Former US president Jimmy Carter planned to meet with Cuban dissidents early yesterday following two days of talks with Cuban President Raul Castro, other government officials and religious leaders in a trip he hopes will boost strained US-Cuban relations.
Speculation about the three-day trip has focused on whether he will leave with imprisoned US contractor Alan Gross, who was recently sentenced to 15 years in prison after being convicted of illegally importing communications equipment — though there has been no sign of a resolution to that dispute between Washington and Havana.
Members of Cuba’s small dissident community, including internationally renowned blogger Yoani Sanchez and Oswaldo Paya, who sought a referendum on the communist government and guarantees of such rights as free speech and private business ownership, confirmed that they, among others, were invited to the breakfast meeting in historic Old Havana.
Photo: EPA
Carter was scheduled to give a news conference yesterday afternoon before leaving the island.
Cuban opposition members have achieved certain fame overseas for their marches, hunger strikes and other activities to push for political and economic change. Visiting US officials often meet with them, although it rankles the Cuban government.
They are not as well known on the island, however, and the government calls them mercenaries paid by Washington to undermine the government. Recently, a US diplomatic cable revealed by WikiLeaks described the dissidents as riven by petty rivalries and hopelessly out of touch, with leaders too focused on funding their operations to mount a serious opposition.
Gross was arrested in December 2009 while working on a USAID-backed democracy-building project and convicted of crimes against state security earlier this month in a case that has blocked improved ties between the US and Cuba.
Carter’s visit came soon after the sentencing and its sudden announcement sparked expectations that he might help facilitate Gross’ release. In August last year, the 39th US president and winner of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize traveled to North Korea to secure the release of an imprisoned American.
He said on Tuesday that he discussed the Gross case with Cuban officials but was visiting to talk about strained ties.
“I am not here to take [Gross] out of the country,” Carter said in Spanish.
“We are here to visit the Cubans, the heads of government and private citizens. It is a great pleasure for us to return to Havana,” he said. “I hope we can contribute to better relations between the two countries.”
Accompanied by former first lady Rosalynn Carter, the ex-president met with Castro at the Government Palace for private talks, but there was no word on what they talked about.
Castro and Jimmy Carter later arrived by motorcade for an apparent late dinner at an upscale restaurant in Old Havana.
Gross has said he was working to improve Internet communications for Cuba’s tiny Jewish community, though community leaders deny knowing or working with him.
Havana considers such USAID projects to be aimed at toppling the government.
Washington and Havana have not had formal diplomatic relations since the 1960s, and the US maintains economic and financial sanctions on the country.
US officials say no thaw in relations is possible while Gross is in prison.
Carter — who was president from 1977 to 1981 — previously visited Cuba in 2002, becoming the only former US president to do so since the 1959 revolution that brought former Cuban president Fidel Castro to power.
Australians were downloading virtual private networks (VPNs) in droves, while one of the world’s largest porn distributors said it was blocking users from its platforms as the country yesterday rolled out sweeping online age restriction. Australia in December became the first country to impose a nationwide ban on teenagers using social media. A separate law now requires artificial intelligence (AI)-powered chatbot services to keep certain content — including pornography, extreme violence and self-harm and eating disorder material — from minors or face fines of up to A$49.5 million (US$34.6 million). The country also joined Britain, France and dozens of US states requiring
Hungarian authorities temporarily detained seven Ukrainian citizens and seized two armored cars carrying tens of millions of euros in cash across Hungary on suspicion of money laundering, officials said on Friday. The Ukrainians were released on Friday, following their detention on Thursday, but Hungarian officials held onto the cash, prompting Ukraine to accuse Hungary’s Russia-friendly government of illegally seizing the money. “We will not tolerate this state banditism,” Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrii Sybiha said. The seven detained Ukrainians were employees of the Ukrainian state-owned Oschadbank, who were traveling in the two armored cars that were carrying the money between Austria and
Kosovar President Vjosa Osmani on Friday after dissolving the Kosovar parliament said a snap election should be held as soon as possible to avoid another prolonged political crisis in the Balkan country at a time of global turmoil. Osmani said it is important for Kosovo to wrap up the upcoming election process and form functional institutions for political stability as the war rages in the Middle East. “Precisely because the geopolitical situation is that complex, it is important to finish this electoral process which is coming up,” she said. “It is very hard now to imagine what will happen next.” Kosovo, which declared
MORE BANS: Australia last year required sites to remove accounts held by under-16s, with a few countries pushing for similar action at an EU level and India considering its own ban Indonesia on Friday said it would ban social media access for children under 16, citing threats from online pornography, cyberbullying, online fraud and Internet addiction. “Accounts belonging to children under 16 on high-risk platforms will start to be deactivated, beginning with YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, Bigo Live and Roblox,” Indonesian Minister of Communications and Digital Meutya Hafid said. “The government is stepping in so that parents no longer have to fight alone against the giants of the algorithm. Implementation will begin on March 28, 2026,” she said. The social media ban would be introduced in stages “until all platforms fulfill their
RSS