cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/55158721

October 30, 2026

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/55087769

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/55106939

October 25, 2026

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/55085271

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/55000872

China is stepping up its support for Cuba as Washington intensifies its economic pressure on the island. From solar energy projects and food shipments to financial cooperation and diplomatic backing, Beijing is helping Havana find alternatives as the U.S. blockade continues.

In this video, we examine China's latest response to the United Nations vote against the American embargo, including Beijing's statements on October 21 and October 29. We also break down Washington's expanding pressure campaign throughout 2026, the sanctions targeting Cuban officials and businesses, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio's description of the strategy as leaving the Cuban government with “no escape valves.”

But China is opening alternative channels. We explore its investment in Cuban solar parks, the arrival of solar equipment for homes and public facilities, China's $80 million aid commitment and rice shipments, and the growing use of alternative international payment infrastructure. We also examine the 2026–2027 Friendly Cooperation and Exchange Plan signed by both countries.

The video looks at how these efforts could help Cuba reduce its dependence on imported fuel, strengthen food supplies, maintain financial connections, and deal with the economic consequences of U.S. sanctions. From renewable energy to diplomatic support, China's involvement extends across several areas of Cuba's economy.

We also examine the latest UN General Assembly vote, where 130 countries supported a resolution calling for an end to the U.S. embargo. Although the resolution does not legally end the blockade, it highlights the continuing international opposition to America's Cuba policy.

The bigger question is whether Washington's pressure can achieve its objectives when Cuba continues to receive support from China and other international partners. As new energy projects, trade connections, and diplomatic agreements take shape, the relationship between Beijing and Havana is becoming an important part of the wider geopolitical story.

Watch until the end to understand how China is supporting Cuba, why Washington's strategy faces challenges, and what this growing partnership could mean for the future of the Caribbean.

#China #Cuba #Trump #USCubaRelations #CubaBlockade #ChinaCuba #USSanctions #BRICS #UnitedNations #SolarEnergy #GlobalPolitics #Geopolitics #MarcoRubio #InternationalRelations #WorldNews

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/55056095

November 4, 2026

Democrats flipped both chambers of Congress on Tuesday, delivering a stunning rebuke to Donald Trump and opening the possibility for a showdown over his administration's economic war on Cuba.

With their new majorities and control over congressional committees, Democrats could pursue legislation ending Trump's oil blockade, prohibit funding for unauthorized military operations and advance measures to ease or repeal economic sanctions.

The election results also cast doubt on the conventional wisdom about the political risks of opposing the embargo, including in Florida, where Cuba hardliners have long wielded enormous influence.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/54912554

Duration - 3:19
[a video on Peertube about Cuba from the news collective Belly Of The Beast]

What do Cubans think about U.S. midterm elections they can't vote in, but that could shape their future?

Belly of the Beast journalist Liz Oliva Fernández took to the streets of Havana to ask Cubans about Trump’s economic war and whether a new Congress could change anything.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/54906688

Duration - 7:06 

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

The Trump administration’s oil blockade has plunged Cuba into darkness, leaving millions to face blackouts that last more than 20 hours, forcing hospitals to postpone surgeries and bringing public transportation to a halt.

Now, Democratic lawmakers are challenging Trump’s authority to impose it.

Reps. Nydia Velázquez (D-NY) and Gregory Meeks (D-NY) have introduced a War Powers Resolution challenging Trump's authority to use military force to cut off Cuba's oil supplies. The lawmakers argue that enforcing the blockade constitutes an act of war that requires congressional authorization.

Belly of the Beast journalist Charlie Cabrera spoke with Erik Sperling, executive director of Just Foreign Policy, about the legislation to end the oil blockade, the stakes of the upcoming midterm elections and whether Congress can change the course of U.S. policy toward Cuba.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/54795589

https://www.ahilesva.info/6a5f5f48dc76de1fc301b2b2

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/54673106

Duration 2:45 [a video on Peertube about Cuba from the news collective Belly Of The Beast]

For the 34th consecutive year, the UN General Assembly overwhelmingly voted to condemn the U.S. economic blockade on Cuba.

Despite an aggressive U.S. lobbying campaign, 130 countries supported the resolution, while 17 voted against it and 25 abstained. Twenty-one countries did not vote.

Over two days of debate, diplomats from around the world condemned the U.S. economic war on Cuba.

ni siquiera el imperialismo impide que el cubano disfrute de su cafe y sus festivales. tambien hay en china

http://www.cuba.cu/economia/2018-09-17/cafe-cubano-cautiva-al-publico-en-feria-internacional-de-china-fotos/43419

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/54631565

October 15, 2026
[newsletter about Cuba from the Belly Of The Beast news collective. Their videos can be found at: https://peertube.world/c/cuba_botb_videos/videos]

Hotels have shuttered. Mining operations have ground to a halt. Airlines have canceled flights.

Now, the Trump administration’s escalating economic war on Cuba has claimed another casualty: the only US study abroad program with a permanent physical presence on the island.

After 11 years of bringing hundreds of US students to live and study in Havana, the Consortium for Advanced Studies Abroad (CASA) is shutting down its Cuba program amid a growing humanitarian crisis and fears of a US military intervention.

Also:

• Feeding Cuba’s Elderly Under U.S. Blockade
• #US Targets Cuban Bank Under Iran Allegations
• Rubio Presses Bukele to Isolate Cuba at #UN
• Democrats Challenge Blockade Before Midterms
• Cuba Open to US Nickel Investors

cross-posted from: https://expressional.social/users/Peter_Link/statuses/117520379077300387

United Nations General Assembly (#UNGA) vote for lifting the US blockade against Cuba: 130 votes in favor.

[from a post on IG]

You can observe the impact of the #US blackmail and pressure campaign, as well as the increasing number of rightist governments. But it's yet another big victory for #Cuba against the monster in Washington.

#news #politics #USpol
@cuba

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/54589265

Duration - 2:18
[a video on Peertube about Cuba from the news collective Belly Of The Beast]

[a #video on #Peertube about #Cuba from the #news collective #BellyOfTheBeast]

U.S. Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz doubled down today on his claim that the blockade on Cuba doesn’t exist during today’s General Assembly debate.

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez confronted Waltz over his sweeping, unsubstantiated accusations of corruption against Cuba’s leadership, calling him a liar in a heated exchange on the Assembly floor.

For 33 consecutive years, the UN General Assembly has overwhelmingly voted to condemn the U.S. economic blockade on Cuba. This year’s vote comes amid an aggressive campaign by the Trump administration to pressure countries into withdrawing their support for the resolution.

The General Assembly will vote on the resolution tomorrow.

Read our breakdown of the Trump administration’s pressure campaign at the UN and our fact-check of Waltz’s claims: https://www.bellyofthebeastcuba.com/the-war-on-cuba-goes-to-the-un

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/54402041

Duration - 1:14 
[a video on Peertube about Cuba from the news collective Belly Of The Beast]

Cuba’s Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla accused the Trump administration of threatening foreign governments with sanctions to pressure them into withdrawing their support for the annual UN resolution calling for an end to the U.S. economic blockade on Cuba.

At a press conference Wednesday, Rodríguez presented documents he said show the State Department pressuring countries to abstain from the vote or leave the room altogether. He said the U.S. threatened governments, companies and individual government officials.

The UN General Assembly has voted overwhelmingly to condemn the U.S. blockade for 33 consecutive years. In 2024, 187 countries supported the resolution, with only the U.S. and Israel opposed. Last year, following an aggressive U.S. lobbying effort, support fell to 165 countries, while seven voted against it.

The General Assembly is scheduled to vote on this year’s resolution on October 28.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/54320215

October 21, 2026

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/54248389

Duration - 2:08 [a video on Peertube about Cuba from the news collective Belly Of The Beast]

Less than two weeks before the UN General Assembly votes on an annual resolution calling for an end to the U.S. economic blockade on Cuba, the Trump administration is organizing an event targeting the Cuban government at UN headquarters, according to Cuba’s UN Ambassador Ernesto Soberón.

The event, which will be held Monday, is titled “Cuba Libre: The Oppression Havana Hides.”

Soberón said U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is pressuring foreign leaders to vote against Cuba.

The resolution to end the blockade has passed 33 years in a row, with the U.S. and Israel its only consistent opponents. In 2024, they were the only two countries to vote against it.

“Cuba will not be intimidated, blackmailed, or silenced,” said Soberón.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/54117127

Duration - 4:32
[a video on Peertube about Cuba from the news collective Belly Of The Beast]

More than 70,000 Cubans receive support through the Family Assistance System (SAF), a government program that provides meals to the elderly, people with disabilities and others in vulnerable situations.

In Havana’s Rampa neighborhood, home to one of Cuba’s oldest populations, the El Rampeño SAF center provides daily meals and support to vulnerable residents thanks to support from local private businesses.

“A place like this is a blessing,” says Lilian, a retired telephone operator. But as U.S. sanctions and an oil blockade disrupt food deliveries, keeping its kitchen running has become increasingly difficult.

“The U.S. government is making life impossible for us,” says Pedro Garcés, president of the Rampa People's Council. “It’s suffocating us.”

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/54117127

Duration - 4:32
[a video on Peertube about Cuba from the news collective Belly Of The Beast]

More than 70,000 Cubans receive support through the Family Assistance System (SAF), a government program that provides meals to the elderly, people with disabilities and others in vulnerable situations.

In Havana’s Rampa neighborhood, home to one of Cuba’s oldest populations, the El Rampeño SAF center provides daily meals and support to vulnerable residents thanks to support from local private businesses.

“A place like this is a blessing,” says Lilian, a retired telephone operator. But as U.S. sanctions and an oil blockade disrupt food deliveries, keeping its kitchen running has become increasingly difficult.

“The U.S. government is making life impossible for us,” says Pedro Garcés, president of the Rampa People's Council. “It’s suffocating us.”

cross-posted from: https://expressional.social/users/Peter_Link/statuses/117448500725777644

#LosAngeles, #USA End The Blockade Speak-Out

October 24, 2026 6 - 8 pm

#EndTheBlockadeEmbargo #HandsOffCuba #Cuba #politics #USpol
#unions #labor #health #AltTxt4Me
@cuba

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/53890199

October 9, 2026

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/53886462

October 9, 2026
[weekly newsletter about Cuba from the Belly Of The Beast news collective. Their videos can be found at: https://peertube.world/c/cuba_botb_videos/videos]

The U.S. government's economic war on Cuba doesn't just affect Cubans.

For Massachusetts musician Ben Grosscup, whose mother was recently diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, the consequences of U.S. sanctions have become deeply personal.

This week, we speak with Grosscup, who traveled to Havana in search of a potentially groundbreaking Cuban treatment for the disease that is unavailable in the United States.

Also:

• Trump’s Oil Blockade Escalates
• Cuba: No Negotiations with U.S.
• Palestinian Medical Students Caught In Two Crises
• Rubio Renews Aid Cut Threats Over Cuban Missions
• Fifty Years Since Cubana Flight 455

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/53827351

Duration - 5:21 [a video on Peertube about Cuba from the news collective Belly Of The Beast]

When Massachusetts-based musician and activist Ben Grosscup (@BenGrosscup) learned his mother had Alzheimer’s, he turned to Cuba for help.

He traveled to Havana to obtain NeuralCIM, a groundbreaking Cuban medication that has had remarkable results in slowing the progression of Alzheimer's.

The treatment was developed by Cuban scientist Dr. Teresita Rodríguez, whose work Belly of the Beast documented in Teresita’s Dream: https://peertube.world/w/12Ys6gA19mfGA8Li574VY5

Grosscup has long opposed his government’s economic war on Cuba. But as intensified sanctions and an oil blockade limit the island’s ability to produce medicines like NeuralCIM, U.S. policy became more personal.

“The blockade is harming my own family,” he says.