rainpizza

21-year-old American Michael Gloss, who signed a contract with the Russian Ministry of Defense, died during the Russian-Ukrainian war, Important Stories found out .

Michael Gloss is the son of American military personnel. His mother, Julian Gloss, is the deputy director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) of the United States, and his father, Larry Gloss, is a veteran of the United States Navy and the head of Security Information Systems, a company that creates software, including for the US Department of Defense.

Michael Gloss joined the Russian military in 2023 after traveling the world for several months. As Important Stories has learned, Gloss left the United States no later than the winter of 2023, dropping out of college. He first lived in Italy, then went to Israel, from where he was deported. He spent the next few months in Turkey, where he attended the Balkan Gathering, a gathering of the Rainbow Family community , and helped with earthquake relief in Hatay Province.

An acquaintance of Gloss, with whom he stayed in Istanbul, told Important Stories that the American “constantly talked about all sorts of negative things – about poverty, about the collapse of civilizations.” “He was convinced that the hegemony of the West was leaving and that it would soon be replaced by BRICS ,” the source told the publication. Another acquaintance of Gloss in Turkey said that Gloss watched videos about Palestine and “was very angry at America.” “He started thinking about going to Russia. He wanted to fight the United States. But in my opinion, he was greatly influenced by videos with conspiracy theories,” the source told the publication.

Michael Gloss arrived in Russia in August 2023. Before receiving a Russian visa, Gloss asked his friends to help him get an invitation to the Russian Federation. He explained why he was going to Russia in different ways: he told some that he wanted to learn Russian, others that he intended to obtain citizenship, and still others that he wanted to develop his environmental project. He crossed the border between Georgia and Russia on August 12, according to border service data reviewed by the publication.

Over the course of a month, Gloss visited Vladikavkaz, Taganrog, Volgograd, and Moscow. On September 1, Gloss reported that his visa would expire in a week, and on September 3, he began looking for housing in Vienna and Bratislava. Two days later, on September 5, data on Michael Gloss appeared in the EMIAS system : the address listed was a recruitment point for contract service in the Russian army on Yablochkova Street, and the "apartment" was a medical examination room number 302. As the publication notes, this address was given to foreigners who came to Moscow to sign a contract with the Russian Defense Ministry to participate in the war.

Michael Gloss spent the following days at the Avangard training center in the Moscow region, as can be seen from photographs taken at the center at that time. At the same time, Gloss created an account on VKontakte under the name Hamza Ali and joined several groups, including "Romanticism of Russian Villages" and "We Are from the USSR." He also posted a video titled "Putin Announces the Need to Create an Independent Palestine," as well as a video from Israel, in the caption of which he accused the Israeli military of "shooting at Israeli civilians" in Kibbutz Be'eri on October 7, 2023.

After two weeks of training, Michael Gloss's group, mostly Nepalese citizens, was taken by bus to a military unit. He ended up in the 137th Airborne Regiment (military unit 41450) in Ryazan, Important Stories found out. One of Gloss's fellow soldiers said that the American had "his own vision of how he could be useful at the front." "He studied construction and engineering in college, so all his thoughts were connected with inventions and innovations," the fellow soldier said. Gloss left for the front in December 2023. "If I'm not mistaken, after training he was sent to the assault units," the fellow soldier said. At that time, units of the 137th Regiment were located northwest of Soledar in the Donetsk region.

Michael Gloss died on April 4, 2024, his family said in an obituary, without mentioning that it happened in Ukraine. That day, the Telegram channel of the 106th Division, which includes the Ryazan regiment, reported that the paratroopers were conducting an offensive near Razdolovka and Vesyole in the Donetsk region. The exact circumstances of Gloss's death are unknown. His funeral took place in the United States eight months later, on December 21, 2024. Gloss's friend from the Balkan Gathering, who spoke with his sister, said that Russian authorities contacted the American's family and stated that he died in Ukraine.

One of the Rainbow Family members said that Gloss told him that he joined the Russian army to get a Russian passport, not to fight. A fellow American soldier in Ryazan said that Gloss “was an ardent supporter of Russia and loved it,” and that he “had no intention of taking up arms” during the war. None of the deceased’s family members responded to Important Stories’ requests for interviews.

XI'AN, April 22 (Xinhua) -- Li Pengxin, former deputy secretary of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Regional Committee of the Communist Party of China, was on Tuesday sentenced to death, with a two-year reprieve, for accepting bribes.

Li was deprived of political rights for life, all of his personal property will be confiscated, and all his illegal gains must be recovered and turned over to the state treasury, per a verdict by the intermediate people's court of Baoji in northwest China's Shaanxi Province.

The court established that from 1999 to 2023, Li took advantage of his various posts in Qinghai, Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang to assist others in matters such as mineral development, business operations, and personnel appointments.

In exchange, he illegally accepted money and valuables worth over 822 million yuan (about 114 million U.S. dollars), said the court.

https://archive.ph/Jrkc7

Burkina Faso authorities have dismantled a "major plot" aimed at "sowing total chaos" and placing the country under the tutelage of an international organization.

The plan was uncovered by intelligence services and involved an attempted coup d'état and coordinated terrorist attacks to destabilize the current government. In recent days, several high-ranking military officials have been arrested as part of this operation.

Burkina Faso's security minister, Mahamadou Sana, described the plot as a "diabolical project" carried out by "masterminds abroad" aimed at creating chaos and paving the way for international intervention.

According to reports, the plot was being carried out from the Arbijan operations center. In light of these events, the government remains vigilant and pledges to keep the nation informed of any threat to peace.

Sana also called on civilians: “We invite the population to remain calm, be vigilant, and report any suspicious activity.”

The plot was uncovered when intelligence forces intercepted communications between Bari Abdrahman, a Burkinabe army officer, and senior terrorist figures. These conversations revealed sensitive information about military operations and strategies to foment an uprising against the authorities.

According to authorities, the plot sought to demoralize troops by threatening officers and creating blacklists, as well as recruiting religious and traditional leaders to influence the army.

Volunteers were also offered money to incite disobedience and weaken the morale of the country's armed and defense forces.

The coup plot was designed to coincide with several large-scale terrorist attacks, which were intended to weaken Burkina Faso's air capabilities and destabilize the country.

However, before the scheduled date for the assault on the presidential palace, several soldiers and members of the Volunteers for the Defense of the Fatherland (VDP) denounced the plot, which led to the thwarting of the operation and the arrest of some of the leaders in the capital, Ouagadougou.

Some of the conspirators managed to escape and are now in Ivory Coast, where they continue their activities, confirming accusations from Burkina Faso, which has repeatedly accused the country of being a haven for the conspirators.

On behalf of President Aleksandr Lukashenko, more than 20 tonnes of humanitarian aid – worth over Br740,000 – has been sent to the island to help overcome the consequences of the devastating hurricanes and earthquakes that hit Cuba last autumn. The aid includes food products from the Emergencies Ministry’s Department for Material Reserve, the enterprises of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee, as well as a wide range of medicines provided by the Healthcare Ministry’s enterprises.

The loading of the humanitarian cargo took place on the premises of the Republican Special Response Team ZUBR under the co-ordination of Belarus’ Emergencies Ministry. The cargo is planned to be delivered by road to the city of Novorossiysk (Russia), from where the aid will be sent to the seaport of Mariel (Cuba).

In October-November 2024, hurricanes Oscar and Rafael hit the island. A 6.7 magnitude earthquake struck the eastern part of the country.

DANIEL NOBOA— son of Ecuador’s richest man and a political ally of Donald Trump — has been declared the country’s president again following last week’s run-off election. But Luisa Gonzalez, candidate of the progressive Citizens’ Revolution, is refusing to recognise the results, demanding a recount and full audit in the face of widespread irregularities.

Such concerns are understandable. In the first round, both candidates received 44 per cent of the vote. Yet in the run-off, Luisa Gonzalez improbably remained on 44 per cent, while Daniel Noboa surged to 56 per cent. This is despite Gonzalez receiving endorsements from the third-place progressive indigenous candidate, from other progressive parties, and from a prominent figure to her right.

Polls in the run-up to the vote, along with exit and post election polls, also indicated a tight race — with Luisa mainly ahead — not a 12 per cent landslide for Noboa.

If Ecuador’s electoral authorities genuinely wanted to ensure confidence in the process, a transparent vote-by-vote recount could have been conducted in just a few hours. Their refusal to do so, or allow a full audit, will only deepen mistrust in an already shaken democratic process.

I was in Ecuador as part of the Progressive International’s election observation mission. What I witnessed during my week there left me in no doubt: this election was neither free nor fair.

The most shocking moment came on the eve of the vote, when the government declared a state of emergency — effectively suspending key rights like the freedom of assembly. In one chilling scene, armed soldiers wearing balaclavas were onstage during televised updates from the National Electoral Council, in what could only be interpreted as an act of public intimidation. Other unusual measures like imposing a ban on voters photographing their completed ballot papers further undermined confidence.

The election was also marred by major abuses of public resources for electoral purposes. In the weeks before the vote, for example, the government distributed hundreds of millions of dollars in direct payments to citizens in what appears to be vote-buying on a massive scale.

Mexico and Colombia — two of Ecuador’s largest neighbours — have both expressed concern about the election. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Noboa’s victory was “highly questionable,” while Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro declared his government would not recognise Noboa’s re-election without a thorough audit of the results.

The Organisation of American States (OAS) and the European Union, while recognising the results, have also raised significant concerns. In their preliminary report, OAS observers “noted with concern that the electoral process was marked by conditions of inequality,” citing the misuse of public funds and state resources for electoral purposes. It warned that such practices “erode citizen confidence in democratic institutions.” The European Union noted that the independence and neutrality of Ecuador’s National Electoral Council were widely questioned by political parties and civil society organisations.

Despite all this, Noboa is set to be sworn in for a full four-year term at the end of May, after serving as interim president for the past 18 months.

The politics of this are clear. Noboa was one of a handful of heads of government who attended Trump’s inauguration, along with Argentina’s free-market zealot President Javier Milei and Italy’s far-right Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. A US intelligence assessment of the Ecuadorian presidential election concluded that a re-election of Noboa would best serve US national security interests.

There are already signs Noboa’s victory threatens to accelerate Ecuador’s slide into authoritarianism. Only days after the election, a leaked blacklist emerged, identifying over 100 progressive politicians reportedly under threat of arrest. Among them was Gonzalez’s running mate, who was harassed while attempting to leave the country for a post-election Easter break.

Fears of a broader wave of repression must be seen in the context of Ecuador’s wider crackdown on basic democratic and civil rights. For the past eight years, Ecuador’s left has been systematically targeted in a campaign of political persecution and legal repression after left-wing president Rafael Correa left office in 2017 with record-high approval ratings.

Ecuador has become a textbook case of “lawfare” — the use of judicial and institutional power by the elites to destroy popular political opponents — a strategy brought to prominence through its use in Brazil against Lula da Silva, to prevent him from winning the 2018 presidential election.

Rafael Correa was himself sentenced in absentia to years in prison in a case widely condemned as politically motivated. He has since received asylum in Belgium. One of his former vice-presidents was jailed and remains imprisoned. While Paola Pabon — a provincial governor in the area covering the capital city — was imprisoned and then placed under house arrest for allegedly inciting “rebellion” after expressing support for anti-austerity protests. Other leaders sought political sanctuary abroad to avoid similar fates.

As the National Electoral Council became a political tool for elite rule, not democratic representation, even the party Correa had founded — and that had governed Ecuador for a decade — was stripped from the left. Attempts to register new political movements were repeatedly blocked.

This authoritarian shift is part of a broader political project: to dismantle every achievement of the decade of successful progressive government under the Citizens’ Revolution.

The next stage of that project is already clear. Ecuador’s oligarchy is now set on scrapping the country’s 2008 constitution, introduced under the Citizens’ Revolution and widely regarded as one of the most progressive in the world. It was the first to enshrine rights for nature, it bans foreign military bases, guarantees the right to food, and stresses that key strategic sectors like energy, telecommunications, and water must be publicly owned.

For the Ecuadorian oligarchy, however, this constitution has always been an obstacle that needs to be removed — and the Noboa government appears determined to do just that.

Doing so would allow it to establish a new US military base in the country. CNN has reported that such plans are already underway. Such a move would cement Ecuador’s return to the status of a subordinate partner to Washington’s regional agenda — where the US props up local elites in exchange for strategic footholds in the region.

All of this is likely to see widespread public opposition. And the Noboa government already faces significant challenges that it has shown itself incapable of resolving over the past 18 months. Poverty is on the rise, the economy is in recession and rolling blackouts have paralysed the country. But most seriously, violence is escalating — with Ecuador in just eight years going from one of the safest to one of the most dangerous countries in Latin America, as the murder rate has soared sixfold.

Noboa’s neoliberal government will offer no solutions to Ecuador’s deepening crises — only ever harsher repression and deepening inequality. For those committed to resisting the global authoritarian wave, championed by Trump, Ecuador will need our solidarity.

Lee Brown was an election observer and previously lived and worked in Ecuador

🇳🇮 Eighteen years ago, Nicaragua took a bold step toward sustainable development, transforming essential sectors such as infrastructure, health and education. Find out how these decisions are shaping a brighter future for its people.

En la jerga del periodismo posmoderno, una fuente de información se califica como “independiente” si la financia Estados Unidos. Por el contrario, si la financia Rusia, no cabe duda: se trata de “desinformación”.

Por lo tanto, para saber quién financia a quién, no hay más que leer las etiquetas que le ponen los medios de comunicación convencionales.

Por ejemplo, el tinglado “Reporteros Sin Fronteras” (RSF) es “independiente” porque fue creado y financiado por Estados Unidos y en uno de sus últimos informes se muestran preocupados porque los medios “independientes” del mundo están desapareciendo, lo cual, traducido al lenguaje corriente, quiere decir que lo que, en realidad, está desapareciendo es la financiación estadounidense.

Como los reporteros de esos medios eran parásitos que vivían de las subvenciones estadounidenses, ahora tienen que empezar a trabajar para ganarse la vida de otra manera. Les ocurre algo parecido a los periodistas españoles que en la transición cobraban del “fondo de reptiles” para blanquear el franquismo. Es lógico que se lamenten porque hasta ahora han vivido bien.

Según RSF, el final de la ayuda estadounidense está provocando un caos en todo el mundo porque el periodismo “independiente” es esencial para la democracia, la libertad y los derechos humanos (1).

La Usaid apoyaba a los medios “independientes” en más de 30 países, por lo que el impacto del cierre puede ser catastrófico. Según datos de la propia institución, en 2023 eran beneficiarios de sus subvenciones 6.200 periodistas, 707 medios de comunicación privados y 279 organizaciones de la sociedad civil.

El presupuesto de ayuda exterior para este año incluía 268 millones de dólares asignados por el Congreso de Estados Unidos para apoyar a “los medios independientes y el libre flujo de la información”.

Lamentablemente la Usaid ha cerrado su sitio web por lo que será difícil seguir el rastro del fondo de reptiles, tener un listado de medios de comunicación mercenarios, así como periodistas faltos de escrúpulos.

Las “ayudas” procedentes del extranjero suponen un auténtico desembarco colonial. En Georgia casi todos los medios de comunicación “independientes” funcionan gracias a la financiación extranjera, mientras que en Ucrania, según un estudio publicado en mayo del año pasado por el Lliv Media Forum, alrededor del 75 por cien de los medios siguen dependiendo parcial o totalmente de subvenciones extranjeras, la mayoría de las cuales son estadounidenses.

El 21 de enero el sitio web Nicaragua Investiga advirtió que el decreto de Trump “amenaza con asestar un duro golpe” a su cruzada antisandinista, siendo este apoyo un “pilar fundamental” en los esfuerzos de Estados Unidos para derrocar a Daniel Ortega.

Los medios digitales cubanos son un cenáculo clásico de periodistas vendidos al imperialismo. El 26 de febrero, a Cubanet, un medio de comunicación “independiente” creado en 1994 en Miami para la campaña contra el gobierno de la isla, le retiraron la subvención de 1,8 millones de dólares que había recibido de Usaid durante tres años. En 2024, se asignaron específicamente 500.000 dólares para movilizar a “la juventud cubana de la isla a través del periodismo multimedia objetivo y sin censura”.

El Diario de Cuba, que tiene su sede en Madrid, recibió 1,3 millones de dólares entre 2016 y 2020. ADN Cuba recibió 3 millones de dólares entre 2020 y 2024, aunque hay otros que difícilmente sobrevivirán a la sequía de dinero, como El Toque o CiberCuba, y buscan subvenciones y donaciones debajo de las piedras.

Pero las estrellas de intoxicación anticubana, Radio y TV Martí, corren el peligro de desaparecer. Desde su nacimiento (1984 para la radio y 1990 para la televisión), han costado 800 millones de dólares al presupuesto de Estados Unidos para mantener el sueño de los gusanos: bailar sobre la tumba de Fidel Castro.

A RSF le preocupa la “libertad de prensa” en El Salvador (2), donde los medios parasitarios de la Usaid son numerosos: Gato Encerrado, El Faro, la Revista La Brújula (“periodismo feminista”), Focos, Mala Yerba (“periodismo ecologista”), la revista Factum, Radio Ilumina…

Malos tiempos también corren en Colombia para los medios serviles de la oligarquía de siempre, como La Silla Vacía, la mitad de cuyos ingresos provino de la Usaid en 2023, y la Fundación para la Libertad de Prensa (FLIP). La hambruna es inminente.

Lo mismo le ocurre en Venezuela a Efecto Cocuyo, que es importante porque suministra combustible a las agencias de noticias y medios internacionales, sin los cuales la campaña contra Maduro, el bolivarismo y el “populismo” se quedaría coja.

En una entrada anterior ya anunciamos el cierre de las joyas de la Guerra Fría, como la Voz de América (VOA), sin cuyos embustes no se pueden entender las campañas mediáticas que precedieron al derrocamiento de Jacobo Árbenz en Guatemala (1954), al intento de invasión de Bahía de Cochinos a Cuba (1961), al Golpe de Estado contra Juan Bosch en la República Dominicana (1963) y a la invasión de ese país por los marines en 1965.

Como muestra de la manera en que RSF defiende el “pluralismo informativo”, el 21 de marzo presentó una demanda contra el gobierno de Trump exigiendo el mantenimiento de la Voz de América y la reincorporación de sus reporteros mercenarios.

Entre 1985 y 2008 la propia RSF, estuvo financiada por las redes más negras del imperialismo en Latinoamérica, entre otras, el Centro para una Cuba Libre, una fundación involucrada, desde Miami, en acciones terroristas en territorio cubano, y la National Endowment for Democracy (NED), creada en 1982 por Reagan para financiar públicamente a quienes la CIA patrocinaba en secreto antes de que múltiples escándalos la obligaran a tirar la piedra y esconder la mano.

La recompensa es que RSF es un defensor incondicional de los medios de intoxicación latinoamericanos que propugnan la desestabilización de sus respectivos países.

(1) https://rsf.org/fr/%C3%A9tats-unis-le-gel-de-l-aide-internationale-am%C3%A9ricaine-par-donald-trump-plonge-le-journalisme (2) https://www.laprensagrafica.com/elsalvador/RSF-ve-en-riesgo-la-libertad-de-prensa-en-El-Salvador-La-situacion-es-peor-de-lo-que-teniamos-en-cuenta-20250325-0019.html

Meanwhile China:

Electoral fraud in Ecuador was planned and structured long before the April 13 runoff between candidate Luisa González of the Citizen Revolution movement and the far-right candidate Daniel Noboa of the National Democratic Action party.

Although all polls, including the Corpmontpubli poll endorsed by the National Electoral Council, predicted González's victory, the final count declared Noboa the winner with 55.65% to 44.35% for her opponent—a completely implausible percentage given that even the Pachakuti indigenous movement had offered its support to the progressive candidate.

Among the anomalies González presented regarding the "fraudulent process" were the declaration of a state of emergency just hours before the start of voting in seven provinces where the Citizens' Revolution always wins; the CNE's restrictions on voting from abroad; the reassignment of 18 voting registers; the CNE's approval of irregularities committed by Noboa; and the validation of documents by the electoral body without signatures favoring the winner, among others.

Symptomatically, all the hegemonic media outlets and the powerful digital media of the international right supported President Noboa in an attempt to hide the numerous anomalies in the electoral process. The Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), for its part, stated that "what has happened in this country is not just a case of administrative irregularities: it is a systematic setup, aimed at forcibly imposing an authoritarian project whose rise to power by Noboa lacks democratic legitimacy."

"The signs of fraud," he added, "are multiple and alarming: last-minute alterations to polling places, arbitrary use of state resources for clientelist purposes, deliberate exclusion of international oversight bodies, and the unacceptable suspension of voting by thousands of Ecuadorians abroad."

For ALBA-TCP, the runoff took place under a biased and unprecedented state of emergency decree, impacting the provinces with the longest tradition of popular elections. Furthermore, there was an "atmosphere of general intimidation of citizens and open advantageous behavior by Daniel Noboa's government. This percentage represents more than a 10-point advantage in an election that experts and pollsters predicted would be difficult to predict."

But let's analyze other important facts and figures. Five days before the runoff, the Ecuadorian Ministry of Foreign Affairs declared that the discredited and annexationist OAS had developed a "Multidimensional Security Program for Ecuador," the first in Latin America designed by the organization for the security and defense of a member country.

OAS Secretary General Luis Almagro of Uruguay and Ecuador's Foreign Minister Gabriela Sommerfeld discussed the details of the program at a meeting in Washington. They discussed regional cooperation to combat narcoterrorism and OAS support for Ecuador's upcoming electoral process.

It couldn't be clearer. Everything was looking like the right-wing, pro-American Noboa would emerge victorious.

For several months now, the United States has virtually controlled most operations in the country. Noboa, in his neoliberal agenda, has long been subservient to Washington by facilitating the establishment of US bases such as the one in the Galapagos Islands (declared a World Heritage Site), where troops are now free to move around the country.

This Florida-born son of a billionaire has signed two military cooperation treaties with the United States since December 2023. These treaties include the presence of submarines, military personnel, and equipment in the Galapagos Islands for maritime control of the Pacific. He is now in talks to return the Malta base, which was closed by Rafael Correa's government, to Washington.

U.S. AWACS intelligence aircraft fly over major cities in the country, such as Guayaquil, Quito, Cuenca, and Ambato, monitoring any suspicious activity against the regime.

Weeks ago, Noboa hired the US military company Blackwater, led by mercenary Eric Prince, to wage "the war on crime." Blackwater is known for crimes committed against civilians in Afghanistan and Iraq. The OAS, directed by Washington, is in charge of what happens in the Andean country, and Almagro himself reported that the program is a "technical assistance strategy that includes strengthening intelligence and criminal investigation systems, controlling illicit arms trafficking, and community and school prevention programs against violence and child grooming."

The elections in Ecuador took place under all the conditions outlined above. It was very difficult for Luisa González to emerge victorious against a well-oiled machine of right-wing forces, both internal and external, working to commit fraud. The Monroe Doctrine, revived by the Donald Trump administration, has its tentacles in Latin America. These are the "democratic" elections they proclaim: if the left wins, it's fraud; if the right wins, it's fair. The peoples of our America must learn the disastrous lesson that occurred in Ecuador.

(*) Cuban journalist. He writes for the daily Juventud Rebelde and the weekly Opciones. He is the author of "Cuban Emigration in the United States," "Secret Stories of Cuban Doctors in Africa," and "Miami, Dirty Money," among others.

Vietnam donated 10,000 tons of rice to Cuba, demonstrating the close and historic ties between the two nations.

The gesture of solidarity was made in compliance with the agreements established during the visit of the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, To Lam, to the Caribbean country in September of last year.

During the delivery ceremony, held in the Mariel Special Development Zone, the donation of another 1,500 tons of rice was announced, in the name of Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Ho Duc Phoc.

At the event, Vietnamese Deputy Finance Minister Le Tan Can expressed the country's willingness to continue expanding and strengthening economic, trade, and investment relations with Cuba.

"Vietnam will always stand by Cuba, as it has demonstrated throughout history. This donation is a gesture of gratitude and solidarity with the Cuban people," he emphasized.

For her part, Deputy Minister of Domestic Trade Aracelys Cardoso emphasized the importance of the donation and highlighted that it symbolizes the unbreakable brotherhood between Vietnam and Cuba, based on decades of mutual support and cooperation.

"Once again, Vietnam is reaching out to us in difficult times," Cardoso reiterated, adding that "this rice donation demonstrates the special nature of the ties between Cuba and Vietnam, as this grain is an essential part of the Cuban people's diet."

As part of the ceremony, Ana Teresa Igarza, Director General of the Mariel Special Development Zone Office, briefed the Vietnamese delegation on the businesses and projects established in the business enclave, as well as the benefits of investing in the area.

Igarza highlighted Vietnam's participation as the main Asian investor in Cuba, with seven deals in sectors such as light industry, fertilizer and food production, and renewable energy.