For 67 years, many people have been waiting for change in Cuba — and for 67 years, the communist regime has endured. It survived the fall of the Soviet Union, the death of Fidel Castro, economic sanctions, and political pressure from 13 different U.S. presidents. But the Trump Administration, fresh off its military operation in Venezuela, is now applying unprecedented economic pressure on the island, effectively cutting off its oil supply, and pushing basic services to the point of collapse. This follows years of a deepening crisis that has driven as much as a fifth of Cuba’s population to leave since 2020. Is this the moment when change might finally come to Cuba? Our guest is Patrick Oppmann, Havana bureau chief for CNN.
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Guest:
Patrick Oppmann serves as a CNN international correspondent and the network’s Havana bureau chief.
Host:
Brian Winter is editor-in-chief of Americas Quarterly
If you would like to know more:
Is this the End of the Fidel Castro Era? by Brian Winter
What History Tells Us About Trump’s “Big Stick” by Brian Winter
Why Cuba is in the Dark by Javier Corrales
The Truth About Cuba’s Private Sector by John McIntire and Ricardo Herrero
AQ Podcast | Cuba’s Unprecedented Crisis
What's next for the Cuban regime as the country faces economic turmoil, an exodus of people and a hostile administration in the White House.
Is This the End of the Fidel Castro Era?
Events in Venezuela, Cuba and beyond suggest that a particular brand of leftism is in its twilight in Latin America, writes AQ’s editor-in-chief.
