Yariel Rodriguez during this Wednesday’s game with Australia, in which Cuba managed to qualify for the quarterfinals in the World Classic. (EFE)
14ymedio, Rolando Gallardo, Quito, 16 March 2023 — I once heard an influencer, whose name I don’t want to remember, say that the “Cuban opposition was facing a scientific regime using improvisation.” This idea may have arisen creatively and spontaneously or come from the argument of Gene Sharp [an American political scientist]: “The idea that improvisation will give you great success is absurd; it’s exactly the opposite. If you don’t know what you’re doing, you’ll most likely get into serious trouble.”
This is the story of the Cuban opposition’s wild goose chase, always unscientific, far from the clear minds that make it up. There is so little of our awareness of real power that we end up acting without the nobility of victors. This visceral and predictable form of the brothers in opposition to the dictatorship is our Achilles’ heel, because the Regime, scientific, methodical and equipped with propaganda resources, comes, punctures us and already knows what leg we are going to limp on.
The ball is round and comes in a square box, and so is the world, full of supposed contradictions and logical solutions. But if you don’t stop to observe with Buddhist discipline the real problems that happen in front of your nose, they will continue to fuck you adinfinitum. You may not see it yet, but the decrepit Regime and Díaz-Canel passed you a cat for a hare.
The Cuban government is in a clear crisis of prestige, with its symbols and slogans crumbling. The opposition, by chance or persistence, has managed to impose new stories, raised new flags and imprinted new slogans and goals on the Cuban mentality. For the Regime, seeing its ideological edifice built with Soviet cement fall must not be a good sign. They may be singaos [motherfuckers], but they are not fools. So they have given themselves the task of fabricating new victories and feeling renewed pride, flavored with the Cuban Communist Party (PCC). continue reading
The World Classic was the best place to have this little cultural battle. They send the Asere Team with the “mission” of bringing victory to Cuba, “the victim of the blockade,” to the “oppressed people” who made an unforgivable socialist revolution just 90 miles from the largest empire… Well, you know how the propaganda goes. They do it, in addition, knowing how we will act in the face of such a provocation. We will take improvisation out of our pockets and begin to form campaigns without sustenance or empathetic content, to boycott underpaid players who, as history has shown, take advantage of these contests to negotiate the contract-signing of their lives that will take them forever out of that hell in which they live.
Without the slightest attachment to the bases of propaganda, without understanding that marketing, whether commercial or political, seeks to empathize, attract, fall in love with and engage the receiver, we lend ourselves to the Cuban Communist Party’s game. Divide and win, they poisoned the team with Díaz-Canel’s outstretched hand and made the great debate begin of whether or not it was ethical to bite the hand of the “communist stepmother.”
We accept the facts that the official narrative presents to us. We don’t try for a moment an elastic withdrawal and counterattack strategy. We entrench ourselves in the predictable discourse and begin to act on impulse. We start the smear campaigns of a ball team, of people who suffer from inflation like anyone else, who have cousins or acquaintances imprisoned for the demonstrations on July 11, 2021 [11J], Cubans like many others, closer to us than to them, and we made them the embodiment of evil.
Yulieski Gurriel receiving an award from Fidel Castro in 2006. (Granma)
In this propaganda distraction we were not creative. I think it might be better to give them support, to rob from them the idea that the team is the property of the dictatorship. We could forgive them for any statement. In the end, thousands of Cubans have had to support the Regime circumstantially, while they prepare their getaway. It would be more stoic to reaffirm that sport belongs to the Cuban people and that no sectarian party could abolish that. Aren’t there photos of Yulieski Gurriel receiving awards from Fidel Castro? Isn’t the Gurriel family now a symbol of free and prosperous Cubans in the United States? Aren’t thousands of Cubans going to applaud him and take pictures with him?
We have time to receive Team Asere in style in Miami, the land of free Cubans, the home of the Cuban family. The Cuban team that presents itself in South Florida is always a Home Club. If we were an intelligent opposition, we would fill the stadium with the flags of Cuba, of the United States, with Patria y Vida [Homeland and Life] posters. We would bring shouts of victory and support, so that they feel at home. It is very likely that they will move here soon. I would like to see how the fuck they are going to broadcast on Cuban television a stadium full of happy Cubans, anti-communists and baseball players to the core, supporting the Cuban team and shouting “freedom”! That’s what it’s all about, that’s how you play with science.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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The Cuban team will travel to Miami for the semifinal round. (Jit)
14ymedio, Miami, 15 March 2023 — The Cuban baseball team qualified for the semifinal round of the World Classic after beating Australia 4-3 in this Thursday’s game. The so-called Team Asere was among the four best teams of the tournament for the first time in 17 years, despite the absence of two of its star players, Yoenis Céspedes and Andy Ibáñez.
The monumental Tokyo Dome stadium in Japan was the stage in which the team, led by Armando Johnson, achieved success after an uncertain start. Australia put a number on the board in the second inning thanks to Darryl George, who managed to reach second base without being put out, and Aaron Whitefield connected with a sacrifice hit so that his teammate could advance, all this in the face of the pitching by Cuban Yariel Rodríguez.
Team Asere’s reaction came in the third inning. Against Australian relief player Mitch Neunborn, Moncada reached second base from left field, and Luis Robert tied the game.
The Cuban counterattack occurred in the lower part of the fifth inning with three runs. Santos started with a hit and managed to get Moncada and Robert to fill the bases. Alfredo Despaigne connected with a deep high and prompted the run of advantage. Then came two singles in a row from Erisbel Arruebarrena and Yoelkis Guibert, who managed to raise the score to 4-1, in favor of Team Asere.
When everything suggested that the triumph was more than certain, a technical decision made Cuba tremble. Armando Johnson took out Miguel Romero to replace him with the left-hander Roenis Elías. A hesitation of the Cuban in the upper part of the sixth inning allowed Rixon Wingrove to hit a home run, and two runs brought Australia closer.
“Cuba’s leadership improvised in the sixth, and it cost them two runs,” journalist Francys Romero wrote on his social networks. “The replacement of Luis Miguel Romero (35 pitches), the best Cuban pitcher of the tournament, was illogical. Romero had to deliver in the seventh to Moinelo and then to Martínez in the end.”
Roenis Elías adjusted and was able to get out of the sixth and seventh innings without much difficulty, while Livan Moinelo went out to the mound for the eighth inning and, together with Raidel Martinez who closed the game, they were in charge of extinguishing the Australian push.
The next game for the Cuban team will be in Miami on March 19 at 7:00 p.m. at LoanDepot Park, home of the Marlins. The rival has yet to be defined.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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So far, according to State Department figures, about 10,000 Cubans have used the humanitarian “parole” program. (14ymedio)
14ymedio, Madrid, March 15, 2023 — The website of the NGO Welcome.US collapsed on Wednesday, minutes before opening the March application quota to benefit from the immigration program designed by Washington to legally enter the United States through a sponsor.
“The Welcome Connect platform has technical difficulties. We are working to fix this, and we will be online soon,” the page said from about 10:00 in the morning (Cuba time), an hour before the quota opened, which starts every 15th of the month.
The organization, founded in 2021 to support applications for Afghan refugees, expanded its work in 2022 for Ukrainians and, since last February, it also works for Cubans, Venezuelans, Nicaraguans and Haitians. In addition, it is endorsed by four former presidents and first ladies of the United States: Barack and Michelle Obama, George and Laura Bush, Bill and Hillary Clinton, and Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter.
Welcome.US connects potential sponsors in the United States with potential beneficiaries of the program who don’t know anyone who can vouch for them in the country. The sponsors have the support of the Government, which verifies the identity and background of the applicants. continue reading
“Our ultimate ambition is that each American community, and the nation as a whole, has the resources and willingness to receive newcomers, now and in the future,” says the website.
However, the organization, which defines itself as non-governmental and apolitical, affirms that its modest dimensions only allow it to accept a limited number of requests that they are able to handle.
The avalanche of users who wanted to connect today has knocked down the page. Among the hundreds of people who have reacted to the situation, some complained that there are those who try to sign on simultaneously for the program. Others pointed out that the concentration of applicants from four nationalities in the same day contributes to the collapse.
Last month, when the program began to operate, a multitude of Cubans were left unable to access due to the restrictions of the embargo, which prevent entry into some American pages. On this occasion, most followed the instructions to connect with VPN.
The eagerness of Cubans to find a sponsor was immediate after the launch of the humanitarian parole by the United States was announced at the beginning of this year. The permit, also aimed at Venezuelans, Nicaraguans and Haitians, opens the door for up to 30,000 migrants a month to enter legally if they have a resident in U.S. territory who will support them economically and cover their health expenses for two years.
COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORK: The 14ymedio team is committed to practicing serious journalism that reflects Cuba’s reality in all its depth. Thank you for joining us on this long journey. We invite you to continue supporting us by becoming a member of 14ymedio now. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.
The volumes are available in PDF format, and were issued by the publisher between 2011 and 2023. (Editorial Betania)
14ymedio, Havana, March 15, 2023 — The Madrid-based Betania publishing house has issued a catalog containing a collection of thirty-seven Cuban-themed e-books that can be downloaded for free from its website. The volumes are available in PDF format and were released by the publisher between 2011 and 2023.
As stated in its introduction, Betania began offering free downloads of several of books on their blog in 2011. Among the titles were Conversations with Gastón Baquero by Felipe Lázaro (its first published title), the poetry collection Language of Mutes by Delfín Prats, the short story collection Nostalgia, Irony and Other Nallucinations, by Amir Valle, and the memoir Today like Yesterday by Antonio Guedes.
It offers books by Cuban authors still living on the island as well as those in exile, and by writers in the broader Hispano-American world.
Betania was founded in Madrid in 1987 by the Cuban exile poet Felipe Lázaro. It describes itself as “a publishing house in the service of Hispano-American culture.” It offers books by Cuban authors still living on the island as well as those in exile, and by writers in the broader Hispano-American world.
It has also maintained a “clear poetic mission” largely by publishing books of poetry by important Spanish-language writers such as the Peru’s Alfredo Pérez Alencart. It has also published plays, essay collections, fiction, and interviews. Betania’s titles are distributed in fourteen collections.
Other notable Betania authors include Dulce Maria Loynaz, Reinaldo Arenas, Jose Mario, Ángel Escobar, Raul Rivero, Virgilio Lopez Lemus, Daína Chaviano, Matías Montes Huidobro, Jorge Luis Arcos and Aimee Gonzalez Bolaños.
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On Tuesday morning, the publication had been removed without explanation.
14ymedio, Xavier Carbonell, Salamanca, 14 March 2023–Universidad de la Habana, March 13, 1963. Fidel Castro leaned on the podium, at the top of the stairs facing thousands of students. Dressed in a suit, grimacing, are: President Dorticós; the adventurous geographer Antonio Núñez Jiménez; youth director José Rebellón; and the parents of Camilo Cienfuegos, who had died just a few years earlier. He gives a long speech. The next day, the press repeats the same headline, Castro promises a “firm hand” for the “weak,” the “lazy,” the “religious,” the “blue jeans,” the “lumpen,”and all kinds of “worms.”
Sixty years later — this Monday — the regime’s press dusted off what was one of the most sinister speeches given by the caudillo after 1959. On Tuesday morning, the publication, shared as a special in Cubadebate, had been taken down without explanation. The speech, however, remains accessible at this link there is the cached version created by Google which Cubadebate cannot erase.
Attempts have been made to tone down or even justify the so-called “speech at the staircase,” which gave way to the creation of what were called Military Units of Support to Production (UMAP) and the persecution of homosexuals, members of several religions and “off-track” intellectuals.
Personalities like Mariela Castro Espín, the leader’s niece and founder of the National Center for Sex Education (Cenesex) have not viewed Castro’s assault on homosexuals favorably and try to attribute his intolerance to “the times” and not to a political strategy.
Why are they interested in rescuing the regime from an oratory piece which ends by requesting the assassination of Jehovah’s Witnesses and capital punishment for common delinquents? The answer, given the context of ideological radicalization pushed by the Communist Party nowadays, is unsettling. continue reading
Leafing through the newspapers of the time or the popular “Bohemia” magazine allows us to take the pulse of the era. (“Bohemia” March 22, 1963)
Leafing through newspapers of that time or the popular Bohemia magazine allows us to take the pulse of that era. Military slogans, threats against any “Elvispreslian” attitude — one of Castro’s barbarisms that went down in history — interviews with leaders and news from the Soviet Union. Even the comics are eminently misogynous and sexual, to confirm the leader’s mandate: 1963 must be, even “by force,” the Year of Organization in all areas of life.
When Castro rose to the university podium, he was supposed to commemorate the sixth anniversary of José Antonio Echeverría’s death and the young men who took control of the Presidential Palace and the Radio Reloj station in 1957. After the failed assault against dictator Batista, the group was brutally assassinated.
However, the comandante dedicated a mention to Echeverría — a Catholic leader with a strong personality, whom Castro always viewed as a rival — to “apologize” for having allowed a group of radicals to erase from his statement “an invocation to God.” That act, he said was “erroneous and not revolutionary.”
Then, the “commemorative” speech took a spectacular turn and centered on the problems of the present. The recurring theme was Echeverría’s own religiosity: “Today, I will speak about others who, invoking God, want to make a counterrevolution.”
In a couple of phrases he neutralized the hierarchy of Catholic bishops who had published furious letters against the infiltration of Soviet communism on the Island. His government, he stated, “did not close churches, did not create obstacles for any priest willing to carry out his proper religious functions, and it could even be said that conflicts between the Revolution and the Catholic Church have begun to disappear.”
The waters have “leveled” with the bishops, Castro lied. His true objective was another, the Jehovah’s Witnesses, the Gideon Evangelicals, and the Pentecostal Church, three “Yankee sects” that had penetrated the Cuban countryside and that, to the chagrin of the military, proposed peaceful civil disobedience.
They drove him crazy, he admitted. “When it is time to harvest cotton, coffee, or sugar cane or when special work is required and the masses are mobilized on a Sunday, or Saturday, or any day, then they come and say, ’Do not work on the seventh day.’ And then they start with the religious pretext to preach against voluntary labor,” or they say, “Do not use weapons, do not defend yourself, do not be a militant.”
Castro accused them of being superstitious, of offending the homeland and the flag, and later asked what should be done with them for “preaching idiocies.” None of the young people hesitated, “Paredón!” — To the wall! That is the firing squad
It was just the beginning of the speech. The then Prime Minister continued talking about the ills they had inherited from the “capitalist past” and how they must draw a line between that and the present revolution.
“Many of those young slackers, children of the bourgeois, go around with their pants that are too tight; some of them with a guitar and their ’Elvispreslian’ attitudes.” (’Bohemia’ March 22, 1963)
Several “infectious focal points” remained, composed of “antisocials, thieves, pickpockets and parasites.” He stated that the police had been corrupted and the judges were soft in their sentencing. “The result: the need to take harsh measures,” he said, and asked the crowd what measures should be taken. Once again, drunk with enthusiasm, the university students responded, “Capital punishment!” and also, “Fidel, paredón for the thief!”
Satisfied, Castro increased the response. What can be done, then, with the young men who gather in the “pool halls” and other recreational establishments, “full of slackers and lumpen”? With the prostitutes, dedicated to the “repugnant profession”? And with the rest of the religious? He invited those who wished to leave to the United States to walk away. “What do they expect?” he asked and his audience broke out in laughter.
The “soft” who dare to complain, he dug in, “we understand they should undertake physical labor, which is the type most needed at the moment, and that they should go work in agriculture,” as a “little reinforcement, but not much!”
He then stated the most famous phrase from that speech, the one that would decide the fates of thousands of young people in the sixties and that today the official press repeats intentionally, about what he called a social “subproduct” of 15 or 16 years: “Many of those young slackers, children of the bourgeois, go around with their pants that are too tight; some of them with a guitar and their “Elvispreslian” attitudes, and they have taken their debauchery to extremes, wanting to organize their feminoid shows freely in public.”
With the spiel against those with “weak legs” and the “crooked trees” he abandoned the podium. He’d leave them, he said, with a big lesson, “All the worst comes together. Don’t ever forget that, don’t ever forget it.”
In 1965, the UMAP system was already operating in Camagüey. “We have made our calculations,” warned Castro about that measure and its impact on “the New Man” that the Revolution desired. Thanks to that speech of 60 years ago, notable cultural figures paraded through the UMAP, such as future cardinal Jaime Ortega, troubador Pablo Milanés, and author Reinaldo Arenas.
On December 31, 1963, Arenas — an aficionado of “the world of Havana show business” — hugged his lover, a young man named Miguel and wished him a Happy New Year despite the “sexual persecution.” Miguel returned the hug through tears and said, “It’s unbelievable that Fidel has already been in power for four years.”
“Wretched,” wrote Arenas as he recalled that hug. “I thought that was too much time. He ended up arrested and taken to one of the concentration camps. I never saw him again.”
Translated by: Silvia Suárez
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The team led by Armando Johnson got two wins for two losses in the first round of the World Classic. (Jit)
14ymedio, Havana, 12 March 2023 — Cuba beat Taiwan 7-1 on the last day of Group A of the World Classic. The result made them dream about the second round of the tournament that takes place in the United States, China and Japan, said the official newspaper Cubadebate. “This is what happened,” said the player from Matanzas, Yadir Drake. “We came to qualify and today we took a big step.”
Enthusiasm reached the Jit newsroom, which pointed out that the team was reinforced for the first time with players from the Major Leagues of the United States, who “don’t believe in the pressure of ’life or death’ duels” and have now qualified for the next round. The media repeated the statement of manager Armando Johnson: “We always said that the team would end up responding, and so it did, first against Panama and now in this game.”
The performance of the athletes led by Johnson was summarized by the Swing Completo portal as that of a team that “did the job” before a weak host, Taiwan. This was demonstrated from the first inning with four home runs that broke the rhythm of the Asians at the Intercontinental Stadium in Taichung.
The Cuban offensive distinguished itself. Yoan Moncada connected with a double to center field. Luis Robert Jr. reached first base after an error by shortstop Kun Yu Chiang. Alfredo Despaigne hit a two-run double. In this way, Cuba got four runs with one out.
The second inning was more measured for Team Asere with two runs. Yoan Moncada had a solo home run, and Roel Santos added one more run with a single. The seventh inning took place after a combination between Yadir Drake and Roel Santo. Taiwan scored after a hit by Wei-Chen Wang.
The Cuban pitching responded with Elian Leyva, who threw 2.1 innings without allowing a run, while Miguel Romero, who was a relief player, got 2.2 innings, also without scores, with four strikeouts in each; Onelki García got none in two innings.
Until that time, there was a good chance that Cuba, which began with defeats against the Netherlands and Italy, would be in the next round. These selections closed the activities of Group A with a 7-1 win by Italy against the Dutch .
Fortune touched Cuba, which ended up as the leader in Group A, with Italy in second place. In the next round the rivals could be Australia or South Korea, and the stage will be at the Tokyo Dome.
The triumph of Team Asere comes after the release of the song MVP, written and performed by rapper Wilger Luis Aranda Campuzano Casdapro and produced by Josh López. The theme, according to the Cuban rapper, is in support of the Cuban national team that is competing in the World Classic.
“It is wrong for some of the fans to put so much pressure on the Cuban team, even many times showing personal disrespect for the players,” Casdapro said. “It’s unfortunate that they are only waiting to see those who are representing the nation fail, when they have so much pride, honor and respect for the flag.”
Translated by Regina Anavy
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COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORK: The 14ymedio team is committed to practicing serious journalism that reflects Cuba’s reality in all its depth. Thank you for joining us on this long journey. We invite you to continue supporting us by becoming a member of 14ymedio now. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.
The logo of Russia’s Mir payment system on a Cuban ATM screen. Its card will allow Russian tourists to withdraw cash, converting their rubles to pesos.
14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodriguez, Havana, 14 March 2023 — Cuban ATMs have started accepting the Mir card, part of a Russian payment system akin to Visa or Mastercard, that was launched by the Kremlin in 2016 to get around looming economic sanctions. Mir’s press office told the Russian news agency Sputnik that it is working on getting the cards accepted in “friendly countries, including Cuba, which is very popular with Russian tourists.”
When asked about this by 14ymedio, an employee at a branch of Banco Metropolitano in Havana said she believed this was the case but was not sure.
What is certain is that the Mir logo can now be seen on Cuban ATMs. The payment system will allow Russians to withdraw cash, converting their rubles into pesos.
Cuba’s ambassador to Moscow, Julio Garmendía, said on Tuesday that he hoped Russian tourists would be able to use this type of card to make purchases on the island by this summer. According to an article by the state-run Prensa Latina news agency, the ambassador hopes that “all the difficulties with the introduction of the Russian payment system will be resolved soon.”
In any case, users will still face the same problem that Visa and Mastercard holders have had in many small private businesses in Cuba: these establishments do not have the POS terminals needed to read the cards, forcing their customers to pay for their purchases in cash. continue reading
For now, at least, most high-end establishments do not seem to be aware of this new system. At the Grand Aston, for example, 14ymedio was told that the hotel does not accept Mir cards. The problem, they say, is not on their end. It is because “Russian banks are blocked worldwide.”
Russia created the Mir system after the annexation of Crimea in 2014 and two years later began issuing cards for use within the country. In 2022 it tried to expand Mir’s reach beyond the country’s borders after Russia was locked out of the international banking system following Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
Among the countries that accept the cards are South Korea, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Armenia, Belarus, Turkey and Tajikistan. However, the service was suspended in the latter two countries last September because ATMs and card readers were not working.
Cuba has advocated for the use of Mir cards since sanctions on Russia were tightened last year and has promised to accelerate implementation of the system. In early March, Russia’s ambassador to Havana, Andrei Guskov, said that the adoption of Mir is part of a significant number of financial and energy projects the two countries agreed upon during Miguel Díaz-Canel’s visit in November 2022.
In an interview with Sputnik, Guskov stated that plans are being discussed for the construction of new operating units at the Maximo Gomez and Habana del Este electric power plants. Cuba has been in the midst of a severe energy crisis, experiencing ongoing blackouts of up to twelve hours in 2022, with more expected this year.
Russia also has a presence in the automotive sector, with the GAZ automotive company assembling its GAZelle, Ural and PAZ vehicles in Cuba. Among the new projects, Guskov added, are plans to set up an import/export company to promote Russian products in the Cuban market.
Guskov also indicated that a project to modernize the Antillana de Acero metallurgical plant, made possible by a 111-million-dollar loan from Russia in 2017, is in its final stage .
During the pandemic, when many countries’ borders were closed, Russia supplied the bulk of the island’s foreign tourists. The numbers plunged, however, after the invasion of Ukraine due to sanctions, which closed European air space to Russian carriers. Figures from Cuba’s National Statistics and Information Office [ONEI] indicate that, by the end of 2022, only 6,623 Russian travellers had visited Cuba, a drop of 54.7% from 2021.
An article by the organization Cuba Siglo 21 [Cuba 21st Century] suggests that a visit to Cuba and Venezuela in early March by Nikolai Patrushev, secretary of the Russian Security Council, was essentially military in nature and not related to economic and scientific development projects, as reported by state media.
The article, authored by former Cuban general Rafael del Pino, speculates that Russia is edging ever closer to a humiliating defeat in Ukraine and is, therefore, trying to burnish its image in the region by establishing a naval military presence in the Caribbean, as happened during the 1962 Missile Crisis.
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Many times rumors posted online end up being confirmed by independent media or by the authorities themselves. (14ymedio)
14ymedio, Havana, 13 March 13, 2023 — Since the end of 2020, attacks on freedom of expression have increased, and access to information in the country’s online space has been reduced. The Government blocks social networks and independent media, interrupts mobile data connections and resorts to fake profiles on social networks for its disinformation campaigns, which consist of altering public debate and introducing other topics through the massive and aggressive sending of tweets and retweets.
Online propaganda in the country is increasingly becoming an information control tool to silence independent voices and spread disinformation and erroneous information. The control of technologies and social networks provides the Government of the Island with a powerful tool to shape public debates and disseminate information online, while monitoring, censoring and restricting digital public spaces.
14ymedio and Yucabyte collaborate with the aim of collecting and analyzing the information and rumors shared online by the population and the Government of Cuba, to better understand the online space and how it is affected by the different actors. The collection of information and rumors online is not exhaustive; it reflects only a part of the Cuban online space. During this time of collection, 14ymedio and Yucabyte have noticed that many times rumors shared in the online space end up being confirmed by the independent media or by the authorities themselves, but that in the beginning they are just that: rumors.
14ymedio and Yucabyte want to make these analyses available to Cubans and independent organizations so that they can improve the ability to identify, evaluate and counteract disinformation and erroneous information in the online space.
The analyses will be available on the websites of these two media and may change format and length depending on the comments received from readers.
I. Top list of rumors for the month of January 2023
A. Debt in London
B. Hacking of official accounts
C. Poverty – food shortage
D. Violence – crime/theft – femicides
E. Health – hospital conditions and access to medicines.
II. General analysis of the most relevant trends and rumors collected during January 2023
The main rumors collected during the month of January 2023 can be organized into three groups. First, those that register cases of violence on the Island, including robberies, increased crime and femicides; second, those that collect examples of food shortages, scarcity and poverty; and, finally, those that denounce the unsanitary conditions in Cuban medical facilities.
A. Violence, robberies and femicides
The alarm over the escalation of violence in Cuba has been a constant in the reports of rumors since at least November 2022. Although many users argued that crime was a feature of the year-end “environment,” at the end of January it was found that the complaints did not decrease but showed a tendency to be even more serious than those recorded in the second half of last year.
One characteristic of these reports is that they always contain a reference to continue reading
the inaction of the police, the clumsiness or apathy in their investigations and the lack of action before reporting the crime. Another factor, pointed out with the same frequency, is that the crimes are only reported in the official press belatedly and with a note from the Ministry of the Interior, after both the complaints of users and the independent press report them.
Among the most serious rumors of violence in January are the theft of luggage from the Transtur interprovincial buses; the armed robbery of pension money from retirees; the murder perpetrated by a motorcycle police officer of his ex-wife; and the theft and resale of regulated products. In addition, users point out that many of the criminals act with the complicity of local police units, which offer them immunity under certain conditions.
Users point out that many of the criminals act with the complicity of local police units. (14ymedio)
B. Shortages and poverty
In addition to the criminal situation, there are reports about the poverty on the Island. Shortages and rising prices are the starting points for many of the complaints on social networks. In addition, photos of Cubans have been circulating, particularly of the elderly, rummaging through garbage containers in search of food. Images were shared about the sale of products in poor condition and their transfer in terrible hygienic conditions.
The issue of food was talked about on social networks, in addition to the sale of food in online stores that, according to users, are businesses protected by the Regime and the United States Government itself, through one of the most controversial figures, the businessman Hugo Cancio. On the other hand, the terrible diet in schools — small portions of white rice and tomatoes, in many cases — has also been documented.
C. Unhealthiness
Health and hospital conditions, as well as access to medicines, are now common in rumors. In addition, in the first week of the year, several rumors circulated on the networks about the lack of medical personnel in polyclinics and hospitals, presumably due to the unprecedented exodus that the country suffered in 2022. From the shortage of supplies to the terrible state of building construction, criticism also reaches the community services. Notifications about the lack of transportation in funeral homes, the desecration of cemeteries and the delay in funeral services were repeated throughout the month.
In addition to these three groups of rumors, the trial for the non-payment of debts of the Cuban Government in London, the hacking of several official pages and accounts related to the Regime, and the exodus of professionals were also constant topics in January.
III. Most used platforms and format of content
Number of rumors reflected by platform and number of rumors seen.
(14ymedio/Yucabyte)
Format and source of the information
The social networks on which these rumors circulate influence not only the format of the information but also the number of users who receive them. Although Facebook is still the most used platform by Cubans (most of the rumors collected appear in buying and selling groups), it is on Twitter that the most elaborate rumors circulate, usually in threads or screenshots, accompanied by an explanation. Also on Twitter there are numerous profiles that Cubans follow, which recycle the same information that their own followers send them. These accounts expand the scope of the rumors and generate a certain amount of feedback.
It is less common for rumors to be collected on networks such as Instagram or TikTok, which are generally for videos and photographs. The least used source of information is still personal messaging, through applications such as WhatsApp or Telegram.
To date, the largest fire is that of Pinares de Mayarí, in the eastern province of Holguín. (Granma)
I. Top list of rumors for the month of February 2023
A. Fires
B. Repression: response to demonstrations, regulations, release of political prisoners
C. Crime: robberies and femicides – concealment of cases
D. Poor conditions: Education and Health – lack of supplies, unsanitary conditions – abandonment of the elderly.
II. General analysis of the most relevant trends and rumors collected during February 2023
The main rumors collected during the month of February 2023 can be organized into three topics. First, those who report fires, including explosions; second, those who report cases of repression, responses to demonstrations, prohibitions on leaving the country (regulations) and the release of political prisoners. Third, there are the rumors that collect cases of crime, including robberies and femicides.
A. Fires
This month, multiple reports of fires across the Island circulated on the networks. To date, the largest is that of Pinares de Mayarí, in the eastern province of Holguín. Apparently, this forest fire originated as a result of the severe drought that affects the country and the speed of the winds. Much of this mountainous area has been on fire for more than 15 days. Some media report that about 3,600 hectares [8,896 acres] of forest have been lost. Several users have shared the comment of a pilot from the area, who said that “it will burn until there is nothing left to burn,” since there are no resources to put it out.
Likewise, rumors were collected about several small fires in green areas of Havana, specifically in the vicinity of road 100, the highway to Pinar del Río and the area of Tulipán, in Nuevo Vedado. So far these have been controlled without major damage. Some users reported the presence of soot in the city, apparently as a result of these fires.
In addition, two other allegedly intentional fires were registered. The first, in a bodega (ration store) in Marianao, in Havana, where it is said that a manager caused the fire to hide the theft of products from the “basic family basket” which is sold through these stores. And the second, in a cane field in Banes, Holguín. A user who calls himself Clandestino Mayor affirms that this fire was “an action taken against the dictatorship.”
To this situation are added other rumors about an explosion, at the beginning of the month, in the historic military park Morro Cabaña, in the capital. Allegedly, one of the cannons used for the historic nightly 9:00 pm cannon shot caused the explosion, generating a small fire that was controlled at the time. Similarly, in the last week of February an explosion was reported in Old Havana, as a result of the handling of a gas canister in a workshop for refrigeration technicians. In the incident, one person died and another, who was seriously injured, died shortly after.
B. Repression: response to demonstrations, regulations, liberation of political prisoners
With the growing exodus that the Island is experiencing, there is a rumor that regulations will begin for workers in “strategic sectors” whom the Government cannot afford to lose. Almost all publications in this regard indicate an increase in travel restrictions for doctors and other health personnel.
During the month, the rumor about the release of Cuban political prisoners was also recurrent, with the mediation of the Catholic Church and several embassies. So far, there have been no clear signs of this possible release (which was already ruled out by Oscar Silvera, Cuban Minister of Justice). Another rumor says that the amnesty could be extended to ordinary inmates, as long as they “have not committed serious crimes or murders,” according to several users.
In this context, and as a result of the deprivation of nationality that the government of Nicaragua applied to its political prisoners and journalists, rumors were raised about the possibility that those imprisoned after the 11 July 2021 protests [11J] will have their citizenship taken away before being banished.
To this situation are added several complaints about the suicide of an 11J protester, 18, allegedly hanged in his cell at the Placetas police station. In addition, it is said that another young protester threatened to take his life after the authorities denied him the medicines he needs for treatment of his mental illness.
Many users also denounced the arrest of protesters in Guanabacoa at the beginning of the month. It was declared on social networks that the demonstration was peaceful, which did not prevent the participants from being arbitrarily detained. Similarly, several users pointed out the apathy of the Cuban people in the face of the claims and demonstrations of the mothers of the political prisoners, activists and relatives.
In mid-February, an alarming wave of rumors circulated about summons for interrogations, some official and others without official notification. The target of these citations were young 11J activists from San Antonio de los Baños, who were released.
The government blocks social media and independent media, disrupts mobile data connections and uses fake social media profiles. (14ymedio
C. Crime: robberies and femicides – concealment of cases
Rumors about assaults and robberies have been the most frequent this month, which respond to an escalation of violence on the Island. In this sense, the number of reports on the actions of gangs in different provinces such as Havana, Mayabeque and Las Tunas is remarkable. Most of them, according to users, are made up of groups of teenagers and children who carry out assaults, in some cases with knives. As a result, injuries and at least one death have been reported.
Among the most serious rumors of violence this month are the attempts to rape and assault minors, perpetrated by men and during daytime hours, in the municipalities of Santa Clara (Villa Clara) and Nuevitas (Camagüey). In addition, it is said that a group of thieves in the Havana municipality of Guanabacoa carried firearms, and that its members were captured by the police. Other rumors were also collected about the thefts from transport and tourism buses in the east of the Island, and about several children who were stabbed, according to a user, “by a madman who was passing” through the place.
The growing number of femicides was also a source of alert on social networks this month. The report of the murder of a 17-year-old teenager at the hands of her 50-year-old partner inside a police station in Camalote (Camagüey) went viral. Likewise, other cases of femicide were reported in Matanzas and Granma, where a woman was killed on a public road by her ex-partner with a firearm.
III. Most used platforms and format of content
Number of rumors collected by platform in February
Translated by Regina Anavy
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Cuba is failing to recover the tourism lost in the pandemic, compared to Western Europe and the world as a whole. (14ymedio)
14ymedio, Elías Amor Bravo, Economist, 14 March 2023 — The analysis of the tourism sector in 2022 can be gleaned from the data of the publication “Tourism. Selected Indicators” of the National Office of Statistics and Information (ONEI), which has just been released.
In it, data are presented for income, overnight stays and occupancy rates, among other indicators of the businesses served by MINTUR [Ministry of Tourism], Gaviota and Palco, which involve accommodation, retail trade, gastronomy, transport, recreation and other income generators.
When an analysis is carried out with respect to the previous year, significant growth in tourism activity is contemplated, but since 2021 was a very bad year for tourism due to the outbreaks of COVID-19 that continued to affect international tourism.
Therefore, and with the aim of carrying out an adequate analysis of the trends in the sector in 2022, it is advisable to use 2019 as a reference, since it was the last “normal” year before the pandemic. International tourism data are shown in the following table. continue reading
Translator’s note: Decimal points translate to commas in American English notation. Pernoctaciones = overnights. Ingresos = Income. Tasa de ocupación = Occupancy rate.
The number of international tourists stood at 62.1% less than the 2019 data, but the indicator of overnight stays that combines the number of tourists and days decreased even more, by 69%.
This is a lower percentage than that experienced by the occupancy rate, which fell from 48.2% in 2019 to 15.6% in 2022, a collapse of 67.6%. It offers an idea of the direct impact that this will have on the profitability levels of hotel management.
Tourism income (applied to the official exchange rate of the regime) did not exceed 800 million dollars, 69.8% less than in 2019, and income per tourist stood at 495 dollars, 20.2% less than in that year. These numbers could be even lower if the alternative exchange rate (between the dollar and the peso) of 1×120 or the one that governs the informal market is applied.
If the comparison of data was made with respect to 2021, as they do in the ONEI report, the panorama changes, because 2021 was a very negative year, in which only 356,470 tourists arrived in Cuba, and revenues did not exceed 365 million dollars.
While tourism in Cuba fell behind, other competing countries in the Caribbean recovered to the levels they experienced before 2020. In such conditions, the 2022 recovery in Cuba is insufficient, and there are reasons to think that the distances that have to be traveled to return to a normal scenario are still very important. What is worse, it does not seem that in this year, 2023, the gap will be closed.
To cite an example that shows the difficulties the sector has in recovering, it is important to take into account that Canada, the main tourist market for the Island, barely contributed 532,487 tourists in 2022, a figure that is nowhere near the one for 2019, when 1,120,077 Canadians arrived on the Island. Canadian tourism is 52.2% below the 2019 figure.
Certainly, those responsible for tourism in Cuba must be very concerned with figures like these. That only 9% of Canadians who came in 2019 did so in 2022 is, to say the least, alarming. There is a lot to do. But it’s the same in other geographical markets that offer similar signs of collapse, with problems that will have to be overcome.
For example, the second market in origin, the Cuban community abroad, fell from 623,972 tourists in 2019 to 333,191 in 2022. The Russians, with their transportation difficulties, from 177,977 in 2019 to 54,383 in 2022. And so, on. The declines are significant, and no market shows symptoms of recovery. In 2023, the levels before 2020 will not be reached, and this will have very negative repercussions on the entire economic activity of the Island.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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Those who go to the polls on March 26 will do so for three different motives: conviction, inertia or fear. (Xinhua)
14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar, Havana, March 13, 2023 — It can be said that, for the first time in more than sixty years, Cubans opposed to the regime have (almost) unanimously agreed that abstention is an appropriate response to the Communist Party’s call for a “united vote” on March 26 in favor of the list of candidates that will make up the tenth Parliamentary Legislature.
I say “almost” because, on an individual level, there are citizens who would like to show up just so they can cancel, or not fill out, their ballots. Some even want to make the defiant gesture of not going into the voting booth, where the right to secretly mark one’s preference with an X is exercised. “I’m going to tell the people at the table that I don’t believe in this process and drop a blank ballot into the box in front of them,” a friend promises.
Those who do go to the polls will do so for three different motives: conviction, inertia or fear. Of the five or four (or perhaps only three) million who go to their polling stations, most will do so out of fear, or because of that defense mechanism masked as inertia. “I don’t want to get into trouble,” say the fearful. “Why make a fuss if they’re going to do whatever they want anyway?” ask those who vote out of inertia.
Who are the true believers? (I say this in all seriousness.) They are the ones who feel the candidates who appear on the ballot actually represent them. True, they do not know what these people think because candidates are prohibited by law from coming up with proposals or campaigning on platforms that might make an electorate swoon. But for reasons I cannot fathom, they deduce from head shots and biographical data that these men and women will raise their hands in Parliament to vote in favor of what matters to their constituents. continue reading
There are others, less naive but more disciplined, who are also convinced. They are the ones who, if the party tells them they must vote for the entire ticket, they will do so, without their blind obedience weighing on their consciences.
Among the dissenters’ motivations for abstaining, one has to consider the lack of alternatives.
On previous occasions, especially for elections on a municipal level, some were incentivized to get out and vote for a candidate who was, or seemed to be, at odds with the government. That can be ruled out in this case because the list of candidates submitted by the Commission of Candidacies for the National Assembly is airtight. Not a single suspect among them.
In the case of the former, there was the idea that voting a resounding NO would signal one’s refusal to accept the dominance of the Communist Party and the irrevocability of the system. Others, however, believed that voting — even if it was in the negative — gave legitimacy to a bogus referendum. No consensus was reached and the division between the NO supporters and the abstainers weakened their message.
In the referendum on the Family Code, official propaganda had people believe the only option was to vote for it. And since it addressed the specific interests of the LGBTI community, as well as those who sought a legal pathway for surrogate pregnancies, neither a NO vote nor an abstention could be read as a clear expression of disagreement with the government.
This time is different.
Neither supporters of strong-man rule, nor those with generational prejudices, nor even those with a propensity for notoriety and who always have something different to say; neither Trumpists nor Obama-ists; neither radicals nor moderates have come forward to argue for voting NO, for abstaining, for staying home, or for whatever else you want to call it.
When Fulgencio Batista organized sham elections in 1958, Cuba had 2,310,262 citizens with the right to vote. Only 46% of them went to the polls. None of those elected to public office managed to take up their positions because there was, what appeared to be at the time, a popular revolution.
The triumphant regime never forgave the roughly million-and-a-half citizens who went to the polls that year out of conviction, fear or inertia. They were not allowed to join the sole political party or hold important public office. In the tell-all forms that had to be filled out for almost anything, there was always the question about whether or not one had participated in the 1958 elections.
I hope that, in a future democratic Cuba, this is never allowed to happen again.
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The Orthopedic Laboratory in Camaguey produced only 164 of the more than 2,000 pairs of shoes it was supposed to deliver in 2022.
14ymedio, Havana, 10 March 2023 — The Cuban footwear industry stands to benefit from an injection of Chinese capital. The Asian giant has been investing increasingly more in the island’s industry and in the Combell footwear company. The business, located in Santiago de Cuba, will be one of the first to reap the benefits of this investment according to the company’s director, Zoe Cabello.
After Miguel Díaz-Canel’s visit to Beijing in November, Cuba entered into what Xi Jinping called a “community with a shared destiny.” Both presidents signed agreements in which the Chinese agreed to provide funding into areas as dissimilar as biotechnology, economics, cybersecurity and espionage. Additionally, Xi provided Díaz-Canel with an emergency donation of 100 million dollars, which the Cuban government received in January.
Since then, the already important Chinese presence in key sectors of the Cuban economy — everything from locomotive repair to information sharing at the highest level — has only increased.
Chinese investment, along with recently signed Cuban military contracts for “new services, is the company’s the last hope for staying afloat. continue reading
Combell operates three plants — one each in Palma Soriano, Contramaestre and Santiago de Cuba — at which it has agreed to repair Colossus-brand boots* used by the Cuban military. It has also committed to manufacturing 5,000 pairs of women’s shoes, essential components of military uniforms, notes Cabello.
However, they are in need of threads, jigs, fabrics and needles, which they also hope China will provide. This would allow them to overcome what Cabello describes as “the greatest difficulty in light industry today”: the lack of resources. Similarly, they hope a leather producer and shoe-sole maker in Villa Clara, as well as a private businesswoman who manufactures saddle sheets in Camagüey, can provide the factory with raw materials.
In addition to profits from retail sales, the goal, says Cabello, is to earn 50 million pesos from the repair and manufacture of footwear.
The shortage of materials also upended the 2022 production schedule of the Provincial Technical Orthopedics Laboratory in Camagüey, which met only 6.7% of its target. Officials laid the blame for the company’s financial difficulties squarely on the U.S. embargo.
Its shoe manufacturing business has been the most affected, explained Jorge Guerra Ruiz, the operation’s director. It was able to deliver only 164 of the 2,425 pairs of shoes it had planned to produce. It also halted production of corsets and prostheses due to a shortage of raw materials such as resin and powdered gypsum.
Guerra Ruiz said the company made prostheses from reused parts of older models and came up with other innovations thanks to the inventiveness of the National Association of Innovators and Rationalizers, and the Youth Technical Brigades.
The official press pointed to Francisco de Jesus Rodriguez, who suffers from coxarthrosis of the hip due to the shortening of one leg. He needs special footwear but has been unable to obtain it because the lab lacked the necessary materials to customize his shoes.
The money sent by China in early November, which coincided with Diaz-Canel’s “beggar’s tour” to Beijing, guaranteed school uniforms would be delivered this academic year. Facing a cash shortfall, the president of the Light Industry Business Group, Mirla Díaz Fonseca, pointed out that, without Chinese investment, it would have been impossible to distribute 1,274,000 garments to students. However, 2,153,310 uniforms are still needed throughout the island.
At the beginning of the year, Cuba promised China quarterly accounting statements to systematically monitor implementation of the agreements Díaz-Canel signed in November.
*Translator’s note: A line of footwear produced by Bata Industrials, a manufacturer of safety footwear based in the Netherlands.
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The activist Anamely Ramos was not allowed to return to Cuba in February of last year, after a three-month visit to the US. (Captura)
EFE (via 14ymedio), Los Angeles, March 10, 2023 — Several Cuban activists denounced this Thursday before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) the violations of the right to movement of people on the Island, as well as the ban on the return of many citizens.
The complaints of these “forced expatriations” were made on the fourth day of public hearings of the 186th session of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR), which takes place this year in Los Angeles (California, U.S.)
The testimonies presented agreed that the right to movement of people has been one of the most violated in recent years by the authorities of the Island and has been used to repress people who participated in mass protests such as those of July 11, 2021.
The activists highlighted that, despite the fact that this right is enshrined in the 2019 Cuban Constitution, several decrees on national security have been used to limit the free movement of people, including the prohibition of departure or entry into the country of Cubans who represent “a danger,” despite the fact that there is no legal accusation against these individuals.
“It’s a tool of control to prevent the work of defending human rights in the field,” said Cuban lawyer Laritza Diversent, director and legal advisor of Cubalex, about the decrees, which also deny the issuance of passports. continue reading
The proof of the extent of these violations was the physical absence, during the hearing, of Juan Antonio Madrazo, coordinator of the Citizens’ Committee for Racial Integration of Cuba, who was not allowed to leave the country to participate in the meeting.
“There is a permanent threat that the situation may worsen if we do not comply with the police provisions that would result in criminal proceedings,” Madrazo warned through a video. He also said that these travel bans are affecting the mental and physical health of activists.
The participants denounced practices of the Cuban government to force the banishment and exile of opponents and human rights defenders, as is the case of activist Anamely Ramos, who was not allowed to return to Cuba in February last year, after a three-month visit to the United States.
In her testimony before the IACHR, Ramos said that she is in the United States “contrary to her will,” and there is no reason beyond her activism not to be allowed to return to her country.
In this sense, Soledad García, a member of the NGO Justicia 11J, referred to the expulsion of 222 Nicaraguan politicians who were removed from their country by the regime of Daniel Ortega a month ago, and stressed that although this practice has been used by the Cuban Government for decades, in the “last years it has become visible.”
Ramos, who also presented the cases of writer Carlos Manuel Álvarez and professor Omara Ruiz Urquiola — who has tried to return to Cuba four times — also drew attention to the U.S. airlines that have executed these return bans.
“The protocol that exists between the airlines and Cuba is not public, so we cannot rule out that flights to Cuba go through a political filter commissioned by the Cuban State; this must be reviewed,” Ramos urged.
The commissioners of the IACHR, an autonomous body of the Organization of American States (OAS) based in Washington, highlighted the importance of the testimonies given at the hearing because it helps them to continue with the work they are doing in defense of human rights in Cuba.
They regretted the absence of the representatives of the Cuban State at the hearing. However, they assured that they will continue to demand answers on the complaints and to process the precautionary measures.
Commissioner Edgar Stuardo Ralón Orellana called for the creation of an international protocol to help people forcibly expelled from their countries.
This Friday, the IACHR concludes a round of 17 public hearings, covering human rights that affect migrants, the LGBTI community, women, indigenous peoples, human rights defenders and journalists in the OAS member countries and the Americas as a whole.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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Liván Reinaldo Mora Pérez was arrested for the femicide of Vanelis Macola. (Collage)
14ymedio, Havana, 5 March 2023 — The authorities of Sancti Spíritus, Cuba, confirmed this Saturday the arrest in the municipality of Taguasco of Liván Reinaldo Mora Pérez ’El lento’, who is accused of stabbing Vanelis Macola to death on February 28 in the town of Tuinicu.
According to information offered by the Head of the Criminal Investigation Body of the Ministry of the Interior to the official newspaper Escambray, Mora Pérez has “multiple criminal priors for the crimes of threat, injury, theft, rape and robbery with force, among others.”
It is confirmed that Mora Pérez had a relationship with the victim, who worked as a nurse in the Nieves Morejón provincial prison and left an orphaned son.
The increase in femicides on the Island with a total already for 2023 of 16, “is alarming, worrying and hopeless,” said the independent feminist platform Alas Tensas. This is even more alarming because of “the immobility of the Cuban authorities.”
According to the records of the Alas Tensas Obervatory, so far a total of 32 cases were verified in 2020, followed by 36 femicides in 2021 and another 36 in 2022.
“Faced with the State’s denial of the problem, we continue to bet on the citizen response for the prevention of gender violence, specifically femicides,” said the Yo Sí Te Creo [Yes I Believe You] platform in Cuba. “This is a problem of the whole society and so we must face it.”
The demand of independent organizations and media raised the voice. Alas Tensas and its Gender Observatory have demanded that the Cuban government “declare a State of Emergency due to the growing escalation of sexist intimidation,” but so far these efforts have been unsuccessful.
Last February, the Gender Observatory denounced the lack of interest in the issue and showed that initiatives such as the Women’s Advancement Program and the Strategy have remained only as promises. “The promised Gender Violence Observatory has not yet arrived, and the [gender violence reporting phone] Line 103 has not been active for a year,” it said in a statement. “They are killing us because we lack effective protocols and prevention mechanisms in Cuba.”
Translated by Regina Anavy
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U.S. Undersecretary Brian Nichols, on the far left, during his speech on March 7 at Florida International University, in Miami. (Twitter/@WHAAsstSecty)
14ymedio, Miami, 10 March 2023 — “Although we firmly oppose forced exile, the United States will not turn its back on political prisoners, and if they want to come to the United States, we will explore the avenues available under US law to welcome them.” The Undersecretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs of the United States, Brian Nichols, expressed himself forcefully at Florida International University, in Miami, where on Tuesday he met with members of the Cuban-American community to present the policy towards the Island by the Joe Biden Administration.
In his speech, published on the website of the US Embassy in Havana this Wednesday, the official assured that “publicly — and privately in conversations with Cuban officials — the United States Government continues to call for the release of political prisoners, and we always emphasize that the Cuban people must be able to choose where to live and the Government must allow its citizens to return to Cuba.”
Nichols emphasized that “the economic situation is even worse than that of the so-called Special Period of the 90s, and the human rights situation is more bleak than it has been in decades.”
The “feeling of desperation and the longing for greater freedoms,” Nichols noted, led to the July 2021 demonstrations, which were answered by the regime “with the characteristic repression, sentencing hundreds of protesters to prison with sentences of up to 25 years.” continue reading
The repression in the almost two years since those “historic protests,” the undersecretary insists, has doubled, and “more than 700 demonstrators are among the more than 1,000 political prisoners who remain behind bars today.”
With their families and with the “dissident community” of the Island, says the official, the U.S. Embassy maintains “constant communication.” “They are a group of incredibly brave people, who face extremely difficult conditions,” praises Nichols, who outlined the two “key aspects” of the current Administration in Washington.
The first is to “promote accountability for human rights abuses,” and the second, “to explore significant ways to support the Cuban people while limiting the benefits for the Cuban regime.”
Among the first objective are the “selective sanctions against officials and security forces involved in abuses related to the July 11 [2021] protests and visa restrictions on officials involved in attempts to silence the voices of the Cuban people.”
Within the second, for example, support for “family reunification through legal migration,” alluding to the humanitarian parole launched at the beginning of this year and that, also aimed at Venezuelans, Nicaraguans and Haitians, allows up to 30,000 of those migrants to enter legally if they have a “sponsor” who supports them financially and covers their health expenses for two years. “To date, about 10,000 Cubans have successfully used the program to enter the United States,” he explains. “Cubans have benefited from all conditions, including members of the human rights community.”
Since the implementation of this permit, he explains, “the number of Cuban migrants attempting a dangerous irregular migration has plummeted.”
Nichols also referred to other measures by the Biden government, such as flights between the United States and cities outside Havana, which operate for the first time since 2019, and the elimination of the limit on remittances, whose “direct flows” resumed in November 2022, after being suspended for two years.
In addition, he stressed that they are “exploring the expansion of access to cloud-hosted services and other development tools for the Cuban people.” These tools, he explains, “will help activists and civil society connect with each other and facilitate the flow of information on and off the Island. They will also help the Cuban people to access more services, including those that circumvent censorship.”
The undersecretary had words for the current inflation and the chronic shortage of food, medicines and electricity that Cuba suffers. “The Cuban government rushes to blame others for its economic ills without recognizing the decades of mismanagement that led to the current crisis,” he said, alluding to the US embargo, which Havana waves like a flag to justify all its failures. “We continue to ask the Cuban Government to implement economic policies that improve the situation in the country, such as greater freedom for private sector agents and the much-needed agricultural reforms.”
While these measures are being applied, Nichols said, “we will continue to ask the Cuban regime to respect the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all Cubans and unconditionally release all political prisoners.”
Translated by Regina Anavy
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Taiwan’s comeback against Italy was combined with Cuba’s triumph against Panama, and Cuba remains with possibilities in the World Classic. (Jit)
14ymedio, Havana, 11 March 2023 — The Cuban team “woke up” in the World Baseball Classic this Friday after beating Panama 13-4 in Taiwan and connecting with 21 hits. The performance of the national team, which could guarantee its classification in the next round of matches, was celebrated by the official press, which in recent days harshly criticized its defeats.
The offensive of the so-called Team Asere in this Classic match — held in the United States, China and Japan from March 8 to 22 — almost equals the record of 22 hits in Australia, in 2009. Cubadebate and Jit proclaimed the results of the game and noted the favorable changes in the lineup, designed by manager Armando Mandy Alonso, who replaced the players Yoenis Céspedes and Lorenzo Quintana with Roel Santos and Ariel Martínez.
Jit described the game as a “home run party” where eight of the members gave their best. Of them, seven “got at least two hits,” the magazine said, which highlighted the role of Yoan Moncada, a Major League baseball player (MLB, who hit 5-3 and boosted the advance of four other players to home). Moncada had been one of the most remarked on — along with Luis Robert Jr. — by the official media, which pointed out his poor performance in the matches against the Netherlands and Italy.
Despite the praise, the analysis of the game itself was more measured. The game was separated into two parts, according to journalist Renier González Jr., a contributor to Play-Off Magazine. Before the sixth inning, he said, the team reached the performance of the “last times,” with an “improved” selection that can compete.
Francys Romero highlighted the score of 4-4 achieved by outfielder Yadir Drake. The result placed him as the leader of Team Asere’s offensive. “He becomes the second Cuban player with 4 hits in a World Classic since Yoandy Garlobo (2006),” noted González, who said he was waiting for “other favorable results.” continue reading
At the end of the game at the Intercontinental Stadium in Taichung, Taiwan, manager Alonso appeared before the media accompanied by MLB players Yoan Moncada and Luis Robert Jr., to address the lack of results at the international level.
According to the coach, this “drought” is due to “the newest athletes at a level,” where “they are not very focused on what we want.” For Alonso, “there are baseball players who are young and perhaps do not have the mastery” of Major League players. That, he said, was the goal of the tour prior to the World Classic, in “that the boys saw throws that sometimes we don’t see in the National Series.”
The last time Cuba won a global title was in 2016, when it won the Under-15 World Cup. For this reason, the inclusion of players from international teams — especially from the MLB — has aroused the interest of thousands of followers.
Johnson put forward that they must win the confrontation with the Taiwan team and then wait for the results to see if they qualify for the next round. “The starter must be Elián Leyva. The lineup is going to be the same because, as they say, you don’t touch a winning line-up.”
The one victory that Cuba obtained this Thursday over Panama doesn’t seem enough to get excited about the classification, since this came after the comeback of Taiwan 11-7 against Italy. The Netherlands continues to lead group A of the World Classic (2-0), then Panama, Taiwan and Italy (1-1), with Cuba closing the list (1-2).
Now Cuba must win over Taiwan, but it depends above all on whether Italy continues to lose, whether the Netherlands continues to win and whether Cuba’s classification is defined against Taiwan or Panama. “All this, of course, is if Team Asere wins in its last challenge of the World Classic,” published Swing Completo.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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14ymedio, Rolando Gallardo, Quito, 16 March 2023 — I once heard an influencer, whose name I don’t want to remember, say that the “Cuban opposition was facing a scientific regime using improvisation.” This idea may have arisen creatively and spontaneously or come from the argument of Gene Sharp [an American political scientist]: “The idea that improvisation will give you great success is absurd; it’s exactly the opposite. If you don’t know what you’re doing, you’ll most likely get into serious trouble.”
