Translating Cuba – English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island

Henry Constantín Threatened in Prison to Force Him into Exile

The independent journalist has lost eight pounds in prison, his partner, Alejandra García, reports

Henry Constantín ha perdido en prisión unas ocho libras, denuncia su pareja, Alejandra García. / Facebook

14ymedio, Havana, November 10, 2026 / Cuban State Security is trying to push journalist Henry Constantín, director of La Hora de Cuba, into exile. He has been jailed for almost two months in the Kilo 7 prison in Camagüey. So says his partner, Alejandra García, who was able to visit him in prison last Friday, after he spent 15 days in solitary confinement because a homemade knife had been found in his possession.

The strategy, said García, herself also a journalist, in statements to Martí Noticias, involves “wearing him down” with various maneuvers, such as “all the lies that have been constructed, like planting the knife.” García is referring to the worsening of Constantín’s legal situation after that object was found in his cell, something he maintains was a ploy by the prison authorities.

On that matter, García added that “fingerprints were never taken from the knife, and the unit chief, Major Dani, even touched the knife, which means the evidence is contaminated.”

“The prisoner Nelson Vento Santiesteban, from Cojímar and sentenced to 17 years, allegedly took part in planting the knife”

Alejandra García also refers to this in a text published on La Hora de Cuba‘s social media this Monday. “Behind this story there are names and accusations that cannot be ignored,” the journalist says. “The prisoner Nelson Vento Santiesteban, from Cojímar and sentenced to 17 years, allegedly took part in planting the knife. According to the testimonies, he did so in exchange for a sentence reduction offered by the agent known as Frank, Lieter Pimentel, head of ‘enfrentamiento‘ [the unit tasked with confronting dissent] for State Security in Camagüey. Other prisoners say they saw them talking together.”

The woman also explained that “Henry is visibly thinner,” and she estimates that he has lost eight pounds. García said the family is very worried “because in places like that sanitary conditions are poor.” Although they have been able to bring him belongings and food, the journalist reports that the guards did not allow water purification products through.

In addition, she says that the director of La Hora de Cuba “has received threats of assault.” However, she relates, “despite all these situations he remains calm and serene,” and she asserted: “for him, his only weapon is the word and the truth.”

In her post, García recalls that November 16 will mark two months since Constantín’s arrest. “Two months away from his home, from his family and from his freedom, for telling the truth,” she writes.

Constantín is accused of disorder and possession of instruments for assault in penitentiary facilities, charges that will be added to that of disobedience

During this time, she protests, “they have stolen his belongings,” in addition to not handing over to him “all the medicines or the food that his family brings him, prepared with so much effort and concern to help him keep going.” In the prison, she reiterates, “the food they are given is spoiled and the water is not sufficiently potable.” Added to this is “the constant presence of mosquitoes and the risk of contracting diseases such as dengue in those conditions,” not to mention “the mattresses full of bedbugs.”

Constantín is accused, she specifies, “of disorder and possession of instruments for assault in penitentiary facilities, a case handled by criminal investigator Dainer,” which will be joined to the charge of “disobedience,” handled by investigator Juan Pablo. “The process drags on while Henry remains in Detachment 11, living alongside common prisoners serving long sentences, as he waits for a trial date, as arbitrary and unjust as this entire criminal process,” she adds.

And she states: “Even the prison’s own report describes him as a peaceful, calm person, almost always quiet and devoted to reading. So what are we talking about? How can such an accusation be sustained against someone described that way? Everything points to a fabricated lie.”

Far from releasing Henry Constantín, as has happened with recent arrests of journalists and activists, State Security took him on September 24, days after arresting him, to the Kilo 7 prison, where he remains in pretrial detention.

Translated by GH

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Gender-Based Violence Leaves Two More Women Murdered in Cuba in Just Two Days

The victims were 54 and 32 years old; both alleged perpetrators were arrested, according to the ‘Alas Tensas’ Gender Observatory

The murders of Juana María Guzmán Torres and Yasmina Ruano González were confirmed Tuesday by the Alas Tensas Gender Observatory. / Social media />

14ymedio, Madrid, November 10, 2026 – Two women were murdered by their partners on November 8 and 9 in Manzanillo, Granma, and Nueva Gerona, Isle of Youth, respectively. The victims were Juana María Guzmán Torres, 54, and Yasmina Ruano González, 32. Both crimes were confirmed Tuesday by the Alas Tensas Gender Observatory (Ogat), bringing the number of femicides recorded by 14ymedio in Cuba so far in 2026 to 59.

The first occurred last Sunday in the La Cañada neighborhood of the city of Manzanillo. Guzmán Torres, known as Mayi, was an early childhood educator and, according to the feminist platform, was killed by her partner. Ogat verified that the perpetrator was arrested by the police.

The victim leaves behind two adult children. In its statement, the observatory extended its condolences to her family and to those who knew her as “teacher” during their childhood, as well as to the people who “are mourning her today on social media.”

Alas Tensas indicated that Yasmina Ruano’s murder took place in front of the victim’s young son, who was between six and eight years old

One day later, on Monday, Yasmina Ruano González was murdered in her home in the 26 de Julio housing development, known as Francoy, in Nueva Gerona, Isle of Youth. Alas Tensas reported that the “alleged perpetrator” was also her partner and that the crime took place in front of the victim’s young son, who was between six and eight years old.

The platform described the situation of the child as particularly serious. He witnessed his mother’s murder and “is left in an even more vulnerable situation because his father does not live in Cuba.” For this reason, it is calling for “specialized, timely, and sustained psycho-emotional care,” as well as a safe environment for care and support.

According to community sources consulted by the organization, the killer was arrested by the police that same day. Ruano González also leaves behind a daughter, whose age the observatory has been unable to determine.

With these two deaths, Alas Tensas has recorded 63 femicides in Cuba since January, four more than 14ymedio, which does not classify murders of women during robberies or other random circumstances as gender-based killings.

The two new crimes add to other cases of gender-based violence recorded in recent weeks. On October 30, Yarielys Gigato Medina was murdered in Pinar del Río by a former partner who subsequently turned himself in to the authorities. The woman, a mother of three, was beaten with a blunt object and attacked with a bladed weapon, according to information collected by the observatory. Ileana Álvarez, director of Ogat, denounced the “shocking cruelty” of the crime at the time.

Nine days earlier, on October 21, Marili Reina Fajardo, 45, had been murdered in Brisas del Mar, in the municipality of Habana del Este. Her body was found with “signs of extreme violence and sexual assault,” according to Alas Tensas, which included the case among the femicides under observation while investigations proceeded.

That same month, the observatory confirmed the death of Ana Vivian Suárez Cruz, a 21-year-old woman who was seven months pregnant, as a femicide. She had been found dead on August 13 in La Palma, Pinar del Río. Her former partner was being held as the main suspect, while investigators examined the possibility that the crime had been presented as a suicide.

As femicides continue to accumulate in Cuba, the state justice system does not even publicly identify the victims in its official statements

As femicides continue to accumulate in Cuba, the state justice system does not even publicly identify the victims in its official statements. On November 4, the People’s Provincial Court of Ciego de Ávila announced a life sentence without revealing the name of the killer or the identities of the two people he murdered in August 2025 in Florencia. They were Adrián Cruz Díaz, who murdered his former partner, Marialina García Borroto, and her romantic partner, Abel Morales Castro. The convicted man had already served a prison sentence for another murder.

In addition to the femicides confirmed this year, the observatory has recorded 38 attempted femicides and two murders of men in contexts of gender-based violence. It is also investigating another 11 possible femicides and 18 attempted femicides that occurred in 2026, along with 12 possible gender-based murders and five attempts dating from 2025.

Among the cases still awaiting clarification, Ogat is demanding access to the investigative reports concerning the deaths of Anais Tamayo Puente, Danaibis Tamayo Ramírez, and Odalis Brizuela Zayas. The platform is also continuing to monitor the case of Bárbara Sánchez González as a possible femicide disguised as a suicide.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Conviasa Announces Its Return to Cuba Despite Fuel Shortages at the Island’s Airports

The Venezuelan airline will resume flights on November 13, with two weekly flights between Caracas and Havana.

Conviasa has not publicly explained how it will refuel its flights to Havana. / Prensa Latina. / Prensa Latina

14ymedio, Madrid, November 10, 2026 – Venezuela’s state-owned airline Conviasa announced that it will resume flights between Caracas and Havana next Friday, November 13, despite the shortage of kerosene at airports for refueling aircraft, which is expected to continue at least until December 1, according to aviation notices issued by the Cuban Air Navigation Company. The airline plans to operate two weekly flights, on Wednesdays and Fridays, according to a report published Monday by the specialized outlet Aviacionline.

Meanwhile, as Conviasa prepares to return to Havana after a two-week interruption, the Spanish tourism group Iberostar, owner of World2Meet (W2M) and tour operator Newblue, has canceled its scheduled trips to Varadero from Portugal because of the deterioration of operating conditions on the Island, which had already forced it to abandon management of all its hotels on the Island at the end of the first half of this year. It has now decided to replace Cuba with Margarita Island in Venezuela.

The Spanish tourism group Iberostar, owner of tour operator Newblue, has canceled its scheduled trips to Varadero from Portugal because of the deterioration of operating conditions on the Island.

World2Fly, also owned by W2M and which suspended its flights between Madrid and Havana in May, will instead operate a weekly charter flight between Lisbon and Margarita Island beginning June 1, 2027, using an Airbus A330 with 355 seats. Newblue will market vacation packages starting at 1,490 euros per person.

Conviasa’s route was interrupted when the airline decided to concentrate on domestic flights. Venezuelan media attributed the suspension to the high operating costs of its Airbus A340 aircraft and low passenger demand. The connection with the Cuban capital was then partially covered by another Venezuelan airline, Rutaca, which operates from Valencia, in Carabobo state. The state-owned airline will also resume its services to Mexico City on November 17, with one weekly flight. continue reading

Among travelers interested in connections with Venezuela are Cubans who purchase merchandise on Margarita Island to resell back home. In August, numerous travelers were seeking information about accommodations, transportation, and products to purchase in Valencia, particularly hardware supplies and solar panels. Shopping packages starting at $720 were also being advertised. There are no figures available to establish how many Conviasa passengers use the route for this purpose.

The return comes amid a full-blown fuel crisis for commercial aviation in Cuba

The return comes amid a full-blown fuel crisis for commercial aviation in Cuba. Aviation notices identified as Notam A3875/26 through A3884/26 and issued on October 30 maintain the unavailability of Jet A-1 kerosene until 04:00 UTC on December 1. The restriction affects ten airports, including those in Havana, Varadero, Santa Clara, Camagüey, Holguín, and Santiago de Cuba. The notice corresponding to Havana’s José Martí International Airport confirms that date.

The measure does not mean that the terminals are closing. Airlines can carry enough fuel for both the outbound and return flights or make technical stops in other countries. Conviasa has not publicly explained how it will refuel its flights to Havana. Copa Airlines takes on additional fuel in Panama to complete both legs without refueling in Cuba, as do U.S. airlines that continue to serve the Island. The additional weight forces airlines to slightly reduce passenger capacity and leave behind some commercial cargo.

Conviasa had already modified its operations because of this problem. In February, it rescheduled its flights between Caracas, Havana, and Managua from the 10th through the 19th of that month. The company itself attributed the changes to a Cuban aviation notice concerning fuel supplies and Nicaragua’s new immigration requirements.

Among the airlines most affected is Air China, which maintains the Beijing-Madrid-Havana route but accumulated cancellations in October that left dozens of Cubans stranded in Spain. The airline uses Nassau, in the Bahamas, to refuel on the return leg from Cuba. Runway construction at that airport complicated operations and forced the airline to organize an extra flight to pick up affected passengers. The Chinese Embassy attributed the suspensions to technical reasons.

In Spain, Iberia will keep its direct connection with Havana canceled until the end of June 2027 because of declining demand and operational difficulties, while Air Europa continues flying from Madrid, with a technical stop in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, to refuel on the return trip to Spain.

U.S. airlines have also not escaped the crisis, although American Airlines and Southwest continue to maintain connections with the Island. The former retains flights from Miami to several Cuban cities, while the latter continues to connect Tampa with Havana. Both can operate without depending on fuel supplies at Cuban airports.

Delta, by contrast, eliminated its Atlanta-Havana route in June and cut its frequencies from Miami by half. It subsequently requested permission to leave part of its flight authorizations unused during the winter season, from October 25, 2026, through March 27, 2027, arguing that market conditions had not improved sufficiently.

Canada’s major airlines, including Air Canada, WestJet, and Air Transat, have also suspended their operations to Cuba, while other international carriers have had to resort to alternative routes or reduce their flight frequencies.

The fuel shortage coincides with the collapse of international tourism. In September, just 27,354 tourists arrived in Cuba, the worst result for that month since comparable records began, with the exception of the pandemic years.

Translated by Regina Anavy
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The Chinese Ambassador Prescribes Economic Opening for Cuba While Bruno Rodríguez Visits Beijing

Hua Xin attributes his country’s development to reforms, foreign investment and the global market, though he insists on maintaining Communist leadership

Hua Xin, China’s ambassador in Havana. / Cubadebate

14ymedio, Madrid, November 10, 2026 / Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez is making an official trip to China from this Tuesday until next Friday as a “special envoy of the Party and the Government.” In a brief official statement, the authorities acknowledge that Beijing “is a strategic partner of great relevance for Cuba and one of the main collaborators in key sectors for the country’s economic and social development.”

They likewise say that “bilateral ties have undergone sustained consolidation in recent years, backed by intense political exchange and mutually beneficial cooperation,” and that the visit “is part of the excellent state” of those relations.

The publication of the news coincides, in the state media, with an interview with the Chinese ambassador in Havana, Hua Xin, in which the Asian giant is described as “a hopeful alternative to global capitalism.” In the conversation, originally broadcast on Randy Alonso’s podcast Es la idea, the diplomat expressed, in condemnation of the US sanctions on the Island, “deep concern over the escalation of the unilateral blockade against Cuba” and “the need to end the coercive economic, trade and financial measures against Cuba, in accordance with the resolutions of the United Nations General Assembly.” continue reading

The ambassador afirmed that Beijing and Havana constitute “a community with a shared future”

Praising the role of the BRICS — an acronym for Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, the group of emerging economies formed in 2006, of which Cuba is a partner without being a member) on the international stage — Hua states that it has become “the most influential platform in the world for cooperation between emerging markets and developing countries and today is a pioneering force in promoting the reform of global governance.”

He also stated that Beijing and Havana constitute “a community of shared future” and stand “in the front row” of implementing four initiatives proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping for the BRICS: “for global development, for global security, for global civilization and for global governance.”

The conversation is a long tribute to Beijing and its exponential development, and it mentioned, precisely, the “reforms driven in recent years by China, which have truly brought about an impressive economic and social takeoff for the rest of the world.” Although the interviewers at no point refer to the most recent measures by the Havana regime aimed at loosening the economy somewhat, the praise for the Chinese “transformations” was eloquent.

The ambassador did assert that “China’s development is largely due to reform and opening up,” but the pro-government press highlighted, even in the headline, the nuance he introduced next: “persist in the leadership of the Communist Party.” Hua also noted that another key to success is having opened “the door to all the countries of the world; we let in the resources, technologies, science and thinking of the whole world and we made good use of the global market.”

Hua highlighted the “many changes and progress” in China’s industrial development as well, and referred specifically to “three viral products”: solar panels, lithium batteries and electric vehicles, “which are very well received in Cuba,” and to three “emerging products”: “robotics, artificial intelligence (AI) and innovative medicines,” which “are growing rapidly.”

Hua referred specifically to “three viral products”: solar panels, lithium batteries and electric vehicles, “which are very well received in Cuba.”

Just on Saturday, the official Cuban press was invited to a World Media Summit in Beijing, in which, at the very moment that a new wave of repression against independent journalism and dissident voices was under way on the Island, they defended “digital sovereignty” and “equal access” to AI, arguing that technological gaps can deepen inequalities between countries.

Beijing’s cooperation with Havana in the technological sphere is, precisely, one of the elements that has most worried the United States for several months. Last Thursday, two Chinese companies, China National Electronics Import and Export Corporation (CEIEC) and Beijing H&C Technologies, were sanctioned for supplying military components and equipment to the Island through the Cuban company Duna S.A., previously sanctioned in August for its links to military imports from China and Russia.

In response, the spokesman for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Guo Jiakun, protested at a press conference, stating that cooperation between his country and Cuba is “completely legitimate and transparent” and rejecting US attempts to “disrupt and sabotage” that cooperation.

Separately, this same Tuesday, official data were published showing that the value in yuan of Chinese exports to the rest of the world rose 28.7% year on year in October, to about 2.79 trillion yuan (US$418.248 billion).

This represents a slight slowdown from the 29.6% growth recorded the previous month, though it is in any case well above the 18.6% and 17.8% of the two prior readings, thus strengthening foreign sales as a key engine for the world’s second-largest economy in the face of its domestic demand problems.

In October, total trade between China and other countries came to about 4.87 trillion yuan (US$729.664 billion), a rise of 31.2% compared with the same month of the previous year.

The figures, released by the General Administration of Customs, also point to a 34.7% increase in imports compared with the same month of 2025, reaching about 2.08 trillion yuan (US$311.416 billion). In the tenth month of the year, China’s trade surplus stood at about 712.78 billion yuan (US$106.831 billion), an increase of 11.29% year on year, according to calculations made by the Spanish agency EFE.

In October, total trade between China and other countries came to about 4.87 trillion yuan (US$729.664 billion), a rise of 31.2% compared with the same month of the previous year. The data released this Tuesday also show that this indicator grew 20% in the cumulative period from January to October, with imports rising more (+23.6%) than exports (+17.6%).

Customs also presented today the foreign trade data denominated in dollars, used as a reference by international analysts and which usually diverge from those released in the Chinese currency due to exchange-rate fluctuations.

In US dollars, sales abroad rose 35.2% year on year to about US$412.330 billion, while imports did so at an even faster pace (+41.6%) to reach US$307.050 billion.

Both rates exceed analysts’ expectations, which anticipated a 33.5% rise in sales abroad and 32% in purchases of foreign goods.

Translated by GH.

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The Leader of Cuba’s Ladies in White Is Released After Two Days in Detention

Berta Soler suffered violence during her arrest, was confined in a dark cell, and interrogated by State Security.

Berta Soler was injured on her right foot as a result of the violence during her arrest. / Facebook/Ángel Moya

14ymedio, Havana, November 9, 2026 – The leader of the Ladies in White, Berta Soler, was released this Monday after being held by State Security for 46 hours, during which her whereabouts were unknown. Her husband, Ángel Moya, reported the news on social media: “Released bearing the marks of violent repression.”

Moya recounts that Berta Soler was released at around 10 in the morning “in a public area, near the headquarters of the Ladies in White,” in the Havana neighborhood of Lawton, in the municipality of Diez de Octubre. In his message, Moya provides details about an injury the activist sustained to her right foot as a result of the violence during her arrest.

Soler was taken to the Aguilera police station in Diez de Octubre and subsequently to the police unit in Cotorro, where, according to the activist, she received medical attention before being confined in a dark cell.

According to Moya, before her release, Soler was interrogated by an officer from the State Security Investigative Section at Villa Marista. The agent questioned her about what had happened during the peaceful protest in which she was detained, reminded her that she was under a precautionary measure of house arrest that could be revoked, and warned her that she would be summoned soon. continue reading

The post includes photographs of the injury Berta Soler sustained to her foot when she was arrested

The post includes photographs of the injury Berta Soler sustained to her foot when she was arrested. Hours earlier, Moya had reported her detention and said he had heard police officers say they had seen his wife “walking with a painful limp.”

According to activist Blanca Reyes, Moya went that same day to the National Revolutionary Police (PNR) unit in Aguilera, in Lawton, in the Havana municipality of Diez de Octubre, to find out where the opposition activist was being held, “since she was beaten and no one knows whether she is in a police station or a hospital.” Reyes said: “The situation of our sister is worrying.”

According to Moya’s account, on Saturday, two days after she had been arrested for several hours along with fellow Lady in White María Cristina Labrada–Yoani Sánchez, director of 14ymedio, was also arbitrarily detained that same Thursday–Berta Soler joined a “public and peaceful protest” alongside about twenty Lawton residents affected by the lack of water. The water shortage, the opposition activist maintains, was “intentional,” caused by the state-owned company Aguas de La Habana to harm the headquarters of the Ladies in White and the area “within a 50-meter radius.”

“Several repressive State Security chiefs” arrived at the scene, spoke with the women making the demands, and gradually reinforced the security operation over the following hours.

Shortly after 10 that morning, “several repressive State Security chiefs” arrived at the scene, spoke with the women making the demands, and gradually reinforced the security operation over the following hours. “At noon, representatives of the state-owned company Aguas de La Habana arrived and gave an explanation that did not convince the protesting women either,” Moya recounts. His impression was that the authorities “had no intention of resolving the cause of the problem, which was the intentional manipulation of the water supply valve.”

In the absence of a response, half an hour later the demonstrators blocked traffic on Porvenir Avenue, “using their own bodies as a barrier.” Moya says he did not witness how the protest ended because he had already been arrested by the political police and been taken to the Aguilera station, where he heard that his wife was walking in pain and that she had subsequently “been transported in a patrol car to another unidentified location.”

After an eight-hour interrogation, Moya was released, but his wife was not. The activist also clarified that “with the exception of Berta Soler, none of the women making demands and protesting belong to organizations opposed to the Cuban communist regime; they are workers.”

In recent weeks, the regime has intensified its persecution of activists and journalists on the Island. Also on Saturday, dozens of residents took to the streets in El Cobre (Santiago de Cuba) to demand the release of Yoel Alejandro Pérez Serrano, a young activist known for his community work who had been arrested hours earlier by State Security in an operation involving armed agents.

Rolando Pérez Lora, an evangelical pastor known as Pregonero de Cristo, was forcibly transferred from Havana to Las Tunas, where he was released this Monday

As for independent journalists, prior to Yoani Sánchez, Adelth Bonne Gamboa and Camila Acosta, contributors to CubaNet, had been detained earlier in the same week.

Meanwhile, Rolando Pérez Lora, an evangelical pastor known as Pregonero de Cristo [Herald of Christ], was forcibly transferred from Havana to Las Tunas, where he was released this Monday, with a police summons still pending. According to the Cuban Observatory of Human Rights and the Alliance of Christians of Cuba, Pérez Lora had been detained while providing pastoral support to a young Christian member of the religious organization, who was also arrested.

In mid-September, State Security also detained Henry Constantín, director of La Hora de Cuba. In his case, unlike the colleagues mentioned above, he was not released but taken to Kilo 7 prison in Camagüey, where he remains in pretrial detention, accused of the offense of disobedience.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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In a Havana Plunged into Darkness, an Extravagant Display of Lights at the Ciudad Deportiva for a “Charity” Event

Some 13,000 spectators attended a basketball tournament featuring 24 ‘influencers’.

The large number of attendees practically filled the Coliseum, which has a capacity of between 12,000 and 14,000 people, and the audience seemed to be having a great time. / 14ymedio/>

14ymedio, Darío Hernández, Havana, November 9, 2026 – While Havana sank into yet another night of blackout, the Coliseum at the Ciudad Deportiva, in the heart of the capital, entertained some 13,000 people last Saturday with a full-scale spectacle of lights and sound. The State and several private companies joined hands in an unprecedented alliance for an event called 3×3 for Cuba, described as “charitable” by its organizers.

The event was sponsored by the private company Helados Gustó, from Artemisa, and promoted by actress Carla Cremata, the daughter of the creator of the pro-government artistic project La Colmenita. The show consisted of a basketball tournament featuring 24 influencers and cultural intermediaries from prominent organizations, along with concerts, including one by the Los Van Van orchestra.

As soon as visitors arrived at the Ciudad Deportiva Coliseum, the headquarters of the National Institute of Sports, Physical Education and Recreation (Inder), the organizers’ ability to draw a crowd was immediately apparent. At 3:30 p.m., when the event was scheduled to begin, the line of spectators was already enormous. The parking lot was overflowing with motorcycles, three-wheeled vehicles, and cars, and the police presence was considerable.

As soon as visitors arrived at the Ciudad Deportiva, the organizers’ ability to draw a crowd was immediately apparent. / 14ymedio

Some attendees had arrived as early as ten in the morning. At that hour, several side activities were beginning outside the Ciudad Deportiva, including a children’s show by La Colmenita itself, an animal adoption fair organized by the Bienestar Animal Cuba project, and a fitness experience hosted by the Vibe project and Viking Gym.

Tents were set up outside where chicken, soft drinks, and beer were sold. Inside the Coliseum, the companies sponsoring the event offered their various products, including cosmetics from the private Ocean Boutique store.

The regime’s contrast: Blackout in Havana, extravagance at the Ciudad Deportiva

The large number of attendees practically filled the Coliseum, which has a capacity of between 12,000 and 14,000 people, and, in general, the entire audience seemed to be having a great time. One spectator told this newspaper: “If you left this same event entirely up to Inder, it wouldn’t turn out nearly as well; they don’t have the same ability to draw a crowd.” continue reading

For the tournament, the 24 influencers were divided into eight teams of three, each one sponsored by a different company (state-owned or private), which gave its name to the team. At least two companies were state-owned: Eventos Palco and Los Portales, a joint venture between the state-owned Coralsa and Switzerland’s Nestlé. Six were private companies: Suncar, which specializes in renewable energy; the cleaning company La Poompa; the interprovincial transportation company PedroCarr; the beauty products store Ocean Boutique; the advertising agency Bazzo; and the sportswear company Confecciones Pío.

The breaks between games featured performances by the Liszt Alfonso ballet company, the National Circus of Cuba, and several musical concerts. / 14ymedio

The influencers had been trained by none other than the Cuban women’s basketball team. The tournament began directly with the quarterfinals, and the games alternated with cultural performances, including appearances by the Liszt Alfonso ballet company and the National Circus of Cuba, comedian Yamira Díaz, and at least three urban music performers.

The La Poompa team emerged victorious and received a solar panel kit as its prize. As an example of its own work, the private company explained that it had cleaned the enormous Ciudad Deportiva Coliseum in just five days. The event was presented as “charitable” and as an “initiative of solidarity,” so it was announced that the panels would be donated to an institution, although no specific institution was identified. Organizers said they would reveal its identity soon on social media.

The Los Van Van orchestra performed the closing concert, although by that time the younger attendees had already left rather than stay for the show. Most of those remaining in the Coliseum were older people, whose musical tastes were closer to those of the historic band. While the lights and music continued inside, outside the Coliseum Havana was experiencing its scheduled blackouts for the day.

La mipyme Helados Gustó fue la principal empresa promotora del evento. / 14ymedio

Preparations for the 3×3 for Cuba had been underway for weeks, combining the event arrangements and the influencers’ training with advertising campaigns for each private company. Although the event was presented as “charitable,” it remains unclear exactly how it will benefit social institutions.

In one of the videos posted by the host, Carla Cremata, she explains that the idea of making it “charitable” occurred to her only after the event had already been organized, when they calculated that they could fill the Coliseum.

“I didn’t want to leave it as just another event. I thought if there are so many of us with such a wide reach, why not do it for a good cause?” Cremata said. Rather than giving money to social institutions, the organizers would ask these organizations about “the needs of each place, and we will deliver what is so badly needed.”

The darkness of the streets outside contrasted with the lights and music inside the Ciudad Deportiva. / 14ymedio

On social media, criticism had been evident for weeks, as demonstrated by the comments on Cremata’s own promotional posts for the event, over the waste of resources on an advertising spectacle while the population suffers from the deterioration of the most essential services.

Most of the criticism, however, focused on the waste of electricity, since the event was taking place during peak demand hours, while the population was already suffering prolonged daily blackouts resulting from the deterioration of the national electric grid (SEN) and the fuel crisis. For the Saturday on which the event was held, the Cuban Electric Union (UNE) reported a deficit of 1,706 MW, against an anticipated demand of 2,830 MW during peak hours.

Another part of the criticism centered on the privileges enjoyed by the promoter, the daughter of Carlos Alberto Cremata, since the children’s company has been linked for decades to the Cuban government’s ideological propaganda and political activities.

Above all, the event is so far the most prominent example of a new collaboration between the State and certain private companies, which appear to be acting as a lifeline for the regime, severely weakened by U.S. sanctions. In this case, the participating businesses include visibly successful MSMEs, such as the transportation company PedroCarr and the renewable energy company Suncar.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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The Defections of Four Judokas Derails Cuba’s Participation in an Event in Montreal Inbox

The newspaper ‘Juventud Rebelde’ says that federation officials registered 13 athletes for the competition, but “in the end, none showed up.”

No team from the Island traveled to Canada for the Montreal Pan American Judo Open, which concludes this Monday. / Jit

14ymedio, Havana, November 8, 2026 – The defections of Jonathan Charón, Lianet Cardona, Dayanara Curbelo, and Orlando Polanco, who won four gold medals and two silver medals at the Florida Pan American Open, derailed the plans of the Cuban Judo and Jiu-Jitsu Federation. No team from the Island traveled to Canada for the Montreal Pan American Judo Open, which concludes this Monday.

“What is concerning is that Cuban judo continues to lose opportunities to compete internationally, gain experience, and earn important points for future competitions,” warned judo coach Alain Fernández Casero, who revealed details of the defections in Florida.

Fernández believes that Cuban athletes “need opportunities, stability, and sports planning that guarantees their future.”

Former Cuban wrestler Roly Dámaso points out on his social media accounts that behind every defection “there are years of training, family sacrifices, dreams, and aspirations that find no response within Cuba.”

In Dámaso’s view, “this is not about a lack of patriotism or ingratitude. It is about the right of any athlete to decide their own future, develop their talent, and receive decent compensation for their profession.” continue reading

Roly Dámaso points out that behind every defection “there are years of training, family sacrifices, dreams, and aspirations that find no response within Cuba”

The retired wrestler explains that “while in international sports, athletes sign professional contracts, receive sponsorships, build wealth, and secure their families’ futures. In Cuba they continue to be subjected to restrictions and administrative decisions that limit their development.”

The athletes’ departure was a major blow to the authorities. Of the six competitors who took part in the event, only world medalists and Gainesville champions Andy Granda and Iván Silva remained. They returned to the Island last Thursday, journalist Raúl Rodríguez reported on his social media accounts.

As is common with this type of defection, sports authorities have maintained a wall of silence. However, the newspaper Juventud Rebelde reported that federation officials had registered 13 judokas for the Montreal competition, but “in the end, none showed up.”

The same newspaper regretted that the decision would leave the other judokas without competition: Amado Montes, Rubén Romero, Anisleidys Ur, Yainet Coronado, and Marlon Herrera.

The Montreal Pan American Judo Open awards points toward qualification in the International Judo Federation rankings, as well as for the 2027 Pan American Games in Lima and the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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For Changing 300 Dollars for a Nursing Home, Four Cuban Freemasons Receive Sentences of Two to Four Years

Among those sanctioned are writer Ángel Santiesteban and José Ramón Viñas Alonso, amid government pressure to gain control of the Supreme Council of the 33rd Degree.

Ángel Santiesteban, José Ramón Viñas Alonso and other Cuban Freemasons, in an archival image. / Supreme Council of the 33rd Degree for the Republic of Cuba

14ymedio, Havana, November 5, 2026 – Four Cuban Freemasons, including writer and former political prisoner Ángel Santiesteban Prats, were sentenced this Thursday to terms of between two and four years of restricted freedom for exchanging just 300 dollars at the informal market rate. The transactions, carried out in 2023 and 2025, involved funds belonging to the Llansó National Masonic Nursing Home, a charitable institution that cares for the elderly in Havana, according to an informational statement from the People’s Municipal Court of Diez de Octubre published on the social media accounts of Razones de Cuba. The ruling comes amid the prolonged confrontation between the Government and the leaders of Cuban Freemasonry.

The court imposed the harshest penalty: four years of restricted freedom and a fine of 25,000 pesos on José Ramón Viñas Alonso, former Sovereign Grand Commander of the Supreme Council of the 33rd Degree and president of the nursing home’s board of trustees. Fernando Marcos García, the institution’s accountant, received three years and a fine of 20,000 pesos, while Santiesteban and Osvaldo Ernesto Villegas Digat were sentenced to two years and fines of 20,000 pesos each.

The sentences do not entail imprisonment, but they do impose restrictions on freedom. The court also deprived all four defendants of certain rights and prohibited them from leaving the country or holding positions or practicing occupations. The ruling can still be appealed before the People’s Provincial Court of Havana. continue reading

The sentences do not entail imprisonment, but they do impose restrictions on freedom

The offense attributed to those convicted is “illegal currency trading,” covered under Article 315.1, subsection g), of the Penal Code. What is striking is that exchanging dollars and euros outside banks is an everyday practice in Cuba, where the differences between official and informal exchange rates have turned the latter market into a common way of obtaining local currency. The two transactions being punished totaled just 300 dollars and took place nearly two years apart.

According to the prosecution documents published by CubaNet, the first exchange took place on September 14, 2023, when Santiesteban handed over 49,600 pesos of his own money in exchange for 200 dollars belonging to the nursing home. The second occurred on June 13, 2025, when Villegas Digat exchanged another 100 dollars from the institution for 37,500 pesos. Both transactions were authorized by Viñas Alonso.

The defense, led by attorney Roberto Ortega Ortiz, maintained that the transactions did not constitute a crime and that none of those involved obtained illicit personal benefits. According to the lawyer, the first 200 dollars made it possible to purchase powdered milk for the elderly residents, while the second transaction provided the nursing home with pesos to deal with emergencies and enabled Villegas to obtain foreign currency to buy medication for his son.

What is striking is that exchanging dollars and euros outside banks is an everyday practice in Cuba

The independent organization Cubalex also questioned the legal grounds for the prosecution. In an analysis published this Wednesday, it noted that the transactions were recorded in the nursing home’s accounting books and that there was no evidence of clandestine intermediation or personal profit. It also questioned the proportionality of the penalties.

The proceedings also contain an explicit political element. In its indictment, the Prosecutor’s Office included among its personal assessments of Santiesteban the statements that the writer “does not engage in any socially useful activity” and “openly expresses himself against the revolutionary process prevailing in Cuba.”

The case was also investigated by a body specializing in crimes against State Security, even though the offense attributed to the defendants falls under the category of crimes against the national economic order.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Cuba Repairs 20 Buses with Chinese Aid, but Fuel Remains a Question Mark

The program was supposed to restore one hundred buses for Havana, but delays have left the project far behind schedule

“It is very premature to say how we will make it sustainable in the face of so many limitations,

14ymedio, Havana, November 8, 2026 / After more than a year of promises and delays, Cuba has managed to restore 20 of the 100 buses that were to return to service thanks to a donation of parts and components from the Chinese Government. The vehicles, repaired at the Evelio Prieto Guillama Bus Manufacturing Company (Caisa), located in Guanajay, Artemisa, will be allocated mainly to public transportation in Havana, although the authorities themselves acknowledge that they are still not clear on how to keep them running amid the fuel shortage.

The handover, announced this Saturday by the official press, comes much later than expected. In July 2025, when China delivered the first components, Caisa’s executives said they could repair five buses a month and deliver between 40 and 50 before the end of that year. However, more than fifteen months after that announcement, barely a fifth of the project has been completed.

The twenty restored vehicles are rigid buses made by the Chinese brand Yutong, model ZK6118. In total, the program envisages the rehabilitation of 60 units of this type and another 40 articulated buses, all belonging to the Havana Provincial Transportation Company and withdrawn from service due to breakdowns and deterioration. continue reading

The Chinese shipment included engines, tires, batteries and other accessories essential for putting the buses back into service

The buses will be assigned mainly to the Santiago de las Vegas terminal, from where the aim is to restore some routes. However, Henry Rodríguez Terrero, director of the capital’s Transportation Company, admitted that there is still no defined solution for keeping them running.

“It is very premature to say how we will make it sustainable in the face of so many limitations, but we are studying several options to stabilize the service,” said the official, who, despite that uncertainty, claimed that the vehicles had been left “practically new” and with “optimal vitality.”

The restoration began in 2024, when the hundred buses were transferred to the Caisa facilities, the only assembly plant for this type of vehicle in Cuba. There, work began on dismantling, bodywork, mechanical repair and painting, while awaiting the components donated by Beijing, which began to arrive in 2025.

The Chinese shipment included engines, tires, batteries and other accessories essential for putting the buses back into service. The aid was presented at the time as an opportunity to restore high-demand routes, especially those connecting hospitals, schools and communities.

However, the constant blackouts ended up frustrating the plans. As early as November 2025, power outages were preventing progress on the repairs. Three months later, in February 2026, the company had 60 vehicles in various stages of restoration, but only eight had reached an advanced stage.

China has sent Cuba more than 10,700 Yutong buses over the last two decades, but a large part of that fleet has ended up out of service

Now, Iosvany Frías Álvarez, general director of Caisa, says that the repairs have saved more than 2.5 million dollars by avoiding the purchase of new buses. The executive attributed the results to the efforts of the workers, who were forced to reorganize their shifts according to the availability of electricity. Some components that did not arrive with the donation had to be manufactured in the company’s own workshops, according to Yerandi Galá Trastoy, director of the Finishing Base Business Unit [Unidad Empresarial de Base Acabado].

The handover coincides with the collapse of Cuban public transportation. Minister Eduardo Rodríguez Dávila acknowledged that the number of passenger trips could fall by 75% this year compared to 2025. Daily bus departures from Havana to other provinces fell from 419 to just 11, while bus routes across the country went from more than a hundred to only 21.

The situation is no more encouraging within the capital, where long waits, the disappearance of routes and the rising cost of private transportation make getting around difficult every day for thousands of residents.

China has sent Cuba more than 10,700 Yutong buses over the last two decades, but a large part of that fleet has ended up out of service. The lack of maintenance, spare parts and fuel has turned the restoration of old vehicles into one of the authorities’ main gambles.

Translated by GH.

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Theft and Diversion of Flour Force a Private Bakery to Suspend Production in Granma

The business, which leases the premises from a state entity in Río Cauto, is looking for new “honest” workers

“We’re not looking for conflict with the workers. We want the contract to be respected, for honest work to be done, and for every consumer to receive quality bread.” / Facebook / Robert Roman Quezada

14ymedio, Havana, November 8, 2026 / The private bakery Doña Nieves, located in the town of Vado del Yeso, in the municipality of Río Cauto (Granma), has temporarily suspended production after its managers reported irregularities in the making of the bread and decided to tighten controls over the workers. The standoff has left residents without the service, while the family that runs the establishment looks for three new bakers to resume operations.

In a lengthy Facebook post, Robert Román Quezada, manager of the Complejo Doña Nieves group, explained that his family holds a lease agreement with the Río Cauto Bread and Pastry Company [Empresa de Pan y Dulce]. The agreement includes paying rent for the establishment and giving the workers 5% of the profits.

According to the statement, over a period of about two months, consumer complaints about the poor quality, size and low weight of the bread began to multiply. Faced with the lack of solutions from the establishment’s management, the family decided to carry out a surprise inspection of the production process.

The results revealed that for every 25 kilograms of flour, some 120 more loaves were being made than the recipe called for. In addition, rolls that should have weighed 30 grams after baking barely reached 24, while the 50-gram ones came in at 44. continue reading

The units that should have weighed 30 grams after baking barely reached 24 / Facebook / Robert Roman Quezada

At a price of 40 pesos each, the 120 extra loaves would represent 4,800 pesos. If 50 kilograms of flour were processed, the difference would rise to 9,600 pesos. The family clarifies, however, that these figures correspond to the potential value of the surplus production and do not constitute proof that the workers pocketed the money.

To correct the irregularities, the leaseholders placed a representative in charge of supervising the ingredients, the quantities used and the weight of the finished product. They also eliminated two benefits that, they explain, they had been granting the bakers voluntarily: an extra payment and five loaves a day per worker.

The family maintains that the employees decided to stop working after the controls were introduced and the incentives withdrawn. It considers it unfair that residents should be left without bread because the family demanded that the quantities and quality of the product be respected.
The post sparked a discussion on social media. Several commenters backed the measures and said that the diversion of raw materials and the deliberate reduction of the weight of bread are common practices in Cuba. Others questioned the calculations and pointed out that part of the dough’s weight is lost during baking.

In response to these objections, Román Quezada replied that the portions intended to produce 50-gram rolls were initially cut from 70 grams of dough, precisely to compensate for the loss of moisture. He also provided a new piece of information: before the supervision, some finished rolls weighed between 34 and 44 grams.

“We have had a person supervising the entire process for 13 days, with the same bakers working and using different types of flour. During that time, no roll has weighed less than 56 grams, and we have even found rolls of up to 68 grams,” the manager said.

The employees decided to stop working after the controls were implemented and the incentives were withdrawn. / Facebook / Robert Roman Quezada

Some participants mentioned the Cuban Bread-Making Standard [Norma Cubana de Panificación] and its weight tolerances, although they disagreed on the permitted margins and the correct way to take the measurements.
Another part of the debate focused on working conditions. Several users reproached the family for detailing the incentives that had been withdrawn without specifying how much the bakers actually earned. “Don’t talk about %, talk about how much each worker earned per day,” wrote Osmany Castro, who felt that taking away the five daily loaves worsened the economic hardship of their families.

The complaints also extended to other provinces. Users from Holguín, Santiago de Cuba and Havana reported increasingly smaller loaves of poor quality and, in some cases, with hygiene problems. From Ciego de Ávila, one commenter said that bread from the bodega [state ration store] was no longer being distributed and that he now depended on private vendors who charged 60 pesos apiece.

Meanwhile, Doña Nieves announced that it intends to resume production on Monday or Tuesday, although it acknowledged that the new workers might need training. The family promises to maintain the supervision and to respect the quantities established in the recipes.

“We are not looking for conflicts with the workers. We want the contract to be respected, for people to work honestly and for every consumer to receive quality bread with the weight they are entitled to,” the statement concludes. The residents of Vado del Yeso, meanwhile, are still waiting for the oven to be lit again.

Translated by GH.

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Wave of Deportations of “Illegal” Migrants from Havana to the Provinces

It is a violation of Article 13 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which guarantees the right of “everyone to choose their residence freely.”

Surveillance begins with the identification of migrants during random police checks or home inspections carried out with the support of the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution (CDRs). / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Madrid, November 7, 2026 – According to the official press, the recent police operation in San Miguel del Padrón, in which the Ministry of the Interior and the National Police detained “undocumented and illegal persons in the capital with deviant behavior,” along with testimonies such as that of Yoani Sánchez, director of 14ymedio, reveal a reality the regime avoids discussing: the growing number of Cubans being detained in Havana simply because they do not live at the address listed on their identity cards.

“Two police officers from Guantánamo stopped me in the middle of the street and, when they saw that my address was in Guantánamo, threatened to deport me back to the eastern part of the country,” a reader tells this newspaper, describing his experience as an example of having been a “victim of the harassment against the ‘illegals’ in Havana.”

It was also reported this Friday that the evangelical pastor Rolando Fidel Pérez Lora, known as the “Preacher of Christ,” who is being held at Villa Marista, the headquarters of State Security, amid the current wave of arrests targeting activists and dissidents, will be forcibly transferred to Las Tunas. This is an example of how migration controls are also being used as a mechanism of repression against dissent.

These cases demonstrate how the enforcement of regulations restricting Cubans’ freedom of movement within their own country has increased. The use of terms such as “illegal” and “deportation” by the authorities themselves and the official media highlights the violence of this regional discrimination, referring to residents of the provinces as though they were citizens of a foreign country. continue reading

The use of terms such as “illegal” and “deportation” by the authorities themselves and the official media highlights the violence of this regional discrimination

Javier Larrondo, president of the independent organization Prisoners Defenders, explains that “Cubans do not recognize that this is a violation of their rights and that, therefore, they are prisoners of conscience, in the sense that they are imprisoned for violating their fundamental rights.”

The legislation applied to those living in the capital without residency authorization is Decree-Law 217, approved in 1997 and entitled “Internal Migration Regulations for the City of Havana and Their Violations.”

The regulation requires anyone from another province who wishes to establish residence in Havana to first obtain an administrative permit: authorization from the municipal government of the area where the home in which they intend to live is located. This means that the authorities treat residency as a discretionary admission right, through which they decide whether or not to authorize someone to live in the capital. Without a document issued by the municipal authorities, Cubans from other provinces risk being fined and sent back to their place of origin.

The difficulty of obtaining this official permit explains why many provincial residents who move to the capital do not have updated documents that would allow them to be considered “legal.” Because of this same lack of freedom of movement and regional discrimination, nicknames such as “Palestinians” or “landless people” have become common ways of referring to Cubans originally from the eastern part of the country who live in Havana, “the capital of all Cubans,” as its slogan proclaims.

Nicknames such as “Palestinians” or “landless people” have become common ways of referring to people from the eastern part of the country who live in Havana, “the capital of all Cubans”

In the comments on the official publication about the arrests of “illegal and undocumented” people in San Miguel del Padrón, some users also described their experiences with this migration-related discrimination. A resident of Santiago de Cuba recounted a visit to her father in Nuevo Vedado: “We were walking along 23rd Avenue when a police officer stopped us, asked for our documents, and began questioning us about why I had come, how long I was going to stay, and whether I had brought a transfer permit for one month from Santiago de Cuba to Havana.”

The surveillance mechanism begins with the identification of migrants, either through random street checks by the National Police or home inspections conducted with the support of the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution (CDRs). After the fine, citizens are given less than 72 hours to return to their province. If they fail to comply with this voluntary departure order, they are forcibly transferred: those affected are taken to temporary detention centers, including El Vivac, and returned to their provinces on buses or trains escorted by police.

The Government justified the regulation in 1997 by citing demographic pressure on housing, employment, transportation, and basic supplies. Organizations such as Human Rights Watch (HRW), Cubalex, and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights have described these practices as serious violations of freedom of movement.

The Cuban Constitution, approved in 2019, recognizes in Article 52 the freedom of individuals to enter, remain in, travel through, and leave the national territory, as well as to change their domicile or residence, “subject only to the limitations established by law.” This qualification gives the State considerable leeway.

The regions farthest from Havana, the most neglected by the State’s administration, are also those suffering most severely from the deterioration of living conditions

Internal migration in Cuba follows a pattern repeated throughout the world: people move from less developed areas to cities with greater economic activity. In the context of the current crisis, the regions farthest from Havana, the most neglected by the State’s administration, are also those suffering most severely from power outages, water shortages, and the general deterioration of living conditions.

Deciding where to live within one’s own country is a basic right, recognized by international law for decades. According to the independent organization Cubalex, labeling a Cuban “illegal” for living in Havana has no basis whatsoever in international law. Article 13 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights establishes that everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each State. Article 12 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights further develops this principle: “Everyone lawfully within the territory of a State shall, within that territory, have the right to liberty of movement and freedom to choose his residence.”

Cubalex also points out that these arrests are incompatible with the prohibition of arbitrary detention, as established by the Human Rights Committee.

The Cuban Government frequently denounces the immigration policies of the United States. Last Tuesday, Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernández de Cossío did so again in an extensive message on social media. There is a contradiction when the Government condemns the detention and deportation of migrants in the United States while implementing measures within Cuba that can result in citizens being forcibly returned to their provinces. Both procedures can affect freedom, family life, and access to basic legal protections.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Cuba and China Sign Three Agreements to Promote Biopharmaceutical Projects

The agreements include initiatives involving medications, diagnostic tests, and a joint laboratory.

The agreements were announced at the Biotechnology Cooperation Forum, held in Shanghai. / @CIGBCuba

EFE/14ymedio, Havana, November 7, 2026 – Cuba and China signed three agreements to promote drug innovation, the development of diagnostic tests, and the establishment of a joint biopharmaceutical laboratory as part of a biotechnology cooperation forum between the two nations, state media reported Friday.

The meeting, held in the Chinese city of Shanghai, brought together businesspeople, academics, and industry representatives with the aim of establishing partnerships. Mayda Mauri Pérez, president of Cuba’s state-owned Group of Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Industries, highlighted the organization’s interest in expanding the participation of Chinese partners in investment projects.

These projects are related to changing the energy matrix and incorporating artificial intelligence into different industrial processes, both administrative and those involving research and development, explained the executive of BioCubaFarma, which produces medicines, equipment, and high-tech services. continue reading

These projects are related to changing the energy matrix and incorporating artificial intelligence into different industrial processes

She also considered that this technology could help improve production processes, raise the quality standards of manufactured products, and strengthen clinical trial activities.

The state media report indicates that there are currently more than 30 Cuban-Chinese projects at various stages of research and development. Among the new initiatives is the creation of a joint research and development center, which will be the eleventh of its kind established in China with Cuban participation.

In recent years, biotechnology cooperation between the two nations has led to the creation of several joint ventures, laboratories, and joint research and development centers dedicated to scientific research projects, according to reports from institutions in the sector.

Havana and Beijing maintain close political and economic relations, with the Asian country standing out as one of the Island’s principal allies.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Democratic Victory in the US Raises Hopes and Doubts Among Cubans

The new balance of power in Congress raises expectations on the island, while some insist that the main problems are internal

“We can’t blame what’s happening in the United States now,” a Cuban man declared. / 14ymedio

14ymedio, EFE, Claudia Dupeirón and Yeny García, Havana, November 7, 2026 / Most Cubans are too busy trying to survive the deep economic crisis the country is going through to closely follow the US legislative elections. However, among those who know the results of last Tuesday’s vote, the Democratic Party’s victory raises some hope that there will be a change in relations between Washington and Havana. Others, however, believe that the solution to the island’s problems does not depend on who governs in the neighboring country.

“They’re all the same,” Havana resident Daniel Escobar, 60, tells EFE, referring to US politicians. Despite his skepticism, he acknowledges that “the Democrats are a little bit better” and maintains a moderate optimism in the face of the new political scenario that has opened up after the Republicans’ defeat in the midterm elections.

“We don’t lose faith that a change has to be made in favor of all Cubans. (With) the relationship or whatever, something favorable to Cuba has to happen, because the truth is that Cuba is going through very difficult times,” says Escobar.

The resounding Democratic victory, which has allowed the party to win back both the Senate and the House of Representatives, is a setback for Trump, whose Administration has, since January, stepped up pressure on the Cuban government through restrictions on oil supplies, new sanctions and threats of intervention. continue reading

“If I had to bet on what Trump’s next target will be, I’d say it’s Cuba”

The new Congress, which will take office on January 3, could hinder the Republican president’s agenda and limit his room for maneuver, although the concrete consequences for Cuba remain uncertain.

“If I had to bet on what Trump’s next target will be, I’d say it’s Cuba,” said Charles Kupchan, professor of International Affairs at Georgetown University, during a forum dedicated to analyzing the consequences of the elections for US foreign policy.

In the academic’s view, Trump could try to consolidate his historical legacy by becoming the president who managed to topple the island’s communist government, a goal pursued for decades by various sectors in Washington.

Nor does Cuban historian Fabio Fernández Batista rule out that the president, weakened by his results in domestic politics, might seek a victory abroad. Trump could “launch himself in search of a political success in the foreign arena, and that could be Cuba,” he maintains.

“The Democratic victory opens up, at least in the immediate term, a sense of hope that something will change”

However, Fernández Batista also considers the opposite possibility: that the US president will fall back on his negotiating side to reach some kind of agreement with Havana.

“Right now a scenario is opening up with widely differing possibilities. (…) A period of waiting and uncertainty is opening up,” the historian sums up.

For Ariel Dacal, also a Cuban historian, “the Democratic victory opens up, at least in the immediate term, a sense of hope that something will change.” However, he warns that the election result is not enough to count on a substantial transformation of bilateral relations.

“What remains, while enjoying the momentary respite, is to wait and see what course it will bring, with no more expectations than are warranted,” says Dacal.

University of Miami associate professor of History Michael J. Bustamante believes that a Congress opposed to Trump could “halt any further escalation against the Cuban government.” However, he points out in a post on X that the Democrats “have a long list of battles to fight, abuses to investigate and priorities to push.”

Among the citizens consulted in Havana, there is no unanimity either on the consequences of the Republican defeat.

Yoel Machado believes that a Congress controlled by the opposition could “take away from Donald Trump a little of the possibility of doing some things.” However, he fears that the new political limitations could provoke an unpredictable reaction from the president.

That strategy of resistance may suit Cuba’s leaders, but it “offers little to the Cuban people”

It could also be “a tense moment where some kind of desperate maneuver might arise. Other than that, if nothing happens until January 3, which is what I hope, then let nothing happen,” he tells EFE.

Meanwhile, the Cuban government seems to be betting on resisting pressure from Washington rather than giving public signs of a willingness to negotiate. Contacts between the two countries have not, at least so far, produced tangible results.

In October, Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez told The New York Times that the Cuban authorities were prepared to wait “as long as necessary” until the United States changed its policy toward the island. “It has to do it. It’s inevitable,” the foreign minister stated.

For Bustamante, that strategy of resistance may suit Cuba’s leaders, but it “offers little to the Cuban people,” who bear the consequences of both US pressure and the inefficiency and mismanagement of their own government.

This view is shared by a young Havana resident interviewed by EFE, who preferred to remain anonymous and emphasized the responsibility of the island’s authorities.

“Right now the biggest problems we have are internal, and if the internal problems aren’t solved, we can’t now blame what’s happening in the United States,” he concludes.

Translated by GH.

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In Matanzas, Cuba, Privacy Is Rented by the Hour and Paid for at Luxury Prices

Amid overcrowding and the disappearance of the old posadas, clandestine rooms are proliferating, offering anything from a bed with a fan to air conditioning

Between overcrowded housing and families where three generations live together, finding four walls to be alone is very difficult. / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Julio César Contreras, Matanzas, November 7, 2026 / In the El Naranjal neighborhood, a couple stops in front of a window protected by iron bars. Behind it, chains, earrings and watches are on display, but Héctor has other merchandise to offer them. The former Chemistry teacher, who spent 21 years in front of the classroom at a pre-university high school, offers to rent them a room at the back of his house. “The room has everything, with a good bed, a split [air conditioner], beer in the minibar in case you want a drink, and even a mirror on the ceiling,” he lists, with the confidence of someone who knows the virtues of his product.

Privacy has become yet another luxury item in Matanzas. Amid overcrowded homes, families where three generations live together, and couples who still sleep separated from the rest of the house by a curtain, finding four walls in which to be alone can be as complicated as getting hold of the cement to build them.

The old state-run posadas, which offered rooms by the hour, have disappeared from the Cuban landscape. A discreet network of private rooms has flourished in that vacuum

The old state-run posadas, which offered rooms by the hour, have disappeared from the Cuban landscape. Some closed for good and others ended up as collective shelters for hurricane victims. Conventional hotels, with rates prohibitive for a worker, don’t solve the problem either. A discreet network of private rooms has flourished in that vacuum.

Héctor does not have a landlord’s license. He had one for other activities, but says that legalizing the lodging would leave him little profit after paying taxes and expenses. “This isn’t about getting rich, it’s about making a daily living,” he tells 14ymedio. He and his wife run the business personally to avoid prying eyes on those who come and go. continue reading

An hour costs 5,000 pesos, an unattainable sum for many couples. The price includes a private bathroom, air conditioning and electricity backed up by a generator and solar panels. In a city where blackouts can interrupt even the most intimate moments, guaranteeing power has become a commercial advantage.

When customers are scarce, Héctor advertises the room in Facebook groups. However, he prefers personal recommendations. Discretion works like a second lock: it protects the visitor from gossip and the owner from an inspection that could ruin his livelihood.

On Compostela Street, Abel has found another way to make use of the available square meters. He sells meat products and rents out his mother-in-law’s old room by the hour. From the porch, where the merchandise is displayed, you step into a narrow living room with a refrigerator and a table turned into a counter. The house retains that typical Matanzas mix of commerce, home and everyday patching-up.

“The room is nothing special,” he admits. It has a rechargeable fan, it is kept clean, and its walls don’t always manage to block out the neighbors’ conversations. His hours end at three in the afternoon, before his daughter comes home from school. He doesn’t want the girl to hear certain noises.

The rules vary from one house to another. Some admit only two people, ban alcoholic drinks or demand absolute silence. Others offer a minibar and amenities that make the stay more expensive

The rules vary from one house to another. Some admit only two people, ban alcoholic drinks or demand absolute silence. Others offer a minibar and amenities that make the stay more expensive. Signs advertising the service almost never appear. A barred window, a half-open door or a recommendation from the bodeguero [the clerk at the state ration store] is enough to find it.

Abel also takes in people who need to spend the night near the Pediatric Hospital and can’t return to their municipalities. For 1,000 pesos, he lets them sleep from ten at night until six in the morning. “I don’t like taking advantage of other people’s need either,” he says as he weighs out two pounds of ground meat.

The business has two equally vulnerable sides. Whoever rents needs money to survive; whoever pays is looking for a privacy they don’t have at home. The informality leaves both without clear guarantees and turns any disagreement into a problem that is hard to seek redress for.

Translated by GH

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Thank You to Everyone Who Raised Their Voice for My Freedom

I verified that every day dozens or even hundreds of people are arrested in Havana for the simple fact of not having an address in the capital on their identity card

Yoani Sánchez, this Friday, one day after being arbitrarily detained for nine hours by Cuban State Security. / 14ymedio

Yoani Sánchez – Generation Y – Journalist, founder and director of 14ymedio, Havana, November 6, 2026 / I express my deepest gratitude to those who denounced arbitrary arrest this Thursday, demanded my release, and stood with me in solidarity. Every message, every denunciation, and every voice raised was essential. Thank you for not leaving me alone.

But I also left that cell with a denunciation I cannot keep silent about. There, I witnessed with horror that every day dozens, even hundreds, of people are detained in Havana simply for not having a Havana address on their identity cards. They are prosecuted as “illegals” and subjected to forced deportations to their home provinces. The two words I heard most often during my confinement were “illegals” and “deportation.” Cubans treated like garbage in their own country.

I also denounce the absolute subservience of the National Revolutionary Police (PNR) to State Security. The officers, patrols, and police facilities are used as instruments of political repression, at the service of those who persecute and punish the exercise of citizens’ freedoms.

In this video I share my experience, my gratitude and, above all, my concern for those who remain locked up without their names reaching social media or their stories appearing in the headlines.

Thank you again for helping me regain my freedom. Let’s not forget those who still don’t have it.

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