embargo

Castro Slams Obama

May 27, 2008
Semi-retired Cuban leader Fidel Castro thinks Barack Obama is "the most-advanced candidate in the presidential race," so he must have been disappointed to hear that Obama would continue an embargo against the island nation. That policy, Castro wrote in a column that appeared in state newspapers, is "a formula for hunger for [Cuba]."

White House Resists Change in Cuba Policy

Feb 20, 2008
"Here is the deal: By any objective measure U.S. policy towards Cuba over the last 50 years has been a failure," says Rep. Jim McGovern, who organized a bipartisan effort to pressure the Bush administration to rethink Cuba policy in light of Fidel Castro's resignation. But according to Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte, America's attempts to isolate Cuba economically and diplomatically won't go away "any time soon."
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Fan of Failure

Oct 25, 2007
Ever a fan of failed policy, President Bush has reiterated his support of the embargo against Cuba, which, one might recall, was enacted more than four decades ago to force Fidel Castro from power. Bush also praised the patient (and sometimes violent) Cuban dissidents, who, he said, one day "will be the nation's leaders."

Report: Rights Abuse Is Easing Under Raul

Jul 6, 2007
An independent Cuban human rights organization says Cuba has taken fewer and freed more political prisoners under the rule of Raul Castro, compared with his brother, Fidel. But the group says human rights abuses by the government are still a problem, as is the U.S. embargo, which it says imposes unnecessary hardship on the Cuban people.

Gore Vidal on Cuba

May 14, 2007
The iconic author and historian speaks with Truthdig Editor Robert Scheer about his recent tour of Cuba, why he thinks the island has a bright future and why the United States, the world's only superpower, has an inferiority complex.

They Hate Us For Our Hypocrisy

May 11, 2007
The Bush administration says that its zero-tolerance policy against terrorism applies to all suspected evildoers, not just Muslims, and that its zero-tolerance policy against Cuba is a principled position, not just an exercise in pandering to the implacable anti-Castro exiles in Miami. On both counts, evidence suggests otherwise.

U.S. Investigates Michael Moore

May 11, 2007
The Treasury Department is investigating documentarian Michael Moore over a recent trip to Cuba that the government says may have violated the trade embargo. Moore brought a group of ailing 9/11 rescue workers to the island nation in making his latest film, "Sicko," an exploration of the healthcare system.