Translating Cuba

The Bad News Is That They Have a Plan, Which Doesn’t Even Include a ‘Fraudulent Change’

They are betting everything on the only option that suits them, and they look at the examples of Ortega in Nicaragua and Maduro in Venezuela / Screen capture

14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar, Havana, April 4, 2024 — Faced with the excessive optimism of those who believe that the dictatorship is about to fall, it is necessary to warn that they have a plan. It is not about “guarding the conquests of the Revolution” or “that the flags of Marxism, Leninism continue to be hoisted over the Island.” No, they are only interested in staying in their positions, to continue enjoying the obscene attributes of power. It’s that simple, as brutal as it may seem.

When Fulgencio Batista got on a plane in the early hours of January 1, 1959, Ernesto Guevara had taken the city of Santa Clara and the United States maintained an embargo on the supply of weapons to his army.

Is there now an opposition guerrilla army taking any province of the country? Has Russia refused to send weapons to the regime?

And one wonders: is there now an opposition guerrilla army taking any province of the country? Has Russia refused to send weapons to the regime?

In order to stay in power, the Cuban dictatorship does not need to stage a “fraudulent change” because they know it would eventually mean the end of their rule. They have the experience of what happened in Spain with Suárez, in South Africa when Mandela was released and in Poland when Jaruzelski agreed to dialogue with Walesa.

They are betting everything on the only option that suits them, and they look at the examples of Ortega in Nicaragua and Maduro in Venezuela, which are, to some extent, the laboratories where they tested their future.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Cuba Blames the US for the Instability in the Delivery of Subsidized Food

The second episode of the program ’From the Presidency’ was broadcast this April 3, 2024 / Presidency Cuba/YouTube/Screen Capture

EFE/14ymedio, 5 April 2024, Havana — Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel, blamed the “recrudescence” of the United States’ economic embargo, this Thursday, for the “difficult situation” in the delivery of subsidized products through the ration card.

The president dedicated the second episode of the program Desde la Presidencia – broadcast on YouTube – to the “difficulties” in acquiring, from abroad, the products that are distributed in the so-called supply booklet, through the rationing system in force for more than 60 years on the Island.

According to Díaz-Canel, his Government spends about 230 million dollars monthly to guarantee products – rice, coffee, sugar, grains, among others – and distribute them in more than 12,000 bodegas (ration stores).

“It is a titanic task that the country is undertaking,” commented Díaz-Canel, accompanied by the head of Internal Trade, Betsy Díaz, and the first vice minister of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment, Oscar Pérez-Oliva Fraga.

Díaz-Canel acknowledged that people’s opinion about the ration booklet is “very critical and very negative,” especially due to the delays in deliveries and the decrease in quantities. continue reading

In recent weeks, the Cuban authorities have faced problems in producing subsidized bread in the basic basket due to a lack of imported flour

In the last 20 years, the rations that have decreased the most are coffee and sugar, both produced nationally, according to a study recently carried out by EFE.

In this regard, Díaz-Canel stated that “the last two years have been very complex for distribution” due to “the lack of financing to pay for freight with the loads and the lack of fuel to distribute the products once they are in the Cuban port.”

In this regard, the First Deputy Minister of Foreign Trade commented that “the inclusion of Cuba in the list of States sponsoring terrorism – prepared by the US Department of State – has been a strong blow to the finances” of the country.

Recently, Cuba formally requested powdered milk from the UN World Food Program for the first time in order to continue subsidizing this product for children under seven years of age, as revealed by EFE.

The authorities have recognized that if there is a lack of milk, the problem is not only a shortage of money to bring it from abroad. The Government has been unable to guarantee national milk in a normal way, through supporting livestock farming to produce liquid milk.

In recent weeks, the regime has also faced problems in producing subsidized bread in the basic basket due to a lack of imported flour.

The food shortage was one of the triggers for the massive anti-government protests on 11 July 2021 (’11J’), the largest in decades, and the most recent on March 17 of this year in several cities in the country.

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Peruvian Fugitive Vladimir Cerron Escaped to Cuba With the Complicity of Havana

Henry Shimabukuro, former advisor to former President Pedro Castillo, stated that Cerrón escaped to the Island / Willax Perú

14ymedio, Havana, 2 April 2024 — Two months ago, the Peruvian politician and doctor Vladimir Cerrón, a fugitive from justice in his country, boarded a “safe” vehicle – a state car outside police jurisdiction – traveling in an unknown direction. The final destination was Cuba, his “second homeland,” where he arrived in search of asylum to dodge a sentence of three years and six months in prison for corruption. Citing “sources very close” to Cerrón, this was the version of the escape that Henry Shimabukuro, former adviser to former President Pedro Castillo, gave on television this Monday. “We knew he was in Ica (central-southern Peru),” Shimabukuro explained, “but today he is in Cuba. They helped him escape to Cuba two months or a month and a half ago,” he continued, without speculating about those responsible for the alleged operation.

Until today, Cerrón – who remains very active on social networks using a VPN application to hide his location – has not denied it. His links with Cuba are multiple. Not only did he graduate as a doctor in Havana in 1997 and live there for 10 years, but his wife, Lissette Páez, is Cuban. Founder of the leftist Peru Libre party and an admirer of Fidel Castro, he has been accused of allowing the interference of Cuban agents in the department of Junín, of which he was governor.

“We knew he was in Ica (central-southern Peru),” Shimabukuro explained, “but today he is in Cuba

Shimabukuro acknowledged to journalist Beto Ortiz that the information about Cerrón’s escape was not confirmed but that time would prove him right. “The Prosecutor’s Office would have to make a very in-depth investigation to see if this happened or not,” he added, alluding to the possibility that the current president of Peru, Dina Boluarte, has provided the “safe” car in which Cerrón allegedly escaped. continue reading

The episode described by Shimabukuro has motivated a controversy about Cerrón’s ties with Boluarte – whom he criticized on X to defend Castillo – who has just renewed her cabinet in the middle of the crisis after being accused of illicit enrichment. The so-called Rolex case – over two luxury watches that she allegedly acquired – has once again plunged the Peruvian Executive into uncertainty. Boluarte’s house was raided by the Peruvian Police as part of the Prosecutor’s Office’s investigation.

Shimabukuro also referred to the Rolex case and declared that Boluarte “has been wedded to corruption.” “I have seen her with a plastic watch worth 20 soles, a dirty crochet backpack, a red bracelet, a ring and some fantasy earrings. How much is the total value not only of the Rolex watches but also of all the gold accessories she wears today? Dina has changed.”

Former Peruvian congressman Mauricio Mulder went a step further and alleged, citing his own sources, that Cerrón is “protected by Cuba” and probably also by Mexico, from where he received money.

Zamora, known as El Gallo, has an extensive history of intelligence services and collaboration with several former leaders allied to the Cuban regime

The commander of the Peruvian National Police, Víctor Zanabria, also did not know how to answer questions about the whereabouts of Cerrón. He cut short an interview on Monday when he was asked why the former governor of Junín has been a fugitive from justice for several months. The soldier was “uncomfortable and annoyed,” said the newspaper La República, and suspended communication with the interviewer. Regarding the case, he limited himself to saying that “a date cannot be set” for Cerrón’s capture. Then he hung up.

When rumors about Cerrón’s escape began to circulate last January, the newspaper Expreso published data on his proximity to Havana since 1991, when he traveled to the Island with a scholarship to study medicine. A politician since 2005 and governor in 2011, Cerrón’s career was “packed with accusations of corruption” for which he had to leave his position in 2019. In October 2023, he received a new conviction, but the Police against Organized Crime failed to capture him, and since then his protection has been attributed to “Cuban agents and members of congress from Peru Libre and Acción Popular.”

In 2021, with the arrival in Peru of the Cuban diplomat and former State Security agent Carlos Rafael Zamora to serve as ambassador of the Island in Lima, rumors about Cerrón’s contacts with Havana intensified. Zamora, known as El Gallo, has an extensive history of intelligence services and collaboration with several former leaders related to the Cuban regime, such as Evo Morales, whom he protected during his attempt at re-election as president of Bolivia in 2019.

Last January, the Peruvian Foreign Minister, Javier González, warned that if it was found that Cerrón was under the protection of Havana, Peru could break relations with Cuba.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Translated by Regina Anavy

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‘The Manzanillo Station Is Dangerous’: Damaged Tracks, Rotten Ties, Rusted Machinery

At the Manzanillo station, the illegible signage, the precariousness of the crossings and the rusted machinery make it impossible to take a quick action in case of emergency

14ymedio, Manzanillo, 1 April 2024 — An esplanade full of garbage surrounds the Manzanillo railway station, where abandonment prevails, from the old terminal to the mechanical traffic lights. Trains that arrive in that station in Granma province often suffer accidents and derailments. The most recent of them – that of the Havana-Manzanillo train, which occurred on March 26, without injuries – made the fears of those who pass daily on the damaged rails come true. The key is in the track clamping system, which has been unmaintained for decades. Light years away from modern railroad tracks, those of Cuba still use wooden ties, completely rotten in several segments and with rusty nails.

As it is common for the railroad ties to detach from the track, the correct separation between the two tracks is mismatched, and when the train arrives, it does not find a stable track for its movement. That was the cause of the derailment of March 26, in addition to the illegible signage, the precariousness of the equipment and the rusty mechanisms of the tracks, which make a quick diversion action impossible in case of emergency.

The side of the building that leads to the platform is the most dangerous: the eaves, which have been losing tiles and beams, are supported by thin wooden supports, rotted by the rain / 14ymedio

“It’s a real danger,” says Enrique, a railway worker in Manzanillo, who warns that it’s just a matter of time before the poor condition of the tracks causes a major accident. Another pressing problem is the “shameful” state of the terminal, Enrique says. The side of the building that leads to the continue reading

platform is the most dangerous: the eaves, which have been losing tiles and beams, are supported by thin wooden supports, rotted by the rain. The stench, plague of insects and pollution are also the ’daily bread’, he adds.

As it is common for the rails to detach from the track, the correct separation between the two lines is mismatched and, when the train arrives, it does not find a stable lane for its movement / 14ymedio

Now, after the accident – which stoked the concerns of railway workers as well as passengers – Enrique and his colleagues demand urgent maintenance of the structure and a solution to the mountains of garbage that, day by day, accumulate in front of the station. “The Communal Services do not have the means of transport, nor do they have enough workers to clean the solid waste found on the railroad tracks, which makes the train pass through actual landfills, with the consequent danger that this entails.”

On the other hand, “there are resources to militarize the station,” Enrique says. After some strange derailments that occurred in 2019 in several parts of the Island, for which several people were sanctioned, the authorities established a base of the Youth Labor Army (EJT) near the Manzanillo station.

The presence of the military near the tracks bothers workers such as Enrique, who despairs in the face of the unstoppable degradation of the railway infrastructure, in contrast to the neatness of the monument dedicated to the Communist militant Jesús Menéndez Larrondo, a sugar union leader, killed in 1948 at the Manzanillo station.

Monument dedicated to Jesús Menéndez Larrondo, assassinated in 1948 at Manzanillo station / 14ymedio

Translated by Regina Anavy
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‘Barbarossa’ Is Resurrected at the Yara Cinema With a Performance for the Military

The Yara cinema, minutes after the military left the premises / 14ymedio

Two days had passed since this newspaper called attention to the suspicious cloak of silence with which the regime covered the feared Barbarossa – of whom the Chilean writer Jorge Edwards even said he had “limited and influenced” the movements of Fidel Castro – during Cuba State Security’s anniversary.

It is assumed that the Armed Forces contingent had planned, well in advance, to go to the movies. Also drawing attention, in the midst of the current fuel crisis, was the deployment of four large vehicles to attend a recreational function. At the end of the event, the soldiers dispersed to the nearby food stands and, around 3:30 pm, returned to the buses.

Navy recruits, return to the buses after the screening of the documentary / 14ymedio

This Thursday morning, Prensa Latina announced the screening of Soy Barbarroja at the Yara and noted that Piñeiro had been “one of the founders” of the Cuban counterintelligence, who owed his nickname “to the color of his beard from the time he came down from the Sierra Maestra with the rank of commander.” It also alluded to his role as promoter – from a distance – of several guerrillas in Latin America. continue reading

The agency offered few details about the movie, which recycled fragments of a 1997 CNN interview with Piñeiro, in addition to recordings of his first wife, the American dancer Lorna Burdsall; his widow, the Chilean Marxist Martha Harnecker; and his daughter, economics professor Camila Piñeiro. The documentary has only been screened once, on Cuban Television, at the beginning of the year, but it was not published by the Educational Channel on YouTube, as usually happens with this type of content.

Barbarossa ’s name also did not appear in the summary of President Miguel Díaz-Canel’s speech, during a gala honoring counterintelligence in which Raúl Castro participated and where he described the history of State Security as “the most fascinating, inspiring and patriotic” of Cuban memory. For his part, the nonagenarian soldier did not get up from his seat and his speech – actually a small letter – was read by the Minister of the Interior, Lázaro Álvarez Casas.

Army officers and recruits, walking along 23rd Avenue towards the buses / 14ymedio

Piñeiro, son of wealthy Galicians and in the shadow of Castro since the times of Sierra Maestra, died in 1998 under suspicious circumstances. The official version states that “he crashed into a tree” while he was driving his car, which was foreign to his habit. Despite his absolute loyalty to the regime that he helped form, his biography is little known to most Cubans, and he has been largely absent from the festivities for the 65th anniversary of State Security.

However, legendary enmities are attributed to him and he is the protagonist of numerous conspiracy theories. One of them, in particular, points to the strange circumstances of his death after distancing himself from politics while supposedly preparing his autobiography.

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Susely Morfa Is Described as a ‘Great Leader’ by Those Firing Her As First Secretary in Matanzas, Cuba

Susely Morfa González with Roberto Morales Ojeda, secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party / Girón/Facebook/Capture

14ymedio, Havana, 31 March 2024 — Psychologist Susely Morfa González, political leader of the Island who stood out in the acts of repudiation against Cuban activists at the Summit of the Americas, in 2015 in Panama, and who served as secretary of the Communist Party (PCC) in the province of Matanzas, was dismissed from that position this Saturday.

During the dismissal ceremony, which the political organization calls a “cadre movement” in a note published in the official newspaper Girón, Susely Morfa González was described as a “great leader” as she received a barrage of praise from representatives of official Matanzas organizations.

It was Osmar Ramírez Ramírez, general secretary of the Cuban Workers’ Union who pointed out that the 42-year-old woman is “proof that the future of the Revolution is guaranteed.” “During events of great complexity such as the fire at the Supertanker Base, the floods in Carlos Rojas, or during the events of 11 July 2021 (’11J’), she has always been on the front line of combat, something that undoubtedly makes her a great leader,” he added.

This time, the “release from office,” as the ruling party usually calls this type of movement, was not led by the President Miguel Díaz-Canel, first secretary of the PCC, and as it was when José Ramón Monteagudo Ruiz was dismissed as secretary of the organization in Santiago de Cuba. In her place they appointed the then governor Beatriz Johnson Urrutia. continue reading

Osmar Ramírez Ramírez, general secretary of the Cuban Workers’ Union who pointed out that the 42-year-old woman is “proof that the future of the Revolution is guaranteed.”

Something similar happened this Saturday in Matanzas, the position left by Morfa was occupied by Mario Sabines Lorenzo, age 52, who until that day was the governor of the province and, according to Girón, is an Industrial Engineer with a Masters in Business Administration.

The meeting was led by Roberto Morales Ojeda, secretary of the Central Committee and member of the Political Bureau, who said that Morfa “has forged herself in very complex management tasks without losing sensitivity.”

Susely Morfa González became famous for her combative performance at the Summit of the Americas in Panama in which she took part in several acts of repudiation and described the activists and exiles who participated in a “lackeys, mercenaries, self-financed, underpaid by imperialism,” parallel event with civil society.

In that performance, Morfa was questioned by a journalist from a Florida media outlet, who asked her about the resources with which she had paid for her passage and stay in the Isthmus country. In the response she gave before the cameras she justified her arrival in Panama based on the payments made with her salary as a psychologist. From that reply, dozens of jokes, memes and criticisms were published on social networks in which they called her “the millionaire psychologist.”

In Cuba, a health professional at that time received a monthly salary that did not exceed the equivalent of 50 dollars at the informal exchange rate, while a round-trip ticket to Panama cost around 500 dollars.

Morfa is a member of the Central Committee of the PCC and directed the Young Communist League for several years. In addition, she is a deputy in the National Assembly of People’s Power for the Rodas municipality and a member of the Council of State since 2018.

Girón’s note does not specify what the new position the psychologist will occupy.

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Mexico Fires Hundreds of Its Own Doctors As It Prepares To Receive More Cuban Doctors

Protest of doctors and nurses who were fired in the Mexican state of Aguascalientes

14ymedio, Ángel Salinas, Mexico, 2 April 2024 — Mexican doctors belonging to the Institute of Health and Welfare (Insabi) denounce the numerous dismissals of national staff, while the Government of Andrés Manuel López Obrador prepares to receive another group of Cuban specialists. They will join their 806 compatriots, with the intention of establishing a base in the Montaña de Guerrero, an area with a high rate of poverty and insecurity due to the presence of several cartels that dispute the drug routes.

“It’s not fair,” gynecologist Andrea Peña tells 14ymedio. On Monday he accompanied the protest of 300 health workers from the High Specialty Hospital of Bajío (center of the country) who were fired, supposedly because “there is no money.”

“There are no resources for Mexican doctors, but there are resources to give money ($110) to Venezuelan, Colombian and Honduran migrants,” Peña reproaches. “The Government of López Obrador won’t authorize funds for these doctors, who were heroes in the COVID-19 pandemic; instead, he chooses to pay salaries in dollars for Cuban specialists.” continue reading

“It’s not fair,” says gynecologist Andrea Peña, who this Monday accompanied the protest of 300 doctors from the High Specialty Hospital of Bajío

The Mexican Government paid Cuba $9,667,115 between July 2022 and May 2023 for a contingent of 718 doctors, a source from the Ministry of Health who asked for anonymity told 14ymedio last July.

The payment was initially established under the name of the Cuban Medical Services Marketer, but from September it was redirected to the company Neuronic Mexicana, a subsidiary of Neuronic S.A. Cuba.

Since 2018, according to the official, Neuronic Mexicana has been a representative for the products and services of the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry of the Island, under the presidency of the Cuban Tania Guerra. The company “is in charge of receiving the salary for Cuban specialists.”

Gynecologist Andrea Peña said that last May, the “extinction” of Insabi materialized, but the agreement was to “transfer human resources, the budget of more than 100 billion pesos, the material and with it both the rights and obligations to Imss-Bienestar,” a decentralized body, to guarantee free health services and medicines, but “there was never talk of a cut.”

“Neither the Insabi nor the Imss-Bienestar has transferred the resources to the State for the people who worked under the federal E023 scheme with various profiles of health services,” the Ministry of Health of Guanajuato reported.

Peña said that three officials of the Ministry of Health appeared before those affected arguing that “there are no resources to pay their salaries”

Peña said that three officials of the Ministry of Health presented themselves to those affected arguing that “there are no resources to pay their salaries,” and the only option would be for them to fill vacancies in other states. “They want to force them to leave their homes and families,” says the health worker.

The dismissals of between 200 and 300 doctors and nurses per state were also recorded in Coahuila, Yucatan, Durango, Guanajuato, Aguascalientes, Chihuahua, Jalisco and Querétaro.

In the face of the protests, the López Obrador Administration pointed out that the affected states decided “not to participate in the ’basification’ process” (moving the doctors to other areas), and because they didn’t join the Imss-Bienestar program, “federal support was withdrawn.” He added that the doctors were notified beforehand.

The Government of Mexico offered to “hire during the second quarter of the year all the workers who are in this situation.” However, Peña says that there is no signed commitment, and “meanwhile, what they are going to live on? There is no guarantee that they will be reinstalled in their positions.”

Translated by Regina Anavy

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A Cuban Suggests ‘A Course of Detoxification From Castroism’ for Newcomers to Florida

The bad thing, says Nancy, is the perception they have in Florida of Cubans, especially newcomers / 14ymedio]

14ymedio, Alejandro Mena, Miami, 2 April 2024 — It’s been three months since Estefany (fictitious name) arrived from Cuba to the United States with the humanitarian parole established by Joe Biden’s Administration last year, and at the moment she does not seem to adapt well to the rule of law. Last week, she was fired from her job in a well-known restaurant chain after it was discovered that she stole several belongings from some of her colleagues, including an expensive Apple Watch and a jacket.

“Many Cubans take what is not theirs,” says Nancy, who tells 14ymedio about the woman with whom she worked until a few days ago. “Fortunately for her, the boy whose watch she stole didn’t want to report it, but the boss fired her immediately.”

It is a story that repeats itself. “In the pizzeria where I worked for a while there was a dishwasher who stole boxes of gloves and anything else he could find,” says Fernando, a chef who arrived in Florida from the Island two years ago by the so-called “volcano route” via Nicaragua. “And when we discovered it and the boss fired him, before leaving he complained about the salary they paid him.” continue reading

“In the pizzeria where I worked for a while there was a dishwasher who stole boxes of gloves and anything else he could find”

On Monday, two Cubans, Yasniel Acosta Prieto and Ariel Echevarría Borges, were arrested in Indian River County, Florida, when they were caught stealing correspondence from mailboxes, a federal crime in the United States. According to the report by América TeVé, they had in their possession at least 50 letters with “sensitive information” from local residents, including bank details, personal documents and checks, which, the Police warns, could be used to extort or commit some type of fraud.

“They should offer a free Castro detoxification course to all of us who emigrate,” says Fernando, “which is comprehensive. Cubans are very intoxicated with taking what is not ours. I was working in warehouses for five years, and I lived on what I stole there. I’m very embarrassed now, but at the time it seemed normal to me.”

“Most of us only come to work to try to get ahead with our families in freedom”

Almost all nationals of the Island know first-hand, or from close stories, the use of notebooks, pencils, erasers, printer paper and all stationery supplies stolen by fathers or mothers from state offices. Or the snacks they offered in the workplaces. Fernando also has a butcher friend in Miami: “Every time he was at work he stole a few pounds of meat from the customer, until one day he collided with reality. And why would he do this if he’s no longer in Cuba? The truth is that he was very damaged, like everyone else, by the Revolution.”

The bad thing, Nancy says, is the perception people in Florida have of Cubans, especially newcomers. “We are not all like that,” says this young 30-year-old mother, who was a nurse on the Island and in the United States makes a living as a waitress in several establishments, with draconian schedules. “Most of us only come to work to try to get ahead with our families in freedom.“

The unprecedented exodus that Cuba suffers mostly impacts Florida, where approximately 75% of the Island’s nationals arrive. At a congress on migration held last February in Hialeah, the authorities pointed out that in recent years the number of accidents, crime and arrests has increased. However, experts such as Jorge Duany, director of the Cuban Research Institute, say that there is not enough data to link these numbers directly to the increase in migrants.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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A Senior Official of the PCC in Pinar Del Rio Has Been Dismissed, Criticized for ‘Dubious Management’

The official press reported that Rodríguez will take on other administrative tasks / Redpinar

14ymedio, Havana, 2 April 2024 — The Communist Party of Cuba (PCC) moved the pieces on its board again on Monday, when it dismissed, just two days after the dismissal of Susely Morfa in Matanzas, its first secretary in Mantua, Pinar del Río. Liusmara Rodríguez Soriano “was released from her responsibility,” said the official press, Guerrillero, with the euphemism used by the regime to refer to the punishment of leaders who have mismanaged their territories. A source consulted by 14ymedio in Matua about Rodríguez’s dismissal says that during her time in office the official “made many mistakes. Homes affected by floods and hurricanes have been added in recent years in the municipality, and there are still people who have been asking for materials and help to repair their houses for ten years and more,” it says.

“In the distribution of materials, Liusmara gave privileges to certain people, letting them use cement and roofing materials as if this were a private farm. There was a lot of discomfort and many rumors of the diversion of resources meant for those affected,” so her dismissal could be a consequence of “dubious management.” “The red sweaters she wore, referring to Rodríguez’s clothing with revolutionary slogan, didn’t help her much.”

“In the distribution of materials, Liusmara gave privileges to certain people who used cement and roofing material as if this were a private farm”

Rodríguez, of whom not a word was said in the provincial media, will be replaced by Noel Camejo Pérez, age 44, who “accumulates experience in management. At the UJC [Union of Young Communists], he was the first secretary in Guane and a member of the Provincial Bureau. In the PCC he served as a member of the municipal bureau for the attention to political and ideological activity in the Guanero territory and as an official of the Provincial Committee in the agri-food sphere, from 2022 to the present,” Guerrillero summarized. continue reading

Rodríguez, who was recognized for her “efforts and consecration,” “will assume other tasks in the administration,” the report concluded.

The same thing happened last Saturday in Matanzas, where the first secretary of the Party, Susely Morfa – a psychologist and political leader of the Island who stood out in the acts of repudiation against Cuban activists at the Summit of the Americas, in 2015 in Panama – was dismissed from her position.

In the case of Morfa, succeeded by Mario Sabines Lorenzo, age 52, and former governor of the province, the leaders outdid themselves praising the official, described as a “great leader.” “During events of great complexity such as the fire at the Supertank Base, the floods in Carlos Rojas and even the events of 11 July [2021], she has always been on the front line of combat, something that undoubtedly makes her a great leader,” praised Osmar Ramírez Ramírez, secretary general of the Workers Union of Cuba.

The position of first secretary of the party, the direct representative of the regime’s interests in each territory, seems to be one of the most susceptible to change

The position of first secretary of the party, the direct representative of the regime’s interests in each territory, seems to be one of the most susceptible to change. Weeks ago, Liván Izquierdo, who occupied the position in Ciego de Ávila, was also “liberated.” The PCC reported that the provincial committee “agreed at the request of the Political Bureau to release the first secretary of this organization comrade Liván Izquierdo Alonso, who will assume other responsibilities in the organization,” and they added that he should leave his office in fifteen days.

Izquierdo, known for paying special attention to his public projection in the local media, was dismissed by the official media Invasor with praise and the clarification that the former first secretary himself had voted in favor of his departure from office.

José Ramón Monteagudo Ruiz, first secretary of the Party in Santiago de Cuba, who left office on February 1 without pain or glory, did not have the same luck. Monteagudo, dismissed by Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel himself, was in the position for less than three years, which coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic and the worsening of the island’s economic crisis. His successor, Beatriz Johnson Urrutia, former governor of the province, has also not managed in her short time in office to keep her history free of protests and complaints from the population.

Weeks later, on February 21, the Political Bureau requested the departure of the first secretary of Cienfuegos, Marydé Fernández López, from office. On that occasion, the secretary of the Central Committee, Roberto Morales Ojedam, who has attended the removal of each of the provincial secretaries, applauded Fernández for “her personal qualities and the results in her performance at the head of the partisan organization,” which he did not mention. In her place, Armando Carranza Valladares, who was part of the Provincial Bureau, was named.

The movement of cadres, which the press has described on several occasions as a standard process, has not only occurred at the local level but also in the structure of the central government itself

The movement of cadres, which the press has described on several occasions as a standard process, has not only occurred at the local level but also in the structure of the central government itself. In addition to the fall into disgrace weeks ago of the former Minister of Economy and Planning, Alejandro Gil – who dragged with him the former Minister of Food Industry Manuel Santiago Sobrino Martínez – the regime announced on January 8, the dismissal of the deputy ministers of Culture Fernando Rojas Gutiérrez and Kenelma Carvajal Pérez.

“This movement responds to a policy of the country of gradual renewal of management cadres at all levels, and ratifies in practice the confidence of the Revolution in young people,” the Ministry of Culture stated at the time, assuring that it was a “liberation by renewal” and not a punishment.

The departure of Rojas, whose “revolutionary loyalty” was recognized, left the citizenry perplexed. They remember him as one of the most loyal cultural commissioners to the regime and for his participation in the tense meeting with the artists of the 27N collective in which his boss, Alpidio Alonso, ended up slapping the independent journalist Mauricio Mendoza.

Also related to culture, the departure of Luis Morlote Rivas from the Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba was revealed in January. Known as one of Díaz-Canel’s trusted men, Morlote – who also directs the Cultural News of Cuban Television – was not “liberated” but promoted to the Ideological Department of the Party.

Likewise, at the beginning of the year, two deputy ministers of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment, Ana Teresita González Fraga and Roberto López Hernández, were removed. Although the leaders then stated that it was a “process of renewal of positions in the structures of the Government,” the poor economic situation of the Island, which needs foreign exchange and investments at all cost, raises suspicions about the real reasons of the regime for replacing the officials. A doubt that is repeated with the numerous “liberations” of recent months.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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An 11J Protester is Released in Cardenas After Serving His Sentence

Samuel Pupo Martínez was initially sentenced to seven years in prison, but a cassation appeal reduced the term to three / Courtesy

14ymedio, Havana, 2 April 2024 — Samuel Pupo Martínez, sentenced to three years in Agüica prison for demonstrating on 11 July 2021 (11J) in Cárdenas, Matanzas, was released on Monday. Known for his photo of the protests, taken while mounted on an overturned vehicle, his sentence was reduced to two years, eight months and 21 days by a “report”.

“I will continue to fight for my Cuba to be really free, because I left the small prison and entered the big one. I don’t feel free,” Pupo, age 49, told Martí Noticias on Monday.

On July 11, in front of the headquarters of the Communist Party of Cárdenas, Pupo mounted an overturned car, shouted “Homeland and life! Down with communism!”, which the authorities did not forgive. Arrested and transported in a police van to La Bellotex prison, Pupo was missing for several days and suffered mistreatment at the hands of the police.

“I am free because I have fulfilled my sentence, which was for three years. I don’t owe them anything,” said the former political prisoner, after being released from prison this Monday. continue reading

“I will continue to fight for my Cuba to be really free, because I left the little prison and entered the big one. I don’t feel free”

In April 2022, almost a year after his confinement, the court of Matanzas conducted a three-day trial in which Pupo was charged with public disorder and contempt, and the Prosecutor’s Office requested a sentence of seven years. “His lawyer made a brilliant defense, but the prosecutor asked for the maximum penalty for each crime he had allegedly committed,” his wife told 14ymedio.

The sentence was pending for a month, and both Pupo and his wife felt hopeful because the lawyer had requested that the charge be reduced to a precautionary measure, explaining that “Pupo has scleroderma, a degenerative disease, which is not compatible with staying in a prison.” However, the court dismissed the request. The family then requested an appeal of cassation,* which was granted, and Pupo’s sentence was reduced to three years.

“I have many brothers who have had to suffer disproportionate sentences, which were unjustified, unjust,” he told Martí Noticias, referring to those prosecuted for demonstrating on 11J. “It was a warning for people to suck it up and stay silent. Since the Castro revolution triumphed, something like this had never happened, and I was proud to have been there.”

Despite the regime’s repression, Pupo feels hopeful about the new protests that happened on the Island after 11J: “People are going out to claim their rights. It’s time for the Cuban people to realize that their rights have been trampled on, that we have to defend them ourselves.”

During his time in prison, Pupo was with other 11J political prisoners, such as Félix Navarro, also a former prisoner of the Black Spring, who is completing his prison sentence in Agüica; and Francisco Rangel Manzano, sentenced to six years for demonstrating in the Matanzas municipality of Colón.

*Translator’s note: Courts of cassation are upper-level courts of “extraordinary” remedy that interpret the law rather than re-examining the facts. They can abrogate or annul a lower court decision.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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A Journalistic Investigation Links Unit 29155 of the Russian GRU with ‘Havana Syndrome’

Although the first victims of the syndrome emerged in 2016 in Havana, the report says that “there were probably attacks two years earlier in Frankfurt.” / EFE

14ymedio, Madrid, 1 April 2024 — The health incidents known as “Havana syndrome” may originate from “directed energy” weapons of the Central Intelligence Department of the Russian Armed Forces (GRU). This was revealed on Monday by The Insider, in a long report made in collaboration with the American program 60 Minutes and the German magazine Der Spiegel.

The one-year-long investigation presents, for example, the testimony of victims who saw members of the fearsome Unit 29155 of Russian military intelligence at the scene of the attacks.

One of those victims, a nurse married to a Justice Department official stationed at the U.S. Embassy in Tbilisi (Georgia), tells The Insider how, on October 7, 2021, she suddenly felt, “as if a high-pitched sound had entered through the window,” which she describes as the one heard in movies after a bomb explodes: “It just pierced my ears.” At the moment she felt “a stabbing headache” and, later, she vomited. continue reading

The woman, introduced by the media with the fictitious name of Joy, says that she saw a black Mercedes parked on the street

The woman, introduced by the media with the fictitious name of Joy, claims that she saw a black Mercedes parked on the street in front of her house, and next to the vehicle, a “tall and thin” man. This, as she identified herself in a photograph three years later, was Albert Averyanov, not only an agent of Unit 29155, the GRU squad known for carrying out murders and sabotage operations, but the son of its founder, Andrei Averyanov.

The report presents as evidence the fact that the high-ranking members of the unit received “political awards and promotions” for works related to the development of “non-lethal acoustic weapons”; that is, “directed energy, sound or radio frequency devices, which can cause “acoustic effects” on the brains of the victims.

In addition, she asserts that although the ailment was named from the effect it caused on American diplomats in 2016 in Havana, “there were probably attacks two years earlier in Frankfurt, Germany,” a few months after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2014. Then, an employee at the U.S. consulate “fell unconscious by a blow, something similar to a strong ray of energy,” and, later, “he was diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury.” This victim “was also able to identify an agent of Unit 29155 based in Geneva.”

The media presenting the investigation claim to have discovered “documentary evidence” that Unit 29155 has been experimenting “exactly with this type of weaponized technology” that experts suggest as a plausible cause of Havana syndrome.

Symptoms of the ailment include chronic headaches, vertigo, tinnitus (auditory sensation that consists of perceiving sounds that do not come from external sources), insomnia, nausea, psychophysiological deterioration and, in some cases, blindness or hearing loss. “Many victims have said that they were well and that they suddenly suffered intense pain or pressure in the skull, usually located on one side of the head, as if they were trapped in a ray of concentrated energy,” the text states.

The appearance of these health incidents in American and Canadian diplomats in Havana was one of the reasons why the normalization with Cuba initiated by Barack Obama when he was president of the United States did not move forward. In 2017, the next president, Donald Trump, decided to suspend consular services in Havana and minimize diplomatic personnel on the Island.

Meanwhile, the Government of Cuba has always denied any responsibility and set up a commission of experts that found no scientific or criminal evidence that linked the symptoms with possible sonic attacks, microwaves or other deliberate action.

On March 1, 2023, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), Avril D. Haines, published a report prepared by seven United States intelligence agencies in which they stated that it was “very unlikely” that a foreign adversary would cause the so-called Havana syndrome.

The Government of Cuba always denied any responsibility and set up a commission of experts that found no evidence of possible sonic attacks

The Insider’s report is also a challenge to that report, which was already criticized at the time by experts such as Marc Polymeropoulos, a former senior CIA officer and victim of the ailment himself. In an interview with América TeVé, last year, he considered himself “betrayed” by the report and insisted on pointing out Cuba and Russia as responsible for the attacks.

“I would say that it has all the characteristics of a Russian active measure. It is what a successful action would look like, one that would cause fear to the adversary, take people out of their work and distract,” the former intelligence agent told the Miami chain at the time.

The statements to The Insider of the first CIA officer affected by Havana syndrome in Cuba, the “patient zero” presented under the pseudonym of Adam, are forceful: “What this long investigation has shown is that either the intelligence community is unable to carry out its most basic function or has worked to cover up the facts and deceive the public and the affected employees.”

Translated by Regina Anavy

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The Cuban Minister of Tourism Expects Half a Million Russian Visitors

Juan Carlos García Granda, Cuba’s minister of tourism / Presidencia Cuba

14ymedio, Moscow, 14 March 2024–The Russian MIR payment card, accepted in Cuba since November 2023, is here to stay and will boost Russian tourism to the Caribbean nation to an expected half-million visitors, Cuban minister of tourism Juan Carlos García Granda declared today.

“The Russian MIR card arrived in Cuba to stay,” García Granda stated during a press conference called by the Russian news agency TASS. He explained that the Cuban tourism sector assigned itself the task of “creating many more benefits for the Russian customer.”

“One of the challenges we have overcome, because we can now announce the results, is that Russians can use rubles to pay in Cuba, which is already the case today,” he pointed out.

García Granda recalled that since 20 November 2023, “we were able to complete the first transactions with MIR cards, and we officially announced the use of MIR cards on terminals at points of sale since 5 December 2023.” continue reading

The minister reiterated the interest in promoting Cuba as an attractive tourist destination for Russia

“In these first months of operation, more than $2.7 million dollars have been transferred via the MIR cards; there are 20,000 point-of-service terminals in major stores and tourist spots throughout the country. This is something that will continue to grow and the conditions exist for it to be so,” he asserted.

The minister reiterated the interest in promoting Cuba as an attractive tourist destination for Russia, and averred that Havana “is not abandoning the objective of having Russians occupy one of the three top spots among foreign visitors to the country.”

He indicated that even throughout the coronavirus pandemic, Russian tourists could visit the Greatest of the Antilles, thanks to agreements between Havana and Moscow. Also, Havana is in permanent dialogue with the Russian authorities to increase not only the number of flights, but also to add new routes, in particular from St. Petersburg to the Island.

Already for the current year, García Granda noted, Cuba will exceed 200,000 Russian tourists.

“This is not a great amount in terms of absolute figures, but it will be a very motivating result for us. I expect that soon, even while I’m still leading this ministry, we will get to a half-million Russian visitors,” he added.

Translated by Alicia Barraqué Ellison

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Uruguay Keeps More Than 7,000 Cubans Who Applied for Refuge in Limbo

A total of 7,293 Cubans applied for refuge last year in Uruguay; the process now takes two years / x/@cubanoslibresuy

14ymedio, Havana, 2 April 2024 — More than 7,000 Cubans who applied for refuge last year in Uruguay “remain in limbo” because the care system is “suffocated,” according to the Uruguayan newspaper El Observador. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the country ended 2023 with 24,193 applications, and the waiting time has been extended to two years. Milagros Rodríguez is one of those Cubans who arrived in Montevideo last year with the idea of starting a new life with her Cuban partner, whom she re-encountered in that nation. However, things didn’t go as she planned. According to the Spanish newspaper El País, she currently has a provisional identity document and works as a cleaner.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the country ended 2023 with 24,193 applications

By remaining in “migratory limbo”, Cubans do not have refugee status and cannot cancel the application for refuge to process the permanent residence that would allow them family reunification. Rodríguez points out that a solution for her, like thousands of her compatriots, is for Uruguay to “release them from that visa”, as happened during the Covid 19 pandemic.

According to the Uruguayan newspaper El Observador, the “diagnostic” document approved by the Refugee Commission collapsed due to the “lack of resources” and the “shortage of migratory alternatives” for people who can’t show that they are being persecuted.

Uruguayan Foreign Minister Omar Paganini argues that the delay is due to the fact that the majority of applicants “do not meet the requirements to be refugees.” He accepts as “reasonable” that Cubans have motives to leave the Island, but for Uruguay to grant them asylum, they must prove that they are victims of “political persecution.” However, a solution is being analyzed. continue reading

Last May, Alberto Gianotti, of the Migrant Support Network, warned that between 9,000 and 10,000 nationals of the Island had to process a visa to maintain their legal status in the South American country.

Alberto Gianotti, of the Migrant Support Network, warned that between 9,000 and 10,000 Cubans had to apply for a visa to maintain their legal status

El Observador reported that since the beginning of the pandemic, Cuba has suffered the largest flight of its population in its history. “Tourism collapsed; infrastructure showed its shortcomings; medication and food were scarce; there were constant blackouts; and about half a million escaped to the United States.”

The same newspaper reiterated that Uruguay has no intention “to deport the undocumented, much less to allow irregular inhabitants to accumulate”, with the consequent problems that would result, so Montevideo is rushing to find a solution that is not expected to be easy.

Since the president of the United States, Barack Obama, put an end to the “wet foot/dry foot” policy in 2017, Cubans have found an alternative route through Uruguay. Their journey begins in Guyana, the only South American country that does not require a visa. From there they cross through Brazil and then resort to coyotes to reach Uruguay, where they ask for refuge.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Who Can Become a Citizen? Legal Pathways to Gaining Spanish Nationality

No European country approves more citizenship applications than Spain / Consulado de España en La Habana/X

14ymedio, Yoan Molinero Gerbeau, Madrid, 30 March 2024 — Last year, public attention turned to two prominent sports figures — Sara Khadem and the Real Sociedad footballer Robin Le Norman — when it was announced in the Official State Gazette that they had been granted Spanish citizenship along with 106 other people. It bears mentioning that a good number of these people included Nicaraguan dissidents, who received the so-called “letter of naturalization,” a mechanism that allows the government to unilaterally grant Spanish citizenship to whomever it deems worthy by means of royal decree.

As a result of these decrees, the organization Civio performed an interesting exercise, creating a database that indicated how many people had acquired Spanish citizenship this way since 1993.

Only a tiny portion of the naturalizations authorized by the Spanish state during this period were granted by means of this noteworthy though certainly elitist procedure, which allows the government to confer citizenship at its discretion.

To get a broader picture, we can look at data published by Spain’s National Statistical Institute (INE), which indicates that 181,581 people received the full rights of Spanish citizenship in 2022, of which less than 1% were granted through letters of naturalization. continue reading

The process of acquiring a new nationality is very intriguing since it involves what Abdelmalek Sayad, a prominent sociologist and expert on migration, called a “rite of transubstantiation.” Effectively, in a world of nation-states, where belonging to one has ethnic, cultural and moral implications, the transformation from being a national of one country into a national of another involves some degree of “magic.”

Analyzing the requirements that those who choose to participate in this rite must fulfill is an interesting exercise as it involves entering into a world of beliefs, revealing what a country considers to be valid criteria for recognizing someone as “one of their own.”

Despite being a noteworthy procedure, only a tiny portion of naturalizations were granted by decree at the government’s discretion

What criteria do applicants have to meet in order to be considered a Spanish national? The answers can be found in the country’s Civil Code.

There are four ways to become a naturalized citizen of Spain:

- Citizenship by nature
- Citizenship by option
- Citizenship by residency
- Citizenship by state possession

Since we have already touched upon the first way, let’s take a look at the others.

Naturalization by option refers to the principle of ius sanguinis, establishing Spanish nationality by birthright. This option is available to children of a Spanish mother or father. Also eligible to apply are those whose grandparents were Spanish but who lost their citizenship due to having been exiled during the Franco dictatorship.

Naturalization by residency gives foreigners who have lived in the country for a certain period of time the chance to become Spanish citizens. Generally, that period is ten years though there are circumstances that can reduce the wait time.

Applicants must also submit a criminal record certificate indicating “good civic conduct” , and show they have achieved “integration into Spanish society.”

The latter is demonstrated through a test that evaluates language fluency as well as knowledge of “Spain’s constitutional and socio-cultural precepts.”

This last requirement is highly controversial because since it tends to focus on the predominant national culture as found in the Castille and Madrid regions, indicating that — as far as the state is concerned — “being Spanish” means adopting a nationalist view that excludes other large regions of the country.

The fourth case, naturalization due to possession of state, concerns those who had Spanish nationality for at least ten years but, for some reason, lost it.

Finally, to be “naturalizable,” applicants must meet two not insignificant criteria.

First, they must renounce their original citizenship, thus indicating a willingness to become legally stateless before becoming citizens of another state.

Secondly, in a highly charged political act, they must swear an oath of loyalty and obedience to the two pillars of the state: the king and the constitution.

Certainly, the requirements to become a Spanish citizen are not without controversy since they impose an important political and cultural burden, raising an issue that has not been resolved by the broader society itself: What does it mean to be Spanish?

The requirements to become a Spanish citizen are not without controversy since they impose an important political and cultural burden

Given the data available, it might be easier answer the question of how willing is Spain to allow foreigners to become citizens. We can look at European statistics to see that how the country stacks up. According to Eurostat, whose most recent figures are from 2021, no other country on the continent approves more citizenship applications than Spain, a total of 144,00 for that year, followed by France (at 130,400), Germany (130,000), and Italy (121,500).

If we keep in mind — again according to Eurostat — that the foreign-born population of France and Italy is similar to that of Spain, while Germany’s is twice the size, it would seem that the country’s policies are not particularly restrictive in this regard.

However, data-driven conclusions do not always coincide with the subjective experience of those who must deal with the paperwork which, according to several investigative reports, is described as slow, arduous and administratively complex. Let’s remember, however, that granting citizenship and expanding rights always has positive effects on society at large.

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Editor’s note: This article was originally published in The Conversation and is reproduced here with permission from Crative Commons. The author, Yoan Molinero Gerbeau, is a researcher in International Migration at the Comillas Pontifical University.

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