About 50 people, some holding signs and Cuban flags, gathered Wednesday outside the iconic Versailles restaurant on Calle Ocho in Miami, a regular meeting point for the Cuban exile community. The atmosphere was celebratory. And besides commemorating the island’s independence, the occasion was the indictment of Raúl Castro.
© CRISTOBAL HERRERA-ULASHKEVICH (EFE)
The federal indictment against Raúl Castro over the 1996 shooting down of two planes belonging to the Cuban exile organization Brothers to the Rescue, scheduled for Wednesday, has put the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Jason Reding Quiñones, in the spotlight. The son of Cuban refugees now oversees one of the most symbolic investigations for Miami’s exile community and, perhaps, the most consequential in the turbulent history of relations between Washington and Havana.
© Departamento de Justicia de los Estados Unidos
Jorge Mas Santos (Miami, 63) is a leading figure of the Cuban exile community in the United States. He is so by inheritance —as the son of the historic Jorge Mas Canosa, who died in 1997 and championed the Helms-Burton Act that tightened the American embargo against the island— and by his current standing: president of the Cuban American National Foundation, majority shareholder of the engineering and infrastructure company MasTec, which trades on the New York Stock Exchange, and owner of Inter Miami, the club that brought Lionel Messi to the city in 2023.
PARIS, May 16 — Andy SCOTT Lionel Messi’s career seemed complete after he led Argentina to victory at the 2022 World Cup, but the motivation to keep playing is still there for him and his great rival Cristiano Ronaldo as the duo prepare to make history at this year’s tournament in North America.
This will be the last dance for Messi and Ronaldo, who will become the first players to appear in six different World Cups, two decades on from their fresh-faced debuts at the finals.
They have since become icons far beyond the football pitch, two of the most recognisable people on the planet as they head into middle age and contemplate retirement.
Messi appeared to suggest that there would not be much point in carrying on after he skippered Argentina to victory in Qatar.
“Obviously I wanted to finish my career with this. I can’t ask for any more,” he said after dragging Lionel Scaloni’s side to victory over France on penalties in that World Cup final in Doha.
“My career is coming to an end because these are my final years. What more could there be after this?”
Plenty more, it turns out.
Messi was in the middle of an underwhelming spell at Paris Saint-Germain then, and six months later he departed for Major League Soccer.
There he is excelling with Inter Miami, with whom he won the MLS Cup last year.
He might no longer be playing at the very highest level every week, but he remains crucial for Argentina.
The Barcelona legend captained his country to victory at the Copa America in the US in 2024, and was the top scorer in South American World Cup qualifying.
“I love playing football, and I’m going to do it until I can’t anymore,” he said recently.
At one stage there were some doubts as to whether he would play at another World Cup, a tournament he first graced in 2006, when aged 18 he scored in a 6-0 demolition of Serbia and Montenegro in Gelsenkirchen.
200 caps, goals record in sight
“I will do everything to make sure he is there,” insisted Scaloni, with Messi now just two games away from reaching 200 caps.
He is set to add to his record of 26 appearances in World Cup matches, including their run to the 2014 final in Brazil.
Messi has 13 World Cup goals, meaning Miroslav Klose’s record of 16 is within striking distance, especially as Argentina’s group opponents do not appear the toughest.
They will begin against Algeria and Austria before tackling Jordan in Dallas, three days after Messi’s 39th birthday.
He has a couple of years on Ronaldo, but the 41-year-old Portuguese talisman was determined to carry his international career on in the hope of landing the ultimate prize.
Ronaldo was a teenager when he lost the Euro 2004 final with Portugal on home soil, but he made up for that by captaining them to victory at Euro 2016.
Yet the World Cup has proven harder, at least after Portugal got to the 2006 semi-finals.
Portugal have won only one World Cup knockout match since, when they hammered Switzerland 6-1 in 2022 with Ronaldo dropped to the bench.
‘Exemplary commitment’
Roberto Martinez became coach after that and restored Ronaldo as the first-choice striker, which he remains despite not scoring at Euro 2024 when Portugal lost in the last eight.
He is the most-capped men’s player of all time with 226 international appearances, and the former Real Madrid and Manchester United superstar is now set to win the Saudi title with Al Nassr.
Ronaldo confirmed recently this would be his last World Cup, insisting: “I’m going to be 41 years old and I think it will be the moment.”
Portugal, who go into a group with Colombia, Uzbekistan and DR Congo, are genuine contenders to win it even if there are doubts as to whether Ronaldo is holding back a talented squad.
Personally, Ronaldo will be seeking to add to his eight World Cup goals, and finally get a first in the knockout stages.
“He is more than just a football player, but for the national team that is all he is,” said Martinez in an interview with Portuguese broadcaster RTP.
“He is the captain and he shows exemplary commitment to his country. He is incredible.”
Lifting the World Cup at 41 would be quite the way for Ronaldo to finish — and if both Portugal and Argentina top their groups, he and Messi would be on course to meet in the quarter-finals in Kansas City on July 11. — AFP
The Cuban regime on Thursday released a political prisoner, a member of the Ladies in White opposition movement. Sissi Abascal Zamora traveled to Miami after being freed and forced into exile, as confirmed by the U.S. State Department. Her release coincided with CIA Director John Ratcliffe’s trip to Havana for an unprecedented and surprise meeting with Raúl Rodríguez Castro, “Raulito,” Raúl Castro’s grandson and confidant, as well as with Cuban Interior Minister Lázaro Álvarez Casas and the head of Cuban intelligence. “I still can’t believe it,” a nervous Abascal Zamora said upon landing in the United States.
© Embajada EE UU en Cuba
It’s difficult to find an area that hasn’t been affected by climate change, which, among other things, is behind the increased frequency and intensity of heat waves worldwide. Sport is no exception, and competitions like the Winter Olympics and major cycling tours have been — or will be — seriously affected by global warming. The most-watched sporting event on the planet, the FIFA Men’s World Cup, being held in North America and starting in less than a month, will also be impacted by this crisis.
LOS ANGELES, May 14 — Lionel Messi scored twice and had a hand in two others as Inter Miami fought back to beat FC Cincinnati 5-3 away in the MLS on Wednesday.
With the World Cup in North America less than a month away, Argentina captain Messi is in excellent form.
He has 11 goals in 12 MLS matches this season, Miami’s latest victory boosting them into second place in the Eastern Conference with 25 points.
Messi opened the scoring in the 24th minute with a fortuitous rebound off a poor clearance by Matt Miazga.
It was 1-1 at half-time after Kevin Denkey’s 41st-minute penalty, then Pavel Bucha scored from close range to put the hosts 2-1 up soon after the break.
Messi struck again in the 55th minute, finishing off a flowing Miami attack with a left-footed shot from a cross by Rodrigo De Paul.
Cincinnati’s Brazilian playmaker Evander put the hosts back in front again with a blast from outside the box in the 64th minute, his seventh goal in six matches.
But Messi set up a goal for young fellow Argentine Mateo Silvetti in the 79th minute, with Mexico international German Berterame scoring again for 4-3.
Messi forced the final goal in the 89th minute.
The 38-year-old launched himself at a cross from Silvetti and struck it with his right foot, the ball crashing off the post and deflecting in off goalkeeper Roman Celentano for an own goal.
Miami coach Guillermo Hoyos was full of praise for his side.
“What they did today was brilliant, against a tough team and on a difficult pitch,” he said.
“It’s very hard to play here. It’s clear they’re not here to stroll around MLS.
“They’re here to play, to give everything, and to show the world that football is played here too.”
He added: “We’re leaving very happy.
“We were able to play football at a very high level.” — AFP
In Miami, it’s essential to stay alert for tropical storm and hurricane warnings. Torrential rains and high winds are compounded by rising sea levels due to global warming caused by climate change. South Florida’s porous limestone foundations act like a sponge. As sea levels rise, groundwater rises to the surface. To prevent Miami from becoming Atlantis, the only option is to raise it above the water, a project underway in Sunset Harbour and other residential areas — see the MB Rising Above cell phone app for details. This strategic plan is part of the Southeast Florida Regional Climate Change Compact.
© MikeDot ( Alamy / CORDON PRESS )
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