Cuban hunger striker rushed to hospital

Cuban dissident Guillermo Fariñas underwent emergency surgery Friday to remove his gall bladder, inflamed as a result of his 135-day hunger strike earlier this year to demand the release of political prisoners.

Small signal, big meaning? Fidel Castro appears in military uniform

Fidel Castro dusted off his full military uniform for the first time since stepping down as president four years ago, a symbolic act in a communist country where little signals often carry enormous significance.

U.S. denies `Cuban Five' prisoner swap

The U.S. State Department Thursday flatly denied reports that the Obama administration is considering swapping the ``Cuban Five'' spies in U.S. prisons for a U.S. government subcontractor jailed in Havana.

Police rescue kidnapped Cuban migrants

Mexican police have rescued six illegal Cuban migrants kidnapped by gunmen in the beach resort of Cancún who were demanding ransoms of up to $10,000 for their release.

Fidel Castro turns up in full olive green uniform

Cuba's Fidel Castro, reprising symbols of his former power, wore a full military uniform and spoke to a mass audience outdoors Friday for the first time since he nearly died four years ago.

Cuban Colada

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Cuban court to consider suit against Ministry of Justice

In a small but rare legal victory in a country where the courts faithfully follow the government line, a dissident Cuban lawyer has won the initial stages of a lawsuit against the Ministry of Justice.

Fidel Castro reveals his trip from `death' and back

Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro, in his most revealing comments yet on his health crisis four years ago, says he ``came to be dead'' and ``the only thing I hoped for was for the world to stop.''

Cuba extends lease limits for foreign investors

Hoping to lure in golf-playing tourists to Cuba -- and eventually even U.S. golfers -- the government will allow foreign investors to lease state lands for 99 years instead of the previous limit of 50 years.

Officers never forget glories of Cuba's sole naval academy

Prerevolution Mariel was a bustling little town, largely because it was home to the island's only naval academy, a magnet for Cuba's best and brightest.

Remembering Mariel as home -- not a boatlift

Say the name Mariel and most people will assume you're talking about the massive boatlift 30 years ago that brought 125,000 Cubans to the United States.

Cuban survivor of `hell' retains his fighting spirit

There's a stranger in the photograph that friends have placed in Ariel Sigler Amaya's Jackson Memorial Hospital room. The muscles in the stranger's shoulders merge with the ones in his neck, and his chest swells through a plain white T-shirt. His eyes are bright, energetic. He looks like a human fighting machine, a man who once was a heavyweight national boxing champion in Cuba.

Radio/TV Martí boss resigns

Radio/TV Mart&iacute; director Pedro Roig resigned Friday after more than seven years at the head of the often controversial U.S. government stations that broadcast to Cuba.

Head of Radio and TV Martí resigns

Radio/TV Mart&iacute; director Pedro Roig resigned Friday after more than seven years at the head of the often controversial U.S. government stations that broadcast to Cuba.

Finally given Cuban exit permit, dissident savors Miami welcome

Juan Juan Almeida, the son of the historic Cuban commander Juan Almeida Bosque, arrived in Miami on Thursday with a temporary permit from the Cuban authorities to undergo medical treatment.

Raúl Castro urged to free 8 dissidents

The U.S. State Department and Amnesty International have urged Cuba to immediately release eight dissidents detained during peaceful protests and threatened with prosecutions.

Church: More Cuban political prisoners will be freed

Cuba's Catholic Church on Tuesday said six more political prisoners will be freed and go to Spain, but concern was growing over the fate of 10 others who want to stay and the fresh arrests of eight dissidents.

Small signal, big meaning? Castro in military duds

Fidel Castro dusted off his full military uniform for the first time since stepping down as president four years ago, a symbolic act in a communist country where little signals often carry enormous significance.

New photos show Fidel Castro with US journalist

Cuba on Tuesday released pictures of Fidel Castro with an American magazine correspondent and a Washington-based policy expert, while a Mexican newspaper published an interview in which the gray-bearded revolutionary expressed regret for past persecution of homosexuals.

New photos show Fidel Castro with US journalist

Cuba on Tuesday released pictures of Fidel Castro with an American magazine correspondent and a Washington-based expert on Latin American policy.

25 Cuban migrants floating off Florida sent home

The U.S. Coast Guard has returned to Cuba 25 migrants found floating off Florida shores.

Fidel Castro: Osama bin Laden is a US agent

Fidel Castro says al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden is a bought-and-paid-for CIA agent who always popped up when former President George W. Bush needed to scare the world, arguing that documents recently posted on the Internet prove it.

In Cuba, Richardson raises case of jailed American

The governor of New Mexico said Thursday that he and Cuba's foreign minister discussed the plight of a U.S. government contract worker jailed in Havana for nearly nine months on suspicions of spying.

Venezuela prez spends 5 hours with Fidel Castro

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez met for five hours with Fidel Castro behind closed doors Wednesday, and state television said they discussed the former Cuban leader's warnings about impending nuclear war.

Church helps son of ex-Cuban leader leave for US

The Roman Catholic Church said Wednesday it has intervened again on behalf of a political dissident, this time helping the ailing son of one of Cuba's top revolutionary heroes go to the United States for medical treatment.

Cuba to free 6 more political prisoners into exile

Cuba's Roman Catholic Church on Tuesday revealed the names of six more political prisoners to be released into exile in Spain under an agreement with President Raul Castro's government.

Mom of dead Cuban hunger striker allowed to march

The mother of a Cuban political prisoner who died following a hunger strike held a march in her son's honor without incident Sunday, as pro-government mobs that had broken up the demonstration for weeks stayed away.

Slow pace of reform troubles Cubans

It is an uncanny thing when you are in Cuba. With no cameras around, most Cubans on the street will speak freely about their frustrations and complaints after more than 50 years of socialist revolution. If the camera goes on, however, almost everyone demurs.

TWO INDEPENDENT JOURNALISTS ARRESTED COVERING ANTI-GOVERNMENT PROTEST

Two independent are being held by police following their arrest while covering an anti-government demonstration.

Independent journalists deported to Camagüey

The Political Police deported independent journalist Calixto Ramón Martínez from the capital and released him in Camagüey last week.

4-year sentence for living in Havana without permission

Dissident Duartes Miguel Lara Rodríguez has been sentenced to four years in prison on charges of being a “danger” to society because he was living illegally in Havana.

Man arrested for stealing his own pressure cooker

Leonardo Díaz says he taken to the police station in handcuffs on Tuesday because he didn't have proof of purchase of a pressure cooker he was taking to a repair shop.

Police captain under investigation for abuse of power

A captain in the National Revolutionary Police force has been accused of selling pedicabs he confiscated from unlicensed owners.

Whereabouts of detained independent journalist unknown

Independent journalist Yosvani Anzardo Hernández was arrested over the weekend by two State Security agents and his whereabouts are unknown, according to his wife.

Anti-government slogans appear in Havana

Anti-government slogans were written on Tuesday on the walls next to Havana's Mariano theater and near a police station, according to witnesses who said they saw the writing before police painted it over.

Dissident's daughter jailed on charge of prostitution

Dissident Carmen Bermúdez Arrieta says her 25-year-old daughter has been sentenced to two years in an internment camp on a trumped up charge of prostitution.

Independent librarian fired from government job

José Ignacio Oropesa Almora says he was fired from his job as a truck driver for the state oil company because he’s an independent librarian

Protesters force police to return sack of rice

More than 60 passengers on a bus protested the seizure of a 20-pound sack of rice and forced the police to return it to the owner.

Police try to stop sellers of bread

Since the beginning of the New Year, police in Santa Clara have been pursuing private sellers of bread, which is considered a crime.

Small signal, big meaning? Castro in military duds

Fidel Castro dusted off his full military uniform for the first time since stepping down as president four years ago, a symbolic act in a communist country where little signals often carry enormous significance.

New photos show Fidel Castro with US journalist

Cuba on Tuesday released pictures of Fidel Castro with an American magazine correspondent and a Washington-based policy expert, while a Mexican newspaper published an interview in which the gray-bearded revolutionary expressed regret for past persecution of homosexuals.

New photos show Fidel Castro with US journalist

Cuba on Tuesday released pictures of Fidel Castro with an American magazine correspondent and a Washington-based expert on Latin American policy.

25 Cuban migrants floating off Florida sent home

The U.S. Coast Guard has returned to Cuba 25 migrants found floating off Florida shores.

Fidel Castro: Osama bin Laden is a US agent

Fidel Castro says al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden is a bought-and-paid-for CIA agent who always popped up when former President George W. Bush needed to scare the world, arguing that documents recently posted on the Internet prove it.