[Intro: 9:38 | Transcript: http://bit.ly/LBWbeast]

Liz Oliva Fernández, Cuban journalist and lead protagonist of ‘The War on Cuba’ documentary series, joins me to discuss her work with Belly of the Beast Cuba — a Havana-based media project made up of Cubans and foreigners that highlight the daily lives and experiences of the Cuban people from the ground level.

The United States has been engaging in a multipronged war with Cuba ever since their revolution in 1959. Whether that is through economic pressures in the form of sanctions, embargoes, and what Fernández bluntly describes as a blockade, or through direct military incursions and threats, the U.S. has imposed an artificial scarcity on the people of Cuba. The U.S. attempts to justify its genocidal policies toward Cuba through extreme media bias, propaganda, and lies. Some of the most dramatic examples of this, lately, has been under the administration of former President Trump. Cuba has some of the best doctors in the world, and for decades, thousands of them have volunteered to aid the peoples of numerous nations around the globe, most often in Latin America, Africa, and during the worst of their battle with Covid-19, Italy.

Belly of the Beast provide an honest ground-level approach to the impacts this war on Cuba has had on the people of this island nation. Cutting through the propaganda of U.S. media and the two-dimensional quality of the state-run Cuban media as well, Belly is exploring the complexities and nuances of Cuban life right now, giving audiences in the States access to a perspective very much lacking in the mainstream media.

This interview was accomplished because of the work of several people: Reed Lindsay, director of ‘The War on Cuba,’ who arranged and provided interpretation for this interview; writer and musician Dan Hanrahan, who edited the English transcript; and podcast producer Christine Ferrera, who provided dubbing for the English audio.

Episode Notes:

- Learn more about Belly of the Beast Cuba: https://bellyofthebeastcuba.com

- Watch the documentary series ’The War on Cuba’ on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3e6OnV8

- Learn more about Dan Hanrahan and Christine Ferrera’s work: https://www.danhanrahan.net / https://www.christineferrera.net / https://www.thelincolnlodge.com/podcasts

- The music featured was produced by Epik The Dawn.

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