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For decades, U.S. administrations have tried to rid Cuba of the Castros. In the early days, this took the form of CIA plots to assassinate revolutionary leader Fidel though invasion, poisonings and (reportedly) exploding cigars and infected scuba suits. None worked. Whether Washington has more luck with its latest ploy against younger brother Raúl – a murder indictment related to the downing of two civilian planes 30 years ago – remains to be seen.
But the fact that the U.S. is targeting the 94-year-old ex-president of Cuba now speaks to the near obsession the occupants of the White House have with the communist nation just 90 miles off the Florida coast. As James Trapani, an expert on U.S. policy in Latin America, writes: “The indictment of Castro is about more than justice for one man. It’s about Cuban-American politics in Florida, and it’s about the looming potential of regime change in Cuba,
America’s primary regional foe for the past 67 years.”
The Trump administration is trying to force change in Cuba through other means, too. A tightening of U.S. sanctions on oil shipments to the island have deepened Cuba’s ongoing energy crisis. Latin America economy and politics scholars Luisa Blanco and Isabella Elias explore Cuba’s long dependency on the flow of overseas oil and ponder: “Whatever Cuba chooses to do about its energy crisis, it will also remain dependent on foreign nations. The questions are, which nations and how dependent?”
Elsewhere this week we have been taking a peak behind the curtain of Argentina’s inflation “miracle” and looking into the finances of FIFA as it prepares for the World Cup.
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Ramon Espinosa/AP
James Trapani, Western Sydney University
Castro’s alleged crimes happened 30 years ago. Here’s why the charges have been levelled now.
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Luisa Blanco, Pepperdine University; Institute for Humane Studies; Isabella Elias, Pepperdine University
Short-term humanitarian aid won’t go far in alleviating Cuba’s long-term energy crisis.
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Deborah Shnookal, The University of Melbourne
Nothing angers Cubans more than being told by Americans how to run their country.
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Shannon Bosch, Edith Cowan University
Israeli treatment of the detained flotilla activists has outraged the world. This is why international law matters in conflicts.
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Gemma Ware, The Conversation
Economist Can Cinar talks to The Conversation Weekly podcast about how Javier Milei’s policies to cut inflation are making Argentinians feel poorer.
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Richard Sheehan, University of Notre Dame
While FIFA’s revenues have exploded as fans pay higher-than-ever prices, the relative share of money going to support global soccer development has decreased.
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C Raina MacIntyre, UNSW Sydney; Ashley Quigley, UNSW Sydney; Mohana Priya Kunasekaran, UNSW Sydney; Noor Jahan Begum Bari, UNSW Sydney
Case numbers have steadily increased since the outbreak was confirmed on May 15.
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Scott Solomon, Rice University
SpaceX is poised to test its latest, most powerful rocket and to become a publicly traded company, all while under pressure from environmentalists.
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Ibrahim Al-Marashi, IE University; California State University San Marcos
The imagery of Europe’s history is often invoked to justify white supremacist violence around the world.
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Krista Fisher, The University of Melbourne; Cynthia Miller-Idriss, American University; Emily Lewis, The University of Melbourne; Ruben Benakovic, The University of Melbourne; Zac Seidler, The University of Melbourne
Three videos, three very different messages about masculinity and health. New research shows this is how the manosphere finds young men.
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Marcin Kaczmarski, University of Glasgow
China dictates the pace and areas of its cooperation with Russia.
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Catrin Cousins, Cardiff Metropolitan University; Jo Wiltshire, Cardiff Metropolitan University
The style was worn by well known models such as Kate Moss and it girl Alexa Chung.
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