English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
Exiles pay the internet expenses of their relatives on the Island 14ymedio, Havana, July 16, 2025 — In the little more than one month since the tarifazo [huge price increase] came into force – 46 days, to be exact — stirring up Cuban universities and putting the state telecommunications monopoly in a bind — Etecsa … Continue reading “With the Tarifazo, Etecsa Has Multiplied Its Income in Dollars by 54”
In Matanzas, users recount the difficulties of connecting to the network and thefts of accounts by hackers. 14ymedio, Pablo Padilla Cruz, Matanzas, 12 July 2025 — The ‘tarifazo’ [huge price increase] imposed by Cuba’s State telecommunications monopoly Etecsa has suddenly returned hundreds of Cubans to the past and the search for a Wi-Fi hotspot that would … Continue reading “Etecsa’s ‘Tarifazo’ Forces Cubans To Return to Dangerous Parks with WiFi”
Although the cost of communications multiplied by 13, ONEI places the increase at 0.38% year-on-year and 0.02% in June. 14ymedio, Madrid, July 8, 2025 — The Etecsa tarifazo, or price increase, which came into force on May 30, was expected to raise inflation, which has remained high in recent months but is much more controlled … Continue reading “The Cuban Government’s Magic Statistics Erase Etecsa’s ‘Tarifazo’ in June’s Inflation Numbers”
A group of academics, artists and journalists publish a letter of “support and solidarity” with the students protesting huge price increases for internet and telephone service 14ymedio, Havana, 7 June 72025 — After a “process of deep reflection,” the students of the Faculty of Medical Sciences of Havana – the elite of the “army of … Continue reading “Cuba’s ‘Army of White Coats’ Joins the Protest Against Etecsa’s ‘Tarifazo’”
The new prices violate educational rights and deepen social inequalities. 14ymedio, Holguin, June 7, 2025 — Law Students at the University of Holguín filed a formal lawsuit against the Cuban Telecommunications Company S.A. (Etecsa), in a gesture unprecedented in the recent history of the country. The students questioned the recent mobile and data services rate … Continue reading “Law Students in Holguín, Cuba, File a Lawsuit Against Etecsa for the ‘Tarifazo’: Phone and Internet Rate Increases”
Díaz-Canel justifies the increase in internet prices: “I see it as a tactical retreat.” 14ymedio, Yunior García Aguilera, Madrid, 5 June 2025 — The podcast “Desde la presidencia,” [From the Presidency] broadcast this Thursday on the State TV’s Round Table program, confirmed what was already evident: the absolute disconnection of the Cuban regime’s bureaucracy from … Continue reading “The Cuban Regime Dismisses Citizen Protests Against Etecsa’s Rate Hike, ‘el Tarifazo’”
Students at the Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science at the University of Havana announced an indefinite academic strike that will begin today if nothing changes. 14ymedio, Madrid, June 4, 2025 — The situation is complicated for the Cuban government after the unrest generated by the enormous increase in the prices of the state-owned telecommunications … Continue reading “Etecsa’s Phone and Internet Rate Hikes, the ‘Tarifazo’, Fracture the FEU, the Student Pillar of the Cuban Regime”
A faculty at the University of Havana protested the new measures, which it considered “a huge lack of respect for the Cuban people.” 14ymedio, Havana, May 31, 2025 — Indignation at all levels has been caused by the measures that the communications monopoly Etecsa implemented this Friday for mobile telephony. The tension has been unanimous … Continue reading “Students, Teachers and Official Musicians Attack Cuba’s State Communications Monopoly Etecsa Over Its ‘Tarifazo’*”
Thanks to connectivity, Cubans feel like citizens of the world 14ymedio, Yoani Sánchez, Generation Y, Havana, 3 June 2025 – Cuba hasn’t felt this much popular outrage since the economic shock at the beginning of 2021 that buried the convertible peso, sent food costs through the roof, and plunged wages. Now, with internet connection prices … Continue reading “Cubans Enraged by the Telecommunication Monopoly Etecsa’s ‘Tarifazo’”
“The worst thing is the internet connection, although the calls are also of poor quality and hard to hear” 14ymedio, Julio César Contreras, Matanzas, June 2, 2025 — A single line at the top of her phone tells Mariana that she has very little coverage. Although she is outside and in a central location, the … Continue reading “Despite the ‘Tarifazo’* Etecsa Maintains Poor Telecommunications Service in Cuba”
The president of the monopoly admits that they violated the contract to avoid “anxiety” and public action. 14ymedio, Havana, 1 June 2025 — Despite the damage control operation launched by Empresa de Telecomunicaciones de Cuba S.A. (Etecsa) after announcing its latest price increase, which Cubans call the ’tarifazo’*, indignation among Cubans not only persists but … Continue reading “Etecsa, Cuba’s Communications Monopoly, Justifies Its ‘Tarifazo’ and Popular Indignation Increases”
If the State guarantees neither electricity nor internet, those who can afford it try to become independent of both at the same time. 14ymedio, Matanzas, Pablo Padilla Cruz, April 5, 2026 – On some rooftops in Havana, Matanzas, or Santa Clara, it’s no longer just water tanks, clotheslines, pigeon coops, and old television antennas that stand … Continue reading “Starlink in Cuba: the Banned Antenna That Challenges Etecsa’s Monopoly”
The rise of the application in contexts of censorship raises the question of its possible role in a Cuba with expensive, unstable and monitored internet. 14ymedio, Natalia López Moya, Havana, January 17, 2026 – On a dusty sidewalk in Kampala, Uganda, a young man says there’s something that can connect him with his friends even … Continue reading “Bitchat, the Cuban Network That Doesn’t Go Through the State Monopoly Etecsa”
Those outraged by Etecsa’s rate hikes, many of them “the revolutionary vanguard,” gave the regime more than one headache this year. 14ymedio, Havana, 28 December 2025– The Cuban government has managed to end 2025 without being overwhelmed by a turbulent front that took its breath away mid-year: the student movement. Governments around the world have … Continue reading “Cuban Faces 2025: The Students Who Rose Up Against Etecsa Were Defeated”
The shortage of SIM cards has further complicated Cubans’ access to telecommunications 14ymedio, Dario Hernandez, Havana, December 23, 2025 – This Monday, the offices of the State telecommunications company Etecsa in various parts of Havana were packed after the start of sales for new mobile lines and replacement SIM cards, a service that had been … Continue reading “Cuba’s Telecommunications Company Etecsa Restarts Mobile Line Sales, Generating Long Lines in Havana”