· March, 2012

Stories about Cuba from March, 2012

The Cuba the Pope Leaves Behind

Pope Benedict XVI's trip to Cuba has come to an end, a visit bookended by the Castro brothers: President Raul Castro greeting the pontiff at the airport and Fidel Castro meeting with him before his departure. But bloggers are suggesting that despite the Pope's message of change and hope for the future, it looks like business as usual on the island.

29 March 2012

Cuba: Who will the Pope Support?

Pope Benedict XVI arrived in Santiago de Cuba on Monday, the second visit by a Supreme Pontiff of the Catholic Church to the island in 14 years. The web, especially Twitter, has become a battleground for dissidents and government supporters.

28 March 2012

Cuba: Pope Arrives Today; What Will His Visit Bring?

Pope Benedict XVI is due to arrive today in Cuba, even as bloggers chronicle the “wave of arrests and threats” preceding the papal visit. But top of mind for most bloggers, particularly from the diaspora, is whether or not the pontiff will decide to meet with the Ladies in White and other members of the political opposition.

26 March 2012

Cuba: “Incubation”

The digital magazine 80 Grados presents the video of photographer Guillaume Le Berre's voyage to Cuba titled “Incubation”: “At the beginning there was a trip. I wanted to see Cuba before...

24 March 2012

This Week in the Caribbean Blogosphere

Activity in the Caribbean blogosphere this week has been predominantly coming from Cuba and its diaspora, as the country prepares for the arrival of Pope Benedict XVI amidst frustration about the human rights situation on the island and dissatisfaction over the pontiff declining to meet members of the Cuban opposition during his stay.

24 March 2012

Cuba: Black Spring, Nine Years After

The Cuban Black Spring - a term that has come to describe the government crackdown on dissidents that took place in 2003 - marks its ninth anniversary this year. Cuban bloggers remember their history and wonder whether anything has fundamentally changed - especially in the context of the impending papal visit and the pontiff's inability to meet with opposition groups to discuss the country's human rights record.

20 March 2012

Cuba: Diverse Opinions on Pope Benedict's Visit

Pope Benedict XVI's visit to Cuba has caused a great deal of controversy and debate in the Island. Blogs and social media have been a platform for an array of opinions. Elaine Díaz takes a look at some of these online conversations.

20 March 2012

Cuba: Bloggers Uncomfortable as Pope's Visit Looms

As Pope Benedict XVI's controversial visit to Cuba draws closer, online discussion is heating up. Bloggers are upset over what they perceive as a partnership between communism and Catholicism, especially in light of reportedly ongoing human rights abuses and other surreptitious methods of curtailing personal freedoms.

19 March 2012

Cuba: Bloggers Respond to Archbishop's Action

Bloggers are reaching boiling point over the political/religious acts of repression that have been taking place in Cuba - and the Pope hasn't even arrived yet. The latest controversy involves the request to remove protesters from a church, which reportedly came from the Archbishop of Havana.

17 March 2012

Cuba: Aggression Against Women

Pedazos de la Isla blogs about the wives of two dissidents who maintain that they suffered miscarriages as a result of “violent operations carried out against them by the Cuban...

17 March 2012

Cuba: Antúnez Released

Uncommon Sense reports that “Cuban human rights activist Jorge Luis García Pérez Antúnez was released from jail Wednesday, three days after he was arrested.” Pedazos de la Isla supplies more...

15 March 2012

Cuba: Preparing for the Pope

Havana Times says that “everything seems to be ready to welcome the Pope, who will visit Cuba from March 26 to 28″, while babalu cautions that “with the upcoming Papal...

13 March 2012

Cuba: Dual Citizenship

“Lynden Pindling International Airport is the place of metamorphosis, the place to assert the dual nationality that is not recognized in their own country”: Generation Y blogs about an unlikely...

13 March 2012