English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
In the expanded meeting of the Council of Ministers held on Friday May 13, the head of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment reported on the irregularities in the operation of businesses with foreign capital and international contracts; the Minister of Economy and Planning spoke about the irregularities and criminal activity in the marketing of fuels; … Continue reading “The Morality of the Survivor / Dimas Castellanos”
“Corrupt lawyer and judge. Raúl Castro, help me. Unjust eviction.” Unfortunately, in Cuba anybody with a Communist Party ID, a title that gives them a substantial amount of power, and personality disorders that will predispose them to abuse their authority, can conspire against any defenseless citizens and strip them of their property. If there are economic … Continue reading “Conspiring With Impunity / Rosa Maria Rodriguez”
On the 29th of October of 1897 in the pasture of La Yaya, in Sibanicú, Camagüey, the drafting of what would become the last mambí Constitution came to an end. The resulting text represented a qualitative leap forward in Cuba’s constitutional history. This was due to the inclusion, for the first time, of a dogmatic … Continue reading “The Constitution of La Yaya and the Future Cuban Constitution / Dimas Castellanos”
For over a decade, the Cuban government refused to allow one of the world’s best known bloggers, Yoani Sánchez, to travel abroad. When Havana finally loosened travel restrictions for Cuban citizens, Sánchez was one of the first to take advantage of the change, embarking on an 80-day 10-nation tour. One of the countries she visited … Continue reading “Radio Netherlands: Controversial Cuban Blogger Answers Tough Questions / Yoani Sanchez”
Angel and his son Eduardo Angel Santiesteban, whom they tried to pressure to implicate his father. By Amir Valle Part Two II. The Judicial Web of Outrage False Evidence On July 29, 2009, Angel Santiesteban was detained, accused of having raped his ex-wife, Kenie Rodriguez, from whom he’d been separated for 4 years and who … Continue reading “Angel Santiesteban: General Chronology of an Outrage II / Amir Valle”
By Amir Valle Part 1 The renowned Cuban writer Ángel Santiesteban Prats has been sentenced to five years imprisonment for writing against the Cuban dictatorship from his blog “The Children Nobody wanted”. The news now travels the world. As part of the strategy of overwhelming repression practiced by the Cuban political police since the arrival … Continue reading “Angel Santiesteban Prats: General Chronology of an Outrage / Amir Valle”
CUBA: Two journalists jailed, one writer sentenced to five years in prison The Writers in Prison Committee (WiPC) of PEN International protests a renewed wave of repression and harassment against journalists and writers in Cuba, including the imprisonment of two journalists and the conviction of a writer. Independent journalist Calixto Ramón Martínez Arias has been … Continue reading “Action of the International Pen Club for Calixto Martinez, Antonio Torres and Angel Santiesteban / Angel Santiesteban”
Amir, listen, I was remembering a lot of intellectuals we respected and loved who on many occasions went to my house to talk about the interviews you were doing with me because they claimed that you were going to betray me when State Security attacked me. Today I arrived at the conclusion — once again … Continue reading “Blessed are Those Who Have Friends / Angel Santiesteban”
The situation of Cubans under the oppression of the Castro dictatorship does nothing but get worse day by day. The complicity of the world’s governments, whatever their political orientations may be, is unexplainable and unjustifable. In Cuba, Human Rights do NOT exist, liberty and justice do not exist. The oldest dynastic dictatorship in the world … Continue reading “THs – “Twisted Humans” – The Creation of a Dictatorship to Humilate Their People / Angel Santiesteban”
By Ivette Leyva Martínez CaféFuerte.com offers for the consideration of its readers a selection of 12 events that affected Cuba and Cubans during the past year. The selection was made considering the impact of these events on the political, economic and cultural life of the country. They were organized chronologically, not according to relevance. It … Continue reading “12 Important Events for Cuba and Cubans in 2012 / Ivette Leyva Martinez”
This Monday, January 14, many news agencies paid special attention to the implementation of the anticipated migratory relaxation that eliminates restrictions for Cubans to take trips abroad. And it was logical, although I doubt that “the exit prohibition” will stop being applied by the Cuban government as a control, sanction or coercive measure to those … Continue reading “Of Euphoria in the Streets and the Cuban Reality / Juan Juan Almeida #Cuba”
The most serious offense a citizen in Cuba can commit is to want their country to be free and democratic, but even worse is speaking out against the criminal dictatorship that has governed us for 53 years. And in my case, the catalog of “crimes” that calligraphically crowned writing with “a certain” tilt and drawing … Continue reading “Let me be clear: If “something” happens to me there is no way it will be an “accident” / Angel Santiesteban #Cuba”
By: Julio César Gálvez. The current economic and social crisis spreads and worsens among the most vulnerable sectors of the population: children, elderly, disabled, women, ethnic minorities. It is not an isolated case. It is a well-structured plot over 50 years ago to control an entire country. The lack of ethical and moral values and … Continue reading “More Than Half A Century Making A Mockery of Human Rights / Julio Cesar Galvaz #Cuba”
We already know that Cuba is a country of paradoxes. Around here it’s not rare to see a nuclear physicist selling cotton candy in an amusement park. A plastic surgeon working 4 hours as a taxi driver. Or a university student alternating her studies with work as a prostitute. If there is something Fidel Castro’s … Continue reading “The Year of the Venezuelan Tiger / Ivan Garcia #Cuba”
Last August, the Cuban Council of Ministers approved a new General Regulation for the Basic Units of Cooperative Production (UBPC), which was complemented by a packet consisting of 17 measures. The purpose, according to the daily Rebel Youth on September 23, consists of liquidating the dependency of those with respect to state enterprises. The original … Continue reading “Why the UBPC Cooperatives Failed / Dimas Castellano #Cuba”