https://www.scmp.com/rss/325382/feed en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Teresa Elena Frontado Teresa Elena Frontado With Congress again failing to curb US President Donald Trump’s authority over Cuba, the centre of gravity in US policy towards the island is shifting decisively back to the White House – and to a narrower, more consequential question: what comes next? Tuesday’s 51-47 Senate vote to block a Democratic-led war powers resolution on Cuba does not change policy on its own. It was widely expected, reflecting a long-standing pattern in which Congress has struggled to assert its war powers authority... https://www.scmp.com/news/us/diplomacy/article/3352085/senate-vote-leaves-cubas-uncertain-future-dangerous-crossroads?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/us/diplomacy/article/3352085/senate-vote-leaves-cubas-uncertain-future-dangerous-crossroads?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 30 Apr 2026 20:39:15 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse A senior Cuban diplomat on Monday confirmed recent talks in Havana with US officials, as the communist-led island faces a deep crisis over President Donald Trump’s pressure campaign. “I can confirm that a meeting between delegations from Cuba and the United States was recently held here in Cuba,” Alejandro Garcia, the foreign ministry’s under-director of Cuba-US affairs, told the Communist Party newspaper Granma. Garcia said that the negotiators included assistant secretaries from the US State... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3350789/cuba-confirms-recent-respectful-talks-visiting-us-delegation?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3350789/cuba-confirms-recent-respectful-talks-visiting-us-delegation?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 20 Apr 2026 19:54:56 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said Thursday that while Cuba does not want military aggression from the United States, his country is prepared to fight should it happen. Diaz-Canel spoke during a rally that drew hundreds of people to commemorate the 65th anniversary of the declaration of the Cuban Revolution’s socialist essence. “The moment is extremely challenging and calls upon us once again, as on April 16, 1961, to be ready to confront serious threats, including military aggression. We do... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3350396/cubas-president-says-island-does-not-wish-us-aggression-ready-fight?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3350396/cubas-president-says-island-does-not-wish-us-aggression-ready-fight?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 17 Apr 2026 03:35:53 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said the United States has no valid reason to carry out a military attack against the island or to attempt to depose him. Speaking in an interview on NBC News’ Meet the Press programme, the president said an invasion of Cuba would be costly and affect regional security. But should it happen, Diaz-Canel said, Cubans would defend themselves. “If the time comes, I don’t think there would be any justification for the United States to launch a military aggression... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3349817/cubas-president-warns-us-against-attacking-island-or-trying-depose-him?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3349817/cubas-president-warns-us-against-attacking-island-or-trying-depose-him?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 12 Apr 2026 16:47:00 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse A new cast of Castros is emerging in Cuba: a grandson and a great-nephew are moving up the corridors of power, while another is an eccentric Instagram influencer declaring that Cubans want capitalism. US President Donald Trump’s administration is putting pressure on Cuba, demanding change and restricting oil exports to the country, but the Castro dynasty still holds sway on the communist-run island. Raul Guillermo Rodriguez Castro, a colonel and grandson of 94-year-old former president Raul... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3349226/new-cast-castros-emerging-cuba-where-name-holds-sway?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3349226/new-cast-castros-emerging-cuba-where-name-holds-sway?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 07 Apr 2026 05:39:58 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Cuba’s government announced on Thursday that it was pardoning 2,010 prisoners as a “humanitarian” gesture during Holy Week, after pledging in March to release dozens amid heightened US pressure on Havana. The major announcement comes days after US President Donald Trump eased a de facto oil blockade of Cuba by allowing a Russian tanker to deliver crude to the fuel-starved island. The Trump administration has called for change in communist-run Cuba’s system of government and the US president has... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3348888/cuba-pardons-2010-prisoners-humanitarian-gesture-amid-us-pressure?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3348888/cuba-pardons-2010-prisoners-humanitarian-gesture-amid-us-pressure?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 03 Apr 2026 04:50:12 +0000 Tribune News Service Tribune News Service Amid ongoing talks between the Trump administration and Cuban leaders, Sandro Castro, the controversial grandson of Fidel Castro, told a major US television news network that most Cubans on the island want to embrace capitalism and that the country’s hand-picked president, Miguel Diaz-Canel, has done a poor job. His statements to CNN’s Havana correspondent, Patrick Oppmann, echoed earlier calls by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio for a change of leadership in Havana, and seem to suggest that... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3348622/fidel-castros-grandson-backs-capitalism-and-trump-deal-slams-cuba-leader?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3348622/fidel-castros-grandson-backs-capitalism-and-trump-deal-slams-cuba-leader?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 01 Apr 2026 05:23:55 +0000 Reuters Reuters Russia said on Monday that an oil tanker carrying ‌100,000 tonnes of crude oil had arrived in Cuba and that Moscow would stand by its friends by working on further supplies despite a US blockade of the Communist-run island. The US cut off Venezuela’s oil exports to Cuba after toppling Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on January 3, and US President Donald Trump threatened to slap punishing ⁠tariffs on any other country that sent crude to Cuba. But Trump on Sunday signalled he ‌was reversing... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3348420/russian-oil-tanker-arrives-cuba-moscow-vows-stand-havana?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3348420/russian-oil-tanker-arrives-cuba-moscow-vows-stand-havana?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 30 Mar 2026 10:58:32 +0000 Reuters Reuters US President Donald ⁠Trump signalled he was reversing course on blocking oil shipments to Cuba on Sunday, saying he had “no problem” with any country sending in crude as a Russian tanker neared a Cuban port with a badly needed shipment. A sanctioned Russian vessel, part of the country’s “shadow fleet”, was just off the coast of eastern Cuba on Sunday, according to ship tracking data, and was expected to reach port on Monday, ‌a lifeline for the country’s economy that has nearly ground to a halt... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3348329/us-allow-russian-oil-tanker-reach-cuba-possible-lifeline-caribbean-island?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3348329/us-allow-russian-oil-tanker-reach-cuba-possible-lifeline-caribbean-island?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 29 Mar 2026 23:29:59 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Two aid boats bound for Cuba that were feared missing after they set sail from Mexico have “safely transited” to the island, the US coastguard said on Friday. The Mexican Navy had reported on Thursday that it launched a search and rescue mission after losing communication with the vessels, which had left from Isla Mujeres in southeast Mexico on March 20 with nine people aboard. The US coastguard, which was not involved in the search efforts, said on Friday it had received a report at 10.36am... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3348215/missing-aid-boats-safely-crossed-cuba-us-coastguard-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3348215/missing-aid-boats-safely-crossed-cuba-us-coastguard-says?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 27 Mar 2026 17:32:55 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse The Mexican navy said on Thursday that it was searching for two boats transporting humanitarian aid for Cuba with nine crew of different nationalities on board. The vessels set sail last Friday from Isla Mujeres in Mexico’s southeastern state of Quintana Roo and were due to arrive in Havana on Tuesday or Wednesday this week, the navy said in a statement. It said that there had been neither “communication nor confirmation of their arrival” in Cuba and that it has alerted naval commanders in the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3348065/mexicos-navy-searches-2-cuba-bound-aid-boats-are-missing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3348065/mexicos-navy-searches-2-cuba-bound-aid-boats-are-missing?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 27 Mar 2026 01:41:46 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse The first boat of a flotilla carrying medical supplies, food and solar panels reached Cuba on Tuesday to aid the island as a US fuel blockade deepens its energy crisis. The Maguro shrimp fishing boat docked in Havana three days later than hoped after battling strong winds, currents and a pesky battery during its journey from Mexico. As they approached Havana’s colonial-era fortification, the international activists stood on the cabin roof of the boat - symbolically renamed “Granma 2.0” as a... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3347810/humanitarian-aid-boat-arrives-cuba-amid-us-blockade-crisis?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3347810/humanitarian-aid-boat-arrives-cuba-amid-us-blockade-crisis?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 25 Mar 2026 05:27:07 +0000 Reuters Reuters Cuba is ⁠prepared for the unlikely ⁠possibility of a ⁠military engagement with the United States, Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernandez de Cossio said over the weekend in response to US President Donald Trump’s threats to take over ‌the Caribbean island nation. Havana and Washington entered talks earlier this month as an oil blockade imposed by Trump pushes the Communist-run nation deeper into economic crisis. Trump last week escalated his rhetoric against Cuba, saying he expected to... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3347511/cuba-ready-potential-attack-us-amid-oil-blockade-deputy-foreign-minister?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3347511/cuba-ready-potential-attack-us-amid-oil-blockade-deputy-foreign-minister?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 22 Mar 2026 19:30:48 +0000 dpa dpa Cuba has refused to allow the US embassy in Havana to import diesel to power its generators during the island’s ongoing energy crisis, according to a media report. The Cuban foreign ministry denied the request, The Washington Post reported on Friday, citing a protest note in which Havana described the embassy’s claim to such privileges as “shameless” and unavailable to the Cuban people. The move comes as the Caribbean island grapples with severe fuel shortages and widespread power outages. The... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3347453/cuba-rejects-shameless-us-request-diesel-amid-trump-oil-blockade?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3347453/cuba-rejects-shameless-us-request-diesel-amid-trump-oil-blockade?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 21 Mar 2026 23:39:39 +0000 Cao Jiaxuan Cao Jiaxuan As Washington steps up rhetoric and pressure on Cuba after its campaign in Iran, Beijing finds itself torn between geopolitical reality and ideological affinity. According to analysts, Beijing has few good options to counter US hegemony in Washington’s own backyard, and its response is likely to be constrained to diplomatic opposition and modest humanitarian aid. They said any disruption to global stability ultimately harmed Beijing’s interests and did not see prolonged US military action... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3346970/trump-ramps-pressure-cuba-china-has-very-limited-options?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3346970/trump-ramps-pressure-cuba-china-has-very-limited-options?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 18 Mar 2026 12:00:08 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Cuba’s leader on Tuesday said the US would face “unbreakable resistance” if it tries to take over the impoverished island nation, as communist authorities scrambled to fix a nationwide electricity blackout. Cuba’s government has been under increasingly crushing pressure, with Washington enforcing an oil blockade and openly stating it wants to end the nearly seven-decade-old US stand-off with the one-party communist state. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Cuba’s decision announced this week... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3346971/cubas-leader-vows-unbreakable-resistance-if-us-tries-take-over-island?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3346971/cubas-leader-vows-unbreakable-resistance-if-us-tries-take-over-island?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 18 Mar 2026 05:01:17 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse US President Donald Trump vowed on Monday to “take” Cuba as the communist island plunged into darkness under a total power blackout linked to a crippling oil embargo imposed by Washington. After nearly seven decades defying the United States, Havana’s communist authorities are under massive pressure from a Trump administration determined to make history. “You know, all my life I’ve been hearing about the United States and Cuba. When will the United States do it?” Trump told reporters at the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3346808/cubas-national-electric-grid-collapses-leaving-millions-without-power?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3346808/cubas-national-electric-grid-collapses-leaving-millions-without-power?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 16 Mar 2026 21:40:03 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said on Friday that his government has held recent talks with the US, marking the first time the Caribbean country confirms such speculation. He said the talks “were aimed at finding solutions through dialogue to the bilateral differences between our two nations. International factors facilitated these exchanges”. He did not elaborate on those factors. Diaz-Canel said no petroleum shipments have arrived on the island in the past three months, which he blamed on... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3346541/cuba-confirms-talks-us-island-gasps-under-trumps-energy-blockade?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3346541/cuba-confirms-talks-us-island-gasps-under-trumps-energy-blockade?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 13 Mar 2026 12:43:41 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse US President Donald Trump said Friday Cuba was next on his agenda after Iran, predicting that the communist-run island, crippled by a US energy blockade, is “gonna fall pretty soon”. “They want to make a deal so badly,” Trump told CNN in a phone interview, a day after suggesting that he would turn to an unspecified project for Cuba after the war against Iran. “We’re really focused on this one right now. We’ve got plenty of time, but Cuba’s ready – after 50 years,” he added, explaining that... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3345780/trump-says-cuba-going-fall-pretty-soon?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3345780/trump-says-cuba-going-fall-pretty-soon?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 06 Mar 2026 17:22:01 +0000 Wenran Jiang Wenran Jiang The bombs falling on Iran have extinguished any remaining doubt. The US-Israeli military campaign has ignited a major regional war. This explosion of violence is the ultimate rebuke to a central promise of US President Donald Trump’s second term: that America could disengage from distant quagmires to focus on confronting China. Over a year into this administration, the strategic picture affirms the conclusion I reached last summer: America’s hoped-for single-minded containment of China lies in... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3345177/china-waits-and-watches-us-fights-all-its-tigers-once?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3345177/china-waits-and-watches-us-fights-all-its-tigers-once?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 05 Mar 2026 01:30:09 +0000 Bloomberg Bloomberg US President Donald Trump suggested a possible “friendly takeover of Cuba” as the White House looks to leverage the Communist-run island’s energy crisis to exert greater influence. “They’re in big trouble, and we could very well do something good, I think, very positive for the people that were expelled, or worse, from Cuba that live here,” Trump told reporters on Friday as he departed the White House for Texas. “You know, we have people living here that want to go back to Cuba.” “We could very... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3344941/trump-says-us-discussing-friendly-takeover-cuba-theyre-big-trouble?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3344941/trump-says-us-discussing-friendly-takeover-cuba-theyre-big-trouble?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 27 Feb 2026 18:52:28 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Cuba’s coastguard shot dead four people and injured six others travelling in a US-registered speedboat in an exchange of fire off the Cuban coast on Wednesday, the interior ministry in Havana said. The “illegal” Florida-registered boat was detected one nautical mile from Falcones Cay in Villa Clara province, the ministry said in a brief statement. As a coastguard vessel approached to identify the boat “shots were fired from the boat”, injuring the commander of the Cuban vessel, the ministry... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3344655/cuba-coastguard-kills-4-firefight-us-registered-speedboat?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3344655/cuba-coastguard-kills-4-firefight-us-registered-speedboat?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 25 Feb 2026 20:08:14 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Spain said on Monday it will use UN channels to send humanitarian aid to Cuba, which is suffering an acute economic crisis worsened by a de facto US fuel blockade. “Spain will provide humanitarian aid … to Cuba through the United Nations system in the form of food and essential health products,” the foreign ministry said in a statement following a meeting between the foreign ministers of the two countries in Madrid. The announcement follows the dispatch by Mexico of 800 tonnes of humanitarian... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3343777/spain-send-humanitarian-aid-cuba-through-un-amid-us-fuel-blockade?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3343777/spain-send-humanitarian-aid-cuba-through-un-amid-us-fuel-blockade?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 16 Feb 2026 21:51:37 +0000 Igor Patrick Igor Patrick China will support Cuba “in the best way possible” as the island grapples with an energy crisis following tougher measures imposed by US President Donald Trump’s administration, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson confirmed on Wednesday. Speaking at a regular press briefing in Beijing, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said China “will do what it can” to assist Havana and again condemned what he described as “inhumane actions that deprive the Cuban people of their right to survival and... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3343242/china-vows-do-what-it-can-us-blockade-leaves-cuba-just-weeks-oil?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3343242/china-vows-do-what-it-can-us-blockade-leaves-cuba-just-weeks-oil?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 11 Feb 2026 22:37:01 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Cuban aviation officials have warned airlines that there is not enough fuel for planes to refuel on the island, the latest step in its moves to ration energy as the Trump administration cuts the Caribbean nation off from its fuel resources. The government of Cuba published the notices to airlines and pilots on Sunday night, warning that jet fuel would not be available at nine airports across the island, including Jose Marti International Airport in Havana, starting on Tuesday and continuing... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3343015/cuba-warns-airlines-its-almost-out-fuel-us-blockade-deepens-crisis?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3343015/cuba-warns-airlines-its-almost-out-fuel-us-blockade-deepens-crisis?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 10 Feb 2026 05:20:50 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press The US government on Thursday announced an additional US$6 million in aid for Cuba as the island’s crisis deepens and tensions escalate between the two countries, with Cuba’s president accusing the US of an “energy blockade”. The aid was largely meant for those living in Cuba’s eastern region, which Hurricane Melissa slammed into late last year. The supplies include rice, beans, pasta, cans of tuna and solar lamps that will be delivered by the Catholic Church and Caritas, said US Department of... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3342640/us-pledges-food-aid-cuba-while-putting-squeeze-fuel-supply?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3342640/us-pledges-food-aid-cuba-while-putting-squeeze-fuel-supply?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 06 Feb 2026 07:35:56 +0000 Reuters Reuters Cuba and the United States ‍are in communication, a Cuban diplomat said on Monday, although he said the exchanges have not yet evolved into a formal “dialogue”. Carlos Fernandez de Cossio, Cuba’s deputy foreign minister, told Reuters the US government was aware that Cuba was “ready to have a serious, meaningful and responsible ⁠dialogue”. “We have had exchange of messages, we have embassies, we have had communications, but we cannot say we have had a table of dialogue,” de Cossio told Reuters in... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3342162/trump-says-mexico-will-stop-sending-oil-energy-starved-cuba?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3342162/trump-says-mexico-will-stop-sending-oil-energy-starved-cuba?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 02 Feb 2026 23:45:45 +0000 Cao Jiaxuan Cao Jiaxuan A new Chinese emergency aid programme has delivered its first shipment of rice to Cuba, where food and fuel shortages are expected to worsen as a tightened US blockade halts Venezuelan shipments. Under the programme, China will send 30,000 tonnes of rice to the island nation, according to the state news agency Xinhua. The first shipment was handed over on Monday, while a second batch has arrived at the Port of Santiago de Cuba. Additional deliveries are expected to leave China soon. The aid... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3340604/china-sends-emergency-food-aid-cuba-us-sanctions-worsen-shortages?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3340604/china-sends-emergency-food-aid-cuba-us-sanctions-worsen-shortages?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 20 Jan 2026 15:00:09 +0000 Laura Zhou Laura Zhou China is expected to be cautious about confronting the United States over Cuba as Washington ramps up its threats following the abduction of former Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro. Since the raid on Caracas, the White House has increasingly turned its attention towards the western hemisphere’s only Communist state, along with Colombia and Greenland, with President Donald Trump saying “Cuba looks like it’s ready to fall”. Havana is also heavily reliant on subsidised Venezuelan oil and is... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3339330/how-far-china-willing-go-help-cuba-face-increasing-us-pressure?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3339330/how-far-china-willing-go-help-cuba-face-increasing-us-pressure?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 09 Jan 2026 13:00:12 +0000 Peiman Salehi Peiman Salehi For much of the modern era, power was easy to recognise. It belonged to the states that could win wars decisively, enforce sanctions effectively and impose political outcomes far beyond their borders. That definition no longer works. The world is moving towards what scholars have described as a form of “distributed multipolarity”, a landscape in which no single actor – not the United States, not China, not Russia – can fully shape events in the way great powers once expected. Tools once seen as... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3335006/welcome-world-where-wars-dont-end-and-sanctions-dont-work?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3335006/welcome-world-where-wars-dont-end-and-sanctions-dont-work?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 05 Dec 2025 21:30:09 +0000 Reuters Reuters Cuba has begun to restore power after a partial collapse of its electrical grid on Wednesday that left capital Havana and much of western Cuba in the dark, the latest incident in an energy crisis that has left millions suffering from prolonged blackouts for months. Top energy official Lazaro Guerra said a main transmission line connecting Havana with the country’s largest power plant in Matanzas failed around 5am, but that workers had begun restoring power by midmorning. “We already have a... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3335097/cuba-faces-blackout-electrical-grid-suffers-partial-collapse-havana-without-power?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3335097/cuba-faces-blackout-electrical-grid-suffers-partial-collapse-havana-without-power?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 03 Dec 2025 13:03:30 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Cuban dissident Jose Daniel Ferrer vowed on Monday to keep fighting for democracy in his country after he was freed from prison and began his exile in the United States. After he landed in Miami on a flight from the communist-run island nation, Washington demanded that Cuba release more than 700 other political prisoners. “I will keep up the fight, but I will not continue it alone. I have to work with the entire exile community,” Ferrer, the leader of the Cuban opposition, told a press... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3328874/cuban-dissident-jose-daniel-ferrer-leaves-island-us-exile-after-imprisonment?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3328874/cuban-dissident-jose-daniel-ferrer-leaves-island-us-exile-after-imprisonment?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 13 Oct 2025 21:27:09 +0000 Phoebe Zhang Phoebe Zhang China’s state security chief, Chen Yixin, has met his Cuban counterpart in Beijing and pledged better intelligence sharing to help the US neighbour maintain social stability, against a backdrop of heightened pressure from the Donald Trump administration. Chen and Lazaro Alberto Alvarez Casas, Cuba’s interior minister, opened the meeting by marking 65 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries, according to a report posted to social media on Monday by China’s Ministry of State... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3323027/chinas-spy-chief-pledges-more-intelligence-sharing-cuba-months-after-us-jitters?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3323027/chinas-spy-chief-pledges-more-intelligence-sharing-cuba-months-after-us-jitters?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 25 Aug 2025 05:01:14 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press A Cuban minister who sparked criticism after saying that there are no beggars in Cuba, only people disguised as such, resigned on Tuesday. Cuba’s presidency said in a post on X that Minister of Labour and Social Security Marta Elena Feito Cabrera “acknowledged her errors and submitted her resignation”. Feito made the on Monday before deputies in a National Assembly committee. The comments went viral, prompting calls for Feito’s impeachment and a wave of criticism in a country experiencing a... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3318372/cuba-minister-resigns-after-saying-her-country-has-no-beggars?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3318372/cuba-minister-resigns-after-saying-her-country-has-no-beggars?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 16 Jul 2025 03:26:29 +0000 Igor Patrick,Zhao Ziwen Igor Patrick,Zhao Ziwen A new report detailing suspected Chinese surveillance sites in Cuba has triggered a congressional hearing in Washington, with lawmakers warning that Beijing may be expanding its intelligence footprint near US territory and urging the Donald Trump administration to take a firmer stance. Convened by the House Homeland Security subcommittee on transportation and maritime security on Tuesday, the hearing focused on recent findings from the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a US think... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3309325/brazen-suspected-china-surveillance-sites-cuba-trigger-us-house-hearing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3309325/brazen-suspected-china-surveillance-sites-cuba-trigger-us-house-hearing?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 06 May 2025 19:35:29 +0000 Reuters Reuters Cuba is pinning its hopes on attracting more visitors from communist ally China as part of a last-ditch bid to revive a sputtering tourism industry devastated by renewed US sanctions under the Trump administration and a crisis-wracked economy. Visitors from abroad, a critical source of foreign currency on the island, plunged by nearly a third in the first quarter of 2025, according to recent data from Cuba’s statistics agency, ONEI, an ominous sign that has left top officials on the archipelago... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3308639/cuba-pins-hopes-chinese-help-save-sputtering-tourism-industry?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3308639/cuba-pins-hopes-chinese-help-save-sputtering-tourism-industry?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 01 May 2025 04:36:51 +0000 Lynn Farah Lynn Farah As Secretary of State, Marco Rubio is America’s top diplomat and was tasked with overseeing more than 70,000 federal employees at the time of his appointment in January. The former Republican presidential nominee faced-off against Trump in 2016, using his family’s immigrant story as a central theme during his political campaign. Although Rubio has pushed their story as the epitome of the ‘American dream,’ the murky details around his parent’s immigration are still linked to his political image... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/entertainment/article/3305948/who-are-us-secretary-state-marco-rubios-parents-mario-and-oriales-rubio-moved-miami-cuba-1956-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/entertainment/article/3305948/who-are-us-secretary-state-marco-rubios-parents-mario-and-oriales-rubio-moved-miami-cuba-1956-and?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 10 Apr 2025 11:00:08 +0000 Reuters Reuters Cuba reconnected its national electrical grid and restored power to most of the capital Havana late on Sunday, energy officials said, nearly two days after an island-wide outage knocked out power to 10 million people. Havana’s electric company said late on Sunday that around two-thirds of its clients in the city had seen power restored and said that number would increase overnight. Cheers could be heard in neighbourhoods across the city as the lights flickered on after two days without... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3302607/cuba-reconnects-electrical-grid-restores-power-much-havana-after-island-wide-outage?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3302607/cuba-reconnects-electrical-grid-restores-power-much-havana-after-island-wide-outage?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 16 Mar 2025 23:53:24 +0000 One of Saturday Night Live’s hottest new faces – Marcello Hernández – delighted viewers of the show’s anniversary special on Sunday night when he performed an extended version of the viral Domingo sketch with Bad Bunny and Pedro Pascal. The rising star regularly uses his Latino roots to comic effect – including in his stand up, in which he often talks about his relationship to his Cuban mother. But despite being the subject of many of Hernández’s jokes and skits, his mum Isabel Cancela gamely... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/entertainment/article/3299598/snl50-who-marcello-hernandezs-youthful-cuban-mum-isabel-cancela-shes-appeared-saturday-night-live?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/entertainment/article/3299598/snl50-who-marcello-hernandezs-youthful-cuban-mum-isabel-cancela-shes-appeared-saturday-night-live?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 21 Feb 2025 22:00:10 +0000 Political commentator and television show host Ana Navarro-Cárdenas continues to be the butt of many jokes, having cited false information in defence of US president Joe Biden’s decision to pardon his son, Hunter Biden, last year. Woodrow Wilson pardoned his brother-in-law, Hunter deButts. Bill Clinton pardoned his brother, Roger. Donald Trump pardoned his daughter’s father-in-law, Charlie Kushner. And just appointed him Ambassador to France. But tell me again how Joe Biden “is setting... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/entertainment/article/3298672/who-al-cardenas-husband-views-ana-navarro-hes-lawyer-and-political-insider-having-worked-two?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/entertainment/article/3298672/who-al-cardenas-husband-views-ana-navarro-hes-lawyer-and-political-insider-having-worked-two?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 15 Feb 2025 22:00:09 +0000 US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has warned Panama’s President Jose Raul Mulino that Washington will “take measures necessary” if Panama does not immediately take steps to end what President Donald Trump sees as China’s influence and control over the Panama Canal. Mulino, after the talks with the top US diplomat in Panama City, signalled he would review agreements involving China and Chinese businesses, and announced further cooperation with the US on migration, but reiterated that his... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3297097/rubio-meets-panamas-president-trump-demands-canal-control-pressures-us-neighbours?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3297097/rubio-meets-panamas-president-trump-demands-canal-control-pressures-us-neighbours?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 02 Feb 2025 18:20:51 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press It’s impossible to miss. The huge rectangular mass of concrete and glass – the tallest building in Havana – dominates the city skyline, towering 150 metres above colonial homes with its 542 luxury rooms and majestic views of the city and the sea. The Selection La Habana hotel, managed by Spanish chain Iberostar, has yet to be inaugurated but it is already the target of criticism – and not only for its unusual shape. Cubans are questioning the government’s allocation of millions of dollars... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3296286/havana-luxury-hotel-unforgivable-amid-cubas-economic-woes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3296286/havana-luxury-hotel-unforgivable-amid-cubas-economic-woes?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 25 Jan 2025 13:33:32 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Cuba said it would release 553 prisoners in response to Washington removing the communist country from its list of terror sponsors in a deal hailed by relatives of jailed protesters. The White House on Tuesday said President Joe Biden was removing Cuba from the list of state sponsors of terrorism in one of his last official acts before Donald Trump is sworn in next Monday. The move is likely to be overturned by Trump, who reinstated Cuba’s terror designation in the final days of his first term... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3294771/biden-removes-cuba-state-sponsors-terror-list?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3294771/biden-removes-cuba-state-sponsors-terror-list?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 14 Jan 2025 21:08:52 +0000 When Donald Trump emerged victorious from the US presidential election in November, some at Brazil’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs lamented the result but none professed surprise. For months, officials and analysts linked to the ministry had prepared for the outcome, anticipating the former president was the favourite to win the White House. And the prevailing view was that any alarm was unwarranted, a senior diplomatic source said. Many forecast that Trump’s Latin American agenda would likely... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3292807/donald-trumps-choice-marco-rubio-top-us-diplomat-leaves-latin-america-bracing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3292807/donald-trumps-choice-marco-rubio-top-us-diplomat-leaves-latin-america-bracing?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 30 Dec 2024 18:00:08 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Cash-strapped Cuba on Wednesday was struggling to revive its power grid, after fixing a failure at the country’s largest power plant, which had caused yet another nationwide blackout. Roman Perez Castaneda, the deputy technical director of the Guiteras thermal power plant in central Cuba, said the problem had been resolved, but most of the country was still in the dark. Perez Castaneda, quoted in government media, said the Guiteras plant could resume power generation at 8pm local time on... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3289432/cuba-suffers-third-nationwide-blackout-2-months?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3289432/cuba-suffers-third-nationwide-blackout-2-months?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 05 Dec 2024 02:52:55 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel warned Sunday that his government would not tolerate public disturbances during the nationwide power outage which the authorities are struggling to resolve. The island’s 10 million people were spending their third night in the dark after the collapse on Friday of Cuba’s largest power plant crippled the whole national grid. The government said power is expected to be restored to most of the country by Monday evening. But the president issued a warning there would... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3283148/hurricane-oscar-makes-landfall-eastern-cuba-after-striking-bahamas?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3283148/hurricane-oscar-makes-landfall-eastern-cuba-after-striking-bahamas?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 20 Oct 2024 23:11:47 +0000 Reuters Reuters Cuba’s efforts to restore power to the island were derailed for a third time late on Saturday, authorities said shortly before midnight, leaving millions in the dark and raising fresh questions over the viability of the government’s bid to re-establish electrical services. Cuba’s national electrical grid first crashed around midday on Friday after the island’s largest power plant shut down. The grid collapsed again on Saturday morning, state-run media reported. By early evening, authorities... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3283127/cuba-suffers-third-major-setback-restoring-power-millions-still-dark?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3283127/cuba-suffers-third-major-setback-restoring-power-millions-still-dark?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 20 Oct 2024 13:21:39 +0000 Reuters Reuters Havana residents watched from shore on Saturday as Russian warships arrived for the second time in as many months, in a visit that Cuba called routine. Cuban authorities sent shots into the air to signal their welcome, while curious fishermen watched from Havana’s waterside promenade as the ships advanced up the bay. Russian residents were also among the few up early to see the fleet’s arrival. The patrol ship Neustrahimiy, training vessel Smolniy, and support vessels, all from the Baltic Fleet,... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3272161/russian-warships-make-routine-visit-cuba-despite-tensions-usa?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3272161/russian-warships-make-routine-visit-cuba-despite-tensions-usa?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 27 Jul 2024 15:28:20 +0000 Tribune News Service Tribune News Service Russia’s deployment of a naval flotilla to Cuba was generally consistent with routine military posturing by Moscow – with one exceptional detail, according to America’s national security adviser. “There are elements of this one that are different, that are distinct,” US national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters aboard Air Force One on Wednesday. “They have a submarine associated with this port visit that they have not had before.” The first deployment of a nuclear submarine to Cuba... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3266433/russian-submarine-deployment-cuba-worries-pentagon-moscow-will-stalk-us-coasts?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3266433/russian-submarine-deployment-cuba-worries-pentagon-moscow-will-stalk-us-coasts?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 13 Jun 2024 06:27:20 +0000 Business Insider Business Insider One of Russia’s most concerning new submarines has pulled up off the coast of Cuba ahead of planned military exercises in the area. The Kazan, a nuclear-powered cruise missile submarine, is one of a relatively new class of subs that has worried the US and Western militaries for years due to its stealth and strike capabilities. Three Russian ships, as well as the Kazan, arrived in Cuba on Wednesday for a five-day official visit before a large, simultaneous air and maritime exercise in the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3266382/russias-formidable-kazan-nuclear-submarine-arrives-cuba-under-watchful-us-eyes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3266382/russias-formidable-kazan-nuclear-submarine-arrives-cuba-under-watchful-us-eyes?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 12 Jun 2024 19:37:08 +0000