Cuban-American Enrique Tarrio Creates a Digital CDR to Report Illegal Migrants

The app rewards cryptocurrency to those who report criminal activity by undocumented immigrants. 14ymedio, Havana, 14 June 2025 — The former leader of the Proud Boys of Miami, Enrique Tarrio, has not lost any time since Donald Trump pardoned him earlier this year from his sentence of 22 years in prison for the January 6, … Continue reading “Cuban-American Enrique Tarrio Creates a Digital CDR to Report Illegal Migrants”

“Not Even Its Leaders Believe in the CDRs, and Many Now Live in the United States”

Cienfuegos is left without stew and with blackouts 14ymedio, Julio César Contreras, Cienfuegos, 28 September 2024 — That a resounding and long downpour would fall this Friday on Cienfuegos was the hope of the Committee for the Defense of the Revolution (CDR) to mask the discouragement in the neighborhoods of the city during the anniversary … Continue reading ““Not Even Its Leaders Believe in the CDRs, and Many Now Live in the United States””

Cuban Former Spy Gerardo Hernández Regrets Young People’s Lack of Interest in the CDR

Hernández proposes installing security cameras on the blocks to replace the snitches 14ymedio, Havana, 17 September 2024 — Former Cuban spy Gerardo Hernandez argued on Monday that the organization he coordinates – the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution (CDR) – is not, as everything seems to indicate, anachronistic. However, fewer and fewer people … Continue reading “Cuban Former Spy Gerardo Hernández Regrets Young People’s Lack of Interest in the CDR”

House Arrest for Cuban Writer Fernendez Era and ‘CDR Guard Duty’ for His Wife

14ymedio, Havana, April 29, 2023–A few days after writer and journalist Jorge Fernández Era denounced reprisals against his incarcerated son, the Cuban regime imposed 39 days of house arrest on Friday. In a Facebook post on his profile, the intellectual confirmed the measures for him and his wife, which were communicated at the police station … Continue reading “House Arrest for Cuban Writer Fernendez Era and ‘CDR Guard Duty’ for His Wife”

Committees for the Defense of the Revolution (CDR) Attempt to Revitalize Themselves Amid the Crisis in Cuba

14ymedio, Havana, 3 August 2022 — The economic and social situation in Cuba serves as the pulse for a country going downhill while the regime, rather than opting for reforms and immediate solutions, bets on greater control and vigilance, as it has done historically. In several zones of the capital, they have announced an “assembly … Continue reading “Committees for the Defense of the Revolution (CDR) Attempt to Revitalize Themselves Amid the Crisis in Cuba”

Cuba: On the 61st Anniversary of the CDRs, is This Goodbye?

14ymedio, Elias Amor Bravo, Valencia, 28 September 2021 — The CDRs reach 61 years of age and carry the same problems as any organization that reaches that age. An article in the State newspaper Granma addresses it. The CDRs need young people, and above all, to be updated, to catch up. The old paradigm was left hollow, empty, and is … Continue reading “Cuba: On the 61st Anniversary of the CDRs, is This Goodbye?”

A Lonely "Cauldron": A CDR Party Lacking Enthusiasm

14ymedio, Havana, 28 September 2019 — This Friday, September 27, was the date when the members of the Committee for the Defense of the Revolution (CDR) prepare a party, on the eve of the founding of an organization that over time has lost power in the neighborhoods. But, unlike other years, in 2019 the streets … Continue reading “A Lonely "Cauldron": A CDR Party Lacking Enthusiasm”

"The CDR Always Sends Help to the Same Houses," Protest the Residents of Regla

14ymedio, Luz Escobar, February 2, 2019 — In the living room of the singer Haydée Milanés a group of artists and independent journalists sorts the donations sent by friends and neighbors. Clothing, towels, sheets, toys, shoes, candles, as well as powdered milk, cans of meat, cookies, bread, and bottled water. They have been mobilized via social … Continue reading “"The CDR Always Sends Help to the Same Houses," Protest the Residents of Regla”

Were The Firecrackers That Brought the CDRs to Life Spontaneous? / Diario de Cuba, Orland Freire Santana

Diario de Cuba, Orlando Freire Santana, Havana, 28 September 2015 – Recently a group of friends were talking about the way the Cuban government leaders, during those first years of Fidel Castro’s Revolution, were maneuvering until achieving the establishment of a Marxist-Leninist-type totalitarian system. At one point in the conversation, one of the participants threw … Continue reading “Were The Firecrackers That Brought the CDRs to Life Spontaneous? / Diario de Cuba, Orland Freire Santana”

The CDR: Social Control Begins in the Neighborhood or the Village

Iván García, 29 September 2015 — When the bearded guerrilla Fidel Castro on the night of 28 September 1960 founded a system of collective surveillance in every neighborhood, the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution (CDRs), civil society in Cuba was annulled until further notice. Not even Adolph Hitler’s Nazi Germany, with its full … Continue reading “The CDR: Social Control Begins in the Neighborhood or the Village”

The CDRs and Cuban Reconciliation / 14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar

14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar, Havana, 22 September 2015 – In these days of the Pope when a great deal has been said about reconciliation between Cubans, meetings have been held to prepare the 28 September celebration of the 55th anniversary of the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution (CDR). Great effort has been put into the … Continue reading “The CDRs and Cuban Reconciliation / 14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar”

CDR: Symbol of Snitching / Julio Cesar Alvarez

HAVANA, Cuba, September, www.cubanet.org – In the same way that a blind woman with scales is an allegory of justice and a skeleton with a scythe is the allegory of death, the image that identifies the CDR should be the allegory of betrayal. The creation of the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution in … Continue reading “CDR: Symbol of Snitching / Julio Cesar Alvarez”

The Slow Death of the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution (CDR) / Orlando Delgado

The Cuban Government is ready to celebrate another congress of one of its most sui generis organizations: the so-called Committees for the Defense of the Revolution (CDR). This organization, in theory, brings together more than 8 million people and was created to monitor and inform on individuals or groups who from early on showed their … Continue reading “The Slow Death of the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution (CDR) / Orlando Delgado”

CDR: The Number of Spies is Not Rationed / Tania Diaz Castro

HAVANA, Cuba, July, www.cubanet.org. Cubans know that Fidel Castro’s government, since its inception, violated citizens’ right to privacy of. On September 28, 1960 he founded the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution (CDR), an organization with fascist roots, whose program is “Everyone spies on each other.” I know — because I worked as a … Continue reading “CDR: The Number of Spies is Not Rationed / Tania Diaz Castro”