English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
The Cuban regime “freed” two more political prisoners from the Black Spring Group: Héctor Maseda, husband of the Lady in White Laura Pollan, and Ángel Moya, husband of Berta Soler, also a Lady in White. All this has been made possible by the efforts of the Ladies in White, the sacrifice of Orlando Zapata Tamayo, … Continue reading “Hector Maseda and Angel Moya Released From Prison / Pedazos de la Isla”
Ivan Garcia, 26 September 2015 — Let’s climb aboard a time machine. Into the future, of course. By now, Raul Castro has given up the throne. His son Alejandro has been tried for abuse of power, financial corruption and violations of human rights. Luis Alberto Rodriguez Lopez-Callejas, the Cuban Martin Borman, has fled with a … Continue reading “Cuba 2019 / Ivan Garcia”
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), 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, 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, 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, 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”
EFE via 14ymedio, Havana, 27 August 2018 – The Cuban dissident movement Damas de Blanco (Ladies in White) denounced on Monday the “harassment” by authorities and the temporary detention of 23 of its members in Havana and the western province of Matanzas, after attending Sunday Mass in different churches or upon leaving their homes. In … Continue reading “Dissident Group Damas de Blanco (Ladies in White) Denounces 23 Arrests this Sunday in Cuba”
14ymedio, Havana, 13 August 2018 — The former political prisoner of the 2003 Black Spring Group of 75, Martha Beatriz Roque Cabello, was detained for some hours by the National Revolutionary Police (PNR) on Monday morning after leaving her home, activist Tania De la Torre Montesinos confirmed to 14ymedio. At the time of the arrest, Roque Cabello, an economist … Continue reading “Martha Beatriz Roque Asks to Return to Prison in Solidarity With Jose Daniel Ferrer”
Iván García, 30 April 2018 — Manuel Cuesta Morúa, a 55-year-old Afro-Cuban historian of average height and thin build, is probably one of Cuba’s most intellectually gifted dissidents. Morúa’s political proposals are based on a social democratic model. He has tried different strategies, looking for a legal angle that would allow him to carry out … Continue reading “What Do Cuban Dissidents Think About Diaz-Canel? / Ivan Garcia”
EFE, via 14ymedio, 9 April 2018 — A group of 16 leaders of the internal opposition in Cuba urged the governments of the region, on Monday, to “ignore the Castro dictatorship” when Raúl Castro hands over power on 19 April, and asked the Organization of American States (OAS) “for concrete and firm actions to support the … Continue reading “Cuba’s Opposition Leaders Ask Latin America to Ignore Succession in Cuba”
Ivan Garcia, 6 October 2017 — On Friday, 29 September, a light intermittent drizzle and overcast sky lent a mournful touch to the area around the United States Embassy in Havana. The six-story building with tinted glass and stone-clad facade, where every morning hundreds of people line up for consular appointments and dozens of dissidents … Continue reading “What Cubans Say About the Partial Closure of the US Embassy / Iván García”
14ymedio, Havana, 18 June 2017 — On Monday afternoon, in the presence of 27 people, priests Jose Conrado Rodríguez and Castor Álvarez celebrated a mass at the Ladies in White headquarters Havana’s Lawton neighborhood. Berta Soler, leader of the women’s group, explained via telephone that they gathered at the building with “a lot of discretion” … Continue reading “Mass Celebrated At Ladies In White Headquarters ‘For The Freedom Of The Cuban People’”
14ymedio, Havana, 8 May 2017 – At least 38 Ladies in White were arrested this Sunday in Havana, Matanzas, Guantanamo, Ciego de Avila and Santa Clara, during the 100th day of the #TodosMarchamos (We All March) campaign for the release of Cuba’s political prisoners. The leader of the group, Berta Soler, was arrested along with … Continue reading “Dozens Of Ladies In White Arrested On The 100th Day Of #TodosMarchamos”
