14ymedio

Fans Instead of Air Conditioning in Buses Donated to Cuba by Belgium

14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, 5 July 2022 — “These buses are not for here, these buses are not for here.” The people of Havana fanned themselves desperately and crowded inside the new vehicles, buses donated by Belgium that arrived in the Cuban capital on June 24 and began operating this Monday.

With a temperature of 89 degrees that became over 100 due to the island’s high humidity, travelers were perplexed by the lack of windows on the buses.

“I stood under the vent to see if I felt any relief, the only way you can feel a breeze is there,” said one of the passengers on route P12 this morning. The transport, as usual, was collapsed and, although rumors circulated from early in the morning of how hot it was inside the new buses, many were forced to get on one of them.

“I already knew this was going to be like this,” said a woman trembling as she fanned herself; despite everything, she got into the vehicle because her trip was “only” two stops.

On the roof of the buses you can see a wide grille through which, apparently, the air should circulate, but the passengers assure that only the sound of what they identified as a turbine was heard there and all that came out of it was a small puff of air. continue reading

Luis Carlos Góngora, vice president of the Provincial Administration Council of Havana, and the Belgian ambassador, Jean-Jaques Bastien, welcomed the 29 vehicles two weeks ago and were photographed next to the flag of the European country.

“We received, at the port of Havana, the solidarity shipment from Brussels Capital of 29 buses that were donated to Havana by that Belgian city. A gesture of solidarity that brings us closer,” the Cuban official wrote on Twitter.

At that time, the authorities of the capital affirmed that the intention was to adapt the buses to the climatic conditions of the country, but everything that the travelers described today was something similar to a weak fan. “Perhaps they removed the air conditioning so as not to consume fuel,” said one, half jokingly, half seriously.

Between complaints and sweats, the passengers still had more in store. A car dragged an electric motorcycle carrying and man and a girl who was badly injured, with a visibly damaged foot. The young woman was transferred in a vehicle that passed through the place to the Calixto García hospital, leaving the passengers with a bad taste in their mouths.

Getting the buses in service, in any case, has taken less time than that of the Japanese buses that arrived on the island in January and took three weeks to join the capital’s bus fleet after many postponements and complaints from a population that no longer knows how to get around in their own city.

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Argentine Airlines Returns to Cuba Despite Low Passenger Traffic Between Both Countries

The announcement of the departure of the flight to Cuba, this Monday, at the Ezeiza airport, in Argentina. (Cubandebate)

14ymedio, Madrid, 5 July 2022 — Aerolineas Argentinas reopened its connection between Buenos Aires and Havana this Monday, as announced last April.

As had also been announced, the service began with three weekly flights between both capitals, one more than it had offered before the company ceased operations in Cuba, in 2016.

Before, the government of Mauricio Macri had made the decision to restructure the airline to reduce the deficit it represented for the State: nationalized in 2008, the company cost the country around two million dollars a day.

The savings plan had a significant effect on the planes and, consequently, the routes operated were reduced. At that time, those responsible argued that Cuba had become a very expensive destination, which Havana lamented.

This Monday, the president of Aerolineas Argentinas, Pablo Ceriani, said in statements reported by the official press, that the route is “highly requested by agencies and tour operators, both from Argentina and from different places in the region,” and that the resumption of the connection “will contribute to deepen the cultural, economic and tourist exchange between the two countries.” continue reading

Similarly, the Minister of Tourism of Cuba in Argentina, Janet Ayala, declared that “this route is highly demanded in the market because the main limitation to growth in the number of travelers to the Island is air connectivity.”

However, according to official data, Cuba is not a significant tourist or commercial destination for Argentina. In fact, when he announced the resumption of flights to Havana three months ago, Ceriani did not provide data that would allow evaluating the profitability of that route.

Critical voices then attributed the decision to the political closeness between the Cuban regime and the Argentine vice president, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, who owes a personal debt to Raúl Castro and Díaz-Canel for having given shelter to her daughter, Florencia, when she was being investigated in her country for money laundering.

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The Odyssey of Buying a Ticket to Get from One Province to Another

The Taguayabón bus stop, near Camajuaní, Villa Clara. (14ymedio)

14ymedio, Yankiel Gutierrez Faife, Camajuaní, 2 July 2022 — I live in Taguayabón, near Camajuaní, in Villa Clara province. For months I have been waiting for July to come so I can spend a few days with my mother in Havana, visit relatives and see the city.

I was up by 8:30 Monday morning. Having waited a month for tickets to finally go on sale, I logged onto the the Viajando travel app. It seems a lot of people had the same idea because no sooner had I accessed the site than the connectivity problems and system failures began.

I selected my tickets and was ready to pay but the app could not connect me to Transfermovil, its payment platform. “This operation could not be completed due to a connection problem with the server. Please try again later,” read the message on the screen.

I tried multiple times to complete the process in the allotted ten-minute window but all attempts failed. Each session eventually timed out and I had to start over. For an hour and a half I kept repeating the process, without success, so it occurred to me to just go in person to the agency’s offices in Santa Clara instead.

The offices are eighteen kilometers away and, with the dreadful public transport situation, this meant waiting one to three hours for a Transmetro bus, a truck or a Giron bus. If you manage to get any of them, the price is 20 pesos to the Arnaldo Milian Castro hospital, where you then have to pay 30 to 50 pesos for a horse-drawn carriage to take you to the bus terminal. continue reading

Frustrated by the time I had wasted and not thrilled with the alternative, I thought about contacting my friend David, who lives in Santa Clara, and asking if he could do me a favor and buy me a ticket. I did and he agreed.

David hopped on his electric scooter and headed for the ticket office located in the Inter-Province Bus Terminal. By the time he arrived, there were already twenty-three people waiting in line. Several of them had experienced the same problem that I had. They were unable to buy their tickets and were extremely frustrated

Some complained about app errors, others about the small number of available seats. Currently, there are only two buses a day from Santa Clara to Havana — one at 1:00 PM and the other at 11:50 PM — which are not enough to meet demand. After internal borders were reopened and inter-provincial travel resumed, officials claimed they would add more buses to the route. However, the fuel shortage has made it impossible for them to keep their promise.

After waiting almost an hour in the hot sun, my friend was finally able to buy two tickets for July 26, at 80 pesos apiece. Minutes later, all the tickets had sold out and many people had to leave without having achieved their objective.

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Cuba’s Foreign Ministry Rejects EU’s Criticisms of the Convictions of Alcantara and ‘Osorbo’

A white vehicle carrying a Swedish diplomat tried to pass the police cordon, but the officers did not allow it. (14ymedio)

14ymedio, Madrid, 5 July 2022 — The Cuban Foreign Ministry reacted this Monday, more than a week late, to the European Union’s condemnation of the sentence against the members of the San Isidro Movement, Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara and Maykel Castillo ’Osorbo’.

The spokesman for the European External Action Service, Peter Stano, posted on Sunday June 26 on Twitter, two days after the sentence was known, a statement from the High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell in which he urged the Cuban authorities to release “all political prisoners and those detained solely for exercising their freedom of peaceful assembly and expression.”

“The latest statements on Cuba by European Union institutions, including those by spokesman Peter Stano, are contrary to the principles established in the Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement (ADPC) of equality, non-interference and respect for the sovereignty of parties,” said Emilio Lozada García, general director of Bilateral Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on his Twitter account.

“The EU should abandon its double standards and deal with the serious human rights violations involving its member states,” said the diplomat, without specifying his accusations.

Although the EU did not make a statement specifically to refer to the sentences of nine and five years in prison against the two Cuban artists, Stano pointed out that, in relation to this case and those of other protesters in July 2021, Brussels wanted to reiterate its concern, and is “calling on the authorities to respect all civil and political rights, as Josep Borrell expressed in March.”

Next, the diplomat linked to the text in which the Cuban government was also called to pay “attention to the concerns of its people and participate in a meaningful and inclusive dialogue on their legitimate complaints.” continue reading

The official Cuban press has echoed Lozada’s statements, insisting that the sentence against Otero Alcántara and Maykel Castillo Pérez, in addition to Félix Roque Delgado, Juslid Justiz Lazo and Reina Sierra Duvergel, included in the same case, is consistent with the law and all the guarantees.

“During the trial sessions the defendants were heard, and in their presence the testimonial, documentary and expert evidence proposed by the prosecutor and the lawyers who represented them were heard. As a result, Otero Alcántara was sentenced to five years in prison, as the author of the crimes of outrage against the symbols of the country, contempt and public disorder.The Court imposed nine years in prison on Castillo Pérez, for the crimes of contempt, attack, public disorder and defamation of institutions and organizations, heroes and martyrs,” says the note released by the press.

The humanitarian organizations Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, the former of which declared both artists prisoners of conscience, spoke about the trial of Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara and Maykel Castillo a few days before it was to take place, demanding that the authorities allow the presence of journalists, human rights observers and personnel from foreign embassies in Cuba in this and other trials for the July 11th protests of last year (11J), which, they reiterated, should be annulled.

Diplomats from different European countries tried to access the Court of Marianao, in Havana, where the activists were tried on May 30 and 31, but they were prevented from entering.

A white vehicle carrying a Swedish diplomat tried to pass the police barrier and the agents did not allow it. International press outlets, such as the AFP agency, and representatives from Germany, the Czech Republic, Sweden, Norway and the Netherlands also were stopped at the door.

“We simply want to go in to observe the trial and so far we have not received permission,” said a German diplomat who added that they were following the case “very carefully.” “We want human rights to be respected in all places and countries.”

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After Five Months in Tapachula, Mexico for a Safe-Conduct, a Cuban from Cienfuegos Despairs

According to Comar figures, in June 1,093 Cubans applied for asylum. (EFE)

14ymedio, Ángel Salinas, Mexico, 5 July 2022 — José Luis has been in the city of Tapachula, Mexico, in the border state of Chiapas with Guatemala, for almost five months. On February 11, he went his appointment at the delegation of the Mexican Commission for Refugee Assistance (Comar) to request refugee status. “They gave me an appointment for April 16 and it’s already July and they haven’t given me anything,” this Cuban from Cienfuegos told 14ymedio.

The term to announce the result of the request should be 55 business days. “There are 45 business days to make a decision, plus 10 days to inform you of the result.” But in the case of José Luis, it was extended another 45 days, due to the increase in requests.

A source from the commission admits that they have been overwhelmed by the number of migrants. “In 16 days, from June 2 to 18, 3,350 people requested appointments to be seen by Comar. More than three quarters are single adults, most of them men.” At the end of that month, 1,093 Cubans seeking asylum were counted.

According to Comar’s figures, 58,642 people applied for refuge in Mexico during the first half of 2022, which means an increase of almost 15% compared to the same period in 2021. Of these, 10,791 are from the Island.

The official warned that they do not have an exact figure for the total number of migrants. “There are groups on the move, others that stay, others that decide to start the refugee process in Tapachula, for example, but, because of the time it takes, they abandon it and start it somewhere else. Most use this procedure to avoid being detained and deported and take the opportunity to advance towards the border with the United States.”

The monthly report indicates that Hondurans have submitted 13,750 refugee applications, Haitians (8,230), Venezuelans (7,196), Nicaraguans (4,616), Salvadorans (3,373), Guatemalans (2,176), Brazilians (1,411), Colombians (1,168 ) and Senegalese (985).

During his time in Tapachula, José Luis has come to feel desperate due to the lack of money and the harassment of the Immigration agents who carry out tours of the ‘kennels’ (vans). A hostel owner offered to let him help with the cleaning in exchange for “food and a place to spend the night.” continue reading

José Luis entered Mexico on February 11 through Ciudad Hidalgo (Chiapas), in a group that has been advancing according to its chances. On the Island, he left behind his wife and a three-year-old girl. “I would have wanted to bring them with me, but the money was lacking. A cousin who is in Texas financed me with $5,000 to leave. I’m not lying to you, for a Cuban that’s a lot.”

In all of 2021, Mexico received a record of more than 130,000 asylum applications, according to Comar.

The region is experiencing a migratory flow to the United States, where the Customs and Border Protection Office detected more than 1.7 million undocumented immigrants on the border with Mexico in fiscal year 2021, which ended on September 30.

Mexico deported more than 114,000 foreigners in 2021, according to data from the Migration Policy Unit, figures not seen in almost 15 years.

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Lopez-Calleja, the Key Piece that Fell from the Cuban Political Board

The opacity that surrounded the life of López-Calleja allows us to suppose that he was a person who knew an enormous number of important secrets. (Vanguard)

14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar, Havana, 1 July 2022 — The unexpected death of General Luis Alberto Rodríguez López-Calleja has given way to a list of questions and a mountain of speculation. [See also.]

Among the questions that have arisen since Friday, we should mention those that refer to his possible successor and whether whoever replaces him will have the same degree of concentration of power that the now deceased maintained due to his “family condition.” Something as important as access to certain bank accounts or as seemingly simple as the password for his phone or his personal computer may be causing insomnia in many people right now.

As expected, speculation has begun to question the cause of his death. Some have gone so far as to recall that the death certificate of the (also) General Arnaldo Ochoa, executed by being shot in July 1989, listed “acute anemia” as the cause of death; and that a heart attack was the official explanation for the death in prison of the (also) General José Abrahantes in January 1991.

The opacity that surrounded the life of López-Calleja allows us to suppose that he was a person who knew an enormous number of important secrets. Among them, the identity of those who have signed their names to register as owners of Cuban companies abroad to circumvent the economic restrictions imposed by the United States. Economic restrictions that the regime calls the “blockade,” and names that the opposition calls “figureheads.”

If he was the only contact, the only one who knew, and he didn’t have time to tell others he trusted, then there is a risk of a stampede by those who guard the values that belong to the Cuban people. Upon learning that their boss has died, it cannot be ruled out that alleged businessmen in Monaco or Zurich might auction off their companies and run away with the money. continue reading

Death is never so unexpected, because in the end we are all going to die; however, this move to the unknown beyond did not appear in the calculations of those who, confusing life with chess, attributed to this general an irreplaceable role in the next foreseeable moves in the future of this Island. Understand a “fraud exchange” or “the Burmese variant.”

Without López-Calleja on the Cuban political board there is no castling possible and the checkmate of the dictatorship remains in the hands of the pawns.

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Cuba, Ill-Equipped to Deal with Food Crisis Caused by War in Ukraine

It is not unusual to hear complaints about high prices and the low quality of fruits and vegetables in Havana’s produce markets. (14ymedio)

14ymedio, Havana, June 7, 2022 — Cuba’s economy is very ill-equipped to deal with a crisis like the one caused by the war in Ukraine, which began with Russia’s invasion nearly four months ago. This is one of the takeaways from a report published on Monday by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC). Entitled “Repercussions in Latin American and the Caribbean of the war in Ukraine: how should the region face this new crisis?”, it deals with the island’s dependency on food imports.

In a Twitter post Cuban economist Pedro Monreal points out that, at 29.7%, the country had the region’s third highest level of food imports in 2019, three times higher than the regional average, behind the Bahamas and Haiti and ahead of Venezuela. “[This] indicates a high vulnerability to rising prices and supply shortages, conditions which are occurring today,” he writes.

Monreal points out another negative indicator in the ECLAC report: renewable energy. “In 2020, Cuba was one of the countries in the region that lagged behind in the use of electricity generated from renewable resources,” he writes. He includes a graph showing that only Grenada and Guyana lag further behind.

The ECLAC report states that the effects of the war in Ukraine on Latin America, especially in terms of increased food and energy prices, have to be analyzed in the context of almost twenty years of “external shocks.” It adds that, despite differences in symptoms and intensity from one country to another, investment and production conditions in the region “have persistently deteriorated in an atmosphere of generally increasing uncertainty.” continue reading

The organization cites the 2008 financial crisis, the 2017 Chinese crisis and the 2020 global Covid-19 pandemic as external shocks which, it says, “have resulted in changes that have fed each off other, weakened globalization as an engine of growth and allowed geopolitics to prevail over efficiency.”

In any case, this means that in 2022 continent-wide poverty will increase 33.7% while extreme poverty will climb 14.9%. These represent increases of 1.6% and 1.1% respectively from 2021. In other words, 7.8 million Latin Americans will join the 86.4 million whose food security is already at risk.

Cubans, however, do not need reports to tell them about higher food prices and energy shortages. They have been suffering from them on a daily basis for a long time, long before the conflict in Europe began.

Tuesday saw the return of long lines at Havana’s gas stations and it was not unusual to hear complaints about high prices and the low quality of fruits and vegetables at the capital’s produce markets

“The onions are almost rotten and they’re selling them for 130 pesos a pound,” complained one city resident at the market between 17th and K streets in the Vedado district. “Where do they get the nerve? I don’t know if it’s a problem with the rains or what but it wasn’t like this last week.”

A young man holds out a large, over-ripe piece of fruit. “For some reason they charged me 140 pesos for this mango that was hidden behind the pallet. The price was much higher than what was shown on the chalkboard.”

But the hardest thing to find these days, whether it be in the capital or cities such as Santiago de Cuba or Sancti Spiritus, is meat. According to Monreal, Cuban imports of chicken from the United States fell approximately 30% in April.

Cubans commonly refer to their principal sources of protein as the three Ps: pollo, perro caliente and picadillo (chicken, hot dogs and ground meat). These have become increasingly hard to find. According to a new sales schedule adopted in Havana, a family will only be allowed to buy one of these products once a month.

To deal with the shortage, home cooks are devising any number of recipes using fillers and other ingredients to stretch what little meat is available. But such creativity presents its own problems. Flour, which traditionally has been used to make croquettes, hamburgers and meatloafs, is also in short supply. And cooking oil used to fry them is now a luxury item for many Cuban households.

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The Euro Becomes the Most Sought-After Currency in Cuba and Reaches 123 Pesos

The price of the euro in Cuba contrasts with the international price of the European currency, which has fallen in recent months against the dollar. (14ymedio)

14ymedio, Natalia, López, Moya, Havana, 4July 2022 — The price of foreign currencies in Cuba is unstoppably taking flight again after the decline they experienced at the end of May. Among them, the euro once again outperforms the dollar by far. A euro is worth around 123 pesos in the informal market this Monday, compared to the 110 that the dollar costs, according to daily monitoring by the independent magazine El Toque.

The figure contrasts with the international price of the European currency, which has fallen in recent months against the dollar (this Monday it is at 1.04 per dollar).

“I prefer to buy euros because I have plans to leave the country, but not immediately,” Nelson, a young man from the Havana municipality of Cerro, tells this newspaper, summarizing the needs of many other Cubans. Nelson explains that in case he needs the currency to be able to shop in freely convertible currency (MLC) stores, he can deposit those euros on his magnetic card, which he cannot do with dollars. And he adds: “In case you need to buy a ticket or manage a visa for Panama, I can also use it.”

During the month of June, after a resolution by the Central Bank of Cuba that prohibited embassies from converting their peso accounts into foreign currency, several consulates, such as those of Spain or Panama, announced that from now on, the procedures at their headquarters would be charged in euros.

The value of the MLC is also experiencing an increase, something that has relieved many families who obtain remittances from abroad and who over the past month saw their purchasing power reduced between the low price of the currency and inflation on the Island, which continues upward. continue reading

“As soon as I saw that it was starting to rise, I asked my family to please stop selling the MLCs that I sent so cheaply and to wait,” says Liuba, a Cuban living in Miami. “Two weeks ago my mother sold them for 108 and today she was able to sell them for 115.”

Last May, currencies suffered a collapse in the informal market, just after the Cuban Economy Minister, Alejandro Gil Fernández, declared that a “special” exchange rate would be established for some producers, state and private, of consumer goods. high demand.

Without specifying at what price, he simply pointed out that it would be between the artificial official rate of 24 pesos and that of the black market, which in those days reached 125 pesos for MLC.

Traditionally more familiar with the dollar, informal vendors have quickly caught up with the European currency to spot counterfeits and reject bills that may have trouble being deposited at the bank. “I do not accept those that have written signs, some broken part or are very old,” replies one of those money changers in a WhatsApp group used by customers and merchants.

Many private businesses have also joined the euro wave and offer their cards in three or even four currencies. “In this restaurant you can pay in Cuban pesos, MLC, dollars and euros,” a waiter from a paladar (private restaurant) on San Lázaro street in Central Havana boasted this Saturday. “You can even pay in pesos and MLC by transfer. We are pricing the euro at 117 pesos,” he stressed. Two tourists who drank a couple of beers each and ate some starters settled their bill, 17.70 euros with a 20 euro bill. The change, “in Cuban pesos,” the employee clarified.

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The Next Demonstration in Cuba: ‘I Don’t Think it Will be Peaceful or Civic,’ Says Alexander Pupo

Cuban doctors Alexander Jesús Figueredo Izaguirre and Alexander Pupo Casas hope to arrive in the US this month. (Facebook/Dr. Alexander Raúl)

14ymedio, Ángel Salinas, Mexico, 4 July 2022 — A few days before the first anniversary of the July 11 (11J) protests, doctor Alexander Pupo Casas, who suffered from harassment and lost his job due to his outspoken stance against the Cuban regime, tells 14ymedio: “As I see it, there won’t be another one because that 11J, 12J and 13J* the people came out civilly and peacefully and received repression, beatings and jail for it.”

The doctor, originally from Holguín, does not believe that he next demonstration will be “neither peaceful nor civic… There will be deaths and injuries on both sides, it will be a shame.”

Pupo, who shares with his colleague Alexander Jesús Figueredo Izaguirre the journey to reach the United States, uploaded to his Facebook wall a video recorded inside the trunk of a vehicle where he is crowded together with Haitian, Bangladeshi, African, Venezuelan migrants, Chinese and Russians.

“Look where we had to travel. Gentlemen, this is incredible, but nothing, here we are, in the trunk of a bus,” he is heard saying while panning the camera to show more people. “And there were those who said that we were financed, that we were well paid by the CIA.” continue reading

The doctor tells 14ymedio that they have had “a few days of calamities but right now we are safe.” Pupo reserved his location for a security issue “since the State Security Directorate (DSE) has tried to find our location, God knows with what intention.”

Pupo and Figueredo have had to experience, like thousands of Cubans who leave the Island, the most difficult emigration: without visas, without the support of diplomats, practically without money. “Our entire journey has been like illegals. We have been detained by the police, they have taken money from us and left us dumped in the middle of nowhere. We have had bad times.”

“They crossed the Darién jungle, they faced the Panamanian guard, we were sent to a UN ‘concentration camp’ in Panama, we have been denied medical assistance when we have needed it. In short, we had to face the dark side of emigration alone.”

In May, Figueredo said that on this journey “a part of him died in the Darién jungle seeing lost children, drowned and dead people and without being able to do anything, just watch and continue.”

The doctor points out that in the group in which they were traveling “unfortunately we had seven or eight deaths.” To enter that area that extends along the border between Panama and Colombia, not only “you have to be physically and mentally prepared, but luck also plays a crucial role in getting out of there. No one gets out unscathed.”

According to official figures from the National Migration Service (SNM) of Panama, until last March: a total of 13,425 irregular migrants crossed the Darién, including 4,257 from Venezuela, 1,589 from Haiti, 1,164 from Senegal and 1,065 from Cuba.

Pupo and Figueredo hope to reach the United States in a month and announced that they will notify the press when they are “at the border.”

*Translator’s note: The protests began on July 11^th and continued over the following days.

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The Body of Professor Santiago Morgado, Who Disappeared in Sancti Spiritus, Cuba, Was Found in a Well

This weekend, authorities found Morgado’s motorcycle helmet on the road through El Pinto, before reaching Banao. (Facebook)

14ymedio, Havana, 4 July 2022 — Professor Santiago Morgado, who had been missing in Sancti Spíritus, Cuba, since last Friday, was found dead on Monday. According to the activist Néstor Estévez, with a source in the victim’s own family, the body was inside a well in the Planta Cantú area, in the heart of the Sancti Spiritus mountain range.

The family is convinced that he was killed to steal the motorcycle he was riding, but the police investigation is just beginning. Morgado had left Sancti Spíritus on Friday, heading for Banao, around noon. The last time they saw him was at the Guasimal junction.

This weekend, the authorities found Morgado’s motorcycle helmet on the road through El Pinto, before reaching Banao, and this Monday, his glasses and a shoe were found near the well where, hours later, the body was recovered by firefighters.

Estévez said that this is the second incident reported in the municipality in a few weeks. “The last case was in the area of the 415 behind Pesca. We are not talking about thieves. We are talking about murderers who steal.” continue reading

The motorcycles currently cost, depending on the brand, about 9,000 dollars on average and given the lack of parts in the country, those that are stolen are sold on the black market for parts. This means of transportation has become essential for the day-to-day life of many Cubans due to the poor public service.

At the end of last December, four individuals were arrested for the murder of the Holguin motorcyclist Armando Argelio Pérez Zaldívar. The 49-year-old man had been seen for the last time a week before and his body was found after several complaints from relatives on social networks.

The perpetrators of the crime “alleged as a motive, that their objective was to appropriate the means of transport and sell it in order to pay off a debt of 50,000 pesos,” according to what the Ministry of the Interior reported at the time.

Another of the most reported cases in the independent press was that of motorcyclist Daniel Martínez Pupo, who in early 2020 was found dead in a neighborhood also in Holguín. The remains of the 24-year-old were found in three bags buried in the Alcides Pino garbage dump and the mastermind of the crime, as it later became known, allegedly owed the victim money.

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Cuban Military’s Tribute to Lopez-Calleja Sounds Like a Warning Before Another July 11th (11J)

Raúl Castro, former father-in-law of López-Calleja, lays a rose in his honor. (Revolution Studios)

14ymedio, Havana, 3 July 2022 — A tribute to Division General Luis Alberto Rodríguez López-Calleja, who died on July 1, was held this Saturday in the Granma room of the Ministry of the Armed Forces (FAR). The military ceremony was carried out “without uttering words” and stripped of “unnecessary protocols, just as Luis Alberto was in life”, affirms a note from the Granma newspaper.

Members of the Political Bureau of the Party and the Government participated in the tribute, “comrades” of Rodríguez López-Calleja in the FAR Business Administration Group (known by its acronym, Gaesa, but which the government media have begun to designate as simply GAE) and “historic leaders” who no longer frequent the public scene, such as José Ramón Machado Ventura or the former father-in-law of the deceased himself, Raúl Castro.

Also part of the ceremony were Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel; the Prime Minister, Manuel Marrero Cruz and the former First Vice President of Gaesa, Ania Guillermina Lastres Morera.

Hidden behind the first line of participants were Déborah Castro Espín, daughter of Raúl Castro, and designated by the official newspaper Granma note as the “widow” of Rodríguez López-Calleja, although they had been divorced for a long time; Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro, El Cangrejo [The Crab], and Vilma Rodríguez Castro, strangely described as “older children” of the deceased, although there is no evidence that Rodríguez López-Calleja had more children, at least within his marriage to Déborah Castro.

All those present deposited roses in front of the urn with the remains of the deceased, “with visible signs of pain.” Some fragments of the ceremony were broadcast on the national television news.

Several aspects of the posthumous tribute are striking. In the first place, the military nature of the ceremony, in which most of the participants wear FAR uniforms. Among the latter, was the bodyguard and security chief of his grandfather, Raúl Castro. The Crab, as he is also known, wears the two stars of lieutenant colonel on the collar of his shirt (the dark green color corresponding to the Ministry of the Interior), the rank to which he was promoted in 2021. continue reading

The second assistant with the most striking uniform (located on the far right of the second line) is the current first vice president of Gaesa, Ania Guillermina Lastres Morera.

The military nature of the ceremony is striking, in which the majority wear FAR uniforms. (Revolution Studios)

On the epaulettes of Lastres Morera you can see the additional star to the three that correspond to colonel, which means that she holds the rank of first colonel, recently created in the Armed Forces, preceding the rank of brigadier general.

It is surprising that Lastres Morera appears in a military uniform when her public biography avoids any mention of her membership in the FAR. The official encyclopedia Ecured describes her career as that of a simple economist who, in 1984, worked as a specialist in the Directorate of Economic Collaboration and Material Fund of the Ministry of the Armed Forces, and later deputy head of the Special Section for Economy and Finance of the same ministry. In 2012 she was elected deputy to the National Assembly of People’s Power for Marianao. She does not mention the date on which she joined Gaesa, and she is often singled out as a “favorite” to succeed Rodríguez López-Calleja in managing the conglomerate.

The military “reaffirmation” of characters who have appeared as civilians until now seems to suggest that, with the death of López-Calleja, the Armed Forces are launching a message to revalidate their political and economic influence. The presence of Raúl Castro and other generals (and even the portrait of the deceased, dressed as a division general of the FAR) are some more elements in favor of this interpretation.

Both the official note on the death of the former son-in-law and the information on his funeral underline the paternal-filial character between him and Raúl Castro. The obituary points out “his consecration, responsibility and proven loyalty to the Party, to the Commander in Chief and to the Army General, whom in addition to his boss he considered a father.”

On the other hand, the tribute affirms that Castro “deposited a white rose before the mortal remains of his son, who with such dedication put his life at the service of the Homeland and the Revolution.”

No official media has yet reported on the identity of the successor to occupy the presidency of Gaesa, described by the official press as “a model business system that serves as an example to the country, for having demonstrated its efficiency.”

The unexpected death of López-Calleja comes at an extremely delicate juncture for the power structure in Cuba, on the eve of the first anniversary of the massive July 11 protests.

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Guillermo Farinas Reports that the Minor Who Died at the Hands of the Police in Santa Clara, Cuba, was Arrested in Last Year’s July 11th Protests

The young Zinadine Zidan Batista “died handcuffed with his mouth against the ground, from bleeding, after receiving three bullet wounds,” said opposition leader Guillermo Fariñas. (Collage)

14ymedio, Havana, 3 July 2022 — Cuban opponent Guillermo Fariñas revealed this Saturday the results of a personal investigation he carried out into the events of police violence in the El Condado district of Santa Clara.

According to Fariñas, who lives in that city, the full name of the 17-year-old teenager shot by a police officer is Zinadine Zidan Batista Álvarez. He says that the young man, who was the father of a little girl, participated in the protests of July 11, 2021 (11J), in Santa Clara, and was detained for 23 days, after which he had to pay a fine of 3,000 pesos.

Regarding the events of El Condado, Fariñas affirms that a “brawl” initially took place while people were standing in line in the vicinity of the La Latina store, located on Tomás Estrada Palma street, at the corner of Rodolfo Valderas. The disturbance prompted police intervention.

Relatives of Batista Álvarez, known as Los Pitirres, clashed with police officers, who used their firearms to neutralize the participants in the fight. Batista Álvarez then received “bullet wounds to the shoulder and arm,” Fariñas said.

“However, the murdered young man died handcuffed with his mouth against the ground, due to bleeding after receiving three bullet impacts from a firearm,” continues the opponent. “The fatal shot was unnecessary, because the deceased was already wounded and unable to put the life of the police officer who killed him at risk.” The policeman, according to witnesses, had the badge number 15388. continue reading

Fariñas, who carried out this investigation together with Mabel Hernández White, Dayamí Villavicencio Hernández and Yaima Villavicencio Hernández (these last two women are former Ladies in White), concludes the note by referring to Batista Álvarez “from the ground continued, with integrity, challenging the police officers and they kicked him, as well as hit him with a regulation tonfa.”

More than 24 hours after the events in El Condado, the Ministry of the Interior (Minint) finally offered its version. The note says that the agents “responded to the call of the population before a disturbance of public order, in which the lives of two women who were inside a house were in danger.”

“The two citizens,” says the official note, “were besieged by eight individuals with terrible behavior, who attacked the house with stones, carrying knives and hurling insults and threats at them.” The attack occurred “for personal reasons.”

Upon the arrival of the police officers, “the subjects attacked the law enforcement officers with stones.” One of the participants in the fight would have attacked an officer “with a chalk knife in one hand and a machete in the other, injuring him in the forehead.”

Although the statement does not identify this last aggressor, a comparison of the version of Guillermo Fariñas and the information circulating on social networks makes it clear that it is Zidan Batista Álvarez.

The statement continues, asserting that the agents “used the regulatory weapon, in defense of their physical integrity,” which led to the death of the “main aggressor, characterized by violent behavior, with multiple criminal records.” The note does not provide any details about the alleged criminal past of the young man.

The statement adds that “a citizen unrelated to the altercation, who received immediate medical assistance, was also injured,” but it does not proceed to identify who he is or under what circumstances he was injured. A “rigorous investigation for the total clarification of the fact” is still ongoing, the note concludes.

Before the authorities published their version, the official journalist Pedro Jorge Velázquez reported on Facebook that he had communicated with “the authorities of Villa Clara” and that he had received a kind of “draft” of the story that was going to be circulated hours later.

However, Velázquez points out several details that were excluded from the official version. For example, he “confirms” that the cause of the events was “a conflict between families due to an extralegal dispute over a home,” of an “extremely violent” nature. “If the action of the [Police] had been improper, as some social media sites allege, the people themselves would have confronted it,” he says.

The authorities say nothing about those “involved who were arrested” or about the “other observant sources” whom, according to Velázquez, the police interviewed. Without identifying him, the journalist affirms that Batista Álvarez “died in the hospital,” information that the authorities do not provide either in their statement and that is contradicted by Guillermo Fariñas in his note.

The local media in Villa Clara have not offered any information about Zidan Batista Álvarez and the events of police violence in El Condado. They have limited themselves to reproducing the official statement.

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Cuban Troubadour Silvio Rodriguez Prefers a ‘Socialist Government With a Capitalist Economy’ Like… China

Silvio Rodríguez during his most recent concert in the Zócalo of Mexico City, in June. (EFE)

14ymedio, Madrid, 1 July 2022 — Singer-songwriter Silvio Rodríguez, who continues his particular process of rectifying the Cuban system, admitted this Thursday on his blog Otra Cita that “the various real experiences of socialism show that, as conceived, it is impracticable” and proposes to reformulate the model with “socialist governments running capitalist economies.”

The artist wrote a brief entry in which he considers that well-being is more important than justice and, therefore, “a society that cannot guarantee basic satisfactions is a society in crisis,” he says, clearly alluding to the Island. In his judgment, the United States, which is always present in his speech, designed the “blockade” precisely with this in mind.

However, Rodríguez does not limit himself to blaming the traditional enemy and accepts that it is the socialist system itself that has proven incapable of satisfying needs, although he argues that the reason is human nature or the mere fact that capitalism has been imposed in many more countries of the world.

A friend of Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the Mexican president, the troubadour cites him by name to recall that, during his visit to Havana last May, ‘AMLO’ made a diagnosis that he considers correct. “For me it is obvious that Cuba needs to revolutionize the revolution, as Andrés Manuel suggested.”

Rodríguez abounds in the dangerous consequences of not accepting reflections like his own and insisting on what does not work. “It is unfair, as well as senseless, to turn chimeras into principles. Not seeing it is hopeless. Imposing it is atrocious. In addition to how to distribute the little we have, will there be time to analyze substantive issues, or will centrist deviations be seen as inadmissible?”

The troubadour, however, does not take as references the many Western social democratic governments, but rather single-party systems such as China or Vietnam. The first of which, in particular, is considered one of the most unequal in the world due to its ability to exploit resources and people to generate spectacular economic growth, a growth that does not result in improving the situation of the population. continue reading

In a recent analysis of the Chinese capitalist system, Xiang Bing, dean of China’s Cheung Kong Business School, recalled the absence of universal health or pension systems in that country. “No country has used the planned economy to achieve real success in improving citizens’ living standards,” he said.

Silvio Rodríguez, troubadour and ambassador of the regime for decades, began a critical process, especially in the last ten years, which has intensified since Miguel Díaz-Canel became president, a man for whom he seems to feel a particular animosity.

The fact became clear when, after the six-year prison sentence of the musician Abel Lescay for the July 11th (11J) protests of last year, he demanded that there be transparency in his trial and that the sentence be modified on appeal. “I have no faith that verticality will be rectified. As I have said other times, it is still a very small group of people, practically a sect, that makes decisions,” he said. Ultimately, on appeal Lescey received a sentence of five years of limited freedom, to be served at home.

Although he was particularly supportive in the Lescay case, Rodríguez had also asked for the 11J sentences to be reviewed, which he considered disproportionate. “They didn’t kill anyone,” he claimed from his blog.

Another recent event in which the troubadour has placed himself in front of the Government has been the dismissal of Armando Franco Senén as director of the Alma Mater magazine, warning of what he considered an alarming drift of the highest spheres of power. “What seems worrying to me is that, instead of opening up, the leadership continues to show signs of closure. It even seems very serious to me, at this point.”

But although his criticisms are more insistent lately and against the current leaders, Rodríguez has made other observations about past measures recently taken by the socialist system. In February of this year, in an interview with an Argentine agency, he considered that the Revolutionary Offensive of 1968 had done a lot of damage to the Cuban people. “We cannot spend our lives believing that everything we cannot do is because there is a very powerful neighbor that blocks us and prevents us from doing things. If in 60 years we have not been able to develop a creativity that overcomes the blockade, we are wrong,” he accused.

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Neighbours in El Condado, Santa Clara, Cuba, Accuse the Police of Killing a Young Man of 17

The event happened in the El Condado neighbourhood, in Santa Clara. (Collage)

14ymedio, Havana, 2 July 2022 — Various videos have been circulating in social media since Saturday, showing a teenager shot by the National Revolutionary Police (PNR) in the El Condado neighbourhood in Santa Clara. The young man, 17 years old, was identified by several users as Zidan Batista Álvarez.

In the videos, a number of El Condado residents surround a group of police and various patrolmen, in the vicinity of Estrada Palma Street, the main road through the neighbourhood. The recording shows four officials near an individual (presumably Batista Álvarez) handcuffed, with his mouth open, on the street.

One of the police officers has a gun in his hand and kicks him, while the young man writhes about with a bleeding wound in his thigh, or in the abdomen, (the poor image quality makes it difficult to see exactly)

Another video shows how one of the passers-by goes to lift up the injured man, while an official prevents him, hitting him with a baton. “A shot … a shot … I couldn’t record the shots, man … covered in blood,” said the person who recorded the scene with his phone. “Assassin … a policeman shot three warning shots in the air and then shot the kid,” said one of the women at the scene.

Although there is no official confirmation of the death of Zidan Batista Álvarez, several online individuals related to him have recounted what happened in social media.

“Fly high, Zidan, may God accept you in this holy glory” is what Yeris González, a worker at the Básica Fructuoso Rodríguez secondary school in Santa Clara, wrote in Facebook. “They robbed you of your life while you were so young (…) my condolences to your family and friends,” he added. According to Batista Álvarez’ Facebook profile, he and his partner, Susleidy Guerra, were parents of a small girl. continue reading

According to one version of the event, the police came to the location because of a disturbance between illegal occupants of a property and the owners, in which another unidentified person also died, as a result of a machete wound. Batista Álvarez had been shot at one point during this altercation, after which the police fired several warning shots in the air.

According to the official Seguidores del Legionario Cubano (Cuban Legion Followers) Facebook group: “The antiCuban media are already starting to misrepresent what happened in the disturbance in El Condado, Santa Clara. As is clear in the recording and in other videos, it is impossible to see the circumstances giving rise to the police shots.”

“You can clearly hear in one of the videos, that they fired three encouraging shots (sic, as opposed to discouraging), and the subject got on top of the police with a machete. Three shots rang out and one of them was injured in the left leg, with non-serious injuries. The deceased was a 17 year old youth who received various knife wounds during the heat of the struggle. The police only came to prevent further deaths, they acted responsibly,” said the publication.

Although this statement does not constitute an official version of what took place, and no newspaper or local media has provided any report, the account by the Seguidores del Legionario Cubano gives us a clue as to the way in which the authorities will explain it.

There is very little clarity over the event and no believable source has commented on the death of Zidan Batista Álvarez or other individuals, or justified the PNR officials’ presence there and the reason why they fired.

El Condado, home of the feared Unit Five of the Santa Clara PNR (National Revolutionary Police), is a location characterised both by the level of delinquency and the large number of police and State Security.

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Stores Leased to the Self-employed Are Without Electricity in Havana

Customers have to use the flashlights of their cell phones to be able to check the prices of merchandise. (14ymedio)

14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, 2 July 2022 — Private workers who rent state premises in the stores of Central Havana are experiencing martyrdom in these days of intense blackouts due to the imposition of working without electricity. “This is a lack of respect for the amount of money we generate,” one of the self-employed complained this Saturday morning, while fanning himself to relieve the heat.

Customers have to use the flashlights on their cell phones to be able to check the merchandise and see the prices. “It’s a lot of work to be able to pay. I had to use the flashlight on my cell phone to give the price to the owner of the business where I bought some shoes,” explains Xiomara.

“It’s like a cave in here, these poor people are working without a fan and so are we, the poor customers. Every time I enter one of these stores I go out dripping sweat,” adds the woman, who had to enter several places to be able to determine which shoes to buy.

“It’s to save electricity,” they say, “It’s the order from above,” “There’s no power because they turn off the switch,” are some of the answers that sellers repeat the most in the face of the anger or restlessness of customers. The affected shops are mainly located on Neptune, Galiano and Monte streets.

“I just entered a store and it’s a sauna,” said a young man who tried to buy some accessories for his cell phone but gave up in the face of the darkness and heat inside the rented space. continue reading

In contrast, the self-employed who work on private premises don’t suffer from this measure. “Everyone has their tables lit, with fans connected. Everything is well lit; the mess is in the state stores,” says a salesman who knows the area.

But it’s not just about heat and darkness. Health problems proliferate where people crowd into poorly ventilated spaces. In recent days, reports of respiratory and gastrointestinal viruses have also increased, and people fear staying for long in the overcrowded and unheated spaces.

Two customers try to look at some shoes in a store on Neptuno and Galiano. (14ymedio)

“They should give you hazardous duty pay,” a customer told sellers at a centrally located, privately managed store on the corner of Neptune and Galiano on Friday. “I was only there for a minute and I left with shortness of breath. I don’t know how they can spend hours inside, to be honest.”

Last April, the Government approved the lease of state premises that were in disuse to the self-employed and cooperatives. Among the measure’s objectives is to “increase participation in the economy, promote development, diversification of production, productive chains and economic and social well-being,” according to the resolution of the Ministry of Internal Trade. Then it became clear that it’s the state that manages these establishments.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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