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Argentina’s Prime Minister Milei Removes His Foreign Minister for Voting Against the US Embargo on Cuba

A few months ago, the minister had denounced the presence of “infiltrators from Cuba and Venezuela, specialists in destabilizing Governments”

Diana Mondino with the president of Argentina, Javier Milei / @DianaMondino/X

EFE/14ymedio, Buenos Aires, 31 October 2024 — The President of Argentina, Javier Milei, suddenly dismissed his Foreign Minister, Diana Mondino, on Wednesday for her vote in the United Nations General Assembly in favor of the resolution against the US embargo on Cuba.

The resolution, without binding effects, was approved, as in previous years, by an overwhelming majority (187 votes in favor, 2 against – the United States and Israel – and the abstention of Moldova).

This decision surprised the Argentinians due to the strong alignment of the Milei Government with Israel and the United States in terms of foreign policy, and the president’s emphatic rejection of left-wing governments.

In an interview Mondino then declared that there were “infiltrators from Cuba and Venezuela in the country who are specialists in destabilizing Governments”

The performance of the foreign minister in this case contrasts with the radical positions she had expressed last March against the Cuban regime. In an interview, Mondino then declared that there were “infiltrators from Cuba and Venezuela in the country who are specialists in destabilizing governments.” This comment earned her this answer from Cubadebate: “Little insight and quite manipulative, Diana Mondino.” continue reading

As soon as Argentina’s vote in the UN was known, a wave of rumors began in the local press about a possible removal of Mondino from the Government, which at the moment had not released information about the reasons for her departure.

“The new foreign minister of the Argentine Republic is Mr. Gerardo Werthein,” announced the presidential spokesman, Manuel Adorni, on X.

The designated foreign minister is an important local businessman, close to Milei. Since last April he has served as Argentine ambassador to the United States.

A veterinarian by profession, Werthein also served as president of the Argentine Olympic Committee (COA) between 2009 and 2021, and was a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Salt Fields Destroyed, Crops Damaged and up to 6,000 Affected by Hurricane Oscar in Eastern Cuba

It is still impossible to give a total account of the damage because of isolated communities

It is estimated that there are some 4,000 families affected in the eastern provinces / Prensa Latina

14ymedio/EFE, Havana, October 22, 2024 — The northeastern end of Cuba is experiencing a dramatic situation one day after the passage of Hurricane Oscar, which left at least seven dead and much material damage. Baracoa, for example, remains incommunicado. According to the report on national television this Tuesday, the linemen mobilized from other provinces could not arrive: the La Farola viaduct is closed to the passage of vehicles due to landslides caused by the rains.

In the same report, they pointed out that the salt field of San Antonio del Sur, the most affected community, was totally damaged. In addition, 200 hectares of tomato plantations were lost. Throughout the territory, damage was reported in “almost 50% of the banana plantations,” and in the coffee plantations.

Early Tuesday, the official press reported that there are 6,000 people affected – about 4,000 “family nuclei” – mainly by the floods, which have caused river overflows and sea penetrations in low coastal areas.

In the last 48 hours, the province has recorded accumulated rain of more than two feet in some points, according to data from the Institute of Meteorology. continue reading

Oscar entered Cuba as a category 1 hurricane (out of 5) on the Saffir-Simpson scale on Sunday afternoon and spent just over 24 hours on the Island, accompanied by strong winds, intense rains and high tides. It made land near Baracoa at 6:10 pm on Sunday and left Cuban territory in the vicinity of Gibara around 7:20 pm on Monday.

Civil Defense decided on Tuesday to declare the return to “normality” in the eastern provinces of Santiago de Cuba, Granma, Holguín and Las Tunas, but in Guantánamo classes will continue to be suspended at least until Thursday.

Oscar is the fifteenth hurricane of the current season in the Atlantic

Oscar is the fifteenth hurricane of the current season in the Atlantic and the first to touch land in Cuba. The meteorological services of the United States and Cuba warned months ago that this hurricane season in the Atlantic, which runs from June 1 to November 30, was going to be especially active.

The last time a big hurricane hit Cuba was in 2022, when Ian caused a collapse of the power grid similar to the one that Cuba has experienced in recent days.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Hurricane Oscar’s Passage Through Eastern Cuba Leaves at Least Six Dead

The effects of the hurricane will delay the recovery of electricity in Guantánamo province

A street in the city of Baracoa, in Guantánamo province, after Oscar’s passage / Radio Guantánamo

EFE/14ymedio, Havana, 21 October 2024 — Hurricane Oscar, weakened and downgraded to a tropical storm as it passed through the eastern region of Cuba, left at least six dead in the municipality of San Antonio del Sur, Guantánamo, the authorities reported on Monday. The storm continues slowly along its path, with heavy rain and winds that have caused material damage and the evacuation of thousands of people.

“At the moment there are forces from the Ministry of the Interior, the Armed Forces and the Red Cross participating in salvage and rescue actions” in San Antonio del Sur, said Colonel Argenis Perales Pérez, head of the Operations Department of the National Staff of Civil Defense, speaking on the Mesa Redonda program. He pointed out that the number of deaths is considered “preliminary data.”

The first hurricane of the current season in the Atlantic that has directly affected Cuban territory, Oscar entered on Sunday afternoon through a point near the city of Baracoa, in the province of Guantánamo, where the greatest effects are recorded, according to official media.

“Greenhouses, homes, work centers, electrical lines and crops have suffered damage caused by the heavy rains and winds of Oscar,” reported Radio Guantánamo, illustrating its publication on networks with images of the city of Baracoa after the passage of the storm.

According to preliminary reports, both in Baracoa and the municipalities of Imías and Maisí, there are effects of varying magnitude in more than 1,000 homes, and large floods have forced the evacuation of several thousand people. continue reading

Oscar continues to weaken over the eastern region, and its maximum sustained winds are up to 37 miles per hour

Regarding the effects of the hurricane, state television has reported accumulations of rain up to 12 inches, overflowing rivers and flooding, washed-out roads and the loss of roofs due to the force of the winds.

The most recent hurricane warning from the Institute of Meteorology (Insmet) has indicated that Oscar continues to weaken over the eastern region, and its maximum sustained winds are up to 37 miles per hour, with higher gusts.

The heaviest rainfall has spread to the province of Holguín and remains over Guantánamo and its adjacent seas, while the storm moves slowly to the west-northwest at only four miles per hour, adds Insmet.

It also warns, for the next few hours, of heavy and locally intense rains, showers and thunderstorms in much of the eastern region, and high tides on the north coast of the provinces of Guantánamo, Holguín and Las Tunas.

According to forecasts, Oscar will remain in eastern Cuba for more than 24 hours and is expected to break from a point north of Holguín province on Monday night.

The effects of the system will delay the recovery of electricity in that territory of the Island, according to information from the authorities, on the fourth day that the country suffers from the collapse of the national energy system.

Oscar is the fifteenth hurricane of the current season, although the US National Hurricane Center has described it as “small.”

The meteorological services of the United States and Cuba warned months ago that this hurricane season in the Atlantic, which runs from June 1 to November 30, was going to be especially active.

The last time a major hurricane hit Cuba was in September 2017, when Irma advanced parallel to the north coast of the Island and caused ten deaths and material losses officially valued at 13,185 million dollars.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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The US Does Not Rule Out Providing Assistance to Cuba and Attributes the Blackouts to the ‘Mismanagement’ of the Regime

White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre explained that the Administration is “closely monitoring” the energy situation on the Island

The blackout on the Island lasted four consecutive days beginning this Monday / 14ymedio

14ymedio/EFE, Havana/Washington, 21 October 2024 — The White House said on Monday that it is closely following the blackouts that Cuba has suffered in recent days and does not rule out providing aid to the Island, although it specified that the Cuban Executive has not requested assistance.

In a press conference requested by the EFE news agency, the White House spokeswoman, Karine Jean-Pierre, explained that the Administration is “closely monitoring” the energy situation on the Island.

“We are concerned about the possible humanitarian impact on the Cuban people. As we have seen in recent years, the economic conditions of Cuba, derived from a prolonged mismanagement of policies and resources, have undoubtedly increased the difficulties of the Cuban population,” she said.

“We are concerned about the possible humanitarian impact on the Cuban people,” said a White House spokeswoman

Jean-Pierre also emphasized that the United States “is not responsible” for blackouts or the general energy situation in Cuba, contradicting the Cuban continue reading

authorities, who have blamed the commercial “blockade” that Washington has maintained on the Island for more than six decades.

The spokeswoman explained that the Cuban government “has not requested any help so far,” although she did not rule out providing it in the future if they do. In the event of such a request, she explained, the US Administration would “evaluate the next most appropriate steps.”

At the beginning of the general blackout, on October 18, the US Embassy issued a warning: “All US citizens in Cuba or who plan to travel to Cuba must be aware of and plan according to this situation.”

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Without Announcing New Oil Shipments, Venezuela Asks the World To Support Cuba in the Face of the Blackouts

Nicolás Maduro says that the crisis on the Island is due to the US embargo

Caracas has significantly decreased oil shipments to Havana in the last year / EFE

14ymedio/EFE, Havana/Caracas, 19 October 2024 — The Government of Venezuela called on the international community on Friday to mobilize in support of Cuba, in view of the national blackout that the Island is experiencing, a situation for which Caracas holds the United States and its policy of economic sanctions responsible. Venezuela “expresses its absolute solidarity and unconditional support to the sister republic of Cuba, while facing the cyclical energy contingency, the product of the cruel intensification of the economic war and financial and energy persecution by the US Government,” Nicolás Maduro’s Executive said in a statement.

In his opinion, the “illegal blockade against the Cuban people” seeks “the application of a collective punishment, which represents a crime against humanity.” “Venezuela supports all the efforts heroically made by the people of Cuba as well as its president, Miguel Díaz-Canel, to mitigate the impacts of the criminal unilateral coercive measures,” the letter reiterates.

In this sense, Caracas ratified that Cuba “has the full support” of the Venezuelan Government to face this situation and overcome it, while calling on other countries to support the island nation at this time. “Venezuela urges the international community, especially the Latin American and Caribbean, to mobilize in support of Cuba and absolutely condemn the infamous unilateral list of countries that supposedly support terrorism, facts that are undoubtedly the main cause of the effects Cuba suffers today,” the statement concludes.

Havana’s historical ally did not make a single mention of the regular oil shipments it sends to the Island as part of the agreements signed between Hugo Chávez and Fidel Castro. In September, the latest available data, Caracas sent about 22,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd) to Cuba, a considerable drop compared to 33,700 bpd in June and even 28,000 bpd in April. continue reading

The historical ally of Havana did not make a single mention of the regular oil shipments it sends to the Island

At that time, Maduro accused “an account called Anonymous” of “the extreme right, anti-Venezuelan,” which “works directly with the CIA,” of having sabotaged the national electricity system. The president did not offer details of the “attack,” but a few days later, a major power cut occurred in the country again. That, along with breakdowns suffered by the equipment, explains Reuters, forced them to postpone improvements for several more days, which ended up having an impact on fuel shipments.

The fall in the supply of Venezuelan crude oil coincides with the worsening of the energy crisis in Cuba, an argument supported by the expert of the University of Texas, Jorge Piñón, as he explained this Friday to Martí Noticias. “I know, from my sources, that Venezuela told Cuba that it would prioritize oil shipments to (the Spanish) Repsol and (the American) Chevron, which pay in cash, and that is what they need. […] They told Cuba to stand in line,” he explains. As for the aid from Russia and Mexico to Havana, the first has not quite materialized, and the second has decreased, says Piñón.

This Friday, after hours of “zero national energy coverage,” the Cuban Government announced that the National Energy System had a second “total disconnection,” making it clear that Cubans will spend more hours without electricity.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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María Corina Machado Denies Maduro’s Statement and Declares ‘I’m Here With the Venezuelans’

The opponent thus denied the statement of the Government of Nicolás Maduro, who had said shortly before that the former deputy “fled the country to Spain”

Venezuela’s opposition leader, María Corina Machado / Facebook

EFE (14ymedio), Caracas, 17 October 2024 — María Corina Machado denied the statements of the President of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, who said on Wednesday that the opposition leader had fled the country to Spain. “Venezuelans know that I’m here in Venezuela. The people know it and Nicolás Maduro also knows it. Maduro’s government is desperate to know where I am, and I’m not going to give them that pleasure,” the opponent said in an interview with the EVTV channel.

The Venezuelan government had said that Machado “fled the country to Spain,” where the standard-bearer of the opposition coalition, Edmundo González Urrutia, considered the winner of the last presidential elections on July 28 by the Spanish Congress of Deputies, is exiled.

In a televised event, Maduro – proclaimed re-elected by the Venezuelan National Electoral Council – said that “la sayona” – as he usually refers in a derogatory way to Machado – “also left” the country and “fled” to “a very good bar in Spain.”

“I’m here with the Venezuelans, here, obviously protecting myself and taking care of myself because I’m not going to give them the pleasure of knowing where I am,” Machado told EVTV without specifying if she was guarded in a diplomatic headquarters within the country. continue reading

Although Nicolás Maduro did not mention the name of the opponent in his statements, the Minister of Communication, Freddy Ñáñez, said on Telegram that, according to the president, “María Corina Machado fled the country to Spain.”

Specifically, Maduro said: “I have a secret for you, but I don’t know, do you know how to keep a secret? (…) Who likes gossip? (…) It turns out that the old man [in reference to González Urrutia] left a month ago, (…) and the “La Sayona” also left, fled, fled, (…) finally left, to a very good bar there in Spain, (…) she went there. Please don’t tell this to anyone.”

“I’m here with the Venezuelans, here, obviously protecting myself and taking care of myself because I’m not going to give them the pleasure of knowing where I am”

La Sayona is a woman who, according to Venezuelan legend, appears in the form of a ghost and punishes unfaithful men.

Last Monday, Maduro, without giving names or direct references, said that “she” had left the country, despite the fact that she has been banned from leaving the national territory since June 2014.

“Don’t tell anyone, she left the country, my sources tell me that she fled (…) they are cowards, they are good at sending messages of hatred and intolerance, but she left, she took her Gucci suitcases and left,” he said again, without pronouncing her name.

González Urrutia, leader of the main opposition coalition, the Democratic United Platform, arrived in Madrid on September 8, after requesting asylum due to the political and judicial “persecution” that he suffered in his country after the elections.

After the opponent’s departure, Machado, who claims to be in “hiding” for fear of her “life” and “freedom,” reiterated that she will continue to fight from Venezuela, while González Urrutia will do so “from outside.”

Also, on September 30, the former deputy, in her speech of thanks by videoconference after having won the Václav Havel Human Rights Award, reiterated that she will “continue to fight alongside the Venezuelan people.”

The vice president of Venezuela, Delcy Rodríguez, called Machado a “fraud” and a “whore” for requesting sanctions from Venezuela’s enemies and at the same time speaking in favor of wage increases for workers, who have been, according to Rodríguez, “severely affected” by foreign sanctions.

Machado expressed her “deep admiration and affection” for the educators, who, despite “hunger wages,” have “remained at the forefront of this struggle, with an infinite dedication

“Who has asked for the blockade against Venezuela? Leopoldo López, Julio Borges, Juan Guaidó and María Corina Machado, who causes tremendous damage to Venezuela and asks for still more sanctions … She then, every day, makes videos (saying): ’Dear workers, I am with you, and now we are going to fight for Venezuela and improve your working conditions,’” Rodríguez said.

She insisted that Machado, “whoring for the United States Government, calls for sanctions and a blockade against Venezuela.” The also Minister of Oil called the former deputy and other opponents “tremendous fakes.”

Rodríguez also said that the workers have been in the “vanguard” of the “active resistance against the criminal blockade imposed by Washington with the support of Western countries” and “the call made by the extremists and fascists in Venezuela,” referring to anti-Chavista leaders.

The vice president charged against Machado a few days after the opponent expressed her “deep admiration and affection” for the educators, who, despite “hunger wages,” have “remained at the forefront of this struggle, with an infinite dedication,” according to the former deputy.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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The IAPA Denounces the Increased ‘Offensive’ Against Independent Journalism in Cuba

The report points to the case of Mayelín Rodríguez, who was sentenced in May to 15 years in prison for “interviewing and broadcasting videos about two girls beaten by agents of the Ministry of the Interior.”

The document points out that “the dictatorship tries to manipulate civil society, especially the limited and battered independent journalism” / 14ymedio

EFE (via 14ymedio), Córdoba (Argentina), 18 October 2024 — A report presented at the 80th General Assembly of the Inter-American Press Association (IAPA), still pending approval, denounces the recent increase in the “offensive” against unofficial journalism in Cuba through “psychological harassment,” arrests of journalists and summons from State Security.

“The umpteenth offensive against independent journalism (in Cuba) has been unleashed in September in the form of summons, preceded by different measures of psychological harassment by the authorities,” says the report presented at the meeting that is taking place these days in Córdoba (Argentina).

The document points out that “as before every new election in the United States, the dictatorship tries to hobble civil society, especially the limited and battered independent journalism.”

It denounces the case of Mayelín Rodríguez, who was sentenced in May to 15 years in prison for “interviewing and transmitting videos about two girls beaten by agents of the Ministry of the Interior” during a protest against the blackouts in Nuevitas. continue reading

The IAPA, founded in 1943, also mentions in its report that the Cuban digital media El Toque, based in Florida, was the subject of a “discredit campaign by the government propaganda apparatus” that blames it for being behind the depreciation of the Cuban peso against the dollar and the euro in the informal market.

El Toque reports daily on the value of the Cuban currency based on the buying and selling offers published on social networks.

“The umpteenth offensive against independent journalism has been unleashed in September in the form of summons, preceded by different measures of psychological harassment by the authorities”

While the dollar is currently listed at 325 Cuban pesos according to this media, which has become a benchmark for the street and economists, the official exchange rate is still fixed at one dollar for 24 pesos (for legal entities) and one dollar for 120 pesos (for individuals).

The document also denounces the arrests, assaults and interrogations of unofficial journalists such as Camila Acosta, José Luis Tan and Julio Aleaga, as well as the closure of the digital music magazine Magazine Am/Pm due to “harassment by State Security.”

The IAPA report on Cuba also criticizes the Social Communication Law, which came into force in early October, because it “strengthens the repression of press freedom.”

The aforementioned regulation, the first of its kind in Cuba in 70 years, ignores the unofficial press, allows commercial advertising for the first time since the triumph of the revolution, sanctions the political alignment of authorized media and regulates digital phenomena (including influencers), among other issues.

The law has been harshly criticized by NGOs and media outside the State orbit, who argue that it censors content contrary to the official narrative and leaves independent digital newspapers adrift.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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The Presidency of Cuba Announces that Díaz-Canel Is Visiting Mexico for the Fifth Time Since 2018

The Island needs Mexican oil in exchange for thousands of doctors

Díaz-Canel is accompanied by David Kershenobich, who will assume Mexico’s Ministry of Health in the Sheinbaum Government

14ymedio/EFE, Madrid, 30 September 2024 — This Sunday, Miguel Díaz-Canel was the first president to arrive in Mexico for the inauguration of the incoming president Claudia Sheinbaum, which will be held tomorrow, Tuesday, October 1, four months after she was elected as the successor to Andrés Manuel López Obrador. López Obrador has been one of the closest allies of the Cuban regime, as evidenced by the Pemex oil shipments to the Island and the substantial contracts for sending doctors to the most remote and dangerous areas of Mexico.

The Cuban president landed at Felipe Ángeles International Airport, where he was received with honors by the military guard and an unknown figure: David Kershenobich, future Secretary of Health in the Sheinbaum Government. Barely a week has passed since it was known that Cuba received more than 23 million euros for three contracts from the Social Security Institute and the Cuban Services Marketing company between July 2022 and December 2023, in addition to the announcement that the Island’s health workers will continue arriving in Mexico under the new Government.

Díaz-Canel is accompanied by a delegation that includes his wife, Lis Cuesta, as well as the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla; the head of the Department of International Relations of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba, Emilio Lozada García; and the general director of Latin America and the Caribbean, Eugenio Martínez Enríquez. The delegation is completed by the Cuban ambassador to Mexico, Marcos Rodríguez.

A note published by the Presidency of Cuba points out that this is “the fifth time that the Cuban leader visits Mexico since he assumed the presidency of the Island in 2018, which denotes the close relationship he has maintained during all these years with the outgoing president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador.”

Shortly after Díaz-Canel, Brazilian President Luis Inazio Lula da Silva arrived. President Gustavo Petro of Colombia postponed his trip to Monday after the helicopter crash in which eight members of the Air Force lost their lives. “I want to accompany the families in their pain and follow the investigation personally to determine the causes of the event,” Petro said continue reading

when announcing his delay. It is expected that this Monday both presidents will meet with Sheinbaum to analyze the possibility of continuing to try a joint mediation of Brazil, Colombia and Mexico that promotes a dialogue between Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and the opposition, which claims the victory of their candidate, Edmundo González Urrutia, with 70% of the votes in the July 28 elections.

Díaz-Canel will have several unspecified meetings this Monday, as well as one with “members of the Cuban state mission.” However, the official press makes explicit the exchange about education, culture, sport, the preservation of heritage and the environment, in addition to Health, with special emphasis not only on staff contracts, but also on those for medical students. There is no mention, however, of the shipments of fuel – presumably free – nor of the frustrated agreement on the Mayan Train, with which Mexico hoped to import 200,000 tons of stone from the Island but the total remained at just 7,000, without counting the human and environmental damage of López Obrador’s star project.

Mexico hoped to import 200,000 tons of stone from the Island but the total remained at just 7,000, without counting the human and environmental damage of López Obrador’s star project

At the opening of the Chetumal station, the president-elect starred this Sunday in her last official act prior to the inauguration. “I’m ready, I’m strong. The people of Mexico are ready to start the second stage of the ’fourth transformation’,” said Sheinbaum, referring to the term with which the political project of the ruling party is known.

“In recent months, I have witnessed how beautiful it is to see a president merge with his people and how exciting it is to see a people merge with their president,” she said at the end of her so-called “transition tour.”

“I’m not idolizing you, but I’m proud to say that you are among the greats and that for millions of Mexicans you are the best president our country has ever had,” said Sheinbaum of her predecessor, before praising his achievements: “a new economic model, the foundations of a new judiciary, the foundations of a new thought” and “a politicized and cheerful people,” among others.

“The Mayan Train in the face of all adversities is a reality,” Sheinbaum celebrated, and she said that, contrary to criticism, “the train means the preservation of the largest ecological rainforest after the Amazon.”

López Obrador, who highlighted the role of the Armed Forces in the infrastructure, joked that its inauguration will probably mean vacations for the military workers. “Don’t believe me too much because the new president is very hardworking, and I’m sure she already knows what the trains from the north are going to do.”

The flagship project of the Mexican president contemplates 1,554 kilometers with seven sections that cross five states and 36 municipalities with a total of 34 stations. Sheinbaum announced in July the creation of two new passenger train lines, one departing from Mexico City to Guadalajara, and the other to Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, on the border with the United States, which she described as a “Mayan Train to the north.”

Hundreds of migrants and refugees asked her this Sunday for protection from the violence they suffer

The new president must, however, look at her borders as a priority. There, hundreds of migrants and refugees asked her this Sunday for protection from the violence they suffer.

During a procession with religious leaders from the Catholic Church, the attendees of the 110th World Day of the Migrant and Refugee in Tapachula, Chiapas, called on the Mexican Government to provide free and safe passage for migrants to be able to reach the border with the United States.

Evelin Leonel Villanueva, from Honduras, requested support from Sheinbaum to expedite appointments for interviews in the Mexican Commission for Refugee Aid (Comar), since they have been delayed by six months.

“We feel insecure but also safe with the Mexicans who help us, who can give us free passage to the border and enable transportation for low-income people. It is difficult for us to safely reach the border to be with our family,” she said.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Cuba Extends Tariff-Free Imports for Food and Medication Until January 31, 2025

With the exemption, the regime is convinced that emigrants will continue to provide for the needs of their relatives on the Island

The regime has renewed the measure on several occasions since its implementation in 2021 / 14ymedio

EFE (via 14ymedio), Havana, 28 September 2024 — The Ministry of Finance and Prices extended, until January 31, 2025, the tariff exemption for food, medications and other products that travelers can bring to the Island for non-commercial purposes, according to the latest Official Gazette. The regulations adopted in 2021 have been extended on several occasions and so far maintain the limit of the customs value – from 200 to 500 US dollars – for imports made by natural persons through shipments.

The ministry’s resolution puts the value limit for imported items at 500 dollars and up to 50 kilograms, in the value-weight ratio established by the General Customs of the Republic. Likewise, it specifies that the benefit of the exceptional tariff exemption is maintained for the first 30 dollars of the value or its equivalent weight of 3 kilograms, and the rate of 30% will be applied to the excess.

Food, hygiene products, medications and supplies, are authorized up to a limit of 200 dollars or 20 kg

In the cases of food, hygiene products, medications and supplies that are imported by natural persons through air, sea and postal shipments, a limit of 200 dollars or a weight of 20 kilograms is authorized, according to the resolution. continue reading

The current legislation in Cuba on the import of luggage consists of a complex system of weight points and limits that establishes tariffs on excess items brought by travelers. The import of food and medications without tariff limits was a measure adopted after the Island-wide anti-government protests of 11 July 2021 (11J), which had among the main causes the scarcity and shortage of basic products.

With the extension, the regime is convinced that emigrants will continue to provide for the needs – not only financial but also health and food – of their relatives on the Island.

Cuba has been suffering from a severe economic crisis for more than three years, which is reflected in the scarcity of basic products, the partial dollarization of the economy, the depreciation of the peso, the prolonged and frequent blackouts and the sharp increase in prices.

The effects of the pandemic, the tightening of the U.S. economic embargo and failures in economic management are the main reasons for the deterioration, which is stimulating migration – mainly to the U.S. – and social discontent.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Cuban Artist and Activist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara is Awarded a Norwegian Human Rights Prize

The Rafto Foundation has awarded prizes to defenders of democracy, including four people who later received the Nobel Peace Prize

Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara has been imprisoned for more than three years in the Guanajay prison in Artemisa. / (Facebook/Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara)

EFE (via 14ymedio), Copenhagen, 19 September 2024 — Cuban artist and activist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara was awarded the Rafto Human Rights Prize in Norway on Thursday “For his fearless resistance against an authoritarian regime through art.”

The award citation notes that Otero Alcántara, 36 and currently in prison, “has been arrested countless times for his activism” and that his works are “strongly critical of restrictions on freedom of expression.”

Otero Alcántara leads the San Isidro Movement, founded in 2018, which brings together artists, musicians, journalists and academics “who promote freedom of expression” and oppose the so-called Decree 349, which requires creators to be registered with Cuba’s Ministry of Culture, from which they must request permission to perform and exhibit their work.

“The 2024 Rafto Prize aims to highlight the importance of the work of Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara and other artists in challenging power structures and defending democracy and human rights in Cuba and around the world,” said the jury, which urged the Cuban government to release the activist, along with all “political prisoners” and repeal Decree 349. continue reading

“The Rafto 2024 award aims to highlight the importance of the work of Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara and other artists in challenging power structures”

Co-founder of the so-called Museum of Dissidence, he also participated in the music video for the hip-hop song Patria y Vida , which played an important role in the anti-government protests of 11 July 2021, known as ’11J’.

“Since 2016, he has been subjected to interrogations, political persecution and has been arrested countless times. In addition, his works of art have been confiscated and destroyed by state security agents,” the citation said.

Otero Alcántara was sentenced in 2022 for contempt, public disorder and insulting national symbols and is currently serving a five-year sentence in the maximum security prison in Guanajay.

Since 1987, the Rafto Foundation has been awarding prizes to human rights and democracy activists every year. Among them are four people who later received the Nobel Peace Prize: Burmese Aung San Suu Kyi, East Timorese José Ramos-Horta, South Korean Kim Dae-jung and Iranian Shirin Ebadi.

The prize, worth $20,000, is named after Professor Thorolf Rafto, who dedicated his life to defending democracy and human rights.

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Russia Promises New Credits to Cuba To Help It ‘Overcome the Serious Consequences of the Blockade’

Sergei Shoigu announces Moscow’s intention to increase cooperation in security, special services and police departments

Sergei Shoigu in a file photo with Vladimir Putin / EFE

EFE (via 14ymedio), Moscow, 10 September 2024 — Russia plans to grant new lines of credit to Cuba to help Havana “overcome the serious consequences of the US blockade*,” said the secretary of the Russian Security Council, Sergei Shoigu, on Tuesday.

“Russia will take additional measures to support Havana; in particular, with the granting of new lines of credit,” Shoigu said during a meeting with Cuban Interior Minister Lázaro Alberto Álvarez in St. Petersburg.

Shoigú, former Russian Minister of Defense, added that Cuba is one of Russia’s closest allies in Latin America, and relations between the two countries have survived “the test of time.”

“We are willing to increase cooperation within the framework of security councils, special services and police departments. We are paying particular attention to commercial, economic and investment cooperation,” he emphasized.

He also trusted that, with the help of Russia, Havana will overcome the “serious” consequences of the “economic blockade” imposed by the United States. continue reading

“We are paying particular attention to commercial, economic and investment cooperation”

Last June, a detachment of the Russian Navy arrived on the Island with a modern frigate and a nuclear-powered submarine, which generated great expectation inside and outside the country.

Political, military and economic relations between Moscow and Havana have deepened qualitatively in recent years.

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel was in Moscow at the beginning of May, his second official visit in less than two years.

Subsequently, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez and Deputy Prime Minister Ricardo Cabrisas made trips to the Slavic country.

In the economic plan between the two countries, initiatives stand out, ranging from Russian donations to advisory missions on reforms, to the opening of a line of credit for the Island to buy wheat, oil and fertilizers in Russia.

The trips of senior military officials are also frequent, but absolutely opaque.

Translated by Regina Anavy

Translator’s note: There is, in fact, no US ‘blockade’ on Cuba, but this continues to be the term the Cuban government prefers to apply to the ongoing US embargo. During the Cuban Missile Crisis the US ordered a Naval blockade (which it called a ‘quarantine’) on Cuba in 1962, between 22 October and 20 November of that year. The blockade was lifted when Russia agreed to remove its nuclear missiles from the Island. The embargo had been imposed earlier in February of the same year, and although modified from time to time, it is still in force.

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With 142 Migrants Dead at Sea, the Route From Cuba to the United States Is the Deadliest in America

So far in 2024 a total of 291 migrants have disappeared or died in Caribbean waters

Hundreds of Cubans leave the Island aboard precarious boats / Coast Guard

EFE (via 14ymedio), San José, Costa Rica, 30 August 2024 — At least 291 migrants have disappeared or died so far in 2024 on the dangerous maritime routes of the Caribbean, and international protection actions must be increased, according to the Program of Missing Migrants of the International Organization for Migration (IOM). It added that the route with the most victims is the one that goes from Cuba to the United States, with 142 deaths.

The program’s data indicate that, as of August 30, at least 291 migrants have disappeared or died in 2024, an 18% increase compared to the 247 recorded for all of 2023.

The second deadliest route by sea is the one taken from the Dominican Republic to Puerto Rico, with 91, followed by the route to the Canary Islands, with 15, and from Haiti to the Dominican Republic, with 1 death, according to the program’s data.

The deaths represent an 18% increase, compared to the 247 that were recorded for all of 2023

The regional monitor for the Americas of the Missing Migrants Project, Edwin Viales, said this Friday, in a working session with other similar organizations, that the dangerous natural and climatic conditions of these routes in the Caribbean, added to forced disappearances caused by traffickers, make the boats disappear without a trace. continue reading

“The outlook is not encouraging. Now, more than ever, the coordination of international efforts in the Caribbean is necessary to save lives,” he said.

Viales explained that these routes are used not only by migrants from Latin America and the Caribbean in their objective of reaching the United States, but there have also been cases detected of shipwrecks and disappearances of boats transporting Africans.

One of these cases was recorded on August 6, when the remains of 14 people from Senegal and Mauritania were found on a homemade boat off the coast of the Dominican Republic.

According to Viales, “these transcontinental shipwrecks have been increasing,” since April 13, when a boat was detected in Brazil with the remains of 9 people from Mauritania and Mali.

There is evidence of three similar cases between 2021 and 2022, with a total of 70 deaths in boats found in Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos, and Granada

In addition, there is evidence of three similar cases between 2021 and 2022, with a total of 70 deaths in boats found in Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos, and Granada. In 2023, there were also two shipwrecks found with supposed African migrants in Honduras and near Turks and Caicos.

Viales added that in 2023, there was also a complaint from key informants about 105 missing people on the route between San Andrés and the border area between Honduras and Nicaragua. It is suspected that there were two cases of enforced disappearance by groups involved in the trafficking of migrants, and two of shipwrecks.

In this Friday’s session, IOM presented three initiatives on migration in the Caribbean: “One by the Cuban newspaper El Toque, which collects information on the dead and missing; the Route of Life in the Dominican Republic, which aims to raise awareness and educate about the risk of irregular routes, and a project by the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS) to serve and support Caribbean countries.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Dozens of Devotees Venerate the Virgin of Regla on the Eve of the Day of Cuba’s Patron Saint

The procession precedes the celebration of the Virgin of Charity of Cobre, patron saint of the island, popularly called ‘Cachita’

People participate in the procession of the Virgin of Regla

EFE (via 14ymedio), Havana, 8 September 2024 –Dozens of devotees attended the mass and subsequent procession of the Virgin of Regla this Saturday, in the Havana municipality that bears her name, on the eve of the celebrations for the day of the patron saint of Cuba, the Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre.

After the mass at the National Sanctuary of Our Lady of Regla, a crowd accompanied the procession as they do every September 7, dressed in blue and carrying black dolls in allusion to the virgin who, in the Yoruba religion, resembles Yemayá, the goddess of the sea.

The cult of the Virgin of Regla began in 1867, in a wooden hermitage in the fishing village of Regla / EFE

According to historical data, the cult of the Virgin of Regla began in 1867, in a wooden hermitage in the then fishing village of Regla.

In 1708, it was declared by the chapter of the town of Regla patron saint of the fishermen and the population, the port and the Bay of Havana.

This virgin was brought to Cuba by the Spanish colonizers who inherited the religion of Andalusia. This Catholic tradition has become common on the Island, where she is considered a protector of fishermen, sailors and all those people whose lives depend on the sea. continue reading

The church of the Virgin of Regla was built in 1811. It is a humble temple where the image of a black virgin dressed in blue with white lace stands out. The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Regla was declared a National Monument in 1987.

This tradition has become common in Cuba, where the virgin is considered a protector of fishermen and sailors / EFE

This Saturday’s procession precedes the celebration on Sunday of the day of the Virgen de la Caridad, patron saint of the Island, popularly known as “Cachita.” African slaves recognized her in their Yoruba pantheon as the deity Ochún.

According to Catholic legend, the Virgin of Charity first appeared in 1612 with a child in her arms, floating on a board with an inscription that said: “I am the Virgin of Charity,” before three fishermen who sailed in a boat through the eastern bay of Nipe.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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UN Agency Finances the Installation of Solar Electric Pumps for Agriculture in Cuba

The FAO, a United Nations agency, did not declare the amount it will spend on the project

The purpose of the initiative is to use solar energy to extract water / Granma

14ymedio/EFE, Havana, 31 August 2024 — The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Global Environment Fund will support the installation of solar electric pumps for agricultural plantations and livestock facilities in Cuba, the State press reported on Saturday. “The collaboration responds to the common interest of introducing sustainable technologies in the agricultural sector,” explains the FAO in a statement quoted by the State newspaper Granma.

The report explains that the equipment will be installed in selected locations in the provinces of Sancti Spíritus and Granma, and in the Company for the Conservation of the Zapata Swamp, in Matanzas. The purpose of the initiative is to use solar energy to extract water for the wellbeing of the animals and the irrigation of the plantations, and to contribute to “the conservation of water resources and the reduction of the carbon footprint.”

“The innovative solution – part of the conservation of biodiversity and the sustainable management of ecosystems in agriculture, promoted by the Ministry of Agriculture – reduces dependence on fossil fuels and minimizes environmental impact,” according to the report. continue reading

Cuba is suffering from an intense drought that, says the Government, as a direct result of the climate crisis. It is not the first time that the Caribbean country has worked together with the FAO; since 2021, the Ministry of Agriculture has received technical assistance from the agency in a project called IRES,* dedicated to climate resilience in rural communities, the first Cuban initiative with funding from the Green Climate Fund.

The project seeks to mitigate the emission of around 2.7 million tons of greenhouse gases

The project seeks to mitigate the emission of around 2.7 million tons of greenhouse gases, involve 52,000 family farmers in the process and introduce better agroforestry practices for 35,000 hectares of land.

At the beginning of August, the FAO announced that it would devote 1.3 million dollars to promoting sustainable fishing practices and protecting the biodiversity on the Island. The sector is one of the most difficult due to the shortage of fishing gear, fuel and other resources. The objective is to strengthen the capacities of the Fisheries Research Center (CIP) of the Ministry of Food Industry and the technical departments of fishing companies operating in the Gulf of Guacanayabo, on the southeastern coast of the Cuban provinces of Granma, Camagüey and Las Tunas, according to FAO reports cited by the Cuban state press.

The initiative is part of the Conpescas Guacanayabo project that focuses on the sustainable management of marine resources, promotes the use of selective and environmentally friendly fishing gear and promotes the application of good practices in the sector, according to the FAO perspective.

The amount of money invested in the Island by the United Nations agency does not stop there. In 2020, Cuba and FAO agreed on the execution of a project to combat climate change in the amount of 119 million dollars, used to help vulnerable communities in three of the Island’s provinces.

*”Increased climate resilience of rural households and communities through the rehabilitation of production landscapes in selected locales of the Republic of Cuba.”

Translated by Regina Anavy

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The Cuban Church Asks Spanish Catholics for Help in the Face of Difficulties on the Island

A campaign is launched to collect donations to “support priests and the religious”

The bishop of Holguín, Emilio Aranguren, and Pope Francis, during the latter’s visit to Cuba in 2015 /Holguín Católico/Archive

EFE/14ymedio, Madrid, 5 September 2024 — The power cuts and the shortage of fuel, medicines and other basic goods hinder the work of the Catholic Church in Cuba, according to the bishop of Holguín, Emilio Aranguren, who this Thursday asked for help from Spanish Catholics to face “the worst moment” of the many experienced in his long pastoral life. “The current situation is worse than the one we saw in the 90s, in the so-called Special Period,” the 74-year-old said. “There is a great shortage of basic necessities that are only available at exorbitant prices.”

“The issue of medicines is very serious,” he added. “For example, there are many problems to find the necessary drug in case of dementia and that makes the patients very upset and makes their lives and those around them very difficult.”

Faced with this situation, Aranguren connected this Thursday by videoconference with Spanish journalists to support the campaign “The Church in Cuba, where nothing is impossible,” promoted in Spain by the pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN).

The purpose of the campaign is to collect donations to “support the priests and religious in their survival” and to provide “material means so that they can exercise their pastoral and evangelical work,” said the director of ACN Spain, José María Gallardo.

“Cubans are experiencing many difficulties and need the comfort offered by priests,” said Aranguren, who recalled that Cuba has “very few priests,” and they have to travel great distances to be able to attend to all their parishioners. continue reading

“The Cuban Church is poor. It is a Church that does not generate income and has only what the faithful contribute”

“The Cuban Church is poor. It is a Church that does not generate income and has only what the faithful contribute, which in the current economic situation is very limited,” he stressed.

The Cuban Church has 374 priests, leaving Cuba with the highest ratio of Catholics per priest in the world: 20,872 faithful per priest.

In addition, the other religious – 490 nuns and 173 monks – are mostly foreigners, and there are only 27 seminarians throughout the country. Thus, “the cornerstone” of the Cuban Church are the 3,699 lay people who sometimes offer their own houses to install small chapels to celebrate the Eucharist.

The lack of priests has its origin, among other factors, in the secularist policies promoted by Fidel Castro after the Revolution

According to Aranguren, the relationship of the Catholic Church with the communist authorities has improved in recent years, and he pointed out that “attitudes against religious expression on the part of officials, teachers and authorities has decreased, although there are some specific cases.” The prelate did not give details about any of the priests who have been critical of the regime and have received pressure for it, such as Leandro Naún, Alberto Reyes and Lester Zayas. Last April, sources from the Cuban Catholic Church told this newspaper that relations with the Government, precisely, “are going through their worst moment.”

Without referring to it, Aranguren insisted: “There has been a process of learning and understanding of what a Church means within a secular State, and lately the authorities have even sometimes positively valued the actions of the Church .”

Translated by Regina Anavy

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