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 [...]
To Combat Human Trafficking by Cuba, Start by Restricting “Humanitarian-based” Trade with the Socialist Gulag
Besides exposing this malign activity, the United States should pressure all nations who sign contracts for Cuban medical workers to cancel the contracts and not sign new contracts.
Venezuela Talks in Norway Make About As Much Sense as Trap Door on Canoe
No deal in Norway for Venezuela's opposition. No surprise. You cannot compromise with a narco-terror criminal cartel. From the onset, the secret Venezuela-Norway talks struck me as odd. It makes for good publicity, for Europe. However, flying more than ten hours to Olso, there are no direct flights from Caracas, makes about as much sense [...]
Totalitarian Regime Leaders, Not U.S. Sanctions, Keep Humanitarian Trade from The People in Iran and Cuba
One of many shibboleths tossed about by opponents of U.S. sanctions policy is that it hurts the people, not the intended targets. That is one of the reasons why there have been changes in U.S. law to address this alleged argument. The real reason for changes to sanctions laws in this space: money for certain [...]
