14ymedio – Page 99 – Translating Cuba

With the Murder of Anay Perez, There Are 32 Cuban Victims of Sexist Violence This Year

Anay Pérez was murdered by her partner at home in Guanábana, Matanzas. (Facebook)

14ymedio, Havana, 30 May 2023 — The death of Anay Pérez is the 32nd femicide of the year in Cuba, a figure that predicts that sexist violence will take more lives of Cuban women than in 2022, when there were 34 events reported by independent organizations and media. Journalist Alberto Arego confirmed with sources close to the victim that her partner killed her this Monday in Guanábana, Matanzas.

According to Arego’s report, a friend of the victim confirmed that the man, identified as Yosvani Torreblanca, killed her in the bathroom of her home around 3:00 in the morning and then turned himself in to the police. “The mother was the first to see her. She had to be sedated because she was very upset. It couldn’t have been easy at all. They didn’t let us see her because she was disfigured,” he said.

“Tata, you left me like that all of a sudden. You didn’t deserve this. You were just a little girl of only 21 years old that everyone here in the neighborhood loved; your life didn’t have to end like this. We will miss you a lot,” the journalist quotes a family member.

The scene of this femicide is about 19 miles away from the small town of Cidra, in the municipality of Unión de Reyes, where last week a triple homicide of a couple and their eight-year-old son took place. The preliminary version given by the authorities and acquaintances of the victims is that the motive of the crime was robbery. continue reading

The murderer, a former soldier, first killed his father, Maykel González Medina, and threw him into a pit that was near a workshop. Then he went to the victim’s house, where he attacked Linet Lucia and her son. The family is survived by a daughter who was not at home.

Meanwhile, the list of femicides continues to increase, and in the last week alone three more deaths were reported. Last Thursday, the Yo Sí Te Creo [Yes I Do Believe You] platform confirmed the murder of a woman identified as Tomasa, in the Havana neighborhood of Luyanó in the early morning of May 24.

In addition, independent journalist Claudia Padrón Cueto confirmed the murder of Daniela Thalia Tasse Arias, whom her partner killed with a knife at the Luis Marcano school, in Bayamo (Granma). Another case was that of Yericel Hernandez González, murdered in Guantánamo by her husband last Friday.

In the first five months of 2023, February has been the deadliest, with 11 femicides reported by independent organizations that keep a record in the absence of official statistics. April follows with six deaths.

Last April, Miguel Díaz-Canel said that his Government will have “zero tolerance” for sexist violence, but Cuban legislation still does not classify femicide as a crime, despite the repeated calls of feminist organizations. A month after those statements, the Supreme People’s Court of Cuba reported that in 2022 there were 18 convictions on the Island for sexist murders. The institution said that the sanctions exceed 25 years in prison and that the convicts range in age from 20 to 44 years.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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In Anguish, the Wife of a July 11th Prisoner on a Hunger Strike in Cuba, ‘He Could Lose His Life’

Yosvany Rosell García Caso was sentenced to 15 years in prison for sedition. (Courtesy)

14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar, Havana, 31 May 2023 — Before July 11, 2021, Yosvany Rosell García Caso spent his days between working as a welder and rearing his three children. That Sunday his life took a turn when he joined the mass protests in Holguín. Six months later, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison for sedition. Wednesday marked his 20th day on a hunger strike, demanding his immediate release.

“My husband has lost a lot of weight and he is very frail; he barely weighs 55 kilograms after so many days without a taste of food,” Mailín Rodríguez Sánchez tells 14ymedio. “On May 29th they transferred him from the Cuba Sí prison in El Yayal to the Lucía Iñiguez Landín Clinical Surgical Hospital.

“He is refusing intravenous hydration,” adds Rodríguez, who spoke with her husband to “try to get him to change his position.” However, 34-year-old Rosell was determined to “continue the hunger strike because he is tired of having his rights, and that of other 11J prisoners, continuously violated.”

“I understand him perfectly, but he is in a situation where he could lose his life and that worries me greatly,” says the anguished woman. Rosell began the hunger strike on May 11, following an incident where prison authorities denied him a visit from his wife and his three children, and as the days passed he expanded his demands to include his release as soon as possible.

“We have three children five, six and 14 years old. The younger ones are aware of what is happening with their father, but the oldest does know everything,” explained Rodríguez to us. “Since yesterday my daughter is asking me to go see her father and we are making arrangements so she can visit him in the hospital. I hope she will talk to him and get him out of the position he is now in.” continue reading

Since he began the hunger strike, the woman, desperately, has gone to the prison on four occasions, but they did not allow her to see him and they did not even allow him religious attention. “After much begging they only let me see him yesterday at midday when he was already in the hospital. Today I am going over there again to see if they will let me in,” she said.

Rodríguez says that the damage is not only emotional or physical, “In addition to violating his human rights, the family has lived through two very difficult years, because he was the breadwinner. We’ve suffered repression and an economic hit for his being in prison. He, working as a welder and blacksmith, provided for the family.”

This is not the first time Rosell is on a hunger strike. In February 2022, he did not eat while demanding that he not be transferred from Holguín to a prison in Cienfuegos and demanding improved conditions in prison. At that time, he had been the victim of suspended telephone calls or being kept in isolation.

Several months later, in July of last year, Rossell once again resorted to a hunger strike after being beaten for dressing in white in remembrance of the mass protests on 11J.

“I do not regret anything in the least bit. How could I regret wanting to see my country free of a communist dictatorship, which for more than 60 years, has subjected us to extreme misery and violated all our human rights? That blessed July 11th not only marked a before and after the beginning of the end of communism in Cuba, it also showed the worst face of the dictatorship,” he wrote in a letter shared on social media weeks earlier.

Translated by: Silvia Suárez

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Dengue Cases in Santiago de Cuba Reach Disturbing Levels, Especially in Palma Soriano

Fumigation in Camagüey to prevent dengue. (14ymedio/archive)

14ymedio, Havana, 29 May 2023 – – The rainy season is just beginning and dengue threatens again. In Santiago de Cuba, the contagion figures are already worrying, as an article published this Saturday in Sierra Maestra warns.

“In recent days the number of medical attentions for non-specific febrile syndrome has increased, as well as reactive cases,” says the article, which also warns, as if it were a war report: “With a high-risk infestation index (0.6) and more than 1,800 foci detected (almost 200 more than at the same stage of the previous cycle), the invincible territory has a high probability of moving towards epidemiological events, if a true popular movement for the prevention of the viral infection is not achieved.”

According to the official newspaper, the municipality of Palma Soriano is the one with the worst panorama, and that is why “entomological control actions” (fumigations) are carried out there in about 4,000 homes.

“It is expected that in the coming weeks suspected cases of dengue will continue to appear,” says the report, which also recognizes that the control of the disease “slows down because the economic difficulties that the country is going through limit the size and scope of anti-vector and other actions aimed at eliminating environmental conditions favorable to the insect.” continue reading

As an example of these conditions, Sierra Maestra talks about the “difficulties” in supplying drinking water and eliminating both wastewater and solid garbage, the optimal ecosystem for the reproduction of the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which transmits both dengue and chikungunya.

“The answer to these problems escapes from the actions of Public Health and requires a better performance of Municipal Services and Aguas Santiago (also hit by the scarcity of resources), as well as a greater collaboration of the population, responsible for their health in the first place,” the newspaper says.

And they insist: “If economic conditions have not changed substantially in 2023, you do not have to be an expert to understand that, for the moment, it is impossible to carry out large campaigns.”

Given the possibility that the population does not go to the doctor in a timely manner, as happened in 2022, the provincial newspaper warns of the “danger of staying at home in the face of symptoms such as fever, general malaise and muscle, joint, retrorbital (behind the eyes) and head pain, since dengue can evolve into serious and life-threatening forms.”

Last year, “the most complex of the last 15 years,” in the words of Sierra Maestra, dengue was rampant in several provinces, but especially in Santiago de Cuba, where an incidence rate of 65.2 per 100,000 inhabitants was recorded in November.

The situation was aggravated by the presence of severe or hemorrhagic dengue, which was not alerted by the Ministry of Public Health but by doctors in their personal capacity. “In previous epidemics, perhaps approximately 1% of cases had signs of alarm (those that alert you that the patient is not progressing well), but now it is more than 30%,” a doctor confessed to this newspaper.

The authorities did not give the official death toll at any time, although social networks and the independent press recorded several deaths of health professionals.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Lightning Kills an Employee of Union Del Niquel, a Cuban Partner of the Canadian Sherritt Company in Moa

Those affected were transferred to the Guillermo Luis Hospital, in Moa. (Rubiel De La Cruz Rabí/ Facebook)

14ymedio, Havana, 30 May 2023 — A lightning strike caused an electric shock in front of the Nickel Union Service Company in Moa (Holguín) and ended the life of one of the workers, Dunielkis Fonseca Borges, in addition to affecting six other people. All of them were employees of the state company and were waiting for transportation to return to their homes when the event occurred.

As a result, Fonseca Borges, “Muma,” who was a specialist in economic management, had to be resuscitated at the site of the discharge but died after again suffering cardiorespiratory arrest upon arriving at the Guillermo Luis hospital, where all the employees were treated.

Another of those affected is pregnant but, like the rest of those treated, she is out of danger.

According to the official newspaper of Holguín, Ahora, Bárbaro Aguilera Pelegrín, a safety and health specialist of the emergency group of the nickel company Comandante Pedro Sotto Alba, said his workers went to the place quickly after hearing the cries for help from those affected, since their facilities are a few meters from the point where lightning struck. continue reading

Three people were lying on the ground when the emergency teams arrived, although only one — the deceased — had to be resuscitated.

The death of Fonseca Borges is the third of a nickel industry worker in Moa to be mourned in the last two months. On May 17, the Canadian company Sherritt International reported the death in a work accident of a worker who fell from a ladder in the nickel-cobalt mine that is located in that town in the East.

On April 24, another employee of the company died, that time in an accident with a vehicle.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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In Four Years, Cuba Has Lost Almost 25 Percent of Its Electricity Production, According to Official Data

Havana consumes a quarter of the country’s total energy. (14ymedio)

14ymedio, Madrid, 30 May 2023 — Electricity generation was reduced by almost a quarter in just four years in Cuba. According to the data published on Monday by the National Bureau of Statistics (ONEI), last year there were 15,732 gigawatts (GW) per hour on the Island, 24.5% less than in 2018, when the amount reached 20,837 GW.

The figures reveal a progressive fall in the last four years that accelerates with the pandemic up to the strong collapse of the last year. In 2019, the decrease was minimal, just 0.63%. However, already in 2020 the fall was large, with 7.8%. Although smaller, the decline continued strongly in 2021, when 5.8% less was generated than in the scarce previous year and, finally, the catastrophic situation of 2022 is reached, with -12.4%.

The data are incompatible, in the words of Cuban economist Pedro Monreal, “with the economic recovery in the short term or with long-term development.”

The expert also looks at the alternative sources of electricity generation, which in the case of distribution are even worse, although their weight is less as a share of the capacity of the Island. In the last four years, the electricity obtained by generators fell by 42%, which also rises to 44.6% if the focus is on the last year. In 2021, 5,902 GW per hour were obtained, the highest amount in the last four years, while in 2022 only 3,273 GW were produced, the lowest of the same period. continue reading

Last, there is renewable energy. Part of the strategy announced by Cuba years ago involves the conversion of its energy matrix to a clean one, for reasons of sustainability and potential of the Island, with enough hours of light to be very competitive in solar. However, and despite the fact that the regime has put all its efforts into selling the green energy parks in the portfolio of opportunities for foreign investment, the money does not arrive and progress is extraordinarily slow. In addition, in practice, the Government has not made its own investments that demonstrate its interest in a real change in this regard.

Thus, the Island’s renewable electricity generation barely reaches 4.1%, when the intention is to reach 24% by 2030. “The official statistics reflect the difficulty in increasing the relative weight of renewable sources of electricity in Cuba,” insists Monreal, who also observes an interesting fact. Between 2021 and 2022, renewable electricity generated by auto-production fell 36.1%, from 432.4 GW/h to 276.1.

Another interesting fact revealed by the balance sheet concerns consumption. Both private and state residential consumption was forcibly reduced in the last year due to the fall in generation. Homes used 8,891 GW/h last year of the 14,862 that were consumed in total (and that includes national and imported generation with losses subtracted). Private consumption, meanwhile, used only 834, an amount higher than the 552 consumed in 2022, attributable to the growth of the private sector. As for the state sector, it consumed 4,205 GW/h; 173 went to public lighting and 1,590 to inputs.

The balance sheet also indicates the growth of imported energy, one of the few numbers that increases. In 2021, 1,384 GW/h had to be brought from abroad, compared to 2,590.7 in 2022, 87% more. That year there were eight mobile plants of the Turkish company Karadeniz Powership on the Island, one of which left this April after having fulfilled its contract, according to the Cuban government. Although the rental price of these platforms is unknown, the authorities have never hesitated to describe the cost as “very high,” while insisting that there was no better short-term solution if they wanted to stop the already eternal blackouts that the population has been suffering for a year with almost no interruption.

Another striking fact that the report leaves out is the disproportion of territorial consumption. Havana, where a large amount of population and most of the powerful companies are concentrated, takes a quarter of the island’s energy, 25.2%. Matanzas follows, but at such a distance that it barely stays at 8.1%.

The figures change if gross production is analyzed. The province of the capital only generates 1.5% of the total, with Matanzas (22%), Holguín (16%) and Cienfuegos (14%) contributing the most, both through the public service and through autonomous producers, who direct the surplus into the National Energy System.

Last Saturday, in an interview in Cubadebate, Vicente de la O Levy, Minister of Energy and Mines, promised that with the fulfillment of the maintenance planned until May, “it is expected that we will face the summer in better conditions” from the point of view of electricity. The official said that there would be a decrease in the “uncomfortable lines” in the service centers, after weeks of scarce fuel availability, and added that electricity generation will have, from now on, “a considerable decrease in affectations.”

Barely 24 hours later, some points of the Island had already accumulated about 20 hours without electricity.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Cuban Regime Bars Private Companies from Remunerated Training Activities

14ymedio, Elías Amor Bravo, Economist, 17 May 2023–Workforce training is one of the most important activities to develop in any economy that does not want to lose the competitiveness and prosperity race in the knowledge society in which we now live. Unions and businesses, which deploy training programs based on dialogue and social agreements that are applauded by the government and implemented with public and private funding, know this. Unfortunately, in this matter, Cuba is also different from the rest of the world. We’ve just found out that the Castroite economic system cannot be further from reality and the needs of a modern society and economy. We learned yesterday, through the Official account of Cuba’s Minister of Economy and Planning, directed by Gil, that currently, not a single micro, small or medium private enterprise (known as mipymes in Cuba) or nonagricultural cooperative (private entities) includes training activities in its approved social objectives, thus it is not legal to offer remunerated training services. From that, we conclude that mipymes and nonagricultural cooperatives are not authorized to charge for training services.

In Cuba, neither mipymes nor nonagricultural cooperatives have the government authorization to impart training for a fee. Carrying out this activity could be a crime. The regime would like them to do it for free, in which case they would not do them. The matter came to light, apparently, because the Ministry had information that a series of “non-government forms of management had requested to conduct or were conducting courses, conferences, seminars and other types of training on various topics, in exchange for a fee or by contract.”

Think of the damage it could do to an economy if courses, conferences, seminars, and other types of training were provided, establishing a price. The price would be established to regulate the conditions of service delivery in terms of quality and quantity. Is it that the regime would like that these activities be carried out for free? Once again the collectivist principles and false egalitarianism are driving the economy. continue reading

In reality, these activities could sometimes be free, if the training program benefits from some type of subsidy, but in modern economic systems, all businesses, regardless of whether they are public or private, can organize training and if they deem it necessary, may charge for their services as compensation for their effort and dedication to the task. There is nothing abnormal or odd about it.

In Cuba, forget about it. When faced with the complaint, Ministry authorities took Decree 49/2021 out of the drawer, “Of the activities carried out by micro, small, and medium private enterprises, nonagricultural cooperatives, and self-employed workers,” and the rest of the legislation relative to the Cuban education system, which prohibits the private, remunerated exercise of training activities. And they are willing to demand compliance.

In line with what was presented, one of the economy’s main sources of knowledge transfer is eliminated, which is formal or nonformal training. The so-called education and formal training is acquired through the education system and is paid for with taxes collected by the communist government. Good. But in the world of work, training aimed at improving the qualifications of workers, introducing new products or services, new processes, etc. is conducted within and by companies. Díaz-Canel’s doctoral thesis includes some references to this type of issue.

Mipymes that have, through research, development, and innovation (I+D+i in Spanish) acquired some competitive advantages, which may be of interest to others, will not be authorized in Cuba to train others on those advantages, which in any case would be continually changing so as not to lose their competitive edge. It is interesting because on many occasions, companies finance their I+D+i activities by offering to train others, but in Cuba this path is closed by the regime, such that external training activities, both formal and nonformal, for a fee, are banned by the communist regime for the private sector. Let’s see who risks offering them for free.

The issue is that this measure may extend to foreign private companies that operate on the Island. Let’s remember that one formula often used to hire qualified employees for open positions is based on conducting training and selecting the most qualified candidates and those that adapt to the requirements of the job. To participate in these programs, on occasion there is a fee. Is this formula banned?

And what will happen to the internal trainings all companies conduct to continually adapt their services and products, aimed primarily at their employees. Generally, these programs are implemented by the employees of the company (who get a salary supplement) or they hire external professionals to develop training initiatives. Will it also be forbidden to contract external firms to conduct training or pay trainers a bit extra? And what will happen to training consulting services that help design better plans adapted to the needs of companies? And what will happen if the union conducts training or the association of Spanish businesses in Cuba, for example?

The formula selected by the communist regime is unjust and is ideologically charged. It prohibits private companies from charging for training services they provide, such as courses, conferences, seminars and other types of training, then are we to suppose that it will do the same to non profit organizations linked to certain institutions that still can operate on the island with an authorization from and under the control of the regime? Why does it apply to some and not others? The consequences of this type of measure is that in Cuba job training will not reach the levels desired for an economy that wishes to prosper. Without training, worker productivity will be deficient and delayed relative to technological advances. Without training, workers lose motivation and are less productive.

Given the state of the Cuban economy, the recommendation to authorities is to start over with a clean slate for the haggard Decree 49/2021, before it’s too late. Cuba cannot be at odds with the world economy.

Translated by: Silvia Suárez

Spanish post
17 May 2023

Cuban activist Yasmany Gonzalez is Transferred to the Combinado del Este Prison

Cuban activist Yasmany González Valdés. (Facebook)

14ymedio, Havana, 29 May 2023 – – Activist Yasmany González Valdés was transferred this Friday to the Combinado del Este prison, in Havana, after more than a month in Villa Marista, headquarters of State Security, as confirmed to 14ymedio by his wife, Ilsa Ramos.

Ramos, who will be able to visit her husband next Wednesday, tells this newspaper that she has not yet been informed of the date on which the trial will be held. González is being accused of the alleged crime of “propaganda against government bodies.”

During his stay at Villa Marista, the activist felt “like a caged lion” in “an unventilated cell,” Ramos denounced in a post on his Facebook account. “I couldn’t hold back my tears when I saw his deteriorated physical condition, but even more so his mental state. He is super upset, very nervous.”

The activist, also known as Libre Libre, was arrested on April 20 after a “violent search” at his house in Centro Habana in which about 15 political police officers participated. They confiscated a pair of overalls, a brush and his mobile phone, as part of the investigation into the graffiti against the Cuban regime that appeared in several central points of the capital. continue reading

Initially, the Observatory of Cultural Rights (ODC) warned about the detention of Libre Libre and recalled that the activist had been summoned by the police at the beginning of April at the Zanja station, in the Cuban capital, where he was linked to the group that calls itself El Nuevo Directorio (END). According to González’s testimony, on that occasion they did graphological tests and also tried to arrest him for a non-payment of fines that had already been paid.

The first painting signed by END with the slogan “No to the PCC” appeared on the walls of the Faculty of Physics of the University of Havana. The second was in Aguirre Park, and a third was at the entrance of the university stadium, on Ronda Street. But it was the fourth and most recent poster that most annoyed State Security, when it appeared on the morning of April 20 at number 7 Humboldt Street, in Centro Habana.

The location of this last sign coincides with the place where four young people belonging to the Revolutionary Directory were murdered in 1957, during the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista. The poster, made on the same day as the anniversary of that repressive action, generated a strong police operation to cover the letters with paint, in addition to an “act of apology.”

Yasmany González denounced the harassment he has suffered from State Security. In 2022, after four days of detention in Villa Marista, the activist, who works as a self-employed bricklayer, said he would stop posting on social networks. He had previously been fined for denouncing human rights violations and demanding the release of the detainees in the protests of July 11, 2021.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Cuban Writer Nancy Morejon Withdraws as Honorary President of the Poetry Festival in Paris

Morejón is aligned with “the prevailing dictatorial regime in Cuba,” and is part of its “cultural authorities” at Uneac, Machover said. (Screen capture)

14ymedio, Havana, 30 May 2023 — The denunciation of numerous intellectuals against Nancy Morejón — headed by the Cuban Jacobo Machover — has achieved its objective: the organizers of the Paris Poetry Market, a prestigious literary event held annually since 1983 in the French capital, will withdraw the official writer’s status as honorary president, although she will continue to be invited to the festival.

The official press has already alluded to the situation, accusing “reactionary sectors of the Cuban emigration” of calling for a “cultural war” against Morejón. Without offering details, they insist that “the organizers rejected the attacks against the academic.”

This Tuesday, Machover released a letter sent by Yves Boudier and Vincent Gimeno-Pons, general delegates of the c/i/r/c/é association, which organizes the Poetry Market, to Antoine Spire, president of the Pen Club of France, one of the organizations that supported the protest against Morejón.

In addition to notifying their intention to “renounce” offering the poet the honor of presiding over the festival, the organizers apologized for “not having delved” into her biography and announced that there is an “official statement” in preparation. As of now, the article indicating the presidency of Morejón is not available on the festival’s website.

According to Radio Habana Cuba, Morejón will be in France and Spain from June 1 to 13, presenting various titles. As for the Poetry Market, it has been announced that the writer will participate in a recital at the headquarters of the Instituto Cervantes in Paris, on the 9th, but any mention of the honorary presidency has been omitted. continue reading

This Tuesday, Machover thanked those who joined his protest. Morejón, Spire wrote on behalf of the Pen Club of France to the directors of the event, “stigmatizes many of those who have taken sides against the Cuban government in the name of freedom of expression,” noting the existence of multiple artists and writers censored by Morejón, also director of the official magazine Unión. Lastly, he urged organizers to investigate Morejón’s life and her record of supporting the regime.

On May 25, Machover criticized the Poetry Market’s naming of Morejón and described as “delusional” that this honor was granted to a writer who supports an authoritarian regime like the Cuban one.

“I demand that this error be corrected and that the honorary title that has been improperly attributed to the poet Nancy Morejón be withdrawn. This act would contribute to the freedom of Cuba and, of course, that of its poetry and literature, which constitute the common heritage of all writers and poets throughout the world,” he said. In the days that followed, dozens of writers, artists, activists, and journalists joined the demand.

In his open letter to the organizers, Machover pointed out that Morejón is aligned with “the prevailing dictatorial regime in Cuba” and is part of its “cultural authorities” in the Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba (Uneac). Precisely as part of that institution, Morejón has been a signatory on several documents of adherence to the regime, the most recent of which, noted Machover, is the Message from Cuban educators, journalists, writers, artists and scientists to their colleagues in other countries, signed in October 2022, and in which the poet’s signature appears in sixth place.

In that text, she expressed her full support for the Government, in addition to alleging the non-existence of repression by the authorities, a situation described as “distortion of our reality.”

Another of the letters that the poet signed twenty years ago, Machover affirmed, was the one that justified the arrest and sentencing of 75 dissidents, several of them writers, during the Black Spring of 2003. Among them was the poet Raúl Rivero, whom Machover has translated and published in French. In addition, that document destined for the “peoples of the world” validated the execution of three young people who had tried to escape from Cuba by hijacking the “little boat” from the Havana town of Regla.

One day after the protests of July 11, 2021, the Ministry of Culture made several intellectuals appear on Cuban Television to insult the protesters. Morejón then said: “These events of yesterday, unacceptable, condemnable in every sense, are part of an old pandemic as terrible as this one that plagues us (covid-19): that of the empire.”

To be held from June 7 to 12 in the Saint-Sulpice square in the French capital, the Poetry Market had planned an opening ceremony by Morejón, as well as various panels and conferences with her participation. As of now, Uneac has not made any announcement of its decision regarding the festival.

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In Another Blow to Cuban Baseball, the National Series Will Not Have the All-Star Game and the Gala

The Avispas game in the 62nd National Series, the tournament that has suffered due to the lack of balls and bats. (Jit)

14ymedio, Havana, May 30, 2023 — To the streak of bad news for Cuban baseball is added that the 62nd National Series “will not have an All-Star Game.” Nor will the Gala of awarding the most outstanding athletes be held. According to the national baseball commissioner, Juan Reinaldo Pérez Pardo, in the face of the “current situation” on the Island, it is proposed to “reward” the first three places and the leaders of the tournament.

“What happened confirms that the current edition of the veteran championship has arrived full of problems that hinder its performance,” published Play-Off Magazine. “The All-Star Game was a recognizable and important part of Cuban baseball, which continues to assume debts in terms of generating spectacle and attracting an audience,” it stressed.

The sport, declared in 2021 as part of Cuba’s cultural heritage, is in decline both in the organizational part and in the sport. Throughout this tournament, the failures of the TeamMate company of Riccardo Fraccari, president of the World Baseball and Softball Confederation (WBSC) and close to Antonio, son of Fidel Castro, have been denounced. First were the delays in the delivery of the uniforms and then the spelling errors in the names that delayed the start of the Elite League.

The national baseball commissioner, Juan Reinaldo Pérez Pardo, told the sports authorities about the problems with lack of bats. (Jit)

TeamMate also went wrong with the delivery of the balls — only half were sent — so the authorities had to use some of the Batos brand, which the official media Cubadebate clarified “are not made in Cuba.” They acquired them from a supplier abroad who agreed to give them the name of the national brand. continue reading

In addition, these balls from the Italian company are sold to the Island at 12 dollars each; that is, more than double the cost of one of the Rawlings brand, which is the official ball of the Major Leagues, or the one from the Franklin Sports company.

There are also problems with the bats. In the match of the Elefantes de Cienfuegos against the Gallos de Sancti Spíritus on May 23, the players ran out of bats just a few minutes after the game began.

Pérez Pardo, who is also the president of the Cuban Baseball Federation (FCB), pawned off the bat problem on Monday. The National Baseball Commission (CNB) “found that the responsibility did not fall on the direction of the local team.” According to the manager, the delivery of 40 bats was fulfilled, but each territory must take care of the rest.

While the Island is experiencing the crisis, some baseball players continue to take advantage of opportunities to emigrate. Left-handed pitcher Oscar Hernández took a flight to the United States. According to journalist Francys Romero, “he arrived by way of family reunification.”

Hernández participated in four National Series with an average effectiveness of 4.47 in the 61 National Series with Villa Clara. In 86.2 innings he scored 63 strikeouts. “He was one of the figures in the Under-23 National Championship won by Villa Clara against Santiago de Cuba. He has good secondary pitches, and his straight can reach 90 miles,” Romero published in FR Baseball!

On Monday, it was also confirmed that baseball player Luis Manuel León reached an agreement with the Saint Louis Cardinals and will receive a signing bonus close to one million dollars. “He runs 60 yards in 6.3 seconds, above-average arm,” Romero said. The athlete also has “solid batting with “swing” speed to the three parts of the field.”

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Cuba Experienced Blackouts of Up to 20 Hours This Sunday and the Forecasts Don’t Improve

The Government does not rule out blackouts for the high temperature season, but says that the system now has better conditions. (14ymedio)

14ymedio, Havana, 29 May 2023 – – The promise of the Minister of Energy and Mines, Vicente de la O Levy, to have “better conditions” for the supply of electricity to Cuban homes for the hottest months didn’t even last one day. Despite its statements this Saturday in Cubadebate, the Electric Union (UNE) recorded blackouts of up to 20 hours throughout the Island.

The company explained that the service was interrupted from 7:15 a.m. on Sunday to 4:07 a.m. this Monday. The maximum affects occurred on Sunday at 8:30 p.m., with a generation deficit of 736 megawatts (MW).

Complaints on social networks were not long in coming, and Internet users reported incidents in different areas of the Island. A Sancti Spíritus user warned that there were blackouts of more than six hours in 11 circuits in the province. “It’s bad,” he wrote, alluding to the difficulties of electricity generation.

A collaborator of this newspaper in that province was able to verify that, in fact, in several municipalities the electricity service is interrupted every four hours, a situation that is also repeated in other municipalities of Ciego de Ávila, Cienfuegos and Villa Clara, both during the day and overnight. However, the most serious mishaps occur in the rural areas, he explains. continue reading

Among the indignant remarks addressed to the UNE, a user from Santiago de Cuba pointed out that cuts in the province are frequent in the afternoon or early morning, which makes it difficult to rest. “Do you think that the analysis parameters for a pregnant woman can be normal after not sleeping due to a blackout of almost five hours and then awakening in the dark?” he questioned, describing the situation as psychological abuse.

As the hottest season begins in Cuba, the frequency and duration of blackouts increase. The National Electrical System (SEN) began a phase of new deterioration this Saturday, when the UNE reported that the service had been interrupted for 20 hours. The prospects for this Monday are not encouraging either, since the company expects the cuts to continue due to a deficit in the generation capacity of 400 MW.

According to the UNE report, unit 1 of the Santa Cruz thermoelectric plant (Mayabeque), unit 5 of Antonio Maceo (Rentté, in Santiago de Cuba), unit 2 of Felton (Holguín) and Energas-Boca de Jaruco, in Puerto Escondido, are out of service due to breakdowns. In addition, Guiteras, unit 5 of Nuevitas and unit 6 of Renté are under maintenance.

Despite the usual instability of the SEN, the head of Energy and Mines told the official press that maintenance work has been completed on the eve of the season of greater consumption and that the projections point to “a considerable decrease in affectations” for this summer.

The minister said that the schedule of cuts could not be met in the first months of the year and shielded himself by saying that the damage caused to the power line was from forest fires, which forced the SEN to be disconnected four times in February.

In the interview with the official media, he also promised that there will soon be “a recovery” in the supply of fuels, which will lead to a decrease in the “uncomfortable lines” at gas stations, although he did not allude to the movement of oil tankers in the ports of the Island in recent months, and to the secrecy of the Government about their cargo and origin.

This Monday, according to the maritime observation pages, there are several tankers anchored at the docks in Havana. The Nicos I.V. sails with the flag of St. Vincent and the Grenadines; the Marianna V.V. (Matanzas), with the Liberian flag; and the NQ Calipso (Moa, Holguín), with the flag of the Netherlands. In addition, the arrival in Santiago de Cuba of the oil tanker Scot Hamburg is expected, coming from Kaliningrad, Russia and flying the flag of Malta, and the Cuban tanker Vilma will arrive in Cienfuegos from Venezuela.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Moringa, Fidel Castro’s Last Obsession, Is Being Processed in Sancti Spiritus

The authorities of Sancti Spíritus inaugurated the first moringa powder processing plant. (Prensa Latina)

14ymedio, Havana, 28 May 2023 – – Fidel Castro’s “dream” of mass consumption of moringa, a tree from India with medicinal properties overrated by the Cuban leader, has still not died. The latest invention is the inauguration this Saturday of the first moringa powder processing plant in La Sierpe, Sancti Spíritus.

Located in the Agroindustrial Enterprise of Granos Sur del Jíbaro, the plant has an installed capacity to process 20 tons of moringa powder per year, whose supply will come from 25 acres of plantations. The main markets are the pharmaceutical industry, export and sale as a nutritional supplement in the manufacture of cookies.

Concepción Campa, advisor to the project, was in charge of Castro’s “ambitious project” and said that with the start-up of the plant, “another of his dreams is now coming true,” according to the official news agency Prensa Latina.

The factory has Austrian machinery for drying the leaf in conditions of airtight darkness, a process that prevents the denaturalization of chlorophyll and other nutritional properties of the tree.

Campa pointed out that moringa, known by many as the “miracle tree,” has several anti-inflammatory and antibiotic properties, as well as being a source of protein. In addition, the official added, it helps to “cure up to 300 diseases.” continue reading

“The creation of the plant will generate various benefits for the local economy. First of all, it will provide a nutritional supplement for human beings, as well as protein in the feed for sheep, goats, pigs and poultry,” Prensa Latina said.

The cultivation of the plant is a forgotten project, which from time to time is remembered by the official press with promises of an increase in production. In 2021, the Bayamo Agricultural Company and the Grass and Fodder Research Institute carried out a study in which they found the feasibility of replacing the raw material for animal feed with moringa-based feed.

According to that study, the import of food for livestock costs 550 million dollars a year, an expense that the country cannot assume if it also wants to recover bovine production, which is increasingly declining due to the lack of inputs and increase in cattle theft. In this way, the research proposed that making a ton of feed from the plant would cost 561 pesos, almost a third of the 1,500 pesos it costs with imported materials.

Castro’s obsession with moringa originated in 2011, when the Cuban government ordered two pounds of seeds from a Canarian farmer who, impressed, sent him four, according to the Spanish scientific website Sinc. The former Cuban ruler was at that time convalescing far from public life, but he kept publishing his texts in the national media.

In one of his last delirious Reflections, disseminated by the official press, Castro wrote that “the conditions are created for the country to begin to massively produce moringa oleífera and mulberry, which are also inexhaustible sources of meat, egg and milk, (and) silk fibers that are spun by hand.”

After his death in November 2016, the plant lost prominence on the Island, and its consumption was reduced mainly to pills, tea and cookies sold in pharmacies.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Moringa Attacks Again

An old edition of Granma, the official newspaper of the Cuban Communist Party (and so the official newspaper of Cuba), follows Fidel’s lead and gets all excited about the Moringa tree’s ability to supply Cubans with “an inexhaustible supply of milk, eggs and meat.”

14ymedio, Elías Amor Bravo, Economist, 29 May 2023 — We all remember that back in 2012, Fidel Castro, already retired from the political front line, began to publish a series of articles in the state press to explain, with quasi-scientific details, the properties of moringa and mulberry. Those explanations drew attention, because after a long life at the head of the regime created by his communist revolution, no one thought of Fidel Castro as an amateur scientist, much less, as a moringa specialist. So, in that article now distant in time, Castro devoted himself to detailing the benefits that, according to him, could be attributed to moringa, a plant native to India that had all types of amino acids and numerous medicinal properties, although he clarified at some point that it should never be consumed in excess.

Castro’s article went on to point out that “we have supplied samples of seeds of different varieties to agricultural research institutes. Soon we will learn more about its potential. From my point of view, its greatest benefit for the population lies in its qualities as animal consumption for the production of meat, milk, eggs, and even the cultivation of fish,” something like the Castro manna that can do anything.

So those “scientific” collaborations coincided with the aggravation of the ailments that the old revolutionary was already suffering at the time, at age 86, and the state press used them as a talisman to stop the tide of rumors about an alleged worsening of his health. From that time the images of a Fidel Castro in a wheelchair visiting moringa fields are remembered, and in one of his last collaborations, he proposed the massive cultivation of these vegetables as alternatives to food and for health.

Some time later, and once the old dictator died, the regime did what it had to do, and in that way, by 2018 the council of ministers approved the creation of the science, technology and innovation entity “Sierra Maestra,” with the aim of investigating and putting into practice the reflections of the late Cuban dictator related to the medicinal properties of moringa and other plants that occupied his “studies.” No expense was spared for this project; it was, as on other occasions throughout history, about validating Castro’s ideas and proposals, no matter how absurd they might seem. Ideas that bordered on “devotion” for the moringa tree and its medicinal properties. Rivers of ink ran. continue reading

Fidel Castro had not said it, but his followers, determined to give continuity to those “collaborations” stressed that “the conditions are created for the country to begin to massively produce moringa oleífera and mulberry, which are also inexhaustible sources of meat, egg and milk, (and) silk fibers that are spun by hand.”

In this way, coming out of nowhere, the “Sierra Maestra” institution was aimed at guaranteeing, in addition, the continuity of the investigations ordered by Castro, related to the production of silk, fodder and the sacha inchi, the native seed of the Peruvian Amazon known as the “peanut of the Incas,” much appreciated for the properties of its oil.

And you will wonder, what is all this about?

Well, the heirs of Fidel Castro, in 2023 have launched the first integral moringa powder plant in Cuba, inaugurated in La Sierpe, Sancti Spíritus, destined to produce 20 tons. According to the state press, “the powder will have three destinations of vital importance for the development of the nation: the pharmaceutical industry, export and as a nutritional supplement in the manufacture of cookies,” a project conceived by Fidel Castro and, as it could not be otherwise, “an honor for us to comply with it.”

Apparently the entity has state-of-the-art technology of Austrian origin — you can imagine the cost — “and the processor dries the leaf in conditions of airtight darkness, avoiding the denaturing of chlorophyll and other nutritional properties of the tree.”

It is assumed that the plant will have various benefits for the local economy, such as “providing a nutritional supplement for human beings, as well as, from the protein content of the green mass, food for sheep, goats, pigs and birds,” following the script of Fidel Castro, who identified moringa “as a miraculous tree of life, light and hope, like an angel turned into plant. It is a very complete food.”

The inauguration of the entity was attended by Jorge Luis Tapia, member of the central committee of the party and deputy prime minister, and the division general of the reserve Ulises Rosales. Teresita Romero, governor of the province, also participated. We are talking about moringa again after 11 years.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Mexico Shields the Information About the 1,200 Cuban Doctors Hired and the Abdala Vaccine

A group of Cuban health workers in the state of Campeche. (Facebook/Zoé Robledo)

14ymedio, Ángel Salinas, Mexico, 29 May 2023 — Under the argument of “reserved file,” the Government of Mexico shielded the information on public spending that will be allocated to the hiring of more than 1,200 Cuban doctors to be sent to remote areas and the disbursement for the purchase of 9,000,000 doses of the Abdala vaccine, without the endorsement of the World Health Organization (WHO), for the reinforcement campaign against COVID-19. Some of the vaccines are about to expire.

The federal Secretary of Health said that the data requested by the newspaper Reforma through the National Institute of Transparency, Access to Information and Protection of Personal Data (INAI), could not be made public because they were considered national security and could “harm” the relationship with Cuba.

The payment to Cuban health workers “is part of the contract for the acquisition of the Abdala vaccine,” the federal Health unit said in the request for transparency.

The Mexican Government has an evident secrecy about these specialists and the validation of their studies, mandatory in the Aztec country to be able to prescribe for patients. At least twenty of these doctors were rejected in the state of Morelos for not having a professional card.

A report to 14ymedio in August, 2022, revealed that for 610 specialists on the Island, the Government of Andrés Manuel López Obrador paid $1,308,922 per month, money that is managed by the Comercializadora de Servicios Médicos Cubanos, S.A. continue reading

The collaboration agreement signed by the director of the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMISS) Zoé Robledo and the president of the Comercializadora de Servicios Médicos Cubanos, S.A., Yamila Ramona de Armas Águila, specifies that the payment is 1,177,300 euros per month, not in another currency, through bank transfer. The López Obrador Administration has the first 10 days of each month to make the disbursement.

The July 2022 agreement established that the Cuban doctors will work eight hours a day for five days. Those who cover night shifts will work nine hours for three days.

In September of last year, two months after the agreement was made official, it was specified in one of the clauses that Cuban health workers would have “guaranteed accommodation, food and transport services” in the states to which they were sent. This newspaper has delved into the benefits, which in some cases are à la carte dinners.

Among the reserved information is also that relating to the Abdala vaccine, which without approval from the WHO was acquired by Mexico to be applied as a booster against COVID-19, and a few months ago it was accepted to be administered to children.

At least 90,000 of these biologicals will expire in July, and another almost 70,000 that were sent to Oaxaca will expire in August. In addition, more than 636,000 doses are refrigerated, unused due to the distrust of the Mexicans.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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‘My Sons are Down to Pure Bones’ Denounces the Mother of Two Brothers Detained in Caimanera, Cuba

Luis Miguel Alarcón Martínez and Felipe Octavio Correa Martínez have spent three weeks in detention. (Courtesy)

14ymedio, Havana, 28 May 2023 — Since May 6th, Victoria Martínez Valdivia has had no life. On that day, two of her sons were arrested for the street protests in Caimanera, Guantánamo, where a crowd congregated at the yell of “Freedom!”, “Homeland and Life!” and “Down with the communist system!” Since then, the brothers have been under arrest “in terrible conditions,” their mother told 14ymedio.

Felipe Octavio Correa Martínez, 26 years old, and Luis Miguel Alarcón Martínez, age 32, have spent three weeks in the Provincial Unit for Criminal Investigations and Operations in the city of Guantánamo. The family has visited them on several occasions and “they are in very bad shape,” described Victoria Martínez.

“My sons are down to pure bones, the younger one was shaking,” she added. “The first times I went to visit them I noticed that my son Luis Miguel would hide his face and then I knew it was because, with the beatings, they knocked two of his teeth out, I could barely recognize him, he was in such bad shape.”

“The place for the visits is in such a condition that it is evident they are filming everything we do,” describes the mother. “There is a table, two chairs and everything is prepared in such a way that you can tell there is a camera somewhere to record what we talk about and do while we are there.”

Martínez warns that her sons have not had all the procedural guarantees, “I’ve had to hire two lawyers already, I paid 4,200 pesos for each one and that was very difficult for my family because we have a low income. But the attorneys have not been able to even speak with my sons.” continue reading

“At first I hired a lawyer who I later had to remove from the case because in the first week, he did nothing for my sons,” she says. “Later, when I went to see him to show him the videos of the protest which show that Felipe Octavio and Luis Miguel had not committed any violent acts, he said they were “already doomed.”

The lawyer, “had already penalized them and I decided to cancel his contract. How is it possible that he had already assumed they were guilty,” she explained to us. “When I went to see the police inspector in charge of the case, First Lieutenant Dailovis Torres, he gave me a paper which states they are being charged with public disorder and Felipe Octavio is also charged with resistance.”

“I asked for how long they would be detained. But they said their files are with the Military Prosecutor. I don’t know why, because they are civilians, why do they do this to them?” she reproached. “They won’t give us a trial date nor details of what will happen to them, they don’t tell us anything, they give us the runaround, trying to distract us.”

Martínez believes that such a long detention is not in line with what Luis Miguel and Felipe Octavio did, “My sons have had enough, because here in Caimanera we are dying of hunger. The last batch of split peas they sold us as part of the rationed basic food basket were full of weevils,” she denounced. “They went out into the street saying the truth and the people, who supported them, began to join them. They complained about the poor food supplies, that there is no fuel for the ambulances. They protested peacefully, without weapons.”

“That was in the afternoon, but at night the trucks full of Black Berets arrived and they beat them like animals,” remembers their mother. “My son was dragged for three blocks. His brother approached to see what they were doing to his brother and they beat him too. Since that day, they have been under arrest.”

“Luis Miguel is married, he is responsible for his wife’s son and two nephews, one of whom had a cerebral stroke,” she added. “We have lived our whole lives in Caimanera, I am 51 years old and I was born here; my parents are also from here. I care for my bed-ridden sister who is disabled and my sons’ arrest has made daily life worse.”

“For example, here in my house there is no water, my sons have to carry it from far away for us to bathe and care for the people in the house who are bedridden,” she explained. “I don’t even want to eat, I can’t sleep, I have no life since that day they took them.”

As to the situation of the Guantánamo town, Martínez describes it clearly, “Now they’ve tried to calm the situation in Caimanera by stocking the stores.” They brought oil and ground beef. They have us going from one line to another so we don’t complain, so we can’t think of anything else.

Translated by: Silvia Suárez

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Since January, 29,000 Cubans Have Been Sponsored With the Humanitarian Parole in the United States

The US Embassy in Havana spent almost four years with the consular services semi-paralyzed and subjected to the sway of relations between Cuba and the United States. (14ymedio)

14ymedio, Havana, 26 May 2023 — Despite the barrage of applications and the difficulties in obtaining an appointment, since January 29,000 Cubans have benefited from the humanitarian parole program to enter the United States. The figure was given by Blas Nuñez-Neto, Acting Undersecretary of Border Policy and Immigration of the US Department of Homeland Security, who also announced that there will soon be new provisions for the family reunification process.

After several weeks of tension, the official said during a videoconference, “a lot of progress” begins to be seen in the program, which the United States offers to the citizens of the Island, as well as to Venezuelans, Nicaraguans and Haitians. The urgency to achieve the effectiveness of the parole derives from the “migration issue” represented by the border with Mexico, through which many Latin American citizens, including Cubans, are still trying to enter.

However, Nuñez-Neto was cautious when making predictions about the success of the program in the future: “It is too early to draw definitive conclusions or predict what will happen in the coming weeks,” he warned.

A recent report by the CBS News network, based on internal documents from the Department of Homeland Security to which they had access, indicated that there were more than 380,000 requests to sponsor Cubans at the end of last April. In just four months, 1.5 million petitions to sponsor citizens of Venezuela, Haiti, Nicaragua and Cuba had reached the immigration offices. continue reading

The situation was, clearly, an uncontrollable “avalanche” of procedures, complained the social workers of the US Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS), whose management already exceeds the possibilities of the institution. With a capacity to handle 30,000 monthly permits, they are receiving an average of 120,000 requests daily. In the first quarter, more than 580,000 petitions have been accumulated for Haitians, 120,000 for Venezuelans and more than 20,000 for Nicaraguans, in addition to those already cited for Cubans.

In addition, the volume of candidates to sponsor a humanitarian parole is much higher than expected and calls into question the sustainability of the program, since the times to process documentation have increased and migrants could resume the illegal path.

As for family reunification, the official admitted the notable delay in the procedures at the U.S. Embassy in Havana, which spent almost four years with the consular services semi-paralyzed and subjected to the sway of relations between Cuba and the United States.

The program is giving results in what is its first objective, said Nuñez-Neto: to stop the migratory flow on the border with Mexico, especially after the elimination — on May 12 — of Title 42, which facilitated the immediate expulsion of people from US territory under health arguments in times of Covid.

The reduction, 70%, has been significant, the undersecretary said: from the entry of 11,000 people a day, it has gone to only 4,000. However, he warned against the “coyotes and traffickers” who continue to spread “rumors” as bait to negotiate with migrants.

Nuñez-Neto also recalled that in the fiscal year 2021-2022 (from October 1 to September 30) there were 224,000 Cubans who entered through the Mexican border to the United States, not counting the 6,182 who tried to arrive by sea. In December 2022, a month before the parole program was implemented and at the most critical moment of the exodus, the figure was 44,064.

The program has not been without controversy and may be repealed in the future. A lawsuit filed by 20 Republican states, led by Texas, maintains that the Government is abusing its powers. The trial that will decide the future of humanitarian parole will be held on June 13 in the federal court of Victoria, in Texas.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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