Stories of the week

The Malecón in Havana

There were two very interesting stories on Cuba this week:

On Telegram, Cubans are coming together to revolutionize the internet

Rest of World covers technology in places that don't often get Western media coverage. This is a great story on how Cuban citizens are leveraging American technology companies like Google to drive policy reform in Washington. Here are the takeaways:

• The tech scene is alive and well in Cuba. There is a rapidly growing cohort of NFT artists, YouTubers and crypto investors.

• These tech-savvy Cubans are publicly calling on companies like Google to drive U.S. policies that will ease the embargo on internet services.

• These folks are explicitly interested in using the internet to make money. This kind of entrepreneurship is becoming more socially acceptable and less restricted under Cuban law.

• Read the whole story here.

Love or Spycraft: What Landed an American Teacher in a Cuban Prison?

Accompanied by heartbreaking family photos, The New York Times dives into the modern-day tale of espionage, love and betrayal. Here are the highlights:

• A woman in Miami unwittingly fell in love with a Cuban spy, and they’re now both in a Cuban prison.

• The Cuban government assigned her an attorney, and the attorney actively worked to convict and imprison her.

• The State Department’s Office of the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs is looking into a way to secure her release.

• Read the whole story here.