The Strategy Against Otero Alcantara Seeks to Foster Terror, According to Letter Signatories

14ymedio, Havana, 5 March 2020 — A group of artists, art and literature professionals, editors, journalists and intellectuals from Cuba and other nations signed a letter this week in support of the artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcantara, who as of Wednesday had been detained for 72 hours. The summary trial will be held in less than ten … Continue reading “The Strategy Against Otero Alcantara Seeks to Foster Terror, According to Letter Signatories”

The Sword of Raul Castro / Luis Felipe Rojas

All said and done, more than half of a list of 53 political prisoners that nobody knows are already free, completely secret and that nobody we ask clarifies for us. Of the fifty who were out, I have the list of 36 prisoners who were surprised to be free again, without formal charges and under … Continue reading “The Sword of Raul Castro / Luis Felipe Rojas”

Converted Into a Company, the Propaganda Section of the Communist Party Sells ‘Stamps’ and Flags

The new status means more money and resources, in addition to brand-new printing machines 14ymedio, Juan Izquierdo, Havana, 13 April 2024 — The purpose is to “market the image of Cuba,” and the means are furnished by the Communist Party. Protected and paid for by the highest authority of the country, the Propaganda and Events … Continue reading “Converted Into a Company, the Propaganda Section of the Communist Party Sells ‘Stamps’ and Flags”

Of Those Arrested for the 11 July 2021 Protests, 676 Cubans Remain Detained

14ymedio, Havana, Juan Izquierdo, March 13, 2024 — With two recent heart attacks on his medical record and a sentence of 15 years in prison, political prisoner Wilfredo Castillo received a license last week to leave the Agüica prison, in Matanzas, for a year. Haggard and thin, his most recent photograph – in a hospital … Continue reading “Of Those Arrested for the 11 July 2021 Protests, 676 Cubans Remain Detained”

Amnesty International Denounces the Conviction of Aniette Gonzalez for Her Photos with the Cuban Flag

14ymedio, Havana, February 3, 2024 — Amnesty International condemned this Friday the decision of the Municipal Court of Camagüey to sentence activist Aniette González García to three years in prison. Accused of “outraging national symbols”, the 43-year-old woman was arrested “for publishing a photo on social networks with the national flag in solidarity with Luis … Continue reading “Amnesty International Denounces the Conviction of Aniette Gonzalez for Her Photos with the Cuban Flag”

LASA Condemns ‘Political Repression in Cuba’ in the Case of Alina Barbara Lopez

14ymedio, Madrid, 12 December 2023 — After a couple of weeks of hesitations, the Latin American Studies Association (LASA) has taken the step expected by many of its Cuban members with the publication of a statement that “condemns political repression in Cuba” in general terms, as well as “in particular” in the case of the … Continue reading “LASA Condemns ‘Political Repression in Cuba’ in the Case of Alina Barbara Lopez”

‘Patria y Vida’ — Homeland and Life — Will Be the Motto of the Cuban Team That Will Be Formed by Exiled Baseball Players

14ymedio, Havana, December 6, 2023 — “Patria y Vida” [Homeland and Life], the freedom motto that became the anthem of the 11 July 2021 ’11J’ protests inside and outside the Island, has been taken up by the Cuban Professional Baseball Federation (Fepcube) to identify the team of exiled baseball players that will participate in the … Continue reading “‘Patria y Vida’ — Homeland and Life — Will Be the Motto of the Cuban Team That Will Be Formed by Exiled Baseball Players”

Political Police Isolate Opponents During EU Representative Eamon Gilmore’s Visit to Cuba

14ymedio, Madrid, 24 November 2023 — Before the  of the European Union’s Special Representative for Human Rights, Eamon Gilmore, landed in Cuba, State Security had already detained Professor Pedro Albert Sánchez and Dr. Fernándo Vázquez, both activists, who had announced their intention to meet with the Irish senior official. Ana Elvis Amaya, wife of Pedro … Continue reading “Political Police Isolate Opponents During EU Representative Eamon Gilmore’s Visit to Cuba”

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

14ymedio, Havana, 14 November 2023 — It has been more than five years since Cuba last underwent the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) carried out by the UN in Geneva, and the deterioration of the situation within that period – in which Cuba has been twice elected a member of the Human Rights Council – is … Continue reading “Cuba Receives an Avalanche of Negative Reports Before Its Human Rights Review at the UN”

Camaguey Court Prosecutes an Activist for Being Photographed With the Cuban Flag

14ymedio, Havana, 4 October 2023 — The oral hearing of the trial against the Camagüeyan activist Aniette González was held this Wednesday in Camagüey and was concluded for sentencing. The opponent is accused of the crime of “insulting patriotic symbols,” after she posted photos of herself wrapped in the Cuban flag on social networks. According … Continue reading “Camaguey Court Prosecutes an Activist for Being Photographed With the Cuban Flag”

Celia Cruz, Joined With ‘Patria Y Vida’, the Anthem of the Protests in Cuba

14ymedio, Havana, 3 October 2023 — Since this Monday, Celia Cruz and Patria y Vida (Homeland and Life), two of the greatest Cuban musical symbols of recent times, are united in a new video clip of the song that became a dissident anthem since its premiere, in February 2021. In this new version, the song incorporates … Continue reading “Celia Cruz, Joined With ‘Patria Y Vida’, the Anthem of the Protests in Cuba”

Cuban Activist Maykel Osorbo Sews His Mouth Shut in Protest of Mistreatment in Jail

EFE/14ymedio, Havana, 18 July 2023 — Cuban artist and dissident, Maykel Castillo aka Osorbo, sentenced to nine years in prison, sewed his mouth last week as a sign of protest against his mistreatment in prison, according to statements made to EFE on Tuesday by sources close to the opponent. The coauthor of Patria y Vida … Continue reading “Cuban Activist Maykel Osorbo Sews His Mouth Shut in Protest of Mistreatment in Jail”

Cuban Filmmakers Meet To Express Their Disagreements With the Cultural Authorities

14ymedio, Havana, 24 June 2023 — More than a hundred Cuban filmmakers expressed their disagreement with the authorities about the decisions made with a documentary about the Argentine singer Fito Páez and his relationship with the Island. The creators, grouped in the Assembly of Cuban Filmmakers — which includes the prestigious director Fernando Pérez and … Continue reading “Cuban Filmmakers Meet To Express Their Disagreements With the Cultural Authorities”

Cuba is Not a Country for Young People

14ymedio, Yunior García Aguilera, Madrid, 16 May 2023 — I’ve rewatched the brilliant Coen brothers’ film No Country for Old Men. The 2007 thriller tells the story of a hunter who finds two million dollars and decides to run away with the money, while being pursued by a relentless hit man. The plot is completed by the county sheriff, who ends up … Continue reading “Cuba is Not a Country for Young People”

Cuba’s Silent Majority

14ymedio, Yunior García Aguilera, Madrid, 18 April 2023 — I have a friend who says he’s not leftist, nor rightist, but the opposite. After his apparently absurd joke, it’s evident he is fed up with the polarization that is shaking Cuba and the planet. The truth is that those on the right tend to move … Continue reading “Cuba’s Silent Majority”