The Nation (cover design: Gene Case & Stephen Kling/Avenging Angels; cover art: Eduardo Muñoz Bachs; illustration: Christoph Niemann; photography: William Eggleston and Alina Guerra Díaz), "Cuba: What's Next?" May 14, 2007. Print magazine.

This special Cuba-focused issue of The Nation magazine, guest-edited by Peter Kornbluh of the National Security Archive, examines prospects for U.S.-Cuba relations in the twilight of both the Castro and Bush administrations. The cover features artwork by Eduardo Muñoz Bachs, one of Cuba's most celebrated graphic designers, depicting a skyscraper wrapped in dynamic diagonal stripes with "CUBA" emblazoned above in cream against sage green, with a small Cuban flag at the top right. The dramatic woodcut-style illustration suggests Cuba bound or constricted—a visual metaphor for the U.S. embargo—while the bold "WHAT'S NEXT?" challenges readers to imagine new possibilities beyond decades of Cold War stalemate.

Published during a critical juncture when Fidel Castro's illness had prompted succession to his brother Raúl, and as U.S. political actors began reconsidering the "dumbest policy on the face of the earth," The Nation devoted this issue to arguing for normalization of relations. The editorial "Changing Course on Cuba" advocates lifting the embargo, noting growing bipartisan support for policy change. By featuring Muñoz Bachs's artwork from the Center for Cuban Studies Collection, the magazine positioned Cuban visual culture as worthy of mainstream American progressive attention, demonstrating how Cuban graphic design continued to shape international representations of the island. The cover's sophisticated aesthetic—combining Muñoz Bachs's distinctive style with contemporary design by Avenging Angels—illustrated how Cuban revolutionary graphics influenced solidarity movements and progressive media in the United States decades after their creation.