ANDREA RODRÍGUEZ

A fisherman carries a makeshift raft on his back in Havana, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Ingenuity at sea: Cubans use makeshift rafts known as ‘corchos’ to catch elusive fish

From a distance, they look like tiny white dots floating on the sea. But get closer, and you’ll see people sitting on polyfoam rectangles.

Artisans Adrian Moran, left, and Ariel Sanchez, the creators of Clave Humidors, pose with one o their cigar humidifiers during the XXV Cigar Festival at Convention Palace in Havana, Monday, Feb. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Cuba’s cigar fair showcases humidors as the new object of desire

Cuba’s legendary cigars, hand-rolled from the finest tobacco leaves, have long captivated connoisseurs, and now a growing number of enthusiasts recognize the vital importance of humidors, those meticulously crafted boxes that help preserve their quality and longevity.

People walk past the Selection La Habana new hotel, managed by Spanish chain Iberostar, in Havana, Cuba, Friday, Jan. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

A new luxury hotel towers over Havana as Cuba’s economic troubles mount and tourism plummets

The tallest building in Havana is impossible to miss. The huge rectangular mass of concrete and glass dominates the skyline, towering above colonial homes and boasting 542 luxury rooms and majestic views of the city and the sea.

Cuban dissident Jose Daniel Ferrer, left, sits with Cuban LGBT activist Juana Mora Cedeno, center, and Cuban political activist Antonio Rodiles, right, during a meeting with President Barack Obama at the U.S. embassy in Havana, Cuba, March 22, 2016. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File)

Cuba releases a prominent dissident as part of plan to free more than 500 prisoners

Cuba has released prominent dissident José Daniel Ferrer from jail, as part of a Cuban government decision to gradually free more than 500 prisoners as part of talks with the Vatican.

Cuban and American flags fly in the wind outside the American embassy in Havana, Cuba, Tuesday, Jan.14, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariel Ley)

Cuba starts freeing prisoners a day after the US said it would lift terror designation

Cuba has started releasing some prisoners as part of talks with the Vatican, a day after President Joe Biden’s administration announced his intent to lift the U.S. designation of Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism.

A man cooks soup over an open fire on a sidewalk, during a blackout in Havana, Cuba, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Cuba restores power grid and resumes planned blackouts of about 5 hours a day

After a nationwide blackout left millions without electricity for several hours in Cuba, the power grid has been restored, authorities said, adding that scheduled power outages will now resume.

A man pets his dog as friends play dominoes outdoors during a blackout in Havana, Cuba, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

A major power plant fails in Cuba, plunging the island into darkness — again

A new, widespread power outage has plunged Cuba into darkness after one of the island’s major power plants failed. It left millions of people without power in the third such blackout in six weeks.

NGOs demand investigation into the prison death of a Cuban protester

Non-governmental organizations monitoring Cuban prisons are demanding an investigation into the death of a man imprisoned since 2021 after being arrested for participating in historic protests against shortages and blackouts.

People play dominoes on the street during a power outage in Havana, Cuba, Monday, Oct. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Cuban authorities make arrests after protests broke out over blackouts

Cuban authorities say they have arrested a number of people for disorderly behavior after protests over blackouts that stretched on for days broke out in recent weeks.

Debris from a building damaged by the passage of Hurricane Rafael covers the street in Havana, Cuba, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariel Ley)

6.8 magnitude earthquake shakes Cuba after hurricanes and blackouts

An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.8 has shaken eastern Cuba after weeks of hurricanes and blackouts that have left many on the island reeling. The U.S.

Residents wade through a flooded street after the passing of Hurricane Rafael in Batabano, Cuba, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Cuba left reeling after Category 3 hurricane ravages island and knocks out power grid

Cuba has been left reeling after a fierce Category 3 hurricane ripped across western portions of the island, knocking out the country’s power grid, downing trees and damaging infrastructure. No fatalities have immediately been reported.

People at a bus stop shield themselves with cardboard amid wind and rain during the passage of Hurricane Rafael in Havana, Cuba, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Hurricane Rafael plows across Cuba as a Category 3 storm after knocking out power on the island

Hurricane Rafael has pushed into the Gulf of Mexico after plowing across western Cuba as a Category 3 hurricane with winds so powerful it knocked out the entire country’s power grid.

A man drives his American classic car during a massive blackout after a major power plant failed in Havana, Cuba, Friday, Oct. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Cuba’s grid goes offline with massive blackout after a major power plant fails

Cuba’s electrical grid went down after one of the island’s major power plants failed, leaving millions without power. The failure Friday came a day after a massive blackout swept across the Caribbean island.

Dogs and cats for adoption live at the Adoptions for Love animal shelter in Havana, Cuba, Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Cubans searching for a better future leave their pets behind

Although there are no official figures or estimates of how many pets have been left behind by their owners who leave Cuba, the number of abandoned cats and dogs has spiked in the last two years as Cubans migrate in record numbers, animal activists say.

FILE - Fernando Dayán Jorge displays an Olympic tattoo on his bicep, June 26, 2024, in Cape Coral, Fla. On Tuesday, July 13, the Cuban Olympic Committee demanded the “immediate exclusion” of an island athlete who was included by the organizers as part of a refugee team that will participate in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. The committee did not mention the name of the athlete, but canoeist Dayán Jorge has been outspoken in his criticism of the country. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell, File)

Cuban Olympic Committee demands the immediate exclusion of an athlete from refugee team

The Cuban Olympic Committee has demanded the “immediate exclusion” of an island athlete who was included by the organizers as part of a refugee team that will participate in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Transgender Cuban athlete Ely Malik Reyes, who practices mixed martial arts known as sanda, trains at a gym in Regla, across the bay from Havana, Cuba, Tuesday, June 11, 2024. Reyes became the first trans athlete to officially compete in a Cuban league. (AP Photo/Ariel Ley)

Cuba’s first transgender athlete shows the progress and challenges faced by LGBTQ people

Ely Malik Reyes stepped onto the platform and began delivering powerful punches and spectacular flying kicks against his combatant.

Cuban musician Silvio Rodriguez looks on during an interview with The Associated Press in Havana, Cuba, Thursday, June 6, 2024. Rodríguez, 77, one of Latin America's most famous musicians, has released a new album, his first in three years. (AP Photo/Ariel Ley)

Cuban troubadour Silvio Rodríguez, icon of the revolution, dwells on island’s troubles in new album

He was the poetic voice of the Cuban Revolution, an inspiration for millions of Latin Americans living under dictatorships throughout the 1960s and 1970s who dreamt of the ideal Cuba that he — and his guitar — helped evoke.

People watch the Russian Navy Admiral Gorshkov frigate arrive at the port of Havana, Cuba, Wednesday, June 12, 2024. A fleet of Russian warships reached Cuban waters on Wednesday ahead of planned military exercises in the Caribbean. (AP Photo/Ariel Ley)

Russian warships reach Cuban waters ahead of military exercises in the Caribbean

A fleet of Russian warships have reached Cuban waters ahead of planned military exercises in the Caribbean. Some see their deployment as a projection of Russia’s strength as tensions grow over Western support for Ukraine.

People stand in line outside a bank hoping to withdraw Cuban pesos from an ATM, in Havana, Cuba, Monday, April 22, 2024. An increasing number of Cubans are having to grapple with the country's shortage of cash. (AP Photo/Ariel Ley)

Long lines form and frustration grows as Cuba runs short of cash

Alejandro Fonseca stood in line for several hours outside a bank in Havana hoping to withdraw Cuban pesos from an ATM. But the cash ran out when it was almost his turn.

Cuban writer Leonardo Padura poses for a portrait at his home in Havana, Cuba, Wednesday, April 10, 2024. Padura has managed to turn his series of detective novels into a social and political chronicle of Cuba, especially his native Havana. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Writer Leonardo Padura chronicles life in Cuba as his detective ‘alter ego’ solves gripping crimes

Cuban writer Leonardo Padura has managed to turn his series of detective novels into a social and political chronicle of Cuba, especially his native Havana.

FILE - Cuba President Miguel Diaz-Canel walks through the COP28 U.N. Climate Summit, Saturday, Dec. 2, 2023, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Small groups of protesters took to the streets in the eastern city of Santiago on Sunday, March 18, 2024, decrying power outages lasting up to eight hours and food shortages across Cuba. President Miguel Díaz-Canel also referred to protests in a social media post, though he did not specify where they occurred.(AP Photo/Peter Dejong, File)

Cubans in eastern city of Santiago protest blackouts and food shortages

Small groups of protesters have taken to the streets in the eastern Cuba city of Santiago decryng power outages lasting up to eight hours across the Caribbean nation.

Cuban dissident Martha Beatriz Roque Cabello gives an interview in Havana, Cuba, Friday, Feb. 23, 2024. The U.S. State Department announced on March 1, 2024, that Roque will be awarded the 2024 International Women of Courage Award. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Cuban political dissident to receive 2024 International Women of Courage award by US government

Martha Beatriz Roque Cabello, a veteran Cuban dissident and leading proponent of human rights who was imprisoned twice but never left the island, will be awarded the 2024 International Women of Courage Award, a recognition granted by the U.S.

FILE - An American classic car makes its way down a street in Havana, Cuba, Nov. 11, 2023. The Cuban government says it will have to either increase prices for fuel and electricity, or reduce rations for basic supplies. President Miguel Díaz-Canel said Friday, Dec. 22, 2023, that difficult measures were needed for difficult times. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa, File)

Cuban government defends plans to either cut rations or increase prices

The Cuban government says it will have to either increase prices for fuel and electricity, or reduce rations for basic supplies. President Miguel Díaz-Canel said Friday that difficult measures are needed for difficult times.

People shop at a private grocery store in Havana, Cuba, Saturday, Nov. 11, 2023. Dozens of tiny grocery stores have sprung up around Cuba in recent months, referred to locally as “mipymes” — pronounced MEE-PEE-MEHS, offering many products not available elsewhere and usually operate out of private homes or garages. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Cuban private grocery stores thrive but only a few people can afford them

Dozens of tiny grocery stores have sprung up around Cuba in recent months. The locals call them “mipymes” (MEE-PEE-MEHS). The name derives from the small- and medium-sized businesses that the government first allowed in 2021.

Residents walk past dilapidated mansion on Villegas Street in Havana, Cuba, Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023. The two-story building, which houses six families, is one of many, once luxurious houses that in recent years have partially collapsed or suffered visible damage. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Havana’s once stately homes crumble as their residents live in fear of an imminent collapse

The housing situation in Cuba is critical, with buildings partially or completely collapsing under the weight of storms, lack of maintenance and years of neglect.

Cuba calls the presence of US nuclear-powered submarine at Guantanamo Bay naval base a provocation

Cuba’s government has called the presence of a U.S. nuclear-powered submarine at the Guantanamo Bay naval base for several days last week a “provocative escalation,” in what a U.S. official said was a logistics stop by the vessel at a U.S. base on its way to maritime exercises.

Elian González poses for a portrait in front of the Capitolio in Havana, Cuba, Thursday, June 27, 2023. Twenty three years after González became the center of a dramatic diplomatic custody battle between Cuba and the United States, the young Cuban is now headed to his country’s congress with hopes of representing his people at a time of record migration and heightened tension between the two seaside neighbors. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Cuban boy castaway Elián González becomes a lawmaker

Elián González has the same big, expressive eyes he did 23 years ago when an international custody battle transformed him into the face of the long-strained relations between Cuba and the United States.

Maria Carla Puga, right, and Ana Maria Torres pose for a portrait at their jewelry store and workshop named Ama, which also has a cafeteria, in Havana, Cuba, Tuesday, June 27, 2023. Torres and Puga are part of a small group of entrepreneurs benefiting from a business training program the embassy is offering in Cuba. ( AP Photo/Ismael Francisco)

Cuban entrepreneurs get business training from the US, and hope that Biden lifts sanctions

The Cuban government opened the door to the creation of more small- and medium-sized businesses in September 2021. And there are now over 8,000 of these type of enterprises operating legally on the island.

Cuba highlights campaign against hoarders during pandemic

The recent seizure by Cuban police of hundreds of sacks of onions was a big news item on state television, a warning to suspected hoarders and speculators who seek to benefit from harsher economic conditions during the pandemic.

Cuban president says concessions to US would lead nowhere

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel says he does not believe the Trump administration would drop sanctions on the island in exchange for concessions from his government.