STORY: The U.S. on Thursday (June 4) imposed sanctions on Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel and some affiliated people and entities, the U.S. Treasury Department's website showed.

The Cuban government did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the sanctions, which also targeted four other people and five entities, including the Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Cuba.

Diaz-Canel has served as president of the Caribbean country since taking over from Raul Castro, the brother of Cuba's former leader Fidel Castro, in 2018.

Thursday's action against Diaz-Canel is the latest by Washington to intensify pressure on the island's communist leaders.

The sanctions were announced as President Donald Trump told reporters that the U.S. wanted Cuba "to be a nicely run country."

Last month, the U.S. government imposed sanctions on 11 Cuban officials, including the country's communications minister, several military leaders and its main intelligence agency.

The U.S. also charged Raul Castro with murder for his alleged involvement in a 1996 incident in which Cuban jets shot down planes operated by a group of Cuban exiles.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

ROFILE: US imposes sanctions on Cuban president, Treasury website shows

VIDEO SHOWS: FILE OF CUBAN PRESIDENT MIGUEL DIAZ-CANEL

SHOWS: Havana residents showed support for the ascension of younger blood into the leadership ranks of Cuba's Communist government including Miguel Diaz-Canel who was named Cuba's first vice president on February 24, 2013.

The naming of Diaz-Canel was a surprise move by the parliament and meant he would take over as president if then President Raul Castro, who had been elected to a second five-year term by the National Assembly, was unable to serve out his tenure. Raul Castro, younger brother of longtime Cuban leader Fidel Castro, became Cuba’s president in 2008, after his brother’s incapacitation, and took over the first secretary role from Fidel in 2011. Fidel Castro died in 2016.

SANTIAGO DE CUBA, CUBA (ARCHIVE - JULY 26, 2012) (REUTERS- Access All)

1. MIGUEL DIAZ-CANEL ALONG WITH OTHER LEADERS IN POLITICAL EVENT FOR NATIONAL REBELLION DAY

HAVANA, CUBA (ARCHIVE - FEBRUARY 25, 2013) (REUTERS- Access All)

2. GENERAL ASSEMBLY WITH THEN CUBAN PRESIDENT, RAUL CASTRO, ANNOUNCING THE NOMINATION OF MIGUEL DIAZ-CANEL AS FIRST VICE PRESIDENT OF THE STATE COUNCIL.

3. CUBAN LEADER FIDEL CASTRO AND RAUL CASTRO APPLAUDING DIAZ-CANEL

HAVANA, CUBA (ARCHIVE - APRIL 25, 2014) (REUTERS - Access All)

4. DIAZ-CANEL TALKING TO THE PRESS AT THE COLOMBIAN EMBASSY IN CUBA

HAVANA, CUBA (ARCHIVE - MARCH 22, 2016) (REUTERS- Access All)

5. THEN US PRESIDENT, BARACK OBAMA, DURING A SPEECH ON THE STAGE OF THE GRAN TEATRO DE LA HABANA, NEXT TO FLAGS OF CUBA AND THE USA

6. DIAZ-CANEL ALONG WITH RAUL CASTRO AND OTHER MEMBERS OF THE CUBAN GOVERNMENT LISTENING TO OBAMA

HAVANA, CUBA (ARCHIVE - NOVEMBER 28, 2016) (CUBAN GOVERNMENT TV – Access All)

7. DIAZ-CANEL ALONG RAUL CASTRO AND OTHER MEMBERS OF THE GOVERNMENT AT FUNERAL CEREMONY IN FRONT OF THE URN WITH FIDEL CASTRO'S REMAINS

8. URN WITH FIDEL CASTRO'S REMAINS NEXT TO CUBAN FLAG, FLORAL ARRANGEMENTS, AND HIS PHOTOGRAPH DRESSED AS A GUERRILLA

9. DIAZ-CANEL PLACING FLOWER IN FRONT OF URN WITH FIDEL CASTRO'S REMAINS

Cuban Communist Party stalwart Miguel Diaz-Canel was a member of the political bureau who rose through the Communist Party ranks in the provinces to become the most visible possible successor to Castro.

Diaz-Canel replaced Raul Castro as president on April 19, 2018, a new chapter for the island after nearly sixty years of rule by the Castro brothers but a change that is aimed at preserving Cuban socialism.

HAVANA, CUBA (ARCHIVE - APRIL 18, 2018) (CUBAN GOVERNMENT TV – Access All)

10. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) PRESIDENT OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF CUBA, ESTEBAN LAZO, SAYING:

“You are the new president of the State Council and of the ministers of the Republic of Cuba.”

11. DIAZ-CANEL GREETING DEPUTIES OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY AFTER BEING ELECTED PRESIDENT OF CUBA

12. DIAZ-CANEL HUGGING RAUL CASTRO AFTER HIS ELECTION AS PRESIDENT

In his first address to the United Nations General Assembly as the President of Cuba, Miguel Diaz-Canel strongly condemned the United States' blockade against the Caribbean nation.

UNITED NATIONS (ARCHIVE - SEPTEMBER 26, 2018) (UNTV – Access all)

13. DIAZ-CANEL SEATED, TAKING PODIUM AT HIS FIRST ADDRESS TO THE UNGA IN ITS 73RD SESSION

14. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) CUBA’S PRESIDENT, MIGUEL DIAZ-CANEL, SAYING:

“The essential and defining element of the bilateral relationship remains the blockade that seeks to strangle the Cuban economy with the purpose of generating hardship and altering the constitutional order.”

15. VARIOUS OF DIAZ-CANEL SPEAKING AT THE UNGA

MOSCOW, RUSSIA (ARCHIVE - NOVEMBER 2, 2018) (RUSSIAN POOL – Access all)

16. RUSSIAN PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN MEETS CUBAN PRESIDENT MIGUEL DIAZ-CANEL / PRESIDENTS SHAKING HANDS

PYONGYANG, NORTH KOREA (ARCHIVE - NOVEMBER 4, 2018) (KRT Broadcasters – No use North Korea)

17. DIAZ-CANEL AND HIS WIFE LIS PERAZA WALKING TOWARD NORTH KOREA LEADER KIM JONG UN AND HIS WIFE RI SOL JU AND HUGGING EACH OTHER

18. PORTRAITS OF DIAZ-CANEL AND KIM JONG UN ON BUILDING

HAVANA, CUBA (ARCHIVE - MARCH 25, 2019) (CUBAN GOVERNMENT TV – Access All)

19. VARIOUS OF THEN PRINCE CHARLES WALKING WITH CUBAN PRESIDENT MIGUEL DIAZ-CANEL BY CEREMONIAL SOLDIERS

20. CAMILLA BEING INTRODUCED TO DIAZ-CANEL BY THEN PRINCE CHARLES

HAVANA, CUBA (ARCHIVE - APRIL 19, 2021) (CUBAN GOVERNMENT TV – Access All)

21. RAUL CASTRO APPLAUDING

22. ATTENDEES AT THE CUBAN COMMUNIST PARTY (PCC) CONGRESS APPLAUDING

23. CASTRO EMBRACING DIAZ-CANEL AFTER BEING ELECTED FIRST SECRETARY OF THE PCC

Thousands of Cubans took to the streets from Havana to Santiago on July 11, 2021 in rarely seen protests, expressing frustration over pandemic restrictions, the pace of COVID-19 vaccinations and what they said was government neglect.

HAVANA, CUBA (ARCHIVE – JULY 11, 2021) (REUTERS – Access all)

24. PROTESTERS IN STREET SHOUTING (Spanish): “Freedom”

25. OFFICERS ARRESTING PROTESTER

SAN ANTONIO DE LOS BANOS, ARTEMISA, CUBA (ARCHIVE – JULY 11, 2021) (CUBAN GOVERNMENT TV – Access all)

26. DIAZ-CANEL MARCHING IN STREET OF TOWN WHERE JULY-11 PROTESTS STARTED (WITH SPANISH NARRATION)

27. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) CUBA’S PRESIDENT, MIGUEL DIAZ-CANEL, SAYING:

“And we came here together with the revolutionaries of this town to demonstrate that the streets here belong to the revolutionaries and that here no worm or mercenary is going to take over the streets.”

A deadly explosion hit a well-known hotel in downtown Havana on May 6, 2022, tearing a gash several floors high in the side of the building, killing at least 47 people and injuring upwards of 70, state media said. President Miguel Diaz-Canel said the blast at the historic, high-end Hotel Saratoga appeared to have been caused by a gas leak.

HAVANA, CUBA (ARCHIVE – MAY 6, 2022) (REUTERS – Access all)

28. SARATOGA HOTEL BUILDING DESTROYED AFTER BLAST, RESCUERS WORKING ON DEBRIS

HAVANA, CUBA (ARCHIVE – MAY 13, 2022) (CUBAN GOVERNMENT TV – Access all)

29. DIAZ-CANEL AND HIS WIFE HOLDING CANDLES DURING VIGIL FOR VICTIMS OF SARATOGA HOTEL EXPLOSION

HAVANA, CUBA (ARCHIVE – MAY 27, 2022) (CUBAN GOVERNMENT TV – Access All)

30. VARIOUS OF DIAZ-CANEL POSING FOR PHOTOGRAPH NEXT TO VENEZUELA’S PRESIDENT, NICOLAS MADURO, (LEFT), AND OTHER LEADERS OF THE BOLIVARIAN ALLIANCE OF THE PEOPLES OF OUR AMERICA

HAVANA, CUBA (ARCHIVE - AUGUST 11, 2022) (ORIGINALLY SHOT IN PORTRAIT) (PRESIDENCIA HANDOUT – Access All)

31. DIAZ-CANEL BATTING IN A BASEBALL GAME DURING A VISIT TO A NEIGHBORHOOD/DIAZ-CANEL HANDING OUT A BAT AND APPLAUDING

Cuban firefighters worked non-stop since August 7 to try to put out the fire at the oil storage plant in Matanzas that has killed one firefighter, drawing on help from Mexico and Venezuela to fight the raging flames.

A lightning strike on Friday (August 5) ignited one of eight storage tanks at the Matazanas supertanker port 60 miles east of Havana. A second tank caught fire on Saturday, catching firefighters and others at the scene by surprise.

MATANZAS, CUBA (ARCHIVE – AUGUST 10, 2022) (AYOSE NARANJO HANDOUT – Must on-screen courtesy Ayose Naranjo Handout)

32. AERIAL VIEW OF BURNT-OUT INDUSTRIAL PARK AFTER FIRE

MATANZAS, CUBA (ARCHIVE - AUGUST 11, 2022) (CUBAN GOVERNMENT TV – Access All)

33. VARIOUS OF DIAZ-CANEL TALKING WITH FIREFIGHTERS FROM MEXICO AND VENEZUELA DURING VISIT TO TANKER FIRE AREA

China agreed to restructure Cuban debt and provide new trade and investment credits to the beleaguered Caribbean Island nation after a meeting in Beijing between the two Communist countries’ leaders, the Cuban president, Miguel Diaz-Canel, said on November 27, 2022.

BEIJING, CHINA (ARCHIVE - NOVEMBER 25, 2022) (CUBAN GOVERNMENT TV – Access All)

34. CUBAN AND CHINESE FLAGS

35. DIAZ-CANEL AND XI JINPING POSING FOR PHOTOGRAPHS

36. VARIOUS OF DIAZ-CANEL AND XI JINPING DURING WELCOME CEREMONY

HAVANA, CUBA (ARCHIVE – JANUARY 27, 2023) (REUTERS – Access All)

37. DIAZ-CANEL TOGETHER WITH RAUL CASTRO AT A PUBLIC EVENT

HAVANA, CUBA (ARCHIVE – JANUARY 27, 2023) (CUBAN GOVERNMENT TV – Access All)

38. DIAZ-CANEL TOGETHER WITH RAUL CASTRO LEADING A MARCH

CAMPECHE, MEXICO (ARCHIVE - FEBRUARY 11, 2023) (MEXICAN GOVERNMENT TV – Access All)

39. MEXICAN PRESIDENT ANDRES MANUEL LOPEZ OBRADOR GIVING ORDER OF THE AZTEC EAGLE AWARD TO DIAZ-CANEL

Cuba’s incumbent President Miguel Diaz-Canel was expected to be elected for a second term on April 19, 2023 following a rocky first five years in which he led the country through the coronavirus pandemic and near-unprecedented economic crisis.

SANTA CLARA, CUBA (ARCHIVE - MARCH 26, 2023) (CUBAN POOL – Access all)

40. DIAZ-CANEL IN POLLING STATION

HAVANA, CUBA (ARCHIVE - APRIL 19, 2023) (CUBAN GOVERNMENT TV – Access All)

41. DIAZ-CANEL APPLAUDING DURING ANNOUNCEMENT OF HIS RE-ELECTION AS PRESIDENT BEFORE THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

42. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) PRESIDENT OF THE NATIONAL ELECTORAL COUNCIL, ALINA BALSEIRO, SAYING: (SOUNDBITE STARTS OVER IMAGE OF DIAZ-CANEL - CONTINUES OVER IMAGE OF SCREEN WITH ELECTION RESULTS AND CASTRO HOLDING HANDS WITH DIAZ-CANEL) “With 459 votes representing 97.66% of the total deputies that make up the Assembly.”

HAVANA, CUBA (ARCHIVE - SEPTEMBER 15, 2023) (POOL – Access All)

43. DIAZ-CANEL GREETING PALESTINE’S PRESIDENT, MAHMOUD ABBAS, DURING G77 + CHINA GROUP SUMMIT

44. COLOMBIAN PRESIDENT GUSTAVO PETRO ARRIVING AND SHAKING HANDS WITH DIAZ-CANEL / PETRO GREETING FOREIGN MINISTER BRUNO RODRIGUEZ

45. VENEZUELAN PRESIDENT NICOLAS MADURO SHAKING HANDS WITH DIAZ-CANEL AND POSING FOR PHOTOS

46. DIAZ-CANEL, UN SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTONIO GUTERRES AND FORMER CUBAN PRESIDENT RAUL CASTRO ARRIVING AT OPENING CEREMONY

47. SUMMIT IN PROGRESS

48. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) CUBA’S PRESIDENT, MIGUEL DIAZ-CANEL, SAYING:

"Let us fight for our right to development, which is also the right to exist as a species.”

HAVANA, CUBA (ARCHIVE - SEPTEMBER 15, 2023) (REUTERS – Access All)

49. OFFICIALS POSING FOR PHOTOGRAPH

50. DIAZ-CANEL WITH CASTRO AND U.N. GENERAL SECRETARY, ANTONIO GUTERRES

HAVANA, CUBA (ARCHIVE - 16, 2023) (REUTERS – Access all)

51. DIAZ-CANEL AND BRAZILIAN PRESIDENT LULA DA SILVA AT OFFICIAL CEREMONY AT THE REVOLUTION PALACE BEFORE GUARD OF HONOR PLAYING THE NATIONAL ANTHEM OF CUBA

52. VARIOUS OF DIAZ-CANEL AND LULA REVIEWING HONOR GUARD DURING CEREMONY

UNITED NATIONS (ARCHIVE - SEPTEMBER 19, 2023) (UNTV – Access all)

53. DIAZ-CANEL ADDRESSING THE GENERAL DEBATE OF THE 78TH SESSION OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE U.N.

54. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) CUBA’S PRESIDENT, MIGUEL DIAZ-CANEL, SAYING (SOUNDBITE CONTINUES OVER U.S. DELEGATION AND DIAZ-CANEL AT PODIUM):

"For 60 years, Cuba has been suffering from a suffocating economic blockade. The U.S. actions are completely unilateral and unjustified. The Cuban people resist and creatively overcome challenges every day in the face of this ruthless economic war."

SANTIAGO DE CUBA, CUBA (ARCHIVE – JANUARY 1, 2024) (CUBAN GOVERNMENT TV – Access All)

55. FORMER DEPUTY LEADER OF THE COMMUNIST PARTY, JOSE RAMON MACHADO VENTURA (LEFT), CASTRO, DIAZ-CANEL AND FORMER VICE PRESIDENT, RAMIRO VALDES (RIGHT), HOLDING HANDS AND RAISING ARMS IN AN ACT FOR THE 65TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE CUBAN REVOLUTION

Russian President Vladimir Putin on May 9, 2024 hosted Cuban counterpart Miguel Diaz-Canel for talks at the Kremlin in Moscow. Diaz-Canel was in the Russian capital to attend the country's annual World War Two victory day event.

MOSCOW, RUSSIA (ARCHIVE - MAY 9, 2024) (RUSSIAN POOL - Access all)

56. RUSSIAN PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN ENTERING

57. PUTIN AND CUBAN PRESIDENT MIGUEL DIAZ-CANEL SHAKING HANDS

58. (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) RUSSIAN PRESIDENT, VLADIMIR PUTIN, SAYING:

"We are grateful to you for finding the opportunity to attend the parade in honor of the 79th anniversary of the victory in the Great Patriotic War. I would like to note, probably not everyone knows this, that Cuban patriots also took part in the war against Nazism."

59. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) CUBAN PRESIDENT, MIGUEL DIAZ-CANEL, SAYING:

"And today has been a privilege, I tell you this with all sincerity, and also with all gratitude for the opportunity to be together with you and other friends at the event for the date as significant as Victory Day, 79th anniversary, an undoubtedly important date for the Russian people, and for all humanity."

60. PUTIN LISTENING TO DIAZ-CANEL

A Russian navy frigate and a nuclear-powered submarine churned into Havana harbor on June 12, 2024. A stopover the U.S. and Cuba said posed no threat but which was widely seen as a Russian show of force as tensions rise over the Ukraine war.

Curious onlookers, fishermen and police lined the Malecon seafront boulevard under sullen skies to welcome the ships as they passed the 400-year old Morro castle at the harbor's entrance.

HAVANA, CUBA (ARCHIVE - JUNE 12, 2024) (REUTERS - Access all)

61. VARIOUS OF RUSSIAN FRIGATE ADMIRAL GORSHKOV, ARRIVING IN HAVANA

62. VARIOUS OF SUBMARINE ARRIVING IN HAVANA

63. CROWD WATCHING FROM SEAWALL PROMENADE (THE ‘MALECON’)

The president of the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Dannis Francis, arrived in Cuba on June 27, 2024, where he called for respect for Bolivia's Constitution a day after a failed coup by a faction of the army in that country.

HAVANA, CUBA (ARCHIVE - JUNE 27, 2024) (POOL – Access all)

64. PRESIDENT OF UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY, DENNIS FRANCIS, BEING WELCOMED BY CUBAN OFFICIALS AT AIRPORT

65. CUBAN AND U.N. FLAGS

66. VARIOUS OF FRANCIS DURING MEETING WITH CUBAN OFFICIALS

INTERNET (ARCHIVE - JULY 29, 2024) (SOCIAL MEDIA WEBSITE - Access all) (MUTE)

67. SCREENGRAB OF CUBAN PRESIDENT MIGUEL DIAZ-CANEL'S SOCIAL MEDIA POST ON X, READING (Spanish): "I SPOKE WITH BROTHER @NICOLASMADURO TO CONVEY WARM CONGRATULATIONS ON BEHALF OF THE PARTY, THE GOVERNMENT AND THE CUBAN PEOPLE FOR THE HISTORIC ELECTORAL VICTORY ACHIEVED, AFTER AN IMPRESSIVE DEMONSTRATION BY THE VENEZUELAN PEOPLE. I REAFFIRMED THE SOLIDARITY OF #CUBA."

Cuban athletes returned to Havana on Monday (August 12) night after the Paris Olympic Games, achieving nine medals, including two gold medals, setting a new historic record.

The delegation, led by Cuban wrestler Mijain Lopez, who achieved an unprecedented fifth consecutive gold medal in his category at the Summer Games, was welcomed by Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel at Jose Marti International Airport.

HAVANA, CUBA (ARCHIVE - AUGUST 12, 2024) (POOL - Access all) (NIGHT SHOTS)

68. CUBAN WRESTLER MIJAIN LOPEZ WAVING CUBAN FLAG WHILE HANGING OUT OF WINDOW OF COCKPIT DURING TAXIING

69. CUBAN PRESIDENT MIGUEL DIAZ-CANEL AND OFFICIALS WAITING ON RUNWAY AND ATHLETES GETTING OFF THE AIRCRAFT

70. DIAZ-CANEL EMBRACING LOPEZ

71. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) CUBAN, WRESTLER MIJAIN LOPEZ, SAYING:

"I am happy to be here in the homeland. It is a pride for any athlete after having accomplished the mission."

72. MUSICIANS PLAYING DURING CEREMONY

73. DIAZ-CANEL APPLAUDING

Cuba's booming private businesses braced for impact on September 18, 2024, as the island's communist-run government implemented a raft of new laws aimed at more tightly regulating the private sector.

The new rules follow by less than three years the legalization of private businesses after a decades-long ban put in place by former leader Fidel Castro.

HAVANA, CUBA (ARCHIVE - SEPTEMBER 16, 2024) (REUTERS – Access all)

74. PEOPLE WALKING IN FRONT OF GROCERY STORE

75. FOOD AND CLEANING PRODUCTS ON SHELVES

76. CUSTOMER LOOKING AT PRODUCTS ON DISPLAY

77. REFRIGERATOR WITH FROZEN FOOD

78. PEOPLE AT MARKET STREET

79. PERSONAL CARE PRODUCTS ON DISPLAY

80. SALESPERSON TALKING TO CUSTOMER

HAVANA, CUBA (ARCHIVE - SEPTEMBER 20, 2024) (REUTERS – Access All)

81. DIAZ-CANEL WALKING WITH ARM IN SLING ALONG WITH PERSONAL SECURITY OFFICERS

82. DIAZ-CANEL GREETING ATTENDEES AT RENEWABLE ENERGY FAIR

HAVANA, CUBA (ARCHIVE - SEPTEMBER 26, 2024) (REUTERS – Access All)

83. DIAZ-CANEL AND VIETNAM'S PRESIDENT, TO LAM, AT OFFICIAL WELCOME CEREMONY AT REVOLUTION PALACE

Leaders from Latin America and the Caribbean landed in Mexico to attend the inauguration of first ever female President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum, held on October 1, 2024.

ZUMPANGO, MEXICO STATE, MEXICO (ARCHIVE - SEPTEMBER 29, 2024) (SECRETARIAT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF MEXICO HANDOUT – Access all) (MUTE)

84. SOLDIERS IN FORMATION TO WELCOME CUBAN PRESIDENT MIGUEL DIAZ-CANEL

85. DIAZ-CANEL GETTING OFF PLANE AND GREETING MEXICAN GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL

86. DIAZ-CANEL ENTERING AIRPORT

87. DIAZ-CANEL POSING FOR PHOTOGRAPH

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel led a pro-Palestinian demonstration in Havana on October 14, 2024. Demonstrators marched along the Malecon boardwalk demanding peace in Gaza.

HAVANA, CUBA (ARCHIVE - OCTOBER 14, 2024) (REUTERS - Access all)

88. VARIOUS OF CUBAN PRESIDENT, MIGUEL DIAZ CANEL, LEADING PRO-PALESTINIANS MARCH

89. DEMONSTRATION MARCHING ALONG HAVANA'S MALECON

Cubans endured on October 17, 2024, the worst day of blackouts in the year, as over half of the island suffered power outages due to fuel shortages and infrastructure failures.

The spike in outages comes after months of hours-long blackouts across Cuba, as decrepit oil-fired power plants, many decades old, fail repeatedly, and the bankrupt Communist-run government, saddled by U.S. sanctions, struggles to purchase fuel on the global market.

HAVANA, CUBA (ARCHIVE - OCTOBER 17, 2024) (REUTERS – Access All)

90. VARIOUS OF FLOATING POWER PLANT AT HAVANA BAY

HAVANA, CUBA (ARCHIVE - OCTOBER 18, 2024)(REUTERS – Access all) (NIGHT SHOTS)

91. PEOPLE SITTING NEXT TO DARK ROAD AS VEHICLES PASS BY

92. VARIOUS OF PEOPLE STANDING AROUND FIRE

93. PEOPLE DANCING AND PLAYING THE DRUMS

HAVANA, CUBA (ARCHIVE - OCTOBER 19, 2024) (REUTERS - Access all)

94. PEOPLE QUEUING IN FRONT OF BAKERY IN OLD HAVANA

95. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) LOCAL, RENE DUARTE, SAYING:

"We have to get used to all these things (blackouts) and we can't be commenting much because we don't want problems with justice. You know that now here you can't talk too much."

HAVANA, CUBA (ARCHIVE - OCTOBER 19, 2024) (ORIGINALLY SHOT IN PORTRAIT) (CUBAN GOVERNMENT TV - Access all)

96. VARIOUS OF CUBAN PRESIDENT MIGUEL DIAZ-CANEL TOURING THE MINISTRY OF ENERGY OFFICE (ON SCREEN CAPTIONS FROM SOURCE)

HAVANA, CUBA (ARCHIVE -OCTOBER 20, 2024) (CUBAN GOVERNMENT TV – Access all)

97. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) PRESIDENT OF CUBA, MIGUEL DIAZ-CANEL, SAYING: (SOUNDBITE CONTINUES OVER IMAGE OF ATTENDEES AT MEETING)

"The revolution will never tolerate this type of behaviour (protests). Everyone will be processed accordingly with the rigor that the revolutionary laws contemplate."

HAVANA, CUBA (ARCHIVE - OCTOBER 21, 2024) (REUTERS – Access all) (NIGHT SHOTS)

98. VARIOUS OF CUBANS BANGING POTS AND PANS ON THE STREET IN PROTEST AGAINST BLACKOUTS

99. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) PROTESTER, MARLEY GONZALEZ, SAYING:

“We have been without power for four days, the food has spoiled, the children are struggling, we have no cold water, we have nothing.”

100. BUILDINGS SITTING IN THE DARK DURING BLACKOUT

The death toll from tropical storm Oscar reached at least six people, Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said on October 21, 2024, one day after it made landfall in Guantanamo as a category one hurricane.

According to the Institute of Meteorology's latest report, Oscar was downgraded to a tropical storm after it began to weaken. Oscar lashed Cuba's eastern end and most damages were reported in the Guantanamo province, with the San Antonio and Imias municipalities recording historic flooding levels, Diaz-Canel told government media.

HAVANA, CUBA (ARCHIVE - OCTOBER 21, 2024) (CUBAN GOVERNMENT TV – Access all)

101. CUBAN GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS GATHERING

102. CUBAN PRESIDENT MIGUEL DIAZ-CANEL SPEAKING AT MEETING WITH GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS

BARACOA, CUBA (ARCHIVE - OCTOBER 20, 2024) (CUBAN GOVERNMENT TV – Access all)

103. PUBLIC LIGHTING POST SHAKING

104. BANANA TREES SHAKING DUE TO STRONG WINDS

105. RAINWATER RUNNING DOWN BUILDING STAIRCASE

106. VARIOUS OF PEOPLE ARRIVING AT SHELTERS

HAVANA, CUBA (ARCHIVE - OCTOBER 21, 2024) (CUBAN GOVERNMENT TV – Access all)

107. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) CUBAN PRESIDENT, MIGUEL DIAZ-CANEL, SAYING:

"We want to inform the population that the effects are severe at this time in the province of Guantanamo, with which we have maintained constant communication."

GUANTANAMO, CUBA (ARCHIVE - OCTOBER 21, 2024) (CUBAN GOVERNMENT TV – Access all)

108. RESCUE TEAMS AND RED CROSS STAFF GETTING READY FOR RESCUE EFFORTS

109. BOAT FILLED WITH PEOPLE RESCUED FROM FLOODS

110. RESCUE OFFICERS AND RED CROSS STAFF STANDING NEXT TO TRUCK UNDER THE RAIN

111. SIGN ON BACKPACK READING (Spanish): "CUBAN RED CROSS"

112. RESCUERS AND RED CROSS STAFF PREPARING FOR RESCUE EFFORTS

SAN ANTONIO DEL SUR, GUANTANAMO, CUBA (ARCHIVE - OCTOBER 29, 2024) (POOL - Access all)

113. BULLDOZERS REMOVING DEBRIS

114. FURNITURE IN STREET COVERED WITH MUD

HAVANA, CUBA (ARCHIVE - DECEMBER 20, 2024) (CUBAN GOVERNMENT TV - Access all)

115. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) CUBAN PRESIDENT, MIGUEL DIAZ-CANEL, SAYING:

"If United States insists in its determination to break our sovereignty, our independence, our socialism: they will only find rebellion and intransigence.”

HAVANA, CUBA (ARCHIVE - DECEMBER 20, 2024) (REUTERS – Access all)

116. VARIOUS OF DIAZ-CANEL AND RAUL CASTRO HEADING MARCH ON MALECON

Russian President Vladimir Putin met his Cuban counterpart Miguel Diaz-Canel on May 7, 2025, seeking to boost cooperation between both countries.

MOSCOW, RUSSIA (ARCHIVE - MAY 7, 2025) (KREMLIN.RU - Do not obscure logo)

117. RUSSIAN PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN SHAKING HANDS WITH CUBAN PRESIDENT MIGUEL DIAZ-CANEL DURING A MEETING AT THE KREMLIN / PRESIDENTS POSING FOR PHOTOGRAPHS

Cuba received on January 15, 2026, the remains of its soldiers who died in combat during the United States attack on Venezuela to remove President Nicolas Maduro. A military band, dressed in olive-green uniforms and positioned around Cuban flags, played the national anthem on the tarmac in a solemn ceremony led by Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel, leader Raul Castro, and senior military commanders.

HAVANA, CUBA (ARCHIVE - JANUARY 15, 2026) (CUBAVISION - Access All)

118. MILITARY CEREMONY AT AIRPORT

119. TRUMPETER PLAYING

120. FORMER CUBAN PRESIDENT RAUL CASTRO NEXT TO PRESIDENT MIGUEL DIAZ-CANEL DURING CEREMONY

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel on February 5, 2026, stated that Cuba is ready to engage in dialogue with the United States but emphasized that any discussions must be free from external pressure and respect the nation's sovereignty.

HAVANA, CUBA (ARCHIVE - FEBRUARY 5, 2026) (CUBAN PRESIDENCY HANDOUT - Access all)

121. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) CUBAN PRESIDENT, MIGUEL DIAZ-CANEL, SAYING:

"Cuba is willing to engage in dialogue with the United States, dialogue on any issue that needs to be discussed or debated. Under what conditions? Without pressure. Dialogue cannot take place under pressure. Conditions must always be based on equality, on respect for our sovereignty, our independence, our self-determination."

Russian Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev met with President Miguel Diaz-Canel on January 20, 2026, during his visit to the Caribbean ally, officials said. Kolokoltsev held a bilateral meeting with Diaz-Canel after paying tribute to 32 Cuban combatants killed during a U.S. military attack in Venezuela earlier in the day.

HAVANA, CUBA (ARCHIVE - JANUARY 20, 2026) (CUBA GOVERNMENT TV– Access All)

122. CUBAN PRESIDENT MIGUEL DIAZ-CANEL MEETING WITH RUSSIAN INTERIOR MINISTER VLADIMIR KOLOKOLTSEV

123. CUBAN MILITARY OFFICIALS

124. DIAZ-CANEL AND KOLOKOLTSEV SPEAKING

125. DIAZ-CANEL DURING MEETING

126. MEETING IN PROGRESS

Cuban officials have held talks with the U.S. government to seek solutions to the blockade imposed on the Caribbean nation, President Miguel Diaz-Canel said in a video broadcast early on March 13, 2026, on national television.

HAVANA, CUBA (ARCHIVE - MARCH 13, 2026) (CUBAN GOVERNMENT TV – Access all)

127. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) CUBAN PRESIDENT, MIGUEL DIAZ-CANEL, SAYING (OVERLAID ON SHOT OF MEETING):

"Cuban officials have recently held talks with representatives of the United States government. These conversations have been aimed at finding solutions through dialogue to the bilateral differences we have between the two nations."

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said on March 13, 2026, that a group of experts from the FBI is to visit the island to take part in the investigation into an attack against a speedboat that entered Cuban waters and killed five people.

HAVANA, CUBA (ARCHIVE - MARCH 13, 2026) (CUBAN GOVERNMENT TV – Access all)

128. CUBAN PRESIDENT, MIGUEL DIAZ-CANEL, SPEAKING DURING PRESS CONFERENCE

129. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) CUBAN PRESIDENT, MIGUEL DIAZ-CANEL, SAYING (SOUNDBITE RUNS OVER SHOT OF MEMBERS OF GOVERNMENT):

"U.S. counterparts have been informed (ed’s note: referring to the case of Cuban Americans who infiltrated the country on a speedboat). They have thanked us for the information provided. Through consular channels — that's the exact term — through diplomatic, consular channels, they have expressed their willingness to participate jointly in clarifying the facts, and we are awaiting a possible visit — already announced — by FBI experts to take part in clarifying the investigations together with our Interior Ministry forces. Therefore, yes, there is information and there is cooperation with U.S. counterparts, and we are awaiting a group of FBI experts to continue moving forward with this investigation."

130. MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS (LEFT), BRUNO RODRIGUEZ, NEXT TO INTERIOR MINISTER, LAZARO ALBERTO ALVAREZ (CENTRE), AND MINISTER OF ARMED FORCES, ALVARO LOPEZ MIERA

Cubans gathered in Havana on April 16, 2026, to mark the 65th anniversary of Fidel Castro's declaration of the Cuban Revolution's socialist nature, as President Miguel Diaz-Canel warned the country must be ready to face "serious threats, including military aggression" from the United States.

HAVANA, CUBA (ARCHIVE - APRIL 16, 2026) (REUTERS - Access All)

131. CUBAN PRESIDENT MIGUEL DIAZ-CANEL STANDING IN LINE, IN FRONT OF GATHERING ALONGSIDE STATE LEADERS

132. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) PRESIDENT OF CUBA, MIGUEL DIAZ-CANEL, SAYING:

"We believe in dialogue and in the extraordinary power of peace to sustain life on the planet. The history of the dispute between Cuba and the United States has shown that it is possible to achieve it. We must think about everything that would affect the human lives of our two peoples if they were drawn into a senseless, illogical conflict for which there are no pretexts or justifications, when there is so much we can do together."

133. DIAZ-CANEL ON STAGE SPEAKING (NOT A SOUNDBITE)