Translating Cuba

A Cruise Ship and a Chinese Hotel in Cuba, Prime Minister Marrero Promises Beijing to Attract Tourists

Manuel Marrero during his interview in China, a month ago. (Screen capture)

14ymedio, Madrid, December 5, 2023 — A month has passed since Prime Minister Manuel Marrero visited China on a trip to Belarus and Russia, and his exclusive interview conducted by the CGTN television channel, owned by the Government of Beijing for international broadcast. The prime minister reveals some details about how he plans to attract more Chinese tourism, with some ideas as simple as the inclusion of electric kettles to boil water in hotel rooms, so that guests of the Asian giant can drink hot water, in accordance with their custom.

The measure is brought up by the interviewer who spoke with Marrero, — previously Cuba’s Minister of Tourism before his appointment as Prime Minister. The interview, conducted for the Leaders Talk program, delved into whether the Cuban Government plans to adapt to such tastes. Marrero affirms that, within the plan to attract the Chinese market, the language is a priority, and promises that there are plans to include it in the island’s signage. In addition, he admits with a laugh, even if Cubans only plan to drink fresh water, thermoses will be able to help make other temperatures available to Chinese travelers.

Among the developments specified by the Cuban prime minister, the arrival of a Chinese cruise ship based in the port of Havana is projected for next year

Among the developments detailed by the Marrero the arrival of a Chinese cruise ship based in the port of Havana is projected for next year, and it is planned that the ship will make tours throughout the Caribbean. In addition, he mentioned the construction of a hotel “with Chinese characteristics” also in the capital, which will be “symbolically seen as the foundations of a great commercial bridge linking both nations.”

The idea is not new, quite the opposite. The official press already announced an establishment that was to be built with mixed Chinese and Cuban capital in 2010 in the Hemingway Marina, that was then valued at 117 million dollars. In 2019, the press took up the matter, stating that the Asian giant was investing around 700 million dollars in “new high-level hotels,” including a golf complex valued at 500 million dollars.

Ultimately, nothing has been finalized and it remains to be seen if it will happen now, when Cuba is going through one of the moments of greatest depression in its tourism sector. Marrero, however, stated in the interview in Beijing that the Government “has decided” in its Economic and Social Development Plan to have tourism as a strategic sector.

“And it is not by chance,” claims the prime minister, “Cuba is a country that has potential that is exceptional,” he says, listing the number of 250 national monuments, nine sites declared World Heritage Sites by UNESCO, national parks, international airports, ports… “But, above all things, there is a people that is very cultured and very hospitable, who receive all the tourists in the world and makes them feel as if they were in their own homes,” he continues, insisting that the regime is not waiting “for things to fall from the sky.”

We have several products that are already being marketed today and that are produced in our country with a different quality.

“We are not waiting for the blockade to disappear, we continue to fight and look for alternative solutions with the conviction that we are going to get out of this situation,” he says, noting the agreements that will allow increased flights between both countries.

Beyond tourism, of which he is an expert after 15 years as minister of that realm, Marrero thanked his Chinese host for his time in the country, where he was invited to the VI China International Import Exhibition, held in Shanghai, and visited the stand with which Cuba aspires to open to the Asian market. “We have several products that are already being marketed today and that are produced in our country with a different quality,” he said, prominently mentioning rum, lobster and other seafood products. Although possibly the mention that will cause the most annoyance among the population is that of coffee.

“We are making investments to increase production in the country, but we have a lot of demand for coffee,” he stated, while in the island’s rationstores the product is conspicuous by its absence and the quality is getting worse every day.

In the interview, Marrero also talks about the importance that foreign relations have for Cuba

In the interview, Marrero also talks about the importance that foreign relations have for Cuba – a moment in which he refers to the G-77 Summit plus China held in Havana in September – and the annual vote against the embargo, which has “great significance” for the regime. “One of the main objectives of the blockade and this media war that the United States Government has is to try to isolate us from the world and try to create a matrix of opinion that Cuba is a country that does not work, that it is a system that has already failed,” he explains with the usual arguments. “But once a resolution like this is presented and 187 countries raise their hands for Cuba, it is shown that it is not alone, that it continues to be present in the world, being an example of resistance, of struggle, of its own criteria, of principles and courage. And that is very recognized.”

There was also room, in the almost half hour of interview, for praise of Xi Jiping and of Fidel Castro – “a great promoter, when he created a company to develop everything related to moringa” – and the Chinese system, of which, he affirmed that this should be taken into account for “the economic and social development of our country.”

Marrero said goodbye to the presenter, with thanks for the “exceptional visit, with a transcendental experience” that his time in China represented, where he was also able to see the Communist Party Museum. The trip has “marked a before and after,” he said to end with a national speech. “Thank you very much. We will remain firm, walking at a firm pace, Hasta la victoria siempre.”

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The Havana Corner Shop ‘Lavin Mattresses’ Shows Its Endless Rubbish

On Wednesday a mountain of rubbish blocked the entrance to the building and forced the Communal Services to remove it, after weeks of accumulation. (14ymedio)

14ymedio, Natalia López Moya, Havana, 30 November, 2023 – Soft and comfortable and long-lasting, that’s how they marketed the mattresses sold by the Lavín company more than half a century ago at the central Havana corner location of calles Neptuno and Lealdad. Only a memory remains of that private concern, nationalised and converted into the Office for Consumer Registration (Oficoda). On Wednesday a mountain of rubbish blocked the entrance to the building and forced the Communal Services to remove it, after weeks of accumulation. (14ymedio)

A neighbour watched from her balcony as a truck and a bulldozer tried to remove the waste that covered the pavement and made traffic flow difficult on a street that is used by many independent taxis to connect Old Havana with El Vedado and the western districts of the Cuban capital. “Oh, they finally turned up then?” bellowed the woman from her vantage point, and a number of other nearby residents gave support with similar shouts of indignation, which fell on deaf ears as far as the workers of the state monopoly were concerned.

With a flaky shop front and ancient windows covered in cardboard and wooden boards the place is no longer recognisable even by those who used to visit it in its former splendour. With the slogan “A Lavín mattress lasts and lasts”, the shop was one of the company’s branches, whose main shop was in Calle Monte y Rastro and their factory was at 52 Pedroso in the El Cerro district. Owned by Ramón Lavín Allende and his brothers, the family business also sold hats and had shops that sold home accessories. continue reading

Few people in the area remember the era when the corner was an important commercial hub with the mattress shop on one side and a market run by the famous company Minimax on the opposite side

But few people in the area remember the era when the corner was an important commercial hub with the mattress shop on one side and a market run by the famous company Minimax on the opposite side. “There’s not many of us left now”, an elderly man told 14ymedio; on Wednesday he’d watched the rubbish removal by Communal Services, from a window in his home. “My parents bought their matrimonial bed at Lavín and they weren’t rich people, they paid in instalments”, he said.

An old receipt, bearing the name ’Consuelo Rodríguez’ bears witness to the type of credit sales made popular by the mattress company. A neighbour, from number 1011 in the nearby Calle Belascoaín, probably a customer or an employee of the hotel La Maravilla, as the document states, acquired an air mattress and a blanket from Lavín in 1945 for a total of 12 pesos. This piece of paper, which is for sale for 6 euros online on an auction site, is a relic from times gone by.

Consuelo Rodríguez probably passed away years ago; hire purchase hasn’t existed in Cuba for decades, La Maravilla became a kind of citadel and all that remains of the Lavín company are buildings which remain dilapidated or taken over by homeless families and the building of the emblematic business on Neptuno y Lealdad is now busy with the administration of the rationing system which has been imposed on the people in Cuba for more than 60 years. The mountain of rubbish which surrounded it, and which the Comunal Services was trying to clear up on Wednesday, was all that was left – the burial of a time past, for which there remain no witnesses.

Translated by Ricardo Recluso

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La Fortuna, an Empty Bodega That Had Its Glory Days, Like So Many Others in Cuba

Around the bodega [ration store], several people gathered in search of answers. “I do not understand, really.” (14ymedio)

14ymedio, Miguel García, Holguín, 5 December 2023 — La Fortuna has nothing left of the old enthusiasm that prompted it to be baptized with such a name. The rationed market bodega, located on Carretera Central, Reparto Alex Urquiola, in the city of Holguín, woke up practically empty this Tuesday. The surrounding residents were impatient because the regulated quota of rice has not yet arrived on this fifth day of December, a time of year when consumption and prices increase.

Several people gathered around the premises this morning in search of answers. “I don’t understand it, honestly,” stressed a woman who had been excited to see some acquaintances enter the store, but as she approached, she understood that they were people inquiring about grain. “I was hoping that they were already selling this month’s allotment, so I wouldn’t have to pay almost 200 pesos a pound for it, but no.”

In some bodegas in the Pueblo Nuevo popular council, only 10 ounces of peas and one packet of coffee have arrived per person, both corresponding to the allotment for this last month of 2023. In others, not even that. “This is bad,” said another frustrated customer who arrived at the point of sale. “Nothing here and on the street a pound of pork is already 470 pesos and the only chicken you find is in MSMEs*, at 12,000 per box of thigh and leg.”

In some bodegas of the popular council of Pueblo Nuevo, only 10 ounces of peas and one sachet of coffee have arrived per person, both corresponding to the December allotment

The data provided by an elderly woman was added to the calculations of the Holguín resident who also approached the corner. “They haven’t brought bread for like two days, there are areas here that don’t even supply milk for the children. Anyone who can, has to buy all that from outside, at the price continue reading

the sellers ask for.” The conversation continued to revolve around the shortages and in the impromptu gathering the topic of the sugar shortage came up.

“In my house we are sweetening with raspadura [panela],” said another client with an empty bag and a protective umbrella. Contacts with some guajiros [farmers] who live near a sugar mill have helped her family “at least not to add to this bitterness, also the other one, that of coffee without sugar,” she points out. “But they are small pieces, you have to be careful not to scratch your finger when you grate them.”

Made with sugar molasses, raspadura is a traditional Cuban sweet that began to disappear years ago due to the plummeting sugar harvests and the emergence of other more colorful and varied sweets. Unlike other countries, such as Colombia, where its use as a sweetener is still widespread, on the Island it has become a product that the elderly keep in their memories or that is only consumed in rural areas.

“You’re lucky that you have raspadura!” a passerby was heard saying who managed to hear the catharsis that was coming from La Fortuna, that business that was once named in honor of the lucky star and now only displays its empty shelves and dozens of dissatisfied customers.

*Translator’s note: Many of Cuba’s micro, small and medium sized businesses that are ostensibly private, in reality are often controlled by government figures.

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Marine Saurian Skeleton Between 130 and 145 Million Years Old Discovered in Cuba

The discovery occurred by chance, after the resident of a farm discovered it. (Ronald Suárez Rivas/Granma)

EFE (via 14ymedio), Havana, December 5, 2023 — The discovery, in a cave west of Cuba, of the skeleton of a marine saurian that lived between 130 and 145 million years ago could be the “paleontological find of the century” in the Island, according to experts cited by state media this Tuesday.

According to preliminary studies underway, it is the fossil of a ichthyosaur reptile three to four meters long, with a certain physical resemblance to today’s dolphins, but with a longer beak and sharp teeth, as described by the Cuban geologist Manuel Iturralde.

The data collected suggests that these animals lived from the Triassic period to the Cretaceous period and were carnivores, added the scientist, quoted by the State newspaper Granma. continue reading

The scientists explained that they would be focused on returning to the place to perform photogrammetry

The mystery lies in what type of ichthyosaur the fossil belongs to. It was found embedded in the rock of a cave known as the Surgidero del Río del Novillo, located in the mountains of the Viñales Valley, in the Pinar del Río province. The discovery occurred by chance, after a resident of a farm discovered it in the cave.

Researcher Yasmani Ceballos said that most ichthyosaur genera practically disappeared from the fossil record and “nothing like this had ever been found in Cuba.”

He did cite other discoveries, however, such as the case of a Jurassic dinosaur bone found at the beginning of the 20th century, the remains of a prehistoric turtle, and those of a monkey, also found in a cave in Pinar del Río.

Regarding the next steps that the investigation will follow, the scientists explained that they would be focused on returning to the place – with restriction of public access – to carry out photogrammetry, which will allow extracting a 3D model of the fossil, and taking rock samples where the remains of the reptile appeared.

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Seven Cuban Rafters and a Dog Are Rescued Off the Coast of Mexico

Sailors from Mexico rescued the rafters and a dog near Isla Mujeres. (Semar)

14ymedio, Mexico, December 5, 2023 — The Mexican Navy rescued seven Cuban rafters and a dog this Monday who were adrift on a boat 76 nautical miles from Isla Mujeres, Quintana Roo. According to the authorities, a foreign ship detected the migrants because of the barking of a dog and provided details of several people on “a small wooden raft that was propelled by a sail” who were asking for help.

Upon arriving at the scene, the sailors found two women, five men and the pet, who were put on an official boat and taken to land. One of the rafters said that “he had not drunk water or eaten for two days” and that there had come a time when he thought they would die at sea.

The authorities told them that, after being examined by a doctor and receiving food at the Puerto Juárez naval station, they would be handed over to Immigration. One of the women asked the sailors not to deport them. “We don’t want them to put us in jail.” she said. “If they return us they will treat us like criminals.”

Immigration personnel arrived at the naval station and after talking with the rafters, they were allowed to take the animal. The Cubans asked for refuge, so the agents told them that this procedure had to be carried out at the offices of the Mexican Commission for Aid to Refugees (Comar). continue reading

The closest Comar office is located in Tenosique, Tabasco, 840 kilometers away. “It is a mockery of the agents to tell them to process documents, when they took them to an immigration station and they are going to keep them locked up,” lawyer José Luis Pérez told 14ymedio. “The National Migration Institute [INM] has the obligation to inform Comar of the request of these rafters, but we know that it will be very difficult for them to do so.”

The Cuban rafters and their dog were handed over to Immigration. (Semar)

The arrival of these rafters comes a week after Cancun authorities detained 12 rafters, four women and eight men, on Chac Mool beach. Officer Jacinto Pech May indicated that these Cubans were transferred by Immigration to the state of Tabasco.

Pech May said that given the refusal of the Cubans to cooperate to identify the coyotes who transported them from Cuba to Mexico, the authorities closed the investigation: “The precedent remains of a very similar way of operating to that used by the Cuban Mafia, which “established itself in Cancún, Isla Mujeres and the state of Yucatán.”

The last week of November, Immigration suspended the so-called “assisted returns,” through which Mexico deported 789 migrants this year. An official confirmed to this newspaper that Mexico paid 4,000 pesos ($237) for the transfer of each migrant.

During the month of November, the head of Immigration Francisco Garduño stated in a document, the agreements entered into were suspended due to “lack of liquidity,” which also includes the payment of travel expenses and agent commissions.

In 2013, the INM confirmed that it annually spent more than one billion pesos ($58 million) to repatriate foreign migrants, most of them Central Americans.

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Cuban President Diaz-Canel Looks Happy Meeting with the Misogynistic and Homophobic Ayatollahs

Like the FMC and Cenesex, the Cuban ruler will not say a single word about the “gender apartheid” that the ayatollahs have imposed. (X/@DiazCanelB)

14ymedio, Yoani Sánchez, Havana, 4 December 2023 — The demand for “a Palestine free from Israeli occupation” and a congratulation to health personnel on Latin American Medicine Day are the most recent publications on the Facebook accounts of the Federation of Cuban Women (FMC) and the National Sexual Education Center (Cenesex). According to both entities, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel’s visit to Iran, a country with one of the most misogynistic and homophobic policies in the world, does not deserve criticism or condemnation.

The silence of the FMC and Cenesex is hardly surprising. With a selective view when denouncing attacks on women and the LGBTI community, these two entities have a long history of pointing out the slightest hint of violence in Western democracies and remaining silent, with complicity, about the young Iranians hanged for having a homosexual relationship. If gender aggression occurs in New York or Berlin they will amplify it, but if the setting is Tehran or Moscow it will not be mentioned in the newspapers controlled by the Cuban Communist Party (PCC).

The official press ignored, for example, the importance of the “Women, Life, Freedom” protests, which began as a demand for women’s rights and went on to become a social movement seeking the end of the ayatollah regime, the economic opening of the country and the establishment of a political model of respect for civic freedoms. continue reading

The trigger for these historic demonstrations, which filled the Iranian streets with young people willing to do anything to shake off authoritarian and hypocritical rulers, was also little mentioned in the island’s media. one only has to review the articles published about Iran from September 2022, when the young Mahsa Amini died in police custody, detained for not wearing the Islamic veil, to realize that praise for Tehran’s actions was the informative tone chosen by the PCC.

Havana has also not commented on the Iranian protesters killed by law enforcement, a number that several organizations estimate to be close to 500

Havana has also not commented on the Iranian protesters killed by law enforcement forces, a number that several independent organizations estimate to be around 500, to which must be added thousands of injured and at least 20,000 arrested. Even less has it informed its audience inside the Island that last September the Iranian Parliament approved a new law that makes the punishments for violating the dress code more severe.

If women were previously penalized with between ten days and two months in prison for wearing the Islamic veil incorrectly or not wearing it at all, now they can spend five to ten years in prison for the same offense. The fines for these contraventions have also multiplied considerably and the regulations punish the owners of businesses that serve women who fail to comply with the strict rules.

Díaz-Canel has arrived in that country, where the ideological pillars of the Islamic Republic rise above the female body and crush the freedom to choose, from how to wear one’s hair to one’s sexual preference. Like the FMC and Cenesex, the Cuban leader will not say a single word about the “gender apartheid” that the ayatollahs have imposed and that forces segregation by sex in universities, hospitals and other public spaces. Meekly, his wife, non-first lady Lis Cuesta, will cover herself with a veil while she is in that nation.

With their silence and opportunism, both seek to ingratiate themselves with the Iranian regime so that it supports the faltering Cuban dictatorship with resources, fuel and diplomatic support. Along the way, they will take the opportunity to harshly criticize Israel, the European Union and the United States while ensuring that the “ties of friendship” between Havana and Tehran are unbreakable. Ties that, instead of focusing on the well-being of both peoples, have served all these years for both regimes to watch each other’s backs.

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Cuba’s Military Appropriated Almost 70 Billion Dollars From Cuba’s Healthcare System

Return of a group of Cuban doctors who traveled to Qatar in 2021 to help the emirate face the covid-19 pandemic. (Ministry of Health)

14ymedio, Madrid, December 4, 2023 — The Cuban Observatory for Social Audit (OCAC) accuses the Cuban Government of having appropriated almost 70 billion dollars from international missions, money that was never reinvested in the National Health System. The organization – based in Madrid, made up of activists, researchers and journalists and part of the network of the Cuba Siglo 21 ideas center — has released a report titled Cuba: GAESA’s plundering of health security in which it describes the military conglomerate’s plundering from the national Public Health.

The text is based on the premise, put forward by the Cuban regime, that the appropriation is carried out to sustain the universal and free health service; an appropriation that can amount to 90% of the salary of health workers sent to work abroad.

The authorities defend that their system is based on the free training of professionals who, in exchange, receive a small part of the payment that foreign governments make for them and deliver the rest to the State, so that the State can continue to offer Cubans medical assistance without making payments. The regime has defended this repeatedly when they have been accused of sending doctors to do forced labor.

Gaesa, the holding company of the new Cuban oligarchy, using the International Financial Bank, not only robbed the doctors, it robbed the nation, thereby promoting the dismantling of the public health system

However, the OCAC has analyzed the statistics released by the Government itself through the National Office of Statistics and Information (Onei) which show that in the last 13 years – the period studied – at least 13 times more was invested in the construction of hotels than in the healthcare sector. continue reading

According to a note published by this newspaper, in 2022 alone the amount was even greater, since 33% of the State budget (23,360 million pesos, almost one billion dollars at the official exchange rate) was allocated to “business services and real estate,” while 2.1% went to Health and public assistance (1.52 billion pesos or 63.4 million dollars), that is, 16 times less.

The OCAC report precisely details the money “looted” by Gaesa at 69,866,399,679 dollars and requests that both it, the Ministry of Public Health and the companies exporting Cuban medical services make public all their accounts and immediately refund the money into the system.

“Gaesa, the holding company of the new Cuban oligarchy, using the International Financial Bank, not only robbed the doctors, it robbed the nation, thereby promoting the dismantling of the public health system,” the organization argues in a press release which broadly describes some of the report’s conclusions.

The document establishes that the entire health network of the Island is in visible decline, from sewage and water supply to garbage collection, pest elimination and, of course, hospitals, health centers, pharmacies and medicines.

The number of hospitals fell by 32% between 2007 and 2018, including the closure since 2011 of all those located in rural areas. Added to this are the closures of polyclinics, 9% less, and of rural and urban posts since 2020.

“The country went from having a total of 312,406 employees as medical personnel in 2021, to 281,098 in 2022. Health personnel decreased by 31,308 in just 12 months, from 2021 to 2022. This category includes senior, middle and basic technicians , technologists and other health graduates,” adds the text, underlining a complaint previously made by the independent press.

The drop in medications is also taken into account, which doubled this year compared to 2020. In 2023, the number of drugs missing from the basic table amounts to 172, compared to 84 three years ago. In addition, a Cubadata survey found 46.7% of respondents considered it “very difficult” to obtain medicines.

Members of the OCAC carried out their own verification this September, visiting several pharmacies throughout the Island, verifying the shortage of painkillers, antibiotics, antihypertensives, antiparasitics, anti-inflammatories, anxiolytics and antidepressants.

The situation has been recognized in numerous interventions by the Government itself, which, however, attributes the causes to complications in the supply of raw materials or financial problems derived from the US embargo.

The authorities also admitted to having used a large amount of resources in the manufacture of their own vaccines against Covid-19, decapitalizing part of their pharmaceutical industry, which stopped producing equally or more important drugs. Among the consequences, there is an exorbitant increase in the cost of medicines on the black market.

“Health security today has two groups: those who have relatives in the diaspora or access to dollars, and those who depend on income in national currency”

“Health security today has two groups: those who have relatives in the diaspora or access to dollars, and those who depend on income in national currency,” states the OCAC, which extends the situation to all types of medical care. As by the independent press has warned on numerous occasions, the corruption of the Health system has worsened before everyone’s eyes. A payment or a gift expedites the visit to a doctor, the performance of a test or even, the speed for a vital surgical intervention.

Furthermore, there are multiple cases in which the lack of medical supplies has ended up causing the worsening or even the death of some patients, such as the recent death of a motorist from Bayamo for which six doctors who treated him without being able to save his life are being prosecuted. The health workers used inadequate material in the absence of what was optimal and are now accused of negligence.

The organization wonders where almost 70 billion dollars earned in 14 years have gone and why no explanations are requested. Furthermore, they disagree with the opinion of the UN Special Rapporteur, who considers that US sanctions affect medical care in Cuba. “OCAC considers this assessment to be erroneous. The real cause of the crisis in the Cuban health system is of an endogenous and systemic nature: the deliberate abandonment of the constitutional responsibilities of the State with the basic needs of the population. An additional fact: the embargo does not prevent the acquisition of health equipment and medicines in the United States,” the document states.

This Sunday, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel, while on a trip to the Middle East, visited the international mission in Qatar, located in what is known as the Cuban Hospital of Dukhan, inaugurated in 2012. According to information from the newspaper The Guardian, the Arab country pays between 5,000 and 10,000 dollars for each doctor hired.

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San Lazaro, the Havana Street Where Residents Live in Permanent Fear of a Collapse

“What we need here is a ‘Caterpiller’ [wrecker],” said a neighbor close to the collapse this Thursday. (14ymedio)

14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, 30 November 2023 — A flap of concrete and steel makes it difficult to exit through the door of the tenement located at 512 San Lázaro Street between Lealtad and Perseverancia, in Centro Habana. This Wednesday what everyone had been fearing for years happened: part of the upper balcony collapsed, leaving a trail of rubble and increasing the fear in which several families in the apartment building live. On a block where just remaining standing is an every day challenge for the buildings, residents know that the scene could be repeated in the surrounding homes.

The apathy, the salt air and the lack of resources of its residents have made this avenue, which connects Old Havana with the very steps of the University of Havana, an example of the already insurmountable architecture of the Cuban capital. Oblivious to the ongoing restoration of the historic center and somewhat far from the more modern neighborhood of El Vedado, the buildings on this artery that runs parallel to the sea are, clearly, unrecoverable.

“What we need here is a Caterpillar,” said a neighbor close to the collapse this Thursday. The man, over 70, considered that there are no “band-aids or warm cloths, this whole neighborhood has to be redone.” His reference to American heavy machinery is mainly due to “the steamroller that is needed to tear all this down,” a clear allusion to the re-foundation of San Leopoldo, the popular name of the area. continue reading

One balcony more or less seems like a small thing on a street on which only ruins remain, but this Wednesday’s collapse deeply marks the lives of the inhabitants of 512 San Lázaro

Although most of those who live in the neighborhood do not remember the pious saint who preferred to live as a poor person instead of enjoying his family wealth, it is enough to walk the streets that go from Belascoaín to Lealtad, crossing diagonally from San Lázaro to the nearby San Miguel, to realize that the residents of that grid have not chosen the misery that surrounds them, the unpainted walls, the long lines in the markets or, much less, the mountains of waste that cover every corner.

One balcony more or less seems like a small thing on a street on which only ruins remain, but this Wednesday’s collapse deeply marks the lives of the inhabitants of 512 San Lázaro. Probably, none of the residents of that lot will be able to sell their home to pay for emigration, or to exchange it for a better neighborhood even if it means paying money, let alone take a photo in front of the façade of their building or invite – with pride – some friends to a festive evening. Like so many homes around here, this one has been marked by ruin.

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Cuban ’11J’ Prisoner With German Citizenship Is Beaten in Prison

The political prisoner is serving a 15-year sentence. (Facebook)

14ymedio, Madrid, December 1, 2023 — Prisoners Defenders (PD) reported this Friday that political prisoner Luis Frómeta Compte has received a brutal beating in the Combinado del Este prison in Havana, where he is incarcerated.

As confirmed by the Madrid-based organization based on the testimony of his relatives, the prisoner has been in the prison medical ward since this Thursday, with a broken nasal septum apart from other injuries. The family made a direct broadcast this morning claiming that, after waiting hours in the prison, they still had no contact with him nor did the authorities provide them with precise information about Frómeta Compte.

“We really don’t know what condition he is in,” says his son’s mother, in a desperate voice. Both the family members and PD assert that the regime commissioned common prisoners to attack the political prisoner. “The inmates report that the perpetrators are known and have not even been reprimanded,” says the NGO, which urges the regime to “stop torturing prisoners.” continue reading

We really don’t know what state he is in,” says his son’s mother, in a desperate voice

Frómeta Compte, 62 years old and with German nationality, is serving a 15-year sentence for “inciting to commit a crime” during the peaceful demonstrations on 11 July 2021. He was only recording the protest, and was on the island for a visit. For this reason, Prisoners Defenders addresses the Government of Germany in its tweet, asking: “Save your citizens from the torture of a ’friendly’ country!”

On November 19, Luis Barrios Díaz, one of the political prisoners of 11J in Cuba, died in the La Covadonga hospital, in Havana. His family and the Cuban Human Rights Observatory (OCHD) denounced that it was negligence.

“The authorities, in an attempt to free themselves from their responsibility as a result of their negligence, processed with unprecedented speed an extra-penal license for the political prisoner,” the Observatory stated at the time.

In its statement, the OCDH demanded the “immediate release” of all political prisoners and noted that “although it is a matter of political will, the regime has at least eight legal avenues to release or immediately release everyone.”

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US Keeps Cuba on the List of Sponsors of Terrorism for Another Year

US President Joe Biden during a telephone conversation at the White House. (EFE/EPA/Adam Schultz/The White House)

EFE (via 14ymedio), Washington, November 30, 2023 — The United States decided to keep Cuba on the list of countries sponsoring terrorism for another year, as stated in the 2022 report on terrorism in the world published this Thursday by the Department of State. ## North Korea, Iran and Syria join Cuba on the list, which entails the imposition of a series of sanctions by Washington.

The inclusion of Cuba on the list in January 2021 was one of the last decisions made by the Administration of Republican Donald Trump (2017-2021) before leaving power.

The United States then justified the measure by referring to the presence on the island of members of the Colombian ELN guerrilla, who traveled to Havana to begin peace negotiations with the Government of Colombia.

The Administration of Democrat Joe Biden considers in its report published this Thursday that “the Cuban Government did not formally respond to the extradition requests” of ELN leaders Pablo Tejada and Pablo Beltrán presented by Colombia. continue reading

North Korea, Iran and Syria join Cuba on the list, which entails the imposition of a series of sanctions by Washington

The report also denounces that “Cuba also continues to harbor several American fugitives from justice wanted on charges related to political violence, many of whom have resided in Cuba for decades.”

To designate a country as a sponsor of terrorism, US law requires the Secretary of State to determine that the government in question has repeatedly provided support to terrorist groups.

This designation implies a ban on arms sales with that country, greater control of its exports, restrictions on foreign aid, greater visa requirements and various economic sanctions.

Cuba had been part of the list since 1982 but was taken off in 2015, during the rapprochement stage promoted by then US president Barack Obama (2009-2017), later ended by Trump, who during his term redoubled the sanctions on Havana and stopped the “thaw.”

The current Biden Administration has made some gestures towards the Island, such as the elimination of the remittance limit for Cuba, but it is still far from Obama’s approach.

The president of Cuba, Miguel Díaz-Canel, has repeatedly demanded that Washington remove his country from the list; he considers the inclusion unjustified with serious economic implications for the Island.

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A Diminished Coppelia Reopens in Havana with Tiny, Bare-Minimum Scoops

In no time at all, the line of people waiting to get into Coppelia was several yards long. (14ymedio)

14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, 28 November 2023 – When it comes to ice cream and sweets, Cubans are true believers. On Tuesday, they lined up In front of Coppelia, Havana’s much-diminished “cathedral of ice cream,” which had been closed for several weeks. They had little reason to rejoice, however. The sluggish employees and poor service have been ridiculed by customers, who claim the only one thing that is back to normal is the long lines. ## “There’s ice cream but no cookies,” an employee warns at Coppelia’s entrance. It has become common practice for the establishment’s staff to speak in negatives. When the closure was announced a few days ago, the explanation was equally concise: “There’s no ice cream, there’s no milk, there’s no sugar.

Customers have come up with an explanation for the staff’s lethargy. “They’ve spent so many days without work that they must have forgotten how to do it,” says one elderly woman in a loud voice, unconcerned whether the staff can hear her or not.

Customers come hoping to order the Palmero, an ice cream of slightly higher quality than the regular options, at a cost of 65 pesos a scoop. But anyone who manages to get past the “first circle” learns that, to enjoy it, she or he must first get a table at the Four Jewels, the closest thing Coppelia has to an exclusive seating area. continue reading

The staff is lethargic even though and several tables are empty. (14ymedio)

Those seated in the common area soon realize that their options are limited. The multi-scoop “mixed salad” is available but one customer complains that the only flavors she and her fellow customers have to choose from are vanilla and chocolate. As for the cookies — an accompaniement that goes well with the ice cream — she is out of luck. “They didn’t deliver any today; we’ll see about tomorrow,” says a waitress pessimistically.

“Tiny, bare-minimum scoops” says an elderly man, amazed at the staff’s ability to reduce the serving sizes. “More for them at the end of the day,” replies another.

At noon, students from nearby schools realize that the “cathedral” is open. The avalanche is unstoppable and the number of people in line triples in just a few minutes. The electronic payment terminals – made necessary by the government’s newly mandated digital banking regulations – are slow as evidenced by the long lines, which grow ever longer with every kilobyte the devices need to process.

Lines are not a problem in areas where customers must pay using foreign, hard-currency debit cards but people try to avoid digital banking transactions as much as they crave ice cream. When it finally hits the tongue, the palate immediately recognizes its mediocrity: “The same as always, neither good nor bad. But you have to kill your hunger.”

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‘In Line with the Revolution’ — Havana’s Dilapidated Lisboa Pizzeria Awaits a Private-Sector Savior

Lisboa was closed during the pandemic but it is not known if the closure was due to health restrictions. (14ymedio)

14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodriguez, Havana, 22 November 2023 — With few of its walls still standing and pieces of rubble strewn about, the old Lisboa pizzeria in Havana’s Playa district has gone from being a popular restaurant to a complete ruin in the span of a few years. Neighborhood residents, who watched as the state-run business became a den of drunkards and night owls, pray that private business interests take over what remains of the building before the few columns supporting it finally give way.

“It has been abandoned for a while,” says Reina, who lives on the same block. She remembers that, about four or five years ago, the pizzeria still had customers. As she recalls, Lisboa was closed during the pandemic though she does not know if the closure was due to health restrictions. “Now it’s just a reference point,” she says. If anyone who asks me for directions, I tell them to look for the block where everything is in disarray. No one gets lost.”

Under some almond and palm trees that provide shade during the day and shelter at night, the pizzeria has become what local residents describe as a public toilet. “In the last hour I have seen three people go over to that wall and urinate, including that guy there,” says Reina, pointing to a man who parks his motorbike, slowly approaches the wall and “draws his sword.”

Interior of the old Lisboa pizzeria, now in ruins. (14ymedio)

Nor has Lisboa escaped the ravages of “scavengers,” as she describes those who have, out of sight, been chipping away at the walls of the restaurant until it becomes what she describes as a living brick. “They’ve taken the doors, windows, rods, everything they could carry. Even the walls have become thinner because they’ve torn out bricks,” she says.

“When they saw what was happening, the authorities put up some flimsy metal barriers to keep the building from collapsing.” Some very rustic rebar fences are the only thing that separates the interior of the restaurant from passersby on the adjoining street. Amid the rubble inside, the remains of windows and plaster can be seen as well as bags of gravel and a few cement blocks.

A pyramid of boards is stacked on one side. “It looks like they were brought in to prop things up but they never did anything with them,” she says.

“People have been saying for a long time that a private investor is going to take over Lisboa. I’m not sure about that but at least I held out hope that would happen before it fell apart or became a nest of criminals,” says Reina.

The ATM is more often used as a makeshift toilet. (14ymedio)

On one side of the old pizzeria is La Copa, a shopping center whose tenants are mostly private businesses whose good condition stands in contrast to the rubble that is Lisboa. Several cafes, a hair salon and a barber shop – all in private hands – put the mediocre state-run businesses, that are also part of the complex, to shame.

Customers might think twice about opening their wallets after seeing the menu at one of the cafes. An espresso costs 100 pesos, a capuccino goes for 150 and a café bombon — equal parts espresso and sweetened condensed milk — for 300. Except for the Michelada,* which costs 350, the cocktails are all around 550 pesos. Beer is purchased separately.

La Copa’s other tenants include a pharmacy without medications, a vacant hard-currency store and two ATMs — only one of which works — in a corner which more often serves as a makeshift urinal. The dilapidated Servando Cabrera gallery a few steps away, which authorities describe as a “bastion of emerging art in Cuba,” pays homage to Lisboa’s old slogan: “In line with the Revolution.”

The Servando Cabrera gallery, “bastion of emerging Cuban art, is empty. (14ymedio)

*Translator’s note: a Mexican drink of beer, lime juice, assorted sauces, spices, and chili peppers, served in a chilled, salt-rimmed glass.

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Cuban Police Arrest the Alleged Murderer of a French Tourist in Havana

The French tourist was staying in this building on Industria Street, in one of the poorest neighborhoods of Central Havana. (14ymedio)

14ymedio, Havana, December 2, 2023 — A man of French nationality, about 60 years old, was murdered in the early hours of Thursday morning in a building located on the corner of Industria and Virtudes, in Central Havana. The victim had gone up to a tourist rental apartment with two girls, who gagged and suffocated him with the alleged intention of robbing him.

The police intercepted one of the young women in the bus terminal of La Coubre, where she intended to escape to the east of the country, one of the neighbors told 14ymedio. He did not know if the other woman was also located by the agents.

“The Frenchman had young girls in the apartment every night,” the source told this newspaper. “In the early morning of Wednesday to Thursday, he came with the girls, who were drugged, and they killed him to rob him.” The age of the murderers ranges from 18 to 25 years old, he calculates. continue reading

According to the neighbor, the body was discovered on Thursday, probably when the owners of the apartment went to change the victim’s bedding

According to the neighbor, the body was discovered on Thursday, probably when the owners of the apartment – located on the fourth floor of the building – went to change the victim’s bedding. “In the morning, the neighborhood was filled with patrols,” the man explains. The building is not far from the old Great Musical Theater of Havana and a Methodist temple.

The neighborhood where the French tourist stayed is one of the poorest in Central Havana. Formerly known as the neighborhood of Colón – and famous for the practice of prostitution – its accommodations are highly sought after by tourists looking for a low-cost rental that is not far from the historic center of the city.

Bunkhouses proliferate, and the buildings are very deteriorated. The Colón neighborhood is also known for the abundance of members of the Abakuá secret society and for the practitioners of Santería and other Afro-Cuban religions.

Neither the Police nor the French Embassy in Havana have comment on the event, although it is common for the regime to keep secret the murders of foreigners on the Island, even more so in a context of a debacle of international tourism such as the one that the country is currently going through.

Neither the Police nor the French Embassy in the Cuban capital have commented on the event

One of the few exceptions is Antoinette Traboulsi, a 52-year-old Canadian tourist, murdered in Varadero in November 2020. The death of the woman, who had three children and worked as a hospital porter in Quebec, was reported by the authorities to the Canadian government, and it was a Canadian channel from that country, CTV News, that told the story.

Sami Soussa, the victim’s cousin, told CTV News that Traboulsi’s body was found by the Cuban police after his disappearance was reported by a friend the day after his arrival on the Island. The body was buried under 3.3 feet of sand with signs of violence. “In the Cuban morgue they confirmed that it was my cousin’s body,” Soussa explained at the time.

The Cuban Government has also not revealed how many foreign tourists have died from violent causes on the Island in recent decades

The Cuban Government has also not revealed how many foreign tourists have died from violent causes on the Island in recent decades. A note published by Martí Noticias in 2013 estimated that the figure – at that time – amounted to fifty.

Citing sources from the Ministry of Tourism, which asked for anonymity, the channel also revealed that another 50 foreigners were injured in 2013 alone. The main causes, they said, were “assaults or homicides to rob them; drowning in the sea, usually in a state of drunkenness; traffic accidents, in many cases due to ignorance of poor road conditions; and drug overdoses or heart attacks caused by Viagra consumption, among those who go to the island looking for sex tourism.”

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Shock in a Santiago de Cuba Town Over Murder of a 15-Year-Old Girl

Dorka Velázquez Casal, victim of a horrendous femicide. (Social networks)

14ymedio, Havana, 2 December 2023 — The murder of Dorka Velázquez Casal, age 15, has shocked the rural town of Aguacate, belonging to the municipality of Palma Soriano, in Santiago de Cuba. The platforms monitoring femicides also reported this Friday the death of Beatriz García, murdered in Bayamo, which brings the number of victims of misogynistic violence in Cuba to 79 in 2023.

According to user Jeissy Borrell Gámez, one of the Facebook profiles cited by Yo Sí Te Creo en Cuba (YSTC) to verify Velázquez’s death, the minor was raped and her throat was slit with a knife. Likewise, Borrell published a photo of the alleged murderer, also a resident of Aguacate, whom he identifies with the nickname Pipito, who, he claims, has already been arrested by the Police.

YSTC also confirmed the femicide of Beatriz García, committed on November 22, in her home, in the town of El Horno, Bayamo, in the province of Granma, at the hands of her ex-partner, who then committed suicide. The victim is survived by three children, two adults and one minor.

In a message published on the social network X this December 1, YSTC warns “once again of the horrendous consequences of the State’s inaction with regards to the prevention of misogynistic violence.

According to the most recent Latin American Map of Femicide released within the framework of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, Cuba is the country with the greatest increase in the number of femicides, exceeding 20 cases in the first half of 2022, versus 50 in the same period of 2023, that is, 150% more. continue reading

Paula Spagnoletti, one of the coordinators of the Mapa, in conversation with the media Télam, explained that according to YSTC and the Observatory of the Cuban feminist magazine, Alas Tensas, “there is an increase in verifications and not in the number of femicides, since there is an official base and updated figure available that sets a benchmark.”

The Cuban Government does not produce reports, which implies that the organizations are in charge of verifying femicides due to their management and, furthermore, the government does not have data to compare. Added to this is the silence of the official press, which barely publishes these events and in most cases does not classify them as femicides.

Although recently the official media Girón and 26, from Matanzas and Las Tunas, respectively, broke their silence on the matter. Girón acknowledged that seven women were murdered in the province in the first half of 2023. The victims were between ages 20 and 57, and the most recurrent causes of death were wounds caused by knives.

For its part, 26 published that the Las Tunas Prosecutor’s Office, during this year, has opened more than 200 legal proceedings for “threats, injuries, sexual assaults and murders” of women and girls.

Both media recognize that femicides are “sadly increasing” due to the indifference of the authorities and the silence of the official press.

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A Young Woman of 20 Murdered by Her Partner in Bayamo, the 77th Femicide in Cuba This Year

Dailenis Nápoles Zamora, 20, was murdered by her partner in Bayamo, Granma. (Facebook/Marlene Sandoval)

14ymedio, Havana, 23 November 2023 — The independent observatories Alas Tensas and Yo Sí Te Creo (YSTC) confirmed this Thursday two new victims of misogynistic violence in Cuba. The deaths of both women brings the number of femicides on the Island since January to 77, more than double the number recorded throughout the year in 2022 by unofficial records.

The first reported death was Dailenis Nápoles Zamora, 20 years old and resident of Bayamo (Granma), who was murdered on October 20. The alleged murderer of the young woman was her partner, identified by the independent media Asere as Alexis Castañedas.

According to the media, citing witnesses to the event, after a “heated” argument, Nápoles threatened to leave the house where they both lived and go live with her parents. Castañedas chased the young woman to a bus stop and made her return to their home, where he allegedly murdered her with a knife. continue reading

Before surrendering to the authorities, the alleged aggressor informed the victim’s mother, who found her daughter wrapped in a sheet with her throat slit

Before surrendering to the authorities, the alleged aggressor informed the victim’s mother , who found heer daughter wrapped in a sheet with her throat slit. Sources close to the victim told Asere that Nápoles used to be frequently mistreated by Castañedas.

The second case confirmed by YSTC – which 14ymedio had alreadyalluded to this Monday – was that of Sarahí López Pérez, 48, murdered by her ex-partner on November 18 in the Havana municipality of Cerro. Days before the confirmation of the femicide, the Asere media outlet identified inmate Yordano Quintanal Díaz as the aggressor, who took advantage of a prison pass to murder López.

The events occurred on Salvador Street, between Parque and Bella Vista, in the Consejo Popular Canal. YSTC sources told 14ymedio that the victim’s mother and brother were also injured, and were admitted to the Calixto García hospital with minor injuries. This Monday, both family members were discharged from the hospital.

“She had broken up with him and did not accept him. He is a very violent man,” a neighbor of López told CubaNet, who reported that the woman had received previous threats from her attacker. “During the previous [prison] pass he threatened and attacked her, but she did not report it out of fear. Now he came out again and killed her,” the neighbor added.

The cases registered so far in 2023 by independent activists are on track to triple the number of misogynistic murders from last year

The official Federation of Cuban Women (FMC) recognized this Monday the increase in sexist murders, but without mentioning any of the cases registered this year by independent activists; the total is on track to triple the number of misogynistic murders in 2022, when 34 femicides were reported.

For its part, the official newspaper Girón revealed this Saturday that, in the first half of 2023, seven women were murdered in the province of Matanzas; four in 2021, and three in 2020, “whose basic causes of death were strangulation, burns from flames and assault with a blunt object.”

The media also confirmed the existence of a “sexist, possessive pattern” that is repeated on the Island, in addition to “threats” and “injuries.” Other women, she lamented, “do not report or seek help,” but rather “protect the aggressor and justify it.”

“In the Penal Code there is no article or criminal type that defines the exercise of violence against women,” provincial prosecutor María Elena Govín, of the Department of Criminal Procedures, admitted then. The absence of a legal tool against misogynistic violence, denounced on numerous occasions by Cuban feminists, has found a deaf ear in the Government, which continues to refuse to offer official figures, hence Govín admits that it is “a debt” of the authorities with Cuban women.

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