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 bigger14ymedio, 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 bigger14ymedio, 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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COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORK: The 14ymedio team is committed to practicing serious journalism that reflects Cuba’s reality in all its depth. Thank you for joining us on this long journey. We invite you to continue supporting us by becoming a member of 14ymedio now. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.

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 bigger14ymedio, 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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COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORK: The 14ymedio team is committed to practicing serious journalism that reflects Cuba’s reality in all its depth. Thank you for joining us on this long journey. We invite you to continue supporting us by becoming a member of 14ymedio now. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.

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 bigger14ymedio/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

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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COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORK: The 14ymedio team is committed to practicing serious journalism that reflects Cuba’s reality in all its depth. Thank you for joining us on this long journey. We invite you to continue supporting us by becoming a member of 14ymedio now. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.

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

14ymedio biggerEFE (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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COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORK: The 14ymedio team is committed to practicing serious journalism that reflects Cuba’s reality in all its depth. Thank you for joining us on this long journey. We invite you to continue supporting us by becoming a member of 14ymedio now. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.

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

14ymedio biggerEFE (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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COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORK: The 14ymedio team is committed to practicing serious journalism that reflects Cuba’s reality in all its depth. Thank you for joining us on this long journey. We invite you to continue supporting us by becoming a member of 14ymedio now. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.

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 bigger14ymedio, 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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COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORK: The 14ymedio team is committed to practicing serious journalism that reflects Cuba’s reality in all its depth. Thank you for joining us on this long journey. We invite you to continue supporting us by becoming a member of 14ymedio now. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.

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 bigger14ymedio, 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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COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORK: The 14ymedio team is committed to practicing serious journalism that reflects Cuba’s reality in all its depth. Thank you for joining us on this long journey. We invite you to continue supporting us by becoming a member of 14ymedio now. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.

Cuban Freemasons Had To Hand Over Their Cell Phones Before Entering the Meeting With the Communist Party

Gustavo Pardo regrets the “inability of the brotherhood to solve its internal problems”

The Freemasons scheduled an extraordinary session for next September 21 at the Great National Masonic Temple / Supreme Council of Degree 33

14ymedio bigger14ymedio, Juan Izquierdo, Havana, 2 August 2024 — The Communist Party refrained from making decisions this Thursday during the meeting that the head of Religious Affairs of the Cuban Communist Party (CCP), Caridad Diego, held with a group of Freemasons from the capital. Grand Master Mario Urquía Carreño, protagonist of the schism that divides the brotherhood, did not participate in the meeting. Caridad Diego limited herself to declaring that she “did not know anything about what was happening” before a public that had been stripped of their cell phones. She said that the fate of Freemasonry is the responsibility of the Registry of Associations, which depends on the Ministry of Justice.

In contact with several of the participants in the meeting, historian and Freemason Gustavo Pardo informed 14ymedio that the Party and the Ministry of Justice will make decisions about the Freemasons, but from now on “they will follow the guidelines provided by Caridad Diego.” For their part, the Freemasons have scheduled an extraordinary session for next September 21 in the Great Masonic National Temple, located on Reina Street in Havana, with a thorough agenda signed by the secretary of the Grand Lodge, Juliannis Reinaldo Galano.

Among the 54 points to be addressed will be a series of “motions outside the day’s agenda” that could, in Pardo’s opinion, address the heart of the crisis: the authority of Urquía Carreño, accused of the theft of $19,000 from his office and whose successive expulsions and rehabilitations have led to an unprecedented Masonic crisis. continue reading

“On the point related to motions outside the day’s agenda, several measures can be presented that can put Urquía Carreño in an awkward position,” Pardo said in an article published this Friday. He also noted that whatever decision is made by the Registry of Associations, it is up to the Supreme Council of Degree 33 and the Grand Lodge of Cuba – the main Masonic authorities of the Island – to be “governed by their respective laws” instead of blindly complying with the “frank and blatant intervention of the CCP Central Committee.”

With the prohibition on cell phones in the meeting, the Government assured that the disseminated version of what happened is “at the discretion of the state agencies”

For Pardo, who says that the meeting with Diego was carried out “as planned,” the Cuban Freemasons “evidenced their inability to solve their internal problems by applying their own laws” by asking Diego to “solve the problem.” In addition, he points out, with the ban on cell phones in the meeting, the Government assured that the disseminated version of what happened is “at the discretion of the State.”

José Ramón Viñas – leader of the Supreme Council of Degree 33 and accuser of Urquía Carreño – was also not present at this Thursday’s meeting. In addition to this absence, apparently voluntary, the writer Ángel Santiesteban and the independent journalist Camila Acosta, arrested by the Police, did not attend, as they denounced on their social networks.

The extraordinary session scheduled for the end of September serves as a repetition of the one held last March, which the Ministry of Justice declared illegal after the Freemasons tried to remove Urquía Carreño from his position of Grand Master. The state agency then asked that the process be held again, something that Diego highlighted this Thursday when she “made it very clear that the Supreme Council violated the law by not summoning Urquía Carreño to defend himself,” and the Grand Lodge did the same thing with Viñas, said Pardo.

According to the historian, “both judicial processes must be initiated again, with the exception that if the High Chamber” – in charge of the judicial process – “approves the decree that suspends the Treaty (of Friendship and Mutual Recognition between the Grand Lodge and the Supreme Council), Viñas will be facing a very serious event.”

If both Masonic bodies lose their bond, the Supreme Council, led by Viñas, would automatically become an irregular lodge

As Pardo explained to 14ymedio on a previous occasion, if both Masonic bodies lose their bond, the Supreme Council, led by Viñas, would automatically become an irregular lodge. “They don’t even own the place where their offices are located,” he clarified at the time.

“Urquía Carreño is the Grand Master with all the powers granted to him by the Masonic Constitution,” says Pardo. Until his departure from the post is achieved through legal channels, he has the right to stay there. The intervention of the Government, which so far has been on behalf of the Grand Master, does not augur anything good for the Freemasons.

Last week, at least 200 Freemasons from several provinces asked the Grand Master to leave his office and face those who asked for his resignation peacefully. Urquía Carreño’s response was to decree the suspension of three lodges in Havana and another in Artemisa. If the scales tilt in favor of the Grand Master, Pardo fears that the brotherhood on the Island will lose many members. Something similar to what happened in 2010, when it was learned that Grand Master Manuel Collera Vento was actually an infiltrator of State Security.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORK: The 14ymedio team is committed to practicing serious journalism that reflects Cuba’s reality in all its depth. Thank you for joining us on this long journey. We invite you to continue supporting us by becoming a member of 14ymedio now. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.

Cuban Communist Party Summons Masons to a Meeting Seeking to Increase Its Control

The regime takes advantage of the mistake made by the fraternity in its attempt to dismiss the Grand Master

A Masonic march chaired by José Ramón Viñas and other senior officials of the fraternity / Supreme Council of Degree 33 for the Republic of Cuba

14ymedio bigger14ymedio, Juan Izquierdo, Havana, August 1, 2024 — The eyes of the Cuban Freemasons are on the meeting that the members of the fraternity in Havana, including several senior officials, will hold this Thursday with Caridad Diego, the Communist Party’s head of the Office of Religious Affairs. The agenda: mediating the institutional crisis that began in January with the theft of $19,000 from the office of Grand Master Mario Alberto Urquía Carreño, which now threatens to stoke the schism between the two highest Masonic authorities in the country, the Grand Lodge and the Supreme Council of Degree 33.

The mediation of Diego, the eternal apparatchik of the regime in this position, assumes that the Masonic problem is already in the hands of the Communist Party and not of the Ministry of Justice, whose Registry of Associations has failed to resolve the crisis through successive interventions. For the historian and exiled Mason Gustavo E. Pardo Valdés, the Party has a clear objective: to create the image that “the Office of Religious Affairs is conciliatory and is the savior of Masonic unity.”

According to Pardo, several of the Freemasons on the Island believe that the Party will take “advantage and benefit” from the exchange. In any case, he explains, the meeting – which will take place at the headquarters of the provincial government of Havana – will be “very interesting.” “The Freemasons of the capital have been ’invited’ to this meeting. There you will be able to know or intuit who is behind this chaos,” says Pardo. continue reading

Entrenched in his office and with the support of several senior officials who recognize his authority – including his secretary, Juliannis Reinaldo Galano – Urquía Carreño has continued to legislate and issue decrees against the lodges that oppose him. Last week, at least 200 Freemasons from several provinces asked the Grand Master to leave his office and face those who asked for his resignation peacefully. His answer came a few days later.

The schism between the Masonic bodies presided over by Viñas Alonso and Urquía Carreño (left and right, respectively) is getting worse / Grand Lodge of Cuba

Four decrees, signed by Urquía Carreño and ratified by Galano, sanctioned two lodges that refused to accept his authority with a measure of suspension. The lodges are Evolution, in Artemisa, and Carlos Manuel de Céspedes, General Guillermo Moncada and Luz, from Havana.

According to Pardo, Cuban Freemasonry has been shipwrecked for several months due to serious ethical and legal errors of its members, not only of the Grand Master. The four lodges that agreed to the non-recognition of Urquía Carreño acted, in the light of Masonic Legislation, illegally, whatever their intentions.

Pardo defended this opinion in an article published last Sunday, in which he reminded the Cuban Freemasons that they were bound by obedience to the person occupying the Grand Lodge. There were other legal remedies that should have been used to oust Urquía Carreño, and violating the Masonic Code, he emphasizes, only complicates the matter.

“Urquía Carreño is the Grand Master with all the powers set by the Masonic Constitution,” Pardo summarizes. Until his departure from the post is achieved through the legal channels, he has the right to stay there.

Pardo alludes to Title VIII of the Masonic Constitution, which provides that to dismiss a Grand Master it is necessary for no less than 50 lodges to formulate an accusation, which is sent to the president of the Supreme Court of Masonic Justice.

After the Supreme Court analyzes the case, an investigating judge will be appointed, who will take the relevant statements and submit the result to the president of the Court. The decision will have to be approved by at least two-thirds of the members of the Grand Lodge, who will make up the Grand Jury. This process was not respected.

It is not known for sure how many Freemasons support the current Grand Master. In Havana, Pardo explains, there are 111 lodges in which approximately a third of Cuban Freemasons operate. “If you look carefully at the recording of the protest in the Grand Lodge building, you can see that there are 140 to 200 Freemasons, many of them members of the Supreme Council.”

Cuban Freemasonry has a total of 324 active lodges and around 20,000 members

Cuban Freemasonry has a total of 324 active lodges and about 20,000 members. The Supreme Council, for its part, has between 3,500 and 4,000 members throughout the country, according to Pardo. Since 2010, when it was known that Grand Master Manuel Collera Vento was actually an agent of State Security, Freemasonry has lost about 9,000 members. “Now something similar will happen, because it will increase the control of the Party,” he says.

To be part of the Supreme Council a mason must go through the first three degrees – apprentice, companion and teacher – which is what is known as “symbolic” Freemasonry. Those three steps are the foundation of Freemasonry and are under the authority of the Grand Lodge. A Freemason cannot belong to the Supreme Council without being affiliated with the Grand Lodge; hence a schism between both Masonic bodies can be complicated, explains Pardo.

“In fact, if the Grand Master decrees it, the members of the symbolic Freemasonry cannot visit the Supreme Council, and they would not even have temples in which to carry out their work,” he explains.

Among the Cuban Freemasons there are those who have recommended that the Supreme Council definitively separate from the Grand Lodge and constitute a separate Masonic body – what is called the Great East. For Pardo, this path would be a mistake. If the Supreme Council carried out this maneuver, it would become an irregular Great East, which would start on the left foot and not have the slightest recognition by international Freemasonry.

The members of the Supreme Council of Degree 33, chaired by Viñas Alonso / Supreme Council of Degree 33 for the Republic of Cuba

“They don’t even own the place where their offices are located,” says Pardo. “Even the building of the Supreme Council in Jovellar 164, between Espada and San Francisco, belongs to the Washington Lodge, subordinate to the Grand Lodge.” In fact, Pardo observes, when Urquía Carreño suspended the Treaty of Friendship and Mutual Recognition between the two Masonic bodies, he turned the Supreme Council, in practice, into an irregular institution in the eyes of international Freemasonry.

There is one way to oust Urquía Carreño: Masonic Law. That has not been the way that the Supreme Council has chosen. In Pardo’s opinion, the high court has made one mistake after another, starting with the management of the money of the Llansó Masonic Elderly Asylum, whose theft triggered the crisis.

Pardo is blunt: “There was a violation of the Asylum regulations by José Ramón Viñas, who presides over the Asylum and the Supreme Council.” Viñas, who has been in the sight of the State Security for his criticism of the Government, was the one who accused Urquía Carreño of stealing the $19,000. Since then, both senior officials have been in a struggle.

“There was a violation of the Asylum regulations by José Ramón Viñas, who presides over the Asylum and the Supreme Council”

“The Treasury of the Elderly Asylum had the obligation to deposit its funds – both in national currency and in foreign currency – in the corresponding branch of the state bank . Who participated in that violation? Viñas and his governing board, who agreed to deposit the currency in the safe that exists in the Grand Master’s office,” analyzes Pardo.

“Why wasn’t the money kept in the safe of the Grand Treasury? Wasn’t that money the property of the Grand Lodge? Freemasons know that the assets of the institution are managed in the way that best suits the officials in charge of them. But this opened the possibility that Urquía Carreño, who is not a saint, would be used as a scapegoat to unleash the current crisis,” he reflects.

If anything has become clear in the seven months of tension, it is that the problem is no longer just Masonic. The Government has tried to intervene – first from the legal angle, now from the Party – and has arrested or intimidated several Masons opposed to Urquía Carreño, such as the writer Ángel Santiesteban.

Pardo has no doubt that the Office of Religious Affairs and State Security has a large part of the responsibility in the crisis. “Since 1959,” he explains, “infiltration into Freemasonry has been a goal of the State. We now see that this practice is paying off.”

Translated by Regina Anavy

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COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORK: The 14ymedio team is committed to practicing serious journalism that reflects Cuba’s reality in all its depth. Thank you for joining us on this long journey. We invite you to continue supporting us by becoming a member of 14ymedio now. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.

The Cuban Army Runs Out of Recruits Due to the Exodus and Low Birth Rate

The absence of young people in the activities of Cuba’s Youth Labor Army, EJT, is noticeable

Since its inception, the Youth Labor Army has been assigned to work in agriculture and construction. / Telecubanacán

14ymedio bigger14ymedio, Natalia López Moya, Havana, 31 July 2024 — A bunk bed with a thin mattress, boots that he had to return when he was demobilized and a uniform that was not olive green were, for months, the main belongings of Abdiel, 20, who has just finished his Active Military Service (SMA) in the Youth Labor Army (EJT). In the shelters where it was previously difficult to find space, the young man barely came across “four cats” due to the mass exodus and low birth rate.

Abdiel, whose name has been changed to avoid reprisals, is part of the group of recruits who did “deferred” service, a total of 14 months from when he entered the EJT until he left to study a specialty at La Colina University in the Cuban capital. “I was lucky because although I didn’t get the degree I wanted, I was able to get one that allowed me not to have to spend the two years of Military Service,” he explains to 14ymedio.

A resident of the Plaza de la Revolución municipality and coming from a family of Jehovah’s Witnesses who do not even participate in the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution, Abdiel ended up on the list of those who are not trustworthy for entering military units where they are in contact with “strategic information for the nation,” as he was warned by the Military Committee when he registered for the SMA. He was placed in an EJT base in East Havana. continue reading

Abdiel ended up on the list of those who cannot be trusted to enter military units where they are in contact with “strategic information for the nation”

“I thought they were going to send me to fight the Aedes Aegypti [the mosquito that transmits dengue] or to repair the railway lines, but all I did was waste my time,” Abdiel reflects. Founded in 1973, the EJT was nourished by the Centennial Youth Column and the infamous Military Units for Production Support (Umap), where everyone from religious people and homosexuals to those considered “disaffected” to the Government ended up. From its beginnings, the Youth Labour Army was assigned to work in agriculture and construction.

Fernando Ponce, 56, a resident of Miami, remembers his time in the EJT. “It was a way of doing the service in a less difficult way, so many parents used their influence to get their children to end up in the EJT. There were also those who invented an illness, a religious faith or said they were gay so they wouldn’t have to end up in hard military training, in one of those units lost in the middle of nowhere.”

Ponce went through the EJT and now his son has just left Cuba thanks to the family reunification process, escaping just before entering the SMA. “Last year we had many hard times because he was due to enter the pre-Service in August 2023, but last year when he finished high school, he and his mother, who still lives in Havana, moved and that turned things around.”

When young people turn 16 in Cuba, they are called to enroll in the SMA, which often coincides with the end of pre-university or vocational training, in the case of those who are still enrolled in the official educational plan. Ponce’s son was finishing his 12th grade and had no plans to continue with university education, but he took the entrance exams nonetheless.

“The visa process for family reunification was already underway and he even had an appointment date at the US consulate in Havana, but he continued to behave as if none of that existed and applied for a degree in History,” the father explains. Just before taking the entrance exams, the teenager’s family moved house, neighborhood and municipality.

When young people turn 16 in Cuba they are called to enroll in the SMA, which often coincides with the end of high school.

“Several of his classmates told him that when they went to the Military Committee they asked him if he knew where he was, but the summons to register never reached his hands, so he spent about a year between one thing and another: he never sat in the classroom at the Faculty of History, nor did he have to enter Military Service because they stamped his visa and I bought him the first flight after he left the Consulate.”

Now in Miami, Ponce’s son looks back and feels that he was saved “by a hair’s breadth,” says his father. In Havana, his bunk was empty the entire time that Abdiel and the few other young men in his EJT unit were mobilized. The other many beds that also had no occupants were probably those of emigrants or Cubans who did not even come into the world nearly two decades ago due to the drop in the birth rate.

With the demographic crisis and mass exodus, Cuba has lost 18% of its population between 2022 and 2023, according to an independent study by Cuban economist and demographer Juan Carlos Albizu-Campos. “The first day I spent in the Unit there were not even ten new recruits,” Abdiel tells this newspaper. “I thought that as September progressed or October arrived more would join, but that never happened.”

At the first morning assembly with the heads of the military unit, the highest-ranking officers in charge showed their most inflexible face. “But that lasted until lunchtime,” the young man reports. “They immediately let us know that there was little food and that we could leave to eat and sleep in our houses because that would save the Revolution resources.” Quick to grasp the message, “that same day we stampeded.”

The rest of the SMA was “morning assemblies, training and harangues,” he explains. “We couldn’t go to inspect or fumigate in the anti-vectorial fight [against the Aedes Aegypti mosquito that spreads dengue fever] even once because there was no fuel to take us and the backpack fumigators were broken,” he tells 14ymedio. “We went to the unit, they saw our faces and we went home with the same smile. That’s how I lost a year of my life without doing anything.”

Quick to grasp the message, “that very day we stampeded”

The EJT troops were exhibited, during the years when Raúl Castro was Minister of the Armed Forces, as an example of administrative and productive management. In the Cuban capital, numerous agricultural markets were opened, such as those on 17th and J streets in El Vedado and Tulipán, in the Nuevo Vedado neighborhood, managed by that entity and which were displayed as the path to efficient production and trade in line with the purchasing power of the population.

But those days of glory are long gone. Most of the platforms in the EJT markets are now under private management and young people dressed in their uniforms — a beige colour that banishes any connection with war conflicts, and caps that resemble the outfits worn by Boy Scouts in the United States — are increasingly seen less often on the streets of the Island.

A friend of Abdiel, who lives in Jovellanos, Matanzas province, was not lucky enough to get a university degree program and ended up as a recruit for 24 months, spending the first year in a military unit run by the Revolutionary Armed Forces and assigned to defense, but is now with the EJT. “We have to take care of repairing the train lines but there are hardly any resources or people to do it,” he says.

“We have to take care of repairing the train lines but there are hardly any resources or people to do it”

“I’m in a shelter with other young people from Matanzas and there are also some from Mayabeque. We are a small group but the leaders have stayed in the old days and think they have an army. They stop to shout orders at us, they divide us into platoons and they have a command structure that makes it seem like there are thousands of us. It’s very ridiculous,” explains the young man on condition of anonymity.

The visits to see the family, which were spaced out in times of greatest tension, with a possible enemy invasion knocking at the door, are now “up to twice a week because what suits the bosses is that we don’t stay for lunch or dinner in the unit. Every mouth that doesn’t need to be fed is food that they sell elsewhere or take home,” he says.

However, the menu does not allow for much profit because of the small quota and the limited variety of products. “Rice that is mud, broth that looks like water and from time to time a piece of pumpkin or sweet potato,” explains the young man. “Not even the dogs in the unit eat what is put on the tray.” As an advantage over the few recruits in his hostel, “you can have seconds in the dining room if you want, but nobody is interested in that stew.”

Every now and then, recruits from various places meet at some official activity, where they are taken in civilian clothes to “make up the numbers.” Among the topics they discuss, in addition to their dreams for the day after demobilization, is the situation of the units and the lack of “arms to carry a weapon.” Meanwhile, the commanders act as if the shelters are full and the training areas packed. “Attention, soldiers!” Abdiel and the “four cats” of his camp heard them say until a few weeks ago.

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COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORK: The 14ymedio team is committed to practicing serious journalism that reflects Cuba’s reality in all its depth. Thank you for joining us on this long journey. We invite you to continue supporting us by becoming a member of 14ymedio now. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.

‘Our Patience and That of the International Community Is Running Out,’ the United States Warns Maduro

The Cuban Foreign Ministry demands, in a strident tone, that the “majority support of the people” for Maduro be recognized

Three young people walk with their hands up to avoid being arrested by the members of the Bolivarian National Police in a protest in Caracas / EFE/ Ronald Peña R.

14ymedio bigger14ymedio, Rosa Pascual, Madrid, 1 August 2024 –On the third day, the United States changed its tone on Venezuela. The caution which the Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, expressed after the Venezuelan National Electoral Council (CNE) proclaimed the victory of Nicolás Maduro in the elections of Sunday, July 28, ended this Wednesday, when the White House woke up warning about being fed up waiting for the tally sheets of the vote after going to bed with the request to recognize the opposition’s victory.

“Our patience and that of the international community is running out. We are tired of waiting for the Venezuelan electoral authorities to be honest and publish the complete and detailed data of this election so that everyone can see the results,” said White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby at a morning press conference.

It was the preamble to the expression of some harsher words by Brian Nichols, in charge of the Department of State for Latin America, before the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States (OAS).

“With the irrefutable evidence based on the voting records, which everyone can see, it is clear [that the opposition] defeated Nicolás Maduro by millions of votes,” said the diplomat. The senior official referred to the electoral tally sheets published by the opposition in which it is observed that, with 81% of the documents provided, between Edmundo González Urrutia and Nicolás Maduro there are almost four million votes in favor of the first. continue reading

“With the irrefutable evidence based on the tally sheets, which everyone can see, it is clear [that the opposition] defeated Nicolás Maduro by millions of votes

“This is not a projection, even if Maduro wins 100% of the votes in the less than 20% of the votes that remain to be published, he could not surpass González,” stressed Nichols, who urged both the Chavista candidate and the other countries “of the world” to recognize the opponent’s victory. “Those who do not do it are allowing Maduro and his representatives to carry out an attempt at massive fraud and disregard for the order of the law,” he added.

However, the OAS, despite everything, did not reach an optimistic conclusion. The member countries did not have the necessary consensus to approve a resolution that asked the Venezuelan authorities to publish “immediately” the tally sheets of the elections. Although there was no vote against, the absence of Mexico and several Caribbean countries, added to the abstention of 11 countries, including Brazil, Colombia and Bolivia, led to the fact that the votes necessary to approve the document in an extraordinary session of the Permanent Council were not obtained.

The representatives of the member countries negotiated the document for more than five hours, but it was impossible to agree on a wording that everyone could accept. The resolution requested only that a “comprehensive verification” of the results be carried out “in the presence of independent observer organizations to guarantee the transparency, credibility and legitimacy of the results,” which had already been requested by “the relevant Venezuelan political actors.”

According to diplomatic sources, several countries that abstained asked to delete this last part, and others – such as Panama and Peru – opposed the deletion. Faced with that situation, unanimity was impossible.

Colombia’s abstention generated a wave of internal criticism from former Colombian presidents and politicians, who accused the Government of Gustavo Petro of being “an accomplice” of the “fraud,” which forced explanations from its foreign minister. Luis Ernesto Vargas pointed out that Venezuela has no representation in the OAS, so it would only be a “salute to the flag.” Bogotá, in addition, considers that the statements of the Secretary General, Luis Almagro, prevents the OAS from being an “impartial” organization.

This position is the same as that offered by Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador for not attending the meeting. Both countries are, along with Brazil, in dialogue with Chavismo “to create the necessary conditions and seek an agreement for coexistence and political peace,” according to the Foreign Minister. Other diplomatic sources say that the United States is working with these countries to find a negotiated way out for the regime. “This is the most important and difficult political operation of this century in America,” a participant in the talks told El País.

Colombia, Brazil and Mexico, along with the United States, are looking for a negotiated exit for the regime. “This is the most important and difficult political operation of this century in America,” say sources close to El País

This Wednesday, Argentina, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, the United States, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, the Dominican Republic, Suriname and Uruguay voted in favor of the resolution. Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Granada, Honduras, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and Saint Lucia abstained. Dominica, Mexico, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago did not participate in the session.

Cuba, which also does not belong to the OAS, made a public statement through its Ministry of Foreign Affairs in which it accuses the OAS of a lack of “moral or legal authority to resolve matters that only concern Venezuelans.” The text denounces the “long history of the OAS in the service of American imperialism,” its interference in the internal affairs of sovereign states and its support for “coups d’état, military dictatorships, repression and torture.”

The Cuban Foreign Ministry emphasizes that the “dignified attitude of a group of countries prevented the interference document from being approved,” but when mentioning that “the Venezuelan people decided to maintain their majority support for the option founded by Commander Hugo Chávez Frías” it ignores that it is left alone in closing ranks with a Chavismo that it desperately needs, if only for the oil.

The isolation is so great that Argentina also adhered to the almost universal position among the international left. The Union for the Argentine Homeland issued a statement in which it considered “the publication of the election tally sheets essential” and pointed to Maduro as responsible “for ensuring that the scrutiny is transparent with the corresponding counting of votes and display of the tally sheets before national and international observers.”

Also in Spain there was a movement of position by the left closest to Maduro, especially from the political parties Podemos and Izquierda Unida (IU), which went from demanding immediate recognition of the official results on Monday to adhering to the Colombian position and demanding “transparency in the results.”

“Let everything be done with transparency,” said the general secretary of Podemos who demanded the publication of “all the tally sheets,” but at the same time denounced the “Venezuelan right” for making an “openly pro-coup” speech. The federal coordinator of IU, Antonio Maíllo, valued the position of the president of Colombia as a “sensible” proposal. “It’s a good way without a doubt. From the standpoint of friendship of the peoples and looking at the common good.”

“It’s a good way without a doubt. From the standpoint of friendship of the peoples and looking at the common good,” said the coordinator of Izquierda Unida

The members of the G7 (four European countries, the United States, Canada and Japan) also urged Maduro yesterday to “publish the detailed electoral results with total transparency,” and expressed gratitude to González Urrutia, for “his solidarity with the people of Venezuela and his call for the publication of the detailed electoral results.”

“From all corners of the world, they support the legitimate demand of Venezuelans to respect their decision to change in peace,” added the Democratic United Platform (PUD), as well as calling for the protection of María Corina Machado, whom Maduro wants imprisoned.

“If you ask me my opinion as a citizen, I tell you that those people should be arrested, behind bars, and there has to be justice in Venezuela,” said the head of state at a press conference.

“They should, instead of hiding, appear before the Prosecutor’s Office and show their faces, instead of fleeing like cowards and continuing to incite their criminal groups to insurrection,” Maduro added, despite the fact that neither of the two opponents is in hiding anywhere, since this Tuesday they led massive demonstrations in Caracas.

The president also asked, before a gathering of supporters, that citizens denounce those who participate in the protests for “altering public order.” “We are going to open a special window of the VenApp page, which we use for the 1×10 of the Good Government, at page 58. It will be opened for the entire Venezuelan population so that they can confidentially put in the data of all the criminals who have threatened the people, who have attacked the people, to go for them, so that there is prompt justice.” Although a multitude of opponents claim to have managed to get Google and Apple to suspend the service, there is still no evidence that the option was enabled yesterday, despite the unverified videos circulating.

The president also asked, before a gathering of his supporters, for citizens to denounce those who participate in the protests for “altering public order”

The Government describes the demonstrators as “terrorists” and has already arrested more than 1,200 people, according to official figures. The Bolivarian National Guard (GNB) affirmed, without providing evidence, that those people were “trained for some time” in Peru and Chile, and also in “Texas” and “Colombia,”with the aim of going to Venezuela to “attack and burn, which is terrorism.”

In an effort to delegitimize those who denounce the fraud, Chavismo has been forced to open the political arc of the “fascist right,” in which it now includes the Argentine president, Javier Milei – who is accused of saying “stupidities” – and his Chilean counterpart, Gabriel Boric, who is considered left-leaning.

“We don’t care what you say,” said Diosdado Cabello, number two of Chavismo, in his TV program Con el mazo dando. On the program he spoke out mainly against Boric, whom he called “idiot,” “dummy,” “crooked” and”sellout,” as well as “very sad puppy of imperialism.”

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Cuba Confirms the Presence of the Oropouche Virus in Its 15 Provinces

The Deputy Minister of Health pointed out that, for the first time, the simultaneous circulation of two arboviruses has been detected in the country during the summer season.

Among the main transmitters of the Oropouche virus is the ’Culex’ mosquito / 14ymedio

14ymedio biggerEFE/14ymedio, Havana, 1 August 2024 — The cases of the Oropouche virus, which is transmitted through the bite of a mosquito, have spread to the 15 provinces of Cuba, the Ministry of Public Health reported on Wednesday on state television. The Deputy Minister of Public Health, Carilda Peña, pointed out that, for the first time, the circulation of two arboviruses (transmitted by mosquitoes) has been detected in the country during the summer season: dengue and Oropouche.

She also indicated that both have a very similar evolution in patients who go to health services and, in the case of Oropouche, she pointed out that very little is known about the aftereffects.

The first cases of the Oropouche virus were confirmed at the end of last May in two municipalities of Santiago de Cuba, and at that time more than 35,000 infections had been recognized.

One month later, the authorities activated the health system due to the increase in cases of dengue, whose transmitter agent is the Aedes aegypti mosquito, and Oropouche, which arrives via the Culex mosquito of the Bunyaviridae family, but also via the Culicoides, popularly known in Cuba as the jején (gnat). continue reading

Durán stated that until that moment all the identified cases had evolved in a “favorable” way with an improvement in symptoms between the third and fourth day of the disease

Oropouche had then been detected in 23 municipalities, but at the beginning of July, the director of Epidemiology of the Ministry, Francisco Durán, said that it was already circulating in 39 municipalities of 12 provinces and that the only territories without confirmed cases were Havana, Pinar del Río and Las Tunas, in addition to the special municipality of Isla de la Juventud.

Durán stated that until that moment all the identified cases had evolved in a “favorable” way with an improvement in symptoms between the third and fourth day of the disease.

So far this year, Oropouche fever has now been detected in Bolivia, Colombia, Peru and Brazil. To date, according to the Pan American Health Organization, no serious and critical cases or deaths have been reported, however the Ministry of Health of Brazil reported two deaths related to this virus on July 25.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORK: The 14ymedio team is committed to practicing serious journalism that reflects Cuba’s reality in all its depth. Thank you for joining us on this long journey. We invite you to continue supporting us by becoming a member of 14ymedio now. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.

Cuba Receives 32 Rafters Returned by the United States for a Total of 899 From Several Countries in 2024

The United States estimates that if the pace is maintained, by the end of the fiscal year some 245,000 Cubans will have entered.

The governments of Havana and Washington have a bilateral agreement so that all migrants who arrive by sea on U.S. territory are deported to the Island / EFE

14ymedio biggerEFE (via 14ymedio), Havana, August 1, 2024 — Cuba received this Wednesday 32 irregular migrants returned by the United States Coast Guard Service (USCG), which now totals 899 deported to the Island from different countries in 56 returns so far in 2024, official media reported. This new group is made up of 26 men and six women who had participated in an illegal exit from the country and were later intercepted by the US Coast Guard.

After their arrival at the port of Orozco, in the western province of Artemisa, an investigation was initiated against one of the rafters “for allegedly having committed a crime,” according to a statement from the Ministry of the Interior.

The governments of Havana and Washington have a bilateral agreement for all migrants arriving by sea on US territory to be returned to Cuba. continue reading

The governments of Havana and Washington have a bilateral agreement for all migrants arriving by sea on US territory to be returned to Cuba

Deportation flights were also resumed in April 2023, mainly for people considered “inadmissible” after being held at the U.S. border with Mexico.

According to a recent report by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Office (CBP), in June there were 17,563 Cubans who arrived in the United States, the smallest number during a calendar month of the current fiscal year 2024 that began last October.

According to the data, there are now 180,925 Cubans who have entered the United States in the last nine months, and if this pace is maintained, at the end of the fiscal year (September 2024), there will be 245,000 Cubans who have entered.

Since the beginning of the year, Cubans have also been returned on commercial flights from the Cayman Islands, the Bahamas and the Dominican Republic.

In the last three years, Cuba has recorded an unprecedented migratory exodus both for the volume of migrants and the prolonged time period due to the serious economic crisis on the Island, with frequent and prolonged power outages, shortages of food, medicines and fuel, galloping inflation and a partial dollarization of the economy.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORK: The 14ymedio team is committed to practicing serious journalism that reflects Cuba’s reality in all its depth. Thank you for joining us on this long journey. We invite you to continue supporting us by becoming a member of 14ymedio now. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.

Havana’s Airport Dogs, A Sad Sequel to a Nation That Flees and Leaves Them Behind

“She was dumped here, some people who came to pick up their family left her,” recall the workers at the airport. 

A dog at a gate at Havana’s José Martí International Airport / 14ymedio

14ymedio bigger14ymedio, Natalia López Moya, Havana, 1 August 2024 — Lying next to the entrance to Havana’s José Martí International Airport, a dog waits for the owners who left with the mass exodus. “He’s been here for a while, ever since he arrived in a car with his family, they went in, traveled and left him,” says a cleaning employee at Terminal 3, from where most of the flights depart to Nicaragua, the gateway to Central America for many Cuban migrants.

Some workers bring him food and have given the dog a name. “Come here, Canelo,” says one who brings him leftovers from her lunch. “Pinto, have some water,” a taxi driver from the nearby taxi stand hands him a disposable cup. They all know something that the animal doesn’t: that his owners won’t return and if they do, it’s unlikely that they’ll go looking for him at that door where he waits day and night. Some protectors have tried to get him out of the place and find him a home, but the mixed breed, perhaps four or five years old, doesn’t intend to move from that entrance. Time is starting to take its toll on him and his skin is already deteriorating on various parts of his body. continue reading

Everyone knows something that the animal doesn’t: that his owners won’t come back and if they do, it’s unlikely that they’ll go looking for him at that door where he waits day and night.

A few yards away, on the dysfunctional boulevard that was built as an outdoor service and food sales area, a pack of four other dogs prowl around in search of food. The area, where travelers, taxi drivers looking for customers, and some relatives waiting for a relative arriving from abroad gather, is anything but comfortable. Without air conditioning, the outdoor
cafés are unbearable in these summer months and the prices of the products add degrees to the annoyance. A 500 ml can of Spanish Mahou beer costs 1,200 pesos and a half-litre bottle of water reaches 1,000.

Attentive to every person who comes and goes, four dogs, apparently a family: mother, father and two younger ones less than a year old, roam around the place.

Some workers give the dogs food and even give them names / 14ymedio

Speaking of the dog huddled by the door, an employee says, “That one was dumped here, some people who came to pick up their family left her and later said that the dog no longer fit in the car because the girl had brought too many suitcases.” Since then, the animal has had to adapt to the harsh conditions of the environment: vehicles that come and go all the time picking up or unloading passengers, little food available, hardly any water other than what some generous souls give them and the intense heat.

In a country where so many are packing their bags, the dogs at the airport are just one more example of a nation fleeing, leaving behind its homes, family photos and even its pets. “The last one to leave turn off El Morro” as the saying goes, referring to Havana’s famous historic lighthouse. It may end up not being done with the fingers of a human hand but with the strength of a canine paw.
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COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORK: The 14ymedio team is committed to practicing serious journalism that reflects Cuba’s reality in all its depth. Thank you for joining us on this long journey. We invite you to continue supporting us by becoming a member of 14ymedio now. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.