Translator: Regina Anavy – Page 46

Cuba Has Spent More Than 100 Million Dollars on Turkish ‘Patanas’, a Secret Investment

14ymedio has verified that the Belgin Sultan and the Suheyla Sultan are in Havana. (14ymedio)

14ymedio, Juan Izquierdo, Havana, 23 August 2023 — One of the best kept secrets of the Cuban authorities is the cost of the Turkish patanas [floating power plants] that, since 2019, contribute to alleviating blackouts on the Island. Faced with the silence of those responsible, 14ymedio went to look for information in the Dominican Republic, which has contracted for two floating power plants (180 MW in total), for which it pays 40 million dollars for a duration of 42 months. If the same calculation is applied to Cuba, where there were seven patanas and now only five, with a capacity of 490 megawatts (MW), the cost would be 109 million dollars for the same period, or about 31 million a year.

However, both the Cuban authorities and the directors of the Turkish company have been anything but transparent about the agreements. Maritime tracking applications do not offer up-to-date information on the position of the patanas, and it has been necessary for 14ymedio to send its reporters to the ports to visually check their presence.

Karpowership’s most recent promotional video, published on August 17, boasts of its presence in multiple countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America, including the Dominican Republic. Although Cuba does not appear on the map of the company’s partners in the region, the images show the most powerful patana hired by the Island – the Suheyla Sultan, 240 MW and connected to the Tallapiedra thermoelectric plant in Havana – but locates it in the Dominican port of Pueblo Viejo.

It is likely that this is due to the fact that Havana, unlike Santo Domingo, has not signed long-term contracts with Karpowership, only specific agreements. Another symptom of the instability of the Island’s patanas has been the intermittency of the supply of fuel oil for their operation.

In his report on Monday, the technical director of the Electric Union, Lázaro Guerra, assured that, after weeks of shortage, there was enough “fuel availability” now to start the patanas installed in Mariel, which were stopped by the oil deficit. The manager explained that other floating plants had suffered the same problem but guaranteed that the situation “has been improving.” continue reading

As 14ymedio was able to verify on Tuesday, the Belgin Sultan (15 MW) and the Suheyla Sultan (240 MW) are anchored in the port of Havana, while the Erin Sultan (130 MW) is connected to the Antonio Maceo thermoelectric plant on the Renté peninsula, at the entrance to the bay of Santiago de Cuba. The situation in Mariel could not be visually confirmed, since public access is restricted, but the images taken by Google Earth document the presence of two Turkish power plants, the Baris Bay (40 MW) and the Ela Sultan (65 MW).

Last July, during the sessions of the Parliament, the Minister of Energy and Mines, Vicente de la O Levy, reported that two patanas had left the Island after having “fulfilled their contracts,” which represented 170 MW less for the National Electricity System (SEN). The academic and specialist of the University of Texas, Jorge Piñón, points out that “the Turkish plants have been a lifeline for the SEN with a contribution of 2,591 GWh, 14.2% of the gross generation in 2022.”

The departure from circulation of both plants led to a controversy about a possible withdrawal of the Turkish ships, and the Cuban authorities are even more secretive about their management.

The minister then limited himself to insisting on the information he had offered to Parliament and said that six floating power plants were still operating on the Island. However, it is possible that he was counting the Karadeniz One, which is actually a tender, which returned to Havana on August 5 to replace a Turkish tugboat, the Gultekin Bey.

The power plants are part of an energy project called Powership Azua, authorized by the National Energy Commission. (EFE)

For their part, the Irem Sultan – which left Santiago de Cuba last April – and the Esra Sultan are in the Dominican Republic, whose government signed a contract with Karpowership last June to install them in a “definitive” way, after numerous discussions about the environmental damage they cause, in the coastal municipality of Pueblo Viejo de Azua, about 120 kilometers west of the capital, Santo Domingo.

The power plants are part of an energy project called Powership Azua, authorized by the National Energy Commission and managed by the Dominican subsidiary of Karpowership. Both run on fuel oil and have on board, according to government documents, “electric alternators, a substation, drinking water tanks, wastewater and sediments, liquid fuel storage tanks, offices and workshops.”

In addition, the project has a dock, a barge to store fuel and auxiliary facilities, which, added to the maintenance cost of the plant, total 42.8 million dollars. As for Cuba, floating power plants need similar conditions for optimal operation. Unlike the patanas in the Dominican Republic, the Cuban ones are directly connected to thermoelectric plants in Mariel, Havana and Santiago.

The patanas continue to be “the best deal” for Cuba in terms of energy, according to De la O Levy in February. The minister, who has referred on numerous occasions to floating power plants as a “great investment” that raises “concerns” in the population, has only gave a clear number: 17, the number of years that it will take Cuba to pay – through a monthly fee – a cost that the Government has not revealed.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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The Italian Company That Scammed the Cuban Baseball Federation Promises Free Balls

Since 2018, the Italian company TeamMate has been the official supplier of baseballs. (Periódico 26)

14ymedio, Havana, 23 August 2023 — The Italian company TeamMate offered compensation to the Cuban Baseball Federation (FCB) after sending it more than 2,000 defective balls during the last National Series. Its directors blamed the “error” on a factory in China where they make their products and promised the Cuban authorities to supply next season’s balls free of charge.

The television program Bola Viva explained that, due to a “confusion” of the Asian manufacturer, “included in the shipment were several boxes of the balls that are used for training,” the 150 and 120 models, instead of the 190 model that is used for professional games.

The collaborator of the Cuban Baseball portal, Yirsandy Rodríguez, said at the time that the use of TeamMate’s 120 ball in the Elite Baseball League favored pitchers over batters, since it is a lighter ball, and this compromised the results of the games in which it was used.

After several Cuban teams complained about the “irregular bounce” of the Chinese balls, the FCB began to complain to the company about the defective equipment and the delay in sending equipment. In October 2022, TeamMate had only sent half of the balls promised for that season, so the Federation had to buy balls from a supplier, whose name was not revealed, to get the Batos brand, a state company belonging to the Ministry of Industries. continue reading

According to figures offered by Bola Viva, since 2018, TeamMate has been the official supplier of baseballs to the Island, which so far has received 136,500 balls for training, the National Series and the Elite League, paying 12 dollars for each ball, a price that exceeds the value that these products have in the international market.

The Cuban Baseball Federation verified the poor quality of the TeamMate balls. (Facebook/Alejandro Díaz Álvarez)

Due to the inability of the Cuban industry to manufacture the equipment, the country has been dependent on the “sponsorship” of the Italian company for five years. Because of the “lack of leather for the ball, the lack of thread and the right glue,” they did not comply in 2018 with the delivery of the 100,000 balls (70,000 synthetic and 30,000 leather) promised annually to meet the needs of 16 teams of the National Series and 8 other categories in 547 sports centers, said the treasurer of FCB, Luis Daniel del Risco.

The Italian company is linked to Riccardo Fraccari, president of the World Confederation of Baseball and Softball (WBSC), who in 2021, according to columnist Jorge Morejón, was investigated for alleged money laundering. An article from the portal Libertas.sm revealed that the sports federation of Panama also complained about the price of the balls provided by the Confederation.

The Panamanian prosecutor’s office, which investigated the case, concluded that “the money paid for the balls was much higher than the real market value,” reported the Libertas.sm portal. As a result, “2,000,000 euros were seized at the WBSC headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland.” Later the penalty was revoked, and the amount was reduced to 258,000 euros. The Confederation was also accused of laundering money.

TeamMate remains the stone in the shoe for Cuba. Prior to the scam of the baseballs, the Italian company had already been criticized for the delay in the delivery of the uniforms for the Cuban teams that played in the Elite League.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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The Coach of the Havana Soccer Team Resigns Due His Athletes’ Poor Nutrition

Jainé Colomé denounced the lack of attention from Havana’s federations. (Facebook/Fútbolxdentro)

14ymedio, Havana, 24 August 2023 — Cuban coach Jaine Colomé resigned from his position as technical director of the Havana soccer team on Tuesday, according to Play-Off Magazine. The former athlete and champion of the Caribbean Cup in 2012, denounced the poor diet and the lack of salaries for the soccer players, as well as the delivery, often incomplete, of equipment for official games and training.

“When I decided to be a coach, I always said that my responsibility and commitment was with the athletes, not with the managers: I didn’t want my athletes to suffer the same as I did,” he told the sports media. “I have been against several decisions of the officials, and I have let them know that.”

Colomé, who took the Havana team to third place in the National Soccer League, pointed out that during the first season in which he led the athletes, they were “barely fed,” which forced them to lower the training load to 50% at the request of methodologists. Otherwise, the health of the athletes would have been at risk due to an inadequate diet.

The coach, one of the candidates proposed to lead the National Team in place of Pablo Elier Sánchez, regretted that the support offered by the managers remained as “promises.” “Many of my players had families and did not receive a salary for playing soccer.” continue reading

The limitations suffered by the soccer players were exposed by Colomé to the leaders of the sport in Havana and before the Provincial Commission, but he only obtained more promises that “everything was going to be resolved, but in the end we never got any attention.”

The former coach recognizes that the situation on the Island is terrible, but “there are things that go beyond that and have to do with the leaders, who ignore those who really suffer and sacrifice themselves”: the soccer players. He says that no official showed up on the ground of La Polar, where they trained, to ask how they were and much less accompanied the team in the games. “They don’t even go to the Havana stadium to watch the team play.”

Marcel Hernández, captain of the Cuban national team, was also mentioned by Colomé, who highlighted that the athlete refused to continue playing on the Island because of the “deplorable” conditions in which his team was existing. The former coach thanked the workers of the La Polar factory, who were the only ones who supported the players by offering them ice and water. “They did more than many whose job it was to do it; in fact, the director (of sports) of the province spoke to the team only once in two years.”

Colomé concluded by saying that Cuban soccer is not going through a good time in terms of infrastructure, conditions and results. It requires “investment and betting on development, but here they don’t see it that way, and that is the cause of the bad times that this sport is experiencing.”

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Three Months After Completing a Capital Repair, Cuba’s Guiteras Thermoelectric Plant Goes out of Service

The Antonio Guiteras thermoelectric plant was out of service for 72-hours. (TV Yumurí/Facebook)

14ymedio, Havana, 24 August 2023 — The directors of the Antonio Guiteras thermoelectric plant reported on Thursday the departure from the National Electric System (SEN) for approximately 72 hours, almost three months after it received capital maintenance. The authorities, who have tried to downplay the fact by alleging “repairs and maintenance,” reported that the plant, located in Matanzas, suffered an “overconsumption of water” that caused its breakdown.

According to data provided by the Cuban News Agency, the thermoelectric plant consumed between 40 and 50 cubic meters of water per hour, an excess that caused breaks in service and affected electricity generation.

The general director of the unit, Rubén Campos, told the agency that the plant will have work done on more than 20 valves, the boilers, hydraulic tests and “other corrective work” that could extend the time in which the plant will be outside the SEN.

The official also pointed out that the departure of the Guiteras took place at a bad time, since “there are no other units in the country due to breakdowns.” However, Campos forgot to explain what will happen to the Cubans whose electricity depends on the generation of the plant during the next three days. continue reading

With repairs, the thermoelectric plant, a better operation is foreseen in the coming months, as well as stability in the service, according to the official press. Campos pointed out that in July, only three days were affected by problems in the generation, while in August the figure amounted to 9 days.

However, the problems in Antonio Guiteras do not stop. Last April, after a collapse inside the chimney, two workers died and two others were injured. The employees were trapped when a seven-meter-high wall or “partition” collapsed on them while they were cleaning out the soot.

For decades, the facilities of this thermoelectric plant have lacked the necessary maintenance required by the thermoelectric plants that process the oil of national extraction, which has a high sulfur content and is very corrosive to metal. And, in the midst of the energy crisis, the plant constantly leaves the SEN due to multiple breakdowns.

Meanwhile, the Electric Union reported this Thursday a deficit of 10 megawatts (MW), an insignificant number compared to the 500 MW that the company was unable to cover just a few weeks ago.

Cubans throughout the Island continue to report blackouts, appliances damaged by power outages and spoiled food – a totally different panorama from the one described in the official press.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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According to Diaz-Canel, Relations Between China and Cuba Are Not Proceeding at the Rhythm Needed. Why?

Díaz-Canel on an earlier visit to Beijing. (Minrex)

14ymedio, Elías Amor Bravo, Economist, 24 August 2023 — Pending the Cuban communist leader’s speech at the BRICS Summit on Thursday, as pro tempore president of the G-77 and China, not much was known about Díaz-Canel’s visit to Pretoria, where this meeting aroused enthusiasm in the weak Castro diplomacy. There was interest in knowing if Díaz-Canel would return to those incendiary and annoying speeches of revolutionary content that he has been pronouncing in recent times, or whether he would let himself be toyed with by the Chinese president, acting like a ventriloquist puppet, which seemed to be more likely.

The 134 countries that are attending this convention in South Africa are not there to hear communist nonsense or stupidity, and they confirm again that the Cuban communist regime is neither blocked nor embargoed and can trade, have relations and maintain investments with more than half the world. And the argument of the blockade doesn’t go very far either.

That is why, at least so far, what has aroused the most interest in this long journey of Díaz-Canel, who continues to spare no expense on his travels despite how the Cubans are experiencing their own situation, has been the meeting or encounter, or whatever you want to call it, with the Chinese Head of State, Xi Jinping, who also is attending the XV BRICS Summit.

The Cuban press is dedicated to giving information about this meeting, but they don’t ask for much. The topics discussed remained within that lack of transparency and cryptic language that characterizes the relations between communist partners. For Cuba, which persists as one of the last dictatorships of the cold war, having been invited to this international forum is an opportunity. Whether they know how to take advantage of it is another thing.

continue reading

The meeting of the two communist leaders took place at the Hilton hotel in Sandton in Pretoria, and according to the Castro press, the Chinese leader began by saying, “It’s a pleasure to meet with you again, my friend,” referring to the visit made by Díaz-Canel to China a few months ago.

Given the practical sense that the Chinese have for international relations, the assessment of the Cuban leader’s visit to China was surprising, which according to Xi Jinping, did not go beyond reaching a “broad consensus.” And of course, Cubans who are going hungry and seeing their economic system collapse couldn’t care less about “consensus” and want numbers, figures, cash and hard currency. But these things don’t fall from the sky and require work, and that’s why the Castro regime prodded the Chinese.

Far from satisfying Díaz-Canel, Xi limited himself to commenting on “the deepening of relations between China and Cuba in the new era.” In short, an empty and not very concrete message, which should have fallen on Castro diplomacy like a bucket of cold water. Undoubtedly, they expected more; they didn’t want messages in the style of “we agree to work together to build the community of a shared future.”

But the Chinese leader, who is very clear about his objectives, cannot and does not want to go further with Cuba, no matter how much the Castro press says otherwise. And for this reason, Xi measured his words carefully and is looking the other way in the cold snapshot that represents the moment of his meeting with Díaz-Canel. Then, going off on a tangent, Díaz-Canel ended up expressing “satisfaction that, thanks to the united efforts of both parties, these agreements are being happily implemented.”

And then came the typical communist promise from the times of the USSR that pleases Havana so much, but which is equally empty of content, when he said that “China will work together with Cuba to deepen mutual political trust, expand practical cooperation and strengthen strategic collaboration, with a view to promoting the development of special relations of friendship between both countries and parties.” This means nothing; it’s more or less the same thing that has been said for decades, and it doesn’t appear that specific objectives have been achieved.

So when Díaz-Canel took the floor next, he could not help but show his disappointment with what was said by Xi, although he restrained himself. A good example was the reference to Raúl Castro, as if the Chinese were interested in this character. But Díaz-Canel, faithful to his canned speech, conveyed to his counterpart “an affectionate greeting from Army General Raúl Castro Ruz.” It was the same message he gave in Beijing on his road trip; in short, the same one that Cuban leaders continue to use as a business card, believing that it’s useful in this second decade of the 21st century.

The meeting could have ended at that very moment, because what came next was dispensable, but Díaz-Canel, in the presence of the media, took the opportunity to point that “it is a satisfaction to have this meeting with you, and we thank you very much because we know that your agenda is intense in the face of all the expectation that exists in this Summit with your presence, for the leadership that you and China have on the international agenda.”

Then he said that he has “pleasant memories of the successful visit we made to China in November of last year” and took the opportunity to refer again to the consensus “that was reached between both parties,” pointing out that “they today mark the road map in our bilateral relations.”

And since he was following the script for the interview, Díaz-Canel highlighted the importance and significance of Xi’s upcoming visit to Cuba, and referred to “the admiration that the Cuban people, the Cuban leaders, have for your work and for what it could mean for bilateral relations.” According to the Cuban communist leader, “we are making every effort to go forward at the rhythm we need.”

What gave a glimpse of the issues that concern the Chinese side is the fact that, since Díaz-Canel’s trip months ago, there have been no concrete agreements or investments of the Asian giant in Cuba, so the “rhythm we need” that Díaz-Canel talks about is not to Xi’s liking. The question is when he will come to visit the Island and if he will finally do it.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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The BRICS Admit Six New Countries but Reject 34, Including Cuba

One of the sessions of the XV BRICS Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa. (Cuba Presidency/Twitter)

14ymedio, Havana, 24 August 2023 — The BRICS economic group admitted six new countries as members during its XV summit, held in Johannesburg, South Africa. The bloc, composed of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, will be joined in January 2024 by Argentina, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Ethiopia, the United Arab Emirates and Iran. The president of Cuba, Miguel Díaz-Canel, applauded the expansion and attributed to the bloc an unquestionable “authority,” but he did not manage to get the Island included in the organization.

This is an unprecedented expansion of the BRICS, a group that emerged in 2006 after a meeting of foreign ministers from the then-emerging world economies and expanded in 2011 with the inclusion of South Africa.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, host of the summit, said that the original members had reached an agreement for the expansion of the body and defined “guiding principles, standards, criteria and procedures” to incorporate other countries. He added, during a press conference, in which leaders Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Xi Jinping, Narendra Modi and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov – representing Russian President Vladimir Putin – also participated, that a “consensus” had been reached on the first phase of the expansion.

The BRICS received “formal” requests from 40 States – including Cuba – interested in joining the group. In Latin America, Venezuela, Bolivia and Honduras also tried, unsuccessfully, to be accepted. continue reading

Ramaphosa, one of the promoters of expansion, said that the BRICS hope to gain more weight in the international context and ensure that the organization has as much influence as the United States and the European Union (EU), a vision shared by other countries, such as China and Russia.

The newly included countries maintain important economic relations with the original members. An obvious case is Argentina, Brazil’s main economic partner, whose inclusion Da Silva celebrated as an “important” business opportunity.

China and Russia, two of the founding states, expressed their interest in solidifying the organization’s influence. Putin – who did not attend the summit for fear of being arrested as a war criminal after a warrant of the International Criminal Court was issued – stressed by videoconference the importance of seeking a “single means of payment” for banking transactions among members. “It’s a complex matter, but in one way or another we are going to move towards the solution,” he summarized.

As for Miguel Díaz-Canel, who attended the summit as the pro tempore leader of the Group of 77 plus China, he insistently defended the New Development Bank, an initiative of the BRICS, which he praised as an “alternative” to other financial institutions that “reproduce submission schemes” for countries like his.

During the development of the summit, the Cuban ruler approached China, one of his country’s main economic and political partners, with particular interest. The president assured that the relationship of the communist parties of both countries was better than ever, and that he intended to “implement the important consensus” negotiated in November 2022 with Beijing, during what his critics called the “alms tour” to Turkey, Russia and China.

The expansion of the BRICS has also aroused the interest of the European Union, whose Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that it “took note” of what happened at the summit and recalled that several of the European countries maintain important relations with its members. Peter Stano, spokesman for Foreign Affairs of the European Commission, said that none of the Twenty-seven [members of the EU] is a member of the BRICS, and that the decision – and its consequences – is the exclusive responsibility of its members.

So far, the BRICS represent more than 42% of the world’s population and account for 23% of gross domestic product and 18% of global trade.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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To Compensate for the Shortage, Vietnam Makes a Third Donation of Rice to Cuba This Year

In addition to Vietnam, the Island has also received donations of rice from China to alleviate the shortage in the market. (14ymedio)

14ymedio, Havana, August 23, 2023 — Cuba will receive a shipment of 1,200 tons of rice donated by the Government of Vietnam. Although it is not known when it will arrive, a “symbolic delivery” took place this Monday during a meeting between officials of the Communist Party of the Island and a delegation from Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) at the Hotel Nacional, in the Cuban capital, as reported by the official newspaper Tribuna de La Habana.

The Vietnamese delegation was led by Nguyen Thi Le, deputy secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party and president of Ho Chi Minh City. On the Cuban side the meeting was attended by Luis Antonio Torres Iríbar, first secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba in Havana, and Yanet Hernandez Pérez, governor of Havana, along with other officials.

The words of both parties, quoted by Tribuna, highlight the differences in the discourse that characterize the regimes of Vietnam and Cuba. While the representatives of the Asian country praised the economic achievements of their city, Torres Iríbar limited himself to describing the will of the habaneros to “resist creatively in the face of adversity.”

Nguyen Thi Le pointed out that Ho Chi Minh City is considered an engine of growth for the Vietnamese economy, with a contribution of 23% of the Gross Domestic Product and a generation of exports valued at more than 47 billion dollars in 2022. The Cuban official responded by alluding to the “complex economic situation facing the Island due to the escalation of the U.S. blockade, the effects of COVID-19 and consequences of the weather in recent years.” continue reading

Vietnam has become a constant supplier of rice to the Island, whose production is insufficient to meet national demand. However, these donations have not been enough to solve the shortage, and the price per pound has skyrocketed above 250 pesos, a cost similar to that of pork.

At the meeting, Vietnamese officials also pledged to promote relations with their counterparts in Havana in the areas of tourism, agriculture, biotechnology, commerce, education and health, although without giving details of future projects or investments in those sectors.

The Vietnamese authorities also showed interest in “taking advantage” of the experiences of Havana’s Family Doctor and Nurse Program, an “emblem” of the Cuban Government, which in 2024 will celebrate 40 years of execution, focusing on bringing medical personnel to “the neighborhoods.” However, that has pretty much been left in the past for more than a decade due to the exodus of professionals and the economic crisis.

According to the official press, Torres Iríbar expressed his “satisfaction” with the meeting to reinforce the “deep bonds of friendship.” A “show” of that friendship is the contribution that Vietnam has made “to the food security of the Cuban people, specifically in the production of rice, coffee, corn and aquaculture,” the text adds.

So far in 2023, this is the third donation of rice to the Island from Vietnam: the first was 5,000 tons in May, and the second, 2,000, will arrive at the port of Mariel in September. Again, the official press avoids mentioning the La Sierpe project in Sancti Spíritus, abandoned in the middle of last year by Vietnamese technicians due to the lack of compliance on the Cuban side.

14ymedio confirmed this month that producers in the rice region are facing a regulation that will limit the amount destined for self-consumption, implemented by the Government to prevent the product from ending up on the black market. The regulation also threatens to take away the land from producers who fail to comply with it.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Mexico Hires 100 Cuban Teachers for a University Accused of Unjustified Layoffs

Medical students at the headquarters of the Universities of Welfare, located in Senguio (Michoacán). (Facebook/Universidad Benito Juárez García Sede Senguio)

14ymedio, Ángel Salinas, Mexico, 22 August 2023 — Since last Friday, 100 Cuban teachers from various educational centers of Medical Sciences of the Island have been in the community of Pátzcuaro, in the state of Michoacán (Mexico), to teach classes in 50 municipal schools of the Universities for Welfare Benito Juárez (UBBJ). This group of institutions, with headquarters throughout the Mexican territory, has been frequently denounced for unjustified dismissals of teachers, delays in the delivery of degrees to graduates and poor infrastructure.

Among the professors are specialists in oncology, nephrology, neurology, cardiology, rheumatology, gastroenterology, otolaryngology, angiology and vascular surgery.

According to the Embassy, the professors will teach at 50 of the UBBJ sites. However, the official documents of the institution show that only 20 of its schools offer the career of Integral Medicine and Community Health, while three others offer Nursing and Obstetrics.

Alonso, a UBBJ teacher who teaches in Mexico City, confirmed to 14ymedio that a first group of Cubans had already been part of the institution’s staff since last year. “I don’t know exactly how many there were, but they located them in the state of Veracruz and informed us that they were specialists in medicine.” continue reading

This newspaper was able to confirm that in the community of Coatzintla (Veracruz), the Cubans Romaira Irene Ramírez Santisteban and Mario López Bueno were part of the faculty of a UBBJ headquarters in that city.

UBBJ is a project promoted by the Government of Mexico, which began in 2019 with an investment of 1 billion pesos. It currently has 145 schools, many of them financed by Morena, the party of Andrés Manuel López Obrador, before he became President.

“The 55 new campuses announced by the general director of UBBJ, Raquel Sosa Elizaga, sounds like a pretentious goal for the President, who promised 200 universities,” says Alonso. “It’s not that you can’t, but when on average you have two poorly paid teachers for every 100 students, it’s almost impossible.”

To the controversy over the hiring of Cubans in UBBJ must be added the claim of 120 Mexican professors who collaborated in the elaboration of the curricula and who say they were “unfairly dismissed” in 2021. They demand the reinstatement of their jobs and that they be guaranteed “social security and stability.”

In May 2022, the National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) of Mexico showed that UBBJ failed to deliver degrees to three graduates of the degree in Law, affecting the “right to freedom in the exercise of the profession.”

Translated by Regina Anavy

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The Cuban State-Owned Company Neuronic Received More Than 6 Million Dollars From Mexico for Projects and Contracts

Cuban health workers during a meeting in Baja California Sur. (Facebook/ Cuban doctors BCS)

14ymedio, Mexico, 21 August 2023 — Neuronic, the Cuban regime’s company in charge of managing the funds and salaries paid by Mexico to Havana for 718 Cuban health workers, has benefited from the Government of Andrés Manuel López Obrador with $29,938 (509,073 Mexican pesos) for research projects, mainly on Alzheimer’s, and for contracts with the Mexican Birmex for $5,880,398 (about 100 million pesos), as reported by LatinusUS.

According to information obtained through the Transparency portal, by “commission of the Mexican State,” the National Council of Humanities, Sciences and Technologies (CONACYT) awarded $7,427 (126,303 pesos) to Neuronic for a pharmacokinetic project, focused on the efficacy of the CNEURO-201 formula to detect early Alzheimer’s in rats.

In March 2022, CONACYT received notification about the delivery of funds for the Neuronic projects. It released the money on September 27 of that same year. For the so-called “validation of the production process and preclinical tests with CNEURO-120,” a drug for the early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s, $3,439 (58,501 pesos) were delivered.

For the “evaluation of the activity in vivo, in vitro and ex vivo of CNEURO-201,” as a therapeutic candidate for Alzheimer’s, Neuronic received $15,037 (255,768 pesos). For the preclinical evaluation of neuro EPO as a neuroprotector from the consequences of severe traumatic brain injury, $4,028 (68,500 pesos) was given to the company, a subsidiary of Neuronic S.A. Cuba. continue reading

The Mexican subsidiary Neuronic, led by Tania Guerra, has also been favored with $5,880,398 for three unspecified contracts between 2022 and 2023 with Birmex, the Aztec state company that focuses on the production of vaccines and the distribution of medicines.

Regarding the Cuban specialists who are in Mexico, it is confirmed that the Mexican government paid Cuba $9,667,115, between July 2022 and May 2023, for a contingent of 718 doctors.

Among the health postings is a national coordinating chief for whom the Island is paid $2,103 a month. Also in the group is a professional performance manager, an economic professional and a legal professional, and for each of these, Cuba receives $1,632 per month.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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With a Deficit of 700 Teachers and a Shortage of Uniforms, the Cuban School Year Will Begin in Las Tunas

The authorities recognize that in Las Tunas alone, 700 teachers will be needed for the 2023-2024 school year. (Periódico 26)

14ymedio, Havana, 22 August 2023 — Two weeks before the start of the school year, the official press warned that the teacher deficit will once again be one of the main problems of the period 2023-2024. In Las Tunas alone, a deficit of 700 teachers is estimated, according to an article published in Periódico 26.

Since the Ministry of Education announced that the school year will begin on September 4, the official press is filled daily with articles about the preparations in the educational centers to receive the students. However, the texts avoid enthusiasm and say that there will be fewer teachers in addition to delays in the delivery of uniforms and school supplies.

Periódico 26 played down the deficit in Las Tunas, claiming that it is only 4.6% of the province’s teaching coverage, although the figure is glaring, considering that Las Tunas is the seventh least populated province in Cuba. Nilser Piñeda Cruz, provincial director of Education, explained that to make up for the “lack of professionals” students or production and service specialists have been hired, an increasingly common practice in schools in the face of the shortage of personnel.

For several years, Cuba has suffered a brain drain, especially from health and education professionals, caused by low wages, the poor conditions of schools and the rigors of the profession, not to mention the structural crisis that the Island is going through.

Piñeda acknowledged that the start of the school year will not be “exempt from difficulties,” but work is being done to “minimize” them. He assured that priority was given to the printing of textbooks and workbooks for early childhood and up to second grade levels. The rest will be distributed according to their availability. continue reading

For its part, in Santiago de Cuba the “teaching staff” is complete,” says an article in the newspaper Sierra Maestra published last Saturday. Alfredo Torres Creach, provincial director of Education, explained that, however, there will be delays in the delivery of uniforms, whose distribution has already begun for preschoolers and students up to fifth grade. “For the rest of the classes, the sale has not begun, because it is dependent on the delivery made by the industry to our organization,” he said.

He also acknowledged that there will be problems with the supply of workbooks for preschool and first grade students, but “teachers are prepared to provide alternatives with other materials,” although he did not specify what they will consist of. The director indicated that parents have had to help repair the damaged school furniture, but there are still deficiencies in several centers, such as broken ceilings or walls in poor condition, which will continue to be pending due to the lack of budget.

Ernesto Santiesteban Borrego, Las Tunas economic director of the Light Industry Business Group, told the newspaper Trabajadores that employees of the clothing workshops began to manufacture the uniforms for the new school year in June, but there were delays in the delivery of raw materials and, “to some extent,” the energy crisis also affected production.

According to the newspaper, in the workshops of Las Tunas alone there are 230 seamstresses and support staff to manufacture 192,000 uniforms for the students of Las Tunas and Matanzas. Mothers make up 99% of the workforce, and they come to work even on vacations and holidays.

To alleviate the problems with the lack of uniforms, many families appeal to emigrants. Every year in the city of Miami, the ¡Ño que barato! [Reduced Price] store, located in Hialeah, sells more than a thousand pieces of clothing for the students of the Island. The design respects every detail of the blouses, shirts, skirts and pants of all levels of education in Cuba.

Uniforms made in the United States are highly appreciated for the quality of their raw material and their durability. It is easy to detect in the classrooms which students are dressed with those of national production and which are wearing the imported ones. Many of those imported have the Jordache label for the American company that produces them.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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‘The Cuban People Owe a Debt to Africa,’ but Havana Charges Angola Dearly for Its Services

Miguel Díaz-Canel shakes hands with João Lourenço this Monday, during his visit to Angola. (DiazCanelB)

14ymedio, Madrid, 22 August 2023 — The coverage of Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel’s visit to Angola by the press of the African country is as extensive as it is intense. Of the 12 articles with which Jornal de Angola opens its website this morning, seven talk about official acts, meetings, tributes and speeches of the Cuban president, but little is known about the content of the agreements signed on the official trip. This Tuesday, the front page of the official newspaper has this headline: “Cuban pharmaceutical industries can be installed in the Special Economic Zone,” without more details.

According to the text, the agreement that will allow the installation of the Island’s laboratories in the country is reciprocal, and Angolans will also be able to establish themselves in the Mariel Special Development Zone. In addition, there is another memorandum signed between the Regulatory Agency for Medicines of Angola and the State Center for the Control of Medicines, Medical Equipment and Devices of Cuba for the training in Cuba of Angolan staff for hemovigilance, quality control and scientific research.

Tourism is also the preferred objective of the collaboration of two countries whose relations have been excellent since 1975. That year, hundreds of thousands of Cuban soldiers, financed by the USSR, intervened in the civil war that continued until 2002. Cuba’s involvement was the result of the friendship between Agostinho Neto — the first president of an independent Angola — and Fidel Castro, who was interested in the implementation of a Marxist regime in the country. Personal ties also continued with Angola’s second president, José Eduardo dos Santos, who made cooperation with the Government of the Island a priority.

The collaboration has been intense since then in all kinds of areas, in particular health and education. Cuba has sent up to 2,056 workers on an “international mission” to Angola, of which 1,171 are health workers and 582 are teachers. “In companies there are 212 colleagues, and in other sectors 91,” reads the Cuban official press on Tuesday. In addition, 2,180 Angolans are currently studying on the Island, and a total of 7,795 have graduated, according to official data. continue reading

At the end of 2020, the new president, João Lourenço, ended a huge contract valued at 77 million dollars with the Cuban company Imbondex, one of the flagship projects of cooperation between the two countries. The project was intended to construct thousands of kilometers of roads and bridges in the surrounding region of Luanda, but the work never began.

After the shock of that cancellation, aimed at cleaning up the public accounts, the meeting these days between Díaz-Canel and Lourenço put an end to any possible dissension. The African president expressed his desire to promote relations and cooperation, specifically when it comes to helping Cuba to “update its economic model.”

“In the context of the new vision of the model that from now on must be present in the relationship between Angola and Cuba, it is essential to agree on the dynamic role that the private sector and the citizens of the respective countries can play in the framework of free enterprise, to strengthen the capacity of both economies and bilateral cooperation,” he said.

The Angolan insisted that he is satisfied with the exchange, but it is necessary to give it “a new paradigm.” “We count once again on your disinterested collaboration and solidarity,” Lourenço said, ignoring that the payment for a single Cuban health worker, about 5,000 dollars, according to the local press, is close to ten times more than a national is paid.

“Today we have very well-prepared Angolan staff, trained in Cuban schools, universities and military academies, or in Angola, by Cuban instructors and teachers, who perform, with great care and efficiency, the functions assigned to them,” the president added.

Lourenço also praised the Cuban regime for the ingenuity used daily against the embargo. “Despite this, [the country] has demonstrated an impressive level of resilience and ability to find solutions that guarantee the survival of the Cuban people and the preservation of independence and national sovereignty,” he said.

Díaz-Canel, who visited the country for the first time in his mandate (a Cuban leader had not traveled to Angola for 14 years), was grateful for the compliments and said that he considers Luanda an “ideal friend to accompany the process of updating the Cuban economic and social model.”

The Cuban leader has been present at other events, such as at a speech in front of the deputies of the National Assembly, whom he lectured about the blood ties between the African continent and the Island, humanism, the fight against slavery and support – not without interest – for the independence of both countries. There he quoted Fidel Castro: “Without Africa, without their sons and daughters, without their culture and customs, without their languages and their gods, Cuba would not be what it is today. The Cuban people therefore have a debt to Africa that increases with the heroic history that we have shared.”

He also deposited flowers at the tomb of Agostinho Neto and the head of the Cuban troops in Angola, Raúl Díaz-Argüelles, who died at the beginning of the war. He also visited young Cubans studying in the country and held meetings with organizations that support the regime.

But the main question that Cubans ask themselves is how similar this tour of their president is with the one he made at the end of last year to Algeria, Turkey, China, Russia and Belarus. On that trip, he extracted from his partners several contracts, agreements and donations together worth millions of dollars, although the most important element was the guarantee of energy and oil supplies.

Angola is an extremely poor country with galloping inflation, but its natural resources are enormous. Twenty-six percent of its gross domestic product depends on oil that, with the rise in prices, brings in large amounts of foreign currency. But Cuba has no way to pay, unless it does so in its usual way: with the work of its doctors and other professionals.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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A Cuban Who Burned More Than 100 Tons of Sugar Cane Is Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison

In Jatibonico, the individual managed to reduce a sugar cane plantation of more than 37 acres to ashes. (Escambray)

14ymedio Havana, 22 August 2023 — A person residing in Sancti Spíritus was sentenced to 15 years in prison by the State Security Crimes Chamber of the Court of Villa Clara for burning three sugar cane plantations in January, the official press reported on Monday. Accused of sabotage, the man, whose identity was not revealed by the authorities, managed to set fire to 102.5 tons of cane.

According to the official newspaper Escambray, the three fires took place on January 23: two of them in the rural area of Jatibonico and another in Cabaiguán, located in the provincial section of the Central Highway. The person in charge moved from one field to another on a scooter (a modified motorcycle for passenger transport) and set fire to the cane using matches.

In the first municipality, the individual managed to reduce to ashes a complete plantation of over 37 acres. In the second, where he was captured by police after a telephone call from local farmers, he burned 1.2 acres. On both occasions, the fire was contained by the workers in charge of the crops.

The accused must not only serve the prison sentence but also pay fines for damages in the amount of 79,000 pesos. The press did not reveal whether, during the trial, the man explained why he wanted to burn the cane, but he did emphasize that the intention was to damage the State’s property. continue reading

“This citizen conceived and put into action the idea of impacting the sugar harvest, which has a high economic priority for the State and to which it allocates material and financial resources – some of these imported – in the midst of many limitations,” said Pedro Espinosa, the Villa Clara prosecutor.

Escambray says that the crime is similar to terrorist acts promoted “by the Government of the United States, in the 1960s,” when a series of saboteurs tried to collapse the country’s economic infrastructure, with the aim of causing the fall of Fidel Castro’s government. In any case, the newspaper points out, it is a blow to “the national economy, which today is on crutches.”

The investigation ruled out any link between the accused and other people or organizations, and found no connection between these fires and the disconnection of the National Electricity System in the center and east of the Island, which happened last February at a point between Jatibonico and Ciego de Ávila.

However, they warned that the case is not yet closed, and the events will continue to be investigated. Likewise, the accused can file an appeal for annulment, which obligates the court to review the sentence.

Recently, economic crimes against state property have increased, especially those related to the food industry. This August, a former custodian of the Mario Muñoz sugar plant, in Matanzas, was sentenced to four years in prison for allowing the theft of three sacks of sugar and accepting a bribe of 3,000 pesos.

The 23-year-old was also fined for the value of the stolen sugar. His collaboration with the authorities and lack of a criminal record reduced his sentence to the minimum for that crime. Another 12 factory workers have been sanctioned for theft or complicity this year.

According to the provincial authorities, the penalties were established “with the necessary severity,” which included sentences of periods in prison, house confinement, correctional work without internment and fines for the value of the stolen product.

Officials said that the robberies have significantly affected the productivity of the industry and the presence of sugar in the rationed ’basic basket’, and that, they explain, constitutes a violation of the rights of citizens. “The crime must be identified in time and punished with the necessary rigor, because, when it comes to protecting the property of the people, any measure is too small.”

The state sensitivity to these crimes comes from the fiasco that is expected from this year’s harvest. In Sancti Spíritus, for example, by this July, barely 30% of the harvest plan of the spring campaign (from January to June) had been planted. Cuba, a country that historically led the export of sugar to the world, now fails to satisfy its own domestic consumption. Last May, the Government warned that production had barely reached 350,000 tons, well below the 400,000 required for the population and the Island’s industries.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Boss, Give Me the Leave, I’m Going to the United States Tomorrow With the ‘Parole’

View of passengers at Miami International Airport, Cubans’ gateway to the United States. (EFE/Cristobal Herrera-Ulashkevich)

14ymedio, Natalia López Moya, Havana, 18 August 2023 — She has her suitcase packed; every afternoon she practices a little English and counts the days until she can leave. Nidia organizes her departure with total discretion. In the Ministry of Transport in Havana where she works, no one knows that she is registered in the humanitarian parole program to emigrate to the United States. Only when she has the ticket in her hand will she notify her superiors and ask for leave.

Nidia, whose name is changed for this story, is one of the many Cubans who keep their possible departure from the country secret. The parole program, implemented in January of this year by the U.S. Administration, allows a blanket of silence to be draped over the migratory process until you already have one foot on the steps of the plane.

Since she hasn’t opted for a family reunification visa or political asylum, Nidia does not need to do an interview at the U.S. Embassy in Havana. Nor does she need a medical check-up or to go to the Embassy to pick up the visa once it has been granted. Everything happens between her, her sister, who is her guarantor for the parole, and the email where the approval will arrive.

“My sister has had me enrolled since February, and it is likely that they will let me know soon because she and her husband have a very good economic situation. He is even a federal employee, so they meet the requirements for the parole very well. They requested it for me, my husband and my 16-year-old son,” she explains to 14ymedio.

Nidia is a member of the Communist Party, more as a routine than out of ideological conviction. “I hardly go to the meetings anymore, but to work in the ministry, in the position I have right now, it would have been very difficult if I didn’t have the card,” she clarifies. “I don’t want to say anything at work because they will probably ’punish’ me and send me to a position of less reliability until I leave.” continue reading

How many employees and professionals are there throughout Cuba in the same situation as Nidia? Difficult to know. As of last July, more than 38,000 Cubans had been approved for parole, and more than 35,000 had entered the United States. The figure of how many are in the process is probably much higher.

Damián is one of the lucky ones who already managed to travel last April through the new mechanism. From Jacksonville, Florida, he tells this newspaper about his last days in Cuba in his job. “I didn’t say anything to anyone,” he explains about the attitude he maintained at an official radio station where he worked in Havana.

“When I was already informed that I was approved and my uncle had bought me the ticket, I went to see the director and told him directly: ’Boss, give me the leave, I’m going to the United States tomorrow with the parole.’ The official was unfazed and immediately replied: ’You are the fifth person who has told me the same thing in less than two months’.”

There are many reasons for keeping your intentions secret. For Yoandra, a resident of the city of Camagüey and an employee of the State telecommunications company Etecsa, revealing that she is about to leave the country could be a problem for the future. “If I’m never approved to emigrate, I’ll have to continue working here, and I don’t want a sign with the stigma of ’gusana’ [worm] hanging around my neck.”

Although the privileges that Yoandra enjoyed a few years ago for working in the telecommunications monopoly have plummeted, “the conditions are still better than in other places,” she says. In her case, her husband’s aunt has requested the parole for the couple and their young daughter.

In hospitals and strategic work centers, such as the Unión Eléctrica and Aguas de La Habana, managers fear that at any time they will hear a knock on their office door and lose another worker who has come to tell them they are emigrating. “There are people who do it decently and give notice a day or two before getting on the plane, but we have had cases of employees that have only told us when they are already boarding,” complains Magdalena, a worker of the Cuba-Petróleo Union (Cupet).

There are also those “who ask for vacation or unpaid leave. They go to the United States and try to get all their residence papers there and then return without telling anyone what they were up to,” says Magdalena. “This happened to us with an employee who left for family reunification, and since she had only a few months left to retire and get her pension, she pulled that trick.”

According to the Cupet employee, “It’s not that she needed that money, which was a little more than 2,000 pesos, but she didn’t want the State to keep her retirement. In the end, she returned to the U.S. and left her magnetic card with a nephew to collect the check every month.”

Without face-to-face procedures, without showing signs that they plan to emigrate, and without the obligation to obtain certifications and get them stamped and presented to the U.S. Embassy, Cubans who are waiting for the parole can decide who to involve in their situation.

Melba has not even told her family who lives in Ciego de Ávila, because “people become vultures, fluttering over you to see what you can leave them,” she tells this newspaper. “If I tell them that I’m leaving, I’ll have them in my apartment tomorrow morning appraising everything I have,” says the 53-year-old woman and resident of La Víbora.

But the discretion granted by the parole is a double-edged sword. “On my block there are soldiers, militants of the Communist Party, and even an extremist who organized the acts of repudiation against the house of an opponent who lives nearby,” Melba emphasizes.

“A young journalist, who was one of the first to harass me on my Facebook account when I shared images of the repression against the demonstrators on July 11, 2021, also left with the parole. No one knows who is in it anymore and who is not, and it’s only confirmed when they are already gone.”

Translated by Regina Anavy

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More Than 41,000 Cubans Have Benefited From Humanitarian Parole Through July

More than 181,000 natives from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela have benefited from humanitarian parole.(Screenshot)

14ymedio, Havana, 20 August 2023 — Between January 5 and July of 2023, more than 41,000 Cubans have benefited from humanitarian parole. According to figures published by the United States Customs and Border Protection Office (CBP), in total, “more than 181,000 natives of Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela have arrived legally under this process.”

Meanwhile, 34,000 Nicaraguans, 63,000 Venezuelans and 72,000 Haitians have also benefited.

According to official statistics, in July alone, 7,486 Cubans were registered by the border authorities at U.S. entry posts. The arrival of natives of the Island totaled 171,958 in the last nine months.

After finalizing Title 42 last May – a rule created by the Trump Administration for the return of migrants during the pandemic – Washington decided in January to open the same program it had implemented with Ukraine and Venezuela to applicants from Cuba, Haiti and Nicaragua to grant “humanitarian parole.” To take advantage of it, those interested need to have a sponsor to endorse their support in the country, and the documentation must be delivered from outside the United States.

The CBP statement reported that with the implementation of the program for the citizens of Cuba, Haiti and Nicaragua, announced by U.S. President Joe Biden, irregular migration has been significantly reduced. continue reading

This information was released a few days after the NGO Proyecto Migrantes Desaparecidos [Missing Migrants Project] documented the death in the first half of the year of 71 Cubans, including 27 men, six women and 38 others of undetermined gender (due to the condition of their bodies), who tried to reach the United States by sea.

“Rarely do you know exactly how many people were on board boats that were in trouble on the high seas, complicating the task of verifying the number of people who disappeared or of having some kind of information about their identities,” the organization emphasizes.

The report says that 69 of these rafters died “from drowning” in their attempt to achieve the American dream. One died due to “extreme environmental conditions” and for another there were no precise details about the cause of his death.

Since last October 1st, 6,967 Cuban rafters attempting to reach the U.S. have been intercepted by the Coast Guard.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Five-Year Tourism Visas Are Back for the United States but the Processing Will Be Done Outside Cuba

The visa allows entry into the U.S. for family visits, medical procedures, tourism or shopping. (14ymedio)

14ymedio, Havana, 18 August 2023 — The United States will reissue B2 visas, valid for five years, which allow Cubans to travel to the US as tourists, according to three official Washington sources speaking to journalist Mario J. Pentón from América Noticias. However, these long-term permits must be granted at third-country offices, since the White House does not foresee, for the moment, their processing in Havana.

This category of visa allows entry into the country for people who intend to make family visits, receive medical treatments, go to tourist places or go shopping. However, applicants must prove that they are not possible migrants and document their roots on the Island. Once this document is obtained, travelers will be able to enter several countries in Latin America and the Caribbean without the need for a visa.

According to Pentón, his contacts asked to remain anonymous because the U.S. Government will not make an official statement until the end of August.

The possible restart of five-year tourism visas for Cubans is good news for thousands of residents on the Island who have Spanish nationality and who, after the inclusion of Cuba in the list of countries that support terrorism, have seen their entry into the United States limited by the restrictions imposed on those who enter or live in Cuban territory, to benefit from the ESTA visa exemption program. continue reading

The “mules” have also welcomed the news. With such a visa, Cubans have doors open to them, without having to obtain a visa for Panama, Costa Rica, El Salvador, the Dominican Republic and Mexico, all countries in the region that are the closest market for the purchase of goods to import and resell on the Island.

In 2019, the U.S. Embassy in Havana suspended the issuance of five-year visas and replaced them with three-month and single-entry permits as a sign of “reciprocity” to the Island, which offers similar conditions to U.S. travelers. During Donald Trump’s term, and with the COVID-19 pandemic in full swing, the Embassy limited its functions.

According to figures issued by the U.S. State Department, in 2022 barely 3,000 visas were delivered to Cubans, while from 2012 to 2014, in full “thaw” between Washington and Havana, the figures reached 40,000.

Joe Biden’s policies, for their part, have followed the line of fellow Democrat Barack Obama and are committed to opening legal migratory routes that reduce the waves of travelers who arrive daily at the Mexico-US border.

On Thursday, the U.S. Government announced the reopening of an Embassy office in Havana to process applications for family reunification visas and requests for political asylum, a service it had not provided for five years.

The Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas, pointed out that the main objectives are “to reduce the number of irregular crossings” at the U.S. border, to leave human traffickers without resources and “to simplify access to legal, safe and orderly paths for those seeking humanitarian relief” in the United States.

The office will also provide other services, such as the processing of refugee cases and the collection of biometric data for U visa applicants, for victims of criminal acts.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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