U.S. Cuba relations

Cuba 'less sure' after Obama overture: WHouse Agence France Presse — Cuban leaders seem "a little less sure of themselves" after US President Barack Obama's lifted travel and money transfer restrictions on Cuban-Americans, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Friday. Gibbs was asked by reporters about Obama's reaction to former Cuban leader Fidel Castro's remark in Cuban newspapers Wednesday that Obama had "misinterpreted" his brother Cuban President Raul Castro's words on possible changes for political prisoners and human rights in Cuba. click to read complete article

Will Havana reduce repression? Miami Herald — President Barack Obama just returned from Trinidad & Tobago where he met with hemispheric heads of state. The one missing, Cuba was on everybody's mind. The question most often asked was: ``When will the United States lift the failed trade embargo and normalize relations with Cuba? The media thrive on conflict, and Latin American leaders get a free pass from their radical left when they criticize Washington and turn a blind eye to a 50-year-old military dictatorship in Cuba. Before the meeting, President Obama lifted of restrictions on travel and remittances by Cuban Americans; which will help Cubans and deliver hundreds of millions of dollars to the regime that controls every economic activity on the island. click to read complete article

Havana Spins Revamp of Fidel Castro Brand ABC News — A few months ago the gardener at the home of a Canadian diplomat looked out toward the street as he trimmed the hedges in the afternoon. An old man was walking toward the residence in a track suit who bore a remarkable resemblance to Fidel Castro. The man stopped, came over, stuck his arm through the gate to shake hands and chat for a few minutes. It had been two and a half years since Castro disappeared from public view after undergoing a number of major abdominal surgeries that forced him to resign as president. But there was no mistaking who the tall, thin guy with a grey beard, Roman nose and distinctive voice was, even out of uniform. click to read complete article