14ymedio

Havana and the Tourist Areas Are the Epicenter of Drug Use in Cuba

This is the case of schools that have become “areas of high incidence of drug use,” says a Public Health official

The authorities regret that Cuba does not have sufficient resources to prevent drug use. / Granma

14ymedio, Havana, 11 April 2024 — Drug trafficking in Cuba is increasing and tourist enclaves and areas where foreigners pass through – in addition to Havana, due to its population density – are the places where most consumption occurs. The problem, “which is becoming a lifestyle” especially in adolescents and young people, was recognized this Wednesday by the official press.

In an interview with the official newspaper Granma, Dr. Alejandro García, director of the Mental Health Center of Central Havana, set off the Public Health alarms: “Increasingly people start consuming earlier. The first experiences are between the ages of 13 and 14, from the ages of 17 and 20 they can become addicted, and at the age of 25 there is an increase in users,” he revealed.

According to official data, the average age for drug use in Cuba, which was 18 in 2022, had dropped to 15 last year.

Regarding the epicenters of drug trafficking, “Havana has always been the city with the most consumption, as have important tourist centers, such as some areas of Santiago de Cuba, Cienfuegos… with a lot of foreigners arriving,” added the director, although he did not explain if it is because tourists are the ones who transport the substances to the Island or if the economic activity that is generated around them promotes these scenarios.

“In addition, there is a high rate of young women who consume drugs and are pregnant. Also (an increase) in polydrug use, because, historically, what was consumed the most in some municipalities of Havana was crack, but in recent times new chemicals have been incorporated that we are sometimes continue reading

unaware of, and thus it is more complicated to confront and deal with,” the director detailed, referring to the new drug that circulates on the Island known as químico (chemical), which has become popular for its long-lasting effect and its low cost, about 200 pesos

For García, the increase in drug use on the Island has clear causes: “The economic situation is having a great impact, for various reasons. First, there has been a decrease in the care groups, there are municipalities that do not have a psychiatrist or anyone who directly cares for the phenomenon of addictions. Furthermore, it is not implemented consistently, and the groups are sometimes weakened or lack personnel,” he adds.

The poor state control over drug circulation also influences consumption “because when trafficking is well controlled, the availability of substances decreases, and consequently the cases,” he warns.

However, the doctor, consistent with the official discourse, expressed a reservation. “I believe that drug use must be confronted harshly, and that, here, it has always been done. People are used to leaving everything in the hands of the State, and it cannot be achieved that way. We have to be active as a society,” he clarifies

This is the case of schools which, García says, have become “areas with a high incidence of drug use.” As he explains, when young people begin to abuse these substances they “begin to have changes in behavior, abandonment of their habits, loss of interest in studying,” something that teachers and directors are trained to detect, he says.

The same happens in pharmacies where, the doctor insists, strict control is maintained over the prescription of psychotropic drugs and narcotics. He also insists that the country has care rooms with treatments that “go far beyond detoxification.”

In three maritime operations, another 37.5 kilograms of cocaine were seized, ten people, Cubans and Mexicans, were arrested

Reluctant to provide numbers, the Government has not made public the data on the increase in drug consumption compared to other years, but this February the General Customs of the Republic reported that, to that date, it had detected 17 smuggling attempts – with 99 kilograms of drugs seized. A significant increase if one takes into account that 55 attempts were detected in all of 2023, which had already been the highest number since 2019.

In three maritime operations, another 37.5 kilograms of cocaine were seized and ten people, Cubans and Mexicans, were arrested. The main countries of origin of these substances are the United States, Suriname, Mexico and Ecuador

An attempt was also made to introduce prohibited medications. “In a recent assessment we were looking at 73,000 tablets they have tried to bring into the country,” the authorities said then.

Likewise, in November of last year the Supreme Court announced that to date almost 700 people had been sentenced for drug trafficking, 92% of them with prison sentences. The Penal Code, however, allows up to the death penalty for this type of crime.

The authorities also revealed then that the most consumed substance on the Island is marijuana, accompanied since 2011 by a worrying increase in the abuse of synthetic cannabinoids. This is the case of the químico, to which this newspaper dedicated a report due to its extensive consumption in the capital, especially in the park known as El Curita, where the Police carried out anti-drug operations this February.

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Venezuela Sells Its Oil on the International Market Instead of Giving It to Cuba

This Monday, the tanker Ocean Mariner left Havana Bay / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Havana, 2 April 2024 — The data on the delivery of Venezuelan oil to Cuba in March confirm that Havana cannot count on Caracas at the moment to alleviate its energy problems. In February, only 34,000 barrels per day (bpd) arrived on the Island that month, 39% below the monthly average of 56,000 bpd in 2023, according to information provided by Reuters.

That Venezuela would continue to send relatively little oil to the Island during 2024 had already been anticipated by Texas University specialist Jorge Piñón. Before Reuters, with sources in the Venezuelan state-owned Pdvsa, revealed the figure, the researcher had explained to this newspaper that his estimates “were not good.”

“There are rumors that Joe Biden will not reactivate the sanctions on Venezuela on April 18 and will wait until June. If so, this will allow Pdvsa to sell more oil to countries that pay in cash and keep its shipments to Cuba below average,” argues the expert. continue reading

Three days ago, the Island received a ship with 90,000 tons (684,000 barrels) of Russian oil

“For the moment,” he added, “it seems that the Mexican life jacket is replaced by the Russian one.” Three days ago, the Island received a ship with 90,000 tons (684,000 barrels) of Russian oil to alleviate the energy crisis, the second sent by the Kremlin. On March 17, another shipment of 650,000 barrels of one of the best crude oils in the world, valued at 50 million dollars, arrived in Cuba.

However, the Russian “aid” still does not exceed that of Mexico, which in the first two months of the year sent 1,970,000 barrels of its best crudes, the Isthmus and the Olmeca, to compensate for the collapse of Venezuelan shipments.

Caracas’ oil exports reached their highest level since 2020 this March, increased by 32% compared to the previous month, due to the high international demand in the face of the threat of the United States to reactivate the sanctions against Pdvsa. According to Reuters, about 52 ships left Venezuelan ports in March with an average of 884,935 bpd of crude oil and refined products, in addition to 463,000 tons of petroleum derivatives.

The main destinations were, once again, Asia (550,000 bpd), the United States (178,000 bpd) and Europe (77,300 bpd). Pdvsa also assures that it is prepared for “any scenario,” including the return of sanctions.

According to Reuters, the high demand for oil has caused great delays and a “knot” of ships in the country’s ports, which has resulted in several oil tankers having left Venezuelan waters without being able to stock up on crude oil.

For different reasons, also in Cuba, ships are encountering numerous difficulties in unloading the fuel that Havana needs to limit the blackouts. This is the case of the Eco Fleet tanker, which has been off the Havana coast for more than a month with about 260,000 barrels of diesel loaded in Tunis.

The Government has not pronounced on the impasse with the ship, whose arrival had been announced by the Minister of Energy and Mines, Vicente de la O Levy, a situation that Piñón describes, at the very least, as “strange,” given the announcement “with great fanfare” of the arrival of the ship by the minister.

It was not until the end of March, with the arrival of the first of the two Russian ships, that the energy situation on the Island began to experience relief. The long blackouts that characterized the first weeks of the year caused popular protests in Santiago de Cuba, Granma and Matanzas.

For this Tuesday, the UNE part predicts a deficit of 295 megawatts in peak hours

The Government, for its part, insists that the Electric Union (UNE) is recovering from a “pothole” with the installation of several photovoltaic parks throughout the country, the maintenance of the main thermoelectric power plants and the arrival of oil to refine. For this Tuesday, the UNE predicts a deficit of 295 megawatts (MW) in peak hours, an impact greater than 274 MW on Monday, but much lower than in previous weeks when the deficit reached 45% of daily demand.

As for the Havana refinery, this newspaper has found that it has been shut down for months. Likewise, 14ymedio verified that yesterday morning, the tanker Alicia, with the Cuban flag, was anchored in front of the Ñico López, and the Ocean Mariner, with a Liberian flag, was leaving the bay in an unknown direction.

According to maritime tracking applications, the NS Concord, Sandino and Prímula oil tankers are also in Matanzas, and they expect the Nordic and the Nicos I.V. in Cienfuegos, and the Fortunato in Moa.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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An Expert Asks for Help From the Private Sector To Serve the Aging Population of Cuba

The population over 60 years of age exceeds 23% in Sancti Spíritus / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Madrid, 10 April 2024 — Demographic problems can be alleviated through collaboration with private companies, according to the interview that the newspaper Escambray published this Wednesday with Antonio Aja Díaz, director of the Center for Demographic Studies of the University of Havana. The expert states that it is necessary to pay attention to the dynamics of a very aging population, and, for this, resources are needed that the State does not have.

“Non-State forms are within the socialist economy of this country, and they are taxed as an element of our economy; why, then, not think about the repair or construction of a grandparents’ house, a maternal home, a children’s daycare center with the resources provided by the non-State economy?” he asks rhetorically, adding that it is also a matter of “sensitivity” and “intelligence.”

“There is a lot of deficit attached to objective material problems of the economy, and greater actions are needed to try to solve these difficulties. If we work to fix a television, a fan; if we get the water running, provide gas, solar heaters, we are solving a group of problems. This can be done with a State budget but also with a budget that is not from the State economy,” he insists. continue reading

“Non-State forms are within the socialist economy of this country, and they are taxed as a social element of our economy

The specialist, with a doctorate in Science, is concerned about the demographic situation of the Island in general and Sancti Spíritus in particular. The province is third highest in Cuba for its aging population, with 23.3% of its inhabitants over 60 years old, compared to 24.6% in Villa Clara, which is first. Aja Díaz explains why it is important to know in detail the demographic situation, and he highlights the importance, when developing a social economic strategy in the territory, of detecting needs and organizing resources.

Despite this, the population census, which should have been carried out in 2022 – the previous one is from 2012 and is carried out every ten years – has been postponed to the beginning of 2025, due to the lack of resources. After different dates provided, Diego Enrique González Galbán, director of the Center for Population and Development Studies, said that the study was approved for the first quarter of that year. “That’s the official date,” he said.

When the census is finally carried out – whether or not at the scheduled time – it will be possible to see the devastating effect of migration, which in the last two years alone has taken some 400,000 Cubans to the United States, added to which are the thousands who went to Spain, Mexico and other countries as well.

Aja Díaz is conspicuous during the interview with Escambray, which moves away from the scientist’s position to align with the Regime’s discourse, according to which emigration in Cuba “is circular” and people “come and go.” The reality is that the Island’s population has stagnated in the last 30 years, and the forecast is that it will decrease by up to 18% in the next three decades.

“The policy is to encourage many more to return, to work in two societies, in two spheres, without this being a problem, which at another time it was, but today the situation is different. Cuba does not have many alternatives other than looking for that circularity,” insists the expert. He also emphasizes that labor mobility to the private sector is depreciating the State professions that were previously considered more prestigious.

“Today, due to the economic situation of Cuba and the alternatives of the non-State economy, we are seeing a great mobility of professionals from the public spheres to the private; it’s a phenomenon that is happening in the Health sector and in others,” he adds.

“We are seeing a great mobility of professionals from the public spheres to the private; it’s a phenomenon that is happening in the Health sector and in others

Aja Díaz specifies that the prevalence of adolescent pregnancies is a priority problem in Sancti Spíritus, which coexists with a low birth rate on average. “Girls at very young ages of life get pregnant and have children, and the saddest thing is that the families allow it and in some cases promote it.” The expert – who does not take into account that these cases occur more in vulnerable and unstructured families – points out that many organizations could get involved to alleviate this problem, including the Federation of Cuban Women, social workers, doctors and teachers, he says, without mentioning that the shortage of contraceptive methods contributes to the problem.

“You have to look for all possible births, but not at the expense of adolescent fertility (…). We can’t expect that girls stop at such an early age; if it’s on that basis, it’s preferable to keep decreasing,” he says forcefully. According to data from the National Office of Information and Statistics, in 2022 there was an average of 1.14 children per woman from 15 to 54 years old, and 0.79 children per man, but far from analyzing factors of an economic nature, the expert continues to compare Cuba to developed countries.

“Contrary to what one might think, in societies with more economic and social development, fewer births occur. This does not happen in more backward, marginal societies. To the extent that the economy improves, society improves; reproductive behavior decreases because it is socialized, women are dignified, and family planning is much better,” he says, although he admits that it’s not something positive for the Island, especially since emigration also reduces the population.

Cuba’s demographic data are worrying in their economic and social focus. More and more people depend on pensions that are impossible to pay with the decreasing number of workers on the Island. Earlier this year, a government decree came into force that reduces the amount of the highest pensions “in order to mitigate the expenses of the social security budget.”

Translated by Regina Anavy

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‘The Pastry Chef Quit So I Closed the Business’

Deciding not to rely on a hired employee puts limitations on private businesses / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Natalia López Moya, Havana, April 10, 2024 — Regular customers of a privately owned bakery on San Lázaro Street in Central Habana were surprised this week to see the owner of the business both kneading dough and working the counter. “The cook left the country so this is now a one-woman show,” explains the entrepreneur, one of many who have been hit by the exodus affecting Cuba’s private-sector economy.

“This is the third cook I’ve lost since I opened,” says the woman, who owns a shop specializing in breads, desserts and cookies. “He was making money here but, of course, it doesn’t compare… He had signed up for the US humanitarian parole program* last year and they just told him that it had been granted. From the time he found out until the time he left was less than a week. I didn’t have time to look for someone else.”

The employee’s departure has had a very negative impact on the bakery’s profits. “I can no longer take orders for weddings or parties because I can’t keep up. Also, I have had to limit the types of bread that I sell. I’ve lost thousands of pesos in a few days compared to the sales I had in previous months.” continue reading

To avoid unwelcome surprises after training an employee in the ins-and-outs of their operations, many small and medium-sized business owners prefer to rely on their own family members. “Here we have my wife, my two daughters and me,” says Luis Mario, owner of a shop specializing in birthday buffets in Havana’s Cerro district. “I feel more secure because nothing happens from one day to the next without me finding out about it.”

Last year, we hired a courier. If he made ten deliveries a day, it was a lot. One day, I come into work only to find out that he had left [for Nicaragua] on the ’volcano route’”

Last year, we hired a courier. If he made ten deliveries a day, it was a lot. One day, I come into work only to find out that he had left [for Nicaragua] on the ‘volcano route‘,” he says. “I had to make the rest of the home deliveries that week, and I then decided that I wasn’t going to hire anyone else who could leave me in the lurch overnight.”

He notes, however, that his two daughters are awaiting approval of their “humanitarian parole” application from the United States, but that he will find out “well before they get on the plane.” If the two young women do manage to emigrate with their respective husbands and children, he and his wife will join them later. “When that time comes, I will liquidate everything and close up shop. But initially, when my daughters are no longer here, I will have to limit the number of orders I can accept.”

The strongest impacts of this massive flight occur when the émigré fulfills a specialized role: technicians in assembly or repair of equipment, chefs, nurses, pastry chefs, designers and other positions that require training and experience. “The pastry chef and the accountant left me, so right now my business is closed,” laments Yusimí, owner of a cafeteria in Nuevo Vedado, municipality of the Plaza de la Revolución.

“The pastry chef was very good and young, the truth is that it seemed like a miracle that he was still in Cuba and now the miracle is over.” The employee who was in charge of accounting and invoices was a friend of the owner of the establishment since they were teenagers. “I can’t even be annoyed with either of them because I completely understand that they want to prosper out there and achieve their dreams, but I recognize that this has sunk me. I don’t know if I will be able to reopen.”

“Do you plan to leave the country soon?” they asked María Eugenia, 57, when she went to a home in El Vedado for an advertisement to care for a bedridden elderly woman

Among the questions that have been repeated most frequently in job interviews for months is, inevitably, the one that inquires about emigration: “Do you plan to leave the country soon?” María Eugenia, 57, was asked when she went to a home in El Vedado for an advertisement to care for a bedridden elderly woman. “I don’t like to lie, so I told them that my son had started the family reunification process for me to go to the United States,” she explains.

“And then the interview was over,” she concludes. “They were kind, but they told me that they couldn’t hire me because the lady was going to get used to me, she was going to get attached to me and, in the end, I was going to stay a short time.” But María Eugenia believes that this requirement is excessive: “Who right now in Cuba, at the age of being able to work, does not have some plan to leave here?” and she herself answers: “It could be a crazy plan, but you have one.”

“The best team is the one that is made up of only one,” says Fernando, a technician in installation and repair of air conditioning and refrigerators. “I worked for a couple of years with my son but now he is living in Las Vegas, I haven’t wanted to hire any other assistant because this is almost like a marriage, you have to adjust to the other person, synchronize yourself. If they leave you later, you’re lost.” Deciding not to have an employee brings limitations.

Fernando concludes: “There are jobs that I cannot accept or I have to ask the client who hires me for help, but I prefer to go through that and not spend a day taking the tools on my motorcycle, a previous commitment to install air conditioning and an assistant who doesn’t arrive because he’s at the airport waiting to get on a plane.”

Translated by Anonymous and Regina Anavy
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The Ship Carrying Vehicles Purchased by Individuals Comes and Goes Between the United States and Cuba

The Linda D, under the Panamanian flag, brings cars imported from the United States / Vesselfinder

14ymedio, Madrid, 10 April 2024 — The Balsa 88 and the Federal Nagara, two freighters that have spent weeks circling the Island, finally arrived in Havana on Tuesday. Both were part of the group of ships that could not enter the port due to non-payments, according to the first Deputy Minister of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment, Oscar Pérez-Oliva Fraga, who last Thursday blamed the financial consequences of the US embargo for the delay.

Under the Panamanian flag, according to the ship-monitoring websites, the Balsa 88 carries a load of diammonium phosphate, a type of highly concentrated fertilizer suitable for all types of crops, from Norfolk (Virginia, USA). The ship left that port on March 14 and arrived in Cuba on March 18. From that day until it docked on Sunday, April 7, it made countless turns around the Island, as can be seen in the zigzag line of its route in the last few weeks.

The Balsa 88 had been zigzagging around Cuba until payment was made for it to enter the port. / FalconEye

This is one of three ships coming from the United States that have recently arrived on the Island. It is joined by the Deneb, which, under the flag of Antigua and Barbuda, was en route from Wilmington (North Carolina) to Mariel in mid-March, and the Linda D, a very special case. continue reading

This ship, also under a Panamanian flag, constantly enters and leaves Miami for Mariel and is, according to experts, the cargo ship with a landing ramp that brings cars imported from the United States. As of April 1, the Linda D had already made 21 trips on this route, and yesterday, Tuesday, April 9, it again left loaded for Cuba, where its arrival is expected on Thursday the 11th.

According to the most recent data from the US-Cuba Trade and Economic Council, provided on Monday, April 8, the United States exported $4,983,708 in new vehicles to Cuba in February, in addition to $109,500 in used vehicles and $2,881 in special purpose vehicles. The figure is increasing sharply, since in January the volume of sales in new cars was $3,071,000 and less than $10 million in all of 2023, the year in which this type of export began to be authorized under license from the Department of the Treasury.

Unlike the ships that bring food, fertilizer and fuel to Cuba, the Linda D does not depend on the Cuban Government’s finances, but on those of the individuals who import the vehicles and pay their bills, and that’s why it comes and goes without setback. The Federal Nagara arrived in Havana Bay this Tuesday, under the flag of the Marshall Islands, loaded with 40,000 tons of grain from Argentina. The ship arrived on February 19 and has spent almost twenty days turning in circles in front of the Island, presumably also due to the lack of money to make the payment. Its twin, the Federal Churchill, under the same flag, coming from the port of La Plata, carries another 44,000 tons of grain.

The Balsa 88 comes from Norfolk and has been in front of Havana since March 18, finally entering the port on April 7 / 14ymedio

Since February 25, the Eco Fleet, loaded with 260,000 barrels of diesel purchased from Tunisia, has been turning around the coast of Havana since February 25, without being able to enter, and it’s not the only one that has been in that situation. On March 22, the count went up to nine ships, if the previous ones are joined by the bulk carriers Eco Tide and Hydra Down, in addition to some others that are on hold. The incessant movement of smaller tankers to supply the Lidio Ramón Pérez thermoelectric plant of Felton is also observed in the bay of Nipe (Holguín). On Tuesday, 165,000 tons of fuel were sent on board the Petion, loaded in Venezuela, the Delsa, the Lourdes and the Mariann VV, all of them from Matanzas.

Last Thursday, the authorities addressed the situation of the ration system’s basic family basket in Miguel Díaz-Canel’s new program. On that occasion, they argued that the embargo measures forced them to keep the ships standing in front of the port while waiting to gather the necessary money to make payments that would be much lower under the usual conditions of international trade. “For relocating products that, purchased in the United States, would mean a lower cost, the country has had to pay an additional 19 million dollars in 2023,” said Pérez-Oliva.

American businessmen can sell to Cuba with a license from the Treasury Department as long they are paid in advance and in cash, due to the regime’s debt history, its financial situation and the impossibility of accessing international credits – for the same reasons.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Cuba Tests a Technique to Reduce the Population of Dengue Transmitting Mosquitos

The technique known as the “sterile insect” is focused on reducing the birth rate of the ’Aedes Aegypti’ mosquito

On this occasion, a drone was used to release the previously sterilized male specimens by air in Havana / AENTA

EFE (via 14ymedio), Havana, 10 April 2024 — Cuba tested for the second time the technique known as the “sterile insect” aimed at reducing the birth rate of the Aedes aegypti mosquito, the transmitting agent of diseases such as dengue, Zika and chikungunya. According to official media reported this Tuesday, on this occasion a drone was used in Havana to release by air the male specimens previously sterilized with ionizing radiation so that they copulate with wild females, and thus reduce the population of Aedes aegypti.

The experiment was conducted by the Pedro Kourí Institute of Tropical Medicine in order to contrast the effects of releasing mosquitoes by air instead of by land, in terms of survival, dispersion and competitiveness, as explained by the coordinator of the Network of Communicators Nuclear Companies of Cuba (Recnuc), Marta Contreras, cited by the Granma newspaper.

Contreras also stated that male mosquitoes “do not bite, nor spread diseases and, even irradiated, they maintain the condition of being sexually competitive.”

The first trial of this technique was applied in Cuba in November 2019, in the Havana community of El Cano, belonging to the municipality of La Lisa.

In that area, weekly releases of the vector were carried out for eight months – all by land – and a high effectiveness was achieved with this procedure, almost completely eliminating the mosquito population in the demarcation.

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The Mountains of Garbage Cause Distress Over the The State’s Inefficiency

In the neighborhood of Luyanó, residents scattered the garbage until it blocked the street; in other areas of Havana they have set fire to the mountains of trash

Blocking the passage of cars with the trash from the garbage dump on Reforma Street, corner of Rodríguez in Luyanó, has been a way to draw attention to the matter / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Natalia López Moya, Havana, 9 April 2024 — A narrow path for motorcycles and bicycles was all that was left this Monday on Reforma Street, at the corner of Rodríguez in Luyanó, Havana. A neighbor, annoyed by the trash that had been accumulating there for weeks, spread it around until it created a barrier that prevented the access of vehicles, one of the many ways in which Cubans are protesting the collapse of the garbage collection system.

From the balconies, some encouraged the man to place branches, boxes and bags of waste to totally block traffic. “Do it, go on, let’s see if they’ll come now!” a woman shouted indignantly, adding: “This has never happened before in this neighborhood, not even in the worst times!” The exclamations of other people reinforced the situation of despair that has taken over the habaneros, who have been living amidst dirt and trash for months.

“The cars have to turn because when they approach the corner they realize they can’t get through,” says Adela, a neighbor who watched everything from the door of her house on the ground floor. “This is not against anyone in particular. There are people who live on this block and have not been able to get their cars out. Maybe they’ll listen to us and remove all that crap.” continue reading

Part of the garbage dump on the corner of Estancia and Conill, in Nuevo Vedado, Havana, was reduced to ashes / 14ymedio

A few meters from there, a day before, “they set fire to the garbage on Rodríguez and Villanueva Street,” a resident tells 14ymedio. The blue wall behind the hill of trash was scorched this Monday after the flames burned for a long time and reduced part of the trash to ashes, especially the dry leaves, pieces of wood and cardboard. “After a while the firefighters and even the police came, but the Communal Services Company never came to pick all this up. They asked if anyone saw who lit the match, but no one said anything. People are very pissed off, and even the most decent person may be the one who started the fire, because we are all desperate.”

In Nuevo Vedado, the garbage dump on Estancia and Conill Street also went up in flames on Saturday afternoon. In that same block, on the opposite corner, the hill of debris and trash that has not stopped growing for more than a year and a half was set on fire last January, although the Comunales company has made some sporadic attempts to eliminate it.

Among those who live nearby, the shared opinion is that neither of the two incidents was accidental. “Setting the garbage on fire is a way to attract attention,” says a neighbor of nearby Marino Street. “They only come to pick it up when a fire is reported; they arrive after the firefighters, if they arrive at all, but for sure they won’t come if nothing happens.”

Among those who live nearby, the shared opinion is that neither of the two incidents was accidental

In Holguín, this Sunday night the panorama was similar. When it got dark, a fire started in the garbage dump of the Villa Nueva 3 neighborhood, where mainly officers and members of the Ministry of the Interior reside. “My wife called the firefighters, and they told her that the fire was already reported. We could see five different points where it was burning,” says Luis, a resident in the area.

“The stench was the worst part, but people seemed almost happy, because they thought that now the problem would be solved,” he explains. The next morning, the huge garbage dump was still in place, blackened by the fire but intact in its smell and size.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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The Ministry of Justice Intervenes in the Crisis of Cuban Freemasonry and Does Not Recognize Its New Director

Former Grand Master Mario Urquía Carreño publishes a document in which he deems both his removal from office and the election of the new director as ineffective / Facebook

14ymedio, 9 April 2024, Havana — The crisis that Cuban Freemasonry has been going through for several months was not resolved on March 24, during the session of the Grand Lodge that promised to sort out the leadership. Expelled from the lodge that day, former Grand Master Mario Urquía Carreño now publishes a document in which – supported by a series of decisions of the Ministry of Justice – he deems as ineffective both his removal from office and the election of the new Masonic leader, in what he describes as a “coup d’état” against him.

Among the measures taken by the Ministry of Justice “to avoid further breaches” are the blocking of bank accounts, the prohibition of carrying out activities and issuing official documents, and the suspension of the Grand Lodge – not so of the individual lodges in the country – from the registry of the Office of Associations, the ruling body in which the activities of Cuban Freemasonry are inscribed.

In his counterattack, published by Cubanet, Urquía Carreño continues to sign as Grand Master of the order and describes a meeting with officials of the Ministry of Justice, on April 4, in which he was allegedly informed that the Office of Associations did not have a record of the March 24 session. continue reading

The absence of that document, argues Urquía Carreño, results in the lack of recognition, by the Ministry of Justice, of everything that happened there

The absence of that document, argues Urquía Carreño, results in the lack of recognition, by the Ministry of Justice, of everything that happened there, including the election of the new Grand Master, Juan Alberto Kessel Linares, which is not “validated” by the regime. “I am surprised that the jurisdiction has not yet been informed of something so delicate for our Freemasonry,” says Urquía Carreño, who alleges that the session was “unconstitutional” and that is why the minutes were not sent to the Ministry.

Until the Ministry of Justice gives the go-ahead, says Urquía Carreño, the best thing is “to not continue adopting decisions” and warns that if the authorities are contradicted, there will surely be “more drastic and harmful measures” because – as he emphasizes on several occasions – for the regime, he is still the Grand Master.

In addition, he says that during his absence the Grand Master’s Office was opened without his authorization, the office where $19,000 from the National Masonic Asylum was stolen, a crime for which Urquía Carreño is the main suspect. According to Kessel last week, another 2,360 dollars were stolen from the same place, the “misappropriation” of which the former Grand Master is accused.

These months have “discredited the entire secular Masonic sphere,” admits Urquía Carreño, who immediately blames – in a calmer tone than his previous statements – “high officers” of the Supreme Council of Grade 33, a Masonic institution chaired by José Viñas Alonso, who is critical of the Government and the main accuser of Urquía Carreño after the theft of the $19,000.

The former Grand Master promises that he will “inform the Jurisdiction of everything that happened with the Masonic National Asylum and other matters intended to further damage his image.” He will give “answers,” he alleges, and will present himself in the Grand Masonic National Temple, located on Carlos III Street in Havana, as a “legally acting Grand Master.” In a paragraph that recalls the style of the official press, he also accuses the “international media” that have “questioned” the cohesion of the Masonic leadership, which he accuses of “achieving this intervention by the authorities.”

“This Grand Master cannot allow a group of members of the Supreme Council to take control of the Grand Lodge, and he will never do so, even if all the insults and misrepresentations that have been generated and that are still being plotted behind my back fall on my person. The mere fact of not bowing to interests unrelated to our Fundamental Precepts and defending our Great Lodge, is the true origin of everything that happened. This Grand Master will never bend,” he says.

Cubanet states, citing several Freemasons and sources in the Ministry of Justice, that the measures taken by the regime are not an invention of Urquía Carreño. The Grand Lodge is, in effect, blocked by the Office of Associations and, at least in that sense, the allegations of the former Grand Master have a constitutional basis.

The Grand Lodge is, in effect, blocked by the Office of Associations and, at least in that sense, the allegations of the former Grand Master have a constitutional foundation

Although the Grand Lodge had until April 10 to notify the ministry of what happened in the session of March 24, the regulations oblige, if there were changes in the leadership, to reduce the deadline to ten working days after the elections were held. That deadline was met on April 4. Urquía Carreño published his document a day later.

Another aspect, however, is the most delicate: according to a Freemason interviewed by Cubanet, the person who had to – as stipulated by Masonic legislation for this type of situation – assume the position of Grand Master was not Kessel, but the Deputy Grand Master Gerardo Cepero.

Urquía Carreño received the cries of “thief, usurper, scoundrel, traitor” from more than 200 Freemasons last March, when he was preparing to preside over the semi-annual session of the High Masonic Chamber. It was expected that the decisions taken that day would repair the schism between the Grand Lodge and the Supreme Council of Grade 33, which had reciprocally expelled their respective bosses from the order.

Urquía Carreño’s statement, the intervention of the Ministry of Justice and the possibility that the March 24 elections have been illegal indicate that the crisis of Cuban Freemasonry is far from over.

Related news [“State Security has always bet on weakening Cuban Freemasonry”] The Grand Master of Cuban Freemasonry is expelled to the cry of “out with the thief”. Unexpected turn in Cuban Freemasonry with the expulsion by Justice. The new Grand Master of the Cuban Freemasons reveals that his predecessor stole another 2,360 dollars.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Cuba Announces Air China Flights for May, but the Airline Does Not Include Them in Its Program

The announcement did not specify the exact date the flights would restart nor the cost of the tickets / EFE

14ymedio, Havana, 9 April 2024 –The Cuban Aviation Corporation recently announced that Air China will resume its route to Havana this May, after having suspended its flights during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, despite the proximity of the date – the authorities did not specify an exact day – the airline does not include the route to the Cuban capital in its program for the coming months. The origin of the flights, which will land at José Martí International Airport in Havana, as well as their frequency, has not been announced by the authorities, who met with Air China representatives within the framework of the International Transport and Logistics Fair in Havana.

An article in the Chinese press in November 2023 mentions the restoration of the Beijing-Havana connection in 2024. If it is the same flight – a route that has not changed since its inauguration in 2015 with three weekly flights – it is likely to include a stopover in Montreal, Canada.

Both the Chinese and Cuban state press had already announced on other occasions the intention of both countries to resume the connection. At the beginning of 2023, the Tumei agency, based in Hong Kong and specialized in promoting destinations in the Caribbean, included Cuba among the 20 destinations that were authorized for travel after the pandemic. At that time, it was expected that commercial flights between the two countries would increase with the incorporation of Air China. continue reading

Increasing the arrival of Chinese travelers, coveted in many countries for being large consumers, has been one of the goals of the regime in recent years

Tumei then declared that the Island was among its “priority” destinations, with preference among its customers. Also, in July 2023, 16 businessmen linked to the Chinese travel operator Huaxing International Travel visited Havana for 10 days with the aim of attracting foreign capital and Chinese tourists to the Island.

Increasing the arrival of Chinese travelers, coveted in many countries for being large consumers, has been one of the goals of the regime in recent years. Last December, Prime Minister Manuel Marrero revealed during his visit to China that Cuba will make adjustments to its tourist facilities to attract more customers in that country. The changes promised by the leader ranged from installing electric heaters in hotel rooms for hot water, including the Chinese language in the signage of the Island and the construction of a hotel “with Chinese characteristics.”

According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics and Information, 18,003 Chinese travelers arrived in Cuba in 2023, which translates into a growth of 215% compared to 2022, when 8,374 arrived.

The depression of the tourism sector on the Island, which has not managed to recover the number of travelers who arrived before the pandemic, has led the regime to look for alternatives in other markets. Russian tourism, with a recent boom – the Island expects to receive at least 200,000 travelers from that country this year – has been another of those chosen along with the Chinese. Both are favored by the political alliances between the governments of these countries with Havana, which promises perks in exchange for sending travelers.

During the Fair, the Cuban Ministry of Transport also signed an agreement with Álvaro Fernando Barba García, Uruguay’s ambassador to Cuba, for “the establishment of direct flights between Montevideo and Havana.”

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Public Health Contracts With a Private Company to Manage 15 Ambulances in Havana

The Mercedes-Benz subsidiary in Cuba will provide the vehicles and maintenance; the State, the doctors

The signature was captured this Thursday during the International Transport Fair held in Havana / Government of Havana

14ymedio, Havana, 5 April 2024 — The Mercedes-Benz distributor in Cuba, MCV Comercial S.A., agreed on Thursday to an unprecedented collaboration with the Ministry of Public Health for the “experimental use” of 15 ambulances. The company – a mixed entity with links to Transport – expects that, as part of this public-private partnership, Health will complement” the vehicle service with a “crew of doctors.”

The announcement, very discreet, was made during the International Transport and Logistics Fair in Havana, and the government disseminated photos of the signing of the agreement, which took place under the watchful eye of the Minister of Transport, Eduardo Dávila. The MCV Comercial website celebrated the announcement and revealed that state-owned Taxi Cuba and Viazul will also collaborate in the project.

They will start from this initial experience in Havana, they allege, to “modify the way ambulances are managed” in Cuba

The joint project represents the transfer to a business entity of a service that has been in the hands of Public Health. They will start from this initial experience in Havana, they allege, to “modify the way ambulances are managed” in Cuba. “As it is consolidated, it will be extended to other provinces,” they say. MCV will handle the “maintenance and driving of the vehicle,” and the staff will come from the hospitals in Havana.

The Cuban government spares no argument to praise the measure and notes that “this type of action is being promoted with the aim of making better use of what we have, improving management and making every investment last longer, with proper maintenance. Our people will get the resultng benefit.”

On the government website, several readers commented with irony. “That’s excellent,” said Carlos Luis Menéndez. “Maybe we don’t quite know what to do, but we should already be clear about what not to do!” The reader Otro Cubano Más mocked the signing and said that for the leaders, it is “better to ’innovate’ new mistakes.” continue reading

“And what do we owe this nonsense to? Will it make it easier to have a sales, post-warranty and maintenance-renewal contract for the service?” asked another reader about the alliance between MCV and Health. For others, the question is what type of entity the ambulance fleet will form: “Is it a mypyme (private company)?”

The image that Minister Dávila gave to international investors such as Mercedes-Benz and its branches in Cuba is that of a favorable panorama for the purchase and sale of vehicles and other businesses in the sector

The Transport and Logistics Fair was held at the Pabexpo fairgrounds in the midst of the fuel crisis that plagues Cuba, which the authorities blame for all the ills of the country, in addition to the long blackouts throughout the national territory. Despite that, the image that Minister Dávila gave to international investors such as Mercedes-Benz and its branches in Cuba is that of a favorable panorama for the purchase and sale of vehicles and other businesses in the sector.

The display of the Mercedes-Benz group, based in Germany, was well stocked with state-of-the-art vehicles that very few on the Island could afford. The company’s slogan hangs on the cars: “The best or nothing.” Cubans know very well which of the two options they’ll have.

Translated by Regina Anavy
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State Premises at Night, Small Private ‘MIPYMEs’ the Next Morning

In Holguín, as in the majority of the Island, private businesses are rapidly replacing dilapidated State warehouses

In another warehouse, which once was for the Holguín Beverage and Soft Drinks Company, the products of the Rey de Reyes mipyme* [MSME in English] are now exhibited. / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Miguel García, Holguín, 8 April 2024 — They go from being buildings with peeling facades to looking freshly painted, with bars on the windows and air conditioning inside. The process of leasing shops, offices and state warehouses to the mipymes* (MSMEs, or medium, small and micro-sized enterprises) in Holguín extends, as in Havana and other cities in Cuba, before the eyes of the residents of the city, who face the gradual privatization with expectations and doubts.

In front of the old vehicle workshop of the Comar Base Economic Unit, belonging to the Holguín Fisheries Company, this Friday morning a line of customers was waiting to enter. In the wide warehouse on Aricochea Street, between Maceo and Mártires, you can no longer hear the rattling of the faucets or perceive the smell of fat and fuel that characterized the place.

Now, after a capital remodeling, the Obra Real mipyme is there, with a wide assortment of food, toiletries and household items. In the line, some who arrive for the first time in front of the restored building are astonished. “I almost didn’t recognize it. I passed by here often, and it was covered in grease; it’s totally changed,” a man who was waiting to buy detergent told 14ymedio. continue reading

The warehouses of the Copextel company on the Central Highway, Holguín, have been leased to a mipyme / 14ymedio

Obra Real has four locations in the city of Holguin, and its catalog includes everything from packages of La Estrella brown sugar, imported from Panama, to fans that are recharged with small solar panels. “The prices are high, but right now I have to come here to buy flour because there is no bread in my bakery,” the man adds.

The bidding process for these private companies to rent a state premises continues to lack dissemination and transparency. “They told me that they are renting the space of the Copextel warehouse on the Carretera Central Calle Martí, in front of the Electric Company, but when I went to ask, they had already ’granted’ it to the owner of several motorcycle workshops,” an entrepreneur interested in the place who asked for anonymity tells this newspaper.

“In this city, when night falls, a space belongs to the State, and when you wake up the next day it’s now under the management of a mipyme but no one knows very well how,” he says. “The rumor is that donations must be made to hospitals and gifts to officials so that they put you on the list of beneficiaries.”

Another warehouse on Libertadores Avenue, where until a few years ago oxygen tanks were stored for patients who needed them, went from the hands of Public Health to the small private company DaSens, dedicated to the fabrication of cleaning and personal hygiene products. Now, with a blue awning at the entrance, it’s a rare day that there are not a dozen people waiting to enter.

Children’s colognes, hair dyes, household cleaners and dishwashers are part of the mipyme’s offers, most of them imported in bulk and packaged on the Island. At the entrance, the store has a sign of a smiling woman carrying a bag of newly purchased products. In the line of those waiting to enter, however, the faces do not seem as happy.

The place that belonged to the old bus terminal Santiago-Habana is now under private management / 14ymedio

“Before, these places were closed and not used. It’s good to give them to individuals so they can at least fix them up and sell something,” Lázara, a resident of Reparto Peralta, explains to this newspaper. “I’m here for a cologne for my grandson, but I don’t know whether I’m going to find it today because all the prices have gone up, and the mipymes take advantage of the fact that the state has almost nothing to sell.”

In another warehouse, which once belonged to the Company of Drinks and Soft Drinks of Holguín on the Central Highway at San Pablo Street, the products of the Rey de Reyes mipyme are now displayed. On one of its outside walls, a newly painted crown in red accompanies the name of the place. The detail does not go unnoticed by the buyers who arrive.

“We kings are going to have to be early to be able to buy anything, because you can come one day, you turn around, and the price has already increased by 50 or 100 pesos,” said a woman who carefully read the sign with the products and prices that is exhibited outside. “Of course, an employee of a mipyme might be rude, but they usually treat you better than the ones in the state stores.”

Among the “improvements” over the state shops, the woman says that “they have good refrigeration, and when you buy a chicken it’s hard as stone, not half thawed.” She adds that “the stores have air conditioning and refrigerators on display, and some have made large investments in signs and glass counters so you can really see the merchandise.”

However, the woman believes that they have also “copied some of the worst things from the state stores. They never give a discount even if the merchandise is about to expire. They use the formula of ’combos’ a lot to force you to buy products that do not interest you, because if you’re looking for a bottle of oil, then you have to include some instant drinks or a package of coffee.”

The building where oxygen tanks were stored for patients went from the hands of Public Health to the small private company DaSens / 14ymedio

The list goes on. The warehouse of the once-powerful Copextel, managed by the military and dedicated to computer products, has also been rented to a mipyme. Although on the facade it still says “integral solutions,” the inside points to more mundane merchandise. Boxes of chicken, packages of detergent and bags of rice now occupy the space that was once intended for computers, monitors and printers.

Despite the fact that its walls have not yet been painted, it’s just a matter of time before the current managers remodel the property and hang colorful posters outside. Once restored, people who pass by on the Central Highway will have no doubt. “Look, there’s another mypyme,” they will say, as is heard more and more in the neighborhoods of Holguín.

*Translator’s note: MIPYME = MIcro, PEequeña (small) Y (and) MEdium Enterprise

Translated by Regina Anavy

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The Rich Are Also Fleeing Cuba, Selling Their Properties at a Discount

Even some of the gigantic mansions in Siboney confiscated by the Revolution are for sale.

The island’s residential real estate market is saturated due to a mass exodus that is bleeding the country dry / Houses and Apartments for Sale in Havana

14ymedio, Natalia López Moya/Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, 3 April 2024 — Juan Carlos divides his time between Milan and Havana. The 52-year-old’s children, wife and parents all live in Italy but, for more than two years, he has been trying to sell an old mansion in Havana’s Vedado district which has caused him “more headaches than happiness.” Located a few yards from Línea Street, the house was a project that fulfilled a life-long dream that, as he puts it, “blossomed then failed.”

In the late 1990s, Juan Carlos received a scholarship to study art at an Italian university. When he left José Martí International Airport, he knew there was no going back and that he had to make a life for himself outside the island. “I had always lived with my parents and my sisters in a small apartment, so from a very young age my dream was to have my own home, one that was spacious, bright and had an area I could use as my studio.”

Ultimately, Juan Carlos married an Italian woman and, in 2014, began the process of repatriating to Cuba. He had lost his residency status after not visiting his country for several years. “There was a lot of excitement and several of my artist and designer friends were part of a wave of people getting Cuban identity cards again.”

One of the benefits of having Cuban residency is the ability to buy a house. “At the time, my wife and I were making good money. Her father had also died and left her a sizable inheritance so we decided to buy the place in Vedado. It was my life-long dream and I was finally able to make it come true.” continue reading

One of the benefits of having Cuban residency is the ability to buy a house. “It was my life-long dream and I was finally able to make it come true.”

One of the benefits of having Cuban residence is the ability to buy a house. “At the time, my wife and I were making good money. Her father had also died and left her a sizable inheritance so we decided to buy the place in Vedado. It was my life-long dream and I was finally able to make it come true.”

Juan Carlos reports that it cost almost as much to repair the house as it did to buy it. Other problems cropped up once constrution was underway: rusted beams, dampness in the walls, issues with the concrete. They even had to redo some of the column capitals. “They started coming apart as we were painting them.”

The process was long and costly. “I had to go to Cuba five times a year so, in addition to construction expenses, there was the cost of airline tickets. It seemed like the house was eating money. Every month we spent thousands of dollars to restore and maintain it. We had to hire two custodians to make sure our building materials weren’t stolen.”

Finally, in April 2022, six years after buying the house, the work was done.

Apartments are also for sale in Havana’s legendary Focsa Building, one of the city’s most stylish when it was completed in 1956 / 14ymedio

Juan Carlos describes it as “a dream come true.” But, by then, he no longer wanted to own property in Cuba. “I had spent long periods in Havana and everything was deteriorating a lot. I thought about how to make some money out of it, maybe by renting it to a diplomat, or to an entrepreneur who wanted to open a restaurant. But I realized that doing that would have meant spending all my time keeping an eye on the place because [as the old saying goes] ’it’s the owner’s eye makes the horse fat.’”

In May of that same year, he decided to put the newly furnished home up for sale. The problem now, however, is that no one wants to buy it. “I have to list it with several real estate agencies and I’ve also dropped the price several times. I am currently asking $150,000 for everything but it’s been two years and, so far, there are no takers.” The island’s residential real estate market is saturated due to the mass exodus that is bleeding the country.

A quick look at local real estate listings says it all. A colonial-style house in Vibora Park that has been outfitted to operate as a nightclub, described as “a golden opportunity,” is on the market for $60,000, with 80% its contents included (“from wines to coffee makers,” the listing states). A 120-square-meter apartment in Vedado with seaside views is for sale at $80,000. A “recreation estate” with a four-bedroom house and a 1,450-square-meter extension is available for $50,000.

Though many of the listings do not indicate prices, there are lots of photos suggesting a high degree of luxury

Other listings suggest there has been some haggling going on. The asking price for penthouse in Vedado, covered in marble and with the ocean below — its elderly owner is also visible in the photos — has gone from $270,000 to $190,000.

Though many of the listings do not indicate prices, there are lots of photos suggesting a high degree of luxury, most of them taken after obviously expensive remodelings. One of them is a 1950s property in Nuevo Vedado with seven bedrooms, four bathrooms, a patio, terrace and jacuzzi. Then there is one of the spacious apartments in the Geralt Sisters Building, completed in 1958 with all the latest amenities of its era. Its exterior is now falling to pieces after years of neglect.

One of the problems when selling these houses is that anyone who dares set foot in the neighborhoods where they are located is scared away. This is the case with an apartment in San Lázaro. Advertised as a “luxury penthouse with ocean views in the heart of the city” in Central Havana, it is surrounded by ruined buildings and piles of garbage on every street corner.

Another quirk of the saturated real estate market is that now even the enormous mansions in Siboney, which were confiscated after Cuban Revolution by the regime’s leaders, are up for sale. The problem here is that, because they were nationalized after their original owners were exiled, they could be subject to future lawsuits.

Rita, a Cuban who works as a private residential real estate agent, explains the situation: “Before, these types of properties were handled with some discretion by an agency. Now, the owners are so desperate to sell that they post the listings themselves on Facebook for all to see.”

“I’m not going back to Cuba, which means I will lose my residency status once I have been out of the country for twenty-four months, but I don’t care anymore”

What owners like Juan Carlos want is to move their money out of Cuba. “It’s a large amount and I will have a lot of problems when the time comes. But everyone is in the same boat. They want hard currency and they want it to take overseas,” he says.

His plan is to wait a few months, then reduce the price. He does not plan on going back to Cuba once the property is sold. “I will lose my residency status once I have been out of the country for twenty-four months but I don’t care anymore,” he says.

“I thought my sons would grow up in this house, that Cuba would grow and move forward, but I was wrong. Between one thing and another, this venture has cost me and my wife more than a quarter million dollars,” says Juan Carlos, who has some mixed feelings about his house. “It’s very pretty. In Milan a house like this would have cost me a fortune but now no one wants to live in Cuba now.”

With its stained glass windows, long marble staircase, imported black granite in the kitchen, stately bathtubs and enormous mirrors in the living room, the mansion — like so many other Cuban properties whose owners once dreamed of living and growing old on the island — is still on the market, waiting for a buyer.

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‘When They Get a Supply, They Let Me Know and I Quickly Fill the Tank’

Manzanillo truck and bus drivers fight every day to get fuel

The implementation of the new fuel prices not only extinguished the circulation of state buses, but also complicated life for private transporters / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Juan Matos, Manzanillo, 24 March 2024 — It is five in the afternoon at the Manzanillo bus terminal stop, in the province of Granma, and people can’t take it anymore. The heat is around 33 degrees (91F) and the packages – almost everyone carries a basket or sack – will be the most difficult thing to get onto the truck that has just arrived. Slowly, with a white and green casing, and a strong stench of diesel, the vehicle parks and opens its hatch.

It charges 200 pesos for the trip of about 50 kilometers to Bayamo and shares the road with other private trucks – also green and heavy – that barely maintain the connection between Manzanillo and other nearby municipalities. The implementation of the new fuel prices not only extinguished the circulation of state buses, but also complicated life for private transporters

The other part of the wait begins once the passengers board the truck because until it fills to its maximum capacity the trip does not begin / 14ymedio

But he who invented the law, the saying goes, cheated. “I’m not worried that the diesel is unavailable,” one of the drivers on that vital route between the two large cities that are vying for prominence in that two-headed province tells 14ymedio. “I have my contacts in several service centers throughout the province. When they get a supply, they let me know and I quickly start filling the tank.” continue reading

The information costs, but it is worth it. “The money I lose later I will more than make up for, because the purchase is first-hand.” If he had to go to the informal market, a can of diesel would cost between 3,000 and 5,000 pesos, depending on the supplier, and a liter of gasoline would cost 600 pesos. “But there always is some,” the driver acknowledges.

In the absence of state buses, private transport trucks are the only option to get around / 14ymedio

The Manzanillo service centers enabled to sell in dollars have not imposed a limit on tourists, unlike what happens in some other provinces, such as Ciego de Ávila. There is an explanation: very few travelers pass through the province. The guajiros, who have also been affected by the change in the rules of the game, have to do whatever they can to get fuel. There is no special treatment for the farmers who have tractors and the oil they need is bought very expensively ’on the left’.

The worst part, however, remains for those who need to move from one town to another to work or study. The long faces at the stop say it all. Low-ranking soldiers, farmers, university students, workers in all kinds of companies or street vendors, the stress is repeated on each face. With a fanny pack on his shoulder, the driver – or an assistant – collects the tickets and starts the engine. To Bayamo –as the song says – but not by car

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A Member of the Clandestinos Group Receives Conditional Release After More Than Four Years in Prison

“My time in prison was very hard and unpleasant, among other things due to lack of medication,” explains Jorge Ernesto Pérez García

The Havana native’s health suffered during more than four years in prison / Courtesy

14ymedio, 21 March 2024, Havana — This Friday, the Provincial Court of Havana granted conditional freedom to Jorge Ernesto Pérez García, a member of the Clandestinos group, arrested in January 2020 and sentenced to five years in prison for the crimes of “defamation of institutions and organizations and of the heroes and martyrs of a continuing character” and drug trafficking.

Pérez García, who was tried in the case against the group that threw red paint on pro-government propaganda posters and busts of José Martí, defines his time in prison as “atrocious.” The atrocities are “everywhere, not only in prison, but also in the violation of criminal prosecution rights and even in the Penal Code itself,” he explains in conversation with 14ymedio.

“I left prison on March 15 and my sentence ends on July 13,” the man, age 47 and a resident in the Altahabana neighborhood of the municipality of Boyeros, in Havana, told this newspaper.

“My time in prison was very hard and unpleasant, among other things due to lack of medication,” details Pérez García, who spent three years and four months in Combinado del Este where he was infected with Covid-19. The man denounces the difficulties in receiving medical care in Cuban prisons: “I do not speak only for myself, but on behalf of all prisoners in general.” continue reading

Now, he is trying to rebuild his life and, for the moment, he is still adapting to the new situation of having been able to return home to his family

After that time in the largest penitentiary center on the Island, Pérez García was transferred to an agricultural work camp, attached to the Combinado del Este, where he spent around eight months. A few days before receiving parole, he was taken to another forced labor camp known as Cetem, in the municipality of San Miguel del Padrón.

The Havana native’s health suffered during more than four years in prison. “I have tendonitis and my knees have become somewhat atrophied,” he explains to this newspaper. Now, he is trying to rebuild his life and, for the moment, he is still adapting to the new situation of having been able to return home to his family.

Pérez García’s mother, Mercedes García, maintained a long struggle with the authorities to ensure that her son received a change of precautionary measure and could finish his sentence outside of prison. In March 2021, the prisoner went on a hunger strike to demand his freedom, but he had to break the fast a few days later due to his poor health.

Pérez García was arrested on January 8, 2020, and on five occasions throughout that year, his lawyer requested a change of measure so that he could wait in freedom for the trial on the different charges, but in all cases this request was denied.

The other two members of Clandestinos convicted in the same case were Panter Rodríguez Baró and Yoel Prieto Tamayo, sentenced to 15 and 9 years in prison, respectively. These, according to the sentence, were the executors of the group’s activities while Jorge Ernesto Pérez was in charge of recording and taking photos of the actions and disseminating them.

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‘In Cuba, We Don’t Even Get a Good Eclipse’

Only one man watched the event, looking up and shading his eyes with a roll of paper

14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, 8 April 2024, Havana — The total solar eclipse that took place this Monday in North America and that was observed as partial in Cuba did not arouse much interest on the Island. In the peak hour of the phenomenon, shortly before three in the afternoon, the light dimmed, as in an old TV movie, and it came on again, but no one seemed to be aware of the sky.

The Institute of Geophysics and Astronomy (IGA) had warned of the security measures to watch the eclipse, which took place in the country between 1:40 and 4:05 pm. The coverage of the sun by the shadow of the Moon reached 43.9% in the area of the territory where it was observed with greater intensity, the Cape of San Antonio, in Pinar del Río, at 2:46 p.m.

The lines for buses and the tired looks were the same as always / 14ymedio

“If you have a small telescope or even a simple piece of cardboard with a tiny hole, you can project the image of the sun onto a white screen and observe the sun indirectly,” advised the IGA. Other recommendations were to protect your eyesight to avoid “serious and irreversible burns on the retina,” use appropriate “optical filters” (avoiding homemade gadgets, such as smoked glass, black nylon or x-rays) and not look directly at the sun.

Hardly anyone listened because they weren’t following the astronomical event. The lines for buses and the tired looks were the same as always. Only one man watched the event, looking up and shading his eyes with a roll of paper. Asked about the phenomenon, which she claimed to barely perceive, a woman said, resignedly: “It’s nothing; in Cuba we don’t even get a good eclipse.” Upon hearing this, another passer-by replied with a sneer: “It’s the fault of the [American] blockade.”

Translated by Regina Anavy

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