Whereas Pope John Paul II's visit to Cuba nearly 15 years ago was in itself a historic moment -- coming as it did at the end of a dark period for Church-State relations in Cuba -- Pope Benedict XVI's visit to the island this week was more about consolidating spaces...

The good news? Cuban energy officials are taking the lessons of the BP oil spill disaster very seriously, according to a group of oil drilling and environmental experts just back from Cuba, including the co-chairman of the Bipartisan National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and...

Just how significant are the new rules announced by the Obama administration to expand purposeful travel and economic assistance to Cuba? Do they signal a renewed "thaw" in bilateral relations, coming as they did just after diplomatic reports that an American USAID subcontractor detained in Cuba more than...

For those who missed it, 60 Minutes aired a segment on last October's visit to Havana by Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra earlier this week. It's a must-watch for jazz, Marsalis, Cuba and New Orleans enthusiasts alike. (View the entire 13-minute segment here) I hope someone...

About two weeks ago, the PBS Newshour aired a three-part series on Cuba: its economic conditions and prospects for changes, its medical care and philosophy, and its medical diplomacy around the world. I have to admit, I only got around to reading the transcript from the first installment,...

Yesterday's Miami Herald featured a plea from Judy Gross, wife of the American USAID subcontractor who has been held in Cuba for 11 months (under investigation and without any formal charges filed yet), to Presidents Obama and Castro to "be different than your predecessors, change the tide of...

Let's start with the obvious. With the Republican takeover of Congress, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen becomes the new Chairwoman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, the authorizing committee with jurisdiction over most of Cuba-related legislation. This means not only that no engagement-oriented Cuba bills will move through that committee, and that very...

Well, I can't say it was any big surprise. Yesterday, President Obama renewed his authority under the otherwise defunct Trading with the Enemy Act (TWEA) of 1917, which would have otherwise expired on September 14, 2010. In plain English, President Obama renewed the U.S. embargo on Cuba for another...

As we wait for the Obama administration to loosen U.S. travel rules for cultural pursuits in Cuba, it looks like the Cuban government may be loosening things on its end as well. El Nuevo Herald in Miami reports that some unlikely Cuban artists will make their way to...