cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/50636966

President Trump has tried to strangle Cuba by blocking its oil imports. But six months later, the island is finding ways to endure.

“We have not reached the point of having a humanitarian crisis precisely because of the strength of our society,” Mr. Fernández de Cossio, Cuba’s deputy foreign minister, said in Havana’s Fidel Castro museum, where the lights were on but the air-conditioning had failed. “The intimate expectation in political circles in the United States was that Cuba could not survive beyond April. And here we are.”

July 27, 2026

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/50638668

The U.S. oil blockade has deepened a humanitarian crisis, forcing Cubans to lean on the island’s long tradition of community solidarity to provide a cushion.

July 7, 2026

March on Sunday in Mexico City in Defense of Cuba

from La Jornada on FB July 24, 2026
[translated from Spanish by FB]

Social organizations hope that the march in defense of #Cuba this Sunday in #MexicoCity will be massive, with a participation higher than that they have had in the mobilizations held every July 26 for decades, mainly to protest the hardening of Donald #Trump's government policy against the island and Washington's measures aimed at other countries and progressive movements.

Olivia Garza Joa, vice president of the Association of Cubans Resident in #Mexico José Martí, explained that for more than a month, solidarity organizations with Cuba, social movements, urban and popular collectives, #unions, parties and other groups have come together to organize a unitary march.

More information at: https://www.jornada.com.mx/noticia/2026/07/24/politica/colectivos-marcharan-este-domingo-en-defensa-de-cuba-y-el-antimperialismo

#NoWarOnCuba #USHandsOffCuba #OilForCuba! #CubaIsNotAlone #EndTheBlockadeEmbargo #CubaSolidarity #EndSanctionsAgainstCuba #news #politics
@cuba

Duration - 1:19:42

[A video podcast about Cuba from the podcast team Cuba Analysis Podcasts]

In this episode of the Cuba Analysis Podcast, co-hosts Helen Yaffe and Nina Blodau speak with Professor Isaac Saney, a Black Studies and Cuba specialist, historian, professor at Dalhousie University, author of two books about Cuba, and spokesperson for the Canadian Network on Cuba, which is among many groups named in the new US State Department report ‘Cuba: The Capital of 21st Century Communism’.

Professor Saney breaks down the 100-page report which, despite lacking evidence, depicts Cuba as a global subversive force guiding the US and international left over decades. Saney explains that the objectives of this McCarthyite document are to justify the genocidal US blockade and lay the groundwork for future military aggression, as well as to revive Cold War-era repression of the left domestically and beyond. 

We discuss the suffocating US sanctions imposed in 2026, their impact on Cuba’s economy and the population’s access to essential goods, and the muted international response. Professor Saney points out that 136 countries voted against the US blockade at the UN, despite US pressure, although Canada and several EU countries shamefully abstained.

We also talk about Cuba’s historic contribution to African liberation struggles, with a focus on Cuba’s support of the struggle for Angolan independence and the defeat of the invading South African army, which contributed to the end of Apartheid – the focus of Isaac’s book, Cuba, Africa, and Apartheid's End. This historic contribution is ignored in the State Department report, which Saney describes as a white supremacist. 

Saney concludes by calling for more concrete international solidarity with Cuba, arguing that defending Cuban sovereignty, self-determination and socialist development, is also a defence of international law, opposition to normalisation of genocide and resistance to imperialism.

Press release - July 23, 2026

WASHINGTON - Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) Peace & Security Taskforce Chair Rep. Ilhan Omar and 10 other CPC members—Representatives Greg Casar, Maxine Dexter, Jesús "Chuy" García, Jonathan L. Jackson, Jim McGovern, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Mark Pocan, Delia C. Ramirez, Rashida Tlaib, and Nydia M. Velázquez—issued the following statement in response to the Trump State Department's release of the 100-page report, Cuba: Capital of 21st-Century Communism:

“Trump appears hellbent on taking America back 70 years to the height of Cold War McCarthyism, when hawkish foreign policy was paired with unsubstantiated accusations of communist subversion and political repression against dissidents at home.

“Trump has repeatedly threatened to take over Cuba and has deployed U.S. military ships to seize fuel vessels attempting to arrive on the island. And yet, in an Orwellian move, this administration now claims it is Cuba carrying out the ‘assault’ against the United States, by turning ‘Americans into instruments of their own nation's undoing.’

Syringes donated to Cuba stuck in Jamaica, because of US sanctions

from Punto y Aparte on FB July 18, 2026
[en español - https://expressional.social/@Peter/_Link/116971465860466440]

⚠️ 3.5 million syringes remain in Jamaica, due to the refusal of a French shipping company to bring them to #Cuba

Due to #sanctions imposed by the #US government, the French shipping company CMA CGM recently canceled the transfer of cargo to #Cuba; and left dozens of containers in Kingston, #Jamaica, that were supposed to arrive in our country, including one with 3.5 million syringes and needles donated by the Spanish non-governmental organization SODePAZ to #PublicHealth institutions in Santiago de Cuba.

#NoWarOnCuba #USHandsOffCuba #OilForCuba! #CubaIsNotAlone #EndTheBlockadeEmbargo #CubaSolidarity #LetCubaLive
#EndSanctionsAgainstCuba #OffTheList
#news #politics #USpol
@cuba

Duration - 2:56

[a video on Peertube about Cuba from the news collective Belly Of The Beast]

Camila Guevara Milanés carries two legendary last names. But she wants to be known for her music. The Cuban singer-songwriter talks about how she's forging her own artistic identity.

Duration - 3:45

[a video on Peertube about Cuba from the news collective Belly Of The Beast]

Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA) denounced U.S. sanctions on Cuba as decades-long “human rights violations.”

Watch his speech in full.

publicació creuada des de: https://lemmy.world/post/49828700

Blas Roca Calderio (1908 - 1987)

Fri Jul 24, 1908

Image: Blas Roca Calderic being received by Romanian communist leader Nicolae Ceauşescu, May 26th, 1979 [Wikipedia]

Blas Roca Calederio, born on this day in 1908, was a Cuban communist revolutionary and radical journalist. Roca helped lead the 1933 general strike that ousted Gerardo Machado, and served in Fidel Castro's revolutionary government.

Born into a poor family, Roca began working at age eleven, shining shoes. According to Castro, Roca was already a prominent communist organizer in the province of Oriente at 21 years old.

At age 25, Roca helped lead a two week general strike that ousted dictator Gerardo Machado. By 1936, he was head of the Cuban Communist Party and began serving as a politican, helping author the 1940 Cuban Constitution.

Under Roca's leadership, Cuban communists were instrumental in providing an organizational and ideological structure for Castro's revolution, as well as playing a pivotal role using the party's long-standing ties with the Soviet Union to promote increasingly closer ties during the early days of the revolution.

In 1961, Blas Roca, leading a party delegation, presented a Cuban flag to Nikita Khrushchev during a meeting of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. Roca served on the first central committee and politburo of the new Communist Party of Cuba, founded in 1965.

• Date: 1908-07-24
• Learn More: es.wikipedia.org, www-cuba-cu.translate.goog.
• Tags: #Communism, #Labor, #GeneralStrikes, #Birthdays.
• Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org

July 21, 2026

Duration - 1:53

[a video on Peertube about Cuba from the news collective Belly Of The Beast]

The U.S. State Department just released a 100-page report accusing Cuba of influencing virtually every major progressive movement, organization, protest and activist over the last 65 years.

Amidst a hodgepodge of distorted history and sweeping, conspiratorial conclusions, the Trump administration uses the report for two purposes: to justify repression at home and regime change in Cuba.

Watch Belly of the Beast journalist Liz Oliva Fernández break down what the report says — and what it means.

Permanecen en Jamaica 3,5 millones de jeringuillas, ante negativa de naviera francesa de traerlas a Cuba

de Punto y Aparte en FB
18 de julio de 2026

Debido a #sanciones impuestas por el gobierno de #EstadosUnidos, la naviera francesa CMA CGM canceló recientemente el traslado de cargamentos hacia #Cuba; y dejó en Kingston, #Jamaica, decenas de contenedores que debían arribar a nuestro país, incluido uno con 3,5 millones de jeringuillas y agujas donados por la organización no gubernamental española #SODePAZ a las instituciones de #SaludPública en Santiago de Cuba.

#CubaNoEstáSola #VivaCuba #CubaSí #AbajoElBloqueo #SolidaridadConCuba
#PetróleoParaCuba
#noticias #política #España #Francia
@cuba

[en inglés - https://expressional.social/@Peter/_Link/116971428025091280]

Duration - 1:50

[a video on Peertube about Cuba from the news collective Belly Of The Beast]

Rep. Pramila Jaypal challenged a State Department official over whether decades lof U.S. sanctions on Cuba amount to collective punishment prohibited under the Fourth Geneva Convention. Watch the exchange.

Agricultural collaboration between the two countries is beginning to take root in the fields of Granma, where technology, discipline, and shared knowledge are showing results based on a model to transform rice production in Cuba.

Author: Anaisis Hidalgo Rodriguez July 22, 2026 07:07:04 Translation: Walter Lippmann.

Declaración del grupo "Cuban Americans for Cuba" [Cubanoamericanos por Cuba] sobre "informe" de #MarcoRubio

de #Instagram 20 de julio de 2026
[versión en inglés - https://expressional.social/@Peter/_Link/116957708008515660]

#USHandsOffCuba #OilForCuba
#VivaCuba #CubaSí #AbajoElBloqueo #SolidaridadConCuba #PetróleoParaCuba
#Cuba #CubanAmericansForCuba #USpol #EEUU #noticias #política
@cuba

Cuban Americans for Cuba statement on #MarcoRubio's "report"

from #Instagram July 20, 2026
[Spanish version here - https://expressional.social/@Peter/_Link/116959235829086849]

#USHandsOffCuba #OilForCuba
#Cuba #news #CubanAmericansForCuba #politics #USpol @cuba

[weekly newsletter about Cuba from the Belly Of The Beast news collective. Their videos can be found at: https://peertube.world/c/cuba_botb_videos/videos]

June 16, 2026

Four Democratic lawmakers traveled to Cuba last week to see for themselves the impact of the Trump administration's economic war on the island.

They returned with firsthand evidence of its devastating consequences, but none to support the claims used by Donald Trump and Marco Rubio to justify an oil blockade and maximum pressure sanctions.

Belly of the Beast journalist Liz Oliva Fernández sat down with the lawmakers to discuss what they witnessed and what Congress can do to push back against the administration's policy toward Cuba.

Also:

• Inside Cuba’s Alleged Russian Spy Base
• Rubio Targets Tourism Industry and Fuel — Again
• Sanctions Reportedly Leave Medical Supplies Stuck in Jamaica
• Cuba Goes Dark For Fifth Time Since Blockade

Duration - 0:58

[A video podcast about Cuba from the podcast team Cuba Analysis Podcasts]

She explained how the US government is targeting her organisation, Code Pink, to punish them for their solidarity with Cuba and to block their humanitarian aid to the Cuban people. ❤️🤝

She also described how Code Pink actively confronts politicians such as María Elvira Salazar, who promote policies that harm the Cuban people.

Duration - 20:10

a video on Peertube about Cuba from the news collective Belly Of The Beast]

US lawmakers Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI), Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández (D-NM), and Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-IL) gave an exclusive interview to BotB during their recent visit to Havana.

Their trip to Cuba comes as the #Trump administration ramps up its #oil #blockade and economic war on the island, which it has justified by claiming that Cuba poses a threat to #US national security.

After meeting with doctors, farmers, entrepreneurs, diplomats and ordinary Cubans, the lawmakers accused Donald Trump and #MarcoRubio of pushing a “false narrative.”

“Walking through a #hospital that is dark and empty because we've cut off energy, we’ve cut off fuel,” said Leger Fernández. “Why would Americans support that?”

July 12, 2026

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/49934242

July 10, 2026

[weekly newsletter about Cuba from the Belly Of The Beast news collective. Their videos can also be found at: https://peertube.world/c/cuba_botb_videos/videos]

Also:

• MEDICC Brings Solar Power to Cuban Maternity Homes
• Despite U.S. Pressure, Most Nations Oppose Embargo
• How Cubans Are Surviving Endless Blackouts
• We Found the “Russian Spy Base” in Cuba
• Second Sanctioned Mining Company Seeks U.S. Buyer

Duration - 1:23

[a video on Peertube about Cuba from the news collective Belly Of The Beast]

Cuba’s FM Bruno Rodríguez confronted U.S. Amb. Mike Waltz at the UN on Tuesday, after Waltz accused Cuba of human rights abuses, holding photos of people detained and killed by ICE.

“This did not happen in Cuba,” said Rodriguez.

Duration - 1:58

[a video on Peertube about Cuba from the news collective Belly Of The Beast]

As Cuba’s fuel crisis deepens under the U.S. oil blockade, elderly Cubans are being forced to: cook with charcoal and sit in the dark as they wait for the lights to return.

Duration - 0:20

[a video on Peertube about Cuba from the news collective Belly Of The Beast]

In an astounding denial of reality, U.S. Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz told the General Assembly on Tuesday that "there is no American blockade" on Cuba.

Cuba’s Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez responded to Waltz, a former Green Beret: "This is the United Nations General Assembly, not a Green Beret camp. You're a liar, Mr. Waltz."