The Political Legacy of Oswaldo Paya / 14ymedio

14YMEDIO, 22 July 2014 – On 22 July 2014, the opposition leader Oswaldo Payá and the activist Harld Cepero died. Payá led the Christian Liberation Movement and promoted the Varela Project, which managed to collect some 25,000 signatures to demand a national referendum. Freedom of expression, of association, freedom of the press and of business, … Continue reading “The Political Legacy of Oswaldo Paya / 14ymedio”

Response to my Blog Readers / Angel Santiesteban

Messages come to my blog mail, some elegant with congratulations for “my upright position” before the dictatorship; others, interested in my health, like this one that I answer in which they ask questions because they don’t understand why I’m in prison, then recognize that sometimes there are contradictions. And of course, this happens so much … Continue reading “Response to my Blog Readers / Angel Santiesteban”

Letter to Obama Sparks Controversy / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Havana | May 23, 2014 A letter published this week, signed by more than forty American personalities, asked Barack Obama to ease measures toward Cuba. In an unusual gesture of consensus, former senior U.S. politicians, military, analysts and businessmen advocate relaxing the embargo on the Island. Among the signatories are Republicans and Democrats who … Continue reading “Letter to Obama Sparks Controversy / 14ymedio”

Ladies in White Want a Meeting with Insulza During the CELAC Summit

Diario de Cuba, 23 January 2014 — The Ladies in White will seek a meeting with Jose Miguel Insulza, secretary general of the Organization of American States (OAS), during the CELAC Summit in Havana, according to what their leader, Berta Soler, told the AFP press agency this Wednesday. “We will request a meeting with Insulza, … Continue reading “Ladies in White Want a Meeting with Insulza During the CELAC Summit”

Activists and CADAL Prepare a Forum Parallel to the CELAC Summit in Havana

The Democracy Bridge Program of the Center for the Opening and Development of Latin America (CADAL) and internal dissidents activists have organized the Second Democratic Forum on International Relations and Human Rights, which they are planning to coincide in Havana with the Summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC). The Summit … Continue reading “Activists and CADAL Prepare a Forum Parallel to the CELAC Summit in Havana”

Repression Against Demonstrators Reaches Barbaric Levels

MIAMI, Florida, December 12, 2013, www.cubanet.org — The worst consequences of Cuban military repression were suffered on Dec. 10, International Human Rights Day, on the eastern part of the island. More than 130 arrests were made and about 160 peaceful demonstrators beaten according to the leader of the Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU), José Daniel … Continue reading “Repression Against Demonstrators Reaches Barbaric Levels”

Eliezer Avila Commits to a Green Party / Lilianne Ruiz

Cubanet interviewed Eliezer Avila, the computer scientist who once faced Ricardo Alarcon, former president of the National Assembly. He moved to the capital in order to participate more directly in the changes in civil society. What have you been doing in your public life lately? Since I arrived in Europe I have focused on my … Continue reading “Eliezer Avila Commits to a Green Party / Lilianne Ruiz”

Father Conrado: Evangelist or Politico? / CID

By Karel Becerra * The compatriot José Conrado Rodríguez Alegre, known as Father Conrado, Catholic but above all Cuban, visited Argentina and among his activities he met in Buenos Aires with a group of Cubans and Argentinians who carry Cuba in their hearts. I went to the meeting with great interest because the Father Conrado … Continue reading “Father Conrado: Evangelist or Politico? / CID”

Prison Diary XXXIX: State Security — Factory of Detractors and Betrayers / Angel Santiesteban

Intent to discredit UNPACU (Patriotic Union of Cuba) The machinery of the Castro regime’s State Security creates detractors, traitors, and division among the opposition; this has historically been its most persistent work. We learned that to confront the designs of the Castro brothers, is to enter the hall where they teach the “instruments” of psychological … Continue reading “Prison Diary XXXIX: State Security — Factory of Detractors and Betrayers / Angel Santiesteban”

Prison Diary XVIII: Those Who Live Off The Government / Angel Santiesteban

A few days ago it was suggested to me in a letter that someday, in another government of course, I could be Minister of Culture, which I doubt because I think politics is not my thing. But if being a politician is saying what you think and going against the interests of the current president, … Continue reading “Prison Diary XVIII: Those Who Live Off The Government / Angel Santiesteban”

Declaration from Cuban Democratic Alliance on the Successful End of the Hunger Strike / ALDECU

We, the undersigned members of the plural group ALDECU (Cuban Democratic Alliance),  issue this document in order to express our deep satisfaction with the success achieved by the scores of hunger strikers belonging to the valiant Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU), headed by José Daniel Ferrer García, a member of our group. On Tuesday night ended … Continue reading “Declaration from Cuban Democratic Alliance on the Successful End of the Hunger Strike / ALDECU”

Declaration of Saratoga / Jorge Luis Garcia – Antunez

People of Cuba, people from Camaguey, and all compatriots: We are a group of peaceful human rights activists and pro-democracy opponents who today have met in the already emblematic Saratoga neighborhood in the city of Camaguey, where after fruitful exchange and work meeting, we are launching to the world this historic declaration in which we … Continue reading “Declaration of Saratoga / Jorge Luis Garcia – Antunez”

“I am not afraid to die for my father’s freedom”: Youngest hunger striker speaks / UNPACU – Patriotic Union of Cuba

In a video recorded by the Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU), Enrique Lozada speaks during his third week on hunger strike, a protest started to demand the release of his father, activist Luis Enrique Lozada Igarza, violently arrested by the political police last April 9th in Maffo, Contramaestre.  Luis Enrique is also on hunger strike … Continue reading ““I am not afraid to die for my father’s freedom”: Youngest hunger striker speaks / UNPACU – Patriotic Union of Cuba”

Welcome to Do Not Enter / Henry Constantin

La Mensura is nearly a kilometer high and 25 individual and dusty kilometers from Mayari, there in the eastern part of Holguin province, Cuba. One kilometer in height that becomes an infinite zigzag to climb, although most travelers find it easy. It is a rough hill, very rough, and guarded: the slopes are like the … Continue reading “Welcome to Do Not Enter / Henry Constantin”

My Imprisonment is an Embarrassment for the Cuban Intelligentsia #YoSoySantiesteban / Ángel Santiesteban

The writer Angel Santiesteban must turn himself in this Thursday to serve a five-year jail sentence. By Wilfredo Cancio Isla This morning, Thursday, February 28, 2013, a 46-year-old writer, considered one of the pillars of narrative of his generation, awarded the highest literary prizes of his country, will go to jail. Angel Santiesteban Prats must … Continue reading “My Imprisonment is an Embarrassment for the Cuban Intelligentsia #YoSoySantiesteban / Ángel Santiesteban”