State Security Surrounds the Homes of Several Artists and Cuts Their Phone Service

14ymedio, Luz Escobar, Havana, 1 July 2021 — The homes of several artists and members of 27N are surrounded by police operations this Thursday. Tania Bruguera, Carolina Barrero, Katherine Bisquet and Camila Lobón denounced the police fences on their social networks and warned that a greater number of State Security agents and officers participate than on previous … Continue reading “State Security Surrounds the Homes of Several Artists and Cuts Their Phone Service”

Dozens of Cubans Demonstrate in Front of the UN to Demand Freedom for Political Prisoners

14ymedio, Luz Escobar, Havana, 23 June 2021 — A group of Cubans demonstrated this Wednesday in front of the United Nations headquarters in New York to demand freedom for political prisoners, while the General Assembly prepared to vote on the annual resolution against the United States embargo on the Island. It received the support of … Continue reading “Dozens of Cubans Demonstrate in Front of the UN to Demand Freedom for Political Prisoners”

Cuban Artist Hamlet Lavastida Detained in Villa Marista and ‘Under Investigation’

14ymedio, Havana, 27 June 2021 — The Cuban artist Hamlet Lavastida is being held in Villa Marista, the State Security headquarters in Havana, and is under an “investigation process,” according to what the authorities told his mother by telephone on Saturday night. Lavastida returned to Cuba from Germany on June 21, after finishing his residency … Continue reading “Cuban Artist Hamlet Lavastida Detained in Villa Marista and ‘Under Investigation’”

‘We’re Facing a New Version of the Black Spring,’ Says Martha Beatriz Roque

14ymedio, Havana, 10 June 2021 —  A total of 13 new political prisoners were registered in Cuba during the month of May. According to the latest report by the Cuban Center for Human Rights (CCDH), led by the opposition activist Martha Beatriz Roque, it is the highest number since March 2003, which makes this repressive wave “a … Continue reading “‘We’re Facing a New Version of the Black Spring,’ Says Martha Beatriz Roque”

“The Police Have Kidnapped Me in My Home for 60 days,” Denounces Iliana Hernandez

14ymedio, Luz Escobar, Miami, 7 June 2021 — CiberCuba activist and reporter Iliana Hernández has been besieged for two months at her home by police and State Security agents. Not only do they prevent her from going out, but they also do not allow any of her friends to visit, and they have cut off her … Continue reading ““The Police Have Kidnapped Me in My Home for 60 days,” Denounces Iliana Hernandez”

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

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

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

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

The Six Cuban Activists Arrested on Obispo Street Have Been Transferred to Prisons

14ymedio, Luz Escobar, Havana, 28 May 2021 — With last Wednesday’s transfer of the communicator and activist Esteban Rodríguez to the Valle Grande penitentiary, there are now six activists jailed awaiting trial for their participation, on April 30 in Obispo Street in Havana, in an act of solidarity with the artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara. The … Continue reading “The Six Cuban Activists Arrested on Obispo Street Have Been Transferred to Prisons”

Cuban Journalist Mary Karla Ares is Transferred to Guatao Prison in Artemisa

14ymedio, Havana, May 26, 2021 — Independent Cuban reporter Mary Karla Ares, arrested at the demonstration on Obispo Street last April 30, was transferred this Wednesday to the Guatao women’s penitentiary, in the municipality of Bauta, Artemisa, according to her mother, Marisol González, speaking to 14ymedio. González, who was able to visit her daughter yesterday, … Continue reading “Cuban Journalist Mary Karla Ares is Transferred to Guatao Prison in Artemisa”

The Cuban Regime is Not Afraid of Any Song

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

Cuba Archive Accuses State of Using Therapies and Drugs to Punish Opponents

14ymedio, Havana, 26 May 2021 — The organization Archivo Cuba (Cuba Archive) has expressed concern for the mental health of Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, who has been in the Calixto García hospital for 24 days without communication with his friends, and has published a call for action. The NGO accuses the Cuban regime of a long … Continue reading “Cuba Archive Accuses State of Using Therapies and Drugs to Punish Opponents”

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

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

Manifesto Supports the Artists of ‘Patria y Vida’ Repressed by the Cuban Government

14ymedio, Madrid, 27 May 2021 — On Thursday, Cuban Prisoners Defenders (CPD) launched a manifesto in support of the artists participating in the song Patria y Vida (Homeland and Life) who have been besieged by the Cuban government in recent weeks, and called for an end to the repression. In the text, they refer mainly to the artist Luis Manuel … Continue reading “Manifesto Supports the Artists of ‘Patria y Vida’ Repressed by the Cuban Government”

The Most Closely Watched Patient in the World

14ymedio, Yoani Sánchez, Generation Y, Havana, 26 May 2021 — It is easy to spot them: they wear their hair short and closely observe everyone who passes near the Calixto García Hospital in Havana. They are the members of the State Security who patrol the hospital where the artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, the most … Continue reading “The Most Closely Watched Patient in the World”

Six Cuban Evangelical Leaders Call for the Release of the Obispo Street Detainees

14ymedio, Havana, 22 May 2021 —  Six evangelical pastors have addressed an open letter to the Cuban State to request the freedom of those detained in Obispo Street in Havana on April 30, after a demonstration in favor of the artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, then on a hunger strike in his home. In their letter, made public … Continue reading “Six Cuban Evangelical Leaders Call for the Release of the Obispo Street Detainees”