Cuba News Roundup: February 18th, 2022
Ramos wasn’t turned back in her home country of Cuba. She was denied boarding on an American Airlines flight in Miami. 
Photo: David Rotbard
Ever feel like just throwing your hands up and saying, “why the #&#@ can’t we all just get along?!” That’s a rhetorical question. Kinda feeling that way this week after another batch of headlines that just make you want to put your head in your hands and say, “Umph, we can do so much better.
On a positive note, Reuters is reporting about Cuba’s vaccine effectiveness as a key in beating back the Omicron variant from taking hold of the island. This is of course while inflation continues to take hold. In an unexpected move, Canada has stepped into the ring, joining the U.S. to decry the punishments of July 11th protestors who have received sedition sentences upwards of 20 years. The Cuban government has set up a website to solicit family code feedback from Cubans living abroad. Activist Anamely Ramos was denied boarding on an AA flight. And, for the first time ever, we’ve included one of our own stories on the list about the U.S. Embargo. It, and all these headlines are below.
By the way, none of the opinions in any of the stories shared on this page represent ours; we’re just sharing them with you. If you are a journalist or you have seen a story that you’d like us to consider for future weekly news roundups, please send us a note and a link to the story here.
Cuba’s widespread COVID-19 vaccination coverage and early move to inoculate its children proved pivotal in beating back the highly infectious Omicron variant before it ever took hold on the island, local and international experts say. Read more at reuters.com.
Photo: Jonah Elkowitz
Julia Sardiñas awoke early so she could reach a grocery store in Cuba’s capital by 6 a.m. After seven hours in line, she achieved her goal: the purchase of two plastic 1 liter bottles of cooking oil for which she paid 48 Cuban pesos — $2 — each. Read more at abcnews.com.
Havana’s modern “international” architecture has Cuba’s urban planners worried.
People take part in a demonstration against the government of Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel in Havana on July 11, 2021. Photo: YAMIL LAGE/AFP VIA GETTY
In an unusual gesture, Canada, which usually avoids antagonizing the government of Cuba, has joined the United States in condemning the harsh sentencing of Cubans who protested against the government last July, after judges handed down the first sedition sentences of up to 20 years in prison to 20 protesters earlier this week. Read more at miamiherald.com.
A young woman protests against the U.S. blockade against Cuba, Feb. 2022. Photo: Twitter/ @RATBCUBA
On Wednesday, Cuba’s Foreign Affairs Ministry Consular Services Director Ernesto Soberon announced that his office enabled an online form for about 1,3 million Cubans living abroad to participate in the citizen consultation of the new Family Code. Read more at telesurenglish.net.
The Cuban government denied Anamely Ramos entry into the country, the activist explained in an interview outside the Versailles restaurant in Miami on Feb. 16, 2022. Photo: Alexia Rodere
At the request of the Cuban government, American Airlines did not allow Cuban activist Anamely Ramos to board a flight at Miami International Airport bound for Havana on Wednesday. Read more at miamiherald.com.
December 1, 2023
Top bartenders and mixologists from around the world pitched up in Cuba’s top beach resort last year to compete in the IBA World Cocktail Championship shining a spotlight on global drinks and craft cocktails.
Photo: Alejandro Rojas
As the COVID virus descended on the world in 2020, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) found its technical assistance program in Cuba impeded by a number of significant obstacles. Their vehicle supplier, Toyota Gibraltar, would not deliver cars to Cuba for FAO staff to traverse the countryside. Read more at startupcuba.tv