Andrés Pertierra
@andrespertierra.bsky.social
Historian of Cuba and Communist systems. LatAm & Caribbean History PhD candidate at UW-Madison. U of Havana BA, UW-Madison MA. Bylines in The Nation Mag & Dissent Mag, among others.
Pinned
From our spring issue: @andrespertierra.bsky.social on the mass emigration from Cuba.
www.dissentmagazine.org/article/the-...
www.dissentmagazine.org/article/the-...
The Cuban Exodus - Dissent Magazine
So long as Cubans’ rage and despair remain, the government cannot afford to curtail emigration. And there is no end in sight.
www.dissentmagazine.org
Happy to announce my feature article on the current Cuban crisis is now no longer paywalled!
Please feel free to read & share
Please feel free to read & share
Re: this bit of the Axios story saying that Maduro is scared to leave because he thinks his Cuban 'handlers' will execute him.
This... feels unconvincing on its face, and the fact that it is coming from 'US officials' rather than any Venezuelan source makes me even more cautious
This... feels unconvincing on its face, and the fact that it is coming from 'US officials' rather than any Venezuelan source makes me even more cautious
November 25, 2025 at 10:18 AM
Re: this bit of the Axios story saying that Maduro is scared to leave because he thinks his Cuban 'handlers' will execute him.
This... feels unconvincing on its face, and the fact that it is coming from 'US officials' rather than any Venezuelan source makes me even more cautious
This... feels unconvincing on its face, and the fact that it is coming from 'US officials' rather than any Venezuelan source makes me even more cautious
Earlier this year a bunch of foreign companies had their bank accounts frozen indefinitely; they cannot take their money out of Cuba.
This measure has now been extended not only to foreign companies generally but even embassy bank accounts. Unclear when/if money will be back
t.co/RU4xqvdYji
This measure has now been extended not only to foreign companies generally but even embassy bank accounts. Unclear when/if money will be back
t.co/RU4xqvdYji
November 21, 2025 at 10:35 AM
Earlier this year a bunch of foreign companies had their bank accounts frozen indefinitely; they cannot take their money out of Cuba.
This measure has now been extended not only to foreign companies generally but even embassy bank accounts. Unclear when/if money will be back
t.co/RU4xqvdYji
This measure has now been extended not only to foreign companies generally but even embassy bank accounts. Unclear when/if money will be back
t.co/RU4xqvdYji
Today is the anniversary of Franco's death, which feels like a good excuse to share the story of when Communist Cuba decreed 3 days of official mourning for Spain's anti-Communist caudillo 🧵
November 20, 2025 at 2:16 PM
Today is the anniversary of Franco's death, which feels like a good excuse to share the story of when Communist Cuba decreed 3 days of official mourning for Spain's anti-Communist caudillo 🧵
I've never felt more 'Latin' culturally than being in Germany where I have to constantly explain to people that joking around and being absurdist or exaggerated is just a sign of affection and intimacy and not a dig at them or whatever
November 20, 2025 at 10:31 AM
I've never felt more 'Latin' culturally than being in Germany where I have to constantly explain to people that joking around and being absurdist or exaggerated is just a sign of affection and intimacy and not a dig at them or whatever
Cuba made headlines for 1/10 (10%) leaving the island, then again for 1/5 (20%), but now as many as 1/4 (25%) have left and many who remain are just trying to figure out how to get out.
Insane. Unprecedented. Depressing as hell.
www.economist.com/the-americas...
Insane. Unprecedented. Depressing as hell.
www.economist.com/the-americas...
November 19, 2025 at 11:22 AM
Cuba made headlines for 1/10 (10%) leaving the island, then again for 1/5 (20%), but now as many as 1/4 (25%) have left and many who remain are just trying to figure out how to get out.
Insane. Unprecedented. Depressing as hell.
www.economist.com/the-americas...
Insane. Unprecedented. Depressing as hell.
www.economist.com/the-americas...
Nobody is beyond redemption but I genuinely do not understand how you can carry on an affair with someone you are covering as a journalist, fail to disclose it, get exposed, and then get another job.
November 18, 2025 at 2:52 PM
Nobody is beyond redemption but I genuinely do not understand how you can carry on an affair with someone you are covering as a journalist, fail to disclose it, get exposed, and then get another job.
The more I learn about Cuba holding the Panamerican games in 1991 the more surreal it is.
The country is going bankrupt and preparing for total economic collapse, but spend a ton of hard currency and invaluable construction materials that they have to import on a one off stadium
The country is going bankrupt and preparing for total economic collapse, but spend a ton of hard currency and invaluable construction materials that they have to import on a one off stadium
November 18, 2025 at 1:57 PM
The more I learn about Cuba holding the Panamerican games in 1991 the more surreal it is.
The country is going bankrupt and preparing for total economic collapse, but spend a ton of hard currency and invaluable construction materials that they have to import on a one off stadium
The country is going bankrupt and preparing for total economic collapse, but spend a ton of hard currency and invaluable construction materials that they have to import on a one off stadium
Even if Trump left office tomorrow and someone who was actually capable and interested in bringing back students replaced him, imho a lot of the damage is done. It's reputational. It's about stability and can't be easily fixed.
And Americans who were getting subsidized by foreigners will suffer
And Americans who were getting subsidized by foreigners will suffer
New foreign student enrollment in the US fell 17% this fall www.washingtonpost.com/education/20...
How foreign student enrollment is shifting in the U.S., in 6 charts
Foreign student enrollment in U.S. colleges has stalled, with a 17 percent decline in new students this fall after Trump policy changes, a key survey shows.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 17, 2025 at 3:23 PM
Even if Trump left office tomorrow and someone who was actually capable and interested in bringing back students replaced him, imho a lot of the damage is done. It's reputational. It's about stability and can't be easily fixed.
And Americans who were getting subsidized by foreigners will suffer
And Americans who were getting subsidized by foreigners will suffer
The latest episode of my podcast on the history of Cuba is now live.
This one focuses on the way that our sources and scholarly debates change from the pre-colonial to the early colonial periods, in an attempt to make it accessible.
And look! It's short!
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...
This one focuses on the way that our sources and scholarly debates change from the pre-colonial to the early colonial periods, in an attempt to make it accessible.
And look! It's short!
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...
November 17, 2025 at 2:56 PM
The latest episode of my podcast on the history of Cuba is now live.
This one focuses on the way that our sources and scholarly debates change from the pre-colonial to the early colonial periods, in an attempt to make it accessible.
And look! It's short!
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...
This one focuses on the way that our sources and scholarly debates change from the pre-colonial to the early colonial periods, in an attempt to make it accessible.
And look! It's short!
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...
I'm most of the way through this book on the parallels between cult strategies, political extremism, and 'totalitarian systems'. I think parts of it are helpful but also kind of wary of a lot of the key args
November 17, 2025 at 9:43 AM
I'm most of the way through this book on the parallels between cult strategies, political extremism, and 'totalitarian systems'. I think parts of it are helpful but also kind of wary of a lot of the key args
The Soviet fleet was only 12th biggest in the world by 1961 per Oscar Sanchez-Sibony's Red Globalization
This recontextualizes, for me, how much of the fleet would be tied up in shipments to Cuba for sugar that the USSR and its allies didn't even need in the 60s
This recontextualizes, for me, how much of the fleet would be tied up in shipments to Cuba for sugar that the USSR and its allies didn't even need in the 60s
November 12, 2025 at 11:03 AM
The Soviet fleet was only 12th biggest in the world by 1961 per Oscar Sanchez-Sibony's Red Globalization
This recontextualizes, for me, how much of the fleet would be tied up in shipments to Cuba for sugar that the USSR and its allies didn't even need in the 60s
This recontextualizes, for me, how much of the fleet would be tied up in shipments to Cuba for sugar that the USSR and its allies didn't even need in the 60s
Wrote a short post on the alleged spy scandal in Cuba involving the former Minister of the Economy; probably the highest ranking spy scandal since 1959, *if true*
pertierra.substack.com/p/spy-story-...
pertierra.substack.com/p/spy-story-...
Spy Story or Scapegoat?
Notes on the ongoing Alejandro Gil Affair
pertierra.substack.com
November 11, 2025 at 10:53 AM
Wrote a short post on the alleged spy scandal in Cuba involving the former Minister of the Economy; probably the highest ranking spy scandal since 1959, *if true*
pertierra.substack.com/p/spy-story-...
pertierra.substack.com/p/spy-story-...
"It is estimated that from the end of [WWII] until its fall, the Soviet Union offered a total of $68 billion in economic aid, of which about $41 billion had been delivered before the fall; this is about the same as the United States provided Israel alone during the same period."
November 10, 2025 at 1:59 PM
"It is estimated that from the end of [WWII] until its fall, the Soviet Union offered a total of $68 billion in economic aid, of which about $41 billion had been delivered before the fall; this is about the same as the United States provided Israel alone during the same period."
I knew the economic situation in Bolivia was getting dire, but I didn't realize that despite being an important gas exporter in the 00s and 2010s (the fossil fuel underwriting expanded gov social spending), at present Bolivia is *importing* gas
t.co/ueAfEiZxL8
t.co/ueAfEiZxL8
https://bbc.com/audio/play/p0mdrrlw
t.co
November 6, 2025 at 11:45 AM
I knew the economic situation in Bolivia was getting dire, but I didn't realize that despite being an important gas exporter in the 00s and 2010s (the fossil fuel underwriting expanded gov social spending), at present Bolivia is *importing* gas
t.co/ueAfEiZxL8
t.co/ueAfEiZxL8
Finally got around to reading this and am about halfway through.
Honestly, pretty important book imho. Certainly important for moving past the false idea of capitalist vs socialist world economies in the Cold War and super helpful for understanding how Soviet trade strategy worked
Honestly, pretty important book imho. Certainly important for moving past the false idea of capitalist vs socialist world economies in the Cold War and super helpful for understanding how Soviet trade strategy worked
November 5, 2025 at 2:35 PM
Finally got around to reading this and am about halfway through.
Honestly, pretty important book imho. Certainly important for moving past the false idea of capitalist vs socialist world economies in the Cold War and super helpful for understanding how Soviet trade strategy worked
Honestly, pretty important book imho. Certainly important for moving past the false idea of capitalist vs socialist world economies in the Cold War and super helpful for understanding how Soviet trade strategy worked
Wrote a short post on the Venezuela-Libya analogies that are going around.
pertierra.substack.com/p/the-proble...
pertierra.substack.com/p/the-proble...
The Problem with Analogies
Why Libya does NOT seem like a good comparison for Venezuela
pertierra.substack.com
November 4, 2025 at 8:41 PM
Wrote a short post on the Venezuela-Libya analogies that are going around.
pertierra.substack.com/p/the-proble...
pertierra.substack.com/p/the-proble...
Reposted by Andrés Pertierra
NEW EPISODE - The German Democratic Republic The Rise and Fall of a #ColdWar State with @historyned.bsky.social & @bloomsburybooksuk.bsky.social
Listen here 🎧🎧 coldwarconversations.com/episode428/
#eastgermany #GDR #DDR #berlinwall
Listen here 🎧🎧 coldwarconversations.com/episode428/
#eastgermany #GDR #DDR #berlinwall
November 2, 2025 at 9:05 AM
NEW EPISODE - The German Democratic Republic The Rise and Fall of a #ColdWar State with @historyned.bsky.social & @bloomsburybooksuk.bsky.social
Listen here 🎧🎧 coldwarconversations.com/episode428/
#eastgermany #GDR #DDR #berlinwall
Listen here 🎧🎧 coldwarconversations.com/episode428/
#eastgermany #GDR #DDR #berlinwall
Finally getting around to reading something more in-depth about Libya.
About a quarter of the way through and, honestly, it is making me more skeptical of Libya comparisons for Venezuela rather than more. There's some points of similarity but feels apples to oranges
About a quarter of the way through and, honestly, it is making me more skeptical of Libya comparisons for Venezuela rather than more. There's some points of similarity but feels apples to oranges
November 1, 2025 at 12:47 PM
Finally getting around to reading something more in-depth about Libya.
About a quarter of the way through and, honestly, it is making me more skeptical of Libya comparisons for Venezuela rather than more. There's some points of similarity but feels apples to oranges
About a quarter of the way through and, honestly, it is making me more skeptical of Libya comparisons for Venezuela rather than more. There's some points of similarity but feels apples to oranges
The former Cuban Minister of the Economy, who was unceremoniously removed from his post without explanation in early 2024, has been accused of corruption and (even bigger news) espionage
www.dw.com/es/cuba-acus...
www.dw.com/es/cuba-acus...
Cuba acusa a exministro por espionaje, evasión y lavado – DW – 01/11/2025
Alejandro Gil, extitular de Economía, fue destituido en febrero de 2024 por supuestos "graves errores".
www.dw.com
November 1, 2025 at 8:03 AM
The former Cuban Minister of the Economy, who was unceremoniously removed from his post without explanation in early 2024, has been accused of corruption and (even bigger news) espionage
www.dw.com/es/cuba-acus...
www.dw.com/es/cuba-acus...
Kind of insane story I came across while reading for the dissertation:
Apparently one of the main players of a major Cuban exile terror org defected in the early 1990s, revealing himself to be a double agent for Cuban intelligence, saying they gave him supplies
www.nytimes.com/1992/11/11/u...
Apparently one of the main players of a major Cuban exile terror org defected in the early 1990s, revealing himself to be a double agent for Cuban intelligence, saying they gave him supplies
www.nytimes.com/1992/11/11/u...
Leader of Exile Group Tells of Spying for Cuba (Published 1992)
www.nytimes.com
October 31, 2025 at 10:06 AM
Kind of insane story I came across while reading for the dissertation:
Apparently one of the main players of a major Cuban exile terror org defected in the early 1990s, revealing himself to be a double agent for Cuban intelligence, saying they gave him supplies
www.nytimes.com/1992/11/11/u...
Apparently one of the main players of a major Cuban exile terror org defected in the early 1990s, revealing himself to be a double agent for Cuban intelligence, saying they gave him supplies
www.nytimes.com/1992/11/11/u...
A rare case of a journalist actually documenting how congresses/parliamentary meetings in Cuba are choreographed theater.
This from Oppenheimer's "Castro's Final Hour", on the 1991 Cuban Communist Party Congress, that was set to debate reforms to economy and political system
This from Oppenheimer's "Castro's Final Hour", on the 1991 Cuban Communist Party Congress, that was set to debate reforms to economy and political system
October 29, 2025 at 4:00 PM
A rare case of a journalist actually documenting how congresses/parliamentary meetings in Cuba are choreographed theater.
This from Oppenheimer's "Castro's Final Hour", on the 1991 Cuban Communist Party Congress, that was set to debate reforms to economy and political system
This from Oppenheimer's "Castro's Final Hour", on the 1991 Cuban Communist Party Congress, that was set to debate reforms to economy and political system
Reposted by Andrés Pertierra
So excited for this! 4pm today—Hope to see you there!!
October 27, 2025 at 1:17 PM
So excited for this! 4pm today—Hope to see you there!!
"It doesn't make sense to create islands of efficiency such as tourism or biotechnology in an economy that is globally inefficient. We have to be able to invest the proceeds of our showcase industries [...]. Otherwise, we're throwing money into a bottomless barrel." - Cuban official circa 1991
October 27, 2025 at 11:07 AM
"It doesn't make sense to create islands of efficiency such as tourism or biotechnology in an economy that is globally inefficient. We have to be able to invest the proceeds of our showcase industries [...]. Otherwise, we're throwing money into a bottomless barrel." - Cuban official circa 1991
Reposted by Andrés Pertierra
🇨🇺NEW EP🇨🇺 We take on both parts of Steven Soderbergh's epic of revolutions triumphant and disastrous, CHE, with historian of Cuba @andrespertierra.bsky.social!
You have no idea how much reading we did for this. Really special episode, check it out!
podcastyforme.com
You have no idea how much reading we did for this. Really special episode, check it out!
podcastyforme.com
October 24, 2025 at 4:09 PM
🇨🇺NEW EP🇨🇺 We take on both parts of Steven Soderbergh's epic of revolutions triumphant and disastrous, CHE, with historian of Cuba @andrespertierra.bsky.social!
You have no idea how much reading we did for this. Really special episode, check it out!
podcastyforme.com
You have no idea how much reading we did for this. Really special episode, check it out!
podcastyforme.com
Honestly, even if the Sandinistas had won the 1990 elections, it sounds like they were looking down the barrel of economic collapse anyway bc of hyperinflation combined with the imminent loss of most of its supply of oil from the USSR and Cuba
October 20, 2025 at 2:50 PM
Honestly, even if the Sandinistas had won the 1990 elections, it sounds like they were looking down the barrel of economic collapse anyway bc of hyperinflation combined with the imminent loss of most of its supply of oil from the USSR and Cuba