April 2, 2026

April 3, 2026
[an article from Current Affairs with an introduction and photos from World-Outlook]

We have both seen things that will be permanently burned into our minds. People moving around in the shadows like ghosts. Mounds of foul-smelling trash in the street, with sanitation workers in the few running trucks overwhelmed by the task of collecting it — and worse, old men picking through the heaps, looking for anything they can use or sell.

Live fish dying slowly in tanks filled with stagnant green water. Shopkeepers losing all of their refrigerated and frozen food. Taxi drivers calling out desperately for a fare, because tourism to the island has shrunk to a trickle. Restaurants having to close in the middle of a busy dinner service after losing power mid-meal. The look of worry on medical workers’ faces, as they contemplate rationing their remaining antibiotics or painkillers.

Duration - 19:24 [a video about Cuba from the news collective Belly Of The Beast]

For more than six decades, U.S. policy toward Cuba has relied on economic warfare instead of diplomacy. The U.S.claims to target the Cuban government but ends up hurting the lives of millions of civilians.

International law expert Alfred de Zayas speaks to Belly of the Beast on Trump’s latest executive order, which allows him to slap tariffs on any country that ships oil to Cuba, and how the policy violates international law. He explains the difference between sanctions and unilateral coercive measures, and how the devastating measures are really a form of collective punishment.

“We are witnessing an assault on the UN Charter, on international law, and on civilization itself,” warns Professor Alfred de Zayas.

What happens when powerful states ignore the rules they demand others follow? And what does that mean for global institutions like the United Nations and the International Criminal Court?

Duration - 2:49  [a video about Cuba from the news collective Belly Of The Beast]

Ely Malik is a trans Sanda kickboxer in Cuba who speaks about progress, shortages in health care, community survival, race and what it means to transition in front of the people who raised you. This isn’t just a story about fighting in the ring. It’s about fighting to exist, to be respected and to live truthfully — even when the world makes that dangerous.

 Duration - 1:24  [a video about Cuba from the news collective Belly Of The Beast]

Colorado-based physician Dr Bill Blanchet says NeuralCIM, a breakthrough Cuban drug for Alzheimer’s disease, could prevent 600,000 U.S. citizens from becoming disabled each year and save their healthcare system $300bn annually, but the U.S. embargo of Cuba is blocking the way.

Black Doctors Call Out Cuba Blockade's Human Toll
from #BellyOfTheBeast on FB
·

The #NationalMedicalAssociation (NMA), the oldest and largest organization representing #Black physicians and health professionals in the #US, released a statement last week expressing “deep concern” about the consequences of the #Trump administration’s blockade against Cuba.

“As physicians committed to #health equity and global health justice, we call for immediate removal of elements of the #blockade that have led to the humanitarian and health impacts affecting the people of #Cuba,” reads the statement.

#OilForCuba!
#EndTheBlockadeEmbargo
#CubaSolidarity
#LetCubaLive
#EndSanctionsAgainstCuba #OffTheList
#VivaCuba #CubaSí #AbajoElBloqueo #SolidaridadConCuba
#PetróleoParaCuba
#LatinAmerica #Caribbean #BlackMastodon
#news #politics #USpol @cuba

[a video about Cuba from the news collective Belly Of The Beast]
Duration - 5:49

Musa Alves, a Brazilian-American designer living in New Orleans, and Carolina Leyva, a Cuban American from Florida who is studying medicine in Havana, have joined forces to support the Cuban people amid a crisis caused in large part by U.S. economic warfare against the island.

Musa, founder of From Nola to Cuba, and Carolina, founder of Corazón con Cuba, are building cultural bridges between the two countries and delivering aid directly to the Cuban people.

This is a story of people helping people and grassroots solidarity in the face of U.S. collective punishment against Cuba. Musa and Carolina talk about what it means to travel to Cuba not just as visitors, but as lifelines for families and communities.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/45850777

Duration - 1:30

[a video about Cuba from the news collective Belly Of The Beast]

Niki Franco, Puerto Rican activist, traveled with the Nuestra América Convoy to Cuba to deliver aid and document daily life. She urges U.S. citizens to understand the real impact of their government’s policies on millions of Cubans.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/45804768

[weekly newsletter about Cuba (with YouTube video links) from the Belly Of The Beast news collective. Their videos can also be found at: https://peertube.world/c/cuba_botb_videos/videos]

April 10, 2026

Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) and Rep. Jonathan Jackson (D-IL) traveled to Cuba last week, delivering an unusually blunt assessment of U.S. policy.

After meeting with Cubans from across the political spectrum, and visiting a hospital impacted by the Trump-imposed oil blockade, they described U.S. policy in stark terms, equating it to warfare against the Cuban people.

Belly of the Beast journalist Liz Oliva Fernández sat down with Jayapal and Jackson in an exclusive interview in Havana.

Also:

• OAS Rights Commission Joins War on Cuban Doctors
• Hundreds of Cuban Women Rally Against U.S. Blockade
• Belly of the Beast Recommends
• Teresita’s Dream at Havana Film Festival in NYC
• Belly’s Film on the "Longlist" for Award
• UN: Blockade Stopping Humanitarian Aid
• Mexico Donates $34 Million to Cuban Farmers
• Cuba’s President Díaz-Canel on Media Blitz

[weekly newsletter about Cuba (with YouTube video links) from the Belly Of The Beast news collective. Their videos can also be found at: https://peertube.world/c/cuba_botb_videos/videos]

April 10, 2026

Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) and Rep. Jonathan Jackson (D-IL) traveled to Cuba last week, delivering an unusually blunt assessment of U.S. policy.

After meeting with Cubans from across the political spectrum, and visiting a hospital impacted by the Trump-imposed oil blockade, they described U.S. policy in stark terms, equating it to warfare against the Cuban people.

Belly of the Beast journalist Liz Oliva Fernández sat down with Jayapal and Jackson in an exclusive interview in Havana.

Also:

• OAS Rights Commission Joins War on Cuban Doctors
• Hundreds of Cuban Women Rally Against U.S. Blockade
• Belly of the Beast Recommends
• Teresita’s Dream at Havana Film Festival in NYC
• Belly’s Film on the "Longlist" for Award
• UN: Blockade Stopping Humanitarian Aid
• Mexico Donates $34 Million to Cuban Farmers
• Cuba’s President Díaz-Canel on Media Blitz

Duration - 2:54 [a video about Cuba from the news collective Belly Of The Beast]

U.S. lawmakers Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) and Rep. Jonathan Jackson (D-IL) traveled to Cuba to see the impact of sanctions firsthand. After visiting hospitals, Rep. Jayapal describes what she saw: premature babies struggling in incubators, mothers without food, and hospitals facing power outages. She says U.S. policy causing scarcities in Cuba is “an act of war.”

Duration - 24:50
[a video about Cuba from the news collective Belly Of The Beast]

“NeuralCIM is so effective as a new drug, this should change the narrative.”

Colorado-based physician Dr Bill Blanchet has spent years researching Cuba’s biopharmaceutical industry. He says its latest product, NeuralCIM, a breakthrough treatment for Alzheimer’s disease, could change the lives of millions of people in the United States, but is blocked by the same embargo that is claiming Cuban lives.

Over the past year, 52 of Dr Blanchet’s patients have gone through La Pradera International Clinic in Havana to receive the treatment, and he’s been monitoring their progress. The drug was approved by Cuba’s Ministry of Health in 2025 for the treatment of mild to moderate Alzheimer’s, free for Cuban citizens.

In this interview, Dr Blanchet explains the science behind the medication, how it was trialed, its potential in helping with Parkinson’s disease and traumatic brain injuries, and his outrage at how U.S. foreign policy is punishing ordinary Cubans and crippling Cuba’s healthcare system.

Watch our report on NeuralCIM here: https://youtu.be/mKHvyi1MyuA

An upcoming Belly of the Beast documentary, Teresita’s Dream, tracks the research and development of NeuralCIM. It meets the Cuban scientists behind it, focusing on Dr Teresita Rodríguez, who was driven by her mother’s battle with Alzheimer’s.

Watch the trailer here: https://youtu.be/a2Y5FBR0pnU

Help shift the conversation on Alzheimer’s - for press inquiries or to host an early screening of the film visit the Teresita’s Dream section on our website: https://www.bellyofthebeastcuba.com/teresitas-dream

[a video about Cuba from the news collective Belly Of The Beast]

Hundreds of Cuban women gathered at Mariana Grajales Park in Havana to denounce the Trump administration’s intensification of the U.S. government’s 60-year economic war on Cuba.

According to Teresa Amarelle Boue, Secretary General of the Federation of Cuban Women (FMC, for its acronym in Spanish), women are among the sectors of the population most directly affected by U.S. sanctions.

For women, the impact is felt both in their professional and personal lives, as many bear the primary responsibility for running households and caring for children and the sick, tasks that have become increasingly difficult under the tightened embargo. This is the case of Cecilia Valdés, a caregiver daughter who explains that her mother has been unable to access medication due to restrictions caused by the embargo.

Tuesday’s gathering also paid tribute to the 96th anniversary of Vilma Espín, the late leader of the organization, who devoted much of her life’s work to the empowerment of women within the Cuban Revolution.

[a video about Cuba from the news collective Belly Of The Beast] Duration - 21:59

U.S. lawmakers Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) and Rep. Jonathan Jackson (D-IL) traveled to Cuba and gave an exclusive interview to Belly of the Beast from Havana.

Their visit comes at a critical time for the island. Cuba is grappling with a deep economic crisis, fueled by U.S. “maximum pressure” sanctions and an oil blockade.

“The only way to really understand the impact, the humanitarian crisis we’ve created, is by being here and talking to the Cuban people,” said Jayapal. After their visit, both lawmakers described what they saw as a humanitarian crisis.

“This is an act of war that our country must stop,” stated Jackson.

April 3, 2026

[weekly newsletter about Cuba (with YouTube video links) from the Belly Of The Beast news collective. Their videos can also be found at: https://peertube.world/c/cuba_botb_videos/videos]

Also:

• With Rubio in Wonderland, Dems Denounce Blockade
• Anti-Imperialist Bicycle Rally Takes Over Malecón
• From Ireland to Havana
• Niki Franco: "Cuba Represents Possibility"
• Belly of the Beast Recommends
• Cuba to Free More Than 2,000 Prisoners
• Judge: Trump Illegally Targeted 900K Immigrants
• Cuba on U.S. Talks: Everything But Sovereignty "On the Table"
• Black Doctors Call Out Cuba Blockade's Human Toll
• OAS Rights Commission Ignores Elephant in the Room

[a video about Cuba from the news collective Belly Of The Beast]
Duration - 8:28

Belly of the Beast’s Liz Oliva Fernández and Drop Site’s Ryan Grim recently visited the William Soler Pediatric Hospital in Havana where they spoke with the chief anesthesiologist, Alioth Fernández, and the parents of some of his patients.

Cuba's public and free healthcare system was long considered one of the best in the world. Its doctors are top-notch, dedicated and caring. This is a story about what happens when the most powerful country in the world uses economic warfare to deprive a smaller country from obtaining the medicine it needs to save lives.

The Cuban government cannot access the international financial system, cannot import freely, cannot buy what its children need — not because of indifference, but because U.S. sanctions have destroyed the country’s economy and drained the public health budget.

When every dollar must be stretched across an entire population in crisis, children like Carlos are the ones who pay the price.

"It's not that the doctors don't want to help," his mother says. "It's that they can't."

[a video about Cuba from the news collective Belly Of The Beast]

Amid a U.S.-imposed oil blockade on Cuba that has caused widespread fuel shortages, yesterday thousands of students and workers took over Havana's Malecón in a pro-government rally on bicycles, rollerblades, skateboards and electric vehicles.

The gathering celebrated the anniversaries of two Cuban youth organizations.

“This march is a demonstration that we are standing firm,” said one student.

[a video about Cuba from the news collective Belly Of The Beast] Duration - 6:00

The deep crisis currently affecting Cuba is a direct consequence of decades of U.S. sanctions, and now it’s taking its most recent form as an oil blockade. Many people in the United States disagree with their government’s policy toward Cuba, including Niki Franco.

Franco, a Puerto Rican writer and activist living in the United States, traveled with the Nuestra América Convoy to deliver humanitarian aid and see what daily life in Cuba is like under these U.S. policies.

“I always invite people to learn about Cuba’s history of solidarity with other nations. You can look at any continent and find examples of Cuba helping others,” Niki told Belly of the Beast journalist Liz Oliva Fernández.

During the conversation, Niki reflects on her own responsibility, and that of all U.S. citizens, to understand the connection between U.S. foreign policy and the hardships endured by millions of Cubans.

[a video about Cuba from the news collective Belly Of The Beast]

Colombian Congresswoman María Fernanda Carrascal argues that Cuba’s crisis is not about charity, but about sovereignty, pressure and the right to survive. Carrascal calls for stronger positions across Latin America as pressure on Cuba intensifies.

March 27, 2026

[weekly newsletter about Cuba (with YouTube video links) from the Belly Of The Beast news collective. Their videos can also be found at: https://peertube.world/c/cuba_botb_videos/videos]

Also this week:

• Jeremy Corbyn: "Cuba Must Not Be Isolated"
• US Punishes Cuba for Helping Bring Peace to Colombia
• Cuba and Puerto Rico: "Two Wings of the Same Bird"
• Solidarity Can't Be Blocked
• Activists Face Border Harassment and Slander Campaign
• US-Government Funded Hit Piece on Belly of the Beast
• NY Times: Cubans Dying in US Oil Blockade
• Recommended Reading and Watching
• NY Times Parrots Fake News About Russia Spy Base in Cuba
• Cuba Willing to Compensate US for Nationalizations
• Why Washington Keeps Doubling Down on Hard-Line Cuba Policy
• US Embassy in Havana Warns US Citizens to Avoid...US Citizens
• Rubio Testifies Against Friend in Corruption Case
• US Wants Oil to Enter Cuba — For Its Embassy
• Despite Oil Blockade, US Deportation Flights to Cuba Continue
• Are US Journalists Getting Played by Anonymous Sources on Cuba?

[a video about Cuba from the news collective Belly Of The Beast] Duration - 1:16

Jeremy Corbyn traveled to Havana as part of an international solidarity delegation from Nuestra América Convoy and stated that the crisis in Cuba is the direct result of the blockade, not the Cuban government. “It's time for all of us to step up and show solidarity with Cuba,” said Corbyn.

[a video about Cuba from the news collective Belly Of The Beast]

In 2014, something historic happened. The U.S. admitted that decades of economic war toward Cuba had failed — and chose engagement instead. Historian Peter Kornbluh recalls the moment Barack Obama and Raúl Castro announced the opening on live television. “It was everything we had worked for,” he says.

[a video about Cuba from the news collective Belly Of The Beast]

Cuban society is becoming more inclusive, but it’s a slow process fraught with tension. Ely Malik Reyes carries the weight of being the first trans athlete to be officially recognized by the Cuban Sports Commission.

Belly of the Beast journalist Liz Oliva Fernández sat down with Malik to talk about how he became the man he always was.

Subscribe to our newsletter for more stories about Cuba: https://www.bellyofthebeastcuba.com/signup

[a video about Cuba from the news collective Belly Of The Beast]

Duration - 2:33

Irish hip-hop group Kneecap performed in Havana as part of the Nuestra América Convoy’s humanitarian mission. In a press conference, the Belfast trio spoke about why they made the trip, what they witnessed on the streets of Havana and the deep historical bond between Ireland and Cuba.

During the press conference, the group experienced a nationwide blackout, the third in less than a month, linked to Cuba’s weakened power grid and fuel shortages under U.S. sanctions.

The convoy brought over 20 tons of food and medicine to a country suffocating under decades of the U.S. embargo. But for Kneecap, this was never just about aid. It was about solidarity — the same solidarity that the Irish people received from around the world during their own revolutionary struggle.

Walking the streets of Havana, the band was struck by something they recognized immediately: resilience. Despite blackouts, shortages, and relentless external pressure, the Cuban people carry on, refusing to be broken.

“They're going about their lives as best they can. I think it's something we relate to,” said Rapper Móglaí Bap, a member of the group. “Even if you totally disagree with the politics of Cuba, punishing everybody in the country is never right…It's not in our nature as Irish people to witness injustice anywhere in the world and stay silent.”

[a video about Cuba from the news collective Belly Of The Beast]

According to Mikael Wolfe, director of Stanford University’s Cuba Observatory, sanctions on Cuba are among the most systematic, extraterritorial, and long-lasting in the world. “Yes, Cuba trades with other countries—but is it normal trade? Not even close,” he said.