English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
Priority will be given to “those owners who collaborate in the charging of rechargeable equipment” 14ymedio, Havana, 15 February 2025 — With the Island in check due to the “complex energy situation,” the national electricity system (SEN) cannot get a break. The deficit forecast for this Saturday, of 1,405 megawatts (MW), indicates that the work … Continue reading “Only 10 Liters of Fuel for Owners of Generators in Artemisa”
Some entrepreneurs are experiencing “the most difficult times in business” 14ymedio, Julio César Contreras, Cienfuegos, 27 January 2025 — With bruises and problems, which he prefers to describe as “challenges for 2025,” Abelardo has decided that his cafeteria will remain open against all odds. With 57 years behind him, he has no doubt that he … Continue reading “Shortages, Inflation and Bureaucracy Bring Private Cafeterias to the Brink of Bankruptcy in Cienfuegos”
Some faithful readers miss getting “guidance” from the Communist Party 14ymedio, Havana, 9 November 2024 — A symbol of the regime since its creation in 1965 and its flagship publication, the Communist Party newspaper “Granma” is finding it difficult these days to reach remote parts of Cuba. There are still readers out there — few … Continue reading “Cuban Provinces Cut Off from the Communist Party Newspaper ‘Granma’ Due to Shortage of Mail Carriers”
The minister explained the causes of the debacle in the sector: “lack of tires, batteries, parts and spare parts, lubricants, oil and special liquids” 14ymedio, Havana, 20 October 2024 — It was just a matter of time before Eduardo Rodríguez Dávila, the “Minister of Facebook,” reported on how the total blackout in which the Island … Continue reading “The Blackouts and Lack of Fuel Have Ended What Was Left of Transport in Cuba”
The Government settles at least three protests by sending tanker trucks 14ymedio, Havana, 1 July 2024 / Residents of Central Havana took to the streets Saturday night to protest the lack of water. They managed to block Reina Street, closing off traffic at its intersection with Galiano Street. The demonstration marked the end of a … Continue reading “Havana Residents Stage Several Protests in One Week Over Water Shortage”
Many Cubans look to the orishas for answers to their problems or ask them to help them emigrate 14ymedio, Laura Bécquer/EFE, 15 June 2024 — When a Cuban woman, Elvira García, knocked on the door of the babalao (Ifá priest) she did so looking for answers to her despair in the Afro-Cuban religion. The retired … Continue reading “The Crisis Fuels a Fervor for Afro-Cuban Religions on the Island”
So far, the company has received only 528 gallons of fuel per month, 50% of what it needs 14ymedio, Havana, 7 May 2024 — The government of Las Tunas developed a “strategy” to mitigate the crisis of garbage dumps that have been out of control for months in the city. The plan is to deliver … Continue reading “The Garbage Crisis in Las Tunas Forces the Authorities To Deliver More Fuel to Communal Services”
14ymedio/EFE, Havana, 11 February 2024 — Cuba postponed this Saturday the national sports events in development and those planned for the coming days in disciplines such as baseball in the face of the “complex situation with fuel.” A press release from the state National Institute of Sports, Physical Education and Recreation indicates that the decision … Continue reading “Cuba Postpones Several Sporting Events Due to the ‘Complex Situation With Fuel’”
14ymedio, Havana, November 16, 2023 — The rice production in Artemisa is barely enough to cover the “basic family basket” sold in the ration stores of two municipalities, Candelaria and San Cristóbal, and a part of the provincial capital, the local authorities recognized on Thursday. Officials no longer know what to do to get the … Continue reading “Faced With the Alarming Shortage of Rice, the Cuban Authorities Want To Prepare the Idle Land”
14ymedio, Havana, October 21, 2023 — The intense flames that came out, on Friday night, from the tower of the Ñico López refinery on Havana Bay, gave the impression that fuel production had been restarted. The joy of the thousands of Cubans in line at gas station was short-lived: in the early hours of this … Continue reading “The Havana Refinery Is Turned On and Off in an Attempt To Produce Fuel”
14ymedio, Havana, September 28, 2023 — The intervention of the Cuban Minister of Energy and Mines, Vicente de la O Levy, this Thursday on the State TV Roundtable program has left more doubts than explanations among those who have closely followed the energy fluctuations of the Island. Who are the fuel suppliers whose non-compliance has led … Continue reading “The Cuban Regime Claims Not To Have Fuel or Money, But Oil Tankers Continue To Arrive on the Island”
14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, 6 August 2023 — It’s noon in Havana and the sun sparkles on the hood of the cars waiting next to the service center of San Rafael and Infanta. The line is already as suffocating as the one last May, when the fuel crisis reached its zenith and the authorities … Continue reading “The Lack of Fuel Forces Cars To Be Pushed to Service Stations in Havana”
EFE (via 14ymedio), Havana, 2 June 2023 — A court in Havana sanctioned 13 people with sentences of up to 2 years in prison for reselling fuel in the midst of a severe shortage crisis that has affected Cuba for two months, official media reported on Friday. According to a statement from the People’s Provincial … Continue reading “A Court Sanctions 13 Cubans With Up to Two Years in Prison for Reselling Fuel”
14ymedio, Havana, 25 May 2023 — The U.S. Embassy in Havana has been forced to rent “numerous” electric cars, made in China, from the Cuban Government due to the fuel shortage on the Island, an anonymous State Department official confirmed to the Miami Herald. In a statement sent to the newspaper, the institution said that … Continue reading “The Lack of Fuel Forces the U.S. Embassy To Rent Electric Cars From the Cuban Government”
14ymedio, Madrid, 24 April 2023 — Despite the incessant arrival of oil tankers with all kinds of hydrocarbons in the main ports of the country, the director of Cuba Petróleo (Cupet), Néstor Pérez Franco, insists that the Island has problems with fuel imports. And, by the way, he denies the rumors that attribute the shortage … Continue reading “Oil Tankers Arrive in Cuba but There Is No Fuel on the Island: Where Is the Gasoline?”