Translating Cuba – Page 194 – English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island

The Cuban Regime Asks Hundreds of Young Foreigners To Spread ‘Cuba’s Truth’ About Palestine

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel criticized the repression of student protests in several American universities

Wearing a Palestinian “keffiyeh” (traditional scarf) around his neck, Díaz-Canel said he felt like a “father” to all Palestinian students on the Island / Presidencia Cuba

14ymedio, Havana, May 3, 2024 — The Cuban regime is clear about its loyalties in the war in Gaza: Israel is an “occupying power” involved in a “brutal Zionist escalation”; Palestine, a “brother people,” which has sent “hundreds of students” to Cuba and with whom, since the time of Fidel Castro, the Island “has always stood in solidarity.”

These are the words of Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel this Thursday, during a speech in which any mention of the terrorist attack by Hamas on October 7 was omitted. The president, who has offered his unconditional support to the Palestinian side, appeared before more than 1,100 delegates in a “meeting of solidarity” for Cuba and Palestine, “against the imperialism” of the United States and Israel. The highest point of his speech has been, however, his criticism of the repression of student protests at several American universities. As hundreds of Cuban activists have reminded him, his Government applies at home the violence it attributes to other police forces.

Wearing a Palestinian “kiffeyeh” (traditional scarf) around his neck – which he has worn in public since last October – Díaz-Canel said he felt like a “father” to all Palestinian students on the Island and gave the floor to Fernando González Llort, one of the five Cuban spies imprisoned in the United States in 1998, currently the president of the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples.

Since 2017, González Llort has been the regime’s man when it comes to organizing the groups of foreigners who participate in the mass celebrations, such as the May Day parade. During his speech, he said that the delegates invited to the congress “will be able to convey the truth of Cuba to their communities” and condemned “in energetic terms” the “Israeli genocide against the Palestinian civilian population.” He did not allude to Hamas. continue reading

During the meeting, a declaration of support for Palestine was signed demanding that the United Nations recognize a Palestinian State “with the borders prior to 1967 and East Jerusalem as the capital.”

This Wednesday, Cubadebate put on its front page an extensive account of the student protests in the United States signed by the spokesman of the regime Randy Alonso. The journalist argues that this movement is similar to the one that, in the 1960s, demanded the end of the Vietnam War.

Alonso celebrates that, despite being “the main ‘foundations’ of the empire,” universities such as Columbia also host groups that disagree with Washington. These are the people who oppose the “Christian Zionists and fundamentalists” who support Israel, creating an “obscurantist atmosphere.” He also criticizes the fact that several organizations, such as the Wexner Foundation, have broken ties with several faculties that received their funding for the anti-Semitic acts that have taken place in them.

“Either Israel’s Yankee protectorate is defended or you can go to jail,” Alonso concludes, without realizing the irony of writing paragraphs in Cuba in which he lashes out at those who “beat young people, spray them with pepper spray and arrest them.” This Wednesday, in the same line of argument, Díaz-Canel published in his X profile a message of “solidarity with students in the United States who have taken the side of justice, have come out to support the cause of the Palestinian people and are brutally repressed.”

The flood of reactions was not long in coming, and they revolved around the fact that, a few days earlier, the sentence of up to 15 years in prison was announced for those who demonstrated peacefully in Nuevitas, Camagüey, in the summer of 2022.

In Cuban universities, on the other hand, students avoid giving a frank opinion about the conflict

In Cuban universities, on the other hand, students avoid giving a frank opinion about the conflict. On the Island there are no large Jewish communities – and those that exist have already spoken out about the war – but there are many Christian students, especially evangelicals, who feel linked in some way to Israel.

This is the case of Manuel, an evangelical pastor from Villa Clara who listens with concern to what several young university students in his community tell him. They feel “marginalized” for their support of Israel and their opinions about the war, although there has been no “persecution” against them. “The accusation that is repeated in the classrooms is that those who support Israel are religious fanatics, and they are discriminated against for their opinion,” he tells 14ymedio.

“Some time ago they took children and young people to the streets for a kind of act of repudiation against Israel.” The Cuban media does not present “both sides of the conflict; everything is a deception and the information is manipulated,” he adds. The most serious thing, Manuel emphasizes, is that for the Cuban media “there is no longer clarity about who started the conflict and the wave of violence.” In a word, he says, “it is as if Hamas didn’t exist.”

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Cuba Will Focus on China at Its Next International Tourism Fair

More than 1,500 foreign participants attended the FITCuba, held at the tourist center of the Jardines del Rey Islands / Ministry of Tourism of Cuba

EFE (via 14ymedio), Havana, 5 May 2024 — The 42nd edition of the International Tourism Fair of Cuba (FITCuba), the main event for the tourism sector on the Island, closes its activities this Sunday with the announcement that China will be the guest country in its 2025 edition, according to state media. The FITCuba, held at the tourist center of the Jardines del Rey Islands – Cuba’s second destination for sun and beach after Varadero – was attended by more than 1,500 foreign participants, including 437 travel agents, to explore and do business, according to the Ministry of Tourism.

The Minister of Tourism, Juan Carlos García Granda, explained that the special invitation to China for the next FITCuba is part of the promotion of relations and tourism between the two countries.

He highlighted the resumption of direct flights between Beijing and Havana, operated by Air China, with its inaugural trip scheduled for May 17, with a stopover in Madrid. continue reading

García Granda also announced at the closing of the event the decision of the Cuban authorities to establish a visa exemption for Chinese citizens with ordinary passports.

China’s ambassador to Cuba, Ma Hui, participated in the FITCuba 2024 / Cubadebate

“FITCuba has been the right time to show the renewal of our tourism product, the digitization of processes to improve the customer experience, the expansion of renewable energy sources, the transformation of our products with more accessibility, respectful of the environment and in line with the country’s commitment to the fulfillment of the Sustainable Development Goals,” he said. On the eve of the Fair, the official media celebrated the arrival of the first million foreign visitors to the Island in 2024.

They also confirmed the goal of reaching 3.2 million tourists at the end of the year with the aim of achieving a resurgence in a key sector for the national economy that is going through a critical situation.

The tourism sector is the second highest contributor to Cuba’s gross domestic product (GDP) and the third source of foreign exchange, after professional services and remittances, according to estimates by various independent experts.

Cuba received 2.4 million tourists in 2023, a figure that represented a growth of more than 800,000 visitors compared to 2022, when it did not achieve its goal of hosting 1.7 million, according to official data.

Tourism does not escape the deep crisis that has impacted Cuba for four years due to the confluence of the pandemic and design and implementation errors in national economic policies.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Four Cuban Rafters Were Rescued on the Coast of Mexico After Four Others Died on the Crossing

A Cuban rafter supported by municipal police is taken to the hospital / / Tamaulipas Civil Protection

14ymedio, Havana, May 5, 2024 — Cubans Mario Sergio Márquez Ventura, 30 years old, Rogelio Loases Fuentes (50), Yuriesky Romero Hernández (33) and Diosan (26) were rescued this Saturday by fishermen from Laguna Madre, Mexico. The rafters left the Island on April 1, but on the crossing the rudder of the raft on which they intended to reach Florida broke, and they were adrift for more than 30 days.

According to those rescued, four other Cubans died on the way, and their bodies were thrown into the sea. The shipwrecked men, located at the point known as Barra Boca de Catán, were dehydrated and very thin. The rafters told their rescuers that their boat was rammed by strong gusts of wind and waves of up to 17 feet.

One of the Cuban rafters rescued by fishermen at the point known as Barra Boca de Catán / Tamaulipas Civil Protection

One of the Cuban rafters rescued by fishermen at the point known as Barra Boca de Catán / Tamaulipas Civil Protection

The Mexicans transferred the rafters to the island known as Punta de Piedra, where they were treated by members of Tamaulipas Civil Protection and transferred to the San Fernando General Hospital. Their state of health is reported as stable, and the medical report has yet to be released. continue reading

The rescue was informed to the National Institute of Migration, which will take care of the migrants after being medically discharged. Meanwhile, the Cuban Embassy in Mexico has not offered any comments on the rescue.

On April 26, Migración received 28 rafters from the Island rescued 20 miles from Cuba by the Paradise Carnival crew. These Cubans were escorted by sailors to the immigration headquarters of Playa del Carmen. So far, no information has been offered about their condition.

Mexico continues to deport Cubans, despite the fact that last October it announced that the process of “assisted calls” – as they call the expulsions – was paused until further notice. Last January, nine people from the Island were returned on a commercial flight. Last year, the departure of 774 migrants was completed.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Private Businesses in Matanzas Present Customers with Both Opportunities and Challenges

If there is one thing that bothers local residents it is that buying something at an MSME is becoming as difficult as doing it at a state-run store

Many local businesses offer products that are scarce or which have not been seen in state stores for years / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Julio César Contreras, Matanzas, May 1, 2024 — For years now, one could map the layout of Matanzas by following the trail of the small and medium-sized private businesses (MSMEs) that have proliferated throughout the city. Street-side produce stands, covered entryways of old mansions and makeshift warehouses have served as the locations for the province’s independent businesses. Many offer products that are in short supply or have not been seen in state stores for years. Others are businesses that previously did not even exist in Cuba.

“How can I help you?” asks the receptionist at a workshop near Freedom Park that sells electronic devices. “Sorry, we don’t have batteries for that model,” she tells Julio, a 56-year-old Matanzas resident who wants to use a phone that he has been keeping in a drawer for months.

“I’ve been here several times, asking the same question, but they never have them,” says Julio. “They’ve told me the issue is that they have problems getting parts past Customs. And because this country is not as technologically advanced as others, we sometimes are still using models that manufacturers no longer produce. It seems absurd that the government makes it difficult for these businesses to import parts when the state itself does not offer these services and we have to rely on individuals.”

An electronics workshop on Milanés Street, near Freedom Park / 14ymedio

Other businesses have cropped up in the city, often with tacit approval from local officials, offering services that Cubans have come to believe are impossible to obtain through legal means, without turning to the black market. Such is the case with SuperVision. Many locals use this optometry and eyeware store on Milanés Street to fill a hospital-provided eyeglass prescription. continue reading

This particular MSME shares a small space with a barber shop. It so happens that is one of barbers who explains how the business fills a void created by shortages at state-run eyeware stores. “You bring in your prescription and they make eyeglasses to fit you. You can provide your own frame or pick one out from their selection,” he says.

“I finally got my progressive lenses,” says a satisfied customer who had not been able to find a solution to her problem at state-run eyeglass stores. “It’s true that the prices here are outrageous but, if you have the money, your situation gets resolved.”

If there is one thing that bothers local residents it is that buying something at an MSME is becoming as difficult as doing it at a state-run store, and not for lack of inventory. In a makeshift business along the Central Highway, a saleswoman will not accept ten and twenty-peso banknotes, even from customers who only want to but a single piece of candy. “Here, we only accept 50-peso bills and higher,” she says. Businesses across the island are rejecting small-denomination bills due to the drop in value of the Cuban peso.

Many private businesses refuse to accept banknotes smaller than fifty pesos / 14ymedio

One neighborhood resident reports that the owners are not worried this requirement will scare away customers because they have the best prices in the district. “One day the place will be fully stocked and the next day it will be empty. They sell everything in a flash,” he explains.

While individual customers use these stores to satisfy their basic needs, other businesses turn to them to buy products wholesale which they can later resell. On Calzada de Tirry, near the house where the late poet Carilda Oliver Labra once lived, El Patrón opens its doors at 7:00 A.M. to a crowd that has gotten there early to buy jams that their families will have for breakfast or to make school snacks for their children. Also waiting in line is Sara, owner of a pushcart who resells El Patrón products in several downtown locations.

“This MSME is the cheapest in town,” says the 62-year-old Matanza resident, who has been waiting in line since 5:00 A.M. “It also attracts a lot of people from far away because what they sell here is high-quality. Since I found this place, I’ve been able to sell jams at more affordable prices,” she says.

Another MSME with competitive prices is located on Second of May Street. It specializes in meats, sweets and beverages, items which Cubans would otherwise only be able to buy at hard-currency stores. However, its “payment options” have made things difficult for more than one consumer. The owners only accept cash, and only in large-denomination bills. Shopping is becoming more difficult because, due to the country’s liquidity crisis, banks only give out small-denomination bills and ATMs never have cash.

For those who must leave the shop in search of the “fat bills” they need to make a purchase, the saleswoman has a ready smile. “No rush. The food here is very well refrigerated. Come back soon,” she says

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Cuban Musician Gorki Aguila is Detained at the Santiago de las Vegas Police Station

An operator from the Ministry of the Interior confirmed to ’14ymedio’ the whereabouts of the leader of Porno para Ricardo, who was considered “missing” this Friday

Águila’s songs became a symbol of the counterculture opposed to the regime / EFE

14ymedio, Havana, 4 May 2024 — The Cuban musician and activist Gorki Águila was detained this Friday at the José Martí International Airport and remains at the Santiago de las Vegas Police Station in Havana, as confirmed to 14ymedio by an operator from the Ministry of the Interior. The leader of the rock band Porno para Ricardo had been intercepted by State Security agents when he tried to travel to Mexico.

This Friday, the political activism organization Estado de Sats reported the arrest of the musician shortly after learning that he was “regulated” and cannot leave the country. The operator of the General Directorate of the Police with whom this newspaper communicated by telephone assured that Águila is in the Santiago de las Vegas police station, belonging to the Havana municipality of Boyeros, which is where the Police usually take those who are detained at the airport.

The news of the arrest was echoed by the Cultural Rights Observatory, which issued an “alarm for the arbitrary detention” of Águila and declared him “disappeared.” The organization criticized that the political police “significantly violate freedom of movement, among other human rights” and requested the immediate release of the activist. Ciro Javier Díaz Penedo, a member of Porno para Ricardo, a colleague of Águila and who resides outside the Island, also denounced the arrest.

Ciro Javier Díaz Penedo, a member of Porno para Ricardo, also denounced the arrest

Águila, whose songs became a symbol of the counterculture opposed to the regime, has been in the crosshairs of State Security for decades. The musician has suffered many arrests, the most notable of which was in 2008, when many artists and intellectuals, inside and outside Cuba, demanded his release.

The rocker has had numerous immigration-related run-ins with the island’s authorities. In 2010, for example, the regime hindered his return to Cuba from the United States, alleging that his passport had not been extended. Águila extended the validity of the document that same day and traveled the next, but continued to be harassed.

See also:
Porno Para Ricardo, El Comandante (original video) , studio version, Lyrics in English
Porno Para Ricardo, Balcony Concert
Ciro Díaz: Venezuela Now Has Imported Blackouts

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Unable to Control the Collapse of the Cuban Peso, the Regime Intensifies its Offensive Against ‘El Toque’

The intention of the independent media, says Banco Metropolitano, is to reach 11 July 2024 with the US currency at 480-500 pesos

Faced with the onslaught, ’El Toque’ has not just stood by but has responded, one by one, to each “reflection” of the Banco Metropolitano (BM) / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Madrid, 3 May 2024 — On Thursday, 2 May, Cuba’s Metropolitan Bank (BM) launched a WhatsApp channel with which it plans to counteract the “induced inflation” that, according to the entity, is exerted by the financial company El Toque. Although the Bank’s declared objective is to “keep the population informed,” its published exchange rate in force this Friday, stands at 123 pesos for 1 dollar or 134 in the case of 1 euro. The amount is light years away from the rate reported in the independent media, which is 390 pesos per euro and 385 pesos per dollar.

The dissertation continues accusing El Toque of seeking a social outbreak through the “artificial” increase of the dollar. The intention, the BM assures, is to reach 11 July 2024 – an unlikely date, three years after the ’11J’ nationwide protests on that date in 2021 – with the US currency at 480-500 pesos. “There is no economic or political justification for the price to rise in 24 hours, from one day to the next,” alleges the bank, which insists that the independent media is “secretly” financed by the United States and seeks to establish a false value of the Cuban peso, while promoting dollarization and reducing public spending.

“Despite Cuba’s economic problems, the rising values of the dollar respond to political intentions”

“The disproportionate exchange rate difference between the official and informal markets is generated not by the low prices of the former, but by the high levels assigned to the dollar by El Toque,” continues the long message, according to which, the exchange rate is replicated on social networks using big data. “Despite Cuba’s economic problems, the rising values of the dollar respond to political intentions. It is not the state control or deficiency, which exists, that generates the high value of the rate that El Toque presents, but rather its hand and visible intentionality from computer tools of dubious origin,” it insists.

In the most virulent attack in memory from the regime against the independent media, the BM wonders why the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (Ofac) does not sanction El Toque, “managed by Cubans abroad.” The answer to this rhetorical doubt is that it is “a weapon of war of the US Intelligence community, previously used against Nicaragua, Argentina and Venezuela.” For this reason, the entity urges people to obtain information through its “channels.”

Faced with the onslaught, El Toque has not stood by and has responded, one by one, to each “reflection” of the BM. “As we are embarrassed by the level of ignorance shown by those who are supposed to understand something (even a little) about economics, we want to contribute to their understanding by listing 13 reasons that do explain why the dollar continues to rise in Cuba,” the media outlet stated on its X account. continue reading

Their argument is well known and is based on the fact that there is a very high demand for foreign currency and a very low supply, since state banks and exchange houses hardly sell foreign currency. This situation has been reached by a combination of factors ranging from the capital flight that has followed the massive emigration to the strong dependence of micro, small and medium-size private companies – MSMEs – on an informal foreign exchange market to which they are forced to go because of the refusal of the State to sell to them. This last fact explains the rapid variation in the price of the foreign currency, the media states, since it “generates volatility in the exchange rate and further weakens the value of the Cuban peso.”

In its explanation, El Toque returns the ball to the regime’s court and accuses it of being the one who promotes dollarization, through the introduction of cards and stores in foreign currency. In addition, there is a lack of support for accounts in freely convertible currency that is evidenced by the creation of the famous tarjeta Clásica (Classic card), in dollars, which offers discounts and other incentives.

In its explanation, El Toque returns the ball to the regime’s court and accuses it of being the one who promotes dollarization

“The shortage of cash indicates liquidity problems in the Cuban economy, which affects confidence in the peso as a medium of exchange,” the explanation continues. This fact, accompanied by an increase in the prices of electricity and fuel that affect the prices of all goods and services, demands more currency and, in turn, contributes to the loss of value of the national currency.

The message insists that the Cuban economy has not grown for a long time, is excessively dependent on the outside world – both in investments and in aid and remittances – and has production, distribution and supply problems. According to their figures, inflation has exceeded 400% which indicates a significant loss of value of the currency at a very high speed, combined with the lack of political decisions that could redirect the situation.

“The presence of stagflation indicates that the Cuban economy faces both high inflation and a lack of economic growth,” notes the media, which attributes to this disaster the lack of confidence among the citizens themselves towards their currency and their banking system, as well as the same lack of confidence among foreign investors, who prefer more stable currencies when investing.

The personalized and dedicated response to the frontal attack by the regime is joined by a report published this Thursday by Omfi, an independent project promoted by Cuban economists and journalists to provide information on the exchange market and the evolution of the country’s financial and economic indicators, signed by economist Pavel Vidal, professor at the Javeriana University of Cali (Colombia) and expert on the Central Bank.

In it, he notes that the informal exchange market has grown enormously since 2021, when the so-called Ordering Task* came into force, while the Cuban peso depreciated by 660% against the dollar.

The economist points out that El Toque extracts data from social networks and websites through artificial intelligence algorithms

The economist points out that El Toque extracts data from social networks and websites through artificial intelligence algorithms that allow obtaining information about who buys, who sells, what currency, at what rate and what amount.

“The intolerance of the Cuban Government towards an information medium critical of official policies constitutes a motivating factor for disinformation campaigns that occur in the state press and on social networks. Blaming an external entity for the devaluation of the peso and inflation fits well within the script that the Government has used for decades to evade responsibilities and divert attention,” Vidal points out.

For the expert, accusing El Toque of influencing the exchange rate is equivalent to doing so with the National Office of Statistics and Information (Onei) for providing inflation data every month. Despite this, Vidal explains in detail how the exchange rate is calculated to try to dispel the “legitimate doubts” that the medium’s methodology may generate and, after providing all the data, he concludes that “more consumption of financial information in relation to the rate that El Toque calculates does not temporally precede (does not affect) future variations in the price of currencies.”

*Translator’s note: The “Ordering Task” [Tarea Ordenamiento] is a collection of measures that include eliminating the Cuban Convertible Peso (CUC), leaving the Cuban peso as the only national currency, raising prices, raising salaries (but not as much as prices), opening stores that take payment only in hard currency which must be in the form of specially issued pre-paid debit cards, and a broad range of other measures targeted to different elements of the Cuban economy.

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Cuba Repeats as the Worst Latin American Country for Freedom of the Press, According to Reporters Without Borders

Ecuador and Argentina, which fell 30 and 26 places respectively this year, are suffering the worst debacles on the continent

World Press Freedom Classification according to Reporters Without Borders this 2024 / RSF

EFE/14ymedio, Madrid, 3 May 2024 — It is no surprise that in the Reporters Without Borders (RSF) report on press freedom in 2024 , Cuba is once again at the bottom of the world rankings and is the worst country on the continent. Its position, 168th out of 180, is five places behind Nicaragua and 12 behind to Venezuela, the three “bad students” of America according to the organization, which published the document on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day, this May 3.

In general terms, the year has been bad for the continent, after the proportion of countries in a “fairly good” situation (yellow) fell drastically, from around 36% in 2023 to 21% in 2024.

Among those that come out worse, with a sudden decline, are Ecuador, which drops 30 places, to 110th; and Argentina, which goes from the 26th position to the 66th. The origin of this situation for Argentina is, mainly, the closure of the state news agency Telam. “The aggressive way in which Argentina’s newly elected President Milei addresses certain journalists demonstrates the hostility of this president towards the union,” Elena García, one of the RSF spokespersons, explained to EFE. continue reading

“Freedom of the press is not one of his priorities, since, a few months after coming to power, he closed the Telam press agency, important not only in Argentina but also in all of Latin America,” she added.

Two of the other most populated large countries in Latin America, Mexico and Colombia, have had improvements of a different magnitude.

Considered one of the most dangerous places to practice journalism in the last 30 years, Mexico has advanced seven places, rising to 121st (in the “difficult situation” range), although a recent RSF note criticized the lack of progress in security of informants during the mandate of the leftist President Andrés Manuel López-Obrador.

“In 6 years of this government there have been 37 journalists murdered and Mexico continues to be one of the countries in the world in which the exercise of journalism is most complicated and most dangerous,” García noted.

However, Colombia, under the mandate of Gustavo Petro, rose 20 places, to 119th, although this is not enough to leave the “difficult” classification.

In the annual ranking released today, on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day, RSF also noted a decline in freedom of information in other countries, such as Peru (-15 places, to 125th) and Guatemala (-11 places, to 138th), although the organization trusts that the newly elected president, Bernardo Arévalo, will contribute to an improvement. Meanwhile, El Salvador sinks 18 places, to 138th.

On the other side of the coin are Brazil, which rose 10 places to 82nd and Gabriel Boric’s Chile, which in the middle of his mandate has improved 31 places, to 52nd in the global ranking.

Costa Rica remains the highest-ranked Latin American country, 26th worldwide, giving it a press freedom rating of “acceptable.”

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Havana 2024: Poverty, Blackouts, Remittances

This is the capital of a country whose ills a single photo can not exhaust

A segment of Revillagigedo street that overlooks the Atarés cove, in Old Havana / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, 3 May 2024 — It is difficult to make the adventures of a country fit in a single photo. Sometimes, however, the shots come together in front of the camera and the country says what it has to say about itself. 14ymedio captured this snapshot that summarizes, if not all, some of the key points of the crisis in which Cuba has been immersed for years.

This is a segment of Revillagigedo Street that overlooks the Atarés Cove, in Old Havana, where a Supermarket 23 vehicle stopped this Friday. Supermarket 23 provides home delivery of food ordered and paid for by someone “out there” — where the dollars come from — for their relatives or friends in Cuba.

For many Cubans, the online market is the way they always get their food.

Uniformed and clean, the employee distributes the “little bag” with the products in a neighborhood that could not be more dilapidated and in which trash sites proliferate. A few meters from where the car is parked, a person – a cap on his head, backpack and red socks – is digging through a container. For those who do not receive remittances, there is always the garbage. continue reading

Among the overflowing garbage bins, beggars find their food and those who collect and sell raw materials back to the State find junk to dismantle. Properly used, a container can be a gold mine for those the official press — which does not spare euphemisms — calls “wanderers.”

For those who do not receive remittances, there is always the garbage

The bars on the doors, the windows and the air conditioners are eloquent signs of the insecurity that the country is experiencing: without bars, any equipment is at risk of being torn from the wall, and any hole can serve as an entrance for increasingly violent bandits and thieves. Settled on his motorcycle, a man tries to grease and start the mechanism, while residents and passers-by walk through Revillagigedo. Up the street, down the street.

At the mouth of the street, with the sea in full view, appears the imposing silhouette of a Turkish patana, a floating power plant. To suffer blackouts so close to machine that is as polluting as it is powerful is ironic for Havanans. The towers of the floating plant evoke not only the energy instability of the country, but also give the neighborhood an apocalyptic air, which mixes very well — sadly — with the cracked and unpainted building.

This is the capital of country, however, whose ills a single photo cannot exhaust.

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A Capitalist Symbol of the 1950s, Ten Cent Is Revived as a Private-Sector Retail Business in Cuba

•”Eat, Drink and Be Merry for Life is Short!,” reads a sign at the entrance on Carlos III Street*

• The privately-owned business has taken over a sizable portion of a state-run pharmacy, which now has only a single counter to serve customers.

“The Ten Cent Wholesale-Retail Market” reads a sign in a window of the store, which has been decorated for the occasion / 14ymedio

Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, 30 April 2024 — The broad avenue in Central Havana already has a large currency exchange, a botanical garden and even a park dedicated to Karl Marx. What it lacks is a pharmacy combined with a privately run food and beverage store. Located at 704 Carlos III Street, the space has been divided into a small area which serves as a drug store and another, larger area for food and drinks.

“The Ten Cent Wholesale-Retail Market” reads a sign in a store window, which has been decorated for the occasion. “Eat, Drink and Be Merry for Life Is Short,” reads another sign, this one to the left of the entrance, which — like the rest of the store’s windows —has conveniently been blacked out to keep curious passersby from being able to see what is inside.

On the same sign and in smaller print is the name of the company managing the store: Mexohabana. The business was added to the list of privately-owned small and medium-sized companies (MSMEs) that officials approved in May, 2023. It is registered in the Revolution Plaza district and licensed to provide food services.

The darkened windows and air of secrecy have only fueled speculation about the project. On Tuesday, a woman approached the narrow counter in the part of the building that still operates as a drug store. Customers are no longer allowed inside the poorly stocked pharmacy, which seems lifeless compared to the buzz of the private company with which it shares the iconic retail space. continue reading

On the same sign is the name of the company managing the store, Mexohabana, in small print / 14ymedio

“Do you have Enalapril?” asks the woman who, after being told no, took the opportunity to inquire about the store next door. The employee, reluctant to answer questions, only says, “It seems that they’ll be opening next week.” Another customer, however, a resident of the neighborhood, jumps into the Ten Cent conversation. “They’re putting a lot of money into it. High-quality refrigerators, displays for drinks, counters and lots of boxes with merchandise,” she says.

The owners have spared no expense. Besides spending money on decorations to the entrance, they have also installed new exterior lighting, a new air conditioning system and Axis point-of-sale terminals. Building repairs include painting the walls and solving the decades-long drainage problems.

“From the outside it looks like a different country, like a store in a capitalist country,” observes a street vendor who has placed his meager offerings on a blanket a few yards away. They consist of an empty liquid detergent bottle, some worn women’s shoes, and some half-empty matchboxes. “Several homeless people here at night,” he explains.

There’s been talk of its being an MSME since they started working on it. With the police and the pressure, they’ve been making life difficult for people here,” he says. “They say we have to clear out because there’s going to be a lot of customers and we can’t block the sidewalk or create a bad impression.”

The man finds the use of the Ten Cent name on the façade of the new store nothing if not ironic. “I used to go the one on Galiano Street when I was a child. My grandmother used to take me to the café. I worked nearby, after they had already changed the name and you needed a ration book to buy things there. I never imagined that I would ever see it come back”.

The Ten Cent stores were very popular in Cuba, particularly in Havana, where five of the ten outlets were located. The retail stores, subsidiaries of the North American parent company F. W. Woolworth Company, were located on downtown Havana streets and avenues such as 23rd, Obispo, Monte and Galiano. Many customers were attracted by the spacious sales floors and reasonable prices, which are etched in their collective memory.

Symbols of capitalism and consumption, these businesses succumbed to the wave of nationalizations that swept the country after Fidel Castro came to power in 1959 / Archive

Even today, the name Woolworth is still visible at some of these stores, set in stone at the entry threshold. Older Havana residents continue to refer to them as “Ten Cent,” their original name. Symbols of capitalism and consumption, they succumbed to the wave of nationalizations that swept the country after Fidel Castro came to power in 1959

The new Carlos III Street store is a nod to that pre-communist past. Ironically, it seems that, in order to get built, it needed to take over a substantial portion of a state-run pharmacy that had fallen into disrepair due to the collapse of the Cuban pharmaceutical industry. Where dipyrones, aspirin and mortars were once stored before being crushed and mixed into compounds in the dispensary, imported beers, imported cookies gouda from Holland will soon be on display.

“You don’t know when you’re going to be getting Diazepam?” asks an elderly man standing just outside the narrow door where a makeshift counter has been placed. It serves as the only remaining point of contact between customers and pharmacy employees. “No, Grandpa, I don’t know,” the employee responds tersely. The used goods seller takes the opportunity to chime in, saying in a loud voice, “Diazepam is what we’re going to need to calm down after we see the prices in there because we won’t be able to buy anything for ten cents!”

The gangly silhouette of the man with the knick-knacks is reflected in the glass, just below the invitation to “Eat and drink and be merry, for life is short!”

*Translator’s note: A version of old, popular Spanish rhyme, “Hermano, bebe que la vida es breve.

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La Cuevita, Where Capitalism Works in Cuba

The sale of medicines and the purchase of foreign currency, all informal, happens in full view of the police and despite the operatives

“Policemen have to solve their problems too, that’s why they are in La Cuevita buying their things” / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, 14 April 2024 – The market known as La Cuevita, in San Miguel del Padrón, on the outskirts of Havana, is not larger than the one that spreads under 100 and Boyeros in the capital, but it does have a greater impact. “The stall space for the self-employed is small, but the informal sales around them are huge, and that is where the majority of buyers go.”

Nelly, who accompanied 14ymedio on a visit to La Cuevita this Friday, lives in Ciego de Ávila, but comes by every month. Before, she used to work as a mule going back and forth to Haiti, but with the uptick in violence in that country, she has changed it to the markets of Havana. She’s not the only one. “We all arrive with suitcases and then we return to our provinces to sell things there.”

“It’s like arriving at the bus station, you know?” says Raniel, who has come to La Cuevita to buy medicine. In legally established self-employed stores, you can find jewelry, watches, clothing, caps or glasses, but it’s the informal sellers who display an infinite arsenal of items of all kinds. Among them, medicines stand out especially.

“They arrive and stand in the hallway, spread a box full of medicines and stand there to sell them,” explains Raniel, who prefers to buy in La Cuevita than on online sales sites, where they are more expensive. It is easy to see that most of them are imported, that is, brought from outside by mules, but quite a few of them are Cuban-made, which indicates that they come from the state market. “Cuban enalapril* costs 250 pesos per blister here, and in Revolico it costs between 300 and 350 pesos.” And in the pharmacy? “Do not even mention the pharmacy! Enalapril is among the missing”, says Raniel. continue reading

Anti-inflammatories, analgesics, diclofenac with paracetamol, antibiotics of all kinds… Anyone would say, visiting these stands, that in Cuba there is no problem with the shortage of medicines that chronically afflicts the health system.

Other striking stands are those for purchasing currency. As with medicines, as if it were a legal activity, huge signs indicate the exchange rate: the euro at 350 pesos, the dollar at 345, and the freely convertible currency (MLC), at 270. “People arrive and, just as if it were a Cadeca [Exchange place], take out their fulas** or take out their euros and sell them there, without hiding anything,” says Nelly, who is no longer so surprised by the activity. And the Police? Because, on paper, this illegality carries high fines. “They have to bribe the inspectors, because there are operatives every day, but they just remain very calm”.

As if it were a legal activity, huge signs in La Cuevita indicate the exchange rate / 14ymedio

During the tour, this newspaper was able to verify, in fact, that there are numerous agents moving through the corridors. “The police have to solve their problems too, that’s why they are here buying their things,” argues Nelly. In the time that she has been dedicated to reselling in the province, she has never been fined, but she has a friend who has not been so lucky. “She already has 8,000 pesos in fines, but she comes back, comes back and comes back, because it is true that we have no other way to make a living in this country.”

If you are in La Cuevita for long enough, you can also see that many surrounding houses are used as warehouses, also informal. It is in these places where small appliances abound, such as pressure cookers, induction cookers and fans.

It is difficult to make your way through the aisles due to the number of people there, who, between jostling, mix with those who shout merchandise: liquid detergent, soap, toothpaste, chicken, oil, medicines, spaghetti, elbows, potatoes… “Even packaged coffee like the one from the bodega [ration store],” says Raniel, who is convinced that many of these are products ‘diverted’ from the state market.

“Informal sales are huge, and that’s where most buyers go” / 14ymedio

The boy takes care of himself among the overwhelming crowd: “Here you take out your wallet, you pay and in the process of putting it in your pocket they take it from you.”

La Cuevita is a place known by Havana residents since the 80s, although it did not begin to gain splendor until the immigration reform of 2013, which allowed Cubans to leave and enter the Island more easily.

But it was with the established rule of eliminating tariffs on food and medicine, after the demonstrations of 11 July 2021, that the market has become crowded.

A mirror seller approaches: “If you buy me the large and medium one, I’ll give you a small one,” he offers, as if he were at a capitalist street market. “There is a very big economic life,” Raniel concedes. “Here people come to fight, to make a living.” And he jokes: “It’s as if capitalism existed in Cuba.”Translator’s notes:

*Enalapril: ACE inhibitor taken to lower blood pressure
**fulas: Cuban slang meaning US Dollars

Translator: Norma Whiting
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The United States Rules Out Negotiating Cuba’s Removal From the List of State Sponsors of Terrorism

U.S. official Brian Nichols accused Nicaragua of using migration as a “weapon” against the countries of the region

U.S. Undersecretary of State for the Western Hemisphere, Brian Nichols, met with journalists in Miami, Florida / EFE

14ymedio, Havana, 1 May 2024 — The United States, in its talks with Cuba, continued to demand the release of political prisoners. This was one of the points addressed by both countries during the meeting last month, as confirmed on Tuesday by the U.S. Undersecretary of State for the Western Hemisphere, Brian Nichols, during a visit to Miami, Florida. “We always insist on the importance of respecting human rights, especially those of the most vulnerable,” said Nichols, who recently used his social networks to describe as “infuriating” the sentences of up to 15 years in prison for “Cubans who demonstrated peacefully in Nuevitas in 2022. The continuous repression of the Cuban government against Cubans who strive to fulfill their basic rights and needs is inconceivable.”

Among those sentenced was Mayelín Rodríguez Prado, the then 21-year-old young woman who transmitted the protests through Facebook, charged with the crimes of “enemy propaganda of a continuous nature” and “sedition.”

Nichols explained that it is “a legal process of analysis within several Government Departments that finally reaches the Secretary of State for his “determination”

Nichols also said that he didn’t have any doubt about the unity of the leadership of the Cuban regime. “I think that instead of speculating about it after 60 years, it is better to focus on the government’s actions.” continue reading

The official told several media in Miami that the Island has been asked to stop the irregular migratory flow through Nicaragua, while it has insisted on ending the sanctions. However, he clarified that Cuba’s removal from the list of state sponsors of terrorism is not on the negotiating table: “it is not something we can negotiate.”

Nichols explained that it is “a legal process of analysis within several Government departments that finally reaches the Secretary of State for his determination,” according to a report by journalist Mario J. Pentón for Martí Noticias.

The inclusion of Cuba on the list in January 2021 was one of the last decisions taken by the Administration of Republican Donald Trump (2017-2021) before leaving power.

The United States then justified the measure by alluding to the presence on the Island of members of the Colombian guerrillas of the National Liberation Army (ELN), who traveled to Havana to start peace negotiations with the Government of Colombia.

“The regime of Ortega and Murillo has taken advantage of migration as a weapon against the countries of the region, including the United States,” Nichols said

During his conversation with journalists in Miami, Brian Nichols also accused the Nicaraguan government of Daniel Ortega of using migration as a “weapon” against the countries of the region, including the United States.

“The Government in Nicaragua, the Ortega and Murillo regime, has taken advantage of migration as a weapon against the countries of the region, including the United States, because there are millions of irregular immigrants throughout the hemisphere, many of them due to the actions of the Nicaraguan regime.”

In the last three years, more than 700,000 Venezuelans, 363,000 Nicaraguans, 342,000 Haitians and 600,000 Cubans have reached the southern border, reported Martí Noticias. “All are favored by policies that promote free visas implemented by Daniel Ortega’s regime after its disagreements with the United States.”

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Cuban Journalist Jose Luis Tan Estrada Is Released After Five Days of Detention by State Security

“I just talked to him; they returned him to Camagüey this morning in a bus,” said activist Yamilka Laffita

Cuban journalist José Luis Tan Estrada / Facebook

14ymedio, Havana, May 2, 2024 — State Security released journalist José Luis Tan Estrada on Wednesday after five days of detention in Villa Marista. The CubaNet collaborator had been arrested by the political police last Friday when he was intercepted in Havana. “José Luis Tan Estrada has just communicated with two people. He’s free,” journalist José Raúl Gallego posted on his Facebook page. Gallego, who has been reporting on Tan Estrada’s case since his arrest, added that the young reporter communicated from a “landline in the Camagüey terminal.”

The news was confirmed shortly after by activist Yamilka Laffita (Lara Crofs) on the same social network. “José Luis Tan Estrada is free. I just talked to him; they returned him to Camagüey this morning in a bus.”

“Thank you very much to all those who stood in solidarity with the brother’s cause and supported us. Thank you very much to the person who told him that ’his little friends made a tremendous noise’ out here,” Laffita said.

After the arrest of Tan Estrada became known last Friday, several international organizations, activists and colleagues set off alarms about the “kidnapping” of the independent journalist. Among the NGOs that spoke out was PEN International. PEN’s Americas and Caribbean centers condemned the events on Saturday and called for the immediate release of the journalist, in addition to calling on the Cuban authorities to stop the harassment of critical voices in the country. continue reading

On Tuesday, they were joined by the Committee for the Protection of Journalists, which requested the release of Tan Estrada and indicated that the Cuban authorities must allow “reporters to work without fear of reprisals.”

“José Luis Tan Estrada has just communicated with two people. He’s free”

Although the circumstances of the journalist’s arrest are not known or if he is accused of any crime, the Cultural Rights Observatory reported on Wednesday that it was “following up on the repressive scheme applied by the Cuban State” against José Luis Tan Estrada. It also explained that “it knew the first name of the investigating officer of the case, Lieutenant Yasser,” and recalled that “according to the current criminal procedure law, it is possible to appoint a legal representative from the very moment of detention.”

After six hours of arrest last Friday, the political police allowed Tan Estrada to make a single call, and he asked his activist friend Yamilka Laffita to report his case, La Hora de Cuba posted on Facebook this Sunday. The media then specified that the journalist’s mother had not been able to “communicate with her son” and was unaware of his trip to the capital.

Among Tan Estrada’s colleagues, the hashtags #FreeTan and #InformarNoEsDelito (Information is not a crime) went viral. Journalist Luz Escobar, on her Facebook account, recalled similar cases of Cubans who have been imprisoned in Villa Marista, including the artist Hamlet Lavastida, who spent 86 days in the same prison in 2021, “and that State Security escorted him from Cuba on his way into exile.”

Translated by Regina Anavy

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The Busy Life of a Young Couple who Have Chosen to Stay in Cuba

Ana and Jairo have several jobs that allow them to get by. They have no plans to leave the country

Ana’s equipment consists of a lamp, a fan and a modest worktable / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Pedro Espinosa, Havana, 28 April 2024 — From pink to lilac nail polish, from glitter to acetone and solvents, the supplies that Ana uses in her manicure business are well-organized along one wall. A lamp, a fan and a modest work table make up the rest of her equipment. Her husband Jairo is an employee at a government warehouse and cuts hair on the side. Both also manage and deliver food orders that have been purchased online by customers living abroad.Ana makes between 10,000 and 12,000 pesos a month. Jairo, about 2,500 from his job at a warehouse and whatever he can earn as a delivery driver. They have no children. They have no plans — at least no obvious ones — to leave Cuba. “And even then it’s not enough for us,” they say.

The current migratory stampede has made leaving Cuba a priority for young people. Any way out, from the U.S. “Humanitarian Parole” program or to closer destinations such as the Dominican Republic, will do. However, those who do not have the resources or cannot afford such a trip must stay behind, often to take care of family members. Many young couples aim a little higher. For them, just surviving is not enough. They want to live.

It is a solid structure, what is referred to as “a capitalist house” because it was built before 1959

The house where Ana and Jairo live is in Havana’s Guanabacoa district. It used to belong to Jairo’s grandmother, who moved in with other family members so that the young couple could have some privacy. “Thanks to her, we have a place to live,” says Jairo. It is a solid structure, what is referred to as “a capitalist house” because it was built before 1959.

From here, telephone in hand, Ana processes orders from an online sales platform three days a week for 6,000 pesos. “I distribute what they send me. I get orders for combos and individual items. I have to arrange to have them delivered which, given the fuel situation, is very difficult.” continue reading

Ana is also studying for a bachelor’s degree in Hygiene and Epidemiology at the University of Havana, attending classes once a week. “My little jobs have given me the money to pay for car fare to the university,” she says.

The “little jobs” are what the couple needs to keep the operations of the manicure business and other ventures up and running. “Everything comes from overseas,” says Ana, pointing t0 the nail polish, tweezers and nail clippers. “I buy it directly from a customer. Otherwise, it would all be very expensive.”

“Everything comes from overseas,” says Ana, pointing t0 the nail polish, tweezers and nail clippers

“I only see two customers a day. I’m a little slow,” she says. “The other work — the online orders — I do on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. On those days, I also see customers and make phone calls. There’s no time to waste.” In the evening, she prepares dinner and the next day’s lunch.

Jairo managed to work his way into the food delivery business. If not for the money from that, his earnings would be, he notes sadly, “the basic wage in Cuba.” Thanks to the country’s high inflation rate and cost of living, that 2,500 pesos buys almost “nothing.” He says food and clothing are “not a problem” thanks to his family. Despite being large and aging, they often lend the young couple a hand.

Vacations? “You have to plan them well in advance. If I’m going shell out 10,000 pesos on a trip, I’d rather spend it on food,” reasons Jairo. Ana’s 18-year-old brother Jorge often drops by their house in Guanabacoa. Though he is studying to be a railway mechanic, his “real” job is cutting hair.

“They’re piled one on top of another,” he says of his family members. “Grandmother, great-grandmother, brother, cousin… It pays me enough to live on and to help the family.” His barbershop – a rented cubicle – is as modest as Ana’s “studio.” He charges 500 pesos for a head shave, 150 to trim a beard, 350 to do both but with a “special rate for special clients.” He sees five to ten customers a day. “Like everything, there are good days and bad days.”

Her husband Jairo is an employee at a government warehouse and cuts hair on the side / 14ymedio

Several weeks ago, “Alma Mater,” the University of Havana’s student magazine, decided to address the topic of “leaving versus staying.” The result was an article based on three hours of discussion at an officially sanctioned forum, La Cafetera, sponsored by the university’s School of Communication. The gathering addressed the most disturbing question: What to do if the decision – or the obligation – is to remain in Cuba?

The impetus for this gathering was the success of the play “No Importa” (It Doesn’t Matter”). At the time the article was written, the production had had seventy performances, all to a full house, a demonstration how pertinent the topic of migration has become. After acknowledging the difficulty of remaining on the island, “Alma Mater” returns to the fold, quoting a character who does not want “his elders or his friends shedding tears” if he went into exile.

Less tearful, Ana and Jairo are not leaving because of the many ties they have to Cuba. It is not sentimentalism or patriotism but a reality so harsh that there is no time to even ask the question that the editors of “Alma Mater” asked themselves.

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Seoul and Havana Take One More Step Towards the Opening of Embassies in Both Countries

South Korea will open a temporary office in the Cuban capital until the the diplomatic headquarters is completed

A South Korean delegation visiting Havana this April / @cmphcuba

14ymedio, Havana, April 29, 2024 — After re-establishing diplomatic relations last February, Cuba and South Korea have agreed to open their respective diplomatic headquarters in Seoul and Havana. The pact was signed in the capital of the Island, where several officials of the South Korean Foreign Ministry arrived from April 24 to 27, to exchange diplomatic letters. On the page of its Ministry of Foreign Affairs, South Korea also announced the signing of the agreement: “Our Government plans to continue consultations with the Cuban side so that our Embassy in Cuba can be opened as soon as possible. To this end, we will establish a temporary office in Havana as an intermediate step in the opening,” says the portfolio statement, which also announces the sending of diplomatic personnel.

For its part, the Cuban Foreign Ministry published a brief message on its social networks announcing the reception of the Korean delegation, headed by the director general of Coordination and Foreign Planning of that country, Song Si-jin.

The caution of the Cuban authorities around the restoration of relations with South Korea, a potential economic ally, responds to attempts to keep ties stable with North Korea, an important political partner for the Island and an enemy of Seoul, which it has recently threatened to “annihilate.” continue reading

The Cuban Government sees in South Korea an unexplored potential for investments and resources that North Korea hardly offers

The Cuban Government sees in South Korea an unexplored potential for investments and resources that North Korea hardly offers and that, in the current economic crisis, could be a breath of fresh air for the regime.

Suspicion of Havana, however, has not been overlooked by Cubans who, after the announcement of the restoration of diplomatic relations – broken since 1959 by the arrival of Fidel Castro to power – asked the Foreign Ministry for explanations in the comments of the media and social media accounts of the ruling party.

On one hand, users said, relations have been maintained with Pyongyang since 1960, and the country has been a great ally of Havana, a bond that “must be respected.” On the other hand, the most pragmatic asserted, “the Democratic People’s Republic must understand that it is an inalienable right of our country to open up relations with all nations” and, in this case, with one of the most important in the world in terms of technology – something that “perhaps we can take advantage of economically.”

For its part, Seoul has declared its interest in what Havana has to offer. “Cuba is a considerable source of key mineral resources for the production of electric vehicles, such as cobalt and nickel,” the South Korean Presidential Office said last February.

The statement also explained that companies interested in entering the Cuban market would be helped with basic necessities such as appliances and machinery, which have high prices on the Island. Seoul also pointed out multiple business and cooperation opportunities in the energy sector, something that Havana cannot reject in its current situation, when it tries to alleviate the fuel crisis with solar panels and electric vehicles. (South Korea is the headquarters of three of the five companies that dominate the global battery market for this type of vehicle, LG, SK On and Samsung).

Medicine and biotechnology are other areas where the South Korean government sees potential: “Cuba has been an untapped market where direct trade is still very limited due to United States sanctions, but we will take advantage of this opportunity of establishing formal diplomatic relations to lay the foundations for a gradual expansion of economic cooperation,” Seoul said, ignoring the policies of Washington, its closest partner, regarding Havana.

Despite the fact that diplomatic relations were suspended, the rapprochement between Cuba and South Korea coincided, in 2015, with the thaw between Washington and Havana, when several economic exchanges in technological and energy matters began, which were limited by the lack of a favorable diplomatic scenario.

Before the pandemic, about 14,000 South Korean citizens traveled to the Island every year, and another 1,100 descendants of Koreans reside there

In 2022, for example, according to data provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of South Korea, the country exported goods to Cuba for a value of 14 million dollars and imported goods worth 7 million. Likewise, before the pandemic, about 14,000 South Korean citizens traveled to the Island every year, and another 1,100 descendants of Koreans who migrated during the Japanese occupation (1910-1945) reside there. All of them, the Foreign Ministry explained at the time, need “systematic consular assistance.”

Until now, Cuba was the only country on the continent with which South Korea did not maintain links despite the fact that “the two countries have expanded cooperation focusing on non-political fields such as culture, human exchange and development cooperation. In particular, the friendship between the two peoples through recent cultural exchanges has contributed to the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries,” said the statement of South Korea’s Foreign Ministry.

Two examples of these relations in “non-political fields” are the purchase by Havana of the Korean-built ferry Perseverancia, which makes the trip between the Isla de la Juventud and the Surgidero of Batabanó (Mayabeque), and the aid worth $200,000 in medicines and health material sent by Seoul after the explosion in 2022 of the Matanzas supertanker base.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Powdered Milk Arrives in Cuba in the Form of Donations From Europe

The Alhucema Solidarity Initiatives Association also sends medical supplies

14ymedio, Madrid, 30 April 2024 — The Alhucema Association of Solidarity Initiatives in Seville, in the Spanish municipality of Morón de la Frontera, twinned with Morón de Ciego de Ávila since 1995, delivered medical supplies and powdered milk this Tuesday. The items, reports Invasor, were acquired by collection over the last two years in the “solidarity” fair Qué Linda es Cuba. This organization dedicates 20% of its income, says the official press, to “financing the trips and purchasing donations” for the Island, not only for its “twin” city,” but also for other “campaigns,”such as “contributions” of syringes for vaccination against Covid-19 and for “repairing the damage” – it indicates, without details – of the explosion of the Saratoga Hotel in Havana.

The Association members will not only deliver the donations but will also participate in the International Seminar for Peace and for the Abolition of Foreign Military Bases that will be held in Guantánamo on May 4 and 5. There are two military bases in Spain that are shared with the United States: an air force base in Morón de la Frontera and a naval station in Rota. The US ceased to have control over these bases in 1998.

The first container, however, will not arrive until mid-June, so the situation of powdered milk will not improve in the coming days

The organization has helped Cuba on other occasions, the local press reports, although not by much. Two years ago, it delivered health supplies worth 3,000 euros to two hospitals, and four years ago, 1,000 euros worth of supplies together with the Maximiliano Tornet Association, from Huelva, also in Andalusia.

More advantageous for the Island is the donation of the French association Cuba Coopération France, which, according to Prensa Latina on Sunday, raised a total of 63,000 euros to “support vulnerable sectors” and will send a container of powdered milk to the country.

According to the official media, the organization states that the “immediate objective” is to collect 76,000 euros “in order to send a second shipment of powdered milk, aimed at alleviating the impact of the American blockade* on the population, in particular children and the elderly.”

The first container, however, will not arrive until mid-June, so the powdered milk situation will not improve in the coming days. Last March, the Government hurried to reassure the population, saying that the import of a total of 1,750 tons of food from several countries – 500 from the United States – would guarantee its availability until April.

In February, for the first time in its history, the Cuban government formally requested help from the UN World Food Program to obtain milk for children under the age of seven.

*Translator’s note: There is, in fact, no US ‘blockade’ on Cuba, but this continues to be the term the Cuban government prefers to apply to the ongoing US embargo. During the Cuban Missile Crisis the US ordered a Naval blockade (which it called a ‘quarantine’) on Cuba in 1962, between 22 October and 20 November of that year. The blockade was lifted when Russia agreed to remove its nuclear missiles from the Island. The embargo had been imposed earlier in the same year in February, and although modified from time to time, it is still in force.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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