Translating Cuba – Page 59 – English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island

Cuban President Díaz-Canel, the Dissonant Note in Silvio Rodríguez’s Concert in Havana

When the artist sang “when the revolution comes down,” shouts of “hopefully” were heard in the audience

The concert, which began with Ala de colibrí (Wing of the Hummingbird), was followed by a medley of the musician’s classics. / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Darío Hernández, Havana, September 20, 2025 — Silvio Rodríguez returned to the steps of the University of Havana this Friday afternoon after more than 20 years without singing in that emblematic place, and he did it with a concert full of emotion, uncomfortable silences and a display of lights that crudely contrasted with the reality of the country’s blackouts. The opening of his new Latin American tour ended in a deployment of police, who guarded, in addition to the tense tranquility of the public, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel and his wife, Lis Cuesta.

From early on it was clear that this would not be just any night. “There was a lot of security for an audience of young university students. Everyone was checked at the entrance before they could go in.”

The president went up on a side of the stage and greeted the audience two or three times. Very few returned the greeting. On the rooftops of adjacent buildings, agents were present within a wide cordon of security.

Díaz-Canel and Cuesta were at one side of the stage, protected by security agents. / 14ymedio

Dressed in blue and olive green, agents of the Ministry of the Interior hovered around the entire perimeter of the university. They were also among the public dressed in civilian clothes, in keeping with the regime’s tradition of infiltrating its agents, which did not prevent some shouts of disagreement with the authorities of the country.

Some of them booed Díaz-Canel, and when the time came for Silvio to play El necio (The Fool), one of his most emblematic songs, tension reappeared and some daring cries of “hopefully” were heard in response to “when the revolution comes down.”

The whole family of actor Jorge Perugorría and several musicians like López Gavilán were seated in the VIP area, including Carlos Alberto Cremata, director of La Colmenita (The Little Beehive, a Cuban children’s theater company), among many others.

Along with the students, who enjoyed the music that is part of the DNA soundtrack of several generations, there were also those who could not resist the temptation to turn the concert into a political act. Among the stands were several Palestinian flags and, near the end, Silvio himself sang with a Palestinian scarf around his neck, placed by his daughter Malva. This was before singing La era está pariendo un corazón (The Age is Giving Birth to a Heart), another of his most famous themes. He used the moment to harshly criticize Israel for its actions in Gaza: “I think about you and fail to understand how you have so soon forgotten the breath of hell,”he said quoting the Cuban poet Luis Rogelio Nogueras.

Silvio sang with a Palestinian scarf around his neck, placed by his daughter Malva. / Cubadebate

There were Latin American tourists on the steps, attracted by the music and the tumult of students, and in the center of the crowd, a small group of spectators waved a July 26 flag.

The concert began with Ala de colibrí, followed by a medley of the musician’s classics. The crowd sang along, despite the fact that most were born when the New Trova movement was already history. Many 50-year-olds were also seen in the audience.

In an interview with EFE days before the concert, Rodríguez, now 78, explained that he wanted to start the tour in Cuba, and specifically at the University of Havana, because the students had given him hope: “They gave me hope when I saw their attitude,” he said in reference to the protests against the tarifazo [massive of rate increases] of Etecsa, the State telecommunications company, at the end of May.

The university was, without a doubt, a mirage of light and music last night, from which one then returned to the darkness of Havana. / 14ymedio

Also present was the memory of the national blackout just a week ago, from which much of the country still hasn’t recovered, especially when the play of lights dazzled the staircase thanks to two gigantic generators placed carefully hours before. Interviewed briefly by 14ymedio before the concert began, a neighbor said sarcastically: “That’s so you can see the blue color of the unicorn.” (Silvio has a song entitled Blue Unicorn.)

Last night the university was, without a doubt, a mirage of light and music that later was returned to the darkness of Havana. When the concert ended, people started running in the streets looking for a bus to return to their homes and the blackouts.

Police and Interior Ministry agents were stationed around the entire perimeter of the university. / 14ymedio

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Powerful Generators Guarantee Silvio Rodríguez’s Concert has Electricity

In the midst of blackouts affecting the entire country, the artist will have his island of light tonight at the University of Havana

Cuba expects a deficit of 1,760 megawatts today. / 14ymedio

Havana, Darío Hernández, September 19, 2025 — Two red mastodons stand out in front of the University of Havana this Friday. Although the stage for the concert that Silvio Rodríguez will offer tonight is visually more striking, passers-by only have eyes for the generators that will prevent the show from being interrupted due to the lack of electricity. With a greedy look, some with gestures of bewilderment, others with resignation, and the great majority, those who approach, cannot help but say something about the robust power plants.

“This is so you can see the blue color of the unicorn,” said a woman with a bag of groceries who crossed the street just to read the signs on the devices. “Geysel, 30 years of putting energy in your hands,” stands out in a poster on the generators, which are remarkably well-kept compared to the rust-eaten and often broken devices that you see outside some polyclinics and public offices. “It seems that these are the ones they have for political events,” pointed out a woman who joined the visual inspection.

The singer-songwriter claims he chose the place because he recently saw “very positive attitudes” among the students. / 14ymedio

In a city that since last week has suffered the longest blackouts, when the national energy system collapsed and left the entire nation in darkness, a generator sets off a frenzy of desire. “With one of those I could sleep several full nights without having to scare off the mosquitoes,” speculated a young man who, laughing, agreed to meet up with his friends later to try to get continue reading

into the performance. A few meters away, most of the lights, scaffolding and sound equipment were now placed at the foot of the wide staircase of La Colina.

Rodriguez started to sing amidst the glow of lamps that are a strong symbolic charge in a country where even baseball games must be suspended for lack of power. Cuba expects a deficit of 1,760 megawatts today, so it is unlikely that El Vedado and the surroundings of the concert will not be affected. “If the light goes off I’ll come here,” said an elderly woman who was waiting for the bus a few meters away.

The singer-songwriter says he chose the place because he recently saw “very positive attitudes” among students of the Federación Estudiantil Universitaria in their protest against the increase in State telecommunications company Etecsa’s massive rate increased, known as the tarifazo. But his intention to approach the younger generations, consumers of other musical styles away from the New Trova, could include a very contradictory message. Used to doing their homework by the light of a candle while fanning themselves in the heat, these boys will see before them a display of lights and generators that only the powerful can enjoy in Cuba. The composer of Ojalá will create an island of electricity within the Island of shadows.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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At the Vigia Cafe in Matanzas, Cuba, There Is No Longer Any Beer Nor Roast Chicken, and Neither Are There Any Friends Left

Idael returns to the café he’s known all his life and finds, to his indignation, that all they have to offer are toilets with no water, and even that costs 20 pesos

Plaza de la Vigía, where the café is situated, suffers from constant power cuts and the clientele has diminished. / Facebook / Fotos de Matanzas

14ymedio, Julio César Contreras, Matanzas, 23 August 2025 – Until he emigrated to Spain seven years ago Idael used to meet up with friends at the Vigía café on the square of the same name in Matanzas. That colonial building, with its wide entrance way and tall pillars was a refuge of shared beers and nighttime meals – which avoided the need to switch on the cooker at home. Today, visiting his native city, the IT engineer was hoping to relive these scenes but the half open doors of the establishment seem to indicate that time has not been merciful.

“My parents helped me to learn to walk right here on this wooden lounge floor, and later I used to lift my own son up onto one of the toy horses here”, he remembers, as he observes the staff members in the doorway, distracted, talking about anything but work. One of them asks him, almost with indifference, if he would like anything, as though he was speaking to a stranger, an intruder. No chalkboard here showing special offers of the day, nor any hustle and bustle of clientele: only tables occupied by people taking advantage of the shade, with nothing available to eat.

Looking inside, Idael sees a man seated in the half light of the lounge. “I asked him if I could use the toilets and he told me it would cost me 20 pesos”, he says. And then he realized that all that the Vigía had to offer had been reduced to a toilet and a washbasin with no water. Shortly after, another employee explained that there was no beer, because the place had been without power since the early hours. The coffee machine was broken and all they had were a few fruit juices past their sell by date: an interminable list of what used to be and now no longer is.

No chalkboard here showing special offers of the day, nor any hustle and bustle of clientele: only tables occupied by people taking advantage of the shade, with nothing available to eat. / 14ymedio

The scene infuriates the visitor. “The government ought to give these places over to private ownership who would make them productive”, he complains. “Here you have a bunch of workers who don’t produce anything, earning a miserable wage for opening up at nine and shutting at four. continue reading

Where’s the economical purpose in that? Are they just waiting for the roof to fall in so they can close it down for good?” His questions resound around the cracked walls and the empty tables.

The area around Plaza de la Vigía, where the café is located, doesn’t help either: there are frequent power cuts, a lack of nighttime security and an overall ambience that has been deteriorated by the theft of such things as sound systems and general decoration. The surroundings themselves scare off any potential visitor as much as does the general inertia of a place that seems condemned to be forgotten.

For Idael, what remains is barely even a faded postcard. The Vigía is no longer the meeting place that brought together locals from any profession or salary: “The 20 pesos that used to be enough to get you a Mayabe beer will only be enough to use the toilet today”, he says bitterly. “There’s no Congrí rice or roast chicken anymore. Only silence, a silence that hurts”.

And perhaps what hurts the most is that all the friends are gone. All of them, like himself, have gone.

The Vigía is no longer the meeting place that brought together locals from any profession or salary. / 14ymedio

La Vigía ya no es el punto de encuentro que reunía a vecinos de cualquier oficio o salario. / 14ymedio[/caption]

Translated by Ricardo Recluso

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Kyev Claims That Cuba Is Russia’s Second-Largest Supplier of Mercenaries, After North Korea.

“We have identified 20,000 Cubans, 1,038 with names and contracts,” said Ukrainian military intelligence spokesman Andriy Yusov in an audience with U.S. congress members.
The names of the 40 supposedly identified combat deaths are not provided, nor are the logistical details from the Island to the war front.

Images released in 2023 of Cubans recruited to fight in Russia. / Facebook

14ymedio, Madrid, 19 September 2025 — Giovani Gómez Basulto began working at the Camagüey geomining company in July 2023, but at the beginning of this September his eldest son announced his death, somewhere between Russia and Ukraine, according to the published images. Something must have happened in the meantime for Gómez Basulto to exchange his job in a relatively prosperous state-owned company for a rifle more than 9,000 kilometers away, and that something is probably the 2,000 euro salary promised by Putin that has led to the deaths of a number of Cubans that is difficult to quantify.

According to Andriy Yusov, a spokesman for Ukrainian military intelligence who appeared at a virtual hearing in the US Congress this Thursday, the death toll is “40 confirmed by name,” although the list has not been released. He also lacked concrete data on the 20,000 who, he said, are fighting on the Russian side against Ukraine, along with 250 whose contracts have expired but who remain in Russian units.

“We have identified at least 20,000 Cubans recruited by Russia. More than 1,000 have been verified by name and contract. Many of them died without their families receiving compensation,” he stated. The data would place the island as the largest supplier of foreign fighters in Putin’s camp, after North Korea, he maintained. However, and although it is unknown how many troops Pyongyang has sent to Moscow, Seoul has estimated two waves: one of 10,000 soldiers to Kursk in 2024 and another of 6,000 more this spring.

“We have identified at least 20,000 Cubans recruited by Russia. More than 1,000 have been verified by name and contract. Many of them died without their families receiving compensation.”

The hearing, convened by Cuban-American Congressman Mario Díaz-Balart, also included the participation of his colleagues María Elvira Salazar continue reading

and Carlos Giménez, as well as several Zelensky collaborators not named by Martí Noticias, which provided the information. Also participating was the secretary general of the Cuban Resistance Assembly, Orlando Gutiérrez Boronat, who was in Ukraine in 2023 and, since then, has been actively denouncing the alleged involvement of the Cuban government in sending combatants to Russia.

After that hearing, the Cuban Resistance Assembly revealed the name of a Cuban, Ernesto Míchel Pérez Alvelaes, 26, a native of Trinidad, recruited by Moscow and detained by the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The young man, reports Mario J. Pentón, joined the Russian army on August 1 with the promise of “reconstruction work,” when in fact he was sent to the front. He surrendered, the journalist continues, “after seeing 10 Cubans from his unit and dozens of Russians killed.”

In September 2023 , the regime announced that it had arrested several individuals linked to a network recruiting mercenaries to Russia and warned that they would be tried in a criminal case, of which nothing has been heard since. In July 2025, it was also learned that at least eleven soldiers from Matanzas had been arrested in early 2024 for the same reason, after allegedly being recruited by an officer. The authorities claim that they act in accordance with international treaties and that they firmly oppose such acts, which are punishable by up to 30 years in prison under the criminal code.

Most of the recruits who have spoken claim to have been seduced by the Russian offer and later regretted it, especially after realizing that beyond the logistical tasks used to attract them, they were sent to the front without the slightest consideration for their military experience, limited in the majority of these volunteers to military service performed on the Island.

However, Gutiérrez Boronat’s thesis, supported by other speakers this Thursday, is that in a state with such a high level of surveillance as Cuba’s, it is impossible for something like this to escape the government’s notice. If the regime doesn’t cooperate secretly—unlike Pyongyang, which has admitted it and is bound by a treaty—it at least turns a blind eye, Florida lawmakers maintain.

Among the testimonies documented yesterday were letters from relatives sent to Moscow asking for information about their loved ones who had disappeared at the front, the contract and passport of the supposedly first woman recruited, and the case of Yelena Smirnova, who admitted to having stolen the wages of between 300 and 400 Cubans in Russia and, after being detained in her country, gave the Russian authorities the names of some 6,000 or 7,000 Cubans who had expressed their willingness to be hired.

Another piece of information that came to light this Thursday is that the death of Cubans usually occurs between 140 and 150 days after signing the contract, while some only survive a week, although it is unknown how the statistics have been established.

Another piece of information that came to light this Thursday is that the death of Cubans usually occurs between 140 and 150 days after signing the contract, while some only survive a week, although it is unknown how the statistics have been established.

The chairman of the Ukrainian Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, Oleksandr Merezhko, who spoke at the event, said that Castroism is “Russia’s greatest arm in Latin America,” not only because of its fighters but also because of the pro-Russian propaganda it spreads and the money laundering it facilitates. “The Cuban regime must be recognized in Europe for what it is: a terrorist state,” he said.

Congressman Carlos Giménez warned at the hearing: “You’re either with Ukraine or against Ukraine. There’s no gray area.” However, Republicans have strongly opposed sending aid to Ukraine in the past, even putting the 2023 budget in jeopardy when this item had to be partially sacrificed to save the government from a last-minute shutdown. In recent months, their stance has softened and according to a survey published this summer by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, the number of Republicans who support continued financial support for Kyiv has risen from 41% to 51%.

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A Cuban Police Captain Is Killed With His Own Gun in Caibarién

An official profile describes the attacker as “a criminal, specifically a butcher and cattle trafficker.”

Captain Leonel Mesa Rodríguez, in an image posted on social media. / Facebook

14ymedio, Havana, 20 September 2025 — The Ministry of the Interior quickly confirmed what was spreading like wildfire on social media: National Revolutionary Police Captain Leonel Mesa Rodríguez was found “early Friday morning” with “six stab wounds and a gunshot wound to the head” in the La Reforma People’s Council of the municipality of Caibarién, in the province of Villa Clara.

According to the brief report published in the State newspaper Granma, the officer, who was a sector chief, “was traveling in full uniform” between Remedios and Caibarién “on the assigned motorcycle,” which was found next to his body. Among the few details provided about the police officer are his age, which indicates that he was 62 years old and that “with almost 24 years of service, he was always on the front lines of the fight against crime and a faithful defender of internal order.”

The article also promises “a resounding response of revolutionary laws and the unanimous condemnation of our people, who will never allow impunity or encouragement of violence.”

The authorities are “investigating the incident to fully clarify it and are further investigating initial information.”

“The alleged perpetrator of the atrocious and vile murder used three means to carry it out.”

The extensive Facebook post by Ignacio Ramiro Hernández Crombet, one of the first government officials to confirm the news previously reported by independent journalists, elaborates on the continue reading

incident, saying that the attacker was “a criminal, specifically a butcher and cattle trafficker.”

“The alleged perpetrator of the atrocious and vile murder – which has shaken and shocked the Batey Reforma and CAI Marcelo Salado Lastra community and all of Villa Blanca – used three means to carry it out: a knife, a machete and Captain Mesa’s own service weapon, inflicting countless wounds on his body, especially in the neck area,” the post says.

And Hernández Crombet suggests that the shot came from the police officer’s own weapon, a Soviet Makarov pistol, which was used to shoot him in the head before the attacker fled. “He hunted him down, taking advantage of the fact that he was alone and that the sun hadn’t yet risen,” he laments. “He left him lying, covered in blood, in the middle of the road.”

The security forces, he continued, are carrying out “significant search and capture operations for the criminal and alleged murderer.”

In his post, Hernández Crombet varies the officer’s age and years of service from the Ministry of the Interior’s statement—he is 64 years old and has “more than 25 years of uninterrupted service”—and adds that “his brilliant record of service to the country and his excellent results in combating crime and delinquency” earned him numerous distinctions from the Ministry, including the “Elogio a la Virtud” [Tribute for Virtue]. He specifies: “Captain Mesa was considered by his people to be an all-encompassing police officer.”

“That man was an abuser, a disgraceful man,” said a message signed by a “teacher” who asked that her name not be revealed.

However, a statement received by Cuban journalist Mario J. Pentón , living in the United States and made public before the Ministry of the Interior issued its statement, contradicts those words. “That man was an abuser, a disgraceful man,” read a message signed by a “teacher” who asked not to be named. The message read: “Today, a police officer was killed on the Remedios exit toward Caibarién. They shot him and took his pistol. The body is still lying on the road, awaiting forensic examination.”

According to Pentón, some residents nicknamed Mesa “Cal Viva” and remember him for his excessive behavior as a sector chief.

In any case, the speed with which the authorities confirmed the incident is unusual. The death of a police officer in Calabazar (Havana) in June 2020, in an attack in which two other officers were also injured, was first reported by the independent press. This angered the government, which blamed “anti-Cuban media” for “manipulating” the incident.

The attacker on that occasion, Yusniel Tirado Aldama, age 27, described by the official press as “an individual of terrible social conduct and a criminal record,” was sentenced to life in prison. For whoever is found guilty of Friday’s murder, the official profiles are directly demanding the death penalty.

Attacking a police officer, once unthinkable, is no longer so uncommon in Cuba. Last May, a female police officer was stabbed in the back and seriously injured in Camagüey, in the middle of the street, by an individual who “was walking around the area drinking alcoholic beverages.” According to the Ministry of the Interior, he was immediately arrested.

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A Cuban State-Owned Company Offers Jobs With Salaries of up to 28,000 Pesos

It coincides with the announcement by the Embassy of Grenada to hire workers for $800 a month.

File photo of the port of Mariel. / OnCuba

14ymedio, Havana, 18 September 2025 — The state-owned company Servicios Logísticos Mariel S.A. (SLM), located in the Mariel Special Development Zone (ZEDM), is seeking employees. According to Trabajadores, which published the call, the company needs to fill 33 positions and offers salaries starting at 12,000 pesos and up to 28,206 pesos, depending on the position and the applicants’ level of education.

The job offer is being published at a time of a massive flight of workers from the state sector, hit by devalued wages, poor conditions, and a constant exodus, both abroad and to the private sector, where salaries are better. It also coincides with the announcement of the hiring of bricklayers and carpenters by the Embassy of Grenada, which begins reviewing applications this Thursday from thousands of Cubans to work in that country, attracted by salaries of $800 per month plus accommodation and transportation.

SLM, considered the main logistics operator in the ZEDM, is seeking drivers, maintenance workers, automotive electricians, secretaries, legal advisors, energy conservation and human resources management technicians, as well as security guards, storekeepers, and mechanics. To make its offer attractive—and because its operation in the island’s most important economic hub allows it to secure certain benefits—the company is also offering food, transportation, quarterly utility bills, and the “possibility” of housing after five years, said Human Resources Specialist Yanara Disotuar Díaz.

SLM’s conditions are very difficult to find in other state entities, but they do not free Cubans from having to be paid in pesos in a dollarized economy.

SLM’s conditions are very difficult to find in other state-run entities, but they don’t free Cubans from having to be paid in pesos in a dollarized economy, being exposed to blackouts, and suffering from the lack of basic services. continue reading

In light of inflation, the benefits are also losing appeal. In August, the National Office of Statistics and Information (ONEI) published a report placing the island’s average salary at 6,649 pesos per month. At the time, the official press celebrated it as a “significant increase,” but the truth is that inflation—14.37% year-on-year as of the end of July—and the constant depreciation of the national currency against the dollar are eroding these gains. In the informal market, the dollar has reached 420 pesos, meaning the average salary is now equivalent to just 16 dollars per month.

SLM salaries, much higher, range from $28 to $67, a not inconsiderable amount on the Island, but figures that pales in comparison to the job offers published by the Embassy of Grenada .

The small Caribbean country has promised a weekly salary of $200 (close to the average wage), with accommodation, transportation, and immigration procedures fully covered. Selected workers will also have round-trip tickets guaranteed. In other words, a Cuban in Grenada could earn in one week what they barely earn in a year in their own country, not including basic expenses.

Granada’s proposal has the added advantage of offering an escape—at least temporarily—from the country and the resulting escape from the blackouts and other difficulties that hamper the daily lives of island residents, as well as perhaps serving as a springboard for embarking on a journey of no return.

Aware that Cubans are finding increasingly fewer solutions in working for the state, the government has resorted to desperate measures: distributing the salaries of vacant positions among active employees as an incentive. However, this measure does not solve the problem of low incomes; rather, it masks it while the workforce continues to seek opportunities, even if it is outside the country.

The Granada case itself demonstrates this. According to the country’s embassy, thousands have applied, and its staff is unable to cope with all the requests.

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Thousands of Cubans Respond to a Job Offer in Granada for $200 per Week

Requirements include knowledge of English and availability for one year

Job offers posted outside the Embassy of Granada in Havana / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Havana, September 17, 2025 — The response to Grenada’s recent offer of masonry and carpentry jobs for Cubans has been overwhelming. According to the offer spread by the Embassy of Granada through Instagram, the project offers a weekly salary of 200 dollars for one year. “We can’t respond,” acknowledged the diplomatic headquarters, which asks the thousands of interested parties to consult its list of requirements and send an email.

The offer is attractive when the average monthly salary on the island is $16. Participants are required to have a certain command of the English language in order to facilitate communication at their workplace. In return, Grenada promises those chosen an “immediate start” and coverage of the costs of paperwork and work permits.

The selected participants will be provided with accommodation and transport throughout their stay. Return tickets are also provided by the small island.

The selected participants will be provided with accommodation and transport throughout their stay. Return tickets are also provided by the small island

Without being a compulsory requirement, it is preferred that the bricklayers have some knowledge of finishes. The tasks to be carried out involve the construction of walls, columns, insulation and waterproofing, as well as a knowledge of plans.

Carpenters must have skills for the manufacture and assembly of wood infrastructure in constructions, the development of continue reading

“furniture, doors, windows” and a knowledge of roofing and wall planking.

Between this Thursday and next Thursday, interviews will be held at the Embassy of Granada in Havana, located on Quinta Avenida 2006 between 20 and 22, in Miramar.

Diplomatic relations between Cuba and Grenada were formalized on April 14, 1979, one month after the triumph of the revolution led by the Granadian Maurice Bishop.

Both countries have agreements on environmental protection, education, aquaculture and fisheries, and especially in the area of health, with the presence of 300 Cuban specialists in Granada and the granting of scholarships to students from Granada.

The present call brings to mind the Cuban presence in Granada at the time of the American invasion on October 25, 1983

During the so-called Operation Urgent Fury, “the invading forces confronted 1,500 Granadian soldiers and 700 Cubans, who were listed as construction workers, engineers and some military personnel,” the Miami-based media Café Fuerte recalled on the 40th anniversary of the event.

The Cuban builders were working mainly on the construction of a new airport. Grenada’s official media announced that with the arrival of the U.S. military, and after engaging in difficult battle, the last Cuban fighters “immolated themselves wrapped in the flag.” The truth is that most were made prisoners, and colonel Pedro Tortoló Comás, at the head of the Cuban troops, sought asylum with other officers at the Soviet Union embassy.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Cuba’s Tabacuba Offers a Way out of the Devalued ‘Freely Convertible Currency’ That It Pays Tobacco Producers

The first store in Cuba in freely convertible currency for tools and supplies opens for tobacco producers

The store is located on Carretera Las Ovas. / Tabacuba/Facebook

14ymedio, Havana, September 19, 2025 –The first freely convertible currency (MLC) tobacco supply store opened this Thursday in Pînar del Río. The store, which the authorities presented as just one of many that they want to open so tobacco producers can use the virtual currency they get as a stimulus after harvest, comes six years after the implementation of the MLC and at a time when its value has plummeted.

Marino Murillo, president of Tabacuba, inaugurated the store, which the official press says has more than “100 tools and products necessary to guarantee tobacco production and improve the producers’ living conditions.” The shared images mostly show common hardware items such as brushes, hammers and screwdrivers, more useful for the machinery than for the harvest itself, and that easily fill a list of 100 products.

The most attractive offers, for which users who saw the publication on social networks now begin to show interest, are water turbines and, above all, power generators – almost essential in Cuba if you want to have electricity most of the day. However, the models on display are diesel, a fuel that is very difficult to obtain, rather than being rechargeable with solar panels. continue reading

The official press also mentioned that kits of solar panels, cement and household appliances that were previously sold in another location will also be marketed.

https://www.facebook.com/GTabacuba/posts/815736041020721?ref=embed_post

Located in the Tobacco Logistics Base Business Unit on Las Ovas Road, the shop is almost exclusively stocked with products from the Chinese brand Total Tools, including the power generators. However, it is unclear whether they have been donated by Beijing or purchased by the island.

The store opens at a time when tension has risen among farmers over the devaluation of the MLC, which barely buys anything in an economy now turned to the dollar. The inconveniences in a sector that produces so much income is precisely the reason behind the opening, according to Murillo himself: “It is a way for them to reinvest in their land as long as they do not have debts with the company, and to ensure that the MLC paid has purchasing power.”

The company president also assured that there are plans to open similar shops in the municipalities of San Luis and San Juan y Martínez, tobacco producers par excellence, as well as in Vuelta Arriba, in the central provinces that also produce cigars.

The authorities did not clarify prices either, although they claimed that they are “between 25% and 30% less expensive than in the current domestic market as a result of negotiating directly with the supplier while avoiding intermediaries.”They also stressed that “after-sales” service and “transport facilities” will be provided to customers if necessary.

It is not the first time that Tabacuba offers tobacco growers a way to use the MLC, which is losing value

It is not the first time that Tabacuba offers tobacco growers a way to use the MLC, which is losing value, now worth only 205 pesos, compared to the record of 310 in May 2024. At the end of August, the company delivered six modern Mercedes-Benz to Cuban farmers to “encourage tobacco production.”

According to what a tobacco dealer from Pinar del Río told 14ymedio, the offer to manage the purchase of vehicles – paid for in MLC by the farmers themselves – was made to about 300 producers, six of whom chose a Mercedes-Benz. Some 15 opted for Chinese tillers of the Foton brand and semi-trailers.

Tabacuba, he then explained, offered to pay for the cars in dollars abroad and charge the farmers the amount at the exchange rate of one MLC to a dollar, while in the informal market the American currency is worth two times more than the virtual one. For farmers, the business initially appears to be beneficial, especially given the dizzying devaluation of the MLC. But there is a catch: although it is a sector that generates many currencies and profits for the State, producers are still forced to manage their crops in the devalued MLC, without access to the dollars they generate.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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El Funky Obtains U.S. Residency After Proving That Crimes Were Fabricated Against Him in Cuba

The rapper is one of the voices of the anthem ‘Patria y Vida’, along with Maykel Castillo ‘Osorbo’, imprisoned on the Island.

“Thanks to God and to everyone who contributed their part,” the musician concluded his message. / Screenshot / Facebook

14ymedio, Havana, September 18, 2025 — Cuban rapper Eliécer Márquez Duany, known as El Funky, confirmed this Thursday that he has obtained permanent residency in the United States, following an appeals process that reversed an initial denial he received from immigration authorities.

“We’re celebrating our residency after so much effort and hard work; I’m a US resident, super happy with today,” the musician said in a video posted on his social media, in which he appeared alongside his lawyer, Miguel Inda-Romero.

The lawyer explained that the case was complex because El Funky’s file included alleged criminal records in Cuba that prevented him from resolving his immigration status. “They fabricated charges that hindered his residency, but we were able to prove they were fabricated,” he said in an interview with Telemundo 51. “We had to appeal, reopen the case, and request a pardon, which was ultimately approved.”

Cuban-American Congresswoman María Elvira Salazar celebrated the news and stated that her office intervened in the process.
The outcome puts an end to months of uncertainty. In May, the artist himself warned that he had “barely a month” left to resolve his situation and avoid deportation. The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) had initially rejected his application continue reading

under the Cuban Adjustment Act, but his defense successfully reopened the case, allowing him to remain legally in the country while his case was reviewed.

Cuban-American Congresswoman María Elvira Salazar celebrated the news and stated that her office was involved in the process.

“Congratulations on obtaining US residency. We knew that if El Funky was deported to Cuba, he would end up like the other two who wrote Patria y Vida with him,” she said, referring to rapper Maykel Osorbo and artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, who did not participate in the song’s creation but was part of the same group.

Exiled in the United States since 2021, El Funky is one of the voices behind the song Patria y Vida — Homeland and Life — which became an anthem of the 11 July Island-wide protests of that year and won two Latin Grammys. Since then, the rapper has repeatedly denounced the repression against artists and opponents in Cuba.

“Thanks to God and to all those who contributed their part,” the musician concluded his message, assuring us that he will remain committed to the cause of Cuban freedom.

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El Funky, One of the Authors of ‘Homeland and Life’ Receives a Deportation Order From the US.

“My life is in danger in Cuba,” says Eliexer Márquez “El Funky”

“I have 30 days to leave the country or I’ll be deported,” El Funky wrote on social media. / Facebook/El Funky.

14ymedio, Luz Escobar / Yaiza Santos, Madrid, May 9, 2025 (delayed translation) — Eliexer Márquez “El Funky,” one of the authors of Patria y Vida, the anthem of the 11 July 2021 protests, winner of two Grammy Awards, persecuted in Cuba for his dissenting songs, and exiled in the United States for three and a half years, has a deportation order. He announced it himself on Thursday, with three lines posted on his Facebook wall.

“I have 30 days to leave the country or I will be deported,” the rapper wrote, while asking for support “from all my Cuban brothers and sisters who know about my anti-communist history and from the members of Congress of this country.” As he explained to 14ymedio by phone, the US denied him residency due to the one-year-and-three-month prison sentence he served on the island for marijuana possession more than eight years ago.

He never concealed this background from the US authorities, and they requested more details about it while he was processing his permanent residency under the Cuban Adjustment Act. This, he admits, was a mistake. “I should have requested political asylum upon arrival, but I trusted the lawyer they assigned me,” says El Funky about the lawyer recommended to him by his colleague and co-author of Patria y Vida, Yotuel Romero. The man was a professional with a track record, he says, but he always disagreed with him. continue reading

“I always told him: Brother, my case is for political asylum, but he insisted on the Adjustment Act.”

“I always told him: Brother, my case is for political asylum, but he insisted on the Adjustment Act.” The lawyer’s decision was not without logic. Since its passage in 1996, this law has been the fastest way for Cubans to obtain permanent residency in the United States—between 10 and 35 months, compared to the several years it can take to be granted asylum. With an added advantage: it allows individuals to return to Cuba, something that is prohibited for political asylum seekers, under penalty of losing their status and, therefore, their residency.

But traveling to the island isn’t something El Funky can contemplate. “It would be suicide to return; my life is worthless in Cuba. Everyone who knows my career knows that,” says the musician, who arrived in the United States in November 2021 with a special invitation to the Latin Grammy Awards, where Patria y Vida was crowned Best Song of the Year and Best Urban Song .

“There were two six-month visas, one for me and one for Maykel. They didn’t let Maykel out, but they did let me out,” he says, referring to his friend Maykel Castillo Osorbo, who at that time had already been in prison for six months and who would end up being sentenced to nine years in prison, a sentence he is still serving in Pinar del Río.

“My departure was practically an exile; those people took me to the airport.”

El Funky continues, alluding to State Security: “My departure was practically an exile; those people took me to the airport.” With threats disguised as congratulations: “Have a good trip, but don’t come back just yet. You know we can make content for you that you can live with for up to 20 years.”

After Patria y Vida was released in February 2021 and immediately became a social phenomenon, the regime’s siege against El Funky and Osorbo, the authors who lived on the island – and also Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, leader of the San Isidro Movement, who also appeared in the video clip – intensified. El Funky, in particular, was arrested on several occasions, and on one of them, precautionary measures were imposed on him to restrict his freedom of movement .

For all these reasons, he sees the regime’s hand in denying his residency: “I’m absolutely sure.” The reason he gives is that the criminal record that arrived from the island, with the sentence completed in 2017, no longer stated “possession” but rather “drug trafficking.” The sentence, El Funky points out, “makes it very clear: it was for half a marijuana cigarette. I served one year and three months, and trafficking in Cuba is punishable by five to ten years. You realize that a crime was fabricated there, especially in a case like mine.”

The rapper asserts that this was also fabricated. “In 2016, I was already making protest music with Maykel,” he recalls. “Maykel had already been imprisoned because he had made a song against Fidel [Por ti, señor]. In the sentence, you can read the neighbors’ opinions: my good behavior, that I wasn’t a criminal, that I’d never had any problems in the neighborhood, but nothing. They had to come up with a way to find me out of line.”

He trusts that his new lawyer can resolve his case so he won’t be deported.

He understands, of course, that the United States, based on his drug convictions, treats him “like a criminal,” but he trusts his new lawyer can resolve his case so he won’t be deported. “They’re taking away a case I served in Cuba, and it’s known that that dictatorship expelled me for all my actions and activism. You have to realize that this is something fabricated by the dictatorship,” he insists. “My life is in danger in Cuba.”

The artist claims he never delayed completing any immigration procedures in the United States to update his status. “Since I arrived, I started working with that lawyer, but everything kept getting delayed.” That same year, he says, they conducted the interview and began asking for more documents.

He also details his life in Miami, more as Eliexer Márquez than El Funky, working as a maintenance man at an elementary school ten minutes from his home. “I’m the head of a family, married to an American citizen who has a daughter. I have a work permit, social security, a driver’s license, all my papers are up to date, none of them expired. I have no criminal record here, I’ve never committed a single offense, not a traffic violation or anything, I’m clean. In fact, for my job at the school, with children, which is extremely sensitive, they had to conduct an in-depth investigation to find out who I was.”

Caught between a dictatorship that would immediately imprison him and a legalistic society more xenophobic than ever, Márquez’s case is reminiscent of the “scum of the earth” of 1940s Europe, as defined by Arthur Koestler: persecuted in Germany as Jews and in France for lacking a job. Far removed from music or the stage, however, his lyrics in Patria y Vida continue to resonate: “You are no longer necessary, you have nothing left, you are already going down, the people are tired of enduring, we are waiting for a new dawn.”

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Mexico Regularizes More Than 3,000 Cubans’ Status in Six Months on Humanitarian Grounds

In Chiapas, 1,024 documents have been issued, but nearly 13,000 migrants from the island remain stranded.

14ymedio, Angel Salinas, Mexico City, 18 September 2025 — In the first half of this year, the Mexican Commission for Refugee Assistance (Comar) has issued a total of 3,342 humanitarian visitor cards to Cuban citizens. According to data provided to 14ymedio by the Ministry of the Interior, 1,024 documents were issued in the state of Chiapas between January and June, allowing migrants a regular residence, as well as “access to health, education, and employment services.”

However, in Tapachula, a city on the border with Guatemala, nearly 13,000 Cubans remain stranded without this benefit. “I don’t see an end. Everyone asks for dollars. At Comar, to give you the interview, the lawyers, to speed up the process. I handed over money, and I still don’t have any documents,” Matanzas resident Yaniel tells this newspaper.

“I don’t see the end. Everyone is asking for dollars. At Comar, to give you the interview, the lawyers, to speed up the process,” Matanzas resident Yaniel tells ’14ymedio’.

The migrant, who entered the country last February, claims that the procedures in Mexico City are faster. A Venezuelan with whom he shared a home told him he gave 1,000 pesos ($54) to an agent and “they gave him the visa.” In Tapachula, he claims people have spent 40,000 pesos ($2,179).

Official figures indicate that 254 Cubans received humanitarian cards in the country’s capital, while in Puebla, out of 189 applications submitted to immigration offices, 186 Cubans, only two Venezuelans, and one migrant from the Netherlands were granted humanitarian cards. continue reading

Puebla immigration agent Marco López told 14ymedio that most of the Cubans’ applications were submitted last March, “just as rumors of mass deportations from the United States under Donald Trump’s orders began to gain traction.”

López stated that nationwide there are 8,114 Cubans in an irregular situation. Of these, 7,118 “have already met the requirements and are awaiting resolution of their cases,” but another 996 have initiated the process.

Attorney José Luis Pérez asserts that the Comar figures are from completed records, but in reality there are more than 20,000 Cubans in Mexico seeking opportunities to regularize their status.

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Between Two Blackouts, They Recorded Their Music and Got a Grammy Nomination

Cuban economist Juan Triana suggests that the government involve the private sector in energy production

Creators of the award-nominated album Girafas/ Instagram/@belkis_proenza

14ymedio, Madrid, September 18, 2025 — Rita Rosa Ruesga, from Santiago, was nominated this Wednesday by the Latin Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences for the Grammy Award for Best Children’s Music Album by Jirafas. It is a story of musical theater that the artist defines as “full of hope for those who have to go in search of a dream beyond their homes.” The music, a mixture of styles as national as son, danzón, rumba and marchas, is also “for mothers who, at some point, must let our children fly away.”

It is the fifth time that the artist, based in Miami for years and dedicated to writing books and children’s music, will vie for the golden gramophone, but this time, she says, there is something that distinguishes the nomination from previous occasions. “There is something unique about my project, which is that the musicians who recorded from Cuba did it when the power came on, on an empty stomach, but with the ideas and the illusion of this project as a real injection of life,” she explained in a press release.

Cuban artist Iris Fundora created the illustrations that accompany the album. Her contribution is closely related to the reality of the island. “She painted the illustrations of the giraffes by candlelight in the evenings,” adds Rita Rosa, who dedicates the nomination — in words sent to 14ymedio — to the Cuban part of the musical team and to Fundora herself, for their effort in the midst of a national crisis. “They are the real honorees.”

Details such as this perfectly illustrate the transversality of the energy emergency, which is a constant event in all areas. Last night, just 40 kilometers from the hometown of Rita Rosa Ruesga (Palma Soriano), in the province’s capital city, Santiago de Cuba, another blackout occurred with the cut of 110 kilowatts, which shut down the continue reading

substations Héctor Pavón, Santiago Norte and Este. Although the technicians repaired the breakdown in just one hour, the population is almost indifferent to these events, which barely affect the long hours they spend without electricity.

“Here in the district today, the power has not returned since it left, at 6 am,” said a resident 24 hours later

“Here in the district today the power has not returned since it left, at 6 am,” said a resident 24 hours later. “What’s the story? It’s that the Government, which is really the one that should leave, doesn’t.” This was one of more than 150 comments to the post of the provincial electricity company announcing the fix of the fault. Most spoke of a daily average of 17 hours without electricity. This Tuesday, more than 2,000 megawatts (MW) were cut, and yesterday (Wednesday), a deficit of 1,990 MW was expected, although finally the amount remained at a not-negligible 1,885 MW, similar to the 1,830 planned for this Thursday.

Energy Minister Vicente de la O Levy again appeared before the press to “update” the situation of the national electrical system, although he said absolutely nothing new, beyond the renewal of a date for solving the problems.

This time, the next horizon has been set for the weekend, when Felton 1 and Renté 5 should return, and the following days, when oil — whose absence has caused a more pronounced electricity deficit than gasoline, he said — should arrive. The next is in October, with the incorporation of units 4 of the CTE Carlos Manuel de Céspedes (Cienfuegos) and 2 of the Santa Cruz del Norte. But there is a shadow that clouds everything, and it is the exit of the Guiteras unit, in Matanzas, which will occur “in December, taking advantage of the period of lower electricity demand.” The increase in solar energy, during daylight hours, does not compensate for the loss; even though the electricity is now at 650 MW, it is still very low.

“According to United Nations data, renewable energies accounted for 30 per cent of electricity consumption at the beginning of this decade. In Cuba at that time, it barely reached 4% of the generation,” reports economist Juan Triana Cordoví in an article published this Wednesday in OnCuba. Although he concedes that the new data show a rapid escalation in photovoltaics, the lost time takes a toll.

“The expert claims the urgent need for the private sector to enter energy production, citing the positive “generation experience with a 100%-foreign thermal power plant on the Isla de la Juventud”

The expert claims the urgent need for the private sector to enter energy production, citing the positive “generation experience with a 100%-foreign thermal power plant, now state owned, on the Isla de la Juventud.” Triana Cordoví reviews all the attempted strategies, including the failure of bioelectric pipes, the zero investment in wind energy, the millions in non-refundable expenditures on Turkish floating power plants and the unsustainable subsidy to the electricity bill, which is paid in pesos when the system needs dollars.

“I don’t think there is a one-size-fits-all solution, excepting luck, and that rarely happens,” he says after considering that any contribution, including support for single-family solar, is good, but a new comprehensive strategy is needed. “It is time to innovate with business models that contribute to the increase of generation and improvement of service, apart from the centrality of State regulation,” he states, since “having electricity and drinking water is by no means a ‘petty-bourgeois’ aspiration or an aristocratic banality.”

The economist’s article points out that two centuries have passed since the industrial revolution and that two simple elements were essential for this. “Access to water and energy has been a basic requirement for the Homo sapiens herdsman to be radically different from the other herdsmen,” he says. Cuba lacks both and therefore cannot prosper.

Water scarcity, caused by the weather and aggravated by the blackouts, affects more than 3.1 million people -30% of the population-, who suffer a total or partial lack of supply.

The situation is getting to the point where Cienfuegos now depends on Villa Clara for its supply. This Wednesday, both provinces announced an agreement to transfer water from the Hanabanilla reservoir to Paso Bonito, whose levels are seriously low.

“The situation is complex and requires innovative measures,” said Cienfuegos Governor Yolexis Rodríguez Armada. It is expected that tomorrow the water will begin to arrive through the use of pumping systems, and the population is asked not to waste it, which begs another question: “What about the leaks in the water pipes; when will they be fixed?”

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Synthetic Drugs Like the ‘Chemical’ are Diversifying and Expanding in Cuba

The Ministry of the Interior claims that this is due, among other causes, to the “growing flow of travelers”

Firearms and 18 million pesos in different currencies have also been seized in the country. / 5 de Septiembre

14ymedio, Havana, September 16, 2025 — During Monday’s broadcast of the program Mesa Redonda, the authorities acknowledged that in Cuba, drug consumption is expanding and diversifying, especially towards synthetic substances, which are “cheaper and less risky for the trafficker.” And among them el químico -the “chemical”- remains the king of narcotics on the island.

Beyond the concrete data demonstrating a worrying spread of drugs, the television program was a reiteration of the usual arguments: the blame is outside, mainly on the U.S., and the country is a passive victim of external forces that have managed to infiltrate the national territory. Juan Carlos Poey Guerra, head of the Anti-Drug Directorate of the Ministry of the Interior, stated that the “main effects” on the country are due to the “increasing flow of travelers and the settlement of Cubans in highly complex countries that have drug trafficking and organized crime.”

Regarding the data, Poey stated that more than 6,000 people have been prosecuted, and there have been 1,500 seizures with 81 kilograms of confiscated drugs, which Cubadebate described as “a very high volume of potential consumption.” in addition, they have confiscated five firearms, 11,000 plants and 23,000 seeds -allegedly of marijuana- and 18 million pesos in different currencies.

A speedboat carrying 36.8 kg of cocaine was also intercepted off the coast, a fact that Poey used to highlight the work of the Ministry: “For other countries, the volume is insignificant. For us any volume continue reading

is important.”

Another pillar of the speech was, as usual, the emphasis on the responsibility of the U.S. for the arrival of drugs on the island. According to Poey, who further described the country’s current military presence in the Caribbean as a risk to national sovereignty and regional stability, the U.S. is the world’s largest consumer of drugs, and Cuba is on the drug route to its borders.

However, he himself acknowledged at another time that the island “is not a country producing, storing or transiting drugs to third countries.” He also overlooked the fact that, although the U.S. has always been a great consumer, it was not until a few years ago that the presence of drugs began to grow in Cuba to the point where even the official press, previously silent on the subject, now considers it an undeniable reality.

Poey remarked that ‘el químico’ is the narcotic “of greatest impact in our society at present,” something he associated with the rise of synthetic drugs

Poey remarked that ‘el químico‘ is the narcotic “of greatest impact in our society at present,” something he associated with the rise of synthetic drugs made in laboratories, which are “a big and lucrative business. There is less money invested, they get it faster and sell it.” Natural drugs, like marijuana, he said, take longer to produce.

Despite this, he continued, many programs have been carried out to prevent and detect consumption, starting with the national campaign against drug trafficking, “which has run monthly throughout the country since January, with operations extended in the capital because of its complexity.”

Although he did not mention it in its report, Cuba has also made sure that the severe penalties it imposes on drug traffickers and users are exemplary. Both Cuban Television and the official press have devoted numerous reports in recent months to exposing drug-related trials, and Cubans have noticed this. Communities, said Poey, “demand, in the broad sense, more public judgment and more prosecution.”

On the positive side, he said, “We can officially certify that there is no fentanyl in our country, “although the presence of other substances leaves its mark on consumers. A month ago, Poey himself stated on Cuban Television that 45 types of cannabinoids can be found on the island, of the 250 that circulate globally. Some of them are up to 50 times more potent than heroin.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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One and a Half Years Later, in the Middle of Record Blackouts, the Bayamo Protesters Are Being Tried

The protestors of March 17, 2024 shouted “we want electricity,” homeland and life” and “freedom”
This Tuesday there was a 2,052 megawatt deficit of electricity, the second largest recorded

Photo of the trial that began this Tuesday in Bayamo, Granma, published by the official press / Granma

14ymedio Havana, September 17, 2025 — On Tuesday, the Municipal Court of Bayamo, in Granma province, held trial proceedings for 15 of the 16 Cubans arrested for the protests that occurred in this eastern city on March 17, 2024. According to a brief article published in the official press, they are charged with the offenses of “public disorder, attack, resistance, contempt of court, illegal carrying and possession of weapons, disobedience” and “incitement to delinquency.”

A total of 13 of them are being held in pre-trial detention, and the remaining three are “under non-custodial measures of record and prohibition to leave the country.” Although the State newspaper Granma does not explain the reasons, it reports that this is a “partial” trial against 15 of the 16 accused. It also does not indicate the prosecution’s request for sanctions.

As is customary in this type of article, the government clarifies that the Constitution and the penal laws in force guarantee that “the procedural guarantees and the right to defense of the accused are respected during the proceedings,” although there are numerous organizations inside and outside Cuba that have systematically denounced the irregularities in the trials of demonstrators, such as those of 11 July 2021 [’11J’]. continue reading

Last year’s Bayamo protest was not the only one that took place on March 17, and they resembled those of ’11J’.

Last year’s protest in Bayamo was not the only one that took place on March 17; there were also demonstrations in Santiago de Cuba and Holguín that resembled those of ’11J’. They took place on a Sunday and also began with shouts of “we want electricity,

The photos disseminated on social networks also showed the participation of hundreds of people.

That day, in an unusual gesture, Cubadebate offered explanations of what was happening in Santiago de Cuba in a Facebook post. “As a result of long hours of power cuts due to the unavailability of fuel and other situations resulting from the current economic crisis, several people took to the streets and a demonstration occurred,” admitted the official press.

According to the same publication, “the people who were demonstrating asked for electricity and food,” and, it conceded, “isolated cries of Patria y Vida were also heard from small groups within the mass of people,” although it immediately qualified that “they were not followed by the majority.”

Cubadebate also acknowledged the presence of Security Forces but said that “no police intervened, as can be seen in the photos. They are only guarding the demonstration and talking directly with citizens, in the exercise of duty, but allowing the demonstration to take place in complete freedom.” It also reported the presence of Beatriz Johnson Urrutia, governor of the province, and other officials “to dialogue with the population and pay attention to the complaint.”

Just this Tuesday, once again there was an electricity deficit of more than 2,000 megawatts (MW) in the country, specifically 2.052 MW.

At the time, there were reports of police repression only in Bayamo. A video of the protests in that city recorded, on Sunday night, a group of citizens struggling with several policemen while others ran to avoid the blows. Other videos, shared by La Hora de Cuba, showed, in earlier hours, a protest with hundreds of people chanting “homeland and life.” This independent media reported that the whole city was militarized. A third video showed several patrols blocking a street to prevent demonstrators from continuing the march.

The next day, President Miguel Díaz-Canel made it clear that the regime’s position would be the same as on other occasions. In a follow-up to messages on the social network X, he commented on the demonstrations saying that they had “destabilizing purposes” and had been carried out by “terrorists based in the U.S.”

Unlike the official reaction after the 11J protests, the Cuban authorities kept a cautious tone in their statements, and, in fact, during this year and a half, nothing had been known of these detainees until now. But now is not just any moment.

Just this Tuesday, the country again exceeded 2,000 megawatts (MW) of electricity deficit, namely 2,052 MW — the previous record of 2,054 MW was on July 21 — and for this Wednesday, the Electric Union of Cuba again predicts a high deficit for the afternoon-night peak hours. At that time, the demand will be 3,500 MW and the availability only 1,580 MW, so there will be a shortage of 1,920 MW and an actual effect of 1,990 MW; that is to say, there will not be 57% of the energy required.

For Cubans, the numbers translate into stress, lack of sleep and despair. The trials are a warning to citizens of what can happen if they are go massively into the streets to protest.

Translated by Regina Anavy

The Well-Kept Secret of Ciego de Avila’s La Cuba, a Successful State-Owned Business

The publication of the price list sparked controversy among the public, who thought it was fake news. / Cubadebate

14ymedio, Havana, July 27, 2025 — In a country where a trip to the farmers market is a game of Russian roulette, a place with more emotion than food, where the price board is often left blank, a phenomenon that defies Cuban logic has emerged: a state-run produce market with stable supplies, no middle-men and reasonable prices. At least that’s how state media describes La Cuba, a produce market in Ciego de Ávila that is one of the few agricultural companies in the country that still produces food.

The fact that the province is once again hosting the annual 26th of July celebrations has been a godsend for La Cuba, a standout among the many ruined “production centers.” Battered by the country’s ongoing economic crisis, the company has been trying to recover for a year and the government’s attention in recent months has been helping it achieve that goal.

All the collective had to do was declare that it wanted to surpass its plantain production record by planting 2,800 hectares of their principle crop by July 26, with that number increasing to nearly 3,000 hectares by August 30, Fidel Castro’s birthday. A year ago, they were happy to have planted 300 hectares.

The business has been profitable. Not only is La Cuba is producing, it is diversifying. It also grows corn, cassava, beans, malanga, tomatoes, sesame, sunflowers, sweet potatoes, cucumbers and melons. Its workforce has grown to 1,570 employees, more than double the mere 600 it had a year ago. In return, the government has a successful company it can boast about. continue reading

While the rest of the country is grappling with empty farms and prices on par with those of New York, La Cuba has even opened a retail market — also to commemorate July 26th — promising, in addition to food, no scalpers, no mystery and affordable prices. After the opening and the publication of a photo showing the price board, the public was quick to react. Some even thought it was, according to Cubadebate, “staged” and found it “insulting.”

La empresa asegura que su buena producción le permite mantener bajos los precios. / Cubadebate

“It seems like fake news but it isn’t. It is La Cuba, the exception that proves the rule until it becomes the rule and not the exception,” a state-media article pointed out, fully aware that La Cuba is a rare bird.

A month ago, the TV interview program Mesa Redonda (Roundtable) dedicated an entire episode to the company and its director, Ariel Nieves Concepción, who was congratulated on his achievements. These include 1,000 boxes of bananas per day, a closed production cycle and a level of diversification that allows the company to supply not only its new produce market but also to fulfill government contracts.

Workers’ wages have also improved. “Those directly involved in production earn between 20,000 and 30,000 pesos [a month], which allows them to purchase products more easily. Furthermore, when harvests are good, their income will be even better,” he said.

These results, however, have not come easy. In its current situation, with every sector of the economy in crisis, the Cuban government is far from being able to guarantee the company the resources it needs to maintain production. This is especially true when it comes to fertilizers and fuel, two essential supplies that are not widely available in the country.

The company has had to bite the bullet and find its own ways to ward off insects. “The use of biological solutions at the company is no longer an option due to a shortage of chemicals. It has now become a business strategy,” explained a technical specialist on Mesa Redonda, adding that they have been able to increase production by turning to organic pesticides.

The company has had to bite the bullet and find its own ways to ward off insects

As for fuel, which depends solely on government allotment, the story is different. Company executives must resign themselves to whatever they get. “Everyone is always working hard to get the job done but, without fuel, you have to prioritize a lot,” said one of them.

Clearing land covered with marabou and other weeds has been another daunting task for La Cuba, which barely had enough workers a few months ago. Televisión Cubana reported that some areas have not been planted for 10 to 15 years.

The company also had to address the poverty faced by many of its workers, for whom it has begun building housing. “Shelter is essential. It’s not easy to come home from work and not have a place to rest,” said one of the interviewees. “We are also planning to build homes for workers, to sell roofing material at affordable prices and to create small public plazas within communities.”

State officials as well company directors both know that La Cuba is a special case, not only because of its favorable location and fertile fields but also because of the special attention it receives from the Cuban government. No other company would be able to stay afloat while paying salaries of thousands of pesos a month while selling its bananas for 24 pesos a pound. It is clear that officials are not telling the truth and that the alleged success of this state-owned company is likely due to hidden subsidies.

Nevertheless, government officials argue that the company’s accomplishments are the result of good management. They believe La Cuba should can serve as an example for the rest of the agricultural sector, for which moving crops from farm to table without food evaporating in the process seems like an impossible task.

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