Translating Cuba

Colombian Prosecutors Reactivate Arrest Warrants for ELN Peace Negotiators Protected by Cuba

Since the guerrillas began attacks against the 33rd Front of the FARC dissidents, some 80 people have been killed in Catatumbo

Colombian President Gustavo Petro, left, wearing a cap, during a Security Council meeting in Tibú, Norte de Santander. / EFE / Presidency of Colombia

EFE/14ymedio, Bogotá/Madrid, 22 January 2025 — The Colombian Attorney General’s Office has decided to reactivate the arrest warrants against peace negotiators from the National Liberation Army (ELN) after Colombian President Gustavo Petro ordered the suspension of talks due to the “war crimes” that the guerrilla group is committing in Catatumbo.

“Failure to comply with the conditions for the suspension of arrest warrants and, in particular, the commission of new crimes by members of the ELN, gives rise to reactivating the arrest warrants suspended at the time at the request of the president,” states a resolution issued by the Attorney General, Luz Adriana Camargo.

The Prosecutor’s Office had lifted the orders against 31 members of the ELN, including members of its leadership, alias Antonio García, Pablo Beltrán or Aureliano Carbonell, so that in November 2022 peace negotiations with the Petro Government would resume. The guerrilla leaders have moved in recent years between Venezuela and Cuba, a country that hosted these talks between 2018 and 2019, the year in which they were frozen.

The relationship between Havana and the ELN leadership is, in fact, at the origin of Cuba’s inclusion on the United States’ list of countries sponsoring terrorism in 2021.

The relationship between Havana and the ELN leadership is, in fact, at the origin of Cuba’s inclusion on the United States’ list of countries sponsoring terrorism in 2021, during the first administration of Donald Trump. Inclusion on the list was at the request of Colombia, because the island refused to extradite members of the guerrilla group who were on its continue reading

territory. The talks had been stalled after an attack by that guerrilla group against the Police School in Bogotá in January 2019, where 23 people died and nearly a hundred were injured.

Negotiations were formally suspended on Friday by order of Petro, after the ELN launched an offensive against a FARC dissident group in Catatumbo the day before, which has left more than 80 dead, including social leaders and peace signatories, and has led to the displacement of 32,000 people, as well as kidnappings and confinements.

The revocation of the benefits of suspension of arrest warrants, according to the Prosecutor’s Office, responds to “the seriousness of the criminal acts” perpetrated by the guerrillas.

“The violence unleashed since January 16, which led to the current humanitarian tragedy and multiple crimes, in addition to putting at risk the lives and integrity of the civilian population, social leaders, signatories of the peace agreement and their families, was attributed on social network X to the ELN through one of its top leaders, Eliécer Herlinto Chamorro Acosta, alias ’Antonio García’,” the prosecuting agency explained in a statement.

The ombudsman, Iris Marín, said yesterday that the number of displaced people after six days of offensive rose to 32,000

The ombudsman, Iris Marín, said yesterday that the number of displaced people after six days of offensive rose to 32,000, with half of them in Cúcuta, the capital of the department of Norte de Santander, to which Catatumbo belongs.

Since the ELN began attacks against the 33rd Front of the FARC dissidents, some 80 people have been killed in Catatumbo, according to figures from the Government of Norte de Santander, including at least six of the signatories of the 2016 peace agreement.

However, Marín said yesterday that the Institute of Legal Medicine has received only 35 lifeless bodies, of which two have not yet been identified.

This is because the situation in many rural areas remains uncertain due to the fact that access is not possible, even by the Military Forces, who are limiting themselves to delivering humanitarian aid and rescuing injured or at-risk people.

The humanitarian and security crisis in Catatumbo was announced by various authorities, including the Ombudsman’s Office, which on November 15, through its early warning system, warned of “the risk situation” for the civilian population due to the presence and threats of illegal armed groups.

Given the situation, the president announced on Monday that he was going to declare a state of internal unrest and an economic emergency, measures for which he has not yet issued the decrees.

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Independent Cuban Media Unite To Demand the Release of All Political Prisoners

Together, the participating media created the #TODOS platform, a tool based on data journalism that makes releases visible

The #TODOS website complements and amplifies the monitoring carried out by activists and civil society organizations. / #TODOS platform

14ymedio, Havana, 21 January 2025 — A coalition of independent Cuban media outlets is making the #TODOS [ALL] platform available to its audiences, a tool based on data journalism that highlights the releases of political prisoners starting in January 2025.

This website complements and amplifies the monitoring of the process carried out by participating media, activists and civil society organizations such as the Cuban Observatory of Human Rights, Prisoners Defenders, Justicia 11J and Cubalex.

The reports of those released are recorded in a database that includes confirmed information from the monitoring civil society organizations have been methodically carrying out for years. The number of political prisoners documented after comparing the records of different civil society organizations so far totals 1,396 people. The list is considered an under-registration, since there may be prisoners who have not made their complaint public. The organizations are constantly working to update this continue reading

data.

The resulting support allows for the generation of statistical analyses that reveal trends and audit the official account of releases.

The resulting support allows for statistical analyses that reveal trends and audit the official narrative on releases.

The first conclusion that emerges is that the 553 people that the Cuban regime assured its foreign interlocutors it would “release” were not all prosecuted for political reasons. It was suspected that this would be the case when the official statement referred to the beneficiaries of the measure as “prisoners for various reasons”; but this independent record will allow us to see to what extent those detained for political reasons are included, in scenarios before, during and after the social outbreak on 11 July 2021.

The data compiled also show that this is not a “release” but rather a process of leaving prison under legal figures such as “conditional release” and “extra-penal leave,” which oblige those convicted to maintain what the authorities consider “good conduct” as a guarantee of their not being returned to detention centers.

Citizen support is also important to identify released prisoners who do not appear in the records.

It is possible to appreciate that the great majority of those released had served more than half of their sentences, and therefore were entitled to benefits such as those now presented by official propaganda as an exceptional humanitarian act. Likewise, one can observe the frequent use of crimes such as contempt, disobedience and sedition to politically channel citizens who participated in public protests or actively opposed the Communist Party.

#TODOS takes its title from the way in which hundreds of Cuban citizens demand on social media that all politically prosecuted persons be released, and not just a small group. Citizen support is also important in identifying those released from prison who do not appear in the records, which can be done through a form included on the website.

The initiative, initially composed of 14ymedio, Alas Tensas , Árbol Invertido, CiberCuba, El Estornudo, El Toque, Havana Times, La Hora de Cuba, Periodismo de Barrio and Rialta, extends its invitation to other media and projects that wish to join and contribute to the expansion of this tool, which will be relevant as long as there is one person imprisoned in Cuba for their political ideas and actions.

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Cuba’s State Telecommunications Monopoly, Etecsa, Blames Foreign Websites That ‘Clone’ Its Offers for Its Shortage of Dollars

The president of the state monopoly paints a bleak picture of the deterioration of its facilities

By the end of 2024, more than 28,000 landline customers were experiencing service interruptions / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Havana, 19 January 2025 — Despite the precariousness of the facilities, mobile telephony and internet access are essential services for millions of customers in Cuba. However, according to an assessment made by its directors, the state monopoly Etecsa does not have the means, much less the budget, to deal with the increase in network traffic or the breakdowns in its equipment.

Etecsa’s first problem, said its president Tania Velázquez at a press conference last Thursday, is its radio base stations. Of the 5,600 that exist in the country, which are responsible for replicating the telephone signal, half do not have generators. That is, when there is a power outage, they stop working and, due to the traffic overload in the rest of the bases, the connections slow down.

As if that were not enough, 10% of these systems “have faulty parts and components, which have not been able to be repaired or acquired due to a lack of financial resources,” the company said in a statement.

So how does Etecsa deal with the more than 8 million Cubans connected to the network, of whom 95% have internet access? The answer is not known even by the executives themselves, who assure that “in 2024, income from abroad was barely 10% of what the company needs” to stay afloat. continue reading

“In 2024, income from abroad was barely 10% of what the company needs”

In fact, Nauta Hogar’s home internet service has been installed in just 30,000 homes in the last four years. “Despite having plans to expand internet service to homes, the lack of financial resources prevented progress in the investments necessary for the growth and maintenance of the network,” the company justified.

Fixed telephony is not going through its best moment either. By the end of 2024, more than 28,000 customers were suffering from “interruptions in service and the delay in their resolution, due to the lack of resources and technological obsolescence.” However, Etecsa says that the responsibility does not fall entirely on its shoulders: there are “other damages to the public network, whether due to vandalism or actions by third parties.”

The company even goes a step further and blames the low foreign currency earnings on foreign websites that profit from their mobile data and call-minute offers. “Although investments have been significant in the last decade, their pace of execution has decreased since 2022 due to the decrease in foreign currency earnings, directly related to the evolution of the illegal exchange rate,” it alleges.

“Since this fact, fraud channels have proliferated that allow payments to be made in dollars from websites located outside Cuba, which clone Etecsa’s offers and which are then converted into pesos taking advantage of the difference in the currency exchange rate,” explains the company, which estimates its losses due to these sites at “hundreds of millions of dollars.”

The millions that are escaping also have an impact on the “sustainability of the company and the contributions it makes to the country”

The millions that are escaping also have an impact on the “sustainability of the company and the contributions it makes to the country.” Recently, following a fine received by the telecommunications company for not using the entire budget in Cuban pesos allocated by the State for 2024 – a defunct fund when it comes to investments and the purchase of equipment in dollars – the executives found the solution to all of its problems: dollarizing part of its services .

“We were fined because when last year’s accounts were done, millions of pesos remained unused. The problem is that there was no way to use them, because you can’t buy anything with them that is needed to make repairs or new installations,” Moisés, an Etecsa administrator in Old Havana, told 14ymedio.

The surplus was distributed as profits to the workers, and, to avoid falling into the same problem, Etecsa has begun to plan the way to sell certain services in “hard currency.” “Several scenarios have been evaluated, and so far the one that will probably be implemented is to limit the number of recharges that the same client can make in national currency; after a certain amount or monthly quantity they will have to buy the telephone recharge in dollars,” the administrator clarified. “Along with the modality that we already have of recharges from abroad, the purchase in national territory will be enabled, directly in dollars or with a Classic card.”

Officially, the company has not yet announced any changes, but customers have already been warned: “We are working on creating the conditions for the start of these actions, which will be reported and explained when they are ready,” Tania Velázquez added without further details on Thursday.

Officially, the company has not yet announced any changes, but customers are already warned

The few lines that define Etecsa’s future plans are buried by the few achievements that the company considers positive from 2024: greater use of payment platforms such as Transfermóvil and Monedero, the increase in mobile phone users and ensuring connection in scientific, educational, health, domestic trade and banking institutions.

Regarding the submarine cable installed by the French company Orange in Arimao (Cienfuegos), the development of which has become a sort of state secret, Velázquez limited himself to saying that “it is a well-executed and well-functioning project, through which not only the increase in internet access capacity has been guaranteed, but also the diversification of Cuba’s international connection routes.”

This is not in line with the perception of users, who have noticed a deterioration in internet access and a reduction in speed since the protests of 11 July 2021 [’11J’].

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The Regime Grants Parole to Pedro Albert Sánchez and Releases Félix Navarro

From left to right, activists Pedro Albert Sánchez and Félix Navarro / Collage

14ymedio/EFE, Havana, 18 January 2025 — Cuba granted parole to professor and activist Pedro Albert Sánchez, named a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International. He had received a five-year sentence for contempt and public disorder after participating in the July 2021 protests, the NGO Justice 11J reported this Friday. The dissident, who since the end of 2024 had a license to serve his sentence at home because of his state of health – he suffers from cancer and is almost 70 years old – said on social networks that he refused to sign the notification about his conditional liberty.

Sánchez said that an agent visited him on Thursday at his home in the capital to let him know about the change. “It would be accepting that I committed a crime, and that didn’t happen,” he said.

Pedro Albert Sánchez is one of the Cubans declared a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International (AI), who have been released or have obtained some penal benefit after Washington’s decision to remove the Island from the list of countries that sponsor terrorism. The leader of the Patriotic Union of Cuba (Unpacu), José Daniel Ferrer, and activist Donaida Pérez have also been released from prison.

14ymedio confirmed the release of political prisoner Félix Navarro (2nd from Right) from Agüica prison, in Matanzas, this Saturday / OCDH

14ymedio also confirmed the departure from Agüica prison, in Matanzas, this Saturday, of political prisoner Félix Navarro. The Cuban Observatory of Human Rights (OCDH) had already reported that the authorities contacted his wife, Sonia Álvarez, to announce his release. continue reading

“Félix is on his way home,” Annia Zamora, mother of political prisoner Sissi Abascal – sentenced to six years in prison – and close to Navarro’s family, told this newspaper. Zamora also said she had no news of the opponent’s daughter, Sayli Navarro Álvarez or of Abascal, who share a prison, but said she was excited about the release of her “guide” and friend from prison.

Navarro and his daughter were sentenced to nine and eight years in prison, respectively, just for going out to demonstrate on 11J in Matanzas, where he lives.

Brenda Díaz, the trans protester sentenced to 14 years in prison for her participation in the protests of July 11, 2021 and forced to remain in a men’s prison, was also released. In an image shared on social networks by journalist Luz Escobar, Díaz appears with her mother, Ana Mary García, who during her daughter’s years in prison demanded her release and denounced the unfair treatment of the authorities.

Most of the prisoners who have been released participated in the spontaneous demonstrations of 11J, according to the OCDH. The Cuban government has publicized the names of all 553 prisoners but announced that their releases will be progressive. However, it affirmed that 127 Cubans have been released so far. The figure contrasts with the six political prisoners registered by the OCDH.

According to Justicia 11J and Prisoners Defenders, all the beneficiaries were given a conditional release from prison, instead of being pardoned, something that they perceive negatively because the sentence is not extinguished. These two NGOs, as well as the OCDH and Cubalex, regretted that the measure did not include all the political prisoners, in addition to considering the way they were released as a double-edged sword.

In this regard, the vice-president of the Supreme People’s Court (TSP) of Cuba, Maricela Sosa, confirmed that these prisoners have not been pardoned or given amnesty, but, technically, they were released from prison for meeting certain criteria. Also, if they do not fulfill some requirements until the end of their sentence, such as “good behavior,” “they can return to prison.”

Compared to the 553 people that the Cuban authorities are going to release from prison, Prisoners Defenders registered at the end of 2024 a total of 1,161 political prisoners in Cuba. Justice 11J computes the sentenced 11J demonstrators at 549.

This is the first release of prisoners in Cuba since 2019, when the authorities pardoned 2,604 prisoners. The previous release occurred in 2015, when a total of 3,522 prisoners were released as a “humanitarian gesture” before the visit of Pope Francis.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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The CBP One ‘App’ That Allowed Cubans To Enter the United States Has Been Canceled

Trump announced in his inaugural address his plans to carry out mass deportations and militarize the border

Migrants in line, October 31, in the Mexican city of Tapachula / EFE / Juan Manuel Blanco

EFE/14ymedio, Washington/Madrid, 20 January 2025 — The CBP One mobile application, which allowed migrants from Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua and Haiti to enter the United States through Mexico, stopped working this Monday, according to the Office of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on its website.

The President of the United States, Donald Trump, who took office on Monday, had already advanced in his inaugural speech his plans to carry out mass deportations and militarize the border.

Through CBP One, migrants who were in Mexican territory could fill out a form with their data and request an appointment to present themselves at an entrance post on the southern border.

The announcement on the CBP website, which refers to migrants in transit in Mexico as “undocumented foreigners,” also warned that the “scheduled” appointments have now been canceled.

Through this application, which started working in January 2023, more than 930,000 people presented themselves at the ports of entry

Through this application, which began operating in January 2023, more than 930,000 people presented themselves at the ports of entry for the authorities to process their cases, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

In December, the last time official data were published, about 44,000 people entered the United States under this process, although no Cubans. Since the program was established, a total of 110,970 citizens of the Island have accessed US territory through the application, which allocated 1,450 spaces every day for seven ports of entry at the border. continue reading

The program was created by Joe Biden’s government as a strategy to control migration across the border, as well as to stop irregular crossings, although in recent months they have been declining. The collapse in the numbers came after the accusations of fraud reported between last July and August.

On July 6, the program was suspended for Venezuelans and days later for other nationalities, until the necessary changes were introduced. Among the irregularities detected in the system were blank forms, phones that did not work, postal codes that did not exist, social security numbers of dead people, repeated texts in thousands of requests and people who presented their documents more than once.

In August, the delivery of sponsors’ fingerprints and a more thorough review of applicants became mandatory, which reactivated the mechanism. For the US Congress, the program promoted by the Biden Government was a “disaster plagued with fraud.”

The process was in turn harshly criticized by human rights organizations, who pointed out that the application restricted access to asylum on the southern border and forced migrants to wait in Mexico, exposed to the violence of the cartels.

“We will begin the process of returning the millions of foreign criminals back to where they came from”

Among other measures, Trump promised on Monday to invoke the law of “foreign enemies” that was enacted in 1798, declare a national emergency on the southern border of the United States and designate Mexican cartels as terrorist organizations.

These measures pave the way for Trump to fulfill his electoral promises to carry out the largest campaign of migrant deportations in history and prevent the passage of migrants and asylum seekers on the border with Mexico.

“We will begin the process of returning the millions of foreign criminals back to where they came from,” the Republican said in front of legislators, politicians and businessmen of technology companies who were present during his inauguration at the Capitol.

During his presidential campaign, Trump stigmatized the migrants who arrived in the United States in recent years, calling them “criminals,”
despite the multiple studies that have shown that people born abroad break the law in a lower percentage than those born in the United States.

The Foreign Enemies Act, enacted in 1798, allows the Government to expel outsiders without due process of law and was used during the Government of Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933-1945) to create internment camps for citizens of Japanese origin in the United States.

“I will send troops to the southern border to end the disastrous invasion of the southern border”

In his speech, Trump promised to use this law so that his government “uses all federal and state forces” to eliminate “the presence of foreign gangs and criminal networks that bring devastation to the United States.”

Regarding the border with Mexico, Trump indicated that he will declare a state of “national emergency” to stop the irregular entry of migrants and restore the policy known as “Stay in Mexico,” established during his previous administration, which forced asylum seekers to wait in the neighboring country while their cases were being processed.

“I will send troops to the southern border to end the disastrous invasion of the southern border,” said the president, adding in turn that he plans to declare the Mexican cartels “terrorist organizations.”

Trump is expected to sign almost a hundred executive orders this afternoon, including several focused on migration management

Translated by Regina Anavy

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CFR Fund Accuses the Cuban Government of Prolonging the Judicial Process in London to Delay the Payment of its Debt

The investment fund sent a letter to Cuban President Díaz-Canel with a proposal to stagger payments

The National Bank of Cuba has filed an appeal in the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom. / supremecourt.uk

14ymedio, Madrid, 20 January 2025 — Until last Saturday, it was not known that the National Bank of Cuba (BNC) had appealed to the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom the ruling in favor of the investment fund CRF I Limited, which is claiming a debt of more than 72 million euros. The Miami channel Telemundo 51 announced on Saturday that the appeal was filed on December 18 and that the creditor sent a letter to Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel in which it proposed an agreement – whose deadline for acceptance expired this Sunday – to settle the matter, renouncing the judicial route.

“We write with disappointment to note that your legal representatives are continuing to pursue this matter before the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom,” the document begins. In the letter, the fund states that so far the courts have ruled in its favor and that, while the appeal is clearly legitimate, “it appears to serve little purpose, beyond prolonging the process, increasing costs for all parties and leaving Cuba’s access to international financial markets severely restricted.”

“It appears to serve little purpose, beyond prolonging the process, increasing costs for all parties and leaving Cuba’s access to international financial markets severely restricted.”

In order to satisfy the claim, CRF is making an offer to settle the claim quickly – although stressing that it is confident that the courts would again rule in its favor – which appears in an attached document. According to Telemundo 51, the agreement basically consists of the immediate payment of 40 million pounds into a British account determined by the fund and the creation of a new loan mechanism that will allow the remaining amount to be restructured without interest for five years.

In the letter, CRF warns that with the arrival of Donald Trump to the presidency of the United States “the global panorama is likely to change, potentially closing the current window of opportunity for a negotiated agreement.” The fund asked Díaz-Canel to reflect on the proposal and, if he considers it appropriate, to make a counteroffer as part of a negotiation to continue reading

resolve the situation as soon as possible. In addition, the Cuban president was asked to designate a contact to carry out the conversations if he agreed, insisting that the agreement should be finalized on January 19, 2025.

“We are confident that a mutually beneficial solution is within reach, one that resolves CRF’s claims while signaling to the global financial community Cuba’s willingness to engage constructively with its creditors,” the document insists.

Telemundo 51 consulted with an expert, economist Luis R. Luis, a contributor to 14ymedio, who questioned whether the Cuban government would accept this path to conciliation. “Knowing that they have a low availability of foreign currency and assets, and also the fact that, in general, they do not give in very easily, I imagine that they will not agree to negotiate this offer. It is simply speculation, but I would say that this will probably not advance in that direction,” he indicated.

“Knowing that they have a low availability of currencies and assets, and also the fact that, in general, they do not give in very easily, I imagine that they will not agree.”

The case between CRF and the Cuban regime stems from loans taken out in 1984 with Credit Lyonnais and Istituto Banco Italiano and then transferred to ICBC Standard Bank (the British subsidiary of the Chinese bank ICBC). CRF, a fund created in 2009 in the Cayman Islands, acquired this debt, valued at more than 72 million euros, in 2019 and attempted to contact the Cuban side to collect it.

The version defended by the Cuban State is that CRF, which it calls a vulture fund, obtained the debt in an invalid manner, since the then director of operations of the BNC, Raúl Olivera Lozano, signed the operation without following the “appropriate internal processes,” which is why he is in prison.

The BNC also argued that it did not receive the notice required by contract for the reallocation of the debt and, consequently, rejects that CRF is the legitimate owner of the debt.

The legal process began in January 2023 in London, and the first ruling, issued by Judge Sara Cockerill in April, determined that the BNC was responsible for the debt. The entity is currently a commercial bank, but until 1997 it acted as the Central Bank of Cuba (BCC) and continued to be responsible for the registration, control and service of the debt it had placed until the creation of the BCC, for which it was sued.

The judge concluded that CRF could claim payment not from the State, but from the BNC, a decision that was presented as a victory by the regime but which, in practice, meant the same thing, since ultimately the entity is state-owned. In addition, the ruling indicated that CRF was a legitimate creditor.

The BNC appealed the ruling to an appeals court, but in November 2024 the British court again ruled in favor of the fund. “This unanimous decision is a fundamental milestone in our efforts to achieve justice and enforce contractual rights,” said Jeet Gordhandas, a representative of CRF.

Havana remained silent for several days, and finally the BCN issued a statement stating that it was analyzing “its defense position for the next steps to follow,” in addition to ratifying “its firm will for dialogue and unwavering respect for the debts that have been contracted legitimately.”

Havana remained silent for several days and finally the BCN issued a statement stating that it was analyzing “its defense position for the next steps to follow.”

The entity now, unless – unlikely – it has accepted the agreement, hopes that the Supreme Court will rule in its favor in a trial that could take a long time to be held. “The facts are clear: Cuba borrowed these sums and did not comply with its payment obligations, a constant pattern in its dealings,” CFR said last November, before attempting to collect through its proposal without exhausting, like the other party, the legal route.

This weekend it became known that Cuba has managed to renegotiate its debt with the Paris Club, the amount of which – in the latest report from 2022 – amounted to 4.827 billion dollars.

In addition, the island also has a debt of approximately 2 billion euros with Spain, the collection of which is “difficult to resolve,” according to Israel Arroyo, Secretary of State for Economy and Business Support, speaking this November. The regime has reached several agreements in recent years to reduce the amounts, including that owed to China, which in 2011 forgave 6 billion dollars; Mexico, 487 million forgiven in 2013; and Russia, which in 2014 reduced the island’s debt by 90%, leaving the 35 billion it owed to just 3.5 billion that it had to pay in agreed installments.

According to the latest official debt data, corresponding to 2020, Cuba has 19.743 billion dollars of external debt, of which 11.202 correspond to official debt, 2.737 to bank debt and 5.804 to debt with suppliers.

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Due to Shortages of Cattle and Chickens, Slaughterhouses in Holguin, Cuba, are Cutting Staff

Meat deboning at a plant in Mayarí, Holguín. / Trabajadores

14ymedio, Miguel García, Holguin, 20 January 2025 — Employees of state-owned companies in Holguín are going through uncertain times. The successive staff reductions seem to have no end and another cut is expected in the month of February. The most affected entities are those linked to food production and processing, hit by low agricultural and livestock production, sources in the sector confirmed to 14ymedio.

“Every time I go to work I think that it will be the last day I will go.” With more than 20 years at the Felipe Fuentes Fernández Meat Combine, belonging to the Holguín Meat Company, Gerardo, age 45, is one of the most veteran employees of the state entity. However, his permanence in his position hangs by a thread. “Last year there was a staff reduction and they already announced another one for February. Right now we are about 200 workers and that number could be halved.”

The reason for the staff cuts is “the low number of animals to process,” Gerardo says. “We spent almost all of last year with our arms crossed because we weren’t getting any cattle. During that time, they put us to mow green areas and do beautification work in the surroundings, but the meat itself, we hardly touched it.”

In 2023 alone, more than 7,400 heads of cattle were lost in the province due to theft and illegal slaughter

The company receives mainly cattle farmers from Holguín must deliver as part of their commitments with the state monopoly Acopio. Although the quantity is agreed upon at the beginning of each year, it is increasingly continue reading

common for producers to fail to comply with the agreement and justify their cuts based on the drought, the lack of animal feed and the scourge of theft and illegal slaughter of their livestock.

In 2023 alone, more than 7,400 heads of cattle were lost in the province due to theft and illegal slaughter, according to data provided by the local newspaper ¡Ahora!. In total, taking into account other factors such as terrain conditions, diseases and feed, of the 307,053 heads that the province had in January of that year, 38,319 were culled in just eleven months.

Of these cattle “discounted” from the provincial inventory, 19% corresponded to crimes of theft and illegal slaughter, while 52% were classified as deaths due to different factors. This resulted in the loss of almost three million tons of meat and more than 4.5 million liters of milk that could have been dedicated to the population’s consumption.

“Our company supplies tourists, maternity homes and hospitals,” Gerardo continues. “When the animals arrive, they are separated into ’prime cattle’ for hotels and those for social orders, but now we lack cattle for both destinations, so most of the hotels in this province are stocking up on imported products that give them more stability in supply and higher quality, while we cannot meet our social commitments either.”

“During that time without animals, we painted, we did maintenance, we looked like a construction brigade”

“During that time without animals, we painted, we did maintenance, we looked like a construction brigade instead of workers from a place where pot roast, mincemeat, ribs, steaks and even bones are produced.” Towards the end of last year “a few animals came in, all quite thin, because the guajiros say they have almost no food to give them. On the days when we received the most, there were 15 or 20 cows, when a few years ago there were more than 100 each day.”

The discontent over the cuts in the workforce is worsening at the Combinado because “they are not reducing the administrative and management staff equally, here they are removing workers from the corrals, refrigerators, slaughterhouse and packing plant areas but in the offices no one has been touched. The bureaucrats will remain in their chairs and those of us in the production area are the most affected.”

Another of the state-owned companies that is failing on all sides and preparing to cut staff is the main poultry slaughterhouse in the province, located in San Rafael Adentro, at kilometer 5 and a half on the Mayarí highway. “This company never had 15 workers,” says Yaquelín, one of the employees who expects to be removed from the workforce in a few days, when the new layoffs are announced.

“We belong to the Ministry of Agriculture and we are among the companies where workers have the lowest salaries,” the employee explained to this newspaper. “Here, most salaries do not exceed 2,500 pesos a month, and you cannot even buy a carton of eggs* with that money.” “They are going to reduce positions and the equipment, such as the executives’ cars, and they will be moved to the main headquarters of the Provincial Poultry Company.”

“We were told that 50% of the workers would stay, now there are about 60 of us so maybe 30 will stay.” So far, the workers have received the offer to be relocated as security personnel in other companies linked to the poultry sector. “I have already done several night shifts, as preparation, in an egg warehouse belonging to Acopio, but I am not going to stay in that position because it is dangerous and at night you can’t even see your hands.”

In the middle of last year, the slaughterhouse was in the news because at least 54,000 laying hens had to be slaughtered on the premises due to the impossibility of keeping them because of the lack of animal feed. “Before, you would pass by these sheds and the sound of the animals would barely let you hear what another worker was saying,” Yaquelín says. Now silence spreads, and with that calm fear also spreads among the workers. “This is going to end up dismantled if it continues like this.”

*Translator’s note: This is literally true. Eggs are sold in cartons of 30, which currently cost about 3,500 pesos.
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Those Released From Prison Remain Hostages of the Cuban Regime

Terrorist groups, such as Hamas, learned from the Cuban dictatorship the art of kidnapping in order to always have prisoners from whom they can profit.

The prisons will always be full of hostages to use for an advantage /EFE

14ymedio, Mario Félix Lleonart Barroso, Washington, 18 January 2025 — The release of prisoners in Cuba in January 2025 as part of a negotiation with the Biden Administration makes me think of the one in October 1980. Then, the United States was swinging between Carter and Reagan, now between Biden and Trump. And in Cuba, as Augusto Monterroso said in his shortest story: “When I woke up, the dinosaur was still there.”

It’s been 45 years. In the United States, presidents and administrations change, and in Cuba the same banana dictatorship remains clinging to power, with its same vices and tricks, specialized in the business of using people as bargaining chips. Terrorist groups like Hamas learned the art of kidnapping from the Cuban dictatorship: always hold hostages to get the best deal.

In 1980, 3,900 political prisoners were released, many of whom had been behind bars since 1959. This was the result of months of negotiations between the Cuban government and the Carter administration. This time they have promised only 553 prisoners, and the swindle of the Cuban Government is evident, accustomed to passing a cat for a hare in one blow, such as releasing renowned prisoners José Daniel Ferrer and Pastor Lorenzo Rosales.

Some had served or were about to complete their sentences; others were already at home under extra-penal license

Some had served or were about to complete their sentences; others were already at home under extra-penal leave and were offered conditional release to be included on the list. This happened with Professor Pedro Albert Sánchez, who, at the risk of returning to prison, did not accept the proposal to exchange his legal status, which for serious health issues allows him to be at home, for a conditional release.

In total, what does 553 mean for the Cuban dictatorship, if those released are still imprisoned under extra-penal licenses or conditional release? Capturing another 553 is mere sport for the regime. continue reading

These supposed amnesties are frequent but are far from really being so. The prisons will always be full of hostages to gain an advantage. More recently there were others, such as the one requested by Pope John Paul II as part of his visit to Cuba in January 1998. Among those released from prison, I had a relative, my maternal uncle, Irelio Barroso, a hero for me, who had been sentenced to 12 years in prison in 1994, and who upon the arrival of the Pope declared a hunger strike. If he had not been released from prison he would have died.

Then came the 2010 amnesty with 126 released , after the death of prisoner Orlando Zapata Tamayo, and that of 2012 during the visit of Pope Benedict XVI, and that of 2014 (53 released) after the announcement of the re-establishment of US-Cuba relations, and that of September 2015 during the visit of Pope Francis.

It’s sad to see how some prisoners are kept as bargaining chips to prolong the negotiations. This is the case for Miguel Díaz Bouza (more than 30 years in prison) and Ernesto Borges Pérez (27 years in prison). They have survived many such amnesties and against all hope have remained in prison.

It’s sad to see how some prisoners are kept as bargaining chips to prolong the negotiations

In some cases, they have also imprisoned nationals of foreign governments as valuable bargaining chips. Thomas White and Mel Bailey were released in the negotiations with Carter in 1980, and Alan Gross in the negotiations with Obama in December 2014.

If a Cuban has to think twice before going out on the street to call for freedom, an American will have to think about it 10 times. The Regime will not hesitate to use them to its advantage in a negotiation.

Nicolás Maduro, an apprentice of the Cuban dictatorship, like guerrilla terrorist groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah, in recent months has used several Americans to gain an advantage in future negotiations. There are several detention centers full of hostages, such as the fearsome Helicoide prison in Caracas, where the guards have been trained in torture by Cuban soldiers.

One of the most reported cases of foreigners recently kidnapped by Maduro in Venezuela is that of the Argentine gendarme Nahuel Gallo, who since December 8, 2024 has been a cause for concern for the government of Javier Milei.

It is not surprising then that José Daniel Ferrer, one of the most internationally recognized opponents, was quoted in The New York Times. I would never be grateful for my release if it came in an exchange that was an unclear, unethical, undignified agreement,” he said. “I said verbatim: I prefer death to owing my release to an undignified agreement.”

Ferrer said that the Government of the Island mocked both Biden and the Vatican, which should adopt a firmer stance against human rights violations in Cuba. Similar statements were made in a video on social networks by Luis Robles Elizastigi, another well-known opponent.

I have spoken with several of the released prisoners, whose names I prefer not to mention so that they can remain at home. The reality is that they have not been freed but released from prison. They are still hostages and at any time can be returned to prison until another possible negotiation to buy time, as happened in 1980. And the dinosaur is still there.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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In the Absence of Buses and Fuel, Horse-Drawn Carriages Provide Transportation in Cienfuegos, Cuba

Much cheaper than tricycles and scooters, cart drivers do not enjoy the sympathy of the authorities

When the law leans on them, carriage drivers find a way to survive. / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Julio César Contreras, Cienfuegos, 19 January 2025 – “State-run busses are no competition for us, because they are virtually non-existent,” gibes a driver waiting to load his horse-drawn carriage precisely where La Calzada de Dolores in Cienfuegos begins. Although the area designated by the government for pick-up, far from the downtown, has become a dumpsite of animal urine and feces, people are not dissuaded from climbing on board the rickety carriages to go anywhere in the city.

“We would welcome a better location. People in El Prado, for example, who’re going to Tulipán need to walk at least ten blocks to get here through El Parque Villuendas,” explains Jorge, who’s been driving his carriage for eighteen years.

These drivers report that, far from providing the opportunities they seek, the local authorities have been “on the verge of wiping out the carriages entirely.” Jorge is grateful that each time those measures have been about to take effect, the fuel crisis and the scarcity of buses have tipped the balance in favor of the carriage drivers. Nonetheless, the government’s stance remains hostile.

“The only thing left for Party leaders to do is blame us for causing an epidemic. Together with Community Services and the Ministry of Labor, they have changed our routes, raised our taxes, controlled our prices—all with the goal of making us gradually disappear,” he stated.

When the law leans on them, says the man, the horse-carriage drivers find a way to survive. What’s most common, he affirms as he turns the queue over to a colleague who had just arrived at La Calzada, is renting the vehicle. “Whenever we can, we have to rent out the carriage; it’s the only way we can afford to pay the tax authorities, maintain the carriage, and take care of the horse,” he affirms. But since so many are doing the same thing, it’s not easy to get more than three or four rentals per week. continue reading

Jorge also bemoans the fact that the horse-carriage routes are not as flexible as those of the three-wheelers and motorcycles.

Jorge also bemoans the fact that the horse-carriage routes are not as flexible as those of the three-wheelers and motorcycles, which also offer trips downtown. But the driver knows that compared to motorized vehicles, his trade has an advantage: the prices. “Not everyone can rent a scooter to La Juanita or Junco Sur, because they can easily be charged 1,000 pesos for the trip,” he estimates.

Osmani, the young driver to whom Jorge gave the last one, almost completely agrees with the man who has become a kind of mentor in the trade to him. “Lots of people complain that our routes are limited, but we know we aren’t the ones to blame.”

It’s been seven months since the young man began the process of finally putting his carriage in circulation. “Instead of making things easier, they put up bureaucratic roadblocks that would discourage anyone. And after overcoming the initial hurdles, then the daily struggle begins with the inspectors who are ready to issue fines even for the animal’s excrement,” he complained.

At the pick-up spot, time is money. That’s why the drivers try to fill the carriages quickly, and when they can’t, the clients become impatient. “When they say they’re going to the stop at the Provincial Hospital or the bus terminal, they really stop two or three blocks before. It’s not the drivers’ fault they can’t go all the way there, but we are paying for a trip that is never completed,” bemoans Idania from the seat of one of the carriages waiting to be filled. “When I get off, I still have to take another means of transportation to get to my house in the Reina neighborhood.”

At the pick-up spot, time is money. That’s why the drivers try to fill the carriages quickly. 14ymedio

With 20 pesos for the trip in hand, Idania attempts a brief analysis of the problem with transportation in the city. Her conclusions aren’t good: There are no buses; alternative forms of transportation are expensive; and the cheapest, like the horse-drawn carriages, don’t cover all the routes they could.

The woman also dislikes the idea that hundreds of Cienfuegos’s residents rely on animal-drawn transport daily. “Obviously, I am in favor of protecting animals, but in our country, you can’t dispense with this form of transportation.” With the carriage now full and ready to leave, Idania winds up the conversation with a truism with which the rest of the passengers concur: “If it weren’t for the horses, we’d have to cover the entire city on foot.”

Translated by Cristina Saavedra

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Cattle Theft Reaches Dizzying Levels in the Province of Las Tunas

Every year, Las Tunas province has the highest rate of cattle theft and illegal slaughter / Newspaper 26

14ymedio, Madrid, 20 January 2025 — Inspections and fines have not been effective against cattle theft, one of the crimes that affect the province of Las Tunas. Crimes against livestock increased by 10% compared to 2023, according to Periódico 26, which does not give the total figure by year. In addition, to show the scope of this crime, the data indicate that “the rate of increase is ten times higher than for all other crimes” in the previous year.

According to the official media, theft is the most common crime of this type, followed by slaughter and robbery with violence, which means that thieves are specializing in defeating the scarce protection that ranchers have.

Periodico 26 defines it as taking advantage of “the carelessness and naivety of the owners,” although the ranchers have mentioned on numerous occasions that they don’t have the resources to buy even such simple elements as barbed wire to protect their animals. In some areas, they have had to organize on their own to guard and take care of their livestock.

Las Tunas, Jobabo and Majibacoa again have the worst statistics, with half the thefts occurring in these three municipalities. The worst areas are Dumoy, Villanueva and Barranca in Las Tunas; Las Margaritas and Calixto in Majibacoa; Mejía in Jobabo; and El Triángulo in Colombia. In some of these places the crimes occurred every two or three days. continue reading

In 2022 there were 5,305 cases that accounted for 70% more than the 3,098 reported in 2021

The province has had dizzying growth in livestock crimes for years, but there are no figures for the last two. In 2022 there were 5,305 cases, 70% more than the 3,098 reported in 2021. Even then the figures were worrying, since it was already twice the 2020 figure of 2,394 crimes.

Periodico 26 takes advantage of the report to take stock of the results of the livestock census carried out in the province. According to the data, there were 1,300 “control actions” on cattle owners that revealed that 1,662 animals “existed only on paper, while another 243 could be seen and touched, but there was no birth document for them.” The newspaper emphasizes that this mismatch makes it clear that there are more unreported thefts and undeclared animals than the law allows.

The authorities imposed 79 fines and 41 warnings for violating the rules. There were also 126 complaints filed for non-compliance with the duty to report, in addition to sanctions for simulation of crimes, falsification of documents and “breach of the duty to preserve property.”

The Delegation of Agriculture in Majibacoa considered that it necessary to take other measures, since the results make it clear that the crimes increase every year. The announced measure, however, does not promise too much, since it consists of carrying out selective inspections of the cattle owners “with the most problems.”

The Jobabo delegation is betting on another idea that doesn’t sound encouraging either: changes in the leadership of cooperatives and base units that they consider incompetent to “face” the situation. At the same time they recognize that “the functioning of the local agrarian commission is also deficient, as well as the work of the specialists and officials,” conclusions that make it clear that the incompetence is shared. Not in vain, the delegation of Las Tunas holds other people responsible: the State registrars of Livestock Control.

The first secretary of the Communist Party in the province, Walter Simón Noris, resorted to a more tearful speech, which did not provide any solution. “Nothing is enough, and we are not forgiven by the children who would have enjoyed the milk of the stolen cows or the families who could have received at subsidized prices the meat of those cattle that, after being illegally slaughtered, end up on the black market,” he scolded.

Continuing, the politician called for more efforts and, despite the description of the officials as incompetent, “the presence of the Party as a representative of the interests of the people.”

Translated by Regina Anavy

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The Cuban Regime Releases One of the Four Ladies in White Arrested for the ’11J’ Protests

Political prisoner Ángel Mesa Rodríguez was also released on Monday

Tania Echevarría Menéndez was released from prison, but, of the Ladies in White, Sissi Abascal, Sayli Navarro and Aymara Nieto remain in prison / CC

EFE/14ymedi0, Havana, 20 January 2025 — The Cuban government released political prisoner Ángel Mesa Rodríguez on Monday and the Lady in White, Tania Echevarría Menéndez, a day earlier, as part of the regime’s deal with the Vatican to release 553 prisoners. Mesa was serving a 12-year sentence and Echevarría, a six-year sentence, in both cases for participating in the protests in July of 2021 (11J).

“Tania Echevarría Ménéndez is now home, she is the first Lady in White to be released from prison,” wrote the leader of the Ladies in White, Berta Soler, on her Facebook profile.

Soler said that there are three other members of the Ladies in White collective who have yet to be released: Sissi Abascal, Sayli Navarro and Aymara Nieto.

Mesa Rodríguez’s release was confirmed to a group of friends by his wife María del Carmen Gort Henríquez, who went to receive him at the provincial prison of Pinar del Río, Kilo 5½, where he was arbitrarily transferred last July, according to her own complaint.

Soler pointed out that there are three other members of the Ladies in White collective yet to be released: Sissi Abascal, Sayli Navarro and Aymara Nieto

Sayli Navarro, recognized as a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International (AI), was arrested following the anti-government protests on 11 July 2021, along with her father, historic opposition leader Félix Navarro, who was released from prison this Saturday. continue reading

Also released today were Adan Kiubel Castillo Echevarria, Yarelis Mesa Vazquez, Rolando Lopez Rodriguez, Santiago Vazquez Leon, Jose Antonio Gomez Leon, Yoennis Dominguez de la Rosa and Adel de la Torre, all imprisoned in the context of the demonstrations of June 11, 2021, according to reports from the NGO Justicia 11J.

The Cuban government announced on Tuesday a gradual process of releasing 553 prisoners shortly after Washington announced that it was excluding the island from its list of countries sponsoring terrorism – a designation with serious economic and financial consequences – in an agreement mediated by the Vatican.

Cuban authorities began the process of releases – which do not imply the termination of the sentence – a day later.

Among those released are prisoners of conscience José Daniel Ferrer and Luis Robles, and trans protester Brenda Díaz, another participant in the 11J protests, who was serving a sentence of 14 years and seven months for public disorder, sabotage and contempt.

So far, around one hundred people considered political prisoners have been released from prison, according to various human rights NGOs, specifically 112, according to Justicia 11J , and 114 according to the Cuban Observatory of Human Rights (OCDH).

The Cuban government has not made public the list of the 553 people it announced it would gradually release, but it has acknowledged that, as of Thursday, a total of 127 of them have received some kind of extra-penal benefit.

Maricela Sosa confirmed that if they do not meet certain requirements until the end of their sentence, such as “good conduct,” “they can return to prison”

The vice president of the Supreme People’s Tribunal (TSP) of Cuba, Maricela Sosa, confirmed that these people have not been pardoned or amnestied and that, if they do not meet certain requirements until the expiration of their sentence, such as “good conduct,” “they can return to prison.”

In contrast to the 553 people that the Cuban authorities are planning to release, the NGO Prisoners Defenders recorded a total of 1,161 political prisoners in Cuba by the end of 2024, and Justicia 11J estimates that 549 11J protesters were convicted.

This is the first release of prisoners in Cuba since 2019, when authorities pardoned 2,604 inmates. The previous release took place in 2015, when a total of 3,522 prisoners were released as a “humanitarian gesture” in anticipation of the visit of Pope Francis.

In this regard, the priest Alberto Reyes, always critical of the Cuban regime, has lamented on social networks – in line with other opposition members – that those released from prison are being used as “bargaining chips” and wonders what will be the fate of those who have been released, as well as of those who remain in prison.

Reyes also urged the Government to “recognize the right of this people to different political options, to a healthy multi-party system, and to the possibility of defining at the polls the political system they prefer to choose.”

These are the political prisoners released so far, according to the OCDH:

OCDH:

Reynel Pupo Anaya
Rolando Gonzalez Arevalo
Nidia Goods Walker
Jose Antonio Gonzalez Guerrero
Aleandry Lettuce Rush
Tania Echevarria Menendez
Adonis Garvizo Otero
Dainier Flowers Olive
Yohandry Ripoll Smith
Edel Osvaldo Lopez Nodarse
Ivan Hernandez Troya
Peter Nicholas Leon
Maikel Gonzalez Mura
Jorge Serrano Alfonso
Andy Ortega Murgado
Michel Mariel Suarez Munoz
Jaime Alcide Firdó Rodríguez
Rafael Cutiño Bazan
Juan Alberto Matos Maso
Mariurka Diaz Calvo
Ismel Frank Guanche Acosta
Santiago Vazquez Leon
Rodennis Avila Corujo
Jose Antonio Gomez Leon
Adel de la Torre Hernandez
John Luis Machado Marrero
Jorge Alexander Ilufro Pere
Noel Martinez Tapanez
Miner Chaviano Mastache
Francisco Rafael Villa Tamari
Adrian Rodriguez Morera
Joel Diaz Hernandez
Leylandis Puentes Vargas
Yoslen Dominguez Victores
Denis Hernandez Ramirez
Roberto Jesus Marin Fernandez
Robert Michel Marin Fernandez
Adrian Echegoyen Espiñeira
Rosa Jany Millo Espinosa
Felix Navarro Rodriguez
Frandy Gonzalez Leon
Brenda Diaz Garcia
Henry Osmar Sanchez Aparicio
Roberto Sosa Cabrera
Yoel Consuegra Avila
Yoennis Dominguez de la Rosa
Yeriel Cruz Perez
Yuniesky Jackson Mensu
Marcos Antonio Pintueles Marrero
Omar Hernandez Calzadilla
Yuniel Jorge Fleitas
Daisy Rodriguez Alfonso
Rolando Fernandez Osorio
Lazarus Rodriguez Avila
Livan Mediaceja Heredia
Frank Ernesto Trujillo Hervis
Alexander Paredes Collado
Emy Yoslan Roman Rodriguez
Jose Manuel Arias Campos
Maykel Fleites Rivalta
Yismel Alfonso Oliva
Gilberto Castillo Castillo
Dariel Rosa Perez
Manuel Diaz Rodriguez
Yusnaira Gonzalez Perez
Jorge Luis Liriano Alvarez
Johander Perez Gomez
Humberto Elias Monrabal Camps
Lorenzo Rosales Fajardo
Abdiel Cedeno Martinez
Yoandry Reinier Sayú Silva
Armando Lazaro Merlan Perez
Alien Molina Castell
Jorge Luis Lugones Lara
Gloria Maria Lopez Valle
Heriberto Tellez Reynosa
Daniel Antonio Diaz Galvez
Juvier Jimenez Gomez
Yunior Rodriguez Rivero
Julian Manuel Mazola Beltran
Uziel David Abreu Martinez
Iris Belkis Oduardo Rodriguez
Carlos Manuel Pupo Rodriguez
Jose Daniel Ferrer Garcia
Jorge Luis Salazar Brioso
Lisdiany Rodriguez Isaac
Luis Robles Elizasteguis
Orlando Pineda Martinez
Marlon Brando Diaz Oliva
Ciro Alexis Casanova Perez
Juan Yanier Antomarchi Nunez
Randy Arteaga Rivera
Frank Daniel Roig Sotolongo
Yandier Garcia Labrada
Eduin Rodriguez Fonseca
Andro Ledesma Prieto
Liliana Oropesa Ferrer
Endris Fuentes Zamora
Javier Gonzalez Fernandez
Arturo Valentin Rivero
Rowland Jesus Castillo Castro
Dariel Cruz Garcia
Donaida Perez Paseiro
Mailene Noguera Santiesteban
Yessica Coimbra Noriega
Queen Yacnara Barreto Batista
Livan Hernandez Sosa
Katia Beirut Rodriguez
Jose Miguel Gomez Mondeja
Jorge Gabriel Arruebarruena Leon
Lisdany Rodriguez Isaac
Magdiel Rodriguez Garcia
Rogelio Lazaro Dominguez Perez
Cesar Adrian Delgado Correa

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Bedbugs, the Plague That Takes Sleep Away From the People of Sancti Spiritus, Cuba

“I knew this was happening, I had heard many stories, but it’s another thing to experience it,” Yeandris explains to ’14ymedio’

The bed bug or chinch bug has become an unwelcome visitor in many Cuban homes. / Maine Department of Agriculture and Forest Conservation (USA)

14ymedio, Mercedes García, Sancti Spíritus, 18 January 2025 — The home of 29-year-old Yeandris has suffered tremendous losses, amounting to a quarter of a million pesos. The bed bugs rapidly infesting the city of Sancti Spíritus have not only drained his resources but also stolen countless hours of his time and sleep. “Just yesterday, I had to throw away three mattresses that were still in good condition. There was simply no way to control those bugs,” he confides to 14ymedio.

The ordeal of Yeandris and his family began in early December in the Jesús María neighborhood. “We started to notice something itching our legs while we watched television on the sofa in the living room,” recalls the man from Sancti Spiritus. “At first, we thought it was mosquitoes, but it happened most frequently when we sat there. When we examined the folds, wadding, and cushions, they were full of bedbugs.”

The bed bug, or chinch bug, an insect that feeds on the blood of humans and other animals, has become an unwelcome visitor in many Cuban homes. Overcrowding, lack of cleaning products, and poverty have significantly increased its presence in recent years. Outbreaks in provinces such as Santiago de Cuba and Havana have frequently made headlines in the island’s independent media.

“I knew that this was happening, I had heard many stories about, but experiencing it is a whole different thing.” explains Yeandris. Shortly after discovering that the insects were in the sofa, the family realized thad the bugs were invading the beds too. “My mother’s mattress, my baby’s crib mattress, and the one my wife and I share were all infested,” he laments. A computer engineer by profession, the man thought that, as with computer viruses, all that was needed was to find an antidote and apply it to the infected furniture. continue reading

“My mother’s mattress, my baby’s crib mattress, and the one my wife and I share were all infested”

“A neighbor who had gone through the same thing recommended that I go to the community health center in my area to ask for help, from there they sent me to the provincial Public Health office and I spent weeks bouncing back and forth,” he recalls. “During all that time, at my home nobody could even sleep. My son had an allergy outbreak due to the bedbug bites and some of them even got infected and caused sores on his skin.”

The last Christmas at Yeandris’s home was not for celebration. “That morning I couldn’t stand it any longer and I took apart the three beds.” A week earlier, a fumigator recommended by Public Health and paid out of the pocket of the insomniac espirituano, sprayed the entire house, especially the bedrooms. “We thought that was going to solve the problem, but those bugs just multiplied more.”

On December 24th Yeandris took the three mattresses out to the backyard, the family went on a thorough cleaning spree, and exhausted, they crashed that night on the floor with just some blankets. “I never thought it would come to this, but nothing was killing those bedbugs, and after almost a month of terrible sleep, all you want is for the nightmare to end.”

A few days later, with the help of another neighbor, he threw the three mattresses into a nearby dumpster. There, he encountered a scavenger who, despite the warnings, decided to pick up what Yeandris had discarded. ’I take them apart, put the stuffing in bags, and soak them in the river for days,’ the man explained his method to the astonished Sancti Spiritus resident, who advised him not to take such a bedbug-infested nest. ’Then I dry the stuffing in the sun and can rebuild the mattresses,’ he added resourcefully.

“Altogether, with the loss of the nearly new mattresses, the two visits from the exterminator, the sofa I had to throw away, and all the useless remedies I bought, it all costed me nearly 250,000 pesos,” calculates the affected person. “After going through this, I’ve become really paranoid. I don’t want to sit down anywhere anymore.”

“After going through this, I’ve become really paranoid. I don’t want to sit down anywhere anymore.”

Yeandris’s obsession isn’t a sign that he’s lost his mind. In Sancti Spíritus, residents warn each other about places infested by the plague. “You can’t go to the provincial library; the armchairs are full,” warns an internet user in a Facebook group for city residents. “In my neighborhood, a neighbor put her mattress out in the sun to get rid of the bedbugs, and now she’s spread them to all of us. The whole block is infested.”

In May 2023, a similar warning reached local media. Osvaldo Gómez Hernández, deputy director of surveillance and anti-vector control at the Provincial Center for Hygiene and Epidemiology, acknowledged the extent of the problem in the province. “It’s hard to eliminate bedbugs, but it’s not impossible. This allows us to offer some home treatments without having to resort to chemical treatments,” the specialist stated in response to citizens’ calls for official intervention to fumigate the neighborhoods.

“I’ve been to the health center three times to get help with fumigation, even if I have to pay a hefty fee, but they never come,” complains another affected resident in the Sancti Spiritus Facebook group. “I had to burn two mattresses and an armchair. I’ve been battling an infestation at my mom’s house for a month, and nothing works because the problem is everywhere. You kill 100 bedbugs in the morning, and by night, 200 more come from the house next door.”

Translated by Gustavo Loredo

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Political Prisoners and the Chalk Circle

In a joint television appearance, a Cuban jurist and a state propagandist demonstrated that the regime does not even know how to act like it is running a country governed by the rule of law. / Cuban Television

14ymedio, Yunior García Aguilera, Madrid, January 16, 2025 – The word “all” is one of the most frequently used words in Cuban social media posts these days, a clear reference to political prisoners. Those of us who have been fighting for their release are overcome by a strange feeling, especially since the protests of 11J. The regime has begun to release some of the 553 prisoners it promised the Vatican it would free in exchange for its help in getting Joe Biden to remove Cuba from the U.S. State Department’s list of state sponsors of terrorism. The use of political prisoners as bargaining chips has been common practice when the regime is bartering with its favorite enemy.

Why do I describe it as a strange feeling? First of all, anyone with a shred of humanity would rejoice that so many unjustly incarcerated people might be leaving the hell of Cuban prisons, embracing their families and sleeping in their own beds again. Especially if they should never have been imprisoned in the first place. But walking out of their cells does not mean that they are free. The regime itself has made this quite clear through its spokesperson, Humberto López, and the vice-president of Cuba’s supreme court, Maricela Sosa, who stressed the “benefit of early release.” In other words, this is not an amnesty or a pardon. Once released, the prisoners will still be subject to strict monitoring by the repressive powers-that-be. They could forced back into prison at any time if those who misgovern the country so decide.

Leaving their cells does not mean that they are free. The regime itself has made this quite clear through its spokesperson, Humberto López

In a joint television appearance, López and Sosa demonstrated that the regime does not even know how to pretend it is running a country governed by the rule of law. Ms. Sosa knows all too well that, when it comes to political crimes, the Cuban legal system is a farce. The court’s role has been diminished to that of a paper pusher . The final verdict depends solely and exclusively on what Caesar decides, whether his thumb is pointing up or down. On the other hand, what are we to do? Is this a concession to the pope continue reading

in honor of the Jubilee? How much of a gesture is it really when they themselves claim to have released more than 10,000 prisoners in the last two years? Did Díaz-Canel suddenly convert to Catholicism and now is in a state of ecstasy over the Jubilee? Is it payment in kind for acting as intermediary with the White House? Is it intended as a farewell kiss to Mr. Biden? Or is it something that was due to happen, based on current legislation, long ago? The quagmire that Humberto and Maricela got themselves into is reminiscent of a bad comedy-drama.

Obviously, there are more uncertainties than solid answers. We will have to wait to find out the names of the 553 former prisoners. We will also have to wait and see what the Trump administration does about taking Cuba off the notorious terrorism list. Expectations are that it will be Marco Rubio, even more than Trump, who will take the lead on any decisions having to do with the island. One of the few certainties is that Cuban civil society is completely excluded from this process.

There are several reasons why decisions that affect us are made behind our backs

There are several reasons why decisions that affect us are made behind our backs. For one thing, it is becoming increasingly difficult to engage in any kind of activism within the country, much less full-on opposition. The harsh persecution to which independent opinion makers are subjected in Cuba prevents not only the necessary debate but even simple expression in a public forum or in social media. How can a gagged, impoverished, tightly monitored and constantly threatened civil society empower itself?

Meanwhile, divisions within the exile community continue, as do clashes of ego and unfounded suspicions stoked by Cuban State Security agencies. In Miami, which continues serve as the exiles’ unofficial capital, political polarization has dampened the interest of the United State’s two major political parties in winning the Cuban vote. When partisan differences become so obvious, the ability to attract interest, or to influence decisions, is suddenly lost. Some will think this sounds all too much like teenage love affairs. But politics is not very different from youthful passions, especially in times when emotion reemerges as a potent political weapon.

As for the Cuban diaspora, it is clear that we are fragmented, dispersed, disconnected and powerless to influence the governments of the countries where we find ourselves living.

When Cardinal Beniamino Stella visited Havana in 2023, the papal envoy expressed his intention to negotiate the release of political prisoners. He noted that “those who have to power to talk among themselves should to be able to listen to others.” The key phrase was “those who have power.” The sad truth is that, today, neither the opposition nor civil society in general have enough power to be heard, neither by one nor the other. And that is a fatal flaw.

We are fragmented, dispersed, disconnected and powerless to influence the governments of the countries where we find ourselves living

Crying and complaining will not serve us well. We must roll up our sleeves. Above all, we must put aside our petty differences and focus on the task at hand, the most urgent being to empower ourselves. That means being able to mobilize Cuban society, consolidate leadership, and ensure that our leaders are heard at the highest levels internationally. And not just so world leaders can feel sorry for us. Victimhood always makes for fleeting, inconsequential news. We need to demonstrate to world leaders that we have the potential to change things. It is about consolidating alliances and drawing up firm strategies with international decision-makers. We should be significant enough so that no one rushes in to make decisions that impact us without consulting us first. However, in order for our cause make it onto international agendas, we must first come up with a clear agenda of our own. It should not be one full of sloganeering and shouting. Rather, it should be one that has been carefully agreed upon, with a clear roadmap and concise strategies.

I have saved for last the questions that most concern me at the moment. What will happen to the other five-hundred political prisoners who will not be receiving this “benefit”? How long will they remain in this unjust, inhuman situation? Until the next Jubilee? Will they be the card that the regime is saving for its showdown with Marco Rubio? Will the regime lock up another thousand Cubans next year in order to do another swap? Will we keep going around in circles?
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The Commitment to be Exiled

The decades that have passed and the lack of success in the libertarian proposal have not exhausted the exile

Few pueblos have citizens who have not been able to visit their home country for 66 years. / EFE

14ymedio, Pedro Corzo, Miami, 19 January 2025 — The Cuban political exile, like political imprisonment, is, without a doubt, one of the longest and most numerous in the history of humanity. Few countries have citizens who have not been able to visit their home country for 66 years, due to restrictions imposed by a dictatorship.

Of course, we should not confuse exile with immigration. Although both have common characteristics, the political exile is supposed to continue working for a change of government in his country, while the immigrant is seasoned with other motivations.

Exile, for the benefit of the new generations of Cubans who, inside or outside the Island, have been subject to the chronic censorship and misinformation that the dictatorship exercises on every event, is an honorable evidence of the commitment of many Cubans who have never given up on their efforts to overthrow the dictatorship by any means possible, including those that for some are not politically correct.

From the beaches of exile – which are only beautiful when you say goodbye to them, as Jose Martí wrote – hundreds of Cubans have left to bring freedom and democracy to Cuba, dying in combat as happened to many others, such as Armentino El Indio Feria, or going to prison for long decades as was the case of Armando Sosa Fortuny, 44 years in prison in two periods until he died in prison. continue reading

In the United States, as in Venezuela, Panama, Mexico, numerous compatriots have been imprisoned for years.

Many exiles have served long prison sentences outside Cuba for fighting the interests or resources of the tyranny in foreign lands. Here in the United States, as in Venezuela, Panama, Mexico, as far as I know, numerous compatriots have been imprisoned for years, among others, Orlando Bosch and Luis Posada Carriles, a truly large number of men and women.

There has been no shortage of those who seek to fulfill their duty as exiles by taking the route of U.S. national politics, exemplified by Congressmen Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Lincoln Diaz-Balart, who, within the framework of local politics, like other serving Cuban politicians, have never ceased to attack Castro’s totalitarianism.

Another aspect of the exile that we must mention is the work of the communicators. Many of them, like Agustín Tamargo, Armando Pérez Roura, Salvador Lew and Ninoska Pérez Castellón, have encouraged and promoted the commitment to bring freedom to Cuba, just as there have been editors deeply committed to Cuban democracy, like Juan Manuel Salvat and Nancy Pérez Crespo.

Writers and journalists committed to the rights of all have not been absent. Carlos Alberto Montaner breathed and lived in the pain of Cuba all his life, and we can also write about many others such as Reinaldo Arenas, Ángel Cuadra and Jorge Valls, as well as journalists such as Ariel Remo and Cary Roque.

The decades that have passed and the lack of success in the libertarian proposal have not exhausted the exiles. Many Cubans have been able to make a fortune thanks to their capacity for work and ingenuity, such as Rogelio Cisneros, who has given up his fortune to fight totalitarianism.

The defense of human rights on the part of the exiles has been another constant, as Ricardo Bofill Pages and Reinaldo Bragado Bretaña, two citizens who fought for their convictions on and off the island, always demonstrated.

Nor has human solidarity been lacking either, as has been the case with the management of the Miami Medical Team, headed by Dr. Manuel Alzugaray. The management of this institution is proof that the fight for freedom is not divorced from the most sensitive humanism.

Exile organizations are key to continuing the struggle

Finally, there is the constant work, the endless dedication, the example of perseverance and quiet sacrifice of overlooking potential benefits to advance the democratic cause in which we must believe when founding organizations that assume the commitment to fight to the last consequences, as Nazario Sargent did when founding Alpha 66, Antonio Jose Varona when founding the Junta Patriótica or Jorge Mas Canosa when establishing the Cuban American National Foundation.

Exile organizations are key to continuing the struggle, as exemplified by, among others, the aforementioned Alpha 66 under the leadership of Ernesto Diaz Rodríguez or the Asamblea de la Resistencia coordinated by the tireless Orlando Gutiérrez, who has shown his commitment to Cuba since his adolescence.

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Without Water, the Main Hospital in Sancti Spíritus, Cuba, Is ‘A High-Risk Place for the Sick’

The center is sinking into filth and services are closed while an unbearable stench spreads throughout the building

The hospital was recently the target of criticism for the lack of medical personnel at night. / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Mercedes García, Sancti Spíritus, 19 January 2025 — “There is no water,” warns a sign in the cafeteria of the Camilo Cienfuegos Provincial Hospital in Sancti Spíritus. The sign, which hangs at an angle from a blackboard, adds that only “products to take away” are being sold, and its presence is just a small sample of what is happening inside the medical center. Several operating rooms remain closed, specialist consultations are limited and the bathrooms are covered in excrement.

“We can’t even clean the floor because the water hasn’t come on for days,” an employee who works in the emergency room told 14ymedio. “This has affected everything, from the emergency services to the laboratory where the tests are done and the hemodialysis room, which is one of the rooms that has the most problems right now because there are patients in a very delicate state.” The worker believes that in these conditions “the hospital becomes a high-risk place for the sick.”

In the cafeteria a sign warns that there is no water in the center and products are only sold for take-away. / 14ymedio

In the Emergency Room, the smells coming from the bathrooms fill the waiting room. The doctors and nurses seem to have gotten used to the stench after days of it being present, but the patients who have just arrived feel it like a punch in the face. “I came with my husband who is having an asthma attack and as soon as we entered we were stunned. How can a health center be like this?” After waiting for half an hour, the couple decided to return home. “We’ll see how we resolve it, but this is unbearable.”

The hospital, which was recently the target of criticism for the lack of medical personnel at night, has been defended in the official press as a place that “despite the energy contingency” works 24 hours a day and provides excellent service. Last October, a photo report published in the local Escambray newspaper showed surgeons in an impeccable room performing a complex operation, maintenance technicians analyzing samples and a nephrology specialist calibrating modern dialysis equipment. If these images were repeated now, they would not be able to capture the main protagonist of these rooms and consultations: the stench that the lack of water has spread everywhere.

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