Cuba’s Deputy Prime Minister Ramiro Valdés Visits Sancti Spíritus to ‘Put His Foot Down’ Against Illegalities

With the economy on the rocks and the usual voluntarism, nothing will stop the province from celebrating July 26 in style. 14ymedio, Havana, June 20, 2024 — A delegation of ministers and senior officials arrived in Sancti Spíritus this Wednesday to carry out a government visit that soon turned into a hunt for “illegal MSMEs” … Continue reading “Cuba’s Deputy Prime Minister Ramiro Valdés Visits Sancti Spíritus to ‘Put His Foot Down’ Against Illegalities”

In Cuba, Rumors of the Collapse of the Regime: Purge of Ramiro Valdés, Lis Cuesta Detained, Soldiers Ask for a Discharge

The atmosphere of desperation and paralysis of life generated by blackouts has been the subject of multiple complaints 14ymedio/YucaByte, Havana, 19 June 2024 — Blackouts set the pace of life in Cuba, heating up tempers and triggering protests of a different caliber in a summer that is just beginning. With an increasingly unstable country on … Continue reading “In Cuba, Rumors of the Collapse of the Regime: Purge of Ramiro Valdés, Lis Cuesta Detained, Soldiers Ask for a Discharge”

April Rumors: Raúl Castro’s ‘Chemical’ Grandson, Death of Ramiro Valdés, Dog Meat

14ymedio/Yucabyte, Havana, 22 May 2024 — El químico (the chemical), the fashionable synthetic drug in Havana, slowly takes over the Cuban underworld. The possibility that Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro, El Cangrejo (The Crab), grandson and bodyguard of Raúl Castro, is the man behind its manufacture and traffic – in increasingly vast networks – was one … Continue reading “April Rumors: Raúl Castro’s ‘Chemical’ Grandson, Death of Ramiro Valdés, Dog Meat”

A Motorcyclist Collides with the Mercedes Benz of Cuba’s Deputy Prime Minister Ramiro Valdes in Havana

14ymedio, Havana July 31, 2023 — The news spread like wildfire this Sunday first on social media: the car in which Ramiro Valdés, Cuba’s deputy prime minister, was traveling had collided with a motorist at the intersection of Paseo avenue and 23rd street, in El Vedado Havana. The image of the senior official, between a luxurious … Continue reading “A Motorcyclist Collides with the Mercedes Benz of Cuba’s Deputy Prime Minister Ramiro Valdes in Havana”

Ramiro Valdes Proposes Resurrecting the Microbrigades To Solve the Housing Problem in Cuba

14ymedio, Havana, 20 April 2023 — The ninety-year-old Ramiro Valdés got angry during a meeting with leaders of Santiago de Cuba last week over the terrible state of housing in the province. The soldier, ratified this Wednesday as Deputy Prime Minister of the Island, “punched the table,” according to the local official newspaper, after unraveling … Continue reading “Ramiro Valdes Proposes Resurrecting the Microbrigades To Solve the Housing Problem in Cuba”

Ramiro Valdes Searches for Those Who Consume a Lot of Energy

14ymedio, Havana, 4 September 2020 — The energy consumption forecasts were exceeded this August by just 1.1%, but it has been enough for the Cuban authorities to ask the population to reduce consumption. On Thursday, Deputy Prime Minister Ramiro Valdés Menéndez asked the municipal energy councils to identify the high consumers in residences and state … Continue reading “Ramiro Valdes Searches for Those Who Consume a Lot of Energy”

When Ramiro Valdes Lost his Cable / Tania Diaz Castro

HAVANA, Cuba – I heard the story late, it happened a year ago. But the residents of Santa Fe, a coastal community to the west of Havana where about 50,000 people live, are afraid to say anything about Ramiro Valdés Menéndez, a “historic commander,” who is credited with numerous shootings at the beginning of the … Continue reading “When Ramiro Valdes Lost his Cable / Tania Diaz Castro”

Ramiro Valdes, Butcher of Artemisa and Diagnosed Psychopath / Juan Juan Almeida

While some imitated the exploits of Errol Flynn, others were startled with the reality of a man who is saddled with, even today, more legends than names. They call him the Antillean Gaddafi forhis eccentric arrogance; Donatien, the Marquis de Sade, for his sadism, perfectionism and radical atheism; The Goatee, for his sparse beard look; … Continue reading “Ramiro Valdes, Butcher of Artemisa and Diagnosed Psychopath / Juan Juan Almeida”

Salvador Valdes Mesa Reproaches Cuban Producers for Selling ‘To Whoever Pays the Most’

14ymedio, Madrid, April 17, 2024 — Salvador Valdés Mesa, annoyed, reproached Cuban producers on Tuesday for “getting used” to taking their products “to the highest bidder, the one who pays them the most.” The surprising argument encouraged a few days of bureaucratic meetings around the “Government’s projections to boost the economy” from which, despite having … Continue reading “Salvador Valdes Mesa Reproaches Cuban Producers for Selling ‘To Whoever Pays the Most’”

In Havana: Cubans ‘Didn’t Talk Much About José Martí, the Torch March Was About Trump’

As every January, detours and road closures caused chaos in Havana’s traffic 14ymedio, Jorge Lassa, Havana, 28 January 2025 — A wave of olive-green caps flooded the steps of the University of Havana on Monday night. At the foot of the famous statue of the Alma Mater – once a symbol of education and civility … Continue reading “In Havana: Cubans ‘Didn’t Talk Much About José Martí, the Torch March Was About Trump’”

After Hurricane Rafael, All the Resources of the Cuban State Were Put at the Service of the Mariel Special Development Zone

14ymedio, Havana, 4 January 2025 — The Mariel Special Development Zone (ZEDM) in Artemisa recovered in record time after the passage of Hurricane Rafael in November. Construction materials of military origin arrived; fuel was allocated in the midst of a supply crisis, and there was direct supervision of the regime’s main plan, headed by President … Continue reading “After Hurricane Rafael, All the Resources of the Cuban State Were Put at the Service of the Mariel Special Development Zone”

The Purges in Castro Totalitarianism

Periodically, despotic regimes resort to purging their officials because they are no longer trusted by the supreme leader 14ymedio, Pedro Corzo, Miami, 15 December 2024 — It is constantly mentioned that the leader of the regime in Cuba, at least on paper, the inept Miguel Diaz-Canel, is immersed in a purge of officials who do … Continue reading “The Purges in Castro Totalitarianism”

Raúl Castro Multiplies His Public Appearances To Show He’s Still Alive

Rumors about Raúl Castro’s death usually coincide with moments of high national tension 14ymedio, Juan Izquierdo, Havana, 1 October 2024 — Raúl Castro’s appearances on Cuban Television, after the increasingly frequent flood of rumors about his death, have become a kind of State ritual. At the beginning of the year, it was an official media … Continue reading “Raúl Castro Multiplies His Public Appearances To Show He’s Still Alive”

A Catalan NGO Collaborates in the Indoctrination of Cuban Children at the Fidel Castro Center

14ymedio, Juan Izquierdo, Havana, 9 August 2024 — “Fidel has done many things for Cuba, but the most important has been to save us.” This phrase – closer to religious catechism than to historiography – was expressed this Friday by one of the 39 children that the Fidel Castro Center has chosen for a special … Continue reading “A Catalan NGO Collaborates in the Indoctrination of Cuban Children at the Fidel Castro Center”

Intimacy With the Devils

Knowing how the hierarchs of the regime live, what they eat, who they sleep with, the watches they wear, what jokes they tell, produces a poisonous effect: that is the true merit of Norberto Fuentes Xavier Carbonell, Salamanca, July 28, 2024 — Arnaldo Ochoa was shot 35 years ago. Will anyone have remembered him on … Continue reading “Intimacy With the Devils”