Translating Cuba – Page 85 – English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island

The Delay in Asylum Procedures Limits Job Options for Cubans in Tapachula, Mexico

Yumili Acosta and Yaniel Ponce de León lost their jobs after the local government’s temporary program for migrants ended in May.

Municipal officials in Tapachula provide care for migrants / EFE

14ymedio, Angel Salinas, Mexico City, 5 June 2025 — Unemployed and unresponsive to their request for asylum, Yumili Acosta, Otmara Arencibia Bustamante and Yaniel Ponce de León hold the Mexican Commission for Aid to Refugees (COMAR) in the border state of Chiapas responsible for lengthening the procedure and not giving them a date for obtaining asylum.

Acosta has been looking for work for five days. “The Oxxo [chain of shops open 24 hours] do not accept migrants,” says the woman who was part of the temporary program that the government of Chiapas reactivated in February to hire 500 people with paperwork at the Comar to sweep streets, collect garbage and paint public spaces.

On 30 May, Acosta received the last weekly payment of 1,250 pesos ($61.59). “There is work in the markets, but they pay 80 to 120 pesos (4 to 6 dollars) per day. It’s 10 hours with food,” he says. continue reading

Acosta is unaware of the existence of the Southern Border Commission, made up of deputies who this Wednesday made a tour of the vicinity of the Suchiate River and offered to regularize this group of people to integrate them into jobs on the southern border with Guatemala. “There are better paying jobs, but that’s for people with papers.” In the morning he went to the COMAR, where officials asked him to wait for a message.

Arencibia still hasn’t received the notice to go to the COMAR headquarters in the Fraccionamiento Las Vegas, in Tapachula, to make a video to complete his regularization process. Last week was critical for his health.

The legal appeal that he filed last May with the COMAR to justify asylum, says Arencibia, allowed him access to the offices and a staff member to take care of his case, but “the process has stopped, and they aren’t telling me why”.

Tour by members of the Southern Border Commission, composed of deputies from the vicinity of the Suchiate River / Secretariat of the Southern Border

Yaniel Ponce de León, another of the Cubans who saw his American dream truncated with the arrival of Donald Trump to the US presidency, tells 14ymedio that it is stressful to be stopped by the police to review your temporary CURP (unique population registration key), which is granted upon the initiation of proceedings in the COMAR.

“If you forget the document, they take you to immigration prison, and there you can be incommunicado for a week,” he says, referring to the immigration stations. “I complied with the eight requests for care they asked me to sign; I was part of the temporary project that gave work to migrants; I rented a room; I had no problems. But that is not enough for them to grant me asylum.”

In April, the municipal president of Tapachula, in Chiapas, Aaron Yamil Melgar Bravo, proposed that migrants from Cuba, Venezuela and Haiti who are stranded in the municipality could be used in different construction projects for the Maya Train, the Interoceanic Corridor and the factories. No agreement has been reached so far.

“I asked if there was work on the train construction in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, but they told me that they didn’t need people for now,” says Ponce de León.

Between February and March, the state of Chiapas promoted two temporary employment programs for migrants. There were 890 places opened during this period. The most recent is for fumigators to stop the spread of diseases such as dengue, malaria, zika and chikungunya.

Each of the 390 migrants is paid a salary of just over 2,300 pesos every two weeks, which is less than the average wage of 3,350 pesos for a worker. Also, they do not have medical services or other benefits stipulated in the Federal Labor Law such as the payment of benefits, a savings fund, ration vouchers and food.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Mexico Spent $22 Million on Printing Textbooks for Cuba

The financing of 15 million copies makes the López Obrador government “committed to indoctrination,” Omara Ruiz Urquiola tells El Universal.

The books went to Cuba from Mexico in 10 boat trips / TVYumurí

14ymedio, Madrid, 6 June 2025 — Much has been said about the more than $23 million that the government of Andrés Manuel López Obrador invested in hiring 610 Cuban doctors, a process full of irregularities but widely monitored and publicized by the local and independent press in Cuba. Now, it has been discovered that the former Mexican president spent almost as much of the state’s coffers on printing Cuban textbooks.

According to an investigation by Mexicans against Corruption and Impunity (MCCI), reported on Thursday by the newspaper El Universal, the amount spent for this purpose between 2023 and 2024 amounts to 22 million dollars. The process involved three Mexican public entities, which were responsible for financing, printing and distributing the texts that were then used by students at almost all educational levels on the island: early childhood, primary, secondary school, pre-university and special education.

The National Commission for Free Textbooks (Conaliteg), belonging to the Public Education Secretariat, commissioned the work of the Progreso Printer and Binder (Iepsa), based in Iztapalapa, whose majority partner is the State. Once the books were ready, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs handled the shipping from the port of Veracruz to Cuba.

Three Mexican public entities participated in the process, which were responsible for financing, printing and distributing the texts that were then used by students of almost all educational levels on the island

In total, 15 million copies were sent which, according to the MCCI – in collaboration with the Academic Freedom Observatory, headed by the Cuban opponent Omara Ruiz Urquiola and based in Colombia – have, as required, this information on the legal page of the books.

For the investigation, a copy of two contracts was also obtained from Conaliteg with the company Iepsa, one of them dated in August 2023 for printing 5,200,000 books, and another in July 2024 for 9,600,000. The total amount is 387,455,000 pesos ($22 million at the exchange rate of those dates). continue reading

“As a result of the cooperation between Mexico and the Republic of Cuba, said country requested our support to print school books because of the lack of materials and technological resources,” says the first contract. It makes clear that the Cuban Ministry of Education asked for help from the Mexican Agency for International Cooperation for Development (Amexcid), which belongs to the Foreign Ministry.

The Foreign Ministry then managed the printing of the 268 titles requested, which were paid by Mexico, as stated in the contract, at the request of the Cuban government. To complement the investigation, documents were requested from the Customs Office attesting to 10 shipments by sea with loads that total, between 2023 and 2024, 14,940,578 copies, slightly above the amount set by contract (14,861,861).

By date, five shipments were made between September 14 and 28, 2023, and two others on October 18 and 20 respectively. According to Veritrade records, a value of less than one cent per copy was reported, although the cost of production would be 24 pesos on average ($1.35 at 2023 exchange rate).

The following year, 2024, two shipments were made in August (6 and 19) and one on September 10. In these shipments, the cost reported at customs did correspond to production costs, averaging $1.2 million.

The following year, 2024, two shipments were made in August (6 and 19) and one on September 10. In those shipments, the cost reported at customs did correspond to the production cost, averaging $1.2 million

Exports were made through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and sent to the Cuban Editorial Pueblo y Educación. Since Mexico was only in charge of printing, the books are produced by Havana; therefore, the contents have the ideological bias that can be expected.

El Universal describes what is not unknown to Cubans. References to the “persecution” and “blockade” of the US abound in various subjects, although especially in books on Moral Education and Citizenship. Interviewed by the newspaper, Ruiz Irquiola says that this turns the Mexican government into a “participant in indoctrination”.

The Mexican newspaper recalls that the López Obrador administration argued “humanitarian reasons” to multiply its support for Cuba, a policy that his successor, Claudia Sheinbaum, seems determined to maintain. Despite the 610 professionals who arrived from Cuba, the population of Mexico without access to health services doubled, according to a report by the National Council for the Evaluation of Social Development Policy (CONEVAL).

To this support should be added the supply of oil, worth close to 900 million dollars, that the government of López Obrador sent to Cuba in 2023 and 2024.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Trump Restricts the Entry of Cubans to the US and Vetoes Nationals From Twelve Countries

14ymedio, Madrid, 5 June 2025 — US President Donald Trump signed a proclamation this Wednesday restricting most visas for Cubans and citizens of six other countries who wish to enter this nation. The document also includes a total ban on 12 nationalities. “These restrictions apply to the entry of both immigrants and non-immigrants,” says the text, which has been expected since the release in March of a draft that advanced this new policy.

The 12 countries for which all visas are abolished are Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. National security and counter-terrorism are invoked for all; they also have in common the absence of a government which can guarantee, either through lack of competent and centralized authorities or through lack of determined cooperation, reliable information on its nationals.

Likewise, seven other countries will have their visas restricted, with Cuba being one of them. In the specific case of the island, reference is made first to its membership on the list of states sponsoring terrorism drawn up by the State Department. “The government of Cuba does not cooperate or share enough police information with the United States,” criticizes the document, which also recalls the island’s traditional refusal to accept deportations, despite the fact that in 2024 they received 1,384, of whom 978 arrived from the US. continue reading

In the specific case of the island, reference is made first to its membership on the list of states sponsoring terrorism drawn up by the State Department

“According to the Report on Excess of Stay, Cuba had an excessive stay rate with B1 and B2 visas of 7.69%, and with F, M and J visas of 18.75%,” specifies the text. Consequently, the US suspends the entry of Cubans with B1 and B2 visas (business and tourism, respectively), F and M (academic and technical studies), and J (cultural exchanges). “Consular officials shall reduce the validity of any other non-immigrant visa issued to Cuban nationals to the extent permitted by law,” adds the paragraph.

There is a section for exceptions in the extensive document, up to nine. Among them is one that has been at the center of many Cubans’ concerns since the draft of this proclamation began to circulate. “It prevents the suspension or restriction of entry to legal residents in the US,” says the text, tempering the fears of those who were afraid to travel to the island for any reason and then be denied entry to the US on their return.

In addition, persons with dual nationality, foreigners with other visas – officials of the respective countries or international organizations – athletes, relatives of residents and people involved in adoption processes are exempt. Other exemptions include special visas for Afghans, US government foreign employees and persecuted minorities in Iran.

The proclamation enters into force on June 9, and visas issued earlier cannot be suspended or revoked. It does not affect refugees or prevent them from seeking asylum under the law.

In a long preamble, Trump argues that already in 2017, during his first term, he restricted the entry of people from several countries: Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen, as well as some specific cases for North Korea and Venezuela. He boasts that the measure was a success – although there is no way to prove it – because it prevented the arrival of potentially dangerous people.

“The United States must ensure that foreigners admitted, and those already in the country, do not exhibit hostile attitudes toward its citizens, culture, government, institutions or founding principles, and that they do not defend, help or support foreign terrorists and other threats to our national security,” he argues.

“The United States must ensure that foreign nationals admitted, and those already in the country, do not exhibit hostile attitudes toward its citizens, culture, government, institutions or founding principles”

Under this principle, he entrusted his officials, as The New York Times reported in March, to prepare a report in 60 days identifying countries that do not provide sufficient information on travelers or maintain inadequate security practices with regard to the issuance of passports and granting of citizenship. “We cannot allow open migration from any country where we can’t conduct a safe and reliable assessment and control,” Trump said in a video statement released this Wednesday at the time of announcing the proclamation.

Included on this blacklist are “citizens of some countries who pose a significant risk of staying in the United States longer than allowed by their visas, which increases the burden on immigration and law enforcement and often aggravates other risks related to national security and public safety.”

In another document dated Wednesday, Trump also suspended visas for students with the “purpose of attending Harvard University or participating in an exchange program sponsored by it.” “This Justice Department will vigorously defend the president’s proclamation that suspends new foreign students from entering Harvard University for reasons of national security,” Attorney General Pam Bondi maintained in a post on X.

The official considered that it is a privilege and not a right to study at the prestigious university, as Trump believes that it does not meet his requirements. In a statement released on Wednesday night and picked up by AP, Harvard states that it “will continue to protect its international students. This is another illegal and retaliatory step by the Government, in violation of the rights guaranteed by the First Amendment,” pointed out university authorities.

As far as the proclamation that affects Cuba is concerned, there is no response at this moment, but bilateral relations are more deteriorated than ever, even on a diplomatic level, after the Cuban government attacked the US chargé d’affaires in Cuba, Mike Hammer, for his meetings and visits to opponents and citizens critical of the island’s regime.

The State Department summoned the Cuban ambassador in Washington, Lianys Torres Rivera, last Friday to express its rejection of this attack against Hammer

On Wednesday, Martí Noticias reported that, according to sources with knowledge, the State Department last Friday summoned the Cuban ambassador in Washington, Lianys Torres Rivera, to express its rejection of this attack on Hammer and other members of the US diplomatic staff. “They can travel all over the country, and our ambassador, too,” they transmitted, allegedly, to the diplomat at the meeting.

The media, based in Miami, could not officially confirm the information, but a spokesman for the State Department said: “We oppose the harassment by the Cuban regime of the Head of Mission, Mike Hammer, and the staff of the US Embassy in Havana for performing normal diplomatic functions as authorized by the Vienna Convention.”

The State Department argued that the Cuban Embassy in Washington holds meetings as it sees fit without any interference from the Administration. “Complaints about the conduct of Ambassador Hammer are not justified. Everything is based on the principle of reciprocity and is fully supported by international norms governing diplomacy,” the State Department added.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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The Suspension of Work Permits for Asylum Seekers in the US Would Affect Almost 400,000 Cubans

The Trump administration is considering eliminating them and believes that economic migrants are “abusing” this means of obtaining employment.

Asylum applications may take more than two years to be resolved under current conditions / EFE

14ymedio, Madrid, June 5, 2025 — Friday is the last working day for at least 20 employees of a Walmart located in Miami, who were left hanging since the US Supreme Court, last Friday, endorsed the decision of the Trump Administration to suspend humanitarian parole for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans. The beneficiaries lost their right to work, among other things, so they went out into the streets to demonstrate. And this is only in one establishment.

The hundreds of thousands of people who could lose their jobs with the cancelation of parole could be joined by asylum seekers – almost 400,000 Cubans – if a measure proposed by the government is implemented. As CBS News reported on Wednesday, two State Department officials said the decision is on the table, and it implies the end of a policy held for decades to allow people to support themselves in the country by their own means and contribute to the economy while they wait for the resolution of their cases.

The measure comes from the Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and represents an added difficulty for migrants who have asked for refuge, especially when, as is known, cases accumulate in the courts causing delays close to two years, even though the legal deadline is 180 days. Trump’s advisers argue that many applicants are actually economic migrants trying to “take advantage of the situation.”

As CBS News recalls, the law in force since 1990 allows asylum seekers who have been in the country for 150 days to apply for a work permit. Thereafter, officials have 30 days to decide, which in theory covers the 180-day period for the court to decide whether to grant asylum.

The new law also requires asylum seekers to wait one year after they submit their application (instead of six months) to meet the requirements for a work permit. continue reading

“What I can say is that we are working on the proposal with the determination to put it into effect before the end of this year,” a government official told independent Cuban media CaféFuerte.

According to CBS News data, with official sources, more than 77% of asylum applications take over 180 days, and almost 40% are pending two years later. But even for the lucky ones who receive a response within the legal deadline, the possibility of having a job is far from being possible, since this one-year period would be required. CBS News has also requested official statements.

“Over the past four years, the Biden Administration has undermined the integrity of the US asylum system. The Department is exploring all possible options to protect our national security and enhance program integrity,” the official stated, stressing the government’s right to “mitigate all forms of fraud and abuse.”

However, organizations defending the rights of migrants and refugees have expressed their concern that these people would be deprived of their right to economic sustenance, forcing them to work illegally, which, in turn, may harm their legal status. At the bureaucratic level, asylum seekers are no longer taxpayers, except for indirect taxes.

“Asylum seekers play a critical role in a wide range of jobs, from doctors to hospital cleaners,” Conchita Cruz, co-executive director of the Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project, told CBSNews.

In the last decade, applications for asylum in the US have multiplied, now reaching 1.5 million in the hands of the USCIS and 2 million in immigration courts, according to official data. In 2024, only 35% of the reviewed petitions received an affirmative response, with a very uneven distribution. New Mexico and Texas have a large majority of refusals, with rates of 86% and 83%, while Nevada (23%) and Missouri (19%) have lower refusals.

Trump already tried to implement a policy similar to the one now proposed in his first term in 2020, but the arrival of the pandemic allowed him to impose a much stricter border closure than he had ever expected.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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In Sancti Spíritus, the March for the Revolution Became a Stain on the Cuban Regime

They have rushed to erase the slogan “Down with the dictatorship,” painted next to a quote from Fidel Castro.

“Sancti Spíritus Continues the March” say the official letters. Removing the graffiti below has not been an easy task, given that the surface of the complex is covered with what are known as Jaimanita slabs, a rough and very irregular finish. / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Mercedes García, Sancti Spíritus, 4 June 2025 — A stain can say more than a message. A smudged wall reads as if the letters that once covered it were still there. The phrase “Down with the dictatorship,” which appeared this Tuesday at the intersection of Carretera Central and Avenida de los Mártires (Marcos García) in Sancti Spíritus, has already been painted over, but everyone who passes by the central corner looks at the mark on the wall and visualizes what it said.

The graffiti, painted in front of the provincial headquarters of the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Environment and José Martí University, lasted only a few hours. It appeared in a context of intense unrest among Cubans, especially university students, over the rate hike by Etecsa, the State telecommunications company. As the first light of morning spread across the area, a cleanup operation arrived. The Cuban regime has not only had to oil its mechanisms of repression and surveillance as popular anger grows, but it has also become adept at scrubbing graffiti, covering anti-government signs, and turning slogans of indignation that appear on facades into official propaganda slogans.

Anti-government graffiti — “Down with the Dictatorship” — this Tuesday at the University of Sancti Spíritus. / Networks

In some cases, such as the three words that formed “Down with Communism” on a wall in Holguín, they placed crude brushstrokes of such poor quality that some letters are still legible. In others, such as the one scrawled this Tuesday on the monument to the independence fighter Serafín Sánchez on the corner of Sancti Spiritus, they have opted to clean the surface to banish every stroke, eliminating all traces of social anger. It has not been an easy task, given that the surface of the complex is covered with so-called Jaimanita tiles, a rough and very irregular finish.

The masters of erasing protest signs have been able to remove the inscription, drawn a few centimeters from a Fidel Castro quote and below a paraphrased Sánchez phrase, but they haven’t managed to eliminate its trace. Sometimes all it takes is a blur to imagine a whole story.

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US Revokes Visas for Central American Officials Cooperating With Cuban Medical Missions

The identities of those affected, accused of being involved in a form of forced labor, are unknown at this time.

Marco Rubio urged other countries to adopt similar measures /EFE/ Yamil Lage

EFE / 14ymedio, Washington, 4 June 2025 — US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on Tuesday the withdrawal of visas from several Central American government officials who collaborate with Cuban medical missions, although he did not reveal their identities.

In an official statement, the head of US diplomacy said that these officials are involved in contracting for Cuban medical missions in their countries, which, according to the Trump administration, constitutes a form of forced labor.

“The Cuban labor export program abuses its participants, enriches the corrupt Cuban regime and deprives the citizens of the island of essential medical care that they greatly need,” said Rubio.

“The Cuban labor export program abuses its participants, enriches the corrupt Cuban regime and deprives the citizens of the island of essential medical care that they greatly need”

With the implementation of these visa restrictions, he added, the United States is sending “a clear message about its commitment to promoting human rights and respect for labor rights around the world.”

Rubio, of Cuban origin, also urged other countries to adopt similar measures

In February, the United States had already extended its policy of restricting visas to people who benefit from what it describes as “labor exploitation” of Cuban workers abroad, including those involved in organizing medical missions.

Cuba, for its part, has categorically rejected Washington’s accusations, defending its medical cooperation program, one of the country’s main sources of foreign exchange, and denouncing what it considers a “campaign” against itself and its health professionals. continue reading

Along the same lines, leaders of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), whose health systems depend to a large extent on Cuban medical personnel, defended the hiring of these professionals and denied that it was a form of exploitation.

Along the same lines, the health systems of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) depend to a large extent on Cuban medical personnel

At the beginning of May, Rubio held a meeting with, among other Caribbean leaders, the Prime Minister of the Bahamas, with whom he discussed this issue. Philip Davis assured that the health workers working in the archipelago are not victims of slavery and that the program is similar to those carried out by the US to hire temporary workers.

He said, however, that they would study options to pay the Cuban doctors directly and stated that the Secretary of State was satisfied with his explanations. The organization Cuba Archive, however, pointed out that this would not be a solution, since professionals could be forced to give up wages “voluntarily.”

Translated by Regina Anavy

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The Presbyterian Church Calls for a Shift From ‘Resignation’ to ‘Activism’ for a Change in Cuba

In 2024, a total of 624 violations against freedom of religion were committed on the island, according to a report.

Presbyterian-Reformed Church event in Cuba last May / Facebook

14ymedio, Madrid, June 4, 2025 — The Presbyterian-Reformed Church in Cuba has issued a strong message on the occasion of the Pentecost holiday in favor of change on the island. In a text made public this Tuesday, the congregation, which represents several dozen evangelical churches, bases its statement on the deep and successive crises that the country is suffering.

“The crushing of these crises has placed Cuban society in a narrow alley, perhaps, where the government’s appeal to ’resistance’, ’resilience’, ’creativity’, ’patience’, ’confidence’ have become irrelevant formulas for the people, a symptom of the exhaustion of the ideological reserve that supported the Revolution under the assumption of the construction of a real socialism”, says the brotherhood, which then attacks the higher echelons of the regime.

“The confusion of official discourse becomes increasingly evident when, for example, so many families today live in fear in homes that are in danger of collapse, while huge hotels stand in front of them like inert and arrogant ghosts scraping the sky; or when the laws, decrees and measures do not address the most basic needs of the people, but add to ever greater poverty for them.”

“A society that has been dollarized earns wages in depreciated national currency. A society that has been taught to think cannot freely express what it thinks”

And they list the problems almost in a litany: “A society that was electrified by an energy revolution today lacks electricity. A digitalized society lacks access to the virtual world. A society that has been dollarized earns wages in depreciated national currency. A society that has been taught to think cannot freely express what it thinks. A society in such condition needs profound changes if it is to be functional, if it is to be just, if it is to express fully the values of God’s reign.”

Therefore, they address not only their parishioners, but the “leadership of the country” and all ordinary Cubans. They ask the Government to continue reading

“establish a genuine, secure and transparent dialogue with the people,” with the aim of “making progress along a path of necessary changes in legal, institutional and any other structures that require transformation.”

They also urge “the review and correction of the punitive measures and sentences” of those who “because of their ideas, today suffer imprisonment or police harassment,” as well as “the holding of forums for democratic participation with plural concurrence of visions” and “the recognition and public apology for the damage caused to sectors of Cuban civil society that have been affected by exclusionary and discriminatory policies.”

The message for ordinary Cubans is also convincing, urging them to “move from resignation to perseverance, from apathy to social and political activism, in order to establish a new and restorative moment that heals hatred and removes resentment.” Thus, they encourage the citizens to “exercise the right to participate in processes of constructive change in our country, voluntarily, honestly and transparently; choose as a priority the peaceful path for building a new country”; and “look to the future with hope.”

This includes arbitrary detention, intrusive surveillance, repeated interrogations, threats, harassment, and in some cases physical abuse

The Presbyterians’ message is published just days after Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) issued a report on the situation of religious freedom in the island. A total of 624 violations were committed in 2024. This includes arbitrary detention, intrusive surveillance, repeated interrogations, threats, harassment, and in some cases physical and verbal abuse of children in school settings because of their beliefs.

The report, entitled “No Respite: Systematic Repression of Freedom of Religion or Belief in Cuba,” highlights that both registered and unregistered religious groups, including Afro-Cuban communities, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Protestants and Roman Catholics, have been targeted by the Government. In addition, there has been an increase in the imposition of fines on religious leaders for conducting unauthorized activities or worshipping in places that are not officially recognized.

One emblematic case is that of the pastors Luis Guillermo Borja and Roxana Rojas, arrested on May 19, 2024, after invoking their religious beliefs in a military court where their son was tried for intent to evade compulsory military service. Both are facing charges of disrespect and contempt of the authorities. Their son, Kevin Lay Laureido Rojas, who holds a medical exemption for a psychiatric condition, remains in a military prison.

The US Commission for International Religious Freedom has also pointed out that the Cuban regime uses a repressive legal framework to strictly control religious institutions and criminalize activities considered contrary to its ideology. Since 1959, no independent religious group has been legally registered, and those who operate without such registration are subject to surveillance, harassment and confiscation of property.

The Cuban Human Rights Observatory reported at least 996 acts against religious freedom in 2024, including impediments to attending masses, fines for religious leaders of unrecognized churches and harassment of Christians with civic commitment. In addition, there were documented cases of denial of religious assistance to political prisoners and threats against religious leaders to expel relatives of political prisoners from their congregations.

Organizations and human rights defenders have urged the international community to express its concern over these continuing violations and to seek ways to support independent civil society in Cuba, including religious groups. The current situation shows a systematic pattern of repression that undermines fundamental freedoms and human rights on the island.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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‘Witchcraft is Forbidden’

In the Old Cemetery of Guanabacoa, grass invades the graves, which are looted by thieves.

Thefts and religious rituals have forced the cemetery authorities to put a warning on the wall / 14ymedio

14ymedio, José Lassa, Havana, May 31, 2025 — Among the rules governing the Old Cemetery of Guanabacoa in Havana, workers have been forced to immortalize one: “Witchcraft is forbidden.” Painted with black ink on a wall to try to scare away grave robbers, the poster unashamedly announces the main evil of the cemetery, stripped even of the copper rings that adorn the tombstones.

Construction began in 1814, and the cemetery was declared a National Heritage Site in 1997, but it “is abandoned because no one wants to work there for 2,400 pesos,” says Antonio, who was a gravedigger for eight years in the Old and New cemeteries of Guanabacoa, separated by the old road. “Conditions are pretty bad. It is full of weeds, and everyone knows that remains and copper rings have been taken away,” he says.

An open, rust-eaten fence welcomes the few visitors who dare to walk through the cemetery under the strong sun and high temperatures of May. Broken crosses lay on the ground, and the raised sidewalks and bushes growing at will cause doubt about the functionality of the cemetery, or whether there is anyone in charge of its care.

This same abandonment is what has attracted those who seek bones for rituals or metals to sell. / 14ymedio

That same abandonment is what has attracted unwanted visitors, and the apparent calm of the cemetery is often disturbed by those who seek bones to perform rituals or metals to sell. continue reading

When there is a theft, it is rarely reported,” continues Antonio. “Some family member must see that something is missing from the tomb. The last case that happened was when they caught someone who stole some tomb rings. They detained the person as he drove through a traffic light, took him to the police station, took his bag of rings and let him go.”

Rodrigo is 50 years old, of which 30 were dedicated to being a graveyard keeper. Years ago, a stone of which he never knew the origin or the intention left him unconscious and unfit for work. Now, with difficulties in speech as a result of the blow, he resides in the back of the same cemetery to which he dedicated his life, retired and with barely 1,500 pesos in his bank account. “There is no graveyard that still has the rings,” he says in reference to the essential accessories for lifting the heavy grave lids. “They’ve caught people stealing from them, but I don’t know if the police knows that they’re selling the copper. They picked up a guy about a month ago. He said that he had found them, and they released him,” he says with regret.

More than the graves, the vaults dilapidated by time and torn apart by theft look like heaps of rubble. The accumulated garbage, the weeds that grow in any corner, even on top of tops and walls, and the remnants of Yoruba offerings accompanied by bottles of rum complete a desolate landscape. “Here people pass by and throw garbage into the cemetery, and everything is full of witchcraft. Although that happens in all the cemeteries.”

In addition to the Old Cemetery, the quintessential example, Guanabacoa has six other cemeteries, making it the municipality with the most graveyards on the island. In its interior is the Chapel of Potosí, founded with the name Chapel of the Immaculate Conception of Mary and the Holy Christ of Potosí and considered the oldest architectural work of Guanabacoa, dating from the seventeenth century.

“This, statistically, is heritage, but look how it is. The wall and the church have been rebuilt, but the last time was five years ago. At any moment they will collapse again,” says Rodrigo. “There has been no quality restoration.”

The wall that marks the boundary of the cemetery and separates it from the houses is low and irregular / 14ymedio

The wall that marks the boundary of the cemetery and separates it from the houses is low and irregular. In several sections it is leaning, and the bars that should be on top have also been stolen. The recently repaired bell tower of the church shows obvious signs of poor work due to its rapid deterioration, in addition to the shoddy finish that doesn’t go with the rest of the work.

According to Antonio and Rodrigo, the responsibility lies with the Comunales of Guanabacoa, although they recognize that the incentives for workers also leave something to be desired: “They pay very little and give nothing. If you work at the Colon Cemetery [in Havana], they give you shoes, pants, everything. Not here.”

The accumulated garbage, weeds and remains of Yoruba offerings complete a desolate landscape / 14ymedio

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Students, Teachers and Official Musicians Attack Cuba’s State Communications Monopoly Etecsa Over Its ‘Tarifazo’*

A faculty at the University of Havana protested the new measures, which it considered “a huge lack of respect for the Cuban people.”

The Council is particularly concerned about the “mass of students” who “depend almost entirely on internet access for study and research” /CC

14ymedio, Havana, May 31, 2025 — Indignation at all levels has been caused by the measures that the communications monopoly Etecsa implemented this Friday for mobile telephony. The tension has been unanimous in the country, from universities to the regime’s unwavering supporters, who have defined the announcement as “an enormous lack of respect for the Cuban people.”

This phrase was expressed, hours after the announcement, by the Council of the FEU (Student University Federation) of the Faculty of Mathematics and Computing of the University of Havana. The fact that Etecsa claims “challenges in its financial, technological and operational situation” is not justification for the tarifazo* [rate increase] announced by the company.

The Council is particularly concerned about the “mass of students” who are “almost entirely dependent on internet access for study and research. We think the attitude of Etecsa is inopportune and reckless, setting prices that more than anything increase the inflation in which our nation is increasingly immersed.”

The statement rises in tone when it alludes to the alleged “legal right of the company to make such changes in the service without prior notice,” something it only “vaguely” obtained from Prime Minister Manuel Marrero. This lack of notice is “an aggravating factor,” they conclude.

“We urge Etecsa to review the decision taken, because we believe that it is a mistake and that more reasonable measures should be sought to address existing problems in its business management,” they conclude. “In the continue reading

current situation of the country, with constant and prolonged problems with electricity and water services, low availability of public transport and rising food prices, to mention just some of the problems that are already part of our daily lives, internet access remained one of the last resources available to the population and students.”

The pro-regime spokesman known as El Necio also posted a review of Etecsa on social networks

The pro-regime spokesman known as El Necio [The Fool] also posted a review of Etecsa on social networks, saying that the managers on State TV’s Round Table program “did not really respond to the specific dissatisfaction and concerns at the moment.” The company’s measure, he explained, “does not solve much” and has been “highly unpopular.”

“I do not recall any other measure which has generated such a high level of immediate and widespread dissatisfaction, even among the sector of people most committed to the Cuban Government and to the socialist process. Analyze the impact and listen to the citizenry that is being expressed. If the measure goes against the interests and needs of the people it is against the Revolution,” he said.

Using the meager excuse of the embargo, El Necio said that Etecsa “will have no choice but to rectify this commercial strategy and find a balance between the need of the companies to collect dollars and the population’s need for connection to communicate, study, work, inform themselves in the face of so many blackouts and also entertain themselves.” Bypassing needs and claims of the people, he noted, “is very harmful.” He also placed the task in the hands of the Party and the Government “to instruct the managers of Etecsa to rectify [the price increase] as soon as possible.”

María del Carmen Hernández, a professor at the Universidad Central de Las Villas and mother of Miguel Díaz-Canel’s official journalist, Leticia Martínez, said she understood “Etecsa’s need for foreign exchange to improve its service, but unfortunately I can’t contribute a dollar. Today I shall watch the Round Table, but most certainly I will not pay these prices.”

For her part, Mariana Camejo, director of the online medium La Joven Cuba – almost always in affinity with the regime – demanded that Etecsa think about “the students; the teachers who send, receive files and search for resources for their classes with their own data because the connection in universities does not allow them to do so; and the retirees who enjoy watching videos, etc.”

“The prices of the ’extra’ plans are prohibitive wherever you look. Etecsa is trying to highlight the ’cheap’ basic plans, but there is no way that people will not notice that their wages are falling and life’s precariousness is rising. No, the policy cannot be that the macro accounts balance the loss, at the expense of the people.”

Also added to the call was musician and writer Ernesto Limia, who highlighted that “university students and their teachers, doctors, journalists and intellectuals – a journalist at the ICRT earns just over 4,000 pesos, to cite an example – have been harmed. Also affected are artists and writers who work in the public sector without internet connection; professionals who without a connection don’t have the opportunities of their counterparts abroad; and pensioners whose checkbooks do not give them enough to survive without family or social security assistance.”

The musician and writer Ernesto Limia also added that “university students and their teachers have been harmed”

This Friday, Lidia Esther Hidalgo Rodriguez, commercial vice president of Etecsa, explained that customers of the prepaid mobile service will be able to make recharges to their main balance up to a total amount of 360 pesos over the course of 30 days. This restriction contrasts with the ability that Etecsa customers had, until this Thursday, to carry out refills in national currency without restrictions.

With this recharge of 360 pesos for 30 days, consumers will be able to purchase, at most, a package with 6 gigabytes (GB) of web browsing, 60 minutes for making calls and the possibility of sending 70 text-only messages (SMS). Below the package of higher price and capacity, there are 4.5 GB of internet connection for 240 pesos; another 2 GB + 15 min, 20 SMS for 120 pesos and 4 GB + 35 min, 40 SMS for 240 pesos.

Since this Friday, an extra package of 3 GB of web browsing requires 3,360 pesos, while to obtain 7 GB you have to pay 6,720, a figure that exceeds the average monthly salary, which in 2024 stood at 5,839 pesos. As for the package of 15 GB of data to connect to the internet, it amounts to 11,760 pesos, a price that has caused a flurry of indignant comments on the official pages of the company.

Even so, several users have complained about the inability to access new offers, supposedly available since yesterday. Many even associate it with the possibility that Etecsa, in a rapture of lucidity, has decided to “rectify its error.”

*Translator’s note: The “azo” ending in Cuban Spanish is a ’’magnifier.’ ‘Tarif’ is ‘rate’ or ‘price’. Thus, ‘tarifazo’, translates roughly as: “the gigantic price increase thing”

Translated by Regina Anavy
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Cuba Rumors of May: A Parade Modified by Artificial Intelligence and a Major National Blackout Is Coming

Putin’s disregard for Díaz-Canel and preparations for a simultaneous US invasion of Cuba and Venezuela.

Some YouTubers believed the May Day images could have been faked. / Cubadebate

14ymedio, Havana, 2 June 2025 — When some YouTubers and computer experts saw the images of the May Day parade published by Cubadebate, they ventured a hypothesis: the University of Computer Sciences had retouched the images of the parade and “placed” more people than actually were in the streets and squares of Havana.

To demonstrate this, they reproduced step by step—using digital editing tools and artificial intelligence—how the impression of a crowd could have been created in the photos. This, coupled with the recent fondness of the official press for using AI-created images, raised suspicions about the legitimacy of the parade coverage.

However, official press reports proved that, despite the country’s situation and given that many workers are required, under threat of sanctions, to attend the march, thousands of people did attend May Day, both in Havana and other cities across the country. In fact, in a month of constant blackouts, the regime only granted a brief respite, and it was just before the event.

It is also stated that the average blackout will last from 24 to 48 hours, depending on the circuit and its “strategic” importance for the leaders.

Since then, rumors about power outages have intensified, and many internet users predict a new wave of nationwide shutdowns. It is also claimed that the average blackout will last 24 to 48 hours, depending on the circuit and its “strategic” importance to the authorities.

The extensive itinerary in Spain of Gabriela Fernández, co-host of the propaganda program Con Filo, generated multiple rumors. First, the information circulated that she had “stayed” in Europe, a fact whose denial was the focus of an entire broadcast on the program hosted by Michel Torres Corona, Iroel Sánchez’s ideological heir and one of the regime’s continue reading

informal spokespeople.

Since then, images of the trip have been published, which has been filled with closed-door meetings, censored events, and a frenzied apology campaign by media outlets aligned with Havana.

A great part of the rumors circulating in May describe the deterioration of Cuba’s relations with two of its historic partners, Russia and China. Vladimir Putin’s disregard for Miguel Díaz-Canel during his trip to Moscow has been highlighted, a city the Cuban president left, it is claimed, empty-handed. Others speculate about the signing of an agreement whereby Cubans will be able to pay with pesos when in Russia.

Other rumors claim that the Cuban Army has appealed to Beijing for help regarding the Chinese spy bases the US discovered on the island. It is also claimed that missiles are already installed at these bases, and others installed by Russia are aimed at Florida, a rumor that has become common.

On the island, reports of violence, corruption of cadres, robberies in broad daylight and shortages of supplies continue to be recurrent.

Meanwhile, rumors are circulating again of a simultaneous US invasion of Venezuela and Cuba, to which some military operations—such as the rescue of members of María Corina Machado’s team—are supposedly the prelude.

Reports of violence, corruption among officials, daytime robberies, and shortages of supplies continue to be common on the island. Reference has been made to the existence of a gang in Santiago de Cuba, made up of young men with knives, who “terrorize” those passing between the Trocha and the Carretera del Morro. Some claim that the police have already arrested several of its members.

Another gang, they claim, periodically raids the Cabacú special school in Baracoa to steal supplies and food. In one of their raids, they seriously injured the school’s custodian, the reports add. The same thing happens at a juice company in Contramaestre, Santiago de Cuba, where the robberies occur—according to several users—with the complicity of the school’s director.

The rumor of the death of repertoire singer Chocolate in a Florida prison, circulated by the singer himself and his team, met with little success. The report was suspected almost from the start, and within hours, the official “explanation” was released, coinciding with the release of a new album by the musician.

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Despair in Cuba’s Gas Lines After Five Months Without Supply

In Guanabacoa, propane had not been sold for five months / 14ymedio

14ymedio, José Lassa and Mercedes García, Havana / Sancti Spíritus, 2 June 2025 — The arrival of liquefied gas (propane) in the Cuban capital has brought anything but tranquility. It had been three months since many customers could get it, but they were not even concerned: the sale was for those who had been unable to buy since December; that is, for five months.

“There are huge lines, people are almost beating each other up, it’s hell,” said a resident from Boyeros on Sunday. “I got February 14; who knows when it’s my turn, because they are now selling it for December. I have a neighbor who had to leave the line because she says it was infernal. A real fight must have happened.”

In Guanabacoa, the despair was total. The managers were trying to organize a line in front of a population that was desperate for the 199 tanks they had to sell, making it clear that most would leave empty-handed. There, at the point of sale of Fuente and Obispo, chaos was the word that defined the situation.

The organizers read the names of the people who could come and buy and tried to coordinate so that no one would sneak in. The day was marked by discomfort, arguments, screams and an overwhelming heat from which some protected themselves with umbrellas while others tried to shelter from the sun by gluing themselves to nearby buildings.

The Cuban Petroleum Union (Cupet) had announced the start of the sale of propane in the western provinces for this Saturday, through all channels on social networks and the official press. Cupet stated that the process would begin on May 31 and would be carried out daily in an organized manner, delivering a single cylinder per customer to those who couldn’t buy in February.

But organization has been impossible in Havana, although almost half the population (more than 280,000 households) receive gas service through pipelines. These customers are supplied by natural gas coming from the continue reading

plants in Puerto Escondido, Varadero and Boca de Jaruco, all part of Energas, a joint venture managed by Canada’s Sherritt International and Cuba’s state-owned Cupet.

It was unfortunate that on the very same day that the chaotic sale of propane began, the plant at Boca de Jaruco went out of service due to a breakdown in one of the Energas outlet lines, disrupting the flow of the other two. This affected generation and “increased the impact,” according to the Ministry of Energy and Mines in a message on social networks calling for calm and assuring that four turbines had already been recovered.

Protests over the disorganization have multiplied in all the municipalities of the capital. Those who paid 10 pesos on Ticket to secure a digital place in line complain that it isn’t applied. They demand that priority be given to those who have not bought since 2024, something that is not always true, or they claim that corruption among organizers is taking place.

“I call on the managers to organize lines at the points of sale and not leave it in the hands of corrupt coleros* [people paid by others to wait in line for them] and delegates. I hope the police and the army will support me,” shouted one customer.

The sale is limited, for the moment, to one tank of propane / 14ymedio

The situation contrasts with the tranquility in Sancti Spíritus, where calm reigns thanks to a good functioning of the Ticket application. “There have been no lines or fighting, because it is organized by Facebook and other networks,” says a resident of the capital city, where the sale also began on December 31 for the physically disabled, vulnerable and those who had not received it since December. On Sunday, it was reserved for those who paid 10 pesos for the virtual line. “Here everyone knows when it’s their turn. I should get it next week because I have number 33 on Ticket.”

Of the 150 days in the year that they had the propane, on 117 there was none on the island, according to the minister of Energy and Mines, Vicente de la O Levy, last Thursday on Miguel Díaz-Canel’s podcast “From the Presidency.” They both admitted that it happened when the ship carrying the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) that is being sold now has arrived but had not been unloaded, because there was no money to pay for it. They stated that the conditions for doing so in advance and the banking problems arising from the US embargo also complicate the operation.

These same problems, they said, are being repeated with a second ship that was “hired and paid,” which makes it foreseeable that the gas shortage will be repeated, with repercussions for the population.

In addition, as Díaz-Canel and De la O Levy notes, the lack of LPG influences the electricity demand, which increases by 200 or 250 megawatts the daily power required. But this is not the only problem. Many people are likely to buy the gas ‘on the left’ (the informal market), either from outsiders or by underestimating the serious consequences that can occur; or they are forced to cook with fire, even having to sacrifice their furniture if they cannot afford the high price of coal.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Environmental Destruction, a Consequence of the Crisis That Is of Little Concern to Cubans

Environmental destruction, a consequence of the crisis that is of little concern to Cubans

Cuba has 71 species of amphibians identified, and 94% are indigenous / Cubadebate

14ymedio, Havana, 1 June 2025 — Jorge has not seen a parakeet since he was 16 years old. Today, at almost twice that age, he could say the same about the tocororo [Cuban Trogon], the cartacuba [Cuban Tody] and other endangered species. The loss of flora and fauna in Cuba has been as dramatic as it has been silent in a country that could boast – thanks to its poor industrialization – of preserving its natural areas in good condition.

This Friday, Cubadebate put a number on the environmental crisis. Among the most serious data is that, of the 36,700 species of animals and plants that have been cataloged in the country, 35% are endangered. In addition, there is a risk that 75 per cent of the known mammal species will disappear. Among those that will survive the extinction are the bats.

Plants bear the greatest losses. Some 580 plant species are critically endangered, as well as 20 species of mushrooms and 16 of amphibians. Six types of sharks that inhabit the Cuban coast are also on the verge of extinction, as well as two classes of mammals, five of reptiles and four of fish and birds.

The situation is alarming, since “Cuba ranks fourth in the world among islands for the richness of its flora, and first for the number of species per square kilometer.”

Jorge remembers the shady business dealings with parrots and other tropical birds in the environs of the Hanabanilla reservoir, in his native Villa Clara

The main cause is illegal hunting, according to the official press. Indeed, Jorge remembers the shady business deals with parrots and other tropical continue reading

birds in the environs of the Hanabanilla reservoir, in his native Villa Clara. “Once, in the area of Rio Negro, we saw a parakeet chick, which had apparently been dropped by traffickers. We picked it up, and my cousin raised it.”

With mammals, he explains, the same thing happens. “Before there were people who raised hutías in the yard and had parakeets or other birds in the house. Now that world is very rare.” The statistics are unknown and fragmentary, regrets Cubadebate, which, by way of example, says that in only one month of 2021, bird theft was reported in 98 municipalities of Cuba.

In addition to hunting, “extensive agriculture, mining, deforestation and pollution” have led to habitat loss in Cuba.

Cuba is a signatory to all the conventions published by the United Nations on the protection of natural diversity, but it’s another matter for them to comply. In everyday life the Cuban has an almost non-existent environmental culture. He does not have the means to recycle, and the huge trash dumps in the cities say everything about the state’s neglect of hygiene.

Measures against hunting, buying and selling of species has never been a priority problem for the Ministry of the Interior, whose squalid corps of rangers can do little against the bird and crocodile thieves at critical points, like the Zapata Swamp or the Northern Keys.

Cubadebate claims that the loss of biodiversity in Cuba is part of a global phenomenon

Cubadebate claims that the loss of biodiversity in Cuba is part of a global phenomenon. The island is, together with Haiti and the Dominican Republic (Hispaniola), a point of high concentration of biodiversity, where 40% of the species are endemic, so their loss constitutes an irreparable damage.

On May 26, at a meeting of Cuban botanists in Havana, scientists warned that much of the biodiversity of Cuba’s flora remains to be discovered. In 20 years, only 152 new species have been identified.

As for amphibians, whose great variety made Cuba famous in the scientific world, there are 71 species identified, of which 94% are indigenous, a phenomenon only surpassed by Hispaniola. For Cuba, 70% of the island’s amphibians are at some degree of extinction.

Another disturbing fact, although it does not have to do with biodiversity, is the lack of urgency that Cubans feel about the loss. At the bottom of the Cubadebate article, and despite the harshness of the figures, there was only one comment from the readers.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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The Cuban Rum Industry Is in Crisis Due to Lack of Sugar

An operator checks a bottle from the production line at the Havana Club rum factory / EFE / Alejandro Ernesto

14ymedio, Madrid, June 2, 2025 — The sugar debacle in Cuba threatens to bring down with it one the few remaining exportable products that remains: rum. Not even a month ago, the official press itself was putting forward the worst portents, talking about the state-owned company Derivados de Amancio in Las Tunas. “The current crisis of the Cuban sugar industry hit them very hard, since the drop in the production of molasses deprived them of an essential input for the manufacture of alcohols and consequently of rum, two products with which they have gained prestige inside and outside the country,” said an article published on May 13 in Periódico 26.

Now, it is a foreign newspaper, The Guardian, that has revealed the extent of the crisis, which, it says, “would have shaken Ernest Hemingway”: “The Cuban communist government has difficulty processing enough sugar to make rum for his beloved mojitos and daiquiris.”

According to the British newspaper, an industry executive who asked for anonymity said “there will be no alcohol” in the fourth quarter of the year, which will be “particularly difficult.” The foreign companies that have formed an alliance with the Cuban government for the production of alcohol – the British Diageo, the Norwegian Island Rum Company and the French Pernod Ricard and LVMH (Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy) – will not be spared says the extensive report published last Friday, though they “have invested heavily in their respective brands”: Ron Santiago, Black Tears, Havana Club and Eminente.

Cuban rum producers cannot import because “the regulations state that all liquids must come from the island”

Luxury firms, the same source claims, are concerned. The text of The Guardian notes that Cuba, in a generalized economic crisis, has had to import sugar in recent years for the population’s consumption. However, says the executive, the rum producers cannot import because “the regulations state that all liquids must come from the island.” continue reading

The British newspaper describes the atmosphere at the Enrique Varona sugar mill in Ciego de Ávila on a recent visit: “The workers looked exhausted while turning a heavy piece of metal in the hope of keeping the large mill running.” Then they contrast it with the distillery of Pernod Ricard, south of Havana, which is “modern and elegant.”

The French beverage company was the first of the large foreign companies to arrive, recaps The Guardian, after signing an agreement with the state-owned Cuba Ron Corporation in 1993. “In exchange for an agreement not to allow entry of other competitors for 20 years, it acquired the brand Havana Club, increasing sales from 300,000 boxes to more than four million,” reports the newspaper. Luca Cesarano, former president of Ron Santiago S.A., the joint venture created between the British company Diageo and Cuba Ron to produce Ron Santiago, a competitor of Havana Club, declared: “They made a great investment at a time when nobody dared to invest in Cuba.”

Diageo arrived on the island in 2013, when he signed an agreement with Pernod Ricard. Unlike the French firm, explains the Guardian, the British one did not have its own distillery, but employed rum masters to make the drinks in the state distilleries.

The sugar harvest of 2025 is coming to an end these days, and the information published in official newspapers makes us fear the worst

“They also used historical rum collections that the masters had been storing in oak barrels for years all over the country, even as the cellar roofs were filled with holes,” says the report. Thus, “high-end products” – such as LVMH’s Eminente rum or Black Tears from the Norwegian Island Rum Company (which is named after the Lagrimas negras bolero) – have “boosted the international resurgence of rum.” With the shortage of molasses, concludes The Guardian, “all this work is threatened.”

The 2025 sugar harvest is coming to an end these days, and the information published in official newspapers makes us fear for the worst. Of the 56 sugar mills in the country, only 13 are operational, according to a recent report by Azcuba, and only six of them mill cane for sugar production. The rest is devoted to the production of molasses, just to make brandy.

In Sancti Spíritus, the authorities welcomed the fact that the only mill in operation in the territory, the Melanio Hernández, fulfilled the “sugar production plan corresponding to the present harvest, this April 30,” but a very different panorama is offered by the province of Granma. There, reported La Demajagua, just a few days ago, the Governing Council addressed in a meeting the “alarming situation of the sugar sector in the province, marked by a critical failure to comply with the established program and the approach of the hurricane season.”

Granma province produced 5,262 tons of sugar out of the more than 19,000 tons planned; that is, only 26% of what was predicted, “due to lack of fuel and industrial breakdowns.” There was also the loss of almost 150 million pesos from “fires in unharvested fields, loss of fields by invasions of weeds and non-payment to workers in several cooperatives and companies.”

It remains to be seen when the data of the present harvest will be known in the country. Last year’s was jealously guarded by the Cuban government for months and months. Finally, well into 2025, the former Minister of Economy José Luis Rodríguez let it escape in a text published by the official press: the 2023-2024 harvest totaled only 160,000 tons of sugar, an unusual figure.

The island’s once-star product, which reached 8.5 million tons in the 1980s, had fallen dramatically in 2022-2023, when 350,000 tons of sugar were achieved. That figure, which was already the worst harvest in a century, was more than double that of the most recent harvest.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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A Serious Crash in Mayarí, Cuba, Leaves Five Young People Injured, Two Critically

Drivers and passengers point to structural factors as indirect causes of crashes in Cuba / Facebook.

14ymedio, Havana, June 2, 2025 — Five young people between the ages of 18 and 34 were injured this Sunday in a traffic accident in the municipality of Mayarí, province of Holguín.

The crash took place around 6:30 pm at the Yaya Uno descent, in the vicinity of the community of Guanina. According to preliminary reports, the vehicle in which they were traveling, a black private car, veered off the road, for reasons that are still under investigation. All occupants were injured.

According to a post on Facebook by the official journalist Emilio Rodríguez Pupo, the car was going from Mayarí in the direction of Guanina when the crash occurred. The National Revolutionary Police (PNR) is in charge of investigations to determine what caused the crash.

Two of the youths remain in critical condition

The management of the Martyrs de Mayarí hospital reported that two of the youths remain in critical condition: Anyelo Antonio López Beltrán, 20, and Abdiel Alejandro Campos Céspedes, 18.

Two others have serious injuries. Ariel Sánchez Batista, also 20 years old, suffered a traumatic brain injury and was transferred to a hospital in the continue reading

city of Holguín. The fourth injured, 34-year-old Yulio Quiala Sánchez, was also reported to be in serious condition.

The fifth injured, 18-year-old Odel Emilio Magaña Chacón (known as “Chopo”) remains under medical observation

The municipal director of public health, Anika Lao Texidó, confirmed that three ambulances were activated for emergency transfers, and a specialized vehicle was mobilized to reinforce logistical support.

The number of fatalities in Cuba has increased, with drivers representing the most affected group

This crash adds to a worrying national trend. In the first four months of 2025, 2,377 traffic crashes were recorded in Cuba, a decrease of about 150 incidents compared to the same period last year. However, the number of fatalities increased, with drivers representing the most affected group.

Official statistics indicate that young people between 21 and 25 years of age, as well as those over 70, account for the largest number of crashes and victims. Monday and Wednesday are the days with the highest number of crashes, while Sunday and Tuesday are the deadliest. The most critical time is between 3:00 and 6:00 in the afternoon.

The most critical time is between 3:00 and 6:00 pm

According to the National Road Safety Commission, 91 per cent of crashes are due to human factors. The main causes identified are lack of attention when driving, failure to respect the right-of-way and speeding.

However, drivers and passengers point to structural factors as indirect causes of the problem: the deplorable condition of roads with potholes; dips and lack of signage; and an aging fleet with thousands of vehicles circulating with improvised parts, home-made adaptations and forced repairs due to chronic shortages of spare parts.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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A Mexican ‘Coyote’ Is Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Transporting 14 Cubans

Edgar “N” appealed to a summary trial to avoid a heavier sentence and pay a $78,000 fine.

The National Institute of Migration moved the Cubans to a farm in the state of Puebla / INM

14ymedio, Ángel Salinas, Mexico City, June 2, 2025 — Mexican smuggler (“coyote”) Edgar “N” had an abbreviated trial to reduce his sentence for the crime of “human trafficking” that he was charged with last Friday. For the transfer of 14 migrants of Cuban origin and 10 migrants from India, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison and a fine of 648,375 Mexican pesos ($33,730),” said an official from the Puebla State Attorney General’s Office who requested anonymity.

The coyote avoided “under this legal ploy a sentence of 18 years in prison and the payment of almost 1,500,000 pesos ($78,000),” regretted the same source. “It may seem illogical to us, but there are cases like this, where a judge considered human trafficking a misdemeanor. There are loopholes in the law; it must be accepted.”

The evidence provided by the authorities indicates that Edgar “N” contacted the “14 Cubans through messages and agreed to transfer them in a van” for $2,500 per person. The migrants were handed over by a truck driver after crossing a military checkpoint on the road. “Unfortunately one of the Cubans told the officers that he had a photo of the deposit he had made continue reading

through Western Union but later backed out as a witness,” said the official.

Edgar “N” contacted the “14 Cubans through messages and agreed to transfer them in a van” for $2,500 per person

The van with the migrants was intercepted by the National Guard at kilometer 112 of the Mexico-to-Puebla highway, in the municipality of Coronango. The coyote said they were part of “a group of tourists and that they were supposed to be in Mexico City.”

However, “they did not present their documents,” and the driver eventually acknowledged that they were migrants. He was paid 5,000 pesos ($260), which would be given to him upon arrival in the State of Mexico. “The whole story changed after he was put in a holding cell and asked for a lawyer. At that point he changed his mind and requested a summary trial,” the same source said.

The migrants were handed over to the National Institute of Migration, and, according to the authorities, they were transferred to the headquarters in Puebla.

“The state is a forced crossing point for migrants, but the flow has decreased considerably. Since two years ago, the shelters installed in the La Asunción and San Juan de los Lagos parishes stopped receiving mass arrivals of people who came to sleep, rest for two or three days and continue on their way.”

Also, “the movement of migrants hidden in trucks and vans was reduced, and a time came when motorcycles were used to avoid detection.”

Translated by Regina Anavy

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