English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
14ymedio, Miami, 31 March 2023 — The sign in front of the Western Union office located at 6590 Pembroke Road, in Miami, has raised the indignation of its Cuban customers. “Cuba is open for business!” says the poster in English; it is illustrated with a flag of the Island and also reminds people that remittances … Continue reading “Western Union’s Outrageous Poster: ‘Cuba Is Open for Business!’”
14ymedio, Havana, 2 March 2023 — The U.S. company Western Union announced on Thursday that it is now possible to send remittances to Cuba from any of its U.S. offices. The company, which had carried out a pilot test of transfers to the Island only from Florida, will use the payment channels of the Cuban … Continue reading “Remittances Can Now be Sent to Cuba from all Western Union Offices in the United States”
14ymedio, Havana, 27 January 2023 — The financial company Western Union decided to expand its service for sending remittances to Cuba to 343 offices in Florida through the pilot program that it has been implementing since the beginning of this month and which had started in a few branches. Among the establishments that were incorporated into sending … Continue reading “Western Union Expands its Offices to Send Remittances from Florida to Cuba to More Than 340 Sites”
EFE/14ymedio, Havana, 31 May 2022 — The Central Bank of Cuba (BCC) denied on Tuesday that it is selling, to individuals, U.S. dollars and freely convertible currency (MLC, the Cuban virtual currency backed by hard currencies). According to the official newspaper Granma, the monetary authority has thus responded to rumors that have arisen after an … Continue reading “Cuba’s Central Bank Denies That it is Selling US Dollars”
14ymedio, Havana, 25 May 2022 — The price of hard currency in Cuba is plummeting on the informal market. Not only has the freely convertible currency (MLC) fallen, but also the dollar and even the euro. “Last week the MLC rate was 125 pesos, but I could only sell at 10 to 110 pesos to … Continue reading “The Price of Hard Currency Drops on the Black Market in Cuba”
14ymedio, Madrid, 18 May 2022 — Ending the limits on remittances sent from the U.S. to Cuba — one of the measures announced by Washington on Monday, in addition to resuming flights — seems to be one that could have the greatest impact on the Island. It is for the benefit of Cuban families, which … Continue reading “Competing with the ‘Mules’: The Cuban Government’s Complicated Goal for Remittances”
14ymedio, Madrid, 11 February 2022 — Aware of the annoyance generated by the expansion of stores that take payment only in MLC (freely convertible currency), on Thursday Alejandro Gil, Minister of Economy and Planning, wanted to delve into the defense he made of the stores last Tuesday in an interview with the Cuban News Agency … Continue reading “‘Dollar’ Stores are a Lifeline, Says Cuba’s Minister of the Economy”
14ymedio, Luis Zúñiga, Miami, 5 February 2022 — On June 5, 1960, Fidel Castro ordered the nationalization of the Texaco company’s oil refinery in Cuba. The following month, on July 5, he ordered the seizure of the two remaining US refineries, Shell and Esso. Castro let the owners know that there would be no monetary … Continue reading “The True History of the United States Trade Embargo on Cuba”
14ymedio, Havana, 14 June 2021 — Residents of Havana’s Nuevo Vedado neighborhood had been wondering why Cadeca, the state-run currency exchange agency, would be opening a new office in their area. They got their answer this weekend: the company will now be processing taxes and payments to retirees. “All of us were surprised they would … Continue reading “Short on Dollars, Cadeca Will Now Process Tax Collection and Retiree Payments”
Cubanet, Miriam Celaya, Havana, 11 June 2021 — An informative note from the Central Bank of Cuba (BCC) presented on Cuban TV’s Roundtable program this Thursday, June 10, announced the temporary suspension of US dollar deposits in Cuban banks by individuals and legal entities. As expressed in the note, this measure, which will go into … Continue reading “Cuba’s New Bank Resolution: More Shadows than Lights / Miriam Celaya”
14ymedio, Natalia López Moya, Havana, May 6, 2021 — Dayron’s first thought when he heard the police siren was that it would be a routine document check, but what he actually heard left him confused. “You may not transport anyone on the back of your tricycle,” the officer told him, pointing to the young woman … Continue reading “The Back Seats of Cuba’s Electric Tricycles are Not for Sitting”
EFE/14ymedio, Miami, 12 February 2021 — On Friday, Cuban exiles and opposition groups in Cuba urged United States president Joe Biden and the US Congress that the review of the policy towards Cuba should be based on democratic change without “unilateral concessions” to the government of President Miguel Díaz-Canel. For several weeks, Cubans “committed to … Continue reading “Cuban Exiles and Opponents Ask Biden for Democratic Changes Without Concessions”
14ymedio, Havana, 21 January 2021 — The Cuban government hopes that the new US president, Joe Biden, will “quickly” reverse the hard line towards the island of his predecessor, Donald Trump, and resume the thaw initiated by Barack Obama in 2014. This was stated to Reuters by Carlos Fernández de Cossío, the top Cuban Foreign … Continue reading “Havana Hopes Biden Will Reverse US Policy Toward Cuba ‘Rapidly’”
14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, 24 November 2020 — Four, three, two … A countdown marks the closing time of the Western Union office in Cuba this Monday. When the clock strikes six in the evening, a long era of remittances through the US company will be over, an end resulting from the sanctions imposed … Continue reading “Adios Western Union, Come Back Soon Western Union”
14ymedio, Havana, 13 November 2020 — On Friday, Western Union announced it will no longer provide remittance services in Cuba as of November 23 after the island’s government rejected a proposal that would have allowed the US-based to comply with American regulations governing its transactions with Fincimex*. The deadline for sending money from the United … Continue reading “Western Union’s Offices in Cuba to Close at 6 PM, November 23”
