Translator: Regina Anavy – Page 158

Activist Yasmany Gonzalez Has Been Detained for Eight Days by the Cuban Political Police

Yasmany González Valdés was arrested at his home in Central Havana on April 20. (Facebook)

14ymedio, Havana, 28 April 2023 — A week after his arrest, activist Yasmany González Valdés is still under interrogation at the State Security headquarters in Havana, Villa Marista. His wife, Ilsa Ramos, told 14ymedio that the Cuban regime is investigating him for the crime of “propaganda against the organs of the Government.”

Ramos was able to see her husband this Thursday when she brought some personal hygiene products to the prison. The woman says that the activist already has a lawyer who will represent him, but the police have not yet given details about the accusation.

The young man, also known as Libre Libre, was arrested on April 20 after a “violent search” at his home in Central Havana. About 15 political police officers participated in the search, and they confiscated overalls, a large paintbrush and his mobile phone, in what appears to be an investigation into the graffiti against the Cuban regime that has appeared at several iconic points of the capital.

The Observatory of Cultural Rights (ODC), which initially announced the news about his arrest, said that the activist was summoned by the police at the beginning of April at the Zanja station, in the Cuban capital, where he was linked to the group called El Nuevo Directorio (END). According to Yasmany González’s testimony, on that occasion they did handwriting tests and also tried to arrest him for non-payment of fines that had already been paid. continue reading

The first poster signed by END appeared on March 20 on the facade of the Faculty of Physics of the University of Havana. The second, always with the same text – “No to the PCC*” – was on a wall in Aguirre Park, on March 23. The third, painted on April 17, was placed at the entrance of the university stadium, on Ronda Street. And the fourth and most recent appeared on the morning of April 20 at number 7 Humboldt Street, in Central Havana. In a matter of hours it generated a strong police operation to cover the letters with paint in an “act of relief.”

In addition, END remains active on social networks. It posted again on Instagram on April 22 after the account had been blocked since March 2, when, the clandestine movement said in a tweet, the “first action” was carried out. On Twitter, its last interaction is from April 27, with a reflection on Fidel Castro’s first visit to Russia, in 1963.

Yasmany González has been the subject of investigation and harassment by the political police on several occasions. In 2022, after being detained for four days in Villa Marista, the activist, who works as a self-employed bricklayer, said he would stop posting on social networks. Shortly before, he had been fined for denouncing human rights violations and demanding the release of those arrested in the protests of July 11, 2021 [11J].

The Observatory says that González has been summoned, arrested, fined and threatened with prison for his publications on social networks. The police accuse him of violating Decree Law 370, which prohibits dissemination of information “contrary to the social interest, morals, good manners and integrity of the people.”

The latest Prisoners Defenders count indicates that in March there were eight new prisoners of conscience on the Island, and the total number is 1,066 Cubans in prisons for political reasons. Among them are 120 women and 22 minors (29 boys and 4 girls). “All of them are tortured,” the organization states in its monthly report.

*PCC = Cuban Communist Party

Translated by Regina Anavy

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With the Crisis, the ‘Camels’ Return in Cuba, As in the Worst Time of the Special Period

Cuban transport revives the camello. [14ymedio]

14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, 28 April 2023 — Last Wednesday, a 14ymedio reporter sent a photo that he had just captured on Avenida del Puerto, in Havana: a camello [camel] was picking up passengers on a route that took them to La Palma, a neighborhood on the periphery. It was further proof that the fuel shortage was creating a transport crisis similar to the one experienced in the 90s, during the Special Period, which began even before the end of the Soviet subsidy.

In 1988, the Cuban engineer Jorge Hernández Fonseca and his colleagues from the National Office of Industrial Design proposed to the authorities an idea to end the transport crisis in Havana. The vehicle, locally manufactured, would have the capacity to carry more than 300 people on each trip. A few years later, the “invention” had become the symbol of an entire time of survival, and there was no bus stop at which its arrival was not expected, often in desperation.

“The idea was for the Island to have a kind of ’metro’ on the streets,” says 14ymedio reporter Hernández Fonseca, exiled in Miami. The “inventor of the camel” describes as “cyclical” the collapse of public transport in the capital and in the main cities of the Island since the triumph of the Revolution. The return of the “metrobus” that never was, constructed from two or three buses assembled with a trailer on an 18-wheeled chassis with two “humps” in the ceiling, is no surprise.

“I think it is the most sensible thing to quickly alleviate the crisis,” says the engineer, although he doubts that the country is in a position to manufacture new buses with the characteristics that the camels had. Those that circulated during the Special Period were made by “the cargo transport companies and the Army.” In addition, he says, it had the ability to save fuel due to the large number of passengers it could pick up on a single trip. continue reading

Hernández Fonseca, who has traveled through several capitals of the world, understood that in the Cuba of the 90s, after the fall of the Soviet Union, there was no way to sustain an underground subway network. A bus with certain characteristics of the subway was the only option. “Everyone who has used a subway knows that mass transport is prioritized over comfort. We must remember the context in which the first metrobuses arose: the Special Period.”

The fuel crisis that the Island is now experiencing, he reflects, is a “repetition” of that time. Many Cubans, however, thought they had exceeded the time when camels were the only option to get to the work center or move around the city. Today, the few buses that circulare in Havana — “leased” according to their signs — bring with them the bad taste of the economic debacle of the 90s.

Criticism of the ’camel’ is not only aimed at the bad memories it brings to most Cubans by associating it with the crisis but also at how hot it is inside, given the many passengers it transports and its small windows. The shocks it causes in the homes located on the avenues where it circulates also adds to its defects.

“Cubans have more criticisms than compliments about the camello,” recognizes Hernández Fonseca, who claims to be no stranger to the discomfort of the vehicle, but it must be understood that “there was no other alternative” at that time, he says. As the situation is, he does not consider it a thing of the past nor does he see it as part of a future Cuban transport museum.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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The Message of the Cuban Bishops Avoids Alluding to the Negotiation on Political Prisoners

The Catholic bishops in their meeting with Miguel Díaz-Canel and the hierarchy of the Communist Party of Cuba, last Wednesday in Havana. (Screen capture)

14ymedio, Madrid, 28 April 2023 — The Conference of Catholic Bishops of Cuba (COCC) issued an official statement this Friday about the meeting they held two days ago with President Miguel Díaz-Canel and other senior officials of the country.

In it, they did not allude to something that Ariel Suárez, secretary of the Episcopal Conference, had acknowledged this Thursday to the Reuters agency: that the parties addressed the issue of the political prisoners arrested for the demonstrations of July 11, 2021.

Instead, the text affirms that the bishops “did not discuss specific positions of the Church, but shared with all respect, sincerity and clarity their concerns and assessments about the current moment in which we live.”

In addition, they appreciate “the possibility of the exchange, for the seriousness in which it was developed” and “the opportunity to be heard,” and they value “the importance and convenience of this experience, also for the future.”

It was an occasion, they conclude, “for the bishops to renew to the authorities their commitment to the Cuban people and to everything that favors a more serene climate of peace, harmony, respect for all and hope.” continue reading

Asked about the role of the Catholic Church in mediation with the regime, the Cuban priest Alberto Reyes, in an interview with 14ymedio, opined that the institution has its own limits, and that, despite its social impact and charitable works, “it is not a charitable organization or a political party.”

On the occasion of Reyes’ visit to Brussels, a group of European delegates condemned in a letter “the increase in citizen repression, the lack of freedom of expression and the absence of signs of openness and democracy” on the Island.

The letter, released this Friday by the Cuban Observatory of Human Rights and signed by Leopoldo López Gil, Javier Nart, Antonio López-Istúriz, Gabriel Mato, Enikö Györi, Soraya Rodríguez Ramos and Jordi Cañas, expresses its concern about “the unacceptable situation of political prisoners in Cuba, imprisoned for exercising their legitimate right to demand democratic changes on the Island.”

In addition, they refer to the “marked deterioration of citizen life in Cuba,” highlighted by “the recurrent lack of medicines, the growth of violence and the insecurity due to the precariousness suffered by its population.”

This, they continue, “has triggered critical levels of emigration, especially of the young population, which is forced to leave in the absence of a future.”

In accordance with the Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement, in force between Cuba and the European Union, they call for the holding of “free, transparent and guaranteed elections, which serve for the country to return to the democracy that its citizens so long for.”

On Wednesday, 50 relatives of political prisoners on the Island sent a letter to the European Parliament in which they exposed the precarious situation of the detainees after the mass protests of July 11, 2021 [11J] in Cuba.

The signatories noted in their letter that, in September of that same year, the European Parliament approved resolution P9-TA (2021) 0389, which condemned the “government repression” that was being reported from numerous cities in Cuba. Relatives describe this document as “one of the most forceful texts in favor of the freedom of the Cuban people.”

They also noted the most recent attempt at mediation for the release of the prisoners, during the visit of Cardinal Beniamino Stella, special envoy of Pope Francis and former ambassador of the Vatican during the Special Period. Stella, supported by the pontiff, had requested “an amnesty or some form of clemency” for political prisoners. The members of the Cuban Episcopal Conference also joined the demand, without a concrete response from the Government.

Although Stella’s statements suggested that there had been a conversation at the highest level about those imprisoned, Miguel Díaz-Canel’s public reaction was to affirm that he would try to find “the solution to the expectations of both parties.” But the negotiation, in which several countries, such as Spain, claimed to be willing to offer asylum to the interested parties, again came to nothing.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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About 15,000 Cubans Have Arrived in the United States With Humanitarian ‘Parole’

The ’parole’ processes are based on sponsors for Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela will remain in force after May 11. (Telemundo/Screen capture/YouTube)

14ymedio, Havana, 28 April 2023 — A total of 15,000 Cubans arrived in the United States as of March through the humanitarian parole program launched in January by Joe Biden’s government. In the first quarter, “18,000 Haitians, 7,500 Nicaraguans and 32,000 Venezuelans were admitted,” as reported at a press conference by the acting undersecretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Blas Nuñez-Neto.

To date, more than 55,000 Cubans, Nicaraguans and Haitians have received authorization to travel to the United States under this program, in addition to 40,000 Venezuelans.

The US official recalled that “the parole processes based on sponsors for Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela that were announced in January will remain in force after May 11,” when the current Title 42 is suspended and the old article 8 is reactivated to deport people who arrive in an irregular status to their countries. continue reading

Arrival in the United States of a Cuban benefiting from humanitarian parole. (Screenshot)

Nuñez-Neto insisted that the US border is not open and that from May 11 the repatriation of migrants who enter the United States will be “accelerating.” Persons expelled “will not be able to enter the country for five years, in addition to being prosecuted.”

Among the measures to establish order in legal migration and reduce illegal migration, Nuñez-Neto specified that the appointments available in the CBP One application will be increased.

At the same conference, the Deputy Undersecretary of State, Marta Youth, of the Office of Population, Refugees and Migration of the State Department, reiterated the creation of centers to manage migrant applications in Colombia and Guatemala, where applicants will be able to access some legal migration routes, such as obtaining refugee status, family reunification programs and work permits.

In these centers, now-existing facilities of the UN Refugee Agency and the International Organization for Migration, evaluated migrants will be able to benefit from refugee programs and humanitarian permits for families and to work in the United States. Spain and Canada have also agreed to receive people who are sent from these facilities.

On Thursday, the Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, and the Secretary of National Security, Alejandro Mayorkas, announced the extension of the parole for family reunification to nationals of El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala and Colombia.

The US Coast Guard continues to return Cubans to the Island; this Friday it was a group of 82 rafters. (Twitter/@USCGSoutheast)

This Friday, the U.S. Coast Guard returned 82 migrants from the Island on the ship Paul Clark. Captain Ben Golightly, of District Seven, recalled that Blinken made it known that Cubans and Haitians who are detained on the high seas after April 27 will not have the right to humanitarian parole and will be returned to their country of origin.

The agency stressed the return by sea or air for Cubans. This week the deportations of migrants from the Island resumed on a flight from Miami. The number of weekly flights will double or triple for some countries,” according to a statement.

Last Sunday, the US Coast Guard transferred 20 Cubans to the Bahamas on the ship Skipjack, who had been rescued on Tuesday. The agency reported that since October of last year, the attempts of 6,449 rafters to reach Florida has been thwarted.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Cuba’s Comptroller’s Office: From Administrative Control to Popular Control

The Controller General of the Republic, Gladys Bejerano Portela. (Networks)

14ymedio, Elías Amor Bravo, Economist, 27 April 2023 — Cuba president Díaz-Canel’s intense agenda didn’t prevent him from holding a review meeting with controllers and auditors, and in particular with Señora Gladys Bejarano, once a star of the firmament of the Cuban communist economy, and now perhaps, at her lowest hour. Sra. Bejarano is the head of the Office of the Comptroller General of the Republic and the National Audit System, the main instrument of the regime in the “fight against corruption” of the many that exist.

At the meeting, Díaz-Canel highlighted “the accompaniment and support they have given to the direction of the country in all the tasks that have been proposed” and thanked “the effort, dedication, responsibility and commitment; proposing new things, how to get ahead, how to find solutions to our problems” to the managers, specialists and young people of that organization and to the audit areas of ministries, national entities, companies, local bodies of the People’s Power and other branches that participated in the event.

For Díaz-Canel it is important that the Comptroller’s Office seek for each measure approved by the regime “an interpretation of how to control the implementation of those measures so that they take effect.” But shouldn’t this task be carried out by the one who proposes the measure, that is, the government? Or is it that the basic principles of good governance are ignored by the leaders of the regime? It is not strange that, measure after measure, they all fail. This is a good example.

Next, Mrs. Bejerano gave a report on the challenges and projections for the performance of the entity she presides over in this exercise, presenting a mixed bag, very much in her style. continue reading

First of all, she wants to stop the loss of staff in the system. Controllers are leaving for the United States, Europe and Latin America. She knows that their experience and qualifications can help them get work as auditors in consultancies where they can earn six figures a year and not suffer the deprivations of communism. No wonder Mrs. Bejarano complains of a diminishing workforce.

Secondly, she called for the promotion of a culture of prevention and control in administrations and increased rigor in confronting manifestations of indiscipline, illegality and corruption in the field of administrative management. She offered to be at the head of the repressive mobs that communists like so much. It seems the Comptroller’s Office should exist for something else.

Third, she asked to update and optimize the self-control routes of the administrations and reduce the aspects that have to be checked. That is, work less for your organization, and if possible, look the other way if problems appear that can create some difficulty for the hierarchy. No. That’s not how you should play.

Fourth, she mentioned the realization of the next National Check of Internal Control, which evaluates the economic results; the quality of prevention and control actions; and the increase in speed in the processing and response to complaints and requests of the population, among other objectives. The truth is that little is known about those annual checks. It would not be a bad thing if the results of the work were disclosed.

Díaz-Canel, very much in his role, said he met young people in all the provinces willing to work in the Comptroller’s Office. In fact the UJC [Young Communist League] was present at the event and once again extended itself in its successful “innovative capacity, from the concept of creative resistance” to apply it to the daily task of the auditors. Díaz-Canel knows little about audit work.

At the close of the meeting, Díaz-Canel pointed out the high ideological training of those who make up the Office of the Comptroller General of the Republic and the National Audit System. Maybe that’s why they have difficulty retaining professionals who are fed up with so much ideology. He spoke about the negative consequences of the ’blockade’, which in his opinion has generated a context conducive to the increase of social indiscipline, illegalities, crime and corruption.

And he added, “in the face of imperialist logic, let’s impose socialist logic” supported by creative resistance, the completion of tasks and making it happen by the participation and dialogue of the workers. When it seemed that he was saying goodbye, he resorted, as it could not be otherwise, to the subject of his doctoral thesis, the paradigm of government based on science and innovation, social communication, computerization and digital transformation, which he asked to be applied to the activity of the Comptroller’s Office. And all this, without forgetting the “battle against corruption, against simulation, against shamelessness, and against double standards,” putting “socialist morality and honest and creative work first.”

A radical speech, of angry positions, far from reality and which shows the enormous weaknesses of Díaz-Canel and the model he tries to defend at any price. The obsession with confronting corruption is greater than the corruption itself that has been installed in society, which, as we have highlighted in this blog, has a lot to do with the apparatus of administrative and legal rules of the Cuban communist system. Now Díaz-Canel not only wants to apply it to the Comptroller’s Office but also to popular control, and thus he announced that “people are needed to control and make the processes more transparent.” Hold on, curves are coming.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Pavel Giroud Highlights ‘The Pain of Cubans’ Upon Receiving the Platinum Award for the Documentary ‘The Padilla Case’

Cuban director Pavel Giroud received the Platinum Award for the documentary El Caso Padilla [The Padilla Case]. (Facebook)

14ymedio/EFE, Havana, 23 April 2023 — Director Pavel Giroud highlighted “the pain of Cubans” upon receiving the award for best documentary film for El caso Padilla, at the Platinum Awards of Ibero-American Cinema, held this Saturday at the Ifema Madrid Palace.

“I want to thank you in the name of we Cubans who are fed up. Our country is a theme park for an ideology and a utopia, and the pain of Cubans does not have the same strength as the pain suffered by other countries,” Giroud said when collecting the prize.

El caso Padilla uses unpublished images of the self-criticism of the poet Heberto Padilla before the Union of Cuban Writers. He was arrested in 1971 by State Security and accused some who were present, including his own wife, of being counterrevolutionaries.

The Platinum Awards, organized by Egeda and the Ibero-American audiovisual federation Fipca, were presented at a gala held at the Municipal Palace of Ifema Madrid, with more than 1,800 guests and 200 accredited journalists.

The favorite of the gala was Argentina 1985, which won five awards, including best film, closely followed by the Spanish As bestas [The Beasts], which received four. continue reading

In a gala marked by the demands of historical memory, the celebration of the Hispanic and music, Santiago Mitre’s film about the historic trial of the leadership of the Argentine military dictatorship also won the award for best actor for Ricardo Darín and those for best screenplay, art direction and education in values.

The Spanish As bestas, a rural thriller that reflects on violence, won the awards for best director for Rodrigo Sorogoyen, best supporting actor, for Luis Zahera, best editing and best sound.

In Spain, the awards for best leading actress, Laia Costa, and best supporting actress, Susi Sánchez, were given for their work in Cinco lobitos [Lullaby], the debut film by Alauda Ruiz de Azúa that is about motherhood.

In the series section, the great winner was Noticia de un secuestro [News of a Kidnapping], an adaptation of the book of the same name by Gabriel García Márquez. Meanwhile, the award for the best Ibero-American comedy is shared between Spain and Argentina, since it was for Competencia oficial [Official Competition], a satire on the egos in the world of cinema directed by Mariano Cohn and Gastón Dupra, starring Penélope Cruz, Antonio Banderas and Oscar Martínez.

The Chilean 1976, a thriller drama set in the darkest years of that country’s dictatorship and directed by actress Manuela Martelli, won as the best debut film, and the Bolivian Utama [Our Home] by Alejandro Loayza, won in best photography and best music.

The Platinum for the best animated film went to Mexico, for Águila y Jaguar, los guerreros legendarios [Águila and Jaguar, the Legendary Warriors], a post-apocalyptic story directed by Mike R. Ortiz. In the series section, the great winner was Noticia de un secuestro [News of a Kidnapping], an adaptation of the book of the same name by Gabriel García Márquez, which won four awards: best series, best creator, best lead actress (Cristina Umaña) and best supporting actress (Majida Issa).

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Tourism in Cuba is Still Depressed and is Saved Thanks to Canadians

The forecasts of receiving 3.5 million tourists this year are in jeopardy, after a very poor first quarter. (14ymedio)

14ymedio, Madrid, April 25, 2023 — At the gates of the Cuban Tourism Fair (FitCuba), which will start on May 1 with the presence, among others, of about 400 travel agents at a convention organized by the Spanish DIT Gestión, the data of the sector reflect a very deficient first quarter. As of March, 926,732 travelers had arrived on the Island, of which 752,459 were tourists, 48.5% less than in March 2019, the last normal first quarter before the pandemic, when the figure was 1,460,408 foreigners.

The data have not been adequately compiled this April due to the work of updating the page of the National Office of Statistics and Information (ONEI), which prevents normal access to this month’s reports. However, the Cuban Minister of Tourism, Juan Carlos García Granda, provided an approximate figure in a meeting with the authorities of the branch, and this morning the report was partially visible on the ONEI website.

In total, 263,470 international visitors arrived in Cuba in March, a better figure than in January (249,255) and February (239,734), which are traditionally months of greatest influx. However, although the official note highlights that this growth represents 239.1% compared to the same period in 2022, the Island is not making a comeback, far from it compared to the years preceding the outbreak of COVID-19.

In the first quarter of 2018, 1,383,895 tourists traveled to Cuba and in 2017, 1,469,919 did so, almost double the number (45.5% and 48.8% respectively) of this year. These data consolidate the idea that the goal of 3.5 million tourists for 2023 may again be difficult to achieve. continue reading

Last February, the Cuban economist Pedro Monreal made an estimate of the number of foreign visitors that the Island should have received in the first two months of the year for the projection to be consistent, and placed it at 717,500, calculating that, usually, at that point it is necessary to have reached 20% of the total. At that time, the deficit was already 228,511.

“The next data for the month of March must be decisive to confirm a possible trend because the first quarter has usually been the most important, concentrating approximately a third of the annual visitors (average of 32% in 2017-2019),” the expert added. That amount should, according to these calculations, be 1,120,000 tourists, 367,541 more than those who have actually arrived.

Official tourism statistics in Cuba indicate that it could be problematic to reach the goal of 3.5 million tourists in 2023. The accumulated amount for the first two months falls short by 228,000 visitors compared to the level that should be compatible with the goal — Pedro Monreal (@pmmonreal) March 24, 2023

By nationality, there’s nothing unexpected. Canadians are still in first place and are more than half of the total number of international travelers received so far this year, with 387,071. Behind is the Cuban community abroad, with 83,670, and the United States, with 41,152.

Russia repeats third place, with 32,224, although it still does not reach the figure it had last year (36,677), when the consequences of the invasion of Ukraine had not yet affected tourism in a sudden way. We will have to wait until April for the balance to be positive, since by that date in 2022 there were no flights left between the Island and its Eurasian partner, which in previous years was the market with the highest growth.

The Europeans – Germany (22,700), France (19,478), England (18,301), Spain (16,993) and Italy (16,048) – also do not recover the numbers they had in the past, although they still represent a good share of the Cuban market in a ranking that ends with Mexico, at 10,610. The large group formed by other countries now contributes 104,212 travelers, whose origins are unknown.

In this context, the ruling party persists in last year’s error and continues to present the data in an optimistic way, insisting that there is a recovery that only occurs if the data is compared with the collapse that occurred during the pandemic.

The majority of countries in which tourism is one of the great engines of the economy have recovered and even surpassed the pre-pandemic figures, as is the case of Spain, which closed with a growth of 8.3% compared to 2019, and this year is expected to be even greater; or, a direct competitor, the Dominican Republic, which in the first quarter of 2023 has received 2,076,171 tourists, compared to 1,876,144 in the same period in 2019.

Juan Carlos García Granda warned last March that “it would be a mistake to continue with the working methods and systems of previous years, because adverse conditions for Cuba and a global crisis persist.” However, nothing seems to change in the leaders’ plans.

FITCuba 2023 will try to sell “the security of the country and the friendly nature of Cubans,” as has transpired in the press releases of the event, at a time when the shortage and the aggravated crisis, both of supplies and food, are causing an increase in vandalism and crime, and when hopelessness and sadness are reflected more than ever, since the years of the Special Period, on the faces of Cubans.

Despite this, activities of gastronomic excellence and cocktails are prepared within the framework of the event, including a private sector competition. The participation of thousands of people from dozens of countries is expected, as well as hotel chains, airlines, tour operators and travel agencies.

In addition, in the last few hours the Spanish wholesaler Cinco Estrellas Club, in coordination with the Blue Diamond Resorts and Meliá Hotels International chains, announced the launch of Cuba as a new destination within its summer programming, with seven programs and circuits that can already be booked, while Tui, based in Madrid, activated this Monday an active promotion until May 7 that includes a 7% discount for more than 2,300 departures to the Island until October.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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The US Authorizes the Sale of Cars, Trucks and Tractors to Private Enterprises in Cuba

According to Aparicio’s example, “a $20,000 car should have $6,000 of taxes and $10,000 for logistics and documentation added to the price.” (Univision/Captura)

14ymedio, Madrid, 27 April 2023 — The company Apacargo Express, based in Miami, has obtained a license to export new and used cars, trucks, trailers, tractors and agricultural equipment to Cuba, according to Univision 23 journalist Mario Vallejo.

The authorization, 10 million dollars, was approved by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the US Treasury Department as an exemption from the embargo. As a condition, the sale must be to private entrepreneurs and, in no case, to the State.

“At the moment it is aimed at small and medium-sized companies [SMEs] so that they can import cars for their use,” Eduardo Aparicio, owner of the authorized business, told the reporter.

He explained that there is a high demand, and the first step is to ask the importing company for a budget to know what the final value of the operation will be. Aparicio said that Cuban customs does not charge many taxes, but it is expensive to pay the importing company, which is asking for around 30% of the value of the vehicle invoice.

Based on other experiences such as those of cargo companies, he said it is “quite manageable.” According to Aparicio’s example, “6,000 dollars of taxes and about 10,000 dollars for logistics and documentation should be added to a $20,000 car.” continue reading

“It’s obvious that the embargo exists, but if we have flexibility from the Department of Commerce to do these deals with Cuba, I think it’s the way to do something different that may lie ahead in the near future,” he said.

Aparicio has spent years obtaining licenses from OFAC to do business in Cuba. According to the website of the company, founded in 2015, it offers consulting services, legal and economic advice, planning and monitoring of business trips, air tickets, hotels, internal transport, translation and development of business plans.

Last October, the U.S. Office of Industry and Security approved an exclusive license in favor of the Premier Automotive Export distributor, based in Columbia, Maryland, for the export of motorcycles and electric skateboards, news that was as celebrated as it was criticized by Cubans on and off the Island.

On this occasion, the initial reactions have been mostly mockery. At a time of fuel shortage, with vehicles lining up for days to try to refuel at gas stations, the acquisition of a car is not among the priorities of many Cubans. “But how are they going to work if there is no oil, gasoline or water there?” one user reproached. Others reacted with humor: “Let them get a Tesla because how are they going to find gas?”

There was also no shortage of several commentators who demanded food shipments rather than vehicles and those who distrust that, despite the restrictions, the Miami cars will not finally end up in the hands of the regime: “They are sent to the self-employed and then the State confiscates them and passes them into the hands of the Government.”

Translated by Regina Anavy

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The Livestock Stolen in 2022 in Cuba Is Equivalent to 22 Million Pounds of Meat

Cuban producers begin to see a decrease in the quality of livestock. (14ymedio)

14ymedio, Madrid, 24 April 2023 — The numerous cases of theft and slaughter of livestock that producers in Cuba have been reporting for months and that the official press of the provinces reviews in the balance sheets of the sector finally have national figures that demonstrate the seriousness of the problem. In the last year the figure was almost 2.5 times higher than in 2021, with Villa Clara, Holguín and Matanzas in the lead.

Throughout the Island in 2022, there were 82,445 cases of theft and slaughter, of which 45,315 corresponded to cattle and 37,130 to horses. The increase is considerable compared to the numbers from the previous year, with the loss of 33,690 animals: 17,144 cattle and 16,546 horses.

By provinces, Villa Clara leads the sad ranking, with 12,243 cases compared to 4,079 the previous year, three times as many. In addition, five of the ten most affected municipalities on the Island belong to that province. In second place is Holguín, with 9,825 lost last year, doubling the figure of 2021, with 4,655. Last on the podium is Matanzas, which also makes a considerable leap from 2,926 to 8,159 losses.

“That represents 16,000 tons of meat, which in turn is 5,000 tons of boneless meat. This is equivalent to two pounds of meat lost only by theft and slaughter” for each of the 11 million Cubans, Adrián Gutiérrez Velázquez, director of livestock of the Ministry of Agriculture, told the official newspaper, which on Monday published the first part of a special dedicated to this evil that affects first producers and finally Cuban consumers, who can barely access this type of protein due to the scarcity in the markets and, consequently, its high price when it is found, mostly “under the table.” continue reading

In the text, the director of a state livestock company in Cienfuegos, Denis Sixto Rodríguez, warns of the dizzying increase in robberies. “In the company you had five to seven thefts and slaughters in a year. Since the end of last year, the numbers have been increasing. In November, there were 29; in December, 27; and in January and February, 40 animals each month,” he says.

In his opinion, it is not only the price of the sale that is lost, but the investment of at least three years of work involved in raising livestock. The province of Cienfuegos went from 3,017 cases of theft and slaughter in 2021 to 7,082 in 2022, and it is the fourth most affected in the country.

Another characteristic case is that of Pinar del Río — which goes from 1,458 crimes of this type to 4,282. There, the animals traditionally grow better in the pastures, grazing freely. “Here you have to go out on the highway if you want to take meat to Havana,” adds Sixto Rodríguez. But the increase in crime is forcing us to change the custom and put the animals inside, or we are forced to stand guard. “This is very complicated; it is not humanly possible to stay up all night and then leave at 4 or 5 in the morning to go to work.” If they decide, on the contrary, to lock up the animals, the quality worsens, deaths occur and production drops, since livestock are not accustomed to that kind of life.

In addition, cases of aggression or simply the fear of them cause casualties in an already complicated sector. “Some policemen arrested a thief with sacks of meat, and when he was cornered he threatened them with a machete. If the officers hadn’t taken off, they wouldn’t have been able to tell the story,” he adds. Another of those consulted for the report states that “the police are not giving this issue all the attention that it deserves,” a situation that forces the ranchers into “night patrol.”

Gutiérrez Velázquez warns of the implications of the current situation. It is not a short-term problem, in the opinion of the director of the Ministry, and it will have consequences on future livestock because it affects the quality of life of the cattle and, therefore, the taste of the meat. “It’s like we have them in a concentration camp,” he says — and the drought is the last straw. “The animals that are shut in from three or four in the afternoon until the next day deteriorate. They killed 50,000 of our three million livestock, but the great concern is the issue of having to lock them up,” he insists.

The case of horses is also worrying. The Cubadebate report recounts the case of Humberto Hernández Malagón, who has fruit trees and cows and needed his mare to move the merchandise. “I used to leave her tied up under a bush, in the field. One of my children went for a walk and everything was fine, but when I went to look for her she was gone. Although we followed the trail, we didn’t find anything, not even bones,” he says.

The rancher invested more than 20,000 pesos ($833) in buying posts and wiring to fence his land, which the thieves trampled on with impunity. A little later they stole a team of oxen from a neighbor. “It was money that I lost, because every week they were robbing me two and three times to get the animals,” he adds. Now he has built ditches over three feet deep, but the fear does not go away.

“If they take away my oxen, I will retire,” says another farmer, who remembers only one time, in the 80s, “as bad as this. They come and blatantly steal them from you, to your face. They took a cow from the field and I couldn’t find any trace. I called the police and they never showed up. I went to the station to look for the tag they give you to be able to take the animal off the livestock registry and it was a total mess. I went four times, and the deadline almost expired and then you even have to pay a fine if that happens.”

Translated by Regina Anavy

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In March, the Price of Rice in Cuba Skyrocketed by 23.1 Percent Despite Donations From Vietnam

It is almost impossible to buy rice without spending the night in the doorways of the points of sale to get a number in the line. (Escambray)

14ymedio, Madrid, 26 April 2023 — The rise in prices accelerated in March in Cuba, where eating and drinking is already almost 11% more expensive than when the year began. With an increase of 4.5% in the third month of the year alone, acquiring food and non-alcoholic beverages costs 75% more than in March 2022.

The overall Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased by 3.2% in March, compared to 2.6% in February and 2.32% in January; the increase not only does not stop but increases at a faster rate. According to the data published by the National Office of Statistics and Information (Onei) relating to the third month of the year – and just as the fourth is about to end — the data show an increase of 8.4% in 2023, which is 46.4% higher than a year ago.

The continuous rise in the price of rice, a staple in the Cuban diet, is alarming. It increased in March by 23.1%, three times more than in February, when it already cost 7% more than in January, despite donations from Vietnam. The shortage has shot the price up to 200 pesos ($8) per pound in the informal market, very close to the price recorded for a pound of pork.

At the beginning of March, the Government had only 2,090 tons of rice for the standard basket, when 36,000 tons are needed. The 2022 harvest remained at 120,000 tons, far from the 700,000 necessary for national consumption for a year, and the situation will not improve this year, since only 168,032 of the planned 345,948 acres were planted. continue reading

The price of white cheese also keeps increasing, and after being the most expensive food in February with 13.3%, in March it rose again by 15.1%.

Liquid milk, increasingly scarce on the Island even in Sancti Spíritus where powdered milk is hardly ever consumed, rose by 8% in March. Poultry (5.1%) and pork (1.28%) close the list of foods that are most difficult to buy, while tomatos and peppers are again in the classification of products that decrease in price, with -17.9% and -15.4% respectively.

Food consumed outside the home, included in restaurants and hotels, once again contributes to the unstoppable rise of food prices. That group is the one that has risen the most so far this year, with 13.3%, adding 3.4% in March. Compared to last year, the increase reaches 63.6%.

Within this category, lunch and dinner have the biggest rise with 4.3%, followed by snacks (3.4%), prepared takeaway foods (3.1%) and breakfast (2.6%). It closes with soft drinks, which rose by 2.4%.

Again, transport, despite its poor service, was the third group of products and services that became most expensive (3%), and the fuel crisis had not yet begun. The price increase so far this year is 6.8%, and the year-on-year variation amounts to 18.26%. The largest increases occur in the inner city, with 11.3% for trucks and vans and 11.4% for taxis. In the case of urban transport, colectivos, “collective” taxis, rose by 4.4% and taxis by 8%. The group closes with busses, which also went up in price, although only by 0.5%.

Education, which usually has more discreet growth, rose significantly this month by 3% and accumulates a rise of 5.3% in 2023, almost 20% compared to March 2022. There were also price increases for various goods and services (1.57%); housing services (1.1%); recreation and culture; clothing and footwear; and health and communications, all of them below 1%.

It is no wonder that the only thing that drops in price in Cuba is the group of alcoholic beverages and tobacco, although even here the fall is more moderate. After decreasing by 4% this month, prices stand at -14.6% so far this year and -6.8% compared to March 2022. The decline for this group, the only one that has prevented inflation from being even greater, is fundamentally due to strong tobacco, which decreases again in March, although this time only by 5.38%, compared to the price drops of January and February, which were around 8% on average.

The official figures confirm a reality installed on the Island since the entry into force of the Ordering Task,* which despite being designed as a set of measures to last for at least a decade has left a bleak panorama in the day-to-day life of the population without the authorities taking real measures to tackle it. In addition, the situation can only get worse with the lack of fuel in April, a deficit that will affect the production and transport of food, making everything worse.

The Onei data help to follow the evolution of prices, but it is essential to take into account the independent figures that include the informal market as much as possible. The American economist Steve Hanke placed annual inflation in Cuba at 80% at the end of March. Preliminary data for April reduced it to 62%, which locates the Island in 13th place in the ranking for inflation.

In addition, the Cuban peso has depreciated, according to his calculations, by 61% against the dollar, and this puts Cuba in fourth place, behind Zimbabwe, Venezuela and Lebanon.

*Translator’s note: The so-called Ordering Task [Tarea Ordenamiento] is a collection of measures that include eliminating the Cuban Convertible Peso (CUC), leaving the Cuban peso as the only national currency, raising prices, raising salaries (but not as much as prices), opening stores that take payment only in hard currency, which must be in the form of specially issued pre-paid debit cards, and a broad range of other measures targeted to different elements of the Cuban economy.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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After Two Years, the United States Resumes Repatriation Flights to the Island With the Transfer of 150 Cubans

Mario J. Pentón, of América TeVe, confirmed the arrival of Cubans deported by the United States to Havana. (Mario J. Pentón)

14ymedio, Havana, 24 April 2023 — A group of about 150 Cubans was repatriated to the Island this Monday on a flight that took off from Miami International Airport, in the first return of this type, by air from the United States, in two years. According to Univision 23 journalist Mario Vallejo, these people were held at the Krome Processing Center in charge of the Immigration and Customs Control Service.

“At least four buses left Krome for the airport,” he said through a video uploaded to his social networks. “By 8 in the morning they were on the airplane.”

Vallejo said that some relatives of these Cubans confirmed from the Island that they were visited by staff of the Ministry of the Interior to ask them “if they could receive” the returnees and that this process would take place in the next few hours; however this “was today,” the journalist said.

Meanwhile, reporter Mario J. Pentón of América Tevé, confirmed that the group of migrants arrived in Havana, but that they have not been able to move to their respective destinations, due to the fuel crisis that affects the entire Island. “Apparently they don’t have gasoline to transport those from the provinces” and the habaneros “are expected to be released in the next few hours.” He reiterated that neither the Cuban regime nor the US government has said anything. continue reading

Last Saturday, relatives of several Cubans detained in South Florida demonstrated in Miami to demand the release of those who entered through the U.S. southern border or by sea and lost their “credible fear” interviews.

The immigration lawyer, Miguel Inda Romero, told Univision 23 that they had as an alternative “what is called a deportation strike, since some of them have relatives who are residents or citizens who could make petitions for them, or simply be released under supervision as there are more than forty thousand Cubans.”

In November of last year, the Cuban government accepted the return by air of migrants who had not entered US territory, unlike those of this group.

The return by air was adopted by the Barack Obama Administration in 2017 as a limited tool to curb the number of Cubans crossing the border, but it was suspended during the coronavirus pandemic until this Monday when about 150 Cubans were repatriated.

This Sunday, the US Coast Guard transferred 20 Cubans who were rescued on Tuesday to the Bahamas on the ship Skipjack. The agency reported that since October of last year, the attempt of 6,449 rafters to reach Florida has been thwarted.

Since Friday, the Border Patrol has kept 26 Cubans in custody, including six children, who managed to disembark on Cayo Marquesas. According to Lieutenant-in-Chief Walter Slosar, they arrived on a homemade raft.

At the beginning of 2023, the US government implemented a policy to receive 30,000 monthly migrants from Venezuela, Haiti, Cuba and Nicaragua.

In parallel, it will immediately expel to Mexico the undocumented from those countries who try to cross the southern border to its territory irregularly.

Mexico, for its part, agreed to admit 30,000 migrants a month who are expelled from U.S. territory.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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The Cuban With Dollars Also Eats Badly: Picadillo, Sausages and Mayonnaise Bought From the Outside

Among the first five products of the “Most sold in the last hour” are foods that are very incompatible with a balanced diet. (Screen capture)

14ymedio, Natalia López Moya, Havana, 25 April 2023 — The online sales pages for relatives abroad to buy for their relatives in Cuba have not only proliferated like fungi after the rain but reveal the disorder in the island’s diet.

Among the first five products of the “best sellers” on some sites, such as Supermarket 23, Yuppy Market, Alawao and Nercado, the following are repeated: condensed milk, powdered milk (with and without sugar), ground chicken, sausages, and mayonnaise and crackers (a frequent snack for many Cubans). These foods are not very compatible with a balanced diet.

Among the most requested products are also those that can be divided and stretched for several meals. The list is led by chicken or pork sausages, hamburgers and the ground turkey that is used in many homes to make croquettes, along with the instant soft drinks that constitute the main snack that students take to primary schools

While pieces of beef or pork are less in demand, boxes of frozen chicken quarters, entrails and cheap sausages are gone only hours after appearing for sale on those online portals. Vegetable oil is also frequently exhausted, and the supply of fruits, vegetables or greens is small and often sold in cut or frozen format.

Imported goods win, widely, over what is produced on the Island. It is easier to find in those digital markets a can of tuna from Europe than a fresh fish taken from the seas around Cuba. Cheeses, Gouda or cheddar style, also surpass several times the few nationally made dairy products that are marketed. continue reading

All this proves that the problem of malnutrition in Cuba is not only due to the increasingly alarming rates of poverty. When the food and toiletry shops were dollarized almost three years ago, it seemed that, at least those who received remittances from relatives abroad were going to be able to have varied food. This, despite assuming a new social division, very soon turned into a widespread complaint and even one of the reasons for the mass protests of July 11, 2021 (many demonstrations were over the closure of stores in MLC, freely convertible currency).

Just at the beginning of April, the UN World Food Program released a report saying that “the diet of the average Cuban household is poor in micronutrients and not sufficiently healthy or diverse due to the limited and unstable availability of nutritious food, socioeconomic factors and bad eating habits.”

The document, which denounces the responsibility for the Government’s economic decisions such as the so-called Ordering Task* emphasized that the situation was worse for the Cuban who did not receive remittances. However, sales websites for buying from abroad confirm that, as with happiness, money does not guarantee a good diet either.

Roast meat, lobster and shrimp, which have disappeared from the vast majority of Cuban tables, seem to come out of a fantasy novel today, but access to foreign currency does not even make Cubans lean towards the varied foods and fruits that the Island always provides: avocado, sweet potato, yucca, malanga, okra, bananas, mamey, pineapple, mango or any type of citrus: more eloquent evidence of the failure of a system that has lasted for 64 years.

*Translator’s note: Tarea Ordenamiento — The ’Ordering Task’ is a collection of measures that include eliminating the Cuban Convertible Peso (CUC), leaving the Cuban peso as the only national currency, raising prices, raising salaries (but not as much as prices), opening stores that take payment only in hard currency, which must be in the form of specially issued pre-paid debit cards, and a broad range of other measures targeted to different elements of the Cuban economy. Translated by Regina Anavy

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Three Cuban Rowers ‘Desert’ After Participating in a Qualifying Event for the Pan American Games in Chile

The rowers Maykol Álvarez, Yoelvis Hernández and Osvaldo Pérez abandoned the Cuban team after their participation in the qualifier on the way to the Pan American Games in Santiago de Chile. (Collage)

14ymedio, Havana, 25 April 2023 — The rowers Maykol Julio Álvarez, Yoelvis Javier Hernández and Osvaldo Pérez left the Cuban team participating in the qualifying tournament for the Pan American Games in Santiago de Chile 2023 that ended on April 19. According to photographer Yuniet Ávila, the desertions occurred in Chile and Mexico.

The habanero Álvarez deserted in Chile after winning, together with Carlos Ajete, Yoelvis Hernández and Reidy Cardona, the silver medal in the category four pair (4X), guaranteeing his ticket to the Pan American Games that will be held from October 20 to November 5.

Hernández, a native of Sancti Spíritus, and Cardona, of Cienfuegos, took advantage of the stopover in Mexico to escape. “These are the first abandonments from rowing team this year,” the photographer stressed on his social networks.

Cuba sent a delegation with 15 oarsmen to Santiago for the qualifying contest. The president of the Cuban Rowing Federation, Ángel Luis García, pointed out to the official media Jit the “enthusiasm” of the athletes for competing on the same track that will host the Santiago 2023 celebration at the end of the year. continue reading

The oarsmen who escaped were coming from a training on the aquatic track of the Hanabanilla dam, in the La Coronela reservoir. The Cuban managers have not offered a position.

The departures of Álvarez, Hernández and Pérez represent a hard blow for the Cuban rowing team, which last year recorded six defections. In November, Jorge Patterson and Yudisleidys Rodríguez fled after one of the training sessions on the Virgilio Uribe Olympic court, in Mexico City.

Before the escapes of Patterson and Rodríguez, Ernier Tamayo, Alexei Carballosa and Nayala Torres had fled. They were preparing in Mexico City for the Central American and Caribbean Championship that began on November 23 in El Salvador.

The first of those six desertions was one in Mexico by Boris Luis Guerra, who won silver with his partner Adrián Oquendo at the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Cimex Proposes a Computer Application To Organize Gasoline Lines in Cuba

Line for fuel in Havana this Monday. (14ymedio)

14ymedio, Havana, 26 April 26, 2023 — “If this is going on in Havana, what will happen in the countryside?” asks a man from Camagüey after Cimex announced the reorganization of gas stations in the capital on Tuesday. The fuel shortage, despite the arrival of oil tankers in the ports of the Island, is at the limit, and Cubans know this after the Government’s decision to suspend the May Day parade, the most important annual event for the regime.

Cimex issued a press release to give an image of transparency and to call for calm, but customers understood little about a text that delegates to others measures that aren’t taken.

Guarantee the constant flow of sales by increasing turns, appoint people to organize the work at each gas station, remind the branch heads that they must inform the population, organize “quick response services,” handle customer complaints, strengthen collaboration with the authorities to act if necessary … a whole list of empty ideas. The population barely understood one of the measures, the only tangible one:

“There is a ban on the sale of fuel in any type of container, except in vehicles for transport, up to the established limits,” says one of the “organizing actions.” The people of Havana also sensed what can be expected from the vague final proposal.

“A system has begun experimentally to improve the organization of the gas lines together with the factors of the community, and a computer application with the same purpose is in the process of being tested,” concludes the Cimex note. Hours later, in the Havana Tribune, the president of the Popular Council of Rampa, Pedro Lizardo, was praised as “a self-sacrificing, disinterested and hard-working person,” who created a WhatsApp group to manage the issue. continue reading

“It will no longer be necessary to spend whole days and early mornings to acquire fuel. In that application, the amount of fuel received by Cupet will be given and the number of cars that it can serve. That is, you get on the list, take your number, and you shouldn’t go until you consult WhatsApp, where you can see the numbers for the people who can get fuel,” celebrates the author, who asks for a very tall order for the country.

But on social networks, praise was as scarce as the gasoline. “I understand that it’s 10 gallons per car,” one user said. I have a Polaco car; the tank is small and I can only put in 5 and will lose the other 5 gallons because I can’t bring a container. So they get the other 5, and the abuse continues,” he concluded, supported by another user.

People are burning with anger, but Ulises Guilarte, secretary general of the Central de Trabajadores de Cuba (CTC), attended the television program Mesa Redonda to talk about the cancellation of the May Day parade. He called for the development of substitute activities “with a vision that embraces the values of patriotism, unity, joy and commitment.”

The official press has dispatched with 230 words the cancellation of the festivities, and although Granma has published the article on the front page, the authorities focus on downplaying an annulment that indicates that appearances can no longer be maintained.

Guilarte reiterated at prime time what he had already advanced hours before and asked for a maximum call to turn “the celebration into full grandstands of people denouncing the criminal economic-commercial and financial blockade imposed by the United States Government and the inclusion of Cuba on the list of countries sponsoring terrorism.”

May Day, which is celebrated in many countries around the world, is a day for workers led by unions, who focus on asking governments and employers for improvements in labor and salary rights or legislative changes that affect them.

In Cuba, however, the day must “show support from the CTC and the unions, for the advancement and improvement of the Socio-Economic Model of Socialist Development and its work of respect for human rights and for the implementation of public and inclusive policies of equity and social justice, which become a shield to face the imperial onslaught in its pretensions to undermine national identity and fracture our roots from cultural colonization, disrespecting the symbols and sacred values of the Homeland,” said the union leader, who is, of course, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of Cuba.

He dedicated himself, however, to expressing his solidarity with the workers who “live in conditions of exploitation and discrimination, in contexts impacted by the crisis of the capitalist system and its neoliberal policies,” forgetting that those comrades will come out, unlike Cubans, to fight for their rights in their respective countries.

Alfredo Vázquez, secretary of the CTC in Havana also wanted to call on the heroic people of the capital to participate in acts convened on the Malecón, which he referred to as a “space of mobilizations to patent Cuba’s right to its sovereignty and independence and marches of the fighting people to demand the return of the child Elián González and the Five Heroes among other significant events of our history.”

Vázquez dared to predict the participation of 120,000 habaneros, which might seem like a lot to the audience until he added that they were coming from “selected municipalities,” eliminating any concession to the belief that May Day in Cuba would be spontaneous. They will be joined by more than 1,000 foreign delegates and decorated workers for the occasion.

“A colorful, compact and enthusiastic event is expected where workers express in a diverse way with their own initiatives their motivations in support of the Revolution,” he summarized to an audience more concerned about the advance of the gas line than about a celebration that won’t happen.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Press Association Denounces ‘Repression’ Against the Media, Journalists and ‘Influencers’ in Cuba

Sulmira Martínez Pérez and Daniel Moreno de la Peña were forced into self-incrimination by the Cuban regime. (Video)

EFE (via 14ymedio), Miami, April 25, 2023. (EFE) — The Inter-American Press Association (IAPA) denounced on Tuesday an unprecedented “crisis” in Cuba’s unofficial media and the “repression” of the authorities against journalists and influencers.

In its new biannual report, the IAPA says that “the crisis of independent journalism is approaching a bottom never seen in the last 30 years” and highlights the departure from the country of “dozens” of independent professionals in the face of harassment and the serious economic crisis.

“In this scenario, the press and independent activists have been the most affected sectors. The repression continues, and there are now more than a thousand political prisoners,” the document says.

The IAPA reports that the number of attacks on journalists (“arrest threats,” “home police surveillance” and “blocking of telephone communications”) has been reduced lately, but attributes this to the flight of independent professionals.

It emphasizes that journalist Yuri Valle Roca remains in prison despite his “serious health problems,” after a five-year sentence “for filming and reporting on the dropping of leaflets in Havana.”

It also reports that the Cuban authorities have banned several professionals from leaving the country, such as Reinaldo Escobar, Boris González Arenas, Inalkis Rodríguez, Camila Acosta, Julio Aleaga, Jorge Enrique Rodríguez, Iris Mariño, Rolando Rodríguez Lobaina and Henry Constantín. continue reading

The report also points out that “citizens who criticize the government are threatened or taken to police stations” for expressing themselves on social networks, especially on Facebook.

In this regard, it mentions the cases of Sulmira Martínez and Hilda Núñez, two Cuban influencers arrested in recent months. Martínez, imprisoned since January for a post, appears to be incriminating herself in an interview recently released by State Security.

The IAPA also indicated that YouTuber Yoandi Montiel, known as El Gato de Cuba, was released after serving two years in prison for his criticism of the Cuban government.

The text also denounces the legal “gag” against “the freedoms of the press and expression” implied by the Criminal Code, the Law of Associations, Decree 370, Law 88 and the Constitution of 2019, among other regulations.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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