The funds will be directed toward logistical support for humanitarian partners distributing urgent aid in the country, it states.
This funding is in addition to the 4 million euros approved at the beginning of this year / EFE
EFE (via 14ymedio), Brussels, April 1, 2026 – The European Commission announced this Wednesday that it will send an additional 2 million euros in humanitarian aid to Cuba, in response to resource shortages and the worsening energy crisis, which leaves more than 60% of the Island without electricity.
This funding is in addition to the 4 million euros approved at the beginning of this year as a regional allocation for the Caribbean, which was also mainly aimed at addressing Cuba’s growing needs.
In a statement published this Wednesday, the EU executive said that this new 2 million euros in aid will be used to provide logistical support to humanitarian partners distributing urgent assistance in the country, given the difficulties in mobilizing food and drinking water on the island.
“In a country facing an energy crisis and growing shortages, this support will help ensure that vital aid continues to reach up to 2 million people in need,” said the Commissioner for Preparedness and Crisis Management, Hadja Lahbib.
“This support will help ensure that vital aid continues to reach up to 2 million people in need”
Since mid-2024, Cuba has been experiencing a severe crisis that has deepened due to the oil pressure imposed by the U.S. government since January. According to data from the Electric Union (UNE), the Island is currently experiencing power outages that leave 62% of the country continue reading
without electricity at the same time.
The aid is part of a series of support measures that have come from governments such as Brazil and Mexico, which have sent 20,000 tons of rice, other food, and medicines. Spain has done the same, announcing the shipment of food and medical supplies to 5,000 people in Cuba, along with around twenty photovoltaic panels.
Additionally, aid has also arrived from social initiatives, such as the Nuestra América flotilla, which brought 14 tons of food and medicines, 73 solar panels, and ten bicycles to Havana.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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The regime claims that the crew entered Cuban waters armed and opened fire, but Washington wants to verify its version with its own investigation
The arrival of the FBI had been announced by Miguel Díaz-Canel on March 13. / EFE
14ymedio / EFE, Havana, April 1, 2026 – A team from the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) arrived in Havana to take part in the investigation into the incident that occurred on February 25 in Cuban waters, in which five crew members of a boat coming from Florida were killed. “The FBI team arrived in Havana yesterday to conduct an independent and thorough investigation into the incident,” a U.S. government source told EFE on Wednesday.
According to the official Cuban version, the vessel was intercepted by border guard troops north of Villa Clara, near Cayo Falcones, with ten people on board, all residents of the United States. Havana maintains that shots were fired from the boat at the patrol and that its agents responded, in a confrontation that left four dead on the spot, six injured, and one Cuban officer wounded. Days later, one of the injured died, bringing the death toll to five.
The deceased were identified as Pável Alling Peña, Michel Ortega Casanova, Ledián Padrón Guevara, Héctor Duani Cruz Correa, and Roberto Álvarez Ávila. The latter died on March 4 while in custody of Cuban authorities. His name had also been omitted from the first official statement, which instead included a Cuban citizen who was in the United States.
The regime’s version has been questioned by relatives of the victims and by independent media.
The arrival of the FBI had been announced by Miguel Díaz-Canel on March 13. At that time, the Cuban leader said that Washington had expressed through diplomatic and consular channels its interest in cooperating to clarify what happened. On the U.S. side, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said continue reading
after the incident that the Trump administration sought to contrast the Cuban version with “independent information.”
The case erupted amid escalating tensions between Havana and Washington, in the context of increased U.S. pressure on the Island, negotiations marked by tension, and openly confrontational statements from both governments. Weeks before the incident, 32 Cuban soldiers had died in Caracas during the U.S. operation in which Nicolás Maduro was captured. Since then, the regime has multiplied military exercises across Cuba and has strongly revived its “besieged plaza” rhetoric. In that climate, the limited cooperation with the FBI stands out as a rare exception within a relationship dominated by mutual distrust.
Even so, the episode remains surrounded by unanswered questions. The regime’s version has been challenged by victims’ relatives and independent media, who point to contradictions, changes in the identification of those involved, and the absence of conclusive public testimony and evidence about how the shooting actually occurred.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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Havana concentrates the majority of the 1,245 protests recorded in March in Cuba
The mobilizations found their epicenter in Havana, with 461 last month / Facebook
14ymedio, Havana, April 1, 2026 – Social discontent in Cuba manifested itself throughout nearly the entire month of March on the Island. For three consecutive weeks, Cubans protested night after night, in the darkness caused by blackouts, with pots and pans in hand, bonfires, and shouts of “freedom!” highlighted the Cuban Observatory of Conflicts (OCC) in its most recent report published this Wednesday. It notes that last month there were 1,245 protests and 70 anti-government graffiti incidents across the country.
The observatory describes power outages, lack of water, fuel shortages, insecurity, and rising food prices combined with a repressive response from the State, generating a situation of maximum tension in the streets.
The report emphasizes the protests recorded in Morón, Ciego de Ávila, on March 13, when demonstrators entered the local headquarters of the Communist Party (PCC). Once inside, they threw furniture and documents into the street before setting them on fire. The OCC classified that episode as one of the “556 challenges to the police state” recorded during the month, a figure that far exceeded the 432 in February and exposed the increase in direct confrontation with authorities, amid the worsening conditions Cubans face day to day. continue reading
The rise in the number of mobilizations, 4.8% more than the 1,185 in February, and nearly 80% more than those recorded in the same month last year, prompted an intense response from authorities. The observatory documented 159 repressive acts, with the detention of more than 40 protesters, including the case of the minor Jonathan David Muir Burgos, 16 years old, who is suffering “inhumane conditions” in prison.
The observatory documented 159 repressive acts, with the detention of more than 40 protesters
In addition, a new wave of detentions and summonses targeting journalists and activists was recorded, such as the case of influencer Anna Sofía Benítez Silvente, who was placed under house arrest and received threats of up to five years in prison following a State Security operation aimed at curbing her activity on social media. “The state apparatus was exposed grappling with a brave and petite young girl,” the report describes.
A similar pattern was denounced by members of the digital project Fuera de la Caja, a group created by young Cubans that produces political content on social media from the Cerro municipality in Havana. In a video, the project released on March 11 an audio recording of the father of Amanda Beatriz Andrés Navarro, one of the members, in which he states that he was intercepted by two officers from the Ministry of the Interior at his workplace.
“It turns out that when I arrived at my workplace there were two State Security agents waiting for me, and they began to intimidate me about my children, saying that they were committing crimes, inciting constitutional disorder, encouraging delinquency, and that if they continued they would put them in prison,” the audio says.
The OCC indicates that 27 murders were reported on the Island, almost one per day, “as a result of social, criminal, or gender-based violence”
Another trigger for the mobilizations was insecurity in the country. The OCC indicates that 27 murders were reported on the Island, almost one per day, “as a result of social, criminal, or gender-based violence.” The report notes that in seven of those deaths the perpetrators were family members, “and in several cases the events occurred during blackouts.” It also mentions the two minors murdered in one week, aged 7 and 14, “who were killed after being sexually abused.” Likewise, “26 robbery-related crimes were compiled, with reports highlighting an increase in assaults by organized and armed criminal groups.”
The mobilizations found their epicenter in Havana, the observatory reports. The capital recorded 461 protests last month (an average of 15 per day). It was followed by Matanzas, with 137; Holguín, with 72; Santiago de Cuba, 69; Guantánamo, 41; and Villa Clara, which recorded 34.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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In the streets of Matanzas, retirees barely survive
Sitting at the entrance of the former Hotel París, where he occupies a small room in the back, Roilier tries every day to earn his food. / 14ymedio
14ymedio, Matanzas, Pablo Padilla Cruz, March 31, 2026 – As in any besieged city, it is the weakest and most vulnerable who are the first to succumb. The same happens with the inflation affecting Cuba. Many are forced to double their work or, in many cases, to seek new forms of income in a desperate attempt to survive.
On Contreras Street in the city of Matanzas, Duarte, a neighbor awaiting his retirement, resists becoming a burden on his family. He has improvised a small stand in front of the entrance to his house: a modest table where he sells everything he finds, from cellphone batteries to second- or third-hand bathroom fittings, covered in magnesium residue. The place sometimes looks like the setting of a detective game.
“I don’t have many other options. My retirement hasn’t come yet and, besides, it would only be 2,100 pesos, according to estimates; that is, a bottle of oil and a bag of rice,” he calculates roughly. “I think I’ll fall short if prices keep rising.”
“Here I earn almost nothing, but it keeps me occupied. The neighbors give me their junk, as they say, and from time to time something sells”
Duarte worked as a night security guard at one of the port docks, but the early mornings and long trips to the industrial zone eventually took their toll. “I would have liked to keep working, but it’s not the same anymore. Here I earn almost nothing, but it keeps me occupied. The neighbors give me their junk, as they say, and from time to time something sells,” he says. “A hundred pesos here, twenty there, it never hurts.” continue reading
With a mix of resignation and hope, he reflects on his future: “First I have to finish the retirement process. After that, maybe I can work as a guard somewhere nearby; if not, I’ll continue here. Maybe one day someone will want to invest and we’ll improve the offerings, but at the rate things are going, I don’t know if I’ll be alive to see an improvement.”
Duarte’s situation is not exceptional. The purchasing power of the elderly who depend on a state pension pushes them increasingly into the streets, even after retirement. People with disabilities are not spared this reality either, receiving monthly assistance that is entirely insufficient in the face of the worsening crisis.
He has improvised a small stand in front of the entrance to his house, a modest table where he sells everything he finds. / 14ymedio
Armando, blind, is one of them. With the help of his friend Maritza, who guides him through the city streets, he sells various items from a cardboard box at any improvised kiosk on Calle del Medio.
“It has become easier over time, but even so, it’s complicated to come every day and return home with the box still full of things,” he says. “Luckily Maritza helps me: she tells me when someone wants something and makes sure the payment and change are correct. She also makes sure no one steals from me. With her help, we get by. I never imagined doing this, but these are difficult times.”
Maritza, for her part, assumes her role naturally and with solidarity: “Here, fortunately, we help each other. It would be low of me not to lend him a hand in his situation. And don’t think he doesn’t help me too. We keep each other company day by day. This kiosk is our office, and we are partners for better or worse,” she says, smiling, just before selling a bottle of glue to a hurried customer.
Both Armando and Duarte see in their respective incomes — a still-pending pension and modest state assistance — a partial relief for daily expenses. However, there are those who do not even have that support, which makes their daily struggle even harder.
With the help of his friend Maritza, who guides him through the city streets, he sells various items from a cardboard box at any improvised kiosk on Calle del Medio. / 14ymedio
“I made many mistakes in my life, many excesses. In prison I paid society, as they say, but there is a cross I continue to carry.” This is spoken with sadness and frankness by Roilier, who survives by selling whatever he finds or is given, while repairing shoes, a trade he learned during his sentence.
Sitting at the entrance of the former Hotel París, where he occupies a small room in the back, he tries every day to earn enough for food. When asked about the cellphone batteries he sells, he answers bluntly that he does not know if they work; he has no phone to test them.
“I don’t complain,” he stresses. “I lost the ability to complain a long time ago. I only see how unfair life can be: even if you pay for your mistakes with your time, you will always have an invisible mark that doesn’t let you move forward. You will always be, when looking for a job, the one who did this or that. It doesn’t matter if it was fifteen years ago or a month, or under what circumstances. Mistakes never completely disappear, and so all you have left is this,” he says, pointing to his tools: “waiting for death while you mend a sole.”
Translated by Regina Anavy
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Businesspeople linked to the Republican Party met, such as Ernesto Rodríguez, Michael Fux, Omar Sixto, and Nick Gutiérrez
The entrepreneurs plan to hold at least three more meetings and hope to have, at the last one, Secretary of State Marco Rubio. / Telemundo
14ymedio, Madrid, April 1, 2026 – A group of Cuban American millionaires linked to the Republican Party met this Tuesday in Miami to “support the Trump Administration for real and effective change in a democratic Cuba,” according to Ernesto Rodríguez, an executive member of the organizing committee. The entrepreneurs plan to hold at least three more meetings and hope to have, at the last one, Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
The meeting drew the attention of a good number of businesspeople who explained to Telemundo 51 their intentions to invest multimillion-dollar sums on the Island, although they ask that the U.S. oversee the first phase of that change. “At least until Cuba gets fixed. Once it’s fixed, I think it can continue on its own, because it did so long before Castro and they can do it again,” argued Michael Fux, born in Havana, who left in 1958 with his parents for Miami, where he made his fortune in the mattress industry.
“In the event that Cuba is free and sovereign and there is a Constitution that protects private enterprise, the Cuban American exile will stand together with Cubans on the Island”
A few weeks after the Cuban regime opened the door to investment by Cubans living abroad, businessman Omar Sixto was very clear about the condition that must be met. “In the event that Cuba is free and sovereign and there is a Constitution that protects private enterprise, the Cuban American exile will stand together with Cubans on the Island who want to start businesses. And that is the essence of today’s meeting,” he emphasized, firmly rejecting the proposal continue reading
of Deputy Prime Minister Oscar Pérez-Oliva.
“I am relatively a newcomer to this issue,” admitted Nick Gutiérrez, a specialist in claims for property confiscated by the Revolution in the 1960s and a member of the Cuban Democratic Directorate in Miami. “There are people here much older than I am who have longed for seven decades for what is happening now. The freedom of the Cuban people is near. It is the first time I can say that, and I have been involved in this issue for at least 35 years,” continued the jurist, a firm supporter of Donald Trump’s government.
“Now we have an Administration that has helped us more than any other. We have not won yet, and there are people, inside and outside this Administration, who favor and oppose our ideals. We have to remain steadfast in our ideals, which are not radical. We are not asking for anything special, a special privilege. We are asking for the same thing that most of the peoples of the world enjoy: democracy, freedom, rule of law,” he said.
“We are not asking for anything special, a special privilege. We are asking for the same thing that most of the peoples of the world enjoy: democracy, freedom, rule of law”
Asked why there were no Cuban Americans from the Democratic Party and whether they considered including them, Ernesto Rodríguez stated that this meeting was planned exclusively for people linked to “the right, conservatives,” but that they would have no problem, when the time comes, with other profiles joining who want to contribute. “We are looking, through the Trump Administration, for strong economic support to be able to put our nation, the Island we love so much, where it should have been a long time ago, and for that resources are needed,” he acknowledged.
“I think the meeting is very positive. There is a lot of interest in progress, there is a lot of interest in rebuilding the Cuba we fled from,” concluded lawyer José Villalobos.
The meeting, which will have its second session on May 20, coincided with the controversy generated this Tuesday in Miami over the export of fuel from the U.S. to the private sector on the Island, which has been authorized by the Trump Administration. Several Florida companies have joined the business, particularly that of Cuban American Hugo Cancio, who aligns with those who support negotiation, without prior conditions, with the regime in Havana.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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Last year, in the same tournament, two players from Las Tunas defected
Esteban Terry recorded six hits in 17 at-bats, for an average of .353, in the Baseball Champions League Americas / Radio26
14ymedio, Havana, March 31, 2026 – Esteban Terry has become the latest case of an athlete who leaves a Cuban delegation abroad. As reported this Tuesday by Cuba Grand Slam, “the Matanzas outfielder did not return to Cuba with the Cocodrilos team that recently participated in the Baseball Champions League Americas” in Mexico.
The athlete participated with the Matanzas selection in the most recent edition of the Champions League that ended this Sunday in the Mexican capital, in which the Cuban team recorded the second worst performance of a Cuban representative in the tournament.
Although the National Series champions were battered during their appearance on Mexican soil, allowing 69 runs in four games, for an average of 17.25 per game, the 28-year-old player born in the Matanzas municipality of Limonar had an acceptable performance, recording six hits in 17 at-bats for an average of .353.
The 28-year-old player born in the Matanzas municipality of Limonar had an acceptable performance
The provincial outlet Radio26 even highlighted his performance in the first game of the Champions League. It emphasized that the outfielder was the architect of the Cocodrilos’ only victory, in a game in which they were losing 5-0 to the CTBC Brothers of Taiwan: “Sports, like life, give revenge, continue reading
and Terry got the opportunity to redeem himself. When the Asian pitching had dominated the Yumurino lineup without difficulty, the fiery player hit a double down the left field line that sparked the comeback from lethargy. His contribution in the rally in the bottom of the seventh inning was crucial, as he opened the inning with a hit and scored the first of the six runs that turned the scoreboard around.”
In the last National Series, the player had experienced a sporting resurgence after spending four years seeking opportunities in Pinar del Río, due to being sidelined by Matanzas sports authorities in 2021, despite having stood out in the national under-23 tournament.
After working his way back, in 2025 Terry participated in the 1st Jorge Luis Valdés In Memoriam Provincial Cup, which featured four teams with Matanzas players. This tournament became the perfect platform for his resurgence, as he posted a .404 batting average, with 10 hits, including four home runs, in addition to stealing six bases, driving in 19 runs, and scoring another 16. These numbers led to him being named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament. Finally, in the last National Series, he received the opportunity to join the ranks of the Cocodrilos, with whom he won the title in Cuba.
In the last National Series he received the opportunity to join the ranks of the Cocodrilos, with whom he won the title in Cuba
The Baseball Champions League Americas held in Mexico has become one of the stages for player defections in recent years. In the previous edition, players from Las Tunas Rafael Viñales and Denis Peña left the competition venue and began a new life in Mexican territory after winning the runner-up title.
At that time, the National Institute of Sports, Physical Education and Recreation (Inder), in a brief statement and as is customary, confirmed the defection and accused Viñales and Peña of “turning their backs on the commitment assumed.”
In the case of Esteban Terry, the authorities have not issued an official position on the matter. However, his departure could be treated differently from previous cases due to the new Law 179, which anticipates a “historic” change and formally eliminates the requirement of permanent residence in the country for Cubans living abroad to be able to join sports teams, both at the national and international level. Likewise, it expands the possibility of calling up descendants of Cubans residing in other countries to join the Island’s sports movement, so the Matanzas native would no longer have doors closed to him in the future.
It formally eliminates the requirement of permanent residence in the country for Cubans living abroad to be able to join teams
Before the last World Baseball Classic, several Cuban-American players, such as Los Angeles Angels shortstop Zach Neto, expressed their intentions to play for Team Asere but were rejected by sports authorities.
The measure is not retroactive, as those who have been sanctioned with separation or expulsion from the system are excluded.
Likewise, in parallel with the Government’s announcement of economic opening, the legislation also authorizes, for the first time, advertising and sponsorship in Cuban sports, allowing accredited foreigners and Cubans abroad to finance projects, from domestic tournaments to teams competing internationally. Cuban and foreign individuals who do not reside in the country “may participate in the guidance, promotion, encouragement, and development of the Cuban Sports System,” the law states.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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Experts estimate it will take between 15 and 20 days to process the crude oil and convert it into diesel, and another week to deliver the refined product.
The Russian tanker ‘Anatoly Kolodkin’ arriving at the dock of the Matanzas Supertanker Base. / Facebook/Lázaro Manuel Alonso
14ymedio, Havana, March 31, 2026 / No oil tanker that has sustained Cuba’s energy system for decades had generated as much anticipation as the Anatoly Kolodkin , which finally docked in Matanzas this Tuesday. Loaded with some 730,000 barrels of Russian crude, equivalent to about 100,000 tons, it is the first tanker to arrive on the island since the Ocean Mariner arrived on January 9 with more than 80,000 barrels of fuel from Mexico .
Dozens of journalists were waiting early in the morning at the port of Matanzas to broadcast the arrival of the ship, which docked at the Matanzas Supertanker Base around 8:50 a.m., as reported by Pedro Rizo Martínez of TV Yumurí. “After docking, the unloading of the crude oil begins,” the state-run reporter also said.
Oliver Zamora Oria, a contributor to the Russian state broadcaster RT from Cuba , didn’t miss the opportunity to take a selfie next to the ship, while expressing on his social media: “As someone said: the AK we need now.”
“This is like a drop of water in the desert,” Marino Gálvez, 66, a resident of Matanzas, told the British news agency.
Cubadebate also reported the news , highlighting the statements of Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov, who said that Russia “considers it its duty” to offer the necessary assistance to Cuba and assured that Moscow will continue working to supply more oil to the island. continue reading
Also present at the port were Lázaro Manuel Alonso, a broadcaster for Canal Caribe, as well as correspondents from foreign media outlets, such as the EFE and Reuters news agencies. “This is like a drop of water in the desert,” Marino Gálvez, 66, a resident of Matanzas, told the British agency, as he watched the ship’s maneuvers in the bay from the city’s waterfront.
The man lamented, referring to the oil blockade imposed on Cuba by Donald Trump after the United States’ intervention in Venezuela and the capture of Nicolás Maduro: “What they are doing to us is very unfair, and people shouldn’t have to pay for the policies of any government.”
Once the crude oil is unloaded from the newly arrived ship, it must be transported to refineries in Havana and Cienfuegos, where it could be converted into approximately 250,000 barrels of diesel, according to Jorge Piñón, an energy specialist at the University of Texas. Processing will take between 15 and 20 days, and the refined product will take another week to be delivered.
This fuel would allow for a few days’ supply of generators, transportation, and agriculture, although the expert also fears the government will keep some for itself. “Are we so naive as to think the government won’t keep a significant amount of diesel for its own reserves, instead of supplying it to those who need it most to survive?” he told 14ymedio .
The Anatoly Kolodkin belongs to the main state shipping company, the Sovkomflot corporation, sanctioned by the US since 2024, and departed from the Russian port of Primorsk on March 9.
Two days ago, the US president downplayed the arrival of the tanker . “They have to survive! I have no problem with that,” he told reporters, while also opening the door to other similar operations: “I told them, if a country wants to send oil to Cuba right now, I have no problem with that. Whether it’s Russia or not.” He asserted: “They have a bad regime, they have bad and corrupt leadership, and whether or not they get an oil tanker, that doesn’t matter.”
El tanquero ruso ‘Anatoly Kolodkin’ en el muelle de la Base de Supertanqueros de Matanzas. / Facebook/Oliver Zamora Oria
However, on Monday, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said that if the US allowed the Anatoly Kolodkin to reach the island, it was for “humanitarian reasons,” and that the country will analyze each case to determine whether or not to authorize the arrival of other ships.
“There has been no firm change in our sanctions policy,” Leavitt stated at a press conference. “We will continue to consider each case individually, whether for humanitarian or other reasons.”
Before this appearance yesterday, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum had avoided clearly answering whether she would continue sending oil to the island, in light of Trump’s statements on Sunday. The president reiterated that the Mexican government is helping the Cuban people with humanitarian aid while also maintaining trade agreements with its counterpart in Havana. “What we have always said is that Mexico has every right to send fuel, whether for humanitarian or commercial reasons, but we don’t want to harm Mexico,” she explained.
At the same time, she referred to the “tariffs, well, duties” with which Trump threatened nations that send oil to the island. “In that context,” she summarized, “we will make the decision, and it will always be reported whether or not oil is sent to Cuba.” Furthermore, as something “very important,” Sheinbaum mentioned that “there are private companies in Cuba,” such as “hotels and others,” that “require fuel,” and that “they are looking for private companies willing to supply them with fuel, not necessarily government-to-government.” She continued, without clarifying whether this is the method they have found to send oil or which companies are involved, on either side: “There are private companies that have approached us, for example, to buy fuel from Pemex and then deliver it to private companies in Cuba.”
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For the first time, Cuban banknotes feature the faces of women, Mariana Grajales and Celia Sánchez.
New 5,000 peso banknote with the face of Celia Sánchez Manduley / Central Bank of Cuba
14ymedio, Havana, March 31, 2026 – Mariana Grajales and Celia Sánchez will be the first female faces to appear on Cuban banknotes starting this Wednesday, when the Central Bank of Cuba (BCC) puts into circulation new denominations that have emerged driven by inflation. Grajeles, the mother of Antonio and José Maceo will appear on the 2,000 peso notes, while the guerrilla fighter Celia Sánchez Manduley, who was already present in the watermark of the 200, 500, and 1,000 peso notes, will now take center stage on the 5,000 peso notes.
The new banknotes of this very high denomination will begin circulating this Wednesday in the capital and will gradually extend to the rest of the country, the BCC announced. The 2,000 peso notes will appear somewhat later, although the official report does not provide exact dates.
“The issuance of the new banknotes aims to facilitate cash transactions, respond to the real needs of the economy that demands large amounts of cash, helping to reduce costs related to cash logistics and to gain agility in operations in the current moments of inflation the country is experiencing,” the statement emphasizes, published in all official media.
New 2,000 peso banknote with the face of Mariana Grajales / Central Bank of Cuba
The bank has described with precision each of the new banknotes, both measuring 150 by 70 millimeters and made of special security paper for their function. The 2,000 peso notes will be pink and violet, while the 5,000 peso note is continue reading
blue. Both will carry the watermark of Celia Sánchez, like their high-value predecessors.
Other details include the integration of two additional security features: a vertical thread and the mariposa — the national flower — on both the front and back, which will have a rainbow movement effect.
The initials of the BCC, the signature of the bank’s president, Juana Lilia Delgado Portal, and other embossed elements will characterize the new denominations, which will also each feature a commemorative set. The 2,000 peso bill shows the monument to Mariana Grajales in Santa Ifigenia Cemetery, while the 5,000 peso bill will feature the monument to Celia Sánchez Manduley in Lenin Park.
The BCC has provided all the essential details to identify the validity of the two banknotes, although it does not reveal the amount invested in issuing these new denominations.
The expert then spoke of the possibility that China might print the Cuban banknotes, although he also pointed to the Russian option, a manufacturer that supplies many countries.
Since 2023, the need for higher-value denominations had become evident, since for foods as common as a carton of eggs, more than three banknotes of the highest denomination were required. However, the shortage of paper currency to produce them was so evident that the State acknowledged having problems printing.
At that time, the issuance of more 100 peso banknotes was announced, but with new paper that would circulate simultaneously with previous versions but without the raised print or the Braille system.
“With inflation and devaluation, more banknotes are needed to buy the same product or service, or new banknotes with higher denominations, and this is where the cost of printing paper money and the decision about banknotes with denominations higher than 1,000 come in,” explained Cuban economist Pedro Monreal at the time.
The expert then spoke of the possibility that China might print the Cuban banknotes, although he also pointed to the Russian option, a manufacturer that supplies many countries. The Asian option was one of the most economical in the world, where each banknote costs between 0.05 and 0.10 cents of a dollar. Monreal already warned at that time that it would be necessary, in any case, to consider replacing the denominations that would substitute the current ones that had “become obsolete due to inflation and devaluation,” although that “would imply an outlay of millions of dollars.”
Translated by Regina Anavy
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Nicolas Forissier, Minister Delegate for Europe and Foreign Affairs, said that the dialogue between the U.S. and the Island “must be constructive, but it must also be demanding”
The central 23rd Street, in Havana’s El Vedado, empty of vehicles, this Tuesday / 14ymedio
14ymedio / EFE, Paris, March 31, 2026 – France welcomed the talks initiated between the United States and Cuba this Tuesday, intended to achieve a “stabilization” of the situation on the Island, and considered that it is “important that Cuba, especially in matters of human rights and economic openness, show signs of goodwill.”
“With regard to Cuba, since 1992 we have continuously requested from the United Nations that the embargo be lifted. We constantly call for dialogue in order to promote prospects for the stabilization of Cuba,” Nicolas Forissier, Minister Delegate for Europe and Foreign Affairs, said this Tuesday in the French National Assembly.
He was responding to a question from Macron-aligned deputy Frantz Gumbs about Paris’s position regarding the crisis on the Island, which in Forissier’s words is going through a situation of “economic suffocation” that affects “the entire Cuban population in a totally indiscriminate way” and that may have consequences for the stability of the Caribbean region, where France has continue reading
territories.
France is, within its means, “available for initiatives led by the UN in terms of emergency humanitarian aid”
Forissier indicated that his country supports talks to find a negotiated solution and insisted that the dialogue “must be constructive, but it must also be demanding.”
“And from this point of view, it is important that Cuba, especially in matters of human rights and economic openness, make gestures,” he stressed, while also recalling that the Island is very present within the framework of the French presidency of the G7, which is following the situation “very closely” with “initiatives and exchanges that are underway.”
Regarding the possibilities of humanitarian support for the inhabitants of the Latin American country from Paris, Forissier assured that France is, within its means, “available for initiatives led by the UN in terms of emergency humanitarian aid and in response to calls from the WHO.”
Translated by Regina Anavy
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In an interview with CNN, Sandro Castro says that “most Cubans want capitalism, not communism”
Sandro Castro wore sunglasses at all times, despite it being nighttime and being inside the apartment. / Screenshot/CNN
14ymedio, Madrid, March 31, 2026 – The interview that Patrick Oppmann, from the American channel CNN, conducted with Sandro Castro, grandson of the late leader of the Revolution, has generated more ink than its mere length deserves. Barely a little over four minutes for a statement that will go down badly in the Palace of the Revolution, but will not go down in history.
Asked about his opinion on the performance of the current president, Miguel Díaz-Canel, the grandson and grand-nephew of his two predecessors does not hold back. “For me, he is not doing a good job, because he should have done many things a long time ago. Many things that have not been done well and today are harming us,” he says. He says nothing that most Cubans aren’t thinking, but they detest him.
CNN paints a harsher portrait in writing than what the video suggests, recorded in Castro’s small apartment. Influencer, businessman, and provocateur, the grandson of the dynasty is described as a member of a kind of “royal family” who “seems to be auditioning for the role of court jester.”
Influencer, businessman, and provocateur, the grandson of the dynasty is described as a member of a kind of “royal family” who “seems to be auditioning for the role of court jester”
Castro, who does not remove his Chanel sunglasses at any moment despite the conversation taking place entirely at night and inside his home, portrays his already well-known personality in just a few minutes. A refrigerator short on food and full of Cristal beer, an air conditioner and continue reading
generator running, making his home one of the only illuminated ones in the area and highlighting his strong connections. Today, there is no greater status symbol than having what it takes to keep a generator running. As a finishing touch, decorative light bulbs illuminate his terrace over a dark Havana.
“There are many people who want there to be capitalism with sovereignty in Cuba,” he blurts out. He does not say it as a reflection or develop a theory; he simply knows that millions of people will react to the remark.
Thus goes each of the phrases he throws out while drinking a beer with the journalist. “My grandfather was a person who had his principles. He had his principles – everyone is as they are, logically – but he also respected those of other people,” he says. And again he does not argue about a man who ordered executions for thinking differently; no clarification is possible. He
simply knows it will go viral.
The influencer says he is proud of his origins but systematically rejects that they provide him with any privilege. “My last name is my last name. I am proud of my last name, of course, but I do not see that help you are mentioning in the preamble. I am like any other citizen,” he maintains.
He does not, obviously, miss the chance to comment on Washington. “Cuba faces unprecedented pressure from the United States to open up politically and economically. We have to fight, and as all Cubans say, it’s hard. It’s hard even for a Castro, it’s hard to have a business, very hard. Very hard, because you suffer with thousands of difficulties. One day there may be no electricity, there may be no water, a shipment may not arrive…,” he complains.
“My grandfather was a person who had his principles. He had his principles -everyone is as they are, logically- but he also respected those of other people”
The journalist presses him again about his origins, but he again rejects them and feels like a victim of others’ hatred toward his family. “It’s complicated, because I think that most Cubans want capitalism, not communism, and maybe that has created a divide and a hatred that, sadly, is not productive,” he says, while also noting that he agrees with Trump that there should be an economic opening on the Island, although he rejects the idea of threatening to take it.
The text accompanying the video by CNN, in addition to being very critical of Castro, leaves some details that further sketch the character, among them the fact that he boasts that “his nightclub on a main avenue in Havana ‘only’ cost him $50,000, a sum beyond the wildest imagination of most Cubans.” The grandson also told the network that he aspires to create his own beer and would like to have more venues, but the bureaucracy overwhelms him.
“What little I have is thanks to my effort, my sacrifice,” he said, doing honor to Ted Henken, a professor and expert on the Cuban internet, who summed up Sandro’s attitude in a simple way to CNN. “He is capitalizing on ‘hate me.’”
Translated by Regina Anavy
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Just as Villa Marista disrupts the cycles of detainees, the Island suffers its own sleep deprivation
The result of this chronic lack of sleep is the constant irritability and confusion seen on the streets. / 14ymedio
14ymedio, Yoani Sánchez, Generation Y, Havana, 29 March 2026 — They say that the detainees at Villa Marista, the feared headquarters of State Security in Havana, have their circadian rhythms disrupted, that biological rhythm that regulates sleep, wakefulness, body temperature, attention, and even one’s emotional state. Deliberately, jailers turn lights on and off in windowless cells and prolong interrogations to induce disorientation, false confessions, extreme fatigue, and cognitive impairment.
In Cuba, we all feel like we’re in Villa Marista. We get up in the middle of the night to wash clothes, cook, or carry water. At some point during the day, we have to try to catch a nap because we don’t know what chores await us after midnight. Even in the middle of that daytime rest, we might not be able to sleep because the stench of burning garbage wakes us up or the mosquitoes prevent us from taking a siesta. The result of this chronic lack of sleep is the constant irritation and confusion that we see on the streets.
In Cuba, we all feel like we’re in Villa Marista.
I ran into a neighbor in the elevator during one of those rare moments when we have electricity. She’d left for work and when she got to Boyeros Avenue, she realized she didn’t have her wallet with the money to pay for an electric tricycle. She went back home, picked up her wallet, and—surprise!—when continue reading
she went to pay the taxi driver, it was empty. Another neighbor went downstairs as soon as a power outage ended to charge his electric motorcycle in a nearby parking lot, but when he was standing next to the vehicle, he realized he’d forgotten the charger and cable.
These aren’t just random lapses in memory. It is the poor quality of sleep that leads to decreased concentration, memory lapses, and a higher risk of mistakes or accidents. We’re a country that barely gets any sleep.
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On an island that is sinking, the arrival of a Russian oil tanker dominates all conversations in the streets of Havana.
Interior of the abandoned Cuba cinema, on Reina Street, Central Havana. / 14ymedio
14ymedio,Yoani Sánchez, Havana, March 30, 2026 — “The ship is coming!” a flower vendor on Estancia Street greets me as I pass by his buckets of sunflowers and gladioli. After days of uncertainty, it is now known that the Anatoly Kolodkin has arrived in Cuba with a cargo of 730,000 barrels of oil. The tanker’s arrival has become a topic of conversation on the streets this Monday, in a country where the downpour of bad news hasn’t let up for weeks.
At the traffic light at Boyeros and Tulipán, the energy crisis is more noticeable than in previous days. I cross all the lanes without stopping, while thinking about another occasion when we were waiting for a ship. It was in September 2019, when President Miguel Díaz-Canel announced that we were entering a “juncture” and that we shouldn’t worry too much since an oil tanker was about to arrive. Seven years have passed, and, as a neighbor said, “this doesn’t even have a name anymore.” The ability to assign a bureaucratic label to what we’re experiencing has also been exhausted up there.
Vendors selling items collected from the garbage have scattered their wares on top of the wall of a fountain that hasn’t flowed for years. / 14ymedio
Until yesterday, Cuba seemed like an island perched on an electric tricycle, but today we’ve all climbed onto the bow of the Russian ship that’s coming here. “Do you think they’ll refuel the gas stations?” a friend asks me hopefully. She has a small shop in Alamar where she sells costume jewelry and other imported goods. Last year, this lawyer-turned-shopkeeper and her husband bought a used Volkswagen. “I could only use it for the first three months because the fuel ran out,” she tells me. Since then, the car has been “sleeping the eternal sleep” in the family garage.
For each person, the ship takes the shape of their desires. “It’ll go, and they won’t cut off our electricity so much after it arrives,” I overhear in a doorway on Carlos III Avenue as I venture deeper into Central Havana. Vendors of items salvaged from the trash have scattered their wares on top of the wall of a fountain that hasn’t flowed for years. Are there any working fountains left in Havana? In my long walks, I haven’t seen a single one. This political model seems to have a fight with water and cleanliness.
An ordinary corner with Reina Street, in Central Havana. / 14ymedio
When I was a girl, before leaving the house, my mother would warn us not to use the bathroom or drink water in the street. This strict rule almost gave me a kidney infection, but I eventually came to understand: public restrooms in Cuba are a journey to hell most of the time, and the liquid that comes out of the pipes is best consumed only after being treated or boiled. To this day, I always carry a bottle of water with me to quench my thirst and hold my urine until I get home. The traumas of Castro’s regime last a lifetime.
“Do you think we’ll get any of that oil?” one employee asks another outside a government building, plunged into darkness by the blackout. The response is a grimace of sulking lips and raised eyebrows that sums up the people’s distrust of any official promise of improvement. “Let’s paddle! Let’s see who gets to that boat first,” taunts a cart vendor selling papayas and peppers near the corner of Marqués González.
Everyone wants at least a drop of the combustible brought in by the Anatoly Kolodkin. But skepticism casts a shadow over any celebration. “That oil is all for them; we won’t get a drop,” grumbles an old man in the long line outside a state-run bakery on Reina Street. “Today I’m going to bet big,” says an old woman, her ration book folded in her hands. Anything related to the sea will see a lot of betting these days on the illegal bolita, the lottery. Woe to the bookies if one of those numbers comes up.
Until yesterday it seemed that Cuba was an island perched on an electric tricycle, but today we have all climbed onto the bow of the Russian ship that is coming here.
A few meters from the bakery, the door to the Cuba cinema has been left open. Where the rows of seats once stood, where I used to sit as a child, there is now dust, rust, and the twisted machinery of a makeshift workshop. I can only make out an arch that, on the stage, marked the threshold where fiction began and reality ended. I was captivated by that place, so close to my house, where hardly a month went by without me going to see a movie. Scaffolding blocks my way, right where the lobby used to be .
The ship that the Cuba cinema needed didn’t arrive in time. Part of its structure collapsed, the sewer pipes burst, and one day it closed. Almost all the cinemas of my childhood suffered the same fate: Astor, Negrete, Duplex, and Rex. It wasn’t during this particular crisis. It happened with the previous one, or the one before that. I don’t remember exactly because we’ve spent decades lurching from one crisis to another, a long sequence of setbacks and collapses.
I approach the Aldama Palace. Several street vendors offer me medicine. One enumerates for me that he has antibiotics of every kind, painkillers, and pills to make me feel “nice and sedated.” I run into some friends in Fraternity Park who almost cut me off mid-sentence when they receive a call from home. “They’ve turned the power back on, and I have to go back and do the laundry,” she apologizes. “I have to finish some work on my laptop, now that there’s electricity,” he adds.
What remains of the old Ultra store in Havana. / 14ymedio
To get home, I manage to hitch a ride on a pisicorre, one of the few jeeps adapted for passenger transport that still makes the trip to Santiago de las Vegas. “It’s 400 pesos to Tulipán,” the driver explains. The fare has gone up 100 pesos since the last time I took one of these cars last week. But I don’t complain. Another passenger is going near the psychiatric hospital, and the driver specifies: “To Mazorra it’s one mile (1,000 pesos).” Nobody protests the price increase. There’s no point in complaining now.
Near Quinta de los Molinos, the driver tells us we’re lucky because he’s going to stop driving this afternoon. “I don’t believe that story about the ship,” he says. He says he’s stepping away from the wheel until “everything goes back to normal” and he can go to the gas station to buy fuel without waiting in line or being pushed around. I don’t remember what “normal” means. Was it a period before the current situation?
COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORK: The 14ymedio team is committed to practicing serious journalism that reflects Cuba’s reality in all its depth. Thank you for joining us on this long journey. We invite you to continue supporting us by becoming a member of 14ymedio now. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.
Jorge Gómez / Moncada group (Photo: Prensa Latina / blogspot)
Cubanet, Luis Cino, Havana, 24 March 2026 — There is much talk about Jorge Gómez Barranco, leader of the band Grupo Moncada, who died on March 23—and it’s almost always good talk, because there is no doubt that Gómez was a good person and much loved by many in the cultural sphere, particularly music and television.
What is not talked about (it seems that few remember or prefer not to remember) is how in 1971, when Gómez, a young philosophy professor at the time, fell out of favor with the regime because of his connection to the magazine, Pensamiento Crítico (“Critical Thinking”).
This publication, which brought together left-wing intellectuals—veritable human think tanks but who differed from the Soviet line, such as Aurelio Alonso and Fernando Martínez Heredia—was shut down shortly after that infamous and misnamed “Congress of Education and Culture” that ushered in, on orders from Raúl Castro, the Five Grey Years. Castro, then-Minister of the Revolutionary Armed Forces, labeled the periodical, along with the University of Havana philosophy department, “a bastion of revisionists and counterrevolutionaries.” All because they dared to dabble in the ideas of Marcuse, Gramsci, Sartre—and, perhaps, even Bakunin and Trotsky—precisely at a time when the Castro regime, still reeling from the failure of the Ten Million Ton Sugar Harvest, didn’t want to upset the Kremlin, to whose chariot they had hitched themselves so that the Soviets could pull them out of the crisis.
Jorge Gómez, like most of his colleagues at Critical Thinking and in the philosophy faculty, preferred to forget that time of closed-mindedness and censorship of intellectuals, to downplay its importance. He even ignored the controversy that led a recalcitrant commissioner to accuse him, playing on his second surname*, of wanting to send Marxism tumbling off a cliff.
After all, the end of his foray into philosophy allowed Jorge Gómez, who had learned to play the piano as a child, to return to music, his great passion. In 1972, along with several university students, he formed a group that continue reading
combined Cuban son with Andean music, and which he named Moncada in honor of his uncle, the poet Raúl Gómez García, who died in the attack on the Santiago barracks on July 26, 1953.
Years later, after replacing the influence of Quilapayún and Inti Illimani with more pop and catchy tunes—and the overly serious Alberto Falla and Manuel Calviño, first with Carlos Enríquez and then with other long-haired, handsome and younger singers—Moncada managed to become popular in the 1980s and mainly during the years of the Special Period, when his concerts packed the steps of the University of Havana.
Music lovers, and especially rock fans, have Jorge Gómez to thank for his 80s television program, Perspectiva, where we had the opportunity—unusual at that time when prohibitions on rock music remained staunchly in place—to see groups like Pink Floyd, Deep Purple, etc. on the small screen.
Ten years ago, on August 30, 2016, when singer-songwriter Amaury Pérez interviewed Jorge Gómez on his TV show, Con dos que se quieran (“With Two Who Love Each Other”)—a kind of confessional for the singer-songwriter’s big and little friends—Pérez asked Gómez how the philosophy department came to be terminated and why Critical Thinking magazine was shut down.
When asked that question, Jorge Gómez dodged it, sidestepping the issue. He said the magazine “had been gradually losing circulation,” excusing this development by saying that “these things happen in revolutions.” It would have been too presumptuous for the obsequious Jorge Gómez to say more and thus jeopardize his moment in the spotlight as a successful musician within the mainstream culture.
Besides, I would think, why would he look for trouble by stirring up the past? What for? After all, most guests on With two who love each other—when asked this type of confrontational question by Amaury Pérez—far from complaining about grievances and reprisals, evade the issue, choose forgiveness, and almost always end up proclaiming their devotion “to Fidel and the Revolution.”
Jorge Gómez preferred to forget ‘the mistakes of the past,’ to turn the page, as did some of his Critical Thinking colleagues, who after being rehabilitated, became tin-pot repairmen dedicated to reinventing socialism.
* A “barranco” is a narrow, winding river gorge.
Translated by: Alicia Barraqué Ellison
Author’s biography:
Luis Cino. Born Havana, 1956. He worked as an English teacher, in construction, and in agriculture. He began working in independent journalism in 1998. He was a member of the editorial board of the magazine De Cuba and deputy director of Primavera Digital. A regular contributor to CubaNet since 2003, he writes about art, history, politics, and society. He lives in Arroyo Naranjo. He dreams of being able to dedicate himself fully and freely to writing fiction. He is passionate about good books, the sea, jazz, and blues.
The NGO laments that the number is still only half of what they promised: “We are on top of the regime. We will not let them lie to the Church, nor, of course, to the people of Cuba
A group of relatives of those arrested on July 11, 2022 [’11J’], during a peaceful protest on the steps of the Havana Cathedral / Wilber Aguilar/Facebook14ymedio/EFE, Havana, March 30, 2026 / The Cuban government has released two more political prisoners under the agreement announced by the Cuban regime with the Vatican for the release of 51 prisoners, according to an announcement by the NGO Prisoners Defenders this Sunday.
One of them is Evelio Luis Herrera Duvergel, 25, who was sentenced to seven years in prison – which he was serving in the Quivicán prison in Mayabeque – for participating in the anti-government protests of 11 July 2021 [’11J’]. The other, Jarol Varona Agüero, 52, was in El Típico prison in Las Tunas, serving a 13-year sentence for “propaganda against the constitutional order” for calling for a protest on Facebook that never took place.
With these decisions, the number of political prisoners released has risen to 25, less than half. “We demand the release of all political prisoners in Cuba,” the NGO stated. “We are on top of the regime. We will not let them lie to the Church, nor, of course, to the Cuban people,” it added in a publication that included the updated list.
Most of those released so far participated in the Island-wide anti-government protests of 11 June 2021 and were serving sentences of between six and 18 years in prison for crimes such as public disorder, contempt, assault and sedition. continue reading
Most of those released so far participated in the anti-government protests of July 11 and were serving sentences of between six and 18 years in prison for crimes such as public disorder, contempt, assault and sedition
PD criticized, this week, on social media that only some of the 51 beneficiaries of the measure are political prisoners and stressed that something similar happened in the January 2025 process when “only 40%” (219) of the 553 released prisoners were political prisoners, while the rest “were common prisoners.”
He also reported that among the released common prisoners “there is at least one with a murder on his record,” as well as other people convicted of “robbery and other common crimes”.
The first releases in this process coincided with the announcement by the Cuban Executive that it had begun a dialogue with representatives of the US Administration, although Havana has never linked the two issues.
These releases are not pardons, but a benefit that allows the prisoner to leave the penitentiary even though the sentence has not been extinguished (a measure that is conditioned on compliance with certain requirements during the remaining time of the sentence).
Cuba ended February with 1,214 people detained for political reasons, according to PD’s latest monthly report, the highest number since the organization began documenting the prison situation on the island.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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The U.S. president assures that anyone can send crude to the Island, despite the sanctions in force until now.
The Russian tanker carries 100,000 tons of crude and is already in Cuban waters, Moscow confirmed. / EFEThe Russian Tanker Carries 100,000 Tons of Crude and Is Already in Cuban Waters, Moscow Confirmed. / EFE
14ymedio, Madrid, March 30, 2026 – U.S. president Donald Trump downplayed the arrival of the Anatoly Kolodkin, loaded with Russian oil , which arrived this Monday in Cuba. “They have to survive! (…) I have no problem,” he said this Sunday in remarks to the press from the presidential plane. The vessel is advancing loaded with about 730,000 barrels of crude without the U.S. having placed any impediment, as University of Texas expert Jorge Piñón told 14ymedio this Sunday and hours later a Washington source confirmed to The New York Times.
“I told them, if a country wants to send oil to Cuba right now, I have no problem with it. Whether it is Russia or not,” said the president, who added that he even “prefers” that this happen. “People need heating and air conditioning, and all the other things one requires,” he said. Trump considered that this does not affect the situation of the Island. “They have a bad regime, they have bad and corrupt leadership, and whether a ship of oil arrives or not, that does not matter,” he concluded.
The statements are surprising after the White House, which suspended sanctions on Russian crude for a month – until April 11 – added a paragraph to the license a week later specifying that Iran, North Korea and Cuba could not be recipients of that oil.
“People need heating and air conditioning, and all the other things one requires,” he noted
The tanker, which transports about 730,000 barrels of oil and belongs to the Russian government, is scheduled to dock in Matanzas around 6 a.m. Tuesday. Then, the crude will have to be transported to the refineries in Havana and Cienfuegos, where the 730,000 barrels will be converted into about 250,000 barrels of diesel, according to Piñón. This fuel would allow supplying the power generators and transportation or agriculture for a few days, although the specialist also believes that the State may reserve a continue reading
portion.
“Will we be so naive as to think that the Government will not keep a significant amount of diesel for its own reserves, instead of supplying it to those who need it most for their livelihood?” he asked 14ymedio.
The NYT says it has not obtained any clarification on why the U.S. Government has made this decision, after the Sea Horse, flying the Hong Kong (China) flag and heading toward Cuba with 200,000 barrels of Russian diesel two weeks ago, changed course toward Trinidad and Tobago and ultimately docked in Venezuela, coinciding with the addition of the new paragraph to the license that prevented sales to the Island.
The newspaper notes, however, that Trump thus avoids an open confrontation with Moscow, which had spent weeks saying it would look for a way to help Cuba and finally, last week, confirmed that the ship was heading toward the Island as “humanitarian aid” through Energy Minister Sergei Tsivilev.
This Monday, at his morning press conference, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that “Russia considers it its duty not to stand aside and to offer the necessary help to our Cuban friends.”
“The desperate situation in which Cubans now find themselves cannot, of course, leave us indifferent, so we will continue working on this matter,” he said.
Peskov, who welcomed the arrival of the Anatoli Kolodkin in Cuba, admitted that the situation had been addressed “in advance” during contacts with representatives of the White House.
Peskov, who welcomed the arrival of the Anatoli Kolodkin in Cuba, admitted that the situation had been addressed “in advance” during contacts with representatives of the White House
The Coast Guard had two patrol boats in the region that could have attempted to intercept the Russian tanker, but this Sunday, when it was confirmed that they had not moved from their position, it was assumed they would do nothing to prevent the operation, as happened with the Bella 1. That ship, which changed its name to Marinera and its flag to Russian in January, was a sanctioned tanker used for transporting hydrocarbons from Russia, Iran, and Venezuela that began to be pursued by the U.S. in December. Despite being escorted by a Russian submarine, the vessel was ultimately boarded and its crew detained, although an agreement between Trump and Putin facilitated the release of the Russian workers.
The last time Moscow sent oil to Cuba was in 2025, in two voyages carried out by the Akademik Gubkin. The first trip took place in February, with about 790,000 barrels, valued at 55 million dollars at that time. The crude had to be distributed to the refineries in Havana and Cienfuegos using the Cuban ships Vilma and Lourdes, to produce the different types of fuel the country needed.
In September, the ship returned to Nipe Bay (Holguín) with about 740,000 barrels of crude to begin the transfer, since the Matanzas supertanker base, which burned in August 2022, is still undergoing slow repairs. Although the reconstruction process of the four main tanks began years ago, at this point none is yet ready to receive fuel.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORK: The 14ymedio team is committed to practicing serious journalism that reflects Cuba’s reality in all its depth. Thank you for joining us on this long journey. We invite you to continue supporting us by becoming a member of 14ymedio now. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.
EFE (via 14ymedio), Brussels, April 1, 2026 – The European Commission announced this Wednesday that it will send an additional 2 million euros in humanitarian aid to Cuba, in response to resource shortages and the worsening energy crisis, which leaves more than 60% of the Island without electricity.
Cubanet, Luis Cino, Havana, 24 March 2026 — There is much talk about Jorge Gómez Barranco, leader of the band Grupo Moncada, who died on March 23—and it’s almost always good talk, because there is no doubt that Gómez was a good person and much loved by many in the cultural sphere, particularly music and television.
