Open Letter From the MCL to Pablo Iglesias and His Hatred of Cubans / Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo

MCL (Movimiento Cristiano Liberación / Christian Liberation Movement) in La Razón: “Mr. Pablo Iglesias, There is Poverty in Cuba and Leftist People are Repressed” How can you deem it a campaign against “Cuba” that family, friends and colleagues of Oswaldo Payá and Harold Cepero demand that these deaths are clarified, deaths that even the Cuban … Continue reading “Open Letter From the MCL to Pablo Iglesias and His Hatred of Cubans / Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo”

Castro Versus Castro / Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo

As long as the Ministry of the Interior (MININT) exists in Cuba, this secret and murderous organization, but in its turn legitimized by all the secret and murderous organizations in the world, regardless of ideologies or political rivalry in public (in private power always supports power); as long as the life of every Cuban depends … Continue reading “Castro Versus Castro / Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo”

No, No and No Raul Castro / Jose Luis Garcia Antunez

This I believe is the second or third occasion that I write to you, and as always without the least mood or desire that you answer me, because given the absolute contempt and disgust that emanates from your person I can’t feel otherwise. Señor Dictator and Genocide, 24 years and five months ago at barely … Continue reading “No, No and No Raul Castro / Jose Luis Garcia Antunez”

University (for the Tenacious) / 14ymedio, Henry Constantin, Reinaldo Escobar

14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar, Havana, 28 August 2014 — Henry Constantin is a native of Camagüey province, born in Las Tunas on Valentine’s Day, 30 years ago. He has been expelled from university three times for his ideas, but still believes he will obtain his journalism degree. This slender, plain-spoken young man has founded two independent publications … Continue reading “University (for the Tenacious) / 14ymedio, Henry Constantin, Reinaldo Escobar”

THE TRANSITION THAT IS ABOUT NOT TO COME / Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo

THE TRANSITION THAT IS ABOUT NOT TO COME The power of Castro’s dictatorship couldn’t rely only in the annihilation of all kind of opposition, despite the fact that, since January 1959, its governability depended on fear (out of pure terror) to reduce a plural society to military obedience, ideological hatred, and apartheid, whether geographical (in … Continue reading “THE TRANSITION THAT IS ABOUT NOT TO COME / Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo”

Investment in Cuba? What for? / Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo

Investment in Cuba? What for? ASCE XXIV / 2014 Annual Conference, Miami Hilton Downtown Hotel, Florida, USA Panel 12. Concerto Ballrom B – Friday, August 1st, 2:45-4:15pm 1. In Cuba during the 1970s, historian Manuel Moreno Fraginals challenged poet Jose Lezama Lima with his trendy scientific notions about the laws of objectivity and the transition … Continue reading “Investment in Cuba? What for? / Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo”

“We want to contribute to personal and community reflection of pastoral agents” / 14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar

14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar, Havana, 4 August 2014 – To mark the publication of a letter sent by five young Cubans to Pope Francisco, 14ymedio interviewed Erick Álvarez Gil, coordinator of the Christian Liberation Movement (MCL) in Havana. At just 28, this young man joined the organization in 2009, and holds a degree in Electronics and … Continue reading ““We want to contribute to personal and community reflection of pastoral agents” / 14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar”

“I Always Did What My Conscience Dictated” / Dimas Castellano, Oscar Espinosa Chepe

One of the central figures of the Cuban opposition, who participated in the revolution before its ultimate victory but ended up being sentenced to 20 years in Castro’s prisons, was the independent economist Oscar Espinosa Chepe, who died in Madrid. He recounts his life and ideas in this interview. Born in Cienfuegos on November 29, … Continue reading ““I Always Did What My Conscience Dictated” / Dimas Castellano, Oscar Espinosa Chepe”

Carolos Alberto Montaner: Someday God Will Awaken / Angel Santiesteban

I thank Neo Club Editions, Armando Anel and Idabell, his wife; Barcardi House of the University of Miami and the Institute of Cuban and Cuban-American Studies, and the Alexandria Library for the opportunity to present this excellent novel by Angel Santiesteban Prats, The Summer that God Slept, winner of the Franz Kafka literary prize, Novels … Continue reading “Carolos Alberto Montaner: Someday God Will Awaken / Angel Santiesteban”

OLPL Speaks at Johns Hopkins / Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo

Speech by OLPL in Kenney Auditorium, Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, Washington DC, 16 May 2014. Dear friends: As a Cuban from the Island —and all Cubans are, no matter how far and how much time has passed since we left or were expelled from the Island—, as a critical intellectual —that … Continue reading “OLPL Speaks at Johns Hopkins / Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo”

SILVIA CORBELLE BATISTA / Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo

Silvia and State Security Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo They arrested her twice, both times violently. All for walking at my side in the streets of a Havana almost at the point of the Cadaver-in-Chief of Fidel Castro. She’s called Silvia. My Silvia. They threw her out of her first job as a dentist, in the … Continue reading “SILVIA CORBELLE BATISTA / Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo”

Carromero’s Book and Death / Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo

The most sinister part of Death Under Suspicion is that it is the testimony of a man condemned to death, because Ángel Carromero reports that, before finally being deported to his homeland to serve the rest of his sentence in Spain (in December 2012), a Cuban State Security official warned him that if he ever … Continue reading “Carromero’s Book and Death / Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo”

The Castro Regime Kills and Doesn’t Lie / Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo

The Castro regime is, above all, biopolitical. Power over the life and death of each one of the individuals, within and beyond the national frontiers of the wicked little island in the Caribbean Sea. The Castro regime is nothing if not necropolitical: death or the pardoning of life, at times with a legal view at … Continue reading “The Castro Regime Kills and Doesn’t Lie / Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo”

The First Book of the End of Castroism / Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo

The Madrid publisher Anaya has just released the first book of the end of Castroism—that is, of Castroism understood as a myth perpetuated by the intellectual left. From now on, one cannot sympathize with the Castro dynasty without also becoming a criminal collaborator. The book is called Muerte bajo sospecha (Death Under Suspicion) and it … Continue reading “The First Book of the End of Castroism / Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo”

Carromero’s Last Days / Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo

The young Spanish politician Ángel Carromero’s days are numbered. It could be 6 or 666 days, but it will not be a “natural” death. He knows it and his executioners also know that he knows it. So it must be in his still-open file in the confidential archives of Cuban State Security. Hence, the Ministry … Continue reading “Carromero’s Last Days / Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo”