English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
14ymedio, Luis Zuñiga, Miami, August 16, 2021 – The Castro dictatorship was not thrilled with a proposal by businessman Sergio Pino to build houses for the military in a effort to encourage democratic change in Cuba. The issue is not the material aspect of the proposal. What bothers them is the implied message: a Cuban … Continue reading “The Military and the Future of Cuba”
14ymedio, Natalia López Moya, Havana, 16 August 2021– “There is fuel for the patrol cars, but not for public transport,” a woman shouted indignantly. Like like dozens of other Havanans, she was waiting for a bus at the Ayestarán and 19 de Mayo under the suffocating August sun. The capital woke up with serious problems … Continue reading “Dozens of Police Patrols Roam Havana but the Buses Don’t Appear”
14ymedio, Havana, 16 August 2021 — The criticisms of the Cuban Prime Minister, Manuel Marrero, directed against Cuba’s healthcare personnel have unleashed a storm that comes at the worst moment for the Palace of the Revolution. Doctors, the crown jewel of the regime, pampered and exploited for decades, have started a rebellion against the leaders … Continue reading “The Rebellion of Cuban Doctors Forces Diaz-Canel and Marrero to Lower Their Tone”
14ymedio, Frank Sánchez Madrigal, Sevilla, 15 August 2021 — In these eventful days for the beleaguered Cuban people, I have listened with emotion and pride to the use of the most helpful words in our daily tropical routine: ‘pinga’ and ‘singao’. Although ‘singao‘ takes all the medals, let’s not underestimate the Cuban ‘pinga‘. When someone … Continue reading “The Cuban ‘Pinga’”
14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar, Havana, 15 August 2021 — More than a month after the popular protests in Cuba, the death of a young man shot by the police in the La Güinera neighborhood of Havana remains surrounded by doubts. The declassification of part of the investigation file reveals that the officer has not been charged and that there … Continue reading “Crime Without Punishment, the Death of a Young Man in La Guinera”
14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, 12 August 2021 — “Until recently they were paying for the same thing on the street, but now when they see it on the market stands, they are shouting in the sky,” a vendor at the agricultural market on San Rafael Street in Centro Habana responded on Thursday morning to the … Continue reading “Scary Prices in Cuba: 350 Pesos for a Pound of Garlic”
14ymedio, Havana, 12 August 2021 – The authorities of Santiago de Cuba imposed massive vacations in all of the province’s state and private workplaces, or “work interruption for those who do not have accumulated time.” The decision is part of a group of measures that will last 15 days and seeks to “reduce the mobility of people … Continue reading “Santiago de Cuba is Almost Paralyzed in an Attempt to Stop Covid-19 Contagion”
14ymedio, Daniela Cecilia Rojo Varona, Guanabacoa, 14 August 2021 — On July 11, in one of my regular connections to Facebook, I see a video announcing that the town of San Antonio de los Baños has taken to the streets. A couple of hours later, the postings about uprisings in various places in the country are many. In … Continue reading “I Was Detained for 23 Days for Exercising My Constitutional Right to Demonstrate”
14ymedio, Havana, 11 August 2021 — Covid-19 indicators improve in Havana as immunization is completed. This is indicated by the data offered this Tuesday on television during the Roundtable program in which the authorities strove to make clear the effectiveness of the vaccines in a devastating context of widespread infections and mortality on the island. … Continue reading “Cuban Experts Try to Clear Doubts About Covid Vaccination With New Data”
14ymedio, Madrid, 10 August 2021 — The Council for the Democratic Transition in Cuba has addressed a letter to Pepa Bueno, the new editor of the Spanish newspaper El País, in which it criticizes the coverage of its Havana correspondent, Mauricio Vicent. Specifically, they refer to the article entitled The Cuban government takes a mass bath to reaffirm itself after … Continue reading “Cuban Opposition Harshly Criticizes Island’s Coverage by Spanish Newspaper ‘El Pais’”
14ymedio, Santiago de Cuba, August 11, 2021 — Measures adopted in Santiago de Cuba to reduce capacity in foreign currency stores have only resulted more lines and more coleros.” The provincial government ordered stores to limit the number of people allowed inside to fifty a day during the hours of 8 am to 3 pm. Shoppers … Continue reading “More than Fifteen Days Sleeping in Line to Buy a Refrigerator in Santiago de Cuba”
14ymedio, Havana, August 12, 2021 — Cuban activists, inside and outside the island, encouraged by the success of the July 11 demonstrations and the apparent weakness of the regime, faced with its worst crisis since 1959, have announced a national strike this August 13th. This decision does not attract unanimity within the opposition, and not just because … Continue reading “Cuban Opposition Calls for a National Strike on August 13”
14ymedio, Havana, 11 August 2021 — Reserve Colonel Santiago Lorenzo Hernández Cáceres died this Wednesday in Havana at the age of 82. His death marks the seventh high-ranking military official that dies in Cuba in less than a month. The cause of death has not been released in in any of the cases. According to … Continue reading “Santiago Lorenzo Hernandez Caceres, Another High Ranking Military, Dies in Cuba”
14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, 10August 2021 — The illegal satellite dishes, used by Cubans to access television from Florida, are once again the target of censorship to prevent the dissemination of images of the protests of July 11 on the island. Although they have always been persecuted, in recent years the raids to detect … Continue reading “Cuba Increases Police Raids to Confiscate Satellite Dishes”
14ymedio, Alberto Reyes, Havana, August 9, 2021 — I’m saturated. I read over and over the endless testimonies of what has happened and continues to happen in Cuba since the 11J (July 11) protests and I’m breaking down inside: people willing to arbitrarily detain, beat, torture, attack another human being with dogs, with sticks, with … Continue reading “Violent Arrests and Ridiculous Sentences for Daring to Challenge the Myth of a Happy Cuba”
