Translating Cuba

“There are other Cubans, including military officers and officials, who don’t have blood on their hands, with whom we are willing to negotiate the democratic future of our country”

It is a statement in line with what was expressed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the end of September, when he told the media at UN headquarters in New York: “there are some individuals in that regime with whom we can never work because they have blood on their hands. But there are people there with whom I believe we could work if they are willing to steer the country toward political and economic freedom and toward the process that will lead us to that final goal.”

De Fana confirmed this Thursday that the letter, dated October 10, had been sent to the State Department, but they have not received a response. The former political prisoner stated that in order to talk with anyone linked to the regime, “the first condition is the total release of all Cuban political prisoners and the decriminalization of dissent.”

“The situation in Cuba and the uncertainty about possible negotiations with the United States made it urgent to publish the document,” said De Fana, who defended as the declaration’s objective reflecting the stance of those who have paid with prison for their fight against the regime, as well as giving a voice to those who lost their lives “in combat for freedom.”

The signatories argue that they are not seeking “revenge, but justice for the demands of the people,” and that the release of prisoners and the decriminalization of dissent are “non-negotiable” conditions prior to dialogue. Without them, no rapprochement can take place, they believe. “During our ordeal in prison we refused to be used as bargaining chips so that the regime could obtain international concessions,” they contend. Therefore, they stress, “any negotiation can only take place after the political prisoners are released. It is not permissible to monetize their ordeal.” Only after this “could progress be made toward a transition leading to the establishment of a new Republic.”

“It is one thing to provisionally welcome a technocratic and mixed transitional government, made up of military officers and officials of the previous regime with an acceptable track record together with other Cubans from the island and the diaspora. It is quite another to agree to the continuity of the current political system under the hegemony of the power elite,” it adds.

Another of the document’s key points is the identification of two distinct kinds of problem: the one that exists between the governments of the US and Cuba, and the one between the regime and the population.

Washington should “directly” support the Cubans’ struggle against the current political system if the population’s safety were put at risk through repression. This backing should include “all the means at its disposal” and, eventually, the support of any other nation so that the citizenry may recover national sovereignty.

On the other hand, the declaration adds that if the Cuban leadership agreed to leave power in order to avoid personal risks, there should be channels allowing the participation of Cubans in the negotiations.

On the other hand, the declaration adds that if the Cuban leadership agreed to leave power in order to avoid personal risks, there should be channels allowing the participation of Cubans in the negotiations.

Some of those attending made statements to the media present at the gathering. Among them was former political prisoner José Rolando Cáceres Soto, imprisoned on several occasions until his last release, in 2021, who praised the historic exile community. “For us they represent experience; they are the ones who have shown us the steps to follow, necessary steps that we young people have to take. We see how the youth inside Cuba are already taking part in the future of our country. We are fighting against a dictatorship that (…) has mutated. But that mutation doesn’t mean we shouldn’t draw on the experience and the lived experience of these people,” he told Cubanet.

For his part, academic Eduardo Zayas-Bazán noted that “to forge a new Cuba we need honest people who want a future for Cuba, a democratic Cuba, and who have no blood on their hands.”

The document has been signed by 146 people to date, among them Yamilka Abascal, Sissi Abascal, Eduardo Cardet, Pedro Corzo, Guillermo Fariñas, Angélica Garrido and Luis Zúñiga.

Translated by GH.

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“I believe the best people have to be guarding the park. The most responsible, most serious people, the people with the most appropriate civic conduct”

“I believe the best people have to be guarding the park. The most responsible, most serious people, the people with the most appropriate civic conduct. But also, it’s not just the salary, you have to show those people some affection; they need to feel that they are in the most important place, that it is providing energy for the people. It’s not just the salary,” he insisted.

The figures, of course, leave no room for doubt. These workers, he specified, are on support staff scale six, which according to official regulations means a base salary of 4,065 CUP, to which would be added a supplement that, according to Lescay Martínez’s estimates, would be around 877 pesos. In total, with the data provided, the employee earns about 5,000 pesos a month, which at the informal exchange rate amounts to around six dollars.

Although Lieutenant Colonel Eduardo Ábalo Mendoza, deputy department head in the General Directorate of Criminal Investigation of the Ministry of the Interior, agreed – “selective personnel with conviction must be sought to protect these installations” – there was a dissenting opinion in the room.

“We have… let’s say, a high level of salary demotivation. Ours are among the lowest salaries in the country’s business systems today. The salary of one of our guards doesn’t exceed 4,000 pesos, or 3,700-something,” stated Junior González Núñez, first vice president of the Water and Sanitation Business Group of the National Institute of Hydraulic Resources.

Humberto López, the program’s host, interrupted the executive: “This is a matter that has to improve immediately because we are talking about the place on which a community’s water depends,” he rebuked.

“We have… let’s say, a high level of salary demotivation. Ours are among the lowest salaries in the country’s business systems today. The salary of one of our guards doesn’t exceed 4,000 pesos, or 3,700-something”

González Núñez elaborated that the water situation is substantially different from that of the large electric parks and even the installations on community buildings, because, since the panels are installed in small communities to which water is to be brought, the crime remains within a small circle where the neighbors themselves help resolve the situation and even point out the culprit.

According to his explanation, there are some 856 communities with these resources, out of the more than 1,300 that are intended to be covered, but any one of these thefts can leave more than 20 families without running water. In the case of the hydraulic companies, it is not specifically guards – except at night – who are in charge of watching over the panels, but specialized operators.

In the case of the solar parks, said Lescay Martínez – where there are the most cases of vandalism, because they are isolated out in the fields – the installation is carried out first, along with training in operational and security matters. “Many of these institutions have their own security and protection force and we take part in the preparation we provide them,” he noted. Once the assembly is finished, responsibility rests in the hands of these workers.

Lescay Martínez said that the 46 parks already installed in the country have about 26 or 28 panels on each table (metal structure), but stealing just one is enough to put the whole circuit out of action. “When a photovoltaic panel is removed, it leaves the energy of the entire table useless,” he explained. This means, he calculated, around 15.5 kilowatts per hour that go ungenerated. Many of the thefts even precede the commissioning of the park, when the parts are stored inside the fence awaiting installation. Neither the fence nor the security cameras have prevented the vandalism, precisely because of the cooperation of those who are supposed to supervise it.

“A large percentage of incidents of this kind have been cleared up and others are now in the investigation phase”

“A large percentage of incidents of this kind have been cleared up and others are now in the investigation phase,” stated Ábalo Mendoza, who lamented that there is also violence on many occasions, including stone-throwing resulting in injuries to those guards who risk their lives for such a low salary.

The lieutenant colonel warned that the panels can be identified one by one, making it easier to detect the origin of one that has been stolen. “It’s very easy, when carrying out an investigative process, to go to a home, see the panels and the number, look up the number and you know where the panel comes from. In addition, the panel has a plate on the back with a set of data, which makes it evident that it comes from such-and-such photovoltaic park, from such-and-such project,” he added.

Meanwhile, the guests argued, although there is an extra 5% of resources provided for in the contract to replace parts that may break – which makes it possible to have reserves in case of theft – what is needed is not always covered. And, while waiting for it to arrive, “a community is left, as the comrade was saying, eight or ten days without drinking water. Plus the replacement of the panels that has to be done, the consequences are high.”

Translated by GH.
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“China has consistently opposed the abuse of judicial means to pressure Cuba”

Mao once again called on the United States to “put an end to its blockade of Cuba and to any other form of coercion or pressure,” and urged it to “stop violating the Cuban people’s rights to survival and development.”

Beijing had been preceded by two other regular partners of Havana, one of them Iran, whose Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a statement through the state news agency IRNA in which it described the issuing of the arrest warrant against Castro as “criminal and illegal.” Tehran denounced Washington’s “interventionist actions,” including sanctions it called “inhumane” and attempts to threaten and intimidate Cuban authorities and public figures.

The Ministry added that the policy of sanctions, pressure and intimidation “applied against the Cuban people for more than seven decades violates the Charter of the United Nations and contradicts the principles and norms of international law and human rights.” In the view of the Iranian Foreign Ministry, Washington will have to answer for the “catastrophic consequences” of these decisions on the daily life of the population, with which it expressed its solidarity in the face of these “criminal actions.”

Moscow was not missing from the group either: quite the contrary: it was the one that opened fire, criticizing the “unfounded and false accusation” that comes “more than 30 years later.” In the view of the Russian Foreign Ministry, this “is nothing more than revenge by Miami’s anti-Cuban lobby, a desire to settle scores with Castro, who celebrated his 95th birthday in June.”

After “categorically” rejecting and condemning the arrest warrant against Castro, the statement said that it is nothing more than part of “a broader escalation of tensions around the Island of Freedom [as Moscow calls Cuba], which is going through extremely difficult times due to an unprecedented commercial, economic, financial and energy blockade, and could destabilize the entire Latin American and Caribbean region.”

The note concludes with a personal message to the former Cuban leader himself: “We wish Comrade Raúl Castro, a friend of Russia, good health and that he maintain his unwavering bravery, courage and strength.” Although the Russian Foreign Ministry took the opportunity to reaffirm its solidarity with the Cuban regime, with which it will continue “strengthening the close ties of friendship, mutual support, assistance and comprehensive cooperation,” the words once again remain just that. Like those of Iran and China. So far this year, the three countries have not stopped expressing, almost weekly, their support and backing for an island in need of resources that none of them has fully decided to send.

While China is the one that has contributed the most goods, products and donations to the regime, Iran and Russia are the partners that have not dared to defy Washington to send the much-desired fuel that could serve as an immediate lifeline for the regime. Chinese support through solar energy, underway for more than two years, represents a slower and more gradual change in the energy matrix, while the oil tankers that Tehran and Moscow could deliver would give Havana breathing room, as happened in April.

On the last day of March, the Anatoly Kolodkin arrived on the island with 730,000 barrels of Russian crude, an entry authorized by Washington, which did not try to prevent the tanker’s arrival, as it later did with other attempts, without Russia daring to enter into direct confrontation. Iran has not even tried, despite being in open war with the US, which it has repeatedly defied, but only in relation to its own territory and surrounding areas.

“Well, I think it’s political. It’s political and it also has to do with the November election, from my point of view”

Mexico is another of the countries that has tried to find legal loopholes to keep supplying oil to Cuba while avoiding a clash with the US, with which it maintains relations vital to its economy. Its president, Claudia Sheinbaum, was asked by the press this Monday for her opinion on Castro’s new indictment, which she attributes to the pre-election climate in the neighboring country. “Well, I think it’s political. It’s political and it also has to do with the November election, from my point of view,” she said. “And the votes they want to win on one side and the other,” said the president, who went no further in her remarks.

Paradoxically, her opinion is shared by many Cuban-American users on social media, who reacted to the news the other day by calling it a “circus” or “theater,” explicitly linking it to the November elections, as CiberCuba has reported, based on comments on its social media accounts. These messages do not reflect sympathy for the elderly former president, but rather disappointment with Trump’s handling of the Cuban issue and with other political decisions that are causing dismay among his base of loyal Cuban voters and followers.

The reasons go beyond his policy toward the island – or his lack of action – and extend to his attitude toward Venezuela, where he has shown that he puts the oil business ahead of democracy, and to his open animosity toward the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, in contrast to the sympathy he shows for Russia’s Vladimir Putin and for Xi Jinping and Kim Jong-un themselves.

Translated by GH

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Moreover, zooming in even further, it can be seen that in Cuba the acceleration has become extreme in the last five years, since 2021

Moreover, zooming in even further, it can be seen that in Cuba the acceleration has become extreme in the last five years, since 2021. While between the years 2014 and 2019 to 2021 aging remained between 18% and 21%, the big rise came in the last four years, with a jump of 5 points. The timing coincides with the combination of two factors that triggered the migration crisis on the island: the end of the pandemic – which opened doors that had been almost completely shut for two years – and the Island-wide protests of 11 July 2021, which brought thousands of people into the streets against the regime.

Frustration over the change that did not happen and the repression of the protesters were the last straw for thousands of people who left Cuba in search of a better future. Officially, the loss is estimated at 15%, more than 1.6 million people. Independent experts speak of 24%, 80% of them in the 15 to 59 age bracket, that is, people of working and childbearing age.

By province, Villa Clara takes first place, with 30.2% of adults over 60, but Havana follows closely, with 29.1%, even though it is one of the territories that benefits most from internal migration, gaining population that moves to the capital in search of work – which affects a younger segment.

Havana is currently home to 1,673,208 people, of whom 486,650 are over 60, almost a third of the total, which highlights the alarming problem in the care sector, along with other closely related ones such as health. By contrast, children under 14 number barely 251,527, confirming the low birth rate of the province, which also has the oldest municipality on the island: Plaza de la Revolución, with 38.2%.

At the opposite end are Guantánamo, the youngest, with 23.3% – and which in turn is home to the municipality with the fewest older people, 17.9% – along with Santiago de Cuba and Artemisa, both with 24.2%. In this case, although these provinces retain a high number of retirees who stay in these areas, poverty – which holds back migration – and higher fertility rates – which coincide with eastern Cuba – bring the average age down.

At the opposite end are Guantánamo, the youngest, with 23.3% – and which in turn is home to the municipality with the fewest older people, 17.9% – along with Santiago de Cuba and Artemisa, both with 24.2%

In its introduction, the ONEI points out that births are also at extremely low levels, with just 68,064 births and a total fertility rate of only 1.29 children per woman, the lowest figure in history. The report notes that, given the progressive aging of its population, Cuba faces the challenge of “reorienting its economic model toward demographic sustainability, promoting inclusive employment, technological innovation and policies that integrate older adults into the economy.”

In a long interview with this newspaper, demographer Juan Carlos Albizu* warned of the risks of not making changes to deal with the island’s demographic crisis, including reform of the pension system. “If what has to change hasn’t changed, we’re going to have a very hard time, because the State, which is already socioeconomically bankrupt, would have no other way out than to abandon people to their fate.”

According to ONEI experts, Cuba will reach 36% population aging by 2040, and the population will have fallen to 8.3 million inhabitants. Unlike other countries, the island currently has no prospect of changing this dynamic through immigration.

*See also these articles and this one.

Translated by GH

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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 top of being cut off, there is a financial problem for families who have contracted Nauta Hogar, the web browsing service offered over fiber-optic cables. According to customers who spoke to this newspaper, many pay more than 1,000 pesos a month and have already lost practically an entire period of connection because of a fault that was not their responsibility.

Many pay more than 1,000 pesos a month for the Nauta Hogar service and have already lost practically an entire period of connection

Now, customers of the cable connection service face the dilemma of paying out the money again without knowing when they will be able to use the service, since they fear that if they stop topping up their accounts while the outage lasts, they will end up losing access to Nauta Hogar. Some are considering continuing to pay while waiting for Etecsa to replace the line damaged by the flames.

Residents, however, can file a claim under Cuban law. Decree 124 of 2025, which regulates Etecsa’s concession, establishes in its Article 13 that the company must not charge its customers for the time they remain without service. It would not be the first time the company has had to compensate an affected customer: in February 2026 it acknowledged that it owed a credit of 1,800 pesos to a user who had spent several months without a landline or Nauta Hogar because of a cable fault.

Decree 124 of 2025 establishes in its Article 13 that Etecsa must not charge its customers for the time they remain without service

In the building where the 14ymedio newsroom is located, many of the apartments have been without a landline for more than a year because of another fault that also burned the cables. Since then, Etecsa has not been able to replace the line.

In the rest of Havana, blackouts not only leave residents in the dark and cut off: they also pit them against one another over the few hours of electricity they receive, even provoking a “war” between the circuits that receive unequal treatment from the UNE.

In Luyanó, residents of the less favored areas protested because the circuits that supply two hospitals, the Miguel Enríquez Clinical Surgical Hospital and the Diez de Octubre Gynecological-Obstetric Hospital, hardly suffered any outages. After months of complaints, petition drives and representations to the authorities, they managed to have the blackouts shared out between the two sides week by week.

The measure had an additional consequence. A resident of the favored circuit explained that when the power is cut to the buildings in the other sector, they are also left without internet, because the Etecsa antenna is installed there. Having power is not enough to be connected. Very often the exact opposite happens.

Last weekend, the discontent also reached Nuevo Vedado, where circuit PZ15 racked up 37 hours and 19 minutes without electricity. Residents staged cacerolazos [pot-banging protests] and shouted from the buildings to demand that the supply be restored. The protest was especially striking in an area where numerous officials and people linked to the ruling party live.

Translated by GH

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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.