Translating Cuba – English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island

Havana Chronicles: Surrounded by Garbage, Miramar Is No Longer the Glamorous Neighborhood It Once Was.

Havana has become a hostile and unsafe city, where it is increasingly difficult to sleep and bathe due to the lack of electricity and water.

Upon returning to my building, I had the impression that a memory had been stolen from me. / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Yoani Sánchez, Havana, June 17, 2026 / I collapse into bed, exhausted. A stroll through the Miramar neighborhood can be worse now than sprinting along the uneven sidewalks of Reina Street in Central Havana. The once glamorous western neighborhood of the Cuban capital is as full of garbage as any corner of Cerro or La Lisa. Mansions with gardens on one side and mountains of trash on the other. Embassies with their national flags flying behind their gates, the stench of filth seeping through the bars.

I walked to 3rd and 70th from my house in Nuevo Vedado. There are fewer electric tricycles because the long hours of blackouts prevent them from charging the batteries of what has become the most common way to get around Havana. The journey submerged me in an zone I gazed at with wonder when I first visited it in my childhood. From that era, I remember gardens with impeccably trimmed hedges, the tranquility of its side streets, and the cleanliness of the central promenade on Fifth Avenue — a far cry from my neighborhood in Cayo Hueso. But none of that remains now.

My walk this Tuesday was through an area of boarded-up, crumbling mansions, traffic lights out, old markets empty, and small businesses with refrigerators that weren’t cold due to the energy crisis. Life, what is life, I saw only outside a few consulates that receive dozens of visitors every day, desperate to leave this island. Returning to my building, I had the impression that a memory had been stolen from me, that memory of my first time walking down 3rd Street, visiting the National Aquarium, and passing through the tunnel under the Almendares River.

A plume of smoke rises against the sky in front of our balcony, seeming to come from somewhere in the Cerro neighborhood. / 14ymedio

I go to bed early. It’s four in the morning on Wednesday, and I’m woken up by a strong smell of burning. I check the house, but the stench is coming from outside. A plume of smoke rises against the sky in front of our balcony, seeming to come from somewhere in the Cerro neighborhood. They’ve probably set fire to a garbage dump. My eyes are burning, so I grab a mask and put it on. There’s no electricity, so I use my rechargeable flashlight to get to the kitchen.

I make some instant coffee. The night has been long and the mosquitoes never give up. I’m more afraid of dengue fever than anything else. My self-esteem, like that of my neighbors, friends, and acquaintances, is at rock bottom. In the midst of speeches that extol national dignity, everyone I meet seems to have lost all their individual dignity or to have only shreds of self-respect left. Unwashed bodies, sleepless nights, and the smell of food on the plate, which seems to scream that it’s spoiled, are like corrosive acid poured on my self-respect.

The ten commandments of survival include not going out at night, remembering to apply insect repellent before going outside, and having as many bars and locks as possible to protect our homes.

Pride is also at odds with fear. Threats come from all sides. “Watch out for the mosquitoes,” a friend tells me, still unable to walk due to the aftereffects of chikungunya. “I don’t go out without this,” a neighbor tells me, showing me the machete he carries on his motorcycle to defend himself against the increasing number of robberies. “Don’t even think about going into that neighborhood alone,” a neighbor advises when I tell her I have to move south in a few days.

Fear has taken root in our lives. The ten commandments of survival include not going out at night, not forgetting to apply insect repellent before stepping outside, installing as many bars and locks as possible to protect our homes, and trying to calm our racing hearts when we repeatedly call someone and they don’t answer, all the while imagining some tragedy that is later explained away by the poor service of the telecommunications monopoly. We live in a constant state of anxiety, with news of fights, stabbings, murders, and robberies coming from all sides, rarely reported in the official press.

But the greatest fear is that nothing will change. The main terror is that this will drag on for weeks, months, and years, robbing us of what little dignity and peace we have left.

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Previous Havana Chronicles:

A Circus Facing Off Against Power, and a City Growing Increasingly Lonely

Chronicle of a Monday That Feels Like Wednesday

“We Used to Complain About the ‘CUC’, But Now We Miss It”

The Roar of Despair of a Cuban Woman Returning to Her Country After Many Years

The Tulipán Market Closed: “They’ve Given the Order To Go to the March for Raúl”

Along Carlos III Street and towards Ethiopia

Sleeping Is Also a Privilege in Havana

A Desperate Plea in the Middle of the Dark Havana Night: ‘Light!’

The Refuse of Disenchantment

Under a Picture-Postcard Blue Sky, the Country is Crumbling

Fatigue Barely Allows One to Enjoy the ‘Lights On’ in Havana

Dollars, the Classic Card, and a Havana Without Tourists

A Journey Through the Lost Names of Havana

The Shipwreck of a Ship Called “Cuba”

Havana Seen From ‘The Control Tower’

In Havana, the Only Ones Who Move Are the Mosquitoes

Reina, the Stately Street Where Garbage is Sold

Searching for Light Through the Deserted Streets of Havana

The Death Throes of ‘Granma’, the Mouthpiece of a Regime Cornered by Crisis

The Anxiety of the Disconnected Cuban

One Mella, Three Mellas, Life in Cuba Is Measured in Thousands of Pesos

It Is Forbidden To Leave Home in Cuba Today Because It Is a “Counter-Revolutionary Day”

Vedado, the Heart of Havana’s Nightlife, Is Now Converted Into a Desert

Havana, in Critical Condition

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The European Parliament Will Vote on Whether To Demand the Suspension of the Agreement With Cuba Due to the Lack of Democratic Progress

The proposal calls for the release of political prisoners, sanctions against Díaz-Canel, and guarantees for the return of exiles.

The absence of references to U.S. economic sanctions has prevented Social Democrats and Greens from joining the text. / EFE

EFE/14ymedio, Strasbourg, June 17, 2026 – The European Parliament will vote this Thursday on a resolution urging the European Union to suspend the Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement with Cuba if the regime does not adopt concrete and significant measures toward full multiparty democracy in the short term.

The proposal, promoted by center-right groups, currently has the support of the European People’s Party, the European Conservatives and Reformists, and the liberals of Renew Europe. Together, the three groups have 343 Members of the European Parliament, 18 fewer than needed to achieve an absolute majority.

The text calls for a specific plan for a political transition, the immediate and unconditional release of nearly 1,300 political prisoners, and guarantees that exiled Cubans may return to the Island without suffering reprisals.

It also condemns the systematic repression of the Cuban regime, calls for sanctions against Miguel Díaz-Canel, and argues that the only way out of the country’s suffering, poverty, and isolation is through profound political and economic change leading, without further delay, to a democratic transition.

“The European Parliament has the opportunity to deliver another slap, but a real and powerful one, to put an end to the Cuban tyranny”

The approval of the resolution will depend to a large extent on Patriots for Europe, which has submitted several amendments to strengthen the language against Havana. The group has tied its final support to the acceptance of those modifications.

“The European Parliament has the opportunity to deliver another slap, but a real and powerful one, to put an end to the Cuban tyranny,” Jorge Buxadé, head of Vox’s delegation in the European Parliament, told EFE.

Buxadé warned that his party would not accept the European People’s Party continue reading

once again “throwing itself into the arms of the progressives,” referring to possible negotiations with Social Democrats and Greens.

The absence of references to United States economic sanctions and restrictions on fuel supplies has prevented those two groups from joining the center-right text. Social Democrats and Greens have presented an alternative proposal that, in addition to denouncing repression and demanding the release of political prisoners, calls on Washington to end what they describe as “illegitimate practices” against Cuba.

The division over the role of the United States threatens to prevent a common position in the European Parliament

Social Democratic negotiator Leire Pajín stated that her group shares the condemnation of the political rights situation on the Island, the demand for economic and political reforms, and the call for respect for fundamental freedoms.

However, she argued that a resolution on Cuba’s severe humanitarian deterioration should include “all the reasons” that have contributed to the crisis.

Pajín mentioned the long-standing economic embargo and the recent measures by the Trump Administration against oil supplies to the Island, which, she said, have worsened blackouts and shortages of medicines and food.

The Socialist MEP also stressed that Washington’s measures have begun to directly affect European economic interests, after hotel chains such as Meliá Hotels International and Iberostar announced that they would cease operating some of their establishments in Cuba. “When that happens, we have to denounce the situation in all its elements from the beginning,” she maintained.

The division over the role of the United States thus threatens to prevent a common position in the European Parliament, despite the fact that the main groups agree in denouncing repression, calling for the release of political prisoners, and demanding profound reforms from the Cuban regime.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Vehicles and Fuel Contribute to the Sharp Increase in U.S. Sales to Cuba

In the first four months of the year, the Island’s purchases grew by 74% and reached more than 291 million dollars.

Fuel exports have multiplied in just a few months, adding more value in April than in the previous three months combined. / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Madrid, June 17, 2026 — The authorization granted to U.S. companies to sell fuel to private businesses in Cuba is generating substantial profits for exporters, who in the first four months of the year have already earned 24 million dollars. Sales volumes are soaring month after month, and in April alone they doubled what was obtained in March, exceeding 12 million dollars.

According to data provided by the U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic Council (US-Cuba Trade), through the fourth month of the year the Island’s private MSMEs [Micro, Small, Medium Enterprises] purchased gasoline worth 3.72 million dollars, diesel and other blends worth 8.24 million dollars, and lubricants and specialized oils worth 470,714 dollars. The largest share of the total went to fuel oil, with more than 11.13 million dollars, with Texas being the principal source of all these fuels, although Miami also had significant participation in processing the shipments.

At the end of January, when the Trump Administration authorized this type of sale for the first time, the volume amounted to only 87,746 dollars. At the same time, the oil blockade affecting the Island came into force, and from that moment the figure began to grow rapidly, reaching 2.44 million dollars in February and 8,788,501 dollars in March. April therefore represented a substantial increase, with 12,375,227 dollars. continue reading

April therefore represented a substantial increase, with 12,375,227 dollars

Although the value of the purchases is known, what has not been quantified is the volume. The rise in prices has also been significant in recent months due to the war with Iran, but the financial news outlet Bloomberg, which places total shipments to Cuba at 3,300, mentions at least 275 diesel shipments and 82 gasoline shipments, most of them in so-called isotanks. According to its calculations, each of these steel cylinders must be mounted on shipping container frames and each can carry a maximum of 150 barrels of fuel (23,848 liters).

The quantity is, Bloomberg says, “insignificant” compared to bulk shipments on tanker vessels, which can transport 250,000 barrels per voyage, a point recently highlighted by Cuban authorities, who acknowledged that this relief existed but was insignificant and limited only to MSMEs.

The impact of these 24 million dollars is very noticeable in the overall account of embargo exemptions, which has surged thanks to fuels but above all to automobile sales, which operate under a license granted by the Biden Administration that the Trump Administration has never revoked. In the first four months of 2025, Cuba imported goods from the United States worth 167.6 million dollars, including 119.2 million dollars in food products (mainly chicken); 1.2 million dollars in motor lubricants; and 46.6 million dollars in vehicles, machinery, and other goods.

By contrast, in the same period of the current year, the total grew by 74% to reach 291.5 million dollars, with 134.7 million dollars in food, 24 million in fuel, and 132.8 million in vehicles. This category experienced a real boom, tripling the figures from the first four months of 2025.

The data corresponding to agricultural exports and certain authorized goods are more difficult to analyze, since they fluctuate so much that comparisons depend on the reference point. For example, if one considers this same first four-month period, there is indeed an increase of 13%. By contrast, Cubatrade records a decline of 12%, because it includes some different products in the comparison.

In April, Cuba acquired agricultural products worth 44 million dollars, much more than the 36,655,397 dollars of the same month in 2025 and the 40,624,058 dollars in 2024. In addition, the amount also increased compared with March 2026, when it totaled 36,967,947 dollars. The volume has been rising since January, when the United States increased sanctions on Cuba. April’s value was the highest for that month in 17 years and the fourth highest in 25 years, although price increases must be taken into account.

Of those products, chicken accounts for more than 44% of sales, with its various cuts occupying the top three positions on the list, representing a total of 19,480,875 dollars. It is followed by soybean meal, used mainly for domestic animal feed, for which 4,554,552 dollars were paid. The country usually imports about 350,000 tons per year.

Of those products, chicken accounts for more than 44% of sales, with its various cuts occupying the top three positions on the list, representing a total of 19,480,875 dollars

Other products purchased include corn (3,008,120 dollars), eggs, with purchases totaling 1,682,915 dollars; pork, with expenditures of 1,579,220 dollars; and rice, with 828,846 dollars.

The United States also exported other products related to the electrical crisis, such as solar panels worth 299,861 dollars and diesel-powered electric generators worth 34,080 dollars, as well as 16,800 dollars in manicure and pedicure preparations.

Cuba’s food dependence on foreign sources has increased in recent years as domestic production has declined. One example is sugar, once the engine of the country’s economy and a source of prestige and foreign currency that now arrives from abroad. In 2025, the Island purchased 14.9 million dollars’ worth from the United States, while in 2024 it spent 11.1 million dollars.

Cuba used to consume 700,000 tons of sugar per year and export the remainder, but with current production levels the situation has changed radically, and since at least 2020, every sugar harvest carried out on the Island has been described as the worst in the last 100 years.

In 2025, Cuba purchased goods from the United States worth 490,111,943 dollars, ranking third behind China and Spain. The Island depends on imports for more than 80% of its basic food needs. Rice arrives from Guyana, Vietnam, or China; pasta from Turkey; canned sardines from Venezuela; and grains from Portugal, among other products.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Delta Suspends Its Atlanta Flights and Cuts Miami–Havana Service by 50%

For now, American Airlines, along with Southwest Airlines, continues to operate five daily flights to the Cuban capital and also connects with four other cities on the Island.

The U.S. company Delta retains its flight rights and can reactivate the route whenever it wishes. / EFE

14ymedio, Madrid, June 17, 2026 — Delta Air Lines has announced the cancellation of its direct route between Havana and Atlanta due to declining demand for travel to Cuba. The company says that “current aviation market conditions simply do not justify the volume of seats previously allocated” and has requested a temporary waiver from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) allowing it to suspend service without losing its operating rights.

The waiver would allow the airline to preserve its flight rights, which it may reactivate at any time if conditions change. Going forward, Delta will maintain only its direct flights between Miami and Havana, operating once daily. As a result, travelers wishing to reach Cuba from other U.S. cities will be required to connect through Florida.

Delta has stated that its decision is intended to focus on Cuban-American travelers, who have recently become the most important group of visitors to the Island since international tourism collapsed. However, the airline is cutting the frequency of its flights by half. It now trails American Airlines (AA), which currently offers the greatest connectivity between the United States and Cuba.

Delta has stated that its decision is intended to focus on Cuban-American travelers, who have recently become the most important group of visitors

According to the latest data, American Airlines continues this June to operate five daily flights between Miami and Havana, as well as one daily flight to continue reading

Holguín (Frank País Airport) and Santa Clara (Abel Santamaría Airport). In addition, it offers four weekly flights from Miami to Varadero (Juan Gualberto Gómez Airport) and Santiago de Cuba (Antonio Maceo Grajales Airport), though there are currently no scheduled routes to Camagüey.

The other U.S. airline that continues to fly regularly to Cuba is Southwest Airlines, which this June maintains one daily flight from Tampa to Havana.

According to the latest report from Cuba’s National Office of Statistics and Information (ONEI), covering the month of May, 4,491 Americans traveled to Cuba during that month. In addition, 14,701 Cubans living abroad visited the Island during the same period, many of whom likely arrived from the United States, although the exact number is unknown.

During the first quarter of the year, 17,034 Americans traveled to Cuba, a 56.8% decrease compared with the same period the previous year. As for Cubans living abroad, the number reached 34,233, down 42.8% from January through March 2025. That report does separate exiles by airport of origin, making it possible to determine that nearly 90% came from the United States. Specifically, by March, 10,072 Cubans had arrived from the neighboring country.

As for Cubans living abroad, the number reached 34,233, a 42.8% decrease compared with January–March 2025

The withdrawal of all Canadian and Russian airlines, along with route reductions by carriers from other countries—including Spain, the second-largest country of origin for Cubans living abroad—has meant that Americans and Cuban exiles have now become the Island’s primary tourism market.

Among the other international airlines still serving Cuba is Copa Airlines, which operates daily flights from Panama to Havana, Santa Clara, and Holguín. From Spain, Air Europa is the only airline still flying directly to Cuba, along with Air China, which operates the Beijing–Madrid–Havana route.

Also maintaining service, though on a much smaller scale, are Aeroméxico, Conviasa, Wingo, Caribbean Airlines, InterCaribbean Airways, Cayman Airways, TAAG Angola Airlines, Bahamasair, Rutaca, Aruba Airlines, Fly All Ways, Sky High, and Neos, in addition to charter flights from the United States and the Caribbean.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Díaz-Canel Calls on Three ‘Critical’ Experts to Advise the Cuban Government on Economic Reforms

According to the Spanish news agency EFE, the members of the group are Omar Everleny Pérez, Juan Triana, and Julio Carranza, along with former minister José Luis Rodríguez García and lawmaker José Carlos del Toro Ríos.

The National Assembly will discuss the proposals this Thursday. / 14ymedio

14ymedio/EFE, Havana/Madrid, June 17, 2026 — Three Cuban economists who have been “critical” of the regime are part of a group of experts convened by President Miguel Díaz-Canel to propose reforms that go beyond those already announced, three sources familiar with the initiative confirmed to EFE.

The Spanish news agency reports that the team has already held its first meeting, following an initial contact session last Friday. That was the day the president announced reforms that, according to his own explanation, were largely measures already approved or planned, including the reduction of ministries, new housing and agricultural land laws, greater flexibility in exports, and opening investment opportunities to Cuban Americans.

In addition, Díaz-Canel left several questions unanswered, including pending changes in the tourism sector and a reduction in the activities currently prohibited to the private sector.

EFE now reports that the initiative comes directly from the Presidency and has no connection to the teams of Prime Minister Manuel Marrero and Minister of Economy and Planning Joaquín Alonso

EFE now reports that the initiative comes directly from the Presidency and has no connection to the teams of Prime Minister Manuel Marrero and Minister of Economy and Planning Joaquín Alonso.

Among the five experts who make up the core of this new advisory team are Omar Everleny Pérez, Juan Triana, and Julio Carranza, all of whom have for years regularly expressed their views in independent media and called for economic reforms. Some have spent years outside official circles. However, none of the three fits exactly into the category of radical critical economist. They are, with important differences, moderate reformers, historically or currently linked to official institutions.

Pérez Villanueva has been the most direct critic of the government’s economic management. The former director of the Center for Studies of the Cuban Economy (CEEC) has blamed the crisis not only on US sanctions, but also on internal errors, low productivity, obstacles to the private sector, and a lack of investment. His proposals aim to expand the scope of micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), reform agriculture, grant greater autonomy to businesses, and create a functional foreign exchange market, although his proposals do not place him outside the framework of socialism.

Triana Cordoví, for his part, has developed a more institutional critique, focusing on the slowness, contradictions, and constant “back and forth” of official economic policy. Linked for years to the Ceec (Center for Economic and Business Studies), he calls for more stable regulations, a realistic exchange rate, and the permanent recognition of the private sector within the national economy. His proposals seek to correct excessive centralization and improve the functioning of a mixed economic model, but they do not represent a political break nor do they question the central role the State reserves for its companies. continue reading

Carranza Valdés aligns more clearly with the reformist socialist tradition. For decades, he has advocated a comprehensive transformation of the model, with greater scope for the market, regulated private property, decentralization, and foreign investment. His criticism is directed at the implementation of piecemeal and disconnected measures and the government’s inability to address structural problems, but he does not propose abandoning socialism. More than a dissident, he is an economist who proposes reforming it to make it viable.

The core advisory team is completed by two figures from the official establishment: former Minister of Economy and Planning José Luis Rodríguez García and José Carlos del Toro Ríos, president of the National Association of Economists and Accountants (ANEC).

Their proposals vary, but they generally agree on the direction they believe the Island’s economy should take in order to achieve overall stabilization, strengthen its foundations, and move toward sustainable economic growth. None of them ignores the damage caused by the U.S. sanctions.

With varying degrees of emphasis, they advocate giving greater weight to the private sector, opening the Island to foreign investment, granting more autonomy to state-owned enterprises, promoting local agricultural and industrial production, creating legal certainty, and addressing the current monetary chaos (with two currencies, three official exchange rates, and an informal market rate).

The core of the advisory team is completed by two figures from the ruling party: former Minister of Economy and Planning José Luis Rodríguez García, and the president of the National Association of Economists and Accountants (ANEC), José Carlos del Toro Ríos. Both are also deputies in the National Assembly of People’s Power (ANPP).

With varying degrees of emphasis, they advocate giving greater weight to the private sector, opening the Island to foreign investment, granting more autonomy to state-owned enterprises, promoting local agricultural and industrial production, creating legal certainty, and addressing the current monetary chaos

The goal is for these experts’ proposals to build upon the package of measures announced by Díaz-Canel last Friday, which will be evaluated Wednesday afternoon by the Central Committee of the Cuban Communist Party. Following that, on Thursday, and with its approval, the reforms will be submitted to the ANPP, which typically ratifies proposals unanimously.

The purpose of these economic changes is twofold: to address the deep structural crisis affecting the Island and to ease pressure from the United States, which is demanding profound political and economic reforms from Havana and has even threatened military intervention to achieve them.

Many fear that the regime may choose—with Washington’s acceptance—to implement only economic changes, moving toward a model similar to that of China or Vietnam, the latter considered a key U.S. partner.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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The Soaring Rise of the Dollar Complicates Cubans’ Arithmetic of Survival

Families are reducing their purchases as the national currency loses value, while small businesses struggle to avoid bankruptcy.

From a conventional business perspective, changing prices so frequently is a mistake. In Cuba, it is survival. / 14ymedio

14ymedio, San José de Las Lajas (Mayabeque), Julio César Contreras, June 16, 2026 – By mid-morning, activity in the small private shops of San José de Las Lajas increasingly resembles a scene of shared uncertainty. Customers come in, ask the price of a product, do the math in their heads, and often leave empty-handed. On the other side of the counter, vendors do not have definitive answers either: they know how much the merchandise cost a week ago, but they cannot say for sure how much it will be worth in a few days.

The dizzying rise of the dollar in Cuba’s informal market has turned even the simplest purchase into a daily exercise in household arithmetic. In a municipality where, as in the rest of the country, salaries are paid in pesos while many products are imported and paid for in foreign currency, every jump in the exchange rate triggers a new wave of price increases in national currency.

At a cafeteria near the main park, a young woman checks the contents of her wallet several times before deciding what to buy. Behind the counter, beneath a chalkboard with hand-written prices, pastries and candies wait for customers who are buying less and less.

Behind the counter, beneath a chalkboard with hand-written prices, pastries and candies wait for customers who are buying less and less. / 14ymedio

“The tube of mortadella that cost 500 pesos less than a month ago was 600 last week and today it’s 650. I used to rely on that a lot for my children’s snacks. However, everything has become so expensive that I’m only giving them a small piece of bread with continue reading

whatever I can find. It breaks my heart,” laments Yaritza, as she tries to manage the money she has available to buy the most urgent necessities.

A single mother and teaching assistant, she says she no longer knows which small private business to turn to for cooking oil or meat products that have not increased by at least 50 pesos over the last month.

“At the current exchange rate, my salary doesn’t even reach 10 dollars a month. I say this because, while it’s true that the most basic things are still priced in pesos, the real value of food and essential goods has to be measured in dollars, since that is how private merchants pay for them.”

Although she describes herself as bad at math, Yaritza has mastered an operation that millions of Cubans perform every day: mentally converting the price of every product into its dollar value and comparing it to a salary that is rapidly losing purchasing power.

The situation is also hitting those who run businesses. A few meters from an elementary school, Abel manages a cafeteria whose regular customers are children and their relatives. For years, candies and sweets were a safe bet. Now, the constant rise in prices threatens the stability of his venture.

“Until now I’ve always had good profitability, but things are getting complicated because there is nothing worse for commerce than constantly changing product prices,” he explains to 14ymedio.

One of his star products was María cookies. “The kids used to run out of school and buy two or three packages each. Now a box of 24 units lasts me five days or more. What happened? I’ve been forced to raise the price because my suppliers have raised it on me too.”

Abel recalls that at the beginning of this year, with 500 pesos a customer could buy two packages. Today, it is barely enough for one, with some change left over that can hardly be spent on anything else. “I’m trying to find more affordable options so I don’t keep losing customers. My family’s livelihood depends on this cafeteria.”

In other businesses around the municipality, the concern is the same. Some owners have chosen to review their prices weekly to avoid losses caused by the depreciation of the Cuban peso.

“I restock my kiosk once a week. Then, depending on how the dollar is behaving, I raise the prices of certain products I sell to guarantee in advance a cost structure that allows me to remain profitable,” explains Delvys.

The merchant acknowledges that, from a conventional business perspective, changing prices so frequently is a mistake. “But in the harsh Cuban reality, it’s a way to avoid going bankrupt.” With a calculator always within reach, Delvys tries to stay ahead of fluctuations in the informal market.

At the entrance of some businesses, customers wait their turn leaning against freshly varnished wooden counters. / 14ymedio

“Putting myself in the customer’s position, I understand it’s difficult to buy a bottle of oil today for 1,300 pesos and see it cost 1,500 next week. People complain, and they are absolutely right.” He gives a recent example: Cristal beer, which a few days ago sold for 350 pesos and is now around 420. “If I don’t raise the price, with what money do I buy it again? How do I pay my employees, and where is my profit?”

At the entrance of some businesses, customers wait their turn leaning against freshly varnished wooden counters. Others talk about the latest dollar exchange rate, which has become as common a topic as the weather forecast or the blackouts.

“In this roller coaster where we all buy from someone else, we’re constantly on the verge of losing money,” Delvys sums up. “There are no winners here.”

In San José de Las Lajas, the price of the dollar is no longer just an economic indicator. It is the exact measure of how much a family can eat, how long merchandise remains on a shelf, and how many times someone must think before taking any product home.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Bank Robbed in Havana Hours Before Pension Payments Were to Be Distributed

On the same street and during the same night, solar panels were stolen from a nursing home.

Metropolitan Bank branch on Dolores and 18th Street, in Lawton, Havana, this Tuesday. / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, June 16, 2026 — The Metropolitan Bank branch located at Dolores and 18th Street in Lawton, Havana, was robbed Monday night during a blackout, as confirmed by 14ymedio at the scene. “They broke the ATM and got in through there,” a resident living near the branch told the newspaper, although there was no visible sign today that the bank had been burglarized.

Several retirees were surprised by the news on Tuesday when they found the branch closed. Tuesday was the day they were scheduled to collect their pensions. For that reason, it is plausible that the bank had more cash on hand than usual. Currently in Havana, individuals cannot withdraw more than 1,000 pesos at a time, and only in small denominations. “I imagine they must have brought a truckload of 20-peso bills,” one customer remarked with bitter irony.

Several retirees were surprised by the news on Tuesday when they found the branch closed. / 14ymedio

The Ministry of the Interior immediately launched an operation in response, but authorities have provided no information about the incident.

On the same street, Dolores, and during the same blackout, thieves also stole the solar panels from a nursing home located at the corner of 11th Street.

These incidents add to the growing list of crimes committed under the cover of blackouts, which leave streets and homes in complete darkness. “After 8:00 at night it’s impossible to go out, not only because of the darkness, but because people are being robbed and thieves are even breaking into continue reading

apartment buildings while the owners are still inside,” a resident of the Reparto de los Médicos neighborhood in San José de las Lajas told this newspaper two months ago.

Nursing home at Dolores and 11th Street in Lawton, Havana, robbed during the blackout. / 14ymedio

Power outages are approaching 48 hours in some areas, exhausting the population’s patience and triggering numerous protests, often involving residents banging pots and pans. Also on Tuesday, Gerardo Hernández Nordelo, coordinator of the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution (CDRs), posted on social media that he was in La Güinera, one of Havana’s neighborhoods where the repression of the July 11 and 12, 2021 demonstrations was particularly severe. There, according to the former spy, “there are districts affected by a breakdown that has prolonged the blackout for nearly 40 hours, causing frustration among residents.”

The daily report issued by Cuba’s Electric Union itself acknowledges that service was disrupted for more than 24 hours yesterday, as the power deficit persisted “throughout the early morning hours.” With the Antonio Guiteras thermoelectric plant showing no signs of a quick recovery, nine thermoelectric generating units remain offline, along with more than 100 distributed-generation plants that are out of service due to fuel shortages.

During Tuesday evening’s peak demand period, Cuba is expected to be short by 2,000 megawatts (MW) out of a maximum demand of 3,000 MW, two-thirds of the electricity needed. Only 1,030 MW of generating capacity will be available.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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The Cuban Communist Party Calls Plenum to Ratify Economic Reforms

The National Assembly will evaluate the new measures this Thursday.
Although the press, especially the international media, has largely accepted that narrative, most of the announcements made on Friday were laws and decrees that had already been published in the Official Gazette.

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel at the closing session of the most recent Plenum of the Central Committee of the Communist Party. / Estudios Revolución

14ymedio/EFE, Havana, June 16, 2026 — The Communist Party of Cuba (PCC) on Monday called an extraordinary plenary session of its Central Committee, to be held this Wednesday, to “evaluate” the package of economic reforms announced last Friday by President Miguel Díaz-Canel.

The announcement, published on social media and in official media outlets, states that the initiative came from the Political Bureau, the PCC’s highest governing body and, in practice, the country’s top decision-making authority.

In practice, the plenary session is expected merely to confirm measures that were, for the most part, already anticipated, if not already approved.

In practice, the plenary session is expected merely to confirm measures that were, for the most part, already anticipated, if not already approved

On June 12, Díaz-Canel unexpectedly appeared on State media to unveil a group of reforms that include changes aimed at decentralizing authority and granting greater “autonomy” to State-owned enterprises and continue reading

municipalities.

Although the media, especially the international outlets, have portrayed the announcement as a significant shift, most of Friday’s measures were laws and decrees already published in the Official Gazette. These include the opening of exports without State intermediaries, approved in April; various forms of business partnerships, announced in March; and draft laws on agricultural land and housing, presented earlier this month.

Díaz-Canel also introduced some new proposals for which details remain unavailable, including changes to the real estate business and the tourism sector. According to the president, the reforms will allow different forms of management and seek out “new modalities” and “new actors.”

He also spoke of the possibility of reducing the list of activities prohibited to the private sector. However, he stopped short of saying that prohibited activities would disappear entirely, stating instead that the scope of permitted business activities would be “as broad as possible” and that opportunities for equity participation would be expanded.

Díaz-Canel further appealed to Cuban emigrants to invest in the country, despite the fact that the government has spent years promoting such investments, including through conferences aimed at entrepreneurs interested in cooperating with the regime.

Díaz-Canel further appealed to Cuban emigrants to invest in the country, despite the fact that the government has spent years promoting such investments, including through conferences aimed at entrepreneurs interested in cooperating with the regime.

At the time, Díaz-Canel said the reform package would be ratified in the coming weeks by the PCC’s Political Bureau.

As is customary in Cuba, once the measures receive approval from the Central Committee of the Communist Party, a key political body in the country, they will then be submitted to the National Assembly of People’s Power (ANPP), where proposals are typically approved unanimously.

Abroad, the reforms have been interpreted as an unprecedented opening prompted by pressure from the United States. However, most Cuban analysts and media observers note that nearly all of the measures are decisions that were already underway, already in force, or anticipated in previous meetings of the country’s leadership.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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“If It Weren’t for the Private Sector, Many of Cuba’s Grandmas and Grandpas Would Be Left With Half a Plate of Food”

Cuba’s Family Assistance System survives with great difficulty thanks to the non-state sector.

Municipalities are contributing 1% of their budgets to repair the deplorable condition of dining facilities, according to government officials. / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Madrid, June 16, 2026 – Diners in the Family Assistance System (SAF) have been left without dessert. Authorities acknowledge this in a lengthy report published Tuesday by Cubadebate, devoted to addressing the problems facing this program, which functions as almost the last safety net for the most vulnerable. Today, with the State’s virtually nonexistent resources, it survives—or rather, barely survives—almost entirely thanks to support from private businesses and cooperatives.

The situation is so extreme that last February the Government authorized an almost entirely private alternative: community care homes. Ideally designed for smaller, rural populations, these centers are managed by self-employed workers licensed to provide food services. They serve groups of up to 10 vulnerable people and receive a small initial boost from the State: the equivalent of a two-month supply package, funding for equipment, advisory services, among other support, in exchange for providing the required services and charging no more than 50 pesos per meal.

This Sunday, the provincial newspaper of Villa Clara reported that there are already 29 such homes in Guantánamo, Holguín, and Santiago de Cuba. The eastern region will have the largest number (105) of the 325 expected to open across the Island. What is striking is that this option, originally intended for more remote populations that the SAF had difficulty reaching, has had to be implemented in the Cuban capital itself, as the Cubadebate report acknowledges. “On the outskirts of Havana—Cotorro, Arroyo, Habana del Este, La Lisa—they have gone even further. Faced with the absence of state or private entities capable of providing food services, they are creating the so-called community care homes,” the continue reading

report states.

What is striking is that this option, originally intended for more remote populations that the SAF had difficulty reaching, has had to be implemented in the Cuban capital itself, as the report acknowledges

In addition, SAF dining halls increasingly rely on support from private businesses. Liliam de la Rosa Domínguez, administrator of one such center, El Río in the Plaza de la Revolución, explains that the facility served about 84 diners last month. “In my case, I have State partners, such as the restaurant that helps us improve the food we provide,” she says, but private small and medium-sized enterprises also contribute main dishes, ice cream, spices, and even bread twice a week. “That bread isn’t charged for; it’s free. Right now we’re affected by the flour shortage, yet they still are able to eat bread,” she says.

According to the official, the Ministry of Domestic Trade requires five portions: boiled root vegetables, salad, rice, beans, and a protein dish (ground meat, hamburger, croquette, fish, chicken, or pork). Dessert, she notes, “has gone by the wayside,” although it still appears on the list as a dish that should exist “in theory.” The data show that about 76,000 people are registered in the SAF’s 1,445 units. The program was created as a state initiative in 1998 and now requires a contribution of 1% of municipal budgets for repairs because some facilities are in deplorable condition, admits José Antonio González, a Commerce Department official in Havana.

In the capital there are about 16,092 beneficiaries, he says. Although the figure fluctuates and the trend is upward due to demographic factors, authorities also acknowledge that some people have stopped attending because of transportation difficulties.

In contrast to the relatively successful operation of El Río SAF, the Villanueva center in Boyeros reports countless problems. Several users express gratitude for its existence, as well as for the companionship and efforts of its workers, but when asked about the food, the complaints begin. “To improve, we need supplies. Better-quality food,” says one woman. “There have been gas shortages here, but we’ve never gone without eating. I wish the food would improve, that the portions were larger, because pensions aren’t enough.” “There is no breakfast, no afternoon snack, only lunch and dinner. And that’s not enough for the whole day.”

Workers point out that food is not the only problem and call for more doctors and social workers, but, they say, “salaries are very low and conditions are bad.” Inflation is also hitting the system hard. “Now a pound of sugar costs 400 pesos, if you can even find it. A retiree can’t even drink a glass of sugar water. The country’s economic situation is very bad,” they explain. Another user, Elsa, says she receives a pension of 4,000 pesos, but basic utility bills alone consume 3,500 pesos.

“Just as institutions sponsor schools, they should sponsor dining halls for the elderly. They should find sponsors, even if only for donations”

The outlet asks the retiree how SAF services could be improved. “Just as institutions sponsor schools, they should sponsor dining halls for the elderly. They should find sponsors, even if only for donations,” she argues. The administrator, who now spends his time gathering firewood to cook because there is no gas, believes local private businesses contribute less than those in other areas. “Private individuals can do more. I know things are bad for everyone, but they could help a little more. In other neighborhoods they do, but not here.”

Enrique Martínez, administrator of El Rampeño in El Vedado, argues that the true backbone of the SAF is cooperation between the state and non-state sectors. “Today the State gives us a certain amount of food and a little bit of protein, which is all we have,” he admits. The State provides about ten or twelve kilograms of processed luncheon meat and some ground fish, pitiful amounts for 95 users. “It doesn’t last the month,” he says, admitting that without private support, “many elderly people would be left with half a plate of food.”

After visiting several dining facilities, Cubadebate concludes that it is necessary to go beyond the current concept and sets out a series of demands whose fulfillment remains uncertain given the current situation. “Perhaps it is time to think beyond this. To turn SAF centers into comprehensive service centers, not just dining halls. To ensure that a doctor has fixed office hours. That delivery services no longer depend on the goodwill of a neighbor who died and was never replaced. That missing teeth, dentures, and walking canes cease to be luxuries. And that the non-state sector receives real incentives to sponsor these programs, rather than inspectors who drive them away.”

Translated by Regina Anavy

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University Admissions Without Entrance Exams Raises More Questions Than Opportunities in Matanzas, Cuba

The elimination of these tests has left thousands of students who spent years preparing feeling frustrated and has fueled fears of favoritism and declining academic standards.

José Luis Dubrocq Pre-University School in Matanzas. / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Julio César Contreras, Matanzas, June 15, 2026 — In the mornings, small groups of students still gather in front of the old Secondary Education Institute of Matanzas on 2 de Mayo Street. On a marble wall, two teenagers chat without much enthusiasm, while a few yards away several pre-university students walk down the sidewalk with backpacks slung over their shoulders. The scene looks like any other end of the school year, but this year there is something different: for the first time in a long while, students finishing twelfth grade will not have to take the traditional university entrance exams.

The news surprised some and confirmed the predictions of others. The Ministry of Higher Education announced that the Mathematics, Spanish, and Cuban History exams had been suspended and that admission to higher education would be determined by students’ cumulative academic averages throughout their pre-university years.

For Betty, a twelfth-grade student at José Luis Dubrocq Pre-University School, the decision came too late and in the worst possible way.

“The way to earn a place in a good degree program was to get high scores on the exams. Now they’re changing the rules when we’re already at the finish line”

“I’ve been preparing for these tests since ninth grade. My parents have spent money on tutors, books, and study materials. Everyone knew that the way to get into a good degree program was to earn high marks on the entrance exams. Now they’re changing the rules when we’re already at the finish line,” she continue reading

complains.

She hopes to study Psychology. She has a grade-point average of 98.9 but fears that may not be enough.

“They say they’re going to take ‘overall development’ into account. I was never very involved in political events or extracurricular activities. Now I see classmates with lower grades ranked above me. That raises a lot of questions.”

The concerns are precisely the topic most frequently discussed in family conversations. For years, the entrance exams served as a kind of final referee. People could debate the quality of the tests or the inequalities between students who could afford tutors and those who could not, but in the end there was a common national evaluation for everyone.

Now, many parents believe the process will be more difficult to understand and, above all, harder to oversee.

Around the pre-university school on 2 de Mayo Street, where generations of Matanzas residents prepared for university admission, opinions are sharply divided.

“The best degree programs always end up in the hands of those with the most influence. That’s not just me saying it, everyone says it”

“My aunt has important connections in the Education Ministry and is already finding out how all of this works,” admits Magdiel, another senior-year student. “For me, it’s a good thing they got rid of the exams. What matters now is having the right contacts and being well positioned when it comes time to assign university places.”

The young man hopes to enter medical school and speaks with a frankness that makes some uncomfortable. “The best degree programs always end up in the hands of those with the most influence. That’s not just me saying it, everyone says it.”

Although some consider that perception exaggerated, it has spread among students and their families. The elimination of the exams has fueled suspicions that subjective factors may now carry greater weight in the allocation of university places.

A mathematics teacher, who prefers to remain anonymous, acknowledges that the change has caused dissatisfaction among many educators.

“I have outstanding students who spent years training for those exams. Some saw the tests as an opportunity to demonstrate what they knew regardless of their academic record or level of participation in school activities.”

The teacher believes the problem is not only the elimination of the exams. “What worries me is the message it sends. Tenth- and eleventh-grade students are seeing that the rules can change overnight. That affects academic motivation.”

Many teachers fear that the decision will deepen problems already affecting Cuban higher education

Authorities defend the measure by arguing that systematic evaluation over several years can reflect a student’s true performance better than an exam taken over a few hours. They also assure students that everyone will be guaranteed a university place, although not necessarily in the degree program of their choice.

In Matanzas, however, the debate has gone beyond the admissions process itself. Many teachers fear that the decision will aggravate existing problems in Cuban higher education: declining standards, a weakening culture of effort, and difficulties in selecting the best-prepared students.

Meanwhile, the school year is heading toward an early end. Classes will conclude several weeks ahead of schedule because of the energy and transportation difficulties facing the country.

In front of the old Secondary Education Institute building, now converted into a pre-university school, students continue to come and go on fragmented schedules. Some talk about university degree programs, others about blackouts, transportation, or emigration. Yet they all seem to share the same feeling: that they are living through a period of transition in which no one knows exactly what the rules of the game will be.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Spanish Platform EnvíosCuba, Linked to Gaesa, Suspends Operations

Unlike Katapulk, Supermarket23, Cubamax, and Cuballama, which continue to operate, this platform worked directly with Cimex stores.

EnvíosCuba promoted itself as a platform offering more than 10,000 products and coverage in every municipality across the country. / EnvíosCuba

14ymedio, Madrid, June 15, 2026 — “For reasons beyond our control, we are unable to continue providing our services.” With that brief message, EnvíosCuba announced on Sunday the closure of one of the main platforms used by Cuban emigrants to purchase food, household appliances, and personal care products for relatives on the Island.

The company did not clarify whether the suspension would be temporary or permanent, nor did it explain the reasons behind the decision. EnvíosCuba advertised itself as a platform with more than 10,000 products and a presence in every municipality in Cuba.

Under its umbrella, however, operated stores and websites such as La Puntilla, Plaza de Carlos III, Puerto Envío, ElectroEnvío, Mercado, and Almacén-On, all linked to the State retail networks Cimex and Tiendas Caribe, both controlled by the military conglomerate Gaesa. continue reading

Both companies shared the same address in Palma de Mallorca, and Almacén-On’s privacy policy even referred customers to Nactws

Almacén-On’s legal documentation further reveals that the platform used several interconnected Spanish companies. While EnvíosCuba was managed by Nactws, S.L.U., Almacén-On identified Lorengrave, S.L.U. as the responsible entity.

Both companies shared the same address in Palma de Mallorca, and Almacén-On’s privacy policy referred customers to Nactws for certain procedures and complaints. These overlaps point to a coordinated corporate structure rather than a collection of independent stores coincidentally hosted on the same platform.

Formally, EnvíosCuba was operated by Nactws, a Spanish company managed by Sonia Álvarez Pérez. Based on corporate records, Diario de Cuba reported that Álvarez Pérez owned 100% of the company’s capital.

Investigations published by CubaNet in 2023 linked Álvarez Pérez to her husband, Vladimir Graverán Becerra, and their daughter, Anabel Graverán Álvarez. All three were connected to a network of companies established in Canada and Spain to provide technology, remittance, and e-commerce services to Gaesa.

“It felt like dealing with the police. They asked for more information than State Security,” one customer told this newspaper

Nactws’ business expanded rapidly during its early years. The company’s revenue grew from approximately 264,000 euros in 2019 to 2.2 million in 2020 and 4.9 million in 2021, although the trend reversed after the pandemic. The latest available figures place its sales at roughly 1.2 million euros in 2024.

A former customer recalled that the purchasing process required extensive information about both the payer and the recipient in Cuba. “It felt like dealing with the police. They asked for more information than State Security,” he said.

In addition to addresses and telephone numbers, the platform requested identity information and other data intended, according to the company, to verify transactions and complete deliveries. Its privacy policy allowed such information to be shared with financial institutions, payment processors, and transportation and distribution companies.

The platform’s warranty conditions also referred customers to repair workshops operated by the Tiendas Caribe chain, another major state retail network. The company has not explained how it will handle pending orders or refunds.

The closure highlights EnvíosCuba’s strong dependence on the Cuban regime’s commercial and financial system. The platform served as an international storefront for State-run stores and converted part of the family assistance sent from abroad into purchases within the State-controlled retail network.

Instead of receiving money directly, relatives received goods purchased in euros or dollars from abroad

Instead of receiving money directly, relatives received goods purchased in euros or dollars from abroad. In this way, the Cuban State collected hard currency outside the country while delivering products inside Cuba that were generally sold at very high prices.

For now, EnvíosCuba’s disappearance contrasts with the continued operation of other platforms such as Katapulk, Supermarket23, Cubamax, and Cuballama. Their websites remained active on Sunday and continued offering deliveries and sales to recipients on the Island.

The difference may lie in the structure of their operations. Some of these companies collect and retain money outside Cuba, import goods through private firms, or maintain their own inventories and distribution networks. EnvíosCuba, by contrast, was directly connected to Cimex and Tiendas Caribe stores and to the payment infrastructure of the state retail system.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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The Guiteras Power Plant Goes Offline Again, for the Fifteenth Time So Far This Year

The boiler is experiencing another problem, three days after the last repair, and the expected deficit stands at 2,085 megawatts this Monday.

Workers repairing a breakdown on the Antonio Guiteras CTE, in an archive image. / Girón

14ymedio, Madrid, June 15, 2026 / WWhen state journalist Lázaro Manuel Alonso warned on his Facebook account this Monday morning about the Antonio Guiteras thermoelectric plant being taken offline from the national electricity system (SEN), among the responses received one stood out for its simple forcefulness: “It is in its natural state…that is not news.”

The Matanzas unit, the most important in the country, has once again suffered a boiler failure. Alonso highlighted two key facts that summarize the situation well. The first is that this is the fourteenth (fifteenth, as the state company later clarified) disconnection of the thermoelectric plant so far this year. The second is that more than half of those shutdowns have been related to the boiler, an “element showing significant wear due to the continuous burning of domestic crude oil and the postponement of major maintenance.”

Another commenter, in a more serious tone, said: “Stop spending anything more on that pile of charred scrap metal. Surrender!” The public is no longer willing to endure the level of struggle and resistance that the authorities boast about.

The Antonio Guiteras plant had reconnected to the SEN last Friday, after its fourteenth shutdown seven days earlier due to a boiler leak. The official press had published a glowing interview with Yandy Rojas Greenidge, a 37-year-old welder whose claim to fame is being the worker who has entered the unit’s boiler more times than anyone else. After 18 years dedicated to stitching together the guts of the famous thermoelectric plant, the man has not lost faith continue reading

in the Revolution.

Asked what his dream in life was, Rojas replied: “That the plant reaches 300 MW when we can carry out the capital investment project, which is what all of us workers at the plant want.” He also declared his happiness, and that of his children, at living on an Island that guarantees them schooling and medical care. “Despite the difficulties facing the sector, it will have to improve at some point, just as the electricity sector itself must recover,” he argued. This Monday, however, another disappointment awaited him.

The shutdown of the thermoelectric plant leaves a forecast of a significant deficit today, although such figures no longer impress anyone. The shortfall is expected to reach 2,085 megawatts (MW) during peak hours, when generation will amount to 995 MW against a demand of 3,050 MW. The morning will be somewhat calmer thanks to the contribution of solar parks, which yesterday, for example, produced 3,070 MWh, with an output of 489 MW.

However, Sunday’s total deficit reached 1,882 MW. Current breakdowns affect Unit 6 of the Máximo Gómez thermoelectric plant, Unit 3 of the Ernesto Guevara de la Serna plant, Unit 2 of the Lidio Ramón Pérez plant, and Unit 3 of the Antonio Maceo plant, in addition to Guiteras. Meanwhile, Unit 5 of the Mariel plant, Units 5 and 6 of the Renté plant, and Unit 5 of the Nuevitas plant are undergoing maintenance. In total, 277 MW of thermal generation capacity is out of service.

The biggest problem, once again, lies in distributed generation, as has been the case ever since oil began to become scarce and then largely stopped arriving. There are 106 plants of this type out of service due to a lack of fuel, representing 890 MW. Added to this are the “patana” [floating power plant] in Regla and the generating engines in Mariel and Moa, creating a gap of 1,203 MW. The official press, which today reports on the consequences of measures taken by the United States, attributes the shortage to what it calls an oil blockade. According to its account, 1,400 MW of capacity are unavailable and “cannot be used because Cuba cannot purchase the diesel and fuel oil required by those generating units, engines, and power barges due to the total blockade on access to oil and its derivatives.”

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Revoked: Two Reports on Havana Syndrome for “Failing to Meet Analytical Standards”

These two assessments had concluded that it was “very unlikely” that the symptoms were caused by a foreign adversary.

The first cases of Havana Syndrome were reported by U.S. Embassy personnel in Cuba. / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Madrid, June 15, 2026 — Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard has revoked two National Intelligence Council assessments produced during the Biden administration that concluded it was “unlikely” that the so-called Havana Syndrome was the result of an attack directed by foreign adversaries.

According to a memorandum signed on June 11 by Deputy Director of National Intelligence Sara Lynn Picket and addressed to the entire intelligence community, the reports prepared during the Biden years have been dismissed “because those assessments did not comply with established analytical standards.”

Among the reports’ main shortcomings, the office cited the “selective exclusion of intelligence information and evidence that did not support the analytical conclusions” and the “omission of information necessary to understand the quality and reliability of sources.” It also argued that intelligence collection was restricted “to maintain an analytical line based on the absence of evidence.”

Among the reports’ main shortcomings, the office cited the “selective exclusion of intelligence information and evidence that did not support the analytical conclusions”

The so-called Havana Syndrome, also referred to by U.S. intelligence as “anomalous health incidents” (AHIs), consists of a range of neurological symptoms, including migraines, nausea, dizziness, and others, reported since 2016 by U.S. diplomats and government officials. Many patients have described their symptoms as beginning after hearing a sharp, localized sound, leading some investigations to explore the possibility of acoustic attacks. continue reading

The first cases were reported at the U.S. Embassy in Cuba—hence the name—although similar incidents were later reported in several countries, including China and Russia, without any consensus having emerged regarding their cause.

The appearance of these incidents in Havana was one of the reasons the normalization process with Cuba, initiated by President Barack Obama, did not continue. In 2017, during his first term, President Donald Trump suspended consular services in Havana and drastically reduced the diplomatic staff on the Island.

Bill Burns, CIA director under Joe Biden, had initially assumed that intelligence findings would eventually point to Russia as being responsible for the alleged targeted attacks and launched an extensive investigation. However, the lack of conclusive evidence gradually altered his position.

Victims argued that U.S. authorities were ignoring relevant evidence linking Russia to the incidents

One of the two reports revoked today, published in 2023, stated that the intelligence community was unable to connect any case to a foreign adversary and considered it unlikely that the illness resulted from a campaign directed by an enemy of the United States. In the second report, issued in January 2025, the intelligence community concluded that it was “very unlikely” that the symptoms had been caused by a foreign adversary, although an official from the Office of the DNI emphasized that analysts could not “rule out” that possibility in a small number of cases.

The two assessments now discarded generated divisions within the intelligence community. While senior intelligence officials pointed to possible medical or environmental causes, victims argued that U.S. authorities were overlooking significant evidence linking Russia to the incidents.

According to reports published in U.S. media last January, during the final months of Joe Biden’s presidency, the U.S. government secretly purchased, for more than $10 million, equipment containing Russian-made components that emitted pulsed radio waves, based on the hypothesis that such technology could produce the symptoms associated with Havana Syndrome.

Another investigation conducted by The Insider, 60 Minutes, and Der Spiegel, published in April 2024, asserted that the condition may have originated from “directed-energy” weapons operated by the Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU) of the Russian Armed Forces.

“These flawed, fraudulent, and manipulated intelligence community assessments have caused significant harm.”

The revocation promoted by Gabbard has been welcomed by former officials who suffered from the condition, including Marc Polymeropoulos, a former senior CIA officer who experienced Havana Syndrome symptoms while in Russia. However, it remains unclear whether a major new investigation will be launched, as Gabbard is scheduled to leave her position next week and will not be in a position to oversee the matter.

Last January, the House Intelligence Committee requested that the Office of the DNI withdraw these assessments, arguing that new evidence had emerged supporting the theory that at least some cases may have been caused by a directed-energy weapon developed by a foreign adversary.

Republican Representative Rick Crawford, chairman of the committee, was unequivocal in comments following the revocation: “These flawed, fraudulent, and manipulated intelligence community assessments have caused significant harm to some of the bravest men and women in our nation.”

For Tulsi Gabbard, the move was one of her final actions before leaving office after submitting her resignation to President Donald Trump in order to care for her husband, who was recently diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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The 1940 Constitution: Cuba’s Democratic Bridge

Julio M. Shiling | Jun. 12, 2026 / The possibility of a successful democratic transition in Cuba rests upon two historic advantages that distinguish the Cuban case from many other societies emerging from totalitarian rule. These advantages are interconnected and mutually reinforcing. Cuba possesses a republican tradition upon which democratic reconstruction can be built, and the Cuban nation that survived in exile preserved the cultural identity, historical memory, and civic traditions that the Castro-Communist regime attempted to erase. Together, these two realities provide the foundation for a constitutional renewal rooted not in political invention but in historical restoration.

The first advantage is Cuba’s own republican experience before 1959. Contrary to the historical narrative promoted by the Castro regime, Cuba was not a society without democratic foundations waiting to be liberated by revolutionary rule. Between independence in 1902 and the destruction of the constitutional order in 1959 (first derailed in 1952), Cuba experienced a functioning—although imperfect—republic. There were political parties representing different ideological currents, competitive elections, peaceful transfers of power, an active civil society, independent institutions, and a political culture shaped by constitutionalism. Cuba experienced periods of authoritarian interruption, particularly during military regimes, but these episodes did not destroy the foundations of republican life. Civil society remained vibrant, political pluralism survived, and the essential idea of Cuba as a constitutional republic endured.

The second advantage is the survival of the Cuban nation beyond the island itself. The millions of Cubans who went into exile did not merely carry personal belongings or memories of a lost homeland. They carried Cuba’s traditions, values, historical consciousness, religious practices, cultural expressions, and understanding of national identity. The exile community became a custodian continue reading

of a historical continuity that the communist state sought to sever. This preservation of identity is essential because democratic transitions are not only institutional transformations; they are also acts of national reconstruction. A society emerging from totalitarianism must recover its own historical narrative after decades of ideological manipulation.

For this reason, the 1940 Constitution represents a uniquely appropriate constitutional vehicle for Cuba’s democratic transition. The 1940 Constitution was the last legitimate constitutional text produced by a freely elected constitutional assembly representing Cuba’s major political forces and social sectors. It was the supreme expression of Cuba’s republican era and embodied the constitutional aspirations of the nation before the destruction of democratic governance. Unlike the Castro-Communist constitutional framework imposed after 1959, the 1940 Constitution emerged from popular sovereignty rather than revolutionary authority.

A democratic transition after communism must confront the past. This includes accountability for abuses, recognition of victims, restitution and reparations, institutional reform, and guarantees that dictatorial rule does not return. These are the essential components of transitional justice. Yet democratic reconstruction requires more than dismantling the structures of dictatorship. It also requires reconnecting a society with the legitimate historical foundations that preceded tyranny.

The restoration and modernization of the 1940 Constitution accomplishes both objectives. It provides a constitutional bridge between Cuba’s past and future. It allows Cubans to reconnect with their authentic republican tradition rather than accept the historical narrative constructed by Castro-Communism, which portrayed pre-1959 Cuba as a failed society requiring total ideological replacement. The regime attempted to redefine Cuban history around itself, treating everything before 1959 as morally illegitimate. A democratic Cuba must reject this historical rupture and recover the broader national story that existed before totalitarian rule.

Critics often misunderstand the proposed use of the 1940 Constitution by assuming that it would be applied exactly as written in 1940. That is not the proposal. Transitional constitutionalism requires flexibility. The interim governing authority would adopt the 1940 Constitution as the legitimate constitutional foundation of the transition while immediately suspending most provisions. During the transition period—ideally lasting several years—the country would be governed through emergency democratic decrees designed to stabilize institutions, restore rights, implement transitional justice, and prepare for elections.

The fundamental rights protections contained in Title IV of the 1940 text would provide an immediate constitutional anchor. These provisions include equality before the law, protection against discrimination, habeas corpus, due process guarantees, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, freedom of religion, protection of private property, and the right of citizens to resist tyranny. These principles remain foundational to any democratic order.

Other sections of the 1940 Constitution also contain valuable institutional mechanisms worthy of preservation. Title V provides important protections for family, education, and culture. Titles XV and XVI establish meaningful municipal and provincial autonomy, limiting excessive centralization. Title XIV recognizes the importance of judicial independence and judicial review. Title XVII includes significant mechanisms of financial oversight through the Tribunal de Cuentas, a powerful anti-corruption institution capable of monitoring public finances.

After free, fair, and competitive elections, a democratically elected parliament could convene a constituent assembly responsible for modernizing the constitutional text. The resulting document would incorporate contemporary democratic standards, economic realities, and institutional safeguards. It would then be submitted to the Cuban people through a national referendum. The purpose of preserving the 1940 Constitution during transition is therefore not nostalgia; it is continuity, legitimacy, and national reconciliation.

The alternatives present serious problems. One option would be to retain and merely reform the current Castro-Communist constitutional text. This would be a profound mistake. That document emerged from totalitarian rule and lacks democratic legitimacy. Reforming it would risk preserving the legal foundations of the very system that transitional justice must dismantle.

The second option would be to create an entirely new constitution from nothing. While this may appear neutral, it would repeat one of the central errors of Castro-Communism: severing Cuba from its historical development. A new constitution without historical continuity would suggest that democratic Cuba has no roots, no inheritance, and no institutional memory. That would echo the revolutionary claim that the nation began anew in 1959.

Cuba is not a democratic orphan. It possessed an imperfect but functioning republic that was violently interrupted, not naturally exhausted or historically discredited. Its constitutional traditions, civic institutions, political culture, and national identity existed before the revolutionary rupture and survived despite decades of ideological transformation imposed from above. The democratic project after Castro-Communism should not invent a nation; it should restore and renew one. The Cuban democratic transition should recognize that Cuba’s future legitimacy will depend not only on building new institutions but also on reconnecting those institutions to the historical memory of the Cuban people. This includes embracing the constitutional ideals that preceded communist tyranny. A free Cuba must recover the understanding that democracy is not an import but a national inheritance.

Some objections to the 1940 Constitution deserve consideration. Some mistakenly describe it as a socialist constitution. This reflects confusion between socialism and social democracy or Christian democratic traditions. The constitutional assembly of 1939 included communists, but they represented only a minority. The document was primarily shaped by Cuba’s mainstream political traditions: liberals, conservatives, social democrats, and other democratic forces. Its social provisions reflected the constitutional trends of the twentieth century, not communist ideology.

Others argue that the Constitution is outdated. Age alone, however, does not determine constitutional value. Many successful democracies continue to rely on historic constitutional texts because legitimacy often comes from continuity as much as from contemporary drafting. The strongest criticism is that the 1940 Constitution is excessively detailed and attempts to regulate areas that modern constitutions typically leave to legislation. This criticism has merit. It is precisely why modernization is necessary. The objective is not to preserve every article but to preserve the constitutional lineage.

The most important question is not whether Cuba should return mechanically to 1940. The question is whether a free Cuba should reconnect with its own constitutional heritage. The answer should be yes. The 1940 Constitution offers something essential after decades of kleptocratic communist dictatorship: legitimacy, historical continuity, and healing. By adapting this historic document to modern democratic realities and submitting it to popular approval, Cuba can begin reconstruction not as a nation searching for an identity, but as a nation reclaiming one.

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Julio M. Shiling is a political scientist, writer, columnist, lecturer, media commentator, and director of Patria de Martí and The CubanAmerican Voice. He holds a master’s degree in Political Science from Florida International University (FIU) in Miami, Florida. He is a member of The American Political Science Association, The PEN Club (Cuban Writers in Exile Chapter) and the Academy of Cuban History in Exile.

With Hotels Closed and Few Flights, Cuba Received Just 30,883 Tourists in May

More than half of the visitors came from the US, mostly members of the Cuban community abroad.
In March 2025, 98,714 Canadians visited Cuba, while a year later, only 512 did

This Saturday, the Hotel Manzana was completely closed. / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Madrid, June 15, 2026 / Kempinski, the German-Swiss luxury hotel chain, is maintaining complete silence, but its charismatic Manzana Hotel remains firmly closed at the moment, as 14ymedio was able to confirm. Opened in 2017 as Cuba’s first “high-standard” hotel, the establishment, located in Parque Central, opposite the Capitol Building and in one of Havana’s most important tourist areas, is not accepting reservations until at least August 1, as can be seen on its website when attempting to make a booking.

The Gran Hotel Manzana Kempinski belongs to Gaviota, the tourism company of the military conglomerate Gaesa, as do the other two hotels that the European company once managed on the island. The Cayo Guillermo Resort Kempinski, in the northern keys, was returned to Gaviota and is now called Hotel Playa Luxury Cayo Guillermo. The other property managed by the firm was the Bristol, which in August 2025 was taken over by Meliá. On June 3, when the Spanish hotel chain announced its divestment from 15 properties it managed, it included the Bristol on the list.

The silence and the message that it’s not possible to book the Gran Hotel Manzana until August leaves several questions about the future of the iconic establishment, but the fact that the sector is mortally wounded—for the moment—is undeniable. Tourism figures for May have just been released and reveal the catastrophe. Only 30,883 visitors arrived on the island in the fifth month of the year, although paradoxically, that was continue reading

332 more than in April. So far this year, Cuba has received 359,491 international travelers, 58.4% fewer than in 2015 for the same period.

There is no official statement from Kempinski, but reservations cannot be made on their website until August. / 14ymedio

Furthermore, of this meager total, the vast majority arrived in January (184,833), which, while a disastrous figure for a time of year that traditionally saw up to half a million tourists, could still be considered decent. With the announcement of the end of refueling for international flights, most airlines began evacuating their domestic passengers and ended up canceling unsustainable routes. Therefore, February held up, with very poor figures (77,663 passengers), but not yet disastrous. March is the turning point.

The National Office of Statistics and Information (ONEI) also published on Monday the sector’s report for the first quarter of the year, which provides a more detailed look at other figures that highlight the collapse caused by the latest measures from the US government. Tourism in Cuba had not recovered since the pandemic, and the data, after a significant improvement in 2022 and 2023, foreshadowed an unmitigated crisis. But the energy embargo, which has grounded most flights, and the sanctions against GAESA, have dealt a final blow to one of the few sources of foreign currency not only for the state, but also for hundreds of thousands of people who depend on the sector for their livelihood in private businesses, from restaurants and craft shops to street vending.

The first-quarter report is devastating. At the start of this year, only 1.3 out of every 10 hotel rooms were occupied in Cuba. Visitors fell by 48% – 298,057 compared to 573,363 last year – overnight stays also plummeted by half – 1.8 million compared to 3.6 million – and gross revenue dropped from nearly 35 billion pesos (US$52 million, according to the informal exchange rate of 670 to 1) to around 20 billion. And all this considering that January was still considered a “normal” month.

The losses aren’t limited to hotels. The Onei* report, which includes quarterly revenue figures for other sectors, shows enormous declines across the board. The overall change has been from 48.4 billion to 27.9 billion pesos, but the hardest hit sector is gastronomy, which has lost almost half its revenue – from 19 billion to just 10 billion. This is followed by lodging, which has fallen from 14 billion to 8 billion pesos, transportation – from 5.7 billion to 3.9 billion – and retail – from 2.1 billion to 1.5 billion.

In addition, this report includes data on tourist arrivals by nationality for the month of March alone, providing a broader perspective on the catastrophe that is only hinted at when looking at cumulative figures. For example, in March 2025, 98,714 Canadians visited Cuba, while a year later, only 512 did: a drop of 95.5%, the steepest decline of all. It is worth noting that no Canadian airline—the leading source of tourists to the island for decades—currently operates flights to Cuba.

In the first quarter of the year, only 13 out of every 100 rooms were occupied.

Flights from Russia were also abruptly suspended that same February, effectively drying up that market, which was expected to be the miracle cure for Cuban tourism, especially after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine and the sanctions that banned Russian planes from European airspace. In March 2025, although the strategy was already proving ineffective, 11,135 Russians arrived on the island, compared to just 250 in the same month this year: a loss of over 97%.

These are the most significant drops, although no country escapes the declines, which mostly hover around 60% or 70%. Only two origins remain stable, and they are practically one and the same: the US. The Cuban community abroad contributed 11,256 travelers that month, half the number from a year ago, while Americans reached 5,243, almost a third compared to 2015, but not so bad when compared to other travelers.

Amid this shipwreck, the Cubanacán Group held a summer tourism fair this past weekend on the Comodoro Hotel boulevard, which has generated much criticism among the population. State agencies have tried to promote offers in destinations like Varadero, Viñales, and the Zapata Swamp, with free admission for children. But domestic tourists are not in the mood to travel, and international tourists, whose options have been severely limited, need almost a personal incentive to choose Cuba as a destination now, when most foreign affairs agencies worldwide advise against it.

Last Friday, when Miguel Díaz-Canel convinced the international press of reforms that were neither so extensive nor so new, he mentioned the inclusion of “new players in tourism.” This was, in reality, the only genuine novelty, but barely stated, no one knows what it might entail, because the attempt to get emigrants to invest in the sector is nothing new and has fallen on deaf ears. The US gaining the coveted control of the hotels remains the prediction of many experts, but we will have to wait to see if the regime relinquishes this key piece.

*National Office of Statistics and Information

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