The 11th of July in Cuba, ’11J’, the ‘Combat Order’ Still Stands

14ymedio, 11 July 2023 — Dark shirt, mask and authoritative gesture. This is how Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel appeared before the television cameras on the 11th of July 2021, when the largest popular protests in the history of Cuba shook the streets of the Island. It was at that moment that he spoke the phrase … Continue reading “The 11th of July in Cuba, ’11J’, the ‘Combat Order’ Still Stands”

Miguel Diaz-Canel, the Most Faithful Servant

14ymedio, Pedro Corvo, Miami, 13 February 2022 — In the late 1990s, times when spy Ana Belén Montes successfully insisted that Castroism was not dangerous for the United States — an assertion that resonated with some US officials who have always looked on the island dictatorship with fondness — a considerable number of Cubans rejected … Continue reading “Miguel Diaz-Canel, the Most Faithful Servant”

Diaz-Canel is Booed in Batabano and Cuban Television Calls the Visit a ‘Summit Moment’

14ymedio, Havana, September 30, 2022 — In a display of populism, Miguel Díaz-Canel toured the towns most affected by Hurricane Ian in the west of the island. Dressed in military garb, Televisión Nacional dispensed with his titles of president and first secretary of the Party, and introduced him as the Chief of the National Defense … Continue reading “Diaz-Canel is Booed in Batabano and Cuban Television Calls the Visit a ‘Summit Moment’”

For Diaz-Canel, ’11J’ Protest in Cuba was an ‘Unpleasant Event’

14ymedio, Havana, 11 July 2022 — The official Cuban press has also made an 11J [July 11th] “special.” It is a series of opinion and analysis pieces, including an editorial, dated this Monday to talk about what it calls a “soft coup.” The roll-out began this Sunday, with a conference dedicated to young people, supporters … Continue reading “For Diaz-Canel, ’11J’ Protest in Cuba was an ‘Unpleasant Event’”

Silvio Rodriguez Calls the Leadership in Power in Cuba a ‘Sect’ and Laments the Conviction of Lescay

14ymedio, Madrid, 13 April 2022 — The greatest troubadour of the Revolution, Silvio Rodríguez, raises the tone in his criticism of the Cuban regime by describing the Government of Miguel Díaz-Canel as a “sect” and coming out in defense of the young musician Abel González Lescay, recently sentenced to six years in prison after demonstrating … Continue reading “Silvio Rodriguez Calls the Leadership in Power in Cuba a ‘Sect’ and Laments the Conviction of Lescay”

Diaz-Canel, a Continuity without Charisma, Historical Weight, or ‘Ashe’

14ymedio, Yunior García Aguilera, Madrid, 16 February 2022 — The Cuban dictatorship laid its foundations on the charisma of Fidel Castro. Beyond what fans or detractors may argue, it is undeniable that the bearded man had qualities for oratory, knew how to channel the frustrations of an era in his favor, and was an unparalleled … Continue reading “Diaz-Canel, a Continuity without Charisma, Historical Weight, or ‘Ashe’”

Diaz-Canel Assures Pastors for Peace that ‘There are No Political Prisoners in Cuba’

14ymedio, Havana , 4 December 2021 — “There are no political prisoners in Cuba,” said Miguel Díaz-Canel in front of the members of the Caravan of Pastors for Peace. “Here, there are people who are not with the Revolution and who can demonstrate freely,” the president emphasized in a meeting that took place on November … Continue reading “Diaz-Canel Assures Pastors for Peace that ‘There are No Political Prisoners in Cuba’”

Diaz-Canel in Mexico, the Invitation That Never Should Have Been Extended

14ymedio, Yoani Sanchez, Generation Y, Havana, 15 September 2021 – salsa dancing or smiling with several Hollywood actors, this was Miguel Díaz-Canel’s look three years ago during a visit to New York. Now, cornered by the complaints after violently repressing the July 11th protests, the Cuban president finds himself isolated on the international scene, a … Continue reading “Diaz-Canel in Mexico, the Invitation That Never Should Have Been Extended”

‘Call the Dictatorship by its Name’, Ask Cubans Living in Spain

14ymedio, Jorge Ferrer, Ginés Górriz and others, Barcelona, 29 July 2021 — We have witnessed a popular uprising in Cuba like no other that has been known in the last 60 years. The inertia and fear generated by decades of that sinister cocktail that is made by mixing enthusiasm with repression — the exact symbolic reverse of … Continue reading “‘Call the Dictatorship by its Name’, Ask Cubans Living in Spain”

Diaz-Canel Speaks Like ‘Karadzic, the Butcher of Bosnia,’ Says the Council for the Transition in Cuba

14ymedio, Havana, 15 July 2021 — The Council for the Democratic Transition in Cuba (CTDC) denounces that the government’s reaction to the participants of the July 11 protests “has followed the Yugoslav model” with a “call from the State for a potential massacre,” says the new opposition alliance in a statement published this Thursday. The regime … Continue reading “Diaz-Canel Speaks Like ‘Karadzic, the Butcher of Bosnia,’ Says the Council for the Transition in Cuba”

“The Combat Order is Given: Revolutionaries Take to the Streets,” Threatens Cuban President Diaz-Canel

14ymedio, Havana, 11 July 20210 – In a Sunday afternoon address, Cuba president Díaz-Canel called for civil war on the island. In his speech he called on the communists to take to the streets, starting now and in the coming days. “We will be in the streets fighting,” threatened the president, in response to protests … Continue reading ““The Combat Order is Given: Revolutionaries Take to the Streets,” Threatens Cuban President Diaz-Canel”

Cuban President Diaz-Canel Takes Up Fidel Castro’s Obsolete Discourse on Intellectuals

14ymedio, Havana, 1 July 2019 — Miguel Díaz-Canel used his closing speech to the IX Congress of the Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba (UNEAC) to recall the controversial Words to the Intellectuals delivered by Fidel Castro in 1961 and to call for fighting the “cultural mercenaries, those willing to lynch how many artists and creators … Continue reading “Cuban President Diaz-Canel Takes Up Fidel Castro’s Obsolete Discourse on Intellectuals”

Interview With Díaz-Canel: Neither So Presidential Nor So Much “Media Appeal”

Cubanet, Miriam Celaya, Havana, 20 September 2018 — If something stands out in the interview recently granted to the transnational Telesur by the (not elected) president of Cuba, Miguel Díaz-Canel, it is the way in which the poverty of his vocabulary is revealed, the inconsistency of his arguments , the triteness of a discourse as … Continue reading “Interview With Díaz-Canel: Neither So Presidential Nor So Much “Media Appeal””

Cuba and Iran Agree on a ‘Resistance’ Strategy Against US Sanctions and Imperialism

EFE (via 14ymedio), Tehran, December 4, 2023 — Iran and Cuba agreed on Monday to strengthen their relations in all areas to face the sanctions of the United States, during an official visit of the Cuban president, Miguel Díaz-Canel, to Tehran. Díaz-Canel was received by the president of Iran, Ebrahim Raisí, and both leaders met … Continue reading “Cuba and Iran Agree on a ‘Resistance’ Strategy Against US Sanctions and Imperialism”

Proposal for Introduction of Decree Law 35 / Jeovany Jimenez Vega

Jeovany Jimenez Vega, 18 August 2021 [Correct date, translation delayed]  — Well, what was always a very high possibility is now a crude certainty: the Gag Law for the Internet in Cuba has just come into force!  Decree-Law 35, which has recently been published in the Official Gazette, has as its declared aim the silencing … Continue reading “Proposal for Introduction of Decree Law 35 / Jeovany Jimenez Vega”