Category: Cuba/Cuba Solidarity

Cuba: Anti-Imperialist Bicycle Rally Floods Malecón

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In this post, Belly of the Beast reports on a rousing bicycle rally that took over Malecón, the seaside promenade of Havana, Cuba’s capital, on April 2, 2026, to denounce Washington’s economic war — which the Trump administration escalated in January by blockading virtually all fuel oil from entering the island nation — and to defend Cuba’s sovereignty. Belly of the Beast also reports on the first Russian oil tanker that broke the U.S. blockade on March 31, delivering “more than 700,000 barrels of oil, the first shipment in three months to reach the island,” and on the effects on the Cuban people of the ongoing U.S. siege.

Refuting Slanders Against Nuestra América Convoy to Cuba

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In this article, Current Affairs correspondents Alex Skopic and Nathan J. Robinson focus on refuting slanders against the Nuestra América convoy to Cuba in the U.S. media — mostly the conservative press, which “spun the aid mission into a vanity trip, ignoring the issue of the fuel embargo and its effects,” as they note. The authors went to Cuba in March as part of the convoy, which brought tons of humanitarian aid, including medical supplies, food, bicycles, and solar panels, from about 30 countries around the world. This initiative was organized in response to the siege of Cuba by Washington, which at the end of January intensified its decades-long economic war on the country by blockading virtually all fuel oil from entering the island.

‘What I Saw in Cuba Was Resilience’

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This is a Cuban American’s story from the Nuestra América Convoy to Cuba. “I traveled to Cuba this month,” writes Gerardo Delgado. “As a Cuban American, that sentence carries the weight of longing born of an estrangement from my roots. For much of my life, Cuba existed as a distant story, a place I knew only through descriptions from my father. I was there as part of an international solidarity convoy; over 500 representatives from more than 30 countries, united by a simple conviction: no country has the right to strangle another simply because it chose a different path. I cannot stand by while the island of my family’s heritage is suffocated.”

‘Cuban People Act with Creative Resistance’ (II)

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This is the second of two parts with excerpts from the transcript of a press conference Cuban president Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez gave on March 13, 2026, as the Cuban people continued to resist Washington’s siege on their country. With characteristic frankness and transparency, Díaz-Canel responded to Trump’s threats and to journalists’ questions about the everyday challenges the Cuban people are diligently working to overcome. Challenges resulting from Washington’s relentless economic war, escalated recently with the U.S. blockade preventing any petroleum from reaching the country.

‘Cuban People Act with Creative Resistance’ (I)

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On March 13, 2026, as the Cuban people continued to resist Washington’s siege on their country, Cuba’s president Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez met with reporters in Havana. With characteristic frankness and transparency, Díaz-Canel responded to Trump’s threats and to journalists’ questions about the everyday challenges the Cuban people are diligently working to overcome, resulting from Washington’s economic war, intensified recently with the U.S. blockade preventing any oil from reaching the country. This is the first of two parts.

Cuban Leader: ‘Do We Talk or Negotiate with the Trump Administration’?

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Cuban leader Ernesto Limia Díaz is a historian and writer. Here he provides historical context to the recent revelations by Cuban president Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermudez that Havana is holding talks with the Trump administration after Washington imposed a blockade of petroleum shipments to Cuba and threatened the overthrow of the Caribbean nation’s revolutionary government.

‘Cuba Under Siege: Strategies for United Response’

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NEW YORK CITY — About 225 delegates representing organizations across the United States and Canada attended the conference “Cuba Under Siege: Strategies for Resistance and a United Response.” In welcoming delegates to the meeting, Ike Nahem of the New York-New Jersey Cuba Sí Coalition, said: “The conference is taking place at an ominous time. A time of imperialist war in the Mideast and intervention in our hemisphere, marked by the January 3 U.S. attack on Venezuela and the kidnapping of the country’s president Nicolás Maduro and his wife Celia Flores, and the siege of Cuba under the U.S. blockade of petroleum to the country.” Nahem called on delegates to focus on actions that represent a united response to this qualitative turn of events in the world situation.

Cuban Athletes: An ‘Unusual and Extraordinary Threat’?

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PHOENIX, Arizona — As baseball fans around the world geared up for the Sixth World Baseball Classic, eight members of the Cuban team, along with their pitching coach and other support personnel, were denied visas to come to the United States. As a result, just 11 players were left to face a roster of 37 from the Kansas City Royals on March 3, 2026, and 33 from the Cincinnati Reds the following day. The Los Angeles Hands Off Cuba Committee (LAHOC), together with 5 affiliated Cuba solidarity committees in other cities, has been spearheading a campaign to put pressure on the International Olympic Committee to demand that all athletes be allowed to compete. The Trump administration’s policy is a direct violation of the IOC charter and is especially egregious as Washington prepares to host the games.

Opinions Shift Among Cuban Americans: ‘We Want Engagement, Not Escalation’

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In this column, Cuban-American Danny Valdes explains that Washington’s myth about the source of the Cuba’s economic challenges has been exposed, most recently and most clearly, by U.S. president Donald Trump. “There’s an embargo. There’s no oil, there’s no money, there’s no anything,” Trump said last month. “There is … a growing shift,” Valdes adds. “Whether in Miami or in New Jersey, we are today seeing a wave of Cuban Americans who are mobilizing to demand engagement, rather than escalation.”

National Nurses Union: ‘End U.S. Blockade of Cuba’

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On February 27, National Nurses United issued a press release calling for an end to the U.S. blockade of Cuba. NNU president Mary Turner called Washington’s efforts to asphyxiate the Cuban population by cutting off the nation’s supply of fuel “an unconscionable violation of human rights and international law.” She noted that the healthcare crisis created by lack of fuel, and electricity from oil-fired generation, particularly impacts pregnant women and children. “As nurses,” she said, “we will not be silent when our nation’s policies cause immense suffering for any people, whether at home or abroad.”

Cuba: ‘Failed State’ or Besieged Nation?

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As the widely acknowledged humanitarian crisis in Cuba intensifies, political figures and conservative pundits alike are blaming the island nation’s leadership, government, and socialist revolution, labeling Cuba a “failed state.” José R. Cabañas Rodríguez, the author of this article, was the Cuban ambassador to the United States from September 2015 to December 2020. In this essay, which first appeared on the website of Radio Havana Cuba, he analyzes the criteria that many use to define a “failed state” and suggests that those governing the Yankee “paradise” take a look in the mirror.

Solidarity with Cuba Takes Off in Latin America

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Cuba is not alone. Around the world — including the United States, Cuba solidarity groups are organizing campaigns to send medical supplies and medications, solar panels, and other material aid. Pressure is now being applied to governments of oil-producing countries in Latin America to send Cuba the one thing that working people, youth, and anyone who cares for human decency cannot provide — petroleum.

We Stand with Cuba — For All Time

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On January 29, 2026, U.S. president Donald Trump issued a new executive order declaring a “national emergency” due to the “unusual and extraordinary threat” that Cuba allegedly poses to the United States. The White House announced it will impose harsh punitive tariffs on any country that trades oil with Cuba. This is unvarnished economic warfare, a major escalation of Washington’s unrelenting efforts over more than six decades aimed at asphyxiating the Cuban people and overthrowing their socialist revolution.

U.S. Blockade of Oil to Cuba Threatens Sovereignty of All Nations

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Over the last month, the U.S. government has intensified its decades-long aggression against Cuba. Oil shipments to the island from Venezuela have been cut off since Washington’s January 3, 2026, attack on that country. On January 22, the Trump administration threatened a full naval blockade of the island nation. And on January 29, Trump signed an executive order labeling Cuba an “unusual and extraordinary threat” to the United States and declaring that Washington will impose punitive tariffs on any country trading oil with Cuba. In a statement published here, Isaac Saney, a Cuba specialist and Black studies professor at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, takes apart Trump’s latest imperial edict.

‘We Don’t Know the Word Surrender’: Cubans Respond to New U.S. Threats

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On January 29, 2026, U.S. president Donald Trump issued a new executive order declaring a “national emergency” because of the “unusual and extraordinary threat” the island nation allegedly poses to the United States. Trump declared his administration would impose punitive tariffs on any country sending oil to Cuba. Earlier, Trump had threatened to impose a naval blockade around Cuba to completely cut off the supply of oil to the island. We publish in this post the response by Cuban leader Ernesto Limia Diaz and other Cuban revolutionaries to the latest Yankee assault on Cuba.

‘Cuba: Committed to Peace, Ready to Fight for Its Sovereignty’

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On January 16, 2026, hundreds of thousands of Cubans marched and rallied in Havana to pay homage to their countrymen killed during the U.S. assault on Venezuela two weeks earlier. Thirty-two Cuban soldiers died while putting up fierce resistance to U.S. forces that stormed the presidential residence in Caracas and ultimately kidnapped Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores. Cuba’s president Miguel Díaz-Canel delivered the speech published here to honor the 32 fallen combatants and respond to Washington’s escalating threats against his nation.

Cuba’s Role in Venezuela

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On January 3, 2026, the U.S. military invaded Venezuela and abducted its president Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores. Among the approximately 100 civilians and security personnel killed in the assault were 32 Cuban nationals. Since then, there has been rampant speculation about how the U.S. forces were able to breach Maduro’s security, what the Cuban nationals were doing in Venezuela, and the nature of the relationship between Cuba and Venezuela. This article clarifies Cuba’s role in Venezuela and answers many of the claims peddled as part of Washington’s propaganda.

Intellectuals and Revolution

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“It is elementary that ‘a superior capacity for material production is the necessary basis for a superior cultural superstructure,’” Cannon writes in this 1961 letter. “Even the Cuban leaders, who don’t profess to be practicing Marxists, know that and are working night and day to improve productive capacities to provide the means for all the other things. But in my opinion, there is also merit in [Mills’] concern for ‘moral, cultural, and intellectual superiority,’ because it cannot be taken for granted that this will follow automatically from the reorganization of the productive system. This aim must be deliberately stated and consciously fought for all the time.”

A Visit with Sociologist C. Wright Mills

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The following is a 1961 letter and postscript by Socialist Workers Party (SWP) leaders George Novack and Evelyn Reed to James P. Cannon, who was then SWP national chairman, describing a visit by Novack and Reed with sociologist C. Wright Mills. What is striking in the exchange is the open-mindedness of socialist leaders at the time, the interest in finding common ground with fighters committed to struggle for a world of social equality and human solidarity. This attitude permeates the writings of Novack, Reed, and Cannon. It is the polar opposite of sectarianism. And it is central to Marxism and to the spirit of the Communist Manifesto, the founding document of the communist movement.

Cuba’s Healthcare Tested by Epidemic, U.S. Sanctions

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The following article was published on December 17, 2025, by Belly of the Beast, a “U.S.-based media outlet that tells Cuba’s untold stories through hard-hitting journalism and stunning cinematography.” As Cuba’s economy has been devastated by Washington’s economic war, the article reports, and a mosquito-borne epidemic has swept through the island, the country’s universal, free healthcare system is being stretched to its limits.

Cuba: ‘A Creative, Hard-Working People Who Do Not Give Up’ (II)

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This is the second part of a speech by Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, Cuba’s president, at the closing of the 11th Plenary Session of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba on December 13, 2025, in Havana. The Cuban leader addresses the impact on the people of the Caribbean nation of the relentless U.S. economic war, Hurricane Melissa, the U.S. naval blockade of Venezuelan oil, as well as “bureaucracy, formalism, and inertia [that] are putting unacceptable brakes on the will of the Party and the needs of the people.” He points to the working people of Cuba and its youth as the main social forces that can confront the dire economic situation facing the country today.

Cuba: ‘A Creative, Hard-Working People Who Do Not Give Up’ (I)

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This is the first part of a speech by Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, Cuba’s president, at the closing of the 11th Plenary Session of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba on December 13, 2025, in Havana. The Cuban president addresses the impact on the people of the Caribbean nation of the relentless U.S. economic war, Hurricane Melissa, the U.S. naval blockade of Venezuelan oil, as well as “bureaucracy, formalism, and inertia [that] are putting unacceptable brakes on the will of the Party and the needs of the people.” He points to the working people of Cuba and its youth as the main social forces that can confront the dire economic situation facing the country today.

World Votes with Cuba to Demand an End to U.S. Blockade

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The world has spoken. An overwhelming majority of United Nations (UN) member states voted for the 33rd time at the UN General Assembly to demand an end to the U.S. blockade of Cuba. The resolution on the “necessity of ending the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed by the United States of America against Cuba” passed with 165 votes in favor, 7 against, and 12 abstentions.

Miami Coalition Raises Funds for Cuban Pacemaker Campaign

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The Miami Coalition to End the U.S. Blockade of Cuba held a successful educational and fundraising event on the evening of September 5 at Florida International University’s main campus. Despite stormy weather, 30 people attended and raised just over $2,000 for the national Saving Lives Campaign, which aims to send cardiac pacemakers to Cuba. The effort addresses a shortage of vital medical devices caused by the U.S. blockade.

Trump’s War on Cuba Now Targets Many Cuban Americans

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This is a statement by the U.S.-Cuba Normalization Coalition. It outlines how the Trump administration — by canceling Temporary Protected Status for hundreds of thousands of immigrants — is targeting many Cuban Americans for deportation. These are the same people that successive U.S. governments for decades have tried to lure to leave Cuba as “victims of Communism” seeking freedom.

‘Tell No Lies, Claim No Easy Victories’: The Cuban Revolution, Social Vulnerability, and Revolutionary Ethics

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This opinion column was published on Facebook on July 16, 2025. The author, Isaac Saney, is on faculty at the College of Continuing Education, Dalhousie University, and an adjunct professor of International Development Studies at Saint Mary’s University, both in Halifax, Canada. The essay is one among many articles and posts by revolutionaries in Cuba and supporters of the Cuban Revolution in other countries addressing a public debate that erupted in Cuba in the middle of July 2025. The controversy was triggered by contentious remarks that Marta Elena Feitó Cabrera, Cuba’s former Minister of Labor and Social Security, made on July 14 at the National Assembly, the country’s parliament, dismissing begging and homelessness as fictitious problems.

Cuban Leader: ‘Everything for the People and with the People’

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This essay was first published on Facebook on July 18, 2025. The author, Ernesto Limia Díaz, is First Vice-president of the Writers Association of the National Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba. His essay is part of a public discussion that has swept Cuba over the last week. The debate broke out into the open in the aftermath of the resignation of Cuba’s Minister of Labor and Social Security, Marta Elena Feitó Cabrera, on July 15.

Cuba’s President: ‘We Can’t Defend the Revolution when We Hide Our Problems’

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This article, published on July 15, 2025, on the website of the Presidency of the Cuban government, reports on the response by Miguel Díaz-Canel, Cuba’s president, to controversial remarks a day earlier by the country’s Minister of Labor and Social Security, Marta Elena Feitó Cabrera. On July 14, Feitó Cabrera told Cuba’s parliament that there are no beggars in Cuba, that the island’s beggars are faking poverty in search of easy money, and that those cleaning windshields on the streets or collecting rubbish from trash bins are actually collecting raw materials without paying taxes. Her televised remarks went viral on social media, causing an uproar by the public and government officials alike. Feitó Cabrera resigned her post on July 15.

Back Campaign to Send Pacemakers to Cuba

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The National Network on Cuba and the U.S.-Cuba Normalization Coalition have announced a campaign that combines raising money to send crucially needed cardiac pacemakers to Cuba with boosting efforts to end Washington’s economic war against Cuba, defend Cuba’s internationalist medical missions, and remove Cuba from the U.S. State Department State Sponsor of Terrorism (SSOT) list. That designation makes it almost impossible for Cuba to buy pacemakers commercially.

Over 5 Million Turn Out for May Day in Cuba

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About 5.3 million people, nearly half of the country’s population of 11 million, filled the streets of cities, towns, and municipalities across the Caribbean island today to celebrate International Workers’ Day. “A sea marched toward Revolution Square this May Day,” began the report in Trabajadores, the daily newspaper of the Confederation of Cuban Workers, covering the mobilization of 600,000 in Havana. “It was certainly a sea of workers and other people, men, women, old, young, teenagers, and kids who came together to form this multicolored and enthusiastic stream, showing the world once again that Cubans defend their revolution and won’t be intimidated by blockades and other threats.”

California AFL-CIO: Remove Cuba from U.S. List of ‘State Sponsors of Terrorism’

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SAN DIEGO, California — More than 700 delegates representing 2.3 million workers in nearly 2,000 union locals throughout California gathered here for the state AFL-CIO convention on July 16. Delegates unanimously passed a resolution opposing Washington’s inclusion of Cuba in its notorious list of “State Sponsors of Terrorism” (SSOT) and urging Cuba’s removal from it.

Support Campaign to Send Pacemakers to Cuba

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The National Network on Cuba and the U.S.-Cuba Normalization Coalition have launched a new campaign that combines raising money to send crucially needed cardiac pacemakers to Cuba with boosting efforts to end Washington’s economic war against Cuba and to remove Cuba from the U.S. State Department State Sponsor of Terrorism (SSOT) list. That designation makes it almost impossible for Cuba to buy pacemakers commercially. 

Young U.S. Unionist Seeks to Change His Country

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This article appeared in the May 27, 2024, issue of Trabajadores (Workers), the daily newspaper in Cuba of the Confederation of Cuban Workers (CTC). Miguel Bautista, the U.S. unionist interviewed in the story, visited Cuba in late April-early May as part of the “Labor and Youth Activists” delegation organized by the Los Angeles Hands Off Cuba Committee.

Solidarity with Palestine Key Theme of May Day in Cuba

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HAVANA, Cuba — Keffiyehs and Palestinian flags were among the most visible symbols as Cuban workers began massing at 4:30 a.m. on May 1 for the 200,000-strong rally hosted by the five municipalities closest to the U.S. embassy here. It was one of several May Day rallies in Cuba’s capital. Ten other mass gatherings took place in Havana alone. More than 4 million Cubans celebrated May Day — the international workers’ holiday — in avenues, town centers, and plazas across the island. They gathered within walking distance of their homes and workplaces instead of joining a single, massive march in each city, in order to save fuel, which is in short supply due to the ever-tightening U.S. blockade.

Miami Event: Cuba’s Example in Confronting Climate Change

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MIAMI — An important frontline engagement in the battle of ideas took place on the main campus of Florida International University (FIU) here on Friday, April 12. About 25 people attended a showing and discussion of the documentary “Cuba’s Life Task: Combatting Climate Change.” The film was made by Helen Yaffe, a lecturer on economic and social history at the University of Glasgow, Scotland, and a frequent visitor to Cuba who is widely respected for well-known books about the Cuban Revolution.

Miami: Unity Strengthens in Fight to End U.S. Blockade of Cuba

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Activists in Miami made significant advances towards unity in action and in winning new people to the struggle against the U.S. Blockade of Cuba over the weekend of March 8-10. These were registered in a March 8 event at Floriday International University marking International Women’s Day, and a teachers’ march two days later to oppose antidemocratic measures enacted by the Florida state government.

Belly of the Beast Tour Broadens Support for Ending U.S. Blockade of Cuba

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This article reports on the Oct. 3-Nov. 20 U.S. speaking tour by the award-winning Cuban journalist Liz Oliva Fernández. The tour is promoting two soon-to-be-released documentary films — “Uphill on the Hill” and “Hardliner on the Hudson” — by Belly of the Beast. This is a “U.S.-based media outlet that tells Cuba’s untold stories through hard-hitting journalism and stunning cinematography,” according to the group’s website. The tour is also helping expand support for the campaign to end Washington’s economic war against Cuba.

June 25 Actions: ‘Remove Cuba from U.S. List of State Sponsors of Terrorism’

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MIAMI—Fifty people attended an event organized by the Miami Caravan Against the U.S. Blockade of Cuba here on June 25. The event was one of many across the nation in support of a national march in Washington demanding the removal of Cuba from the State Department’s list of State Sponsors of Terrorism. The national action was organized by the National Network on Cuba and endorsed by more than 70 organizations. Estimates of the size of that action range from 300-500.

May Miami Caravan to End U.S. Blockade of Cuba A Success

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MIAMI — On Sunday, May 28, about 35 people in 30 vehicles, plus two courageous bicyclists, brought to the streets of this city our call to end the U.S. blockade of Cuba and for Washington to remove the island nation from the State Department’s list of “state sponsors of terrorism.” The caravan ended with participants lined up along a sidewalk at the Miami International Airport, where hundreds of drivers and others saw and heard our demands. The action took place without incident despite threats by right-wing supporters of U.S. policy toward Cuba. This was a different outcome than those during the January, February, and March caravans.