International
Cuba factory that rolled Castro’s cigars still strives for ‘the perfect puff’
AFP | by Leticia PINEDA
Seated before a machine that checks cigar quality, Orquidea Gonzalez says she is proud to carry on the craft’s tradition and contribute to an export industry that has grown during the pandemic.
“I love making cigars. This is where I’ve spent my life, and it’s an art. Not everyone knows how to make cigars, like not everyone knows how to paint a picture,” said the 55-year-old factory worker.
Her job is to measure in a metal tube the draw of each cigar to ensure that the smoker gets the perfect puff.
“If it’s less than 40, the (suction) level is excessive; if it’s more than 80, it’s too low,” she explained, her eyes glued to the machine’s needle.
The El Laguito factory opened in 1966 in western Havana to make the cigars favored by the hero of the 1959 Communist revolution and longtime president Fidel Castro.
The factory is the birthplace of Cohiba cigars, Cuba’s most prestigious brand. The name recalls the way the native Taino people referred to the rolled tobacco leaves they smoked.
Rolling one’s own leaves is a tradition that endures among farmers in the western province of Pinar del Rio, where most Cuban tobacco farms are located.
Flavor
Castro’s favorite cigar, the Cohiba Lancero, which he smoked until he quit in 1985 at the age of 59, is still produced in the factory.
“Despite all the difficulties we face,” the goal is to manufacture “nearly two million” cigars in 2022, or roughly 9,000 a day, said factory head Oscar Rodriguez.
Despite the coronavirus pandemic, Cuban cigar exports grew by 15 percent in 2021, totaling $568 million, according to Habanos S.A., which includes all national brands. That constitutes a significant boon for the Cuban economy, which is in the grips of its worst crisis in 30 years, with daily shortages and power cuts.
The factory “did not stop for a single day” during the pandemic, eventually making cigars “the country’s second-largest export,” Rodriguez said.
Spain, China, Germany, France and Switzerland are among the top buyers.
Expertly handling curved blades and a sticky substance, dozens of workers put the finishing touches on the ends of newly rolled cigars.
Some 60 percent of the workers are women — following a tradition at the factory founded by Castro’s comrade-in-arms Celia Sanchez — that aims to give opportunities to single mothers or women in difficulty.
Another founder, Norma Fernandez, who died during the pandemic, rolled the cigars for the leader of the revolution.
“It was a privilege to be able to say, ‘I made the president’s cigars,’” said Orquidea Gonzalez, hard at work at the factory, which is housed in an elegant 1950s villa.
Caridad Mesa, now 55, started working at El Laguito as a cleaning lady. Thirty years later, she is in charge of spotting the smallest defects in the cigars.
It is necessary to control “the quality, the weight, the length… the thickness,” she said, scrutinizing boxes brimming with cigars under a large portrait of Communist revolutionary icon Ernesto “Che” Guevara.
Cohiba cigars, which include a wide range of styles, can cost $30 to $200 each, both in Cuba and abroad.
“Cuban tobacco is distinguished from all other kinds by the flavor of the land of Pinar del Rio,” said Gonzalez.
It is there, she added, “where the best tobacco crops are grown.”
International
Trump Orders Construction of New ‘Golden Fleet’ to Revitalize U.S. Naval Superiority
President Donald Trump issued an executive order this Monday for the immediate construction of two new warships that will bear his name. These vessels will be the pioneers of what he described as the “Golden Fleet,” a future generation of “Trump-class” battleships that he claimed would be “100 times more powerful” than those currently in service.
The announcement took place at his private residence in Mar-a-Lago, Florida. The President indicated that following the initial two ships, the administration aims to commission up to 25 additional vessels. He is scheduled to meet with Florida-based contractors next week to expedite production, criticizing existing defense firms for failing to deliver results efficiently.
This naval expansion is a cornerstone of Trump’s goal to revitalized the American shipbuilding industry and address the strategic gap between the U.S. and competitors like China.
The move comes amid heightened geopolitical tension. Just last week, Trump ordered the seizure of all sanctioned tankers involved with Venezuela’s “ghost fleet” to cripple the country’s crude oil industry. Since December 10, the U.S. military—deployed in the Caribbean under the guise of counter-narcotics operations—has already detained two tankers linked to Venezuelan oil transport.
International
U.S. Judge Blocks ICE from Re-detaining Salvadoran Erroneously Deported Under Trump Administration
A U.S. federal judge ruled this Monday, December 22, that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is prohibited from re-detaining Salvadoran national Kilmar Ábrego García, who was erroneously deported to El Salvador earlier this year during the administration of President Donald Trump.
During a hearing in Maryland, U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis ruled that Ábrego García must remain free on bail through the Christmas holidays, concluding that his initial detention lacked a legal basis. The ruling follows a request from his legal team for a temporary restraining order to prevent ICE from carrying out a new arrest.
Earlier this month, on December 11, Judge Xinis ordered his release from a Pennsylvania migrant detention center after determining that the government had detained him without a formal deportation order. In 2019, an immigration judge had already ruled that Ábrego could not be returned to El Salvador because his life was in danger.
Despite that protection, Ábrego García was deported in March 2025 following a raid by the Trump administration. Officials argued at the time that he was a gang member, and he was sent directly to the Center for the Confinement of Terrorism (CECOT) in El Salvador. In June, he was returned to the United States to face a new trial for alleged human smuggling—a charge he denies.
On Monday, Judge Xinis also temporarily invalidated a new deportation order issued by an immigration judge following Ábrego’s recent release, granting him legal protection through the coming weeks. His trial is scheduled to begin in Tennessee in January 2026.
International
Fire at substation triggers major blackout in San Francisco
The U.S. city of San Francisco was plunged into darkness Saturday night after a power outage left about 130,000 customers without electricity, although the utility company said service was restored to most users within hours.
Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E) said in a statement posted on X that nearly 90,000 homes had their power restored by 9:00 p.m. local time (05:00 GMT on Sunday), while the remaining 40,000 customers were expected to have service restored overnight.
Large areas of the city, a major technology hub with a population of around 800,000, were affected by the blackout, which disrupted public transportation and left traffic lights out of service during the busy weekend before Christmas, a crucial period for retail businesses.
“I know it’s been a difficult day,” San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie said in a video posted on social media from the city’s emergency operations center. “There has been progress, but for those still without power, we want to make sure they are safe and checking in on their neighbors,” he added.
Lurie said police officers and firefighters advised residents to stay home as much as possible. He also noted that officers and traffic inspectors were deployed to manage intersections where traffic lights were not functioning.
The mayor confirmed that the outage was caused by a fire at an electrical substation. Parts of the city were also covered in fog, further complicating conditions during the incident.
As a result of the blackout, many businesses were forced to close despite it being the weekend before Christmas. The sudden drop in shopper traffic ahead of the holiday is “devastating” for retailers, the manager of home goods store Black & Gold told the San Francisco Chronicle.
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