Category Archives: CubaUSRelations

CUBA-ÉU “On ne peut pas faire confiance à l’impérialisme, ne serait-ce qu’un petit peu.”

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Nouveau!

Le 8 octobre pendant la cérémonie du 50e anniversaire de la chute en combat du Che, Miguel Díaz-Canel, premier vice-président du Conseil d’État et du Conseil des ministres a prononcé le discours central. (IMPORTANT! Presqu’à 100% sûr qu’il sera le prochaine Président, Février 2018)

Photo : Juvenal Balán

Fidèles à son héritage et à Fidel, nous réaffirmons que Cuba ne fera aucune concession concernant sa souveraineté et son indépendance et ne négociera pas ses principes et n’acceptera pas non plus de conditions, car c’est le peuple cubain qui décide des changements, a-t-il déclaré.

Pour souligner sa pensée, Miguel Díaz-Canel a cité Che :

“On ne peut pas faire confiance à l’impérialisme, ne serait-ce qu’un petit peu”.

Cette citation a déjà fait le tour du monde. Les médias internationaux et les dissidents ne l’ont pas pris.

Il y’auras sans doute de la discussion sur ce point ce mercredi 11 octobre.  Moi je suis prêt, et nous avons l’honneur d’avoir avec nous Mara Bilbao Diáz, Consul Général de la République de Cuba à Montréal pour répondre aux questions.

Toutes les informations pour le lancement le 11 octobre:

https://www.facebook.com/events/157775124776584/

New! Cuba-U.S. Relations Toronto Book Launch: “‘Never trust imperialism – not one iota.’”

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On July 8, Miguel Díaz-Canel, first vice president of the Cuba  Councils of State and Ministers, gave a speech during the ceremony marking the 50th anniversary of the death of Che.

He said that Cuba will not make concessions inherent to its sovereignty and independence and will not negotiate its principles. To emphasise his point, Miguel Díaz-Canel quoted the immortal statement by Che:

“‘Never trust imperialism – not one iota.’”

You are probably looking at the next President of Cuba’s Councils of State and Ministers.

Photo: Juvenal Balán

Everyone is welcome to the Friday October 13 Toronto book launch of CUBA–U.S. RELATIONS. Among other issues, discuss this juncture in the Cuban political system and its effects on Cuba–U.S. relations. In addition to the panelists, the Consul General of the Republic of Cuba in Toronto Tania López Larroque can respond to any questions.

Full info here:

The Different Booklist event page

http://bit.ly/2kvGRti

Web site:

https://cubausrelations.com/Blog/cubausrelations-arnoldaugust-toronto/

Montreal Book Launch and Discussion: Cuba-U.S. Relations

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Join us as we launch CUBA-U.S. RELATIONS:

OBAMA AND BEYOND by Arnold August

Trump and Cuba

NOUVEAU sur les relations Cuba/États-Unis. Le 29 septembre, les États-Unis ont décidé de retirer 27 personnes de son ambassade à La Havane en laissant une équipe de squelette. (Il a été rouvert à l’été 2015 à la suite de l’accord obtenu par les présidents Raúl Castro et Barack Obama le 17 décembre 2014.) Le 3 octobre, à 9 heures, le Département d’état étatsunien a téléphoné à l’ambassadeur cubain à Washington pour l’informer que 15 diplomates de Cuba doivent quitter les États-Unis dans les sept jours. Le même jour, à 15 heures, le ministre cubain des Affaires étrangères, Bruno Rodríguez, a tenu une conférence de presse à La Havane. Il a de nouveau rejeté la fausse accusation d’attaques « sonores» contre les diplomates étatsuniens.

 

Qu’est-ce qui se passe? Quels sont les faits?

 

Ce sera le thème principal de la présentation de Arnold August contextualisée dans l’analyse du livre sur la politique de Trump envers Cuba. Écoutez et discutez avec l’auteur Montréalais et l’expert sur Cuba alors qu’il lance son troisième livre sur Cuba dans sa ville natale.

 

NEW on Cuba-U.S. Relations! On September 29, the US decided to withdraw 27 people from its Embassy in Havana leaving only a skeleton staff. (It was re-opened in the summer of 2015 a result of the accord reached by Presidents Raúl Castro and Barack Obama on December 17, 2014.) On October 3 at 9 AM the U.S. State Department phoned the Cuban Ambassador to Washington informing him that 15 Cuba diplomats must leave the US within seven days. On the same day, at 3 PM, the Cuban Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bruno Rodríguez held a Press Conference in Havana. He once again strongly rejected the false accusation of “sonic” attacks against US diplomats.

 

What is happening? What are the facts?

 

This will be the main theme of his presentation contextualized in the book’s analysis of Trump’s Cuba policy. Listen to and discuss with Montreal author and Cuba expert Arnold August as he launches his third book on Cuba in his home town.

Montreal author Arnold August.

Refreshments will be served.

Admission is free.

Venez au lancement du livre CUBA-U.S. RELATIONS:

OBAMA AND BEYOND

Trump et Cuba

par l’auteur Montréalais Arnold August.

Des boissons seront servies.

Entrée libre.

Librairie Paragraphe Bookstore / Fernwood Publishing

Wednesday/Mercredi October 11

6 PM to 7:30 PM

Librairie Paragraphe Bookstore

2220 McGill College Avenue

Montreal H3A 3P9

All author’s royalties from the sale of the book at this event will be donated to the Cuba Irma Recovery fund.

Toutes les redevances de l’auteur provenant de la vente du livre à cet événement seront versées au fonds de récupération de Irma Cuba.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Arnold August has an M.A. in political science from McGill University, Montreal, where he resides. An accomplished journalist, he contributes articles in English and Spanish to websites in the United States, Canada, Cuba, Latin America and Europe. Since 1997, he has spent extended periods in Cuba pursuing his intensive investigations.

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Against the background of the history of Cuba–U.S. interconnectedness and in light of Obama’s initiative and Trump’s election, Arnold August deals with the relationship between the two countries, delving into past and current U.S. aggression against Cuba’s artistic field, ideology and politics. Based on twenty years of fieldwork in and investigation of Cuba, this book provides a unique perspective on the island’s diverse approaches to the cultural war being waged by the U.S. and illustrates the heterogeneous nature of Cuban society.

A PROPOS DE L’AUTEUR:

Titulaire d’une maîtrise en science politique de l’Université McGill, Arnold August réside à Montréal. Journaliste accompli, ses articles ont paru en anglais, en espagnol et certains en français sur des sites web aux États-Unis, au Canada, à Cuba, en Amérique latine et en Europe. Ses recherches l’ont conduit à effectuer de longs séjours à Cuba depuis 1997.

À PROPOS DU LIVRE:

Dans le contexte de l’histoire tissée entre Cuba et les États-Unis et à la lumière de l’initiative prise par Obama ainsi que de l’élection de Trump, Arnold August traite des relations entre les deux pays, fouillant le passé et analysant l’agression en cours des États-Unis contre les arts, l’idéologie et le système politique cubains. Ce livre, fondé sur un travail de terrain et des recherches menés depuis vingt ans, offre une perspective unique sur les diverses formes que revêt la guerre culturelle menée par les États-Unis et illustre la nature hétérogène de la société cubaine.

Book Foreword by Dr. Keith Ellis.

Book Introduction by Ricardo Alarcón.

Message de salutations de Mara Bilbao Diáz, Consule Général de la République de Cuba, Montréal.

Greetings from Mara Bilbao Diáz, Consul Genaral de la République de Cuba, Montréal.

Message de salutations de Nidia Fajardo, Consule générale de la République bolivarienne du Venezuela à Montréal:  “Remarks on the Analysis of Venezuela Presented in the Book.”

Greetings from Nidia Fajardo, Consul General of the Bolivarian  Republic  of Venezuela in Montreal /

The publication features interviews with Cuban-based U.S.–Cuba experts Jesús Arboleya Cervera, Esteban Morales Domínguez, Elier Ramírez Cañedo, Iroel Sánchez Espinosa and Luis Toledo Sande.

SOME OF THE PRAISE AS PUBLISHED IN THE BOOK:

In his third book on Cuba Arnold August highlights the many roadblocks on the way to normalization. Unlike many mainstream cubanologists who are blind to imperial arrogance, he places the onus squarely on U.S. prejudices. Regime change remains the ultimate objective under a new disguise.  A cultural war has been targeting the younger generations. New Plattists [annexationists] are showing up. August’s deft analysis, firmly grounded in a prolonged exposure to Cuban history and debates while mapping out the possible future developments, makes for an enlightening book.

— Claude Morin, professor (retired) of Latin American history, Université de Montréal.

Any open-minded discussion about the asymmetrical Cuba–U.S. relations should start with this highly readable, informative book.

— James D. Cockcroft, three-time Fulbright Scholar

This book could not have been timelier. With Fidel Castro’s death focusing outside attention on Cuba’s future and with Trump’s election throwing U.S.–Cuban “normalization” into question, Arnold August contests the common assumptions and public rhetoric about Cuban politics and about that “normalization.”

— Antoni Kapcia, University of Nottingham

August provides the reader with a bridge across time and nations to understand the changes that have led to the “normalization” of Cuba–U.S. relations and serves as a guide to the Trump future.

— Helen Yaffe, London School of Economics

An expert on Cuba, Arnold August offers a revealing view of the conflict between Washington and Havana and the foreign policy of the United States vis-à-vis the island.

— Salim Lamrani, Sorbonne Paris IV University

Here at last for English-speaking readers is a full overview of U.S. relations with Cuba from Cuban points of view. The book is essential background for understanding whatever President Trump has in store.

— Cliff DuRand, Morgan State University

FaceBook Paragraph  Book Store Event Page:

https://www.facebook.com/events/157775124776584/

TEN ACADEMICS’ PRAISE FOR CUBA–U.S. RELATIONS AS PUBLISHED IN THE BOOK

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TEN ACADEMICS’ PRAISE FOR CUBAUSRELATIONS AS PUBLISHED IN THE BOOK BY ARNOLDAUGUST

Introduction: Ricardo Alarcón, Foreword: Keith Ellis

Any open-minded discussion about the asymmetrical CubaUSRelations should start with this highly readable, informative book by ArnoldAugust

— James D. Cockcroft, three-time Fulbright Scholar

An expert on Cuba, ArnoldAugust offers a revealing view of the conflict between Washington and Havana and the foreign policy of the United States vis-à-vis the island.

— Salim Lamrani, Sorbonne Paris IV University

This book could not have been timelier. With Fidel Castro’s death focusing outside attention on Cuba’s future and with Trump’s election throwing U.S.–Cuban “normalization” into question, Arnold August contests the common assumptions and public rhetoric about Cuban politics and about that “normalization.”

— Antoni Kapcia, University of Nottingham

August provides the reader with a bridge across time and nations to understand the changes that have led to the “normalization” of CubaUSRelations and serves as a guide to the Trump future.

— Helen Yaffe, London School of Economics

Here at last for English-speaking readers is a full overview of U.S. relations with Cuba from Cuban points of view. The book is essential background for understanding whatever President Trump has in store.

— Cliff DuRand, Morgan State University

Arnold August is one of the foremost experts on Cuba and the 1959 Revolution, which continues to shake the world. In this new book, August puts forth a valuable, detailed account of U.S.–Cuba relations dating back to 1783 and continuing to the present time. August shows that this relationship has centred on the U.S.’s attempts, sometimes successfully, to dominate Cuba and exploit it as its own playground and, in the case of Guantánamo, as a maximum-security prison. As he shows, the 1959 Revolution broke the U.S. hold over Cuba, and the U.S. has tried desperately, and many times violently, to regain its control over the island. Obama opened diplomatic ties with Cuba for the first time in 50 years. August explains what this opening means for both countries, and where he sees U.S.–Cuba relations heading after the death of Fidel Castro at age 90 and the rise of U.S. President Donald Trump. For those who want a fresh and reasoned perspective on Cuba and U.S. relations — and with it a perspective very different from that which we get from the mainstream Western media — this book is a must-read.

— Daniel Kovalik, teacher of international human rights, University of Pittsburgh, School of Law

In his third book, August highlights the many roadblocks on the way to normalization. Unlike many mainstream “cubanologists”, who are blind to imperial arrogance, he places the onus squarely on U.S. prejudices. Regime change remains the ultimate objective under a new disguise. A cultural war has been targeting the younger generations. New Plattists [those in favour of annexation to the U.S.] are showing up. August’s deft analysis, firmly grounded in a prolonged exposure to Cuban history and debates while mapping out the possible future developments, makes for an enlightening book.

— Claude Morin, professor (retired) of Latin American history, Université de Montréal

Arnold August’s new book on Cuba dispels the propaganda and myths perpetuated by both the U.S. corporate media and the Obama administration and provides valuable insights into what we might expect from a Trump government in the post-Fidel era. August lays bare the realities of Obama’s policies toward Cuba by methodically revealing how his administration’s engagement with the island constituted a shift in tactics while retaining Washington’s decades-long objective of achieving regime change to bring the socialist nation back into the U.S. sphere of influence. It also highlights our narrow definition of democracy by challenging the repeated assertions that Cuba is a dictatorship. This book is a must-read for understanding the constantly evolving imperialist strategies of the United States, not only in Cuba, but throughout the world in the 21st century.

— Garry Leech, independent journalist and teacher of international politics, Cape Breton University

Arnold August’s bristling collection of interventions vigorously debunks U.S.-centric misrepresentations of Cuban society and of Obama’s new ‘regime change’ strategy. It also engages critically with Cuban intellectuals and bloggers fighting in the ‘Cultural War,’ challenging the Revolution’s cohesion since the 2014 ‘normalization’ process began. With its withering anti-imperialism and comradely criticism of Cuban realities, this timely book will open many eyes and raise many hackles.

— Steve Ludlam, senior lecturer (retired), University of Sheffield, and editorial board member, International Journal of Cuban Studies. Steve has since passed away. A great loss. We miss him.

In Cuba–U.S. Relations: Obama and Beyond, Arnold August provides an incisive analysis of the process that led to the rapprochement between the United States and Cuba under the leadership of Raúl Castro and Barack Obama, as well as further developments since. The book is a timely and valuable source of clear analysis of Cuba–U.S. relations at the dawn of the Trump era, and an indispensable tome for activists and others interested in furthering normalized relations between Cuba and the U.S. and asserting Cuba’s right to self-determination and sovereignty over all its territory.

— Pepe Ross, adjunct professor, University of Albany, State University of New York

Now Available in the UK and Ireland from CentralBooks (U.K.)

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Now available in the UK and Ireland from CentralBooks (U.K.)

Cuba–U.S. Relations: Obama and Beyond, by Arnold August.

Includes analysis on Trump.

Arnold August’s bristling collection of interventions vigorously debunks

U.S.-centric misrepresentations of Cuban society and of Obama’s new

‘regime change’ strategy. It also engages critically with Cuban intellectuals

and bloggers fighting in the ‘Cultural War,’ challenging the Revolution’s

cohesion since the 2014 ‘normalization’ process began. With its withering

anti-imperialism and comradely criticism of Cuban realities, this timely

book will open many eyes and raise many hackles.

— Steve Ludlam, senior lecturer (retired), University of Sheffield,

and editorial board member, International Journal of Cuban Studies

This book could not have been more timely. With Fidel Castro’s death focusing outside attention on Cuba’s future and with Trump’s election throwing U.S.–Cuban “normalization” into question, Arnold August contests the common assumptions and public rhetoric about Cuban politics and about that “normalization.”

— Antoni Kapcia, University of Nottingham

August provides the reader with a bridge across time and nations to understand the changes that have led to the “normalization” of Cuba–U.S. relations and serves as a guide to the Trump future.

— Helen Yaffe, London School of Economics

Here at last for English-speaking readers is a full overview of U.S. relations with Cuba from Cuban points of view. The book is essential background for understanding whatever President Trump has in store.

— Cliff DuRand, Morgan State University

http://www.centralbooks.com/cuba-u-s-relations.html

For Further Information

www.CubaUSRelations.com

TrumpCubaPolicy

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TrumpCubaPolicy: What Will Happen in Coming Months?

“TrumpCubaPolicy cannot take effect until the new regulations are established, a process that, according to the White House Fact Sheet, ‘may take several months.’”

 By Arnold August*, June 23, 2017

The official June 16 statement was barely uttered when the majority nationwide opposition to the TrumpCubaPolicy was once again reignited. Indeed, it was already extremely active and vocal before the Little Havana, Miami venue and date were announced on June 9. By stage-managing the event in Little Havana, Trump was preaching to the choir, one that does not even include the rest of Florida, where the majority of Cuban-Americans oppose the blockade, or at least the Obama policy of making the blockade somewhat more flexible. Trump’s  trademark manner of hand-picking events to spread the word across the country will not work. His Cold War rhetoric will not detract the forces that want to increase trade and travel to Cuba.

However, Trump’s policy is not yet set in stone. According to the June 16 White House Fact Sheet on Cuba Policy, the Treasury and Commerce Departments will begin the process of issuing new regulations only in 30 days. His policies cannot take effect until the new regulations are established, a process that, according to the Fact Sheet, “may take several months.” A lot can happen within this time frame.

Why Now?

Read full article here:

http://bit.ly/2rzeWIb

My book available at Amazon

Cuban Expert Talks About US Relations and Challenges Ahead

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Cuban Expert Talks About US Relations and Challenges Ahead

Arnold August, Cuban expert,  interview on USCubaRelations and other issues

In this interview, Iroel Sanchez Espinosa, Cuban journalist and author, discusses with Arnold August, Canadian-based author and journalist specializing in Cuba-U.S. relations, the current situation in Latin America and the Middle East, the political systems of Cuba and the United States and the impact on those regions with the arrival of a new administration in the United States.

See full interview here:

http://www.telesurtv.net/english/opinion/Cuban-Expert-Talks-About-US-Relations-and-Challenges-Ahead-20170601-0001.html

USCubaRelationsExpert. Trump to Miami June 16: Cuba policy

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USCubaRelationsExpert. Trump to unveil his Cuba Policy on June 16 in Miami.

“An expert on Cuba, Arnold August offers a revealing view of the conflict between Washington and Havana and the foreign policy of the United States vis-à-vis the island.”

— Salim Lamrani, Sorbonne Paris IV University

“Arnold August is one of the foremost experts on Cuba and the 1959 Revolution…He puts forth a valuable, detailed account of US Cuba relations dating back to 1783 and continuing to the present time….August explains what this opening [Obama] means for both countries, and where he sees U.S.–Cuba relations heading after the death of Fidel Castro at age 90 and the rise of U.S. President Donald Trump. For those who want a fresh and reasoned perspective on Cuba and U.S. relations — and with it a perspective very different from that which we get from the mainstream Western media — this book is a must-read.”

— Daniel Kovalik, teacher of international human rights, University of Pittsburgh, School of Law

My latest book Cuba–U.S. Relations: Obama and Beyond, including an analysis of the Trump Cuba policy is available in the U.S. from Amazon and in Canada from my publisher Fernwood Publishing. For more Endorsements, Table of Contents and About Arnold August:

www.cubausrelations.com

 

Arnold August CubaExpert
Arnold August CubaUSRelationsExpert

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Arnold August CubaExpert

Arnold August CubaUSRelationsExpert

An expert on Cuba, Arnold August offers a revealing view of the conflict between Washington and Havana and the foreign policy of the United States vis-à-vis the island.

— Salim Lamrani, Sorbonne Paris IV University

Arnold August, a CubaExpert,  holds a master’s degree in political science from McGill University, Montreal (1970). From the mid-1970s to 1994, he worked as a researcher, and political and trade union activist.

The Montreal-based author, journalist and lecturer wrote Democracy in Cuba and the 1997–98 Elections (Editorial José Martí, Havana, 1999).

In 2013, his next book, Cuba and Its Neighbours: Democracy in Motion, was co-published in English by Zed Books (U.K.) and Fernwood Publishing (Canada), and distributed in the U.S. by the University of Chicago Press. The countries under consideration are Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador and Cuba, on the one hand, and the U.S., on the other, with the common thread of participatory democracy.

It was reviewed in the following: International Journal of Cuban Studies (U.K.), European Review of Latin American and Caribbean Studies (Netherlands), Monthly Review’s MR Online (U.S.), Green Left Weekly (Australia), CubaDebate (Cuba), Radio Habana Cuba (Cuba), CounterPunch (U.S.). Praise for the book came from academics and activists in Canada, Cuba, the U.K. and the U.S.

In 2014, the Spanish version was published in Cuba by Ciencias Sociales.

A Korean version was released in 2015 by a progressive South Korean publisher.

His third book on Cuba, published by Fernwood Publishing, is entitled Cuba–U.S. Relations: Obama and Beyond (April 2017). It is expected to be published in a Cuban Spanish-language version in February 2018. He is considered to be a CubaUSRelationsExpert

His work on Cuba is based on his extensive stays and research on the island since 1997.

Since 1999, based on his books published in English, he has given conferences and lectures at universities in the U.S., Canada, Europe, Cuba and Puerto Rico. He is a member of the Latin American Studies Association (LASA, based in the U.S.), the Canadian Association for Latin American and Caribbean Studies (CALACS), the Cuba Research Forum at the University of Nottingham (U.K.) and the Network of Intellectuals and Artists in Defense of Humanity based in Caracas.

In 2013, he received the Félix Elmuza Award for outstanding journalism from the Association of Cuban Journalists.

Between 2008 and April 2017, as part of the opposition to ongoing media disinformation on current affairs, he wrote more than 70 articles on Cuba, Venezuela, Honduras and the new regional integration movement. These articles were published on many websites around the world in both English and Spanish as well as some in French. During this time, he was interviewed on dozens of radio and television programs in the U.S., Canada and Venezuela.

For further information see : CubaUSRelations.com

From Foreword by Keith Ellis To
Cuba US Relations: Obama and Beyond

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Just Released! Cuba US Relations: Obama and Beyond

By Arnold August

Contains an analysis of Trump’s evolving Cuba policy.

Just released from Fernwood Publishing.

Short exract from the Foreword by Keith Ellis to CubaUSRelations

“What does a Canadian progressive intellectual do when a revolution

made by the people of Cuba has won, because of its spirit and its

achievements, his admiration and his loyalty? What does he do when

this revolution, which, he shows, is the authentic culmination of a process

that has involved all the salient stages of Cuba’s history, of its struggles, now

finds itself in a time of unprecedented complexity and new difficulties, fed in

part by the very successes of the Revolution? Arnold August brings to the task

his finest gift, his superbly developed talent as a journalist, understanding

this to mean the habit of assessing different aspects and representations of

reality, so that he offers an ultimate fairness to the reasonable and humane

reader. August constantly exhibits a related attribute: his remarkable power

of analysis. The two together make the experience of reading him an enlightening

one. His research work for this book, as for others on related topics,

led him to live in Cuba for important periods of time, to live among Cubans

and notice 1) how Fidel’s extraordinary power of analysis has been reflected

in the Cuban population and 2) the impact its diffusion throughout the

society has had on producing the calm, pleasant affability that underpins

the stability of Cuba during times that could have been tempestuous. The

people know how to think, and August has the superior skills, derived from

his affinity for truth-telling, to produce a reliable picture of the complexities

of their reaction to attempts to beguile them.”

For Praise, Table of Contents, Biographies of Keith Ellis, Ricadro Alarcón (Introduction to book CubaUSRelations), and Arnold August (Author) and how to purchase the book see CubaUSRelations.com

Introduction: Ricardo Alarcón, Foreword: Keith Ellis