English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
The distrust surrounding the Correa candidate was fueled by her ideological sympathy for the authoritarian regimes of Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua. 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 … Continue reading “The Shadow of the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution Over Ecuador”
14ymedio, Havana, 28 September 2023 — While his Ministers of Economy and Energy arranged their faces to confirm the tough savings measures in the face of the umpteenth fuel crisis in Cuba, Miguel Díaz-Canel was going to a party, although his face was more like it was a funeral. The photographs published in the official … Continue reading “The Committees for the Defense of the Revolution Celebrate 63 years With a Deficit of ‘Cadres’”
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”
Cubanet, Martha Beatriz Roque, Havana, 2 April 2015 — Whenever the topic of democracy and the Cuban regime comes up, the top leaders say that this is the most democratic country in the world. The latest version is that “‘democracy’ is subject to interpretation, and every country understands it in its own way.” This also … Continue reading “Committees for the Defense of the Revolution and Citizen Participation / Cubanet, Martha Beatriz Roque”
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”
It has been possible because the citizens themselves supported the regime’s arbitrary policies 14ymedio, Karel J. Leyva, Montreal, 4 August 2024 — Domination manifests itself when an agent – whether a person, an institution or the State – has the ability to arbitrarily intervene in the decisions and actions of another, without taking into account … Continue reading “The Cuban Revolution Has Never Been About Emancipation, But Rather Domination”
The official press celebrates with “hope” the work of the project in a new report on begging 14ymedio, Havana, 26 April 2024 — In the second part of a report on beggars in Cuba, in which the authorities recognize that the State is not able to deal with the increasing number of homeless people, the … Continue reading “Quisicuaba, or the ‘Revolutionary Calling’ To Look After the Poor”
14ymedio, Yoani Sánchez, Generation Y, Havana, 26 September 2023 — “From a clove of garlic,” says the poster that has been placed on the ground floor of our building in Havana to call for donations of resources for the celebration of the Committee for the Defense of the Revolution (CDR). The parapolice organization, which is … Continue reading “The ‘Committee for the Defense of the Revolution’, a Parapolice Organization Lacking Empathy With Cuba’s Crisis”
14ymedio, Photo of the Day, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, 22 November 2021 — A crumbling building, eaten by moisture, with plants growing wild from the cornices. On the columns, several slogans against the dirty white that seem recent: “Long live the CDRs” (Committees for the Defense of the Revolution), “Long live the 9th [sic] Congress” (of … Continue reading “What Remains of the Cuban Revolution”
14ymedio, Havana, 22 October 2021 — Almost a month after the death of the engineer Miguel Díaz Sistachs in a work accident, the Central Equipment Company, known as Cubiza, has mentioned his name for the first time in public. It was in an act of “revolutionary reaffirmation” in Havana, with the presence of former spy … Continue reading “Cuba Hid the Death of an Engineer and Now Uses His Name in a ‘Revolutionary’ Act”
14ymedio, Havana, 5 August 2020 — The front opened by Cuban authorities against the “scoundrels,” advanced in recent days by a media campaign, is already on the ground. According to Prime Minister Manuel Marrero, 3,054 groups have been created with 22,281 people to pursue coleros (people who stand in line for others), hoarders and illegal … Continue reading “Cuban Army, Police and Block Watch Committees Lead More than 3,000 Groups to Persecute ‘Coleros’ and ‘Hoarders’”
Cubalex, 2 March 2017 – It is common for people living in Cuba, once they start school at about six and pass from one educational level to another, to join social and mass organizations. First, in elementary school, the Pioneers, and then, at age 14, the social and mass organization and later the student organizations. Once … Continue reading “Cuba: “Revolutionary Integration” As A Form Of Social Control / Cubalex”
No social phenomenon arises suddenly or by spontaneous generation, rather it is the result of a long process of the accumulation of essential components. The rise of prostitution in “Socialist Cuba” is no exception. In fact, prostitution was not eliminated by policies dictated by the Government, which favored the mass incorporation of women into the … Continue reading “Revolutionary Prostitutes. Prostitution In Cuba, Part 2 / Miriam Celaya”
On March 13, 1968, Fidel Castro, in one of his miles-long speeches, announced to the Cuban people what he called “the Revolutionary Offensive*.” In reality, it had nothing revolutionary about it, on the contrary, it was an essentially counterrevolutionary measure intended to eliminate the urban petty bourgeoisie. And with it to eliminate one of the … Continue reading “Do You Remember the Revolutionary Offensive of 1968? / Haroldo Dilla Alfonso”
The State Department penalizes five entities and eight senior Cuban officials, including the Minister of the Armed Forces, Álvaro López Miera 14ymedio, Madrid, August 7, 2026 / Two weeks later, following the last wave, the United States has once again announced sanctions against five state entities and eight senior Cuban officials, including the Minister of the … Continue reading “New US Sanctions Against Those Who ‘Facilitate Arms Shipments to the Cuban Regime’”