Independent Cuban think-tank says closing under pressure

HAVANA – One of Cuba’s only independent think tanks says it is closing because of pressure from unnamed powerful institutions on and off the communist island.

Cuba Posible was founded in 2014 with the aim of publishing work by analysts and intellectuals who wanted gradual reform in Cuba and didn’t subscribe to the push for regime change promoted by U.S.-backed dissidents.

Its founders were harshly criticized online by government-allied forces who described them as a foreign-backed third column seeking government overthrow by other means.

While the group’s founders and members never publicly discussed other forms of pressure, the Cuban state employs a wide range of tactics including threats and harassment against perceived government opponents.

The think-tank says its founders were targeted by “all the mechanics and methods of powerful institutions.”