Cuba will not make concessions to its sovereignty and independence, nor negotiate its principles or accept the imposition of conditions Havana’s anticipated next leader, Miguel Diaz-Canel, has refuted calls by Washington to change the island nation’s ways, declaring that “changes needed in Cuba will solely be carried out by the Cuban people,” in a stark rebuttal to US political and economic demands.After stating his intention to step down in 2018, current Cuban President Raul Castro is expected to be replaced by the Caribbean island nation’s First Vice-President Miguel Diaz-Canel.Speaking on Sunday, Diaz-Canel unambiguously castigated the US for its heavy-handed economic, military and diplomatic tactics. At a ceremony commemorating the 50th anniversary of the death of Argentinian revolutionary Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara, who participated in a Bolivian revolt that echoed the 1959 Cuban overthrow, Diaz-Canel reminded his listeners that “imperialism can never be trusted, not even a tiny bit, never.”In an apparent response to US President Donald Trump’s assertion that the US embargo on Cuba would not be fully lifted until Havana adopts Washington’s version of Western democracy and capitalism, Diaz-Canel said, “Cuba will not make concessions to its sovereignty and independence, nor negotiate its principles or accept the imposition of conditions,”“The…

Cuba will respect Fidel Castro's dying wish that no statues be erected in his honor and no streets be named after him. Despite his omnipresence that endured for decades, the late communist leader always said he did not want any monuments in his honor on the island."There is no cult of personality around any living revolutionary," Castro stated in 2003. "The leaders of this country are human beings, not gods." Consequently, Cuba’s National Assembly approved the law, which “bans commemorative statues of Fidel Castro and naming monuments and public places after the former leader. Despite Fidel’s sentiments, Raul told the Assembly that “His fighting spirit will remain in the conscience of all Cuban revolutionaries, today, tomorrow and always,” Some have predicted that Fidel’s legend will grow even more despite his death, much like Che Guevara. There a couple exceptions to the law banning the use Castro’s name in public places. The term Fidel Castro may used as a name for any institution created to study his role in Cuban history. The law also does not ban using his image, photo or likeness for public acts, Cuban military institutions, and educational or cultural entities.

An agreement signed between Google and the Cuban government Cuba aimed at improving its internet speed. The deal will allow the internet giant to provide faster access to its data by installing servers on the island that will store much of the company's most popular content. The deal will now give Cubans access to a network called Google Global Cache that stores data and content on servers located a relatively short distance from the island nation. Now Cubans will have access from sites that Google administers like Gmail, Google Drive and YouTube. However, home connections remain illegal for most Cubans and the government charges the equivalent of a month's average salary for 10 hours of access to public wi-fi spots with speeds frequently too slow to download files or watch streaming video. Cuba has one of the lowest Internet speeds and connectivity in the world. It’s no surprise Cuba is considered the “least connected” country in the Americas, with the Geneva-based ITU ranking the country 125th out of 166 countries worldwide in telecommunications development. The Google deal was announced less than a week after Cuba gave three US cruise companies permission to begin sailing to the island next year. Officials…

In the first part of this article I discussed the possible scenarios in the wake of Fidel’s death since many are questioning if the Cuban Revolution will be able to survive. Now I would like to talk about possible successors once Raúl steps down in 2018. So who will follow him? At this time everything seems to point to Miguel Díaz-Canel taking over the reigns of the island nation. It appears that for the first time in half a century a person who did not fight in in the revolution or without the last name of Castro will be at the helm. Raúl had to select someone who would ensure the perpetuity of the only communist country in the hemisphere and Díaz-Canel seems to be the logical choice at juncture. The 56-year-oldDíaz–Canel is an electrical engineer by trade with political experience and who is known to wear bluejeans and not military uniforms. He supports the opening up of the Internet and stated in a recent speech, “Today with the development of social networks and the Internet, to prohibit something of the type is virtually impossible and makes no sense at all.” In contrast to the Fidel and Raúl, he is…