English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
14ymedio, Yunior García Aguilera, Madrid, January 3, 2023 — Almost everyone has heard of the Golden Raspberry Awards, popularly known as the Razzies or the anti-Oscars, where the worst films and performances of the year are recognized. The video presented by Díaz-Canel to welcome 2023 could very well sweep those awards, if they were to … Continue reading “Cuba: A Raspberry for the Little Dictator”
14ymedio, Havana, 29 December 2022 — Barbara Farrat, Yudinela Castro, María Luisa Fleitas Brav , Migdalia Gutiérrez Padrón, Liset Fonseca, Marta Perdomo , Norabel Herrera, Marilin Cabrera. These are just a few names of the women who, in 2022, raised their voices again for political prisoners. In his case, his own children, detained – some still without sentence – after the demonstrations of … Continue reading “The Mothers of ’11 July’, an Iron Link for Political Prisoners in Cuba”
14ymedio, Havana, 12 December 2022 — Adonis Alexander Remon León is the last of the Cuban demonstrators arrested on July 11, 2021 (11J), who managed to reach the United States. According to what his mother, Elizabeth León, told Radio and Televisión Martí, the young man, 28, “is under investigation” on an American Coast Guard ship to … Continue reading “An 11J Protester Who was Imprisoned in Cuba was Arrested by the US Coast Guard”
14ymedio, Havana, September 30, 2022 — On Monday, political prisoner Lizandra Góngora Espinosa, sentenced to 14 years in prison for her participation in the protests of July 11, 2021, was transferred to the hospital at El Guatao women’s prison, in the municipality of La Lisa, Havana, a week after declaring a hunger strike. Ángel Delgado, … Continue reading “One of the July 11th (11J) ‘Plantadas’ in Cuba is Hospitalized and ‘Very Weak’”
14ymedio, Havana, September 20, 2022–Writer María Cristina Garrido, her sister Angélica, and activist Lizandra Góngora, arrested for their participation in the 11J protests [11 July 2021], announced on Tuesday their refusal to wear common prisoner uniforms and declared the start of a hunger strike. The prisoners signed a note from the women’s prison in Guatao, … Continue reading “The Garrido Sisters, Convicted in Cuba for July 11th (11J), are ‘Plantadas’ and Demand their Freedom”
14ymedio, Havana, 18 August 2022 — If Cubans have learned anything since the Government began to apply the scheduled power outages, it’s that if they protest, the light returns. This happened on Wednesday night, when the pounding on pots and pans [the cacerolazo] occurred again in San Antonio de los Baños and Güira de Melena, both … Continue reading “In Artemisa, Cubans Mobilize Against the ‘Off-Again On-Again Current’”
14ymedio, Havana, 1 August 2022–Several relatives of 11J (11 July 2021) detainees were arrested on Monday after conducting a peaceful protest at the steps of Havana’s Cathedral. The protesters have been identified as: Liset Fonseca Rosales, Marta Perdomo Benítez, Ailex Marcano Fabelo, Delanis Álvarez Matos, Saily Núñez y Wilber Aguilar, who were taken to the … Continue reading “Several Relatives of July 11th (11J) Detainees are Arrested at the Cathedral in Havana, Cuba”
EFE (via 14ymedio), Juan Carlos Espinosa, Havana, 20 July 2022 — The face of the Cuban Ana María suddenly changes from total seriousness to a smile from ear to ear when the cell phone rings and she sees that Brenda is on the other end. It is her trans daughter – an option that Cuban … Continue reading “Brenda Diaz, Cuban Trans Protestor of July 11th (11J), is Imprisoned Among Men”
14ymedio, Havana, 12 July 2022 — “State Security visits us and harasses us, but we are going to continue asking for the freedom of our children.” The words of Migdalia Gutiérrez Padrón, mother of a 21-year-old young convicted because of the 11J protests [July 11, 2021] without even proof that he was there, explain why … Continue reading “They Challenge the Political Police and Demand Freedom for Their Children”
14ymedio, Ángel Salinas, Mexico, 4 July 2022 — A few days before the first anniversary of the July 11 (11J) protests, doctor Alexander Pupo Casas, who suffered from harassment and lost his job due to his outspoken stance against the Cuban regime, tells 14ymedio: “As I see it, there won’t be another one because that 11J, … Continue reading “The Next Demonstration in Cuba: ‘I Don’t Think it Will be Peaceful or Civic,’ Says Alexander Pupo”
14ymedio, Madrid, 15 June 2022 — The Supreme People’s Court (TSP) of Cuba has applied very significant reductions to the sentences of a group of convicts who appealed after being sentenced for the (11J (July 11th) demonstrations in the Havana neighborhood of La Güinera. The resolution, according to Diario de Cuba, provides for reductions of between 7 … Continue reading “Appeals of July 11th Sentences in La Guinera Leave High Prison Sentences Despite Reductions of up to 10 Years”
14medio, Havana, June 8, 2022 — The Panamanian authorities have extended the transit visa requirement for Cubans passing through their territory for three months, until this coming September. This measure, in force since March 8, caused hundreds of people to camp for several days in front of that country’s embassy in Havana. The new decree, … Continue reading “Panama Extends the Transit Visa Requirement for Cubans”
14ymedio, Madrid, 30 May 2021 — On Monday, May 30th, an impenetrable operation guarded the Tribunal in Marianao in Havana, where the first day of the trial was held for Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara and Maykel Castillo Osorbo. Some witnesses who were able to attend the oral arguments relayed to 14ymedio that, based on the behavior of the Tribunal and … Continue reading “Arrests and Threats for Cuban Activists During the Trial of Alcantara and Osorbo”
14ymedio, Havana, 28 May 2022 — At least five young people who were tried for the July 11 protests in Havana were released after a appeals trial held this Friday at the Diez de Octubre Municipal Court in Havana. Among those released are Rowland Jesús Castillo and Lázaro Noel Urgellés Fajardo, who had been sentenced … Continue reading “Several Young 11J (July 11th) Protesters Released in Havana”
14ymedio, Havana, 21 May 2022 — On Friday, after having requested refuge in El Salvador, Pastor Carlos Sebastián Hernández Armas and his two children have been reunited with his wife in the United States. “For known reasons, I have been discrete about my departure from Cuba and the way I arrived in the US with … Continue reading “Baptist pastor Who Fled Cuba with his Children Arrives in the United States”
