Startup Cuba Weekly News Roundup: May 20th, 2022
And, the Biden Administration loosened Cuba policy to allow for more travel and remittances to the island. 
It was a big week in Biden Administration Cuba policy news. We’ve got the latest headlines on that for you below – including Cuba’s statement that it’s not enough. First though, we wanted to lead with NBC News’ story of a man who migrated from Cuba, across the Rio Grande, with one leg. Politics aside, any Cuban who makes the 90 mile float or trek across the border deserves respect. This guy that did it with one leg.
As you know, good news from the Biden Administration; Cuba policy is loosening a bit. Of course, with that comes complaints that this news is going to hose democrats in Florida (probably not wrong), that it’s not enough (from Cuba’s vice foreign minister), and that it’s not the right thing to do (from Ron Desantis – shocker). Oh and then there’s AMLO (remember him?) who this week called the US Embargo on Cuba “genocidal policy.” To be clear, we too think the US Embargo is shit; it only hurts the Cuban people. It’s just the fact that AMLO wants to talk again so that he can continue to insert himself into global politics. Umph. Oh, and there’s more 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.
Photo: Karen Vierbuchen/Startup Cuba
The State Department on Monday announced a series of measures it said is aimed at supporting the Cuban people, including reinstating the Cuban Family Reunification Parole Program and increasing consular services and visa processing. Read more at cnn.com.
February 10, 2023
Samuel Riera’s Art Brut Cuba opens channels for Outsider Artists to sell their art when they otherwise couldn’t earn a living from their work.
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said on Tuesday the U.S. economic embargo of Cuba was “genocidal policy,” raising the stakes in a standoff with Washington over its treatment of the Communist-ruled Caribbean island. Read more at nbcnews.com.
Havana’s modern “international” architecture has Cuba’s urban planners worried.
Four Olympic medalists, in a squad of six Cuban boxers, will make their professional debuts in Mexico on Friday, “for the first time in the history of boxing,” event organizer Gerardo Saldivar said. Read more at france24.com.
Two moves by President Joe Biden’s administration this week — easing sanctions on Venezuela and loosening restrictions on Cuba — signal he’s likely not interested in improving his standing with the key demographic. Photo: Susan Walsh/AP Photo
President Joe Biden hemorrhaged South Florida Hispanic voters in 2020 — one reason he lost the state to Donald Trump during the last election. Two moves by his administration this week — easing sanctions on Venezuela and loosening restrictions on Cuba — signal he’s likely not interested in improving his standing with the key demographic. Read more at politico.com.
Now safe in Florida, Julio Martínez, described the multicountry journey that started in Cuba last month and got him reunited with his family members in Miami after 21 days of perilous travel. Read more at nbcnews.com.
Flags of U.S. and Cuba hang outside a hotel in Havana, Cuba, April 6, 2022. Photo: REUTERS/Stringer
Cuba´s vice foreign minister denounced the Biden administration’s partial rollback of Trump-era restrictions on remittances and travel to the island, calling U.S. policy toward the island one of continued “hostility” and “economic blockade.” Read more at reuters.com.
Cuba’s parliament has approved a new penal code that officials say modernizes the country’s laws but human rights groups warn tightens already strict limits on dissent. Read more at theguardian.com.
Photo: Miami Herald
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, speaking on May 17, 2022 in Miami, criticized President Joe Biden’s reversal of some restrictions on Cuba, including relaxing travel restrictions and limits on remittances. Read more at miamiherald.com.