Translating Cuba – Page 29 – English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island

Cuban State Security Detains Members of an Independent Digital Platform in Holguín

With 35,000 followers on Facebook and 50,000 on Instagram, the creators of El4tico appeal to a generation raised amid scarcity, censorship, and a lack of prospects.

Unlike the image of a grateful youth the regime tries to project, the members of the project break away from the submissive mass the authorities aspire to. / Screenshot / Facebook

14ymedio, Havana, February 6, 2026 – This Friday in Holguín, police and State Security detained Ernesto Medina and Kamil Zayas, members of the El4tico project, during an operation that included surrounding a home in the Piedra Blanca neighborhood. From 6:33 a.m., neighbors confirmed the presence of two patrol cars and a police truck. The deployment looked like a raid against armed and dangerous criminals, although the young residents’ “crime” is something else: publicly expressing what they think.

They are members of an independent space for audiovisual creation and political opinion with a strong presence on social media. The harassment by repressive forces was recorded and shared by the communicators themselves on their digital stories. The action confirms a hardening of police pressure against a group that has gained visibility for its critical and direct discourse against the Cuban regime.

In the video, just a few minutes long, several agents—at least one in uniform and others in plain clothes—are seen stationed at the entrance of the home. The officers display their usual arrogance, though this time they are aware they are being watched by a phone camera broadcasting live. From inside the house, the project’s members repeatedly ask about the legal basis for the operation, even though they know that in Cuba, State institutions act under directives from the single party and its control apparatus. continue reading

The detainees were taken to the Criminal Investigation headquarters in the city of Holguín, popularly known as “Everybody Sings”

According to sources close to El4tico’s members, Medina was detained and taken away in handcuffs. During the operation, agents confiscated his electronic devices. Doris Santiesteban, who also lives in the house, remained there, though cut off from communication. Zayas, another member of the project, was arrested at his own home, where authorities likewise seized his work equipment.

The detainees were transferred to the Criminal Investigation headquarters in Holguín, popularly known as “Everybody Sings,” an allusion to the methods used during interrogations.

El4tico was launched by these young people from Holguín who decided to turn a room in their home into an improvised studio to produce videos for social media. From there they publish political messages, civic analyses, and calls for citizen responsibility. Their style is blunt, without metaphors or euphemisms, and speaks directly to a generation raised amid scarcity, censorship, and a lack of expectations.

Unlike the image of a grateful youth the regime tries to project, the project’s members escape the applauding, submissive, or silent mass the authorities aspire to. Their content lays bare the moral degradation of the system from within, doing so with a transparent, raw aesthetic, without affectation. That combination has allowed them to amass more than 35,000 followers on Facebook and surpass 50,000 on Instagram, in addition to a growing audience on platforms such as TikTok and YouTube.

This is not the first time El4tico’s protagonists have faced harassment by the authorities. In recent months they have reported verbal summons, informal warnings, and repeated police visits. According to their accounts, the aim is not to investigate a specific crime, but to intimidate, wear them down, and force silence, a practice widely documented against activists, independent journalists, and content creators who are inconvenient for those in power.

They have understood that documenting the harassment and making it public is both a form of protection and a denunciation

The episode comes just one day after President Miguel Díaz-Canel, at a press conference reserved for friendly media, repeated the word “youth” 28 times to underscore the role of new generations. Judging by the facts, the young people of El4tico are not among those whom the president asked to be treated “as the important people they are within our society,” nor among those who “continue to have confidence because they know that life projects are more possible here than elsewhere.”

The problem for the regime is that these young people belong to a generation that no longer waits for permission to speak and is not easily intimidated by the uniform. They have understood that documenting harassment and making it public is, at once, a form of protection and a denunciation.

Since the capture of Nicolás Maduro in Caracas, a tightening of repression has been recorded in Cuba. In January alone, the Cuban Observatory of Human Rights (OCDH) documented more than 400 repressive actions nationwide, including police summons,, arbitrary detentions, acts of repudiation, and threats against activists, journalists, and content creators. In that context, a recent report by the Foundation for Human Rights in Cuba notes the direct participation of Communist Party and Young Communist League cadres in acts of intimidation, including those directed against the U.S. chargé d’affaires on the Island, Mike Hammer.

By recording and sharing the scene, El4tico’s members move the conflict from the private sphere to the public digital space, where the State loses control of the narrative. The camera exposes what power prefers to happen in silence and shows the world the hypocrisy of a regime that casts itself as a victim of threats from a foreign power while harassing, besieging, and repressing its own dissenting citizens.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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The Cuban Regime Negotiates Its Survival with Washington, According to ABC News

The Spanish outlet cites anonymous sources in the Mexican government regarding meetings between Raúl Castro’s son and U.S. representatives

Alejandro Castro Espín, at the presentation of his book United States: The Price of Power (2015). / Razones de Cuba / Screenshot

14ymedio, Havana, February 5, 2026 – The front page of ABC this Wednesday expands on information previously reported by independent Cuban journalists such as Carlos Cabrera. Citing Mexican officials as sources, the Spanish newspaper reports that Havana is holding “discreet” talks with Washington aimed at guaranteeing the political survival of Castroism through economic concessions, with General Alejandro Castro Espín, the son of Raúl Castro, acting as the intermediary.

According to the report, he has been leading talks in Mexico City with U.S. intelligence agents, mediated by the government of Claudia Sheinbaum, in an attempt to negotiate a “transition” without the Cuban regime being overthrown.

The first exchanges have revolved around the possible easing of the embargo, which has intensified in recent weeks. This easing could occur by negotiating the entry of U.S. companies into important sectors of the economy, such as energy, tourism, banking, and communications. According to sources among Mexican officials consulted by ABC, a possible initial gesture would be the authorization of sales of American crude oil to Cuba in quantities sufficient to sustain its energy system, which needs between 100,000 and 150,000 barrels continue reading

per day.

A possible initial gesture would be the authorization of sales of American crude oil to Cuba in quantities sufficient to sustain its energy system

This exchange occurred while, in statements to CNN, Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernández de Cossío denied the existence of a formal bilateral dialogue between Cuba and the United States, although he did acknowledge occasional contacts through messages. The official position of the Cuban government contradicts this, as do the statements of Donald Trump himself, who affirmed that negotiations are underway between the two countries.

President Miguel Díaz-Canel declared in his press conference this Thursday that “Cuba is willing to engage in dialogue with the United States,” on the condition that “we do not address issues that we could interpret as interference in our internal affairs.”

Since the U.S. capture of then-Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on January 3 and the subsequent interruption of oil shipments to Cuba from Venezuela, Mexico has become the Cuba’s sole fuel supplier. However, increased pressure from Washington and the threat of tariffs appear to have deterred President Claudia Sheinbaum from sending more crude oil. Trump’s threats could deepen the humanitarian crisis on the island, at a time when Trump insists that the Castro regime is exhausted.

The potential opening sought through negotiations led by Alejandro Castro seems more like a maneuver by the regime to ensure its political continuity than a step toward democratization or genuine liberalization. The possibility of gaining access to U.S. oil is intended to avert what is known within Cuba’s own power structure as “Option Zero”—the complete paralysis of the country due to a lack of fuel, with no allies capable of sustaining the government—a scenario that has been looming over Cubans in recent days and that President Díaz-Canel appeared to allude to during his appearance this Thursday when he stated that the government is preparing a plan for an “acute fuel shortage” in response to pressure from the United States.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Cuba Sets Historic Record for Political Prisoners with 1,207 According to Prisoners Defenders

The NGO denounces inhuman conditions and the lack of guarantees for detainees

The year 2026 begins with 18 new political prisoners, according to the latest report by Prisoners Defenders. / EFE

14ymedio, Havana, February 5, 2026 – The year 2026 has begun with 18 new political prisoners, according to the latest report by Prisoners Defenders, published this Thursday, and marks a historic record of 1,207 political prisoners in total. Of these, 436 are seriously ill and 42 suffer from mental disorders without receiving medication.

The Madrid-based NGO specifically denounces the death, on January 22, of Lázaro García Ríos, who died without having received medical assistance. The man, who was detained without an arrest warrant and sentenced to 20 years in prison for throwing Molotov cocktails at the Archive of the Central Havana People’s Court, had repeatedly reported the penitentiary system’s refusal to provide him with medical care.

The report also provides details about the new political prisoners, most of whom were deprived of their liberty for peacefully expressing their opinions on social media. Such is the case of Ankeyli Guerra Fis, who was charged with “propaganda against the constitutional order” following messages posted after the capture of Nicolás Maduro.

Most of the people were deprived of their liberty for peacefully expressing their opinions on social media

On January 20, Prisoners Defenders released another report denouncing the alarming digital surveillance system that the regime has built to suppress dissent. Based on 200 statements, this first comprehensive report on digital surveillance in Cuba concluded that 60% of respondents were detained and interrogated just hours or days after making critical posts against the continue reading

regime. In addition, 46.5% of those interviewed also reported having suffered direct interference in their conversations on applications such as WhatsApp.

A group of Cuban women activists submitted a citizen petition this Wednesday to promote an amnesty law before the National Assembly in order to free political prisoners. Led by Yenisey Mercedes Taboada Ortiz—mother of political prisoner Duannis León Taboada—along with Jenny Pantoja and Miryorly García Prieto, the initiative For an Amnesty Now! has so far gathered more than 1,500 verified signatures of the 10,000 required to request the drafting of a law. Of these, 59% correspond to people living on the island.

The issue, however, is repeatedly avoided by the authorities. Asked about it by the EFE news agency, Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernández de Cossío said that the government “sees no reason to talk about the issue of political prisoners.”

As a point of comparison, there is the case of Venezuela, and the recent proposal by acting president Delcy Rodríguez for a General Amnesty law for political detainees held from 1999 to the present.

Translated by Regina Anavy
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Manuel Cuesta Morúa: “90% of This Country [Cuba] Wants Change”

The president of the Council for Democratic Transition in Cuba advocates for a “sovereign” transition to democracy, piloted “from within” and “from the center,” without external interventions or “extreme” actors.

Opposition leader Manuel Cuesta Morúa believes that US measures to prevent oil from reaching Cuba are counterproductive. / EFE

14ymedio (via EFE), Juan Palop, Havana, February 4, 2026 – Cuban opposition leader Manuel Cuesta Morúa is convinced that “90%” of his country “wants change” and that, in his opinion, is the basis of a “sovereign” transition to democracy, piloted “from within” and “from the center,” without external interventions or “extreme” actors.

In an interview with EFE, he advocates for getting out of the “geopolitical trap” in which the Cuban government has placed the country, although “unfortunately” he does not see the Executive prepared to start negotiating “fundamentally, with the Cubans and, of course, also with the United States and the international community.”

“Listening to what they say, they don’t seem ready and prepared for that conversation,” says the newly elected president of the Council for Democratic Transition in Cuba (CDTC), the main opposition platform on the island.

Regarding a possible negotiation between the governments of Cuba and the United States, he adds that although some sectors of power in Havana may have “enough pragmatism” to pursue it, he does not believe that this is the majority internal position, because they lack “of vision of State” and “responsibility.”

Nor does he believe that what happened in Caracas could happen in Havana, where the United States took advantage of internal differences to stage a coup by capturing Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and forcing political and economic changes in the country.

Cuesta Morúa does not perceive “a fissure” in Cuba between “factions of power” nor people in the Government who can lead a new agenda: “I absolutely do not see a Delcy Rodríguez continue reading

in Cuban reality, in the Cuban elite.”

Washington’s role, in his opinion, should be one of accompaniment, respecting Cuban national sovereignty. “If negotiations begin between Cubans, then the United States should support them, encourage them, and do everything necessary to ensure the process is successful,” he recommends.

Looking at the example of Caracas, Cuesta Morúa also asks the Cuban opposition not to cede autonomy to the United States: “What Venezuela is demonstrating right now is that those who bet most strongly on a transition by ceding sovereignty are out of the game of the transition.”

“What Venezuela is demonstrating right now is that those who bet most heavily on a transition by surrendering sovereignty are out of the transition game.”

“Definitely, the intervention in Venezuela demonstrates that the democratic process in a country cannot be defined from the outside,” he points out.

He believes that a democratic transition should be sought from “the center,” which means “maintaining certain existing structures in the country” and “seeking certain agreements with those in power, those who understand that it is necessary to open up and that mechanisms must be gradually established to achieve democracy.”

The opposition leader is also critical of Washington’s strategy to prevent oil and fuel from reaching Cuba through successive measures, as the country needs to import two-thirds of its energy needs.

“I don’t think that tactic of strangling Cuba will lead to the harbor and the direction in which we believe the country should be headed. Provoking an explosion only strengthens the repressive machinery of the State,” warns this opposition member who fears “a humanitarian situation worse” than the current “general collapse.”

He also rejects the possibility of a military intervention, because it “would not respond to the great demands” of Cubans “to democratize the country,” forming a “rule of law” with full “respect for human rights.”

“I don’t believe that tactic of strangling Cuba will lead to the harbor and the direction in which we believe the country should be headed. Provoking an explosion only strengthens the repressive machinery of the State.”

Cuesta Morúa advocates for a “humanitarian solution”: “That message is much better, while at the same time exerting political and diplomatic pressure in the most appropriate direction, which is to release political prisoners, establish a negotiating table with the Cubans and open up the economy.”

At this point, he criticizes the bellicose responses from the Cuban government: “Engaging in a war will not solve the country’s problems. We may end up, or they may end up, with an epic adventure, but a nation will be destroyed, and that nation deserves to be recovered.”

His optimism, despite everything, stems from the “tacit consensus” among the general population that Cuba “cannot continue on its current path.” “The country has to open up, and that is my hope, that is my optimism, which I try to convey to the international community,” he explains.

“Perhaps we don’t have all the strength of a mature civil society. That’s true. Perhaps we are not used to all the mechanisms that democracies use to resolve their internal conflicts. That’s also true. But there is hope within Cuban society that the country must change,” he argues.

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The Removal of the Photos: Fidel Castro’s Regime Retreats in Cuba

Lacking a sense of humor, vengeful towards anyone who dared to challenge him, Fidel Castro’s image is at an all-time low in the social imagination.

In the centennial year of Fidel Castro, Cuban authorities are doing everything possible to resurrect a legacy that popular will insists on burying. Tet on the fence: “I am Fidel” / EFE

14ymedio, Yoani Sánchez, Generation Y, Havana, February 4, 2026 — Her photo with Fidel Castro hung in the living room for decades, and Rita proudly displayed it. But a few years ago, the frame was used to hold a portrait of her newborn granddaughter, and the snapshot, faded by time, ended up in a drawer. A retired engineer enduring more than ten hours of daily power outages, this 80-year-old Cuban now feels a mixture of shame and annoyance every time she comes across that image where a man in military uniform is pinning a medal on her.

In the centennial year of Castro’s birth, Cuban authorities are doing everything possible to resurrect a legacy that the popular will insists on burying. The man who ruled the destiny of millions on this island has become synonymous with everything that must be avoided in the nation’s future. Uncompromising voluntarism, hatred of those who are different, revolutionary bravado, and contempt for dissent were not only his personal hallmarks but also the defining characteristics that shaped his domestic policy and international diplomacy for more than half a century.

The “This is your house Fidel” signs only remain in the memory of a few, and those diplomas where his signature was written on the paper have been stored away from prying eyes.

Lacking a sense of humor, incapable of even the slightest bit of dancing, vengeful towards anyone who dared challenge him, averse to personal affection, and prone to tantrums when he didn’t get his way, Fidel Castro’s image is at an all-time low in the public consciousness. Despite the display of his photographs in government offices and the calls to celebrate the centenary of his birth, the man born in Birán in 1926 has been more than buried by most Cubans, who avoid even mentioning his name, as if it were a spell that could bring him back to life.

Few family living rooms still display his photographs, the “This is your house, Fidel” signs only survive in the memories of a few, and those diplomas bearing his signature have been tucked away, out of sight. Grandparents avoid mentioning him, emigrants swear they could never stand him, and even those named after him insist their parents actually chose it in honor of an uncle who died young. No one wants that bearded shadow cast over their life. continue reading

A century later, Cubans are trying to completely bury the man who attempted to leave his mark on every second and every millimeter of national life. He’s so absent from public discourse that he’s no longer even mentioned in curses.

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Cuban Citizens Submit a Petition to the National Assembly for an Amnesty Law

The initiative has verified more than 1,500 signatures out of the 10,000 required by the Cuban regulation.

The documents were delivered this Wednesday by Yenisey Mercedes Taboada Ortiz, Jenny Pantoja, and Miryorly García Prieto. / Facebook

14ymedio, Havana, February 4, 2026 — A group of Cuban activists formally delivered a petition to the National Assembly in Havana on Wednesday, calling for an amnesty law to be passed, with the aim of freeing the nearly 1,200 political prisoners in the country. The documents, delivered by Yenisey Mercedes Taboada Ortiz—mother of political prisoner Duannis León Taboada — Jenny Pantoja, and Miryorly García Prieto, include a legal brief and a citizen petition that has so far gathered 1,535 verified signatures.

To support their claim, the campaign points out that Law 131 of 2019 “grants members of parliament the power to propose bills,” and citizens the right to submit petitions. This initiative is similar to the one promoted by opposition leader Oswaldo Payá, who in 1998 presented his Varela Project based on Article 88 of the then-current Constitution, which allowed Cubans to propose laws if a minimum number of citizen signatures were gathered.

Current law allows Cuban citizens to petition the National Assembly to draft a law, requiring a minimum of 10,000 verified signatures, each accompanied by the signatories’ national identity numbers. In response, the “For Amnesty Now!” campaign has emphasized that “this petition can be signed by any Cuban citizen, whether residing in the country or not, as we all have the ethical and moral right to demand the freedom of our compatriots.” continue reading

59% of the total signatories in this first round declare that they maintain their permanent residence in Cuba

As of February 2nd, 2,514 signatures had been collected, although only 1,535 signatories provided their complete data or were completed and verified.

In a statement, the organization indicates that approximately 59% of the total signatories in this first round declare that they maintain their permanent residence in Cuba, and notes that 6% of those who subscribe are relatives of political prisoners.

The “For Amnesty Now!” campaign announced that the petition remains open to continue collecting signatures, which, “after verification of the completeness and credibility of the data, will be gradually delivered to the Assembly.” To this end, they have linked to a document so that citizens can sign and fulfill the requirement.

“The freedom of our political prisoners, amid the humanitarian crisis the country is experiencing, is an urgent issue that calls upon the responsibility, sense of justice and humanism of every Cuban today, and is also a point that has managed to bring together a very broad spectrum of opinions,” the statement indicates after the delivery of the documentation.

“This is not only a petition protected by law and the exercise of a right, but a symbolic and civic action that allows the expression of the will of the citizens to accompany the pain of hundreds of families and prevent that wound from remaining open, due to the non-acceptance of dissent, in the soul of the Cuban nation,” he adds.

In Cuba, “only one Amnesty Law has been drafted, in 1955, promulgated by the dictator Fulgencio Batista for the attackers of the Moncada Barracks.”

On the website collecting the signatures , the activists point out that the petition stems from “the urgent need for justice and the humanitarian importance of addressing it now, five years after the unjust imprisonment of many Cubans following the peaceful demonstrations of July 11 and 12, 2021 , which resulted in the death of only one protester, who was shot in the back by a police officer and has not received justice.”

“From then until now,” the text elaborates, “the situation of political prisoners in Cuba has continued to worsen. The arrests and convictions of innocent Cubans who have only persisted in exercising their right to free thought, free expression, and other fundamental human rights such as the right to association and demonstration, enshrined in our Constitution, have prevailed.”

The document recalls that in Cuba “only one Amnesty Law has been drafted in 1955, promulgated by the dictator Fulgencio Batista for the attackers of the Moncada barracks, using humanitarian criteria, which was made possible thanks to the popular support of the Cuban citizenry and the efforts led by the relatives of the political prisoners and other civil society organizations.”

In light of this, they point out that “it is at the very least contradictory from a historical, political and human point of view, that in a project founded and still directed by the beneficiaries and continuers of that popular support and that law, today the popular will and the arguments that the relatives of our current prisoners have to offer to the Assembly and the government of this country, with the intention of demanding a gesture of justice and humanism, are ignored.”

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Instead of Dialogue, the Cuban Regime Announces “A Very Difficult Reorganization Process for the Population”

There will be no releases of prisoners, nor political or economic reforms. There is no dialogue with the United States, although “messages have been exchanged.”

The Government announces more sacrifices for Cubans, who are already living at the limit. / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Havana, February 4, 2026 – A new Special Period? Another Ordering Task*? The “reorganization process that we have planned (…) and have been preparing” does not yet have a name. “It is not something simple; it is something difficult for government management and something very difficult for the population as a whole.” This is the message the Cuban regime is conveying to international media through one of its lesser spokespeople, Vice Foreign Minister Carlos Fernández de Cossío.

In an interview with EFE, the number two at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs once again denies statements by U.S. President Donald Trump about the existence of dialogue between the two countries. However, he qualifies this by saying that “messages have been exchanged” since the January 3 capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

In any case, “the Government of the United States knows perfectly well what Cuba’s position is regarding its willingness to hold a dialogue and has not rejected it,” adds the diplomat, who also denies that there could be indirect contacts through intermediaries such as Mexico or the Vatican.

The official insisted that, in addition to ruling out political and economic reforms, the release of prisoners cannot be “part of the bilateral dialogue between two countries”

The official insisted that, in addition to ruling out political and economic reforms, the release of prisoners (there are around 1,000 political prisoners in Cuba) cannot be “part of the bilateral dialogue between two countries,” unlike what is happening in Venezuela. continue reading

In the interview, Fernández de Cossío categorically rejected even the possibility that there might be a “traitor” to the regime, as, according to sources from The Wall Street Journal, the United States is allegedly seeking, in a manner similar to what occurred in Venezuela. “If one is thinking that there is fragmentation within the Cuban Government, fragmentation within the political forces in Cuba, and a willingness by a small group to give up Cuba’s sovereign rights—the prerogative of our country—and to capitulate in the face of the pressure and aggressiveness of the United States, unjustified and immoral, that is a mistaken interpretation,” he asserted.

The statement aligns with what Russia’s ambassador to the UN, Vasily Nebenzia, said this week,“That little act won’t work in Cuba,” but also with what some U.S. officials have stated regarding the matter. Ricardo Zúñiga, a former U.S. official who played a key role in the thaw and who has also worked with the Trump Administration, told the outlet: “These guys are much tougher to crack. No one would be tempted to collaborate with the United States.”

The vice foreign minister, on the contrary, claims that the Island is “preparing for defense,” to “resist a military aggression,” and believes that the Government’s responsibility is to defend the population “as Cubans, not as subjects of the United States.”

“The Government of the United States must know that a military aggression against Cuba is not simple, despite the absolutely asymmetrical superiority that the United States has over Cuba (…). But they would have to ask themselves what the goal is: to bomb and destroy Cuba and leave everything a desolate land, or to try to put soldiers in Cuba and wage a war here against the Cuban people,” he warned.

Fernández de Cossío said that Havana’s objective is for Washington to “understand the danger of an extreme military action on the Island”

Fernández de Cossío said that Havana’s objective is for Washington to “understand the danger of an extreme military action on the Island” and to “not listen to some politicians who have made a career and profited from hostile conduct toward Cuba.”

However, the message of resistance seems aimed more at the population than at Washington, since the Government announces more sacrifices for Cubans, who are already living at the limit, with blackouts of up to 24 consecutive hours, no fuel, food shortages, and catastrophic deterioration of the public health system.

“We have limited options and we also have a need for reorganization in the country that implies it will cost us a great deal of work and will require a lot of creativity.”

The vice foreign minister announced that in the coming days the contingency plan will be communicated to the population: “a reorganization process” that is going to be “very difficult” for the population, he insisted.

*Translator’s note: The Ordering Task was a collection of measures that included eliminating the Cuban Convertible Peso (CUC), leaving the Cuban peso (CUP) as the only national currency, raising prices, raising salaries (but not as much as prices), opening stores that take payment only in hard currency, which must be in the form of specially issued pre-paid debit cards, and a broad range of other measures targeted to different elements of the Cuban economy

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Cuban Bishops To Meet With Pope Leo XIV Amid Heightened Tensions Between the Island and the US

The prelates will be in Rome, for the traditional ‘Ad Limina’ visit, between February 16 and 20.

The Pope urged “all those in positions of responsibility to promote a sincere and effective dialogue, to avoid violence and any action that could increase the suffering of the Cuban people.” / EFE

14ymedio, Havana, February 3, 2026 — The Bishop of Holguín, Emilio Aranguren, confirmed this Monday on Radio Ángulo that the Catholic bishops of Cuba will meet with Pope Leo XIV for the first time during his upcoming trip to Rome, between February 16 and 20. This is the traditional Ad Limina Apostolorum visit, the meeting that the prelates make every five years at the Vatican, during which they present a report on the situation of their dioceses and make a pilgrimage to the tombs of the apostles Peter and Paul, as established by the Code of Canon Law.

However, the meeting is generating special anticipation at a moment when the Pope has spoken out about the escalating tensions between Cuba and the United States. From St. Peter’s Square, the Pope urged “all those responsible to promote a sincere and effective dialogue, to avoid violence and any action that could increase the suffering of the Cuban people.” He also invoked the Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre [Our Lady of Charity of El Cobre] to protect the citizens of the island.

The day before, the Cuban Episcopal Conference issued a statement warning that in the last six months, “the situation has worsened and anguish and despair have intensified” in the country. In a message on their website, the Cuban bishops indicated that, given the current situation, changes “are increasingly urgent.” continue reading

Both circumstances suggest that the Church may once again play a mediating role between Havana and Washington

Both circumstances suggest that the Church may once again play a mediating role between Havana and Washington, as has recently occurred with the distribution of aid for Hurricane Melissa or the release of political prisoners in 2025.

The last Ad Limina visit by Cuban bishops took place in 2017, during the pontificate of Francis. At that time, Cuba was experiencing a diplomatic rapprochement with the United States, which did not lead to significant structural changes.

Cuban bishops, for their part, tend to stay within established parameters when criticizing the government, but the same cannot be said of many Catholic priests, who have not only spoken out but have also suffered the consequences. Last December, Mexican priest José Ramírez, of the Congregation of the Mission, left the island after ringing the bells of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal parish during a protest against power outages. Ramírez coordinated social programs in his parish, including visits to the elderly, home care for the sick, and a free school for children with Down syndrome.

Last Sunday, Mike Hammer, head of the U.S. mission in Cuba, met in Trinidad, Sancti Spíritus, with Father José Conrado Rodríguez, one of the most vocal critics of the Catholic Church in the country. Upon leaving the meeting, the diplomat encountered a group of people, likely members of the Communist Party, who shouted “all kinds of obscenities” at him, according to his own account. Just before that visit, he had suffered another act of repudiation in Camagüey.

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With 0º Celsius, Cuba Experiences Its Lowest Temperature Ever Recorded on Tuesday

Without proper clothing to go outside and with freezing houses, Cubans are having a very hard time, especially those with joint problems from chikungunya.

People bundled up in warm clothing at the Delio Luna Echemendía market in Sancti Spíritus, on Sunday. / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Olea Gallardo, Havana, February 3, 2026 — If it doesn’t rain iguanas in Cuba , as it does in Florida, making the old winter saying a reality, it is because there aren’t that many, because the cold these days is similar to that of the U.S. peninsula and reaching historic lows. This Tuesday, specifically, the lowest temperature ever recorded on the island was 0° Celsius (32° F), according to data from the Institute of Meteorology (Insmet). It occurred in Indio Hatuey, Matanzas, at seven in the morning.

As many as 32 weather stations reported temperatures of 10°C or lower, according to the report issued by the state agency at 10:00 a.m., which noted that the early morning was “very cold throughout the country and even noticeably cold in inland areas.” The thermometer registered an all-time record low temperature in Aguada de Pasajeros (Cienfuegos), at 3°C, and equaled the February record in the city of Pinar del Río, at 6.9°C.

The report indicates that it had never been so cold in February in several places, such as 6º in the city of Sancti Spíritus, 7.3º in Veguitas (Granma), 7.4º in Florida (Camagüey) or 8º in Palenque de Yateras (Guantánamo).

Over the past two days, hardly anyone has ventured out on the streets across the entire island, and those who do are participating in a unique “poor man’s carnival,” dressed in whatever clothing they can find to ward off the cold. Ignoring custom and the usual color combinations, their attire ranges from European football team sweaters to American university coats, French berets, and Russian hats with earflaps. continue reading

“It’s not the monkey whistling [esta chiflando el mono*], it’s the orangutan,” says a Havana resident with a touch of irony, having left his house in search of milk and chocolate to at least “warm himself up.” The chocolate, he says, “flew off the shelves at the small businesses,” despite being incredibly expensive: “more than a thousand pesos for a small package.” Powdered milk is no less than 2,000 CUP per kilogram. “People are scrambling to find something, but there are people who don’t even have enough to make soup or broth.”

From Holguín, a young man who works as a private driver with his electric tricycle says that yesterday he was only able to pick up one passenger. “The air cuts you, it feels like a knife, my eyes burn, my nose itches, I have runny noses, my hands go stiff,” he explains. During his commute, he saw doors and windows closed like never before in Cuba, where the weather usually keeps residents out in the street. “Last week, everyone was cooking with firewood outside, and now it’s like nobody’s home.”

“Even the animals are trembling,” says Sandy from Holguín, who has her six dogs wearing “little sweaters” and yet they still hide under the blankets.

“Even the animals are trembling,” says Sandy from Holguín, who has her six dogs wearing sweaters, and yet they still hide under the blankets. / 14ymedio

“Even the animals are trembling,” says Sandy, from Holguín, who has her six dogs wearing sweaters, and yet they still hide under the blankets. “I feel sorry for the stray dogs. I even made a little bed for one of them, the one I usually feed, out of old rags, because he seemed so weak. We also hear the kittens crying.”

In Sancti Spíritus, the situation is very similar. “Around five in the afternoon, everyone is gone from the streets, holed up in their homes,” says Ernesto, who asserts that the worst part is the wind, which “is really hitting hard” and makes you feel a cold “that chills you to the bone.” At 40 years old, and having never lived anywhere else, he doesn’t remember ever having felt anything like this before.

The houses, built for a year-round tropical climate and designed for airflow to keep them cool, are like iceboxes these days. “The cold is coming in from everywhere, a horrible cold that you can’t escape,” Ernesto laments.

“Last week, everyone was cooking with firewood outside, and now it’s like nobody’s around.” / 14ymedio

Having suffered from chikungunya a few months ago, Ernesto finds the pain intensifying with the current temperatures the worst part. A strong man in his prime, he reflects: “Older people, so vulnerable, living alone, with no one to offer them any help, must be going through hell, because they don’t have adequate shelter, proper clothing for this cold, or even enough food.”

Thousands of Cubans have been left with lasting effects from the arbovirus, especially joint problems, and these days they are suffering even more, if that were possible. “I’m locked in my room, covered with every rag I can find, in a lot of pain,” confesses María, a retiree from Luyanó (Havana), who also recently contracted the disease. This Tuesday, she refused to buy medicine from a street vendor who passed through the neighborhood. “I didn’t even want to ask the prices, because I know I can’t afford them.” And she sighs: “Everything we have to live through in Cuba is a disaster.”

To make matters worse, the energy crisis is adding to the problems. Without electricity for most of the day, the cold showers that Cubans are normally forced to take are unbearable, so many haven’t had one for days. “The little oil and coal that can be found is reserved for cooking,” explains Luis, another Havana resident, who has also seen his muscle pain worsen as a result of the arbovirus. “The pain and the cold keep me from sleeping.”

*The monkey whistling [esta chiflando el mono] – An expression meaning it’s very cold

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Cubans Are Runners-up in the Asian Handball Championship with Qatar

Frankis Carol Marzo was the team’s second-best scorer, while Rafael Capote added eight goals and two assists

Frankis Carol Marzo records four titles in five participations at Asian Championships with Qatar / Instagram

14ymedio, Matanzas, Andy Lans, February 03, 2026 – Qatar’s handball team, with the Cubans Frankis Carol Marzo and Rafael Capote, finished second in the Asian Championship after losing their eighth consecutive final of the tournament with a score of 29-26 to Bahrain.

In this edition of the competition, held in the United Arab Emirates during the second half of January, Qatar beat Oman (27-15) and South Korea (32-31). Then, the Main Round gave them a pair of wins against Saudi Arabia (32-25) and the host country (25-20), but with a defeat against Bahrain itself (31-28). These results allowed them to enter the semi-final, where they won 27-26 against Kuwait.

Carol and Capote, both 38-year-old wing players, were able to bring Qatar into this edition of the competition. Carol Marzo was the team’s second-best scorer, with 29 goals, for a 57% ERA. He also recorded eight assists and three steals. His most outstanding match was in the Main Round against Bahrain, with 11 goals. In the case of Capote, with participation in five out of seven games played, he scored eight goals and two assists. However, it is worth noting that these Caribbean continue reading

exponents have already come a long way in this national team.

Frankis Carol Marzo signed for Catarí handball in 2021, after a decade at Sporting de Portugal. He currently plays in the Kuwait league. With the selection of Qatar he records four titles in five participations in Asian Championships, in addition to presence in the Worlds of 2019, 2021 and 2025.

Rafael Capote escaped from the Cuban national team during the Pan American Games Rio de Janeiro 2007

For his part, Rafael Capote escaped from the Cuban national team during the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro. He played professionally in Brazil, Italy and Spain until he moved to the Catarí league in 2013. There he was nationalized in 2014 to become a key part of that selection. With the Arab team he has participated in seven Asian Championships, between 2014 and 2026, of which he was champion six times; he attended six Worlds, with a final reached in 2015, and in some Olympic Games in 2016, again in Rio.

Years ago, the deliberate nationalizations of players by Qatar sowed controversy in public opinion of handball. The nation hosted the organization of the 2015 World Cup, and based on the naturalized players, set out to put together a representation full of stars. European elite ballers were usually lured into the Qatari league with exorbitant sums of money, and if they agreed to represent Qatar, they received extra bonuses for becoming nationalized. Over time, the International Federation tightened its eligibility rules for selections to regulate this phenomenon. Thanks to this, and the long-term investment in its internal infrastructure, today there are more Qataris by birth in its national pool.

For many, a selection of Qatar full of nationalized handball players was a serious alteration of the nature of competitions between countries, in which each seeks to bring the best of themselves. However, it is not uncommon for an athlete to come to feel genuinely grateful to and identify with a nation that can value him more than the land where he was born.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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The Castro Brothers and ‘Che’ Guevara Keep an Eye on the Cuban Vice Foreign Minister During His Interview With AP

Fernández de Cossío: Havana is open to dialogue with the US, but “the Constitution, the economy, and the country’s socialist system of government are off the table.”

Archive photograph of the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Cuba, Carlos Fernández de Cossío, during an interview with EFE, in Havana. / EFE/Ernesto Mastrascusa

14ymedio, Madrid, February 3, 2026 – Vice Chancellor Carlos Fernández de Cossío positioned himself strategically in front of the photographs of Raúl Castro, Fidel Castro and Ernesto Che Guevara to launch a message to the U.S. during an interview given this Monday to the Associated Press (AP). The idea was simple: to convince people that dialogue is possible, provided it does not mean giving up the basics.

“If you ask me if we have a dialogue table today, we don’t have one,” the diplomat told AP. However, he said that there is a willingness “to maintain this informal dialogue with the U.S.” to discuss “differences.” He pointed out that “certain things are off the table for Cuba, including the constitution, economy and system of government of the country, which is socialist.”

The Vice-Chancellor stressed once again that contacts have been maintained over the years to address border issues, both with regard to emigration and drug trafficking. However, he contradicted the U.S. president, who in the last two days has insisted that talks are already underway with members of the Cuban government.

“Cuba is a peaceful country,” said Fernández de Cossío. “We only want to relate to the United States as we relate to the rest of the world. The U.S. is the exception today,” he reproached. continue reading

“We only wish to relate to America as we relate to the rest of the world. America is the exception today”

The agency specifically asked the diplomat how long the authorities estimate that Cuba could “endure the current conditions,” but Fernández de Cossío avoided answering and opened the door to speculation by saying he could not reveal “any way” to ensure the supply of oil.

“Cuba, of course, is preparing with creativity, stoicism and austerity,” he said. He then left an enigmatic phrase that can
also be interpreted as a bluff: “What can Cuba do? Watch us.”

Fernández de Cossío’s statements came on Monday, just one day after Trump said his pressure will force Cuba to negotiate. “I think they’ll probably come to us and want to make a deal. So Cuba will be free again,” said the president, who rejects the idea of a humanitarian crisis and is convinced that there will be an agreement.

Trump had already stated on two occasions in January that he was in talks with the Cuban regime, something that was denied by the authorities of the Island. Whether true or not, last Thursday he signed an executive order imposing tariffs on countries that supply oil to Cuba.

Among them is Mexico, whose president, Claudia Sheinbaum, has stated that the delivery of crude to Cuba is an issue she has never discussed with the United States. “We never talked to President Trump about the issue of oil with Cuba,” she said, although she did admit that her chancellor, Juan Ramón de la Fuente, discussed it with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

The president announced on Sunday the imminent delivery of humanitarian aid, consisting of food and other basic commodities, to Cuba, while she is evaluating how to resume fuel deliveries. “The Secretary of Navy will deliver food and other products, in which we resolve diplomatically everything that has to do with the shipment of oil for humanitarian reasons,” she revealed.

Sheinbaum added on Monday that she is coordinating with the Cuban Embassy to define what is most needed. “We will report in full detail in due course,” she added.

Sheinbaum added on Monday that she is coordinating with the Cuban Embassy to define what is most needed. “We will report in full detail in due course,” she added

Trump closed that door, at least temporarily, on Monday. Although he did not refer to the statements of Fernández de Cossío to AP nor to the statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in which Cuba reaffirmed “its commitment to cooperate with the U.S. and other nations to strengthen regional and international security.” he insisted on Monday that talks are already underway.

“Many (Cubans) would at least like to visit their relatives, and I think we are close to achieving it. The fact is that we are negotiating with the Cuban leaders right now,” he told the media in the Oval Office.

The president stressed that Cuba is “a failed nation, they do not receive money from Venezuela or anywhere else. It is a bankrupt nation.” He added that “Mexico will stop sending them oil.”

In addition, he made statements that have put some migrants waiting for their regularization on the spot and who fear that a possible dialogue with Havana will lead to their expulsion. “I would like to help the Cubans here. As you know, we have many people who came from Cuba, who were expelled from Cuba, who fled Cuba. They arrived on rafts. They crossed shark-infested waters. I don’t know how they did it. And that was many years ago. Many would want to return,” he said.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Cuban State Security Detains Activists and Journalists Because of Mike Hammer’s Visits

Sol García Basulto and Mario Junquera are being questioned in Camagüey, and Taimir García Meriño and Ezequiel Morales Carmenate are being harassed in Las Tunas.

U.S. Embassy Chief of Mission in Cuba, Mike Hammer, with Father José Conrado Rodríguez in Trinidad, Sancti Spíritus, this Sunday. / Facebook/U.S. Embassy in Cuba

14ymedio, Madrid, 2 February 2026 — Independent journalist Sol García Basulto and playwright Mario Junquera were detained this Sunday by State Security in Camagüey, following a visit to the city by the US mission chief in Cuba, Mike Hammer, who was himself subjected to a protest on Saturday. Several other activists reported harassment by the Political Police in various locations.

A former contributor to 14ymedio and current member of the La Hora de Cuba [Cuba’s Hour] newsroom, García Basulto explained on her social media that she was arrested while walking down the street around noon by a traffic officer who demanded her documents. He then called a patrol car, which took her to a police station. There, two plainclothes State Security agents, Alberto and Kevin, subjected her to a three-hour interrogation, filled with “questions, silences, warnings, and extreme cold.”

According to García Basulto, an instructor from the Ministry of the Interior finally gave the young woman a “warning notice,” the contents of which she says she doesn’t remember. The journalist goes on to explain that the instructor told her she “had violated a perimeter that was under guard”— at that moment she was leaving the home of Henry Constantín, director of La Hora de Cuba —and that she was making “counterrevolutionary posts on social media.” continue reading

“In these moments, the actors of the dictatorship are unpredictable and dangerous.”

In her post , García Basulto believes that “they are really nervous” and “they don’t know what they’re doing.” She continues, “They’ve demonstrated this with their actions against the diplomat in question.” This was the first arrest “in more than five years” that the journalist has suffered , and she concludes: “In these moments, the actors of the dictatorship are unpredictable and dangerous. But as I always say, we are not afraid of them.”

The Cuban newspaper La Hora de Cuba reported details of Mario Junquer’s arrest: it also occurred around noon yesterday, as he was leaving the home of the newspaper’s director, Henry Constantín. The playwright was detained for two hours, though he has not provided any further details. In a Facebook reel, he posted a picture of himself with the words: “I’m free now. Well, not quite free yet. I’m home. Thanks to everyone. History will swallow them up.”

Constantin’s home, the newspaper he directs reported, has been surrounded since early Friday morning by patrols and motorcyclists of the National Revolutionary Police and plainclothes agents of State Security, “apparently to prevent any encounter between the journalist and his friends from Cuban civil society, and the head of the United States diplomatic mission in Cuba, Mike Hammer.”

Other activists from Camagüey were also harassed, such as actress Iris Mariño, deputy director of La Hora de Cuba. The media outlet also reports the arrest of a young man, whose name it does not give, “who apparently argued with Yoel Santiesteban, a government official who participated in the two acts of repudiation against Mike Hammer in front of the Santa María Hotel.”

The act of repudiation suffered by the diplomat, right in front of the place where he was staying, came to light through a video posted on the Facebook profile of a government supporter who only publishes official acts and commemorations on his wall.

“These threats came quickly, and I have been under surveillance and besieged since early this morning.”

Those involved were men and women who shouted “down with the blockade,” “puppets of Donald Trump,” “murderer,” “genocidal” and “bootlickers,” identical slogans to those used by the Cuban propaganda apparatus in acts of repudiation against opponents and dissidents.

Hammer, for his part, reported the incident on the US Embassy’s social media accounts with a smile, as usual, explaining that he had “insults shouted at him,” but stating that they were people who “belong to a certain party” and who “do not represent the Cuban people.”

At the time of that recording, Hammer was in the city of Trinidad, Sancti Spíritus, which is also part of his tour of the island these days, to “meet more ordinary Cubans.” In the central city, he met with Father José Conrado Rodríguez Alegre, one of the critical voices against the regime within the Church.

From Las Tunas, former political prisoner Taimir García Meriño also reported on Sunday the harassment by the political police, who had previously threatened her with “serious problems” if she received a visit from Hammer. “These threats came quickly, and I have been under surveillance and besieged since early this morning,” the opposition member denounced .

Similarly, State Security interrogated former political prisoner Ezequiel Morales Carmenate for several minutes in the city of Puerto Padre, Las Tunas province. Morales Carmenate had extended an invitation to the head of the U.S. mission to his home. In a video posted on social media, the activist reiterated his “open door” to Hammer, announcing to the regime: “I welcome whomever I want into my home.”

The U.S. Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs warned yesterday in X that “the illegitimate Cuban regime must immediately cease its repressive acts of sending individuals to interfere with the diplomatic work of Chargé d’Affaires Hammer and the Embassy staff. Our diplomats will continue to meet with the Cuban people, despite the regime’s failed intimidation tactics.”

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Trump Insists He Is Negotiating With the Cuban Government and Is “Close” to an Agreement

“Many (Cubans) would like to at least visit their relatives, and I think we are close to achieving that,” the president told the media in the Oval Office.

File photo of US President Donald Trump. / EFE/Graig Hudson/Pool. / EFE/Graig Hudson/Pool

14ymedio/EFE. Washington/Havana, 2 February 2026 — President Donald Trump insisted on Monday that Washington is in negotiations with the government in Havana to end the oil embargo on the island and that he believes an agreement is “close” that would allow Cubans in the US to visit their country again.

“Many (Cubans) would like to at least visit their relatives, and I think we are close to achieving that. The fact is that we are negotiating with Cuban leaders right now,” Trump told the media today in the Oval Office.

The president once again highlighted the harsh economic situation the country is going through due to the embargo he himself activated last week by signing an executive order that will punish any country that sends crude oil to the island with tariffs: “It is a failed nation, they do not receive money from Venezuela or anywhere else. It is a bankrupt nation.” continue reading

“I would like to help the Cubans who are here. As you know, we have many people who came from Cuba, who were expelled from Cuba, who fled Cuba.”

Trump also reiterated that “Mexico will stop sending them oil,” at a time when Claudia Sheinbaum’s government has said it will continue to send material aid to Cuba on humanitarian grounds while seeking “all diplomatic channels” to resume fuel shipments.

“I would like to help the Cubans who are here. As you know, we have many people who came from Cuba, who were expelled from Cuba, who fled Cuba. They arrived on rafts. They crossed shark-infested waters. I don’t know how they did it. And that was many years ago. Many would like to return,” added the Republican.

Trump already said over the weekend that Cuban authorities would be forced to seek an agreement with Washington due to the lack of oil.

Any agreement that Trump “closes” “will be good for the American people.”

For his part, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright confirmed that talks are taking place between Havana and Washington. Wright told Fox News on Monday that any agreement that Trump “closes” “will be good for the American people.”
“Trump understands that energy dominance leads to peace abroad, leads to prosperity at home, and energy dominance enables energy diplomacy,” Wright said, adding that the current US administration has “the ability to take a country like Cuba that was colluding with Venezuela and its corrupt government by providing security forces” to that South American country.

Cuba’s serious economic, energy and social crisis has been exacerbated since the island stopped receiving oil from Venezuela following the capture of Nicolás Maduro by the United States, an attack that the government in Havana strongly condemned.

Translated by GH

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The Cuban Foreign Minister Arrives in Vietnam With an Unknown Agenda

Everything seems to indicate that Bruno Rodríguez is seeking more economic aid from Hanoi to mitigate the effects of the conflict with Washington.

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez with his Vietnamese counterpart Le Hoai Trung on Monday. / Bruno Rodríguez

The Ilyushin needs more than 400,000 litres of kerosene for the round trip between Havana and Vietnam, where Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez arrived on Monday. Such an investment at a time when the country is experiencing an unprecedented energy crisis indicates that Havana has high expectations for this stopover – and perhaps another in neighbouring China – in a nation that has been a friend since the war against the US.

Although the trip was not announced in advance and no information was provided about the Cuban foreign minister’s agenda, there is no doubt that the current conflict with Washington will be the main topic of discussion. And its corollary can only be to seek more help from Vietnam, which has recently become one of Havana’s main benefactors.

Upon arriving in Hanoi, the foreign minister met with his counterpart, Le Hoai Trung, as well as with the general secretary of the Communist Party, To Lam, and the prime minister, Pham Minh Chinh. The visit comes just days after the congress in which the nation’s top leader was re-elected for the next five years.

The visit comes just days after the Congress in which the nation’s top leader was re-elected for the next five years.

The landing on Sunday in Hanoi of the Cubana de Aviación Ilyushin IL-96-300, which the government has been using recently to transport personnel to and from Venezuela, foreshadowed the trip before the foreign minister himself revealed it on social media. The aircraft made stopovers in Gambia and Kenya to refuel, as the Russian four-engine 300-passenger aircraft cannot cover the 15,000 kilometres between Havana and the Vietnamese capital in one go. continue reading

“I am deeply grateful to my dear comrade To Lam, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, for receiving me as the special envoy of the Party and Government of Cuba, evidence of the historic brotherhood between both parties, governments and peoples. We recognised his involvement and strategic leadership in the results shown by the current state of bilateral cooperation and economic and trade relations,” the foreign minister wrote on social media.

It is noteworthy that Rodríguez first introduced himself as a “special envoy of the Party” and, secondly, as a representative of the Cuban Government. However, he did not say a word about the purpose of his mission in Vietnam.

He was also effusive in his thanks to his counterpart, especially for the involvement of the Vietnamese Foreign Ministry “in achieving the consensus reached between the leaders of both countries. We exchanged views on the international situation and its impact on Latin America and the Caribbean,” he added.

The message was echoed by his counterpart, as the Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said that Vietnam is “deeply concerned about the new US measure to impose additional tariffs on products from countries that supply oil to Cuba.” Pham Thu Hang considered that it is a decision that “will seriously affect the economic and social activities and the lives of the Cuban people.”

He also reiterated his condemnation of the embargo, which has been systematically ratified in the annual vote against this US policy promoted by the island in the United Nations General Assembly, and urged “measures to be taken to promote dialogue and improve relations”. The endorsement comes at a good time for the Cuban foreign minister, especially in the most specific part, referring to his meeting with the head of government, Pham Minh Chinh, with whom he discussed “progress in strategic projects in sectors such as agriculture, energy and medicine production, which are part of the consensus reached at the highest level between the two countries”.

Last Tuesday, To Lam spoke with Díaz-Canel, one of the first leaders to congratulate him after his re-election. In his call, the president “highly praised the achievements of the PCV,” whose policies “provided valuable experience for the economic reforms currently being implemented in Cuba.”

In his call, the president “highly praised the achievements of the PCV,” whose policies “provided valuable experience for the economic reforms currently being implemented in Cuba.”

Last September, the Vietnamese government made a donation of $15 million to the island, as announced after the Cuban president’s visit to the country as part of his Asian tour that month. During that tour, the president visited China and Laos, countries with which he also signed several agreements and to which he also promised special treatment for their companies, although those in Vietnam are undoubtedly the most advanced. Agri VMA was the first foreign company to obtain a land lease, specifically 1,000 hectares in Palacios (Pinar del Río), with the intention of reaching 5,000 in three years, where they are planting rice that is much more fruitful than that of their Cuban colleagues, as its yield exceeds 7.2 tonnes per hectare, compared to 2 or 2.5 tonnes for producers on the island.

In recent years, Vietnam has gone from being a country almost entirely dependent on Cuba to becoming its benefactor. In the 1960s, the island sent “annual aid of 10,000 tonnes of sugar, doctors and some advisers; and in the midst of the war, two poultry genetic centres and a cattle genetic centre were built,” as former ambassador Fredesmán Turró recalled in an interview with Cubadebate this September. However, the situation has completely reversed, and now it is Hanoi that sends rice donations to help sustain the island’s population.

Its ability to adapt to an economy open to the private sector and maintain good relations with the US, the European Union and China has been very useful for the rapid growth of its industries, in contrast to Cuban statism and immobility.

Translated by GH

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Cuba Softens Its Tone Toward the United States and Reaffirms ‘Its Commitment to Cooperate’

Donald Trump insisted that he is “talking with the highest levels” of the regime and declared: “I think we’re going to reach an agreement with Cuba.”

Cuba’s foreign minister, Bruno Rodríguez, in Havana (Cuba). / EFE/Ernesto Mastrascusa

14ymedio, Havana, February 2, 2026 — In a tone very different from that displayed by Miguel Díaz-Canel last Friday, and amid pressure from the Trump administration, Cuba’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement on Sunday in which it “reaffirms its commitment to cooperate with the United States and other nations to strengthen regional and international security.”

Yesterday, reiterating what he had said the day before, Trump insisted that his government is “talking with the highest levels” of the regime and expressed optimism: “I think we’re going to reach an agreement with Cuba.”

The statement from the ministry headed by Bruno Rodríguez includes Cuba’s “unequivocal condemnation” of “terrorism in all its forms and manifestations,” an idea reiterated in the following paragraphs: “Cuba categorically declares that it does not harbor, support, finance, or allow terrorist or extremist organizations. Our country maintains a zero-tolerance policy toward the financing of terrorism and money laundering, and is committed to the prevention, detection, and confrontation of illicit financial activities, in line with international standards.”

“Any past interaction that involved individuals later designated as terrorists occurred solely in limited humanitarian contexts”

The Foreign Ministry also refers to the origin of Cuba’s inclusion on the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism in 2021, during Donald Trump’s first continue reading

administration—from which it was removed by the next president, Joe Biden—and “relisted” at the beginning of Trump’s second term. This refers to relations with the leadership of the National Liberation Army (ELN) during talks with the Colombian government in which Havana served as mediator, though without mentioning it explicitly. “Any past interaction that involved individuals later designated as terrorists occurred solely in limited humanitarian contexts, linked to internationally recognized peace processes, at the request of their respective governments, and in a fully transparent manner,” the statement says.

Guerrilla leaders have moved between Venezuela and Cuba, the country that hosted the talks between 2018 and 2019, the year they were frozen. Colombia then urged the United States to include Cuba on the list of state sponsors of terrorism for refusing to extradite members of the guerrilla group who were on its territory. The talks had stalled after a guerrilla attack on the Police Academy in Bogotá in January 2019, in which 23 people were killed and nearly a hundred injured.

None of this is mentioned in the statement, which maintains a consistently defensive tone: “Cuba does not host foreign military or intelligence bases and rejects the characterization of being a threat to the security of the United States. Nor has it supported any hostile activity against that country, nor will it allow its territory to be used against another nation.”

At the same time, the text highlights a “willingness to maintain respectful and reciprocal dialogue” with its northern neighbor, something Trump said on Saturday was already taking place and reaffirmed on Sunday. Thus, the Foreign Ministry states that Cuba “is willing to reactivate and expand bilateral cooperation with the United States to address shared transnational threats, without ever renouncing the defense of its sovereignty and independence.”

The tone softens even further in the final paragraphs, which underscore a proposal to “renew technical cooperation with the United States in areas that include the fight against terrorism, the prevention of money laundering, the fight against drug trafficking, cybersecurity, human trafficking, and financial crimes,” and assert that both nations “benefit from constructive engagement, cooperation in accordance with the law, and peaceful coexistence.”

According to independent journalist Carlos Cabrera, Cuba and the United States are negotiating in Mexico

Last Friday, the regime’s attitude was very different. In remarks widely disseminated by Cubadebate and later turned into an official statement, Díaz-Canel responded to U.S. pressure by saying: “The president of the Empire is behaving like a Hitler, with a criminal policy of contempt that aims to take over the world.” The official text revived the old Castro-era slogan, stating that “the decision is one: homeland or death.”

According to independent journalist Carlos Cabrera, Cuba and the United States are negotiating in Mexico. Citing a source “close to the government of Claudia Sheinbaum,” he said that the first talks concluded early Saturday morning, with “a preliminary agreement to begin a transition to democracy, pending final approval by the White House.”

According to the same source, General Alejandro Castro Espín, son of Raúl Castro, is participating in the talks and “conveyed to a senior CIA official the willingness of the Castro authorities to begin the democratization of Cuba, in exchange for ‘an amnesty’ for his father and other senior Castro officials.”

Similarly, Cabrera claims that a senior official at the Ministry of Justice revealed that the agency is working on “a process for the release of political prisoners, starting Wednesday, February 4,” which he described as a “gesture of goodwill, unilateral and sovereign” by the regime. The same was stated by a “senior officer” of the Ministry of the Interior, who announced the “imminent release, this week” of political prisoners, though he “refused to go into details.”

In a report published last week, The Wall Street Journal revealed that the Trump administration was seeking a figure within the Cuban regime with whom it could negotiate a democratic transition, similar to what it is doing in Venezuela following the capture of Nicolás Maduro, with Delcy Rodríguez.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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