ES / EN
OnCuba editorial staff

OnCuba Staff

Strong explosion at Saratoga Hotel in Havana

The explosion occurred around 10:50 a.m. (local time) and caused severe damage to the hotel infrastructure, as well as other damage to neighboring buildings. According to preliminary data, the explosion left 22 people dead and more than 60 people hospitalized. In addition, investigations point to an accident as the cause of the incident.

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez presents statements to the press at the headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on April 25, 2022. Photo: @CubaMINREX/Twitter.

Cuban Foreign Minister considers Cuba’s possible exclusion from Summit of the Americas as “serious historical setback”

Bruno Rodríguez denounced this Monday to the press that the U.S. government, as host of the summit, has excluded Cuba from the preparations for the meeting, and regretted that, if it is not finally invited, the island will not be allowed to contribute from its perspective to the regional debate on the issues that will be addressed at the meeting.

MIR payment cards, from Russia. Photo: bloomberglinea.com/Archive.

Russian payment cards to be available in Cuba

The Tourism Counselor of the Cuban embassy in Moscow, Juan Carlos Escalona, ​​pointed out that the launch of the MIR cards on the island “constitutes an important step” for the reopening of Russian tourism in the country, and added that visitors from the Eurasian country will be able to pay for their services in Cuba with them “as soon as flights between the two countries are resumed.”

Juan Reynaldo Pérez, new president of the Cuban Baseball Federation. Photo: Ernesto Mastrascusa/EFE.

Cuba open to summoning Major League players to its national team

The  Cuban Baseball Federation (FCB) is open to incorporating island players from the U.S. Major Leagues into the national team for the next World Classic in 2023, according to statements by Juan Reynaldo Pérez, recently elected president of that entity. Pérez, who also holds the position of national commissioner, spoke this Friday on the Mesa Redonda television program, where he reiterated the FCB’s willingness to resume dialogue with the MLB, interrupted in 2019 after the cancellation of the agreement between the two entities by the Donald Trump administration. This agreement allowed the hiring of Cuban players in Major League organizations through legal and safe mechanisms, without the players having to give up their residence on the island or their link with the federation. At a press conference on April 12, Pérez told the press that achieving a stable link with the Major Leagues would guarantee “the natural flow of Cuban players to and from that circuit,” according to a report by the EFE news agency. The official clarified that the opening of the FCB will only be with baseball players who “love Cuban baseball.” This would include, he clarified, players in foreign leagues, even without the endorsement of the Federation....

Page 16 of 107 1 15 16 17 107