Weekly Cuba News Roundup: August 6th, 2021 – Startup Cuba TV

In this week’s headlines; Cuba just got its 3rd gold medal, hotels are becoming hospitals, China’s throwing their weight around and three Cubans tried to get into the EU on air mattresses but Russia said, “not so fast.” A man in the Cuban countryside. Photo: David Rotbard

Things, or at least “hearing about things” seems to have slowed down a bit over the past week. Most of what’s happening now in the States is zeroing in on domestic politics. Oh, and the Olympics; Cuba’s got 13 medals as of the writing of this weekly roundup, hotels are becoming hospitals in the central province of Ciego de Avila, China’s had “enough with sanctions,” the Internet is a political hot potato, the U.S. issues new sanctions and three Cubans on air mattresses are stopped by Russia trying to get into the EU.

That’s what we’ve got for you in our Weekly News Roundup, a general summary of the headlines from the week, for this week, August 6th, 2021.

By the way, none of the opinions in any of the stories below 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.

La Cruz capped the trifecta Friday with a clear victory over Russian heavyweight Muslim Gadzhimagomedov, putting on a defensive masterclass in his 5:0 win. Read more on ESPN.com.

LA Times: Op-Ed: ‘He’s no Fidel.’ Public shaming of Cuba’s leader is a new thing in post-Castro Cuba

Immediately after the street protests on July 11, Díaz-Canel went on Cuba’s national TV and blamed delinquents, backed by the United States, for organizing the riots, without offering proof. Read more on latimes.com.

“The people are very frightened. Every day, more sick, more deaths — a relative, a neighbor, a friend,” said Mayi Del Valle, a 49-year-old library worker from the town of Ceballos. Read more at NBCNews.com.

China has called on the United States to cease its decades-long campaign of sanctions against Cuba and has pledged support for the fellow Communist state under new pressure from President Joe Biden’s administration. Read more at newsweek.com.

The U.S. Treasury Department said the sanctions, which appeared to be largely symbolic, were a reaction to “actions to suppress peaceful, pro-democratic protests in Cuba that began on July 11.” Read more at reuters.com.

Three Cubans who took the desperate step of trying to cross one of Europe’s most sensitive border rivers on air beds now face deportation from Russia. Read more at bbc.com.

After Havana shut down online access for 72 hours, the battle is on to keep the country connected. Read more at theguardian.com.

Some demands about what to do to Cuba are not practical, and “Republicans know this,” said one critic, but the GOP also knows Cuban Americans want bold action. Read more at NBCNews.com.

Many of you have been looking to us for updates on the situation on the ground in Cuba. While we firmly stand by our brand and mission of being bridge builders, without getting into politics, we also realize that today’s environment can’t be ignored. We recognize that ignoring politics is impossible and that we need to keep our eyes open to the humanitarian crisis in front of us.

Going forward we will continue to tell stories that offer perspectives and information that bring us closer together. This new column, however, will share with you a handful of the stories that we read during the week. It will pull together five to seven headlines that kept us informed and that we thought should keep you informed too.

So with that, this first weekly Cuba News Roundup is a doozy; Biden hosts Cuban-Americans at the White House, Mexico tells the US, “back-off, we’re delivering supplies to Cuba,” The Cuban embassy in Paris was bombed (and the US is being blamed), Jews are supporting the anti-Castro protests, five (possibly six) Cuban generals have died in ten days, The Washington Post criticizes the Cuban government’s dealing of Black Cubans, and The New York Times, The Washington Post and CNN are all reporting on the post-protest crackdown. Plus, Mexico’s president proposes to declare Cuba a World Heritage Site.

Joe Biden at the White House. Photo: Saul Loeb /AFP

President Joe Biden will host Cuban American leaders at the White House on Friday to discuss the recent historic protests in the Caribbean nation and his administration’s response, including new sanctions on Cuban leaders and establishing internet access for Cubans. Read more on NBCNews.com

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez blamed the U.S. on Monday after the country’s embassy in Paris was attacked. Photo: Yamil Lage / AFP / Getty Images 

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez accused the U.S. government of initiating campaigns of “violence” on Monday after the country’s foreign embassy in Paris was attacked by gasoline bombs. Read more at Newsweek.com.

Related Post: Poll Results: Here’s How Many of You Participated In Protests

Cuba’s Jewish community has kept a low profile for decades, and is doing the same in light of the recent protests. Cuban-Jewish leaders in Florida, meanwhile, express strong solidarity with the island’s demonstrators. Read more at Haaretz.com.

Related Post: What It’s Like To Be Cuban-American Right Now

Members of the Mexican Navy load humanitarian aid including medical supplies for Cuba in Veracruz, Mexico, on July 24, 2021. Victor Yanez / AFP – Getty Images

Mexico’s president asserted his country’s right to send fuel to Cuba and said on Tuesday that U.S. sanctions on the island were “inhumane,” after a diesel cargo shipped by Mexico’s state-run oil company Petroleos Mexicanos arrived in Cuba’s Havana port. Read more at NBCNews.com.

Cubans take part in a demonstration in support of Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel’s government. Photo: CNN Yamil Lage/AFP

Democrats in South Florida, beleaguered by a tough 2020 election in the state, have been privately and publicly urging their party leaders to embrace the protests against Cuba’s communist regime that are roiling the island nation. Read more at CNN.com.

Related Post: Cubanos Con Biden’s Mike Rivero and Daniela Ferrara Want Dialogue

Raul Castro. Photo: Getty Images/A. Roque

The Cuban government hasn’t released the cause of death of the five high-ranking generals who have died in the last ten days. Read more at Local10.com.

Related Post: The July 11th Protests Didn’t Happen Overnight

Police detaining a demonstrator during a protest in Havana on July 11. Photo: Ramon Espinosa/Associated Press

In a remarkable act of defiance, thousands of Cubans took to the streets two weeks ago and chanted “We’re not afraid!” Many are now terrified. Read more at NYTimes.com.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. Photo: Marco Ugarte AP

It sounds like a joke, but Mexico’s President Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador has proposed that Cuba be declared a “World Heritage Site” for being an “example of resistance” against U.S. aggressions. Read more at MiamiHerald.com.