Tracey Eaton 
Six months after Alexander Alazo attacked the Cuban Embassy in Washington, D.C., some details about the incident remain secret. A State Department Special Agent and a State Department Joint Terrorism Task Force officer interviewed Alazo after he stopped in front of the embassy on April 30 and blazed away with an AK-47, firing 32 rounds … Read more
In June 2019, U.S. authorities ended people-to-people travel to Cuba. “These actions will help to keep U.S. dollars out of the hands of Cuban military, intelligence, and security services,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin declared. The move also hurt South Florida travel businesses that helped arrange trips to Cuba. Less than a year later, COVID-19 hit, … Read more
The U.S. Agency for Global Media paid $38,280,250 to artists, writers, performers and musical groups from 2018 to 2020, records show. Nearly half – $19,106,558 – were identified as “miscellaneous foreign contractors,” making it almost impossible to identify the recipients. Records named the remaining 258 contractors, who received a total of $19,173,692. The top three … Read more
Cuban YouTuber and activist Boris Sancho earlier this month started a petition on Change.org asking for U.S. government Cuba grants to be audited. He wrote: From 2001 to 2020, according to IRS public records, more than $407 million has been spent. When accessing the tax forms of these tax-exempt organizations, they declare absurd expenses in … Read more
U.S. government agencies reported spending $221,329,357 on Cuba-related projects from about 2001 to 2020, according to USAID’s Foreign Aid Explorer. The number doesn’t represent total U.S. government spending. Radio & TV Martí isn’t included, for instance. But a look at the $221 million in spending does provide a window into U.S. approach toward Cuba. See … Read more