On June 20, 2019, the US State Department added Cuba to the lowest tier in its 2019 Trafficking in Persons Report. The Report claims that “Cuba does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so.”

This ranking has conceivably nothing to do with Cuba’s true performance in actively combating trafficking in persons and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs absolutely rejects it for being a complete slander.

Pretoria, 21 June, 2019.-  Artículo del Embajador de Cuba en Sudáfrica, Rodolfo Benítez Verson en el marco del 40 aniversario del establecimiento de las relaciones diplomáticas entre Cuba y Lesotho, fue publicado en el importante periódico de Lesotho "The Post".

CUBA AND LESOTHO: 40 YEARS OF FRUITFUL DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS

Author: Rodolfo Benítez Verson, Ambassador of Cuba to the Kingdom of Lesotho

On June 14, 1979, the Republic of Cuba and the Kingdom of Lesotho decided to formalize their diplomatic relations.

The Hague, June 18, 2019. On the afternoon of June 17, the Embassy of Cuba in the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Delft Association of Latin American Students (LATITUDE) carried out an attractive activity in which the attending students had the opportunity to learn more about Cuban history and culture

The Hague, June 11, 2019. The Head of Cuba´s Ministry of Tourism Office (MINTUR) Counselor Igor García began a work visit to The Netherlands to promote Cuba as a tourist destination in the Dutch market and hold meetings with official counterparts and Dutch tourist agencies.

This morning he held a positive meeting with Jeroen Smits of the company Auke Media to assess opportunities for joint projects.

Addis Ababa, June 20, 2019.  On the occasion of the reception of new medical equipment to the African Union clinic, the Deputy Chairperson of the AUC, H.E. Mr. Thomas Kwesi Quartey acknowledged the contribution of Cuba to the struggle against colonialism, the preservation of the sovereignty of various contries in the continent, as well as the medical services rendered by the Cubans to Africa for many decades.

Representatives of the board of the Association of Resident Cubans ¨Martires de Barbados¨ and Cuban collaborators, with the Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla.

Ambassador Tania Aguiar Fernández; held a meeting with Dr. Yasmine Fouad, Minister of the Environment of the Arab Republic of Egypt. Participated on the Egyptian side Councilor Tamer Mostafa M. Ali, Cabinet Chief of the Minister ; Abir AbuZeid, Assistant Secretary of the Egyptian Agency for Environmental Affairs and Tamer Abougharara, Assistant to the Minister. Accompanied by the Ambassador, Counselor Dennis Casares Benítez.

The ambassador of Cuba in Egypt, Tania Aguiar Fernandez, held a meeting with the main figures of the Nation's Future Party. Ashraf Rashad Al-Sherif, Chairman of the Party, participated in the meeting; Hossam ElKhouly, General Secretary of the Party; Tariq al-Khouli, Secretary General of the Party's Foreign Affairs, as well as other officials of the Latin American Department of the Party's Secretariat of Foreign Affairs. On the Cuban side he accompanied the Ambassador, Councilor Dennis Casares Benítez, official of the Cuban Mission.

Washington, June 20, 2019. Carnival, the world''s largest cruise company, reduced its prospects for profits this year due to the decision by the Government of the United States to suspend its ships'' voyages to Cuba.

In a communiqué, the firm adjusted its predictions from 4.35-4.55 to 4.25-4.35 dollars, due to the US actions.

Other companies in the sector, such as Norwegian Cruise and Royal Caribbean, also reduced their growth predictions after the measures taken by the Donald Trump administration.