Tag: U.S. blockade against Cuba

Non-Exclusion in Fight to End U.S. Blockade of Cuba? A Debate (II)

By on • ( 2 Comments )

On June 7, 2026, the Seattle/Cuba Friendship Committee (SCFC) voted “to remove the Socialist Workers Party (SWP) participants from membership in our committee,” as the organization announced, “because of ideological differences with the SWP Middle East policy, specifically their support of Israel in the face of Israeli genocide against the Palestinian people.” Others active in Cuba solidarity work across the United States have expressed opposition to the SCFC action and its rationale, even though many of them also decried the SWP’s position on Israel/Palestine; these activists explained that the SCFC decision set a dangerous precedent that could hurt the chances of broadening opposition to the U.S. blockade against Cuba. We publish here documents outlining both sides of the debate. This is the second of two parts.

Non-Exclusion in Fight to End U.S. Blockade of Cuba? A Debate (I)

By on • ( 2 Comments )

On June 7, 2026, the Seattle/Cuba Friendship Committee (SCFC) voted “to remove the Socialist Workers Party (SWP) participants from membership in our committee,” as the organization announced, “because of ideological differences with the SWP Middle East policy, specifically their support of Israel in the face of Israeli genocide against the Palestinian people.” Others active in Cuba solidarity work across the United States have expressed opposition to the SCFC action and its rationale, even though many of them also decried the SWP’s position on Israel/Palestine; these activists explained that the SCFC decision set a “dangerous precedent” that could hurt the chances of broadening opposition to the U.S. blockade against Cuba. We publish here documents outlining both sides of the debate. This is the first of two parts.

Tribute to Assata Shakur, Street Protests Denounce U.S. War Threats Against Cuba

By on • ( 2 Comments )
Cuban-Americans protest U.S. blockade of Cuba at Miami airport

A New York meeting to celebrate the life of Black revolutionary Assata Shakur highlighted Cuba’s internationalism and sounded the alarm about U.S. threats of war against the island nation. Gathering at the historic Riverside Church in Manhattan on May 30, 2026, more than 2,000 people — overwhelmingly Black — paid tribute to Shakur, a member of the Black Panther Party and Black Liberation Army who died in Havana in September 2025. The day after the Riverside Church gathering, actions were held in New York City and Miami, Florida, to demand an end to U.S. military threats against Cuba and Washington’s blockade of the island aimed at starving the Cuban people into submission. The events at Riverside Church and the New York and Miami protests show that the possibility of building united front actions — around the demands “U.S. Hands Off Cuba! No to Washington’s War on the Cuban People! End the Blockade!” — is growing as U.S. threats intensify.

Cuba Solidarity Activist Responds to U.S. Gov’t Intimidation Attempt

By on • ( Leave a comment )

On March 21, 2026, the Nuestra América convoy — including activists from the United States and countries throughout Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Canada — arrived in Havana, bringing tons of humanitarian aid, including medicines, food, and solar panels. Medea Benjamin, a founder of CODEPINK — a U.S.-based nonprofit that provides humanitarian aid to Cuba, and Hasan Piker, the popular Twitch streamer, were part of the contingent. On March 24, the U.S. treasury department Office of Foreign Assets Control sent the two activists letters demanding information and documentation related to their participation in the convoy. In an interview with Belly of the Beast, Benjamin explains the motivations for the trip and their response to the OFAC probe.

Stop War Threats Against Cuba! End Inhumane Oil Blockade!

By on • ( 2 Comments )

In response to Washington’s escalating aggression against Cuba, solidarity groups across the United States have started to organize protests, speak outs, and educational teach-ins to counter U.S. government propaganda and mobilize popular opposition to U.S. warmongering. We publish here information about several such actions recently called in Miami, New York City, and nationwide. We encourage the largest possible turnout in each case and the emulation of such solidarity activities across the United States and other countries.

The New York Times Shameful Roadmap for U.S. War on Cuba

By on • ( 4 Comments )

On May 16, 2026, the New York Times published the article “With Possible Raúl Castro Indictment, U.S. Eyes Venezuela Playbook.” Reporting on the May 13 visit to Cuba by Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) director John Ratcliff, the article trumpeted the ultimatum the CIA chief publicly delivered in Havana on behalf of the Trump administration: “Shut down Russian and Chinese listening posts and take steps to open the economy.” This article by Pete Seidman, a leader of the Miami Coalition to End the U.S. Blockade of Cuba, is an apt response to the New York Times hack piece promoting U.S. imperialist aggression against Cuba and its people.

Cuba Street: A Model of Community Hygiene in Old Havana’s Heart

By on • ( 2 Comments )

This article describes a concerted effort by local residents, the city administration, and private businesses to end the problem of trash accumulation in a part of Cuba’s capital city, Havana. Since it was published in October 2025, this problem has become more acute and widespread as a consequence of the U.S. oil blockade, which, since January 3, 2026, has stopped virtually all petroleum shipments from reaching Cuba. The resulting fuel shortage, has, among other things, made it difficult to almost impossible for garbage trucks to operate and regularly collect trash. The setbacks due to this cruel and unusual escalation of the U.S. blockade notwithstanding, this article describes an example of the initiatives ordinary Cubans take to improve their daily lives in the middle of extreme adversities caused by Washington’s decades-old economic war.

Trump’s May 1 Escalation Against Cuba Signals Danger of Military Aggression

By on • ( 5 Comments )

This essay by Isaac Saney, a professor of Black studies and history at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Canada, accurately draws out the implications for the Cuba solidarity movement of Trump’s May 1 executive order against Cuba. Issued, not accidentally, as millions marched in Cuba on International Workers’ Day, Trump’s escalation “signals failure, desperation, and the danger of military aggression,” Saney explains.

Cuba: Millions March on May Day, Denounce Threats of U.S. Invasion

By on • ( 5 Comments )

HAVANA, Cuba, May 1, 2026 — Beginning at 3:30 a.m., Cuban working people from all over this city began mobilizing to answer the growing threats of an invasion by the U.S. government, converging on four different rally sites in the country’s capital. In Havana, 500,000 participated in the four rallies, according to the Cuban media, the reports of which are corroborated by magnificent aerial photos. An estimated 5.2 million people turned out in May Day rallies in cities and towns across the country.

Cuban Athletes: An ‘Unusual and Extraordinary Threat’?

By on • ( Leave a comment )

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’

By on • ( Leave a comment )

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.”

Cuba: ‘Failed State’ or Besieged Nation?

By on • ( 1 Comment )

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.

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

By on • ( Leave a comment )

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’ (I)

By on • ( 3 Comments )

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.

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

By on • ( 2 Comments )

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.

Over 5 Million Turn Out for May Day in Cuba

By on • ( 2 Comments )

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.”