14ymedio

Cuba’s Sports Facilities in Artemisa, Havana and Pinar Del Río Are Dying

Several journalists criticise the neglect of the Jesús Suárez Gayol, Nicaragua Libre de Herradura and Pontón sports stadiums.

The sporting authorities’ lack of attention led to the ruin of the Jesús Suárez Gayol stadium. / DPorto Sports LLC

14ymedio, Havana, 5 November 2025 — The infrastructure of Cuban baseball is in intensive care. The ruins and neglect of the Jesús Suárez Gayol (Artemisa) and José María Pérez Capote sports complexes, known as Pontón, confirm this. The most recent case of neglect was reported by journalist Osbel Benítez Polo. The Nicaragua Libre stadium in Herradura, Pinar del Río, looks like “a pasture for grazing cattle”.

The journalist showed images of “the neglect, carelessness, misery and lack of compliance on the part of the management of the National Institute of Sport, Physical Education and Recreation (Inder) in the province”.

Benítez accused the provincial director of Inder, Daniellys Sánchez, of negligence for not replying to the request from the parents of the young athletes. “The answers have not yet arrived,” he said, adding that “no maintenance work has been carried out for four months.”

The journalist expressed his confidence that “for the sake of baseball, sooner rather than later, this space will flourish again for the good of the community.”

Last March, Inder Vice-President Omar Venegas Echemendía acknowledged that there were 1,325 sports facilities on the island that were “rated as fair to poor”. The initiative of the workers’ union in the context of the last School Games made it possible to recover 227 properties, he said.

Venegas offered to “continue working” so that “there will be fewer and fewer venues” with poor ratings. However, the specialised media continue to complain.

Last September, DPorto Sports LLC complained that the lack of attention from sports authorities led to the ruin of the Jesús Suárez Gayol stadium. The colossus is falling to pieces. “The poor condition of the building was aggravated by the impact of saltpetre as it was near the sea.” said journalist Yasel Porto Gómez, adding that “it received its coup de grâce with Hurricane Rafael, which hit the province of Artemisa three years ago.”

The Nicaragua Libre stadium in Herradura looks like “a pasture for grazing cattle.” / Osbel Benítez Polo

Despite failed attempts to restore it since 2012, Porto recalled, “there is nothing more to be done today.” The Jesús Suárez Gayol stadium hosted several National Series games and was one of the few with artificial lighting. It was also one of the stadiums with the best infrastructure in the now defunct Habana Campo. “All that is and will be history, unfortunately.”

What that has left is the memory of the performances of players such as Jonder Martínez, Luis Cuesta, Juan Carlos Millán, Pedro Arozarena, and Miguel Alfredo González.

El combinado deportivo Pontón en que se encuentran dos campos de béisbol, una pista de atletismo, una sala de judo, canchas de tenis y una piscina olímpica luce deplorable. Pese a ello, la Asamblea Municipal del Poder Popular Centro Habana publicó en mayo pasado una foto de un partido de la categoría Sub-10 entre Centro Habana y el Cerro señalando que se recuperaban las instalaciones deportivas.

The Pontón sports complex, which includes two baseball fields, an athletics track, a judo hall, tennis courts and an Olympic-size swimming pool,looks in a terrible state. Despite this, last May the Centro Habana Municipal Assembly of People’s Power published a photo of an Under-10 match between Centro Habana and Cerro, pointing out that the sports facilities were being restored.

The players’ families had to sit on dry grass due to the lack of stands, and the pitch was bare in several places.

Translated by GH

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Cuban Ambassador Expelled From Peru After Being Accused of Political Activism

In addition to being a diplomat, Carlos Zamora has been singled out for his activities as a colonel in the Directorate of Intelligence

Miguel Díaz-Canel awarding a medal to ‘El Gallo Zamora’ in August 2025. / Social Media

14ymedio, Havana, 8 November 2025 — The departure of the Cuban ambassador to Peru, Carlos Rafael Zamora Rodríguez, announced in the final paragraph of an official statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Lima, comes after repeated accusations against him of political activism and espionage. On October 28, Peru’s Vice Foreign Minister Félix Denegri summoned the diplomat to “discuss the activities carried out during his tenure.” Two days later, Zamora packed his bags and flew back to Havana.

The Peruvian Foreign Ministry offered little explanation. But in the halls of Congress, in the opinion columns of Peru’s leading newspapers, and on conservative television programs, the unofficial version is unanimous: Zamora was not a mere diplomat, but a political agent of the Cuban intelligence apparatus operating with immunity on Peruvian soil.

The diplomatic career of El Gallo Zamora, as he is nicknamed, has always been linked to the work of “political analysis in complex scenarios.” His “diplomatic” journey included postings such as Ecuador, Brazil, and Bolivia, countries where Havana has maintained intense activism in building the Bolivarian axis since 2000.

In Quito, between 2013 and 2016, he maintained direct dialogue not only with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but also with movements aligned with Rafael Correa, especially unions and youth organizations.

Former Cuban officer Enrique García, exiled in the US, met Zamora personally at the Cuban Intelligence Directorate building, located at Línea and A, in El Vedado, Havana.

In 2019, the interim government of Jeanine Áñez in Bolivia accused Cuba and Venezuela of orchestrating the violence in the country in support of Evo Morales. The Minister of Communication, Roxana Lizárraga, stated that Zamora—then ambassador to Bolivia—was part of the Cuban intelligence network that intervened in conflicts in Nicaragua and Ecuador.

Former Cuban officer Enrique García, exiled in the US, also told the political news tabloid Perú21 that he personally met Zamora at the Cuban Intelligence Directorate building, located at Línea and A streets in Havana’s Vedado neighborhood. García further stated that both the ambassador and his wife, Maura Isabel Juampere Pérez, hold the rank of colonel within that institution.

Zamora presented his credentials in Peru in December 2021, just days after the inauguration of Pedro Castillo, the former president who was deposed and imprisoned following his failed self-coup in 2022. Various sectors of the Peruvian right have long been pressing for Zamora’s expulsion, demanding it as an act of democratic hygiene. Congresswoman Patricia Chirinos (Avanza País) accused him of “turning the Embassy into a center of ideological operations.” Retired Admiral Jorge Montoya, of Renovación Popular, went even further: “Cuba doesn’t send ambassadors, it sends G2 operatives.”

The offensive intensified when several news reports indicated meetings between the ambassador and leaders of the hardline wing of the teachers’ union SUTEP, with groups close to Perú Libre, and with student organizations that support Castillo. For the Lima right wing, Cuba was reactivating its old playbook of ideological export in Peru, this time taking advantage of a politically polarized country lacking strong institutional safeguards.

According to an investigation published by the newspaper Perú21 in early 2025, high-level sources within the Peruvian government claimed that Cuban counterintelligence agents were collaborating in the protection of Peruvian politician Vladimir Cerrón, a fugitive since October 2023 after he was sentenced to three and a half years in prison for corruption related to the irregular construction of an airfield.

Peruvian Foreign Minister Javier González-Olaechea told the press that, if the involvement of foreign agents in Cerrón’s escape were confirmed, Peru could escalate the diplomatic conflict to the point of severing relations with Cuba. The report indicated that the police identified Cuban citizens who met with members of the Perú Libre party to coordinate actions related to Cerrón; the possible involvement of Peruvian police officers as collaborators is also being investigated. Authorities say they came close to arresting him in January 2025, when a technical error temporarily revealed his whereabouts in an exclusive area south of Lima, information that matched data that the Police attributed to previously identified Cuban agents.

The departure of the Cuban ambassador from Lima comes at a time of redefinition of Peruvian foreign policy, also strained by the diplomatic clash with Mexico.

In Havana, the Foreign Ministry has not responded to Zamora’s dismissal or the accusations of espionage. There are also no reports in the official press or personal statements from the ambassador so far—a silence that, in the regime’s ritual, amounts to tacit confirmation.

The departure of the Cuban ambassador from Lima comes at a time of redefinition in Peruvian foreign policy, which is also strained by the diplomatic clash with Mexico. The document published by the Peruvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs states that they analyzed the Mexican government’s request to grant safe passage to Betssy Chávez—a former minister and former president of the Council of Ministers during the Castillo administration, currently being prosecuted for rebellion and conspiracy following the attempted self-coup—who sought asylum in the Mexican embassy.

Following internal consultations and consultations with international experts, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has concluded that, in recent years, some countries have misused the 1954 Caracas Convention, granting asylum to individuals prosecuted for common crimes rather than for political persecution. Peru believes this practice undermines the purpose of asylum and rejects its use as a means of evading justice. Therefore, it will initiate a diplomatic process within the Organization of American States (OAS) to propose amendments to the Convention, with the aim of preventing abuses and ensuring respect for the rule of law in the region.

Peru’s relationship with the political axis that includes Mexico, Cuba, and other allies of so-called Latin American progressivism has entered a zone of open friction. The dismissal of the Cuban ambassador reinforced the perception that Peru is realigning its priorities, distancing itself from governments close to Havana and from the old diplomatic framework that, in previous decades, allowed the island to operate with few political checks and balances in the Andean countries. The crisis with Mexico and Zamora’s departure, viewed together, illustrate a diplomatic shift in which Lima has decided to demonstrate that it will not tolerate either automatic protections or ideological activism shielded by diplomatic immunities.

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Blackouts, Food Shortages and an Arboviral Epidemic Are Keeping Tourists Away From Cuba

From January to September, Cuba hosted 20.5% fewer visitors than the previous year, the worst result since the Covid-19 pandemic.

Foreign tourists on the streets of Havana, with plenty of rubbish / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Madrid, November 6, 2025 — On Wednesday, more than half a month late, Cuba’s National Office of Statistics and Information (ONEI) published tourism data for last September, confirming the collapse of the sector. In the first nine months of 2025, Cuba received a total of 1,366,720 international visitors, 20.5% fewer (340,486) than in the same period last year.

In September, 106,748 international travellers arrived on the island, a figure lower than those recorded in the same month in 2024 and 2023, and also lower than those reported in August (135,985) and July (142,131). Going by countries, there were fewer visitors from the United States, which fell to third place, and from Cubans abroad (19.6% and 20.7% respectively) while Russia moved up to second.

These figures mainly reflect Donald Trump’s tougher immigration measures. In recent months, many Cuban residents in the US have reported being grilled by the authorities when they returned from trips the island, which hadn’t happened before.

The Dominican Republic, a direct competitor of Cuba, is not only receiving more and more tourists, but also more and more Cubans.

On the other hand, Cuban families scattered throughout the island, and also abroad, are increasingly meeting up in the Dominican Republic. This Caribbean country, a direct tourist competitor of Cuba, continues to receive not only more and more tourists, but also more and more Cubans. Between January and September 2025, a total of 6,575,073 international travellers entered the country. Of these, Cubans account for just 0.1% (6,153), but they did not even appear in the report for the same period last year, and their numbers have been going up in recent months: by August, there were 5,246.

What’s happening in the Dominican Republic is dramatic for Cuba, with its definitely unreachable annual target of 2.6 million visitors. Given the trend, it will hardly get to two million, even lower than the negative record for 2024 (2.2 million), the lowest figure in 17 years, excluding the two years most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Apart from that, Canada continues to top the list of countries of origin, although it has also seen a drop (from 695,557 travellers between January and September 2024 to 559,715 in the same period this year, down 19.5%). Russia, which follows closely behind, has also suffered a sharp downturn, from 141,612 last year to 88,879 this year, a drop of 37.2%.

The biggest fall was among German visitors, from 47,323 to 26,735, down 43.5%, with Spain and France also seeing drops (27.1% and 23.8%, respectively). Of the top ten countries of origin, only Argentina increased the number of tourists so far this year (more than 7% year-on-year).

The systemic crisis that has got worse in recent years, with food shortages for visitors themselves, long power cuts and a fall in the quality of services, even in luxury tourism, has now been added to by an epidemic of various arboviruses spreading throughout the country. Last October, the United States issued a travel alert for Cuba due to the rise in chikungunya infections, and the island itself has already warned of various dengue outbreaks in almost all provinces.

Translated by GH

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“The Dollar Has Been Falling for a Week and Nobody Wants To Buy Any From Me” a Cuban Business Owner Complains

Private businesses lost money by buying things from private wholesale companies when the currency rose from 450 pesos to 490 pesos, before falling to 410 pesos.

“The speed of the fall was alarming and unusual. It’s not good for business right now.” / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Darío Hernández, Havana, 6 November 2025 — The sudden fall of the dollar on the Cuban black market has put several private businesses and resellers in a tight spot, forcing them to readjust prices and purchasing strategies. Until a few days ago, the US currency was hovering around 500 pesos, but 6 November saw it at 410, a collapse that few had expected.

Alain, 37, owner of a small market in Guanabacoa, Havana, says that in recent days “people have been coming to sell dollars non-stop”. “I do sell in that currency, because that’s how I pay wholesalers who only accept foreign currency. This week I bought a sack of powdered milk and several bales of rice that way, no problem. They sell and buy in dollars, they don’t care,” he explains.

Everyone knows it’s illegal to sell in dollars, and things are not priced in that currency, but in pesos. In small businesses in Guanabacoa, most transactions are made in CUP (Cuban pesos), but many customers also use the small businesses as Cadeca (exchange bureaux) for small amounts, usually 10-dollar bills.

The currency’s rapid fall has left small businesses in a very difficult position: “The speed of the fall is alarming and unusual. There is no business right now,” explains Alain.

In small businesses in Guanabacoa, most transactions are made in CUP, but many customers also use them as Cadeca. / 14ymedio

Yudith, who works for a foreign company, usually uses part of her salary in dollars to buy food in her neighbourhood. But this week, she says, it has been almost impossible to spend those dollar bills. “When the dollar drops a little, the buyers wait a few days for it to stabilise. But it’s been falling for a week and no one wants to buy them. If they accept them, it’s 15 or 20 pesos below what El Toque* publishes,” she complains. continue reading

Alain says that WhatsApp groups for suppliers and traders are full of messages against the independent media outlet that publishes daily currency exchange rates. “An image appeared with red letters saying ‘No to El Toque’, with the message: ‘share this, or we’ll all go bankrupt’. That was shared every day while the dollar rose to 490 pesos,” he says.

The shopkeeper recalls the anguish of that time: “I couldn’t buy oil, hot dogs, pasta or detergent because wholesalers were selling to me above the price cap. How was I supposed to resell that?”

It’s the same or worse with transfers: many suppliers simply don’t accept them. / 14ymedio

In a country where education has demonised market dynamics and the law of supply and demand for more than six decades, many people fall for the regime’s propaganda accusing El Toque of manipulating the exchange rate with its daily publications on the informal currency market. Several of those interviewed are calling for this type of information to stop being published, so that “the market can regulate itself and people can buy and sell without a reference point, so perhaps the dollar wouldn’t rise so much”.

Pedro, an independent trader with a shop near the traffic lights in Guanabacoa, is afraid he will lose thousands of pesos this week. “I buy on Mondays, just once. Everything I have, I bought when the dollar was at 450. I bought crates of beer at 200 pesos, and today the same suppliers have it at 180. Until I sell what I have, I can’t lower my prices. But customers don’t understand. It’s very difficult to run a business here. Every day something new happens and you have to run,” he complains.

To cut back his losses, Pedro decided to stop accepting payments in dollars, at least for now. “I don’t even want to see them this week,” he says with a sigh.

Meanwhile, MSMEs** operating as wholesalers continue to stick with the dollar. “The people who sell you products in boxes and containers only work with foreign currency,” says Alain. “It’s the self-employed workers and retail shops who are no longer accepting dollars, because it no longer makes any business sense for them to pay in dollars for things that wholesalers sell in local currency. The same, or worse, happens with transfers: many suppliers simply do not accept them, and you are left stuck with your money, and you don’t know what to do.”

Translator’s notes:

*El Toque is anindependent Cuban online news outlet, that publishes real market exchange rates

**Literally, “Micro, Small, Medium Enterprise.” The expectation is that it is also privately managed, but in Cuba this may include owners/managers who are connected to the government.

Translated by GH

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Sick Doctors and Overcrowded Hospitals: The “Virus” Spreads Throughout Cuba

After months of inaction, Cuban health authorities are warning of an “exponential” rise in chikungunya and dengue.

Hurricane Melissa not only left behind broken roofs, flooding, and endless power outages, but also worsened Cuba’s health situation that was already dire before the storm. / Girón

14ymedio, Havana, November 7, 2025 — “At my workplace, 14 doctors, nurses, and staff members are recovering from the new viruses,” a worker at the Doctor Cosme Ordóñez Carceller polyclinic in Havana’s Plaza de la Revolución municipality told this newspaper. “Most of my colleagues are sick,” she added, confessing to feeling “overwhelmed” by the number of daily cases she must attend to at the medical center.

Tamara Alonso, who lives in Lawton, writes to us: “Here, every family has had at least one person with the disease, at the very least. On my block, everyone had it and some are still getting it. There are three of us at home, and all three of us had it. I also have a friend who went to Vedado four days ago, and he was telling me that on 23rd Avenue, almost everyone was walking around like robots. It’s horrible during and after.”

The health crisis has the entire country on edge. The José Martí Pérez Pediatric Teaching Hospital in Sancti Spíritus has increased its capacity in response to the rise in arboviral infections in the province. They have added 20 beds to the 152 they already had, according to their general director, Ramón Aquino Lorenzo, who spoke with Escambray. The emergency room and nursing areas have also been reinforced. The doctor is urging the population “not to stay home” and “to see a doctor as soon as possible to prevent potential complications that can arise from these types of illnesses,” something Cubans are often reluctant to do, mainly due to the shortage of supplies and reagents in health centers.

The news, published this Friday in the provincial newspaper, and other reports in official media about the health emergency, reflect the authorities’ sudden concern after months of ignoring it. Adelante warned this Thursday of an “exponential” increase in Camagüey in illnesses transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, especially chikungunya and dengue. In the continue reading

provincial capital, there is “a daily average of 450 people with feverish symptoms and a cumulative infestation rate of 2.16.”

The scene she describes seems straight out of the dystopian film ‘Juan of the Dead’

Clinical trials of the drug Juzvinza, intended to treat the “inflammatory joint manifestations that persist in many patients after overcoming the chikungunya infection,” also began this Thursday. Dr. Perla María Trujillo Pedroza , a specialist in Comprehensive General Medicine at the Manuel Piti Fajardo Polyclinic in Santo Domingo (Villa Clara), who had been highly critical of the authorities’ inaction in the face of the epidemic, welcomed the announcement of the trials – “Late? Yes, but something is better than nothing,” she wrote on her Facebook page – although she urged continued efforts in prevention, on which very little has been done.

Many Cubans in exile are distressed by the situation of their relatives in Cuba. “Some of my uncles in Cruces, Cienfuegos, are all bedridden,” a Cuban woman living in the US told this newspaper. “They are very elderly, 89, 91, and 94 years old. The only one still able to walk was a 69-year-old daughter, and she fell ill this week.” The scene she describes seems straight out of the dystopian film Juan of the Dead, by Cuban director Alejandro Brugués: “During the day, in the part of town where they live, there isn’t a soul in the streets. Everyone is recovering. And at night, without electricity as usual, all you hear are moans. In the silence, you can hear people lamenting their pains.”

Hurricane Melissa not only left behind broken roofs, flooding, and endless power outages, but also worsened a health situation that was already dire before the storm. Arboviruses—dengue, Zika, chikungunya, the more recent oropouche, and others not yet recognized—are no longer seasonal occurrences, but rather part of daily life in neighborhoods where water stagnates without reaching household storage tanks, garbage piles up even as the government poses for photos at “volunteer work” events, and sanitation depends more on community resourcefulness than on the management of the authorities.

The mother of Duannis León Taboada —a political prisoner from the 2021 11th July protests— reported that her son has been ill since Wednesday and has yet to receive medical attention. “My greatest fear has come true. My son is unjustly imprisoned and has been infected by this damned virus. He has a fever, is vomiting, and is in a lot of pain,” Jenni Taboada wrote. Her message conveys uncertainty and desperation: “What do they want, for him to die? I am extremely worried about my son’s life,” she concluded.

Opacity in Cuba is part of the political model. For decades, the island was a regional leader in epidemiological surveillance. Today, they talk about “outbreak control” but not about incidence rates. They claim that “reagents are available,” while patients and doctors quietly confirm that diagnoses depend on luck or on one’s connections within the healthcare system.

Arboviruses find fertile ground in a population without defenses or minimum hygiene conditions

Tamara Moisés, a resident of Santiago de Cuba, posted extensively on social media about the critical deterioration of living conditions after the hurricane, with a direct impact on the proliferation of arboviruses. According to her account, the city has been without sanitation for more than nine days, with accumulated garbage and branches, clogged sewers, and an explosion of mosquitoes and gnats. On her street, which has few houses, 17 cases of chikungunya have already been reported.

Moisés attributes the spread and severity of these diseases not only to the unsanitary environment, but also to a widespread weakening of immune systems caused by malnutrition, which she describes as “famine.” She also points to the critical shortages of food, medicine, and drinking water, as well as the endless power outages, the lack of gas for boiling water, and pharmacies without basic medications.

The testimony warns of a possible worsening of the health crisis with risks of multiple outbreaks, an increase in tuberculosis and diseases associated with malnutrition, in a context that the woman from Santiago describes as a “failed” and “inhumane” state, where arboviruses find fertile ground in a population without defenses or minimum hygiene conditions.

State media speak of “vector control battles,” “community mobilizations,” and “the people’s struggle alongside the authorities.” But these reports never include the essential details: How many people are sick? In how many municipalities? How fast are infections spreading? How many deaths are actually attributed to complications from arboviruses, and how many are simply categorized under generic clinical categories?

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Bacteria and Viruses Thriving in Cuban Prisons

Prisoners Defenders records a total of 1,179 political prisoners on the island in October

Soldiers guarding two prisoners in a prison in Havana (Cuba). / EFE/Archive/Alejandro Ernesto

14ymedio, Madrid, 6 November 2025 — Prisons have not been spared from the health emergency caused by several arboviruses spreading throughout the country. Absolutely not. According to the latest report by Prisoners Defenders (PD), published on Thursday, the epidemics, together with the effects of the recent Hurricane Melissa, have made the situation of Cuban prisoners, who were already suffering from torture and overcrowding, even worse.

In forced labour camps in Guantánamo, the organisation says, there have been reports of dengue, oropouche and chikungunya affecting “dozens of inmates”, while in Quivicán prison in Mayabeque there have been outbreaks of hepatitis and influenza. From the Combinado del Sur in Matanzas, there have also been reports of cases of chikungunya, dengue fever “and many other diseases”.

“The situation of political prisoners in Cuba is going through one of its most critical moments in recent years,” says the Madrid-based organisation,reporting that “Cuban prisons continue to be hotbeds for the spread of these infectious diseases due to the lack of medical care, the deterioration of facilities, widespread unsanitary conditions and the absence of fumigation and disinfection processes, which allows the growth of vectors of contagion.”

In its October report, the NGO identifies 463 people with “serious medical conditions”.

They add that between 2024 and 2025, they have learned of the deaths of dozens of ordinary prisoners from tuberculosis in prisons across the country. In its October report, the NGO identifies 463 people with “serious medical conditions” and 40 with mental health problems, all of whom are “without adequate medical or psychiatric treatment”. continue reading

Altogether, there are 1,179 political prisoners on the island, 11 of whom are new. Another 17 people were released from prison, according to Prisoners Defenders, “most of them for having served their full sentences”.

What’s more, there are 35 minors – the minimum age of criminal responsibility in Cuba is 16 – who remain on the list, of whom 29 are serving sentences and six are being prosecuted with “precautionary measures without any judicial supervision”. Among them, 15 “have already been convicted of sedition”, with an average sentence of five years’ imprisonment.

And, according to PD, 221 people have been convicted of this crime, all of whom participated in peaceful protests, “with an average of ten years’ imprisonment each”.

Among the new political prisoners added to the organisation’s list are four protesters from Manicaragua, Villa Clara, sentenced to up to six years in prison for “public disorder”: Raymond Martínez Colina, Carlos Hurtado Rodríguez, Osvaldo Agüero Gutiérrez and Yoan Pérez Gómez.

The PD monthly report also mentions José Daniel Ferrer and Luis Robles Elizastigui, the “young man with the placard”, exiled in the United States and Spain respectively. The NGO recalls that the leader of the Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU), Ferrer, was released and exiled on 13 October, “after serving a full four years and six months sentence for “political reasons”, ending 24 August of this year, although he remained in prison after that, until he was exiled in October. It emphasises that: “His departure from the island was not voluntary, but rather a forced expatriation carried out by the Cuban regime as a condition imposed on him in order to regain his physical freedom.”

Regarding Robles, who arrived in Madrid on the same day with his mother, Yindra Elizastigui, and his seven-year-old son, they reproduced his testimony about Cuban prisons, which he has defined as “extermination centres” where prisoners are mistreated, deprived of food and medical care, and where torture “is normal and silence is imposed”.

Translated by GH

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The Cuban Government Owes Beekeepers Approximately $20 Million for Honey Exports

In 2024, sales in foreign currency are estimated to have reached $45 million for more than 8,000 tonnes.

Producers point to Apicuba as the cause of the constant delays in their payments. / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Mercedes García, Sancti Spíritus, 25 July 2025 — “Climbing the walls” is how Normando, a beekeeper from the municipality of Manicaragua in Villa Clara, describes his situation. The state has not paid him for the honey he delivered in 2024, which was sold on the international market. With the non-payments from previous years, producers estimate the debt at around 20 million in one of the few exportable items that continues to yield juicy dividends.

“Not only do they owe me honey, I delivered wax and royal jelly, but they still haven’t paid me what they owe me in foreign currency” complains the man from Villaclara. “They owe money to all the beekeepers in this province and they keep putting us off every time we ask about it. We’ve been waiting for more than half a year and nothing.”

Over the last decade, Cuba has maintained a steady volume of honey exports, considered one of the island’s most valued agricultural products on the international market due to its low level of contaminants. However, the sector is facing a serious crisis of liquidity, fuel and supplies, which directly affects beekeepers. continue reading

“I have to buy wood to repair beehives, fuel to get around, not to mention that my family has to eat.”

I have to buy wood to repair some hives, fuel to get around, and I have to make other investments, not to mention that my family has to eat, clothe themselves, and buy shoes too,” Normando tells 14ymedio. “But my bees won’t wait.”

According to industry sources, the state charges around US$4,000 or more per tonne of honey exported and gives 20% to beekeepers: between 35,000 and 40,000 pesos, plus 600 MLC. The same sources estimate that in 2024 honey exports exceeded 8,000 tonnes and, given the rise in prices (an average of $5,500 per tonne), the state’s revenues reached $45 million.

Cuban honey, categorised as “organic” and with low residue levels, is particularly popular in Germany and other EU countries, where it fetches much higher prices than ordinary honey.

At the most recent session of the ANPP, it became clear that the beekeeping sector had declined in the first half of 2025.

However, at the most recent session of the National Assembly of People’s Power, it became clear that the beekeeping sector had declined in the first half of 2025. The Minister of Economy and Planning, Joaquín Alonso, acknowledged that exports of tobacco, lobster and fishery products “were not sufficient to offset the decline in volumes of nickel and other mining products, honey, coal, farmed and wild shrimp, and biopharmaceutical products”.

Producers point to the Cuban Beekeeping Company (Apicuba), the state monopoly that controls the sector, as responsible for the constant delays in their payments. Farmers can deliver their honey to the entity, but only when the entire shipment is sent abroad and sold do they receive their payment, at least in theory, because in reality it can take several months after that date before they are able to collect.

Many beekeepers also complain about the bureaucracy they have to deal with before they get their money. As well as the red tape is the fact that the banks dont have any cash, a problem that affects the entire country and is having a very negative impact on the Cuban countryside, where many services, labour and resources are still paid for directly with paper money.

They cannot even access loans to maintain their hives or repair equipment.

In the province of Sancti Spíritus, the situation is the same. Beekeepers complain that the authorities have failed to meet the agreed payment deadlines and that they cannot even access loans to maintain their hives or repair equipment. “Last year was the last time I fell into that trap. This year, I’m going to get out of the honey business, at least on paper. I’m going to keep a few hives to sell directly to private customers and nothing else,” a Sancti Spíritus producer owned up to this newspaper.

“We have to buy everything in foreign currency or at very high prices because Apicuba doesn’t guarantee anything. Boxes, centrifuges, spatulas, blades, buckets, gloves, veils, frames, wires, lids, bottoms, sheets and biological controllers, all of that has to be paid for in hard currency, but as our payments aren’t coming in we have to postpone those purchases and production suffers,” he explains.

There is still no public, specific timetable for settling debts with producers. Despite complaints, the authorities have not offered a clear public response regarding the non-payments, limiting themselves to acknowledging “delays in the payment chain” during recent meetings with the agricultural sector. The Ministry of Agriculture has promised to review the contracts, but there is still no public, specific timetable for settling debts with producers.

“The last time I asked, they told me that in the second half of this year they were going to pay for 2024, but I don’t believe them anymore,” says the producer. “My son, who is also a beekeeper but lives in Najasa, Camagüey, is in the same situation, so this is a national problem.”

Translated by GH
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San José De Las Lajas, a Cuban City Condemned To Live Without Electricity

Every night, the neighbors gather around a small business with a halo of light and a glimmer of internet thanks to a generator.

Burger joint on the boulevard in San José de las Lajas (Mayabeque). / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Julio César Contreras, San José de las Lajas (Mayabeque, Cuba), November 6, 2025 — The clock strikes eight and San José de las Lajas has been swallowed by the night. Since the time change, with the blackouts that last more than ten hours at a time, the town sinks into a darkness so dense that even the dogs fall silent. Only a faint glow, that of the hamburger stand on the boulevard, breaks the blackness. The establishment’s generator, rented from a private individual, hums like a tired heart, powering two light bulbs and a small freezer.

“When I was coming here on my bike, I hit a pothole in front of the Cultural Plaza. I almost fell, but when there’s no electricity, this is the only place I can contact my daughter,” says David, a 58-year-old resident trying unsuccessfully to send a WhatsApp message. “The Etecsa tower is nearby, but the connection is terrible. They imposed the tarifazo [massive price hike], and we’re still having the same problems,” he laments.

The scene repeats itself every night: groups of people approach, seeking light, internet, or company. Some arrive with phones in hand, others simply weary from the day. The gloom thickens outside the illuminated circle. No one sits by the dry fountain, from which a sour smell rises. “On those dark benches, there might be a couple kissing or a mountain of garbage,” says David, gazing into the shadows. continue reading

The sign says ‘Hamburger Stand,’ but there’s no bread or hamburger. All they sell is Mayabe beer, cola, and some cookies.

An elderly man crosses the threshold between light and darkness, asking for twenty pesos for food. A woman teaches the multiplication tables to a little girl, taking advantage of the dim light that allows her to do her homework. In the background, the employees of the establishment move about leisurely. “This doesn’t look like a business, it looks like a refuge,” comments Samuel, a young man who arrived with two friends. “The sign says ‘Hamburger Stand,’ but there’s no bread or hamburger. The only things they sell are Mayabe beer, cola, and some cookies.”

Samuel shrugs his shoulders and smiles resignedly. “Inefficiency is everywhere, in the government and among private individuals too. They don’t know how to take advantage of the fact that people spend part of the blackout here. They could sell anything they wanted, and they don’t.” His criticism, somewhere between bitter and mocking, elicits nods of agreement from those around him. No one argues.

The employee listens from behind the counter. “The generator barely has enough power for the freezer and two light bulbs,” she explains. “At least this way we can see each other, even if it’s just within these five or six meters. Everything else in town is dark.” She’s been working all day, and even so, she prefers not to go home alone: ”My husband can’t come pick me up, and I’m afraid to walk in this darkness. Once, someone followed me to the corner.”

As she speaks, the murmur of the crowd grows. Some argue about the dollar’s exchange rate on the black market, others check their mobile phone balances. Someone mentions that the blackout began at eight in the morning. “And there’s still no sign that the power will be restored,” he adds. Statistics from the last month confirm this: according to data from the National Electric Union, the generation deficit has exceeded 1,500 megawatts per day. In Mayabeque, the outages often last up to 12 continuous hours.

Beyond the small illuminated circle, the night returns to a deep gloom in San José de las Lajas.

The province is no exception to the national pattern: blackouts, paralyzed domestic life, and a negative impact on businesses. In municipalities like Güines and San Nicolás, business owners report that generators are insufficient to keep food refrigerated.

On the Lajero boulevard, the scene confirms this diagnosis. A group of young people gather around a makeshift table. “People come here more for the light than the beer,” says a young man who looks to be no more than twenty, laughing. The dim glow illuminates sweaty faces, phones with barely a sliver of battery left, and plastic cups. The mosquitoes do their part: “If you stay home, they’ll devour you,” another one sums up.

Beyond the small illuminated circle, the night returns to a deep gloom. The bicycle taxi stand, across from 40th Avenue, begins to empty. “This looks like the mouth of a wolf,” a man murmurs as he turns on his flashlight to cross the street.

No one knows when the power will return or which circuit will be “benefitted” first. The electric company only issues vague statements in its Telegram group. “They say it’s due to a lack of fuel, but the problem is that this has become the norm,” says the employee as she pours a room-temperature soft drink. At home, another task awaits: washing her son’s school uniform. “Let’s hope they restore some power before tomorrow.”

Around eleven o’clock, the generator’s sound fades. A thick silence spreads through the town. “The generator’s gone,” someone says, and darkness envelops everything. The few remaining residents get up slowly. In the shadows, San José de las Lajas disappears completely.
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A ‘Marielito’ Faces Deportation From the US for a Sentence Served in the 80s

Rolando Marino Cordero Rodríguez was imprisoned for having relations with a minor and was classified as a “sexual predator”.

Rolando Marino Cordero Rodríguez, 76, was arrested by ICE. / Javier Díaz

14ymedio, Havana, November 6, 2025 — United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested 76-year-old Rolando Marino Cordero Rodríguez on October 25. Cordero, who arrived in the United States during the Mariel boatlift—the 1980 exodus of more than 125,000 Cubans by sea—was classified as a “sex predator.” According to journalist Javier Díaz, in 1985, Cordero was accused by the mother of a 17-year-old girl with whom he had a relationship. He served time and was released, but despite not reoffending, he remained with a record with that label.

Díaz explained that the Cuban, who has had a deportation order since 1997, “had heart surgery and has other illnesses.”

Cordero’s family is asking U.S. authorities to “give him a chance” and not send him back to the island. In an interview with a journalist, they stated that the detainee “wasn’t aware that he couldn’t be with a minor” and that it was considered a crime.

“After acknowledging his mistake, he was released from prison and never committed any further crimes,” the family members reiterated.

Cordero’s family is asking U.S. authorities to “give him a chance” and not send him back to the island. / Javier Díaz

Díaz, who has closely followed these processes, warns that Cordero Rodríguez’s case is not isolated. In recent months, dozens of Cubans from Mariel—who have resided in the United States for decades—have been detained or notified by ICE due to old criminal records.

Among them is José Francisco García Rodríguez, 73, another Marielito arrested on March 31 at a Circle K store. García Rodríguez, who also arrived in 1980, was transferred to an immigration processing center in Pine Prairie, Louisiana, where he was detained for a week. continue reading

His stepdaughter, Christian Cooper Riggs, said the Cuban man feared being deported to Cuba, although it was unclear whether he had legal residency.

Although García was released days later, ICE continues to keep his future in limbo. “There’s still a lot to resolve,” acknowledged his stepson, Tyler García.

Christian Cooper Riggs, the Cuban man’s stepdaughter, emphasized: “The path ahead for our country regarding immigration is delicate. I believe we can protect our borders by analyzing individual cases. This is not a political issue, but a matter of humanity.”

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To Prevent a Protest at the Combinado Del Este Penitentiary, Several Prisoners Are Being Transferred to Other Prisons

Cubalex reports that Walnier Aguilar was sent to Agüica prison in Matanzas, and Ángel Cuza to Guanajay prison in Artemisa.

Prison Combinado del Este in Havana. / Marcel Valdés

14ymedio, Madrid, 5 November 2025 — At least two political prisoners have been transferred in recent days from the Combinado del Este maximum security prison in Havana, Cubalex announced on Tuesday. One of them is Ángel Cuza, transferred to Guanajay, in Artemisa; and the other is Walnier Aguilar Bravo, sent to Agüica, in Matanzas. According to the organisation, the authorities claim that there is a list of inmates who were planning to stage a protest at the notorious prison.

This account was expanded by the father of one of them, Wilber Aguilar, who, when he was interviewed by Radio Martí, raised the number of transfers to almost twenty. “As I understand it, there were twenty, seventeen, nineteen. I don’t know how many were transferred, I only know that I was the only one summoned there to be told that Walnier had been transferred,” he said on Tuesday.

Aguilar claims that he found out afterwards that his son had been sent to a prison some 200 kilometres away from the capital. “I don’t even know when the transfer took place, whether it was on Saturday or Sunday. All I know is that I was called to the prison yesterday to be informed, which no other family member was told about,” he reported.

“Do you know how much it costs now for the family to travel to Matanzas? They don’t care where the children are, separating them from their daughters, who have to miss a whole day of school, practically, for the journey, then the visit, then the return trip… It’s completely wrong, for no reason, for nothing,” he complained.

Walnier Aguilar, who has an intellectual disability, was sentenced to 12 years in prison following the anti-government protests on 11 July 2021 [’11J’] in La Güinera, Havana, one of the poorest neighbourhoods and also one of the most severely punished by the Cuban courts. This area, known for being marginalised, was home to 96 of the 790 people prosecuted for the 11 July protests, all for sedition, the most serious crime they were accused of.

For the last four years, Wilber Aguilera has been defending his son’s situation and that of the other prisoners imprisoned for ’11J’. He has written letters to the National Assembly, taken the case to international organisations and succeeded in getting the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to grant precautionary measures to his son “on the grounds that he is in serious danger of irreparable harm to his rights in Cuba”.

His desire to raise awareness of his son’s situation has caused the father no end of problems, as he has been subjected to harassment by State Security over the last four years. Now, distance has been added to his previous problems.

“They wanted to link my son and me to the idea that they were going to stage a protest, where all prisoners always stage protests, without any consequences. As far as I understand, my son denies that he was going continue reading

to protest,” he told Radio Martí, although he does not intend to give up. “I will not stop going to see my son wherever he is. Even if I have to go to the end of the world.”

Cubalex also reported on Tuesday that political prisoner Ángel Cuza was transferred on Sunday to Guanajay, in Artemisa, also for an alleged involvement in a possible strike.

Cuza, an artist and freelance reporter, was released from prison in May after serving his most recent sentence, but was re-arrested in July and taken to Combinado del Este prison on new charges that have yet to be specified. According to activist Anamely Ramos, the intention was “to accuse him of possession of explosives or something similar. And that it’s all because of a small bullet he was carrying, which he has had for years.”

Cubalex criticised on social media the measures taken against the prisoners affected, which currently include at least these two. “These forced transfers make their suffering worse, for the prisoners and their families, who find it very difficult and expensive to visit them. As well as transport costs, there is also the cost of food and medicine, which are essential given the precarious conditions in prison. The forced distance has a profound emotional impact, making it difficult for them to maintain contact with their loved ones.”

Translated by GH
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The Regime Describes the Catholic Church’s Work in Delivering Donations After Melissa As “Positive”

The Ministry of Foreign Trade also recognises the help of the Archdiocese of Miami.

More than 45,000 homes were damaged after the hurricane struck./ EFE

EFE/14ymedio, Havana, 4 November 2025 — On Monday, the Cuban government described as “positive” the cooperation linked to the humanitarian work of the Catholic Church on the island, after receiving its offer to coordinate the distribution of a donation of three million US dollars for the victims of Hurricane Melissa.

A note from the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Investment published in the official press states that this offer of material assistance from the Washington government through the US Catholic service “is in addition to that of other religious organisations in that country”.

“There is also, separately but with the same purpose, an offer that would be made by the Archdiocese of Miami through the Catholic Church of Cuba,” the text states.

“We have had a positive experience of years of cooperation linked to the humanitarian work of the Catholic Church in Cuba, which has been successfully implemented in full coordination with our authorities and in accordance with the requirements set out in the assessment of damage and most urgent needs,” it emphasises.

“We have had a positive experience of years of cooperation linked to the humanitarian work of the Catholic Church in Cuba, which has been successfully implemented in full coordination with our authorities.”

The text expresses gratitude for “these humanitarian gestures” and highlights that “as with aid from various parts of the world, including other religious organisations in the US itself”, the “authorities” – emphasised in bold – “are working to channel the aid as quickly and continue reading

efficiently as possible, so that it reaches the populations and territories in need without delay”.

The government seems to want to emphasise the idea that it will not stand aside from the humanitarian aid received by the country, not even whatever comes from the neighbouring country, even if it is non-governmental.

Aid from the US had once again become a political battleground between the two countries in recent days. Last week, the US stated that it was willing to support the Cuban people on condition that the regime remained on the sidelines, and the island’s authorities said they were willing to listen to the offer, as long as it respected their “sovereignty”.

The Conference of Catholic Bishops of Cuba (Cocc) was the first to offer itself informally as a means of facilitating an agreement, and on Sunday it officially announced that it had received “a humanitarian offer from the US Administration, channelled through Catholic Church institutions in that country, to provide direct assistance to those affected”.

The bishops assured that they were “holding useful and positive discussions with all parties” so that this assistance could become a “reality”.

In addition to these shipments, there are those that have arrived – or are about to arrive – from the International Red Cross, Venezuela, Colombia and the European Union. The most recent announcement comes from India, which has sent 20 tonnes of humanitarian aid and assistance materials to Jamaica and Cuba, including food, medicines, electric generators, shelter materials and hygiene kits.

“India stands with our partners in the Global South in the face of such natural disasters and will assist our friends in recovery and reconstruction,” said Jaishankar, India’s Minister of External Affairs, highlighting New Delhi’s commitment to South-South cooperation and solidarity among developing countries. The assessment made on Monday by the Presidency puts the number of evacuees at 120,000 following the passage of Melissa and as a result of the flooding associated with the storm.

In addition, a total of 45,282 homes were damaged, and the subsidies promised by the government only cover 50% of the materials needed to repair them.

In addition, a total of 45,282 homes were damaged, and the subsidies promised by the government only cover 50% of the materials needed to repair them. Given that many residents were still waiting for subsidies or resources to do the same after Hurricane Sandy in 2012, there isn’t much trust around.

The governor of Granma Province, Yanetsy Terry, indicated that the waters of the Cauto River are already receding, which is a partial relief after days of rescues due to the overflowing of the riverbeds.

A total of 1,552 schools have been damaged, of which 200 have already been repaired. This, coupled with the fact that many schools are being used as shelters, will mean that the return to normality will be “asymmetrical, depending on conditions and alternatives,” said Education Minister Naima Ariatne Trujillo.

As for other infrastructure, 461 facilities were reported affected in the health sector, including hospitals, polyclinics, clinics, pharmacies, and others.

In agriculture, meanwhile, preliminary damage has been recorded on 78,700 hectares, more than half of which is banana crops.

Translated by GH

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The Cuban Authorities Finally Tackle Chikungunya, After Ignoring the Epidemic for Months

The Ministry of Health has released its first figures on the number of people affected by the virus: more than 20,000 to date.
Poor nutrition, poor medical care and a lack of medication exacerbate the symptoms of the disease.

Havana’s Pedro Kourí Tropical Medicine Institute/ SMC

14ymedio, Havana, 4 November 2025 — More than a month after the United States issued a travel alert for Cuba due to the rise in chikungunya infections, and much longer since the island’s population began to suffer – at least since this summer – from the onslaught of unidentified arboviruses due to a lack of reagents, the authorities are beginning to take action.

This Tuesday, in a report published on 5 September, a specific figure was given for the first time: to date, the country has treated a total of 20,062 cases of chikungunya, which particularly affects the provinces of Havana, Matanzas, Camagüey, Cienfuegos, Artemisa and Villa Clara. Similarly, it stated that “there are no reports of Oropouche,” although until now it was one of the possible diseases affecting the population and, they say, “surveillance of this disease continues.”

According to Carilda Peña García, Deputy Minister of Public Health, at a press conference, “attention is focused on dengue with serotype 4,” in addition to chikungunya. The official explained that they are implementing a protocol that begins with patients with “non-specific fever syndrome” and, if warning signs appear, “especially for dengue, the patient is transferred to an intensive care and therapy ward until the signs subside, thus preventing the condition from becoming serious.”

The rate of suspected dengue patients in the last week was 20.66 per 100,000 inhabitants.

This has reduced the number of serious dengue cases, he says. According to the Cienfuegos newspaper report, reagents are available for this disease. The rate of suspected dengue patients in the last week was 20.66 per 100,000 inhabitants, with the highest incidence in the provinces of Cienfuegos, Guantánamo, Matanzas, Ciego de Ávila, Sancti Spíritus, Mayabeque, Villa Clara and Pinar del Río.

In the same note, they echoed the statement released on Sunday by the Ministry of Health, which said that the first clinical study on chikungunya will begin in the coming days in four hospitals in the provinces of Matanzas and Havana. The aim of the trial, according to the statement, is “to evaluate the efficacy of the Cuban drug Juzvinza in treating the joint continue reading

inflammation that persists in many patients once the infection has been overcome”.

The text confirmed the widespread presence of this virus, whose increase is due, explains María Guadalupe Guzmán Tirado, Director of Research, Diagnosis and Reference at the Pedro Kourí Institute (IPK), “to the fact that the virus had not previously circulated with the current intensity, which explains the low levels of immunity in the population”.

The priority, insisted Ileana Morales Suárez, Director of Science and Technological Innovation at the Ministry of Health, is “the start” of research related to chikungunya, “a disease that has only recently appeared on the island”.

The objective of the trial, according to the text, is “to evaluate the efficacy of the Cuban medicine Juzvinza in the treatment of inflammatory joint manifestations.”

The Ministry of Health published its statement just one day after Dr. Perla María Trujillo Pedroza, a specialist in comprehensive general medicine at the Manuel Piti Fajardo Polyclinic in Santo Domingo (Villa Clara) with years of experience in provincial hospitals, decided to break her silence on Facebook with a post denouncing the health situation in the country.

In it, the specialist expressed “great concern about the chikungunya situation” and asked: “If the first cases date back to July 2025, how is it possible that there is still no clinical guideline for managing this disease?” At the same time, she continued: “Wake up. We Cuban doctors are improvising as we go along in the treatment of chikungunya, especially in its subacute phase.”

The doctor said that during one hospital shift she treated 47 patients with symptoms consistent with the virus. “Of these, 34 had been ill for more than 15 days and 28 were in the subacute stage. That is 82%, well above what is reported in the literature.” Her testimony also warned of the complications of the disease when it progresses to a chronic condition: “This causes violent, debilitating polyarthritis. What will become of this country’s fragile economy when there is a flood of medical certificates or leave requests from workers who have to care for their elderly relatives who are almost incapacitated?”

The following day, the specialist wrote about the subject again, putting forward several hypotheses as to why there are so many patients in Cuba “progressing to a subacute stage”. Among them, “poor management of the acute stage of the disease (from the onset of symptoms to 15 days)” and poor medical management in general, due to a lack of medicines or the inappropriate use of those prescribed in health centres.

Poor nutrition, which leads to a weak immune system, and “factors related to chronic stress suffered by a high percentage of our population, which is associated with an incompetent neuro-immune-endocrine system” are other possible reasons she points to. She also points out that there may be cases of “co-infection” with other surrounding arboviruses or a high number of Cubans with pre-existing conditions, which also weaken them.

The specialist wrote about the subject again, putting forward several hypotheses as to why there are so many patients in Cuba “progressing to a subacute stage”.

None of this is mentioned in the ministerial statement issued two days ago, which generally asserts that “the country is implementing integrated actions within the National Arbovirus Control Plan” and that these actions “are part of a national strategy that coordinates efforts in science, public health and innovation, and responds to the complex epidemiological situation presented by the disease in the country”.

They do so, they say, by “taking advantage of the valuable experiences” gained from dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, and with three fundamental objectives, according to Morales Suárez’s statements: “to counteract the infestation rates of the mosquito vector, to improve the clinical treatment of the disease, and to reduce or eliminate the aftermaths it leaves in recovered patients.”

Meanwhile, citizens continue to complain. “When are they going to say that this virus, that this pandemic, is killing people?” asked Kenia Tumbarell Tamayo, alias Lola La Negrita Cubana, on Monday in a tearful video posted on her TikTok account. “When are they going to admit that there are no medicines? When are they going to admit that the few medicines we are getting are from the street? It’s because a family member or friend sends them to us, or because we can afford to buy them at a premium, because there aren’t any to meet such a basic need.”

Tumbarell continues, now in tears, asking questions that contain what everyone knows: “When are they going to say that these things could have been avoided if there weren’t so many drains, if there wasn’t so much dirt, if mosquitoes hadn’t proliferated so much?” How long will this go on? Tumbarell cries out to the heavens, asserting: “I don’t want to talk and I want to say everything, and I don’t want to look for problems and I want to look for them all, because the most difficult thing for a human being is to feel tied hand and foot, and to lose hope and lose composure and lose equanimity.”

She confronts the government, “When are they going to say yes, we need help, when there is no one left here, when the species becomes extinct, when this beautiful land disappears?” She concludes, “Cuba only hurts us Cubans, the ordinary people, who can’t take it anymore”.

Translated by GH

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A Teacher in Ciego De Ávila, Cuba, Is Murdered by Her Ex-Partner After Days of Harassment

With this new case, the list of deaths due to gender-based violence on the Island stands at 33 so far this year.

Miriela Mesa Hernández taught classes at the Carlos Manuel de Céspedes elementary school / Facebook

14ymedio, Havana, November 4, 2025 — The observatories Alas Tensas (also see here) and Yo Sí Te Creo en Cuba reported on Tuesday the murder of Miriela Mesa Hernández, 45, in Ciego de Ávila. The NGOs denounced that the case occurred “after days of harassment that were ignored.”

According to the report, the attack against the woman, a 45-year-old teacher at the Carlos Manuel de Céspedes elementary school, occurred on Sunday, November 2, in the town of Falla, in the municipality of Chambas.

According to testimonies gathered by organizations and statements from Mesa Hernández’s niece, Yoania González Castillo, the crime occurred between 6:00 and 7:30 p.m. in a place known to locals as the Parque de las Mentiras [Park of Lies]. The assailant, identified as Osvany Noa, the woman’s ex-partner, attacked her, stole her cell phone and a bicycle, and then fled the scene. Although the organizations do not mention it, in a post this Monday, activist Guillermo Rodríguez Sánchez detailed that the murder allegedly took place in front of Mesa Hernández’s six-year-old daughter.

The couple had separated four months ago, and since then he had been constantly harassing her through Facebook and in public.

The publication also reported that family members and friends claim the couple had separated four months ago and that, since then, he had been constantly harassing her through Facebook and in public.

Neighbors also indicated that, days before the crime, Osvany Noa had broken into a house throwing stones and showing a knife while threatening Miriela Mesa with the message: “This is for you.” continue reading

The observatories expressed that the femicide leaves a community “deeply dismayed” by the loss of a woman described as “noble, cheerful and dedicated to teaching.”

Furthermore, they emphasized that this case “once again highlights the lack of effective protection mechanisms against gender-based violence in Cuba. Despite a history of harassment, threats, and public complaints, no preventative measures were taken that could have averted the crime.”

With this new case, the of deaths this year due to gender violence on the Island stands at 33 – according to the count by 14ymedio – seven of which, almost a quarter, were registered in August alone .

Last year, this newspaper counted 52 femicides based on independent records.

Last year, this newspaper recorded 52 femicides based on independent records. According to figures from the Cuban Observatory on Gender Equality, a total of 76 gender-related murders were prosecuted in the country last year, in which the victims were over 15 years old. The organization does not specify the dates on which the crimes were committed, but they most likely occurred in 2023 and 2024.

Furthermore, according to independent counts, from 2019 until this Tuesday, the Alas Tensas and Yo Sí Te Creo observatories in Cuba have documented 303 murders due to gender violence on the Island, “a figure that represents an underreporting of gender violence” in the country.
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Marco Rubio Meets in Washington With Cuban Opposition Leader José Daniel Ferrer

The Secretary of State reiterated his commitment to “the pursuit of democracy, prosperity and fundamental freedoms” on the Island

The meeting comes as the State Department intensifies its criticism of the Cuban regime and increases pressure on its main allies in the region. / X / Marco Rubio

14ymedio, Havana, November 5, 2025 — US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met Wednesday in Washington with Cuban opposition leader José Daniel Ferrer, who arrived in exile on October 13 after being forced to leave the island. In an official statement, State Department Principal Deputy Spokesperson Tommy Pigott said that “Rubio expressed his admiration for Ferrer’s courage and resilience in the face of the Cuban regime’s oppression.”

According to the statement, the secretary and the leader of the Patriotic Union of Cuba (Unpacu) spoke about the situation in the east of the country after the passage of Hurricane Melissa, which left behind a trail of destruction and poverty in provinces such as Santiago de Cuba, Holguín, Granma and Guantánamo.

Ferrer, who was recently released from prison and forced to leave the country after years of imprisonment and harassment, insisted on the need for humanitarian aid from Washington to reach “the people” directly and not be channeled through the regime. In his conversation with Rubio, he emphasized the role of the Catholic Church as a reliable conduit for distributing assistance amid the collapse of the state social welfare system.

He described the Secretary of State as a man “very intelligent and very well informed about everything that happens in Cuba”

“The United States is committed to supporting the Cuban people in their pursuit of democracy, prosperity, and fundamental freedoms,” Rubio reiterated, describing the work of Ferrer and other dissidents as “fundamental to the pro-democracy movement on the island.”

The Secretary of State, who took office earlier this year as part of the Republican administration, also posted a message on his X account: “We continue reading

are pleased that he has been freed from repression, and the United States continues to support Ferrer and all Cubans fighting for freedom and justice.” The message was accompanied by two photographs of the meeting at the State Department building and has received tens of thousands of views. [130,000+ as of this translation]

In a video posted on social media, Ferrer thanked Rubio and his team for their solidarity with the Cubans affected by Hurricane Melissa. He described the Secretary of State as “very intelligent and very well informed about everything that is happening in Cuba.”

This Wednesday afternoon, the leader of UNPACU will receive the Freedom Prize, awarded by the International Republican Institute (IRI). Ferrer, 55, stated that he will accept the award on behalf of all those imprisoned under tyrannical regimes.

The meeting with Ferrer comes as the State Department intensifies its criticism of the Cuban regime and increases pressure on its main allies in the region. Rubio, a politician of Cuban descent and a staunch critic of Castroism, has reiterated that his administration will not resume cooperation channels with Havana as long as repression continues and there is no concrete progress toward political opening.

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In Addition to Former Minister Alejandro Gil, Several High-Ranking Officials of the Regime Will Be Tried

The prosecution is seeking a 30-year prison sentence for the former head of the Economy department and minimum sentences of 15 years for the others.

Alejandro Gil Fernández, at the National Assembly of People’s Power, in a 2023 photograph. / Escambray

14ymedio, Yaiza Santos, Madrid, November 5, 2025 – The imminent trial of former Economy and Finance Minister Alejandro Gil Fernández, accused of serious crimes such as embezzlement, money laundering, and espionage, involves some twenty other defendants, including “a member of the National Assembly of People’s Power and a secretary of the Communist Party.” This is according to a source familiar with the case who requested anonymity for security reasons.

The same informant denies that the prosecution has requested a life sentence for the former official. “The request for him is 30 years, while for everyone else, the minimum sentences requested are 15 years,” he tells 14ymedio. He continues, stating that there are 15 defendants “plus another five or six who were released on bail.” Regarding some of them, he asserts, “their names are not being released; they are under strict secrecy, which implies that they could be military personnel or high-ranking officials.”

The source also reveals the whereabouts of Alejandro Gil, whose location has been unknown since his arrest in March 2024: in the maximum-security prison of Guanajay, Artemisa, “under a regime against state security.” This is the same prison where, for example, political prisoner Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara is serving his sentence, and where former Interior Minister José Abrantes was arrested in 1989 and died.

Gil is in the maximum security prison of Guanajay, Artemisa, “under a regime against the security of the State”

This Cuban ventures that it is highly unlikely the trial will be public, as requested by the former minister’s daughter, Laura María Gil González , in a series of Facebook posts the day after the Prosecutor’s Office statement was released. In them, she stated that her father “remains steadfast in his defense and will not, under any circumstances, acknowledge any crime he is continue reading

accused of that has not been duly verified.” She also requested “an open trial, where anyone who wishes to participate can do so, and that it be televised live” by both national and international networks, and covered by “official and unofficial media outlets.”

According to legal experts consulted by this newspaper, the fact that Alejandro Gil is being accused of espionage, one of the most serious crimes in the Cuban Penal Code—which, on paper, even carries the death penalty—is what justifies a closed trial. When asked about this, the former minister’s sister, María Victoria Gil, a lawyer by training, agreed: “I think they’ve brought up this charge far too thin to justify the closed-door trial, arguing that it is a crime whose public disclosure would harm sovereignty and national security.”

After her niece’s posts became public, Vicky Gil confessed to this newspaper that, once again, she doubts the process and, above all, doubts that her brother is a spy. Thus, she fully agrees with Gil González in demanding a transparent process: “I’m skeptical about everything, but I do believe that the only opportunity to clarify things is through a public trial, in which the international press can participate.”

This Wednesday, Laura María Gil once again addressed the issue on her Facebook page. In her post, she refers to Tuesday’s broadcast of “Con Filo” —where the Prosecutor’s Office’s Friday statement was mentioned in passing but the topic was not explored in depth—a program to which she expresses her “respect” and about which she says: “Finally, an official media outlet recognizes, in its own way, what the presumption of innocence truly means and that one cannot speak without foundation.”

“Finally, an official media outlet acknowledges, in its own way, what the presumption of innocence truly means.”

At the same time, she laments the “wave of accusations, insults, apathy, offenses, vileness, and pettiness” she has suffered in recent days, among which the word “traitor” stands out. “From my first statement, I reiterated that my cause is not political. I am not asking for heads to roll, nor for the participation of international media to undermine the cause, but rather for them to act as an impartial third-party observer to reflect reality,” she states. And she argues: “It is dishonorable and reprehensible to insult a daughter in such a way for demonstrating unconditional love for her father and defending him with justice and truth, guaranteeing due process. My demand for a public trial is based precisely on the civic transparency we have so often praised: if it was a state secret, then it shouldn’t even have been mentioned.”

Her posts have resonated in various media outlets and, above all, have garnered numerous comments from Cubans both on and off the island. Many criticize her for not speaking out in the past when so many imprisoned individuals suffered unfair and opaque trials, such as the protesters of 11 July 2021. Others condemn Alejandro Gil as a disastrous Minister of Economy, but most express themselves in understanding terms, like the user Dyrack Yai: “Even without agreeing with anything your father defended and being against this ‘government’ administration, I recognize and defend your absolute right to advocate for justice for your father. That is true democracy: understanding and empathizing with others on a human level, setting aside petty squabbles.”

Until his dismissal in February of last year, Alejandro Gil was not only Minister of Economy and Planning, but also Deputy Prime Minister and Miguel Díaz-Canel’s right-hand man. On March 7, 2024, a criminal case was initially announced against the official in a brief statement signed by the president himself, alleging, without further details, “serious errors committed in the performance of his duties.”

The next thing that was known about the case, 20 months later, was the statement from the Prosecutor’s Office last Friday, where, without providing numbers or names, it spoke of “other defendants” and reported that Gil was accused of “espionage, acts detrimental to economic activity or contracting, embezzlement, bribery, falsification of public documents, tax evasion, influence peddling, money laundering, violation of the rules for the protection of classified documents and theft and damage of documents or other objects in official custody.”

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