English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
Talking about Cuban doctors today brings to mind a new kind of slavery, of sad pieces used on a chessboard. Through misfortune, the doctor Oscar Elías Biscet — a free man in the damp shadow of his cell — is hardly alone. I believe that few professionals in the world face a situation more precarious … Continue reading “Reinventing Slavery / Ernesto Morales Licea”
Educational programs exported by Havana arouse suspicions of ideological manipulation. 14ymedio, Havana, 21 August 2025 — Honduras and Colombia are opening their doors wide to Cuban “literacy” programs, just when local voices are warning about ideological indoctrination and agreement opacity. Honduras’s own Secretary of State for Science, Technology and Innovation, Luther Castillo Harry, mocked those … Continue reading ““We’re Not Going To Be Like Cuba,” Promises an Honduran Minister Indoctrinated on the Island”
There are 24,000 Cuban doctors on “international missions” and 32,000 who emigrated from the Island this year 14ymedio, Madrid, 30 December 2024 — This year 703 fewer children were born in Cienfuegos than last year, the provincial newspaper 5 de Septiembre published this Sunday in a very short report. It expresses concern about the province’s … Continue reading “The Birth Rate in Cienfuegos Fell by More Than 25 Percent in 2024”
The group is made up of specialists, nurses and technicians 14ymedio, Havana, October 13, 2024 — As if the departure of 5,000 Cuban doctors to Mexico in the midst of the health crisis on the Island were not enough, the regime continues to export health workers to the region. This Friday, a “contingent” of 12 … Continue reading “A Second ‘Mission’ of 12 Cuban Doctors Arrives in Dominica”
“Without the possibility of buying a house,” the doctors believe that the State is not repaying them for their sacrifice 14ymedio, Madrid, 19 September 2024 — As if it were not enough to permanently retain more than 70% of the salaries of doctors on international “missions,” Cuban banks have denied two doctors who worked in … Continue reading “Two Cuban Doctors Have Been Waiting a Year for the Bank To Give Them the Dollars They Earned in Angola”
The appeal judge confirms the acquittal of a journalist from the official media outlet ’Cuba Información’ 14ymedio, Madrid, July 15, 2024 — The Provincial Court of Madrid confirmed the sentence of a court in the Spanish capital that acquitted journalist José Manzaneda of the crimes of libel, slander and inciting hatred. This comes after Manzaneda … Continue reading “Calling the President of ‘Prisoner Defenders’ a ‘War Criminal’ is Freedom of Expression, Spanish Court Rules”
The figure includes more than a dozen of the cases reported in the previous month. EFE/14ymedio, Madrid, May 17, 2024 — The NGO Prisoners Defenders (PD) reported Friday that at the end of April, it registered 1,100 people imprisoned for political reasons in Cuba, more than a dozen more than those included in its previous … Continue reading “The Number of Political Prisoners Reached 1,100 in April, According to the NGO Prisoners Defenders”
14ymedio, Madrid, 13 February 2024 — That the Cuban Government keeps between 70% and 95% of what a foreign country pays for each health worker is not new, nor is it new that the regime alleges that part goes to cover the expenses of, among other things, Public Health. The novelty is in comparing it … Continue reading “Withholdings of 70 Percent or More of the Salaries of Cuban Doctors Are Taxes, Says the Cuban Government”
14ymedio, Havana | 2 January 2024 — On Tuesday, the organization Prisoners Defenders (PD) announced a letter signed by the United Nations Special Rapporteur for Contemporary Forms of Slavery, in which several governments are denounced for hiring, under “dubious conditions,” workers from Cuba. According to the text, signed by Tomoya Obokata on November 2, Spain, … Continue reading “The UN Points Out Spain, Qatar and Italy for the ‘Dubious’ Hiring of Cuban Workers”
14ymedio, Ángel Salinas, Mexico, 23 May 2023 — The Government of Mexico updated the number of Cuban specialists who are working in hospitals. According to President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, there are 700 health workers who “provide their services for the benefit of the Mexican people,” but he did not offer details about the remote … Continue reading “Cuban Doctors Announce a Gallbladder Surgery in a Hospital in Mexico Where Nurses Are Lacking”
14ymedio, Havana, 29 December 2022 — A first group of 50 Cuban doctors hired by Calabria last August has arrived at their destination three months late. In an announcement through his social networks, the president of that Italian region, Roberto Occhiuto, took the opportunity to defend the controversial decision to import health workers from the Island. … Continue reading “Fifty of the 500 Cuban Doctors Hired in August Arrive in Italy”
14ymedio, Havana, 13 December 2022 — On Tuesday, the Madrid-based organization, Prisoners Defenders (PD) launched a harsh critique toward the governments of Mexico, Italy and Qatar for contracting Cuban professionals in “conditions of slavery.” The temporary migration program for health professionals to “friendly nations” is nothing more than the main source of hard currency for … Continue reading “Mexico, Italy and Qatar are Accused of Participating in the Enslaving of Cuban Doctors”
14ymedio, Havana, 22 October 2022 — The Government of Andrés Manuel López Obrador will pay more than $2,600 a month for each of the 749 foreign doctors he invited on October 11 to fill positions in remote areas of Mexico. The amount almost doubles the $1,400 that national physicians currently receive, according to data from … Continue reading “Mexico Opens 749 New Positions with High Salaries for Doctors and More Than a Hundred are Cubans”
14ymedio, Havana, August 25, 2022 — The president of the Prisoners Defenders Association, Javier Larrondo, said this Thursday during a conference, that “there are State Security agents” among the 641 Cuban doctors hired by Mexico. The conference, entitled “The military truth behind Cuban medical missions in Mexico,” was attended by several members of Mexican civil … Continue reading “Cuban Doctors in Mexico Are a Cover for Political and Military Tasks”
14ymedio, Madrid, 18 August 2022 — A total of 497 Cuban doctors will be sent to Calabria beginning in September, as announced on Wednesday by president of that Italian region, Roberto Occhiuto, in a video broadcast on his Facebook page on Wednesday. Occhiuto explained the decision was necessary due to a personnel shortage that hospitals … Continue reading “Italy to Hire 497 Cuban Doctors for 28 Million Euros a Year”