14ymedio – Page 2 – Translating Cuba

The Hard Life of a Cuban ‘Mule’ to Supply her Business

María travels to Guyana, Russia, Peru, Colombia or Venezuela to sell Cuban products and buy as cheaply as possible for her store in Camajuaní

Cubans who travel to Caracas look for shops that offer good prices / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Yankiel Gutiérrez Faife, Camajauní (Villa Clara Province, Cuba), 13 April 2024 — At age 42, María does not allow herself to waste one second. She gets up at 7:30 am, prepares breakfast for her children and runs to open her store, “L & B”, on Camajuaní Boulevard. With the trips she makes as a mule to different countries – bringing clothes, shoes and perfumes to Cuba and carrying rum, tobacco and wines to other destinations – she has managed to set up a business that she tries to keep well stocked.

Her years of experience as an entrepreneur have earned her a reputation as one of the best business people in the area and she has gained a fairly loyal clientele, who trusts her to purchase quality products.

Before her apparent success, however, María had to make many sacrifices and work very hard. A few years ago, she found the opportunity to travel to several countries and buy wholesale merchandise to resell in Camajuaní. This idea came accompanied by her desire to start her own business, and she had to save every penny for months to pay for tickets and have money for purchases.

In the La Hoyada market you can buy cheap clothes such as overalls, coats and shorts for 5 dollars each / 14ymedio

After going once to Guyana (in 2017), twice to Russia (in 2018), three times to Peru (in 2019) and two more times to Colombia (in 2022), this year she left for Venezuela with a detailed list of what she was looking for: blouses, pants, shirts, perfumes, appliances and everything that is difficult to find in Cuba or is in high demand. continue reading

Through Facebook groups she found accommodations for the four nights she was in Caracas and, although the place was not in very good condition, she decided to stay with a Cuban residing in Venezuela who rents rooms and offers an affordable rate.

At 20 dollars a night for a room, the price also covered breakfast, lunch, and shuttle service to and from the airport was available to her. However, those days she had to take the nine-kilometer journey by buseta, the Venezuelan bus, to go to the stores.

María knows that on this type of trip she must moderate her expenses and not waste money, since the increase in the price of the dollar in Cuba reduces the economic benefit that the merchandise she acquires gives her. However, she always looks for attractive items that are not on her list and that might interest her clients.

In Caracas, she explored shops and markets in search of the best deals, which are not difficult to find. The shops that offer good prices, and where Cubans go, are often managed by Chileans, Colombians, Chinese, Turks and Arabs. Each seller has their own trick, and travelers like María create their own map of the places that can be approached and which ones will try to overcharge.

At the La Hoyada market, for example, she can buy cheap clothes: overalls, coats and shorts for $5 each, or three sweaters for $10. On Sabana Grande Boulevard, however, it is better to buy shoes. There you can find brands popular among young people, such as Jordan, New Balance, Nike and Adidas at bargain prices, between 15 and 35 dollars, while the originals can cost up to 200 dollars.

Those days, María had to travel nine kilometers from the stores to the rental at her expense in a ‘buseta’ / 14ymedio

One goes to Arab stores in search of fragrances. Perfumes that are popular among customers, and that are highly valued in Cuba, can be found for up to a dollar. On the other hand, in Chinese stores it is better to buy cosmetics and jewelry.

In the streets surrounding the Cemetery Market there are also many different things to buy: sets of sheets for 8 dollars, mixers for 15, Reina-brand pots for 50, fans for 12, hair dryers for 10, irons for 20, and they are sold by Turkish merchants.

After the last search, and after loading the merchandise into two 23-kilogram suitcases, María does not know if she will ever repeat the journey again. The trip back to Cuba is full of anxiety and stress, especially when passing through the eyes of airport officials and customs restrictions. At times, she recounts, she has been mistreated, or, in addition they have made her lose part of the merchandise.

Once the controls have been cleared comes the “hardest” part: selling the products in Camajuaní. Arranging the goods on display, making calculations and examining the goods – which sometimes arrive in poor condition – do not always guarantee success. María knows that she competes with mipymes (MSMEs) and other Camajuaní merchants who, like her, travel and sell for a living.

Translated by Norma Whiting

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The Cuban Regime Erases ‘Barbarroja’ from State Security History

Manuel Piñeiro died in strange circumstances while preparing his autobiography

Comandante Manuel Piñeiro, known as ‘Barbarroja’ / La Pupila Asombrada

14ymedio, Juan Izquierdo, 26 March 2024, Havana — This Tuesday, not a single official newspaper alluded, in the eulogies dedicated to the anniversary of State Security, to its most famous founder, Commander Manuel Piñeiro, known as Barbarroja. On the other hand, there are many tributes to the “true heroes of silence” – such as centenarian Julio Camacho Aguilera and Abelardo Colomé Ibarra, two incombustibles – and reports of numerous awards to active agents in various provinces.

This was the case of a group of ten G2 officers in Sancti Spíritus who received medals for their work as “outstanding combatants” in surveillance at the local level. Of those decorated, only three colonels “with high responsibilities” in State Security allowed themselves to be photographed and identified. In a speech by Julio Jiménez, from the provincial bureau of the Communist Party, there were quotes from Fidel and Raúl Castro, in addition to Ramiro Valdés, but Piñeiro was also omitted.

Crossed out of official history and having died in suspicious circumstances – an alleged accident while driving his own car– in 1998, Fidel Castro’s spy chief also did not find his place in the delirious history of the regime’s counterintelligence published by Cubadebate and the official state newspaper Granma, which seeks its antecedents in none other than the War of Independence of 1895. Back then, a certain “agent Luis” received instructions from José Martí to develop “original methods” to outwit Spanish intelligence.

Having the Military Leader leave the Sierra Maestra unharmed was “the most important mission” of a group of agents who, in the long run, constituted the Rebel Intelligence.

After multiple historical ramblings – which also turned Julio Antonio Mella and Carlos Baliño, among others, into spies – Cubadebate insists that State Security meant, in its origins, the security of one man: (Fidel) Castro. That the leader left the Sierra Maestra unharmed was “the most important mission” of a group of agents who, in the long run, constituted the Rebel Intelligence and its “peasant observation service,” in charge of interrogating guajiros (rural farmers) suspected of collaborating with Fulgencio Batista. continue reading

Although Barbarroja – who was part of the column led by Fidel Castro himself and then by his brother Raúl – had a leading role, before and after 1959, in the creation of Cuban espionage bodies, the regime’s role in the infiltration of Batista’s troops.

The Cubadebate text alludes to other “protagonists” of the State Security foundation, such as René de los Santos Ponce, Camilo Cienfuegos – to whom it attributes the dismantling of Batista’s espionage bodies – and Ramiro Valdés, Prime Minister of the Interior, of whom Piñeiro was vice minister.

The regime describes Havana’s Columbia Camp as an “idyllic residence surrounded by trees” where Castro’s spies set up their headquarters, later moved to the centrally located Fifth Avenue in the Miramar neighborhood of Havana, under the command of Colomé Ibarra.

After multiple historical ramblings, Cubadebate insists that State Security meant, in its origins, the security of one man: (Fidel) Castro

In the eyes of Granma, the Army and State Security are “twin brothers” of the regime, “under the direct attention of Fidel and Raúl.” It asserts that 108 Cuban spies have died in the exercise of their profession and that thousands more have neutralized “terrorist plans” and “subversive activities” within the Island.

The writing concludes with a warning. State Security currently remains “vigilant”, especially on social networks and “especially” around young people. Infiltrators, alleges Granma, quoting Fidel Castro, “have the very bitter task of passing themselves off as counterrevolutionaries to serve the Revolution.”

This past February 8, Cuban Television very discreetly premiered a documentary by Rebeca Chávez dedicated to Piñeiro. The audiovisual piece, titled I’m Still Barbarroja, was not published – as is usual with the content of its programming – by the Educational Channel on YouTube.

Chávez, to whom Cuban counterintelligence has previously offered unpublished recordings (those of the self-incrimination of poet Heberto Padilla, for example), used fragments of an interview that Barbarroja gave to CNN in 1997, shortly before he died. The material describes Piñeiro’s role in the kidnapping of several US Marines – the so-called Anti-Aircraft Operation of 1958 – and alludes to the time he received training from the KGB, under the false name of Celestino Martínez, in the Soviet Union.

State Security continues “keeping a close watch” currently, above all on social networks and “especially” near young people.

Videos of the former head of the Departmento América of the Communist Party had not appeared on national television since 2023, when cultural commissioner Iroel Sánchez tried to rehabilitate him on his program La Pupila Asombrada for the 25th anniversary of his death. His biographical sketch published by the official encyclopedia Ecured – another Sánchez project – suggests that he stepped away from political life in 1997 to undertake “with great intensity and enthusiasm” an autobiography that has never been published.

The son of wealthy Galicians – his father was the manager of the Bacardí Rum Factory – he studied at Columbia University, in New York, and collaborated with Castro from the beginning of the July 26 Movement. Bloodthirsty during the trials against former officers of Batista’s Army, starting in the 1960s he took to sowing guerrilla movements throughout Latin America and Africa, devised from Havana.

He was close to senior officials of the German Stasi and the Soviet KGB, whose structure inspired the Cuban State Security. The official version of his death states that he “crashed into a tree while driving to his house, in the middle of an episode of diabetes.” The “loss of consciousness” occurred while he was returning from a reception at the Mexican Embassy in Havana, although Ecured omits the party, and insists that he had previously participated “in a tribute and commemoration” to the second Eastern Front.

Translated by Norma Whiting

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In Cuba Couriers Have a New Scam To Sell Cooking Gas Cylinders

Sonia explains how the ‘balita’ — gas canister — business works in Sancti Spíritus, Cuba

The business is more effective if the courier has more balitas (cooking gas cylinders) / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Mercedes García, Sancti Spíritus, 13 April 2024 — The first time the seller brought Sonia a balita (cooking gas cylinder) that wasn’t hers, so that she “could cook for a few days,” she was uncomfortable but accepted it. A resident of Sancti Spíritus, retired, with two grandchildren for whom she frequently prepares lunch, it took her a while to understand how the “business” worked: postponing the deadline for returning the deposit – and with a smile on his face – the courier used the empty cylinder to sell gas on his own. The business is more effective the more cylinders the courier has. If the cycle is kept alive, the cylinders go from hand to hand, and the dealer will be able to shorten the waiting times and attract less attention from his customers. If something fails, there are always “tricks,” Sonia explains, like telling a sob story so that the person doesn’t lose patience.

When this happens, even the most skillful of dealers must get their act together and knock on all the doors. They have to go to the point of sale, to state employees or to emergency reserves, such as the provisional balita that Sonia received. Time is, like in no other profession, gold.

“A neighbor explained to me what was happening, and I changed couriers,” says Sonia. “He started well. He arrived at eleven in the morning and returned with the balita at eleven thirty. But it began to take longer and longer, until he brought me that one from his home. I told my neighbor, and what happened happened.” continue reading

“He started well. He arrived at eleven in the morning and returned with the balita at eleven thirty. But it began to take longer and longer”

Now, she hopes that the person who is filling his orders will not fail him. The last time she went to look for the gas herself – several days ago – using the Ticket application, the experience in line was overwhelming. “I returned with a headache,” she says. She had booked an appointment with the application since the beginning of February.

Her pension of just over 2,000 pesos is not enough for Sonia to pay a “high rank” courier, who for 1,000 pesos makes his way quietly in the line and, through contacts, gets a privileged position. The line was a “disgrace, a disaster,” says Sonia, who saw twenty people ahead of her who, she knew, had already taken their turns a few days before.

“They sold 20 places in line ‘on the left’ and gave them the balitas. The line, if you do it by Ticket, doesn’t move. Where did they get those 20 positions from, if I bought my turn in February?” she asks. Between the crowd and the corruption, Sonia’s case is frequent among Cubans who must go through official channels – or by “economic” means, such as hiring cheaper and unreliable couriers – if they want to acquire a gas cylinder.

If they are lucky they will make money, but often even that is not enough. On the other hand, in Holguín, 14ymedio found, the lines to buy gas are formed in the usual way: you buy on a first-come, first-served basis. Virtual platforms have been inactive for more than a month.

But from Pinar del Río to Guantánamo, the same law prevails: fighting for a turn in line is only the first step. Then comes the sun – more inclement as the summer approaches – and the endless wait among overwhelmed young and elderly people who threaten to faint at any moment.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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In Cuba One Egg, a Common Food, Now Costs More Than the Daily Pension of a Retiree

Eggs cost 3,500 pesos per carton of 30 in the informal market, compared to 2,000 a year ago

The shortage of eggs in the rationed market has pushed consumers into informal trade networks / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Havana, 14 April 2024 — In the ’80s, when the Soviet subsidy had created the mirage of prosperity in Cuba, in primary schools, along with names and mockery for physical appearance, it was common to insult each other by saying “in your house you only eat eggs.” The product accumulated in the markets and was rejected with disdain in the labor canteens. No one could foresee its conversion into an exclusive and longed-for food.

Four decades have passed, and there is nothing left of that stigma attached to the egg. Instead of disdaining it or making it a target of children’s jokes, now many Cubans long to have it on their plate, whether it’s fried, boiled or poached. This April, a carton with 30 eggs costs 3,500 pesos in the informal market of Havana, while a year ago the same carton cost 2,000.

This Saturday, at the Galiano Street fair in Centro Habana, customers raised their eyebrows when they read the price on the egg carton. “But last week I bought it for 3,000 pesos; how did it go up by 500 all of a sudden?” a woman protested in front of one of the many kiosks that exhibited very white eggs, apparently imported given their size and cleanliness.

“I need my daily retirement and a little more to be able to buy one egg”

“Are these the Colombian eggs?” asked another possible buyer, but the seller only shrugged her shoulders without knowing what to answer. “I ask because the last time I bought Cuban eggs the yolk was so pale that it was confused with the white, and I read on the internet that Cuba is buying eggs from Colombia. I hope those aren’t as anemic,” she said sarcastically. continue reading

“I have a pension of 3,400 pesos per month, so I need my daily retirement and a little more to be able to buy an egg,” complained a man who also came to inquire about the price of the product. “To top it off, you have to buy the whole carton because they don’t sell them one at a time, so I don’t even have enough in my pension.”

Indispensable in multiple recipes, the egg affects the price of many other products. When it gets more expensive, so do the offers of pastry, birthday cakes, cold salads, breaded dishes, croquettes, meringues, tortillas and whatever mixture you need that requires some white or yolk.

“People complain because the small marquesitas (cheese pastries) cost 180 pesos and the large cost 250, but because of the price of eggs, I have had to raise everything,” the owner of a small sweet shop on Primelles Street in the neighborhood of El Cerro explains to 14ymedio. “Right now, for example, we are not making cappuccino cake because it needs a lot of eggs, and we can only make two or three meringue sweets a day.”

Evolution of the price of eggs in Cuba during the last year in the informal market and ‘MSMEs’ / 14ymedio

“I have several suppliers who give me a discount if I buy more than ten cartons, but I don’t like to have so many eggs at once because they spoil, and if a long blackout occurs I lose everything,” explains the entrepreneur. “I’ve bought some dehydrated egg but it’s not the same; it’s good for some recipes but not for all.”

“Imported eggs at 3,000 pesos a carton. Minimum purchase of ten cartons,” reads an ad on Facebook. “We are located in Playa and don’t have transport at home,” added the classified with a photo of some light brown eggs, most appreciated by Cubans who associate them with the Creole product that was once available from farmers or non-industrialized farms.

The shortage of eggs in the rationed market – there are places where the product has not reached the State stores for months – has pushed consumers to the informal trade networks and private companies. In all of them, the price has increased by 75% in one year, and the supply varies according to the imports that arrive in the country.

Plump and fragile, the egg now appears at an excessive cost. Those who grew up laughing at a friend who only had scrambled eggs for lunch at home now swallow their jokes and dream of an intense yellow yolk into which they sink a piece of bread. Then, when they are about to put the delicacy in their mouth, they wake up suddenly with the screams of a street vendor who proclaims: “Let’s go, the eggs have arrived, at 3,500 pesos the carton!”

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Converted Into a Company, the Propaganda Section of the Communist Party Sells ‘Stamps’ and Flags

The new status means more money and resources, in addition to brand-new printing machines

To make wholesale banners, the company has modern printers from the Japanese multinational Roland / La Demajagua

14ymedio, Juan Izquierdo, Havana, 13 April 2024 — The purpose is to “market the image of Cuba,” and the means are furnished by the Communist Party. Protected and paid for by the highest authority of the country, the Propaganda and Events business unit, with its main factory in Granma province, doesn’t disguise its objective: to supply the entire Cuban East with banners, flags, slogans and portraits of leaders.

Although it is still attached to the Central Committee, the eastern section of the former Propaganda Department has just been converted into a company. The new status means more money and resources, suggests La Demajagua, the provincial digital newspaper, which showcased the business in an elaborate report. Before the cameras, the brand-new company took out the artillery: modern printers from the Japanese multinational Roland, electric saws to create “awards and diplomas” for the leaders, giant posters, shirts, fence panels and dozens of “symbols.”

In the video published by the newspaper there was also a collection of “stamps” with the faces of Fidel and Raúl Castro

In the video published by the newspaper next to the report, there was also a collection of “stamps” – similar to those sold in Cuban churches – with the faces of Fidel and Raúl Castro, Miguel Díaz-Canel, Che Guevara, Vilma Espín and Camilo Cienfuegos.

The workers aren’t complaining. “We get a good salary. There are months that I earn 6,000, 7,000 pesos, depending on the content of the work. I like the craft,” says the company’s carpenter, who says “the equipment is modern, which makes the job easier. Now we are waiting for an assembler, because the workmanship must be very good quality,” he adds. continue reading

The designers play with one motif in their designs: the Cuban flag. They make sure that the symbol “waves” at events, on shirts and “along the roads.” They use the image with abandon, and despite the Government’s tension over the “improper use” of the banner, which has cost years in prison to activists Aniette González and the artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, they make sure that the work is “proper.”

The company states that it provides services not only to the local governments of the eastern area but also to natural persons “who contract with us.” However, it does not clarify what type of customers – national or international – buy, for personal use, the revolutionary fanfare produced by the entity.

The workers aren’t complaining. “We get a good salary. There are months that I earn 6,000, 7,000 pesos, depending on the content of the work”

A moment of pure effervescence, they say, is when an event is approaching. “The work is constant,” of course, because in a country like Cuba there are more than enough historical dates, such as the imminent May 1. The Workers’ Parade is a prosperous time for Propaganda and Events, which must hire more employees “because companies demand many items in order to ensure the colors of their workers.”

In cash or by card, the company is open to any method of payment. They feel, their managers say, “a high responsibility” and consider themselves “makers of history.” They themselves have a place in the parade; they pronounce harangues using microphones that they have installed and fly banners that are printed in their workshop. Propaganda and Events marches with such a favorable wind that the authorities, not knowing what more they can do to honor the entity, will even dedicate the parade itself to it.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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The Hiring of Cuban Doctors Violates the Constitution of Honduras

Furthermore, it is a violation of national regulations that only allow free foreign medical brigades

The arrival of Cuban doctors in Honduras has alarmed local health workers / La Prensa

14ymedio, Havana, April 13, 2024 — The Medical College of Honduras (CMH), which has spoken out on several occasions against the hiring of Cuban medical brigades, published a statement on Thursday accusing the Government of Xiomara Castro of violating the Constitution. According to the guild, the authority of the CMH itself in the hiring of foreign health workers who, in addition, do not have the necessary accreditation to practice in the country, has been overlooked.

The statement, shared on social networks, recalls that the Constitution establishes that “professional membership is mandatory,” and that it is the Professional Colleges that are authorized to regulate the exercise of the profession, something that the Government, says the guild, violates with the hiring of the Cuban doctors.

To this is added, the statement continues, the violation of the Organic Law of the Medical College of Honduras, which establishes that the CMH is the “only authorizing entity for medical brigades in the national territory,” and that they must be free. In addition, all professionals must have their degrees accredited, and, finally, they must not provide services for more than 90 days. continue reading

“The Cuban doctors who arrived in our country have not complied with the requirements of the Law”

“The Cuban doctors who arrived in our country have not complied with the requirements of the Law, so the Medical College of Honduras does not endorse the activity and professional practice of these colleagues in the national territory,” says the statement. It also denounces the fact that the Cuban health workers receive a stipend in exchange for their services, which disqualifies them from working in the country’s hospitals.

This alone, they add, is a violation of Honduran labor regulations, and they ask the Ministers of Health, Carla Paredes, and of Labor, Sarahí Cerna, to “intervene in the solution of this problem that violates the legal powers of the Medical College of Honduras to the detriment of the entire Honduran medical guild.”

Last February, the Ministry of Health of Honduras announced the arrival of 89 Cuban doctors that same month, after the signing of an agreement with Cuba. The doctors “will be distributed throughout the hospital network, according to the needs,” the institution stated.

Paredes, asked by the Honduran guild for explanations, then clarified that although she was in charge of signing the agreement, the Secretariat of Strategic Planning was the person in charge of the hiring. At no time have the Honduran authorities said how much will be paid to the Government of Cuba for each specialist, but the minister pointed out that it would be less than what Honduran doctors think.

“We don’t know if these Cubans are really doctors; we don’t know who endorses their profession”

The Central American authorities also stressed that “the Cuban humanitarian brigade does not affect Honduran doctors, because they are specialists in deficient branches in the country: surgeons, orthopedists, neurosurgeons, vascular surgeons, oncologists, internists, psychiatrists, epidemiologists, family doctors and geriatricians” – a clarification with which an attempt was made to counter – unsuccessfully – the criticisms of indigenous professionals and unions, including the CMH, which denounced at that time the dismissal of 30 workers for ideological reasons.

Months ago, in November, the CMH launched an alarm about the arrival of Cuban health workers without their being informed as a professional organization, and it left doubt about whether they were really doctors. “We don’t know if these Cubans are really doctors; we don’t know who endorses their profession,” said Helga Codina, president of the collective.

On that date, and in contrast to what the Minister of Health recently said, Codina explained that for each Cuban, the corresponding amount would be paid to two or three national professionals, although she did not elaborate on whether this was only for salaries or included accommodation and other expenses.

Other aspects, such as the training of the medical contingent, were also questioned by the CMH. “Many are giving consultations, and we have sometimes detected problems of mismanagement. This is the risk we run by bringing in foreigners without going through the country’s proper channels,” Codina criticized at the time.

A similar situation is happening in Mexico, where the Government of Andrés Manuel López Obrador has begun to dismiss national health workers claiming that “there is no money” to pay their salaries, when between July 2022 and May 2023, $9,667,115 was delivered to the Island in payment for a contingent of 718 Cuban doctors.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Despite the Threat of Fines, Most Cubans Delay or Avoid Paying Their Taxes

Though the deadline is April 30, the number of people who have filed their tax returns is still very low / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Madrid, 9 April 2024 — With just twenty-one days to go before the Personal Income Tax Return deadline, not even half of taxpayers in Sancti Spiritus province have filed their returns. Though 17,700 people are required to file, according to an article published on Tuesday in the provincial newspaper Escambray, only about 8,000 have done so, a situation that is becoming increasingly common across the country.

Those required to pay personal income taxes include self-employed workers, artists, social media entrepreneurs and employees of foreign-owned banks. Some workers in the agricultural sector are also required to pay income tax but the compliance rate is about same as in other fields. Of the 12,600 required file a tax return, only 45% have done so. Those failing to pay their taxes include emigrés who did not register at the National Tax Administration Office (ONAT), a very common situation among those who move overseas.

The article confirms fears that have been widespread since the early filing period ended on February 28. Anyone filing a return by that date would have seen their tax burden reduced by 5%. At that time, state media complained that only 58,936 of the total 462,445 taxpayers had filed returns, a mere 12.7% of the total. The situation was even worse in the case of agricultural workers: Of the 163,558 required to file tax returns, only 10,324 (a paltry 6.3%) did so. continue reading

State media complained that only 58,936 of the total 462,445 taxpayers had filed returns, a mere 12.7% of the total

These numbers are based on returns from seven provinces: Havana, Cienfuegos, Sancti Spíritus, Ciego de Ávila, Holguín, Santiago de Cuba and Guantánamo. In other words, half the island. As ONAT head Mary Blanca Ortega Barredo pointed out, non-compliance occurs in all sectors of the country’s workforce but the cultural sector’s numbers stand out.

According to Escambray, the deadline for state-owned companies, as well as micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), to pay their taxes was March 31. This year, they are also required to file a tax return. The tax exemption for newly created companies ended in January and has not been extended.

The article points out that corporations have shown the highest level of compliance. Though it does not provide figures, it states that most of these 792 companies, along with the owners of all the MSMEs, filed tax returns. Together, they account for 83% of all taxes the country collects.

There were more than 400 tax audits conducted in Sancti Spíritus in 2023, which resulted in thirty-million pesos in fines. Since then, there have been ninety such investigations, which revealed a shortfall in tax payments of approximately 8.5 million pesos that should have gone to the state.

Although the article contains informative data on current tax collection efforts, its main focus is on raising awareness among taxpayers about the importance of paying their taxes and what might happen to them if they do not. For example, if tax authorities reach an agreement with someone accused of tax evasion, there is no further legal action. This is not what happens if the issue goes to court, where there are currently ten such cases underway.

In addition to fines, tax evaders face the prospect of not being allowed to leave the country, a penalty that currently imapacts some two-hundred people who refused to comply with Cuban tax law

In addition to fines, tax evaders face the prospect of not being allowed to leave the country, a penalty proscribed by Cuba tax law that currently impacts some two-hundred people who refused to fulfill their tax obligations.

This year, it is expected that 338,999 million pesos will be collected in taxes – including fees and contributions – “all of which guarantee the support and development of social programs as important as public health, education, social assistance, sport and culture,” the article explains.

Some taxpayers have been critical of ONAT for delays in issuing refunds to which they are entitled. It is not uncommon for people to wait until December or beyond for their refunds to arrive.

Cuba’s low rate of tax compliance is nothing new. Experts point to the expansion of the informal market, a tradition of tax avoidance and widespread distrust of financial institutions as the principal causes. This is exacerbated by the lack of transparency in how public money is spent. Government budgets lack the detail necessary to determine how much is allocated to each specific spending category.

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The Official Cuban Press Criticizes the Lack of Public Data on Migration

The Cienfuegos newspaper 5 de Septiembre mentions the figures published in the independent press, without giving credit

Humanitarian parole was approved for 69,000 Cubans in its first year of operation / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Havana, 12 April 2024 –The immigration stampede faced by Cuba is no secret to anyone, not even to the official press, which this Friday published an unusual article on the subject. The Cienfuegos newspaper 5 de Septiembre lashes out at the authorities for the “scarce public data” about the exodus and even alludes to figures published by the independent press, although it progressively lowers the tone by attributing all the evils to the blockade*.

According to the newspaper, the data to which it has had access “indicate that today more than 11% of the Cuban population is outside the Island. Counting the migratory wave unleashed from 2021 to date, the press reports indicate that in a period of 18 months, about 400,000 Cubans were intercepted at the U.S. border.”

The real figure, about 425,000, has been disseminated by the independent press, which the official newspaper avoids mentioning and which has a precedent: the number of femicides recorded by observatories and independent media in 2023, which was cited by Periódico 26 as coming from “unofficial sources.” continue reading

The data “indicate that today more than 11% of the Cuban population is outside the Island.”

To the illegal entries through the southern border of the United States are added, in addition to those who migrated to other countries such as Spain or Mexico and the more than 69,000 Cubans approved for humanitarian parole in the United States in only the first year of that program’s operation, figures that the official newspaper does not mention either, since it prefers to focus on the “emotional damage” of migration.

“Apart from the worrying scenario that derives from such figures for the fate of the nation, we are actually talking about something more than numbers. Every digit is our parents, siblings, cousins, uncles, aunts, partners, friends,” it says.

As for the causes of the migratory wave, the newspaper points out what the ruling Center for Demographic Studies defines with an understatement: “a crisis of expectations: the perception of an uncertain future.” The causes of that uncertainty are “the search for better wages and living conditions, desire for personal fulfillment” and – “to a much lesser extent, political issues.”

However, the article omits other fundamental causes pointed out by specialists and by the emigrants themselves, such as the lack of freedoms of all kinds, which makes life unsustainable on the Island.

In line with the official version on migration, which explains that migrants come and go, 5 de Septiembre insists that “many still anchor their dreams of prosperity and growth on Cuban soil.” But, it emphasizes “the effects of the suffocating U.S. economic blockade and the incentive for irregular departures through the Cuban Adjustment Act, along with the severe internal difficulties – largely derived from the blockade – for the migratory behavior that Cuba is currently experiencing.”

“Faced with the widespread idea that the only way to breathe is to leave, the challenge of generating opportunities prevails”

The question “How does the heart of a country beat with so many children scattered around the world?” which the newspaper itself poses, is answered only half-heartedly: “Faced with the widespread idea that the only way to breathe is to leave, the challenge of generating opportunities prevails (…), without having stones thrown or abuses.”

Despite the unusual text, officialdom strives to silence the exodus, which is increasing. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection Office recorded the arrival of 22,946 Cubans in January. The figure is almost double the 11,909 that arrived by air, land and sea in January 2023. In the first four months of the fiscal year alone, which began in October, 86,139 Cubans have entered the United States.

In 2022, the National Institute of Statistics of Spain revealed that 198,639 people born in Cuba then lived in Spain, a figure that exceeds by more than 30,000 the number in 2020. The figures from 2023 are not yet available.

Other reports reveal that, before investing their money in the Island, emigrants prefer to dedicate their assets to trying to get their relatives out of the country. In 2023, it is estimated that the diaspora spent between 1.8 and 2.2 billion dollars in the procedures and the costs of transporting and maintaining those who emigrated to the United States. On the other hand, Cubans abroad sent remittances of only just under 1.973 billion, the same amount as in 2010 and a decrease of 47% compared to the 3.716 billion of 2019.

Translator’s note: There is, in fact, no US ’blockade’ on Cuba, but this continues to be the term the Cuban government prefers to apply to the US embargo. Originally imposed in 1962, the embargo, although modified from time to time, is still in force.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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The Fall in the Price of Nickel Contradicts the Optimism of the Cuban Government

Expert William Pitt, owner of confiscated mines on the Island, points out that companies are reducing their investments

The Commander Ernesto (Che) Guevara Nickel and Cobalt Production Company in Moa, Holguín / ACN

14ymedio, Havana, 12 April 2024 — In a video showing a fleet of trucks, backhoes and machinery, the director of Mining in Cuba, Joaquín Ruiz Quintana, said on Wednesday that Cuba plans to export 50,000 tons of nickel this year. The amount, the manager announced without disguising his enthusiasm, will reach 100,000 tons by 2030, if business with the Canadian mining company Sherritt continues to boom.

And everything seems to indicate that it will, says Telesur, which sent a reporter to verify the results of Sherritt’s “million-dollar investments” in three mining enclaves of the Island: Moa, in Holguín; San Felipe, in Camagüey; and the Sierra de Cajálbana, in Pinar del Río. “Unfortunately, mining must be done in a sustainable way,” said Ruiz Quintana, who suggested that “care for the environment” – and, of course, the “financial persecution” of the United States – are the only limititations on mining in Cuba.

Businessman William Pitt, who has often denounced in this newspaper the Cuban government’s plunder of the Pitt-Wasmer family’s mines – several of them in Moa – is not so convinced of Ruiz Quintana’s forecasts. Pitt, who considers the data offered by the manager a mirage, is blunt: neither Sherritt nor other mining companies, such as the Australian Antilles Gold, “are going to take the chestnuts out of the fire for the Ministry of Energy and Mines.” continue reading

A metric ton of nickel is quoted at $17,439, much less than the $23,894 of a year ago for the same amount

According to Pitt – who not only knows the mines that Fidel Castro confiscated from his family in 1960 but also has taken legal measures against Sherritt – the “growing” investments that the regime attributes to the foreign mining companies operating on the Island are plummeting. The explanation is in the world market, “where the prices of the minerals that Cuba produces have plummeted.”

The case of nickel and cobalt illustrates the situation. A metric ton of nickel is quoted at $17,439, much less than the $23,894 of a year ago for that amount. “At the current price it would be necessary to increase nickel production by 36% to achieve the same monetary income as a year ago,” Pitt explains to 14ymedio. The need to sell more at a lower price perhaps explains Cuba’s urgency to double, by 2030, the amount of nickel it plans to export this year.

In 2023, the country exported 40,000 tons, so the expected increase for 2024 is only 25%, “clearly below the level required to achieve a global production that represents a monetary increase to the country.”

Another issue – ignored by Ruiz Quintana in his interview with Telesur – is the million-dollar debt that Cuba has with Sherritt, a company whose current financial situation is not flattering either and which cannot afford to admit the Island’s delays. “These are difficult times for the company,” analyzes Pitt, who emphasizes – citing Sherritt’s most recent balance sheet – the accumulation of $173,701,615 in debts that mature in less than a year, plus $338,681,810 in debts that it will have to pay later.

To pay the debts, Sherritt has in its accounts about $87,214,200, plus the debts that it must collect from countries like Cuba, which totals $95,923,740. It is not a “healthy” situation, concludes the businessman, and analysts have already calculated that Sherritt’s growth rate will fall by 3.3%. The forecast has frightened investors.

“Nickel and cobalt have lost much of the euphoria caused by their use in electric vehicle batteries

“Nickel and cobalt have lost much of the euphoria caused by their use in electric vehicle batteries. These batteries now use other minerals,” Pitt explains. Both metals are now used more in the manufacture of stainless steel – their classic application – or in devices and machinery.

The second point of tension between Sherritt and Cuba is energy. The company supplies three important Cuban power plants: Varadero (Matanzas), Boca de Jaruco and Puerto Escondido (Mayabeque). Havana’s non-payments to Sherritt for its management in these facilities were the reason why Cuba had to accept the so-called “exchange of cobalt”: the overexploitation of the mineral in exchange for the more than the $263 million that the regime owed.

It hasn’t been sufficient. Now Sherritt has its sights set on the deposits of Yagrumaje, Camarioca and the Delta, in Punta Gorda (Holguín), which “the Government of Cuba has granted it illegally,” warns Pitt, since they belong to the Pitt-Wasmer family, and Sherritt knows it full well.

Cuba also has problems with the mining of gold, copper and silver, of which it delivered important deposits to the Australian Antilles Gold company. These are the mines of La Demajagua, in Isla de la Juventud; Nueva Sabana and El Pilar, in Camagüey; and La Cristina and Buey Cabón, in the eastern area. The business has been fading, says Pitt, due to the “economic abandonment.”

Despite announcing with fanfare that it had closed the deal with Havana, Antilles did not even manage to raise a million dollars for the study of the Cuban deposits. Like Sherritt, the Australian company also needs money that its creditors have not paid: Dominican Republic, for example, owes them $45 million, but before disbursement they will have to wait for the result of a long judicial process against Santo Domingo, also for non-payments.

The most serious thing about the management of international mining companies in Cuba is the lack of transparency with which not only the Government but also the companies themselves conduct their businesses. For the overexploitation of Cuban deposits, a price is paid that can be expressed in dollars, but none of the parties pronounces on the environmental consequences. The damage does not cause Ruiz Quintana or the Cuban Government to lose sleep. According to Telesur, they have made the verb “overfulfill” a motto.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Very Few Spanish Companies Are Willing To Invest in Cuba

The Island doesn’t have any of the advantages offered by Mexico, Colombia or Chile

Although Cuba has a high percentage of investment from Spain, it is not attractive enough for Spanish entrepreneurs / EFE

14ymedio, Madrid, April 11, 2024 — Although Spain is one of the main sources of foreign investment in Cuba, things change if the situation is turned around. Only 2% of Spanish companies with a presence in Latin America invested in Cuba in 2023, and the main reason is the Island’s “deficient infrastructure.”

The data appear in a report on the Spanish Investment Panorama in Ibero-America 2024, presented this Wednesday at Casa de América (Madrid) and prepared by IE University, Auxadi and Iberia. It shows that the Island is at the tail end of countries in Europe that receive investments from large Spanish companies and private entrepreneurs. The list is headed by Mexico, with 82%, followed by Colombia (75%), Chile (63%), Peru (55%) and Brazil (53%).

The outlook for this year is not encouraging, since Cuba and Venezuela are once again “among those that will experience a more complicated economic situation” in the opinion of the Spanish businessmen, who have added Ecuador to that group, due to the outbreak of violence in the country in the last two years. The Island is, in this case, ahead of Venezuela, with a 2.4 out of 5 in confidence in improvement. continue reading

The outlook for this year is not at all flattering, since Cuba and Venezuela are again “among those that will experience a more complicated economic situation”

Argentina improves its perspective with a 2.77 rating because of the “expectations of change that the new administration has generated, although the coming adjustment will make the next quarters very difficult.” But Mexico (3.6) and Chile (3.4) are still in the lead.

To prepare the report, entrepreneurs have been asked what are the main threats or risks that their companies face in Latin America. The majority (84%) have pointed out political instability, an area in which Colombia, Peru and Argentina stand out. This is followed by the exchange rate, where the same three countries also rate poorly, and citizen insecurity, especially in Mexico, Ecuador and Brazil. They are also concerned about legal uncertainty, especially in Venezuela, Mexico and Argentina, and the economic slowdown in Brazil, Venezuela and Costa Rica.

Finally, 18% pointed out deficient infrastructure, where Cuba appears, accompanied by Peru and Colombia.

The Island doesn’t have any of the advantages that entrepreneurs have found in the other countries. The list highlights an attractive domestic market (67%), especially in Brazil, Mexico and Colombia, and a qualified workforce (Colombia, Argentina and Chile). In addition, there is access to raw materials (Bolivia, Peru and Argentina), free trade agreements with third countries (Mexico, Argentina and Uruguay), competitiveness in the region (Mexico, Colombia and Chile) and an advantageous geographical location, which Cuba could fit perfectly. However, businessmen have preferred three of its neighbors: Panama, Mexico and the Dominican Republic.

For advantageous geographical location, businessmen prefer three of Cuba’s neighbors: Panama, Mexico and the Dominican Republic

The Island reappears in the report when complexity of the tax framework is compared to the Spanish one. Brazil, Argentina and Venezuela have, for entrepreneurs, greater complexity, while Cuba is ranked 13 out of 19, after respondents rated the difficulty of its system at 2.6 out of 5, with Honduras (2.2) and Uruguay (2.4) being the most accessible.

The main conclusion of the document, in general terms, is that 76% of the companies plan to increase their investments in Ibero-America, 22% will maintain them and only 2% will reduce them compared to last year.

The report indicates that, after the pandemic, a terrible economic situation was feared, aggravated by the war in Ukraine, which in Spain, as part of the European Union, threatened a fuel emergency that didn’t happen. The economy, in general, has slowed down on the continent, but – thanks to the European Central Bank’s monetary policies – the feared economic crisis has not materialized.

Although there was no positive outlook in Latin America either, US monetary policy – due to its influence in the region – has contributed to stabilizing the business environment, and economic activity is expected to grow above what was predicted by the International Monetary Fund.

More than 80% of companies believe that, in the next three years, their Ibero-American investments will increase, compared to the forecasts for the EU, US and Canada (stable at 60%) and Asia, (above 50%). The perception of Chinese influence is also striking, which, although its presence on the continent has considerably increased, is not perceived as a “threat” by the Spanish. Seventy percent believe that China is not a significant competitor, compared to the remaining 30%, which is divided equally (15% and 15%) between those who see it as one more competitor and those who consider it “quite important” competition.

Seventy percent believe that China is not a significant competitor, compared to the remaining 30%, which is divided between those who see it as one more competitor and those who consider it “quite important” competition

As for the location of the main headquarters, Mexico City is, for the ninth consecutive year, the favorite. The second place, which was traditionally Miami, has become Bogotá, followed by Santiago de Chile, which stands out for its safety, its business climate and the quality of family life.

The main investments of Spanish companies in Cuba are traditionally concentrated in tourism, although food also occupies an important place. The EU reports indicate that Spain is, by far, the largest investor on the Island, although France and Germany also have a certain presence. However, it is impossible to determine accurately who the largest investors are due to the opacity of Havana’s data.

The most recent report of ICEX (Spanish public entity that promotes international investment) inJanuary 2024 states that “the Cuban Administration does not detail the identity of foreign investors to protect them from US actions, and therefore the available data are only indicative.” The agency cannot compile a table of the flow of foreign investments by countries and sectors because “Cuba does not provide this information.”

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Cuban Jordan Diaz Waits for Permission to Compete for Spain in Paris 2024

In June 2022, Jordan Díaz becomes Spanish champion in Nerja with a jump of 17.87 meters (58.6 feet) / Instagram/@jordan_diaz_tj

14ymedio, Havana, 12 April 2024 — “Here, I am valued as an athlete; in Cuba I had no opportunities.” This is what the triple jumper Jordan Díaz Fortún (“Air Jordan”) said about his departure from the Island in 2021, in an interview published this Friday by El Español. The athlete hopes, next June, to have the permission of the governing body of athletics, World Athletics, to compete for Spain at the Olympic Games in Paris 2024.

Díaz regretted that sports on the Island is managed “around politics,” and they do not understand that he left in order to improve. “If I see that I’m not doing well in one place, I try to improve my future. I can’t be in prison, as they say. No, not that,” he stressed to El Español.

In 2022, the athlete told El País that the “Cuban sports system is so complicated that they almost force valuable athletes to leave in a stampede.” In his case, he saw that the results he obtained were not recognized. “There comes a time when an athlete needs a stimulus, which was something that a person like me, with the level I have, did not receive.” continue reading

“There comes a time when an athlete needs a stimulus, which was something that a person like me, with the level I have, did not receive”

The athlete’s statements coincided that year with Cuba’s worst performance in the World Athletics Championships. “For the first time in the 18 versions of these tournaments, the Largest of the Antilles leaves without medals,” said Cubadebate.

With his departure, which took place in the Spanish city of Castellón three years ago, Díaz not only separated from his family, which he has not been able to see since, but also resigned from his participation in Tokyo 2020, where, due to his personal record of 17.49 meters (57.4 feet) achieved in the National Youth Athletics Championship, he was predicted to have a good performance.

In any case, according to the report, his stay in Spain has not been easy. An injury took him out of the competition last year, but he has returned with his sights set on Paris 2024. At his first Olympics he arrives as the holder of a record, a jump of 17.87 meters (58.6 feet), and chances of winning a medal.

The Cuban says that the gold medal will be for the triplist who exceeds 18 meters [59.1 feet). “I think about reaching everything including the world record (18.29 (60 feet) by Jonathan Edwards in 1995),” he told the sports newspaper As. “2024 is going to be the best year in history in the triple. In fact, I think that in Paris 2024 there will be at least three above 18 meters.”

Behind Díaz in Spain are the bronze medalist in Tokyo 2020, Ana Peleteiro, her manager Alberto Suárez and Iván Lázaro Pedroso Soler, “Iván the Terrible or the “Mountain Jumper.” “Pedroso has changed everything for me: mentality, career, way of jumping, technique. Absolutely everything,” he told the same sports newspaper at the beginning of April.

For Jordan Díaz Fortún’s performances, two years ago he was recognized with the King Juan Carlos Award for outstanding athlete of 2022 / Instagram/@jordan_diaz_tj

Pedroso, Olympic champion and nine-times world title holder, has lived in Guadalajara (Spain) for more than a decade, where he has created what is already known as the Pedroso team. Jordan Díaz is part of this group, which includes the Olympic gold medalist in triple jump Yulimar Rojas, the Spanish Ana Peleteiro, the Portuguese and Olympic champion in Beijing 2008 Nelson Évora, the Brazilian Nubia Soares and the Cuban Alexis Copello, naturalized by Azerbaijan.

His improvement in the sport is notorious. Economically, Díaz confessed to the newspaper Mundo Deportivo last January that “living from athletics is fucked up,” clarifying that this sport “is not like soccer where it’s easy to live quite well for the rest of your life.” The athlete, who has Red Bull as a sponsor, said that in his discipline you have to “be on top” to get “many contracts and sponsors.” So “you have to make the most of the moments in the elite and know how to save above all.”

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Cuban Bodegas Double the Price of Cigarettes and Triple the Price of Cigars

Depending on the brand and strength, packs will cost 60 pesos, while cigars will go up to 10 pesos each

The ministers recognized that the products are barely available in the bodegas (ration stores) / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Havana, April 11, 2024 — The prices of cigarettes and tobacco will triple starting this Friday for retail sales, as announced this Thursday by the Ministers of Domestic Trade and Finance and Prices. The measure, published in the Official Gazette, foresees an increase of up to 60 pesos for packs of 20 cigarettes – depending on the type – and 10 pesos for one cigar from the bodega (ration store), with a poor quality leaf.

Those known as “bodega” or “one peso” tobaccos – although they currently cost up to five pesos – are generally manufactured in the same province that consumes them, with brands not marketed by the Habanos SA monopoly. They are of mediocre quality, and will now cost 10 pesos.

Vladimir Regueiro Ale, head of Finance and Price, and Betsy Díaz Velázquez, of Domestic Trade, argued that the measure is taken because “the current prices cannot cover all the costs and expenses related to the production, industrial processing and marketing of both products.” continue reading

“The current prices cannot cover all the costs and expenses related to production, industrial processing and marketing

In addition, they argued that the state budget dedicated to subsidizing the manufacture of cigarettes and tobacco for the Cuban consumer could be dedicated to other destinations, since they are not “for basic consumption” nor are they a priority in the basic family basket “in the difficult conditions in which the Cuban economy operates.”

Both ministers acknowledged that the products are barely available in the bodegas and announced that they will be sold “progressively” on the Island. “Tomorrow we will have a presence level of around 30% of the network, but not in the more than 12,000 bodegas. Distribution is a gradual process in correspondence with production,” they explained.

Tobacco will be sold with a limit: “four packs per capita,” said Díaz Velázquez, who recalled that this limit was already applied before the price increase. The monthly demand for cigarettes and tobacco in the country is, according to Internal Trade, about 34 million packs – four per consumer – and 12 million cigars.

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Prisoners Defenders Raises the Number of Political Prisoners in Cuba to 1,092 After the March Protests

The organization indicated that in March alone it added 31 people to its list, of them 24 linked to the demonstrations

Image of the protests of March 17 in Santiago de Cuba / Facebook / Rompiendo Cadenas

EFE (via 14ymedio), Madrid, 11 April 2024 — The NGO Prisoners Defenders (PD) reported this Thursday that at the end of last month it registered 1,092 people imprisoned for political reasons in Cuba, twenty more than in its February report, almost all linked to the March protests.

The organization, based in Madrid, indicated that last month it added 31 individuals to its list that it classifies as political prisoners and that another six were removed from the registry after being released.

According to PD, 24 of the 31 political prisoners were linked to “the peaceful March demonstrations” that began on March 17 in Santiago de Cuba when hundreds of people peacefully took to the streets to protest.

Initially they protested the blackouts and lack of food shouting “power and food,” but “freedom” and “Patria y Vida” (Homeland and Life) were also heard, a motto of the anti-government demonstrations of 11 July 2021, the largest in decades. Shortly after, similar events occurred in other towns, among which El Cobre, Bayamo and Santa Marta stood out.

The next day, unofficial media and social networks showed other demonstrations, mainly in Bayamo and El Cobre, where dozens of people gathered in front of a police station where several detainees in the protests had been taken. continue reading

The report published on the NGO’s website explained that 30 minors remain on its list of political prisoners

The report published on the NGO’s website explained that 30 minors remain on its list of political prisoners, of which 28 are serving sentences and two are being criminally prosecuted. The minimum criminal age in Cuba is 16 years.

PD denounced that “16 of the minors have already been convicted of sedition,” with an average sentence of five years of deprivation of liberty, the majority under a regime of “home confinement or forced labor without internment.”

The statement added that 225 people – mostly convicted of participating in the anti-government protests of July 11, 2021 – have been charged with sedition, and at least 222 have already been sentenced, to an average of ten years in prison.

According to PD, there are also 119 prisoners (including several transgender ones) who “still have political and conscientious convictions and orders.”

“All trans women of conscience in prison have been and are imprisoned among men, which also happens with common trans prisoners, suffering situations, among men, indescribable for their sexual condition,” PD denounced.

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A Cuban Olympic Canoe Champion and a Weightlifter Seek Tickets to the Paris 2024 Olympics With IOC Refugees

Fernando Dayán Jorge Enríquez left the Cuban national team during a camp in Mexico in March 2022 /Instagram/Fernando Dayán

14ymedio, Madrid, April 11, 2024 — Cuban athletes Fernando Dayán Jorge Enríquez, a gold medalist in canoeing at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, and Ramiro Mora, a champion in weightlifting (2022 and 2023) in the United Kingdom, will be able to compete for a place in Paris 2024 as part of the refugee team. Both, fleeing the Island, have just received a scholarship from the Olympic Refuge Foundation (ORF), according to the Olympics portal.

The selected team will be announced by IOC President Thomas Bach on May 2. To select who will be on the team, “the sporting performance of each athlete and a balanced representation in terms of sport, gender and regions” will be taken into account, the same media stated.

Along with Jorge Enríquez, who lives in the United States, and Mora, who lives in the United Kingdom, scholarships were also awarded to the Iranians Matin Balsini (United Kingdom) and Aryan Saed Panah (Spain) and to the Sudanese Musa Suliman (Switzerland). The IOC recognizes them as having “overcome challenges” before arriving in the country that gave them refuge. “They are dedicated athletes whose lives were changed through sport.”

On March 6, Jorge Enríquez left the Cuban delegation that traveled to Mexico for a camp. His escape occurred seven months after having won the gold medal alongside Serguey Torres in the C2 1,000 meter event. From that moment on he became a pariah in the eyes of the Cuban sports authorities continue reading

who accused him of turning his back on a commitment to new results for his sport and his people.

Ramiro Mora left the Island in 2019 and arrived in Blackpool (United Kingdom), where he had to work in a circus to support himself

In January of that same year, the authorities had awarded him with a high-end vehicle after “an agreement by the Executive Committee of the Council of Ministers” in which it was decided to assign a car to “sports personalities with a recognized career.”

However, this athlete decided to disassociate himself from Cuban sport and after a 10-day journey through Mexico, his arrival in the United States was confirmed. Fernando Dayán now resides in Florida and has the support of his coach Alain. In the United States he has achievements in the national speed boating championship, held in Sarasota, Florida.

For Ramiro Mora, the Olympic Foundation for Refugees stands out, his tenacity and determination to remain in a sport where in the beginning he did not have the appropriate weight for the practice of weightlifting. He stayed in this sport despite losing his parents at age 14. His drive led him to be part of the national team.

Mora left the Island in 2019 and arrived in Blackpool (United Kingdom). The need to earn income to support himself led him to work in a circus. From there he moved on to Bristol, where he set and achieved the British record in the 89 and 96 kilogram categories, winning the national championship in 2022 and 2023.
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Havana and the Tourist Areas Are the Epicenter of Drug Use in Cuba

This is the case of schools that have become “areas of high incidence of drug use,” says a Public Health official

The authorities regret that Cuba does not have sufficient resources to prevent drug use. / Granma

14ymedio, Havana, 11 April 2024 — Drug trafficking in Cuba is increasing and tourist enclaves and areas where foreigners pass through – in addition to Havana, due to its population density – are the places where most consumption occurs. The problem, “which is becoming a lifestyle” especially in adolescents and young people, was recognized this Wednesday by the official press.

In an interview with the official newspaper Granma, Dr. Alejandro García, director of the Mental Health Center of Central Havana, set off the Public Health alarms: “Increasingly people start consuming earlier. The first experiences are between the ages of 13 and 14, from the ages of 17 and 20 they can become addicted, and at the age of 25 there is an increase in users,” he revealed.

According to official data, the average age for drug use in Cuba, which was 18 in 2022, had dropped to 15 last year.

Regarding the epicenters of drug trafficking, “Havana has always been the city with the most consumption, as have important tourist centers, such as some areas of Santiago de Cuba, Cienfuegos… with a lot of foreigners arriving,” added the director, although he did not explain if it is because tourists are the ones who transport the substances to the Island or if the economic activity that is generated around them promotes these scenarios.

“In addition, there is a high rate of young women who consume drugs and are pregnant. Also (an increase) in polydrug use, because, historically, what was consumed the most in some municipalities of Havana was crack, but in recent times new chemicals have been incorporated that we are sometimes continue reading

unaware of, and thus it is more complicated to confront and deal with,” the director detailed, referring to the new drug that circulates on the Island known as químico (chemical), which has become popular for its long-lasting effect and its low cost, about 200 pesos

For García, the increase in drug use on the Island has clear causes: “The economic situation is having a great impact, for various reasons. First, there has been a decrease in the care groups, there are municipalities that do not have a psychiatrist or anyone who directly cares for the phenomenon of addictions. Furthermore, it is not implemented consistently, and the groups are sometimes weakened or lack personnel,” he adds.

The poor state control over drug circulation also influences consumption “because when trafficking is well controlled, the availability of substances decreases, and consequently the cases,” he warns.

However, the doctor, consistent with the official discourse, expressed a reservation. “I believe that drug use must be confronted harshly, and that, here, it has always been done. People are used to leaving everything in the hands of the State, and it cannot be achieved that way. We have to be active as a society,” he clarifies

This is the case of schools which, García says, have become “areas with a high incidence of drug use.” As he explains, when young people begin to abuse these substances they “begin to have changes in behavior, abandonment of their habits, loss of interest in studying,” something that teachers and directors are trained to detect, he says.

The same happens in pharmacies where, the doctor insists, strict control is maintained over the prescription of psychotropic drugs and narcotics. He also insists that the country has care rooms with treatments that “go far beyond detoxification.”

In three maritime operations, another 37.5 kilograms of cocaine were seized, ten people, Cubans and Mexicans, were arrested

Reluctant to provide numbers, the Government has not made public the data on the increase in drug consumption compared to other years, but this February the General Customs of the Republic reported that, to that date, it had detected 17 smuggling attempts – with 99 kilograms of drugs seized. A significant increase if one takes into account that 55 attempts were detected in all of 2023, which had already been the highest number since 2019.

In three maritime operations, another 37.5 kilograms of cocaine were seized and ten people, Cubans and Mexicans, were arrested. The main countries of origin of these substances are the United States, Suriname, Mexico and Ecuador

An attempt was also made to introduce prohibited medications. “In a recent assessment we were looking at 73,000 tablets they have tried to bring into the country,” the authorities said then.

Likewise, in November of last year the Supreme Court announced that to date almost 700 people had been sentenced for drug trafficking, 92% of them with prison sentences. The Penal Code, however, allows up to the death penalty for this type of crime.

The authorities also revealed then that the most consumed substance on the Island is marijuana, accompanied since 2011 by a worrying increase in the abuse of synthetic cannabinoids. This is the case of the químico, to which this newspaper dedicated a report due to its extensive consumption in the capital, especially in the park known as El Curita, where the Police carried out anti-drug operations this February.

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