Cuba is the Black Sheep of Human Rights / 14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar & Elizardo Sanchez

14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar, Havana, 10 December 2014* — Coinciding with the observance of International Human Rights Day today, we spoke with Elizardo Sánchez, spokesman for the Cuban Commission for Human Rights and National Reconciliation (CCDHRN) in Havana to review the current situation on the Island. Q:  Today the whole world commemorates Human Rights Day. What is the situation in … Continue reading “Cuba is the Black Sheep of Human Rights / 14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar & Elizardo Sanchez”

“We hope the government will announce the names of the prisoners benefiting in the coming hours” / 14ymedio, Elizardo Sanchez, Reinaldo Escobar

14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar, Havana, 18 December 2014 – The spokesperson for the Commission on Human Rights and National Reconciliation, Elizardo Sánchez, shares with the readers of 14ymedio his reflections on the rapprochement between Havana and Washington announced this Wednesday, after more than five decades of rupture. Escobar: Does the National Commission for Human Rights and … Continue reading ““We hope the government will announce the names of the prisoners benefiting in the coming hours” / 14ymedio, Elizardo Sanchez, Reinaldo Escobar”

Goliath Opens His Wallet / Yoani Sánchez: A New Era for Cuba and the United States

[From the New York Times] HAVANA — In one of my earliest memories, I am in a schoolyard before a campfire. The kids are screaming and jumping around it while the teacher stokes the flames, where a ridiculous Uncle Sam puppet is burning. This image came to mind on Wednesday, as I listened to the … Continue reading “Goliath Opens His Wallet / Yoani Sánchez: A New Era for Cuba and the United States”

“We journalists are the witnesses to history” / 14ymedio, Yoani Sanchez

14ymedio, Yoani Sanchez, 7 November 2014 – Of all the faces that circulate on the illegal information networks, there is a very serene and well-known one that has been with us for decades. This well-spoken man who never seems to get upset has received the worst insults in the official media and the stealthy applause … Continue reading ““We journalists are the witnesses to history” / 14ymedio, Yoani Sanchez”

Brief chronology of a victory (Freeing Gorki “Last Time”) / Yoani Sanchez

PLEASE SIGN THE PETITION How did it occur to us to go to a concert by Pablo Milanes to ask for the liberation of Gorki? That is something that has the trademark of the spontaneous and the haste of that which can not be postponed or thought better of. Ciro, Claudia and I talked about … Continue reading “Brief chronology of a victory (Freeing Gorki “Last Time”) / Yoani Sanchez”

Long Lines Formed Before Dawn on Monday at Cuba’s Passport Offices / Yoani Sanchez #Cuba

From the early hours of Sunday large groups of people were already visible at the Department of Immigration and Aliens (DIE) in the city of Havana. A few hours before the Migratory Reform announced last October was to go into effect, Cubans vacillated between hope and uncertainty with respect to the new law. Decree-Law No. … Continue reading “Long Lines Formed Before Dawn on Monday at Cuba’s Passport Offices / Yoani Sanchez #Cuba”

Surprising Sentence for Angel Carromero for the Deaths of Oswaldo Paya and Harold Cepero in a Car Crash / Yoani Sanchez

Angel Carromero has been sentenced to four years in prison for the traffic accident that killed two opponents of the regime, Oswaldo Paya and Harold Cepero. The Granma Provincial Court issued the sentence Monday, October 15, after the public trial which took place on October 5. According to the official website Cubadebate, the leader of … Continue reading “Surprising Sentence for Angel Carromero for the Deaths of Oswaldo Paya and Harold Cepero in a Car Crash / Yoani Sanchez”

25 Cuban Dissidents on Hunger Strike / Yoani Sanchez

This Monday several Cuban dissidents started a hunger strike which has already been joined by 25 people throughout the country. At a press conference, Martha Beatriz Roque Cabello explained that that the strikers are demanding the immediate release of Jorge Vázquez Chaviano, age 42. In 2011 this activist was sentenced for the supposed crime of … Continue reading “25 Cuban Dissidents on Hunger Strike / Yoani Sanchez”

Ángel Carromero, Driver of the Car in Which Payá and Cepero Died, Charged with Murder / Yoani Sánchez

A lengthy editorial in Granma on Tuesday marked the beginning of legal proceedings for murder against Angel Carromero. The 27-year-old Spaniard, deputy secretary general of The People’s Party New Generation, Carromero was driving the car in which the regime opponent Oswaldo Paya and the activist Harold Cepero were killed. Also slightly injured in the crash … Continue reading “Ángel Carromero, Driver of the Car in Which Payá and Cepero Died, Charged with Murder / Yoani Sánchez”

The Death of Oswaldo Payá and the Opposition in Cuba / Yoani Sánchez

In less than a year the Cuban opposition has lost two of its most important leaders. On October 14 of last year life of Laura Pollán, the principal coordinator of the Ladies in White and the key figure in the release of the Black Spring prisoners, was cut short. A week ago a car crash, … Continue reading “The Death of Oswaldo Payá and the Opposition in Cuba / Yoani Sánchez”

How to Enthrone Democracy and the Market in Cuba in Just 365 Days

14ymedio, Carlos Alberto Montaner, Madrid, 12 February 2023 — In Cuba there will be elections in March for the National Assembly of the People’s Power (ANPP). These are potentially the most important elections the system provides. Ricardo Alarcón, former President of Parliament, realized this and Raúl Castro dismissed him and did not allow him to … Continue reading “How to Enthrone Democracy and the Market in Cuba in Just 365 Days”

Cuban Communists are Reluctant to Absolve Mikhail Gorbachev

14ymedio, Madrid, 31 August 2022 — “We have seen sad things in other socialist countries, very sad things.” In 1989 Fidel Castro used these words to refer to the process he didn’t want to name: perestroika. More than 30 years later, the official Cuban press has once again ignored, in its report about the death … Continue reading “Cuban Communists are Reluctant to Absolve Mikhail Gorbachev”

Ten Proposals for Change in Cuba

14ymedio, Ariel Hidalgo/Elizardo Sanchez SantaCruz, 1 January 2020 — After almost forty years of organized civic struggle of the dissident movement in Cuba, the survivors of the half dozen political prisoners who began that struggle in 1983 call for a dispassionate reflection on the general situation of the country and the opportunities of the present … Continue reading “Ten Proposals for Change in Cuba”

A New Organization is Born to Track Human Rights Violations in Cuba

14ymedio, Havana, 2 October 2019 — A new organization has emerged to give continuity to the work carried out for decades by the Cuban Commission for Human Rights and National Reconciliation (CCDHRN). That is the stated purpose of the Cuban Center for Human Rights (CCDH). In its founding statement it is stated that the objective … Continue reading “A New Organization is Born to Track Human Rights Violations in Cuba”