Full story
Castro Absent at Rally
Cuba held a traditional rally on Sunday to commemorate one of the revolution’s most important anniversaries, but former President Raúl Castro, 95, was conspicuously absent.
“former President Raúl Castro, 95, conspicuously absent”
The Caledonian Record said it was the first time in at least 30 years that Castro did not attend the event, and no explanation was offered.
Noovo Info reported that the rally took place in Pinar del Río, in the east of the country, and that current president Miguel Díaz-Canel presided over the commemoration.
Noovo Info added that Díaz-Canel read a congratulatory message from Raúl Castro to his compatriots in Pinar del Río, where the rally took place.
The ceremony commemorates the July 26, 1953 assault led by Fidel and Raúl Castro against the Moncada and Carlos Manuel de Céspedes barracks in eastern Cuba.
Díaz-Canel Rebuts U.S. Report
Noovo Info said Díaz-Canel rejected a report published last week by the U.S. State Department that accused Cuba of directing for decades a network of espionage and left-wing influence against the United States and Latin America.
In that speech, Díaz-Canel denounced the U.S. approach with the line: "Every day, they utter threats against the revolution. Every week, they announce new sanctions against Cuban businesses and officials,".
Noovo Info also said Raúl Castro has been identified as one of the negotiators in talks with the United States following the imposition of a U.S. energy embargo.
The same account described Cuba as facing one of the worst periods in its historically tense relations with the United States, after President Donald Trump hoped to "take control" of the island following his January offensive against Venezuela.
CiberCuba, meanwhile, described Cuba as plunged into power outages lasting 20 to 40 hours and said the regime’s propaganda machine continued with the presentation of the book '26' during the 'Book Saturday' event in Old Havana.
Moncada Anniversary and Pressure
Noovo Info said the annual event commemorates the July 26, 1953 assault that failed against Fulgencio Batista but marked the beginning of the revolutionary struggle culminating on January 1, 1959.
“"maximum pressure" and intensifying the "economic strangulation."”
Noovo Info reported that Raúl Castro’s last public appearances dated back to June, at an event marking the creation of the Ministry of the Interior, and to May 1, International Workers’ Day.
CiberCuba said the book '26' was presented in Old Havana on the 73rd anniversary of the assault on the Moncada Barracks and that the work’s last printed edition dates from the 1970s.
CiberCuba also quoted official spokesperson Michel Torres Corona describing the digital conversion as an "editorial novelty" and said Ricardo Hernández Otero called it "represents a tribute to the men and women who, more than seventy years ago, gave their lives to this cause."
In the same broader context of strained relations, Noovo Info said Díaz-Canel accused the Trump administration of pursuing a policy of "maximum pressure" and intensifying the "economic strangulation."
