{"id":8490,"date":"2024-07-25T09:34:48","date_gmt":"2024-07-25T09:34:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/?p=8490"},"modified":"2024-07-25T09:35:01","modified_gmt":"2024-07-25T09:35:01","slug":"u-s-policy-toward-cuba-three-years-on-from-july-11","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/u-s-policy-toward-cuba-three-years-on-from-july-11\/","title":{"rendered":"U.S. Policy Toward Cuba Three Years on from July 11"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">By <em>Reed Lindsay and Daniel Montero <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"675\" height=\"480\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-10.32.25.png?resize=675%2C480&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-8492\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-10.32.25.png?w=675&amp;ssl=1 675w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-10.32.25.png?resize=300%2C213&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-10.32.25.png?resize=120%2C85&amp;ssl=1 120w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 675px) 100vw, 675px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Three years ago this Thursday, thousands of people took the streets in Cuba\u2019s largest anti-government demonstrations in decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The historic protests lasted only one day, but Cuba is still facing ruinous fallout in the form of unrelenting economic warfare waged by the Biden administration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We take a look back at what led to the July 11 protests and how they were used by Biden to justify abandoning Obama\u2019s detente in favor of Trump\u2019s hostile hard-line policy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>A New Cuba Policy?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe need a new Cuba policy,\u201d Joe Biden declared at an October 2020 campaign rally in Florida.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As vice president, Biden and his wife Jill had had a front-row seat to Obama\u2019s historic rapprochement with Cuba.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt\u2019s all about the relationships,\u201d said Jill Biden during an October 2016 visit to Cuba, in which she became&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=hc6NiDbVepI\">the first U.S. official<\/a>&nbsp;in decades to visit the city of Camaguey and&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/obamawhitehouse.archives.gov\/the-press-office\/2016\/10\/06\/dr-jill-biden-travels-cuba\">met with<\/a>&nbsp;students, teachers, entrepreneurs, women leaders, artists, dancers and athletes, among others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Those budding relationships were promptly severed by Donald Trump.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Trump effectively closed the U.S. embassy, restricted U.S. travel to Cuba and unleashed a barrage of devastating sanctions that pummeled the country\u2019s economy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Covid dealt a knock-out blow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Cut off from investment and credit by U.S. sanctions, Cuba began suffering acute scarcities of food, fuel and medicine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe cushion that every other country in the world has, in terms of borrowing money during crisis, was not available to Cuba,\u201d economist Emily Morris said&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/WavOrU-g2E4?feature=shared&amp;t=546\">in Episode Five<\/a>&nbsp;of Belly of the Beast\u2019s documentary series&nbsp;<em>The War on Cuba<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-embed-handler wp-block-embed-embed-handler\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"747\" height=\"421\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/WavOrU-g2E4?feature=oembed&#038;version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When Biden assumed office in January 2021, many expected he would promptly roll back Trump\u2019s hard-line policy and return to Obama\u2019s engagement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Instead, Biden stalled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cJoe Biden is not Barack Obama on Cuba policy,\u201d Juan Gonz\u00e1lez, who served as the National Security Council\u2019s senior director for the Western Hemisphere under Biden,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/bUxYVHJq_IM?feature=shared&amp;t=127\">told CNN<\/a>&nbsp;in April 2021. \u201cThose who think the United States is now going to enter a dialogue of multiple years with Cuba don\u2019t understand the political moment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Gonz\u00e1lez didn\u2019t explain what this \u201cpolitical moment\u201d was and the CNN journalist didn\u2019t ask.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>A Missed Opportunity<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With its economy in freefall, Cuba had still managed to stave off a Covid spike for more than a year thanks to an internationally acclaimed public health system that prioritizes preventive and community-based care. Meanwhile, Cuban scientists were working around the clock to finalize the mass production and distribution of home-made vaccines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Biden administration hindered their efforts, ignoring appeals to lift sanctions on Cuba on humanitarian grounds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ultimately, Cuba\u2019s vaccines arrived a few months too late, as U.S. sanctions caused the delay of key ingredients,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/uRxtVGeolu0?feature=shared&amp;t=1207\">according to Dagmar Garc\u00eda<\/a>, one of the scientists who developed Cuba\u2019s Soberana vaccine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cOften a crisis gives you an opportunity to change policy,\u201d former CIA analyst and National Intelligence Officer for Latin America Fulton Armstrong said&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/WavOrU-g2E4?feature=shared&amp;t=938\">in Episode Five<\/a>&nbsp;of&nbsp;<em>The<\/em>&nbsp;<em>War on Cuba<\/em>. \u201cAnd this administration completely missed the opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In June 2021, as the Delta variant swept Cuba, Covid patients overwhelmed Cuba\u2019s hospitals and the death toll soared.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For many Cubans, who had endured ever-worsening scarcities with no end in sight, this was the last straw.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-embed-handler wp-block-embed-embed-handler\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"747\" height=\"421\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/bvOaNugcqBY?feature=oembed&#038;version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Biden\u2019s Response to July 11<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On July 11, protests erupted in cities across the island.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Major media outlets trumpeted the Miami-borne slogan \u201cPatria y Vida,\u201d portraying the July 11 protests as a cry for freedom and democracy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But the country\u2019s shortages of food, electricity and medicine&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/bvOaNugcqBY?feature=shared&amp;t=11\">were the primary factors<\/a>&nbsp;driving people to take the streets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The protests started&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/WavOrU-g2E4?feature=shared&amp;t=139\">in San Antonio de los Ba\u00f1os<\/a>, a small city near Havana, in response to power cuts that lasted hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Biden\u2019s response was to double down on the very policy that helped cause the crisis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On July 22, he announced new sanctions on Cuba.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThis is just the beginning,\u201d said Biden.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Biden also pledged to \u201csupport the Cuban people\u201d by providing Internet access and vaccines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">These promises not only proved to be empty, they also didn\u2019t respond to Cuba\u2019s most pressing needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Cuban government&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/DougMadory\/status\/1414327987525275659\">cut Internet access<\/a>&nbsp;on July 11 in the wake of the protests, and&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/OpenObservatory\/status\/1414622433156476930\">blocked access to certain apps<\/a>&nbsp;in the following days. But by the time Biden&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/briefing-room\/statements-releases\/2021\/07\/22\/statement-by-president-joseph-r-biden-jr-on-continuing-crackdown-in-cuba\/\">announced<\/a>&nbsp;his administration was working to provide Internet access to the Cuban people, that access had already been fully restored.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Meanwhile, if not for U.S. sanctions, the country may already have had its Covid vaccines by the time of the outbreak.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Cuba would end up becoming the only Latin American country to produce its own Covid vaccines and&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2022\/jan\/05\/cuba-coronavirus-covid-vaccines-success-story\">it inoculated 90% of its population<\/a>&nbsp;by the end of 2021, surpassing the vaccination rate in the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cBiden can\u2019t say he\u2019s going to send vaccines, and impose a blockade that prevents the arrival of food, medications, supplies essential for our lives,\u201d&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/uRxtVGeolu0?feature=shared&amp;t=1257\">said Dagmar Garc\u00eda<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Appeasing Hardliners<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The \u201cnew Cuba policy\u201d Biden had promised during the campaign was replaced by his full-fledged embrace of Trump\u2019s \u201cmaximum pressure\u201d strategy and the Cuban-American hardliners behind it,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=PfRTNTWkPgY\">including Sen. Bob Menendez<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe first person to bring this to my attention and to make sure that we were on top of this was Senator Menendez,\u201d Biden told a group of Cuban-Americans at the White House three weeks after the protests. \u201cThe Cuban American people are actually the best ambassadors for the Cuban people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A president pandering to the Cuban-American hardliner lobby in Florida is nothing new. But it\u2019s difficult to see the upside for Biden.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Long before Biden\u2019s abysmal debate performance, Florida was considered a lost cause for the Democrats. Even if the state was in play, Miami\u2019s Cuban-American hardliners are not exactly Biden\u2019s constituency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt\u2019s almost like they were trying to be more Trump than Trump on the Cuba issue,\u201d&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/WavOrU-g2E4?feature=shared&amp;t=977\">said Armstrong<\/a>. \u201cIf you try to chase after the right-wing leadership of the Miami community, which the Republicans already own, you\u2019re not going to get anywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Nor is it clear if Biden got anywhere appeasing \u201cGold Bar Bob,\u201d who is currently on trial in a federal court on corruption charges, reportedly becoming the first sitting senator to be tried on unrelated criminal charges twice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Menendez was forced to step down as chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Yet now, nearly three and a half years into his term, Biden keeps trucking on with Trump\u2019s Cold War-era policy toward Cuba.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The consequences have been disastrous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Biden\u2019s Cuba Policy Backfires<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Cuba\u2019s economy, now plagued by inflation, has plunged into an even deeper crisis. Power cuts are a daily occurrence across the island. Fuel shortages are commonplace. The shelves of public pharmacies are bare. Earlier this year, the Cuban government&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/americas\/cuba-turns-world-food-programme-milk-supply-crisis-deepens-2024-03-04\/\">asked the United Nations\u2019 World Food Program<\/a>&nbsp;for subsidized powdered milk for children, the first time it had ever made such a request.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Yet Cuba\u2019s humanitarian crisis \u2013 fueled by the sanctions maintained by Biden \u2013 seems to have only encouraged his administration to keep tightening the screws.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe more that Cuba suffers, the more optimistic some people behind our policies are that they don\u2019t have to do anything, that Cuba is going to collapse,\u201d said Armstrong&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/XaKB3pSLmGU?feature=shared&amp;t=948\">in the Belly of the Beast documentary&nbsp;<em>Uphill on the Hill<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Cuba has not collapsed. Meanwhile, Biden\u2019s policy has backfired in glaring ways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Human rights concerns are ostensibly a pillar of the administration\u2019s Cuba policy. But there is no evidence that punishing Cuba with sanctions has improved the country\u2019s human rights. The opposite may be true.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cOur embargo and putting [Cuba] on the State Sponsor List of Terrorists is literally strangling the island and I think it is tantamount to a human rights violation,\u201d Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA)&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/XaKB3pSLmGU?feature=shared&amp;t=1666\">told a group of activists<\/a>&nbsp;last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Meanwhile, a policy of aggression toward Cuba has proven counterproductive when it comes to civil and political rights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cEvery time U.S. and Cuban relations become more tense and more hostile, the Cuban government feels more under threat and more of a sense of being under siege, so they become less tolerant of domestic critics,\u201d Cuba expert and Professor of Government at American University William LeoGrande said&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/f5wQRrKrWok?feature=shared&amp;t=421\">in an interview<\/a>&nbsp;with Belly of the Beast journalist Liz Oliva Fern\u00e1ndez. \u201cIt\u2019s when U.S.- Cuban relations are warming up a little bit that the Cuban government feels less threatened and is more tolerant of a broader range of political discussion.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">More than a thousand protesters were detained on July 11, 2021. In the following months, hundreds were sentenced to prison. Three years later, many remain incarcerated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Meanwhile, Cuba\u2019s economic collapse has sparked an unprecedented wave of migration to the United States. More than half a million Cubans have crossed the border in the last two years, presenting another self-induced political problem for Biden.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Biden has loosened some restrictions on travel and implemented some measures to support Cuba\u2019s burgeoning private sector. But overall, his policy remains largely indistinguishable from that of Trump.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As Jim McGovern told Oliva Fern\u00e1ndez&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/XaKB3pSLmGU?feature=shared&amp;t=1779\">in&nbsp;<em>Uphill on the Hill<\/em><\/a>: \u201cU.S. policy toward Cuba is an embarrassment and a miserable failure.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe can\u2019t just refer to this as the Trump policy,\u201d said McGovern. \u201cIt\u2019s now the Trump-Biden policy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Reed Lindsay and Daniel Montero are journalists with&nbsp;<\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bellyofthebeastcuba.com\/\"><em>Belly of the Beast<\/em><\/a><em>, an award-winning U.S.-based media outlet that covers Cuba and U.S.-Cuba relations.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Reed Lindsay and Daniel Montero Three years ago this Thursday, thousands of people took the streets in Cuba\u2019s largest anti-government demonstrations in decades. The<a class=\"moretag\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/u-s-policy-toward-cuba-three-years-on-from-july-11\/\"> [&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":101011,"featured_media":8492,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[43],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8490","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5186,"url":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/digital-war-on-cuba-and-the-events-of-the-11th-of-july-explained\/","url_meta":{"origin":8490,"position":0},"title":"Digital War on Cuba and the events of the 11th of July explained","author":"Editorial Team","date":"September 14, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Digital war on Cuba and the events of the 11th of July explained.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Featured&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Featured","link":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/category\/news\/featured\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/Digital-War-On-Cuba.png?fit=1200%2C396&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/Digital-War-On-Cuba.png?fit=1200%2C396&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/Digital-War-On-Cuba.png?fit=1200%2C396&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/Digital-War-On-Cuba.png?fit=1200%2C396&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/Digital-War-On-Cuba.png?fit=1200%2C396&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5151,"url":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/us-economic-war-on-cuba-continues-even-after-war-in-afghanistan-ends\/","url_meta":{"origin":8490,"position":1},"title":"US ECONOMIC WAR ON CUBA CONTINUES, EVEN AFTER WAR IN AFGHANISTAN ENDS","author":"Editorial Team","date":"September 4, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Cuban protestors and supporters rally outside the Cuban Embassy during a \"Cuban freedom\" rally on July 26, 2021 in Washington, DC, with attendees urging the American government to intervene in Cuba. Drew Angerer\/Getty Images. President Joe Biden justified military withdrawal from Afghanistan by arguing that the US must stop \u201cmilitary\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Featured&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Featured","link":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/category\/news\/featured\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/Cuban-Protester-supporters.jpeg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/Cuban-Protester-supporters.jpeg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/Cuban-Protester-supporters.jpeg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/Cuban-Protester-supporters.jpeg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/Cuban-Protester-supporters.jpeg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4940,"url":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/who-will-hold-the-u-s-accountable-over-cuba\/","url_meta":{"origin":8490,"position":2},"title":"Who Will Hold the U.S. Accountable Over Cuba?","author":"Editorial Team","date":"July 28, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"An intentionally misinformative outreach is what the U.S. government is relying on to justify its punitive measures on Cuba, Ramona Wadi writes. Anyone who believed the departure of former U.S. President Donald Trump would constitute a return to more effective diplomacy has been grievously mistaken. The Biden Administration is not\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Featured&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Featured","link":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/category\/news\/featured\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/2DA732E3-2B13-424B-9C90-01956ABE48AF_1_105_c.jpeg?fit=1024%2C768&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/2DA732E3-2B13-424B-9C90-01956ABE48AF_1_105_c.jpeg?fit=1024%2C768&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/2DA732E3-2B13-424B-9C90-01956ABE48AF_1_105_c.jpeg?fit=1024%2C768&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/2DA732E3-2B13-424B-9C90-01956ABE48AF_1_105_c.jpeg?fit=1024%2C768&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5441,"url":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/us-looking-at-ways-to-keep-remittances-from-cuban-government-hands\/","url_meta":{"origin":8490,"position":3},"title":"US Looking at Ways to Keep Remittances From Cuban Government Hands","author":"Editorial Team","date":"November 5, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a9 REUTERS \/ Enrique De La Osa Continuing a trend begun in the summer after protests in Cuba, the US government is continuing to look for ways to keep resources such as remittances sent by family members from abroad from getting into the hands of the Cuban government. According to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Featured&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Featured","link":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/category\/news\/featured\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/Cuba-Cars.webp?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/Cuba-Cars.webp?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/Cuba-Cars.webp?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/Cuba-Cars.webp?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/Cuba-Cars.webp?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4873,"url":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/us-takes-advantage-of-the-price-cubans-are-paying-for-the-blockade\/","url_meta":{"origin":8490,"position":4},"title":"US TAKES ADVANTAGE OF THE PRICE CUBANS ARE PAYING FOR THE BLOCKADE","author":"Editorial Team","date":"July 16, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Above photo:\u00a0Amid the campaign being waged against Cuba on social media and fueled by protests in response to food shortages and electricity cuts, hundreds took to the streets to defend the revolution. And The Pandemic. Cuban government officials and activists have reiterated their demand for an end to the blockade\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Featured&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Featured","link":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/category\/news\/featured\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/000264330002.jpg?fit=1200%2C795&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/000264330002.jpg?fit=1200%2C795&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/000264330002.jpg?fit=1200%2C795&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/000264330002.jpg?fit=1200%2C795&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/000264330002.jpg?fit=1200%2C795&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4981,"url":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/if-the-us-really-cared-about-freedom-in-cuba-it-would-end-its-punishing-sanctions\/","url_meta":{"origin":8490,"position":5},"title":"If the US really cared about freedom in Cuba, it would end its punishing sanctions","author":"Editorial Team","date":"August 4, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Helen Yaffe Critics dismiss Cuba as a failed state, but don\u2019t accept how badly it\u2019s hamstrung by the US blockade The violent protests that\u00a0erupted in Cuba\u00a0in early July were the first serious social disturbances since the\u00a0\u201cMaleconazo\u201d of 1994, 27 years ago. Both these periods were characterised by deep economic crises.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Featured&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Featured","link":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/category\/news\/featured\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/Diaz-canel.jpeg?fit=620%2C372&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/Diaz-canel.jpeg?fit=620%2C372&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/Diaz-canel.jpeg?fit=620%2C372&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3xdTY-2cW","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-10.32.25.png?fit=675%2C480&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8490","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/101011"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8490"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8490\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8492"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8490"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8490"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8490"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}