August 2018 – Page 2 – Translating Cuba

The Time Has Come To Defend Freedom

The Venezuelan Supreme Court in Exile condemned Nicolás Maduro to 18 years in prison. (EFE)

14ymedio, Carlos Alberto Montaner, Miami, 19 August 2018 — The Venezuelan Supreme Court in exile condemned Nicolás Maduro to 18 years in prison. Great. He would have to serve his sentence in Ramo Verde.** Excellent. That’s where he detained Leopoldo López and other political enemies. In addition, he must pay a fine of 25 million dollars and compensate the State for 35 billion dollars in bribes and surcharges received or paid to Odebrecht.

Odebrecht is a malignant and efficient Brazilian bandit. Tired of the inability to commit crimes like the dishonest Latin American politicians, it organized robbery on a grand scale in a dozen countries (that were not maimed, of course) and, perhaps, in the south of Florida, which has among the largest number of Latin Americans in the U.S.

That’s all well and good. The Supreme Tribunal of Justice (STJ)*** of Venezuela is entitled to act the way it did it. The Organization of American States (OAS) and the European Parliament recognize the failures. It accused the Attorney General, Luisa Ortega, a convert to democracy with a cloudy past of persecutions to which the opposition, intelligently, has given a welcome, perhaps because there are not many Venezuelans free of the original chavista sin. continue reading

The 33 magistrates of the STJ were named by the National Assembly, as mandated by the current Constitution. The problem is that they all have gone into exile. The Constitution, which Chávez called la Bicha (the “Bitch”), and insisted was the best Constitution on the planet, did not specify where the STJ should be located.

Logically, if there had been an earthquake in Caracas, the STJ would have to hold its session somewhere else. In Venezuela, a political earthquake has occurred that swept away everything. Understandably, the STJ left for other sites (Colombia, Chile, USA and Panama). Fortunately, the Internet exists, and the magistrates can hold a session periodically by showing their faces on Skype.

Maduro, obviously, will laugh at the sentence and say something stupid about it, although in his heart he feels chills. As we do when we discuss with an undertaker whether our relatives will see us in our present bodies, with makeup and glasses, or if they will cremate us and return us to the family in a box with a kilo and a half of ashes from our bones, after explaining that the meat, viscera and soft parts, including the eyes, went up in smoke. Of course, the 14 countries that constitute the Lima Group will look very favorably on the STJ sentence, but that isn’t sufficient. They will have to take action if they want to free themselves from the dictatorships of the Socialism of the 21^st Century: Venezuela, Nicaragua and Bolivia.

They must do it, given that these nations try to metastasize and conspire with their local comrades in order to destroy the fundamentals of democracy.

The Lima Group should base their actions on the Democratic Letter signed, precisely, in Lima in 2001, in a solemn convocation organized by the OAS. They have a lot of work to do. Those three regimes, all signatories of the agreement, want to appear as if they are democratic. They twist the laws so the caudillos can remain in power indefinitely. They kill, imprison and send their opponents into exile, accusing them of being terrorists.

Cuba directs the group from behind the scenes, but the Island of the Castro Brothers is a tyranny that is consolidated and (vilely) accepted by everyone. It didn’t sign the Democratic Letter and has refused to be reincorporated into the OAS, an invitation that, incomprehensively, Mr. Insulza sent them.

Cuba doesn’t pretend to present itself as a democracy, but rather proudly exhibits its condition as a one-party satrap in which individual rights are subject to the ultimate goals of the State, and these are defined by the Communist Party. Thus, there is neither hypocrisy nor fundamental contradiction between law and practice. It’s Stalinist crap and has been for almost 60 years. It’s 20^th century socialism, which has cost 100 million lives, and it comes directly from Leninism.

What can the Lima Group do, excepting Mexico, which finds refuge in the paralysis of the Estrada Doctrine?**** It can break or dilute the hierarchy of diplomatic relations. It can explain that laws and tradition justify the use of force when democratic avenues have been closed. It can arm opponents, so they can defend their freedoms. What would be suicide is to remain complacent.

*Translator’s Note: The Lima Group was established by the Lima Declaration, August 8, 2017, when 14 countries met in Lima to discuss the crisis in Venezuela. The group demanded the release of political prisoners, called for free elections, offered humanitarian aid and criticized the breakdown of democracy in Venezuela. Member countries are Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru and Santa Lucia.
**Prison in Los Teques, Venezuela.
***The highest court of law in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.
****Mexico’s foreign policy from 1930 to the early 2000s, which claims that foreign governments should not pass judgment on other countries’ governments. It was based on principles of non-intervention, peaceful resolution of disputes and self-determination.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Artists Denounce Decree 349 for "Criminalizing Independent Art"

Addressed to President Miguel Díaz-Canel and Minister of Culture Alpidio Alonso, the letter insists that the decree “not present a vision of the future of culture in Cuba.” (Facebook)

14ymedio, Luz Escobar, Havana | 27 August 2018 — A group of artists who have been promoting an intense campaign against Decree 349 since July are continuing to pressure the country’s authorities not to implement this law that demands that “commercial spaces for plastic arts” have prior authorization and be registered in the Creators’ Registry.

Last Thursday a representative of the group presented a letter with their demands to the office of the Attorney General and the National Assembly of People’s Power, as reported to 14ymedio by Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, one of the visible faces of this initiative. The text, which details several demands and the reasons they are against this regulation, was sent as well to the Council of State and the Ministry of Culture.

Addressed to President Miguel Díaz-Canel and Minister of Culture Alpidio Alonso, the letter insists that the decree “not present a vision of the future for culture in Cuba.” It also denounces the law for “criminalizing independent art” and limiting “the ability of defining who can be an artist to a State institution.” continue reading

Another criticism made by the group of artists to this new law, which will enter into full force in December, is that creators weren’t consulted during its development and that they won’t have the ability to access “resources” or “independent arbitrators” in the case of a legal dispute.

The conceptual vagueness of the text is another point addressed in the letter, a matter that has worried the artists since they learned the content of the law after its publication in the Gazette Special Edition on July 10. One of the examples cited is the expression “contents harmful to ethical and cultural values,” a point that can take different interpretations that are not made explicit in the law. In response to this, the letter insists that art history demonstrates that “questioning the established systems of thought is the driving force of aesthetic development.”

They also mention that the government has dedicated itself to demonizing different mechanisms of independent art financing like crowdfunding. “The fact that a Cuban artist can finance his creations by his own means does not make him an opponent,” and they urge that the state to stop “confusing these platforms with the direct financing of a hostile organization or government.”

The document also announces that Decree 349 “authorizes the Ministry of Culture to designate inspectors” with the ability to “censor and suspend artistic performances, as well as impose fines and confiscate instruments, equipment, self-employment authorization, and goods like property from the house.”

According to the artists, the aim of Decree 349 “is the impoverishment of Cuban culture” and they warn that culture and art “can exist without a ministry, but the Ministry of Culture and the nation cannot exist without the creativity of its citizens.”

The letter that the group has delivered to these institutions is the same one attached to a petition that they are promoting on the platform avaaz.org, which already has 777 signatures. Among the artists who presented the letter are Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, Yanelys Nuñéz, Iris Ruiz, Nonardo Perea, Amaury Pacheco, Soandry del Río, Yasser Castellanos, and Michel Matos.

Otero Alcántara makes clear that they were “well looked after” and that they received an acknowledgment of receipt but he emphasized the scarce information they received after the delivery of the letter and that only the Council of State communicated to them that the term to receive a response in this case is 60 days. “In the Capitol they told us that there were only three people working and that they didn’t know when they would have a response to give us because there were many cases pending,” he said.

The organizers of the campaign against the decree have claimed that this law is directed toward eliminating the work of independent artists who in recent decades have gained their space working at the margins of institutions.

The campaign #NoAlDecreto349, which has carried out various public actions to make the situation visible, has had the solidarity of numerous Cuban artists on social media, both on and off the island, who practice different artistic disciplines such as cinema and music. Writers, actors, and well-known plastics artists have also shown their support.

On at least two occasions the artists of this group were suppressed by force by State Security agents and the police during public protest acts. The most recent took place when they tried to hold a concert at the venue of the Museum of Politically Uncomfortable Art. Previously they tried to hold a performance on the steps of the Capitol.

Translated by: Sheilagh Carey

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Court in Cienfuegos Sentences Two of Leidy Pacheco’s Murderers to Life in Prison

Leidy Maura Pacheco Mur. (5 de Septiembre newspaper)

14ymedio, Justo Mora/Mario J. Pentón, Cienfuegos | 23 August 2018 — Justice came to Cienfuegos but in the deepest silence from the Provincial Court, which has kept secret the sentence of life imprisonment for two of the three men accused of raping and murdering Leidy Pacheco Mur, 18 years old and mother of a 10-month-old baby.

The information came to the public light this Thursday because the victim’s family told the local weekly 5 de Septiembre that Enrique Campos, 32, and Darián Gómez Chaviano, 25, had been sentenced to life imprisonment. The third man involved in the crime, Henry Hanoi Tamayo Hernández, 19, was sentenced to 30 years in prison.

The trial lasted two days, August 7-8, during which the population gathered in front of the court, which was protected by the police. The crowd rebuked the men with cries of “To the firing-wall” and “murderers.” continue reading

The sentence of the court can be appealed to the People’s Supreme Court.

“The truth is that those men got off easy. They should be shot after causing so much pain,” Margarita Fuentes, resident of the Junco Sur suburb on the outskirts of the city, told 14ymedio.

Yesenia Oliva, who planted herself outside the court during the trial, says that it’s an “exemplary sentence.”

“People don’t realize that there is a moratorium on the death penalty. The most that they can do is give them life imprisonment. The prisoners in Ariza will take care of those bastards,” she added.

Leidy Pacheco Mur was murdered September 26 of last year. At 2:56 PM, when she was a block from her home, she called her husband so that he wouldn’t worry about her, but she never arrived.

Enrique Campos, Henry Hanoi Tamayo, and Darián Gómez covered her mouth, took her to Plan Mango, a grove on the outskirts of Cienfuegos, raped her, killed her, and buried her at the bank of a small dam, according to the testimony of her father, Pedro Valentín Pacheco Alonso.

The three murderers lived in the same neighborhood as the victim. The next day the family notified the authorities of the young woman’s disappearance.

Family members, neighbors, and even one of the rapists participated in the search for the young woman, which lasted six days.

The death of Leidy Pacheco moved Cienfuegos, a city that in barely a year has suffered various murders. On February 14 Luis Santacruz Labrada was murdered with a knife and in May a double murder of women shocked the city, which in the past counted safety as one of its biggest appeals.

Translated by: Sheilagh Carey

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Journalist Reinaldo Escobar Wins the 2018 Verbum Novel Prize

Reinaldo Escobar worked on the creation of ‘La Grieta’ for a quarter of a century. (14ymedio)

14ymedio, Havana, 27 August 2018 — Journalist Reinaldo Escobar’s work, La Grieta*, won the 2018 Iberianamerican Verbum Novel Prize. The results of the contest were announced this Monday and its organizers reported that 507 authors participated and there were five finalist.

Escobar, editor-in-chief of 14ymedio, was awarded the prize for “the narrative maturity with which he tackles the chronicle of disenchantment for an entire generation of Cubans,” and “the subtle irony that manages to raise a smile and the delicate game of mirrors that fuses reality and fiction.”

“I’ve been working for a quarter of a century on this novel, writing and rewriting its pages,” Escobar said, on hearing of the award. “It is a testimony that I hope will transcend me as an individual and represent thousands of Cubans who lived similar experiences.” continue reading

La Grieta tells the story of Antonio Martínez, a young man who entered the School of Journalism at the end of the ’60s with the illusion of entering the profession during a time of new airs of freedom. Two decades later he ends up expelled from the newspaper where he works and stigmatized as an enemy who will not be allowed to exercise his profession in any other media.

The novel’s first typed version, without copies, was completed in 1994 but was confiscated by State Security at the Havana airport when Escobar tried to take it out of the country. A quarter of a century later, the novel is seeing the light reconstructed by memory and enriched by the author’s experience.

The jury of the Verbum Prize has emphasized that it is “an entertaining and intense work, which a whole generation can identify which and in which younger readers will discover the chronicle of an epoch of fallacious epics.”

The steps through which the plot takes shape begin with the ins and outs of the ideological struggle between fundamentalists and liberals in the university environment, the sanction the lead character was subjected to in a process of political cleansing, his later involvement in a prestigious magazine that worked to sugarcoat the image of the country for external consumption, and the enthusiasm for glasnost and perestroika that leads him to try to push journalism along more open paths from a newspaper of national circulation, to a point of direct confrontation where he finally stumbles against the insurmountable wall of intolerance.

Parallel to the events of the protagonist’s professional life, where at each step he discovers the enormous distance between reality and official discourse, Martínez maintains his own romantic utopia that leads him to seek, over and over again, a personal chimera.

The author portrays a part of that generation that jumped from adolescence to adulthood in the midst of the maelstrom brought by the Revolution. The illusion, the doubt, the skepticism, the frustration, follow one another in a sequence where it is difficult to determine the exact point of rupture, that insurmountable crack (grieta) where the deepest convictions are recomposed.

The jury that selected the winner comprised Fernando Rodríguez Lafuente (Spain, president), Pedro Juan Gutiérrez (Cuba), Sara Mañero Rodicio (Spain), José Antonio Martínez Climent (Spain, winner of the 2017 Iberoamerican Verbum Novel Award) and Luis Rafael (Cuba-Spain).

Among the finalists, along with La Grieta, was La Dantesca vida de Philip Orsbridge, by Alfredo Nicolás Lorenzo (Cuba), La hora del silencio, by Cristina Feijóo (Argentina), Los paraguas y el sol, by Enrique Pérez Díaz (Cuba) and Fóllale, Manco, by Juan Sebastián Rojas (Colombia).

Translator’s note: “Grieta” is a word that can be translated as crack, fracture, rift, chasm, fissure, breach and many synonyms of these words. Not having read the book, this translator hesitates to pick one to represent the title in English.

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"They Warned Us That Cuba Can’t Turn Into Another Nicaragua," Say Detained Artists

Caption: Detained along with Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara were the journalist Yania Suarez, Yanelys Núñez, Michel Matos, and Yasser Castellanos (Facebook)

14ymedio, Luz Escobar, Havana, 13 August 2018 — The artists of the campaign against Decree 349, who tried to organize a concert on Saturday at the house of Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, were freed at the stroke of midnight on Sunday.

Otero Alcántara explained to 14ymedio that he and Yanelys Núñez were arrested in the early afternoon on Saturday when State Security and the police surrounded his home, which houses the Museum of Politically Uncomfortable Art (Mapi).

“They detained us on the corner of Damas and San Isidro, a few hours before the concert, when we went out to get a few things we needed, they took us in two patrol cars, one for her and the other for me,” the artist said from outside the Zapata and C Police Station after being freed at the stroke of midnight on Sunday. continue reading

“At the moment of the arrest they didn’t tell us anything, but when we were in the station State Security arrived for an interview and they warned us that Cuba can’t turn into another Nicaragua, they are very worried,” added Otero Alcántara. He also said that detained with him in the station were the journalist Yania Suarez, Yanelys Núñez, Michel Matos, and Yasser Castellanos.

According to testimony that the actress Iris Ruiz offered to this newspaper by telephone on Saturday afternoon, officials blocked entry to the house under the pretext that they didn’t have permission from the Ministry of Culture to have the party with the musicians. In face of the prohibition the creators drew a hopscotch court in the street to play and “pass the time relaxing,” explained Ruiz.

She also explained that agreeing to withdraw would mean “that the right to make alternative art is finished and that we give up in the face of this law that hasn’t yet come into full force.”

For Ruiz it was important to remain and apply pressure because if not “they next time they’ll come with the same thing and every time we do an activity, we’ll have to ask permission from the Ministry of Culture,” and it would also mean “the acceptance of this law that we are rejecting.” Again and again artists were threatened and the artist says that they were asked to withdraw or else the patrols could come to disperse them.

Finally the artists entered the house, but police agents arrived and threatened Luis Manuel Otero’s mother that they wouldn’t let her son go and that they would take away her house in the event she wasn’t evicted.

During the telephone call the voice of the poet Amaury Pacheco could be heard yelling, “No to Decree 349.” “All of us here in the middle of the street were detained, the first time they managed to put Amaury in a patrol car but they couldn’t take him because,” as the actress recounts, “the people pulled him back out” and the crowd celebrated with applause and cheers. “This is the fifth action but we’re not going to stop until the decree is knocked down,” proclaimed Iris Ruiz.

Since the beginning of the week several of the artists who had publicly demonstrated their support for the concert received summons from State Security to be interrogated. For others, like Gorki Águila, on the same day of the gathering a police operation surrounded his house to prevent him from leaving his home.

Yasser Castellanos, rapper and plastic artist, told 14ymedio that he was summoned to the Cuba y Chacón police station. “In general the point is to discredit the organizers of the event, calling them delinquents, and to warn us that they weren’t going to permit us to hold the concert.” Also summoned were Soandry del Río, Ras Sandino from the group Student without Seed, the urban artist Karnal, and the members of the group Social Conflict.

The gathering for the concert is part of the “No to Decree 349” campaign which aims to give visibility to the demands of a group of independent artists who emerged from a debate over the content and scope of the law. Among the artists who were expected to participate in the Concert Without 349’s Permission were Soandry del Río, La Alianza, Hip Hop de Barrio, Gorki Águila, David de Omni and Amaury Pacheco.

Decree 349 prohibits “the provision of artistic services” without the prior approval of the Ministry of Culture and requires that “commercial centers of plastic arts” have prior authorization and be registered in the “Creators’ Registry.”

The organizers of the campain against the decree claim that the law is meant to eliminate the work of independent artists who in recent decades have earned their space working at the margins of institutions.

Otero Alcántara believes that it is a response to the production of the recent #OOBienal and it affects other artists who have organized their own workshops and independent galleries, like Tania Brugera or the artists Italo Expósito and Luis Trápaga, both expelled from the Creators’ Registry at the end of the alternative event as retaliation for taking part in it. Both Expósito and Trápaga have alternative cultural spaces in their homes where they organize exhibits and concerts.

Decree 349 will come into full force in December and it provides for fines and confiscations of instruments, equipment, accesories, and other goods from the offenders.

David de Omni, one of the artists arrested outside Mapi, says that “the people in the street don’t like what happened here on Saturday” and that “very few people yelled ’Long live the revolution!’ and those slogans that they always order them to say.”

The artist saw in the crowd an older man “who yelled ’Long live Fidel’” but only two or three followed him “because the majority of the people in the street were calling the police abusers and asking them to let us go.” He says that when they carried him off in the patrol car he felt the noise of “many hands hitting the roof of the car and voices saying, ’Don’t take him.’”

“I was detained in the Dragones police station for a few hours but nothing will stop us fighting against Decree 349 and we’re going to keep up with these actions until they get rid of this law,” he warned.

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Beer Returns to the Children’s Area of Carlos III Plaza Because "It’s Necessary to Carry Out the Plan"

Caption: Families with children have no qualms about drinking alcohol while the little ones use the animal and spaceship-shaped rides (14ymedio)

14ymedio, Havana, 25 August 2018 — The prohibition of alcohol sales in the children’s area of Carlos III Plaza in Havana lasted less than three months. The administration of the largest mall in Cuba’s capital once again has allowed the consumption of beer in the cafeterias adjoining the children’s play area, as confirmed by 14ymedio.

In June the sale of alcoholic beverages on the building’s ground floor was suspended to prevent the proximity of children from customers drinking beer. The measure was adopted after the situation was denounced in various independendent media sources, even winding up on official television.

The management of Carlos III Plaza at that time set up a series of tables in the outside area of the mall where it was possible to consume beer and other alcoholic beverages. However, the improvised cafeteria was recently closed down and the sale of alcohol returned to the inside of the building. continue reading

The employee in the customer service office declined this Friday to make any statements on what happened, but a worker at the bag-check assured that “they’re orders from above.” The measure was revoked for “economic reasons, because this place has to carry out a plan and beer is one of the most-sold products.”

“Sales have fallen a lot and although it’s true that there had been a lot of peace and quiet, this is a mall, not a convent,” declares an employee who sells snacks, pizza, and beer in the area a few yards away from electric rides where small children play. “The numbers were in the red,” he confirms.

Several employees chalk the decision up to “the high demand for beer and other alcoholic beverages in the summer.” School vacations coincide with many parents who work in state centers also taking a break. “We were losing a lot of money,” confirms the snack seller.

Although some signs still say that the consumption of rum is prohibited, the salespeople justify themselves by saying that they are not committing any violation because “here beer is what sells, we haven’t sold a shot of Havana Club nor a box of Planchado rum.”

In July, when the prohibition was in effect, a man who worked at the place confirmed to this newspaper that every day they were suffering losses, that the bread was going bad and they sold almost no fried chicken, which were the favorite accompanying dishes for people coming to drink alcohol.

Here the complaints of parents who come to spend some leisure time with the electric rides are beginning to be heard again. “It was easy to imagine that this situation would repeat itself because here when it is a question of making money everything else is set aside, even childhood,” laments Claribel Ledezma, grandmother of a four-year-old girl.

“I live near this place and I remember when it first opened the only people who came to drink a few beers were rich people, but now you see many people have money to spend on alcoholic beverages,” the woman believes. “Some groups come in the morning and leave in the afternoon totally drunk. Children have to watch this kind of spectacle.”

Other families with children have no qualms consuming alcohol while the little ones use the animal and spaceship-shaped rides. “They have fun and so do we,” says Pablo, father of seven-year-old twins. “After all, they live in Cuba and they have to get used to the fact that things are this way.”

In 2005 a resolution published in the Official Gazette prohibited the sale of alcohol, including beer, to minors under the age of 16. The alarms went off after it was noticed that the drinking age hadn’t stopped dropping on the island.

On average drinking alcohol starts at 15 years old. The psychologist Justo Fabelo Rochy, coordinator of the You Decide project, which tries to create awareness of the problem among adolescents, warns that given this situation many adults who develop an alcohol addiction started drinking at these early ages.

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The US Resumes Consular Services for Its Citizens in Cuba

The US embassy staff in Havana continues working at minimum levels after the evacuation of its non-essential personnel. (EFE)

14ymedio, Havana | 24 August 2018 – The US embassy in Havana announced Friday that it has resumed consular services for American citizens. Renewal of passports, notary services, authentication, consular reports of birth abroad and emergency assistance are available as of today in Havana, without the need to travel to another country, as had been the case.

The diplomatic headquarters published this decision in a statement released on their social networks. Many Cubans took the opportunity to request the restoration of the family parole reunification program, which has been postponed for nearly a year.

Some people also demanded the return of consular services for family reunification currently taking place in Guyana. Residents on the Island who are interested in visiting the United States must obtain their visa in a third country. continue reading

In September of last year, the United States reduced by 60% the diplomatic personnel in the Island, after twenty-six of its officials were allegedly attacked with a “sonic weapon” which affected their hearing and caused other related problems. Relations between Washington and Havana deteriorated rapidly after the arrival of Donald Trump as president. The United States accuses the island of knowing who is behind the alleged attacks on its diplomats, while Cuban authorities say it is a pretext to derail the process of reestablishing relations undertaken under the previous administration.

Recently, the US Congress published a report questioning the embassy’s ability to keep abreast of Cuban affairs. “The ability of the United States to follow the situation in Cuba, defend human rights, carry out consular activities and comply with bilateral agreements is being undermined by a drastic reduction in the staff of the embassy in Havana,” reported Reuters, which had access to the document.

The document, issued by the Congressional Research Service, affirms that the decision to reduce the number of diplomats from 50 to a maximum of 18 on the Island due to the mysterious ailments that affected 26 US and 10 Canadian officials since 2016, has resulted in there being more work than those who remain on the island can complete.

According to Reuters, not a single refugee visa has been processed this year because the office responsible for doing so remains closed. Last year there were 117 people who benefited from receiving these visas in Havana.

The Cuban government has expressed its concern that the minimum 20,000 visas for Cuban migrants will not be reached this year, an agreement that both countries signed in 1994 to end the crisis of the rafters.

This Thursday, the United States lowered the level of alert for those who intend to travel to the island. The State Department placed Cuba in category 2, which recommends exercising caution due to the acoustic attacks against employees of the US embassy. At the end of September, the State Department had placed the island in category 3, recommending that the Americans “reconsider” a trip to the the greater of the Antilles.

Translated by Wilfredo Díaz Echevarria

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Judge Denies Bail to Cuban Independent Journalist Serafin Moran Detained in Texas

Cuban freelance journalist Serafín Morán Santiago, 40, has been accused in the island of spreading propaganda and being a paid agent of the United States government. Now he is in an immigration detention center in Texas waiting for a response to his asylum application. (Courtesy of Serafín Morán Santiago)

14ymedio, Miami | 24 August 2018 — An immigration judge from the State of Texas denied bail to independent journalist Serafín Morán Santiago, who has been detained in that state since last April after requesting political asylum at the border with Mexico.

Morán must remain in custody until his case is decided at an asylum hearing in October, journalist María Fernanda Egas, of the Fundamedios organization, which monitors freedom of the press in the United States, said via telephone to 14ymedio.

Both Fundamedios and Reporters Without Borders launched an alert on Morán’s situation, who in their opinion must be “immediately released” and under no circumstances repatriated to Cuba. The reporter, according to both organizations, would face on the island “a real risk of death,” denounced María Fernanda Egas. continue reading

Serafín Morán Santiago turned himself in to the agents of the Border Patrol on April 13, after traveling a complicated route from Guyana, the first country he visited after leaving Cuba. This passage is made daily by dozens of Cubans in order to reach the southern border of the United States.

After the implementation of President Trump’s policy known as “zero tolerance” for undocumented immigration, asylum seekers can remain detained until an immigration judge determines whether or not their case is eligible to receive this status.

In the current fiscal year, which ends in September, 364 Cubans have been returned to the island, most of them after being detained in facilities of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Cuba pledged to the United States that it would accept all of its nationals with deportation orders starting with the new migratory agreement signed by both countries in 2017.

According to Morán’s complaints, agents of State Security (Cuban) “kidnapped” and “punched” him in June 2016. On September 2, 2017, he was again arrested and his work equipment confiscated. The journalist says he tried to seek refuge through the US embassy in Havana, but his case file was rejected twice.

In the event that Morán fails to prove that he is being persecuted by the Cuban government, he could be repatriated to the island. The journalist, 40, has collaborated as an independent reporter for media such as Univisión 23, Telemundo, Hispano Post, Primavera Digital, Cubanet and TV Martí.

Translated by Wilfredo Díaz Echevarria

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Bayamo Pediatric Hospital Remains Unfinished After 35 Years

“The construction of the Maternal and Child Hospital began in 1982 was a dream for the residents of Bayamo. Today it is only a memory of the Government’s uncompleted promises.” Video is not subtitled, but includes good images of the hospital.

14ymedio, Bayamo, 24 August 2018 — From the road one can see the eight-story hulk that should have served to heal and care for the children of the area, but which was never finished. The construction of the Bayamo Pediatric Hospital, in Granma province, began 35 years ago and today serves only as a refuge for bats and mosquitos.

The construction of the Maternal and Child Hospital, as it is also known for the multiple specialties its structure was meant to shelter, was announced by Fidel Castro during a speech in 1982. The following year the Engineering Works Construction Company of began digging the earth.

Among the crowd, in that July 26th celebration where Castro played to the audience, was a young man of 28 who thought that his children would be born in that hospital center projected to be one of the “most modern in Latin America.” Now, on the verge or retirement, Reynier Rosas recalls, “I had gray hair, some teeth fell out and my daughter gave me two grandchildren, but from the hospital, nothing.” continue reading

“I did a ton of volunteer work on the construction of the Pediatric,” Rosas explains to 14ymedio. “At the beginning there was a lot of enthusiasm and the place was full of builders, trucks and designers,” he recalls. “But little by little it was left empty and even the authorities stopped talking about the hospital.”

In that decade of the eighties, when work began for theBayamo Pediatric Hospital, the Soviet subsidy boosted the Cuban economy and financed numerous projects. Those were the years when the work on the Juraguá nuclear power plant, which stopped after the debacle of the socialist camp, also began in Cienfuegos.

“In 1988, the first signs were beginning to be felt,” remembers Migdalia, 68, who worked as a cook for the construction brigades of the unfinished hospital. “When I started working there, nothing was missing, but little by little the food supply became unstable and the arrival of materials began to fail.”

The Pediatric was not only designed to be the most important children’s hospital in the province, but it would be the second tallest building in Bayamo, a city of small architecture. In spite of being unfinished, its imposing structure can be seen from several places in the local geography.

Given the current situation, a “very specific and rigorous study” must be done to evaluate “if it is possible” to finish structure, says civil engineer Eriberto Chávez. (14ymedio)

In that same year of 1988 Castro returned to Bayamo and inquired among the leaders of the Party about the delays of the work he had promised more than five years ago. “Some of those who met him on that occasion told him very clearly that there was a lot of backlog, structural problems and that without the resources it could not be finished,” Migdalia recalls. “But he said they had to make a sacrifice to open it.”

Then, Migdalia says, in 1991 there was a break in the works and there were only a few workers, more to prevent the materials being stolen than to continue building the hospital. In the mid-90s they tried to give the project a new impetus but “it was worse because the situation was very bad and only very little progress was made,” he recalls.

The hardships of the Special Period led to vandalism and on the darkest nights nearby residents took floor slabs, steel bars and other materials to use in their own homes. Some workers took advantage of the lack of control to resell some of those resources on the black market.

In 2003, the Construction Business Group of Granma province undertook the work to enable a polyclinic taking advantage of a part of the site. The work was valued at 30 million Cuban pesos and currently suffers a series of problems that stem from its vicinity with the abandoned colossus, such as the proliferation of rats and insects in its facilities.

“Now, more than ever, we need that hospital because many doctors’ offices and family clinics that used to be in Bayamo are no longer open,” laments Riza, the mother of two children of school age. “In addition, the pediatric hospital that is providing services fails to meet the demand,” he says.

According to official figures, the number of clinics or family doctor’s offices has decreased significantly in the country in recent years. These premises went from 14,007 in 2007 to 10,782 in 2016. The number of polyclinics was also reduced by 9.2% in that period, according to official data.

“This place is a curse, it is not worth rebuilding because it has been damaged a lot by the rains and the sun, but it costs too much to destroy it,” adds Raiza, who is married to a mason who was hired at the beginning of this century for one of many restarts in the hospital construction, without success.

The place that was intended to cure has become a source of ill health. Every time it rains, “lagoons are created on the ground floor,” a security employee who guards the site confirmed to this newspaper. The puddles end up becoming mosquito breeding sites, an alarming situation in a city that in recent months has experienced a rebound of cases of Zika and dengue fever.

In 2015, a restart of the construction work was announced, which would begin with the placement of steps and stairways to allow the designers to go up to level eight. (14ymedio)

Caption: In 2015, a restart of the construction work was announced, which would begin with the placement of steps and stairways to allow the designers to go up to level eight. (14ymedio)

Decades of abandonment have left their mark. The property “has serious damages,” says civil engineer Eriberto Chávez, a resident of the city. The specialist warns about the deterioration “in the joints of beams with columns and columns with slabs.” Given the current situation, a “very specific and rigorous study” must be done to evaluate “if it is possible” to use the structure.

In 2015, a restart of the construction work was announced, which would begin with the placement of steps and stairways to allow the designers to go up to level eight and the roof, but the plan, once again, did not come to fruition due to lack of resources.

Now the province has other emergencies and with the economic straits that the country is experiencing from the cuts in oil shipments from Venezuela, the forecasts are not promising with regards to the “modern ruins” of the hospital.

With the passage of time, the people of Bayamo have stopped making plans involving the hospital, although the complaints about its situation are still heard in some neighborhood meetings or in conversations between neighbors. “They scammed us, an eight-story scam that we have to see every day,” says Reynier Rosas harshly. “I try not to look over there because it reminds me how naive I was.”

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United States Reduces the Alert Level for Travel to Cuba

The US embassy in Havana continues to staff at minimum levels after the evacuation of its non-essential personnel. (EFE)

14ymedio, Havana | 23 August 2018 – The United States on Thursday reduced the alert level for travel to Cuba, a surprise decision after relations between both countries were frozen after the mysterious “sonic attacks” suffered by 26 US diplomats in Havana, reports the Nuevo Herald.

Cuba is now found in category 2, which recommends exercising caution due to attacks directed against employees of the US embassy in Havana. At the end of September, the State Department had placed the island in category 3, recommending that Americans “reconsider” a trip to the Greater of the Antilles.

After the departure of 60% of the US diplomatic personnel deployed in Cuba and the reduction in the services of the embassy, relations between Washington and Havana deteriorated rapidly. The United States accuses the island of knowing who is behind the alleged attack on 26 of its diplomats, while Cuban authorities say it is a pretext to derail the process of reestablishing relations undertaken under the previous administration. continue reading

The Cuban economy has been affected in the past year by the fall in the number of tourists visiting the country, which dropped by 5.67% according to official figures. President Donald Trump in June of last year toughened the conditions for Americans visiting the neighboring country, so that their travel to Cuba fell by 23.6%.

The Havana Consulting Group, a company specializing in analyzing the Cuban economy, considers that the first half of 2018 has been “traumatic and devastating” for the Cuban tourist industry due to the combination of “countless accumulated unresolved problems,” among them the low influx of tourists from the USA.

According to Orna Blum, spokeswoman for the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs of the US State Department, the change to level 2 was due to a new assessment of the risk of traveling to Cuba.

“The Department conducted a comprehensive risk assessment for US private citizen travelers in Cuba and decided that a Level 2 travel alert was appropriate,” the spokeswoman told the Nuevo Herald.

The United States reiterated that it does not yet know the weapon used to harm its officials or what country or group is behind the alleged attacks.

Translated by Wilfredo Díaz Echevarria

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Victims of Machismo and Official Silence

The bodies of Tomasa Causse Fabat, a 64-year-old nurse and her daughter, Daylín Najarro Causse, 36, murdered by a former domestic partner of Najarro’s, are taken to Legal Medicine in Cienfuegos. (14ymedio)

14ymedio, Yoani Sanchez, Havana, 25 August 2018 — A few weeks ago, purely by chance, I attended an international event about the treatment of gender violence in the press. The official Cuban representative at the meeting, with a certain pride and a touch of superiority, emphasized that on the island there was no “crime blotter” and femicides are not a problem.

This week, two events reminded me of those words. One was the 58th anniversary of the founding of the Federation of Cuban Women (FMC), a pro-government organization that has done immense harm to the feminist cause on the Island by promoting a sugarcoated version of reality, silencing aggressions against women and monopolizing their social representation.

The other memory triggered was the publication of a note in the Cienfuegos newspaper, September 5^th, about the sentences handed out to the three perpetrators of the kidnapping, rape and murder of a 19-year-old girl. In an unusual gesture, the local media followed the case starting last year, when the father of the victim insisted on speaking out and making the tragedy known, and did not rest until he achieved that. continue reading

Editorial distinction goes to September 5^th’s news reporting which broke the official silence, although the coverage was sparse and several times lacked the minimum requirements for information reporting. For example, the description of the context of gender violence in which the murder of Leidy Maura Pacheco Mur took place was missing, and the journalist took great care not to mention words such as “femicide.” An omission caused, in part, by the lack of statistics on the real incidence of this scourge.

In that same Cienfuegos city, in May of this year, a mother and her daughter were stabbed to death by the latter’s ex-husband. Their deaths were reported only by the independent press and are not part of the presentations from the FMC when they go on tour around the world, nor have they reached the archives of UN Women, the United Nations entity dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women.

This lack of institutional information does not prevent each Cuban woman from having her own list of friends, neighbors or relatives who have died at the hands of an abusive husband, or who have been raped or suffered harassment. This personal record includes the sexual pressures of their bosses at work, groping on public transport and even the catcalls that he believes are compliments that she sees as aggressions.

To hide this situation and to silence with lies what needs to be made visible makes the problem worse because it prevents the establishment of a clear idea of the risks. How many times have we heard advice such “don’t walk down that street in the dark,” “call when you get there,” “don’t you feel alone in that park”? If the Cuban reality presents so many dangers for us, why isn’t the national media alerting us to them?

While thousands of women in Latin America march under the slogan “Not one more,” the victims of sexist violence on the Island can not be remembered in the streets and their faces are filed away only in that long gallery of outrages and aggressions that we carry in our memories. Every day that passes without public recognition of the true dimension of what is happening emboldens aggressors and weakens women.

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Every Effort Against the Dictatorship Seems to Me Appropriate and Inevitable / Ángel Santiesteban

Ángel Santiesteban, 12 May 2018 — Every effort against the dictatorship seems appropriate and inevitable to me. I believe fervently that in all of them is the pushback on the wall of dictatorship; but the actual reality does not lie there, at this stage of the championship contest we can’t believe in siren songs.

In particular, I believe in all of the opponents, in the Ladies in White, in Rosa María Paya, whom I respect and admire, in Antonio Rodiles, in Guillermo Fariña, UNPACU, Antúnez and all the others, just to mention those that come to mind now. continue reading

What I don’t believe is in the regime, in that some opponent can count on the Castros and his minions compromising and accepting any exigency that does not include them.

It is simply about agreeing or not, with one or more projects. I think it is unnecessary that five years can pass by only for them to tell us, this is not the way, we better rectify it.

From now on, and we see it in the example of Venezuela where Cuba is the ideologist, they won’t permit anything. The demand it seems to me, must be direct: that the regime abandon power and allow the road to a democracy where the people are the ones who govern. Accept that they will not be actors in that transition, and that it can only be achieved, of course, with pressure from the concert of nations.

By then we will have saved several years, that our generation has already missed, to see if we can have the experience of freedom in our beloved islands that make up the Cuban archipelago.

Hopefully the opponents who are leaders of projects will sit down to talk and find a roadmap, between all of them, the best path, the most united, in time and in form, as to what the dictatorship needs in order to leave power. This is like religion, each one contains a little bit of truth, of reasons and needs, none alone has all the answers and all the knowledge.

And for that I think that the artists and intellectuals should have an active role. As you well know, no political movement has been achieved without a prior cultural movement of art and of developed thought. I lend my voice so that it can be achieved.

About the author

Ángel Santiesteban

(Havana, 1966). Graduated in Film Direction, resides in Havana, Cuba. Mention in the Juan Rulfo contest (1989), National Prize of the Writers Guild UNEAC (1995). The book: Sueño de un día de verano [Dream of a Summer Day], was published in 1998. In 1999 he won the César Galeano award. And in 2001, the Alejo Carpentier Prize organized by the Cuban Book Institute with the set of stories: Los hijos que nadie quiso [The Children Nobody Wanted]. In 2006, he won the Casa de las Américas prize in the story genre with the book: Dichosos los que lloran [Blessed are Those Who Mourn]. In 2013, he won the Franz Kafka International Novels of the Drawer Prize, organized in the Czech Republic with the novel El verano en que Dios dormía [The Summer God Slept]. He has published in Mexico, Spain, Puerto Rico, Switzerland, China, England, Dominican Republic, France, USA, Colombia, Portugal, Martinique, Italy, Canada, among other countries.

Translated by Wilfredo Díaz Echevarria

Advice To The Independent Press To Protect Itself From Cuban Security

Among other items, the manual gives advice on what to do in case of suffering physical aggression. (Capture)

14ymedio, Yoani Sanchez, Havana, 23 August 2018 — How to evaluate the risks? What to do in the face of physical aggression? How to better protect information? These are some of the questions answered by the Holistic Security Manual for Cuban Journalists, recently published by the Institute for War & Peace Reporting (IWPR). With a simple language, the document is an essential “toolbox” for reporters on the island.

For decades, the Cuban independent press has experienced innumerable abuses and has had to adapt to frequent difficult and dangerous situations. This long experience has served as the main source for the IWPR in writing the current manual, presented in PDF format, inspired by the day-to-day of all those reporters who have chosen to narrate their country outside the official media. continue reading

Along with the experiences collected among these protagonists of free information, the manual has also relied on the advice of experts and various international organizations committed to freedom of expression and the protection of journalists. Hence, the final result is a compendium of recommendations sharply focused on the Cuban reality, with its peculiarities and its particular legal context.

The pages of the manual integrate advice for physical, psychological, digital and legal security, and also suggestions on how to act in times of danger. “The objective of the manual is to strengthen the capabilities of prevention, self-protection and security while exercising any information activity on the island,” say its editors, to which must also be added that it is a manual marked by awareness of civic matters and journalistic ethics.

The pages of the manual integrate advice for physical, psychological, digital and legal security, and also suggestions on how to act in times of danger

Responding to repression with a greater promotion of transparency and more professional work are some of the practices promoted by the 112-page document. This is a real challenge to a government that prefers to have “a mute, deaf and blind country,” as the Inter-American Press Association (IAPA) denounced at its meeting in Colombia in July.

In a society living under hyper-vigilance, with State Security increasingly dedicated to computer espionage, it is worth reminding reporters that they should never “leave notes or information from sources” nor fail to use encryption applications, which encrypt the messages from the moment of sending, as explained in great detail in the manual.

The flexibility when it comes time to adjust the advice, according to the subject on which the journalist is working or the characteristics of each medium, is also inscribed among the virtues of this volume. Its capacity for amendment can be infinite given the new challenges faced by reporters every day, which is why the IWPR insists on keeping the content “alive, subject to changes as the context changes.”

Beyond the recommendations for the safeguarding of the journalist, the media and the information collected, the text also becomes a glossary of the most common vulnerabilities suffered by the press in Cuba. A list to be taken into account at times when pressure is being applied from various sectors to have a Press Law in the country.

The fact that the manual was published soon after the end of the Congress of the Cuban Journalists Union, also helps to check it against the statements made in that conclave by professionals linked to official media, in which they demanded more access to institutional sources and better salaries. These demands stand in contrast to those of the independent sector, which is not even legally recognized that suffers from frequent arbitrary detentions and confiscations of tools of the trade.

It would be worth the effort for the editors to review some technological tips, such as the recommended use of WhatsApp in the Cuban context

It would be worth the effort for the editors to review some technological tips, such as the recommended use of WhatsApp in the Cuban context. The tool, very popular in other nations, faces several obstacles on the Island that don’t recommend it for journalism. With forced and data-heavy updates, it performs far below what Telegram can offer national users.

On the one hand, using the desktop version of WhatsApp requires a connection to the internet via mobile phone, something very difficult to achieve for those in Cuba who use a single browsing account in the public Wi-Fi zones. Telegram Desktop, meanwhile, can be used independently of cellular, which, together with the possibility of editing the messages after sending them, makes it more recommended for the press.

It is no wonder that Telegram has come to be called the messaging service of “the dissidents and the persecuted.” An added bonus is that it does not belong to Facebook, like WhatsApp, which was purchased by the social network giant. Mark Zuckerberg’s company has been shown to have serious vulnerabilities in terms of management of its clients’ data, while Telegram shows a greater commitment to security, and for this reason it has been blocked in Russia, where it was created.

Although the manual is intended for the Cuban press beyond the control of the Communist Party, many of the advice included in its pages can also serve those who work in media authorized and financed by the authorities. Even this media must be required reading for foreign correspondents living in Cuba, who are not exempt from surveillance and punishment for their work.

The manual closes with the text of Law 88, also known as the Gag Law, under which 75 activists were tried in 2003, in what came to be called the Black Spring. At least a third of the accused activists exercised independent journalism. A shocking epilogue that recalls that, despite the advice and recommendations regarding security, an independent Cuban reporter is at the mercy of the repressive caprice of the regime.

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ETECSA Performs Another Test of Mobile Internet but Limits it to 70 Megabytes per User

Two women connecting to the state WIFI network. (EFE)

14ymedio, Havana, 22 August 2018 – The Telecommunications Company of Cuba (ETECSA), this Wednesday, is carrying out another test of Internet browsing on mobile phones but, unlike the prior one that was unlimited, this time users can only consume one package of 70 non-renewable megabytes, according to the state monopoly.

From eight in the morning until midnight today, customers have “access to the Internet for prepaid cellular services,” a statement from ETECSA indicated. “During the period of time foreseen for the test, it may be partially or complete stopped depending on the behavior of the network and the adjustments of technical parameters that are being evaluated,” the text adds.

In the first test, this past week, customers complained about the excessive slowness of web browsing from mobile phones, the constant crashes and the lack of prior notification. continue reading

The company clarifies on this occasion that “those customers who use email from their cell phones should consider that their use of the email will count against any remaining limits in their active accounts.”

The connection this Wednesday has been marked by slowness, frequent loss of the data signal and congestion in the service, despite the fact that, like the prior test, a pre-announcement was not made in the national media. Users can barely check their email accounts, use chat services and social networks such as Telegram or Facebook but are unable to play videos online or download applications.

On August 14 ETECSA ran the first public test of internet access from mobile phones, which includes some 800,000 users. The prices for connecting at public wifi points (equivalent to one dollar per hour) and in homes (between 15 and 70 dollars for a 30-hour package) are still very expensive for Cubans, whose salaries average the equivalent of 30 dollars a month.

Results of an internet “Speed Test” during Etecsa’s test on Wednesday of internet-by-mobile connections. (14ymedio)

As information about the test spread and a larger number of people began using the data package, the connection became slower and access to the MiCubacel portal became almost impossible. “In the middle of the morning I was able to download a small app from the Google Play store but after noon I couldn’t even open my Gmail account,” lamented Brandon, a 17-year-old who found out because a friend called him from Trinidad and Tobago to tell him that he had read about the test on the internet.

Some users in Sancti Spíritus told this newspaper that they had been able to make video calls through the IMO in the morning and others in Havana also confirmed the information although “with avery low quality image.”

The 70 megabyte package can be acquired by dialing *133 #, then following the menu and selecting the appropriate option number: Data (1), Daily Use (2) and Send (1) and also by accessing the MiCubacel portal (https://mi.cubacel.net) after registering as a user.

Translated by Wilfredo Díaz Echevarria

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The Sickle and Cup

The old Hammer and Sickle flag waves over a bar Havana

14ymedio, Marcelo Hernández, Havana | August 14, 2018 — While the word “communism” leaves the Constitution by the back door, in Cuba, Soviet nostalgia feeds all types of businesses. Around Plaza de Armas in Havana, various old people offer old medals obtained in the Soviet Union and small replicas of busts of Lenin that once decorated the offices of civil servants.

On Avenida del Malecón a private restaurant has been converted into an obligatory pilgrimage site for those who want to remember the years when the Russian bear embraced the island so strongly.

The privately-owned restaurant Nazdarovie sets out to offer its clients the experience of a journey through time, its walls decorated with matrioshkas, smiling workers from the extinct Eastern Bloc, and optimistic-looking kolkhozniks (Soviet collective farmers).

A drinks menu at the “Sickle and Cup” — reflected in the logo — in Havana (14ymedio)

Founded by a Cuban who studied in the now-extinct country of the Soviets, the place combines, along with shots of vodka and a Russian menu, an iconography that at moments provokes laughter. Like the happy mix of the sickle with a glass of wine, which replaces the hammer in the emblem of the worldwide proletariat with something more hedonistic and fun.

On the spacious terrace, with the sea right in front, a red flag flutters to the satisfaction of utopians and to the amusement of passersby. Some come to take a photo with it, like a last bastion of the communist system that they once attempted to build in Cuba and that ended up defeated by the demands of the market, foreign currency, and the tourism of nostalgic ideologues.

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