Opinion by Jack Shafer Politico.com Evidence continues to mount that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis would gladly set himself on fire, jump off a tall building, drive a Shelby Mustang off a cliff, ride a barrel over a waterfall, fly a wing-suit through a narrow mountain gap, or dance the yo-yo pole like the stunt men in Mad Max: Fury Road if he senses even a smidgen of political gain in return. The potential candidate for 2024’s Republican presidential nomination and current candidate for reelection in Florida indulged in another circus act this week by flying to Martha’s Vineyard two planeloads of ..read more

Cuban officials said he died of a heart attack caused by blood clots in his lungs while on a visit to the Venezuelan capital, Caracas. Camilo is one of four children Che Guevara had with his second wife, Aleida March. While his older sister Aleida took on the role as spokeswoman for the family, Camilo led the Center of Che Guevara Studies in the Cuban capital, Havana. He continued to promote his murdering father’s legacy until his his death. Unlike some of Fidel Castro’s close relatives who became vocal critics of the aftermath of the Cuban revolution, such as his sister Juanita Castro and hi ..read more

During an interview with 1040 AM Actualidad Radio Friday, Nuñez was asked about the recent wave of migrants coming to Florida from Cuba and said the DeSantis administration would take a hard line. “That’s why the governor has worked with the legislature, to secure funding to make sure…that people that are coming illegally…that they don’t stay here with their arms crossed, thinking about what they will be able to do,” she said. “We are going to send that person, frankly, to Delaware, the president’s home state.” Nuñez told NBC 6 Monday that her comments were misinterpreted. “It was a general d ..read more

When thousands of Cubans took to the streets a year ago, the only person to lose their life was killed in La Güinera, a poor and predominantly black neighbourhood on the outskirts of the capital, Havana. Diubis Laurencio Tejeda, a young black man, was shot by police during the unprecedented anti-government uprising. After riot police quashed the nationwide protests, around 100 of the 700 people to receive prison sentences also came from the same impoverished area. Many residents, particularly relatives of those who were convicted, believe the state made an example of La Güinera to deter futur ..read more

Flames have engulfed a fourth tank at an oil storage facility in western Cuba as a raging fire consumes critical fuel supplies on an island grappling with a growing energy crisis. Firefighters and specialists from Mexico and Venezuela helped fight the blaze in the province of Matanzas with boats, planes and helicopters as they sprayed foam on the containers, a first for crews since broiling temperatures had prevented them from doing so earlier. The fire at the Matanzas supertanker base has killed at least one person and injured 125 others, with another 14 firefighters still missing. It also f ..read more

At least eight people were killed Friday in an explosion that destroyed much of the Hotel Saratoga, a luxury hotel in the historic center of Havana, Cuban authorities said. Witnesses described a “massive blast,” which appeared to destroy buses and cars outside the hotel in the center of the city. At least 13 people are still missing, according to local officials. The explosion occurred around 11 AM local time. According to the Cuban government, it was ‘presumably caused by a gas leak.’ First responders are combing through the rubble in search of survivors ..read more

Migrants including Cubans protest to demand visas from the authorities for legal stay in the country, in the city of Tapachula, Mexico, this month. Photograph: Juan Manueol Blanco/EPA Tens of thousands have left the communist-ruled country since mass anti-government protests last July but many face life in limbo in Mexico Lillian Perlmutter in Tapachula, Mexico Thu 24 Mar 2022 05.00 EDT Last July, Rafael decided to get a provocative tattoo: a faded Cuban flag across his calf above the words “Patria y Vida”, or Fatherland and Life – the title of an anti-government anthem that went viral on the ..read more

The Miami Herald In a consequential ruling Monday night, a Miami federal judge said four major cruise lines with South Florida ties — Carnival, Norwegian, Royal Caribbean and MSC Cruises — engaged in “prohibited tourism” and “trafficking activities” by carrying passengers to Cuba and profiting from the use of Havana port facilities confiscated by the Fidel Castro-led government, the first decision of its kind that could affect similar lawsuits. “By using the Terminal and one of its piers in various ways, Carnival, MSC SA, Royal Caribbean and Norwegian committed trafficking acts,” U.S. Distric ..read more

March 2022 Cubans waiting for gas HAVANA, March 21 (Reuters) – Hours-long lines formed at gas stations in Cuba´s capital Havana on Monday after local media reported rationing of fuel in at least one province amid a biting economic crisis that has already left food and medicine in short supply across the island. Geobel Quintero, a program coordinator for the Matanzas provincial government, told local media that rationing had begun in that province on Sunday but downplayed the problem, blaming the shortfall primarily on distribution issues. “This is not a consequence of a fuel deficit in the cou ..read more

The protests in July 2021 were the largest in decades on the Communist-run island Cuba anti-government protesters jailed for up to 30 years More than 100 people who took part in rare anti-government protests in Cuba in July have been sentenced to lengthy jail terms of between six and 30 years. Out of the 129 defendants, only one was acquitted, with the remaining being found guilty of sedition and theft. Thousands of Cubans took part in the demonstrations across the Communist-run island chanting for “freedom”. Unauthorized public gatherings are illegal in Cuba and more than 1,000 people were ar ..read more