Caribbean Archive

With its allusions to a planned economy and proletarian internationalism, Cuba’s 1976 constitution was unmistakably a product of the Cold War. Perhaps that’s why the island’s new leaders, led by President Miguel Diaz-Canel, moved quickly to recodify the country’s founding charter. A new constitution, which was formally adopted earlier this month, is Diaz-Canel’s first major accomplishment since his inauguration last year and should set the tone for the remainder of his tenure. Cuban authorities appear to have consulted many other countries’ constitutions in redrafting their own, and one country stands out: China. Although there is no sign that China had […]

The Trump administration yesterday announced a number of new sanctions and restrictions on dealing with Cuba, including new limits on remittances and nonfamily travel to the island from the United States. In a reversal of more than two decades of U.S. policy, the administration also said it would allow Cuban Americans whose property was seized during the Cuban revolution to sue foreign companies operating on that property. A law passed in 1996 had originally allowed such claims, but that provision in the law had been waived by every president, until now. To understand the implications of this move, WPR spoke […]