Raul Castro

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Castro Addresses Parliament After 4-Year Absence

He appears to be in fine form after illness

(Newser) - Fidel Castro continued his gradual re-emergence into Cuban politics today by giving his first speech to parliament in 4 years. It "was a solid, polished performance, Mr Castro's voice stronger than at any point since he re-emerged into public life," observes the BBC . In the speech—it lasted...

Cuba to Free 52 Dissidents
 Cuba to Free 52 Dissidents 
Jul 8, 2010 7:56 AM CDT

Cuba to Free 52 Dissidents

Decision could save life of man on hunger strike

(Newser) - Cuba has promised to release 52 political prisoners, after one of them went on an attention-grabbing hunger strike. Guillermo Fariñas, a 48-year-old psychologist and journalist, has been hospitalized thanks to his hunger strike, which he began back in February, after a previous hunger striker starved to death. Spanish foreign...

Cuba Liberates Its Hair Salons
 Cuba Liberates Its Hair Salons 
Apr 13, 2010 8:54 AM CDT

Cuba Liberates Its Hair Salons

Lucky barbers and beauticians will be able to work for themselves

(Newser) - Raul Castro has decided to get the Cuban government out of its citizens' hair. Barber shops and beauty salons with three or fewer seats will now be allowed to be owner-operated rather than run by the state. Cuba-watchers see the tentative loosening as the start of a long-anticipated—or at...

Fidel Castro Again Calling the Shots
 Fidel Castro Again 
 Calling the Shots 
analysis
Mar 4, 2010 3:36 PM CST

Fidel Castro Again Calling the Shots

He's been gradually reasserting his authority in the last year

(Newser) - Fidel Castro may have turned over the presidency to his brother when he was seriously ill, but he's been gradually regaining his health and reasserting his authority in Cuba over the past year, writes Arian Camp-Flores. The Newsweek writer talks to several Havana experts who see unmistakable signs that Fidel...

Castro: Obama's Out to Destabilize Cuba
 Castro: Obama's Out 
 to Destabilize Cuba 
HONEYMOON'S OVER
Dec 21, 2009 4:23 AM CST

Castro: Obama's Out to Destabilize Cuba

Cuban prez slams US over arrested contractor

(Newser) - Raul Castro signaled that his honeymoon with the Obama administration is over in an angry speech yesterday accusing the US of stepping up its effort to topple the country's Communist government. "The enemy is as active as always," said Castro, pointing to the Cuba's recent detention of an...

Cuba Detains US Contractor Distributing Laptops

It's unclear what he's been charged with

(Newser) - Cuba has arrested a US government contract worker who was distributing laptops and cell phones in the country. The man works for a company in Bethesda, Md., that does work for various development agencies. It's not clear what he's been charged with—cell phones and laptops are legal, if rare,...

Obama to Cuban Blogger: Next Move Is Castro's

President sidesteps question on Castro government's legitimacy

(Newser) - Prominent Cuban blogger Yoani Sánchez emailed a list of questions to President Obama, and in an unusual move, he responded. Obama's answers, which Sánchez posted today, largely reiterate his stated positions on Cuba. But he also indicates he has no interest in "talking for the sake of...

Watchdog: Raúl Just as Bad as Fidel

He shares his brother's disregard for human rights

(Newser) - The perception that Cuba is less repressive under Raúl Castro than Fidel is false, Human Rights Watch says. Dissidents are still harassed by the state, subject to arbitrary detention—532 such cases in the first half of 2009 alone—fired. or denied work. The government also continues to pressure...

Castro Sister: I Worked With CIA

New book reveals Juanita Castro's involvement with US intelligence

(Newser) - The sister of Fidel and Raúl Castro worked with the CIA in the 1960s, while the agency was planning to assassinate Fidel and overthrow the revolutionary government. In a new book, Juanita Castro, who now lives in Miami, reveals that she hid opponents of her brothers' regime in her...

Early Castro Compatriot Almeida Dead at 82

Rebel leader coined revolutionary slogan 'Here, nobody surrenders!'

(Newser) - One of the original leaders of the Cuban Revolution and a general in Fidel Castro’s military has died, the BBC reports. Juan Almeida Bosque, 82, was the third most senior member in Raul Castro’s Council of State and the only black member of the Cuban leadership. Almeida met...

Castro Slaps Down US Overtures

(Newser) - Raúl Castro has warned the US not to expect any changes to Cuba's communist system, saying that while Barack Obama's administration was less "aggressive," he was not prepared to make peace. His comments came after Hillary Clinton made several remarks suggesting better relations if Cuba changed...

Cuba's Black Market Hits the Internet

(Newser) - The Internet has lured Cuba's black marketeers online, GlobalPost reports. In a nation that bans most private commerce, a Craigslist-style website has emerged offering everything from American razor blades to True Blood DVDs. Buyers with fatter wallets can pick up computer equipment, a $6,000 illegal Internet hookup, or a...

Castro Purges Party on Video
 Castro Purges Party on Video 
Jul 15, 2009 6:32 AM CDT

Castro Purges Party on Video

(Newser) - Raul Castro firmly ratchets up his grip on power in a three-hour video being shown to Cuba's Communist Party members, the Financial Times reports. The video features scenes from a March politburo meeting during which Castro fired most of Fidel's cabinet, along with testimony from security officials. Those who have...

Untapped Oil Could Lube US-Cuba Ties

(Newser) - Oil trapped deep in the Gulf of Mexico could help ease the US-Cuba trade ban and decades of strained relations, the Washington Post reports. With 5 billion to 20 billion barrels of crude lying untapped in Cuba's territorial waters, some experts argue it's time for US companies to help drill...

US Wants Informal Chat on Cuba Ties
US Wants Informal Chat
on Cuba Ties
Apr 27, 2009 8:58 AM CDT

US Wants Informal Chat on Cuba Ties

Casual discussions could pave road to 'open relationship'

(Newser) - The US is inching toward loosening relations with Cuba on the heels of President Obama’s Latin American trip, the New York Times reports. Cuban diplomats are set to meet informally with US officials to “test the waters,” an administration official said, mulling future talks over migration, drug...

Fidel: Raul's Overture Was 'Misinterpreted'

Ex-prez puts a chill on warming relations between US, Cuba

(Newser) - What President Obama took to be a historic overture from Cuba was actually just a misunderstanding, according to Fidel Castro. The former president—apparently enraged by suggestions that Cuba make concessions in return for improved US-Cuban relations—wrote in his online column that Obama "misinterpreted" his brother Raul's statement...

Obama Calls For 'New Beginning' With Cuba

(Newser) - Adding warm words to the ongoing thaw in US-Cuba relations, President Obama said today he sought "a new beginning" with the island's communist regime, the Los Angeles Times reports. Obama spoke after arriving at the Summit of the Americas in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. "I...

Kinsley: Cuba Policy Hasn't Just Failed—It's Backfired

If we can be sure of anything, this is it

(Newser) - It's time—actually it's way overdue—for America to admit that its Cuba policy simply hasn't worked, writes Michael Kinsley in the Washington Post. The US has been "unrelentingly hostile" to Havana, but to what end? Communism has collapsed just about everywhere else, but here it survives "unreformed...

Obama, Castro Say They're Ready to Talk

Cuban-American relations look set to be best in 50 years

(Newser) - An unusually direct exchange between Barack Obama and Raul Castro is moving Cuban-American relations towards their warmest since the Eisenhower administration, the AP reports. After Obama said yesterday that it was up to Cuba to take the next step, Castro swiftly replied that Cuba is "willing to discuss everything—...

Fidel Meets With US Lawmakers
 Fidel Meets With US Lawmakers 
Apr 7, 2009 7:39 PM CDT

Fidel Meets With US Lawmakers

(Newser) - Cuba appears to be serious about trying to normalize relations with the US. A day after Raul Castro met with a delegation of US congressional representatives, the big man himself did the same, Reuters reports. Fidel, replaced by his brother 14 months ago as head of state when his health...

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