Wednesday, November 6

Tag: Cuba

International Responses to Cuban Protests: From Sanctions To Aid
26Jul By Spencer HayesNo Comments
Communism, Dictatorship, Foreign Aid, International Development, Sanctions, Types of News: Analysis

International Responses to Cuban Protests: From Sanctions To Aid

July 26, 2021--Since mass protests erupted in Cuba earlier this month, the Cuban government has arrested hundreds of protesters and prosecuted many of them on charges of contempt, public disorder, vandalism and marching without face masks. The country is facing a grave economic crisis as the population deals with food and medical shortages. The United States responded by imposing sanctions against government officials. Meanwhile, Russia and Mexico are sending supplies of food and medicine. Thousands of citizens protested in fifty-eight locations throughout Cuba. They rallied for access to food as well as changes to their government's one-party rule. Many were met by Cuban police who the government ordered to arrest demonstrators.  Mass Arrests, Whereabouts Unknown The governm...
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U.S. Treasury Cracks Down on Cuba-Related Travel
13Jun By Patti MohrNo Comments
Globalization, Global Disintegration, Sanctions, Types of News: Brief

U.S. Treasury Cracks Down on Cuba-Related Travel

June 13, 2019-Just a week after the U.S. government announced tougher restrictions on traveling to Cuba, the U.S. Treasury Department announced it reached settlement agreements with internet-travel firm Expedia and Hotbeds USA for apparent violations of the U.S. Cuban Assets Control Regulations. The two actions, which relate to separate areas of the U.S. sanctions law, demonstrate the new emphasis in the United States on tightening and enforcing sanctions against Cuba. Enforcement Targets Travel Agencies Today, the U.S. Treasury 's Office of Foreign Assets Control announced settlement agreements with travel groups Expedia and Hotelbeds USA for assisting Americans for unauthorized Cuba-related travel. Headquartered in Bellevue, Washington, the Expedia Group agreed to pay $325,40...
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U.S. Puts Global Companies Doing Business in Cuba on Notice
4Mar By Patti MohrNo Comments
Communism, Dictatorship, Global Trade, Types of News: Brief

U.S. Puts Global Companies Doing Business in Cuba on Notice

March 4, 2019-In an effort to increase pressure on the Cuban government to stop its support for embattled Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and end human rights abuses within its own country, the U.S. State Department announced plans to allow U.S. lawsuits against Cuban entities accused of confiscating private property following the 1959 Cuban revolution. "We should remember that after Fidel Castro seized power, he confiscated private property of thousands of private individuals and companies without any compensation," a senior State Department official said. "And to date, there’s really been no justice for this theft." The list of restricted Cuban entities of restricted entities in Cuba at risk of lawsuits includes government ministries, hotels, stores, holding companies, marinas ...
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An American in Cuba: History & People
4Nov By Patti MohrNo Comments
Communism, Dictatorship, Type of Post: Essays & Travel Writing

An American in Cuba: History & People

It was the first full day of the trip. I awoke early, ate breakfast and met my tour guide Rose and travel companions in the hotel lobby. It would be a full day touring by foot and bus. We were eight adventurers--George and Barbara, a couple who ran a family furniture business in Florida, Mike and Ana, a couple living in the Pacific Northwest who were just months away from expecting their first baby, Joel, a man in his 30s or 40s from California, two women from Alaska, and me. Clouds over head kept the air cool as we walked around Havana. Back at the Plaza de Armas, the story of Cuba unfolded. Christopher Columbus had landed there in 1492, declaring the island to be "the most beautiful land human have ever seen." Twenty years later, the Spanish took it as their own, using mostly un...
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Cuba: First Encounters
27Oct By Patti Mohr2 Comments
Type of Post: Essays & Travel Writing

Cuba: First Encounters

I ventured out into the streets of Old Havana as soon as I could change money, store my cash in the room safe and change clothes. It was just after 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, and I wanted to make the most of the daylight. Taxi drivers in classic U.S. cars from the 1940s and 1950s circled the area outside the hotel. I opted to walk as it seemed the best way to experience the city. I headed down Cuba Street, a cobblestone lane shared by pedestrians and cars that cuts all the way across Old Havana, from the Male?on to the far side of the old port. Residents stood in their doorways watching people come and go. Locals and tourists shared the narrow sidewalks, stepping on and off to pass each other by as taxis, pedicabs and food carts accelerated down the street. On a side street, children pla...
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Cuba: Hello Havana
22Oct By Patti Mohr1 Comment
Communism, Dictatorship, Type of Post: Essays & Travel Writing

Cuba: Hello Havana

It takes less than an hour to reach Cuba from Tampa, Florida by airplane. Simple, really. And yet it is still hard to see that Cuba is just 90 miles from the United States. The island has been forbidden land for most law-abiding Americans for so long. For the most part, it is still not legal to travel there unless you book, like I did, an educational tour through one of the roughly 100 organizations certified by the State Department to run people-to-people cultural tours. The U.S. government allows travel to Cuba for up to 12 different reasons. Tourism isn't one of them. So while the Canadians head straight for the beaches and stay there, Americans visit senior-center projects, organic farms, child care centers, artistic sites and museums. For most, it's a pretty packed schedule. Get...
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