May 2025 – Page 4 – Translating Cuba

Father Robert Will Not Be Able to Hug Harold Cepero Again

They say that, like Pope John Paul II, Leo XIV speaks the truth to those in power.

There is a photo of the future pope, along with Harold Cepero and other young Cuban Catholics in front of Havana Cathedral. / Facebook

14ymedio, Frank Calzón, Miami, 12 May 2025 — In a press release distributed by the Cuban Foreign Ministry, President Miguel Diaz-Canel congratulated Pope Leo XIV, reminding him that diplomatic relations between Cuba and the Holy See were established 90 years ago. The new pope, who once presided over the Pontifical Commission on Latin America, was already aware of this fact.

When Diaz-Canel sent the message, he had already read the State Security report on the visits to the island in 2008 and 2011 by the then “Father Robert,” and he may have carefully studied the information in the official files about his meetings with young Catholic activists, including Harold Cepero—the former seminarian murdered in 2012 along with Oswaldo Payá on a highway en route to Santiago de Cuba. There is a photo of the future pope with Harold and other young Cuban Catholics in front of Havana Cathedral.

They say that like Pope Francis, Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost developed a special interest in the poor, the needy and migrants.

The pontiff elected a few days ago by 133 cardinals was born in the United States, but has been a Peruvian citizen for over 40 years, and at the time of the Vatican conclave, he was the cardinal of Peru. It is said that, like Pope Francis, Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost developed a special interest in the poor, the needy, and migrants. Also, like Pope John Paul II, he speaks the truth to those in power. continue reading

The new pope was born in 1955, when Karol Wojtyla, the future Pope John Paul II, had already suffered persecution from the Nazis and the Polish communist regime. By the time Leo XIV took the chair of St. Peter, Iran was close to being able to manufacture atomic bombs, Russia’s war against Ukraine continued, as did the repression of Catholics in Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, and at the hands of Arab extremists in Africa. A bishop in China is under house arrest, and according to the agreement with the Vatican, the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party has the power to propose candidates for bishops in its country, although in fact it has actually granted itself the power to appoint them.

The Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party has the power to propose candidates for bishops in its country, although in reality it has given itself the power to appoint them.

In Nicaragua, Daniel Ortega has expelled priests and nuns. And in Cuba, despite his good intentions and Pope John Paul’s public protests, the Office of Religion and Cults, which oversees the island’s churches, continues to operate. It is to this office, which is not a government department but rather a department of the Central Committee of the Cuban Communist Party, that priests must go to request permission to travel abroad, buy bricks and cement to repair the roof of the parish church, or organize a religious procession in the town park.

In this international context and given his biography, it should come as no surprise that Leo XIV is aware of Harold Cepero’s death and is also addressing President Diaz-Canel regarding the case of José Daniel Ferrer, the leader of the Patriotic Union of Cuba, who was arbitrarily and in poor health sent back to political prison in Santiago de Cuba. Let us hope so.

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The Cuban Regime Rents Out the Anti-Imperialist Tribune in Havana

The altar of “Homeland or Death!”, a showcase of ideological fidelity, is for rent.

The publication appears in the “sponsored content” section, and with very specific prices. / Cubadebate

14ymedio, Havana, May 12, 2025 — A new era is dawning for the José Martí Anti-Imperialist Tribune* located directly across from the U.S. Embassy in Havana. From being a “distinguished bastion” that emerged in the heat of the Battle of Ideas at the beginning of this century, the facility is now “available to legal and natural persons” for the rental of halls, covered spaces, and open-air areas. According to the announcement published by Cubadebate, the measure seeks to “sustain the legacy of its founding principles.”

Next to the former Monte de las Banderas (Hill of the Flags), the 14,040-square-meter “protestódromo” “is pleased to open its ’doors’ to regulatory updates to economic policy,” according to the announcement. Its spaces will be rented for cultural, political, sporting, educational, and similar events, although it is unclear whether this includes private parties, weddings, or celebrations for revolutionary quinceañeras.

But the star of the package is the open-air space between the rooms, with capacity for 120 people and a panoramic view of the “historical enemy”

The publication appears in the “sponsored content” section, and with very specific prices: the rental of the air-conditioned hall, with a capacity for 100 people and dimensions of 15 x 40 meters, will cost 13,741 pesos and 29 cents per day. A practically modest price, considering that it promises—unlike the rest of the country—guaranteed water and electricity 24 hours a day. Another option, more intimate and better equipped, will be around 15,000 pesos. But the star package is the open-air space between the halls, with capacity for 120 people and a panoramic view of the “historical enemy”: the US Embassy. This corner costs 28,000 Cuban pesos per night, ideal for those who dream of toasting the empire. continue reading

The history of the Tribune dates back to 2000, as a reaction to the so-called “poster war.” The U.S. Interests Section—which operated as a de facto embassy—installed scrolling electronic messages on its facade targeting Cubans, with phrases about democracy, human rights, and freedom. These LED signs illuminated the Malecón for weeks, provoking a swift and theatrical response from the Cuban government.

On April 3 of that year, Fidel Castro inaugurated the José Martí Anti-Imperialist Tribune directly across the street, presenting it as a “moral wall” against imperialism. Since then, the venue has hosted concerts, political rallies, school events, vigils, torch-lit parades, and other displays of revolutionary fervor, often with mandatory attendance for students, workers, and military personnel.

Over time, the platform became established as a symbolic, acoustic, and visual shield against the enemy’s messages. The staging increased: large black flags with white stars covered the direct view of the diplomatic headquarters for years.

From that same podium Fidel Castro shouted more than once that “principles and dignity are not for sale”

For a quarter of a century, this site was an altar of patriotic discourse and a showcase of ideological loyalty. However, fiscal strangulation and economic reforms have led the regime to monetize even its own icons. Thus, the quintessential anti-capitalist platform is rented by the day, even though from that same podium Fidel Castro repeatedly shouted that “principles and dignity are not for sale.”

In 2019, some modifications were begun to construct two two-story buildings. One of the local residents told 14ymedio: “They didn’t inform anyone here. One day we woke up and there they were, using their sledgehammer to knock everything down.” One of the workers explained: “We spent nine days erecting these flagpoles, and now they told us we had to come and demolish them.”

At the end of February 2025, the use of the National Capitol for a celebration of the 25th Havana Cigar Festival caused outrage. Researcher Rosa Marquetti wrote on social media: “How should we understand this quasi-private party at the foot of the statue that represents the image of the Homeland and next to the Tomb of the Unknown Mambí? What are they trying to tell us with this obscenity?”

Although the Anti-Imperialist Tribune doesn’t have the same symbolic weight as the Capitol, this decision to commodify what was once a showcase of anti-Yankee resistance will not go unnoticed. Turning what was once a symbol of ideological confrontation into an event hall is, at the very least, an irony of this era: from “Homeland or Death!” to “Available by the day. Negotiable prices.”

*Translator’s note: The site and its previous incarnations have also commonly been called a “platform” and a “bandstand”.

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The US Will Offer an Additional $1,000 in Aid to Those Who Choose to Self-Deport

The stipend will be paid to the beneficiaries “once their return to their country of origin has been confirmed.”

Department of Homeland Security logo at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) headquarters in Washington, DC. / EFE/EPA/Graeme Sloan

EFE (via 14ymedio), Washington, 5 May 2025 — The United States will offer financial assistance to facilitate the return of undocumented immigrants to their countries and an additional $1,000 stipend to those who choose to self-deport, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced Monday.

The DHS detailed in a statement that the assistance will be channeled through the rebranded CBP Home app and that, in the case of the stipend, it will be paid to recipients “once their return to their country of origin has been confirmed.”

“Self-deportation is a dignified way to leave the U.S. and will allow undocumented aliens to avoid being intercepted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE),” DHS said.

According to the department, a Honduran man who purchased a ticket from Chicago to his native Honduras was the first to successfully use this travel assistance program. “Additional tickets have already been booked for this week and next,” the statement said.

“Participating in CBP Home’s self-deportation program can help preserve an undocumented alien’s ability to legally re-enter the U.S. in the future.”

Undocumented immigrants who express their decision to voluntarily self-deport through CBP Home – an update to the Biden Administration’s (2021-2025) CBP One app – will no longer be at the top of ICE’s raid list, “as long as they demonstrate that they are making significant progress in completing that departure.” continue reading

“Participating in the CBP Home self-removal program can help preserve an undocumented alien’s ability to legally reenter the U.S. in the future,” DHS warned

The Trump administration has moved swiftly to fulfill the president’s promises to carry out the largest deportation campaign in the country’s history.

The multiple arrests and raids against illegal immigrants since Trump took office last January have drawn sharp criticism from the Republican’s detractors and pro-immigrant organizations.

“If you are here undocumented, self-deportation is the best, safest, and most cost-effective way to leave the United States and avoid arrest,” DHS Secretary Kristi Noem added in the statement.

“We’re going to pay each of you a certain amount of money, and we’re going to get you a nice flight back.”

Using the financial assistance program will also represent a 70% savings for American taxpayers, Noem insisted.

Currently, the average cost of arresting, detaining, and deporting an undocumented foreigner is $17,121, according to official data.

Trump on Monday highlighted the benefits of the aid program for those “illegally in the U.S.” who choose to self-deport, while criticizing what he called Biden’s “open borders” policy.

“We’re going to pay each of them a certain amount of money, and we’re going to get them a nice flight home (…). They have a period of time (to complete the application for return travel assistance), and if they do, we’re going to work with them so that maybe someday, they can come back if they’re good people,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.

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Cuban Political Prisoner José Gabriel Barrenechea Was Only Able To See His Mother After Her Death

The ’14ymedio’ contributor was briefly released from prison to attend Zoila Chávez’s wake.

Independent journalist José Gabriel Barrenechea. / Facebook

14ymedio, Havana, 5 May 2025 — Cuban authorities only allowed journalist and political prisoner José Gabriel Barrenechea to visit his mother after she had died. According to what family sources confirmed to 14ymedio, the journalist was taken from the prison to Zoila Esther Chávez’s wake, where he was allowed to remain for an hour and a half.

A family member who asked to remain anonymous said Barrenechea was “quite calm” because he had been “prepared a bit by phone.” The funeral for the journalist’s mother was held this Monday at 10:00 a.m.

Zoila died this Sunday, at the age of 84, in Encrucijada, Villa Clara. The woman had asked on several occasions to see her son, who was arrested in November 2024 and accused of public disorder. The most recent and significant request came recently, when, already aware of the seriousness of her health—she had metastatic bladder cancer—she recorded a video in which she begged, on the verge of tears, to be allowed to see her son one last time.

“Why won’t they release my son?” the woman asked in the heartbreaking video. “What has he done to make them lock him up, to make them keep him and me in this ordeal, in this terror I carry inside my heart? How long will they keep a mother suffering like this? Please, everyone join me and help me pray for my son.” Although there was a strong online outcry in support of her demand, the regime refused to grant Barrenechea’s release. continue reading

“The refusal to allow a final farewell between mother and son, an elementary gesture of humanity, reflects a profound ethical degeneration of the Cuban judicial and police system.”

“The refusal to allow a final farewell between mother and son, an elementary gesture of humanity, reflects a profound ethical degeneration of the Cuban judicial and police system.”

Yurianis Speck Rosillo, head of the La Pendiente prison where the reporter is awaiting trial, has been included on the Cuban Human Rights Foundation’s list of repressors for carrying out this decision.

“With sadness we received the death of Zoila Chávez, mother of political prisoner José Gabriel Barrenechea. Zoila died hoping to be reunited with her son, who had been deprived of his liberty since November 2024,” the organization Civil Rights Defenders said. In a tweet published Monday, they expressed their solidarity with the family and demanded the reporter’s release.

José Gabriel Barrenechea was arrested for joining spontaneous demonstrations that erupted on November 7 in Encrucijada. Three days later, his family had no news of his whereabouts, after he was being held at the Santa Clara Police Investigation Unit, where he was interrogated.

Initially, authorities attempted to charge him with sedition, but the journalist himself reported that they had dropped the charge and instead charged him with “public disorder,” a less serious offense with criminal consequences, although it can carry up to three years in prison, provided no aggravating factors are added.

More than twenty organizations signed a petition calling for the release of Barrenechea and Yadiel Hernández, also a contributor to 14ymedio, who was finally released from prison without charges on Monday, April 28.

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Animation in Cuba Needs More Than Russian Cartoons

Three filmmakers reflect on the challenges facing the sector and the urgency of structural change.

Frame of ’Todo por Carlitos’, by Ernesto Piña.

14ymedio, Madrid, Yunior García Aguilera, 11 May 2025 — Following statements by the president of the Cuban Institute of Art and Film Industry (ICAIC), Alexis Triana, on the recent agreements signed with the Russian studios Soyuzmultfilm, 14ymedio gathered the testimonies of three prominent Cuban animators. All agree on an essential point: animation in Cuba needs much more than Russian cartoons to survive.

None of the interviewees questions the quality and legacy of Russian studios. What they regret is the lack of knowledge about the details of the agreement, beyond what has been published in official media. Accustomed to the fact that many agreements are signed without consulting the creators and ultimately end up benefiting mainly the official political discourse, they hope that this time the institution will take advantage of the opportunity to revitalize a sector facing serious obstacles.

Ernesto Piña is one of the most influential contemporary filmmakers in Cuban animation. With works such as Todo por Carlitos, Eme-5, Pubertad and his recent feature film La Super, he has built a style of his own, characterized by a lack of inhibition, an alternative visuality and a Creole humor that mixes influences of the classic Cuban style with foreign references. continue reading

“Many people have emigrated, not only from the country, but also from the animation studios, because the pay is no longer stimulating and life is very hard”

Piña deeply regrets the shortage of qualified personnel: “Many people have emigrated, not only from the country but also from the animation studios, because the pay is no longer stimulating and life is very hard,” he confesses. “It’s hard work to do, no doubt about it, because today everything is done digitally. And although the blackouts affect the provinces more, Havana is also in check.”

On the material conditions, he is blunt: “We have outdated technology, archaic, almost primitive, to make more or less decent products. There is also very little participation in international events because the director cannot be present at all, and there is little knowledge and infrastructure to place these materials on large platforms or move them internationally.”

From Ourense, in Galicia (Spain), where he has been living for three years, director Adrián López Morín continues to create animations. In Cuba he founded the Anima studios, one of the most solid outside the capital. Desde Holguín produced historical short films, video clips and the medium-length film, Abdala, el retorno de los señores de Xibalbá, an ambitious work that combines 2D and 3D techniques.

For López, one of the most serious problems is the lack of vocational training: “A facilitator needs two to five years of specialized training, taking advantage of his skills and complementing them with specific tools. There are very good self-taught animators, but they are the exception, not the rule.”

In his studio, they recruited graduates from the provincial academy of fine arts. However, when the required social service terms for these students expired, the flow of new talent was interrupted. “An experimental short film can be made with four guys,” explains López, “but if you want to develop a more complex product, designed for the international market, you need a minimum team of 15 professional animators.”

About the technology, Lopez is clear: “Even for traditional animation, paper is needed, and that too is scarce. We created cartoons with typewriters. To get into a 3D project you need Nvidia RTX cards or computers with more than 32 GB of RAM. Another issue is software licenses and their pricing. I don’t know how much the technological embargo affects, but there is an institutional fear of investing in something that seems very expensive.”

For him, sustainability is another fundamental stumbling block: “How can we do merchandising in a country like Cuba? How can we make these products profitable? How can we overcome the prejudice against commercialism? Arthouse cinema is great, but not everyone is Juan Padrón*,” he concludes.

One of the most prolific creators today is Vladimir Emilio García Herrera. In 2024, his short film Chimbe was awarded at the TAL (Latin American Television Awards). Although he has worked with the ICAIC and Cuban television, he has opted for independence with his project VLAstudio-Animation Laboratory. Far from complacency, Garcia has taken advantage of his recent visibility to be critical of the state of the sector: “Animation in Cuba is in a chaotic state. We have a great legacy that is about to be lost,” he says.

In the middle of an unusually brief blackout, Garcia reflects: “This job requires that the lights do not go out. I agree that there is a need for technology and specialized training, because it is not just about producing more, but doing it with quality and creating competitive materials.” He also denounces the culture of precariousness: “There are colleagues who, for fear of not being able to carry out their work, negotiate less and less budget. And that is negatively marking the product, conditioning the simplicity of projects.”

Recent years have been marked by growing tensions between film-makers and cultural institutions. To the general deterioration of living conditions are added the cancellation of events, censorship, the exodus of talent, technological obsolescence and a structure that continues to distrust the market, without finding effective mechanisms to distribute or monetize audiovisual production.

Beyond the promises of the president of the ICAIC, the animators continue to create. However, they agree in regretting the little progress in Cuba of tools as useful as artificial intelligence. “AI is here to stay, and not even Hayao Miyazaki can be against that,” said Piña.

*Cuban animation director and comics artist.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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A Group of Exiled Cuban Activists Calls on Washington To Resolve Their ‘Uncertain Migratory Situation’

All face “obstacles to regularizing their status” and express their willingness to meet with Trump representatives.

A demonstration of Cuban exiles held in Miami, March 2023 / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Havana, May 11, 2025 — A group of Cuban activists living in the United States have addressed an open letter to the Trump administration regarding their “uncertain migratory situation”. Victims, mostly of persecution by the regime, surveillance by state security and multiple acts of repression and repudiation, ask Washington for “humanitarian attention, review of asylum applications and legal support”.

The signatories ask in their statement “to make visible and explore ways to find a solution” to the climate of migratory tension in which they live, despite having requested protection against the regime on the island. All face “obstacles to regularizing their status” and express their willingness to meet with representatives of Trump, or independent organizations and individuals.

In particular, they wish to meet with the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, “to present and deliver in writing the files on our cases”.

[[The signatories call in their statement for “visibility and exploration of ways to find a solution” to the climate of migratory tension in which they live]]

They also recall that since the massive protests of 11 July 2021, both repression in Cuba and the migratory stampede have intensified. Millions of Cubans – among them many opponents – traveled to the U.S., fleeing “a dictatorship that has seized our country, leaving Cubans no choice but death, prison, silence or exile.”

With Trump’s immigration policy, many risk being victimized for a second time, not in a dictatorship like the Cuban one, but in a “democratic environment” like that of the United States. They claim the “political and forced character of the exodus” and the fact that Cubans had to travel continue reading

through an “irregular migratory corridor” allowed by two regimes, Miguel Díaz-Canel in Cuba and Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua.

Several of the exiles actually had to go “from prison to the airport.” They now face an equally tense situation, as some of the exiles in the U.S. are “in imminent danger of deportation,” such as freelance journalist Lazaro Yuri Valle Roca and his wife Eralidis Frometa.

Also in a situation of “extreme emergency”, reported this week by this newspaper, is the rapper Eliexer Márquez, El Funky, one of the authors of the libertarian anthem Patria and Life and winner of two Grammy awards. The singer received a deportation order and has had financial difficulties in the country.

They claim the “political and forced character of the exodus,” and the fact that Cubans had to pass through an “irregular migratory corridor”

The letter is addressed to several politicians of Cuban descent, both Republicans and Democrats, such as Trump’s secretary of state, Marco Rubio, and congress members Mario Díaz-Balart, María Elvira Salazar, Carlos Giménez and Rob Menendez. They are also addressing other high-ranking officials who may have an influence on the issue, such as Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, in addition to Senator Rick Scott and Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman from Florida.

Among the signatories, of whom all details are given in particular cases, are Daniela Ferrer, seven-year-old daughter of the opponent José Daniel Ferrer, whose release was recently revoked by the regime; the scientist Oscar Casanella, participant in the San Isidro protest, in 2020; Julio César Góngora, Alexeys Blanco, José Rolando Casares Soto and Yamilka Abascal Sánchez, human rights activists; 11J protesters Yaneris Redondo and Mariana Fernández; journalist Esteban Rodríguez; and the academics and activists Anamely Ramos and Omara Ruiz Urquiola, victims of multiple repressive actions by the regime.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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The Second International Congress for the Cuban Book in Exile

Cuban authors have been victims of the cultural war that Castroism started in 1959.

Mancha’s idea was taken up as very valid by writers and publishers / Capture

14ymedio, Pedro Corzo, Miami, May 11, 2025 — Ten years ago, the Cuban journalist Silvio Mancha proposed to convene a group of writers and publishers to hold a literary meeting that would bring together books, authors and publishing houses that Castro’s totalitarianism does not allow in Cuba. Or, in other words, for creators and their creations that have suffered banishment.

From its first day in power, the Regime declared a full-scale offensive against those who did not think like them. They practiced sectarianism and ideological discrimination, imposing an information control that culminated in a real war against political opposition and the moral execution of those who thought freely.

From the first moment, people of integrity, those who refused to put a price on their creation, suffered an internal exile that forced them to write, paint and think in obscurity. Life became complicated for all of us, because listening to a song by Jose Feliciano or simply commenting on a joke by Guillermo Álvarez Guedes was enough to end up in a dungeon.

The stark reality is that Cuban authors have been victims of the cultural war that Castro started in the same year as the triumph of the insurrection, in 1959. Censorship was immediately established; the seizure of publishing houses, printing houses and bookstores did not wait, along with the seizure of all the information and broadcast media: radio, television and press. They made the word their own, and as the writer Jose Antonio Albertini says, “they began to kill with ink, not just with bullets.” continue reading

They made the word their own, and as the writer Jose Antonio Albertini says, “they began to kill with ink, not just with bullets”

Mancha’s idea was taken up as very valid by writers and publishers, among them Jose Antonio Albertini, Ángel Cuadra, Rosa Leonor Whitmarsh, Luis de la Paz, Ángel de Fana, Rolando Morelli, Alberto Muller and Juan Manuel Salvat, among others. The event was held for two days at a facility of the International University of Florida and was dedicated to the memory of a great exile, Enrique Ros, writer and tireless fighter against totalitarianism.

The meeting was really a success, very politically defined. No Castro hitman was invited, and the participation of persons and institutions that had any link with totalitarianism, inside or outside Cuba, was rejected because the organizers, following the teachings of José Martí, are convinced that the slavery of thought, like physical slavery, is a form of oppression which prevents individual and collective development.

The invitation and call issued is international in nature and has been extended to the United States, Canada, South America and Europe

This year, the academic Daniel Pedreira, current president of the Pen Club of Cuban Writers in Exile, shared the idea of calling a second meeting that immediately had the support of several institutions and personalities of the exile. They included the Institute of Cuban Historical Memory against Totalitarianism, Plantados hasta la Libertad de Cuba, the publishing houses El Ateje and Gota de Agua, and the Academia de la Historia de Cuba en el Exilio. Together with other institutions and personalities, they joined the project and decided to dedicate it to “Juan Clark, in memoriam,” in tribute to a Cuban academic who participated as a paratrooper in the incursion to Cuba of the 2506 Brigade. He later taught classes at Miami Dade College, besides being the author of one of the masterpieces of the Cuban exile, Cuba, Myth and Reality, Testimony of a People.

The invitation and call issued is of an international character and has been extended to the United States, Canada, South America and Europe, and to any Cuban national author who has a work that totalitarian censorship does not allow to circulate in Cuba no matter where he is. Authors residing on the Island have agreed to join this meeting that once again seeks to denounce the numerous limitations to creation that Castroism has imposed on citizens in general, including its own supporters, who also do not enjoy the freedom to praise their masters without restrictions.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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The Cuban Regime Celebrates the Departure of Mauricio Claver-Carone From the White House

After completing his 130 days of service as a special employee of Washington this May, the politician will dedicate himself to running his private company.

During Trump’s first term, Claver-Carone served as director of Western Hemisphere Affairs for the National Security Council. / EFE

14ymedio, Havana, 11 May 2025 — Mauricio Claver-Carone the Cuban-American lawyer and businessman whom Donald Trump chose during his second term to “restore order” in Latin America, will leave the government at the end of May, completing 130 days of his tenure as a special employee of Washington. After his departure, he will dedicate himself to running his Miami-based financial firm, Lara Fund, according to Bloomberg.

As the United States’ special envoy for Latin America, and throughout his political career, Claver-Carone has been a vocal critic of the continent’s dictatorships, especially those of Venezuela and Cuba. At an event held at Miami-Dade College in early April, the lawyer asserted that the Trump administration would exert more pressure on the Cuban regime’s military and intelligence apparatus, and he estimated that the economic pressure applied so far has been insufficient.

“We’ are going to be more surgical, more effective,” he promised at the time, arguing that the travel ban on the island and the obstruction of remittances are outdated strategies and that it was necessary to “be more creative.” He also insisted that “the Cuban government must understand that our tools and President Trump’s willingness in this regard are different from what they’ve seen in the past.”

He also compared the case of Havana with that of Caracas: “The sanctions themselves are based on old laws that sometimes have no side effects,” unlike the case of Venezuela, where “the instruments are much more continue reading

targeted, effective, have side effects, and are, therefore ,more powerful,” he argued.

Claver-Carone has supported the deportation policies initiated after Trump took office.

Claver-Carone has supported the deportation policies initiated after Trump took office, arguing that they represent a “short-term pain for long-term benefits.” “If you don’t want to spend 60 years in exile, then stop that process now, make the short-term sacrifices now, because otherwise, you won’t get anywhere,” he urged.

In addition, he has also been highly critical of the use of USAID funds earmarked for the Cuban opposition and independent journalism.

Havana has taken the announcement of Claver-Carone’s departure from the government as an undeniable sign of internal disagreements among figures close to Trump. According to an article published Saturday by Cubadebate, signed by Cuban spokesperson Randy Alonso, the “superb” lawyer has been displaced by Marco Rubio, also of Cuban origin, and recently appointed Interim National Security Advisor, in addition to being Secretary of State.

“Claver-Carone and el señorito Rubio seem to be swallowing but not chewing,” Alonso says, based on another article published by Clarín. According to the Argentine newspaper, the government of Javier Milei has welcomed the departure of the politician from Trump’s Cabinet. Milei had strongly criticized Buenos Aires’ financial relationship with Beijing while the former was trying to negotiate a loan from the International Monetary Fund.

“In that Administration [Donald Trump’s first], where Carone held a more privileged position than Rubio, he was the main architect of the more than 200 ominous measures that the Trump administration imposed against Cuba,” says Alonso, who highlighted the politician’s expulsion from the presidency of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) “for granting salary and position favors to his lover since his time as National Security Advisor for Latin America.”

Javier Milei’s government has welcomed the departure of the politician from Trump’s Cabinet, who strongly criticized Buenos Aires’ financial relationship with Beijing.

His removal from that position in 2022 was the cause of several clashes between Claver-Carone and Guillermo Francos, Milei’s current chief of staff, who then represented Alberto Fernández’s administration at the Inter American Development Bank (IDB). According to Argentina, the American was blocking the delivery of loans to the country. After his departure from the institution, the lawyer claimed that Francos was behind his expulsion.

“They can kick me out for being from the United States, for being a Cuban-American from Miami, for being a Republican, or for whatever they want. But not for this; this is defamation,” the politician complained in an interview with EFE, asserting that the decision had been “arbitrary.”

In any case, Havana is another celebrating Claver-Carone’s departure from the United States government, as it removes another politician opposed to its regime from its list of inconveniences: “He lasted in this administration as long as a piece of candy at a school gate. And we’re not going to mourn him in these parts. A good son of the same man who has been against the Cuban people.”

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The ‘Missing’ Baby Food Arrives at Homes in Sancti Spíritus Past its Expiration Date

“The last ones they brought looked so swollen they were about to burst, I took a picture and sent it to the provincial Internal Trade Office so they would know.”

Pillín compote is distributed in 200-milliliter containers in the rationed family basket. / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Sancti Spíritus, Mercedes García 11 May 2025 — The two children scamper around the bag their grandmother Eugenia has just brought from the grocery store. They clamor for the compote, a Pillín brand, bought at the nearby grocery store at the rationed market. However, as soon as they open one, the sour smell spreads throughout the dining room. Once again, a batch of La Estancia products intended for children has gone bad in Sancti Spíritus.

Eugenia returns to the store in the Kilo 12 neighborhood where she bought the compotes, and the employee’s response leaves her disheartened: “Many of the ones they brought have turned out bad. I’ll file a report, but I doubt they’ll replace them because it’s a general problem.” From the Pillín brand the spoiled guava-flavored batch leaves the children salivating and the family members very upset.

“It’s always a problem with these compotes: when they don’t disappear, they’re delayed, or they arrive spoiled,” the grandmother from Sancti Spiritus explains to 14ymedio. “You can’t trust that they’ll be supplied every month, nor that once they arrive they’ll be in good condition.” The woman details other problems the product frequently presents. “Sometimes it comes with chunks, with pieces of peel if it’s mango, for example, or with little fruit flavor and too much sugar.” continue reading

“It’s always something with these compotes, when they don’t disappear, they’re delayed, or they arrive bad.”

Pillín compote, distributed in 200 ml containers as part of the rationed family food basket, is a beverage made from fruit pulp, water, sugar, starch, citric acid, vitamin C, and iron lactate, according to La Estancia executives. The preparation, which is distributed to children up to three years old, contains a significant amount of added sugar, a component not considered appropriate for those ages. Despite its nutritional deficiencies, it is an alternative for children in the poorest households.

But not even these low-income families can consume the food when it arrives at the ration stores in poor condition. “They arrive already swollen, even though the expiration date is August 2026. From the moment they arrive, you can see they’re in poor condition,” laments an employee of a state-owned store in the Kilo 12 neighborhood of Sancti Spíritus. “The last ones they brought looked so swollen they were about to burst. I took a photo and sent it to the provincial Internal Trade Department so they would know.”

The lack of preservatives is at the root of the constant problems the product presents. “We are missing some of the additives because the company doesn’t have the resources to purchase the raw materials of that type sold on the international market. We have tried to maintain production, but the resulting food is unstable, and its preservation cannot be guaranteed throughout the transport chain,” a La Estancia employee who prefers to remain anonymous explains to this newspaper.

“But it must also be said that most warehouses don’t have the conditions to keep the compote for long; it’s too hot, the roofs are made of metal, and they practically turn those spaces into large ovens,” she explains. “Trucks don’t meet all the requirements either. Sometimes they simply place the boxes on the truck bed, which doesn’t have a cover, and just put a tarp over it, so on the way the sun also damages the food.”

“We’re missing some of the additives because the company doesn’t have the resources to purchase the raw materials of that type sold on the international market.”

The La Estancia Food and Beverage company in Sancti Spíritus has been making headlines in the local press and independent media for years, and not exactly for the quality of its products. In 2021, it was forced to shut down its machines due to a lack of funding to package Osito compotes and nectar boxes. Reports of poor quality in its baby food have also been frequent on social media.

Subordinated to the Cuba Rum Corporation and therefore to the Ministry of the Food Industry, La Estancia, established in 2013, has become synonymous with unstable supplies and quality issues. For the state-owned industry, these are negative numbers in the accounts, but thousands of Cuban families experience it as a cataclysm when the sour smell of compote sets their children to crying.

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Cuban Jews Denounce Mariela Castro’s ‘Unpunished’ Anti-Semitism

“If the purpose of her words was to offend us, she succeeded. But she also strengthened our dignity.”

The Jewish Community criticizes Mariela Castro for equating Zionism with fascism. / Board of Trustees of the House of the Jewish Community in Cuba/Facebook

14ymedio, Havana, 11 May 2025 — A vehement statement from the Jewish Community in Cuba, published this Saturday, reacts to Mariela Castro’s statements on State TV’s Mesa Redonda [Round Table] program, which they attribute to her “excessive hatred” and “deep contempt” toward Jews. The congresswoman and daughter of Raúl Castro said on Friday, in an interview with spokesperson Randy Alonso, that “there is no Jewish people,” but rather people who profess that religion “victimized in an exaggerated manner using biblical myths.”

Cuban Jews accuse Castro of having expressed herself in an “insulting” manner and of having gone “too far” in her statement, taking advantage of the “impunity” granted to her by her rank and family. Her words “incite hatred within the Cuban population.” In just a few hours, the message has accumulated hundreds of comments supporting Jews and condemning the sexologist’s statements.

While the regime has always held an anti-Israel stance and dismissed its defense after the Hamas terrorist attack on October 7, 2023—in which some 1,200 Israelis died and 251 were kidnapped—no senior Cuban official had ever spoken out in such an “incoherent, hurtful, irresponsible, and disrespectful manner, in a clear act of abuse of power” as did Mariela Castro.

“There are many ways to defend a cause, and we see this demonstrated every day around the world. However, wanting peace for the Palestinian people does not give us any right to discredit, curse, or attack the people of Israel,” they argue.

They urge Castro—using the Jewish dialectic of “one question with another”—to answer “why they have been persecuted for centuries by different nations” since their expulsion from Israel in the first century by continue reading

the Roman Empire. They also remind the deputy that Fidel Castro himself admitted in 2011 that “no one has been slandered more than the Jews… the Jews have led a much more difficult life than ours. There is nothing that can compare to the Holocaust.”

The Jewish Community also criticized Mariela Castro for equating Zionism with fascism—”in its Nazi expression”—when they are historically antagonistic movements. By 1945, the Nazis had eliminated 2.7 million Jews in extermination camps, some two million in mass shootings, and almost one million in concentration camps or ghettos in European cities—figures Castro ignores.

They also explain that in the State of Israel today, “multiple ethnic and religious minorities coexist, including a 20% Arab-Israeli population.” They also denounce misconceptions and ahistorical misidentifications by Raúl Castro’s daughter, for whom the fascism of the 1920s is, in her own words, identifiable with the Zionist movement of the late 19th century, which promoted the return of Jews scattered throughout the world to their land of origin.

The document also criticizes the Round Table program for attempting to gloss over, in “barely an hour” and tangentially, both Israel’s conflict with Palestine and its attempts to achieve “a peace that has so far been rejected by several Arab leaders.” This, they conclude, is an “opinion from ignorance” or, rather, a denial of Jewish cultural heritage and memory.

“The Jewish Community of Cuba reiterates its commitment to respectful dialogue, peace among peoples, and the defense of our history, culture, and dignity,” they conclude. “If the objective of her words was to offend us, she has succeeded. But she has also strengthened our dignity.”

“The Jewish Community of Cuba reiterates its commitment to respectful dialogue, peace among peoples, and the defense of our history”

Castro had appeared on the Round Table to address issues related to the pro-government LGBTI community, which she leads as director of the National Center for Sexual Education (Cenesex). On the program, the deputy alleged that Israel was seeking a “full and total ethnic cleansing” of Palestine, in collusion with the United States.

Alonso compared this supposed intention to that of Nazi Germany with “the Jewish people,” to which Castro replied by denying that such a people existed. “There is a Jewish religion.” “The poor [people of Israel],” he mocked. “Of course, at that time, imperialism, led by the United Kingdom and later by the United States, in order not to lose the geopolitical power of the Bosphorus Strait and the Red Sea, did not want to lose their colonial power.”

“They’re not Hebrews, they’re of the Jewish religion, they’re not Semites.” Alonso approved the comment and tried to clarify: “The Jewish people are not the same as Zionist power,” he said, but Castro returned the attack: “Zionist power was an entire political supremacist movement that was born shortly before Nazism, and they were very closely related, and are very closely related, to all the worst of Nazism and fascism, which is now resurfacing with great force.”

Continuing, he stated that the regime’s “revolutionary activism” had a duty to react against Israel and its allies. In addition to condemning Castro’s remarks, the Jewish Community in Cuba promised that, if they were ratified on other platforms by herself or other regime officials, they would receive a “firm, dignified, and also unpunished” response from Cuban Jews.

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The Shadow of the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution Over Ecuador

The distrust surrounding the Correa candidate was fueled by her ideological sympathy for the authoritarian regimes of Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua.

In the days leading up to the vote, references to the Committees for the Defense of the Island’s Revolution multiplied in the debates. / EFE

14ymedio, Yoani Sánchez, Generation Y, 25 April 2025 — When I was a child, the logo of a man with a sombrero and a machete belonging to the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution (CDR) seemed to me like a giant eye watching over us in every Cuban neighborhood. My childhood perception wasn’t entirely wrong; the mass organization, founded almost 65 years ago, was conceived as a parapolice force for social control. The mere mention of its acronym, CDR, caused people in homes across the island to lower their voices to avoid denunciations. But the terrifying shadow of this entity extends beyond our borders.

This week, the vote count concluded in Ecuador. The current president, Daniel Noboa, was reelected by more than eleven points over Correa’s candidate, Luisa González. Among the reasons for the defeat of the Citizens’ Revolution (RC) candidate, many point to the leader of this political force, Rafael Correa, who has taken refuge in Belgium. This defeat marks the third failed attempt by the former president to bring his party back to power. But it wasn’t just the rejection by Ecuadorian society of the current RT TV presenter that dug the electoral grave for his party; other factors came from outside.

The candidate raised the proposal to create groups of “peace managers” in the neighborhoods, who would have an active presence

González was unable to dispel doubts about her strategy to combat one of the biggest problems facing Ecuador right now: rampant insecurity, largely linked to drug trafficking. The candidate floated the proposal
continue reading

to create groups of “peace managers” in neighborhoods, who would have an active presence and work in collaboration with law enforcement, but would not be in uniform. The description of these surveillance bodies immediately aroused suspicion and cast the shadow of the Cuban CDRs over the elections.

The distrust surrounding González’s project was also fueled by his proximity to and ideological sympathy for the authoritarian regimes of Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua. In the days leading up to the elections, references to the Island’s Committees for the Defense of the Revolution multiplied in debates, opinion columns, and articles published about the second round of elections in Ecuador. A young friend, living in Quito, called me a few hours before the polls opened and, although she confirmed that she wasn’t enthusiastic about Noboa, she assured me that her ballot couldn’t support anything even remotely resembling the system imposed by Fidel Castro.

In the second half of the last century, the admirers of the Cuban process who wanted to copy its steps to implement them in their respective countries were, sadly, the majority in our region.

After listening to my friend’s words, I couldn’t help but reflect on the significant changes that have occurred in Latin American leaders. In the second half of the last century, the admirers of the Cuban process who wanted to copy its steps and implement them in their respective countries were, sadly, the majority in our region. Havana seemed to lead the way on a path that millions of inhabitants of this continent longed to follow to the letter. These were times when critics of Castroism, like the recently deceased Nobel Prize winner for Literature, Mario Vargas Llosa, were the target of acts of repudiation, media lynchings, and cancellations of their conferences in the face of the thunderous outcries of fans of the Cuban model.

However, time has passed, and the evidence can no longer be hidden, even behind the still-effective Cuban official propaganda machine. The conviction that a dictatorial system has taken hold on the island is increasingly shared. Now, the exact opposite seems to be happening. All it takes is for a presidential candidate to show any sympathy with Havana for the intentions to vote for him him to suffer.

If there are countries in Latin America that export raw materials, oil, or minerals, Cuba has become the main supplier of an anti-model, a map that clearly shows the political geography toward which we should not move.

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Editor’s Note: This text was originally published in Deutsche Welle in Spanish.

One of the Authors of the Grammy Winning Cuban Protest Anthem ‘Homeland and Life’ Receives a Deportation Order From the US

“My life is in danger in Cuba,” says Eliexer Márquez “El Funky.”

“I have 30 days to leave the country or I’ll be deported,” El Funky wrote on social media. / Facebook/El Funky.

14ymedio, Luz Escobar / Yaiza Santos, Madrid, 9 May 2025 — Eliexer Márquez “El Funky,” one of the authors of Patria y Vida, the anthem of the 11 July 2021 protests, winner of two Grammy Awards, persecuted in Cuba for his dissenting songs, and exiled in the United States for three and a half years, has a deportation order. He announced it himself on Thursday, with three lines posted on his Facebook wall

“I have 30 days to leave the country or I will be deported,” the rapper wrote, while asking for support “from all my Cuban brothers and sisters who know about my anti-communist history and from the members of Congress of this country.” As he explained to 14ymedio by phone, the US denied him residency due to the one-year-and-three-month prison sentence he served on the island for marijuana possession more than eight years ago.

He never concealed this background from the US authorities, and they requested more details about it while he was processing his permanent residency under the Cuban Adjustment Act. This, he admits, was a mistake. “I should have requested political asylum upon arrival, but I trusted the lawyer they assigned me,” says El Funky about the lawyer recommended to him by his colleague and co-author of Patria y Vida, Yotuel Romero. The man was a well-established professional, he says, but he always disagreed with him.

“I always told him: Brother, my case is for political asylum, but he insisted on the Adjustment Act.”

“I always told him: ‘Brother, my case is for political asylum,’ but he insisted on the Adjustment Act.” The lawyer’s decision was not without logic. Since its passage in 1996, this law has been the fastest way for Cubans to obtain permanent residency in the United States—between 10 and 35 months, compared to the several years it can take to be granted asylum. With an added advantage: it allows them to return to Cuba, something that is prohibited for political asylum seekers, under penalty of losing their status and, therefore, their residency.

But traveling to the island isn’t something El Funky can contemplate. “It would be suicide to return; my life is worthless in Cuba, everyone who continue reading

knows my career knows that,” says the musician, who arrived in the United States in November 2021 with a special invitation to the Latin Grammy Awards, where Patria y Vida was crowned Best Song of the Year and Best Urban Song.

“There were two six-month visas, one for me and one for Maykel. They didn’t let Maykel out, but they did let me out,” he says, referring to his friend Maykel Castillo ‘Osorbo’, who at that time had already been in prison for six months and who would end up being sentenced to nine years in prison, a sentence he is still serving in Pinar del Río.

“My departure was practically an exile; those people took me to the airport.”

El Funky continues, alluding to State Security: “My departure was practically an exile; those people took me to the airport.” With threats disguised as congratulations: “Have a good trip, but don’t come back just yet. You know we can give you a sentence that you can serve for up to 20 years.”

After Patria y Vida was released in February 2021 and immediately became a social phenomenon, the regime’s siege against El Funky and Osorbo, the authors who lived on the island – and also Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, leader of the San Isidro Movement, who also appeared in the video clip – intensified. El Funky, in particular, was arrested on several occasions, and on one of them, precautionary measures were imposed on him to restrict his freedom of movement .

For all these reasons, he sees the regime’s hand in denying his residency: “I’m absolutely sure.” The reason he gives is that the criminal record that arrived from the island, with the sentence completed in 2017, no longer stated “possession” but “drug trafficking.” The sentence, El Funky points out, “makes it very clear: it was for half a marijuana cigarette. I served one year and three months, and trafficking in Cuba is punishable by five to ten years. You realize that a crime was fabricated there, especially in a case like mine.”

The rapper asserts that this was also fabricated. “In 2016, I was already making protest music with Maykel,” he recalls. “Maykel had already been imprisoned because he had made a song against Fidel [Por ti, señor]. In the sentence, you can read the neighbors’ opinions: my good behavior, that I wasn’t a criminal, that I’d never had any problems in the neighborhood, but nothing. They had to find a way to get me out of line.”

He is confident that his new lawyer can resolve his case so that he won’t be deported.

He understands, of course, that the United States, based on his drug convictions, treats him “like a criminal,” but he is confident his new lawyer can resolve his case so he won’t be deported. “They’re taking away a case I served in Cuba, and it’s known that that dictatorship expelled me for all my actions and activism. You have to realize that this is something fabricated by the dictatorship,” he insists. “My life is in danger in Cuba.”

The artist claims he never delayed completing any immigration procedures in the United States to update his status. “Since I arrived, I started working with that lawyer, but everything kept getting delayed.” That same year, he says, they conducted the interview and began asking for more documents.

He also details his life in Miami, more as Eliexer Márquez than El Funky, working as a maintenance man at an elementary school ten minutes from his home. “I’m the head of a family, married to an American citizen who has a daughter. I have a work permit, social security, a driver’s license, all my papers are up to date, none of them expired. I have no criminal record here, I’ve never committed a single offense, not a traffic violation or anything, I’m clean. In fact, for my job at the school, with children, which is extremely sensitive, they had to conduct an in-depth investigation to find out who I was.”

Caught between a dictatorship that would immediately imprison him and a legalistic society more xenophobic than ever, Márquez’s case is reminiscent of the “Scum of the Earth” of 1940s Europe, as defined by Arthur Koestler: persecuted in Germany by Jews and in France for missing a role. Far from music or the stage, however, his lyrics in Patria y Vida continue to resonate: “You are no longer necessary, you have nothing left, you are already going down, the people are tired of enduring, we are waiting for a new dawn.”
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When Propaganda Collides With Freedom

The Con Filo presenter’s visit to Spanish cities has sparked criticism, ridicule, and a necessary consensus among Cuban exiles.

As a history graduate, Fernández should understand that the regime’s setups will never have the weight of a rebellion. / Con Filo

14ymedio, Yunior García Aguilera, Madrid, 10 May 2025 — Since Gabriela Fernández Álvarez—a propagandist for the Cuban regime—began her tour of 12 Spanish cities, her rejection by her exiled compatriots has been clear. But the mediocrity of the official discourse, the inconsistencies of its spokesperson, her lies about the country’s reality, as well as the precariousness of her communication skills, have also been clear.

The organizers and funders of the trip—the State Movement of Solidarity with Cuba—have opted to prohibit Cubans from attending the talks (except for Embassy staff). They are fully aware of the antipathy generated by the television program Con Filo, both on and off the island. This is the first indication of the anti-Cuban nature of these meetings, which demonstrate that the “solidarity” of those organizing them is not with the Cuban people, but exclusively with the ideology that holds power.

Multiple memes about Fernández’s gaffes are circulating on social media, where she says “venemos” instead of “venimos” and claims that Latin America is “one country.” It was already evident—thanks to the videos published by her team—that the presenter is incapable of delivering a complete sentence without having to cut herself short, due to diction errors and difficulty memorizing the script. It’s clear that she wasn’t selected for her talents as a broadcaster, but for her loyalty to a small group of disciples of Iroel Sánchez, the well-known official censor who died two years ago. continue reading

Con Filo did not emerge spontaneously from those young people, its true creator was Iroel Sánchez

The idea for the program didn’t even come spontaneously from those young people. Its true creator was Sánchez, described by his own compañeros as an “extremist” and leader of the faction known as “the Taliban.”

Even singer-songwriter Silvio Rodríguez, during a meeting we held at the Ojalá studios after the 11 July 2021 protests—recorded at his request—acknowledged that Sánchez was “part of a sect that shut everything out.”

The troubadour recounted: “When Guillermo Rodríguez Rivera made a proposal for consumer rights on my blog, Díaz-Canel—who wasn’t president at the time or anything like that—summoned Guillermo, [Víctor] Casaus, Vicente [Feliú], and me to the Palace. And the person they put in front of me was Iroel. The moment I saw that, I said: ’this is bad.’ And indeed… Two or three meetings were held, and nothing moved forward, because it was all about: ’the blockade,’ ’the enemy’… and all that nonsense.”

The 2009 anecdote about the confrontation between Sánchez and the then Minister of Culture, Abel Prieto, is famous. Witnesses say Iroel banged his desk several times, received a public reprimand, and produced a pamphlet accusing Prieto of being “lacking in ideology.” He was dismissed from the Cuban Book Institute, although he was later protected by Ramiro Valdés, which allowed him to return to the circles of power.

The propagandist has also tried to downplay what happened on 11 July 2021.

In her second talk in Spain, the young “iroelista” attempted to distort the meaning of the artists’ protest in front of the Ministry of Culture on 27 November 2020. She forgets that, beyond our naiveté, that was an action in solidarity with the San Isidro Movement and in open opposition to official policy. Only the coincidence of the date with the execution of the eight medical students in 1871 prevented us from being beaten by the rapid response brigades already deployed in the surrounding area. Despite this, there was no shortage of pepper spray, threats, and subsequent interrogations.

In her catalog of complaints, Fernández also criticizes the international press for ignoring the counter-demonstration organized by student groups subordinate to the Union of Young Communists, two days after November 27th. Known as “the Trillo Park brawl,” that supposedly spontaneous platform was provided with logistical resources, transportation, audio equipment, and a “surprise visit” from President Miguel Díaz-Canel, which refutes any narrative of spontaneity.

The propagandist has also attempted to downplay the events of 11 July 2021, questioning why the largest social uprising in more than six decades has had more visibility than the May Day parade. As a history graduate, she should understand that the events of totalitarian regimes will never have the historical weight of a genuine rebellion. Going out to protest—risking your freedom and your life—against a repressive government will always be more memorable than attending a mandatory march where your workplace or school takes roll call.

The spokesperson’s tour continues. The money invested could easily have been used to send food or medicine to Cuba, but those nostalgic for totalitarianism prefer to fund propaganda. At each talk, she will find an audience willing to excuse her mistakes, in the name of Castro or Stalin, but she will also encounter an emigrant community that, in a free country, enjoys the right to dissent and protest.

If this worn-out initiative has achieved anything positive, it has been to unite diverse sectors of the Cuban exile community who, without renouncing their differences, have managed to aim their arrows in the same direction.

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Last Year’s “Frenetic Fishing” Leads to Shortages in Cuba’s Largest Reservoir

The fish hide from the boats and are nervous all the time.

Meeting the goal is difficult, not only because of the lack of fish but also because of the condition of the boats / Escambray

14ymedio, Havana, May 7, 2025 — A year ago, the official press celebrated that fish from the Zaza reservoir in Sancti Spíritus could be “caught by hand” thanks to drought. Escambray had to confirm, this Tuesday, what 14ymedio warned about at the time: the frantic fishing that ensued made the fish suspicious, scarce and afraid to come to the surface.

Escambray uses the Creole term ’huyuyo’ to refer to fish. It means that the animal not only tends to run away from light but also is always nervous. Zaza fishermen had a 914 ton plan in 2024 for the first quarter of the year. Given the conditions of the reservoir, only 658 tons were caught.

The newspaper has a bad memory. It says it doesn’t understand why, if last year “closed with good productive results,” now the numbers do not add up. Escambray itself was the first to admit, in May 2024, that the largest reservoir of Cuba “was dying” and that, in order not to lose food, the continue reading

cooperatives had to launch themselves into the water to fish all they could. Acopio’s trucks were even waiting for them on the shore.

Now, to the drought – environmental conditions have not changed – is added what the newspaper calls “the low manifestation of species,” a euphemism that has led to the creation of brigades with a special craft: the “tracking” of fish.

The job of these fishermen is to “track them down to the last speck of water in Zaza and other reservoirs”

The work of these fishermen is to “track them down to the last speck of water in Zaza and other reservoirs.” Virtually all those engaged in this work in the area – about 13 brigades – are involved, and they claim that with their search techniques they will be able to meet the 3,035 tons per year in the plan, 28 tons more than required in 2024.

Meeting the target is difficult, not only because of the lack of fish but also because of the condition of the boats. Last year there was already a complaint that the boats were precarious and that there was no way to repair them. Now, the bureaucrats at the Sancti Spíritus Fishing Company recognize that the picture is much worse.

There is talk of the breakdown not only of boats but also of tractors carrying cargo. The targeted strategy affects the wellbeing of the fisherman: he was ordered to “recover fishing days”; that is, work longer and place two brigades of fishermen on the same boat, another point of conflict. In addition, “there is a shortage of oil, spare parts and other resources.”

As if the situation weren’t difficult enough, this year an invasive plant that “covers a large part” of the reservoir has been reported. However, Escambray does not say which plant it is.

A year ago, the authorities admitted that of the 1,020 million cubic metres of water that Zaza could hold, it had only 132,600, 13% of its capacity. The number was enough to make one scream out loud, but the reaction – in a moment of extreme shortage – was to fish as much as possible before the fish died. Then, it was enough to stretch out a hand; there was no need to throw in a hook or use a net. The term that became fashionable then in the newspaper was “accelerated fishing,” and it applauded the benefits it would bring to food production in the province.

Silence about the drought cost Zaza dearly. In 2023, fishermen warned that the fish were not developing properly and that catching them early would have a strong environmental impact.

At that time, the reservoir was facing dirt and excess vegetation, although provincial managers assured they had cleaned 13.5 hectares thanks to a fuel supply for this purpose.

The Zaza reservoir was created in 1975, and, according to the official encyclopedia Ecured, 264,000 people live around it, including an area of Villa Clara. Their livelihood depends largely on the reservoir.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Bahamas Says It Will Directly Pay Cuban Doctors Working on Missions There

The Bahamian prime minister says he will renegotiate his labor agreements with Havana

Bahamas Prime Minister Philip Davis in a file photo. / EFE

14ymedio, Madrid, May 8, 2025 – The meeting on Tuesday in Washington between Bahamian Prime Minister Philip Davis and senior U.S. officials to discuss the hiring of Cuban doctors bore fruit the following day. This Wednesday, local media reported, Davis declared that his government would renegotiate its labor agreements with Havana and, from now on, would pay all health workers on the island directly.

“We were able to communicate to them, and I think they were satisfied, that we are not involved in any forced labor that we are aware of,” Davis told reporters upon arrival at Nassau Airport, referring to his meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio the previous day.

The prime minister reiterated the idea—“If forced labor is occurring in our country with Cubans, we have no record of it”—and asserted: “What we are doing now, what we have been doing in recent weeks, is identifying what I call elements of forced labor to see if any of them are present in relation to any of the workers here in the Bahamas. If we discover anything like that, it will be corrected.”

These “elements of forced labor” can be various, he said, for example, “sharing an employee’s salary with the Government.”

These “elements of forced labor” can be various, he said, for example, “sharing an employee’s salary with the government,” referring to the portion of doctors’ salaries that goes not to the worker but to the Cuban state. However, he argued that this “concept is not unknown.”

He referred to the program through which Bahamian farmers were employed as seasonal workers in the United States—known as the Indenture—which was in place from the 1940s until the Bahamas gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1973. He noted that part of the payment was made to the British government and part to the workers. He said: “That’s not an unknown concept or construct. But it’s now considered an ingredient of forced labor. So, we’ll address that. Anyone we hire, we’ll say, ’Look, we’ll pay you directly into your account.’” continue reading

What Davis did not answer, The Nassau Guardian reports , is whether he would make public the contract signed with Havana, revealed in part by Archivo Cuba last month in a devastating report . According to the investigation by this US-based organization, health workers employed in the Bahamian archipelago receive only between 8% and 16% of what they pay the Cuban regime ($990 or $1,200 a month, depending on their position, compared to the $5,000 or $12,000, respectively, that the Bahamas pays each one).

“What I can tell you is that we are in the process of renegotiating all these memoranda of understanding for labor outside of Cuba, just as we are doing with other countries like the Philippines, where we have several foreign workers,” the prime minister said.

Marco Rubio was asked whether Caribbean governments should refrain from hiring Cuban workers, and the Secretary of State replied that they should not.

Davis also recounted that they asked Marco Rubio if Caribbean governments should refrain from hiring Cuban workers, and the Secretary of State responded that no, they should simply ensure the employees were not subjected to forced labor.

Davis himself defended himself last March against US accusations regarding the medical missions , asserting that the country’s laws and Constitution prohibit involvement in human trafficking and that his government “will never engage in forced labor.”

At the end of February, the United States announced that it would not issue visas to Cubans or foreigners involved in the export of labor from the island, especially doctors, which numerous international organizations such as Human Rights Watch and Prisoners Defenders have been denouncing for years. The Cuban regime reacted not only to this decision, calling it “coercive” and arguing that it was based on “falsehoods,” but also to foreign governments.

Caricom President and Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley even stated that she was “prepared,” like other leaders in the region, to lose her US visa if a “sensible agreement” on the matter was not reached, as “principles matter.”

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