Translating Cuba – Page 177 – English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island

Even Cristina Kirchner, an Ally of the Cuban Regime, Urges That ‘The Vote Counts Be Published’ in Venezuela

The former Argentine president says that Caracas has a copy of the allegedly hacked results

Cristina Fernández de Kirchner in an archive photograph / EFE/Gustavo Amador

EFE/14ymedio, Mexico City/Santiago de Chile/Caracas/ 4 August 2024 — The former president of Argentina, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, joined the call made by different Latin American presidents on Saturday for the electoral authorities of Venezuela to publish the voting records of the July 28 elections, which showed President Nicolás Maduro’s defeat at the hands of Edmundo González Urrutia. Just as the opposition has already done

From Mexico, where she traveled to participate in a forum organized by the ruling party, Movimiento de Regeneración Nacional (Morena), Fernández de Kirchner urged the National Electoral Council (CNE) to publish the results, “not only for the Venezuelan people, the opposition and democracy,” but also “for the legacy of Hugo Chávez himself.”

“That’s what we have to ask for: that the records be published so that everyone can scrutinize them – international public opinion, the opposition and the people of Venezuela,” Fernández de Kirchner said.

The former Argentine president also affirmed she “fully” shared in the statement signed last Thursday by the Governments of Brazil, Mexico and Colombia, where they called on the Venezuelan authorities to publish in an “expeditious way” the data “disaggregated by polling station” of the continue reading

elections held a week ago in the South American country.

“That’s what we have to ask for: that the results be published so that everyone can scrutinize them, international public opinion, the opposition, the people of Venezuela”

After this Saturday’s demonstrations in Caracas, led by María Corina Machado, Fernández de Kichner said she was “happy” because Machado had come out of “clandestinity,” where she was for security reasons, after Maduro threatened to put the leaders of the opposition in jail.

The former president (2007-2015) and former vice president (2019-2023) of Argentina traveled to Mexico on Friday night and is expected to meet with Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and his successor, the president-elect, Claudia Sheinbaum.

Meanwhile, the president of Chile, Gabriel Boric, said on Saturday that he maintains his position on the outcome of the presidential elections in Venezuela and will not validate “any result that is not verified by independent international organizations.”

Boric insisted on not recognizing the triumph of Chavismo after meeting at the La Moneda Palace with his ambassador to Venezuela, Jaime Gazmuri, recently expelled by Maduro, after the Chilean government rejected the results that declared Maduro the winner of the elections that would perpetuate him in power until 2031.

“We call for full respect for the human rights of protesters in Venezuela and an end to arbitrary arrests and violence,” Boric added from his X account, while calling Venezuela’s expulsion of the Chilean diplomat “untimely and unjustified.”

“We call for full respect for the human rights of protesters in Venezuela and to end arbitrary arrests and violence”

Yesterday, not only were there demonstrations inside Venezuela, but the diaspora of Venezuelans living in exile also took to the streets in various countries in Latin America, the United States and Spain to denounce the fraud in last Sunday’s elections.

In the United States, where there are about 750,000 Venezuelans, 60% of whom are in South Florida according to official data, calls for support of the opposition have multiplied in several cities, including Miami and New York. Similar demonstrations were held in Ecuador, Mexico, El Salvador, Peru, Costa Rica, Paraguay, Honduras, Panama, Argentina and Colombia.

A rally called by the Venezuelan opposition in Spain on Saturday in Madrid asked that international pressure not cease until Maduro recognizes that the winner of the elections is González Urrutia.

The crowd gathered at the Puerta del Sol with Venezuelan flags and numerous placards with messages such as: “We cannot ignore so many people who ask for a change,” “Nobody said it would be easy,” “Freedom for all political prisoners,” “The fight is not over,” “SOS, intervention now,” “Many of us want to return home,” “No more repression, no more deaths,” “Maduro lost, we have the results,” “Edmundo president with an overwhelming majority” and “Fraud.”

Antonio Ledezma, a former mayor of Caracas, in statements to EFE, said that “mercenaries” were sent from Nicaragua and Cuba support “the repression” of the Venezuelan Government “against its people.”

Maduro announced this Saturday that 2,000 people have been arrested in Venezuela after participating in the protests against electoral fraud

Ledezma, exiled in Madrid, questioned if the international community “will allow an innocent, peaceful people, who accepted the challenge of going to the elections, to be massacred by a dictator like Maduro.” At the same time, he urged leaders like López Obrador to bluntly condemn the electoral “fraud” in Venezuela, as other Latin American leaders have done.

Maduro announced this Saturday that 2,000 people have been arrested in Venezuela after participating in the protests against electoral fraud. “We have 2,000 prisoners captured and from there they go to (the prisons) Tocorón and Tocuyito, maximum punishment, justice. This time there will be no forgiveness, this time what there will be is Tocorón,” the president said in front of supporters who marched this Saturday in Caracas, in parallel with the protest called by Machado and González Urrutia.

The Venezuelan president accused the detained opposition protesters of allegedly burning polling stations, as well as regional headquarters of the CNE. So, he maintained, what they did was “very serious,” and he threatened that there will be “complete justice” after “everyone confesses, because there has been a strict legal process, directed by the Attorney General’s Office, with full guarantees when everyone is convicted and confesses.”

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Cuban Migrants Will Be Able To Get Their US ‘CBP One’ Appointment in Two More Mexican States

Several groups of Cuban, Venezuelan and Colombian migrants wait for a response to their CBP One applications in Tijuana, Mexico / EFE

14ymedio, Ángel Salinas, Mexico City, August 5, 2024 — The United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) confirmed last Saturday that “soon” migrants will be able to schedule appointments through the CBP One application from the states of Tabasco and Chiapas, in Mexico, to obtain one of the 1,450 appointments available daily, according to the AP news agency. The measure “will reduce the risks of people entering through the southern border of Mexico,” the statement clarifies. Last Friday, Mexican Foreign Minister Alicia Bárcena said that, as part of the agreements with the United States, “from now on, CBP One appointments can be obtained in Chiapas and Tabasco,” along with the rest of the states where they are already available. She also mentioned the reduction in the number of migrants crossing Mexico, from 12,498 arrests in December 2023 to 1,941 in August of this year.

Bárcena specified that these numbers correspond to “migrants who try to enter the United States without an appointment and are processed .”

Last May, the United States processed more than 44,500 people through the CBP One application / Image Capture / Telemundo 51

Aledmys Morell, a 27-year-old Cuban who is in Tijuana waiting for a response after requesting an appointment, tells 14ymedio about the difficulties of staying in Mexico while waiting for the U.S. authorities to respond. “Life is hell here. This place is full of gangs, robberies and extortion, but my cousin tells me to wait, not to cross illegally because I’ll be deported and will no longer be able to enter the United States.”

Morell, from Santiago de Cuba, explains that he filled out the application last June. He did it from Tijuana because he could not complete the procedure when he was in Mexico City. “You have to keep trying and then continue reading

wait.” The CBP One application designates appointments every day at 9:00 am in Tijuana, Mexicali and Nogales; at 10:00 in Ciudad Juárez and Mexico City; and at 11:00 a.m. in Piedras Negras, Nuevo Laredo, Reynosa and Matamoros.

Jaiver Rodríguez, a Venezuelan who shares a room with Morell, points out that he has been waiting for the appointment for four months “and it hasn’t arrived.” Some of his compatriots got it in one month, but “I don’t know what their problem is with me.” Two of his relatives caught up with him in Tijuana because they were not allowed to leave Tapachula (Chiapas).

The Cuban photographer Ginle Cubillas Arriola, who is in the United States, tells this newspaper that one of the mistakes that migrants make is that, in their desperation over the delay of a response, they end up submitting more than one application, which “lengthens the wait,” and the request, sometimes, is rejected. “I know of people who asked for a group appointment, mistakenly thinking that this was the best way.”

In Mexico City, groups of Haitians and Venezuelans predominate / EFE

Rodríguez says that since last July, the CBP One application “requests, in addition to the migrant’s data, a selfie and a geolocation tag.” The Venezuelan hopes that the request for appointments through the application will not be affected by these requirements or by the recent temporary suspension of travel permits for those who have received the humanitarian parole – because of alleged “significant levels of fraud.”

For his part, Morell managed to get a job in an inn (restaurant) washing dishes in exchange for food and 480 pesos (24.88 dollars) per week, which allows him to share a room with Venezuelans and Colombians. ” At least I’m eating. There are plenty of migrants living on the street,” laments the Santiaguero.

Since its launch in January 2023 and up to last June, the CBP One application has been used by more than 687,000 people who have managed to successfully schedule their appointments to present themselves at one of the eight points of entry into the United States.

According to official data, the United States processed more than 44,500 people last May through these appointments, using the information on the application.

The border entry points in Tijuana and Matamoros recorded 400 appointments per day, according to an official report by the Strauss Center of the University of Austin, Texas. In Reynosa, Nuevo Laredo and Piedras Negras they reported more than 200 appointments a day.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Like Every Year in Cuba, the Circus Begins to Get School Uniforms

Due to lack of fabric, there will only be enough for four grades and if the parent has the patience to endure hours of waiting in line

By fifth grade they plan to end up distributing two sets of clothes / Escambray

14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodriguez, Havana, 5 August 2024 — The sale of school uniforms, which officially began on August 1, is already a display of long lines and complaints. As the official press warned, uniforms are only offered to the “initial grades,” that is, those in which students change cycles: preschool, fifth, seventh and tenth grade, as well as the first year of Technical-Professional and Pedagogical Education.

The Ministry of Domestic Trade warned that the garments for the remaining grades will depend on the “arrival of fabric imported by the industry.” Monica, a young woman from Luyanó, in Havana, the mother of three girls, one in preschool, another 12 and the oldest age 13, confirmed this Monday the disorder and shortages that govern the process.

“Of the smaller sizes, which are the ones that sell the most, there is no size 4, there are only 6 and 8,” said Monica, who got up early to be able to wait in the long line. “They don’t even say if there is a lot or a little or what.” Of her other two daughters, only the middle one, who is going into seventh grade, is required to wear a uniform.

The process, explains this mother, referring to the packages of basic products sold in the stores, is “like the [food] combo”: with their identity card, customers sign up on a list, which they then call to go to the store. continue reading

Uniforms ready for sale in the Luyanó neighborhood in Havana / 14ymedio

None of this is specified by the official media, which report that the Ministry of Domestic Trade “acknowledged delays in the production of vouchers, so sales will be controlled according to lists issued by Education.” Likewise, they indicated that each province would report on the “organizational measures” adopted for the sale of uniforms.

In Santiago de Cuba, according to Sierra Maestra, “relatives should call the educational centers for more information.” They also explained that two sets of clothes will be offered for preschoolers and one set for the rest of the grades planned.

The same will be sold in Sancti Spíritus, according to the newspaper Escambray, although for fifth grade they plan to end up distributing two sets of clothes. One will be sold in “a first stage” and the other “will be received when the industry completes production.”

We will start the sale with the existing inventories in the retail network and with the quantities that were left in the Universal Company,” Domingo Chaviano, an employee of the Business Group of Commerce, told Escambray. “This means that school clothing cannot be delivered in the same way in all places.” In that province, sales take place in Jatibonico and Fomento, in addition to the main municipality.

In Las Tunas, things are worse, according to what Periódico 26 published: in the “first phase,” two items of clothing will be sold for preschoolers and one for fifth graders, and only in Majibacoa and Manatí.

It didn’t take long for Monica, Luyanó’s young mother, to give up on her venture. At 9:30 a.m., half an hour after opening the store she was authorized to shop at, only two people had been served. The entire line, under the sun and next to sewage, became desperate. “I left, I’ll buy everything at Revolico [an on-line site] because if I stayed there it would be one in the afternoon.”

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We Are All Venezuela

The electoral scam of Maduro and his supporters is now bathed in the blood of citizens who demanded their rights and with the imprisonment of many others

Thousands of Venezuelans protested on August 3, 2024 against the results of the presidential elections provided by the CNE, which proclaimed President Nicolás Maduro the winner and president-elect

14ymedio, Pedro Corzo, Miami, 4 August 2024 — The Venezuelan opposition leadership, particularly María Corina Machado and Edmundo González, accepted the challenge of the autocracy to participate in the presidential elections without a minimum of guarantees. They were aware that the electoral authorities were loyal to the regime and that they would hinder the management of the campaign. In honor of both opposition leaders, popular support was massive, unprecedented in the country, despite the collective certainty that the rulers have always been cheaters, as they demonstrated once again on July 28.

Both leaders faced the frustration of large sectors of the population with some opposition leaders of the past. According to experts, several of them made serious mistakes of their own free will, and others simply made wrong decisions. Opposition is not easy, a condition that worsens dramatically when fighting a ‘regime of force’ that counts among its best tools an absolute lack of scruples.

They breathed into their supporters the lost confidence and the certainty that triumph was possible, although they fought against thieves and murderers

Machado and González prevailed over the disappointments with rigor, talent and devotion. They showed an admirable personal courage because they voluntarily became targets of any minions of the government and its fans. They breathed into their supporters the lost confidence and the certainty that triumph was possible, even as they fought against thieves and murderers. continue reading

The opposition carried out a totally atypical electoral campaign in our hemisphere. Consummating the programs was a complicated obstacle course for the conveners and those summoned. However, everyone overcame the difficulties with massive attendance at the campaign events and at the polls on election day.

Venezuelans want to leave Castrochavism in the same way that it was imposed, through elections, although they must never forget that the true nature of that regime is violence seasoned with military coups, which happened on more than one occasion during the 40 years of democracy that the country experienced.

The electoral scam of Nicolas Maduro and his supporters is now bathed in the blood of citizens who demanded their rights and with the imprisonment of many others. Popular protests have been answered with arrests, kidnappings and murders, events that unfortunately will not stop as long as there is resistance to fraud. On the contrary, government violence will escalate to unsuspected levels as long as there are opponents of the farce.

There is no doubt that the Venezuelan opposition has chosen the most difficult path, which is inexorably that of duty. The men and women who are part of it have faced numerous difficulties, particularly their leaders, who have assumed the risks with dignity and courage.

Resistance is vital for democracy to succeed. It is hard and tragic, but if the opposition abandons the fight, the Venezuelan regime could be as long-lived as the Castro regime, now in its 65th year, with the same characteristics as the Communist military dictatorship on the Island.

Maduro and his acolytes could accentuate their state of siege. Precarious freedoms and non-existent citizens’ rights would be more limited. The repression, the preferred instrument of Castrochavism, could harden to unprecedented levels.

They know that the end of one could be the end of all, and for reasons of survival, in addition to the network of interests they share, they have to support each other

The future is one of a struggle, much bloodier and more complicated than now. The enemies of freedom are consistent with their tyrannical purposes, to the extent that these could be the last elections held in the Bolivarian homeland, unless the denunciations spread massively, until they manage to make them admit the fraud.

The allies of Castrochavism are increasingly emboldened. Venezuela’s regional partners are aware of the fragility of their mandates. They know that the end of one could be the end of all, and for reasons of survival, in addition to the network of interests they share, they have to support each other.

The imperial dictatorships of Russia, Iran and China, staunch enemies of human rights, are not far behind. Venezuela is part of their network of influence and they will always support its autocracy.

For our part, those of us who fervently believe in our rights, citizens and governments, we must support the Venezuelan Democrats until the end. We must not compromise. Everyone’s freedom depends on freedom for the land of the Libertador, Simón Bolívar.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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María Corina Machado Thanks Seven European Countries for Their ‘Commitment to Venezuelan Democracy’

The opposition’s tally sheets “leave no room for doubt” that Edmundo González Urrutia “is the elected president of Venezuela,” María Corina Machado said.

This Saturday, during a demonstration to repudiate electoral fraud, María Corina Machado said that the opposition had never been “so strong”

14ymedio/EFE, Havana/Caracas/Madrid/Santiago de Chile, 4 August 2024 — Opposition leader María Corina Machado thanked Spain, Italy, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland and Portugal this Sunday for their “commitment to democracy” in Venezuela, after they signed a joint statement in which they ask Maduro to publish all the voting results of the July 28 presidential election.

“We call on the Venezuelan authorities to publish all the voting minutes without delay in order to guarantee the full transparency and integrity of the electoral process,” reads the document published by European countries this Saturday.

In response, in a message on her X account, Machado supported the demand of European countries that the votes be verified as soon as possible, “at the international and independent level,” in view of the fact that “the regime did not do it within the deadlines established by law.” The largest anti-chavista coalition, the Democratic United Platform (PUD), on the other hand, has made public the proceedings that demonstrate the triumph of its candidate, Edmundo González Urrutia. continue reading

En nombre de los venezolanos, agradezco este importante comunicado conjunto de los gobiernos de Italia, Francia, Alemania, Países Bajos, España, Polonia y Portugal, reafirmando su compromiso con la democracia en Venezuela.

Los datos que hemos presentado a los venezolanos y al… https://t.co/MbeoVJjYoq

— María Corina Machado (@MariaCorinaYA) August 4, 2024

Machado insisted that the voting records held by the opposition “leave no room for doubt” that González Urrutia “is the president-elect of Venezuela,” since they represent more than 80% of the votes and are available at resultadosconvzla.com for anyone to consult. This despite the fact that the National Electoral Council (CNE) proclaimed President Nicolás Maduro as the winner without delivering the evidence to support such an announcement.

Machado, who this Saturday came out of hiding from Maduro’s threats to arrest the opposition leaders, thanked the call of European countries to “cease the persecution and repression that in recent hours have been cruelly deployed against innocents, who are only demanding that the popular sovereignty they exercised last Sunday be respected.”

In Spain, the Minister of Foreign Affairs will present his position on Venezuela before the Parliament

It is expected that on August 13, the Spanish Government, through its Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, will present its position on Venezuela to Parliament in an extraordinary session of the Committee on Ibero-American Affairs.

After the presidential elections a week ago in Venezuela, Albares has insisted that the result “must be able to be verified with total transparency,” and for this “it is necessary to present the tally sheets to recognize the results.” He also called for “calm, civility and the guarantee of fundamental rights,” after the protests that have left 22 dead, according to an independent press count, and about 2,000 detainees, according to Maduro himself.

The conservative opposition of the Popular Party asks the minister to explain, among other issues, the Spanish Government’s action after the expulsion of its parliamentary delegation by the Venezuelan authorities. The delegation was a group of senators, deputies and members of the European Parliament who were not authorized to enter Venezuela to act as observers on election day.

Chilean President Gabriel Boric and Brazilian President Lula da Silva will meet this Monday in Santiago de Chile to discuss their differences on the subject of Venezuela as a backdrop

Meanwhile, the presidents of Chile, Gabriel Boric, and Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, will meet this Monday in Santiago de Chile to address a large and strategic bilateral agenda of trade, political and security cooperation. These conversations will take place against the background of their disagreement on regional and international issues, especially the controversial elections in Venezuela.

Although the situation in Venezuela is not included in the official agenda, and so far is absent in the draft of their joint statement, it is most likely that it will be addressed during the meeting. “It is more than natural that they talk about the region,” the Brazilian government said this week.

It is, in short, an inescapable issue, especially if we consider Maduro’s determination to expel the diplomatic missions of Argentina, Costa Rica, Peru, Panama, the Dominican Republic, Uruguay and Chile for questioning his win, which is not documented by any evidence.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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‘Acute Fever Syndrome’ Is What Dengue Is Now Called In Cuba So As Not To Raise Alarm

Two medical sources confirm to 14ymedio that they have received this instruction for their diagnoses

In hospitals, doctors do not have the reagents to diagnose dengue / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Miguel García, Holguín, 2 August 2024 — After two weeks of barely being able to get out of bed and an early morning receiving hydration serum in the Vladimir Ilich Lenin General University Hospital in Holguín, Isabel, 64, seems to have gotten rid of dengue, though all her medical papers indicate that she had “acute fever syndrome,” the euphemism imposed by Public Health to avoid leaving a record of the current incidence of the virus on the Island.

“My son-in-law is a doctor, and when he saw that I had bruising in the abdominal area, a high fever and an inflamed liver, he diagnosed me at home,” Isabel explains to 14ymedio. With the clinical diagnosis from a direct relative, she also followed the clinic’s recommendations: rest, a lot of liquid and stay under a mosquito net to avoid bites that would infect others.

“I didn’t go to the hospital the first few days because they were going to tell me the same thing my son-in-law had already told me. Everyone knows how deteriorated the hospitals are, and there are many people filling up the emergency rooms with symptoms like mine.” But, when she was already on her seventh day with a high fever, “I began to feel very weak and had a very swollen abdomen, so I decided to go.” continue reading

Isabel went to the Lenin hospital and found the entire emergency room “full of people with the same symptoms”

Isabel went to the Lenin hospital and found the entire emergency room “full of people with the same symptoms.” She waited for her turn despite the discomfort that prevented her from sitting or lying down. “My liver and spleen were so inflamed that I could only stand, because if I sat down it hurt a lot, but standing made me quite tired; these were very difficult hours.”

“The first thing they told me was that there were no reagents to test for dengue, so I was never going to know exactly what I had,” she recalls. “The situation was very distressing, because if something happened to me, I wanted my family to at least know why. But every time I said the word ’dengue’ the doctors and nurses spoke to me quietly and changed the conversation. It gave me the feeling that they are forbidden to say the name of that virus.”

The waiting time was lengthened because “there were few medical staff; the stretchers were all occupied, and they had to pass one of the patients over the others in line because he fainted,” she says. “The scene reminded me of what happened during the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Finally, Isabel managed to be treated by a foreign student who was doing his internship in the hospital. “He was very kind but had nothing to give me. He just told me that I was dehydrated and my situation was delicate, although not as serious as other patients he had seen. He recommended that I get a saline serum as soon as possible.”

Isabel’s family found the serum themselves and were able to hook up a drip for her through a catheter. “Between one thing and another, my daughter spent more than 5,000 Cuban pesos that night.” Before the early hours of the morning, Isabel was lying down with the serum passing through a vein in her left arm. “That saved my life.”

Next door to Isabel’s family’s house in Reparto Peralta, an 86-year-old man died after presenting very similar symptoms

In the medical certificate she had to present at work for her days of absence, and in the treatment that the doctor wrote detailing her symptoms, a phrase caught Isabel’s attention. Instead of dengue, the condition was described as “acute fever syndrome.” She asked the doctor about that and showed him the bruises on the skin of her abdomen, legs and arms. But the answer was more bureaucratic than scientific: “That’s what they have told us to put down; we can’t write ’dengue’ anywhere.”

Next door to Isabel’s family in the Reparto Peralta, an 86-year-old man died after presenting symptoms very similar to those of the 64-year-old woman. “The death certificate given to the family says that it was a cardiac arrest after an acute fever syndrome.” The inaccuracy of the diagnosis has left his family in suspense. “It could also be the Oropouche virus but they don’t tell us anything.”

A doctor who works at the Holguín Pediatric Hospital confirms the avalanche of patients with fever and symptoms associated with dengue and Oropouche. “We can’t tell parents what we think the child has. We are directed to put ’acute fever syndrome’ in all cases,” she tells this newspaper under the condition of anonymity.

The doctor believes that the order is due to two reasons: “to prevent the number of dengue cases in Cuba that are reported to international organizations from skyrocketing because that affects tourism. In addition, they [the authorities of the Ministry of Public Health] don’t want people thinking that we are in an epidemic. We can’t cause more alarm because ‘the country doesn’t want to create more anxiety in the people’ was what they told us at a meeting.”

Translated by Regina Anavy

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The Cuban Regime Seeks Investments From Iran To Revive the Economy

Havana is interested in Tehran’s capacity to “process significant volumes of oil and gas”

Cuban Prime Minister Manuel Marrero meets with the new president of Iran, Masud Pezeshkian, after his investiture / Government of Cuba

14ymedio, Havana, 3 August 2024 — “It is evident that Tehran seeks to position itself in Latin America, and Cuba can be the most feasible entry.” The words of Óscar Julián Villar Barroso, professor of history at the University of Havana and regular interlocutor of the Russian agency Sputnik, describe the measure of the peaceful approach, but at full speed, between the two countries.

Following the recent visit of the Cuban Prime Minister Manuel Marrero to the Iranian capital, the Island has hopes for the “increase in investments in the Cuban economy,” which remains in a coma despite Cuba’s alliances with Russia, China and Venezuela. For Villar Borroso, Havana can offer itself as a “viable and safe interlocutor” for Iran to set foot in the region.

Iran, according to Villar Barroso, is “especially” interested in helping the energy, biotechnology and transport sectors of the Island. Cuba, for its part, is interested in Iran’s ability to “process significant volumes of oil and gas.” The country has developed “an infrastructure for the exploration, extraction and treatment of hydrocarbons” and has achieved “progress in the nuclear sphere,” in addition to other “potentials and experiences” that the Island plans to use to its advantage. continue reading

Villar Barroso admits that Tehran’s interest is not so much economic as it is political

Villar Barroso admits that Tehran’s interest is not so much economic as it is political. The “pragmatism” of Iranian foreign policy, he explains, is what led the new president, Masud Pezeshkian – elected after the death, in a helicopter accident, of his predecessor Ebrahim Raisí – to promise Marrero that “it will be a priority to strengthen relations with Cuba” and sign new agreements.

Pezeshkian’s speech and his dialogue with Marrero contained nods to Fidel Castro, whose “fight” against the United States he highlighted, a gesture that both Villar Barroso and Sputnik see as a good diplomatic signal towards the Cuban regime.

Cuba will be Iran’s base of operations and will help it dodge Washington’s sanctions if the U.S. tries to prevent it from doing business in Latin America, the academic evaluates. In return, Cuba will receive financial aid in “sectors where the Island has difficulty financing productions and activities.”

“As far as biotechnology is concerned, “there are already investments in that industry,” said Villar Barroso

With regard to biotechnology, “there are already investments in that industry,” the academic explained. Iran hired Cuban scientists to open a production plant for the Soberana 02 vaccine in Iranian territory with “technology transferred” from the Finlay Vaccine Institute in Havana.

On the Iranian issue, Sputnik also interviewed Gleydis Sanamé Chávez, a researcher on Middle East and North Africa issues at the Havana International Policy Research Center. Sanamé said that Iran will help with the “modernization of thermoelectric and hydroelectric power plants in Cuba.”

Both countries have signed agreements in the area of sports, foreign trade, food, industry and technology, which Sanamé describes as valuable in the face of the “systematic crisis that the Island is going through.” Although, for Villar Barroso – who also talks frequently with Sputnik – the greatest value of the alliance with Tehran is that Cuba is a common factor for other regional powers, such as Russia and China, which “push for a gradual transition” and a “strategy” against Washington.

Iran and Cuba are considering using the Island’s naval infrastructures with the aim of “satisfying the demand of South American countries”

Last May, when Raisí was still alive, the head of the Iranian Port and Maritime Organization, Ali Akbar Safaei, revealed that Iran and Cuba are considering using the Island’s naval infrastructures with the aim of “satisfying the demand of South American countries.”

The official highlighted his Government’s interest in “strengthening relations” with “friendly countries” and giving continuity to “maritime trade and transport between Iran and South American countries, especially Venezuela.”

Iran is one of Nicolás Maduro’s main allies – subjected to international discredit after the fraud in the presidential elections – especially since 2020, when the shortage of gasoline forced Venezuela to go to the ayatollahs to buy fuel. In 2022, in addition, the country also known as Persia agreed to renew the Paraguaná Refining Center, the largest in Venezuela, although this is not yet a reality.

The talks about the use of Cuban port facilities took place as part of the trip to Tehran of the Minister of Transport of the Island, Eduardo Rodríguez Dávila, who met with his Iranian counterpart, Mehdi Bazarpash. At the meeting, the News Agency of the Islamic Republic (Irna) quoted the Iranian minister himself as saying, “we agreed to establish a twinning between two important ports of Iran and Cuba.”

Last February, in addition, Iran exempted Cubans – and citizens of about thirty countries – from visas as part of a plan to revive tourism, in crisis due to the bad image of the country, the coronavirus and the protests of 2022, harshly repressed by the Islamist regime in Tehran.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Prostitution, Sales of Drugs and Other Trades Have Taken Over Havana’s Parc de la Fraternidad

When the sun comes out and the shadows that inhabit the place retreat, what you see is a square fallen into disgrace.

As soon as you cross Reina Street, you realize you’re entering a territory with other rules / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Natalia López Moya, Havana, 3 August 32024 — There is a map for any Havana you want to find. If you try to avoid danger, unsafe areas and having your throat cut, there is one street, but if the goal is to take a chance, experience risk and furtive relationships in the dark, then another map will have to be consulted. Parc de la Fraternidad [Brotherhood Park} has every map, for both the spineless and the daring. You can find an illuminated corner to take a collective taxi or the abysses of a city where the Police turn a blind eye when they want.

As soon as you cross Reina Street, you can tell you’re entering a territory with other rules. The lamps that once illuminated the garden and pedestrian crossings on the side of the Havana Capitol barely provide light. “This gets as dark as a wolf’s mouth,” says an old man who sleeps in the portals of the Palacio de Computación, a property that once housed a large market of the Sears chain and that now languishes from the lack of young people who visit it since they can now browse the web on their cell phones.

The function of the pieces of wood that have not yet been torn from the supports of the benches can be as wide as imagination allows / 14ymedio

The man, who was left homeless more than a decade ago, says that he used to spend the early mornings on a bench in Parc de la Fraternidad but now “the one that’s not broken is used for other things when night falls.” The function of the pieces of wood that have not yet been torn from the supports of the benches can be as wide as imagination allows. The same goes for any type of currency or substance that can be exchanged for sexual favors. “After a certain time you shouldn’t come here,” he warns. continue reading

When the sun rises and the shadows that inhabit the park withdraw, what you see is a plaza fallen into disgrace, with beautiful trees, but with almost no places to sit and an increasingly neglected patch of grass. The line at a nearby bus stop winds between the roots of the laurels, but people must appeal to the sidewalk to sit down because “here out of every three benches, two are broken,” says an old woman who waits for the bus that goes to Marianao.

The reasons for so much deterioration are as varied as the possible maps of the Cuban capital. To the lack of investment that has affected the entire area, especially after the death of the city historian Eusebio Leal, is added an economic crisis that makes vandalism and theft of any public element a way to shore up survival. Many of those who spend the night or make a living in the park are not interested in intruders being comfortable enough to stay; they don’t want anyone to see what goes on there.

The reasons for so much deterioration are as varied as the possible maps of the Cuban capital / 14ymedio

At the end of the 18th century the area became a military exercise field, and now other battles are being fought on its premises. Prostitution, the stealthy search for a partner for one night, the bodies that are sold, even under the age of 16, which in Cuba is the age of majority, and the exchange of foreign currency and the sale of drugs have changed the raison d’être of a park that was once short of housing a zoological garden.

Its several plots of different sizes and its ornamental elements are currently the scene of a country in crisis. In the center of the ensemble, there is a ceiba, the “Tree of American Brotherhood” that was fertilized with land from each of the republics that participated in 1928 in the VI Pan American Conference. Popular legends have attributed that mixture to a ritual that condemns the entire Island to eternal unhappiness until what was supposedly buried in the roots of the tree is extracted.

However, there has been no need for spells or evil enchantments for the environment of the stately ceiba to be in a worse state every day. The spell has been of a different type and looks more like carelessness and neglect than any centenary spell.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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In Cienfuegos, Motor Scooter and Tricycle Owners Take Advantage Of The Lack Of Public Transport

For those living in the surrounding areas, managing to get into the city for work or for running errands is an Odyssey

14ymedio, Julio César Contreras, Cienfuegos, 3 August 2024 – Climbing with difficulty onto a horsedrawn cart, cramming inside an electric tricycle or paying more than 100 pesos for a motor scooter are the transport options that Lidia has to shuffle every morning when she sets out for work in Cienfuegos. For a bus to actually arrive, or for some Lada driver* to decide to give her a lift, these are no more than “miracles” which happen with less and less frequency since the start of the fuel shortage and the lack of public transport vehicles. If you want to move about, private vehicles are the only option.

“It’s useless to wait at a bus stop”, the 65 year old Cienfuegera told 14ymedio. Private transport is usually more efficient and more readily available she says, but it’s the prices which stop people from using these vehicles.

“From the entrance to Calle Industria to Paseo del Prado, a horse drawn cart ride costs between 15 and 20 pesos, but that zone is always full of people due to its proximity to the provincial hospital so it’s difficult to get a lift around there at peak times. If you need transport quickly, or you need to go a longer distance, the motor scooters can cost you up to 500 pesos for just a few kilometres”, says Lidia.

From the entrance to Calle Industria to Paseo del Prado, a horse drawn cart ride costs between 15 and 20 pesos / 14ymedio

For those living in the surrounding areas, managing to get into the city for work or for running errands is an Odyssey. “I live in Pueblo Grifo, on the outskirts, and pay 200 pesos for a motor taxi that takes me from Villuendas Park to the centre”, says Luis, another Cienfueguero, complaining about the few options available and their high costs. continue reading

“Okay if they were fixed prices but the problem is that tomorrow they’ll raise the price by 50 pesos and you’ll still have to pay it without complaining because there’s nothing else available and it’s weeks since I last saw a Diana”, he says, referring to the inter-urban buses that carry that name.

In answer to anyone who might ask what happened to all the inspectors who were supposed to prevent abusive pricing, Luis replies sarcastically: “It would seem they all went off to Venezuela to look for petrol (gasoline)”. The Cienfuegero assures us that in the last few days he’s only seen, sporadically, the official in charge of the Pastorita bus stop. “He works a bit in the mornings with his clipboard under his arm, without getting even the minimum of respect from drivers”, he complains.

It costs 200 pesos for a motor taxi from Villuendas Park to the city centre / 14ymedio

If Cienfuegos’s bus stops seem to be deserted for the major part of the day, it’s not because the transport is efficient and quick but that the passengers know that if they bother to wait around for a bus to arrive, “they’re gonna be there until nightfall”.

It doesn’t bother the private car owners who offer transport to travellers that there aren’t any buses or that the inspectors are disappearing. “At the end of the day that brings us more clientele and more work”, says the driver of one motor scooter. “It’s true that people can’t always pay our tariffs, but the prices aren’t that way because we want them to be but because inflation affects us as well”, he says.

Tyres and wheels, spare parts, petrol, duty payments and maintenance costs, “all that is money which we have to find at the end of the day and we still have to earn enough to live on, because if not then the business can’t be sustained”, he explains. “The passengers are sometimes annoyed or refuse to pay. It’s unfortunate that people treat each other badly when it’s the people higher up that have the solution in their own hands. When someone’s like that with me all I can say to them is ’either get in, or stay where you are’”.

Translator’s note: Government officials who are issued government cars — generally Russian made Ladas — are required to pick up and drop off passengers (at no charge) at designated areas, but commonly fail to do so.

Translated by Ricardo Recluso

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The World is Watching Caracas

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is the main accomplice of the three dictatorships on the continent

AI-generated image of Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, published by former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro / /Jair Bolsonaro/X

14ymedio, Yunior García Aguilera, Madrid, August 3, 2024 — On August 2, a haggard-looking Nicolás Maduro gave a press conference where he threw out clues about how he intends to hold on to power in Venezuela. Grabbing a Bible, he read a passage from the Gospel of St. John where Thomas’ disbelief is recounted. In chapter 20, verse 29, Jesus said to his apostle: “Blessed are those who did not see, and believed.” So… that’s what it’s all about. Maduro doesn’t plan to show a single bit of evidence of his supposed triumph, because he doesn’t have it!

The dictator hopes that both Venezuelans and the rest of the world will swallow the story of his victory as a matter of faith. But the opposition made a sagacious move. Despite all the difficulties that their supporters faced in accessing the voting centers, in the end they managed to get the voting records they needed to dismantle the fraud. Making those records available to the whole planet has made the National Electoral Council look ridiculous. In those votes, which now account for more than 80% of the total, it can be confirmed that the winner of the elections was Edmundo González, with 67% of the votes. The opposition has not defended its victory with mere statements or chest pounding; they are protecting it with verifiable evidence.

The opposition has not defended its victory with mere statements or chest pounding; they are protecting it with verifiable evidence

I confess that, at first, I was concerned about the way in which some of those records, which Venezuelans nickname chorizos [sausages], reached their hands. Knowing the deceptive nature of authoritarian regimes, I feared that Chavismo itself would provide them with false records and then go out to deny them. It is something they usually do, for example, with certain videos on social networks. They themselves make fictitious material, upload it to the internet, wait patiently for some clueless opponent to replicate it and then go out to denounce that it is fake news. It is a tactic that Castroism also used during the 11J mass protests in Cuba, in July of 2021, to try to deny the demonstrations. However, falsifying voting records is much more complex than adulterating videos, and the Venezuelan opposition “is not sucking its thumb” [‘wasn’t born yesterday’]. continue reading

So far I have not seen any Chavista dismantle the results of the opposition website. This Friday, the president of the National Assembly, Jorge Rodríguez, tried, unsuccessfully, to convince us that the records displayed by the opposition are fake. This guy often uses sarcasm to cover his poverty of arguments. However, in his very brief speech, he devoted himself to speaking carefully, without daring to question the QR of a single record, without comparing them to his own in the sight of everyone, and without denying a single concrete result of any of the more than 24,000 tally sheets that the opposition has documented.

Some media have baptized what is happening as “the war of the votes,” but this is imprecise

Some media have baptized what is happening as “the war of the votes,” but this is imprecise. The only votes that we have all been able to observe, so far, are those displayed by the opposition. Maduro’s only exist in his speeches. The CNE, for its part, justifies its lack of transparency by quashing us with an alleged “cyber attack,” which has jumped from North Macedonia to Elon Musk, detracting from any seriousness of the matter. The doubt here would be: if the alleged hacking somehow prevented them from obtaining the records, where the hell did they get the statistics that awarded the triumph to Maduro? The CNE is caught in its own trap.

Some netizens talk about supposed Chinese experts who even falsified the Apollo 11 moon landing. However, even if this were true and the counterfeiters managed to manufacture new voting records, these would only serve for the internal circus that Maduro has mounted in the Supreme Tribunal of Justice. They would never dare make them public, tally sheet by tally sheet, because it would be too easy to refute them.

Meanwhile, each foreign Government has recognized as president the candidate most aligned with its own ideology. The allies of Chavismo in the OAS have boycotted a statement, but without daring to vote against it. The cowardly abstentions and absences translate as: “it is obvious that Maduro is lying, but we need cheap oil.” Lula continues with his wet dream of winning the Nobel Peace Prize as a mediator in some conflict; that’s why he pretends to fight from time to time with Maduro, to gain some credibility. But we all know that, deep down, the Brazilian president is the main accomplice of the three dictatorships on the continent.

Meanwhile, each Government has recognized as president the candidate most aligned with its own ideology

The world, fortunately, is still watching Caracas, although any result in another country or in the Olympic Games would be enough for us to stop watching, and Maduro continues to scam and massacre the people of Venezuela. The worst thing is that young people are increasingly losing their confidence in democracy and international institutions, dangerously returning us to those times of the violent struggle.

Operation Tomás* means everything should be resolved by faith. Maduro hopes that when the Supreme Tribunal of Justice (obviously controlled by him) ratifies the results announced by the CNE, everyone will accept his words as holy, and the “saint” will have won. Believing without seeing, that is the ruling party’s bet, as if we were living in the Middle Ages. But Maduro is not Jesus Christ; he is Herod. Maduro hasn’t even read the Bible very well. The donkey of Miraflores believes that Jesus was a Palestinian child killed by the Spanish Empire. And his false Operation Tomás is abut to appear to be Judas.

*A reference to Maduro’s use of the “doubting Thomas” story in the Bible.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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María Corina Machado Comes out of Hiding To Participate in a Demonstration in Caracas

María Corina Machado passed through the streets on a truck and said a few words to the crowd / María Corina Machado/ Instagram

14ymedio/EFE, Havana/Caracas, August 3, 2024 — Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado left her hiding place this Saturday, where she had been for security reasons after President Nicolás Maduro threatened the leaders of the opposition with prison.

Machado reappeared standing on a truck that traveled the streets of a neighborhood in the capital, until she reached the demonstration called by the opposition to repudiate the electoral fraud and violence on the part of Maduro, who insists on declaring himself the winner in the July 28 elections.

In her first statements, Machado reiterated the triumph of the opposition and maintained that it had never “been as strong as today,” nor “has the regime ever been so weak,” while facing a crowd gathered on Avenida Principal de Las Mercedes. “We knew that, just as it took us a long time to achieve the electoral victory, we are now entering a new stage that we live day by day,” she added.

She said she was very grateful to all the presidents of Latin America “who have recognized the civic and massive character of the vote on July 28.” In that sense, she stressed that now “these countries and these governments have a great responsibility to maintain the civic and peaceful character of the mobilization.” And she asked them to “make the regime understand that the time for the democratic transition has come, that we are willing to negotiate and give guarantees so that it will be in an orderly, sustainable and peaceful way.” continue reading

Después de 6 días de brutal represión, creyeron que nos iban a callar, a parar o atemorizar… miren la respuesta.

Hoy, la presencia de que cada ciudadano en las calles de Venezuela demuestra la magnitud de la fuerza cívica que tenemos y la determinación de llegar hasta el… pic.twitter.com/O8u4EDcsSR

— María Corina Machado (@MariaCorinaYA) August 3, 2024

Machado arrived at the demonstration that took place in the east of Caracas, along with the anti-chavistas Delsa Solórzano, Juan Pablo Guanipa, María Beatriz Martínez, Biagio Pilieri and Williams Dávila. They are all members of parties that make up the largest anti-chavista coalition, the Democratic Unitary Platform (PUD). However, so far the presence of the coalition candidate, Edmundo González Urrutia, who obtained 70% of the votes according to the ballots compiled by the opposition, has not been confirmed.

“We knew that, just as it took us a long time to achieve the electoral victory, we are now entering a new stage that we live day by day,” said Machado

Thousands of participants shouting “Freedom!”greeted the opposition leaders, led by Machado, after they said that they fear for their lives. In parallel, a caravan of motorized vehicles in support of Maduro rolled from Petare to the center of Caracas.

The protests began in Caracas normally and without notable incidents, despite the large influx of people, both on foot and by motorcycle. The protests have been replicated in the main cities of the country, where, as in the Venezuelan capital, thousands of demonstrators met peacefully and sang the country’s national anthem. Demonstrations are also reported in support of the opposition in other cities around the world such as Bogotá, Madrid and Washington.

In the last few hours, the victory of the opposition candidate has been recognized by seven countries on the continent. In addition, a group of American congressmen presented a resolution on Friday in which they recognize González Urrutia as the legitimate president-elect of Venezuela. The United States also expressed its “solidarity with the Venezuelan people” and condemned the fraud of Nicolás Maduro, who is accused of wanting to “steal the elections” in an attempt to perpetuate himself in power for a third consecutive period.

Demonstrations in support of the opposition are also reported in other cities around the world such as Bogotá, Madrid and Washington

The resolution, signed by Democrats and Republicans, denounces the violent repression that protesters have suffered “for democracy” in recent days. According to the count of the independent Venezuelan press, there have now been 20 killed by firearms at the hands of the regime, which has deployed the National Guard, the Police and the so-called “chavista collectives” in the streets, a kind of rapid-response brigade made up of armed civilians.

The document also advocates new sanctions from the United States Government, headed by President Joe Biden, and greater pressure from the international sphere for Maduro to “accept the will of the Venezuelan people and allow a peaceful transition of power.”

They warned that the United States must strengthen the measures against Maduro, since he is “closely allied” with all of Washington’s “adversaries”

The initiative was promoted by Florida congressional members Mario Díaz-Balart, of the Republican Party, and Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a Democrat. Both jointly chair the Congressional Committee in favor of Democracy in Venezuela.

“Despite the dominance of Maduro’s totalitarian regime, the Venezuelan people refuse to allow democracy to die. Now more than ever, the United States must strengthen the measures against the dangerous Maduro regime, which is closely allied with all the adversaries of the United States who work against our national security interests,” Díaz-Balart said.

Wasserman Schultz said that on Sunday Venezuelans “valiantly” went to the polls to look for “a true and legitimate representation” after “a decade lost under Maduro,” who has governed the country since 2011, after the death of Hugo Chávez.

The congresswoman regretted that, however, the “brutal narco-regimen” refuses to face reality, despite the clear evidence that demonstrates Maduro’s defeat. The opposition has uploaded the electoral results to the internet, so that anyone can consult them. “Now we have to put pressure on Maduro and his thugs to respect the will of the Venezuelan people or face the consequences,” she added.

The opposition, which has in María Corina Machado a moral leader, continues to receive international support, after several countries, including Argentina, Uruguay, Ecuador, Peru, Panama and Costa Rica also recognized Gonzalez Urrutia as the winner of the elections.

For his part, the Secretary of State of the United States, Antony Blinken, held a call with González Urrutia and Machado this Friday, on the eve of the national protest. Blinken congratulated the standard-bearer of the Democratic United Platform (PUD) for having “received the majority of the votes” and expressed his concern about the “security and well-being” of both him and Machado.

Blinken expressed his concern about the “security and well-being” of both González Urrutia and Machado on the eve of the national protest

Blinken’s call comes on the same day that Machado’s party, Vente Venezuela, denounced a “robbery” of its headquarters during the early hours of the morning, with six armed men, who “subdued” the guards and took equipment and documents. This happened precisely one day after the opposition leader published an article in the American newspaper The Wall Street Journal, where she said she feared for her life. “They might capture me while I’m writing these words,” she wrote.

Through his social networks, González Urrutia called to respond with “hope, harmony and peace” to the “attacks of the regime” of Nicolás Maduro, who accused them of planning an “attack” this Saturday to “destabilize” the country during the national protest they have called in rejection of the result of the elections announced by the National Electoral Council (CNE) this Friday.

“We are in very difficult times, and we can, and must, have the serenity to respond to those attacks with the firmness and hope of a better future,” he said this Friday in a video posted on his Instagram account.

It was through the state channel VTV that Maduro pointed out: “I really thought about it, because we could be revealing a source of information that we have been working on from groups of criminals of the comanditos [little commanders, a pejorative], as they call the political organization groups of the opposition. Some of these groups of comanditos, armed with grenades and other weapons, intend to carry out an attack tomorrow in the area of Bello Monte (in Caracas).”

This came after the CNE, owned by the regime, said again on Friday that the ruling party obtained 51.9% of the vote without presenting evidence. So now, when the election results tallied by the Maduro Government have still not been delivered, fraud in the presidential election is more than a suspicion.

Gutiérrez Urrutia, through a statement, reiterated that the electoral body has the duty to “guarantee the transparency and reliability” of its processes, so he hopes they will “comply with the constitutional and legal obligation to publish the results of the scrutiny, the totals and the audits.”

Translated by Regina Anavy
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Venezuela Demands That Chile and Seven Other Countries Withdraw Their Diplomatic Staff for Election ‘Interference’

Argentine President Milei: “Not even Maduro believes the electoral scam that he celebrates.”

The president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, speaks after being proclaimed president-elect by the National Electoral Council this Monday, in Caracas / EFE

EFE (via 14ymedio), Ronald Peña R., Caracas, 30 June 2024 — The Government of Venezuela demanded on Monday from Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Peru, Panama, the Dominican Republic and Uruguay “the immediate withdrawal of their representatives on Venezuelan territory,” in rejection of their “interference in and statements” about Sunday’s presidential elections.

Likewise, the Executive of Nicolás Maduro, according to an official statement, decided to “withdraw all diplomatic personnel from the missions” in these seven Latin American countries.

“Venezuela reserves the right to all legal and political actions to enforce respect and to preserve and defend our inalienable right to self-determination,” said the Chavista Government, which “will confront any action that attacks our country’s climate of peace and coexistence.” continue reading

“Venezuela reserves the right to all legal and political actions to respect, preserve and defend our inalienable right to self-determination”

In its pronouncement, the Venezuelan Executive expressed “its strongest rejection of the interference and statements of a group of right-wing governments, subordinate to Washington and openly committed to the most sordid ideological postulates of international fascism, (…) that pretend to ignore the electoral results.”

The National Electoral Council (CNE) officially proclaimed Maduro president on Monday, after he announced on Sunday night that the Chavistas, in power since 2013, won the elections with 51.2% of the votes, the exact same result that he gave when only 80% of the ballots had been counted with more than two million left to count.

Meanwhile, the standard-bearer of the majority opposition, Edmundo González Urrutia, obtained 44.2% of the votes, according to the first and only public report of the CNE, which did not specify which candidates received the 2,394,268 votes that were not reported.

On Monday, the governments of Uruguay, Argentina, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Panama, Paraguay, Peru and the Dominican Republic expressed their deep concern about the development of the presidential elections.

They also demanded a complete review of the results and called for an urgent meeting of the Organization of American States (OAS).

Argentine President Javier Milei wrote on X: “The Dictator Maduro’s insults are flattery for me. They repeat the same grievances of many well-thinking ‘journalists’ of Argentina, whose infantile position allows Maduro’s atrocities to be legitimized. Maduro doesn’t even believe the electoral scam he celebrates. Neither does the Argentine Republic. We do not recognize the fraud; we call on the international community to unite to restore the rule of law in Venezuela, and we remind the Venezuelan people that the doors of our Homeland are open to everyone who chooses to live in freedom.

LONG LIVE FREEDOM!”

President Milei described the results of the presidential elections in Venezuela as an “electoral scam” and ignored the CNE’s announcement.

“Maduro doesn’t even believe the electoral scam he celebrates. Neither does the Argentine Republic,” the Argentinian leader wrote on X.

“We do not recognize the fraud; we call on the international community to unite to restore the rule of law in Venezuela, and we remind the Venezuelan people that the doors of our Homeland are open to everyone who chooses to live in freedom,” added the ultraliberal politician.

He also referred to Maduro’s statements during his speech after the first official results of the elections were known, in which he referred to Milei as a “fascist Nazi,” “sellout” and “coward,” and warned him to “keep his mouth shut.”

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Venezuelan Prosecutor’s Office Threatens María Corina Machado by Accusing Her of a Plan To Invalidate the Election Results

Venezuela’s Attorney General, Tarek William Saab, warned that he will be monitoring any act that intends to initiate an escalation of violence

Tarek William Saab said that he appointed two prosecutors for this case / EFE

EFE (via 14ymedio), Caracas, July 29, 2024 — The Prosecutor’s Office of Venezuela announced on Monday the opening of an investigation into an alleged plan of people linked to the majority opposition to invalidate the results of the presidential elections, held on Sunday, in which Nicolás Maduro was proclaimed president-elect by the National Electoral Council. In a statement to journalists, Attorney General Tarek William Saab said that yesterday the electoral system suffered a “cyber attack from North Macedonia,” whose intention was to “manipulate the data that was being received” on the votes in more than 15,000 authorized polling places.

“They wanted to invalidate the votes of the automated system,” stressed the prosecutor, who blamed the attack on the opposition leader María Corina Machado, as well as former deputy Lester Toledo and former mayor Leopoldo López, both exiled opponents and members of the Voluntad Popular party.

“They wanted to invalidate the votes of the automated system themselves,” stressed the prosecutor

It is “an attack that slowed down the sending of the votes for scrutiny,” continued Saab, who appointed two prosecutors to investigate the case. He also stressed that the Prosecutor’s Office “will be monitoring any act that intends to initiate an escalation of violence to muddy the democratic celebration” and warned that these actions would constitute crimes that carry penalties of up to 20 years in prison. continue reading

He asked Venezuelans “not to allow themselves to be used in destabilizing agendas that respond to petty interests unrelated to the national interest, which seek the chaos, unrest and suffering of the majority.”

Maduro was formally proclaimed the winner on Monday by the National Electoral Council despite the allegations of the largest anti-chavista coalition, the Democratic United Platform (PUD), which believes that its leader, Edmundo González Urrutia, won the elections with a wide margin.

González Urrutia stated that “all the rules have been violated,” due, among other things, to the refusal of the electoral body to deliver to the PUD the voting results in more than 50% of the centers.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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In 2023 There Were 110 Trials for Femicides in Cuba, Which Appear To Be on the Rise

The government has still not provided the number of femicides per year, let alone updated it.

In terms of misogynistic violence, October was the bloodiest month of 2022, with six cases reported by the independent press and feminist platforms. (14ymedio).

14ymedio, Madrid, 2 August 2024 — Cuban authorities continue to conscientiously guard the data on women killed by male violence, but Thursday’s publication of the number of femicides prosecuted in 2023 shows an alarming figure. In a single year, the increase was more than 500%, going from 18 prosecutions for this crime in 2022 to 110 in 2023.

Cuba’s Observatory on Gender Equality, part of the National Office of Statistics and Information (Onei) published on Thursday what was its first update since the body was launched in June 2023, whose website includes the number of cases tried for femicides.

The data is broken down into two different sections; on the one hand that of “women aged 15 and over who were victims of gender-related murder at the hands of their partners, ex-partners or other persons”, which amounted to 60 in 2023, and on the other hand, that of “women aged 15 and over who were victims of murder by their partner or ex-partner known in judicial proceedings”. Unified, in accordance with international standards, the figure was 110, bearing in mind that the number refers to cases that were prosecuted during that year and not necessarily to crimes committed in the same period. continue reading

The combined rate is 2.16 per 100,000 women. The figure places Cuba as the sixth country in the region.

The combined rate is 2.16 per 100,000 women. The figure places Cuba as the sixth country in the region according to the records of femicides of the Gender Equality Observatory of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) for 2022, the latest year available. However, the organisation itself warns about caution when comparing data between countries, as there is no unified regional methodology when it comes to counting.

In a more detailed analysis, in the case of “victims of gender-related murder”, the figure for Havana (12) stands out, although due to its larger population, the rate is much lower (1.42) than that of Camagüey (10 cases and a rate of 3.37) and Matanzas (8 cases and a rate of 2.87). There is also an imbalance between crimes committed in urban (37) and rural (23) areas, although the rate also changes, being 1.09 and 2.33, respectively.

As for the profile of the victims, by age, the 20 to 44 age group stands out (39 victims), followed by the 45 to 59 age group (14); while by race, the majority were white, followed by mulatas. 71.6% did not work and 38 minors were left without maternal care. As far as the perpetrator is concerned, in 83.3% of the cases the relationship was or had been a couple.

In the other block — that of “victims of murder by a partner or ex-partner” — the data are very similar, which confirms the need to look at them separately. Havana tried 9 cases, for a rate of 1.06, followed by Camagüey (8 cases and a rate of 2.70) and Matanzas (7 cases and a rate of 2.51). The rural area also has a higher rate (2.03) despite a lower number of cases (20) than the urban area (30, and a rate of 0.88). Once again, the group of victims aged 20 to 44 (34) stands out, followed by those aged 45 to 59 (13). Similarly, 70% of victims were unemployed and 34 minors were left without a mother. 64% were killed by their ex-partners and 36% by their current partner.

64% were killed by their ex-partners and 36% by their current partner.

In 2023, the Observatory provided these statistics for the first time, corresponding to the previous year. On that occasion, it also opted for two categories which resulted in “the judicial processes resolved in the country’s courts in 2022.” The count was 18: 16 women were murdered by their partners (six) or ex-partners (ten), plus two by unknown persons. In the same year, feminist associations and the independent press documented 34 murders, almost twice as many as were tried, without it being possible to know how many corresponded to that year and how many to previous periods.

In 2023, according to this newspaper’s independent registry, there were 87 women murdered by men, fewer than the 110 that were tried according to the official data, which again conceals when the crimes took place. This fact makes it impossible to know the incidence of the crime by year, although it is possible to observe the marked rise in the number of cases that reached the courts and which may be due to one or several reasons, without it being possible to determine to what extent they come together due to insistent governmental opacity.

On the one hand, greater awareness in reporting this type of crime could be behind the rise, compared to previous periods in which these acts were hidden or recorded as murders without further specification. On the other hand, the diligence of the courts may have increased after President Miguel Díaz-Canel called on judges to prioritise the phenomenon of femicides. A third argument is more likely, and that is that the problem has been made visible by the insistence of an independent press and civil society that have forced a state that used to have a monopoly on information to show some transparency, even if it is still careful not to use a detailed methodology.

The data published yesterday contain another section that provides a great deal of information on male violence against women in Cuba, and that is the statistics on cases brought to trial for assaults and sexual violence. In 2023, there were 378 processes of this type, 209 of them (4.77 per 100,000 women) were crimes of sexual aggression and 169 corresponded to other types of sexual violence (3.85). Most cases were concentrated in Havana (58 with a rate of 6.84); Ciego de Avila (51 with a staggering rate of 30.73); Matanzas (35 and 12.55); Villa Clara (35 and 11.47); Pinar del Río (33 and 14.60); and Santiago de Cuba (28 and 6.69).

In 2023, there were 378 prosecutions of this type, 209 of them (4.77 per 100,000 women) were crimes of sexual assault and 169 corresponded to other types of sexual violence.

In December 2023, the Attorney General’s Office announced that it would be in charge of carrying out an “administrative register” to collect information in real time on the deaths of women and girls due to male violence, a census that is still conspicuous by its absence, while it continues to depend on this annual update to know the extent of a problem that overwhelms Cuba.

So far this year, this newspaper has counted 28 femicides, the most recently confirmed being that of Yumary Morales Guerra, who was fatally attacked by her ex-partner on 8 July and died a week later.

Feminist associations have been calling for years for a comprehensive law against gender violence that goes beyond criminal content and includes prevention, through the involvement of all sectors of society, from the security forces themselves to judges and health professionals, as well as education and communication. In 2021, the government postponed at least until 2026 such a norm according to its legislative timetable.

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For Fraud, the United States Suspends the Travel Permits of Beneficiaries of Humanitarian Parole

Despite the arrests and deportations, the flow of Cuban rafters does not stop

People greet their relatives at Miami International Airport / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Havana August 2, 2024 — The United States temporarily suspended travel permits for those who have received humanitarian parole for alleged “significant levels of fraud.” The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), according to Martí Noticias, stopped the trips “as a precaution” until the results of a report are clarified and warned of irregularities in the process. Washington must review the irregular requests of the sponsors – which seem to be the crux of the matter – to make sure that the forms for the beneficiaries of parole are in order. The sponsors’ documents contained social security numbers, addresses and telephone numbers that had been used on hundreds of similar applications.

The DHS “has mechanisms to detect and prevent fraud in our immigration processes. We take any abuse very seriously,” an unidentified spokesman for the Department told Martí Noticias. “When a fraud is identified, the ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service) investigates and takes the cases to the immigration courts, in addition to referring them to the Department of Justice.

“We will restart the processing as soon as possible, with the appropriate safeguards,” the official said. continue reading

“We will restart the processing as soon as possible, with the appropriate safeguards,” the official said.

Since January of last year, the humanitarian parole program has helped 30,000 people a month from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and – since earlier months – Venezuela. As of last May, 105,000 Cubans had received parole, and 98,200 of them had arrived in the United States.

For its part, the American network Fox News said that the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Office (CBP) had stopped issuing travel authorizations to the citizens of Venezuela – currently in political crisis after Nicolás Maduro’s non-recognition of the election results – as of July 6. On July 18, according to a Congressional source cited by Fox News, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Cubans were also left without authorization.

The four countries continue to remain in limbo. In the case of the Island, the situation is critical, and Cubans have not stopped emigrating by air and sea, sometimes with disastrous results. That is what happened this Friday, when the U.S. Border Patrol took into custody 10 rafters who made their journey north on a boat, with registration number HA50363F.

Among the rafters were eight adults and two minors, said Samuel Briggs, head of the Command in the Miami Sector.

Between last Tuesday and this Friday, 43 migrants from the Island disembarked. Of these, 33 were prosecuted for deportation. According to the U.S. authorities, these Cubans were informed that illegal entry into the United States by sea could lead to criminal charges.

Between last Tuesday and this Friday, 43 migrants from the Island disembarked. Of them, 33 were prosecuted for deportation

The rafters “are not eligible to apply for asylum.” In addition, they are prohibited from entering U.S. territory for at least five years. However, the Biden Administration has clarified that deportations “will not apply to legal permanent residents, unaccompanied minors, victims of a serious form of human trafficking and other non-citizens who have a valid visa or other legal permission to enter the United States.”

Briggs highlighted the results of Operation Vigilant Sentry to mitigate illegal migration. In fiscal year 2023, 11,955 rafters were intercepted, he said, without specifying their nationality. “Once on board a coastguard vessel, people are processed to determine their identity; in addition, they receive food, water, shelter and basic medical care before being repatriated to their country of origin,” Lieutenant Cheri-Ann Thompson explained.

The Coast Guard warned about the dangers of illegal sea crossings, risks that increase when there is the formation of a tropical depression, such as the one detected this Thursday. “Regardless of development, heavy rains could cause flash floods in parts of Florida, Cuba and the Bahamas over the weekend,” the agency said on its social networks.

The governments of Havana and Washington maintain a bilateral agreement that stipulates the deportation of all irregular migrants who arrive by sea to U.S. territory. Migrants from the Island continue to flee. According to a recent CBP report, last June 17,563 Cubans arrived in the United States, the lowest monthly number of the current fiscal year 2024 that began last October.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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