English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
Ciudadano Cero, Jeovany Jimenez Vega, 7 June 2021 [Readers, note date, this is a delayed translation] — In a memorable scene from Francis Ford Coppola’s “The Godfather”, the old Corleone hands over the family command to Michael, while warning him of the imminent danger of betrayal. The Don is a profound connoisseur of human nature, … Continue reading “Is a Fraudulent Change Brewing Up in Cuba? / Jeovany Jimenez Vega”
14ymedio, Havana, 20 January 2023 — In 2022, Cuba reached the highest rate of women arbitrarily detained in the last four years. The figure is documented by the Cuban Observatory for Human Rights (OCDH) in its latest report, published this Thursday, in which they attest to more than 5,500 repressive actions by the regime as of … Continue reading “More than 60 Percent of Cubans Arbitrarily Detained in 2022 Were Women”
Cubalex, 30 November 2022 — On 27 November 2022, municipal elections were held in Cuba, to choose constituency delegates. Cubalex monitored the human rights situation on election day, which was principally notable for violation of the right to political participation. The data gathered by our organization demonstrates that the Cuban authorities continue to employ criminal … Continue reading “Repression, Besieged Activists and Threats: These Were the Elections in Cuba / Cubalex”
14ymedio/EFE, Havana, 5 December 2022 — The leader of the Cuban dissident collective Damas de Blanco [Ladies in White], Berta Soler, was arrested this weekend along with the mothers of two prisoners for the massive protests of July 11, 2021 (11J), the regime opponent Ángel Moya reported on Monday. Norabel Herrera and Marilin Cabrera managed to evade the … Continue reading “Two Mothers of 11 July (11J) Prisoners Were Detained for a Few Hours Along with the Leader of the Ladies in White in Cuba”
EFE (via 14ymedio), Washington, 1 October 2022 — The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) requested this Friday that Cuba approve a visit to the country to review the situation of the Damas de Blanco (Ladies in White), to which the agency granted precautionary measures almost ten years ago. The Cuban government, the IACHR alleges … Continue reading “The IACHR Asks to Visit Cuba to Review the Situation of the Ladies in White”
EFE (via 14ymedio), Havana, 19 April 2022 — The leader of the Ladies in White opposition women’s movement, Berta Soler, was detained for the thirteenth consecutive Sunday after leaving the organization’s headquarters in Havana, dissident activists denounced this Monday. Soler was accompanied by her husband, also an opponent and former prisoner Ángel Moya; at the time … Continue reading “The Leader of Cuba’s Ladies in White Faces Arrest Thirteen Consecutive Sundays”
14ymedio, Madrid, 21 March 2022 — Cuban judges confirm feeling threatened for their work on the cases against the July 11 (11J) protesters and assure that they are willing to “trade the robe and dais, if necessary, for a rifle and trench.” The Union of Cuban Jurists (UNJC) held an assembly on Sunday in Havana … Continue reading “Cuban Prosecutors and Judges, Willing to ‘Trade their Robes for Rifles to Defend Revolutionary Justice’”
14ymedio, Havana, 7 March 2022 — “First we had to put bars on all the windows and now we have to go out with a knife,” laments María Elena Figueroa, a resident near the corner of Porvenir and Dolores streets, in the center of Havana’s Lawton neighborhood. To the robberies in the houses are added … Continue reading “Havana’s Lawton Neighborhood Suffers a Wave of Armed Robberies”
EFE (via 14ymedio), Havana, 7 February 2022 — Several Ladies in White were arrested this Sunday, the third in a row, when they went out to protest demanding the release of the prisoners arrested for the anti-government marches of July 11, some activists reported this Monday on social networks. Among those detained are the leader … Continue reading “Third Consecutive Sunday with Arrests of Ladies in White in Cuba”
14ymedio, Madrid, 31 January 2022 — The Council for Democratic Transition in Cuba has proposed to the European Parliament that it award the 2022 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Expression to José Daniel Ferrer, Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara and Félix Navarro Rodríguez as representatives of the July 11th Demonstrators from the spheres of politics, culture … Continue reading “Petition to the European Parliament to give the Sakharov Prize to the Cubans of 11J”
14ymedio, Havana, 23 January 2022 — On Sunday, women dressed in plainclothes at the service of State Security detained a group of Ladies in White along with the mothers of some political prisoners, among whom was Bárbara Farrat, the mother of the 17-year-old Jonathan Torres, imprisoned after the protests of the July 11 (11J). “They … Continue reading “Cuban Police Detain Several Ladies in White to Block a Protest”
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”
14ymedio, Ariel Hidalgo, Miami, November 19, 2021 — If I had written this article before November 15, people would have been called me a pessimist, a harbinger of bad luck, a saboteur of protest marches, and in a way they would have been right. I would never collaborate with the oppressors but, in general terms, … Continue reading “Cuba: A Manual for a Successful Protest March”
14ymedio, Havana, 18 November 2021 — The Lady in White Sissi Abascal Zamora was sentenced this Thursday to six years in prison for her participation in the protests on July 11 (11J) on the island. Abascal, who is also a member of the Pedro Luis Boitel Party for Democracy, was accused of the alleged crimes … Continue reading “Cuban Lady in White Sentenced to Six Years in Prison for Participating in the 11J (11 July) Protests”
14ymedio, Havana, 12 September 2021 — Félix Navarro, a member of the Cuban opposition, “is very thin” and weighs about 60 kilograms (132 pounds) after going on a hunger strike in jail for almost three weeks, said the Bishop of Matanzas, Monsignor Manuel Hilario de Céspedes. The Bishop visited the former prisoner of the Black … Continue reading “Felix Navarro Remains on a Hunger Strike in Prison, Bishop of Matanzas Confirms”
