At the back of the park stand the two towers of the Grand Aston hotel, located on 1st and D, in El Vedado. (Tribuna de La Habana)
14ymedio, Havana, 7 September 2023 — More than half of Cuba’s sports areas are not considered suitable to offer services after being evaluated as bad or average by the National Institute of Sports, Physical Education and Recreation (INDER), according to the official press on Wednesday. The agency admits its responsibility for the deterioration but points to another culprit, the Ministry of Education, which has neglected the sports facilities of the schools on the Island.
A photo report published in the official Tribunade La Habana gives an account of the seriousness of the situation in the José Martí sports park, located in the vicinity of the Malecón, in El Vedado. As for the schools in the capital, for which the report does not include images, the space dedicated to physical education is limited to a yard with rusted basketball courts.
“Sometimes the teaching classrooms are repaired but not the physical education classrooms. That must take a different direction”
Ariel Darias, provincial director of Sport, told the media that the schools are under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Education, so, he believes, that institution must be responsible for their maintenance. “Sometimes the teaching classrooms are repaired but not the physical education classrooms. That must take a different direction (…). The idea is that the schools next to the sports facilities be repaired,” the official said.
The destruction, according to the official press, is widespread. In Martí Park, the stands are the most dilapidated area. With part of the structure fallen down, several scaffoldings attempt to shore up the imminent collapse of the “petals” that make up the roof. The seats, still with traces of blue paint, have already lost their staggered shape. continue reading
Despite the disaster, “the Martí,” as it is popularly known, is still one of the main areas used by nearby residents to exercise. On its irregular and grassy track, it is common to see single people or groups of friends running, warming up their muscles and squatting. The custodians cannot prevent people from entering because the outer fence barely exists in long sections.
The pool, empty and with traces of stagnant water, is even more deteriorated than seven years ago. (Tribuna de la Habana)
The soccer and basketball courts are described by the media as “unused and in sharp deterioration, and the grass on the athletics track continues to grow.” As for the pool, empty and with traces of stagnant water, it is even more deteriorated than seven years ago, when 14ymedio published a photo gallery of the facilities. Then, the walls already warned visitors: “Don’t pass. Collapse.”
The faded buildings contrast with the horizon of shiny buildings. At the bottom of the park stand the two towers of the Grand Aston hotel, located on 1st and D, in El Vedado, which has a luxurious gym for its customers and a refreshing pool with a sea view.
In an effort to mitigate their statements to the official press, the authorities assured that many sports complexes are being restored. Martí Park itself is being repaired by a mipyme [private business] – whose name is not revealed – and the School of Sports Initiation (EIDE) has managed to recover the fencing gym and the soccer, hockey and baseball fields. According to its managers, it will soon also recover the judo area.
Last July, the official newspaper ¡Ahora! denounced the conditions in which the Olympic swimming pool of Gibara, in Holguín, is located, which has become a “macro garbage dump.” The provincial authorities, such as those of Havana, assure that the responsibility for the state of the facilities, in which they once trained the national water polo team and numerous swimmers, is held by someone else: the provincial Tourism company.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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The right-handed pitcher Lemay Portal will be represented by ThOr Representations. (Facebook/Lemay Portal Jr.)
14ymedio, Havana, 10 September 2023 — Cuban baseball player Lemay Portal has been in Mexico for days. The right-handed pitcher is looking for an opportunity with one of the teams of the Major Leagues of the United States. According to journalist Francys Romero, this athlete will be represented by ThOr Representaciones, the same agency that has managed “players like Loidel Chapellí Jr. with the Chicago White Sox and Earle Rafael Zulueta with the St. Louis Cardinals.”
Portal’s route is similar to the one used last March by the 16-year-old pitcher, Earle Rafael Zulueta. That habanero settled in Yucatan (Mexico) after leaving the Island, and after some conversations he agreed to join the American team the following year, which gave him a bonus of $400,000.
Although Lemay Portal has not offered details about where he is in Mexico, it could be in Yucatan, the state in which several Cuban players have settled after arriving on Aztec land, as Randy Arozarena and Zulueta did.
This 20-year-old athlete has a good physique and has recorded pitches that exceed 90 miles per hour. “Portal has the potential to make an impact on headhunters,” the reporter said. The next step is to apply for admission “to the free agency and be eligible for a contract within the United States Major League system.” continue reading
Lemay Portal was part of the Mayabeque Hurricanes team in the 62nd National Series. (Facebook/Lemay Portal Jr.)
Lemay Portal was part of the Mayabeque Hurricanes team in the 62nd National Series. During this stage he threw 5.2 innings and had an effectiveness of 4.76. “Arms like that of Emmanuel Chapman of Holguín, two young people from Camagüey and three pitchers from Mayabeque have emigrated in recent months,” Francys Romero recalled. “Among those in the land of Mayabeque are Marlon Vega, Yulián Quintana, Roger Bolaños and now Portal.”
The escape of players is alarming. Last Friday it was confirmed that the Cuban receiver Yunior Ibarra, who completed his contract with the Canadian team Panteras de Kitchener, disassociated himself from the Cuban Baseball Federation and decided to remain independent.
Cuban baseball has also lost numerous names among the new generations. The same day that Ibarra was made official, it was reported that Eduardo Mustelier, just 11 years old, was in the Dominican Republic, where he will seek to perfect his game in search of an opportunity with a U.S. team.
COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORK: The 14ymedio team is committed to practicing serious journalism that reflects Cuba’s reality in all its depth. Thank you for joining us on this long journey. We invite you to continue supporting us by becoming a member of 14ymedio now. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.
Valeria, a Cuban woman, together with the manager of the nightclub Marinero Men’s Club, which is located in Tapachula (Chiapas). (EFE)
14ymedio, Mexico, 7 September 2023 — Yumara has been stuck for 22 days in Tapachula, in the Mexican state of Chiapas, on the border with Guatemala. This Thursday she went to the offices of the Mexican Commission for Refugee Assistance (COMAR) to find out if she was approved for the “supplementary protection” that guarantees being able to stay in Mexico while requesting an asylum appointment for the United States through the CBP One application.
“They asked me to wait at least 15 days because they have received thousands of applications,” she tells 14ymedio. “I can’t leave this state; the Immigration agents warned me that if I do and am detained, they will return me to Guatemala.”
According to figures from COMAR, 53,698 irregular migrants have entered through Tapachula. According to official records, as of September 4, they had received applications from 10,192 Cubans. “The officers tell you about thousands, about 16,000, but I haven’t seen those Cubans,” she says. “The people who are now here are mostly from Haiti and Venezuela.”
Yumara, 29, left a nine-year-old daughter on the Island. “The money runs out and you have to find out how to get it,” she says. Due to her status as a migrant, the work options are limited to cleaning or being a waitress in some inn, “where they pay you 90 Mexican pesos (4 dollars) a day and give you food.” continue reading
She says that due to the lack of opportunities, many migrant women go to bars and nightclubs, where “they are roped into prostitution.” The young woman, who shares a room with Mileidis, another Cuban who works in a nightclub, says that they had a Venezuelan friend. “One night she went out with some men,” and they didn’t hear from her again
According to the official records of Comar, up to September 4 they had received requests from 10,192 Cubans
The head of the Street Brigade Community Center, Cristian Gómez Fuentes, told Diariodel Sur on Tuesday that there are more than 2,000 women, mainly from the Island, who work in bars as companions of clients, some even practicing prostitution.
On the other hand, the head of the Marinero Men’s Club, Antonio Armas Hernández, assured the EFE news agency last week that they offer employment to women while making their asylum applications. “Approximately 98% of those who have gone through this business to work are Cubans. We have had one or two Venezuelans and some here who are Honduran. The migrants themselves are Cubans, and we have tried to give them that opportunity with advice, including about migration,” said the businessman.
Mileidis, Yumara’s roommate, is just 22 years old and says that in these night clubs the managers offer the waitresses between 50 and 100 pesos, depending on the bottle that the customers consume. “In one night you can get 400 pesos, but the jineteras leave with 2,400″ because of their customers, she says.
Yumara and Mileidis pay 2,700 pesos for the room they rent, which has two single beds, a grill, two benches and a table. “We share the bathroom, the laundry area and the patio.”
The activist and director of the Center for Human Dignity A.C., Luis García Villagrán, told us this Thursday that there are more than 40,000 migrants in the state waiting for answers from COMAR. Between January and December 2022, about 100,000 people sought to be recognized as refugees.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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Line to withdraw cash at the ATMs of the Metropolitan Bank of 23, between Malecón and P, in El Vedado, Havana. (14ymedio)
14ymedio, Havana, 8 September 2023 — Cuba will once again manufacture high-denomination banknotes that will circulate this month to alleviate the cash crisis that the Island suffers. The data was revealed to the official press by an official of the Banco Popular de Ahorro (BPA) of the town of Santa Fe, on the Isla de la Juventud, who also said that the ATMs will reissue bills “24 hours a day.” Interviewed by the Victoria newspaper, Ronald Molina, commercial manager of the BPA in that community, explained that the authorities were taking “a group of measures” to “stabilize the situation” of banknote shortages throughout the Island.
However, on a tour of the banks and ATMs located in the areas of El Vedado and Nuevo Vedado in Havana, 14ymedio asked several customers and workers if they were aware of the issuance of new banknotes in September. The answer was negative in all cases.
I haven’t heard anything about new banknotes, and I don’t think they would do that to us, because there wouldn’t be enough for the population
“I haven’t heard anything about new banknotes, and I don’t think they would do that to us, because there wouldn’t be enough for the population,” said one of the employees of the Metropolitan Bank, located at 23, between Malecón and P. “There are still long lines every day at the ATMs.”
The ignorance that prevails in the Havana bank branches contrasts with the confidence of Molina, who guaranteed that the new banknotes will soon be available. However, he did not specify if they will have the same format as the 100-peso notes printed this April. Although they retained the characteristics of the previous ones, they have a different paper without the reliefs or the Braille system for the blind, so their printing could have been less expensive. continue reading
However, he added that the country tries at all costs not to “resort to the printing of very high denominations,” but will continue to manufacture those that already exist, where the largest bill is the 1,000-peso one.
Although the official did not clarify the cause of this reticence, recent statements by the Central Bank of Cuba (BCC) and the Ministry of Economy and Planning indicate that it could be the difficulties presented by the State to cover the high cost of the production of the currency, since the higher the denomination of the banknote, the higher its manufacturing cost.
With the increase in electronic transactions “the currency used in the manufacture of physical currency can be allocated to other priorities
This August, in a broadcast of the Roundtable program, the president of the BCC, Joaquín Alonso, alluded to the advantages of the country’s banking and pointed out that with the increase in electronic transactions “the hard currency used in the manufacture of physical money can be used for other priorities.”
Similar comments were also made by the Minister of Economy, Alejandro Gil, last May, when he admitted in front of Parliament that printing and taking care of money was extremely expensive and that there was little capacity to meet the population’s demand for cash.
Cuban economist Pedro Monreal then explained on his X (Twitter) account that “with the ’shipwreck’ of the Cuban peso since 2021, in principle there should be a change in the denominations of the banknotes.” He recommended the printing of paper money of 2,000, 5,000 and 10,000 pesos.
“With inflation and devaluation, more banknotes are needed to buy the same product or service, or new banknotes with higher denominations,” said Monreal, who pointed to the cost of printing as a problem for an economy as precarious as the Cuban one.
Asked by Victoria about the low liquidity of ATMs and whether this situation responded to a national experiment or a “strategy” of the Government to force users to resort to electronic means of payment, Molina was elusive. He responded that, with the inclusion of the mipymes [MSMEs, or micro, small and medium-sized enterprises] in the economic panorama, the high-denomination banknotes of the Island have stopped returning to the banks.
According to the manager, these companies “manage large amounts of cash and need it to buy from other economic actors,” so they have had to hoard more money that the State has not been able to replenish. He also added that with bancarización [banking reform] this problem is alleviated for the MSMEs, which “balance” many problems of daily life, although he acknowledged that the new measure does not “improve their businesses.”
Among the habaneros interviewed by 14ymedio, many agreed that for months the banks have only operated with low-denomination banknotes that don’t usually exceed 100 pesos. This Friday, at the 23 and J branch of the Metropolitan Bank, a client complained that she had been given 3,000 pesos in 20-peso bills. The cashier, a little impatient, explained that those were the bills they had available. “And you don’t know how difficult it is to get big bills. I wish we had them so we wouldn’t have to come in on Sundays to fill in the ATMs,” the official said.
In another branch on the corner of Marino and Conill, in Nuevo Vedado this Friday, customers could only withdraw 1,000 pesos at the only ATM that worked and the same amount if they used the cashier service. The bills that were being issued were 10 pesos, and annoyance ran through the long line that began to form before dawn.
A man who deposited 15,000 pesos was a relief for the employees because “the money was already running out and at least with that we can pay more customers,” said a worker. To top it off, the ATM had a problem with the zero number key, which lengthened the entire process and canceled many operations.
Despite the fact that for months the press and the Government have been promoting bancarización as a relief from several economic problems on the Island, Cubans continue to show distrust of the transition to virtual payments and prefer to manage their assets in cash.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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Eduardo Mustelier, 11 years old, is in the Dominican Republic to play baseball. (@francysromeroFR)
14ymedio, Havana, 8 September 2023 — The regime still hadn’t digested the escape of volleyball player Ellemay Santa Miranda in Quebec when it became known that Cuban catcher Yunior Ibarra also decided to stay in Canada. Journalist Francys Romero reported on his social networks that the native of Sancti Spíritus broke with the Cuban Baseball Federation (FCB) after finishing his season in the Intercondados Semi-professional League of Ontario. Behind Ibarra’s decision, according to the sports media Swing Completo, could have been his “exclusion” from the national team that participated in the last V World Baseball Classic.
This Thursday Ibarra, 28, was due to be with the Cuban pre-selection that trains at the Latin American Stadium in Havana for the Pan American Games in Chile 2023. However, he decided not to board the plane back to the Island, a decision that was also made by his colleagues Raúl González, Yamichel Pérez and Yadián Martínez.
The four athletes arrived in the North American country as part of the players hired last May by the Kitchener Panthers team. Ibarra was on the list of 25 players whose participation in foreign teams had already been negotiated last May by the FCB. His abandonment is in addition to that of Javier Mirabal, who last July decided to continue his career as an independent baseball player with the Mexican club Toros de Tijuana. continue reading
With the Kitchener Panthers, Yunior Ibarra participated in 43 games, the last of them on September 5 against the Canadian team Barrie BayCats. In his personal record he achieved a batting average of .276, had 22 runs and 26 runs batted in, in addition to connecting three home runs.
Catcher Yunior Ibarra was hired last May by Kitchener’s Panthers team. (Escambray)
Ibarra was with the Gallos de Sancti Spíritus in ten National Series on the Island and the Ganaderos team in the Elite League. His batting average was .219; he drove in 135 runs and got six home runs.
This Thursday, reporter Francys Romero said that, at only 11 years of age, baseball player Eduardo Mustelier is in the Dominican Republic. Last May, the boy participated in the Under-12 World Cup that was held in Aguascalientes (Mexico).
“This demonstrates the desperation with which one lives in Cuban society,” the journalist stressed. “The emigration of baseball players to Quisqueya (Dominican Republic) thus touches one of its youngest players since it became systematic.”
Despite his young age, Mustelier’s long swing has caught the attention of the headhunters. “You have to keep in mind that he’s only a child, but he looked superior to the rest in skills such as defense, runs and arm,” Romero said.
The frequent loss of professional players and promising young baseball players in Cuba keeps the FCB in crisis, which no longer knows how to prevent the escape of its athletes who are looking for better contracts in foreign leagues. During the last year, 15 of the 20 players who made up the national team for the Under-15 World Cup left the Island.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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CIMEX, the corporation managed by the military sets the pace of much of the trade on the island. (Screen capture)
14ymedio, Havana, 9 September 2023 — Those who go to the branch of the Cimex mercantile corporation in Habana del Este, in search of the jobs they advertised with great fanfare on their social networks, will be disappointed. Only one of the monthly salaries of the available jobs – all manual trades that require “aptitude, experience and certification” – exceeds 3,000 pesos, a figure that is barely enough to buy half a box of chicken or a carton of eggs in Havana.
The corporation managed by the military, which sets the pace of much of the trade on the Island and whose managers understand first-hand the severity of inflation in the country, can only offer an electrician 2,960 pesos, while a maintenance worker will be paid 2,420. A carpenter with the rank of master will be able to opt for a payment of 2,960 pesos; a welder and a plumber, 2,540, the same amount provided for a painter.
Only refrigeration and air conditioning technicians will be paid 3,410, much more than the rest but just as useless to face the greed of Cuban businesses, both state and private.
The barrage of negative comments caused Cimex to delete the ad hours after publishing it. “This is a joke that makes you want to cry,” commented continue reading
one user, calling on the managers to be realistic, since “on the street everything costs three times more than those salaries.”
The barrage of negative comments caused Cimex to delete the ad hours after publishing it
“He who knows any of those trades can earn in one day the salary offered for a month, doing a particular job,” insisted another reader, while another warned that, as long as wages are not improved, all Cimex stores will continue to be “destroyed.”
“This is why the Revolution is advancing,” another commentator said with irony, while most reminded advertisers how much food cost on the Island, in which buying anything “needs several months” of savings. Another reader summarized the options of Cubans: with those salaries, it is more profitable to “continue without working.”
Cimex is not the only state company that is desperately looking for workers. The newly created Department of the Ombudsman’s Office, in the Directorate of Justice of Cienfuegos, published a call in the local press for people to work in the legal field. Although they list a series of requirements – not every lawyer is eligible for the job – including enjoying a “good public concept” and needing the approval of the Ministry of Justice, the announcement does not reveal how much they will pay those who are approved.
The crisis has even reached Cubadebate, the regime’s foremost propaganda medium, which tries to recruit “passionate journalists” for its team. As long as they are “committed” to the Revolution, they do not need to be graduates in that profession but only to have a “journalistic vocation” and “reside in Havana.”
To sweeten the proposal, they not only promise “open hours” and “a quality internet connection,” but also the fact of working for “a renowned news platform.” The salary, however, deflates the offer: just 5,060 pesos and – if the worker earns the good favor of the team led by the prominent Cuban TV host Randy Alonso – a “monthly stimulation payment.”
Translated by Regina Anavy
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COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORK: The 14ymedio team is committed to practicing serious journalism that reflects Cuba’s reality in all its depth. Thank you for joining us on this long journey. We invite you to continue supporting us by becoming a member of 14ymedio now. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.
A study has revealed that in 21% of Cubans who live below the poverty line often go without breakfast, lunch or dinner due to lack of money. (14ymedio)
14ymedio, Elías Amor Bravo, Economist, 9 September 9, 2023 — The two refrains that the Cuban communists repeat ad nauseam fall apart in a spectacular way. The first, that “the United States crushes us with the embargo” sounds more and more like a hollow shell. The US sends Cuba more than 8 billion dollars a year in remittances, so no one can believe the “persecution,” and if they do it’s for political reasons.
The other thing that is repeated like a broken record is that “in Cuba no one is left helpless or abandoned to their fate.” This is even more difficult to believe once the bases of collectivism have been broken since the entry into force of the so-called Ordering Task.* In a nutshell, the Cuban communists are running out of excuses.
Not many days ago, Cuban President Díaz-Canel promoted a meeting to evaluate the progress of social programs aimed at the care of people who are in a vulnerable situation. The state press at the service of the regime has not missed a single opportunity to build a false reality.
The meeting was attended by, among others, First Vice President, Valdés Mesa, Prime Minister Marrero and the Minister of Labor and Social Security, Marta Elena Feitó. The latter was in charge of a speech to update everyone on the state of implementation of each of the programs of care for the vulnerable and to highlight what still has to be done in each of them, “to give continuity and preserve the social accomplishments achieved.”
The propaganda message of this meeting is that it was the so-called revolution that was responsible for the “main achievements with the universalist approach to social policy.” Specifically, those in Education, Health, Social Assistance, Social Security, and others were cited. Obviously, the minister of labor can say what she believes, but surely she would be surprised if instead of being the informant, she uses public opinion, the expressions of Cubans, about the state of these services. Maybe she knows continue reading
them, and that’s why this meeting says just the opposite. The more the communist leaders distance themselves from the people, the greater the rejection they will receive.
The alleged social equity of the Cuban communist regime is going at great speed down the drain of history. And without that fundamental basis, little more can be done on that unfortunate Island, where every day the leaders launch new experiments to gain a time that they no longer have.
The minister made an express mention of the “children’s programs” whose family nuclei deserve attention, or those destined for “communities.” In both cases, these are “experiments” of the regime that do not have the slightest justification except to maintain and reinforce control over a population that lacks resources to improve their life prospects.
These experiments continue to bet on collectivism “in a multidisciplinary way,” because the programs include the ministries of Public Health, Education, Higher Education and Culture, as well as the National Institute of Sports, Physical Education and Recreation. Imagine the cost of these useless programs and the impact they have on the budget, since the situation of Cubans does not improve.
The communist leaders emphasize that they want family and community participation, but in reality this participation is “directed” and “controlled” by the single party that thus instrumentalizes social segments to consolidate political, bureaucratic and ideological structures. Meanwhile, who is producing and what do they produce?
Hence, absurdities are raised such as offering Cuba’s ninis — a term used to describe young people in vulnerable situations who do not study or work — jobs in the neighborhoods in which they live and also for the benefit of the community itself. They don’t realize that those young people, frustrated with their reality, leave the country as soon as they can to build alternative and prosperous lives in other countries, where they quickly leave the status of nini behind. Perhaps Cuban communists should ask themselves why, in an economy as social and collectivist as the one they say they have created, these ninis even exist.
Castro policies do not solve these problems, just as they don’t serve to achieve a prosperous economy. In reality, those “benefits and services,” which have been created by the so-called “revolution,” do not help vulnerable families to overcome their situation. The budget resources allocated to these activities artificially inflate an unsustainable public deficit, which is at the origin of the lack of monetary control that exists in the country and causes double-digit inflation of the highest in the world.
In fact, many of these programs could be eliminated and things would not change significantly, except for the plethora of officials, communist politicians and bureaucrats who live from their implementation. The minister emphasized that the cost is 6 billion pesos, but in reality it is much more if Education and Health items are added. More than 60% of the public budget is committed to collectivist programs, the results of which are well known. In Cuba, groups at risk of social exclusion are flourishing and increasing, and I’m not the only one saying this: the communist leaders themselves say the same thing.
That failure of the policies of benefits to families and vulnerable people is symptomatic of other structural ills that afflict the Cuban economy, placing it close to total bankruptcy. The situation of collective vulnerability spreads and increases incessantly, and the government is unable to face the process.
Basically, there are not enough resources to meet those needs and they have to be financed. Nothing is free. Mobilizing billions of pesos for the vulnerable means that the money cannot be used, for example, to build hotels, and the political priorities have become very clear in recent years. The economic resources available can’t be stretched, even when it comes to those segments of the population who are vulnerable, which, according, to official sources, have been increasing in recent years. Apparently there are no policies for this situation.
The communists are worried because the State can’t handle it anymore and has to make cuts in certain benefits, which breaks the collectivist vision of the revolution. Problems grow and the tourists observe poverty in the Cuban streets, not only in the distressed buildings but in the people, and time is running out. That is why they affirm that “it is important not only to demand of the State, but also of the families who have the obligation to take care of those people, because it is a collective responsibility to take care of them.” Things are getting quite complicated. They have already begun putting the responsibility on others, and for that they use the family code.
The Minister of Labor said that “we are going to begin to better update the population on all the services that exist and where to go to receive them.” She did not talk about reducing expenses and improving management efficiency. Everyone left happy from the meeting convened by Díaz-Canel to talk about the disadvantaged groups. The regime is getting further and further away from social reality.
*Translator’s note: The Ordering Task is a collection of measures that include eliminating the Cuban Convertible Peso (CUC), leaving the Cuban peso (CUP) as the only national currency, raising prices, raising salaries (but not as much as prices), opening stores that take payment only in hard currency, which must be in the form of specially issued pre-paid debit cards, and a broad range of other measures targeted to different elements of the Cuban economy.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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Colonel César Rodríguez gave more details in the Razones de Cuba program. (Screen capture)
14ymedio, Madrid, 8 September 2023 — The security forces of the Cuban Ministry of the Interior have arrested 17 people linked to the “trafficking network” for the recruitment of nationals to fight on the Russian side in the war in Ukraine. Those involved will be accused of the crimes of human trafficking, trafficking and/or mercenarism according to each case.
Two days after the statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in which an operation against this alleged network was reported, several officials of the General Directorate of Criminal Investigation were interviewed in the Razones de Cuba program, presented by a regime spokesman, Humberto López, to present details that were being demanded from the ruling party itself.
However, there was little that was new in addition to the number of people, of whom three are linked to recruitment and the remaining 14 are those interested in joining the invasion, described as a “military operation” by official media, “in exchange for residence in the Eurasian country and a substantial monetary remuneration,” which according to the head of the Cuban troops in Russia, interviewed by América TeVé this week, amounts to $2,000 per month.
Three are linked to recruitment and the remaining 14 are those interested in joining the invasion, described as a “military operation” by the official media
It follows from the words of the officials that at least one of the people they recruited was a woman, as the main evidence mentions “the confessions made by the detainees and the communications established by the (female) ringleader at the internal level of the criminal network.”
The authorities affirm that the network “enhanced the search” for “people with a criminal record, from dysfunctional families, to incorporate them into the mercenary system,” although they have not provided more details about the detainees and whether or not they had that profile, which the regime usually uses to define those accused of common and political crimes. continue reading
The program specified the classification of each crime for which those involved will be accused. On the one hand, that of human trafficking for those who “promote, organize, incite or execute the recruitment, transportation, transfer, reception or reception of people (…) taking advantage of a situation of vulnerability of the victim,” with the use of coercion, violence, deception or bribery.
On the other hand, the trafficking of people, for those who facilitate or promote the “entry or exit of people from the national territory, in order for them to emigrate to another country.”
One of the Cuban recruits posing next to a Russian tank. (informnapalm)
And finally that of mercenarism, which would be attributable to the alleged recruits, for those who join military formations or private military companies made up of citizens of a State other than the one in which they are expected to act, and in exchange for a salary or personal benefit. For this crime, attributable to the majority of the detainees, very serious sanctions were specified, ranging from 10 to 30 years of deprivation of liberty, life imprisonment or the death penalty.
José Luis Reyes Blanco, Chief Prosecutor of the Supervision Department of the Directorate of Criminal Proceedings of the Attorney General’s Office, added that the investigations will determine the involvement and crime for each accused, while Eva Yelina Silva Walker, director of International Law of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, spoke of the “historic position of Cuba against mercenarism, of which it has been a target on several occasions,” as well as international treaties and the promotion of initiatives in the United Nations carried out by the Cuban Government.
“Cuba is not part of the military conflict in Ukraine. It is acting and will act energetically against anyone who, from the national territory, participates in any form of human trafficking for the purpose of recruitment or mercenarism so that Cuban citizens make use of weapons against any country,” they said.
For this crime, attributable to the majority of the detainees, very serious sanctions were specified, ranging from 10 to 30 years of deprivation of liberty, life imprisonment or the death penalty
The father of two alleged recruits also intervened in the program, one of whom is, according to his testimony, already in Russian territory, while the other was intercepted by State Security, which prevented his departure.
“I have to thank the colleagues of the MININT (Ministry of the Interior), because they took him that day and changed his mind. I don’t know what they told him, but it worked, because he reconsidered and chose to stay here,” said Pedro Roberto Camuza Jovas, who regretted not knowing anything about his other son, who hid the reality of “work contract” to avoid affecting the health of his father, who has high blood pressure.
The information comes a day after the documentation regarding the Cubans recruited in Cuba was leaked, after a hack by the Ukrainian activists Cyber Resistance, who gave Inform Napalm lists, passports and other files. The group of mercenaries, according to this information, is made up of 199 Cubans.
“Immigrants and the poor of the former Soviet states are the most logical choice. Consequently, the exploitation of foreign citizens allows the Kremlin to attract additional human resources for its military operations, to cope with the growing losses,” the report says.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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Triptych of the exhibition, “Cuba, a sustained commitment to human rights for all,” with which the regime promotes its re-election to the Human Rights Council. (@GerardoPPortal)
EFE (via 14ymedio), Havana, 8 September 2023 — About 20 Cuban opposition organizations and 30 individual dissidents, mostly based abroad, signed a statement that rejects the recently announced candidacy for the re-election of Cuba to the UN Human Rights Council for the period 2024-2026. The document, published this Thursday, states that the Cuban State “does not comply with its human rights obligations, as highlighted in several reports presented this year within the framework of the Universal Periodic Review of the Republic of Cuba.”
They consider that this “non-compliance” has caused “an extreme setback” in the effective exercise of human rights on the Island.
The letter is signed by organizations such as the opposition platform D’Frente, the Council for the Democratic Transition in Cuba, Cuba Próxima and the Institute of Artivism Hannah Arendt
The group emphasizes that in the Cuban Constitution approved in 2019, “the one-party system is maintained and free elections are not allowed,” and emphasizes that Cuba has not ratified international pacts on civil and political rights and economic, social and cultural rights, nor their optional protocols.
“This prevents the binding effect of the decisions and pronouncements of the treaty bodies and those derived from the visits of independent experts to verify the real situation of the country in terms of human rights,” adds the statement, disseminated by the Argentine initiative Demo Amlat. continue reading
As another reason for their rejection, they cite the increase in repression after the anti-government protests of July 2021 on the Island, the largest in decades, in which more than 1,000 people were arrested and 700 convicted.
They point out that the people arrested for political reasons “were tried and sanctioned without due process, as a result of the lack of independence of the courts.”
In announcing its candidacy, the Cuban Government said that it “is committed to advocating for full respect for the principles of universality, indivisibility, objectivity, non-politicization and non-selectivity,” and it promotes “the strengthening of international cooperation.”
The Cuban Foreign Ministry announced on September 1 that it will seek re-election on October 10 and began an online campaign to promote its candidacy and appeal to the vote
The Cuban Foreign Ministry announced on September 1 that it will seek re-election on October 10 and started an online campaign to promote its candidacy and appeal to the vote.
Various independent groups, NGOs such as Human Rights and Amnesty International and some States have criticized the Cuban government by accusing it of repeated human rights violations.
They have denounced, among other things, “arbitrary detentions,” “trials without minimum guarantees” and arrests and convictions “for exercising the right to freedom of expression.” They have also demanded the release of those convicted for political reasons, who, according to NGOs such as Prisoners Defenders, total more than 1,000 people.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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A fleet of tractors and asphalt rollers is already circulating in the city, which will serve as a “background” for the summit. (14ymedio)
14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, September 8, 2023 — The phrase with which Cubans mock the partial restoration of Havana every time the visit of a foreign president is expected is accurate: “Put some makeup on the old woman,” that is, hide the potholes and paint the facades of certain “strategic” streets, while the rest of the city faces one collapse after another. This is precisely what is happening on the eve of the summit of the Group of 77 plus China, which the Island regime will host on September 15 and 16.
Traditional allies, such as Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Comrade Ralph Gonsalves, Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, will not suffer the slightest setback on Rancho Boyeros Avenue – freshly repaired and embellished – that goes from José Martí International Airport to the city center.
“It is the circuit of prosperity”, finish off those who walk the emblematic 23rd street today. (14ymedio)
Neither the president of Honduras, Xiomara Castro, nor that of Argentina, Alberto Fernández, will see the grotesque garbage piles that accumulate in the streets of Centro Habana or Luyanó. “The mountains of garbage are about to give each other a kiss and a hug,” the residents of Nuevo Vedado, an area of the capital, once well-off and now abandoned, ironize in front of two “neighboring” landfills. Miguel Díaz-Canel will not dare to take Antonio Guterres, Secretary General of the United Nations, through this area. continue reading
However, for the limited portion of the city that will serve as a “background” for the summit, a fleet of tractors, rollers, cleaning vehicles and contingents of workers, sweepers and supervisors is already circulating. “It’s the circuit of prosperity,” conclude those who travel today along the emblematic 23rd Street, which is also receiving its dose of “makeup,” before adding that “only the Pope is missing” from the city.
The leaders, gathered in Havana to talk about “development, science, technology and innovation,” will leave without going through the bitter experience of being stopped by a tense traffic police officer, imported from the neighboring province of Mayabeque to support the summit.
“They are ending the fines these days,” summarized a taxi driver this Friday, while muttering under his breath something similar to a prayer to the Virgin of Charity. His desire: that the policemen leave Havana as quickly as the the world leaders.
Taxi drivers have already started complaining about the increased fines to keep them “under control”. (14 and a half)
Translated by Regina Anavy
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Cubans are traveling to the Russian city of Riazan, according to several of them, including former Revolutionary Armed Forces sub-lieutenant Lázaro González. (RyazanGazette)
14ymedio, Madrid, 7 September 2023 — The opacity of the Cuban government on the subject of the recruitment of young people from the Island to fight with the Russian Army in Ukraine has aroused suspicion in its own ranks. The magazine close to the ruling party, La Joven Cuba [Cuban Youth], dedicated an editorial to the situation on Wednesday, demanding “information transparency” with the citizenry.
The text refers to the statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in which, without giving a single detail, there was talk of a government operation against a “trafficking network of people” for which “criminal proceedings” have been initiated. La Joven Cuba asks that the modus operandi be explained about “its contractors in Russia, its facilitators in the national territory, what positions they occupy and the final destination of the Cubans who are currently in a war zone.”
The text considers that clarifying those doubts is relevant not only for national security and the lives of some of its citizens, but also to “generate awareness about the dangers that similar actions may involve in the future.” It refers to the trip to Kiev of Orlando Gutierrez-Boronat – whom they refer to as an “extreme-right Cuban-American opponent, supporter of a military invasion of the Island” – who claimed to have gone to Ukraine out of solidarity, while the regime accuses him of going to promote the exclusion of the Island (along with Russia) from international forums, including the United Nations.
Despite the obvious geopolitical alliance of the Cuban government with Vladimir Putin, Havana has never broken diplomatic relations with Ukraine
“This action is far from contributing to a peaceful solution of the conflict and could have serious political consequences, because despite the obvious geopolitical alliance of the Cuban government with Vladimir Putin, Havana has never broken diplomatic relations with Ukraine,” continues the editorial. It concludes, using a carrot and a stick, by saying that they demand clarity as much as they want Cuba to stay out of the war. continue reading
In the text there is a paragraph dedicated – like the title – to focusing attention on the use of the word “mercenaries” applied to those who fight on the Russian side, “a term so far reserved exclusively for the activities of sectors opposed to the Cuban government,” in the face of the “euphemism of ’private military company’ [used] by the state media on the Island.” However, LaJoven Cuba limits itself to highlighting it, without making conjectures.
From the other side of the ideological trench, the demand for transparency is common ground. The Cuban Electoral Defense Commission (COCUDE) issued a statement on Wednesday urging the Government to immediately intercede with the authorities of Russia and Belarus to repatriate those who were deceived into fighting, “following the ’internationalist’ tradition that is instilled in Cubans from elementary school and throughout their lives.”
The organization calls for the cessation of all military collaboration with Russia and points out, in addition, that it is absolutely impossible that in a controlled state such as Cuba “the security services of the regime have just discovered a plot that obviously takes months, at the least, organizing itself in both Cuban and Russian territory.”
In this, the Ukrainian politician Oleksandr Merezhko agrees, and on Tuesday he rejected the statement of the Cuban Foreign Ministry, which he accused of lying. “The Cuban communist regime pretends that it has nothing to do with this “trafficking of people.” In reality, this totalitarian regime is on the side of the aggressor,” he shouted, asking the European Union to stop financing the Island because of its “pro-Russian” status.
But there are many doubts about this case. Last Tuesday, the journalist from América TeVé, Juan Manuel Cao, interviewed an alleged Cuban soldier who denied some of the complaints made by recruits Alex Vegas Díaz and Andorf Velázquez.
Identified as Lázaro González, second lieutenant of the Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR), he said he spoke from Russia, where he is at the head of a company of about 90 Cubans, all of them with military knowledge, according to his testimony, for having completed their military service and being trained daily in the Eurasian country, with shooting classes included.
González said that the task of his troop is to support the Russian army as it occupies areas of Ukraine, that they all earn $2,000 and undergo medical examinations upon arrival in the country. The contracts, which the young recruits said they had seen only in Russian, are also in Spanish, the soldier said.
Everyone here has their passport and the immigration letter,” he said, adding that he could not reveal who had recruited him because it was “confidential” information
“Everyone here has their passport and the immigration letter,” he said, adding that he could not reveal who had recruited him because it was “confidential” information.
The press talks about Elena and Dayana, a Russian and a Cuban who allegedly carry out the operation. However, some media maintain the theory that it is a simulation using Artificial Intelligence, especially after an audio was leaked in which the answers were not only succinct but hardly understandable. “Can I quote your answer on this subject? We would like to know your version of the story,” asks the journalist, to which the voice replies: “There is reality and that is different.”
While doubts persist, among the relatives of the recruits who have reported being victims of the situation, the concern does not cease. Cary Díaz, mother of Alex Rolando Vegas Díaz, sent a video this Wednesday to journalist Mario Vallejo, in which she asks for help from anyone who can intercede, including the Catholic Church.
“He is 19 years old. He supposedly left with a work contract, and it turns out not to be true. A few unpleasant things happened but that’s not why they left, which was to work and earn a little money for their families in Cuba. Everything has changed, and their lives are in danger because they are being sent to the front line of combat,” she said with obvious anguish.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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Unit 2 of the Lidio Ramón thermoelectric plant, known as Felton, is one of those that are out of operation this Thursday. (Cubadebate)
14ymedio/EFE, Havana/Moscow, 7 September 2023 — Russia and Cuba addressed, on Thursday, the construction of new generating capacities for power plants on the Island, as reported by the Russian Ministry of Energy in a statement echoed by the Spanish agency EFE. “Electric energy plays a decisive role in the economy of the Republic of Cuba and must become the basis for the development of all industries,” said the Russian Deputy Minister of Energy, Yevgeny Grabchaka, during a meeting with the Cuban Minister of Energy and Mines, Vicente de la O Levy.
According to the report, both officials also discussed bilateral cooperation in the oil and gas sector, including issues related to crude oil extraction.
At the end of last month, De la O Levy met in Moscow with the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister, Sergey Riabkov, to discuss energy cooperation between the parties.
According to the statement released by the Russian Government, “during the meeting, which took place in the atmosphere of friendship and mutual understanding inherent in the Russian-Cuban dialogue, the strengthening of bilateral cooperation was addressed, particularly in the field of energy, in a spirit of strategic cooperation.” continue reading
Both officials also discussed bilateral cooperation in the oil and gas sector, including issues related to crude oil extraction
Russian aid in the field of energy is essential in the midst of the current crisis, which does not subside, taking into account, in addition, the frequent breakdowns suffered by Cuban power plants. This same Thursday, according to the Electric Union of Cuba, unit 2 of the Felton (in Holguín), unit 6 of Energas Boca de Jaruco (in Mayabeque), unit 1 of Santa Cruz (in Matanzas) and unit 6 of the Renté (in Santiago de Cuba) are out of service.
Nor do the refineries have an encouraging outlook. This Tuesday, the Ñico López stopped working again, in the Havana municipality of Regla, put into operation on August 25 after being stopped for a year and responsible for the smell of gas spread throughout the capital last week.
According to 14ymedio, Professor Jorge Piñón, a specialist in the oil sector at the University of Texas (USA), Ñico López’s problem “is not a lack of crude oil to process” but rather “it seems to be technical.”
The plant is “the most sophisticated of the three Cuban refineries,” says the expert, for being “the only one with a catalytic cracking unit, a leading unit in gasoline production. Like the thermoelectric ones,” it shows signs of aging “after its 67 years of operation with a low level of capital maintenance.”
Translated by Regina Anavy
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The authorities say that it is difficult to control the nearly 7,000 ranchers in the province. (ACN)
14ymedio, Havana, 5 September 2023 — The authorities of Ciego de Ávila pointed out on Monday that the annual milk production in the province had a deficit of 1 million gallons, according to calculations made in July. Although the plan is to produce 5.8 million before the end of the year, the leaders predict that by then there will be a shortfall of 1.2 million – almost a million less than there was in 2022 – and they have begun to look for culprits: the producers who falsify their records and the inspectors who consent to the situation.
According to the local newspaper Invasor, officials suspect that there is cheating not only in the declaration of the producers – about 7,000 throughout the province – but also in the livestock control processes. “The counts carried out recently reveal considerable shortages of cattle, so a logical concern of the authorities of the territory revolves around who should count the cattle and how it should be done,” the newspaper says.
During this new campaign, the region will implement a “control plan” that includes other associations, such as the veterinarians, since the Livestock Control Center “lacks the necessary infrastructure that this task demands.” The authorities seek to create working groups that act with “speed and quality” and hire producers with “rigor” “to look at the rancher’s livestock, with the control and requirements of the political authorities.” continue reading
After executing more rigorous controls, “it is very likely that the new measures will report more milk in the future than is being collected now
The governor of Ciego de Ávila, Alfre Menéndez, expressed an even more explicit suspicion about the situation, saying that, after carrying out more rigorous controls, “it is very likely that the new measures will report more milk in the future than is being collected now.”
The outlook for the winter agricultural campaign doesn’t seem hopeful either. Officials asked that the same thing not happen this year as in the previous one, when the shipment of yuca seeds to the province was spoiled.
However, some municipalities already have a serious deficit. This is the case of Morón, which has not managed to complete any of the fruit, meat, vegetable or grain productions of the plan for the first planting of the year.
According to the authorities, Ciego de Ávila promised to plant, throughout the year, 12,355 acres of yuca, but four months after the end of the year and six months after the completion of the winter planting, fulfilling that plan demands a “growth of more than 4,942 acres in the immediate future.”
The missing lands will be “recovered” from the land that was delivered to 99 state agencies and small businesses
The missing lands will be “recovered” from the lands that were delivered to 99 state agencies and micro, small and medium-sized businesses, 44 of them in recent months, which, in the opinion of the authorities, are being underutilized. We are going to “evaluate the use they make of them, but the prevailing perception is that the results are far from the potentialities,” they warned, although they did not offer details about the process.
Without a clear plan, many of these lands were delivered without calculating the real possibilities of profits that companies could make for the province. Nor were the “limitations” or the “scarce and slow financial remuneration of some entrepreneurs” taken into account, the leaders now say.
But, more than the production, the concerns of Avileño officials fall on the fact that producers and entrepreneurs appropriate what belongs, they say, to the State. “How are we going to get them to contribute and not be enriched under the facade and the consent of the Board of Directors (of the province)?” was the question that closed the meeting, during which no one referred, however, to the multiple complaints of ranchers about the lack of inputs to achieve a stable production.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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The courses are aimed at residents of the Commonwealth of Independent States, Central and Southern Asia, Cuba, Latin America and Africa. (Maximum Education/Captura)
14ymedio, Madrid, 5 September 2023 — Ads to learn Russian are proliferating on the Island as relations between the two countries become closer. The most recent comes from the company Maximum Education, which offers free online courses for Cubans from September to December.
According to the report to 14ymedio via email, the project, called “Maximum. Govorim po-russki” (“Maximum. We speak Russian”), is funded by the Russian Ministry of Education. Its objective is to “teach Russian to foreign citizens residing abroad” (sic).
However, in an attached promotional document, the company indicates that the courses are aimed at residents of the CIS countries (the Commonwealth of Independent States: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan), Central and South Asia, Cuba, Latin America and Africa. It is also open, they clarify, to “immigrants residing in Russia interested in learning the language.”
Classes are taught online with a teacher and at different levels, from beginner to advanced, and even for those who want to take the Unified State Exam to access Russian universities
Classes are taught online with a teacher and at different levels, from beginner to advanced, and even for those who want to take the Unified State Exam to access Russian universities. Registration can be made through the Maximum website, which has a section in Spanish, until September 10. continue reading
The interactive platform they use is based, they explain, on the methodology of Maksimum Obrazovaniye, which has developed “courses of various formats and directions for more than 10 years” and which, since last year, “has also been implementing international educational projects.”
The truth is that the firm has a large entry in Russian on Wikipedia, where it is presented as a company that “operates in the market of educational technologies” and has become the third most important of its kind in the country. Its owners, the text says, are Russia Partners, CapMan, Skolkovo Ventures and Proobraz, and they employ 1,500 teachers.
According to the collaborative encyclopedia page, Maximum Education was founded in Moscow in 2013 by Mikhail Myagkov, who had worked for the American consulting firm Boston Consulting Group, and the international education company Kaplan. The name under which it is registered does not appear on Wikipedia: Umax LLC (Limited Liability Company).
According to the collaborative encyclopedia page, Maximum Education was founded in Moscow in 2013 by Mikhail Myagkov, who had worked for the American consulting firm Boston Consulting Group
This firm, according to a Russian commercial information page in English, receives funds from the Russian State University for the Humanities, the St. Petersburg State University, the Moscow State Pedagogical University, the Russian Technological University and the Moscow Institute of Energy Engineering.
The announcement of Maximum Education, in any case, joins the one made by Vladimir Shkunov, member of the Council of Experts of the Putin Government, last July, of a series of Russian classes for Cubans through the Educational Channel since November.
The Island’s authorities have not mentioned them and seem to be cautious about about their relationship with Russia. An example was the late pronouncement of the regime, this Monday, on the alleged dismantling of a human trafficking network that recruited Cubans residing in Russia and on the Island to join as mercenaries in the war against Ukraine.
Despite this, the harmony between the two countries – one in need of cash, the other in need of international allies after the invasion of Ukraine – is a fact at this point, as indicated by Putin’s praise of the “special relationship with the Isle of Liberty” in front of Prime Minister Manuel Marrero, to whom he promised more help for Cuba.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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The Cuban tanker Pastorita appeared anchored in the port of Havana without it being possible to determine, using maritime tracking applications, from which foreign terminal it had sailed. (Vesselfinder)
14ymedio, Havana, 5 September 2023 — Venezuela sent 65,000 barrels per day (bpd) of oil, fuel oil, gasoline and diesel to Cuba during the month of August, an amount higher than the previous month, when the Island received 53,000 bpd. The supply, stable compared to that of the rest of the year, coincides with a resounding drop in Venezuelan fuel exports of 38% compared to July, a figure that breaks with the growth trend that Caracas had maintained for three and a half years.
Of the 554,000 bpd that the country sold to its partners in August – 333,000 less than in July, when it exported 877,000 bpd – most of it went to China, although the exact amount is not known, the British agency Reuters reported. For its part, the United States bought through the Chevron company, the only one authorized by the Treasury Department since 2022 to do business with Venezuela, less than 147,000 bpd.
The terrible state of the country’s oil infrastructure and the lack of capital of the state-owned PDVSA have limited, according to Reuters, the possibilities of exporting Venezuelan crude oil. In addition, breakdowns have been recorded in important fuel improvement units, several of them financed by Caracas partners such as Beijing or Moscow.
The official press discreetly announced this Friday that the Alameda-2 oil well, located in Matanzas, was in a position to be exploited
The movement of tankers from Venezuela through Cuban ports has not stopped in recent months. In addition, the official press discreetly announced this Friday that the Alameda-2 oil well, located in Matanzas, was in a position to be exploited by the Australian company Melbana Energy. continue reading
Osvaldo López, head of Exploration of the Cuba-Oil Union (CUPET), then told Cubadebate – which claimed to have the intention of resolving the “doubts and expectations” of Cubans on the subject – that Melbana had the right over the well in a “shared” way, thanks to a contract signed with the Cuban Government in 2015.
Since that year, Melbana has examined 19 possible wells, without publishing clear results so far. In 2020, in addition, the Angolan company Sonangol, which pays for 70% of Melbana’s oil activities on the Island, was added to the equation, López reported. The following year, one of the analyzed wells was dredged, but it was useless for any activity that was not “exploration,” the company alleged.
After investigating other sites, which ended up being “dry,” Melbana said that it has managed to get about 1,100 bpd from Alameda-2 during the month of July. Crude has also been taken out, “lighter and with lower sulfur content” than usual on the Island, it added. However, the extraction is still just an “experimental exploitation” project, and López does not hide CUPET’s lack of enthusiasm for the “new discovery,” which he values just as “positive.”
Since 2015, Melbana has examined 19 possible wells, without publishing clear results so far
On the other hand, Havana continues to pay more interest to ships that, from Caracas and Mexico, bring fuel to the Island. This Tuesday, the Cuban tanker Pastorita appeared anchored in the port of Havana without it being possible to determine, using maritime tracking applications, from which foreign terminal it had sailed.
The oil tanker Alicia – with a Cuban flag – arrived in Matanzas on August 25 from the Venezuelan port of Amuay, while the Aquila, with a Panamanian flag, arrived this Sunday at the same terminal from Mariel.
The Finnstraum, with a Norwegian flag, is expected to arrive in Moa on September 15 from Finland, where another freighter is already anchored, the Praire Tulip, which sails with the Portuguese flag from Curaçao.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORK: The 14ymedio team is committed to practicing serious journalism that reflects Cuba’s reality in all its depth. Thank you for joining us on this long journey. We invite you to continue supporting us by becoming a member of 14ymedio now. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.
14ymedio, Havana, 7 September 2023 — More than half of Cuba’s sports areas are not considered suitable to offer services after being evaluated as bad or average by the National Institute of Sports, Physical Education and Recreation (INDER), according to the official press on Wednesday. The agency admits its responsibility for the deterioration but points to another culprit, the Ministry of Education, which has neglected the sports facilities of the schools on the Island.
