Against the Wall, The Cuban Government Authorizes Unlimited Imports of Food and Medicine

14ymedio, Havana, July 14, 2021 – The Cuban Government announced this Wednesday that it authorizes “under special circumstances” imports of food, cleaning products, and medicine for passengers arriving to the island. The entry into the country of these goods will be “without limit of import value and free of tariffs,” said Prime Minister Manuel Marrero … Continue reading “Against the Wall, The Cuban Government Authorizes Unlimited Imports of Food and Medicine”

The Bishops Say the Cuban People Have the Right to Express Their Hopes and Needs

14ymedio Havana, July 13, 2021 — “In light of events our people have experienced, we cannot close our eyes or look away as though nothing was happening,” declared the Cuban Catholic Bishops Conference (COCC) on Monday. The statement followed protests that that took place across the island in which thousands expressed their frustration at the … Continue reading “The Bishops Say the Cuban People Have the Right to Express Their Hopes and Needs”

‘There is No Popular Uprising, Only an Aggression by the United States, Says Cuba’s Foreign Minister

14ymedio, Havana, 14 July 2021 — For the island’s foreign minister, Bruno Rodríguez, “there was no social outbreak in Cuba” on July 11, but rather an “information war” with the participation of large US companies such as Twitter. During a nearly two hour appearance before 25 foreign correspondents on Tuesday, the minister accused the US of “taking … Continue reading “‘There is No Popular Uprising, Only an Aggression by the United States, Says Cuba’s Foreign Minister”

The Unforgivable Crime of Confronting Cubans on Two Sides

The streets of Centro Habana are overrun with policemen and paramilitaries disguised as civilians. I can easily identify them: the experience of years living under the harassment of surveillance leaves in the harassed the sad ability to discover the hyenas, no matter how hard they try to blend into the urban landscape. Political police officers … Continue reading “The Unforgivable Crime of Confronting Cubans on Two Sides”

More than 5,000 Detained in Cuba, Including 120 Activists and Journalists

14ymedio, Havana, 12 July 2021 — The wave of arrests in Cuba for the protests that began this Sunday continues to come to light. Several complaints from civil society collected by 14ymedio and others, which are trickling in from social networks and instant messaging applications, confirm that there are more than 5,000 people imprisoned or being … Continue reading “More than 5,000 Detained in Cuba, Including 120 Activists and Journalists”

The Eyes of the World Are on Cuba

14ymedio, Havana, 12 July 12, 2021 — Injuries, threats and arbitrary arrests were the culmination of massive and unprecedented protests that took place across Cuba on Sunday, a story that made the front pages of the world’s newspapers today. Among those arrested or attacked was Associated Press photographer Ramon Espinosa, an action that was condemned … Continue reading “The Eyes of the World Are on Cuba”

“In My 53 Years I Have Never Seen Anything Like it in Santiago, This is the Beginning of the End of the Tyranny In Cuba”

14ymedio, Alberto Hernández, Santiago de Cuba, 12 July 2021 — Like many other cities on the island, Santiago de Cuba shook this Sunday with a massive march. The cries of “Cuba libre,” “Patria y vida,” “Díaz-Canel singao [motherfucker]“ and “Liars” resounded, among many other slogans, through the most important streets of the city. “In my 53 years I … Continue reading ““In My 53 Years I Have Never Seen Anything Like it in Santiago, This is the Beginning of the End of the Tyranny In Cuba””

And the Streets of Cuba Spoke Loud and Clear

14ymedio, Yoani Sánchez, Havana, 12 July 2021 – It was only a question of time. The frustration and desperation had been accumulating and this Sunday the streets exploded. Thousands of Cubans left their homes to exercise the right to civic protest, the one that had been seized from them for more than half a century. … Continue reading “And the Streets of Cuba Spoke Loud and Clear”

“Down with the Dictatorship” and “Freedom” Shout Thousands of Protesters in the Streets of Cuba

14ymedio, Havana, 11 July 2021 — With cries of “freedom,” “down with communism,” “homeland and life,” “we want medicines,” and “Díaz-Canel singao [motherfucker],” thousands of Cubans came out to protest in the streets of San Antonio de los Baños, in the province Artemisa, this Sunday in the midst of the severe crisis that the country is … Continue reading ““Down with the Dictatorship” and “Freedom” Shout Thousands of Protesters in the Streets of Cuba”

“The Combat Order is Given: Revolutionaries Take to the Streets,” Threatens Cuban President Diaz-Canel

14ymedio, Havana, 11 July 20210 – In a Sunday afternoon address, Cuba president Díaz-Canel called for civil war on the island. In his speech he called on the communists to take to the streets, starting now and in the coming days. “We will be in the streets fighting,” threatened the president, in response to protests … Continue reading ““The Combat Order is Given: Revolutionaries Take to the Streets,” Threatens Cuban President Diaz-Canel”

The Military Leadership is Dedicated to Repression and ‘Does Not Understand Anything About Today’s Cuba’

14ymedio, Havana, 2 July 2021 — Despite the restriction measures related to the Covid pandemic and systematic harassment by State Security, which keeps the main political activists jailed or under house arrest, protests in Cuba grew in June. The Cuban Conflict Observatory (OCC), in a report published this Friday, counts 249 protests, more than 8 a … Continue reading “The Military Leadership is Dedicated to Repression and ‘Does Not Understand Anything About Today’s Cuba’”

Cuba: Tallies and Tales of the Reforms / Vicente Botín

Vicente Botín, Annual Meeting of the Association for the Study of the Cuban Economy (ASCE), The Hilton Miami Downtown Hotel, 29 July 2016. Once upon a time… A female cat fell in love with a handsome young man and prayed to the goddess Aphrodite to turn her into a woman. The goddess, pitying the cat’s yearning, … Continue reading “Cuba: Tallies and Tales of the Reforms / Vicente Botín”