English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
14ymedio, Havana, 18 May 2023 — On Thursday afternoon, computer engineer Iroel Sánchez Espinosa, one of the most extreme voices of Cuban official propaganda, died in Havana at the age of 58. Known for his constant defamation campaigns against dissent and the independent press, so far the cause of his death has not been made … Continue reading “Iroel Sanchez, One of the Most Sectarian Voices of the Cuban Regime, Dies”
The then-president of the Cuban Book Institute could have been one of my witnesses in the trial that was set up against me, but our political differences and his official functions did not permit him to put himself on the side of justice; which I never understood, because on the day that I might be … Continue reading “Prison Diary XXVII: Iroel Sanchez, Militant in his Interests / Angel Santiesteban”
One doesn’t need to hold any position to represent true power 14ymedio, Yunior García Aguilera, Madrid, April 23, 2026 — It is true that power in Cuba is no longer as concentrated as before, that command has fragmented, and that the country seems to have moved from absolute verticalism to a kind of collective management of … Continue reading “Collective Leadership in Cuba is a Myth, Power Remains Concentrated.”
Indifference prevails, especially among young people, and the cult of personality no longer works as an ideological cement. 14ymedio, Yunior García Aguilera, Madrid, August 13, 2025 — On this 13th of August, in the streets of San Antonio de los Baños, several posters appeared that read “Abajo Fidel,” “Martí no es comunismo,””Patria y Vida” and … Continue reading “San Antonio de los Baños Celebrates the 99th Anniversary of Fidel Castro With Anti-Regime Posters”
Putin’s disregard for Díaz-Canel and preparations for a simultaneous US invasion of Cuba and Venezuela. 14ymedio, Havana, 2 June 2025 — When some YouTubers and computer experts saw the images of the May Day parade published by Cubadebate, they ventured a hypothesis: the University of Computer Sciences had retouched the images of the parade and … Continue reading “Cuba Rumors of May: A Parade Modified by Artificial Intelligence and a Major National Blackout Is Coming”
The Con Filo presenter’s visit to Spanish cities has sparked criticism, ridicule, and a necessary consensus among Cuban exiles. 14ymedio, Yunior García Aguilera, Madrid, 10 May 2025 — Since Gabriela Fernández Álvarez—a propagandist for the Cuban regime—began her tour of 12 Spanish cities, her rejection by her exiled compatriots has been clear. But the mediocrity … Continue reading “When Propaganda Collides With Freedom”
Only Spaniards loyal to the Cuban regime and Embassy staff were allowed to enter. 14ymedio, Yunior García Aguilera, Madrid, 5 May 2025 — On Monday, some twenty Cubans heckled Gabriela Fernández Álvarez, host of the pro-government program Con Filo, which airs on Cuban TV, as she left a conference where she gave a talk in … Continue reading “Cubans Are Blocked from Attending Gabriela Fernández’s Talk in Madrid”
Who is Díaz-Canel grooming for a possible promotion? Jaime Gómez Triana, a shadowy cultural commissar 14ymedio, Yunior García Aguilera, Madrid, 27 July2024 — In Díaz-Canel’s recent closing address to the rubber-stamp National Assembly, the appointed president referred to a statement that was totally unrelated the rest of his speech. The focus of the address was … Continue reading ” Culture Warriors and Power Struggles in Cuba”
Manuel Piñeiro died in strange circumstances while preparing his autobiography 14ymedio, Juan Izquierdo, 26 March 2024, Havana — This Tuesday, not a single official newspaper alluded, in the eulogies dedicated to the anniversary of State Security, to its most famous founder, Commander Manuel Piñeiro, known as Barbarroja. On the other hand, there are many tributes to … Continue reading “The Cuban Regime Erases ‘Barbarroja’ from State Security History”
14ymedio, Havana, 24 December 2023 — If instead of choosing faces, at the end of 2023 we had compiled the objects that best represent Cubans this year, we would have included in the list a suitcase, some police handcuffs, a baseball, a judge’s gavel, a keyboard, a microphone and graffiti on some facade. Every presence … Continue reading “Cuban Faces of 2023: The 14 Faces That Marked the Year 2023 in Cuba”
14ymedio, Yunior Garcia Aguilera, Madrid, 9 August 2023 — No one hated private business in Cuba more than Fidel Castro. In his 1968 speech announcing the Revolutionary Offensive, which nationalized all remaining small private businesses in the country, he called business owners lazy, hangers-on, exploiters, privileged and lazy. Spooked by his own shadow, he vented … Continue reading “To Have or Not to Have Private Businesses”
14ymedio, Yunior García Aguilera, Madrid, 18 January 2023 — A rumor had been going around the Island since December of last year: the dean of the Universidad de las Artes (ISA) had been relieved of his duties. This euphemism is usually used in Cuba when referring to party hacks who are dismissed or dethroned. Many … Continue reading “‘She’s Quiet’: Cuba’s University of the Arts (ISA) Has a New Dean”
14ymedio, Havana, 13 June 2022 — When a Cuban explodes in the networks, upset about things that happen in his country, he can find himself with a problem similar to Amelia Calzadilla’s, the 31-year-old from Havana, who last week made a live video complaining about the high prices of electricity and the daily hardships she … Continue reading ““Autonomy at the Expense of an Empty Pot: No,” Claims Cuban Amelia Calzadilla”
14ymedio, Yunior García Aguilera, Madrid, 27 April 2022 — When I got on Twitter in April 2018, I almost stopped using Facebook. I was fascinated by the rhythm of the platform, the synthesis, the stark debate held there by a group of young Cubans who were beginning target shooting with just 140 ammunition. Those Creole … Continue reading “Cuba and the New Tweets of the Blue Bird”
14ymedio, Havana, 22 June 2019 — On Friday, The Foundation for Human Rights in Cuba (FHRC) added Mayra Arevich, executive president of the state telecommunications monopoly Etecsa, to its database of violent repressors, according to a statement released by the organization. The FHRC, based in Miami, has also added Ernesto Gómez Novoa, second chief of the … Continue reading “Cuban Human Rights Group Adds President of Etecsa to List of ’Violent Repressors’”