Category: Translator: Regina Anavy

Militarization also occupied a prominent place in the month’s rumor mill. Drivers traveling at dawn along interior highways reported convoys of trucks loaded with soldiers and equipment. In Havana, military exercises and explosions associated with defensive maneuvers caused concern among residents. Helicopters flying over urban areas, practice gunfire, and unusual movements in military facilities reinforced the sense that something is being prepared behind the scenes. In a country accustomed to secrets, any loud noise becomes a coded message.

Amid so much speculation, one of the most frustrating rumors for Cubans was the one claiming that access to the Starlink internet system had been opened on the Island. For several days, social media filled with messages promising fast and stable connection just by activating a mobile phone. The illusion did not last long. To use the service, a reception kit is still required, an expensive piece of equipment pursued by the General Customs Office of the Republic, along with a monthly subscription unaffordable for most people on this Island. The promise of free internet once again turned out to be a technological mirage.

The promise of free internet once again turned out to be a technological mirage

Statements by Donald Trump, in which he said he hoped to “take” Cuba soon, also unleashed a wave of conjecture. Some imagined discreet negotiations that would lead to an orderly political transition. Others spoke of more violent scenarios, from a military intervention to an internal collapse of the regime.

The social outbreak in Morón, Ciego de Ávila, was another focus of speculation. After the burning of items at the municipal headquarters of the Communist Party and the subsequent internet blackout in the locality, versions began to circulate about mass arrests and a strong military presence in the area. There was talk of young people being pursued in their homes and of fear spreading throughout the community. The lack of official information and restrictions on connectivity fueled distrust, reminding many of what happened during the Island-wide protests of 11 July 2021.

Precisely, problems with internet connectivity have become a constant rumor. Every digital blackout generates suspicions of deliberate censorship. Many Cubans believe that interruptions are not only due to technical failures or the energy crisis but also to the intention of preventing citizens from organizing and sharing information in real time. In a country where social media has become a public square, disconnecting the signal is equivalent to closing the street.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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In its request, the IACHR asks the Cuban authorities for clarification on three key aspects: the official position regarding the request for international protection; a detailed report on the conditions of detention, including access to medical care since Jonathan suffers from skin conditions and is not receiving treatment for them in prison, according to his relatives; and a risk assessment detailing whether the competent authorities have analyzed the danger the minor faces and what measures have been adopted to guarantee his safety.

Jonathan David Muir Burgos was charged with the crime of sabotage, an accusation that could cost him at least seven years in prison. The authorities ordered his transfer to Canaleta prison, a facility that in February was the scene of a riot violently repressed by regime forces after a young man committed suicide following complaints about the prison’s poor food.

While the dictatorship responds or not, Jonathan remains inside a maximum-security prison. Time is running against him

The teenager is one of the cases of several minors detained in Cuba in the context of the anti-government protests that have taken place since last March 6, following the deterioration of the already serious energy situation. Jonathan Muir is being held in a maximum-security prison under conditions not officially clarified. Relatives and civil organizations have reported psychological pressure against the young man and mistreatment in the conditions of his confinement.

“While the dictatorship responds or not, Jonathan remains inside a maximum-security prison. Time is running against him,” Vargas warned Martí Noticias. “This request is not just another procedure; it is an urgent tool to prevent the situation from escalating into something irreparable.”

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Díaz-Canel, despite being fully aware that he is not a popular leader —  unlike his more charismatic predecessors — asserts that the population can show him the door. “If the Cuban people believe that I am incapable, that I am not up to their standards, that I do not represent them, they are the ones who must decide whether I should be in leadership or holding the position of president or not,” said the man who governs a country where criticizing him personally constitutes a crime of “propaganda against the constitutional order,” punishable by long prison sentences.

The president continues by saying that policy in Cuba is decided by collective bodies and that under no circumstances can the United States demand anything of him, especially given what he describes as decades of “hostile” policy toward the Island. “They do not even have the moral authority to say they are concerned about the situation of the Cuban people and that the Cuban Government is the one that has led Cuba to this situation when they bear all that responsibility,” he continues, urging Washington to take a critical look at itself and see “how much their policies have cost the Cuban people in suffering and limitations, and how much they have deprived the American people of a normal relationship with Cuba.”

Díaz-Canel has maintained, as in all his recent appearances, that the regime is willing to engage in dialogue, as long as it is not conditioned on changes to the system. “We would not demand changes to the American system, about which we have endless doubts and endless criticisms,” he argues, and he calls for talks to focus on what can unite both countries. “Once again, I repeat, to avoid confrontation and to have a future for both peoples of benefit, of relationship, of friendship, and also of solidarity,” he concludes.

The excerpt of the interview was broadcast alongside a message the president sent to the II International Conference on Unilateral Coercive Measures, held in Geneva, in which he again denounces the “strangulation” that the United States imposes on the island. “Cuba is the victim of a prolonged collective punishment that seeks to bring its people to their knees through hunger, disease, and severe shortages of basic supplies,” he said in a video.

“Cuba is the victim of a prolonged collective punishment that seeks to bring its people to their knees through hunger, disease, and severe shortages of basic supplies”

The president reviewed some of the consequences he attributes to the worsening energy situation following Trump’s oil blockade. Among them, he cited the suspension of surgeries for more than 96,000 people (including 11,000 minors), 19,000 patients who are undergoing oncology or hemodialysis treatments being at risk, shortages of gas and water, and industrial production at minimal levels. “What right does the world’s leading economic power have to commit such an abuse against a small country?” Díaz-Canel asked, describing the situation as a return to “barbarism and servitude.”

“It is impossible to quantify the physical and psychological exhaustion, the daily shortages, the postponement of dreams, and the media war that is inflicted, out of sheer malice, on a noble, resilient, and supportive people like ours,” he argued, also taking a few minutes to thank those who have chosen to stand by Cuba, such as Mexico and Russia, coinciding with the announcement that a new oil tanker from that country will arrive on the Island, although Moscow has not indicated a date.

Translated by Regina Anavy
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During the weeks he remained in pretrial detention, activists and relatives warned about the deterioration of his health

One of these independent organizations was Cubalex, which denounced that, although Legrá had undergone handwriting analysis to determine whether he authored the posters, with a negative result, he remained detained.

Legrá Díaz’s return to his home, where his family was waiting for him, was confirmed by a call from his mother to Martí Noticias: “Since around two in the afternoon Moisés is now here at home with the children,” who, she describes, “cried and hugged their father.”

The criminal offense of “propaganda against the constitutional order,” incorporated into the 2022 Penal Code, penalizes any expression of criticism that the State considers “incitement against the social order or the socialist State,” without clearly defining which acts constitute the crime, making it a legal instrument to persecute dissent.

The case exposes the abusive use of pretrial detention as a preventive punishment, as well as the use of ambiguous criminal charges to target freedom of expression

Cubalex points out that the case of Legrá Díaz, a family man with no criminal record or activist background, exposes the abusive use of pretrial detention as a preventive punishment, as well as the use of ambiguous criminal charges to persecute freedom of expression.

The same offense has been applied, with prosecutors requesting up to nine years in prison for posters or street graffiti, as in other recent cases reported by 14ymedio, but also for social media posts or direct criticism of the government, among which the example of the conviction and imprisonment of the young creators of the digital collective El4tico stands out.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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In the first two months of the year, the value reached 65,831,522 dollars, also below the 93,168,816 dollars recorded in the same period of 2025, equivalent to a year-on-year contraction of 29.3%.

The report shows that frozen chicken continues to be, since 2012, the most demanded product by Cuban importers and accounts for nearly half of total food purchases in February. Next on the list is rice, with 1,926,996 dollars. It is followed by sweetened milk and cream, frozen pork, juice mixes, roasted coffee, and bone-in pork cuts.

In total, the 10 main products purchased in February amounted to 22,140,544 dollars, which represents 73.3% of the total exported by the United States to the Island under the framework authorized by exemptions to the embargo, which mainly allow the import of food, health products, and automobiles, always paid in cash and in advance.

The figures continue to show that the much-discussed food sovereignty remains far from being achieved. During the first nine months of 2025, Cuba imported 355 million dollars in agricultural products from the United States, 15% more than recorded in the same period of 2024, according to figures from that country’s Department of Agriculture. At that time, one of the products that increased the most was pork. Between January and September last year, the Island purchased 33.6 million dollars of that product from its northern neighbor, more than double the same period in 2024, when it spent 16.3 million dollars.

This month’s report also notes that, once the Trump Administration added fuels to the list of products authorized for export to private actors in Cuba, there were purchases totaling 2,573,594 dollars.

This month’s report also notes that, once the Trump Administration added fuels to the list of products authorized for export to private actors in Cuba, there were purchases totaling 2,573,594 dollars

In that regard, growth in exports of cars from the United States is also reported, with a total amount of 16,238,357 dollars in the first two months of this year. The cumulative value since 2022, when the first license to import vehicles to the Island was issued, exceeds 416 million dollars. Of this figure, more than 243 million correspond to electric and gasoline vehicles, both new and used, as well as bicycles, trucks, motorcycles, and mopeds, in addition to parts and components. The year with the highest spending on these products was 2025, closing at 149,413,031 dollars.

The spending figures presented in the report only include the price of products exported from the United States, without including transportation or other associated charges.

In February, Cuba also ranked 51st among 215 U.S. agricultural export markets. In 2004 it reached position 25 in annual data and 29 in 2008, before falling to 49 in 2024 and 2025.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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In addition, there are a number of products that are outside this freedom of sale, as they are considered strategic sectors for the country. The list currently includes tobacco, charcoal, honey, cocoa, and coffee, although under the category “others,” the door remains open to include any that may be considered in the future.

The regulation includes a significant change in contracting committees, an entity that already existed but now, especially with the inclusion of private actors, represents the decentralization of the commercialization system.

These territorial groups will consist of a president, the Governor (at the provincial level) or the Mayor (at the municipal level), and permanent members who are representatives of the Agriculture Delegation, State and private companies, cooperatives, producers, and guests who are representatives of the Bank, Finance and Prices, the National Association of Small Farmers, and the sector’s labor union.

Their role is now decisive, compared to before when it was more deliberative without final decision-making power. They are now responsible for setting prices for non-centralized products, using local costs and market behavior as references. Their functions also include determining production priorities, social consumption and State markets, preparing balances and future estimates, as well as resolving conflicts. According to the latter, if a buyer of a product reports that they do not have funds to purchase what was agreed upon, these committees will determine its new destination “without this implying increased costs for producers or exempting the contract violator from responsibility.”

The new regulation includes some economic control mechanisms, including full banking of operations and the use of the Information System for Agricultural Planning (SIPA)*

Another important body is the public procurement committees, responsible for supplying entities of social consumption such as hospitals, nursing homes, and schools. These committees, which must be established in each center, are chaired by the head of the institution and include an odd-numbered team of its own staff responsible for managing each purchase.

The biggest change is the end of State allocation and the establishment of bidding and competition mechanisms. Each hospital, school, or other entity must issue a call in which any economic actor, whether a State company, cooperative, small business, or individual producer, can submit an offer on equal terms. The committee must evaluate proposals and select the supplier based on the best balance of quality, price, and delivery timing, issuing a formal decision that results in a legal contract and is subject to oversight, theoretically to prevent cases of corruption or favoritism.

The new regulation includes some economic control mechanisms, including the full banking of operations and the use of the SIPA information system to register contracts and transactions, a potential issue due to the distrust citizens feel toward the political and economic system.

*An IT tool adopted by the Ministry of Agriculture

Translated by Regina Anavy

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The 2024 Trafficking in Persons report by the U.S. State Department places Cuba’s income from the export of professional services between 6 and 8 billion dollars.

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

Cuban medical brigades, established more than six decades ago and with more than 600,000 professionals deployed in 165 countries, according to official figures, have been one of the focal points of U.S. policy toward Cuba under President Donald Trump’s administration in his second term.

In recent months, and under pressure from Washington, Honduras, Guatemala, Jamaica, Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Grenada, Guyana, and Trinidad and Tobago have suspended their medical cooperation with Cuba or reformed its terms.

The Cuban Government has denied these criticisms of Cuban medical missions and has described Washington’s pressure on Latin American and Caribbean countries as “fierce pressure” and “blackmail.”

Translated by Regina Anavy

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In the case of panels already installed, about 33,000 in Matanzas, there is what Hernández called flexible retroactivity, meaning there will be no fines when the regulation comes into force, but the panels must be regularized. Responsibility for safety will fall on the owner, but obtaining authorization will provide protection in case of a complaint if something happens.

Although authorities acknowledge the urgency and necessity, the procedure adds complexity that has not been well received, above all, as they themselves admit, because the crisis on the Island is multisectoral. Families lack the financial resources to buy the expensive panels, and now procedures are added that increase the cost. The conditions of the buildings is often deplorable; transportation is also poor, and staffing is reduced due to the exodus that has occurred on the Island over the past four years. In Matanzas there are barely three community architects, making it almost impossible to process everything within a reasonable time.

Yuni Moliner, the journalist responsible for the controversial interview, was the first to highlight the issue by the title of the report: ORDERING or more BUREAUCRACY? The author notes that “the measure attempts to introduce control in a practice that has grown rapidly and, in many cases, improvised. However, it comes at a time when solar panels are not just an option, but an immediate energy necessity for thousands of families,” and emphasizes that, looking ahead, it provides legal certainty, but in an emergency situation only complicates matters.

One of the most well-founded comments came from energy expert Juan Carlos Subiaut, who raises additional problems beyond the already mentioned lack of human and material resources. Among them he highlights the well-known inefficiency of the institution due to its “ineffectiveness, corruption, voluntary and involuntary loss of documents,” lines, errors, and “other etceteras.” In addition, the specialist considers that it is not consistent with the government’s own policy, which, although it has eliminated tariffs and other taxes and created specific loans, in this case authorities are “quick to create problems for a solution that is, today, imperative.”

Subiaut adds that there are countless problems in cities, ranging from garbage dumps to water leaks and other misuse of resources that “occur under the passive gaze, I won’t say complicit, of that agency, but it has not spoken out about those illegalities.”

Subiaut adds that there are countless problems in cities, ranging from garbage dumps to water leaks and other misuse of resources that “occur under the passive gaze, I won’t say complicit, of that agency

These measures are joined by urban planning and architectural regulations, including those affecting historic centers, which involve additional authorizations from the Office of the Historian, among others, those governing respect for the urban image such as alterations to façades, and compliance with fire safety and discharge regulations.

The debate sparked by these regulations has generated thousands of comments on social media in which many citizens are expressing their discontent, already heightened by the many months of long blackouts with no solution in sight. “You really have to be shameless for this. People are installing panels not because they want to, but because necessity has driven them there,” says one user. “What they should do is provide electric service like all countries in the world do and stop making our lives harder,” adds another.

Experts have also become active and try to explain that the State is right to regulate these issues, but the timing should lead to relaxation or a moratorium, expressing more measured opinions. Meanwhile, Cuba’s Electric Union has again forecast a deficit of 1,840 megawatts for this Tuesday, one day after the Guiteras thermoelectric plant in Matanzas went offline again.

The two Turkish floating power plants [‘patanas‘] that were widely discussed this Monday and which, as the government itself has denied, are not more than those already on the Island, will have to wait until mid-April to receive the Russian oil that arrived a week ago and whose refining is yet to begin. The Belgin Sultan, moored in the port of Havana, has a production capacity of just 15 megawatts (MW), while the Erol Bey, located in Regla, contributes 63 MW to the national electrical system, which requires more than 3,000 MW to meet daily nationwide demand.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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“Good news is always for you, because if I need cash from the same card they don’t give it to me, plus what they deduct from you for loading it”

If this option is chosen, they say they will offer “discounts and additional advantages,” although these are excluded from gasoline purchases. Asked about this by a user, the financial entity responds that those discounts will be, depending on the business, between 4% and 10%.

The payment of remittances in cash on the Island is nothing new and is done directly at the beneficiary’s home. In fact, companies such as Cubamax, Cuballama, Sendvalu, or Bagalso, recently authorized by the Central Bank, do this, although outside Gaesa and its subsidiaries, which are sanctioned by the United States.

Not only because of that but also because the lack of foreign currency in cash in the country is well documented, hundreds of comments on Fincimex’s post express their suspicions about the new measure. “Good news is always for you, because if I need cash from the same card they don’t give it to me, plus what they deduct from you for loading it,” says Ivan Betancour. The corporation replies by insisting: “It is good news for remittance beneficiaries to access a remittance in USD cash,” to which another commenter retorts: “That must be why the sale of USD in Cadecas is halted. Since January 28 that line hasn’t moved.”

“Now there is cash?” Livan Orelly asks with laughter, ending up in an exchange with Fincimex. “The service is activated based on the Clásica service and its proven capacity for collection,” the state entity assures, and Orelly presses again: “Proven capacity just like gasoline with Clásica and there is no gasoline?”

Users raise all the doubts that any ordinary Cuban might have. When does the service start? How much do they charge in commission? From which countries can those remittances be sent? What will the exact procedure be? are some of them. “The announcement is very incomplete,” summarizes an elderly woman from Centro Habana with a daughter in Spain. “If loading money onto the Clásica is already a headache, with the few places there are, the blackouts, the connection problems, I don’t want to see what it will be like to receive a remittance and put it on the Clásica in the same operation.”

Along the same lines, another Facebook commenter said: “If it’s a pension payment day, it’s pointless, because with the lines, the blackouts, and the crashes of Cadeca’s computer systems, the headache for that kind of action is immense.” Fincimex gave another optimistic response: “It will gradually expand to other networks.”

Translated by Regina Anavy

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

It is known that Guiteras was designed, manufactured, and assembled by the French firm Alstom. Starting in 2015, when the U.S. company General Electric acquired the French company, access was lost to a French credit line that had channeled all supplies and spare parts.

Public outrage, reflected in comments on UNE’s Facebook page, emphasizes that the energy crisis, which the Government attributes to the U.S. embargo, existed long before, due to structural failures within the system itself.

Meanwhile, almost mockingly, Granma celebrates that “ingenuity is the main fuel,” listing makeshift solutions to cope with the deterioration of the six-decade-old Renté thermoelectric plant in Santiago de Cuba.

The official tribute, similar to the one paid last year, resembles an industrial survival manual for a plant that has already doubled its expected lifespan and survives amid constant failures. According to UNE’s report this Monday, Unit 5 at Renté is broken down, while Units 3 and 6 are out of service for maintenance.

These incidents add to a long list of failures reported today by the UNE: a breakdown in Unit 3 of the Felton plant, another in Unit 6 of Diez de Octubre, the aforementioned failure at Guiteras, and maintenance shutdowns of Units 5 and 6 at Mariel and Unit 5 at Nuevitas.

In the 1990s, after losing its Soviet suppliers, the plant was modernized with technological assistance from French companies to rehabilitate two of its units

The thermoelectric plant being celebrated for its longevity—called “La Renté,” after the peninsula where it is located—was founded in 1966 with Soviet assistance and designed to generate energy from fossil fuels.

In the 1990s, after losing its Soviet suppliers, the plant was modernized with technological assistance from French companies to rehabilitate two of its 100 MW units and make it operate with domestic crude oil, to avoid importing fuel. The name of the French company and the cost of the operation have never been disclosed.

Although the total capacity of the Antonio Maceo plant has not been reached for decades due to a lack of resources for maintenance and repair, it is still considered essential for sustaining the national grid in the eastern region of the country.

The plant’s general director, Jesús Aguilar Hernández, admits that the passage of time has made it impossible to contribute the 500 MW the plant provided in its best years: “with Units 3, 5, and 6nat maximum capacity, only 285 MW can be reached.” These are the same units currently out of service, according to UNE’s report.

According to Ecured, since 2023 the only operational units at Renté have been 3, 5, and 6, as Unit 1 was retired and Unit 4 was temporarily taken offline.

In statements to Granma, Aguilar boasts that before 1959 “the country was barely electrified,” an ironic reminder in the face of prolonged daily blackouts in today’s Cuba, and that it is a “privilege” for the plant to reach 60 years of operation.

“It constitutes a challenge left to us by previous generations and one we must pass on to future ones,” Aguilar boasts, suggesting the plant’s continued operation, and adds: “More than the equipment, what endures is the quality of its workforce.”

Faced with fuel shortages, lack of spare parts, and frozen imports, Aguilar insists that they “expect nothing from abroad, when solutions can be generated here,” adding, almost as if they were oil alchemists with psychic powers, “The slogan is not only to operate, but to create everything possible, because ingenuity is the main fuel.”

Due to the lack of parts, workers themselves are forced to improvise replacements

Regarding Units 5 and 6, which are currently offline with 5 broken and 6 under maintenance, Ángel Fabars Borlot, electromechanical chief at the Power Plant Maintenance Company (Emce), admits: “Unit 6 is slated for an extended repair, and in Unit 5 we had to deal with a failure in the generator’s hydrogen seals.”

“These are extremely complex tasks because these are enormous machines. The smallest part weighs tons, and tolerances are measured in millimeters,” Fabars Borlot confesses, without explaining how ingenuity will solve such problems.

Given the lack of parts, workers themselves are forced to improvise them. Eduardo Morales García, head of the machining workshop and soon to receive a medal for 40 years of service explains: “When a job comes in, we have to make almost everything: the cutting tool, the bar, the material, even the hacksaw blade to cut the pipes.”

Morales cites as an example the manufacturing of shafts for the water pumps of Unit 5, “a part that used to come from Russia, but we were tasked with making it here.”

Mayra CcCalle Irsula, an industrial maintenance specialist at Renté, an engineer who has dedicated more than 35 years of her life to the plant, stated that the main conditions to “guarantee continuity in generation” are remote work and telework, when possible, and consolidating “operators, kitchen staff, security, and technicians into a single transport system.” She did not explain, however, that these are measures ordered by the Ministry of Labor to avoid layoffs in state companies, due to the unprecedented crisis facing the country, aggravated by the U.S. oil embargo.

Fuel shortages not only shut down machines; they also paralyze transportation, disrupt shifts, and put operations at risk. The lack of personnel, due to transportation problems, slows processes. “The response is slower because we don’t have the necessary number of people,” admits the Emce electromechanical chief.

Maximiliano Guisande Agüero, head of Dynamic Equipment with 56 years at Renté and leader of the repair of the damaged Unit 5, says he is trying to attract and retain young workers through agreements with pre-university schools, polytechnics, and the University of Oriente, involving students in internships and training. This strategy, he says, could help address staff shortages, although for now the results remain uncertain.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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

It is not the only inconvenience, because the forestry company needs energy to saw wood, which causes delays. “But this issue has been handled with considerable responsibility,” he says, without further explanation. “Today we have about 30 sarcophagi in reserve, not counting the daily production that continues to come out,” he reassures.

During the pandemic, the shortage of materials led to diversification of production in very different ways. One of the most striking was the proliferation of white coffins, due to the lack of black fabric, as several funeral home employees in different parts of the Island told this newspaper.

The state Communal Services company had to look for all kinds of products, including wood and cardboard or fabric covering, causing distress among relatives at such a delicate moment. “It was a frame of poor-quality wood, covered in fabric, and the base was very thin cardboard; we were afraid the body would fall out,” said the sister of a deceased person at the time. “As soon as they lowered it into the grave, it opened at one corner; it was a terrible sight.”

The situation led to seeking solutions such as negotiating with a Mexican company, Industrias VEQ, to purchase eco-coffins, which are produced at a much lower price than traditional wooden ones. “With national investment and raw material derived from Tetra Pak products such as milk, juices, and purée, the EcoCoffin is already on the national market, and the entrepreneurs have begun talks with funeral business operators in Cuba, Honduras, and Guatemala for export in the coming months,” one of its executives told the local press.

Last year, with the surge in arbovirosis infections, shortages once again took their toll in death. The lack of hearses, already a very scarce asset on the Island, meant that transport from state companies had to be used to move the deceased, leaving grieving relatives following vehicles from the state telecommunications company Etecsa — which were put into service as hearses — an image as striking as it was painful.

Last December, President Miguel Díaz-Canel presented the new electric vehicles for funeral services, announced last July by the Minister of Transport, Eduardo Rodríguez Dávila, who specified that the Government planned to acquire at least 120 units. Of these, 50 were to be for Havana and 50 for five other provinces: 20 to Santiago de Cuba, 10 to Holguín, allocations to Camagüey, and five each to Villa Clara and Ciego de Ávila.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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

In addition to donations, China has invested in Cuba. The company Shanghai Electric has contributed about $60 million to the Mariel solar park, which has 62 MW and is the Island’s first private project through a partnership with the British firm Hive Energy.

Giles Redpath, its chief executive, highlights the effectiveness of the park, which provides up to 10% of renewable electricity in Cuba. “It is a very important part of the Cuban electrical grid, and right now I’m sure it is their cheapest source of electricity,” he says. But his words also reflect the Island’s usual problems, which are why almost no one wants to invest there.

“The only problem, from our perspective, is that they are not very good at paying. Or, to be more precise, they are very good at depositing money into a Cuban bank account, but then the money cannot be taken out of Cuba.” Hive says it has tried to sell the project, “but obviously, it is difficult to sell a project that has not been paid for.”

“Cuba, as an island, could function entirely on renewable energy. They have achieved fantastic results in solar energy and have good wind resources,” Redpath insists. “They just need to fix the economic problems and the international payments system, and then investment would arrive en masse.”

The FT notes that Chinese and Vietnamese donations of solar panels also include kits for homes, schools, and hospitals, but prices, as this newspaper has reported along with other independent Cuban outlets, are very high. In addition, the official press itself has indicated on more than one occasion that even the loans promoted by the Central Bank do nothing.

“They just need to fix the economic problems and the international payments system, and then investment would arrive en masse”

Ricardo Torres, a Cuban energy expert at American University in Washington, values the significant progress of photovoltaic energy on the Island, but also notes that it represents “a growing portion of a [electricity generation] pie that is getting smaller and smaller. The proportion is magnified by the contraction in other sources,” he points out.

The report is blunt. “Not even the dizzying increase in solar energy imports can offer a quick solution for an economy that 40 years ago was the world’s leading sugar exporter but is now in ruins,” it says.

The same is recalled by University of Texas expert Jorge Piñón, who told the Financial Times that although “every small effort helps, this is a temporary solution, not the ‘engine’ that Cuba needs to emerge from the ‘stone age’ of electricity generation and face the challenge of real economic growth in the 21st century.”

Although the program Cuadrando la Caja has been much more optimistic than all this, they could not avoid acknowledging that Cuba, despite the much-touted efforts to change the energy matrix since 2014, which have existed only on paper for almost 10 years, remains far behind the regional average. The Island, where the contribution has barely reached 10%, is far from the global average of 30%, and light-years away from the 71% that Latin America already had in 2025.

Hydropower has the largest share in the region, according to data from Americas Market Intelligence, with 51.3% in 2022, although wind and solar were already rising rapidly in Chile, Brazil, and Mexico.The leading country in the area is Brazil, which already had 89% renewables three years ago, followed by Colombia (75%) and Chile (55%).

In addition, a 2025 report by the Latin American Energy Organization (Olade) noted that nine countries exceeded the regional average index of 71%, with Paraguay and Costa Rica at 100%, followed by Uruguay (98%), Brazil (95%), Venezuela (92%), Colombia (91%), Ecuador (90%), Belize (77%), and Panama (71%).

Bioenergy, which is also a rapidly growing energy source on the continent, is at risk in Cuba, where the collapse of the sugar harvest is also dragging down the country’s main plant: the Ciro Redondo Bioelectric Plant.

Translated by Regina Anavy
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The province of Granma, once among the elite rice-producing regions, plans to plant 41,000 hectares of this cereal, out of the 200,000 planned nationwide, but the data does not inspire optimism, as the same official cast doubt on this goal.

Since its inception, the Sembrando Vida project, to which Mexico initially allocated $63.5 million to implement it in El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Haiti, Belize, and Cuba, has faced criticism. According to the information platform Connectas, it shows “the discretionary expulsion of beneficiaries, a lack of transparency in the management of farmers’ savings, and delays in investigations reporting its mismanagement.”

The launch of the first phase on the Island took place in July 2023. A group of farmers received a package with scissors and boots. Felicia Mesa Pérez, one of the beneficiaries, said they were also offered “machinery, chemicals, and grain and vegetable seeds,” without specifying dates.

In December of that same year, the project donated half a dozen tractors to Cuba and inaugurated two nurseries for fruit and timber trees in the municipalities of Artemisa and Mayabeque. The project focused on curbing irregular migration through the implementation of social programs in the Northern Triangle of Central America, made up of Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Cuba, and Belize.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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

In the 1980s, he joined the Havana Musical Theater, where he was remembered for performances in productions such as Maestra vida, Pedro Navaja, and El caballero de Pogolotti, a role for which he received the Best Theater Actor award from the National Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba (UNEAC) in 1987.

In film, Losada debuted in Soy Cuba (1964), directed by Mikhail Kalatozov, followed by titles such as No hay sábado sin sol (1980), Techo de vidrio (1981), and the censored Alicia en el pueblo de Maravillas (1991), among many others.

Despite these difficulties, he tried to remain active: at age 90, he appeared on television in the soap opera ‘Renacer’

On Cuban television, his charisma made him a beloved figure, with roles in productions such as Los abuelos se rebelan, Los papaloteros, and SOS Divorcio.

He was also recognized in Cuba with the Pequeña Pantalla Award (2020) and the Caricato Award (2019).

The digital platform CubaActores mourned his passing and recalled that this year he had been awarded the Maestro de Generaciones Prize, “a recognition that sums up his legacy: actor, mentor, teacher, and a key figure in the history of Cuban acting.”

In his final years, Losada depended on the solidarity of friends to obtain food, medication, blood donations, and basic equipment needed for his care. His health condition had been a source of ongoing concern among colleagues and followers. Despite these difficulties, he tried to remain active: upon turning 90, he participated in the television soap opera Renacer.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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