N E W S

• We were, we are and will be the Five
May 15,2013
To my brother René in freedom
That September 12, for which there is no adjective to describe its violence, I was the last to arrive in Miami and, thus, the last to be placed in an extremely cold cell, with a bare mattress, a bedspread and a roll of toilet paper; all of us in isolation.

• René no longer a U.S. citizen
May 15,2013
SINCE Thursday, May 9 at 2:00pm, René González Sehwerert is "just a Cuban patriot." At that time, in Havana’s U.S. Interests Section (USIS), he received the document certifying his renunciation of U.S. citizenship, a procedure which will allow him to remain in Cuba.

• A new standard-bearer
May 11,2013
HE could have taken advantage of the same pretexts used by those who very quickly decided to plead guilty and cooperate with authorities. After long years of separation, he finally had Olga and Irmita at his side, and was able to enjoy the newborn Ivette for barely four months.

• Ramón Labañino salutes René González’ presence in Cuba
May 8,2013
WASHINGTON, May 7.—Ramón Labañino, one of the Cuban anti-terrorists sentenced and incarcerated in the United States, stated that the presence of René González in his homeland “is as if part of us is already home.”

• Letter to Fidel from FAO Director General
May 6,2013
Rome, April 29, 2013
DEAR Comandante:
I have the honor of addressing you from my position as Director General of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), to sincerely congratulate you and the entire Cuban people for having fulfilled in advance the goal proposed by the World Food Summit, which took place in Rome 1996, and which proposed to reduce by half the number of malnourished persons in each country by 2015.

• Cuba remains committed to its irrevocable decision to advance its socialist, national, original, democratic and freely participative socialist development
May 3,2013
Speech by Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cuba, at the presentation of the national report to the Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review

• Statement from Johana Tablada, deputy director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ U.S. Office
April 10,13
AT 10:30am today, April 9, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MINREX) informed the United States Interests Section in Havana that the Cuban government was prepared to hand over to its authorities American citizens Joshua Michael Hakken, his wife Sharyn Patricia Hakken and their two young children.

• U.S. couple kidnap minors
April 10,13
WASHINGTON.—Joshua Hakken, 35 years of age, and his wife Sharyn, 34, who lost custody of their children as the result of drugs charges, kidnapped the two minors, four-year-old Cole and two-year-old Chase, fleeing with them to Cuba, according to news agencies.

• New injustice in the case of the Five
April 9,13
WASHINGTON, April 8.—Authorities at the Victorville Penitentiary in California have refused to allow the U.S. actor Danny Glover a planned visit to Gerardo Hernández, according to a communiqué from the International Committee for the Freedom of the Cuban 5.

• Cuban Vice President highlights relations with Holy See
March 20,13
VATICAN City, March 19.—Cuba and the Vatican maintain cordial relations of mutual respect and collaboration and are advancing in the development and deepening of those links, affirmed First Vice President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez here today.

• U.S. Interests Section information on consular procedures for travel to the United States
March 1,13
THE U.S. Interests Section (USIS) in Havana recently requested an interview with Granma in order to detail requirements and regulations related to visa applications to the United States, following Cuba’s updating of its migration and travel policy. The meeting, at the Granma newspaper offices, was attended by Consul General Timothy Roche; Lynn Roche, director of the Press and Culture Office; and Patricia Bermúdez, an official from the Visa Information Department.

• Statement from Josefina Vidal, U.S. director at the Cuban Foreign Ministry
March 1,13
IN the context of the publication of the February 27 MINREX statement, referring to a new outrage against one of the Five, a State Department official, who asked not to be named, gave a statement to the EFE news agency.

• Venezuela: ABC joining the disinformation media campaign
February 11,13
THE disrespectful coverage of the issue of Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez’ health by the right-wing press is continuing with mounting aggressiveness.

• The case of the Five is the DNA of a grand lie
February 7,13
THE rigged legal prosecution of the Five amounts to the DNA of a grand lie orchestrated by the United States. In this way, National Assembly President Ricardo Alarcón de Quesada defined the situation of the Cuban anti-terrorist fighters serving unjust prison terms in that country.

• Vice President Díaz-Canel heads Cuban delegation to Venezuela
January 10,13
COUNCIL of Ministers Vice President Diáz-Canel Bermúdez is heading the Cuban delegation which is to participate in the mass event in solidarity with the Bolivarian Revolution convened for today in Caracas.

• Intellectuals of the world in solidarity with Chávez
January 8,13
THE Intellectuals and Artists in Defense of Humanity Network has joined peoples and individuals desiring the prompt and total recovery of Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez.

• President Chávez’ condition complicated by pulmonary infection
January 4,13
CARACAS, January 4 (PL).—Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez is facing complications resulting from a severe pulmonary infection, Communication and Information Minister Ernesto Villegas affirmed yesterday.

• President Chávez in stable condition
January 3,13
CARACAS.— Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez remains stable within the context of his delicate condition, affirmed on January 2 Jorge Arreaza, Venezuelan Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation. In a message via Twitter, Arreaza said that Adán Chávez (the President’s brother) had arrived in Havana.

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