Category: Translator: Regina Anavy

her ex-partner. According to this Thursday’s report by Alas Tensas and YSTC, the aggressor fled but was captured by the police.

Before, in October, the month in which the highest number of femicides (seven) is recorded so far this year, Dianelis Veloz Hernández, in Havana; Yoannia Hernández, in Holguín; Liz Yohana Jiménez Morales, in Sancti Espíritus; Yadira Moreira, in Mayabeque; and Tamara Carrera, Yucleidis Morales and Dagnis Alida Hernández Milanés, in Santiago de Cuba were murdered. All were assaulted by their partners or ex-partners, and three of them in public spaces.

October is the month in which the highest number of femicides is recorded so far this year

At the end of October, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) issued, after receiving reports from the Cuban Government and independent platforms, its considerations on the situation in which women live on the Island.

CEDAW drew attention to Havana for femicide murders and urged the country to include femicides in its Criminal Code to “create awareness and public recognition, strengthen measures to prevent, prosecute and punish the perpetrators of cases of gender violence against women, and establish reception centers throughout the State, even in collaboration with civil society organizations.”

It also mentioned the existence of political prisoners, sentenced for “expressing dissident opinions,” and who face “violations of procedural guarantees and fair trial, severe penalties, physical abuse, psychological violence, including the arbitrary use of punishment cells in poor conditions and for excessive periods.”

Translated by Regina Anavy

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orthopedics, cardiology, intensive care, mammography and imaging.

The hospital is named in memory of the first head of the Cuban military mission in Angola, Raúl Díaz Argüelles, who died on December 11, 1975, when his armored transport hit an anti-tank mine, said Prensa Latina.

In fact, the combatant’s daughter was present at the ceremony. Díaz Argüelles was entrusted with establishing and leading the Cuban mission in Angola in response to the request of President Agostinho Neto. “Cuba is proud to have contributed to Angola’s struggle against colonialism and the defense of its territorial integrity and sovereignty,” the Cuban minister said.

The authorities of the Island have stressed that relations between the two countries have remained uninterrupted since then. “This has been one of the African countries where Cuban collaboration has been the strongest,” reported the official media Cubadebate. “After the withdrawal of Cuban troops from Angola, and after guaranteeing the independence of Namibia, Cuba maintained its relations with the ruling party, the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA).” The media did not mention the cost of the war in human lives.

Cuban intervention lasted 15 years, until 1991, and it is estimated that 350,000 men in total left the Island to perform military service in Angola. The Cuban Government recognizes only 2,000 deaths in the African conflict, a figure questioned by many historians.

In Angola, the literacy program “Yo sí puedo” was also implemented, in the province of North Kuanza, with the presence of 42 Cuban advisors

Angola, in addition, as published last June by the newspaper El Tiempo, represents the “second market” for the export of human resources with strategic importance for Havana, after Venezuela. In this country, the Government of the Island has managed to “project its political, ideological and military influence in a transcendental post-colonial struggle, while obtaining important economic benefits from a State with oil reserves and significant natural wealth,” said the executive director of the NGO Cuba Archive, María Werlau.

An investigation by El Toque in collaboration with Connectas revealed that the Corporación Antillana Exportadora S. A. (Antex) – a subsidiary of the Business Administration Group (Gaesa) of the Cuban Armed Forces – is in charge of hiring the professionals, and that in the last 12 years they have provided 1.808 billion dollars to Cuba.

The study revealed Antex’s relationship with at least eight Cuban state-owned companies – without giving names – registered in Angola, and another in the Principality of Liechtenstein. They provide services to Angola in more than 30 sectors. “The operation has produced $6,755 million in the last 25 years.”

The same publication indicates the violation of several labor and human rights for Cuban professionals. A Cuban doctor prominent in Angola denounced Antex’s mistreatment in October 2023. The specialists, he said, had been earning the equivalent of 100 dollars in local currency for five months, because they were told that “there was no money.”

The cooperation between the two countries, in any case, has not been without controversy. In January 2021, Angola annulled a $77 million contract with Antex for breach of its obligations; specifically, with Imbondex Construcciones y Materiales de Construcción S.A. Other Cuban companies were Meditex, for medical services, and Imbondex Turística, owner of the travel agency Atlántico Azul, which had committed to building roads and bridges in the province of Bengo, which surrounds the capital of the country, Luanda. The work did not even begin, and the Angolan president, João Lourenço, terminated the contracts by decree.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Faced with someone who has a good understanding of the president, a resumption of negotiations in favor of political prisoners is to be expected

Faced with someone who has a good understanding of the president, a resumption of negotiations in favor of political prisoners is to be expected, which González has carried out at the local level in his diocese. He is hoping for the support of Eloy Domínguez, who was appointed head of the Prison Ministry.

The Santa Clara bishop – until now vice president of the Conference – is also a regular interlocutor of Pope Francis and senior Vatican officials, and he was present at the last visit of the Cuban bishops to the Holy See.

The new structure replaces the one chaired since 2017 by Emilio Aranguren, which was characterized by non-confrontation with the Regime and cordiality with the Office of Religious Affairs of the Communist Party. Aranguren and Cardinal Juan García, two veteran bishops, will continue to be part of the permanent committee of the Conference.

For his part, Juan Gabriel Díaz, a man of solid intellectual training but – like Domínguez and González himself – seen as a moderate, will be in charge of the National Commission for the Prevention of Abuse of Minors and Vulnerable Adults. Raising the issue, which has been a priority during the pontificate of Francis, is practically a taboo in Cuba, and the Catholic Church has not disclosed any cases of abuse recorded on the Island. The Commission will have a legal adviser, a psychologist, a psychiatrist with forensic experience and several members.

The bishops of the affected dioceses shared their concern about the “bleak panorama” that is crossing through the country

The Commission has been working for several years, but the new directive will operate according to a recently approved manual of procedures, since the Vatican has given new and more solid guidelines on the subject.

The Episcopal Conference also reported that during its plenary meeting, held from November 4 to 7, the new apostolic consul in Cuba, Antoine Camilleri, was welcomed. The meeting took place “under the influence” of Hurricane Oscar for Guantánamo and Rafael for the Cuban west, according to the report. The bishops of the affected dioceses shared their concern about the “bleak panorama” that is crossing through the country. “While the Assembly was developing, we received news of the impacts, collapses and destruction that Hurricane Rafael has been leaving in the areas where it passed,” they said.

In addition, they sent their best wishes to Spain after the passage of the storm that affected Valencia and commented on the “social deterioration in the nearby Haitian people.”

They also met a delegation of the Catholic Church in Poland, chaired by Jan Piotrowsk, Bishop of Kielce. In a territory like Cuba, with a reduced national clergy, the presence of missionaries from European countries – and even more so from former Soviet nations – can translate into economic aid and missionaries, which Poland has been supplying to the Island for years.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORK: The 14ymedio team is committed to practicing serious journalism that reflects Cuba’s reality in all its depth. Thank you for joining us on this long journey. We invite you to continue supporting us by becoming a member of 14ymedio now. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.

foreign currency for the acquisition of feed.” Fishing, at the moment, is managed by the State-owned Pescarío, which catches, transports and refrigerates the fish. Everything, however, is limited to two municipalities – Los Palacios and Pinar del Río – and there are no guarantees that the product is exportable.

The fishermen of La Juventud are aware of the leaders’ plans but warn that real life is going elsewhere. Fishing “is not going at a good pace,” says Luis Quesada, with 20 years of experience fishing in the area. There are natural reasons and others that have to do with the lack of resources.

“The fish stick to the bottom,” Quesada explains, because of the bad weather on the surface. Winds, rain and the high level of the reservoir have forced the tench and tilapia to flee from the rough waves and go down to the bottom, a common behavior in the last months of the year due to the occurrence of cold fronts, but fueled by Hurricane Rafael.

On the other hand, the “Chernera”- as they call the boat used by the fishermen – was stopped for three months due to a break in the engine. Since January, when there was a good catch, “there have been very bad months,” the fisherman says.

The head of the fishing brigade, Julián Mesa, explains that they do not have appropriate nets either. Some fishing gear has been used for up to two decades, and the new materials that the State has provided them “do not have the ideal dimensions”: they are too small for such deep waters.

Mesa requested resources for a quarter-mile long net, but they “allowed” him to acquire one of only half that length

Mesa requested resources for a quarter-mile long net, but they “allowed” him to acquire one of only half that length. “With the high level of the reservoir we have to fish at the bottom behind the streams, which is where we get the small fish; if the nets were bigger, we would have a better catch,” he says.

However, his greatest concern, he explains, is the “discontent of his men.” “Two have already left the brigade this year because they are subject to payment systems for results, and when they do not meet the catch plan they receive only the minimum wage of 2,400 pesos, insufficient to cover the needs of their families,” he adds.

The members of the brigade are subjected to harsh working conditions. Standing from six in the morning, they finish at five in the afternoon, “but with the current gear and conditions of the reservoir the reward for the effort is minimal.”

González, for his part, is clear that “it will be very difficult to comply with the year’s plan” under these conditions. Fishing is only the first step of an industry that, in the province, does not work well. Little is processed and almost everything is restricted to the fish markets and the town’s canteens, where the people, he says, are always “waiting.”

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Here the AEEC plays an important role informing potential Spanish investors. “We try to give them a clear X-ray of the situation in the country,” says Samperio, who clarifies that his “mission is not to encourage or discourage.”

“The main thing I tell them when they come to see me is that they have to understand the characteristics of the country. It is a country with a state economic model, and that radically changes the vision of the business we do in Spain, France, Peru, Panama and Brazil. This is a totally different model,” he says.

Samperio recalls the importance that Spain has at the economic level in Cuba. If the energy factor is eliminated, the European country is the first trading partner of the Island and carries special weight in a critical factor, the food sector.

About the economic situation, the president of the AEEC says that Cuba is in a particularly difficult situation because of the complex world situation added to the US sanctions.

It greatly affects all decisions and the economic policy that is developed in the country,” says Samperio and adds: “It’s a big problem, a great handicap.”

In this area, the effect of Cuba’s inclusion in Washington’s list of countries that sponsor terrorism stands out, which in his opinion was a “slap” to tourism, one of the country’s main sources of foreign exchange.

The pandemic, the tightening of US sanctions with Trump (2017-2021) and failed economic policies have aggravated the structural problems of the Cuban economy and led the country to one of its worst crises in decades, with shortages of basics, galloping inflation, massive migration and frequent blackouts.

The 2021 decision to allow Cuban private initiative again, says Samperio, has generated a new “quite important” sector

The 2021 decision to allow Cuban private initiative again, says Samperio, has generated a new “quite important” sector with which foreign entrepreneurs can interact, although in his opinion also some uncertainty.

“We are in a moment of putting order in the private sector in Cuba. It has only been two years and, like everything new, over time you have to put order into it and put it in its place,” explains the Spanish businessman: “the country is in a moment of change, little by little.”

Samperio, who expects a “good presence of the authorities” in the activities commemorating the 30th anniversary of the AEEC, assures that they maintain a “very good dialogue” with the Cuban Government, which gives “moral support” to Spanish entrepreneurs.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORK: The 14ymedio team is committed to practicing serious journalism that reflects Cuba’s reality in all its depth. Thank you for joining us on this long journey. We invite you to continue supporting us by becoming a member of 14ymedio now. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.

components and internal accessories [of electrical installations], public telephone equipment and property crimes, including home robberies.”

She said that during the evacuation of homes, robberies were committed, and the authorities had to “protect” the empty houses. The Havana Channel reported that the defendants have been tried in “different proceedings.”

Mederos, a prosecutor totally trusted by the regime – she is married to former spy Fernando González – ended up insisting that she has the “constitutional duty” to face “with all rigor and severity” those who attack the Revolution.

The recent natural events that have shaken the country – two hurricanes and two earthquakes – added to the energy crisis, the shortages and the deterioration of every sphere of life — are testing the patience of Cubans, who have protested against the Government, although not massively. Neither the police nor the leaders have lost the opportunity to assert their authority, by force and by arrests.

[[Prisoners Defenders states that the last few weeks have been hellish for Cubans]]

This is demonstrated by the most recent report of the organization Prisoners Defenders (PD), which places the number of political prisoners in Cuba at 1,117 and records the new imprisonments after the peaceful protests in October. PD says that the last few weeks have been hellish for Cubans. On October 17, a nationwide “total blackout” was announced that lasted four days, with serious consequences for food, water supply, transportation and daily routine. Despite this situation, the Ministry of the Interior and the Army warned that “revolutionary surveillance” was maintained and that demonstrations of discontent would not be tolerated.

Several groups went into the streets, despite the threats, in Santiago de Cuba, Granma, Villa Clara and Camagüey. In Santiago, on October 18, Luis Adrián Pupo protested and was arrested by the police for “disrespect” and “disobedience.” Pupo, says PD, did not resist when the agents captured him or when they moved him. However, he was beaten. The man was the one who questioned Miguel Díaz-Canel during a public meeting last March during the president’s tour of Santiago de Cuba. Since then, as he reported several times, he has been harassed and monitored by the police.

For his part, in Villa Clara, Professor Osvaldo Agüero – who protested on October 19 in front of the Municipal Assembly of Manicaragua – was arrested without a warrant, after being recognized by State Security in one of the videos of the protest. Nabriel Torres, who also demonstrated in Manicaragua, is in the Santa Clara State Security Crimes Unit.

In that same province, in the municipality of Encrucijada, at least eight people were arrested between November 8 and 9, during a protest in the streets that reached the headquarters of the Assembly of People’s Power. One of those detainees is José Gabriel Barrenechea Chávez, whose family has not heard from him according to the legal organization Cubalex. The independent journalist, a collaborator of 14ymedio, has been subject to harassment and persecution by the regime since 2019, which has “regulated” him, preventing him from leaving the country.

Nelson Caballero, father of two children in Camagüey, was arrested on October 19, after being attacked by police officers in Jimaguayú. “After the attack, the detainee received health care and obtained a medical certificate accrediting the injuries suffered, evidencing the physical abuse of the authorities. However, after this document was made public, in retaliation he has been kept incommunicado, without allowing visits from his wife or other family members,” says PD.

In Granma, Pastor Domínguez took to the streets on September 28 with a poster against Díaz-Canel. He was arrested the next day. In the same municipality, activist Yumaris Castillo, a member of the Union Party for a Free Cuba, was also arrested. “The State does not provide basic services but is very active in repression,” summarizes PD.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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To withdraw the sanctions, Rubio calls for changes in the matter of human rights, the freedom of political prisoners and the democratization of the system.

Rubio has defended for years the policy of maximum pressure on Cuba and has criticized any rapprochement with the Island, including the period known as the “thaw,” when diplomatic relations were re-established during the Obama Administration. To withdraw the sanctions, Rubio calls for changes in the matter to human rights, the freedom of political prisoners and the democratization of the Cuban political system. Cuba, for its part, demands respect for national sovereignty and points to human rights problems in the United States.

Rubio has also been a constant critic of the president of Nicaragua, Daniel Ortega, whom he accuses of being a dictator, of violating human rights, staying in power through fraud, annulling the opposition and imprisoning his possible rivals. Rubio has called for sanctions and the denial of international loans to that Central American country.

Nicaraguan opponents, such as Arturo McFields and Jaime Arellano, see Rubio’s nomination as a triumph for the fight against Ortega, while others, such as sociologist Javier Meléndez, are skeptical, criticizing the focus on Nicaragua. Guatemalan migration analyst Pedro Pablo Solares tells EFE that Rubio’s nomination “should be seen positively.”

The senator is “a critic of the loss of democracy in the region in countries such as Cuba and Venezuela. Guatemala can take advantage of his diplomacy to maintain the support it has received from the United States in terms of democracy,” he adds.

In the same vein, Celia Medrano, former candidate for the Salvadoran vice presidency for the minority (center-right) party Nuestro Tiempo and an expert on migration issues, tells EFE that with Rubio, the new Trump Administration will be able to “increase pressure against Cuba, Venezuela and to a lesser extent Nicaragua.”

Rubio increases the risk that Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will be seen in the White House as “a regional enemy”

For Guilherme Casarões, professor of International Politics at the Getulio Vargas Foundation, Rubio, as head of US diplomacy, increases the risk that Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will be seen in the White House as “a regional enemy” for being aligned with the Latin American left.

“Rubio’s statements and positions as a senator show that he is very attentive to Latin American politics, which he can come to see as a dispute between good and evil.” This vision can lead to a bilateral “lack of political dialogue” and a possible weakening of Brazil at the regional level, he explains to EFE.

The Government of Colombia, which has not yet commented on the appointment, wants to maintain good relations with the United States, based on bipartisanship, but Colombian President Gustavo Petro and Rubio have differences. “Even if you don’t like to say it to our press, Senator Rubio is an expression of the most backward sectors of American politics and has helped to build a violent foreign policy. That policy has killed millions of people in the 21st century,” Petro said in a 2019 tweet, when he was not yet president.

For his part, Rubio has called the president “Gustavo ‘Chávez’ Petro” and has recently criticized his pro-Palestinian position: “It is unfortunate to see that a country as important as Colombia, whose extraordinary people have suffered from terrorist actions, currently has a president who condemns Israel and compares its leaders to Nazis, while justifying and giving his support to Hamas.”

However, for the government of Javier Milei in Argentina, a country that the senator visited in February of this year to meet with the ultra-liberal president, it is good news. During his visit, Rubio was “honored” to be received by Milei, whom he said he had “followed very closely” during his career for the Presidency. Previously, he had described Milei as an ally who must be supported by the United States and urged the Biden Administration to pressure the International Monetary Fund to restructure Argentina’s debt, a central issue for the South American country.

On the other hand, the Republican has been very critical of former Argentina President Cristina Fernández (2007-2015) and last December sent a letter to Biden requesting sanctions against her for being a “convicted kleptocrat” who has favored China and Iran. The Uruguayan Vice Chancellor, Nicolás Albertoni, “looks kindly on the name of Marco Rubio. He has a long parliamentary career in which he has highlighted the importance of the region, and on different occasions he has mentioned the importance of Uruguay as a promoter of values shared with the United States,” he told EFE.

Panama’s Foreign Minister, Javier Martínez-Acha, congratulated Rubio on his nomination and said he hoped to “strengthen” diplomatic relations between the two countries.

The elected governor of Puerto Rico, Jenniffer González, was “proud” of her “dear friend and one of the strongest allies” of the island in Congress. “I have no doubt that with his unwavering commitment to our democratic values, he will continue to promote an agenda that strongly supports our allies and sanctions dictatorial regimes,” she said.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORK: The 14ymedio team is committed to practicing serious journalism that reflects Cuba’s reality in all its depth. Thank you for joining us on this long journey. We invite you to continue supporting us by becoming a member of 14ymedio now. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.

neighborhood, “one of the areas considered vulnerable,” according to the media.

The arrival of the equipment, however, is already giving relief to some residents, whom Periódico 26 did not take long to interview. “The assembly of two electric pumps in the drinking water treatment plant that bring water to this city has caused the population to comment today, among neighbors, on the arrival with sufficient pressure of the essential liquid to different places in the provincial capital,” the media highlighted, quoting a grateful resident in the neighborhood of Aguilera: “It’s great that we now have water.”

The newspaper pointed out that “the obsolescence of the technology that guaranteed, and continues to do so in part, the water supply to Las Tunas made it impossible to respond to the needs of this service in different parts of the city.” In summary, the “total equipment,” which the province has not received since 2007, when “the pumps from [the time of] the Energy Revolution* were replaced” is not enough either.

Hence, Periódico 26 continues, Recursos Hidráulicos will mobilize pipes to move water “to various places, but without covering all the needs for obvious reasons: the limitations with fuel that affect the economy and services in Cuba.”

Work on the facilities has required the intervention of “a specialized brigade”

The work on the facilities that were in “very poor condition” has required the intervention of “a specialized brigade with mechanics, electricians, assemblers and welders,” the authorities explain.

The supply situation in the province was on the verge of collapse since at least November 2023, when, with the reservoirs 75% full, about 90,000 people in Las Tunas did not have running water. A month later, 100,000 people received it by tanker truck and another 6,267 by train. Since then the problem has worsened, but the press was careful when it came to giving the number of people affected or saying how long the water service would take, which in some places was months.

Likewise, the press assures that during this time they have not stopped the delivery of water by tanker truck to the residents, while El Rincón underwent “a comprehensive repair, the most complete since it was inaugurated 25 years ago.” The almost obsolete equipment, which the pumps replaced, would be installed “in other places that are less favored.”

Although the situation of Las Tunas is one of the worst in the country, due to the long period that residents have suffered from the lack of water, the passage of Hurricane Rafael wreaked havoc on the supply systems of the western provinces. Currently in Artemisa, only 59% of the population, including those who receive water by tanker truck, have the service. In Mayabeque there are 11,000 affected, and in Havana, although 79.7% of residents now have service, there are still almost half a million people without supply.

*The Energy Revolution, announced by Fidel Castro in 2005, was a campaign to improve energy efficiency by using renewable resources.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORK: The 14ymedio team is committed to practicing serious journalism that reflects Cuba’s reality in all its depth. Thank you for joining us on this long journey. We invite you to continue supporting us by becoming a member of 14ymedio now. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.

addition to damage to electrical and air conditioning systems.”

The media applauds the fact that, a few days after Rafael damaged the hospital, the authorities are already planning to “revitalize” the wards

But the media applauds that, a few days after Rafael damaged the hospital, the authorities are already planning to “revitalize” the hemodialysis, imaging and emergency wards, in addition to replacing the waterproof covering of the roof and repairing the glass and aluminum.

However, the hope that the problems of access to running water would also be solved was dashed by Yanelis Amador Borrego, director of Public Health in the province, who explained that this presents “a greater difficulty.” “The hydraulic networks are obstructed by a layer of thick magnesium. This matter requires the analysis of the source of supply and an important investment,” she said.

Not even El Artemiseño understands how a hospital can continue to function when water cannot reach the wards for surgery, maternity care, sterilization, neonatology, perinatal care and hemodialysis.

Water shortages even put the patients at risk. “One of the wards has been closed for months, due to the poor state of the water system, and the maternal critical care ward was closed years ago. If we get a situation like this today, we have to put the patient in one of the four beds that we have left, which represents a very high risk of cross-infections,” confesses nurse Rayma Reinoso Cruz.

Not even the bathrooms, says the media, “have a drop of running water for cleaning,” which “leaves a lot to be desired”

Not even the bathrooms, says the media, “have a drop of running water for cleaning,” which “leaves a lot to be desired.” The same happens with the hygiene of utensils and the patients themselves “for which they use water stored in a container!” the newspaper points out with an exclamation mark as if the problem of hygiene in Cuban hospitals was exclusive to Ciro Redondo.

The repair work, which will begin in the therapy room, which filters water to the hemodialysis unit, will require the hospital to reorganize some of its facilities to make way for the “workers of the 53rd brigade of the Comprehensive Construction Company of Havana” and another brigade from Pinar del Río. Forces specialized in the repair of windows and glass will also intervene, including the Mariel Architecture and Engineering Projects Company.

“We plan to place therapy where the intensive care unit is today. In turn, it will move to the surgery observation area. At the moment we have not thought about sending patients to other hospitals, beyond a specific case, due to the damage that several workers suffered in their own homes,” adds the deputy director of Medical Assistance.

Repair work will also be done in other centers, such as the intensive care unit of the José Ramón Martínez Álvarez Pediatric Hospital in Guanajay. “Here we also need to waterproof the roof and recover the hydraulic connections. Also, the carpentry in the hospitalization ward and its bathroom is in danger of collapse,” listed Yanelis Amador Borrego, director of Public Health.

“Everything that is done in the Ciro Redondo García has to be durable,” demands El Artemiseño, which, in case any reader confuses the expression with a promise, gives a caveat: “It will not be a capital investment, which the hospital needs.”

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Paredes has not clarified the source of the 1,000 dollars, which, as reported last May by the Cuban ambassador to Honduras, Juan Roberto Loforte, is the agreed payment for each specialist for eight hours a day of service in the main hospitals of the country. For its part, the Medical College of Honduras, which has spoken out against the hiring of the Cuban medical brigade, says that the Honduran Government pays 2,000 dollars a month to the Island for each doctor, in addition to guaranteeing them a house, vehicle and food.

The group, made up of surgeons, orthopedists, neurosurgeons, vascular surgeons, oncologists, internists, psychiatrists, epidemiologists, family and geriatric doctors, has been in Honduras for eight months. Using Loforte’s figures, Cuba has thus received 768,000 dollars.

The presence of Cuban doctors in Honduras began in 1998, after the passage of Hurricane Mitch. During that time, according to Loforte, they have attended 29 million consultations and 69,000 eye surgeries within the Operation Miracle program.

As part of its relationship with the Island, the Government of Honduras also agreed to send 170 general practitioners to the Island to train in one of the 23 specialties offered by Cuban universities. This scholarship program, the diplomat added, is similar to the one that his government also has with other countries such as Mexico, and for which it pays Cuba 1,209,950 dollars a month.

The Medical Association of Honduras has insisted that the hiring of Cuban doctors not only violates the Constitution but also could be facilitating the entry of Cuban soldiers into the country, as claimed by the Madrid-based organization Prisoners Defenders. Its director, Javier Larrondo, said in August 2022 that there were “State Security agents” among the first group of 641 doctors from Cuba that arrived in Mexico.

Prisoners Defenders has repeatedly accused Mexico, Italy and Qatar of promoting and being complicit in the slavery of Cuban doctors, one of the main sources of hard currency for the Cuban regime.

Translated by Regina Anavy
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tires to a bus in operation from one that is paralyzed for the long term. They have also changed batteries this way, and solutions like this are being sought. In any case, these advances are insignificant in the face of the demand that is still not met.”

The limitations experienced in Ciego de Ávila have forced the authorities to leave passenger transport in the background to focus on “covering vital services and others of great importance: transportation of patients with medical appointments, health personnel for provincial hospitals, students from the universities of Villa Clara and Camagüey and funeral flet.”

For cargo, the availability of vehicles reaches 42%, but there is another problem: they lack fuel

For cargo, the availability of vehicles reaches 42%, but there is another problem: they lack fuel. To try to solve that issue, says the company, “the leased vehicles have been very useful for the massive distribution of flour and the standardized family basket to the ration stores of the 10 municipalities.” However, they cannot use half the available transportation either, because, although there are more than 85 leased vehicles, 50% “are still in the process of repair or legal processing.”

The company cannot import the resources it needs to reincorporate more vehicles. López Más points out that, “like all transport companies in the country,” the one in Ciego de Ávila “has a development fund enabled in the Ministry of Transport.” Therefore, they can only wait, although practically nothing arrives. “So far in 2024, we have received only one delivery with an insignificant amount of tires and batteries,” he reproaches.

“So far in 2024, we have received only one delivery with an insignificant amount of tires and batteries”

Although Ciego de Ávila has not been directly affected by the latest natural phenomena that hit Cuba – hurricanes Oscar and Rafael, and earthquakes and floods in the east – there was also “a temporary suspension of almost all services offered by the EPT,” although the company did support the need for some funeral services and “certain trips of interest from the highest authorities of the territory.”

Another challenge facing transport in Ciego de Ávila is the state of roads. The same media published that, “in mid-2023, 75% of the roads of interest, both municipal and provincial, were in regular or poor condition.” At the national level it is the same diagnosis. In July of last year, the Minister of Transport, Eduardo Rodríguez Dávila, indicated that 75% of the country’s roads are in regular or poor condition, a figure that has been maintained at least since 2019, when it increased by 15% compared to the previous year.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORK: The 14ymedio team is committed to practicing serious journalism that reflects Cuba’s reality in all its depth. Thank you for joining us on this long journey. We invite you to continue supporting us by becoming a member of 14ymedio now. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.

and substances that are lacking.

In Ciro Redondo the problem is the building, whose “constructive state” leaves much to be desired

Of the 13 museums in the province, four are completely closed – Decorative Arts, the municipal ones of Majagua and Bolivia, and the important Museum-Site Los Buchillones, in Chambas – and two partially: those of Florencia and Ciro Redondo. The closures have “various causes.” In Majagua there is no staff, and they have alleged a “redesign of the project.” In Ciro Redondo the problem is the building, whose “constructive state” leaves much to be desired.

In Florencia there is an effort to open some museums, but the progress is “progressive.” Decorative Arts, Bolivia and Los Buchillones have the same flaw: the seepage that, after each downpour, leaves the ceiling full of leaks and a “humid environment” that has damaged the pieces.

The situation of Decorative Arts is one of the most serious, and its director, Celia Marrero, implores the Government to rescue it. “I hope they approve the investment we need and that the doors of the museum open as soon as possible, but as of today we have no certainty of being able to achieve it next year. It is most likely that we will not get help even for the carpentry,” she explains.

In the Bolivia, due to leaks, they have had to store everything in “boxes and suitcases.” “The local authorities are aware of this situation, but they tell us that there is no money for the work,” complains the director of the municipal museum, Zuleidys Álvarez.

The small museum of Los Buchillones was very affected after the passage of Hurricane Irma in 2017. The local Communist Party has been interested in the situation because there is much at stake: the hundreds of valuable pieces of aboriginal wood that Canadian scholars are in the process of studying and classifying, whose loss would be catastrophic for the state of Taíno studies worldwide.

The pieces were better preserved “in the sulfurous mud of the beach, which protected them naturally for centuries”

The pieces were better preserved “in the sulfurous mud of the beach, which protected them naturally for centuries,” than in the dilapidated museum, admits the PCC. “Seven years after the hurricane, the valuable aboriginal collections are still in boxes, without the necessary materials to finish this work and return the museum to its functionality,” Invasor regrets.

The director of Culture of Chambas even asked the Ministry of Tourism to “get involved in this matter and resurrect Los Buchillones” with a view to bringing tourists to its facilities. However, the newspaper points out, even if such an investment occurs, it will also be necessary to deal with another “headache”: the municipal museum of Chambas, almost in collapse and about to close.

“Why don’t we finish repairing it? Mostly, due to a lack of materials, but I also think that there has been a lack of more commitment on the part of other agencies in charge. Culture, with its scarce resources, cannot solve everything,” said the official.

Invasor does not blame the authorities for the situation. Washing their hands of it is, “to a certain extent, understandable,” due to the crisis which Cuba is living through. “Where can they get money, materials or labor, in the midst of so many shortages? If the housing deficit persists in Ciego de Ávila, how can they prioritize places where no one will live?” the article asks. But a paragraph later, it qualifies: without museums the “cultural decolonization” that, taking former minister Abel Prieto as a guru, the Government has launched will not be possible.

The newspaper also dedicated an editorial to the situation of museums, in addition to an interview with Lizette Pérez Sánchez, specialist at the Provincial Museum. Graduated in Marxism and an unconditional adherent of the Communist Party, Pérez has no complaints: the local government, she says, gives a “material contribution” to the institution, privileged in a context of cultural helplessness.

The precariousness of Cuban museums has been denounced on multiple occasions

The precariousness of Cuban museums has been denounced on multiple occasions. Several weeks ago, the Matanzas Art Museum suffered a collapse of its roof, according to the local press. At that time, the museology specialist of the institution, Jenny Páez, regretted the incident and said that it occurred due to the “silence and delinquency of some entities responsible for ensuring its conservation.”

At the beginning of the year, the National Heritage Council informed the Minister of Culture that in Cuba there were 64 museums closed and another 61 monuments in danger of collapse, due to the “deficit of equipment, materials and investments for their conservation and restoration.” Although there has been no update, it is expected that the figures have increased.

Last February, when 14ymedio visited the Cerro Museum in Havana, the panorama was unfortunate. With grass and vines growing on its facade, there were hardly any remains of the yellow ribbon with which the police warned that the place was impassable. On the double staircase of the building, someone drew a word that serves as an alert for any Cuban cultural institution: “Danger.”

Translated by Regina Anavy

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COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORK: The 14ymedio team is committed to practicing serious journalism that reflects Cuba’s reality in all its depth. Thank you for joining us on this long journey. We invite you to continue supporting us by becoming a member of 14ymedio now. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.

A total of 90 electricity poles collapsed in Havana as the hurricane passed, including 30 in Cerro and Plaza de la Revolución

According to the Havana Electric Company, it has barely been possible to serve 50 primary distribution circuits of the 337 existing in the capital, as well as eight hospital circuits and two water supply circuits. “We are at 15.1% recovery,” the authorities acknowledged.

A total of 90 electricity poles collapsed in Havana as the hurricane passed, including 30 in Cerro and Plaza de la Revolución. In this last municipality, where the newsroom of 14ymedio is located, residents have been without electricity since Wednesday around 8:30 am, more than 50 hours. The luckiest take advantage of the sun this Friday to charge their generators with solar panels.

In other areas, such as Holguín, they breathe a sigh of relief because “the blackout did not last as long as before,” according to a neighbor, referring to the previous system crash on October 18. Although there are still municipalities in that eastern province without electricity, power was returned to the city of Holguín on Thursday afternoon. “What is a crime is that they are taking advantage of the situation to sell coal for 2,000 pesos,” laments the same source. “We are on the verge of collapse.”

A comment on the networks of the Unión Eléctrica de Cuba (UNE) expressed the mood: “We have suffered 10 days of hell, without help from the West, with 15 to 24 hours of daily blackouts. Hopefully we will have a few days of peace and power in eastern Cuba.”

From Sancti Spíritus, a collaborator of this newspaper reports that the service “is stabilizing”: there is electricity for two, four or five hours, but “without planning.”

Regarding the thermoelectric power plants, Guerra Hernández reported: “Guiteras [Matanzas] is in service; a unit of the Felton [Holguín] is online; two units in Nuevitas [Camagüey]; unit number three of Santa Cruz del Norte [Mayabeque]; and today we must start unit number 1 and that of Renté [Santiago de Cuba]. The engines of Moa [Holguín] are in service, and the generation capacity will increase. It may also be possible to increase generation in Havana’s floating power plants.”

The map with which the official press illustrates the “recovery of the SEN” corroborates that the Máximo Gómez thermoelectric plant in Mariel, the Carlos Manuel de Céspedes in Cienfuegos and the Renté still do not work. Two floating power plants are also turned off: Mariel and Santiago de Cuba, which run on fuel.

Thus, the implementation of “microsystems” or “energy islands” is vital. The first one that managed to establish itself this Thursday after the passage of Rafael was that of Matanzas, thanks to Energás Varadero. It is an electric plant with a generation capacity of 173 megawatts (MW), one of the three operated on the Island by the Canadian company Sherritt International in association with the UNE.

As William Pitt, heir to several mines expropriated by Fidel Castro in 1960 and analyst of the regime’s mining businesses observes, the power plants of Sherritt “are probably the best maintained,” in addition to being “very important for Cuba,” since they supply electricity for the most important tourist center of the country, Varadero, and to several parts of Havana, as well as supplying natural gas that is sent by pipeline to the capital.

Cuba pays Sherritt with cobalt for the work done by Energás in Varadero and the other two power plants

“That Varadero plant uses the oil and gas produced by the oil wells that Sherritt operates north of Cárdenas and southwest of Varadero,” Pitt continues. “Cuba has no money to pay Sherritt for those services, and that is why Cuba, instead of a monetary payment, has granted Sherritt the right to extract and take possession, without having to pay the Government, of nickel and cobalt ore from the mines that Sherritt operates in Moa (which include my family’s mines),” he says.

That is, Cuba pays Sherritt with cobalt for the work it does in Energás in Varadero and in the other two power plants that operate in Puerto Escondido, with 20 MW, and in Boca de Jaruco, with 313 MW.

The circumstances make fuel supplies from abroad more vital than ever. The Ocean Mariner tanker, from the Mexican port of Tampico and loaded with crude oil from that country, managed to dock in Santiago de Cuba on Tuesday, before the impact of Hurricane Rafael. The cargo of the ship Alicia, which left the port of José, in Venezuela, is also expected on Tuesday. The oil tankers, the University of Texas specialist Jorge Piñón explained to this newspaper, were sheltered in anticipation of Rafael, but are now on the move again. The Vilma left Cienfuegos and is back in the port of Pajaritos-Coatzacoalcos, in Mexico.

The UNE has not published its daily report for two days, but it is almost not necessary. Cubans assume that at least until Sunday the “normality” of the scheduled blackouts will not return.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORK: The 14ymedio team is committed to practicing serious journalism that reflects Cuba’s reality in all its depth. Thank you for joining us on this long journey. We invite you to continue supporting us by becoming a member of 14ymedio now. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.

Trump and remove Cuba from the list of countries sponsoring terrorism.

Last October, after the first total blackout, Washington said it did not rule out providing aid to the Island but specified that Havana had not requested assistance. “We are concerned about the possible humanitarian impact on the Cuban people. As we have seen in recent years, Cuba’s economic conditions, derived from prolonged mismanagement of its policies and resources, have undoubtedly increased the difficulties of the Cuban population,” White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said at the time.

Cuba has received other aid from allied countries in recent weeks, including a credit of 60 million dollars from Russia to acquire 80,000 tons of oil and another two million to buy equipment and tools to repair the National Energy System (SEN). Mexico also promised to deliver fuel as part of humanitarian aid, and both the UN – which will use 33 million dollars to help the victims in Guantánamo – and the European Union promised to provide assistance.

The Regional Logistics Center for Humanitarian Assistance, located in Panama, will also send 108 tons of aid

The Regional Logistics Center for Humanitarian Assistance, located in Panama, will also send 108 tons of humanitarian aid, including medicines and hygiene supplies, to assist those affected by Hurricane Oscar. “This Sunday, November 10, the first two of four trips will transfer 108 tons of humanitarian assistance to Cuba to meet the needs of those affected by Hurricane Oscar, which made landfall on October 19,” stated the Panamanian Ministry of Government.

The director of the United Nations Humanitarian Response Depository, Francisco Quesada, indicated that “thanks to the support of the Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection Service (ECHO) of the European Commission, which collaborates with more than 200 associated organizations, supplies will be transferred. Water tanks of 5,000 and 10,000 liters, tents for families, tarpaulins, hygiene kits, kitchen kits, tool kits and everything necessary to respond to the needs caused by the rains produced by the atmospheric phenomenon will be sent to Cuba.”

Despite international assistance, the SEN gives slow and unstable signs of recovery. According to the latest Cubadebate report, only half of Havana’s 12 supply sources are in operation, and 83.7% of hospitals.

As for the population, according to the report of the Electric Union, 85% of Havana’s circuits have been recovered

As for the population, according to the report of the Electric Union (UNE) 85% of Havana’s circuits have been recovered, but 14ymedio has confirmed that many residents are still without electricity. In the statement issued by the UNE, 750 megawatts of deficit are forecast for this Sunday.

Pinar del Río, although it did not suffer great damage after the passage of Rafael, remains isolated from the SEN because the ruptures and ravages of the hurricane in Artemisa prevent the energy generated in the center of the country from being connected to that province, explained Lázaro Guerra, director of the Ministry of Energy and Mines. At the moment, “we are working with the province’s own microsystems. On Saturday, Artemisa did not have electrical service,” he added.

This territory was the most affected by the hurricane, and this Sunday, only “three small microsystems” are generating current “in Bahía Honda, Bauta and Güira de Melena.” In total, they serve only 2,294 customers, 1.12% of the province’s population, Guerra said. According to the manager, “from Matanzas to Guantánamo” the rest of the SEN is connected.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORK: The 14ymedio team is committed to practicing serious journalism that reflects Cuba’s reality in all its depth. Thank you for joining us on this long journey. We invite you to continue supporting us by becoming a member of 14ymedio now. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.