Translator: Regina Anavy – Page 35

“Someone Said That There Would Be Gas for Everyone, and There Isn’t Any”: Indignation in the Line for Propane in Matanzas

“The same person decided 20 years ago that everything should be electric, and look how that’s going” with the Energy Revolution

14ymedio, Pablo Padilla Cruz, Matanzas, 9 September 2025 — It didn’t matter what time the gas truck arrived. Before the sun came up, Aimé and her son quickly lowered their propane tank from the 11th floor of the building where they live, hoping to reach their turn at the Peñas Altas depot. The population had not received fuel for three months, and families had to resort to makeshift strategies such as cooking in the early hours of the morning to take advantage of the electricity rotation or by using charcoal, with its health and taste problems. Finally, the propane returned this week, but the calm was short-lived.

“This situation is terrible,” says Aimé, a retiree in Matanzas. “One day you-know-who decided that everything should be electric, and look how that’s going” she recalls about Fidel Castro’s 20-year commitment to what he then called the Energy Revolution. “And another day he said that there would no problem getting gas for the population, and a couple of years later there is no gas, even though the Chinese and other companies are exploiting oil and gas just a few kilometers from here.”

The search for fuel has become an ordeal. The digital application Ticket, which organizes the sale of propane and fuel, “has not stopped sending me warning messages that it is now available, but one thing is the app and another is what happens on the ground,” explains Aimé. “A worker from Cupet told me in June, when the gas shipment stopped, that there was some, but they took it to other provinces and left us stranded, until today.” continue reading

Aimé had to wait for three hours before the truck made its entrance

The Peñas Altas collection and storage center became a scene of long waits. Aimé had to wait for three hours before the truck made its entrance. Along with her, some 200 people were waiting their turn, including 50 in the “disabled” line, designed for those who have physical difficulties or special needs.

Among the most difficult cases is Norelis, a resident of one of the buildings near the depot, whose mother, over 80 years old, lies in bed after breaking her hip. “I have been cooking with charcoal since April in the hallway of the building. The neighbors sometimes sit down to watch me cook in the style of Masterchef,” she comments, with irony and exhaustion.

“No one who is not in my situation can calculate how frustrating it is to have a sick family member these days. Now look: there are only ten tanks for special cases, and I was chasing Public Health and its committees for two months because they are the ones who give the approval to receive gas this way. I appear on the list but do not fit among the ten, so I missed the day here. The neighbors will continue to enjoy Masterchef in the hallway.”

There are two mechanisms for the care of vulnerable persons: one for special cases supervised by social workers and another for confined persons under public health regulations. “In theory it’s fine, but here we all know each other, and we know that the easiest thing is to give a gift [bribe] to someone who keeps the list. Automatically your name becomes the first, either here at the distribution center or with the social worker,” confesses a neighbor, unconvinced by the fragile legality of the processes and the discretion with which the lists are handled.

“Although the local authority announces that there will be a weekly supply, the uncertainty is constant”

The distribution in the depot is limited. On this day, 150 tanks were unloaded plus 10 intended for special cases. Andrés, who is retired and until recently earned some extra pesos as a messenger, was in the row with the number 2,545, while the distribution advanced barely to 2,190. “At this rate, three times more tanks have to come so that I get what I deserve. I’m afraid there will be trouble before my turn comes, in the meantime I’ll have to figure it out with the help of my children or do some work carrying gas to neighbors who contact me,” he says.

Although the local authority announces that there will be a weekly supply, the uncertainty is constant. Neighbors know that the situation changes from one day to the next and almost always for the worse. Maybe on Saturday or next Monday they can supply the area; maybe Norelis’ charcoal cooking show ends early; maybe Andrés will find another way to advance his shift. However, even those who manage the lists cannot confirm this with certainty.

Meanwhile, the neighborhood of Matanzas remains trapped in an endless wait, where every gas truck becomes an event and every available tank a treasure. The combination of unfulfilled promises, unreliable digital applications and local favoritism leaves many residents in a situation of vulnerability that, for some, now goes on for months.

Translated by Regina Anavy
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Cuban Opponent José Daniel Ferrer Remains “Under Threat of Death” in Prison

Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara’s health has deteriorated significantly in Guanajay prison.

The Unpacu leader is also denied access to food and water in prison. / Facebook

14ymedio, Havana, 9 September 2025 — Political prisoner José Daniel Ferrer remains “under threat of death” in Mar Verde prison in Santiago de Cuba, where he is being held. This Monday, Ana Belkis Ferrer, the activist’s sister, denounced on Facebook that the leader of the Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU) is at risk of “being subjected to the same cruel and extreme torture as in July and August.”

Last Friday, prison authorities allowed a conjugal visit to Nelva Ortega, Ferrer’s wife, for September, after denying them family visits the previous week. According to Ortega, the activist “continues to be in the same overcrowded space prepared for his torture, without receiving proper medical care.” It was also reported that the unit houses a dangerous individual known as Caney, whom she described as “one of the main criminals serving the dictatorship.”

She mentioned that Ferrer had “a persistent cough, earache, skin lesions caused by fungus, insect bites and a high temperature, as well as an infection in his big toe.” The activist remains “thin and pale, even though for some weeks now they have been taking him out in the sun two or three times a week.”

The UNPACU leader, “brutally tortured” in prison, as the NGO Prisoners Defenders reported last July, has no access to food, “because they continue stealing it, as well as hygiene products.” He also has no drinking water because of “the shortage throughout the prison,” so Ferrer tries to “survive with what a few sympathetic inmates can offer him to eat.” continue reading

Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara suffers from chikungunya, fever, diarrhea and severe weakness.

Artist and political prisoner Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara is in a delicate health situation in the Guanajay prison, Artemisa, after an outbreak of the epidemic. In a phone call on September 9, he informed activist Yanelys Núñez that he suffers from chikungunya, fever, diarrhea and severe weakness, and that he has waived his monthly family visit in protest.

There has been no news of him since August 21, increasing concern for his well-being in a context of harassment, abuse and inhumane prison conditions. Several organizations emphasize that the Cuban regime is responsible for his life and integrity and denounce the lack of access to medicines and medical care in the country’s prisons.

Likewise, Ferrer’s treatment in prison has been denounced, including by the U.S. State Department. Last July, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio demanded proof of life from the Cuban regime for the opposition figure, following several allegations of torture in prison.

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

Unpacu was designated a “terrorist organization” by the Cuban regime.

Ferrer’s entourage has also suffered harassment by the regime. On September 1, UNPACU was designated a terrorist organization by the Cuban regime. In an open letter, the NGO denounced “a serious political manipulation, devoid of legal or historical basis, whose sole purpose is to discredit and criminalize a peaceful civic movement that, since its founding in 2011, has worked to promote human rights through humanitarian work, civic education and dignity for all Cubans.”

In its message, the union also demanded “as a priority” the “immediate” release of Ferrer and all political prisoners.

A month earlier, on July 1, Nelva Ortega was arrested for a few hours while demanding proof of life for the activist.

Last January, José Daniel was released from prison as part of the Vatican-brokered agreement with the U.S. to release 553 inmates, most of whom were common prisoners. However, in April, the Supreme Court revoked his release, arguing that he “did not comply with the measures imposed on him.”

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Small Private Companies Are Gaining Ground in the Shipping Business in Matanzas

Correos de Cuba partners with a small private business in an attempt to halt its own decline.

Vans from the private shipping company ‘We Ship You’, in Matanzas/14ymedio

Pablo Padilla Cruz, Matanzas, September 6, 2025 — The Correos de Cuba in Matanzas announced this week the arrival of the first international shipment resulting from an alliance with the MSME* TransMiret, based in the municipality of Arroyo Naranjo. Cooperation with this private entity seeks to reverse the loss of business that the state service has suffered in recent years in the face of competition from non-state companies that have captured a large part of the clientele.

“This union responds to the constant complaints of users and the loss of confidence in the service of international shipments of Correos de Cuba,” admitted to 14ymedio an employee of the Matanzas 1 post office, located on the central Calle del Medio. “The reality is that we have had problems of precision, distribution and customer service. They now hope that this alliance will improve the situation,” added the state worker.

A citizen may import, by post, parcel or express courier, goods with a value of up to $500 and a maximum weight of 20 kilograms, according to the rules of the General Customs of the Republic, which rates each kilogram at $10. The value of shipments is subject to a duty in national currency, although products such as medicines, toiletries, food and medical supplies are exempt from this tax until the end of September.

However, the attempt by Correos de Cuba to regain control of the shipments collides with a scenario that has changed radically. In Matanzas, several private companies have gained popularity among users by offering faster services, transparent and personalized.

One of the best known is We Ship You, which three years ago opened its base of operations in the area of Peñas Altas. “They have an excellent service,” says Arnaldo, a regular customer. “With my mobile app, I can monitor the package from when it arrives at their warehouse to when it is delivered to my home. The first time I used the service the package arrived on a Sunday continue reading

and as deliveries started on Monday, I went to the base and got it in 10 minutes. Also, the heavier the shipment, the lower the price. It can cost $4 per pound if you go over 10 pounds. In less than 21 days the package is already here, something unthinkable with Correos de Cuba.”

The service includes additional services, such as the ability to hold products in the Miami warehouse for one month to group them into a single shipment and lower the cost by weight. “They even give you a bag with the company logo as a souvenir,” says Arnaldo laughing. “It’s one of the few things that makes you feel like you live in the first world.”

We Ship You, based in Homestead, Florida, is owned by the corporation of the same name. According to its co-founder, the Colombian Carlos Badel, the idea was born from his experience in logistics and the ability of his partner Johan Rodriguez to develop software. The products they ship to the Island range from electronic equipment, motorcycles and food, to Shein and Temu items. The company currently operates in several Latin American countries, including Cuba, Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil and Mexico.

“The customer chooses online what they want and we buy it, even provide advice”

In Peñas Altas, the company’s presence has generated employment and income in a community that is often forgotten by government investment. “I am the custodian of the transport base and earn 50 dollars a month, with the option to earn more if I do overtime,” says Eduardo, a neighbor. “At the current rate, that is more than 20,000 pesos. It is more than three times what any state entity would pay. And if inflation goes up, my salary keeps pace because it’s in dollars. I feel respected here and the deal is excellent.”

Another example of the private sector boom is Tu Envío Latino, an online shopping agency created by two young residents of Matanzas who took advantage of the vacuum left by the state. “We saw the opportunity and started working on it. Our family in Miami helps us; the purchases come to them and are then sent to Cuba. Gradually we have grown and now are shipping more than $10,000 worth of goods in a fortnight,” says one of the founders. “We are not afraid of competition from Correos de Cuba, because whenever the state companies do something slightly innovative the private ones beat them, since we adapt faster. With us products arrive in less than 20 days, even from China. Once a customer received his purchase from the Nike store in just 24 hours.”

The agency guarantees a full refund if the product does not arrive or presents problems. “The customer chooses online what he wants and we buy it, even provide advice. If there is a problem on our part, they can re-purchase or get 100% of their money back. I would like to see that when they start losing articles in Correos de Cuba, if they will answer for them or make excuses as they did before, without giving value to the property of the customer,” he concludes.

Correos de Cuba is trying to reactivate its business amid the disappearance of traditional agencies such as Cubamax — linked to Hugo Cancio — Tuambia and Sendity. Although the state-owned company now relies on partnerships with MSMEs to operate outside the country, it has not implemented attractive incentives for its workers or competitive offers for its customers.

“Without lowering prices or shortening delivery times, it will be very difficult to regain people’s trust,” says a worker in the sector who asked for anonymity. “Private competition has shown that things can be done differently. Correos de Cuba will have to change a lot if it wants to live up to its own triumphalism.”

*Micro, Small, Medium Enterprises [mipyme in Spanish]

Translated by Regina Anavy

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In Matanzas, a Teacher Swapped Chalk for Bricks To Build Her Own House

Yadira accepted a job as an official in the municipal construction union

This week, 98,000 students began the school year in Matanzas, but with poor teacher coverage. / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Julio César Contreras, Matanzas, September 6, 2025 — Last Monday, Yadira was not in the classroom with her students, as she had been every year since graduating as a comprehensive general teacher in 2003. “Leaving teaching has been one of the most difficult decisions of my life, but I am tired of teaching being a profession so undervalued and poorly paid in this country,” says the teacher, who worked at two primary schools in Matanzas. After many years of sacrifice, she decided to change jobs.

Her new job as a municipal construction union employee will not earn her much more, but it will give her something she values more: free time for her family and access to building materials. She lives with her three children in Matanzas, while trying to finish her house, which was started in 2011 and still has a dirt floor. “I agreed to come in 2008 from Bayamo because they promised me a house that never arrived,” she explains to 14ymedio.

The provincial education landscape shows the cracks in the system. This week, 98,000 students began the school year in Matanzas, but with a deficient teaching coverage: of a planned staff of 9,511 places, only 7,478 have been covered. According to the provincial deputy director of education, Eledis Abreu Domech, the gap of more than 2,000 teachers is filled by hourly contracts and other patches. The most affected municipalities are Matanzas, Colón and Cárdenas.

The deficit is due not only to low wages but also to the very poor living conditions, especially the housing

The deficit is due not only to low wages but also to the very poor living conditions, especially the housing for those who have been transferred from other provinces to teach in the city. Yadira recalls spending three years in a teacher’s shelter, washing her clothes by hand and eating continue reading

whatever appeared, until members of her Baptist church helped her to get a small plot of land and to build one room of her own house.

Frustration accumulated: “It is not just the salary. Between absurd meetings and prohibitions, it is impossible to teach quality classes,” complains the woman.

According to the most recent salary scale, Yadira should receive 5,369 pesos plus an 80-peso seniority bonus. “I can’t support my children with that. I’m a single mother, and at 44 I still depend on the help of my parents,” she laments. She is thinking of doing private tutoring at home, something forbidden while working in the school.

Although in her new union job she will earn 400 pesos less, she gets more autonomy, less bureaucracy, more time for her family, and she can have time to be a leader in her Baptist Church. “I will try to continue working for the State, but I will not accept impositions against my faith or personal development. If something positive comes out of this decision it is that I will never work for someone who does not value my effort.”

As an added bonus, her new job brings her closer to a source of construction resources that can accelerate the completion of her home. As a teacher, it was virtually impossible for Yadira to buy anything, from electrical switches to sacks of cement, to complete a project that has already cost her more than a decade of work and worry.

During her work as a teacher, she felt that attention to the teaching staff was one of the great shortcomings of the Cuban educational system. The teachers’ list of duties is long, but the stimulus remains in some diploma or official act where they are given a flower or a picture with the face of some party leader. This lack of interest does not correspond to the importance that people like her have in the formation of new generations.

Yadira admits that she would like to return to teaching one day but finds it increasingly difficult: “They are running out of teachers, and the worst is that they do nothing to prevent it. It’s as if they don’t care,” she concludes.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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In a Triumphalist Report, Canal Caribe Inflates the Data for Oil Production in Cuba

An engineer admits it will not be enough to “solve the generation deficit”

Energy plant in Boca de Jaruco, Mayabeque, operated in collaboration with Sherritt International, a Canadian company/ Canal Caribe (stock photo)

14ymedio, Madrid, 27 August 2025 — “Energas has become the largest thermoelectric power plant in the country at the moment.” Statements to Canal Caribe by Luis Rolando Eres Grass, engineer of the Western Oil Drilling and Extraction Company, show the importance for Cuba of the gas plants in Boca de Jaruco (Mayabeque) and Varadero (Matanzas), which supply the national electricity system (SEN) with 400 megawatts (MW) daily, no less than 12% of the domestic demand in high consumption season, as is the case now.

The technician is one of the experts interviewed to give a statement that the official media disseminated with enthusiasm: Cuba-Petróleo Union (Cupet) has reached two million tons of crude oil equivalent thanks to the oil and gas extracted mainly in deposits in the province of Matanzas. He himself, however, lowers the expectations of the data. “Two million tons of oil equivalent will not solve the generation deficit,” he said, adding that they represent a value of more than one billion dollars “that the country stopped investing to generate electricity” and with which diesel can be purchased “for distributed generation.”

What Canal Caribe emphasizes is not the 98% of national production, which is in the northern strip -Mayabeque, Varadero, Cárdenas- and gives a crude oil of worse quality, but the hopes placed in new deposits. Nor does it mention that the Chinese company Great Wall makes the work possible. The report speaks of the “scientific and technological feat” that involves the horizontal drilling of eight kilometers to reach “deposits located below the seabed, reached from land.” continue reading

Experts never mention that Energas’ achievement is due to collaboration with Canadian mining giant Sherritt

This new well, belonging to the Fraile block, is expected to yield around 120 cubic meters (750 barrels) of oil per day by the end of the year, a small contribution for recovering national production, which at the end of 2024 had decreased by 138,028 tons compared to the forecast.

At no time did the experts mention that Energas’ achievement was due to collaboration with Canadian mining giant Sherritt, although at the end of the TV report -just when they are talking about “reducing dependence on imported fuels” and a “gain in energy sovereignty”- the flag of Canada clearly appears next to that of Cuba and the emblem of the state gas company.

The enthusiasm with which the news is communicated through official media, in any case, contrasts with the results of Sherritt itself. The company recently acknowledged that its situation in Cuba is critical, and Archivo Cuba published just a few days ago a report denouncing the scheme of “human trafficking” carried out by the regime with workers sent to the Canadian refinery of Fort Saskatchewan, in the province of Alberta.

But above all, it contrasts with the true energy situation of the island. For this Wednesday, the Electric Union of Cuba (UNE) again predicts a deficit that is on the way to 2,000 MW at peak hours. At the peak of demand, late-night, 3,780 MW will be required and 2,080 MW will be available. The deficit of 1,720 MW will result in a real allocation of 1,790 MW.

The figures are similar to yesterday’s 1,746 MW, well above the initially planned 1,660 MW. This Tuesday, says the UNE, ” service was affected for 24 hours and remained affected throughout the morning today.”

The 26 new photovoltaic solar parks, which contributed a maximum of 562 MW during daytime hours, still do not compensate for the calamitous state of the SEN. A total of six units in thermal power plants are down for failure or maintenance, and 38 distributed generation plants are not operating due to lack of fuel.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Venezuela Sent Twice As Much Oil to the U.S. Than to Cuba in August

Cuba received 29,000 barrels per day (bpd) while China took 85% of the 900,000 bpd exported by PDVSA

In total, 60,000 bpd from Venezuela arrived in the U.S.

14ymedio, Madrid, September 4, 2025 — In August, Cuba received an average of 29,000 barrels per day (bpd) of Venezuelan crude oil, a quantity slightly below what arrived the previous month (31,000 bpd), although still far from the agreements signed 25 years ago by Hugo Chávez and Fidel Castro. In addition, it is half of what the state-owned oil company PDVSA sent to the U.S. this month.

Washington gave a respite by issuing a partial license to Chevron to operate in Venezuela and export its oil, which has allowed PDVSA to exceed 900,000 barrels per day, the highest volume of the year. The White House announced in July the granting of this “restricted” authorization without giving details, although it is believed that one of the conditions for using it is that the money from the sale of oil cannot be transferred to the government of Nicolás Maduro, something very complex to guarantee. In total, 60,000 bpd from Venezuela arrived in the U.S.

In total, 60,000 bpd from Venezuela arrived in the U.S.

This, together with the increase in exports to China — which took 85% of the country’s crude outflows — has left record figures for PDVSA’s coffers. The quantities of oil and its derivatives also soared, as Venezuela exported about 275,000 metric tons, compared to the 227,000 tons shipped in July. On the other hand, the country had to increase imports of light oil and naphtha, which it needs to dilute its extra-heavy oil and produce exportable crude, from 58,000 bpd in July to 99,000 bpd. continue reading

According to Reuters, which provides these data on a monthly basis, “the stability of production and the absence of interruptions in the refining process and mixing plants of the Orinoco Belt” were other factors that increased inventories and exports.

The data come amid strong tensions between the U.S. and Venezuela, which rose to a new level on Tuesday with an alleged naval attack on a drug boat in Caribbean waters. Despite this, the oil business is still standing, and as Chevron CEO Mike Wirth had predicted, “a limited amount of oil” began to flow in August, with expectations of a positive economic impact for the company in the third quarter.

Venezuela exported about 275,000 metric tons, compared to the 227,000 tons shipped in July.

Although Cuba has not received the amounts provided for in the agreements with Caracas for months, Miguel Díaz-Canel himself commented that there was an undisclosed “formula” between the two governments -“so that they do not pursue it”- through which to continue cooperation. According to some analysts, one of the solutions could be triangular agreements with Mexico.

The country has exported large quantities of crude oil to Cuba in the past two years — an estimated $1 billion so far this year — through a subsidiary of state-owned Pemex, Gasolinas Bienestar S.A. de C.V., which claims that it is complying with the U.S. embargo laws on Cuba. So far it is not known whether this is a donation, sale, barter or if Venezuela pays something to Mexico to compensate for the lack of shipments from PDVSA to the island.

Despite the fact that oil continues to flow towards Cuba, the blackouts persist, and the electricity deficit seems to increase vertiginously, having now adapted to a daily loss much higher than 1,500 megawatts (MW), reaching more than 2,000 this summer, equivalent to more than 50% of domestic demand. “The considerable increase in demand due to high temperatures and the departure of generating units due to failures and fuel shortages are the determining factors for the fact that the generation deficit in the country is higher than planned,” the State newspaper Granma said on Wednesday in a report about the energy situation of the country.

Despite the fact that the oil does not stop flowing towards Cuba, the blackouts persist and the electricity deficit seems to increase vertiginously.

On Tuesday, Energas Jaruco and unit 5 of Antonio Maceo (Renté), Santiago de Cuba, where a worker previously suffered serious burns in an accident, returned to the national electrical system (SEN). However, three more units were damaged (3 and 6 of Renté and 2 of Felton), besides two others being in “prolonged maintenance” (2 of Santa Cruz del Norte and 4 of Carlos Manuel de Céspedes, in Cienfuegos). To make matters worse, the preparation prior to capital maintenance has begun for the largest thermoelectric plant in Cuba, the Antonio Guiteras, Matanzas, which is estimated to be completed at the end of the year.

However, Lázaro Guerra Hernández, director of Electricity at the Ministry of Energy and Mines, attributed most of the deficit to the lack of fuel and lubricants, so that 703 MW were not provided, a situation that is repeated day after day.

In the midst of this situation, work is progressing at the Matanzas Supertaker base thanks to China. This Monday it was announced that a group of experts from that country placed the dome on tank 49-1, which has a capacity of 50,000 cubic meters (13,208,603 US liquid gallons). The aluminum cover is 74 meters (243 feet) in diameter and weighs 68 tons.

The work should be completed in 2026, when the construction of this tank has been completed along with tanks 86, 87 and 88, which will add up to 200,000 cubic meters (52,834,411 US liquid gallons) lost in the fire of August 2022 that left 17 dead, many of them young people who were performing military service and were sent without experience to put out the fire.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Díaz-Canel Promises China a ‘Better Business Environment’ in Cuba, as He Did With Vietnam

Xi responds to the president that his country “is willing to continue providing assistance and support to Cuba, to the extent of its ability”

[Xi spoke of the “iron friendship” between the two countries and assured that his country “will continue to firmly support Cuba in its just struggle against interference and the blockade.”

14ymedio, Havana, 4 September 2025 — Miguel Díaz-Canel made a promise to Xi Jinping this Thursday during their meeting in Beijing: “Cuba is ready to provide a better business environment for Chinese companies,” said the Cuban leader. It is the second time he commits this week, after saying the same thing in Hanoi to the Vietnamese authorities; however, China is not a country with strong growth like Vietnam, but the second world power.

More skillful than his counterparts, Xi gave a measured response: His country “is ready to continue providing assistance and support to Cuba, to the extent of its ability.”

The Chinese president called for “strengthening the integral strategic cooperation and continuing coordination and cooperation” between Beijing and Havana, according to a statement issued by state agency Xinhua. At the same meeting, the two leaders also signed bilateral agreements on agriculture, territorial cooperation, artificial intelligence, traditional medicine, infrastructure, press, cinema and television.

They also signed bilateral agreements on agriculture, territorial cooperation, artificial intelligence, traditional medicine, infrastructure, press, cinema and television

But beyond that, it was all words. Xi spoke of the “iron friendship” between the two countries and assured that his country “will continue to firmly support Cuba in its just struggle against interference and the blockade.” There was nothing new that, for the moment, suggests such good results as those obtained by Díaz-Canel in his December 2022 tour, when he obtained a donation of 100 million dollars and the cancelation of the debt. continue reading

Díaz-Canel thanked China for “its selfless support and assistance to the economic and social development of Cuba.” The Chinese ambassador in Havana, Hua Xin, already made it clear in an interview this Wednesday with the official weekly Workers that the aid of his country has a more strategic than economic reward. “Cuba is the starting point of relations between China and Latin America and the Caribbean, the cradle of the China-Celac Forum and a bridge for relations in the area,” he said.

In Beijing, Díaz-Canel attended the military parade commemorating the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II in the Pacific, together with other leaders – the Russian, Vladimir Putin, and the North Korean, Kim Jong-un, in addition to Xi himself, who reviewed the troops.

Putin and Kim had the preferred place for escorting the Chinese host, but Díaz-Canel had to settle for a discreet fifth row in the line of followers.

Following his meeting with Xi and the signing of documents, including those relating to the Belt and the Silk Road Initiative, political consultations, practical cooperation, cultural exchanges and the Global Security Initiative, the Cuban leader went to the Monument to the Heroes of the People, where he presented a floral offering. The memorial is located on Tiananmen Square, where in August 1989 there was a serious crackdown and massacre of students protesting against the communist regime.

There, Díaz-Canel placed a floral arrangement inspired by the same one that Fidel Castro placed in 1995. “To the memory of the heroes of the Chinese people, in the name of the Cuban people, Communist Party and Government,” indicates the commemorative ribbon, with the colors of the national flag.

The Cuban leader also met with Li Xi, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, recently in China. Also in the entourage were Chancellor Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, the head of international relations of the Communist Party of Cuba, Emilio Lozada García, and the Cuban ambassador to China, Alberto Blanco Silva.

The meeting was attended by some of the other ministers most interested in getting something from China, including Oscar Pérez-Oliva Fraga, of Foreign Trade and Investment; Vicente de la O Levy, of Energy and Mines; Mayra Arevich Marín, of Communications; and the president of the Central Bank of Cuba, Juana Lilia Delgado.

In the early afternoon, the Cuban leader also met with comrade Han Zheng, vice-president of the People’s Republic of China.

At the end of this visit, Díaz-Canel will leave for Laos on what will be the last stop of his Asian tour before returning to the Island.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Leonardo Padura Presents a Novel in Madrid That Portrays the Disaster of Cuba

The writer describes a country where the poverty of pensioners and the opulence of the new rich coexist

Padura acknowledged that the “control industry” is still standing and called the judicial repression following the protests “brutal.”/ 14ymedio

14ymedio, Yunior García Aguilera, Madrid, 3 September 2025 — The most-read living Cuban writer on and off the island, Leonardo Padura, presented his latest novel this Tuesday in Madrid. Morir en la arena (Dying in the Sand) (Tusquets Editores, 2025) has been described by the author himself as “the saddest” he has published so far, a stark and almost fatalistic portrait of national reality. Some 200 readers gathered at the Espacio Fundación Telefónica to listen to the creator of the famous Mario Conde, and to buy his book and renew that imaginary photograph that many keep of Cuba.

Padura is not a gold coin. In exile he is often reproached for his ideological ambiguity and his silence in the face of political repression. Within the island, on the other hand, he is perceived as an uncomfortable author, too independent for official institutions and too famous for the taste of cultural curators. He does not belong to the chorus of “gratefuls,” those who claim to owe everything to the Revolution. He recognizes that his success is due in large part to the luck of obtaining a contract outside the country. And he himself complained, during the presentation, that his last books have not come out in Cuba, because, according to the authorities, “there is no paper.”

With or without criticism, it is impossible to deny his international recognition. Receiving the Princesa de Asturias de las Letras award in 2015, translated into more than 30 languages and a regular on the lists of best sellers in Spain and Latin America, Padura is today an indisputable reference. This Tuesday, he appealed to a metaphor that could well define him: a character who refuses to be heads or tails, and who insists on being on “the edge of the coin.”

**Hundreds of readers gathered in the Espacio Fundación Telefónica to hear the creator of the famous Mario Conde. / 14ymedio**

Morir en la arena stems from a real parricide in a family close to the writer. Although the story takes place in 2023, the narrative covers half a century of national changes, such as the war in Angola, the fall of the Berlin Wall, the crisis of the 90s and the current disaster. continue reading

The pages reflect today’s enormous social divide, from the poverty of pensioners to the opulence of the new rich. It is no longer the music of Silvio Rodríguez or Pablo Milanés that accompanies the landscape, but the reparto,* a penetrating wave that floods everything. Padura even knows by heart the lyrics of one of those songs, saturated with “beatings” and “asses with authority.”

The scientist and writer Eduardo López-Collazo, present at the meeting, asked him if he thought Cuba had a solution. Padura avoided a direct response. He defined himself as an observer, not a politician or sociologist. But in his eyes Cuba is a country in decline, with two million emigrants in recent years and doctors unable to survive on their salary.

Another attendee, Spanish by his accent, spoke plainly of the repression on the island. Padura spoke of the fear, and he agreed that Cuba needs profound transformations in all spheres: economic, political and social. He also acknowledged that the “control industry” is still standing and called the judicial repression following the protests “brutal,” when too many young people received sentences of eight or ten years for breaking a window. “If all those who break a window in demonstrations were imprisoned in France, no one would be left on the street,” he said.

**A Cuban woman wore a sign on her back alluding to the Cuban political prisoners. Everyone noticed and took pictures of the message. / 14ymedio**

A Cuban woman wore a sign on her back alluding to the Cuban political prisoners. Everyone noticed and took pictures of the message. / 14ymedio

The writer Berna González Harbour moderated the conversation and thought she saw Padura himself in one of the characters in Morir en la arena. He denied it. He only intended to satirize a genre of his youth, the “revolutionary police novel,” which, he said, had “much of Revolution, little of police and no novel.” Although he did not advance the correlation, he did confess his interest in vindicating that character.

“What keeps Cubans singing and writing?” asked another voice from the audience. The most ingenious answer came from the Nicaraguan Gioconda Belli, who recalled the joke of a poor driver who, to the same question from a diplomat, replied: “in addition to living in poverty, you also want it to be sad?”

At the end, among the audience, a Cuban woman wore a sign on her back alluding to the Cuban political prisoners: “In Cuba there are more than 1000 political prisoners just for asking for freedom.” Everyone noticed and took pictures of the message. She came up with her book, received an elegant dedication and a photo with the writer. For many, this afternoon was the first time they heard Padura speak publicly about the island’s repression, unjust convictions and the urgency of political change. Perhaps, after all this swimming, it is not obligatory to die in the sand.

*Urban musical genre similar to reggaeton

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Family Members Defend the Director of a State Company Convicted of Embezzlement

The daughter points out that her mother was on sick leave when the crime was committed and that the company was a victim of a con man who fled from Cuba

Image of the Sancti Spíritus Agricultural Supply Company / Facebook

14ymedio, Havana, 29 August 2025 — The convictions of directors of the Agricultural Supply Company of Sancti Spíritus for corruption, reported by the official press this week, have generated unusual reactions among Cubans who have read the news. Although the majority call the officials “predators” and “thieves,” several people close to the accused have come to their defense claiming that they are at least partly innocent.

The most striking comment was posted on 14ymedio’s Facebook page by someone who identified herself “D.S.,” the daughter of a director, who received the longest sentence with 20 years in prison. “Everyone who knows the case knows very well that I’m talking about my mother, the director. Just like any human being she has the right to get sick, and she was ill with a reactive hepatitis which made it impossible for her to do her job for four months,” she claims.

During that time, “sales were made in the company behind their backs,” she says in reference to the marketing of state goods by a self-employed worker, who, according to the Escambray newspaper, turned out to be a con man. According to the local newspaper, the man appeared “disguised as a representative of a so-called Local Development Project,” and, after making not one but several purchases from the company, left the country without paying. The contract, she adds, required payment to be made “in a timely manner.”

In addition to being sick, the daughter adds, the fact that the company was robbed of 94 million pesos is an element in favor of her mother and the other defendants. “They were tried for embezzlement without taking any money; they only sold the goods to a guy who never paid and left the country. Now I wonder: is it ethical for a human being to be so demonized without knowing exactly what happened?” continue reading

She also said that the director’s family “will appeal and go as far as it has to for the truth to be recognized.”

She also said that the director’s family “will appeal and go as far as it has to for the truth to be recognized.”

At the bottom of the publication of Escambray’s note on social networks, the woman scolded several users who asked for more severe punishments or insulted the leaders who were tried. “Easy to say, ma’am, without really knowing what happened. Read it well before speaking. Nobody took anything; they were conned by a guy who bought all the merchandise and then left the country without paying.”

Other netizens, apparently close to the case, also endorsed several of the woman’s comments. “I am a witness of her illness, as I am also a witness of the great woman that she is and will continue being. She has spent many years defending the Revolution. Now, in my view, they have committed a great injustice. Everyone knows what happened, many know the reality, but there are wars that you will never win even if you are right. A good understanding, a few words are enough,” one of them predicted.

Another added on her own Facebook page: “There would be much to add, but I limit myself to one fact: a good friend from my time at Santa Clara high school is imprisoned, right now, for embezzlement, corruption, and I do not know how many more charges. They asked for 20 years. But to those who have us stealing and inventing, in order to live poorly in this demonic country, we pay homage and let them continue fattening themselves with impunity before our very eyes. Out of fear, indolence, apathy… who knows?” she criticized.

In response to the promise of the daughter to pursue the case to the end, another person added: “I hope so, then the truth will come out and they will have to bite their tongues and swallow poison. Enough of this circus: that person has a family.”

The director of the company was tried along with four other senior officials on August 22 and 23 by the Criminal Chamber of the Provincial Court

The director of the company was tried along with four other senior officials on August 22 and 23 by the Criminal Chamber of the Provincial Court. Although her sentence was the harshest, the rest were also given long sentences: the director of the company’s Basic Business Unit (UEB) Marketing and Services, sentenced to 18 years in prison; the commercial director, 16 years; the legal adviser, 10 years; and the former director general, who took office in 2023, two years and six months of deprivation of liberty, “subsidized by correctional work with internment for the same term.”

In addition to being conned, they were also accused of “breach of duty to preserve property in economic entities.” According to Escambray, on two occasions the refrigerator for the meat, intended for “internal feeding,” broke and consequently did not reach the level of cold needed to conserve the food inside.”

The directors, “despite knowledge of the situation, did not implement effective actions” to save the meat products, which caused a loss of more than three million pesos,” says the official newspaper. The director’s daughter didn’t make any argument about this crime.

Whether it is the version of the state or the family, both are incomplete, and many aspects remain to be clarified. Who authorized the sale to a private con man? Why was his identity not verified? And, ultimately, where were those responsible for monitoring and auditing the company’s assets?

Translated by Regina Anavy

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A Study Identifies 108 Marine Species at Risk of Extinction in Cuba

Of these, 29 are listed as”critically endangered”

A shark diving team in Cuban waters. / Online Tours

14ymedio (via EFE), Havana, 30 August 2025 — A study by a team of 30 Cuban scientists identified 108 marine species in the country at risk of extinction, of which 29 are listed as “critical endangered,” reported the state press on Saturday.

Corals lead the species in being “critically endangered,” followed by sharks, rays, bony fish and turtles, according to the project Threatened Marine Species in Cuba, coordinated by the Institute of Marine Sciences of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment.

The results of the initiative, published in the State newspaper Granma, warn that of the total threatened, 26 are categorized as “endangered” and 53 as “vulnerable.” As for mangroves, seagrasses, macroalgae, sponges and molluscs, although none was assessed as threatened by international criteria, 25 species were categorized under a preliminary threat criterion,” the report added.

The research involved 30 marine biologists from various Cuban institutions and was carried out between January 2021 and December 2024. The information gathered will serve as a basis for the Red Book of Marine Species in Cuba, which is expected to be continue reading

published by the end of 2026, according to the official press.

The research involved 30 marine biologists from various Cuban institutions and was carried out between January 2021 and December 2024

The loss of biodiversity is the main environmental problem in Cuba and is related to pollution, the use of unsustainable production practices, poaching, illegal trade and the introduction and spread of alien and invasive species, according to the study. Of the approximately 36,700 listed species, 35% are threatened with extinction, and it is estimated that up to 75% of mammals could disappear. Plants are also severely affected: 580 plant species are critically endangered, along with 16 amphibian species. In addition, 70% of amphibians, of which 71 species (94% endemic) identified on the island, are threatened.

This deterioration is mainly due to illegal hunting, intensive agriculture, mining, deforestation and pollution, which has eroded natural habitats and drastically reduced local fauna. However, the attention of the State also plays an essential part in a context of economic crisis, in which tourist enjoyment is prioritized over the protection of natural reserves.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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The Chic Area of Matanzas, Cuba, is Today Barely a Memory

The decline of Varadero along with Covid ended the dream of the “Athens of Cuba” becoming a “creole Miami Beach”

A park with an immense sign was built in the city, but no one goes there, not even to take selfies. / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Pablo Padilla Cruz, Matanzas, 30 August 2025 — Matanzas has two nicknames: the “Athens of Cuba,” earned centuries ago as a cradle of poets and artists, and the “city of bridges,” thanks to the dozens of structures that cross the Yumurí and San Juan rivers.

With the advent of the new century, however, another less flattering nickname began to circulate: “The sleeping city.” The lack of night life and central recreation places plunged it into a silence that many attributed to the proximity of Varadero, that tourist magnet that absorbed all the investments and projects.

It wasn’t until 2016 that an attempt was made to reverse the inertia. First with the development of the Narváez promenade, turned into a boulevard, and soon after with a more ambitious project: the transformation of the neighborhood of La Playa, especially the area of Peñas Altas. The plan promised nearly two kilometers of bars, restaurants, shopping centers and nightclubs interspersed with residences -mostly luxury- and access to beaches: a Matanzas version of a kind of “creole Miami Beach.”

The shops are out of stock and the menus are poor. / 14ymedio

It worked for a while. Whole families found respite there after the work week. Andrés, known as El Piti, remembers it like this: “I worked as a security guard in Varadero. There was more money circulating than now, and on Sundays we went out in groups to enjoy ourselves. I had never seen so much movement in the neighborhood.”

The illusion was short-lived. Shops began to run out of supplies, menus became poor, and several places were subjected to dubious renovations. The Bellamar pizzeria, for example, closed for a second renovation in continue reading

less than a decade. Marielis, who has been employed there for more than 15 years, suspects that these works were more in the interests of managers and contractors than the needs of the public.

“We lost a lot of time because of this absurd remodeling,” recalls Andrés. “They set up a bar that made no sense. It only opened once a week, with beer and chicharritas. Then the pandemic came and we never recovered,” he added.

The deterioration of the premises even reached the Caracol store. / 14ymedio

The deterioration was repeated in other places: the Caracol store, the Bellamar service center, the La Sirenita shopping center – with its cafe still inactive – and even the old Dimar, subjected to several renovations and today in private hands.

Irene de la Caridad, a resident of the area, remembers those years with nostalgia. “On Saturdays and Sundays people met in the parking lot of La Sirenita before going to the discos. Now there is a park with a huge sign with the name of the city, but no one goes, not even to take selfies. With the heat and the tiles they put down, the reflection of the sun is blinding. I miss sitting in the cafe of La Sirenita, drinking a soda, facing the bay. I would choose between the terrace or the bar’s air conditioning… although now I don’t know with what electricity it would work.”

The final blow was given by the Covid pandemic. Added to this was the lack of interest of the State, the meaningless renovations and the arrival of private investors who manage premises at prohibitive prices. In the cafeteria of Playa Allende, for example, a soft drink costs 300 pesos and a beer 350.

What at the time was “the chic area” of Matanzas is today barely a memory. The city may not be as “sleepy” as before, but as Irene says, “in the evenings and nights you get bored… and that’s the truth.”

In the cafeteria of Playa Allende a soft drink costs 300 pesos and a beer 350. / 14ymedio

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Death of a 28-Year-Old Boy Struck by Lightning in Colón, Matanzas, Cuba

Adriel Ferrera was electrocuted while performing agricultural work

Cuba records an annual average of 54 deaths from lightning strikes. / Facebook / Raúl Navarro

14ymedio, Matanzas, 30 August 2025 — Adriel Ferrera La O, 28 years old, died this Friday as a result of lightning in the town of Río Piedras, in Colón, Matanzas. The young man was electrocuted while performing agricultural work, the People’s Power Municipal Assembly reported on its Facebook page.

The neighbors tried to resuscitate him, but unfortunately Ferrera died before he could be taken to the hospital. He was the father of a two-year-old girl, according to several family members and friends in reports about his death.

Earlier this month, three children lost their lives in Manicaragua, Villa Clara, due to lightning during a storm. They were accompanied by 14-year-old Diamelis Delgado Granados, the only survivor of the group. She was hospitalized and fared well, according to the authorities.

The fatalities in that incident were: Andy Alberto Turiño González (13), Analía García Rodríguez (14) and Jorge Alejandro de la Coba Monteagudo (14), who had come from the United States to spend his holidays in Cuba. continue reading

Cuba records an annual average of 54 deaths from lightning strikes.

A few days later, on 10 August, a 42-year-old woman died after being struck by lightning. The incident also occurred in the municipality of Colón, Matanzas, when the victim was engaged in agricultural work, as was Adriel Ferrera La O.

Just two months ago, two other teenagers died under similar circumstances in Bauta, Artemisa. On June7, in the neighborhood of Pita (popular council Urban 2), Luis Antonio and Maicol -who were playing soccer outdoors- were struck by lightning.

In 2023, a lightning strike also killed Dunielkis Fonseca Borges, a worker at the Nickel Union Services Company in Moa, Holguín. In that incident, six other colleagues, who, like her, were waiting for transport to return home, were injured.

To date, Cuba has recorded an annual average of 54 deaths from lightning strikes, making it the leading cause of death from weather events. Between 1987 and 2017, 1,742 deaths were recorded, according to a study carried out by specialists from the Institute of Meteorology (Insmet).

According to recent estimates supported by NASA and other specialized sources, it is estimated that up to 24,000 people worldwide are killed annually by lightning strikes, and approximately 240,000 are injured. However, there is a lack of systematic official reports on the incidence of this type of phenomena in certain regions.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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From a Very Poor Country That Received Aid From Cuba, Vietnam Is Now One of the Island’s Benefactors

“Cuba sent an annual aid of 10,000 tons of sugar, doctors and some advisers,” recalls a former ambassador of the regime in Hanoi
Díaz-Canel comes to Vietnam to beg for investments from state and private enterprises of a communist ally that practices a market economy

The general secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam, To Lam, with Miguel Díaz-Canel in Hanoi. / VNA

14ymedio, Madrid, September 1, 2025 — In the midst of Miguel Díaz-Canel’s official visit to Vietnam, a country that has been gaining ground in Cuba — even literally by turning one of its companies into a tenant of land on the island — Cubadebate publishes an interview with former ambassador Fredesmán Turró, which, unwittingly, is very revealing of how the two communist nations have followed diverging paths and come to opposite results.

From being a very poor country receiving economic aid from Cuba, Vietnam has opened itself to the market economy and has become a developing society that helps an impoverished Cuba that still clings to centralized planning.

“Cuba sent an annual aid of 10,000 tons of sugar, doctors and some advisors, and in the middle of the war two poultry genetic centers and a cattle genetic center were built,” says Turró, who arrived in Vietnam in 1968 -at just 18 years old- along with nine other students. The group was part of a commitment made by Raul Castro, then commander, during a visit to the country two years ago in which he met with Ho Chi Minh.

“It was really a very, very emotional visit. In his speech, Raul said that Cuba would even be willing to send volunteers to fight alongside the Vietnamese,” he said. The Asian leader, who died in 1969, never got to know Fidel Castro -who did not visit Hanoi until 1973- although, according to Turró, “There are countless anecdotes that show the affection, the respect they had. “The Cuban sent, he says, ice cream from Coppelia to the Vietnamese leader and “species of bull frogs for Uncle Ho to raise in the pond near the humble hut where he lived, in the service area of the Presidential Palace.” continue reading

“It was really a very, very emotional visit. In his speech, Raul said that Cuba would even be willing to send volunteers to fight alongside the Vietnamese”

The former ambassador relates, with feeling, Castro’s first visit to Vietnam, which occurred in the middle of the war; he was “the first foreign politician to visit liberated areas of the south, very close to the enemy.” The Vietnamese “remember it with much gratitude and admiration for the audacity of the Commander, because that was really dangerous, but also for the decision of the Cuban leader to build and donate a hospital to the area.” Cuban doctors are currently working there, although the regime has not specified recently how many of them make up the contingent.

In the middle of the interview, the conversation revolves around Vietnam’s transformation from a poor country with no basic services to the emerging economy it is today. According to Turró, who admits that he does not know anything about economics and is limited to telling what he experienced, he says that the first mistake of the country was to try an industrialization similar to that of the countries in the socialist camp in Europe, when it lacked the necessary bases for this. Therefore, they decided to take another course.

They adopted a market economy with state control, not letting it “go wild,” while deciding to maintain social policies (…). In poor areas they built infrastructure, put in electricity and implemented new policies.

First visit of Fidel Castro to Vietnam, in September 1973. / Prensa Latina

The former official also touches on a sore point, which has long been claimed by self-employed producers and small entrepreneurs in Cuba. “One of the initial measures of that renewal process was to liberate the productive forces and develop them,” he says, although he also claims the importance of the Communist Party in the process and says that “Ho Chi Minh’s thinking remains the guide.”

The development of Vietnam, based on these changes in its economy, has led it, he emphasizes, to be “in recent years (…) fundamental for winning and overcoming the difficulties we have in Cuba. As we know, it is the second largest investor in the Mariel Special Development Zone (ZEDM) and the second largest trading partner in Asia.” He added: “Vietnam has helped and still helps us in several projects that are key, such as the planting of rice and corn. Its ZEDM companies produce basic necessities.” In addition, the country has now raised $14.8 million in donations for the island.

Turró, asked what measures Cuba could take to penetrate the Vietnamese market, recognizes that we must “have more initiatives, be more creative” and stresses that the Cuban side must understand that in Vietnam there is free competition, and it can cost a lot to do business. “If a Cuban company is going, for example, to sell coffee -which is not the case-, it must know that it will have to compete with several brands of Vietnamese coffee, including foreign coffee brands,” he says, while recalling that competition is in fact encouraged and fostered.

“The purchase of medicines in Vietnam is by tender. You have to go through a bidding process, and -this is no secret to anyone- those contracts are sometimes won by the big pharmaceutical multinationals, which dominate global trade,” he admits.

Political will, however, partially opens the way for Cuba. That is why among the activities of Díaz-Canel in Hanoi has been the inauguration of the high-tech plant for the production of medicines of Genfarma, the joint venture resulting from an agreement between BCF S.A. -an entity of the state group BioCubaFarma- and the Vietnamese Genfarma Holdings.

“We intend to produce blood products there in the short term. It will be another extraordinary fact that will give technological sovereignty to Vietnam, not just in the case of vaccines and biotechnological products, with very high added value,” said Mayda Mauri Pérez, president of BioCubaFarma. “It will have a decisively high impact on the health of the Cuban population, because everything we do with Vietnam will have a return to our basic list of medicines. With the participation of the Vietnamese we will have financial resources that will allow us to produce on a large scale and meet both the demand of their population as well as ours,” she added.

In Hanoi, Díaz-Canel stressed that “this is the fastest joint venture we have achieved,” as it had already been agreed during President To Lam’s visit to Cuba in September 2024.

In Hanói, Díaz-Canel stressed that “this is the fastest joint venture we have achieved,” as it had already been agreed during President To Lam’s visit to Cuba in September 2024, which demonstrates the efficiency of the Asians, who are also achieving some important advances in the cultivation of rice on the island.

The Cuban side has undertaken to give preferential treatment to its Vietnamese partners, who had expressed their annoyance at the inefficiency of their counterparts on the island. In 2024, the company Agri VMA -with several businesses on the island, including its presence in ZEDM- sent a letter to three ministers of the Cuban government requesting access to 300,000 dollars frozen in their account at the International Financial Bank. The company claimed that it needed these funds to import raw materials and maintain its production, which had been reduced to 10 per cent due to a shortage of inputs, and it reminded Cuba of Vietnam’s role as a supplier of animal feed.

Shortly before Díaz-Canel’s arrival in Hanoi, the Cuban Deputy Minister of Foreign Trade and Investment, Deborah Rivas Saavedra, was in charge of smoothing the way and assured that Cuba “is open and ready” to adopt measures to facilitate Vietnamese investment projects.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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The New School Year Starts in Cuba With Full Classrooms, Few Teachers and Empty Backpacks

In the absence of uniforms, many young people wear casual clothing and even a garment until recently banned in schools, the ‘jeans of the Empire’.

“Faced with the lack of teachers, indiscipline and rumors of drugs around a school in Holguín, one mother preferred that her son return to his municipality.”/ 14ymedio

14ymedio, Havana, 1 September 2025 –The beginning of the school year in Cuba, this Monday, was far from the epic repeated by the state media, between promises of “celebration” and “commitment.” While official acts and triumphalist speeches were multiplying on television, in Sancti Spíritus a grandmother had to sell the Metformin she takes to control her diabetes to buy notebooks for her grandson. The mother of the child, who lives abroad, was not yet able to send the package with the school supplies, and the old woman chose to exchange her health for the materials.

It is just one of the stories that 14ymedio has collected about the beginning of classes. In Holguín, the driver of a private taxi recounts the experience of a passenger whom he transported this morning who moved from Buenaventura. “He did not even allow his son to go to the first shift of classes in the Alberto Sosa secondary school. It was enough for him to see the scene,” says the driver. “Faced with the lack of teachers and the indiscipline, without anyone being able to control it, the disorganization and the rumors of drugs in the vicinity, he preferred to return the boy to his village rather than leave him at that school.”

The problem of drug use also haunts the José Miró Argenter secondary school, in the periphery of Holguín. “Some parents have paid between 10,000 and 15,000 pesos to get their children transferred to schools that are more central and supposedly safer,” the taxi driver added.

The official speech wants to erase the image of the previous course, marked by the rebellion of students against the ‘tarifazo’ [huge rate increase] of the state telecommunications company Etecsa. / 14ymedio

The government had declared this beginning of the school year as a “top priority,” in the words of Miguel Díaz-Canel, although the president was not present because he is on a tour of Asia. Education Minister Naima Trujillo filled the gap with figures: more than 1.5 million students returned to school on the first of September. He had to bury the image of the previous school year, marked by the rebellion of the university students against the ‘tarifazo‘ — huge rate increase — imposed by the state telecommunications company Etecsa.

Behind the official choreography, the country shows a bleak picture. Dozens of schools have been closed because of their deterioration, and classrooms continue reading

are overcrowded due to lack of teachers. The discourse is rife with euphemisms such as “assurances” and “optimization of resources.” But on the street, the most repeated phrase is another: “lack of everything.”

The lack of uniforms was evident from this first day. Photos taken by 14ymedio reporters show students dressed in casual clothes, including the jeans of the Empire, until recently banned from schools. Even the official cartoons made humorous allusions to the problem. In state stores, many families did not find the sizes they needed, and on the black market a single garment is sold for a price that very few can afford. Some parents resorted to bartering, exchanging shirts and blouses. Once again, the help of relatives abroad was the lifeline.

A state employee of Sancti Spíritus sums up the paradox: “It is cheaper to buy school supplies in Spain and send them, than to get them in Cuba.” And with shoes the drama is even greater. One mother paid the equivalent of more than two months’ salary, about 13,000 pesos, for basic shoes.

Some schoolyards were decorated with Venezuelan flags that had little to do with the occasion. / 14ymedio

The shortage is compounded by lack of sleep. Parents and teachers agree that the blackouts affect rest and learning. In Camagüey a power blackout since two o’clock in the morning is reported just before the opening of schools. A mother described on Facebook the irony of hearing the school talk about a “better future” after staying up all night. “My daughter already knows how things are,” she wrote on her Facebook page.

In the school yards, decorated in some cases with Venezuelan flags that had little to do with the occasion — as in the primary and secondary school José Luis Arruñada of Nuevo Vedado, in Havana — parents looked at the few materials delivered with distrust. They describe two pencils, badly copied notebooks and old books that many recognized as the same ones they used in their childhood.

The shortage of teachers, however, is the biggest obstacle. In Camagüey, 19 schools did not open their doors; in Holguín they speak of “zonification,” a technical term which in practice means crowded classrooms and longer journeys. The few teachers who resist must accept part-time contracts, split shifts and face overcrowded classrooms. Two decades ago the government boasted an “ideal” of 20 students per classroom and up to two teachers in some grades. That reform evaporated, and today’s classrooms inflate like balloons about to explode.

In Camagüey, 19 schools did not open their doors, and in Holguín they speak of “zonification”

The officials speak of “creativity,” but for most families that word implies mending used uniforms, improvising backpacks and finding desks on their own. For teachers, it means recycling notebooks, dictating notes instead of using books and photocopying guidelines with money out of their own pockets.

The opening act this Monday ended with the usual script: a ceremony that tried to disguise as celebration what is actually nostalgia. Parents know that the real test begins the next day, when the pencil is missing, the teacher can’t give attention to everyone and the notebook pages run out before November.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Trump, the Strategic Playing Board and the Cuba Effect

If Venezuela falls, the financial source of 21st-century socialism and the island’s economic lifeline will collapse.

Images of the US military deployment near Venezuela. / US Navy

14ymedio, Jorge L. León, Houston (Texas). 29 August 2025 — The chess game of American geopolitics is back in play. Between sanctions, alliances, and veiled threats, the confrontation between the United States and Venezuela is not just a local standoff, but an episode of continental scope. On that board, Cuba appears as both a key piece and, at the same time, the most vulnerable target of a strategy that revives the Monroe Doctrine through the prism of the 21st century.

I’m no witch doctor when it comes to predicting the future, but I do have a certain sense of smell. And what we’re experiencing today in the confrontation between the United States and Venezuela isn’t an isolated incident: it heralds a highly consequential outcome, not only for Caracas, but for the entire American continent.

The fall of Nicolás Maduro is a matter of time. The path to that end admits two probable routes: an internal breakdown of the regime that would hand over its leader, or a swift surgical removal operation with the help of internal factors. Historical experience shows that Washington has repeatedly used this type of maneuver when its hemispheric interests have been at stake—from Panama in 1989 to covert operations in the Caribbean and Central America.

The Cunning Pressure

What we’re seeing isn’t improvisation, but rather part of a strategy of escalating pressure: financial sanctions, diplomatic isolation, control of supply networks, pursuit of drug trafficking, and, at the same time, the display of U.S. military might as a deterrent.

Trump’s “maximum leverage” doctrine seeks to reduce Maduro’s maneuverability through economic and diplomatic siege

Trump’s “maximum leverage” doctrine—very much in line with Marco Rubio’s vision—seeks to use the economic and diplomatic siege to reduce Maduro’s maneuverability until he is forced to resign. The cleverness of this pressure lies in the fact that, while publicly announcing the desire to avoid open armed conflict, the credible threat of lightning action remains.

According to analyst Michael Shifter, president of the Inter-American Dialogue: “The Maduro regime is supported by an external framework—Russia, China, Iran, Cuba—that shields it. But that network cracks when international pressure is accompanied by fractures within the Armed Forces.”

Russia, China and Iran in the Caribbean

The continent is invaded by powers hostile to Washington. The Venezuelan regime has served as a gateway for them, through lucrative contracts with Moscow and Beijing, which secure strategic resources (gold, oil, and gas) in exchange for political and military support. Iran, for its part, has woven networks of illicit financing and cooperation in intelligence and terrorism.

This scenario makes a 21st-century re-examination of the Monroe Doctrine inevitable. “America for Americans” ceases to be a slogan and becomes a strategic imperative: curbing the influence of external actors seeking to turn the continent into a playground for blackmail and pressure.

The Fall of Venezuela and the Coup Against Cuba

The equation is clear: if Venezuela falls, the financial source of 21st-century socialism will collapse. Cuba, which since the days of Hugo Chávez has turned Caracas into its economic lifeline, will be left unprotected. According to estimates by economist Carmelo Mesa-Lago, the island received more than 35,000 barrels of subsidized oil per day from Venezuela, as well as millions in aid in soft loans and opaque agreements. Without this support, Cuba’s systemic crisis cannot be masked with slogans

The “explosion of democracy” sweeping through Latin America will mean the end of more than six decades of communist control for Cuba.

In fact, Havana knows it is on the brink of a precipice. The repressive apparatus is intensifying because the leadership perceives that a democratic explosion in Venezuela would have an immediate domino effect on the island. The “explosion of democracy” sweeping across Latin America will mean the end of more than six decades of communist control for Cuba.

The Board in Transformation

The red has begun to fade across the continent: Argentina, Ecuador, Bolivia, and now Venezuela itself are putting an end to the project of 21st-century socialism. What’s emerging is a geopolitical realignment where this century’s anti-communism aligns with North American pragmatism: defeating terrorism, cutting off drug trafficking, and blocking the path for Russia, China, and Iran.

On that strategic board, Donald Trump—with all the criticism and controversy he provokes—has set the pieces in motion. And the final checkmate could inevitably be the most severe blow to the Cuban dictatorship.

History teaches us that no regime sustained by repression and external dependence lasts forever. Venezuela sets the pace, but Cuba represents the outcome. The collapse of 21st-century socialism will not only be the fall of an unviable economic model, but also the defeat of an ideological hegemony that has poisoned the region for decades. And in this scenario, US pressure, reinterpreted by Donald Trump, could become the final blow that closes a cycle and opens, with all its tensions and challenges, a new era for the Americas.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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