Cuban President Raul Castro faces deep problems in 2017

In this March 21, 2016 file photo, Cuban President Raul Castro, right, lifts up the arm of U.S. President Barack Obama, at the conclusion of their joint news conference at the Palace of the Revolution, in Havana, Cuba. Next year will likely be Castro's toughest year in office since he took power in 2006, as the 85-year-old general faces a possible economic recession alongside a hostile new U.S. administration promising to undo measures that gave many Cubans expectations of a better future.

Flights land in Havana as country mourns

Passengers erupted into applause as the first commercial flight from the United States to Havana in more than 50 years landed in Cuba, arriving as the island begins week-long memorial services for revolutionary leader Fidel Castro. Cubans saluted the packed American Airlines flight by spraying water from firetrucks above the plane as it taxied along the runway at Jose Marti International Airport in honor of the inaugural voyage.

Shifting Cuban voters could be the difference in Florida

Francis Suarez comes from a long line of civic and political leaders who have formed the Republican bedrock in south Florida's Cuban community for a half-century. Yet the 38-year-old Miami city commissioner hasn't decided whether he will vote for his party's presidential nominee.

The Latest: Trump pondering ‘wet foot, dry foot’ policy

Donald Trump says he plans to meet with Cuban-Americans to help determine whether he'll support continuing the "wet foot, dry foot" immigration policy. The Republican presidential nominee says the meeting will take place in about a week and that he'll probably have a decision "pretty quickly" about the federal policy, which generally allows Cubans who reach U.S. soil to remain in the country.

U.S. gives tentative OK to flights to Cuba from 10 US cities

A “quinceanera” poses during a March 14 photo session in front of a cathedral as tourists line up to enter the building in Havana. Scheduled commercial airline service to Havana from 10 American cities won tentative government approval Thursday, advancing President Barack Obama's effort to normalize relations with Cuba.

Waco-based Texas Farm Bureau pushing for free trade with Cuba

Leaders in business and agriculture, including the Waco-based Texas Farm Bureau, have joined forces to create the Engage Cuba Texas State Council, which will push to have travel and trade restrictions abolished between the United States and the island country 90 miles from Florida. The goal is to give farmers and manufacturers a multibillion-dollar economic nudge by permitting the sale of products to Cuba.

Group pushing for free trade with Cuba

Leaders in business and agriculture, including the Waco-based Texas Farm Bureau, have joined forces to create the Engage Cuba Texas State Council that will push to have travel and trade restrictions abolished between the United States and the island country 90 miles from Florida. The goal is to give farmers and manufacturers a multi-billion-dollar economic nudge by permitting the sale of products to Cuba.