English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
14ymedio, Havana, 19 January 2022 — Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara has rejected the rights he has as a prisoner because he considers that he should not be one, according to art curator Claudia Genlui, who was able to speak with him in what he says was “his last call.” “He called to communicate, briefly but … Continue reading “‘The Cuban Government is Slowly Assassinating’ Otero Alcántara in Prison”
14ymedio, Havana, 13 January 2022 — Alberto González Casals, director of the Cuban International Press Center (CPI), has been included by the Foundation for Human Rights in Cuba (FDHC) in its database of repressors. In a statement issued this Thursday, the Miami-based organization details that they have included González Casals as a “white-collar repressor” and as … Continue reading “Cuba’s Director of the International Press Center Joins the List of Repressors”
14ymedio, Havana, 17 January 2022 — Three new trials of July 11th (11J) protesters in Cuba are being held this week. According to a report from Justicia 11J they will take place for 45 defendants in Mayabeque and in Havana. Due to a lack of information from Cuban authorities, civil society organizations and family members of … Continue reading “Three Cuban Activists are Detained in Havana for Denouncing July 11th Trials”
14ymedio, Havana, 11 January 2022 — The Prosecutor’s Office has rejected the request for a change in the precautionary measures for the artist and member of the San Isidro Movement (MSI) Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, considering that he is a “social danger.” In a statement released this Monday through Facebook, the group reports that the … Continue reading “The Cuban Prosecutor’s Office Says that Otero Alcántara is a ‘Social Danger and Must Remain in Prison’”
14ymedio, Natalia López Moya, Havana, 9 January 2022 — For the crimes of public disorder, contempt, assault, and insulting national symbols, 13 protesters who participated in the peaceful protests on July 11th (11J) in the municipality of Artemisa, were sentenced on Friday; sentences ranged from 4 years of ’limited liberty’ to 12 years in prison. … Continue reading “July 11th Protesters in Artemisa, Cuba Receive Sentences of Up to 12 Years in Prison”
14ymedio, Luz Escobar, Havana, 7 January 2022 — The Cuban activist and businesswoman Saily González Velázquez, along with others such as Salomé García Bacallao, and family members of those detained on July 11th (11J), have started a social media campaign for the Spanish news agency, EFE, to cover the prisoners’ trials. “There is still time for … Continue reading “Family Members of Those Arrested on July 11 in Cuba Plea with EFE to Cover Their Trials”
14ymedio, Lorey Saman, Mexico, January 3rd, 2022–Independent reporter, Orelvys Cabrera Sotolongo had to abandon Cuba “due to pressure from State Security.” The journalist, a resident of Matanzas and one of those detained during the protests on July 11th, confirmed on Monday to 14ymedio that he traveled to Russia along with his partner on December 19th. … Continue reading “Threatened by State Security, Cuban Journalist Orelvys Cabrera Traveled to Russia”
14ymedio, Anonymous, Havana, 6 January 2022 — The 11J [July 11 nationwide protest] was so spontaneous, popular and genuine that it is funny, or a shame, to see how officialdom tries to sell the idea of a small group paid by federal agencies in the United States. That day I was very close to the … Continue reading “‘In Seconds, the Bus Became the Freest Place in Cuba’”
14ymedio, Havana, 2 January 2022 –This Saturday, the organization Archivo Cuba (Cuba Archive) launched a petition on Change.org in solidarity with the Island, in which they demand justice for the July 11th prisoners and freedom for the Cuban people. The initiative was published, intentionally, on the first of January, the sixty-third anniversary of the Revolution, … Continue reading “Cuba Archive Demands Justice and Freedom for Prisoners on the 63rd Anniversary of the Revolution”
Luis Felipe Rojas, 28 December 2021 — The Cuban revolution does not mince words or believe in noble titles. On Monday, December 27, a court in Matanzas confirmed the sentence of 6 years in prison for Sissi Abascal Zamora, age 23, for the alleged crimes of “contempt, attack and public disorder.” Sissi was accused and imprisoned … Continue reading “‘Empress’ Sissi Goes to Prison in Cuba / Luis Felipe Rojas”
14ymedio, Havana, 24 December 2021 — Only a few times before has it been so difficult to compile this list with the 14 most relevant faces of the year in Cuba now ending. The twelve months that have elapsed so far have been marked by an infinity of events and thousands of protagonists who have … Continue reading “2021 in Cuba, the Year of the Collective Face”
14ymedio, Havana, 23 December 2021 — Great concern reigned this Thursday among the relatives of the 15 July 12th protesters in La Güinera, regarding the sentences of 12 to 30 years requested by the Prosecutor’s Office for the crime of sedition. According to the mothers interviewed by 14ymedio, the Havana court where the trial was … Continue reading “Confusion Around the Sedition Trials of the 15 La Guinera Protestors in Cuba”
14ymedio, Havana, 25 December 2021 — Barely a week had passed since the premiere of the song Patria y Vida (Homeland and Life), in February, when these two words began to be used as a slogan by different opponents of the regime, inside and outside of Cuba. Opposed to the Castroist “homeland or death”, the images extolling the blackness of five artists, … Continue reading “‘Patria y Vida’, The Anthem for Cuban Freedom”
14ymedio, Luz Escobar, Havana, 14 December 2021 — The only gleaming corner in the home of Jonathan Torres’s family, one of the young people arrested after the protests on July 11th (11J), is the corner with the crib for the baby, who is almost two months old. The clean sheets, the mosquito net, the wet … Continue reading “‘If More Mothers Unite, We Will Achieve Our Children’s Release’”
14ymedio, Havana, 9 December 2021 — The unlimited importation of food, hygiene products and medicines is extended for another half year in Cuba. The measure was approved last July, just three days after the outbreak of the anti-government protests of 11J (11 July) and was scheduled to expire on December 31, but it is extended … Continue reading “Cuban Customs Extends Free Entry of Foods and Other Products for Six Months”
