English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
Cuba Today, El Vedado, Havana, (PD): Bit by bit some of the early activists who were able to cross the sea are returning; they were guests or sponsored by organizations or individuals the “outside world.” I say some, because you must remember that under their inalienable right, there are friends who took the opportunity to … Continue reading “Citizen Diplomacy / Julio Antonio Aleaga Pesant”
The political police warned him that they could seize his work equipment 14ymedio, Havana, 21 June 2024 — Independent journalist Julio Aleaga Pesant was fined 3,000 pesos this Thursday for the alleged crime of enemy propaganda. After attending a police summons, State Security questioned the reporter about his constant publications on digital platforms, in which … Continue reading “Cuban Journalist Julio Aleaga Is Fined 3,000 Pesos for His Publications on Social Networks”
14ymedio, Havana, 27 March 2024 — A short video shows the moment when a man entered, last Monday, the building where independent journalist Julio Aleaga Pesant resides on 1st Street, between C and D, in El Vedado, Havana. About 40 minutes later, the same security camera, from a private cafeteria located on the ground floor … Continue reading “The Home of Havana Journalist Julio Aleaga Was Broken Into and a Laptop Stolen”
14ymedio, Julio Aleaga Pesant, Manzanillo, 29 October 2023 — Last Sunday, October 22, was a noteworthy page in Latin American politics from which the Cuban democratic opposition can learn. Firstly, the fact that Javier Milei was not elected in the first round of Argentine presidential elections, and secondly that María Corina Machado (MCM) was elected in … Continue reading “Lessons from Argentina and Venezuela for Building Democracy in Cuba”
14ymedio, Madrid, June 2, 2023 — The Cuban historian Alina Bárbara López Hernández, who has been demonstrating peacefully since April on the 18th of each month in the Freedom Park of the city of Matanzas, is regulated; that is, prohibited from leaving the Island. In a post published this Friday, the professor explained that she … Continue reading “Professor Alina Barbara Lopez Has Been ‘Regulated’ and Will Not Be Able To Leave Cuba”
14ymedio, Havana, 5 April 2023 — The Cuban Conflict Observatory (OCC) recorded 372 demonstrations against the regime during the month of March. In its most recent report, the Miami-based organization also documented numerous cases of repression against activists and human rights defenders. In its report, the Observatory highlighted the reappearance of graffiti with slogans offensive … Continue reading “Citizen Insecurity Is Growing, According to the Cuban Conflict Observatory”
14ymedio, Havana, 2 March 2021 — The magazine Vocablo of the Association for Freedom of the Press (APLP), which stopped printing in 2015, has been published again, this time in PDF format and with a selection of the best of the Cuban free press. To prepare this first issue of the second stage, its current coordinator, Julio Aleaga Pesant, summoned … Continue reading “The Magazine ‘Vocabulo’ Reappears After a Six Year Pause”
14ymedio, Julio Aleaga Pesant, Havana, 8 May 2020 — The patients and their companions were surprised. A beautiful caravan of 16 new blue buses, from the company Ómnibus Nacionales, passed festively at full speed in front of them, led by two police motorcycles that facilitated their passage. The public admired the semi-empty buses, amid the … Continue reading “"The Bus Left, What a Pain"”
Iván García, 19 April 2017 — When evening falls, Yainier and a group of friends who live in El Canal, a neighborhood in the Cerro municipality, 20 minutes by car from the center of Havana, grab a table by the door of an old bodega, and between swigs of rum and Reggaeton, they play dominoes well … Continue reading “For Ordinary Cubans, Democracy Isn’t a Priority / Iván García”
14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar, Havana, 8 April 2016 — In a country where, under the fifth article of the Constitution, the Communist Party is “the highest leading force of society and the State” members of the Central Committee of that organization should be known by all citizens and, of course, access to the highest authority should … Continue reading “One-Third of Cuba’s PCC Central Committee is Hand Picked With No Process / 14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar”
Iván García, 20 April 2015 — Hildebrando Chaviano could pass for Obama if the US president’s secret service wanted to use him as a double. At his 65 years, Chaviano shines with the ability to lead. He likes to intone with the voice of a radio announcer, and doesn’t hide his affection for politics. Like … Continue reading “Cuba: Hildebrando Chaviano Tried / Ivan Garcia”
Announcements made by United States President Barack Obama and his administration have sparked an intense controversy about the Cuban conflict. Many opponents and civil society activists, within the island and in exile, have lamented, especially, the lack of transparency and the unilateral and unconditional nature of the new measures. It is indisputable and indispensable that … Continue reading “Forum for Rights and Freedoms / Estado de Sats (see endnote)”
The Democracy Bridge Program of the Center for the Opening and Development of Latin America (CADAL) and internal dissidents activists have organized the Second Democratic Forum on International Relations and Human Rights, which they are planning to coincide in Havana with the Summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC). The Summit … Continue reading “Activists and CADAL Prepare a Forum Parallel to the CELAC Summit in Havana”
In recent weeks we have heard some information in the United States media about the possibility of selling medicines produced in Cuba in that country, particularly Heberprot-P, a drug for the treatment of diabetic foot. On the other hand, the Cuban authorities continue to express themselves about the obstacles facing them in buying certain medications … Continue reading “Humanitarian Demand / Rosa Maria Rodriguez”
In recent weeks we have heard some information in the United States media about the possibility of selling medicines produced in Cuba in that country, particularly Heberprot-P, a drug for the treatment of diabetic foot. On the other hand, the Cuban authorities continue to express themselves about the obstacles facing them in buying certain medications … Continue reading “Humanitarian Demand / Rafael León Rodríguez”