Under Fidel Castro, Cuba became thorn in the side of the US

Within half an hour of the Cuban government's announcement Saturday of the death of the 90-year-old revolutionary leader, cheers were heard in Miami's Little Havana. Within half an hour of the Cuban government's announcement Saturday of the death of the 90-year-old revolutionary leader, cheers were heard in Miami's Little Havana.

Miami’s joyous Cubans hope for change with Castro’s death

Fidel Castro's death triggered an emotional and long-awaited celebration in Miami's large Cuban-American community Saturday as peaceful demonstrators waved flags and honked car horns, many cheering with joy and others weeping for family members who didn't live to see this day. Yet it was also a bittersweet time as most realize Castro's passing will not immediately translate into freedom or democracy on the oppressive communist island and that much work remains to enact change in Cuba.

Timeline of Fidel Castro’s life

Famed for his rumpled olive fatigues, straggly beard and the cigars he reluctantly gave up for health reasons, Fidel Castro kept a tight clamp on dissent at home -- August 13, 1926: Castro is born in Biran, eastern Cuba, the third of seven children, son of a Spanish immigrant landowner and a Cuban mother who had been the family housekeeper. A fine student, Fidel was sent away from the farm to be schooled by Jesuits in Santiago.

US abstains in UN vote on Cuba embargo for the first time

The United States abstained for the first time in 25 years Wednesday on a U.N. resolution condemning America's economic embargo against Cuba, a measure it had always vehemently opposed. The U.S. was joined in abstaining by Israel, the only other country to vote against the embargo resolution in the General Assembly last year.

US says it will abstain on UN vote on Cuba embargo

The United States announced Tuesday that it will abstain for the first time in 25 years on a U.N. resolution condemning America's economic embargo against Cuba, a resolution it had always vehemently opposed. The announcement by U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power ahead of a vote on the resolution was greeted with applause in the 193-member General Assembly.

If anything, Cuba has become more oppressive since rapprochement

How's that Cuban rapprochement going these days? If you ask the President, things are going swimmingly, with Barack Obama issuing yet another "irreversible directive" in trade relations affecting pharmaceuticals, transportation accommodations and commerce. Since such generosity was supposed to be based on Raul Castro doing a better job on the human rights front and democratic initiatives, one might expect that progress is being made.

Obama eases restrictions on Cuba, lifts limits on rum and cigars

Americans traveling to Cuba will be allowed to bring home more of the communist-ruled island's coveted cigars and rum under new measures announced by the U.S. government on Friday to further ease trade, travel and financial restrictions that have been in place for decades. The steps are part of President Barack Obama's effort to make his historic opening to Cuba "irreversible" by the time he leaves office in January.

A young opposition leader in Cuba risks his life to bring real change to the island

With the harsh sun of Santiago de Cuba reflected on his face and a few pounds lighter than his normal weight, one of the island's youngest dissidents, Carlos Amel Oliva, recently traveled to Miami. His goal: To thank exiles for the support he received during his four weeks on a hunger strike to demand that the Raul Castro government respect the human rights of the island's 11 million people.

Do your part to save Cuba’s apartheid dictatorship: Rent…

Renting Fidel Castro's yacht will be the new publicity backdrop that will be the next thing to enter the arena in order to convert the "Acuarama II," as it is named, into an appetizing bait. For some time, the auto rental business, Grancar, has been renting a couple of replicas of his legendary Russian limousine; unpublished photos of the ex- Comandante en Jefe are sold in various auctions as collection pieces, and now, exceeding all imagination and surpassing a whole flotilla of boats designed for the good life, the new boat bamboozle that the tourist group Gaviota will offer emerges: a sophisticated trip in the boat of the modest, humble and simple leader, Fidel.

Fidel Castro thanks Cuba, criticizes Obama, on 90th birthday

Cuba's former President Fidel Castro, center right, attends a gala for his 90th birthday accompanied by his brother and current President Raul, center left, and Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro, right, at the 'Karl Marx' theater in Havana, Cuba, Saturday, Aug. 13, 2016. Cuba's former President Fidel Castro attends a gala for his 90th birthday at the 'Karl Marx' theater in Havana, Cuba, Saturday, Aug. 13, 2016.

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.