US lawmakers puts off action on Cuba travel ban

2010-09-28T14:16:05Z

A key US congressional panel has indefinitely postponed voting on legislation to end what amounts to a ban on US nationals traveling to Cuba, the committee's chairman said Tuesday.

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Howard Berman said he was putt...

Challenge for Chavez as Venezuela votes

2010-09-26T08:15:15Z

Venezuelans voted Sunday in a key test for leftist President Hugo Chavez, with the main opposition poised for a strong return to the National Assembly after boycotting the last elections.

Military trumpets blasted out at 6:00 am (1030 GMT) in a traditional voter wake-up call in the polarized, oil-rich nation, while lines formed outside many polling stations hours earlier.

"We are going to show once again that ...

Platt Amendment

2010-11-02T16:05:44Z

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Cuba Year In Review 1997

2010-11-02T15:32:40Z

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From boy to man: Cuba's Elian gives thanks 10 years later

2010-07-01T17:16:03Z

President Raul Castro and Communist Party leaders have joined Elian Gonzalez in celebrating the 10-year anniversary of his dramatic return to Cuba after a political tug-of-war with the United States.

Gonzalez, now 16 and a Communist Party member, sat alongside his father

Obama: Rights situation in Cuba "deeply disturbing"

2010-03-24T16:01:12Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Wednesday denounced recent human rights developments in Cuba as "deeply disturbing."

Obama, in a written statement, cited the death last month of jailed Cuban dissident Orlando Zapata Tamayo and "intensified harassment" of political opponents, and reiterated a longstanding <...

Today in History - Jan. 5

2010-06-25T19:06:07Z

Today is Tuesday, Jan. 5, the fifth day of 2010. There are 360 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Jan. 5, 1925, Nellie T. Ross became governor of Wyoming; she was the first female governor in U.S. history. (She succeeded Frank E. Lucas, who had served as acting governor following the death of Ross' husba...

Pelosi douses hopes for quick end to Cuba travel ban

2010-06-25T19:42:41Z

US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday that congressional efforts to end the US ban on travel to Cuba would take a back seat to overhauling US health care and fostering job creation.

"I've always been a supporter of lifting the travel ban to Cuba. Right now we're consumed with job creation, health investments and health care,...

Convention of Zanjon

2010-10-22T09:53:34Z

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US Senator Martinez, Castro critic, to resign early

2010-04-16T10:56:11Z

US Senator Mel Martinez of Florida, the chamber's only Hispanic Republican and a tough critic of Cuba's communist government, announced Friday he was stepping down before his terms ends.

"Today I am announcing my decision to step down from public office, effective on a successor taking office to fill out the remainder of my term," said Martin...

Narcisco Lopez

2010-10-22T09:13:42Z

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Biden says Guantanamo will close by January

2010-04-16T11:11:49Z

The Guantanamo Bay detention camp will close by next January, Vice-President Joe Biden said Thursday, adding that decisions on all inmates were likely "well before January."

In an interview with the BBC, he insisted Washin...

Chavez, Ortega chide Obama over "stuck" Latam policy

2010-06-25T21:54:19Z

BASSETERRE, St. Kitts (Reuters) - The presidents of Venezuela and Nicaragua, both fierce critics of U.S. policy, on Friday accused President Barack ...

US fails to broker deal on Cuba and OAS

2010-04-16T11:58:53Z

The United States failed in a marathon bid overnight Tuesday to broker a deal for Cuba to return to the Organization of American States.

The development all but dashed any near-term hopes for the United States to work out a path with the OAS to lift Cuba's 47-year suspension from the body whil...

Obama says reaching out to enemies strengthens US

2010-04-16T15:09:03Z

Renewing US ties with Latin America, Obama says he wants to lead, not lecture, on democracy

Defending his brand of world politics, President Barack Obama said Sunday that he "strengthens our hand" by reaching out to enemies of the United States and making sure that the nation is a leader, not a ...

Analysis: Week of change for Obama

2010-04-16T15:09:29Z

Analysis: President Obama ushers in changes on pollution, interrogation tactics and Cuba

In a whirlwind week of change, President Barack Obama jettisoned Bush administration policy on greenhouse gases, shone an unforgiving light on its support for torture as an interrogation tactic and eased its restrictions on Cuba.

But there are limits, even to this new presiden...

Obama lifts curbs on Cuban money transfers, visits

2010-06-26T01:29:07Z

US President Barack Obama on Monday made a landmark gesture to communist Cuba, lifting all curbs on travel and money transfers by Cuban-Americans to the island for the first time in three decades.

The White House said the move was intended to encourage expanding democratic and political rights in Cuba and called on US Congressional Black Caucus members in Cuba to discuss travel, improved relations

Seven members of the Congressional Black Caucus arrived in Cuba on Friday to discuss improving relations with the communist government amid speculation that Washington could ease travel re...

Latin American summit focus is lack of US presence

2010-04-16T13:48:41Z

Look who's not talking: US not at Latin America summit, signaling new regional independence

Forget the global economic crisis and climate change. What Latin American leaders are talking about is who is not at Tuesday's summit: the United States or any other outside power.

The largest hemispheric summit to exclude U.S. representation was hailed ...

Benicio del Toro urges Cuba, US to talk

2010-04-16T13:56:17Z

Actor Benicio del Toro -- in Havana to unveil his portrayal of Cuban revolutionary hero Ernest Che Guevara in two Stephen Soderbergh films -- urged longtime US enemies the United States and

China's Drilling for Oil in America's Backyard, Republicans Say

2010-10-23T10:00:56Z

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The Politics of Happiness, Part 5

2010-11-02T14:00:15Z

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Cuba-Michigan Cigar Shop

2011-01-03T14:32:15Z

Master Cigar Roller, Luis Acosta, of Cuba, perfects his craft on the storefront of La Casa De La Habana on Wednesday, Dec. 22, 2010 in Detroit. Cuba's government-controlled tobacco company is suing the owner of cigar shops in the Detroit area, claiming his business’ name is too similar t...

Cuba Predictions

2011-01-03T14:32:11Z

A bunch of bananas hangs from a doorframe of a temple where Afro-Cuban Yoruba religion priests presented the "Letter of the Year" which lists predictions made by Cuban Santeros for 2011 in Havana, Cuba, Monday, Jan. 3, 2011. The bananas are an offering for Chango saint, Lord of Fire, War and Thunder. (AP Photo/Franklin Reyes)

Old Men Of Versailles

2011-01-02T21:31:34Z

In this photo made June 3, 2010, Cuban exile Mike Baralt displays the paper he writes for. His wife of 50 years, died 12 years ago. After her death, friends suggested that he begin to write for a local small Spanish language newspaper. Some of his columns are political, about the death of Cuba under Castro. Others are philosophical. And some are sad, items written about friends whose health is failing. ...

Cuba Hotel Nacional

2010-12-30T11:30:44Z

A worker cleans an elevator in the Hotel Nacional in Havana, Cuba, Wednesday Dec. 29, 2010. The iconic hotel, which celebrates its 80th birthday on Thursday, opened on Dec. 30, 1930 as a rum-soaked getaway for Mafia dons and Hollywood starlets and later became a training center for illiterate peasant women after Fidel Castro's 1959 revolution. It shuttered a...

Cuba Soap

2010-12-29T17:00:35Z

Products sit for sale at a government store where a picture of Fidel Castro hangs in Havana, Cuba, Wednesday Dec. 29, 2010. Cuba's official Gazette reported Wednesday that effective Jan. 1, "personal cleanliness products" are to be cut from the from the ration books that islanders have come to rely on for a small but steady supply of basic goods. The ration ...

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