Translator: Regina Anavy – Translating Cuba

Cuban Foreign Ministry Deeply Concerned About U.S. Campaign Against Resolution on the Embargo at the UN

The deputy foreign minister accuses Marco Rubio of “intimidating, blackmailing, and promising carrots to governments in every corner of the world.”

The Cuban regime installed a screen on the steps of the University of Havana to follow the 2019 vote. / EFE. / EFE

14ymedio, Madrid, October 15, 2026 / Part of the exile community in Miami joined the U.S. diplomatic push on Wednesday to gather support against the annual resolution that the Cuban regime presents at the UN calling for an end to the “blockade.” Opposition organizations, supported by activists and former political prisoners, presented an initiative in the city called Appeal by the Cuban Pro-Democracy Opposition to the Governments of the Free and Democratic World, in which they call for a vote against the Castro regime’s proposal.

“For decades, the Cuban communist regime has used this annual vote to portray itself internationally as the victim of foreign aggression and to divert attention from its own responsibility for the profound political, economic, social, and humanitarian crisis our country is suffering,” the text states.

The document attempts to disprove the existence of a U.S. blockade and accuses the Cuban regime of having disastrously managed the flows of money and raw materials it received for decades from the Soviet Union and Venezuela. It also draws on bilateral trade figures between Havana and Washington, authorized through exemptions or for the private sector, depending on the case, to deny that restrictions exist. It specifically cites fuel shipments, which have been permitted exclusively from the United States since this January and which reached a value of $231.74 million over eight months. continue reading

“For decades, the Cuban communist regime has used this annual vote to portray itself internationally as the victim of foreign aggression and to divert attention from its own responsibility”

Another of the arguments put forward by the exile community is the humanitarian aid that the State Department has coordinated this year with the Catholic Church for distribution throughout the Island. This donation began with an allocation of $9 million promised after Hurricane Melissa struck in October 2025 and continued with another $100 million amid the current crisis. The regime has accepted both, while accusing Washington of “hypocrisy,” blaming it for “applying draconian coercive measures” while announcing “soup and cans of food for a few.”

The text’s promoters — among whom José Daniel Ferrer stands out, having reported that nearly 1,000 signatures of support had been collected by Wednesday — are calling for the sanctions policy against Cuba’s current leaders to continue while humanitarian aid outside government channels is increased. But their main focus is the appeal to the international community to vote against the resolution presented by Cuba on October 28, following its submission to the General Assembly between the 27th and that same day.

“Do not give the Cuban regime political backing that it can subsequently use for propaganda and to conceal the absence of freedoms within Cuba,” the document states. It explicitly names the governments of the European Union, the United Kingdom, Canada, Norway, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, and Latin American democracies, urging them to “vote against (…) or, at the very least, abstain.”

The appeal aligns with the message Marco Rubio conveyed to Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele on Tuesday during a telephone call in which, among other matters, he asked for his country to vote against the Cuban resolution. According to the secretary of state, “the Cuban regime will not carry out the reforms the people deserve as long as it believes the international community is on its side.”

Just one day earlier, Rubio had spoken with Abelardo De la Espriella, and although the content of that conversation is unknown, everything indicates that he asked his new regional partner for support on the designated date.

These developments have prompted a reaction from the Cuban regime, which issued a statement on Wednesday through its foreign minister, Bruno Rodríguez. “The U.S. Secretary of State, nervous and anxious in the face of yet another defeat at the United Nations, is pressuring and blackmailing heads of state and government in several countries to change their votes against the blockade in the UN General Assembly,” he wrote on his X account.

“With his repeated lies and new actions, he is trying to silence the act of collective punishment he is committing against the Cuban people and make the rest of the international community complicit in this barbarity,” he added in his post.

“With his repeated lies and new actions, he is trying to silence the act of collective punishment he is committing against the Cuban people and make the rest of the international community complicit in this barbarity”

Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernández de Cossío went even further, lamenting that, “in the year of the greatest intensification of the economic war,” the United States was seeking to “blame the victim of aggression, discredit the victim, and thereby attempt to change a position that the international community has historically and unmistakably maintained in rejecting the economic blockade.” He also added that Rubio “is going from country to country and calling heads of government in a desperate effort to intimidate, blackmail, and promise carrots to governments in every corner of the world.”

At the end of September, a document obtained by the Associated Press and confirmed by several officials to the news agency revealed that the U.S. State Department had plans to impose “stricter controls” on Cuban officials traveling to the United Nations for the resolution vote. However, this has no practical implications, since Havana’s permanent delegation in New York is one of the largest, with 47 officials, according to the NGO Archivo Cuba.

The Cuban regime has historically secured the Assembly’s support for this resolution. Its best year was 2016, when it received no votes against it and the text passed with just two abstentions, from the United States and Israel, which have always voted the same way. Since then, although support has remained overwhelming, the loss of votes has been noticeable. In 2025, the proposal passed with 165 votes in favor, seven against, and twelve abstentions, the worst result to date. This year’s outcome will almost certainly be much worse.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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With the Entry into Force of the New Housing Law, the Confiscation of Emigrants’ Homes Comes to an End

As announced in June, Cubans will be allowed to own two homes, mortgage financing is authorized, and the sector is opened to private and foreign capital.

The legislation also provides for construction through the population’s own efforts. / Cubadebate

14ymedio, Madrid, October 14, 2026 / The long-awaited new Housing Law, finally published this Wednesday in the Official Gazette, will enter into force sooner than planned in the draft legislation released four months ago. The final text thus reduces the period before the regulations take effect from 90 days to seven, something that has also occurred with the most recent decrees approved, demonstrating the urgency the Government wants to bring to its desperate measures to revive the economy.

For the most part, the legal document differs little from the version announced last June, which, among other provisions, eliminated the State’s confiscation of property belonging to emigrants, opened the sector to private capital, foreign investors, and mortgage financing, and allowed Cubans to own up to two homes, in addition to a “vacation or summer home.”

In this regard, the law states that if it is established that the limit on property ownership has been exceeded, the Municipal Housing Directorate may order the loss of the last home acquired. continue reading

Among its provisions, the law recognizes the participation of different forms of management, including micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (mipymes), real estate companies, housing cooperatives, and microbrigades

The new framework also retains the possibility of the municipal administration asking a court to revoke the rights to an abandoned home that has been declared structurally derelict.

The owner or holder is required to take measures to restore its use value; if they fail to do so, the Housing Directorate may petition the courts to make the property available for subsequent allocation.

This authority, therefore, does not translate into an automatic loss of ownership: the procedure provided for requires the intervention of the competent court. Both the draft and the final law provide for this possibility.

What has been expanded compared with the June text is the overall framework, providing details covering the construction, financing, distribution, use, maintenance, access to, and transfer of homes.

Among its provisions, the law recognizes the participation of different forms of management, including micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (mipymes), real estate companies, housing cooperatives, and microbrigades. The legislation also provides for construction through the population’s own efforts.

The law also maintains State intervention in housing policy and the protection of certain population groups in accessing housing. The participation of other economic actors is incorporated into this framework without eliminating the administrative powers held by public agencies.

The approved legislation retains this requirement but adds a clarification regarding the 15-year period: according to the new Article 57, the period begins with the State’s first allocation of the home

The publication of the law is accompanied by three Council of Ministers decrees: Decree 176/2026, which establishes the general regulations for the Housing Law; Decree 177/2026, concerning condominium ownership; and Decree 178/2026, which regulates housing cooperatives. The Official Gazette also includes two resolutions issued by the National Institute of Territorial Planning and Urbanism.

Unlike the June draft, the final legislation also specifies how the 15-year period is calculated for certain subsidized homes subject to repayment obligations and the State’s preferential right to purchase. The original draft established that the right of first refusal and repurchase, along with other obligations related to these homes, had to be recorded in the constitutive title and registered in the Central Registry of Real Estate Property.

The approved legislation retains this requirement but adds a clarification regarding the 15-year period: according to the new Article 57, the period begins with the State’s first allocation of the home. Subsequent transfers do not restart the period, and once the 15 years have elapsed, the holder is released from the obligations to repay the subsidy and from the State’s preferential right to purchase.

The amendment thus clarifies an issue that the draft did not specify in that article: the point at which the period begins to run and the effects of subsequent transfers. It also prevents each change of ownership from restarting the clock.

Regarding the sale price, the law establishes that it is agreed upon by the parties and that the transfer is formalized before a notary, subject to the exceptions established for homes allocated by the State. The tax regime for these transactions is also modified: the taxable base for the sale becomes the transfer price, provided that it is equal to or greater than the cadastral value.

The regulations also establish a deadline for regularizing certain longstanding situations. Thus, “legitimate occupants, usufruct holders who pay for their use, and certain tenants or their heirs” have five years from the law’s entry into force to request the transfer of ownership. If they fail to do so within this period, they will become tenants of a State-owned home.

Because the State remains, in any case, a key player in the matter.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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State Security Detains Journalist Yunia Figueredo and Threatens to Prevent Her Daughter’s Surgery

There have been at least 22 repressive incidents against the family since April 2025, according to Iclep.

14ymedio, Havana, October 13, 2026 / Independent journalist Yunia Figueredo reported this Monday that she and her husband, fellow journalist Frank Correa, were detained in the morning by State Security agents and taken to Villa Marista, in Havana, where they remained separated for several hours. “They kept us there until 2:30 in the afternoon. It was extremely horrible,” she said on Facebook.

The arrest kept the couple away from home for practically the entire day. Figueredo said they were not able to return home until five in the afternoon because of transportation difficulties, while their two daughters, one a university student and the other a 14-year-old minor, remained alone at home.

Regarding the detention, on Tuesday the Cuban Institute for Freedom of Expression and the Press (Iclep) said that Figueredo had been threatened by a State Security officer identified as Hilda during the interrogation to which she was subjected. During the questioning, the agents referred to a surgical procedure her younger daughter needs: “She will never be able to have the operation if you continue persisting in counterrevolutionary activities.” The officer also told her that the older daughter’s continued enrollment at the university would be at risk.

The journalist remained in police custody for approximately five and a half hours, without access to a bathroom or drinking water. Meanwhile, her husband reported that he had been locked in a cell for more than two hours and had also received threats of travel restrictions and pressure to abandon journalism and leave the country. continue reading

Her husband reported that he had been locked in a cell for more than two hours and had also received threats of travel restrictions

Iclep emphasized that this was not an isolated incident, since there has been “a pattern of threats, detentions, and harassment against the Correa-Figueredo family since last year, including a house arrest perimeter in September that prevented them from leaving their home,” as happened to other activists and journalists, including Yoani Sánchez, director of 14ymedio, and her husband, journalist Reinaldo Escobar.

In early September, Iclep requested precautionary measures before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) to protect the couple and their two daughters. According to the institute, there have been at least 22 repressive incidents against the family since April 2025.

The Alas Tensas Gender Observatory [also see ‘OGAT’] also condemned the authorities’ harassment of the couple. In particular, it raised concerns about “the minors, whose well-being and protection must be guaranteed by the Cuban authorities.”

The journalist was also detained in Jaimanitas, in Havana’s Playa municipality, after participating in one of the pot-banging protests

Last March, the journalist was also detained in Jaimanitas, in Havana’s Playa municipality, after participating in one of the pot-banging protests in the capital against the blackouts.

At the time, her husband said the arrest took place at around 5 p.m., amid a police operation in the neighborhood. “The detention took place in front of their daughters and during a blackout.” During the arrest, the agents threw the journalist’s phone to the ground.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Many Cuban Hospitals Already Have Solar Panels, Although They Do Not Work Outside Daylight Hours

The Government boasts that it has brought solar energy to 99% of its healthcare centers and 89% of its nursing homes.

The director of the NGO Open Arms, Óscar Camps, looks at the solar panels installed at the Juan Manuel Márquez pediatric hospital in Havana. / EFE

14ymedio, October 13, 2026 – The Faustino Pérez Hospital in Matanzas is already generating electricity with 72 solar panels, but it still cannot use that power to keep its services running when the national grid fails. The equipment began to be installed in July, thanks to the Matanzas-Switzerland Group, physician Andreas Osterwalder, and mediCuba-Switzerland. In August, its director, Taymí Martínez Naranjo, acknowledged to the official newspaper Girón: “We currently do not have the capacity to store it.”

The case contrasts with the triumphal figures presented by Miguel Díaz-Canel, who stated in September that renewable energy had reached 47% of hospitals, 99% of polyclinics, 99% of maternity homes, and 89% of nursing homes and homes for the elderly.

But having solar panels does not guarantee medical care during blackouts. Complaints from patients and neighbors, and even reports in the official press itself, reveal facilities that are almost completely dark, medical tests that still cannot be performed, and systems that supply power to only some services. On top of this, some equipment is still awaiting installation. continue reading

Having solar panels does not guarantee medical care during blackouts

The lack of electricity has also prompted complaints from patients. In July, a father reported on Facebook that he had taken his son to the polyclinic in Güira de Melena in Artemisa at night and found the building almost completely dark. He compared it to “hospitals in horror movies.” According to his account, the solar panels were barely powering a few light bulbs.

The difficulties go far beyond the lack of lighting. At the Julián Grimau polyclinic in Arroyo Naranjo, Havana, blackouts were directly affecting medical care. In September, Isa Iris Arzola reported on Facebook the difficulties in sterilizing nebulizer mouthpieces and performing electrocardiograms and X-rays. Another user stated in the comments on her post that only four of the panels on the roof were connected. In Regla, also in the capital, neighbors reported in June that the polyclinic’s panels “do not work,” following a traffic accident in which the victims required medical assistance.

Faced with limitations in the electricity supply, residents of Guanabo, east of Havana, pooled their money to buy an EcoFlow power station to provide backup for the intensive care unit at the local polyclinic, although the emergency department was already using solar power. “It was the community that solved the problem,” activist María Elena Mira told CubaNet in June.

The difficulties are compounded by the risk of theft and delays in installation. In July, journalist Christian Arbolaez reported on Facebook the theft of panels from the Maternity Home in Cárdenas, Matanzas. Days later, he reported the theft of batteries from the maternity home in Santa Marta, in the same municipality, while five pregnant women and a nurse remained at the facility. There is no record of the equipment having been replaced.

Other facilities have managed to maintain essential services during blackouts, although solar backup does not extend to all their departments.

Other facilities have managed to maintain essential services during blackouts, although solar backup does not necessarily extend to all their departments. At the Manuel Fajardo Rivero Hospital in the municipality of Urbano Noris, Holguín, 28 panels and a battery system donated by the International Red Cross supply power to the emergency department, intensive care units, obstetrics, pediatrics and internal medicine wards, the delivery room, and the clinical laboratory. The installation has a capacity of 16 kilowatts, but it has not been specified whether that is enough to power the rest of the hospital.

But the solar panels have not solved the many other problems at this hospital. In July, a mother reported on Facebook a cockroach infestation, with insects crawling over the beds, walls, and floor of the ward where her daughter was hospitalized. In August, another user complained on social media about long waits in the emergency department. According to her account, close to midnight, a little girl was sleeping against a wall while her mother, who had arrived at four in the afternoon, was still waiting for care. She also recounted that a child came out convulsing after waiting more than an hour to be seen.

MediCuba-Europe’s Energy for Life campaign also financed another installation of panels and batteries at the William Soler Cardiocenter in Havana, which is already supplying power to the emergency department, although the rest of the project remains pending.

A large part of these installations also depends on foreign aid. Solar backup has also proved decisive for critical treatments. At the Juan Manuel Márquez pediatric hospital in Havana, panels and batteries donated by the Spanish organization Open Arms keep intensive care ventilators running during blackouts. According to the official press, the system made it possible to perform a 12-hour emergency operation on a little girl during a nationwide power outage.

In September, China sent another 5,000 donated systems for public facilities and homes in isolated areas

Contributions from European and U.S. organizations are complemented by China, one of the main suppliers of solar equipment to Cuba’s state sector. In September, Beijing sent another 5,000 donated systems for public facilities and homes in isolated areas, without specifying how many would be destined for healthcare institutions.

The search for alternatives to blackouts extends to other state services. The Augusto César Sandino Stadium in Villa Clara and Etecsa’s cellular base stations have incorporated solar panels, while a bakery in Artemisa replaced diesel with marabou wood to fuel its oven. In medical centers, the decisive difference is not whether equipment has been installed, but what care they can guarantee when the power goes out again.

Japan, for its part, approved $6.5 million in May to install photovoltaic systems in ten Cuban hospitals through a project implemented with the United Nations Development Program.

Japan approved $6.5 million in May to install photovoltaic systems in ten Cuban hospitals.

The limitations extend across much of Cuba’s provinces. In Las Tunas, the directors of the Francisco Caamaño Deño and Cándido González Horta polyclinics acknowledged to Granma that, although the panels make it possible to preserve vaccines, power emergency services, and resume consultations, ultrasound and colposcopy tests (examinations of the cervix) were still pending at the former facility.

The official figures also fail to reflect the differences between the systems. In Granma, authorities stated that all 28 polyclinics have photovoltaic systems, but 26 have installations with a capacity of just two kilowatts, compared with the ten-kilowatt systems at the René Vallejo polyclinic in Manzanillo and the Bartolomé Masó Márquez polyclinic. This disparity makes it impossible to assume that all of them can maintain the same services during blackouts.

At other facilities in Havana, Artemisa, Ciego de Ávila, Villa Clara, Santiago de Cuba, and Sancti Spíritus, installations have been announced or equipment delivered without confirmation that the systems are operational or clarification of their backup capacity. The gap between announcements and results appears even in official assessments: in April, Ángel Suárez Vázquez, director of the Healthcare Support Unit in Granma, reported that of the 83 systems received for healthcare institutions, 28 were still awaiting installation.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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The “Speed Enthusiasts” in Camagüey, Cuba, Denounce Beatings During a Police Raid Inbox

Witnesses describe the excessive use of force by the ‘black berets’ in an operation targeting motorcycle races.

Image shared on social media by a young woman who was present during the operation at El Rodeo and denounced the beatings. / Facebook/Claudia Barreira

14ymedio, Madrid, October 13, 2026 – A police raid on the outskirts of El Rodeo recreational park in the city of Camagüey triggered a stampede of young motorcyclists this Saturday. Witnesses reported beatings, damage to their vehicles, confiscation of phones, and the excessive use of force by officers from the Ministry of the Interior’s Special Brigade—the feared black berets. Accounts of the incident were shared on social media by eyewitnesses.

Members of the community say that every Saturday, for at least two years, dozens of motorcyclists have gathered at El Rodeo to race. This weekend, the Police cornered them to break up the event with violence, deploying several patrol cars and police motorcycles, as can be seen in the images that were shared.

Witnesses say officers beat several young people, including women and minors. They also claim that the officers used their boots and batons to strike people and damage motorcycles, and even threw stones at those trying to escape. One account describes how four special forces officers beat a young man who was already on the ground.

“It was absolute chaos,” one attendee writes. “I saw a young woman who had been beaten and an officer, whose face I will never forget, who said that for them to take her to the hospital, she had to have her papers in order and a license.” continue reading

“I don’t understand why they would approve a place like this only to then carry out these kinds of hostile acts against speed enthusiasts”

The complainants also report that some people had their mobile phones taken away to prevent them from recording the beatings. According to the accounts, a gacela (vehicle made by the Russian company GAZ) transported the black berets to the area, and the officers got out “handing out blows.”

“We have already tried to file complaints about the harassment we have received from the authorities, although this has been the biggest incident,” wrote one of the young women present, a member of the motorcycling community. In her view, the real danger during these activities is “the unjustified excessive use of force by the officers.”

Motorcyclists take part in a nighttime race on a public road in Matanzas. / 14ymedio

“Why attack young people who only want to pursue this activity respectfully in an area that was supposedly approved to better accommodate it?” the young woman asks. “I don’t understand why they would approve a place like this only to then carry out these kinds of hostile acts against the motorcyclists.”

Gatherings of motorcycle-racing enthusiasts are not exclusive to Camagüey. This newspaper has also documented similar nighttime gatherings in other provinces, such as Matanzas. Witnesses on social media say they are also common in Sancti Spíritus and Santa Clara.

“These races had been taking place inside the Agricultural Fairgrounds for a long time, and everyone said they were authorized because they were held within state facilities”

The legality of these activities is ambiguous: the Road Safety Code prohibits speed competitions on public roads, but the races at El Rodeo took place on a closed circuit inside a state-owned facility. According to one user, “These races had been taking place inside the Agricultural Fairgrounds for a long time, and everyone said they were authorized because they were held within state facilities.”

Several Camagüey residents complain on social media about the noise and danger posed by the motorcycle races, which apparently have not always been confined to the facilities inside El Rodeo. One person who says they have lived across from the park for years claims that on weekends “there is no way to live in peace” and that nearly every nearby home has “vulnerable cases” affected by the noise and music from the event. Another says they walk the streets every Saturday in fear because of the danger posed by the excessive speeds at which these motorcyclists race on public roads.

Some Camagüey residents also recalled the recent accident that led to the death of retired doctor Carmen Proenza Rodríguez last September. She was traveling as a passenger on a motorized bicycle when a red Honda motorcycle attempted to overtake her and struck her from behind. According to witnesses, the motorcyclist fled the scene, and the doctor died after spending three days in the hospital. Nothing confirms that the motorcyclist was a racing enthusiast, but the case has fueled residents’ criticism of these activities.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Havana, Hand-Corrected on G Street

A purple marker transforms an optimistic slogan into the epitaph of a city that has lost a large part of its young people.

A sign that originally proclaimed “Havana Lives in Me” has received a correction that is as simple as it is devastating. / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, October 13, 2026 – Someone has decided to correct the official propaganda with a simple marker. At the corner of 23rd and G streets, in Havana’s El Vedado neighborhood, a sign that originally proclaimed “Havana Lives in Me” has received a correction that is as simple as it is devastating. Over the printed letters, an anonymous hand added “There is no” and changed one word. The result comes much closer to the everyday experience of the capital’s residents: “There is no life in my Havana,” as if the city itself were dictating its epitaph.

The intervention did not require a team of restorers, an expert commission, or a budget allocation. All it took was a purple marker, a certain degree of calligraphic skill, and the conviction that the message, decorated with photographs of smiling children, urgently needed updating. The new version also has the virtue of being far more believable than the original.

The sign’s location adds another layer of irony. G Street, officially known as Presidents Avenue, was for years one of the main gathering places for young people in Havana. On its benches, walkways, and flower beds, emos, rockers, geeks, and other urban tribes gathered to express their differences, listen to music, fall in love, or simply spend the night away from family supervision. continue reading

The economic crisis has emptied pockets and streets, emigration has taken away a large portion of the young people, and police operations have helped discourage spontaneous gatherings

There was a time when, on weekends, the avenue was teeming with young people dressed in black, with dyed hair, piercings, and guitars. The emos even became the subject of international news reports, while the police tried to control youth gatherings that challenged, if only through their appearance, the uniformity promoted by those in power.

Nothing remains of that bustle. The economic crisis has emptied pockets and streets, emigration has taken away a large portion of the young people, and police operations have helped discourage spontaneous gatherings. Added to this is the demographic collapse of a country where fewer and fewer children are being born and farewells are commonplace. The avenue retains some of its trees, benches, and monuments, but it has lost much of the energy that once made it a place of gathering and rebellion.

The photographs on the sign show five smiling, healthy, carefree children. They represent a Havana that is supposed to be young and vibrant, although reality points in the opposite direction. The “there is no” added to the advertisement also sums up this absence. There is no fuel, no medicine, and no adequate transportation, but there are also no longer many of the young people who once filled G Street with their eccentricities, arguments, and desire to take on the world.

Where young people once gathered to show that they were alive, an unknown person has now had to write on a sign that the city has been a corpse for quite some time.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Rice, Diapers, and Whiskey Are Among the Products Available at Sancti Spíritus Wholesale Market, the First of Its Kind in Cuba

The minimum purchase is $200 or 24,000 pesos, payable by card or in cash.
In the same city, the Meat Company opens its first retail store.

The new supply market in the city of Sancti Spíritus. / Juventud Rebelde

14ymedio, Sancti Spíritus, October 12, 2026 – Two months after the Cuban Government authorized the creation of supply markets, the first one has opened in Sancti Spíritus. “Rice, seasonings, salt, diapers for children and adults, wet wipes, and whiskey” are among the products available at the establishment, according to the official press.

Anyone can enter the warehouse, located in the former printing plant of the Escambray newspaper, whether or not they own a business, according to the report published in several state media outlets. The only requirement is to make a minimum purchase of $200 or 24,000 pesos, applying the official exchange rate for tourism-related activities of 120 pesos per dollar. For the time being, they explain, sales are conducted in national currency, although they plan to extend them to foreign currency.

The initiative was undertaken by ITH S.A., the state entity responsible for supplies and imports for Cuba’s tourism sector, in order to “bring together a variety of products in one place at prices lower than those on the informal market” and “guarantee all the resources needed by the leisure sector.” The director of ITH Trinidad explains the purchasing procedure: “A customer record is created, and through electronic payment, using a POS terminal or the Transfermóvil platform, the merchandise is taken away. Cash is also accepted.” continue reading

“A customer record is created, and through electronic payment, using a POS terminal or the Transfermóvil platform, the merchandise is taken away”

For the time being, the new market has rented stalls occupied by the Sancti Spíritus Municipal Agroindustrial Company, three private MSMEs, and a foreign firm, although only one of them is identified by name: Banvaria SURL, with “a fairly broad corporate purpose.” Indeed, in the list of MSMEs published by the Ministry of Economy and Planning, where it appears as “Banvarias,” its business activity is listed as “production of construction materials.”

The report includes an interview with its owner, Sancti Spíritus native Alexis Macías Hernández, who, at just 35 years old, is described as “quite the businessman.” His résumé credits him not only with the declared corporate purpose of his company but also with a “cooperative production contract with a company belonging to the Foreign Trade sector,” the “importation of components related to renewable energy sources,” and “a small-scale processing plant for canned products made from both mango pulp and habanero and Mexican chili peppers.” In the photograph accompanying the official report, he poses with a package of adult diapers.

“There are people who think tourism in Cuba will not experience a boom, and I think the opposite,” says the young man, who explains that this was one of the reasons, “along with ITH’s experience in the marketplace,” that “motivated me to be one of the first participants” in the establishment. Macías Hernández asserts that “we need foreign currency to survive” and maintains that “we can obtain it through the sales we make here.”

Alexis Macías Hernández, owner of the Banvaria MSME, which rents space in the new wholesale market in Sancti Spíritus. / Juventud Rebelde

With apparent authority, the businessman says he sees potential in the project and states that “what is available today represents only 5% of what could be made available to customers.” According to the official report, a second supply market will open “in the coming days” in the town of Trinidad, in Sancti Spíritus province. “We have gotten a little ahead of the rest of the country, but little by little, there will be a presence in other provinces,” said Aida Rita Rivas Duarte.

The tenants currently participating in the initiative are described in the report as “the first to take the risk,” while the article also points out the “major obstacle” facing the new warehouse: “not having solar panels and being located in one of the circuits hardest hit by the absence of electricity service.”

Another tenant, the Sancti Spíritus Municipal Agroindustrial Company, reports that its meat products will be available in foreign currency, at prices of around $6 per kilogram. In addition to the salt and rice it already sells, the company will offer “beans and another group of products from our producers as conditions are established because, although there are very good refrigerators, they have no backup power,” said Yuniesco Lorenzo González, the entity’s director of accounting and finance.

At the same time as this supply market opened, the provincial Meat Company in the same city of Sancti Spíritus inaugurated its first retail store selling goods in national currency. Allowing a state-owned company to operate its own stores is another of the regulations approved last August as part of the “176 measures” announced by the regime to open up the economy.

“When the sales and distribution chain leading to the final customer is shortened, prices are cheaper and more favorable for the population,” Lianet González, the entity’s deputy director, told Escambray. However, payment is mandatory “online” and is regulated “in order to prevent resellers from operating.”

As a result, each customer will be allowed to purchase a maximum of “two units of each type of product.”

In addition to this retail store, the company has other online stores selling in foreign currency, one in Sancti Spíritus and another in Trinidad, allowing families abroad to purchase products for Cubans living on the Island.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Between Two Banks and a Garbage Dump, Matanzas’s Forgotten Bridge

Lack of maintenance and the accumulation of waste are deteriorating the pedestrian crossing that connects Versalles with La Marina.

In the city known for its bridges, some have ceased to be a source of pride and have become a daily concern. / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Julio César Contreras, Matanzas, October 11, 2026 — The woman shields herself from the sun with an umbrella as she makes her way toward the Yumurí River. A few steps away, a young man dodges the uneven pavement. Both are heading toward the pedestrian bridge connecting the neighborhoods of Versalles and La Marina, a structure where rust, garbage, and lack of maintenance have become constant companions for passersby.

When Matanzas celebrates its 333rd anniversary of founding on October 12, this walkway is unlikely to appear among the images selected to commemorate the occasion. In the city known for its bridges, some have ceased to be a source of pride and have become a daily concern. The so-called Pipe Bridge, located just a few meters from the iconic La Concordia Bridge, is one of them.

Before reaching its stairs, pedestrians must confront a garbage dump occupying much of the entrance. Plastic bottles, cardboard, rusty cans, dry branches, and household waste form a mountain beside a ditch through which sewage flows. The stench mingles with the heat and attracts insects. A few meters away, facades covered with vines and palm trees offer a tropical postcard that contrasts with so much filth.

“I’ve always liked this little bridge because there’s no risk of getting into an accident with cars, but the truth is that the situation with the garbage dump is unbearable,” says Filiberto, a retiree who crosses it daily to visit his grandchildren in La Marina. continue reading

“Since the people from Communal Services don’t come to clean up, the garbage has been steadily encroaching on the area.” / 14ymedio

“I know for a fact that the neighbors have complained as much as they can. However, since the people from Communal Services don’t come to clean up, the garbage has been steadily encroaching on the area. It started with a little patch, and now it’s getting closer and closer to the stairs,” he laments.

The garbage dump is not the only obstacle. The steps are uneven, and handrails are missing in some sections. On the bridge, a thick metal pipe, used for decades to supply drinking water to nearby neighborhoods and now out of service, is covered in a thick layer of rust. Around it, the structure shows cracks, and sections of the railings have disappeared.

“To go up and down, I have to take it slowly, one step at a time, because otherwise I lose my balance,” explains Filiberto, who fears that a misstep could end in a fall.

The deterioration goes back a long way. In July 2019, a report by Radio 26 warned that nearly three meters of railing had ended up in the river and pointed to fishermen who used the walkway as a platform from which to cast their nets. The publication also described the dirt and foul odors that accompanied pedestrians. Seven years later, the images show that those problems persist and have worsened.

“There’s a long stretch that no longer has railings, and if you’re not careful, you could end up in the river, which is pretty dirty.” / 14ymedio

“I walk as close to the pipe as I can. There’s a long stretch that no longer has railings, and if you’re not careful, you could end up in the river, which is pretty dirty,” the retiree warns. “If they keep stealing the metal rods and don’t carry out proper repairs, before long no elderly person will be able to cross here.”

Younger people do not cross the area without anxiety either. Melissa, a high school student, lives one block away and knows the stories of muggings that circulate among the neighbors. At night, she says, the darkness makes the crossing an even more unsettling place.

“It gets darker than the inside of a wolf’s mouth,” she comments. Even during the day, she prefers to walk along the side where the railings remain intact, although the space is narrower.

“I have no idea what the structure might be like underneath, but I refuse to believe there could be a danger and that they would still leave the crossing open,” she adds.

From the nearby La Concordia Bridge, the concrete pillars appear to be holding up without difficulty. However, the actual condition of their supports requires a specialized assessment. In the meantime, dozens of people continue to cross every day, because deterioration does not eliminate the need to reach the other neighborhood.

On the eve of the anniversary, Matanzas will once again celebrate its history, its rivers, and its architecture. The Pipe Bridge, without monumental arches or commemorative plaques, will continue to serve the public amid waste and rusted metal. A city can boast about its bridges, but it should also ensure that its residents reach the other bank safe and sound.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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The Regime Calls the U.S. Report on Cuban Doctors “Sick Persecution”

The foreign minister calls the document on forced labor in medical missions “unilateral and mendacious,” but does not refute the figures or the mechanisms of control described in the report.

Cuba’s Foreign Minister, Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, in a file photograph. / EFE/Ángel Colmenares

EFE/14ymedio, Havana, October 11, 2026 / On Saturday, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez described the new U.S. State Department report on human trafficking as “sick persecution” by the United States. The report identifies the Cuban regime’s medical missions abroad as involving “forced labor,” but Rodríguez offered no data to refute the figures or the mechanisms of control described in the document.

“With another unilateral and mendacious report on Human Trafficking, the U.S. State Department seeks to continue justifying that government’s aggressive policy against Cuba and its sick persecution of Cuban medical cooperation,” the Cuban foreign minister wrote on his social media accounts.

The annual Trafficking in Persons Report published by the State Department keeps the Island at the lowest tier and identifies Cuba’s labor export program, including its medical missions abroad, as a “government policy or pattern of forced labor.”

The report states that Cuban officials have recruited professionals “through deception and threats of retaliation.” According to the report’s estimates, at the beginning of 2026 there were approximately 18,000 workers serving in government missions abroad, most of them healthcare professionals, in 52 countries, compared with 26,000 the previous year. The report attributes this decline to “increased diplomatic engagement” by the U.S. administration, which has “dramatically” reduced the number of workers associated with the regime. continue reading

The State Department keeps the Island at the lowest tier and identifies Cuba’s labor export program as a “government policy and pattern of forced labor.”

Rodríguez wrote about this on X: “The explicit acknowledgment of the harsh pressure and blackmail exerted against governments that receive cooperation from our country is cynical,” he said, insisting that these U.S. actions take place “regardless of the consequences for the populations that have benefited from the presence of Cuban medical personnel.”

“The U.S. government persists in its lies in an attempt to manipulate international public opinion,” the foreign minister wrote.

According to Cuba’s National Office of Statistics and Information (Onei), exports of professional services accounted for more than 40% of the Island’s total external sales between 2018 and 2020.

The U.S. report states that the regime also sells the services of teachers, coaches and athletes, artists, engineers, forestry technicians, construction workers, and sailors. Doctors, the report notes, are “a vital source of income for the regime, generating billions of dollars in hard currency,” with the government appropriating “between 50% and 95% of their salaries” in exchange for “meager compensation, lower than that received by other professionals performing similar work.”

The report denounces the hardships imposed on these specialists, including passport controls, curfews, and surveillance, which undermine their right to freedom of movement. It also points to “laws and regulations that, if challenged or violated, carry arbitrary punishments, such as exile.”

The report denounces the hardships imposed on these specialists, including passport controls, curfews, and surveillance, which undermine their right to freedom of movement

Rodríguez made no reference to these allegations in his heated response on X.
Cuban medical brigades, which were established more than six decades ago and have sent more than 600,000 professionals to 165 countries over the years, according to official figures, have become a target of the Cuba policy pursued by the Trump administration during his second term.

To date, Honduras, Guatemala, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Guyana, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines have terminated their agreements with Havana, while other countries have opted to reform them to hire specialists directly. These include the Italian region of Calabria, Uruguay, and, as became known last week, Jamaica.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Air China Cancellations Leave Dozens of Cubans Stranded in Madrid

The Chinese embassy confirms temporary suspensions while passengers report a lack of information and difficulties filing claims.

Despite complaints and bad experiences, Air China remains the preferred airline among the Cuban community in Spain because of its more affordable prices. / Cubadebate/Enrique González

14ymedio, Madrid, October 12, 2026 – Air China, one of the two airlines still flying between Madrid and Havana, has begun experiencing cancellations and schedule changes in recent weeks, setting off alarm among Cubans living in Spain who depend on this route to travel to the Island.

Complaints about cancellations and the lack of information provided to passengers have proliferated recently on social media, but a statement published this Saturday by the Chinese embassy in Cuba confirms frequent schedule changes and the suspension of some flights, which it attributes to “technical reasons.”

The embassy is asking Chinese citizens to “pay close attention” to adjustments to flights CA865 (Beijing-Havana) and CA866 (Havana-Beijing), operated by Air China. Both make a stopover in Madrid and are the most affordable option for the large Cuban community in Spain, since Air Europa, the only other alternative amid the current kerosene crisis on the Island, sells its tickets at a much higher price. continue reading

The statement does not specify what those “technical reasons” are, but a passenger affected by the cancellation of the Saturday, October 10 flight reported on social media that when she went to Madrid-Barajas Airport this Sunday, she was told that the problem was caused by repair work on the runway at Nassau Airport in the Bahamas, and that “it is not known when” Chinese aircraft will be able to operate there again. Along with her message, she shared a photo of a notice from the Bahamian airport confirming the runway work.

They explained that the problem was caused by repair work on the runway at Nassau Airport in the Bahamas, and that “it is not known when” Chinese aircraft will be able to operate there again

Air China has been making a technical stop in Nassau since March to refuel on the return journey from Havana to Madrid because of the lack of Jet A-1 fuel at Cuban airports. In its official announcements, the operator of the Bahamian airport confirms rehabilitation work on its runways and expects to complete it on October 31.

Meanwhile, according to notices from Havana’s José Martí Airport, it will close for two nights in October: from 7:00 p.m. this Monday, October 12, until 2:40 a.m. on Tuesday, October 13, and during the same hours from Monday, October 19, to Tuesday, October 20. The official notices also maintain the declaration that no Jet A-1 fuel is available for refueling at the terminal, at least until November 1. The same applies to the rest of Cuba’s airports. However, no official statement links these notices to Air China’s cancellations.

Passengers affected in Madrid report that they were not notified of the disruptions and have been left stranded at the airport for more than 15 hours, facing considerable difficulties in claiming a ticket refund or the €600 compensation promised by the airline, as well as problems obtaining hotel accommodations because of the schedule changes. In other comments, some users describe the bad experiences they have also had when returning from Havana with Air China, as well as the consequences of suspended flights for their working lives in Spain.

In 2026, numerous airlines have suspended their flights to Cuba, reduced frequencies, or modified their operations because of fuel shortages and declining demand. Some have had to introduce technical stops in third countries to refuel before continuing to the Island. The companies that have withdrawn include Air Canada, Air France, WestJet, Sunwing, Air Transat, Iberia, Latam Perú, and Turkish Airlines.

The official notices also maintain the declaration that no Jet A-1 fuel is available for refueling at the terminal, at least until November 1

Air Europa is the only Spanish company operating regular flights to the Island following the departure of Iberia, World2Fly, and Plus Ultra, and its flights have continued to attract steady demand despite their high fares. Air Europa also makes a technical stop to refuel in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, on its return flights to Spain.

Despite passengers’ complaints and bad experiences, Air China is the other operator maintaining the Madrid-Havana route and the preferred choice among the Cuban community in Spain because it offers more affordable prices. Its official website still lists two weekly flights, although its fares have soared in response to demand, especially for the end of the year.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Experts Estimate Cuba’s Oil Debt to Venezuela at a Minimum of $20 Billion

Caracas once sent the Island as much as 157,000 barrels a day, three times the amount agreed upon with Hugo Chávez in 2000.

Venezuela’s oil supplies came to far exceed the Island’s consumption and processing capacity, according to Venezuelan oil economist Rafael Quiroz Serrano. / EFE/STR

14ymedio, Madrid, October 10, 2026 – Venezuelan economists estimate that Cuba’s debt to Venezuela amounts to more than $20 billion, stemming from the well-known Comprehensive Cooperation Agreement, which lasted 25 years and established the supply of Venezuelan oil in exchange for technical, medical, and sports services provided by the Cuban Government.

Unlike a previous report published by the Miranda Center for Democracy, which puts the value of the oil sent by Caracas at $44.5 billion, the experts cited by Televen TV focus on Havana’s debt.

Oil economist Rafael Quiroz Serrano, interviewed by the Venezuelan outlet, stated that the state-owned oil company Petróleos de Venezuela (Pdvsa) sometimes sent as much as 157,000 barrels per day (bpd) to Cuba.

The expert confirmed that Venezuelan supplies came to far exceed the Island’s consumption and processing capacity. Cuba’s daily consumption under normal conditions is 110,000 barrels, of which 40,000 come from domestic crude oil. “It was later discovered that many of those barrels of [Venezuelan] oil were being resold on the international market,” Quiroz Serrano maintained. continue reading

“It was later discovered that many of those barrels of oil were being resold on the international market”

The Comprehensive Cooperation Agreement between Cuba and Venezuela, negotiated by Hugo Chávez and Fidel Castro in 2000, initially established shipments of 53,000 bpd of oil and petroleum products. The agreement provided for a 15-year repayment period, the possibility of financing between 5% and 25% of the invoice, and a preferential interest rate of 2%. In exchange, Cuba would provide healthcare personnel, doctors, and technical assistance for social and agricultural programs, among other services.

Between 2005 and 2012, Venezuelan shipments averaged around 105,000 bpd, according to a report by the Miranda Center for Democracy, a U.S. organization sponsored by the Republican Party. Beginning in 2013, as Venezuelan production declined, the figures fell. During those years, the figures reported in the study reached averages of 69,000 bpd in 2016 and 55,000 in 2017.

By 2023, Reuters was reporting approximately 56,000 bpd, and in 2024, 32,000. Quiroz Serrano notes in the Televen report that by 2025, only around 30,000 bpd were being shipped, and that shipments were halted beginning January 31 of this year, after Trump signed an order imposing tariffs on countries supplying oil to Cuba.

Cuba’s debt remains outstanding, but the exact amount of those unpaid obligations is impossible to calculate because of the nature of the agreement. Economist and former Pdvsa executive José Toro Hardy points out: “It is difficult to estimate the figure because everything was shrouded in secrecy, but I estimate that Cuba’s debt to Venezuela must have been in the range of $25 billion. They never paid anything, and I doubt they will pay now.”

“It is difficult to estimate the figure because everything was shrouded in secrecy, but I estimate that Cuba’s debt to Venezuela must have been in the range of $25 billion”

Specialist Quiroz Serrano explains the difficulty of calculating the debt: “For accounting purposes, it was impossible for Pdvsa, because they could not figure out how to determine the salaries of the sports coaches, educators, doctors, and nurses.”

The agreement was criticized from the outset by Venezuelan economists, who considered it “a bad deal.” Former Pdvsa executive Toro Hardy went before the Supreme Court of Justice at the time in an attempt to stop it, arguing that it first had to be approved by the National Assembly, but his appeal was dismissed. “That was an entirely political program; the objective was to subsidize Cuba by any means necessary,” Toro Hardy now points out.

The report prepared by the Miranda Center for Democracy estimated that since 2000, Venezuela had transferred to Cuba an amount of oil valued at $44.5 billion in current dollars, $63.8 billion in inflation-adjusted value. As early as 2016, however, Nicolás Maduro put Venezuela’s “investment” in the exchange at around $250 billion, a very likely exaggeration.

The Televen report now argues that the resources Venezuela failed to collect contributed to the country’s declining GDP and to deficits that worsened its crisis. As examples, it mentions that stabilizing the national electricity system would have required between $9 billion and $15 billion, while restoring the drinking water network would have cost $3.3 billion.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Much Advertising and Few Goods at Matanzas’s New Neighborhood Market

The establishment, now managed by a micro, small, and medium-sized enterprise (mipyme), retains the shortages of the former state-run grocery store and limits electronic payments to five customers a day.

El Rincón has a new manager, scales, and QR codes, but it retains an old specialty of Cuban commerce: explaining why the item the customer needs is missing. / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Julio César Contreras, Matanzas, October 10, 2026 — With a dark cloth shopping bag tucked under his arm and walking with difficulty, a man crosses at the Versalles traffic light toward the newly opened Neighborhood Market. There are no lines on the corner, no trucks unloading goods, and no crowds of neighbors gathered in front of the doors. A small sign on the façade, partially hidden by a traffic sign, serves as a reminder that the El Rincón grocery store, well known in Matanzas, once operated there. The building is now leased to a mipyme and is part of one of the Cuban government’s latest experiments aimed at trying to revive retail commerce.

Several illuminated lamps catch the eye from the sidewalk. They operate thanks to a solar panel and stand in contrast to the blackout that has left much of 51st Street in darkness this Wednesday. However, even all that light cannot dispel the establishment’s dreary appearance. The sky-blue walls, columns painted a more intense shade, and long granite counter retain the atmosphere of a state-run grocery store where the scarce goods available through the ration book were distributed for decades.

Two electronic scales, immaculate and ready for use, sit on the counter. Behind them, shelves display products spaced far enough apart to make the emptiness all the more obvious. There are bottles of cooking oil, cans of beer, packages of cookies, toiletries, and a few canned goods. Nothing suggests the abundance promised for these new establishments.

“This place is just as empty as before,” the man with the shopping bag remarks to the clerk, who greets him with his arms crossed. Without wasting time examining the offerings written in chalk on a blackboard, he begins his questioning: Is there chicken in packages or by the pound? Mortadella? Cooking oil? Disposable razors? Each question is met with a shake of the head. continue reading

The sky-blue walls, columns painted a more intense shade, and long granite counter retain the atmosphere of a state-run grocery store. / 14ymedio

“I just can’t understand why they promise so many things if, when it comes down to it, the only thing that changes is the name of what they do,” he complains as he looks over the prices. A tube of Colgate toothpaste costs 500 pesos, honey costs 750, Mayabe beer costs 520, and toilet bleach costs 350. Filling a shopping bag requires several thousand pesos and a fair amount of imagination.

“Well, then get me an espresso, if the coffee machine works. How much does it cost?” he asks resignedly. The cup costs 40 pesos, but once again he has no luck: the coffee beans have run out, and they are not making any. The machine sits on a small shelf, for the moment as useless as the scales with no merchandise to weigh.

“The problem is that we’re just getting started. Tomorrow or the day after, we should receive cooking oil and some meat products. It’s a gradual process,” the employee explains. From the street, a motorcyclist interrupts the conversation to remind him to set aside a package of croquettes for him until later. At least someone seems to have found something to buy.

El Rincón was renovated in 2025 by the Municipal Directorate of Commerce. The state investment ended up refurbishing a premises now operated by the private sector under the Neighborhood Markets program. Among the advertised advantages is the option of paying by electronic transfer, although reality once again adds fine print to the promise.

“I just can’t understand why they promise so many things if, when it comes down to it, the only thing that changes is the name of what they do.” / 14ymedio

A sign displaying QR codes presides over the counter, but the clerk explains that, for now, they only accept payments through Transfermóvil from the first five customers each day. “We’re short of cash, but a solution will be found for everything,” he assures the customer.

Another shopper asks whether a carton of eggs still costs 3,800 pesos. The employee nods and clarifies that only one tray remains. “That’s practically my monthly salary,” comments the man with the shopping bag, who still has not found anything to take home for a meal.

Outside, Versalles continues its daily routine amid motorcycles, faded façades, and power outages. Inside, El Rincón has a new manager, scales, and QR codes, but it retains an old specialty of Cuban commerce: explaining why the item the customer needs is missing.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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“Trump, Military Intervention Now!”, a New Sign at the Mayabe Cemetery in Holguín

In June 2025, more than twenty graffiti messages on the same wall prompted a major police deployment

It is not the first time that signs against the Cuban regime have appeared on the wall of the Mayabe cemetery. / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Miguel García, Holguín, October 10, 2026 — A new sign appeared this Saturday on the wall of the Mayabe cemetery in Holguín, this time with a message directed at the U.S. president: “Trump, military intervention now!”, written in large blue letters on the white wall bordering Avenida de los Internacionalistas, as 14ymedio observed at the scene. The graffiti is signed with the initials CLH, which stand for the Free Commandos of Holguín.

“The sign is brand-new because State Security hasn’t arrived yet,” a local resident said. A vehicle belonging to a state-owned company parked beside the wall, and one of its occupants tried to scrape off the paint but was unsuccessful.

A vehicle belonging to a state-owned company parked beside the wall, and one of its occupants tried to scrape off the phrase but was unsuccessful

It is not known what time the sign was painted, but this type of dissident graffiti is often produced at night or in the early morning hours, when darkness is greatest. continue reading

The group known as the Free Commandos of Holguín is a clandestine organization that, since at least September 2026, has been credited with several signs against the regime at different locations throughout the city, including Plaza de los Chinos, the area around Lenin Hospital, the provincial government building, and bus terminals.

This is not the first time that the wall has become the setting for a protest against the regime. On June 12, 2025, more than twenty anti-government signs appeared along approximately 200 meters of the wall. “Homeland and Life,” “Díaz-Canel, you motherfucker,” “Freedom for the People,” and “Down with the dictatorship” were among the slogans, which were painted in black at the time.

This is not the first time that the wall has become the setting for a protest against the regime.

The authorities’ response was much more dramatic then than what had been observed so far this Saturday. Agents from the Ministry of the Interior kept watch over the cemetery and its surroundings while the letters were scraped off, even using machetes. They also brought in a tanker truck loaded with lime to cover the messages. An electric tricycle driver who passed by the scene told 14ymedio at the time that he had been afraid of being arrested by the Police.

Last September, the façade of the theater at the Central University of Las Villas in Santa Clara awoke to an enormous “Down with Canel.” The authorities covered the graffiti with Cuban flags and flags of the July 26 Movement, while State Security tried to identify those responsible.

The repression of such actions has also reached the courts. University professor Ariel Manuel Martín Barroso was sentenced to ten years in prison in Sancti Spíritus for several pieces of graffiti against the regime, including “Down with Díaz-Canel” and “Homeland and Life.”

The Cuban Conflict Observatory recorded 42 pieces of graffiti against the regime in February 2026 and another 70 in March, appearing on walls, fences, and streets in different parts of Cuba.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Diesel Imports from the U.S. Surpassed the Record Set the Previous Month

In August, vehicle exports reached $15.28 million, with motorcycles leading the way at $3.7 million.

A Cupet gas station in Yayabo, Sancti Spíritus. / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Madrid, October 9, 2026 — The growth in fuel exports from the U.S. to Cuba continues unabated. In August, the value of these products rose 22.4% compared to the previous month, reaching $74.8 million. This figure once again sets a record, surpassing the $61.1 million recorded in July, which was itself 27.7% higher than June. In the first eight months of the year, the cumulative value of petroleum-derived products exported to the Island reached $231.74 million.

According to statistics published this Thursday by the U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic Council, the product most heavily purchased by the Island in August was diesel, particularly through two significant shipments from Miami, worth $21.49 million, and Houston-Galveston, Texas, worth $12.98 million. Next in importance was a shipment of regular gasoline from Miami valued at $23.8 million.

In addition, exports of other petroleum oils and hydrocarbons are also particularly significant, especially two shipments from Houston ($6.1 million) and New Orleans ($5.5 million).

In addition, exports of other petroleum oils and hydrocarbons are also particularly significant, especially two shipments from Houston ($6.1 million) and New Orleans ($5.5 million)

As usual, the US-Cuba Trade report does not reflect the volume of exports. To determine the quantities involved, and whether they also increased or to what extent rising fuel prices contributed to the increase, it will be necessary to wait for data provided by the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Last July, that report revealed that the Island had received 3,222,000 barrels of petroleum products, almost double the amount agreed upon by Cuba and Venezuela in 2000 under the agreement signed by Fidel Castro and Hugo Chávez. continue reading

Cuba’s private sector is importing this fuel, which keeps the Island afloat, with authorization from both governments: the Cuban government allows it to purchase the fuel, and the U.S. government allows its companies to sell it. The country would have collapsed completely without these shipments. On paper, the State is not allowed to touch this fuel, although this newspaper has widely reported that numerous regime vehicles are being supplied with this diesel, which is purchased from private operators through schemes that the U.S. describes as violations of the sales contracts.

Over the past week, the U.S. said it had intercepted around 90 fuel shipments to the Island that were destined for the sanctioned Cuban state-owned company Enetec. Of these, 71 were detected at the port of Fort Everglades, Florida, and 19 at the port of Houston, Texas. In total, the authorities seized 600,000 gallons of petroleum (2.27 million liters) worth $2.8 million. The destination of all the shipments arriving on the Island is unknown, since it is unlikely that the private sector has the capacity to consume it all. One plausible theory is that the State is attempting to rebuild its strategic reserves, which it had to draw upon during the first months of U.S. sanctions.

The official press, for its part, is publishing an extensive report this Friday in an attempt to demonstrate that the oil blockade and fuel shortages have brought the transportation sector to a standstill. Among the arguments is the inability to supply airports with kerosene, which has led to flight cancellations and, consequently, the collapse of tourism, on which the Government had partly pinned its hopes for an economic recovery.

In addition, the authorities claim that “passenger transportation in Havana is currently operating with just over 100 buses, when at least 3,000 are needed to provide quality service,” they state. They claim that with barely 40,000 tons of fuel allocated this year, only 65% of demand can be met. These are among the examples cited.

Alongside the fuel boom, bilateral trade between Cuba and the U.S., authorized under licenses issued by the Department of Commerce and the Department of the Treasury, continues to generate high figures in other sectors, such as vehicle sales. In August, vehicle exports—new and used, electric and gasoline-powered, trucks, motorcycles, and spare parts—reached $15.28 million, with motorcycles clearly leading the way, accounting for $3.7 million.

So far this year, the value of sales in this sector has exceeded $106 million, and it remains to be seen whether it will reach the record set in 2025, when it reached $149.4 million

So far this year, the value of sales in this sector has exceeded $106 million, and it remains to be seen whether it will reach the record set in 2025, when it reached $149.4 million, more than double the previous year’s figure. Republican complaints against Joe Biden, the first president to authorize vehicle sales to Cuba in 2022, have been forgotten, and exports are experiencing a period of extraordinary growth.

Meanwhile, sales of agricultural products and food showed a temporary recovery in August, increasing by 54.6% compared with the previous month. However, compared to August of last year, the value has fallen by 3.4%. Chicken once again tops the list in three different categories, with eggs in seventh place, and vegetable oils and cookies also remain high on the list. The tenth-place item in the top ten stands out: coffee, a product native to Cuba that is exported from the Island as a gourmet product, even as Cubans have to obtain it from the United States.

According to US-Cuba Trade projections, the cumulative total of U.S. exports to the Island across all authorized categories could exceed the $1 billion mark by the end of 2026.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Cuban Doctors Have Returned to Jamaica, Now With Individual Contracts

Health Minister Christopher Tufton puts the number of Cuban professionals already deployed in the field at 200.

Cuban doctors arriving in Jamaica. / The Sun

14ymedio, Madrid, October 8, 2026 – Seven months after the withdrawal of the medical brigade from Jamaica, the number of Cuban healthcare professionals on the Caribbean island has already reached 200, increasingly approaching the number that existed when Kingston broke the agreement under pressure from Washington. The specialists are arriving this time through individual contracts, a modality that more and more countries are turning to in order to retain personnel from the Island and circumvent sanctions from the White House.

“These 157 are in addition to the other 43 Cuban medical professionals who had remained in the country, bringing the total number of Cuban medical professionals in the public health service to 200,” Jamaican Health Minister Christopher Tufton said at a press conference on Wednesday.

The official spoke about his Government’s recent efforts to recruit abroad the medical personnel the country needs, as it is affected by a chronic shortage in this sector. At the end of September, a group of healthcare workers from Ghana joined the system under an agreement that calls for 400 to arrive. “We warmly welcome the Ghanaian nurses and look forward to the valuable contribution they will make to our healthcare system and to the people we serve,” Tufton said on the 28th when he received them. continue reading

The minister explained that this is only one piece of the program, called Vision for Health 2030, and that Nigerians and Cubans will join them

But on Wednesday, the minister explained that this is only one piece of the program, called Vision for Health 2030, and that Nigerians and Cubans will join them. “Over the next three years, the ministry will recruit around 300 nurses, doctors, and other healthcare professionals to work in the Jamaican public health system,” he said.

“In the case of Nigeria, the new agreement builds on the health cooperation already underway. Previously, we had welcomed four specialized nursing educators under the Nigerian Technical Aid Corps Program, who continue to contribute to specialized training and service delivery in the public health system,” he clarified before specifying the destinations of each group of specialists.

As for the Cubans, the largest group (69) has gone to the southeast region, another 28 to the west, 25 to the University Hospital of the West Indies, and 26 to the southern region. Finally, nine have been sent to the northeast area and the Ministry of Health.

Last July, Tufton had already announced the return of 50 Cuban healthcare workers who would join the group that had decided to remain in Jamaica from the outset. The Health Minister put the number of Cuban specialists in the country at 278 at the time the agreement was terminated. “Of that number, more than 40 decided not to return [to Cuba] and were given individual contracts. Now, they are working in the system,” he said in May.

The termination of the agreement with Cuba took place in March, following intense negotiations to renew an agreement that had expired some time earlier. Since the beginning of the year, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio had pressured for an end to the contracts with the Cuban regime, based on complaints that they constitute forced labor because of the conditions under which they are carried out, and above all, because around 80% of the salary is appropriated and handed over to Cuba’s Ministry of Public Health, leaving the professional with barely 20%.

Rubio met with various governments to warn them of sanctions if they did not end these agreements. Among those contacts was Jamaica’s Prime Minister Andrew Holness, who received the Secretary of State in Kingston and tried to convince him that his government was “very careful not to exploit Cuban doctors.” However, during the renegotiation of the agreements with Havana, he sought to find a satisfactory solution for both sides, urging the regime to accept individual contracts. But the idea did not succeed.

“This comes after both governments were unable to agree on the terms and conditions of a new technical cooperation agreement, following the expiration of the previous one in February 2023,” Kingston said when announcing the termination, although it left the door open for the specialists to remain in Jamaica in one way or another.

“This comes after both governments were unable to agree on the terms and conditions of a new technical cooperation agreement, following the expiration of the previous one in February 2023”

The Cuban Government accused the country of yielding to U.S. pressure to withdraw the medical mission, an attitude that has forced the termination of similar agreements with Honduras, Guatemala, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Guyana, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

Meanwhile, some others are resisting the pressure, such as Mexico and several Persian Gulf countries, and direct hiring is gaining ground, as in the case of the Italian region of Calabria and Uruguay, which Jamaica now joins. Precisely because of the Calabrian case, there is certainty about what many organizations had warned: once the payment is made, healthcare workers end up donating a large portion of their salary to the Cuban Government.

“We are all aware of the economic situation in Cuba. It is a contribution that we make voluntarily because Cuba trained us, educated us and made us doctors,” said a doctor assigned to Italy this July; several of her colleagues offered similar testimonies to the Associated Press.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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