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U.S. Statement on Cameroon National Day  

On Cameroon National Day (May 20, 2025), U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio made the following positive statement:[1] “On behalf of the United States of America, I congratulate the government and people of Cameroon as you celebrate your country’s 53rd National Day. We proudly reaffirm our sustained friendship with all Cameroonians, and we look forward to continuing our collaboration in the year…

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U.S. Sanctions Cuban President and Others for Alleged Participation in Serious Human Rights Violations 

On July 11,  the U.S. State Department announced sanctions against Cuba/s President (Miguel Diaz-Canel) and members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces and Ministry of the Interior (Alvaro Lopez Miera and Lazaro Alberto Alvarez Casas and members of their families) for alleged participation in serious human rights violations associated with the popular demonstrations on July 11 and 12, 2021.[1] A…

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President Trump Directs Strengthening U.S. Policy Towards Cuba                                                                                                                                                   On June 30, U.S. President Donald J. Trump directed a strengthening of U.S. policy regarding Cuba by issuing a National Security Presidential Memorandum and the Fact Sheet: President Donald…

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Honoring Oscar Romero at London’s Westminster Abbey           In 1998, individual statues for Oscar Romero and ten other modern martyrs (Maximillian Kolbe, Manche Masemola, Manche Masemola, Janani Luwum, Elizabeth of Russia, Martin Luther King Jr, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Esther John, Lucian Tapiedi and Wang Zhiming) were added above the West Entrance to London’s Westminster Abbey.  [1] The Abbey’s…

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Cuba Population: 9,740,000 

Cuba’s National Office of Statistics and Information has reported that the island’s population at the end of 2024 was 9,740,000. The number of births during the year was 71,000,  “the lowest figure in recent decades and confirming that women of childbearing age in Cuba are postponing or choosing not to have children.” “The serious crisis Cuba is experiencing, with no short- or medium-term…

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More on Cuba’s Desperate Economic Situation 

According to Mary Anastasia O’Grady, a Wall Street Journal columnist, Cuba’s “legendary repression continues while medicine, housing and fuel are in short supply. Inflation is galloping. Parents find it hard to feed their children. In September the government cut back bread rations to 60 grams a day from 80 grams. In December, after more than six decades, it finally said it will eliminate the…

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Trump and Florida Republicans Planning Increased Sanctions on Cuba To Topple Communist Regime

“In a gambit to try to precipitate regime change in Cuba, the Trump administration is planning to ramp up sanctions on the island’s military as part of a maximum-pressure campaign that may also further restrict travel, remittances and exports. Trump administration officials and Cuban-American members of Congress believe the communist regime in Havana is at its weakest moment in decades and have…

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U.S. Condemns Cuban Harassment of Its Citizens

Starting April 1, Cuban police have been harassing Jose Daniel Ferrer, a prominent opposition leader, at the headquarters of the Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU) along with ordinary Cubans gathered there to obtain free food, which the police seized. Nevertheless, that day the organization fed 1,281 people, more than 40 of whom were victims of arrests and harassment.[1] On April 2, the U.S. State…

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Reflections on Cuba’s Independence from Spain  

In a recent Wall Street Journal op-ed, Jose Maria Aznar wrote that “Cuba wasn’t a mere colony, but part of Spain’s territory.”[1] On the other hand, Professor Carlos Boix of Princeton University points out that a young Winston Churchill in 1895 “briefly joined the Spanish army fighting Cuban pro-independence guerrillas. In his first dispatch from the island, he wrote: “The insurgents gain…

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Trump Cancels Humanitarian Parole for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans

On March 21, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced that it was terminating humanitarian parole status for Cubans and certain other Latin Americans in the U.S., effective April 24th.[1] “Humanitarian parole is a temporary immigration status that allows individuals facing urgent humanitarian crises to enter the United States legally. “Humanitarian parole is a legal authority that has…

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Cuba Suffers Another Total Collapse of Its Electrical System

On March 14th Cuba suffered a total collapse of its electrical system, leaving the island completely in the dark. “At 10:00 PM Cuban time, Vicente de la O Levy, Minister of Energy and Mines, reported that micro-energy systems were already operating in Guantánamo, Santiago de Cuba, Holguín, Las Tunas, Ciego de Ávila, Sancti Spíritus, Villa Clara, Cienfuegos, Artemisa, and Pinar del Río, the first…

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The Economist Magazine’s Critical Analysis of President Trump

The influential Economist magazine from London recently has published three critical articles about President Donald Trump: (1) “The would-be king;” (2) “Trump and the world: Europe’s Worst Nightmare;” and (3) “Trade: At the president’s pleasure.” [1] Here are some highlights (lowlights?) of those articles. “The world-be king” “Mr. Trump’s every act demonstrates his belief that power is vested in…

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How Trump Sees the World     

“It’s clear that the concept of a ‘rules-based international order’ is anathema to Mr. Trump. After all, following rules may force you to do something you don’t want to and may impose short-term costs on your country. Mr. Trump seems to think the current rules don’t promote America’s long-term interests.” “His aim, it seems, is to maximize his freedom of action at all times. This explains why he…

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Columnist Says U.S. Economic Problems May Be Reason for Trump’s Downfall   

Nicholas Kristof, a New York Times columnist, says that “what may impede Trump and preserve American democracy is not popular revulsion at the historic damage that he is doing to America but rather alarm at the myriad banal impacts on our daily lives because of Trumpian mismanagement.” “Trump’s tariffs, even if partly delayed, presumably will raise consumer prices and hurt the financial markets…

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Washington Post’s Criticism of Trump’s Tariffs

A Washington Post editorial voices criticism of Trump’s policy and comments about tariffs. “The market never lies. It is often mistaken, as it was during the post-election honeymoon, when investors seemed to assume Donald Trump didn’t really mean it about tariffs. But it always tells you exactly what it thinks.” “Right now, it is thinking that the stiff tariffs Trump has imposed will cost…

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Reactions to Trump’s Latest Changes on Tariffs on Canada and Mexico   

On March 6, U.S. President Trump postponed until April 2 the 25% tariffs on many imports from Mexico and some imports from Canada. Around midday, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau a “numb skull” and warned that this would lead to higher U.S. tariffs while Trudeau said Canadian officials were talking with U.S. counterparts about easing the tariff on some…

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How Americans Feel About Tariffs 

A review of 25 recent U.S. public opinion polls about tariffs reveals different results depending on how the questions are posed. The average favorable opinion is 41% while the highest is 56% and the lowest is 29%. “When a survey question defines tariffs as taxes on imports, for example, fewer people say they support them.” “When a survey question calls out specific countries, more [over 50%)]…