Search results for: roque

I Am Nothing Else But Cuban / 14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar, Carlos Alberto Montaner

Interview with Carlos Alberto Montaner, writer, journalist and political REINALDO ESCOBAR, Havana, 24 June 2014 — Carlos Alberto Montaner has long been a kind of black beast in the official Cuban government propaganda. Accused of being a terrorist, a CIA agent, an eminence gris in the world counterrevolution, in real life he is an academic … Continue reading “I Am Nothing Else But Cuban / 14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar, Carlos Alberto Montaner”

Letter to Obama Sparks Controversy / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Havana | May 23, 2014 A letter published this week, signed by more than forty American personalities, asked Barack Obama to ease measures toward Cuba. In an unusual gesture of consensus, former senior U.S. politicians, military, analysts and businessmen advocate relaxing the embargo on the Island. Among the signatories are Republicans and Democrats who … Continue reading “Letter to Obama Sparks Controversy / 14ymedio”

GABO RELOADED / Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo

Of García Márquez and other Demons By Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo Prolific, brilliant, celebrity, provocateur, agent, incisive, insidious, one of the last intellectual icons of the Latin American left has died: Gabriel García Márquez, el Gabo. His claim on immortality is supported by a Nobel Prize, which owed a lot to the Latin American literary … Continue reading “GABO RELOADED / Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo”

Eleven Years Since the Regla Ferry Hijacking / Lilianne Ruiz

HAVANA, Cuba – On April 12, 2003, media throughout the world carried the news of the execution of three young Cubans for their involvement in the hijacking of the Regla-based ferry, the “Baraguá.” They were trying to flee the country and get to the United States. Leftist newspapers, sympathetic to the Cuban regime, tried to justify … Continue reading “Eleven Years Since the Regla Ferry Hijacking / Lilianne Ruiz”

Havana: The Poverty Behind the Glamour / Ivan Garcia

View of El Fanguito, one of Havana’s slums Just across from Cordoba park, in the Havana neighborhood of La Vibora, is nestled a luxury cafe called Villa Hernandez.  It is a stunning mansion built in the early 20th century and renovated in detail by its owner. At the entrance, a friendly doorman shows clients the … Continue reading “Havana: The Poverty Behind the Glamour / Ivan Garcia”

The Dictatorship’s Gift / Angel Santiesteban

February 28, 2013, the day that the Castro brothers’ totalitarian regime jailed me, was not a day chosen randomly by the political police. That day, several events happened simultaneously, and it was significant for many reasons in my case.  Firstly, that day was the birthday of my partner, and they well knew it because they … Continue reading “The Dictatorship’s Gift / Angel Santiesteban”

Cuba and the European Union: A Change of Tone and a New Dynamic / Dimas Castellano

In a statement issued on Tuesday, February 11th, Rogelio Sierra Diaz, Cuba’s deputy foreign minister, reported that the Council of Foreign Ministers of the European Union (EU) had authorized the European Commission and the EU’s senior representative for foreign affairs and security policy, Catherine Ashton, to begin negotiations on a political dialogue and cooperation agreement with … Continue reading “Cuba and the European Union: A Change of Tone and a New Dynamic / Dimas Castellano”

I Defend My Lawyer / Rene Gomez Manzano

Havana, Cuba, February 2014 – Last week disturbing news circulated throughout the Cuban dissident community: The top permanent body of the National Organization of Collective Law Firms (ONBC) suspended Amelia Rodríguez Cala—the great defender of accused opponents of the regime—from practicing law for a period of six months. As the days passed, additional details about … Continue reading “I Defend My Lawyer / Rene Gomez Manzano”

Opponents’ Attorney Can’t Practice / Lilianne Ruiz

HAVANA, Cuba – The attorney Amelia Rodríguez Cala, hired by Gorki Águila to conduct his defense — in a trial against him still unscheduled since it was postponed on 11 February — has been suddenly sanctioned to six months without the ability to practice her profession in court. For this reason, the singer of the … Continue reading “Opponents’ Attorney Can’t Practice / Lilianne Ruiz”

Husband-Wife Human Rights Defenders in Imminent Danger: “Don’t allow them to kill us.”

Urgent Alert List email from Cuba, from Martha Beatriz Roque, 2/13/2014, 2:15 PM (translated from Spanish): “Jorge Luis García Pérez Antúnez just called to tell me that his house was invaded for the third time, his wife was arrested, and he regained consciousness while laying on the street next to a patrol car. “Don’t allow … Continue reading “Husband-Wife Human Rights Defenders in Imminent Danger: “Don’t allow them to kill us.””

Antunez and His Wife Arrested and Disappeared

CUBANET – The house of opposition leader Jorge Luis García (Antúnez) has just been sacked this morning after State Security foreces (political police) carried off him and his wife, Iris Tamara Perez, as well as the noted activist’s brother Loreto Garcia, and his wife as well Donaida González Paseiro. The events occurred in the morning … Continue reading “Antunez and His Wife Arrested and Disappeared”

Detained Half an Hour on Marta Beatriz’s Stairway / Lilianne Ruiz

HAVANA, CUBA — This last Wednesday, I was walking quickly through Belascoain, disgusted by the odor of urine from the doorways. Every once in a while a peddler called his wares. On arriving at Zanja, crossing the street, the area was deserted. Three men in plainclothes blocked the door of building 409, where Marta Beatriz … Continue reading “Detained Half an Hour on Marta Beatriz’s Stairway / Lilianne Ruiz”

Vulgarity: The Revolution’s Bastard Child / Miriam Celaya

“Reagan wears a skirt, we wear pants, we have a commandant whose balls roar!”(Revolutionary slogan made famous by Felipe Pérez Roque) Sunday, January 19, 2014 | Miriam Celaya Havana wakes up early, and before 8:00 am and there is a swarm of voices and movement. Old cars and buses rattle around the city, people crowd … Continue reading “Vulgarity: The Revolution’s Bastard Child / Miriam Celaya”

A Year Without the White Card (Travel Permit) / Lilianne Ruiz

HAVANA, Cuba, 14 January 2014, www.cubanet.org.- How has the Cuban political scene changed for human rights activists and leaders of the political opposition who have left and returned to Cuba? Is the day after the fall of the Castro regime close? To answer, Cubanet contacted some of the protagonists of this story. Miriam Celaya (blogger … Continue reading “A Year Without the White Card (Travel Permit) / Lilianne Ruiz”

“The psychological torture was intense, permanent. They wanted to erase his mind.” / Lilianne Ruiz

HAVANA, Cuba, December, www.cubanet.org-It was raining heavily in Havana. It was the first day of December and Miriam Leiva had come to Cuba carrying the ashes of her husband and the memories of their almost 40 years together. Oscar Espinosa Chepe had died after a long illness that they shared together like so many things … Continue reading ““The psychological torture was intense, permanent. They wanted to erase his mind.” / Lilianne Ruiz”