Translator: Regina Anavy – Page 33

The Mountain of Garbage Around a Church in Matanzas Reaches Levels of Heresy

“The Community Services Company has left all this dirt on purpose,” complains a member from the parish of San Pedro Apóstol.

Passing bystanders try to avoid getting their shoes dirty and take small jumps to dodge the water. / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Julio César Contreras, Matanzas, July 13, 2025 — “May the Lord protect us from so much garbage.” The phrase, pronounced by an elderly man who raises his gaze to the bell tower of the parish of San Pedro Apóstol, summarizes the concern about the debris that accumulates next to this church in Matanzas. The panorama is repeated throughout the city, but the mountain of waste reaches levels of heresy around the majestic building.

“I come to mass every Sunday, and the bad smell is very unpleasant,” says Lydia, a Catholic from the neighborhood of Versalles who considers the parish her “second home.” With more than seven decades of life, the resident from Matanzas claims to have “seen everything.” She lived through the days of anti-religious extremism, when scapulars were torn from the necks of those who publicly maintained their Catholic faith.

If in those years, Lydia had to put away the picture of the Sacred Heart that her grandmother had hung in the house and fill herself with courage to attend the Sunday service, she must now overcome the waste to be able to sit on the long wooden benches inside the building designed by Italian architect Daniel Dall’Aglio.

“I think the Community Services Company has left all this dirt on purpose, because no collector has picked it up,” she says, complaining about the lack continue reading

of containers nearby and the ups and downs in waste collection. “We have sent letters to the Government and the Office of Religious Affairs of the Central Committee of the Party. They promise to clean up the area, but it’s nothing but words.”

“I think the Community Services Company has left all this dirt on purpose, because no collector has picked it up.” / 14ymedio

As the priest loudly repeats fragments of the Bible, the stench of rotting garbage comes to the noses of the assembled parishioners. From the mountain of bags thrown on the sidewalk, which now reaches into the street, a putrid stream springs that continues spreading its miasmasdownhill. Passing bystanders try to avoid getting their shoes dirty and take small jumps to dodge the water.

Most of the countless Catholic churches on the Island are located in very central and densely populated areas. Hence, with the collapse of the garbage collection service, the image of waste that grows around the walls of churches, monasteries and convents is becoming more common. But the extent of the evil does not console parishioners, who believe that there is a more marked official neglect of these buildings.

“The garbage is piled on the wall of a building that has the status of a National Monument,” comments another resident in the vicinity of San Pedro Apóstol. “There is nothing left of the sidewalk that leads to the door.” The man reports that the municipal trucks assigned to the area do not meet the scheduled collection cycles, with the excuse that there is a shortage of fuel, personnel and spare parts.

Municipal trucks assigned to the area do not meet the scheduled collection cycles. / 14ymedio

Although he recognizes that the responsibility for dumping waste in the area lies with the neighbors, he justifies the attitude by the lack of sufficient containers to deposit household waste. “If they had to collect what the tourists throw away when they take pictures of the church they would have bought containers and they’d sing a different song,” he says.

The angry resident does not fail to notice that the problem is not repeated with the same magnitude in the vicinity of the main official institutions of the province, such as the headquarters of the Communist Party or the premises of the National Assembly. “There is no interest in churches looking more beautiful and people being happy to come to mass, that’s clear.”

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Artex Has a Lot of Income but Does Not Pay Cuban Musicians and Artists

The provincial branch of Matanzas collected 257 million pesos in 2024: “The money enters the box office and the talent is forgotten.”

If the profits were so significant, where is the salary of the artists? / Ricardo López Hevia

14ymedio, Pablo Padilla Cruz, Matanzas,15 July 2025 — Various voices of the cultural guild linked to Artex S.A. -the State trading company responsible for marketing Cuban culture- complain about delays of three to six months for delivery of their salaries. According to the statements of artists from different provinces, the payment they should receive for concerts in venues, hotels and festivals simply does not materialize.

“Three months of waiting, and they say the money is there, but it never arrives,” says José, a night club worker in the city of Matanzas. “There are colleagues with six months in this situation. Imagine, a salary is never enough to live on, much less without receiving tips.”

Joseph’s testimony is no exception. Efrén, a musician hired by a hotel in Varadero, says that he worked his shifts on time, but he has not been paid anything. “I started playing at the agreed time, but if I ask for my salary and they say ’not yet’. That’s how it’s been for two months.” continue reading

Artex’s branch in Matanzas closed the year 2024 with more than 257 million pesos in gross revenues.

In the annual balance sheet of the provincial Artex branch in Matanzas, it was announced that the entity closed the year 2024 with more than 257 million pesos in gross revenues. This positioned the territory as the second highest-earning branch in the country. For these results they received the status of “national vanguard” for the thirteenth time. If the profits were so significant, many question, where is the salary for the artists?

The same is true in Havana. The persistence of these defaults has led artists like Yanairis Fernández, director of the metal band Bonus, to warn that they will stop performing in centers such as Submarino Amarillo and Jardín del Mella if they do not receive their remuneration before July. His decision has also affected rock bands like Pyra and Green Beans, who have been claiming arrears since March. On social networks like Facebook, some directors have announced the sending of open letters calling on musicians to stop their performances until Artex complies.

The president of Artex posts more political propaganda on his social media than artistic promotion

Artex is a complex State trading company with headquarters, agencies, divisions and branches throughout Cuba. Its commercial network includes shops, cultural centers and promotion of products and services in both Cuban pesos and foreign currency. Its catalogue includes entities such as Bis Music (recording and publishing), Ediciones Cubanas, Clave Cubana, Musicalia, d’Arte, Paradiso (cultural tourism) and Soy Cubano (export of cultural products and services). Artex manages festivals, hotel events, tours and contracts with Cuban artists.

A glance at the X profile of Artex’s national president, Eladio Marrero Florido, reveals an extensive campaign to promote political figures such as Fidel Castro and Miguel Díaz-Canel, as well as attacks on Marco Rubio and Donald Trump. But it is almost impossible to find promotions, comments or allusions to the work of Cuban artists, much less a report on the fulfillment of payment dates for their work.

Artex “has money,” but the concept of “paying for talent” does not seem to be part of its priorities.

Musicians, sound technicians and artistic directors consulted by 14ymedio report that Artex “has money,” but the concept of “paying for talent” does not seem to be part of its priorities. “They promote festivals in Varadero paid in dollars and have huge advertising campaigns, but those of us who work directly at these events are waiting, without a clear explanation,” says Efrén. Sound technician Yoangel, in another hotel in the same area, says that signing a contract with Artex is like “playing Russian roulette.” After two months without pay, he decided to quit to avoid getting trapped in an endless wait.

“How many more months do you plan to leave us without pay?” asks a musician who threatens to boycott performances in venues linked to Artex. The proposal for a standstill is presented to a company which, without issuing official apologies or explanations, continues to operate and sell culture without paying the creators. The pressures extend to requesting the intervention of the Ministry of Culture and the Public Prosecutor’s Office, denouncing a supposed structural exploitation: “The money enters the box office and the talent is forgotten.”

In a country where the average wage barely covers the basics, these defaults are a daily tragedy. Artists like José, Efrén and Yoangel divide their time among concerts, private classes and informal jobs to survive. “I live on what I sell to tourists, records and tips; but I can’t go on like this anymore,” one admits. For families who depend on their work in culture, these unpaid months mean losing shelter, food and medicine.

Bars, restaurants and even small private cafes have become the alternative for artists.

Others have begun to present themselves in private venues, aware that the State is increasingly lacking in resources to meet its commitments. Bars, restaurants and even small cafes have become the stage for singers, magicians and comedians, who, tired of waiting for their salary, prefer to close a deal with an entrepreneur and support themselves with tips from customers.

Artex’s reputation is faltering under the shadow of this wage crisis. The question that resonates in the guild is clear: can a sustainable culture maintain itself on broken promises? Artists and workers demand immediate payments, transparency in financial management and a genuine commitment from the institution. If not, they warn, the silence could become louder than any song.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Florida Lawmakers Report 750 Migrants in Cages at Alligator Alcatraz

“The images you have seen do not do justice to the place. They are essentially crammed into cages,” they say.

Florida opened the site to Democratic legislators, but not to the press. / EFE

EFE (via 14ymedio), Florida, June 13, 2025 — Florida federal and state lawmakers reported on Saturday, after their first visit, that there are 750 migrants in cages at the new Alligator Alcatraz immigration detention center. They called it an “internment camp” and an “expensive political publicity stunt” of the Trump administration and the Florida state government. The center opened last week at an abandoned airport in the middle of the Everglades, a natural area west of Miami surrounded by swamps, alligators, snakes and panthers.

“I just left the immigration detention camp in the Florida Everglades. There are 750 humans in cages. We were not allowed to speak with the detainees. We did not walk through occupied areas. There are immigrants in there with no criminal record,” said state senator Carlos Guillermo Smith.

Florida opened the site to Democratic lawmakers, though not to the press, after the first immigrants detained at Alligator Alcatraz denounced to local media the “sub-human” conditions in the makeshift tents, with “suffocating” heat and humidity, a shortage of water and rotting food.

Federal congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz said after walking through the center that there are up to “32 detainees per cage,” with only a few bunks and bathrooms, so they “get water to drink and wash their teeth where they defecate, in the same unit. They are using cages. These detainees are living in cages. The images you have seen do not do justice to the place. They are essentially crammed into cages,” she told the media outside the continue reading

center.

Federal legislator Darren Soto questioned the cost of the detention facility, estimated at almost $500 million

Federal legislator Darren Soto questioned the cost of the detention center, estimated at nearly $500 million, in addition to being built in a flood-prone area during the current Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to November 30. He argued that the site “endangers” not only those detained by the Immigration and Customs Control Service (ICE), but also federal agents and the Florida National Guard.

“Sadly, we see that President Trump is taking away the legal status of nearly one million Cuban, Venezuelan, Haitian and Nicaraguan immigrants in our state, and now he’s deporting relatives of millions of Florida citizens in the most inhumane way possible,” he said.

After the tour, the Democrats argued that full and constant monitoring is needed on site, which the Florida government opened last week with a projected capacity of up to 5,000 migrants following a visit from Trump. The criticism has also been joined by the Archdiocese of Miami, which labeled the new detention center as “corrosive” and “inappropriate.”

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Performances Interrupted in Cinemas and Theaters by Blackouts, Another Frustration for Cubans

The screenings end abruptly and the spectators, resigned, leave the theaters.

Seeking emotional refuge in the cinema or theatre has become, for many, an additional source of frustration. / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Darío Hernández, Havana, July 13, 2025– On a Sunday that appeared to be a cultural normality, the Teatro Trianón in Havana had a day that crudely reflects the energy crisis that has become embedded in the daily life of Cubans. An adaptation of The Hound of the Baskervilles was again a victim of the blackouts. Saturday had already been canceled, and on Sunday, a video captured the dismay of the attendees: “Again?” they complained from the seats.

At the Trianon, actors rehearse in stifling heat. Hundreds of spectators brave the congested transport system, cross half the city, and sacrifice an entire afternoon to finally face the uncertainty of the electricity grid. Fortunately, the performance was able to resume that Sunday afternoon, albeit more than half an hour late.

In the provinces, the situation is often even more critical. Just a few weeks ago, in Santiago de Cuba, the Hermanos Saíz Association website bluntly announced: “The Teatro El Portazo performance at the Santiago Theater Council has been canceled tonight due to a power outage. We apologize for any inconvenience.”

In Camagüey, the Teatro del Viento [Theater of the Wind] has also suffered prolonged power outages that have paralyzed its performances. Its director, continue reading

Freddys Núñez Estenoz, denounced on social media that they had been “living in hell for weeks with blackouts ranging from 17 to 23 hours a day.” On July 3, he wrote: “We still can’t offer dates or times for performances. We can’t even guarantee that we’ll have performances. We’re waiting for something as simple as finding out the blackout schedule for the circuit where the theater is located. And we’re not the only ones. The Camagüey Ballet is also waiting for the premiere ofDracula.”

A screening of an adaptation of “The Hound of the Baskervilles” was once again affected by the power outages. / 14ymedio

Under such conditions, theatrical creation becomes an act of resistance. Rehearsals are interrupted, premieres are postponed, performances are canceled. This is what happened with the play Fibra [Fiber], which the Camagüey-based collective planned to premiere on its 26th anniversary but it was postponed due to the impossibility of lighting the stage and setting up the installation.

The situation is no different in movie theaters. Last Sunday, in theaters 23 and 12, they were showing a series of favorite films by the late president of the Cuban Institute of Cinematographic Art and Industry, Alfredo Guevara. But Jacques Becker’s Cascos de Oro was only halfway through when the theater went completely dark, and the screening ended abruptly. Resigned, viewers left the theater with no clear destination, adding yet another disappointment to the national routine. Seeking emotional refuge in the movies or theater has become, for many, an additional source of frustration.

The blackouts plaguing the country are not just incidental. With outages of up to 22 hours a day in several regions, even events planned months in advance are not spared. During the International Festival of New Latin American Cinema, multiple screenings were canceled due to the power outages.

In theaters 23 and 12, the film was only halfway through when the theater went completely dark, and the resigned viewers left the theater. / 14ymedio

A Cuban filmmaker described that edition as an “organizational disgrace”: dark theaters, absent signage, and makeshift restrooms on 23rd Avenue in Vedado, with an unbearable stench. The reduced capacity, last-minute cancellations, and endless lines have become an inseparable part of the country’s cultural landscape.

The only show free of blackouts, it seems, was the premiere of La Colmenita, which was attended by Raúl Castro, Díaz-Canel, and almost the entire staff of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Propaganda never lacks power.

In a Cuba where even art is forced to wait for the lights to come back on, theater director Freddys Núñez summed up the general feeling with a lapidary phrase: “What’s the point of continuing to play the game that something is working, when in reality everything is screwed up…? Nothing works. Nothing.”

Translated by Regina Anavy

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The Cuban Regime Expresses Its Impotence in the Face of the Economic Collapse of the Country

Official data confirm an 11% fall in GDP over the last five years.

The current revenues of the State “do not suffice to acquire essential raw materials. / Cubadebate

14ymedio, Havana, 14 July 2025 — The Cuban economy is not in recovery. Economy Minister Joaquín Alonso Vázquez made this clear on Monday during the session of the Economic Commission of the Parliament, in the presence of the president himself, Miguel Díaz, and the president of the National Assembly, Esteban Lazo. In his report, Alonso Vázquez revealed that Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has fallen by 11% over the last five years, although it is likely to have been even more, apart from the official statistics. The session was marked by a gloomy tone, lack of solutions and an implicit recognition of a country in the midst of economic collapse.

The most crushing figure was the contraction of 1.1% of GDP in 2024, against the modest 2% growth that had been planned. But the most alarming thing is that, since 2019, the national economy has lost more than one-tenth of its size. According to the minister, primary production – including agriculture, livestock and mining – has been hit hardest, with a 53% drop. Manufacturing (23%) and social and non-social services (6%) also declined.

This decline is compounded by a complicated external context, marked by lack of access to fuels, rising international prices and the paralysis of key imports due to currency shortages. However, the biggest obstacles remain internal: structural distortions, an unstoppable growth in external debt, business inefficiency and a dilapidated energy system.

Cuban exports in the first half of 2025 barely reached 62% of what was planned

Minister Alonso’s report revealed that Cuban exports in the first half of 2025 barely reached 62% of what was planned, well below the disastrous 78% of the same period last year. The country is unable to place products such as nickel, honey, charcoal and shrimp on the international market, and biopharmaceuticals are also experiencing setbacks. Although there was some recovery in items such as tobacco, lobster and fishery products, it was not enough to reverse the negative balance.

As for tourism, another of the country’s strategic sectors, the figures are particularly depressing. At the end of the first half of the year, Cuba received continue reading

1.6 million visitors, which represents only 71% of the planned number. Domestic tourism also suffered, falling by 5.2 per cent.

During his presentation, Minister Alonso explained that the country continues to import more than it exports, which increases the trade deficit. Imports covered only 67 per cent of the plan’s projected needs, but expenditure was 7 per cent higher than in the previous year, reflecting an increase in the cost of international goods and freight.

Massive external debt continues to be a growing and unsustainable burden

One of the heaviest burdens on the Cuban economy is its large external debt, the size of which, according to the minister, remains a growing and unsustainable burden. Although the Government has been successful in renegotiating installments and restructuring commitments, the lack of liquidity and systematic default on payments have eroded the country’s financial credibility.

The situation is so critical that, according to Díaz-Canel himself, that the current revenues of the State “are not enough to purchase basic raw materials to increase national production.” Nor are they sufficient, he said, to “inject currency into a functional exchange market” or to supply semi-finished goods to shops in national currency.” We try to solve problems by redistributing scarce resources, but that is no longer enough,” he acknowledged.

In his assessment of the business system, the Minister warned that while the number of loss-making enterprises has decreased, this is not due to efficiency improvements but to a general rise in prices. Private MSMEs*, which already number over 11,000 in the country, account for more than 50 per cent of the national economy, but they still face bureaucratic obstacles, import restrictions and an increasing tax burden.

The deputies called for exploring new ways to capture remittances

Speaking about remittances, one of the country’s financial engines in the last decade, the minister noted that there are increasing difficulties in channeling them due to US restrictions, but he did not give details about possible alternatives. The deputies called for exploring new ways to capture that cash flow, which in practice supports millions of Cubans.

Nor has there been progress in foreign investment. In the first half of 2025, only 14 new businesses with foreign capital were approved, focusing on areas such as hydrocarbon production, wholesale and retail marketing, light industry, and finance. None of these projects has begun to generate substantial revenues.

Alonso stressed the urgency of implementing measures to stabilize the economy. Among them he mentioned the reform of the exchange market, the containment of the fiscal deficit and the promotion of exports through self-financing schemes, 23 of which have already been implemented. However, none of these measures seems to have an immediate effect.

The National Assembly admits that the current model is no longer viable.

The Minister also acknowledged the increase in accounts receivable, the persistence of tax evasion and the lack of productive “chains” as elements that hinder any attempt at recovery. Meanwhile, prices remain high, wages are insufficient, and inflation, although lower than in 2023, continues to affect purchasing power.

The Cuban regime is failing to contain the economic collapse and now admits, with fewer and fewer euphemisms, that the current model does not work. But instead of undertaking a major reform, it insists on partial measures, attributes the causes to external factors and clings to an approach of control that has already failed. The pessimism that fills the air of the National Assembly does nothing more than reflect the widespread feeling on the streets: the Cuban economy is literally in free fall.

*Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises

Translated by Regina Anavy

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In Holguín, Cuba, Unlimited Beer for Leaders and Their Relatives Amid Blackouts and Shortages

The Cristal Fiestas, organized by Bucanero, coincided with the anniversary of 11J and the massacre of the ’13 de Marzo’ tugboat.

“How much did this cost? With what money?” multiple users asked.

14ymedio, Holguín, 14 July 2025 — Lights, beer, music and official propaganda. That’s what the Cristal Fiestas offered this Saturday near the Calixto Garcia stadium, while most of the residents of Holguín lived through another night in darkness, without electricity, water or enough food. The event, organized by Cervecería Bucanero S.A. and MB Producciones as part of the official “Forever Young Summer” campaign, has been described on social networks as a “mockery” and an “immoral waste.”

The festival, promoted by official media Now! and Radio Angulo, featured groups such as Elito Revé and his Charangón, Maykel Blancoa nd his Salsa Mayor, Juan Guillermo (JG) and Wildey. According to the organizers, the goal was “to bring joy to the Holguín family” and “to strengthen Cuban music,” with free admission, 16 beer tents, food stalls, raffles and games.

“It was free for those on the stage”

But what was promised as a “night for the people” became, for many, an elitist party in the midst of national chaos. In comments on social networks, citizens reported restricted VIP areas, exclusive wristbands and unlimited beer for leaders and their relatives. “It was free for those on the stage,” quipped one user.

The annoyance was not limited to the contrast between the opulence of the event and the generalized crisis. The celebration coincided with three highly symbolic dates: the fourth anniversary of the protests on July 11 and 12, 2021 – the historic ’11J’ social explosion severely repressed by the regime; the 31st anniversary of the March 13 tugboat massacre, in which more than 40 people, including children, died while trying to flee Cuba; and the execution of General Arnaldo Ochoa Sánchez on July 13, 1989. continue reading

“While in San Antonio de los Baños they detain the released prisoners to prevent them from protesting, here they waste money on drunkenness to silence the people”

Freelance journalist Annarella Grimal, also from Holguín and currently living in Ireland, reacted on her social media with the phrase “national shame.” “It is a slap in the face to the memory of 11J,” wrote an Internet user. “While in San Antonio de los Baños they detain the released prisoners to prevent them from protesting, here they waste money on drunkenness to silence the people,” added another. The criticism also pointed to the amount of electricity deployed for the event. “Why not save that current and give us a little to help us sleep?” questioned a neighbor.

There were also direct attacks on figures linked to the show, such as the presenter Edith Massola, artistic director of the event. “She promotes official parties while her daughters live comfortably outside of Cuba,” one commentator said. Outrage also spread to local media for “engaging in propaganda” against a backdrop of hunger, a collapsed health system and repression.

“And Sandrito isn’t coming?”

There was, obviously, no lack of allusions to the mischievous grandson of Fidel Castro. “And Sandrito isn’t coming?” someone asked, referring to Sandro Castro’s incessant promotion of the beer brand on his Instagram page.

A source in Holguín commented to 14ymedio: “The irony is that the company Bucanero S.A. itself is going through a crisis. They hardly have any beer production, because the pumping of water is also affected by the blackouts. Tell me these parties aren’t going to be controversial!”

The Fiesta Cristal in Holguín comes amid reports of more than 20-hour blackouts, lack of medicines, endless lines to get basic products and building collapses that end several lives. “How much did this cost? With what money?” multiple users asked. The official answer, if it comes, will probably be in the form of another slogan, another concert or another spotlight for a “Forever Young Summer,” but alien to the daily drama of the average Cuban.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Cuban Beach Volleyball Duo Takes Gold and Nearly $2,000 in the Russian League

Noslen Díaz and Jorge Luis Alayo obtain 600 points and a better position in the world ranking.

Noslen Díaz and Jorge Luis Alayo will play another stage of the Russian Cup in Saint Petersburg. / Facebook/CubanSp1ke

14ymedio, Havana, 14 June 2025 — Cuban beach volleyball players Noslen Díaz and Jorge Luis Alayo won the gold medal in the Moscow Open tournament, corresponding to the Russian Beach Volleyball Circuit 2025. This Sunday’s victory against Oleg Stoyanovski and Ilya Leshukov also guaranteed the Cuban athletes a prize of 150,000 rubles ($1,920).

“This is the second Russian League title, in addition to that of Kazan last year. Added to the gold of the Russian Cup and the Sirius Tournament, the Cubans earned four in a country that has treated them very well and has been key to the growth of both as athletes,” reported the digital sports media All in 1 Deportes on Facebook.

The sports evolution of Díaz and Alayo confirm that they are considered the “new hope of Cuba,” according to the specialized portal Olympics, after Idalys Ortiz (judo) and Mijaín López (wrestling) announced their retirements at the Paris 2024 Olympics. Their results “have put them in the sights of Cuban fans, who are in the process of searching for new idols,” highlighted the report.

The sports evolution of Díaz and Alayo confirmed that they are the “new hope of Cuba,” according to the specialized portal Olympics after Idalys Ortiz (judo) and Mijaín López (wrestling) announced their retirements.

Under the guidance of Francisco Álvarez Cutiño, Díaz and Alayo won in the first set, 21-11. However, Stoyanovski and Leshukov rallied and beat the Cubans in the second set, 21-16. The definitive set was won by the Cubans, 15-12, which, according to official media, reaffirmed them as one of “the best pairings in the world.” continue reading

Prior to the event, Díaz and Alayo were ranked 22nd in the world after finishing ninth at the Elite 16 tournament in Gstaad, Switzerland, part of the 2025 Beach Pro Tour. With the victory in Russia, the Cuban volleyball players obtained 600 points for a total of 3,940. At the top of the list are Norway (8,560), followed by Argentina (6,520) and the Netherlands (5,920).

“The Olympians had their best performance in that period, achieving first place in the Elite 16 of Quintana Roo, where they earned 1,200 points,” highlighted Granma, while recognizing that they “need to continue competing in competitions that deliver points and, for the moment, participate in the Russian tournament and then rejoin the world circuit in the Elite 16 in Hamburg, Germany, scheduled to take place this August 27 to 31.”

There are also international events such as the World Championships in Adelaide, Australia, on November 14 to 23; the Central American and Caribbean Games in Santo Domingo 2026; the Pan American Games in Lima 2027; and the Olympic Games in Los Angeles 2028. For this last one, the Cuban government accepts that if the US government maintains its refusal to grant visas, “they simply will not go and will do other things.”

The absence of Cuba in Los Angeles 2028 will truncate the rhythm of the Cuban duo’s process after winning second place at the Pan American Games Santiago 2023 and generating expectations in Paris 2024.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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“You Open the Tap and a Murky and Fetid Water Comes Out” in the Houses on Pocito Street, in Havana

Also in Mulgoba, in the municipality of Boyeros, the residents have had a similar situation since April.

“The neighbors have gone to all the municipal and provincial authorities, without any response.” / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, 11 July 2025 — “It’s in the tap, it’s in the sea, it falls from the sky and returns to the sky,” says a children’s riddle. The answer, however, is beginning to be difficult for residents of Havana, a city hit hard by a lack of drinking water. In a small amount and with bad quality, what arrives these days in parts of the Lawton neighborhood brings more concern than relief.

Pocito Street looks like a road in a war zone, where bombs have been
launched into the streets. But the overflowing septic tanks and potholes that dot the street are just one visible part of the problems faced by residents in the area. Through the pipes, a sinuous enemy enters the houses and sickens the residents: contaminated water.

“My father now has an infection attributed directly to drinking or contact with this bad water”

“You open the tap and a murky and fetid water comes out, which has made it impossible for families to cook, bathe or perform basic necessities,” a woman born in the Diez de Octubre municipality tells 14ymedio. The situation has caused health problems among the residents of Pocito Street, especially among 11 and 12-year olds. “My father now has an infection attributed directly to drinking or contact with this bad water.”

The source of contamination could be anywhere. At the corner of Pocito with Dolores runs a river of black water that, from taking so long to drain, has caused the growth of moss and abundant vegetation reminiscent of what is found on river banks. Near Buenaventura, also on the worn asphalt, is a stream that feeds from the waste of toilets, showers and the sinks of nearby houses.

In the area of Mulgoba, in the municipality of Boyeros, residents are also literally “posting signs to ask for water.” / 14ymedio

The panorama is repeated as you follow the road and cross Porvenir Avenue. The houses become more modest, more deteriorated, and people of poorer appearance peek out from the doorways. It looks like this section of the road has not been renovated in decades, nor has a single investment been made to improve the lives of its inhabitants.

“Most of the water pipes here are made of porous iron, and the sewer water gets in,” says Oscar, a resident who keeps the door of his house closed for much of the day to avoid the smells emanating from the dark stream. The continue reading

main pipes that supply the neighborhood branch off in a tangled network of pipes, many more than 50 years old, that end up supplying each house.

Oscar keeps the door of his home closed to avoid the smells that emanate from the dark stream.

“Where the sewer water accumulates for a long time, everything passes through it, so it contaminates the pipes, reaches the cisterns, goes to the tanks, and when you turn on your tap, it’s now in the glass of water that you’re drinking,” says the neighbor. But he recognizes that he can only speculate on the origin of the filth and the bad smell that makes them turn their faces away and avoid drinking the water that comes from the tap.

“We have lodged complaints on all sides and no one responds to us; no Havana Water or Public Health official comes to investigate what’s happening on this street,” says Oscar. “The neighbors have gone to all the municipal and provincial authorities, to no avail.”

“No Havana Water or Public Health official comes to investigate what’s happening.”

The man points a finger at the broken sidewalk in front of the childcare center, another sign of the abandonment suffered by the whole area. Putting together all the pieces of the puzzle that make up the idleness and lack of resources in Pocito, the resident has only one word to summarize what they experience: “Negligence.”

“The water here is contaminated; yesterday the water truck came so that people could fill some buckets, at least for drinking,” says the owner of a small private cafe who also has to deal with supply problems to keep the business afloat. “There are people who are boiling it to be able to drink it, but I don’t recommend this; it’s better to buy bottled water.”

The recommendation, however, clashes with the high cost of a product that a few years ago was consumed only by tourists but whose demand has soared, precisely because of supply problems. One litre of the Ciego Montero brand, nationally produced, exceeds 350 pesos in private establishments and $1.50 in State stores. “There are many people with diarrhea and not just on this street. There have also been cases of people around the corner who got sick by drinking water from the tap.”

“There are many people with diarrhea and not just on this street.”

Competing with Pocito Street in neglect, in the area of Mulgoba, municipality of Boyeros, are residents who are literally “posting signs to ask for water.” Since last April the supply crisis has increased the indignation of the inhabitants. The critical situation of those days is far from being resolved, and although “a little water has arrived, you can no longer trust that you will be able to bathe,” says Moraima, with a modest house a few meters from the Polyclinic.

The main cause of that collapse was a breakdown in pumping equipment, but when it was put into operation a few weeks later, the problem still wasn’t resolved. “There is no water in the houses but then you go out to the street and see all the leaks dribbling and bubbling,” complains the woman. “There are areas where the sewer water mixes with the clean water, and you can see that they are contaminating the pipes that pass through there and then continue to other houses.”

“It’s in the tap, it’s in the sea, but be careful, you can’t drink it,” would be the conclusion about the water of any clever child living on Pocito or in Mulgoba.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Avianca Will Stop Flying to Cuba in August Due to Lack of Passengers

Canadian WestJet will add another route to Havana in December.

The route, which Avianca had recovered in December, lasted a little more than eight months. / EFE

14ymedio, 13 July 2025 — The Colombian airline Avianca will abandon its route between Bogota and Havana from the 31st of August, in anticipation of the high season of tourism on the island. The specialized media have referred to the low occupancy of the flights as the reason for the suspension of the route, which would leave Wingo as the only company offering direct trips between both cities from September.

The route, resumed by Avianca last December after stopping it in 2020, lasted a little more than eight months, with a daily frequency and 2,500 seats weekly. However, specialized aviation media had already predicted a possible disappearance of the route, which will make its last flight from El Dorado to Terminal 3 of José Martí on August 30 at 12:35.

Last April, Reportur said that the demand for flights between Colombia and the Island had plummeted and that, according to an expert, the airlines operating the route were flying “with less than 70%” of capacity. The numbers, stressed the portal, are not profitable for the Panamanian Copa and the Colombian Wingo and Avianca, but then none had given signs of wanting to suspend their route.

For airlines to make a profit, flight occupancy must exceed 80%, “with a good average fare of at least 300 dollars.”

For airlines to make a profit, flight occupancy must exceed 80%, “with a good average fare of at least 300 dollars.” According to Reportur, at the beginning of the year Cuba had experienced some hotel recovery – mainly thanks to foreign companies importing their own resources and food – but this did not translate into an increase in passengers, at least not from continue reading

Colombia. “The demand has not recovered.”

The connection has also lost potential travelers with the closure of the southern border of the United States and the prohibition on Cubans to travel to Colombia without a visa. And since 2023, the US has imposed sanctions on all airlines and officials involved in smuggling migrants from the Island to Nicaragua. Because of the restrictions, several airlines have already had to suspend flights between destinations, and some have even been penalized by Washington.

Despite the crisis in tourism and the cancelation of several routes in recent months, some airlines continue to bet on Cuba. This July, the Canadian airline WestJet announced that it plans to include a new flight to Havana from Toronto in its winter itineraries for 2025-2026, with two weekly frequencies, and that it will operate from December 18 to April 23 of next year. In an official statement, the Cuban Aviation Corporation welcomed the announcement as another way to strengthen relations with Canada.

In an official statement, the Cuban Aviation Corporation welcomed the announcement as another way to strengthen relations with Canada.

WestJet will also increase the frequency of some of its existing connections to the Island. This is the case of the route from Toronto to Varadero, which will increase to 11 weekly frequencies from this Monday; there will be seven flights a week from Montreal to Cayo Coco (Ciego de Ávila); and from Montreal to Santa Clara there will be five.

Although Canada is still the hen that laid the golden egg for Cuba in terms of tourism, the number of travelers arriving on the Island from that country follows the same downward trend as the sector. According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics and Information (ONEI), 387,404 Canadians arrived in Cuba between January and May 2025, almost 30% fewer than in the same period in 2024.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Etecsa’s ‘Tarifazo’ Forces Cubans To Return to Dangerous Parks with WiFi

In Matanzas, users recount the difficulties of connecting to the network and thefts of accounts by hackers.

The connection’s strength isn’t a reason to jump for joy. / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Pablo Padilla Cruz, Matanzas, 12 July 2025 — The ‘tarifazo’ [huge price increase] imposed by Cuba’s State telecommunications monopoly Etecsa has suddenly returned hundreds of Cubans to the past and the search for a Wi-Fi hotspot that would allow them an internet connection. But also, due to time, those places are no longer what they once were. Blackouts and the widespread increase in theft and violence make those who are forced to resort to this option vulnerable, due to a lack of effective connections at home and the expensive and poorly managed data.

“I study,” says Yusmari sitting on a bench in Paseo Martí, in the Versalles neighborhood of Matanzas. “It’s not that all I do on the internet is study, but most of the time the so-called 6 GB extra for students, at least in the university Camilo Cienfuegos, is slow,” she says. Homework doesn’t wait, explains the young woman, who points out how small the packages are. “The 500 MB per month that we are given in school expire in no time, because a PDF enquiry can use more than 50 MB easily, and you have to get a turn for time at the computer. The only thing left is the park wifi,” she says.

But Yusmari knows that the landscape is not the same as it was a decade ago. “Now there is an atmosphere of insecurity; in addition, the street lighting almost never works because of the blackouts, so you have to be careful about coming alone. Nothing has ever happened to me, but if someone can snatch your cell phone in broad daylight, what will they do at night?” continue reading

“Now there is an atmosphere of insecurity; in addition, the street lighting almost never works because of the blackouts.”

The connection’s strength isn’t a reason to jump for joy. “There are parks that are better or worse,” says Orestes, who uses the wifi to download files while waiting for his transport to Varadero, where he works as a musician. “Everything depends on the users; in my case it’s the worst since there is not much signal in this area, and people point their phones at the park so they don’t have to leave the house. Many times in less than an hour the phone is disconnected more than 10 times, and you have to restart the authentication process,” he says. The average download speed on fixed broadband is 2.73 Mbps with an upload speed of just 0.96. These results place Cuba in 159th place out of 159 countries evaluated, according to SpeedTest.

Orestes complains that it is sometimes impossible to even enter the Etecsa user portal. “And to top it off there are cloned portals that steal your account and password with total impunity. In the end, with patience, it is resolved, and at least something lets you upload, but it’s a constant struggle.”

The young musician says that the insecurity is not only physical but also due to the hackers. “Several people have complained,” says a worker from a nearby point of contact. “Mostly elderly people, but I can’t do anything, only raise their complaints to the managers. My functions as a company worker are only commercial.” Etecsa’s investment in cybersecurity appears to be nil, they both claim.

The great alternative to public wifi areas were, before data worked, the hotels. In the case of Matanzas, many people approached the Velasco and the Louvre, in the center of the city, for their good options to get online. Being service networks abroad, the speed was much better – up to 4 MB of data transfer – and all you had to do was create an Etecsa account, but that only worked in those hotels.

The great alternative to public wifi areas were, before data worked, the hotels. In the case of Matanzas, many people approached the Velasco and the Louvre.

“The option no longer exists, at least for those Cubans who used it,” says Reinaldo, who works as a freelancer. “One day, without further ado, they told me that they could not top up my account because the service was only for guests, even though we are the Cuban customers who fill the lobby and the bar, both at the Velasco and the Louvre.”

“And every day, I spent more than three hours there and consumed enough, even had lunch several times a week. But now that network is under-exploited, and many people who are creating new ways of bringing foreign exchange into the country have to look for other paths. We all lost in this,” he says with resignation.

One of the employees at the Louvre confirms that if you are not a customer, you cannot have an account to connect to the internet in the hotel. “I don’t know the reason, and it’s not that I personally want it, but one day that law came from above and remained,” he says. “As a worker, I must comply, although it seems extreme. More so now, with the controversy over mobile data.” The employee claims that before, under the pretext of connecting to the internet, the bar was filled with domestic customers who are now mad. “Sometimes, he recalls, we couldn’t even keep up.”

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Washington Denounces the Torture of José Daniel Ferrer and Requests Proof of Life From the Cuban Regime

Since his return to prison last April, the opponent has suffered brutal ill-treatment and beatings, as reported by his family.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio also called for the release of political prisoners / EFE

14ymedio, Havana, July 12, 2025 — US Secretary of State Marco Rubio asked the Cuban regime on Friday for proof of life for opponent José Daniel Ferrer. The leader of the Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU) was returned to prison in April, and since then both his family members and human rights organizations have denounced the torture he is subjected to at the Mar Verde prison in Santiago de Cuba.

“The Cuban regime continues to torture democracy activist José Daniel Ferrer. The United States demands an immediate proof of life and the release of all political prisoners,” Rubio wrote on his X account.

Just a few days ago, the Foundation for Human Rights in Cuba included five officers from the prison where Ferrer is serving his sentence in a database of Cuban repressors for their participation in acts of torture against the opponent.

Nelva Ismarays Ortega Tamayo, Ferrer’s wife, reported that the UNPACU leader had been brutally beaten on June 25 after declaring a hunger strike. Ferrer was protesting against ill-treatment, and he refused to wear the uniform of a common prisoner. “He was beaten everywhere: head, arms, legs, abdomen, back, kicked, slapped and punched, until he defecated,” said Ortega, who visited him on July 5. continue reading

The attack was led by Lieutenant Colonel Vladimir Pineda Guerra, head of the prison, and involved Colonel Adalberto Andreu Chacón, second in command

The attack was led by Lieutenant Colonel Vladimir Pineda Guerra, head of the prison, and involved Colonel Adalberto Andreu Chacón, second in command; Captain José Miguel Hechavarría Gorguet, head of Internal Order; Major José Luis Yáñez Herrera, head of Educational Treatment; and Captain Livan Laugart Riquelme, head of the Collective. All five officials have been added to the Foundation’s list of Cuban repressors.

The platform denounced other ill-treatment of Ferrer and said that six common prisoners had been used as “hitmen” to continue the attacks, in what it calls “a systematic repressive pattern against dissidents.” His fingers and wrists were also twisted; he was forced to drink milk in order to interrupt the strike, and toilet access was denied for two days. “The case of Ferrer once again shows that the Cuban penal system is not designed for reintegration or justice, but as a tool of political punishment,” said the Foundation.

Earlier this month, UNPACU also denounced the “systematic torture” of its leader and stated that he was in “grave danger.” “Severe beatings,” “simulated asphyxiation,” “denial of food, hygiene products and medicine,” “exposure to contagious diseases” and “death threats” were some of the abuses listed by the organization.

This Friday, on the fourth anniversary of the 11 July 2021 protests, the White House imposed sanctions against Miguel Díaz-Canel

Marco Rubio’s message not only comes at a time of tension over the abuse of the opposition leader, but follows the policy of putting pressure on the Cuban government that has been implemented by Washington in recent weeks.

This Friday, on the fourth anniversary of the 11 July 2021 protests, the White House imposed sanctions against Miguel Díaz-Canel for “serious human rights violations” for having ordered the repression of the demonstrators who protested throughout the Island on that date. This is the first time that the Cuban leader has been subjected to personal sanctions by Washington, which also affect the minister of the Revolutionary Armed Forces, Álvaro López Miera, and the Interior minister, Lázaro Alberto Álvarez Casas. All of them, including their immediate family members, are prohibited from entering the United States.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Cuba Will Focus Its Efforts on the 2032 Olympics if It Can’t Participate in Los Angeles in 2028

INDER favors hiring abroad because athletes need to leave the Island to have access to better facilities.

The industry has lost the ability to make materials, and the sports base is lacking / EFE

14ymedio, Madrid, 11 July 2025 — Cuban sport apparently assumes that it will not attend the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. The statements of the first vice president of the National Institute of Sports, Physical Education and Recreation (INDER), Raúl Fornés, delve into a thesis already advanced by the Cuban Volleyball Federation (FCV) when, at the end of June, the US denied visas to the players of the national team. “If the US government maintains its policy of denying visas, as it has been doing by preventing us from attending competitions on its territory, we will simply not go and will do other things. It wouldn’t be the first time. We already missed Los Angeles in 1984; that city is unlucky for us,” he told Cubadebate.

The official gave an extensive interview to the official media on the eve of the approval, in the National Assembly next week, of the new sports law. He breaks down some of the novelties of the regulation, saying he will try to recover a splendor that is in the past, after ranking fifth in medals won by Cuban athletes at Barcelona 1992. The results, if he is successful, would be noticeable in Brisbane 2032, because – admits the official – he will have to go to Los Angeles with what there is. If he can.

“We’re focusing on it, training to be back among the top countries in the world”

“We are fully prepared to attend. We are focusing on it, training to be back among the top countries in the world. It’s a difficult and complex goal, but it’s our intention,” he said, settling the issue.

The new policy is based mainly on an increase in training in two areas: recruitment abroad and the recovery of the Higher Schools for Athletic Development (ESPA), which were deactivated in 2010.

Fornés says that this measure was an error of astronomical proportions whose results have very concrete figures. “We were losing about 1,500 talents every year. Every year. About 1,500. These are not invented or preliminary numbers: they’re concrete.” The official says that once athletes finish their training at the School of Sports Initiation (EIDE), they have only two paths: join a national team or leave the sport. The ESPA schools were a continue reading

natural link for young people from 18 years of age to adapt to professionalization, but their elimination has led them to a change of paradigm.

The new regulation will seek to “rebuild a training system that respects the natural processes of athletic development, avoiding abrupt leaps”

“We have already seen that this method does not always give good results; it happened to us and today is costing us dearly. Now we are going to rescue it; we intend to save it,” he said, pointing out that the new regulation will help “to rebuild a training system that respects the natural processes of athletic development, avoiding abrupt leaps which have proved counter-productive.”

Another fundamental point of the new policy is recruitment abroad, which Fornés has explained in detail, with special emphasis on the fact that INDER does not keep any remuneration corresponding to the athlete. “The athletes receive 100% of the contract and income. The Federation receives nothing from that part. What it does negotiate with the club that hires the athlete is between 10% and 20% for training rights,” he explained. The official mentioned this practice, common in many sports – among which is soccer, approved by FIFA – for which the club or federation that has invested years in the development of an athlete receives compensation.

“That’s something I wanted to clarify, because I know there is a lot of talk about it. Some think that the athletes contribute part of their salary, but that’s not true,” he remarked, avoiding comparisons with Cuban doctors on international missions, from whose salaries the government subtracts up to 90%, “to contribute to the health system,” it claims.

The balance towards the competitive result in international events is not yet up to par

According to the official, this system has worked well since it began to be implemented, but the results do not fully satisfy the authorities. “We have grown in the hiring of athletes and have improved the quality of many we hired, but the balance towards the competitive result in international events is still not up to par at this time. We continue to project; we are not going to give up,” he says. The scope of the shortages on the Island is such, argues Fornés, that it is necessary for athletes to leave Cuba to have access to better facilities, the appropriate technology and even competitive rivals.

The situation of the facilities is now in the eye of the hurricane after photos of some training centers went viral, including those of an EIDE facility, practically in ruins. “When I entered in 1997, in the middle of the Special Period, it was a hundred times better than now, 28 years later,” said INDER teacher Adriana Lazaga, regretting the oblivion to which athletes are subjected.

“Our best facilities date back to 1991, and even those no longer meet current requirements,” says Fornés in the interview. The official explains that the sports equipment industry, which was central to grassroots sport, is also among the many things that have collapsed. “That too must be admitted as an accumulated reality. For more than eight years, almost nine, we have been unable to guarantee basic sports resources for the teams,” he admitted.

There are currently 37 high performance sports in Cuba, something that is “impossible to maintain properly”

Since the means are not enough, and although the authorities have promised that the legislation will be accompanied by an economic endowment – which in the midst of the crisis is hard to believe – a very relevant point of the new sports policy will be the “prioritization” of disciplines. Currently, there are 37 high performance sports in Cuba, something that is “impossible to maintain adequately,” especially “when the elite of the world do not all receive medals, which is what ultimately positions Cuba internationally.”

The authorities will therefore focus their efforts on sports that have recently yielded results. “Today we are clearly establishing which sports will be prioritized; basically, those that place Cuba among the medalists of the Central American, Pan American and Olympic Games. These will receive real and consistent attention throughout their development pyramid,” said Fornés, without specifying a list, which should include wrestling, boxing, judo, taekwondo and athletics.

“If skating has never been practiced in Guantánamo, we cannot force them to skate”

As part of the strategy, the “regionalization principle” will also be used. “That is to say, a new concept, a new dimension.” For example, “If in Guantánamo, let’s say, skating has never been practiced, we cannot force them to practice skating nor tell them that ’you have to enroll in skating’.” The same applies to extremely expensive sports, such as hockey, which will have to remain in quarantine for lack of budget.

In recent years, Cuba has lost hundreds of athletes who prefer to try to make a living off the Island, which has decimated the teams and, consequently, the successes of national sport. The report of Cubadebate ends with the experiences of some hired abroad. In their messages, it is well understood why the number of athletes decreases, as happens in almost all professions. Some cite technical issues in their disciplines, but others measure the depth of the problem, like this statement by pitcher Liván Moinelo, who, speaking about the conditions, celebrates that in Japan, where he competes, “they have baseballs.”

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Five Officers Identified for Beating José Daniel Ferrer Are Included on the List of Cuban Repressors

The Foundation for Human Rights in Cuba denounces their direct involvement in acts of torture against the opposition.

Ferrer was brutally beaten on June 25, after declaring a hunger strike / UNPACU

14ymedio, Havana, July 10, 2025 — The Foundation for Human Rights in Cuba has included five prison officials from Mar Verde, Santiago de Cuba, in its database of Cuban Repressors for their direct participation in acts of torture against the opposition and prisoner of conscience José Daniel Ferrer García.

According to the wife of the leader of the Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU), Nelva Ismarays Ortega Tamayo, Ferrer was brutally beaten on June 25, after declaring a hunger strike in protest of ill-treatment and to assert his refusal to wear the uniform of a common prisoner. “He was beaten everywhere: head, arms, legs, abdomen, back, kicked, slapped and punched, until he defecated on himself,” said Ortega after visiting him on July 5.

All five officials have been added to the list of Cuban Repressors

The attack was led by Lieutenant Colonel Vladimir Pineda Guerra, head of the penitentiary, and involved Colonel Adalberto Andreu Chacón, second in command; Captain José Miguel Hechavarría Gorguet, head of Internal Order; Major José Luis Yáñez Herrera, head of Educational Treatment; and Captain Livan Laugart Riquelme, head of the Collective. All five officers have been placed on the list of Cuban repressors.

In addition to the initial beating, Ferrer was subjected to more physical and psychological punishment. According to the complaint, six common prisoners were allegedly used as “hitmen” to continue the aggression, as “a systematic repressive pattern against dissidents.” His fingers and wrists were also twisted; he was forced to drink milk in order to stop fasting, and he was deprived of basic hygiene for at least 48 hours. continue reading

They are accused of violating Rule 1 of the UN Mandela Rules

“They are accused of crimes against humanity by torture and persecution for political reasons, in addition to violating Rule 1 of the UN Mandela Rules and Article 5 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,” said the Foundation.

The Foundation sees these abuses as a reprisal by the Cuban regime for the humanitarian campaign that Ferrer launched from his home in the Altamira neighborhood of Santiago de Cuba, before his re-incarceration in April this year. At that time, his release from prison in January, awarded as part of an agreement brokered by the Vatican, was revoked.

Lieutenant Colonel Vladimir Pineda Guerra has already been on the list of Cuban Repressors since 2023, when he was held responsible for keeping Ferrer incommunicado for more than three months.

The Foundation attaches the files of each officer with detailed documentation and photographs

In its publication, the Foundation attaches the files of each officer with detailed documentation and photographs. It charges them with beatings, physical abuse, intimidation, threats and violations of international humanitarian law.

Since its inception, the Foundation has sought to make visible those directly responsible for repression on the Island. Inclusion in its database means that these individuals could face future legal consequences if they are tried in international courts for their actions.

“Ferrer’s case once again shows that the Cuban penitentiary system is not designed for reintegration or justice, but as a tool of political punishment,” concludes the report.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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A Book Rescues the Memory of More Than 600 Victims of Forced Disappearance in Cuba

Historian Daniel I. Pedreira exposes how Castroism literally erased those who opposed it.

Images of Andrew de Graux Villafaña, a US citizen on his father’s side, who joined the Escambray guerrillas to fight against Castroism. / Martí Noticias

14ymedio, Yunior García Aguilera, Madrid, July 11, 2025 — In Los desaparecidos del castrismo, Cuba desde 1959 (The Disappeared of Castroism, Cuba since 1959), historian Daniel I. Pedreira delivers a work as painful as it is essential. Against the tide of silence imposed by the Cuban regime, Pedreira delves into one of the darkest and least documented aspects of the Island’s contemporary history: the forced disappearance of citizens opposed to Fidel Castro’s regime.

Through more than 600 cases, the author exposes how Castroism has used disappearances as a tool of repression and social control, publicly denying their existence while threatening and persecuting those who try to clarify the truth. Pedreira stresses that the majority of the victims were young people, which represents not only a human tragedy but also a mutilation of the future of the Cuban nation. The book aims to rescue their memory, break the imposed silence and pave the way for justice and national reconciliation.

The work is based on collaboration with organizations such as Archivo Cuba, the Instituto de la Memoria Histórica Cubana contra el Totalitarismo and the Asociación de Familiares de Cubanos Desaparecidos, as well as key witnesses. Despite the impossibility of accessing official documents of the regime, the author has managed to gather a solid basis of evidence with historical, judicial and forensic value. Pedreira hopes the book will reach international human rights institutions in order to dismantle the official narrative of continue reading

Castroism and raise awareness about the magnitude of the phenomenon. Its publication and presentation in Miami, at the Encuentro Internacional con el Libro Cubano Exiliado, on July 19-20, marks a milestone in documenting the human cost of repression on the Island.

The author has managed to gather a solid basis of evidence with historical, judicial and forensic value

Far from being limited to political denunciation, the author builds a solid investigation that disproves the myth that ideological regimes like the Cuban do not commit extrajudicial crimes or systematic disappearances. Pedreira reveals how the absolute control of institutions has allowed Castroism to literally erase those who oppose it, often without leaving a physical or documentary trace.

One of the most moving cases is that of Andrew de Graux Villafaña, a young guerrilla fighter who, at just 18 years old, was wounded, captured and eventually disappeared by the regime’s forces. The history, reconstructed from family and medical testimonies, exposes the machinery of concealment and dehumanization that characterizes this type of regime. The tireless struggle of his sister Mary Louise, even decades later, is a symbol of moral resistance to institutionalized oblivion.

Pedreira delves into one of the darkest and least documented aspects of the Island’s contemporary history / Courtesy

The work also includes the names and stories of other missing persons such as the brothers Pedrozo and Becerra, Orlando Collazo, Lázaro Fernández, Carlos M. Ibáñez and Alberto Sigas. Each case, accurately and respectfully reported, contributes to a portrait of collective pain that has been systematically silenced.

Pedreira points out that disappearances continue in present-day Cuba, either through direct repression or as a result of the conditions imposed by the dictatorship, which forces thousands of people to migrate along dangerous routes. Young people recruited for wars by others, migrants who disappeared at sea or in the jungle, citizens who never reached their destination: all of them are victims of a system that continues to take lives.

One of the book’s great successes is its dual approach. On the one hand, it provides concise data -dates, names, places- making it an invaluable source for researchers, historians, lawyers and human rights defenders. On the other, it does not forget the human component. Each entry is an act of memory, a symbolic tombstone for those who did not have a burial.

Disappearances continue in present-day Cuba, either through direct repression or as a result of the conditions imposed by the dictatorship.

The work is also part of a wider tradition of recovering historical memory in dictatorial contexts, as happened in former East Germany or in the Latin American Southern Cone.

Pedreira recognizes the limitations imposed by the regime’s permanence in power, but he establishes an ethical and historiographical starting point for the future.

The Disappeared of Castroism is a necessary book. Not only for its documentary contribution, but because it rescues from oblivion those whom the regime wanted to erase. With this work, Pedreira returns a face, voice and dignity to hundreds of Cubans who disappeared because they dreamed of a different country. As the author warns, many of them were young people, representatives of “the Cuba of the future,” and with them, a part of that future also disappeared.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Is a Third Alternative for Cuba Possible?

At the beginning of the revolutionary process it was said that the means of production belonged to the workers and that the land belonged to those who worked it.

Only 20 or 30 people in the Party-State leadership have a real productive interest in the Cuban economic model / Cubadebate

14ymedio, Ariel Hidalgo, Miami, 12 July 2025 — In 1988, when the collapse of the socialist camp and the failure of the model implemented by the communist parties were already visible, Francis Fukuyama drew attention with a dissertation which he later published in book form. The End of History? stated categorically that “the end point of the ideological evolution of humanity” had occurred, and that, except for capitalism, there was no “alternative political-economic structure” that could resolve fundamental human contradictions.

But two years later, three US airlines went out of business in the middle of labor conflicts, and in the following decade, a global economic crisis as severe as that of the Crash of 1929 broke out. Capitalism has an intrinsic contradiction between capitalists who pursue greater profits, and wage earners who desire better wages.

However, this model, even with its conflicts, has been able to sustain itself. This is not the case of centralized economies.

Why did countries in Eastern Europe like Yugoslavia, Hungary, Czechoslovakia and Poland rebel and break away from the socialist camp, with Soviet troops having to invade or threaten an invasion? They all ended up returning to a capitalist economy.

Why did the Soviet Union resort to a perestroika reform and then disintegrate, only to take each village on a path away from the ideals of the hammer and sickle?

Why did China and Vietnam have to abandon the intransigent fanaticism that kept them in poverty and then move closer to the West and implement free market elements? continue reading

Why did China and Vietnam have to abandon the intransigent fanaticism that kept them in poverty and then move closer to the West and implement free market elements?

And in return, why is it that a country like Cuba, which was the first sugar producer in the world; the third largest livestock-producing country of Latin America after Argentina and Uruguay; with the Cuban peso on par with the dollar; a per capita higher than countries like Spain, Austria and Japan; with more American immigrants than Cuban emigrants in the United States, is today the poorest country on the continent?

All these questions have an answer: because the model they shared, which some still maintain, is irrational and counterproductive for economic development. When the State absorbs all means of production, it is forced to generate a caste of thousands of officials that it can’t control and thus becomes a bureaucratic monster. In audits, words such as “missing” and “diversion of resources” are very common.

Since these officials are not the owners of these enterprises, they lack a real productive incentive, but they exploit them as if they were their own and waste the resources as if they were someone else’s. In technical terms, we could say that a contradiction is created between State ownership and the private appropriation by these officials. So you understand why Fidel Castro, already on the threshold of the end of his life, recognized: “The Cuban model doesn’t work, not even for Cubans.”

Who, then, are the only ones who really have a true productive interest in this model? Because, at most, there are only 20 or 30 people in the leadership of the Party-State, whereas in capitalism there are hundreds or thousands of people who have a real interest: the capitalists. This comparison is not mine; it comes from the liberals, in particular the late Cuban writer, Carlos Alberto Montaner.

If capitalism has an intrinsic contradiction between capitalists and wage earners, in these regimes of monopolistic State centralism there are two, because not only does the contradiction exist between the true owner, that is, the State, and the workers, but also the one generated between that State and its bureaucrats.

However, taking to its ultimate consequences the comparison of Montaner between that supposed socialism with only 20 or 30 interested in productivity and the hundreds or thousands of capitalism, we could ask: How will it be when this productive interest has millions, and there is not one or two internal contradictions, but none?

If capitalism has an intrinsic contradiction between capitalists and wage earners, in these regimes of State monopolistic centralism there are two

But… would such a society be possible?

Generally in a capitalist economy the result of the total value obtained in each production cycle can be divided into three parts:

– Productive capital, which is used to secure everything needed for the next cycle, such as raw materials, wages, wear and tear of labor instruments, and the surplus product that is reinvested to expand the value of the next cycle.

– Profit capital, the part devoted to covering all the private expenses of the capitalist.

– And taxes, for the maintenance of the collective needs of the whole community.

In an economy almost totally nationalized, there would be no capitalists, and there is supposed to be no profit capital, so we could say that the tax and this profit capital merge into one destination: the State, which supposedly represents the whole society.

At the beginning of the revolutionary process it was said that the means of production belonged to the workers and that the land belonged to those who worked it, phrases which were gradually replaced by another: “The property of all society.” Who represented that society? Well, the State. In practice, what was done was to replace the monopolies with a single one and the private landowners with an absolute one: that State, which concentrated 70 per cent of arable land in its hands.

Well, if the workers were the owners of the factories, that lucrative capital previously received by the capitalists should have been distributed among these workers, who should also have representatives in the administrations, something which can still be implemented in State enterprises.

If the farmers are to be the owners of the land, there should not be a monopoly that forces them to sell to the State at the price imposed by the State, since it is unusual for a buyer to force a seller to become an exclusive or main customer, with the price of the goods also imposed by force. This is called unfair treatment, and the result is the absence of a real productive stimulus. Here is the definition of monopoly given by Martí: “The monopoly is an implacable giant sitting at the gates of all the poor.”

If land is distributed with a guarantee that it will not then be expropriated, and farmers are given the freedom to sell their products to those they choose and at a price agreed between producer and buyer; if they are provided with farming implements, seeds, fertilizers and all other inputs, as well as agricultural transport so that the fruits do not rot in the fields, the markets will be filled with fruits and vegetables, which by their number will have an affordable price, and there will be no plate in any household that is empty at mealtime.

When the country claims to not have enough resources to provide every agricultural worker with all these means, we must answer them once and for all: “Liars!”

When the country claims to not have enough resources to provide every agricultural worker with all these means, we must answer them once and for all: “Liars!” Because less than 3% of the national budget is allocated to agriculture, while more than 30% is devoted to tourism, whose failure is increasingly evident by the decreasing number of visitors. Why? Because the network of luxury hotels, like isolated oases in the middle of a desert, belie that fantasy.

Any autonomous production practice, be it self-employment, independent cooperatives or self-management groups, where no one is exploited by other human beings, be they capitalists, State bureaucrats or other workers, is the third alternative.

What would Cuba be like with such a model in not many years? The consequences of these benefits would be not only for workers, but for society as a whole. Without exaggerating, the only problem we Cubans would have is that of the migratory waves, which instead of crossing the Rio Grande, would try to cross the Caribbean Sea to reach the Island.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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