Cuba

Cuba begins releasing prisoners under scrutiny of rights groups, US government

The decision to release the prisoners on the island comes after Washington's most intense pressure campaign in decades, although Havana denies any decision-making under US coercion.

|ByREUTERS
Regla Yolanda Gonzalez poses for a photograph following her son's release from prison, part of a deal brokered by the Vatican that saw the Biden administration loosen sanctions on Cuba, in Havana, Cuba January 21, 2025.
An aerial view shows the oil tanker named Boracay (also called Pushpa), a vessel being investigated by French authorities and suspected of belonging to the so-called "shadow fleet" involved in the Russian oil trade, off the coast of the western France port of Saint-Nazaire, France, October 2, 2025

US allows Russian oil tanker to reach Cuba, reversing course on blockade

The US cut off Venezuelan oil exports to Cuba after toppling Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on January 3.

|ByREUTERS
Activists of the Nuestra America Convoy and Cuban officials unload humanitarian aid from the vessel Maguro -- symbolically renamed "Granma 2.0" as a tribute to the yacht used by Fidel Castro's guerrilla fighters to launch their revolution in 1956 -- at Havana port on March 24, 2026.

Two humanitarian aid boats en route to Cuba are missing, Mexico says

The vessels had been expected to arrive between March 24 and 25, but there had been no communication from them and no confirmation of their arrival, the navy said.

|ByREUTERS
The US flag flutters at the US embassy in Caracas on March 14, 2026, ten days after the restoration of diplomatic relations following the capture of ousted leader Nicolas Maduro in a US military raid.

US push for Western Hemisphere dominance could extend to Cuba and Nicaragua, experts say

Trump's new policy, which he calls the “Donroe" Doctrine, aims to establish US dominance throughout the Western Hemisphere by replacing regime leaders with US-allied governments.

|ByAMICHAI STEIN

Trump says he expects to have 'honor of taking Cuba,' heightening tensions

The threatening statements come even as Cuba and the United States have opened talks aimed at improving their largely adverse relations.

MARCH 17, 2026ByREUTERS
US President Donald Trump takes a question as he speaks during a press conference at Trump National Doral Miami in Miami, Florida, March 9, 2026.

Trump urges Iranian diplomats to seek asylum, vows total defeat of regime

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and CENTCOM chief Admiral Brad Cooper also gave a press conference at CENTCOM HQ, Florida, addressing the ongoing operation against Iran.

MARCH 5, 2026ByJAMES GENN
Inter Miami CF captain Lionel Messi gestures on the day US President Donald Trump honors reigning Major League Soccer (MLS) champion Inter Miami CF players and team officials with an event in the East Room of the White House in Washington, March 5, 2026.

Cuba appears to hold speedboat suspects in provincial hospital

Four others aboard were killed on Wednesday when Cuban forces returned fire on the Florida-registered speedboat off the northern coast of Cuba, Cuba's Interior Ministry said.

FEBRUARY 26, 2026ByREUTERS
People approach the entrance of the Provincial Clinical–Surgical Hospital "Arnaldo Milian Castro," where, according to local information, injured people were being treated after an armed incident involving a Florida-registered speedboat and a Cuban patrol, at a time of heightened tensions with US

Four killed after boat from Florida entered Cuban waters, occupants opened fire

All four killed were aboard the Florida boat, with the incident taking place amid heightened tension between Cuba and the United States.

FEBRUARY 25, 2026ByREUTERS
A Cuban soldier waves a national flag as he takes part in the "Anti-Imperialist" protest in front of the US Embassy against the US incursion in Venezuela, where 32 Cuban soldiers lost their lives, in Havana on January 16, 2026.

Cuban military, medical advisers leave Venezuela as US pressure mounts on Rodriguez

Venezuela’s Delcy Rodriguez faces US pressure to cut ties with Cuba, leading to the departure of Cuban security advisers and medical personnel from the country.

FEBRUARY 21, 2026ByREUTERS
Venezuela's interim president Delcy Rodriguez and Cuban Foreign Minister, Bruno Rodriguez Padilla attend the ceremony "Promotions and Decorations for Heroes and Martyrs", honouring Venezuelan and Cuban military and security personnel who died during a US operation to capture Nicolas Maduro.

The Munich moment that changed everything for Marco Rubio - opinion

From Venezuela to Tehran to Munich, Rubio is no longer just executing policy; he’s shaping a new world order.

FEBRUARY 21, 2026ByADAM SCOTT BELLOS
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio waves, next to Chairman of the Munich Security Conference Wolfgang Ischinger, as he gets a standing ovation after his speech at the Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026.

Trump threatens tariffs on any nation supplying Cuba with oil

US President Donald Trump announces potential tariffs on countries providing oil to Cuba, ramping up pressure on the island’s leadership.

JANUARY 30, 2026ByREUTERS
An illustration of the flags of Cuba and the US, with a rift in between.

US seeks to end Cuba’s communist rule by year’s end - WSJ report

The US government is reportedly working behind the scenes to end Cuba's communist rule by the end of 2026.

JANUARY 24, 2026BySHOSHANA BAKER
A man ties a Cuban flag on the roof of the University of Havana.

Iranian feminists understood the revolution better than Europe’s intellectuals - opinion

While Foucault praised Iran’s 1979 revolution as spiritual, Iranian women warned it would mean coercion, veiling, and the erasure of their rights.

JANUARY 14, 2026BySAMUEL J. HYDE
Demonstrators gather outside the Iranian embassy during a rally in support of nationwide protests in Iran, in London, Britain, January 11, 2026

Jewish woman once held up by Nazis as ideal Aryan baby dead at 91

Born in Berlin in 1934 to Latvian Jewish parents Jacob and Polin Levinson, Taft was photographed when she was 6 months old by a German photographer, Hans Ballin.

JANUARY 13, 2026ByGRACE GILSON/JTA
HESSY TAFT poses holding a photograph of herself taken in 1935 by well-known German photographer Hans Ballin during an interview with Reuters July 9, 2014.