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The Fuel Crisis Affects In-Person Classes at Cuban Universities

EFE/14ymedio, Havana, 23 April 2023 — Five universities in Cuba announced this Saturday that next week they will teach classes virtually due to the fuel crisis that has been affecting the country for almost three weeks.

The Agrarian University of Havana, as well as schools in the provinces of Sancti Spíritus, Holguín and the “Marta Abreu” Central, located in Villa Clara, informed their students that from April 24 to 28 they will modify the planning of their teaching activities.

In the case of the University of Medical Sciences of Villa Clara, a note from the institution clarified that the measure will be in force “during the period of energy contingency that the country presents.”

In turn, the Sancti Spíritus high school reported that they will return to in-person classes on May 2. Meanwhile, the University of Medical Sciences of the province reported in a note that the courses will be taught in blended mode between April 25 and May 6.

The University of Holguín said in a statement that academic activities will be carried out on the Moodle platform, where students will find the subjects and guidelines. continue reading

The Cuban government reported earlier this week that fuel supply problems will be extended until May, so it will prioritize vital transport services. The Minister of Energy and Mines, Vicente de la O Levy, explained on state television that, due to non-compliance by the producing countries, it was decided to distribute “decreased capacities” to avoid “getting to the zero point.”

The Government’s first statement on the fuel shortage was made two weeks ago by President Miguel Díaz-Canel, who stated that the shortage responds to the “compliance” of the supplier countries that are also going through a “complex energy situation.”

For almost three weeks, long lines of cars have been recorded in Cuba waiting for the gas stations to be supplied, a crisis that has forced the economy to almost come to a stop.

Cuba imports practically all the oil it consumes and mostly uses this fuel to generate energy. Venezuela, along with Russia, is one of the main suppliers of crude oil, but with the crisis it has reduced the amount sent to Havana.

Despite the crisis, the Government has decided to hold the annual parade on May 1. “We will find a way to celebrate it,” Miguel Díaz-Canel said on Friday. He said that we will “fill our plazas,” where the usual “condemnations” against the United States’ economic sanctions and support for the Revolution will be reiterated.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Cuba Seeks To Extend Prepaid Cards in Hard Currency for Tourism

Several people form a line at an exchange house (Cadeca). (EFE)

EFE (via 14ymedio), Havana, 22 April 2023 — Cuba wants to extend to tourists who visit the Island the use of prepaid cards in Freely Convertible Currency (MLC), a Cuban virtual currency based on foreign currencies, directors of the official Casas de Cambio (Cadeca) reported this Friday.

Those cards began to be marketed in 2021 with an initial balance of 200, 500 and 1,000 MLC (the exchange rate is similar to the US dollar) and now expand to 50 and 100 MLC cards, the Cadeca official, Ángela Maday, explained at a press conference.

She added that for each card purchased, a commission of $5 or its equivalent in other currencies is applied.

Foreign visitors not residing in Cuba can buy them at exchange offices, hotels, airports and tourist centers, and use them to pay for goods and services in stores that sell in foreign currency, rent cars and for other things.

Maday commented that the service is not yet available for private shops such as restaurants, nor do they allow recharges from outside Cuba. In addition, the cards cannot be used in gas stations.

These cards are good for two years and can only be used in Cuba. In addition, they are not personalized and are activated with a PIN code.

Another feature is that they allow you to withdraw cash in Cuban pesos at ATMs at the official exchange rate of 120 pesos for each dollar, and, in addition, any balance left over will be refunded.

Since 2019, the MLC has been operating in the network of stores that sell exclusively in that virtual currency backed up in foreign currency. In Cuba there are two official exchange rates: one for companies, at the rate of 24 pesos per dollar, and the one established for individuals, at 120 pesos per greenback.

There is also a third rate, on the “informal” market, where the US currency was quoted this Friday at 175 pesos, according to the daily calculation of the independent media El Toque, the reference indicator for economists and transactions of this type on the street.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Will the Doors of the Cuban Financial System Be Opened to International Banking Like Tourism?

Long lines outside a bank branch Infanta Street in Havana. (14ymedio)

14ymedio, Elías Amor Bravo, Economist, 23 April 2023 — Really, now nothing is understandable at all. Marrero says that the Cuban financial system “must play a more prominent role.” Maybe he didn’t mean to say that, or most likely he ignores what he’s saying. It seems unbelievable that the communists are now demanding that their banks earn money.

Yes, you heard right. Speculation in the banking business is the new slogan of the regime. Banks must earn money at the expense of their customers. The ban was lifted to accumulate wealth in these entities that belong to the state. This is more or less what can be concluded from an amazing assessment meeting of Marrero with Gil, Vázquez, the president of the BCC and people from the provinces.

The communists don’t hold back in the slightest. Marrero says that “we need more accompaniment from the Central Bank of Cuba (BCC), our great advisor, to make more proposals in order to make timely decisions.” It seems that Marrero has forgotten what role the Central Bank has within the economic system, which is to contribute to the stability of the currency through monetary policy.

Now it’s not like that. They need to make money anyway they can, and if it means facilitating Cuba’s access to the international financial and banking system, so much the better. Foreign banks in Cuba? Why not? Which ones? That’s something else. The memory of Cuban communist leaders is so short that they sometimes surprise us. Does Marrero really think that the BCC will help him access international funding? Don’t they remember the 94-page judgment of the London judge?

The Cuban financial system cannot prosper by itself, because it depends on the decisions of Marrero, Gil and Vázquez, who do not understand banking or finance. Therefore, the system is inefficient and works at the service of political imperatives such as palming off sovereign bonds to finance the public deficit. Its role is merely that of a conveyer belt for state security orders, with no effectiveness. continue reading

The financial crises that have shaken the world in recent years have not directly affected Cubans because their banking system is so primitive and so isolated from the world that it barely penetrated. Banking in Cuba, Gil’s great goal, is one of the lowest in the world. Cubans don’t trust their banks, with good reason. Most transactions in Cuban pesos (which represent 70% of the commercial circulation) are made in cash.

And what about the challenges of the BCC right now? Of course, they have no relation to what Marrero said in his speech. Neither is there a need for “a comprehensive analysis that allows us to face the phenomenon of the lack of cash that occurs in several territories of the country,” nor “the review of plans or measures that can truly generate foreign exchange income for the nation.”

If Marrero wants to direct the BCC, he has to bet on his international credibility and ensure that the international financial markets take it into consideration. I insist, reading the ruling of the London judge offers ideas of where to go.

Marrero said something related to “working with respect to the foreign debt situation; rethinking the financial bases of foreign investment in the country; and taking forceful steps in the quality and organization of the national payment system, banking, financial education and computerization.” These terms seems interesting but in the long run will not lead to anything concrete.

The solution to the debt is to pay, reduce the internal spending of the state where possible and stop adventures. Be responsible and pay the arrears. Catch up, like any neighborhood debtor. And as much as it hurts, forget about Fidel Castro’s outcry about non-payment of international debt and try to make everyone see that Cuba pays, and that those crazy ideas will no longer be repeated. They must return to the fold. There is no alternative for the communist regime.

And then, of course, Marrero spoke of the eternal improvement of the banking system, which now wants to accelerate with the paradigm of science and innovation of Diaz Canel’s doctoral thesis, which is now essential, while trying to justify the measures of the foreign exchange market saying that they were going in the right direction, but that the measures have not worked. So, they don’t work, we’ll say. In banking matters, there is little to investigate. Ask any of the economists who provide their services at the BCC.

At the meeting, other topics were reviewed, such as cybersecurity, the human capital that is present in all sectoral assessment meetings, and working conditions and credit facilities for new economic actors. Marrero asked for the prevention of financial crimes, with the priority being money laundering, and to increase compliance with the control measures and procedures established in the banking system. These messages are for the international gallery and can only be useful if the appropriate measures are taken in financial operations. It’s one thing to say and quite another to do.

He also demanded that “quality has to reign in the banking system facing the population,” undoubtedly forgetting the clearly-visible lines at some banks to carry out currency exchange operations or the terrible functioning of ATMs, which forces customers to travel miles to find one. He only briefly referred at the end of his speech to what “recently happen in London as an issue that must be treated and reflected on with a self-critical attitude.” We’re dying to hear more.

The management report of the BCC in 2022, presented by its president (who was not in office during that year), said that in a hostile and complex scenario, the national banking and financial system “maintained the vitality of essential services, actively participating in the Economic and Social Strategy, with a group of actions to design and implement mechanisms to advance the recovery of the economy.” We would have to know what those actions are, because the economy, far from improving, has gotten worse.

And he added in this regard that “the indications related to government measures adopted to increase food production, agricultural development banking, the direct marketing of productive forms and the development of investments were complied with.” It’s no use obeying the government if the same problems continue. The central banks are not here to devote themselves to this kind of thing.

He recognized that the quality of the service provided by the BCC does not yet show the results that society requires, and from here we wonder to which sector of society the BCC directs its services. He also pointed out that the main problems were identified as “the increase in the number of operations that do not correspond to the technological infrastructure and the current labor force; customer dissatisfaction due to delays in services; non-conformity with banking procedures that do not conform to current requirements; inadequate treatment; uncovered demand for cash in Cuban pesos and foreign currency; and inefficiency.” So it’s more of the same as always, and with all that, they want Cubans to put their money in the banks. Good luck.

The president of the BCC also referred to the implementation, as of August 4, 2022, of the mechanism of access to foreign exchange for the population, associated with the development of the foreign exchange market, a measure that he described as “a challenge for the system from the operational point of view and for the very distortions that its implementation has presented.” He must know what he is talking about; he comes from the CADECAS, the state currency exchanges.

In fact, when referring to the distortions, he pointed out that “one of them is the persistence of monetary imbalances that have generated a substantial increase in the amount of money in national currency in the economy, with high accumulation outside the banks, which exerts enormous pressure on the demand for currencies that cannot be satisfied with the supply available in the market at the current exchange rate.”

Monetary imbalances have their origin in the irresponsible and bulky public deficit that the president of the BCC did not have the courage to mention. Here you can see his lack of independence from the BCC, one of the issues that undermines the international credibility of the Cuban communist economy.

And then, as a final instruction, the president of the BCC announced that in 2023, “it is up to the Bank to institutionally redesign the banking and financial system, adjusting it to the current requirements of the economy for its better functioning,” and he announced “other work priorities such as the development of financial intelligence activity; the design of a comprehensive strategy for the reorganization of the Cuban debt; the creation of the public debt market; the strengthening of the foreign exchange market; the improvement of the liquidity allocation system in conjunction with the Ministry of Economy and Planning; and the rescue of the cash coverage necessary for the proper functioning of the banking system and the economy.”

Undoubtedly, duties accumulate, although the most important thing — implementing a serious and credible monetary policy — is left aside. And the most alarming of all this is the reference to the “institutional redesign of the system,” a proposal that is very cryptic and that could well mean something else, such as the entry of foreign private banks to operate with the state banks, following a model similar to the hotel sector. In for a penny, in for a pound.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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In Cuba, Rumors are the Counter-Narrative of the Official Version of Events

Many users disclosed not only the “traps” of the Government to attract voters or force them to go to the polls, but also the possible consequences of abstaining. (14ymedio)

14ymedio/Yucabyte, Havana, 19 April 2023 — Irregularities during the parliamentary elections, the drastic increase in crime and the precarious situation of prisons have dominated the flow of rumors about Cuba on social networks during the month of March. However, despite the fact that it is fragmentary data and not always verifiable, it forms a fabric of “underground” concerns that in the long run –as a recent report by 14ymedio and Yucabyte demonstrated– tends to become real information in Cuba.

The general tension during the elections for deputy candidates in Parliament had its correlation in the digital environment. Many users disclosed not only the “traps” of the Government to attract voters or force them to go to the polls, but also the supposed consequences of abstaining.

It was even stated that whoever attended the polling station after applying for a visa or parole at the US Embassy would automatically lose their right to access this service. The spread of this rumor was so alarming that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs itself claimed that it had contacted the US immigration authorities to deny the information.

Although no independent observers were allowed to verify the transparency of the voting, thousands of users left their impression on Twitter and Facebook. Many denounced what was jokingly called “Operation Tun-Tun”: the electoral authorities not only forced children to guard the ballot boxes, but sent them, house to house, to carry out reminders to guarantee broad participation. Despite this, users on the networks commented that many had avoided the polls. Others recounted that they had voted “a la cañona”, (by force) fraudulently representing several relatives, or that they had found their forged signature on the list of participants. continue reading

A clandestine group began to claim responsibility for several anti-government posters. These ‘graffiti’ contained offensive messages directed at the régime

In the heat of the elections, a clandestine group began to claim responsibility for several anti-government posters. These graffiti, reported by the independent press, contained offensive messages directed at the regime such as “Down with the dictatorship” and “No to the Communist Party”, signed by the organization identified as El Nuevo Directorio.

As for the second source of rumors, reports of robberies, assaults, rapes and adolescent gangs in the Cuban peripheries are already common on social networks. In the face of police inaction, reporting from digital profiles is one of the few alternatives in the hands of the population to make visible the wave of crime that is spreading through Cuba.

The ravages of a youth gang known as C39, which operates in Las Tunas, presumably under the command of an adult woman, has kept the country folks in check. The local Police, they say, are sitting idle and it is said that they even grant impunity to delinquents.

The agents did arrive on time, several users say, when two men tried to rape a male child in the city of Nuevitas, Camagüey. However, in this case too, the action of the local residents, who began to act on their own, was decisive in stopping the crime.

Platforms most used by users and format of the content collected. (14ymedio/Yucabyte)

Also unprotected, according to multiple reports, remain the residents of the capital’s Altahabana neighborhood, who suffer frequent assaults in their own homes. Under the guise of “messengers” who have come to deliver a package, they break into homes to rob residents, threatening them with bladed weapons.

Others are not so lucky and, after the encounter with the criminals, they end up getting murdered. This is what happened, says a user, to a rural resident from San Juan de los Yeras, in Villa Clara, who was stabbed after his horse was stolen.

Although it is rare that the official media or the Ministry of the Interior offer an official version of the facts, some institutions often expose various details. This was the case with the death of a baby abandoned by his mother, a student at the Villa Clara Sports Initiation School. It was the directors of the center who, in a brief Facebook statement and during a meeting where recorded conversations were leaked, commented on the seriousness of the event.

The most difficult rumors to verify are those that refer to the most hermetic environments monitored by the regime, such as prisons. The conditions in which the prisoners live had traditionally been one of the best kept secrets by the Government. However, the increase in the prison population in the Country, and the media attention that, since the protests of July 11, 2021, has focused on prisons, have helped to clarify how the inmates live.

The harassment and manipulation suffered by the relatives of political prisoners by jailers or State Security has also been exposed on social networks

A common prisoner, identified as Kevin, was allegedly beaten to death by his jailer, Yulieski Montero, at the Quivicán prison in Mayabeque. Those who shared the event charged that other inmates throughout the country have suffered mistreatment at the hands of the police officers who guard them, or by other prisoners, whom the guards incite to punish the “troublemakers”.

The harassment and manipulation suffered by the relatives of political prisoners by jailers or State Security agents when they go on regular visits has also been exposed on social networks. However, it is rare for the relatives of common prisoners to air events like these, for fear of reprisals and the consequences that the complaint could have for the inmates themselves.

This type of situation results in that, although a large part of the rumors collected become, in the long run, sources of verified information – or end up being denied – there is other information that cannot be verified. This “informal” flow of data runs parallel to the regime’s press and often becomes a counter-narrative of the official version of events.

However, there is also the case of rumors that remain static, without being able to be verified or denied, and that have become a constant in the collection. This is the case of the illness and death of Raúl Castro –and also of other leaders, such as Ramiro Valdés–, a rumor repeated throughout 2022 which has also been registered in the first months of 2023. Or of the reports about a “fraudulent transition” or “fraud change”, which describe a sort of conspiracy by the regime’s leadership to fake a transition to democracy from the seat of power itself, without compromising the interests of certain military clans historically linked to the Castros.
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The Cuban Government Insists on ‘Celebrating’ on May 1, Despite the Fuel Crisis

Buses on Carlos III Avenue and Rancho Boyeros that carried those coming to the rally on May 1, 2022. (14ymedio)

14ymedio, Havana, April 22, 2023 — The fuel shortage that overwhelms thousands of Cuban families will not stop the Government, which has already announced that there will be a parade on May 1. “We will find a way to celebrate it,” Miguel Díaz-Canel promised this Friday on a visit to the province of Villa Clara.

The Communist Party newspaper did not offer details about how the president intends to carry out his own “direction.” No one seems to be too clear about the script on one of the key dates for the regime’s propaganda, in which thousands of workers are forced to march as a sign of adherence to the Government and a reaffirmation of the system.

Díaz-Canel insisted that he was “aware of the economic situation” but said that it would not prevent the achievement of the objectives of the parade: the condemnation of the “insurgent blockade” and support for the Revolution. “Do not have any doubt that we will fill our plazas,” was his conclusion.

What worries the population the most are the undeclared expenses that, behind the curtain, will make it possible for the re-designated president to live up to his “promise.” In 2022, after two years of confinement due to the pandemic, the authorities devoted a large budget to the “recovery” of the parade. Security personnel, banners and propaganda, platforms and the mobilization of thousands of state workers cost the regime an arm and a leg, but this year they want to revisit the event.

The announcement has stunned those who expected a more austere May 1, and also Cuban families, overwhelmed by a crisis in the fuel supply that will embitter the summer months not only with the paralysis of the country but with long blackouts. continue reading

However, the Government cannot afford to suspend one of its main showcases in front of those who, despite the regime’s bad reputation in terms of business, persist in a dialogue with Havana. A block of 400 Spanish professionals, associated with the Basque company DIT Gestión, has announced with great fanfare that it will parade alongside the Cubans. Of course, after the march they will enjoy a tourist convention on the northern keys of Villa Clara, for which the authorities have offered “all kinds of facilities,” including transportation.

The images of desolate streets, reminiscent of the hardest months of the pandemic, without cars or people, have been common in the last two weeks. The Government has gone so far as to blame the fuel supplier countries — especially Venezuela and Russia — for not complying with the contracts for the delivery of crude oil and its derivatives, and denies that the crisis is due to “inefficiencies of the country” or problems of the energy institutions.

Although the authorities and the official press have not notified the arrival of new shipments of fuel, the maritime application Vesselfinder recorded that between April 15 and 21, three ships with oil arrived at Cuban ports. The latest is the BT Bicentennial of Mexican origin, and the Zheng He 1, which sails with the flag of Liberia and the Panamanian Caribbean Alliance, which also docked shortly before.

The arrival of these ships has not resulted in energy relief. The service stations are still short of fuel, and rationing measures remain in force, which suggests that the Government is reserving the imported fuel to mobilize those who attend the parade. The suspicion that the transport of May 1 is being paid for with the immobilization and blackouts of these weeks, has provoked a barrage of criticism of the regime on the internet.

“Oh, people of Cuba, how much more you deserve! Even the mockery of the official press. I hope to see you on May 1, firmly supporting this immense Revolution and party that gives you so much every day,” user William Fuentes responded with irony to a Cubadebate publication that carelessly commented on the long lines of cars at gas stations.

The official newspaper published a “comical” article about how “good humor” is maintained among people who play and even cook to pass the time while they wait on Zapata Street, in El Vedado, Havana. “Once again, the ruling press mocks the people,” concluded another user, identified as Osmar Domínguez.

Translated by Regina Anavy

Carlos and Daria Jimenez Begin the Process of Seeking Asylum in Trinidad and Tobago After Leaving Cuba

Carlos and Daria in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. (Ricardo Quintana/Facebook)

14ymedio, Havana, 19 April 2023 — The Cuban Carlos Jiménez and Daria, his wife of Russian nationality, have an appointment for May 18 at the office of the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, to apply for asylum. Both left Cuba on Tuesday in the midst of pressure and threats from the immigration authorities.

Now we have to figure out how to survive,” Jiménez tells 14ymedio. “In any case, we have to move forward and not give up.” However, he warns that “they still won’t leave us alone. Last night I received a message from a friend asking me not to do anything else and to shut up. It seems that they put pressure on him.”

Jiménez tells this newspaper that “until the 25th of this month we have a place to live. Then we’ll see what to do. I’m sure something will be resolved. If we managed to get out of Cuba having pissed off a lot of people, anything is possible.”

The young man says that when leaving the Island, through terminal 3 of José Martí International Airport, they were made to wait a long time at immigration control but finally managed to board the flight without major setbacks.

Their departure from Cuba put an end to a nightmare that began last January, when Jiménez escaped being recruited as a soldier for the war in Ukraine. Until then, they both lived in Kushelevskaya Doroga, St. Petersburg. continue reading

The couple then decided to fly to Cuba, where the young man maintains his official residence in his parents’ house. He knew that coexistence would be difficult because of ideological differences, but he had no other choice. As the days went by, the family political contradictions became unsustainable.

“On the morning of March 8, a uniformed man entered our room accompanied by my father. This time they didn’t knock on the door. He was an Immigration officer. He said that my wife had been in the country longer than allowed for foreigners, but that was false because it had only been 55 days and the rule is 90 days. He acted strange and aggressive,” Carlos told this newspaper at the time.

The uniformed man could not specify the objectives of his visit and changed his version saying that there were complaints of noise, but without clarifying where the complaint came from. He finally left a notice for an appointment for another day at the Immigration offices on the municipality of Habana del Este, where they explained that the problem was that Daria was not financially solvent, which was also false, according to her husband.

The first thing Daria did was to contact the Russian Consulate in Havana for help. “I called the Consulate and explained my situation; then a man gave me another number to talk to the consul on duty. When seconds later I dialed that number, the same voice came on the line, and, without stifling his laughter, he let me know that they didn’t help traitors there,” she told this newspaper.

The pressures on the couple were rising in tone and both decided to leave the Island for another country where they could apply for asylum. With few resources and visa limitations, the option that they finally chose was that of Trinidad and Tobago, where they hope to find the protection they failed to receive in Cuba.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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The Regime Returns a Cuban-Born Tourist to Canada for Her Criticism on Facebook

Glenda Corella has lived in Toronto since 2012 and didn’t have problems until this March, after “liking” a criticism of the Cuban Government on social networks. (Facebook)

14ymedio, Madrid, 21 April 2023 — Glenda Corella Céspedes arrived in Canada in 2012, when the Cuban government agreed to her request to leave the country after eight years of waiting. Her life in Toronto went smoothly until March 7. She decided to return to the Island to attend her brother’s wedding and was met with the refusal of the immigration authorities, who prevented her from getting off the plane that landed at the Frank País de Holguín airport around 9 pm. The reason? Her empathy with the 11 July 2021 (11J) protesters, which led her to register her criticism of the regime on social networks.

The story is told by the protagonist herself to the Canadian public media CBC News. Corella Céspedes, who was traveling with a friend, Mary Guaragna, was carrying in her suitcase medicines for her mother — a lung cancer patient — and a friend, in addition to the clothes for her brother’s wedding and the happiness of seeing him again. Her Cuban passport was in order; she is obliged, despite being a Canadian citizen, to use it to enter the Island.

“Five Cuban immigration officers got on the plane and said that everyone could get off except Glenda Corella Céspedes,” she tells the network. “At that moment,” Guaragna adds, “we looked at each other with a lot of concern. I was as white as a ghost, and Glenda more than me. The Canadians who left the plane looked at us as if we were terrorists. We felt horrible,” she recalls.

One of the officers, according to the story of the two women, left with Corella Céspedes’ passport and, after about 20 minutes, another soldier, apparently of higher rank, got on board and gave the Cuban-Canadian a document which said “Denied” without further explanation. continue reading

Guaragna explains that she spoke with the agent to try to understand the situation and attributes to her Canadian mentality her naivety in believing that an understanding could be reached. “What seems to be the problem?” She asked the officer, who answered only: “She knows what she did, she knows what she did.” “At that moment I looked at Glenda, who gave me a signal not to say anything else.”

Corella Céspedes attributes her problems to a simple “like” on Facebook. At the beginning of the year, Prime Minister Manuel Marrero visited the Gibara hospital, in Holguín, where she had worked as a nurse years ago. A doctor from the center — apparently well connected with the Communist Party — posted on her networks a video of the musical performance with which they received the president and several Facebook users criticized the gesture, saying that they should have criticized the leader for the health situation on the Island, instead of entertaining him.

Corella Céspedes marked one of those comments with a “like” and that’s where it all began. Her parents began to receive warnings from members of the local PCC, who recommended that they ask their daughter to stop posting and commenting.

After her entry into Cuba was denied, she herself began to receive messages from a person identified as José Manuel Santos who told her: “Follow my advice. You have your parents here and you have nephews, nieces and cousins. Don’t put anything else on your (Facebook) wall,” he sent her on WhatsApp on March 29.

“Your ban is for two years, but if you keep sharing things on your wall, they will change it for your whole life. You have your mom here.”

CBC News tried without success to contact the Cuban embassy in Canada, which has been closed since February, and the Ministry of the Interior of the Island did not answer their calls either. The media spoke with U.S. resident Cuban lawyer Laritza Diversent, who spoke to them about how the regime uses immigration “regulations” as a control mechanism for critics.

“Cubans who have deserted while they were on missions abroad and rafters have been the subject of this measure in the past,” she said, adding that since the 11J demonstrations — which generated a great wave of solidarity activism on social networks — it applies to those who use cyberspace to disagree.

“Just for shouting for freedom, for shouting we want to eat, completely defenseless people who did not have a stick or a stone to defend themselves were attacked by the police and by a minority that serves the Government to oppress the people,” Diversent said. The lawyer explained to the Canadian channel that Resolution 105 of the Ministry of Communications of Cuba considers any criticism of an official as a cyberattack.

“They have unlimited discretion, there is no judicial supervision,” she added. “If you are denied entry, there is no way to make a claim in court, and in no way can the family in Cuba initiate proceedings to go against that decision.” Diversent has not returned to the Island for five years precisely for the same reason and says that State Security has not stopped pressuring her mother, visiting her on several occasions, to convince her daughter to change her position.

“The exile who begins to criticize is aware that if he does, he will not be able to return, and that is the cost. How then will you be able to bring medicines to your family? It’s a real dilemma, especially since it’s as if they had your family hostage,” she says. And all in the midst of a huge crisis in which the Island wants tourists — with Canadians as the main market — and émigrés to refill the state coffers with foreign currency.

The Government’s attitude, despite everything, is not always successful, and, in the case of Glenda Corella Céspedes, she has multiplied her activism. Now she proclaims her intention not to try to go to Cuba again as long as there is no democracy. “I’m sorry for my mother. I’m sorry for my father, for my sister, for my brother, for my cousin, friends, everyone. But it’s not possible for me to return.”

Translated by Regina Anavy

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A New 100-Peso Bill Enters Circulation in Cuba in the Midst of the ATM Crisis

The bank says that it is increasing electronic payments with “all” the agents who offer services or sell goods. (14ymedio)

14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, 19 April 2023 — The Central Bank of Cuba (BCC) announced on Wednesday the release of a new 100-peso bill, which comes just as the depreciation of the currency against the dollar and the collapse of the ATM network on the Island worsens. The institution pointed out that this denomination is printed with the date of 2023 and retains the main characteristics of the previous issues.

However, the new bill, which will circulate simultaneously with the previous versions, has no tactile feature and is not in the Braille system for the blind, without the authorities offering an explanation. The banknote maintains the logo of the BCC and the signature of the president of the Central Bank, while the inscription and the year of printing appear in magenta.

The announcement of this new banknote comes at a particularly hard time for Cubans, who have to stand in long lines to withdraw money from the few ATMs that still have cash. “Imagine the level of stress that this causes,” said a resident of Central Havana who had to go to three ATMs to find one that worked.

The man explained to 14ymedio that he sent money to his sister in Párraga, in the municipality of Arroyo Naranjo, to help her pay for an operation for her son. However, when he went to the ATM he couldn’t get cash because it was out of service.

“I gave it to her by transfer because I can’t go there; she lives quite far away,” he said, remembering that driving is not an alternative either because of the shortage of fuel on the Island. continue reading

ATMs in Cuba can’t cope. No fewer than 150 of the 521 that Banco Metropolitano (Banmet) has in Havana are out of service, which means that 30% of them are damaged. This was confirmed by Banmet to the official press last Sunday.

To a query by journalist Francisco Rodríguez Cruz, the bank’s management responded that the technicians are repairing the dispensing modules and the keyboards, which are the parts with the most breakdowns, and they are expecting the new parts to arrive next week.

In the article, Banmet said that “the equipment dispenses more than 160 million pesos every day” and that it needs a change “because of technological obsolescence.” However, it doesn’t have “an immediate response.” What has been enabled, it insisted, are “domestic alternatives” to mitigate the crisis.

The bank explains that it has increased electronic payments with “all” the agents who offer services or sell goods. Similarly, customers have the option of using the Caja Extra unit to get cash in the 1,904 enabled ration stores, and at least one branch per municipality has extended hours on weekends.

What the banking authorities do not say is that in many ration stores they claim that they have no connection with Transfermóvil to dispense cash, or that they don’t have any cash because everyone that day has paid electronically. The amounts that can be taken out are also low.

From April 8 to 14, cash withdrawals exceeded 200 million per day, but many ATMs, Banmet acknowledged, are only authorized to carry out electronic operations and to check balances.

The bank’s response generated discontent from social media users, who claim that it is “usual” to hear “regrets” from officials about things that do not work well in Cuba, but few solutions are offered such as the availability of POS payment terminals in businesses.

On Calle Infanta, one of the busiest streets in Central Havana, there are three ATMs, but two of them are broken, and the one that works has problems with the screen that makes it difficult to see the information, a Cuban complained.

In addition to the Cuban capital, the ATM crisis extends to the interior of the country. In Sancti Spíritus this week, the banking authorities said that there is no shortage of cash in the machines. “The ATMs have never stopped paying due to lack of money,” María Efigenia Caballero, director of the Banco Popular de Ahorro (BPA), told Escambray.

The director said that the 11 ATMs in the province operate normally, although many of them are old and overused. A resident of the northern outskirts of the city of Sancti Spíritus told 14ymedio that it’s “simply a lie,” because in reality there are only nine ATMs, and most are located in the center. “For example, I have to travel about four miles to get to an ATM, and it doesn’t always work,” he complained.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Villanueva, Cuba: a Waiting Room Turned Into a Camp Due to the Crisis

Those who arrive as a family take turns going out to buy food, fan the children or inquire at the ticket office about the possibilities of boarding the next bus. (14ymedio)

14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, 22 April 2023 — More than a place with passengers, the Villanueva station, in Havana, looks like a refugee camp: people sitting on the floor, towels that in the early morning cover the bodies that lie in the corners, and the crying of babies who do not understand why they have been there for so many days. The fuel crisis has turned the country’s main transportation waiting room into a makeshift shelter.

After ten in the morning this Saturday, people milled around in front of the ticket office. The bus bound for the city of Sancti Spíritus was about to arrive, and it was hoped that it would have enough empty seats to take some passengers, who could barely breathe in the heavy and humid air. “Only ten passengers will be able to leave,” an employee announced.

“I’ve been here for three days,” says a woman who is waiting for a ticket to get to Holguín, a complicated journey due to the distance and the high demand for travel to the east of the country. “Here the most complicated thing, in addition to waiting, is the situation of the bathroom and getting something to eat. Even drinking a drop of water gets complicated: I can’t leave my place because I might miss my turn.”

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Those who arrive as a family take turns going out to buy food, fan the children or inquire at the ticket office about the possibilities of boarding the next bus. On the outskirts, private trucks try to capitalize on the despair. At the door of one truck, in use for 70 years, the driver announces that he charges $83 per person to go to Sancti Spíritus, although the trip is no more than 224 miles.

Although Christmas is not approaching and Easter has passed, Villanueva experiences moments of the holiday hustle and bustle, when the desire to celebrate with family mobilizes thousands of Cubans to be transported to one side and the other of the Island. “If this is the case now, as Mother’s Day approaches, we will have to come with a fan,” predicts another traveler. In three weeks, on Sunday, May 14, every inch of ground at the waiting room could be occupied.

Translated by Regina Anavy

Immobility Marks Diaz-Canel’s New Mandate as President of Cuba

Raúl Castro (2nd from left, front row) very close to president Miguel Díaz-Canel (3rd from right, front row) and other senior officials such as the president of Gaesa, Ania Guillermina Lastres Morera, and the prime minister, Manuel Marrero, this Wednesday. (Screen capture)

14ymedio, Yoani Sánchez, Generation Y, Havana, 21 April 2023 — The first rays of sunlight this Wednesday bathed Havana’s Carlos III Avenue. Where before there was a constant coming and going of vehicles, the fuel crisis has left a road deserted by cars. The conversations in the long lines focused on lamenting inflation, talking about a relative who managed to emigrate in recent days, or complaining about the power cuts. No one spoke about the parliamentarians who took office on April 19, nor was there speculation about who would be appointed president of the Republic of Cuba.

Hours later, the official media confirmed that Miguel Díaz-Canel was repeating in a second term in the highest post in the nation, while the structure of responsibilities in the National Assembly hardly changed and the cabinet of ministers did not suffer major changes either. Immobility was the pattern that defined an electoral process that hardly generated enthusiasm among citizens, more interested in finding food or managing to travel from one point to another than in following on national television the boring spectacle of a Parliament without any political diversity.

The appointment, for a second term, of the electronic engineer Díaz-Canel sends a message of continuity about the current Cuban model. A message to be read not only by the international community but, especially, by those on the Island who have been asking for a change of direction and a democratic opening for some time. The ruler, who appeared before the national television cameras during the popular protests on July 11, 2021, saying that “the order to combat” had been given, now has five more years to impose the will of his side. continue reading

His re-election will be read by many Cubans as confirmation that there will be no economic improvement in the short term and that packing up to emigrate is the wisest decision.

His re-election will be read by many Cubans as confirmation that there will be no economic improvement in the short term and that packing up to emigrate is the wisest decision. Others will conclude that there are more months of tense diplomatic rhetoric to come and that Cuba will continue to be aligned with the axis of authoritarian regimes such as those of Nicaragua, Venezuela and Russia.

Díaz-Canel also represents the tepidness in the necessary economic transformations and the excessive investments in the construction of hotels, while resources for Public Health and Education continue to be cut. His name is also inextricably linked to the more than a thousand political prisoners and the forced exile of hundreds of activists.

Why would someone with so little popularity and a history of so many unfortunate decisions have another five years at the helm of the nation? The designating hand of Raúl Castro has once again put him in that position, selecting him from among the other youngest children to watch his back, to avoid the collapse of the system and to prevent the nonagenarian general and his relatives from ending up in court or having to pack their suitcases to take refuge in the shadow of some foreign comrade.

Díaz-Canel has complied with the order that Castro gave him. He has not managed to offer a more dignified life to Cubans, but he has saved the neck of an entire clan. That is why he has been hand-picked as president again: to delay as long as possible the arrival of freedom in Cuba.

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Editor’s Note: This article was originally published on Deutsche Welle in Spanish.

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Cuba and Vietnam Sign Four Cooperation Agreements in Economic Sectors

The president of the Vietnamese National Assembly, Vuong Dinh Hue, attended the inauguration of new investment projects in his country related to a factory of detergents for local consumption in the Mariel Special Development Zone, in Cuba. (AsambleaCuba/Twitter)

EFE (via 14ymedio), 21 April 2023 — Cuba and Vietnam signed four economic cooperation agreements this Thursday during a business forum in Havana with the presence of the president of the Vietnamese National Assembly, Vuong Dinh Hue.

The agreements cover the sectors of civil aviation, electric power, oil, as well as construction, marketing and production of construction materials.

The Deputy Prime Minister of Cuba, Ricardo Cabrisas, highlighted during the ceremony that in the complex context that the Island’s economy has developed in recent years, “Vietnam’s participation in various sectors has been and is important.”

Cabrisas, appointed two days ago as Minister of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment and co-president of the Cuba-Vietnam Intergovernmental Commission, pointed out the experience of cooperation and the numerous joint projects and plans underway that cover the main spheres of the Island’s economic and social life.

“Today Vietnam has become our second trading partner and the main capital investor in the Asian region,” he stressed. continue reading

He announced that new business interests have been identified, to be specified in the “very short term,” which impact areas with priority such as agri-food, renewable energies, tourism and construction, among others.

The Cuban deputy prime minister highlighted the “active” presence of Vietnamese businesspeople in the Mariel Special Development Zone (ZEDM), a business center and merchant port created by the Cuban government to attract foreign capital.

On this day, the head of the Vietnamese National Assembly attended the inauguration of new investment projects from his country related to a detergent factory for local consumption and export, and a solar energy park in the strategic economic enclave located 28 miles west of Havana.

Representatives of Vietnamese companies from the sectors of energy, agricultural machinery, steel machinery, electronics, recycling, electromotive, biotechnology, pharmaceutical and medical equipment, fruit and aviation marketing, among others, participated in the bilateral business forum.

Cuban Prime Minister Manuel Marrero said in that context that there are “potentialities” to continue increasing cooperation with Vietnam on issues such as the control of inflation, new economic actors, rice production, polyculture, the planting of corn and the presence of companies from Vietnam in Cuba for wholesale and retail trade.

Since the beginning of his official visit to Cuba on April 19, the leader of the Vietnamese Parliament has met with President Miguel Díaz-Canel, former President Raúl Castro, his counterpart Esteban Lazo and other representatives of the Cuban Government.

Cuba and Vietnam maintain close political and economic ties that have been strengthened in recent times. In addition to the support and common positions in international organizations, companies from the Asian nation have increased their presence in the Island’s economy.

The commercial exchange is around 340 million dollars in recent years, according to official data.

Vietnam exports rice, coal, chemicals, textiles and electronic elements to Cuba, and imports mainly pharmaceutical products from the Island.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Another Poster Against the Communist Party of Cuba Appears in the Heart of Havana

A few hours later, over the fresh painting, the University Student Federation hung a banner and a gigantic Cuban flag. (14ymedio)

14ymedio, Havana, 20 April 2023 — Just three days after a poster against the regime in El Vedado was attributed to the clandestine group known as El Nuevo Directorio (END), on Thursday someone wrote “No to the PCC” [Communist Party of Cuba] on the facade of the building located on Humboldt 7 Street, where several of the young assailants of the Presidential Palace were killed in 1957.

The sign was painted with large black letters on the ground floor of the property, in a state building under repair that has boards over the windows, near the plaque that commemorates the 1957 event.

On its Twitter account, the movement explained that the sign was a tribute to the members of the Student Directory, one of the organizations opposing Fulgencio Batista under the direction of José Antonio Echeverría, and that they wanted to remember the “massacre” that was carried out in that same place by the Batista police “with an action against the Castro dictatorship.”

In its publication, END said that on April 20, 1957, the young people Juan Pedro Carbó Serviá, Fructuoso Rodríguez Pérez, José Machado Rodríguez and Joe Westbrook Rosales “were intercepted” on Humboldt 7, where they had hidden after the assault on the Palace, and there they were “riddled with bullets, without weapons to defend themselves.”

Nuevo cartel de El Nuevo Directorio en el Edificio Humboldt 7. (Youtube) — ‘No to the PCC’ reads a new sign from El Nuevo Directorio on the Humboldt 7 Building. (Youtube)

“Blood bathed the staircase of the building, where there was no compassion even at the request of the neighbors. The corpses were dragged into the street in a show of arrogance by Captain Estevan Ventura Novo, a famous torturer and murderer,” they said. continue reading

That event, the group explains, is a reminder of “how many young people have given their lives for the freedom of all” in Cuba, and they consider it a “fundamental” precedent for the struggles against “any dictatorship or tyranny that tries to impose itself on our people.”

Another photograph, shared on Thursday morning on the same Twitter account, showed that the sign had not yet been covered up by the political police.

Although it is a few miles from central places such as the Habana Libre and La Rampa, Humboldt Street is hardly ever used and is dark and not very busy at night.

Last Monday, El Nuevo Directorio painted a sign against the Communist Party at the entrance of the stadium of the University of Havana, on Ronda Street in El Vedado. As usual, they signed with the acronym END, which identifies the clandestine organization.

The message is the same as the one that appeared in the early morning of last March 23 a short distance away, in Aguirre Park. It was presumed to be by the dissident organization in a video disseminated on its social networks. In both cases, the sign was covered up by the police.

“Honrar, honra”: a los Mártires de la Masacre de Humboldt 7, los antecesores del Directorio Estudiantil, nuestro homenaje como mejor podemos honrarlos; con una acción contra la Dictadura Castrista #ABAJOLADICTADURACASTROCANEL pic.twitter.com/war0zhT8O4

— El Nuevo Directorio (@NuevoDirectorio) April 20, 2023

El Nuevo Directorio (@NuevoDirectorio) April 20, 2023

“Honor, honor: to the Martyrs of the Massacre of Humboldt 7, the ancestors of the Student Directory, our tribute as we can best honor them, with an action against the Castro Dictatorship.” #ABAJOLADICTADURACASTROCANEL—

Translated by Regina Anavy

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The Fuel Shortage Leaves Havana’s La Rampa Deserted — No Cars, No People

Calle 23 in El Vedado, Havana, was seen to be deserted on Saturday afternoon. (14ymedio)

14ymedio, Natalia López Moya, Havana, 16 April 2023 – ’Up La Rampa and down La Rampa!’ was the slogan used by all the people who flocked to Calle 23 in El Vedado, Havana at the weekends in order to get to or from the Malecón sea wall, or a cinema or the queue for the Coppelia ice cream parlour. All that activity has now gone, leaving behind a deserted avenue, which, this Saturday at 5.30pm was seen to be empty of cars and pedestrians.

The fuel crisis has significantly transformed the view of what once was the left-hand atrium of Havana’s heart. There are closed cafeterias, restaurants only operating at half throttle and pavements/sidewalks lacking the usual activity of the capital’s residents, provincial visitors who used to come and check out the liveliest area of the city, or tourists keen to check out its bars and cabarets.

“We’re selling very little because there’s hardly anyone on the street”, Yusier laments — a waiter in a nearby private cafeteria which has had to resort to serving only on the terrace in order to keep both salons open. “People aren’t coming here from other areas now because afterwards they don’t have any way of getting back home, with the state that the bus service is in”.

In order to mitigate the fall in demand, the private business has set up a service which delivers pizzas, other foods and cold drinks to customers’ homes. “But it’s not the same as going out for a stroll and then having a meal, it’s a different experience. It’s people that give life to places and right now El Vedado is dead”, concludes Yusier.

The various taxi collectives that use Calle 23 as part of their routes are similarly reduced in service. On Saturday afternoon, three women were waiting on the main corner of El Vedado and Calle G, arms waving to try and flag down an almendron* cab. “I’ve been here an hour and there’s nothing. If I don’t get a cab soon I’m just going to walk it”, one of them told 14ymedio. continue reading

The centre of Calle G is an area of gardens and park benches which up until a few years ago was full of children and adolescents at the weekends. “We’ve moved on from complaining about them to missing them”, admits Maria del Carmen, resident of a three storey building on Avenida de los Presidentes, near to Calle 23. “Before, they wouldn’t let us sleep, and now what keeps us awake is the fact that they aren’t there! Where are they all?”

Maria del Carmen remembers the busy days when the pedestrian walkway down the middle of Calle G was packed from Friday onwards with all of Havana’s different urban tribes. There were rockeros, frikis, emos, góticos, aprendices de vampiros, raperos, mikis, repas** and whatever other groups there might happen to be in the most important city in the country. There were frequent complaints from residents and the police raided the area constantly and imposed fines.

Today, only the memory remains of that carnival of extravagant costumes, guitars, make-up and laughter. Niorvis, 32, worked as a caretaker for a nearby state restaurant which has been under repair for more than five years. “I spent my adolescence between Calle G and La Rampa, so that when I pass by there now it looks like a funeral parlour. All the passion is gone”.

If the fuel of passion is important for filling city squares, bringing people with a common interest together and keeping a group of friends singing until the early hours, it is no less certain that it is hydrocarbons which allow people from all parts of the city to meet up in one place. “The meeting up in Calle G has been snuffed out by police harassment, the number of people leaving the country, and transport problems”, Niorvis surmised.

Whilst he is evoking the past, a solitary bus passes in front of the man’s gaze, somewhat overladen and tilting with an excess of passengers. Dozens of people who are waiting at the Quixote Park bus stop get ready to try and board the vehicle. The bus can barely take on half a dozen before awkwardly heading out into the broad avenue, where only the clattering noise of the dilapidated vehicle can be heard.

When the bus has departed, temperatures rise at the bus stop. “I’m not leaving my house ever again”, says a woman carrying her child in her arms. “You can’t even relax when you do go out because every journey becomes a pain, like this one”, adds someone else. “But, guys, this is all gonna get fixed soon and there’s gonna be so much fuel you’ll even be able to gargle with it”, jokes another.

It’s getting late and the buildings begin to take on a reddish hue. In the whole of avenida 23 the only things that are moving with any dynamism are the forklift trucks and the labourers working on the construction which will be the tallest building in Cuba: the López-Calleja tower, so-named by people in allusion to the magnate of the military consortium Gaesa, who died last year.

A few shop signs begin to light up and La Rampa by night becomes a zone of shadows and silence.

Translator’s notes:

*’Almendron’ is the word used to refer to the classic American cars, generally in use as taxis, and in particular as shared, fixed-route taxis. The word comes from “almond” in reference to the shape of these ’ancient’ vehicles.

**This link (if your browser is able to convert it to English) describes in detail the various ’tribes’ and the sources and meanings of their names.

Translated by Ricardo Recluso

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The European Union Announces That the Bilateral Agreement With Cuba Will Continue To Apply Provisionally

Bruno Rodríguez after the signing of the agreement with the EU, with the then European foreign ministers. (EFE/Olivier Hoslet/Archive)

EFE (via 14ymedio), Brussels, 20 April 2023 — The Political Dialogue and Cooperation agreement between the European Union and Cuba will continue to apply provisionally until it has been ratified by all EU countries. Lithuania is the only country that has rejected the treaty, community sources reported on Thursday.

“The current situation is that the Parliament of Lithuania has not ratified this agreement. It is the only member state of the 27 countries that has not formally done so. What this implies is that the agreement is being applied provisionally,” said the sources, asked about the situation of the first bilateral agreement between the EU and Cuba.

The EU confirmed that the agreement, signed in December 2016 and in force since November 1, 2017, will remain in force provisionally “unless Lithuania ratifies the agreement.”

This treaty meant the end of the so-called “common position” of the EU towards Cuba, the restrictive unilateral policy that the Union maintained towards Havana since 1996, and that linked all advances in the bilateral relationship to progress in democratization and human rights on the Island. continue reading

Asked if it believes that Cuba has fulfilled its obligations in terms of fundamental freedoms within the framework of the agreement, the EU stated that “one of the advantages” of that pact is that, “for the first time, we have the possibility of having a human rights agreement with Cuba.”

“We are using that tool to put on the table our concerns about human rights in Cuba, which are very well known,” the entity explained. In any case, it was stressed that “there is no simple yes or no in terms of whether Cuba has complied with human rights”

“What we have with the agreement is, for the first time, the possibility of engaging directly with Cuba and expressing our assessment of the situation in the country.”

This agreement provides a legal framework for the EU and Cuba to develop a conversation around political dialogue, cooperation, sectoral dialogue and trade cooperation.

Human rights is one of the areas on which the EU placed special emphasis when finalizing the agreement, and the two parties have launched a dialogue focused on human rights, for which they hold meetings periodically.

Specifically, the pact promotes cooperation in favor of sustainable development, democracy and human rights, as well as the possibility of finding shared solutions to global challenges through joint actions in multilateral forums.

The areas of common interest that can be addressed in the agreement include renewable energies, rural development, the environment, human rights, good management, security or job creation, among others.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Baseball player Yosimar Cousin, ‘Blockaded’ by the Cuban Baseball Federation, is Hired in the United States

The native of Camagüey, Yosimar Cousín, will earn one million dollars per season with the Chicago White Sox. (Facebook/Rey Rivero)

14ymedio, Havana, 20 April 2023 — The Cuban Yosimar Cousín, who in 2021 thought about “not continuing to play baseball” because the Cuban Baseball Federation (FCB) cut off a contract with the Mexican team Charros, signed this Wednesday with the Chicago White Sox. The agreement is “2,000,000 dollars for two years and he will have a guaranteed place on the club’s roster,” journalist Francys Romero confirmed on his social networks.

Romero, a Cuban baseball specialist, mentioned that the athlete, a native of Camagüey, could improve his salary based on his performance. If he stays in the starting lineup, in 2025 he would receive $1,200,000 per season, but if his level of play goes down, “he will get a contract for $625,000 in the U.S. Minor Leagues.”

The 25-year-old will begin his journey in the advanced Class-A and Double-A levels of the Windy City (Chicago) team. The intention is to see his progress, considering that he is a pitcher with six seasons in Cuban baseball and plenty of experience.

The reporter stressed that Cousín has received favorable comments from those who evaluate his performance, has sufficient potential to appear as a game starter and throws a fastball between 92 and 95 miles per hour. His best pitches, according to several experts, are the slider and the curve ball.

Cousín was deleted from the list of options for the ninth Mexican Charros in 2021, according to what sports director, Ray Padilla, told 14ymedio, because the FCB had him “punished” and he could not “go out or be loaned to any team,” although it was the same Federation that offered him as an option. continue reading

The player demanded an explanation, to which the managers responded by saying that he was “blocked” from leaving. “They have me signed,” he said on his social networks. This was the last straw. Days before, Yosimar Cousín along with Yunior Tur were excluded from the so-called “patriot team” that manager Eriel Sánchez made up for the Under-23 World Cup held in the state of Sonora (Mexico), which resulted in the worst ’bleeding’ in Cuban baseball with 12 players fleeing the team (and Cuba).

Cousín and Tour left the Island in 2022 and went to the Dominican Republic. While Yunior was hired in December by the Oakland Athletics, Yosimar trained for over a year seeking professional signing at the Yuan Pino Academy.

On the other hand, last Tuesday the nightmare ended for baseball player Yariel Rodríguez, who after his participation with Cuba in the World Classic, abandoned his contract with the Japanese team of the Chunichi Dragons and broke relations with the FCB. The Japanese team “dismissed” the native of Camagüey, so he is free to be hired by a foreign team.

Rodríguez had just received the shield that represents the Camagüey territory and a recognition from the Communist Party for finishing fourth with Team Asere, when he announced his intention to seek an opportunity in a Major League team.

In an attempt at sanction, the Cuban Baseball Federation appealed a clause of his contract and claimed the athlete owed 10 million dollars for “damages.” The official sports organization demanded the relevant “rights and responsibilities.”

Translated by Regina Anavy

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