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

Unite Delegates Show Support for Cuba in Face of Blockade

L-R: Elizabeth Palmiero, Diana Holland, Adrian Weir

Approaching 100 delegates attended a Havana Club Rum Reception at Unite Policy Conference yesterday to show solidarity with the Cuban people, oppose the illegal U.S. blockade of the island and welcome the wives of the Miami Five.

Newly elected Cuba Solidarity Campaign Chair and current Unite Assistant General Secretary Diana Holland condemned the ongoing blockade which forbids US-owned and part-owned companies from trading with Cuba. Diana reflected on the extraterritorial nature of the blockade which penalises foreign companies that do trade or process finance from Cuba and re-emphasised Unite’s commitment to campaign against this economic injustice.

Diana referenced a report by the American Association for World Health which observed:

“that the U.S. embargo of Cuba has dramatically harmed the health and nutrition of large numbers of ordinary Cuban citizens. ... it is our expert medical opinion that the U.S. embargo has caused a significant rise in suffering - and even deaths - in Cuba. ... A humanitarian catastrophe has been averted only because the Cuban government has maintained a high level of budgetary support for a health care system designed to deliver primary and preventive health care to all of its citizens.” 

“The blockade is still very much alive and kicking,” declared Diana. “Only last month the ING bank was fined millions of dollars for processing Cuban financial transactions because the US farcically keeps Cuba on its list of state sponsors of terrorism”.

The economic blockade is just one facet of a dirty war against Cuba. “For over 50 years, Cuba has been subjected to continuous terrorist attacks organised, sponsored or tolerated by the US government and its agencies,” said Diana. This has included a range of chemical and biological attacks and the bombings to airliners and hotels.

To defend itself against terrorist attacks, Cuba sent five agents to infiltrate Miami-based terrorist organisations. After the FBI asked for Cuba’s help to deal with the terrorists, it used the evidence to arrest the Five. Despite condemnation by the UN and Amnesty International, the Miami Five remain unjustly imprisoned in America and their families are denied regular visitation rights.

For the first time, Unite welcomed all four wives of the Miami Five to conference. Elizabeth Palmiero – wife of Ramón Labañino– spoke on behalf of the wives and thanked Unite for their continuing support.

“The only thing our husbands are guilty of is protecting the Cuban people against terrorist attacks,” declared Elizabeth. “The case is political and there is no other way to resolve the injustice than building the pressure of international public opinion against the policies of the U.S. government”.

Elizabeth called on President Obama to intervene personally. “For the American authorities, it is not enough to keep our husbands in prison,” she said. “But they must use us – by denying us visitation rights – to further attack our husbands”. 

“We have suffered but we know that tears won’t bring freedom to the Miami Five, so we must continue to fight”.

Diana concluded by reasserting Unite’s support of the Miami Five and their families and called on all Unite branches to affiliate to the Cuba Solidarity Campaign.