Cuba’s government says U.S. economic warfare caused $8.083 billion in damage between March 2025 and February 2026. Behind the billion-dollar figures are ordinary Cubans whose lives depend on access to fuel, food and medicine. Read more: www.bellyofthebeastcuba.com/news/cuba-says...Mostrar mais

Greg Levy, a socialist candidate for the U.S. Senate in Ohio, traveled to Cuba and saw firsthand the impact of U.S. sanctions and the blockade. After his trip to the island, Levy understood one thing that U.S. people need to know about Cuba. Watch the full interview.

Liva Café in Havana promotes inclusive employment for people with intellectual disabilities and autism. Founded by Mariolis Escobar, it helps its protagonists socialize and work with dignity. Watch the full story👇

Liva Café in Havana promotes inclusive employment for people with intellectual disabilities and autism. Founded by Mariolis Escobar, it helps its protagonists socialize and work with dignity. Watch the full story👇

Who Is the Oil Blockade Really Punishing? Watch the Full Story👇

The Trump administration Thursday sanctioned one of Raúl Castro’s grandsons and five Cuban entities, expanding Washington’s assault on Cuba’s oil and mining industries. Read more: www.bellyofthebeastcuba.com/news/rubio-san...

A federal jury in Miami rejected a Helms-Burton lawsuit from two Cuban-American families who claimed Expedia profited from expropriated property in Cuba. This is Expedia’s second victory over a Cuba-related property claim in as many years. Read more: www.bellyofthebeastcuba.com/news/expedia-w...Mostrar mais

The Bahamian government announced it will not renew contracts for 31 Cuban teachers this school year — the latest in a string of Cuban overseas South-South collaboration programs to fall victim to U.S. pressure. Read more below: www.bellyofthebeastcuba.com/news/bahamas-w...Mostrar mais

Despite a U.S. oil blockade and sanctions, more than 1.4 million students returned to classrooms in Cuba this Tuesday.

Historian Teishan Latner says Rubio’s Cuba report could serve two purposes: criminalizing U.S. social justice movements and laying the groundwork for possible military action against Cuba. Watch the full interview on our YouTube channel by using the link in bio.

Nearly 1.4 million Cuban students return to school today. But what should be a moment of celebration is instead unfolding under the shadow of U.S. economic warfare. Read more: www.bellyofthebeastcuba.com/news/us-econom...

What does this moment in Cuba mean to the people living through it? Photographer Moník Molinet asked people in Havana to pause, reflect and put their own words to the moment they’re living through. Their portraits tell the story.

Cuba received 127 deportees from the U.S. this week, bringing the 2026 total to 882 people returned to the island by U.S. authorities. But some migrants aren't being sent home despite Cuba's cooperation with U.S. deportation efforts. Read more below: www.bellyofthebeastcuba.com/news/trump-is-...Mostrar mais

Historian Teishan Latner says the State Department’s Cuba report revives decades-old allegations against U.S. solidarity activists — without evidence. He breaks down the report with Belly of the Beast journalist Yohan Rodríguez. Watch full interview on our YouTube channel!

U.S. Rep. Carlos Giménez says universal healthcare doesn’t work because Cuba’s healthcare system “sucks.”. What he neglects to mention is that policies he has championed are the reason why Cuba’s healthcare has been collapsing.

Florida state representative Angie Nixon won the Democratic nomination Tuesday night for the Senate seat vacated by Secretary of State Marco Rubio in 2025. Nixon supports restoring Obama-era engagement with Cuba and has said she is open to lifting the U.S. embargo on the island.

The Trump administration sanctioned leaders of Cuba's Institute of Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP) and nine entities today involved in mining and construction. Rubio said ICAP is used to "corrupt" Americans — echoing July's McCarthyite report linking Cuba to U.S. progressives

According to Lara Trump, Cuba is trying to “erase the United States from the earth.” Seriously? Journalist Yohan Rodríguez breaks down the farcical claims by Trump and Marco Rubio, which are used to justify current U.S. policy.

Havana has a garbage problem. El Rampeño has a solar-powered solution. Meet the Cuban initiative using renewable energy to collect garbage with tricycles in the face of fuel shortages caused by the U.S. oil blockade.

The Trump administration is touting a $100M aid package for Cuba. But it's a drop in the bucket compared to damage caused by U.S. economic warfare that has plunged the island into a humanitarian crisis. Read our full piece now: www.bellyofthebeastcuba.com/rubio-promises...Mostrar mais

The Dominican Republic has ordered nine Cuban diplomats and their families to leave without stating a reason. The Cuban government called the decision a “submission to pressure from the U.S. government in its efforts to isolate Cuba.”

The Trump administration is leaking its Cuba playbook to the press — and major U.S. outlets are delivering the message. By one Trump official’s own admission, some of the “leaks” are intended for Havana. Read more: www.bellyofthebeastcuba.com/marco-rubio-cu...Mostrar mais

UN human rights experts warn that Cuba is becoming a "silent Gaza." In a statement released this morning, the experts say that the U.S. economic war on Cuba has created “a full-blown crisis, threatening the rights to health, to life, to food and to development."

Six years ago, Liz Oliva Fernández nearly walked away from journalism. Then she joined a new independent media outlet called Belly of the Beast. The rest is history. Support the independent journalism of Belly of the Beast. www.bellyofthebeastcuba.com/help-sustain-o...Mostrar mais

A boat leaves Barcelona and crosses the Atlantic heading for a pediatric hospital in Cuba. Watch the full story to see why.

After visiting Cuba, Gustavo Petro had a message for Washington. Watch what he said:

Cuba suffered two major power grid failures this weekend. A partial collapse on Saturday was followed by a nationwide blackout late Sunday, the sixth since the Trump administration imposed an oil blockade on the island in January.

The Trump administration says Cuba hosts Russia's largest overseas spy base NYT says it "bristles with antennas" that can reach U.S. Central Command and Mar-a-Lago We went to the site. It’s a public university. Read our investigation with @dropsitenews www.bellyofthebeastcuba.com/trump-nyt-russ...Mostrar mais

Colombian President-elect Abelardo de la Espriella announced Sunday he will end diplomatic relations with Cuba. Cuba hosted the negotiations that produced the 2016 peace accord between the Colombian government and the FARC rebel group, ending 52 years of armed conflict.

Since January, the U.S. oil blockade has intensified Cuba’s crisis. With fuel imports restricted, gas stations sit empty as lines of cars stretch for hours. Taxi drivers, already hurt by failing tourism, are left without gas and a way to earn a living.

The Trump administration sanctioned nine more Cuban entities and two individuals last week, including Cuba's health minister, the state company running its overseas medical missions, and the agency and director who recruit doctors for them.

Trump, Rubio and major U.S. media outlets claim Russia is operating a spy base in Cuba. So we went to the alleged base to look for the Russian spies. Here's what we found.

Mike Hammer, the top U.S. diplomat in Cuba, visited the distribution of U.S.-funded food aid in Bejucal. We tried to ask him about the aid and U.S. sanctions. He declined to answer and drove away.

On July 21, Reps. Maxine Dexter (D-OR) and Mark Pocan (D-WI) took to the House floor to condemn the U.S. government’s “inhumane” policy toward Cuba a week after visiting the island — something Secretary of State Marco Rubio has never done.

Trump, Rubio and major U.S. media claim Russia is operating a spy base in Cuba. So we went to the alleged site ourselves. Here's what we found. youtu.be/B_N2puLsNN8

After their fact-finding trip to Cuba, four members of Congress asked to meet with the U.S. Embassy in Havana. The embassy denied their request. We asked three of the lawmakers if this is normal. Listen to what Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI) had to say:

#Breaking: For the 33rd time in a row, the world has overwhelmingly supported Cuba’s resolution at the UN to condemn the U.S embargo. #un #usembargo #letcubalive #tumbaelbloqueo

Hurricane Melissa is set to hit Santiago de Cuba early Wednesday. Belly of the Beast’s journalist, Liz Oliva Fernández, is on the ground as residents prepare for impact. Stay tuned for more updates. This story was reported in collaboration with Breakthrough News @btnewsroom

At the UN today, U.S. Ambassador Mike Waltz said he would “correct the fake news” about Cuba – then unleashed a barrage of it himself. Cuba’s FM cut him off: “This is the UN General Assembly, not a Signal chat.” #Cuba #UN #Embargo #CubaNews #BrunoRodriguez #UnitedNations

A Vietnamese fundraising campaign to support Cuba concluded last week with $21 million raised via two million donations, Prensa Latina reports.

Mexico's president Claudia Sheinbaum last week defended her country's oil shipments to Cuba: “[They] purchase oil just like other countries do.”

Cuban filmmaker Gloria Rolando reflects on her friendship with Assata Shakur upon learning of her passing in Havana, Cuba.

Cuba’s men’s national basketball team was supposed to play in February in the FIBA AmeriCup Qualifiers in Puerto Rico. But Cuba was disqualified as a no-show after the U.S. denied visas to every Cuban player on the island.

Cuba’s population has declined nearly 13% from 2020 through 2024, according to recently released data by the island’s National Statistics and Information Office (ONEI). In 2024, the population was 9.7 million, 1.4 million less than in 2020.

We can’t stand by in the face of the U.S. blockade on Cuba,” said Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva at the 9th CELAC Summit, where leaders from across the hemisphere called for an end to decades of U.S. sanctions.

Cuba and China signed a renewable energy agreement that includes the construction of photovoltaic parks. Blackouts are constant in Cuba due to failing equipment and fuel scarcity worsened by U.S. sanctions. China recently donated 69 tons of parts to repair Cuban generators. tvbrics.com/en/news/china-and-cuba-sign-ag...Mostrar mais

Cuba became a member of BRICS last week. The partnership is expected to throw a lifeline to the island, ravaged by U.S. sanctions under Trump and Biden. Cuba has had significant relations with several of the member states for decades. www.plenglish.com/news/2025/01/03/cubas-li...Mostrar mais

Tens of thousands of Cubans marched down Havana’s Malecón  in front of the U.S. embassy to demand an end to U.S. sanctions and for Cuba to be removed from the U.S. government’s State Sponsors of Terrorism list.

Cuba’s Latin American School of Medicine (ELAM) trains thousands of young people from around the world to become doctors. Most of the students at the ELAM are from other Global South countries, including more than 200 from Palestine. Murid Abukhater is one of them. “We all have…Mostrar mais

Yesterday, hardline Cuban American @RepMariaSalazar told @RepBarbaraLee she couldn't join a House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee hearing on Cuba. Salazar accuses Cuba's government of stifling free speech while doing the same to Lee, a Black woman who advocates lifting the embargo.