Party In A Whisper: The End Of The Year To Come / 14ymedio, Marcelo Hernandez

Pánfilo’s program has not been broadcast for three weeks. In the video above Obama and Pánfilo appear in a ‘sketch’ recorded during the visit of the American president to the Island.

14ymedio bigger14ymedio, Marcelo Hernandez, Havana, 15 December 2016 — Celebrations postponed, revelry suspended and a call not to party in the street, is the reality for Cubans at this year’s end. The sobriety for the death of former President Fidel Castro has spread to television programming and the popular comedy show, “Living to Tell the Tale,” with the lead character Pánfilo, has not been broadcast for three weeks.

“We have received a circular with details on what can be broadcast and what cannot,” a specialist from the Cuban Institute of Radio and Television (ICRT) who preferred anonymity told 14ymedio. “The directions are clear: everything that is programmed has to be analyzed very carefully so as not to fall into frivolities,” he says. continue reading

Throughout the country, all the centers with cultural programming have held meetings to direct their workers to show austerity and moderation, but the calls to avoid celebrations extend beyond facilities for shows, concerts and movies.

Vivian, 42, works as a nurse in a polyclinic in the city of Santiago de Cuba. She explains that in a meeting she was in last week, they were ordered not to hold the gift exchange the medical staff had organized for the last week of December. “I already bought everything,” she said.

Pedry Roxana Rojo, a LGBT activist and worker at a branch of the Cuban Book Institute (ICL) in Caibarién, Villa Clara, published on her Facebook account a protest against the suspension of popular festivities traditionally held at the end of the year.

Rojo, who is also an independent reporter, complains about the secrecy of the official media about the postponement of the festivities. “They have suspended the holidays here this year by royal edict,” she quipped on the social network, telling14ymedio that the decision affects not only residents but also tourists coming to the area for those dates.

The parrandas of Remedios, along with other popular celebrations in the center of the island, have been postponed to January 6 and 7, according to a source from the Municipal Assembly of People’s Power speaking to this newspaper. It is the fourth time in the last six decades that these celebrations have been suppressed or had their dates changed.

The first cancellation of the parrandas occurred in December 1958, when guerrilla commander Camilo Cienfuegos arrived in the area with the so-called “invading column” that brought the combat actions from the Sierra Maestra to the west of the island.

In 1969, the parrandas were again suspended in the midst of the “decisive effort” promoted by Fidel Castro’s government to achieve a 10 million ton sugar harvest. All the end of year celebrations were postponed, but the harvest did not achieve the planned figures.

A decade later, an official directive moved all the popular celebrations of the country to the months of July and August. The parrandas were not allowed to be held in that December of 1979. The measures became more flexible with time and “the waters took their course,” says Moisés Luaces, a peasant from the area who remembers every interruption of his favorite festivities.

So far, official media have not called for the moderating of Christmas parties held inside homes, but many fear that the ruling party will urge Communist Party militants and members of the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution (CDR) to snitch on the most enthusiastic.

Cuban Christmas: Between Killjoys And Mourning / 14ymedio, Miriam Celaya

Cuban university students march after Fidel Castro’s death in Havana. (EFE)

14ymedio, Havana, Miriam Celaya, 18 December 2016 — I’m clueless as to what they are called in other cultures, but for Cubans here and abroad, the word “sapo,” which literally means “toad,” is a term applied to the typical individual who always shows up in a situation where there is fun, optimism or joy, for the sole purpose of ruining it, spoiling the fun, souring the wine, in short – using the verb form of the word, sapear – acting like a toad (or in English, like a killjoy, a drag, a sourpuss, a wet blanket).

In Cuba, hedonistic and smiling despite adversities, being a killjoy is one of the many ways of being a drag, which, among us, is the worst of defects. Understand the subtlety: you can be a drag without necessarily being a killjoy, but it is irrefutable, that absolutely all killjoys are drags. That is why the killjoy can earn the dislike of everyone present in a second, in any setting and circumstance. “Don’t be a killjoy” is an expression of resounding rejection among us, against the individual who sabotages pleasure in any of its manifestations. continue reading

That is why it’s all the more curious and contradictory that in Cuba the killjoy has been inflated to become an institution and State policy. In fact, in the last 60 years the Power has been in the hands of a small group of green batrachians who systematically and by decree, are committed to put down any hint of popular happiness.

In the last 60 years the Power has been in the hands of a small group of green batrachians [toads, as in killjoy] who systematically and by decree, are committed to put down any hint of popular happiness

If anyone has any doubts about this, suffice it to list a few brushstrokes of the unrepentant olive-green killjoys: the proscription of traditional festivities like Christmas, the rationing of food and everything that meant prosperity and comfort, Volunteer Work to ruin the workers’ Sunday rest, the exclusion of a lot of very good foreign and local music from national radio stations, the imposition of mournful commentaries of the calendar of “communist saints” list to the detriment of religious holidays (Holy Week, among others), and many other examples too numerous to list here.

In these final days of 2016, another thorny and barren year, and after barely surviving the recent novena of the Deceased in Chief (Killjoy par excellence), Cuban workers have been informed that traditional Christmas festivities will not be held, festivities which in many State labor centers are practically the only celebrations almost devoid of political nuance. And I say “almost” because it is known that, at least officially, Cuban workers do not celebrate the birth of the Baby Jesus or the advent of the New Year, but the glorious anniversary of the triumph of the revolution. (Lowercase letters are intentional).

Only that mourning must seem like a spontaneous expression of the people, that is why it has not been decreed by the government nor divulged in the official means, but it has been ordered from each Ministry to the directors of its different institutions

Anyway, there will not be any hullaballoo. “We are in mourning,” according to the secretaries of the Cuban Communist Party (PCC) and the directors of each state work center, minor killjoys responsible for revealing the bad news, which is in addition to the already known suspension of festivities and popular celebrations in the towns in Cuba’s interior.

The director of the Business Group of Design and Construction Engineering, Architect Ángel Álvarez explains to the workers the need to “not overlook” the anniversary (sic) of Fidel Castro’s death. (Miriam Celaya)

But the mourning must seem like a spontaneous expression of the people, that is why it has not been decreed by the government nor divulged in the official media, but it has been ordered from each Ministry to the directors of its different institutions, who in turn have “indicated “in writing to the Directors of Companies subordinated to them, that this time the celebration should be “simple” through “political activities that can be in the framework of a lunch for all workers.” And, though the official document does not express it, the order is that there will be no alcoholic beverages in the aforementioned lunch. Mourning is mourning, which means that one doesn’t really need to be sad, just look like it.

The reference comes from the Business Group of Design and Engineering of Construction (GEDIC) and the Superior Organ of Business Management (OSDE), both of the Ministry of Construction, to which more than thirty companies are subordinated at the national level, including those responsible for supervising the construction work of the Mariel Special Development Zone (ZEDM).

It was in one of these subordinate companies where the Director, after successfully fulfilling his mission of killjoy in office duties and announcing the non-holiday party, went to the office of the superior chief where, according to stupefied witnesses, the killjoy-directors gathered there toasted with a generous drink of Havana Club Reserve to the memory of the Main Batrachian killjoy.

Berta Soler Released, But UNPACU Activists Still Detained / 14ymedio, Mario Penton

The leader of the Ladies in White, Berta Soler, during an exhibition of the work of Danilo Maldonado, known as El Sexto. (14ymedio)

14ymedio bigger14ymedio, Miami, 19 December 2016 — The leader of the Ladies in White movement was released on Monday after being detained for 24 hours. Berta Soler was arrested the previous day in one of the largest raids against the opposition in recent months. Meanwhile, approximately ten activists of the Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU) remain imprisoned, according to a report by phone from Jose Daniel Ferrer, leader of that organization.

“According to the count we have done, some 117 UNPACU activists were arrested on Sunday and nine houses were raided by the police, who seized five personal computers and dozens of phones, flash drives, printers and printed materials,” Ferrer told 14ymedio. continue reading

UNPACU had called for a march for freedom of all political prisoners and solidarity with Danilo Maldonado, known as El Sexto, and Eduardo Cardet, who were both detained after the death of Fidel Castro.

Six of the houses raided were in Santiago de Cuba, two in Palma Soriano and one in Palmarito de Cauto.

According to Ferrer, the police also seized cash in the houses where they entered, including 370 CUC “intended for the feeding of a pregnant woman and the purchase of things for her unborn child.”

The opponent considers that the government is trying to behead the movement. “They want to capture as many coordinators of UNPACU as possible,” he explains. Almost all detained activists have this organizational role within UNPACU.

This Monday the trial of Lisandra Rivera Rodriguez, accused of the crime of attack, was expected to be held.

UNPACU leader, Jose Daniel Ferrer (EFE)

“They are afraid of the reaction of the organization, so they are developing a rather large operation in Santiago de Cuba. They have placed police barriers around my house,” says Ferrer. The police again threatened to return him to jail, when he and other left together to seek the mediation of the Catholic Church.

“I was told that I was inciting the members of the UNPACU to commit crimes of public disorder, attack, contempt and espionage,” he commented.

UNPACU is the largest opposition organization in the country, centered mainly in the eastern provinces and with a presence in Havana.

The Ladies in White also reported the arrest of 32 activists in Havana and an undetermined number in the provinces.

“We are now updating the report to have the total number of arrests because many Ladies are still being arrested,” said Eralidis Frómeta, who belongs to that movement, which was founded by Laura Pollán in 2003.

Cuba’s State Phone Company Lowers Internet and Email Prices / 14ymedio

A group of young people in a wifi zone in Havana. (EFE / Archive)

14ymedio bigger14ymedio, 19 December 2016 – The state-owned Cuban Telecommunications Company (Etecsa) – the only phone company permitted to operate in the country – announced on Monday a reduction in the prices of its internet service and its Nauta email service from cellular phones. The state monopoly thus responds to growing criticism for its high rates for data.

The international online navigation service to connect to the internet, accessed by users from wifi enabled areas or from terminals in Etecsa’s navigation rooms, now costs 1.50 Cuban convertible pesos (CUC) per hour, a reduction from the 2.00 CUC it cost before Sunday. (1 CUC is roughly equal to one US dollar, and is also close to the average wage for a full day’s work.) continue reading

Each hour of national navigation – which allows users to visit only sites hosted on Cuban servers – now costs 0.25 CUC, a more than 50% price cut from the previous price of 0.60 CUC. With this reduction, Etecsa wants “to facilitate access to websites and portals of cultural, information and research interest, with Cuban content.”

The measure will also benefit users “doing schoolwork and research,” as well as those who want “to know what cultural events are happening throughout the country, the news of Cuba, and of the rest of the world,” the state company’s notice emphasized.

A user consults the “Nauta purse” service, recently announced by Etecsa. (14ymedio)

With regards to Nauta email from mobile phones, Etecsa has provided the ability to contract for data packages. The customer doesn’t have to go to a commercial office, but can simply type *133# to access a menu to buy the so-called “Nauta Purse.” This service offers 5 megabytes, valid for 30 days, at a price of 1.50 CUC.

Until now, customers of the service have paid 1.00 CUC for every megabyte received or sent. Now they can choose between that rate and the new data package more favorable to their pockets.

According to Giselle Fernández, head of the commercial services department of Etecsa, rollover is available: “If at the end of the 30 days the client has megabytes available and activates another Nauta purse, these available megabytes will be added to those newly contracted for.”

The price reduction comes a few days after the publication of two articles in the official newspaper Juventud Rebelde (Rebel Youth) where the company Cuballama (Call Cuba), located outside the country, was accused of telephone fraud. However, the majority of comments left by readers pointed to Etecsa’s high prices as the main stimulus for illegalities.

In the announcement released Monday, the state monopoly confirms its intention to conduct a test of providing access for Internet browsing in 2,000 Cuban homes, at a date yet to be specified.

Film “Hands of Stone” Excluded from Havana Film Festival / 14ymedio, Zunilda Mata

New Latin American Film Festival Awards program section

14ymedio bigger14ymedio, Zunilda Mata, Havana, 19 December 2016 – The New Latin American Film Festival ended as it began: marked by censorship. The exclusion of the film Santa y Andres stained the opening of Havana’s main cinematographic event with gray, and spectators were also unable to see the film Hands of Stone as punishment for the solidarity of its director, Jonathan Jakubowicz, with Cuban director Carlos Lechuga.

The film, based on the life of Panamanian boxer Roberto Duran, was initially included among the feature films that would be shown in the Festival Awards section, but it was never screened. The event’s organizers dropped contact with its director after learning of his condemnation of the censorship of Lechuga, says the Venezuelan artist. continue reading

Days before the beginning of the Festival, Jakubowicz spoke by telephone with the directors of Santa y Andres in order to assess the possibility of withdrawing his film from screening in the competition as a condemnation of censorship. After the publication of an interview with Jakubowicz in 14ymedio on December 7, the Festival’s organizers stopped writing him. “Not only with respect to the copy of the film, but about my attendance,” he says.

“As the death of Fidel Castro was announced the next day, I thought that was why, but they never wrote again. I suppose they preferred to avoid an uncomfortable situation with me in Havana, at a time of such tension for the island,” reflects the prestigious director.

For viewers who sought explanations for the absence of Hands of Stone, the Festival organization contended that the director “never sent the exhibition copy.” Although the director was planning to travel to Havana, he could not bring it personally either without confirming the trip after getting no answer from the event organization.

In the interview published by this newspaper, Jakubowicz explained that he had thought about withdrawing his film from the billing because he was afraid of becoming “that awful artist figure who supports the repressor, a frequent figure in our countries and one who has done a lot of harm to our peoples.”

However, after speaking with Lechuga and his wife, he learned that “the Festival is one of the Island’s few windows looking to the world outside,” and he decided to keep the film in the festival. But when it came time to organize sending the copy to Havana, the event organizers were silent.

“It is a shame for the Cuban public who wanted to see the film. But fine, in the end all of Cuba saw Express Kidnapping, and it is forbidden, too. Art always reaches those whom it has to reach,” Jakubowicz reflects.

Nevertheless, the director thanks the “festival for the initial invitation” and wishes it “much luck in its continued struggle to bring light to Havana’s theaters. There will be better times. The winds of changes are blowing strong and are inevitable, in Cuba as well as in Venezuela,” he asserts.

Translated by Mary Lou Keel

Cuba Commits To Large-Scale Genetically Modified Crops To Reduce Food Shortages/ 14ymedio

Soybean plantation. (Pixabay)

14ymedio bigger14ymedio, Madrid, 19 November 2016 – Cuba expects to grow genetically modified (GM) corn and soybeans beginning in the Spring of 2017, according to a long article published in the government newspaper Granma this weekend, which details the island’s advances in this area.

“On successfully completing all the tests required by Cuban regulatory bodies, in the spring of 2017 we can expect the introduction of [genetically modified crops…] on large areas of land,” said Mario Estrada, Director of Agricultural Research at the Center Of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (CIGB).

The major sum of money the government spends in importing food (some two billion dollars a year) is not only unsustainable, but clearly insufficient. In 2014, imports of grains whose genetically modified versions are expected to be grown, exceeded some 500 million dollars, which accounts for up to 75% of what Cubans eat. continue reading

GM crops are the object of strong controversy worldwide because of the genetic modification of organisms, but Granma says that criticisms come from “experiences related to the misuse of technological innovations, lack of information, poor training and the abusive practices of certain seed-producing companies worldwide.”

“We are currently working on obtaining new hybrid transgenic lines of corn which, on the scale of a small experimental plot, show potential yields of nine tonnes per hectare, very close to the levels reached by the world’s leading countries in this production,” explained Mario Estrada.

In addition, experiments with “transgenic soybeans resistant to herbicides, which in experimental areas of the Cubasoy company showed a yield of up to 2.8 tonnes per hectare, much higher than the usual reached there,” he added.

The official newspaper notes that controlled production of genetically modified crops is supported by the World Health Organization, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the Royal Society of the United Kingdom, the Food and Drug Administration of the United States, the European Food Safety Authority and the Academies of Science of several countries. “Genetically modified crops have helped mitigate the food shortage crisis stemming from global population growth and the impact of climate change, making it the most rapidly adopted technology of cultivation in the history of agriculture,” the article added.

As of 2009, the years in which the corresponding safety licenses were received, Cuba has been testing the first production of modified corn on some 900 hectares belonging to Cubasoy, in the province of Ciego de Avila. Although the result was more than double the yield of the traditional crop, it was lower than expected, which was the reason for suspending the application of the advances.

At present, there is a search ongoing for “new transgenic hybrid lines of corn,” with much higher yields, which, if they pass all the controls, will be applied starting this coming spring.

Harsh Police Operation Against the Patriotic Union of Cuba / 14ymedio

Note: The video was taken surreptitiously and thus is of poor quality.

14ymedio bigger14ymedio, Havana, 18 December 2016 – Beginning at 6:00 AM on Sunday morning, Cuban State Security forces attacked nine homes of members of the Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU); six in Santiago de Cuba, two in Palma Soriano, and one in Palmarito de Cauto. More details are expected in the coming hours; currently most of the activists’ telephones have been cut off.

Jose Daniel Ferrer, leader of the organizations, explained to 14ymedio that the “justification” for the harsh repressive operation was a call made by UNPACU for people to come into the streets in protest, in Havana and Santiago de Cuba. The objective of the opposition organization was “to demand the release of the political prisoners and the end to increasingly severe repression against independent civil society groups,” Ferrer said. continue reading

The homes simultaneously attacked were those of Leonardo Pérez Franco, Ovidio Martín Castellanos and Damaris Rodríguez. At the home of Iriades Hernández, who is currently abroad, the police entered and took two laptops. The police also broke into UNPACU’s working headquarters and the home of Jose Daniel Ferrer.

In Palma Soriano the homes of Yenisei Jiménez, wife of political prisoner Geordanis Muñoz, and that of Yeroslandi Calderín, coordinator of the March 18 Cell and a replacement for Víctor Campa who is currently a political prisoner. In Palmarito de Cauto, so far it has only been possible to report an attack on the home of Yasmani Diaz, but it is presumed that there may be other cases.

Assaults, thefts, detentions against member of #UNPACU, Today families won’t eat because their sustenance was stolen.

Among the possessions seized were printed material, discs, audiovisual materials, hard drives, four laptops and several cellphones. In the home of Jose Daniel Ferrer they seized 370 dollars intended to feed a pregnant woman and to buy supplies for her unborn child. As a part of the operation, more than 50 activists in the province of Santiago de Cuba and 10 in Havana had been detained by 1:30 this afternoon.

Some ten of those arrested have been released, among them Jose Daniel Ferrer, who reported the following: “A lieutenant colonel who refused to give me his name showed me a warning notice where it said that our call gave rise to the crimes of public disorder, contempt, attack and espionage. They also warned me that they had been disturbed by my statements about the late Fidel Castro on our website and my modest interpretation or translation of his concept of Revolution.”

There Will Be No Parties And No Keggers In Cienfuegos / 14ymedio, Caridad Cruz

The ‘5 de Septiembre’ newspaper makes clear that parties in open spaces, such as the one pictured above, “will not proceed.” (Networks)

14ymedio bigger14ymedio, Caridad Cruz, Cienfuegos, 17 December 2016 – The rumor was confirmed Thursday by the local newspaper 5 de Septiembre, the official organ of the Communist Party in Cienfuegos province: all parties are suspended until January as part of the ‘hangover’ of the obligatory mourning for the death of former president Fidel Castro.

“The people themselves, in the majority, prefer solemnity and intimacy in these celebrations,” says the weekly, which is once again available online after a lengthy period of inactivity. continue reading

The news does not come as a surprise to anyone. During the official mourning for the death of the former leader, the police made clear that no one could express the slightest sign of joy. A young Cienfuegan was beaten and arrested near La Calzada service station, and there are several reports of arrests and threats in the city in the south of the island.

“A week after the death of Fidel, the bosses explained to us that there could be no loud music in the bar,” explained a beer seller who didn’t want to be identified for fear of reprisals.

The man affirmed that it was even said that alcoholic beverages would not be sold for the rest of the year, but in the end “those up above” changed the decision.

“I’m sure that for Christmas there will be a shortage of beer and then the government will say they didn’t prohibit it, but there simply isn’t any available. That’s nice, you have to understand,” he added.

Using a term typical for the Cuban bureaucracy, 5 de Septiembre makes it clear that activities in open spaces, such as trochas, carnivals or keggers “will not proceed.”

The justification given by the newspaper is that “the particular idiosyncrasy of we Cubans establishes that crying and sadness do not end overnight.”

“In the end it’s all the same to me, I do not go to those carnivals because the products are expensive and low quality, there are tremendous crowds of people and you’re just looking for trouble,” says Liudmila, a housewife of 41.

“How many people have they killed at those parties when they get drunk? They should end them all. Besides, what products are they talking about, if all you find at the stands is an infinite variety of egg dishes and the same things as always that nobody buys,” she adds.

Yurizán, a 24-year-old barber, believes it is “an abuse.” “Why do they have to decide for me if I want to be sad or not? It’s always the same in this country, they think and the rest have to obey, that’s why people finally go somewhere else,” he says, annoyed.

Although the newspaper specifies that the province is not in mourning, it makes clear that all celebrations will be moved to January, but citizens will have the opportunity to celebrate historical anniversaries such as “the advent of the 58th anniversary of the Revolution,” the landing of the yacht Granma and one more edition of the Freedom Caravan*.

In addition, the paper explains that “the sale of alcoholic beverages in stores and establishments is not restricted and will take place daily.” The newspaper says that the Ministry of Internal Commerce is managing the importation of beverages to keep them on the market.

“Even though they ban parties, no one can take my end of the year blow out away from me, even if I have to have it in my back yard,” says the young man.

*Translator’s note: The 9-day cross-Cuba journey of Fidel Castro and the guerillas after the triumph of the Revolution, from Santiago to Havana, was dubbed the “Freedom Caravan” and continues to be celebrated annually. Recently, the reverse journey of Fidel’s ashes was also called by the same name.

“Get on that plane or go to jail,” Cuban Authorities Tell American Lawyer / 14ymedio

Activists Gorki Aguila and Luis Alberto Mariño and American lawyer Kimberley Motley. (Courtesy)

14ymedio bigger14ymedio, Havana, 18 December 2016 – The American lawyer Kimberley Motley, arrested Friday in Havana, returned to the United States after being subjected to three interrogations, the last of which, held at the Havana airport, made her miss her flight.

“Get on that plane tomorrow or go to jail,” Cuban officials told her the night she was interrogated at the Sheraton Four Points Hotel in Havana’s Miramar neighborhood. continue reading

Speaking to 14ymedio, the international litigator explained that she knew about the case of Danilo Maldonado, known as El Sexto (The Sixth), and had documented it.

The Human Rights Foundation (HRF) wanted to denounce El Sexto’s case before the United Nations. Motley offered to travel to the island and discreetly gather information to provide advice on the matter. She met the artist at the Oslo Freedom Forum and considers him a friend.

Once in Cuba, visiting the island for the first time, Motley tried to interview Maldonado in the Combinado del Este prison, but the authorities prevented her from holding the interview.

Nor was she able to obtain new information on El Sexto’s case from the Court.

According to Motley, she was interrogated three times after being arrested by uniformed and plainclothes officers in a sprawling police deployment that included four police cars and about 15 officers. Once she was taken to the station she was interrogated first by a policeman and then by an immigration officer.

The interrogations were in English and Spanish, although she was never provided with a translator.

The questions asked the American lawyer were: “What are you doing in Cuba? Are you an artist? Do you know the artist? And the other artists?” But they never mentioned Danilo Maldonado by name and never told her why she was under arrest.

In a second episode two immigration officers went to her hotel at midnight and threatened to put her in jail if she did not leave Cuba. They told her, “Get on that plane tomorrow or go to jail,” recalls the lawyer. In addition, the questions of the previous interrogation were repeated.

She was also held at the airport, this time by immigration agents who questioned her about why she was there and searched her backpack.

Motley says she did not call a press conference, although she knew that one would be held by the activists who accompanied her to talk with Maldonado’s mother, Maria Victoria Machado.

However, the lawyer did have a meeting scheduled with a national and a foreign journalist to discuss the case.

Although she did not communicate with the US embassy in Havana, the mediation of the diplomatic headquarters was crucial to her release.  According to Javier El-Hage, International Legal Director for the Human Rights Foundation who spoke with 14ymedio, that organization alerted American officials which speeded up the matter.

The lawyer has said she will continue to support El Sexto’s cause because “the arrest of Danilo Maldonado has no legal or moral basis.”

Kimberley Motley, The Lawyer Who Fights Against Outrages / 14ymedio

14ymedio bigger14ymedio, Havana, 17December 2016 — The US lawyer arrested Friday in Havana could become a nightmare for the Cuban government. Kimberley Motley traveled to Cuba to advise on the case of the artist Danilo Maldonado, known as El Sexto (The Sixth), and was arrested and held for some hours, prompting a wave of international condemnation.

Motley has worked in environments such as Afghanistan where she traveled in 2008 as part of a legal aid program. During her nine-month stay in the country she understood “how laws that were meant to protect people were being underused, while brutal and illegal measures were being overused.” continue reading

The American lawyer became the first foreigner to litigate in the Afghan courts, an experience that helped her realize that “the lack of justice is not only a problem in Afghanistan, but a global problem.”

During the more than ten years she has practiced law, Motley has represented people ranging from high-ranking executives of prestigious companies, to Afghan girls with few resources. The premise of her work is “to work the system from within,” and to use “the laws in the way they are meant to be used.”

Born in 1976 in Milwaukee, United States, Motley won the Miss Wisconsin beauty pageant in 2004 and is the mother of three children.

The lawyer believes that many injustices are committed because people do not know “what their rights are,” laws are “supplanted or ignored by tribal customs” or there are no “lawyers who are willing to fight for those laws.”

These premises brought her to Havana this December to advise on the case of the graffiti artist El Sexto, detained since November 26 after painting a graffiti about the death of Fidel Castro with two simple words: “Se fue” (He’s gone).

Motley’s arrest this Friday adds to the risks that she has experienced in her career. “I have been temporarily detained. I have been accused of running a brothel, accused of being a spy,” she says in a Ted Talk that has gone viral on the internet.

The lawyer points out that for all the risks she runs, her clients run “much greater risks, because they have much more to lose if their cases are not heard.”

This Saturday the attorney was released but the echoes of her arrest are just beginning. A figure with great media and public impact, Motley calls “to create a world economy of human rights and that we all become global investors in human rights.”

The Material Basis Of Joy / 14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar

Traditional celebrations called ‘parrandas’ that are normally held in December in Remedios, have been postponed this year until January 6-7. (DC)

14ymedio bigger14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar, Havana, 16 December 2016 — In the Marxist catechism it is established that the material is first, over the spiritual. From this conceptual Big Bang, is structured a doctrine in which all categories are concatenated more or less harmoniously; social property over the means of production, the fundamental law of socialist distribution, and the dictatorship of the proletariat.

From this key starting point it is explained that matrimonial fidelity is due to the appearance of private property, and that the ambition for riches will only be overcome in the human condition when material goods flow like a river due to the increased productivity that comes as a fruit of dominion over nature. continue reading

For the faithful followers of this form of thinking, joy in human beings is nothing more than the result of drinking alcoholic beverages in an environment where there is music and jokes, social contacts, smiles, cheers and laughter. That is, people do not drink, sing and laugh because they are happy, but the other way around.

At the end of December, Cubans usually indulge their desire to celebrate. Christmas and New Year’s come together to promote gift giving, Christmas Eve feasts, improvised choirs of nostalgic carols, resolutions for the future, furtive kisses at midnight, buckets of water thrown into the street to wash away the year’s evils, and taking a walk with a suitcase as an expression of the desire to take a magical trip to another part of the world.

With this cornucopia, joy prevails and bottles are uncorked, while others eat or dance and someone opens the door to receive the latest guest who didn’t want to miss the feast in which the discomfort of daily life is temporarily relegated to the background.

However, in these days that are left of the month of December, on the pretense of a tragic reason, from certain more or less official bodies, “the order has come down” to moderate the joy, postpone the parrandas, ban celebrations at workplaces and schools. Rumors are rife that alcohol will disappear as of the 20th, there will be no fireworks, and no loud music, not even within one’s own home.

Marxists are like that. They are intimately convinced that by eliminating or undermining “the material basis of joy” they can prevent joy from rising in hearts, crush feelings of gratitude for life itself, and smother the sparks of hope that light the way. At the end of the day, they maintain, the material is above the spiritual.

‘El Sexto’s’ American Lawyer and Two Activists Arrested in Havana / 14ymedio

(L to R) Gorki Aguila, Luis Alberto Marino and Kimberly Motley in Havana (Source: Rosa Maria Paya’s Twitter)

14ymedio bigger14ymedio, Miami, 16 December 2016 – Kimberly Motley, an American attorney, and the activists Gorki Aguila and Luis Alberto Marino were arrested this Friday as they prepared to hold a press conference outside the Provincial Court in from of the Capitol Building in Havana. The Cubans were taken to the Zanja police station, but there is no information about the whereabouts of the American lawyer.

“They were going to give a press conference about the situation of Danilo Maldonado, ‘El Sexto,’ who the authorities accuse of damage to public property,” according to Rosa Maria Paya, president of the Latin American Network of Youth for Democracy, who spoke to 14tmedio by phone. Motley also intended to take on the defense of Eduardo Cardet, National Coordinator of the Christian Liberation Movement (MCL).

Cardet his been under arrest since 30 November for “his political activity of leadership within the MCL” according to the Paya. He is accused of “assault,” a crime that carries a prison sentence from one to three years.

On 26 November, El Sexto was arrested after painting several graffiti on the walls of the Habana Libre Hotel, reading “se fue” (He’s gone), and loaded a video to his Facebook profile celebrating the death of Fidel Castro.

Recently he was transferred to Combinado del Este, a high security prison in Havana.

Threats and Arrests if Dissidents Continue in Cuba / 14ymedio

The leader of the Ladies in White, Berta Soler, during an exhibition of the work of Danilo Maldonado, known as ‘El Sexto’. (14ymedio)

14ymedio bigger14ymedio, Havana, 15 December 2016 –The leader of the Ladies in White, Berta Soler, was arrested Thursday in the morning when she was about to leave the headquarters of the organization in the neighborhood of Lawton, Havana, in order to connect to the Internet.

Angel Moya, a former prisoner of the Cause of 75 from the 2003 Black Spring and Soler’s husband, told this newspaper that neighborhood witnesses confirmed to him that the arrest had been made with excessive use of force. “She was arrested violently, neighbors testify that they even beat her,” says the dissident who was not at home at the time of arrest. continue reading

Moya speculates that Soler was taken to the detention center in Alamar, but was unable to confirm the information.

The former prisoner of the Black Spring told 14ymedio that the Ladies in White movement has not programmed any activities for today. “Right now, the only thing Berta did was to launch a call for Tuesday, 19 December, at two in the afternoon in Central Park, for the traditional Literary Tea, if State Security continues to operate around the group’s headquarters in Lawton, and prevents the activists from accessing it.

Around two in the afternoon the political police arrested another Lady in White, Marlen Gonazalez, when she went out with her husband to buy food at the agricultural market. “A patrol car came and asked for her ID card and they took her prisoner,” said her neighbors in the San Miguel de Padron area.

While all this was going on, at Jose Marti Airport the activist Jose Diaz Silva, a Cuban delegate to the Democracy Movement, he was approached by police before taking a flight to the United States. According to a report from the dissident, the officials warned him that on his return from Miami he would encounter very serious reprisals and that from now on the opposition’s “days are numbered.”

The latest report of the Cuban Commission for Human Rights and National Reconciliation (CCDHRN) said that during November there were at least 359 arbitrary arrests of peaceful opponents on the island, over a hundred cases fewer than in October. However, the independent organization warns of a possible increase in repression following the death of former President Fidel Castro.

Cuban Adjustment Act or Upheaval Act / 14ymedio, Rolando Gallardo

Cubans demonstrating against the US embassy in Quito, Ecuador. (14ymedio)

14ymedio bigger14ymedio, Rolando Gallardo, Quito, 14 December 2016 — I wake up and I see a report on the arrival of a group rafters on the coast of Miami. I’m surprised by the open declaration of one of them, who confesses having left Cuba in search of a better future, but says he has nothing against Fidel Castro. His words set me to meditating.

The Cuban Adjustment Act is a good deed on the way to hell. Thousands of Cubans arrive in the United States every year to take advantage of its benefits. Its repeal is a taboo subject among the exile and the emigration. Those who say they are in favor of its elimination or reform from abroad, receive avalanches of criticism and support, demonstrating the division of opinions about it. continue reading

The government of the island ascribes to the Cuban Adjustment Act the main reason for the exodus, dismissing internal conditions and policies that cause people to leave, this being a long-time strategy of the regime: Someone else is always to blame.

Authorized voices within the Cuban-American political establishment, such as Senator Marco Rubio, call for a revision of the Cuban Adjustment Act on the basis that not all Cubans arriving in the United States and claiming refuge under it meet the conditions to apply for asylum, and many of them demonstrate their political apathy by returning to the island as soon as they obtain a US residence permit, discrediting their supposed condition as a politically persecuted person.

Since the beginning of the most recent migration crisis in November of 2015, the division among Cubans stranded in Costa Rica and Panama is evident.

One group reaffirms, recklessly and motivated by an ignorance of the nature of the Adjustment Act, that they are economic migrants, which strengthens the arguments of the regime about the causes of illegal immigration.

Others, however, say that they left Cuba because of its repressive policies, lack of political and economic freedoms, and the impoverishment of the country, something imposed by an internal blockade that has plunged the Cuban people into despair.

Both sides agree that this mass escape was motivated by the fear of political transformations that would be generated by the “thaw,” leaving them inside a nation that sees no long-term changes in the relationship between the government and the people.

It is legitimate to question whether the Cuban Adjustment Act should continue under the current terms. The receiving government spends an annual average of 500 million dollars in aid to the “Cuban refugees.” Some estimates indicate that, from 2014 to late 2016, the United States has allocated 1.5 billion dollars for monetary aid for the first six months, food stamps for three months which are renewable for longer, health insurance for ten months for adults and more health insurance assistance for children, as well as supplementary services for the elderly.

Does every Cuban deserve such kindness? The final saga of the migratory crisis, which has had its most recent and dire chapter in Ecuador, demonstrated that some members of the regime are parasites benefitting from the Cuban Adjustment Act. They waste no time in leaving behind the claws of the tiger, and brazenly appear among the voices clamoring for an airlift to continue their journey to the United States, while in Cuba they were persecutors of the Ladies in White, Cuban counterintelligence officials, members of the National Assembly of People’s Power, and militant communist/opportunists who, tired of the perks of the regime, head north to take advantage of other perks in “la Yuma” – the United States. Many of them, who denied there was a political motive to this breakout, are now in the United States enjoying government help.

Another group, misunderstood and attacked, launched itself in courageous though reckless protest against the Cuban embassy in Quito, showing the political nature of the exodus and starring in one of the never before seen historic feats of the emigration. Unfortunately, it is an event little spoken of. Many of the protesters were deported to Cuba. Another group of people and protagonists of the protest camp in Quito’s Arbolito Park are already in the United States, justifying with their actions and political stance that they deserve the benefits of the Cuban Adjustment Act.

I support reform of the terms of the Cuban Adjustment Act. It is not fair that the American taxpayers’ money goes into the hands of those who enjoyed communism and now want to enjoy capitalism without deserving to. It is not fair that economic emigrants and future speculators head back to the island with their recently obtained residence permits, trampling on the spirit that gave rise to the law. Those who are unscrupulous and reject with their behavior – far from that of the politically persecuted – the refuge offered to them, should have their status reassessed.

I do not live in the United States and I have not benefited from the Cuban Adjustment Act, nor do I consider myself politically persecuted, despite my actions and opinions, but I condemn those who mock the law and discredit the support and sustenance that the United States government has offered to our people in the hard years of the exodus, which sadly does not end.

Cuban Authorities Block Travel Of Dissident Amel Carlos Oliva / 14ymedio

Carlos Amel Oliva was not able to fly from Havana to Warsaw via Madrid, as planned, because the airport computer system showed he is forbidden to travel. (14ymedio)

14ymedio bigger14ymedio, Havana, 14 December 2016 – Yesterday, Tuesday afternoon, Carlos Amel Oliva checked in well in advance with his ticket to take Air Europe Flight 052 that was leaving for Madrid just after 10:00 PM, intending to connect from the Spanish capital to travel on to Poland. However, the activist was not able to board because an immigration official told him he was prohibited from leaving.

Oliva was invited to participate in the third edition of Warsaw Democratic Dialogue as a representative of the Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU).

Upon reaching the immigration controls he was separated from the line. “They took me to an office where there was an official who was apparently the shift manager, who explained that I appeared in their computer system as a person prohibited from leaving,” he explained to 14ymedio. continue reading

Carlos Amel asked for an explanation, which he felt he deserved, but the control officials responded that they “didn’t work on that part.”

The dissident told this newspaper what had happened a few yards from the check-in desk for his flight. “[The official] suggested that I direct myself to the appropriate entities, such as the prosecutor, so that I could find out the reasons and I replied that I already knew, because surely the only possible reason was my status as a dissident, a peaceful opponent.”

“I do not have any unpaid fines, nor am I in the midst of a judicial or police investigative process,” Amel Oliva stated, rejecting that he was subject to these established reasons for being denied the right to travel.

On December 10, International Human Rights Day, his father, also named Carlos, was also unable to take his plane at Terminal 2 at José Martí International Airport, heading to a meeting sponsored by Freedom House and the Venezuelan Institute of Parliamentary Studies that was being held in the United States. The UNPACU youth leader’s father also did not receive any satisfactory explanation.

“Obviously,” Carlos Amel Oliva commented before leaving the terminal to return to Santiago de Cuba, “this measure I have been the victim of is not consistent with the signing of agreements between Cuba and the European Union, which has set aside its so-called Common Position. The European Union has done something that could be called a goodwill gesture, having ceased to condition its relations with the Cuban government on issues of human rights, but this is how the government repays the gesture: preventing a peaceful dissident from attending an event organized by civil society in a European country,” he lamented.

The current Cuban immigration law, in force since January 2013, established different reasons for denying a Cuban citizen the ability to leave the country. Among them are motives of public interest or national security, or being subject to a pending court case, as with the former prisoners of the Black Spring of 2003 who refused to leave the country as a condition of their release, and so remain in Cuba on parole. They, however, were each granted the right to make one trip abroad earlier this year.

A common method to prevent a civil society activist or regime opponent from traveling abroad, is to detain them at a police station on the day they are planning to travel and to release them after their flight has already left.