by Alexandre Grosbois Agence France Presse HAVANA, Cuba (AFP) — Cuba is poised for the end of an era on Thursday as President Raul Castro steps down, formally handing power to his long-time deputy Miguel Diaz-Canel — and thereby ending his family’s six-decade grip on the island. The silver-haired Diaz-Canel, 57 — a top Communist Party figure who has served as first vice president since 2013 — will become the island’s first leader born after […]
Tag: Raul Castro
Raul Castro warns of “a setback” in US-Cuba relations
HAVANA, Cuba (AFP) — Cuban President Raul Castro on Friday said that Donald Trump’s hardline stance towards the country marks “a setback” in relations with the United States after ties were gradually restored in 2015. “The announcements made by the current president… mean a setback in bilateral relations,” Castro said in remarks, broadcast on state television, at the closing of the first session of Cuba’s Parliament. Castro criticized Trump’s partial rollback of his predecessor Barack […]
Fidel Castro’s dying wish: No monuments in his name
SANTIAGO DE CUBA, Cuba (AFP) — Cuba will respect Fidel Castro’s dying wish that no statues be erected in his honor and no streets be named after him, President Raul Castro said Saturday. The national assembly will introduce legislation at its next session later this month so that “his wish is fulfilled,” Raul Castro told a massive rally for his brother on the eve of his burial in the eastern city of Santiago de […]
Obama enshrines Cuba normalization as official US policy
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) – US President Barack Obama on Friday announced a directive formalizing a policy of normalization with Cuba and unveiling a new round of loosened trade and travel rules. In a statement, Obama said the directive lays out an official framework for continuing normalization aimed at making it “irreversible.” “This new directive consolidates and builds upon the changes we’ve already made, promotes transparency by being clear about our policy and intentions, and […]
Emotional return as first U.S. cruise in decades reaches Cuba
(Reuters) Hundreds of tourists and a handful of emotional Cuban-Americans arrived on the first U.S. cruise ship to sail to Havana in more than 50 years on Monday (April 4), spilling onto the cobbled streets of the old city where they were warmly greeted by residents. It was another first for the two countries since U.S. President Barack Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro announced a historic rapprochement in December 2014, and comes weeks […]





