Why are dozens of US students getting their medical degree in Cuba? What are they learning that they wouldn't be in the US? We asked these questions and more to four US medical students currently studying at the Latin American School of Medicine (ELAM) in Havana through IFCO/Pastors for Peace's ELAM Scholarship Program. Here's what they had to say.

Amid COP28, how is Cuba confronting climate change? A major piece is the island nation's 100-year climate mitigation strategy, Tarea Vida, which includes efforts to restore coral reefs in order to protect against sea level rise. Cuba possesses one of the largest and best kept coral populations in the Americas, something that Pedro Chevalier, PhD, an expert from Cuba's National Aquarium, says must be preserved.

Callejón de Hamel is a narrow alley in Centro Habana filled with murals and installations promoting the African roots of Cuban culture. Created by the late artist Salvador Gonzalez Escalona, this vibrant community project has put the neighborhood on Cuba's cultural and tourist map.

On November 29, the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, meet Razan Maleh, a medical student from Ramallah on scholarship in Cuba: "We've had enough suffering. All oppressed peoples have the right to justice and live in peace," Maleh says.

Thousands of Cuban young people joined Palestinian medical students for a massive march in Havana on Thanksgiving in solidarity with Palestine and against Israel’s indiscriminate bombing campaign of Gaza. "Our job now is to become good professionals so that we can return to Palestine and support our people," said Haneen Alhendi, a Palestinian medical student at the march.

Millions of Cubans live abroad, most of them in the United States. In November, hundreds of them returned for dialogues with Cuban authorities about how to further contribute to economic, political and cultural life on the island. Belly of the Beast reports from the 4th Cuban Diaspora Conference in Havana—the first of its kind to take place in nearly two decades.

Despite challenges stemming from U.S. sanctions, businesspeople from the U.S. and around the world are exploring business opportunities in Cuba, especially with the island's emerging private sector. Belly of the Beast reports from Havana’s International Business Fair.

These are the voices of Cuba's Mipymes, who are transforming the island's economic landscape in the face of stifling U.S. sanctions. “The complications are obvious:” says Beatriz Franco, COO of the construction company BLS Industry and Technology. “The embargo.” But Franco says Cuban entrepreneurs are hopeful due to a slight opening over the past years from the Cuban government as well as signs of looming regulatory change from the Biden administration.

The U.S. government tends to portray Cuba as a pariah state in the international arena. Much of the world doesn’t see it that way. Cuba is currently presiding over the largest negotiating bloc of nations at the UN, the G77+China. Belly of the Beast’s Liz Oliva Fernández reports from the G77+China Summit in Havana.

Mickael Behn, the heir of a telecom tycoon, paid lobbyists, politicians and Cuban-American hardliners to pressure the Trump administration to implement Title III of the Helms-Burton Act, a controversial law that allowed Behn to sue four cruise ship companies who took nearly a million U.S. citizens to Cuba during the Obama administration. Belly of the Beast investigates the shady origins of a lawsuit that could earn one family upwards of $440 million — at the expense of the Cuban people and its nascent private sector.

This month, Cuba’s top little leaguers embark on the biggest adventure of their young lives as they head to Williamsport, PA for the Little League World Series—a first for a Cuban team. Little League Dreams tells the story of Cuba’s most talented youth baseball players, who must overcome family hardships in the midst of a crushing economic crisis while they shoulder the weight of their families’ – and their country’s – expectations.

Many U.S. politicians refer to Cuba as a national security threat to the United States, which is often used to justify sanctions against the island. But U.S. security forces, like the U.S. Coast Guard Service and others who work directly with their Cuban counterparts, consider Cuba an ally. "Thank you for the work you all do," one Coast Guard officer stationed in Miami told his Cuban counterpart during a joint U.S.-Cuba counternarcotics operation in eastern Cuba to which Belly of the Beast gained access.

The New York Times and Trip Advisor recently recommended Cuba as a top tourist destination, but the U.S. government prohibits U.S. citizens from visiting the island as tourists. Despite the barriers, Diana and Kevin, two U.S. history professors who recently visited Cuba, say there are still ways to go there legally in 2023.

On Sunday June 25th, hundreds of Cuba solidarity activists and Cuban Americans took to the streets in Washington DC to tell President Biden to take Cuba off the state sponsors of terrorism list. Protesters from across the U.S. gathered outside of the White House as part of a week of events across the country to urge executive action on the designation as well raise concern about legislation that could potentially codify it.

At least six young U.S. activists were briefly detained and interrogated by DHS agents in the Miami, Ft. Lauderdale and Newark airports after returning from a 300-person delegation for May Day in Cuba. National labor leader Chris Smalls of the Amazon Labor Union said on the delegation that after coming back to the U.S. he would “continue to amplify ending the blockade [on Cuba].”

Cuban-American pianist Nachito Herrera has lived in the United States for 22 years, but he hasn’t forgotten his roots. Every year, he returns to his alma mater, Havana's National School of Music, to donate musical instruments to students affected by the U.S. embargo. “It’s a way of giving back to the country that made us who we are,” he said.

U.S. policy toward Cuba is "an embarrassment and a miserable failure," said Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA) in an exclusive interview with Belly of the Beast. The 13-term House Democratic leader said he has personally asked President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken to lift Cuba’s designation as a state sponsor of terrorism, calling it “just political.”

Latin American women's literature was at the forefront of Havana's International Book Fair this year. Belly of the Beast spoke with two renowned Afro-Colombian poets, Mary Grueso Romero and María Isabel Mena García, about how they insert their work in global literary circles and defend their roots through the written and spoken word.

What ever happened to Elián González? Belly of the Beast’s Liz Oliva Fernández recently sat down with Elián, now 29 and a father of a 2-year-old daughter, to talk about migration, family, and Cuba’s future. As a recently elected lawmaker in Cuba he hopes to improve relations with the United States and the Cuban-American community.

The U.S. says that Cuba doesn't hold free or fair elections. Cuba says that its “people’s power” model eliminates the corrupting influence of money in politics. 470 candidates, most but not all Communist Party members who faced no opposition, were overwhelmingly approved by 75% of Cubans in Sunday’s parliamentary elections. We asked Cubans their thoughts of their country’s elections.

Who hasn't danced to the rhythm of salsa? Foreign visitors flock to Havana to enjoy the Cuban version of this genre, internationally recognized as a blend of Indigenous, Afro-Caribbean and European rhythms. Although many think that New York is the epicenter of this global genre, Cuba is where the roots of salsa lie. Regardless of nationality, for all salsa lovers the music is about passion, feeling and simply having fun.

The Cuban national team was received with joy and pride in Havana after its fourth-place finish at the 2023 World Baseball Classic. But in Miami, where Team Cuba played its last game, part of the Cuban-American community protested the squad for days, not only in the streets, but inside Marlins stadium, violating the rules of the event. Some fans at the game even threw objects and liquids at the wives and children of the Cuban players.

Cuba welcomed home last weekend the Henry Reeve International Medical Brigade that treated the victims of Türkiye’s devastating earthquakes. 32 Cuban health workers at the quake’s ground zero treated over 3,750 patients and performed dozens of major emergency surgeries over a 24-day span. "Cubans don't give what we have to spare. We share what (little) we have," said Dr. Yordys Mederos, a member of the brigade.

Hundreds of solidarity activists from the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico met in New York City last weekend at the U.S.-Cuba Normalization Conference, where they called to normalize relations with Cuba and end the U.S. embargo against the island. Belly of the Beast spoke with some of the participants about what motivates their struggle against U.S. sanctions in solidarity with Cuba and its people.

Over 30 U.S. documentary filmmakers traveled to Santiago de Cuba in March to participate in the 20th annual Santiago Álvarez Documentary Film Festival, dedicated to independent documentary film from the United States and Puerto Rico. Belly of the Beast spoke with some of the filmmakers about why they came to this festival in Cuba’s second largest city at a time of continued U.S. aggression toward the island.

Greta Tilán is a young Cuban entrepreneur who is developing her life project in Cuba even though she has been able to leave the country several times. Her small business, Tilán, makes natural cosmetics and oils from 100% Cuban raw materials, offering products for all types of hair and skin. Greta is determined to build her life in Cuba by growing an inclusive and sustainable small enterprise despite the economic difficulties the island faces.

Like hundreds of other young Cuban baseball players, Roberto Hernández left his country in pursuit of the “American dream.” Roberto signed a $320,000 deal with an MLB team and soon was blowing away batters in the Dominican Summer League with a 94 mph fastball and a wicked slider. But money and professional success didn’t bring him happiness, and Robert made a surprising decision – to return to Cuba.

In Havana, the esquina caliente, or “hot corner,” is a place where baseball fans gather to discuss, debate, and even yell at each other. It’s like sports talk radio, but in person and passionate to an extreme. Team Cuba hasn’t performed well in recent international events, but these fans are hopeful the incorporation of active MLB players to the national team’s roster for the first time can improve the squad’s chances in the upcoming World Baseball Classic.

Every year, sugarcane workers from all over Cuba compete for the national title of Cuba’s Sugar League. Their companies, all state-run, allow them to take time off to train and compete, covering all their expenses for transport, lodging and food. The baseball league features talented young players who still haven’t made it to Cuba’s top tier, as well as some former top players.

Conga comes from Africa and is deeply rooted in Cuban culture. It’s played at festivals, local celebrations and many other venues throughout the island. Conga is also an essential part of Cuban baseball. Every team in Cuba’s baseball league, called the National Series, has its own conga band. Their music riles up the crowd, sets the mood of the stadium and can sometimes prove decisive for their team’s result on the diamond.

At the 2023 World Baseball Classic, active MLB players will represent Cuba for the first time. U.S. restrictions prohibited Cuban residents in the U.S. from training with the national team in Cuba. U.S. sanctions continue to impact Cuban ballplayers. In 2018, Cuba signed an agreement with the MLB to stop human trafficking. But Trump killed the deal. Biden has done nothing to renew it.

Michael Scuse served as Deputy Secretary of Agriculture and briefly as Secretary of Agriculture in the Obama administration. A proponent of boosting U.S. agricultural exports, he says U.S. states and farm communities want to sell more food to Cuba, but federal restrictions on financing (along with one or two senators) are getting in the way.

The Biden administration touts its support for Cuban entrepreneurs, but has ignored their calls to lift sanctions. Oscar Fernández owns a dried food business in Havana. But over the last few years U.S. sanctions have proved to be considerable obstacles on the road to achieving his dream: scaling up production to an industrial level and exporting his products to the United States.

If Cuba imports so much chicken from the U.S., then the embargo can’t be that bad, right? Wrong, according to Paul Johnson, president of the U.S. Agriculture Coalition for Cuba, who explains how U.S. sanctions against Cuba prevent U.S. producers from boosting agricultural trade between two countries that are just 90 miles away from each other. Johnson says, “We can’t allow one state to determine the entire foreign policy of our country,” he says.

Cuba is a natural market for U.S. farm products, but U.S. sanctions effectively prevent farmers from selling food to Cuba. Under U.S. law, Cuba can only buy U.S. food if it pays in cash, in advance — conditions under which no other country is required to operate. U.S. farmers say they are being hurt by these regulations.

In the wake of Türkiye’s devastating earthquake, Cuba, a small Caribbean island that suffers from devastating U.S. sanctions, sent 32 health workers to treat the injured. Another 27 are en route to Syria. The U.S. calls Cuba’s doctors victims of human trafficking. We asked them their thoughts.

Belly of the Beast journalist Liz Oliva Fernández sat down for an exclusive interview with Colombia’s vice president, Francia Márquez, during Havana’s annual international book fair. During her visit, Márquez made headlines by calling on the U.S. to remove Cuba from its State Sponsors of Terrorism list, citing the fundamental role Cuba has played in accompanying Colombia’s peace processes over the years.

Cuba’s Jazz Plaza Festival is the most important annual music event on the island. Despite U.S. government restrictions on travel to Cuba, dozens of U.S. musicians participated this year, eager to explore the fusion of U.S. jazz with traditional Cuban rhythms. The festival featured over 100 concerts in theaters and public spaces at accessible prices for both Cubans and foreign visitors.

Colombia’s vice president Francia Márquez inaugurated the 2023 Havana International Book Fair. It’s the highest-level Cuba-Colombia visit since 2017, marking a “new chapter in Colombia’s political relations with Cuba,” Márquez said. On two occasions, the vice president said that Cuba, a sister country, must be removed from the State Department’s “state sponsors of terrorism” list, referencing Cuba’s significant contributions to peace talks in Colombia.

Last month, dozens of young activists from the U.S. traveled to Cuba to meet with Cuban youth. We asked them what they thought about Cuba and U.S. policy toward the island.

U.S. tourists can travel to Iraq, Afghanistan, Russia…but not Cuba. Why does the U.S. government ban its citizens from going to one of the safest countries in the world as tourists? Maybe because they’d like it too much...and see firsthand the impact of the 60-year-old embargo. Reporter Daniel Montero explores the issue, stemming from his own experience as a tour guide.

In Cuba, most food is produced by small farmers. Many of them practice agroecology, a sustainable approach to food production and rural development. Last month, hundreds of farmers from around the world traveled to Cuba for the 8th Cuban Agroecology Conference. We asked some of the members of the U.S. delegation what brought them to Cuba.

When Hurricane Ian ravaged much of Western Cuba late September, Cuban Americans mobilized to raise money and send humanitarian aid. The State Department insists it expedites and even facilitates the delivery of this aid as an exception to the 60-year-old U.S. embargo. Not according to these activists, who say U.S. sanctions were an obstacle to the delivery last month of food, medicine and funds to those affected by the hurricane.

Communities across the Americas are increasingly facing more intense natural disasters amid the reality of climate emergency. How do Cubans, under the burden of crushing U.S. sanctions, respond? With solidarity. When Hurricane Ian ravaged western Cuba in September, Cubans’ first instincts were to help their neighbors. “This is the culture of our community,” hurricane survivor Virginia Miranda says. “Solidarity is our distinctive trait.”

Nine days before leaving office, Trump designated Cuba a State Sponsor of Terrorism. Two years later, Biden has kept Cuba on the terrorism blacklist. Ironically, Cuba has been a victim of U.S.-based terrorism — not a sponsor of terrorism. There is no credible evidence to support the designation, which is aimed to devastate Cuba’s economy by cutting it off from international credit and investment.

Cuban college students at the University of Havana gathered on November 3 to watch the annual UN vote on the U.S. blockade against Cuba. The international community voted overwhelmingly to condemn the U.S. embargo (for the 30th straight time since 1992) – as did the students.

On November 3, the United Nations voted for the 30th year on a resolution Cuba introduced condemning the U.S. blockade. An overwhelming majority of countries supported the annual resolution, and only the U.S. and Israel voted against it.

Cuban Americans and other activists from around the country marched from Times Square to the United Nations this weekend in anticipation of an annual UN vote to condemn the 60-year-old blockade against Cuba. We hit the streets of New York City to ask demonstrators what brought them out to protest and what they think about the Biden administration’s policy toward Cuba.

Miami is known as the bastion of Cuban-American hardliners. But many in Miami don't support U.S. sanctions on Cuba. Every month Cuban-American activists gather to call for an end to the embargo and better relations with Cuba. Their message of reconciliation has angered pro-embargo politicians like Marco Rubio, who has called for an F.B.I. investigation.

Several European countries have issued travel warnings to their citizens: if you go to Cuba, you’ll need to apply for a visa to visit the United States. Most Europeans qualify for the U.S. Visa Waiver program (ESTA), meaning they just have to fill out an online form. However, U.S. law denies normally eligible individuals access to ESTA if they have visited countries on its State Sponsors of Terrorism list. Cuba was added to the list last year by Donald Trump and has been kept on it by Joe Biden, even though there is no evidence Cuba sponsors terrorism.

In the last week, some Cubans protested power outages in the wake of Hurricane Ian. By Saturday, power had returned to 95% of Havana, but frustration boiled over in some areas still without electricity. In the working-class Cerro neighborhood, protesters insisted they were not seeking political change. Police directed traffic, allowing demonstrators to block the road. On Saturday night in the middle-class Vedado neighborhood, most protesters demanded only that their electricity be restored. Security forces did not break up the protest, but later in the night, a few protesters were detained.

On September 25, Cuba held a referendum on a new Families Code. The legislation recognizes the diversity of Cuban families and break with conservatism by granting fundamental rights to the LGBTIQ+ community.

When a catastrophic fire in Matanzas threatened Cuba’s fuel supply, other countries rushed to help. What did the world’s most powerful country offer Cuba? A phone call. The lack of U.S. support has sparked outrage. And its crushing sanctions have limited Cuba’s ability to respond.

Cuban Firefighters Display Heroism, Face Tragedy…When an out-of-control fire at an oil well facility threatened to destroy the fuel that feeds Cuba’s biggest power plant, the firefighters of Matanzas risked their lives, and in some cases made the ultimate sacrifice, to extinguish the flames.

A massive fire at an oil storage facility in Matanzas, Cuba, has left dozens injured, 17 missing and at least one dead. Venezuela and Mexico sent specialized crews to help. The U.S. offered "technical advice" but has not responded to calls to lift devastating sanctions.

One year after Cuba’s historic July 11 protests, the U.S. government continues to pummel the country with devastating economic sanctions, as Biden embraces the same Cold War-era policy of the Trump administration.

The U.S. government habitually maligns Cuba while restricting the ability of its people to see the island for themselves – it’s illegal for U.S. citizens to travel to Cuba as tourists. But people from the U.S. who visit Cuba in solidarity report a different reality.

The U.S. is hosting the Summit of the Americas this year, but the presidents of Mexico, Honduras, Bolivia and some CARICOM countries are threatening to boycott in protest of Biden’s expected exclusion of Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua. Leading the way has been President of Mexico Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

Twenty-two lives were lost and dozens injured as the result of an explosion at the Hotel Saratoga in Havana. Preliminary investigations point to a gas leak as the cause. Cuban first responders arrived on the scene quickly to help take the injured to hospitals, followed shortly after by President Miguel Díaz-Canel.

May Day in Cuba attracts visitors from around the world, including many working-class people from the United States who stand in solidarity with Cubans and denounce the U.S. economic war against the island.

Cuban doctors, scientists, nurses and other health workers were the first to march in Cuba’s May Day parade. Cuba vaccinated its population with homegrown vaccines and its COVID rate during the last two years is half that of the United States.

Workers took to the streets throughout Cuba on Sunday to celebrate International Workers’ Day, also known as May Day or Labor Day, for the first time since the onset of COVID.

Hundreds of Cubans took the streets to protest against the sudden imposition of a transit visa for Cubans traveling through Panama to other destinations. Panama is the third country to impose such a measure in recent months, along with Costa Rica and Colombia. All three are close U.S. allies.

2021 was a rough year for the Cuban people, who not only faced the pandemic, but devastating sanctioned imposed by Trump and kept in place by Biden. So what are their hopes for 2022?

Mitchell Valdes-Sosa is the Director of The Cuban Center for Neuroscience. He busts the myth that the U.S. embargo hasn’t affected Cuba’s health care system in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic by showing how sanctions have impeded Cuba from making its own masks, ventilators and swabs for PCR tests.

Tania Urquiza Rodríguez is the Vice President of BioCubaFarma, the country's state-run biotech conglomerate. She breaks down how U.S. sanctions have impacted Cuba's ability to produce its own vaccines and medications during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Eulogio Pimentel is Vice President of BioCubaFarma, the country’s state-run biotech conglomerate that has made two of the world’s top vaccines against the COVID-19 virus. He explains how U.S. sanctions have cost lives in Cuba by forcing a delay in the vaccines’ production.

U.S. sanctions blocked two Swiss companies from selling ventilators to Cuba. So Cuban engineers figured out how to make their own using open-source designs from MIT and University College London.

Protests happen in countries across the world but the U.S. doesn’t see them all the same. In Colombia, dozens were killed compared to only one death in Cuba, yet Biden is sending $100s of millions to Colombian security forces while punishing Cuba with sanctions.

What happened this July 11th during Cuba's biggest protests in decades? And most importantly, why?

The Biden administration says its Cuba policy is governed by concerns for democracy and human rights, but it does not apply the same standard to allies such as Israel, Colombia and Saudi Arabia.

Dachelys and Hope are Cuba's first legally recognized same-sex parents. They hope Cuba's new Family Code will legalize marriage for LGBTQ couples.

In April 1961, the CIA backed an armed invasion of Cuba that was crushed by Cuba’s army. Sixty years later, the U.S. is still trying to topple the Cuban government.

Moya is a printmaker who works doing xylography and linoleumgraphy, following a tradition of dedicated Cuban artists, including Belkis Ayón. He introduces his art and the connections between religious symbolism and Cuban society.

Cuba has been hailed for containing coronavirus -- its population of 11 million has suffered less than 100 deaths. Life on the island is now returning back to normal. Here’s a look at Havana’s streets during the last four months.

For decades, Republican and Democratic politicians have justified sanctions against Cuba by saying people on the island don’t have freedom of expression and assembly. Meanwhile, in recent weeks, more than 14,000 people in the US have been arrested while protesting against racism

Cuba-based fashion brand, Dador, was one of the many small business affected by COVID-19. Here's how it adapted.

Color Cojímar is a collective doing murals and organizing projects in Cuba. During the quarantine they’ve been working on a mural on the wall of an abandoned club that was destroyed by Hurricane Irma.

US sanctions have stopped masks, gloves and ventilators reaching Cuba during the pandemic. Despite this, Cubans have faith in their health system.

Protests in response to the killing of George Floyd have been broadcast in Cuba. Here's the response of four Cubans to the death and the protests.

Before the country-wide quarantine, bars, restaurants and concert venues regularly hosted artists to play live shows. Even with the barriers of poor internet connection, Cubans across the island are discovering ways to stream online as the social-distancing continues.

30,000 Cuban medical professionals are currently serving in more than 60 countries. What do Cuban doctors and nurses serving in St. Kitts and Nevis, Angola and Italy think about this allegation?

Cuba has one of Latin America's oldest populations, which means more people at risk of COVID-19. 'Corona Voluntarios Cuba' is a group of young people dedicated to supporting Havana's elderly by delivering food.

In late March, Cuba began to force everyone coming into the country into isolation centers to quarantine for two-week periods. Cuban journalist, Mónica Rivero covers one of the centers from the inside.

Cuban doctors don’t wait for patients to come to the hospital. They go to their patients, door by door. The pesquisa is a daily routine familiar to Cubans

Cuba's textile industry has been drafted to produce masks that will be distributed for free, but some people are taking it into their own hands. This is one of the many women making and donating masks to friends and neighbors.

Before the coronavirus spread in Cuba, the CDRs organized community meetings to educate and inform each block about how to keep sanitary.

On March 18, Cuba became the only country to allow the Braemar ship to dock. The cruise ship, denied entry by many other islands and the United States, was carrying dozens of passengers who had contracted COVID-19.