All posts by JaimeM

U.S. citizens visit Cuba

U.S. citizens want to visit Cuba

U.S. citizens want to visit Cuba, despite the tourism ban and travel restrictions imposed by their government
Cuba continues to be the only country in the world where U.S. citizens can not freely travel as tourists, thanks to their government’s discriminatory policy

Yisel MartĂ­nez GarcĂ­amay 8, 2019 17:05:07

The arrival of cruise ship visitors to Cuba continues to grow, up 48% this year.

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Photo: Juvenal Balán

The U.S. tourist sector remains committed to Cuba as a holiday destination, even as the U.S. government is tightening the blockade against the island. This was stated at a press conference by Michel Bernal Quicutis, commercial director at the Cuban Ministry of Tourism (Mintur), who assured that “We will not give up on reaching the planned 5,100,000 visitors for this 2019.”

As he explained, U.S. citizens continue to occupy second place among visitor source markets to Cuba, behind Canada, with a total of 257,500 visitors in the first four months of the year, representing growth of 93.5%. Of them, 55% arrive to the country aboard cruise ships, a modality that continues to grow, up 48% this year.

“Despite smear campaigns against Cuba, 13.5% of tourists who visit us claim to have chosen the island for its safety, both personal and epidemiological; also because it is a country where there is no organized crime, drug cartels, kidnappings do not occur, and one can enjoy the destination at any time,” Bernal added. Continue reading U.S. citizens want to visit Cuba →

Cuban Venezuelan Solidarity

Cuban “troops” saving lives in Venezuela

Cuban “troops” saving lives in Venezuela
Cubans are truly committed to the principle of sovereignty, we are protective of our independence, and we would never do to others what we would not allow to be done to ourselves

RaĂşl Antonio Capotemay 6, 2019 10:05:56

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More than 20,000 Cuban collaborators, 61% of whom are women, remain in Venezuela fighting to save lives and ensuring the well-being of the population of this sister nation. Photo: Omara GarcĂ­a
U.S. President Donald Trump recently threatened Cuba with a “full and complete” blockade, coupled with the “highest-level sanctions,” while John Bolton accused the island of “controlling” the government of Nicolás Maduro.

That lie is repeated without an ounce of shame by the highest officials of the Yankee government, and Donald Trump has ordered Cuba to withdraw “20,000 Cuban soldiers from Venezuela,” even promising a new opening in relations if the island takes its “hands off” Caracas.

Cubans are truly committed to the principle of sovereignty, we are protective of our independence, and we would never do to others what we would not allow to be done to ourselves. Our banner “has never been mercenary.” Venezuela, the land of the clarion call, of Bolívar’s brave soldiers, the same that made an empire tremble, needs no one other than Venezuelans themselves to safeguard its honor, courage and dignity.

The only Cuban “troops” to be found across Venezuela, working alongside its brave people, are those fulfilling what they consider a duty. Thousands of Cuban specialists in health, sports, culture, education, communications, agriculture, food, industry, science, energy and transport, share this task in the Bolivarian Republic. Continue reading Cuban “troops” saving lives in Venezuela →

RaĂşl Castro Ruz Lenin Prize

Army General RaĂşl Castro Ruz awarded Lenin Prize

Army General RaĂşl Castro Ruz, first secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba, was awarded the Lenin Prize, yesterday, International Workers Day, for his exceptional contribution to the construction of socialism and the principles of justice, humanism, and social progress
Author: Leticia Martínez Hernández | internet@granma.cu
may 2, 2019 09:05:00

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Photo: Estudio RevoluciĂłn
Following the massive May Day march through Havana’s Plaza de la RevoluciĂłn, Army General RaĂşl Castro Ruz, first secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba, was awarded the Lenin Prize by the Communist Party of the Russian Federation’s Central Committee, “for his exceptional contribution to the construction of socialism and his work to consolidate the principles of justice, humanism, and social progress.”
Upon receiving the distinction from Iván MĂ©lnikov, first vice president of the State Duma and the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, RaĂşl said he accepted the honor “not in a personal capacity, but on behalf of our entire people, of Party members, and as a recognition of our Party’s leadership.”
He added that Cuban revolutionaries owe the Soviet Union, and especially the heroic Russian people, eternal gratitude, recalling words that Fidel once spoke to him: “Without the help of all kinds that we received from the Soviet Union, it would have been difficult, despite the heroic resistance our people, to emerge victorious in those hard years.”
During the simple ceremony – which took place at the JosĂ© MartĂ­ Memorial and was attended by President Miguel DĂ­az-Canel BermĂşdez and other members of the Party Political Bureau – MĂ©lnikov stated that RaĂşl merited the distinction on the basis of his work in the international fight against anti-communism and colonialism, and his consistent efforts to strengthen the friendship shared by Cuba and Russia.
The Lenin Prize, created in 1925, was one of the Soviet Union’s most important distinctions and is announced every year on April 22, the day the leader of the Russian Revolution was born.

Cuba Venezuela John Bolton

U.S. lies to justify further attacks on Cuba

U.S. lies to justify further attacks on Cuba
In statements to the press on Wednesday afternoon, the Cuban Foreign Ministry’s Deputy Director for the United States, Johana Tablada, reiterated that “Cuba does not participate with military troops or personnel in military operations in Venezuela”
Author: Bertha Mojena Milián | internet@granma.cu
may 2, 2019 10:05:18

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Photo: Granma
“There are no Cuban troops in Venezuela. There are no security forces from Cuba in Venezuela. Cuba does not participate with military troops or personnel in military operations in Venezuela. These falsehoods constitute an affront to the people of Cuba, the government of Cuba, the people of Venezuela, and the international community, sovereign states and the U.S. people who deserve to know the truth,” reiterated the Cuban Foreign Ministry’s Deputy Director for the United States, Johana Tablada, in statements offered to the press this Wednesday, May 1. 
Tablada stressed that in recent weeks the Cuban government has denounced a series of accusations, falsehoods and slander regarding the nature of the cooperative relationship between Cuba and Venezuela, headed by “a pathological liar, former ambassador John Bolton, who has a long history of conflicts with the truth,” and today is National Security Advisor to the U.S. government.
She recalled that Bolton lied about the existence of chemical weapons in Iraq, and of biological weapons in Cuba in 2002, lies that cost him his appointment as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, following a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing, which led to his own party voting against him and recommending that he be prevented from returning to public office at such a high level.
The Cuban diplomat emphasized that the escalation in accusations in recent days is intended to conceal the failure of the sustained U.S. policy of aggression against Venezuela, and the frustration after the second coup attempt against the legitimate government of Nicolás Maduro was also defeated. “The objective is to shroud the real support that exists in Venezuela for the government and the Bolivarian Revolution, and the lack of support for the self-proclaimed or supposed leaders chosen by the United States.”
Tablada explained that the intention is to find the most convenient pretext to impose and justify new measures of aggression against the Cuban people, on claiming that the island has 20,000 soldiers posted in Venezuela and is interfering in its internal affairs, “something that even the U.S. government knows is untrue.”
She noted that as part of this same policy of hostility, the U.S. President threatened the island with the proclamation of a “full and complete embargo,” if its troops were not withdrawn from Venezuela. “We can’t withdraw something that does not exist from Venezuela. This is a disrespectful statement that conceals the cruel nature of the scope of these measures against our people.”
Johana Tablada highlighted that such recent announcements appear to overlook the fact that for 60 years the people of Cuba have suffered the most wide-ranging, complex and absurd system of unilateral sanctions and coercive measures in history, and that “Bolton is delirious when he says that the whole world supports the sanctions.”
“This decision will be met by our country, by our people, by our government, as always: we will denounce it, but we will resist. The people of Cuba will resist and triumph,” she concluded.