The 1959 revolution led by Fidel Castro installed an atheist, Communist government that sought to replace the Catholic Church as the guiding force in the lives of Cubans.

After the 1959 revolution, Cuba repressed gay people and many were sent to labor camps.

A former career U.S. diplomat says he will plead guilty to charges of serving as a secret agent for communist Cuba going back decades.

A U.S. veteran who plotted to overthrow Venezuela’s president is proudly standing with a former Venezuelan army general who pleaded guilty in New York on terrorism charges.

The anti-communist sister of Cuban leaders Fidel and Raul Castro has died in Miami at age 90.

Soon after Felix Llerena arrived in Miami in 2017, the Cuban activist was drawn to then-President Donald Trump by the Republican's aggressive approach toward Cuba’s communist government.

Former President Donald Trump's arraignment in federal court has highlighted a popular strategy among Republicans: likening their opponents to “Marxists” and “communists.”.

Cuba’s National Assembly has ratified President Miguel Díaz-Canel for a new five-year term, in a decision to maintain continuity as the island faces a deep economic crisis.

Scarcity and economic turmoil are nothing new to Cuba, but soaring inflation and deepening shortages have made holiday shopping even more difficult for Cubans this year.

One would have to go back hundreds of years to find a monarch who reigned longer than Queen Elizabeth II.

Comedian Freddie Roman, the former dean of The Friars Club and a staple of the Catskills comedy scene, has died.

Grammy-winning Cuban balladeer Pablo Milanés has died in Spain at age 79.

Democrats are increasingly concerned that Florida may be slipping away this fall — and perhaps beyond — as emboldened Republicans seize on divisive cultural issues and demographic shifts in crucial contests for governor and the U.S. Senate.

Cuban voters have approved a sweeping “family law” code that will allow same-sex couples to marry and adopt as well as redefining rights for children and grandparents.

Cuba is holding a rare referendum on an unusually contentious law — a government-backed code that would allow same-sex couples to marry and adopt.

Democrats in Florida are trying to make inroads with Latino voters by focusing on gun safety.

The Republican governors of Florida and Texas have delivered migrants on planes and buses to Washington, D.

After two years of virtual and hybrid summits, the world will once again convene in New York this week for the U.N. General Assembly.

Cuba’s deputy foreign minister is accusing the Biden administration of acting immorally and unfairly by keeping Cuba on the list of state sponsors of terrorism.

Italian journalist Eugenio Scalfari has died at 98.

While reviewing the photo archives left by Nobel Prize-winning Colombian author Gabriel García Márquez, one of his granddaughters came across a mysterious plastic box with the word “grandchildren” written on its label.

Ricardo Alarcón, who was for years the head of Cuba’s parliament and one of the country’s most prominent diplomats, has died in Havana.

Hundreds of Cuban exiles tried to overthrow Fidel Castro from power, and while the mission failed, their legacy lives on.

Every year in Cuba, millions of crabs emerge from the forest at the beginning of the spring rains and head for the waters of the Bay of Pigs, crossing streets and highways on a perilous journey to mate and reproduce there.

For her third studio album, Camila Cabello immersed herself in the Cuban and Mexican music she listened to while growing up.

The turbulent ocean waters around Florida can be treacherous even on a calm, sunny day.

Bill de Blasio swept into the New York City mayor’s office eight years ago promising a liberal remolding of the nation’s largest city that would level deep inequities and reform police practices.

The National Archives has made public nearly 1,500 documents related to the U.S. government’s investigation into the 1963 assassination of President John F.

Fernando González, the head of Caribbean newsgathering for The Associated Press, has died in Havana.

The man once billed as the Michael Jordan and Tom Brady of policing ended up being “not the right fit” for the city of Miami.

Miami Mayor Francis Suarez praised Art Acevedo as “America’s best chief” when he recruited him to lead Miami’s police force just six months ago.

Syed Ali Geelani, an icon of disputed Kashmir’s resistance against Indian rule and a top separatist leader who became the emblem of the region’s defiance against New Delhi, has died at 92.

For all the International Olympic Committee talks of staying neutral, its games have long proven to be essentially and sometimes overtly political.

The slogan “¡Patria y vida!”.

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel has acknowledged shortcomings in his government’s handling of shortages and of neglecting certain sectors, but he is urging Cubans to not act with hate — a reference to violence during recent street protests.

A small private security company in Miami faces questions about its role in the assassination of Haiti's president.

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel has acknowledged shortcomings in his government’s handling of shortages and of neglecting certain sectors, but he is urging Cubans to not act with hate — a reference to violence during recent street protests.

The problems of two tiny Caribbean states, Cuba and Haiti, have vexed U.S. presidents for decades.

Cuban officials say one person has died during demonstrations that have shaken the island in recent days by protesting over food shortages, high prices and other grievances against the government.

Thousands of people poured into the streets in Cuba on Sunday in what is becoming the largest anti-government protest in decades.

Large contingents of Cuban police are patrolling the capital of Havana following rare protests around the island nation against food shortages and high prices amid the coronavirus crisis.

One of the at least 90 people killed in the Surfside condominium collapse was among hundreds of Cuban exiles who in the 1960s signed up for a covert, CIA-funded operation to overthrow Fidel Castro’s Soviet-backed dictatorship.

Thousands of Cubans have marched on Havana’s Malecon promenade and elsewhere on the island to protest food shortages and high prices amid the coronavirus crisis.

Every morning Odalys de la Caridad Lara Reyes gets to work and starts to read out loud.

A former rebel leader in Colombia who would undo antinarcotics cooperation with the U.S. is looking to capitalize on the biggest antigovernment unrest in decades and ride it to the presidency next year.

Hundreds of thousands of Cubans have begun receiving new, locally produced vaccines against COVID-19 in the past few days as the socialist government ramps up an inoculation campaign.

In many ways, Cuba’s new maximum leader is nothing like those who have governed the island for the past six decades.

Raul Castro says he is stepping down as Cuban Communist Party leader, leaving the island without a Castro guiding affairs for the first time in more than six decades and handing control of the party to a younger generation.

For most of his life, Raul Castro played second-string to his brother Fidel — first as a guerrilla commander, later as a senior figure in their socialist government.

Expertos en Miami coinciden en que, aunque Raúl Castro ya no liderará oficialmente el Partido Comunista de Cuba, sigue siendo el hombre más poderoso de la isla. Su ausencia parcial probablemente pondrá a prueba la estructura actual.

Experts in Miami agree that even though Raul Castro will no longer officially lead the Cuban Communist Party, he still remains the most powerful man on the island. His partial absence will likely test the current structure.

For most of his life, Raul Castro played second-string to his brother Fidel — first as a guerrilla commander, later as a senior figure in their socialist government.

Raul Castro says he is stepping down as head of Cuba’s Communist Party, ending an era of formal leadership by he and his brother Fidel Castro that began with the 1959 revolution.

A large green tank known as the M41 Walker Bulldog is on display at the Hialeah Gardens Museum Honoring Brigade 2506. There is also a military twin-engined bomber aircraft — a Martin B-26 Marauder.

This week’s Communist Party congress in Cuba could be the last with a Castro at the helm of the island's all-powerful political institution.

Y muchos se preguntan si el próximo Congreso, que se inaugura el viernes, será el último también de Raúl Castro al frente de la poderosa organización política cubana como él mismo lo anunció para dar lugar a líderes más jóvenes a cargo de la institución que ha regido los destinos de la nación caribeña desde los años 60.

A surging pandemic that has brought new lockdown measures has pushed the upcoming elections to the background for many weary voters in the neighboring South American nations of Ecuador and Peru.

Dr. Ingrid Felix-Peralta, second from left, and her husband Dr. Victor Peralta, second from right, administer second doses of the COVID-19 vaccine in New York, Friday, Feb. 5, 2021. From elderly Cuban Americans in Florida to farmworkers in California, Latinos face daunting barriers like fear, language and a lack of education and access as the COVID-19 vaccines roll out, creating risks for public health as the virus mutates and spreads. From elderly Cuban Americans in Florida to farmworkers in California, Latinos face daunting barriers to getting COVID-19 vaccines, creating risks for public health as the coronavirus mutates and spreads. The poll says Latinos' willingness to get the vaccine is similar to the American public overall. “As efforts to distribute the COVID-19 vaccine continue, trust and acceptance of Hispanics will be crucial," León said.

Ron DeSantis was in Miami on Monday to launch the expansion of Florida’s COVID-19 vaccination program for homebound seniors to veterans of the Bay of Pigs invasion. Last week, DeSantis visited Aventura as the state began vaccinating homebound Holocaust survivors. These are veterans that we really appreciate.”AdOther veterans and their spouses will receive their shots in the comfort of their own homes, DeSantis said. Ron DeSantis speaks from Miami Gov. Ron DeSantis is holding a news conference Monday morning at the Bay of Pigs Museum and Library in Miami.

(AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa)QUITO – A young leftist backed by a convicted-but-popular former president led the field of 16 candidates in early returns from Ecuador’s presidential election Sunday, which was held under strict sanitary measures due to the coronavirus pandemic. Arauz got 31.5% of the votes, while Pérez had 20.04% and Lasso had 19.97%, according to the Electoral Council of Ecuador. To win outright, a candidate needed 50% of the vote, or to have at least 40% with a 10-point lead over the closest opponent. Pérez's challenge to grab second place surprised some observers as he had trailed behind Arauz and Lasso in pre-election polls. That conviction barred him from running as Arauz's vice presidential candidate.

WASHINGTON – The Trump administration on Monday re-designated Cuba as a “state sponsor of terrorism,” hitting the country with new sanctions that could hamstring President-elect Joe Biden's promise to renew relations with the communist-governed island. Since Trump took office, after a campaign that attacked Obama's moves to normalize relations with Cuba, ties have been increasingly strained. Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez condemned the U.S. action. The latest sanctions put Cuba alongside North Korea, Syria and Iran as the only foreign nations deemed state sponsors of terrorism. Obama’s removal of Cuba from the “state sponsors of terrorism” list had been a major target of Trump, Pompeo and other Cuba hawks in the current administration.

Rosa Maria Paya is leading the demonstration in solidarity with a group of activists in Havana. She is the director of Cuba Decide, a pro-democracy movement in support of human rights. Cuban artists, writers and supporters of the San Isidro Movement protest outside of a Cuban government building on Nov. 27, in Havana. Cuban authorities said the intervention at the San Isidro movement’s headquarters in Havana was related to coronavirus safety violations. Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, a Cuban-American, met with Rosa Maria Paya on Thursday to present the city’s declaration that Human Rights Day is also Anti-Communism Day in Miami.

The office of Argentina's president said it will decree three days of national mourning, and the Argentine soccer association expressed its sorrow on Twitter. “Maradona inspires us,” said then-Argentina striker Carlos Tevez, explaining his country’s everyman fascination with Maradona at the 2006 World Cup in Germany. Maradona said he was given a soccer ball soon after he could run. He played five matches at Argentine club Newell’s Old Boys in 1994 before returning to Boca from 1995-97 — his final club and closest to his heart. He failed another doping test for stimulants and was thrown out of the 1994 World Cup in the United States.

Then it was off to Coconut Creek and finally Miami. Mixed martial arts superstar Masvidal delivered a strong anti-socialism message as the opening speaker before Trump Jr. came on to the stage. When asked how he was doing, Trump Jr. said: “He’s doing great.” He said that Trump Sr. is eager to get back on the campaign trail. I mean, listen, if the White House cleared him and says that he’s not contagious, then I’m taking their word as gospel,” Trump Jr. said. After the Coconut Creek appearance, the group headed to Miami Executive Airport, where they were joined by Republican Senator Marco Rubio.

MIAMI – As President Donald Trump recovers from the coronavirus, Joe Biden is capitalizing on having the campaign trail largely to himself by hitting critical swing states and investing in longtime Republican bastions that he hopes might expand his path to victory. Even Biden’s former primary rival, Bernie Sanders, has resumed in-person campaigning for the first time since the coronavirus outbreak in March. “They are running a solid race focused on the swing states we need to win but now have excess resources to expand the map." “The Trump campaign continues to run their presidential campaign, and we are going to continue to run our presidential campaign," said Biden campaign senior strategist Anita Dunn. Biden shared a stage with the president for 90 minutes during last week’s first presidential primary debate.

MIAMI – As President Donald Trump recovers from the coronavirus, Joe Biden is capitalizing on having the campaign trail largely to himself by hitting critical swing states and investing in longtime Republican bastions that he hopes might expand his path to victory. Even Biden’s former primary rival, Bernie Sanders, has resumed in-person campaigning for the first time since the coronavirus outbreak in March. “They are running a solid race focused on the swing states we need to win but now have excess resources to expand the map." “The Trump campaign continues to run their presidential campaign, and we are going to continue to run our presidential campaign," said Biden campaign senior strategist Anita Dunn. Biden shared a stage with the president for 90 minutes during last week’s first presidential primary debate.

In this Wednesday, June 17, 2020 photo Gunnar Dedio, German film producer and managing director of PROGRESS Film GmbH poses for a photo between rolls of film in the archive of PROGRESS Film, in Leipzig, Germany. A new project is underway to digitize thousands of East German newsreels, documentaries and feature films 30 years after Germanys reunification. The East German Augenzeuge, or Eyewitness, newsreel on the Kennedy visit trumpeted the prank as a triumph, scoffing that the American president got an “unexpected surprise instead of the great view into the East German capital promised by his Secret Service” and allegedly had to cut his visit from “20 minutes to five." Germany was divided into four occupation zones after World War II, the Soviet-influenced East Germany and West Germany's American, British and French sectors. In 1950, the year after East Germany was established as a country, the authorities formed another company, Progress, as a state monopoly to distribute DEFA films and to import foreign productions.

The action came as Trump is seeking to boost his appeal among Cuban Americans, a crucial Republican-leaning voting bloc in the all-important state of Florida. Trump said the new Treasury Department sanctions will ensure that U.S. dollars do not fund the Cuban government. He said U.S. sanctions will remain until Cuba releases all political prisoners, rights to free assembly and expression are respected, political parties are legalized and free elections are scheduled. Americans are allowed to visit Cuba to see family, for humanitarian visits and for several other reasons expressly outlined by the U.S. government. “This is a desperate and hypocritical attempt by Trump to pander to Cuban-American voters in Florida," Democratic Party spokesperson Enrique Gutierrez said in an email.

That's fueling an urgent effort by Biden, Harris and their allies to shore up older voters, suburbanites and African Americans to make up for potential shortcomings elsewhere. If Biden reclaims the upper Midwest for Democrats, he won’t need Florida to capture the presidency. Hispanic voters in Florida tend to be somewhat more Republican-leaning than Hispanic voters nationwide because of the state’s Cuban American population. Nationally, little public polling is available to measure the opinions of Latino voters this year and whether they differ from four years ago. “As we get closer to November you’re going to see an even greater amount of activity to turn out Latino voters," Alex said.

There is increasing concern about Democrats that their nominee, the former vice president, has not done enough to court Latino voters. Estimates from the Pew Research Center and AP VoteCast show that about 3 in 10 Latino voters supported Trump in 2016 and Republican candidates in 2018. That’s also consistent with long-term trends in party identification among Latino voters, according to Pew. Nationally, little public polling is available to measure the opinions of Latino voters this year and whether they differ from four years ago. After Nevada, Trump planned to visit California on Monday for a briefing on the devastating wildfires racing through the region.

Each step of the way, friends point to the influence of Gopalan Harris as a constant. Gopalan Harris defied generations of tradition by not returning to southern India after getting her doctorate, tossing aside expectations of an arranged marriage. Gopalan Harris mother took in victims of domestic abuse and educated women about contraception. Gopalan Harris relished roles in her daughters early campaigns but was gone before seeing her advance beyond a local office. There is no title or honor on earth Ill treasure more than to say I am Shyamala Gopalan Harris daughter, she wrote.

But the recent college graduate had long heard stories from his grandfather recounting the days of oppression in Cuba under Fidel Castro. Even for some young Cubans, the congresswoman's remarks are troubling and a reminder that Castro still stirs strong passions. The Pew Research Center estimates that nearly a third of Floridas Hispanic voters have roots in Cuba. Republican Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, a Cuban American, has called the congresswoman a Castro sympathizer." But his real worry is that Republicans would use Bass' remarks as distraction from what he called the more important goal of electing Biden.

An army helicopter drops water at the scene of Tuesday's massive explosion that hit the seaport of Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2020. Residents of Beirut awoke to a scene of utter devastation on Wednesday, a day after a massive explosion at the port sent shock waves across the Lebanese capital, killing dozens of people and wounding thousands. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about today:1. CHILDREN FLEEING DANGER EXPELLED Citing the coronavirus, more than 2,000 unaccompanied children have been expelled from the U.S. since March under an emergency declaration by the Trump administration. NORTH KOREA ESCALATES VIRUS RESPONSE Pyongyang is quarantining thousands of people and shipping food and other aid to a southern city locked down over coronavirus worries, officials say.

Our entire economy is at stake, Clyburn told The Associated Press in a Newsmakers interview. The third-ranking House Democrat said he's hopeful that negotiators on Capitol Hill can reach an agreement soon on a new virus aid package. Weve got a health care crisis wrapped into an economic crisis, and they are so interwoven, Clyburn said. And so that we can have a fair, unfettered election, said Clyburn, who is the House Democratic whip. You know, when I was a child, I spoke as a child and understood as a child.

At the same time, the Trump administration has opposed any significant efforts in the latest coronavirus rescue package to protect and strengthen mail voting. But this week largely belongs to Biden, who is days away from announcing the winner of the veepstakes. The question then becomes whether the Trump administration will do anything to address his concerns about mail voting. GOP officials said over the weekend that the vote to formally give Trump his party's 2020 presidential nomination will be conducted in private later this month. ___2020 Watch runs every Monday and provides a look at the week ahead in the 2020 election.

California Congresswoman Bass has emerged a leading contender to be Democrats' vice presidential candidate. Allies say her reputation as a bridge-builder would make her a strong partner to presumptive Democratic presidential nominee. Bass said she traveled to Cuba to help construct homes in her late teens and early 20's. She said her views of Cuba are in line with policy under former President Barack Obama, who sought to thaw U.S. relations with the country. As a matter of fact, I was honored to go to Cuba with President Obama.

California Congresswoman Bass has emerged a leading contender to be Democrats' vice presidential candidate. Allies say her reputation as a bridge-builder would make her a strong partner to presumptive Democratic presidential nominee. Enter Karen Bass, who became Assembly speaker that May, the first Black woman to hold the role. The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee appeared with Bass for the first time at a fundraiser on Thursday. With Karen Bass' comments about Fidel Castro, it will be served up on a silver platter."

The speech delivered on the campus of Ripon College in battleground Wisconsin comes as polls show Trump trailing Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee, in a state that Trump won by fewer than 23,000 votes in 2016. Pence said that if Biden wins the election, the country will spin into economic decline, be less safe and have open borders and taxpayer-funded abortions. Biden spokeswoman Kate Bedingfield countered that Trumps economic policies have harmed Wisconsin at every turn and that Pence glossed over Trumps economic record, both before the pandemic and since. The Pence visit came as COVID-19 cases were spiking in Wisconsin. Pence wore a mask when he entered the room but removed it for his speech.

JOHANNESBURG – The coronavirus is highlighting South Africa's stark inequalities, 26 years after the end of the country's apartheid regime of racial oppression, the president told the nation on Monday. The inequalities between South Africa's black majority and white minority was also highlighted by Nobel Peace Prize winner, retired Archbishop Desmond Tutu. South Africa is “not the fair and just country that it should be” said Tutu in a statement issued by his foundation. Now South Africa's ruling party, the ANC and has good relations with Cuba. South Africa’s first black president Nelson Mandela was very friendly with former Cuban leader Fidel Castro.

In the city of Crema in the hard-hit Lombardy region of northern Italy, 52 Cuban doctors and nurses set up a field hospital with 32 beds equipped with oxygen and three ICU beds. And it continues to discourage countries from contracting Cuban medical workers despite the pandemic, arguing that their pay and conditions fall short of industry standards. When Brazil expelled Cuban doctors in 2018, a few details emerged including that the country had been paying $3,100 per month for each doctor with 70% of that going into the pockets of the Cuban government. In Italy alone, over 10,000 medical workers have contracted the coronavirus and more than at least 69 doctors have died. Cuba has a relatively high number of medical workers per capita — officials say there are currently about 90,000 in the country of 11 million.

“We’re very opposed to the authoritarian nature of Cuba, but you know you’ve got...it’s unfair to say everything is bad. When Fidel Castro came into office, you know what he did. Is that a bad thing?”These are words that many say will likely have political repercussions and come back to haunt Sanders, especially in South Florida. Democratic Strategist Fernand Amandi said he was horrified at Sanders’ comments. While Sanders’ comments are not new, Amandi said Sanders had a chance to renounce the Cuban regime.

Volunteers, students and government workers prepared the public areas of Santiago de Cuba for a rally at the Plaza Antonio Maceo on Saturday night. "Fidel is Raul and Raul is Fidel," dozens shouted, as they marched in Santiago on Saturday morning. Foreign heads of state and journalists from all over the world made their way to Santiago, the second largest city on the island. Argentine soccer star Diego Maradona, who referred to Fidel Castro as his second father, was among the celebrities expected at the 7 a.m., funeral on Sunday. Maradona recovered from drug addiction in Cuba and offered Castro his support as his health declined with age.

SANTIAGO DE CUBA, Cuba – A Russian jeep pulled the trailer carrying a coffin under a glass box, where Cuban officials say they are keeping Fidel Castro's ashes. Those who lined up to wait for the caravan paid their respects with flags and sometimes tears. About 5:40 p.m., Castro's cortege was leaving Cacocum en route to Cauto Cristo on the Carretera Central. The funeral procession's four-day journey across the island was set to end in Santiago de Cuba, where a funeral will be held on Sunday. Some of the punishments for not partaking on the nine days of mourning included "beatings, detentions, threats and suspensions from employment," according to the CANF.

EL GUAYABO, Cuba – The single dirt street in El Guayabo runs past a few dozen cinderblock homes, the medical clinic and the primary school to a grove of 76 trees planted to honor Fidel Castro on his 76th birthday. Mourning for Castro has reached near-religious peaks of public adulation across Cuba since his death at age 90 on Nov. 25. Castro was born in eastern Cuba. Before the revolution, El Guayabo was a family estate with a cheese factory owned by a Cuban family who fled to the United States after Castro and his rebel army took power. "In central and eastern Cuba, people have always followed Fidel," she said.

The Emmy Award-winning journalist joined the Local 10 News team in 2013. Copyright 2016 by WPLG Local10.com - All rights reserved. If you need help with the Public File, call (954) 364-2526.

HAVANA – A sea of people considering Fidel Castro's significance in their lives gathered Tuesday night in Havana. "It's a way to show our gratitude to him," Grethel Barrera said. Barrera credits Castro for allowing him to become an attorney. They watched the revolution's old guard - Castro's contemporaries - host world leaders onstage. "What we’ve defended through all these years since the triumph of the revolution."

MIAMI – The death of Fidel Castro was cause for celebration for citizens of South Florida, including community, county and city leaders who shared their thoughts on the passing of the former Cuban dictator. In a joint media conference Saturday Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Rep. Carlos Curbelo, Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart and former Congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart, spoke about Castro, who died at 90, and political prisoners on the communist Caribbean island nation. "The only thing that Fidel Castro has been successful at is staying power, period," she said. Mario Diaz-Balart spoke about the families that were displaced and people who were hurt under the Castro government. He said nature "took care" of Castro and will soon "take care" of his 85-year-old brother Raul Castro, who took over as Cuba's leader a decade ago.

HAVANA – A new photo has surfaced of former Cuban president Fidel Castro meeting with the daughter of the late Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez. Maria Gabriel Chavez posted the picture on her Instagram account Monday. Castro, 87, is wearing his famous tracksuit at his home in Havana. Castro did not attend his funeral in Venezuela, but his brother and current Cuban leader Raul Castro did. Castro retired as leader of the communist island in 2008 after falling ill in 2006, and is rarely seen in public.

HAVANA – Reports that salsa singer Marc Anthony was set to perform in Cuba sometime next month with other big-named Puerto Rican artists are false, according to his publicist and the website Diario de Cuba. The website originally cited an article on the Cuban website Radio Reloj, that the Grammy-winner had scheduled two performances, including one at Havana's Plaza of the Revolution. The article also reported other Puerto Rican salsa stars like "El Gran Combo" and Olga Tañón would be joining him. Anthony's publicist, Blanca Lassalle, denied the claims in a written statement to Diario de Cuba. "Marc Anthony has not confirmed any concerts or personal trips to Cuba," Lassalle wrote.

New photos were released Thursday of a frail Fidel Castro during his first public appearance in nearly a year. PHOTOS: Castro makes public appearanceThe photos show the 87-year-old wrapped in a scarf and jacket, using a cane and leaning on an aide for support as he walked through the gallery. The last time Castro was seen in public was last April for a school opening. Castro is normally pictured sitting down as he was most recently photographed in December during a visit with Spanish journalist Ignacio Ramonet. Ramonet wrote that he saw Castro in "excellent health."

HAVANA – Fidel Castro was healthy and alert while speaking with a Spanish reporter about current events for 2 1/2 hours last week, the journalist told The Associated Press Monday. The photo shows Castro, 87, seated and wearing a blue sweatsuit, looking intensely at writer Ignacio Ramonet and gesturing with his left hand. Castro left power after 47 years after suffering serious intestinal bleeding in 2006, handing his duties to his brother Raul. Ramonet has written extensively about Castro and late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who died of cancer last year. "I found him alert, on top of current events," Ramonet said.

HAVANA – Fidel Castro came out of seclusion this week to help inaugurate a new school in Havana. Pictures posted on the government run newspaper "Granma" showed the 86 year old talking with a group of students at the new school in Playa, a neighborhood near the capital. Castro did not attend the funeral of his friend and ally, late Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez. Castro gave up his post as president to brother Raul five years ago because of his ailing health. Fidel Castro inaugurates school in Havana