Yunior Garcia and Archipielago: Between Messianism and the Wall / Jeovany Jimenez Vega

Jeovany Jimenez Vega, 22 November 2021 — Yunior García Aguilera was showered with caustic criticism once his departure for Spain was confirmed. These scathing accusations find their foundation, I believe, in that mental conditioning imposed by decades of Castroism according to which any departure from the country will necessarily be potentially final. In a country … Continue reading “Yunior Garcia and Archipielago: Between Messianism and the Wall / Jeovany Jimenez Vega”

United States Sanctions Eight More Cuban Officials for Their Role in Repression

EFE/14ymedio, Washington/Havana, 6 January 2022 — The US State Department announced on Thursday the imposition of visa restrictions on eight more Cuban officials, whose identities were not disclosed, for the arrest and prosecution of people who participated in the July 11 protests. “The State Department took measures today to impose visa restrictions on eight Cuban … Continue reading “United States Sanctions Eight More Cuban Officials for Their Role in Repression”

Prisoners Defenders Identified 842 Political Prisoners in Cuba, ‘A Fraction of the Actual Total’

EUROPA PRESS/14ymedio, Madrid, January 4th, 2022 — On Tuesday, Cuban Prisoners Defenders denounced that in 2021 a total of 955 people have been included in their list of political prisoners, they also alerted that the figure “is only a fraction” of the total. In a report, the organization detailed that in January 2021 it was … Continue reading “Prisoners Defenders Identified 842 Political Prisoners in Cuba, ‘A Fraction of the Actual Total’”

2022, The Year That Forecasts Will be Useless in Cuba

14ymedio, Havana, 1 January 2022 — Cubans have said goodbye to one of the most difficult years in their memory, to enter, this Saturday ,into a period full of many uncertainties. Hundreds of political prisoners, the economy bottoming out, a massive exodus in process, and a pandemic that has not yet ended complete a gloomy … Continue reading “2022, The Year That Forecasts Will be Useless in Cuba”

Archipielago: Yunior Garcia, Saily Gonzalez, Daniela Rojo, David Martinez

14ymedio, Havana, 24 December 2021 — In the second half of the year, a group turned the Cuban reality upside down, the Archipiélago platform, which was placed under the global spotlight after less than a year of its creation. The Cuban authorities had just announced with great fanfare the reopening of the country for November … Continue reading “Archipielago: Yunior Garcia, Saily Gonzalez, Daniela Rojo, David Martinez”

Cuban President Diaz-Canel Admits That His Government has ‘Lagged Behind’ in the Recognition of Some Rights

14ymedio, Havana, 18 December 2021 — Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel acknowledged that his government has been late in defending certain social rights. Speaking this Friday, at the closing of the Third Plenary Session of the Central Committee of the Communist Party, for the umpteenth time,he again defended socialism as “the only way to development with … Continue reading “Cuban President Diaz-Canel Admits That His Government has ‘Lagged Behind’ in the Recognition of Some Rights”

‘To Those Who Want to Divide Us, Let’s Not Give Them the Pleasure,’ Archipielago Coordinators Ask

14ymedio, Havana, 10 December 2021 — The Cuban civic platform Archipíelago published this Friday a “declaration of permanence” signed by its coordinators as a result of the resignation in recent days of several of its members. “It’s hard to reinvent oneself every day in the middle of governmental hostility and anguish of a sick society; bring consensus … Continue reading “‘To Those Who Want to Divide Us, Let’s Not Give Them the Pleasure,’ Archipielago Coordinators Ask”

Cuban Activist Guillermo Fariñas is Detained and Taken Against His Will to a Hospital

14ymedio, Havana, December 9, 2021 — Minutes before he was to give a telephone interview to Actualidad Radio on Thursday, Cuban State Security detained Guillermo Fariñas, coordinator of the United Antitotalitarian Forum. “People from State Security came dressed as nurses,” denounced the activist’s mother, Alicia Hernández, before that same media outlet. Fariñas’s detention occurred right … Continue reading “Cuban Activist Guillermo Fariñas is Detained and Taken Against His Will to a Hospital”

Official Fairs Return to Cuban Parks to Confront Human Rights Day

14ymedio, Natalia López Moya, Havana, 9 December 2021 — The protests of July and the call for the Civic March on 15N (15 November) have made the Cuban regime nervous. It is enough for a group of activists to propose a demonstration for officialdom to redouble the police presence, stage a fair in the place … Continue reading “Official Fairs Return to Cuban Parks to Confront Human Rights Day”

Two Hooded Men Beat an Independent Journalist in Her Home

14ymedio, Havana, 8 December 2021 — The independent journalist Mabel Páez was attacked on Tuesday night by two unknown men who entered her home at 8:30 pm, shortly after her 19-year-old son left the building. Páez, director of the community media outlet of the Cuban Institute for Freedom of Expression and Press (Iclep), El Majadero* de Artemisa, … Continue reading “Two Hooded Men Beat an Independent Journalist in Her Home”

Public Marches Are Effective Tools of Political Change

14ymedio, Sebastián Arcos Cazabón, Miami, 5 December 2021 — Unlike the popular protests of last July 11 and 12, the march called by the Archipiélago platform for Monday, November 15 was announced weeks in advance. The most optimistic put their hopes for rapid change in the march, but they underestimated the repressive capacity of the … Continue reading “Public Marches Are Effective Tools of Political Change”

Saily González Leaves Archipielago and Calls to Accelerate the Fights for Rights in Cuba

14ymedio, Havana, 6 December 2021 — The businesswoman Saily González, one of the most active coordinators of the Archipíelago group since its creation, announced this Sunday that she is leaving the Cuban opposition platform. She was joined this Monday by activist Magdiel Jorge Castro. “Today I am leaving Archipíelago, the most important undertaking to which … Continue reading “Saily González Leaves Archipielago and Calls to Accelerate the Fights for Rights in Cuba”

Cuban Opponent Silverio Portal Returns to Prison After Parole for Health Reasons

14ymedio, Havana, 1 December 2021 — The activist Silverio Portal, leader of Independent and Democratic Cuba (CID), entered prison yesterday to serve the four months that remain in his sentence after having spent a year at home with an extra-penal license that was granted to him for health reasons. “Our brother Silverio Portal Contreras, leader … Continue reading “Cuban Opponent Silverio Portal Returns to Prison After Parole for Health Reasons”

The Families of Four Cuban Political Prisoners in Santa Clara Demand to See Their Children

14ymedio, Havana, December 4, 2021 — The whereabouts of Andy García Lorenzo, José Miguel Gómez Monteja, Liván Hernández Salazar y Carlos Michael, detained in Santa Clara for participating in the peaceful protests on July 11th (11J), are unknown. “They were transferred to an unknown location without providing information to their immediate family,” denounced Archipiélago in … Continue reading “The Families of Four Cuban Political Prisoners in Santa Clara Demand to See Their Children”

Cuban journalist Camila Acosta, Accused of ‘Instigation to Commit a Crime’ on July 11

14ymedio, Havana, 30 November 2021 — Independent journalist Camila Acosta, in home confinement for more than four months, has had the charges against her changed for reporting on the July 11 protests, for which she was detained for four days later. The political police informed her this Tuesday, at the Zapata y C Police Unit, in Havana, … Continue reading “Cuban journalist Camila Acosta, Accused of ‘Instigation to Commit a Crime’ on July 11”