Cuba

• The White House is ramping up pressure on Cuba for political change following Operation Absolute Resolve, which successfully extracted Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. • US military presence is expanding across Latin America and the Caribbean, with a focus on combating drug-trafficking by transnational criminal organizations like Mexican Cartels, MS-13, Tren de Aragua, and Haitian gangs, topping the 2026 Annual Threat Assessment. • Ecuador’s President Daniel Noboa seeks stronger US military ties after a failed 2025 referendum on foreign bases, while Paraguay ratified a State of Forces Agreement allowing temporary US troop deployments for training.

• Governments of Spain, Brazil, and Mexico issued a joint statement on Saturday expressing deep concern over the grave humanitarian crisis in Cuba and calling for immediate measures to alleviate suffering faced by the Cuban people. • The statement follows US President Trump's recent indication of shifting focus from the Iran war to Cuba, with a senior US delegation sent last week to Havana to negotiate a deal addressing the island's crisis. • This diplomatic push highlights growing international attention to Cuba's deteriorating conditions, potentially signaling a US pivot that could reshape regional geopolitics and aid flows.

• NTT Research in Sunnyvale, California, launched Scale Academy on April 15, 2026, an incubator led by SVP Bennett Indart to commercialize lab technologies from NTT divisions. • The first product, SaltGrain, is a zero-trust data security suite using attribute-based encryption (ABE) developed by NTT's Cryptography lab director Dr. Amit Sahai and Dr. Brent Waters. • Scale Academy aims to accelerate breakthrough products for market, focusing on quantum-safe security amid rising threats.

Exclusive: Dozens of organizations write to Congress after general announced plan to ‘deal with’ those fleeing any humanitarian crisis on the islandDozens of US and international human rights organizations are decrying the Trump administration’s plans to establish a migrant “camp” for fleeing Cubans at the Guantánamo Bay military base if the island nation’s crisis worsens under pressure from the US, according to a letter to members of Congress on Friday.The 85 groups plan to submit the joint letter, exclusively shared with the Guardian, to US senators and House representatives, expressing their “profound concern” with comments made last month by a top Department of Defense commander, and describing any prospect of further migrant detention at the base as “deeply troubling and unacceptable”. Continue reading...

Cuba accuses US of ‘extorting’ countries in pushing them to axe deals with Havana to send doctors on medical missionsCuba’s foreign minister has accused the United States of “extorting” Latin American countries by putting pressure on them to cancel decades-old deals with Havana for the supply of doctors.Bruno Rodríguez said the United States was trying to “strangle” the economy of the communist island, which earns billions from its foreign medical missions, after several countries stopped deploying Cuban doctors. Continue reading...

Jonathan Jackson of Illinois calls Cuba ‘most sanctioned part of Earth’ amid US oil blockade causing vast disruptionsSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxTwo Democratic US lawmakers on Monday called for a permanent solution to crises confronting Cuba after they visited the island to witness the effects of an American energy blockade. US House members Pramila Jayapal of Washington and Jonathan Jackson of Illinois met with Cuban president Miguel Díaz-Canel and foreign minister Bruno Rodríguez as well as members of Cuba’s parliament during a five-day trip ending on Sunday.“I denounced the criminal damage caused by the blockade, particularly the consequences of the energy siege decreed by the current US government and its threats of even more aggressive actions,” Díaz-Canel wrote on X. Continue reading...

• Cuba announced the release of 2,010 prisoners on April 4 following intense US pressure linked to the island's worsening energy crisis. • Gesture aims to ease bilateral tensions as Trump administration leverages geopolitical leverage. • Amid blackouts and shortages, release signals Havana's bid for concessions or sanctions relief.