Cuba

Jay-Z Addresses Cuba Controversy With New Song, “Open Letter”

US Treasury Department Says Jay-Z, Beyonce Cuba Trip Was Authorized

Above: Beyonce By Alexander Britell Music stars Jay-Z and Beyonce’s recent trip to Cuba was authorized by the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, according to a letter received by Florida Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen. The letter was sent …

White House: Cuba Travel Decisions Made By Treasury Department

Above: Havana By the Caribbean Journal staff Decisions to issue travel licenses over trips to Cuba are a matter for the Treasury Department and not the White House, according to Jay Carney, the White House Press Secretary. Carney was responding …

US Lawmakers Express “Concern” Over Jay-Z, Beyonce Cuba Trip

Above: US Congressmen Mario Diaz-Balart and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen By the Caribbean Journal staff Two United States lawmakers are expressing “concern” over a trip to Cuba this week by music stars Jay-Z and Beyonce Knowles-Carter. The two reportedly traveled to …

Cuba, Fiji Talk Bilateral Ties

Above: Fiji By the Caribbean Journal staff Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla met Thursday in Havana with Ratu Inoke Kubuabola, the Foreign Minister of Fiji. The two sides discussed ways to increase bilateral ties between the two Small Island …

Cuba, Zambia Talk Sports Cooperation

Above: Havana By the Caribbean Journal staff Zambia Sports Minister Chishimba Kambwili began an official visit to Cuba on Monday. The visit is part of an effort to renew the sports cooperation agreement signed between Cuba and Zambia in 2007, …

Cuba’s Diaz-Canel Leads Delegation to Installation of Pope Francis

Above: Vatican City By the Caribbean Journal staff Miguel Diaz-Canel, the first vice president of Cuba’s Councils of State and Ministers, led a Cuban delegation to the installation of Pope Francis in the Vatican Tuesday. It marked the first major …

Cuban Pitcher Yadier Pedroso Dies in Traffic Accident

Above: Yadier Pedroso Gonzalez By the Caribbean Journal staff Cuban pitcher Yadier Pedroso Gonzalez, who pitched for his country in the World Baseball Classic in Tokyo last week, was killed this weekend in a traffic accident in Cuba, according to …

Cuban Ambassador Makes First Official Visit to Grand Bahama

Above: Guzman and Bahamian officials in Grand Bahama (BIS Photo/Vandyke Hepburn) By the Caribbean Journal staff Cuba’s Ambassador to the Bahamas, Ernesto Soberon Guzman, made his first official visit to Grand Bahama on Monday. The trip included talks with Minister …

Fidel Castro: Chavez Was “The Best Friend The Cuban People Ever Had”

Above: Fidel Castro By the Caribbean Journal staff Cuba’s Fidel Castro has published his first official remarks on the death of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez last week. In a statement published by in Cuba’s state-owned Granma newspaper, republished by its …

Op-Ed: Is Cuba Really Changing?

By Andy Gomez Op-Ed Contributor We recently witnessed what we had not heard one of the Castro brothers say in almost 54 years: Come 2018, neither one of them will be in power. Raúl Castro announced to the Cuban National …

Caribbean Leaders Head to Venezuela for Chavez Funeral

Above: Haiti President Michel Martelly and Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe (centre) (Photo: OP Haiti) By the Caribbean Journal staff A number of Caribbean leaders have arrived in Venezuela for the funeral of former President Hugo Chavez, who died Tuesday. Trinidad …

Op-Ed: Chavez and the Caribbean

By David Rowe Op-Ed Contributor What be will the impact of Hugo Chavez’s death upon the Caribbean and the Hemisphere at large? It’s likely that, eventually, the bilateral relationship between Venezuela and Cuba, which was predicated on the personal relationship …

Cuba to Hold National Day of Mourning for Hugo Chavez

Above: Havana By the Caribbean Journal staff Cuba’s government said it would hold a national day of mourning on Friday following the death of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. The national day will come after a nearly two-day official mourning period …

Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez Dies

Updated: 6:44 PM Above: former Venezuela President Hugo Chavez (UN Photo/Marco Castro) By the Caribbean Journal staff Venezuela President Hugo Chavez died Tuesday after a long battle with cancer, the country’s government said. Chavez, who had received much of his …

Cuba’s Raul Castro Announces Plans to Retire in 2018

Above: Raul Castro (Photo: AIN Cuba) By the Caribbean Journal staff Cuba President Raul Castro, who was chosen to serve a new term Sunday, will be leaving politics in 2018 when this term expires, he announced. The announcement came after …

Cuba Names Esteban Lazo New President of National Assembly

Above: Esteban Lazo (Photo: AIN Cuba) By the Caribbean Journal staff Esteban Lazo has been named the new President of Cuba’s National Assembly. Lazo has served in the Politburo of Cuba’s Communist Party. He succeeds Ricardo Alarcon, who had served …

Russian Prime Minister Begins Cuba Visit

Above: Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev (UN Photo/Mark Garten) By the Caribbean Journal staff Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev will be in Cuba Thursday for a “working visit.” Medvedev’s visit will include meetings with Cuban leader Raul Castro, according to …

Cuba’s Fidel Castro Writes Letter to Chavez After Return to Venezuela

Above: Fidel Castro By the Caribbean Journal staff Hugo Chavez has returned from Cuba following months of treatment for cancer, and Fidel Castro says he is “very pleased” with the news. In a letter published by Cuba’s government information agency, …