Translating Cuba – Page 82 – English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island

‘Veguita’, a Feared Repressor in Cuban Prisons, is Arrested in the US

Several Cuban exiles accuse him of beatings and torture against common and political prisoners.

Jorge Luis Vega García, known as “Veguita,” was arrested this Tuesday in the United States. / Martí Noticias

14ymedio, Havana, 5 August 2025 — The former Interior Ministry (Minint) lieutenant colonel Jorge Luis Vega García, known as Veguita, was arrested Tuesday in the United States, as confirmed to to Martí Noticias by the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Several political prisoners identified the migrant as a repressor who beat and tortured inmates.

Vega García legally entered the country on January 20, 2024, through Tampa International Airport in Florida, with his wife and son, under the Humanitarian Parole Program. He was later eligible for the Cuban Adjustment Act, despite his history as one of the “most feared repressors” in the Cuban prison system, a connection that went undetected during his immigration process.

In Cuba, he directed the Agüica and Canaleta prisons in Matanzas, and is accused by former political prisoners such as Benito Ortega Suárez, Pablo Pacheco Ávila, Blas Giraldo Reyes, and Fidel Suárez Cruz of orchestrating physical and psychological torture, beatings, prolonged confinement, and reprisals against imprisoned opponents during the Black Spring of 2003.

“Veguita is one of Cuba’s many murderers,” Fidel Suárez told journalist Mario J. Pentón. Suárez claims that, along with other officials, Vega beat him 19 times in a month, leaving him with permanent scars. Pacheco, convicted during the Black Spring of 2003, remembers him as a man with a “short, Nazi-style haircut” whose “evil you could see in his face.” continue reading

Cuban-American Congressman Carlos Giménez formally requested his deportation.

The arrest comes after Cuban-American Congressman Carlos Giménez formally requested his deportation in a letter to Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, in which he included documentary evidence of his involvement in the repressive apparatus. The signatures on several documents signed by Vega in Cuba in 2010 and in the United States in 2024 confirmed his identity.

Vega denied to Martí Noticias that he had ever been a member of the Cuban prison system and ended a call during which he was confronted. “If you defended communism so much, what are you doing here, in the country you criticized so much?” Pacheco questioned.

So far, ICE has not announced the specific charges against Vega García.

Vega García’s case adds to other recent ones, such as that of Jorge Javier Rodríguez Cabrera, also linked to the Cuban regime and detained by ICE in recent months. Daniel Morejón García, who appears on the Foundation for Human Rights in Cuba’s (FDHC) list of repressors, was also arrested and subsequently deported to the island last May. More than 100 names appear on a list submitted by Giménez to the Department of Homeland Security, including alleged repressors residing in the US.

To date, ICE has not announced any specific charges against Vega García. Exile organizations and victims are demanding a formal investigation and a trial to hold him accountable for the alleged crimes.

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Constitutional Reform in El Salvador and Also in Cuba

The scant information in Cuba about the authorization of Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele’s indefinite reelection is very eloquent in itself.

The first year of Bukele’s second consecutive term is considered unconstitutional. / EFE

14ymedio, René Gómez Manzano, Havana, 5 August 2025 / Last Friday, one of the main international news stories of the day in its own right was the adoption, in fraternal El Salvador, of a constitutional reform that, along with a series of other diverse measures, authorizes the indefinite reelection of the president of the Republic.

Reports on the matter indicate that, this Thursday, the government forces of the small Central American nation approved what undoubtedly deserves the epithet used in various media outlets: “express reform.” To this end, these forces made use of their overwhelming majority in the Salvadoran Legislative Assembly, which includes only three parliamentarians belonging to other parties.

It is worth clarifying that Bukele’s next reelection, under the new reform, would not be his first. Despite the fact that such a move was expressly prohibited by the current Constitution, the president resigned six months before the end of his first term. Adding to this ruse was a rash interpretation of supralegal precepts by the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice, conveniently renewed entirely by the Legislative Assembly, already controlled by the president’s party. Thus, Bukele was reelected in 2024 with an impressive 88.3% of the valid votes. continue reading

Despite the fact that such a thing was expressly prohibited by the current Constitution, the president resigned six months before the end of his first term in office.

This staggering figure is neither unfounded nor arbitrary. It is a fact that, before Bukele’s arrival as head of state, criminal gangs (the famous “maras,” a Salvadoran term that has become a standard in our language) were rampant in the country.

With a mix of energy and severity (sprinkled, according to some critics, with a certain degree of violation of gang members’ human and procedural rights), Bukele and his government managed to reverse this lamentable situation. At the same time, the homicide rate per 100,000 inhabitants plummeted: from 105 in 2015 to 1.9 in 2024 (which, in turn, was 26% lower than in 2023).

These realities allow the Salvadoran population, with all the right in the world, to have a much better perception of their country’s security situation. In this context, the high level of popular support for Nuevas Ideas, the party that nominated and successfully elected Bukele, as well as the overwhelming majority of the assembly members, is explicable and perfectly comprehensible.

Thus, in 2024, of the 60 members of the legislature, the governing coalition obtained 57 (54 of them from Nuevas Ideas); the opposition, as mentioned, obtained only three. The only national representation (some name must be given) that surpasses it in this regard is Cuba, where each and every member of the so-called “National Assembly of People’s Power” (ANPP) is openly from the governing party.

But there are immense differences between these two legislative bodies. The overwhelming majority in El Salvador’s government was elected thanks to the aforementioned popular support, and against opposition candidates who had every opportunity to develop their respective electoral campaigns.

In Cuba, no. In our country, the sole party’s absolute control over the legislature stems from the so-called nomination committees. This deceptive mechanism, enshrined in the Electoral Law, allows for only one candidate for deputy to be registered for each seat to be filled. In other words, the “election” of each candidate is guaranteed in advance, as demonstrated by all the elections held under the Castro-communist constitutions.

But, even recognizing the abysmal differences that exist in this regard between the two countries, it is legitimate to ask some questions in the case of El Salvador: Is it appropriate for the electoral system of a democratic country (as until now, I believe, the Central American republic continues to be) to allow for virtually absolute control of the legislature by a single political force? Is it right for the country’s Magna Carta to be amended in a single day? Because it must be said that, in this last aspect, there were also too many similarities between what happened in Havana a few days ago and what happened in San Salvador last Thursday.

Is it appropriate for the electoral system of a democratic country (as until now, I believe, the Central American republic continues to be) to allow for virtually absolute control of the legislature by a single political force?

It is assumed that a country’s Constitution establishes, so to speak, “the rules of the game.” Its precepts—of course!—must be constantly updated, but important decisions like these are supposed to be made in an informed manner, and citizens are supposed to participate broadly in this process. This requires a certain amount of time: if not years or months, then at least a few weeks.

That was missing from the Salvadoran supralegal reform last Thursday; as it was from the Cuban one on the 18th. But, well, we already know that if there’s one thing that characterizes our long-suffering island, it is precisely the undemocratic nature of its system of government. And this latter fact is so significant that it has been reflected in the scant coverage that news from Central America has received in our archipelago.

The independent Cuban press, in reporting this important development, has recognized its significance. This newspaper, 14ymedio, as well as CubaNet and Diario de Cuba (to name a few), have reported on the Salvadoran constitutional reform.

The same cannot be said of the official Cuban press. Several days have passed, and the news has barely appeared in the digital media outlets that agitate and propagandize in favor of the Castro-communist government. I don’t believe this caution should be attributed to the negligence of the editorial staff of the various media outlets that serve the regime.

I think the blame should be fall in one place: I’m referring to the infamous Ideological Department of the Central Committee. In accordance with the written (but unpublished) rules that govern the functioning of that body, it is responsible for determining what is and is not published in the official press; and, in the first case, how the information should be framed and what kind of assessment it should receive.

And if we situate ourselves in the Ideological Department, we would have to ask ourselves other questions: How do we approach information?

With system so ineffectitive, any omission by bureaucrats in the Ideological Department will necessarily result in inaction by information professionals at government sites like Cubadebate, Granma, or Juventud Rebelde, to name just the most prominent.

And if we were to situate ourselves in the Ideological Department, we would have to ask ourselves other questions: How should we approach the information? Should we praise the speed shown by the Salvadoran Legislative Assembly, so similar to that of the Cuban National Assembly? Should we criticize the lack of a broad national debate on the reform (when there wasn’t one on our island either!). Should we approve or criticize the very idea of unlimited reelection? (It is true that the current version of the Raúl Castro Constitution—which, of course, can be reformed in a single day when the leaders so decide—establishes a limit of two consecutive presidential terms, but it is also true that the founder of the dynasty was reelected as many times as his health allowed…).

Of course the doubts are reasonable. But, as the popular saying goes, they brought it on themselves. Who ordered them to serve as spokespersons for an anti-democratic, totalitarian regime like the Castro-Communist regime?

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House Arrests, Internet Outages, and Detentions on the Anniversary of the Maleconazo

Journalist Reinaldo Escobar was detained for a couple of hours in Havana.

Image posted by activist Yamilka Lafita (Lara Crofs), also besieged in her home. / Facebook / Lara Crofs

14ymedio, Havana 5 August 2025 — On August 5, 31 years after the Maleconazo, the Cuban regime activated its repressive apparatus with house arrests, detentions, and internet shutdowns against journalists, activists, and families of political prisoners. On the anniversary of the historic popular protests, which took place on the Havana coast, the police pattern of other sensitive dates for the regime, such as July 11 and December 10, is repeated

The day began with complaints from various parts of the island, mainly from human rights activists and reporters associated with independent media outlets.

Escobar was detained for almost two hours at the Aguilera station, where he was interrogated.

Internet access to the 14ymedio newsroom, located in the Nuevo Vedado neighborhood, was cut off early in the morning. Journalist Reinaldo Escobar was detained by State Security agents as he was walking near the home of Berta Soler, leader of the Ladies in White in Lawton. That organization’s headquarters was surrounded by State Security.

Escobar was detained for nearly two hours at the nearby Aguilera station, where he was interrogated by political police officers.

Journalist Camila Acosta has also once again experienced what has become routine repression. “Once again, I am besieged by the police and State Security,” she denounced on social media, accompanying her post with a photograph of the plainclothes officer stationed in front of her house: “Although he looks like a common criminal, he is a State Security officer. The same one showed up last week during another operation and told me I couldn’t leave, without showing any warrant or legal justification. If I did, they would arrest me and charge me with a common crime,” Acosta continue reading

concluded.

“Although he looks like a common criminal, he is a State Security officer.”

Another target of this day was Manuel Cuesta Morúa, activist, political scientist, and vice president of the Council for Democratic Transition in Cuba, who also woke up under siege in his home in Havana. The organization he represents denounced this act as a new episode of systematic harassment, and recalled that Cuesta Morúa and activist María Mercedes Benítez were victims of similar actions last July.

“The policy of arbitrary house arrests directly violates fundamental rights such as freedom of movement,” warns the organization, which alerted the international community to the “attempt to silence one of the most recognized voices of Cuban civic activism.”

Wilber Aguilar Bravo, the father of Walnier Luis, a political prisoner and 11 July 2021 (’11J’) protester also denounced the surveillance outside his home. Aguilar accompanied his post with an image of the patrol car parked at the door. “Defending one’s children is to live. There is no law in this world that prohibits defending one’s child. Walnier’s freedom is worth more than my life,” he wrote.

The Maleconazo was the first massive and spontaneous protest experienced by the Cuban regime since 1959

The Maleconazo of August 5, 1994, was the first massive, spontaneous protest experienced by the Cuban regime since 1959. Hundreds of people, fed up with the hunger, long blackouts, and hopelessness brought on by the so-called Special Period, took to the streets of Havana shouting “Freedom” and “Down with Fidel.” Although the protest was quickly suppressed and repressed, it marked a turning point in the popular imagination: the wall of fear had begun to crack.

Three decades later, the causes of the social upheaval not only remain, but have worsened. Food shortages, the energy collapse, the mass exodus, and the brutal repression following ’11J’ have demonstrated that the Cuban model is not being renewed or improved, but rather entrenched. And fear is increasingly shifting sides.

In 2021, tens of thousands of Cubans took to the streets again in more than 40 locations across the country. The repression was more ferocious than in 1994, with thousands arrested, hundreds convicted (many for “sedition”), and a judicial system turned into a political instrument. But the message was clear: citizens have lost their fear.

In July 2025, Cuba experienced the most repressive month of the year, with at least 357 documented actions.

The repression unleashed today — Tuesday august 5th — did not occur in a vacuum. It comes amid one of the worst socioeconomic crises in Cuban history, with daily blackouts, rampant inflation, chronic shortages, isolated protests, and a historic exodus that surpasses that of the 1980s and 1990s.

Last month, July 2025, Cuba experienced its most repressive month of the year, with at least 357 documented actions against the civilian population, according to the Cuban Observatory of Human Rights. Of these, 68 were arbitrary arrests and 289 corresponded to other forms of repression, such as raids, harassment, threats, and police summons, especially in provinces such as Havana, Matanzas, Villa Clara, and Granma.

The regime intensified its repressive actions to prevent opposition members from participating in the July 4th celebrations at the U.S. diplomatic headquarters in Havana and to prevent commemorations of the fourth anniversary of the 11 July 2021 protests. This Tuesday, history repeats itself.
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Cuba: At the Matanzas Maternity Hospital Mothers Bring Their Own Supplies

The falling birth rate and shortages paint a worrisome picture for pregnant women in the province.

The heat doesn’t ease women’s worries, as they fear that they might go into labor and lack something at the hospital. / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Julio César Contreras, Matanzas, 5 August 2025 –“All in yellow,” is how Yamila wants her baby to be born at the José Ramón López Trabane Provincial Gynecological and Obstetric Teaching Hospital in Matanzas. There’s still plenty of time until that day, but the 22-year-old doesn’t have a minute to waste. While she waits for her turn, she reviews the problems she must overcome at the city’s main maternity hospital due to the lack of resources, human and material.

Despite the prestige once enjoyed by what is commonly called the Matanzas Maternity Hospital, the situation in its consulting rooms, lounges, and hallways is very different now. Pregnant women who come seeking care know that, without a personal recommendation or a gift for the doctor, they are forced to resign themselves to waiting at the end of the line and sitting in a plastic chair that barely relieves their fatigue.

In the waiting room that Monday morning, the air was thick and the pages of medical records became improvised fans.

In the waiting room that Monday morning, the air was thick, and the pages of medical records became improvised fans. Among the sweating women was Yamila, 15 weeks pregnant. “In Ceiba Mocha, where I live, the family doctor’s office has been closed for two years,” she told 14ymedio. “I’m a first-time mother, I come from the countryside, and I don’t know any obstetrician who might treat me.”

While she waits, her mental to-do list grows: she’s already started buying syringes, sutures, gauze, and some regalitos — small gifts — for the continue reading

medical staff. “A friend gave birth last month and even had to bring the gloves for the delivery. There’s nothing here,” she says, watching a woman cross the hall carrying a bucket and a homemade water heater. “I hope I don’t need a C-section. I’m scared,” she confesses.

Preparing the birthing bag, a long-standing tradition among Cuban women, has become more complex each year. While it used to include diapers, the clothes the baby would leave the hospital in, blankets, and cotton, it now includes cash and a wide range of items, from a pillow to food. Fans, cutlery, a bathing basin… the supplies “look like packing to move,” the young woman emphasizes.

Yamila is not alone in the almost dark hallway waiting for an appointment. A few steps away, Yanelis and her partner have been waiting outside the door for two hours. They suspect an unwanted pregnancy and want to know if there’s still time to terminate it. “My cousin used to do ultrasounds, but she went to work as a waitress because the pay in Public Health is so bad,” she laments. During that wait, they’ve seen cockroaches crawling on the stained walls, orderlies smoking at the windows, and doctors letting in those who arrive loaded with bags first. “When that door opens, we’re going in. Let’s see who can stop us,” she says, determined.

The deterioration isn’t just material. Leticia, with a high-risk pregnancy due to her diabetes, warns: “I started bleeding this morning. I told a doctor, hoping she’d see me quickly, and here I am.” She holds back the urge to go to the bathroom because the only restroom “doesn’t flush.” For her, experiencing her second pregnancy, “it all depends on what you can give; if you have the resources, they see you faster.” Her brother, from abroad, has already promised to send her money every month to speed up her medical checkups.

Her brother, from abroad, has already promised to send her money every month to speed up the medical check-ups.

This health crisis is occurring in a province where fewer and fewer children are being born. In recent decades, Matanzas went from registering almost 8,000 births per year to just over 4,000 in 2024; it is the province with the fifth worst birth rate (6.6 per 1,000 women). Experts point to migration, especially of young women, and an economy that discourages motherhood as the main causes: lack of housing, high prices for basic goods, and wages that are barely enough to get by. According to the National Statistics Office (ONEI), the birth rate in Cuba has been fewer than two children per woman since 1978, insufficient to maintain the population in a country that, moreover, does not receive migrants to help alleviate the situation.

Selective out-migration, which is shrinking the age brackets between 20 and 35, exacerbates the imbalance: fewer births and more older adults. Even though programs such as the Maternal and Child Care Program (PAMI) promote health campaigns and support for couples struggling to conceive, maternity hospital wards show the other side of the crisis: pregnant women without priority care, births requiring supplies brought from home, and overwhelmed or unmotivated professionals.

In the heat, expectant mothers wait their turn while sheets of paper continue to flap like fans. Between fear and resignation, they all know that giving birth here isn’t just about bringing a life into the world; it’s also about surviving an increasingly deteriorating healthcare system.

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Cuban Long Jumper Hayla González Escapes in Spain

The Havana native won the gold medal at the Pamplona Athletics Meeting with a mark of 6.47 meters.

Hayla González left the team last Saturday in Pamplona, Spain. / Jit

14ymedio, Havana, 4 August 2025 — Cuban long jump hopeful Hayla González left the team last Saturday in Pamplona, Spain. Her departure is a significant loss for the national athletics team, which had her as a key player in the upcoming Junior Pan American Games in Asunción 2025. She “was shaping up to be a key player in the 4 x 100 meter relay, even aiming for a starting position in the women’s relay,” according to the Deportcuba website.

González “made the decision not to continue under the orders of the island’s authorities and escaped,” said retired wrestler Roly Dámaso, while recalling that the Havana native was on the verge of participating in the 2024 Paris Olympics, but “missed out on the summer event by just one centimeter.”

The 21-year-old won gold at the Pamplona Athletics Meeting in Spain on July 2. The official outlet Jit praised González for dominating the event with a jump of 6.47 meters, her best mark of the season so far. The competitor also completed two other attempts of 6.37 and 6.40 meters. However, the publication emphasized that she needed “more centimeters because she is still far from the 6.85 meters that has been her personal best since 2024.” continue reading

The 21-year-old won gold at the Pamplona Athletics Meet in Spain on July 2. / Facebook/Hayla Gonzalez

This action, Dámaso pointed out, reflects “the exodus of Cuban athletes dissatisfied with the current system.” Last June, Marys Adela Patterson , a gold medalist at the San Salvador 2023 Central American and Caribbean Games, defected from Austria .

Added to the list of those who have left is Cuban sprinter Shainer Rengifo, who in June of last year took advantage of his recovery process from a fractured metatarsal bone in his right ankle in Guadalajara, Spain, to disassociate himself from Cuban sports.

Spain has been a haven for the island’s athletes. This has been the case for triple jumper Jordan Díaz and javelin thrower Yulenmis Aguilar, whose absences have weakened the Cuban athletics team. Both Cubans now compete for Spain.

The absence of renowned athletes led the governing body to reinsert high jumper Juan Miguel Echevarría into the system in April 2024. The return of the Tokyo 2020 silver medalist and 2018 world indoor champion in Birmingham (United Kingdom) came after spending time in Spain as part of Iván Pedroso’s team.

Other retired athletes have found better opportunities to continue competing abroad. Last May, World Athletics confirmed to the Cuban Athletics Federation that Olympic hammer throw champion and former national commissioner Yipsi Moreno is eligible to represent Albania in international events.

Albania became the former commissioner’s second homeland after she took the oath of citizenship in October 2024. Five months earlier, the Cuban participated in a competition held at the Elbasan Arena. Moreno was part of Tirane’s team and crowned her performance with a mark of 63.94 meters in the hammer throw.

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Tax Evasion Debt in Sancti Spíritus, Cuba Exceeds 300 Million Pesos

“Absolutely all” those inspected by ONAT “underreported,” the provincial newspaper explains.

ONAT office in Sancti Spíritus/ Escambray

14ymedio, Havana, 4 August 2025 — A total of 365,600,000 pesos (more than $925,000 at the informal exchange rate) are owed by taxpayers in Sancti Spíritus, if the figures presented Monday by the Sancti Spiritus newspaper Escambray are accurate. The official newspaper doesn’t state it that way, but this is the sum of the various audits carried out by the National Office for Tax Administration (Onat), understood to have occurred in recent months, although a time frame is not specified.

On the one hand, 2,050 “actions” were carried out—which Escambray describes as the “minimal” among the 16,500 taxpayers registered in the province—”primarily on businesses dedicated to imports, showing signs of substantial profits, maintaining high sales levels, or located in places with a significant influx of people.”

The inspections revealed what the provincial newspaper calls an “undeniable truth”: “absolutely all those inspected underreported,” and they owe 163.5 million pesos (more than $400,000 at the informal exchange rate).

The reasons given by these “non-compliant” taxpayers, listed by Escambray, range from “ignorance” to paying taxes on profits and not on gross income.

The reasons given by these “non-compliant” taxpayers, as listed by Escambray, range from “ignorance” of paying taxes on profits rather than gross income, to “accounting difficulties,” “lack of control over sales,” “rising raw material prices,” and the “high dollar exchange rate on the black market.”

Without specifying whether this is part of the newly discovered debt or an older one, the Sancti Spiritus newspaper reports that ONAT has collected more than 132 million pesos from debtors, but still has a list of another continue reading

2,700 taxpayers with late payments, totaling more than 128 million pesos.

Other taxpayers, more than 2,400 says Escambray, were “verified” to confirm their fiscal bank accounts. This inspection resulted in “dozens of fines” for those who “have not opened or used this payment instrument and have failed to comply with their obligation to deposit their sales proceeds in the bank, as well as to accept online payments, which are greatly in demand by customers today due to the cash shortages in branches.”

On the other hand, ONAT found around thirty MSMEs* with “declared losses” that nevertheless owed 600,000 pesos, and, at the same time, “it is in the process of verifying a group of 2024 tax returns where significant under-declarations have been found, so far estimated at almost 30 million pesos.”

No one in the province has received a prison sentence, and only one person has received three years of correctional labor without confinement

All of this added up to almost 300 million pesos, which, if added to the more than 43.5 million pesos owed by 164 taxpayers who were prohibited from leaving the country for tax evasion, the total amounts to more than 365 million calculated in the first paragraph.

If the debt is large, however, the consequences don’t seem so. Initially, the National Tax Agency (ONAT) requires debtors to pay what they owe plus a surcharge and a fine. If they fail to comply with this penalty, “they move on to the so-called enforcement procedure, and if they definitively fail to cover their debts, they can even be taken to court for the crime of tax evasion.”

Fewer than a dozen people have been forced to use this method, according to Escambray, and only three of them “have had complaints filed against them.” Of the rest, some were closed “because they paid the money,” and others remain pending. No one in the province has received a prison sentence, and only one person has received three years of non-confinement correctional labor.

‘Regulation’ appears to be the most widely used sanction, and quite effective, judging by the data: 194 taxpayers had their penalties lifted, after being charged a total of approximately 128.5 million pesos. Half of the “under-filers” pay what they owe within the established timeframe, according to Escambray, while the majority of the other half remain in the “negotiation process.”

And all this, taking into account that Sancti Spíritus is, according to its provincial newspaper, “among the best provinces in the country in terms of the quantity and effectiveness of fiscal control actions.”

Behind citizens’ lack of awareness when it comes to fulfilling their obligations to the State are citizens’ distrust of institutions and the lack of transparency in explaining how public funds are spent. The authorities limit themselves to providing percentages of large budget allocations, without even detailing them by ministry. In addition, discontent is generated by the large sums allocated to the government’s currently unproductive activities, such as hotel construction, among others, reinforces citizens’ lack of conscience when it comes to fulfilling their obligations to the State.

*Micro, Small, Medium Enterprises, mipyme in Spanish

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Cubans Denounce Extortion and Complicity With Lawyers in Mexican Immigration Offices

Comar employees promise to “speed up procedures” in exchange for breaking the law and charging up to $1,500.

Migrants outside one of the offices of the Mexican Commission for Refugee Assistance in Tapachula, in the Mexican state of Chiapas. / File/EFE/Juan Manuel Blanco

14ymedio, Ángel Salinas/Yaiza Santos, México/Madrid, 1 August 2025 — “Don’t be fooled! The procedures are free.” Advertisements like this are repeated in every Mexican public office where there is no fee to complete the process. Among them are those of the Mexican Commission for Refugee Assistance (Comar) and the National Migration Institute. However, in the Chiapas border city of Tapachula, according to several firsthand accounts from 14ymedio, officials at these institutions “sell everything.”

Those are the exact words of Niorbis, a native of Matanzas who has experienced it firsthand. Cubans, Colombians, and Venezuelans, he says, have paid up to $1,500 to expedite “appointments, application forms, and even recorded interviews,” but their processes ultimately are not any faster. Many of them still don’t obtain refugee documents.

Figueredo claims he tried to avoid “extortion” and went to the immigration office in mid-June. “I stood there every day for a week to get an appointment,” the 28-year-old migrant laments. “They keep you there, in line, and at the end, they ask you to wait for mail from Comar. It never arrives; it’s all corruption.”

“If you don’t pay a lawyer, they won’t give you anything, but if you pay 50,000 pesos, they promise you’ll stay in the country.”

Finally, the Cuban had to go to a lawyer named Ezequiel, who charged him almost 4,000 Mexican pesos [US$200] to expedite the process. “In three days, he resolved the eight signatures required by Comar, and now I’m continue reading

waiting for a date for the final interview.”

Another migrant, Viviana, claims that “Comar is a brothel.” This Colombian woman was denied a humanitarian visa and alleges that officials have set prices for the procedures, “ranging from 15,000 to 25,000 pesos [just over $1,304].” She says that “if you don’t pay a lawyer, they don’t give you anything. But if you pay 50,000 pesos [$2,650], you are promised permission to remain in the country.”

After three rejections, with the advice of a lawyer Cuban Alexander Barrera and three of his relatives paid 36,000 pesos [almost $2,000] to begin the process of requesting asylum.

The fact that migrants end up having to hire lawyers to undertake the process is part of the corruption. That’s the opinion, at least, of Damián, a Cuban from Holguín, who was stranded with his family in Tapachula, waiting for a refugee claim that arrived four months later than expected. He understood very well that he shouldn’t give in to extortion, but his friends
didn’t have the same attitude and paid more than $1,000 to have their cases resolved.

“Comar denies your case to force you to find a lawyer; in fact, they even suggest which one.”

“That’s where the lawyers come in,” he told 14ymedio. “Comar denies your case to force you to find a lawyer; in fact, they even suggest which one. That lawyer will handle the case for you for 20,000 or 25,000 Mexican pesos [between $1,000 and $1,300], and of course, they then resolve it, and always, always, without any kind of contract.”

The story of those who suffer these hardships is similar. Comar begins to delay emails—up to three months, the first of which the migrants must receive to continue the process from the moment they begin it—and those affected begin to file complaints. It is then that the government agency suggests something like this: “I advise you to also find a lawyer, if you are unable to do it yourself, and they will help, because we are overwhelmed.”

The prevailing opinion among migrants is: “Without lawyers, you won’t make it.” Damián says: “It’s a magic wheel they have among themselves.” In reality, he explains, the lawyers don’t carry out any procedure that one couldn’t do themselves before the Comar (National Commission of Migration). He concludes: “Regardless of whether the offices are overwhelmed or not, they are violating the law.”

Indeed, bribery—the crime “committed by a public servant who requests or accepts money or any other gift in exchange for performing or omitting an act related to his or her duties, whether for his or her own benefit or that of a third party”—is classified in the Mexican Federal Penal Code and even carries prison sentences.

“Regardless of whether the offices are overwhelmed or not, they are violating the law.”

Luis Rey García Villagrán, who is organizing a caravan departure on August 4, accused the regional coordinator of Comar, Carmen Yadira de los Santos Robledo, of “deliberately prolonging” the migrants’ paperwork. “They’re trying to tire people out. The message is clear: ’Either you pay or you don’t move forward’.”

The activist recalled that De los Santos “has a dark history as a representative of the INM in Tapachula (from 2019 to 2022) and in Yucatán (2023), and has returned to continue her acts of corruption at the Comar.”

He also pointed out the collusion between authorities and Farah Cerdio, the head of the Comar (National Commission for the Defense of Human Rights) in Tapachula. Despite the constant complaints and evidence that migrants and human rights groups have presented to the authorities, he laments, there have been no legal consequences, not even dismissals.

This Thursday, Comar employees filed a complaint against De los Santos for a series of unjustified dismissals, nepotism, labor exploitation, and non-payment. The aggrieved parties claim that the official placed relatives and acquaintances in the positions of those forced to leave their jobs. Those still working, meanwhile, said they have gone fifteen days without receiving their salaries.

“There are more than 3,000 people working in the 4,500 bars and cantinas in appalling conditions, and no one is doing anything.”

According to Villagrán, migrants stranded in Tapachula have fallen prey to labor and sexual exploitation. “There are more than 3,000 people working in the 4,500 bars and cantinas in appalling conditions, and no one does anything.”

On this topic, last Wednesday, he confronted the officials who were present at the Information Fair for World Day Against Human Trafficking, held in the auditorium of Miguel Hidalgo Central Park: “They come to take photos, selfies, while girls are exploited in prostitution, and members of the LGBT community are exploited. These events, with all due respect, are a simulation, a pretense.”

Tapachula has become a second home for 13,779 Cubans. However, 5,959 of these people remain without having regularized their immigration status. In the state of Chiapas, bordering Guatemala, 1,533 Cubans have a Temporary Resident Card, which guarantees them legal residence in the country for a limited period and its subsequent renewal. Another 3,915 people from the Island already have permanent residency.

The Migration Policy, Registration, and Identity Unit has also issued 2,228 Humanitarian Cards to Cubans in vulnerable or at-risk situations, giving them temporary access to services and legal protection.

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A Power Substation Failure Leaves Havana Without Power, Including Hospitals

Unit 6 of Mariel, Energas, and the Moa engines were disconnected from the national electricity system.

Electrical workers repairing a substation. / UNE

14ymedio, Madrid, 4 August 2025 — A power outage on Sunday night left much of Havana without power, including hospitals and the main water supply sources, which regained electricity after 2:00 a.m. As a result, unit 6 of the Máximo Gómez thermoelectric plant in Mariel, Energas, and the engines at Moa were disconnected from the national electricity system (SEN), according to the Ministry of Energy and Mines.

The initial outage occurred at the Naranjito substation, affecting the Príncipe, Melones, and Tallapiedra substations. The number of affected circuits multiplied across almost all of Havana’s municipalities: Arroyo Naranjo, Boyeros, 10 de Octubre, Plaza de la Revolución, Cerro, Centro Habana, Habana Vieja, Playa, Lisa, Marianao, San Miguel, Cotorro, Guanabacoa, and Habana del Este.

Just after 3:30 a.m., the Havana electric company announced that power was restored to Arroyo Naranjo (Los Pinos, Vieja Linda, La India, Alturas de la Víbora), 10 de Octubre (Mónaco), Boyeros (Santiago de las Vegas, Wajay), Cerro, Centro Habana, San Miguel, and Playa (areas of Cubanacán, Querejeta). Some users living in the aforementioned circuits protested their continue reading

continued lack of power, while the UNE (National Electricity Union) asked them to be patient with the “gradual” restoration.

Some users living in the aforementioned circuits protested their continued lack of electricity, while the UNE asked them to be patient with the “gradual” restoration.

The electricity company (UNE) has not reported the outage on its Facebook account, although it did specify that it would keep its instant messaging group channels updated. On its Telegram account, UNE limited itself to explaining the transmission function of an electrical substation, as well as stating the deficit of 1,500 megawatts in the early morning.

The Ministry of Energy and Mines, the first to sound the alarm, stated that the cause of the incident was being investigated, opening the door to all kinds of speculation. Doubts were compounded by the impact on the engines at Moa, a diesel-powered power plant located more than 900 kilometers from the site of the failure.

On social media, it is clear that the discontent isn’t limited to the Cuban capital, which has been exceptionally affected by this partial power outage. Criticism rained down from every province over what has been a hellish summer, with the largest electricity shortages on record. From Matanzas to Mayabeque to Guantánamo, the messages of weariness and discontent were relentless, including criticism of the unfulfilled promises of the authorities—who months ago assured that things would improve by July—and the excessive investment to support tourism, while the tourists haven’t arrived.

“Either this is all a lie from you so you don’t have to say you’ve run out of fuel, or the on-again-off-again you’ve set up is catching up with you.

“The causes are two,” one user retorted. “Either this is all a lie from you guys so you don’t have to say you ran out of fuel, or the on-again-off-again system you’ve set up is catching up with you. No electrical system is designed for the on-and-off system you set up. Much less ours, which has been running for years.”

Amid this situation, the imminent departure of the Turkish barge Suheyla Sultan is expected. Last night, it was still operating in Havana Bay, but its departure was announced by UNE’s technical director, Lázaro Guerra, who attributed it to “commercial reasons.”

“Actions are being taken to ensure this condition doesn’t worsen the impact on our current service,” the engineer added. Although the shutdown was expected for this Saturday, it was still active on Sunday. The 240 MW the Turkish patana (floating power plant) can provide, if operating at full capacity, would seriously aggravate the situation in the middle of August.

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Eleventh Commandment: You Shall Not Undermine the Public Trust

It is not part of the famous Decalogue. But it should be.

Former Colombian President Álvaro Uribe. / EFE

14ymedio, Federico Hernández Aguilar, San Salvador, 3 August 2025 — In recent days, after a lengthy trial that began in 2012, former President Álvaro Uribe Vélez was sentenced to 12 years of house arrest, becoming the first Colombian president to receive a criminal conviction. According to the judge in charge of the case, Uribe is guilty of bribery and procedural fraud, following a lawsuit in which the former president was the initial plaintiff for alleged slander against him.

Beyond the details of the scandal, or whether Uribe has reason to consider himself a “victim of justice,” the truth is that the sentence has exacerbated the conflict between the former president’s supporters and detractors, further polarizing—if possible—the already heated political climate in Colombia.

In Spain, meanwhile, Pedro Sánchez’s government is facing ruin. Allegations of illegal overcharging, inflated public works contracts, money laundering, and even sex trafficking have shaken the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE) to its foundations. The bets are now focused on how long Sánchez will endure this storm. The prestigious British magazine, The Economist, has dedicated a catastrophic note to the stubborn PSOE leader: “To restore confidence in Spanish democracy, the Prime Minister should assume his responsibility and step aside. There is no valid reason for him to remain in office.” It couldn’t be said more clearly.

Today, countless Republican voters are demanding transparency in the Epstein case and are loading the dice against Trump.

The dark story of tycoon Jeffrey Epstein, who died in 2019 while serving a prison sentence for sex trafficking of minors, has ended up splashing on the White House for reasons that shouldn’t surprise us, as they feed on the tangle of conspiracy theories that Trump’s own followers, sometimes continue reading

instigated by him, have concocted with vigorous passion in recent years.

Today, countless Republican voters are demanding transparency in the Epstein case and are loading the dice against the leader who taught them how to redirect neurons through the liver’s ducts. Of course, as in the cases of Uribe and Sánchez, this is not the place to offer a definitive opinion on Donald Trump’s culpability. The only certainty is that the moral bankruptcy of the current political leadership, in most of the world, is manifest and unquestionable.

I think every well-born citizen, wherever he or she lives, would like to see corrupt officials struck by lightning when they approach the state coffers with malicious intent, just as were those who dared to touch the Ark of Yahweh in biblical times. We would like officials who enrich themselves unduly to be punished by an infallible, supreme law, so that they would always remember that the place where public funds are kept is sacred.

Corruption, fraud, and influence peddling are certainly not crimes our societies should tolerate. They divert valuable resources intended for purposes far more noble than lining the pockets of scoundrels. Worse still, they seriously jeopardize the credibility of our institutions and their leaders. Unfortunately, there are still plenty of sleepless anarchists and socialists who take advantage of the unacceptable shortcomings of some public servants to proclaim the end of democracies and propose authoritarian tendencies (which then end up being equally or more repugnant than the replaced leadership).

I think every well-born citizen, wherever he or she lives, would like to see corrupt officials struck by lightning

The Austrian jurist and philosopher Hans Kelsen already warned us in this regard: “The tendency towards clarity is specifically democratic, and when it is lightly stated that certain political inconveniences, especially immoralities and corruption, are more frequent in democracy than in autocracy, a judgment that is too superficial or malevolent of this political form is issued, since these inconveniences occur equally in autocracy, with the only difference being that they go unnoticed because principles prevail there that are opposed to publicity,” that is, to denunciation, to freedom of expression, to the guarantees for and by the truth that liberal systems provide.

You and I, dear reader, have the right to demand that the money we give to the State be converted into public works. You and I have the right to demand that those who dishonored their office and vehemently deceived to cling to power not be protected.

Corruption and lies are highly corrosive: they degrade, undermine, and erode. In addition to contributing to the depravation of politics, they rob citizens of the trust that is essential for institutional systems to function properly. Quality of life suffers irremediably, because everything tends to collapse.

It is therefore our responsibility to demand that corrupt and mendacious individuals be brought down with effective prosecutions and strict laws. Regardless of what ideas they preach, officials who debase their work must be assured that their crimes will never go unpunished

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Three Minors Died and One Was Injured in a Lightning Strike in Villa Clara, Cuba

One of the victims, aged 14, was vacationing on the island from the United States.

The medical team at the José Luis Miranda Children’s Hospital and authorities with the hospitalized minor. / Herny Omar Pérez

14ymedio, Madrid, 4 August 2025 — Three minors died this Sunday in Manicaragua, Villa Clara, after being struck by lightning during a storm. They were accompanied by Diamelis Delgado Granados, 14, the only survivor of the group. She is now hospitalized and is recovering well, according to authorities.

The victims are Andy Alberto Turiño González, 13, Analía García Rodríguez, 14, and Jorge Alejandro de la Coba Monteagudo, also 14, who had traveled from the United States to spend the holidays in Cuba.

Authorities rushed to the José Luis Miranda Children’s Hospital in Santa Clara, where they monitored the injured girl. “The young woman remains conscious, oriented, and shows positive progress,” Magalys Molina Díaz, a specialist in the center’s Intermediate Therapy Unit, told the official press.

“The young woman remains conscious, oriented, and shows positive progress,” Dr. Magalys Molina Díaz told the official press.

“We are relieved to know that Diamelis is progressing positively thanks to the swift intervention of the medical team. We reiterate our commitment to supporting the family and ensuring she receives all the necessary care for her full recovery,” said Susely Morfa, First Secretary of the Communist continue reading

Party, who attended with the provincial governor, Milaxy Yanet Sánchez Armas.

Just two months ago, two other teenagers lost their lives in a similar manner in Bautá, Artemisa. That incident occurred on June 7 in the Pita neighborhood, in Urban Council 2, when Luis Antonio and Maicol, who were playing soccer outdoors, were struck by lightning.

In 2023, another electric shock killed Dunielkis Fonseca Borges, a worker at the Nickel Union Services Company in Moa, Holguín. In that case, six other coworkers who were waiting for transportation home were injured.

Cuba records an annual average of 54 deaths from lightning strikes, the leading cause of death from meteorological phenomena on the island, with 1,742 deaths between 1987 and 2017, according to the latest data available thanks to a study conducted by specialists from the Island’s Institute of Meteorology (Insmet).

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Cuba: An Eloquent ‘Freedom’ Painted on a Wall in Holguín Rekindles Popular Discontent

The graffiti appeared in a busy area where thousands of people pass by every day.

The sign is located between the La Barra Dalama guarapera [sugar cane drink stand] and the old service station known as La Curva. / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Miguel García, Holguín, 4 August 2025 — Residents in the Alex Urquiola neighborhood of Holguín woke up this weekend to find a word painted on a deep blue wall: “Freedom.” The graffiti, written in uneven and hasty letters, appeared on the stretch between the La Barra Dalama guarapera [sugar cane drink stand] and the old gas station known as La Curva, a busy area where thousands of people pass through every day.

The sign draws attention not only for its direct message, but also for the way it was written, with a final “t” that betrays a spelling error but, for many residents, reflects the urgency and spontaneity with which it was created. “Whoever wrote it must have written it exactly as it sounded in their mind,” commented a neighbor who stopped in front of the improvised mural. “You can’t spell a word that’s never used correctly,” added another local woman with a wry smile that summed up the widespread frustration with the situation on the island.

“You can’t spell a word well if you never use it.”

The graffiti is the latest in a string of public expressions of discontent that have become more frequent in Holguín—and throughout Cuba—in recent years. And that have increased in recent months.

In mid-June, authorities in Holguín were busy early in the morning erasing some 20 anti-government graffiti on the wall of the Mayabe cemetery, even scraping with machetes, while Interior Ministry agents, supported by continue reading

several cars and motorcycles, controlled the area and watched for anyone who approached. A tricycle driver recounted how he couldn’t even take out his phone for fear of being arrested, while a tanker truck loaded with lime waited to paint the extensive wall and cover the remnants of the messages as quickly as possible.

In mid-June, 20 anti-government graffiti appeared on the wall of the Mayabe cemetery.

In the Lenin neighborhood, also in Holguín, graffiti bearing the phrase “Down with communism” appeared on one of the buildings in May. Authorities reacted quickly, attempting to cover it with reddish paint, but the faded color left the message visible, creating a palpable irony. The act of censorship ended up reinforcing the phrase.

In May, the phrase “Down with communism” was painted on one of the buildings in the Lenin neighborhood.

The head of the U.S. mission to Cuba, Mike Hammer, who was visiting the city, even posed for a photo in front of the sign, emphasizing that Cubans should be able to express themselves without fear of reprisals.

In the case of this new graffiti on Alex Urquiola, however, the word “Freedom” remained visible all weekend, becoming a topic of conversation for pedestrians and drivers passing by. Some even speculate that the authorities’ failure to remove the message could be due to the fact that the experts have run out of resources to analyze the frequent protest graffiti. One much more suspicious Holguín resident sarcastically commented: “Maybe there’s not even any paint left.”

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Fifteeen Seconds, Fifteen Years Ago

Everything happened in a fleeting instant—a brief flash reflected in the rearview mirror, as if that figure had vanished in the blink of an eye.

The avenue stretched out before him, exactly as he remembered it: the steady rain, blurred reflections, shimmering puddles / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Milton Chanes, Berlin, 3 August 2025

Three more years had gone by.

Three years since that fateful afternoon of November 12—twelve years ago now—when it was his own scream that had sealed Ana’s fate. Now, after months of meticulous adjustments, frantic calculations, and tireless rehearsals, he had finally managed to extend the temporal jump to fifteen seconds.

Fifteen fleeting seconds—but enough, perhaps, to alter what had once seemed irrevocably written.

This time, he would not make the same mistake. He had prepared obsessively, analyzing every possible outcome, every minimal variation in the cruel script of time. He knew exactly where to appear: right in the center of the avenue’s flowerbed. There, hidden among the shrubs and the shadows cast by the rainy dusk, he would avoid being seen by his former self.

He initiated the jump.

The sensation was the same as always: that fleeting vertigo as he crossed the invisible curtain between present and past.

When he opened his eyes, he felt the damp grass beneath his feet, soaked by the insistent rain. He looked around quickly.

The avenue stretched out before him, exactly as he remembered it: the steady rain, blurred reflections, shimmering puddles, the fine mist kicked up by tires, and the ceaseless murmur of vehicles gliding over the wet asphalt.

Then he saw her—Ana—walking with determination, as beautiful as ever, in those impossible heels no one should wear on such a slippery street.

A few meters behind her, he saw himself—his self from three years earlier—approaching, still unaware of the horror about to unfold.

There was no time to lose. An elderly man, rushing to cross the avenue in a futile attempt to escape the downpour, slipped and crashed to the ground. The impact echoed sharply, followed by a faint groan.
He couldn’t stop to help—every second was crucial. He turned his attention to the approaching vehicles, immediately recognizing the old seafoam-green Bel Air, rusted, driven by Usnavy, struggling through the torrential rain and a fogged-up windshield. He ran toward it, waving his arm frantically, trying to catch the driver’s attention, silently begging him to change his fatal course.

Blinded by the storm and with nearly zero visibility, Usnavy barely perceived a silhouette emerging suddenly from the left. In a reflexive, panic-stricken move, he jerked the steering wheel to the right. The Bel Air skidded clumsily across the slick road, losing speed as the gearbox groaned with a metallic screech.

At that moment, a heart-wrenching scream pierced through the sound of the rain:

—Noooo!

Everything happened in a fleeting instant—a brief flash reflected in the rearview mirror, as if that figure had vanished in the blink of an eye. Almost at the same time, another voice cried out from the sidewalk:

—Ana!

It had happened again.

Then he opened his eyes. He was back in the present. He hadn’t been able to do anything. Worse still—had he, once again, triggered the tragedy himself? Every action he took seemed to lead inevitably to the same ending, over and over. What was the solution—if there even was one? He had tried everything, absolutely everything, and still, fate insisted on finding new paths to fulfill its cruel decree.

He understood then, with heartbreaking clarity, that it wasn’t about the place, the precise moment, the car or the driver.

He understood then, with heartbreaking clarity, that it wasn’t about the place, the precise moment, the car or the driver. The tragedy was woven deeper, embedded in the very fabric of time.

He slowly stood up. From the lab’s window, he watched as the rain began to fall once more, linking past and present in some kind of cosmic bond. But perhaps the key was not to avoid the inevitable, but to understand that each attempt to change the past created multiple timelines—unpredictable parallel worlds, vibrating in a chaotic, invisible dance. Like a quantum butterfly effect, every small gesture could resonate infinitely across universes he would never even know existed.

The question, then, was no longer how to save Ana, but whether by trying, he might be unleashing even darker realities—fates more terrifying still.

And there, beneath the unrelenting rain, staring out the window, he had yet to understand that uncertainty was the only certainty.

Translated by the author.

The series:

Twelve Seconds, Twelve Years Ago

Fifteen Seconds, Fifteen Years Ago

Witness of the Rain
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‘There Are No Vacations for the Poor Here’ A Cuban Street Vendor Explains

On the sidewalks of Matanzas, informal vendors defy the heat and surveillance to survive.

Informal vendors are an extension of the urban landscape. / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Julio César Contreras, Matanzas, 3 August 2025 — In July and August, school holidays send children and teenagers home. Many state employees also take a break. But in Matanzas, the city isn’t completely at rest: on its sidewalks and in its doorways, informal vendors remain, unfazed by the harsh sun or the barely visible shade offered by the eaves.

“This is my workplace. Thanks to what I sell here, my wife and I survive,” says Lázaro, a retiree who arranges matches, soap, and pencils on the steps of a house on Calzada de Tirry every morning. His voice mingles with the sound of traffic and the impromptu shouts of other street vendors, never taking a break. “There are no vacations for the poor here.”

A former school bus driver, he never imagined making a living this way. “At first, it was difficult because I’d never even sold a pin,” he confesses. “There was also the logical fear of being fined for not having a license. But going hungry is terrible. Seeing the empty pots gave me the strength to make up my mind, and I’ve been selling this way for a year now.” His strategy for evading inspectors includes “a little gift to make them turn a blind eye and go back where they came from.”

They sit under colonial portals, in front of pharmacies, or around markets. / 14ymedio

In Matanzas, informal vendors seem like an extension of the urban landscape: under colonial doorways, in front of pharmacies, or around markets. They can’t even afford to rest on Sundays. “These products aren’t mine, so most of the money doesn’t belong to me either,” explains Orestes, as he sets up his makeshift folding table at the entrance to a pharmacy. “When they warn me of an inspection, I stay away from the En Familia café and walk through neighborhoods where I sell less, but run less risk of fines.”

On his small table, there’s everything: matchboxes, instant glue, gaskets for coffee makers and pressure cookers, rat poison, pens, and even covers for the ration book, which is being used less and less due to the shortage of supplies in the bodegas [ration stores].

“Who does it hurt when an old man like me sells nylon bags and razors?” Lázaro asks, recalling the afternoon he tore up his National Vanguard Construction diplomas, accumulated over nine consecutive years. “In addition to paying us miserable pensions, the government makes our lives difficult, even by fining us a few pesos that aren’t even enough to make ends meet.”

They sell everything: matchboxes, glue, gaskets for coffee makers and pressure cookers, rat poison, pens, and even covers for ration books. / 14ymedio

Others prefer more discreet methods. Demetrio, sitting on a bench on Calzada de San Luis, holds three packs of cigarettes in his hand. He doesn’t need more: the buyers come by themselves. “I arrange them with the warehouse manager or a friend who works at an MSME” [a small private business] he admits quietly. “I don’t want any trouble, but I have to do something so I don’t starve to death, because things are really tough.”

Poverty is growing, spreading from the Simpson and La Marina neighborhoods to the old residential areas of Peñas Altas and Versalles. For informal vendors, there are no weekends, holidays, or summer vacations. They stay until the day gives them just enough to eat. And then, at dusk, they clear their tables, stash the little money they’ve earned, and hope that tomorrow won’t surprise them with an inspection or despair.

For informal vendors, there are no weekends, holidays, or summer vacations. / 14ymedio

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The Matanzas Bus Terminal Closed and Commercial Life Shut Down

Cafes and kiosks near the building in danger of collapse are surviving with minimal sales and reduced hours.

Moving the bus services to the train station has been a hard blow to merchants. / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Julio César Contreras, Matanzas, 2 August 2025 — Since the Matanzas bus terminal closed due to the risk of collapse, the bustle around it has dried up, taking down the incomes of those who depended on commuters. Maricela, 24, has only been able to work intermittently in one of the cafés near the dilapidated building and fears the situation could last for months or years.

“We have a good location, right in front of where the wait list used to be,” she says, pointing to the now-deserted corner. “Before, people would stay there until 8:00 p.m., but since the buses stopped coming, things die after 2:00 p.m.,” the Matanzas native laments.

Initially, Maricela worked as a sales assistant three days a week. Now, with fewer customers and dwindling profits, her schedule has been reduced to covering the other employee’s shifts only when they’re absent. “My salary was 1,000 pesos a day. I used to work two days and rest two, but now they barely pay 700. The joy in the poor person’s house is short-lived,” she laments.

Some employees have seen their work shifts reduced due to low customer numbers. / 14ymedio

The terminal’s closure also threatens the livelihood of Vladimir, who recently got a job as a clerk at a kiosk near the taxi rank. “We had to stop selling pizzas because we can’t turn on the oven with the power outages. The soda heats up quickly, and no one buys it,” he explains. By six in the evening, they’ve barely sold 5,000 pesos worth.

“In less than a month, two private businesses closed right next door. The owner couldn’t even pay the rent,” he adds, concerned about the warning he received from his boss: if sales don’t improve in the next few days, they will temporarily close until the terminal reopens. Other outlets are facing a very similar situation.

But the prognosis for the work is uncertain. The building has such accumulated deterioration that its restoration could take a considerable amount of time and resources. With its half-broken, once colorful stained-glass windows and a metal framework—in the style of classic European stations—the terminal was built in 1883 by the British company United Railways. Decades without investment caused ferns to sprout from its walls and enlarged the gaps in the roof.

Last October, the official announcement came that bus terminal services would be moved to the train station. The relocation has not only inconvenienced passengers but has also been a severe blow to local merchants, drivers, and street vendors.

“Our main customers were those who traveled long distances, not those who traveled within the province,” the merchants say. / 14ymedio

Eliécer, another entrepreneur in the area, also faces a shortage of drinking water. “I rent a tricycle and bring water from my house in buckets,” he says. His kiosk, which he opened next to the bus platform, attracted by the old crowds, now sells only jams and pre-prepared light meals.

“Before, we opened at five in the morning and set up everything right there. I even considered having the kiosk open 24 hours a day. I invested in improving the roof and was ready to buy a small power plant. But in this country, nothing is the way you want it. Now I close at five in the afternoon and I don’t plan on spending any more,” he admits.

Private merchants bear the losses. “Our main customers were those traveling far away, not those traveling within the province or the taxi drivers,” says Eliécer. “Those who came here to travel wanted a sip of coffee before boarding the bus, a bite to eat for a snack, or a meal before leaving,” he details.

Eliécer believes that by the time the station reopens, many of the local businesses will have completely collapsed. “Every day it’s closed means a business has one foot in the grave,” he describes.

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Of Statues and Monuments

The mayor of Cuauhtémoc in Mexico City, Alessandra Rojo de la Vega, removed the statues of the tyrant Fidel Castro and the murderer Ernesto ’Che’ Guevara.

Image from the day the statues of the tyrant Fidel Castro and the murderer Ernesto ’Che’ Guevara were removed. / X General Directorate of Culture

14ymedio, Pedro Corzo, Miami, 3 August 2025 — La señora Alessandra Rojo de la Vega, mayor of Cuauhtémoc, a town considered the heart of Mexico City, decided to remove the statues of the tyrant Fidel Castro and the murderer Ernesto Che Guevara. The sculptures had been in place in a park in the district since 2017, following the decision of a Mexican official close to the Cuban regime and a member of the administration of current President Claudia Sheinbaum.

Castro and Guevara had already been removed in 2018, when it was discovered that the permits to install the figures in the park were lacking. They had also been the target of vandalism in protest and neighborhood demonstrations against them.

In consequence, the mayor, within the powers conferred by her office, determined that the monuments had generated controversy and that their placement in Tabacalera Park was unjustified due to irregularities. She made no mention of the $32,000 in public funds spent on the statues’ construction or the fact that they were paying tribute to two individuals who represented values contrary to what Mexican society and its government claim to ennoble. She added: “Neither Che nor Fidel requested authorization to be installed in Cuba, nor in Tabacalera Park.”

Castro and Guevara had already been removed in 2018, when it was discovered that the permits to install the figures in the park were not adequate.

The sculptures, placed on a park bench, depicted Castro and Guevara with a book and a tobacco pipe, respectively, instead of an assault rifle or an explosive device, objects more closely related to their history. continue reading

The removal of the statues has sparked numerous comments, but undoubtedly the most striking have been the remarks of Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, who said that Mayor Rojo de la Vega had acted illegally by removing the monuments and accused the official of displaying “tremendous intolerance.”

La señora presidenta, following the Castro regime’s pattern of attempting to discredit its adversaries and enemies, stated that the mayor had gone to Cuba on vacation, which, in her opinion, showed that she was not against the regime, ignoring the fact that not everyone who visits the island does so out of love for the dictatorship.

To honor the truth, I am not in favor of destroying statues and monuments. Every day I become more convinced that there are indelible values represented by images and monoliths dedicated to distinguished personalities or events in history, even though each person’s perception of the same events and people may be radically different from that of others.

Mayor Rojo de la Vega made it clear: “Fidel Castro and Che Guevara were murderers. A murderer is no less a murderer if he’s on the left.”

For example, I reject the removal of statues dedicated to Christopher Columbus and other discoverers and conquerors of the Americas from public spaces. I don’t believe the demonizing arguments of those who promote their removal. It’s true that the figures represented by many of these statues committed countless abuses and crimes, but they were also the ones who made possible the collision of two worlds and the enrichment of both.

The same cannot be said of Castro and Guevara, nor of those who supported them in their control of Cuba and their failed attempt to destabilize an entire continent in order to impose totalitarian power.

Monuments and statues represent momentous episodes in history, and their construction or removal should be the subject of detailed research, the outcome of which should not be influenced by sympathies but by the contribution they have made to humanity.

Knowing the ways these criminals operate, I think it is a good idea to remove similar monuments anywhere in the world that represent individuals like these, particularly the one dedicated to Che Guevara in the city of Santa Clara. Mayor Rojo de la Vega stated clearly: ” Fidel Castro and Che Guevara were murderers. A murderer is no less a murderer if he is on the left.”

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