cuba

The Punks on G Street: Tracking Cuba's Rebellious Youth 50 Years After the Revolution

Julia Cooke · 09/16/12 10:00AM

I met Liván, Takeshi and the rest of their band of frikis—rock and metal fans of the punk-and-anarchist subcategory—around nine one Thursday night on the median of Havana's G Street. I'd come to Havana to write a book about what it was like to be a young adult in the post-Fidel city and, since G Street was the biggest party in town, it was where I began.

Ninth Prisoner Dies at Guantanamo Bay

Cord Jefferson · 09/10/12 04:00PM

Before he became president, Barack Obama promised he was going to close the Guantanamo Bay detention center before his first term was out. "I have said repeatedly that I intend to close Guantanamo, and I will follow through on that," Obama told ABC News in November 2008, shortly after winning the election. Almost four years later, Guantanamo remains open, and now another one of its prisoners has died.

Fidel Castro Can't Fathom the 'Ignorance and Idiocy' of These Republican Candidates, Either

Jim Newell · 01/25/12 02:20PM

Our old pal to the South, retired Cuban dictator Fidel Castro, has been watching these Republican debates, including the most recent one in which the candidates talked about Fidel Castro going to Hell. He has not been impressed, writing in an editorial that "the selection of a Republican candidate for the presidency of this globalized and expansive empire is - and I mean this seriously - the greatest competition of idiocy and ignorance that has ever been." But what if Mitch Daniels jumps in?

Herman Cain Wants to Know How to Speak 'Cuban'

Max Read · 11/16/11 07:58PM

Are we sick of Herman Cain saying stupid things? No? Good: here's video of the Republican front-runner asking a bunch of people in Miami "How do you say 'delicious' in Cuban?" This is, we guess, Cain's third embarrassing gaffe in as many days, if you don't count his entire campaign as slow-motion, multi-day gaffe. And, no, "he was tired" won't fly as an excuse—he's asking because he's enjoying a cup of Cuban coffee.

Michele Bachmann Warns of Hezbollah Parking Missiles in Cuba

Jim Newell · 09/27/11 11:57AM

Where does Michele Bachmann stand on normalizing trade relations with Cuba? Well. It's not particularly high on her priority list, let's say! Not merely because they're dirty commies. But also, apparently, because Cuba is working with Hezbollah to potentially set up missile sites on the island. Perhaps you might even call it a... Cuban Missile Crisis? Or is this something of an exaggeration?

Hugo Chavez Is Governing Venezuela Over Twitter

Adrian Chen · 07/22/11 04:51PM

While Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez is getting treatment for cancer in Cuba, he's governing the country via Twitter. This says a lot about how much thought, preparation and patience goes into his presidential decisions. [AP, image via Getty]

How Sick Is Hugo Chavez?

Max Read · 06/26/11 04:02PM

No one has seen Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez for two weeks! (Well, not no one, but you know.) He flew to Cuba on June 10 for surgery on a pelvic abscess, speaking to media two days later to say he was fine, but he apparently hasn't returned to Venezuela since. According to the not-exactly-trustworthy government, Chavez is recovering well, but rumors abound that he is suffering from prostate cancer and may still be in "critical condition" in the hospital. (His daughter and mother were reportedly flown to Cuba, "urgently.") It's kind of unclear what would happen in the event of his death or incapacitation, given that Chavez is more or less an autocrat, not to mention a big jerk. "The US," The Daily Telegraph writes, "would hope to see a less hostile and more market-friendly candidate for the presidency emerge," which is a polite way of saying the CIA is going to be all up in that shit. [Telegraph]

Wikileaks Documents Reveal a Stinky, Crazy Guantanamo Bay

Adrian Chen · 04/25/11 10:32AM

Among the cache of documents allegedly leaked to Wikileaks by PFC Bradley Manning was over 700 dossiers on detainees at Guantanamo Bay Prison. A slew of international papers published stories based on them today, and Wikileaks is dribbling out the full cache. They paint a picture of Gitmo as a poop-strewn debacle stuffed with crazy people, a journalist, random Afghan civilians—even some dangerous terrorists.

Fidel Castro Is Fully Retired Now

Jeff Neumann · 04/19/11 06:33AM

After taking his time leaving Cuba's Communist Party, Fidel Castro wrote today that he's finally done: "Raul knew that at this time I wouldn't accept any role in the party." They just don't make dictators like they used to.

Fidel Castro: I Quit 5 Years Ago, Suckers

Jeff Neumann · 03/22/11 07:16AM

It seems that "former" Cuban leader Fidel Castro pulled a funny on everyone! After having surgery in 2006 to stop intestinal bleeding, Fidel issued a statement saying his brother Raul would temporarily be taking charge of Cuba. But in a new column the old timer states that the people of Cuba "affectionately" called him the leader of the Communist Party even though he really wasn't (sort of) and didn't want to be (kind of). According to Fidel:

Zombie Lunch Break

Jeff Neumann · 12/05/10 02:58PM

[Extras from a Cuban zombie film, "Juan de los Muertos," or "Juan of the Dead," take a lunch break while filming on Havana's Malecón today. Image via AP]