Translating Cuba – English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island

Two-Year-Old Twins Who Were on a Boat of Cuban Rafters That Was Rescued in Mexico Die

Relatives had said that at least 19 people were traveling, including 7 minors, but the Mexican Navy claimed to have rescued 16, including four children.

Images of the Cuban rafters rescued by the Mexican Navy. / Semar

14ymedio, Mexico, August 23, 2026 / Twin boys Leosdel and Leosniel Oviedo Garrobo, who were traveling on the boat carrying Cuban rafters that was located on Thursday after being missing at sea for more than a week, died during the crossing. This was confirmed to Martí Noticias on Saturday via text message by Leobel Ricardo Oviedo, the father of the little boys who were only two-years-old.

Just a day earlier, he had told the Cuban-American media outlet, “I am very grateful because they have made a great effort to find them.” At that time, as evidenced by interviews he gave to other journalists, he was certain his sons were in good health.

According to Martí Noticias, Adacheli Sosa, Oviedo’s cousin, recounted that the father, who has lived in Cancún for almost a year, went to “the place where the migrants were staying”—the Yucatecan city of Progreso—to reunite with his family, originally from Vertientes (Camagüey), but upon arrival, only his wife, Yusimy Garrobo Leiva, 35, was there. “He met with his wife, and she confirmed that the two young children had died during the journey, apparently from dehydration,” Sosa told the news outlet.

According to statements from a relative of other rafters who were on board, they had to throw the bodies into the sea because the smell they gave off was attracting sharks.

According to statements made to Mario Vallejo by a relative of other rafters who were on board, they had to throw the bodies into the sea because the smell they gave off was attracting sharks. “The mother of the children was in very bad shape,” the relative told the reporter.

The Mexican Navy had released an image on Thursday of the boat, found 10 nautical miles from Chicxulub Puerto, in the state of Yucatán, by some fishermen, who helped the migrants and notified the authorities.

They had been missing since the boat departed for Mexico from Pinar del Río on August 11. The alert was raised by the rafters’ families, who were asking for help from the authorities or anyone who might know if they had been rescued by the coast guard, a recreational boat, or fishermen.

Journalist Mario Vallejo issued a plea on his social media accounts, posting images taken by the rafters themselves inside the vessel. According to initial reports, at least 19 people were on board, including 7 minors.

However, the Mexican Navy reported the rescue of 16 migrants, including four minors. All of them were taken to facilities of the Ninth Naval Zone in Progreso, from where personnel from the National Migration Institute (INM) were contacted “to determine their status and carry out the corresponding procedures,” official sources told 14ymedio.

So far, neither the authorities nor the families have provided any further details or explanations regarding the discrepancy in the figures.

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It Was Etecsa, Not Google, That Issued the False Earthquake Alert

The state-owned company acknowledges a “technical-human error,” as the scientific magazine ‘Juventud Técnica’ had anticipated

“We are aware of the concern and distress generated as a result of the error, and therefore we apologize to the population,” Etecsa admits. / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Havana, August 22, 2026 – Etecsa was finally forced to acknowledge that the error was its own. The false earthquake alert that caused thousands of Cubans to hurriedly leave their homes last Tuesday was generated by specialists from the company itself while they were conducting tests on the telecommunications network. The admission comes three days after the incident, when the authorities had blamed Google’s alert system and only after an investigation by the state-run magazine Juventud Técnica dismantled that explanation and followed the clues to the Island’s telecommunications monopoly.

“On the afternoon of August 18, users in several areas of the country received messages on their mobile phones with an earthquake alert,” begins the brief statement published by Etecsa. After assuring that it had launched an investigation, the company admits that “the messages were issued due to a technical-human error, generated by our specialists who were conducting tests on the telecommunications network.”

The company also says that “the corresponding analyses were carried out, measures were adopted with those responsible, and actions are being implemented to prevent similar incidents in the future.” It does not identify those responsible, specify what measures were taken, or explain how an internal test managed to become an earthquake alarm distributed to phones across much of the country. “We are aware of the concern and distress generated as a result of the error, and therefore we apologize to the population,” it concludes.

In a country where finding a foreign culprit is often considerably faster than finding a domestic solution, Google seemed to be carrying the blame for an earthquake that never existed

The episode began at around three in the afternoon on Tuesday. Thousands of Android phones suddenly emitted a shrill “earthquake alert” warning that recommended seeking shelter. In Havana, numerous residents left their homes, many of them in the middle of a blackout. Testimonies gathered at the time described elderly people going down stairs with walkers, people who came outside in their underwear, and neighbors trying to get their pets to safety. In a building in Luyanó, the pleas of an elderly woman asking not to be left to die alone could be heard.

The ground, however, had not moved. continue reading

Minutes later, Civil Defense reported that the National Center for Seismological Research (Cenais) had not recorded any seismic movement. Enrique Diego Arango Arias, head of the National Seismological Service, called the alarm “completely false.”

As questions mounted, initial suspicions circulated on social media about Etecsa and a possible failed drill. Cubadebate, however, was quick to dismiss that possibility and presented Google’s earthquake alert system for Android as a possible explanation, a system that uses the accelerometers in phones to detect vibrations. Suddenly, in a country where finding a foreign culprit is often considerably faster than finding a domestic solution, Google seemed to be carrying the blame for an earthquake that never existed.

When ‘Juventud Técnica’ approached Etecsa seeking answers, the company did not accept any responsibility at the time and referred the questions to Civil Defense

The version began to fall apart when Juventud Técnica asked the multinational company directly. “These claims are incorrect. The Android Earthquake Alerts System did not detect an earthquake or send alerts in Cuba,” a Google spokesperson responded.

The magazine went further. By analyzing the format of the messages and Android’s source code, it determined that the alert was compatible with the ETWS protocol, used to transmit earthquake and tsunami warnings through Cell Broadcast. Under that system, Google is not the entity that sends the message; the public mobile network does. In Cuba, that network belongs exclusively to Etecsa. Android even distinguishes between the code intended for an actual earthquake alert and the one reserved for a test.

When Juventud Técnica approached Etecsa seeking answers, the company did not accept any responsibility at the time and referred the questions to Civil Defense. That move now leaves an additional question. Amneris Santos Hernández, head of Civil Defense’s Preparation and Communication Department, acknowledged to the publication that the agency was “exploring the use of these alerts,” although she assured that they were not yet being implemented and that the incident was under investigation.

Arango Arias pointed to the greatest danger of all: that a false alarm could happen again and, when a real one arrives, the population might stop believing it

That statement and Etecsa’s subsequent confession leave unresolved what role Civil Defense played in the tests. There is currently no public evidence that would allow anyone to say that it ordered the test or participated directly in it, but it is significant that Etecsa initially referred questions about a test that it now acknowledges was its own to that agency, and that Civil Defense admitted that it was experimenting with precisely this technology.

The damage, in any case, was not limited to a computer error. Arango Arias warned after the incident that there were still “many unanswered questions” and pointed to the greatest danger of all: that a false alarm could happen again and, when a real one arrives, the population might stop believing it.

That is the most serious consequence of those minutes of panic. An early warning system depends on an immediate response, not on citizens first having to determine whether Etecsa is conducting tests. What remains to be learned is who ordered the test, for what purpose, and how the drill managed to go much farther than the explanation.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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A Plague of Bedbugs Forces the Closure of the Guanabacoa Civil Registry in Cuba

The insects have even settled into the old books that contain residents’ registrations.

“We are closed until further notice,” an employee explains from the entrance of the premises. / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Darío Hernández, Havana, August 22, 2026 – Bedbugs have managed to accomplish in Guanabacoa what power outages, paper shortages, and staff shortages had already achieved many times by other means: close a public office. The Civil Registry of the Havana municipality remains out of service because of an invasion of these insects, workers at the office confirmed to several users this Friday.

“We are closed until further notice,” an employee explains from the entrance of the premises, located on San Francisco Street, at the corner of Máximo Gómez. The reason, she admits shortly afterward, is a “bedbug infestation.”

According to the employee, the closure could last “15 to 21 days,” although she did not specify when work to eliminate the insects began or what treatment is being applied inside the building.

“But there are almost only plastic chairs in there,” commented one of the users. / 14ymedio

The news has caused disbelief among some users, mainly because the office has very little furniture where, at first glance, the parasites could take refuge. “There are almost only plastic chairs in there,” one of them commented. But the answer appears to lie in an object that is much more abundant than the furniture: the books.

The Civil Registry’s old volumes, several of them cloth-bound and stored for decades, are reportedly infested, according to workers and users of the office. Bedbugs can hide in cracks and small crevices and can also take advantage of materials such as paper, cardboard, and fabric, meaning the historical archive offers more hiding places than the austerity of the furniture might suggest.

While the closure lasts, the employee says those affected can “go to any registry” in the capital to handle their affairs. But the solution turns out to be considerably simpler at the office entrance than in real life.

Very close to the Registry, the office responsible for identity cards was also not operating this Friday. / 14ymedio

Two people who went to the Regla Civil Registry after finding the Guanabacoa office closed were unable to resolve their paperwork there, they told 14ymedio. The possibility of processing certain certificates at other offices does exist, especially when registrations have been digitized, but not all procedures can be transferred from one office to another without difficulties.

The episode adds a bureaucratic twist to an infestation that has been spreading through Havana for weeks. At the end of July, this newspaper documented the proliferation of bedbugs in homes in different municipalities of the capital, where mattresses and sofas began ending up directly in garbage dumps because of the impossibility of getting rid of the insects. Power outages, accumulated waste, and, above all, the difficulty of obtaining effective fumigation products have made the situation continue reading

even more complicated.

In a city where almost everything ends up becoming part of the crisis archive, even the insects seem to have discovered the Civil Registry. / 14ymedio

Less than a month after those reports, the appearance of an infestation in a public building shows that the problem is no longer limited to bedrooms and household furniture. The insects have now reached a State archive, where they share space with documents that in some cases have been stored for decades.

Very close to the Registry, the office responsible for identity cards, located on Máximo Gómez at the corner of División, was also not operating this Friday. People who went there said that this office had also closed because of bedbugs. Users were told that it would possibly reopen on Monday.

The promise was met with caution. “That is not known for certain,” one of them said, accustomed to the office suspending services for other reasons, including a lack of materials to produce the documents. In a city where almost everything ends up becoming part of the crisis archive, even the insects seem to have discovered the Civil Registry.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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The Train That Derailed in Camagüey, Cuba, Was Carrying Containers Reportedly Stranded in Jamaica

Fourteen of the 27 cars left the tracks, blocking the passage of a train carrying 873 passengers, who were taken to Havana by bus.

Among the containers, some belonging to the French shipping company CMA CGM could be seen. The company had suspended its shipments to Cuba in mid-May. / Ministry of Transportation

14ymedio, Madrid, August 21, 2026 – The railway line between Havana and Santiago de Cuba has been interrupted since Thursday, when a freight train derailed near the town of Piedrecita, in Camagüey. The train was traveling from Artemisa to Holguín and, judging by images released by the authorities, was transporting goods from the Port of Mariel, the Island’s main commercial terminal.

Among them, in fact, were containers belonging to the French shipping company CMA CGM, which had suspended its shipments to the Island in mid-May because of the threat of sanctions posed by U.S. President Donald Trump’s Executive Order 14404, dated May 1. There is no public information indicating that the company has resumed its arrivals in Cuba, but the company’s search engine shows that since last July, three CMA CGM ships have arrived in Mariel from Kingston, Jamaica.

At that port, the authorities reported last month, five containers carrying medical supplies were stranded. It can be assumed that they arrived on one of the vessels that reached the Artemisa terminal: the Alexandria on July 27, the Ceara on July 28, or the Iremos on August 15.

As for the accident in Camagüey, according to a publication by Cuban Railways, 14 of the convoy’s 27 cars left the tracks. Of these, 25 were carrying containers, but the containers were not damaged. In that same post, it was reported that measures were being taken to assist passengers on another train that was traveling from Guantánamo to the capital at the time and whose journey was halted because the so-called Central Line was affected.

“Under very complex conditions due to the availability of fuel, arrangements have been made to transport all passengers to their respective destinations,” the agency said in a subsequent report. The 873 passengers on that convoy would be distributed among a total of 25 buses.

The largest number of them were headed to the capital. Between Camagüey and Havana, 15 vehicles were hired for 625 passengers, and two more continue reading

between Sancti Spíritus and Havana, for 81 passengers.

“In compliance with the established protocol, an investigative commission was created to clarify the causes and conditions that led to the occurrence of the incident”

“In compliance with the established protocol, an investigative commission was created to clarify the causes and conditions that led to the incident,” the institution also indicated, adding that officials from the Railway Transportation Administration, as well as police and Ministry of the Interior agents, went to the scene of the accident.

This type of accident has become more frequent in recent years on the Island. On June 2, a passenger train with 900 people on board, also traveling on the route between Santiago de Cuba and Havana, derailed in the vicinity of Las Tunas, with no injuries reported. Although authorities said at the time that they would investigate the causes, they have not commented on the matter since.

The previous railway incident occurred in November of last year, when a passenger train traveling the Havana-Sancti Spíritus route suffered an accident near the municipality of Placetas, in Villa Clara, with no injuries reported among passengers or crew.

Las Tunas, precisely, has recorded at least three of these incidents in less than two years. In addition to the aforementioned accident, another occurred in Jobabo in August 2024, when the Manzanillo-Havana train derailed without injuries or significant damage, and in Bartle, in October 2025, with 577 passengers on board. No injuries were reported in that incident either.

The deterioration of Cuba’s railway system, affected by a lack of maintenance, an aging locomotive fleet, and shortages of spare parts, has turned derailments into another symptom of the national transportation crisis. It is estimated that 67% of the tracks and 40% of the infrastructure require maintenance in the country.

In recent years, the Government has announced plans to modernize both the tracks and machinery with foreign investment—mainly from France and Russia—but the improvements have not materialized.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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The U.S. Trial Against a Cuban Pilot Over the Downing of the Brothers to the Rescue Is Postponed

Luis Raúl González-Pardo is the only detained defendant among the six accused in a case that also includes Raúl Castro.

González-Pardo (center) had been detained since last November on a separate case related to immigration fraud. / Facebookk

14ymedio/EFE, Miami, August 21, 2026 – The trial in the United States against Cuban pilot Luis Raúl González-Pardo over the 1996 downing of two Brothers to the Rescue aircraft has been postponed until at least September. The proceedings, which were scheduled to begin next Monday in Miami, are part of a case in which former Cuban ruler Raúl Castro is also accused.

Court documents available this Friday indicate that federal Judge Darrin Gayles of the Southern District of Florida scheduled a status conference for September 2, a meeting between the defense and the prosecution to determine the next steps in the proceedings.

The trial was initially scheduled for Monday, August 24, but both sides requested that it be postponed because of the volume and complexity of the evidence. González-Pardo is the only detained defendant among the six Cubans indicted in May by the U.S. Department of Justice.

In addition to González-Pardo and Raúl Castro, the Department of Justice indicted four other Cubans on charges of conspiracy to kill U.S. citizens and murder

“The Government has informed the defense that this case involves a significant volume of evidence, including classified material, obsolete media storage and physical evidence from three decades ago, as well as reports that were not previously preserved in electronic format,” one of the court documents states.

The indictment is related to the February 24, 1996, downing of two Brothers to the Rescue aircraft by Cuban Air Force fighter jets. Carlos Costa, Armando Alejandre, Mario Manuel de la Peña and Pablo Morales were killed in the attack, three U.S. citizens and one legal U.S. resident, all of Cuban continue reading

origin.

Brothers to the Rescue conducted flights over the Florida Straits from Florida to locate and assist rafters leaving Cuba.

In addition to González-Pardo and Raúl Castro, the Department of Justice indicted four other Cubans on charges of conspiracy to kill U.S. citizens and murder.

The pilot arrived in the United States in April 2024 through the humanitarian parole program created during the Joe Biden administration

González-Pardo had been detained since last November on a separate case related to immigration fraud. In May, he was sentenced to seven months in prison for providing U.S. authorities with false information about his career in the Cuban Armed Forces.

The pilot arrived in the United States in April 2024 through the humanitarian parole program created during the Joe Biden administration. According to the Department of Justice, he omitted or falsified information about his membership in the Cuban Air Force between 1980 and 2009 when he filed Form I-485 to apply for adjustment of his immigration status.

In the Brothers to the Rescue case, Judge Enjolique A. Lett ordered on June 23 that he remain in custody after the prosecution argued that there was “a serious risk” that he would not appear for trial.

The case was formally opened on May 20, when the Department of Justice announced the indictment of Raúl Castro and five other Cubans over the deaths of the four members of Brothers to the Rescue.

The charges could carry sentences of life imprisonment or even the death penalty. The indictment against 95-year-old Castro came amid Washington’s hardening policy toward Havana under the administration of Donald Trump.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Dominican Republic Expels Nine Cuban ‘Spies,’ but Ten ‘Heroes’ Show Up in Havana

With the exception of Vice Consul Odin Ysla Hernández, the regime does not identify its officials or state the posts they held at the Embassy in Santo Domingo

Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez and Deputy Minister Josefina Vidal (both at center) at the “welcome” ceremony for the diplomats expelled from the Dominican Republic / Minrex

14ymedio, Madrid, August 20, 2026 / The Cuban regime has received its diplomats expelled by the Dominican Republic with grand words but very little information. And what little there is, is contradictory. The foreign ministry of the Caribbean country ordered the withdrawal, this past Thursday, of nine members of the Cuban legation, but in Havana, this Wednesday, ten showed up.

At the “welcome” ceremony, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez was present, but the official press conspicuously gave coverage not to his words but to those of Deputy Minister Josefina Vidal. “The Dominican authorities have not been able to present a single reason to justify such a decision, because none exists. It has therefore been made clear that they have done nothing more than bow to pressure from the United States government,” Vidal stated.

Rodríguez, to whom other official reports give precedence to the title of “member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Party” over that of minister, expressed himself via X, as he usually does, reporting the “welcome to the Cuban diplomats and their families expelled for no reason whatsoever.” In the same vein as Vidal, he said: “We welcome them knowing that, adhering to the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, they jealously upheld the principles of Revolutionary Diplomacy, as our officials do in any international setting and in the face of any imperialist pressure.”

Of the expelled officials, it has identified only one, as vice consul: Odin Ysla Hernández, but he does not appear on the Ministry’s official website

From the outset, the Dominican government claimed that the measure was adopted in accordance with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and that it would not offer further details, as this involved “diplomatic communications,” but neither has the Cuban regime provided any. Of the expelled officials, it has identified only one, as vice consul: Odin Ysla Hernández, but he does not appear on continue reading

the Ministry’s official website as accredited personnel in Santo Domingo.

On that site only three positions appear: Ángel Arzuaga Reyes, as “ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary”; Norberto Díaz Franco, as economic and commercial counselor; and Damila Hechavarría Argudín, as second secretary in charge of consular affairs. It is not clear whether they are among those expelled.

Ysla Hernández spoke at yesterday’s event “on behalf of the expelled officials,” lamenting that the notification from the Dominican foreign ministry arrived “only 48 hours before the centenary of the birth of Fidel Castro was to be commemorated” and calling the decision “unjustified” and “another imperialist ploy.” The diplomat went so far as to state: “My brothers and sisters and I, returning to the homeland, feel only pride in a duty fulfilled and immense joy at returning to our land. The expulsion, given the motives behind it, is a medal pinned to our chest.”

On August 13 itself, the date of the centenary of the leader of the Cuban Revolution and when the expulsion of the legation was made public, there was, he recounted, a “political-cultural gala” dedicated to Castro, “attended by more than a thousand friends of Cuba representing the Dominican people.” Likewise, he offered congratulations for the third-place finish by the Cuban delegation at the Central American and Caribbean Games recently held in Santo Domingo.

“The expulsion, given the motives behind it, is a medal pinned to our chest”

It is precisely at these Games that investigations by the Dominican press place the origin of the reason for the Cubans’ expulsion. According to Diario Libre, security agents from the island infiltrated sports facilities during the Games to watch over the athletes of the fatherland and prevent defections.

To gain access to the venues and approach the Cuban competitors without arousing suspicion, they went so far as to wear the uniforms of athletes from other countries. The operation, the report indicated, published on Tuesday, was detected by Dominican security agencies, which removed several of those involved from the facilities.

Infiltration by Cuban security intensified during the first part of the Games, by which point two defections had already occurred: Moisés David Torres Puig, on the very day the competition opened; and rower Leah Daniela Almeida, a bronze medalist.

This information matched the account obtained by 14ymedio from the circle of one of the five Cuban athletes who left the delegation during the Games. The source stated that the athlete had been warned that Cuban authorities were trying to locate him and was advised not to go on social media so as not to be found.

“I do believe 100% that it’s because of our case,” the athlete stated, according to the same source. “They wanted to kidnap us in a country where they have no right to do that.”

In total, five athletes left the national team: in addition to Torres Puig and Almeida, fencers Adán Núñez and Hershey Daniela de la Cruz, and center fielder Yasmani Álvarez of the softball team.

Translated by GH.

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The Insufficiency of Sanctions

The CubanAmerican Voice, Julio M. Shiling, August 21, 2026 /The United States has correctly identified Castro-Communism as a persistent threat to its national security. The State Department’s July 20, 2026, report, Cuba: The Capital of 21st Century Communism, documents the regime’s decades-long campaign of subversion, ideological warfare, espionage, and support for radical movements both abroad and inside American territory. This assessment aligns with the broader strategic objectives set out in the November 2025 National Security Strategy, which prioritizes reclaiming influence in the Western Hemisphere and denying hostile external powers a foothold near U.S. shores. Overthrowing the Cuban communist system is therefore essential to those long-term goals. Cuban communism must end, and its comprehensive removal is both a moral good and a strategic necessity.

In service of that objective, the Trump administration has pursued a steady campaign of targeted sanctions. These measures have hit regime-owned state enterprises, Cuban Communist Party front organizations involved in domestic and international agitation, and individual members of the dictatorial elite and their families. The latest package, announced August 20 under the title “Imposing Sanctions on Cuban Regime Actors Associated with Marxist Subversive Networks and Corrupt Economic Dealings,” continues this calibrated pressure. Such sanctions are morally sustainable, ethically commendable, and tactically necessary. They deprive the regime of resources used to repress its own population, maintain an extensive surveillance apparatus, and project influence outward. They signal that the United States will no longer tolerate a hostile Marxist dictatorship ninety miles from its coast.

Yet sanctions alone will not cause the Castro-Communist dictatorship to fall. The regime has spent more than three decades refining methods to bypass American restrictions and the broader embargo. Through GAESA and lesser-known commercial entities, it has laundered proceeds from continue reading

its operations via banks and intermediaries in Panama and other jurisdictions. Loyal Cuban communist émigrés have established ostensibly legitimate businesses abroad that maintain a symbiotic relationship with the dictatorship, enjoying privileges in exchange for services rendered. These soft-power assets, valued in the billions, form an external ecosystem that allows the regime to weather financial pressure. Targeting GAESA’s holdings in Panamanian banks and similar offshore networks would be a logical next step, but even expanded economic measures will not be decisive by themselves.

The regime’s indifference to the suffering of ordinary Cubans further limits the coercive power of sanctions. The dictatorship has never treated the welfare of the Cuban people as a constraint on its survival. A society pushed to the brink of famine would not compel the leadership to relinquish power. The dictatorial elite has repeatedly demonstrated that it prioritizes its privileges and ideological projects over the basic needs of the population it rules. Economic hardship is always absorbed by the people, never by the decision-makers in Havana.

Political timing also appears to shape the current approach. With midterm elections approaching, the Trump administration may be exercising caution. The American communist movement, operating today primarily under the banner of the Democratic Socialists of America, is engaged in a determined effort to capture the Democratic Party. This effort represents a contemporary expression of the “march through the institutions” long advocated by Gramscian Marxists. Given the documented historical and ongoing ties between Cuban communism and elements of the U.S. radical left, the continued existence of a Marxist regime in Cuba is not merely a foreign-policy problem. This is an American domestic issue as well. Restraint before the midterms may reflect an effort to avoid providing political ammunition to these forces.

After the midterm elections, however, the United States must adopt a more resolute posture. Economic warfare, however rigorously applied, is insufficient. The Castro regime retains external assets and networks capable of sustaining it through a single presidential term. If the objective is genuine freedom for the Cuban people and the elimination of a hostile danger to the American republic, policymakers must recognize that nothing short of concrete military action will achieve the necessary systemic change. A palace revolution that merely rearranges personnel while leaving the communist structures intact would be cosmetic. Any authentic transition to a democratic order would have to criminalize Castro-Communism from the outset and dismantle its institutional foundations.

Sanctions remain a justified and useful instrument. They are morally defensible and can weaken the regime’s capacity to repress and project power. But they cannot, by themselves, produce the decisive outcome required. The external ecosystem of front businesses, offshore finance, and ideological allies provides the dictatorship with resilience that pure economic pressure cannot overcome. Once the domestic political calendar permits, the United States should move beyond calibrated financial measures and prepare the concrete tools necessary to end Cuban communism. Only then will the strategic goals articulated in 2025 and the moral imperative recognized in the July 2026 report be fully realized.

Dipyrone, Hydrocortisone or Ranitidine: Regla’s Private Pharmacy Alleviates Chronic Shortages in Cuba’s State Sector

The decree of July 28 regarding authorized activities stipulates that individuals may apply for a license to sell medicines

Shelves in a private pharmacy in the municipality of Regla, Havana. / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Dario Hernandez, Havana, August 20, 2026 / What has spread like wildfire on social media as “the first private pharmacy” in Havana is, in reality, a private store in the Regla municipality that has been selling medicine for two years. The video shared by users and independent media, an employee told 14ymedio, has brought them “more problems than benefits.”

The establishment, located on Martí Street between Albuquerque and Agramonte, has a front room selling toiletries, makeup, and clothing, and a second room housing the pharmacy. It’s a small counter, but it displays well-stocked shelves. These shelves hold not only medications—such as dipyrone, hydrocortisone, and ranitidine—but also all kinds of medicinal remedies and vitamins. The store’s name is nowhere to be seen, and there is no way to know who owns it.

What has spread like wildfire on social media as “the first private pharmacy” in Havana is, in reality, a private store in the Regla municipality that has been selling medicine for two years. The video shared by users and independent media, an employee told 14ymedio, has brought them “more problems than benefits.”

Click here to view video above.

The flow of customers, as this newspaper observed, is high. In just a few minutes last Tuesday, a dozen customers entered. One of them was told to come back another day because they were “unpacking.” Indeed, from a gleaming car, imported in 2023 according to the sticker visible on the windshield, several workers were unloading box after box, which they were arranging in a sort of warehouse. There were at least fifty boxes.

As for the prices, they’re not for everyone. Vitamins cost 2,000 pesos, a tablet of pills 1,000, and a simple tea bag 100 pesos, to name a few examples. Customers, however, aren’t complaining. “They’re expensive, yes, but that’s how it is everywhere, on the side, on the street,” one shopper remarked this Thursday. “At least this is a store, and continue reading

it’s legal.”

There were at least fifty of them, which the workers stored in a sort of warehouse. / 14ymedio

Given that it has been operating for some time, however, it is unclear whether it has already obtained the necessary government license. Pharmacies, along with transportation and energy, are among the businesses reopened to private ownership as part of the measures announced in June to ease economic restrictions, but express authorization is required, according to the decree published in the Official Gazette on July 28.

In any case, it represents the formalization of an entire market that attempts to alleviate the chronic shortage in the state sector, which has its pharmacies without supplies and its patients without the appropriate treatments.

The store carries not only medications, but all kinds of medicinal remedies and vitamins. / 14ymedio

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ECLAC Forecasts a 10.3% Drop in the Cuban Economy in 2026

In contrast, Venezuela will grow by 6.5% and Nicaragua by 4.5%, while the average for the Latin American continent will reach 2.2%.

A huge pile of garbage is accumulating next to Trillo Park, on Aramburu Street, in Havana. / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Havana, August 20, 2021 / The Cuban economy will contract by 10.3% in 2026, by far the worst result in Latin America and the Caribbean, according to new forecasts from the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC). The organization reaffirmed its 2.2% growth estimate for Latin America on Thursday, a figure that further highlights the island’s isolated decline.

In the face of Cuba’s collapse, Venezuela presents an uncomfortable comparison for Havana. In April, ECLAC raised its growth forecast for Caracas from 3% to 6.5%, amid greater openness to private investment, especially in the energy sector. Nicaragua, another close political ally of the Cuban regime, is also projected to grow at twice the Latin American average, at 4.5%.

Guyana, driven by the extraordinary expansion of its oil industry, far exceeds those figures. ECLAC’s latest forecast for the South American country placed its growth at 16.2%.

Haiti, despite the political chaos and violence of armed gangs that control large areas of the country, remains far from the Cuban collapse

The distance between Cuba and the rest of the region’s economies has widened considerably in just a few months. In April, ECLAC estimated that Cuba’s gross domestic product (GDP) would contract by 6.5% this year. Now it projects a decline 3.8 percentage points greater. This deterioration is even more worrisome when compared to the forecast made at the end of 2025, when the organization expected minimal growth of 0.1% for Cuba.

Haiti, despite the political chaos and violence perpetrated by armed gangs that control large swaths of the country, remains far from the Cuban collapse. ECLAC also forecasts a 1.9% contraction in its economy, but much less severe than Cuba’s. Jamaica is also projected to experience a negative economic outlook, although with a more moderate decline than Cuba’s.

The confirmation of the debacle comes just two months after the government presented with gret solemnity a package of 176 economic measures promising to transform a model that the authorities themselves admit no longer works. The proposals include continue reading

greater openness to foreign investment and the private sector, and changes to hiring practices, foreign trade, banking, agriculture, and the energy sector.

Although it promised to eliminate price caps across the board, the government has allowed several provinces to reimpose controls.

The measures were met with skepticism by numerous economists. The consulting firm Auge emphasized that the opening came “in the worst possible context” and would primarily benefit those who already have capital and connections.

Although it promised to eliminate price caps across the board, the government has allowed several provinces to reinstate controls, limits on profit margins, inspections, and fines in response to rising inflation. In Artemisa, Matanzas, and Holguín, for example, authorities have set a maximum profit margin of 30% on sales.

The energy crisis is another major obstacle to any recovery effort. Industrial production, commerce, and numerous services have been hampered for months by power outages that, in many provinces, exceed 20 hours a day.

The almost permanent breakdowns at thermoelectric plants are compounded by fuel shortages. The Antonio Guiteras plant, the country’s most important, had already accumulated 15 system outages by mid-June. In July, Cuba also suffered several nationwide collapses in just a few weeks, while protests over the lack of electricity and water spread to various localities.

The lack of energy also creates a vicious cycle that is particularly difficult to break.

For the coming months, the authorities have already warned of more blackouts, as they intend to take advantage of the seasonal reduction in demand to carry out maintenance, while acknowledging that breakdowns will continue to occur in aging thermoelectric plants.

The lack of energy also creates a vicious cycle that is particularly difficult to break. Without electricity, national production falls, industries and services are paralyzed, and the capacity to generate foreign currency diminishes; without foreign currency, the State faces increasing difficulties in purchasing fuel, spare parts, and raw materials necessary to restore power generation and productive activity.

ECLAC’s forecast thus turns the 176 reforms announced by the government into a race against a deterioration far more rapid than the authorities themselves seemed to anticipate. While almost the entire region is moving forward, albeit slowly, Cuba not only remains in recession, but its decline is accelerating.

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The Theft of Dielectric Oil Paralyzes the Molecular Medicine Center in Santiago de Cuba

Despite sentences of up to 12 years in prison, the theft of this product, which is sold on the black market to replace diesel, is increasing.

The incident is the latest in a long series of dielectric oil thefts. / Facebook/ Empresa Eléctrica de Santiago de Cuba

14ymedio, Havana, August 20, 2026 – The theft of dielectric oil from a transformer supplying the Molecular Medicine Center in Santiago de Cuba forced samples from a critically ill patient who needed urgent tests to be transported to Granma this Thursday. The facility was affected after the essential liquid for the equipment’s operation was stolen early Wednesday morning, according to the provincial Electric Company.

“That meant an additional trip, fuel consumption and the mobilization of resources that could have been avoided,” the state entity lamented on its social media. “But there is something even more important: the time a patient loses when they urgently need a diagnosis.”

The incident is the latest in a long series of dielectric oil thefts that have affected transformers and substations in several provinces in recent months. The product acts as an insulator and coolant and prevents equipment from overheating. Its removal can end up causing a breakdown even if the transformer continues operating immediately after the theft.

The damage can leave thousands of people without power

Santiago de Cuba has been one of the hardest-hit provinces. On April 11, a man died and his brother suffered severe burns when the two were attempting to steal oil from a transformer bank supplying the water booster system in Altos de Esperanza, in Songo-La Maya. The explosion also damaged a 33-kilovolt line and left areas of that municipality and Segundo Frente without electricity service.

Following the accident, authorities recovered 70 liters of oil about 100 meters from the site. Months earlier, in September 2025, another man had been electrocuted on the Siboney highway while attempting to extract the continue reading

same product from a transformer.

The damage can leave thousands of people without power. In San Luis, also in Santiago de Cuba, about 300 liters were stolen from a transformer at the Paquito Rosales substation during a disconnection of the National Electric System (SEN). Some 17,000 people in several communities were affected.

In Matanzas, during the first quarter of this year, authorities were investigating about 33 complaints related to these crimes, with around 40 people being prosecuted

The wave of thefts is not limited to eastern Cuba. In 2025, Ciego de Ávila recorded 41 criminal incidents, 84 affected transformers and 14,440 liters of oil lost. Last April, the theft of 600 liters from two transformers in Amancio, Las Tunas, left nearly 5,000 customers without electricity and affected the polyclinic, telecommunications and water pumping.

In Matanzas, during the first quarter of this year, authorities were investigating about 33 complaints related to these crimes, with around 40 people being prosecuted. According to the Ministry of the Interior, thieves frequently take advantage of the blackouts themselves to puncture transformers and drain the liquid.

The destination of the oil partly explains the surge in thefts. The product has found an outlet on the black market as a substitute for diesel and lubricants, which are scarce in the country. As early as September 2024, the official press mentioned a network that sold the liquid for 250 pesos per liter to use as fuel in diesel vehicles. In April of this year, a Facebook advertisement offered 100 liters of “transformer oil” for about 1,700 pesos per liter.

Neither the threat of long prison sentences nor calls from Prime Minister Manuel Marrero to take “tough action” appear to be stopping the phenomenon

Authorities themselves have also warned of a much more dangerous use. Radio Mambí, an official Santiago-based outlet, said in March that the product had even been used “for human consumption.” The possibility that it could end up being mixed with or sold as cooking oil has been repeatedly reported, although it has not been demonstrated that this is the destination of most of the stolen liquid.

In response to the increase in cases, the Government has toughened the penalties. In May 2025, the People’s Supreme Court established, through Ruling 475, that damage to electrical infrastructure can be prosecuted as sabotage. Article 125 of the Penal Code provides for prison sentences of seven to 15 years, which can increase considerably when aggravating circumstances apply.

The sentences have already begun to reflect that policy. On May 23, the Prosecutor’s Office requested 12 years in prison for a 36-year-old man accused of stealing 70 liters from a substation in Cayajabos, Artemisa. In July, another 12-year sentence became known for the theft of oil in Bungo 2 (Contramaestre, Santiago de Cuba), which caused about 48 hours of electrical disruptions. But neither the threat of long prison sentences nor calls from Prime Minister Manuel Marrero to take “tough action” appear to be stopping the phenomenon.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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A Protest by Women Over Lack of Water Brings Out Police and a Water Tanker Truck in Regla

The water tanker truck, arrived without a hose, and a high-ranking officer demanded that residents carry their own buckets.

“You need it, you carry it,” one of the high-ranking officers snapped. / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Darío Hernández, Havana, August 19, 2026 – “You need it, you carry it.” The response from a high-ranking officer to Regla residents protesting this Wednesday over the lack of water only heightened the tension on Maceo Street, between Fresneda and Perdomo. After complaining at the police station, several women managed to get a water tanker truck to appear, but it arrived without a hose, and the solution offered was for each family to transport the water to their homes in buckets.

The protest began shortly beforehand, according to 14ymedio’s observation at the scene. A group of women were outside the police station, visibly upset, demanding a response to the lack of water supply. Later, on their way back toward the neighborhood, one of them shouted to the residents that they should all come out into the street, because the problem did not affect only those who had gone to protest.

“She was saying that we all had to come out, because everyone was lacking water, not just them,” says Frank, a local resident. He has heard the same thing in different parts of the municipality. “People are complaining because we didn’t even have a drop of water left.”

The vehicle did not have a hose to deliver the water directly to the homes. / 14ymedio

About 15 minutes later, a water tanker truck arrived, and a group of police officers had been deployed, including high-ranking officers, some of them with the rank of colonel. On the sidewalks, numerous residents, including women and children, watched the argument.

The arrival of the tanker truck, however, did not end the conflict. The vehicle did not have a hose to deliver the water directly to the homes, and the driver expected the residents themselves to come over to fill their own containers and carry them.

The exchange between the residents, the driver and the officers became increasingly heated. “You need it, you carry it,” one of the high-ranking officers snapped. The remark particularly angered those continue reading

who pointed out that many elderly people and people unable to carry several buckets of water from the street to their homes live in the neighborhood.

A group of police officers was deployed at the scene, including high-ranking officers, some of them with the rank of colonel. / 14ymedio

The method also does not guarantee a sufficient amount for a family’s needs. The residents explained that, when the situation was less critical, one water truck could supply two or three homes and fill household water tanks. Now, with many more homes depending on the trucks, each household ends up receiving barely three or four buckets.

“That doesn’t solve anything,” another resident lamented. Much less, he added, for those who must reserve water for drinking, cooking, bathing and maintaining minimum hygiene conditions for several days.

The supply crisis in the municipality is not new. On August 13, Aguas de La Habana acknowledged disruptions in the lower part of Regla and Casablanca linked to the El Gato System, one of the main sources supplying the capital. That day, the state-run company also reported electrical problems that had left several pieces of equipment in the system out of service.

As long as water supplies continue to depend on improvised responses, the next complaint seems to be only a matter of time. / 14ymedio

The interruptions have turned access to water into a recurring source of discontent in Regla. In June, residents of the municipality blocked a street after going more than 24 hours without electricity or water. Police quickly arrived in the area, and the tension eased only after electrical service returned.

A month later, on July 8, dozens of people mobilized again and took their complaints to the municipal Government and Communist Party offices after several days without either service. Women with children, elderly people and other residents gathered under the sun while police and officials tried to contain the discontent.

Wednesday’s scene once again showed something that is repeated in different parts of the Island. Women are often the first to come out to protest; then the uniformed officers arrive and, only then, some emergency solution appears. This time, the tanker truck temporarily eased the lack of water in a Regla neighborhood, but it was far from resolving it. As long as water supplies continue to depend on improvised responses, the next complaint seems to be only a matter of time.

Click here to view video below

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Suriname Stands Out as a New Migration Destination for Cubans

Of the 40,000 migrants from the Island who have settled in that country over the past five years, 99% work illegally.

They estimate that 70% of those in Cuba travel with a migratory intention or with the idea of exploring possibilities for settling abroad. / Granma

14ymedio, Havana, August 19, 2026 – Suriname has begun to emerge as a migration destination for Cubans in 2026. The country, neighboring Guyana, where the oil boom caused more than 135,000 people from the Island to migrate in 2025, is becoming one of the most requested destinations at travel agencies in the country.

Pedro Escalante, Operations Director of DP Travels, based in Holguín, tells 14ymedio that the smallest country in South America began to attract interest among the Cuban population several months ago. “The increase in inquiries about Suriname has been clearer since May, although the interest did not appear overnight,” he says. “At first they were isolated inquiries and, later, we began receiving more questions related to flight availability, entry requirements and possibilities for traveling,” he adds.

Escalante emphasizes that “during 2025 and, especially, in 2026 we have noticed that the destination began to appear more frequently in conversations with clients.”

According to the agency’s figures, there has been steady growth and so far this year, through this Wednesday, August 19, the number of Cubans who traveled to Suriname with DP Travels already exceeds by almost one third those recorded throughout 2025, although the numbers remain small. “Our records show approximately that in 2024, 32 people traveled to that country; in 2025, 54, and in 2026, from January to continue reading

August, 73,” Escalante details.

“Our records show approximately that in 2024, 32 people traveled to that country; in 2025, 54, and in 2026, from January to August, 73”

Guyana also shows a sustained increase in travel carried out by the agency since 2024. That year, 122 Cubans traveled with the company; a year later, 178, and so far this year, 224.

“We have begun to notice greater interest in Suriname,” he says, although the reasons, according to his experience, are different. “Some clients see it as a destination to remain in, while others consider it part of a broader route within South America,” he says.

In the case of those who arrive in the country to settle, most of the time they do so irregularly. They enter the country as tourists and begin looking for some kind of employment. In this regard, DP Travels points out that other services promise to obtain a visa, a job or residency in exchange for money, “when in reality no one can guarantee a decision that belongs to an immigration authority.”

In those cases, Cubans accept the work they find and receive whatever they are offered. Last May, Starnieuws, Suriname’s main media outlet, reported that 99% of Cubans living in that country work illegally.

Of the 40,000 Cubans who have settled in Suriname since 2020, according to the report, only 248 have applied for work permits, according to figures from that country’s Ministry of Health, Welfare and Labor.

Of the 40,000 Cubans who have settled in Suriname since 2020, according to the report, only 248 have applied for work permits

Most enter via Panama on flights operated by Copa. At Tocumen Airport, flights to Paramaribo are usually full, “mainly because of Cubans who frequently travel to Suriname with their entire families,” the outlet maintains, adding that of the 40,000 Cubans in the country, only 1,292 have legal status.

“In some cases, clients already have a trade before traveling and their intention is to use that experience to look for employment opportunities,” Escalante indicates, noting, based on the contact he has been able to establish with some of the travelers, that they try to enroll in sectors such as “construction, services, commerce, restaurants, transportation, informal work and other trades.”

If they do not take those jobs, the alternative is to return to an Island where opportunities are increasingly scarce and where a crisis is deepening rapidly and irreversibly. “We have seen an increase in inquiries and demand for certain destinations,” the agency says, emphasizing that, although “it is difficult to attribute each trip exclusively to Cuba’s economic or social situation, it would be naïve to ignore that the country’s current conditions influence the decisions of many people.”

The Operations Director of DP Travels asserts that in conversations with clients, “concerns related to the economic situation, employment, income, the possibility of providing financial assistance to their families and the search for better opportunities frequently arise.”

“Concerns related to the economic situation, employment, and income frequently arise”

“If I had to make an estimate based exclusively on what we see at our agency, I would say approximately that 70% travel with a primarily migratory intention or with the idea of exploring possibilities for settling, while 30% do so for tourism, family visits, business or other reasons,” Escalante indicates.

Finally, the agency, with 12 years of experience, points out that it faces some difficulties because “the Cuban context makes working with international travel particularly complex, and changes in departure and entry conditions, documentation and routes can directly affect both the client and the agency.”

It also faces problems in an environment filled with distrust due to the constant cases of fraud. Faced with a population seeking to leave the country, desperation has become fertile ground for dozens of Cubans to be scammed with fake tickets, nonexistent reservations, supposed agents, visas, lodging or immigration processes.

“We have received comments from many clients, as was the case with one who was scammed out of $7,500. She lost her house and, with two children, had to rent, and over time managed to leave the country again with our agency. Many, before reaching us, also recount negative experiences with people who offered supposed services related to travel,” he warns.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Cubalex Reports ‘Unprecedented Increase’ in Protests During First Half of 2026

In the first six months of the year, 766 demonstrations were recorded in 141 municipalities across the island

Images of demonstrators in Morón, this past March. Screen capture

EFE/14ymedio, Havana, August 20, 2026,The organization Cubalex stated this Wednesday that “the energy, water, and health crisis” caused an “unprecedented increase” in protests in Cuba during the first half of 2026, which reached 766 demonstrations in 141 municipalities across the island.

These demonstrations reached “historic peaks” in February and June, the NGO reported, noting that in the latter month it recorded as many as 31 protests in a single day. A total of 253 were counted, “the highest number in a single month” since Cubalex began documenting them, in 2022.

The protests “not only increased in number, but also in radicalization in response to the structural crisis” the country is experiencing, said Cubalex researcher Salomé García Bacallao, during a virtual discussion held today to present the Semi-Annual Report on the Human Rights Situation in Cuba.

She added that social discontent in Cuba is expressed through “burning of garbage, pot-banging protests, chants, signs, occupation of public spaces, and street continue reading

closures”.

The epicenter of the protests continues to be Havana, with 495 events in six months

In this regard, she noted that the most “radicalized” incidents recorded were the burning of the entrance to the municipal headquarters building of the Communist Party of Cuba in the city of Morón, in Ciego de Ávila, this past March, and a similar action at a museum dedicated to a guerrilla fighter close to Ernesto Che Guevara, in the town of Contramaestre, in Santiago de Cuba.

However, according to Cubalex, the epicenter of the protests continues to be Havana, with 495 events in six months, “registering a progressive shift from the outskirts toward central areas of the city”, while the provinces of Santiago de Cuba, with 81 demonstrations, and Matanzas, with 25, established themselves as the second and third centers of mobilization.

According to the report, the Cuban government “responded with a parallel intensification of repression” against the protests through actions such as “mass arrests at the time of the demonstrations, followed by summonses, threats, fines, and prolonged criminal proceedings weeks or months later”.

The NGO also denounced other repressive activities against the “right to freedom of expression and information”

Cubalex’s data indicate that 257 incidents of arbitrary detention were recorded during the half-year, representing a “70% increase over the previous half-year, with at least 410 victims”.

The NGO also denounced other repressive activities against the “right to freedom of expression and information”, which are carried out through “detentions, criminal proceedings, and sanctions for critical opinions, selective communication cuts, and hacking for purposes of surveillance and censorship”.

And it emphasized that in the prison system, “violence and preventable deaths due to medical negligence in a context of absolute impunity” persisted, and it denounced “the high concentration of vulnerabilities among persons deprived of liberty, Afro-descendants, human rights defenders, and former political prisoners”.

Translated by GH.

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Havana Chronicles: Three Weeks Later, I Return to Streets With Less Food and More ‘Closed’ Signs

The offensive against private businesses has reduced the offerings in a city where getting a package of chicken is a whole expedition

Faced with the option of opening and risking a fine of thousands of pesos, the owners prefer to suspend sales. / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Havana, Yoani Sánchez, August 19, 2026 / I went out into the street after almost three weeks of convalescence. I descended the 14 flights of stairs as if I was an 80-year-old woman. On reaching the ground floor, I took a deep breath and consoled myself with the thought that, by the time I returned, the electricity would surely be back on and I could take the elevator. Lost illusions.

I decided to take Conill Street, stopping first to say hello to the garbage dump on the corner. Although it had been cleaned once recently, it had grown back to the size of a country, with its own ecosystem, its habitual inhabitants, and the people who scavenge for food among the waste. The steps of the Ministry of Agriculture were crowded with people sitting and staring at their mobile phone screens. The internet connection is so bad that customers of the state monopoly Etecsa wander from block to block looking for a spot with a functioning data signal. At the entrance to the unproductive Ministry of Agriculture they’ve found a 4G hotspot.

I cross Rancho Boyeros with great cautioun. The last thing I need right now is to twist an ankle on one of the many potholes or get hit by one of the few electric tricycles that travel along the avenue. Upon reaching the other side, I come across the first of several signs I’ll see along this short walk. “Closed,” it reads in the window of a small shop that until a few days ago offered a limited selection of basic products. I turn onto Central. On the corner of Tulipán, another handwritten sign repeats the same word. Across the street, at a garage where you could buy everything from cold water to soda crackers, the gate is down.

“Closed,” reads the sign on the window of a small shop that until a few days ago offered a limited selection of basic goods. / 14ymedio

The offensive against on private businesses that don’t respect the price caps ordered by officialdom, or that refuse electronic payments has reduced the number of small markets in my neighborhood to just a handful of poorly stocked shops with long-faced employees. There is no chicken, sausages, vegetable oil, or ground beef, among many other missing items. Faced with the option of opening and risking a fine of thousands of pesos, the owners prefer to suspend sales and accumulate days of zero profit until the storm passes. “This is the land of the two-week break,” a neighbor I run into tells me. “Right now, the inspectors are giving up,” she adds.

Frustrated, I start heading home. The Tulipán Street market is still on my way. “I’m sure I’ll find something there,” I encourage myself. My body, at rest for so many days, is starting to show signs of continue reading

exhaustion. I sit down against a wall, take out a bottle, and take a long swig of the sugary guava juice I made before leaving. The dose of sucrose works quickly, and I manage to cross back across the wide avenue that connects El Vedado with the airport.

As I approach Tulipán Market, I notice the difference. There are fewer cart vendors outside, fewer sellers offering goods on the sidewalks, and much less of the usual hustle and bustle. The refrigerators are off, several kiosks are closed, and the butchers’ chalkboards display barely any lard complete the panorama. In the three weeks since I last visited, the place feels completely different.

I leave with my bag empty. In Estancia, a man and his son sit on the sidewalk calling out in low voices, “Chicken, chicken!” A package of about seven or eight small drumsticks costs 3,000 pesos. There’s no other option. I take out the money and pay. The teenager hands me a dripping plastic bag with the completely thawed meat. I hurry back to my building.

I call from downstairs to tell my husband to wait for me on the seventh floor and help me finish bringing up the groceries. My legs are stiff, and I feel like my fever has returned. I take another long gulp of guava juice and reach the halfway point of the stairs I have to climb. Reinaldo is there. I have to sit down and rest before limping on to the top floor.

As soon as we got home, we started cooking some of the chicken. There’s no time to wait: it’s thawed and we have no way to store it. We’ve been without electricity for almost 24 hours now.

The Havana Chronicles can be read here

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A False Earthquake Alert Sends Thousands of Cubans Into the Streets Across the Island

Civil Defense confirmed that “no seismic movement has been recorded in the national territory during the afternoon this Tuesday.”

Residents of Havana left their homes and took to the streets alarmed by the false earthquake alert. / Social media

14ymedio, Havana, August 18, 2026 – At approximately three in the afternoon this Tuesday, thousands of Cubans across the Island were startled when they received a loud alarm on their phones urgently informing them of an “earthquake alert.”

In Havana, the warning triggered nervousness among residents who immediately rushed to leave their buildings. “Remain calm and seek shelter somewhere nearby,” the alert on the phones indicated, a message that sparked scenes of panic. The vast majority were caught by the alarm in the middle of the blackout. Several accounts received by the 14ymedio newsroom described elderly people with their walkers hurrying to get out as best they could. In the Luyanó neighborhood, according to witnesses at the scene, an elderly woman screamed for them not to let her die alone. Some only managed to get out in their underwear, while others tried to rescue their pets.

A phone displays the earthquake alert received by thousands of users on the Island. / 14ymedio

On the street, neighbors looked at one another amid uncertainty, nervous laughter and fear. Some elderly people were still trying to finish making their way down the stairs as their strength allowed. Others regretted having left their cat sleeping under the bed.

Minutes later, Cuba’s Civil Defense reported through its official channels that, according to confirmation from the National Center for Seismological Research (Cenais), “no seismic movement has been recorded in the national territory this continue reading

Tuesday during the afternoon.”

“In the event of any real event, our official systems and channels will activate the corresponding protocols in a timely manner”

Dr. Enrique Arango, head of research at Cenais, described the alert that reached mobile phones and caused confusion among the population as “completely false.” “In the event of any real event, our official systems and channels will activate the corresponding protocols in a timely manner,” Arango stressed.

Following the scare, the official media began repeatedly issuing clarifications ruling out that it was an earthquake. Versions circulated on social media attributing the warning to an alleged Etecsa drill or a failed test, which Cubadebate quickly denied.

In an Island where residents constantly suffer from blackouts, shortages and bad news, Google seems to be taking the blame

The official media outlet pointed to the operation of Google’s earthquake alert system for Android phones as a possible explanation: the mechanism operates using accelerometers built into phones, which can detect movements compatible with the first vibrations of an earthquake. When numerous devices register similar signals at the same time, the system analyzes that data and can send an alert to phones located in the area. It is designed to gain a few seconds in the event of an earthquake, but its estimates can be wrong and an automatic alert by itself does not constitute confirmation that a tremor has occurred.

So far, the authorities have not explained what signal or movement could have triggered the mass activation of the alert. On an Island where residents constantly suffer from blackouts, shortages and bad news, Google seems to be taking the blame for the scare that sent neighbors running from their homes this Tuesday. The earthquakes that shook Venezuela and Colombia in recent weeks are still very fresh in the memories of Cubans and left many with the feeling that another major earthquake could occur at any moment in the region.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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