English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
14ymedio, Javier Roque Martínez, Havana, 1 February 2022 — Adiel González Maimó, English teacher, theologian and leader of one of the communities that make up the Fraternity of Baptist Churches of Cuba (FIBAC), is proof that the Protestant faith is compatible with the defense of LGBTI rights. At the age of 20, he realized that … Continue reading “Religious Fundamentalism in Cuba Does Not Represent a Threat to the Regime”
14ymedio, Havana, 5 January 2022 — The trial took place in November but the judges allowed a month to pass before announcing the sentences of five detainees in Caibarién, Villa Clara, for their participation in the July 11 demonstrations. Magdiel Rodríguez García, 28, received the highest sentence, four and a half years, for the crime of … Continue reading “Court in Santa Clara Sentences Five Cubans to Prison for Protesting on June 11”
14ymedio, Eloy M. Viera Moreno, Havana, 2 April 2021– On March 19, we enjoyed a true media show, when the Director of Communication and Image of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs explained to Cubans the need for the State to defend itself against a 22-year-old girl, although some details were omitted. A few hours before, … Continue reading “The Cuban State’s Fear of a 22-Year-Old Journalist”
14ymedio, Eloy M. Viera Moreno, Havana, 13 March 2021 — A few weeks ago a group of Cuban artists composed a song under the suggestive title of Patria y Vida (Homeland and Life) and disseminated it through the networks. The Cuban government gave a meteoric response, and in a matter of a few days it has released three songs, with … Continue reading “Patriotism and Mediocrity”
14ymedio, Havana, 25 August 2020 — Twenty volunteers, aged between 19 and 59, participated this Monday in the first clinical trial of the Cuban vaccine against covid-19, which was announced last week. The pages of the official press show them dressed in a white pullover that highlights, in capital letters, half in red, half in blue, … Continue reading “Trials of Cuba’s ‘Sovereign’ Vaccine Mix Science and Political Propaganda”
14ymedio, Luz Escobar, Havana, 11 May 2020 — The independent LGBTI community is not willing to forget what happened on May 11, 2019. That day, when the Government suppressed a peaceful march that they had organized on the Paseo del Prado in Havana, has become for Cuban activists the date they commemorate the fight against … Continue reading “LGBTI Activists Commemorate the First Anniversary of the Suppressed March”
14ymedio / Mario J. Pentón, Havana, 14 July 2019 — Despite the government’s commitment not to allow “programmed blackouts” this summer, power cuts of several hours are multiplying throughout the country and causing annoyance among the population. Pinar del Río, Artemisa, Mayabeque, Villa Clara, Cienfuegos, Camagüey, Las Tunas, Holguín and Santiago de Cuba are the most … Continue reading “Cubans Increasingly Annoyed by Blackouts and Government Silence”
14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar, Havana, February 26, 2019 — The preliminary results from the referendum on the new Constitution confirm what was expected: that the new Constitution was going to be approved by the majority and that the process was going to make clear the increase in citizen dissent by putting a number to that group … Continue reading “2.5 Million Cuban Voters Distance Themselves From the Constitution”
Iván García, 20 November 2017 — While Robert Gabriel Mugabe, the oldest dictator in the world at age 93, was giving a televised statement from Harare, surrounded by soldiers and elegantly-dressed officials, many miles away from Zimbabwe, Edna, a history professor at a pre-university, was washing clothes in Havana, in an anachronistic Aurika from the … Continue reading “The Crisis in Zimbabwe is Barely Mentioned in the Cuban Media / Iván García”
Juan Juan Almeida, 27 February 2017 — Luis Enrique Cepero García was an opponent of the Cuban regime serving a sentence in the Combinado del Este prison when he decided to infect himself with a disease rather than continue being subjected to mistreatment in prison. Given his state of health, Luis Enrique was transferred and imprisoned … Continue reading “Cuban Double Agent Fears for His Life after Revealing His True Identity / Juan Juan Almeida”
Juan Juan Almeida, 14 February 2017 — In a memorable address on December 18, 2008 in Salvador de Bahía, Brazil, Raúl Castro referred to what we now know as Operation Carlota, saying, “We told the Angolan people we will only take with us the remains of our dead.” But he lied. The Cuban military mission there … Continue reading “Cuban Doctors and Nurses in Exchange for Angolan Oil / Juan Juan Almeida”
Declaration of San Juan The first Cuban National Conference met in San Juan, Puerto Rico from August 13 to 15, 2015. Twenty-three organizations from the Cuban archipelago and 32 from the exile participated, duly represented by more than 100 of their leaders. The event was organized by United Cubans of Puerto Rico. Animating us was … Continue reading “Declaration of San Juan / Cuban National Conference”
Investment in Cuba? What for? ASCE XXIV / 2014 Annual Conference, Miami Hilton Downtown Hotel, Florida, USA Panel 12. Concerto Ballrom B – Friday, August 1st, 2:45-4:15pm 1. In Cuba during the 1970s, historian Manuel Moreno Fraginals challenged poet Jose Lezama Lima with his trendy scientific notions about the laws of objectivity and the transition … Continue reading “Investment in Cuba? What for? / Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo”
Tomorrow, May 1, the United Nations Human Rights Council will meet in Geneva, where Cuba will present a report with notes on its prison policy. “Dressing up” for the occasion, for the first time in nine years the Castro regime opened its jails to the national and international press accredited in Cuba. It is public … Continue reading “The United Nations Human Rights Council and its Great Challenge With Cuba / Angel Santiesteban”
Citizen Demand for Another Cuba As Cubans, legitimate children of this land and an essential part of our nation, we feel a deep sorrow at the prolonged crisis that we are experiencing and the demonstrated inability of the current government to make fundamental changes. This obliges us, from civil society, to seek and demand our … Continue reading “Citizen Demand for Another Cuba – 536 Signatures and Counting”