Image shared on her networks by Alina Bárbara López Hernández, after several hours of detention by State Security / Facebook
14ymedio, Havana,April 23, 2024 — The Cuban Observatory of Human Rights (OCDH) denounced on Monday that, “in the midst of the poverty” that the Island is experiencing, the Cuban Government “dedicates enormous resources to increase repression against intellectuals, trade unionists and independent journalists,” pointing out several repressive acts committed by the political police in recent days.
The organization, based in Madrid, mentioned the arrest of reporter Camila Acosta, a collaborator of CubaNet, this Sunday in Cárdenas, in the province of Matanzas, “when she was on her way to visit relatives of political prisoners. Four police cars participated” in the operation, orchestrated by State Security.
In the same province, last Thursday, Professor Alina Bárbara López Hernández “suffered bodily injuries due to police brutality during an arbitrary arrest.” The academic was detained for several hours at the Playa police station, and after returning home she denounced the mistreatment she suffered in a Facebook post. continue reading
“We warn of the upsurge in violations and call on the international democratic community to denounce these facts”
López Hernández reported that doctors diagnosed her with a “right humeral dislocation (sprain of the right shoulder)” and a “subluxation in the thumb of the left hand.”
Also in Matanzas, but this time in the municipality of Colón, the secretary general of the Independent Trade Union Association of Cuba, Iván Hernández Carrillo, was summoned by the regime, “as part of the harassment campaign he suffers.”
Last week, in Camagüey, independent journalist José Luis Tan Estrada was interrogated twice, explains the OCDH report. The former professor was ultimately fined 3,000 pesos “for violating Decree Law 370, a law used by the Havana regime to silence activists, journalists and citizens” after being accused “of publishing memes, comments and even “liking” other publications.”
Also, “the former political prisoner Luis Darién Reyes Romero was intimidated with a gun in the middle of the street in Old Havana by a repressor dressed in civilian clothes,” a fact classified by the OCDH as “serious.” The video circulated on social networks in which Reyes Romero showed the face and weapon of the State Security agent while chasing him.
“We warn of the upturn in violations and call on the international democratic community to denounce these facts. Likewise, we support the efforts of the Cuban Catholic Church to mediate the serious crisis that the country is experiencing,” the organization concludes.
Translated by Regina Anavy
____________
COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORK: The 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.
Galiano Street, in Central Havana, has become a showcase for misery
An old woman has half a dozen disposable razors for sale, some that are also ’discarded’
14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, 23 April 2024 — Cubans who emigrate to Miami have an expression for those who remain on the Island, those whom they support with their remittances: “Cubans with faith.” The word “faith” in Spanish is “fe,” which stands for “family in the exterior,” meaning relatives abroad. Eduardo, who left the country three years ago on the “route of the volcanoes” (through Nicaragua), doesn’t understand how “those who don’t have fe” can survive.
“Every week I have more and more acquaintances in Cuba asking me to send them money, because they don’t have children who can send them some. But I can’t handle everyone; I have children there too,” says this 40-year-old from Havana. “Distant relatives write my mom to ask for my help, as if I were a millionaire. I wish I could, but I know that’s not the solution.”
Aurora was an artist in the principal theaters of Cuba and always believed in the Revolution
If she ever dares to tell those relatives to ask for “saving” in front of the Plaza de la Revolución, they call her an “anti-patriot” and a “Trumpista.” The suffering of relatives who couldn’t emigrate becomes dramatic in the case of the elderly.
Aurora was an artist in the principal theaters of Cuba and always believed in the Revolution. Today, widowed and alone, with a pension that does not reach 2,000 pesos and not a single family member who sends her money from abroad, she barely survives. Eating, although little, is not such a problem: there is always a neighbor who has a slightly more comfortable life, either because of business “on the left” or from receiving remittances, and will help with a little rice or beans or both. The biggest problem is electricity. She can’t pay the new prices, so Aurora doesn’t even turn on the lights at night: one more risk to add to her 85 years and her reduced mobility. continue reading
On a step under the arches, an old man sells cigars and rubber parts for pots and coffee makers / 14ymedio
Like him, hundreds of thousands of elderly Cubans – two and a half million over 60 years of age on the Island – are on the verge of extreme poverty. Those who don’t even have a roof over their heads sleep in the streets. Several of them take advantage of the busiest roads of the capital to resell a few items, always scarce, always of poor quality. One of them is Galiano street, in Central Havana, a true showcase of misery.
An old woman had half a dozen disposable razors for sale this Tuesday, of those that are also discarded: few people can shave with those gadgets that they sell in state shops.
Later, on a step under the arches, another old man sells cigars and rubber parts for pots and coffee makers. Others offer sweets, liquid detergent, instant soft drinks or batteries.
“It’s not just that it’s not enough for them to live on, it’s that it’s useless for them,” said a woman who helps her 80-year-old mother as much as she can and who bought, out of charity, a battery pack in Galiano on Tuesday. “It’s just that 1,500 pesos of pension in this country is nothing. And look how hungry they are, how much need and sadness.”
Translated by Regina Anavy
____________
COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORK: The 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.
Sandra Hernández, at the door of her house, in Cabaiguán, Sancti Spíritus / 14ymedio/Courtesy
14ymedio, Havana, 23 April 2024 — Three words in blue ink – Patria y Vida… Homeland and Life – written on the facade of her house were enough for Sandra Hernández to understand State Security’s speedy response even in small towns like hers. After the island-wide protests of 11 July 2021 (11J), there was not a single gesture against the Government in the municipality of Cabaiguán, except hers. A few hours later, an act of repudiation and numerous slogans on her wall awaited her.
“That day, July 13, my husband and I decided to put ’Homeland and Life’ on the front of the house, because my daughter was barely one year old and I couldn’t go with her to the street to protest,” Hernández tells 14ymedio from the Dominican Republic, where she has been living for several months. “We painted the words around four in the afternoon on the facade of my building, supposedly inviolable before the law, although they didn’t care about that,” she says.
The graffiti, which alluded to the song of the same name and which became the anthem of the protests of 11J, marked a before and after in the life of Hernández and her family. “At night the president of the CDR (Committee for the Defense of the Revolution) arrived asking why I had written that and said we shouldn’t have done it in his CDR. He alluded to my deceased mother and grandmother, reminding me that they had been good revolutionaries, and told me that it was enemy propaganda,” she says.
When she finally thought that things would calm down, the family received another visit: “At 10 at night about 12 people arrived at my door. They were from the Federation of Cuban Women, the Union of Young Communists and other official organizations, saying that they wanted to ’converse’. I told them that that was not a good time to visit and that they could come back the next day.” The entourage left, says Hernández, but State Security did not stand idly by. continue reading
“In the early morning I was awakened by a strong chemical smell, similar to that given off by the Cabaiguán refinery. I realized that it was coming from the house itself, and I ran to open the kitchen door to ventilate,” she says. Before the family knew it, they had filled the front of the house with revolutionary slogans, and only the word “Homeland” remained. The strong smell came from the liquid asphalt that the regime’s agents had used – along with a blue paint – to scribble slogans and erase her sign.
Words painted by Sandra Hernández on July 11, 2021 / 14ymedio/Courtesy
“They used a blanket with chlorine that I had at the entrance for people to clean their shoes because of covid, and they painted with it. The substance they used, which is also toxic and flammable, is controlled by the State, and people aren’t supposed to use it. It’s made in the Cabaiguán refinery, and I don’t know how they dared to smear the walls with that. They didn’t care that we had a girl, and the substance irritated her eyes and parts of her body,” says Hernández. “They also urinated at the door.”
“At five in the morning,” she continues, “the act of repudiation began.” Hernández still has the recording of almost an hour of “anti-imperialist” slogans and communist hymns. Some acquaintances, incited by State Security, called her to ask her to remove her sign. “When I told them I wouldn’t, they hung up.”
The “act of reaffirmation” also had a police presence to block access to the street, flags and posters, broadcasters from Radio Cabaiguán – who installed a speaker system in the municipality’s maternal hospital – and many unknown people who were there by order “from above”.
“They monitored us continuously, especially when there were rumors of demonstrations, and they threatened our friends that ’there would be consequences’ if they approached us / 14ymedio/Courtesy
“After the event, reprisals began,” she said. “They monitored us continuously, especially when there were rumors of demonstrations, and they threatened our friends that ’there would be consequences’ if they approached us. People also came to ask us strange questions and tell us that they were on our side. They encouraged us to do acts of vandalism such as poisoning the aqueduct, attacking the thermoelectric plant or asking if we agreed to send the girl to school.” According to Hernández, during the two years they were in Cuba after the event, the family had to think carefully about every word they said in public. “They asked us nonsense to see if they could incriminate us.”
Finally, she and her husband were expelled from their jobs: she as an architect in a construction company in Cayo Santa María and he as a hydraulic engineer in the International Economic Association of the municipality. From there, everything became more difficult.
Before the family realized it, they had filled the front of the house with revolutionary slogans, and only their written word “Homeland” could be seen / 14ymedio / Courtesy
I have recordings of conversations at work where they tell us that it was an order from the Government, that they were ordered to chuck us out and that they were not interested in our job performance, just that we had to get out of there. Then we couldn’t find work; we were abandoned,” she relates.
“I tried a job as a photographer, but first they didn’t want to give me the license and then, when I insisted so much that they gave it to me, they did everything possible so that I didn’t have clients.” For the family, carrying out any procedure was an ordeal, since the authorities got in the way of every step. “If it took two days for a person to get a document in the civil registry, it would take me two months or more. When I applied for a passport, they didn’t want to give it to me either, because I was ’regulated’ (forbidden to leave the country), and I had to call many institutions and insist strongly that they give it to me,” she explains.
Two years after the protests, when her husband finally got the humanitarian parole to travel to the United States, the family had by then lost contact with many relatives, lost their professional careers and sold their property – including the house where they painted the sign – “to be able to eat.”
“Now I’m with my daughter in the Dominican Republic waiting for the parole to come to me as well. Of course, I arrived legally,” she explains. “In Cuba, with a government that is not worried about an architect and her family dying of hunger, we could not stay.”
Translated by Regina Anavy
____________
COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORK: The 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.
Coveted by clients, merchants and informal sellers, the tuber has also been the motive for several crimes on the Island.
A truck loaded with potatoes supplies the agromarket on Camilo Cienfuegos Avenue, in Lawton, Havana / 14ymedio
14ymedio, Havana, 17 April 2024 — The potato harvest during this year’s campaign in the fields of Artemisa has been a failure. This is admitted by the official press, which reports that of the 5,600 tons projected for harvest in the municipalities of Güira de Melena, San Antonio de los Baños and Alquízar, only 3,600 tons were obtained.
According to the official media El Artemiseño, Miguel Sánchez García, general director of the Agricultural and Forestry Business Group of the province, said that the biggest problem of the harvest was that the 280 hectares (692 acres) planted, of which 270 (667 acres) have been collected, did not yield as expected, and barely 14.5 tons were obtained from each.
However, the manager is clear about the causes of this disaster: “We couldn’t apply the 16 irrigation sprinklers due to the continuous electrical impairments just when the crop needed it most; on top of that, the rains caused rot,” Sánchez said, blaming the country’s energy situation.
Although the potatoes harvested from state seeds complied with the plan, the imported seed did not. There were eight electrical interruptions at the peak of the growing cycle,” he lamented. continue reading
During this season, in which Cubans chase after potatoes and pay scandalous prices for them, customers notice not only their quantity but also their quality
The authorities insisted, despite the obvious losses, that in many parts of the province the national average for the potato harvest, which didn’t reach 10 tons per hectare (2.5 acres), was exceeded and even doubled.
With the tubers collected, “the potato has been guaranteed for the standard family basket of the province, seven markets in Havana and the Frutas Selectas Company,” in addition to the fact that, “since the beginning of the harvest, eight pounds of potatoes have been distributed to each person in the province,” celebrates the local newspaper.
During this season, in which Cubans chase after potatoes and pay scandalous prices for them, customers notice not only their quantity but also their quality. In the Cuban capital, for example, many complain that the tuber requires a lot of cooking time to soften properly. As confirmed this week by 14ymedio, the price of a pound of potatoes in the markets is 180 pesos.
Sought after by customers, merchants and informal sellers, the potato has also been the motive of several crimes on the Island. The most recent example: the theft of 1,293 pounds in the Havana municipality of Plaza de la Revolución last March. Destined for the 431 residents of the area, the potatoes disappeared after multiple “violations” that left a notable shortage.
The administrator of the market where the robbery occurred was arrested and taken to the Zapata and C station, according to the official website of the municipal government, which assured that the event would be investigated. After an inspection at the premises, “an adulterated weight” was found that served to give customers a lower quota than they were entitled to.
However, the figures offered by Sánchez García were higher than those published on the Council’s page and were taken up in a report by Tribuna de La Habana. According to the preliminary count, it said, 1,609 pounds of the tuber were missing, destined for 536 consumers.
Another article published in Tribuna weeks ago warned about the theft of potatoes from state refrigerators, “where the tubers selected for seed for later harvests or reserves that allow normal distribution are concentrated.” The note regretted that, with the disappearance of the Soviet Union – which was supplying the Island “throughout the year” – potatoes have gone from piling up “rotting in sacks in front of any food stall” to being a “strategic” food.
Translated by Regina Anavy
____________
COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORK: The 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 Friday, the regime also announced the dismissal of Manuel René Pérez Gallego in Las Tunas after 19 years in office
Ernesto Santiesteban Velázquez (center) next to Joel Queipo Ruiz (right) / Roberto Morales Ojeda
14ymedio, Havana, April 21, 2024 — The Communist Party of Cuba (PCC) dismissed Ernesto Santiesteban Velázquez this Saturday as first secretary in the province of Holguín, the second dismissal of this type in the week and the seventh so far this year. The position will be held by Joel Queipo Ruiz who, according to the PCC, “has maintained a link with the province in complex moments such as COVID-19.”
Queipo Ruiz, 52, served as a member of the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Party and head of its Productive Economic Department. The regime highlights his 28 years of experience in political direction, “initially in the Union of Young Communists (UJC) where he came to serve as first secretary of the provincial committee in Havana and as a member of the National Bureau to attend to the ideological sphere.” In addition, he is a deputy of the National Assembly of People’s Power and states that he has a master’s degree in nuclear physics.
Queipo Ruiz served as a member of the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Party and head of its Productive Economic Department
About Santiesteban Velázquez, who took office on June 26, 2018, it was said only that “he will be assigned other responsibilities in the auxiliary structure of the Central Committee,” without specifying what they will be.
The dismissal of Velázquez, which the regime proclaims as the “integral strategy for the policy of cadres,” is in addition to those carried out in recent weeks in Havana, Matanzas, Santiago de Cuba, Cienfuegos and Ciego de Ávila. continue reading
Last Friday, the first secretary of the PCC in the province of Las Tunas, Manuel René Pérez Gallego, was also dismissed after 19 years in office. His place was occupied by Walter Simón Noris, who was a member of the PCC executive bureau in Camagüey.
At the beginning of April, the first secretary of Mantua, in Pinar del Río, Liusmara Rodríguez Soriano, was dismissed. A source told 14ymedio that this was a result of the official’s poor management in the territory.
Last Friday, the first secretary of the PCC in the province of Las Tunas, Manuel René Pérez Gallego, was also dismissed after 19 years in office
“He made a lot of mistakes. There have been more homes affected by floods and cyclones in recent years in the municipality. There are still people who have been asking for materials and help to repair their little house for ten years and more,” said the source from Pinar del Río. In addition, “he gave power to people who used cement and roofs as if this were a private farm.”
Last February, three ministers were dismissed, one of them – the former head of Economy and former deputy prime minister Alejandro Gil – who is under investigation for an alleged crime of corruption, as announced a month later.
COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORK: The 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 activist’s daughter, Rufina Velázquez, confirmed the information through her Facebook account
Ramón Jesús Velázquez Tamayo with his daughter, Rufina Velázquez, after returning to the United States / Rufina Velázquez
14ymedio, Havana, 21 April 2024 — The activist and former Cuban political prisoner, Ramón Jesús Velázquez Toranzo, returned to the United States this Saturday when he was released by State Security after being imprisoned for more than a month in Villa Marista, in Havana. The news was confirmed by his daughter Rufina Velázquez through her Facebook account, this Saturday afternoon.
Velázquez Toranzo had returned to the Island from the United States, where he lives, and was arrested on March 8 at the Sanctuary of the Virgin of Charity del Cobre, in Santiago de Cuba after calling for a peaceful march in the church to pray for Cuba. He was accompanied by his wife, Bárbara María González Cruz, one of his children, René Ramón Velázquez González, and a niece, Lorena Velázquez Hechavarría.
The old man is at home! In the land of freedom and stronger than ever
Apparently, the opponent traveled immediately after his release, on April 19. “The old man is at home! In the land of freedom and stronger than ever. It was fast yesterday, and he wanted to be at home before giving the news. With an unbreakable spirit, as always,” the daughter added in a post accompanied by a photo of both of them. continue reading
Two days ago, Rufina Velázquez shared a video where she explained that her brother had been informed that she could visit Velázquez Toranzo on April 19 and that, after the visit, she could offer more details about her father’s status.
After the arrest, the Catholic missionary was taken to the headquarters of State Security, Villa Marista, in Havana. As a sign of protest against the arbitrary decision, he went on a hunger strike which led to him to need medical attention and exacerbated his skin cancer.
The only thing they have told him is that they will release him, but only with a forced exile, that is, completely banished, without being able to return to Cuba
State Security said that the reason for the arrest, as Rufina Velázquez told Radio Martí, was “inciting the people and involving a minor.” “The only thing they have told him is that they will release him, but only with a forced exile, that is, completely banished, without being able to return to Cuba, and my father does not accept this condition,” the daughter stressed.
During the month of March, protests took place in several provinces to demand electricity, food and freedom. Prisoners Defenders (PD) counted 38 detainees up to the 25th of that month, most of them in Holguín (13) and Santiago de Cuba (12).
The report published by PD every month, pointed out that up to February there were 1,066 political prisoners in Cuba. The document
says that of the total number of detainees, 33 are minors and of them, 29 are serving sentences “for sedition.”
Translated by Regina Anavy
____________
COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORK: The 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 thousands of Cubans who reside in the country remain, as well as 53 doctors on an international mission
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has published a multitude of images promoting the return of Cubans stranded in Haiti / Cuban Foreign Ministry
EFE/14ymedio, Port-au-Prince, 22 April 2024 — The Government of Cuba, on Sunday night, “successfully” concluded the repatriation of the 248 citizens who had been stranded in Haiti for more than a month due to the serious security crisis in that country. The last three groups – out of a total of six – arrived today on two flights of the Haitian airline Sunrise, two to the city of Camagüey and one to Santiago de Cuba.
Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel wrote on X that he “successfully concluded the safe transfer to Cuba, by air, of Cuban citizens who were in Haiti.”
In similar terms, the Cuban Foreign Minister, Bruno Rodríguez, thanked “the Haitian entities involved” and congratulated the Cuban embassy in Haiti.
Bruno Rodríguez thanked “the Haitian entities involved” and congratulated the Cuban embassy in Haiti
A statement released by the local Foreign Ministry explained that the Cuban diplomatic legation made “systematic arrangements” with Sunrise Airlines, which had transported the Cubans to Haiti and agreed to”keep the option of returning them to Cuba” when “the conditions were created to do so.” continue reading
He said that the Cuban State “paid for this unique operation for all stranded Cubans who voluntarily took this alternative” on six flights to Camagüey and Santiago de Cuba since last Friday.
He also stated that because Port-au-Prince’s Toussaint Louverture International Airport has been closed, it was not possible to guarantee repatriation by that route.
Therefore, the embassy “coordinated the voluntary departure of Cuban citizens by land to the city of Cape Haitiano,” from where they returned.
In addition to the Cubans who had traveled to Haiti to buy items that are scarce in their country and resell them on their return, several thousand Cubans and 53 Cuban health professionals on a medical mission reside in Haiti.
One of them celebrated the operation on the Foreign Ministry’s website but also remembered those who remain there. “Excellent mission, but there are still more than 200 Cubans living in Haiti. It is worth noting that these flights were planned by Sunrise Airlines for passengers who had tickets to Cuba before and after the date of the closure of the Toussaint Louverture international airport in the Haitian capital,” he said.
“Excellent mission; there are still more than 200 Cubans living in Haiti
The new episode of violence in Haiti broke out at the end of February after the escape of 3,000 prisoners from two prisons in Port-au-Prince, including gang leaders who regained control of their territories.
Since then, the governments of different countries have proceeded to evacuate their citizens by different means, while Cubans have had to wait more than 50 days, desperate due to the lack of money.
At the beginning of April, several of them published a video on social networks in which they urged the Island’s authorities to take more forceful measures to rescue them. “All countries have already taken their citizens out of here. We are the only ones left,” they claimed.
The Haitian Prime Minister, Ariel Henry, resigned shortly thereafter, and a nine-member transitional presidential council must now seek a replacement.
Translated by Regina Anavy
____________
COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORK: The 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 deplorable condition of the nursing home of the municipality of Primero de Enero was what most horrified the prime minister
At the exit of a medical center, an 85-year-old man approached the minister and let fly a litany of ailments / Manuel Marrero Cruz
14ymedio, Havana, April 20, 2024 — With an entourage of eleven ministers, three deputy prime ministers and twenty senior officials, Manuel Marrero left Ciego de Ávila this Friday dissatisfied with the results of the province and leaving behind a trail of slogans and catchphrases. “We’re not here to ask for the impossible,” “Efficiency does not depend on good luck” and “We have to get our act together” were some of the “tips” he offered in what – the official press emphasizes – is his third annual visit to make sure the cadres understand that the country is living in a “war economy.”
“We have focused on what has not been done,” Marrero said, explaining the “method” of his entourage to “correct distortions and boost the economy.” The deplorable condition of the nursing home of the municipality of Primero de Enero in Avila was what most horrified the prime minister, Invasor admits. “We can’t sleep peacefully,” the ruler concluded.
Deficient food and buildings in poor condition, two characteristics that also affect, according to the provincial Communist Party newspaper, “maternity centers, children without family protection, grandparents’ homes, homeless and psychiatric centers.” The situation is so alarming that the leader ordered them to “change their godfather” because of the “poor attention given to them by the Bocanaza cooperative, from the territory itself.”
Marrero, whose entourage contained deputy prime ministers Inés María Chapman, Jorge Luis Tapia Fonseca and Jorge Luis Perdomo Di-Lella, said he urged local leaders to “come up with a plan of measures to solve the problems.” continue reading
“Review the statistics and check on the ground that they are true, because the people can’t eat statistics,” Tapia Fonseca said
“Review the statistics and check on the ground that they are true, because the people can’t eat statistics,” said Tapia Fonseca, “with his usual eloquence,” adds Invasor. The numbers are, in fact, serious. The newspaper itself regretted in March that the livestock of Ciego de Ávila has decreased in the last 12 years by more than 5,100 animals each year, and that it has just 12,300 liters (3,249 gallons) of milk a day, half of what it should offer.
Marrero combined voluntarism* and scolding in each of the meetings, especially during those he held with the agricultural and industrial sector, which fail to “shake off the damage of decades.”
He verified, inspecting the situation of the sugar harvest, that the Ecuador sugar mill is “unstable” and that the Ciro Redondo – on which the hopes for the harvest depended- is “a giant with feet of clay, unable to function because the synchronization with the surrounding bioelectric plant has not been made effective.”
Chapman, who moved away from the entourage to inspect the municipality of Florencia, was not optimistic in his evaluation either: not only the drought, but also the terrible management of Water Resources in the province, have caused a critical water shortage. The main reservoir of the municipality only has 7 million cubic meters of water, when it should have 30 million. The local managers defended themselves: they have broken pipes and no pumping equipment.
In addition, they said , the little fuel available to Hydraulic Resources is spent on moving the tanker trucks that distribute water to the 6,500 residents in Florence who “officially” lack it.
The only discreet success of the municipality is its canning factory, which fulfilled its plan of 500 tons of tomato puree
The only discreet success of the municipality is its canning factory, which fulfilled its plan of 500 tons of tomato puree in the first quarter of the year. However, it is not known what happened to the product, because they were “hit” with the lack of packaging to market it.
For his part, the Minister of Public Health, José Ángel Portal Miranda, visited the psychiatric hospital of Ciego de Ávila. The “problems” were multiple. They do not have nurses or custodians; it has not been repaired in more than 20 years and lacks medicines, its managers admitted to the official. “By not having all the medicines we need, it is difficult to get patients to improve, and that is why admission times have increased,” said one of the doctors.
Even more alarming is the situation of the patients: seven malnourished and 10 “with a weight less than recommended.” The lack of food has become one of the “triggering factors of psychosis.” Upon leaving the medical center, an 85-year-old man approached the minister, the newspaper says, and described a litany of ailments with no apparent solution.
The conclusion of Portal Miranda, quoted by Invasor, is not good news for the sick: “Althout the intention is to reinsert them into their family as soon as possible, some will be admitted here for a long stay.”
* Translator’s note: In other words, it’s the responsibility of the provincial leaders, rather than the State, to solve problems.
Translated by Regina Anavy
_______________
COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORK: The 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.
René Pérez Gallego, who will have “other responsibilities,” will be replaced by Walter Simón Noris
Pérez Gallego, the former first secretary of the province, was dismissed without explanation /Periódico 26
EFE (via 14ymedio), Havana, April 20, 2024 — The Communist Party of Cuba (PCC) reported this Friday the dismissal of its first secretary in the province of Las Tunas, Manuel René Pérez Gallego. The official was “liberated” from his tasks – a euphemism commonly used to refer to the dismissal of officials – after a meeting of the provincial committee in Las Tunas, chaired by the secretary of organization of the Central Committee of the PCC, according to a statement by the Party. “The dedication of Pérez Gallego to the tasks of the partisan organization in the province for 19 years was recognized, and he will be assigned other responsibilities,” it added, without specifying his new designation.
Walter Simón Noris, 54, a graduate in Physical Culture, who until now was a member of the executive bureau in the Party committee in the province of Camagüey, will be the new first secretary in the province.
Noris has “30 years of experience in political management, where he has had an upward transition”
According to the report, Noris has “30 years of experience in political management and has had an upward transition.”
This new replacement in a position of provincial leadership of the Communist Party is in addition to those carried out in recent weeks in Havana, Matanzas, Santiago de Cuba, Cienfuegos and Ciego de Ávila.
The last to be dismissed, at the beginning of April, was the first secretary of Mantua, in Pinar del Río, Liusmara Rodríguez Soriano. 14ymedio’s source in the municipality said that he was removed because of mismanagement in the territory. “He made a lot of mistakes. Homes affected by floods and hurricanes have been added in recent years in the municipality; there are still people who have been asking for materials and help to repair their houses for ten years and more,” he said. continue reading
“In the distribution of materials, Liusmara privileged his people, gave power to people who used cement and roofs as if this were a private farm. There was a lot of discomfort and strong rumors of the diversion of resources destined for those affected,” he added, so his dismissal could be a consequence of that “dubious management.”
In recent months there has been an unusual number of changes in political figures in Cuba
In recent months there has been an unusual number of changes in political figures in Cuba, both within the party and in several ministries, although the regime assures that this is “standard” operating procedure for updating positions.
In February alone, three ministers were dismissed, and one of them -the prime minister of Economy, Alejandro Gil – is under investigation for an alleged crime of corruption, as announced a month later.
Likewise, in recent weeks, the president of the National Association of Small Farmers (ANAP), a trade union organization in the orbit of the PCC, was also replaced.
Translated by Regina Anavy
____________
COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORK: The 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.
Prisoners Defenders corrects the version disseminated by some media and specifies that this measure also affects all “representatives of the regime”
In November 2023, several Cuban deputies, including the secretary of the Assembly, Homero Acosta, were received in the European Parliament. Such a visit will no longer be possible / National Assembly of People’s Power
14ymedio, Havana, 20 April 2024 — The Cuban NGO Prisoners Defenders (PD) asked this Saturday for a correction from the agencies and media that disseminated in a “misrepresented” way, this week, the decision of the European Parliament to prevent access to its facilities by representatives of the Cuba’s National Assembly of People’s Power. It clarifies, citing the minutes of the session, that the European Parliament took the measure not only against the parliamentarians of the Island, but also against the “representatives of the Cuban regime,” and not “temporarily,” but for an indefinite period.
“Someone in the European Parliament has misrepresented the news in a sub-committee, sending a false text to certain foreign press correspondents,” Javier Larrondo, director of PD, explained to this newspaper. “It is incorrect and does not conform to what was approved.”
“From April 1 we have had the press release prepared, waiting to receive the minutes, to know that we were saying exactly the right thing. We didn’t want to speculate in that press release,” Larrondo continued, alluding to the information published by PD about the measure. “We always verify everything,” he emphasizes. continue reading
The measure had been promoted by MEP Javier Nart after the resolution adopted by the European Parliament
This week, agencies such as EFE and other press media reported – citing “sources of the institution” – that the European Parliament banned members of the Cuban Parliament from entering its facilities on March 14 as part of several “temporary reciprocity measures with respect to the members of the Cuban Assembly, while members of the European Parliament are prohibited from visiting Cuba.”
The measure had been promoted by MEP Javier Nart after the resolution adopted by the European Parliament on February 29, 2024 against the systematic violation of human rights by Cuban regime.
Larrondo explains that PD was extremely careful with the publication of the announcement, since it was “vital” that nothing failed in its dissemination. It also regrets that the independent press – including several Cuban media – published the agencies’ information without verifying it.
“With the issue of Cuba, many people want to downplay what happens. In Europe, access has been prohibited to all representatives of the Cuban Government and the Cuban regime, with these words, and this is for an indefinite period of time. It is conditioned on their respect for European parliamentarians and has nothing to do with what a person from the European Parliament conveyed to the agencies and media, who has misrepresented the information and caused confusion,” summarizes Larrondo.
Cited by PD, the minutes of the Conference of Presidents of the European Parliament recalled that the Cuban regime denied the entry of “certain deputies” to the Island between December 14 and 17, 2023, a veto that was ratified by the Ambassador of Cuba before the European Parliament.
On February 29 of this year, the body approved a resolution on the “critical situation” in the country – including the prohibition of representatives of the regime from entering the European Parliament – and facilitated an “exchange of views” between several European parliamentary groups. After that meeting, attention was drawn to “the need for a coherent approach when third countries hinder the access of official delegations of the European Parliament.”
The group of European deputies who were going to visit the Island in December 2023 was chaired by Nart
The group of European deputies who were going to visit the Island in December 2023 was chaired by Nart. The program to be established by the Delegation was the usual one,” explains PD: “I meet the official institutions (President of the Republic of Cuba, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Justice, President of the National Assembly of the People’s Power of Cuba) as well as with the people and institutions that fight for democratic freedoms (Sakharov awards, relatives of detainees of the 11J, representatives of the main religious organizations, journalists). This is a work program based on democracy, transparency and freedom.”
However, the regime canceled the visit and sent a letter that the European Parliament described as “unacceptable.” In November 2023, European parliamentarians stressed, several Cuban deputies – among them the secretary of the Assembly, Homero Acosta – visited the organization’s facilities and received “respectful treatment and a warm welcome.”
Translated by Regina Anavy
____________
COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORK: The 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.
Neither the local authorities nor the company Aguas de La Habana have taken measures to fix the pothole / 14ymedio
14ymedio, Pedro Espinosa, Havana, 18 April 2024 — Open and full of puddles, the hole has been there for “a thousand years.” In reality, the neighbors say, it’s been about five, but it gives the impression of having always been there, in the middle of a street – in itself very mistreated – of the Havanan municipality of Cerro.
Five days after the video of children using the hole as an improvised swimming pool circulated on social networks, neither the local authorities nor the company Aguas de La Habana have taken measures to fix the hole. In the video, neighborhood children are throwing themselves, as if it were a spa, into the pond of water, which is suspiciously blue.
“It even gave birth to a few pumpkin plants,” a neighbor tells 14ymedio, referring to the hole as a kind of miniature world. “Aguas de La Habana came a month ago and put in a pipe, but evidently it leaks,” he adds, pointing to the chocolate edges of the puddle, where dirt and garbage accumulate.
The pothole is so imposing that it prevents the passage of bigger vehicles, such as cars or buses. If someone comes by motorcycle or bicycle, they can test their sense of balance and perform an evasive maneuver that involves invading the sidewalk. Pedestrians, in the face of that panorama, do not have it easy either. continue reading
On rainy days, the mud that accumulates around the edge is a danger. Huge lumps of debris and asphalt are also obstacles. “It looks like they threw a bomb,” says another neighbor, to whom the hole reminds him of the trench of any war movie or – when a downpour coincides with the leak – Niagara Falls.
“Everyone protests, everyone complains, but nothing happens,” complains another disappointed resident in the neighborhood, who says he is dismayed by a recent statement by the director of Aguas de La Habana that he heard on television: “There is no challenge that we have not met.”
The hole is the delight of mosquitoes, rats and cockroaches, which lay eggs in the corners. It is one of the most obvious sources of disease in Cerro, but that doesn’t seem to worry the leaders either. “When there’s water the hole fills up and the kids jump in,” he says in horror. That’s what happened a week ago, when someone from the neighborhood recorded the grotesque show of the bathers.
But the pothole is only the beginning – and perhaps the epicenter – of the disaster of the roads of Cerro. Beyond, between the weeds and the cracked sidewalks, there are buildings that have not been maintained for decades. Cerro was said to have “the key,” alluding to the fact that it was – since colonial times – the starting point of the Havana viaducts.
The famous Albear aqueduct was built there, at the time a marvel of Cuban architecture, and other important hydraulic engineering works. Of that traditional prosperity, marked by its proximity to water sources, there is no other trace than the pothole converted into a swimming pool.
Translated by Regina Anavy
____________
COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORK: The 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.
Both parties seek to collaborate more in the exchange of information about fugitives and establish real-time communication between their border police
Dressed in white jumpsuits, flip-flops and wearing masks, the ’balseros’ land in Cuba /14ymedio
14ymedio, Havana, 18 April 2024 — Havana wants to tie up the loose ends of the migration issue with Washington, fine-tune the process of intercepting rafters in the Florida Straits, facilitate cooperation over crime, and create a “real-time” communication system between the border police of Cuba and the United States. These were some of the issues that, this Wednesday, the delegations of both countries discussed during the round of talks held in the U.S. capital. An official of the State Department told Martí Noticias, on condition of anonymity, that these issues – to which the statement of the Cuban Foreign Ministry on the meeting does not specifically refer – point above all to the legal sphere and immigration fraud.
“The effective cooperation in criminal matters can sometimes include exchange, such as information about fugitives and other wanted people, or real-time communication between the United States Coast Guard and the Cuban Border Guard to detect people smugglers or drug traffickers,” the official explained.
These are “routine discussions,” but they are aimed at strengthening the collaboration between Havana and Washington, although the Cuban side declares that the United States refuses to talk about what really interests them: the embargo, to which it attributes the causes of the immigration stampede. continue reading
The U.S. delegation was also interested, says the official, in the security of Washington diplomats in the Cuban capital
The U.S. delegation was also interested, says the official, in the security of Washington’s diplomats in the Cuban capital. “Establishing and increasing channels of police cooperation to better address transnational threats is not at the expense of promoting respect for human rights,” he concluded.
In a press release about the talks, the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Deputy Minister Carlos Fernández de Cossío was in charge of presiding over the Island’s delegation and talking with Eric Jacobstein, Deputy Undersecretary of State in the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs of the United States.
According to Fernández de Cossío, the meeting served to “review the state of compliance with the bilateral Migration Agreements” and for Cuba to express “its concern about the policies and measures to stimulate irregular migration that remain in force by political decision of the U.S. Government.”
Along with the ’blockade’*, Fernández de Cossío was tasked with discussing with Washington the “permanence of the country on the so-called List of State Sponsors of Terrorism,” in addition to the “preferential treatment” that, in the opinion of the Foreign Ministry, is given to the many Cubans who “illegally” enter the United States.
Despite the disagreements expressed by the Cuban side, the truth is that the mechanism of deportation of rafters caught on the high seas is well greased. The continuous reports of the U.S. Coast Guard, which publishes not only the number of migrants it arrests but also photos of the precarious boats with which they flee the Island, attest that the Joe Biden Administration is completely engaged in the fulfillment of its dealings with Havana.
So far in April, according to the Border Patrol, 47 rafters whose return is imminent have been intercepted. Local authorities, such as Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, are also in tune with Havana in that sense: “We do not tolerate illegal immigration, much less anarchy at the hands of illegal foreigners.”
Cubans, for their part, have become accustomed to the notifications of deportation that are often published by the official press, which always contain deterrent warnings for those who plan to jump into the sea.
Cubans, on the other hand, have become accustomed to the notifications of deportation that are often published by the official press
On a personal level, for the frustrated rafters, the failure of their entry into the United States and their deportation represent a mark on their record with the Cuban Police, who do not lose track of them on their return. Photographs published by the official press and international agencies show how the process unfolds.
Dressed in white jumpsuits, flip-flops and wearing masks, they are received in the port – often that of Orozco, in Artemisa – by a group of soldiers, doctors and agents of the State Security. The “module” of clothes, which the United States delivers to them before returning to the Island, is the only thing they wear when they arrive at the Immigration office of Factor and Final, in Nuevo Vedado, Havana, where they are processed.
Usually they leave the facilities without money, and they appeal to the residents in the vicinity to be able to return to their homes or, if they do not have one, to the home of a family member. Factor and Final, an office previously open to the public for immigration procedures, is now the return door for the deportees. There, after closing the narrow alley to avoid curious glances, the rafters arrive in buses and with police escort.
*Translator’s note: There is, in fact, no US ‘blockade’ on Cuba, but this continues to be the term the Cuban government prefers to apply to the US embargo. Originally imposed in 1962, the embargo, although modified from time to time, is still in force.
Translated by Regina Anavy
____________
COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORK: The 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 manages to qualify for the World Championship after defeating the Dominican Republic
Lázaro Castro, 27, is the fourth Cuban to take advantage of training to escape / X/@DeportesAndy
14ymedio, Havana, 18 April 2024 — The defender Lázaro Castro abandoned the Cuban football (soccer) team in Managua, Nicaragua, just before Wednesday’s match against the Dominican Republic, decisive to qualify for the Football World Cup to be held in Uzbekistan. According to journalist Andy Lans, with the abandonment of this 27-year-old from Pinar del Río, Cuba’s representation led by Osmel Valdivia is left with 13 athletes.
With the agreement between Miguel Díaz-Canel and Daniel Ortega in 2021, Nicaragua does not require a visa for Cubans and has become the springboard for citizens of the Island to reach the United States by land.
Thus, Cuba “added to an endless list of athletes who abandon or break relations with the different federations to seek a better future in other countries,” published Swing Completo. The same independent media counted the escape of 75 athletes in December last year. continue reading
The Cuban national team got its ticket to the World Cup after beating the Dominican Republic by 2 to 1 / Jit
This Wednesday, Cuba overtook the Dominicans 2-1 and got its World Cup ticket, but it still has to play this Thursday to pass to the final against Costa Rica. The official media Jit highlighted the return of the Island to the World Cup, an event for which it had not qualified since Colombia 2016. Previously Cuba took part in Brazil 2018, China, Taipei 2004, Guatemala 2000 and Spain 1996.
With the escape of Lázaro Castro, there are now four dropouts recorded this year. Last February, the gold medalist at the Central American and Caribbean Games in San Salvador, Osmany Diversent, escaped before his participation in the Pan American Olympic Qualifying tournament.
The digital creator Roly Dámaso, who closely followed the incidents of the competition, also reported the escape of Susana Martínez and Santiago Hernández “Santiaguito”at the beginning of February. Martínez traveled to Mexico to support the training of Yusneylis Guzmán (in the 50 kg category), Laura Herin (53 kg), Ángela Álvarez (57 kg), María Santana (62 kg) and Brenda Sterling (68 kg).
Meanwhile, Hernández did not even wait for his luggage and went out into the street, leaving the Island without the possibility of qualifying in the 57-kg category at the Olympic Games in Paris 2024.
Dámaso attributed the escapes to the fact that “young people are tired of so much socialism and the promises that never arrived.”
Translated by Regina Anavy
____________
COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORK: The 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.
Catcher Reinier Vera is pointed out as one of the historical players of the national team / Jit
14ymedio, Havana, 15 April 2024 — The failure of the Cuban national softball team in the Pan American Tournament of Sincelejo, Colombia, and in the Central American and Caribbean Games in San Salvador, where it did not win medals, will have consequences. “We will take action,” the National Softball Commissioner, Maikel Ibargüen Shue, journalist Guillermo Rodríguez Hidalgo insisted on Radio Rebelde.
The manager acknowledged the lack of international tournaments prior to the event in Colombia but denied that it was the cause of the bad results. “It wasn’t that, many things have happened,” he said, without indicating which ones. The team led by Leonardo Cárdenas ended its participation in Colombia with four wins and the same number of defeats. Cuba could not get any of the five tickets for the World Cup of the specialty.
However, Rodríguez Hidalgo estimates that part of the failure of softball internationally is due to “how little is played within our country,” where a national championship has not been held in the last two years. “To this we must add that we are in the presence of an aging team, in which the average age exceeds 35 years.” continue reading
The defeat, according to the Swing Completo portal, made the Island team face the “reality” that “it is no longer a favorite against the other teams in the area”
A fan identified as Juan Carlos agreed with the journalist that a renewal of the national team is urgently needed. Young people, who are usually the main competitors, have been moving away from a sport that has been forgotten by Cuban managers. “The headquarters in Ciego de Ávila is not ideal.”
The defeat, according to the Swing Completo portal, made the Island team face the “reality” that “it is no longer a favorite against the other teams in the area.” For Ibargüen Shue, all that remains is to “prepare for the new Olympic cycle.”
For its part, the Cuban official media Jitonly highlighted the performance of Alain Román, from Ciego de Ávila, who opened the eight games of Cuba in the qualifying phase and achieved four victories. In addition, the national representative won fifth place in the last world contest held in Auckland, New Zealand (2022).
The best result on the Island was recorded in 1988, when it obtained fourth place in Saskatoon, Canada.
Translated by Regina Anavy
____________
COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORK: The 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.
Several families, mostly Cuban, at the Miami airport waiting for the arrival of their loved ones, beneficiaries of the humanitarian ’parole’ / 14ymedio
In addition, 168,000 Haitians, 77,000 Nicaraguans and 102,000 Venezuelans were also processed and authorized to travel. Of them, 14,000 from Haiti, 8,000 from Nicaragua and another 7,000 from Venezuela are expected to arrive in the United States.
After ending Title 42 – a rule created by the Trump Administration for the immediate return of migrants during the pandemic -in January 2023, Washington decided to open to applicants from Cuba, Haiti and Nicaragua a special permit or humanitarian parole that it had previously initiated with Ukraine and Venezuela.
At the end of last month, the legal entry of 404,000 Cuban, Haitian, Nicaraguan and Venezuelan migrants was recorded through the parole program. According to CBP, 54,000 Haitians, 69,000 Nicaraguans and 95,000 Venezuelans managed to enter the United States, after completing the selection process. continue reading
At the end of last month, the legal entry of 404,000 Cuban, Haitian, Nicaraguan and Venezuelan migrants was recorded through the parole program
The agency also reported that so far, more than 547,000 migrants have successfully scheduled asylum appointments on the southern border through the CBP One application. Of these, 44,100 applicants were processed at points of entry last month.
Similarly, in their report, U.S. authorities reported irregular entries of 19,000 migrants last March. Of these, 13,411 came across the southern border; 5,323 entered through Florida (Miami Sector and Miami Field Office), which includes an unspecified number of arrivals by sea. In addition, 631 arrived in Tampa, which reported 4,241 cases in the fiscal year that began in October 2023.
The U.S. Government also reported in the same month the admission of 110 unaccompanied minors, totaling 791 in five months. Last year there were 1,395, a record number.
The information comes after the controversy that arose over denials of humanitarian parole, which Cubans, Venezuelans, Nicaraguans and Haitians have denounced this month. A spokesman for the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service told Martí Noticias that due to “a technical change to inform applicants more quickly if they are eligible, a large volume of non-confirmation notices were sent.” This is being improved.
Translated by Regina Anavy
____________
COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORK: The 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.
14ymedio, Havana,April 23, 2024 — The Cuban Observatory of Human Rights (OCDH) denounced on Monday that, “in the midst of the poverty” that the Island is experiencing, the Cuban Government “dedicates enormous resources to increase repression against intellectuals, trade unionists and independent journalists,” pointing out several repressive acts committed by the political police in recent days.
