Translating Cuba

The presence of teenagers on the streets selling everything from food to electronics has raised some alarm.

In recent years, the presence of teenagers on the streets selling everything from food to electronics has raised a certain amount of alarm, the authorities acknowledge. “It’s good for children to be hardworking and diligent from an early age, but be careful. A few days ago, I came across a little boy on the street selling tamarinds with his mother. That’s child labor,” warns Juan Miguel Barrios, deputy director general of education in the province.

In any case, although poverty reigns supreme on the island, authorities maintain that families are primarily responsible for caring for their children.

“Some parents have allowed themselves to be dragged down by the shortcomings and complexities, but there’s no need to drop out of school or have children with work obligations,” the judge argues. In their favor, she adds, parents have the support of the State, which guarantees financial assistance for families in similar situations. However, even Periódico 26 is aware of the Cuban government’s limits and offers a caveat: “We know, it’s not an amount that will make all hardship disappear, but it does alleviate it.”

The authorities claim to have everything under control and have found a solution for each case, even if it’s often not ideal: “There were some teenagers who didn’t go to school because they had to help their families with the farm, and we met with the parents, agreed on days and times, and they returned to classes. Everyone wins.”

For readers who found the article on Facebook, the situation doesn’t seem as ideal as the media outlet claims. “And the children in Havana begging for money at traffic lights. There’s one every day at the 124th St. in Marianao. The children in Old Havana begging tourists for money. Oh, and if they check the girls who are prostitutes. It’s horrible. How far will we go? They’ve had to grow up too fast,” laments one internet user at the bottom of the post.

The authorities claim to have everything under control and to have found a solution for each case, although it is often not ideal.

Others took their criticism further: “ Periódico 26, better that you say that as a society we’re swimming in shit. So I ask myself, what kind of financial aid is supposedly being provided? How can you talk about the education system when classes often aren’t even held due to a lack of teachers?”

This is not the first time the official press has discussed child labor on the island. In June 2024, Sierra Maestra published a note acknowledging its existence and attributing it to the “complexity of the country’s economic context.”

Before the government’s attention, independent media had already focused on the problem, which is often disguised as “housework” and minor responsibilities that children are given at the social and family levels, even though they are not appropriate for their age.

Barely a month after the Sierra Maestra report, 14ymedio reported on the appearance of children begging for food or alms in the doorways of restaurants and stores in Havana and Holguín. A look at these cases, or any of those reported by Periódico 2 , reveals the connection between children forced into the labor market and a country where poverty is rampant.

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Regalado insists that Radio Martí continues to fulfill its initial purpose.

“Radio Martín was created in the 1980s, at the request of the Cuban exile community, by President Ronald Reagan and the then-Congress. It was said to be the instrument to bring the truth to the Cuban people,” recalled Regalado, 77, who was born in Havana and served as mayor of Miami from 2009 to 2017. “It has always served to guide, inform, and entertain the Cuban people,” he added.

Regalado said that during his tenure at the OCB, during the first Trump administration (2017-2021), he commissioned a survey from the U.S. Embassy in Havana that confirmed the station’s high audience level in Cuba, especially in rural areas.

“That’s why the regime has acted with such rage” and has demanded its closure as a condition for improving relations with the United States, said the now Miami-Dade County property appraiser.

In the face of the criticism that Radio Martí only responds to Cuban exiles, Regalado emphasized that although he has politically supported the station, the priority has always been to give a voice to the opposition within Cuba.

He recalled that at one point they had more than 100 dissidents participating weekly. “In fact, the participation of leaders from the Cuban exile was minimal because they understood that the priority was for the Cuban people to speak to the world,” he added.

He also refuted the perception that the station doesn’t connect with younger generations. He noted that during his administration, they incorporated popular musical content banned by the regime and broadcast Major League Baseball games, which had a huge impact because baseball remains a national passion in Cuba, he stated. The criticisms, he said, are a misguided narrative, promoted largely by the Cuban regime itself.

The criticisms, he said, are a misguided narrative, promoted largely by the Cuban regime itself.

Asked about a possible closure, Regalado stated that “Radio Martí will not cease broadcasting” because Congress and the State Department, led by Cuban-American Secretary of State Marco Rubio, are aware of its importance. He admitted he was concerned when employees were recently sent home, but recalled that in less than a week and a half, they were called back, the transmitters were reactivated, and regular programming was back on the air.

The former mayor of Miami ignored the fact that the workforce has been severely depleted, with only about 50 federal employees returning, while contractors—at least 20 of them— have had their contracts terminated, including technicians .

For Regalado, the future of Radio Martí is linked to strengthening its journalistic content and its presence on digital platforms. It’s not about criticizing governments, but rather telling the truth and letting the people judge, he explained.

He also highlighted the station’s growth on social media, where it generates “millions of views,” especially at key moments like the July 2021 protests in Cuba.

Regalado considers his greatest achievement as director to be rekindling enthusiasm for the station among younger generations with modern history programs. They shared visual content about Cuba’s past on social media, and that, he said, fascinated many young people who were unaware of that past.

“There were young Cubans who didn’t know that Cuba was the first country in Latin America, after the United States, to have television,” he said.

The former director believes that, despite the technological and political transformations in the US, Radio Martí must continue its mission because “it is essential for many people, millions in Cuba, to be informed.”

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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.

successfully used this system to sell the rights and benefits of EU citizenship.” However, it warned that it runs the risk of “accepting payments with minimal scrutiny, exposing oneself to the risks of corruption and money laundering.”

An Al Jazeera investigation revealed that an investment of more than €2,000,000 ($2,266,693) in Cyprus secured EU citizenship for at least 30 people with pending criminal charges or convictions, as well as 40 politically exposed persons. Faced with the evidence, Cyprus canceled the program in 2020 and Bulgaria did so in 2022.

Ovi, who dropped out of the University of Medical Sciences in Havana, left the island in 2017. The singer began his journey through Ecuador and after 25 days arrived in the US and began his dream of making music. Two years after his arrival, he became a household name for his musical performance with Adriel Favela and Yendi on the song “Cuando me ve.”

The Rancho Humilde record label boosted his career and with the songs Se me dio, Bailen and Pacas verdes he has achieved a place as an exponent of the so-called corridos tumbados, reggaeton and Latin trap.
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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.

Dámaso had accumulated several military “missions” in Africa on his service record, a period in his life about which he preferred to remain discreet. 

In Mermelada, his blog – active until 2020 – Dámaso addressed a myriad of topics, from the politics of both sides to the history of the island. From that space, he repeatedly criticized the regime, always with calm arguments and expressed ironically, especially in the form of comments on the official press. [Selections from Mermelada in English are here.]

He also published Mapa perdido de La Habana (Lost Map of Havana) with Hypermedia Ediciones, which compiled some of his historical and cultural texts, exploring the character of the capital through the origins of its emblematic streets and corners. He was an expert on culture and politics during the Republic, chronicling its “buried history.”

In several interviews, Dámaso pinned Cuba’s future on the tension between dogmatists and pragmatists, two extremes of the nomenklatura who, he believed, would enter into a definitive confrontation when the so-called historic generation, beginning with Fidel Castro, was dead and buried. He lived to see that Castro’s death did little to shake the foundations of a dictatorship that made “continuity” its watchword.

When questioned by media outlets around the world, he invited caution and urged against underestimating the military-based structure on which the leader had built his dominance over Cubans. Change would not be “imminent, not even close,” he predicted back in 2017, at least as long as Raúl Castro continued to dictate the country’s course from his retirement.

Regarding the possibility of change, he did venture at least that it would be carried out by “someone who will emerge from the process, someone no one knows today.”

Translator’s note: This is the first personal note I have added to a post on this project. From the beginning of my translating, Fernando and Rebeca’s voices were among my most treasured; cogent, gentle and calm.  How I wish I had met them. Perhaps in some yet unimagined future I can still meet Rebeca. Safe travels my friends. May my work here continue to honor you and your lives.

The inauguration comes several months late, as the original plan was to have the first graduating class by next summer.

According to SFU, which will officially begin classes next September, its programs aim not only to educate Cuban citizens but also prepare them for admission to Russian universities. However, the inauguration comes several months late, as the original plan was to have the first graduating class by next summer.

“At first, the department will operate as a preparatory faculty. Cubans will be offered additional vocational training programs in Russian. Local residents will be prepared for admission to Russian universities. In addition, the branch will organize Russian language courses and programs in various areas of study. In the future, SFU plans to make it possible for students to begin receiving higher education there,” the Russian press reports.

With a banner in Russian featuring the faces of Vladimir Putin and Miguel Díaz-Canel in the background, Chernyshenko celebrated the opening of the site, calling it a testament to the ties between the two countries. SFU President Marina Borovskay echoed the sentiment, adding that she traveled to the event with a “large delegation” from the university.

“The University of Havana is our long-standing friend and trusted partner. We are already successfully completing a number of joint research and training projects and exchanging experiences. Last year, Cuban students and university staff visited SFU, where they not only learned about the university but also received training, gathered information for their research projects, and met colleagues with whom they joined forces to continue their research,” the director explained.

Glazov State Pedagogical University has capitalized on the momentum and signed a memorandum of cooperation with its counterpart in Havana this week.

Another Russian university, Glazov State Pedagogical University, has capitalized on SFU’s momentum and signed a memorandum of cooperation with its counterpart in Havana this week. According to Russian media, the goal is also to create Russian language learning programs for Cubans, in addition to dual-degree programs.

“During the business visit, together with our Cuban colleagues, we outlined new areas of joint work, such as dual-degree programs, the development of a new educational and methodological complex on Russian as a foreign language for Spanish-speaking audiences, and the introduction of Russian in schools. We are pleased to be at the forefront of developing Russian-Cuban relations,” said Rector Yanina Chigovskaya-Nazarova.

She also emphasized that Cuba is not her only focus: “Our university has been supporting the study of Russian in Latin America for three years, and thanks to this work, we see how the linguistic landscape of the region is changing.” The director noted that there are eight Russian language study centers in Cuba, “created with the support of the Russian Ministry of Education and Science and the My History Foundation,” from which nearly 1,000 students graduated last year.

It has been unclear, since it was practiced in the Soviet Union, how Moscow benefits from training Cubans. Indoctrination in the values ​​defended by the Kremlin didn’t take root much before 1989; and nothing indicates that now, more than three decades later, the island is more receptive to Putin’s Russia.

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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.

“People complain that we don’t ask those questions, but we’re here to do it,” said one of the journalists.

Díaz-Canel lavishly repeated the entire argument offered just two weeks ago by his Minister of Energy and Mines, Vicente de la O Levy, in a four-part interview published by the State newspaper Granma. He summarized Cuba’s energy matrix, composed essentially of aging, poorly maintained thermoelectric plants and distributed generation that requires enormous quantities of imported diesel and fuel oil.

“We need more than $500 million a year,” he said, just for repairs to the thermoelectric plants, while imported fuel can require $1.5 to $2 billion. The lack of foreign currency has complicated repairs, the purchase of components, and oil stockpiles, leading to an accumulation of problems that, in turn, impedes economic growth and, once again, leads to a lack of capacity for improvement in that system. No one present asked him why hundreds of millions of dollars were allocated to the tourism sector instead.

Díaz-Canel then began the optimistic segment. He spoke about electricity generation through renewable energy, the progressive but accelerated introduction of Chinese solar parks, thermal and distributed energy repairs, domestic panels, and how this will allow for “a better time” next year. He also thanked friendly countries for their collaboration, although he did not provide details on how the agreements and business plans were made. “I can’t explain them clearly so they don’t persecute us, so they don’t attack us, but we have found solutions and alternatives,” he concluded.

The president stated that he had planned to increase pressure on the government since Marco Rubio—”very involved with the anti-Cuban mafia in Miami”—and Mauricio Claver-Carone, both of whom are inclined to put an end to remittance transfers, took office.

“The pretext is that this is handled by an organization that, as they claim, is in the hands of the Cuban military, which is also a lie,” he said, despite the links found between the money transfer management company in Cuba, Orbit SA, and the Gaesa conglomerate, run by the Cuban military. According to Díaz-Canel, the money is received by families and “the State can receive a portion of that income for the services provided or for the ways in which it is consumed or spent,” but this happens in every country without any consequences, he reflected. In his opinion, he said, this demonstrates the intention to economically suffocate and “to bring down the Revolution.”

“The State may receive a portion of these revenues for the services provided or for the ways in which they are consumed or spent,” but this occurs in all countries without any consequences.

It is the same thing, he insisted, that happens with the sanctions targeting medical missions. The president maintained that Cuba often doesn’t receive money in exchange for sending international brigades of health professionals and, on the contrary, covers the costs. But other times, through agreements, it does receive money.

“And what is that money invested in? It’s not to enrich anyone. It’s invested in the healthcare system. And many times, when we’ve been in crisis situations, we haven’t even been able to put it into the healthcare system, and we’ve had to use it to pay for fuel ships, to pay for food ships that have been held up in our ports,” he claimed.

According to Díaz-Canel, the US is bothered by this example, since, while they intervene in other countries through sending military personnel, “Cuba goes with an army of white coats.” He wonders why the US is irritated that this cooperation brings Cuba money with which to “improve the living conditions” of the people. Beyond this, the president conveyed an unusual message of recognition not only to those who leave, who receive constant praise, but also to those who stay, “who then take on the work of their colleagues so that others can raise the name of Cuban health.”

Much of the conversation revolved around the communications battle. Díaz-Canel found time, in response to questions from the four sympathetic journalists, to address the suspension of US government aid to independent media outlets, as well as the situation at Radio and Television Martí — which operate from the United States — about which he even admitted that “the intelligence and creativity of our people” has created “technological conditions that have prevented TV Martí and Radio Martí from reaching out.”

On this point, the president agreed more than ever with the Trump administration—”they have exposed themselves” and “the American people should one day be held accountable for how part of their budget contributions were spent,” he said, among other things—although he stopped distancing himself. “Marco Rubio encourages and supports the policy of counterrevolutionary means against Cuba. Therefore, he will search and lobby to find that money,” he affirmed.

The great crusade is currently taking place, he noted, on social media, where the regime has multiplied its presence since a very specific date. “They set us up on 11 July (2021) [known as ’11J’] with a huge media operation calling for action on social media. At that time, we were hardly on social media. Therefore, we also draw from that experience,” he said. Díaz-Canel then described the new channels created to disseminate the regime’s version of events and the young people trained to fight the battle. “We have accepted the challenge: we are going to fight on social media and we are going to fight to win,” he declared.

“We have accepted the challenge: we are going to fight on social media and we are going to fight to win,” he declared.

The foreign policy part of the conversation included several reflections on relations with the European Union, with which it said it has a space—thanks to the Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement—for debate and discussion, including on issues where they disagree, but also for joint projects. These occur primarily in the areas of food development, education, science, sports, and culture, he said. However, he noted that “there are groups that sometimes respond to personal interests, to the interests of a certain ideology, that are very interested in breaking the agreement” and promote those interests in the European institutions or the parliaments of its member states.

The president also mentioned Cuba’s entry into the BRICS as an associate country and heaped praise on an organization in which, he noted, no one is superior. The island will contribute projects, he said, in the fields in which it has the most experience: biotechnology, education, and pharmaceuticals. He also highlighted the essential support from China and Russia, countries whose cooperation with Cuba has commonalities but also differences, he said, although it all came down to the fact that there is more contact with Beijing at the party level because both countries are governed by communism, while with Moscow—whose strong institutional relationship with Havana, he also praised—the business presence was more emphasized.

“Thank you, President Díaz-Canel. We felt comfortable asking questions freely and without restrictions,” one of the interviewers concluded. “And next time I’ll ask you a few questions,” the president concluded with a laugh. And it was clear that the most comfortable person in the room was him.
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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.