling some European embassies as outposts of foreign subversion.\n\nBut he has also defended academics and bloggers who became targets of hard-liners, leading some to describe him a potential advocate for greater openness in a system intolerant of virtually any criticism or dissent. International observers and Cubans alike will be scrutinizing every move he makes in coming days and weeks.\n\nAs in Cuba\u2019s legislative elections, all of the leaders selected Wednesday were picked by a government-appointed commission. Ballots offer only the option of approval or disapproval and candidates generally receive more than 95 per cent of the votes in their favour. Mr. Diaz-Canel was approved by 604 votes in the 605-member assembly. It was unclear if he had abstained or someone else had declined to endorse him.\n\nThe assembly also approved another six vice-presidents of the Council of State, Cuba\u2019s highest government body. Only one, 85-year-old Ramiro Valdes, was among the revolutionaries who fought with the Castros in the late 1950s in the eastern Sierra Maestra mountains." + }, + { + "title": "Views from a Changing Cuba as Ra\u00fal Castro Steps Down - Toward Freedom", + "title_detail": { + "type": "text/plain", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Views from a Changing Cuba as Ra\u00fal Castro Steps Down - Toward Freedom" + }, + "links": [ + { + "rel": "alternate", + "type": "text/html", + "href": "https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMipgFBVV95cUxPWnBYdmEzZUMwSEdZUWl5d2FlTmdtOEYxZGVHcjMtUHJONXJTdURoc0dtSUZXU1hEaWs2U3NjNWY4TnhYSjNNZl9sNnBQb2todlBoWlcxY2ZnQUptOVJLY3pQTUVjaDRpRmIzU1BWMWVmOEFKXzRCaTIzX1JxMWY2RE5FQ0xEUnk4OEZTMWk5WTFjV1Q1VXUzR1ROVnVHVnh4T291cHp3?oc=5" + } + ], + "link": "https://towardfreedom.org/story/archives/americas/views-from-a-changing-cuba-as-raul-castro-steps-down/", + "id": "CBMipgFBVV95cUxPWnBYdmEzZUMwSEdZUWl5d2FlTmdtOEYxZGVHcjMtUHJONXJTdURoc0dtSUZXU1hEaWs2U3NjNWY4TnhYSjNNZl9sNnBQb2todlBoWlcxY2ZnQUptOVJLY3pQTUVjaDRpRmIzU1BWMWVmOEFKXzRCaTIzX1JxMWY2RE5FQ0xEUnk4OEZTMWk5WTFjV1Q1VXUzR1ROVnVHVnh4T291cHp3", + "guidislink": false, + "published": "Thu, 19 Apr 2018 07:00:00 GMT", + "published_parsed": [ + 2018, + 4, + 19, + 7, + 0, + 0, + 3, + 109, + 0 + ], + "summary": "Views from a Changing Cuba as Ra\u00fal Castro Steps Down  Toward Freedom", + "summary_detail": { + "type": "text/html", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Views from a Changing Cuba as Ra\u00fal Castro Steps Down  Toward Freedom" + }, + "source": { + "href": "https://towardfreedom.org", + "title": "Toward Freedom" + }, + "sub_articles": [], + "status_code": 200, + "response": "---\ntitle: Views from a Changing Cuba as Ra\u00fal Castro Steps Down\nauthor: Nat Winthrop\nurl: https://towardfreedom.org/story/archives/americas/views-from-a-changing-cuba-as-raul-castro-steps-down/\nhostname: towardfreedom.org\ndescription: As Cuban President Ra\u00fal Castro stepped down from office today, Cuba is expected to enter a period of dramatic change. Eager to witness the final days of the nearly six decades of Castro rule in Cuba, my son and I recently visited the island nation. We were provided a view of a communist country marked by profound continuities and changes in Cuban culture, the arts, and technology.\nsitename: Toward Freedom\ndate: 2018-04-19\ncategories: ['Americas']\n---\nAs Cuban President Ra\u00fal Castro stepped down from office today, Cuba is expected to enter a period of dramatic change. Eager to witness the final days of the nearly six decades of Castro rule in Cuba, my son and I recently visited the island nation. We were provided a view of a communist country marked by profound continuities and changes in Cuban culture, the arts, and technology.\n\nWe arrived on February 20, while a Congressional delegation headed by Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont was there meeting with Castro, Cuban ministers, entrepreneurs, and ambassadors from several foreign countries. The delegation held meetings regarding the presidential transition, immigration, diplomacy, and new US Treasury Department regulations which re-impose travel restrictions on US citizens visiting Cuba. Travel restrictions had been reduced in 2016, when Obama made a historic visit to Cuba, meeting with Ra\u00fal Castro.\n\nUnder President Trump, however, US policy has returned to pre-Obama restrictions. As a result, American tourism to Cuba has plummeted, and US citizens are again far outnumbered by Canadian and European visitors. Those wanting to travel directly from the US \u2013 as opposed to going through Canada or Mexico \u2013 must obtain a visa and check one of 18 boxes explaining the purpose of one\u2019s travel. These include family visits, official business, educational activities, humanitarian projects, and \u201csupport for the Cuban people.\u201d We checked the \u201cjournalistic activities\u201d box.\n\nAs our departure date approached, my son and I were warned by experts on the country and a Cuban expat who used to work for the University of Havana that we would need to be very careful in how we conducted ourselves there. They explained that foreigners \u2013 especially Americans \u2013 must obtain a journalistic visa from the Cuban government to conduct journalistic activities and that people we interview there could also get in trouble for talking to us. They advised that since there was no time to obtain a journalistic visa we should pose as tourists and avoid asking political questions, especially in public places. They further warned that many Cuban residents will report \u201csuspicious\u201d activities.\n\nWe took their advice and determined we would report on contemporary Cuban culture, the arts, and technology. These turned out to be excellent choices: they opened doors that revealed fascinating aspects of Cuban life. And, sure enough, when we did broach political questions, nearly everyone we spoke with clammed up.\n\n\u201cI can speak whatever I want but not so much that can get me into trouble or in prison,\u201d one musician we interviewed explained. \u201cIn Cuba you can go to prison for ten or fifteen years if you say something bad about the Cuban revolution. You cannot go to the Plaza de la Revoluci\u00f3n and shout \u2018Down with Castro brothers,\u2019 because you\u2019re risking to get imprisoned.\u201d\n\nHaving traveled to Puerto Rico, Jamaica, and several other Caribbean countries, we were totally unprepared for the culture shock we experienced on our first visit to Havana. With its vintage cars, colonial architecture, and communist government, in many ways Havana appears stuck in time some 50 years ago. Yet there has been some significant change over the past several years and, with Ra\u00fal Castro stepping down, the pace of change may be poised to accelerate.\n\nA major economic change, which started around 2010, has been the slow introduction of free enterprise. This started with Cubans being allowed to own their own taxis, casa particulars (B&Bs), and small restaurants. With the government typically paying doctors, lawyers, professors, other professionals, and government workers between $20 and $40 USD a month, these small-time entrepreneurs can earn far more. Indeed, many doctors, lawyers, and others have quit their jobs to open restaurants, B&Bs or operate taxi services, car repair shops or other small businesses. Most other government employees moonlight to break out of their subsistence lifestyles.\n\nAfter the collapse of the Soviet Union, which had offered major financial support to the island, oil-rich Venezuela under Hugo Ch\u00e1vez stepped in to fill the gap. But when the price of oil plummeted in 2008 it hurt the Venezuelan economy and had a ripple effect on Cuba. And the global recession of 2008-09, while it didn\u2019t impact Cuba as directly as most western countries, only made matters worse.\n\nA that time, \u201cthe government told 800,000 people, \u2018Sorry, we don\u2019t have jobs for you but you can open your own business,\u2019 what they call the private sector,\u201d according to one Cuban we spoke with.\n\nWhile quality health care and education are free, the majority of Cubans are very poor and live hand-to-mouth. Many agricultural workers make only about the equivalent of $5 a month. An elderly couple we met on the street invited us to visit their tiny, squalid apartment next door to a tourist restaurant featuring Ernest Hemmingway d\u00e9cor. They complained that the government told them 15 years ago they would be moved into a decent house, but they\u2019re still waiting.\n\n\u201cMarc\u201d (he asked we not use his real name so he could speak candidly), a Polish \u00e9migr\u00e9 musician who splits his time between London and Havana, spoke at length with us about his time in Cuba. When he first visited the country in 1999, after seeing Wim Wenders\u2019 *Buena Vista Social Club,* he fell in love with the Cuban people. \u201cHow can I explain this?\u201d he started. \u201cLet\u2019s say someone has a fridge and in it he has one sausage and one egg and nothing else. And say I invite you to this house, and this is his fridge. And he\u2019ll give you his last piece of meat. He won\u2019t even think about tomorrow. And you\u2019ll think, \u2018Oh that\u2019s very nice,\u2019 but you won\u2019t know the truth is that you just ate his last piece of food. And this is something amazing.\u201d\n\n\u201cCubans have developed a sense of improvisation, of invention to help them survive \u2013 and a spirit of solidarity,\u201d another European visitor we met observed \u201cIf you cannot get on your feet, they will help you.\u201d\n\nHavana has rich and thriving arts and music scenes. Carlos Miguel Ramos, a prominent drummer who has travelled the world with Rub\u00e9n Blades and others, invited us to his family\u2019s attractive house on the edge of Old Havana near the shore. Ramos comes from a family of performers. \u201cBefore the 1959 revolution my grandfather was a corporal in Batista\u2019s army. Then he became a bass player; he played upright bass with Benny Mor\u00e9 \u2013 one of the greatest Cuban singers with worldwide recognition,\u201d Ramos noted with pride. \u201cMy dad was a dancer in the Tropicana night club for ten years. My mother was also a dancer.\u201d\n\n\u201cI do not have a state-paid job, because I would only be paid 30 CUCs [Cuban convertible pesos] a month and there is not much I could do with that money,\u201d Ramos continued. One Cuban peso is roughly equivalent to one US dollar. \u201cA kilo of chicken costs four CUCs, a bottle of oil costs three CUCs, a bag of powdered milk costs six or eight CUCs. And when you see that you only make 30 CUCs, you realize that you cannot buy enough food.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe lives of musicians, artists and sportspeople in Cuba are very difficult. We get good meals and money to get by, but it\u2019s not enough to wipe your ass,\u201d Ramos concluded. \u201cWe are not happy with the way the economic system operates in the country.\u201d\n\nCuban art is an exceptionally diverse cultural blend of African, South American, European and North American influences. The Museo de Belle Artes Cubano contains a very impressive body of work, from the Spanish colonial period up to very recently.\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t think there is a country that per capita produces more great art than Cuba,\u201d explained Jorge P\u00e9rez, an Argentine-born son of Cuban parents and the author of *On the Horizon: Contemporary Cuban Art*.\n\nIn the early years after the revolution, because art was state sponsored, an implied censorship occurred; artists didn\u2019t want to make art against the revolutionary movement that funded their work. But during the 1980s, Cuban art began to reflect more unfiltered expression, and since then modern art has experienced an impressive and dynamic revival. Recently the art scene has been reinvigorated by the emergence of a new generation of Cubans who didn\u2019t experience the revolution directly.\n\nSoon after our arrival, we met one such artist, a very successful photographer and teacher, Alfredo Sarabia. To sell their work for higher rates, Sarabia and many other artists cater mainly to tourists. Sarabia\u2019s photos can fetch hundreds of dollars each. He says the Cuban Ministry of Culture respects Cuban visual artists, allowing them to mostly operate outside government control.\n\nForeign tourists and young Cubans alike frequent the F\u00e1brica de Arte Cubano (Cuban Art Factory, FAC), an olive oil factory converted into an art gallery, performance space, and night club to experience a younger and edgier Cuban culture. Local teenagers who don\u2019t have a lot of money can go dancing there from 8:00 \u2013 4:00 am four days a week for a $2 cover charge. An average of 2,000 visitors visit the FAC nightly. A Trip Advisor reviewer called it \u201cthe hippest place I have ever been.\u201d When we left at around 1:00 am, the line was longer than when we arrived at 8:00 pm.\n\nCuban musician X Alfonso founded the space four years ago. X Alfonso is a popular Cuban rocker and artist who manages to keep the place in operation without running afoul of Cuban authorities. The FAC is classified as a \u201ccommunity project,\u201d allowing it to occupy government property but operate with a broad degree of independence. It has come under criticism in state media for appearing too much like a thriving, capitalistic enterprise, and some of its art pushes political boundaries.\n\n\u201cI really believe that Cuban artists have complete freedom in making their art,\u201d 27-year-old assistant curator Lisset Alonzo told us, echoing the photographer Sarabia. \u201cThe idea here was to create a space where all the arts could be together: design, visual arts \u2013 a complete program that includes classical music, other kinds of music, dj programs, and also theater and dance.\u201d The FAC\u2019s mission is to rescue, support, and promote the work of thousands of Cuban artists of all art branches including music, dance, theater, visual arts, literature, photography, fashion, graphic design, and architecture. It rivals any gallery/performance venue that New York, London, or Berlin has to offer.\n\nAnother dramatic change Cubans are experiencing is through the internet, which became available to the general public less than three years ago in the form of Wi-Fi hotspots in a few public parks and other locations. At $1 \u2013 $2/hour, the web is incredibly expensive by Cuban standards and out of reach for many Cubans; Wi-Fi in private homes is strictly illegal. The government sees opening that world of multi-faceted ideas, opinions, and cultural phenomena as a threat \u2013 though many Havana residents we spoke with expect that to change very soon.\n\nFacebook Messenger has also become quite popular in Cuba in the year or so that access has been available. Most other US websites are blocked. Some creative Cubans have gotten around the expensive connection fees by hacking into the system and sharing the connection with friends for a discount.\n\nAll internet service in the island nation is controlled by the state-owned telecom company ETSECA and primarily provided through roughly 237 crowded government-approved paid Wi-Fi hotspots around the country \u2013 not a lot of internet access for a country of 11 million people. According to the *Miami Herald* 37% of Cubans use Wi-Fi weekly \u2013 one of the lowest rates in the Western hemisphere; only a small percentage use it daily. Many Cubans credit Obama\u2019s policies toward Cuba and his 2016 visit for the relaxation of government restrictions on the internet. After the visit, Ra\u00fal Castro pledged that Cuba would accelerate internet access for its citizens.\n\n\u201cWe want every person in Cuba to be able to be connected,\u201d US Secretary of State John Kerry said when he was in Havana in 2015 for a flag-raising ceremony at the US Embassy. \u201cWe have offered to and we will help in every way possible to help provide that connectivity.\u201d\n\nHowever, where connection is possible, the speed is often so slow there is very little Cubans can do online but check email and surf sluggish websites. Some critics say Cuba has poor internet by design, to prevent most Cubans from accessing outside culture or information. In any case, the lack of wider access does limit Cubans\u2019 commercial use of the net for income.\n\nIt\u2019s common in Havana to see young Cubans \u2013 and foreign visitors \u2013 perched on park benches tapping at laptops, leaning against building walls or sitting on curbs staring at tablets or cellphones, chatting or sending selfies and other photos to friends and family abroad and around Cuba.\n\n\u201cPeople tell me, \u2018I want to go to Cuba right now, before it changes,\u2019\u201d said Marc. \u201cI heard this 15 years ago, and I heard it again two months ago. If you think this, don\u2019t worry, Cuba\u2019s not going to change for another ten years.\u201d But he allowed that increased web access and lower prices could hasten the pace of change.\n\nWhile we were waiting in line to visit the FAC, we met Yoan Serrats, a Spaniard visiting Havana to cast Cubans for a theater production to tour Europe. \u201cIt\u2019s been 50 years of endurance and now Cubans want to live better and to open the doors a little bit more,\u201d said Serrats. \u201cBut they don\u2019t know if they are going to succeed, so they don\u2019t want to let the doors wide open all of a sudden.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou can\u2019t expect there will be fast change, that one morning you\u2019re going to wake up into a new modern, democratic system. No,\u201d Marc opined. \u201cThat\u2019s what we did in Poland: I remember this very well, that overnight we changed the system and we woke up to a completely different world. At that time there was no textbook as to how we\u2019re going to live, what we\u2019re going to do. That was crazy.\u201d\n\nAdded drummer Carlos Ramos, \u201cThe Cuban government will never die, never.\u201d\n\nThe newly elected National Assembly inaugurated on April 18 just nominated Cuban First Vice President Miguel D\u00edaz-Canel to be the unopposed candidate to replace Castro as president. Castro himself will remain head of Cuba\u2019s Communist Party, still a very powerful position. The 57-year-old Diaz-Canel is expected to continue the communist legacy of the Castro brothers. \u201cImperialism can never be trusted, not even a tiny bit, never,\u201d he recently said.\n\nIn a leaked videotape taken at a private meeting with Communist Party members last summer , D\u00edaz-Canel lashed out against Cuban dissidents, independent media, and embassies of several European countries, accusing them all of supporting subversive projects and seeking to undermine the Castro government, according to Nora G\u00e1mez Torres of the *Miami Herald*.\n\nOther Cuba analysts have speculated that D\u00edaz-Canel\u2019s sometimes moderate views will prevail. The few Cubans who commented to us about the impending leadership change said they feel that, in terms of the government\u2019s crackdown on dissent and free speech, they expect things to get worse before the trend toward easing restrictions resumes.\n\nWhen D\u00edaz-Canel assumed the leadership of Cuba today, April 19, he praised the Castro brothers, pledged to resist any attempts by the US or other nations from subverting Cuba, and promised to continue \u201cperfecting\u201d the socialist model passed on to him after nearly 60 years of communist governance.\n\n\u201cThe revolution continues,\u201d he told Cuban state television.\n\nBy way of a footnote: on reentering the US in Charlotte, NC, my son and I were waived through customs in two minutes. When I asked if anyone wanted to see the itinerary we were told we had to keep as journalists, the customs official smiled, saying \u201cOh, you don\u2019t need to worry about that.\u201d Most US tourists traveling with us checked the box \u201cSupport for the Cuban People,\u201d and were also told to keep an itinerary or journal, but nobody checked. Based on our experience, virtually anybody can freely travel to Cuba for any reason without fear of scrutiny.\n\n*Nat Winthrop is an independent film producer living in Montpelier. He is former publisher of the Vanguard Press and Vermont Times in Chittenden County, and he has had feature articles published in the Rutland Herald/Times Argus Sunday Magazine, Seven Days, Boston Phoenix, Boston Globe, and Vermont Magazine. He studied documentary filmmaking at MIT and Goddard College in the 1970s. He was executive producer of the collaborative six-part Freedom & Unity: The Vermont Movie (2013) among other documentaries. He is also the Vice President of the Toward Freedom board. *" + }, + { + "title": "Cuba\u2019s Revolution: A new generation takes the lead - People's World", + "title_detail": { + "type": "text/plain", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Cuba\u2019s Revolution: A new generation takes the lead - People's World" + }, + "links": [ + { + "rel": "alternate", + "type": "text/html", + "href": "https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMijwFBVV95cUxPYl9QMTVOUUFRYnN2QmF5NmVwaTg1SDQ1UU04U0xER25ZcXZJSlM2MzVpSXhBVi1tOVp2NUlsSS1aQ092WnFTTXNvVVlMMDBkTGY3R0RUOFBuSkx5VGJLc3BKV2t2OVl5WFJzTHpUcmFXLWZLZ1dQaVJ3cnZCS2JzSmViRGdidUk5dUdiY2FTTQ?oc=5" + } + ], + "link": "https://www.peoplesworld.org/article/cubas-revolution-a-new-generation-takes-the-lead/", + "id": "CBMijwFBVV95cUxPYl9QMTVOUUFRYnN2QmF5NmVwaTg1SDQ1UU04U0xER25ZcXZJSlM2MzVpSXhBVi1tOVp2NUlsSS1aQ092WnFTTXNvVVlMMDBkTGY3R0RUOFBuSkx5VGJLc3BKV2t2OVl5WFJzTHpUcmFXLWZLZ1dQaVJ3cnZCS2JzSmViRGdidUk5dUdiY2FTTQ", + "guidislink": false, + "published": "Thu, 19 Apr 2018 07:00:00 GMT", + "published_parsed": [ + 2018, + 4, + 19, + 7, + 0, + 0, + 3, + 109, + 0 + ], + "summary": "Cuba\u2019s Revolution: A new generation takes the lead  People's World", + "summary_detail": { + "type": "text/html", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Cuba\u2019s Revolution: A new generation takes the lead  People's World" + }, + "source": { + "href": "https://www.peoplesworld.org", + "title": "People's World" + }, + "sub_articles": [], + "status_code": 403, + "response": "Error: HTTP 403" + }, + { + "title": "JFK \u2018secret\u2019 doomsday map reveals Cuba missile targets - CNN", + "title_detail": { + "type": "text/plain", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "JFK \u2018secret\u2019 doomsday map reveals Cuba missile targets - CNN" + }, + "links": [ + { + "rel": "alternate", + "type": "text/html", + "href": "https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiekFVX3lxTE9Bemg3d1JhTWQ3QUxveUdOU3I1VE9YUVN3eFV0WmM2NWR3NnR2dmhhY2RfaXZDdVFXLXFDdWxkSkx0RXp4SzRTWnktOWxWT1dWWjBOdUlNVUJWWU1ZZ0otZ21aUjNQUUZvRWxvS2RqYnByenB3MG9ySlBR?oc=5" + } + ], + "link": "https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/06/us/jfk-cuban-missile-crisis-map-auction", + "id": "CBMiekFVX3lxTE9Bemg3d1JhTWQ3QUxveUdOU3I1VE9YUVN3eFV0WmM2NWR3NnR2dmhhY2RfaXZDdVFXLXFDdWxkSkx0RXp4SzRTWnktOWxWT1dWWjBOdUlNVUJWWU1ZZ0otZ21aUjNQUUZvRWxvS2RqYnByenB3MG9ySlBR", + "guidislink": false, + "published": "Fri, 06 Apr 2018 07:00:00 GMT", + "published_parsed": [ + 2018, + 4, + 6, + 7, + 0, + 0, + 4, + 96, + 0 + ], + "summary": "JFK \u2018secret\u2019 doomsday map reveals Cuba missile targets  CNN", + "summary_detail": { + "type": "text/html", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "JFK \u2018secret\u2019 doomsday map reveals Cuba missile targets  CNN" + }, + "source": { + "href": "https://www.cnn.com", + "title": "CNN" + }, + "sub_articles": [], + "status_code": 200, + "response": "---\ntitle: JFK\u2019s \u2018secret\u2019 doomsday map revealed | CNN\nauthor: Thom Patterson\nurl: https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/06/us/jfk-cuban-missile-crisis-map-auction\nhostname: cnn.com\ndescription: President Kennedy\u2019s 1962 map of military targets during the Cuban missile crisis goes up for auction, reminding us how close the world came to nuclear war.\nsitename: CNN\ndate: 2018-04-06\ncategories: ['us']\ntags: ['auctions, caribbean, cuba, john f. kennedy, kennedy family, latin america, military, military weapons, north america, nuclear weapons, political figures - us, united states, weapons and arms, weapons of mass destruction, military operations, robert f. kennedy, unrest, conflicts and war, espionage, international relations and national security, national security', 'auctions, caribbean, cuba, john f. kennedy, kennedy family, latin america, military, military weapons, north america, nuclear weapons, political figures - us, united states, weapons and arms, weapons of mass destruction, military operations, robert f. kennedy, unrest, conflicts and war, espionage, international relations and national security, national security']\n---\n*Programming note: **Explore the Kennedy family\u2019s rise to power on \u201c**American Dynasties: The Kennedys**\u201d Sundays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on CNN TV and **CNNGo**. *\n\nAn old map of Cuba** **has been sold at an auction in Boston \u2013 but it\u2019s much more than a map.\n\nIt\u2019s a historic artifact from some of the darkest days of the Cold War, when Washington and Moscow reached a standoff that could have led to a nuclear doomsday.\n\nPresident John F. Kennedy consulted the map \u2013 which shows dozens of potential military targets across Cuba \u2013 as he was considering whether to launch a US attack during the Cuban missile crisis.\n\n##\n**RFK: 80 million Americans could have died**\n\nThe world held its breath for nearly two weeks in October 1962, as tensions rose between the United States and Soviet Union. The standoff started after the discovery of Soviet nuclear missile sites in pro-Soviet Cuba \u2013 which put millions of Americans in range of weapons that could hit US cities within minutes.\n\nIn his book \u201cThirteen Days,\u201d Kennedy\u2019s brother, then-US Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, said photos from US spy planes \u201cindicated that the missiles were being directed at certain American cities, the estimate was that within a few minutes of their being fired 80 million Americans would be dead.\u201d\n\nRobert F. Kennedy led a White House task force to explore options on how the United States should respond to the crisis.\n\nPentagon leaders urged Kennedy to attack Cuba \u2013 a possibly dangerous move that could have triggered a nuclear war with Moscow. Assuming nuclear weapons would not be used on the island against American invading forces, war planners expected as many as 18,500 US casualties within the first 10 days of a Cuban invasion, according to a now-declassified top secret Pentagon memo.\n\n\u201cThe plans called for an initial attack, consisting of 500 sorties, striking all military targets, including missile sites, airfields, ports and gun emplacements,\u201d Robert F. Kennedy wrote.\n\n##\n**Map pinpoints nukes in Cuba **\n\nBased on photos from US spy planes, President Kennedy\u2019s map \u2013 which was classified as \u201csecret\u201d \u2013 shows locations of nine weapons installations in Cuba that US forces likely would have targeted if he had ordered an attack.\n\nA key to the map summarizes locations of Soviet weapons on Cuba, including MiG fighter jets and sites housing nuclear-armed medium range ballistic missiles, which experts said threatened Miami, Washington and New Orleans.\n\nTensions were so high at the time that the Pentagon put its forces on a readiness level that was just one step away from war.\n\n\u201cMissile crews were placed on maximum alert,\u201d Robert F. Kennedy wrote. \u201cTroops were moved into Florida and the southeastern part of the United States. \u2026 The Navy deployed 180 ships into the Caribbean. \u2026 The B-52 bomber force was ordered into the air fully loaded with atomic weapons.\u201d\n\nBut the idea of a surprise US attack on Cuba didn\u2019t sit well with some of the President\u2019s advisers, including his brother.\n\n\u201c\u2026 a surprise attack would erode if not destroy the moral position of the United States throughout the world,\u201d Robert F. Kennedy wrote in his book.\n\nInstead of an invasion, the President eventually chose to set up a US Navy blockade around Cuba.\n\nThe situation looked bleak.\n\n##\n**Diplomacy defuses the crisis**\n\nAt the last minute, war was avoided, thanks to a bit of artful back-channel diplomacy.\n\nUsing go-between negotiators, President Kennedy and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev made a deal.\n\nThe US promised not to invade Cuba, and Khrushchev promised to withdraw the missiles.\n\nSeparately, the Kennedy administration and Moscow agreed to a secret deal \u2013 which wasn\u2019t revealed until more than 25 years later \u2013 calling for the United States to remove its obsolete American nuclear missiles from Turkey.\n\n##\n**The \u2018victory map\u2019 survives**\n\nNow, more than half a century later, the map offers a tangible connection to a single moment that affected the course of history.\n\nIt was sold to an anonymous bidder for total price of $138,798.63 \u2013 well above its estimated value of $20,000. RR Auction Company described the map\u2019s new owner as \u201ca collector in Los Angeles with a deep appreciation for American history.\u201d\n\nThe map\u2019s letter of provenance quotes Defense Secretary Robert McNamara as saying \u201cthe President pored over this map before deciding to delay the attack,\u201d the auction house said.\n\nAfter the crisis, President Kennedy reportedly gave the map to McNamara \u2013 calling it the \u201cvictory map.\u201d\n\nThe letter says it was the only time McNamara \u201cever heard Kennedy say anything that sounded like gloating about how the crisis ended.\u201d" + }, + { + "title": "Who is Miguel D\u00edaz-Canel, Cuba's handpicked president? - Miami Herald", + "title_detail": { + "type": "text/plain", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Who is Miguel D\u00edaz-Canel, Cuba's handpicked president? - Miami Herald" + }, + "links": [ + { + "rel": "alternate", + "type": "text/html", + "href": "https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMijwFBVV95cUxPQVVGaDNoQWRfbWx0UnpKeHlGQkUxSHlMUnNoOXlpWmZtUG5QWEVORlVXeFJlZ0xuVTZBYWFtZWIxV3Nsb1F4Z2k4MFhnUjNTNThENWJ0bS04Nko4YUJWRjJHZ294VXdKQXJmaklJUUVsa0VDOHJ0cWhiTTZKVEY4dnR4NmEtMzAtSk1aeTZaRdIBkAFBVV95cUxQWVlVaDZYaV9GVVhuM3JxYmFLLUlxTnBUcTgtT2p4S2ZwSWpUOHFvS1RGTU5Gdjl2a2ZPdFRwTGVUTVBrZmtSSkRKcGFZWm41UmNpRXpqWERKX21wTi1mbHdkZFhELU1zUHpBUUVBc2ZnLUxSWWtEcldHZTVORkxYejBIQkZaQlNhOEdWXzVnZU0?oc=5" + } + ], + "link": "http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/cuba/article208869459.html", + "id": "CBMijwFBVV95cUxPQVVGaDNoQWRfbWx0UnpKeHlGQkUxSHlMUnNoOXlpWmZtUG5QWEVORlVXeFJlZ0xuVTZBYWFtZWIxV3Nsb1F4Z2k4MFhnUjNTNThENWJ0bS04Nko4YUJWRjJHZ294VXdKQXJmaklJUUVsa0VDOHJ0cWhiTTZKVEY4dnR4NmEtMzAtSk1aeTZaRdIBkAFBVV95cUxQWVlVaDZYaV9GVVhuM3JxYmFLLUlxTnBUcTgtT2p4S2ZwSWpUOHFvS1RGTU5Gdjl2a2ZPdFRwTGVUTVBrZmtSSkRKcGFZWm41UmNpRXpqWERKX21wTi1mbHdkZFhELU1zUHpBUUVBc2ZnLUxSWWtEcldHZTVORkxYejBIQkZaQlNhOEdWXzVnZU0", + "guidislink": false, + "published": "Thu, 19 Apr 2018 07:00:00 GMT", + "published_parsed": [ + 2018, + 4, + 19, + 7, + 0, + 0, + 3, + 109, + 0 + ], + "summary": "Who is Miguel D\u00edaz-Canel, Cuba's handpicked president?  Miami Herald", + "summary_detail": { + "type": "text/html", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Who is Miguel D\u00edaz-Canel, Cuba's handpicked president?  Miami Herald" + }, + "source": { + "href": "http://www.miamiherald.com", + "title": "Miami Herald" + }, + "sub_articles": [], + "status_code": 403, + "response": "Error: HTTP 403" + }, + { + "title": "In Cuba\u2019s Change of Leadership, More Black Officials in Power - Institute of the Black World 21st Century", + "title_detail": { + "type": "text/plain", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "In Cuba\u2019s Change of Leadership, More Black Officials in Power - Institute of the Black World 21st Century" + }, + "links": [ + { + "rel": "alternate", + "type": "text/html", + "href": "https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMimAFBVV95cUxNY3pHVngwd0UyWWxRNHpsUGMzOUdUdWtvZTg5WjFQcDkzemZfckRPSUlrR3I1bmg4cUZPWVJCQXlLN3NFRzlCZS1vUEQxZm55YzdYQ2F3ZzZXM2JCejlsUFV1Z3F4TktNem5CQ0NhdlNzXy1zQUZvVmxhbGktcTFxTERFWm03ZHctZGlOMXU5YWZ3dWYtVHBaZQ?oc=5" + } + ], + "link": "https://www.knkx.org/2018-04-19/cuba-long-led-by-castros-hails-a-new-president-outside-the-family", + "id": "CBMimAFBVV95cUxNY3pHVngwd0UyWWxRNHpsUGMzOUdUdWtvZTg5WjFQcDkzemZfckRPSUlrR3I1bmg4cUZPWVJCQXlLN3NFRzlCZS1vUEQxZm55YzdYQ2F3ZzZXM2JCejlsUFV1Z3F4TktNem5CQ0NhdlNzXy1zQUZvVmxhbGktcTFxTERFWm03ZHctZGlOMXU5YWZ3dWYtVHBaZQ", + "guidislink": false, + "published": "Mon, 23 Apr 2018 07:00:00 GMT", + "published_parsed": [ + 2018, + 4, + 23, + 7, + 0, + 0, + 0, + 113, + 0 + ], + "summary": "In Cuba\u2019s Change of Leadership, More Black Officials in Power  Institute of the Black World 21st Century", + "summary_detail": { + "type": "text/html", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "In Cuba\u2019s Change of Leadership, More Black Officials in Power  Institute of the Black World 21st Century" + }, + "source": { + "href": "https://ibw21.org", + "title": "Institute of the Black World 21st Century" + }, + "sub_articles": [], + "status_code": 403, + "response": "Error: HTTP 403" + }, + { + "title": "As Cuba Gains a New President, Ra\u00fal Castro Steps Back, Not Down, from Power - Democracy Now!", + "title_detail": { + "type": "text/plain", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "As Cuba Gains a New President, Ra\u00fal Castro Steps Back, Not Down, from Power - Democracy Now!" + }, + "links": [ + { + "rel": "alternate", + "type": "text/html", + "href": "https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMid0FVX3lxTE9wYjQ1UHhiRHNlbTZobDZ4ZVYza2hhNmU2MHMxWktqNGpINlJqejE5dEZaQXJvX1hpb3ZoMk84anN6ek0wOXh5MDI0cFlOUmJfNF9zZEpMZUVVNGhSU3djNnRGaHl4eFRTOTJZcTJzT1Q1Zm9XSHNj?oc=5" + } + ], + "link": "https://ibw21.org/editors-choice/in-cubas-change-of-leadership-more-black-officials-in-power/", + "id": "CBMid0FVX3lxTE9wYjQ1UHhiRHNlbTZobDZ4ZVYza2hhNmU2MHMxWktqNGpINlJqejE5dEZaQXJvX1hpb3ZoMk84anN6ek0wOXh5MDI0cFlOUmJfNF9zZEpMZUVVNGhSU3djNnRGaHl4eFRTOTJZcTJzT1Q1Zm9XSHNj", + "guidislink": false, + "published": "Tue, 24 Apr 2018 07:00:00 GMT", + "published_parsed": [ + 2018, + 4, + 24, + 7, + 0, + 0, + 1, + 114, + 0 + ], + "summary": "As Cuba Gains a New President, Ra\u00fal Castro Steps Back, Not Down, from Power  Democracy Now!", + "summary_detail": { + "type": "text/html", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "As Cuba Gains a New President, Ra\u00fal Castro Steps Back, Not Down, from Power  Democracy Now!" + }, + "source": { + "href": "https://www.democracynow.org", + "title": "Democracy Now!" + }, + "sub_articles": [], + "status_code": 200, + "response": "---\ntitle: In Cuba\u2019s Change of Leadership, More Black Officials in Power\nauthor: IBW\nurl: https://ibw21.org/editors-choice/in-cubas-change-of-leadership-more-black-officials-in-power/\nhostname: ibw21.org\ndescription: By Frances Robles and Azam Ahmeda \u2014 As the departing Cuban president, Ra\u00fal Castro, tells it, even too many of the radio and television newscasters in Cuba are white. It \u201cwas not easy\u201d getting the few black broadcasters now on the air hired, Mr. Castro said in his retirement speech Thursday, a remarkable admission...\nsitename: Institute of the Black World 21st Century\ndate: 2018-04-24\ncategories: [\"Editors' Choice\"]\ntags: ['Afro-Cubans', 'Caribbean', 'Cuba', 'Latin America']\n---\n*Paying homage to Fidel Castro at Plaza de la Revolucion in Havana in 2016. Photo by Tomas Munita, The New York Times*\n\n**By Frances Robles and Azam Ahmeda \u2014**\n\nAs the departing Cuban president, Ra\u00fal Castro, tells it, even too many of the radio and television newscasters in Cuba are white.\n\nIt \u201cwas not easy\u201d getting the few black broadcasters now on the air hired, Mr. Castro said in his retirement speech Thursday, a remarkable admission considering the state controls all the stations.\n\nSo it was all the more extraordinary to see last week how many women and Afro-Cubans were chosen for positions in the highest echelon of Cuban politics in the new government: Half of the six vice presidents of the ruling Council of State are black, including the first vice president, and three are also women.\n\nThe new council will serve under the new president, Miguel D\u00edaz-Canel Berm\u00fadez, who took over on Thursday.\n\nThat the first administration in 60 years without a single Castro would include so many women and black officials was notable in Cuba, where increasing business opportunities have only swelled economic racial disparities. The move also signaled the growing significance of the Afro-Cuban movement, marked in the past 20 years by artists, hip-hop musicians and intellectuals who are more willing to speak out about the problems affecting black people on the island, experts said.\n\nWhile official statistics reflect that less than 10 percent of the population is black, in reality, most estimates put the number far higher.\n\nThe Cuban government under the Castros has historically been viewed as one made up mainly of white men, especially those of advanced age. Although it has generally had at least one Afro-Cuban in a high-ranking position, cynics dismissed them as symbolic figures.\n\nAlthough skeptics doubt that too much will change to address the disparities faced by many black people in Cuba, even some of the government\u2019s harshest critics acknowledged that the diversity shift was an important development.\n\n\u201cYes, it has great significance,\u201d said Ram\u00f3n Colas, a black anti-Castro activist who sought political asylum in 2001 and now lives in Mississippi. \u201cThe Cuban revolution has historically been white, and seen from the outside as a revolution by white men, where black people were part of the crowd, spectators who were silent or applauded, but never participated.\u201d\n\nMr. Colas said the election, a process in which Mr. Castro and the Communist Party had full control, showed that the former Cuban leader has \u201cbig ears\u201d and was willing to listen to the outcry from black civic and arts organizations. But he noted it would be even more noteworthy if the three black people on the council used their positions to push for racial equality.\n\n\u201cWouldn\u2019t it be great if they used those positions to say, \u2018As a black Cuban, I am against injustice against black people in Cuba?\u2019 \u201d he said. \u201cI doubt that they can do that. They are not allowed. Fidel declared that racism is a problem that ended.\u201d\n\nIf anything, Ra\u00fal Castro\u2019s move to shift high-ranking positions to black leaders was an acknowledgment that racism and discrimination had not, in fact, been solved by the revolution.\n\nIn his remarks on Thursday, Mr. Castro said the struggle to move beyond percentages continued.\n\n\u201cWe still have the battle of proportions, not just in numerical aspects, but qualitative \u2014 in decision-making slots,\u201d he said. \u201cThree women were elected vice president of the Council of State, two of them black \u2014 not only for being black, but for their virtues and qualities.\u201d\n\nWhile inequality persists in the country, the Castro revolution did make important strides for black people.\n\nBefore the revolution, social stratification was profound, with black Cubans open to far less opportunity and enduring far more discrimination than their lighter-skinned fellow citizens. When Fidel Castro came to power after the revolution, one of his early edicts essentially sought an end to racism.\n\nThe result was that systemic racism as it exists in the Americas is far less present in Cuba, and social and educational opportunities generally more present for black Cubans \u2014 even those living far from the capital. For many of the revolution\u2019s proponents, it was one of the major achievements at a time when some parts of the United States were still requiring black people to drink from separate water fountains.\n\nAlejandro de la Fuente, a Harvard University Cuba studies professor who has written extensively on Afro-Cubans, said inequality diminished in several ways. His research showed, for example, that in the 1980s, the life expectancy gap between black and white people was better in Cuba than in Brazil or the United States.\n\nAlso, the proportion of black Cubans with college degrees was close to the proportion of white Cubans, he found, whereas in the United States, the proportion of white college degree holders was twice as large as among African-Americans.\n\nBut the improvements, brought on by socialized education, were offset by the economic nose-dive Afro-Cubans faced after the collapse of the Soviet Union in the 1990s. More Cubans started living on cash remittances sent from the United States. And almost all the Cubans sending money from the United States were white.\n\nMr. de la Fuente noted that both of the black women named to the council, In\u00e9s Mar\u00eda Chapman Waugh and Beatriz Jhonson Urrutia, are engineers from eastern Cuba, which makes them an example of the kind of educational mobility possible for black women in the country. Mr. de la Fuente said their promotions were largely symbolic, but still important.\n\n\u201cEven if this was window-dressing, it would mean they feel the need to dress the window in a certain color, and that is something one would not have said 30 years ago,\u201d Mr. de la Fuente said.\n\nOnly 9 percent of Cubans identified themselves as black in the 2012 census, a sign that most Cubans don\u2019t see benefits to self-identifying as Afro-Cuban, he said. Most estimates have the number of black people in Cuba much higher.\n\n\u201cIf you go by the one-drop rule, like you have in the United States, Cuba is like 90 percent black,\u201d Mr. Colas said with a laugh.\n\nKatrin Hansing, a professor at Baruch College in New York who is studying racial inequality in Cuba, said the presence of more black people on the council was likely to be met with a collective shrug on the island. The economic disparities have grown so stark, she said, that more shantytowns are popping up on the outskirts of big cities, and people of color largely populate them.\n\n\u201cIt won\u2019t change their socioeconomically difficult lives,\u201d Ms. Hansing said. \u201cThe Communist Party will not change because there are three more black people at the top.\u201d\n\nIn Cuba, many people interviewed agreed, and some did not even know the changes had been made.\n\nIn the neighborhood of La Corea, marooned on the outskirts of Havana, most people had more pressing concerns to ponder than the racial balance of the nation\u2019s top officials. Heaps of trash were piled on street corners, covered in thick swarms of flies. A water leak from a pipe beneath the sidewalk flowed unchecked, leaving pools and summoning mosquitoes.\n\nThe neighborhood contrasts sharply with the proud, if battered, colonial structures of Old Havana or the resplendent mansions of Vedado or Miramar. Homes are slapped together with rusty shards of corrugated metal or raw cinder block and cement. The streets are so worn in parts they are simply dirt.\n\nIn the largely black neighborhood, residents were somewhat divided on the meaning of the new racial composition of the government. Manuel Garro G\u00f3mez, 65, seemed to take the official line on the matter. \u201cCuba says there is no discrimination and that\u2019s largely how it is,\u201d he said. \u201cBefore the revolution, there was absolutely no relation between black people and whites. Today we mix easily.\u201d\n\nDown the street, Yasmani Santo, 30, once informed about the change, said it was a decent move.\n\n\u201cThis reflects the population a bit more, which I appreciate,\u201d he said. \u201cBut I\u2019m not sure it will change anything.\u201d Referring to the neighborhood\u2019s dilapidation, he said: \u201cPeople come and make promises to fix these things and nothing happens. Let\u2019s see if this new president does anything.\u201d\n\nAbraham Jim\u00e9nez Enoa, a writer and director at El Estornudo magazine in Havana, said racism was a part of daily life for black Cubans, no matter what the state says. When he has dated white women, his friends offered snide remarks that he was \u201ctrying to get ahead.\u201d\n\nHe said the police were more likely to stop a black person, especially one who is carrying things like towels or sheets, which are items often pilfered from hotels by Cubans without money to buy their own.\n\nIn Old Havana on Thursday, Josu\u00e9 Soto del Sol, 10, smiled and then shrugged when he heard about the appointments of the three black leaders. \u201cIt\u2019s good,\u201d he said. \u201cWe are all black in Cuba.\u201d\n\n**Correction: April 23, 2018 **\n\nAn earlier version of this article referred incorrectly to research about the racial balance among college students in Cuba and the United States in the 1980s. A study by Alejandro de la Fuente referred to graduation rates rather than attendance, and found that the proportion, not the number, of black Cubans with degrees compared with white Cubans was close, and that the proportion, not the number, of white college degree holders in the United States was twice that of African-Americans.\n\n**Ed Agustin** contributed reporting from Havana. **Azam Ahmed** reported from Havana, and **Frances Robles** from Miami." + }, + { + "title": "The Story You Didn\u2019t Know About Cuba\u2019s Most Famous Rum - HipLatina", + "title_detail": { + "type": "text/plain", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "The Story You Didn\u2019t Know About Cuba\u2019s Most Famous Rum - HipLatina" + }, + "links": [ + { + "rel": "alternate", + "type": "text/html", + "href": "https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMickFVX3lxTE9jRnZ0eUZsSnplTHJ5My1qRHlFUXZXSXRySHhrSEdiSVljZ1Qyem5jREViZTBJMGVTMG9WcnQxdnZaSzlnTFFYOTlWcFJsdkxhS2lic25PMmFzUW5PS2xid3RPM3l6YWpKY1dyby0zRExUUQ?oc=5" + } + ], + "link": "https://www.democracynow.org/2018/4/24/as_cuba_gains_a_new_president", + "id": "CBMickFVX3lxTE9jRnZ0eUZsSnplTHJ5My1qRHlFUXZXSXRySHhrSEdiSVljZ1Qyem5jREViZTBJMGVTMG9WcnQxdnZaSzlnTFFYOTlWcFJsdkxhS2lic25PMmFzUW5PS2xid3RPM3l6YWpKY1dyby0zRExUUQ", + "guidislink": false, + "published": "Fri, 13 Apr 2018 07:00:00 GMT", + "published_parsed": [ + 2018, + 4, + 13, + 7, + 0, + 0, + 4, + 103, + 0 + ], + "summary": "The Story You Didn\u2019t Know About Cuba\u2019s Most Famous Rum  HipLatina", + "summary_detail": { + "type": "text/html", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "The Story You Didn\u2019t Know About Cuba\u2019s Most Famous Rum  HipLatina" + }, + "source": { + "href": "https://hiplatina.com", + "title": "HipLatina" + }, + "sub_articles": [], + "status_code": 200, + "response": "---\ntitle: As Cuba Gains a New President, Ra\u00fal Castro Steps Back, Not Down, from Power\nurl: https://www.democracynow.org/2018/4/24/as_cuba_gains_a_new_president\nhostname: democracynow.org\ndescription: For the first time since the Cuban revolution toppled dictator Fulgencio Batista, a president who does not have the last name Castro has taken power. Miguel D\u00edaz-Canel was sworn in as president last Thursday. He succeeds Ra\u00fal Castro, who served two consecutive 5-year terms in office. Castro is now 86 years old and will remain head of the Communist Party. Fidel Castro handed over power to his brother Ra\u00fal in 2008 while his health deteriorated, and died in 2016. Thursday\u2019s session was held on the 57th anniversary of Cuba\u2019s 1961 defeat of a CIA-backed Cuban exile invasion known as the Bay of Pigs. D\u00edaz-Canel began his term with a promise to defend the socialist revolution led by the Castro brothers. We speak to Peter Kornbluh, who directs the Cuba Documentation Project at the National Security Archive at George Washington University.\nsitename: Democracy Now!\ndate: 2018-04-24\n---\n##### Topics\n\n##### Guests\n\n- Peter Kornbluhdirector of the Cuba Documentation Project at the National Security Archive at George Washington University. His new cover story for\n*Politico*on Lisa Howard is titled \u201c'My Dearest Fidel': An ABC Journalist\u2019s Secret Liaison with Fidel Castro.\u201d Kornbluh is also co-author of the book*Back Channel to Cuba: The Hidden History of Negotiations Between Washington and Havana*.\n\nFor the first time since the Cuban revolution toppled dictator Fulgencio Batista, a president who does not have the last name Castro has taken power. Miguel D\u00edaz-Canel was sworn in as president last Thursday. He succeeds Ra\u00fal Castro, who served two consecutive 5-year terms in office. Castro is now 86 years old and will remain head of the Communist Party. Fidel Castro handed over power to his brother Ra\u00fal in 2008 while his health deteriorated, and died in 2016. Thursday\u2019s session was held on the 57th anniversary of Cuba\u2019s 1961 defeat of a CIA-backed Cuban exile invasion known as the Bay of Pigs. D\u00edaz-Canel began his term with a promise to defend the socialist revolution led by the Castro brothers. We speak to Peter Kornbluh, who directs the Cuba Documentation Project at the National Security Archive at George Washington University.\n\n##### Transcript\n\n**AMY GOODMAN:** This is *Democracy Now!* I\u2019m Amy Goodman, with Juan Gonz\u00e1lez.\n\n**JUAN GONZ\u00c1LEZ:** We turn now to Cuba, where, for the first time since its socialist revolution toppled dictator Fulgencio Batista in 1959, a president who does not have the last name Castro has taken power. Miguel D\u00edaz-Canel was sworn in as president last Thursday. He succeeds Ra\u00fal Castro, who served two consecutive 5-year terms in office. Castro is now 86 years old, and he will remain the head of the Cuban Communist Party. Fidel Castro handed over power to his brother Ra\u00fal in 2008 while his health deteriorated, and Fidel Castro died in 2016. Thursday\u2019s session was held on the 57th anniversary of Cuba\u2019s 1961 defeat of a CIA-backed Cuban exile invasion known as the Bay of Pigs. D\u00edaz-Canel began his term with a promise to defend the socialist revolution of Cuba.\n\n\nPRESIDENT MIGUEL D\u00cdAZ-CANEL:[translated] I accept the responsibility for which I have been elected, with the conviction that all Cuban revolutionaries, from the position we occupy, from the work we do, from every job and trench of the socialist motherland, will be faithful to the exemplary legacy, will be faithful to the exemplary legacy of the Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro Ruz, historic leader of our revolution, and also faithful to the example, the courage and the teachings of Army General Ra\u00fal Castro Ruz, current leader of the revolutionary process.\n\n**AMY GOODMAN:** On Saturday, the newly sworn-in Cuban president received his first official visit by a foreign leader, the Venezuelan President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro.\n\n\nPRESIDENT NICOL\u00c1S MADURO:[translated] Cuba and Venezuela are on the best condition to unite forces. We\u2019ve done it before, with great results. Every time we took a step forward, the enemies of our motherlands said, \u201cYou can\u2019t.\u201d And we always showed that, yes, we can.\n\n**AMY GOODMAN:** For more, we go to Washington, D.C., where we\u2019re joined by Peter Kornbluh, who directs the Cuba Documentation Project at the National Security Archive at George Washington University. He has a new cover story for *Politico* on reporter Lisa Howard\u2019s extensive back-channel diplomacy with Cuba. It\u2019s headlined \u201c'My Dearest Fidel': An ABC Journalist\u2019s Secret Liaison with Fidel Castro.\u201d Kornbluh is also co-author of the book *Back Channel to Cuba: The Hidden History of Negotiations Between Washington and Havana*.\n\nPeter, welcome back to *Democracy Now!* First of all, talk about the significance of what has just taken place, the stepping down of Ra\u00fal Castro as president and who has replaced him.\n\n**PETER KORNBLUH:** Well, in many ways, it\u2019s a historic moment, because there aren\u2019t going to be either Fidel or Ra\u00fal Castro prominently being the face of the Cuban revolution any longer. And this is, in a sense, the first step towards the post-Castro era. But the truth of the matter is that even though the conventional wisdom in the mainstream media is that the Castro era has ended, Ra\u00fal Castro is stepping back, but he\u2019s really not stepping down from power. As Juan pointed out, he remains head of the Cuban Communist Party. He also remains the highest official in the Cuban military, both very, very powerful positions. Plus, his son, Alejandro Castro, is one of the highest intelligence officials in Cuba and is certainly an important figure to be reckoned with there.\n\nAnd it\u2019s important that Ra\u00fal Castro is still head of the\u2014is still secretary general of the Cuban Communist Party, because he really was not able to complete his agenda. And his disciple, Miguel D\u00edaz-Canel, who readily admits to being his disciple, has to continue to push Cuba forward. And he can only do that\u2014since he has no legitimacy of his own as a *hist\u00f3rico*, as a historic figure in the Cuban revolution, he can only do that with the support of Ra\u00fal Castro. So it is important that Ra\u00fal is kind of staying in the game, if you will.\n\n**JUAN GONZ\u00c1LEZ:** And, Peter, could you set for us: Who is Miguel D\u00edaz-Canel? Because the reality is that over the decades there have been many supposed successors that emerged in the Cuban government to the Castro brothers, but they all sort of like fell by the wayside in different periods of time. And could you talk about, give a thumbnail sketch of who Miguel D\u00edaz is?\n\n**PETER KORNBLUH:** Well, I should say that those other potential successors were purged along the way, for various issues and problems that arose, when it was clear that neither Fidel nor Ra\u00fal were ready to kind of anoint a next generation of leadership.\n\nAnd Miguel D\u00edaz-Canel is the next generation of leadership. He has risen steadily, methodically, through the Cuban Communist Party. He was a electrical engineer by training, but he went into party politics. He became the provincial leader of Santa Clara during the special period after the collapse of the Soviet Union and kind of gained a reputation of being accessible and kind of an everyman. He rode his bike to meetings. People were able to talk to him. He encouraged debate. So, he was an accessible person. He was kind of picked, for the success of that, to be minister of education in 2009, and then anointed first vice president in 2013, which meant that he was Ra\u00fal\u2019s kind of designate, designated successor. And that\u2019s where we have arrived today.\n\nCuba faces a lot of significant challenges. The fact that Nicol\u00e1s Maduro was there is obviously fraternal support from one of the key countries that Cuba still is very allied to in Latin America. But the truth is that Venezuela is in the midst of its own economic crisis and unable to truly support the Cuban economy now. And the Cuban economy is in a significant crisis. And this is what Miguel D\u00edaz-Canel and the next generation of Cuban leadership is going to have to address.\n\n**AMY GOODMAN:** On Wednesday, President Trump told reporters, \u201cWe love Cuba. We\u2019re going to take care of Cuba.\u201d State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert was later asked to clarify Trump\u2019s comment.\n\n\nREPORTER:Today Donald Trump said, \u201cWe love Cuba. We\u2019re going to take care of Cuba. We\u2019re going to take care of it.\u201d Does that mean that the U.S. believes that it can actually work with the new president in trying to\u2014\n\n\nHEATHER NAUERT:Well, as you know, we maintain diplomatic relations with the Cuban government, so that\u2014that continues. But we can certainly be disappointed with an election that we don\u2019t see to be free, as fair. We also recognize that there are strong people-to-people ties between Cuban Americans and some Cuban families who still live back home, and also there are some businesses that take part in the Cuban economy, as well.\n\n\nREPORTER:So this doesn\u2019t mean that the Trump administration is going to roll back any kind of decisions or even looking at it?\n\n\nHEATHER NAUERT:I\u2019m not\u2014I\u2019m not aware of any changes on our policy. I think the president was just recognizing some of the work and people-to-people ties that we have.\n\n**AMY GOODMAN:** So that\u2019s State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert. Peter Kornbluh, if you can talk about the status of U.S.-Cuban relations? You know, anything with Obama\u2019s name on it, President Trump wants to push back. He said he was closing the\u2014he was ending the thaw of relations with Cuba. What actually has happened?\n\n**PETER KORNBLUH:** Well, let me just say you two things. One is that the State Department\u2019s statement, which you just broadcast, really should be considered somewhat moderate, given Trump\u2019s rather hostile rhetoric over the last few months. And Trump saying, you know, \u201cWe\u2019re taking care of Cuba. We\u2019re going to take care of Cuba,\u201d is kind of ironic, because he\u2019s saying it on the anniversary of the Bay of Pigs invasion, which the Cubans chose deliberately and symbolically for this transfer of power, the day that one of the small countries of Latin America defeated the Colossus of the north, in April of 1961. And Cuba\u2014\n\n**AMY GOODMAN:** Under President Kennedy.\n\n**PETER KORNBLUH:** Under President Kennedy. And, of course, Cuba has proven, since that time, that it can take care of itself and that it doesn\u2019t need the United States to take care of it. And this transition of leadership in Cuba doesn\u2019t change that in any way. Cuba will continue to take care of itself.\n\nI mean, it should be clear, you know, Donald Trump has completely changed, 100 percent, the civil tone of relations that Barack Obama set. But he hasn\u2019t actually fully changed, or even significantly, in my opinion, changed, the actual policy. We still have diplomatic relations. There are a number of issues with the embassy being kind of reduced in staff, that are very significant for our kind of daily interaction and for Cubans to be able to come to the United States. They can no longer get visas in Havana itself. And Trump has scared U.S. travelers away from going to Cuba, with travel alerts about the so-called sonic attacks in Cuba and kind of tweaking and restricting the kind of way we go, the licenses that we need, the categories that we travel under. And this has actually had an amazing impact on travel. I mean, American citizens are traveling less to Cuba. And this is having a significant impact on the private sector in Cuba, which had gotten all geared up for the tourist sector. And it is an important issue. So, even though the policy hasn\u2019t really changed, even just the hostile rhetoric and the tweaking has had an impact on U.S.-Cuban relations.\n\n## Media Options" + }, + { + "title": "The Classic Fords of Cuba - MotorTrend", + "title_detail": { + "type": "text/plain", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "The Classic Fords of Cuba - MotorTrend" + }, + "links": [ + { + "rel": "alternate", + "type": "text/html", + "href": "https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMidEFVX3lxTE5KOHBMUWVDQjRVc3hpNFVxZGI3Q3RxbDRSWXkyb0liMTVqTU5UbHViQWg2RXVQTEkyYmNqMC1YQ1Q5SXRGOGlKZDdCMjFYNGp0NkVRWl9Ral9oTW9faEkySXNDNzhFTC1XeTNaNVdkVVBTaDZw?oc=5" + } + ], + "link": "https://hiplatina.com/the-story-behind-the-real-havana-club-rum/", + "id": "CBMidEFVX3lxTE5KOHBMUWVDQjRVc3hpNFVxZGI3Q3RxbDRSWXkyb0liMTVqTU5UbHViQWg2RXVQTEkyYmNqMC1YQ1Q5SXRGOGlKZDdCMjFYNGp0NkVRWl9Ral9oTW9faEkySXNDNzhFTC1XeTNaNVdkVVBTaDZw", + "guidislink": false, + "published": "Wed, 18 Apr 2018 07:00:00 GMT", + "published_parsed": [ + 2018, + 4, + 18, + 7, + 0, + 0, + 2, + 108, + 0 + ], + "summary": "The Classic Fords of Cuba  MotorTrend", + "summary_detail": { + "type": "text/html", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "The Classic Fords of Cuba  MotorTrend" + }, + "source": { + "href": "https://www.motortrend.com", + "title": "MotorTrend" + }, + "sub_articles": [], + "status_code": 200, + "response": "---\ntitle: The Story You Didn\u2019t Know About Cuba\u2019s Most Famous Rum - HipLatina\nauthor: Cindy Diaz\nurl: https://hiplatina.com/the-story-behind-the-real-havana-club-rum/\nhostname: hiplatina.com\ndescription: When I visited Cuba last year, there were symbols of Havana Club rum all over the island. It was in every bar I visited and all over the gift shops. Just like t\nsitename: HipLatina\ndate: 2018-04-13\ncategories: ['Culture']\ntags: ['Bacardi', 'cuba', 'Cuban Rum', 'Havana Club', 'rum']\n---\n# The Story You Didn\u2019t Know About Cuba\u2019s Most Famous Rum\n\n## When I visited Cuba last year, there were symbols of Havana Club rum all over the island\n\nWhen I visited Cuba last year, there were symbols of Havana Club rum all over the island. It was in every bar I visited and all over the gift shops. Just like the country\u2019s famous cigars, drinking Havana Club felt like something you had to do, otherwise did you even go to Cuba? A close examination of the label of the bottle said that the company was founded in 1878. But it should say an entirely different date depending on who you ask. The Cuban Revolution is at the core of this inconsistency and I got to experience how it changed the course of the brand\u2019s history in the most unexpected way.\n\nToday there are two Havana Club brands: One made in Cuba by a joint venture between the government and French liquor conglomerate Pernod Ricard, and the other made in Puerto Rico by Bacardi. If someone were to ask you which one was the REAL Havana Club, the answer may seem straightforward but it\u2019s a lot more complicated than you\u2019d think. Bacardi says it\u2019s their\u2019s and they put together an immersive play called *Amparo,* written by Cuban-American playwright **Vanessa Garcia** and performed by a cast with Cuban roots, that will make you instantly feel their side of the story.\n\nThe purpose of this experience is \u201cmaking sure that people know the truth about the authentic Havana Club,\u201d Roberto Ramirez Laverde, Havana Club brand executive at Bacardi, told HipLatina. \u201cAbout the injustice of other companies liasing with the Cuban regime and profiting from stolen property that was confiscated from Arechabalas. To make sure that they understand the truth and know that we are the authentic Havana Club.\u201d\n\nThe history of Havana Club starts in 1862, when Jos\u00e9 Arechabala arrived in Cuba from Gordejuela, Spain to start a new life. He founded the company that would become Arechabala Industries 16 years later and it introduced Havana Club in 1934. Fast forward to the official start of the Cuban Revolution in 1959, when the government nationalized Arechabala Industries, making themselves the new owner of the company and the Havana Club brand. This is the moment that *Amparo* zeroes in on.\n\nGuests get to follow different characters, which represent the conflicting views Cuban people had during that tumultuous time, and how that intersected with the Arechabalas. I went on a journey with Calixto, a working man who becomes radicalized by friends who support the revolution and redistribution of wealth on the island. Your heart races as you move through the story and realize how high the stakes are for everyone involved \u2014 you get to feel what it was like to go through the revolution, which was Garcia\u2019s goal. It came down to life or death for some people.\n\nRamon Arechabala, the head of the company at the time, had fallen in love with and married Amparo Alvar\u00e9 (the namesake of the play). The world of the newlyweds comes crashing down when their company is taken over, and once again when Ramon is arrested years later in 1963. \u201cHe was given options,\u201d Paola Arechabala, daughter of Ramon and Amparo, told HipLatina. \u201cEither you stay and you\u2019re with the revolution, or you leave the country, or you spend the rest of your life in prison.\u201c Ramon chose to leave with his wife and son, without a dollar to their name.\n\nIt is at this point in the play that all of the guests converge in a large room with the spirit of all the characters we started with, and the experience culminates with beating our chests to the rhythm of live drums, promising to share the story of the real Havana Club.\n\nHaving something your family worked hard for be taken away is traumatic, a point that was driven home masterfully by the emotional roller coaster crafted by Garcia. Unfortunately for the Arechabalas, the slaps to the face at the hands of the Cuban government didn\u2019t end there, since they continue to use the Havana Club trademark to sell rum to this day. The Cuban government is unable to do it on US soil because of the trade embargo, but thanks to their partnership with Pernod Ricard that began in 1993, millions of bottles of Havana Club are sold elsewhere around the world every year.\n\nThat was surely infuriating for the Arechabalas, who like many immigrant families who come to the US, had to find new trades. Ramon became a car mechanic for Ford Motor Company, Paola shared. The Havana Club trademark they owned in the US expired in 1973 and the Cuban government registered it for themselves in 1976. But Ramon did not give up on Havana Club, and made a brilliant move in 1994 that put the family right back in the game. You see, the Cuban government seized their trademark and distilleries, but they forgot to take one thing \u2014 the Arechabala recipe. Ramon turned to Bacardi and sold it to them for $1.25 million, as well as some of the profits from the sales of the rum, according to *The Washington Post*. It was an ideal partnership thanks to their shared history. Bacardi also started in Cuba and was even an Arechabala competitor back in the day. The family was exiled but their company was able to survive after the revolution because it already had operations in other countries before the government seized their Cuban assets.\n\nBacardi became a fierce advocate for the brand and it has done everything in the book to sell the Arechabala recipe under the Havana Club name they created. The company lobbied hard to get the Cuban trademark thrown out on the grounds that the company was illegally taken from the Arechabalas. Bacardi was able to get a law on the books in 1998 \u2014 known as the Bacardi Act \u2014 that recognizes trademarks registered by expropriated Cuban companies, effectively cancelling the Cuban government and Pernod Ricard\u2019s Havana Club trademark in the US. This allows Bacardi to sell the Arechabala rum with Havana Club brand in the US today.\n\nBut this war isn\u2019t over. The European Union and World Trade Organization does not consider the Bacardi Act to be legal. The ball is currently in the US government\u2019s court, and it is unlikely to address this issue any time soon since President Donald Trump has made it clear that he isn\u2019t keen on improving relations with Cuba. Implementing new sanctions and travel restrictions is all of the proof we need. And as long as there is a trade embargo against Cuba, their version of Havana Club will not be sold in the US.\n\nWhile the future of the Havana Club trademark sits in purgatory, Bacardi and Pernod Ricard are engaged in a different battle \u2014 semantics. Pernod Ricard thinks Bacardi\u2019s Havana Club is a fraud because it\u2019s made in Puerto Rico, while their version is made in Cuba. Bacardi feels their version is the real one because it\u2019s made with the original Cuban recipe. The authenticity lies in the soul of the brand and amplified by a company with Cuban roots giving it amparo, which means refuge in Spanish. When people say that the family recipe made by Bacardi isn\u2019t Cuban, Paola feels angry and personally insulted. \u201cTo me it\u2019s actually unfathomable that people believe [the version made by the Cuban government and Pernod Ricard] is real.\u201d She hopes the play can change things. Next time you order rum consider it\u2019s history, it might not go down as smoothly depending on your politics." + }, + { + "title": "In the Sierra Maestra, Castro revolution lives on - Reuters", + "title_detail": { + "type": "text/plain", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "In the Sierra Maestra, Castro revolution lives on - Reuters" + }, + "links": [ + { + "rel": "alternate", + "type": "text/html", + "href": "https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMijgFBVV95cUxNSFl6NHVab1QzTFBmQU96R3YzM2dnQ1Z4Q1p0M1N3bkFRam9pWmpjemZCaVItX1VtbWZqNW9CU3doc1czaGRFa2h0TTNnSkRSRDdLNkE5R2dTVmFwWkFUZ0JjZUotd1RQRTBVbW5PYm9reGxZZlRldGlzRjVHUF9ERTZhR3J4aVdzMjRfalB3?oc=5" + } + ], + "link": "https://www.motortrend.com/features/1804-the-classic-fords-of-cuba", + "id": "CBMijgFBVV95cUxNSFl6NHVab1QzTFBmQU96R3YzM2dnQ1Z4Q1p0M1N3bkFRam9pWmpjemZCaVItX1VtbWZqNW9CU3doc1czaGRFa2h0TTNnSkRSRDdLNkE5R2dTVmFwWkFUZ0JjZUotd1RQRTBVbW5PYm9reGxZZlRldGlzRjVHUF9ERTZhR3J4aVdzMjRfalB3", + "guidislink": false, + "published": "Thu, 19 Apr 2018 07:00:00 GMT", + "published_parsed": [ + 2018, + 4, + 19, + 7, + 0, + 0, + 3, + 109, + 0 + ], + "summary": "In the Sierra Maestra, Castro revolution lives on  Reuters", + "summary_detail": { + "type": "text/html", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "In the Sierra Maestra, Castro revolution lives on  Reuters" + }, + "source": { + "href": "https://widerimage.reuters.com", + "title": "Reuters" + }, + "sub_articles": [], + "status_code": 200, + "response": "---\ntitle: The Classic Fords of Cuba\nauthor: Randy Richardson\nurl: https://www.motortrend.com/features/1804-the-classic-fords-of-cuba\nhostname: motortrend.com\ndescription: Five decades later, Fords are still popular in Cuba but often with Russian diesel engines!\nsitename: MotorTrend\ndate: 2018-04-18\ncategories: ['features']\ntags: ['Ford', 'Ford']\n---\n# The Classic Fords of Cuba\n\nFive decades later, Fords are still popular in Cuba but often with Russian diesel engines!*[Ed note: Randy Richardson is a contributor to Mustang-360.com and Mustang Monthly magazine with close connections to all things Shelby. He recently took a trip to Cuba to check out the cars and we\u2019re fortunate the he carried his camera with him everywhere he went. So check out his \u201cAmerican Car Guy Tourist Trip\u201d to Cuba for an inside look at the ingenuity of the Cuban people and their ancient but still operational American classics.]*\n\nThousands of American classic cars from the 1940s and 1950s comprise the personal transportation in present day Cuba. Planes full of tourists directly from the United States are landing in Cuba for the first time in decades with the easing of restricted travel. My wife and I decided to take a side trip while we were in Florida to Cuba as a destination we have always wanted to go, she for the culture and historical significance; and I wanted to see the cars.\n\nWe needed to make plans well in advance in order to obtain the proper permits and set up travel arrangements before landing. We traveled under the category of supporting the Cuban people, so we arranged a private driver, an apartment, and a classic car. My wife speaks Spanish which was a major benefit in Cuba and our car was a 1949 Dodge Limousine with excellent air conditioning and an abundance of leg room in the back. The Dodge was in wonderful condition and powered by the typical Cuba power plant\u2014a SsangYong/Mercedes five-cylinder diesel engine (SsangYong is a South Korean Company). Our Dodge received thumbs ups from all the other classic car owners everywhere we went because of its marvelous condition.\n\nCuba has an eclectic assortment of classic American cars brought over from the United States before the revolution in 1959. In the \u201950s, Dictator Fulgencio Batista allowed Cuba to be a tourist destination for Americans and a haven for the mob. Lots of American cars were imported from the United States, a mere 90 miles away. Once Fidel Castro successfully overpowered Batista during the revolution he banned all foreign vehicle imports and restricted the import of parts and fuel. What is left today is steps back in automotive time with five decades of American classics reminisce of a rolling automotive museum." + }, + { + "title": "From Cuba With Love: Yissy Garcia And Bandancha's 'Universo' - 90.5 WESA", + "title_detail": { + "type": "text/plain", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "From Cuba With Love: Yissy Garcia And Bandancha's 'Universo' - 90.5 WESA" + }, + "links": [ + { + "rel": "alternate", + "type": "text/html", + "href": "https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMikAFBVV95cUxPZzBBMUltSkkyYUFkSlpnQkFKSEN4bjM5V0c2NnI4T1I0Y1FqcXhjOVlnWnprNW51MkktV3NLRXZZZnhnLUR6OTMwNF9NWjJMVmk1aVJndmhYWHE2ZHV3aGl6U0dCMFRlbGFDWE5aXzU4UmdybkpmXzhXV0dKYTFNS0VJWV8tODBmTnBiZUZ6RGs?oc=5" + } + ], + "link": "https://widerimage.reuters.com/story/in-the-sierra-maestra-castro-revolution-lives-on", + "id": "CBMikAFBVV95cUxPZzBBMUltSkkyYUFkSlpnQkFKSEN4bjM5V0c2NnI4T1I0Y1FqcXhjOVlnWnprNW51MkktV3NLRXZZZnhnLUR6OTMwNF9NWjJMVmk1aVJndmhYWHE2ZHV3aGl6U0dCMFRlbGFDWE5aXzU4UmdybkpmXzhXV0dKYTFNS0VJWV8tODBmTnBiZUZ6RGs", + "guidislink": false, + "published": "Fri, 20 Apr 2018 07:00:00 GMT", + "published_parsed": [ + 2018, + 4, + 20, + 7, + 0, + 0, + 4, + 110, + 0 + ], + "summary": "From Cuba With Love: Yissy Garcia And Bandancha's 'Universo'  90.5 WESA", + "summary_detail": { + "type": "text/html", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "From Cuba With Love: Yissy Garcia And Bandancha's 'Universo'  90.5 WESA" + }, + "source": { + "href": "https://www.wesa.fm", + "title": "90.5 WESA" + }, + "sub_articles": [], + "status_code": 200, + "response": "---\ntitle: In the Sierra Maestra, Castro revolution lives on\nauthor: Alexandre Meneghini\nurl: https://widerimage.reuters.com/story/in-the-sierra-maestra-castro-revolution-lives-on\nhostname: reuters.com\ndescription: In the rugged Sierra Maestra mountains near where Fidel Castro made his hideout as he led a guerrilla uprising in the late 1950s, Cubans say they are still grateful for the land reforms and modern amenities his leftist revolution brought.\nsitename: The Wider Image\ndate: 2018-04-19\ntags: ['Cerrito De Naua, Cuba, Alexandre Meneghini, Shifting Society, revolution, farmer, society, mountains, politics, economy, vote, animals, village, community']\n---\nIn the rugged Sierra Maestra mountains near where Fidel Castro made his hideout as he led a guerrilla uprising in the late 1950s, Cubans say they are still grateful for the land reforms and modern amenities his leftist revolution brought.\n\n1 Apr 2018 . La Plata, CUBA. Reuters/Alexandre Meneghini\nMountains in the Sierra Maestra as seen from La Plata.\n\nFidel Castro's younger brother Raul Castro, 86, steps down as president this week. His successor is likely to be 57-year-old Miguel Diaz-Canel, the first time that Communist-run Cuba has had a leader born after the 1959 revolution.\n\n29 Mar 2018 . Santo Domingo, CUBA. Reuters/Alexandre Meneghini\nA family rest outside their home.\n\nIn Santo Domingo, the hamlet closest to the \"Comandancia La Plata\" where the rebels had their military headquarters, locals say they owe much to the Castros' revolution, despite an ailing economy that Raul Castro's tentative market reforms have failed to fix.\n\n31 Mar 2018 . Santo Domingo, CUBA. Reuters/Alexandre Meneghini\nA horse stands in the mountains near Santo Domingo.\n\n\"I have a happy life: I have a place to farm; I have animals,\" said farmer Paulo Alvarez, 55, whose pigs, turkeys and chickens roam freely around his wooden hut, grunting and squawking. \"I thank the revolution for that. It was not like this before.\"\n\nFidel Castro, who ruled for decades before handing off to his brother and who died in retirement in 2016, nationalised many large agricultural properties after coming to power, part of a sharp leftward turn that prompted many Cubans to leave the island and that sent relations with the United States into a long freeze.\n\n2 Apr 2018 . Santo Domingo, CUBA. Reuters/Alexandre Meneghini\nA boy raises the Cuban flag during a daily ceremony held in a school.\n\nTitle to land was given free of charge to former tenant farmers, farm labourers and sharecroppers. Many farmers then joined together to work under the umbrella of state and cooperative farms.\n\nThe Cuban government also brought medical facilities, schools and paved roads to remote places like Santo Domingo, a village of several hundred inhabitants nestled in the wooded mountains by a river.\n\n1 Apr 2018 . La Plata, CUBA. Reuters/Alexandre Meneghini\nPerez closes a window of the house where Fidel Castro lived during the Cuban revolution.\n\nResident Luis Enrique Perez was able to train as an English teacher, although he gave up teaching because of the low salary. Despite the revolution's achievements in social indicators like education, much of Cuba's population scrapes by on state wages, which at around $30 a month are a source of common grumbles.\n\nPerez said he found better paid work as a guide at the Comandancia La Plata, which nowadays attracts visitors exploring Cuba's political heritage.\n\n\"I can make better money and also practise my languages with tourists, which is my passion,\" said Perez, as he pointed to the large bed where Fidel Castro once slept next to a window overlooking the surrounding undergrowth.\n\nAdding a touch of authenticity, a 1950s American fridge stands in the main room with a bullet hole where it is said to have been hit by enemy fire while being carried up the mountains to the \"Commandante's\" hut.\n\n29 Mar 2018 . Providencia, CUBA. Reuters/Alexandre Meneghini\nPeople attend the recording of an episode of the TV show \"Palmas y Canas\".\n\n\"Raul did many good things to Cuba in the last 10 years,\" he said. \"He has changed the social life of the country, with cooperatives, private business, hotspots, internet, mobiles.\"\n\nThe younger Castro has opened up Cuba's state-run economy to private enterprise in an attempt to boost growth and trim the state payroll. A surge in tourism over the past few years has fostered that fledgling private sector.\n\n30 Mar 2018 . Santo Domingo, CUBA. Reuters/Alexandre Meneghini\nAn ox crosses the main road in Santo Domingo.\n\nStory\nIn Santo Domingo, private restaurants and bed-and-breakfasts have sprung up alongside the main road, where cows and horses saunter across nonchalantly in search of better pastures.\n\n\"Cuba would be the best place to live in the world,\" said Perez, \"if state salaries were good enough.\"\n\nWriting by Sarah Marsh" + }, + { + "title": "Canada to return diplomat families from Cuba over health concerns - CNN", + "title_detail": { + "type": "text/plain", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Canada to return diplomat families from Cuba over health concerns - CNN" + }, + "links": [ + { + "rel": "alternate", + "type": "text/html", + "href": "https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMidEFVX3lxTE1LVDdKQnNmQUV0OFBOZ3BDTzFZeEVOYkxXcml4dW1fSUVpNVNpeGVKMDdzYU5CX05oSkhaVFp6ZHNEZ0N6YVE3b1doSFBSckZkYU95TXRRVVdqRDdzSmFhVVNFZzl1MjBCanRoX2I5QnI3c043?oc=5" + } + ], + "link": "https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/17/americas/canada-cuba-diplomats-intl", + "id": "CBMidEFVX3lxTE1LVDdKQnNmQUV0OFBOZ3BDTzFZeEVOYkxXcml4dW1fSUVpNVNpeGVKMDdzYU5CX05oSkhaVFp6ZHNEZ0N6YVE3b1doSFBSckZkYU95TXRRVVdqRDdzSmFhVVNFZzl1MjBCanRoX2I5QnI3c043", + "guidislink": false, + "published": "Tue, 17 Apr 2018 07:00:00 GMT", + "published_parsed": [ + 2018, + 4, + 17, + 7, + 0, + 0, + 1, + 107, + 0 + ], + "summary": "Canada to return diplomat families from Cuba over health concerns  CNN", + "summary_detail": { + "type": "text/html", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Canada to return diplomat families from Cuba over health concerns  CNN" + }, + "source": { + "href": "https://www.cnn.com", + "title": "CNN" + }, + "sub_articles": [], + "status_code": 200, + "response": "---\ntitle: Canada to return diplomat families from Cuba over health concerns | CNN\nauthor: Patrick Oppmann; Angus Watson\nurl: https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/17/americas/canada-cuba-diplomats-intl\nhostname: cnn.com\ndescription: The families of Canadian diplomats in Cuba will return home permanently due to unexplained health concerns, Canada\u2019s government announced Monday.\nsitename: CNN\ndate: 2018-04-17\ncategories: ['world', 'americas']\ntags: ['canada, caribbean, cuba, government and public administration, government bodies and offices, international relations, international relations and national security, latin america, north america, state departments and diplomatic services', 'canada, caribbean, cuba, government and public administration, government bodies and offices, international relations, international relations and national security, latin america, north america, state departments and diplomatic services']\n---\nThe families of Canadian diplomats in Cuba will return home permanently due to unexplained health concerns, Canada\u2019s government announced Monday.\n\nCuba will now be designated an \u201cunaccompanied post\u201d meaning that the families of diplomatic staff will not be able to live with them while they are assigned to the country.\n\n\u201cThe Government of Canada continues to investigate the potential causes of unusual health symptoms reported in 2017 by some Canadian diplomatic staff and dependents posted to Havana, Cuba,\u201d Global Affairs Canada wrote in a statement. \u201cThe symptoms include dizziness, headaches and lack of ability to concentrate, amongst others.\u201d\n\nThe US State Department evacuated non-essential personnel and families from Cuba in 2017, after claims a sophisticated device that operated outside the range of audible sound had been used in an \u201cacoustic attack\u201d on US embassy staff, with Canada also reporting \u201cunusual symptoms affecting Canadian and US diplomatic personnel and their families in Havana.\u201d\n\nAfter more than a year of inquiries, State Department and federal investigators were unable to attribute the source or cause of the ailments, apart from that they \u201cwere most likely related to trauma from a non-natural source.\u201d\n\nAt least 24 diplomats and family members were affected, some with damage that they may carry for years, officials testified at a Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee hearing in January.\n\nWhile the incidents remain a mystery, State Department officials who testified said they believe Cuba has clearer information about who is behind what they classified as \u201cattacks\u201d on US diplomats working on the communist-run island.\n\nThe Cuban government has called the alleged attacks \u201cscience fiction\u201d and complained that Washington has not shared much in the way of medical details or let their investigators inspect the diplomatic residences where many of the incidents took place.\n\nIn its statement this week, Global Affairs Canada said the country \u201chas a positive and constructive relationship with Cuba and has received close cooperation from the Cuban authorities since health concerns of Canadians serving in Cuba first surfaced in the spring of 2017.\u201d\n\nCuba\u2019s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has not yet commented on Canada\u2019s withdrawal of diplomatic families.\n\nCNN\u2019s Laura Koran contributed reporting." + }, + { + "title": "Cuba\u2019s Cautious Capitalism - Global Finance Magazine", + "title_detail": { + "type": "text/plain", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Cuba\u2019s Cautious Capitalism - Global Finance Magazine" + }, + "links": [ + { + "rel": "alternate", + "type": "text/html", + "href": "https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiekFVX3lxTFBDYWJnZ3p1VlA3S0gyWno2ZEVFMnM3RGdtSjhhZjcxdV95TnRiNkVlWjVERnA0a0NodDhIQUZJb0FEeTVvbXZZTTRkaEF1Vk13SnRDMmMxbWNVb1phVU91SUNlbFlhc1lnX2ZwUkJPTzdNdHBKa1Z5aENR?oc=5" + } + ], + "link": "https://www.wesa.fm/2018-04-20/from-cuba-with-love-yissy-garcia-and-bandanchas-universo", + "id": 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"https://www.cnbc.com", + "title": "CNBC" + }, + "sub_articles": [], + "status_code": 200, + "response": "---\ntitle: Our man in Havana: music, mojitos and swearing in Spanish\nauthor: Ruaridh Nicoll\nurl: http://www.theguardian.com/travel/2018/apr/08/our-man-in-havana-cuba-music-mojitos\nhostname: theguardian.com\ndescription: The former Observer Magazine editor moved to Cuba to write a book \u2013 but with its crumbling elegance and sense of drama Havana presents plenty of distractions from the job at hand\nsitename: The Guardian\ndate: 2018-04-08\ncategories: ['Travel']\ntags: ['Cuba holidays,Havana holidays,Caribbean holidays,North and Central America holidays,Travel,Life and style']\n---\nThe grand windows of Casa Almson are flung wide, the trade winds offering a gentle breeze off the Florida straits as the sun descends across Havana, and I am learning Spanish. \u201c*Anoche, yo fui en un nightclub de mala fama*,\u201d I say. WAAAAHK. \u201cWhat the hell was that?\u201d I retreat to English. \u201cWas that a duck?\u201d\n\nAlma, mi profesora, cocks her head and listens as the creature makes another complaint.\n\nWAAAAHK.\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s a goose,\u201d she decides. \u201cThey\u2019re making a Santer\u00eda ritual.\u201d She is referring to the creole religion of Cuba.\n\n\u201cNot good news for the goose then?\u201d I ask, and she shakes her head.\n\nAt Christmas, I packed in my job to write a book in Havana. If you say mid-life crisis, I\u2019m flattered you think I\u2019m so young. I rented an apartment on the sixth floor of a beautiful, if put-upon building in Centro Habana, the most frayed part of the Cuban capital.\n\nPart of the plan was to immerse myself in the city, and very quickly life on the streets was tugging at me. On the first day, a man leaning against a wall said: \u201cMi amigo, what are you looking for?\u201d I wasn\u2019t really sure where to start with a question like that, so I stopped and almost got run over by a 1952 Chrysler.\n\nGetting to the apartment requires taking a lift like the one that delivers Mickey Rourke to hell in the film *Angel Heart*. The operators, Juan and Miriam, take turns. They close the gate and up we trundle in the cage, passing washed-out windows, bare bulbs and gritty floors. Juan plays Bryan Adams at deafening volume, and Miriam is so hungry she hasn\u2019t the strength to press the button, so we start giving her breakfast.\n\nOnce inside, Casa Almson offers up high ceilings, elegant cornicing, slightly disreputable art and balconies on every side. It\u2019s an elegant platform from which to look down on the city.\n\nI am joined by my pal Chris, who is finishing a book on the opioid crisis in the US, and we write in the mornings. Once in a while, Chris shouts and we rush to the balconies to watch ships steaming in \u2013 they glide past the Morro Castle and into Havana bay, sounding their sirens as they come.\n\nThe house is not a refuge, though. The street comes up and in. There is the constant rumble of the 1950s cars, the shouts of hawkers selling everything from meat to peanuts to water. There are arguments, laughter and, of course, music.\n\nOne afternoon, again during my Spanish lesson, a furious row breaks out next door, every word audible through the well of the building. \u201cYou know how the eskimos have 100 words for snow?\u201d says mi profesora. \u201cWell, we Cubans have 100 words for dick.\u201d\n\nIn the afternoons, I leave Chris to write, and go on adventures. Sometimes it is enough just to walk. It\u2019s one of the few cities in the world where you can saunter up the middle of the road. The bici-taxis swerve round me, asking where I want to go as I watch people shout up to friends on the higher floors, who then lower baskets for their provisions.\n\n\u201cYou know why everyone walks in the centre of the road?\u201d a friend tells me. \u201cIt\u2019s because there is a real danger of falling masonry.\u201d It is true, the city is falling to pieces, but another Cuban friend will say, \u201cDon\u2019t look at the buildings, look at the people.\u201d\n\nIt\u2019s hard not to look at both. From the mad hubbub of Centro, I wander into Vedado, a beautiful old neighbourhood of villas. On the more elegant streets, ancient jaguey trees drip vines while their roots tear up the paving stones. Here it\u2019s possible to see a little of the lives being led behind the 19th-century facades, where Habaneros battle with shortages and bureaucracy by gripping on to culture and, the occasional swearword apart, an immense good humour.\n\nAt sunset I am back in Casa Almson learning Spanish, but sometimes mi profesora is away, and Chris and I go and sit on the wall of the Malec\u00f3n, the road that edges the sea, or else find ourselves in the garden at the Nacional, the most august hotel in the city, drinking mojitos.\n\nWhere once eating was a trial in Havana, now it\u2019s all choice. Using a crib sheet provided by expat travel specialist Toby Brocklehurst, we go in search of the best Havana now offers, superb restaurants such as La Corte del Principe where the ceviche is world class, or else San Crist\u00f3bal, where Barack Obama took Michelle during their 2016 visit, and which is only a few yards from Casa Almson.\n\nAnd from there, as the city cools to night, La F\u00e1brica de Arte calls. It is a cultural centre that has become a great nightspot. Created out of an old cooking oil factory by Afro-Cuban musician X Alfonso, it attracts anyone looking for a good time, and all disappear into the warren where in one place there\u2019s an art gallery, another a live music stage, elsewhere a club, and lots of secret little rooms where hidden conversations take place.\n\nIt\u2019s usually the early hours before the city quietens. Beyond the shuttered windows of the house, there is the faintest whisper of music from a club or passing car. But the night the goose got it, the Santer\u00eda initiates spilled on to the streets and began a singing competition, outdoing each other with their unaccompanied ballads, clearly enjoying their voices bouncing off the for once silent streets.\n\nFor a while I laughed, but then I rolled over and put earplugs in. Sometimes one needs a break from full immersion.\n\n## Way to go\n\n\n*Journey Latin America offers 11 days in Havana, Vi\u00f1ales and Trinidad, from \u00a31,784pp, including flights from Gatwick, transfers, accommodation, breakfast, excursions and tourist card visa. Casa Almson is \u20ac70 a night for four sharing two rooms, but a discount can be negotiated for trips of over two weeks. To use Toby Brocklehurst\u2019s services go to incloud9.com*\n\n## Comments (\u2026)\n\nSign in or create your Guardian account to join the discussion" + }, + { + "title": "After 59 Years, a Castro Is No Longer Official Leader of Cuba - WSJ", + "title_detail": { + "type": "text/plain", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "After 59 Years, a Castro Is No Longer Official Leader of Cuba - WSJ" + }, + "links": [ + { + "rel": "alternate", + "type": "text/html", + "href": "https://news.google.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?oc=5" + } + ], + "link": "https://www.wsj.com/articles/after-59-years-a-castro-is-no-longer-official-leader-of-cuba-1524163464?gaa_at=eafs&gaa_n=AWEtsqcXEcX_PwwoVoQje4nx4PH8nObqPVB23ZkiWfgukXu-7XcRcQ0439Gk&gaa_ts=69c54d51&gaa_sig=E8KJScgQ1WditU7fcUwnkx9VL3H7AoWam9Bbfw01xfNjuhWQIILpeHNJtsS9K3ejHGyumBUsjxMXZpltYQZlaA%3D%3D", + "id": "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", + "guidislink": false, + "published": "Thu, 19 Apr 2018 07:00:00 GMT", + "published_parsed": [ + 2018, + 4, + 19, + 7, + 0, + 0, + 3, + 109, + 0 + ], + "summary": "After 59 Years, a Castro Is No Longer Official Leader of Cuba  WSJ", + "summary_detail": { + "type": "text/html", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "After 59 Years, a Castro Is No Longer Official Leader of Cuba  WSJ" + }, + "source": { + "href": "https://www.wsj.com", + "title": "WSJ" + }, + "sub_articles": [], + "status_code": 403, + "response": "Error: HTTP 403" + }, + { + "title": "As Cuba Changes, Orquesta Akok\u00e1n Revives The Golden Age Of Mambo - 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To watch this content, you may need to disable it on this site.\n\nIt was the first time Castro laid out a clear vision for the nation's power structure after his retirement or death, a vision in which Diaz-Canel is the Castro family's true successor as Cuban leader.\n\nFidel Castro\u2019s brother left the presidency Thursday after 12 years in office when the National Assembly approved 57-year-old Diaz-Canel as his successor.\n\nIn a half-hour speech, Diaz-Canel told the nation that Castro, 86, would remain the country's ultimate authority as head of the Communist Party.\n\nSpeaking after Diaz-Canel, Castro said he expected the younger man to become first secretary of the party after Castro retires from the position in 2021.\n\n\"From that point on, I will be just another soldier defending this revolution,\" Castro said.\n\nCastro indicated that he expected Diaz-Canel to serve two five-year terms as head of the party, saying he envisioned Diaz-Canel guiding his own successor for three years after leaving the presidency in 2028.\n\n**\u2018Continuity to the Cuban Revolution\u2019**\n\nIn his speech to the nation, the new president pledged to preserve the island's communist system while gradually reforming the economy and making the government more responsive to the people.\n\n\"The people have given this assembly the mandate to provide continuity to the Cuban Revolution during a crucial, historic moment that will be defined by all that we achieve in the advance of the modernization of our social and economic model,\" Diaz-Canel said.\n\nTo display this content from , you must enable advertisement tracking and audience measurement.\n\nHe said Cuba was, as always, prepared to negotiate with the United States but unwilling to cede to any of Washington's demands for internal change.\n\nHe emphasized that reforms would follow a 12-year-plan laid out by the National Assembly and Communist Party that would allow moderate growth of private enterprise while maintaining the important sectors of the economy in the hands of the state.\n\nWith Castro watching from the audience, Diaz-Canel made clear that he would defer to the man who, along with his brother Fidel, founded and ruled for six decades what has become one of the world's last communist governments.\n\n\"I confirm to this assembly that Raul Castro, as first secretary of the Communist Party, will lead the decisions about the future of the country,\" Diaz-Canel said. \"Cuba needs him, providing ideas and proposals for the revolutionary cause, orienting and alerting us about any error or deficiency, teaching us, and always ready to confront imperialism.\"\n\n*(FRANCE 24 with AP)*" + }, + { + "title": "Raul Castro\u2019s report card - Al Jazeera", + "title_detail": { + "type": "text/plain", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Raul Castro\u2019s report card - Al Jazeera" + }, + "links": [ + { + "rel": "alternate", + "type": "text/html", + "href": "https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMieEFVX3lxTE1ja2M2UXZ0RGM3V0hHamRqVTRiaWR0VWMteTROVlNXcjZmSjItY0ZpLThkaEtnLUNaTVByN2Y5bUl1cjJVVDhtbFAxcWRLSURRZWhSMjluSHI3Q0JqVlNKVFJ1endHWldic0dQNzJXMjZqdTh5RXM4UNIBfkFVX3lxTE8zVVMxdnV5Y1FJWXNYUFI3Z0FPeUJpa2xKWGhSZHpKMjV4dWFzUjNXSEpkSEZGUi1WUDFxU2h0dmRhS0xQQkpWUlk3S1hGV3JIWlVkbWZTNkhNWXcyWGFhQkdFWVpwT1BRS015NTJjNkUwVDJsdUVhcHlrUlhNdw?oc=5" + } + ], + "link": "https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2018/4/18/raul-castros-report-card", + "id": "CBMieEFVX3lxTE1ja2M2UXZ0RGM3V0hHamRqVTRiaWR0VWMteTROVlNXcjZmSjItY0ZpLThkaEtnLUNaTVByN2Y5bUl1cjJVVDhtbFAxcWRLSURRZWhSMjluSHI3Q0JqVlNKVFJ1endHWldic0dQNzJXMjZqdTh5RXM4UNIBfkFVX3lxTE8zVVMxdnV5Y1FJWXNYUFI3Z0FPeUJpa2xKWGhSZHpKMjV4dWFzUjNXSEpkSEZGUi1WUDFxU2h0dmRhS0xQQkpWUlk3S1hGV3JIWlVkbWZTNkhNWXcyWGFhQkdFWVpwT1BRS015NTJjNkUwVDJsdUVhcHlrUlhNdw", + "guidislink": false, + "published": "Wed, 18 Apr 2018 07:00:00 GMT", + "published_parsed": [ + 2018, + 4, + 18, + 7, + 0, + 0, + 2, + 108, + 0 + ], + "summary": "Raul Castro\u2019s report card  Al Jazeera", + "summary_detail": { + "type": "text/html", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Raul Castro\u2019s report card  Al Jazeera" + }, + "source": { + "href": "https://www.aljazeera.com", + "title": "Al Jazeera" + }, + "sub_articles": [], + "status_code": 200, + "response": "---\ntitle: Raul Castro\u2019s report card\nauthor: Lucia Newman\nurl: https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2018/4/18/raul-castros-report-card\nhostname: aljazeera.com\ndescription: For the first time in six decades, Cuba will be led by a person who does not carry the name Castro.\nsitename: Al Jazeera\ndate: 2018-04-18\ntags: ['Fidel Castro, Raul Castro', 'Features, Fidel Castro, Raul Castro, Cuba, Latin America']\n---\n# Raul Castro\u2019s report card\n\n*For the first time in six decades, Cuba will be led by a person who does not carry the name Castro.*\n\n**Havana, Cuba** \u2013 Raul Castro has kept his promise.\n\nFifty-nine years after leading a revolution that overthrew Cuba\u2018s then-dictator Fulgencio Batista, the younger of the two Castro brothers is indeed stepping down.\n\nUnlike his older brother, Fidel, who ruled supreme for almost half a century until severe health complications forced him to cede power to his sibling in 2006, Raul chose to set his own timetable for launching the post-Castro era.\n\nIn and of itself, that is a reflection of his pragmatism \u2013 perhaps the 86-year-old Communist leader\u2019s most notable characteristic.\n\nIt was Raul Castro who agreed to work with US President Barrack Obama to end nearly 50 years of Cold War between the United States and Cuba, restoring diplomatic relations in 2015.\n\nWith Venezuela\u2018s economy in shambles, Castro could no longer rely on Caracas to keep his country afloat and needed to expand ties with his capitalist neighbour.\n\nAs Cuba\u2019s powerful defence minister and first vice president for nearly five decades, Raul never contradicted Fidel, the \u201cSupreme Leader\u201d \u2013 at least not in public.\n\nBut as soon as he took over as president in 2008, two years after assuming the role of acting president, he started lifting some of the most unpopular restrictions imposed under his brother\u2019s rule.\n\nIn 2006, only foreigners were allowed to have a mobile phone, internet access, buy a car or stay at Cuban hotels and beach resorts.\n\nCubans were more than pleasantly surprised when Raul abolished these humiliating practices. He also legalised the sale and purchase of homes and eased many long-standing travel restrictions.\n\n\u201cMaybe we were betting on the wrong Castro all along,\u201d joked a Cuban taxi driver who preferred to not give his name.\n\nAs part of his plan to \u201cupdate Cuban Socialism\u201d, Castro opened up the cash-starved economy to a small private sector.\n\nPeople were allowed to offer services as construction workers, plumbers, painters and so on. Restaurants, bed and breakfast hotels, as well as art galleries, began appearing all over the island.\n\nBut while these reforms revealed a vibrant Cuban entrepreneurial spirit, they also exacerbated income inequality in what is supposed to be a classless socialist society. This led to pressure within the Communist Party to roll back on some of the reforms.\n\nAnd while Castro expressed admiration for the Chinese and Vietnamese models, like Fidel, he never gave up the state\u2019s control of the main areas of the economy.\n\nIn fact, under Raul Castro, the Cuban military increased control over the island\u2019s main industries, especially tourism.\n\nMeanwhile, salaries remained dismally low. A state employee earns about $30 a month, while a bottle of cooking oil costs $2, or seven percent of a monthly wage.\n\nRaul Castro failed to turn back the tide of young Cubans who dream only of emigrating in search of better opportunities.\n\n\u201cI hope the next president will do more so that we don\u2019t have to leave our country,\u201d said Diesmel Gonzalez, a musician from Guantanamo.\n\n\u201cWe need freedom to express ourselves, to work without so many restrictions, to earn a decent salary. Raul made some improvements, but not enough.\u201d\n\nJust like his elder brother, Raul Castro never contemplated relinquishing or even slightly easing the Communist Party\u2019s tight political grip on the island nation.\n\nState control of the media is absolute, opposition political parties and organisations are illegal and dissidents continue to be rounded up, harassed and imprisoned when they become too bold.\n\nFormer Cuban diplomat Carlos Alzugaray argued that Raul Castro\u2019s principal goal was to guarantee continuity.\n\n\u201cHe wanted to set in motion a system that will reproduce the structure of power with the Communist Party at the centre of power after Fidel and he are gone. He wants the party to function much as the Vietnamese party functioned after Ho Chi Ming, much as the Chinese Communist Party functioned after Mao and Deng Xiaoping \u2026 And that is what he has organised, in a relatively short time.\u201d\n\nThe biological clock is ticking. And no matter how well-planned his transition is, for the first time in six decades Cuba will be led by a person who does not carry the name Castro." + }, + { + "title": "Cuba, Long Led By Castros, Hails A New President Outside The Family - Blue Ridge Public Radio", + "title_detail": { + "type": "text/plain", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Cuba, Long Led By Castros, Hails A New President Outside The Family - Blue Ridge Public Radio" + }, + "links": [ + { + "rel": "alternate", + "type": "text/html", + "href": "https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMinAFBVV95cUxOVWhlM0FPNDFDdGszel94VVNzV0FheVlDLVNYT3hOaGxNaEFBVjRvUzkyYngxcFhaNmhIXzNQMEg5X0s3Vzk4SzlDc2tNdEkwaGJJdDRISjhrLU83NFdYRWNIMVU3QWZ1WWxhNGVVU1V3c3dLWTczSF9PSy0zRnpPV2VYOHVUWlZBNnBaeW9NNGJRaEtIRmtBMUQxSW4?oc=5" + } + ], + "link": "https://www.bpr.org/2018-04-19/cuba-long-led-by-castros-hails-a-new-president-outside-the-family", + "id": "CBMinAFBVV95cUxOVWhlM0FPNDFDdGszel94VVNzV0FheVlDLVNYT3hOaGxNaEFBVjRvUzkyYngxcFhaNmhIXzNQMEg5X0s3Vzk4SzlDc2tNdEkwaGJJdDRISjhrLU83NFdYRWNIMVU3QWZ1WWxhNGVVU1V3c3dLWTczSF9PSy0zRnpPV2VYOHVUWlZBNnBaeW9NNGJRaEtIRmtBMUQxSW4", + "guidislink": false, + "published": "Thu, 19 Apr 2018 07:00:00 GMT", + "published_parsed": [ + 2018, + 4, + 19, + 7, + 0, + 0, + 3, + 109, + 0 + ], + "summary": "Cuba, Long Led By Castros, Hails A New President Outside The Family  Blue Ridge Public Radio", + "summary_detail": { + "type": "text/html", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Cuba, Long Led By Castros, Hails A New President Outside The Family  Blue Ridge Public Radio" + }, + "source": { + "href": "https://www.bpr.org", + "title": "Blue Ridge Public Radio" + }, + "sub_articles": [], + "status_code": 403, + "response": "Error: HTTP 403" + }, + { + "title": "Cuba Gooding Jr. Recalls His \u201910 Years in the Wilderness\u2019 \u2014 and Turning Down \u2018Ray\u2019 and \u2018The Last King of Scotland\u2019 - IndieWire", + "title_detail": { + "type": "text/plain", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Cuba Gooding Jr. Recalls His \u201910 Years in the Wilderness\u2019 \u2014 and Turning Down \u2018Ray\u2019 and \u2018The Last King of Scotland\u2019 - IndieWire" + }, + "links": [ + { + "rel": "alternate", + "type": "text/html", + "href": "https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiogFBVV95cUxPcmlsUUVKbUswYlZ6SmJaLUpNQ2tkRldlRHJDZGtmVzNDUjBoN2FQbl9mdWE1eWhZRUFudnhlVHBuQzRlV1pOanI2eU14MTNQTnFwak9xUjlDbGtSRms4VWd5V1RJSEZmd0hIMFoxOWF2VldzLUt6Q25ZX0lib0w5WllxNFJnckFxR3lOaW9yUGRiV0pQcERacjhPaGI2MlJ3UUE?oc=5" + } + ], + "link": "https://www.wypr.org/2018-04-15/as-cuba-changes-orquesta-akokan-revives-the-golden-age-of-mambo", + "id": "CBMiogFBVV95cUxPcmlsUUVKbUswYlZ6SmJaLUpNQ2tkRldlRHJDZGtmVzNDUjBoN2FQbl9mdWE1eWhZRUFudnhlVHBuQzRlV1pOanI2eU14MTNQTnFwak9xUjlDbGtSRms4VWd5V1RJSEZmd0hIMFoxOWF2VldzLUt6Q25ZX0lib0w5WllxNFJnckFxR3lOaW9yUGRiV0pQcERacjhPaGI2MlJ3UUE", + "guidislink": false, + "published": "Sun, 01 Apr 2018 07:00:00 GMT", + "published_parsed": [ + 2018, + 4, + 1, + 7, + 0, + 0, + 6, + 91, + 0 + ], + "summary": "Cuba Gooding Jr. Recalls His \u201910 Years in the Wilderness\u2019 \u2014 and Turning Down \u2018Ray\u2019 and \u2018The Last King of Scotland\u2019  IndieWire", + "summary_detail": { + "type": "text/html", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Cuba Gooding Jr. Recalls His \u201910 Years in the Wilderness\u2019 \u2014 and Turning Down \u2018Ray\u2019 and \u2018The Last King of Scotland\u2019  IndieWire" + }, + "source": { + "href": "https://www.indiewire.com", + "title": "IndieWire" + }, + "sub_articles": [], + "status_code": 403, + "response": "Error: HTTP 403" + }, + { + "title": "Raul Castro to lead Cuba's Communist Party until 2021 - France 24", + "title_detail": { + "type": "text/plain", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Raul Castro to lead Cuba's Communist Party until 2021 - France 24" + }, + "links": [ + { + "rel": "alternate", + "type": "text/html", + "href": "https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMinAFBVV95cUxQOFpvQm9fcGVZenVQU1p2MTF3bVcyc0xaRUVmSXgtdkw3MlpxOGEwYnRTSXVJS1dRVm9sUUJtZDJINVBTZW5JWERHU0VYVHNIV29XTF83Y1A0MFJ5NEM5NkVleTRuNzhtdnQ1UnhKRm15N1VxbE43Mm1qWEREaEdCMF84UFc0X2RJU2xzV0VnUWU2ZFN4cmgxVDJEeXc?oc=5" + } + ], + "link": "https://www.indiewire.com/features/general/cuba-gooding-jr-ray-the-last-king-of-scotland-1201945747/", + "id": "CBMinAFBVV95cUxQOFpvQm9fcGVZenVQU1p2MTF3bVcyc0xaRUVmSXgtdkw3MlpxOGEwYnRTSXVJS1dRVm9sUUJtZDJINVBTZW5JWERHU0VYVHNIV29XTF83Y1A0MFJ5NEM5NkVleTRuNzhtdnQ1UnhKRm15N1VxbE43Mm1qWEREaEdCMF84UFc0X2RJU2xzV0VnUWU2ZFN4cmgxVDJEeXc", + "guidislink": false, + "published": "Thu, 19 Apr 2018 07:00:00 GMT", + "published_parsed": [ + 2018, + 4, + 19, + 7, + 0, + 0, + 3, + 109, + 0 + ], + "summary": "Raul Castro to lead Cuba's Communist Party until 2021  France 24", + "summary_detail": { + "type": "text/html", + "language": null, + "base": "", + "value": "Raul Castro to lead Cuba's Communist Party until 2021  France 24" + }, + "source": { + "href": "https://www.france24.com", + "title": "France 24" + }, + "sub_articles": [], + "status_code": 200, + "response": "---\ntitle: Cuba Gooding Jr. Recalls His \u201910 Years in the Wilderness\u2019 \u2014 and Turning Down \u2018Ray\u2019 and \u2018The Last King of Scotland\u2019\nauthor: Michael Nordine\nurl: https://www.indiewire.com/features/general/cuba-gooding-jr-ray-the-last-king-of-scotland-1201945747/\nhostname: indiewire.com\ndescription: The actor recalls his \"10 years in the wilderness.\"\nsitename: IndieWire\ndate: 2018-04-01\n---\nBy providing your information, you agree to our Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy. We use vendors that may also process your information to help provide our services. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA Enterprise and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.\n\nFew actors have had a career trajectory quite like that of Cuba Gooding, Jr. Twenty years after winning an Oscar for his role in \u201cJerry Maguire,\u201d the actor has mounted a comeback of sorts after what he describes as \u201c10 years in the wilderness\u201d marked by forgettable straight-to-DVD projects. Now he\u2019s done a far-reaching interview with the Guardian to discuss how he always wanted to be an actor \u201cwho does *all* the parts\u201d \u2014 and how that may have harmed his career as much as it helped it.\n\nAfter admitting that he\u2019s starred in \u201csome real clunkers,\u201d Gooding, Jr. is asked whether he made them for the money. \u201cNot for me,\u201d he says. \u201cFor me, it was always about protecting the sanctity of that golden statue\u2026 Because I felt I needed to show people that I can do more, I can do better.\u201d\n\nThat mindset dates back to his breakthrough role: \u201cI remember when I did \u2018Boyz N the Hood,\u2019 everybody was like, \u2018Yeah, but can he do comedy?\u2019 Then I won for \u2018Jerry Maguire\u2019 and they\u2019re, \u2018Yeah, but can he do drama?\u2019\u201d\n\nThe years between those two films, which were highlighted by performances in \u201cOutbreak\u201d and \u201cA Few Good Men,\u201d represented a shift for him: \u201cNow [I\u2019ve] moved away from the title \u2018black actor\u2019 and now I\u2019m just an entertainer.\u201d They also made him not want to repeat himself, which seems to be why he turned down \u201cRay,\u201d \u201cHotel Rwanda,\u201d and \u201cThe Last King of Scotland.\u201d \u201cI was offered Idi Amin in \u2018The Last King of Scotland,'\u201d he recalls. \u201cAnd I said to myself, \u2018I can\u2019t do that. He\u2019s a bad guy!\u2019\u201d\n\nGooding, Jr. has that on his mind when discussing the likes of Ryan Coogler and Barry Jenkins. \u201cIt will be interesting to see if they get put in the same box, like they did with the Singletons and Spike Lees, or if they\u2019re accepted as just filmmakers who have their ways to tell a story.\u201d Read his full interview here.\n\nBy providing your information, you agree to our Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy. We use vendors that may also process your information to help provide our services. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA Enterprise and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply." + } + ] +} \ No newline at end of file