Translator: Regina Anavy – Page 62

Cuba Will Donate Historic Armored Vehicles and a Pistol Owned by Fidel Castro to Zimbabwe

Photo of last year’s talks between the vice president of Cuba, Salvador Valdés Mesa, and his Zimbabwean counterpart, Kembo D.C. Mohadi, in Harare / Presidency of Cuba

EFE (via 14ymedio), Harare, 12 January 2025 — Cuba will donate historic armored vehicles and a pistol belonging to former Cuban president and revolutionary leader Fidel Castro (1926-2016) to the African Liberation Museum that is being built in Zimbabwe, former Zimbabwean Foreign Minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi confirmed to EFE on Sunday.

Mumbengegwi, special envoy of Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa, will travel to Havana to receive the donation for the museum from President Miguel Díaz-Canel.

Among the articles donated are armored vehicles used in the historic Battle of Cuito Cuanavale (1987-1988), in which Cuban soldiers participated, in the context of the Angolan Civil War (1975-2002).

There is also a pistol that belonged to Fidel Castro and other artifacts and paraphernalia related to Cuba’s contributions to the African liberation continue reading

struggles.

“The Republic of Cuba played a fundamental role in the liberation and postcolonial development of Africa”

“The Republic of Cuba played a fundamental role in the liberation and postcolonial development of Africa, and the delivery of artifacts for exhibition at the African Liberation Museum is a truly historic milestone in the long-standing and deep links between Cuba and Africa,” Mumbengegwi told EFE.

The former minister stressed that Cuba has continued to support Africa, particularly Zimbabwe, in the areas of health, education and diplomacy in international forums.

In July 2022, Mnangagwa sent a delegation to Cuba to initiate discussions on cooperation in the African Liberation Museum project, which is based in Harare and is part of a multi-service complex known as Liberation City.

Cuba has a long friendship with Zimbabwe that dates back to the war of independence in the seventies of the last century, when troops of the Zimbabwean African National Union (ZANU) received military training in Cuba.

In the 1980s, Zimbabwean students were sent to Cuba to train as school teachers specializing in scientific subjects.

In the 21st century, the Cuban government has deployed doctors to work in hospitals in Zimbabwe.

The late Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe (1924-2019), overthrown in a military coup in 2017, was a good friend of Castro, with whom he shared communist ideology. In 2023, the Government of Zimbabwe designated one of the streets of Harare to be given the name of Fidel Castro.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Maduro, Ready to ‘Take Up Arms’ With Cuba: Rumors Grow About ‘Red Berets’ Being Sent From the Island

The opposition “categorically” condemns the attack against the Venezuelan consulate in Lisbon

The silence in the streets of Venezuela marked the first day of the disputed third term of Nicolás Maduro, invested on Friday despite the electoral fraud / EFE/Miguel Gutierrez

14ymedio/ EFE, Havana/Caracas/Madrid, 12 January 2025 — Nicolás Maduro, sworn in on Friday as president of Venezuela in the Parliament controlled by Chavismo, threatened this Saturday that the country is preparing with Cuba and Nicaragua to “take up arms” in order to defend “the right to peace.”

“Venezuela is preparing together with Cuba, together with Nicaragua, together with our older brothers of the world, if one day we have to take up arms to defend the right to peace, the right to sovereignty and the historical rights of our homeland,” said the Chavista leader at the closing of the International Anti-Fascist World Festival, convened by the ruling party.

The statements coincide with growing rumors on the Island of sending Cuban troops to Caracas. A resident in Sancti Spíritus who asks for anonymity reports to this newspaper that a neighbor of hers was “very worried” because her son, belonging to the prevention troops of the Armed Forces (FAR), known as the Red Berets, had been mobilized. In her words, “she supports that they defend the Revolution, but she does not agree with sending her son to Venezuela.”

“She supports that they defend the Revolution, but she does not agree with sending her son to Venezuela”

Without official confirmation, Falcon Eyes, which monitors the movement of Cuban aircraft, said on Friday, the day of Maduro’s investiture, that a FAR continue reading

[Army] flight CU-T1456 traveled to Caracas at dawn “so as not to attract attention, with anti-riot troops and special troops.”

During Saturday’s meeting, Maduro called for a “great global alliance,” like the one he said was formed 80 years ago to advance the defeat of “fascism.” In reference to the victory of the extinct Soviet Union over Nazi Germany in World War II, he said: “Let no one be fooled: this scenario could arise again. Eighty years later, I ring the bell for humanity.” And he warned: “don’t make a mistake with Venezuela.”

“If it’s for good, we’ll move forward. And if it’s the hard way, we will also defeat the Fascists, so that they respect our people,” he added at the event, broadcast by the state channel VTV.

Yván Gil denounced on Saturday the attack with “fire bombs” against the consulate in Lisbon

Comando Con Venezuela, which is part of the largest anti-Chavista coalition, the Democratic Unitary Platform (PUD), “categorically” condemned this Sunday the attack against the general consulate of Venezuela in Lisbon, which was also denounced by the Administration of Nicolás Maduro and the Government of Portugal.

“We categorically reject and condemn any act of violence and join the call that reiterates the inviolability and protection of diplomatic missions and the importance of their protection, as stipulated in international law,” wrote the opposition team on the social network X.

The Venezuelan Foreign Minister, Yván Gil, denounced on Saturday an attack with “fire bombs” against the headquarters in Lisbon, accused “fascism” and thanked “the rapid intervention of the Portuguese authorities, which prevented further damage.” Likewise, according to a message published on Telegram, he hopes that the investigations will allow the attackers to be found and “determine the corresponding consequences.”

Portuguese police sources confirmed in statements to EFE that around 10 pm on Saturday “something similar” to a Molotov cocktail was thrown against the consulate, which caused, “from what it seems, some damage to the outside of the shutters” of the building, with no record of injuries.

The government of conservative Prime Minister Luís Montenegro “vehemently” condemned the attack and said it was an “intolerable” act. “The inviolability of diplomatic missions must be respected in all cases,” the Portuguese Foreign Ministry said.

According to official data, in Portugal there are about 10,000 Venezuelans registered as residents, and 1,600 voted in the presidential elections in their country, in which Nicolás Maduro obtained a disputed victory proclaimed by the pro-Maduro electoral body.

The Venezuelan community has organized protests in several Portuguese cities against the Chavista leader, in support of the claimed triumph of Edmundo González Urrutia.

Maduro took office as president for a third consecutive six-year term, set to run until 2031, despite allegations of fraud in the July 28 elections, made by the majority opposition which claimed the electoral triumph of González Urrutia and warned of the consummation of a “coup d’état.” The resounding victory, with 67% of the votes, is reflected in the minutes compiled by the opposition, ratified by international bodies such as the Carter Center – observer of the elections – and deposited in the National Bank of Panama.

In response, Maduro said on Saturday that “no one wants military intervention” or “more sanctions”

In the midst of the condemnation by much of the international community, which the Maduro Government also does not recognize, former Colombian presidents Álvaro Uribe (2002-2010) and Iván Duque (2018-2022) raised the possibility of an intervention in Venezuela.

In response, Maduro said on Saturday that “no one wants military intervention” or “more sanctions.”

Referring to this idea, the current Colombian president, Gustavo Petro, asked them to “stop thinking about death.” “Stop thinking about the death of brothers. Didn’t you read the story of Cain in the Bible?” Petro asked.

Uribe, who ruled Colombia between 2002 and 2010, spoke about the proposal for international intervention this Saturday in Cúcuta, the city with the main border crossing of Colombia with Venezuela, after Maduro’s investiture. “We call for an international intervention, preferably endorsed by the United Nations, to oust those tyrants from power and immediately call for free elections,” the former president said.

The position of Petro’s government, which states that there were no free elections in Venezuela and has not yet recognized Maduro as president, is to maintain relations with the neighboring country to avoid a new avalanche of refugees.

During his Saturday speech, Uribe also called on the Bolivarian National Armed Forces “to fulfill their function in accordance with the Constitution and help evict the dictatorship.”

In Caracas, some neighborhoods woke up practically empty and others had a timid influx of citizens

Moreover, the silence in the streets of Venezuela marked the first day of Nicolás Maduro’s third term, with little traffic and reduced commercial activity, while police and the military continued patrolling.

In Caracas, some neighborhoods were practically empty and others had a timid influx of citizens who went out to buy food or basic products, in view of the few open establishments, mostly in areas considered essential, according to EFE in a tour of eight areas of the capital.

“Today, Saturday, I was surprised because everything is closed,” Nixon Ávila, an engineer who needed to send a shipment, told EFE, something he considered “unusual.” “It’s not normal, I imagine it was because of what happened yesterday,” he said, regarding Maduro’s inauguration.

Meanwhile, the deployment of security agents continues, especially in the city center, where the headquarters of public authorities and state institutions are located.

Another citizen, who identified himself as Luis González, told EFE that, while “some places aren’t open yet out of fear,” there is a police presence “all over” Caracas and a “very low” number of people. González, a migrant who arrived in Venezuela 46 years ago, regretted that such a rich country “has so much poverty.”

“They say that nothing lasts forever,” said the man, who was expecting an upcoming announcement “by the opposition, the one who won the election,” he said, without mentioning a name.

Lorena Figueredo also hopes that the “change” announced on Friday by opposition leader María Corina Machado will materialize

Lorena Figueredo also hopes that the “change” announced on Friday by opposition leader María Corina Machado will soon materialize.”

In that sense, although Figueredo admitted to being “downcast” because of the current political crisis, she told EFE that “the last faith” she will lose is the possibility of a change of Government, in the hands of Chavismo since 1999.

While crossing a “quite dark” part of Caracas with few open shops, she said that she will continue living there with her children, who “say that they won’t leave their Venezuela” because “they continue to fight for their country.”

The silence in the eastern part of the city was broken on one street, where a group of Chavista supporters listened to a man playing the guitar and performing pieces by the late singer Ali Primera, who supported the ruling party.

“Here in Petare everything is the same as always, with the revolutionary people. Nothing has happened, and people are living like they do, with Chavismo for everyone. There will be more people on the street later when the party starts,” said David, who identified himself as the head of a UBCH (Hugo Chávez Battle Unit).

The crowded Plaza Baralt, in the center of Maracaibo, was “totally paralyzed”

At nightfall, two concerts organized by the ruling party to “celebrate” Maduro’s investiture in the east and west of the capital gathered hundreds of people, according to images transmitted by the state channel VTV.

In Maracaibo, capital of the state of Zulia (northwest), the panorama was similar: loneliness in the streets, few shops open and a strong police presence.

The busy Plaza Baralt, in the city center, was “totally paralyzed,” according to a merchant who, as on Friday, when “there were no sales,” predicted that he would close early for the second consecutive day.

“We are sick of politics, and that also affects the turnout,” Rodulfo Gutiérrez, a 68-year-old craftsman, told EFE. He is a resident of the capital of this boundary region with Colombia, where the border was closed by the Venezuelan authorities until next Monday.

The drop in the circulation of people is also noticeable in the coastal strip of the state of La Guaira (north), usually full of visitors. Today there were plenty of spaces for vehicles to park.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Emigration Procedures in the Civil Registry of Cienfuegos, Cuba, Take Forever and Provoke Anxiety

“Three months ago I requested the registrations I need to process my Spanish citizenship. Since then, I have come six times”

Cienfuegos Civil Registry Office, in the historic center of the city / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Julio César Contreras, Cienfuegos, 12 January 2024 / The sun has barely risen and the line already extends to the outskirts of the Cienfuegos Civil Registry, in the historic center of the city. Some stand in front of the large entrance gate; others look for accommodation on the sidewalk or under the overhang of a nearby facade. Among the eyes that remain fixed on the number 2309 of Santa Cruz Street are those of Natalia, who must request the birth registrations of her parents. “I am completing my file to apply for Spanish nationality,” she explains.

She is another face of the Cubans who escape, not only on the rafts that are launched into the sea, crossing the Darién jungle or opting for the route to the south, but also in every Civil Registry office. Most of those who apply for a birth, marriage or death certificate in Cienfuegos have the same goal: to get out and leave behind the crisis, the long blackouts and the hopelessness.

Each person waiting in line has a story in which boredom and illusion are mixed. There is the retiree who has has come four times to correct an error in his mother’s death certificate. “If I don’t make the transfer and have her house in my name, I can’t sell it.” The reason for his rush is similar to Natalia’s: “I want to meet my son who is in Miami and take part of the money from the sale.”

“You get here and think it’s going to be easy but then go from frustration to disgust,” laments Natalia

The office receives an avalanche of applications. According to the Provincial Directorate of Justice in Cienfuegos, in January 2023 almost 20,100 certifications were issued, about 11,600 more than in the same period last year. The entry into force, in 2022, of the Democratic Memory Law in Spain has led thousands of Cubans to dust off their origins to obtain a European continue reading

passport. During 2024, the trend was maintained, also egged on by the Humanitarian Parole Program implemented in 2023 by the United States.

“You get here and think it’s going to be easy but then go from frustration to disgust,” laments Natalia. An employee has opened the main door of the Civil Registry and begins to shout directions to those waiting in line. In a few minutes, the line is restructured according to each type of procedure, and some go to the central courtyard to line up. Others occupy positions in the access corridor in front of the office of a bored-looking receptionist.

“Three months ago I requested the registration I need to process Spanish citizenship. Since then, I have come six times, and the unthinkable has happened to me. My dad supposedly did not appear registered until the end of the working day due to lack of electricity,” Natalia tells this newspaper. Each new visit is “a bitter drink” and a test of her nerves.

“The employees of this place now know me and even treat me kindly, but I don’t end up with the documents.” Like the office furniture, Natalia feels that she has become one more object between those walls without solving her problem. “All I need is a couple of pieces of paper; that’s what separates me right now from my new life.”

Although announcements of digitization of archives and records are frequent in the official press, in the place on Santa Cruz Street nothing seems to have changed in two centuries with respect to the way in which certifications are written and issued. “An employee made a mistake when transcribing my divorce certificate. He changed one letter in my last name and now I have to start the whole process again,” says a young man who arrived at dawn to “be one of the first to enter.”

“Right now we are just a little busy; two of the five employees we had last year have left. We are also emigrating, all day we have to be in contact with people who leave. It’s like working at an airport; all the time you are thinking about a trip,” says an employee who prefers anonymity. “Everything falls on us, the requests that are made here and also those that are made on the internet, through digital platforms.”

“One of the biggest problems we have is that with this ’law of grandchildren’ many people are requesting documents that are a century or more old and that are not digitized,” she adds. “You have to immerse yourself in a lot of very old books, full of dust, fragile and sometimes with a level of deterioration that it is difficult to read a name or surname clearly.” The woman has had several health problems related to her work.

“Allergies, skin problems are very common, and a few years ago I got a staphylococcus infection that I caught here and was on sick leave for three months,” she explains. Salaries don’t help either. Normally, employees don’t earn more than 10,000 pesos a month, a little more than 30 dollars at the informal exchange rate. “That’s why what happens happens: many people survive by taking orders from special customers,” she adds.

“Right now we are just a little busy; two of the five employees we had last year have left”

The “special clients” that the employee talks about are people who, unlike Natalia, have enough resources to skip the line outside the Civil Registry. They are those who slip a certain amount of money into the right hands to speed up the time to obtain a birth certificate, an old record of their grandparents’ marriage or proof that a brother died in that city almost half a century ago.

In the intricate networks of the Cuban black market, notary services, bureaucratic procedures and access to the oldest archives also have their price. “I manage powers of attorney, bachelorhood, criminal records, death registrations, marriage and birth certificates, titles and notes, in addition to legalizations in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” reads an advertisement on a digital classifieds site.

“The prices vary according to the trouble you have and the complexity of the procedure,” clarifies the solicitous seller after a query from this newspaper. “For 20,000 pesos we get the certification of his two grandparents and he has them in his hands in less than a month, with all the data verified and without errors, nothing to be corrected because all the work is done impeccably, without typos, each surname with its correct spelling and the accents where they go.” For a higher price, you can reconstruct and even falsify from scratch a family tree that adapts to any requirement abroad. “If Galician, Galician; if you prefer Basque, then Basque,” he adds with ease when entering into confidence.

The digital path through the page of the Ministry of Justice is “wasted time,” according to Luis Ángel, another Cienfuegan who believed the official propaganda. “I went online, I made the request with all the data they asked me for, and six months later I had to come in person because they did not have the certificate ready or an answer for the delay.” In this case, as in so many with the Cuban bureaucracy, the 47-year-old man advises going personally to the records: “Seeing is believing,” he concludes.

A painting on the wall of the Santa Cruz Street registry shows an image of Raúl Castro. Under his gaze, people waiting to complete a procedure also weave relationships. “I want to go to Seville, I’m going to leave you my email in case we can meet there,” says a woman to a young woman with a small child who reaches out to take the small piece of paper with the data.

“Don’t stay in Madrid, rents are very expensive,” recommends a man to another who only needs to correct an error in his grandmother’s name to complete the file that will turn him into a Cuban Spaniard. The conversation is interrupted by the scream of the receptionist. “There are only two computers working, and we will attend to a few cases, remember that after noon we will have a blackout, so do not give the last place in line to anyone.”

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Cuba Receives a Shipment of Medicines From India To ‘Recover’ From the 2024 Hurricanes

Last June, the Island received another batch of ingredients from India to make antibiotics

Among the 32 million dollars sent in exports from India to the Island in 2024, pharmaceutical products predominated /X/Randhir Jaiswal

14ymedio, Havana, 11 January 2025 — Cuba continues to receive donations from countries that have shown solidarity with the Island after the passage of hurricanes Oscar and Rafael at the end of 2024. This Friday, a shipment of medicines “essential to contribute to the recovery” arrived from India, and the Cuban Foreign Ministry thanked the Government of New Delhi for the “humanitarian assistance.”

Randhir Jaiswal, spokesman for the Indian Foreign Ministry, reported on social network X that the shipment contains antibiotics, antipyretics, analgesics, oral solutions and muscle relaxants. “India’s contribution to the Island shows the close ties of both countries; this year they celebrate the 65th anniversary of their diplomatic links,” added the Cuban Foreign Ministry.

Last June, India sent Cuba 90 tons of nine “active pharmaceutical ingredients” to be used in the production of “essential antibiotics in the form of tablets, capsules, syrups and injections, for the treatment of chronic communicable diseases.”

Indian is one of Cuba’s top 20 trading partners

India is one of Cuba’s top 20 trading partners, and among the 32 million dollars sent in exports to the Island in the 2024 fiscal year, pharmaceutical and chemical products predominated, according to data from the Indian continue reading

Ministry of Commerce.

Although the last visit at the highest level between presidents dates back to 2018, with the trip to Cuba of then Indian president, Ram Nath Kovind, both countries maintain frequent contact. The Minister of State for Foreign and Cultural Affairs of India, Meenakashi Lekhi, visited the Island in January 2023 to strengthen political dialogue and economic relations with the Cuban regime.

Another important trading partner, China, donated to the Island at the end of December a shipment of parts to repair generators of the national electrical system (SEN). “This Project of Equipment and Spare Parts of Distributed Electric Generators for Cuba of the Chinese Government responds to the consensus reached between Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba and President of the Republic of Cuba, and the president of the Asian giant, Xi Jinping, in multisectoral cooperation,” the official press clarified at the time.

According to the Chinese ambassador to Cuba, the delivery is part of a second assistance package aimed at restoring generation capacity

According to Hua Xin, China’s ambassador to Cuba, the delivery is part of a second package of assistance aimed at restoring a generation capacity of 400 megawatts (MW) in more than 70 thermoelectric plants powered by diesel and fuel oil. The donation was 69 tons and “contains radiators, motors and other accessories, while the arrival of other donations for the generation of electricity is expected.”

In the first days of this year, the Island announced the repair of several pieces of SEN equipment and infrastructure thanks to the Chinese donation. On Monday, December 30, the first repaired generator was launched with the help of Beijing, the Chinese ambassador reported.

According to the Minister of Energy and Mines, Vicente de La O Levy, compared to thermoelectric plants, the investment process in distributed generation is much faster and cheaper, since the resources necessary for its operation can easily reach the Island. He also clarified that the State was negotiating the purchase of parts in the international market to put the plants into operation.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Economist Pavel Vidal Sees the Success of a Floating Exchange Rate in Cuba As Difficult

Five factors must be met, including “unrestricted access to dollars, euros and other international currencies”

“Isolated and fragmented measures are not enough in any area, and the exchange rate system is no exception,” says economist Pavel Vidal /Facebook/Cadeca – Casas de Cambio

14ymedio, Madrid, 10 January 2025 — Given Cuba’s economic conditions, it is difficult for the proposal to establish a floating exchange rate announced by Prime Minister Manuel Marrero, before Parliament last December, to achieve the purpose of “ordering” the exchange rate system, today mostly in the hands of the irregular market. This is, broadly speaking, what emerges from the report by Cuban economist Pavel Vidal, published this Friday in El Toque by the Cuban Observatory of Currencies and Finances (OMFi).

The specialist, a professor at the Pontifical Javeriana University of Cali (Colombia), doubts the viability of the measure “in the context of the current economic crisis” and questions whether the informal foreign exchange market will disappear with it. As he warns, “the formalization of the foreign exchange market does not mean that the Government can manipulate the exchange rate arbitrarily.” If it did, if the State “tried to artificially influence the exchange rate, especially in the sense of an appreciation, a severe blow to the credibility of the system would be generated, affecting its operability and sustainability, and the objective would not be achieved” of having a substitute for the irregular market.

To begin with, on day zero, Vidal analyzes, “it is most likely that a rate close to that of the informal market will be established to attract the actors who operate in it” – 335 pesos for 1 dollar this Friday. What will be the criteria and sources of information to move the exchange rate daily, he wonders, answering: “In market economies, competition between banks and exchange houses allows supply and demand movements to be reflected in real time, but in Cuba, where the monopoly of the formal foreign exchange continue reading

market will remain in the hands of the State, clear and transparent rules of the formula that will be used to adjust the daily rate are required.”

The economist doubts the feasibility of the measure “in the context of the current economic crisis” and questions whether the informal foreign exchange market will disappear

Another unresolved question is whether they will allow micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) to participate in the new foreign exchange market – on which the Government has not pronounced – which would be, for the professor of Economics, “a significant change with respect to the current system and crucial to achieve the formalization of their operations.”

For the floating exchange rate to be successful, in short, there would have to be five factors that are difficult to achieve on the Island. The first, a better macroeconomic scenario. “Given that recent exchange rate policy announcements have not been accompanied by the presentation of a macroeconomic stabilization program, nor is there a political will to implement weighty structural reforms, it is unlikely that there is a comfortable scenario for the replacement of the informal foreign exchange market,” says Vidal.

The expert recalls precisely that if the Cuban Government managed, in the mid-1990s, during the Special Period, to replace the informal foreign exchange market with transactions in the Cadeca exchange houses, it was because “in parallel there was a significant fiscal adjustment, and important structural reforms introduced at the time, such as the opening to remittances, self-employment and foreign investments,” in addition to “a reform of the banking and financial system.”

On this point, he also says that “no significant improvements in international conditions are expected that may favor the performance of the Cuban economy,” and that, on the contrary, the imminent Administration of Donald Trump in the United States augurs “a new escalation of economic sanctions that further worsen balance of payments restrictions and external financial conditions.”

“Cuba is not a member of the main international multilateral financial institutions nor does it have funding to implement the exchange rate reform,” adds the economist. “Participation in the BRICS [emerging economies] is not known to have an impact on a relaxation of external financial conditions for the Cuban economy for the time being.”

“Cuba is not a member of the main international multilateral financial institutions nor does it have funding to implement the exchange rate reform,” adds the economist

A second factor to take into account is that the informal foreign exchange market in Cuba “has been consolidated in this decade as a mechanism that allows meeting the demand for foreign exchange that the official market cannot satisfy.” A feasible objective, Vidal proposes, “would be to try to transfer the supply and demand of foreign exchange from the population and private companies to exchange houses and banks by offering security, a flexible and realistic exchange rate,” and access to “unrestricted dollars, euros and other international currencies.”

However, Vidal doubts that this will be the case. On the contrary, “it is very likely that the Government will mistake the functions of a formalized foreign exchange market and try to use it as a mechanism for collecting and displacing the uses of foreign exchange.”

A third aspect that is not met on the Island, one that would be “essential to manage the floating of the exchange rate with technical and economic criteria,” is the autonomy of the Central Bank, since “political interference could negatively affect the coherence of the movements of the formal rate.”

As a fourth success factor, the implementation of a floating exchange rate is “in principle, a positive measure,” he insists, and he explains that it should be given as part of “a comprehensive strategy that focuses on exchange rate unification and the convertibility of the national currency.” And he warns: “Isolated and fragmented measures are not enough in any area, and the exchange rate system is not the exception.”

It is also essential that, in addition to the floating exchange rate in the Cadeca exchange houses and banks for operations with the population, “it is essential to correct the official exchange rate [24 pesos for 1 dollar] that applies to state-owned companies.” Many of these, describes the expert, operate as “zombi companies,” “surviving thanks to subsidies and the overvaluation of the official exchange rate” without generating wealth.

The fifth and last aspect that Vidal puts on the table is the weak logistical and technological capacity of the country. “Without an efficient infrastructure, operational limitations will continue to divert users to the informal market,” concludes the professor.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Only Six of the 14 Sugar Mills Planned Are Grinding Sugar in Cuba

Barely 25% of what was planned has been ground, and “sugar production is at an insufficient 21%”

At this time, the data for the previous harvest are still unknown / Invasor

14ymedio, Madrid, 10 January 2024 — The bad data for the sugar industry can only worse. Last October, at the start of the 2024-2025 harvest, the vice president of the Council of Ministers, Jorge Luis Tapia Fonseca, revealed that there would be grinding in only 15 sugar mills throughout the country, the lowest number in history, since just three years ago there were 36. This Thursday, however, the authorities said that “of the 14 planned” – and it is now one less – only six are working.

The result, therefore, is painful. Barely 25% of what was planned has been ground, and “sugar production [is] at an insufficient 21%,” Dionis Pérez Pérez, director of the state-owned Azcuba, who only had one comforting piece of data, told the official State newspaper Granma: “Ninety percent of the processes are energy efficient,” he said, which was not any use. The official pointed out that these figures have been affected not only by the “non-incorporation” of these eight mills – “which represent 75% of the accumulated debt in the sector – but also by the “late start-up.”

The efficiency is due to the fact that, despite the very poor figures, last year was worse, since five more mills are now grinding, and half the sugar was produced. The 2023-2024 harvest remains a state secret and, although all government officials who have spoken about that industry have warned that the figures were disastrous and that work must be done for the survival of continue reading

the sector, the tons of the product have never been quantified.

The last harvest for which there is data is that of 2022-2023, when 350,000 tons of sugar were achieved, the worst harvest since 1898, and well below the more than half a million of national consumption

The last harvest for which there is data is that of 2022-2023, when 350,000 tons of sugar were achieved, the worst harvest since 1898, and well below the more than half a million of national consumption, not to mention the more than 400,000 tons that were exported. Now, even sugar, the Island’s star product for at least a century, must be imported. Last year, according to official data, Cuba imported sugar and derived products worth $36,576,000, surpassing exports, which reached just $11,187,000.

According to the manager of Azcuba, the condition of the plants is one of the reasons why grinding is minimal. It should be remembered that, in 1959, Cuba had 161 sugar mills that produced 5.6 million tons of sugar in that last harvest in private hands. The mills were kept in shape during the years of the Soviet subsidy, with the best sugar production data between the 70s and 80s – more than 8.5 million tons – although the Fidelist utopia of ten million tons could never be reached.

However, “the electro-energy situation has delayed the repair work in the plants, as well as in the cleaning centers and mechanization workshops. This includes national factories, which provide essential parts and pieces for the operation of the sugar industry,” Pérez Pérez said on Thursday.

In addition, only 10% of the fuel needed for the sugar industry has been assured, significantly reducing “operational capacity and complicating logistics.”

The official regretted that all this has affected the oxygen gas, which the plants also produce, “due to breakdowns in the mill and the lack of raw material.” Electricity generation did not go well either, with 36% (19,707 megawatts per hour), of which 10,358 MWh were sold to the National Electric System. Despite this, the bioelectric produces 25 MWh, which saves 3,300 tons of diesel.

The amount is not to be disregarded, in any case, given the precarious state in which the country’s electricity industry finds itself, and which in turn affects the sugar industry. This Thursday, coinciding with the passage of the cold front across Cuba, the Electric Union had predicted a deficit of 700 MW during peak hours, generating 2,200 MW compared to a demand of 2900 MW.

One of the hopes to reduce the high electricity deficits is placed in the repair of the two units of the Carlos Manuel de Céspedes thermoelectric plant

One of the hopes to reduce the high electricity deficits is in the repair of the two units of the Carlos Manuel de Céspedes thermoelectric plant, in Cienfuegos, which broke down at the same time. This Friday, Granma also set April and June for the synchronization of the plant, which contributes about 316 MW to the system.

José Osvaldo González Rodríguez, its general manager, explains that after the total disconnection of the National Electric System (SEN) that occurred last October, checks were carried out that determined “the need to intervene, in a profound way, in several elements of the turbine,” a very complex task that should conclude in one case this January and in the other next month.

To this have been added, with regard to unit 3, repairs on auxiliary equipment, transformers and a boiler. The first half of April, if all goes well – an exceptional situation in Cuba – the unit should be synchronized with the SEN. As for unit 4, “it already had a certain level of misalignment in the elements of the overheater and reheater, which had caused failures in the pipes.” This case is even more serious, since it requires the replacement of “the exchangers associated with this failure, i.e. secondary and primary superheaters, reheater and economizer.” There will also be maintenance on the rest of the elements that make up the unit, which should be working well in June.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Cupet Presents False Data To Hide the Oil Production Crisis in Cuba

In 2008, the Island extracted 68,493 barrels per day, 44% more than last year

Exploitation of Zarubezhneft in Boca de Jaruco, Mayabeque / Zarubezhneft

14ymedio, Havana, 11 January 2025 — Transparency when it comes to providing accurate and clear data on crude oil production remains one of the pending issues of the Cuban government. According to Osvaldo López, head of Exploration of the Cuba Petroleum Union (Cupet), the Island produced 40,000 barrels a day in 2024 – 98% of its extraction plan – but the US “blockade” allegedly prevents it from attracting foreign investment to search for new deposits.

For the expert Jorge Piñón, who worked more than 30 years in the international oil industry and analyzes the regime’s oil business step by step, the data offered by López to the State newspaper Granma on January 7 are misleading, especially in terms of the alleged effects of the embargo.

To improve its total figure, Cupet reports the production of “oil equivalent,” a technical term that includes the mixing of light hydrocarbons derived from the production of natural gas.

“Both light hydrocarbons and condensates – butane, propane, natural gasoline and naphtha that are extracted in Energas’ natural gas processing plants – are mixed with the production of extra-heavy crude oil to improve its viscosity and allow its transport via pipelines or maritime and land transport,” explains Piñón. continue reading

According to Piñón’s estimates, the real amount is 38,000 barrels of extra-heavy crude oil per day

The data that Cupet would have to provide is that of the crude oil production at the top of the oil well. According to Piñón’s estimates, the real amount is 38,000 barrels of extra-heavy crude oil per day and not, as the Government claims, 40,000.

Cuba reached its production record in 2008, when it extracted 68,493 barrels per day, according to official figures. This implies a drop of 44% in the last 16 years, says the expert. This decline cannot be attributed to the “lack of material resources and financing,” as Cupet alleges, but to the “natural decline of the oil wells in the northern strip of Cuba.” In this, too, the Government turns its back on reality.

In his interview, López also admitted that the amount of crude oil reported covers only a third of the country’s consumption. This data does coincide with the demand for 120,858 barrels per day of crude oil and liquid petroleum-derived fuels that Cuba reported in 2022, explains Piñón. Last year, due to blackouts and lack of foreign exchange to buy fuel, it is likely that the demand was much lower.

The extreme viscosity of Cuban crude oil requires a complex process of improvement to make it useful for consumption. Since 2011, Cupet has tried to get the Russian state-owned Zarubezhneft and the Federal University of Kazan to implement effective processes to improve the crude oil extracted in Boca de Jaruco, Mayabeque. In thirteen years, the project has not shown the slightest impact on national production, says Piñón.

López also said that it is “vital to discover crude oil with better quality and to find deposits off the coast.” If this is not done, it is because of the “blockade”* of the United States, he added, and because Cuba has to “fall in love” with foreign companies to invest in Cuba.

López also said that it is “vital to discover crude oil with better quality and to find deposits off the coast”

However, counters Piñón, the “embargo” did not prevent Cuba from drilling five wells in deep waters of the Straits of Florida and the Gulf of Mexico in 2012. Large companies such as Repsol (Spain), Statoil (Norway), Petronas (Malasia) and ONGC (India) were involved in the project, “with one of the most advanced platforms in the world -Scarabeo 9 – owned by the Italian ENI.”

It was a total failure. Despite the efforts, no profitable well was discovered, and those results continue to frighten investors, explains Piñón. In addition, the countries of the region compete with Cuba when it comes to “falling in love” with large companies. Compared to Guyana, Brazil or the US area of the Gulf, the Island is not an attraction.

Granma’s interview with the official also omits important data. Nothing is said about the operations of the Australian Melbana, which received permission from the Cuban government to export the oil it found in the so-called Block 9 of Matanzas.

Shipments from Russia also play an essential role in Cuba’s energy future. The Kremlin enters 2025 with a tightening of Washington’s sanctions to limit its oil business, and Havana, Piñón thinks, could take an unexpected benefit from the situation.

This week, the United States sanctioned the 180 tankers that make up the so-called “ghost fleet” of Russian oil, in addition to two companies, dozens of traders and senior officials. With its constant change of flags and records, and despite the risk of financial sanctions against shipowners or even the interception of their ships in the Caribbean, Cuba will be one of the possible destinations for that oil in search of customers at prices well below the international market.

*Translator’s note: There is, in fact, no US ‘blockade’ on Cuba, but this continues to be the term the Cuban government prefers to apply to the long-standing US embargo.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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The United States Returns 20 Irregular Migrants to Cuba, Its First Operation in 2025

Two of the irregular migrants were transferred “to the investigative body for being suspected of committing criminal acts before leaving Cuba,” the authorities said.

The group was intercepted by the US coast guard after illegally leaving the island / X/@USCG

EFE/14ymedio, 9 January 2025 — The United States Coast Guard Service (USCG) deported a total of 20 migrants to Cuba on Thursday, in the first return operation to the Island from the US in 2025, official media reported.

The group – composed of 9 men, 7 women and 4 children – was intercepted by the US coast guard after illegally leaving the Island. Most live in Havana, according to the Cuban Ministry of the Interior.

The migrants were handed over by the US coast guard at the port of Orozco, in the province of Artemisa

Two of them were transferred “to the investigative body for alleged criminal acts before leaving Cuba,” the authorities said.

In addition, the Ministry of the Interior stated that this is the second return operation of 2025, after the one reported on January 3, when 19 Cubans were returned from the Bahamas by air, making a total of 39 returned so far this year. continue reading

The migrants were handed over by the US Coast Guard in the port of Orozco

The Cuban authorities have stated that they maintain “firm” in their commitment to a “safe and orderly” migration, and they continue to warn of the danger and risks of illegal exits from the country, stressing that it is “irresponsible” to involve minors in those events.

The Governments of Havana and Washington have a bilateral agreement so that all migrants arriving by sea to US territory are returned to Cuba.

In addition, deportation flights resumed in April 2023, mainly for people considered “inadmissible” after being detained on the US border with Mexico.

In Mexico, eight Cuban rafters who were rescued last week by sailors are at the headquarters of the National Institute of Migration (INM), where they have requested advice to prevent them from being deported to the Island. The migrants, a woman and seven men, were found by the crew of the ship Catherine-Grace on a drifting raft 198 nautical miles north of Puerto Progreso.

A total of 8,261 Cubans were registered by US border authorities last October

According to data from the US Customs and Border Protection Office (CBP), during the 2024 fiscal period, which ended on September 30, 217,615 Cubans arrived in the United States.

A total of 8,261 Cubans were registered by US border authorities last October, the first month of fiscal year 2025, and according to CBP, more than 860,000 Cuban migrants entered US territory in the last four years.

In 2024, 93 returns were made from different countries in the region, with a total of 1,384 irregular migrants returned.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Some Relatives of the 13 Missing From the Explosion in Cuba Criticize the Military’s Decision To Delay the Rescue

More details are known about the victims of the Melones explosion in Holguín
The alert has been extended to Sancti Spíritus, where helicopters fly over the weapon silos on the Zaza road

’Granma’ does not specify how many explosions there were in total, but in the videos spread on social networks by eyewitnesses can be seen at least two explosions that occurred during the day. / Screen capture

14ymedio, Miguel García, Holguín, 9 January 2024 — “We are doing what we can.” The response of the authorities is invariable when approaching the relatives of the 13 soldiers who disappeared after the explosions that occurred on Tuesday at the Melones base, in the municipality of Rafael Freyre, in Holguín. As explained to 14ymedio by the aunt of one of the young recruits affected, who asks for anonymity, the local government officials themselves visit the homes but are not able to give the families concrete information.

They hope, says this same source, that the soldiers – nine recruits of the Active Military Service (SMA) and four officers – “have managed to enter a security tunnel near the site of the explosion, to which they had access.” The woman continues: “They say that when they manage to lower the temperature of the place they will look there specifically, because it’s the only hope of finding them alive.”

One of them, Leinier Jorge Sánchez, only 18 years old, is the son of Gretel María Franco, secretary of the president of the Municipal Assembly of Popular Power of Rafael Freyre, Alexis Driggs Gómez, as confirmed to this newspaper by several local residents.

The shock wave of the explosion that happened “impacted them all, throwing them to the floor”

Driggs Gómez himself was injured in one of the explosions, as the State newspaper Granma published this Thursday: “He carries on his forehead, between his eyes, the imprint of the impact of a glass fragment caused by the first large explosion that occurred in the Military Unit.” The text details that the municipal president, along with several military authorities, “had reached the vicinity of a burned silo, where the military chief explained to them the continue reading

magnitude of the danger that threatened the residents in the vicinity and the need for a quick evacuation.”

The shock wave of the explosion that occurred, the article continues, “hit them all, throwing them to the floor in the middle of a cloud of particles, dirt and dust flying in all directions.”

After that first explosion, “around two in the morning,” Yamilé Suárez Serrano, one of the evacuees from the hamlet of Sao Nuevo, whose home served as an “address post” in the first hours, told Granma that “the warning was set in motion,” and “later the means of transport arrived.” The first evacuated were the elderly, children and pregnant women, said the same source, who is also the mother of a People’s Power delegate in the area.

The Communist Party newspaper does not specify how many explosions there were in total, but in the videos spread on social networks by eyewitnesses can be seen at least two that occurred during the day.

On Wednesday afternoon, says the official newspaper, “a press group gained the closest possible access to the damage.” “Columns of smoke still crowned several elevations,” although “no explosions have been reported since early Wednesday morning.”

More than 490 residents in the rural constituency of Sao Redondo, according to official information, were transferred to “safe places,” as were residents of Sao Nuevo, El Cerro and the town of Melones itself. Granma sources highlighted “the creation of rural brigades” that guarded “homes with the belongings of those transferred to evacuation centers and protected the homes of family and friends, in the municipal capital and in other places.”

General Ramón Pardo Guerra, 88, described the event as a “disaster of technological origin”

The report also indicates that “surveillance is constant with the use of various means, including unmanned aerial vehicles (drones).” According to sources from 14ymedio, the alert went throughout the country. In Sancti Spíritus, this Thursday “helicopters are flying over the city in the northern part, specifically over the weapon silos on the Zaza road,” says a former SMA recruit in that area. “In addition, you can see the coming and going of cars with soldiers.”

In the official press, the authorities claim that they showed “courage and responsibility” and that in the “area of greatest danger from the first moment” the “main heads of the Eastern Army and the Military Region of Holguín have been there, as well as Joel Queipo Ruiz, member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and first secretary of the organization in Holguín territory, also Manuel Hernández Aguilera, governor of Holguín, and members of the Defense Council of the Municipality and other local authorities.”

The head of the National Civil Defense General Staff, General Ramón Pardo Guerra, 88, described the event as a “disaster of technological origin,” without specifying why he used this term, although he added that the causes were still being investigated.

However, the opinion of family members, who vent on social networks, is very different. Jesús Antonio, uncle of Liander José García Oliva who is missing, posted,”I feel that the right thing is not being done; I feel that those children are still alive but nothing is being done to save them. They are leaving them to God’s fate, because we know that they have not tried to look for them. And what hurts the most is that they had the courage to risk them all, but now none of them want to risk it for those children, whom they forced to do the dirty work that didn’t correspond to their rank.”

Jesús Antonio says that they are still waiting for the return home of the recruits, and adds: “All parents and close or distant relatives should come together and make it come true. Tell them to stop lying and do what they have to do, which is to give their lives to try to save those whom they forced to be there.”

More commentators joined his wish, such as Yeikel del Valle, who says that his ex-brother-in-law and uncle of his daughter is also among the victims, and Camila Ching, who says: “Very true, I have the brother of a dear friend on that list and there are no answers. It is not fair to leave them to the fate of what may happen.”

Leandro Pérez Alberteriz says he is “available in case they need volunteers. Those words are very well written. My first cousin is also among the missing, and they aren’t doing anything to get them out.”

From testimonies of relatives and comments on Facebook, it is possible to reconstruct scraps of the biographies of the disappeared.

Among the nine SMA recruits are a Japanese cartoon enthusiast and a future chef, and some who were only a few months away from demobilizing. Most are residents of the vicinity of the Melones base or other Holguin municipalities.

Leinier Jorge Sánchez, only 18 years old, is the son of Gretel María Franco, secretary of the president of the Municipal Assembly of Popular Power of Rafael Freyre

Along with the aforementioned Leinier Jorge Sánchez and Liander José García Oliva, the list of recruits consists of Brian Lázaro Rojas Long (from the community of Esterito, in the municipality of Banes), Yunior Hernández Rojas (originally from Holguín), Rayme Rojas Rojas (born in 2004), José Carlos Guerrero García (only 19 years old), Frank Antonio Hidalgo Almaguer (neighbor of the municipality of San Andrés), Carlos Alejandro Acosta Silva and Héctor Adrián Batista Zayas (from Las Tunas).

Among the officers is Major Carlos Carreño (from Santiago de Cuba, married and with a child), the second non-commissioned officer Orlebanis Tamé Torres, with a military degree also obtained by Yoennis Pérez Durán, a graduate of electrical engineering, as well as Major Leonar Palma Matos (also the father of a son).

Their identities were made public by the Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces almost 12 hours after the event occurred, and after long hours of rumors and uncertainty.

These types of accidents are not rare in military installations such as Melones. In the first hours of the event, news was spread by mistake – even by the official press – that the damaged warehouse was the same one that in 2020 also suffered two morning explosions in Gibara, about 50 kilometers from Rafael Freyre.

In addition, in June 2017 there was a similar event, this time in Santiago de Cuba, when several explosions occurred in the municipality of Songo-La Maya, near the Ti Arriba military unit .

Then, half a thousand neighbors were evacuated for five days, without anyone giving them an explanation about the incident, which did not cause more damage than the consequences, reported by the residents, of leaving their animals abandoned for several days.

Last 2024, three workers died in several explosions at the Ernesto Che Guevara Industrial Military Company (EMI), located in La Campana, in Manicaragua, Villa Clara. In these cases, accidents occurred when employees handled potentially dangerous explosives.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Like Zombies, Cuban Smokers Look for Affordable Cigarettes in the Midst of Inflation

The customers, with the anxiety of those who cannot contain themselves before the image of their desires, raised their eyebrows and pursed their lips when the saleswoman answered their questions

This Wednesday, on the boulevard of the central San Rafael Street in Centro Habana, a petite woman unfolded her box of merchandise / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Natalia López Moya, Havana, 9 January 2024 — In the movie Juan de los Muertos [Juan of the Dead], the zombies who wander the streets of Havana have a lost look and a clumsy step. That fiction, which masterfully mixed humor and terror, seems to have predicted the nervous walk and the irritated faces of the smokers who roam the Cuban capital these days. Desperate and with a gesture of anguish, they are looking for cigarettes that they can afford in the midst of a rise in price, which has exceeded 1,500 pesos per pack.

This Wednesday, on the boulevard of the central San Rafael Street in Central Havana, a petite woman unfolded her merchandise in a box. The customers, with the anxiety of those who cannot contain themselves before the image of their desires, raised their eyebrows and pursed their lips when the saleswoman answered their questions: “The boxes of H are 1,000 pesos. The Upmann [strong] and the mild ones are from 300 to 600.” If the smoker doesn’t have enough money for these, the merchant offers Criollos, the worst valued and popularly known as “rompepechos” [chest breakers] at 350 pesos a pack or each cigarette of H. Upmann for 50 pesos.

“The packs of H are 1,000 pesos. The Upmann [strong] and the mild ones are from 300 to 600”

“It’s better to smoke the bills than to pay so much” lamented a sad customer who went for a pack and left with barely three cigarettes in his hand. “I haven’t even been able to sleep for days. I no more end a fight with my wife only to get into another; I can’t go on anymore,” he stammered. In other places, managed by MSMEs, the prices are even higher. In those markets a pack of Populares with filters reaches 1,600 pesos, and a pack of H. Upmann is fast on its heels with 1,500. Employees justify the escalation with the cost of buying the goods from the State or, in the case of foreign brands, of importing them. continue reading

“Most of the time we have to buy Cuban cigarettes in the stores in MLC [hard currency] or now in the ones that have opened in dollars, so we barely get anything at the current price of dollars,” says an employee of a private market on Reina Street. The young worker says that in recent days she has even come to feel afraid, “because the smokers come in, see the prices, get very upset and take it out on everyone. They usually swear and even punch the wall.”

“Most of the time we have to buy Cuban cigarettes in the stores in MLC [hard currency] or now in those that have opened in dollars”

In a country that grows tobacco and in which 24% of Cubans, from the age of 15, actively smoke, the rise in the price of cigarettes puts hundreds of thousands of consumers in check. Although some cut consumption in order not to affect personal and family finances, most reduce expenses in other areas in order to be able to pay for their addiction. “I may lack food, water and a roof over my head, but I don’t want to gamble with cigarettes,” summarized a young man sitting in Fraternity Park smoking a newly-bought pack: “It cost me 1,500 pesos, the same amount as the monthly retirement my mother receives.”

According to this Havanan, lowering cigarette prices should even become a political priority for the authorities. “They know that when people can’t smoke they go crazy. I wouldn’t be surprised if there were a protest, with smokers throwing themselves into the street,” he predicts. It is not difficult to see his premonition in some scenes from that 2011 film where some zombies, with their slow gait and their terrifying gaze, take over the esplanade in front of the Plaza de la Revolución.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Who Are the 13 Missing in the Explosions at Cuba’s Military Warehouse in Holguín?

Nine are young military service recruits, most of them from that eastern province

A fan of Japanese cartoons, a future chef and a young father are among the missing / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Havana, 9 January 2025 — The life stories of the 13 missing soldiers begin to emerge with the testimonies of relatives and the scraps of their biographies found on social networks. The nine young people, apparently all recruits of the Active Military Service (SMA), include a fan of Japanese cartoons, a future chef and a young father. Most are residents near the Melones base or in other Holguin municipalities.

For example, Brian Rojas Long lives in the community of Esterito, in the municipality of Banes. His aunt, Norma Rojas, said that he had recently been on a pass at home and that he had only eight months left to finish his service. His father, Lázaro, said the young man is very excited because he has been assigned to work in a hotel on the Ramón de Antilla peninsula as a chef’s assistant. “I like that,” he told his aunt during the family visit.

There is also Yunior Hernández Rojas, originally from Holguín and father of a baby, who has been with his current partner since 2018. Rayme Rojas Rojas, 20, likes animated Japanese cartoons. In November 2023, he was seen on social networks wearing the recruit uniform. He had only six months left to complete his time as a soldier. continue reading

Some relatives have appealed to social networks in search of answers

Among the youngest, there is José Carlos Guerrero Garcia, 19, also in the SMA, son of Julio Guerrero and a resident in the municipality of Rafael Freyre. Frank Antonio Hidalgo Almaguer is a resident of the municipality of San Andrés and is currently single. Lander José García Oliva is also from that same community, hard hit at the moment by uncertainty.

Some relatives have appealed to social networks in search of answers. A cousin of Leinier Jorge Sánchez, 18, made a desperate request on Facebook for the young man to appear alive. Yilena Roche Arcaya defined him as “one of the children who is missing in the explosion.” The young man also lives in Rafael Freyre, the municipality most marked by the tragedy. There are hardly any details about the others; Héctor Adrián Batista, another recruit, is only known to be from Las Tunas.

Among the missing officers are Major Carlos Carreño, a native of Santiago de Cuba, married and with a son, and a second non-commissioned officer, Orlebanis Tamé Torres, who has a military rank. Another is Yoennis Pérez Durán, a graduate of electrical engineering, who obtained his diploma in Moa at the Dr. Antonio Núñez Jiménez Higher Mining Metallurgical Institute in 2009. He is a follower of the Real Madrid football team.

Major Leonar Palma Matos studied at Juan José Fornet Piña de Holguín’s basic high school and has a son. Although he keeps his Facebook profile restricted, several of his childhood friends have left messages of sadness in other groups for what happened.

Translated by Regina Anavy
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Cuba: Artificial Intelligence against Natural Stupidity

Many of these technologies have been developed to democratize creative processes, and that word is for them the greatest threat

Havana, recreated with artificial intelligence (IA.Cuba/ Artificial Intelligence Cuba)

14ymedio, Yunior García Aguilera, Madrid, January 8, 2025 – On April 19, 2023, a Parliament, held hostage by the Single Party, ratified Miguel Díaz-Canel as the hand-picked dictator. His management during the previous five years could not have been worse, but the nonagenarian Raúl Castro continued to give him a thumbs up. Why? It is true that the absolute incompetence of his pupil was evident, but at least Raúl and the other Castro bosses continued to keep their privileges intact.

It didn’t matter if the rest of the country fell apart. His test piece had shown that he was willing to distribute all the force necessary to keep the commoners at bay. And that was enough for him. In addition, looking sideways at the rest of the deputies present, it is likely that he whispered to his confidant, General Amadito Ricardo Guerra: we have to use what we have, and it doesn’t really matter if we loan this ass the baton for five more years.

The re-appointed climbed to the podium with his handful of notes, read a speech full of hyperboles and made the pauses marked in the script to receive the corresponding applause. And, to be in tune with the trends recommended by his advisors, he decided to also talk about AI. His words resonated from a completely defensive attitude: “I am quite sure that no Artificial Intelligence simulation could summarize the feat of the Cuban people in recent years. The creative resistance of the people of this country, their resilience, exceeds the limits of any simulation or prediction. There is no algorithm capable of reflecting everything we live.”

“I’m pretty sure that no Artificial Intelligence simulation could summarize the feat of the Cuban people in recent years”

Behind his words was hidden something very interesting that went viral on social networks. Several Cubans had begun to play and experiment with the new applications, asking ChatGPT about issues related to the reality of the continue reading

Island or generating images of a possible Cuba without a dictatorship. The algorithms were forceful. With them [the Regime] in power, life was an absolute disaster. Without them, the country and its people would enjoy undisputed development and prosperity. That’s why Díaz-Canel lashed out at an Artificial Intelligence that refused to recognize or applaud the alleged achievements he mentioned in his speech.

However, just a few days ago, he touched on the matter again, although this time going on the offensive: “We have to use Artificial Intelligence. Everyone is talking about it; everyone is applying it to the processes.” His audience looked at him without understanding if the speech was about using robots as employees at the ration stores or covering the potholes on the streets with some Instagram filter. Theater director Mario Junquera posted on his Facebook page: “I would say YES for AI to govern the country… tomorrow.” It was obvious that even the most primitive computer would make more coherent decisions than the “same old, same old” of the ruling bureaucracy.

Cuba is late to these debates, like almost everything else. And it is understandable. In a country where banking has not been carried out due to technological insufficiency, what can be expected from experimenting with AI? In a country where the internet is slower than a caterpillar and where blackouts are more frequent than alumbrones — a Cuban word coined to describe when the lights are ON — who will have nerves, battery and enough data to mess with those futuristic toys?

The truth is that Artificial Intelligence is no longer a fantasy of the future, but a reality of the present. And the speed with which it evolves generates fear in some and fascination in others. Some compare the development of Artificial Intelligence with that meteorite that extinguished the dinosaurs. Others celebrate it as the tool that will help humans take a great evolutionary leap as a species. What will happen to AI? Or, rather, what will happen to humans? Will it make us smarter or more idiotic? Will it steal our job or give us more time for ourselves? Have we opened a Pandora’s box?

The truth is that Artificial Intelligence is no longer a fantasy of the future, but a reality of the present

I’m on the side of the enthusiasts. Using these tools has allowed me to find inspiration, make project models in record time, as well as generate and socialize content more quickly and attractively. And its use has not taken away anyone’s work, on the contrary. I have received calls from other colleagues interested in collaborating on new projects, precisely thanks to the result they saw with the help of AI.

As for Díaz-Canel and his harangue, there is little to add. Many of these technologies have been developed to democratize creative processes, and that word is for them the greatest threat. In any case, what they develop will be to promote that only area in which they are efficient: surveillance, control and repression against the masses.

But, once again, it would be a shot in the foot. With the clumsiness that characterizes them, what they generate could turn against them in a very short time. It is impossible to pretend to dominate Artificial Intelligence, when you have more than enough of natural stupidity.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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The Cuban Government Carried Out at Least 10 Repressive Actions per Day Last Year

Two independent organizations registered 3,921 acts against demonstrators and around 1,000 political prisoners

Police arresting demonstrators in front of the Cuban Capitol during the ’11J’ protests in Havana – 11 July 2021 / EFE

14ymedio, Havana, 7 January 2024 — The Cuban Observatory of Human Rights (OCDH) reported this Tuesday that during 2024, the Government’s persecution of those who expressed discontent with the serious crisis that the Island is going through increased. According to its count, at least 10 repressive actions per day were recorded in the country during the last year.

The total number of repressive acts was 3,921, they report. Among these, 949 were home detentions, 818 were arbitrary arrests and 786 involved abuses against political prisoners; the remainder were ‘other’.

“The Cuban regime continues to exhibit the worst record of repression in the Western Hemisphere. There is permanent abuse against independent activists and journalists, and also against any citizen who criticizes the current situation of impoverishment and lack of freedom,” reflects the OCDH.

The provinces with the most cases of repression were Havana, Matanzas, Camagüey and Villa Clara

The report details that the provinces with the most cases of repression were Havana, Matanzas, Camagüey and Villa Clara. It was in that last province where, last November, the residents of the municipality of Encrucijada continue reading

protested in the streets, beating on pots and pans, against the long blackouts, which in some places exceeded 60 hours (two and a half days).

Also in Villa Clara more arrests were reported for demonstrations in the last two months (18 of 34), according to a report by Prisoners Defenders (PD) published last December, which also documented a “scandalous repressive escalation this quarter against peaceful demonstrators.”

The OCDH report also addressed the situation of political prisoners in the country. According to its count, 2024 closed with 952 prisoners of conscience, of which “most do not belong to opposition organizations.” The figure falls short compared to the PD count, which was 1,153.

“We take this opportunity to warn once again that the situation of many political prisoners is serious. It has been a terrible year for them,” added the OCDH, which registered three deceased prisoners in state custody.

The situation of many political prisoners is serious. It has been a terrible year for them

The most recent one was Manuel de Jesús Guillén, 29 years old: “The family reported that (the death) had been the result of a beating by the prison staff. The situation is critical from a humanitarian point of view, as there are a considerable number of prisoners with impaired health, including women with gynecological problems and several young people who have tried to commit suicide.”

The OCDH clarified that these data “are provisional” and are underreported, “because in Cuba there are many abuses for political reasons that are off the radar for our observers and other organizations.”

Regarding the violations of freedom of expression and press freedom in the country, the Cuban Institute for Freedom of Expression and Press (Iclep) registered 67 cases last December.

In a report published on Monday, Iclep counted 39 violations of freedom of the press and 28 violations of freedom of expression. Of these, 28 were attacks, threats and psychological aggressions; 19 were arbitrary detentions; nine were digital restrictions, six were cases of abuse of state power, and five were detentions.

The organization counted 39 violations of freedom of the press and 28 violations of freedom of expression

Among the victims were 18 journalists, 11 activists, four citizens, two people identified as “opponents,” as well as political prisoners and artists. In 12 provinces of the Island, assaults were documented. Most were in Havana, with 20, followed by Villa Clara (10), Sancti Spíritus (nine), Las Tunas (seven) and Camagüey (five).

“Among the most worrying repressive patterns of the Cuban regime is the criminalization of the legitimate exercise of freedom of expression through fabricated accusations and imprisonments to silence dissent and maintain social control,” they said.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Nine Soldiers and Four Officers Are Missing in the Ammunition Explosions in Holguín, Cuba

Military authorities acknowledge that they do not know “the state of those who initially faced the incident”

Images published by the residents of Rafael Freyre after the explosions at the warehouse / Facebook

14ymedio, Havana, 8 January 2025 – Thirteen soldiers are missing after the explosions that occurred during the early hours of Tuesday in a weapons and ammunition warehouse in Melones, in the municipality of Rafael Freyre, Holguín.

Almost 12 hours after the event happened and after long hours of rumors and uncertainty, the Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces made public the information and identities of the missing. They are Major Leonar Palma Matos, Major Carlos Carreño del Río, second non-commissioned officer Orlebanis Tamé Torres, second non-commissioned officer Yoennis Pérez Durán, and soldiers Leinier Jorge Sánchez Franco, Frank Antonio Hidalgo Almaguer, Liander José García Oliva, Yunior Hernández Rojas, Rayme Rojas Rojas, Carlos Alejandro Acosta Silva, Brian Lázaro Long, José Carlos Guerrero García and Héctor Batista Adrián Zayas.

The ministerial statement says that the families were previously informed and that “throughout the day actions were developed to specify the state of those who initially faced the incident.” The explosions continued all day, complicating free access to the facilities. continue reading

The ministerial statement says that the families were previously informed and that “throughout the day actions were developed to specify the state of those who initially faced the incident”

The debate about the slowness of information was quick to take place. “We are talking about a place where until you have the certainty that another detonation will not occur, you can’t enter,” a commentator replied to the publication of the first secretary of the Provincial Committee of the PCC in the province, Joel Queipo Ruiz. “I think that can be understood by anyone in the world. What we want most is to be able to go inside and find people still alive. But we can’t do anything reckless that could cause worse results.”

The Holguín Defense Council and a commission of the Ministry are analyzing the situation caused by the fire that led to the explosion. “The damage to the property is being evaluated, and the surveillance of the place continues, an effort that also includes the Ministry of the Interior and the National General Staff of Civil Defense,” says the statement.. It adds that the 361 people who reside in the vicinity of the warehouse have been evacuated.

This type of accident is not rare in military installations like the one affected yesterday. In the first hours of the event, it was even spread – even by the official press – that the damaged warehouse was the same one that in 2020 also suffered two morning explosions in Gibara, about 50 kilometers from Rafael Freyre.

In addition, in June 2017 something similar took place, this time in Santiago de Cuba, when several explosions occurred in the municipality of Songo-La Maya, near the Ti Arriba military unit.

At that time, half a thousand neighbors were evacuated for five days, without anyone giving them an explanation about the incident. There was not much damage, but the residents had to abandon their animals for several days.

Last year, three workers died in several explosions at the Empresa Militar Industrial (EMI) Ernesto Che Guevara, located in La Campana, in Manicaragua, Villa Clara. The accidents occurred when employees handled potentially dangerous explosive devices.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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The ‘Most Modern Aqueduct in Latin America’ Is in Manzanillo, Where the Residents Receive Water Every 45 Days

Anyone who wants to save the 50 or 70 pesos they charge for a 20-liter bottle must stand in long lines to obtain water

Carrying water has become a daily task for the population / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Carlos A. Rodríguez, Manzanillo (Granma Province), 7 January 2024 — Housewives, doctors and engineers, children and adults over 70 stand in long lines at any time to carry water in Manzanillo, in the province of Granma. It doesn’t matter that it’s 5:00 in the morning and they have to go to school or work later, or if it’s at night. Nor whether they are healthy or have heart disease, hypertension, hernias or any other health problem. Anyone who wants to save the 50 or 70 pesos charged for a 20-liter bottle or the 5,000 that the water truck charges cannot miss this appointment, which confirms the failure of the new aqueduct that the authorities announced – with their usual triumphalist spirit – in 2005.

The new infrastructure of the city of Manzanillo was announced as the most modern aqueduct in Latin America and was supposed to solve the severe crisis in the water supply, since it would provide the service 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The project returned hope to a city, which despite being on the banks of the Guacanayabo Gulf, with an important water table and wells just 10 kilometers away, suffered a shortage due to the deterioration of the hydraulic infrastructure.

The new infrastructure of the city of Manzanillo was announced as the most modern aqueduct in Latin America / 14ymedio

The reality was very different from what was planned, since not even in the beginning could the promise be fulfilled, except in the upper part of the city. In the populous neighborhoods of Caymari, Taíno, Dagamal, Horacio Rodríguez and Orestes Gutiérrez, the water supply cycles began every three days, quite an achievement if you take into account that, at present, the cycle is 45 days. Some areas even go two to three months without water, a continue reading

situation that, especially since 2021, seems to be permanent.

The authorities have been exposing on local television and radio programs for almost 20 years what they consider the causes of the disaster: continuous leaks in the pipes, breakdowns in the pumps or in the storage and distribution tank within the city, the chlorine deficit, dispenser problems and, of course, power cuts. Endless misfortunes for “the most modern aqueduct on the continent.”

In the absence of solutions, the population has seen the need to turn the transport of water – in all types of containers and at any time of the day – into a daily task, although it often involves carrying it from a distance of 300 meters to their homes.

Elizabeth, a 37-year-old worker, says she prefers to go before dawn to get to work on time. She, her two teenage children and her husband get up early to collect as much as they can on each trip and, if possible, rest one day before repeating such a tiring task.

“In the municipality there are already two pumps to relieve the crisis, but no cement to repair them,” says Jorge, a 72-year-old retiree who carries, almost daily, two water bottles in a wheelbarrow. It takes him at least three hours, between waiting and walking.

Manzanillo is still without solutions today, but full of ditches like scars, left by the Aqueduct company / 14ymedio

Meanwhile, the abundant leaks found throughout the hydraulic network not only mean the loss of water but also the waste of what was invested in its sanitation, including chlorine, electricity and human resources, a highly worrying situation in a city that suffered a cholera outbreak in 2012. That year, almost 90 people were diagnosed with the disease and three died. Since the cholera epidemic in Cuba in 1882 and a last handful of cases in 1959, the condition had been eradicated.

Manzanillo is still without solutions today, but full of ditches like scars, left by the Aqueduct company. Scars or wounds that demonstrate indolence in the face of a thirsty people.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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