Category: Translator: Regina Anavy

back to Mar Verde on April 29, three months after his release from prison.

The Supreme Court revoked the opponent’s parole, granted last January after a negotiation between Havana, Washington and the Vatican. According to Maricela Sosa, vice president of that court, Ferrer was found guilty of not going to court twice after his release.

“Not only did he not show up, but he also announced on his social networks, in flagrant defiance and contempt of the law, that he would not appear before any judicial authority,” Sosa told British news agency Reuters.

After his return to prison, several organizations issued an “urgent alert” for Ferrer. The Complaints Center of the Foundation for Pan American Democracy recalled that the opponent is “a beneficiary of precautionary protective measures granted by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (CIDH)”.

After his return to prison, several organizations issued an “urgent alert” for Ferrer

“We condemn this new aggression by the Cuban regime against those who are fighting peacefully for freedom and democracy, and we demand the immediate release of all detainees, as well as respect for their physical integrity and fundamental rights,” said the Center in a statement.

For its part, the Council for the Democratic Transition in Cuba issued a document where they not only demand the release of Ferrer but also give details about his legal status and assurance that he had already fully served his sentence of August 2024.

For the Cuban Observatory for Human Rights it is also “a new assault of the Cuban regime against opponents and human rights activists and reveals the increase in the repressive climate on the island”.

The organization fed hundreds of needy people in the city of the Cuban East

UNPACU and its leader lived through months of extreme tension with the political police for their humanitarian activities in Santiago de Cuba. During his release, Ferrer told in videos and statements the process by which the organization fed hundreds of needy people in the city of the Cuban East, and the obstacles that the regime has placed on his work.

Throughout this time, Ferrer assured that he would not accept conditions for his release, and that he would continue to denounce both the critical situation of the country and the responsibility of the government in the multisectoral debacle of the island.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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important international football competition in the world.

“We are defending and trying to justify multi-destination tourism. We are beginning to discuss it as a way of doing a lot of good for the region of the Americas”

García Granda, who had told El País of his idea for a Latin American Schengen, was more general this time. “We are defending and trying to justify multi-destination tourism. We are beginning to discuss it as a way of doing a lot of good for the region of the Americas,” says the minister, eager to highlight a twinning with the region that has taken him these weeks to Colombia, Brazil and Mexico. Although his meetings have been with entrepreneurs in the field, it is symptomatic that all three are countries with governments in ideological harmony with Havana.

“I talk about Cuba, but really when you visit the countries of Latin America you can see that we have many similarities. We are unique people, hospitable, with a lot of culture, but at the same time we have great possibilities because we are authentic. We all have those common qualities but we do it each in its own way, and instead of dividing us, this can unite and add to us,” he insisted.

When García Granda referred to Europe as a model, he did not take into account that beyond a common culture there is political unity among the majority of countries in the Common European Area (EU) and agreements for other members to be part of it, a feature that is not present in Latin America.

The Cuban minister admitted, to questions from the journalist, that the island is far from recovering the tourism figures it once reached, with 4.8 million international travelers in 2018 as a record. “Tourism at the moment is going through a rather difficult situation, which is multifactorial, but what we have done is analyze the causes and drawn up strategies and actions to solve the problems, and being here is proof of it,” he said, faced with the prospect of not reaching the official target of 2.6 million foreign visitors in 2025.

Cuba’s traditional markets, with Europe in the lead, have suffered a huge setback, which has led the island authorities to try fishing in other waters. The initial bet, which began in the best years of the sector, was Russia. But the Russians abandoned the destination for other areas of the Caribbean with similar beaches and greater abundance, and did so before the worst of the pandemic. Only the war in Ukraine, which marginalized Russian citizens by sanctions against their government, allowed Cuba to regain ground, but the prosperity soon faltered. After a promising 2024 in which it reached 185,000 travelers from Russia, so far this year the numbers have been reduced by half.

Cuba was already trying to gain the Chinese market, very desired for its immensity, as well as for the important spending by its people when they travel outside their borders. Now Cuba’s greatest hope is Latin America, especially Argentina, Mexico, Colombia, Peru and Brazil, although only the first three bring relevant numbers of tourists to the Cuban market.

Cuba was already trying to gain the Chinese market, very desired for its immensity, as well as for the important spending by its people when they travel outside their borders

García Granda points out in the interview that Mexico has “a lot to contribute” and says that it is counting on its ally, President Sheinbaum. “Together, with the Mexican government, we could have a lot of support in promotion, advertising. We could also do things together to sell attributes of both countries as part of a service, a vacation, because we are bringing people from China and Russia, and these people need unique experiences after traveling so far. They want to experience something unique,” he persisted.

However, the most striking thing in this conversation has been his analysis of how Cuba faces the US sanctions, which have again taken center stage by insisting on the new memorandum of Donald Trump in the audit of travel from that country to the island, as he ordered in 2017. “Cuba does have a large part of its impact due to the intentional measures generated by the blockade, but we make an assessment of these impacts and do not cry in a corner but try to turn them into challenges,” he said. On the same day, the official press is filled with complaints about the “inhuman measures” of the United States.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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flow. According to data from the Panamanian authorities, more than 12,700 migrants, 94% of them Venezuelans, have transited from north to south since November 2024, a reversal of the flow that previously filled the route to Darién, which over half a million people crossed in 2023 to go north. The number has been declining after a peak in April with 3,000 migrants, which fell to 1,779 in June.

Return journeys are marked by precariousness and fear. In Panama, some migrants such as Jesús Alfredo Aristigueta, a 32-year-old Venezuelan, report being kidnapped in Mexico and extorted on his return route. And he regrets that the help from the Venezuelan authorities that once made it easier to go north has disappeared for those who now need “a push to return.”

The phenomenon of “reverse transit” is also intensifying in Colombia. Between January and May, more than 10,200 migrants, mostly Venezuelans, have returned through the Darién, where they crossed rivers and areas of difficult access without any presence of officials or agents, exposed to trafficking networks and sexual violence. The Office of the Ombudsman has warned about the lack of protection channels for these migrants, many of them unaccompanied minors.

Migrants complain that the help from the Venezuelan authorities that once made it easier to go north has disappeared for those who now need “a push to return”

“Reverse migration is a challenge that requires binational cooperation and urgent protection,” says Mireille Girard, representative in Colombia of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Many of these people return without resources or support networks and in the aftermath of violence and exploitation during the journey, she says.

The authorities of Venezuela claim to have reactivated a program called “Gran Misión Vuelta a la Patria,” which has facilitated the return of more than 5,600 Venezuelans deported from the United States between January and May this year, some on flights with stopovers in Mexico and Honduras.

This return occurs within the framework of a deportation agreement signed between Caracas and Washington despite the absence of diplomatic relations since 2019. Returnees receive medical assistance and reintegration support, with programs from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) providing training to help them achieve economic self-sufficiency.

Ecuador has not recorded a massive return after the change in United States policies, but the country has undergone a change of destination for migrants. More and more Ecuadorians are heading to Argentina, where over 7,700 people have traveled since the beginning of 2025 without being recorded as having returned. Displacement is driven by the lack of opportunities and growing insecurity in the country.

It is estimated that about 100,000 Ecuadorians have emigrated annually since 2021 on a regular basis and not returned. Meanwhile, the Government is trying to promote circular migration programs, which have so far been limited in scope.

It is estimated that about 100,000 Ecuadorians have emigrated annually since 2021 on a regular basis and not returned

Peru also faces a complex situation. In addition to being a major recipient of Venezuelan migrants, with 1.6 million on its territory, the country is dealing with the suspension of international cooperation funds, which means limited attention to vulnerable migrant populations. At the same time, Peruvians in an irregular situation in the United States have been deported, with more than 12,000 returning since 2022.

In the Dominican Republic, the phenomenon of return has its own peculiarity. The policy of mass deportations of undocumented Haitians has led to an increase in voluntary returns. Between January and May of this year, more than 153,000 Haitians have been deported following measures that include requiring documentation even in hospitals, which is affecting pregnant women and people seeking basic health care.

This panorama of reverse migration in Latin America reflects the impact of migratory restrictions imposed by the United States, lack of resources, violence along the routes and disenchantment with the “American dream”. For the thousands of people starting their return journey, this change in the migratory flow is taking place without protective measures or initiatives of bi-national cooperation, and amid new dangers.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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The same measure has been applied against former political prisoner Óscar Elías Biscet and his wife, activist Elsa Morejón, in the Havana neighborhood of Lawton, as well as against the opponent Librado Linares, in the municipality of Camajuaní in Villa Clara, to whom “an officer on a motorcycle verbally announced” the movement restriction.

For her part, Lady in White Maria Cristina Labrada reported on her Facebook page: “My house is besieged by servants of the Communist Party and the Department of State Security.” Labrada described the presence of two women dressed as civilians stationed at the corner of their house on Cortina street, Milagros corner, in the neighborhood of Santos Suárez. A neighbor alerted her to the operative from early hours. “Always, even with fear, they sympathize with me,” she added, referring to her neighbors.

“An officer on a motorcycle verbally announced” the movement restriction

Labrada also published a list of other opponents under house arrest, including the leader of the Ladies in White, Berta Soler – who was arrested – and activists Bárbaro de la Nuez and Juan Alberto de la Nuez Ramirez. This newspaper was also able to confirm that journalist Boris González Arenas had surveillance around his house.

Another case is that of former political prisoner Ángel Moya Acosta, intercepted by political police agents around 9:30 am on Wednesday morning as he was walking along Calle E and Avenida Porvenir, in the Havana neighborhood of Lawton.

“One of the operatives, who identified himself as an officer of State Security, told me that I could not go to Martha Beatriz Roque’s house and urged me to return to the headquarters of the Ladies in White,” said Moya in a message sent from his mobile phone shortly before being held incommunicado. He said that his neighbors had alerted him to the presence of a patrol car and plain-clothes officers outside the headquarters of the opposition movement.

Arrests and similar operations have also been reported outside Havana

Roque, also a former political prisoner of the Black Spring, had declined Hammer’s invitation for health reasons. “I can’t walk,” she told this newspaper. The concentration of police around her house suggests that the intention was not only to prevent her attendance but also to avoid any meeting or connection between dissidents on the eve of the celebration.

Outside Havana, similar arrests and operations have also been reported in recent days, which could be related to both the 4the of July event and another key date: the anniversary of the 11 July 2021 protests.

On 23 June, during an interrogation in Pinar del Río of the two main members of the Centro de Estudios Convivencia, Dagoberto Valdés and Yoandy Izquierdo, an officer warned them that this year they would not allow “people from the provinces” to attend the Independence Day event.

The regime has been waging an intense campaign against diplomat Mike Hammer since his appointment

In Camagüey, journalist Henry Constantín – director of the independent newspaper La Hora de Cuba – has been detained since Sunday, when he accompanied his colleague Iris Mariño to a police summons. In Santiago de Cuba, Nelva Ortega, wife of political prisoner José Daniel Ferrer, was arrested on Tuesday while demanding proof of life for the opposition leader, currently on a hunger strike.

The regime has been waging an intense campaign against diplomat Mike Hammer since his appointment as head of mission at the US Embassy in Cuba. The media offensive has increased as Hammer has developed a style of direct diplomacy, going through neighborhoods, greeting passers-by and visiting the homes of activists and opponents, in contrast to his predecessors.

Traditionally, the American independence celebration is attended not only by independent activists and journalists but also by artists, Catholic priests and a wide diplomatic representation from other countries.

“This is not a meeting for guidance from the CIA or the State Department, as the regime tries to make it”

“In previous years there was no surveillance to prevent the participation of civil society at these celebrations,” recalled journalist Camila Acosta, also under house arrest on Wednesday. “But now, with a new administration in Washington that has increased the pressure against the regime, and an ambassador who has visited almost all of Cuba in a few months and has a more confrontational stance, they want to prevent us from going.”

Acosta stressed the informal nature of the event: “This is not a meeting to receive guidance from the CIA or the State Department, as the Cuban regime tries to make it. What is happening is a party. But their objective is to isolate us, to prevent us from having contact with US diplomats and with each other.”

Translated by Regina Anavy

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One of the most recent cases is that of a Cuban identified by the initials C.R.L. According to official information, the transfer “was delayed because Cuba did not want to receive him and refused to facilitate his deportation.” The migrant, who spent three years in prison for serious crimes, resorted to habeas corpus and requested to be released until the US found a country willing to receive him. Mexico was the nation, but the detainee refused to accept it, so he remains in custody.

As for Osmani Mompié, ICE stated that he was sentenced for conspiracy to transport immigrants illegally, which put the lives of the people involved at risk. “He came here to traffic people. Now he’s the one who is being escorted back,” the agency emphasized in its publication.

The agency reported that Vladimir Blanco Menéndez was arrested and charged with child sexual abuse in Palm Beach County, Florida. It also published a number for people to report in the case of more victims.

The local newspaper The Palm Beach Post reported Blanco’s capture in 2019. The publication reports that a woman installed a tape recorder in her home on suspicion of a relationship with her daughter. The audios were used by the young woman to denounce her aggressor, whom she accused of forcing her to have sex. He was prosecuted by the authorities and fined $75,000 at that time.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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To apply, you must fill out a form and send it to convocatoriasnae2025@gmail.com, with the subject “Application,” from 1 to 31 July. The selection process will take, according to UNDP, no more than three months.

The agency also announces that it will soon launch another five calls, two regional and three national, focusing on “strategic sectors” such as sustainable agro-food systems, renewable energy, information technologies and “creative industries.”

On UNDP social networks, several users complain that self-employed workers (TCP) are excluded from these possible grants. Thus, Henry Chávez Góngora asks how a TCP could access funding, to which the organization responds that although the call “is aimed at other actors, it aims to promote experiences that encourage productive chains where other actors can participate.”

Chávez Góngora, who claims to have an agro-industrial project with “eight production lines potentially only 12 kilometers from the main port of Cuba” – Mariel – continues: “How good, but at the beginning and in the end it is the farmer who is directly in the field, with projects of mini-industries in my case, to process myself the productions obtained on the land. My suggestion is to look at the front line of the production chain and if we have chains in our businesses.”

To the question of whether the call covers farmers with land under usufruct, UNDP answers that “other forms of management” can participate by “associating themselves with these experiences as chains,” it says, referring to MSMEs, CNA and PDL. And the user argues: “The farmers are associated with all these forms, but we perform the same work as them and with a greater commitment to the people. We sell at much lower prices and make greater more sacrifices in order to produce. If your call is only for that ’robust sector’, it stinks in my opinion.”

A total of $35.3 million was allocated to Cuba last year by this UN program, according to its own report, “to support sustainable development” in more than 40 projects on the island.

Translated by Regina Anavy

*MSME – Micro, Small, Medium Enterprises

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According to the local press, ammonia is produced at the Cosoleacaque Petrochemical Complex and is used for the manufacture of fertilizers.

Currently, the Eugenia Gas appears in Moa, allegedly arriving from Coatzacoalcos on June 26.

Applying the reference calculation of 7.3 barrels per ton of crude oil, although the quantity depends on the density of the product, the total sent from Mexico to Cuba so far this year would amount to approximately 1,070,384 barrels; how Cuba acquires it is not known. At the current approximate price of a barrel, the cost would be around 60 million dollars, a sum that is very difficult for the island to pay, as it is immersed in an enormous economic crisis.

In 2024, Pemex sent to Cuba some 20,100 barrels of oil per day (bpd), 20% more than in 2023; derivatives decreased by 18%. However, the past aggregate value doubled to what it was before, reaching $600 million.

The transactions were made through Gasolinas Bienestar S. A., a subsidiary of the state-owned oil company that provides data to the United States Securities Commission, where Pemex is listed.

The exchanges began during the term of office of Andrés Manuel López Obrador, predecessor of the current president, Claudia Sheinbaum, who are both close to the regime in Havana. In September 2023, Chancellor Alicia Bárcena said in an interview that the country should study how to send oil to Cuba without incurring US sanctions. “Why not? We have to see how it can be done, with what kind of transaction. We have a financial situation, of course. It is not easy to donate,” said Bárcena.

The managers of the oil company have persistently denied that any of their products are being donated and most recently stated that “the sales of Gasolinas Bienestar are made under contracts denominated in pesos at current market rates. We have procedures in place to ensure that such sales are conducted in compliance with the applicable law,” they insisted.

On that occasion, Sheinbaum herself confirmed the dispatch of technical cooperation and a tanker with 400,000 barrels, but so far no data are known for 2025

Claudia Sheinbaum stated, after the collapse of the Cuban national electricity system in October 2024, that her country would continue to support Cuba in this regard even if there were criticisms, and that it would do so “for humanitarian reasons.” On that occasion, she herself confirmed the dispatch of technical cooperation and a tanker with 400,000 barrels, but so far no data are known for 2025.

Mexico, along with Venezuela and Russia, is one of the main suppliers of oil, a product that Cuba desperately needs in the midst of an unprecedented energy crisis that worsens. This weekend, the island broke a new record of electricity deficit, with the lack of 1,936 megawatts on Saturday, when the demand was 3,600, indicating that only 1,664 MW were being generated, some 46% of the national needs.

The thermoelectric power plants are in poor shape, and the contribution made by solar parks during the day helps a little, but the authorities point out that the great problem today is the lack of 860 MW due to the paralysis, caused by the fuel shortage, of a significant number of generating plants.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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If he is denied asylum, Casanella would have 30 days to appeal to the Virginia Court of Appeals.

In his statements to the media after the hearing, the activist said that he felt “well accompanied and advised by his lawyers” -who are providing him with services free of charge, as the opponent himself has said- but that “I would have liked everything to go faster and was hoping for an answer today.” The case, he added, “is open,” and no “particular details” can be provided.

If he is denied asylum, Casanella would have 30 days to appeal

Similarly, he referred to the assassination of the Nicaraguan opponent Roberto Samcam by hitmen in Costa Rica  as an example to the question of a journalist about the closing argument before the judge, in which he said that he felt safe in the US but not in another country, because the Cuban regime had “tentacles” everywhere, and his life “was in danger.”

Casanella, who entered the US on foot in 2022, received an I-220A form, which, as with other Cubans in the same situation, does not guarantee either asylum in a court or the granting of residence under the Cuban Adjustment Law. According to the same activist in an interview with CubaNet on Monday, immigration authorities did not allow him to conduct a credible-fear interview when crossing the border into El Paso, Texas.

His concern at this Tuesday’s hearing was that the court would dismiss his case and order his expulsion. “To deport myself to Cuba would mean that I would end up in prison, where anything could happen to me. It would also mean that my wife and eldest son would also be deported and left totally vulnerable to the harassment of the Cuban political police.”

Cuban State Security, claims Casanella, has been harassing him since 2013, for his proximity to dissident artists such as the group Porno para Ricardo and Tania Bruguera. In 2016, he was expelled from the National Institute of Oncology and Radiobiology (INOR), where he worked, allegedly for “ethical misconduct”, denied by the activist.

State Security, claims Casanella, has been harassing him since 2013

But the attacks escalated, he said, starting with his participation in the San Isidro Movement in November 2020, when 15 MSI members locked themselves inside their headquarters on Calle Damas 955 and went on a hunger strike to protest the arbitrary detention of rapper Denis Solís.

They were forcibly evicted by officers dressed as health personnel more than a week later, on 26 November — Oscar Casanella had already left two days before — which provoked the solidarity of more than 300 artists who gathered the next day in front of the Ministry of Culture to ask for a dialogue with the authorities. This was the origin of the 27N group.

In 2022, says Casanella, he was forced to leave Cuba. Before that, he told CubaNet, for the whole of 2021 — the year of the historic demonstrations of 11 July — he was almost “under house arrest”: surrounded by State Security. The state telecommunications monopoly Etecsa also denied them telephone and mobile data service, “so I was kind of dead in life.”

By then, the opponent also reported, the regime had a file on him “for sedition,” with which he was threatened if he did not leave: “We are going to let you out of the house for a month so that you can do your paperwork and leave the country. If you’re still in Cuba a month from now, you go to prison.”

Translated by Regina Anavy

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last minute whether or not we would play.”.The difference, he estimated, is that there is a “greater chance now that for the first time in these events a team will lose all their games due to no-shows.”

The Por la Goma sports portal also reported that “tension continues to grow” between the US and Cuba. “This political corrosion continues to generate bitter situations completely unrelated to the field of sports,” it stressed. What is desirable “would be for both nations to reach an understanding and to absolutely exclude politics from sports.”

Por la Goma added that “until that happens, uncertainty will continue to affect the participation of athletes and coaches residing in Cuba, even at very important events.”

For its part, the official organization insisted that the refusal of visas reflects a position “alien to the precepts of the sport, which adds to what has already happened this year against delegations from other disciplines.”

Last May, the US denied visas to Cuban Olympic Committee president Roberto León Richards, International Olympic Committee vice president and member María Caridad Colón, and secretary Ruperto Herrera.

Leon and Herrera were unable to attend the meeting of the Executive Committee of Panam Sports in Miami, held between May 13 and 15, and a parallel meeting in Puerto Rico. Colón was absent from the “Women in Sports” Commission event.

In April, the Cuban Athletics Federation (FCA) reported that the US denied visas to 14 of 16 Cuban athletes. The governing body considered that this “unacceptable action” prevented the country from having a full delegation at the 2025 World Indoor Athletics Masters Championships, which took place in Gainesville (Florida) between the 23rd and 30th of March.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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plant of Mariel, with 80 MW; unit 6 of Nuevitas (Camagüey) with 100 MW, and two plants of Energas: Boca de Jaruco with 30 MW and Varadero with 30 MW.

Unit 2 of Santa Cruz (Mayabeque), 4 of Cienfuegos, 5 of Nuevitas and 5 of Renté in Santiago de Cuba are also under maintenance.

The authorities also want to incorporate 40 generating plants “which are out of fuel, because of the shortage.” These are, however, a small part of the total of 111 plants of this type that are out of service, leaving behind about 860 MW.

In the streets, the discomfort of the Cubans is seen in the faces of passers-by and despairing mothers who fan their children. “My neighbors are timid, they think that the UNE workers are having a hard time with this area,” says Vladimir, who from the sidewalk, where he sits to catch some fresh air, hears the comments of frustration.

“I went to buy cigarettes and the woman who sells them said she couldn’t grab a wink of sleep last night. She told me: ’This is criminal, boy.’ I felt sorry for her, but I’m the same way, walking like a zombie,” he confesses .

“I hear my neighbors complaining that they have sleepless nights, that they don’t have anything for breakfast and that the internet comes and goes,” he explains. Vladimir says that in the last few days the blackouts have given him no respite. “They put on the power on at night and remove it from 1:00 to 4:00 in the morning. Then, at 6:20, another blackout,” he says, frustrated.

The Habanero says that he barely has time to charge his devices and, although he has a small solar panel on his roof, the energy he manages to store is not enough to survive the hot nights.

“It would be much better to live near a hospital, because they always have power,” he says, but life is not easy for those who have the geographical position in their favor. “My aunt lives near a polyclinic, so she almost always has electricity, but yesterday she had to come here to rest for a while, because the neighbors are driving her crazy asking her to let them charge their cellphones,” he explains.

Nor does living near a medical center guarantee that there will be power. In a visit to Guanabacoa and Regla, this newspaper found that while an office of the State telecommunications company Etecsa and a gas station had electricity, the nearby neighborhoods were dark until 8:30 am. Even the Lidia and Clodomina polyclinics, with no one nearby, looked like a ghost building.

Meanwhile, the authorities are struggling to signal that the SEN is improving. In Rio Cauto, Granma province, they inaugurated a solar park last Tuesday, publicized this Sunday with a lot of fanfare. With a maximum contribution of 21.8 MW, it will be connected to the SEN on July 4, but its entry 10 days before is already cause for celebration by the official press.

Another photovoltaic park was launched yesterday in the municipality of Martí, in Matanzas, with the presence of Ramiro Valdés, a historic figure appointed to lead the program to stabilize the SEN. However, the 18 solar plants inaugurated since January with the help of China barely represent a power of 360 MW and only produce electricity in the optimal hours of sun.

Vladimir has no hope of those promises being fulfilled, and tonight, when the lights go out again, he will have no choice but to hang up his hammock on the roof.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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