What 2025 Looked Like for Cuba, a Belly of the Beast Recap

Visa bans. Hurricanes. Solidarity. This is what 2025 looked like in Cuba, beyond the headlines. Watch the Belly of the Beast Recap. 

TRANSCRIPT

“America is back,” declared Donald Trump, President of the United States.

“I went to the ICE interview on Tuesday, and I was deported on Thursday. Everything happened really fast,” said Heydi Sánchez, a Cuban migrant deported from the United States.

“They never asked me if I wanted to leave with my daughter. My baby became nervous, she was asking to breastfeed, and when I told them she needed it, they didn’t care,” Sánchez added.

“The immigration officers mistreated me. They twisted my arm to take my fingerprints and told me my daughter was an American citizen and couldn’t leave the country. I just wanted my daughter,” she said.

“Those three regimes—Nicaragua, Venezuela, and Cuba—are enemies of humanity and have created a migration crisis,” said Marco Rubio, U.S. Secretary of State.

“Marco Rubio is the son of Cuban migrants, and he’s screwing over his own people,” said a Havana resident during a street interview.

“As secretary of state, he’ll try his best to mess up what we have here,” added another Cuban interviewed on the street.

“I’m looking for the Chinese military base, but I know of no Chinese base here in Cuba,” said a Cuban interviewee responding to U.S. allegations.

“During Trump’s first term, there was a commitment to a democratic transition in Cuba, and now we’re going to ramp up that pressure,” said Mauricio Claver-Carone, U.S. Special Envoy for Latin America.

“Since Trump’s first presidency, tourism was hit hard. We’re living with enormous uncertainty,” explained Adriana Herrera, an Airbnb host in Havana.

“This money doesn’t hurt the Cuban state. It hurts us. I’m not a hotel. I’m not the government,” said Tamara Santiesteban, another Airbnb host.

“We could not have gotten through the pandemic without Cuban nurses and doctors,” said Mia Mottley, Prime Minister of Barbados.

“If the cost of defending them is losing my U.S. visa, then so be it,” she added.

“Out of the blue, we’re being called human traffickers for hiring professionals we pay at local rates,” said Keith Rowley, Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago.

“There used to be opportunities for entrepreneurs, but they no longer exist,” said a Cuban entrepreneur barred from traveling to the U.S.

“The U.S. government is restricting visas for all Cuban athletes and officials,” said Wilfredo Robinson, head coach of Cuba’s women’s national volleyball team.

“Finding out we couldn’t travel was a tremendous blow to our morale,” said Michel Espinosa, Cuban basketball player.

“It’s ridiculous that sports teams are denied visas,” said Hakim Jihad, coordinator of the U.S. Hands Off Cuba Committee in Jacksonville.

“When the equalizer was scored in the 87th minute, it was pure joy,” recalled Leandro Mena, defender for Cuba’s U-20 national football team.

“We are facing a crisis in Cuba’s agri-food system,” explained a Cuban agroecology specialist.

“Cuban youth cannot turn their backs on what’s happening in Palestine,” said Luis González, a Cuban university student.

“I lived through three wars in Gaza, but the occupation has lasted almost eight decades,” said Jenen, a Palestinian medical student living in Cuba.

“I will always be grateful to Cuba for giving me the chance to study and live,” she added.

“Attacking Venezuela means attacking Cuba and all Latin American countries,” said Elpidio Cordero of the Cuban Communist Party.

“Unilateral sanctions against Cuba violate international law and human rights,” said Alena Douhan, UN Special Rapporteur.

“Cuba can’t obtain pacemakers directly. It has to go through intermediaries,” explained a Cuban doctor.

“Cuba is facing a dire shortage of medical supplies,” said James Guitard of the Diaspora Educational Foundation.

“I really didn’t think I would be alive,” said a resident of Santiago de Cuba after Hurricane Melissa.

“From the moment we heard the hurricane was coming, we knew we had to help,” said Loyet García, a volunteer organizer.

“Health should never be used as a weapon,” said Samira, speaking about dengue and chikungunya in Cuba.

“This so-called war on drugs isn’t about drugs. It’s about regime change,” said Liz Oliva,  Belly of the Beast correspondent.

“Want the full story? Follow Belly of the Beast for the reporting you won’t find anywhere else,” Oliva concluded.