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On Saturday, Cuban President Raul Castro, while addressing the Cuban parliament, again announced that his government stood ready to discuss anything with the Obama Administration.

President Castro’s statement both reaffirms his government’s commitment to the principles of the 1959 revolution and his willingness to reestablish a cordial relationship with the United States. See coverage here.  

Activist groups nation-wide continue to rally against the travel ban.  The Inter-religious Foundation for Community Organization/ Pastors for Peace’s annual U.S.-Cuba Friendshipment Caravan (video) successfully crossed the U.S.-Mexico border with 100 tons of aid bound for Cuba. Click here to see the press release about the crossing.

With the chaos following the June 28th coup and the shuttering of media outlets, it has been hard to learn about the state of human rights in Honduras.  That’s why it’s so important to read the report that the Honduran Association of the Detained and Disappeared, COFADEH, released July 15t on the human rights situation in Honduras since the coup on June 28, 2009. 

Outside the Base at Guantanamo Bay last week, the US Military and Cuban Frontier Brigade worked together in basic preparation for major disasters. This is not a new collaboration, but the Obama Administration opted to make the exercise public, in contrast to the previous Bush policy of keeping it secret.  According to US Marine Corps General Jack Sheehan, the preparations are yet another sign of an “Incremental process” towards more cooperation.  ''We've never advertised [the exercise]… because it was very controversial,'' he said.  The Administration seems to be sending yet another “trial balloon,” with this announcement, following the talks on migration last week in New York.