EFE – Translating Cuba

A Judge Gives the Green Light to Lawsuit That Could Regularize Cubans with I-220A

Judge Jacqueline Becerra rejected the DHS motion to dismiss, confirming that the court has jurisdiction over the case.

Attorney Mark Prada, in front of the Wilkie D. Ferguson Jr. Federal Courthouse this Thursday, in Miami. / EFE/Alberto Boal

14ymedio/EFE, Miami, September 10, 2026 – A federal judge in Miami ruled Thursday that she has jurisdiction over a lawsuit seeking to regularize the status of up to half a million Cubans in the U.S. who entered with I-220A permits. The attorneys in the case described the decision as an “important victory” and a key step toward reopening the doors of the Cuban Adjustment Act to them.

“The judge decided that she has jurisdiction to proceed with the case. That is the most important thing of all,” attorney Mark Prada, who is leading the lawsuit, said as he left the courthouse.

Judge Jacqueline Becerra, of the Southern District of Florida, rejected the motion to dismiss filed by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), confirming that the court has jurisdiction over the case.

However, she gave DHS attorneys one week to modify their request.

The background to the case is a lawsuit brought by 992 Cubans who entered through the Mexican border and were left in legal limbo after receiving the order for conditional release represented by the I-220A form when they were released by immigration authorities. The plaintiffs are seeking recognition by the United States of their legal status and eligibility under the Cuban Adjustment Act, which for decades allowed Cuban nationals to obtain legal residency after living in the country for continue reading

one year.

“We want to clarify that they meet the requirements to apply for Cuban Adjustment and that afterward each individual can pursue their application”

Following the judge’s preliminary decision, the court must determine whether to certify the lawsuit as a nationwide “class action,” which would protect all Cubans in similar situations, and define what legal remedy applies.

Prada explained to the media that they seek to include all Cubans who lack a document known as parole (humanitarian immigration relief) in order to “open the door to applying for Cuban Adjustment to as many people as possible.”

“We want to clarify that they meet the requirements to apply for Cuban Adjustment and that afterward each individual can pursue their application; that people who already have a deportation order can ask an immigration judge to reopen their case,” he continued.

The central issue will focus on demonstrating that immigration authorities processed and released these citizens with incorrect documentation at the border, when legally they were entitled to that historic form of immigration relief, enacted in 1966 by U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson, which provides a special and simplified procedure for Cuban citizens to obtain permanent residence in the United States.

Attorney Claudia Cañizares, for her part, emphasized the “impatience” of the Cuban community over a case of “great impact,” and noted that the judge herself urged that the process be expedited.

The case is unfolding amid the immigration crackdown by the Trump administration, which has multiplied migrant arrests and drastically reduced the granting of residency permits.

The majority of Cubans with I-220A are people who fled the Island following the massive antigovernment protests of 2021

The majority of Cubans with I-220A are people who fled the Island following the massive antigovernment protests of 2021, in what was one of the largest exoduses, along the “volcano route,” heading to Nicaragua.

After traveling through Central America, thousands of them crossed the border between Mexico and the U.S., the vast majority seeking to reach Florida. Many sold their properties on the Island, their homes and their vehicles, to finance the journey through several countries and pay the coyotes.

A little more than a year later, in the face of that unstoppable exodus, the Biden administration established humanitarian parole and, with it, the possibility of traveling to the U.S. legally and without the risks of the overland journey through Central America and Mexico. But those with I-220A did not receive this benefit.

In September 2023, the U.S. Board of Immigration Appeals rejected the possibility that migrants who entered that country with the I-220A form could make use of the Cuban Adjustment Act to apply for residency, forcing people to process their political asylum claims through the ordinary court system.

Translated by Regina Anavy

______________________

COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORK: The 14ymedio team is committed to practicing serious journalism that reflects Cuba’s reality in all its depth. Thank you for joining us on this long journey. We invite you to continue supporting us by becoming a member of 14ymedio now. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.

Spain’s Supreme Court Temporarily Suspends Voting Rights for Those Naturalized Under the ‘Grandchildren Law’

Applications will continue to be processed, but applicants will not be added to the electoral register while the underlying appeal is being resolved, unless the consulate expressly certifies their eligibility.

The court is urging consulates to certify that naturalizations are being carried out in accordance with the requirements of the law, rather than the instruction. / 14ymedio

EFE (via 14ymedio), Madrid, September 8, 2026 / Spain’s Supreme Court has suspended the addition to the Electoral Census of Absent Residents (CERA) of those registered as a result of the Grandchildren Law, until consulates certify that the newly naturalized citizens meet the requirement of being descendants of children or grandchildren of Spanish exiles.

The Administrative Litigation Chamber partially granted the precautionary measure requested by the Iustitia Europa and Vox political parties in appeals filed against a decision by the Central Electoral Board (JEC) on July 16. Among other matters, the JEC had stated that it could not order the rejection of postal voting from abroad because doing so exceeded its powers.

The Grandchildren Law, through a provision included in the Democratic Memory Law enacted on October 19, 2022, allows children and grandchildren of Spaniards by birth to apply for Spanish nationality, provided they meet the requirements of having been born outside Spain and that their father, mother, grandfather, or grandmother was originally Spanish and suffered exile for political, ideological, religious, or sexual-orientation reasons.

The Government approved an instruction stating that the status of exile would be “presumed” for all Spaniards who left the country between 1936 and 1955

However, a week later the Government approved an instruction stating that the status of exile would be “presumed” for all Spaniards who left the country between 1936 and 1955.

Now, the high court has suspended the electoral effects of registration in the CERA for subsequent electoral processes until its ruling is issued, except in cases where applicants can demonstrate that they are descendants of people persecuted by the Franco regime in accordance with the law, according to continue reading

the ruling announced by the court on Tuesday, pending formal notification of the order. The decision includes a dissenting opinion.

“The suspension shall not apply to persons for whom the officials responsible for the consular registers issue a certificate confirming that they were born outside Spain to a father or mother, grandfather or grandmother who was originally Spanish and who suffered exile for political, ideological, religious, or sexual-identity orientation reasons (…) without having applied the presumption established in the instruction.”

In other words, consulates must certify that the naturalizations are being carried out in accordance with the requirements of the law and not the instruction in order for applicants to be registered in the CERA. To this end, the court has ordered the JEC to require this “immediately” from the consulates.

It also ordered the Electoral Census Office to separate the electoral-registration applications resulting from the direct application of the exile provisions established by the law from those approved under the interpretation contained in the instruction.

Around 2.4 million descendants of people who were forced into exile following the Civil War (1936–1939) or because of Francoist persecution have applied for Spanish nationality through this avenue

The court also asked the JEC to press the Electoral Census Office to send it the complete report it requested on July 16 concerning the application of the so-called Grandchildren Law and postal voting by absent residents, as well as to prepare an instruction establishing precise criteria for determining the municipality in which voters should be registered.

Around 2.4 million descendants of people forced into exile following the Civil War (1936–1939) or because of Francoist persecution have applied for Spanish nationality through this route. Of these, 544,722 applications have been approved and 306,000 people are already registered as Spanish citizens, according to the latest official figures.

In Cuba, according to sources at Spain’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs cited by 14ymedio, more than 600,000 Cubans had applied for or begun the process of obtaining Spanish nationality under the Democratic Memory Law at the Spanish Consulate in Havana. The figure includes both those who had formally submitted their applications and those who had requested an appointment before the deadline closed on October 22, 2025.

Government spokesperson Elma Saiz made clear that the Government does not agree with the decision adopted by the Supreme Court on Tuesday and referred to the Central Electoral Board’s previous position. The JEC includes eight judges from the Supreme Court itself.

“We do not agree with this decision, which runs contrary to the position of the Government and also that of the Central Electoral Board,” the minister responded to a question at the press conference following the Council of Ministers meeting, shortly after the Supreme Court’s decision became known.

Translated by Regina Anavy

______________________

The US Deported a Cuban Intelligence Agent in Exile From Miami

Fernando Armando Valdés Pérez, now designated as a spy, was very close to Luis Posada Carriles.

Fernando Armando Valdés Pérez was deported on August 7. / Telemundo

EFE/14ymedio, Miami, September 3, 2026 – The United States deported Fernando Armando Valdés Pérez to Cuba, identified by the authorities as a Cuban intelligence agent tasked with infiltrating communities of exiles and dissidents in the United States and Latin America since the mid-1990s.

Valdés Pérez, 61 years old, was arrested on July 10 at the Miami International Airport during a migration control operation, according to a statement this Wednesday from the Immigration and Customs Control Service (ICE).

According to the investigation, Valdés, who is also a Guatemalan citizen, was a Cuban intelligence agent whose mission was to infiltrate communities of Cuban exiles and dissidents and report on his activities, both in the United States and other countries in Latin America.

Authorities claim that Valdés gained the trust of the late anti-Castro dissident Luis Posada Carriles and maintained close proximity to other well-known Cuban and Cuban-American figures in southern Florida until his arrest.

He maintained close proximity to other well-known Cuban and Cuban-American figures in southern Florida until his arrest

According to the Miami Herald, the proximity of Posada Carriles and Valdés was so great that he was quoted by the newspaper when the first died. “I spoke with him yesterday and felt he was strong,” Valdés declared to the media. Valdés also organized the last birthday party of the opponent.

Investigators have determined that Valdés deliberately hid his ties to the Cuban regime when he applied for and obtained legal permanent residence in the US, thereby knowingly continue reading

deceiving US immigration officials, according to authorities.

“Individuals who hide their links with foreign intelligence services and take advantage of our immigration system pose a serious threat to the integrity of that system and to our national security”, the director of ICE’s Miami Enforcement and Clearance Operations (ERO) office, Matthew Elliston, said in a statement.

After his arrest, which also involved the FBI and the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Valdés was prosecuted and placed in deportation procedures before being deported from the United States on August 7.

Translated by Regina Anavy

______________________

“Open Arms” Sailboat Astral Returns to Havana With Seven Tons of Aid

The vessel set sail from Cancún, Mexico, loaded with medical supplies, powdered milk, school materials and other basic necessities.

Open Arms’ sailboat Astral at Havana’s Cruise Terminal this Sunday. / EFE/Ernesto Mastrascusa

EFE, via 14ymedio, Havana, August 31, 2026 / As curious onlookers watched, asking who was aboard the ship, and with nightfall on the horizon, Open Arms’ sailboat Astral entered Havana Bay this Sunday and docked at the Cruise Terminal carrying seven tons of humanitarian aid, just over a month after its first trip to Cuba.

The Spanish NGO’s second mission to the Island had set sail on Saturday from Cancún, Mexico, carrying medical supplies, powdered milk and nearly three tons of hemodialysis equipment and supplies, as well as school materials and other basic necessities.

These are donations from Mexican civil society intended for the Dr. Abelardo Buch López Institute of Nephrology and the Juan Manuel Márquez University Pediatric Hospital.

These are donations from Mexican civil society intended for the Dr. Abelardo Buch López Institute of Nephrology and the Juan Manuel Márquez University Pediatric Hospital.

The Astral arrived in Havana for the first time last July 19, on the mission Rumbo a Cuba [Bound for Cuba]. The sailboat had departed Barcelona on May 14 and, after stopping at various Spanish ports, became the first boat to cross the Atlantic to the Island carrying seven tons of aid, traveling 6,200 miles (nearly 10,000 kilometers).

The donation, valued at 160,000 euros and supported by more than 4,000 donors, included photovoltaic equipment, medical supplies and an ultrasound machine for the Juan Manuel Márquez Pediatric Hospital, which is once again receiving aid on continue reading

this occasion.

“When we arrived in July, we saw firsthand what was happening in the hospitals and, above all, what was missing. We could have ended the mission and gone home, but when you know exactly what they need and that you can do something, you can no longer say you didn’t know. That is why we have returned,” explained Oscar Camps, founder of Open Arms.

After docking late Sunday afternoon, the ship will be unloaded on Monday, followed by a welcome ceremony with local authorities. On Wednesday, the aid will be delivered to the Dr. Abelardo Buch López Institute of Nephrology and the Juan Manuel Márquez University Pediatric Hospital.

“They deserve credit for having left Cancún in that sailboat. Those waters make you terribly seasick”

With this visit, the crew will also be able to assess the results of the previous donation before returning to Barcelona.

The NGO Open Arms was founded in 2015 during the height of the refugee crisis in the Mediterranean Sea and says it has since saved more than 70,000 lives.

With its trip to Cuba, Open Arms’ goal has been to deliver aid and also show the humanitarian impact of the United States embargo on the Island.

As the ship docked at the Havana Port Cruise Terminal, Lázaro Jubel could not stop looking at the Astral from afar. “They deserve credit for having left Cancún in that sailboat. Those waters make you terribly seasick,” he told EFE, familiar with the vessel’s 30-meter length. Before turning away, he concluded: “But we need the aid.”

Translated by Regina Anavy
______________________

Unicef and South Korea Donate Prenatal Supplements for 30,430 Women in Cuba

Unable to send the 213,000 bottles funded by Seoul by sea, the UN agency resorted to air transport.

Unicef used air transport between Panama City and Havana to bring the medicines to Cuba. / Facebook/Unicef Cuba

14ymedio/EFE, Havana, August 29, 2026 – A donation of 213,000 bottles of prenatal supplements for Cuba was acquired by the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) with funds provided by the Government of South Korea, in order to ensure these essential supplies for some 30,430 pregnant and breastfeeding women on the Island.

Unicef explained this Friday on social media that, due to the impossibility of shipping the humanitarian aid cargo by sea, it used air transport between Panama City and Havana.

The operation involved additional costs due to the change from sea to air transport, which Unicef covered with its own resources, leading the UN agency to state that “saving lives cannot wait.”

It also indicated that the goal is for pregnant Cuban women to have access to the prenatal supplements required for the full course of treatment during pregnancy and the breastfeeding stage.

The operation involved additional costs due to the change from sea to air transport, which Unicef covered with its own resources, leading the UN agency to state that “saving lives cannot wait”

As a precedent for this donation, South Korea had already sent humanitarian aid: last December, it donated 24,600 tons of rice to Cuba to support groups affected by the devastating Hurricane Melissa and other vulnerable groups in the country.

Havana and Seoul announced the restoration of diplomatic relations on February 14, 2024, in an event held in New York, and later established embassies in their respective capitals.

The donation arrives in Cuba amid a deep economic crisis, with shortages of basic products such as food and medicines. The situation has worsened since the United States began an oil blockade against the Island in January, in addition to imposing further sanctions.

Translated by Regina Anavy

______________________

The U.S. Trial Against a Cuban Pilot Over the Downing of the Brothers to the Rescue Is Postponed

Luis Raúl González-Pardo is the only detained defendant among the six accused in a case that also includes Raúl Castro.

González-Pardo (center) had been detained since last November on a separate case related to immigration fraud. / Facebookk

14ymedio/EFE, Miami, August 21, 2026 – The trial in the United States against Cuban pilot Luis Raúl González-Pardo over the 1996 downing of two Brothers to the Rescue aircraft has been postponed until at least September. The proceedings, which were scheduled to begin next Monday in Miami, are part of a case in which former Cuban ruler Raúl Castro is also accused.

Court documents available this Friday indicate that federal Judge Darrin Gayles of the Southern District of Florida scheduled a status conference for September 2, a meeting between the defense and the prosecution to determine the next steps in the proceedings.

The trial was initially scheduled for Monday, August 24, but both sides requested that it be postponed because of the volume and complexity of the evidence. González-Pardo is the only detained defendant among the six Cubans indicted in May by the U.S. Department of Justice.

In addition to González-Pardo and Raúl Castro, the Department of Justice indicted four other Cubans on charges of conspiracy to kill U.S. citizens and murder

“The Government has informed the defense that this case involves a significant volume of evidence, including classified material, obsolete media storage and physical evidence from three decades ago, as well as reports that were not previously preserved in electronic format,” one of the court documents states.

The indictment is related to the February 24, 1996, downing of two Brothers to the Rescue aircraft by Cuban Air Force fighter jets. Carlos Costa, Armando Alejandre, Mario Manuel de la Peña and Pablo Morales were killed in the attack, three U.S. citizens and one legal U.S. resident, all of Cuban continue reading

origin.

Brothers to the Rescue conducted flights over the Florida Straits from Florida to locate and assist rafters leaving Cuba.

In addition to González-Pardo and Raúl Castro, the Department of Justice indicted four other Cubans on charges of conspiracy to kill U.S. citizens and murder.

The pilot arrived in the United States in April 2024 through the humanitarian parole program created during the Joe Biden administration

González-Pardo had been detained since last November on a separate case related to immigration fraud. In May, he was sentenced to seven months in prison for providing U.S. authorities with false information about his career in the Cuban Armed Forces.

The pilot arrived in the United States in April 2024 through the humanitarian parole program created during the Joe Biden administration. According to the Department of Justice, he omitted or falsified information about his membership in the Cuban Air Force between 1980 and 2009 when he filed Form I-485 to apply for adjustment of his immigration status.

In the Brothers to the Rescue case, Judge Enjolique A. Lett ordered on June 23 that he remain in custody after the prosecution argued that there was “a serious risk” that he would not appear for trial.

The case was formally opened on May 20, when the Department of Justice announced the indictment of Raúl Castro and five other Cubans over the deaths of the four members of Brothers to the Rescue.

The charges could carry sentences of life imprisonment or even the death penalty. The indictment against 95-year-old Castro came amid Washington’s hardening policy toward Havana under the administration of Donald Trump.

Translated by Regina Anavy

______________________

Cubalex Reports ‘Unprecedented Increase’ in Protests During First Half of 2026

In the first six months of the year, 766 demonstrations were recorded in 141 municipalities across the island

Images of demonstrators in Morón, this past March. Screen capture

EFE/14ymedio, Havana, August 20, 2026,The organization Cubalex stated this Wednesday that “the energy, water, and health crisis” caused an “unprecedented increase” in protests in Cuba during the first half of 2026, which reached 766 demonstrations in 141 municipalities across the island.

These demonstrations reached “historic peaks” in February and June, the NGO reported, noting that in the latter month it recorded as many as 31 protests in a single day. A total of 253 were counted, “the highest number in a single month” since Cubalex began documenting them, in 2022.

The protests “not only increased in number, but also in radicalization in response to the structural crisis” the country is experiencing, said Cubalex researcher Salomé García Bacallao, during a virtual discussion held today to present the Semi-Annual Report on the Human Rights Situation in Cuba.

She added that social discontent in Cuba is expressed through “burning of garbage, pot-banging protests, chants, signs, occupation of public spaces, and street continue reading

closures”.

The epicenter of the protests continues to be Havana, with 495 events in six months

In this regard, she noted that the most “radicalized” incidents recorded were the burning of the entrance to the municipal headquarters building of the Communist Party of Cuba in the city of Morón, in Ciego de Ávila, this past March, and a similar action at a museum dedicated to a guerrilla fighter close to Ernesto Che Guevara, in the town of Contramaestre, in Santiago de Cuba.

However, according to Cubalex, the epicenter of the protests continues to be Havana, with 495 events in six months, “registering a progressive shift from the outskirts toward central areas of the city”, while the provinces of Santiago de Cuba, with 81 demonstrations, and Matanzas, with 25, established themselves as the second and third centers of mobilization.

According to the report, the Cuban government “responded with a parallel intensification of repression” against the protests through actions such as “mass arrests at the time of the demonstrations, followed by summonses, threats, fines, and prolonged criminal proceedings weeks or months later”.

The NGO also denounced other repressive activities against the “right to freedom of expression and information”

Cubalex’s data indicate that 257 incidents of arbitrary detention were recorded during the half-year, representing a “70% increase over the previous half-year, with at least 410 victims”.

The NGO also denounced other repressive activities against the “right to freedom of expression and information”, which are carried out through “detentions, criminal proceedings, and sanctions for critical opinions, selective communication cuts, and hacking for purposes of surveillance and censorship”.

And it emphasized that in the prison system, “violence and preventable deaths due to medical negligence in a context of absolute impunity” persisted, and it denounced “the high concentration of vulnerabilities among persons deprived of liberty, Afro-descendants, human rights defenders, and former political prisoners”.

Translated by GH.

______________________

Meteorologists Warn of the Effects of El Niño on Cuba

The phenomenon could cause effects on the island such as high temperatures, drought and the risk of a cyclone

House destroyed by Hurricane Melissa, in November 2025, in the town of Guamá, Santiago de Cuba. / EFE/Ernesto Mastrascusa

EFE (via 14ymedio), Havana, August 17, 2026 / Cuba’s Institute of Meteorology (Insmet) warns that this year the presence of the El Niño climate phenomenon could cause effects such as high temperatures, drought and the risk of a cyclone affecting the island.

Known as El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), it is an interaction between ocean and atmosphere that occurs when surface temperatures in the eastern and central equatorial Pacific rise above their usual values, explains an article published this Sunday on the state-run site Cubadebate.

Among the possible effects associated with El Niño, Cuban specialists foresee a summer with high temperatures and a lack of rainfall due to a combination of atmospheric and oceanic factors that could favor the occurrence of meteorological drought and water stress in the country. In addition, they point out that under El Niño conditions, which will extend until continue reading

the end of 2026, cyclonic activity in the Atlantic basin usually decreases, but its influence does not eliminate the risk of a cyclone’s impact.

Insmet’s forecast anticipates a cyclone season “less active than normal” and estimates a 40% probability that Cuba will be directly affected by at least one hurricane during the current cycle, which runs until November 30.

In the case of tropical storms, the probability of a direct impact rises to 75%

Meanwhile, in the case of tropical storms, the probability of a direct impact rises to 75%.

According to the forecast, up to eleven tropical cyclones are expected to form, eight of them developing in the Atlantic Ocean basin, two in the Caribbean Sea and one in the Gulf of Mexico.

Five of the cyclones are anticipated to potentially reach hurricane strength, and two would be classified as major hurricanes (category 3 or higher on the Saffir-Simpson scale).

Among the hurricanes that have affected Cuba in recent years are Melissa (2025), Oscar and Rafael (2024) and Ian (2022).

Cuba has still not fully recovered from the devastation caused by the impact of Melissa in the eastern provinces of Guantánamo, Granma, Holguín and Santiago de Cuba – with winds of 200 kilometers per hour and rainfall of up to 400 millimeters in some parts of the country.

Its impact caused no fatalities, but did cause extensive material damage to more than 116,000 homes, as well as 600 state medical facilities, more than 2,000 educational centers, some 100,000 hectares of crops, and transportation, telecommunications, electricity and water supply infrastructure.

Translated by GH

______________________

As Cuba Crumbles, Díaz-Canel Showers Fidel Castro with Praise

Raúl Castro attended the tribute, seated in the audience next to his brother’s widow, Dalia Soto del Valle

Dalia Soto del Valle, widow of Fidel Castro, next to Raúl Castro, at Thursday’s event in Havana marking the centenary of the birth of the leader of the Cuban Revolution. / Screenshot/Presidency of the Republic

14ymedio/EFE, Madrid, August 14, 2026 / Cuba marked the centenary of Fidel Castro’s birth (1926-2016) this Thursday with a political-cultural spectacle at the Karl Marx Theater in Havana, attended by his brother and former president Raúl Castro (2008-2018), his widow Dalia Soto del Valle, and other relatives of the leader of the Cuban Revolution.

Raúl Castro, retired from his official posts and currently the “leader at the helm of the Cuban revolution,” according to official terminology, was accompanied by President Miguel Díaz-Canel and senior representatives of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC, the only legal party), the government, and relatives of both brothers.

At the cultural event, headlined by the Cuban children’s theater company La Colmenita, which presented a journey in images and songs through the life of the man who was president of the Caribbean country for nearly half a century, Díaz-Canel spoke to highlight the figure of Fidel Castro, saying he dedicated his life “to fighting for every just cause.”

The president noted that Castro “lives forever” as a “warrior, rebel, and righteous man of Humanity”

The president noted that Castro “lives forever” as a “warrior, rebel, and righteous man of Humanity,” and that Cuba can count on his legacy of “independence, revolution, and the values and achievements that socialism represents.”

On these premises, he said, “we are undertaking a process of economic and social transformations,” referring to the package of 176 reforms approved this past June, aimed at liberalizing and decentralizing the economy of the island, which has been mired in a deep crisis for more than six years.

Díaz-Canel once again attacked the United States government, accusing it of being a “fascist regime” that is “intensifying” its continue reading

actions against the Caribbean nation with a “brutal and immoral imperial blockade that seeks the extermination of our people.”

The event also marked the closing of the First International Colloquium Fidel: Legacy and Future, which had been underway since this past Monday at the Convention Palace in the capital and was attended by more than 1,000 national and international delegates.

“With tremendous wisdom” and with “that experience, that persistence, and the discipline and his fight for freedom,” Castro said, reaffirming how he remembered his father.

During the opening yesterday of a collective photography exhibition in Havana’s Plaza de la Revolución, which brought together about 30 portraits of the different moments when Fidel Castro was present at that site, one of his sons, Alex Castro, said this Thursday that his father “always had the wisdom to face difficulties” and “an answer in mind,” when asked how he would have reacted to the crisis the island is suffering and to the strong pressure from the US to push for political and economic change in the Caribbean country.

“With tremendous wisdom” and with “that experience, that persistence, and the discipline and his fight for freedom,” Castro said, reaffirming how he remembered his father. Miguel Díaz-Canel attended the exhibition, which was part of the centenary commemoration, along with other representatives of the government and the Communist Party of Cuba. Díaz-Canel stated that Castro “embodies the values and ideas that today sustain” the Cuban people and described this day as one of those on which “very particularly in Cuba we feel that Fidel is a country.”

The exhibition also featured photographs by Liborio Noval, Roberto Chile, Raúl Corrales, Jorge Oller, Raúl Abreu, Juvenal Balán, and Gilberto Rabassa, who shared their experiences working with Fidel Castro. “Fidel was very photogenic, and really his look, his history, his figure, his physique (…) helped him come out well in every photograph,” Chile told EFE. For some 25 years, he accompanied, through film and photography, the man who was one of the best-known and most controversial political figures of the twentieth century.

Venezuela’s ruling United Socialist Party considered that the legacy of the leader of the Cuban Revolution “remains alive”

For her part, Venezuela’s acting president, Delcy Rodríguez, installed by the United States following the capture of Nicolás Maduro in early January, highlighted Fidel Castro’s “commitment to dignity, social justice, sovereignty, and the unity of Latin America and the Caribbean.”

“President Fidel Castro is among the leaders who transcend time and remain in the collective memory,” Rodríguez said in a message posted on Telegram. She also said Castro was a “man of integrity” who set a standard for the “free peoples of the world.” Venezuela’s ruling United Socialist Party (PSUV) considered that the legacy of the leader of the Cuban Revolution “remains alive.”

This week on the island has been marked by various activities centered on the figure of Fidel Castro, and the presidents of countries such as Russia, China, and Brazil sent letters to the Cuban government to mark the occasion.

Sandinistas in Nicaragua also marked the occasion, fittingly, in front of the new monument installed in Managua in memory of Fidel Castro.

Public employees, members of the military and police, and members of the Sandinista youth gathered on “From Bolívar to Chávez” Avenue, where the enormous metal sculpture was installed, bringing Cuban flags and bouquets of flowers to pay tribute to Fidel Castro on the centenary of his birth.

“Here lives Fidel, in his people and in our peoples and in this America of ours, of burning suns, of intense souls, of brave human beings”

“Here lives Fidel, in his people and in our peoples and in this America of ours, of burning suns, of intense souls, of brave human beings, who thrill to the splendor of our loftiest ideals, feelings, and fight for justice, for real truth, for the peace that demands, that calls for dignity,” Nicaragua’s co-president, Rosario Murillo, said through official media.

For her part, the mayor of Managua, Sandinista Reyna Rueda, said that “Comandante Fidel remains that beacon of inspiration for all of us as militants, as revolutionaries, inspiring us to keep strengthening our peace and our deep sense of being Nicaraguan.”

Murillo, wife of co-president Daniel Ortega, lashed out on Tuesday at those who criticize the sculpture her government installed in honor of Castro to mark the centenary of the birth of the leader of the Cuban Revolution (1926-2016), calling them “traitors and cowards” who “always show signs of deep darkness, of wickedness and malice.”

This week on the island has been marked by various activities centered on the figure of Fidel Castro

This week on the island has been marked by various activities centered on the figure of Fidel Castro, and during the day on Thursday, the centenary of his birth prompted tributes to him from countries such as Russia.

Hundreds of Russians gathered today in front of the statue of the leader of the Cuban revolution in Moscow, where the leader of the Communist Party of Russia (CPRF), Yevgeny Ziuganov, said that “Fidel Castro is a model and an example to follow (…) in these difficult times, in order to achieve victory over the most evil forces in history.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin sent letters earlier this week to Raúl Castro and Díaz-Canel, in which he described Fidel Castro as “a symbol of freedom, justice, and patriotism, both for Cubans themselves and for millions of people in different countries around the world.”

For his part, Chinese President and General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC), Xi Jinping, also sent a congratulatory message to the island for the centenary of Castro’s birth, in which he highlighted his role “in laying the foundation for and driving forward” bilateral relations, which, he said, “have become a benchmark for cooperation between socialist countries.”

Likewise, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva thanked Fidel Castro the day before for “the encouragement” he gave to his political career and expressed hope that “fraternity and justice will persist amid adversity” for the people of Cuba, in a message sent to Havana through the intellectual and theologian Frei Betto.

Translated by GH

______________________

Cuba’s Team of Rescuers and Doctors Sent to Venezuela After the Double Earthquake Returns Home

According to the latest official figures, at least 5,546 people have died as a result of the earthquakes, while the number of injured stands at 16,740

The Cuban brigade returned from its mission in Venezuela on the night of July 26. / Ministry of the Interior

EFE/14ymedio, Havana, June 208, 2026 / The Cuban teams of military personnel, doctors, and engineers who traveled to La Guaira (Venezuela) to help with rescue efforts and care for the population after the double earthquake in June have returned to the island, Cuban authorities reported this Monday.

On one hand, the army’s Rescue and Salvage brigade, made up of 18 members, was received in Havana by the Minister of the Interior, Lázaro Alberto Álvarez Casas, and the Minister of the Revolutionary Armed Forces, Álvaro López Miera, the official outlet Cubadebate reported.

For its part, the Ministry of Public Health reported the return of a team of surgeons, forensic experts, and structural engineers, who were received in the Cuban capital by Deputy Foreign Minister Josefina Vidal.

The Ministry of Public Health reported the return of a team of surgeons, forensic experts, and structural engineers, who were received in the Cuban capital by Deputy Foreign Minister Josefina Vidal

The Cuban mission, partly made up of members of the Henry Reeve International Contingent, was officially seen off in Venezuela by the country’s president, Delcy Rodríguez, who thanked them for their technical, medical, and humanitarian support.

The magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 earthquakes that shook northern Venezuela on June 24 have caused extensive damage to continue reading

homes, economic assets, businesses, and other types of structures, as well as human losses, figures for which are still being updated.

According to the latest official figures, at least 5,546 people have died as a result of the earthquakes, while the number of injured stands at 16,740.

According to information released by the UN, at least 17 countries mobilized a total of 25 teams made up of about a thousand personnel for search and rescue tasks.

The spokesman for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Jens Laerke, said that the first to deploy were teams from Chile, Colombia, El Salvador, Spain, Italy, Mexico, Switzerland, and the United States.

A few days later, more professionals arrived from the United Kingdom, the Czech Republic, Ecuador, France, Germany, Jordan, the Netherlands, and Qatar.

As of today, most of the international teams have withdrawn, but some technical specialists remain in the field

As of today, most of the international teams have withdrawn, but some technical specialists remain in the field assessing infrastructure stability, water sanitation, management of temporary shelters, and mitigation of health crises.

Most of them come from the U.S., Spain, Mexico, El Salvador, Jordan, Qatar, and Turkey. In addition, the largest group is made up of workers from United Nations agencies, both from evaluation and coordination programs and from the World Health Organization, the World Food Programme, and the refugee agency UNHCR.

Lastly, the Red Cross also continues to keep international technical personnel deployed in water, sanitation, and psychosocial support for the ongoing care of those affected.

Translator’s note: Israel sent official military search-and-rescue teams, engineers, and multiple NGO medical and aid workers to help Venezuela. Curiously enough the spokesman for the UN Office omitted to mention that.

Translated by GH.

______________________

The Spanish City of Santander Earmarks 200,000 Euros for Projects in Cuba and Other Countries

An organization will receive 5,775 euros to provide health care in communities in the municipality of Guamá, Santiago de Cuba

Photovoltaic equipment donated by Sodepaz to health centers in Guamá. / Facebook / Sodepaz Solidaridad Desarrollo

14ymedio / EFE, Madrid, July 26, 2026 / The Santander City Council will allocate 201,000 euros to fund eleven development cooperation projects in Cuba and nine other countries in Latin America, Africa, and Asia. The Local Government Board approved the resolution for the call for grants to programs in developing countries, as reported this Sunday by the council member responsible for the area, Mateo Echevarría.

One of the projects will be carried out in communities in the district of Chivirico, in the municipality of Guamá, Santiago de Cuba. Solidaridad para el Desarrollo y la Paz, known as Sodepaz, will receive 5,775 euros to guarantee health care in the area. The Spanish organization has worked in Guamá for more than a decade and has promoted initiatives in photovoltaic electrification, water supply, and sustainable agriculture together with Cubasolar, the Poder Popular, and other official institutions.

Sodepaz also maintains an openly pro-Cuban government political stance and attributes much of the island’s economic and health crisis to United States sanctions, in line with the official discourse from Havana. That profile is relevant to understanding the close relationship the organization maintains with Cuban state institutions and the political framework within which it develops its cooperation programs.

The City Council will fund up to 80% of the cost of each project. The remainder may be provided by the beneficiary organizations themselves or by other public or private entities.

Echevarría highlighted “the important work” of non-governmental organizations, which, in his view, play “a key role in the community development of many vulnerable populations around the world.” continue reading

The Santander City Council will give priority to initiatives related to meeting basic needs, building infrastructure, education, assistance for community development, promoting volunteer work, and promoting local economies.

The City Council will fund up to 80% of the cost of each project. The remainder may be provided by the beneficiary organizations themselves or by other public or private entities.

Most of the grants amount to around 20,000 euros. The Asociación de Cooperación y Desarrollo Solidario (Amycos) will receive 20,100 euros to guarantee access to drinking water, promote gender equality, and strengthen food sovereignty in the communities of Mollecancha and Rodeo Pampa, in the Bolivian municipality of Torotoro, department of Potosí.

The project includes climate change adaptation measures. Also in Bolivia, Ingeniería Sin Fronteras will receive 20,000 euros to improve access to basic sanitation and hygiene in communities in the municipality of Pocona.

Most of the grants amount to around 20,000 euros.

Manos Unidas will receive another 20,000 euros to strengthen indigenous and peasant communities in the Bolivian Chiquitanía through a program of ecological transition, environmental governance, gender equity, and resilience.

The Movimiento por la Paz, el Desarme y la Libertad will receive the same amount to promote the economic and social autonomy of women in seven towns in Al Hoceima and its surrounding area, in Morocco.

The Asamblea de Cooperación por la Paz will have 20,099 euros to facilitate access to land restitution for victims of the Colombian armed conflict in the department of Antioquia, with an ethnic and differentiated approach.

Ayuda, Intercambio y Desarrollo will receive 20,000 euros to launch a poultry unit run by people with disabilities in the town of Ouonck, in Senegal.

Medicus Mundi will receive 20,098 euros to provide health care to 30 pregnant women in the Koulikoro area of Mali, while Brigadas Internacionales de Paz will receive 20,070 euros for a human rights, life, and territory defense project in Mexico.

The organization Ayuda Despegar Cantabria will have 14,755 euros to develop a community and educational garden at the Casa de la Oportunidad-Melong II, in Cameroon.

Lastly, Acción sin Fronteras will receive 20,100 euros to strengthen the agricultural capacities of indigenous Maya women in San Cristóbal Verapaz, Guatemala.

Translated by GH.

______________________

Cuba Wins Five Gold Medals at the Central American and Caribbean Games

The rowing victory of Eduar Suárez and Reidy Cardona this Sunday adds to the three titles achieved by judokas Jonathan Charón, Orlando Polanco and Dali Sentmanat

Of the five weight divisions that opened the judo program at the Central American and Caribbean Games, Cuba won three. / Jit

EFE / 14ymedio, Santo Domingo, July 26, 2026 – Cuba’s national team dominated the judo finals at the 2026 Central American and Caribbean Games in Santo Domingo on Saturday, winning three gold medals in the men’s and women’s categories, while the Dominican Republic earned its first gold medal of the competition.

Mexican rowers Alexis López and Andre Sumsch finished in second place with a time of 6:37.38 and won the silver medal.

With this result, Cuba now has five gold medals at the regional event, following the victories of judokas Jonathan Charón, Orlando Polanco and Dali Sentmanat and cyclist Marlies Mejías during the first days of competition.

The Cuban judo team dominated the finals on Saturday, winning three gold medals in both the men’s and women’s categories, while the Dominican Republic secured its first gold at the event. In a packed judo arena at the Juan Pablo Duarte Olympic Center in Santo Domingo, Cuban judokas Jonathan Charon (-60 kg), Orlando Polanco (-66 kg), and Sentmanat Dali (-52 kg) captured the three gold medals.

Meanwhile, the host country won its first gold medal thanks to judoka Ana Rosa, who defeated Colombia’s María Villalba by ippon. “I am very happy to give my country its first gold medal. It is the result of so much sacrifice, and all the hard work has been worth it,” the Dominican athlete told reporters after the match, during which she felt the support of the home crowd, which erupted in cheers when the contest ended. continue reading

Cuba has won five gold medals at the regional event, following victories by judokas Jonathan Charón, Orlando Polanco and Dali Sentmanat, and cyclist Marlies Mejías.

By category, in the women’s under-48-kilogram division, the gold medal went to Nemesis Candelo (Panama), the silver to Estefanía Soriano (Dominican Republic), and the bronze medals to Gabriela Miranda (Venezuela) and Erika Lasso (Colombia).

In the women’s under-52-kilogram division, the gold went to Dali (Cuba), the silver to Francine Echevarría (Puerto Rico), and the bronze medals to Josefa Samantha (Dominican Republic) and Paulina Martínez (Mexico).

In the women’s under-57-kilogram division, the gold medal went to the Dominican Republic’s Ana Rosa, who faced Colombia’s María Villalba (silver), while the bronze medals went to Kristine Jiménez (Panama) and Audreys Pacheco (Venezuela).

In the men’s under-60-kilogram division, the gold medal went to Cuba’s Charon, who faced El Salvador’s Jairo Moreno (silver)

In the men’s under-60-kilogram division, the gold medal went to Cuba’s Charon, who faced El Salvador’s Jairo Moreno (silver), while the bronze medals went to José Ramos of Guatemala and Diego García Ramírez of the Dominican Republic.

In the men’s under-66-kilogram division, the gold medal went to Cuba’s Polanco, the silver to Robin Jara of Mexico, and the bronze medals to Venezuela’s Willis García and El Salvador’s Diego Calix.

This same Saturday, Cuban cyclist Marlies Mejías had won the gold medal in the time trial, after completing the race with a time of 40:15.79.

Translated by Regina Anavy
______________________

Spanish NGO ‘Open Arms’ Arrives in Havana With a Donation for a Pediatric Hospital

The activists are delivering solar panels, backup batteries, and medical supplies financed with more than €160,000 raised through self-managed donations from over 4,000 donors.

The ‘Astral’ arrived in Havana this Sunday, and the activists who were traveling on it will be at the Juan Manuel Márquez hospital this Monday. / EFE

14ymedio / EFE, Havana, July 20, 2026 – The sailing vessel Astral, operated by the Spanish NGO Open Arms, which together with more than 150 social and political organizations launched the “Rumbo a Cuba” initiative, arrived Sunday at the Port of Havana carrying seven tons of humanitarian aid destined for a children’s hospital in the Cuban capital.

The Open Arms vessel departed Barcelona in May and traveled 6,200 miles to transport a shipment of solar panels, backup batteries, and medical supplies to Cuba, financed with more than €160,000 raised through self-managed donations from over 4,000 donors.

The donation is intended to provide energy independence for the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), intermediate care unit, and clinical laboratory of Havana’s Juan Manuel Márquez Pediatric Hospital.

At the ceremony welcoming the humanitarian mission, Óscar Camps, founder and director of the NGO Proactiva Open Arms, told the press that the initiative “is a humble contribution made by the organization with the support of the Spanish people” to highlight the humanitarian impact of the United States embargo on the continue reading

Caribbean nation.

Camps congratulated the Cuban people, saying, “You are enduring and resisting an inhumane blockade. You are the true heroes, and the message I bring from my country to the Cuban people is that you are not alone, that this is only the beginning, and we hope others will follow this example.”

“We are living through a very difficult moment because of a blatant violation of international law, human rights, and international agreements,” Camps said, referring to what he described as the energy blockade imposed by the United States on the Island.

The Catalan activist also called for “bringing greater visibility to the problems Cuba is facing” and expressed confidence that doing so “will generate sympathetic support from other organizations that will want to collaborate and do the same” as Open Arms.

In that regard, he noted that his autonomous community, Catalonia, has allocated half a million euros to organizations working in Cuba “after we launched our mission.”

“It has already been worthwhile. We have contributed a tiny drop, a grain of sand, in an effort to repay the solidarity we have always received from the Cuban people,” he added.

The delegation participating in the Rumbo a Cuba humanitarian mission includes several Members of the European Parliament: Miguel Urbán Crespo, co-founder of the Podemos Party; Ana Miranda of the Galician Nationalist Bloc; Su Moreno of the Popular Unity Candidacy; and Aída Llauradó of Comuns. They took part last Saturday in an event at the Casa de las Américas cultural institution.

On Monday, the organizers of Rumbo a Cuba are scheduled to visit the hospital benefiting from the initiative, as well as participate in an activity with children at a cultural center in the Cuban capital.

Last March, the Island received the Nuestra América Convoy, a flotilla that sailed from Mexico carrying 14 tons of food, medicine, and solar panels.

Translated by Regina Anavy

______________________

A ‘Habeas Corpus’ is Presented in Favor of Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara

The relevant judicial authorities now have a legal deadline of 72 hours to issue a response, Cubalex reports.

Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara remains at large after being transferred from prison two days before his five-year sentence was due to expire on July 9th / Facebook

EFE (via 14ymedio), Havana, July 14, 2026 / The legal advice center Cubalex reported that it was able to formally deliver in Havana the habeas corpus petition in favor of the artist and political prisoner Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, who as of Tuesday remains at large, after being transferred from prison two days before his five-year sentence expired on July 9.

“The relevant judicial authorities now have a legal deadline of 72 hours to issue a response,” the organization stated on social media, having denounced the previous day the impediments to delivering the appeal “because the Havana Provincial People’s Court, the competent body to hear the request, as well as the Supreme People’s Court, remained closed this Monday despite it being a working day.”

Cubalex explained that “this legal action is presented in a critical scenario of lack of protection,” since “on July 9, the five-year sentence that the artist was serving in the Guanajay prison, since 2021, officially expired.”

On July 9th, the five-year sentence that the artist was serving in Guanajay prison, since 2021, officially expired.

It also denounced that “despite this, on July 7 he was taken from prison by military and State Security forces to an unknown location, and since then there has been no official information about his whereabouts.” continue reading

“From Cubalex we demand that due process and the physical integrity of Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara be respected,” the report said.

The first contact with Otero Alcántara, after it became known that he was taken from the Guanajay prison, was reported on July 9 by the curator Anamely Ramos, who said on social networks that the artist was “well,” after having communicated with her from “a mobile phone of the State Security of Cuba”.

Ramos indicated in her publication that the State Security agents “wanted to know how the process of the requested conditional release is going” so that Otero Alcántara can travel to the United States and explained that “Luis Manuel’s conditional release is still in process.”

State Security agents “wanted to know how the process of the requested parole is going” so that Otero Alcántara can travel to the United States

In this respect, the NGO Human Rights Watch (HRW) criticized last week that this appears to be “a release conditioned on exile.”

Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, 38, considered a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International, was imprisoned for five years in the Guanajay prison from where he had denounced multiple abuses on several occasions.

The leader of the San Isidro movement was arrested on July 11, 2021, when he tried to join the massive anti-government protests of that day, the largest in decades in Cuba.

Amnesty International has been demanding since last week the “immediate and unconditional release” of the artist.

______________________

The United States Will Maintain All Measures Against the Cuban Regime, Says Marco Rubio

The US Secretary of State demands the release of political prisoners and assures that Washington is offering aid in exchange for economic and political reforms.

“Cuba’s leaders simply must choose to commit to real reforms, peace, and prosperity before it is too late.” / EFE/Ronald Wittek

EFE (via 14ymedio), Los Angeles, July 12, 2026 / US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Saturday that the Trump administration will continue to use “all the tools” at its disposal against the Cuban regime, which he accused of posing a threat to US security and refusing to undertake the reforms the island needs.

“Cuba’s leaders simply must choose to commit to real reforms, peace and prosperity, before it is too late,” Rubio said in a statement released to mark the fifth anniversary of the 11 July 2021 protests.

The US Secretary of State recalled that thousands of Cubans then took to the streets to protest against shortages, blackouts and the lack of freedoms, in the largest demonstrations to have occurred in the country since 1959.

Five years after that uprising, Rubio denounced, hundreds of participants remain “unjustly” imprisoned. The Secretary of State demanded “the immediate release of these and all political prisoners in Cuba.”

Rubio also again attacked the island’s ruling elite, accusing them of appropriating the country’s scarce resources and hiding them abroad, although he did not provide concrete evidence to support that claim. continue reading

The Trump Administration has offered aid to the Cuban government, assistance for reconstruction, and “the promise of a new relationship between our two countries.”

The declarations come amid the policy of maximum pressure of the past six months applied by Washington. Restrictions on oil supplies have exacerbated blackouts, while new sanctions have increased the risk for foreign companies still operating in Cuba.

Against this scenario, the threat of more severe measures against Havana remains, including the possibility of military action, a hypothesis that gained strength after the arrest of Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela.

Despite the increased pressure, Rubio asserted that the Trump Administration has offered aid to the Cuban government, assistance for reconstruction, and “the promise of a new relationship between our two countries.”

He offered, specifically, that this conditioned upon the island’s authorities accepting economic and political reforms that will allow the country to open up and offer Cubans an opportunity for prosperity.

Washington maintains that lifting the pressure will depend on verifiable changes, while Havana rejects any reforms imposed from abroad and attributes the economic crisis to US sanctions.

______________________