Blog

Ricardo Alarcón says "Cuba of course aspires to the normalization of relations with the United States"

by Carly Quaglio on April 11, 2012

President of the Cuban Parliament, Ricardo Alarcón de Quesada, was interviewed last week by Dr. Salim Lamrani, lecturer at Paris Sorbonne Paris IV University and expert on U.S.-Cuba relations, for publication in The Huffington Post. The interviewer and the interviewee produced an absorbing conversation on the state of U.S.-Cuba relations, particularly how the countries can cooperate to move forward—a step that Alarcón claims would benefit both sides of the Florida Straits. He should know. Prior to his position as President of the Parliament, Alarcón spent twelve years in the United States as Cuban ambassador to the United Nations. Throughout the conversation, the two men did not hesitate to discuss some of the touchier topics plaguing U.S.-Cuba relations: including migration, the current administration, normalized relations, and even Alan Gross. Read below for excerpts of the more compelling questions and responses:

:2012, Blog Posts, Cuba

They Don’t Believe Us: Human Rights Abuses in Colombia

by Lisa Haugaard on April 09, 2012

As the National Days of Action for Peace in Colombia begin this week, I wanted to share the original poem "They Don't Believe Us" that Colombian human rights defender, Orlando Bolaños, read aloud to me when I visited him on a human rights verification mission in December.

:2012, Blog Posts, Colombia, Lisa Haugaard

Dr. Reinerio Arce: “If you go this year you will find another Cuba”

by Carly Quaglio on April 03, 2012

Dr. Reinerio Arce, President of the Evangelical Theological Seminary of Matanzas, Cuba, participated in a briefing at Washington, DC’s National Council of Churches last week regarding the current reality of religious life and the role of churches in Cuba. Dr. Arce’s presentation focused on the current economic and social changes occurring on the island and how they have affected various faiths and churches. He also expressed deep support for small, but important measures taken by the Obama Administration in regards to religious travel--which he claims has greatly facilitated his seminary’s ability to carry out social projects. Dr. Arce began by stressing the importance of the relationships between U.S. and Cuban churches:

:2012, Blog Posts, Cuba

Honduran Human Rights Defenders at Risk, Says UN

by Lisa Haugaard on March 13, 2012

Honduras was singled out for a visit by the United Nation's Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders, Margaret Sekaggya, in February 2012. The Honduran government, and the international community, should listen to what she had to say. You can find a complete version in English here, in Spanish here. The Special Rapporteur's recommendations and conclusions provide a road map for basic protections for Honduras' at-risk defenders. Let's hope that the Honduran government takes them to heart.

:2012, Blog Posts, Honduras, Lisa Haugaard

The Two Cubas: Travel and See

by Carly Quaglio, LAWG Intern on March 12, 2012

Information on Cuba can often be biased, misinformed and confusing. Two recently published articles, one from the Wall Street Journal and the other from the Council on Foreign Relations, highlight this constant conflict in the U.S. media. These articles provide two starkly different opinions of Cuba. When presented with two contradictory portrayals of the same topic, how do you know what to believe?