Cuban Regime Loses Ground in the Battle for Control of the Internet

14ymedio, Yoani Sánchez, Havana, 5 June 2021 – An uninvited presence hovered over the spacious room where the eighth Congress of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC) was held this April. The Internet was an unwanted and feared guest at the three-day event that took place in Havana. The organization, which governs the destiny of eleven million Cubans and which, … Continue reading “Cuban Regime Loses Ground in the Battle for Control of the Internet”

Foreign Correspondents in Cuba: The Fascination with the Dictatorship / Miriam Celaya

Miriam Celaya, Cubanet, Havana, 2 June 2021 — One of the most effective pillars that has helped to cement the legend of the “good Cuban dictatorship” has been the work of not a few accredited foreign press correspondents in Havana. It is not something new. Since New York Times journalist Herbert Matthews’ crush on Fidel … Continue reading “Foreign Correspondents in Cuba: The Fascination with the Dictatorship / Miriam Celaya”

Otero Alcantara Leaves Havana Hospital After a Month of Forced Confinement

14ymedio, Luz Escobar, Havana, 31 May 2021 — “I am relatively well, from a physical point of view but, emotionally, [I am] worried about all my brothers,” Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara told CubaNet Noticias shortly after leaving Calixto García Hospital. The artist announced that health “tests” will be carried out outside the “control of State … Continue reading “Otero Alcantara Leaves Havana Hospital After a Month of Forced Confinement”

The Cuban Regime is Not Afraid of Any Song

14ymedio, Yaiza Santos, Madrid, 27 May 2021 — The desperate war of songs unleashed by the Cuban Government after the release of the song Patria y Vida, which since February has added more than five million views on YouTube and which immediately became an opposition slogan inside and outside the Island, has gone from pathos to perversity with the theme that celebrates … Continue reading “The Cuban Regime is Not Afraid of Any Song”

‘Tribuna de La Habana’ Withdraws an Article in Which it Calls a Group of Cuban Artists ‘Mercenaries’

14ymedio, Havana, 27 May 2021 — On Wednesday, the newspaper Tribuna de La Habana published an article on its website in which it described as a “group of mercenaries paid by Washington” the group of Cuban artists who have signed a letter addressed to the National Museum of Fine Arts to demand that their works be withdraw from exhibition, in … Continue reading “‘Tribuna de La Habana’ Withdraws an Article in Which it Calls a Group of Cuban Artists ‘Mercenaries’”

Cuban Government Tries to Discredit Otero Alcantara with the Leak of a New Video

14ymedio, Havana, 25 May 2021 — Cuban State Security has released two new videos of the artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, who as of Tuesday marks 23 days held in the Calixto García Hospital in Havana. The material was leaked by a Facebook profile under the name of Kamilita Cuba which poses as a supporter of the San … Continue reading “Cuban Government Tries to Discredit Otero Alcantara with the Leak of a New Video”

The Macabre Performance of Cuban State Security

14ymedio, Luz Escobar, Havana, 22 May 2021 — Since Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara fell into the hands of State Security 20 days ago, the narrative of every second of his existence has been under the power of the Government. Luisma, as his friends call him, likes to turn on his cell phone and go live … Continue reading “The Macabre Performance of Cuban State Security”

Cuban State Security Accuses the Writer Rafael Vilches of ‘Inciting the People to Rebellion’

14ymedio, Havana, 17 May 2021 —  Cuban State Security accused the writer Rafael Vilches of calling for “public disorder” and inciting “the people to a rebellion through social networks” during an interrogation that lasted for more than an hour this Monday in Las Tunas, where he resides. “The whole time they let me know that it … Continue reading “Cuban State Security Accuses the Writer Rafael Vilches of ‘Inciting the People to Rebellion’”

Cuban Artist Otero Alcantara Imprisoned and Isolated for Two Weeks in Havana’s Calixto Garcia Hospital

14ymedio, Luz Escobar, 17 May 2021 – This Monday, the Cuban artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara marks 15 days of forced admission to the Calixto García hospital in Havana, without the freedom to communicate or receive visits. The activist’s fate continues to generate demands and complaints from international organizations. The San Isidro Movement (MSI), which has denounced … Continue reading “Cuban Artist Otero Alcantara Imprisoned and Isolated for Two Weeks in Havana’s Calixto Garcia Hospital”

Cuban Authorities Still Haven’t Explained Why Alcantara Can’t Leave the Hospital

14ymedio, Havana, 11 May 2021 — The artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara is still hospitalized despite the fact that he was admitted to the Calixto García in Havana nine days ago and the authorities released clinical data indicating that his health was more than good. The Provincial Directorate of Health of Havana released a statement on Tuesday in which it assures that the … Continue reading “Cuban Authorities Still Haven’t Explained Why Alcantara Can’t Leave the Hospital”

New Images of Otero Alcantara at Calixto Garcia Hospital Come to Light

  14ymedio, Havana, 7 May 2021 — Two new videos released this Friday show the artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara in the Calixto García hospital in Havana, where he has been admitted since last Sunday. In the images, the activist appears in the area outside a pavilion and at one point makes an “L” with … Continue reading “New Images of Otero Alcantara at Calixto Garcia Hospital Come to Light”

Cuban Authorities Exhibit Otero Alcantara in a Video as Proof of Life

14ymedio, Havana, 4 May 2021 — Dr. Ifrán Martinez Gálvez, who presents himself as head of the medical team that cares for the artist Luis Manuel Otero Acántara at the Calixto García hospital, in Havana, has published a video on his Facebook profile this Tuesday, in clear response to the demands for a proof of life from the … Continue reading “Cuban Authorities Exhibit Otero Alcantara in a Video as Proof of Life”

Cuban State Security Breaks into Otero Alcantara’s House and Takes Him to the Hospital

14ymedio, Havana, 2 May 2021 — Cuban State Security broke into the home of Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, in Old Havana, at dawn this Sunday, and transferred him to the Calixto García Hospital, in El Vedado. An official statement confirmed that the artist was taken from his home, a week after starting a hunger and thirst strike. The artist’s … Continue reading “Cuban State Security Breaks into Otero Alcantara’s House and Takes Him to the Hospital”

Dozens of Activists Demonstrate in Old Havana, Shouting “Patria y Vida” (Homeland and Life)

14ymedio, Luz Escobar, Havana, 30 April 2021 — Dozens of activists were repressed in a protest in the park on the corner of Obispo and Aguacate, in Old Havana. The protesters were trying to reach the home of Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, only a few blocks away. The artist is on his sixth day of a … Continue reading “Dozens of Activists Demonstrate in Old Havana, Shouting “Patria y Vida” (Homeland and Life)”

‘My Father’s Two Great Mistakes: The 1952 Coup d’état and Freeing Fidel Castro in 1956’

Roberto Batista, one of the sons of Fulgencio Batista and author of ‘Son of Batista’ (Verbum). (Courtesy)14ymedio, Yaiza Santos, Madrid, 25 April2021 — Lawyer Roberto Batista (b. New York, 1947) did not pay much attention to his friends at first, when they told him that he had to write a book. “I, who had not … Continue reading “‘My Father’s Two Great Mistakes: The 1952 Coup d’état and Freeing Fidel Castro in 1956’”