Translating Cuba – English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island

More Than Three Months Without Water Force Residents of Alturas del Mirador to Drink from Wells and the Diezmero River

Residents say they have been abandoned by the authorities as they struggle to survive amid a massive garbage dump, frequent power outages, and the growing risk of a public health crisis.

Residents collect water from the polluted Diezmero Riverbed in Alturas del Mirador, San Miguel del Padrón, Havana. / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Havana, July 13, 2026 — For more than three months, hundreds of families in the Alturas del Mirador neighborhood, located in Havana’s municipality of San Miguel del Padrón, have been without a supply of drinking water. The prolonged disruption has forced residents to collect water from the Diezmero River, one of the most polluted waterways in the Cuban capital.

People fill buckets from the foul-smelling river while, just a short distance away, a huge garbage dump blocks the entrance to the neighborhood. The combination of accumulated waste and the lack of clean drinking water has raised fears of disease outbreaks in a community whose residents say they have been abandoned by the authorities.

“Women, children, and elderly people are drinking well water that is not fit for human consumption and, at times, even water from the Diezmero River,” resident José Lugo said. “And that’s without mentioning the garbage dump located in front of the neighborhood grocery store.”

“Women, children and the elderly consume well water that is not fit for human consumption and, sometimes, even water from the Diezmero River”

The water crisis has become one of the main sources of social unrest in Havana. In Guanabacoa, residents say they have also gone nearly a week without water service. “We don’t even have water to drink, and the government keeps making excuses,” one resident said. “First they said it would come back yesterday at 10 a.m., then today at 6 a.m. It’s already 9:15, and still nothing.”

During yesterday’s heavy rain in the capital, residents rushed outside with buckets to collect rainwater pouring off rooftops. “I opened the water tank at my house so it could fill with rainwater,” one woman said. “Right now we’re living off nature, just like centuries ago. Sunlight powers the solar panel, rain gives us water to drink and bathe. Soon we’ll have to send carrier pigeons to communicate.” continue reading

Just a few meters from the river, a huge garbage dump occupies the entrance to the neighborhood. / 14ymedio

In recent weeks, residents of Regla have held several protests outside the municipal government headquarters, demanding the restoration of water and electricity after days without either service. The demonstrations, which included banging pots and pans and blocking streets, are part of a growing wave of protests over the deterioration of basic public services in Havana.

In Alturas del Mirador, however, residents say the crisis has gone on for months without any official response.

“People here are tired of going to the Communist Party offices and the People’s Power offices, but it has all been pointless,” said Lucrecia, a nurse at a Havana hospital. “Officials keep saying they’ll come inspect the problem, but they never show up.”

“People here are tired of going to the Communist Party offices and the People’s Power offices, but it has all been pointless”

She says the neighborhood has been forgotten and abandoned, with no one willing to listen. She also cares for her bedridden mother, who suffers from neurological problems, making the lack of water an even greater daily hardship.

“Every day is torture. It’s exhausting and a danger to our health. Sometimes I’ve had to go to work without even being able to bathe. How can a nurse care for patients when she herself is dirty and unable to maintain proper hygiene?” she asked.

According to José Lugo, the problem is not simply a lack of available water but also failures in managing the distribution system.

“This neighborhood sits on higher ground and depends on a pumping station at Finca Baraguá. Water is pumped from there, but operators have to close some pipelines and open others so it reaches every area. Human error and a lack of interest are what’s leaving us like this,” he said.

“Sometimes I’ve had to go to work without even being able to shower. How can a nurse approach a patient when she herself is dirty and lacks proper hygiene?”

Lugo said he has spent weeks calling the Communist Party, the municipal government, and even the director of the local water utility. “I’ve begged for an official to come here and speak with the people, but it has never happened,” he said.

Meanwhile, the neighborhood’s wells are drying up.

“People are drinking water from depleted wells. It’s yellowish and no longer safe for human consumption, but it’s all they have,” Lugo explained. “Others are taking water directly from the Diezmero River, which is heavily contaminated.”

The risk of a public health emergency is worsened by the general collapse of public services. Lugo says local medical clinics barely function, while the enormous garbage dump in front of the grocery store and butcher shop has become a permanent source of contamination.

“People bang pots and pans here almost every night, but because this neighborhood is so isolated, it rarely makes the news,” he said

Getting around is also difficult. “The bakery is still operating because the bread comes from somewhere else, but public transportation has practically disappeared, and many streets are blocked by garbage,” Lugo said.

Recent rainfall brought little relief. “Yesterday, when it rained heavily, the riverbanks looked like a celebration. People were filling buckets and tanks, but that water is contaminated,” he said.

The water shortage is compounded by daily power outages, which leave residents with only “one or two hours of electricity” each day. On top of that, cellphone service has become unreliable.

“The Etecsa tower broke down, and people have to walk all the way to the main road just to make a phone call,” Lugo explained.

Amid these conditions, frustration continues to grow. “This creates a state of depression among people,” Lugo said. “We bang pots almost every night, but because this neighborhood is so far away, it often doesn’t appear in the news. We’re not far from an epidemic with fatal consequences.”

Translated by Regina Anavy

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The United States Will Maintain All Measures Against the Cuban Regime, Says Marco Rubio

The US Secretary of State demands the release of political prisoners and assures that Washington is offering aid in exchange for economic and political reforms.

“Cuba’s leaders simply must choose to commit to real reforms, peace, and prosperity before it is too late.” / EFE/Ronald Wittek

EFE (via 14ymedio), Los Angeles, July 12, 2026 / US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Saturday that the Trump administration will continue to use “all the tools” at its disposal against the Cuban regime, which he accused of posing a threat to US security and refusing to undertake the reforms the island needs.

“Cuba’s leaders simply must choose to commit to real reforms, peace and prosperity, before it is too late,” Rubio said in a statement released to mark the fifth anniversary of the 11 July 2021 protests.

The US Secretary of State recalled that thousands of Cubans then took to the streets to protest against shortages, blackouts and the lack of freedoms, in the largest demonstrations to have occurred in the country since 1959.

Five years after that uprising, Rubio denounced, hundreds of participants remain “unjustly” imprisoned. The Secretary of State demanded “the immediate release of these and all political prisoners in Cuba.”

Rubio also again attacked the island’s ruling elite, accusing them of appropriating the country’s scarce resources and hiding them abroad, although he did not provide concrete evidence to support that claim. continue reading

The Trump Administration has offered aid to the Cuban government, assistance for reconstruction, and “the promise of a new relationship between our two countries.”

The declarations come amid the policy of maximum pressure of the past six months applied by Washington. Restrictions on oil supplies have exacerbated blackouts, while new sanctions have increased the risk for foreign companies still operating in Cuba.

Against this scenario, the threat of more severe measures against Havana remains, including the possibility of military action, a hypothesis that gained strength after the arrest of Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela.

Despite the increased pressure, Rubio asserted that the Trump Administration has offered aid to the Cuban government, assistance for reconstruction, and “the promise of a new relationship between our two countries.”

He offered, specifically, that this conditioned upon the island’s authorities accepting economic and political reforms that will allow the country to open up and offer Cubans an opportunity for prosperity.

Washington maintains that lifting the pressure will depend on verifiable changes, while Havana rejects any reforms imposed from abroad and attributes the economic crisis to US sanctions.

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The U.S. Sanctions Cuba’s Ministry of Tourism and Entities Involved in Fuel Imports

The sanctions also target companies linked to exports and to the State Security apparatus of political and ideological control

Cuban Minister of Tourism Juan Carlos García Granda. / Excelencias Cuba

14ymedio, Madrid, July 13, 2026 – The U.S. Department of State announced on Monday the addition of several Cuban entities to the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list, administered by the Treasury Department. This time, Cuba’s Ministry of Tourism is the highest-profile entity affected, accompanied by companies involved in product exports and fuel imports.

The new round of sanctions covers four major areas. Alongside the Ministry of Tourism is Caudal, the insurance and financial services group made up of eight companies—including Cubacontrol, which specializes in inspections—belonging to the military conglomerate Gaesa.

Among the companies involved in fuel imports are Coreydan S.A. and Enetec S.A., two firms registered in Havana that engage in the trade and wholesale of solid, liquid, and gaseous fuels. The first of these was responsible for bringing $60 million worth of hydrocarbons from Mexico to the Island in 2023, according to Bloomberg. According to the Mexican press, the state-owned company shared headquarters in Havana with the Cuba-Petroleum Union (Cupet) at 552 Amistad Street in Central Havana. However, 14ymedio visited the listed address at the time and found that none of the building’s residents had ever heard of continue reading

the company.

This time, Cuba’s Ministry of Tourism is the highest-profile entity affected, accompanied by companies involved in product exports and fuel imports

Another significant section of the sanctions targets the well-known Corporación Antillana Exportadora S.A. (Antex), which is linked to Gaesa and is responsible for exporting Cuban professional services abroad, including doctors, engineers, and technicians. Its presence has been especially significant in Angola. Also included on the list are the Foreign Trade Business Group (Gecomex), which oversees the import and export of goods, and the Maritime Port Transportation Business Group (Gemar), which controls the country’s port infrastructure, vessels, freight operations, and maritime logistics. Gemar also oversees Coral Marítima S.A., the company that took over the assets of the Mariel Container Terminal after its departure from the military conglomerate Gaesa.

The final major group consists of several organizations within the political, military, and mass-control apparatus of State Security. The first is the Association of Combatants of the Cuban Revolution (Acrc), which brings together the Island’s military veterans and internationalist fighters and operates under the command of the Communist Party to ensure political loyalty among retired military personnel. Also included are the Territorial Troops Militia, paramilitary forces subordinate to the Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces that are tasked with controlling the population, and, finally, the Rapid Response Brigades, coordinated by the State Security services to monitor citizens and suppress protesters and political opponents.

The final major group consists of several organizations within the political, military, and mass-control apparatus of State Security

The new round of sanctions comes almost three weeks after the previous one, which added other Cuban state entities linked to Gaesa to the list, including Almacenes Universales S.A., Banco Financiero Internacional (BFI), Geominera S.A., Empresa Siderúrgica José Martí (Antillana de Acero), and Rafin S.A. That round also included members of the Castro family, a group that continues to grow but still does not include—at least for now—Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro, the general’s grandson and the designated negotiator in talks between Cuba and the United States.

Last Saturday, marking the anniversary of the massive July 11, 2021 protests, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced in a statement that the Donald Trump administration will continue using “all available tools” against the Cuban regime, which he accused of posing a threat to U.S. national security and refusing to undertake the reforms the Island needs. “Cuba’s leaders simply must choose to commit to real reforms, peace, and prosperity before it is too late,” he said.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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The U.S. Ambassador to the UN Reiterates That Cuba Is “a Threat” to “National Security”

Mike Waltz claims in an interview that Russia and China have “intelligence posts, signals collection posts, and military officers” in Cuba

Mike Waltz in an interview with Fox News./ Screen capture / Fox news

Europa Press/14ymedio, Washington, 13 July 2026 / The United States Ambassador to the United Nations, Mike Waltz, has stated that Cuba poses “a threat to its own people” as well as to U.S. “national security,” alleging that the island harbors elements of Russian and Chinese intelligence.

“The Cuban regime not only represents a threat to its own people but also to national security, and this administration will no longer tolerate it,” the American diplomat said in an interview with Fox News.

In the same interview, Waltz pointed to “both Russian and Chinese” bases, maintaining that both countries “still have intelligence posts, signals collection posts, and military officers in Cuba.” “Right off our coast,” he added.

However, he praised the efforts of the Trump administration to reduce the alleged presence of Moscow and Beijing in the Americas: “They’re no longer in Venezuela, no longer in southern Central America… not even in the Panama Canal,” he argued, pointing to what he described as a greater Chinese and Russian presence in the region “under the Biden continue reading

administration and previous administrations.”

“They’re no longer in Venezuela, no longer in southern Central America… not even in the Panama Canal,” he argued

The UN ambassador’s remarks come amid a renewed push in Washington’s pressure campaign against Havana, under which U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned this past Saturday that the Republican administration will continue to use “every tool at its disposal” to “advance” political and economic reforms in Cuba and put an end to “decades of repression and economic incompetence by its communist regime.”

In addition to the six-decade-old embargo in effect against the island, the United States has, since the start of the year, added an oil blockade that is deepening the energy problems the country has faced for years. Cuba’s Foreign Minister, Bruno Rodríguez, has denounced that the entire country is the target of collective punishment imposed by the White House.

Last week, Mike Waltz and Bruno Rodríguez held a tense exchange during a session of the General Assembly requested by Cuba on the “blockade” Washington imposes on the island. The U.S. asked that the session not be held and argued that, while Havana protested and sought to portray itself as a victim in this regard, hundreds of political prisoners remained locked up in the island’s prisons.

Waltz displayed images of several detainees, among them Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara – released just hours later and currently at an unknown location – to call attention to their situation.

“The Cuban people have a right to freedom,” the American diplomat said during that session. The debate ultimately went forward by a vote of 136 in favor, nine against – including the United States, Argentina, Israel, Hungary, Paraguay, and Peru – and 30 abstentions.

Translated by GH

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Cuba Signs Alliance in Mexico to Extend Mayan World Tourism to the Island

The first multi-destination package will launch in August, integrating flights between Cancún and Havana

Cuba will link the Mayan World with Varadero beach./ ‘Cubadebate’

14ymedio, Havana, 13 July 2026/ Tourism agencies from Mexico and Havana signed a cooperation agreement that includes extending the Mayan World tourism program to the island. The initiative will combine historical, beach, and nature destinations with the goal of attracting more Mexican visitors and diversifying Cuba’s tourism offerings, at a time when the sector is going through its worst period since the Covid-19 pandemic.

“We’re going to link the Mayan World – which in Mexico includes Campeche, Chiapas, Quintana Roo, Tabasco, and Yucatán, as well as Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, and El Salvador – with our beach at Varadero, but we’re also going to do it with the capital, with Havana, and bring in nature-based products. In other words, we’re going to keep expanding this experience with all the riches Cuba has to offer as a tourist destination,” said the tourism counselor at the island’s embassy in Mexico, Aleinor Zerquera, in comments to Prensa Latina.

To this end, the Taíno Tours agency, the trade name under which Havanatur operates in Mexico, reached an agreement with the local tour operators Turismo Popular and Prelasa Tours to “boost multi-destination tourism” between the two countries.

On this point, the director of the Cuban agency, Erick Gómez, said that “alliances like this one create good opportunities for all three companies.” continue reading

It will draw on the appeal of the Varadero Festival as a cultural hook to complement the Mayan World experience

The first multi-destination package will launch in August, integrating flights between Cancún and Havana, and will draw on the appeal of the Varadero Festival as a cultural hook to complement the Mayan World experience.

According to Mexico’s Ministry of Economy, the Mayan World region is visited by around 20 million international tourists a year, 70% of whom visit destinations within Mexico. It is also the country’s leading tourism hub, receiving 45% of domestic tourism and 55% of foreign tourism. Its offerings include sun-and-beach destinations, culture and history, cruises, ecotourism and adventure travel, and, more recently, medical tourism in Yucatán.

For the island, by contrast, this move comes at a particularly difficult time for the tourism industry. May’s figures reveal the extent of the collapse the sector has dragged through in recent months. In the fifth month of the year, only 30,883 visitors arrived on the island, a very marginal increase compared with April, which saw 332 more tourists. So far this year, Cuba has received 359,491 international travelers, 58.4% fewer than during the same period in 2025. However, breaking down the numbers, the vast majority arrived in January — 184,833 — a dismal figure for a month that traditionally used to bring in as many as half a million tourists. With the announcement of the end of refueling for international flights, most airlines began evacuating their nationals and ended up canceling routes that had become unsustainable, so the following months saw only minimal numbers of travelers arrive.

Most airlines began evacuating their nationals and ended up canceling routes that had become unsustainable

The energy blockade, which has paralyzed most flights, combined with the sanctions on Gaesa, has ended up dealing the final blow to one of the few sources of hard currency not only for the state but for hundreds of thousands of people who make their living from the sector through private businesses, from restaurants to craft shops and retail, or simple street vending.

According to a report by the National Statistics and Information Office (Onei) covering the first quarter of the year, only 1.3 out of every 10 hotel rooms in Cuba were filled at the start of the year, visitor numbers fell 48% — 298,057 compared with 573,363 the previous year — overnight stays also dropped by half — 1.8 million compared with 3.6 million — and gross revenue fell from close to 35 billion pesos (52 million dollars, at the informal exchange rate of 670 to 1) to around 20 billion. And all of this even though January was still considered a “normal” month.

The losses are not confined to hotels. The Onei report, which quarterly adds up revenue from other sectors, shows steep declines across the board. The overall figure fell from 48.4 billion to 27.9 billion pesos, but broken down, the hardest-hit sector is food service, which lost nearly half – dropping from 19 billion to just 10 billion. Next comes lodging, which fell from 14 billion to 8 billion, transportation – from 5.7 billion to 3.9 billion – and retail trade – from 2.1 billion to 1.5 billion.

Translated by GH.

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Miguelito, a Psychiatric Patient Abandoned to His Fate, Like So Many Others in Cuba

Last week, the man lost his life in a failed break-in attempt. The lack of proper treatment had turned him into a danger to his neighbors and to himself

Everyone in the thirteen-story building sympathized with Miguelito’s mother, but they feared what he was capable of doing in his condition.

14ymedio, Pablo Padilla Cruz, 13 July 2026 / It was around ten o’clock at night on July 7 when a man, later identified as Miguel, fell from the sixth floor of the well-known thirteen-story old building in Matanzas while attempting to break into a neighbor’s home. According to the preliminary forensic report, the intruder tried to grab onto a protective railing on the building’s balcony, but the structure gave way, sending him plummeting to the ground floor.

When Miguelito fell he was wearing a ski mask covering his face, which initially kept neighbors from identifying him. It was his own mother who, before police investigators, confirmed the identity of the deceased.

For the community, the tragic outcome was not a surprise but something expected for a person like Miguelito: mentally ill for years, with a criminal record, and forgotten by the authorities.

“He was a problem for the neighborhood,” says one neighbor, speaking on condition of anonymity. “He was someone with a mental disorder who was undergoing psychiatric treatment. About fifteen years ago he stabbed a young man in the same building several times – a young man who used to help him and even gave him work making handicrafts. One day, with no prior argument or dispute, he waited for him downstairs and stabbed him repeatedly,” he recounts.

“He was someone with a mental disorder who was undergoing psychiatric treatment. About fifteen years ago he stabbed a young man in the same building several times who used to help him”

Miguel spent eight years in prison and, once he had served his sentence, returned to the neighborhood. It was the victim who had to move away, out of fear of another attack. “I’m no judge, but someone who endangers continue reading

other people’s lives should either be given specialized help or removed from society. What you can’t do is send him back, after just a few years, to the very place where he nearly killed an innocent person,” the neighbor laments.

The alarming lack of infrastructure, medication, and follow-up protocols for people with chronic mental illness is one more open wound among the many in Cuba. The extreme shortage of antipsychotic drugs and sporadic medical supervision have left it up to families and neighbors themselves to contain patients who, during a crisis, can become very dangerous.

The island’s health system, which years ago centralized control of these cases through extended hospital stays or strict provision of treatment, no longer takes charge of them. Faced with the collapse of hospitals and pharmacies, patients with severe diagnoses of schizophrenia or psychosis end up wandering the streets or confined to homes that lack sufficient resources to care for them. The lack of adequate inpatient institutions and the absence of supervised reintegration programs turn mental health care in Cuba into a game of Russian roulette for public safety.

Odalis, the owner of the apartment Miguel tried to enter on the night of July 7, confirms the earlier account while still trying to come to terms with what happened. “I’m still shaken. His mother is a much-loved neighbor, but that young man needed urgent medical attention. He’d tried to get into my home several times that same week for different reasons, and now this happens. Nobody knew his real intentions – only that he was wearing a ski mask and had a rope and a hammer in a backpack. It’s hard to think that if he hadn’t fallen, the one who ended up dead today might have been me,” she says with sorrow.

Although a sense of helplessness can be felt throughout the building, her case is a special one, and she agrees this was foreseeable. “Ever since he stabbed Eduardito, the craftsman, we all knew – and the police did too – that he wasn’t right psychologically. All because no one treated a sick person or took him somewhere he could get help.”

“It’s not that everything bad that happened in the building was Miguelito’s fault, but he used to follow the girls around, harass them, and threaten families”

Residents say Miguel’s erratic and intimidating behavior was frequent and that early warnings were systematically ignored by law enforcement. In recent nights, Miguel, adds a third neighbor interviewed, had taken to throwing bottles from his balcony at passersby.

“We called the police and they never came,” he laments. “Just like they never came when Cecilia, a neighbor on the eleventh floor, had her door forced open and her EcoFlow unit stolen. It’s not that everything bad that happened in the building was Miguelito’s fault, but he used to follow the girls around, harass them, and threaten families. The Ministry of the Interior and the local sector chief never did a thing. Now look – if this tragedy hadn’t happened, Odalis might not be alive,” he continues.

The neighbor says all the residents deeply feel for Magalys, his mother. “She’s a lovely person, but this is like the García Márquez book: a chronicle of a death foretold. The worst part is that it could have been prevented with treatment and supervision from specialists.”

Translated by GH.

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Five Years Later, the Cuban Exile Community in Madrid Keeps Alive the Cry of the 11th of July

The day included testimonies from Cuba, an augmented reality installation about 11J, and a demand for the release of political prisoners.

A discussion was held in Madrid to commemorate the fifth anniversary of July 11th, with the participation of Cuban activists, former political prisoners, and human rights defenders. / 14ymedio

Five years after Cuba’s Island-wide protests of 11 July 2021, some of its protagonists met again, far from the streets where it all began. This time it was in Madrid, in a venue in the Malasaña neighborhood, but with the same urgency as before: to remember the largest social uprising in Cuba since 1959 and to denounce the fact that the repression unleashed after that event has not ended. Under the slogan “Today could be another 11J,” Cuban civil society in exile is organizing three days of activities in the Spanish capital to discuss memory, resistance, political prisoners, and the democratic future.

The first event was the discussion ” Five Years Later: Memory, Resistance, and Freedom,” held this Thursday at the Casa del Cura Community Social Center. The gathering brought together activists, former political prisoners, human rights defenders, and direct participants in the demonstrations that shook the island five years ago, when thousands of Cubans took to the streets chanting “Libertad” [Freedom] and “Patria y Vida” [Homeland and Life.

The discussion was moderated by Dayana Prieto, a Cuban audiovisual producer and activist based in Madrid. Guests included Javier Larrondo, president of Prisoners Defenders; art curator and artivist Solveig Font Martínez; playwright Yunior García Aguilera; filmmaker and activist Manuel Alejandro Rodríguez Yong; and Elías Rizo León, known as “the boy with the flag” for being the subject of one of the most symbolic images of those days.

The panel’s composition brought together several layers of the events of July 11th: the citizen protests, the immediate repression, imprisonment, exile, and the persistence of a memory that the Cuban regime attempts to erase or reduce to a mere legal case. Solveig Font and Yunior García were arrested during the demonstration in front of the Cuban Institute of Radio and Television in Havana, one of the locations where popular demands merged with calls for freedom of expression and rejection of official propaganda. Manuel Alejandro Rodríguez Yong was also arrested that day, while Elías Rizo had to remain in hiding with his family until he was able continue reading

to leave the country.

Filmmaker Yimit Ramírez explains his augmented reality installation, Caribbean Jacuzzi, while Elías Rizo observes the recreation using smart glasses. / 14ymedio

Testimonies also arrived from Cuba reminding everyone that the wound of July 11th remains open. Former political prisoner Alexander Díaz Rodríguez sent a message emphasizing the need to remember those imprisoned for taking to the streets in July 2021 and to maintain international pressure demanding their release. His remarks drew a connection between the event in Madrid and the reality of those on the island who still face surveillance, harassment, and the legal consequences of that protest. The message from Mailín Rodríguez Sánchez, wife of political prisoner Yosvani Rosell García, convicted for his participation in the 11 July protests, was also heard. Her testimony put a name and a familiar face to the cost of the repression. In her voice, the anniversary ceased to be a political date and became an intimate denunciation of the prolonged punishment inflicted upon the protesters and their families.

One of the most unique moments of the event was the presentation of Caribbean Jacuzzi, an augmented reality installation by artist Yimit Ramírez. Through smart glasses, viewers could interact with a recreation of the overturned police car from the 11 July protests and with the iconic image of the young man who, standing atop the car, waved the Cuban flag amidst the crowd. The piece brought one of the most powerful visual symbols of those days into the exhibition space, not as a mere archival document, but as an immersive experience.

The participants concluded the meeting with a demand for the release of Cuban political prisoners, including Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara. / 14ymedio

The scene took on a particularly poignant tone when the man in the photograph, Elías Rizo, put on the glasses and saw himself in the installation. The gesture encapsulated the distance between the historical moment and his memory: the young man who five years earlier had become a symbol of defiance now returned to that image from exile, transformed simultaneously into a witness, a participant, and a survivor of a protest that marked a generation.

At the end of the event, activist Yanelis Núñez held a live broadcast in which several participants expressed their concern for the situation of Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara and demanded his release. The Cuban artist and dissident remains in the custody of State Security, despite having completed his unjust sentence on July 9. The live broadcast served as a political epilogue to the day’s events.

The activities will continue this Friday, July 10, at 5:00 p.m., at the Casa de la Libertad in Cuba, with the colloquium ” Challenges for the Cuba to Come.” The meeting, moderated by Dr. Antonio Guedes, will shift the focus from the memory of 11 July to the challenges of a potential democratic transition, in a debate about the country that could emerge after the regime and about the role of the exile community in that reconstruction.

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The Cuban Exile Community Brings the Spirit of 11J to Spain’s Puerta del Sol With a Demand for Freedom for Cuba

The day concluded three days of activities in Madrid, following a discussion on the memory of July 11 and a debate on the challenges of a future democratic transition

“It’s been 67 years of abuse of power, mistreatment, and misery. Enough is enough,” a Cuban woman summarized in Puerta del Sol. / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Dayana Prieto Espinosa, Madrid, 11 July 2026 / The Cuban exile community brought the spirit of July 11th to Madrid’s Puerta del Sol on Saturday, the fifth anniversary of the social uprising. Dozens of Cubans and Spaniards participated for several hours in a public demonstration to commemorate the largest protest against the regime on the island, demand the release of political prisoners, and denounce the ongoing repression.

Under the slogan “Today could be another 11J,” the initiative concluded three days of activities organized by Cuban exile groups. The program began last Thursday with the discussion “Five Years Later: Memory, Resistance, and Freedom,” which included activists, journalists, and participants in the protests, and continued on Friday with the colloquium “Challenges for the Cuba to Come,” moderated by Dr. Antonio Guedes and focused on the political, economic, and institutional challenges of a future democratic transition.

In Madrid’s central square this Saturday, participants displayed Cuban flags, distributed information to passersby, and spoke with dozens of people who approached them, interested in the situation on the island. The day combined public speeches, artistic performances, and testimonies from Cubans who have left the country and from Spaniards who support the democratic cause. continue reading

“At first I returned to my country for a visit. But I don’t want to go back until I’m free.” / 14ymedio

“It’s been 67 years of abuse of power, mistreatment, and misery. Enough is enough,” summarized Odalis Chongo, a native of San Miguel del Padrón, in Havana.

Independent journalist Iliana Hernández emphasized the historical significance of the 2021 protests. “The 11th of July is the true day of the national rebellion, not the 26th of July. On that date in 1953, criminals who today hold the Cuban people hostage stormed a barracks,” she stated.

Hernández also dedicated part of his speech to denouncing the situation of Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara. He noted that the artist has been held captive by State Security for three days, despite having fully served his sentence.

Among those present was Alicia, a Cuban woman who has lived in Spain for over two decades. “At first, I came back to visit my country. But I don’t want to return until it’s free,” she explained while holding a Cuban flag.

The event also brought together Spanish citizens who wanted to express their solidarity with Cubans. A woman from Madrid stated that she has never traveled to the island and does not intend to do so while the current political system remains in place. “I wouldn’t go as a tourist to a country where they repress people and where they are suffering so much. I find what Spanish politicians like those from Podemos are doing shameful. They only represent a very small percentage of Spaniards. They cannot speak for all of us,” she asserted.

“I wouldn’t go on vacation to a country where they repress people and where they’re suffering so much,” said a woman from Madrid. / 14ymedio

Simón Elías Rodríguez, a 19-year-old Cuban who emigrated just a year ago, explained why he decided to attend the rally. “I emigrated from Cuba when I was 18. When there’s no freedom, there’s no economy, no future. I’m here for that reason and for the political prisoners,” he said.

Another Spanish woman explained that she was attending on behalf of her family. “I’m here representing my husband, who is Cuban. My son was born in Spain, but he feels very Cuban. It’s essential that there be a change,” she stated.

For Iancarlo Rocabruno Pentón, the day also served to combat the regime’s official narrative. “There is an oppressive dictatorship in Cuba,” he stated. In his opinion, there are still people in Spain who believe “in the regime’s propaganda, in the false socialist paradise,” although he noted that many passersby approached him with interest to learn about the Cuban reality. “Many Venezuelans approach us because they understand, like few others, what these dictatorships do to people,” he added.

Five years after those demonstrations that swept through dozens of Cuban cities with cries of “Freedom” and “Homeland and Life,” the organizers insisted that the rebellion that began in the streets of the Island remains open as long as political prisoners remain, repression continues, and millions of Cubans continue to be deprived of fundamental rights.
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Vigils and Marches in Several Countries Commemorated the Fifth Anniversary of Cuba’s ’11J’ Protests.

Washington, Miami, Bilbao and Madrid hosted some of the main events organized by Cuban exile organizations to denounce the repression on the island.

Vigil for the fifth anniversary of 9/11 in front of the Cuban Embassy in Washington, organized by the Center for a Free Cuba and Students for Liberty. / Courtesy

14ymedio, Madrid, July 12, 2026 / Five years after the historic protests of 11 July 2021, Cuban exile organizations commemorated the anniversary this Saturday with vigils, demonstrations and rallies in several cities to remember the biggest social uprising on the island since 1959 and to demand the release of political prisoners.

In Washington, dozens of people participated in a vigil outside the Cuban Embassy organized by the Center for a Free Cuba and Students for Liberty. The gathering was dedicated to the more than 1,300 political prisoners currently reported on the island and focused on several inmates whose health or prison conditions are considered especially serious.

“The dictatorship’s response was and continues to be repression, terror, and measures that further impoverish the Cuban people. This must stop: Cubans need to be free to rebuild their country,” declared John Suárez, executive director of the Center.

The protesters remembered the victims of the sinking of the tugboat 13 de Marzo, in July 1994./ Courtesy

The organizers also commemorated the victims of the sinking of the 13 de Marzo tugboat, in which 41 men, 10 of them minors, died on July 13, 1994, while attempting to flee Cuba. Various international human rights organizations have called for an independent investigation into the incident for years.

The vigil concluded with a prayer by Pastor Mario Félix Lleonart and a collection of signatures to demand the release of political prisoners.

“The dictatorship’s response was and continues to be repression, terror, and measures that further impoverish the Cuban people. This must stop.”

Also in the US, in Miami, hundreds of people participated in the Liberation Day Rally, held on Calle Ocho in Little Havana. The event centered around the Tower Theater and Domino Park, where a march, an art exhibit, a screening of the documentary “Cuba and the Night,” and cultural presentations were organized to commemorate the 11 July protests and demand the release of Cuban political prisoners.

Across the Atlantic, the commemoration also brought together continue reading

the Cuban community in various Spanish cities. In Bilbao, the Cuban-Basque Association Demokrazia Kubarentzat organized a demonstration to commemorate the fifth anniversary of July 11th. The gathering was attended by Cubans residing in the Basque Country, along with representatives from the Venezuelan, Nicaraguan, and Mexican communities, as well as members of the People’s Party.

Demonstration in Bilbao commemorating the fifth anniversary of 11J, organized by the Cuban-Basque Association Demokrazia Kubarentzat. / Courtesy

Participants recalled that 11 July 2021, “was the day a people overcame their fear and took to the streets peacefully to demand freedom, dignity, and a better future for their children.” They also paid tribute to those who remain imprisoned for participating in those protests, to the families separated by exile, and to the Cubans who continue to suffer the lack of freedoms on the island. The association affirmed that the spirit of 11 July remains intact, “because 11 July does not belong to the past: it is a living cause that will continue to inspire the peaceful struggle for a free Cuba.”

In Madrid, the anniversary was commemorated with three days of activities under the slogan “Today could be another 11J,” which included talks with former political prisoners and activists, an art installation, cultural events, and a rally to demand the release of Cuban political prisoners.

Events commemorating the fifth anniversary of July 11th were also held in Montevideo, Uruguay, and Nuremberg, Germany. With these gatherings, the Cuban exile community once again transformed the date into a day of protest against repression on the island and of solidarity with political prisoners, five years after the protests that marked a turning point in Cuba’s recent history.

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June, the Month When Everything Seemed Possible

The lack of official information once again fueled a chain of rumors that mixed politics, economics, and successions within the Cuban power structure.

The figure of Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro, Raúl Castro’s grandson popularly known as ‘El Cangrejo’ [The Crab], also did not escape the machinery of speculation. / Social networks

14ymedio, Madrid, 11 July 2026 / Every month brings its harvest of rumors to Cuba. Some originate in an anonymous Facebook post, others jump from a Telegram channel to a WhatsApp group, and there are always those that begin with the classic “someone who works at… told me.” The speed with which they circulate speaks volumes about the country’s precarious state of information. Where official data is scarce, speculation abounds. And on an island where for decades important decisions have been announced at the last minute, or simply imposed without warning, these so-called “rumors” end up occupying the space that should belong to public information.

June was no exception. Amid blackouts, economic reforms, official tributes, and constant political uncertainty, social media and street corner conversations once again became the main laboratory for national hypotheses.

One of the most striking rumors claimed that the government was preparing the “mandatory relocation” of more than 45,000 Havana families to provinces in the central and eastern parts of the country to “decongest” the capital. The story included precise figures, references to the Council of Ministers, and even a supposed relocation schedule starting in July. It was enough to recall the immigration restrictions that for decades limited settlement in Havana for many to find the version perfectly credible. The rumor combined a familiar element—the old control over internal movement—with the current deterioration of services in the capital. No evidence of such a plan existed, but for several days some people asked with genuine concern whether they should start packing their bags.

One of the most striking rumors claimed that the Government was preparing the “mandatory relocation” of more than 45,000 Havana families to provinces in the central and eastern parts of the country

US politics also retained its traditional place in Cuban rumor mill. In June, yet another ultimatum attributed to President Donald Trump resurfaced. The message spoke of a mere 96 hours for the Cuban leadership to hand over power to a supposed military force already prepared, and promised multimillion-dollar investments just three days after the political transition. The formula barely differs from other versions circulating for weeks: an imminent deadline, a spectacular outcome, and the promise of an immediate transformation of the national reality. The timeline changes, the protagonists are updated, but the structure remains intact.

Another widely shared story featured Raúl Castro. According to the message, the Communist Party had instructed publishers, media outlets, schools, and cultural institutions to abandon all references to Fidel Castro and concentrate all propaganda on exalting the general. The rumor exaggerated a verifiable reality to the point of absurdity: the growing media presence Raúl Castro has acquired in recent months, especially after being accused in the United States of murder for the downing of the Brothers to the Rescue planes. The former leader also recently turned 95, and his image is at the center of an intense official campaign to rehabilitate his legacy. As is often the case, a true observation ended up being transformed into a disproportionate theory.

Economic tensions also fueled another widely circulated rumor. A supposed presidential decree announced an absolute ban on the use of the US dollar in any transaction within the island, effective July 1st. The text carefully mimicked official language, invoked the defense of monetary sovereignty, and blamed the US currency for distortions in the domestic market. The story found fertile ground because it coincided with the confusion generated by the growing partial dollarization of the Cuban economy.

The figure of Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro, popularly known as El Cangrejo (The Crab) and grandson of Raúl Castro, also fell prey to the machinery of speculation. A video following the route of a private jet between Cuba, Cozumel, and Cancún fueled all sorts of theories about a supposed hasty exodus of fortunes linked to the ruling elite. The narrative connected flights, companies, front men, and potential asset restrictions in a puzzle where the most important pieces remained mere conjecture. Without sufficient public information about the movements of those within the inner circle of power, any movement ends up becoming fuel for suspicion.

As long as the State continues to consider public data as the exclusive property of those in power, the balls will continue to thrive.

The persistence of these stories reveals much more than the imagination of those who spread them. It speaks of a society accustomed to interpreting silences, reading between the lines, and distrusting official narratives. For decades, numerous momentous decisions, from economic reforms to immigration changes or leadership replacements, were preceded precisely by rumors that the authorities denied or ignored before confirming them with events.

In Cuba, the line between rumor and news has never been entirely clear. Not because speculation is necessarily true, but because official secrecy has ultimately transformed it into a collective tool for trying to anticipate the future. When information is scarce, uncertainty fills the available space. And as long as the State continues to consider public data the exclusive domain of those in power, rumors will continue to thrive.

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The Cuban Revolution Is Dead, but Its Funeral Is Being Unbearably Prolonged

Amid political prisoners, blackouts, and palace infighting, the fifth anniversary of ’11J’ confirms the regime’s final exhaustion.

Images from the July 11, 2021 social uprising in Havana. / Screenshot

14ymedio, Yunior García Aguilera, Madrid, July 11, 2026 – Five years after 11 July 2021, the Cuban Revolution is dead. The people know it, the military knows it, the leaders know it, and even the news anchor who puts makeup on the corpse every night knows it. The only thing missing is the burial. And that funeral is being unbearably prolonged because those who inherited the funeral home also possess the weapons, the prisons, and the keys to the cemetery.

The demonstrations of 11J did not bring down the regime, but they destroyed its narrative forever. That day it was not a “minority paid from Miami,” as the propaganda used to claim, that took to the streets. It was Cuba. The poor neighborhoods came out, the young people with no future, the exhausted mothers, the Black Cubans whom the government claims to have redeemed, and the workers to whom six decades of socialism have barely guaranteed the right to stand in line.

Five years later, Prisoners Defenders counts 1,306 political prisoners. Among them are 40 people who were detained while they were still minors, and 16 of them remain imprisoned in adult facilities. The project that promised to create a New Man has ended up imprisoning teenagers to keep a group of potbellied men in guayaberas in power.

Cuba reaches this anniversary in almost complete darkness. In 2026, the national electrical system has already suffered four total collapses, two of them in the same week leading up to 11J. Electricity has become a ghostly apparition: no one knows when it will arrive, how long it will last, or what sin must be atoned for to deserve it. The Government blames the embargo, fuel shortages, the heat, a breakdown, Trump, and when it runs out of culprits, even Thomas Edison for popularizing the light bulb.

The empty cooking pot has become the country’s most popular musical instrument. It requires no training, no sheet music, and no permission from the Ministry of Culture

But Cubans are no longer protesting solely to get the power back. In Central Havana, when electricity returned, some residents remained in the streets shouting: “We want freedom, not electricity.” That phrase reflects a decisive political evolution. For years, the regime sought to reduce every conflict to a material need. Hunger, but not rights. Misery, but never freedom. Now people are beginning to name the illness, not just its symptoms.

The pot-banging protests, blocked streets, and burning garbage are the noise of a society stretching the rope of fear another meter every day, and one that is on the verge of snapping it. The empty cooking pot has become the country’s most popular musical instrument. It requires no training, no sheet music, and no permission from the Ministry of Culture. Only exhaustion and a ladle.

The disastrous interview given by Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro did more than generate headlines. It caused a short circuit within the government itself. Suddenly, the guardians of orthodoxy started talking too much. The mother of Leticia Martínez, Díaz-Canel’s press chief, posted on Facebook what her daughter likely hears every day in the halls of the Palace. Without intending to, she ended up airing the conversations of the very power that has always demanded absolute silence from everyone else.

The late Ángel Castro watches from his grave as his descendants extended the fence around their properties to encompass the entire Island, turning an entire country into the family’s estate

The contrast was even more revealing. While Manuel Marrero, a political creation of Gaesa, hurried to defend López-Calleja’s son and assure everyone that everything was under control, Díaz-Canel remained in a silence that spoke volumes.

It was fascinating to watch the reaction of the courtiers. Israel Rojas, poet of the bulb and otherness, beat his chest lamenting how naïve he had been, as though he had just discovered that hereditary privilege existed in Cuba. Michel Torres Corona, the increasingly watered-down host of Con Filo, directed his attacks at El Cangrejo and Sandro Castro with a discourse that conveyed less moral indignation than class resentment. He did not seem scandalized that a revolutionary aristocracy existed. He seemed bothered that he was not part of it.

The scene was almost Shakespearean. The court jesters hasten to bow before the Crown, yet despise the royal princes. They swear loyalty to the kingdom while grumbling about its heirs. And in that theater of forced loyalties, the great truth that Castroism has spent decades trying to conceal was laid bare: the Revolution has become a hereditary monarchy that preserves the language of Marxism to justify the privileges of a dynasty.

A system whose international defenders can only invoke victimhood is no longer a “beacon” of anything, but a ruin shrouded in darkness.

In 1961, Fidel Castro asked whether the Revolution’s weapons were in the hands of the “sons of the rich” or the “young gentlemen.” Sixty-five years later, the question has returned like a boomerang, this time aimed at his own family. Those who bear his surname travel on yachts and private jets; they speak in Cuba’s name without ever having received a single vote; they move through the halls of power like the natural heirs to an estate. The late Ángel Castro watches from his grave as his descendants extended the fence around their properties to encompass the entire Island, turning an entire country into the family’s estate. No one can protest that vast landholding without risking imprisonment, exile, or being branded an enemy. It is the perfect estate.

A regime that must persecute and threaten young people and teenagers because it can no longer buy loyalty is not defending a cause: it is administering terror. A system whose international defenders can only invoke victimhood is no longer a “beacon” of anything, but a ruin shrouded in darkness. And a State whose own propaganda apparatus ends up leaking its palace quarrels on Facebook is no longer governing: it is broadcasting its own collapse live.

The Revolution is dead. Its corpse still occupies the ministries, gives orders, signs sentences, and appears on television made up like a zombie. But it stinks. And no matter how much ideological incense its priests burn, all of Cuba recognizes the stench. It is time to close the coffin, lower the body into the ground, and return Cuba to those who are still breathing, before the entire country ends up becoming a cemetery.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Five Years After 11J, the Regime Tightens Repression Amid Fears of a New Social Uprising

Cubalex reports a record 319 repressive incidents and 253 protests in June, the highest figure since it began monitoring in 2022.

The home of Wilber Aguilar, father of political prisoner Walnier Luis Aguilar, has remained under police surveillance since early July.

14ymedio, Madrid, July 11, 2026 – Five years after the massive protests of July 11, 2021, the Cuban State has responded with repressive measures and increased surveillance and militarization. The 14ymedio newsroom awoke this Saturday surrounded by a police patrol preventing its director, Yoani Sánchez, from leaving her home.

Surveillance has also been extended to other independent journalists, opposition figures, and relatives of political prisoners. This Saturday, journalist Camila Acosta, opposition leader Manuel Cuesta Morúa, and intellectual Roberto Veiga reported police operations. The Cuban Observatory for Human Rights also reported another operation outside the home of Wilber Aguilar, father of political prisoner Walnier Luis Aguilar. Although State Security repeats these control measures every year on this date, they now coincide with the worsening economic and political crisis affecting the Island and growing public discontent.

The 2021 protests erupted because of deteriorating living conditions during the pandemic, but from the outset they expressed political demands with slogans such as Patria y Vida, “Homeland and Life”, and Libertad, “Freedom.” The repression was brutal: at least one person was killed by gunfire during the demonstrations; more than 1,300 people were detained or prosecuted in connection with those events, according to various independent organizations, and seven political prisoners have died in custody, according to the NGO Cuba Archive.

Against this backdrop, the regime has intensified its surveillance and control measures in anticipation of the possibility of another social uprising.

Five years later, living conditions have deteriorated even further. The energy crisis has reached the point where people no longer speak of blackouts but of alumbrones, “light-ups”: brief intervals of electricity between more than 30 hours without power in Havana and up to 90 hours in some provincial areas. This is compounded by a water supply crisis that, according to the authorities themselves, affects more than 500,000 continue reading

residents of Havana. Against this backdrop, the regime has tightened surveillance and control measures in anticipation of another social uprising.

This Friday, the Government intensified its security preparations ahead of the anniversary. President Miguel Díaz-Canel chaired a meeting with military commanders in Havana’s Cerro municipality as part of National Defense Day activities. According to the State newspaper Granma, the meeting reviewed measures to preserve “internal order” in communities and protect strategic economic targets.

This newspaper confirmed that, beginning Friday night, police patrols and “cage trucks”—vehicles used to detain and transport so-called “agitators of public order”—were already circulating through the streets of Havana. During the July 11, 2021 protests, police even used garbage trucks for that purpose.

Cubalex documented a record 319 repressive incidents and a historic high of 253 protests during June, the highest figure since it began this monitoring in 2022

That atmosphere of tension was also reflected in Cubalex’s latest monthly report. The independent organization documented a record 319 repressive incidents and a historic high of 253 protests during June, the highest figure since it began monitoring in 2022. The report notes that “the days with the highest number of arbitrary detention incidents generally coincided with special operations and peaks in protests during the month.” At least 254 people were victims of repression. Nearly half were neither activists nor well-known opposition figures, but ordinary citizens who took part in demonstrations prompted by blackouts and worsening living conditions.

Havana accounted for 176 of those protests, followed by Santiago de Cuba with 35 and Villa Clara with seventeen. The cacerolazos, pot-banging protests, were increasingly frequent during the daytime as well as the main form of demonstration. The organization also documented the burning of garbage and tires, road blockades, stone-throwing at police stations and bank branches, as well as graffiti against the Government and Raúl Castro.

Cubalex also warns about the “deployment of undercover agents in Havana neighborhoods with the aim of identifying those who protested in previous days.”

Among the most frequent violations are police deployments for surveillance and control, arbitrary arrests, forced transfers, threats, and the denial of medical care to people deprived of their liberty. The report also notes an increase in harassment operations against independent journalists. Documented cases include the constant surveillance of Yoani Sánchez and Camila Acosta.

Cubalex also warns of the “deployment of undercover agents in Havana neighborhoods with the objective of identifying those who protested in previous days.”

In the organization’s view, “the deterioration of material living conditions and the increase in social discontent coincided with a State response focused on control, ‘state of war’ propaganda, and containing protests.”

The national electrical system suffered another total collapse this Friday, the second in a week, and more than 24 hours later authorities had still not fully restored service. The new collapse points to another day of prolonged blackouts across much of the country on this already tense date.

Despite police operations aimed at maintaining control, protests again broke out Friday night in several provinces. Videos shared on social media show dozens of residents in Mariel, Artemisa, burning piles of garbage while chanting “Freedom.” In San Miguel del Padrón, Havana, residents blocked Vía Blanca highway to protest the prolonged power outages.

This Friday, Cuban sociologist Ramón García Guerra also warned about tensions in his Santa Fe neighborhood. “After three days of protests against the Government’s neglect, the conflict in my neighborhood has escalated, and today a more violent confrontation between the police and the dissatisfied residents is expected,” he wrote on social media.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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11J, Five Years Later: Cuba’s Real Unfinished Revolution

**11J at Five: Cuba’s Real Unfinished Revolution..** Photo: REUTERS/Alexandre Meneghini

The Cuban American Voice, Julio M. Shiling, July 10, 2026 / Five years have passed since July 11, 2021 (11J), when thousands of Cubans took to the streets in the largest nationwide uprising since the establishment of the Castro-Communist dictatorship. The demonstrations shattered one of the regime’s most enduring myths: that the Cuban people had accepted communist rule. Instead, 11J exposed a nation exhausted by more than six decades of political repression, economic ruin, and systematic violations of fundamental human rights.

The events of 11J revealed two enduring realities. First, the overwhelming majority of Cubans are profoundly dissatisfied with the existing political system. The spontaneous nature of the demonstrations—erupting simultaneously across dozens of cities and towns without centralized leadership—demonstrated that discontent had reached every sector of society. Cubans marched not merely because of shortages of food, medicine, or electricity, but because they recognized that these hardships were symptoms of a deeper disease: an irredeemably failed totalitarian system.

Second, 11J confirmed that Castro-Communism can survive only through the continued exercise of state terrorism. The regime’s immediate response was not dialogue or reform but repression. Peaceful demonstrators were beaten, arbitrarily arrested, subjected to summary trials, and sentenced to extraordinarily harsh prison terms. Communist Cuba’s revolving door political prison system, according to Prisoners Defenders’ July report, holds the number at 1,306. Many of these are young people, women, and individuals who would never have faced prosecution in any civilized democratic society. Reports of torture, psychological abuse, denial of medical treatment, and inhumane prison conditions continue to emerge with alarming regularity.

The dictatorship’s reaction unfolded through three distinct, but complementary strategies designed to preserve its monopoly on power. The first was a brutal nationwide crackdown. Security forces, the Ministry of the Interior (MININT), state security agents, and pro-regime paramilitary groups rapidly suppressed the demonstrations through overwhelming force. The subsequent judicial process became an extension of political repression rather than an instrument of justice. During this period, questions also arose surrounding the unexplained deaths of numerous senior officials within the Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR) and MININT, events that have never received transparent public explanation.

The second strategy sought to neutralize the momentum generated by 11J through political manipulation. The proposed November 15 (15N) demonstrations organized by the Archipiélago movement initially appeared capable of becoming a second nationwide mobilization. Instead, the regime effectively penetrated, monitored, and ultimately neutralized the initiative through its extensive intelligence apparatus, depriving the opposition of the momentum that might have transformed 11J into a sustained civic movement.

The third response relied upon a familiar instrument that the Castro regime has repeatedly employed throughout its history: facilitating mass emigration. Through Nicaragua’s visa-free policy and migration routes through Central America and Mexico, hundreds of thousands of Cubans departed the island, with many ultimately entering the United States. This massive exodus relieved internal social pressure while simultaneously exporting the consequences of Cuba’s political failure abroad. The migration crisis became another mechanism for preserving the dictatorship rather than addressing the causes that compelled Cubans to flee.

Despite these efforts, the spirit of 11J has not disappeared. Smaller demonstrations have continued across the island during the past five years, particularly in response to prolonged blackouts, food shortages, and deteriorating living conditions. Having been caught by surprise in July 2021, however, the regime has adapted. Security services now intervene preemptively, deploying surveillance, preventive detentions, intimidation, internet restrictions, and rapid response forces to prevent localized protests from evolving into another nationwide uprising. Repression has become more sophisticated but no less brutal.

Meanwhile, the contrast between Cuba’s ruling elite and ordinary citizens grows increasingly stark. The regime has evolved into what many scholars describe as a sultanistic kleptocracy centered around an extended ruling family and a narrow political aristocracy. While ordinary Cubans endure chronic scarcity, collapsing infrastructure, and near-total economic despair, those connected to the centers of power continue to enjoy privileged access to wealth, imported goods, exclusive facilities, and opportunities unavailable to the overwhelming majority of the population. The ideological rhetoric of equality has long since given way to an unmistakable reality of political privilege.

Beyond Cuba’s borders, the dictatorship remains a source of regional instability. Successive American administrations have recognized that the Castro regime presents challenges extending beyond the island itself. Havana continues to serve as an important hub for anti-democratic movements throughout Latin America while maintaining close strategic relationships with China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea. Cuba’s intelligence services have historically exercised influence well beyond the country’s size, making the island a strategic platform for geopolitical rivals seeking greater influence in the Western Hemisphere.

Today, the regime increasingly speaks of economic “reforms” while carefully avoiding any discussion of genuine political liberalization. Such proposals misunderstand—or deliberately obscure—the nature of Cuba’s crisis. The fundamental problem is not economic but political. Economic adjustments administered by a totalitarian state cannot produce meaningful freedom, justice, or national reconciliation. Without independent courts, free elections, freedom of expression, private property protected by law, and genuine constitutional government, economic tinkering merely prolongs dictatorial rule. A system built upon absolute political control cannot be reformed through administrative modifications alone.

As America commemorates the 250 th anniversary of its struggle for independence, history offers an instructive reminder. The United States did not secure its liberty in isolation. French military intervention proved decisive at Yorktown, while Spanish financial assistance also contributed materially to the American cause. This is just one example of foreign intervention that substantively benefited the United States. It can well be argued and should be remembered by Washington that without French military help, America likely would have ended up like Canada. Successful struggles for freedom quite often depend on the support of democratic allies willing to confront tyranny.

The Cuban people have already demonstrated their desire for freedom. They did so courageously on July 11, 2021, and they continue to demonstrate it through their daily resistance despite extraordinary risks. Five years later, the lesson of 11J remains unmistakable. Cuba’s dictatorship never had the consent of its people, as a democracy demands. It governs only through fear, coercion, and repression. The unfinished task before the democratic world is not to encourage cosmetic reforms that prolong Castro-Communism, but to support the restoration of liberty, justice, constitutional government, and national sovereignty for the Cuban people.

In an Operation Similar to That of Otero Alcántara, the Cuban Regime Takes Maykel Osorbo out of Kilo 8 Prison

The rapper and activist has been transferred to the maximum security prison in Guanajay.

Osorbo, arrested at his home on May 18, 2021, faces a nine-year sentence for contempt, assault, public disorder, and “defamation of institutions and organizations, heroes and martyrs.” / Facebook

14ymedio, Madrid, July 10, 2026 / Rapper and activist Maykel Castillo Osorbo was transferred to the maximum security prison of Guanajay this Friday, three days after the Cuban regime carried out a similar operation with the artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, whose whereabouts are unknown.

“We have learned, through a supportive source, that Maykel Castillo was released today from Kilo 8 prison in Pinar del Río, where he had been held since January of this year,” art historian Anamely Ramos, a member of the San Isidro Movement (MSI) like the two political prisoners, initially reported on her social media. In that post, the activist also denounced that the artist’s whereabouts were still unknown.

Hours later, Ramos confirmed that Osorbo had made a call informing them where he had been transferred. “Maykel already called. They took him to the maximum-security prison in Guanajay. They’re macabre,” the activist declared, pointing to the Cuban regime in that last sentence.

Ramos is the only person who has had contact with Otero Alcántara, via telephone, this Friday. Through a State Security mobile phone , the MSI leader told her that he was “fine,” but that he didn’t know where he was.

Everything points to the regime’s objective, which has increased repression in the lead-up to the anniversary of the July 11, 2021 demonstrations, being a “double exile”

In the post where she shared this information, Ramos explained that the parole request for Otero Alcántara to travel to the United States was still “in process” and that the artist would be “in that unknown location until it is resolved.” And she asserted: “Luis’s friends are doing everything within our power. The Cuban regime wants him out. The regime has taken over our country and is using us all to secure its possession.”

Everything points to the regime’s objective, which has intensified repression in the lead-up to the anniversary of the 11 July 2021 protests, being a “double exile.” The fact that Osorbo, unlike Otero Alcántara, will not serve his nine-year prison sentence until 2030 only serves to confirm the arbitrary way in which this dictatorship operates.

The sentence of Otero Alcántara, arrested on 11 July before he could participate in the demonstrations and sentenced to five years, expired this Thursday. Osorbo, arrested at his home on May 18, 2021, is serving a nine-year sentence for contempt, assault, public disorder, and “defamation of institutions and organizations, heroes, and martyrs.”

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The Cuban Government Amends Foreign Investment Regulations to Speed Up Approval Times

The new rules mainly affect the required documentation and require many issues to be resolved more quickly.

MCV Comercial is a joint venture between the Cuban State and Mercedes-Benz that has operated in Cuba for decades. / 14ymedio

EFE/14ymedio, Havana, July 10, 2026 – The Government published a set of regulations on Thursday amending the implementing rules of the 2014 Foreign Investment Law. Most of the changes are technical in nature and affect deadlines and document formalization, with the aim of “streamlining the processes for evaluating, approving, and operating the various forms of foreign investment.”

Decree 153/2026 modifies the procedure for submitting foreign investment opportunities and updates the rules governing the promotion of foreign investment. It also establishes new requirements for submitting foreign investment business proposals, regulates partnership agreements for the creation of joint ventures, and sets deadlines for the evaluation and approval of foreign investment applications.

The regulation, signed by Prime Minister Manuel Marrero, eliminates some intermediate procedures by repealing articles that required additional consultation and documentation steps, which should, in principle, reduce bureaucracy and speed up the process. continue reading

The regulation eliminates some intermediate procedures by repealing articles that required additional consultation and documentation steps, which should, in principle, reduce bureaucracy

The new rules state that applications accepted by the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment are forwarded to the Foreign Investment Business Evaluation Commission, which must evaluate them within seven business days.

If the Commission requests revisions, applicants will have seven calendar days to make the required changes and submit the revised proposal.

Applications requiring approval by the Council of State are submitted by the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment through the Council of Ministers, and decisions approving or rejecting the applications must be issued within 60 calendar days.

Other decisions, such as increases or decreases in capital without changes in share ownership, must be made within 15 business days, while decisions approving or denying the incentive fund must be issued within seven business days.

Proposals submitted by parties seeking to establish businesses must include an application for approval accompanied by the business plan endorsement, corporate bylaws, the business plan itself, proposed Cuban executives for management bodies, a list of import and export products, and any other documents required by the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment.

Foreign investors’ business plans must include, among other documents, a certificate from the commercial registry of their country of origin issued no more than one year earlier, valid bank references, financial statements for the most recent fiscal year certified by an independent entity, a letter of sponsorship from the parent company if the investor is a branch or subsidiary, and legalized powers of attorney.

Domestic investors are required to submit a certificate from the investor’s governing or management body, documentation certifying the company’s registration and corporate purpose, as well as financial statements for the most recent fiscal year.

Decree 153 marks the third amendment to the regulations since their approval in 2014, following changes made in 2018 and 2019, and is linked to the recent package of economic and social reforms

Decree 153 marks the third amendment to the regulations since their approval in 2014, following changes made in 2018 and 2019, and is linked to the recent package of 176 economic and social reform measures aimed at liberalizing and decentralizing the Cuban economy.

On Wednesday, in an analysis by the consulting firm Auge, which has advised foreign investors interested in Cuba for years, the firm stated that, based on its experience, the announced reforms represent a good opportunity for companies that have already been operating on the Island for years.

However, it advises those who do not yet have businesses in Cuba to wait and closely monitor developments over the coming months, given the current uncertainty. “The combination of tighter sanctions and the energy crisis means that the risk-return equation remains unfavorable. Waiting for conditions to improve is not a bad strategy; it is a prudent one,” Auge warned.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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