English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
Instead of coins, customers who pay with cash must accept their change in the form of candies or ‘other products available by the cash registers’ 14ymedio, Madrid, 30 January 2025 — The military conglomerate Gaesa plans to progressively expand trade in dollars to a large number of establishments in its network through Tiendas Caribe and … Continue reading “Cimex and Caribe Will Open Dollar Stores in All Cuban Provinces”
14ymedio, Miami/Havana, 1 February 2024 — “At the moment, deliveries to Cuba are not available until further notice,” is the response of an employee of a Western Union office in Miami this Thursday, confirming to 14ymedio the impossibility of sending remittances in this way, after trying both in the application and in three physical branches. … Continue reading “The Fall of Fincimex Paralyzes U.S. Remittances to Cuba”
14ymedio, Havana, 9 September 2023 — Those who go to the branch of the Cimex mercantile corporation in Habana del Este, in search of the jobs they advertised with great fanfare on their social networks, will be disappointed. Only one of the monthly salaries of the available jobs – all manual trades that require “aptitude, … Continue reading “Cimex Pays Its Workers Less Than the Cost of a Carton of Eggs in Cuba”
14ymedio, Havana, 26 April 26, 2023 — “If this is going on in Havana, what will happen in the countryside?” asks a man from Camagüey after Cimex announced the reorganization of gas stations in the capital on Tuesday. The fuel shortage, despite the arrival of oil tankers in the ports of the Island, is at … Continue reading “Cimex Proposes a Computer Application To Organize Gasoline Lines in Cuba”
14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, 19 April 2022 — One day after 14ymedio reported the return to the restriction by municipality of residence on the sale in pesos in the Plaza de Carlos III, the official press confirms the measure for the entire capital as of this Thursday 21. The decision has been made, the Tribuna de La Habana acknowledges this Tuesday, “taking … Continue reading “Cuba’s Cimex and Caribe Stores Will Distribute the Scarce Goods by Municipality and Ration Book”
14ymedio, Madrid, 15 April 2022 — Due to the lack of fuel, almost all of the disposable diapers produced in Cuba are distributed in Havana with a small percentage distributed in neighboring provinces. The data is revealed by the director of retail sales of the government corporation Cimex in a Cubadebate article dedicated to the scarcity of this basic … Continue reading “Cuba’s Cimex Corporation Blames the Vietnamese Manufacturer for the Diaper Shortage”
14ymedio, Havana, 27 October 2020 — Fincimex, one of the companies in Cuba’s military conglomerate GAESA, reported in an ambiguous statement that they will close the 407 Western Union offices in Cuba, after the new provisions announced by the United States last Friday which prohibit the sending of remittances through companies linked to the military. In a call from this … Continue reading “Western Union Employee Says Fincimex Lies: "They Have Not Ordered Us to Close"”
14ymedio, Havana, 14 July 2020 — Cuba’s government-owned hard currency stores will now market food and hygiene products, as confirmed by 14ymedio sources from the state corporation Cimex. Most provincial capitals are currently preparing premises to operate in freely convertible currency including the sale of these basic necessities. “In the city of Sancti Spíritus the state markets selling … Continue reading “Cuba’s Cimex Stores, Ready to Open, Will Sell Food Products in Dollars”
14ymedio, Havana, 10 June 2020 — The Cuban Government has surrendered to the evidence of the failure of its virtual stores and has ordered their temporary and staggered closure in order to restructure the sales. “Despite the different measures taken to meet customer requests, we recognize that we have not achieved the expected result and … Continue reading “Cimex Closes All Its Virtual Stores In Cuba Due To "Customer Dissatisfaction"”
The Former Cuban Electricity Company Sues UNE and Energas and Refers to the Canadian Company Sherritt 14ymedio, Madrid, July 31, 2026 / The Cuban Electric Company (CEC), headquartered in Florida, filed a lawsuit on July 29 against Unión Eléctrica (UNE) and Energas in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The CEC maintains … Continue reading “The Former Cuban Electricity Company Sues UNE and Energas and Refers to the Canadian Company Sherritt”
A tour of El Vedado reveals the decline of the commercial network that the military built to control remittances, tourism, and foreign currency stores. 14ymedio, Havana, Yoani Sánchez, July 29, 2026 / There are buildings that collapse with a crash, while others crumble in silence. The former Fincimex card processing center on 23rd Street in … Continue reading “Havana Chronicles: A Tour of the Ruins of the Gaesa Empire”
It is Supermix, a joint venture between Cimex and Spain’s Ipsa, which opened a branch on the ground floor of the Focsa building a year ago. 14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, July 7, 2026 — With malfunctioning checkout systems and no possibility of paying by card, the new Caracol dollar store in the shopping gallery … Continue reading “Computer System Malfunctions and ‘VIP’ Prices at the New Dollar Store in Havana’s Comodoro Hotel”
Residents denounce neglect, fire hazards, and poorly executed repairs in the building managed by Cimex. 14ymedio, Havana, July 4, 2026 — At Havana’s Focsa Building, one of the jewels of Cuban engineering, deterioration is no longer hidden behind the monumentality of its silhouette. One only has to walk through the nearly empty lobby, go down … Continue reading “Residents of Havana’s Focsa Building Warn of the Deterioration of a Jewel of Cuban Engineering”
The military conglomerate has also divested itself of the joint venture that managed the Miramar Business Center in Havana. 14ymedio, Madrid, June 28, 2026 — Terminal de Contenedores Mariel S.A. (TCM), owned by the military conglomerate Gaesa and operator of Cuba’s main commercial port, has transferred its assets to Coral Marítima S.A., a state company … Continue reading “Gaesa Transfers Its Assets in Mariel to Another State Company to Evade U.S. Sanctions”
The following companies have been added to the OFAC list: Banco Financiero Internacional, Almacenes Universales, Rafin, Geominera and Antillana de Acero The Trump Administration announced on Monday a new round of sanctions against Cuban state entities linked to the military conglomerate Gaesa and against an individual related to the Castro family, following the offensive initiated … Continue reading “US Sanctions the Wife of General Alejandro Castro Espín and Five Cuban State Entities”