EFE – Page 4 – Translating Cuba

Cuba Receives 45 Rafters Returned by the United States, Bringing the Total to 5,210 From Several Countries

At the end of 2022, Cuba and the United States agreed to resume deportation flights for ’inadmissible’ people detained on the border with Mexico. (Prensa Latina)

EFE/14ymedio, Havana, 23 December 2023 –The U.S. Coast Guard Service (USCG) returned 45 Cuban rafters this Friday along with 5,210 irregular migrants deported to the Island from several countries in the region so far this year, according to official media.

This group includes 39 men and six women who left illegally from the province of Matanzas, according to the Ministry of the Interior on the social network X (formerly Twitter). The report indicates that the rafters were intercepted at sea by the U.S. Coast Guard and that this is the 129th repatriation operation of migrants from different nations in 2023.

The Cuban authorities assure that they stand “firm” in their commitment to a “regular, safe and orderly” migration, while warning of the danger and life-threatening conditions posed by illegal departures from the country by sea. Cuba and the U.S. have a bilateral agreement that all migrants arriving by sea will be returned to the Island.

Flights were added at the end of 2022, after Cuba and the U.S. agreed to resume deportation flights for “inadmissible” people detained at the border with Mexico. continue reading

During the last fiscal year, which began on October 1, 2022, more than 6,800 Cubans have been intercepted by the USCG on trips to the coast of Florida, according to official data.

During the last fiscal year, which began on October 1, 2022, more than 6,800 Cubans have been intercepted by the USCG on trips to the coast of Florida

This year, Cuba also received migrants deported from the Bahamas, Belize, the Cayman Islands, the Dominican Republic and Mexico.

Cuba is experiencing an unprecedented migratory wave both for the volume of migrants and for its temporary extension due to the serious economic crisis it suffers with a great shortage of basic products (food, medicines and fuel), galloping inflation, frequent power outages and a partial dollarization of the economy.

It is estimated that in 2022, around 4% of the Cuban population left the country, and this year’s figures could be similar according to those accumulated to date

Also, U.S. immigration authorities arrested more than 242,000 migrants and asylum seekers at the southern border in November, according to figures published this Friday by the Customs and Border Control Office (CBP).

The data for the month of November represent a slight increase, less than 1%, compared to October, but they maintain the trend of the high arrival of migrants on the border with Mexico that has been evident in recent months.

In fact, November was the third month with the most arrests of migrants at the border in the last 14 months, according to CBP data.

Most of the people arrested, more than 191,000, tried to cross into U.S. territory irregularly, according to the data.

The interim commissioner of CBP, Troy Miler, said in a statement that his agency faces a “significant challenge” and asked the U.S. Congress to approve more resources to “improve border security and national security.”

“The levels of migration are still historically high,” the statement stressed. In November, CBP recorded more than 64,811 arrests of people of Mexican nationality, followed by Venezuelans with 34,063 arrests and Guatemalans with 26,299.

According to the statistics for the end of November 2023, published by CBP, 20,076 Cubans arrived in the United States through border points

Since the middle of the year, when a migration restriction that had been imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic was lifted, the Democratic Administration has enacted a series of rules to try to limit the arrival of migrants at the border and restrict access to asylum.

According to the statistics for the end of November 2023, published by CBP, 20,076 Cubans arrived in the U.S. through border points, 72% at the Mexican border. This represents a record number of Cuban irregular migrants in a month, 44,079.

The report points out that during last November, 14,502 Cubans entered irregularly through the southern border of the United States. The number of Cubans who have reached American soil during fiscal years 2022 and 2023 is 650,000, to which are added more than 50,000 since Joe Biden assumed the presidency.

In addition, more than 60,000 Cubans have traveled to the U.S. through the humanitarian parole program, while the number of those who arrived through the CBP One appointments, where Haitian, Mexican and Venezuelan applicants lead, is not revealed.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Raising Prices and Ending the Universal Ration ‘Booklet’, Measures to Stop Cuba’s Economic Disaster

Cuban Prime Minister, Manuel Marrero, on the first day of the second ordinary session of the National Assembly, this Wednesday. (Granma)

14ymedio/EFE, Havana, 20 December 2023 — The unsustainable economic situation of the Island has led the Government to establish a shock plan starting at the beginning of 2024. Among the main measures announced by Prime Minister Manuel Marrero on the first day of the second ordinary session of the National Assembly, are the increases in prices of products and services and the end of the universal subsidy for the basic food basket sold through the rationing system.

Regarding the rationed market, Marrero argued that the objective is to move to “subsidizing people and not products” to achieve “a more fair and efficient scheme,” tacitly recognizing the increase in social and economic inequalities.

“It is not fair that those who have a lot receive the same as those who have very little. Today we subsidize the same to an elderly pensioner as to the owner of large private businesses who has a lot of money,” he argued.

Thus, he continued, the Ministry of Labor and Social Security must identify people by their degree of “vulnerability,” so as to “not leave anyone helpless.” The latter group will be able to continue acquiring highly subsidized basic products with the ration card. continue reading

Marrero stressed that this classification will be carried out in “the coming weeks and months,” without further details.

Prominent among these increases are the 25% increase in the electricity rate for the 6% of the residential sector that consumes the most, and the move to require tourists to pay for fuel in foreign currency

The head of the Cuban Government also assured that, given the situation, the State cannot continue with the “waste” in certain subsidies, such as water, electricity, liquefied gas, transportation and fuel.

Prominent among these increases are the 25% increase in the electricity rate for the 6% of the residential sector that consumes the most, and the move to require tourists to pay for fuel in foreign currency. The cost of water supply will triple for those who do not have timed service and the price of a liquefied gas cylinder will increase by 25%.

Marrero also announced that “new rates will be applied” to passenger transportation services, but without detailing what those rates will be.

Another still unspecified forecast announced by the prime minister is the end of the exemption from customs taxes for the import of food and medicine, which, for the moment, he clarified, will be extended.

Marrero also announced that next year the Government will change the official exchange rate of the peso with respect to the dollar, for which a working group has been created with the Central Bank of Cuba.

Since 2021, the official exchange rate remains at 24 pesos per dollar for legal entities and 120 CUP for individuals. In the informal market, meanwhile, the dollar has skyrocketed to 273 pesos.

The prime minister also left the door open to a “review” of the number of people currently on the state payroll

Another product that will see its cost increase is tobacco, which, according to the prime minister, “in many cases is bought for resale.”

The prime minister also left the door open to a “review” of the number of people currently on the state payroll, in reference to possible cuts to reduce the wage bill.

In this regard, he pointed out that the authorities must “review the state structures and templates” to guarantee “efficient management” and announced that “there is a group that is studying a law on the organization of the central administration of the State.”

This Monday, the Minister of Economy and First Vice Minister, Alejandro Gil, had already warned of the debacle of the situation, specifying that Cuba’s gross domestic product (GDP) will contract between 1% and 2% in 2023, versus the forecasted growth of 3% previously expected for the end of the year.

Inflation, for its part, is close to 30%, and its first victim is the “purchasing capacity” of Cubans’ salaries. Finally, the deficit will rise to around 15% of GDP, after the Executive recognized a deviation of 44% with respect to what was budgeted.

Although in his speech before the Economic Affairs Commission Gil listed a whole string of administrative calamities, he clarified that the disaster cannot be attributed to the Cuban Government’s management of the crisis, but rather to the well-known “tightening of the blockade” imposed by the United States.

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Cuban President Diaz-Canel Receives the Support of the Leader of the World Council of Churches

Meeting between Jerry Pillay and Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel this Monday in Havana. (@PresidenciaCuba)

14ymedio/EFE, Havana, 19 December 2023 — Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel held a meeting on Monday with the secretary general of the World Council of Churches (WCC), Jerry Pillay, who is visiting Havana, he said, to “strengthen the ties” with the Christian community of the Island.

During the conversation, the religious leader reaffirmed “the support of the WCC for Cuba’s fight against the (United States) blockade,” says the Cuban Presidency on the social network X (formerly Twitter). Pillay also “rejected the inclusion of the Island in the list (prepared by the United States) of countries that allegedly sponsor terrorism,” he said.

The highest representative of the CMI gave a sermon in the First Reformed Presbyterian Church of Havana

This Sunday, on the first day of his visit, the highest representative of the CMI gave a sermon in the First Reformed Presbyterian Church of Havana, the temple where the ruling Council of Churches of Cuba was founded.

In that meeting, the Reverend highlighted the “historic ties” that unite the organization with the religious community of the Island and considered that faith in the Catholic and Protestant churches is growing in the country, according to a report by state television. continue reading

Before closing his visit this Tuesday, Pillay scheduled meetings with the board of the Cuban Council of Churches, the Reformed Presbyterian Church and representatives of ecumenical movements and religious leaders. He will also give a lecture at the San Gerónimo University College in Havana.

The international religious organization – founded 75 years ago – has 352 member churches and almost 600 million Christians in 120 countries around the world.

On the Island it has relations with the Council of Churches, which groups together almost 30 of the Christian denominations related to a greater or lesser extent to the Government, including the Pentecostals, Lutherans and Presbyterians, as well as the Salvation Army and the Quakers.

The interest of the Cuban Government in earning the support of the religious institutions of the Island has led it to meet on several occasions with religious leaders to demonstrate the support of the religious communities for the State. This is what happened last June, when Díaz-Canel traveled to the Vatican to meet with Pope Francis. In the conversation, which was expected to handle sensitive issues such as the release of political prisoners on the Island, there were only words of support for the regime from the seat of Catholicism.

Last September, the Biblical Society of the Council of Churches was constituted, with a representation of Catholics and the Greek Orthodox

Last September the Biblical Society of the Council of Churches was constituted, with a representation of Catholics and the Greek Orthodox, who were not part of the group, composed mainly of Protestant churches. During the event, in which Caridad Diego – in charge of Religious Affairs of the Communist Party – was present, the representatives of the institutions sent bibles dedicated to Raúl Castro, Díaz-Canel and Esteban Lazo.

However, not all Cuban churches have expressed their support for the Cuban Government. This is the case of the Assemblies of God, a group of evangelical churches, which on Monday published a statement denouncing the misrepresentation of information about the conflict between Israel and Palestine, by the official Cuban media.

Saying “that the barbarism of that day (October 7, when Hamas launched the first attack on Israel) was perpetrated by Israel itself exceeds the limits of rationality and the most elementary sense of justice,” they stated.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Faith, Health and a Better Country Are What Cubans Ask For From San Lazaro

The colors purple and brown distinguish the clothing of those who venerate the saint. (EFE)

EFE (via 14ymedio), Havana, 17 December 2023 — Faith, health and a better country are the requests of many of the Cuban devotees of San Lázaro who are arriving this Sunday, after a pilgrimage that in some cases started the day before in the rain, at the sanctuary of El Rincón on the outskirts of Havana.

The road that leads to the temple, a place of worship for the Cuban patron saint of miracles, is less traveled than in previous years due to inclement weather and adverse forecasts. The difficulties in the daily lives of Cubans after three years of serious economic crisis lead them to continue the pilgrimage to the saint on his day.

The rain does not prevent people like Regla Mercedes from going “to fulfill” their promise. “I asked him for health and to take into account the Cuban people for the things we are going through,” this 52-year-old librarian told EFE while she carries a medium-sized version of San Lázaro.

On her way to the sanctuary, this lady regrets that “such a beautiful and human country is like this; it makes me want to cry,” in reference to the economic crisis that hits the most humble Cubans every day, who, like her, cling to their faith to “endure.” continue reading

There is a small influx of pilgrims who on foot, knees and even crawling down the street reach the temple that stands on the grounds of an old leper house.

However, the faithful who decide to take the path and fulfill their promises fill the streets dressed in purple, the color that represents this saint and also the “orisha” Babalú Aye, the Afro-Cuban deity with which San Lázaro is identified.

This is how Dariel Alejandro Ortega is dressed, wearing brown and purple clothes, carrying a basket with a very small San Lázaro, and smoking what is left of a cigar.

“I come to ask for health, but also an improvement because everything is a mess,” he explains to EFE, while asking to be “collaborated” with some money.

“I have a lot of faith in him. He is a miraculous saint and that’s what Cuba needs now: a miracle,” says the 40-year-old man.

“I have a lot of faith in him. He is a miraculous saint and that’s what Cuba needs now: a miracle”

At his side is Osmany Fuentes with his wife while he carries his little girl in his arms. He also says that he will continue to attend these pilgrimages every year to “thank the saint for keeping my family together, despite the problems.”

As is traditional, there are also those who travel several miles dragging huge stones tied to their feet, and others who walk kneeling regardless of the dirt in the road.

The pilgrimage concludes inside the sanctuary where those who finish the trip barefoot light white and purple candles and thank the miraculous saint with cigars and flowers. On Sunday, first thing in the morning, there is a Christian celebration to receive all the pilgrims.

They say that some have lost consciousness due to so much sacrifice and that they can no longer reach the altar.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Ortega Is Inspired by the Cuban Model To Prevent the Entry of ‘Undesirables’ Into Nicaragua

Daniel Ortega shows the list of the 222 opponents released from prison and “deported” to Washington. (EFE)

14ymedio/EFE, San José, 19 December 2023 — The NGO Collective of Human Rights Nicaragua Nunca Más [Never Again] warned on Monday about “a new method of repression” implemented by the government of Daniel Ortega against critics and opponents, which consists of prohibiting them from entering the country when they leave on a trip and seek to return.

“This Collective wants to warn of a new method of repression, a de facto statelessness, derived from the unfounded refusal not to allow Nicaraguans to enter their homeland because they are people considered traitors to the government, or for the simple fact of being relatives of people released from prison, journalists, mothers of murdered people and human rights defenders,” the organization said in a statement.

The last public case was that of Ana Salinas, sister of the exiled Nicaraguan journalist and writer Carlos Salinas Maldonado, author of a book about the vice president of Nicaragua, Rosario Murillo, who was unable to return to her country last Friday due to the refusal of the Sandinista government, according to the platform Alertas Libertad de Prensa Nicaragua, which documents cases of violations of freedom of expression and the press. continue reading

The Nicaraguan authorities for Migration and Aliens do not usually give explanations about that measure

The Nicaraguan authorities for Migration and Aliens, who are responsible for notifying airlines and land transport about the prohibition to Nicaraguan travelers, do not usually give explanations about that measure.

“To this pattern must be added those whose passport is snatched by officials and repressive forces of the regime, leaving them undocumented and without any protection,” continued the statement from the Collective, composed mostly of Nicaraguan activists exiled and based in San José.

“De facto statelessness is a new form of repression that generates serious human rights violations, forces people into exile and annuls the legal personality of those who suffer from it,” the NGO explained.

According to the statement, “even with these repeated violations, people in exile have bet on resilience as a form of resistance to the dictatorship, and new organizations, media and ventures in exile have been founded for subsistence.”

However, it noted that the banished Nicaraguans “continue to suffer obstacles to access formal sources of employment, health, education and other elements necessary to have a dignified life.”

The Collective asked the international community to “continue to take steps to demand the cessation of repression and exile”

For this reason, the Collective asked the international community to “continue to demand the cessation of repression, exile and forced displacement that destroys families and lives and subjects Nicaragua to a constant situation of serious human rights violations.”

Nicaragua has been going through a political and social crisis since April 2018, accentuated after the November 2021 elections, in which Ortega was re-elected for a fifth term, fourth in a row and second with his wife, Rosario Murillo, as vice president, with his main opponents in prison or in exile.

The method described by the NGO has also been used in Cuba to banish activists and intellectuals who openly oppose the Havana regime and have some public support. With the disappearance of opponents from the national stage, the Cuban Government intends for their activism to be diluted in exile.

The most known cases of expulsions from the country with the prohibition to return are those of the artist Tania Bruguera, who negotiated her departure in exchange for the release of a group of political prisoners; Anamely Ramos, who is prohibited from returning to the island; Hamlet Lavastida, who was taken to the airport and banished after spending three months in prison, and journalist Karla Pérez, who was denied entry into the country in 2021.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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The Mexican Film ‘Tótem’ Triumphs at the Havana International Film Festival

With the award ceremony, the International Festival of New Latin American Cinema concludes in Havana. (Prensa Latina)

EFE (via 14ymedio), Havana, 17 December 2023 — The Mexican film Tótem, by Lila Avilés, was the big winner at the awards gala of the International Festival of New Latin American Cinema in Havana after obtaining three awards this Friday.

The Mexican film won the Grand Coral for Best Screenplay, Best Fiction Feature Film and Best Artistic Direction on the awards night of the 44th edition of the festival. The Argentine Los delincuentes, [The Delinquents], by Rodrigo Moreno, also won three awards: Best Direction, Best Photography and Best Editing.

The award ceremony, held at the Charles Chaplin cinema, was the culmination of the festival, which, since December 8, has screened hundreds of films in the Cuban capital and officially ends on Sunday.

Among the recognitions was the victory of El mundo de Nelsito [Nelsito’s World] in the category of best poster, by the Cuban Vladimir Pérez. Also, in the second edition of the Arrecife award, for the work that best captures the reality of the LGBTIQ+ community, the award went to the Franco-Colombian Transfariana, by Joris Lachaise. continue reading

With the slogan “Lights, Camera, Action!” the event had 199 films selected for competition from a total of 19 countries – the most represented were those of Mexico, Argentina, Brazil and Chile – in categories such as fiction shorts, debuts, documentaries and animated works.

There were also tributes made to the Cuban filmmaker Tomás Gutiérrez Alea, co-director of Fresa y chocolate [Strawberry and Chocolate], the only film on the Island nominated for an Oscar, which celebrated the 30th anniversary of its premiere in 2023; the Spanish-Mexican director Luis Buñuel; the French actor and director Max Linder and the Cuban cartoonist Juan Padrón.

With the slogan “Lights, Camera, Action!” the event featured 199 films selected for competition from a total of 19 countries

Within the framework of the festival, the Center of the Cuban Film Poster was inaugurated, a place that exhibits part of the collection inscribed in May in the list of Memory of the World of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

This edition of the festival was under the shadow of the clash between the film sector and the Cuban Government.

The discomfort in the guild became evident after the censorship of the documentary La Habana de Fito [Fito’s Havana], a work directed by Juan Pin Vilar – which recalls the anecdotes in the Cuban capital of the Argentine artist Fito Páez – at the beginning of the year, and the broadcast in June of a non-definitive version of that film on state television, without the authorization of its director.

These two events marked the appearance this summer of the independent Assembly of Cuban Filmmakers (ACC), which denounced the censorship of two of its films at the festival.

During the festival, at least two filmmakers complained about the situation of the guild and the attitude of the cultural authorities.

After the screening of Landrián – a documentary about the work of Nicolás Guillén Landrián, one of the pioneers of Cuban cinema, who ended up in exile – its director, Ernesto Daranas, said that censorship is exercised in Cuba “still today.”

Similarly, the director Orlando Mora Cabrera, in the presentation of his short, Brujo amor [Sorcerous Love], said the Havana festival “should be a more plural, more inclusive and more fair space. When it is censored, not only is the artist excluded but the voice of the people is also silenced.”

Translated by Regina Anavy

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The Maya Train, Mexican President Lopez Obrador’s Flagship Work, Used Only 7,000 Tons of Cuban Stone

The Tren Maya (MayaTrain) inaugurated this Saturday in Mexico was delayed because the tracks had to be changed manually. (X/@GobiernoMX)

14ymedio/EFE, Mexico, December 17, 2023 — With a delay of almost four hours on one of two routes, the first section of the Tren Maya was inaugurated this Saturday, which connects Campeche (state of the same name) and Cancun (Quintana Roo). In the first 293 miles of railway infrastructure, 7,000 tons were used of the 200,000 Cuban porphyria stones that the Government of Mexico would buy from Cuba. The Cuban business failed due to the lack of ports with infrastructure for unloading the Rajón stone and the high cost of transferring it from the Island.

The Mexican government intended to unload the stone in Puerto Morelos. However, the anchor of the ship Melody, in which 20,000 tons of stone from Cienfuegos were transported, damaged a coral bank of the Mexican Caribbean Biosphere Reserve, an area established for marine biodiversity, which forced part of the unloading to be aborted.

Last June, the director of Apiqroo, Vagner Elbiorn Vega, explained that three operations were carried out because the depth in this port is 14.8 feet, which caused logistical difficulties and additional operational costs. The Melody was still on the high seas with 13,000 tons of Cuban stone, and the ship Gazibey with 17,000. The fate of this stone is still unknown Faced with the complaints of environmental groups about the damage caused in the region and several legal protections to stop the work, the Administration of Andrés Manuel López Obrador shielded the information. continue reading

The first section of the Tren Maya goes from Campeche to Cancun. (X/@GobiernoMX)

Group Indi, one of the most important builders in Mexico, partnered with Santo Domingo Inversiones, which “served as an intermediary” with Cuba in everything related to the acquisition of the Rajón stone that would be processed in Mexico to obtain ballast.

In May, Santo Domingo Inversiones offered General Gustavo Vallejo, head of the Felipe Ángeles Engineering Group, responsible for Parts 5 North, 6 and 7 of the Maya Train, stone material from Cienfuegos. The company’s proposal consisted of the sale of 1.2 million cubic meters of Cuban ballast at a price of $143 per cubic meter, which could change by having Grupo Indi as a partner.

The transfer of the Rajón stone was done by the maritime and commercial services company Mide, which complained that having a ship anchored cost it losses of 100,000 dollars a day. Because of the lack of a landing area, the business with Cuba fell apart and left a debt of almost 8,000,000 dollars.

After Cuba ceased to be the option for the supply of stone, the Veracruz-based company Osoialfa became the main ballast supplier for the Tren Maya, with more than 500,000 tons of stone transported to the main landing points.

The train, which will travel through the states of Chiapas, Tabasco, Campeche, Yucatán and Quintana Roo, had setbacks this Saturday because the of track switching systems are not automated.

The first commercial trip of the also-called “Rolling Jaguar” occurred a day after the inaugural tour of the first of three stages of construction with the presence of President López Obrador.

VIDEO | Terminó el viaje inaugural del Tren Maya de Campeche a Cancún. 😵Duró 9 horas 28 minutos debido a que se programaron cuatro viajes en una univía.

Los sistemas de cambio de vías no están automatizados, lo que provocó un atraso en el itinerario de 3 horas.🚝🛑

Video:… pic.twitter.com/hTSYB2V8dr

— Grupo Fórmula (@Radio_Formula) December 16, 2023

VIDEO | The inaugural trip of the Tren Maya from Campeche to Cancun ended. It lasted 9 hours 28 minutes because four trips were scheduled on a single track. The track switching systems are not automated, which caused a delay in the 3-hour itinerary.

However, the route still does not make stops at several of the planned intermediate stations, something that will be solved in the coming months, according to the authorities.

Everything went according to what was planned on the first train scheduled to leave Cancun at 7 am local time. However, for the second convoy, which was expected to leave at 11 am, the passengers had to wait up to four hours to be able to board the Xiimbal train.

A worker of the Tren Maya, as EFE verified, clarified that it was a “technical failure” of the Alstom company, in charge of the construction of the railways, while assuring that the public company that attends to tourist transport “is not responsible for this breakdown,” and he apologized.

He insisted that this type of experience does not represent the Tren Maya brand and added that “no one is perfect.”

According to López Obrador, the project will bring prosperity to one of the most historically forgotten areas of the country: the Mexican southeast.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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The Center of the Cuban Film Poster is Inaugurated, After its Registration as Documentary Heritage

The Cuban film poster led the formal and conceptual experimentation. (EFE)

EFE (via 14ymedio), Havana, December 13, 2023 — The cultural authorities of Cuba inaugurated on Tuesday the Center of the Cuban Film Poster, a place that exhibits part of the collection registered in May in the Memory of the World list of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

The event was attended by the Minister of Culture, Alpidio Alonso Grau, and the representative of the UNESCO Regional Office for Culture in Latin America and the Caribbean, Anne Lemaistre.

The Center opened its doors as part of the 44th edition of the International Festival of New Latin American Cinema in Havana, which ends on December 17. The inauguration was also part of a day of celebration for UNESCO’s recognition.

Among Tuesday’s activities was the delivery of the diploma that attests to the inscription of the collection of the Cuban Institute of Cinematographic Art and Industry (ICAIC) in the Memory of the World list, as well as a panel with experts and figures of the Island’s culture. continue reading

Today is the culmination of a long process that began in the first years of the Revolution, when it was decided that a Cuban poster was going to be made here, wherever the film originated

“Today is the culmination of a long process that began in the early years of the Revolution, when it was decided that a Cuban poster was going to be made here by Cuban designers, wherever the film originated,” said Sara Vega, a graphics specialist at the Cinemateca de Cuba and in charge of the almost 3,000 pieces that make up the collection.

Among the designers of these posters, artists such as Eduardo Muñoz Bachs, Antonio Fernández Reboiro, Rafael Morante, Alfredo Rostgaard, Julio Eloy Mesa and Antonio Pérez (Ñiko) stand out.

In Cuba, this type of piece, which revolutionized the visual arts in the country and the region, had a boom in the 60s, the golden age of the Island’s cinema.

The film poster then led the formal and conceptual experimentation, incorporating aesthetic trends that dominated the international visual arts panorama such as pop art, op art and kinetic art.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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The United States Contributes $25,000 to Restore Hemingway’s House in Cuba

Interior of the Finca La Vigía where the American writer Ernest Hemingway lived for 20 years. (CC)

EFE (via 14ymedio), Havana, December 11, 2023 — The United States approved a $25,000 fund to restore the former home of the American writer Ernest Hemingway in Cuba, the Finca Vigía Foundation reported on Monday, the entity that works with the authorities in Havana to preserve the current house-museum.

The money will also be allocated to the creation of a restoration center as well as to the maintenance and rescue of “thousands of documents, manuscripts, letters and photos along with a bookstore with 9,000 copies,” the agency adds in a statement.

For the chargé d’affaires of the U.S. Embassy on the Island, Benjamin Ziff, the fund approved by the U.S. Government highlights the historical and cultural value that the house represents for both Washington and Havana.

“Supporting Finca Vigía represents our commitment to preserving the incalculable history and shared cultural heritage that links the United States to Cuba,” Ziff said. continue reading

Supporting Finca Vigía represents our commitment to preserve the incalculable history and shared cultural heritage that links the United States with Cuba

For his part, Frank Phillips, co-president of the Finca Vigía Foundation, stressed that this fund is the first “financial support of the U.S. Government” and that, therefore, it is “incredibly significant.”

“Our hope is that the embassy’s support will inspire others to contribute,” Phillips added.

The Finca Vigía mansion, located about nine miles from Havana, was the residence of the American writer for more than 20 years and became the Ernest Hemingway Museum after his death on July 2, 1961, when he committed suicide with a shotgun in Idaho (USA).

Ernest Hemingway spent long periods between 1939 and until shortly before his death at Finca Vigía, where he even wrote part of some of his most famous novels, including The Old Man and the Sea, which was cited in his award of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1954.

The museum preserves a collection of more than 20,000 personal objects and documents that belonged to the novelist, including books, hunting trophies, records, weapons, stationery, photos, a typewriter, where he used to write standing, and the yacht El Pilar, with which he went fishing and sailing in the Caribbean Sea.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Cuba and Iran Agree on a ‘Resistance’ Strategy Against US Sanctions and Imperialism

“To deal with these sanctions we are going to increase the exchange of our capacity and potential,” Raisí said. (EFE)

EFE (via 14ymedio), Tehran, December 4, 2023 — Iran and Cuba agreed on Monday to strengthen their relations in all areas to face the sanctions of the United States, during an official visit of the Cuban president, Miguel Díaz-Canel, to Tehran.

Díaz-Canel was received by the president of Iran, Ebrahim Raisí, and both leaders met to work on a strategy of “an economy of resistance” to combat US imperialism and neutralize the sanctions suffered by the two “brother countries.”

The Americans believe that with the imposition of sanctions they can stop our countries or force us to surrender. This is not true

“The Americans believe that with the imposition of sanctions they can stop our countries or force us to surrender. This is not true,” Raisí said at a press conference with Díaz-Canel after the signing of seven agreements in various fields.

“To deal with these sanctions we are going to increase the exchange of our capacity and potential,” said Raisí, who described Díaz-Canel’s visit to Tehran as “a turning point” in relations between the two countries. The Iranian president stressed that the sanctions have not been successful and that Tehran and Havana have not renounced their principles. He asserted that their resistance is one of the main points in common between the two countries. “We two countries are against imperialism,” Raisí said. continue reading

Díaz-Canel, for his part, said that Tehran and Havana have conceived a strategy of “economy of resistance” in strategic areas such as energy, food, science, technology and health to face “the unjust sanctions with which imperialism attacks our peoples.”

“We have ratified the conviction that with this strategy we will deal a hard blow to imperialist aggression, sanctions and blockades,” said the Cuban president. Díaz-Canel arrived in Tehran last night, on the first visit of a Cuban president to Iran since 2001, accompanied by a large, high-level delegation. During his visit, the two countries have signed seven agreements and cooperation memorandums in the health, energy, agriculture, science, technology and communications sectors.

In addition, the Cuban president will visit the Pasteur Institute in Tehran, which collaborates with Cuba on medical projects, and will attend an exhibition of the “achievements of the latest technological capabilities of the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

The Cuban president will visit the Pasteur Institute in Tehran, which collaborates with Cuba on medical projects, and will attend an exhibition of the achievements of the latest technological capabilities of the Islamic Republic of Iran

The two leaders did not forget the conflict in the Gaza Strip and called for the creation of a coalition to support the Palestinian people in the face of the “ineffectiveness” of international organizations such as the UN and the Arab League, among others, to stop the war, in which at least 1,200 Israelis and more than 15,000 Palestinians have died.

“The honorable president of Cuba and I agree that a coalition must be created with the participation of allied countries to support the oppressed Palestinian people on different continents,” Raisí said.

Díaz-Canel, for his part, called for the urgent need of the international community to condemn the “genocide” committed against the Palestinian people, in addition to an immediate ceasefire and the creation of a Palestinian state.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Almost 500,000 Migrants Have Crossed the Darien Jungle So Far This Year, Twice As Many as in All of 2022

Migrants cross the Turquesa River, in the Darién Jungle (Panama), in an archive photograph. (EFE/Bienvenido Velasco)

EFE (via 14ymedio), Bogota, December 1, 2023 — Almost 500,000 migrants have crossed the Darién Jungle region on the border between Colombia and Panama, one of the most used and dangerous routes in the journey of these people on their trip to the United States, Médicos Sin Fronteras (MSF) revealed this Thursday.

According to this organization, the number of migrants who have crossed the 60 miles of “wild nature on horseback” of the Darién Gap is about to exceed 500,000 so far in 2023, a figure much higher than that of 248,000 in all of 2022 and 133,000 in 2021.

“The number of migrants who have crossed the jungle is equivalent to more than 11% of Panama’s population. This is an unprecedented crisis to which not enough global or regional attention has been paid,” said the general coordinator of MSF for Colombia and Panama, Luis Eguiluz.

He added that “safe routes have not been guaranteed to migrants, nor sufficient resources for the organizations that serve them.” continue reading

According to MSF, in addition to the natural difficulties of crossing the jungle, migrants are also exposed to attacks, robberies, kidnappings and sexual violence; this organization has treated 397 survivors of sexual violence – 107 in October alone – including children.

We are crossing the jungle looking for a better future, not to die. A snake doesn’t end your life; it’s the men who rape and kill you

“How do you survive five rapes?” asks a Venezuelan woman crying, who told MSF that she left her country for economic reasons.

“We are crossing the jungle looking for a better future, not to die. A snake doesn’t end your life; it’s the men who rape and kill you,” she added.

Ninety-five percent of the victims of sexual violence treated by MSF were women, and those who tried to defend them were attacked and even killed.

“What we have evidenced and heard from them is that those who transit through the Americas are exposed to a situation of extreme vulnerability: hunger, absence of shelter and water sources, excessive charges, disinformation and scams, xenophobia and physical, psychological and sexual violence,” Eguiluz said.

The torture of the migrants, according to Eguiluz, starts long before the migrants reach the Darién jungle, “even if it is there where it becomes evident.”

“From Peru I took a bus to Huaquillas (a city in Ecuador on the border with Peru). There some men took 10 migrants and stole all their money, and the women were undressed. They took the phones too and said that if we talked, they would kill us. They were carrying knives and guns,” says David Fuentes, a Colombian-Venezuelan migrant.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Marine Saurian Skeleton Between 130 and 145 Million Years Old Discovered in Cuba

The discovery occurred by chance, after the resident of a farm discovered it. (Ronald Suárez Rivas/Granma)

EFE (via 14ymedio), Havana, December 5, 2023 — The discovery, in a cave west of Cuba, of the skeleton of a marine saurian that lived between 130 and 145 million years ago could be the “paleontological find of the century” in the Island, according to experts cited by state media this Tuesday.

According to preliminary studies underway, it is the fossil of a ichthyosaur reptile three to four meters long, with a certain physical resemblance to today’s dolphins, but with a longer beak and sharp teeth, as described by the Cuban geologist Manuel Iturralde.

The data collected suggests that these animals lived from the Triassic period to the Cretaceous period and were carnivores, added the scientist, quoted by the State newspaper Granma. continue reading

The scientists explained that they would be focused on returning to the place to perform photogrammetry

The mystery lies in what type of ichthyosaur the fossil belongs to. It was found embedded in the rock of a cave known as the Surgidero del Río del Novillo, located in the mountains of the Viñales Valley, in the Pinar del Río province. The discovery occurred by chance, after a resident of a farm discovered it in the cave.

Researcher Yasmani Ceballos said that most ichthyosaur genera practically disappeared from the fossil record and “nothing like this had ever been found in Cuba.”

He did cite other discoveries, however, such as the case of a Jurassic dinosaur bone found at the beginning of the 20th century, the remains of a prehistoric turtle, and those of a monkey, also found in a cave in Pinar del Río.

Regarding the next steps that the investigation will follow, the scientists explained that they would be focused on returning to the place – with restriction of public access – to carry out photogrammetry, which will allow extracting a 3D model of the fossil, and taking rock samples where the remains of the reptile appeared.

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US Keeps Cuba on the List of Sponsors of Terrorism for Another Year

US President Joe Biden during a telephone conversation at the White House. (EFE/EPA/Adam Schultz/The White House)

EFE (via 14ymedio), Washington, November 30, 2023 — The United States decided to keep Cuba on the list of countries sponsoring terrorism for another year, as stated in the 2022 report on terrorism in the world published this Thursday by the Department of State.

North Korea, Iran and Syria join Cuba on the list, which entails the imposition of a series of sanctions by Washington.

The inclusion of Cuba on the list in January 2021 was one of the last decisions made by the Administration of Republican Donald Trump (2017-2021) before leaving power.

The United States then justified the measure by referring to the presence on the island of members of the Colombian ELN guerrilla, who traveled to Havana to begin peace negotiations with the Government of Colombia.

The Administration of Democrat Joe Biden considers in its report published this Thursday that “the Cuban Government did not formally respond to the extradition requests” of ELN leaders Pablo Tejada and Pablo Beltrán presented by Colombia. continue reading

North Korea, Iran and Syria join Cuba on the list, which entails the imposition of a series of sanctions by Washington

The report also denounces that “Cuba also continues to harbor several American fugitives from justice wanted on charges related to political violence, many of whom have resided in Cuba for decades.”

To designate a country as a sponsor of terrorism, US law requires the Secretary of State to determine that the government in question has repeatedly provided support to terrorist groups.

This designation implies a ban on arms sales with that country, greater control of its exports, restrictions on foreign aid, greater visa requirements and various economic sanctions.

Cuba had been part of the list since 1982 but was taken off in 2015, during the rapprochement stage promoted by then US president Barack Obama (2009-2017), later ended by Trump, who during his term redoubled the sanctions on Havana and stopped the “thaw.”

The current Biden Administration has made some gestures towards the Island, such as the elimination of the remittance limit for Cuba, but it is still far from Obama’s approach.

The president of Cuba, Miguel Díaz-Canel, has repeatedly demanded that Washington remove his country from the list; he considers the inclusion unjustified with serious economic implications for the Island.

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A Femicide in Vinales Brings to 67 the Number of Women Murdered in Cuba in 2023

Image of Yulia Valle published in social media (Facebook).

14ymedio/EFE, Havana, 24 October 2023 — Cuba’s independent feminist platforms Alas Tensas [Outstretched Wings] and Yo Sí Te Creo [I Do Believe You] (YSTC) confirmed on Tuesday two new femicides in the country, bringing to 67 the total number of women murdered so far in 2023.

On top of the verification of the murder of Cristina Ramírez Milián, 49, which occurred last October 18 in the town of Birán (Holguín), at the hands of her ex-partner, they added the confirmation of the femicide of Yulia Valle, in Viñales, Pinar del Río, last October 12th. The alleged assailant of this woman was also her ex-partner, according to independent observatories.

Sources close to her published on social media that Valle had been granted humanitarian parole and was to travel to the United States on Monday, October 16th. The woman, according to these same sources, left behind an orphaned minor “who turned 14 on the day of her burial.”

With just over two months to the end of the year, Cuba is about to double the total number of femicides verified in 2022 (34), according to the underreported data of these platforms. continue reading

With just over two months to the end of the year, Cuba is about to double the total number of femicides verified in 2022 (34), according to the underreported data of these platforms

On Monday, independent observatories denounced the murder of Lisandra Perez Marcial, 35, who died on October 15th at the hands of her partner in their home, in Caibarien, Villa Clara. They also confirmed the death of Bárbara Rodríguez Guerra, 41, who was also assaulted by her partner in Manzanillo, Granma province. Rodríguez, a teacher, was murdered on September 20th and is survived by two minor daughters. Pérez Marcial’s son witnessed the assault and death of his mother.

The work of these feminist collectives and their dissemination in the independent media have helped to shine a spotlight on the cases of misogynistic murders as well as disappearances of Cuban women in recent years. The activists insist that a “state of emergency for gender violence” be declared, and regret that the government has not taken any measures in this regard.

In addition, they advocate for a comprehensive law against gender-based violence (misogynistic murder is not classified in the Penal Code) and the implementation of protocols to prevent these events, as well as the creation of shelters and systems of protection for women and their children in danger.

The pro-government Federation of Cuban Women presented in early June the Cuban Observatory on Gender Equality, which includes statistics on “women who have been victims of intentional homicide as a result of gender violence in the last 12 months.” However, it does not record all the cases reported by independent organizations. For its part, the Supreme People’s Court (SPC) reported in mid-May that in 2022 there were 18 convictions for femicides, all with sentences – for the crime of murder – beyond 25 years in prison.

Translated by Skyler Brotherton-Julien (Spanish 321, University of Miami)

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European Union Envoy for Human Rights Met With the Cuban Families of the Prisoners of the 11 July 2021 Protests

The special representative of the European Union (EU) for Human Rights Eamon Gilmore met with Cuban PresidentMiguel Díaz-Canel. (Revolution Studies)

EFE (via 14ymedio), Madrid, 25 November 2023 — The repression of dissent, the violation of political rights and the situation of prisoners sentenced for the protests of 11 July 2021 (11J) were the main complaints from Cuban civil society to the delegation of the European Union (EU) who visited the country this Thursday and Friday.

EFE spoke with three of the up to eight members of civil society that it has identified who met privately with the head of that community delegation, the EU Special Representative for Human Rights, Eamon Gilmore.

In addition to Gilmore’s official meetings, in which he met with representatives of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Interior and Justice, the EU diplomat’s agenda included interviews with relatives of prisoners, independent journalists, LGBT activists and critical intellectuals.

Professor Alina Bárbara López Hernández told EFE “I found him impressed with what he saw. If you will, alarmed. Hopefully he has positioned himself well,” she said, after having had a telephone conversation with Gilmore because she could not travel to Havana due to a medical condition. continue reading

“I found him impressed with what he saw. If you will, alarmed. Hopefully he has positioned himself well”

This Marxist historian and editor, who defends “socialist ideas” and is against the blockade (embargo), will be tried next Tuesday for an alleged crime of disobedience. López could be sentenced to one year in prison.

López Hernández told Gilmore that her case is due to her “deep criticism of the single-party system,” “the State ideology,” the Government’s constitutional breaches, “the repressive attitude” of the authorities and “the control of the economy by the military. “This is inexcusable for this Government,” she said.

She also denounced that Cuba is “a factory of new prisoners” and that we should not limit ourselves to asking for the release of people currently in prison, but rather “understand that the system generates these reactions.”

The ’11J’ prisoners were, according to Gilmore himself, a “predominant” topic in his institutional conversations. On Friday afternoon he met for two hours with about five relatives.

One of them, who spoke on condition of his anonymity, told EFE that the meeting was very positive and that they found him to be “receptive” and “moved” by the complaints made to him. The relative also emphsized that going to the European embassy was not an easy task, because there were State Security agents to prevent his passage.

“It was good, very good. (He was) very receptive, wonderful. And at all times he told us that everything is being done is for the freedom of political prisoners,” summarized this relative, who claims that Gilmore referred at all times to those imprisoned as “political prisoners.”

“(He told us) that he really wanted to see the family members in person and listen to them. I told him about the torture, about everything. He understood us and hugged us,” he concluded.

The Island is currently suffering a “humanitarian crisis” and it is “timely” for the Cuban Government to have “a powerful interlocutor”

Journalist Maykel González Vivero, who also met with the European diplomat, highlighted to EFE that Gilmore “took special interest in the political prisoners.” “I told him that I had arrived in Cuba at a particularly paradoxical time. On the one hand, since the approval of the 2019 Constitution, the country recognized more citizens’ rights than ever before. However, in these same years, the Government also had violated the human rights of a greater number of people,” he said.

He argued that the Island is currently suffering a “humanitarian crisis” and that it is “timely” for the Cuban Government to have “a powerful interlocutor” to talk about human rights. “We need to keep the doors to the world open,” he said.

In several conversations, the case of Luis Barrios Díaz, a 36-year-old prisoner convicted of participating in the 11 July protests and who died last Sunday, was addressed. According to family, friends and NGOs, the young man died from a respiratory condition that he allegedly developed in prison and that was not adequately treated.

Activists and NGOs have reiterated in recent days their criticism of the Cuban Government regarding Gilmore’s visit and some have insisted on the need for the European diplomat to visit Cuban prisons, something that has not happened.

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