Translating Cuba – Page 114 – English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island

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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The NGO Prisoners Defenders Records 1,150 Political Prisoners in Cuba in January

The organization maintains the 201 prisoners released in January on its list, arguing that their sentences have not expired and they remain in practice on parole.

The Combinado del Este Prison in Havana / Marcel Valdés

EFE (via 14ymedio), Madrid, 13 February 2025 — The NGO Prisoners Defenders (PD) this Thursday recorded 1,150 political prisoners in Cuba at the end of January, 11 fewer than was reported in its previous monthly report.

The organization, based in Madrid, includes on its list the 201 prisoners released from prison, arguing that their sentences have not been extinguished and that they are actually on parole.

These prisoners were released in January with the Cuban Government’s decision to release 553 prisoners sentenced for “various crimes,” after the Biden administration removed Havana from the list of countries that sponsor terrorism.

The PD report adds five new names to the list and specifies that 16 were released after full compliance with the sanction or measure imposed. continue reading

The NGO also highlighted the treatment suffered by the 123 women included on its list, including two trans women who are imprisoned among men

The organization, one of the main registries of political prisoners in Cuba, indicated that there are 721 prisoners “with serious medical pathologies due to the lack of food, mistreatment, the repressive environment and the lack of adequate medical care.”

It added that it verified “70 political prisoners with serious mental health disorders without adequate medical or psychiatric treatment.”

It also explained that 33 minors are still on the list, of which 29 are serving their sentences and four are being criminally prosecuted “with precautionary measures without any judicial protection.” The minimum criminal age in Cuba is 16 years.

Prisoners Defenders said that there are 222 people accused of sedition, when in most cases they participated in peaceful protests, and it added that 219 “have already been sentenced to an average of ten years of deprivation of liberty each” (including 15 minors).

The NGO also highlighted the treatment suffered by the 123 women on its list, including two trans women who are imprisoned among men.

“Cuba has had a total of 1,801 political prisoners” since July 2021, when the largest anti-government protests in decades were recorded on the Island, according to the NGO.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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After More Than 26 Consecutive Hours Without Electricity in Cienfuegos, Cubans Fear a New National Blackout

The deficit forecast by UNE for this Wednesday marks a record of 1,870 megawatts

Cienfuegos is paralyzed by the blackout and the Electric Company in the province has not given the slightest hope. / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Julio César Contreras, Madrid, 12 February 2025 — The Electric Union forecasts a record deficit of 1,870 megawatts (MW) for this Wednesday. The last time the authorities announced a similar figure – in October of last year – the country was quickly plunged into a total blackout. The temperature is around 31° and the tension is at its highest in a country where some areas have already been without power for more than 25 hours. And they are still counting.

In Cienfuegos, one of the cities hardest hit by the power cut – by midday on Wednesday they had been without electricity for 26 hours – many have given up going to work and are sitting in their doorways, waiting for a “bright light” that will not come in time to prepare lunch.

Most private businesses have not opened their doors either. The city is paralyzed by the blackout and the Telegram channel of the Electric Company in the province has not given the slightest hope: “At this time, due to the situation that the country is going through, the hours of impact have increased to 25 and 3 hours with service.” Between these two disproportionate numbers oscillates the life of many Cienfuegos residents, whose routine has been radically disrupted by the debacle. continue reading

“You have a lot of things to get done, because nowadays everything is digital and without electricity you can’t work”

“You have nothing to do all day,” Jorge, a student at the University of Cienfuegos, told 14ymedio. The energy situation is making the start of the semester difficult for him. “You have a lot of things to get done, because nowadays everything is digital and without electricity you can’t work.”

Frustrated, he tried to find “refuge” on Tuesday in one of the hotels in the historic city center, which did have electricity generated by a power plant. “To be able to stay there, you had to consume. Prices were sky-high: 200 pesos for a coffee, 300 for a lemonade, 500 for a sangria. Even to finish a job you have to pay in this country,” he laments.

In the municipality of Villa Clara, the capital of the neighboring province, the power cuts are a nightmare. “It went out at 4:00 am and came back at 7:00,” says Diana, a housewife who lives near Parque Vidal. “Then it went out again and we are still in a blackout. Yesterday, miraculously, there was power all day in my circuit, but the one in front of it was cut off. Today they announced more than 1,800 MW. Could it be that a total blackout is coming again?”

Neither the Government nor the Minister of Energy and Mines have given any warning signs. At 7:30 am on Wednesday, Félix Estrada, director of the National Cargo Office, appeared on Cuban Television to report that the UNE faces a “very complex” situation and that the deficit of 1,870 is “quite large.”

The recovery of the Felton Power Plant will take “seven days of cooling to detect the fault.”

The “unexpected” shutdown –the adjective in use, despite the evident instability of the power plants – of unit 1 of the Felton thermoelectric plant in Holguín on Tuesday upset the national electrical system (SEN) for the umpteenth time. The sequence of the total blackout in October is repeated: on that occasion, the fall of another power plant, the Antonio Guiteras in Matanzas, was what dragged down the entire system.

The recovery of the Felton will take “seven days of cooling to detect the fault,” said the director. In total, according to the daily report of the Electric Union, it is estimated that the repair will take 20 days to complete. Estrada explained that there are also several units out of service at the Santa Cruz (Mayabeque) and Renté (Santiago de Cuba) plants.

Wednesday’s figure has no equal in the last two years. It is a record in the face of which the government’s silence is disconcerting. Havana has placed its hopes – at least officially – on the solar panels that China intends to install wholesale throughout the island.

At the bottom of official publications, both in the press and on UNE’s social media profiles, the disgust is no longer hidden. “Everything is inhumane. There is no note to what is happening. Children, elderly people without food, without being able to sleep a wink, waiting for the power to take a sip of food and nothing, degrading,” lamented user Maidelis Bencomo.

“The only thing these numbers and the situation tell me,” added user Daniel González, “is that we are on the verge of another general blackout, 1,800 MW of deficit, that says it all and with the situation with the generation we will spend at least a week without electricity. Shame and abuse to the people.

Finally, user Dayron Lavin made fun of it: “We are two steps away from reaching 2,000 [MW of deficit]. I am running to see the president of the CDR and the rest of the ’factors’ of the neighborhood to prepare the activity… Congratulations, UNE. Strength, Cuba.”

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Cuba: Woman Who Protested Against Blackouts in Mayabeque Dies in Prison

The Cuban Prison Documentation Center indicated that the causes of Yoleisy Oviedo Rodríguez’s death are unknown.

caption – Oviedo Rodríguez was one of the hundreds of people who took to the streets on October 10, 2022. / Facebook

14ymedio, Madrid, 12 February 2025 — Yoleisy Oviedo Rodríguez, who was serving a sentence in the Western Women’s Correctional Facility, known as El Guatao, in Havana, for participating in one of the protests that occurred on the island in October 2022, died this Tuesday in prison. The Cuban Prison Documentation Center (CDPC) confirmed the news, although it indicated the causes of death are unknown.

The organization echoed comments on social media that claimed that Oviedo Rodríguez “had health problems that were not promptly attended to.” At least until yesterday afternoon, CDPC reported, the family had not been able to see the body.

“With deep sorrow, we confirm the death of political prisoner Yoleisy Oviedo Rodríguez in the El Guatao Forced Labor Camp,” the NGO wrote on its social networks. “Her only ’crime’ was raising her voice in a peaceful protest that occurred in Güines (Mayabeque).” continue reading

“With deep sorrow, we confirm the death of political prisoner Yoleisy Oviedo Rodríguez in the El Guatao Forced Labor Camp”

The NGO also regretted that “the effects of the detention of mothers do not end with them,” but extend to their children: “Yoleisy was the mother of a 12-year-old adolescent at the time of her arrest. The separation will now be final.”

Oviedo Rodríguez was one of hundreds of people who took to the streets on October 10, 2022 – a significant date because it was the day the wars of independence began – in several Cuban municipalities, in the midst of relentless blackouts. The banging of pots and pans demanding the return of electricity, in municipalities of Mayabeque such as Bejucal, San José de las Lajas, Güines, Nueva Paz or Jaruco, as well as other towns in Villa Clara, Camagüey, Las Tunas, Holguín and Santiago de Cuba, were mixed with cries for freedom .

In Güines, where Oviedo Rodríguez demonstrated, one of the most notorious protests took place. The demonstrators closed a street and burned three garbage containers. “Things got pretty ugly,” a local resident told 14ymedio. “You couldn’t see much, but there was shouting: ‘turn on the power, pinga (dick),’ ‘Diaz-Canel singao [mother fucker],’ and many more outrageous things,” said the man, who said that the police arrived with “a truck of special troops and they couldn’t get off.” According to his account, a mob of people with machetes in hand was waiting for them, throwing stones and glass jars with excrement at the officers.

“You couldn’t see much, but there was shouting: ‘turn on the power, pinga (dick),’ ‘Diaz-Canel singao [mother fucker],’ and many more outrageous things”

The Cuban Prison Documentation Center stated in its communication that in just 48 hours, they have recorded four deaths in prison. “So far this year, there are already 12,” they added. Last December, the same NGO reported at least seven prisoners who died in the custody of the authorities during last November.

According to the report, two of these deaths, that of political prisoner Manuel de Jesús Guillén Esplugas and that of Raúl Clejer Steris, were accompanied by allegations of violence. The other five deceased were an inmate named Maikel, in the Cuba Sí prison, and four prisoners from the Quivicán prison (Mayabeque), whose identities are unknown. All of them, the organization reported, “died due to a combination of poor medical care, poor nutrition and terrible prison conditions.”

In December, Jorge Luis Torres Vaillant died after 28 days with a fever without receiving the medical assistance he requested, in the Boniato prison in Santiago de Cuba.

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In Cuba, Only 2.9 Million Cattle Have Been Saved From Mismanagement and Cattle Thieves

The figure is disastrous for a country that ten years ago had nearly four million people, and that before 1959 boasted almost one cow per person.

Counting cows, bulls and calves, Ernesto has a total of 67 cattle on his farm / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Havana, 12 February 2025 — After ten months of inspections and raids against cattle thieves in Cuba’s fields, the Ministry of Agriculture offered this Wednesday a global result: there are 2,914,009 cows left on the Island. The figure is disastrous for a country that ten years ago had about four million, and that before 1959 – with a population of six million inhabitants – boasted of having almost one cow per person.

This January, the official State newspaper Granma reports, the “extensive monitoring exercise” that has kept the inspectors of each province busy since March 2024 was completed. Yudith Almeida Núñez, head of the Ministry’s Livestock Registry Department, revealed that the illegalities detected throughout the country totaled 181,854, with 1,128 cases remaining in Pinar del Río, Mayabeque and Las Tunas. Most have to do with owners who left the country, died or are imprisoned, while their cattle continue to be illegally cared for by other people.

Almeida also said that 43,143 undeclared births had been registered, plus many other cases – she did not give a precise number – of “illegal sales, unregistered animals, missing animals, undocumented deaths* and theft.” continue reading

Most have to do with owners who left the country, died or are imprisoned, while their cattle continue to be illegally cared for by other people

The inspectors visited 191,802 owners – 188,338 natural persons and 3,464 legal entities – although there is a minimum percentage left to complete in Las Tunas. Most cattle are in cooperatives, although there are some companies that raise “herds of high genetic value” – pure breeds brought from abroad and born in Cuba – with only a few specimens.

After providing the numbers, Granma points out the obvious as a surprise: “For several years, this category has shown a tendency to decrease in mass.” However, it attributes the fall of the sector to changes in breeding technologies, whose standards Cuba cannot meet due to lack of inputs, and, of course, to theft and slaughter.

Las Tunas, the province in which the inspections have not yet ended, complained just a few weeks ago that crimes, despite the State raids, had increased by 10% compared to 2023. The local newspaper did not quantify the damage but stated that theft, in addition to slaughter and robbery with violence – in a context in which the ranchers have little or no protection against the raiders – were common facts in Las Tunas.

Despite the results of the livestock census, Almeida did not say if the Ministry will take more severe measures than those it has executed so far, which have not served to deter the butchers. The reports in the official press, which ended with the “moral” of a fine or even several years in prison, have not achieved the desired effect either.

The persecution of the guilty – documented every week by the official press – has become a matter of State in recent years

The latest data provided by the Ministry on livestock crimes on the Island were from 2022. In that inventory, at the head of illegal slaughter was Villa Clara with 12,243 animals in 2022, and Holguín, with 9,825, followed by Matanzas, with 8,150.

In 1985 there were just over five million cattle in Cuba. The brief period from 2006 to 2014 is the only time the livestock mass recovered slightly, going from 3.7 million to 4.1 million. From that moment on, the fall has been constant.

In 1959, there were 5.1 million cattle for the 6.5 million inhabitants of the Island. From that date, the cattle mass began a remarkable rise that reached its peak in 1967, when it reached 7.1 million, under the Soviet subsidy. Although the population had already increased to 8.4 million Cubans, the ratio changed little: from 0.78 cows per person to 0.84. But from then on, after fleeting recoveries, the fall was sustained.

This Tuesday’s data – 2.9 million cows per 10 million inhabitants – give a ratio of 0.29 cows per person and confirm what Cubans have been living for years: beef is a thing of the past.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Chaotic Hiring of Cuban Doctors by the Controversial University ‘For The Poor’ in Mexico

The University of Wellbeing asks Havana for more specialists, despite the academic failure of a previous experience

Students of the Benito Juárez García University for Wellbeing, Mexico / Prensa Libre

14ymedio, Ángel Salinas / Yaiza Santos, Mexico / Madrid, 11 February 2025 — The governor of the State of Mexico, Delfina Gómez, has requested doctors from Cuba to teach classes at the Texcoco headquarters of the Benito Juárez García University for Wellbeing, the controversial educational project established by the previous Mexican president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, for low-income students. The curriculum in medicine cannot begin in January due to a lack of teachers, a knowledgeable source who asks for anonymity reveals to 14ymedio.

Gómez made the request publicly last Saturday, taking advantage of a meeting with the Cuban ambassador to Mexico, Marcos Rodríguez Costa, which aimed to “strengthen cooperation in education and health.”

It is not the first time that Mexico has requested health workers from Cuba for the purpose of teaching, says the source. In August 2023, 100 professors from several Cuban educational centers were hired for that same university. Specialists in oncology, nephrology, neurology, cardiology, rheumatology, gastroenterology, otorhinolaryngology, angiology and vascular surgery arrived in the country and were distributed in 55 headquarters of the University for Wellbeing.

Of these, however, only 23 had medical specialties: 20 in Integral Medicine and Community Health, and three in Nursing and Obstetrics. continue reading

The project was led by Cuban doctors without having a space to teach classes

Alonso, a teacher at the University of Wellbeing in Mexico City, confirmed to this newspaper that a first group of Cubans had been part of the institution’s staff since 2023. “I don’t know exactly how many there were, but they were located in the state of Veracruz and informed us that they were specialists in the career of medicine.”

This newspaper confirmed that in the community of Coatzintla (Veracruz), the Cubans Romaira Irene Ramírez Santisteban and Mario López Bueno were part of the faculty of the university headquarters in that city.

The degree of medicine at Texcoco was included as part of the curriculum of the University of Wellbeing last year. The project was led by Cuban doctors without having a space to teach, so teachers and students were temporarily located in the Civil Engineering facilities.

The medical students were given a two-week preparatory course, but given the lack of space, the Cuban doctors demanded classrooms somewhere else.

Even more unusual, it was the National Water Commission (Conagua) of the State of Mexico – an entity that has nothing to do with Education – that provided medical students with a space in its facilities, in addition to providing them with transportation. However, “in July 2024 they were warned that they could no longer support them with transportation, so they had to move elsewhere,” says the anonymous source.

“The students were then offered online classes with interns who had received their degrees. Of course they refused, and the project was suspended until further notice.”

The students had to return to the Civil Engineering campus in Texcoco, where they took classes in an auditorium. In that same month, the Cuban doctors ended their contract, and no more staff were hired to take charge of the curriculum.

“No one took responsibility for this. So much irresponsibility is not possible. Students were invited to take online classes with career interns. Of course they refused, and the project was suspended until further notice,” the source says.

In the State of Mexico, specifically in the Lago de Texcoco Ecological Park, there is a plan for the construction of another headquarters of the University of Wellbeing, but without a start date.

The chaos and opacity of the University of Wellbeing does not only concern the hired Cubans but also the general tone of the project. Created by López Obrador by presidential decree on July 30, 2019, with the aim of “proving alternatives in free and quality higher education services to young people,” this university “for the poor” has received numerous criticisms.

One of them is the amount of money spent by the State for these centers compared to the brutal cuts in funds for other public institutions of accredited prestige, such as the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), the National Polytechnic Institute (IPN) and the Metropolitan Autonomous University (UAM).

According to research published in the Mexican press, it is not very well known how the billions of pesos allocated to the University of Wellbeing have been spent

According to research published in the Mexican press, it is not very well known how the billions of pesos allocated to the operation of the University of Wellbeing have been spent, or how many of the 203 promised centers were actually built.

According to the general director of the University herself, Raquel Sosa Elízaga, until 2022 the Mexican Government had allocated 4 billion pesos (almost 195 million dollars) for the installation, equipment and operation of those institutions, which in 2023 had a budget of 1,476 million pesos and a year later, 71 million more: 1,547 million pesos.

The project planned to train a total of 300,000 students, all scholarship holders, in six years, 96,000 of them in the first generation. However, at the end of 2024, only 57,000 students had enrolled. In five years, 6,372 students finished their studies, but only 1,918 of them received a degree.

In addition to some exaggerated figures for students and an invented number of teachers (more than 700), there are half-built facilities and vacant lots in addresses where several of those centers are supposed to be located. In the few locations that operate, says a recent report, “disappointment prevails for students and teachers due to the multiple deficiencies with which they have to operate.”

José Narro, former rector of UNAM, described the University of Wellbeing in November last year, directly, as “an educational fraud.” The academic also regretted that the current Government under President Claudia Sheinbaum “continues the strategy of monetary transfers as a social development policy that has only shown its effectiveness as a political instrument but doesn’t solve the problem of poverty.” The president, for her part, defended the model, saying “it was a different educational program.”*

*Translator’s note: The University of Wellbeing is not an accredited institution.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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“Elon Musk Is Walking Around Like a Kid With a Torch” Hoping To Take Down US Public Media

Trump’s adviser suggests closing Voice of America, but has not commented on the Martí group

The owner of X claims that traditional media is “pure propaganda”. / EFE

14ymedio, Havana, 11 February 2025 — The tycoon Elon Musk, head of the US Department of Efficiency – a sort of ministry created to suit him by Donald Trump – and Richard Grenell, the president’s envoy for special missions, insist on the need to close media outlets financed by Washington. Among the ones in their sights is the international broadcaster Voice of America (VOA) and the Office of Broadcasting to Cuba (OCB) managed by the Martí group, with its radio, television and a news website focused on the Island.

Although Musk has taken a very belligerent position on this matter, an internal source from the Martí group assures 14ymedio that for the moment they do not fear that the South African businessman could carry out his threat if he also had the intention of closing the Martí group (radio, television and website for Cuba).

“Elon Musk is walking around like a child with a torch in his hand, burning things left and right, causing concern among federal employees, a group of people who thought they had secure jobs. In the case of Martí, we are in one of the best moments in its history, with numbers that show how the work is being done: we have more than a million followers on Facebook, we have millions of views on our social networks from Cuba, and we are expanding our audiences on the Island,” says the source.

In the case of Martí, we are in one of the best moments in its history

He continued: “No one can really be sure what the future of federal agencies might be at this point, but I think that in the case of Martí, it is in a good position to sustain its mission.”

Musk, for his part, leaves no room for doubt about what he wants to do with Washington-owned media outlets focused on foreign markets: “They have to be shut down.” continue reading

With this phrase the businessman responded to a post by Richard Grenell criticizing the stations Radio Free Europe and Voice of America for spending “American taxpayers’ money.”

“These are state media outlets. These outlets are full of far-left activists. I have worked with these journalists for decades. They are a relic of the past. We do not need government-funded media outlets,” Grenell said, announcing that “it is time to shut them down.”

According to Musk, these media outlets “are not listened to anymore” and are made up of “radical left-wing people who talk to themselves while burning a billion dollars a year of American taxpayer money.”

“Europe is free now,” the businessman added, referring to Prague-based Radio Free Europe.

“Europe is free now,” the businessman added, referring to Radio Free Europe, a broadcasting organization based in Prague, Czech Republic, and run by an autonomous entity, the United States Agency for Global Media. Founded in 1950, during the Cold War it was responsible for transmitting news to countries in Eastern Europe, Asia and the Middle East to counter Soviet propaganda, although since then its broadcasts have been reduced and updated to reflect the new geopolitical situation.

A similar role was played by the even older Voice of America (1942), which remains the largest government-funded international broadcaster. Focused on foreign audiences, VOA has a digital, television and radio presence in more than 40 languages around the world.

For the owner of X, these stations are part of what he considers legacy media, traditional media that in his opinion have been displaced by social networks and that are dedicated to media manipulation. On several occasions, Musk has denounced that traditional channels are “pure propaganda” and that it is on the networks where true “freedom of expression” is found. However, thousands of left-wing users have abandoned X since the social network came into his hands and criticize the new algorithm that favors conservative content.

Until now, the tycoon had only relied on his own social network and his influence to combat these media that he considers obsolete.

Until now, the tycoon had only relied on his own social network and his influence to combat these media that he considers obsolete, but since January he has also had the support of the White House. Right at the beginning of his term, Donald Trump suspended cooperation through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) with non-governmental organizations that it sponsored, to a greater or lesser extent, around the world.

In the Cuban case, according to the report prepared by Musk at the request of the president, the expenditure to “rebuild the Cuban media ecosystem” was one and a half million dollars last year, although another figure circulating is around two and a half million. It is a tiny part of the total USAID budget, of some 60 billion dollars annually, but substantial for the work of several independent media.

The cuts not only affect small organizations and independent media that constitute an oasis of plural information in the face of propaganda and information control that exists in countries like Cuba, but also giants like the British BBC, whose NGO in charge of supporting press freedom in the world – BBC Media Action – told its beneficiaries that the US Government financed part of its budget.

Neither Musk nor Washington have so far made reference to other media owned by the US government such as PBS (public television) or NPR (public radio), among others, but the line followed during the new Republican mandate leaves little doubt about the future of these channels.

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One Month Before the Start of Baseball Season, the Elite League Has Criticized the Poor Condition of Several Cuban Stadiums

The most serious situation is in the José Ramón Cepero, in Ciego de Ávila, and the San Luis, in Pinar del Río.

José Ramón Cepero Stadium, in Ciego de Avila. / Facebook/Guillermo Rodriguez Hidalgo

14ymedio/Swing Completo [Full Swing], Havana, 11 February 2025 — One month before the start of the Elite League season on the Island, the vice president of the National Institute of Sports, Physical Education and Recreation (Inder), Omar Venegas Echemendía, acknowledged his concern about the poor condition of the playing fields of six stadiums hosting the event, which are located in Havana, Las Tunas, Granma, Santiago de Cuba, Pinar del Río and Ciego de Ávila.

“We have to take a closer look in order to rehabilitate them,” he told Jit, the official sports media outlet. The immediate task focuses on “delivering clay, restoring the grass, and working on other aspects such as repairing the safety padding, and painting the stadiums inside and out,” he said.

According to Full Swing, the specialized media outlet, the most pressing situation was found at José Ramón Cepero Stadium in Ciego de Ávila. The authorities found that the facility at the Tigres team’s home field lacks padding to protect the players, and some is located in the wrong places. “The condition of the benches is another critical problem, because they are very far below the standard of quality they should have. The whole situation is extremely worrying and covers almost all areas,” the sports website reported.

Venegas Echemendía acknowledged the situation, and added that the lights also present problems, although “they are already working on securing investments for the lighting towers, because a good set of lights is necessary.”

The Captain San Luis stadium in Pinar del Rio also presented some problems. / Facebook/Guillermo Rodriguez Hidalgo

Guillermo Rodríguez, the journalist from Radio Rebelde, shared images from the tour of several stadiums on his networks. At Captain San Luis Stadium in Pinar del Rio, which he visited on February 1, “the 20-second clocks don’t work, there’s a lack of clay in the infield area, the [batter’s] box needs to be filled, the clubhouse (where the batting cage is located) needs to be illuminated, and the interior and exterior areas need paint.”

Latinoamericano Stadium in Havana also needs improvements. During the tour on February 5, work was underway on the dugouts and bullpens, which the journalist Rodríguez reported had to be ready by last Friday.

Meanwhile, at the Mártires de Barbados stadium, the journalist said, “we have to work to improve the quality of the field, especially the grass, and increase the level of clay.”

Making some improvements at Latinoamericano Stadium in Havana./ Facebook/Guillermo Rodriguez Hidalgo

During the tour, the vice president of Inder gave assurances that he had spoken with the Islazul chain, in charge of tending to the Elite League, “in order that they provide the stipulated food for the athletes, the best accommodation conditions, and to strengthen the supervision of the organizing committee.”

The problems of the sports facilities on the Island were aggravated by Hurricane Rafael. Last November, the authorities confirmed damages in 48 sports facilities in Artemisa. The most significant was the fall of the lighting towers in 26th of July Stadium. That property also reported damage to the roof of the electronic scoreboard.

The roof of the Cazadores team headquarters was another of the sites affected by the hurricane. At the time, internet users reported apparent damage in four other stadiums: Jesús Suárez Gayol, Julio Pérez, Tricontinental, and Luis Campos. They noted that even before the cyclone struck, several sports facilities lacked adequate maintenance.

Translated by Tomás A.

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Cuba: Inmate Dies in Melena Del Sur Prison Due to Lack of Medical Care / Cubalex

Cubalex, 2 February 2025 — Yankiel Justiz Despaigne, a 36-year-old inmate, died on January 30 from tuberculosis, in the Melena del Sur prison, located in the province of Mayabeque.

According to information received by Cubalex, Justiz Despaigne died in his cell without receiving timely medical care, despite the fact that tuberculosis is a preventable and treatable disease if detected in time.

His death adds to a long list of deaths in custody in Cuba, where prison conditions and lack of adequate medical care have resulted in an alarming pattern of human rights violations.

Medical negligence in Cuban prisons is a systemic practice that results in preventable deaths. Among the most frequent irregularities are:

– Minimization or neglect of symptoms reported by detainees

– Delays or refusals in the administration of medical treatments

– Inadequate or non-existent responses to health emergencies

Prison conditions which aggravate the health crisis

Prison conditions in Cuba further increase the vulnerability of prisoners. Overcrowding, unsanitary conditions, malnutrition, and shortage of drinking water seriously affect the health of people deprived of liberty. The lack of hygiene, adequate ventilation, and poor nutrition not only deteriorate their physical condition, but also amplify the spread of diseases, turning prisons into high-risk environments.

This case exposes a structural crisis within the Cuban prison system, where the lack of medical care, coupled with inhumane prison conditions, represents a constant threat to the lives of people in state custody.

Cubalex has documented multiple cases of deaths in custody as a result of medical negligence and deplorable conditions of confinement. Between January 2022 and January 2024, 56 deaths in state custody were recorded, of whom 34 were prison inmates. 19 of these deaths were directly attributed to the denial of medical care and resulting health problems. For more information on the patterns identified, see our report.
report-https://cubalex.org/report/muerte-en-custodia-en-cuba-un-

Translated by Tomás A.