Translator: Regina Anavy – Page 107

Cuban Military Tries To Regain Control of Remittances

MLC (freely convertible currency) cards from the Metropolitano, Bandec and BPA banks will also be able to receive remittances through the application / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Havana, 28 March 2024 — The Cuban regime took another step this Wednesday in its attempt to capture a greater amount of foreign exchange. The Clásica card, issued by Fincimex, the financial wing of the Gaesa military conglomerate, can now receive remittances from any country through the Tocopay application, based in Bilbao, Spain. Fincimex also announced days ago the restoration of transfers to American International Service (AIS) cards, rechargeable by the same gateway, which had been suspended since February.

The dramatic fall in remittances sent to Cuba in recent years has forced the regime to devise alternatives to attract foreign exchange. In 2023, Cuban emigrants sent just under 1.973 billion dollars to the Island, the same amount as in 2010. This is a decrease of 47% compared to the 2019 figure (3.716 billion).

The Clásica cards, issued by Fincimex bank branches, in which money is deposited in dollars, were created by the regime along with the economic reforms at the beginning of the year and include the option of buying fuel in the gas station in dollars. continue reading

Tocopay is the Spanish platform for sending remittances, created for Cuba

Tocopay, the Spanish platform for sending remittances to Cuba, not only offers the possibility of making deposits on the Clásica and AIS debit cards, but also of sending money to the cards in MLC (freely convertible currency) of the Metropolitan, Popular Savings (BPA) or Credit and Commerce (Bandec) banks.

This Thursday, a post on Tocopay’s social networks highlights the benefits of acquiring a Classic card: a 5% discount in Cimex, Caribe and Trimagen stores (all Gaesa companies), and a 10% discount on Gaviota’s tourist facilities, also owned by the military consortium. “That’s not all. New features and incentives will be announced soon,” the post promises.

Tocopay also allows a person to send up to 3,000 dollars or euros per quarter, and the sender can request the creation of an AIS or Classic card for the beneficiary in Cuba, although, in another publication on its social networks, the application clarifies that this service is not yet available. For a remittance of 100 dollars to a Classic card, the gateway charges a fee of $11.54 dollars. For the same amount, to send money to an AIS or MLC card, Tocopay charges $10.15 and $10.47, respectively.

As for the AIS cards, sanctioned in 2020 by the Donald Trump Administration, they were disabled in February, when Fincimex announced a “cybersecurity incident” that paralyzed the implementation of the new prices for fuel, electricity and public transport until the beginning of March.

Another strategy of the regime to evade Washington’s sanctions was the creation in 2020 of the finance company Orbit by the Central Bank of Cuba, “officially” detached from the Armed Forces, and therefore able to process the sending of remittances from the United States.

Since then, Fincimex customers who have AIS cards have not stopped complaining to the financial company about the delay in the deposit of remittances, and they expect the restoration of the service to solve the problem. “I hope they give me the money tomorrow because I’ve been trying since January 29 and it hasn’t arrived yet,” a client complained days ago in the comments section. Another user claimed that since “a month and 20 days ago” she has been waiting for the money.

Nor do the rest of Fincimex’s services seem to be meeting the deadlines established by the company

Nor do the rest of Fincimex’s services seem to be meeting the deadlines established by the company. “What’s the problem with the Metropolitano cards? I’ve been waiting 12 days for the money.” said a third client.

Western Union, another platform that many emigrants use to send money to their relatives on the Island, has not yet resumed its services since the fall of Fincimex’s operations. Days ago, the company said that it had no set date for the restoration of operations, contrary to what several of its agents told 14ymedio last February, when they estimated that the service would be available beginning April 1.

Due to the interruption and delays in these services, which also charge high fees for the deposit of remittances in Cuba, many Cubans residing abroad prefer to send money through other platforms, using the mobile recharge service or simply with friends and mules who travel to the Island with the foreign currency, which allows them to take advantage of the exchange rate on the informal market, almost three times higher than the official one.

According to the record of El Toque, this Thursday the dollar reached 332 pesos in Cuba and the euro 340 at the informal exchange rate, while the MLC remains at 275 pesos.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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A Mother of Two Children Is Murdered in Camaguey, Cuba by Her Ex-Partner

Pedroza was allegedly killed with a machete / Facebook / Yudeisi Pedroza

14ymedio, Havana, 28 March 2024 — The independent platforms Alas Tensas and Yo Sí Te Creo en Cuba (YSTC) confirmed this Thursday the death of Yudeisi Pedroza, murdered on March 25. According to the 14ymedio record, Pedroza’s is the 14th femicide registered this year. The 45-year-old victim was killed in her home in the municipality of Sibanicú, in Camagüey, allegedly at the hands of her ex-partner. According to the activists, Pedroza was the mother of two children, one of whom is a minor.

The news of the femicide was disseminated on Monday by the “influencer” Niover Licea, who said he had contacted people close to Pedroza. According to Licea, the aggressor waited for the woman to be alone in her house and attacked her with a mocha (a type of machete), leaving several cuts on her body.

The news of the femicide was disseminated this Monday by the “influencer” Niover Licea

On March 6, the platforms reported the murders of the Cuban women Dinosca Rivera Martí, a resident of the town of Carlos Rojas, in Matanzas, and Martina Hernández, a resident of Becerra, a rural neighborhood in the city of Las Tunas.

The murder of Rivera Martí, 34, happened a day earlier at the hands of her partner and father of her children. “The aggressor attacked her on the public road after she left her two young children at school, who at least did not witness the event,” the feminist platforms explained. continue reading

In the case of Hernández, whose age could not be specified, the murder occurred on February 12, also at the hands of her partner.

So far, independent platforms have not confirmed the femicide of Samantha Heredia, a 22-year-old nurse, allegedly murdered in Santiago de Cuba by her husband, Dr. Pedro Carmenate, at the beginning of March.

Days ago, Alas Tensas and YSTC also reported the murder of two elderly women: Paulina Chiquitica Collazo Diago, which occurred in Los Arabos, Matanzas, “under extreme violence,” and María, 92 years old, at the hands of her son-in-law in Lawton, on March 3.

The two platforms consider both cases as femicides, though 14ymedio does not.

In 2023, the number of people convicted of femicides in Cuba tripled compared to the 2022 record

The average profile of victims of femicide in Cuba in 2023 – when 87 such murders were counted – is that of a 37-year-old woman, with at least one minor in her care, murdered by her ex-partner.

For its part, the Attorney General’s Office acknowledged that since 2021 and until the end of October 2023, 117 femicides had been registered on the Island. This figure differs from those collected by independent platforms and media.

During a congress of the Federation of Cuban Women in 2023, President Miguel Díaz-Canel revealed that the Island tripled the number of people convicted of femicides that year compared to the 2022 record. According to him, 93% of the penalties were for more than 20 years in prison, and in five cases it was life imprisonment.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Cuba Extends the Tax-Free Import of Food and Medicines Until June 30

Since 2021, the tax exemption for importing food and medicines has been in force / Courtesy

14ymedio, Madrid, 28 March 2024 — Another extension has been given for the tax-free import of food, toiletries and medicines for non-commercial purposes. The measure is extended this time until June 30, three years since it first entered into force, always on an exceptional and temporary basis. The resolution of the Minister of Finance and Prices is dated March 21, although it was published this Wednesday, and it indicates that the extension of the measure is carried out “taking into account that the limitations in the offers of the products that motivated the exemptions persist in the country.”

The resolution explains that the exemption from the customs tax on medicines, food and toiletries up to a value of 500 dollars or a weight of 50 kilos/110 pounds is applied, when they are brought in as baggage. However, when they are shipped by air, sea or mail, the limit is 200 dollars or 20 kilos/44 pounds.

On the other hand, and this is the only novelty, the limit is increased from 200 to 500 dollars for products in general that arrive by air, sea or post

On the other hand, and this is the only novelty, the limit is increased from 200 to 500 dollars, for products in general that arrive by air, sea or postal route. In addition, the exemption from the customs tax for the first 30 dollars or 3 kilograms/6.6 pounds of excess in the shipment is ratified, while a tariff of 30% is applied for packages of greater value or weight. continue reading

Along with this resolution, another one is published that also extends the import of generators, as was already done in December 2023. The text indicates that the measure is extended “taking into account the benefits for the residential sector of the acquisition of generators through shipments, in the face of the contingencies that persist in the national energy system.”

The tax-free import of food and medicines came into force for the first time in July 2021, a few days after the massive protests of ’11J’ and in the midst of a very critical shortage of these products. At that time it was announced that the rule would continue until December 31, but the Government has been forced to extend it on many occasions, with deadlines of between three and six months, since conditions have not only not improved, but continue to worsen.

The delay in this last extension, announced just four days before the previous one expired, had generated all kinds of rumors among the population, who feared the end of the measure.

The delay in this last extension, announced just four days before the previous one expired, had generated all kinds of rumors among the population, who feared the end of the measure

Two weeks ago, Nelson Cordovés Reyes, director of the General Customs of the Republic, went on State TV’s Round Table program to talk about the challenges that his services face, including the increase in the inflow of drugs and the outflow of money. At that time he revealed that tax exemptions were being used to import products that ended up on the black market and gave as an example a woman who was detected with 57,000 Enalapril pills (a medicine for blood pressure control) and large quantities of soft drinks and bags of fries.

“They say that it’s for other people, and some have also said that it’s for sale. This is a warning, fundamentally, that people should not abuse this measure,” he said. The official argued that the measure was taken so that Cubans could stock up on certain scarce and necessary products and not so some could be enriched by taking advantage of the desperation of others. His call for responsibility suggested that the measure would not be renewed.

Finally, the Government decided to continue three more months with this benefit, a short period in which it is obvious that the problem of shortages will not have been solved.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Cuba Agrees on a ‘Road Map’ With Turkey, a Key Energy Partner of the Island

The Turkish power platforms (’patanas’) have been a palliative in the face of the acute crisis caused by the lack of generation capacity in the Cuban electricity system

EFE/14 ymedio, Havana, 12 March 2024 — The Cuban Deputy Prime Minister, Ricardo Cabrisas, and the Turkish Minister of Commerce, Ömer Bolat, agreed on Tuesday in Turkey on a “road map” for bilateral economic-trade cooperation between 2024-2026, which includes the energy area, a key aspect for Havana.

The visit of Cabrisas, the Foreign Ministry reported in a statement, seeks to review the state of economic, commercial, financial and cooperation relations, examine the existing potentials for their development and give continuity to the political dialogue “at the highest level” between the two Governments.

Bolat stated on social networks that the agreement includes a “41-point action plan” that covers areas such as trade, investments, legal infrastructure, industry, technical cooperation, finance, transport, energy, agriculture, health and medicine, culture, tourism and education.

“We clearly see the growing interest of our entrepreneurs in the Cuban market, after our trade volume increased by approximately 60% last year, reaching 81 million dollars,” the Turkish minister added. continue reading

He also pointed out that the agreed agenda “exhaustively describes the steps that must be taken within two years to further strengthen trade and economic relations” between the two countries.

“We clearly see the growing interest of our entrepreneurs in the Cuban market, after our trade volume increased by approximately 60% last year, reaching 81 million dollars”

In the area of energy, bilateral cooperation has been strengthened in recent years, and one of its reference points is the income received by the Turkish companies Karpowership and Karadeniz Holding from the Cuban Government for seven floating power plants.

Turkish power platforms (’patanas’) have been a palliative in the face of the acute crisis caused by the lack of generation capacity in the Cuban electricity system, which has seven obsolete Soviet plants active, many of them with problems, and also suffers from fuel shortages.

The visit of Cabrisas, considered an experienced negotiator, coincides with a moment when Cuba suffers a new wave of blackouts, mainly due to the fuel deficit and breakdowns, as explained by the island’s authorities.

Since the end of January, the energy deficit has been between 20% and 45% of the maximum demand, which means blackouts of up to 18 hours in some regions of the Island. The Electric Union reported that for the maximum demand time of this Tuesday, an impact of 1,105 megawatts is estimated.

Meanwhile, blackouts continue to spread in the Cuban capital. On social networks, the Electric Company of Havana has published the impact by blocks, but, unlike the other provinces, the power outages only last four hours and include the hours from 10 am to 2 pm and from 7 pm to 9 pm.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Three ‘Coyotes’ Kidnapped 50 Cubans and Threatened To Hand Them Over to Drug Traffickers

Fifty Cuban migrants were held for one week in a house in Oaxaca / FGE Oaxaca

14ymedio, Ángel Salinas, Mexico, 27 March 2024 — The Mexican authorities rescued 85 migrants, including 50 Cubans, after coyotes demanded $300 each to allow them to continue to the United States. They had been in a house located in Bahías La Ventosa, in the port of Salina Cruz (state of Oaxaca) for at least a week, and according to municipal policeman Felipe Santiago, “the coyotes threatened to hand them over to drug traffickers if they didn’t pay.”

It was thanks to a telephone complaint received by the municipal police that the house could be located. The Police requested the support of the Mexican Navy and the State Investigation Agency to free the kidnapped migrants. During the operation, Santiago reports, two women and a man were captured.

One of the victims said they paid 2,500 dollars per person for their transfer from Guatemala to the U.S. border

According to the official, the detainees are accused of the alleged crimes of “illegal deprivation of liberty, threats and extortion.” One of the victims told the officers that the group had paid 2,500 dollars per person for their transfer from Guatemala to the U.S. border. continue reading

The coyote they paid led the group to Bahías La Ventosa, where a man and two women detained the migrants and asked them for more money, in addition to 20 dollars a day for food and water. “Among the things they found with the human traffickers were the identification papers and cell phones of the migrants,” explains Santiago.

The authorities transferred 50 Cubans, 30 Ecuadorians and five Dominicans who were part of the group to a house in Oaxaca de Juárez. A Migration source reported to this newspaper that the nationals of Ecuador were offered the option of repatriation. If they accept, the Government of Mexico will provide them with $110 a month for six months and help them find a job.

The Migration official told 14ymedio that the Cubans requested assistance from the Mexican Refugee Aid Commission to avoid deportation but “were told that it was only for people who wanted to stay in Mexico.”

The Cubans have been in the immigration station of Oaxaca de Juárez / FGE Oaxaca since Monday / FGE Oaxaca

The Government of Mexico reported this Tuesday that to stop the migratory flow, it agreed with Venezuela, Colombia and Ecuador to provide economic support for six months to returning migrants. In addition they are offering them employment in the subsidiaries of the Mexican companies Bimbo and Femsa established in these countries.

The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) reported at the beginning of March that 56% of migrants who crossed Mexico in 2023 suffered some type of abuse, 27% were victims of robbery and 15% of physical threats.

According to data from the Mexican Ministry of the Interior, last year 782,176 “events of people in an irregular migratory situation in Mexico” were recorded, 340,000 more than in 2022.

Translated by Regina Anavy
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Delicate New Mission for Colombia’s Ambassador: Delivering 500,000 Eggs to Cuba

Colombian producers have been “working for more than a decade to bring the chicken and egg to new frontiers” / El Colombiano

14ymedio, Havana, 27 March 2024 — To the diplomatic file of José Noé Ríos, Colombian ambassador to Havana and skillful negotiator during the most tense moments of the dialogue with the FARC guerrillas, a “historical milestone” has just been added: he received – personally – the 518,400 eggs that the National Federation of Poultry Farmers (Fenavi) “put on the tables” in Havana.

The episode achieved picturesque headlines in the Colombian press: “First shipment!: Cuba now consumes eggs from Colombia,” with multiple applause for the architect of the shipment, Gonzalo Moreno, president of Fenavi, along with Ríos and the Government of Gustavo Petro. Smiling in all the photographs, Moreno is already known in the agricultural sector of the Latin American country as “the lawyer who managed to send 500,000 eggs to Cuba.”

“Today Colombia exports 518,400 eggs to Cuba, two 40-foot containers with 17,280 trays of 30 units. This achievement is a consequence of the investment in the health status of the country and the sustainable production capacity of more than 17 billion eggs per year,” the businessman proudly tweeted. continue reading

Hoy colombia exporta 518.400 huevos a Cuba, dos contenedores de 40 pies con 17.280 bandejas de 30 unidades. Este logro es consecuencia de la inversión en el estatus sanitario del país y la capacidad de producción de manera sostenible de más de 17 mil millones de huevos anuales. pic.twitter.com/H8pwWRDTUk

— Gonzalo Moreno (@gmorenogo) March 11, 2024

In addition, he published a video with images of the containers, which departed from the port of Cartagena, accompanied by a slogan: “The quality and safety of the Colombian egg transcends borders.”

“Everything happened,” says the newspaper Las Dos Orillas, “after his participation (Moreno’s) in Alimentos Cuba 2024, the International Fair of Food, Beverages and Food Technology,” which the media describes as “the most important food event in the country that has Miguel Díaz-Canel as its president.” The Cubans were very persuasive, and immediately “the conditions were defined,” and the initial negotiations began in 2023.

In another interview, Moreno said that he has always had this ambition and has been “working for more than a decade to bring the Colombian chicken and egg to new frontiers.” His colleagues in Fenavi and the Colombian Agricultural Institute (ICA) support him: “As a country, we are very proud,” said Juan Roa, general manager of the ICA. “We are sure that our high-quality fresh eggs will be well received by the consumers of the Island.”

If Fenavi’s announcement is correct and Moreno’s promise is fulfilled – “to gather fresh eggs from all over the country,” at least once a month – Ambassador Ríos will have his agenda occupied with new “receptions.” In fact, as the press reports, the 63-year-old diplomat is “looking for more Colombian products to provide food to Cubans, now in a “serious crisis,” whose first victim is “the family basket” sold through the nationwide rationing system.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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The Home of Havana Journalist Julio Aleaga Was Broken Into and a Laptop Stolen

Taking advantage of the fact that there was no one home, the thief broke the door, apparently with a crowbar / Courtesy

14ymedio, Havana, 27 March 2024 — A short video shows the moment when a man entered, last Monday, the building where independent journalist Julio Aleaga Pesant resides on 1st Street, between C and D, in El Vedado, Havana. About 40 minutes later, the same security camera, from a private cafeteria located on the ground floor of the building, captures the subject leaving with a bicycle and a bulging bag.

The journalist’s wife arrived a little after noon and found the door broken. The family immediately filed a complaint with the police. Nobody saw the thief or heard the noise he presumably made when violently accessing the property. The only traces left by the criminal are the images captured by the private cafeteria camera on the ground floor.

In the brief sequence, you see an individual walking quickly, wearing a cap with a visor, sports pants and a cross-body bag, who enters the staircase to the building. The restaurant table closest to that entrance is occupied by four people, and an employee moves between the room, located on a terrace overlooking the street, and the service desk. continue reading

The next image is captured 40 minutes later. At the table now there are other people, and the same man leaves the building, but this time with a bicycle, owned by Aleaga’s son. The camera captures the thief’s bag, which was empty when he arrived and now is bulging.

After reporting what happened, the Police arrived at Aleaga’s house and took the fingerprints left by the thief at the door. They also took the recording of the security camera of the cafeteria, La Chuchería, located on the ground floor. The agents were struck by the fact that there were no open drawers or furniture that showed they had been searched.

“It looks like they went straight to the laptop,” the uniformed men told him. Aleaga suspects that State Security is behind the robbery, since they have harassed the journalist for years, with police operations around his home, subpoenas and arrests.

So far, the family has no clue about the man who robbed them in broad daylight

So far, the family has no clue about the man who robbed them in broad daylight. Residents of the area, with multiple private businesses and very close to luxury hotels such as the Grand Aston and Meliá Cohiba, feel safer than in other parts of the capital where there are more robberies.

According to Colonel Idael Fumero Valdés, head of Information and Analysis of the Technical Directorate of Investigations of the Ministry of the Interior, recently invited to Cuban Television, robberies account for 25% of the violent crimes that occur on the Island. These are cases in which some means of force is used, such as breaking a door or forcing a lock.

Faced with the growing number of complaints on social networks about these events, Fumero was categorical: “violent crimes are not increasing, which doesn’t mean that there is no increase in other crimes.”

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Cuba Promises Russian Businessmen That They Will Be Able To Manage Hotels on the Island

Last year, Russian tourism grew 3.4 times compared to 2022 / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Havana, 15 March 2024 — With the arrival in Russia of Juan Carlos García Granda, Cuban Minister of Tourism, this week, the Island took a step further in its attachment to the Kremlin. Investment opportunities, inauguration of Russian-managed hotels and all kinds of facilities for tourists are Havana’s new promises to Moscow in exchange for obtaining, “in the short term,” the arrival of half a million travelers.

“The task we have put forward is to attract capital from Russian investors for Cuban tourism (…). We are working with the Russian hotel industry to have them manage hotel chains in Cuba. We want Russian businessmen to build their hotels in Cuba,” García Granda said at a conference in Moscow on Thursday.

We want Russian businessmen to build their hotels in Cuba,” García Granda said on Thursday

Cuba expects to receive more than 200,000 Russian tourists this year, a modest goal if you take into account that in 2023 more than 184,800 Russians visited Cuba, which resulted in a 3.4 percent increase in tourism from that country compared to the previous year. This was also recognized by the minister, who explained that “it is not a very large figure in absolute terms, but it will be a rather motivating result for us. I hope that in the short term, while I’m still minister, we will reach half a million.”

“The hotel business in Cuba has been developing for 30 years with the help of foreign investment. And, if we depend on Russian tourism, then it would be logical for this business to be managed by people who know Russian tourists well,” argued the minister. He added that this will involve the creation of “hotel complexes, various facilities with parking for yachts and other expansions.” continue reading

According to the minister, Cuba has adapted part of the sector so that Russian travelers feel comfortable when they visit the Island. “For example, Canadian tourists buy only one excursion while they are on vacation in Cuba. The Russians buy an average of three excursions. But over the years, customer preferences change, and we are planning to develop active and adventure tourism,” he explained. In addition, he added, “they can combine a vacation on the beach with an excursion and become familiar with Cuban culture, dance, rum production and tobacco plantations.”

The implementation of payments with MIR cards, since November 2023, was another of the “achievements” highlighted by the minister in the plan to “make things easier for the Russian client.”

“In these first months of operation, more than 2.7 million dollars have been transferred through MIR cards. There are 20,000 POS (point of sale) terminals in the main stores and tourist points throughout the country. This is something that is going to grow and all the conditions are created for it to do so,” he guaranteed. García Granda also insisted on the attractiveness of the Island for Russian tourists and clarified that “he hasn’t given up on the goal of the Russians occupying one of the first three places among foreign visitors to the country.”

Both countries propose to increase the number of flights and have their sights set on St. Petersburg

Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, the minister recalled, relations between Moscow and Havana allowed Russian travelers to continue arriving on the Island. Now, both countries intend to increase the number of flights and have their sights set on St. Petersburg, the second most populous and important city in Russia.

Last November, the Cuban ambassador to Moscow, Julio Garmendia, reported that both countries had agreed to establish an air route every ten days between St. Petersburg and Cayo Coco airport, in Ciego de Ávila, by the end of the year. However, the authorities have not revealed whether the agreement was finalized.

A similar plan was suggested this February by the St. Petersburg Tourism Development Commission, which expressed the intention to inaugurate charter flights from the Russian city to the Island. “We have to support the development of the tourism industry of each one. I think we have all the conditions to move from words to deeds,” said Óscar Enríquez, representative of the Ministry of Tourism of Cuba in Russia.

The disproportionate investment in the tourism sector, compared to others such as food or health, has not yielded the results that the regime expected. According to the annual report of selected tourism indicators, in 2023 three out of four hotel rooms on the Island were left empty.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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A Chilean Court Tries a Mapuche Leader Who Brought Weapons and Ammunition From Cuba

Llaitul is famous for launching, on different platforms, several “declarations of war” against the Chilean State/ Infobae

14ymedio, Havana, March 21, 2024 — The Chilean Police revealed on Wednesday that Héctor Llaitul, leader of the armed organization Coordinadora Arauco-Malleco and imprisoned for his responsibility in multiple attacks, bought and transferred “large-caliber weapons” and “ammunition” from Cuba. The experts found on the accused’s cell phone “different conversations” about a trip to Havana to acquire weapons, which were presented in the trial against Llaitul in Temuco, in the Chilean region of La Araucanía.

A confessed defender of political violence, supporter of the regimes of Havana and Caracas, Llaitul kept on his phone information about efforts to transfer the weapons – “with their respective ammunition” – from the Island through the border of Chile with Argentina. The Police also showed photographs of different attacks taken by the accused, who sent them to the media.

Neither the Cuban government nor the official press – which usually publishes communiqués and apologies from the Arauco-Malleco Coordinator – has commented on the accusations against Llaitul for the time being. On the Island there are no private sellers of military weapons, and the arsenals are owned by the Army, so any acquisition and transfer of “large-caliber weapons” cannot have gone unnoticed by the authorities. continue reading

Llaitul was also a regular and “honored” guest in Caracas, where the regime of Nicolás Maduro has shown its “solidarity with his causes and struggles several times

Llaitul was also a regular and “honored” guest in Caracas, where Nicolás Maduro’s regime has shown its “solidarity with his causes and struggles” several times. During one of his last visits, in 2018, he was received by then Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza and Adán Chávez, brother of the late caudillo Hugo Chávez.

After hearing the report from investigators, the prosecutor stressed that the telephone messages will not only serve for Llaitul’s case, but will also serve as a background for investigations against others accused of violent acts and, subsequently, during the trials for other charges against the leader of the armed group.

“The content of the phone shows when instructions are given for the transfer of weapons and [conversations] to make decisions about who will participate in certain events or attacks,” explained prosecutor Héctor Leiva, who clarified that the current trial focuses only on the charges of theft, usurpation and violations of the State Security Law. If he is found guilty after the trial – which will last 29 days – he could remain in prison for 25 years.

Llaitul is famous for launching, on different platforms, several “declarations of war” against the Chilean State and exhortations to an armed uprising. During the trial, the Prosecutor’s Office read excerpts from his book Chem Ka Rakiduam [Thought and Action], written in the Mapuche language, where Llaitul affirms: “We are responsible (the members of the Arauco-Malleco Coordinator) for political violence as a coherent response to our right to rebellion.”

Llaitul himself, in his long plea – it took him two days to read it before the court – declared on March 13 that he considered himself a “political prisoner” and the “visible face” of the conflict between the Mapuche and the Chilean State. He criticized the authorities for calleing him a “terrorist” when the United Nations invited him to speak in Switzerland five years ago.

“What for you is or can be a crime, for us is justice, a duty

About political violence, he was clear: “What for you is or can be a crime, for us is justice, a duty,” he said, adding that he was not making “an apology for violence.”

In 2021, the Chilean Police wrote a report on the weapons used by armed groups in southern Chile, where Llaitul was suspected of being linked to the presence of weapons in the region. Llaitul was a member of the Manuel Rodríguez Patriotic Front, an organization that opposed the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet in the 80s and had weapons supplied by Fidel Castro.

According to police sources, Havana had then sent to Chile “80 tons of weapons and explosives, among which were Colt M-16 rifles, 5.56 caliber.” “This arsenal was seized,” the report said, but “not in its entirety,” so it was not ruled out that the Mapuches continued to use it.

However, this information is not mentioned in the trial. According to the Chilean press, the conversations found on Llaitu’s phone about the acquisition of weapons from Cuba are recent.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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The Mother of Political Prisoner Sayli Navarro Was Arrested During Cuban President Diaz-Canel’s Visit to Matanzas

Sonia Álvarez is a member of the Ladies in White and wife of the former prisoner of the Black Spring, Félix Navarro

14ymedio, Havana, March 26, 2024 — Sonia Álvarez, mother of political prisoner Sayli Navarro, was arrested for several hours on Tuesday morning at the Jovellanos police station. Álvarez’s arrest was part of the security operations for the visit of Miguel Díaz-Canel to several municipalities in the province of Matanzas, says activist Annia Zamora.

Zamora, mother of Sissi Abascal, a political prisoner who, like Navarro, was convicted of participating in the popular protests of July 11 and 12, 2021, tells 14ymedio that Álvarez had scheduled a visit to the La Bellotex prison where her daughter is imprisoned, but “when I left my house I was arrested without any explanation.”

Sonia Álvarez, who is a member of the Ladies in White and wife of the former prisoner of the Black Spring, Félix Navarro, currently also in prison, spent several hours in detention. “She was released at 11 in the morning without any explanation,” Zamora adds.

“When she was released they told her that she could continue to the prison, but so far we don’t know if she was able to see Sayli”

“They only told her to continue to the prison where her daughter is being held” adds the activist, for whom the arrest had a clear reason: Cuban president Miguel Díaz-Canel was visiting this Tuesday in several municipalities in the province of Matanzas, including Jovellanos, “a town where they painted the facades, picked up the garbage that had been continue reading

accumulating in the streets for months and made everything look pretty before his arrival.”

“That mother spent the whole night preparing food for her daughter, and it spoiled because of her arrest, and no one told her why she was arrested,” says Zamora. “When she was released, they told her that she could continue to the prison, but so far we don’t know if she was able to see Sayli.”

Sayli Navarro, Lady in White and activist of the Cuba Decide movement, was sentenced in March 2022 to eight years in prison for the alleged crimes of public disorder, assault and contempt. She had gone to the police station of Perico, the town where she lives with her family, to protest the arrest of demonstrators in the Island-wide ’11J’ protests on 11 July 2021. Her father, Félix Navarro, joined the protest and was sentenced to nine years in prison.

Navarro, 70, was one of the political prisoners of the Black Spring of 2003, when 75 opponents and independent journalists received long prison sentences. In 2011, as a result of several negotiations between the Governments of Spain and Cuba and with the mediation of the Catholic Church, they were released and sent into exile, but Navarro was part of the twelve former prisoners who at that time decided to stay in Cuba.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Sentenced to Eight Years in Prison in Cuba, Diasniurka Salcedo Arrives in Miami

Diasniurka Salcedo reunites in Miami with her son, whom she hadn’t seen for nine months

14ymedio, Havana, 26 March 2024 — “I’m free.” With these words, Diasniurka Salcedo Verdecia confirmed on Monday her arrival in Miami (Florida), after spending several days detained in a migrant center in Arizona, on the border with Mexico.

Salcedo also traveled with two of the five children she took care of in Cuba – children of abusive parents or prisoners – after her demonstration last November with several mothers in front of the Ministry of Public Health. The regime gave her the choice between leaving the country before January 15 or serving eight years in prison.

“They told me that he (Alain) must stay because someone had to be detained so that I would be silent,” Salcedo said

Salcedo Verdecia surrendered at the beginning of last week to the Border Patrol in Arizona – after making the crossing from Nicaragua to the southern border of the United States – and remained incommunicado for several days. This Tuesday, the activist landed at Miami International Airport, where her son and relatives received her. continue reading

In a video published by Telemundo, the activist explained that she cannot return to the Island, because she was “threatened.” She also said that last January, at Havana International Airport and about to board the flight to Managua, State Security agents prevented Alain, another of the minors she cares for and whom she planned to take with her, from leaving the country. “They told me that he must stay because someone had to be detained so that I would be silent,” she told the television station.

Asked about the March 17 (17M) demonstrations in Santiago de Cuba and other provinces, Salcedo said that they are a clear sign that “the regime has little left.” “They know it and that’s why there’s so much repression.”

Salcedo said that the 17M demonstrations are a clear sign that “the regime has little left”

Due to the warnings by State Security and a sentence of eight years in prison – suspended on the condition that she leave the country – Salcedo cannot return to Cuba. The ruling was issued in January by the Municipal Court of Alquízar, which accused her of the crimes of enemy propaganda, incitement to commit crimes, insulting patriotic symbols and defamation against a public figure. However, she stated that she will continue with her activism from the United States.

Prior to her exile, and after the protest in front of Public Health – in which she and other mothers asked for medical attention for their children with chronic diseases – the activist said she was a victim of a discredit campaign by the regime. On December 8, she explained on her social networks that the threats were a way to withdraw custody of the minors in her care. However, a week later, at the hearing held in the Municipal Court of Alquízar, she was granted custody of the infants.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Nine NGOs Criticize Havana’s Rejection of UN Recommendations

The recommendations were made during the United Nations Universal Periodic Review

EFE (via 14ymedio) Washington D.C., 26 March 2024 — Nine NGOs criticized Cuba for rejecting 28 of the recommendations in the Universal Periodic Review (UPR), which, among other issues, have to do with political prisoners and the repression of dissent.

The nine groups that sent reports for the UPR – including Cubalex, Article 19, Justice 11J and Pen International – released a statement on the same day that the final report of the Working Group of the UPR mechanism of the UN Human Rights Council was approved.

This UN document indicates that Cuba accepted 292 of the 361 recommendations made – mostly from other states – while it took note of 41 and rejected 28.

“Rejecting 28 recommendations related to the rights to freedom of expression and association shows the lack of commitment of the Cuban authorities to their international human rights obligations,” the NGOs stated. continue reading

It was recommended that Cuba allow “the access of independent observers to trials and prisons

Among the rejected recommendations are the “liberation of people deprived of liberty for political reasons, the cessation of repression and the harassment against dissident voices.”

Likewise, Cuba was asked to allow “the access of independent observers to trials and prisons, and the development of ’free and fair’ elections,” according to the NGOs.

In their opinion, the rejection of these points acquires “special relevance” after the peaceful demonstrations on March 17 and 18 in several parts of the Island, where hundreds of people protested the prolonged blackouts and the shortage of food.

According to their records, “at least 14 people remain arbitrarily detained” after these events. The Cuban authorities have not offered data in this regard.

The NGO Prisoners Defenders, for its part, puts at 32 the number of people who remain in prison and could be added to its list of political prisoners in Cuba, which in its latest report numbered 1,066 people.

“We demand that the Cuban State recognize and guarantee the fundamental rights of people residing in the country, regardless of their political position, religious belief, profession, race, sexual orientation and gender identity,” the statement concludes.

The signatory groups are Cubalex, Article 19, Justicia 11J, Pen International, Artists at Risk Connection (ARC), Cuban Prisons Documentation Center, Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights, Cuban Youth Dialogue Table and Museum V.

Translated by Regina Anavy
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Outrage in Manzanillo Over the Prohibition of Holy Week Processions

Dionisio García Ibáñez made a plea in the Palm Sunday prayer before the Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre / Screen capture

14ymedio, Madrid, Juan Ramos, 25 March 2024 — Rumors about the suspension of Holy Week processions in the diocese of Bayamo-Manzanillo, in Granma province, are true, as confirmed to 14ymedio by a priest who asked to remain anonymous. “The Government does not want people on the street for fear of possible demonstrations. That has obliged us to stop doing something that we have been doing year after year. Last year there were processions, and everything was done with the peace of God,” he says.

The priest points out that religious acts have not been suspended, but they will be inside the temples. He explains that Holy Week processions are a tradition that dates back to at least 1952, and “they have been carried out for years and years, depending on how the Government is doing.” However, in 2020 and 2021 they were stopped, as part of the measures to avoid contagion during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We are very disgusted by that decision; faith has nothing to do with politics and should not be mixed,” he told this newspaper, visibly indignant. His opinion was shared by a seller who usually placed himself at the corner of the church, who didn’t like the measure either. continue reading

“I don’t know how long the Government will have the power to influence matters of the Church”

“I don’t know how long the Government will have the power to influence matters of the Church. The Church is apart from the Government and has nothing to do with it. If they are afraid of demonstrations, that’s their problem. But it’s easier to prohibit than to solve the people’s problems,” he says.

News of the suspension circulated from a source that alerted the Catholic media Aciprensa. The article included the opinion of Osvaldo Gallardo, a writer and religious activist who currently resides in Miami but lived more than 40 years on the Island, working on culture and communication projects for the Cuban Episcopal Conference. “[The regime] is very afraid of any large concentrations of people right now,” he said.

“The processions of the Catholic Church often bring together not only the faithful but also a number of other people. So the Government fears, since the demonstrations of less than a week ago are still ’fresh’, that similar events will be repeated.”

Gallardo recalled a case that occurred on September 10, 1961, when a young man named Arnaldo Socorro was mortally wounded in front of the church of Our Lady of Charity in Havana, for defending a prohibited procession and shouting “long live Christ the King.”

A seller of devotional items next to the parish church of the Purísima Concepción, in Manzanillo / 14ymedio]

“A procession can, under the enthusiasm and devotion of Easter, create a breeding ground so that another political demonstration suddenly explodes,” the writer said. This Sunday, meanwhile, the archbishop of Santiago de Cuba, Dionisio García Ibáñez, known for his criticism of the Government, which has caused him some problems with the Conference of Catholic Bishops of Cuba, made a plea in the Palm Sunday prayer before the Virgin of Charity of Cobre in defense of the demonstrators who ask for “current and food.” “Is that unattainable? Is it asking too much? No. Our people also ask for freedom. For what? So that everyone can carry out their own project,” said the prelate, who left a phrase to be remembered: “In the absence of energy, we ask the Lord to give us inner energy.”

García Ibáñez defended the right of those who protest to express themselves and argued that “in the vast majority of cases it’s done without violence. On the contrary, they are expressing a feeling. In situations that seemed a little tense the same people have begun to chant ’no more violence’. This is what our people ask for and want,” he added.

In addition, the archbishop, visibly moved, also referred to the massive Cuban migration. “Many of our children go to other places because they can’t find it [their development] here. And there are others who hope to do it. What a pity, if this is our land, the one that God gave us!”

Translated by Regina Anavy

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The Grand Master Is Expelled From Cuban Freemasonry to the Cry of ‘Out With the Thief!’

The Freemasons considered that Urquía was illegally carrying out the position / Facebook

14ymedio, Havana, 25 March 2024 — The Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Cuba, Mario Alberto Urquía Carreño, has been expelled by the representatives of more than 300 lodges on the Island to the cry of “Out with the thief, usurper, scoundrel, traitor!” The event took place on Sunday, when Urquía, who continues to hold the position after the controversial theft of $19,000 from his office, was preparing to preside over the biannual session of the Masonic Upper Chamber.

The information, reported by CubaNet, was confirmed to 14ymedio this Monday by Ángel Santiesteban, an independent journalist who is a 33rd grade Mason – the highest step in the hierarchy of the order – who could not attend the event but knows the facts. In his opinion, whoever succeeds the Grand Master – predictably the Deputy Grand Master, Gerardo Cepero Díaz, a critic of Urquía – will stop the interference of State Security in the lodge, something that leaves room for optimism.

The Freemasons considered that Urquía was illegally carrying out the position, since on January 25 he was expelled by the Supreme Council of Grade 33 for the Republic of Cuba for his alleged “betrayal.” continue reading

“That had never happened in Cuban Freemasonry, not the painful aftermath of the robbery, nor the blatant interference of State Security and the expulsion of an acting Grand Master

A witness to what happened this Sunday told CubaNet that the Grand Master refused to leave the room, but he had to do so due to the almost unanimous demand of the representatives of the lodges. “There was a lot of indignation accumulated over the actions of the Grand Master. He came out saying that he would call the Registry of Associations (of the Ministry of Justice) to complain, but they have no authority here,” he said.

“That had never happened in Cuban Freemasonry,” he added, “not the painful aftermath of the robbery, nor the blatant interference of State Security and the expulsion of an acting Grand Master. Today is a day of shame, a day in which Cuban Freemasons demonstrate our autonomy and integrity.”

The Grand Lodge had expelled Urquía for “punishable and intentional” conduct, despite the fact that his responsibility in the theft of money – which belonged to the Llansó Masonic National Asylum, in the Havana municipality of Arroyo Naranjo – is still being investigated. The Supreme Council then added that his “entrenchment” had as a consequence a “major Masonic schism in the national territory.”

Urquía continued to cling to the position despite the rejection of a large majority of Freemasons, some of whom had asked the United States to deny him a possible entry into the country for “being an active collaborator of the intelligence agencies of the Cuban regime.” This was stated by the Freemason residing in Colombia, Pompilio Portuondo, on his Facebook account, where he added the names of some alleged “collaborators.”

“We will expose them so that the entire international community and especially the United States will know, so that they will be denied entry as agents of the regime”

“We will gradually continue to bring to light more names of people who are collaborating with Mario Alberto Urquia and all the brothers who in one way or another have hidden, supported or helped Mr. Mario Alberto Urquia Carreño in the next session of the Masonic Upper Chamber of the Grand Lodge on Sunday, March 24. We will expose them so that the entire international community and especially the United States will know, so that they will be denied entry as agents of the regime,” he said.

According to CubaNet, once Urquía’s departure was achieved, and under the transitional presidency of the former Grand Master, Ernesto Zamora, all the Decrees that Urquía had formed after January 25 to date were challenged, “including those in which he sent to the Court those who had confronted him.”

It remains to be seen what will happen to José Ramón Viñas Alonso, Sovereign Grand Commander of the Supreme Council of the 33rd grade, who was expelled from Freemasonry for seven years by a sentence of the Supreme Court of Masonic Justice of Cuba on Thursday, February 22. His “punishment” was interpreted by many as a revenge of Urquía Carreño against Viñas, for having reported the theft of the $19,000 in dispute.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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About 400 Chickens Drowned in the Storm in Artemisa

With the strong winds of this weekend, the chicken coops lost part of their roofs / Cubadebate

14ymedio, Havana, 25 March 2024 — The Poultry Company of Artemisa reported on Monday the death of 400 birds in the Ciro Redondo unit, due to the storm that hit the western provinces this weekend. The poor condition of the roofs, which were detached by the strong winds, caused water to enter the chicken coops and some of the birds to drown, the official press explained.

As the provincial authorities told El Artemiseño, “due to the heavy rains and the poor condition of the roofs, it was impossible to prevent some birds from getting wet.” The greatest damage is reported in the José Martí unit, where five warehouses have holes in the roofs, 500 zinc tiles were lost and “damage to the steel structures was reported.”

The greatest damage is reported in the José Martí unit, where five of the warehouses have holes in the roofs

“At the moment, the workers of the Artemiso poultry farm are in the recovery phase with the tiles that were blown inside and outside the perimeter of the units,” the media added. continue reading

Although the authorities did not offer data about the performance of the poultry industry in the province, the loss of several hundred birds cannot be good news for a company that, at the end of 2023, reported a decrease of 80 million eggs compared to the production of 2020, when they reached 185 million.

“We have 80 million fewer eggs, 50 million because we have fewer chickens and the rest because of low efficiency, since over 70% of the birds are in their second production cycle,” Luis Alberto Hernández Blanco, director of the company, told Cubadebate at the time.

Production was also affected, according to Hernández Blanco, in the months of July and August, when “the food consumption of birds almost reached zero and “the company fell from 62% of position to barely 16%.” “From 300,000 eggs a day we went to 17,000,” he said, and although the company managed to recover, it never attained the level it had before the crisis.

The Irregular deliveries of raw materials, the low quality of the chicken feed and the difficulties in the production of egg cartons are the worst problems that the industry faces, not only in Artemisa but also at the national level.

A credit of 4 million pesos granted by the provincial government last year demonstrates what the industry could achieve with the support of the State

A credit of 4 million pesos granted by the provincial government last year demonstrates what the industry could achieve with the support of the State: in a short time the units acquired better feed, which raised the positions by 70%, and the company sold almost 4 million cartons in the capital city alone. However, far from boosting national production, famous for its “depressed” and “decrepit” chickens, the Government decided to import eggs from Colombia.

After the negotiations began last July and the health certifications were approved in December, the Colombian Agricultural Institute sent the first batch of eggs to Cuba at the beginning of March: two containers, 40 feet each, with 17,280 boxes of 30 units – 518,400 eggs in total. The State has not pronounced on the purchase of this product, nor the price it will have in the Cuban market, where the eggs that arrive on the tables of Cubans are rationed in the bodegas (ration stores), five a month per person.

In the informal market, where inflation and hunger set the rules, a carton of 30 eggs costs 3,000 pesos, a figure well above the average monthly salary.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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