Translating Cuba

Alina Barbara Lopez Denounces Her Arrest to the Military Prosecutor’s Office of Matanzas, Cuba

The facts may constitute a crime of “injuries, illegal deprivation of liberty and disclosure of the secret of communications”

Alina Bárbara López Hernández during an interview in April 2023. / EFE

14ymedio, Havana, 23 April 2024 — Professor Alina Bárbara López Hernández filed a complaint against the four agents who arrested her last week when she was traveling to Havana to hold a protest

The record of receipt of the complaint before the Military Prosecutor’s Office of Matanzas highlights that the reported events “could be related to the commission of the crimes of injuries, illegal deprivation of liberty and disclosure of the secrecy of communications,” all of which are contemplated in the penal code.

“As a victim, I can be part of the process and appoint a lawyer, which I will do,” the intellectual added on her Facebook account.

“As a victim, I can be part of the process and appoint a lawyer, which I will do”

In the document, to which EFE had access, the complainant describes the attacks she suffered from the agents last Thursday at the Bacunayagua police checkpoint, when she was traveling from Matanzas to Havana.

López, 58, claims in the complaint that she was forced to return to Matanzas “for no apparent reason” and that, as she “refused without receiving an explanation,” “they pushed her, hit her” and “they put her into the patrol car through the force.”

Once in the vehicle, the text continues, “after being immobilized in the lying position” they “attacked her by leaning on one of her knees, slapped her and twisted her right hand.”

Then they left her locked up, alone and in the sun for an indeterminate amount of time inside the police vehicle and, when she protested to be let out, one of the officers recorded her on video with his cell phone, which ended up being uploaded to social networks.

The complaint also states that the agent who attended to the historian assured that her arrest was “prophylactic work” and that a medical certificate of injuries was not going to be made because “she would not be charged.”

López also published on her social networks that last Saturday she went to the Faustino Pérez provincial hospital for an examination, since she continued to feel pain.

López also published on her social networks that last Saturday she went to the Faustino Pérez provincial hospital for an examination, since she continued to feel pain. “The X-rays diagnosed me with a right humeral dislocation (sprain of the right shoulder) and is immobilized with a sling, and a subluxation in the thumb of my left hand, which is immobilized with a cast for 21 days,” she added. “All of this is the result of the police brutality that was exercised against me yesterday.”

The professor was traveling to Havana to carry out her protest on the 18th of each month in the Central Park of the capital, which she has been carrying out for more than a year in the Parque de la Fraternidad in Matanzas, where she goes alone and with a sign in white.

For these symbolic protests she has been arrested several times in recent months and as a result, sentenced at the end of last year to pay a fine for the crime of disobedience.

The intellectual has declared herself in “contempt” with that sentence and refused to pay the fine, aware that this could put her in jail, as she has written in different articles on social networks.

The NGO Prisoners Defenders, based in Madrid, denounced that this trial “without guarantees” had “political motivations” and sought only to “repress the exercise of the fundamental rights” of López Hernández, whom it described as a “victim of conscience.”

Furthermore, the intellectual has denounced that she had been ‘regulated’ [the regime’s term of choice for being forbidden to travel] by the Ministry of the Interior and, therefore, was prohibited from leaving the country.

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The Church Offers a Dialogue to the Regime Despite the Fact That Its Relations Are Going Through the ‘Worst Moment’

The Christian Democratic Party of Cuba issues a statement supporting the bishops’ proposal

Meeting of the Cuban bishops with the Government, in April 2023 / Revolución Studies

14ymedio, Havana, 22 April 2024 — The Christian Democratic Party of Cuba (PDC) issued a statement this Monday in which it supports the Catholic Church as a “fair and impartial mediator” to “find a peaceful and inclusive solution” on the Island. The organization in exile does not mention it explicitly, but appreciates the “open, sincere, and well-intentioned offer, which can open the door to a better future for our people in freedom, respect, harmony, well-being and peace,” referring to the proposal for dialogue between the Government and the Conference of Catholic Bishops of Cuba (COCC), expressed by its secretary, Ariel Suárez, on the American NBC network last Thursday.

In the protests of March 17, Father Suárez said in that interview, the pain “became a cry,” which was “heard” and “accepted” by “all levels of the country.” “At least everyone has agreed in considering that that cry reflected anguish, it reflected desperation and that it was obviously asking for a situation different from the one that was being experienced,” the priest said.

The bishops “have invited us to pray,” Ariel Suárez also recalled, alluding to the prelates’ message issued this past Easter, but not only that. Furthermore, he mentioned, “they have confirmed the pain of the people and have also invited the Church, if the different political actors so consider it, to offer a space for dialogue,” so that “all these positions, different but not necessarily contradictory,” can help to “seek concrete solutions that this people needs.” continue reading

“We must say more clearly that we Cubans can love Cuba with different visions”

“We must say more clearly that we Cubans can love Cuba with different visions, with different perspectives, and that it is important to put the love for Cuba and the desire to improve the life of this people in its present and in its future above these differences,” the priest concluded.

Similarly, this Sunday the president of the COCC and bishop of the diocese of Holguín, Emilio Aranguren, alluded to that newspaper in statements to Radio and Television Martí. “In Cuba we use the words we all understand. It is important, therefore, to have the willingness and the space to talk about the common good, which is exactly our thing, which is why I consider that the important thing is to have the willingness. Logically, the Catholic Church desires, and is willing, to exchange with all the groups that make up society,” said the prelate.

A source from the archdiocese of Havana tells this newspaper that what Ariel Suárez expressed “is a subtle message” that the bishops send to the regime to say that the Church can mediate “despite the regrets.” The suggestion comes, in effect, at a bad time in the relations between the regime and the prelates, as was reflected in this year’s Holy Week.

During Holy Week, the Cuban Communist Party prohibited processions and celebrations in numerous churches. “At the diocesan level, the tension with the Party’s Religious Affairs Offices is worse than ever,” this source asserts.

In addition, he explains that “if there is dialogue” it is something “very timid” and that, in any case, as he insists, “the Government is very tense.” “The usual thing in this type of case is that things are known after the conversation, because the condition that the Government places on the Conference is that it maintains secrecy and does not leak any information.”

The general opinion within the Cuban Catholic Church is that the Vatican, at this time, “is not helping much either.” After last year’s meeting with the COCC, the island’s leaders froze any type of contact with the Church.

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A Carnival Cruise Ship Deviates From its Route To Rescue 27 Cuban Rafters

The moment when the 27 Cuban rafters were rescued by the crew of the Carnival / Carnival Cruise Line cruise ship ‘Paradise

‘14ymedio, Havana, 23 April 2024 — A group of 27 Cuban rafters was rescued this Sunday by the Carnival ship Paradise that was heading to Honduras. The ship, which was covering the route from Tampa (Florida) to Roatán, turned when it detected the migrants asking for help from a boat adrift 20 miles west of the Island, the Fox News portal published.

Fox News indicated that the people were taken on board, “received medical attention and were provided with food.” The wooden raft was in “poor condition” and “did not carry supplies” for all the migrants, the Cruicehive site highlighted.

After the rescue, the crew of the cruise ship notified both the United States Coast Guard and officials in Roatán, but it has not yet been known whether the rafters will be handed over to Honduran or American authorities. According to the logbook of the Paradise , which set sail from Florida last Saturday, the ship will make a five-night voyage through the Caribbean. continue reading

Carnival’s ’Paradise’ cruise ship has made four rescues in its short history, three of them of Cuban rafters / Carnival Paradise Cruise Ship

This Monday, the cruise crew must disembark in Roatán and after a brief stay, continue its route, which marks a visit to Cozumel (Mexico) on Tuesday. The return to Tampa is scheduled for April 25.

The Paradise ship records three rescues of this type in its recent history. The most recent are from 2022. In August of that year six rafters about to shipwreck were helped. In July the ship took on 20 migrants who were in a wooden boat propelled by oars.

The rescue of these rafters occurs a few days after the United States Border Patrol reported the disembarkation in Florida of 47 Cuban rafters between April 4 and 15.

Last Monday, the US Coast Guard intercepted 19 migrants from the Island and handed them over for deportation proceedings. The US authorities have reiterated to the rafters that when they are taken into custody, that they will be returned to their country of origin. Likewise, it is highlighted that “they will not be able to enter the United States for a period of five years, in addition to not being eligible to request asylum.”

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A Flotilla from Miami on March 17, One of Many Rumors from Cuba

Between the 11J protests in 2021 and those of this March there are multiple points in common, as ’14ymedio’ and ‘Yucabyte’ confirmed

A group of protesters in Miami protesting on a boat after the July 11 protests

14ymedio/Yucabyte, Havana, 21 April 2024 — On March 17, the flood of rumors reached a fever pitch comparable to, though less intense, those of 11 July 2021 (which were quickly baptized ’11J’). Fed up with long blackouts and supply shortages, Cubans again took to the streets to protest the government’s management of the crisis. A few hours later, images of the demonstrations flooded social media.

The protests of 2021 and those of this March share several things in common, as 14ymedio and Yucabyte have found in their monthly audits. These include calls for the release of jailed protesters, anti-government graffiti and slogans, and the banging of pots and pans, which heralded the start of demonstrations. There were also rumors of a fleet of boats from Miami coming to the aid of the protesters as well as a counterattack by state media, which very quickly disseminated its version of events by all means possible.

Those who anticipated a harsh crackdown by the police were surprised to learn that repression was not widespread. Legal action against the protesters was taken later, after State Security – as it did after 11 July 2021 – analyzed video footage posted on social media. It quickly became apparent that the government would likely respond with more caution this time and would not issue a “combat order” like the one that an unsettled Miguel Díaz-Canel gave on 11 July 2021. continue reading

Those who anticipated a harsh crackdown by the police were surprised to learn that repression was not widespread

Though there were reports of plainclothes agents and truckloads of Black Wasp special forces circulating among the crowd, they never attacked the demonstrators, a fact that government television programs such as “Con Filo” and “Desde la Presidencia” — created ad hoc by Díaz-Canel to redirect the narrative about the demonstrations — boasted about.

Meanwhile, there were reports on social media, accompanied by unconvincing images, of monuments to Fidel Castro being burned in Cienfuegos and Mayabeque as well as of demonstrators allegedly throwing stones at movie theaters and state institutions. There were also photos of cardboard signs with slogans such as “Down with the dictatorship” in unidentified areas as well as trashcan fires in Havana.

Access to the internet, mobile phones and landlines were reported down in heavily militarized areas such as San Antonio de los Baños, the town where the 11 July protests originated. Several people posted on social media that there were more plainclothes police on the street than ordinary citizens.

Social media commenters in Bayamo reported telecommunication problems, slow connectivity and trucks ferrying brigades of special troops. Commenters in Camagüey province noted the presence of special police and State Security agents in parks and central locations in the city of Florida. Similarly, rumors were spreading that recruits in some military units from Mayabeque were being ordered to dress in civilian clothes in order to suppress protests.

Alongside the protests and closely related to them, speculation about other plots began cropping up on social media

Alongside the protests and closely related to them, speculation about other plots began to cropping up on social media. One of them was the purported killing of José Daniel Ferrer, an opposition figure currently imprisoned in Santiago de Cuba, one of the epicenters of the demonstrations. The rumor was fueled by similarities between Ferrer and Alexei Navalny, archenemy of Vladimir Putin’s regime, whose suspicious death in prison prompted comparisons with his Cuban counterpart.

Concern that Ferrer was at risk of becoming a Cuban Navalny was also the subject of statements and op-eds that circulated during the protests.

In what many saw as an imitation of Hugo Chávez’ long-running, unscripted TV talk show “Aló Presidente” (“Hello, Mr. President”), Díaz-Canel’s new program was a measure of just how concerned the government was not only about reality but also about the version being presented on social media. There was little doubt in the Cuban president’s mind about March 17. “These events were instigated by counterrevolutionary platforms and American politicians to generate a social upheaval on the island,” he said. In his view it was “virtual Cuba” that had gone through several days of protests, not “the real Cuba.”

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Cuban Leaders in Artemisa Attribute the Failure of the Potato Harvest to the Energy Situation

Coveted by clients, merchants and informal sellers, the tuber has also been the motive for several crimes on the Island.

A truck loaded with potatoes supplies the agromarket on Camilo Cienfuegos Avenue, in Lawton, Havana / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Havana, 17 April 2024 — The potato harvest during this year’s campaign in the fields of Artemisa has been a failure. This is admitted by the official press, which reports that of the 5,600 tons projected for harvest in the municipalities of Güira de Melena, San Antonio de los Baños and Alquízar, only 3,600 tons were obtained.

According to the official media El Artemiseño, Miguel Sánchez García, general director of the Agricultural and Forestry Business Group of the province, said that the biggest problem of the harvest was that the 280 hectares (692 acres) planted, of which 270 (667 acres) have been collected, did not yield as expected, and barely 14.5 tons were obtained from each.

However, the manager is clear about the causes of this disaster: “We couldn’t apply the 16 irrigation sprinklers due to the continuous electrical impairments just when the crop needed it most; on top of that, the rains caused rot,” Sánchez said, blaming the country’s energy situation.

Although the potatoes harvested from state seeds complied with the plan, the imported seed did not. There were eight electrical interruptions at the peak of the growing cycle,” he lamented. continue reading

During this season, in which Cubans chase after potatoes and pay scandalous prices for them, customers notice not only their quantity but also their quality

The authorities insisted, despite the obvious losses, that in many parts of the province the national average for the potato harvest, which didn’t reach 10 tons per hectare (2.5 acres), was exceeded and even doubled.

With the tubers collected, “the potato has been guaranteed for the standard family basket of the province, seven markets in Havana and the Frutas Selectas Company,” in addition to the fact that, “since the beginning of the harvest, eight pounds of potatoes have been distributed to each person in the province,” celebrates the local newspaper.

During this season, in which Cubans chase after potatoes and pay scandalous prices for them, customers notice not only their quantity but also their quality. In the Cuban capital, for example, many complain that the tuber requires a lot of cooking time to soften properly. As confirmed this week by 14ymedio, the price of a pound of potatoes in the markets is 180 pesos.

Sought after by customers, merchants and informal sellers, the potato has also been the motive of several crimes on the Island. The most recent example: the theft of 1,293 pounds in the Havana municipality of Plaza de la Revolución last March. Destined for the 431 residents of the area, the potatoes disappeared after multiple “violations” that left a notable shortage.

The administrator of the market where the robbery occurred was arrested and taken to the Zapata and C station, according to the official website of the municipal government, which assured that the event would be investigated. After an inspection at the premises, “an adulterated weight” was found that served to give customers a lower quota than they were entitled to.

However, the figures offered by Sánchez García were higher than those published on the Council’s page and were taken up in a report by Tribuna de La Habana. According to the preliminary count, it said, 1,609 pounds of the tuber were missing, destined for 536 consumers.

Another article published in Tribuna weeks ago warned about the theft of potatoes from state refrigerators, “where the tubers selected for seed for later harvests or reserves that allow normal distribution are concentrated.” The note regretted that, with the disappearance of the Soviet Union – which was supplying the Island “throughout the year” – potatoes have gone from piling up “rotting in sacks in front of any food stall” to being a “strategic” food.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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The First Secretary of the Cuban Communist Party in Holguin is Dismissed

On Friday, the regime also announced the dismissal of Manuel René Pérez Gallego in Las Tunas after 19 years in office

Ernesto Santiesteban Velázquez (center) next to Joel Queipo Ruiz (right) / Roberto Morales Ojeda

14ymedio, Havana, April 21, 2024 — The Communist Party of Cuba (PCC) dismissed Ernesto Santiesteban Velázquez this Saturday as first secretary in the province of Holguín, the second dismissal of this type in the week and the seventh so far this year. The position will be held by Joel Queipo Ruiz who, according to the PCC, “has maintained a link with the province in complex moments such as COVID-19.”

Queipo Ruiz, 52, served as a member of the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Party and head of its Productive Economic Department. The regime highlights his 28 years of experience in political direction, “initially in the Union of Young Communists (UJC) where he came to serve as first secretary of the provincial committee in Havana and as a member of the National Bureau to attend to the ideological sphere.” In addition, he is a deputy of the National Assembly of People’s Power and states that he has a master’s degree in nuclear physics.

Queipo Ruiz served as a member of the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Party and head of its Productive Economic Department

About Santiesteban Velázquez, who took office on June 26, 2018, it was said only that “he will be assigned other responsibilities in the auxiliary structure of the Central Committee,” without specifying what they will be.

The dismissal of Velázquez, which the regime proclaims as the “integral strategy for the policy of cadres,” is in addition to those carried out in recent weeks in Havana, Matanzas, Santiago de Cuba, Cienfuegos and Ciego de Ávila. continue reading

Last Friday, the first secretary of the PCC in the province of Las Tunas, Manuel René Pérez Gallego, was also dismissed after 19 years in office. His place was occupied by Walter Simón Noris, who was a member of the PCC executive bureau in Camagüey.

At the beginning of April, the first secretary of Mantua, in Pinar del Río, Liusmara Rodríguez Soriano, was dismissed. A source told 14ymedio that this was a result of the official’s poor management in the territory.

Last Friday, the first secretary of the PCC in the province of Las Tunas, Manuel René Pérez Gallego, was also dismissed after 19 years in office

“He made a lot of mistakes. There have been more homes affected by floods and cyclones in recent years in the municipality. There are still people who have been asking for materials and help to repair their little house for ten years and more,” said the source from Pinar del Río. In addition, “he gave power to people who used cement and roofs as if this were a private farm.”

Last February, three ministers were dismissed, one of them – the former head of Economy and former deputy prime minister Alejandro Gil – who is under investigation for an alleged crime of corruption, as announced a month later.

Likewise, in recent weeks, the president of the National Association of Small Farmers (ANAP), a trade union organization in the orbit of the PCC, was also replaced.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Former Political Prisoner Ramon Jesus Velazquez Returns to the United States After Being Detained for More Than a Month in Villa Marista

The activist’s daughter, Rufina Velázquez, confirmed the information through her Facebook account

Ramón Jesús Velázquez Tamayo with his daughter, Rufina Velázquez, after returning to the United States / Rufina Velázquez

14ymedio, Havana, 21 April 2024 — The activist and former Cuban political prisoner, Ramón Jesús Velázquez Toranzo, returned to the United States this Saturday when he was released by State Security after being imprisoned for more than a month in Villa Marista, in Havana. The news was confirmed by his daughter Rufina Velázquez through her Facebook account, this Saturday afternoon.

Velázquez Toranzo had returned to the Island from the United States, where he lives, and was arrested on March 8 at the Sanctuary of the Virgin of Charity del Cobre, in Santiago de Cuba after calling for a peaceful march in the church to pray for Cuba. He was accompanied by his wife, Bárbara María González Cruz, one of his children, René Ramón Velázquez González, and a niece, Lorena Velázquez Hechavarría.

The old man is at home! In the land of freedom and stronger than ever

Apparently, the opponent traveled immediately after his release, on April 19. “The old man is at home! In the land of freedom and stronger than ever. It was fast yesterday, and he wanted to be at home before giving the news. With an unbreakable spirit, as always,” the daughter added in a post accompanied by a photo of both of them. continue reading

Two days ago, Rufina Velázquez shared a video where she explained that her brother had been informed that she could visit Velázquez Toranzo on April 19 and that, after the visit, she could offer more details about her father’s status.

After the arrest, the Catholic missionary was taken to the headquarters of State Security, Villa Marista, in Havana. As a sign of protest against the arbitrary decision, he went on a hunger strike which led to him to need medical attention and exacerbated his skin cancer.

The only thing they have told him is that they will release him, but only with a forced exile, that is, completely banished, without being able to return to Cuba

State Security said that the reason for the arrest, as Rufina Velázquez told Radio Martí, was “inciting the people and involving a minor.” “The only thing they have told him is that they will release him, but only with a forced exile, that is, completely banished, without being able to return to Cuba, and my father does not accept this condition,” the daughter stressed.

During the month of March, protests took place in several provinces to demand electricity, food and freedom. Prisoners Defenders (PD) counted 38 detainees up to the 25th of that month, most of them in Holguín (13) and Santiago de Cuba (12).

The report published by PD every month, pointed out that up to February there were 1,066 political prisoners in Cuba. The document
says that of the total number of detainees, 33 are minors and of them, 29 are serving sentences “for sedition.”

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Authorities Finalize the Repatriation of Cubans Stranded in Haiti

The thousands of Cubans who reside in the country remain, as well as 53 doctors on an international mission

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has published a multitude of images promoting the return of Cubans stranded in Haiti / Cuban Foreign Ministry

EFE/14ymedio, Port-au-Prince, 22 April 2024 — The Government of Cuba, on Sunday night, “successfully” concluded the repatriation of the 248 citizens who had been stranded in Haiti for more than a month due to the serious security crisis in that country. The last three groups – out of a total of six – arrived today on two flights of the Haitian airline Sunrise, two to the city of Camagüey and one to Santiago de Cuba.

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel wrote on X that he “successfully concluded the safe transfer to Cuba, by air, of Cuban citizens who were in Haiti.”

In similar terms, the Cuban Foreign Minister, Bruno Rodríguez, thanked “the Haitian entities involved” and congratulated the Cuban embassy in Haiti.

Bruno Rodríguez thanked “the Haitian entities involved” and congratulated the Cuban embassy in Haiti

A statement released by the local Foreign Ministry explained that the Cuban diplomatic legation made “systematic arrangements” with Sunrise Airlines, which had transported the Cubans to Haiti and agreed to”keep the option of returning them to Cuba” when “the conditions were created to do so.” continue reading

He said that the Cuban State “paid for this unique operation for all stranded Cubans who voluntarily took this alternative” on six flights to Camagüey and Santiago de Cuba since last Friday.

He also stated that because Port-au-Prince’s Toussaint Louverture International Airport has been closed, it was not possible to guarantee repatriation by that route.

Therefore, the embassy “coordinated the voluntary departure of Cuban citizens by land to the city of Cape Haitiano,” from where they returned.

In addition to the Cubans who had traveled to Haiti to buy items that are scarce in their country and resell them on their return, several thousand Cubans and 53 Cuban health professionals on a medical mission reside in Haiti.

One of them celebrated the operation on the Foreign Ministry’s website but also remembered those who remain there. “Excellent mission, but there are still more than 200 Cubans living in Haiti. It is worth noting that these flights were planned by Sunrise Airlines for passengers who had tickets to Cuba before and after the date of the closure of the Toussaint Louverture international airport in the Haitian capital,” he said.

“Excellent mission; there are still more than 200 Cubans living in Haiti

The new episode of violence in Haiti broke out at the end of February after the escape of 3,000 prisoners from two prisons in Port-au-Prince, including gang leaders who regained control of their territories.

Since then, the governments of different countries have proceeded to evacuate their citizens by different means, while Cubans have had to wait more than 50 days, desperate due to the lack of money.

At the beginning of April, several of them published a video on social networks in which they urged the Island’s authorities to take more forceful measures to rescue them. “All countries have already taken their citizens out of here. We are the only ones left,” they claimed.

The Haitian Prime Minister, Ariel Henry, resigned shortly thereafter, and a nine-member transitional presidential council must now seek a replacement.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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A Massive Exodus Leaves Cuba with an Abundance of Secondhand Clothes and Home Appliances

“What’s for sale now are the belongings of local people who are leaving and can’t take everything with them”

When garage sales became legal three years ago, it allowed many business which had been operating on an informal basis to do so legally.

14ymedio, Natalia López Moya, Havana, 18 April 2024 — Women’s purses, babies’ shoes and several small home appliances are piled up on one of the tables. “These items have just come in and I haven’t had a chance to organize them yet,” the saleswoman tells a young customer, pointing to the Oster blender in a corner of a store operating out of a garage in Havana’s Vedado district.

“If you want, I can show you the cookware catalogue,” the vendor adds as she opens some black bags containing children’s books, household accessories and a huge teddy bear with a red heart in the middle of its chest. “Give me your number and I’ll send you photos through WhatsApp. We have flat screen TVs, Bluetooth speakers and a couple of microwaves. All used but in good condition.”

Cinthya, a 38-year-old woman who has been selling secondhand goods for three years, has never had so much merchandise. “I’m not accepting anything else until I can get rid of what I already have. Business is very slow. What used to sell in a few days now takes weeks or even months,” she says.

“I have a network that alerts me when a family is getting ready to leave”

Cynthia and her husband, who drives a Ural motorcycle with sidecar inherited from his father, visit houses to evaluate everything from pots and pans to bottles of water that she might be able to sell later. “I have a network that alerts me when a family is getting ready to leave. But I only take on serious clients, people who have been recommended.”

There has long been a market for secondhand goods in Cuba, a country that has lurched from one crisis to another for decades. This type of business has not always been legal, however. When authorities lifted restrictions on privately run garage sales three years ago, it allowed many businesses which had been operating on an informal basis to do so legally. continue reading

“People associate secondhand goods with out-of-date clothing like what used to be sold in ‘trapi-shopping’ stores,” says Cynthia, referring to state-run retail outlets common throughout the island in the late 20th century that sold low-quality, government-imported clothes. “What’s for sale now are the belongings of local people who are leaving and can’t take everything with them.”

“At first, I accepted everything I saw and lost a lot of money. But now my husband and I only buy what we know will sell,” she explains. “We make sure to test the appliances. They can’t have dents or scratches. And no equipment cobbled together with pieces from here and there.”

“Modern televisions, bedding and towels in perfect condition, cutlery, pots and pans, clothes”

Cynthia notes in her catalogue that she prefers “modern televisions, bedding and towels in perfect condition, cutlery, pots and pans, clothes.”

“People start out wanting to sell their house and everything in it so they can leave the country. Then they realize it would take too long if they wait for the house to sell first and then auction off the furnishings and equipment later,” explains Cinthya. “That’s when we come in. We go and evaluate what they want to sell.”

Other vendors buy secondhand items from markets in nearby Panama, Mexico or Florida for resale on the island. “Nowadays, it’s really hard to turn a profit in the used-goods business,” admits Leo, a young “mule” who lives in Taguasco, a town in Sancti Spíritus province.

“I have my contacts in Panama and a few years ago I got a visa that allowed me to take frequent shopping trips. I was able to ship back some secondhand goods as unaccompanied baggage. But now there is so much stuff for sale here that I’d rather focus just on clothing and new shoes,” he says.

“The owners themselves try to sell everything before they leave they leave [the country] on the [humanitarian] ‘parole’ program or by some other way,” says the Sancti Spíritus resident, who prefers to remain anonymous. There are a lot of people in this situation, trying to get rid of a washing machine, a refrigerator or children’s clothes. I knew some people who even sold a toilet bowl before getting on the plane.”

“The most problematic items are mobile phones, computers and other electronic devices”

Leo believes that, although secondhand electronics are cheaper than comparable, brand-new products sold in MLCs — the island’s hard-currency retail stores — buyers remain very leery. “They know that the person who sold you the audio equipment won’t be here next week when it stops working and you want your money back.”

“The most problematic items are mobile phones, computers and other electronic devices that require skill and knowledge to figure out if they have a problem invisible to the naked eye,” he explains. “I tried doing this myself for awhile until I had an issue with a tablet I bought from a someone who left for Nicaragua. I sold it to a neighbor and it didn’t even last three days. That’s when I got out.”

“In addition to what I bring back from Panama, I deal in secondhand restaurant and business utensils. Mainly prep tables, table and chair sets, forks, spoons, knives, glasses. I’ve even sold bar counters.” As Leo points out, all these objects have one thing in common. “No cables or light bulbs so no surprises. What you see is what you get. You don’t have to worry that it won’t turn on one day.”

A few steps below Leo’s operation, arranged very informally, are items for sale that have been with Cuban families for generations. Coffee cups that belonged to the clan’s matriarch, pillows on which dozens of heads have rested and living room sets in need of some glue and new rattan.

Countless belongings, once destined to remain with their owners for the rest of their lives but which, because of the migratory stampede, have ended up in garage sales or ads on some digital website. They carry descriptions that reveal their histories and their owners’ desperation to make some money off them before they leave, or rather before they are able to leave.

“I am selling an orange juicer, twelve ceramic plates brought back from the GDR [German Democratic Republic] in the 1980s, a glass tray that is used for the oven and an electric toaster, all for 10,000 pesos,” reads a Facebook post. “The tableware is very pretty, with plates and bowls. It has sentimental value for me so I hope whoever buys it will take good care of it.”

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‘We Have To Get Our Act Together’, Says Cuban Prime Minister Marrero in a Visit to Ciego Avila

The deplorable condition of the nursing home of the municipality of Primero de Enero was what most horrified the prime minister

At the exit of a medical center, an 85-year-old man approached the minister and let fly a litany of ailments / Manuel Marrero Cruz

14ymedio, Havana, April 20, 2024 — With an entourage of eleven ministers, three deputy prime ministers and twenty senior officials, Manuel Marrero left Ciego de Ávila this Friday dissatisfied with the results of the province and leaving behind a trail of slogans and catchphrases. “We’re not here to ask for the impossible,” “Efficiency does not depend on good luck” and “We have to get our act together” were some of the “tips” he offered in what – the official press emphasizes – is his third annual visit to make sure the cadres understand that the country is living in a “war economy.”

“We have focused on what has not been done,” Marrero said, explaining the “method” of his entourage to “correct distortions and boost the economy.” The deplorable condition of the nursing home of the municipality of Primero de Enero in Avila was what most horrified the prime minister, Invasor admits. “We can’t sleep peacefully,” the ruler concluded.

Deficient food and buildings in poor condition, two characteristics that also affect, according to the provincial Communist Party newspaper, “maternity centers, children without family protection, grandparents’ homes, homeless and psychiatric centers.” The situation is so alarming that the leader ordered them to “change their godfather” because of the “poor attention given to them by the Bocanaza cooperative, from the territory itself.”

Marrero, whose entourage contained deputy prime ministers Inés María Chapman, Jorge Luis Tapia Fonseca and Jorge Luis Perdomo Di-Lella, said he urged local leaders to “come up with a plan of measures to solve the problems.” continue reading

“Review the statistics and check on the ground that they are true, because the people can’t eat statistics,” Tapia Fonseca said

“Review the statistics and check on the ground that they are true, because the people can’t eat statistics,” said Tapia Fonseca, “with his usual eloquence,” adds Invasor. The numbers are, in fact, serious. The newspaper itself regretted in March that the livestock of Ciego de Ávila has decreased in the last 12 years by more than 5,100 animals each year, and that it has just 12,300 liters (3,249 gallons) of milk a day, half of what it should offer.

Marrero combined voluntarism* and scolding in each of the meetings, especially during those he held with the agricultural and industrial sector, which fail to “shake off the damage of decades.”

He verified, inspecting the situation of the sugar harvest, that the Ecuador sugar mill is “unstable” and that the Ciro Redondo – on which the hopes for the harvest depended- is “a giant with feet of clay, unable to function because the synchronization with the surrounding bioelectric plant has not been made effective.”

Chapman, who moved away from the entourage to inspect the municipality of Florencia, was not optimistic in his evaluation either: not only the drought, but also the terrible management of Water Resources in the province, have caused a critical water shortage. The main reservoir of the municipality only has 7 million cubic meters of water, when it should have 30 million. The local managers defended themselves: they have broken pipes and no pumping equipment.

In addition, they said , the little fuel available to Hydraulic Resources is spent on moving the tanker trucks that distribute water to the 6,500 residents in Florence who “officially” lack it.

The only discreet success of the municipality is its canning factory, which fulfilled its plan of 500 tons of tomato puree

The only discreet success of the municipality is its canning factory, which fulfilled its plan of 500 tons of tomato puree in the first quarter of the year. However, it is not known what happened to the product, because they were “hit” with the lack of packaging to market it.

For his part, the Minister of Public Health, José Ángel Portal Miranda, visited the psychiatric hospital of Ciego de Ávila. The “problems” were multiple. They do not have nurses or custodians; it has not been repaired in more than 20 years and lacks medicines, its managers admitted to the official. “By not having all the medicines we need, it is difficult to get patients to improve, and that is why admission times have increased,” said one of the doctors.

Even more alarming is the situation of the patients: seven malnourished and 10 “with a weight less than recommended.” The lack of food has become one of the “triggering factors of psychosis.” Upon leaving the medical center, an 85-year-old man approached the minister, the newspaper says, and described a litany of ailments with no apparent solution.

The conclusion of Portal Miranda, quoted by Invasor, is not good news for the sick: “Althout the intention is to reinsert them into their family as soon as possible, some will be admitted here for a long stay.”

* Translator’s note: In other words, it’s the responsibility of the provincial leaders, rather than the State, to solve problems.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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The Communist Party Dismisses Its First Secretary in Las Tunas After Almost 20 Years as a Cadre

René Pérez Gallego, who will have “other responsibilities,” will be replaced by Walter Simón Noris

Pérez Gallego, the former first secretary of the province, was dismissed without explanation /Periódico 26

EFE (via 14ymedio), Havana, April 20, 2024 — The Communist Party of Cuba (PCC) reported this Friday the dismissal of its first secretary in the province of Las Tunas, Manuel René Pérez Gallego. The official was “liberated” from his tasks – a euphemism commonly used to refer to the dismissal of officials – after a meeting of the provincial committee in Las Tunas, chaired by the secretary of organization of the Central Committee of the PCC, according to a statement by the Party. “The dedication of Pérez Gallego to the tasks of the partisan organization in the province for 19 years was recognized, and he will be assigned other responsibilities,” it added, without specifying his new designation.

Walter Simón Noris, 54, a graduate in Physical Culture, who until now was a member of the executive bureau in the Party committee in the province of Camagüey, will be the new first secretary in the province.

Noris has “30 years of experience in political management, where he has had an upward transition”

According to the report, Noris has “30 years of experience in political management and has had an upward transition.”

This new replacement in a position of provincial leadership of the Communist Party is in addition to those carried out in recent weeks in Havana, Matanzas, Santiago de Cuba, Cienfuegos and Ciego de Ávila.

The last to be dismissed, at the beginning of April, was the first secretary of Mantua, in Pinar del Río, Liusmara Rodríguez Soriano. 14ymedio’s source in the municipality said that he was removed because of mismanagement in the territory. “He made a lot of mistakes. Homes affected by floods and hurricanes have been added in recent years in the municipality; there are still people who have been asking for materials and help to repair their houses for ten years and more,” he said. continue reading

“In the distribution of materials, Liusmara privileged his people, gave power to people who used cement and roofs as if this were a private farm. There was a lot of discomfort and strong rumors of the diversion of resources destined for those affected,” he added, so his dismissal could be a consequence of that “dubious management.”

In recent months there has been an unusual number of changes in political figures in Cuba

In recent months there has been an unusual number of changes in political figures in Cuba, both within the party and in several ministries, although the regime assures that this is “standard” operating procedure for updating positions.

In February alone, three ministers were dismissed, and one of them -the prime minister of Economy, Alejandro Gil – is under investigation for an alleged crime of corruption, as announced a month later.

Likewise, in recent weeks, the president of the National Association of Small Farmers (ANAP), a trade union organization in the orbit of the PCC, was also replaced.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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The European Parliament’s Veto of Cuban Deputies is Permanent, Not Temporary

Prisoners Defenders corrects the version disseminated by some media and specifies that this measure also affects all “representatives of the regime”

In November 2023, several Cuban deputies, including the secretary of the Assembly, Homero Acosta, were received in the European Parliament. Such a visit will no longer be possible / National Assembly of People’s Power

14ymedio, Havana, 20 April 2024 — The Cuban NGO Prisoners Defenders (PD) asked this Saturday for a correction from the agencies and media that disseminated in a “misrepresented” way, this week, the decision of the European Parliament to prevent access to its facilities by representatives of the Cuba’s National Assembly of People’s Power. It clarifies, citing the minutes of the session, that the European Parliament took the measure not only against the parliamentarians of the Island, but also against the “representatives of the Cuban regime,” and not “temporarily,” but for an indefinite period.

“Someone in the European Parliament has misrepresented the news in a sub-committee, sending a false text to certain foreign press correspondents,” Javier Larrondo, director of PD, explained to this newspaper. “It is incorrect and does not conform to what was approved.”

“From April 1 we have had the press release prepared, waiting to receive the minutes, to know that we were saying exactly the right thing. We didn’t want to speculate in that press release,” Larrondo continued, alluding to the information published by PD about the measure. “We always verify everything,” he emphasizes. continue reading

The measure had been promoted by MEP Javier Nart after the resolution adopted by the European Parliament

This week, agencies such as EFE and other press media reported – citing “sources of the institution” – that the European Parliament banned members of the Cuban Parliament from entering its facilities on March 14 as part of several “temporary reciprocity measures with respect to the members of the Cuban Assembly, while members of the European Parliament are prohibited from visiting Cuba.”

The measure had been promoted by MEP Javier Nart after the resolution adopted by the European Parliament on February 29, 2024 against the systematic violation of human rights by Cuban regime.

Larrondo explains that PD was extremely careful with the publication of the announcement, since it was “vital” that nothing failed in its dissemination. It also regrets that the independent press – including several Cuban media – published the agencies’ information without verifying it.

“With the issue of Cuba, many people want to downplay what happens. In Europe, access has been prohibited to all representatives of the Cuban Government and the Cuban regime, with these words, and this is for an indefinite period of time. It is conditioned on their respect for European parliamentarians and has nothing to do with what a person from the European Parliament conveyed to the agencies and media, who has misrepresented the information and caused confusion,” summarizes Larrondo.

Cited by PD, the minutes of the Conference of Presidents of the European Parliament recalled that the Cuban regime denied the entry of “certain deputies” to the Island between December 14 and 17, 2023, a veto that was ratified by the Ambassador of Cuba before the European Parliament.

On February 29 of this year, the body approved a resolution on the “critical situation” in the country – including the prohibition of representatives of the regime from entering the European Parliament – and facilitated an “exchange of views” between several European parliamentary groups. After that meeting, attention was drawn to “the need for a coherent approach when third countries hinder the access of official delegations of the European Parliament.”

The group of European deputies who were going to visit the Island in December 2023 was chaired by Nart

The group of European deputies who were going to visit the Island in December 2023 was chaired by Nart. The program to be established by the Delegation was the usual one,” explains PD: “I meet the official institutions (President of the Republic of Cuba, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Justice, President of the National Assembly of the People’s Power of Cuba) as well as with the people and institutions that fight for democratic freedoms (Sakharov awards, relatives of detainees of the 11J, representatives of the main religious organizations, journalists). This is a work program based on democracy, transparency and freedom.”

However, the regime canceled the visit and sent a letter that the European Parliament described as “unacceptable.” In November 2023, European parliamentarians stressed, several Cuban deputies – among them the secretary of the Assembly, Homero Acosta – visited the organization’s facilities and received “respectful treatment and a warm welcome.”

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Kempinski Luxury Hotels Will Manage the Recently Remolded Metropolis in Old Havana

The German chain estimates that it will be able to receive its first customers in just five months

On a visit this morning, 14ymedio confirmed that the hotel is still under construction / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Havana, 18 April 2024 — After announcing its remodeling in 2019, and after several years of work, the Metrópolis hotel finally found an owner. Located on Aguacate Street, on the corner of O’Reilly, in Old Havana, the complex will be managed by the German chain Kempinski Hotels, and plans to open within five months.

The information was published this Thursday by the Tourinews page , which regrets that so many details are unknown about the opening of the establishment, owned by the tourist arm of Cuba’s Armed Forces, Gaviota.

Despite the proximity of the date set for the opening, in a visit to the hotel this morning, this newspaper was able to verify that the property is still under construction and the access streets remain closed. The workers were also carrying out tasks in the adjacent building, which is used as a rest area, dining room and services for the workers.

The reconstruction of the property began, along with that of other hotels in Havana, when the Office of the City Historian, then directed by Eusebio Leal, began a repair plan for Havana’s 500th anniversary. continue reading

Old Havana was the enclave par excellence to which Leal devoted the most attention, always prioritizing properties of tourist value

Old Havana was the enclave par excellence to which Leal devoted the most attention, always prioritizing properties of tourist value, while the residential buildings of the municipality remain, even today, neglected.

Kempinski manages three other hotels on the Island – two in the capital and one in the North Key of Ciego de Ávila – all luxury. The most famous of its facilities is the Gran Hotel Manzana, located on San Rafael Street, in front of the Capitol and in one of the most important tourist areas of Havana. Opened in 2017 as the first “high standard” Cuban hotel, spending a night at the Manzana can cost between $430 for a double room of about 40 square meters (430 sf) to $1,430 for a 100-square-meter suite (1,076 sf) with all kinds of luxuries and views of the city.

The rest of the properties managed by the German hotel company on the Island, the Gran Hotel Bristol and the Cayo Guillermo Resort – inspired, according to Kempinski, by Ernest Hemingway’s “love for the keys” – have prices ranging between $150 and $1,780 per night.

The delivery of the hotel to Kempinski has its precedent in a meeting between Prime Minister Manuel Marrero and Bernold Schroeder, a director of the hotel company

The delivery of the Metrópolis hotel to Kempinski has its precedent in a meeting in September 2023, between Prime Minister Manuel Marrero and the president of the Board of Directors of the hotel company, Bernold Schroeder. At that meeting, Marrero promised the German new “business opportunities” that now seem to materialize.

Schroeder has been part of Kempinski since 2017 and has directed the company since 2020. According to the company’s official website, he was the one who promoted the growth of the group in Asia and Europe, which earned him the promotion to his position, and he has been the responsible, to a large extent, for the rapprochement with Cuba.

In 2019, the Big Apple Kempinski hotel was included by Donald Trump on the List of Restricted Cuban Entities, an inventory of companies that could be sued by US justice for profiting from properties expropriated after the 1959 Revolution.
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The ‘Swimming Pool’ Pothole in Havana Where Children Bathe Has Been Open for Several Years

Neither the local authorities nor the company Aguas de La Habana have taken measures to fix the pothole / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Pedro Espinosa, Havana, 18 April 2024 — Open and full of puddles, the hole has been there for “a thousand years.” In reality, the neighbors say, it’s been about five, but it gives the impression of having always been there, in the middle of a street – in itself very mistreated – of the Havanan municipality of Cerro.

Five days after the video of children using the hole as an improvised swimming pool circulated on social networks, neither the local authorities nor the company Aguas de La Habana have taken measures to fix the hole. In the video, neighborhood children are throwing themselves, as if it were a spa, into the pond of water, which is suspiciously blue.

“It even gave birth to a few pumpkin plants,” a neighbor tells 14ymedio, referring to the hole as a kind of miniature world. “Aguas de La Habana came a month ago and put in a pipe, but evidently it leaks,” he adds, pointing to the chocolate edges of the puddle, where dirt and garbage accumulate.

The pothole is so imposing that it prevents the passage of bigger vehicles, such as cars or buses. If someone comes by motorcycle or bicycle, they can test their sense of balance and perform an evasive maneuver that involves invading the sidewalk. Pedestrians, in the face of that panorama, do not have it easy either. continue reading

On rainy days, the mud that accumulates around the edge is a danger. Huge lumps of debris and asphalt are also obstacles. “It looks like they threw a bomb,” says another neighbor, to whom the hole reminds him of the trench of any war movie or – when a downpour coincides with the leak – Niagara Falls.

“Everyone protests, everyone complains, but nothing happens,” complains another disappointed resident in the neighborhood, who says he is dismayed by a recent statement by the director of Aguas de La Habana that he heard on television: “There is no challenge that we have not met.”

The hole is the delight of mosquitoes, rats and cockroaches, which lay eggs in the corners. It is one of the most obvious sources of disease in Cerro, but that doesn’t seem to worry the leaders either. “When there’s water the hole fills up and the kids jump in,” he says in horror. That’s what happened a week ago, when someone from the neighborhood recorded the grotesque show of the bathers.

But the pothole is only the beginning – and perhaps the epicenter – of the disaster of the roads of Cerro. Beyond, between the weeds and the cracked sidewalks, there are buildings that have not been maintained for decades. Cerro was said to have “the key,” alluding to the fact that it was – since colonial times – the starting point of the Havana viaducts.

The famous Albear aqueduct was built there, at the time a marvel of Cuban architecture, and other important hydraulic engineering works. Of that traditional prosperity, marked by its proximity to water sources, there is no other trace than the pothole converted into a swimming pool.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Washington and Havana Refine Their System To Intercept and Deport Rafters

Both parties seek to collaborate more in the exchange of information about fugitives and establish real-time communication between their border police

Dressed in white jumpsuits, flip-flops and wearing masks, the ’balseros’ land in Cuba /14ymedio

14ymedio, Havana, 18 April 2024 — Havana wants to tie up the loose ends of the migration issue with Washington, fine-tune the process of intercepting rafters in the Florida Straits, facilitate cooperation over crime, and create a “real-time” communication system between the border police of Cuba and the United States. These were some of the issues that, this Wednesday, the delegations of both countries discussed during the round of talks held in the U.S. capital. An official of the State Department told Martí Noticias, on condition of anonymity, that these issues – to which the statement of the Cuban Foreign Ministry on the meeting does not specifically refer – point above all to the legal sphere and immigration fraud.

“The effective cooperation in criminal matters can sometimes include exchange, such as information about fugitives and other wanted people, or real-time communication between the United States Coast Guard and the Cuban Border Guard to detect people smugglers or drug traffickers,” the official explained.

These are “routine discussions,” but they are aimed at strengthening the collaboration between Havana and Washington, although the Cuban side declares that the United States refuses to talk about what really interests them: the embargo, to which it attributes the causes of the immigration stampede. continue reading

The U.S. delegation was also interested, says the official, in the security of Washington diplomats in the Cuban capital

The U.S. delegation was also interested, says the official, in the security of Washington’s diplomats in the Cuban capital. “Establishing and increasing channels of police cooperation to better address transnational threats is not at the expense of promoting respect for human rights,” he concluded.

In a press release about the talks, the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Deputy Minister Carlos Fernández de Cossío was in charge of presiding over the Island’s delegation and talking with Eric Jacobstein, Deputy Undersecretary of State in the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs of the United States.

According to Fernández de Cossío, the meeting served to “review the state of compliance with the bilateral Migration Agreements” and for Cuba to express “its concern about the policies and measures to stimulate irregular migration that remain in force by political decision of the U.S. Government.”

Along with the ’blockade’*, Fernández de Cossío was tasked with discussing with Washington the “permanence of the country on the so-called List of State Sponsors of Terrorism,” in addition to the “preferential treatment” that, in the opinion of the Foreign Ministry, is given to the many Cubans who “illegally” enter the United States.

Despite the disagreements expressed by the Cuban side, the truth is that the mechanism of deportation of rafters caught on the high seas is well greased. The continuous reports of the U.S. Coast Guard, which publishes not only the number of migrants it arrests but also photos of the precarious boats with which they flee the Island, attest that the Joe Biden Administration is completely engaged in the fulfillment of its dealings with Havana.

So far in April, according to the Border Patrol, 47 rafters whose return is imminent have been intercepted. Local authorities, such as Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, are also in tune with Havana in that sense: “We do not tolerate illegal immigration, much less anarchy at the hands of illegal foreigners.”

Cubans, for their part, have become accustomed to the notifications of deportation that are often published by the official press, which always contain deterrent warnings for those who plan to jump into the sea.

Cubans, on the other hand, have become accustomed to the notifications of deportation that are often published by the official press

On a personal level, for the frustrated rafters, the failure of their entry into the United States and their deportation represent a mark on their record with the Cuban Police, who do not lose track of them on their return. Photographs published by the official press and international agencies show how the process unfolds.

Dressed in white jumpsuits, flip-flops and wearing masks, they are received in the port – often that of Orozco, in Artemisa – by a group of soldiers, doctors and agents of the State Security. The “module” of clothes, which the United States delivers to them before returning to the Island, is the only thing they wear when they arrive at the Immigration office of Factor and Final, in Nuevo Vedado, Havana, where they are processed.

Usually they leave the facilities without money, and they appeal to the residents in the vicinity to be able to return to their homes or, if they do not have one, to the home of a family member. Factor and Final, an office previously open to the public for immigration procedures, is now the return door for the deportees. There, after closing the narrow alley to avoid curious glances, the rafters arrive in buses and with police escort.

*Translator’s note: There is, in fact, no US ‘blockade’ on Cuba, but this continues to be the term the Cuban government prefers to apply to the US embargo. Originally imposed in 1962, the embargo, although modified from time to time, is still in force.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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