English Newsletters Archives | Boletines en Español

For more than 25 years, Cuba's Latin American School of Medicine (ELAM) has offered full scholarships to students from underserved communities around the world, including hundreds from the United States.

This week, we hear from two ELAM graduates from the U.S. who recently organized a medical solidarity brigade of mostly African students to Guinea-Bissau.

Also:

Cuba’s “Astonishing” Medical Mission in Haiti
UN Rights Commissioner: "Children Are Dying"
Rubio Tightens the Oil Blockade
Hegseth Pumps Up “Donroe Doctrine” at Guantanamo
What Do Cubans Think About Trump?
Sanctions Target Cuban Gold
Cuba Announces Major Economic Reforms
Shut Out by U.S., Cuba's Biotech Turns to Russia

Why Students From the U.S. Study Medicine in Cuba

Samira Addrey, who was born in Ghana and lives in Maryland, and Abeeku Ricks, who is from Atlanta, say the education they received at Cuba's Latin American School of Medicine (ELAM) was unlike any they could have received in the United States — and not just because it was free.

“I'm very grateful for the medical training I have, but I can say that the human training I've had, the quality of character building I've had by being in this country that is under siege, I cannot get anywhere else,” said Samira.

Now doctors pursuing their careers, Samira and Abeeku remain committed to Cuba's health internationalism even as it faces growing attacks from the U.S. government. Last year, they organized a trip of mostly African students to Guinea-Bissau to provide health education and medical consultations.

Watch our latest video about Samira and Abeeku HERE.

In the coming weeks, we’ll be releasing more videos about the inspiring journey that Samira and Abeeku organized to Guinea-Bissau.

In the meantime, you can watch our latest documentary about Cuba’s medical mission in Italy, From Cuba to Calabria, on Patreon.

For early access to documentaries like this one, exclusive screenings and behind-the-scenes content:

Join us on Patreon!

Cuba’s “Astonishing” Medical Mission in Haiti

As the Trump administration continues its assault against Cuba’s medical missions — portraying them as “forced labor” and pressuring countries to reject Cuban doctors — it is worth revisiting the words of those who have worked alongside them.

For years, the story of Cuba’s health internationalism has been told by U.S. politicians and major media outlets that depict the missions as exploitative. Missing from that conversation are the voices of many of the patients, health professionals and public health experts who have worked with Cuban doctors around the world.

In 2007, the late Dr. Paul Farmer, founder of Partners in Health and one of the leading voices in global public health, nominated Cuba’s International Medical Brigade for the Nobel Peace Prize. Drawing on years of experience working alongside Cuban doctors in Haiti, Farmer described their commitment to serving poor and disaster-stricken communities as “astonishing” and argued that their work was “eminently deserving of the Nobel Peace Prize.”

Read Paul Farmer’s nomination letter HERE.

UN Rights Commissioner: "Children Are Dying"

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said Monday the Trump administration’s fuel blockade and recent expansion of extraterritorial sanctions are "directly harming Cubans, especially the most vulnerable."

"Children are dying because doctors lack access to essential medical supplies and medicines. This is unacceptable," Türk said. "These sanctions must be lifted immediately."

The Trump administration's energy blockade has contributed to rolling blackouts that have disrupted transportation, food production, water distribution and hospital operations. Additional sanctions targeting foreign companies and financial institutions have further impacted the island's access to essential goods and services.

Türk rejected the notion that the consequences of these measures are confined to only the Cuban government.

"Such severe sanctions packages that target entire sectors of an economy and produce broad, indiscriminate and harsh effects on populations are incompatible with basic principles of international human rights law," he said.

The statement may be the strongest condemnation yet from a senior UN official of the Trump administration's Cuba policy.

Türk’s words echo what Cuban patients, doctors and healthcare workers told us in the documentary Health Under Sanction that we produced for Al Jazeera’s People & Power.

Rubio Tightens the Oil Blockade

The Trump administration’s oil blockade on Cuba tightened this week as Marco Rubio announced sanctions on Cupet, the national oil company, shortly after the State Department appeared to squash a deal by a Florida company to send 250,000 barrels to the island.

Coral Gables-based Vanguard Energy said this week it had signed an agreement to ship fuel to Cuba’s private sector using storage facilities owned by Cupet. The fuel would have been sold to private businesses as well as humanitarian and religious organizations.

But after the deal was announced, the State Department told the Miami Herald that “Vanguard Energy has not received any U.S. license for this transaction.” Vanguard, meanwhile, maintained that no specific license was required because the Trump administration had already authorized fuel sales to Cuba’s private sector.

The Trump administration appeared to stamp out any prospects of the deal happening when it sanctioned Cupet. Rubio justified the move by accusing Cuba’s leaders of “weaponizing energy resources” while Cubans endure prolonged blackouts. He described Cupet as an “instrument of oppression.”

Rubio’s claims turn reality on its head. For more than four months, the Trump administration has blocked oil shipments to Cuba, a major escalation of its economic war on Cuba.

Hegseth Pumps Up “Donroe Doctrine” at Guantanamo

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth visited Wednesday the U.S. naval base at Guantánamo Bay, where he performed bench presses in front of cameras and told U.S. troops the Pentagon would remain "prepared and postured for any possible contingency" involving the island. He also warned that if Cuba were to acquire weapons capable of threatening the Guantánamo base or the U.S. mainland, it would invite a confrontation that Cuba "could not stand."

“We are taking back our hemisphere,” Hegseth said in a rambling speech in which he attempted to explain the origins of the “Donroe Doctrine” and claimed Guantánamo was “American terrain.”

The U.S. has occupied the Guantánamo base since 1903 under a lease agreement that has no expiration date and that the Cuban government considers illegal.

Hegseth made clear that the administration’s disregard for Cuban sovereignty extends beyond Guantánamo.

"What happens with the future of Cuba is in the hands of the president of the United States and the leadership of Cuba," he said.

What Do Cubans Think About Trump?

When Donald Trump says the Cuban people love him, he’s talking about Cubans in Miami. On the island, it’s a different story.

We asked Cubans in Cuba what they think about Trump. Watch what they said HERE.

Sanctions Target Cuban Gold

The Trump administration has imposed new sanctions on Cuba, targeting President Miguel Díaz-Canel and several Cuban entities.

Among the sanctioned entities is Minera La Victoria, a joint venture between Australia’s Antilles Gold and Cuba’s GeoMinera. The joint venture was developing a $35 million gold and copper mine in central Cuba.

Antilles Gold announced an immediate suspension of its activities, becoming the second foreign mining company to announce plans to stop its operations on the island following Trump’s May 1 executive order imposing "secondary sanctions" on companies from third countries operating in Cuba. On May 15, Canada’s Sherritt International said that it would dissolve its interests in a joint nickel mining operation with Cuba’s state mining company.

Days later, Sherritt reversed course after selling a majority stake to Gillon Capital LLC, the family office of former Trump adviser Ray Washburne.

Cuba Announces Major Economic Reforms

In the face of intensifying U.S. economic warfare, Cuba's President Miguel Díaz-Canel on Friday announced major economic reforms.

“These are times when change is necessary,” Díaz-Canel said.

The reforms would give state enterprises greater autonomy to set wages, retain profits and conduct imports and exports with fewer restrictions. The government would also expand opportunities for private businesses, reduce reliance on state import monopolies and allow Cubans living abroad to invest in the island’s economy alongside foreign investors.

Other measures include greater authority for municipal governments, expanded support for agricultural producers, new incentives for renewable energy investment and the removal of restrictions on importing solar-powered electric vehicles.

In March, Díaz-Canel called for “urgent” transformations to Cuba’s economic and social model, including new forms of economic partnership with Cubans residing abroad.

Last week, Díaz-Canel announced that Cuba would open the hotel sector to “non-traditional” economic actors and broaden participation by Cubans both on and off the island.

Shut Out by U.S., Cuba's Biotech Turns to Russia

Cuba and Russia are expanding cooperation in cancer research, including the joint development of therapeutic vaccines.

Cuba’s biotech industry has long punched above its weight, and has pioneered vaccine treatments for lung cancer. Recent clinical trials showed that Vaxira, now approved in Cuba and Argentina, significantly improved survival among patients with advanced lung cancer, with one-year survival rates nearly doubling compared to the control group.

Previously, Cuba developed Cimavax, which inspired the creation of the first joint U.S.-Cuban biotech venture, established between the Buffalo-based Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center and Cuba's Center of Molecular Immunology (CIM) to make innovative cancer therapies available to U.S. patients.

But as the U.S. government has ramped up its economic war, scientific collaboration between Cuba and the U.S. has deteriorated. As a result, Cuba has been forced to seek investment from Washington’s adversaries in biotech and other industries.

“U.S. sanctions against Cuba have proven counterproductive,” Cuba expert and American University Professor of Government William LeoGrande wrote in Responsible Statecraft two years ago. “By exacerbating the economic hardships Cubans face, Washington’s policies have accelerated migration and left Cuba no alternative but to seek help from [our] strategic competitors.”

Help Sustain Our Work

Truly independent media relies on support from readers and viewers like you. Whether through a tax-deductible donation or by joining our Patreon, you can help us continue producing independent, on-the-ground reporting about Cuba that you won’t find anywhere else.

Every contribution — big or small — strengthens our journalism. Thank you for being part of our community.

DONATE OR JOIN PATREON!

Follow Us on Social Media!

Follow Belly of the Beast on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Tiktok, X and Bluesky to keep up with our latest content!

Follow Us on WhatsApp and Telegram!

📡 For real-time updates: [WhatsApp] | [Telegram]

¿Hablas Español? Sign Up For Our Spanish Newsletter!

If you or someone you know prefers to read in Spanish, now you can receive our reporting, documentaries and exclusive insights directly in your inbox.

Suscríbete a Belly of the Beast en Español aquí.

Help us grow our Spanish-speaking community by forwarding this to friends, family and colleagues!