In 2020 the Cuban Regime Suffered its First Defeats

14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar, Havana, 31 December 2020 — What happened in Cuba throughout this year can be related in a fragmentary way through a chronology, but the most important did not begin in January 2020, but on Wednesday, September 11, 2019, when the President of the Republic, to calm the citizenry, advised that on the … Continue reading “In 2020 the Cuban Regime Suffered its First Defeats”

Cuban Priest Censures Leaders Who ‘Cling to Outdated Ideas, Already Obsolete’

14ymedio, Lorey Saman, Mexico, 26 December 2020 — The voices of Cuban priests have made themselves heard with great force in recent months. This December 24, as Christmas was being celebrated, Deacon Maikel Gómez, from the Parish of San Juan Bosco, in Havana, gave a homily in which he reflected on freedom within the Island. … Continue reading “Cuban Priest Censures Leaders Who ‘Cling to Outdated Ideas, Already Obsolete’”

14ymedio’s Faces of 2020: Reinerio, Repressor

14ymedio, Havana, 24 December 2020 — It took several days to identify him and only his first name is known. When he appeared before the public for the first time, in a video broadcast on social networks on November 22, it was an individual in a red T-shirt with a homemade white cloth mask who was haranguing some twenty … Continue reading “14ymedio’s Faces of 2020: Reinerio, Repressor”

Plural and With a Mask: The Face Of Cuba in 2020

14ymedio, Havana, 24 December 2020 — This has been a year dominated by the pandemic, but the extreme situations that have caused the coronavirus, the confinement and the economic crisis that Cuba is going through have also been a part of the phenomena and figures that have shaped the face of the 12 months now … Continue reading “Plural and With a Mask: The Face Of Cuba in 2020”

Cuban Police Committed to Supporting Acts of Repudiation Against Artists

14ymedio, Luz Escobar, Havana, 15 December 2020 — State Security continues its harassment against activists and artists who were housed at the headquarters of the San Isidro Movement. One day after Carlos Manuel Álvarez was arrested when he left his family’s house in Cárdenas, Matanzas, and was interrogated for six hours, Katherine Bisquet denounced the organization … Continue reading “Cuban Police Committed to Supporting Acts of Repudiation Against Artists”

Cuban Fable about “The Four Cats*”

Cubanet, Miriam Celaya, Havana, 4 December 2020 — There is no doubt that Cubans are experiencing unusually intense days. The last days of November, and especially the repressive onslaught against the barracks of the San Isidro Movement (MSI) that caused the November 27th sit-in before the Ministry of Culture (MINCULT), marked an important milestone in … Continue reading “Cuban Fable about “The Four Cats*””

‘I Can Destroy Your Life With One Stroke of the Pen,’ the Cuban State Security Official Told Me

14ymedio, Clive Rudd Fernández, Miami, 10 December 2020 — I just got back to Florida after a five-day trip to Cuba. It had been about five years since I went, but a series of factors came together that led me to opt for Havana, and not the Bahamas or Cancun. The most important of all … Continue reading “‘I Can Destroy Your Life With One Stroke of the Pen,’ the Cuban State Security Official Told Me”

Denis Solis Transferred to Combinado del Este, Cuba’s Largest Prison

14ymedio, Havana, 8 December 2020 — The Cuban rapper Denis Solis González, whose sentence to eight months in prison lit the fuse of the protests of the San Isidro Movement in recent weeks, has been transferred from the Valle Grande prison in Havana to the Combinado del Este Penitentiary Center, according to Vladimir González Scull, … Continue reading “Denis Solis Transferred to Combinado del Este, Cuba’s Largest Prison”

‘The Counterrevolution Sneaked Into the Fabric of the Culture’, Complains Abel Prieto

14ymedio, Luz Escobar, Havana, 7 December 2020 — Actor Reinier Díaz and some other artists who attended last Saturday’s meeting with officials from the Ministry of Culture deny the interpretation that the official press is giving of what happened at the Abelardo Estorino theater. There were forceful interventions in favor of the San Isidro Movement and … Continue reading “‘The Counterrevolution Sneaked Into the Fabric of the Culture’, Complains Abel Prieto”

“You Should Be the Ones Talking to Us, Not State Security”

14ymedio, Havana, 3 December 2020 — The following document is the result of comparing the notes taken by various people who were present and what was remembered by the participants. Published on the Facebook Page 27N (for ‘November 27’) , it is reproduced with their permission. They point out that “there were more statements in … Continue reading ““You Should Be the Ones Talking to Us, Not State Security””

Human Rights Group Warns Cuban Government Is Setting the Stage for Civil War to Hold onto Power

14ymedio, Havana, December 4, 2020 — The Cuban Observatory for Human Rights (OCDH) claims that Raúl Castro and Miguel Díaz-Canel are “setting the stage for civil war in order to hold onto power at any cost instead of adopting the reforms that Cuba urgently needs.” In a statement issued on Thursday, the Madrid-based organization condemned … Continue reading “Human Rights Group Warns Cuban Government Is Setting the Stage for Civil War to Hold onto Power”

And Them? Were They ‘Mercenaries’ Too?

14ymedio, Yoani Sánchez, Havana, 6 December 2020 — I have several friends who have not slept for days, glued to the phone or having conversations in front of the mirror, with their pillow or in the shower. They are some of the artists who were in front of the Ministry of Culture on November 27 and who … Continue reading “And Them? Were They ‘Mercenaries’ Too?”

Soldiers Deployed to Guard Hard Currency Stores

14ymedio, Havana, December 1, 2020 — The areas around several Havana stores have been under heavy guard by military and special forces troops since Monday when windows in one of the stores were smashed. Purchases at these stores, known locally as MLCs (the Spanish initials for “Freely Convertible Currency”), can only be made with foreign currency, … Continue reading “Soldiers Deployed to Guard Hard Currency Stores”

Slogans Against Cuban ‘Dollar Stores’ Painted on Walls in Cienfuegos

14ymedio, Luis Daniel Fernández Monzón, Havana, 5 December 2020 — Several graffiti appearing on the walls in the small city of Cruces, in Cienfuegos province, surprised  the town’s inhabitants on Thursday. “Down with the dictatorship,” “We want the dollar stores closed,” and “Long Live Free Cuba, down with Dias [sic… it should be ‘Diaz’] Canel,” … Continue reading “Slogans Against Cuban ‘Dollar Stores’ Painted on Walls in Cienfuegos”

Despite the Arrests and Pressures from Cuba’s Political Police, Independent Artists Gather

14ymedio, Luz Escobar, Havana, 3 December 2020 — Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara was not the only one to be arrested this Wednesday. The harassment has continued in the last 24 hours against members of the San Isidro Movement and other independent artists. Tania Bruguera was also arrested on Wednesday afternoon when she was on her way to … Continue reading “Despite the Arrests and Pressures from Cuba’s Political Police, Independent Artists Gather”