Cuba plunders gold in first week of Olympics to equal Beijing haul

Gold medal winner Idalys Ortiz

Despite a relatively slow start by its own high Olympic standards, Cuba equalled its Beijing gold medal haul in the first week of competition and peaked at 14th overall in the medal table.

Hot shot Leuris Pupo

Idalys Ortiz lead the field in judo as she claimed gold in the Women’s +78kg as the Cuban team continued its proud history of judo success. Compatriots Yanet Bermoy Acosta and Asley Gonzalez narrowly missed out on golds as they both won silver medals. Although he failed to win a medal, Cuba’s Oscar Brayson caused a stir as he pinned 34st judoka Ricardo Blas Jr. Blas Jr is more than 10 stone heavier than any other athlete in the Olympics - and 6st 10lbs heavier than the entire Japan women's gymnastics team.

Leuris Pupo shot his way to victory in the Men’s 25m Rapid Fire Pistol as he secured Cuba’s first ever gold medal in the shooting. Elsewhere, Ivan Cambar Rodriguez claimed the only bronze of Cuba’s campaign to date in weightlifting.

Although Cuba finished the week in 19th overall, it would be in the top 10 if ranked by GDP and number 13 if determined by population.

Yasnier Lopez Toledo

As the Olympics enter its second week, Cuba will be optimistic about increasing its medal tally. In the boxing, Lazaro Alvarez Estrada has already guaranteed at least a bronze following victory in his quarter-final bout. Yasnier Lopez Toledo, Robiesy Ramirez Carrazana, Roniel Iglesias Sotolongo and Julio la Cruz Peraza compete in their own quarter-finals over the coming days and victory will guarantee them a medal.

With strong Olympic wrestling pedigree, Cuba hopes to pick-up further medals on the matt whilst, in the athletics stadium, there are high hopes that Dayron Robles will defend his Olympic title. Other potential stars include Yarelys Barrios (F, Discus), Jorge Fernandez (M, Discus), Lazaro Borges (M, Vole Vault), Leonel Suarez (M, Decathlon), Yarisley Silva (F, Pole Vault) and Alexis Copello (M, Triple Jump). 

If these athletes perform anywhere near their potential, we should be hearing the Cuban national anthem – La Bayamesa – ring out a number of times yet across London.

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Book Review: Cuba - A History

This pocket-size book sets out the what, where, when and who of Cuban history from 1492-2008.

Five hundred years are packed into just over 100 pages of clear and concise narrative on the pivotal events and people that shaped the island.

Each bite-sized chapter is introduced with a pertinent quote expressing the views of key protagonists of the time. From Christopher Columbus’s thoughts on first seeing the island: “It is certain that where there is such marvellous scenery, there must be much more from which profit can be made.” to national hero Jose Marti’s prophetic 1889 warning: “Once the United States is in Cuba, who will get it out?”

If you want the essential facts at your fingertips this is a great reference book, and stands out from the numerous other English language histories and analysis currently available as it is written by two Cuban historians based at the University of Havana.

Buy it now for just £8.99 from our Cuba Connect website

New CSC t-shirts available now!

There is just over one week to go until the start of the London 2012 Olympic Games. Support the Cuban team by wearing our new Cuban Flag t-shirts and vests.

Available in XS/S/M/L/XL/XXL for only £10+p&p

Show solidarity with Latin America by wearing our new Che, Fidel, Hugo and Evo t-shirt.

Available in S/M/L/XL/XXL for only £10+p&p

Buy them both online now from our Cuba Connect website

Haiti - The Call of the Queen Conch

Compelling documentary about the humanitarian disaster in Haiti and the crucial role Cuban medical workers have played helping to rebuild the country.

Review: Will The Real Terrorist Please Stand Up (DVD)

Saul Landau’s latest film expertly documents the history of terrorist atrocities committed against Cuba through archive footage, interviews and reconstructions. Although the purpose of the documentary is to expose the case of the Miami 5 to a wider audience, the majority of the film is dedicated to contextualising the case within a history of collusion between the US government and violent Cuban exile groups.

The film is rich with footage of the 26 July Movement during the Revolution whilst the flight recording audio from the bombed Cubana flight which killed 73 people is truly chilling.

Landau takes us from Cuba before the revolution – saturated with corruption, gambling and unadulterated American influence – through to the arrest, trial and imprisonment of the Miami 5. A comprehensive chronology of American sponsored terrorism – from Operation Peter Pan and the Bay of Pigs invasion to numerous attempts on Fidel Castro’s life – demonstrates how the CIA has nurtured a culture of violent political gangsterism in Miami that mirrors pre-revolution Cuba. According to one interviewee, more bombs have been planted in Miami by Cuban exiles than “in Belfast and Beirut” as terrorism has been used to impose their will and silence dissenters.

Understanding this climate of fear and violence is necessary to appreciate why Cuba sent the Miami 5 to America to investigate these terrorist organisations and why it was impossible for them to receive a fair trial. America’s complicit support for these terrorists – fortified by the strengthening of the blockade – also explains why a refusal to move the trial to a less hostile environment was inevitable.

Will The Real Terrorist Please Stand Up – accessible, detailed and engaging – is essential viewing for all those interested in understanding the case of the Miami 5 and Cuba’s long struggle against US imperialism. As one Miami-based radio host and businessman remarks in the film “it is not a problem of ideology, it is a problem of America’s interests being affected”.

Nearly 3,500 people have already been the victim of terrorist attacks against the island. As long as Cuba continues to fight for its freedom and independence, it will continue to be the victim of attacks from these terrorist groups.

You can buy Will The Real Terrorist Please Stand Up from our Cuba Connect website for just £12.

Video of last year's candlelit vigil for Miami Five outside US Embassy

Cuba will not recognize government imposed in Paraguay after coup

Ousted Paraguay President Fernando Lugo with Fidel & Raul Castro

The Cuban government will not recognize any authority in Paraguay if it does not stem from the legitimate suffrage and the exercise of sovereignty by the Paraguayan people, reads a note issued by the Cuban Foreign Ministry condemning the recent coup that ousted President Fernando Lugo.

The Cuban government strongly condemns the parliamentary coup perpetrated against constitutional President Fernando Lugo and the people of Paraguay, reads a note.

Actions like this one aim at thwarting progressive changes and genuine Latin American and Caribbean integration in “Our Americas,” reads the note.

The coup in Paraguay adds to a long list of attempts against the self-determination of Latin American nations, which have always been perpetrated by the oligarchy, and with the responsibility, complicity or tolerance of the US administration, says the Foreign Ministry.

In the note, Cuba denounces that  after decades of bloody military dictatorships, which murdered hundreds of thousands of people and imposed state terrorism and torture with full impunity, the violent and anti-democratic strategy has been retaken, first with a military coup and an oil strike against Venezuela’s Bolivarian Revolution; a destabilizing and separatist attempt against Bolivia; a military coup against progressive forces in Honduras, and later a coup attempt against the Revolution in Ecuador.

The note adds that the Cuban government will maintain its medical cooperation, which is strictly humanitarian, at the service of the Paraguayan population. Therefore, the “Maria Auxiliadora” Ophthalmological Center, which has helped some 18 000 Paraguayans recover their sight, will continue to operate as long as necessary, concludes the note signed by the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Relations.

News story from the Cuban News Agency