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A Clinton-appointed federal judge in Florida has died just days after he controversially released a Cuban plane hijacker who was awaiting deportation. Judge John E. Steele, 77, passed away, according to a law clerk for Chief Judge Marcia Morales Howard of the Middle District of Florida — where Steele served. A legal source in Miami also confirmed Steele’s sudden death. The circumstances of his passing were not immediately clear. Steele came under criticism for his July 8 ruling to release Cuban plane hijacker Maikel Guerra Morales from ICE custody.

The world that we’re looking at today is radically different than that of just five years ago, radically different in the sense that it is much more in the interest of the United States. And I know that seems controversial because [President Donald] Trump is written off as someone who is too fluid and volatile... It’s more important to see what he’s done. Let’s go through the world abroad as it is today systematically. Look at Latin America. Five years ago, the Chinese were controlling, through their surrogate companies, the entry and exit to Panama. Russia and China were the...

A criminal who hijacked a plane from Cuba to Florida in 2003 and served 20 years in prison had been in ICE custody awaiting deportation — till a Dem-appointed judge dumped him back on the street last week. Cuban national Miakel Guerra Morales — who assaulted crew members during his terrifying midair hijacking — was detained by ICE in December, then ordered freed July 8 by Florida Judge John E. Steele, who said he’d been in custody too long. The Department of Homeland Security on Monday railed against the Bill Clinton-nominated federal judge’s decision to release Guerra Morales. “This activist...

President Trump declared Sunday that the Strait of Hormuz is open after the US hit 140 targets in Iran over the latest attack on cargo ships in the critical passage. Trump doubled down on US Central Command’s insistence that the key oil choke point was now open following an intense bombing campaign against Iran overnight, which targeted missile and drone sites, naval assets, ammunition storage facilities, communication networks, and surveillance locations. “Yeah, it’s open. We bombed the hell out of them last night,” he told NBC’s “Meet the Press,” contradicting Tehran’s warnings that the strait remains closed.The president went on...

Cuba's state power operator UNE announced on Monday that the national electrical system had suffered a "total disconnection," plunging the island into darkness amid its worst economic crisis in decades, severe fuel shortages, and daily blackouts averaging 20 hours. Cuba's national power operator announced on Monday that the island's electrical system had suffered a complete collapse, triggering a nationwide blackout as technicians worked to restore service. The state-run company UNE said in a post on X that the National Electric Power System had gone down completely without immediate explanation. "A total disconnection of the National Electric Power System is occurring....

HAVANA, July ⁠6 (Reuters) - ⁠Cuba's national ⁠electric grid collapsed ​on Monday at ‌midday, the country's ‌grid ⁠operator ⁠said, leaving around 10 million ​people on the Caribbean island ​nation without power. Cuba has ⁠for months ⁠suffered ⁠from hours-long, ​and more recently, days-long ​power ⁠outages linked in part to an ⁠ailing grid and a U.S. imposed oil ⁠blockade that has cut off the island's fuel supply.

Lindsey Graham: "The liberation of Cuba is upon us." "We are marching through the world." "Cuba is next."

The Supreme Court on Tuesday allowed Exxon Mobil to sue state-owned oil companies in Cuba over the confiscation of property that occurred after Fidel Castro’s regime seized power nearly seven decades ago, letting the lawsuit proceed at a time when President Donald Trump has taken an aggressive stance toward Havana. Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote the opinion for a 6-3 majority with the liberal justices in dissent. The decision is the latest development in an unusual confluence of legal and geopolitical moves Washington has taken to increase pressure on Cuba. The Trump administration indicted former Cuban President Raúl Castro on May...

Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney has said that the “new world order will be built from Europe” with his country playing a key role in comments that echo a speech earlier in the year interpreted as a criticism of President Donald Trump. During a visit to Ireland, Carney said that that Canada was “the most European of non-European countries, and we are transforming our cooperation with the EU.” In January, Carney addressed the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, taking aim at the erosion of the rules-based international order in comments which were seen as a pointed reference to Trump’s...

A magnitude 6.1 earthquake off the northwest coast of Cuba led to reports of light shaking in parts of Florida on Monday afternoon, including in South Florida. According to the United States Geological Survey, the magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck about 65 miles to the west-northwest of Mantua, Cuba, which is to the west of Havana. The epicenter was about 376 miles from Miami. "Shaking from the recent M6.1 earthquake offshore of Cuba was felt in Florida, where earthquakes are not commonly felt. Did you feel it? (If you're in the area and did not feel it, that's data too!)," USGS...

Outgoing Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard rescinded two controversial Biden-era assessments Thursday that concluded the condition known as Havana Syndrome was unlikely to be the result of foreign adversaries attacking US personnel. The retracted Intelligence Community Assessments selectively excluded evidence and intelligence, mischaracterized sources “to suppress alternative analyses,” omitted key information related to source quality and relied on an “ethically flawed medical study,” Gabbard’s office said in a memo to congressional leaders. The two assessments – declassified versions of which were released in March 2023 and January 2025 – both concluded that a foreign adversary was “very unlikely” to...

There are a lot of stories about Cuba floating around right now. Some are MSM outlets acting like they have a scoop on something that's been happening or rumored to be happening for months. Some are simply absurd and probably not true. Most aren't actually verified by the Donald Trump administration and come from anonymous sources. I'm not even going to bother with those today. I saw this happen in the final months before we captured Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela. Most of these reporters and media outlets didn't even care about these countries until they became newsworthy, and once they...

Secretary of State Marco Rubio called out “incompetent communists” who are in charge of the Cuban government, as the United States is eyeing possible intervention regarding the island nation just off the coast of Florida. The country is facing nearly all-day electricity blackouts, as CIA Director John Ratcliffe traveled to Cuba earlier this month to meet with officials. There are also concerns about Cuba possibly wanting to act against the U.S. with military drones, according to Axios. “Cuba’s in a lot of trouble because, unfortunately for them, it’s run by a bunch of incompetent communists,” Rubio said. “Being a communist...

Skip to content An official website of the United States Government Here's how you know Close Menu State Department HomeState Department Home search Search Marco Rubio, Secretary of State May 20, 2026 Today, Secretary of State Marco Rubio delivered a video message to the people of Cuba, reaffirming the unwavering support of the United States for the Cuban people in their pursuit of freedom, dignity, and self-determination. In his remarks, Secretary Rubio addressed the continued suffering endured by the Cuban people after 67 years of tyranny, censorship, and human rights abuses by the illegitimate regime. A courtesy translation of the...

The United States on Wednesday charged former Cuban President Raúl Castro over the 1996 shootdown of two small aircraft, marking the first time a senior figure from the communist regime has been accused before the courts of its neighboring enemy. Castro is accused of murder, conspiracy to kill U.S. citizens, and destruction of aircraft in connection with the deaths of four people. The charges represent a new escalation in Washington’s intense pressure campaign against the communist island, which has been under a U.S. embargo since 1962 and is now devastated by a severe economic crisis. Raúl Castro, now 94, was...

During the days of colonialism, it was gratifying for the British, Portuguese, Germans, and French to look at the world map and bask in all the colonies of each country. But the pretty blotches of red or blue or black hid an unpleasant fact. Many of those colonies were a drain on the mother country; they would put into those colonies far more than they got out of them. This was particularly obvious in those colonies that were principally desert. Spain also had colonies. Cubans tried to become independent but failed due to the eternal ineptitude of Cubans, whose only...

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez said Monday that his country has no "aggressive plans or intentions" to attack any country including the United States – following a news report that the Communist-run island nation has acquired over 300 drones with possible plans to use them to attack American military vessels, the U.S. military base at Guantanomo Bay, Cuba, and possibly Key West, Florida. According to Axios, which based its report on classified intelligence that was shared by a U.S. official, the findings could become a pretext for U.S. military action against Cuba. The official said that the proximity of the...

On a scorching hot afternoon in Havana, the line outside the state bakery stretches down the block. Inside, the shelves are almost bare. A man in a faded baseball cap tells me he’s been waiting for two hours for bread that might not arrive. Across the street, a gleaming black SUV with tinted windows idles outside a hotel mostly reserved for foreigners. Its lobby is stocked with imported whiskey; the air-conditioning is turned up to Arctic levels. This is not an unusual juxtaposition in today’s Cuba. I walk through Central Havana with Antonio Rodríguez, a 60-year-old university history teacher who...

HAVANA (AP) — CIA Director John Ratcliffe met with Cuban officials including Raúl Castro’s grandson during a high-level visit to the island Thursday, Cuban and U.S. officials said. Ratcliffe met with Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro, Interior Minister Lázaro Álvarez Casas and the head of Cuban intelligence services, and discussed intelligence cooperation, economic stability and security issues. A CIA official confirmed the meetings to the AP. Ratcliffe was there “to personally deliver President Donald Trump’s message that the United States is prepared to seriously engage on economic and security issues, but only if Cuba makes fundamental changes,’' the CIA official said....

The U.S. is taking steps to indict Raúl Castro, the 94-year-old former president of Cuba and brother of Fidel, in connection with the downing of planes 30 years ago, according to U.S. officials familiar with the matter. The potential indictment — which would need to be approved by a grand jury — is expected to focus on Cuba's deadly 1996 shootdown of planes operated by humanitarian group Brothers to the Rescue. A Justice Department spokesperson declined to comment. The plan comes as the U.S. heaps pressure on the Cuban government. The Trump administration has threatened heavy tariffs on any country...