Translating Cuba – Page 8 – English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island

In Sancti Spíritus, Authorities Guarantee Coffins for All Municipalities

“Today we have about 30 sarcophagi in reserve,” assures the state company to reassure the population, traumatized by the deficiencies of that sector during the covid pandemic and the arbovirosis outbreak

14ymedio, Madrid, April 6, 2026 – The specter of scarcity in the face of death returns to the Island. As already happened in the covid-19 crisis, due to the sudden increase in deaths, the energy emergency Cuba is experiencing puts at risk an element as sensitive as the manufacture and distribution of coffins. Faced with this situation, the Company of Various Productions (Emprova) in Sancti Spíritus has opted to decentralize production so that municipalities do not depend on the scarce fuel.

“At this time, Fomento produces its own and those of Cabaiguán; Trinidad and Yaguajay, their own; Jatibonico, its own and those of La Sierpe; Sancti Spíritus makes those needed in its territory and those of Taguasco,” notes a report published this Monday in the official media Escambray. The initial experience is based on what was learned during the pandemic, when coffins began to be made in Trinidad and in the carpentry workshop of Sancti Spíritus.

“At this time, Fomento produces its own and those of Cabaiguán; Trinidad and Yaguajay, their own; Jatibonico, its own and those of La Sierpe; Sancti Spíritus makes those needed in its territory and those of Taguasco”

The director of the state company, Alberto Rodríguez, told the newspaper that manufacturing itself also suffers from serious problems that are being resolved thanks to private actors. “Before, everything came through national allocation for coffin manufacturing, and today only fabric and wood arrive; the rest we have to find with private suppliers, for example, nails of different sizes,” continue reading

he said.

It is not the only inconvenience, because the forestry company needs energy to saw wood, which causes delays. “But this issue has been handled with considerable responsibility,” he says, without further explanation. “Today we have about 30 sarcophagi in reserve, not counting the daily production that continues to come out,” he reassures.

During the pandemic, the shortage of materials led to diversification of production in very different ways. One of the most striking was the proliferation of white coffins, due to the lack of black fabric, as several funeral home employees in different parts of the Island told this newspaper.

The state Communal Services company had to look for all kinds of products, including wood and cardboard or fabric covering, causing distress among relatives at such a delicate moment. “It was a frame of poor-quality wood, covered in fabric, and the base was very thin cardboard; we were afraid the body would fall out,” said the sister of a deceased person at the time. “As soon as they lowered it into the grave, it opened at one corner; it was a terrible sight.”

The situation led to seeking solutions such as negotiating with a Mexican company, Industrias VEQ, to purchase eco-coffins, which are produced at a much lower price than traditional wooden ones. “With national investment and raw material derived from Tetra Pak products such as milk, juices, and purée, the EcoCoffin is already on the national market, and the entrepreneurs have begun talks with funeral business operators in Cuba, Honduras, and Guatemala for export in the coming months,” one of its executives told the local press.

Last year, with the surge in arbovirosis infections, shortages once again took their toll in death. The lack of hearses, already a very scarce asset on the Island, meant that transport from state companies had to be used to move the deceased, leaving grieving relatives following vehicles from the state telecommunications company Etecsa — which were put into service as hearses — an image as striking as it was painful.

Last December, President Miguel Díaz-Canel presented the new electric vehicles for funeral services, announced last July by the Minister of Transport, Eduardo Rodríguez Dávila, who specified that the Government planned to acquire at least 120 units. Of these, 50 were to be for Havana and 50 for five other provinces: 20 to Santiago de Cuba, 10 to Holguín, allocations to Camagüey, and five each to Villa Clara and Ciego de Ávila.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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With 10%, Cuba Remains at the Back of the Pack in Renewable Energy in Latin America

The continental average is 71%, with Paraguay and Costa Rica at 100%, followed by Uruguay (98%), Brazil (95%), Venezuela (92%), Colombia (91%), and Ecuador (90%)

In 2025, solar imports rose to $117 million, almost 144% more than the previous year. / Cubadebate

14ymedio, Madrid, April 6, 2026 – On Monday Cuba’s official press published the transcript of the 42 minutes of the program Cuadrando la Caja, broadcast more than ten days ago, in which several experts sat down to talk about the Island’s “energy matrix change.” It revealed less than a much more concise article today in the Financial Times (FT), which reports the enormous leap China has made in investing in solar energy in Cuba.

If in 2019 Beijing exported photovoltaic panels to the Island worth $16.6 million, in 2024 the amount grew to $48 million. Just one year later, in 2025, the figure rose to $117 million, almost 144% more than the previous year. In addition, batteries, essential for storing energy produced during daylight hours and using it at night, have also grown enormously, increasing from $7.3 million in 2024 to $56 million in 2025. Euan Graham, senior analyst at the energy think tank Ember, told the British outlet that just this January batteries worth about $15 million were imported.

“Just in the last 12 months, the Government successfully installed 1 GW, so they have already reached half of the target” set for 2026, says the expert, who adds that “one gigawatt is a very significant amount in the system, and reaching 2 GW would be truly transformative.”

Euan Graham, senior analyst at the energy think tank Ember, told the British outlet that just this January batteries worth about $15 million were imported

The article, however, asks how the State is financing this enormous investment, since, it says, it is not transparent at all. “The 2026 economic plan indicates that Beijing donated 320 MW of technology. Cuban Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz stated that part of the solar technology was paid for with nickel,” the text notes. The same nickel mines, operated in collaboration with the Canadian company Sherritt, have been halted for several weeks due to lack of fuel.

The Financial Times believes that China’s support has a political continue reading

objective, but that even so, Cuba will have to pay for a good portion of it, and that will not be easy, since the required investment is large. And with tourism collapsed, there are few options to obtain foreign currency.

In addition to donations, China has invested in Cuba. The company Shanghai Electric has contributed about $60 million to the Mariel solar park, which has 62 MW and is the Island’s first private project through a partnership with the British firm Hive Energy.

Giles Redpath, its chief executive, highlights the effectiveness of the park, which provides up to 10% of renewable electricity in Cuba. “It is a very important part of the Cuban electrical grid, and right now I’m sure it is their cheapest source of electricity,” he says. But his words also reflect the Island’s usual problems, which are why almost no one wants to invest there.

“The only problem, from our perspective, is that they are not very good at paying. Or, to be more precise, they are very good at depositing money into a Cuban bank account, but then the money cannot be taken out of Cuba.” Hive says it has tried to sell the project, “but obviously, it is difficult to sell a project that has not been paid for.”

“Cuba, as an island, could function entirely on renewable energy. They have achieved fantastic results in solar energy and have good wind resources,” Redpath insists. “They just need to fix the economic problems and the international payments system, and then investment would arrive en masse.”

The FT notes that Chinese and Vietnamese donations of solar panels also include kits for homes, schools, and hospitals, but prices, as this newspaper has reported along with other independent Cuban outlets, are very high. In addition, the official press itself has indicated on more than one occasion that even the loans promoted by the Central Bank do nothing.

“They just need to fix the economic problems and the international payments system, and then investment would arrive en masse”

Ricardo Torres, a Cuban energy expert at American University in Washington, values the significant progress of photovoltaic energy on the Island, but also notes that it represents “a growing portion of a [electricity generation] pie that is getting smaller and smaller. The proportion is magnified by the contraction in other sources,” he points out.

The report is blunt. “Not even the dizzying increase in solar energy imports can offer a quick solution for an economy that 40 years ago was the world’s leading sugar exporter but is now in ruins,” it says.

The same is recalled by University of Texas expert Jorge Piñón, who told the Financial Times that although “every small effort helps, this is a temporary solution, not the ‘engine’ that Cuba needs to emerge from the ‘stone age’ of electricity generation and face the challenge of real economic growth in the 21st century.”

Although the program Cuadrando la Caja has been much more optimistic than all this, they could not avoid acknowledging that Cuba, despite the much-touted efforts to change the energy matrix since 2014, which have existed only on paper for almost 10 years, remains far behind the regional average. The Island, where the contribution has barely reached 10%, is far from the global average of 30%, and light-years away from the 71% that Latin America already had in 2025.

Hydropower has the largest share in the region, according to data from Americas Market Intelligence, with 51.3% in 2022, although wind and solar were already rising rapidly in Chile, Brazil, and Mexico.The leading country in the area is Brazil, which already had 89% renewables three years ago, followed by Colombia (75%) and Chile (55%).

In addition, a 2025 report by the Latin American Energy Organization (Olade) noted that nine countries exceeded the regional average index of 71%, with Paraguay and Costa Rica at 100%, followed by Uruguay (98%), Brazil (95%), Venezuela (92%), Colombia (91%), Ecuador (90%), Belize (77%), and Panama (71%).

Bioenergy, which is also a rapidly growing energy source on the continent, is at risk in Cuba, where the collapse of the sugar harvest is also dragging down the country’s main plant: the Ciro Redondo Bioelectric Plant.

Translated by Regina Anavy
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Activist ‘Mambisa Agramontina’ Released From Prison, but Not as Part of Cuba’s Agreement With the Vatican

Ienelis Delgado Cué had been at Cuba’s Granja 5 camp for almost a year, without any formal charges against her.

Ienelis Delgado Cué, known as Mambisa Agramontina, in an archive photo. / Facebook

14ymedio, Madrid, April 2, 2026 — Dissident Ienelis Delgado Cué, known as Mambisa Agramontina on her social media profiles, has been released after spending nearly a year in pretrial detention in Camagüey. The 37-year-old activist herself recorded a video, released this Thursday by the Cuban Observatory for Human Rights, in which she recounts from her home that yesterday, around two or three in the afternoon, she was “released under a change of measures, from house arrest to precautionary detention.”

She says she is accused of “other acts against the security of the State,” which include “receiving packages from counterrevolutionary organizations and disseminating reports from prisoners who call me to denounce human rights violations committed in prison.” She continues, “No evidence has been found against me.” And she concludes: “I am still awaiting trial.”

Delgado Cué was being held at the Granja 5 camp, without any formal charges having been filed against her. Last January, she went on a hunger strike to protest being denied a visit from her mother, former political prisoner Leticia Cué.

This was not the first time the opposition member had taken similar action. She had also been on a hunger strike for 12 days, the same amount of time she spent in a police station after being violently arrested on April 24, 2025. “They arbitrarily arrested me at my home, violating all my rights, without giving me a search warrant,” she denounce continue reading

d at the time. According to her own account, the political police arrested her for receiving a “personal package” that someone had sent to another opposition member. “They have me detained because they say I receive packages from counterrevolutionary organizations,” the dissident stated, adding that the package was sealed and she did not know its contents: “I don’t know what’s in it.”

“The Government made it very clear, itis a substitute for a sentence and she was in pretrial detention, she doesn’t have a sentence.”

In 2023, she spent nine months in prison for contempt of court after being arrested for a peaceful act: posting photos of herself wrapped in the Cuban flag. The activist carried out this action to demonstrate her solidarity with the artist and political prisoner Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara (sentenced to five years in prison in 2022), who, in 2019, led the #LaBanderaEsDeTodos (The Flag Belongs to Everyone) campaign, weeks after a law on symbols came into effect that strictly regulates their use. She was also sent to the Kilo 5 women’s prison, although she was later released from a labor camp known as El Anoncillo, where she had been transferred.

Javier Larrondo, president of Prisoners Defenders, confirms Delgado Cué’s release, but clarifies to 14ymedio that she is not among the 51 prisoners the regime pledged to release under an agreement with the Vatican. He explains: “The government made it very clear; this is a sentence substitute, and she was in pretrial detention, not sentenced. They changed her pretrial detention status, as happens every month to many prisoners.”

This Wednesday, the Madrid-based NGO confirmed 26 releases under this agreement, the latest being that of Renán Julio Vilches Wong, “with his sentences intact, under a de facto prison-house arrest regime.” Vilches Wong had a six-year sentence “for speaking ill of the leaders of the Communist Party.”

In a message posted on their social media, they lamented that of the announced releases, 25 remain outstanding. “We are monitoring the regime and auditing its processes to ensure that all those promised to the Catholic Church are released,” they stated, reiterating their demand for the liberation of all political prisoners on the island.

In addition to Renán Julio Vilches Wong, 37, sentenced to six years and held in the San José de las Lajas forced labor prison in Mayabeque, the following have been released from prison, although their sentences have not been revoked:

1. Ibrahín Ariel González Hodelin.

2. Ariel Pérez Montesino.

4. Ronald García Sánchez.

5. Adael Jesús Leyva Diaz.

6. Oscar Bárbaro Bravo Cruzata.

7. José Luis Sánchez Tito.

8. Roberto Ferrer Gener.

9. Deyvis Javier Torres Acosta.

10. Yussuan Villalba Sierra.

11. Eduardo Álvarez Rigal.

12. Wilmer Moreno Suárez.

13. Frank Aldama Rodríguez.

14. Miguel Enrique Girón Velázquez.

15. Hansel Felipe Arbolay Prim.

16. Jorge Vallejo Venegas.

17. Luis Esteffani Hernández Valdés.

18. Franklin Reymundo Fernández Rodríguez.

19. Yunier Sánchez Rodríguez.

20. Carlos Pérez Cosme.

21. Felipe Almirall.

22. Lester Ayala Alarcón.

23. Liván Hernández Lago.

24. Evelio Luis Herrera Duvergel.

25. Jarol Varona Agüero.

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In Guanabacoa, Havana, the Eggs Arrive Escorted by Police and There Aren’t Enough for Everyone

A carton of 30 eggs is sold for 900 pesos, while on the street its price is around 2,800.

Two officers move near the line, next to the truck, making sure no one cuts in line and the disorder doesn’t escalate into a fight. / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Dario Hernandez, Havana, April 4, 2026 — The truck hasn’t even fully opened this Saturday and the line already curves around the wall that is barely standing. The scene repeats itself every time the sale appears in San Juan Bosco, between Delicias and Barreto Este, in the Havana municipality of Guanabacoa. Papers, bags, and invisible marks from other waits are scattered on the asphalt. It looks chaotic, but it is something very simple: the egg line.

In Cuba, saying it like that, in the singular, isn’t an exaggeration. It’s as if it were a mystical figure that, every so often, makes a miraculous appearance. When the egg arrives, it sets off the same stampede as always. People line up before the merchandise. First the rumor spreads, then people mark their places, then the vehicle appears; but by then everyone has to be ready hours before the product is even seen. And between one thing and another, the morning and patience are gone.

Everything happens at the corner of the Amphitheater, also known for another, less noble reason: the infamous dump across from the music school and the elementary school, the same spot where fairs are often held. There, in that stretch where garbage, children, and makeshift commerce coexist, the miracle appears.

Even with police and restrictions, more than half of those waiting will go without eggs.

This time, there are uniformed officers on site. Two agents are moving near the line, next to the truck, making sure no one cuts in line so the chaos doesn’t escalate into a fight. The last time the eggs came, there were arguments, disputes, and even pushing. Necessity can also lose its manners when the difference between buying and not buying can be measured in a family’s stomachs.

A carton of eggs [30 eggs] sells for 900 pesos, a real bargain. On the street, the same carton goes for around 2,800. It sounds simple, but that amount exceeds the average monthly pension of a retiree. The gap between the two prices accurately reflects poverty. In an economy continue reading

where almost everything is scarce, any opportunity becomes a business opportunity. That’s why, at first, some people bought several cartons. Now they only allow one per person. Even so, with police and restrictions, more than half of those waiting will go without eggs.

The line knows this, and that is perhaps the hardest part. No one is unaware that they can waste time and get stuck in that situation. That’s what happened to Mercedes the previous week. She got distracted, arrived late, and there was nothing left. “People mark their names before the truck arrives. If it didn’t show up that weekend, tough luck. If it arrived and you found out too late, even worse,” she tells this newspaper. In a matter of minutes, merchandise that in any reasonably normal country is bought without protocols, without witnesses, and without law enforcement officers, vanishes. Not here. Here, the egg is unloaded from a truck as if it were a celebrity.

Neither proximity nor waiting increases the number of egg cartons

There are children in the line. That detail, this 4th of April, carries more weight than it seems. It is Pioneer Day, a date that for years was filled with morning school assemblies, bandanas, propaganda, slogans, and promises of the future. But on this street, the future is reduced to the next meal. The children watch, get bored, run around a bit, and return to the adults. They grow up like this, among lines, learning to “mark,” “reach,” “solve,” and “wait their turn.”

The back door of the truck opens, revealing the merchandise, and people press closer, as if getting nearer might multiply the number of eggs. But neither proximity nor waiting increases the number of cartons. The math is simple and cruel. There is less supply than need.

“This is the real made marvelous,” says another neighbor who, perhaps, has never read Alejo Carpentier nor knows The Kingdom of This World. But “marvelous” doesn’t seem to be the precise word to describe the reality of the average Cuban. In San Juan Bosco, in Guanabacoa, the future fits in an egg carton.

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Mexico’s Sembrando Vida Project Donates Another $33 Million to Cuba

There is no official data on the results of this program implemented in the provinces of Mayabeque, Artemisa, and Villa Clara.

The Sembrando Vida program was established in Mayabeque, Artemisa, and Villa Clara. / Amexcid

14ymedio, Havana, April 5, 2026 – Mexico disbursed another 588,000,000 pesos ($32,889,565) for the Sembrando Vida [Sow Life] program in Cuba, announced on the Island in 2022. It claims to have benefited 5,000 farmers through the delivery of seeds and farming equipment, as well as technical support. However, no official data has been published on production in the provinces of Mayabeque, Artemisa, and Villa Clara, where the project was carried out.

Despite this, the second phase of the program insists that “the objective is to promote food self-sufficiency and job creation in rural areas of the Island, using a resource donation scheme under the Mexico Fund trust,” according to the government of Claudia Sheinbaum.

In the same document, the payment of 1,479,600 pesos to the company Dragon Charge is confirmed, a member of the support committees that evaluated the project in Cuba.

According to the Mexican government, “69% of the beneficiaries in Cuba report that their monthly income increased compared to what they had before entering the project,” but there are no documents to certify this.

Claudia Sheinbaum’s administration specified that in 2025, 21,000 people in Central America and the Caribbean benefited. In addition, 150 scholarships were awarded to foreigners from 180 countries called by the Mexican Agency for International Development Cooperation (Amexcid).

The document does not specify who will receive the funds nor how many farmers and agricultural areas will benefit. The Island is going through a widespread crisis, and the countryside has been particularly hard hit. In December of last year, the agricultural director of the Fernando Echenique Agroindustrial Company, Odisnel Traba Ferrales, denounced the lack continue reading

of the kit that the State previously distributed to producers, which included imported fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides, which are essential for certain crops: in this case, rice.

Sembrando Vida nursery on the Island. / Amexcid

The province of Granma, once among the elite rice-producing regions, plans to plant 41,000 hectares of this cereal, out of the 200,000 planned nationwide, but the data does not inspire optimism, as the same official cast doubt on this goal.

Since its inception, the Sembrando Vida project, to which Mexico initially allocated $63.5 million to implement it in El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Haiti, Belize, and Cuba, has faced criticism. According to the information platform Connectas, it shows “the discretionary expulsion of beneficiaries, a lack of transparency in the management of farmers’ savings, and delays in investigations reporting its mismanagement.”

The launch of the first phase on the Island took place in July 2023. A group of farmers received a package with scissors and boots. Felicia Mesa Pérez, one of the beneficiaries, said they were also offered “machinery, chemicals, and grain and vegetable seeds,” without specifying dates.

In December of that same year, the project donated half a dozen tractors to Cuba and inaugurated two nurseries for fruit and timber trees in the municipalities of Artemisa and Mayabeque. The project focused on curbing irregular migration through the implementation of social programs in the Northern Triangle of Central America, made up of Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Cuba, and Belize.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Jorge Losada, a Popular Figure of Cuban Theater and Television, Dies at 92

The actor faced the final days of his life in precarious conditions, relying on the support of friends for food and medical care

Jorge Losada became one of the most recognizable faces on Cuban television. / Facebook / Jorge Losada

14ymedio, Havana April 5, 2026 – Actor and comedian Jorge Losada Moreno died early Sunday morning in Havana at the age of 92. The news was announced by his friend Luis Lacosta, art director of the Cuban Institute of Cinematographic Art and Industry (ICAIC), and later confirmed by official media.

Jorge Losada was an emblematic figure of Cuban television, theater, and film. Over a long career spanning more than six decades, he became one of the most recognizable faces of the Island’s audiovisual culture, thanks to his versatility and his humorous character portrayals on Cuban television.

However, the hardship in which he lived during his final years contrasted sharply with the recognition he had achieved through his artistic career. Those close to him had to publicly request assistance due to the lack of resources affecting the actor’s health. The most recent appeal, published on March 13 by Luis Lacosta, lamented: “There is no food to give him, no transportation to take him to the doctor, we have no money left, we have many needs.”

“There is no food to give him, no transportation to take him to the doctor, we have no money left, we have many needs”

Losada began his acting career in the 1950s as a radio declaimer. His theatrical career includes more than 60 productions. As an actor and assistant director at the Havana Lyric Studio, he performed on international stages across Europe and Latin America, working as both an actor and stage director. continue reading

In the 1980s, he joined the Havana Musical Theater, where he was remembered for performances in productions such as Maestra vida, Pedro Navaja, and El caballero de Pogolotti, a role for which he received the Best Theater Actor award from the National Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba (UNEAC) in 1987.

In film, Losada debuted in Soy Cuba (1964), directed by Mikhail Kalatozov, followed by titles such as No hay sábado sin sol (1980), Techo de vidrio (1981), and the censored Alicia en el pueblo de Maravillas (1991), among many others.

Despite these difficulties, he tried to remain active: at age 90, he appeared on television in the soap opera ‘Renacer’

On Cuban television, his charisma made him a beloved figure, with roles in productions such as Los abuelos se rebelan, Los papaloteros, and SOS Divorcio.

He was also recognized in Cuba with the Pequeña Pantalla Award (2020) and the Caricato Award (2019).

The digital platform CubaActores mourned his passing and recalled that this year he had been awarded the Maestro de Generaciones Prize, “a recognition that sums up his legacy: actor, mentor, teacher, and a key figure in the history of Cuban acting.”

In his final years, Losada depended on the solidarity of friends to obtain food, medication, blood donations, and basic equipment needed for his care. His health condition had been a source of ongoing concern among colleagues and followers. Despite these difficulties, he tried to remain active: upon turning 90, he participated in the television soap opera Renacer.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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The Vatican Has Secured the Release of 27 Political Prisoners, Separate From Common Inmates Pardoned by the Cuban Regime

Of the list of 51 agreed upon with the Holy See, 24 still remain to be released.

Released prisoners walk outside La Lima prison in Havana. / EFE/STR

EFE (via 14ymedio), Havana, April 5, 2026 – The NGO Prisoners Defenders (PD) reported this Saturday that the number of political prisoners released by the Cuban government has risen to 27 since the announcement, on March 12, of a process agreed upon with the Vatican that contemplates the release of 51 inmates.

“Of the 51 prisoners the regime said it would release in March, only 27 are political prisoners. To reach the announced 51, 24 political prisoners still remain to be released, since the rest would be common prisoners. In March, 14ymedio confirmed that more than 10 of that group were common inmates,” the NGO stated in a message on social media.

It also clarified that the figures published this Saturday regarding “the release under threats of 51 prisoners in March” should not be confused with “the release/pardon of the 2,010” that the Cuban government announced this Thursday.

The figure reported by Prisoners Defenders refers to the information provided by the Havana government on March 12, when it announced the release of 51 prisoners. These individuals, according to officials, had served “a significant part of their sentence and maintained good behavior in prison.”

These releases are not pardons, but rather a benefit that allows the prisoner to leave the penitentiary even though the sentence has not been completed.

At the time, Cuban authorities framed the decision as part of “a spirit of goodwill and the close, fluid relations between the Cuban State and the Vatican.” continue reading

These releases are not pardons, but a measure that allows inmates to leave prison before completing their sentence, subject to compliance with certain conditions during the remaining time.

Separately, on April 2, the Cuban government announced the pardon of 2,010 prisoners, describing it as a “humanitarian and sovereign gesture of solidarity” in the context of Holy Week celebrations.

The regime has excluded in its statement those convicted of “crimes against authority,” a category that applies to 95% of political prisoners.

In its statement, the regime indicated that those included “feature young people, women, adults over 60, those nearing the end of early-release periods in the final semester and the coming year, as well as foreigners and Cuban citizens residing abroad.”

Cuba closed February with 1,214 people detained for political reasons, according to PD’s latest monthly report, the highest figure recorded since the organization began documenting prison conditions on the Island.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Starlink in Cuba: the Banned Antenna That Challenges Etecsa’s Monopoly

If the State guarantees neither electricity nor internet, those who can afford it try to become independent of both at the same time.

The antenna needs to see the sky, but it must not attract the neighborhood’s attention. / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Matanzas, Pablo Padilla Cruz, April 5, 2026 – On some rooftops in Havana, Matanzas, or Santa Clara, it’s no longer just water tanks, clotheslines, pigeon coops, and old television antennas that stand out. Now another object is beginning to appear, or rather to hide: the rectangular Starlink dish. In a country where internet access remains expensive, unstable, and vulnerable to blackouts, some Cubans have decided to bypass the ban and set up their own gateway to the world.

The operation begins long before turning on the equipment. The first obstacle is Customs. Marlon -a fictitious name- tells 14ymedio some of the tricks used to evade controls. “An assembled antenna shows up immediately on the scanner,” he explains. “You have to make it unrecognizable: take it apart into pieces, put it inside a television or a computer tower, mix it with cables, tools, and electronic scrap.” Sometimes it works. Other times, the difference between losing everything or leaving the airport depends on finding an official willing to look the other way in exchange for two or three $20 bills folded inside the passport.

Once inside the country, the antenna is assembled in silence. Then it has to be installed in a spot with enough open sky, but without being too exposed to view from the street or a neighbor’s house. After that, it is connected to a backup battery (UPS) or a small solar system to withstand blackouts.

Elon Musk: “It works in Cuba, it’s just not allowed to be sold there”

Damián, a programmer from Matanzas who works for clients abroad, justifies the investment. “With Etecsa [the State telecommunications monopoly] I couldn’t sustain a full meeting. Everything would drop. Now I pay the subscription with help from my brother in Miami. It’s expensive, yes, but it lets me work.” Like him, other professionals have reached the same conclusion: a stable connection is no longer a technological luxury, but a condition for job survival. continue reading

The most visible trigger came on March 16, 2026, when Elon Musk wrote on X a phrase that confirmed what had already been circulating as a clandestine rumor among users on the island: “It works in Cuba, it’s just not allowed to be sold there.” The statement did not change the legal situation, but it did clear up the main technical doubt. Coverage exists. What does not exist is authorization from the Cuban State to market the service or tolerate its open use.

That’s where true Cuban ingenuity begins. Because the signal over Cuba alone is not enough. Ordinary mobile phones are not designed to connect directly to Starlink satellites as a full substitute for a fixed or mobile network. For that, the company’s specific terminal and a router are required to distribute the connection. The option of direct satellite-to-cellphone connection remains limited and does not yet offer the capacity needed to sustain a full workday, a stable video call, or an internet-based business.

The failure of Cuban connectivity is explained not only by Etecsa’s monopoly, but also by the energy collapse

One of the most common tricks is registering the service outside Cuba. Since Starlink does not officially sell on the Island, many users rely on accounts activated in third countries, such as Mexico or the United States. The equipment enters already linked to a roaming plan and is used in Cuban territory through that channel. It is not a stable or guaranteed long-term solution, as it depends on the service’s own rules and authorized markets, but today it sustains a large part of the clandestine installations.

The second trick is camouflage. The antenna needs to see the sky, but must not draw attention. Some people hide it inside fake air-conditioning boxes. Others place it behind walls or paint it cement gray to blend in with the rooftop. Some even put it inside modified plastic structures made of materials that do not block the signal, so that from below it looks like something else.

The third trick has to do with electricity. The failure of Cuban connectivity is explained not only by Etecsa’s monopoly, but also by the energy collapse. A fixed line is of little use when a neighborhood can go hours or more than one day without power. That is why many users connect the antenna and router to lithium batteries, UPS systems, or small solar setups. If the State guarantees neither electricity nor internet, those who can afford it try to become independent of both at the same time.

A single unit can supply a small neighborhood network and turn its owner into an informal Wi-Fi provider. / Facebook / Ventas Santa Clara Cuba

In terms of cost, Starlink is far beyond the average Cuban’s means. While in the United States or Mexico a standard kit may cost between $300 and $450, on the Island that same equipment shoots up on the black market to $1,300-$1,800, a difference driven not by technical improvements, but by import risks, camouflage, bribes, and the possibility of confiscation. On top of that comes the monthly fee: roaming plans, the ones that allow use in a country where the service is not officially sold, range from $90 to $120 per month, although in Cuba many end up paying around $150 to resellers who manage the account from abroad. In practice, users are not paying just for internet, but for the entire chain of illegality and financial dependency that makes it possible to turn on the antenna.

Around this banned technology, a small economic ecosystem has already emerged. There are those who use it to sustain a private business, those who depend on it for remote programming or design work, and those who resell it. A single device can power a small neighborhood network and turn its owner into an informal Wi-Fi provider. Just as people once shared signals from antennas to watch foreign TV channels, now they are starting to share Starlink connections. In practice, it is an invisible small business.

This proliferation explains the authorities’ unease. The Government can confiscate antennas, tighten inspections, and label these devices as contraband technology, but it has not managed to erase demand. Every dish hidden on a rooftop confirms the failure of a monopoly unable to provide a sufficient, stable connection compatible with contemporary economic life.

Starlink alone will not democratize Cuba. It remains expensive, clandestine, and limited to a minority. It almost always depends on money sent from abroad and on a chain of illegalities that keeps it out of reach for most. But each antenna leaves behind a difficult truth to conceal: the demand for connectivity has already outgrown the State’s capacity for control.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Havana Chronicles: A Journey Through the Lost Names of Havana

“I can’t carry much, I only pick up skinny people,” says the motorcyclist who takes me through the streets of the capital.

My grandmother always refused to call the House of Three Kilograms “Yumuri”. / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Yoani Sánchez, Havana, 4 April 2026 / “Put on your helmet,” the young man tells me before I get on the motorcycle. In Havana, almost paralyzed by the energy crisis, there are motorcyclists who serve as taxis. They assess you from head to toe before quoting a price, because body weight influences what you’ll pay. “I can’t carry much, I only pick up thin people,” the young man assures me. The vehicle is electric, and he bought it after a trip to Spain. He starts telling me wonderful things about Madrid as we cross the Iron Bridge.

“I’m going all the way to La Sortija,” I warn him. The famous store, a few meters from Fraternity Park, continues to be an important landmark even though it has been sinking into decay for years. We Havanans cling to the old names of places, as if by pronouncing them we could pull them up from the ruin. Thus, we still say Carlos III for the now rebaptized Salvador Allende Avenue, but hardly any of its former grandeur remains. No one refers to La Cubana hardware store by that name anymore, but rather with the catchy “Feíto y Cabezón” [Ugly and Pig-Headed].

My grandmother always refused to call the House of Three Kilograms department store by its previous name, “Yumuri.” She repeated the old name and remembered the mannequins in their long dresses, but all I saw in the windows were the clunky briefcases that all the government officials carried. There were also some shirts that became the least ugly thing among the clothes the “new man” was supposed to wear. In those 1980s, I liked to go into the shop on Reina and Belascoaín to breathe in the air conditioning. That smell conveyed luxury, sophistication, and the future. Today it’s closed and exudes a musty odor.

Nobody refers to La Cubana hardware store like that, but rather with the catchy “Ugly and Pig-Headed”

The motorcycle is already on 23rd Street. To my right rises the former Havana Hilton. The building seems dwarfed by the colossus they’ve erected just a few meters away. The K Tower isn’t quite right. Too big, too cold, too lonely. The hotel inside is closed due to a lack of tourists. On the avenue in front of the 42-story giant, you could set up an impromptu casino rueda [dance party] without the traffic being a problem. Only occasionally does an electric tricycle or a classic American car pass by. “The only good thing about all this is that it’s unlikely you’ll get hit by a car,” the motorcyclist quips.

We headed down San Lázaro. We passed a bicycle taxi loaded with sacks of charcoal. The man pedaled hard to move the valuable cargo. Right now, lighting a stove is a headache for thousands of families in this city who don’t have piped gas or liquefied gas reserves. On balconies and rooftops, makeshift fires are visible where coffee is brewed and lunch is cooked. A smoky smell clings to the clothes and sheets hanging on the lines.

There are still many people in this city who call Galiano’s store the ‘Ten Cent’ and the building converted into the Computer Palace, almost always empty and dark, is still called ‘Sears’. Hardly anyone in Havana calls Revolution Square ‘Civic Square’ or the complex where the Yara cinema is located the ‘Radiocentro CMQ Building’. Those who used those names went into exile or died. But every now and then I run into someone who gives me directions, specifying that “you have to turn right at the La Marina newspaper building” or “go straight past Lámparas Quesada.” The map of what’s been lost remains alive in our memory.

The map of what has been lost remains vivid in our memory. / 14ymedio

After nearly seven decades of a system obsessed with renaming everything, it’s a miracle that any of those references still remain. Castroism never had much of a knack for naming things. The era of acronyms lasted an eternity. They say that among all the monstrosities spawned by that mania was Ecodictafo (Consolidated Company for the Distribution of Cigars, Tobacco, and Matches… or something like that). I don’t remember. Maybe it’s just a joke. What I know for sure is that since I was born, matches have always been bad in Cuba, no matter what the company that produces them is called.

The motorcycle trip ends. My destination is the informal vendors who display their wares in the doorways of La Sortija. A friend told me they have good locks. Thefts are rampant, and Havana is increasingly barred with security grilles and locks. The hallways of my building resemble prison cells. There are apartments where residents have to pass through up to three gates to get inside. Keyrings weigh a ton in our pockets. Everything outside these enclosed spaces is susceptible to theft or vandalism. Exterior light bulbs are gone. The glass in the stairwell windows disappeared years ago.

“What are they going to take from us that they’re giving us so much?”
My neighbors are very nervous. We’ve barely had any power outages lately. “What are they going to take away from us that they’re giving us so much of?” an engineer asks me when we’re alone in the elevator. The excessively long power surges make us uneasy. We experience every hour of electricity as a privilege that we’ll have to pay for with darkness upon darkness. Guilt gnaws at me thinking that my present self is consuming the megawatts meant for Yoani’s future self. I feel sorry for her: groping around, searching for a candle or a rechargeable lamp.

I go up to the rooftop as night falls to see if I can spot anything of the Artemis 2 building, but it’s cloudy. In the distance, I can make out the lights of the Focsa building. “It’s a miracle they didn’t change its name,” I tell myself, and I start thinking about all the possible variations they could have slapped on one of Havana’s most beautiful buildings. I go back inside. I check that the padlock is securely fastened on the first gate. And on the second. For the third, I use the one I bought across from La Sortija.

Previous Havana Chronicles:

The Shipwreck of a Ship Called “Cuba”

Havana Seen From ‘The Control Tower’

In Havana, the Only Ones Who Move Are the Mosquitoes

Reina, the Stately Street Where Garbage is Sold

Searching for Light Through the Deserted Streets of Havana

The Death Throes of ‘Granma’, the Mouthpiece of a Regime Cornered by Crisis

The Anxiety of the Disconnected Cuban

One Mella, Three Mellas, Life in Cuba Is Measured in Thousands of Pesos

It Is Forbidden To Leave Home in Cuba Today Because It Is a “Counter-Revolutionary Day”

Vedado, the Heart of Havana’s Nightlife, Is Now Converted Into a Desert

Havana, in Critical Condition

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Outrage Among State Workers Over Cuban Government’s “Relocation” Offers

Among the few options are standing guard duty and taking on garbage collection

“How are we supposed to relocate if most of our companies are affected by the lack of fuel, electricity, and transportation?” / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Darío Hernández, Havana, April 4, 2026 / “For you to tell me that after five years of university I have to go collect garbage is unbelievable.” The speaker is Miguel, a Cuban worker outraged by the government’s proposal to reassign employees to tasks such as waste collection rather than leave them “idle.” “They can go farm, produce, and collect garbage, those who are strong, healthy, and in optimal condition,” he snaps.

Barely two weeks after the Minister of Labor and Social Security, Jesús Otamendiz Campos, said that job “relocation” was the “number one priority,” complaints have multiplied, and layoffs, especially in tourism, have been massive. “That possibility isn’t for all regions,” says Yudith, from Melilla in the province of Holguín, a community that depends heavily on a sector that has been steadily collapsing over the past five years, culminating in the final blow: the suspension of the vast majority of international flights on February 11 due to a lack of jet fuel.

Most workers in that sector, she says, “were sent home as idle workers without guaranteed pay after that first month.” Ángel, formerly a bartender at a hotel in the heart of Holguín’s tourism hub, says the current situation reminds him of the worst of the coronavirus pandemic. “From working surrounded by people, making cocktails until two or three in the morning, to just watching reels on my phone, because everything here in Cayo Coco and Cayo Guillermo is closed,” he explains.

“That’s what they said during the COVID-19 pandemic, when companies and organizations did whatever they wanted. They left half the town unemployed.” / 14ymedio

“I’ve seen this movie before,” says Alfredo, also a worker in the sector. “That’s what they said during COVID-19, and companies and institutions did whatever they wanted. They left half the town without jobs,” he says. “How many people lost long-held jobs because of the so-called multi-employment policy, leaving many unprotected? Get ready for season continue reading

two.”

The good intentions expressed by the labor minister, who promised to “guarantee labor and salary protection” to safeguard workers’ rights and those of their families and to reassign as many state employees as possible to avoid layoffs, have remained just that: intentions. In that appearance on the Mesa Redonda program, Otamendiz mentioned alternatives such as remote work, telework, adjusted working hours, and reassignment to tasks like food production, communal services, and educational support amid a shortage of teaching staff.

State media, however, is trying to paint a rosy picture. This Friday, the newspaper Escambray boasted that in Sancti Spíritus more than 11,000 workers “have adopted new forms of employment included in current labor legislation.” Most of them, according to Yaiselín Quesada López, deputy director of the Provincial Labor Directorate, are “workers incorporated into remote work” (more than 2,600), followed by employees with “adjusted working hours” (over 1,440), those in “telework” (nearly 870), and only 460 in “other roles within the same entity”; that is, actually reassigned.

“My daughter hasn’t even received a call from the hotel to find out what she can do.” / 14ymedio

Revealing which sectors have been hardest hit by the crisis, Escambray also notes that the main areas where workers have been “reemployed” are tourism, transportation, the food industry, and construction.

“How are we supposed to relocate if most of our companies are affected by the lack of fuel, electricity, and transportation?” Iván asks skeptically. He points out that in the current context, telework and remote work are practically impossible, since most of these “relocations” are for jobs as guards and watchmen. “No one accepts them because of the low salaries and the risks involved, especially since most workers are near retirement age.” Very few young people, he says, are willing to take on guard duty. Nor does he see “an engineer or any professional working in solid waste collection. That’s a punishment.”

Arlenis, mother of a woman who was completing her mandatory social service in the tourism sector, suggests that managers are not transparent when assigning relocations. Her daughter, a mother of a three-year-old, still has no assignment. “Many managers are applying the rules however they want. Some prioritize years of service, favoring those close to retirement, while young people are the most affected. My daughter hasn’t even been called by the hotel to see what she can do.”

The current crisis has also led private businesses to reduce their working hours or close several days a week.

Years of service, however, are no guarantee of anything, says Lisandra. “My husband was declared idle verbally, without any official document. The first month he got 100% of his salary and nothing more. A worker with 42 years on the job and only four months away from retirement.”

In short, workers feel disappointed and warn of deception by the authorities, who force them to accept offers unrelated to their professional profiles and that are not appealing. “If you don’t accept, the State looks good, and the worker has to figure out how to survive,” Lisandra concludes. “It’s sad that the few workers who still believe in working for the State, from professionals to manual laborers, are being left out.”

The situation is not limited to the state sector. The current crisis has also forced private businesses to reduce hours or close several days a week. This is the case of the Fábrica de Arte Cubano, which has limited its opening to Fridays and Saturdays, compared to four days before. Restaurants like El Cocinero have reduced their staff, while images circulating on social media of others, such as El Sibarita, have gone viral due to the evident lack of customers.

Watch video here.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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El Tostadero, the Cuban Grocery Store That Ended Up Devoured by Garbage

What was once a prosperous establishment in the center of San José de las Lajas is now a ruin overrun by waste and mosquitoes.

The former grocery store El Tostadero looks like a skeleton stranded in the middle of the town. / 14ymedio

14ymedio, San José de Las Lajas, Julio César Contreras, April 3, 2026 – At high noon, when the sun beats down on the street and only the faint sound of a distant engine can be heard, the old grocery store El Tostadero looks like a skeleton stranded in the middle of San José de las Lajas (Mayabeque). Where sacks of rice, cans of oil, and bottles of rum once lined up, piles of garbage now accumulate, growing like a second structure made of torn plastic bags, damp cardboard, and rubble. The scene has become routine for nearby residents, who no longer look at the building with nostalgia but with concern.

Amid the ruins of what was once this emblematic establishment, garbage continues to take over, turning what remains of the building into an improvised dump that no one seems willing to clean up. From the sidewalk, the store’s name can still be read on a peeling wall, as if resisting disappearance. A few meters away, a couple rides by on a scooter, slowing down to avoid potholes, while a skinny dog crosses the corner unhurriedly. The neighborhood goes on with its routine, but the decay of the old shop has become a constant reminder of decline.

“People come here with wheelbarrows, dumping everything from construction debris to toilet paper. It hasn’t been officially declared, but in practice this is a small landfill right in the center of town,” Abelardo, a local resident, tells 14ymedio, watching with resignation the steady flow of people unloading their waste there. The 54-year-old remembers when the store was a gathering point for neighbors, a place where people discussed the day’s news while waiting their turn to buy goods. continue reading

“Little by little they took everything that could be reused. What was once a prosperous private business ended up like this in government hands.”

According to him, once the building was declared at risk of collapse, its quiet dismantling began. First the roof tiles disappeared, then the wooden beams, and later the doors and windows. What the wind didn’t take, necessity did. “Little by little they took everything that could be reused. What was once a prosperous private business ended up like this in government hands,” Abelardo laments, pointing inside, where grass now grows among the remains of floor tiles still visible beneath the dirt.

From the porch of her house directly across from the store, Dignora watches the site with a mix of irritation and fatigue. At 72, she says the biggest problem is not the ruin itself, but what came afterward: mosquitoes, foul odors, and a sense of insecurity. “A swarm of mosquitoes comes out of there every night and keeps us from sitting outside. Sometimes the smell is so strong that I have to close doors and windows,” she explains, pointing to a corner where food scraps and black bags torn open by dogs are piled up.

Sometimes the smell is so strong that I have to close doors and windows,” she explains, pointing to a corner where food scraps and black bags torn open by dogs are piled up. / 14ymedio

The woman admits that, reluctantly, she has also had to throw her own trash there. “I wish there were a nearby dumpster or that a sanitation truck came regularly, but they show up whenever they feel like it, maybe once or twice a month. So I have no choice but to toss my little bag in a corner. Everyone does the same, otherwise we’d be swallowed by filth inside our own homes,” she says, aware of the health risks posed by the improvised dump.

The building’s deterioration is evident from every angle. The walls are cracked, the columns expose rusted rebar, and the roof has almost completely disappeared, leaving the interior open to the sky. Through one opening, the backyard can be seen, now a vacant lot overgrown with tall weeds and strewn with construction debris. The image contrasts sharply with the memories of those who knew the place in its prime, when the aroma of freshly roasted coffee justified the store’s name.

Ernesto, a resident who lives two blocks away, says complaints to authorities have been constant but useless. “It’s been falling apart for more than ten years. My fear is that part of what’s still standing could collapse onto a neighboring house and cause a tragedy. Someone could also get hurt if a section falls while they’re dumping trash,” he warns, looking at the cracks running along one of the side walls.

The makeshift trash dump at the abandoned bodega El Tostadero, in San José de las Lajas (Mayabeque). / 14ymedio

To avoid the risk, he prefers to walk several blocks to Avenida 40, where a functioning garbage container still exists. However, he admits not everyone can make that trip every day. “The People’s Power delegates elected in this neighborhood never did anything to save the store from becoming the ruin it is today,” he says, with a tone mixing frustration and resignation.

Despite the abandonment, the building still occupies an entire corner of the town, like a silent witness to the passage of time and the lack of maintenance. Its structure, though weakened, retains a certain presence, making the contrast between what it was and what it is today even more striking. For many residents, El Tostadero has become a symbol of institutional neglect and the deterioration of public services.

“This is a monument to the lack of respect for heritage, to that virus spreading across the entire country,” Ernesto concludes, watching as the wind lifts papers and dust at the corner. Meanwhile, the name of the old store remains stuck to the wall, a final mark of identity amid the ruins, reminding the people of San José de las Lajas that where there was once commerce and life, abandonment now reigns.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Calls the Friendship Between Moscow and Havana an “Enduring Value”

“It cannot be properly measured in kopeks, dollars, or pesos,” says Sergei Ryabkov.

The Russian tanker Anatoly Kolodkin at the dock of the Supertanker Base in Matanzas. / Facebook / Oliver Zamora Oria

14ymedio/EFE, Madrid/Moscow, April 3, 2026 – The friendship between Russia and Cuba is enduring, declared Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Sergei Ryabkov, on Friday, stating that Moscow will continue supporting Havana despite U.S. pressure on the Island. “It cannot be properly measured in kopeks, dollars, or pesos. It is an enduring value. We value it highly,” the Russian diplomat emphasized in an interview with the TASS agency.

Both countries, he recalled, have interacted for decades “across the full spectrum of issues aimed at ensuring high human development, the development of science and education, cultural and human exchanges, and the development of the arts.”

“Not to mention our shared history and the solidarity, mutual support, which has always been felt and continues to be felt. And Russia maintains its commitment to this policy, especially at the current difficult stage,” he added. The senior Russian diplomat also reiterated the demand to end U.S. pressure on the Island.

“We insist that Cuba’s security be guaranteed. We demand an end to the blockade of the Island, which is absolutely illegal and illegitimate.”

“We insist that Cuba’s security be guaranteed. We demand an end to the blockade of the Island, which is absolutely illegal and illegitimate. And I am sure that the results Washington hopes to achieve with this blockade will continue to go unrealized,” he said. continue reading

The tanker Anatoly Kolodkin, sanctioned by the United States and the European Union and carrying 100,000 tons of crude oil, arrived Tuesday in Matanzas, marking the first oil shipment to reach the Island in three months, following the oil blockade imposed by the United States at the end of January. “This valuable assistance arrives amid the energy siege imposed by the United States, which seeks to suffocate the Cuban population,” Havana’s Foreign Ministry said on the social network X.

U.S. President Donald Trump had downplayed Moscow’s move to break the blockade imposed by Washington and dismissed the idea that the arrival of crude oil in Cuba would have any impact on the Island’s current situation. “It doesn’t bother me (…) they have a bad regime, they have bad and corrupt leadership, and whether a ship of oil arrives or not, it doesn’t matter,” the president said.

On Thursday, Russia’s Energy Minister, Sergei Tsiviliov, reported that after sending the Anatoly Kolodkin, his government is preparing a second shipment of crude oil to Cuba. “We will not abandon the Cubans,” Tsiviliov told local media at an energy forum held in the city of Kazan.

Cuba requires about 100,000 barrels per day to meet its energy needs, of which around 40,000 come from domestic production, mainly used to keep its outdated thermoelectric plants running. The inability to cover the remaining demand has resulted in long daily blackouts and the near-total paralysis of the economy.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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The First Group of the 412 Healthcare Workers From the Island Returned by Guatemala Arrives in Cuba

Under pressure from the United States, the leftist government of the Central American country decided not to renew the contract in place since 1998.
An investigation by the Prosecutor’s Office revealed that only three out of every ten “collaborators” sent by Havana were doctors.

“There are complaints filed against Cuban doctors in Guatemala, under various circumstances.” / Facebook / Cuban Consulate Guatemala

14ymedio, Madrid, April 3, 2026 – Guatemala is already sending back the Cuban doctors who were part of the bilateral agreement that ended two months ago. This Thursday, a first group arrived on the Island, following a farewell ceremony held in the Central American country, according to official press reports, which indicate that the return of the “health collaborators,” after the end of the agreement between both governments, will be “gradual.”

Without giving names or figures, Guerrillero reports the words of the coordinator of the cooperation program of the Directorate of Integrated Networks of the Guatemalan Ministry of Public Health and Social Assistance, Sheila Pamela Leyla, who stated that “the members of the Antillean medical brigade made the mountains, the jungles, and the poorest neighborhoods of this land their own home.”

The official added: “You arrived not with weapons or conditions, but with stethoscopes and an iron will. Since then, you have been the face of hope for millions of Guatemalans who, before seeing a Cuban doctor, had never had access to proper medical care.”

For his part, the Cuban ambassador to Guatemala, Nazario Fernández, praised “the services provided” and urged people “not to pay attention to perverse minds, to empty hearts that try to denigrate that work, since the humanism demonstrated every day over nearly 28 years remains alive in the people of this sister nation.” continue reading

Guatemala stated that its Ministry of Health will fill the positions left by the 412 Cuban specialists, who cost 4,513,872 dollars annually.

Last February, the Government of Guatemala, led by leftist President Bernardo Arévalo, announced it would not renew the contracts of the Cuban medical brigades, present in the country since 1998 after Hurricane Mitch. In doing so, it followed the path of other countries in the region such as Honduras, Jamaica, and the Bahamas, under pressure from the Trump administration, which considers the Cuban missions forced labor and seeks to reduce the Cuban regime’s main source of foreign currency.

Guatemalan authorities said at the time that their Ministry of Health would cover the positions left by the 412 Cuban specialists, who cost 4,513,872 dollars annually, with medical students doing their residencies. They also said they were working on measures for the “reorganization of current human resources to avoid neglecting the population,” including “incentives for those who take positions in hard-to-reach areas.”

According to Guatemala’s Minister of Health, Joaquín Barnoya, 80% of the brigades from the Island were located in communities across eight departments: Petén, Huehuetenango, Alta and Baja Verapaz, Quiché, Izabal, Zacapa, and San Marcos, while another 40 physicians were in the capital.

The investigation conducted by the Prosecutor’s Office examines the proportion of healthcare specialists sent by the Cuban government and indicates that only three out of every ten Cubans sent were doctors.

Last week, Guatemala’s Public Prosecutor’s Office announced it is investigating more than 60 complaints against Cuban doctors, related to impersonation of professional qualifications, failure to meet legal requirements, and public safety concerns. “There are complaints filed against Cuban doctors in Guatemala, under various circumstances, ranging from crimes committed individually to issues related to the performance of their duties in Guatemala,” said the MP’s Secretary General, Ángel Arnoldo Pineda.

According to Pineda, the prosecutor’s investigation analyzes the proportion of healthcare specialists sent by the Cuban government and indicates that only three out of every ten Cubans sent were actually doctors. “If one conducts a numerical analysis of 100% of the people assigned by the Cuban regime to provide medical support in different countries, it is said that only 20% or 30% of those who come are truly doctors, and the rest assume the role of doctors and perform other functions,” the secretary stated.

In 2019, UN special rapporteurs had already sent an urgent letter to Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel, denouncing abuses such as opaque contracts, salary withholding of up to 75%, and reprisals against those who refused to participate. Havana never responded.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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The First Prisoners Released Under Cuba’s Mass Pardon Are Common Inmates, Not Political Prisoners

This is indicated by reports from Prisoners Defenders in Havana, Las Tunas, Villa Clara, and Santiago de Cuba.

The operation appears aimed at easing overcrowding and reducing prison costs. / X / Patrick Oppmann CNN

14ymedio, Havana, April 3, 2026 – The Cuban regime began this April 3 to release some of the inmates included in the official announcement of the pardon of 2,010 people. But far from the image of openness that Havana is trying to project, the first data verified by human rights organizations point in another direction: those benefiting are not political prisoners, but common inmates, in an operation that appears aimed at relieving overcrowding and reducing prison costs without touching the core of repression.

The decision was presented this Thursday by the Government as a “humanitarian and sovereign” gesture, in the middle of Holy Week, but so far it has not been accompanied by a public list of names or transparent information about the real selection criteria.

The reports that have begun to arrive from different provinces dismantle, at least for now, any expectation that the process includes opposition members, activists, and demonstrators sentenced for political reasons. Javier Larrondo, president of Prisoners Defenders, reported this Friday that 41 prisoners were released from the Toledo 2 Forced Labor prison in Marianao (Havana), all of them common inmates.

At El Típico prison in Las Tunas, six common inmates were released, along with “dozens more” prisoners linked to forced labor centers near that prison. According to the Madrid-based NGO, the trend is repeated across the country, where “only common prisoners are being released; not a single political prisoner in any prison, so far.” continue reading

Seven common inmates were released from the Remedios forced labor prison and no political prisoners

The same is happening in Villa Clara. Seven common inmates were released from the Remedios forced labor prison and no political prisoners. Opposition members and activists remain imprisoned there, including the octogenarian Miguel Díaz Bauzá, with no indication so far that they will be included in this round of releases. In Boniato, Santiago de Cuba, four common prisoners were freed. The conclusion drawn by Prisoners Defenders is that the operation is not a political shift, but rather a “prison drain” of common inmates in a country with one of the highest incarceration rates in the world.

The very design of the official announcement pointed in that direction. Authorities made it clear that those convicted of certain crimes would be excluded, including so-called “crimes against authority,” a broad category often used by the Cuban repressive apparatus to prosecute, under charges such as contempt, resistance, assault, or public disorder, those who protest, film abuses, criticize the government, or simply refuse to obey an officer. This is compounded by the total absence of a verifiable list.

What is happening inside the prisons also confirms that the political problem not only remains intact but is also worsening. While the regime opens the doors to common inmates, it keeps behind bars people detained for protesting and continues to extend repression toward particularly vulnerable sectors.

The teenagers Jonathan and Cristian remain detained and face sabotage charges

Cubalex warned this Friday about the situation of teenagers arrested after the March 13 protest in Morón, Ciego de Ávila. The organization has verified at least four adolescents linked to those events: Jonathan David Muir Burgos, 16; Cristian Crespo Álvarez, also 16; Kevin Samuel Echeverría Rodríguez; and Yohasnel Estrada Rodríguez. At least Jonathan and Cristian remain detained and face charges of sabotage, a very serious crime that authorities are using to punish social protest. (see also)

In Jonathan’s case, Cubalex reported that he was arrested on March 16 along with his father, who was released a few hours later. Since then, the teenager has remained in detention, and his family has reported emotional distress and deterioration in his health. Cristian was arrested a day later, amid an opaque identification process and without his relatives having access to official case documentation. His family has also reported severe communication restrictions, brief and supervised visits, and signs of physical deterioration. In both cases, there were failed transfers to Canaleta prison and returns to the detention center, a practice that adds psychological pressure and increases uncertainty. Cubalex warns of a pattern of delayed detentions, disproportionate charges, pretrial detention as the rule, family isolation, and lack of procedural transparency.

The regime’s real message is not one of openness but of managing punishment. The figure of 2,010 released prisoners serves more as a headline than as proof of change. What is already becoming clear, as the first reports emerge from Havana, Las Tunas, Villa Clara, and Santiago de Cuba, is that political prisoners are not on that list.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Moscow Seeks to “Break the U.S. Energy Blockade” with the Shipment of a Second Oil Tanker to Cuba

During his visit to Russia, Pérez-Oliva secured promises of support from Putin’s government

The Russian tanker Anatoly Kolodkin, loaded with 100,000 tons of crude oil, in Matanzas Bay. / CNC TV Granma

14ymedio, Havana, April 2, 2026 – Moscow is preparing a second shipment of crude oil to Cuba following the arrival of the Anatoly Kolodkin, authorized by the United States after three months of an oil blockade on the Island, reported Russian Energy Minister Sergei Tsiviliov this Thursday.

“A Russian vessel broke the blockade. Now the second is being loaded. We will not abandon the Cubans,” Tsiviliov told local press at an energy forum held in the city of Kazan.

The minister noted that the decision was made after a meeting held in St. Petersburg with Cuban representatives.

Deputy Prime Minister in charge of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment, Óscar Pérez-Oliva Fraga, is on an official visit to Russia, where he is trying to present Cuba as an attractive economic partner and is seeking Moscow’s support to ease its energy deficit.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko stated that the immediate goal is to alleviate the fuel shortage

At the meeting of the Cuba-Russia Intergovernmental Commission, Moscow reaffirmed that it will continue to support the Island economically. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko indicated that the immediate goal is to ease the fuel shortage.

Chernyshenko also stated that once fuel supply in Cuba is normalized, direct flights will be fully restored, with the aim of recovering previous tourism levels. continue reading

Both sides also discussed pharmaceutical projects, including the shipment of supplies from Russia and an agreement between the Russian company Prommed and the Center for Molecular Immunology to develop cancer vaccines.

These efforts are accompanied by plans to export food, reactivate a vehicle assembly plant, and create a taxi service in Havana using Russian cars, as part of a broader cooperation agenda.

Pérez-Oliva said of this bilateral cooperation, “it is the most sustainable way we have to collaborate in the energy sector.”

The tanker Anatoly Kolodkin, sanctioned by the United States and the European Union and loaded with 100,000 tons of crude oil, arrived in Cuba this week, marking the first oil shipment to the Island since January 9, when Mexico sent a fuel tanker.

U.S. President Donald Trump downplayed Moscow’s delivery of crude oil to Cuba, saying it would have no impact on the Island’s current situation

Energy specialist Jorge Piñón of the University of Texas noted that as of this Thursday there are four Cuban-flagged tankers in Matanzas, “all candidates to provide shipping service to Havana for the Russian Ural crude transported by the Anatoly Kolodkin.”

He added that “the tanker Vilma may be carrying out a ship-to-ship transfer in Matanzas, thereby shortening operation time by avoiding onshore storage tanks. This tanker could load an approximate maximum of 400,000 barrels.” According to Piñón, “it cannot be ruled out that all the crude aboard the Anatoly Kolodkin is destined for Havana; it must also be considered that the Cienfuegos refinery remains in play.”

U.S. President Donald Trump downplayed Moscow’s delivery of crude oil to Cuba, saying it would have no impact on the Island’s current situation.

“It doesn’t bother me (…), they have a bad regime, they have bad and corrupt leadership, and whether or not they receive a ship of oil, it doesn’t matter,” the president said. A White House spokesperson even described it as a “humanitarian” decision.

For his part, President Díaz-Canel thanked Vladimir Putin for the shipment of crude and announced that “work is already underway on unloading, then processing, distribution, and the rational use of this shipment, which, although insufficient amid the acute shortage, will gradually ease the situation in the coming weeks.”

Cuba requires about 100,000 barrels per day to meet its energy needs, of which fewer than 40,000 come from domestic production and can only be used in thermoelectric plants, since it is very heavy crude that cannot be refined on the Island. The inability to meet the remaining demand has resulted in prolonged daily blackouts and the near-total paralysis of the country’s economy.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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