Translator: Regina Anavy – Page 24

Cuba: A Missing Young Man is Found Dead in Mayari, Holguin

Several relatives shared photos of the young man on social networks to facilitate the search. (Facebook/Alejandro Ramírez)

14ymedio, Havana, 28 December 2023 — This Thursday, the lifeless body of 25-year-old Eugenio García, who had been missing since last Tuesday in the municipality of Mayarí, province of Holguín, was found. The young man had left his house last Tuesday, taking 1,300,000 pesos with him to buy foreign currency in the informal market.

The journalist Mario J. Pentón, a resident of Miami, confirmed with family sources that the young man had been found dead. The reporter shared some images in which dozens of people are seen around the area where García’s body was found.

“He was under a bridge, as confirmed by the family,” adds Pentón, who was in contact with García’s sister. “He was beaten to death,” the relatives said, although the police authorities of the municipality have not yet pronounced on his initial disappearance or the discovery of the young man’s body.

Previously, in a video, filmed on Wednesday night, dozens of people were seen organizing to search in different parts of the area. “We’re going down, continue reading

in the alley, there, we’re going to look,” was heard in several voices. “Perhaps near the ice cream factory,” says another about where they should search.

For her part, the young man’s sister also released a video thanking the neighbors of Mayarí: “Thanks to the Mayari people, many people have gone into the street. More than a hundred people are helping us look for him.”

The young woman, who recorded the video “outside the police station” then pressed the officers to get dogs and do their job to find him. “I don’t see the police doing anything, I don’t see a breakthrough, I don’t see an answer,” she said with pain.

“It can’t be that the people are doing the job of the police,” the woman stressed. “They have come to support us, looking in the rivers and everywhere”

“It can’t be that the people are doing the job of the police,” the woman stressed. “They have come to support us, looking in the rivers and everywhere. I’m calling the Minint [Ministry of the Interior], the firefighters. What are they waiting for? For him to show up dead? We are wasting time.”

Pentón also reported that the police had arrested a suspect and published a series of messages, sent through Facebook Messenger, which the person in custody exchanged with García on the day of his disappearance to coordinate the informal transaction. The young man wanted to buy $4,000 to, among other things, celebrate his nephew’s birthday.

The suspect urged García to meet him at 8:00 pm on Tuesday, in an area known as Arroyo Hondo, a community belonging to the popular council of Chavaleta in the municipality of Mayarí.

Cases of missing persons are becoming more frequent in Cuba. Social networks have become a loudspeaker for families to report the absence of elderly people who, senile, walk away from their homes; women who, after going out, do not return home and people who left on their motorcycle or with large amounts of money and never return.

In 2022, the case of the murder of Santiago Morgado in Sancti Spíritus shook national public opinion. The teacher was killed with a stick and a stone to steal his vehicle. The attackers also used two pieces of agricultural machinery to submerge the teacher’s body in a well that was 10 feet deep. Subsequently, they sold the motorcycle for 200,000 pesos.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Manzanillo Cuba Is Without Water, With a Deteriorated Aqueduct and a Single Water Truck That Circulates Through Its Streets

If the water truck is not sent by Communal Services but must be paid for by the families themselves, it is not uncommon for a single 55-gallon tank to cost 400 pesos. (14ymedio)

14ymedio, Juan Matos, Manzanillo (Granma province) | December 27, 2023 — When the families of Manzanillo, in the province of Granma, see a water truck parked on the corner of any neighborhood, the line takes only a few minutes to form. With a sudden drought, which compromises all the lines of production and daily life, arriving first – gallon container or bucket in hand – is not a matter of well-being or comfort, but of survival.

Even the streets of Manzanillo are eloquent about the water shortage. Dusty and yellow, when a pipa [water truck] spills a little water on the pavement, the dogs rush to lap up the liquid. If the water truck is not sent by Communal Services but must be paid by the families themselves, it is not uncommon for a single 55-gallon tank to cost 400 pesos*. At the end of the day, the business owner makes a good profit, and demand is increasing.

The lack of supply is inversely proportional to the price of products in the municipality, especially when it comes to fruits and vegetables. In a province with many farmers, the scarcity of resources has skyrocketed the price of a pound of beans to 500 pesos, a pound of rice to 150 pesos and that of pork – for whose rearing and hygiene water is indispensable – to 450. The work that is done so that an arid and battered land bears fruit, say the farmers, is titanic, although it cannot be expressed in numbers. continue reading

Nature has also begun to take its toll on the people of Manzanillo, whose authorities have been neglecting the province’s hydraulic infrastructure for decades. Last April, as a desperate measure to achieve the “sanitation” of dry areas such as Manzanillo, Deputy Prime Minister Inés María Chapman accepted from the hands of the Chinese ambassador to Havana, Ma Hui, a donation of 449 pieces of aqueduct and sewer system equipment.

Although the equipment – whose cost was 27.8 million dollars – was destined for the entire Island, the municipality of Granma topped the list of potential beneficiaries of the project, which included 93 water trucks, 60 unclogging trucks with high-pressure hoses and tools to repair leaks.

A pocos pasos de ahí, un tramo de acera en derrumbe da la medida de la insalubridad en el municipio y el estado de su red hidráulica. (14ymedio) — A few steps away, a section of collapsed sidewalk gives the measure of the unhealthiness in the municipality and the state of its hydraulic network. (14ymedio)

Of the formidable investment, as announced by the official media at the time, little actually reached Manzanillo, through whose avenues a single water truck was circulating this week. With hats and shirts – the sun of eastern Cuba does not give respite even in December – the neighbors get in line with wheelbarrows, jars and cans. Although there are young people in line, those who have the time and patience to wait their turn for several hours, often having traveled great distances, are the elderly, housewives and even children.

A few steps away, a collapsed stretch of sidewalk gives the measure of the unhealthiness in the municipality and the state of its hydraulic network. From a stagnant puddle full of garbage emerges, patched, one of the pipes that transport the town’s water, when there is some. The earth-colored liquid arrives in homes, and any precautions, such as boiling or chlorinating, are few.

Fainting or fatigue of the elderly who, poorly fed, carry a bucket to their homes is not uncommon. But there is no remedy: no one knows when the water truck will pass again, and they need to carry as much as possible. The free distribution points, opened by the Government in the vulnerable communities of Manzanillo, are not always supplied.

Although the entire Island faces the same problem of deterioration of its aqueducts and sewers, the east of the country has been especially affected by the drought. The province that has generated the most headlines has been Las Tunas, whose governor had to be held accountable last Friday to Parliament for the water crisis in municipalities that no longer know how to ask the Government for help.

The situation, according to the official press, has reached a “critical point,” in particular due to the extreme deterioration of pumping equipment. The local authorities, who depend on the “directions” from Havana, said that they could only make “patches” to the devices, which “can break at any time.”

Despair due to the lack of water reaches all parts of the eastern provinces, from the most populated cities such as Santiago de Cuba and Holguín, to the most humble hamlets of Guantánamo and Granma. Unable to solve the problem, the authorities call, of course, for “solidarity among neighbors”: “The situation is difficult, and no one can be certain. If you have a well, provide water to your neighbor, and if you have a cistern, save,” was the empty advice, of a manager of Aqueducts and Sewerage in Las Tunas.

*Translator’s note: Figures for December 2023: The minimum pension in Cuba stands at 1,528 pesos per month; that is, less than 60 euros, and the minimum wage at 2,100 (80 euros).

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Cuba Acquires 100 Ambulances To Improve the ‘Depressed Health Sector’

Some of the vehicles are from the German brand Mercedes-Benz and the rest from the Chinese brand Foton (Capture/Caribbean Channel)

14ymedio, Havana, 27 December 2023 — The Cuban authorities celebrated on Tuesday the import of 99 ambulances for “the gradual improvement of health services in the country.” The lot, with 50 new units and 49 in use, had an approximate value of four million dollars that was paid by the Government in full, clarified the ministers of Public Health, José Ángel Portal Miranda, and of Transport, Eduardo Rodríguez Dávila.

In a report made by Canal Caribe, officials avoided at all costs declaring the origin of the vehicles, but some of the Mercedes-Benz ambulances – presumably those in use – still had on their sides the name of their previous owner, the Valencian Community (Spain).

The second part of the lot is of the Chinese brand Foton, although it is not known if they were acquired directly in China or through a third country. Each province, including the municipality of Isla de la Juventud, will be assigned between three and four ambulances. continue reading

During the interview, the head of Transport highlighted the importance of the arrival of these vehicles, which will mostly be destined for emergency hospital services

During the interview, the head of Transport highlighted the importance of the arrival of these vehicles, which will mostly be destined for emergency hospital services, “at a time when the (Health) service is really depressed.” Rodríguez Dávila also pointed out that the vehicles are the first installment of a program that promises more lots.

For his part, Abel González Palmero, director of basic transport services at the Ministry of Public Health, acknowledged that the ambulances received “do not cover the needs of the provinces,” but softened the comment explaining that this is “a step forward” for the country.

The company in charge of managing the imports, as well as maintaining second-hand vehicles before the new ones are put into service, is MCV Comercial, a joint entity between the Ministry of Transport and Mercedes-Benz.

The manager of the company in Cuba, Ayman Makran, explained to the official channel that MCV will be in charge of checking the vehicles before incorporating them into the national fleet. “If any tire is worn, you have to change it; if any battery is old, you have to change it. We also need to incorporate more ambulances into the fleet, since it is aged,” the businessman said.

Established in 1995, MCV Comercial has been one of the arms of the regime to acquire vehicles abroad. In addition to the Mercedes-Benz brand, which is part of the joint venture, the company also imports the German cars Fuso; the Chinese Foton; Randon, Moura and Stemac from Brazil; Himoinsa and Lucas Diesel from Spain; and ZF and Voith, from Mercedes-Benz.

In addition, MCV has introduced equipment of the German brand MTU in Cuba, used in electricity generation and in industrial, maritime, rail, mining, construction and agriculture systems.

The company also has numerous Mercedes-Benz dealers on the Island, being the only one authorized to sell this brand, and some thirty workshops to repair the vehicles.

In its virtual store there are supplies available for the repair of the body, paints and tools

In its virtual store there are supplies available for the repair of the body, paints and tools. However, the products can hardly be purchased by Cubans, since they are charged in US dollars and at stratospheric prices.

It is not the first time this year that the Government has acquired ambulances. Last September, the official press announced a donation of four of these vehicles from Italy. However, the number of vehicles never seems to be enough to meet the demand of the health institutions, as the authorities of the sector themselves have admitted.

This December, vehicles were imported from Miami through the company Maravana Cargo, founded by the Cuban-American Alejandro Martínez with a license from the U.S. Treasury Department for the shipment of packages, appliances and other goods, without suffering sanctions.

The price for importing cars to the Island is determined by the regime itself, and so far it ranges between $20,000 and $56,000, depending on the model, year of manufacture and other variables. Much of this value remains in the hands of the Government, while Maravana retains an average of $8,000 per exported vehicle, which covers transport costs, insurance and the procedures.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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The Body of a Cuban Who Drowned in His Attempt To Reach the United States is Recovered

The body of the Cuban Alejandro Díaz Albert was recovered by firefighters from the city of Brownsville (Texas). (Screen capture)

14ymedio, Havana, December 27, 2023 — On Monday, firefighters from the city of Brownsville (Texas) recovered the body of Cuban Alejandro Díaz Albert, 28, who drowned while trying to cross the Rio Grande to reach the United States. The rescue coordinator, Francisco Ponce Lara, told 14ymedio that the migrant had been reported missing by people who accompanied him.

The journalist Mario J. Pentón had been informed by one of the Cubans who accompanied Díaz Albert of his disappearance when he jumped into the river to try to hide from the U.S. Border Patrol. “When we were on the road to the river, the police on the U.S. side put their flashlights on us,” a woman said in an audio shared by the Pentón on his YouTube channel. “They began to speak in English, warning us that a migration van was coming for us from Saltillo (Coahuila) Mexico.

As she told Pentón, “they had to go down a ravine” to jump into the river. “At that moment it was everyone for himself.” Díaz Albert, “apparently didn’t know how to swim and sank.” continue reading

According to the rescue coordinator, the young man’s body was identified thanks to the papers he brought with him

According to the rescue coordinator, the young man’s body was identified thanks to the papers he brought with him. “The authorities are in charge of contacting the family, but I don’t know if contact has been made.”

Díaz Albert left behind a wife, a one-year-old daughter, his parents and his grandmother in Cuba. Pentón, who works for América TeVé, mentioned that the options for the family are the possibility of a humanitarian visa “so that some of them can come to the funeral and say goodbye.” However, “this procedure is carried out through local congressmen; for example, his parents or his wife could come.”

The other option, Pentón said, is to “cremate the body and send the ashes to Cuba,” a situation that the family is considering.

The rescue coordinator, Francisco Ponce, said that after recovering the body of the Cuban migrant, the authorities found another person dead on the banks of the Rio Grande at the junction of Tamaulipas Avenue and the Republic of Cuba.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Leptospirosis Skyrockets in Cuba, the Country of Rats and Mountains of Garbage

The insalubrity of Cuban cities is the main cause of disease, say citizens. (14ymedio)

14ymedio, Havana, December 26, 2023 — Cases of leptospirosis are increasing, the health authorities of Guantánamo announced on Monday, after informing the official press that this year 44 people are suspected of having contracted the disease, 12 more than those counted in 2022. So far, they acknowledged, two deaths have been reported in the municipalities of Imías and Maisí.

In addition, the municipalities with the highest incidence of leptospirosis in the province are Baracoa, Maisí, Guantánamo and Yateras, the local newspaper Venceremos reported. Mileidys Gómez, head of the Zoonosis program of the Provincial Directorate of Hygiene, Epidemiology and Microbiology, told the media that many of the people who are infected end up suffering serious symptoms because they do not immediately go to the doctor.

However, Yamilé, a 45-year-old woman from Havana interviewed by 14ymedio, says that the official is not telling the truth about the sick people. A few months ago, she says, she went to the hospital because she suspected that she had contracted the disease. “The first thing they told me was that if I had leptospirosis I would have to rest and drink a lot of water, because there were no medicines,” says Yamilé, while questioning why the authorities insist that “it is people’s fault for not going to hospitals if there is not even anything to treat them with.” continue reading

After being scared in the hospital, where they finally told me that it was not leptospirosis that I had, I decided to ’harvest’ the rats

The truth, she explains, is that “these diseases, such as leptospirosis, dengue or cholera arise from the poor hygiene of Cuban cities, where garbage piles up in any corner and rots there for days.” This, she adds, happens not only in Havana, but in any part of the country where “the same unhealthy situation exists.”

“After being scared in the hospital, where they finally told me that I didn’t have leptospirosis, I decided to ’harvest’ the rats that got into my house on the street or in the neighboring courtyards,” says the woman. “The first day I bought the traps, seven little rats were trapped. They had my yard full of tunnels to go from one house to another.”

“It’s just that with the level of dirt in this country, it’s no wonder. Rats must be partying. Our building is surrounded by four huge garbage dumps that are about to shake hands and close the circle,” she continues. “There are side streets where Communal Services sometimes take weeks to collect the garbage, and in the meantime, the plagues of cockroaches and rodents begin to infest the houses. The sellers of traps and poisons are going to get rich,” she says.

Yamilé has another concern, which is that for months she has not seen anyone selling poison or traps. “Before there were some old men who sold syringes with liquids to kill rats or balls of poison. Now you have to buy everything from [the classifieds website] Revolico. For example, a set of three strips of rubberized cardboard to treat rodents costs more than 2,000 pesos. Almost no one can afford this, because they need the money to eat,” she explains.

According to the habanera, by simply having adequate hygiene the Cuban neighborhoods could get rid of the plague of rats, but this is not possible either, since the mountains of garbage are added to the lack of cleaning products. “Even domestic animals end up sick,” she says.

“Most end up dying, because if there is no medicine for people, imagine for animals”

“A couple of months ago, my neighbor’s dog contracted leptospirosis, and in the veterinary clinic itself a worker told her that cases of this disease have increased a lot lately among pets. Most end up dying because, if there is no medicine for people, imagine for animals,” Yamilé says. The vaccine against leptospirosis in dogs is barely found in the country’s veterinary offices, and its price in the informal market is high, so many pet owners rule out immunizing them.

Far from the cities, in the fields and food warehouses, the plague of rats is also a pressing problem. This was recognized by the authorities of Guantánamo, who revealed that many of the cases of leptospirosis in the province were contracted while carrying out “agricultural work on moist land highly infested with rodents” that already carry the disease and transmit it through urine or other secretions.

“The lack of rat poison, the breeding of animals in urban communities without hygienic conditions and the non-use of means of protection for those permanently exposed” are other causes of the high rate of infection, Venceremos said.

Unfortunately, “the deficit of antileptospirotic vaccines” and the “low perception of the population in the face of risk conditions and the appearance of symptoms” make it impossible for the Health and Epidemiology system to treat in time or prevent the increase in cases, the health authorities acknowledged.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Two Prospects and a Former Baseball Player Leave Cuba To Try Their Luck in the United States and the Dominican Republic

Robier Hernández won the silver medal in the Under-15 World Cup in 2022. (X/@francysromeroFR)

14ymedio, Havana, 26 December 2023 — Sixteen-year-old Cuban pitcher Robier Hernández arrived in the Dominican Republic, in the middle of the Christmas Eve celebration, with the aim of being recruited by a team from the American Major Leagues. Days earlier it was known that retired baseball player Danger Guerrero had traveled to the United States with his 9-year-old son, who was part of the Cuban national team in the 9-10 pre-world tournament in Culiacán (Mexico), in search of sports opportunities for both of them.

The departure of both prospects and Guerrero, who has participated in 17 national series – and could, consequently, be an excellent coach – is eloquent about the reality of Cuban baseball: the stampede not only of professional players, but also of the relievers.

Hernández, baseball journalist Francys Romero reported, stood out in Cuba as an opening pitcher, has a good arm and is able to throw a straight at 90 miles per hour. With him, there are 17 players his age who left Cuba this year. Romero says it’s an alarming figure, since it represents 85% of the generational base that would relieve the current players of the different national teams of the Island.

For his part, Guerrero – the father – was part of the Havana and Mayabeque teams. In his statistics are 2,944 turns at bat, 821 hits, a batting average of .279 and 59 home runs. For his son, the stay in the United States will allow continue reading

him to develop his game and be seen by the headhunters who are responsible for recruiting young players for the Major Leagues from their own schools.

Danger Guerrero al lado de su hijo, ambos ya se encuentran en EE UU. (Facebook/Francys Romero) — Danger Guerrero with his son, both of them now in the United States. (Facebook/Francys Romero)

One figure gives the measure of the disaster facing the country: of the young people who represented Cuba in the U-15 World Cup, held in Mexico in 2022, only three players remain on the Island: Yordan Rodríguez, Yaidel Ruíz and Maikol Rodríguez.

Romero lists those who have left: Alejandro Cruz, Alex Santiago, Pedro Danguillecourt, Jaider Suárez, Dulieski Ferrán, Ernest Machado, Yosniel Menéndez, Roberto Peña, Segian Pérez, Alejandro Prieto, Danel Reyes, Ronald Terrero, Jonathan Valle, Yunior Villavicencio, Cristian Zamora and Mailon Batista.

“Those numbers show the state of despair of young players and their families,” the communicator stressed. “The Cuban State has not been able to provide a future for its citizens. Therefore, the response to this prolonged failure of the system has been the exodus,” he added.

The attempts of the Cuban Baseball Federation to retain young athletes have failed. In September, it organized the first international tryout with talent scouts at the Latin American Stadium in Havana. Representatives of Japan, South Korea, Dominican Republic and Ecuador observed 80 players, but there was little interest in them.

Although it has not acknowledge it, the Federation wants the talent scouts of professional leagues in Latin America – mainly from Mexico – and Asia to recruit their baseball players. In return, they take a percentage of the agreement if it is finalized.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Florida International University Suspends the Hiring of Researchers From Six ‘Worrisome Countries’ Including Cuba

The Cuban Research Institute (CRI) could be one of the departments affected, according to the local press. (FIU)

14ymedio, Madrid, 25 December 2023 — Cuban researchers will not be able to work for Florida International University (FIU), which has decided to pause, immediately, the hiring of citizens of six countries considered “worrisome” by the government of that state, according to an email obtained by the WLRN radio station. Cuba is accompanied on the list by Venezuela, China, Russia, Syria, Iran and North Korea.

According to WLRN on Tuesday 19, Andrés Gil, Vice President of Research for the university and Dean of its graduate school wrote to the deans, department heads, directors of postgraduate programs and people involved in human resources that, due to the new laws announced in the state, it is necessary to “immediately pause any job offer or attempted hiring” that involves individuals from the “worrisome countries.”

Any offer that has been made and any active recruitment must be stopped until we have good control over the process

“Any offer that has been made and any active recruitment must be stopped until we have good control over the process, so that it is communicated properly to the candidates and is specifically indicated in our letters,” the text points out.

One of the affected departments, according to the local press, could be the Cuban Research Institute (CRI) of FIU, which works closely with Cuban – and Venezuelan – opponents for events, scholarships, programs, courses and all kinds of collaborations in which there may be vacancies if the continue reading

situation is prolonged. “Unpaid research fellows” are also affected by the rule, a situation in which many Cubans find themselves. There are also a multitude of Chinese researchers hired during their postgraduate studies affected by this standard.

Governor Ron DeSantis has approved several rules that affect higher education during 2023. Among them, this rule has the objective of “combating those who try to infiltrate the American university system from countries of concern,” although there may be “exemptions” that must be examined on a case-by-case basis to move forward with hiring.

Gil, who fears that the measures will decapitalize the university, specifies in his email that the university is not the “final approval body” of the candidates, something that falls to the Board of Governors of the state, whose members are appointed by DeSantis as are other FIU positions in turn. “The process for each candidate will take several months, and we cannot guarantee any employment or position for individuals from countries of interest,” he adds.

“The directors of postgraduate programs and deans will receive instructions on what to communicate in relation to this process to newly admitted graduate students and/or others potentially interested in obtaining a postgraduate assistant. Human Resources and Academic Affairs will communicate to the deans and staff of Human Resources the impact for those employees who were currently in an incorporation process,” he says.

The media of the Sunshine State have not provided further clarification since they had access to FIU, which has been more restrained than the University of Florida (UF), in Gainesville, about the consequences of this measure.

More than 300 professors from the University of Florida have protested against a rule that, in their opinion, prevents them from recruiting the best students for the sole reason of their nationality, according to Science magazine.

Teachers made public a letter stating that this law “could negatively influence the long-term development, reputation and leadership of UF”

Teachers made a public letter stating that this law “could negatively influence the long-term development, reputation and leadership of UF.”

“Restricting or even preventing the hiring of postgraduate, postdoctoral assistants and visiting professors from these countries would have a devastating impact on our graduate programs and research activities; in addition, it could negatively influence the long-term development, reputation and leadership of UF,” they explain.

Although the United States Department of State was already investigating foreigners before granting them study or investigation visas, Florida’s state rule requires an allegedly more conscientious process.

The law was approved this summer along with another regulation that restricts the purchase of housing by foreigners from the same countries in areas close to critical infrastructures, such as airports, ports or power plants.

Translated by Regina Anavy
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A Group of 13 Cubans Denounces Migration Agents and Thwarts an Attempted Extortion in Mexico

A Migration agent at the time of returning their passports to 13 Cubans. (Capture Facebook/Epicentre Chiapas RyTv Official)

14ymedio/EFE, Mexico, December 25, 2023 — “Do you want to continue? You must pay 1,500 Mexican pesos (88 dollars),” said a Migration agent who withheld the passports of 13 Cubans on Monday at the checkpoint located in the municipality of Viva México (Chiapas). According to Zuselmi García López, they were traveling to join the caravan that left Tapachula on the same day with more than 10,000 migrants.

García López told local media that the agents first said that they were going to give them transport to Tuxtla Gutiérrez and that there they would “do the legal papers to continue.” This is the method that the officers use to dissolve the caravans. They put the migrants on trucks and return them to Tapachula; others take them to the Siglo XXI immigration station where they are detained for days.

At Cubans’ insistence to recover their passports, another officer told them that Admiral Roberto González would give them their passports when the caravan arrived. García López insisted that they wanted to continue with the group led by Luis García Villagrán, director of the Center for Human Dignity. That’s when they were told that they had to pay if they wanted to get their passports back.

Before the caravan arrived at the checkpoint in Viva Mexico, the Cubans denounced the attempt at extortion before some media that were at the continue reading

scene. In front of the camera, García López accused Admiral González while recording the officers of the National Guard.

With the arrival of the caravan, García Villagrán used a loudspeaker to address Admiral Roberto González. “We asked for the passports to be returned to this group of Cubans. Why don’t you want to give them to them?” said the activist. Minutes later, the documents were returned to Zuselmi García López.

Another of the Cubans, who didn’t give his name, also denounced the Migration agents in Tapachula. (Facebook/Epicentro Chiapas RyTv Oficial)

According to Luis Rey García Villagrán, this caravan is the largest exodus of this year and could exceed 15,000 people who will walk for days to reach Mexico City as its first point. “We are leading this group, which has become a human traffic jam, and we tell the Mexican state that it leaves us no choice but to walk on the road until Migration and the president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, tell us yes or no.”

García Villagrán stressed that “today we, the poorest of the poor, are walking, those who are at the peak of need, those who do not have money to pay for visas or coyotes.”

The Venezuelan Jesús Silva, who is traveling with his wife, told EFE that in Ciudad Hidalgo the Migration agents took him to the Siglo XXI Migration station, where an officer told them to leave Mexico.

“Really the only option is to walk. I rely on the caravan, because that’s where we feel the safest, with Latino brothers who have left their countries with a new dream, with hope of a better life,” Silva shared.

The Honduran José Wilmer Fernández Caballero, who showed his “positive resolution” paper from COMAR, the Mexican Commission for Aid to Refugees, has tried to leave Chiapas, but the immigration authorities tell them that his paper is worth nothing and doesn’t work.

“It didn’t help to spend so much time in Tapachula; it was lost time. They always take me back. We have the positive resolution paper with us, but they always take me out of the van and tell me that it’s not worth anything,” he said.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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The Assembly of Filmmakers Challenges Censorship in Cuba

One of the debates of the Assembly of Filmmakers of Cuba. (Facebook)

14ymedio, Havana, 26 December 2023 — After perpetrating numerous acts of censorship against the works of several filmmakers at the beginning of the year, the Ministry of Culture topped it all off last June. The broadcast on Cuban Television of an unauthorized version of the documentary La Habana de Fito (Fito’s Havana), directed by Juan Pin Vilar, unleashed a swell of protests in the guild, which ended with the formation of the Assembly of Cuban Filmmakers (ACC).

The signing, by more than 600 filmmakers, of a letter condemning the actions of the authorities caused the regime to agree to meet “peacefully” with the filmmakers.

However, if on the side of the creators there were renowned figures such as the director Fernándo Pérez, the ministry could not be left behind. Alpidio Alonso and Fernando Rojas, minister and deputy minister of Culture, respectively, in addition to the first deputy minister Inés María Chapman and the head of the ideological department of the Communist Party, Rogelio Polanco, escorted Ramón Samada, then president of the Cuban Institute of Cinematographic Art and Industry (ICAIC), to the meeting with the filmmakers.

From the duel between bureaucrats and artists, unfortunately, not many solutions to the claims of the guild were born. On the contrary, the meeting only recalled the tension in the atmosphere and the intensity with which Samada demanded that the conversation not be recorded. Miguel Coyula, one of the directors present, turned a deaf ear and recorded, in audio and video, several of the official’s warnings: “No one was forbidden anything continue reading

here. Let’s not challenge ourselves.”

Ignoring the suspicion and official warnings, the filmmakers continued to meet, asking for the rehabilitation of the censored works and the emigrated filmmakers, consolidating their internal organization and demanding transparency.

When the Ministry of Culture finally dismissed Samada because he couldn’t “enlist” the filmmakers, they also protested. “Cuban cinema does not belong to a ministry or an institution. [The institutions] have to put themselves at the service of the artists and not the other way around,” they claimed.

Gradually, the public interventions of the ACC were diminishing while its ranks decreased. Several of the filmmakers who ended up forming the board of directors of the Assembly now live outside the Island. What seemed to be an advance of the world of culture against power was left in timid reproaches that, once again, stumbled against the wall of silence of the authorities.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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The Mythical Cuban Orchestra Los Van Van Presents the Album ‘Modo Van Van,’ Its First in 3 Years

The Los Van Van orchestra during a performance in Mexico City in May 2023. (14ymedio)

EFE (via 14ymedio), 23 December 2023 — This Friday in Havana the mythical and multi-award-winning Cuban orchestra Los Van Van presented its most recent album, Modo Van Van, its first album in three years, dedicated to its recently deceased bassist Juan Carlos Formell. This is the fourth album released by the orchestra – which in 2023 celebrated 54 years since its foundation. Los Van Van’s previous album was released in 2020 with the title Mi songo, a journey through the five decades of the orchestra.

Speaking at a press conference, Samuel Formell, director of the group and son of Juan Formell, the group’s founder, said that the work, with nine songs written and recorded by Juan Carlos Formell before his death in May, “was made for dancing, to enjoy, and is a gift for the world.” “(In all our songs) he will always be present,” said the current director, percussionist, arranger and composer of the group.

This is the fourth album released by the orchestra since the death of Juan Formell in 2014

The band, founded by composer and guitarist Juan Formell (1942-2014), is, despite the passage of time, the preference of several generations of Cuban dancers, who follow the musical proposals of a group nicknamed El tren de la música cubana. This year, Los Van Van did a tour of cities in Spain, Germany, the United States and Japan. continue reading

The band also confirmed its participation in the 40th edition of the National Salsa Day of Puerto Rico, to be celebrated on March 17.

Los Van Van has an extensive recording history that brings together more than 40 albums, many of them nominated and awarded, such as the Latin Grammy for the best salsa music album received in 2000 for its title Llegó Van Van.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Five Dead in an Accident With a Cupet Vehicle in the Cuban Province of Matanzas

According to the official press, the van lost control trying to dodge, unsuccessfully, a third passenger transport vehicle. (TV Yumurí)

14ymedio, Havana, December 23, 2023 — At least five people died and another 20 were injured after the collision between a bus and a van of the state-owned Unión Cuba-Petróleo (CUPET) on a road in the municipality of Limonar, in Matanzas province According to the official press, the van lost control trying to dodge, unsuccessfully, a third passenger transport vehicle.

The accident occurred on a curve between Limonar and another town, Caoba, and was witnessed by several residents in the area. The Girón newspaper reported, in its most recent article on the situation, that 13 of the 20 injured are under treatment at the Faustino Pérez de Matanzas hospital. Two of them, according to health personnel, present “danger to life”; another four suffer from “injuries that require immediate attention” – fractures and bruises – and another 7 have minor injuries.

The accident included a 10-year-old, injured and reported in serious condition. According to the directors of the Provincial Pediatric Hospital of Matanzas, the child is “on a ventilator, and a CT scan was performed to continue reading

continue treatment.”

Three of the five deceased died at the scene of the event, Lieutenant Colonel Eddys Estevez Rodríguez informed the official press

Three of the five deceased died at the scene of the event, Lieutenant Colonel Eddys Estevez Rodríguez, head of Matanzas Traffic, told the official press. The other three patients died in the hospital.

Cuba recorded a total of 6,965 traffic accidents between January and October of this year, an increase of 12.8% compared to those that occurred in the same period of 2022 (6,175), according to official data.

Among the main causes of the accidents are speeding, distractions and lack of respect for traffic rules, according to the head of the specialized traffic body of the General Directorate of the Police, Colonel Roberto Rodríguez.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Six Cuban Medalists Are Among the 77 Athletes Recorded as Leaving Cuba This Year

The grass hockey players Yunia Milanés, Jennifer Martínez, Yakira Guillén, Lismary González, Helec Carta and Geidy Morales stayed in Chile after the Pan-American Games. (EFE)

14ymedio, Havana, 23 December 2023 — Six medalists were part of the group of 77 athletes in international events who decided to break with Cuban sports in 2023. On the list, published by Cubalite, is Yoenlis Hernández Feliciano, double world champion in boxing in the 165-pound category. There is also the judoka Arnaes Odelín, winner in the 125-pound category at the Central American and Caribbean Games in San Salvador.

In addition Hangelen Llaanes, another gold medalist in the Salvadoran event, left the team’s training in Paris in September before traveling to Serbia. The escape of the habanera, who last year was distinguished as one of the most outstanding athletes in the discipline, left Cuba without the possibility of a medal in the 150-pound category in the Pan-Americans.

Ellemay Santa Miranda, with university studies in Physical Culture and Sports Sciences, stayed in Canada. (Facebook/Ellemay Santi Miranda)

Another of the blows that the regime received was the escape, in June, of the discus thrower Denia Caballero. The athlete broke relations with the Island after winning the silver medal at the Meeting Diputación de Castellón (Spain), with a throw of 207 feet. Journalist Francys Romero indicated that, since the beginning of this year, the Cuban Athletics Federation has “hindered” the athlete’s negotiations with Portugal.

In June, the bronze medalist at the Central American and Caribbean Games (Barranquilla 2018) and at the Pan American Games (Lima 2019), Arisleidy Márquez, escaped along with Yudisaday Rodríguez, Melisa Arias and Geidy Maceo. The athletes, handball representatives, left the training in France. continue reading

In addition, Yoao Illas Puentes, Pan-American bronze medalist in the 1,300-feet hurdles, took advantage of his stay in Chile last November to desert. The native of Bahía Honda, in the province of Pinar del Río, in April of this same year won the gold medal in the V ALBA Games (Venezuela) in the 4×1,300-feet test in mixed relay alongside Roxana Gómez, Lisneidy Veitía and Yoandys Lescay.

Hangelen Llanes was included by coach Filiberto Delgado in the team of 11 athletes who carried out their training in France in September. (Video/Jit capture)

In Chile, grass hockey players Yunia Milanés, Jennifer Martínez, Yakira Guillén, Lismary González, Helec Carta and Geidy Morales also fled. These athletes, according to journalist Francys Romero, “left the training … after completing the game for fifth place against Uruguay (3-0)” in the Pan-Americans. They were joined by handball representative Lidier Vergara.

In the same event, the blind swimmer Yunerki Ortega left the Pan-Americana Villa where the athletes were staying. “Passers-by helped him take a taxi to a service center near the National Stadium,” said T13 news in Chile.

The regime accepted in October that the desertions of athletes and coaches have affected Cuban sports, as recognized by the general director of High Performance of the National Institute of Sport, Physical Education and Recreation (INDER), José Antonio Miranda, speaking on State TV’s Round Table program.

The blind swimmer Yunerki Ortega left the Pan-American Village in Chile last November. (Jit)

Between 2022 and September of this year, 191 athletes broke their relationship with the sports authorities of the Island, the official said. As usual, according to the Cuban authorities, the main cause of the desertions is the American “blockade,” to which Miranda added the “complex economic scenario” that the country is going through.

The figures on the escapes of Cuban athletes are devastating. In January, the official weekly Trabajadores counted the abandonment of 862 athletes in a decade, of whom 635 were baseball players. By adding the recent data offered by INDER, there are now 1,053 athletes who have left the Island.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Las Tunas, an ‘Ungovernable’ Cuban Province Due to Corruption, Inflation and the Economic Debacle

Jaime Chiang, governor of the province, reported to Parliament this Friday. (Periódico 26)

14ymedio, Havana, 23 December 2023 — The governor of Las Tunas reported to Parliament this Friday that 2023 has been one of the most disastrous years for the province in economic, health and social matters. With a contrite face and a thick report in his hand, Jaime Chiang translated into numbers the alarming infant mortality rate, state corruption, inflation and crime.

But not everything has been the fault of his administration, the politician warned, but also of the “situation of ungovernability and disobedience in the population” caused by the “enemies of the Revolution,” also responsible for the blockade and the “energy contingency,” he insisted. Hence, Las Tunas will lack 1,481 million pesos to fulfill its total net sales plan in the first half of the year, which remained at 5,289 million.

There are 34 entities responsible, the report specifies, due to “lack of demand, rigor and responsibility on the part of some cadres.” Among the recurring problems are the “deficient management of collections, “the “chain of non-payments” and the “insufficient economic and financial administration.”

Las Tunas, in short, spent 185 million pesos more than the state budget allowed, about 3,511 million

Food insufficiency, whose production was neglected by the provincial government, was especially serious for raw sugar, rum for export, corn and beef. Chiang complained that all these products had to be guaranteed by the continue reading

province under “order of the State,” and they couldn’t be. The production of another 99 “articles” also failed, almost all linked to the food industry and many to construction.

Las Tunas, in short, spent 185 million pesos more than the state budget allowed, about 3,511 million. Once again, Chiang was able to point out the specific culprits of the spending: the municipalities of Las Tunas, Puerto Padre, Manatí, Jesús Menéndez and Amancio. Forty-eight “disciplinary measures” were also applied, including three dismissals and multiple fines and warnings.

But it is in Public Health where the outlook is most worrying. The province’s infant mortality rate in 2023 was 7.83 per 1,000 live births, which represents an increase over the previous year, when a rate of 6.96 per 1,000 children was recorded. The cause of death in 73% of the cases was low birth weight.

As for health and education, Chiang was more vague and said that he hoped that next year 85 percent of teaching activities would have a “good” level, although for that a lot of “improvement” is needed.

Transport, another of the sectors in crisis, met only 37% of its plan. Of the more than 13 million “passengers to be transported” in the province during 2022, only 4.92 million were moved. The situation did not change in the first half of 2023, even with the modest target of 6 million: they only transported 2,495 million, not only because of the shortage of fuel but also “because of the lack of batteries and tires.” The domino effect was felt in the distribution of the basic family basket, especially in those areas of the province where people have to go by rail or boat.

But Las Tunas has won the title this year for being “the driest province in the country.” About 16 communities, which total 9,640 inhabitants according to the official report, are still without water, and when they receive it, it’s only thanks to the Communal Services watertrucks. Chiang did not say if the provincial government will take measures, next year, to resolve the situation once and for all.

About 16 communities, which total 9,640 inhabitants according to the official report, are still without water, and when they receive it, it’s only thanks to the Communal Services water trucks

More than 20,300 homes in the province are in poor condition, 10 percent of the province’s constructions, the report continues. In the 41 vulnerable neighborhoods registered, 829 families live in a situation that the State considers precarious. Here, once again, the provincial government apologizes but accuses the pandemic and the “insufficient supply of materials” available. “The main causes of non-compliance with the plan were the lack of cement, steel, finishing elements, sand and other dry materials, flooring and wood,” he added.

The one success in Las Tunas – as in the whole island – is in the “confrontation of crime,” which has proven to be a gold mine for the state coffers. About 8,488 “control actions” to collect overdue fines and detect financial irregularities contributed to raising 15,531 million pesos. But at this point Chiang could not claim victory either: “Despite the increase in all the indices of confrontation and imposition of fines, the directives have not been effective.”

Translated by Regina Anavy

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Barely 50 Percent of Public Transport Operates in Santiago de Cuba

Articulated buses cover the most popular routes in the city. (Sierra Maestra)

14ymedio, Havana, 18 December 2023 — Only half of the public transport vehicles operate in Santiago de Cuba, mainly because of lack of fuel, according to the official newspaper Sierra Maestra, as reported by Yariannis Carrión, a specialist of the Provincial Transport Company.

The situation, however, is not recent. Last June, the same newspaper reported that only half of the vehicles were providing service due to a lack of spare parts, resources and fuel. The authorities, for their part, only succeed in putting pressure on state companies to use their own buses for their workers to transport passengers.

The article also explains that in December only five buses of the main routes are in operation – half of those available in the province – and of the Diana buses, of Chinese manufacture and assembled in Cuba, barely 18 out of a total of 36 are operational.

The local government also asked the inspectors – previously known as “yellows” and now called “blues” – to contribute to flagging down cars to pick up riders

The local government also asked the inspectors – previously known as “yellows” and now called “blues” – to contribute to flagging down the cars of state companies to collaborate in the transport of people. However, the authorities have pointed out that the drivers, on many occasions, ignore the signal to stop or lie about their final destination. continue reading

“All companies, whether Transport or not, have rented vehicles, and it’s expected that by 2024 this figure will increase and the fuel situation will improve,” Carrión added, although he did not offer any explanation about how much the costs of this type of transport have risen.

Traditionally in Santiago de Cuba, motorcycles have been a palliative to the critical situation of urban transport. However, the cost of spare parts and gasoline on the black market have raised the price of tickets to 100 pesos in short sections. For slightly longer distances, such as the 3.7 miles that separate Ferreiro Park from the town of El Caney, the price is around 300 pesos, always up to the driver.

On the other hand, the well-known pisicorres (old cars adapted to transport passengers), have prices established at 20 pesos, but the drivers try to circumvent the limit, increasing the rate to 50 pesos if there are no inspectors in sight.

This September, the local newspaper Escambray acknowledged that both rural and interurban routes were paralyzed in Sancti Spíritus

In other provinces the situation is similar. This September, the local newspaper Escambray acknowledged that both rural and interurban routes were paralyzed in Sancti Spíritus, and that there were hardly any buses in the provincial capital.

There have also been readjustments in Holguín. Speaking to the official newspaper Ahora!, Wilmer García Ramírez, director of the Transport Company in the province, said that the 21 routes that exist in the city remain operational, “but with fewer cars,” which reduces the frequency during the day.

Last February, the Minister of Transport, Eduardo Rodríguez Dávila, announced on State TV’s Round Table program that the Island was facing one of the worst moments of public transport in recent years.

Rodríguez Dávila explained that the Government does not have foreign currency to repair the means of transport: “It takes between 40 and 45 million dollars to maintain passenger transport services, not counting the money needed for new investments, and those figures cannot be guaranteed.”

In addition, the official admitted that to the difficulties in obtaining gasoline and oil is added the ruinous state of the roads throughout the country, which contributes to the rapid deterioration of the vehicles.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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