Trump’s strange quest to kill the NED

The Trump administration wants to abolish the National Endowment for Democracy, which has funded Cuban democracy activists for more than four decades. The administration accuses NED of pushing “propaganda against right-leaning domestic politicians, including President Trump,” and blacklisting conservative media outlets. The federal government abruptly cut off NED’s congressionally appropriated funds in early 2025. NED … Read more

Pentagon quietly unleashes $2.4 billion Caribbean buildup

On March 19, Gen. Francis Donovan, commander of U.S. Southern Command, sat before the Senate Armed Services Committee and declared, “The U.S. military is not rehearsing for an invasion of Cuba or actively preparing to militarily take over the island…” Indeed, no fighter jets were thundering over Havana and no amphibious assaults were underway. But … Read more

New U.S. sanctions aimed at crushing Cuban capitalism

So much for encouraging capitalism in Cuba. Independent Cuban entrepreneurs are banned from using U.S. banks under new Treasury Department rules announced Tuesday. The latest rules leave families with fewer legal, reliable ways to send money to Cuba to support their relatives. Such measures threaten to cripple Cuba’s fragile but growing private sector and deepen … Read more

Dark money and the fight over Cuba

The same public charity that supports Real America’s Voice and Steve Bannon’s War Room podcast funneled $1.4 million to the parent company of ADN Cuba and ADN América from 2021 to 2024. ADN Cuba has evolved over the past decade. It began in 2017 as a cultural bridge—a shared space uniting the diverse perspectives and … Read more

Rising U.S.-Cuba tensions as Pentagon prepares digital battlefield

President Donald Trump today called Cuba an “absolutely failed state” and vowed the country “will fall.” Speaking before the 81st United Nations General Assembly, Trump declared to world leaders, “Communism will never be coming to America, but freedom will be coming to Cuba.” As he spoke, members of the Cuban delegation stood up and left … Read more