Category: EFE

included by independent platforms, among its list of femicides.

“We can categorically state here that this is a media construction completely unrelated to Cuban reality,” Díaz-Canel said.

Despite recognizing that cases of gender violence on the Island “appear with an unfortunate frequency,” Díaz-Canel argued that the “enemies of the Revolution,” whom he did not name, “have a tendency to handle (the figures) conveniently.”

“The subversive anti-Cuban platforms try to impose a pattern of ’femicide’ in Cuba, a term that indicates alleged state inaction in the face of violent acts on the basis of gender. We can categorically state that this is a media construction completely alien to the Cuban reality,” he said.

Regardless of whether or not there is state inaction, the Cuban Government differentiates between female deaths and femicide, a distinction not widespread in Spanish-speaking countries.

Independent feminist groups in Cuba, however, have sometimes denounced state inaction. In two of the twelve femicides that they have verified so far in 2024, they say that the aggressors had a history of violence.

In two of the events documented by these platforms in 2023, the victim had already warned on social networks that she feared for her life

In addition, in two of the events documented by these platforms in 2023, the victim had already warned on social networks that she feared for her life. And in another case the alleged killer – 50 years old – murdered his partner – a minor – inside a police station.

The Attorney General’s Office acknowledged that at the end of October 2023, 117 crimes against women had been recorded on the Island. This data, published in state media, did not specify the exact period in which those events were counted, nor if they included cases in the process of investigation and already sentenced.

The average profile of a victim of femicides in Cuba in 2023 – elaborated based on the information of Alas Tensas and Yo Sí Te Creo – is that of a 37-year-old woman, with at least one minor in her care, who was murdered by her ex-partner.

Translated by Regina Anavy
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The statement does not refer to the issues to be addressed, but it is expected that the bilateral relationship will be reviewed, as well as current international issues such as the conflict in Ukraine

They may also discuss preparations for a visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to the Island in response to the invitation sent by Díaz-Canel at the end of 2022.

In his previous stay in Havana, in April 2023, Lavrov said he valued the “progress” in commercial exchange after President Díaz-Canel’s visit to Moscow a few months earlier.

Cuba’s worst economic crisis in decades, with shortages of food, medicine and fuel, is a vital subject for discussion, especially after the commitments endorsed last May to increase Russian financial and business presence on the Island.

At that time a bilateral business economic forum took place in Havana with the presence of more than 150 representatives of the private sectors of Russia and Cuba.

The head of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment, Ricardo Cabrisas, confirmed that Russian capital would be present in strategic sectors such as transport, logistics, agriculture, sugar, tourism, construction and industry.

To encourage that presence, Havana would provide Russian businesses with “preferential treatment,” tax-free imports, the presence of Russian banks and currency exchange.

In recent months, in addition to the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs, the president of the State Duma Vyacheslav Volodin, the presidential adviser Maxim Oreshkin and the deputy prime minister Dmitry Chernyshenko have visited the Cuban capital.

Lavrov thanked Cuba in 2023 for its “full understanding” of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which is backed by Havana.

Last summer, several media outlets from outside the Island reported the presence of Cuban mercenaries fighting alongside Russian troops in the invasion of Ukraine, including testimonies from several of them and their relatives.

The Foreign Affairs Ministry then stated that “Cuba is not part of the war in Ukraine,” and rejected “mercenarism” and the participation of its citizens in “any conflict”

The Foreign Affairs Ministry then stated that “Cuba is not part of the military conflict in Ukraine,” and rejected “mercenarism” and the participation of its citizens in “any conflict.”

He also announced last September the dismantling of a network that allegedly recruited Cubans to fight in Ukraine, an operation in which 17 people were said to be arrested.

Cuba and Russia have promoted their bilateral relationship in recent years to try to restore the close cooperation they maintained until the disappearance of the Soviet Union in 1991.

Russia is one of Cuba’s top ten trading partners, and both governments define their association as “strategic.”

In November 2022, Díaz-Canel and Putin discussed development prospects for the Russian-Cuban strategic partnership in the political, economic, commercial, cultural and humanitarian spheres, as well as management of the debt that Cuba has with Russia. Several agreements were signed, including one concerning the supply of oil.

Díaz-Canel has declared his country’s “will” to take political dialogue and bilateral economic and commercial relations with Russia to “a higher level.”

Translated by Regina Anavy

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The South Korean presidential office stated that it will help national companies interested in entering the Cuban market

The South Korean presidential office stated that it will help national companies interested in entering the Cuban market in sectors such as basic necessities, appliances and machinery, scarce in the Caribbean nation due to the aforementioned sanctions.

Seoul also pointed to potential business and cooperation opportunities in the energy sector, since Havana, which suffers from a chronic shortage of electricity, is looking for ways to expand its power plants and the use of renewable energies.

Medicine and biotechnology are other areas where the South Korean Government sees potential economic and research cooperation.

“Cuba has been an untapped market,” says South Korea, where “direct trade is still very limited due to United States sanctions, but we will take advantage of this opportunity with the establishment of formal diplomatic relations to lay the foundations for a gradual expansion of economic cooperation.”

Seoul also pointed to potential business and cooperation opportunities in the energy sector, since Havana suffers from a chronic shortage of electricity

On Wednesday in New York Seoul and Havana formalized the restoration of their diplomatic relations, broken since 1959, with the exchange of diplomatic notes of their representatives at the United Nations (UN).

In 2016, both nations took an important step in the normalization of their relations, with the signing between their chambers of commerce of a memorandum of understanding to share information related to business, carry out exchanges between their delegations and organize joint forums.

South Korea plans to establish a consulate in Cuba to help South Korean visitors to the Island, which were estimated at about 14,000 a year before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Last month, three new inmates were added to the list and ten were removed

The statement added that 225 demonstrators have been accused of sedition, and at least 213 have already been sentenced to an average of ten years of deprivation of liberty each.

PD also said that there are 114 prisoners (including several transgender) who “still have criminal and political penalties.”

“All trans women in prison for political reasons are imprisoned among men, which also happens with common trans prisoners, suffering situations indescribable for their sexual condition,” the organization denounced.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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At the meeting, Cuba and Bolivia agreed on “the need to maximize economic-commercial relations and create mechanisms that generate new initiatives for their development

Rodríguez also took advantage of the meeting to thank Sosa for “the Bolivian Government’s signs of solidarity, including the donations of food and medical supplies to our people.”

The meeting was held shortly after the Bolivian chancellor had a meeting with the president of Cuba, Miguel Díaz-Canel.

“We had a good meeting today with the Chancellor of the Plurinational State of Bolivia, Celinda Sosa. With the brotherhood that unites our peoples, we talked about what has been done but also about how much more we can do. I thanked her for the unbreakable love and solidarity of Bolivia,” Díaz-Canel wrote on social networks.

The visit, which had not been announced by Havana nor open to the international media, will conclude with a conference at the University of Havana entitled “Industrialization and the productive community social economic model.”

Translated by Regina Anavy

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The fuel crisis semi-paralyzed Cuba at the end of last 2023 and has remained in 2024, with long lines at gas stations becoming common

The lack of fuel also affected baseball in 2022. The first match of the U-23 championship of the National Baseball Series, between the Villa Clara and Cienfuegos teams, was suspended this Tuesday “for lack of fuel.” According to the “Por la Goma” YouTube channel, the Villaclareños Leopards, who were already staying at the Pasacaballos hotel, received the notification that they could not be transferred to the “5 de septiembre” stadium, where the host team and the local fans were waiting for them.

The fuel crisis semi-paralyzed Cuba at the end of last 2023 and has been maintained in 2024, with long lines at the gas stations becoming common.

The annoying blackouts and the suspension of face-to-face classes at several universities, including the cancellation of the traditional and massive May Day parade in the Plaza de la Revolución, are evidence of the crisis.

The Island imports practically all the oil it consumes and uses it mostly to generate electricity.

Cuba already experienced complicated circumstances with fuel in 2019 and accused the Trump Administration of hindering the entry of fuel into the island by putting pressure on Venezuelan oil tankers.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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The open truck involved was carrying a group of militants of the Union of Young Communists, who were returning from agricultural work on a sugarcane plantation

In 2023, a total of 8,556 traffic crashes occurred, which represented a decrease of 13% compared to those reported in 2022 (9,848).

The Transportation authorities have pointed out that the poor condition of the roads due to lack of maintenance and the incorporation into the circulation of more than 400,000 mopeds have complicated road safety in the country.

They have also emphasized that among the causes of crashes are drivers who don’t pay attention to controlling the vehicle or respecting the right of way, situations that generated 60% of the crashes, 48% of the deaths and 66% of the injured.

The authorities place less emphasis on the state of the roads and the obsolete vehicles. The official state newspaper Granma recently recognized, although overlooked, the precarious condition of the roads, caused by “the limitations on investments for their improvement.”

According to official data from last July, 75% of the Island’s roads were in regular or bad condition.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Cuba, for its part, gave the United States “information” about “people based” in that country allegedly linked to “terrorism, illegal human trafficking and other illegal activities

In a statement released by the Foreign Ministry, the regime said that both parties “agreed that there are transnational crimes that threaten the security of the two countries and that require cooperation for their confrontation.”

Last December, the Island made public a national list of terrorists, which included activists, historical leaders of exile, YouTubers and influencers, mostly based in the United States.

According to the regime, the people mentioned in the list have been subjected to “criminal investigations and are sought by the authorities” for their involvement in the “promotion, planning, organization, financing, support or commission” of terrorist acts.

The US State Department stressed yesterday that, in all its interactions with the Cuban Government, it puts on the table “the defense of human rights” and also reaffirmed its commitment to hold “constructive conversations” with Cuba “whenever it is appropriate, to promote American interests.”

According to Washington, this dialogue increases the national security of the United States through “better coordination of law enforcement,” in order to protect American citizens and bring criminals to justice.

The Cuban delegation in Washington was made up of representatives of the Ministries of the Interior and Foreign Affairs, the Prosecutor’s Office and the General Customs Administration of the Republic, according to the statement from the Foreign Ministry.

The American side was headed by representatives of the departments of State, National Security, Justice and the U.S. Embassy in Havana, according to the State Department.

Last November, the U.S. Government decided to keep Cuba on the list of countries sponsoring terrorism for another year

Last November, the U.S. Government decided to keep Cuba on the list of countries sponsoring terrorism for another year. In this regard, the Cuban Foreign Ministry stated that the “realization of this exchange” does not “contradict the most absolute rejection of the unjustified and arbitrary inclusion of Cuba on the list” prepared by Washington.

The Biden administration has led a timid rapprochement with the Cuban Government, especially on immigration issues, with some meetings and visits by leaders of both countries.

However, the relationship remains far from the thaw that occurred during Barack Obama’s terms (2009-2017), and Biden has refused to review the inclusion of Cuba on the list of terrorist-sponsoring countries ordered by the former Republican President Donald Trump (2017-2021).

Translated by Regina Anavy

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This cartel hooked many of the foreigners in the ADO bus terminal with the promise of giving them work and helping them reach the border with the United States

It was not the case of Yalim, 29, and Anadelys, 42, “two Cubans who were waiting for their appointment for CBP One, but because they were illegal they were taken to the Siglo XXI immigration station,” located in Tapachula. Genly affirms that during the time he was working there, some armed men arrived in vans and took some of the women, especially young Venezuelans and Colombians. “They gave them money, cell phones and clothes and told them that they could process their documents.”

On January 14, 25 women were rescued in the state of Quintana Roo – including Cuban, Venezuelan, Colombian and Mexican – who were forced to prostitute themselves. According to the investigations, the Vaider bar, located at number 500 Isla de Capri Street in the municipality of Othón P. Blanco, in Chetumal, was controlled by the Caborca cartel.

“This cartel hooked many of the foreigners in the ADO bus terminal with the promise of giving them work and helping them get to the border with the United States,” Officer Alfredo Poot García told this newspaper.

The organization Caminantas, which serves migrants who cross through Mexico, reported last Saturday an increase in cases of trafficking of Colombians, Cubans and Venezuelans. The victims, activist Laura Cortés told the EFE agency, are caught through the same modus operandi: an acquaintance on the internet “who supports them financially at a distance, buys them tickets for the trip and sends them money for the family.” Once in Mexico they are raped.

Activist María Ángel Vielma said that many women also come to this country with the promise of a job and other false commitments. “The rapist is seeing what they need in order to manipulate them; the trap is disguised as love,” she said.

There is a selective xenophobia, we say, because if you are Central American, the treatment and pejorative comments are very ugly

Vielma explained that these cases are common among women who come from countries with economic crises or with nationalities about which there are stereotypes of female beauty. “There is a selective xenophobia, we say, because if you are Central American, the treatment and pejorative comments are very ugly. In contrast, if you are Colombian, Cuban or Venezuelan you are a sexy girl, the bomb, what they see on television that they think is a woman from these countries,” she stressed.

This could explain why of the 227 foreigners killed in Mexico from 2015 to 2023, 32 were Colombians and 29 Venezuelans, according to the National Public Security System.

According to figures from the National Institute of Migration, between 2018 and 2023 there were 160 victims of trafficking registered, of which 89 women and 35 men were victims of sexual exploitation.

Migration’s numbers on trafficking are “deceptive,” says lawyer José Luis Pérez. “They account for the cases that are reported, but there are many more victims who do not report out of fear.”

Translated by Regina Anavy

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accountability and capacity building; the promotion of the inclusive democracy of disability; the promotion of the human rights of people with disabilities in countries experiencing crises; and the interruption of the narrative about disability that marginalizes people with disabilities.”

On the same day that the news broke, Cuban dissidents and opponents announced the launch of a “space of activation, action and articulation” to promote and disseminate human rights within the Island, as well as freedoms contained in the country’s Constitution of 2019.

As reported to EFE by its promoters – located on the Island – the initiative is called the Permanent Human Rights Forum and seeks to raise awareness among citizens to demand the enjoyment of the rights and freedoms to which they are entitled by the International Charter of Human Rights and Cuban legislation.

The forum, they add, seeks to be a tool of “public communication between civil society and citizenship,” as well as “the organic and systematic connection of citizenship with the issue of human rights.”

They consider that it is a “pending subject in Cuba” to disseminate and, educate about “each and every one of the rights,” from below, from the citizens and in the communities.” They also believe that the “institutional defense” of rights is fundamental.

“Beyond its rhetoric, the Government contradicts, with its systematic violations, the fundamental issues that have to do with human rights,” says a statement from the promoters of the forum. It emphasizes that “with the exception of the will of the Government, the social, political and institutional conditions to complete this subject are created.”

The statement is signed, among others, by groups such as Diverso, the Council for the Democratic Transition of Cuba (CTDC) and Plataforma Femenina. Its organizers estimated that there were between 100 and 120 of their activists in Havana.

Beyond its rhetoric, the Government contradicts, with its systematic violating practices, the fundamental issues that have to do with human rights

The forum, which claims to learn from the experience of organizations such as the Cuban Committee for Human Rights and the Cuban Commission on Human Rights and National Reconciliation, points out that the 2019 Constitution “recognizes and supports” the “possession, enjoyment and exercise of human rights.”

It intends to work for the dissemination of human and identity rights in the communities and against violence, as well as in the articulation of “legal and constitutional initiatives.”

The forum does not give details about specific actions or how it proposes to carry them out, nor about the means they have to articulate these actions.

The initiative mentions that Cuba has been an almost constant member of the UN Human Rights Council and that in 2008 it signed – although it has not yet ratified – the Covenants on Civil and Political, Social, Economic and Cultural Rights of the International Charter of Human Rights.

It also points out that the Cuban Government made a commitment on this letter by initialing the Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement (ADPC) with the European Union (EU) in 2016.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Soler was fined 150 Cuban pesos

The Ladies in White  is a women’s movement that emerged on the initiative of several women relatives of the 75 dissidents and independent journalists – including Moya – who received long sentences in 2003 during the repressive wave known as the Black Spring.

Since then, this group, composed of wives, mothers and relatives of the prisoners, has been identified by always being dressed in white and holding Sunday marches after attending mass in a Catholic church to ask for the release of political prisoners.

The European Union and the NGOs Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International criticized the wave of arrests and convictions, calling them political. The Cuban authorities alleged that the accused dissidents violated national sovereignty under orders from the United States.

In 2005, the Ladies in White received the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Conscience from the European Parliament.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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He explained that some people, after crossing the southern border of Mexico, “already have this kind of package, as if it came from a travel agency.”

“They now fly them from their country of origin to a jungle they must pass through and promise that they will protect them when they cross the border irregularly,” he said.

These packages include a plane ticket from Tapachula or from Mexico City to Tijuana

He added that these packages include a plane ticket from Tapachula, on the border with Guatemala, or from Mexico City to Tijuana.

Once they arrive at this border city, he said, they show the protection order for their free transit to an “alleged taxi or Uber driver, who takes them to a safe house or somewhere else to accommodate them for 24 hours or less. The next day they are already on their way to the United States.”

Investigations show that “each package has a different cost depending on the situation of the migrants.”

“If it is a family nucleus, if they bring minors, if they come alone, depending on this and the place of origin, the method and rate change. For example, those from Uzbekistan pay up to 40,000 dollars, the Chinese 20,000, those from Central America 7,000 dollars and the Ecuadorians 10,000,” he said.

Pérez Tejada pointed out that those who most come to Tijuana with these amparos are the Uzbeks and the Chinese.

But the representative of the INM warned that, although they have this legal instrument, that does not exempt them from an administrative procedure if the agents intercept them, in which they must comply with a maximum of 36 hours detention before their release.

Even if they have this legal instrument, that does not exempt them from an administrative procedure

For the INM delegate, this situation represents “a problem” because it complicates the work of the immigration authorities.

“They are the ones who are crossing irregularly (to the United States) and we want to know how to approach them with the help of lawyers, legal associations and research institutes so that we can see how to deal with this protection order,” he said.

The arrival of migrants under amparos had its peak in November last year, when the INM in Baja California registered 13,600 protected migrants. The number has decreased in this January.

Nicole Ramos, director of the organization Al Otro Lado (To The Other Side) in Tijuana, responded to EFE in writing that “it is questionable for the delegate (of Migration) to send the message that the only way to cross (to the United States) is through CBP-One,” the official American application for migrants.

“We all know that it is used to limit the number of asylum seekers who can cross and that CBP (the Office of Customs and Border Protection) refuses to prosecute asylum seekers when they arrive without an appointment, regardless of the person’s circumstances,” he said.

He added that “telling immigrants to use CBP-One, while actively helping the United States to violate the law, is a bit dishonest.”

“We wouldn’t see unscrupulous lawyers in Mexico or organized crime profiting from the desire of migrants to have safe transit to the border to seek asylum if Mexico didn’t act as a watchdog for the U.S. Government,” he said, accusingly.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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As the “shocking” video of the song says, the objective of this campaign that has just begun is to warn society that “communism is the cancer of humanity,” a chorus that La Marcha Anticommunista insistently repeats with “images and testimonies of people who are victims of that evil,” said Iriondo, one of the speakers at the event.

The premier of the video, in Spanish and English, was attended by musicians from inside and outside the Island and from other countries, including Amaury Gutiérrez, Marisela Verena, Carlos Oliva, Luis Bofill, El Funky, Marichal, Los 3 de la Habana, El B de los Aldeanos and Greg Jackson, an American, among others.

The ARC, made up of 50 Cuban groups, received multiple messages of solidarity during the event from deputies belonging to the European Union, Latin America and different political parties.

It is an international effort for “freedom, the unity of democratic forces and against communist regimes such as Cuba,” added the leader of the exile.

This campaign is a “step in the right direction, because this evil that plagues humanity (communism) is the responsibility of all of us,” to achieve the “solidarity that the Cuban people and others deserve,” he said.

The official video of the song points out that its message is aimed at “a confused world, exposed to socialist and leftist propaganda

The official video of the song points out that its message is aimed at “a confused world, exposed to socialist and leftist propaganda, as well as at those who have been influenced by the deceptive promises of these ideologies.”

“Ultimately, our goal is to provide support to those people who defend human rights, political freedom and global justice on a daily basis,” says the text of the song by Frankie Marcos & Clouds, Paquito D’Rivera and Greg Jackson.

Translated by Regina Anavy
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