Hello again! I started the blog in 2007; however, more than our fair share of a few technical glitches a few months ago -- some more serious than others -- and the editors opted to, essentially, start over. The older posts we can recover shall be reposted in due course. Next time, I'll hire an expert to [...]
Nicaragua for Nicaguarans, Not NGOs IOs or Other Foreign Meddlers
Yesterday at the Organization of American States (OAS), I met up with colleagues and friends from Nicaragua and the Nicaragua Diaspora from throughout the United States in Washington, D.C. They were in town to raise awareness about the ongoing crisis in Nicaragua with U.S. policymakers. I was not expecting to make remarks but addressed the [...]
Release of American Hostages, a National Imperative
It's great to see U.S. officials continue to keep going the extra mile to secure the release of Americans of unlawfully imprisoned Americans. There are many examples, but I wrote this brief post to highlight one, American hostages in Syria. According to an exclusive report published this weekend in the Wall Street Journal, a high-ranking [...]
Canada Imposes Sanctions on Belarus over Human Rights Violations, Hypocrites
This is old news, but worth a few keystrokes of my day to bring it to you. This week Canadian officials announced targeted sanctions on Belarus over human rights abuses. It's easy for Canada to impose economic sanctions on Belarus. Canada runs a trade deficit with Belarus, and not a huge market for Canadian goods. [...]
The Dirty Secret Great Powers Wish Would go Away: Hostages in Iran
On March 17, 2016, Ms. Nazanin Ratcliffe, a U.K. national, traveled to Iran with her newborn baby girl, Gabriella, to visit her family and celebrate Nowruz, the Iranian new year. Close to four years later, she remains a hostage in Iran. Last week I spoke with Richard Ratcliffe, Nazanin's husband (and Gabriella's dad), who has [...]
Recent Case of Havana Syndrome Baffles Scientists, Cuba Regime Downplays
The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) published a study earlier this month purportedly documenting another case of Havana Syndrome, a Canadian tourist. A 69-year-old woman was returning from a vacation in the island gulag had to be treated at a hospital upon arrival in Canada. Her symptoms included neurological impairments similar to those suffered [...]
Adios Cuba, Your Friends at Marriott
When the Obama administration re-established diplomatic relations with communist Cuba in 2016, a few of his closest advisors worked hard to create clever workarounds U.S. laws that are supposed to restrict, not make it easier, to do business with human rights abusers and Cuba's nascent but expanding oligarch class. Cuba's premature removal from the state [...]
