Luis Raúl González-Pardo faces charges that could cost him up to 15 years in federal prison
González-Pardo, in the center, with a group of pilots from the Cuban Armed Forces / Martí Noticias
14ymedio (via EFE), Miami, November 13, 2025 — Authorities in Florida accused Cuban pilot Luis Raúl González-Pardo of immigration fraud for lying about his past in the Cuban Air Force after arriving in the US under Humanitarian Parole in 2024, despite being implicated in the deaths of four Americans.
The Attorney General’s Office in the South Florida District announced that González-Pardo, 64, faces charges of fraud and misuse of visas, permits and other documents, and of giving false statements to a federal agency, which could get him up to 15 years in federal prison.
“This man’s past as a longstanding military pilot for the evil Castro regime, which has brought unspeakable suffering to the Cuban people, should have been front and center in his immigration file,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement.
“This man’s past as a longstanding military pilot for the evil Castro regime, which has brought unspeakable suffering to the Cuban people, should have been front and center in his immigration file”
The pilot, who arrived in April 2024 under the humanitarian parole program of former President Joe Biden (2021-2025), submitted “false declarations” about his membership in the Cuban Air Force from 1980-2009 on his I-485 form, in order to adjust his immigration status, according to the Department of Justice.
The complaint alleges that “he falsely stated that he had never received any military or weapons training, never participated in a group of any kind that used weapons or threatened to use weapons, and never served in a military or police unit, when in fact he received such training and served in the Cuban Army.” continue reading
Authorities accompanied the indictment with a photo of the suspect while working in the Cuban Air Force.
La polémica estalló en octubre de 2024, cuando legisladores republicanos de Florida, como el entonces senador Marco Rubio, ahora secretario de Estado, enviaron una carta a la Administración de Biden para denunciar que la llegada de González-Pardo implicaba admitir a “individuos ligados al régimen ilegítimo de Cuba”.
The controversy erupted in October 2024, when Florida Senator Marco Rubio, now Secretary of State, sent a letter to the Biden Administration denouncing that the arrival of González-Pardo “implied admitting individuals linked to the illegitimate regime of Cuba.”
Authorities accompanied the indictment with a photo of the suspect while working in the Cuban Air Force
Lawmakers reported that the pilot is “notoriously linked” to a 1996 incident in which Cuban MiG-29 jets shot down two planes of the humanitarian organization Brothers to the Rescue, resulting in the death of four “innocent Cuban-American pilots.”
The current US president, Donald Trump, revoked the Humanitarian Parole program, a temporary legal protection that the Biden government granted to some 532,000 Cubans, Nicaraguans, Venezuelans and Haitians.
“This Department of Justice will vigorously pursue anyone who lies about their past and takes advantage of the US immigration system,” Bondi warned.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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In Matanzas, patients with symptoms of chikungunya do not find relief in the line at the hospital
Patients despair for the lack of relief from pain that they feel will not go away. / 14ymedio
14ymedio, Julio César Contreras, Mantanzas,November 13, 2025 — The corridor at the Faustino Perez hospital seems to have no end. The white light is reflected in the worn-out tiles, and the air is still, saturated with disinfectant and resignation. It is 8:00 am, and the line in front of the post-arbovirosis clinic now stretches to the end of the corridor. Among those who wait, a woman, walking slowly with bandaged knees and tired eyes, asks if this is where they attend the patients with chikungunya. Her name is Yolanda, and she is 59 years old. For two months she has barely managed to walk.
“Since I got the virus, I haven’t been able to leave my house,” she says, leaning against the wall. “The swelling and pain in my knees are terrible. No one has explained to me if there is a cure or if I will stay like this forever.” Other patients hear her and nod in silence. They all share the same evil: the long aftermath of a fever that went away but left a broken body.
Yolanda says that in the La Playa polyclinic, the doctor could only refer her to the hospital: “She didn’t have a prescription for me.” In her neighborhood, Facebook groups and Google searches have become the new consultation rooms. “You learn on your own, because if you wait for them to guide you, you die of pain,” she complains. After a while, she finds a seat on a metal bench. Sitting down with difficulty, she takes a deep breath and watches as the other patients move slowly, dragging their feet.
In front of the intake window, the scene repeats itself: faces of fatigue, moans of pain and an employee who notes down names on an endless list. The health system tries to maintain the protocol, but the shortcomings are visible. Doctors repeat continue reading
the same recommendations over and over again –rest, painkillers, compresses — while patients look for answers.
The line in front of the post-arboviral consultation room now stretches to the end of the corridor. / 14ymedio
Tania, with swollen hands and red fingers, has been like this for five weeks. “I took a taxi from Limonar to get here, only to be told to take paracetamol,” she says. She was treated by three doctors, but none seemed to look beyond her file. “They talked to each other about their stuff, and in the end asked me if I had any risk factors. They don’t even know what virus I had. I spent eight days in bed without being able to get up. And now I arrive and leave the same way: no diagnosis and no relief.”
In the waiting room, an elderly woman wears a white robe printed with flowers and holds a phone in her hand. “Sometimes I think this is a test of endurance,” she whispers. She is accompanied by a young man who barely looks up. “Here the only thing that works without interruption are the lines,” she adds with an attempt at humor.
Sergio, a 52-year-old carpenter, managed to get a turn by calling the registration department directly. “Since the end of August I haven’t been able to pick up a hammer,” says this worker who makes baby furniture and cribs, rubbing his swollen hands. “I have spent more than 20,000 pesos on medicines, and neither paracetamol nor prednisone has worked for me.” The man speaks without anger, but with a resigned sadness. “I tried ice, exercises, massages… The only thing left is acupuncture. I don’t know if it will work, but I don’t have another option.” The silence of the corridor is interrupted by moans. Someone moves around in a wheelchair, another calls for help to find the consultation room.
The silence of the corridor is interrupted by moans. Someone moves around in a wheelchair, another calls for help to find the consultation room.
The most heard words are “rest” and “patience.” However, in the gestures of the sick there is more fatigue than hope. Arbovirosis has gone from being a seasonal news item to becoming a chronic disease of Cuban life. Not just for the viruses but for what comes with them: the after-effects and limitations to resume normal life.
Yolanda gets up when she hears her name. “At least today they will see me,” she says, although she knows that there will not be a treatment other than the one she already knows. Before entering, she says goodbye to those who are still waiting. “Beware of the mosquito,” she recommends with a faint smile.
When she leaves, more than a half-hour later, the line remains, with the same faces next to others who have arrived with similar symptoms. Only the time has changed. “I was told that I have to continue taking the same medications,” she says. She walks slowly towards the exit, clinging to the wall. “Sometimes I think this pain will last forever.”
Outside the hospital, the traffic noise reminds her that the day continues. “I’m going to take a taxi and go back home. I’ve done what I had to do.” She adjusts her backpack, takes a deep breath and crosses the street with slow and clumsy steps.
Translated by GH and Regina Anavy
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All the conversations in both Havana cemeteries revolved around “that virus” that “everyone is sick” with.
In Colón, an Etecssa van waited outside the chapel until the service ended. / 14ymedio
14ymedio, Dario Hernandez, Havana, November 12, 2025 — “There’s more funeral activity these days.” The statement, made by a worker at the Colón Cemetery in Havana, once again contradicts the government’s reassuring messages about the arboviral epidemic plaguing the country . A simple stroll through several of the island’s cemeteries confirms the situation.
At ten o’clock on Monday morning, the chapel located inside the island’s main cemetery in El Vedado was packed with people, and the parking lot was full of cars. Numerous burials were also taking place within the cemetery itself. The same scene was observed in Regla. All this activity is consistent with what can be seen at funeral homes in the capital, which have also seen increased activity in recent days.
The most striking thing, however, is the unusual transport being used to carry the coffins: vans from the Telecommunications Company (Etecsa). In Colón, one of them waited outside the chapel until the service was over. In Regla, a car from the telephone monopoly slowly led a funeral procession. The sight of the mourners weeping behind the state-owned vehicle was jarring.
Numerous burials could be seen throughout the Colón cemetery. / 14ymedio
One of them, however, was relieved: “Thank goodness at least these Etecsa vans are here, because I don’t know what happened to the hearses.” The man recounts that five years ago, when his mother died, even with the availability of proper vehicles, “it was already complicated.” “I don’t know if they’re sending these vans because so many people are dying and the hearses can’t keep up, or because the municipal services department simply doesn’t have them anymore,” this Havana resident ventures, wondering if the “diversion” of Etecsa vans might be affecting telecommunications service.
Although they did not mention the cause of death of the deceased about to be buried, all the conversations in both Havana cemeteries revolved around “that virus” that “everyone is sick” with.
This is the second consecutive week that the number of infections of what the Government now calls “non-specific febrile syndrome” has decreased, according to the Ministry of Public Health at a government meeting this Tuesday, but the cumulative total is starting to be alarming. continue reading
There are eight provinces where the number of cases is beginning to decrease—Havana, Matanzas, Villa Clara, Cienfuegos, Ciego de Ávila, Granma, Santiago de Cuba, and Guantánamo—suggesting that in the rest of the country, the number is at least stable, if not increasing. The province with the highest rate remains Sancti Spíritus, according to an article published Wednesday in the Escambray newspaper. However, the data on dengue fever, the most dangerous of the arboviruses circulating on the island this year, were very vague.
The sight of the mourners weeping behind the state vehicle in Regla was shocking. / 14ymedio
Authorities have been reluctant to give an absolute figure, but data from the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) shows that a total of 9,602 people have now been infected, compared to 6,519 on October 23. This means the incidence rate has risen to 87.79 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, up from 59.6 per 100,000 three weeks ago. These numbers represent only a small part of the true situation, as the population is hesitant to go to health centers.
Chikungunya cases are also on the rise. As of Tuesday, the cumulative total was 21,681, compared to just over 20,000 last week. Regarding oropouche, experts stated that there have been no confirmed or suspected cases since September 26.
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The Castro brothers consolidated their power through purges that eliminated key figures of the Revolution, many of them born in the capital.
Fidel Castro entering Havana in 1959, flanked by Camilo Cienfuegos and Huber Matos. / Venceremos
14ymedio, Rafael Bordao, Miami, November 12, 2025 — It is striking that, for the past 73 years, Cuba’s main heads of government have shared a common origin: a rural background. From Batista, Fidel, and Raúl, born in the province of Holguín, an agricultural region in eastern Cuba, to Miguel Díaz-Canel, also from a province outside the capital, political leadership has been marked by figures formed in environments far removed from Havana’s cosmopolitanism. This campesino root profoundly influenced their vision of the country, favoring a revolutionary narrative centered on the countryside, the fight against urban elitism, and the redistribution of wealth, although often with contradictory and catastrophic consequences.
When Fidel Castro seized power in 1959, a considerable portion of Havana’s population—especially from the middle and upper classes—emigrated into exile, primarily to Florida. In their place, Havana was repopulated by campesinos brought from the interior of the country, many of whom were housed in the former mansions confiscated from the bourgeoisie. This forced relocation generated a culture shock: the new inhabitants, unfamiliar with the codes of urban life, felt uncomfortable in spaces they didn’t fully understand; some didn’t even know what a bidet was for. The revolution, by appropriating properties without compensation, unleashed a wave of resentment and social upheaval. The country, in its attempt to reinvent itself, saw its traditional structures dismantled, giving way to a chaos that, for many, was both a punishment and the consequence of a historical vendetta.
The history of the Castro regime is marked by a liturgy of silences and defenestrations
The Castro brothers consolidated their power through a series of political purges that systematically eliminated key figures of the Revolution, many of them Havana natives, such as Ricardo Alarcón de Quesada, who had the potential to succeed them. The history of the Castro regime is marked by a liturgy of silences and defenestrations. From the removal of President Manuel Urrutia in July 1959, the mysterious disappearance of Camilo Cienfuegos, and the arbitrary arrest of Commander Huber Matos, the continue reading
Castros initiated a strategy of absolute control, which involved marginalizing fellow revolutionaries who posed a threat to their one-man rule.
Over the decades, leaders such as Carlos Lage, Felipe Pérez Roque, and José Abrantes (all from Havana), and Carlos Aldana were removed from power without credible public explanations, victims of a system that punishes autonomy and popularity. Even Eusebio Leal Spengler, the cultured and revered historian of Havana, was quietly sidelined, and although he died—according to the authorities—of a painful illness, his Catholic faith and his cosmopolitan and cultural vision of the country not only contrasted with the military stubbornness of Castroism, but also distanced him from socialist dogma, which probably prevented him from rising to positions of greater influence.
These purges were not merely a response to political errors, but rather to a logic of structural distrust. Power in Cuba is not shared: it is inherited, monitored, and purified. The fall of each figure (the most recent being that of economist Alejandro Gil Fernández) is accompanied by a eulogy that sounds like an epitaph, and the ensuing silence is as eloquent as the accusation. In this context, the Revolution has become a closed space, where absolute loyalty to the Castro leadership is the only guarantee of permanence.
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The regime is deploying surveillance not only in Marianao, where the hearing is taking place, but also at the main headquarters of the Supreme People’s Court in Old Havana.
International press gathered outside the trial of Alejandro Gil this Tuesday in Marianao. / 14ymedio
14ymedio, Darío Hernández/Yaiza Santos, Havana/Madrid, November 11, 2025 — The area surrounding the People’s Civil and Family Court of Marianao, in Havana, was heavily guarded this Tuesday morning, but with a visible presence of the international press. The trial of Alejandro Gil Fernández, the highest-ranking official prosecuted by the Cuban justice system in recent decades, is taking place there, starting at 9:30 a.m. Gil Fernández is a former Minister of Economy, former Deputy Prime Minister, and for years the right-hand man of President Miguel Díaz-Canel.
The only relative of the former official allowed entry, according to a source close to the case who requested anonymity, is his son, Alejandro Gil González. The hearing will continue tomorrow.
“I saw a lot of photographers and a pile of cars when I took my son to school early this morning,” Susana, a resident of the area, located at 100th Street and 33rd Avenue, told 14ymedio. At that time, traffic was not yet blocked, unlike during the court hearing. Shops and businesses of all kinds were also closed, and dozens of State Security agents in civilian clothes could be seen scattered around the street corners, as 14ymedio confirmed.
The People’s Civil and Family Court of Marianao, in Havana, where the trial of former minister Alejandro Gil is taking place this Tuesday. / 14ymedio
The same thing was happening in the streets adjacent to the Supreme People’s Court in Old Havana, the body that issued the statement on Monday announcing today’s trial time. On every corner near Aguiar Street, between Obrapía and Obispo, State Security agents, “disguised” in civilian clothes and working in pairs, were stationed, intently watching everyone who walked by, even for just a few seconds. “I don’t know why they’re wasting so many resources, if the trial is happening somewhere else,” a witness to the operation said ironically. continue reading
This Monday, without prior notification to Gil’s family, the midday news broadcast the TPS statement announcing that the oral hearing against the former minister would take place less than 24 hours later. The hearing, scheduled for 9:30 a.m. this Tuesday, would be conducted by the State Security Crimes Chamber, although neither the court that would try him, nor the address, nor the charges to be addressed were provided.
The accused’s sister, María Victoria Gil Fernández, told 14ymedio that the process would take place in two separate trials, and that today would be the one that includes the espionage charge, for which the Prosecutor’s Office is asking for 30 years in prison.
Police operation outside the courthouse where Alejandro Gil is being tried. / 14ymedio
According to the Supreme Court’s statement, the trial would be held behind closed doors for “national security reasons,” citing Articles 153 of the Constitution and 477.1 of the Criminal Procedure Law. Only “the parties and persons authorized by the court” would have access, the statement continued, the news anchor read almost without looking up from the page. This decision confirmed the opacity with which the government has handled the case since the minister’s dismissal in February 2024, and effectively canceled the request made on social media by Gil’s daughter, Laura María, for a fair, public, and transparent trial with media presence.
The court’s decision overturns the young woman’s demand, made on social media , for a transparent and public trial, so that the public could directly learn the arguments, evidence, and details about her father’s alleged crimes. “If they are so sure of their case, why hide it?” Laura María Gil questioned, demanding a process that goes beyond official statements and controlled leaks.
Surveillance operation on Aguiar Street in Old Havana this Tuesday. / 14ymedio
According to a source familiar with the case, who requested anonymity for security reasons, the case against the former Minister of Economy and Finance involves some twenty other defendants, including “a member of the National Assembly of People’s Power and a secretary of the Communist Party.” “The request for him is 30 years, while all the others face minimum sentences of 15 years,” the same source told 14ymedio, while specifying Gil’s whereabouts, which had not been made public since his arrest in March 2024: the maximum-security prison of Guanajay, Artemisa, “under a regime against state security.”
The defendants, he continued, number 15, “plus another five or six who were released on bail.” He asserted that “the names of some of them are not being released; they are under strict secrecy, which implies that they could be military personnel or high-ranking officials.”
Alejandro Gil Fernández is being defended by the lawyer Abel Solá López , who has extensive experience in trials related to state security. One such case was the 2017 trial that sentenced Alina López Miyares and her husband, Félix Martín Milanés Fajardo, to 13 and 17 years in prison, respectively, for espionage. That trial, held on October 2nd in the Marianao Military Court’s Justice Room, was also closed to the public and “without access for the defendants’ families.”
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Cuban authorities report that the number of infections is beginning to be controlled, but in just three weeks the number of cases has soared
Fumigation in a street in Matanzas. / Girón
14ymedio, Madrid, November 12, 2025 — Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez spoke words that were as feared as they were expected on Tuesday. “We are going to handle this epidemic like we did with Covid-19,” he said at the meeting of health experts, who analyzed the situation created since viruses associated with arbovirosis began to spread on the island. The population has assumed for weeks that the spread is rampant and expected the authorities to do the same, although they fear that the mention of coronavirus will cause more worry.
The authorities spoke yesterday of an “unspecific febrile syndrome,” as it is known in medicine: a condition characterized by the presence of high fever and commonly associated with a wide variety of diseases such as dengue, zika, chikungunya and many others. According to the data offered by Public Health at the meeting, it is the second consecutive week that the number of infections has decreased, but the accumulation of cases is frightening.
Dr. José Raúl de Armas Fernández said that there are eight provinces in which the number is beginning to fall — Havana, Matanzas, Villa Clara, Cienfuegos, Ciego de Ávila, Granma, Santiago de Cuba and Guantánamo — from which it can be inferred that the others have at least stable, if not increased, numbers. Sancti Spíritus, according to an article published this Wednesday in the newspaper Escambray, maintains the highest rate of suspected cases. Data on dengue, the most dangerous of the arbovirosis circulating on the island this year, were very unspecific. continue reading
Sancti Spíritus, according to an article published this Wednesday in the newspaper Escambray, maintains the highest rate of suspected cases.
The authorities have been reluctant to give an absolute figure, but the data provided by PAHO show that a total of 9,602 people have already been infected, compared to 6,519 on October 23. This means that the incidence is 87.79 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, compared to 59.6 cases per 100,000 three weeks ago.
The numbers are from suspected and confirmed cases, in the 46th week of data, although they represent a small part of those actually on the island, since a large part of the population is reluctant to go to health centers despite the insistence of the authorities. Three weeks ago, when this newspaper reviewed the PAHO data on dengue, Cuba had reported 71 cases of severe dengue, but today it reports 115 cases, 62% more in just 21 days. Deaths are also reported: three in total, unchanged from mid-October.
Dr. Armas Fernández did give more precise figures for chikungunya, not for the first time. Last week, the national director of Epidemiology, Francisco Durán, placed the number at 20,062, while yesterday the cumulative figure had increased to 21,681, of which more than 20,000 had a clinical suspicion of the disease in 14 provinces, 93 municipalities and 151 health areas. Matanzas, Havana, Camagüey, Cienfuegos, Artemisa, and Villa Clara have almost all the cases, 98.5% of those diagnosed.
As for oropouche, experts stated that there has been no confirmed or suspected case since September 26.
“El objetivo fundamental de nuestro sistema es lograr el ingreso de todos los pacientes que tienen síndrome febril. Este ingreso puede ser en la vivienda o puede ser por los criterios que ya están aprobados”, afirmó Yagen Pomares Pérez, directora general de Atención Primaria y doctora en Ciencias.
“The fundamental objective of our system is to accomplish the admission of all patients with febrile syndrome. This can be home admission, according to criteria that are already approved,” said Dr. Yagen Pomares Pérez, the director general of primary care.
Pomares said that a new protocol has been approved for this situation based on the experiences of the Covid-19 pandemic, in which it is essential “to admit patients,” beginning with isolation at home, which, she admitted, is complicated.
She also indicated that there is a need for the health teams to continue monitoring the patient. For this, and in the midst of a collapse of staff and human resources in the health sector, “fifth-year medical students who now have the sufficient competence” have been mobilized. The experience now has been tested, as this newspaper reported last month and now confirmed on Tuesday by the official in Matanzas, the first province to suffer the serious epidemic.
The experts reported that there are demographic groups that must be hospitalized in all cases, such as children under two years of age, pregnant women and older adults
The experts reported that there are demographic groups that must be hospitalized in all cases, such as children under two years of age, pregnant women and older adults. They should be joined by people suffering from any disease that can be aggravated with a virus, from the hypertensive to the diabetic and any other condition that produces comorbidities. But the authorities are faced with the great challenge of citizens’ mistrust, who fear finding themselves in an institution where there are shortcomings of all kinds, including sanitation and being surrounded by others affected.
“We all know that the main concern of our population today is pesticide treatment, fumigation,” added Madelaine Rivera Sánchez, national director of Surveillance and Vector Control. She claimed yesterday that “it has not been possible to reach everywhere, as we have been accustomed to during the years of epidemic outbreaks.” However, it is not the first year that problems of fuel, supplies and personnel have complicated the task or made it impossible.
Although Rivera promised to try to reach urban areas or others where an intervention is called for, “there are some provinces in which it has not gone well because the teams have remained on the ground.” This disease, she said, “has had a very fast transmission rate due to the presence of the mosquito, and we must continue to carry out the main actions against the vector in order to be able, in the shortest possible time, to solve this problem that is affecting the entire population.”
Translated by Regina Anavy
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This is the third femicide recorded in November, following the case of 28-year-old Yudislaimi Valdés Silediro in Mayabeque.
The young woman was stabbed multiple times on the night of the 6th in the middle of the street. / Facebook
14ymedio, Madrid, 12 November 2025– Liena de la Caridad Reinoso Ramos, aged just 23, was murdered on 6 November by her ex-partner in broad daylight in the La Conchita neighbourhood of Pinar del Río. The news, which had been circulating on social media for days, was verified on Tuesday by the observatories Yo Sí Te Creo en Cuba and Alas Tensas. This brings the number of femicides committed in Cuba so far this year to at least 36, according to the 14ymedio registry.
Reinoso, a nurse by profession, was stabbed multiple times by her ex-partner, identified on social media as a security guard and son of a senior official in the Ministry of the Interior. Some reports claim that this would have meant favourable conditions for the alleged murderer, who was arrested and taken, without handcuffs, to the police station, accompanied by his father.
Ramos has been praised on social media by a fellow student who describes her as “an excellent girl, very hard-working, loved and respected by all who knew her. I speak from first-hand experience, because I studied with her at the Pre,” he said, before calling for the person responsible to be “punished to the full extent of the law”.
Some reports claim that this would have meant favourable conditions for the alleged murderer, who was arrested and taken, without handcuffs, to the police station, accompanied by his father.
It had only been four days since the second gender-based crime reported in November had been confirmed, the one that took the life of 28-year-old Yudislaimi Valdés Silediro. The femicide took place on the 3rd at the hands of her partner in the home they shared in the village of El Mamey, in San Nicolás de Bari, Mayabeque. The deceased had a young daughter, although it has not been disclosed whether the alleged murderer was her father. continue reading
Feminist observatories put the number of sexist murders committed in Cuba so far this year at 40 – four of which are counted as violent deaths by this newspaper – in addition to 15 attempted femicides and three cases that require police investigation: those of Hilda Puig Peña, Nieves Rosa Castrillo Núñez and Fredesvinda Zaida Pérez Poey. They also mention a man murdered for gender-based reasons and four possible new cases that are pending information. “Citizens, reporting these crimes is not a crime,” they urge Cubans.
One of the previous reported cases took more than a month to be confirmed. It was the case of Maidelín Reyes Hernández, allegedly attacked by her ex-partner on 24 September in Camagüey, whose femicide was confirmed on 4 November.
Yo Sí Te Creo en Cuba and Alas Tensas also recalled on Tuesday that it has been a year and three months since Yanara Fernández Méndez disappeared, and there is still no news of her. The 39-year-old woman was last seen on 5 August 2024 in Las Tunas and suffered from schizophrenia, although it was under control thanks to the medical treatment she was receiving and the support of her family, who are even more fearful about what may have happened to her.
With less than two months to go before the end of the year, there have been 16 fewer femicides than at the end of 2024, when there were 52 according to the ‘14ymedio‘ registry.’
With less than two months to go before the end of the year, there have been 16 fewer femicides than at the end of 2024, when there were 52 according to the 14ymedio registry. The number of murders due to gender-based violence on the island is unknown, as a significant number are not reported on social media and the government only provides figures for cases that have gone to trial. Last year, 76 femicides reached the courts, although the dates on which the crimes took place were not provided.
The country is still waiting for a comprehensive law against gender violence, the first steps of which were promised by the authorities for 2026.
Translated by GH
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“They have been fearing that voice for 60 years, terrified of its extraordinary power to draw a crowd”
Few managed to stay seated during the parade of Celia Cruz’s songs. / 14ymedio
14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar, Havana, 10 November 2025 — Spectacular. There is no other word to describe the tribute paid to Celia Cruz this Sunday night at the El Cabildo cultural center, near the Almendares River in Havana. The gala, commemorating the centennial of the Queen of Salsa, had been previously censored when it attempted to be presented on Sunday, October 19, at the Fábrica de Arte Cubano (FAC).
With all the seast occupied, and dozens of people standing because they couldn’t get a seat, despite transportation problems and the arboviruses that continue to plague the population, the show organized by the El Público theater group began. The baritone, Ulises Aquino , founder of the Ópera de la Calle company and promoter of El Cabildo, took the microphone and thanked the theater company for their courage in finally presenting the play dedicated to the Queen of Salsa
During the night, there was dancing, applause, and enjoyment. Few managed to remain seated during the parade of musical themes, as infectious as they were representative of a woman who symbolizes the most optimistic, sensual, and festive part of the Cuban soul, so battered after decades of feigned severity and public discourse that glorifies resentment and hatred of those who are different. Artists including Roberto Romero, Estrellita, Freddy Maragoto, Lucho Calzadilla, Georbis Martínez, Daniel Triana, and the dancers Brian Ernesto Pérez and Chay Deivis shone, and made the show shine.
While the official discourse was gray and subdued, the songs that resonated this Sunday at El Cabildo were expansive and direct
The show was not only a moving tribute to Celia Cruz, but also the best possible response to the National Center for Popular Music, which, in a terse message that didn’t even mention the name of the Queen of Salsa, announced last October that the gala at the FAC would not take place. While the official statement was subdued and timid, the songs that resonated this Sunday at El Cabildo were expansive and direct.
With the direction of Carlos Díaz and with the dramaturgy of Norge Espinosa, the show “Celia” found a fitting venue at El Cabildo. Among the foliage of the area, the event had a certain air of rebellion, of something done even though the dogs of censorship were barking nearby, very nearby. “We’ll see what they publish tomorrow,” commented a woman, who danced all night, alluding to possible official attacks against El Público and El Cabildo for preparing and hosting the gala. continue reading
“Quimbara, cumbara, cumba quimbambá” blared from the loudspeakers of the cultural center, and hips, as if possessed by a spell, swayed and swayed without rest. Amid the somber times being experienced in Cuba, with the fear that a mosquito bite might end in fevers, swollen joints, or a funeral, what happened at El Cabildo was more than a balm; it was a true injection of life, hope, and enthusiasm
An enormous mouth, bright red and with teeth peeking out in festive laughter, appeared on the stage screen. Contagious laughter that defined the evening from the start as a time to have fun, enjoy oneself, and let loose, dance and be happy. Creating that kind of festive atmosphere is no small feat these days, but the tribute to Celia Cruz achieved it. It transported the audience to a state of boisterous celebration that lasted even after the stage lights had gone out and people began to leave the venue
“I’m still a little sore, but I couldn’t miss this,” commented a young man still recovering from chikungunya, who could barely sit still at the table he shared with a couple. “I found out through a WhatsApp group, and even though I live far away, I arranged with some friends to pay for a ride here. Of course, we came covered in insect repellent, just in case,” he joked.
El Cabildo stage, this Sunday, during the tribute to Celia Cruz for her centennial. / 14ymedio
There was no lack of glances toward the entrance of the place, fearing that at any moment some guayabera-clad bureaucrat with a stern face might burst in and order the microphones turned off. “I came for Celia, but also to make sure this show was really going to happen because after what happened at the Fábrica de Arte, I couldn’t believe it until I saw it with my own eyes,” commented Ana María, a Havana native born in 1960, the same year Celia Cruz left Cuba.
“In my house, we never stopped listening to her. My parents had their Communist Party [PCC] membership cards on one hand and their adoration of Celia Cruz on the other,” she told this newspaper. “When my mother died, she had long since left the PCC, but she never stopped being a fan of Celia. That was one of her lifelong dreams. The last New Year’s Eve we celebrated as a family before she died, she danced to ‘La Negra Tiene Tumbao‘.”
For some of those who attended Sunday’s tribute, it was the first time they had heard the Queen of Salsa in a space other than a private party or family gathering. Hearing her in a space packed with people, practically under the open sky, without subterfuge or hiding, proved to be a liberating experience. No musical closet can withstand a shout of “Azúuuucar!”
The affection for Celia Cruz and the joy of dancing to the rhythm of her voice acted as a magical connection among those attending the tribute. The atmosphere was very different from that of the attacks that, these days, government spokespeople are launching against the artist. If in the dark offices of ministries and institutions they decree to silence her, in El Cabildo she resonated powerfully; they could not muzzle her
Rosa Marquetti, a specialist in the life and work of the Queen of Salsa, had already warned that Cuban censors “have spent 60 years fearing that voice, trembling with fear at the mere mention or writing of her name, terrified by her extraordinary power to draw people in.” According to the expert, the songs popularized by Celia Cruz “are far more compelling and convincing than the bitterness and karmic negativity with which they impose orders, wield power, and threaten with the only thing they possess: the force of de facto power.”
That contrast between joy and anger, jubilation and resentment was more than evident at El Cabildo, transformed on Sunday night into a magical space where insults, hatred, and pessimism were banished. The gala’s closing couldn’t have been more in tune with that atmosphere of happiness. “I will live, I will be there/ As long as a comparsa passes by, I will sing my rumba,” was heard over the loudspeakers. “Oh, I want that to be the national anthem of Cuba,” a young woman said as she left, with tears and a smile on her face.
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Officialdom has failed in its attempt to disqualify the publication of informal exchange rates by El Toque
El Toque explains that its information is based on advertisements and publications in networks collected daily. / 14ymedio
14ymedio, Madrid, November 10, 2025 — As expected by the specialists, after a few days of truce in which its price began a rapid fall from 490 pesos to 410, the dollar is back up strongly on the informal market. The new war waged by the government against El Toque, which publishes daily sales rates in the streets, is of little use. If this Saturday the dollar had already started to rise to 415; the next day it cost 420 pesos and, this Monday, 430 pesos.
The independent media itself never tires of illustrating how it extracts the information it offers, most recently this Sunday. Far from operating as a denunciation of the regime, which accuses it of “speculative manipulation” serving the US as part of an “integral program of destabilization” and “usurping” the task of the Central Bank of Cuba, El Toque, without referring to this smear campaign, explains that its exchange rate is based on advertisements and publications in networks collected daily and from responses by users.
This is exemplified by the data collected on Saturday and Sunday. In the first graph they report the “histogram of published offers” and explain: “Most offers are concentrated between 410 and 430 CUP/USD, with an average point of 420 CUP,” which “indicates that the majority of participants in the market coincide in this price range.” The average, 421.81 pesos, is slightly above the median (420 CUP), which suggests that some providers are starting to request higher prices. This slight difference may indicate upward pressures; that is, an increase in the dollar rate.” continue reading
Towards the end of October, a change in trend is observed: requests for purchase (demand) increase, and sales offers decrease (offer)
In a second graph, they present supply and demand aggregates, showing the evolution of the number of people interested in buying or selling dollars over time. The figures, insists the media, “are based on amounts declared by users in their messages.” But they clarify: “Not all offers include precise amounts; therefore, the values presented constitute a sub-record of the actual movement; that is to say, the detectable minimum of transaction intentions. As a result, the total market volume is likely to be much larger.”
And they conclude: “During the month of October, the volume of transactions remained relatively stable. However, towards the end of the month a change in trend was observed. There was an increase in purchase requests (demand) and a decrease in sales offers (supply). This imbalance –more people willing to buy and fewer to sell — usually anticipates increases in the dollar price if the trend continues.”
The article recalls that economist Pavel Vidal, head of the Observatory of Currencies and Finance (OMFi), has also explained many times that movements in the informal exchange rate are given by the balance between supply and demand. “If the demand for dollars, euros or MLC (freely convertible currency) exceeds the supply — because many people or private enterprises seek foreign exchange to import, travel or protect their savings against inflation- the price of these currencies in Cuban pesos tends to rise. Conversely, if more people are willing to sell currencies than they are willing to buy — through increased remittances, tourism or a recent appreciation of the dollar- the rate may be lowered.” This is the basic law of supply and demand, which is practiced all over the world, except in Cuba, where the regime tries to ignore it without success.
It is also influenced by “expectations,” such as “rumors of new sanctions, announcements of regulatory changes for MSMEs, remittances or banking operations, as well as changes in monetary policy” and other factors, such as liquidity or financial regulations.
In the case of the drop that occurred last week, some experts associated with OMFi link it to the effects of Hurricane Melissa, specifically the sending of currency and donations to support the country and families.
In his report of last October, Pavel Vidal stated that the economic crisis on the island “has not yet hit rock bottom, and no possible exits are perceived in the short and medium term.” He ventured that the dollar could even exceed 500 pesos at the end of October, in an “extreme” scenario. Before the descent of the past days, it was close to reaching it.
Regardless of specific predictions, the scenario outlined by the Cuban economist, who resides in Colombia, for the unstoppable devaluation of the national currency remains valid. For example, there is the debacle of tourism, essential to foreign exchange earnings. Also, having cash is the only way to be able to buy in the dollarized stores, which are becoming more numerous. In addition, the energy crisis and the “very limited access” to inputs and financing negatively affect production, which increases the dependence on imports. “Mistrust in the future of the economy and the Government’s ability to face the crisis” causes capital flight and encourages the “accumulation of savings” in hard currencies.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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The country’s main highway has seen fifty people injured and two killed in just 72 hours.
“At seven in the morning, the first ambulance still hadn’t arrived,” said a witness to the accident. / Facebook
14ymedio, Havana, November 10, 2025 — A bus collided with a cart in the early hours of Monday morning on the National Highway, leaving 27 people injured, four of them with life-threatening injuries. The crash occurred just three days after another massive crash at kilometre 183 of the same road. This time, the collision took place near the community of La Caoba, in the municipality of Venezuela, in Ciego de Ávila.
The official newspaper Invasor reported on its Facebook page that most of the injured were taken to the Antonio Luaces Iraola Provincial Teaching Hospital, and the rest to the local polyclinic. In the same publication a witness criticised the delay in help arriving: “At seven in the morning, the first ambulance had still not arrived,” he wrote. According to his testimony, the injured were rescued by “neighbours in carts as best they could”.
The crash involved a bus carrying workers from the El Fortín Credit and Trade Cooperative. Images posted on social media show the left side of the vehicle completely destroyed.
A fourth seriously ill patient, with a fractured pelvis, remained at the Venezuela municipal polyclinic.
Dr Inés Padrón González, a specialist in intensive care and emergencies, later reported that the hospital in Avila had received 20 patients, although “not all cases have arrived”. Of those admitted to the centre, three were in a life-threatening condition: two with severe head trauma and another with “abdominal trauma with free fluid in the cavity”, whose condition was being assessed for possible surgery. A fourth seriously injured patient, with a pelvic fracture, remained at the Venezuela polyclinic. The rest of the injured were reported to be stable, with minor injuries and orthopaedic trauma. continue reading
Last Friday, when a Yutong bus veered off the road at kilometre 183 of the National Highway, two women died: Mikenia Valenciano Godínez, 36, originally from Songo La Maya, Santiago de Cuba, but residing in Havana; and Dainé Rodríguez Hernández, 22, also from Santiago.
Of the more than 20 people injured in the crash, two remain in critical condition, connected to artificial ventilation in the intensive care unit of the provincial hospital in Cienfuegos. Two other patients are reported to be in serious condition, with hip fractures and post-traumatic hemorrhages.
In just three days, these two massive crashes on the National Highway have left nearly fifty people injured and have once again exposed the deplorable state of Cuba’s main road. The proximity of both crashes highlights the fact that Cuban roads have become increasingly lethal.
Translated by GH
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He was a tireless promoter of legal education for citizens in the face of repression.
In his work, Wilfredo Vallín always emphasized the need to denounce abuses of power. / 14ymedio
14ymedio, Havana, 8 November 2025 — Independent lawyer and civil rights advocate Wilfredo Vallín Almeida passed away early Saturday morning in Havana at the age of 77, according to sources close to the family who confirmed the information to 14ymedio. The jurist leaves behind a profound legacy as the founder of the Cuban Legal Association (Ajudicuba) and a tireless promoter of legal education for citizens in the face of repression.
Originally from Havana, he graduated with a law degree from the University of Havana in 1992 and worked briefly as a lawyer within the state system before transitioning to independent legal practice. In 2008, he founded the Cuban Legal Association (Ajudicuba), with the aim of promoting legal education within Cuban society and providing free legal advice services.
One of the most difficult moments of his activism occurred in 2018, when his home was raided by State Security agents who seized numerous work tools and case files related to the cases the independent lawyers’ group was advising. This episode marked a turning point in his work, due to the intense threats he received from the political police during and after the raid.
Vallín was also a pioneer in the use of new technologies, blogs, Twitter accounts (now X), and social media as tools to disseminate legal analyses, advice, and reports of human rights violations. In his articles, he always emphasized the need to denounce abuses of power and reminded readers that “a Constitution is a living and practical law that cannot be built on continue reading
ideological elements.”
Under his leadership, Ajudicuba advised relatives of numerous political prisoners, documented cases of arbitrary detentions, and offered legal defense seminars.
Under his leadership, Ajudicuba advised the families of numerous political prisoners, documented cases of arbitrary detentions, and offered legal defense seminars in a context of increasing repression. In one of his reports, Vallín wrote: “All citizens who do not find justice in the government courts can come to us; our service is completely free.”
The independent lawyer also taught at the Blogger Academy (2008-2009), where his workshops on law, Cuban regulations, and defense strategies against repression were very well received. He became a role model for young lawyers, activists, and citizens seeking a basic understanding of citizenship, rights, and access to justice in Cuba.
A man of even judgment, willing to listen and with a great capacity to bridge the gap between other independent projects, he quickly became an indispensable figure in Cuban activism. His voice was heard in numerous international forums, and several of his investigations into human rights abuses ended up before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
Vallín promoted the “Citizen Demand for Another Cuba,” urging the State to ratify the Covenants on Civil and Political Rights and on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
Vallín spearheaded the “Citizens’ Demand for Another Cuba,” urging the Cuban state to ratify the United Nations International Covenants on Civil and Political Rights and on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which Havana had signed but not fully implemented. The jurist’s commitment was to view the law not merely as written words, but as a genuine instrument of protection. As he himself maintained, “Knowledge of the law is the first step toward individual freedom.”
Wilfredo Vallín’s health deteriorated rapidly in recent days. His funeral will be held this afternoon in Havana.
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Performances by the National Ballet of Cuba are cancelled due to the “unforeseen indisposition” of several artists
The three catchers from Granma, among other players, are sick, according to reports / Facebook
14ymedio/SwingCompleto, Havana, November 9, 2025 — Cuba’s National Baseball Series experienced another interruption to its schedule. This Saturday, the game between Granma and Mayabeque was suspended because one of the viruses circulating in the country affected a large part of the Alazanes’ roster.
The news was reported this Saturday by pro-government journalist Wilber Pastrana, although he avoided mentioning the cause of the illness. “There are no games today or tomorrow at Nelson Fernández Stadium. Several Granma athletes are sick, including the team’s three catchers. The games will be played at the end of the qualifying stage.”
The Alazanes de Granma lost their first three games of the subseries and it was supposed to continue this weekend, but physical discomfort took hold of a significant part of the team’s roster.
The Granma team had a visit to the Isle of Youth scheduled for next week, but now “it is being considered that Granma will return to its province.”
Pastrana also mentioned that the Granma team had a visit to the Isle of Youth scheduled for next week, but that now “they are considering returning to their province. If things remain this way, they will not make the trip to the Isle of Youth.” The reporter concluded his message with the phrase: “The athletes’ health will always come first.”
The 64th National Series has faced numerous challenges since its inception. For one, it was moved on the calendar for the first time, starting six months later than usual. Furthermore, several games have been postponed due to unforeseen issues with hotel capacity in cities like Las Tunas, transportation problems stemming from poor road conditions or fuel shortages, and nationwide power outages.
Regarding the impact of the various viruses on the island, the National Series is not the only event that has had to suspend its activities. The National Ballet of Cuba announced this Saturday the cancellation of its performances scheduled for this weekend, after confirming that several of its dancers are also ill “in the context of the current epidemiological continue reading
situation.” The company acknowledged that, despite readjusting casts to maintain the performances, the “unforeseen illness” of more artists forced them to suspend the shows.
Despite readjusting casts to maintain the performances, the “unforeseen indisposition” of more artists forced the cancellation of the shows.
The announcement published in Cubadebate points out that “the suspension underscores the ongoing challenges faced by cultural institutions and large groups in maintaining their live seasons in the face of unforeseen health issues affecting their casts.”
This week, health authorities acknowledged a significant increase in cases of chikungunya, dengue, and other arboviruses in the country. Deputy Minister of Public Health Carilda Peña García reported that more than 20,000 cases of chikungunya have been registered, with the highest incidence in Havana, Camagüey, Cienfuegos, Artemisa, and Villa Clara. The announcement came somewhat late, more than a month after the United States issued a travel alert for Cuba due to the surge in infections.
Similarly, it was clarified that “there are no reports of oropouche,” although until now it was one of the possible ailments of the population and, he assured, “surveillance is maintained on that disease.”
However, the number reported by the authorities could pale in comparison to the citizen complaints circulating daily on social media, where residents of different territories in the country claim that entire families remain ill.
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The situation is particularly serious in Guantanamo, where there were 27 wakes in a single day
The hushed conversations repeat the same words and phrases: “gelatin,” “soup,” “fevers,” “he became dehydrated,” “the pain wouldn’t let up.” / 14ymedio
14ymedio, Dario Hernandez, Havana, November 9, 2025 — In recent weeks, while news programs have been repeating reassuring figures on arboviral cases and hospitals have been avoiding providing complete statistics, funeral homes tell a different story. This newspaper visited several funeral parlors in Havana and observed a pattern that doesn’t fit with the official narrative of “epidemiological control.”
In Guanabacoa, the Bertematti funeral home, located between Máximo Gómez and Maceo streets, had all its chapels occupied this Saturday, a rather unusual occurrence for the establishment. Outside, some families waited their turn to secure a space where they could say goodbye to their loved ones.
No one is saying for sure that the deceased were victims of a specific virus. But that is all anyone is talking about. The hushed conversations outside the hospital repeat the same words and phrases: “gelatin,” “soup,” “fevers,” “dehydrated,” “the pain wouldn’t let up.” These are symptoms without a written diagnosis, but the local population has already learned to recognize them immediately.
“Most people don’t go to the hospital. So how do you know how many sick people there are?” / 14ymedio
The same thing happened at the San Miguel del Padrón funeral home. Of the three rooms, two were in use at the time of 14ymedio‘s visit .
At the smaller funeral home in Regla, two rooms were also operating simultaneously this Saturday. In one of them, a doctor could be seen wearing a mask. Her presence there appeared to be part of a health protocol that hasn’t been reported in official media, but which points to a greater emergency than they are admitting.
“Most people don’t go to the hospital. So how do you know how many are sick?” commented the son of one of the deceased, leaning against the wall. Someone close to the family argued that even when a virus is what caused the patient’s fatal decline, it rarely appears as the cause on the death certificate. “If the person had diabetes, heart disease, or asthma, that’s what they put down, not the virus,” they said. continue reading
A doctor from Cotorro, consulted by 14ymedio, confirms this with a more technical nuance: “The virus can cause encephalitis and myocarditis, which are indeed listed as direct causes of death. Dengue can cause shock , which is also fatal. But epidemiological statistics are not kept in the emergency room. That is controlled—in theory—in primary care. In practice, the record-keeping is fragmented.”
Families perceive that the symptoms in children are more aggressive. / 14ymedio
At the Regla cemetery, a guard sums up the social climate with a phrase that serves as a collective diagnosis: “They see a dead body and immediately think it’s the virus.” This reaction, far from being a sign of epidemiological ignorance, is a fear based on the daily experience of entire neighborhoods being infected, and on the loss of credibility in health authorities.
There were no burials at the crematorium of the New Cemetery of Guanabacoa at the time of the visit, but the workers admit that “the movement has increased” in recent days.
Even those who recover from the viruses circulating unchecked throughout the country suffer long-term aftereffects. Yolanda, 22, fell ill a month ago and has yet to fully recover. “I still have dizziness, persistent pain, and exhaustion,” she tells this newspaper, adding that she still needs physical therapy and rheumatology appointments. “I thought I wouldn’t make it to dawn,” she says. She is the mother of a young child, and at the daycare center, she says there is “panic” because families perceive that the symptoms are more severe in children.
“The whole city is talking about it. People are scared.” / 14ymedio
In the La Jata neighborhood, the death of a child has shaken the community. It is the only death that residents attribute without a doubt to the virus. There has been no official statement, but the local memory remains.
In the eastern provinces, the situation is much worse than in Havana. A resident of Guantánamo confirmed that the local funeral home recorded 27 deaths in a single day. He didn’t offer an exact date, only the context: “After Tropical Storm Melissa, everything was turned upside down. Piles of garbage, lack of hygiene, a terrible environment.” The number, local sources say, far exceeded the ordinary perception of mortality. “The whole city is talking about it. People are scared,” he stated.
The situation in hospitals and funeral homes across the country is clear: unsanitary conditions, increased infections, distrust in health institutions, and reluctance to go to hospitals for fear of not being able to leave. The virus—whether dengue, chikungunya, hepatitis, or a mixed case—is a social trigger of panic.
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“A Russian aggressor has shattered our peace order,” warns Frank WalterSteinmeier
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier commemorates the fall of the Berlin Wall
EFE (via 14ymedio), Berlin, November 9, 2025 — On Sunday German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier called for the defense of democracy, saying it faces the greatest threats it has experienced since the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.
He also invoked the darkest and brightest moments in German history during the ceremony to commemorate November 9, a date he described as “ambivalent” because of the various events with which it is associated.
“One hundred and seven years after November 9, 1918, the date of the proclamation of the first German republic, our liberal democracy is under pressure,” Steinmeier said.
“Populists and extremists mock our democratic institutions, poison our debates, and profit from fear,” he added.
“Populists and extremists mock our democratic institutions, poison our debates, and profit from fear.”
He went on to recall the pogroms of November 9, 1938, the so-called Kristallnacht, and said that 87 years later anti-Semitism has intensified since the Hamas attacks of October 7, 2023.
“And 36 years after November 9, 1989, the day the Berlin Wall fell? We feel above all how the distance between East and West is growing, and how the memory of the energy of the peaceful revolution is losing its power. It is not continue reading
easy for us to draw strength and confidence from those happy times,” he said.
Steinmeier asserted that everyone who knows him knows that he does not tend towards alarmism or describing apocalyptic scenarios, but he added that given the current situation, one must dare to look at the threats that exist.
“We cannot lend ourselves to a new fascination with authoritarianism and then fall into a lack of freedom, only to have everyone later say that they neither wanted it nor knew it was coming. Today, November 9th, I say it clearly: we can know it, and we do know it,” he stated.
According to Steinmeier, never before, since the reunification of Germany, have democracy and freedom been so threatened as they are now.
“Never before, since the reunification of Germany, have democracy and freedom been so threatened.”
“Threatened by a Russian aggressor who has shattered our peaceful order and against whom we must protect ourselves, and threatened by far-right forces that attack our democracy and gain support among the population,” he declared.
Simply waiting for the storm to pass is not, according to Steinmeier, a solution. “We have to act, and we can act. Our democracy is not doomed to surrender,” he emphasized.
“Our historical experience teaches us that the reckless attempt to tame anti-democrats by giving them power is something that failed not only in Weimar. Extremism, according to the American political scientist Daniel Ziblatt, never triumphs on its own. If it succeeds, it is because others allow it. That is the lesson of the Weimar Republic,” he remarked.
Therefore, Steinmeier called for maintaining the existing cordon sanitaire against the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), although without explicitly mentioning that party.
“There can be no political cooperation with extremists. Not in the government, nor in parliaments,” he emphasized.
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Several journalists criticise the neglect of the Jesús Suárez Gayol, Nicaragua Libre de Herradura and Pontón sports stadiums.
The sporting authorities’ lack of attention led to the ruin of the Jesús Suárez Gayol stadium. / DPorto Sports LLC
14ymedio, Havana, 5 November 2025 — The infrastructure of Cuban baseball is in intensive care. The ruins and neglect of the Jesús Suárez Gayol (Artemisa) and José María Pérez Capote sports complexes, known as Pontón, confirm this. The most recent case of neglect was reported by journalist Osbel Benítez Polo. The Nicaragua Libre stadium in Herradura, Pinar del Río, looks like “a pasture for grazing cattle”.
The journalist showed images of “the neglect, carelessness, misery and lack of compliance on the part of the management of the National Institute of Sport, Physical Education and Recreation (Inder) in the province”.
Benítez accused the provincial director of Inder, Daniellys Sánchez, of negligence for not replying to the request from the parents of the young athletes. “The answers have not yet arrived,” he said, adding that “no maintenance work has been carried out for four months.”
The journalist expressed his confidence that “for the sake of baseball, sooner rather than later, this space will flourish again for the good of the community.”
Last March, Inder Vice-President Omar Venegas Echemendía acknowledged that there were 1,325 sports facilities on the island that were “rated as fair to poor”. The initiative of the workers’ union in the context continue reading
of the last School Games made it possible to recover 227 properties, he said.
Venegas offered to “continue working” so that “there will be fewer and fewer venues” with poor ratings. However, the specialised media continue to complain.
Last September, DPorto Sports LLC complained that the lack of attention from sports authorities led to the ruin of the Jesús Suárez Gayol stadium. The colossus is falling to pieces. “The poor condition of the building was aggravated by the impact of saltpetre as it was near the sea,” said journalist Yasel Porto Gómez, adding that “it received its coup de grâce with
14ymedio (via EFE), Miami, November 13, 2025 — Authorities in Florida accused Cuban pilot Luis Raúl González-Pardo of immigration fraud for lying about his past in the Cuban Air Force after arriving in the US under Humanitarian Parole in 2024, despite being implicated in the deaths of four Americans.
