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Associated PressJanuary 12, 2017

The Obama administration is ending the “wet foot, dry foot” policy that granted residency to Cubans who arrived in the United States without visas. That’s according to a senior administration official, who said the policy change was effective immediately. The official said the U.S. and Cuba have spent several months negotiating the change, including an […]

Joe HendersonJanuary 12, 2017

Marco Rubio promised during his campaign for re-election to the U.S. Senate that he would stand up to Donald Trump when necessary. “Necessary” didn’t take long to arrive. It came Wednesday during a confirmation hearing for Rex Tillerson, Trump’s choice for Secretary of State. Rubio responded with what I thought was his finest hour as […]

Jim RosicaDecember 21, 2016

Gov. Rick Scott is telling Cuban President Raul Castro to bring “absolute freedom and democracy to Cuba,” in a letter released Wednesday morning. The letter, in English and Spanish, was delivered to Cuban ambassador Jose Ramon Cabanas Rodriguez in Washington. Scott tells Castro, whom he addresses as “Mr. Castro,” that “following the death of your brother Fidel, the […]

Associated PressDecember 11, 2016

Former Attorney General Janet Reno, the first woman to hold the top Justice Department job who died last month, never took the easy way out when making the tougher decision was the right thing to do, ex-President Bill Clinton said at a memorial service Sunday. Clinton, who appointed Reno in 1993, told several hundred friends, […]

Associated PressDecember 9, 2016

Demand for travel to Cuba may be flattening, with soaring hotel prices on the island, American Airlines cutting some flights, and uncertainty over whether new travel restrictions could be imposed when Donald Trump takes office. Gregory Geronemus, co-CEO of smarTours, a tour company that’s taken 3,000 Americans to Cuba, confirms there has been a softening […]

A.G. GancarskiDecember 8, 2016

A new bill filed by Sen. Marco Rubio and Sen. Bob Menendez seeks to depoliticize how the State Department reports on human trafficking, while increasing congressional oversight on the enforcement of penalties. The Trafficking in Persons Report Integrity Act (TIPRIA) is intended to reform the annual Trafficking in Persons Report from State. Reuters broke the story that political […]

Guest AuthorDecember 6, 2016

Fidel Castro is dead. Thousands of Cubans, many of whom lived under Castro’s regime, gathered in the streets of Miami to celebrate his death. For them, his passing marked the symbolic end of a reign of terror, a nightmare that destroyed thousands of lives and forced a million Cubans to leave their homes and seek […]

A.G. GancarskiNovember 28, 2016

On MSNBC Monday morning, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz was asked whether she preferred the statement on the death of Fidel Castro by President Barack Obama or President-elect Donald Trump. In a reflection of the non-negotiable political realities of South Florida, the former DNC Chairwoman forged her own path. “I prefer my own statement. The one that I put out […]

A.G. GancarskiNovember 27, 2016

Sen. Marco Rubio made the rounds of Sunday morning shows this week, discussing Fidel Castro and the way forward for U.S./Cuba relations. Rubio, a frequent and fierce critic of the current president’s accommodation toward the Cuban government, has voiced an interest in applying more pressure on Havana in the Trump era. His comments Sunday were consistent with […]

Associated PressNovember 27, 2016

Music fell silent, weddings were canceled and people wept in the streets Saturday as Cubans faced their first day without the leader who steered their island to both greater social equality and years of economic ruin. Across a hushed capital, dozens of Cubans said they felt genuine pain at the death of Fidel Castro, whose […]

Tag: Cuba
In Gainesville with the Allman Brothers Band, myself, Parker and Richert.

Obama scrapping ‘wet foot, dry foot’ policy for Cubans

Marco Rubio quickly keeps promise to stand up to Donald Trump in Senate

Rick Scott to Raul Castro: Bring “absolute freedom and democracy to Cuba”

Family, friends, colleagues gather for Janet Reno memorial

Is demand for travel to Cuba flattening?

Marco Rubio introduces bill to combat human trafficking

Valerio Martinelli: Cubans know ideas matter

Separation continues between Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Barack Obama on Cuba policy

Marco Rubio talks Cuba policy and American national interest

Weeping, hopeful, Cubans look to future without Fidel Castro

Florida politics had 11 questions before federal qualifying week. Here are the answers.