Cuban Police Seize Legal Center’s Work Equipment / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Havana, 24 September 2016 – Friday’s police assault against the headquarters of Cubalex, Center of Legal Information, located in the Havana municipality of Arroyo Naranjo, resulted in the seizure of six computers, several hard drives, USB drives and cell phones. The officers informed the lawyer Laritza Diversent that she could be accused of the crime … Continue reading “Cuban Police Seize Legal Center’s Work Equipment / 14ymedio”

The Emigrant Must Earn Brownie Points to Enter Cuba / 14ymedio, Mario Penton

14ymedio, Mario J. Penton, Miami, 21 July 2016 — With blood-stained clothes and wounds and bruises on her arms, Ana Margarito Perdigon Brito returned to Miami from Havana’s Jose Marti Airport this past June. No one knew how to rationalize that the Cuban government prohibited her, a citizen of that country whose paperwork was in … Continue reading “The Emigrant Must Earn Brownie Points to Enter Cuba / 14ymedio, Mario Penton”

Cuban Officials in the Panama Papers / Hablemos Press

Hablemos Press, Cuban Journalists and others* (see below), 13 May 2016 — Officials of the Cuban Communist Party hired a Swiss attorney to establish offshore companies for their global business activities, the Panama Papers reveal. The unprecedented leak of 11.5-million documents from the legal firm Mossack Fonseca in Panama exposed the offshore actions and suspicious … Continue reading “Cuban Officials in the Panama Papers / Hablemos Press”

Three Key Proposals for Reforming the Cuban Electoral System / Laritza Diversent

Havana, Cuba, March 21, 2016 — On February 23, 2015 the Plenum of the Central Committee of the Cuban Communist Party (PCC) announced that its VII Congress would take place in April 2016 and that the National Assembly of People’s Power would be asked to amend the electoral process and adopt a new law to … Continue reading “Three Key Proposals for Reforming the Cuban Electoral System / Laritza Diversent”

Obama Praises The Courage Of Dissidents In An Unprecedented Meeting / EFE, 14ymedio

EFE (14ymedio), Havana, 22 March 2016 — The president of the United States, Barack Obama, praised the “courage” of the dissidents and representatives of independent civil society Cuba at the beginning of the meeting held with them at the headquarters of the United States Embassy in Havana this Tuesday. In brief remarks, Obama stressed that … Continue reading “Obama Praises The Courage Of Dissidents In An Unprecedented Meeting / EFE, 14ymedio”

#Otro18 Civic Platform Will Hold Forum On Citizenship And Multi-Party Voting / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Havana, 10 February 2016 – The group that manages the #Otro18 (Another 2018) Civic Platform has convened its first forum in early March in Cuba, under the slogan Citizenship Revisited, Multi-party Voting. Proposals ranging from reforms to the electoral law to a new law on associations will be presented at the meeting. Participants will … Continue reading “#Otro18 Civic Platform Will Hold Forum On Citizenship And Multi-Party Voting / 14ymedio”

Opposition Coalition Elects New Executive Secretariat / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Havana, 11 December 2015 — After months of gestation and discussion, the opposition Democratic Action Unity Roundtable (MUAD) elected its executive secretariat Friday. With this structure composed of various organizations and independent activists, the coalition expects to gain in unity and visibility on the stage of democratic activism within the island. During a meeting held … Continue reading “Opposition Coalition Elects New Executive Secretariat / 14ymedio”

Open Letter to Pope Francis for the Release of “El Sexto”

Freedom for Danilo Open Letter to the Pope Havana, September 8, 2015 Your Holiness, Pope Francis: In advance of your visit to our island, a group of Cuban citizens wish to call your attention to a case that needs an immediate solution. This is the politically motivated imprisonment of Danilo Maldonado Machado, a young artist … Continue reading “Open Letter to Pope Francis for the Release of “El Sexto””

“El Sexto” in the Clutches of the Castro Beast / Luis Felipe Rojas

Danilo Maldonado is a Cuban political prisoner who just embarked on the terrible path of committing to a hunger strike. This was confirmed by his family members from Havana late on August 25th. “El Sexto” (as in “The Sixth [hero]”, referring to the 5 Castro spies who were imprisoned in the United States, and in … Continue reading ““El Sexto” in the Clutches of the Castro Beast / Luis Felipe Rojas”

Declaration of San Juan / Cuban National Conference

Declaration of San Juan The first Cuban National Conference met in San Juan, Puerto Rico from August 13 to 15, 2015. Twenty-three organizations from the Cuban archipelago and 32 from the exile participated, duly represented by more than 100 of their leaders. The event was organized by United Cubans of Puerto Rico. Animating us was … Continue reading “Declaration of San Juan / Cuban National Conference”

Cuban Dissidents Outline A Common Agenda / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Havana, 31 July 2015 – The meeting held Thursday in Havana by some twenty civil society organizations and the political community has been defined as a new step in a common agenda. The initiative aims to work for democracy, fundamental freedoms, and a Rule of Law in Cuba, according to the activist Manuel Cuesta … Continue reading “Cuban Dissidents Outline A Common Agenda / 14ymedio”

Discussing the Chilean Transition / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Madrid, 4 July 2015 — In the halls of the Casa de America in Madrid on Thursday and Friday of this week a training event for Cuban activists was held. Organized by the Association of Ibero-American Freedom (AIL), the meeting was attended by ten Cubans from the island as well as the former Minister General … Continue reading “Discussing the Chilean Transition / 14ymedio”

Laritza Diversent, the Cuban Lawyer who met with Obama / Cubanet, Manuel Guerra Perez

Cubanet, Manual Guerra Perez, Havana, 30 April 2015 — Laritza Diversent is a lawyer and director of the Cubalx Center of Legal Information, an independent office that has offered free legal advice since 2010. She graduated from the University of Havana in Law (2008), she is married and has a 16-year-old son. What exactly is … Continue reading “Laritza Diversent, the Cuban Lawyer who met with Obama / Cubanet, Manuel Guerra Perez”

Four Years Without Justice / Mario Lleonart

Juan Wilfredo Soto García, “The Student,” October 13, 2010 May 5th was the fourth anniversary of the brutal beating of activist Juan Wilfredo Soto García, which resulted in his death two days later. It was followed bythe deaths of noted leaders Laura Pollán and Oswaldo Payá Sardiñas, in which many also acknowledge the presence of … Continue reading “Four Years Without Justice / Mario Lleonart”

Three members of Cuban civil society questioned on arrival in Panama / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Havana, 4 April 2015 – When they got off the plane at the airport in Panama Saturday, immigration officials confiscated the passports of six young Latin Americans, including three Cubans who arrived from Costa Rica, where they had been participated in activities organized by the Liberation Movement Party and the Latin American Youth Network for Democracy. … Continue reading “Three members of Cuban civil society questioned on arrival in Panama / 14ymedio”