Two Florida ports cancel plans to ink pacts with Cuba

Florida Gov. Rick Scott speaks at a press conference about the Zika virus in Doral, Florida, U.S. August 4, 2016. Two Florida ports have canceled plans to sign cooperation pacts with Communist-ruled Cuba after state Governor Rick Scott threatened to cancel their funding if they did business with the “Cuban dictatorship.”

Castro: Cuba can work with Trump if sovereignty respected

Heads of state pose for the official photo of the V Summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States in Bavaro, Dominican Republic, Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2017. BAVARO, Dominican Republic – President Raul Castro expressed Cuba’s willingness to continue negotiations with President Donald Trump’s new administration but warned that his country would not concede any of its sovereignty.

Reports from Cuba: The worst year under Raul Castro

It is no secret that the sessions of the National Assembly of the People’s Power are a mere formality. Documents are discussed and approved that have been “cooked up” by those in the upper echelons of power, no representative dares suggest an approach contravening the established script, and the votes are always unanimous.

Cuban President Raul Castro faces deep problems in 2017

In this Dec. 3, 2016 file photo, a soldier of the Revolutionary Armed Forces stands guard next to the tomb of Cuba’s late leader Fidel Castro at Santa Ifigenia cemetery in Santiago, Cuba. Fidel’s brother Raul must manage economic and diplomatic challenges during his last full year as president without his older brother whose presence endowed the system he created with historical weight and credibility in the eyes of many Cubans.