English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
14ymedio, Havana, 13 October 2023 — The conclusion of the most recent report by the online opposition platform Cuba Siglo 21 (21st Century Cuba) on the emergence of small and medium-sized companies (MSMEs) on the island is that they have been a resounding failure. Designed as an attempt to breath life into the Island’s moribund … Continue reading “Emigrate or Start a Business? Most Cubans Prefer to Leave”
14ymedio, Havana, 7 October 2023 — Cuban Prime Minister Manuel Marrero confirmed on Friday that a government commission is working on new legislation for small and medium-sized businesses (MSMEs). In a meeting with 470 attorneys, consultants and legal advisors, he said that the goal of the regulation is to fix and manage “distortions” that have … Continue reading “Cuban Government Wants to Fix and Manage ‘Distortions’ in Small and Medium-Sized Businesses”
14ymedio, Havana, 23 September 2023 — Miguel Díaz-Canel met this Friday behind closed doors, in New York, with a group of U.S. businessmen, several of them Cuban Americans, to discuss the “new business opportunities” they may have in Cuba, thanks to several economic “transformations” prepared by Havana. Although the president did not offer other details … Continue reading “Cuban President Diaz-Canel Suggests Changes in the Law To Authorize Investments by Cuban Americans on the Island”
14ymedio, Madrid, September 19, 2023 — Over the last three decades, Cuban emigrants have sent their relatives on the Island, a total of 52.252 billion dollars in remittances and another 50 Billion in consumer goods. The data is included in the most recent report by the organization Cuba Siglo 21, signed by academic Emilio Morales, who points … Continue reading “Emigrants Have Sent 52 Billion Dollars in Remittances to Cuba in the Last 30 Years”
14ymedio, Madrid, 19 September 2023 — The Biden government plans to announce this week the lifting of restrictions to help Cuban micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), according to knowledgeable sources in several American media. Both the Palm Beach Post on Saturday and the Bloomberg agency on Monday indicated that these are “specific guidelines” for … Continue reading “The U.S. Project to Help Small Businesses Within Cuba is Controversial”
14ymedio, Madrid, 15 September 2023 — The case of the Cubans recruited to fight alongside Russia in the war in Ukraine continues to be talked about and on Thursday displayed the complicated game of juggling that Havana maintains to please Moscow without provoking the anger of the United States and, above all, of the European … Continue reading “The Cuban Regime Juggles To Support Russia Without Provoking the United States and Europe”
14ymedio, Madrid, 11 September 2023 — “If Cuba, as a sovereign nation, had decided to allow mercenaries to be hired within its borders, it wouldn’t be anything unusual,” said an anonymous Cuban government spokesperson who goes by the name Guerrero Cubano (Cuban Warrior) on his YouTube channel. During the Sunday episode, which once again focused … Continue reading “Cuban Regime’s Propaganda Machine Entangled in Its Denials about Mercenaries”
14ymedio, Havana, 21 July 2023 — Cuban academics Juan Antonio Blanco and Emilio Morales, who preside over the Cuba Siglo 21 organization, criticized on Thursday the content of two letters signed by U.S. members of congress and economists who accuse Democratic Senator Bob Menéndez of using a “false narrative” in his defense of U.S. sanctions … Continue reading “The Dictatorships Are Responsible for the Cuban and Venezuelan Exodus, Not the U.S. Sanctions”
14ymedio, Madrid, 10 July 2023 — The arrival at the port of Havana of the Russian military ship Perekov, scheduled for this Tuesday, hides other interests beyond the sending of humanitarian aid, warns Cuba Siglo 21. According to a dossier made public on Monday by the organization, based in Madrid, and signed by former Cuban … Continue reading “Putin Uses Cuba in His ‘Political Blackmail’ With the United States, Warns Former Cuban General Rafael Del Pino”
14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, 11 July 2023 — Without any senior Cuban official receiving its crew, the Russian warship Perekop anchored on Tuesday morning in the port of Havana. The policemen, who moved restlessly along the dock and blocked access to the ship with their patrol cars, prevented Cubans from approaching the mammoth hull … Continue reading “A Russian Warship and a U.S. Submarine Arrive in Cuba”
14ymedio, Havana, 26 May 2023 — The announcement of the opening in Cuba of an assembly plant of the Uliánovsk Automobile Factory (UAZ) is one of the many symptoms of the good health of relations between Havana and Moscow. The company’s directors said that they will send the first batch of machines to the Island … Continue reading “This Year, the Russian Builder UAZ Will Open a Factory To Assemble Vehicles in Cuba”
14ymedio, Ángel Salinas, Mexico, 31 March 2023 — Yamilé, a Cuban woman, was illegally detained for five days at the Acayucan station of the National Institute of Migration (INM), in the Mexican state of Veracruz, and her husband José, for 12 days. “Once they admit you, they take away your papers and your cell phone. … Continue reading “A Cuban Couple, Victims of Mistreatment at a Migration Station in Mexico”
14ymedio, Havana, 31 March 2023 — Putin’s adviser has a plan for Cuba that specifically involves ending the “strict control” over currency exchange. The consequence of this disastrous government policy is “the low profitability of companies, the deficit of commodities” and the black market, according to Boris Titov, president of the Cuba-Russia Business Council, as … Continue reading “Russia Suggests to Cuba More Support for Small Businesses and Less Currency Control”
14ymedio, Madrid, 17 March 2023 — Cuban authorities were clear when they announced the creation of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and non-agricultural cooperatives: the priority would be food production. The reality is that, despite the indication of preferentially authorizing these companies, only 15.3% (1,029) of the 6,704 created, up to the end of … Continue reading “Only 15 Percent of Cuban Private Enterprises Are Involved in Food Production”
14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodriguez, Havana, 14 March 2023 — Cuban ATMs have started accepting the Mir card, part of a Russian payment system akin to Visa or Mastercard, that was launched by the Kremlin in 2016 to get around looming economic sanctions. Mir’s press office told the Russian news agency Sputnik that it is working … Continue reading “Users of the Russian Credit Card Mir Can Now Get Cash from Cuban ATMs”
