Inter-American Dialogue asks “What Did Díaz-Canel Accomplish on His U.S. Trip?  Amnesty International calls on Cuba to make public evidence against political prisoner on a prolonged hunger strike.

Late last month, Vietnam’s deputy defense minister paid a visit to Cuba. The trip spotlighted the ongoing activity within the military aspect of the relationship amid a key year in the ties between the two countries.

Entre nosotros algunos se deshonran por su egoísmo y su vileza favoreciendo a la tiranía; como en la época de la colonia cuando José Marti, apenas un adolescente le echaba en cara su apostasia a un joven cubano partidario de Espana. Por escribirle una carta Marti fue condenado por sedición y enviado a prision. Marti, como Carlos Ripoll, en cuestiones de Cuba y la libertad era intransigente. Entonces como ahora había cubanos apóstatas, pero como ahora también cubanos con talento y con virtud.

Cuba’s announcement of a new constitution that would remove references to a “communist society” and recognize the right to private property has generated a lot of enthusiastic headlines around the world. But I read the 755 paragraph document, and — trust me — it's no step toward modernization.

Cuba’s new tolerance of gays ignores years of repression & whitewashes rights’ denial today.
According to The Economist, (july 26, 2018), the rewritten Cuban Constitution announced by Havana’s "most striking change is the redefinition of marriage to encompass any two people... Mr Castro’s daughter Mariela, who leads the national sex-education agency, asked for this clause. In a calibrated display of tolerance, the government let evangelical groups protest against the policy publicly—a courtesy withheld from demonstrators demanding political freedoms.

While many have criticized The New York Times editorials on Cuba and its important advocacy of President Obama's concessions to the regime, few have taken notice of The Washington Post's siding with the Cuban people, and with Cuban dissidents and its thoughtful criticism of the Castro's dictatorship.

CBS reports on a visit to Havana by American diplomats this week. CBC should not be surprised that Washington holds Havana responsible for the physical safety of diplomats stationed on the island, including Canadians and Americans. There are now 26 diplomats and19 American citizens with similar symptoms.  

This CUBABrief highlights three stories focusing on issues familiar to most Cuba watchers: the finger-pointing about who is to blame for the deaths caused by the recent aircraft disaster (this time Havana did not blame the CIA); a foreigner, in this case a Canadian, who discovers Havana’s disregard for the rule of law and his government’s inability to protect  him; and Cuban-Americans who have learned from their loved ones about misery and repression on the island. 

Despite the fact that for years The Brookings Institution, one of Washington’s most prominent liberal think tanks, provided intellectual ammunition to President Obama’s Cuba policy, it has now discovered that “Cuba moves backwards: New regulations likely to impeded private sector growth.”  What is news to the Brookings scholars is well known to the Cubans on the island.

Several years ago Frank Calzon wrote this article that was published as a blog by America’s Quarterly. It is still timely. Frank welcomes your comments.

During the last decade, the political art of Rolando Pulido, a Cuban exile who has lived in New York since 1980, has become an essential visual reference in the Internet, with a very high impact for the struggle for liberation against totalitarianism in Cuba.

Durante la última década, el arte político del cubano Rolando Pulido, residente en Nueva York desde 1980 (cuando salió al exilio), se ha convertido en internet en un referente visual imprescindible y de altísimo impacto para la lucha por la liberación en contra del totalitarismo cubano.

In case you miss it, we are sending you a report on a most informative program focusing on Cuba, carried out by the Cuban Studies Institute, led by professor Jaime Suchlicki, in conjunction with the International Republican Institute.

Marco Rubio's recent statements about a Cuban amendment on the Farm bill have generated considerable debate. According to the Florida's senator "we should not allow... spend[ing] taxpayer money in properties and in other places on the island that are owned and controlled by the Cuban military.” 

The terrible consequences on the environment of Communist rule in Central and Eastern Europe were not fully understood in the West until the end of those regimes.

Earlier in the week the Center for a Free Cuba called attention to the passage by the House of Representatives Agriculture Committee of an Ag bill that included an amendment authorizing the use of federal funds to promote sales to Cuba, despite the fact that Cuba’s government has been unable to pay many purchases in recent years and many governments have forgiven many millions of dollars Havana owed them. 

Google has cancelled its participation in a US Defense Department Project, while retiring Senator Jeff Flake (R-AZ) accompanied Eric Schmidt, a former Google Chief Executive to a meeting with figure-head Cuban president, Miguel Diaz-Canel in Havana. 

In this issue from THE DAILY SIGNAL, “US Makes the Right Call to Quit UN Human Rights Council:  "14 of the 47 members of the council (including Burundi, China, Cuba, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela) are ranked “not free” by Freedom House. This is the highest number of “not free” countries in council history."  Also in this issue from 14yMedio "Mariel, the Cuban Hong Kong That Never Became One ,” by Mario Penton Martinez.

En este CUBAenBreve se incluyen articulos sobre la escasez de medicinas que padecen los cubanos en la isla;  los extranjeros no son afectados, como no les afecta el racionamiento de los alimentos, productos higienicos, y todos los articulos necesarios para la vida. Lea aqui un analisis de la zafra azucarera del 2018: "se sabe que se produjeron unos 1.1 millones de toneladas (TM), para una caída de un 40% con respecto a los 1.8 millones de 2017.

The United Nations Human Rights Council was founded a few years ago to remedy the lamentable track record of its predecessor, the UN Commission on Human Rights, where some of the worst human rights violators prevented any real efforts to help victims of repression around the world. But little has changed, and China, Cuba, Venezuela and other regimes continue to enjoy impunity for their crimes. While a member of the Commission, the Cuban government said it would not accept “one iota” of its recommendations.