English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
14ymedio, Madrid, 18 May 2022 — Ending the limits on remittances sent from the U.S. to Cuba — one of the measures announced by Washington on Monday, in addition to resuming flights — seems to be one that could have the greatest impact on the Island. It is for the benefit of Cuban families, which … Continue reading “Competing with the ‘Mules’: The Cuban Government’s Complicated Goal for Remittances”
14ymedio, Havana, 4 January 2021 — Cuban commerce was just beginning to take off when it suffered another blow. The Government of Havana’s restrictions on the number of flights that can come to Cuba, which came into force on January 1, has been bad news for the mules who feed Cuba’s informal networks, and bad … Continue reading “The ‘Mules’ Suffer Another Blow With the New Flight Restrictions in Cuba”
14ymedio, Fernando Donate Ochoa, Holguín, June 27, 2020 — Miguel envisioned his prosperous business going bankrupt when authorities announced on March 2 that, due to Covid-19, residents of Cuba would not be able to travel abroad until further notice. He now fears that travel and import restrictions will remain in place long after the pandemic … Continue reading “Mules Fear New Customs Restrictions May Be Permanent”
14ymedio, Marcelo Hernández, Havana, October 17, 2019 — Joaquín and Modesto are friends and relatives who saw from the beginning that trips to Panama to bring back to Cuba household appliances and electric motorcycles would be a successful business. Since the middle of 2018 they have worked fulfilling on-demand orders, putting an added value on the … Continue reading “For the "Mules," Life Goes On, and So Does Business”
14ymedio, Havana, 4 July 2019 — Cuban State Television’s Roundtable show has needed two days to explain, with Miguel Diaz-Canel and his Economy Minister, Alejandro Gil Fernandez, the salary increase for state sector employees announced last Thursday. Among the few novelties outlined by the duo responsible for the economic march of the nation was the advancement … Continue reading “Cuban President Diaz-Canel Gives the Mules a Reprieve Until Further Notice”
14ymedio, Mario J. Pentón, Miami, 6 June 2018 — The General Customs of the Republic of Cuba threatened on Wednesday to confiscate packages sent from the United States through ‘mules’ (people who travel specifically to the island to carry merchandise) who serve shipping agencies based in the U.S.. The practice of sending goods through agencies, which Havana … Continue reading “Cuban Customs Threatens to Seize Goods Brought by ‘Mules’ from the U.S.”
Juan Juan Almeida, 5 February 2018 — Haiti is becoming the shortest, cheapest and most popular route among mules and Cuban merchants, who travel there for “shopping tours” to supply the informal street businesses and the dangerous market of illegal surgical drugs and equipment. “A lot of hidden goods are entering the country from these opportunistic excursions,” a source linked to the General … Continue reading “Haiti is the New Route for Cuban "Mules" in Search of Drugs and Illegal Surgical Equipment / Juan Juan Almeida”
The pepper is of carved wood and a seasoning container on the table says “Sedano’s” in green letters. The private restaurant waits for the supplies that will arrive this Saturday in an enormous delivery transported by a “mula” — a mule. If the delivery is even a day late, many of the items offered on … Continue reading “The Self-Employed and the “Mules” / Yoani Sánchez”
Eliseo, 39, is considered a public benefactor. A guy who is always welcome. For a decade, this Cuban American has been a ‘mule’. He resides in Miami and makes some fifteen trips to the island every year. Sometimes more. Right now, from his mobile phone, he calls his usual driver to pick him up at … Continue reading “Welcome, Mules / Iván García”
14ymedio, Miami, 31 January 2023 — One of the few consolations of Carlos (fictitious name), who left Cuba last year for Nicaragua, desperate like so many other Cubans to seek a better life in the United States, is that at least now his children and nephews, who were left on the Island, could have decent … Continue reading “A ‘Mule’ is Punished for Trying to Send a Toy Helicopter to Cuba”
14ymedio, Elías Amor, Valencia, 14 November 2022 — Food sovereignty happens to be one of the new chimeras of the Cuban communist regime. Prime Minister Marrero was invited to outline the main points of the policy in this area during the virtual “International Forum on Hybrid Rice Assistance and Global Food Security.” The truth is … Continue reading “Cuba: What Food Sovereignty is Marrero Talking About?”
14ymedio, Natalia Lopez Moya, Havana, 5 November 2022 — A sign that, only a few days ago, was advertising a garage sale on 26th Street in Havana had suddenly disappeared, leaving customers to wonder if the owner had either skipped town or had nothing to sell. The truth is the sale was cancelled out of … Continue reading “Inspectors Fine Garage Sale Vendors in Havana”
14ymedio, Natalia López Moya, Havana, 22 October 2022 – The tourist operator Bojórquez has sent a stern letter to the Cuban airport authorities, denouncing the misplacement of suitcases, removal of belongings from passengers’ luggage, and the substitution of waste matter for passengers’ property, in flights operated by the Mexican airline Magnicharters. The company considers these … Continue reading “Mexican Company Magnicharters Denounces Theft of Luggage from Their Flights to Cuba”
14ymedio, Natalia López Moya, Havana, 23 October 2022 — The urban landscape of Havana lacks an important element these days: informal vendors who, in parks and doorways, offer everything from matches to soft drinks. A police operation carried out last week swept up these vendors, who sell basic products that are scarce in state stores. … Continue reading “The Police Sweep up Vendors from the Doorways of Havana”
14ymedio, Havana, 6 September 2022 — Despair over the lack of electricity has provoked the first amendment to the package of measures “to save the Cuban economy” that, in reality, simply made the import of some non-commercial items to Cuba more flexible. The provisions of the General Customs of the Republic went into effect on … Continue reading “Cuban Customs Corrects Itself and Will Allow More Powerful Generators to be Imported”
