Cuba Journal ExcelAire has launched a private jet charter service to Cuba, with direct flights from 19 U.S. cities, the company announced this week. The airline has obtained FAA authorizations to fly to Havana from U.S. government-designated portal airports, and completed its first trip from JFK to Havana on December 21. “ExcelAire is one of the few … Read more
The first round of talks between the US and Cuba began in January 2015, thirteen months after President Obama announced the normalization of relations. Leading talks and representing Cuba was Josefina Vidal, general director of Cuba’s U.S. Division in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Since then, she has been at the table, negotiating and constructing … Read more
A 4.6-magnitude earthquake caused weak to light shaking in Cuba early Sunday morning, according to the United States Geological Survey. The quake struck at around 1:48 AM local time at a depth of 8 kilometers. Its epicentre was 30 kilometres south-southwest of El Cobre and about 33 kilometers southwest of Santiago de Cuba. There were … Read more
Miami law firm Carey Rodriguez is opening a new Cuba Practice Group to advise clients on doing business on the island. The announcement comes in response to the surge of interest by U.S. businesses seeking to invest and and trade with Cuba since the progress in diplomatic ties between the countries last year. “Without a … Read more
Before Judith Campbell Exner died in 1999, she decided to betray her earlier 1975 testimony before the Senate Church Committee hearing and reveal the truth about her affair with John F Kennedy – and her role in ferrying documents and cash to the mob. Kennedy and Exner’s affair began in 1960, after Frank Sinatra introduced … Read more
For the first time, a Cuban delegation will attend the annual Caribbean regional security conference in Jamaica later this month. Cuba’s decision to attend the three-day conference in Jamaica, which is co-sponsored by the U.S. military’s Southern Command, follows several small forms of military engagement since the normalization of relations in December 2014. The conference … Read more
During all the time that Cuba was totally off limits to American travelers, it became a major tourism destination for everyone else — but particularly Canadians, who continue to come to Cuba to search for the best all-inclusive resorts in droves. It’s that demand that led in large part to the continued development of Cuba’s all-inclusive … Read more
The Cuban tourism boom is everywhere — not just Havana. After Cuba reported significant growth in Cienfuegos, the country’s Ministry of Tourism is now reporting a record year in Jardines del Rey. The destination, which first launched as a commercial tourist destination in 1993, received more than 400,000 visitors in 2015. The increase in tourist arrivals … Read more
In a trip intended to strengthen ties, representatives from the Democratic Republic of the Congo this week expressed an interest in increasing the number of Congolese young people studying and receiving medical training in Cuba. A group of 850 Congolese students accompanied the Congolese delegation that included the Congolese Ambassador to Cuba who began their … Read more
Unilever Plc will return to Cuba after several years of dispute over joint venture terms. The joint venture will build a $35 million soap and toothpaste factory at Cuba’s Mariel Port Special Development Zone. The Dutch-British company left Cuba in 2012 in a dispute over controlling interest in their joint venture. Unilever NV will have … Read more
