The Communist Party of Chile Tries to Torpedo the Cuban Athletes’ Request for Refuge

Cuban athletes are training in a gym in Santiago de Chile. (EFE)

14ymedio bigger 14ymedio, Havana, 16 November 2023 — Cuban emigration Cuban lawyer Mijail Bonito, who represents the 13 athletes who abandoned the Cuban delegation during the Pan American Games, accused the Communist Party of Chile on Wednesday of acting as Havana’s “interest office” to discredit his clients. The athletes, he emphasizes, now have temporary residence visas despite the fact that attempts have been made to “delegitimize their reasons.”

The athletes, mostly women, have settled in Santiago and “are looking for  work,” the lawyer said. He added, without mentioning names, that “there are many people who are looking for a way for them to integrate themselves into the Chilean sports world.”

The hockey players Yunia Milanés, Jennifer Martínez, Yakira Guillén, Lismary González, Helec Carta and Geidy Morales, and the bronze medalist in 400-meter hurdles, Yoao Illas, are currently training in a municipal gym, he added.

Bonito said that during the process to regularize the immigration status of the athletes, they have firmly based their efforts on Law 20.430 which offers refuge to those who flee their country because “their life, security or freedom have been threatened by widespread violence,” or they have experienced a massive violation of human rights. The Communist Party, however, has overlooked the legitimate reasons of the athletes to leave the Island and insists on discrediting the legal arguments that support them, Bonito said. continue reading

According to the president of the Party, Lautaro Carmona, the Cuban athletes entered the South American country with “official passports, official transfers and with the institutional representation of their country,” and specified that, under these conditions, “there is nothing to indicate that they suffer persecution.”

Carmona disqualified the statements of one of the escaped hockey players, Yunia Milanés, when she revealed the precarious conditions in which they trained on the Island: “We didn’t have shoes, equipment or protective gear. We had to wait for a donation and the approval of the sports authorities,” the athlete said at the time.

According to Carmona, “This precariousness that athletes have in preparing (to compete)” is the fault of what he called “the criminal economic blockade of the United States against Cuba.” Speaking to the newspaper La Tercera on November 9, the politician said that the issue was “part of a campaign” of “the right,” among which he included the Cuban lawyer.

Bonito did not take long to respond by reminding Carmona that Cuban laws sanction athletes who leave a delegation with “penalties of up to eight years of deprivation of liberty.”

According to the National Migration Service, between 2018 and 2021 – during the Administration of Sebastián Piñeira – 4,557 Cubans applied for refuge in Chile, but only one obtained it. During the government of the current president, Gabriel Boric, 345 people from the Island requested refuge and none were granted it. However, since the abandonments were announced, the opposition has called on the Government to speed up the processes and accept the request of the Cuban athletes.

So far, the Chilean president has not spoken about the escapes of Cuban athletes or their requests for refuge. His most recent speech on the Island was at the beginning of November, when in a meeting he asked his American counterpart, Joe Biden, to remove Cuba from the list of states sponsoring terrorism and to lift the sanctions.

The Boric Administration has granted a different status to Cuba and Venezuela than to other regimes such as Nicaragua, whose president persecutes “those who think differently.”

Translated by Regina Anavy 

____________

COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORKThe 14ymedio team is committed to practicing serious journalism that reflects Cuba’s reality in all its depth. Thank you for joining us on this long journey. We invite you to continue supporting us by becoming a member of 14ymedio now. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.

Twenty-third Street in Havana, Transformed Into a River by the Heavy Rains

23rd Street and Infanta, El Vedado, Havana, this Wednesday. (14ymedio)

14ymedio bigger14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, November 15, 2023 — Twenty-third Street, the main avenue of El Vedado, became a river on Wednesday afternoon as a result of the intense rains that are affecting western Cuba. Within a few minutes after the downpour began, it was barely possible to travel through La Rampa due to the current of water that descended from the highest areas towards the Malecón. The vehicles parked in the area, most of them modern cars belonging to officials of neighboring ministries, were pushed by the flow of water that increased with each minute.

“This happened before in other neighborhoods, but 23rd Street is ready for a boat race. I’ve never seen that before,” said a man who took refuge under the eaves of the Ministry of Foreign Trade. Problems with sewage affect the entire Cuban capital, and the water can’t drain through the sewage grids. It continue on its course, increasing in strength and dragging all kinds of things in its path. continue reading

In a few minutes, streets and sidewalks were completely flooded. (14ymedio)

From the nearby garden of the Hotel Nacional, located on a natural elevation, several tourists, with capes and umbrellas, took photos of the whirlwind that rolled down the street towards the sea. There were many, and the daring ones decided to cross the street, with water almost up to their knees; but most of the passers-by were more cautious, perhaps aware of the potholes that the water hid that can cause a twisted ankle or something worse.

“This happened before in other neighborhoods, but 23rd Street is ready for a boat race. I’ve never seen that before.” (14ymedio)

Not even the most glamorous area of Havana is saved from the crisis. A river of water and vehicles pushed by the current remind us of the fragility of a city in ruins before any whim of nature.

Translated by Regina Anavy

____________

COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORKThe 14ymedio team is committed to practicing serious journalism that reflects Cuba’s reality in all its depth. Thank you for joining us on this long journey. We invite you to continue supporting us by becoming a member of 14ymedio now. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.

Cuban Families Denounce Mexico’s Immigration Authorities for Deception and Extortion

Lismaidy Portal Benacho, her children Adam Jesús and Andrea, and her husband Leynier Valle Machado are in Guadalajara. (José Luis Pérez)

14ymedio bigger14ymedio, Ángel Salinas, Mexico, 14 November 2023 — Despite numerous complaints, Mexico continues to extort money from migrants. On this occasion the victim was Mayelín Díaz Vargas, a Cuban. As attorney José Luis Pérez Jiménez told this newspaper, the woman was “coerced” by Jorge Rosalino Valencia, head of operational services of the immigration station of Las Agujas in Mexico City to “stop talking” about the 2,500 dollars that he demanded for not deporting her.

“Rosalino Valencia promised her a document in return for not ratifying the accusation and for not following up with the amparos (protection orders),” the lawyer tells 14ymedio. “The agents released her last Saturday. They took her from the facilities and told her to straighten it out, and if they arrested her again, they would deport her.”

Díaz Vargas is located in Mexico City. He doesn’t want to go out on the street or talk to strangers. He is afraid of being arrested. On Monday night he learned from television news that 246 migrants were arrested in what Migration called a “cleanup operation.” continue reading

Initially, the detainees were allowed to carry out their immigration procedures. “They were deceived and transferred to the states of Tabasco and Chiapas, where Migration denied them a safe-conduct to continue  to the border with the United States,” says the lawyer. These Central Americans, Venezuelans and Haitians, among whom there are 54 children, “have not received any documents.”

Rosalino Valencia promised her a document in exchange for not ratifyiing the accusation and not following up with the amparos.

In recent weeks, Mexico has tightened measures to stop the migratory flow. Between November 9 and 14, Migration recorded, as it usually calls it, the “rescue” (detentions) of 600 migrants, including 32 Cubans, who were trying to reach the United States by bus. The president of the Advisory Council of the National Institute of Migration, Mauro Pérez, complained about the “containment measures” used against irregular foreigners and the eviction of the 246 people at the Mexico City Bus Station.

In the vicinity of the bus terminal the Migration vans can be seen patrolling.  Inside, there are constant sweeps by the agents, which has prevented Mayelín Díaz from being able to buy a ticket to Tijuana. “She is suspicious of the airport authorities, who arrested her and handed her over to the agents be locked up,” says the lawyer.

On the other hand, after several days of pressure, a family of the group of Cubans injured in Pijijiapan, where 10 women from the Island died, managed to travel from Tapachula to Tuxtla Gutiérrez. Last Monday they boarded a flight to Guadalajara and plan to continue their journey to the United States.

Lismaidy Portal Benacho, who is a doctor, has been in charge of curing the injuries of her children Adam Jesús and Andrea, who suffered burns in the accident, after they were denied medical attention and a humanitarian visa in Tapachula. Meanwhile, her husband, Leynier Valle Machado, has already recovered from his injuries.

No one in the Tapachula hospitals wanted to take care of the children, the lawyer says. The doctors closed the doors despite the fact that Portal Benacho asked that she be permitted to attend to them herself. “Migration also pressured these people and threatened to arrest them and separate the mother from the children,” says Pérez Jiménez.

On Tuesday, another 162 migrants, including seven Cubans, were arrested by the military in the state of Veracruz. The group was traveling on a bus that was intercepted on the Coast of the Gulf of Coatzacoalcos-Villahermosa highway, near the town of Nuevo Teapa.

The group of Cubans was detained in the Acayucan immigration station. The authorities refuse to give reports to this newspaper about the reason for the arrests .

Translated by Regina Anavy

____________

COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORKThe 14ymedio team is committed to practicing serious journalism that reflects Cuba’s reality in all its depth. Thank you for joining us on this long journey. We invite you to continue supporting us by becoming a member of 14ymedio now. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.

The US Humanitarian ‘Parole’ Has Benefited More Than 57,000 Cubans in 10 Months

Several people waiting for their families at Miami International Airport. (14ymedio)

14ymedio bigger14ymedio, Havana, 14 November 2023 — A total of 5,190 Cubans benefited in October from the humanitarian parole program established by the United States last January. According to figures from the Department of Customs and Border Protection (CBP), there was a minimum increase compared to the previous month, in which 5,053 beneficiaries were registered.

Haitians continue to be the main beneficiaries of parole with 11,252 favored last month, while, in the same period, 4,542 Nicaraguans were accepted and 3,929 Venezuelans. According to figures shared by the journalist from América TeVé, Mario J. Penton, a total of 269,744 migrants from the four nations have received this temporary permit to process their residence in the United States.

More than 57,000 Cubans were approved to enter the United States under the humanitarian parole between January and last October. Of these, 55,568 have already traveled to the United States, and the rest are expected to do so soon.

“Each individual was examined and authorized to travel, with specific figures of arrivals and grants of parole for each nationality,” Penton stressed. continue reading

In September, 15,677 Cubans entered with CBP One, while in October 18,083 Cubans entered

One of the Cubans who received her family in the United States under this program, Yadira Arcis, shared on her social networks the arrival of her nephew and 11 other compatriots on the same day. “At last they are all here. My nephew Michael is going to have so many opportunities; I don’t have room for so much happiness in my heart,” she said.

On the CBP One mobile application, which was implemented last January by Joe Biden’s government, almost 324,000 migrants have managed to schedule an appointment to show up at a U.S. port of entry. The predominant nationalities in these appointments are Venezuelan, Mexican and Haitian.

In October, about 44,000 migrants were processed. Through this process, 15,677 Cubans entered in September, while 18,083 entered in October.

A percentage of daily appointments are reserved for the first people registered in the CBP One application, giving priority to those non-citizens who have tried to get appointments for the longest time,” Pentón said.

Cubans who enter by this route are given the I-94 document that serves as a parole through which they can adjust their status after one year and a day. By applying under the Cuban Adjustment Law, they obtain a green card, in addition to the fact that from their entry into the country they can apply for a work permit.

Translated by Regina Anavy

____________

COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORKThe 14ymedio team is committed to practicing serious journalism that reflects Cuba’s reality in all its depth. Thank you for joining us on this long journey. We invite you to continue supporting us by becoming a member of 14ymedio now. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.

Cuban Regime Will Let Two Exiled Chess Players Play in Cuba if They Abandon the United States

From left to right, Cuban chess masters Lázaro Bruzón, Leinier Domínguez and Yuniesky Quesada, who no longer play for the Cuban Chess Federation. (Susan Polgar)

14ymedio bigger14ymedio, Havana, 14 November 2023 — The Cuban Chess Federation remains inflexible about the conditions it imposed last October on emigrated players who want to participate in the Island’s national championship. The organization will evaluate two exceptions: Leinier Domínguez and Yuniesky Quesada, but only if they agree to leave the US Federation, while definitively ruling out the inclusion of Lázaro Bruzón for “being disrespectful.”

In any case, the participation of the three best Cuban chess players in the national contest, which will be held in 2024, is unlikely. Domínguez is not only the second best chess player in the United States — a newly won position in that country’s national tournament — but he has achieved a remarkable position internationally (he is the thirteenth best chess player in the world), which he will not abandon to play again with the restrictive Cuban Federation.

Quesada and Bruzón play with similar success in tournaments of much smaller caliber. In addition to the rigid nature of the conditions, the authoritarian tone expressed by the national chess commissioner, Carlos Rivero, in a lightning interview he gave to the State newspaper Granma, left no doubt: those who “earn the right” will be able to return. continue reading

Domínguez and Quesada are eligible because they “emigrated with an ordinary passport” and will be allowed “to re-affiliate

Domínguez and Quesada are eligible because they “emigrated with an ordinary passport” and will be allowed — if they request it — to “re-affiliate,” as long as they renounce “representing other flags.” “As for Bruzón, who has been disrespectful to the Federation and the Inder, we don’t think he is interested in doing it,” Rivero said.

The results of the national championship will depend on whether emigrants can use the Cuban flag in the Games of the Future of Kazan 2024 — a sporting event with which Vladimir Putin aspires to reintegrate Russia into the sports scene, despite the opposition of the International Olympic Committee — and other international competitions.

Rivero admitted that he has had “exchanges with some emigrated chess players,” without giving names or clarifying whether Domínguez or Quesada have been interested in the proposal of the Cuban Federation. Nor did he clarify whether the agency has contacted, for its part, those it considers eligible for the contest.

Since the announcement of the measure, which opened the doors of the tournament to any emigrant — as long as they comply with the aforementioned demands — none of the chess players has publicly declared their interest in returning. Only Bruzón has alluded to the measure, which he did not hesitate to criticize on his social networks, making it clear that he was not interested in participating.

Since the announcement of the measure, which opened the doors of the tournament to any emigrant, none of the chess players has publicly declared their interest in returning

“What does it mean to have a ’disrespectful attitude’?” asked Bruzó. “Does it mean that the Cuban people are in a horrible situation, that there are no medicines, no food, that the salary is not enough for anyone to survive, that the majority of young people and everyone is in the process of leaving or has already left?”

The grand master stressed that the leaders “have sunk the Cuban people into maximum poverty and despair and know what they have to do: make a radical change in the system.” “What adjectives can we use for those people? Disrespectful? Liars? Disrespecting is what they do, laughing at the Cuban people, continuing to speechify and feed false hopes that never materialize,” he added.

After the wave of repression unleashed by the regime after the protests of 11 July 2021, Bruzón declared that it was difficult for him to “maintain a rational opinion in the face of so much injustice.” “I don’t know those people (the protesters), but I do know that no one should go to jail or be banished for thinking differently. So much crime can’t be eternal,” he said.

In 2020, when the grand master officially asked the Federation for his “transfer” to represent the United States – where Domínguez had already played since 2017 – the institution published a statement denouncing Bruzón, claiming that he lent himself to the “scourge of theft and the commercialization of athletes” by “the richest countries,” such as the United States. The Federation regretted “such outrages” and promised that Bruzón’s absence would not be an obstacle to maintaining the “prestige of the homeland.”

Translated by Regina Anavy

____________

COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORKThe 14ymedio team is committed to practicing serious journalism that reflects Cuba’s reality in all its depth. Thank you for joining us on this long journey. We invite you to continue supporting us by becoming a member of 14ymedio now. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.

Cuba Receives an Avalanche of Negative Reports Before Its Human Rights Review at the UN

Juan Pappier, deputy director of the Division of the Americas of Human Rights Watch (HRW), in an archive photograph. (EFE/Gustavo Amador)

14ymedio bigger14ymedio, Havana, 14 November 2023 — It has been more than five years since Cuba last underwent the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) carried out by the UN in Geneva, and the deterioration of the situation within that period – in which Cuba has been twice elected a member of the Human Rights Council – is evident. The repression of the anti-government protests of 11 July 2021 (“11J”) will undoubtedly mark the analysis that will be carried out this Wednesday.

Cuba is experiencing a human rights crisis. In addition to the systematic repression of critics and dissidents, there is a severe economic crisis that impacts economic and social rights,” the deputy director of Human Rights Watch (HRW) for the Americas, Juan Pappier, told the Spanish agency EFE.

The numbers of detainees and political prisoners are chilling. According to the organization that emerged in the heat of the Justice 11J protests, 1,878 people were arrested for political reasons and about 700 sentenced to prison sentences of up to 30 years. The Madrid-based NGO Cuban Observatory of Human Rights (OCDH) estimates that 11,000 arbitrary arrests have been made since May 2018, when the Island underwent its last UPR.

Meanwhile, Prisoners Defenders (PD), also from Spain, puts the number of political prisoners currently in Cuba at 1,062, five more than in October. The cascade of negative data accumulates. continue reading

“Cuba has expanded its sophisticated machinery of control over freedom of expression and assembly” and resorted to a “culture of fear”

Amnesty International (AI), which sends the committee a report with its analysis of the situation, states that there are at least 13 prisoners of conscience, which include the artists of the San Isidro Movement Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara and Maykel Castillo Osorbo and the leader of the Patriotic Union of Cuba (Unpacu), José Daniel Ferrer.

They are just the tip of the iceberg for AI, which warns of a “massive incarceration” of protesters in addition to Internet restrictions. “Cuba has expanded its sophisticated machinery of control over freedom of expression and assembly” and resorted to a “culture of fear” through the criminalization of protests, the text states.

For Pappier, the next UPR is “an opportunity to make this crisis visible and call for concrete improvements, such as the release of political prisoners,” although it is not the only moment that can be taken advantage of, since a week later, on November 23 and 24, the special representative of the European Union for Human Rights, Eamon Gilmore, who a few days ago met with Cuban opponents residing in Europe, will visit Cuba.

Although there is no planned agenda for this trip, the official is expected to hold meetings with members of the Government (ministries of Justice and Interior), and also with members of civil society. His arrival in Cuba was agreed during the visit to the Island of the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Policy, Josep Borrell, last May.

On that trip there was a meeting between the European chancellor and people from civil society, including the intellectual Alina Bárbara López Hernández, who faces a trial on November 28 for disobedience that may mean a year in prison.

“More than worried, I arrive eager to see how they are going to fix the problem that they themselves have created. I haven’t violated any law”

“More than worried, I arrive eager to see how they are going to fix the problem that they themselves have created. I have not violated any law,” said the historian, who is claimed to be on the left but has defied the regime during the last year. As she explained to the agency, she is willing to “face risks” for “coherence and dignity.”

“Since 11 July 2021, action has been taken without measuring consequences,” said the teacher from Matancera, who is confident that the trial she will face will help to highlight the “type of State” that operates on the Island.

The NGO DemoAmlat has asked Cuba, in the face of the UPR, to eliminate several laws that limit the exercise of human rights and freedom of expression, in addition to allowing plural elections and guaranteeing the freedoms of the press, assembly and demonstration.

“The Universal Periodic Review at the UN Human Rights Council on November 15 is an opportunity for the international community to demand that Havana stop the barbarism against human rights activists and independent journalists, release the more than 1,000 political prisoners and make the structural political and economic changes that the country needs for the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to be fulfilled,” the OCDH says in a statement preceding the evaluation.

Despite the overwhelming pronouncements and calls for attention from organizations of all kinds, the regime considers that “Cuba honors its commitments and obligations” under the 44 international human rights instruments it has signed (of the 61 recognized by the UN), according to its permanent representative in Geneva, Juan Antonio Quintanilla.

“Cuba continues to strengthen its legal and institutional framework for the promotion and protection of human rights,” the official added.

Translated by Regina Anavy

____________

COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORKThe 14ymedio team is committed to practicing serious journalism that reflects Cuba’s reality in all its depth. Thank you for joining us on this long journey. We invite you to continue supporting us by becoming a member of 14ymedio now. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.

The Progressives, the Cubans and Israel

An Israeli tank on the border with Gaza on November 12, 2023. (EFE/EPA/Neil Hall)

14ymedio bigger14ymedio, Pedro Corzo, Miami, 12 November 2023 — While the totalitarian regime that has prevailed in Cuba for 65 years, minus two months, has almost always enjoyed favorable public opinion, the only democracy in the Middle East, Israel, is still the target of many of those who defend Castroism.

Cuban democrats, like Israelis, are, in the mentality of these groups and organizations, targets to be destroyed. However, they represent just causes that have never had the necessary international support to achieve the objectives that encourage them.

Their enemies, who consider themselves progressive, liberal and leftist, do not care that the Jewish nation promotes democracy and the rule of law. They simply share with the Nazis the hatred of a people who defend civil and religious freedoms, where the norm is between absolutism and military dictatorship.

They prefer to ignore that Israel is a free geographical and cultural space, in a region where authority is based on  military might or religion. Without being perfect, Israel should be an example for those continue reading

who defend freedom and human rights. The Israeli State is concrete evidence of material progress and well-being for those who reside in its territory.

Cuban Democrats, like Israelis, are, in the mentality of these groups and organizations, targets to be destroyed

However, it is a country that suffers permanent harassment from its neighbors. Israel has been subjected to true international isolation and frequent military conflicts, with the aim of eliminating it as a nation, as advocated, among others, by the theocratic State of Iran.

The terrorist actions against Israel, such as those of last October 7, are a brutal reflection of the hatred advocated by the serial killer Ernesto Che Guevara: “The intransigent hatred of the enemy, which pushes beyond the natural limitations of the human being and turns him into an effective, violent, selective and cold killing machine.” This phrase could have inspired the executioners of the Tribe of Nova festival.

Complicity with Guevara is not exceptional. It shows the frivolity and hypocrisy that reign in some international organizations, non-governmental organizations and famous universities that present themselves as standard-bearers of justice but have placed themselves at the service of the worst causes.

Guevara defended violence out of conviction. It was the instrument in concentration camps for homosexuals in Cuba. There are hundreds of testimonies about the murders he ordered, and, however, this did not prevent the UNESCO World Memory Program, in all its categories, from accrediting and rewarding his work, in addition to the fact that Guevara and Fidel Castro were proud of their cemeteries. As Guevara said at the United Nations, in 1964: “We have executed, we have shot, and we will continue to kill as long as is necessary.”

These actions are incomprehensible and force us to unearth the moment when Yasser Arafat, leader of the Palestine Liberation Organization, spoke in 1974 at the United Nations with a gun on the table in front of him.

I do not dispute the fairness of the Palestinian cause, but the beheading of children and indiscriminate murder should not be protected or silenced, as some sectors claim

Ideological commitments lead to omitting or changing the facts. When the Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet died, the headline of the newspaper El País said: “Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet dies.” However, when the Cuban autocrat died, the headline read: “Fidel Castro, the last revolutionary, dies”, as if he had not been another dictator with a horrendous criminal record.

I do not dispute the fairness of the Palestinian cause, but the beheading of children and indiscriminate murder should not be protected or silenced, as some sectors claim. Nor should persecutions be justified by race or religion, as the enemies of the Jews are doing in many parts of the world. They are acts repudiated by the United Nations itself and should be severely punished.

Cuban totalitarianism also inspires the progressives  to misrepresent the facts. On the Island, citizens’ rights are systematically violated; those who profess ideas contrary to the official proposal are imprisoned; total censorship of the media is practiced and bloody events such as those of the unforgettable tugboat massacre on March 13 occur, with dozens of deaths, including children. However, his allies present Castro totalitarianism as a victim of the United States and of the exile community.

They speak of a blockade or embargo, which has more holes in it than gruyere cheese, without alluding to the vileness of the rulers and the true blockade of Castroism.

Translated by Regina Anavy 

____________

COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORKThe 14ymedio team is committed to practicing serious journalism that reflects Cuba’s reality in all its depth. Thank you for joining us on this long journey. We invite you to continue supporting us by becoming a member of 14ymedio now. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.

With a Forecast of More Than 180,000 Travelers in 2023, Russian Tourism in Cuba Continues To Grow

Russia plans to operate new flights during the peak tourist season in Cuba to increase the number of travelers. (14ymedio)

14ymedio bigger14ymedio, Tourismo, Havana, November 10, 2023 — The Association of Tour Operators of Russia reported, this Thursday, that between January and October, about 146,305 tourists from that country arrived in Cuba, a 3.5 times greater than for the same period in 2022. According to the Association, arrivals are expected to exceed the 178,000 received in 2019, which was one of the best years for tourism before the pandemic.

This organization collects the data through the Russian Embassy in Havana and predicts that by the end of December travelers will exceed 180,000. Just “with the existing air traffic volumes and the occupation of flights (reserved tickets) from Russia to Cuba in the first half of December, the record of 2019 was reached,” it says.

Despite the fact that the alliance between Havana and Moscow has among its objectives the increase in the flow of visitors, the arrival of Russians is well below that of other nationalities. In August, the National Bureau of Statistics and Information (ONEI) reported that first place is still occupied by Canada, with 675,996 tourists, followed by Cubans residing abroad, with 241,115, and travelers from the United States, with 111,100. continue reading

Since the beginning of this year, several Russian airlines have announced the reestablishment of their direct routes with Cuba. This is the case of Aeroflot, whose flights to Cayo Coco and Varadero resumed last July.

According to the Association, it is estimated that each passenger spends about 132,000 rubles (1,430 dollars) on round-trip tickets on New Year’s flights

A direct connection was also established between Moscow and those two destinations operated by Nordwind after the direct route to Havana was suspended in 2022 due to sanctions against Russia after the invasion of Ukraine.

In addition, the tour agency Pegas Touristik plans to connect the Russian city of St. Petersburg with Cayo Coco from December 31. The flights will be every ten days and will continue until next April.

According to the Association, it is estimated that each passenger spends about 132,000 rubles (1,430 dollars) on round-trip tickets on New Year’s flights. When the season ends, the rates will drop to 78,000 rubles ($845), although the injection of capital will continue to be significant.

All-inclusive packages of nine nights are also offered with departure from Moscow for a minimum price of 330,000 rubles ($3,576) and a maximum of 380,000 ($4,118 dollars). In other seasons, a similar tour, for two people, would have an average cost of 240,000 rubles ($2,600).

However, the efforts of the Cuban authorities to reach 2.5 million tourists in 2023 have little chance of bearing fruit, even with the help of the Russians. As of September, the global number of foreign visitors barely reached 1.8 million and, despite having recognized that the estimated total would fail, the Government has refused to update it and has launched a campaign to attract as many visitors as possible in the last days of the year.

Cooking competitions, music festivals in the exclusive hotels of the northern keys and dinner in the exclusive Dîner en Blanc restaurant in a Havana experiencing shortages have been the last desperate measures to get the Island’s tourist sector out of its inertia.

Translated by Regina Anavy

____________

COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORKThe 14ymedio team is committed to practicing serious journalism that reflects Cuba’s reality in all its depth. Thank you for joining us on this long journey. We invite you to continue supporting us by becoming a member of 14ymedio now. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.

On a Visit to Cuba, the Head of the Nicaraguan Army Celebrates the ‘Union of Our Armed Forces’

The delegation placed flowers at the funeral “monolith” of Fidel Castro and the “founding fathers of the Cuban revolution.” (Prensa Latina)

14ymedio bigger14ymedio, Havana, 11 November 2023 — The international tour of General Julio César Avilés, head of the Nicaraguan Army, took him to Cuba this Thursday, where he was received with honors after returning from Russia and China. The authorities of both regimes have not hidden the intention of the visit: to celebrate the “union of our armed forces,” according to Rosario Murillo, vice president of the Central American country and wife of the Sandinista dictator Daniel Ortega.

Avilés, who travels with several members of his General Staff, landed in Santiago de Cuba and placed flowers at the funeral “monolith” of Fidel Castro and the “founding fathers of the Cuban revolution,” Céspedes and Martí. According to an official press release from the Nicaraguan authorities, the general travels with the “mission” of strengthening the ties of their country’s Army with  those of its allies.

The journey has been criticized by several of Ortega’s opponents, such as former liberal councilor Alfredo Gutiérrez, who says that Avilés “seeks political and military support from extra-regional powers,” and adds that “he intends to hasten the Chinese promises of strategic projects for Nicaragua, such as the construction of the Punta Huete airport.” (In the 1980s, during the conflict between the Sandinista regime and the contra guerrillas, the Soviets built an airstrip in Nicaragua to receive huge military continue reading

planes loaded with weapons, which made a previous stopover in Cuba.)

Avilés stressed the commitment of the Nicaraguan regime to Moscow and its “firm support” of Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine

For its part, the Cuban press has been very discreet about the visit and has limited itself to reporting the visit of Avilés to the tomb of Antonio Maceo in El Cacahual, located in Havana. There the Nicaraguan soldier was received by the Cuban Minister of the Armed Forces, Álvaro López Miera, but no details were offered about their meeting.

The few words of Avilés that Granma quoted refer to the “bonds of friendship and cooperation” that unite both armies, and to celebrating the good health of their bilateral agreements. Although other authorities, like Miguel Díaz-Canel, are expected to meet with the Nicaraguan military delegation, the fact that the visit began in the east of the Island arouses suspicions about the possibility of a secret interview with Raúl Castro, as already happened last August with the visit of the second man of the Venezuelan regime, Diosdado Cabello.

During his trip to Russia, Avilés stressed the Nicaraguan regime’s commitment to Moscow and its “firm support” of Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. According to Prensa Latina, both senior officials evaluated their bilateral mechanisms in terms of “defense, security and technical-military cooperation,” in which Managua enjoys “high levels of confidence” from its partners in the Kremlin.

Beyond the usual statements against U.S. “imperialism,” little was published about Avilés’ visit to China. Last June, after the American newspaper The Wall Street Journal denounced China’s plans to open an espionage base in Cuba, numerous media and public figures warned about the intentions of Beijing and Moscow to strengthen their influence in Latin America through their allies in the region: Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua.

Avilés, ratified as commander-in-chief of the Army for the period 2020-2025, is one of Ortega’s main men, although some independent analysts assess that he is not a “close friend.” The general is on the list of senior officials sanctioned by the U.S., along with several members of his general staff.

Translated by Regina Anavy

____________

COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORKThe 14ymedio team is committed to practicing serious journalism that reflects Cuba’s reality in all its depth. Thank you for joining us on this long journey. We invite you to continue supporting us by becoming a member of 14ymedio now. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.

Freedom of the Press Continues To Deteriorate in Cuba Due to High Level of Repression

Independent journalist Lázaro Yuri Valle Roca, being repressed by State Security agents, in a 2020 image. (Facebook)

14ymedio biggerEFE (via 14ymedio), Mexico City, November 10, 2023 — Freedoms of press and expression “continued to deteriorate” in Cuba, where in recent months multiple independent journalists have been arrested, harassed and assaulted, denounces the Inter-American Press Association (IAPA).

According to a preliminary report scheduled to be approved this Sunday by the Press Freedom Commission of this organization in its biannual assembly, the ecosystem of the island’s unofficial media continues to suffer a “high level of repression.”

This materializes, the text details, through “arbitrary detentions,” “house arrests,” “surveillance” and “harassment through subpoenas,” pointing out these as “the most common forms of repression against independent journalism.”

The document highlights the situation of Lázaro Yuri Valle Roca and Jorge Bello, independent journalists who have been imprisoned for two years.

Valle Roca was sentenced to five years in prison for the crime of continued enemy propaganda, and his health problems are not being properly addressed. Bello is serving 15 years in prison for contempt, after continue reading

participating in the anti-government protests of 11 July 2021.

The organization also includes four cases of Cubans in prison “for recording or broadcasting live protests” and four house arrests or detentions

The organization also includes four cases of Cubans in prison “for recording or broadcasting live protests” and four house arrests or detentions, including those of Camila Acosta – from Cubanet – and Henry Constantín, director of the independent media La Hora de Cuba and regional vice president of the IAPA.

The text also records the “detentions for hours or days” of 22 people – including journalists (Yoani Sánchez*, Reinaldo Escobar*), writers (Jorge Fernández Era) and intellectuals (Alina Bárbara López) – and the “physical and psychological assaults” on five individuals, including those suffered by YouTuber Yoandi Montiel, known as El Gato de Cuba.

The report also highlights that Internet cuts to independent journalists continue to be used with “profusion” by State Security and cites more than thirty affected professionals.

The report also documents a dozen Cuban journalists who are prohibited from leaving the country “for exclusively political reasons,” including Acosta, Escobar and Constantín.

The IAPA mentions in its file on Cuba the serious crisis in which the country has been immersed for more than two years: “In this period the precarious living conditions were accentuated.”

It specifically quoted “increasing inflation,” which “continues to pulverize the value of state wages and pensions,” the “chaos” in public health, the increase in public transport prices due to the lack of fuel, frequent blackouts and the lack of running water in some municipalities.

In Venezuela, “for many years,” the “constant and systematic regime of censorship” that “generates self-censorship among the media” is maintained

Similarly, the IAPA affirmed that in Venezuela, “for many years,” the “constant and systematic regime of censorship” that “generates self-censorship among the independent media” is maintained.

According to a preliminary report, in Venezuela, “at least two stations go off the air every month” by order of the State regulatory body, the National Telecommunications Commission (Conatel), to whose “discretionary opinion” television and radio media are subject.

It points out that “Conatel also continued to censor and close spaces of the independent print media that were forced to migrate to web platforms,” where blocks are also recorded.

“Journalists are besieged by the regime and are harassed and threatened when they try to cover social protests or report irregularities and corruption,” the IAPA said.

The document mentions some violations of press freedom that have taken place so far in 2023 and cites a report from the Institute of Press and Society (IPYS) of Venezuela, which revealed that between May and August of this year there were 117 violations of freedom of expression that affected 68 press workers.

As a positive aspect, the IAPA highlighted the release of journalist Roland Carreño, arrested since October 2020 and released on October 18, as part of a new negotiation between the Government and the opposition.

However, it said that the journalist “was a victim of forced disappearance, and on six occasions humanitarian measures were requested for health problems.” In addition, the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention of the UN Human Rights Council declared his detention arbitrary and “warned that incarceration is a systematic practice in the country.”

The report exposes at least 22 specific cases of press persecution, including the closure of stations and news spaces within them, the intimidation of journalists and media by public officials and the blocking of digital portals.

The IAPA, a non-profit organization dedicated to defending and promoting freedom of the press and expression in the Americas, is made up of more than 1,300 publications in the Western Hemisphere.

*Translator’s note: Yoani Sánchez and Reinaldo Escobar are the creators and publishers of 14ymedio.

Translated by Regina Anavy

____________

COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORKThe 14ymedio team is committed to practicing serious journalism that reflects Cuba’s reality in all its depth. Thank you for joining us on this long journey. We invite you to continue supporting us by becoming a member of 14ymedio now. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.

To Keep the ‘Ninja’ Children Away, Several Restaurants in Havana Create a Private Security Agency

The police declared themselves unable to control the flood of minors dedicated to stealing. (14ymedio)

14ymedio bigger14ymedio, Nelson García/Juan Izquierdo, Havana, 11 November, 2023 — Several burly men, with black pullovers, guard the restaurants on the alley of Espada, on Peña Pobre Street in Old Havana. Their mission: to prevent the beggars, crazies and undesirables of the mythical Angel neighborhood from disturbing the clientele, usually foreigners, and they keep an eye on the children, true ninjas when it comes to stealing a wallet or picking the pocket of a distracted tourist.

Antojos, 7 de Espada and Chacón 162 – three of the most expensive and well-known Havana restaurants – decided to pay attention to a situation that was already beyond the hands of the police. “They are children and we can’t do anything,” the officers alleged when a robbery was reported on the terraces. Hardened by poverty, at only 9 or 10 years old, the children of the area prepare to accept a candy while reaching out to someone else’s pocket, or to ask for alms with all kinds of stories and tricks.

“It all started with a nine-year-old boy who lives in this neighborhood. His father is in prison and he lives with his grandparents. He is the one who supports everyone at home,” a member of the staff of Antojos tells 14ymedio, whose administration is the one that provides the security service to the neighboring premises. continue reading

As the police declared themselves unable to control the flood of minors dedicated to looting – and also “recommended” a quick solution to the problem – the restaurant owners took it upon themselves to find one. First, the waiters and clerks tried to expel the boys, but this “affected the service,” says a source in Antojos. “People stopped coming, and we had to look for a security team,” he adds.

The results of the security personnel are evident: they have “scared off” the beggar children. (14ymedio)

Although not as effectively as children, other beggars used to ask for money from those who come to eat at the “loma del Ángel,” as that corner of Old Havana is known. Now the job is more than difficult: stationed at the door of the premises, the guards prevent the beggars from even stepping past the ornamental pots at the entrance to the terraces. If anyone manages to reach a table, the security officer will have no qualms about grabbing him by the arm and escorting him out of the place. Whether or not they take him out violently or calmly depends on the beggar.

The results of the security personnel, who charge about 2,000 pesos for each day of work – in addition to tips and money to watch over the diners’ cars – are evident: “Security has ’scared off’ the children,” acknowledges a member of the Antojos staff. The beggars know where to look. Antojos as well as 7 de Espada and Chacón 162 have astronomical prices. Only those who can afford to pay dine there. In Chacón 162, a ceviche is sold at 1,300 pesos, beef carpaccio at 2,300 and a few croquettes at 530.

And those are just the starters. A lobster prepared “to your taste” costs 2,800 pesos, while the shrimp is 2,450. The most exclusive, without a doubt, is the octopus dish – a rarity in Havana – which in Chacón 162 is sold at 4,800 pesos.

“Now the clientele is quite balanced between Cubans and foreigners, because tourism is a little dead,” says a source to this newspaper, who prefers not to reveal the identity of the owner of  the Antojos restaurant, someone known as “Reinaldo” and related by marriage to a high military official.

Placed at the door of the premises, the guards prevent the beggars from even getting past the ornamental pots at the entrance to the terraces. (14ymedio)

As for Chacón 162, its owner is José Héctor Argiles Agüero, who is proud on social networks of the visit to his premises of international figures such as the Spanish actor Mario Casas and the Mexican Gael García Bernal, the chef Pepe Rodríguez – presenter of the show Masterchef Spain – and the Cuban artists David Blanco, Raúl Paz and Carlos Acosta.

The comment that someone from the leadership of the regime protects the owners of the restaurants in the Espada alley is recurrent. Their ease of getting food – Antojos operated even during the pandemic, at home – and their decorations, with allusions to Republican Cuba, have been arousing suspicions among the poor neighbors of the Angel neighborhood for years.

Calling attention at the entrance to Antojos is a gigantic mural with the image of Celia Cruz – flanked by Benny Moré and Compay Segundo – whose music is still banned on Cuban stations. A sign with the word “Azúcar!”, which the singer made famous on the international stage, receives the diners.

“This area is for people with power,” acknowledges a staff member of Antojos to 14ymedio. The severity of the muscular guards, who guard the street once famous for the novel Cecilia Valdés, prove him right.

Translated by Regina Anavy

____________

COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORKThe 14ymedio team is committed to practicing serious journalism that reflects Cuba’s reality in all its depth. Thank you for joining us on this long journey. We invite you to continue supporting us by becoming a member of 14ymedio now. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.

Motorcycles, Mopeds and Pedestrians Have Been Involved in 55 Percent of Accidents in Cuba During 2023

The human factor determines 90% of traffic accidents in Cuba, according to the Police. (Granma)

14ymedio biggerEFE (via 14ymedio), Havana, 11 November 2023 —  Motorcycles, mopeds and pedestrians have been involved in 55% of the accidents recorded in Cuba between January and October 2023, the Island’s traffic authorities said this Friday.

The head of the specialized transit agency of the Police, Colonel Roberto Rodríguez, said in statements to national television that these three actors have accounted for 59% of the deaths and 50% of those injured in the accidents that occurred in that period.

In the first ten months of this year, 6,965 traffic accidents have been recorded in the country, which left 562 dead and 5,643 injured, according to official data. continue reading

Traffic authorities indicated that accidents decreased by more than 1,000 on Cuban roads and highways compared to the same period of 2022, when 8,187 were reported.

Among the main causes of accidents were violations of the right of way, speeding and driving under the influence of alcohol

But they stressed their concern about the increase in the danger of the accidents that have involved mopeds, whose circulation has grown to about 400,000 on the Island.

Among the main causes of accidents were violations of the right of way, speeding and driving under the influence of alcohol, a situation in which 1,327 people were detected.

To this are added the distractions caused by listening to music with high volume, using a mobile phone or eating food, the technical imperfections of the vehicles and the poor condition of the roads.

In the case of pedestrian collisions, the head of traffic said that there was a “discreet decrease” although the number of deaths increased – 30 more in 2023 (159) – than the 129 reported the previous year.

He stressed that the human factor is determining 90% of traffic accidents in the country and considered that the main factor is the discipline of drivers.

Translated by Regina Anavy

____________

COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORKThe 14ymedio team is committed to practicing serious journalism that reflects Cuba’s reality in all its depth. Thank you for joining us on this long journey. We invite you to continue supporting us by becoming a member of 14ymedio now. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.

‘With Chess We Teach Children How To Manage Frustration and Defeat’

Riojaque is a training center in Spain that provides resources to stimulate the creativity of children from an early age, says Magariño. (Riojaque)

14ymedio bigger14ymedio, Xavier Carbonell, Salamanca, 11 November 2023 — In the language of chess, Cuba is still a key word. Despite the historic ups and downs, the precariousness – and politicization – of the teaching and the exile of its best players, the Island continues to produce outstanding chess players. This is the case of the teacher Daylin Magariño Carralero (b. Puerto Padre, Las Tunas, 1999), who emigrated to the Spanish community of La Rioja in 2020 to found her own academy and play under the flag of her adopted country.

A “noble and simple” childhood, the chessboard – which she handled with ease at the age of six – and an environment like the Cuban one, where the passion for the game has survived everything, were enough for Magariño to start a promising career in Las Tunas.

In Cuban classrooms, the teaching of chess is an option, sometimes mandatory, and although it is a copy of the Soviet system – intended to prove the “intellectual superiority” of the new man of communism – there is a more powerful reason why Cubans are proud of the sport: José Raúl Capablanca, the only world champion (1921-1927) from the Americas, other than the American Bobby Fischer. continue reading

However, Magariño tells 14ymedio, at present the Cuban chess players – despite the fact that several of the “big ones” have left – have not lost their standards. “In my opinion, the strongest Cuban teachers are Leinier Domínguez, Lázaro Bruzón, Carlos Daniel Albornoz and Lisandra Ordaz.”

A recent measure by the Cuban Chess Federation prevents Domínguez – who occupies the 13th place among the best in the world and is considered the symbolic “heir” of Capablanca – and Bruzón from playing in Cuban tournaments. The reason: being critical of the ruling party and belonging to other federations.

Magariño prefers not to allude to the tensions of the Island and alleges that, beyond the basics, she doesn’t know the situation of the education in the game in her country

Magariño prefers not to allude to the tensions of the Island and alleges that, beyond the basics, she doesn’t know the situation of the education in the game in her country of origin. Her life, she says, is now in Spain, a country in which she always wanted to live because of its “language, culture and chess tradition,” and to which she traveled with her husband. “The welcome they have had for me has been wonderful. I have had the opportunity to play in several tournaments, meet important sports figures and start my studies in psychology,” she says.

The young woman says that in La Rioja she has achieved her two great dreams: “Playing and teaching chess.” Her project, the Riojaque academy, offers courses to children and adults in different learning modalities.

“Riojaque is a training center that also provides resources to stimulate creativity and imagination in children from an early age; it’s not just to pass the time,” says Magariño.

Together with a partner “musician, teacher and writer,” they develop one of the areas in which Spain leads worldwide: educational chess. “We teach children to manage frustration, defeat and reinforce discipline and order,” she defines.

Being in Spain has also allowed Magariño to find other Cuban teachers who have arrived on the Peninsula, such as Arián González – also affected by the prohibition of the Cuban Federation – and Renier Vázquez. With them she played in the absolute individual championship of Spain and says that both are “well known and recognized by their Spanish colleagues,” with whom they now share a flag.

Magariño – champion of La Rioja in classic and fast chess in 2022 – has several immediate goals: to continue with Riojaque, to be in charge of the official Women’s and Chess Commission in La Rioja and to complete her psychology studies. About the Island, to which she has returned only once since she emigrated, she has a rather dispassionate opinion: “Like all countries, Cuba has good things and could improve others. What I like about my country is that people love chess.”

Translated by Regina Anavy

____________

COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORKThe 14ymedio team is committed to practicing serious journalism that reflects Cuba’s reality in all its depth. Thank you for joining us on this long journey. We invite you to continue supporting us by becoming a member of 14ymedio now. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.

Castro’s ‘Ten Million Ton Harvest’ Comes to Miami Theater by the Hand of Nilo Cruz

Photograph by Arca Images of a scene from the play Un parque en mi casa (A Park in my Home) by Nilo Cruz. (EFE/Arca Images)

14ymedio biggerEFE (via 14ymedio), Jorge I. Pérez, Miami, November 9, 2023 — The so-called 10 Million Ton Harvest of 1970, one of Fidel Castro’s first megaprojects, served as a historical backdrop for the Cuban-American playwright Nilo Cruz to write and direct Un parque en mi casa (A Park in my Home), whose Spanish premiere will be this Thursday in Miami with a “very simple and symbolic scenery”: a prop house.

Cruz, the first Hispanic to win the Pulitzer Prize for theater with Anna in the Tropics (2002), says in an interview with EFE that “writing about 1970, a year that changed my life, was a way to rescue a moment that I didn’t fully understand at the time.”

In Un parque en mi casa, according to the promotional notes for the new play, five relatives of an improvised Cuban family are waiting for the arrival of a Russian who will live with them as part of an international exchange program.

Each character, he adds, must fight with a life “full of changes and uncertainties, a divided country and an uncertain future, while working to continue reading

meet the objectives of the ten million ton sugar harvest,” a production goal set by Castro in 1970 that ultimately was not achieved.

About the cast, the playwright points out that he has two veteran actors that he admires very much, Carlos Acosta Milián and Gretel Trujillo

Castro’s ambitious project, which mobilized almost the entire country, was not achieved but marked a spirit of possibility that Cruz has used from the point of view domestic intimacy.

“My father, a former political prisoner in several prisons in Cuba, including the Castle of San Severino and the Isle of Pines Prison, Puerto Boniato, was one of those victims forced to cut cane for the 10 Million Ton Harvest,” Cruz explains.

“In my house,” he explains, “we saw how he arrived despondent after doing his work in the cane fields. I remember that because of the brutal and extensive work he developed a chronic pain in his back.”

With four performances starting this Thursday in the Miami-Dade County Auditorium, Un parque en mi casa presents these characters “through a background of sadness and loss.”

They “carry in themselves a remarkable source of humor, healing and strength,” says the program notes of Arca Images, the company in charge of the editing and, according to its website, one of the main producers of bilingual Hispanic theater in South Florida.

I remember that due to the brutal and extensive work he developed a chronic pain in his back

About the cast, the playwright points out that he has two veteran actors that he admires very much, Carlos Acosta Milián and Gretel Trujillo.

Four actors who are working with him for the first time are also part of this production: Claudia Tomás, Daniel Romero, Guillermo Cabré and Ricky Saavedra.

Cruz, who in addition to the Pulitzer has received numerous awards, including those from the Kennedy Center Fund, the American Theatre Critics and the Humana Festival for New American Plays, wrote Un parque en mi casa, his original title, on a commission in 1995 by the McCarter Theater company, of Princeton, New Jersey.

“They invited me to participate in a festival of short plays based on the theme of the home. After having lived for many years in the United States, the subject made me travel through memory and write about my childhood in Cuba,” explains the playwright, who arrived in this country at the age of nine.

According to Cruz, the Russian who appears in the play “is a fictional character who functions as a detonator and at the same time a catalyst, who demystifies the revolutionary socialist romance of that time.” “He makes them all see a very different reality from what they imagined about the system,” he points out.

At the Miami showing, the public will see “a very simple scenery” that serves “to suggest an old house, underpinned by its poor condition. These wooden struts not only work to hold walls, but also as a symbol of sustaining the structure of a revolution that is crumbling.”

After having lived for many years in the United States, the subject made me travel through memory and write about my childhood in Cuba

According to Lillian Guerra’s Visions of Power in Cuba: Revolution, Redemption, and Resistance, 1959-1971, the 10 Million Ton Harvest between 1969 and 1970 was “the government’s attempt to revive popular euphoria through massive mobilizations to cut sugar cane and produce a record harvest to defeat underdevelopment.”

But the massive 1970 harvest did not reach ten million tons and damaged the island’s global economy, which was neglected.

“I think many will possibly identify with the loves, dreams and disenchantments of these characters, and the double life they undergo to survive,” Cruz predicts shortly before the premiere.

“The disillusionment, the disappointment continues to be repeated in all parts of the world, but we continue to attach ourselves to the arrogance of hope. The only thing we can’t lose is faith in the good and exercise that power within us and in all our actions,” he said.

Translated by Regina Anavy

____________

COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORKThe 14ymedio team is committed to practicing serious journalism that reflects Cuba’s reality in all its depth. Thank you for joining us on this long journey. We invite you to continue supporting us by becoming a member of 14ymedio now. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.

Nicaragua’s Government Removes Taxi Drivers From the Business of Transporting Cuban Migrants

Taxi drivers have established routes and prices for the transfer of migrants to the border with Honduras. (El Nuevo Diario)

14ymedio bigger14ymedio, Havana, 9 November 2023 — Nicaraguan authorities have prohibited taxi drivers from transporting migrants from Cuba, Haiti and African countries from Augusto César Sandino airport, in Managua, to the border with Honduras. According to the newspaper La Prensa, the drivers say that this is another strategy of the Government to “take private business out of the game” and monopolize the income generated by the passage of migrants.

“What I know informally from my neighbor, who has been dedicated to those trips for more than a year, is that yes, indeed, since last week, airport staff is preventing them from taking people to the border,” confirms Julio, a collaborator of 14ymedio in Nicaragua, who has been following the situation.

“They are even being prevented from accessing the gas station in front of the airport, which is where Cubans used to board the vehicles,” he adds.

Julio explains that the measure does not surprise him. “It’s not just now; in any case what they are doing is removing the private taxis, because since continue reading

the exodus began the Government has been directly involved in the transfer of migrants,” he says.

“It’s not just now; in any case what they are doing is removing the private taxis, because since the exodus began the Government has been directly involved in the transfer of migrants”

Interviewed by the newspaper La Prensa, many of the taxi drivers were annoyed with the sparse explanations of the agents who expel them from the surroundings of the air terminal. “Now the police send patrols around, looking for how to fine you. You can’t make the trip, you can’t go to the airport, if you park two kilometers away and want to enter on foot they won’t let you, they’ll remove you. They tell you that you have to leave, that you have no permission, and the only thing they know how to say is that ’they have higher orders’ and are doing their job,” says one of the drivers.

According to the taxi drivers, the police authorities, the Ministry of Infrastructure and the Transport Regulatory Institute maintain that everything is due to “relaxation” with the transportation of migrants and complaints from taxi drivers who officially operate in the terminal. “It’s not like that, they are doing their job,” refutes one of the drivers.

Actually, they say, they are displacing them because “the Government or I don’t know which officials are looking for how to seize that income. They want to provide buses; they want to take over and that’s why they give us so many excuses and restrictions,” he adds.

The taxi drivers explained that the authorities are exaggerating the situation because, although it is true that many drivers did not leave until they found a safe trip with migrants, in reality they were all working without causing problems.

“Everyone made their best offer and since there were many of us, it seemed okay. Now we are all harmed and figuring out how to solve the problem,” he said.

“The taxi drivers’ union has not wanted to protest because there is fear; there is fear that they will put you in jail,” he continues. However, it becomes increasingly difficult to get customers, and when they manage it and are discovered, they pull them out of the taxi.

The drivers explain that, as an alternative, they have had to look for private places to park, usually restaurants where they eat some food to justify parking and then walk to the airport in search of customers.

The taxi drivers’ union has not wanted to protest because there is fear; there is fear that they will put you in jail

“They are taking away the daily bread for our families, because that generated money for us. This harms us financially because living in Nicaragua is not cheap,” they say. Normally, each taxi driver made between three and four trips a week to the border to transfer migrants and charged 50 dollars per person to Africans, Haitians and Cubans.

In Nicaragua, numerous businesses have been created to offer transport, accommodation and food services where almost all the  customers are migrants in transit through the country. This is the case with the taxi drivers, who have established routes and prices for the transfer to the border with Honduras.

“They commonly go to Ocotal, Las Manos and sometimes Guasaule,” they say, but even this path has become difficult. “They stop you, and you don’t have to present your documents but you do have to pay 100 pesos for each police checkpoint. Imagine if there are six checkpoints. They don’t have to stop you because the migrants entered Nicaragua through the airport legally; we weren’t doing any kind of human trafficking, we’re just providing transportation,” they explain.

Translated by Regina Anavy

____________

COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORKThe 14ymedio team is committed to practicing serious journalism that reflects Cuba’s reality in all its depth. Thank you for joining us on this long journey. We invite you to continue supporting us by becoming a member of 14ymedio now. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.