English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
Resigned and aimless, the man reflects the misery that spreads in Cuba. 14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, 11 June 2025 — A bearded man with thin white hair walks with his shoulders down and a lost gaze. That’s how many Havana residents walk when they go out into the street to make a living, to … Continue reading “A “Homeland or Death” Zombie, With Slumped Shoulders and a Lost Gaze”
José Daniel Ferrer’s release from prison, like that of Luis Robles, was one of the most anticipated since the Cuban regime’s announcement on Tuesday 14ymedio, Havana, 16 January 2025 — José Daniel Ferrer, leader of the Patriotic Union of Cuba (Unpacu), was released from prison this Thursday. “I don’t know the conditions, if it was … Continue reading “Opposition Leader José Daniel Ferrer Released From Prison After Negotiations Between the Cuban Regime and the Vatican”
Amnesty International adds four imprisoned Cubans to its list of prisoners of conscience 14ymedio/EFE, Madrid, 23 October 2024 — Miguel Díaz Bauzá, imprisoned since October 1994, when he landed in Cuba with seven other men to fight Castroism with weapons, will spend eight more years in prison, according to what his family told several independent … Continue reading “With More Than 30 Years in Prison, Miguel Díaz Bauzá Is the Longest-Serving Political Prisoner in Cuba”
14ymedio, Havana, 23 February 2024 — Luis Robles, the “young man with the placard,” received, on Friday, his first pass since he was sentenced to five years in prison in December 2020 for requesting the release of rapper Denis Solís. His mother, Yindra Elizastigui, published a photograph of Robles, shaved and dressed in civilian clothes, during … Continue reading “The “Young Man with the Placard” Receives His First Pass After More Than Three Years in a Cuban Prison”
EFE (via 14ymedio), Havana, 1 January 2024 — Luis Robles, a Cuban protester imprisoned since December 2020, has received a prison permit to serve the rest of his five-year sentence in a correctional labor camp, his mother, Yindra Elizastigui, confirmed to EFE on Sunday. Robles, considered by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) as … Continue reading “After Three Years in Prison, the ‘Young Man With the Placard’ Goes to a Work Camp in Cuba”
14ymedio, Madrid, 29 November 2023 – Yindra Elizastigui, mother of Luis Robles, “The Boy With the Placard” has decided to abandon the hunger strike she started in demand for the release of her son — a prisoner since December 2020 in the Combinado del Este maximum security prison in Havana — and for the release … Continue reading “Mother of ‘The Boy With the Placard’ is Given Guarantees from Cuban Prisons Director and Suspends Her Hunger Strike”
14ymedio, Havana, 8 September 2023 — Cuban activist Carlos Ernesto Díaz González, known as ’Ktivo Disidente’, arrived in Miami this Friday thanks to the humanitarian parole program. The opponent was sentenced at the end of November 2022 to two years and six months in prison for the crimes of disobedience and contempt, but last June … Continue reading “‘Ktivo Disidente’ Arrives in Miami and Reporter Lazaro Yuri Valle Receives a Pass To Get Out of Prison in Cuba”
14ymedio, Havana, August 22, 2023–Luis Robles Elizastigui known as “the young man with the placard” and incarcerated since December 2020 in the Combinado del Este prison in Havana has achieved some relief from his prison conditions and will transfer to a minimum security regimen. As his mother, Yindra Elizastigui, on Monday told CubaNet, the young … Continue reading “‘The Young Man with the Placard’ Will Go to a Lower Security Prison After Almost Three Years of Mistreatment”
14ymedio, Havana, 29 November 2022 — On Tuesday, Cuban activist and opponent, Carlos Ernesto Díaz González, known as Ktivo Disidente, was sentenced to two years and six months in prison for disobedience and contempt. Díaz González had spent almost seven months in Ariza prison, in Cienfuegos, after he asked for freedom for political prisoners while … Continue reading “Ktivo Disidente, Sentenced to Jail for Asking for Freedom for Political Prisoners in Cuba”
14ymedio, Madrid, 27 July 2022 — The Municipal Court of Cienfuegos reversed its decision to release Carlos Ernesto Díaz González (known on social networks as Ktivo Disidente) on bail, and in prison since last April 28. His offense: he climbed a wall on the boulevard of San Rafael in Havana to claim the freedom of Cubans. According to Diario … Continue reading “Cuban Court in Cienfuegos Agrees to the Request of the Prosecutor’s Office and Denies Bail to ‘Ktivo Disidente’”
The opposition rapper Denis Solís, a former prisoner of conscience recognized by the United Nations, and subsequently forced into exile, is in a situation of extreme poverty in Novi Sad, Serbia, where he has lived since he left Cuba at the end of 2021. The organization Prisoner Defenders has tweeted an alert about the situation … Continue reading “Cuban Rapper Denis Solis is Living in Extreme Poverty in Serbia”
14ymedio, Havana, 24 December 2021 — Only a few times before has it been so difficult to compile this list with the 14 most relevant faces of the year in Cuba now ending. The twelve months that have elapsed so far have been marked by an infinity of events and thousands of protagonists who have … Continue reading “2021 in Cuba, the Year of the Collective Face”
14ymedio, Havana, July 24, 2021 — Luis Robles, known as the young man with the sign, has been in prison for eight months and, as his brother Landy told 14ymedio, they have again denied the defense request for a change in the precautionary measure of provisional confinement. His trial was scheduled for July 16, but was finally suspended … Continue reading “In Cuba ‘They Have Taken Away Even Our Freedom to Think’”
14ymedio, Luz Escobar, Havana, 12 March 2021 — A dozen activists and journalists woke up to find their homes under surveillance and themselves prevented from going out. The reason: an alleged protest action while, they say, they have not called. In Old Havana, around the Capitol, there is a large presence of police and patrol cars, as … Continue reading “Major Deployment of Cuban Police to Prevent a ‘Secret’ Demonstration”
Prisoners Defenders records a total of 1,179 political prisoners on the island in October 14ymedio, Madrid, 6 November 2025 — Prisons have not been spared from the health emergency caused by several arboviruses spreading throughout the country. Absolutely not. According to the latest report by Prisoners Defenders (PD), published on Thursday, the epidemics, together with … Continue reading “Bacteria and Viruses Thriving in Cuban Prisons”