Latest news with #RadioMartí
Miami Herald
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
Radio Marti' is back on the air. Here's why its signal is likely not reaching Cuba
Despite an earlier announcement that Radio Martí was back on the air following a presidential executive order that suddenly halted the U.S.-funded radio broadcasting to Cuba, its signal is probably not reaching the island because its shortwave transmitters remain silent. Early in March, President Donald Trump issued an executive order mandating that the U.S. Agency for Global Media — the parent agency of Voice of America and the Office of Cuba Broadcasting, which oversees Radio and TV Martí and the online news site Martí Noticias — reduce operations to a minimum. All Martí employees and senior management at the Office of Cuba Broadcasting were placed on leave, and the radio station stopped transmitting for the first time in four decades. Following intense criticism in South Florida and lobbying efforts by members of the Republican congressional delegation from Miami, Martí's full-time employees and seven contractors were called back to work. But the station's shortwave radio signal, which is less likely to be jammed by Cuban authorities, was never restored. An attendant at the Greenville Transmitting Station in North Carolina, which carries the station's signal, confirmed to the Miami Herald that transmitters used to broadcast Radio Martí's shortwave signal to the island are off. A source knowledgeable about the station's internal decisions who was not authorized to speak publicly said that the station's programming is only available online and through a secondary AM signal transmitted from Marathon in the Florida Keys. The AM signal is easier for Cuban authorities to jam. The person said only one contractor had been called back to work to ensure the safety of the old technology used at the Greenville station. Last month 14ymedio, an independent news outlet based in Cuba, reported that no signal was detected in Havana nor in Villa Clara, in central Cuba, on the shortwave frequency where Radio Martí used to broadcast. Though full-time staffers were brought back to work at the station's office in Doral, Radio Martí has been unable to resume its full programming. In recent days, seven contractors previously fired have been called back to work, but some produce videos for social media or write for the news site and are not involved in radio-related work. The U.S. Agency for Global Media did not reply to a request for comment. Trump's orders to reduce the U.S. Agency for Global Media's 'performance of [its] statutory functions and associated personnel to the minimum presence and function required by law' has upended the work of Voice of America, Radio Marti and other stations that the agency funded. Several employees have sued the administration over its plans. Central to their claims is how the agency's top leadership has interpreted the functions mandated by Congress. The 1983 law creating Radio Martí specifically names the Marathon facility and states it can be used for radio broadcasting to Cuba. It also says the station can use frequencies other than AM, but it appears to tie their use with a requirement to broadcast Voice of the America content. Voice of America is still off the air and is the subject of several lawsuits. In recent years, the Office of Cuba Broadcasting has tried to modernize the stations — redirecting resources from controversial television programming that could not be watched on the island because of signal jamming — to produce videos for Martí Noticias and social media. While past administrations and some members of Congress have questioned the spending on radio, Cuban American members of Congress have supported Radio Martí as a vehicle for news on an island where internet access is expensive, blackouts are common, and the government shuts down the internet during protests.
Washington Post
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
Voice of America to carry One America News programming
Voice of America will carry programming from the right-wing TV network One America News, according to a post on X from Kari Lake on Tuesday night. Lake, a senior adviser to the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), the government body that oversees Voice of America, announced that the agency agreed to provide 'news feed services' to Voice of America, as well as to the Office of Cuba Broadcasting and Radio Martí, which distribute news into Cuba.
Miami Herald
27-03-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
Radio Martí resumes broadcasting to Cuba, but its future remains uncertain
With its familiar theme, a century-old song honoring Cuban independence hero José Martí, playing once again, Radio Martí resumed broadcasting to Cuba on Wednesday, reversing a controversial decision following President Donald Trump's order to reduce its parent agency to the minimum. The U.S. Agency for Global Media, which oversees Radio and TV Martí and the Martí Noticias website through its Office for Cuba Broadcasting, notified federal employees who had been placed on leave on March 15 that they could return to work at its Doral location, sources with knowledge of the decision told the Miami Herald. Radio Martí announced Wednesday it was returning to the air in a publication on X. The Martí Noticias website also resumed publishing stories on Wednesday. In an executive order signed on March 14, Trump ordered the U.S. Agency for Global Media to reduce its functions and personnel to the minimum required by law. The order also affected Voice of America and other outlets it funded, including Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia and the Middle East Broadcasting Networks. Radio Martí first aired in 1985, and its temporary shutdown sent shockwaves throughout the Cuban-American community. The founder of the Cuban American National Foundation, Jorge Mas Canosa, spearheaded the effort to create Radio Martí under President Ronald Reagan to facilitate the flow of uncensored information to Cubans on the island. The foundation called on Trump to 'reconsider his decision' to dismantle it, saying shutting the station down is 'a long-cherished desire of the Castro dictatorship.' 'Radio Martí has been a beacon of hope, allowing both the United States and the entire world to understand the reality of Cuba, while also serving as a vital source of information for Cubans on the island,' the foundation said in a statement. 'This cut comes at a critical time for the Cuban people, who are facing total internet disconnections, power outages lasting longer than 48 hours, food and medicine shortages, and constant repression. In this context, Radio Martí not only informs but also represents a lifeline for an unarmed and dying population.' Several Cuban dissidents and recently released political prisoners also criticized efforts to dismantle the station, calling it a 'bulwark' against government abuses. The U.S. Agency for Global Media did not immediately answer questions about the decision to resume Radio Martí´s operations. Previously, Kari Lake, appointed by Trump as the agency's senior advisor, had said it would 'shed everything that is not statutorily required.' She also said that 'waste, fraud, and abuse run rampant in this agency' and that it was not 'salvageable.' Radio Martí returned to the air after Cuban American Republican members of the Florida congressional delegation made terse statements — without overtly criticizing the administration — that they wanted to see the iconic radio station back on the air. Rep. Mario Díaz-Balart, the vice chair of the powerful House Appropriation Committee and a staunch supporter of the Martí stations, had said he was working with the administration 'to see how we can reverse it, or at least find a way to provide radio and communication services for the Cuban people, which is essential.' Still, much of the Martí stations' future is up in the air. Contractors fired due to Trump's executive order have not been rehired. They make up almost half of the about 75 workers at the Office for Cuba Broadcasting and mainly produce content for the radio station, the website, and an audiovisual production unit that substituted for television programming. Under new leadership, the Office for Cuba Broadcasting has been devoting more resources to the station's digital operations in recent years and has revamped its social media strategy. The Office also rebuilt a network of collaborators inside the island who, at the risk of being arrested by Cuban authorities, could report on issues and send videos for Martí Noticias and its social media accounts. Some of those leading efforts to focus on the digital side were recently hired employees who were also fired under a separate executive order targeting probationary employees.
New York Times
24-03-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
Trump Did What Castros Couldn't: Take Radio Martí Off the Air
Journalists from Radio Martí, the U.S. federally-funded news outlet aimed at communist Cuba, were in the middle of interviewing a Cuban activist in Miami on a recent Saturday when bleak looks suddenly came over their faces. The 40-year-old news agency, designed to send uncensored news in Spanish into Cuba, had just been ordered closed by the Trump administration, the crew learned in an email. The profile of the activist — Ramón Saúl Sánchez, known for leading protest flotillas to Cuba — was scrapped. 'They were very confused,' Mr. Sánchez said. 'They said, 'We think we've been terminated. We need to leave.''
Miami Herald
20-03-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
As a symbol of resistance, Radio and TV Martí should be spared from DOGE
For Miami's historic Cuban exile community, the apparent dismantling of Radio and TV Martí ordered by the Trump administration this week signals more than just the end of the U.S.-funded, pro-democracy radio transmissions to the island. The station's fate remains uncertain, a victim of DOGE. There is hope it will be revived and funding restored to its parent department, U.S. Agency for Global Media, as happened Wednesday to Cubanet, the oldest independent Cuba news outlet based in Miami, originally cut by the administration. But for now, the 40-year-old radio station is not transmitting live, its Doral-based staff sent home. That's a shame for the Cuban people on the island who rely on the station's programming, even if it's never been clear how many are listening. Some may not be aware that Radio and TV Martí also represent one of the most significant political achievements of Cuban exiles in Miami: the successful lobbying of an American president, Ronald Reagan, to sign the Radio Broadcasting to Cuba Act on Oct. 11, 1983, establishing the station created to break Fidel Castro's monopoly on news and information. The roots of that success began in Miami. Just five months earlier, on May 20, 1983 — Cuban Independence Day — Reagan had famously visited a Little Havana restaurant, the long-closed La Esquina de Tejas, at the invitation of the Cuban American National Foundation (CANF). At the time, CANF's leader, Jorge Mas Canosa, was pushing for a Voice of America-style effort dedicated to Cuba; he persuaded Reagan, marking the highlight of a political alliance between Cuban exiles, Reagan and the Republican Party, based on their shared strong anti-communist stance. Remnants of that tie exist today. When the bill that created Radio Martí was signed by Reagan, he declared, 'For the first time in the 25 years of communist domination of Cuba, the Cuban people will be able to hear the truth and to hear it in detail, about Cuban domestic and foreign policy.' Radio Martí was more than just a station; it was a symbol of resistance against Cuba's dictatorship. It connected the exile community to their homeland, broadcasting reports on political repression, economic struggles and human rights abuses that would have otherwise been censored inside Cuba. The Cuban government responded with outrage. Fidel Castro himself denounced Radio Martí and the use of the name of Cuban patriot, José Martí. The Cuban regime retaliated by broadcasting powerful interference signals to jam the station, severely limiting its reach. Radio Martí persisted, offering an alternative to state-controlled news with varying levels of effectiveness. At its peak, the Office of Cuba Broadcasting, which oversaw Radio and TV Martí, received over $20 million annually from the U.S. government. But in recent years, the station's influence has waned. Several factors contributed to its decline. The Cuban government's aggressive jamming efforts were a persistent challenge. TV Martí, in particular, never overcame these obstacles and struggled to reach Cuban viewers. And growing congressional scrutiny over the station's budget and journalistic integrity further weakened its standing. The most significant blow came with the arrival of the internet and mobile phones in Cuba, which fundamentally changed how Cubans accessed information. Radio Martí lost its status as the primary alternative to state media as Cubans increasingly turned to social media and VPNs to connect with the outside world. Even so, the Trump administration's decision to silence Radio and TV Martí, losing yet another voice of free speech, is deeply concerning.. If Radio and TV Martí were to shut down permanently, it would mark the final chapter of a decades-long battle over information and influence in Cuba. Reagan's vision of a free flow of news into the island never achieved its ultimate goal of toppling the Castro regime. But for generations of Cubans, the station provided access to an alternative narrative, amplified dissident voices and exposed truths that the Cuban government sought to suppress. Its legacy is one of defiance, perseverance and the belief that information — however imperfectly delivered — remains a powerful weapon against tyranny. Click here to send the letter.
