Back to Rubio the Realist. This can be seen a laying the ground for a deal that will be disappointing for Miami hard liners.
Marco Rubio sees "much different" future for Cuba before Trump leaves office
https://www.aninews.in/news/world/us/marco-rubio-sees-much-different-future-for-cuba-before-trump-leaves-office20260812193133/
Video of full interview with Katie Miller, Stephen’s wife, go to 32:25 https://youtu.be/09XnM4XHjuk
Miami
fears delay
Will Cuba have to wait until 2029? Marco Rubio cools hopes of a US intervention
Will Cuba have to wait until 2029? Marco Rubio cools hopes of a US intervention
and
minimizes internal change
"In the interest of the people": Díaz-Canel rejects multiparty system and political change in Cuba
"In the interest of the people": Díaz-Canel
rejects multiparty system and political change in Cuba
Which is the real Marco Rubio, above or below?
"No escape:" Inside Rubio's Cuba pressure campaign
Marc Caputo
https://www.axios.com/2026/08/07/marco-rubio-cuba-pressure-campaign
Hugo
Cancio is deeply involved from Miami in Cuba.
There have been periods of tension between him and officials in Havana,
but he is close enough to government leaders that his words deserve attention.
Cuba’s
Next Leader Will Not Be Found in Washington
Cuba needs to change because Cuba needs to, not because
Washington orders it. And the United States must also understand where the line
is drawn.
By Hugo Cancio On Cuba News August 10, 2026
Cuba’s Next Leader Will Not Be Found in Washington |
OnCubaNews English
********************
The
Birth of a Nation: The Remake
Criticism of the Cuban government is necessary, and it
comes from the Cuban people, from their hunger and their prisoners, but it is
not a blank check for McCarthyism 2.0.
By Julio C?sar Guanche On
Cuba News July 31, 2026
Critique of State Dept polemic and its larger context
The Birth of a Nation: The Remake | OnCubaNews English
https://oncubanews.com/en/cuba-usa/the-birth-of-a-nation-the-remake/
The inherent contradiction of Cuba’s history, its relation to the US, is
embodied in the national flag designed in NY and brought to Cardenas by
annexationists
The
story behind the “sister flags” of Cuba and Puerto Rico
A design born in Manhattan, an evening with Jos? Mart? and
a touch of chromatic chance reveal the surprising connection between the two
national symbols.
By Igor Guilarte On Cuba News September 22, 2025
The story behind the “sister flags” of Cuba and Puerto Rico
| OnCubaNews English
https://oncubanews.com/en/cuba/the-story-behind-the-sister-flags-of-cuba-and-puerto-rico/
Cuba thought independence was coming - America thought
something else | Watch
A 10 minute youtube video by Knowledgia that contains useful
reminders about US-Cuban history at the time of the successful independence war
*************************
https://cubapeopletopeople.blogspot.com/2026/08/my-response-to-regime-alteration.html
The Times
introduces a new concept without ever questioning its legitimacy or
legality. “The plan is more regime alteration than regime
change.”
U.S. Squeezes
Cuba Even as It Searches for a New Regime Leader
Some officials warn that a more hard-line
leader could emerge if the Trump administration moves forward with its plans.
By Tyler
PagerJulian E. Barnes and Frances
Robles
Aug. 7,
2026 New York Times
++++++++++++++++++
"No escape:" Inside Rubio's Cuba pressure
campaign
Marc
Caputo
https://www.axios.com/2026/08/07/marco-rubio-cuba-pressure-campaign
++++++++++++++++++++
How Is Beijing Backing Cuba Against Trump Administration Pressure
Liu Haixing, head of the party’s International Department, met Cuban
officials in Havana and said bilateral relations had reached an “unprecedented
new height.”
August 10, 2026
How Is Beijing Backing Cuba Against Trump Administration
Pressure https://tippinsights.com/how-is-beijing-backing-cuba-against-trump-administration-pressure/
++++++++++++++++++
UN Secretary-General Ant?nio Guterres
confirmed that the organization is in contact with “several countries”
interested in helping Cuba address its energy crisis by sending fuel, amid the
prolonged power outages affecting the island.
During a press conference, UN spokesperson
St?phane Dujarric explained that talks are ongoing, but he declined to reveal
which countries are involved or when the aid might materialize.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Amid US-Cuba Tensions, a Candidate for Sainthood Offers
Hope
Francis X. Rocca, Gigi
Duncan National Catholic Register August
6, 2026
Father Varela can be a bridge between the Cuban American
community and the current population of the island, after more than half a
century of hostility between the countries, said Deacon Fred Everett of Fort
Wayne-South Bend, Indiana, the U.S.-born son of a Cuban refugee.
“For
Cuba to advance, there has to be a real reconciliation between Cubans who left
… and the Cubans who are back home. There has to be forgiveness, mutual
forgiveness,” the deacon, who travels often to the island, told EWTN News.
“F?lix Varela gives a good example because he had to span both countries.”
Amid US-Cuba Tensions, a Candidate for Sainthood Offers
Hope| National Catholic Register
https://www.ncregister.com/news/venerable-felix-varela-offers-hope
Video interview with Bishop Cisneros
The Canonization Cause of Cuba's Venerable F?lix
Varela | EWTN News In Depth
My paper on Varela’s trinational
significance
The Intersection of Cuban
and Irish Nationalism in 19th Century New York
https://cubapeopletopeople.blogspot.com/2023/05/ireland-and-cuba-historical-links-and.html
++++++++++++++++++++++
Cuba After Castro: The Island in the Crosshairs
directors
Abby Martin and Matt Belen
90
minute documentary; sympathetic interview with President Diaz-Canel followed by
historical footage; Breakthrough News is one of the targets of Congress’s new
McCarthyism
C.I.A. Sets Up
Secret Cuba Task Force as Trump Pressures Havana
The task force will allow the spy agency to
quickly direct more financial, human and technical resources at the island,
with the goal of creating fissures among the Cuban political elite.
By Adam
Entous Aug. 5, 2026 New York Times
The speed with which Mr. Trump successfully toppled one of Cuba’s closest allies — Nicolás Maduro, Venezuela’s leader — and seized control of Venezuela’s oil resources had led some of Mr. Trump’s hawkish advisers to believe that the current Cuban government could be gone by the time of the midterm election in the United States in November, people familiar with the debate inside the administration said.
But despite a crippling oil embargo imposed
by the United States, the Cubans have proved themselves to be resilient, and
Mr. Trump’s drawn-out war with Iran soaked up the administration’s limited
resources and attention. While the Cuba hawks advising Mr. Trump still think
the administration will eventually devote the resources and attention necessary
to bring down the Cuban government, they now acknowledge in private that this
is likely to happen only once the war in Iran has finally concluded.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/05/us/politics/cia-cuba-task-force.html?smid=nytcore-android-share
US sends more intel assets to Cuba
The move is one of several actions by the Trump
administration to squeeze the communist regime in Havana.
By Dasha Burns and Nahal Toosi
08/04/2026
POLITICO
The first person said “Iran doesn’t need to be solved before we go
there.” They added that Cuba is a “huge priority of Rubio’s,” referring to
Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
US sends more intel assets to Cuba - POLITICO
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/08/04/us-sends-more-intel-assets-to-cuba-01023267
##############
One might see the Foreign Minister’s statement as a path way for accomodation while purported hard liner Morales Ojeda represents a different position.
Cuban Foreign Minister: "The disconnections of the National Electric System are a direct consequence of the genocidal US blockade against Cuba"
The Cuban Foreign Minister explained in his statement that the energy blockade is much broader than simply prohibiting the purchase of crude oil and refined products on the international market. "This blockade not only prevents the free import of fuels. It blocks the entry into our country of parts and components necessary for the National Electric System (SEN), impedes collaboration with experts from other nations, and hinders access to international financing," Rodríguez Parrilla stated, dismantling the narrative that attempts to portray the blackouts as the result of local inefficiencies, when in reality they are the result of a deliberate design of collective punishment.
The sixth total disconnection of the SEN so far in 2026 —
in addition to the partial outages that have particularly affected the western
provinces — highlights the vulnerability of an electrical system that has not
been able to receive adequate maintenance due to the impossibility of importing
turbines, transformers, boilers and control systems, all of which are subject
to the restrictions of the blockade.
Morales Ojeda denounces U.S. intention to take over Cuba
Havana, June 24 (ACN).— Roberto Morales Ojeda, member of the
Political Bureau and Secretary of Organization of the Central Committee of the
Communist Party of Cuba, denounced on his Facebook profile that the United
States' policy toward the island aims for total domination and subjugation.
"This
is nothing more than an attempt to seize control of Cuba," Morales Ojeda
stated, recalling that in the past, every decision had to be consulted with the
U.S. ambassador in Havana, who imposed criteria based on Washington’s
interests.
The
leader pointed out that the revolutionary government’s adoption of sovereign
decisions is met only with contempt, sanctions, and fallacious arguments from
imperialism.
Morales
Ojeda emphasized that, even though Cuba maintains its intention to engage in
dialogue based on mutual respect and poses no threat to a powerful nation, the
U.S. reaction is always the same: to seize the island or impose a compliant
government.
*********************
A Florida primary with Cuba implications August 18
After
redistricting Debbie Wasserman-Shultz went after the seat of Elijah Manley, an
historically black district. She is a long time foe of Cuba. His
web page is progressive and says nothing about Cuba. https://www.elijahmanley.com/issues/foreign-policy?source=e5134000-27eb-4e73-9c6c-ebc0ae215ef5
*******************
Ulises Aquino lets no one off the hook
************************
Matt Lee is the senior journalist at State Department briefings and a frequent amused thorn in their side as seen here
Drop Site’s Ryan Grim and AP’s Matt
Lee pressed the State Department on the U.S.’s recent UN vote to continue
its embargo on Cuba—a decision opposed by 187 countries, with only the U.S. and
Israel in favor: Lee: “So the vote happened today in the UN on the Cuba
embargo. You know what the vote was?” State’s Matt Miller: “Yeah, it was a
predictable vote in line with past votes…I’m aware of the long history of UN
votes on this matter.” Lee: “So at what point, though, are you guys going to
realize that the entire world, with the exception of you and Israel, thinks
that the embargo is a really bad idea and should be stopped?” Miller: “Look, I
think we are quite clear on the opinion of other countries around the world.
And it’s one with which we disagree…we make our own policy determinations.”
Grim: “What about the Obama administration’s disagreement? Were they wrong?”
Miller: “I don’t have anything to comment on previous administration
decisions.”
You may remember his stories
Cuba’s top envoy to US calls Trump’s sanctions on Cuban
leaders a ‘pretext’ for military action
By MATTHEW
LEE
Updated 4:47 PM EDT, June 9, 2026
… A former Cuban ambassador to Vietnam, another socialist country
with which Cuba has long-standing ties, she noted that Washington and Hanoi
have forged a positive relationship over the past four decades, but only
because the Vietnamese enacted reforms at their own pace. The same should be
permitted for Cuba, she said.
“We want to make sure that the only changes to the system are done
by us,” she said.
US
isn’t looking at imminent military action in Cuba despite Trump threats, AP
sources say
By MATTHEW
LEE
Updated
6:36 PM EDT, May 7, 2026
https://apnews.com/article/cuba-trump-rubio-energy-blockade-26b89fa6c057eb419d099a39e38d5b98
*********************
Kudos to Andrea Fernandez Aponte and LAWG
NGO Letter to Senate on War Powers Resolution
https://cubapeopletopeople.blogspot.com/2026/08/ngo-letter-to-senate-on-war-powers.html
Cuba’s humanitarian crisis is the latest
episode in a 128-year struggle for control over the island.
ByJonathan
Ng , Truthout
Published August 1, 2026
Trump’s Brutal Blockade on Cuba Harkens Back to the Days of
US Invasions | Truthout
Ulises
Aquino’s increasingly critical, stance on Facebook with my response
https://cubapeopletopeople.blogspot.com/2026/07/ulises-aquino-post-economic-reform.html
The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Trade and
Foreign Investment (Mincex), Oscar Perez-Oliva Fraga, denounced this Wednesday
before the National Assembly of People's Power that there is currently
an attempt to prevent the arrival in Cuba of more than 7,000 containers held in
different ports of the Caribbean , loaded with goods acquired legally
by the country in accordance with the rules of international trade.
The New York Times
received the first journalism visas granted to its staff in nearly eight years.
The first three stories convey a spirit of popular adaptation and
survival. Will the White House recognize there is little reason to hope
for a quick internal collapse? Does that make them more inclined to a
military solution or political accommodation? (I have sprinkled comments
on all but the first post.)
How Cubans
Are Surviving a Fuel
Crisis
By Jack
Nicas Videos by Alex Pena Photographs
by Lisette Poole Gonz?lez July 27,
2026ill Surviving
With Little
Electricity in Cuba, He Uses a Giant Battery to Throw Parties
By Jack
Nicas July 29, 2026
NY Times video
https://www.nytimes.com/video/world/americas/100000011024495/cuba-power-crisis-oil-solutions.html
By Jack
Nicas July 30, 2026
**********************
Cuba redefines the limits of private
initiative: the forbidden, the reserved and the conditional
Non-state economic actors may engage in any lawful
activity, except for those expressly prohibited or conditional.
DECRETO 160 DE
LAS ACTIVIDADES NO AUTORIZADAS O CONDICIONADAS PARA EL EJERCICIO POR LAS
EMPRESAS PRIVADAS, MICRO, PEQUE?AS Y MEDIANAS EMPRESAS PRIVADAS, LAS
COOPERATIVAS NO AGROPECUARIAS Y TRABAJADORES POR CUENTA PROPIA
https://www.gacetaoficial.gob.cu/sites/default/files/goc-2026-o62.pdf
*****************
From micro to large enterprises: seven
implications of the opening of the private sector in Cuba
The commitment to the private sector to pivot this critical
moment is a success in every way, because it is one of the few reserves that
the country has not fully exploited.
byDaniel Torralbas July 14, 2026
********************
If you don’t read John Kavulich regularly,
his latest argument for hope of a big change coming…
https://www.cubatrade.org/blog/2026/7/28/vj4wn3fiqw2smbp6av3g3xvaqcpoko
***************************
For your records. Russia and the US
show equal self righteous disregard for UN opinion of their aggression against
a neighbor.
General Assembly Resumes Debate on Ending
Cuban Embargo, as Havana Leads Outcry against ‘Cruel’ Extraterritorial
Ambitions of United States
https://press.un.org/en/2026/ga12769.doc.htm
**********************
Where is the Russian oil? The truth Moscow won't say out loud
By Eduardo Miguel Alvarez
Estavez | July 28, 2026
Russia calls us strategic
allies. They repeat it at every summit. In every communiqu?. On every
anniversary of our bilateral relations. Yet the oil doesn't arrive. The ships
don't show up. And the blackouts continue.
https://cubapeopletopeople.blogspot.com/2026/07/limited-russian-support-against-us.html
************************
The U.S. blockade is destroying Havana’s chances of becoming
stable and democratic.
By Oliver Stuenkel, a senior fellow in the Democracy,
Conflict, and Governance Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International
Peace.
Foreign Policy June 30, 2026
U.S. Cuba Blockade Won't Lead to Democracy, Economic
Prosperity
https://archive.md/HNMJz#selection-3601.0-3619.119
https://foreignpolicy.com/2026/06/30/cuba-us-blockade-sanctions-trump-humanitarian-crisis/
Ulises Aquino calling for more radical change
(with my response)
https://cubapeopletopeople.blogspot.com/2026/07/ulises-aquino-post-economic-reform.html
A
reminder that some change looks like revenge
Those who were
silent yesterday cannot give lessons today.
Respect is due to those who risked
everything.
Jorge Luis Le?n July 26, 2026
A Way
Out of Cuba’s Dead End
https://www.crisisgroup.org/stm/latin-america-caribbean/cuba-united-states/way-out-cubas-dead-end
An insightful analysis of the state of play. The dead end critical responses are
revealing.
USA Today profile on Colonel Rodríguez Castro: a
proposed political analysis
July 9, 2026
https://jovencuba.com/rodriguez-castro-cangrejo/
Marrero jumps after controversy with El Cangrejo and
issues statement on negotiations with Trump
Marrero said that
the talks with Washington are being developed "in correspondence with the
consistent policy of the Revolution."
***********************
(220) Exclusive: Cuba open for foreign business amid US
sanctions - YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J90mgIUhbpM
Marc Frank on
the economic reforms
