English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
This Monday several Cuban dissidents started a hunger strike which has already been joined by 25 people throughout the country. At a press conference, Martha Beatriz Roque Cabello explained that that the strikers are demanding the immediate release of Jorge Vázquez Chaviano, age 42. In 2011 this activist was sentenced for the supposed crime of … Continue reading “25 Cuban Dissidents on Hunger Strike / Yoani Sanchez”
In tune with the new airs of delayed economic reforms that General Raul Castro aims to promote, under one of the measures made public on Monday 9th May, Cubans on the island can take holidays abroad. On the street it has been the story of the year. It displaced the Brazilian soap opera, the gossip … Continue reading “Will Cubans Be Able to Holiday Abroad? / Iván García”
Tuesday 9 May, on listening to the reading, on the National Television News, of the official daily press note from Granma, the official organ of the Communist Party of Cuba, I remembered the old joke about Napoleon, Granma and the Battle of Waterloo: “If Napoleon had had a newspaper like Granma nobody would know, yet, … Continue reading “Granma, Napoleon and the Insurgents / Miguel Iturria Savón”
More than 50 dissidents and activists were arrested on December 10 in Cuba by the combined forces of the National Police and State Security for attempting to mark the International Day of Human Rights, according to the Cuban Commission for Human Rights and National Reconciliation led by Elizardo Sánchez Santacruz. The Universal Declaration of Human … Continue reading “Cuba: More than 50 Opponents Arrested on Human Rights Day / Iván García”
He arrived home on Saturday. After 7 years and 8 months behind the bars of a cell and the creaking of locks, the dissident economist Arnaldo Ramos Lauzurique, 68, at 6:30 in the morning of his first Sunday in freedom, sat in the park facing the modest apartment where he lives in the neighborhood of … Continue reading “Who is Arnaldo Ramos? / Iván García”
The morning of Monday March 1st in Havana was like any other. After spending the night with my girlfriend I returned to my house at around 6:30 AM. There was no sign of abnormality. The only warning sign emanated from a small portable radio next to the bus driver. It was a song by Silvio … Continue reading “House Arrest”
Here are my modest tips, which, while not intended to work for everyone, have helped me maintain my sanity. 14ymedio, Yoani Sánchez, 13 November 2025 — One day the face on the screen was that of the poet Armando Valladares; then came the prime-time attacks against Martha Beatriz Roque, Elizardo Sánchez, and Dagoberto Valdés; until … Continue reading “How To Survive A Public Stoning and Not Lose Your Smile in the Process”
Several activists and opponents, in Havana and in the province, were arrested or surrounded in their homes. 14ymedio, Havana, 2 July 2025 — As happens every year, the celebration of US Independence Day becomes an uncomfortable date for the Cuban regime. This Wednesday, several independent journalists, activists and opponents denounced the police surrounding their homes … Continue reading “The Regime Prevents Cuban Guests From Attending the 4th of July Party at the US Embassy”
14ymedio, Havana, May 8, 2025 — The US limited, this week, the mobility of Cuban diplomats on its territory. Officials will now be required to submit prior notification before visiting “state, local and municipal governments of the US and its territories.” The measure also includes access to educational and research institutions, including “national laboratories and … Continue reading “US Limits the Movements of Cuban Diplomats on Its Territory”
Mike Hammer records a video message on the streets of Havana to get people to approach him. 14ymedio, Madrid, May 2, 2025 — “Hi I’m Mike Hammer, the head of mission of the United States Embassy in Cuba.” This is how the diplomat presents himself in a short video uploaded to the Facebook page of … Continue reading “The Head of the US Embassy in Havana Challenges the Regime With an Invitation to the Cuban People”
For 40 years, the elimination of the station was one of the most constant demands of the Cuban dictatorship, comparable only to the return of the Guantanamo naval base or the end of the embargo. 14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar, Desde Aquí, 18 March 2025 – I don’t know whether the USA will now be more “grande” … Continue reading “Radio Marti’s Closing Statement”
Official websites accuse the head of the US Embassy of “organizing subversive activity” in his meetings with the opposition and religious leaders. 14ymedio, Madrid, 12 March 2025 — When Mike Hammer, the US envoy in Cuba, replaced Benjamin Ziff in November 2024, the official press ignored the news. Career diplomat, with more than 35 years … Continue reading “After ‘Destabilizing Several African Countries’ Mike Hammer Seeks To Do the Same in Cuba”
Following the resumption of releases this week, nine opposition members have been released from prison 14ymedio, Havana, 28 February 2025 — Five other Cuban political prisoners – Yunaiky de la Caridad Linares Rodríguez, Andy Alexis Martín Pérez, Luis Armando Cruz Aguilera, Lázaro Antonio Rodríguez Jerez and Abel Lázaro Machado Conde – were released this Friday. … Continue reading “The Cuban Regime Releases Five Other 11J Political Prisoners”
This year has been especially hard, because we have had to put together the faces of a year that, in reality, is missing too many pieces. 14ymedio, Havana, 24 December 2024 — For a decade, 14ymedio has shared each December the 14 faces that marked the year that is ending. More often than not, the … Continue reading “The 14 Cuban Faces of 2024: Fugitives, Deceased, Priests, Freemasons, Athletes, Artists and Ministers”
The three political prisoners are serving sentences for participating in the 11J protests 14ymedio, Havana, 31 October 2024 — Political prisoners Sissi Abascal Zamora, Félix Navarro Rodríguez, and Sayli Navarro Álvarez (the latter two father and daughter), arrested during the Island-wide protests of 11 July 2021 (’11J’) in Matanzas, have been awarded the Patmos Prize, … Continue reading “Cuban Opponents Sissi Abascal, Sayli Navarro and Félix Navarro Receive the Patmos Award”