Translating Cuba – Page 16 – English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island

Cuban Private Sector Concerned Over Energy Caps Imposed by the State

Some companies already badly weakened by blackouts fear that the new measures will affect production.

State factory La Pasiega, in Havana, where the private company Jolyni operates. / Cubadebate

14ymedio, Madrid, March 11, 2026 – The 470,000 private entities currently operating in Cuba, including companies, self-employed workers, and cooperatives, must submit to the monthly energy-saving plan determined by the State. Of these, 110,089 have already been officially notified of the consumption they are allowed to use, and although authorities claim that most are willing to cooperate without problems, they also admit there is concern that the limitations may be “so rigid” that they affect productive capacity.

The measure represents an extension, throughout the last quarter of 2025, of the plan announced at the end of 2024 for electricity savings under Decree 110. That regulation established the need to control and efficiently use the national energy system because it is a limited resource and highly subsidized in Cuba. The strictest conditions were aimed at high consumers, equal to or greater than 30 MWh or 50,000 liters of fuel, who had to immediately apply the savings plan and have a self-consumption system ready to cover 50% of their needs by 2028 (or immediately in the case of newly created companies).

In recent months, consumption limits apply to all economic actors without exception, explained Welner Collejo Jerez, deputy director of the National Office for the Control of the Rational Use of Energy (Onure), in an interview with Cubadebate. The measure is taken, he noted, “under the socialist principle of consuming only what is necessary for production and services.”

The calculation until now has initially been simple: the limit equals the same consumption used in the same month of the previous year. The exception has been Havana and Varadero, which must adjust to 15% less “because this year the level of disruption in those places was not as significant as in the rest of the provinces.”

Collejo recalled that one way to increase potential consumption is self-sufficiency, preferably with solar panels.

In any case, the official said that “the process of requesting, approving, and assigning the plan is a flexible process” and that, since each territory has prioritized activities, it can and should review allocations according to municipal needs. Collejo also noted that one way to increase potential consumption is self-supply, preferably through solar panels, which do not require the scarce fuel available in the country.

During visits to nearly 340,000 private businesses to establish the limits, Onure technicians found that some, without knowing the measure would affect them, had changed their conditions compared with the previous year, due to increases in personnel or equipment with higher consumption. In these cases, he said, the plan is being adapted continue reading

to their new circumstances.

“Although this is a flexible process, it always begins with planning and daily control of consumption levels, which will allow municipal energy councils to foresee and warn about compliance with the plan,” he said. Companies themselves must carry out a daily self-reading that will be compared with the electric company’s billing at the end of the month. Sanctions for those who exceed the cap are those established in Decree 110, ranging from “publicizing bad practices, identifying non-compliant entities or those where violations occur, preventive notification, fines, and suspension of the license.”

Collejo insisted that the measure will be accompanied by training and information for those affected, as well as encouragement to acquire solar panels through loans, something that currently does not appear to be working very well, as the official press itself has acknowledged on several occasions and as this same report notes.

Her company has had to modify work shifts and move them to night and early morning hours, when electricity supply is more stable.

“So far the experience is that non-state economic actors are fully aware of the situation and therefore maintain behavior aligned with the measures adopted,” the official said. But Cubadebate spoke with some of the business owners subjected to the limits, and the mood is not as optimistic.

Anabell Meléndez, director of the dairy products SME Delola, is already recognizing that Miguel Díaz-Canel’s instructions to contribute through production to the country’s social commitments “clash with reality.”

“We practically have no electricity,” she confirms. Her company has had to modify work shifts and move them to night and early morning hours, when the electrical supply is more stable.

“Last week, the partial collapse of the National Electric System caused the loss of 1,000 liters of milk in the maturation process. They were lost. We couldn’t recover them because we don’t have energy backup,” she regrets. Attempts to install renewable energy to change the situation have also been unsuccessful.

“They tell me that to apply for a loan you must have a project endorsed by a certified company in the country that prepares lending projects. Then that project must be certified, and only then can we go to the bank,” she explains.

In addition, in her case she had to dismantle all the machinery she found in the factory when she arrived, which previously produced white ceramics and was classified as a high-consumption facility. Delola now uses only 30% of what its predecessor consumed, but Onure has still not assigned it a new cap, and she fears it will be too low.

“We need eight hours of electricity, with the equipment operating at one-third of its capacity. Otherwise we cannot sustain production. If they reduce that consumption too much, it will be very difficult to produce.”

“Any power outage damages the quality of the product and halts the process.”

Although she believes the future lies in installing solar panels, she is still waiting for authorization for the 80 million pesos she needs to install 120,000 kilowatts.

Others interviewed by Cubadebate are more relaxed, such as an SME that repairs machinery in the municipality of Cotorro or the owner of a shop, bar, and ranchón restaurant in Boyeros who, although he has had to reduce refrigeration consumption, believes the effort is necessary.

However, a sales representative from Confecciones Entaya in Camajuaní (Villa Clara) says they have had to obtain generators that operate throughout the workday, so they are involved in “advancing the process of importing fuel,” in addition to acquiring solar panels.

More frustrated is Jorge Félix Peraza Noriega of the widely promoted food company Jolyni, which partners with the state enterprise in whose factory it operates but is still not spared from blackouts.

“Any power outage damages the quality of the product and halts the process. After that, if we don’t have diesel for the generators, production stops completely. The lack of energy and fuel to produce food has negative effects. The only result is having to import more food and making the country spend more.”

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Cuba Preferred to Pull Out the Medical Mission Instead of Accepting the New Conditions, Says Jamaica

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade assures that since last July, it started reaching out to the Island and hasn’t received a response

A group of the 277 Cuban specialists who were in Jamaica. / Ministry of Public Health of Cuba

14ymedio, Havana, March 9, 2026 – While the Cuban government accused Jamaica of caving in to pressure from the United States to pull the medical mission, the Caribbean island’s side of the story is different. The regime didn’t even respond to Kingston’s proposal, which suggested keeping the deal if they made direct payments to the specialists and let them hold onto their passports—conditions that they did accept in other countries.

According to a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, the Jamaican government “is disappointed” with Havana, which chose to withdraw 277 specialists rather than accept the terms laid out.

“We value the contribution of the medical personnel, respect the Cuban people, and maintain our commitment to cooperation. However, no program operating in Jamaica can continue under conditions that contradict Jamaican legislation and international conventions,” emphasized the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade.

In the document, the authorities say they realized “that other Caribbean countries had arrangements under which direct payments were made to the Cuban medical personnel. This makes it even clearer that a lawful and transparent alternative was possible.”

Jamaica acknowledges that the review of the agreements on the medical missions proceeded after the US stated that this program constitutes a form of forced labor and following the revocation of visas for officials from several countries last June. continue reading

Jamaica acknowledges that the review of the agreements on the medical missions proceeded after the US stated that this program constitutes a form of forced labor.

“The so-called ‘medical missions’ aren’t humanitarian aid. They’re a multibillion-dollar business of forced labor, where the regime pockets up to 90% of the doctors’ salaries,” the Cuban-American legislator from Florida, María Elvira Salazar, pointed out on her social media,

Kingston noticed that the doctors weren’t carrying passports, so they took immediate steps to fix it. “The matter was raised with the Passport, Immigration and Citizenship Agency, as well as with the local Cuban authorities, to ensure that all personnel could carry their passports,” the statement notes.

Another concern was the salaries: “although they were calculated at the same level as those of their Jamaican counterparts, they were being paid by Jamaica to the Cuban authorities in US dollars,” without specifying the amounts.

The only payment the Cuban doctors got, according to the bulletin, was “overtime payments,” but there’s “no contractual provision” that specifies what portion of those payments should go to the workers.

Kingston initiated talks with the Cuban government last July to restructure the agreement.

“That agreement raised serious concerns under Jamaica’s labor and tax laws, as well as international labor conventions,” the official document states.

Kingston initiated talks with the Cuban government last July to restructure the agreement. From that point, they brought up the issues with payments and documents.

The topic made it to the Cabinet in October, and after discussion, they came up with a formal proposal. “Unfortunately, the continued lack of response had the practical effect of preserving an agreement that Jamaica could not justify,” the statement says.

Kingston’s decision joins the ones recently taken by other countries in the region that have modified or canceled similar agreements with Havana. Among them are Honduras, Guatemala, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Guyana, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

Translated by GH

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Cuba: In Villa Clara, Unpasteurized Milk Is Sent to Municipalities To Save Fuel

The official newspaper ‘Granma’ presents this and other measures the province has had to adopt due to the crisis as an “environmental success.”

The measure solves the “waste” represented by using 2,200 liters of diesel daily to transport the milk to the company. Today, only 259 liters are used for direct delivery. / CMHW

14ymedio, Havana, March 10, 2026 – Faced with the severe fuel shortage, Villa Clara has decided to send most of its milk directly to neighborhood ration stores in the municipalities without passing through pasteurization, with the exception of Santa Clara, where the process is carried out using solar panels. The information appeared this Monday in the official newspaper Granma, which considers that the measure resolves the “waste” that previously meant using 2,200 liters of diesel per day to collect and transport the milk to the processing company. Today, only 259 liters are used for direct delivery.

The measure is part of a longer list of decisions adopted by the Villa Clara Dairy Company to cut costs, which the newspaper describes as an “achievement of innovation” and an example of “turning challenge into opportunity.” Thus, it mentions alternatives used in services for workers, such as cooking with firewood or transportation by tricycles, examples of “creativity in times of crisis.”

“As the grandparents used to say, it’s never too late to start; solutions and initiatives have begun to appear everywhere,” states Granma, which insists that there has been waste of “human and material resources in most sectors, as if this were a rich country or one functioning in a normal context.”

“As the grandparents used to say, it’s never too late to start; solutions and initiatives have begun to appear everywhere.”

The official newspaper resorts to several quotes attributed—most of them incorrectly—to Albert Einstein to argue that the crisis forces the search for new solutions and alternatives and emphasizes that “solutions and initiatives have begun to appear everywhere, demonstrating the existing potential in the nation to resist the imperial assault.” One example is pasteurization using 400 solar panels that continue reading

, last year, allowed savings of 47 tons of diesel as well as 131 tons of carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere.

The process, now limited only to the provincial capital, serves to eliminate potentially dangerous bacteria through heat and is one of the basic methods for guaranteeing the sanitary safety of milk. Its absence reduces the possibility of preserving the product, which would then need to be kept under proper refrigeration conditions, something that can hardly be guaranteed in a country affected by prolonged blackouts.

For this year, the number of panels is expected to reach 1,364, guaranteeing 10% of the total energy needed by the complex. “And since the Villa Clara dairy thinks big,” according to Granma, the company is already working on acquiring 18 electric tricycles to transport all the milk that moves within Santa Clara, leaving trucks only to move the remaining milk in the municipalities.

Solar panels will also be the solution for the La Purísima dairy products factory, whose production of mayonnaise and other dressings had been in doubt until 60% of the systems that will allow operations to continue were installed, as well as for the Chichi Padrón slaughterhouse, which is also joining the energy-saving measures by planning the installation of 272 solar panels that will provide about 300 kilowatts. Otoniel González Ruiz, director of the entity, says that now they will be able to carry out all their work and adds that they will also apply the “very well thought-out” measure of replacing the employees’ bus with tricycles in order to minimize fuel consumption.

The Agustín Rodríguez Mena rum distillery in Santo Domingo also has 2,752 panels with which it generates the energy it needs and sends the surplus to the National Electric System, although in its case they were more forward-looking and did not have to wait for the crisis to tighten the screws, since their systems were installed in 2016.

“He who overcomes the crisis overcomes himself without being overcome,” Granma quotes—again incorrectly attributing it to Einstein—to conclude the list of solutions that, like the rum distillery, could have been adopted earlier without waiting for them to become unavoidable.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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The Most Difficult Trip: Getting to the Maternal Hospital in Matanzas, Cuba

Without buses or state taxis, pregnant women and relatives depend on motorcycles and tricycles to reach the José Ramón López Tabrane Gynecology and Obstetrics Hospital.

Entrance to the José Ramón López Tabrane Gynecology and Obstetrics Hospital in Matanzas. / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Matanzas, Julio César Contreras, March 10, 2026 – Getting to or leaving the José Ramón López Tabrane Gynecology and Obstetrics Hospital, in the Versalles neighborhood, has become a daily ordeal for patients and their relatives in the city of Matanzas. In front of the main entrance of the well-known Maternal Hospital, pregnant women, companions carrying bags, and young people persistently searching for transportation that rarely appears all mingle together.

At the building’s entrance, several people sit waiting on the edge of the steps. Some check their phones with resignation, others speak quietly while looking toward the street as if a lifesaving taxi might turn the corner at any moment. But the asphalt remains almost empty. From time to time a motorcycle or an electric tricycle passes by and is immediately surrounded by people trying to negotiate a seat.

“Local buses are not coming to this part of the city,” says Sandra, a young pregnant woman who has just gotten off a red motorcycle taxi. The driver has not even started the engine again when she is already mentally calculating the money she will have to spend to return home.

From time to time a motorcycle or an electric tricycle passes by and is immediately surrounded by people trying to negotiate a seat. / 14ymedio

“I just paid 1,000 pesos to bring me from my house, which is about three kilometers from here. If I don’t make that sacrifice I miss the genetics appointment,” she explains while adjusting her bag on her shoulder.

Sandra is in her third month of pregnancy and has already had to go to the hospital several times for checkups with the obstetrician. During none of those visits has she been able to find public transportation or any official vehicle associated with the Maternal Hospital taxi stand.

“I haven’t seen a state taxi parked in front of the emergency entrance even by chance,” she says. According to what she has been told, there is a car available 24 hours a day to assist with transporting patients, but it almost never appears. “They always say it’s on the road or attending an emergency.” continue reading

The scene surrounding the hospital entrance reflects the energy crisis the country is experiencing. The fuel shortage has reduced the circulation of buses and state taxis to a minimum, forcing people in Matanzas to rely on motorcycles, electric tricycles, or any vehicle that does not require fuel to move.

In one corner of the doorway, several women talk while waiting for news about possible transportation. One of them is Idania, who holds a bag full of baby clothes. Her niece has just been discharged after giving birth.

“There’s no ambulance here, no taxi, and no shame from the Public Health bosses. They go around in cars everywhere.” / 14ymedio

“She gave birth the day before yesterday and today she’s going home,” she explains. “The question is how we’re going to get there.” The woman looks toward the street with clear frustration. “There’s no ambulance here, no taxi, and no shame from the Public Health bosses. They go around in cars everywhere.”

Sitting on a concrete bench, Idania says she has spent the morning trying to avoid a solution she considers excessive: paying 50 dollars for a private taxi to take the mother and the newborn to Santa Marta.

“When it was time for the birth a neighbor did us the favor of bringing us,” she recalls. “At least in our case, the guarantee of institutional transport has been completely absent. We came on our own and we will leave on our own.”

For her the problem goes beyond the lack of fuel. “Here the answer is always that there isn’t any,” she complains. “But what there also isn’t is sensitivity.”

A few meters away, Lizandra watches the scene with concern. The young university student studies psychology and is going through her first pregnancy. While waiting to be called for an appointment, she calculates what each visit to the hospital costs her.

“Just to get here and then return home you need at least 2,000 pesos,” she explains. That is if you are lucky and a motorcycle or tricycle appears with space available.

The uncertainty about transportation adds to the normal fears of pregnancy. / 14ymedio

The uncertainty about transportation adds to the normal fears of pregnancy. “You already are nervous, as with any medical appointment, and on top of that you have to think about how you are going to get here and how you will get back home,” she says.

For pregnant women who live outside the provincial capital the situation is even more complicated.

“I have friends who have practically gone through their entire pregnancy at home because they have no way to come from Ceiba Mocha or from Pedro Betancourt,” Lizandra says. Getting to the hospital means organizing an uncertain trip, and, many times, one that is too expensive.

Meanwhile, in front of the Maternal Hospital the small group of people waiting for transportation continues to grow. A green tricycle stops for a few seconds and immediately several relatives approach to ask if there is space.

The driver shakes his head and starts moving again.

A motorcyclist stops shortly afterward, with his helmet raised and the engine still running. Two women approach to negotiate the price. The driver raises three fingers.

“1,500 pesos,” he says.

The women look at each other. One sighs and finally nods.

In the hospital no one seems surprised by these scenes. State taxis, recognizable by their yellow color, are nowhere to be seen. Ambulances only appear when there is a medical emergency. The rest of the time, patients and companions must manage on their own.

In the hospital doorway, Sandra looks at her phone again before entering her appointment. In a few hours she will have to repeat the same process: go out to the street, raise her hand, and wait for some motorcycle or tricycle to agree to take her.

In today’s Matanzas, even getting to the hospital can become an uncertain journey. And returning home often simply depends on having enough money to pay for the trip.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Closed Doors for the Meeting With Students: The University of Havana Deactivates the Protest

The institution avoids the “media show” that, in its view, occurred this Monday, when about twenty students gathered on the steps to demand the resumption of the academic term.

Steps of the University of Havana in the early afternoon this Monday / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Havana, March 10, 2026 – Cuban authorities seem to have achieved their objective of deactivating the continuation of Monday’s university student protest. The students had called for a dialogue this Tuesday at 10 a.m. in Víctor Hugo Park, but they moved the activity indoors at the request of the rector’s office. “After a fruitful negotiation, the University of Havana (UH), as an institution, has provided us with a classroom for our meeting in order to avoid unnecessary attention, the presence of the press, and agents external to the student body,” they announced in a WhatsApp group created to coordinate the actions.

The message indicates that the steps will once again be the meeting point for those who wish to attend the exchange, but from there participants will move to the room “enabled for use.” In this way, the institution avoids the “media show” that, in its view, occurred this Monday, when about twenty students gathered in that iconic place to demand the resumption of the academic term, which had been suspended due to extreme energy-saving measures taken to confront the energy crisis, aggravated by the U.S. oil blockade and transportation problems.

For the meeting scheduled for today, the student body has indicated some “parameters” to follow. “First, to clarify that our intention is to gather the opinions of students belonging or not to UH who are integrated into the higher education system. Second, that there will be zero tolerance for those who, through words or actions, hinder this process. This also implies zero tolerance for acts of provocation, vandalism, or eccentric behavior that ultimately damage the reputation and credibility of the process. Thank you in advance.”

“Where are the results, what the students are asking for? Oh, right, next week they will meet again to explain that they are ‘still’ working on it.”

These recent messages suggest that the idea promoted by the Cuban government has taken hold, that yesterday’s action serves “media outlets” seeking a “media show with the clear intention of harming” the Revolution. The students will discuss their demands behind closed doors in order to present continue reading

their concerns to the Minister of Higher Education, Walter Baluja, who, they say, “agreed to listen to the claims of those present.” Next Monday, March 16, a meeting is scheduled for the entire university student body at UH with the aim of unifying positions.

The situation appears to have calmed after alarms were raised yesterday, when State Security prevented people from joining the initial group of participants. Official media reported the incident as an exchange of views with Baluja, who went to the steps due to the commotion, and the UH rector. Commentators in state media themselves have shown disagreement with the way that press coverage was handled.

“Let’s see… the students PROTESTED, just as Fidel Castro and Mella once did. Is that journalism?” said a Cubadebate reader on social media. Although another user repeatedly responded to those questioning the approach by asking why no one complains to the “pedophile master of the North,” most expressed their discomfort. “They are hypocrites trying to whitewash the student protest,” another commented. Most doubted the issue would be resolved, no matter how many meetings are held: “Where are the results, what the students are asking for? Oh, right, next week they will meet again to explain that they are ‘still’ working on it. Ok, thanks for the information.”

University students have expressed their displeasure over the postponement of the academic term, but they seem to fear a larger escalation in a context where fear still dominates the population.

“When you protest, you can’t find a job. They take measures against you or your family,” a sociology student from the University of Artemisa told the Reuters news agency. On Tuesday Reuters published a report from San Antonio de los Baños noting that guaranteeing anonymity is still the only way to get Cubans to speak about the regime. During a tour through several areas near Havana, the agency found about a dozen people willing to identify themselves, but the rest preferred to hide their identity. “People are not going to get involved, because in real life nobody wants to be imprisoned again. The people have no way to defend themselves.”

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Cuba Loses to Puerto Rico and Puts Its Qualification for the Final Round of the World Baseball Classic in Doubt

The Island’s team barely managed two hits, its worst offensive performance in the entire tournament.

Cuba is in second place in Group A, with a 2–1 record. / Jit

14ymedio, Havana, March 10, 2026 – Cuba’s national team was exposed this Monday by Puerto Rico in its third game of the World Baseball Classic, losing 4–1. The defeat at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan puts Team Asere’s qualification for the final round in doubt, as it will now have to defeat Canada this Wednesday afternoon to advance to the next stage.

From the second inning, the Puerto Ricans pulled ahead. Catcher Martín Maldonado hit a double that drove in three runs against starting pitcher Julio Robaina. In the fifth inning the fourth run came on a sacrifice fly by Carlos Cortés against pitches from Havana reliever Josimar Cousín, who recorded eight outs, four of them by strikeout.

For Cuba, the only run came in the sixth inning thanks to a double by Alfredo Despaigne off Yacksel Ríos, combined with an error by the Puerto Rican defense. With that hit, the Cuban player reached 29 hits and moved into third place in the history of the World Baseball Classic, behind Frederich Cepeda from Sancti Spíritus (32) and Puerto Rican Carlos Beltrán (30).

After that brief attempt at offense, Team Asere could no longer generate any threat. Puerto Rico’s pitching staff shut down the Cuban offense, which had hit four home runs in its first two games against Panama and Colombia. Puerto Rico’s pitchers, with starter Elmer Rodríguez (three innings) and relievers Jovani Morán (two), Yacksel Ríos (two), Fernando Cruz (one) and Edwin Díaz (one), allowed only two hits, marking Cuba’s worst offensive performance of the entire tournament. “That makes it very difficult to salvage a smile in such a demanding competition,” the newspaper Jit concluded this Tuesday.

“That makes it very difficult to salvage a smile in such a demanding competition.”

With the loss, Cuba sits in second place in Group A with a record of two wins and one loss. To advance, it must defeat Canada, which arrives with the same chances as the Island, turning the game into an early final continue reading

for both teams. For that game, the pitcher for Germán Mesa’s team will be Liván Moinelo, who defeated Panama in the opening game. Meanwhile, Puerto Rico has already secured its place in the final round with a 3–0 record at the top of the group.

This was the third time the two teams have faced each other in a World Baseball Classic. In the 2006 edition they met twice, with one win for each side, although the most important victory went to Cuba, then managed by Higinio Vélez, which secured its place in the semifinals of that tournament.

Besides the remaining spot sought by Cuba and Canada, another place remains to be decided in Group B, where last night the United States (3–0) secured its advancement by defeating Mexico 5–3. Japan (3–0) and South Korea (2–2) have also secured their participation in the quarterfinals from Group C, along with Venezuela and the Dominican Republic, both with 3–0 in Group D.

Japan (3–0) and South Korea (2–2) have also secured their participation in the quarterfinals from Group C.

Unlike Cuba’s first two games in this tournament, the match against Puerto Rico did not feature any type of protest against the Island’s government, at least not any that were captured by the international broadcast.

The most notable case occurred in the opening game against Panama. Behind home plate, where the television camera focuses for much of the game, a fan displayed a banner reading “Down with the dictatorship! Díaz-Canel’s days are numbered.” The message, captured by the Fox television network and repeated by several media outlets, went around the world, although manager Germán Mesa said he did not see it.

Also during the game against Colombia, cameras focused on two fans wearing black T-shirts with the phrase “Díaz-Canel bastard,” an anti-government protest message that can carry long prison sentences if displayed in Cuba,.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Cuban State Security Prohibits a Student Sit-In on the Steps of the University of Havana

The FEU (Federation of University Students) tried to prevent the protest called to express “the students’ dissatisfaction with the current teaching plan”

Image of students on the steps of the University of Havana, this Monday. / X/@CNN_Oppmann

Darío Hernández/Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, March 9, 2026 — About twenty students are meeting with education authorities after holding a peaceful protest on the steps of the University of Havana this Monday morning. Around 3:00 p.m. on Monday, the site showed no trace of what had happened several hours earlier, except for the internet connection being blocked

The students, around 25 in number, occupied the stairs in a peaceful protest. As stated on the poster circulated through a WhatsApp group, the “university sit-in” was scheduled for March 9th at 10 am “to publicly and peacefully demonstrate the student body’s dissatisfaction with the current teaching plan.”

The situation, an eyewitness reported to the organization Ciudadanía y Libertad, (Citizenship and Freedom), “remained calm at first,” but “changed when more students began arriving, interested in joining the protest.” Then, the sources continued, State Security agents blocked more people from entering the steps and the university grounds.

Police patrols in the vicinity of the University of Havana, this Monday. / 14ymedio/Courtesy

According to CNN correspondent Patrick Oppmann in Havana, who posted a picture of the protest on his social media, the students who had previously been on the steps entered the center to meet with officials and authorities.

The rector of the University of Havana, Miriam Nicado García, and the first deputy minister of Higher Education, Modesto Ricardo Gómez, approached the place where the young people were gathered.

“How many hours of electricity did you have last week? And do you have a connection when the power is cut off?” a student asked a dean, according to EFE.

“Many students from the provinces haven’t been able to submit anything because there’s no connectivity,” another student said.

These predominantly academic demands were gradually overtaken in the conversation by complaints about how university students can raise their issues and participate in the debate on solutions and decision-making processes.

“The paths to reach the Ministry of Higher Education are obstructed,” a young woman continue reading

stated, to which a student added: “This sit-in, I’m afraid, is a last resort.”

The First Vice Minister of Higher Education directly addressed the young people in an attempt to end the sit-in: “This isn’t going to solve the problems we have. Why this, gentlemen, young men, when my whole life has been dedicated to educating you?”

The young people, around 25 in number, took to the stairs in a peaceful protest. / 14ymedio/Courtesy

“Because they haven’t listened to us from the very beginning: that’s the answer you have,” a young man retorted.

In fact, the students had started to feel sidelined last week and, faced with what they perceived as decisions made from above, they created several alternative discussion groups on social media and launched the call for the sit-in.

Both the University of Havana and the FEU quickly came out to say that this initiative was “fake” and stressed that the established dialogue spaces were working.

Several young people highlighted that part of the erosion of trust in the University and in the FEU began last June, when the students’ discontent over a very sharp increase in the rates for mobile service by the state-owned telephone company was not addressed as they wished.

On the other hand, in the early afternoon, in the WhatsApp group for the call, the students posted: “For all those who are following the situation, the group that responded to the call is in dialogue with the Minister of Higher Education, expect more information before the end of the day.”

“Defending institutional dialogue is correct, but pretending that it exhausts all legitimate forms of expression is a mistake.”

In a letter shared on their social media, the organizers addressed the Secretariat of the University Student Federation (FEU), responding to a statement in which the pro-government organization dismissed the call, calling it “completely false” and “unnecessary”.

“We feel an obligation to respectfully disagree with your posture,” the missive stated. “Defending institutional dialogue is correct, but claiming that it exhausts all legitimate forms of expression is a mistake.” In four points, the students explained why the sit-in “is both real and necessary.”

First, they said, because “it is not a denial of dialogue, but rather its deepening.” A sit-in, they explained, is a tool to demand dialogue “when it becomes insufficient or slow” and “means bringing concerns to the forefront,” so that the “actions” taken by educational authorities “do not remain in closed spaces, but rather become the focus of collective conversation.”

On the other hand, they alluded to the fact that the FEU Secretariat told them they had already been “receiving concerns.” “This is valuable, but it’s not sufficient,” they retorted. “The legitimate question many have is: what happens to these concerns once we communicate them to you?” The protest, they argued, “seeks to break down the intermediaries and create a horizontal space, student to student, to compare opinions and reach our own conclusions, unfiltered by a structure.” And they continued: “If the current channels were effective, there wouldn’t be this spontaneous need for hundreds of students to seek an alternative way to organize.”

“We appreciate your work, but the solution to the problems in teaching and the general discontent cannot simply be ‘waiting’ for them to be addressed.”

On a third point, they criticized the FEU for referring to their action as “symbolic,” “as if it were something negative.” They argued: “The history of the University of Havana is built on symbols. Sitting in a common place, looking each other in the eye, and debating the problems of teaching and the situation of the country is a profoundly transformative act.”

Finally, they referred to the “management of solutions” that the Secretariat had offered them. “We appreciate their work, but the solution to the problems in teaching and the general discontent cannot simply be to ‘wait’ for them to be managed. The university community must be an active part in creating those solutions.”

The worsening energy crisis has led to the suspension of in-person classes at all universities, a cancellation that has left thousands of students at home. Maintaining contact with teachers through WhatsApp groups and other virtual platforms is not a viable option in a country where internet access is becoming increasingly unreliable.

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Fires and Pot-Banging Protests: Cuba in Apocalyptic Mode

It doesn’t matter whether the neighborhoods are more central or farther out—the soundtrack of the capital at night is protest, and during the day the smell is burning garbage.

Even though they try to erase them, you can still make out a phrase written on various walls that feels like the final word: “Se acabó” (“It’s over” / “We’re done”).

14ymedio, Darío Hernández, March 9, 2026 – Havana at night these days has an apocalyptic feel. If you walk around after the sun goes down—when the fear of being recognized fades—the soundtrack is pot-banging (cacerolazos) coming from different neighborhoods. It doesn’t matter anymore if they’re more central, more touristy, or farther out, more combative or less. The noise comes from everywhere.

More and more walls are showing up with anti-government slogans. Even though they try to paint over them, you can still read—in several places—that phrase that sounds like the end of the line: “Se acabó.”

Fires are also popping up all across the capital. Some come from people burning trash piles, which has become super common because there aren’t enough trucks or fuel to collect garbage properly anymore. Others are from charcoal fires that families light to cook since there’s no electricity or cooking gas.

Sometimes those fires get out of control. Other times, with the constant power flickers and surges, you get a short circuit.

Sometimes those fires get out of control. Other times, with the constant power flickers and surges, you get a short circuit. People think that’s what caused the fire last Saturday in a pizzeria in central Santiago de Cuba, on Enramada Street between Reloj and San Agustín—it ended up burning down four houses. continue reading

No one knows yet what caused the fire at the Cubos Factory in Matanzas, located in Playa right next to the Cocal substation. Although firefighters put it out in just 20 minutes that Sunday night, people were terrified because right beside the affected area there were piles of plastic waste, neighbors warned.

Meanwhile in Granma province, El Ranchón (a traditional spot) burned down in the early morning at the Guisa lookout point. Alianna Corona Rodríguez, First Secretary of the Communist Party in the province, told the press that “the flames spread easily because this is a traditional structure made of palm thatch and wood.” While the cause is still under investigation, the official added another layer: “carteles con propaganda contrarrevolucionaria” (posters with counter-revolutionary propaganda) were found at the site.

In the capital, blackouts have got much worse over the weekend, with some neighborhoods going up to 20 straight hours without power. The lack of electricity has fuelled people’s anger, and in various parts of Havana the water supply problems have got even more serious because there’s no energy to run the pumps.

Translated by GH

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Economic Agreements with the US, Cuban President Díaz-Canel’s Exit and the Castros Staying in Cuba

USA Today reveals a supposed plan to facilitate investments by U.S. companies in energy, ports and tourism on the Island

According to the newspaper, the agreement includes concessions in areas such as the Island’s ports. / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Madrid, March 9, 2026 – The Donald Trump administration will soon announce an economic agreement with Cuba, according to two sources familiar with the conversations speaking to the American newspaper USA Today. According to this version, the deal includes lifting sanctions in the energy, ports and tourism sectors, plus easing the ban on Americans traveling to the Island. In exchange, President Miguel Díaz-Canel would leave the Island through a negotiated exit, but the Castros would stay.

The newspaper doesn’t give dates for when the exact content of the agreement will be known, but it believes it could be very soon—something reinforced by Donald Trump’s own statements. For days he has been hinting at an imminent change in Cuba, a country overwhelmed by blackouts lasting more than 20 hours in much of the country.

When asked about it, the White House refused to confirm anything and referred USA Today to the president’s recent remarks, the latest from this Saturday at the summit with his 12 right-wing counterparts in Miami, where he said: “Cuba is at the end of the road. It’s really at the end of the road. It has no money. It has no oil. It has a bad philosophy. It has a bad regime that has been bad for a very long time.”

The newspaper wraps up a weekend spent reporting on this apparently imminent agreement, in which it is still unclear what the United States gets in return. The story follows up on a report published the day before, which gave voice to businessmen from both sides who commented on the current and future relaxations. One of them is John Kavulich, president of the U.S.-Cuba Economic and Trade Council, who says he was sounded out by the Administration about whether members of his group would support Trump’s strategy of dealing directly with the private sector on the Island and possibly forming an entity called the Executive Directors Council for a Free and Democratic Cuba. continue reading

Kavulich says he was sounded out by the Administration about whether his group’s members would back Trump’s strategy of dealing directly with the private sector on the Island.

None of those consulted agreed, according to Kavulich. “They’re all terrified that the Administration will support them in the morning and be trashing them by lunchtime,” said the businessman, who claims they are waiting to see what happens. In his view, Trump’s strategy is very similar to the one Barack Obama began during the thaw, although this time it looks more likely to succeed than the previous one, since this U.S. Administration won’t hesitate to force things if the regime drags its feet.

Even so, Kavulich believes that once again Havana will come out less damaged than some expect. “They’re not liquidating, they’re reorganizing,” he said, and criticized that Trump’s strategy is less perestroika and more bankruptcy.

USA Today also spoke with Aldo Álvarez, presented as a Cuban businessman who, after spending several days with his merchandise stuck in a port due to lack of diesel, saw a certain amount arrive at the nearest gas station for private operators like him. “It’s a big change. I can guarantee my supply in a stable way… Undoubtedly, good news,” he told the newspaper. Álvarez is the owner of Mercatoria, dedicated to importing all kinds of products and publicized on Cubadebate. The project began as a local development in 2021, but soon became something much bigger, and its founder has even attended several events in the United States to try to establish ties with businessmen from the neighboring country, so now he feels delighted.

“The Trump Administration recognizes the Cuban private sector as a real sector and also as a key strategic partner on the ground to help alleviate the humanitarian crisis. We’ve never seen anything like this before,” said Ric Herrero, executive director of the Cuba Study Group, who is surprised by Trump’s change of approach.

Eric Jacobstein, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs during the Biden administration, who has made many trips to the Island to meet with entrepreneurs, praises Cuba’s private sector and considers it essential to support it from the United States. “It’s fundamental to involve them. They’re independent, they’re entrepreneurs… It’s a group that has embraced capitalism inside a decaying communist system,” he points out.

Michael Bustamante, from the Department of Cuban and Cuban-American Studies at the University of Miami, fears how the Cuban exile community in Florida will react to these contacts between officials and businessmen from the Island, “something they have firmly opposed for years,” he stated. “I think it’s a surprise to a lot of people. Maybe it’s a surprise to Marco Rubio,” he considers.

The current Secretary of State, very critical of any lifting of sanctions and of Obama’s policy toward the Island, would now be making a similar move, according to these theses, even though he probably never imagined finding himself in this situation. Just two weeks ago, at the CARICOM Caribbean countries summit—where some of his advisors allegedly met with regime envoys—Rubio said: “The status quo is unacceptable… Cuba needs to change. It doesn’t have to change overnight. It doesn’t have to change from one day to the next… But Cuba needs to change. It needs to change dramatically.”

This Friday, several U.S. media outlets reported that a task force is being considered within the Department of Justice to bring possible criminal charges—related to drug trafficking, immigration or violence—to, as *The Washington Post* defined it, “overthrow the regime.”

But at the same time, the U.S. press keeps insistently mentioning the negotiations option, avoiding confrontation. “Maybe we’ll have a friendly takeover of Cuba,” Trump told a group of journalists last week.

“It was obvious that President Trump was not going to focus so much on eradicating communism from Cuba, but on prioritizing commercial, economic and financial interaction,” Kavulich reiterates. “I don’t think anyone should be surprised if we finally see Steve Witkoff [U.S. Special Envoy] and Jared Kushner [Trump advisor] in Havana negotiating with the Cuban government.”

Robert Muse, a Washington lawyer who helps U.S. companies in Cuba, told USA Today that businessmen are cautiously following events after so many times they thought the Island would become a China or Vietnam. Now, according to Muse, things are different. “Little by little people are realizing that this is the decisive year. This is a fundamental economic reform in Cuba,” he asserts.

As for when it will happen, the outlet returns to Trump’s statements in Doral, as the White House indicated: “We’re focused on Iran right now, and that’s what we’ll do. I’d say: ‘What are you going to do? Are you going to take two days off, Marco? Maybe an hour. He’ll take an hour off and then close a deal on Cuba’.”

Translated by GH

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The United States Creates a Group To Study Bringing Criminal Charges Against Cuban Leaders

The crimes that they are analyzing for bringing criminal charges are related to drug trafficking, immigration, and violence.

Trump said this Thursday that the fall of Cuba would be “the icing on the cake” after the January operation in Venezuela that ended with the capture of Nicolás Maduro. / Granma

14ymedio, Madrid, March 7, 2026 – The Government of Donald Trump is studying ways to bring criminal charges against leaders of the Government and the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC), according to several U.S. media outlets reporting on Friday. For this purpose, a task force has been created within the Department of Justice which, according to The Washington Post, could be “a significant step” in the current U.S. administration’s initiative “to overthrow the regime.”

The group will include, the Post reports, citing a government official familiar with the matter, employees from different government agencies, including the Department of the Treasury, which for the Washington newspaper could mean that Trump is considering imposing more sanctions against Cuba. The Wall Street Journal adds that agents from the FBI and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) will also be included.

According to NBC sources, the crimes around which they are considering opening criminal proceedings are related to drug trafficking, immigration, and violence. Charges of narco-terrorism were precisely the ones used by the United States to capture and depose Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on January 3, in a military operation in Caracas that resulted in the Venezuelan leader being prosecuted in New York and the installation of Delcy Rodríguez at the head of an interim government under Trump’s supervision.

At the same time, a federal prosecutor in Florida is also working to present criminal charges against high-ranking officials of the Cuban regime

At the same time, a federal prosecutor in Florida is also working to present criminal charges against high-ranking officials of the Cuban regime, according to The Wall Street Journal. This is also echoed by The Washington Post, which cites the views of several former prosecutors continue reading

from the Miami U.S. Attorney’s Office. They are not surprised that the office is leading an initiative specifically focused on legal proceedings related to Cuba. “The Miami office has a long track record of handling high-profile cases related to wrongdoing linked to the Cuban regime,” the newspaper says.

These reports were published the same day that Donald Trump again insisted to the media that Cuba “will fall very soon” and that Havana is “very eager” to negotiate with Washington.

A day earlier, the Republican warned that Havana is “desperate” to reach an agreement with his administration immediately and assured that it is “only a matter of time” before attention turns toward the Caribbean country, suggesting that the military campaign against Iran has somewhat diverted the White House’s focus.

The fall of Cuba would be “the icing on the cake” after the January operation in Caracas.

He also said this Thursday, in an interview with Politico, that the fall of Cuba would be “the icing on the cake” after the January operation in Caracas. Trump cited as an example the “wonderful” collaboration with the interim government of Chavista leader Delcy Rodríguez, with which Washington announced on Thursday that it will restore relations after decades of distance.

In recent weeks, U.S. media have reported on contacts between U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and a grandson of former Cuban president Raúl Castro, Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro, known as El Cangrejo, and Trump himself confirmed that Rubio was handling the negotiations “at the highest level.”

The Cuban exile community in Miami hopes that, after Maduro, Washington will accuse Raúl Castro of the 1996 killing of four pilots from the group Brothers to the Rescue who were assisting rafters fleeing the island.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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A Woman With a Beaten Face Is Released After Being Detained for Pot-Banging Protests in Havana

“They are going to take me now, they are going to take my phone,” says Marianela Peña Cobas before being captured during a protest over the blackouts.

Marianela Peña Cobas was detained for approximately 15 hours. / Facebook / Facebook

14ymedio, Havana, March 8, 2026 – Fifteen hours after being detained during the second night of mobilizations over blackouts in Havana, Marianela Peña Cobas was released this Sunday morning with marks of beatings on her right cheek, signs of injuries, swelling, bruises, and bleeding. The incident was reported by her sister, opposition activist Marisol Peña, through social media from the moment she learned of the arrest on Saturday night.

“Good morning everyone. They have now released my sister, not because they are good, but because there are not enough prisons to lock up all the Cubans who loudly demand freedom and the fall of that murderous regime,” opposition activist Marisol Peña wrote in her post. She has lived in the United States since 2023, where she fled after State Security summoned her seven-year-old daughter, Katherin Acosta Peña, for questioning. “Look at the beating they have given a woman for shouting Freedom! One and a thousand times freedom for the people of Cuba, freedom for all political prisoners,” she added in the post, which in just four hours went viral, with nearly 9,000 reactions, more than 2,000 comments, and 2,200 reposts.

The series of posts by the opposition activist about the mobilizations in the capital began shortly before her sister’s detention. In the first message about the pot-banging protests, she wrote that “Havana is in the streets banging pots and shouting ‘Down with communism!’ ” Only six minutes later she reported Marianela’s detention: “They have just arrested my sister and taken her away. Please share.” In her message she posted several audio recordings in which the sound of pots being struck can be heard in the background along with the voice of Marianela Peña Cobas. In the first one, she complains that they have been “five days without electricity and 67 years with hunger and misery.” continue reading

In her message she posted audio recordings in which the sound of pots being struck can be heard in the background along with the voice of Marianela Peña Cobas.

Then she says that “it is the entire people” who are protesting and immediately adds: “And now they are going to take me.” A moment later she sends another short audio message in which she says: “They are going to take my phone.” In another recording several seconds of pot-banging can be heard, and at the end Marianela’s voice shouts: “What the hell, let me go!” Finally, in the last message she cries out for “freedom!”

Although the place of the detention was not reported, one internet user indicated that it happened “in Guanabacoa on the street,” one of the districts where mobilizations took place on Saturday. In that area, 14ymedio could confirm simultaneous cacerolazos — pot-banging protests — to denounce the long blackouts affecting the entire country. Demonstrations of the same type were also reported in other parts of Havana, such as Marianao and Cotorro, and in other provinces.

In Guanabacoa, in the Corral Falso area, there was a group shouting “Down with the dictatorship!” as can be seen in the video filmed by this media. Pot-banging could be heard on several streets, some louder than others. Many of those banging pots were children, undoubtedly with the consent of their parents.

The detention occurred in the context of the mobilizations that began Friday night in western Cuba, especially in Havana. After the most recent collapse of the national electrical system four days ago, and given the difficulty of restoring it due to the lack of fuel, the noise of pots and pans has once again filled the darkness as a sign of protest. “Abusers! How long is this going to last?” “Turn the power on!” “Díaz-Canel singao*!” and “Down with communism!” were some of the shouts heard Friday night.

“Abusers! How long is this going to last? “Turn the power on!” “Díaz-Canel bastard!”, and “Down with communism!” were some of the shouts.

Accustomed to blackouts lasting more than 20 hours, this is the first time this year that simultaneous pot-banging protests have taken place in numerous municipalities. Last Wednesday, the shutdown of the Antonio Guiteras thermoelectric plant, the largest in the country, triggered a chain reaction that left two-thirds of the country without electricity, from Camagüey to Pinar del Río.

As for the violence used against Marianela Peña Cobas, it occurred on International Women’s Day, a date that Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel used to speak about “the achievements won” by women.

Through a thread on X this Saturday afternoon, after a meeting with a group of women, he said that “it always uplifts, emancipates, fills us with emotion and strengthens our convictions to engage in dialogue with Cuban women.” In that space he called for “continuing to fight any vestige of discrimination.” Nevertheless, he also used the forum to talk about “the energy blockade by the government of the United States” and reiterated that the country will not renounce “any of its dreams.”

He also spoke about the topic on Facebook, which unleashed a wave of complaints. In his message, accompanied by the image of a woman, Díaz-Canel wrote: “The light of our days has much of woman: sensitivity, talent, and commitment to the fate of the country.”

The word “light” was the trigger. One user replied: “Good morning, I ask please that no one talk to me about light, at least until service is restored; what sensitivity, commitment, or fate can you have after a blackout?”

Another user also referred to the lack of electricity and complained that there are “women who struggle daily, without electricity, with all the food spoiled, with children of school age, growing, with elderly parents. In short, women of today, not the ones highlighted on social media but those who every day give even their soul.”

*Translator’s note: “Diaz-Canel singao” rhymes. The epithet is variously translated as ‘bastard’, ‘motherfucker’ and other insults.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Despite the Heavy Cuban Police Presence, the Intensity of the Pot-Banging Protests in Regla and Guanabacoa Is Increasing

Outraged by the incessant power outages, the residents of these neighborhoods no longer hesitate to protest openly.

In addition to pot-banging protests, there were also garbage burnings in the streets of Guanabacoa and Regla. / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Havana, 8 March 2025 — For the second consecutive night, protests took place this Saturday in several Havana neighborhoods. In Regla and Guanabacoa, 14ymedio witnessed simultaneous cacerolazos — pot-banging protests — denouncing the prolonged power outages affecting the entire country. Demonstrations of the same type were also reported in other parts of the capital, such as Marianao and Cotorro , and in other provinces.

In Guanabacoa, near the Corral Falso area, a group was shouting “Down with the Dictatorship!”, as seen in the video filmed by this news outlet. The banging of pots and pans could be heard in several streets, some more intense than others. Many of those banging pots and pans were children, undoubtedly with their parents’ consent.

There was a heavy police presence, with patrol cars on every third corner. They didn’t seem inclined to intervene against the protesters, who, in their desperation, appeared to have lost all fear. Some even went so far as to burn trash in the streets.

Social media was flooded with testimonies and images of protests, such as those shared by José Raúl Gallego. The journalist, who lives in Mexico, posted a video in which people shout, “We don’t want electricity, we want freedom!” In others, shouts directed against Díaz-Canel can be heard. In Regla, amid the clanging of pots and pans around a bonfire, people shout “Freedom!” and “The time is now!” continue reading

In their desperation, they seemed to have lost all fear. Some even went so far as to burn trash in the streets.

In a video shared by Florida-based YouTuber Alain Paparazzi, a mother confronts a police officer, shouting in outrage that she has four children to care for and the authorities aren’t intimidating her: “Get the patrol car!”, “You’re all singaos*!”, “Don’t mess with the kids!” In the video, the officer can be seen remaining silent and walking away, looking resigned.

It is striking that the video of this desperate mother appeared on social media almost simultaneously with the congratulatory message that President Díaz-Canel sent to the women of Cuba, which was quickly criticized and ridiculed by users outraged by the blackouts and the critical situation in which most of the island’s population lives.

Alongside the banging of pots and pans, the burning of garbage bins is a recurring theme in several of the videos circulating online. The gesture is significant because the garbage that inundates the city reflects the misery in which the population lives. These bonfires serve both as a protest against the unsanitary conditions that the government has failed to address, and as a way to find light during the blackout. Some sing the national anthem next to a burning garbage bin while others shout slogans. The woman filming these images is choking on the smoke.

These bonfires also serve as a protest against the unsanitary conditions that the State has failed to resolve.

This Sunday, protest signs against the government also appeared in public spaces, with slogans such as “Down with communism” and “Come on Trump.” Images of these signs have been circulating on social media in the province of Matanzas and in San Antonio de los Baños. In the latter town, the signs also call for the release of Felipe Rodríguez Ledesma, arrested on March 3 for displaying a sign on his tricycle against “catfish and snitches.”

Regarding the blackouts, which are one of the main reasons for the population’s discontent, the recovery of the Antonio Guiteras thermoelectric plant in Matanzas was announced today – its disconnection aggravated the energy situation for several days – the Electric Union forecasts a deficit of 1,855 MW for tonight, which is equivalent to more than half of the national demand.

*Translator’s note: ‘Singao’ is a strong epithet often translated as motherfucker, asshole, or similar terms. As it rhymes with “Diaz-Canel” it is frequently chanted linked with the Cuban president’s name.

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Cuban President Díaz-Canel Accuses the Miami Summit of Threatening Regional Peace

The Cuban Government maintains that the agreement opens the door to the use of U.S. military force in internal problems.

President Miguel Díaz-Canel together with Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez / Cubadebate

EFE (via 14ymedio), Havana, March 8, 2026 – The Cuban Government criticized this Saturday the summit held in Miami (United States), led by U.S. President Donald Trump and attended by more than a dozen regional leaders ideologically aligned with Washington.

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel referred to the so-called “Shield of the Americas” as a “small reactionary and neocolonial summit in Florida” for “undermining the independence, security and peace of Latin America and the Caribbean.”

“It is an attack against the Proclamation of Latin America and the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace, an assault on the aspirations for regional integration, and a manifestation of the willingness to subordinate themselves to the interests of the powerful neighbor to the North under the principles of the Monroe Doctrine,” the Cuban leader posted on his X profile.

He criticized the summit’s agreement that commits the signatories to “accept the lethal use of U.S. military force to resolve internal problems”

He especially criticized the summit’s agreement that commits the signatories to “accept the lethal use of U.S. military force to resolve internal problems and maintain order and tranquility in their countries.” continue reading

For his part, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez also lashed out on social media against what he called “the mini-summit,” stating that it “seeks to force [the governments] to accept” a “greater subordination of their nations to the power of the North,” which he described as a “clear and dangerous setback” in the independence process of Latin America and the Caribbean.

“The only publicly known result is the signing by the attendees of a servile and dishonorable document that advocates the use of military force, particularly that of the United States, as a repressive weapon against criminal cartels in each country and to suppress internal and border problems,” Rodríguez said.

In conclusion, the foreign minister noted: “It represents a serious threat to peace, security, stability and regional integrity and a blatant violation of the Proclamation of Latin America and the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace,” which was signed more than a decade ago in Havana.

Translated by a Regina Anavy

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In Guantánamo, Cuba, Horse-Drawn Carriages Have Replaced Vehicles, Which Have Run Out of Fuel

Cases have increased by more than 23% this week, although there is optimism for December. / Archive/ 14ymedio

14ymedio, Dayami Rojas, Guantánamo, 8 March 2026 — In Guantánamo, the sound of hooves on asphalt has once again become part of the everyday landscape. Where Lada and Moskvich engines or small private trucks once roared, now horse-drawn carriages slowly make their way, carrying passengers, sacks of food, water tanks, or any merchandise that needs to be moved around the city. The fuel crisis has brought these animal-drawn vehicles back into the spotlight, but the lives of those who drive them are far from easy.

Mid-morning, on a corner near Martí Park, Rodolfo holds the reins of his horse while waiting for customers in the sun. The animal shakes its head, shooing away flies, and the wooden carriage creaks each time someone climbs onto the running board after asking the fare.

“Before, I charged between 20 and 50 pesos for a short trip, but now I have to ask for more. Otherwise, I can’t afford to keep the horse,” the coachman explained to 14ymedio. The fare increase has led to frequent arguments with passengers. “People complain, and I understand them, but nobody sees what it costs to run this business.”

The scene repeats on several streets throughout the city. At makeshift stops, passengers negotiate the price before getting into the car. A woman with several shopping bags protests when she hears the price the driver is asking to take her to the Caribe neighborhood.

“That’s an abuse, chico. They raise the price every day,” she mutters. But she ends up settling into the back seat because she doesn’t have many alternatives. The buses hardly ever run, and private taxis are paralyzed by the lack of gasoline. In Guantánamo, as in many cities across the country, horse-drawn carriages have gone from being a quaint form of transportation to becoming an essential part of the urban landscape.

However, for the coachmen, the work has become increasingly complicated. Rodolfo lists the problems without letting go of the reins. “Horseshoes are incredibly expensive, feed is almost impossible to find, and you have to go far to find hay,” he says. Feeding the animal can turn into an extra day’s work. Many coachmen head out at dawn to nearby rural areas to cut grass or buy a sack of feed.

“If you don’t eat, you can endure it, but the horse can’t. And if the horse gets sick, the job is over,” he adds. continue reading

Restrictions on driving on certain streets have also reduced opportunities to find customers. In recent months, municipal authorities have limited the routes these vehicles can use, citing concerns for health and public aesthetics.

Feeding the animal can become an extra day of work. / 14ymedio

“They’re making us go around in circles like we’re in a maze,” Rodolfo complains. “There are streets we used to go down that are now prohibited. That means more detours, more fatigue for the horse, and fewer passengers.”

At a nearby stop, another coachman meets him. Leaning against the side of his carriage, he observes the almost nonexistent morning traffic. “What they want is to get us off the streets,” he says bitterly. “But when there’s no gasoline, who’s going to get people around?”

Fines are also part of the routine. Municipal inspectors check documents, authorized routes, and vehicle condition. A violation can cost up to 16,000 Cuban pesos, an amount that many find impossible to pay.

“A fine like that will bankrupt you,” says Rodolfo. “Some people have had to sell things from their homes to pay them.” The fear of theft is another constant worry. Horses have become a coveted target for butchers who slaughter them illegally to sell the meat.

“I sleep here, next to my horses,” Javier, a resident of Guantánamo, explains to this newspaper. He spends his early mornings away from his bed because he fears his animals will be stolen. Vandalism particularly targets those who own cows, pigs, or other animals that could end up being sold on the black market.

Javier usually spends the night in a small, makeshift shed in the yard. “If you leave him alone, he can be stolen. And without a horse, there’s no car or food for the family,” he explains.

Feeding the animal can become an extra day of work. / 14ymedio

Some of his colleagues have already decided to temporarily abandon the trade. The cost of supplies, fines, and traffic restrictions have made the work increasingly less profitable.

“There are coachmen who have stopped operating and are waiting for things to change,” Javier says. “But in the meantime, the city still needs transportation.”

Throughout the day, his carriage travels along dusty avenues, potholed streets, and corners where passengers raise their hands, searching for an empty seat. On each journey, the complaints of the passengers mingle with the worries of the driver.

“We keep people moving,” Rodolfo insists. “But nobody helps us.” The horse snorts as the coachman climbs into the front seat. A couple of passengers approach, asking if he can take them to the hospital. The coachman calculates the price and looks at the animal before answering. Then he gives a small tug on the reins, and the vehicle begins to move slowly down the street.
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The ‘War of the Whole People,’ the Final Crime Against Cubans

The supposed strategic genius of Fidel Castro was always an intellectual fraud

The regime is not only defying military logic but dismantling the legal framework that protects human life. / Facebook / Minfar Cuba

14ymedio, Rolando Gallardo, Huesca, Spain, 8 March 2026 — In the corridors of power in Cuba, the nervousness is obvious. As the regime watches its ideological cronies burning out and staggering on the global stage, the leadership in Havana seems determined to “poner sus bardas en remojo” — to start taking precautions — as the international pressure tightens around it. The response from the Castro successor to the pressure of a U.S. administration closing the net around the regime has not been openness or dialogue, but the dusting off of a disastrous plagiarism from Fidel: the doctrine of the “war of the whole people.”

Under the varnish of national sovereignty, this strategy hides a grim logic: mobilizing a mass of citizens with no military training and effectively turning them into legitimate targets for any potential expeditionary forces. This is not heroic defense but the design of a pre-planned massacre, intended to be used as propaganda leverage to portray the regime as a victim before world public opinion.

A caricature of fanaticism

The supposed strategic brilliance of Fidel Castro was always an intellectual fraud. The “war of the whole people” is nothing more than a caricature of the desperate tactics used by Adolf Hitler in the final days of the Third Reich. Just as the German dictator mobilized women, the elderly, and children in the Volkssturm to resist the unstoppable advance of the Allies, the Cuban regime now intends to sacrifice its population under a nihilistic premise: if the system cannot survive, the nation must perish with it.
It was Hitler himself who said the German people did not deserve to live if they were incapable of defeating their enemies. Today the PCC appears to share that same contempt for the lives of those it governs.

The “war of the whole people” is nothing more than a caricature of the desperate tactics used by Adolf Hitler in the final days of the Third Reich. / Polish National Archives

In practice, concepts such as “sovereignty,” “popular will,” or “collective good” are nothing but empty packaging. The reality is a political caste ready to sink the population into the sea if it cannot keep hold of the helm itself. What is sold as patriotism is essentially a Caribbean mutation of Hamas tactics in Gaza, where the value of a citizen is measured by their usefulness as a human shield or as a televised corpse that helps win the battle of global narrative.

The collapse of logistics and the Sierra myth

The viability of this armed resistance, under the island’s current conditions, is nonexistent. The regime appeals to nostalgia for the civil war of 1956–1959, but it deliberately ignores a crucial economic factor: the rebel groups continue reading

back then survived in the mountains thanks to an extensive supply network of food, medicine, and provisions coming from private businesses and prosperous farms — the very same economic base that Castroism itself later destroyed.

In the impoverished Cuba of 2026, marked by energy collapse and chronic shortages, sending elderly people and armed youths up into the mountains would immediately trigger a logistical disaster. Without an economic base to sustain them, any attempt at prolonged resistance would end either in mass surrender due to conditions incompatible with life or in widespread death from hunger and treatable diseases. Logistics — not enemy fire — would be the first executioner of this improvised militia.

International law and the loss of “protected person” status

By reviving this doctrine, the regime is not only defying military logic but dismantling the legal framework that protects human life. According to the Geneva Conventions, a civilian enjoys immunity from direct attack as long as they do not take part in hostilities. But the moment a citizen picks up a rifle or carries out acts of sabotage, that protection disappears and the person becomes a combatant.

This strategy creates a situation of “unprivileged combatants.” When the state hands out weapons, it is deliberately erasing the line of distinction. This ambiguity is a deadly trap; historically it has led to tragedies where expeditionary forces, unsure and fearing ambushes in urban environments, fire at any suspect, exponentially increasing collateral casualties.

For the ruling elite, this scenario is not a mistake but an objective: the more civilian victims there are, the more material they will have for their victimhood propaganda machine.

The leadership’s shield and the end of the mystique

The regime tries to suggest that armed resistance in the Middle East can tip the balance, ignoring that such movements are sustained by mystical indoctrination and a culture of martyrdom that has little to do with Cuban society. The people of Cuba are not looking for glory in the afterlife or sacrifice for a dying dogma. What most people want is prosperity, food, and freedom. After decades of deprivation, many openly long for the capitalist consumerism that official discourse condemns.

Arming a population that lacks even the most basic necessities is the final act of immorality by a dictatorship that knows it is nearing its end. By turning every neighborhood into a barracks and every citizen into an improvised soldier, the Cuban state is not defending the nation but building a wall of flesh and blood to protect the privileges of the elite at the expense of the physical safety of the population.

The “war of the whole people” confirms that, for Cuba’s leaders, sovereignty does not lie in the wellbeing of citizens but in the preservation of their own power. If history is any guide, this “final crime” will not be remembered as a heroic act of resistance but as the last gasp of a ruling caste that preferred the possibility of a national holocaust rather than accepting its own obsolescence.

Cuba today does not need rifles in the hands of civilians; it needs the state to stop using its people as bargaining chips in a war that exists only in the delusions of those unwilling to let go of control.

Translated by GH

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