Translating Cuba – Page 110 – English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island

The Social Tragedy of Castroism

The failure has been so resounding that its prototypes of social miracles, Health, Education and Sport, have been removed from the shop window.

The Pan American Stadium in Havana. / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Pedro Corzo, Miami, 16 February 2025 — The only achievements that will survive the dynastic totalitarianism of the Castro brothers and their putative son, current president Miguel Diaz-Canel, are propaganda and their repressive efficiency, including the material and human destruction caused by the system.

The failure has been so resounding that its prototypes of social miracles, Health, Education and Sports, have been removed from the showcase that the regime, in its delirium, presented to those who wanted to drown in the sea of happiness of Castroism.

Healthcare is a disaster. Hospitals do not have the means to meet the needs of those admitted. There is no bedding, food or medicine. Electricity is frequently cut off and hygiene is practically non-existent.

Infectious diseases hit the island several times a year. Bureaucrats systematically distort statistics. Lack of modern medicines and equipment, or at least in good working order, is more than frequent. There is a clear difference in the medical care received by the ruling class and foreigners on the one hand, and the population on the other. continue reading

Hospitals do not have the means to meet the needs of those admitted. There is no bedding, food or medicine.

Finally, there is the paradox that the medical power, as they like to call themselves, does not have enough professionals to care for the people because they rent them out to other countries in their eagerness to obtain multimillion-dollar payments that will allow them to partially solve the perennial economic crisis of the system.

Education, the starting point for the indoctrination of new generations, faces a serious problem due to the continuous exodus of teachers to other jobs that provide them with more benefits, affecting the quality of these services.

However, the biggest failure in education was the so-called Schools in the Countryside, an attempt to replace the family with ideological communes in which parents would lose all ability to influence their offspring.

Children and adolescents were uprooted. Far from their usual patterns of behavior, they behaved arbitrarily. The regime tried to impose military discipline in many of these centers and failed most of the time. The imposition of study and work to form the proposed New Man, a kind of enlightened servant trained to serve the project, only reaped disappointment.

Children and adolescents were uprooted. Far from their usual patterns of behavior, they behaved arbitrarily.

The Schools in the Countryside, one of Fidel Castro’s favorite plans, were, according to students of the time, a concentration camp in which methods of extreme severity were practiced along with the most absolute disciplinary neglect, favoring spaces for violence among inmates, perversities of different kinds, including sexual abuse.

The third screen of the regime was sport. For years, Cuba was one of the world powers in this activity, a feature that favored Castroism because the award-winning athletes in significant numbers gave all the credit to the government for their victories, and others, more servile than average, dedicated their laurels to the dictator in chief.

However, Cuba’s leading role in sport has been extinguished, mainly due to its inability to cover the huge expenses demanded by high-performance athletes. In addition, totalitarianism, although it retains power, suffers from widespread and massive exhaustion that will lead at some point to a death by consumption, similar to that suffered by the defunct Soviet Union.

The dictatorship skillfully mixed Health, Education and Sports with politics, achieving a propaganda cocktail of great force.

On the internal level, they favored the confusion and victimization of society for the sake of ephemeral glories.

Their successes in each of these sectors offered an image of progress, freedom and justice that was so far from the true national context that most international observers did not want to admit it because they were supporters of the regime or because they received benefits from a government that granted them goods and privileges that the Cuban people did not have access to.

Advances in each of these sectors provided the system with various international advances and benefits. At the domestic level, they favored the confusion and victimization of society for the sake of ephemeral glories. The much publicized social “achievements” were the result of the formidable Soviet subsidies and not of the productive capacity of an inefficient government that has led the country to misery and absolute indebtedness.

Totalitarianism has turned Cuba into a beggar state since 1959, to the point that it receives food donations of products such as sugar, the most important commodity in our economy before the disaster occurred, putting the survival of the nation at risk.

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Fatally Injured, Cuba’s Hard Currency (MLC) Stores Refute the Official Speech About Their Continuation

The dollar stores that Tiendas Caribe and Cimex have begun to open in the provincial capitals have given their final blow.

The Puentes Grandes Shopping Center, located on the corner of 26th and 51st streets / 14ymedio

14ymedio, José Lassa/Natalia López Moya, Havana, February 13, 2025 — “They have fans for sale in Roseland, hurry up,” writes a user in a WhatsApp group where hundreds of customers meet to monitor stores in freely convertible currency (MLC) in Havana. Following the trail of products in those State shops has become a full-time task due to the shortages that keep their refrigerators and shelves practically empty.

After touring several markets of this type in the Cuban capital, Yusimí, 43, arrived at one quite far from his home: the Puentes Grandes Shopping Center, located on the corner of 26th and 51st streets. “I haven’t been to this place for years, and it left me cold,” he said when he came across the holes in the floor at the entrance. That damage was only a part of the deterioration he found inside.

Practically empty of customers and products, the huge warehouse that once belonged to the Telva towel factory barely had a few cans of tomato sauce, some beach flip-flops and a few appliances with expensive prices and dubious quality. “This was a high-end store and now it’s scary to go inside; not even the lights work well,” lamented Yusimí, who, finally, “in order not to waste the trip” ended up buying a couple of cans of beets.

Damage to the floor was only a part of the deterioration inside / 14ymedio

The place was inaugurated as a shopping center in 2014, under the management of the military corporation Cimex. “The lines were constant because it was very well stocked,” recalls a former employee, who evokes those first years with nostalgia. “People came from all over Havana, because we had a very good supply of perfume and food. The hardware store also attracted a lot of customers, but the best thing we offered was the great variety of appliances.”

At that time, the authorities even announced that the market would have a web-browsing room and a Wi-Fi area that were never installed. “We even offered a gourmet assortment with good cheeses and very fine chocolates,” recalls the employee. It is difficult to reconcile that image of full shelves, well-dressed workers and customers who carried baskets full of goods with the empty refrigerators and listlessness of the employees today. continue reading

“When they removed the convertible peso in 2021, the decline began,” the woman says. The suppliers began to fail: “Cimex supplied sometimes yes and sometimes no, until only a few customers came every day.” The conversion of the store to sales in MLC (hard currency) initially seemed to revive it. “We thought that, since in the end they were dollars that people had deposited in the bank to make the purchase, the supply was not going to be lacking, since we were talking about hard currency.” Less than five years later, the only thing left of that splendor is the bright white paint on the facade.

The final push was given to the stores in MLC by the dollar shops that, through the network of Caribe and Cimex Stores, began to open in the capitals of each of the 15 Cuban provinces. The flagship of that process is the 3rd and 70th Supermarket, on the ground floor of the luxury Gran Muthu Habana hotel, which only accepts payment in that currency, both by card and in cash. While on the platforms of the brand new store there are plenty of goods, at 26th and 51st every day more products are missing.

The scene is repeated in another of the large MLC stores in Havana. The market of Boyeros and Camagüey has followed the same route as its cousin from Puentes Grandes. Recently several officials assured on national television that the freely convertible currency will be maintained, but there has been much speculation about the disappearance of the stores in MLC, and the owners of accounts in that virtual money have fewer and fewer options to spend it.

The old vitality of the business contrasts with the empty refrigerators and the listlessness of the employees / 14ymedio

What three years ago was a parking lot, where a space was barely empty for a few brief minutes before it was occupied by another vehicle, there is now an almost empty esplanade. On the outskirts of the store, this Wednesday, a custodian replied to a customer that they had no chicken or picadillo in the butcher shop. “They haven’t put it out this week, and we don’t know if they’re going to stock up in the next few days,” the worker explained vaguely.

Inside, the floors have holes in several areas, and the shelves are almost empty or filled with the same product. “I came to get olives and Castilian flour, but there isn’t any,” concluded a customer who finally bought a package of custard, family size, so as not to leave empty-handed. Away from the most central neighborhoods, buyers who have a vehicle arrive at Boyeros and Camagüey, a very small number in a city where getting fuel can take several days in line.

With many lights off, the interior of the store not only leaves an image of deterioration but also an unpleasant smell. “The light comes on, the light goes out; the refrigerator holds out for a while but not much, and the products are spoiled,” is how a worker in the storage area summarizes the situation. “There are many employees who have asked for leave, because working like this is not worth it.”

A couple walking down one of the aisles finally decides on a package of peas and a bag of imported sugar. The woman looks at her cell phone and tells the man that in the WhatsApp group where she is registered they have just published a new ad. “They have sausages and Gouda cheese in La Puntilla,” she says, and they leave at full speed to get to the Miramar neighborhood. There, another MLC store, out of stock, with broken floors and no lights, awaits them.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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With the Closure of the Riviera Hotel and the Progressive Death of the Habana Libre, Preparations Are Made for the Arrival of the Torre K

“Not even the fire extinguishers are ready,” says an employee of the Habana Libre

At the entrance to the Riviera, a guard and a woman watering the grass were the only “guests” in the accommodation. / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Jorge Lassa, Havana, 16 February 2025 — For decades, the Habana Libre hotel has been an element of beauty and glamour in the skyline of the Cuban capital. But behind its beautiful façade, the central building in El Vedado hides a panorama of deterioration and abandonment that drives away tourists and scandalizes tour guides. Its close cousins, the Riviera and the Colina hotel, are also not doing well in these times.

Carlos is dedicated to inspecting the security systems of hotels and recreational centers. With more than three decades in his profession, this Havana resident’s opinion is blunt: “The Habana Libre is a danger, it is very deteriorated and in the last inspection we did it practically failed in all parameters, not even the fire extinguishers are working,” he comments to 14ymedio.

“They have had to close many rooms and, right now, the hotel is barely functioning. In operation are the lobby and the 25th floor, where activities take place, but the rest of the facility is practically unused,” warns Carlos. “They have not decided to close it completely because it is a very emblematic place and they are also waiting for the opening of the K Tower, which has the capacity to absorb the clients who want to be in that area.” continue reading

“The rooms are terrible, the air conditioning barely works, there is barely any hot water in the bathrooms”

This is how the worker refers to the controversial new skyscraper at 23rd and K, which will house a luxury hotel managed by the Spanish company Iberostar, whose opening has not yet been finalized despite having been announced, first, for January 15 and, later, for February 1.

It is not necessary to delve into the bowels of the accommodation, as Carlos and his team do, to notice how breakdowns and neglect have taken over the former Habana Hilton, opened in 1958 and built with money from the retirement funds of the Cuban Union of Gastronomic Workers. Now, little remains of that former splendor of its early years, when it even housed Fidel Castro’s main office after he came to power.

“I was there in November,” says Marlén, a Cuban who works in the tourism sector. “The rooms are awful, the air conditioning barely works, there is barely any hot water in the bathrooms, leaks keep several rooms closed and everything looks very old.” In the hallways leading to each room, the smell of humidity seeps into your nose and damage accumulates in corners, lamps and surfaces.

In the hallways of the Habana Libre, the smell of humidity seeps into your nose and damage piles up in the corners. / 14ymedioThe lobby, where a few decades ago Latin American guerrillas protected by the Havana regime and intellectuals from all over the world exchanged greetings, is now a nearly empty area. But it is the nearby shopping gallery, also located on the ground floor, that most honestly shows the state of the entire hotel: with leaks in the ceilings, closed shops and few lights, it scares away customers instead of attracting them.

Last December, Raúl stayed at the Habana Libre thanks to an invitation from some relatives who had emigrated. “I stayed on the 21st floor. The elevators are gloomy, it’s scary to get in them because they creak as they move. The rooms are very outdated, you can see that they haven’t invested in modernizing them, the carpets are stained and everything smells old,” he tells this newspaper. “To use the hot water, I had to take it easy because between turning on the sink and the water coming out, just a little warm, I spent a long time. One of my wishes was to take a break from the low pressure and cold water in my shower at home, but I didn’t find what I wanted.”

The air conditioning was also poor, but at least the mild Cuban winter kept Raul from sweating in his room. “The breakfast buffet was missing a million things,” complained the guest, who had planned a wide variety of fruits, cereals, cheeses and other combinations. Instead, he was met with a poor offering, a lot of monitoring by employees to ensure that customers did not serve themselves more than they should, and poor quality food.

“It has become like an empty shell, the period furniture, the stylish lamps and all that atmosphere of the 50s have been lost”

With only four stars – it recently lost one – the worst thing about the Habana Libre, according to Raúl, is the way the staff treats national guests. “The service was very bad, especially at the door. Every day they asked me if I was staying at the hotel and that made me feel very uncomfortable. If the employees don’t have the ability to memorize faces, it’s better for them to give guests a bracelet, because the other thing is pure harassment.”

The problem of leaks from the ceilings has affected not only the rooms. “You get water on your head, whether it’s on the terrace in the middle, in the hallways, in the Ambassadors’ lounge, in the Presidential lounge or in the Latin American lounge. They all have leaks,” Raúl continues. “The buffet table next to the pool was closed when I went, so I had to sneak some bread from breakfast to have as a snack while I was in that area.”

Those who think that this symbol of Havana could not be worse off are shocked by the nearby Riviera Hotel. Last year, when the diving board of the hotel’s swimming pool collapsed, many people realized the ruin that had taken over the building, founded in December 1957 by the Riviera Hotel Company, owned by the mobster Meyer Lansky. Lack of investment and years of excess had been undermining the building, which in its design combined luxury and comfort.

Details of the deterioration of the Riviera, considered one of the most modern and luxurious hotels in the world when it opened in 1957. / 14ymedio

This week, at the entrance to the Riviera, a security guard and a woman watering the lawn were the only “guests” in the hotel. Behind them, large, broken windows, giving a view of scaffolding covered in dust from a restoration process that has clearly stopped, give the impression that the hotel is closer to being demolished than to being restored. The ceramic-covered dome, which once covered the casino area, has been losing pieces and color due to the harsh salt of the nearby sea and lack of renovation.

Despite the damage, the Riviera still stands out for its spacious terraces, its rationalist style and a structure that allowed guests to enjoy the sea breeze and the views over the city. But, according to a tour guide who frequently visited the place, “it has become like an empty shell, the period furniture, the style lamps and all that atmosphere of the 50s have been lost and now with this closure even more so.”

In its heyday, the Chilean writer Jorge Edwards stayed there , sent in 1970 by Salvador Allende to reopen his country’s embassy and who would end up recounting his experience in Persona non grata, a devastating book about the Castro regime.

“The staff’s attention is not good and the supplies are very unstable, one day they give you something for breakfast and the next day there isn’t any more.”

“If Lansky comes back to life, he’ll either die again or have to rebuild the Riviera,” says the guide, who fondly remembers the hotel lobby, the gym, the smoking area and the pool area. “When you got on the diving board, you didn’t even want to jump into the water because from up there the spectacle was sublime. You could enjoy the sea so close, the breeze and the hotel itself, which looked spectacular from that position.”

The younger brother of the Habana Libre and the Riviera, the Colina hotel shares the path of deteriorating services with them. Also located in El Vedado, a few meters from the University of Havana, the accommodation reopened last January after a renovation process that has not left a good taste among those who knew it. “It is now managed by the state chain Isla Azul, which is one of the worst in Cuba,” says Marlén, who also visited the establishment before its repairs.

Discreet to the eye, the Colina hotel has 80 rooms and from the beginning attracted a mid-range clientele looking for its central location and amenities. At the end of the last century, after the dollarization of the Cuban economy, the ground floor was used by local musicians who were attracted by its intimate atmosphere and the type of guests who came to the place, many foreign professors and academics who wanted to be close to university classrooms.

Discreet to the eye, the Colina hotel has 80 rooms and has attracted a mid-range clientele since its inception. / 14ymedio

The reopening of the building, however, has not meant the return of those cultural moments. The Colina hotel now has the same standardized and characterless image as all the other accommodations managed by Isla Azul. That bohemian atmosphere of its beginnings, where writers, troubadours and merchants from the provinces would gather around the bar, remains only in the minds of the oldest residents. Nor has the retouching seemed to have restored the good service that characterized the place.

“The staff is not very attentive and the supplies are very unstable. One day they serve you something for breakfast and the next day they don’t have it anymore,” says Marlén. The employee dedicated to tourism promotion is blunt when evaluating the current situation: “Cuba is saved by the views, the sunrises and the nature, but not by the hotels.”

Unlike what usually happens in the rest of the world, where historic buildings are restored – as is the case of the Riviera and the Habana Libre – the Cuban government is spending hundreds of millions of dollars on the construction of new, larger, luxury facilities, despite the pessimistic outlook for the tourism sector.

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Power Cuts and Rationed Sales of Books Spoil the Havana Book Fair

’Cuentos negros de Cuba’, by Lydia Cabrera, will be presented two days before the closing ceremony

A group of soldiers in different uniforms participate in an event at the Fair. / 14ymedio

14ymedio, José Lassa/Juan Izquierdo, Havana, 15 February 2025 — Dozens of soldiers from the Armed Forces, in everyday uniform, entered this Saturday through the great gate of the Morro-Cabaña complex together with hundreds of Havana readers. The two colonial fortresses, whose walls were used for three centuries by firing squads and as a prison, serve every February as the venue for the Book Fair, held this year in the midst of a crippling energy crisis.

The most important cultural event of the year was inaugurated despite the total paralysis of the country this weekend. With several days of blackouts lasting more than 24 hours, climbing both castles was for Havana residents an escape from reality, rather than a love of reading. However, the fair has made mediocrity a habit and the sun, which reverberates off the pavement with a heat typical of August, makes the trip a torture.

The Fair’s directors were clear: to fill the pavilions, they had to “scrape” the warehouses of the Cuban Book Institute in search of copies printed even decades ago. New releases, only those that – thanks to the work and grace of the mules – are sold by individuals, with titles of dubious quality and always at exorbitant prices.

In the central pavilion, readers look for news under a warm blue canvas. / 14ymedio

For those who do want a book to take home, disappointment has been the rule for years. The pavilions have also been subject to rationing and only one copy per person can be taken home. The “star” of the event, the relaunch of the so-called Biblioteca del Pueblo, is for sale in a limited-edition: for 50 pesos, after much jostling and displeasure, one could buy a single copy of La Edad de Oro or Winnie the Pooh. continue reading

“It looks like a Spanish-Literature book from high school,” said a young woman who managed to “hunt down” Cuentos negros de Cuba by Lydia Cabrera, the most sought-after book at the event because it is by an author that Fidel Castro censored for decades.

Cabrera’s book is one of the 10 books on sale from the Biblioteca del Pueblo. Some will have presentations, like this one –on Friday, February 21, two days before the closing ceremony– at the José Martí Memorial, one of the sub-venues of the fair. “It is a book with special treatment,” commented the employee of Editorial Oriente.

It has become a habit to go to the Fair to get the school supplies that the children need. / 14ymedio

“This is nothing like what it used to be,” said an elderly woman who was leaving La Cabaña at full speed, with two school notebooks under her arm, at 11 in the morning. On the old drawbridge, others were waiting their turn to enter. “This is torture,” cried a woman who had already been waiting for 50 minutes in line under the overwhelming sun.

The guards are not bothered by the ever-increasing number of people gathering around the castle. Ready to withstand the siege, in uniform and immune to any pleas, they manage the line in dribs and drabs.

In the central tent – where, in theory, the few new releases from the People’s Library are found – “there are only two cashiers, the others have not arrived due to transport.” That is the explanation that runs from voice to voice under the no less agonizing blue light of the canvas. Everyone wonders how a book industry can be financed whose most valuable opportunity to sell the product is wasted with little staff and few resources.

Nobody looks at what are jokingly known as “template copies,” those books that no one wants to buy because of their content – generally memoirs of generals or anthologies of Fidel Castro.

The other “permanent” books are those brought by the embassies or the guest country of this years fair, South Africa, which are almost decorative or at prices that Cubans automatically discard. There were also pavilions for Venezuela, Guatemala, Vietnam, Iran and the Sahrawi Arab Republic.

To get to any stationery store you have to beat the lines and be patient. / 14ymedio

It has also become a habit to go to the Fair to get the school supplies that the children need and a box of crayons to pamper them. This year you can buy 10 notebooks at 250 pesos each. Erasers are 200 pesos. To get any of these stationery items you have to withstand the lines and be patient.

Readers feel the only place they can be at a book fair in the best-sellers pavilion. The language spoken there is the dollar. A novel by the American Stephen King or a Harry Potter volume – as well as countless self-help pamphlets – can cost almost 40 dollars. “13,000 pesos for a book!” translates one reader, bringing the price down to the humble national currency.

“It would have to be a special edition or hardcover to cost that much,” said a young woman, familiar with the book market abroad. “They sell you Stephen King books as if it were his latest success, and those books they are selling are 40 years old.”

When the tours of the castle esplanade are over, readers face the last challenge of the Fair: returning to Havana. The operation is, in fact, worthy of a King horror novel, and cannot be resolved even with all the magic of Harry Potter.

Returning to Havana from the Morro-Cabaña complex can become an overwhelming “adventure”. / 14ymedio

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Lacalle Pou Holds Off on Invitations to Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela for Orsi’s Inauguration

The person in charge of the Frente Amplio indicates that they plan to invite all the countries with which they have diplomatic relations.

In 2020, when he took office as president, Lacalle Pou did not invite representatives of those three countries, but the leftist Frente Amplio indicates that they plan to invite all countries with which there are diplomatic relations / EFE

EFE (via 14ymedio), Montevideo, 14 February 2025 — The president of Uruguay, Luis Lacalle Pou, has refused to send invitations to Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela for the inauguration of Yamandú Orsi as the new president of his country, according to the local newspaper El País.

After running against Álvaro Delgado, the ruling party’s candidate, in the second round of elections, the politician of the leftist Frente Amplio became the elected president of Uruguay on November 24.

According to the same media, Alejandro Sánchez, appointed Secretary of the Presidency by Orsi, in a meeting on Thursday about the Government transition, said that they plan to invite “all countries with which we have diplomatic relations.”

To the express question of whether an invitation will be sent to Javier Milei, President of Argentina, Sánchez responded positively. “Yes, I hope that he comes. Our intention is for everyone to come.” continue reading

The inauguration will take place on March 1, and the current president must sign the invitations to the delegations of other countries.

In 2020, when he took office as president, Lacalle Pou did not invite
representatives of the three countries, and he spoke about this on several occasions during his mandate.

During the CELAC summit held in Mexico in 2021, the current Uruguayan president harshly criticized the three regimes

In fact, during the summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) held in Mexico in 2021, the current Uruguayan president harshly criticized Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela for not having a “full democracy.”

He even had a tough conversation with the Cuban president, Miguel Díaz-Canel, which culminated with the Uruguayan president reciting a stanza from the song Patria y Vida.

“Don’t let blood continue to run for wanting to think differently. Who told you that Cuba is yours, if my Cuba belongs to all the people,” was the fragment of the song chosen by Lacalle Pou.

Likewise, Uruguay recognized Edmundo González Urrutia as the winner of last year’s presidential elections in Venezuela.

On January 4, the opposition leader visited Montevideo and was received by Lacalle Pou, whom he thanked “for having been in solidarity” with the Venezuelan cause.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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In Havana, the Return of La Rampa Fair, with Fewer Tourists and More Chinese Junk

In its early years, it was only possible to market national productions on its premises.

The reopening of the space, just metres away from the Hotel Habana Libre, comes with a change of image. / 14ymedio

14ymedio, José Lassa, Havana, 8 February 2025 – La Rampa Fair has returned to its traditional site in the heart of El Vedado. Dozens of sellers gathered there this week on Avenida 23 between Calles M and N, with products running from artisan items to counterfeit Chinese goods of low quality. And if, until only a few years ago, the ideal customer was a tourist looking for souvenirs, today, with the fall in numbers of foreign visitors to Cuba, the focus is on local buyers.

The reopening of the space, just metres away from the Hotel Habana Libre, comes with a change of image, which makes it look more like a foreign import shop than a local produce one. Along with the traditional maracas, the cedar carvings (that depict an elderly couple dressed to dance a good danzón) or the seed necklaces, it’s the imported trinkets, everyday items, and toiletries which are gaining ground.

“How much are those wireless headphones?”, a youth enquired on Friday morning. “5,000 pesos”, replied the seller, continuing to eat his sandwich. An adolescent asked about a Xiaomi Smart Band – a device which, among other things, should monitor the number of steps taken every day, and which costs 50 dollars on the black market. Nevertheless, at the La Rampa Fair, 2,000 pesos will get you this counterfeit version, which, although visually very similar to the genuine article, unfortunately will only tell you the time.

Along with traditional artisan goods, cheaper trashy items from abroad are gaining ground. / 14ymedio

Sitting next to the headphones were counterfeit Casio watches for 3,000 pesos, and sharing space on the same tablecloth were a whole variety of other products: nail trimmers, cotton buds, hairbrushes, skin cream and a face mask which promises to leave the face fresh and clean. With this range of options the stall resembles, more and more each day, the street markets of the less glamorous but very popular neighbourhoods, such as La Cuevita.

La Rampa Fair was founded in 1993. That summer, trapped in an economic crisis, Fidel Castro relaxed the prohibition of the Dollar, opened up the island to tourism and legalised small private businesses. The street market was then a very closely observed and controlled shop window, given its central location. In its early years it was only permitted to sell national products on its stalls, so that there was an abundance of leather sandals, knitwear, and an infinite variety of souvenirs to take away from the island – from palm tree fridge magnets, to berets in the style made popular by Che continue reading

Guevara, to miniature versions of the old ’almendron’ saloon cars which are everywhere in Habana, or the façade of the Bodeguita del Medio bar.

In the past decade those limits have loosened up and now poor quality foreign imports have taken over parts of the fair, which has also experienced some aesthetic changes. In the market white is now the colour of the parasols, of the sellers’ sweatshirts and of the tablecloths that cover their tables. Maybe it’s a way of exorcising that official argument that they “spoilt” the area, an argument which they used to move the whole thing, some six years ago, down towards one side of the Coppelia ice cream parlour, a change of location that brought losses to the vendors’ pockets and a loss of interest from shoppers.

Payment can be made in cash or by electronic transfer. / 14ymedio

Despite the invasion of plastic junk and counterfeit versions of expensive watches, there is still a variety of artisan produce on sale that is made in Cuba. Leather bags, footwear, goldsmith crafts, women’s dresses for around 4,000 to 6,000 pesos, wooden sculpture and papier-mâché ornaments. Payment can be made in cash or by electronic transfer. You have to show the QR code in each case to do this.

Although on Friday the majority of customers at the fair were Cubans, the few tourists that did approach the site were received like unicorns who had just popped out of a dense forrest. The vendors know that foreigners almost always prefer to pay in their own currency, so they offer to settle the bill in dollars or euros at an informal rate of exchange. The same thing occurs at the other nearby fair in the Don Quixote park. Below the ungainly figure of the famous nobleman, dollars are presented for a pair of flip-flops for the beach just as much as for a guerrilla cap with a red star on the front.

Below the ungainly figure of the famous nobleman, dollars are presented for a pair of flip-flops for the beach just as much as for a guerrilla cap with a red star on the front. / 14ymedio

Translated by Ricardo Recluso

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Exclusive at the Havana Book Fair: A Work by Lydia Cabrera, Exiled and Banned by Fidel Castro

Organizers complain that foreign writers ask for royalties in dollars

The event will feature a modest offering of 2,400,000 copies and 1,200 new releases, most of them digital. / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Havana, 9 February 2025 — Havana/ A book by Cuban ethnologist Lydia Cabrera appeared on Friday on the official Round Table TV program. The silence of the guests about the book, one of the novelties of the International Book Fair, was only broken by Randy Alonso with a comment of surprise. None of his interlocutors, however, dared to answer what the work of an author exiled in 1961 and banned by Fidel Castro’s cultural commissioners was doing there.

The title in question is Cuentos negros de Cuba, an anthology of Afro-Cuban legends first published on the island in 1940. Because it is a book halfway between fiction and anthropology – and because of its brevity – its publication is less problematic and cheaper for the Book Institute than other classics by the author, such as El Monte, published during her exile. The camera in the TV program also avoids focusing on the cover of the volume.

This was not the only surprise of a Round Table dedicated to the increasingly dull “Cuban book festival.” The president of the Institute, Juan Rodríguez, turned the program into a litany of complaints and economic details – such as payment to foreign authors or the participation of some MSMEs* – to get the event going.

“The only great novel that still has rights in Cuba” by José Saramago is ’Essay on Blindness’

The Institute must pay foreign writers what their books earn in Cuba in dollars and “at the exchange rate at that time,” Rodríguez revealed. “We talk to all the authors, we explain to them what a book is in Cuba, we try to reduce their profits to the bare minimum, but foreigners always participate in that condition.” continue reading

“They sell to Cuban citizens in national currency, but then the State has the obligation, given the current exchange rate, to facilitate the transfer in hard currency,” he added. The Institute had a small budget for the event – it did not say how much – because the decision to allocate money for the fair is made “at the same table” as other “more important” decisions, such as the “development of the country.”

“The only great novel that still has rights in Cuba” José Saramago’s ’Essay on Blindness’ — published in English as ’Blindness’. Saramago “kindly transferred” the rights years ago because it was being translated into Spanish. The Portuguese Nobel Prize winner broke with the Cuban regime in 2003 after the shooting of the three young men who took the Regla boat and denounced the imprisonment of 75 opponents and independent journalists during the so-called Black Spring.

“Every day it is more difficult,” said Rodriguez. If the fair is held it is because “the State has supported it” and it is “a gift from the State to the people.” The event, dedicated to South Africa and “to Fidel,” will have a modest offering: 2,400,000 copies and 1,200 new releases, most of them digital, he acknowledged. Alonso noted that many of these books are not even recently published, but were “in the warehouses.”

“The great novelty is the People’s Library,” said Rodríguez. It is a project conceived long ago by the critic Ambrosio Fornet and the painter Raúl Martínez, which published cheap editions of Cuban authors such as José Lezama Lima, Eliseo Diego, Nersys Felipe or Cabrera herself, and other universal classics such as Mark Twain, Walt Whitman or Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.

Rodriguez said that several MSMEs “related to knowledge products” had been invited.

Rodríguez said that several MSMEs – which he did not call by that acronym – “related to knowledge products” had been invited, but that they were required to be in order “so that the fair is not distorted.” He did not give any further details. Josué Pérez, coordinator of the fair, added that the event will include a Business Forum, but he did not say anything specific about that either.

The fair will be held from February 12 to 23 in two main venues: the colonial fortresses of Morro and La Cabaña, and several venues in Havana. It will be dedicated to the historian Francisca López Civeira and the writer Virgilio López Lemus.

On the choice of South Africa as the guest country, Rodriguez said that there was “a debt” to the African country to strengthen relations with a nation that “practically produces 25% of Africa’s gross domestic product.”

“They see it as a great gift to express their culture,” he added. According to the director, there will be books by Nadine Gordimer, a South African Nobel Prize winner for Literature who is sympathetic to the Cuban regime. Rodríguez did not say whether works by the other South African Nobel Prize winner for Literature, the well-known novelist JM Coetzee, published in Spanish by Random House, will arrive in Havana.

*Translator’s note: Literally, “Micro, Small, Medium Enterprise.” The expectation is that it is also privately managed, but in Cuba this may include owners/managers who are connected to the government. [mipyme in Spanish]

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In the Midst of the Energy Crisis, One of the Most Productive Charcoal Villages in Cuba Disappears

“The neighbors began to leave one by one. They took the doors, the windows, whatever they could, and they grabbed Manatí, to try to survive.”

Despite the urgency caused by the debacle of the electrical system, charcoal production in Las Tunas is going through a bad time / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Havana, 13 February 2025 — At 800 pesos a sack in Sancti Spíritus; at 1,000 in Cienfuegos; at 1,400 in Holguín: the price of charcoal – black gold for Cubans in a year that already broke the record of electricity deficit – rises to the rhythm of a country without options for cooking or lighting. In that context, the dismantling of Las Carboneras, a town that lived by manufacturing and selling this product, complicates the energy landscape in Las Tunas.

Despite the urgency caused by the debacle of the electrical system, charcoal production in Las Tunas is going through a bad time. The municipal company Agroforestal had only two producers on staff, and they recently resigned. Now they work, according to the director, with intermittent operators, who “come, set up an oven and leave.”

No carbonero can earn much. The State pays 15 pesos per kilogram of charcoal; until recently there were only four producers, and they had to provide the bag, which costs 500 pesos. The price on the informal market is triple that figure, and, in addition, now the buyer has to provide the empty continue reading

bag.

The children of the place were “predestined” to be carboneros and drunks, to withstand the misery, and the “mythical onslaught of mosquitoes” was an everyday occurrence

Las Carboneras did not have more than 10 houses, Periódico 26 reports, but it was the leader in charcoal production in the province. The town was an extremely poor place, on the way to the municipality of Puerto Manatí. The children of the place were “predestined” to be charcoal producers and drunks, to withstand the misery and the “mythical onslaught of mosquitoes,” an everyday occurrence.

“The residents began to leave one by one. They took the doors, the windows, what they could, and headed for Manati, to try to survive,” explains Enrique Pérez, a carbonero since he was nine years old.

The silhouette of the town’s large ovens was unmistakable. Each oven produced 100 full sacks, operated by barefoot workers without protection against fire, according to Pérez. Even at dawn an operator watched the pyres. People from Las Tunas went there to buy charcoal without intermediaries. Despite the harshness of the trade, “they defended a private business,” and that contributed to their effort.

Without attributing the debacle to the State, Pérez recalls how the people were losing everything. First, the school closed, forcing the children to walk several kilometers, along a path full of marabou, to go to the nearest classroom. They came back at night. Then the ration store, with a few secure provisions for the oldest farmers, disappeared.

“There was no other choice. People had to leave,” Pérez continued. “To make charcoal you have to be at work when the sun rises, and there is no way to go around looking for food, at least not every day. We stopped receiving the chicken, the minced meat…”

Pérez continues to maintain some ovens in Las Carboneras, encouraged by the increase in the price of charcoal

After 30 years of living from his work in Las Carboneras, and besieged by the thieves and bandits of the area, Pérez also left. “I endured everything I could, but they stole my animals; one night three men came and even threatened us. My wife got nervous, and every time the dog barked, she began to cry.”

Now they live in an improvised shack in Puerto Manatí, but they say they are “calm.” Pérez continues to maintain ovens in Las Carboneras, encouraged by the rise in the price of charcoal. However, he is clear with the Communist Party newspaper in Las Tunas: “Money is not enough for me! This doesn’t pay anything. Making charcoal is very hard.”

“As expected, the charcoal producers ask for clothes, shoes, files (to sharpen the machetes). They are specialized workers,” explains the director of the Agroforestry of Las Tunas. “Recently we have given them files, machetes, mochas (a flat kind of machete), in small quantities.” But production hasn’t taken off.

Immersed in abandonment and surrounded by marabou, the local authorities have been clear about Las Carboneras: “There is no longer any way to recover the community.”*

*Translator’s note: Charcoal, also called “coal,” is vegetal, made from trees. The industry is now industrialized and is one of Cuba’s largest export products.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Long Gone Are the Times When a Flying Saucer Arrived at the Ciudad Deportiva in Havana

Stagnant water has turned a shade of green within the pools. / 14ymedio

14ymedio, José Lassa, Havana, February 9, 2025 –Resembling a flying saucer or a hamburger bun, Havana’s Ciudad Deportiva stands not only as one of the city’s premier architectural treasures but also as the backdrop for thrilling events like championship finals and Cuba’s sole Rolling Stones concert.

Nestled at the crossroads of several capital neighborhoods, this grand complex, inaugurated in 1958, symbolizes the current state of sports on the island. The training grounds, race track, indoor courts, and especially the swimming pools, are all in dire need of extensive renovation to regain their former glory and pivotal role in nurturing young athletes

Stagnant water has turned a shade of green within the pools—one Olympic-sized and the other for diving. The cracked and peeling interior walls vie with the damaged stands where once the crowd buzzed, shouting or applauding as their favorite athletes swam. Now, a leak has flooded part of the seating area, from which a nauseating smell emanates. continue reading

There are five basketball courts, but of the ten hoops they should have, only three remain. / 14ymedio

Adjacent to the pool area, five basketball courts stretch out, though only three of the ten hoops remain. One of the courts is also plagued by wastewater, giving it an appearance somewhere between a swamp and a landfill where all sorts of trash pile up.

One of the remaining basketball nets collapsed a few days ago, and a coach with his students took it upon themselves to set it back up, knowing that the Ciudad Deportiva staff wouldn’t handle the repair. The officials from the National Institute of Sports, Physical Education, and Recreation (Inder), located within the complex, seem indifferent to the decay spreading around them.”

At the entrance of the Inder headquarters in Havana, coaches and their students often wait to ’catch’ the president of the official entity, Osvaldo Vento. Only after persistent insistence and complaints about the area’s deterioration does the official agree to send some workers to assess a fallen hoop, a race track overgrown with weeds, or the sewage water accumulating in parts of the grounds. Most of the time, only a ’temporary patch’ is done, laments a basketball coach.

Residents avoid the area at night due to the multiple gaps in the fence and the lack of surveillance, making it a dangerous place. During the day, some residents from the nearby neighborhoods of Cerro or Nuevo Vedado come to run, do calisthenics, or simply cut through the complex to shorten their route. The crossing must be done with caution, as the holes and tall grass can hold unexpected surprises.

Residents avoid the area at night because its multiple holes in the fence and lack of surveillance make it a dangerous area. / 14ymedio

Its current state surprises no one. Since its opening, the Ciudad Deportiva has undergone only two major renovations. The first was in preparation for the 1991 Pan American Games in the Cuban capital, and the second as part of the celebrations for the 500th anniversary of the Villa de San Cristóbal de la Habana. Five years after that milestone, the cracks of a renovation that was more superficial painting than deep intervention have emerged.

In memory, however, some stories of its past remain. Like that day on December 28, 1954, Cuba’s equivalent of April Fool’s Day, when Cuban humorous wit flourished on the grounds where the Ciudad Deportiva was being built. Probably influenced by the overwhelming impact of H.G. Wells’ War of the Worlds, a rumor—strengthened by news spread by the national press—spread about the landing of a flying saucer in the vicinity.

Thousands of curious onlookers gathered at the site, with talks of even mobilizing the Army. Eventually, several famous Cuban actors and singers, including the popular Rosita Fornés, emerged from the artifact dressed as Martians. The ’close encounter’ with the Habaneros was accompanied by a musical piece asserting, ’The Martians have arrived / And they arrived dancing cha-cha-cha,’ composed by Rosendo Ruiz.

Seventy years have passed since that memorable day, and the promises to transform the area into a modern zone with cutting-edge infrastructure have not been fulfilled. Neither the enthusiastic crowds nor the thousands of voices that once filled the grounds of the Ciudad Deportiva remain.

One of the playing fields is also affected by wastewater. / 14ymedio

Translated by Gustavo Loredo

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The Dollar Is Frozen in Cuba Despite Trump’s Limitations on Remittances

The OMFi report confirms Western Union’s loss of importance as a money transfer channel

Cubans have become accustomed to receiving money through more advantageous channels than Western Union / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Madrid, 14 February 2025 — Although it has not been even one month since Donald Trump assumed the presidency of the United States, many things have changed inside and outside its borders, including the return of some policies towards Cuba activated in his first term and softened by the Biden Administration. What remains unchanged – and nothing indicates short-term variations – is the informal exchange rate of the peso for the dollar on the Island.

According to the most recent report of the Cuban Currency and Finance Observatory (OMFi), of El Toque, signed by the Cuban economist Pavel Vidal, Washington’s policies could be felt throughout this year, but for the moment, any change is more in internal hands.

“The forecasts are subject to the appearance of new exchange rate policy announcements by the Cuban Government. More precise information about what the economic authorities intend with the ’resizing’ of the foreign exchange market and the floating rate, and the readings that the market makes on these signals, will probably become the main determinants of the short-term fluctuations of exchange rates in the coming months,” he continue reading

summarizes.

With the available data, the forecast is that the month will end with very little variation in the exchange rate, which has been anchored at one dollar for 340 pesos since January 13 without a single movement. The minimum and maximum range for the US currency is 336-350, a paralysis for convulsive times in which several factors have influence, especially remittances.

With the available data, the forecast is that the month will end with very little variation in the exchange rate, which has been anchored at one dollar for 340 pesos since January 13 without a single movement

“A curious element is that dollar and euro rates have remained stable at the beginning of February despite the prospects that the US administration will strengthen the sanctions,” says the report, which puts on the table the non-impact of the suspension of Western Union (WU) money shipments last week, after the incorporation of Orbit S.A. into the List of Restricted Entities of Cuba. That company was created to take over the management of remittances in place of Fincimex, sanctioned in 2020 for its connection with the Cuban military.

However, Vidal admits that the situation was expected, since the reactivation of the service in January 2023 was not noticed either. “All this confirms the loss of importance of the remittance channel through WU as a result of the presence of a diversity of more competitive operators when making transactions with an exchange rate close to the informal rate,” he says.

“Both Orbit and WU were symbolic agents in the remittance business for quite some time,” says a Cuban economist on social networks who claims to have worked in the business. “Neither of the two could compete with the dozens of agencies that send remittances to Cuba in dollars in cash or in national currency with TRMI (representative rate of the informal market) as a reference. Their importance in the market is marginal.”

The expert, who qualifies the volumes of incoming remittances through the official way as “a laugh,” says that “there is a whole market of young people on Vespa-type motorcycles throughout Havana, who give you dollars in cash, something with which WU and Orbit cannot compete.” In addition, he maintains that he knows some of them, and they confirm that the market “is doing well” without anomalies.

The OMFi report says that one point against the remittances sent by WU is that they can only be deposited in accounts in MLC, which discourages that channel. In addition, it adds that “many emigrants choose to buy goods for their families instead of sending money.” The reflections are consistent with the data of the document prepared by Cuba Siglo 21 in December, which reported that Gaesa lost more than 95% of the market for remittances from the US to the Island.

This newspaper had also noticed, from street reports, the change in the uses and customs of senders and receivers of money from abroad electronically, especially through Zelle.

The OMFi report reviews the disastrous national economic panorama, starting with the fall in tourism that “not only puts pressure on state finances, but deals a blow to numerous families and businesses that offer services to visitors and that, in general, are distributed throughout the Island. This includes the spillovers that connect with the informal foreign exchange market.”

This newspaper had also noticed, from street reports, the change in the uses and customs of senders and receivers of money from abroad electronically, especially through Zelle

The sugar harvest is not expected to be good, nor can the improvement in the production of nickel and cobalt contribute positively, due to the drop in prices on the international market.

In this scenario, the pressure on wholesale and retail trade do not help, nor does the excessive leverage in foreign investment, criticized by Vidal. “Foreign companies expect to obtain profits that are repatriated, while private businesses are more intertwined with the Island’s economy.”

The report also analyzes dollarization and its possible impact, which could be positive according to the OMFi for some branches and companies, but at the expense of market segmentation and the marginalization of those who do not have foreign currency.

The expectation, in short, is less dependent on the United States than on any move that the Cuban regime decides to make at any moment to establish – as announced – a floating exchange rate

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Cubans Contributed to the Increase of 3,000,000 Irregular Migrants in the US in Four Years

Venezuelan, Colombian, Haitian and Peruvian migrants deported to Mexico choose to return to their countries of origin or look for work in Costa Rica

A group of migrants in a shelter in Reynosa, Tamaulipas, on the border with the United States. / EFE

14ymedio/EFE, Havana, 12 February 2025 — Irregular crossings by Cubans, Venezuelans, Colombians, Ecuadorians and Nicaraguans, in addition to Humanitarian Parole and the CBP One application promoted by the Joe Biden Administration, contributed to the increase of 3,000,000 “unauthorized immigrants” in the United States between 2019 and 2023. According to a report by the Migration Policy Institute (MPI), in this last year a population of 13.7 million irregular migrants was registered. “The country had not seen such large annual increases since the early 2000s,” it emphasizes.

The document, prepared by an independent, nonpartisan group of experts based in Washington, notes that between 2010 and 2019, the number of irregular migrants remained stable. “Growing political repression in Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela fueled new displacement” in 2021, which coincided with the recovery of the US economy after the pandemic.

According to the Migration Policy Institute, there were 13.7 million irregular migrants in the US in 2023

“At the same time, there was the economic crisis and episodes of insecurity in Central and South America, and outbreaks of gang violence in the continue reading

Caribbean,” the report adds.

Among the 12.8 million migrants counted by the United States in 2023, 171,958 of them were Cubans . At the beginning of that year, “the Biden Administration created two new humanitarian parole processes: a program that allows Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans with American sponsors to travel to the United States on their own and through the use of the CBP One application, which allows migrants to schedule an appointment at a port of entry,” notes the MPI.

The numbers began to decline last year, according to the document due to “higher levels of law enforcement by Mexico and a series of asylum restrictions” months before the end of Biden’s administration. In the last two months of 2024, no Cubans arrived in the United States through humanitarian parole. The program that went into effect in 2023 and authorized travel to 110,970 citizens ended with the arrival of Donald Trump.

Under the Republican administration, the US is prioritizing deportations of illegal immigrants and has tightened border surveillance. On Tuesday, the Coast Guard returned 16 rafters who were intercepted 15 miles southwest of Gun Cay (Bahamas) on the Raymond Evan vessel.

Coast Guard Officer Brodie MacDonald warned that “we will continue to faithfully execute our border security mission in the Straits of Florida and the Caribbean Sea” and will deport those who try to enter illegally. Since the beginning of fiscal year 2025, on October 1, authorities have returned 98 Cubans, compared to 749 in fiscal year 2024.

On Tuesday, the Coast Guard returned 16 rafters who were intercepted in the Bahamas on the ship ’Raymond Evan’

Meanwhile, dozens of Venezuelans, Colombians, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Peruvians who were deported from the United States to Mexico have begun crossing the Nicaraguan border on their way back to their countries of origin, or to Costa Rica or Colombia in search of work, they themselves reported to the local press on Tuesday.

The migrants have crossed the Las Manos border checkpoint, on the border between Honduras and Nicaragua, following changes in immigration policy implemented by the Donald Trump administration, according to testimonies offered to Radio ABC Stereo, a radio station in the northern region of Nicaragua.

Venezuelan Gustavo Enrique Gallardo told the media that he entered the United States on 20 December 2024, but that when he attended the immigration appointment he was detained for 45 days and later deported to Mexico. “We are going to Venezuela. They say (in the US) that we are criminals, but we are parents,” said the Maracaibo native.

Joel Martinez said his story was similar to Gallardo’s, except that he was only detained for a month and then sent to Mexico.

Also on the return trip were Venezuelans Milagros Rodríguez, her husband and their three children, who, according to their statements, were denied immigration appointments and, once their original permit expired, were deported to Mexico.

Las Manos is one of three border checkpoints and an international route shared by Honduras and Nicaragua. In Nicaraguan territory, it is located in the municipality of Dipilto, department of Nueva Segovia, 255 kilometers north of Managua.

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Cuban Authorities Suspend Work and Teaching Activities on Friday and Saturday Due to the Energy Crisis

The Minister of Labour and Social Security indicates that the decision is taken to “contribute to the necessary savings”

In some cities, blackouts have already lasted for more than 30 hours. / EFE

14ymedio/EFE, Havana, 14 February 2025 — The Cuban government announced on Thursday the closures of workplaces and schools for Friday and Saturday due to the deep energy crisis that the country is suffering, which has worsened in recent days.

Marta Elena Feito Cabrer, Minister of Labor and Social Security, wrote on social media that this decision was taken due to “the energy situation” in the country and to “contribute to the necessary savings,” although she added that “essential” activities were exempted.

“Taking into account the energy situation facing the country and with the aim of contributing to the necessary savings in electricity consumption to mitigate the impact on the population, it has been decided to suspend non-essential teaching and work activities under current conditions for the this 14 and 15 February,” she said.

The Cuban government did not clarify how this measure affects the 33rd edition of the Havana International Book Fair, which theoretically starts this Friday in the capital with plans to host 400 guests from 40 countries. continue reading

The official press reproduced statements by the Director General of Electricity of the Ministry of Energy and Mines, Lázaro Guerra, in which he assured that “tomorrow will also be complex,” although his department expects “an improvement in the effects on the service.”

The Electric Union (UNE) had predicted a deficit of 1,810 megawatts (MW) for peak hours on Thursday, which finally amounted to 1,656 MW as of 6:30 p.m., as the agency posted on social media early Friday morning.

According to the note, the slight improvement was due to “greater availability of diesel fuel for distributed generation and lower-than-forecast demand.”

Unit 3 of the Santa Cruz del Norte thermoelectric plant was incorporated into the National Electric System (SEN) and the start-up of Unit 6 of Renté has begun. In addition, Units 5 and 6 of Nuevitas should also begin their start-up this Friday.

The UNE also announced the start-up of the Turkish patanas — floating power plants — that remain in Havana, Matanzas and Santiago. Currently only three of the eight previously operating are workable, due to the availability of fuel. There are at least three oil tankers in the port of Havana and Matanzas is awaiting the arrival, on February 19, of the Russian Akademik Gubkin, which left Ust-Luga with 100,000 tons of crude oil, according to Reuters.

There are at least three oil tankers in the port of Havana and Matanzas is awaiting the arrival of the Russian Akademik Gubkin, which left Ust-Luga with 100,000 tons of crude oil, according to Reuters.

In recent days, power outages have been ravaging the island. Cities across the country have been experiencing power outages lasting more than 24 consecutive hours over the past two days, and reports of power outages lasting more than 30 hours have already come from many provinces, including Villa Clara, Cienfuegos, Sancti Spíritus, Matanzas and Granma.

In addition, for the first time in Havana, service suspensions of at least six hours have been scheduled, forcing emblematic establishments in the capital, such as the Coppelia ice cream parlor, to close.

Cuba has been suffering from this energy crisis for years, which has worsened since the last quarter of 2024, a period in which three national blackouts were recorded. Two of them were due to unforeseen events which, in a critical operational situation, caused the National Electric System (SEN) to collapse.

The worsening energy crisis follows the breakdowns in the country’s obsolete thermoelectric plants, which have been in operation for decades, worsened by a chronic lack of investment, and a fuel shortage due to the State’s lack of foreign currency to import it and the drop in deliveries from Venezuela.

According to various independent estimates, the government would need between 8 and 10 billion dollars to revive the National Electric System, an investment beyond its reach. And any solution could only be realized in the long term.

According to various independent estimates, the Government would need between 8 and 10 billion dollars to revive the National Electric System, an investment beyond its reach.

To try to alleviate this, the authorities are accelerating a plan to build solar parks with the help of China, which should provide 200 MW this year, still far from the daily needs, which are around 1,500 MW.

The frequent power outages are weighing down the Cuban economy, which shrank by 1.9% in 2023 and did not grow last year, according to government estimates. According to these figures, the island’s GDP remains below 2019 levels and will not exceed that in 2025, for which the Executive expects a 1% increase.

Power outages have been the trigger for some protests, such as the social uprising in July 2021, the largest anti-government demonstrations in decades; those in Nuevitas and Havana in August 2022; and those in Santiago de Cuba and other eastern cities in March 2024.

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A Jehovah’s Witness is Arrested in Manzanillo, Cuba, for Selling Drugs That Would Resolve the Shortage

Kleisy Suárez had medicines sent to him from the US and others produced domestically

At Suárez’s house, located on Cocal Street, between Tívoli and Concordia, the police seized a significant volume of medicines. / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Carlos A. Rodríguez, Manzanillo (Granma), 14 February 2025 — The case of Kleisy Suárez, recently arrested for the possession and sale of medicines – both imported and domestically manufactured – has shocked Manzanillo, in Granma province. The father of two girls, a graduate in Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation and a Jehovah’s Witness, he is known in the municipality for his affable character and his sense of solidarity in business.

At his home – located on Cocal Street, between Tívoli and Concordia – the police seized a significant volume of medicines and other medical supplies that were being promoted on social media and then sold from home

Initially, Suárez only had medicines sent to him by his relatives from the United States. Later, he stocked up on other medicines produced in the country, the origin of which is under investigation. He sold antibiotics, antiparasitics, painkillers, anti-inflammatories, antihistamines, drugs for high blood pressure, heart problems, eye drops and ointments, as well as syringes and suture material, all of which are scarce.

The prices set by Suárez were governed by informal rates, although in his case they were usually below other similar offers. continue reading

La farmacia Piloto de Manzanillo, ubicada en la calle General Benítez, esquina a Martí. / 14ymedio

Suárez’s arrest divides the opinions of the people of Manzanillo. The shortage has even caused entire premises to become informal pharmacies. This is the case of a restaurant that last year became the best-stocked pharmacy in the municipality. Although many have suffered first-hand the exorbitant prices of resellers and hoarders, others admit that without informal pharmacies they would not be able to obtain their medications.

“If it were up to me, they should all be rounded up and sent to work in agriculture, so they can learn what it means to work,” says Ismael, 73, who has a radical view of the illegal drug trade. “It’s time they got tough on the criminals, because these people are exploiting the people. Prices are sky-high, you don’t have a penny in your pocket and they’re living the sweet life.”

Georgina, a housewife, also maintains a critical attitude from her religious ethics. “I know that boy and I really didn’t know what was happening. More than once I bought medicine from him from outside. Other times he gave it to me as gifts,” she says. “We share faith in the work and grace of Jehovah, even though we congregated in different places. This has caused me a lot of anguish, a lot of guilt. Since it happened, every day I pray for him and for that family. And for myself too. I should have acted differently.”

“I don’t think he did what he did out of greed, but out of necessity,” explains José, an acquaintance of Suárez who lives in the same neighborhood. Suárez worked in a rehabilitation center. His salary, he explains, was not enough to support his wife and daughters, so he decided to start selling what his relatives sent him.

Pharmacy on Martí Street, corner of Masó. / 14ymedio

“His mistake was to start selling State pills instead of continuing with what they sent him from outside, but believe me, it is a difficult situation,” he adds. “I knew him by sight from here, from the ICP neighborhood, in south Manzanillo. I understand that he moved a while ago. I never had to buy anything from him because my nephews send me the things I need. Of course, those who do not have that possibility have to solve it another way.”

For José, Suárez’s story has something of a fatality and any of the many illegal businesses in Manzanillo – and throughout Cuba – could have failed: “That boy is just one more and he had to lose.”

No one in the village forgets, José adds, that during the coronavirus pandemic – and even before – the State authorized the shipment of medicines from abroad without profit. There was some consent, even on the part of the authorities, to the fact that some of these packages, with all kinds of medicines – not only against Covid-19 – ended up in the stash of informal traders.

“No matter how sick someone is, no one consumes so many medicines daily,” he explains. “Thanks to that, people solved the problem because the State had no way to cover the demand for medicines, much less in the middle of the epidemiological crisis. As far as I know, this sale was never legal, but if it disappears, people will have a worse time because there is still no way to supply pharmacies with even the basics. And the hospitals are the same. There you have to bring everything from the medicine to the syringe to inject it because they never have anything.”

Alfredo, another man from Manzanillo, is reluctant to address the issue, but ends up admitting his relationship with the detainee. “It is hard for me to talk about this, because I have always been a man who has been part of the Revolution. What is wrong is wrong, and they say that I almost had a store of health products at home. However, I have to admit that more than once he got me out of trouble, especially with medicines for me and my old lady.”

Thanks to Suárez, Alfredo got the precious “American pills” he needed. It was a surprise, he adds, to find out on the Internet that he also sold national drugs. Despite everything, he has the best opinion of him. “You could see in his eyes that he was not a bad person. Nor was he ostentatious. There is a lot of talk about this on the networks without knowing him. If what they published is true, I cannot say that he was not wrong. I also do not doubt that there is even envy among other sellers. There are people who sell more expensively, here and there, and nothing happens to them.”

Pharmacy on Martí Street, corner with Salud. / 14ymedio

“The Aytana Alama, who published the police operation on the medicines, should also investigate and publish the corruption from above, which is where those resources should be well guarded,” Alfredo emphasizes bluntly.

Facebook profiles and Telegram channels have echoed Suárez’s arrest in recent days. Comments point to irritation at the lack of medicines in pharmacies and demand that there be no impunity for sellers, but also for those who, from privileged positions, divert huge quantities of products.

However, more worrying than the shortage of supplies in state pharmacies is the fact that there is also a shortage of medicines in the informal market – where everyone already buys regularly – and their prices, already inaccessible to many, are rising.

“People forget that during the quarantine during the pandemic, they had to wait in line at pharmacies for days and nights, without even knowing if the medicines they needed would be available,” recalls Hortensia, an elderly woman with varicose veins on her legs.

At that time, she says, you had to pay a high price for your turn in line or for the work of a colero — someone others pay to stand in line for them — and it was almost like paying an overprice for medicine. Anyone who dared to line up in person was faced with a night of pushing and mistreatment.

Hortensia takes Venatón and other drugs sold by the so-called card. More than once she returned home empty-handed because there was nothing in the pharmacy or the medicines were so few that she could not manage to buy them. She is not alone, she says. “There are also problems with treatments for asthmatics, epileptics, nerves, eyes… There are sickly old people like me who ended up in lines worse off than when they arrived.

Regarding the activities of Suárez and other drug sellers, she has no doubts: “Whenever I can pay, I do so and I secure my treatment.”

Kleisy Suárez’s situation is a national alarm and an unfinished business with those who depend on a stable supply of medicines. He did not create the crisis nor is he the one who steals medicines, medical supplies or other products or raw materials from warehouses and storage facilities under his responsibility. Many in Manzanillo fear that he will be made a scapegoat, without this solving the underlying problem of the shortage of medicines.

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The Energy Debacle Melts the Little Ice Cream That Coppelia Offers to Cubans

The blackout reveals the absolute harshness with which Cubans perceive their situation

At 2:00 pm the doors of Coppelia open for a public eager to taste a sip of ice cream / 14ymedio

14ymedio, José Lassa, Havana, 13 February 2025 — The ups and downs of electricity give no respite to the refrigerators where Coppelia’s ice cream is stored. From blackout to blackout, between shortages and closures, a scoop of chocolate can become a warm milkshake in a few minutes. Without power and in the tropics, where it will no longer cool down until the end of the year, Havana’s ice cream “cathedral” is not even a chapel.

Even so, there is a line in front of the emblematic blue facade. “They are going to open,” says an enthusiast to whom the 1,810 megawatts (MW) of deficit announced today by the Electric Union has not taken away hope. Indeed, at 2:00 pm the doors of Coppelia open to an audience eager to taste a sip – with 31°C (87.8 F) there is no other consistency – of ice cream.

The joy will not last long. The most informed in the line, who handle the cumbersome calendar of cuts with ease, know that Coppelia will lose power at 3:00 in the afternoon. The time when “they killed Lola,” according to the pessimistic saying,* will be when the possibility of cooling down the product that gave fame to one of the most visited places in El Vedado will be lost.

The most informed in the line, who handle the calendar of cuts with ease, know that Coppelia will lose power at 3:00 in the afternoon

Aside from the energy situation, Coppelia suffers its own way of the cross. Last week, a few days after its laborious reopening, it plunged back into the mediocrity from which, supposedly, the repair was going to save it. Now, along with the price increase and the diminished supply, habaneros will also have to suffer multiple disappointments in the face of a dessert that comes in any form and temperature except in the appropriate one. continue reading

After a fatal January for the national electrical system (SEN), and after a year of alumbrones,** this month the lack of electricity hit rock bottom again. Without too much alarm on the part of the authorities, who have normalized the cycles of increasingly abusive blackouts, a deficit of 1,870 MW was estimated.

The figure, higher than the one the country experienced last October when the SEN collapsed, presaged a new total blackout that is still a threat this Thursday. In practice, cities like Cienfuegos, Cárdenas and Matanzas have their own blackouts of more than 24 hours now, similar to yesterday.

Aside from the energy situation, Coppelia suffers its own way of the cross of closures and reopenings / 14ymedio

“I’m on strike and won’t go to work today,” a pre-university teacher who has been unable to plan her classes and perform various household chores told this newspaper. “I haven’t even dressed. If they don’t turn on the light, I’m not leaving my house.”

No matter the latitude, when the blackout arrives it brings out the total rawness with which Cubans perceive their situation. In a barbershop in Nuevo Vedado, in Havana, the current went out leaving several craniums half-cut. “When are they going to get on the plane!?” was the question that everyone shouted in unison.

They mean the leaders, whose erratic management always affects – and every day – “those below.” Unperturbed, forced to create strategies against electrical uncertainty, the barbers took out rechargeable lamps and electric shavers with the batteries charged. “Prepared and alert,” joked one of the workers, parodying the motto of the Civil Defense in the face of cyclones.

The blackouts totally interrupt or paralyze daily life in Cuba. In addition to economic consequences, energy instability has an important human impact: frustration, depression and proliferating nervous breakdowns leave the brains of Cubans as melted as the ice cream served this Thursday by the Coppelia in Havana.

Translator’s notes

* According to Cuban legend, Lola was a prostitute who was stabbed to death by a lover at 3:00 in the afternoon. It became a popular expression for that time of day.
** As opposed to the apagones (blackouts), Cubans coined the word ‘alumbrones’ for the brief periods when the lights are on.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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General Guillermo García’s Baseball-Playing Grandson Denounces the Complications of Sending Dollars to Cuba

“They give you MLC and they keep the real money, the hard money,” said the first baseman, who ‘defected’ in Canada

Guillermo Garcia received a $50,000 bonus when he joined the Canadian team Capitales de Quebec of the Frontier League / Capitales de Quebec

14ymedio, Havana, 13 February 2025 — Payments in dollars received by Cuban players in Japan cannot be transferred to an account in Cuba without being transformed into MLC (freely convertible currency). This was the “discovery” denounced this Wednesday by the Cuban first-baseman Guillermo García, who played in a team from the Japan until he was hired in Canada last year, and deserted shortly after.

“When I managed to send something it arrived in MLC,” he told the specialized media Pelota Cubana, about a problem that affects thousands of Cubans who send remittances to their families on the Island. “They give you credit and keep the real (money), the hard currency.”

The grandson of General Guillermo García, one of the historic figures of the Regime, a player from Granma province, who is now in the Dominican Republic, traveled to Japan in 2022 through the National Institute of Sports, Physical Education and Recreation (Inder) to join the Dragones de Chunichi club, in exchange for 100,000 dollars. There he played two seasons for the Japanese team and received a proportional part of the agreed amount every month.

“When I managed to send something it arrived in MLC,” he told Pelota Cubana, about a problem that affects thousands of Cubans who send remittances to the Island

He made several money transfers to Cuba, always in the same way, until several Cuban baseball players – including the famous Alfredo Despaigne – recommended “not to send any dollars to Cuba.” The ideal, García said, is to “carry the money in cash” or send it with a mule, a more complicated process but much less expensive than transactions to a Cuban account in MLC.

García also highlighted the difficulties that Cubans have in opening an account with a Japanese bank. As in other countries of the world, the fear of being sanctioned by Washington for making transactions linked to Cuba remains an obstacle. continue reading

Also, with the help of Inder in June 2024, García transferred to the Canadian team Capitales de Quebec of the Frontier League, an independent league that is developed between Canada and the United States. “When I signed there was a bonus of $50,000 that they added to my contract (of $100,000),” he said.

Inder keeps 20% of the contract of its athletes. Last December, the state entity negotiated the participation of baseball player Raidel Martínez for four seasons with the Yomiuri Giants in exchange for $32,500,000. From that money, Inder retained $6,500,000, more than $1,600,000 per season.

Carlos Monier, Liván Moinelo, Frank Abel Álvarez, Cristian Rodríguez, Darío Sarduy and Ariel Martínez are in the Japanese Baseball League. Two other players are in Mexico, six in Italy and four more in Canada.

According to coach Julio Estrada, the Cuban Baseball Federation can directly negotiate agreements with the teams that hire their athletes. However, in the case of “large contracts,” the Island has the support of “a Japanese lawyer,” he told Pelota Cubana. Unlike agents looking for better salaries, “the Federation limits itself to listening to the offer the player will receive” and passes the document on to the player to sign. “Inder doesn’t even know about the negotiation; it is only informed about what the player is going to deposit into his account so that it can collect the commission.”

The “low salaries” led the athletes of Ciego de Ávila, Osvaldo Vázquez, Rubén Valdés, Alexander Jiménez, Gustavo Brito and Liosvany Pérez to request their dismissal

Salary has been a hot topic among the Island’s players. Last month, the Artemis athlete Yuniesky García called on his teammates to join him to “expose that the salary is not in accordance with so much work and sacrifice” that they face every day.

Recently, the “low salaries” led the athletes of Ciego de Ávila, Osvaldo Vázquez, Rubén Valdés, Alexander Jiménez, Gustavo Brito and Liosvany Pérez to ask for their exclusion from the payroll. With the salary of “3,500 pesos I can’t support my family,” Vázquez told Pelota Cubana USA. As a trainer, the athlete would earn only 5,000 pesos, less than 15 dollars per month at the informal exchange rate.

In the same vein, baseball player Dennis Laza said: “Really the conditions of the Elite League these two years and the salary we earn do not seem elite.” He argued that this was a reason not to leave his work with the under-12 category of San José.

“I know that there are many people in other provinces who are upset with the position I took at the time, but if they were in the place of many of us and earned what we earn, without anyone to stand up for them against the injustices that happen, they would understand a little more,” he stressed. “If when your work is always the best you can do for your country and they belittle what you do with love, then you would understand why we who are affected are proceeding in this way.”

Translated by Regina Anavy

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