English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
14ymedio, Havana, 13 March 2024 — The Cuban mules’ fear of being trapped in the crossfire of the Haitian gangs – as happened days ago with more than 250 visitors who were shopping in that country and of whom it is not known if they have managed to return to Cuba – has forced these … Continue reading “Faced With the Upsurge in Violence in Haiti, Cuban ‘Mules’ Are Looking for Alternative Markets”
14ymedio, Madrid, 7 March 2024 — Some 258 Cubans remain stranded in Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti. The flight that was supposed to leave for Havana last Thursday, February 29, was hit by gunfire from armed gangs that have the country in a state of suspension. Haiti is a destination coveted by mules for their … Continue reading “Dozens of Cuban ‘Mules’ Are Trapped in Haiti Due to the Crisis of Violence”
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”
The sale of medicines and the purchase of foreign currency, all informal, happens in full view of the police and despite the operatives 14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, 14 April 2024 – The market known as La Cuevita, in San Miguel del Padrón, on the outskirts of Havana, is not larger than the one that … Continue reading “La Cuevita, Where Capitalism Works in Cuba”
María travels to Guyana, Russia, Peru, Colombia or Venezuela to sell Cuban products and buy as cheaply as possible for her store in Camajuaní 14ymedio, Yankiel Gutiérrez Faife, Camajauní (Villa Clara Province, Cuba), 13 April 2024 — At age 42, María does not allow herself to waste one second. She gets up at 7:30 am, … Continue reading “The Hard Life of a Cuban ‘Mule’ to Supply her Business”
14ymedio, Havana, 5 April 2024 — With a return plan promised two weeks ago by the Government and still not completed, Cubans stranded in Haiti since February no longer want to “wait calmly.” A video published on social networks by a representative of the group attempts to pressure the Island’s authorities to take more forceful … Continue reading “‘Every Country Except Cuba Has Evacuated Its Citizens From Haiti’”
14ymedio, Havana, 28 March 2024 — The Cuban regime took another step this Wednesday in its attempt to capture a greater amount of foreign exchange. The Clásica card, issued by Fincimex, the financial wing of the Gaesa military conglomerate, can now receive remittances from any country through the Tocopay application, based in Bilbao, Spain. Fincimex … Continue reading “Cuban Military Tries To Regain Control of Remittances”
