English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
14ymedio, Yunior García Aguilera, Madrid, 29 November 2023 — A recurring phrase in Mexico is the one attributed to former President Porfirio Díaz: “Poor Mexico, so far from God and so close to the United States.” Although the expression brilliantly summarizes the history of a country, the truth is that many Mexicans have seen this … Continue reading “Cuba, So Far From God!”
14ymedio, Yunior García Aguilera, Madrid, 22 November 2023 — Cuban historiography recognizes Valeriano Weyler as one of the most nefarious characters in our history. And he certainly was. His “Reconcentration” policy caused the death of hundreds of thousands of civilians, especially children, women and the elderly. The “reconcentrated” were thrown together in the villages, surrounded … Continue reading “Weyler, a Hitler in Cuba?”
14ymedio, Yunior Garcia Aguilera, Madrid, 15 November 2023 — The international left sometimes seems less like an ideology and more like a dogma. Many of its organizations and activists are motivated by compacts, debts and interests, not by principles or objectives. The Mothers of Plaza de Mayo, for example, are capable of embracing today’s dictators … Continue reading “Cuba Respects Neither Human Rights nor ‘Human Lefts’”
14ymedio, Yunior García Aguilera, Madrid, 8 November 2023 — In 1895, when almost all of the rest of Latin America had already achieved its independence, we Cubans were still a colony of Spain. All previous attempts had failed: the Big War and the Little War. And Martí’s War, as Máximo Gómez called it, began with the … Continue reading “Cuba’s ‘Peacemaker’”
14ymedio, Yunior García Aguilera, Madrid, 1 November 2023 — Unpopular Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel has called for “global action” to stop Israel. It is clear that the conflict in the Middle East is much more complex than sensational or biased headlines may show, but Cuba is far from being a neutral country in this story. … Continue reading “Cuban Totalitarianism’s Philosophy of Disposession”
14ymedio, Yunior García Aguilera, Madrid, 25 October 2023 — Judging from online chats, private conversations and articles in the independent press, more and more Cubans are coming down with Martían fatigue syndrome. For more than a century, José Martí has been the Cuban figure most likely to go from flesh to marble, from light to … Continue reading “To Kill Marti?”
14ymedio, Yunior Garcia Aguilera, Madrid, 4 October 2023 — Those of us who have been a target of the State Security often make two serious mistakes. On the one hand, we overestimate them. They are not the X-Men. They do not have all the latest technology nor are they omnipresent. Their officers come off as … Continue reading “Encounters of the Third Kind with Cuban State Security”
14ymedio, Yunior García Aguilera, Madrid, September 27, 2023 — By 1877, the Ten Year’s War was was at an impasse. The Spanish had not managed to defeat the Cuban guerillas and the insurgents were nowhere close to a decisive victory. The Army of Liberation was riddled with internal strife, plagued by regional divisions, defeatism and … Continue reading “Cuba: False Emissaries of Peace”
14ymedio, Yunior García Aguilera, Madrid, 20 September 2023 — These days the propaganda of the single party in Cuba has used to the point of exhaustion a desperate slogan: Cuba is not alone. In fact, we have seen some characters parade through Havana who never leave their caves, except to come to ours, where they … Continue reading “The Cuban Regime Is Not Alone, But It Is in Very Bad Company”
14ymedio, Yunior Garcia Aguilera, Madrid, 5 September 2023 — In the last few hours, several international media outlets have reported that Cuba has uncovered an illegal scheme to recruit Cuban citizens to fight in Ukraine. But the truth is that the regime has uncovered absolutely nothing. It has only reacted — and very late at … Continue reading “Who Would Believe a Regime of Tartuffes?”
14ymedio, Yunior García Aguilera, Madrid, August 22, 2023 — To understand the Milei phenomenon, we have to go back a bit in history. Almost all of us have heard the song “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina,” a show tune that has been covered by the likes of Madonna, Sinéad O’Connor, Sarah Brightman, Christina Aguilera and … Continue reading “For Whom Is Argentina Crying?”
14ymedio, Yunior Garcia Aguilera, Madrid, August 16, 2023 — Why did it take Cuba so long to gain its independence? By the time most of its neighboring colonies had won their freedom, why was Cuba still known as “the ever loyal one”? So why has the Castro regime lasted so long? Jorge Videla was dictator … Continue reading “The Unfortunate Laziness of Our Liberty”
14ymedio, Yunior Garcia Aguilera, Madrid, 9 August 2023 — No one hated private business in Cuba more than Fidel Castro. In his 1968 speech announcing the Revolutionary Offensive, which nationalized all remaining small private businesses in the country, he called business owners lazy, hangers-on, exploiters, privileged and lazy. Spooked by his own shadow, he vented … Continue reading “To Have or Not to Have Private Businesses”
14ymedio, Yunior García Aguilera, Madrid, 1 August 2023 — On June 6, 1762, Captain General Juan del Prado Portocarrero saw an impressive English fleet approaching Havana from El Morro. At first he did not believe that it was an attempt at conquest; he assumed it was a mercantile convoy and even sent the soldiers back … Continue reading “When Havana Was Taken by the ‘Red Coats’”
14ymedio, Yunior García Aguilera, Madrid, 4 July 2023 – Laws that restrict business to an absurd extent usually generate corruption and all manner of roguery. Following the Conquest and colonisation of the Americas, the maritime powers established a commercial system that created an exclusive relationship between the metropolises and their colonies. Trading with foreigners carried … Continue reading “Cuba: Pirates of Yesterday and Today”
