On this episode of the Sports As A Weapon Podcast, Miguel interviews Hakim Jihad and Wells Todd of the US Hands Off Cuba Committee about a recent youth and labor delegation to Cuba. Hakim and Wells Todd discussed the meetings the delegation had with Cuban mass organizations such as CENESEX (Centro Nacional de Educación Sexual), participation in May Day marches, and visits to clinics and Havana’s Calixto García hospital to deliver medical aid amid shortages and blackouts they attribute to the US blockade and new oil restrictions.

Hakim and Wells respond to the Fox News coverage on the delegation and Cuba by arguing that Cuba is framed as a “national security threat” because of post-revolution gains in healthcare, education, LGBTQ rights, and pharmaceuticals, including vaccines and other treatments. Miguel, Hakim and Wells Todd also discuss signs they believe indicate possible US military escalation or even invasion, address the push by the Trump administration to indict Raúl Castro tied to Brothers to the Rescue flights, and outline Hands Off Cuba’s current priorities in their Jacksonville chapter and nationally: “No War on Cuba” organizing, humanitarian aid efforts, and the Let Cuba Play campaign to make sure Cuban athletes can obtain Visas and participate at the 2028 Olympic Games.

Links:

* Hands Off Cuba Committee Website

* Let Cuba Play Campaign Website

* Cuba Denounces Devastating Impact of U.S. Blockade on Childhood at UNICEF/teleSUR English

* Why Students From the U.S. and Around the World Study Medicine in Cuba/Belly of the Beast Cuba (YouTube Video)

* Coalition Demands ICE-Free World Cup / Cuba activists educate at Los Angeles World Cup / Radio Habana Cuba

* Why Is the U.S. Targeting Raúl Castro Now? / Belly of the Beast Cuba (YouTube Video)

* Anti-Fascist Football Coalition Website: https://peoplescenteredhumanrights.com/move-the-games/

Miguel Garcia and Comrade E produced this episode. The Sports As A Weapon Podcast is part of the @Anticonquista Media Collective. Subscribe to the ANTICONQUISTA Patreon and follow ANTICONQUISTA on YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook.

All the video episodes are on the ANTICONQUISTA YouTube, and listen/subscribe to the Sports As A Weapon Podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Deezer, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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Miguel is joined by Alexander Aviña — associate professor of Latin American and Mexican history at Arizona State University and author of Specters of Revolution: Peasant Guerrillas in the Cold War Mexican Countryside — for a deep conversation where fútbol and imperialism collide. First, Alexander breaks down Mexico’s World Cup-hosting history, linking the 1970 tournament to the 1968 Tlatelolco massacre and 1986 to the 1985 Mexico City earthquake and public jeering of PRI presidents, while noting protests during 1986 and Sócrates’ solidarity gestures as Maradona worked his magic on the pitch. They compare those political tensions to the upcoming 2026 tournament. Alexander and Miguel also break down the younger, Liga MX and Euro club-heavy Selección Nacional Mexicana roster, what home-field advantage at Azteca could mean, and why FIFA's hyper capitalist grip on this tournament — from displaced vendors and street workers in Mexico City to $30,000 World Cup final tickets in the US — has both Miguel and Alexander feeling less excited about this World Cup than any before.

Miguel and Alexander also dig into the CNN and New York Times reporting on CIA-linked assassination operations targeting cartel figures on Northern Mexican soil, asking whether the line between intelligence sharing and outright foreign intervention has already been crossed. They also break down Mexico's Ministry of Public Education, reversing its plan to end the school year early for the World Cup, the US State Department's announced review of all 53 Mexican consulates and the far-right conspiracy theory behind it, and the broader Trump administration push to install a right-wing political order across Latin America — from Venezuela to Cuba to Mexico.

Lastly, Miguel and Alexander discuss the contradictions of being a politically conscious Fútbol fan: rooting hard for El Tri while critiquing the mega-event capitalist FIFA machine hosted in the imperial core.

Links:

* Specters of Revolution by Alex Aviña

* Cursed? Always let down? Whatever the truth, Mexican support is unconditional -The Athletic

* Mexico agrees to host Iran at World Cup instead of US - BBC Sport

* U.S. and Mexican Officials Deny C.I.A. Had Lethal Role in Mexico Operation - New York Times

* State Department reviewing all Mexican consulates in U.S. as tensions grow - CBS News

* Ministry of Education Backtracks; Social Pressure Derails Plan to End School Year Early - Mexico Solidarity Media

* President Sheinbaum Calls on US Ambassador to Limit Himself to Bilateral Coordination & Collaboration - Mexico Solidarity Media

* Anti-Fascist Football Coalition Website

Miguel Garcia and Comrade E produced this episode. The Sports As A Weapon Podcast is part of the @Anticonquista Media Collective. Subscribe to the ANTICONQUISTA Patreon and follow ANTICONQUISTA on YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook.

All the video episodes are on the ANTICONQUISTA YouTube, and listen/subscribe to the Sports As A Weapon Podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Deezer, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Follow us on:

Twitter/X: @sportsasaweapon
Facebook: fb.com/sportsasaweaponpodcast
Instagram: @sportsasaweaponpodcast
UpScrolled: @SportsAsAWeapon
YouTube: @SportsAsAWeapon
BlueSky: @sportsasaweapon.bsky.social
Visit our website: www.sportsasaweapon.com