Translating Cuba – Page 86 – English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island

They Fled to the US To Avoid Jail for Participating in Cuba’s July 2021 Protests and Now Fear Being Deported Back to Cuba

The two sisters arrived as rafters in 2022 and are trying to obtain political asylum.

Yaneris Redondo León and Mariana de la Caridad Fernández León when they were still living on the island. / Facebook

14ymedio, Havana, 7 June 2025 — Sisters Mariana de la Caridad Fernández León and Yaneris Redondo León, exiled in the United States after being sentenced to prison for participating in the 11 July 2021, protests in Havana, could be deported to Cuba if their request for political asylum is rejected. “Today we are afraid that we will be denied that protection,” Fernández denounced on social media, asserting that “returning could be equivalent—without exaggerating—to being sent directly to our deaths.”

The young woman’s post provides few details about the legal process she faces in the United States after arriving in the country illegally with her sister as rafters and requesting political asylum. However, it suggests that her case is one of many that have surfaced with Donald Trump’s new policies, which in recent months have ended several of the avenues opened by the previous administration for migrants to request international protection.

“We ask the United States government to act with justice, humanity, and historical memory. We are politically persecuted. We ask for protection, not privileges,” Fernández emphasizes, asserting that both she and her sister meet “each and every one of the legal and humanitarian requirements to obtain refugee status.” She adds that it would be “deeply unfair to return us to a country where we were already imprisoned for thinking differently and making our political stance clear.”

Fernández and Redondo, who were then 18 and 30 years old, participated in the mass protests that took place in the Mantilla neighborhood.

Their request has been supported by organizations such as Justice 11J, which stated: “What appears to be a decision not to provide protection by the United States authorities contradicts the principle of non-refoulement, which prohibits the return of a person to a country where they are at risk of being tortured, persecuted, or subjected to inhuman or degrading treatment, even if their asylum application has been denied.” continue reading

Fernández and Redondo, then aged 18 and 30, participated in the mass protests that took place in the Mantilla neighborhood of the capital in July 2021. During the demonstration, they were pepper-sprayed, beaten, and arrested. “My sister and I were locked up for 15 days without a court order. During our detention, we suffered psychological abuse, death threats, and medical neglect,” she says.

Thanks to the “superhuman efforts” of their family, both were released from prison after posting bail of 1,000 pesos each. For more than a year, while awaiting trial, they had to report regularly to the police, who forced them to “sign documents under threat of returning to prison” if they engaged in any act of dissent.

In July 2022, they were finally brought to trial for contempt of court, assault, and public disorder, crimes that, according to Fernandez, were “fabricated” by State Security. Both were found guilty. Redondo was sentenced to seven years in prison and Fernández to five, which was later reduced to years of house arrest.

They were notified that they had 72 hours to voluntarily surrender to the authorities and process their return to prison.

They were notified that they had 72 hours to voluntarily surrender to authorities and process their return to prison. “Faced with the imminent repression and the well-founded fear of what awaited us, we made the most difficult decision of our lives: to flee our country. On November 13, 2022, after a journey of more than 16 hours by sea, we arrived at an uninhabitable island, exhausted and without a clear direction, but with our hope intact. We managed to survive that dangerous journey and finally reach US territory, where we requested political asylum,” she added.

After entering the United States, Fernández even had to be hospitalized “due to the extreme physical exhaustion during the flight.” Now, however, she fears that all her sacrifice will be in vain. “We ask the United States government, the immigration judges, society, and all Cuban exiles to listen to us. Our cause is not individual. It is the cause of a people who continue to demand freedom.”

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Cuba’s ‘Army of White Coats’ Joins the Protest Against Etecsa’s ‘Tarifazo’

A group of academics, artists and journalists publish a letter of “support and solidarity” with the students protesting huge price increases for internet and telephone service

Students of the Faculty of Medical Sciences of Havana / Facebook

14ymedio, Havana, 7 June 72025 — After a “process of deep reflection,” the students of the Faculty of Medical Sciences of Havana – the elite of the “army of white coats” that Fidel Castro considered unconditional defenders of the Revolution – have also joined the virtual protests against the rate increases, known as ‘el tarifazo‘ [huge rate hike], announced by Etecsa, the country’s communications monopoly. The Federación Estudiantil Universitaria (FEU) of that institution reiterated, in a cautionary statement, its “firm position” against the decision of the telecommunications monopoly on prices.

The letter, spread on social networks, is a reaction to the meeting held between the FEU and the authorities of Etecsa last Thursday, in which representatives of the students proposed changes such as facilitating the creation of “new national technology companies or associated MSMEs,” to enable cash payment in both pesos and dollars, to reduce the dependence on digital platforms such as Transfermobile and to “promote agreements with countries such as China or Russia to obtain financing and improve the technological infrastructure.” However, the answers given by the authorities were, it says, “insufficient and evasive.”

Raising the tone, the medical students reproached Etecsa for ignoring “the structural needs of millions” and proposing minimal solutions that do not solve the main problem. “We do not accept that a part of the student population should be privileged while workers, scientists, teachers, the elderly and our own families are excluded.”

They also pointed to the FEU administrative authority in the University, from which they expected the “leadership,” “accompaniment” and “support” that “never arrived.” “The absence of our superiors at decisive moments was not only strategic, it was symbolic: an expression of the abandonment that we are no longer willing to tolerate,” says the document in which, a few paragraphs later, the FEU of the faculty breaks with the administration: “They don’t represent us!” continue reading

After ensuring that they will not admit “empty structures or disconnected hierarchies,” the students called on other university faculties of the Island to join in the student demands

After assuring that they will not admit “empty structures or disconnected hierarchies”, the students called on other university faculties of the Island to join in the student demands. “We are not alone. We join the wave of courageous announcements from sister faculties (…). There can be no development without connectivity. There can be no revolutionary morality without the right to criticism. There can be no justice if the majority is sacrificed in favor of a few.”

Similar notes of “rejection” and “disagreement” with the measures of Etecsa have been published by students from other careers, such as Tourism in Havana in recent days. There have also been videos of young people holding meetings with authorities in which they question the decisions of a system that “does not solve” problems and that, despite the daily crises, “takes away what allowed us to escape from reality.”

Etecsa’s policies, which they accuse of violating the contract that obliges the company to notify the population of any change in its services one month in advance, “is not a mistake, it is a pattern,” continues one of the students in these meetings. “How often are decisions taken that affect millions without consulting us? (…) We are taught to resist, but that is not synonymous with submission,” they say.

There is also a message circulating on social networks and WhatsApp groups of dubious origin calling for a “mobilization” of students to hold sit-ins in front of universities and marches on campuses. This text has been denounced as false by the activist Yamilka Lafita, who said that this type of communication ends up “tarnishing and delegitimizing the civic, critical and honest work being done by students from various faculties in the country.”

“This type of content, manufactured by interests outside the student body, only serves to divide, confuse and stop the conscious awakening of those who, from the classrooms, are demanding rights, dignity and real participation,” she highlighted on her Facebook page, which she manages under the name of Lara Crofs.

Other sections of the population have also expressed their discontent and supported the students’ demands. This is the case of a group of academics and intellectuals who have written a letter in “support and solidarity with the students of the Island, calling on the international community to defend the students and teachers from reprisals that they are suffering for making their claims public.”

Other sectors of the population have also expressed their discontent and supported the students’ claims

“For the first time in decades, the Cuban student community, honoring old republican traditions of participation in political and social affairs, has raised its voice in the face of this outrage, even calling for a national university strike,” says the text, adding: “It has become a target of the repressive machinery of the regime, which has already launched an information manipulation campaign, because it hopes that a similar persecution will be unleashed against them as was used against the protesters of July 2021.” At the bottom of the statement, dozens of activists, artists and intellectuals have left their signatures.

The citizen platform Archipelago has also put in writing its “admiration” for the university students, who have decided not only to protest but have called for a student strike. “Who said the young people were lost? You are the protagonists of a unique moment, and you are regaining the hopes of millions. You are making history,” it published, thanking the young people for showing that “Cuba is alive.”.

Despite the unprecedented mobilization that the country is experiencing against a decision taken by the regime, the authorities have made it clear that they will not back down, arguing that Etecsa needs currency to guarantee its services and that there is no other option.

Last Thursday, the law students at Holguín University went one step further and filed a lawsuit against the telecommunications monopoly that probably no court will admit. The students questioned the ’tarifazo’ on mobile and data services, describing it as “exclusive, classist and contrary to the law,” supporting their claim in the Constitution and the Penal Code.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Two Teenagers Struck by Lightning in Cuba Died and a Girl Drowned in Artemis

The boys were identified by some neighbors on social networks as Luis Antonio and Maicol

14ymedio, Havana, June 8, 2025 — The municipality of Bauta, in the province of Artemisa, experienced a day of mourning after several fatal events resulted in the deaths of three minors. In the first case, a three-year-old girl drowned on the beach, and two teenagers, 13 and 16, were struck by lightning.

According to the official press, which barely revealed details about the incidents, the girl and her family lived in the municipality of Caimito but were allegedly on holiday in a house at Playa Baracoa.

In the case of the teenagers, the local newspaper, El Artemiseño, said they were struck by lightning around 5:30 pm on Saturday while playing football “outdoors” in the neighborhood of Pita, in the popular council Urban 2 of Bauta. The boys were identified by some neighbors on social networks as Luis Antonio and Maicol, without giving any last names. continue reading

They were struck by lightning near 5:30 pm on Saturday while playing “outdoor” soccer in the Pita neighborhood

While in other countries warnings are frequent to the population to take shelter when there are thunderstorms, the weather reports on the island rarely include calls to the population to protect themselves from lightning, which is usually fatal when it hits someone.

In July 2020, two people died and 12 others were injured in the municipality of Florida, Camagüey, due to an electric shock. The victims of the accident were traveling along a road in the territory when they were struck by lightning, and the survivors had to be admitted to local hospitals.

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

At that time, lightning deaths exceeded those caused by hurricanes, tornadoes and other natural phenomena, although the erosion of infrastructure and lack of resources to protect citizens may have influenced these figures in recent years.

Translation by Regina Anavy

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With Months of Delay in Cuba Due to Non-Payment of Imports, Distribution of Liquefied Gas Begins

Priority will be given to customers who have not been served “since January or earlier.”

Ship with liquefied gas at the dock of the Hermanos Díaz refinery, in Santiago de Cuba / Cubdebate

14ymedio, Havana, 27 May 2025 — After the funds were completed to pay for the ship that is at the international dock of the Hermanos Díaz refinery in Santiago de Cuba, the discharge of liquefied gas began on Tuesday, confirmed the Unión Cuba Petróleo (Cupet). The government’s insolvency has prevented supplies to 1.7 million households in recent months, leaving ships waiting weeks before they can deliver their goods.

Last Thursday the first deputy minister of the Ministry of Energy and Mines, Argelio Jesús Abad Vigoa, said that two or three days after the start of marketing liquefied gas in the eastern provinces, distribution will extend to the west of the country.

The director of the Territorial Division for Marketing of Fuel, Lisset González Sardinas, said that “the organizational conditions of distribution and marketing are created,” so “100 percent coverage in a period of 24 days is expected.”

As part of the logistics, it was indicated that the Ticket application will come into operation, “for which 80 daily shifts will be released, with customers occupying a separate line.” This became three lines, along with the composition of the support team that would lead the organization of the point of sale at each marketing point. continue reading

As part of the logistics, it was indicated that the Ticket application will come into operation, “for which 80 daily shifts will be released, with customers occupying an independent line”

According to the plan, “14,000 cylinders per day are expected to be extracted from the cylinder filling plant for transport to the centers in Santiago de Cuba and the rest of the territories.” Although the planned production includes the extraction of 4,000 cylinders in the morning and 3,500 in the afternoon, this will depend on whether there are no “setbacks in the industry.”

At least 164 cylinders will be taken every day to each marketing point and “will be sold to customers, who since January or before, have not received liquefied gas.” It has been specified that in the two following turns those people will be given preference who bought until the February 15, and the distribution will continue like this, with the following turns being sold to the rest of the customers successively.

“Each customer will buy only once, regardless of the cycle interval of their group. Until all of the customers are served, they will not be able to make a new purchase. This decision seeks to cover all the demand that exists today,” published the newspaper Sierra Maestra.

According to information disseminated by Granma, the liquefied gas will be supplied to “care centers, educational institutions and others of social importance”. Each province was left to implement a strategy and to do so quickly.

This Tuesday the priority of supply of liquefied gas will be the population that lives in tall buildings, such as those on the 18 floors of Garzón and Martí. On Wednesday, the supply includes the residents of the 18 floors of Micro 9, along with other tall buildings in the city, such as the 20 floors located in the municipality of Trocha, Versalles and Block J of the José Martí Urban Center.

Due to the lack of liquefied gas, Cubans have filled the cylinders with methane gas / Cupet

The distribution also includes sales outlets for commercial houses in the towns of El Cobre, Melgarejo and Boniato. After that, it will cover those located in the districts of Antonio Maceo and Abel Santamaría, which includes the village of El Caney. Santiago de Cuba will be supplied on alternate days. Beginning on the ninth day, distribution will occur in the settlements of El Brujo, Sevilla, El Espardillo and El Castillito.

The despair over the lack of liquefied gas in Sancti Spíritus, Villa Clara, Ciego de Ávila, Matanzas and Cienfuegos encouraged all kinds of risky practices such as filling cylinders with natural methane gas instead of liquefied gas. This means that the small cylinders are subjected to twice the pressure, with the danger of an explosion.

“It’s a risky time bomb in our kitchens, because liquefied gas is denser than natural gas, and natural gas spreads faster and is more volatile in the air,” warned a young man worked at the Methane Gas Plant.

The first deputy minister of the Ministry of Energy and Mines said that in the case of the central provinces from Villa Clara to Ciego de Ávila, “they will continue to be supplied with the products of the Cienfuegos Refinery.” The official acknowledged that the shortage is “one of the major current problems for cooking food, and it is one of the causes of the increase in demand for electricity.”

Eleven days after the triumphant announcement of the completion of maintenance at the Cienfuegos refinery, the official newspaper Vanguardia confirmed that the shutdown of the refinery was due to the slow arrival of the ship carrying the crude oil, because “it had a technical failure which prevented its arrival as planned.” Domestic gas production covers only 13 per cent of demand, and the rest depends on increasingly expensive imports, whose price has risen by almost 40 per cent in the last six months.

Denying the optimism of the official media, “it won’t be until the weekend when the plants start and liquefied gas production is restarted,” said Irenaldo Pérez Cardoso, deputy director of Cupet. The picture does not seem to change. In Matanzas, more than 100,000 households are without cylinders and the distribution works half-way. In Havana, Artemisa and Mayabeque, about 99,000 customers did not have access to the service between October and November 2024.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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The Owner of ‘Cuban Costco’ is on a Hunger and Thirst Strike in the Combinado Del Este Prison

“He’s been ‘planted’ hard [refused to cooperate with prison authorities] and in solitary confinement,” says a relative of Frank Cuspinera.

Frank Cuspinera, in a photo from two years ago / Instagram

14ymedio, Havana, June 6, 2025 — As announced, Frank Cuspinera, owner of Diplomarket, the “Cuban Costco”, imprisoned in the Combinado del Este, has been on a hunger and thirst strike since June 1. “He’s standing firm” tells 14ymedio a relative of the Cuban-American businessman who calls himself Luis for fear of reprisals.

Cuspinera has been taken to an isolation cell. “He cannot receive visitors or make calls,” says Luis. He reports that the authorities called the businessman’s wife, Camila Castro, who is out of jail but also being investigated for the same crimes Cuspinera is accused of – tax evasion, currency trafficking and money laundering – to tell her that they are concerned about her husband’s health.

Castro went to jail this Thursday, called by the authorities to perform “family dynamics,” says Luis. This is what they call it, “when the relatives of a ’plantado’ are brought in to convince him to stop the strike”. He goes on: “They wanted to bring in the family dynamic without even knowing Frank’s emotional profile, without even having found out the reasons why he’s carrying out the strike. Obviously they were only complying with an institutional protocol, so it will be recorded in some file that they did what they had to do and called the family.”

His wife went to the jail this Thursday, called by the authorities to perform “family dynamics”

For the family, there is no real worry or professional psychological work behind it, so neither Cuspinera’s mother nor his wife accepted the “dynamics.” All of them fear, says Luis, that the entrepreneur will end up in the hospital “faster than we think” if he continues not to ingest liquids – the human body survives only a few days without water. continue reading

Cuspinera announced his hunger strike in a handwritten letter signed on May 21 and sent from the Combinado del Este, almost a year after his arrest with no news of his whereabouts. In it, he made “an appeal to the international community, to international and human rights bodies,” as well as to the United States Department of State, “to intervene with the Cuban institutions for the constant violations of my rights and the denial of legal guarantees for my defense by the Cuban state institutions and their representatives.”

The businessman complained that he was manipulated by State Security and the Cuban judicial apparatus, “which are viciously activated against me” and which managed, with “multiple falsehoods”, to accuse him “without the right of defense”.

Several Diplomarket workers are being investigated and ’regulated’

All this was confirmed to 14ymedio by Luis, who gave details about the case, since the Diplomarket was closed and its owners arrested on June 20, 2024. After receiving the visit of officials from the National Tax Administration Office (ONAT) who “had a complaint for tax evasion, without having done a prior audit”, the Technical Directorate of Investigations (DTI) appeared in the supermarket. The entrepreneurs were arrested and their business licenses taken away “immediately” from both Cuspinera SURL, the firm under which the supermarket operated, and Kmila-mart, his wife’s company, leaving them “inoperable”.

A former collaborator of Cuspinera and Castro, who also requests anonymity, tells this newspaper that several Diplomarket workers now are “regulated“; that is, they are not allowed to leave the country. “There are several people who have tried to leave Cuba; no one informed them of anything, and when they got to the airport they were told that they couldn’t leave and lost their plane tickets,” says the source.

“When you go to see the instructor, Major Yiset Oliva Betancourt, she tells you that you cannot leave the country because all the workers in that company are under investigation.” The situation, the man denounces, goes against the Constitution, which in article 52 decrees freedom of movement.

One month before the operation against Diplomarket, the company’s accountant left the country without notice

A third source related to Cuspinera, whom we will call Olga, says that one month before the operation against Diplomarket, the founder of the company’s accounting department and the wife of the general manager of Kmila-mart, “left the country without meeting the review period for their work and without prior notice”. According to Olga, the managers of the company later discovered that “there were bad procedures in their work,” and they undertook an “internal audit.”

At the time of arrest, Olga says, “there were already indications of capital misappropriation and defaults,” but the investigation could not be concluded due to the closing of commercial operations. “Some time after her husband left the country, it became known that they are both in the United States,” says the woman, who cannot confirm “how much could have been diverted.”

The couple’s behavior in any case, is “highly suspect,” and “the authorities have not taken this into account, making Frank solely responsible.”

Luis, who categorically denied that Cuspinera was associated in any way with the regime, ventured before 14ymedio a few days ago that what happened may have to do with the success achieved by the Cuban-American, and that, once arrested, the State Security “pulled” all the information about the operation of Diplomarket to implement the “model” in the current dollar stores, inaugurated on the last day of December with the Supermarket 3rd and 70th.

“Here everyone knows that all the MSMEs do currency trafficking, because when they enacted the laws for private companies it was done knowing that there would never be availability in the bank to obtain the currency legally. It is known that the largest percentage of everything sold in Cuba are imported products obtained with foreign exchange transactions, because nothing is produced here, so you have to import to produce later,” said the source. “They let you run knowing that they have the power to invoke this crime when they don’t want to let you run anymore, and they choose MSMEs that got out of their hands to eliminate them.”

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Law Students in Holguín, Cuba, File a Lawsuit Against Etecsa for the ‘Tarifazo’: Phone and Internet Rate Increases

The new prices violate educational rights and deepen social inequalities.

View of the Holguín boulevard taken from the intersection of Martí and Libertad streets / Luis Ernesto/Visión desde Cuba

14ymedio, Holguin, June 7, 2025 — Law Students at the University of Holguín filed a formal lawsuit against the Cuban Telecommunications Company S.A. (Etecsa), in a gesture unprecedented in the recent history of the country. The students questioned the recent mobile and data services rate increases — commonly referred to as the ’tarifazo’ — supporting their claim in the Constitution, the Penal Code and various national regulations. The signatories consider this measure -defended and maintained yesterday afternoon by President Miguel Díaz-Canel – as “exclusivist, classist and contrary to law.”

The demand was made public by the students themselves through their social networks. One of them, René Javier, wrote on Facebook: “Every jurist, whether trained or in training, has a duty to fight against three giants: fear, injustice and ignorance.”

On the basis of articles 384 and 385 of the current Penal Code, the plaintiffs reject any “institution or public official who objects to the exercise of the right of free, direct and unsupervised consultation,” as well as “those who exercise coercion, detention, harassment, separation or institutional sanction against any student, teacher or worker.”

According to the students, the state-owned Etecsa violated its own contractual terms – specifically points 7 and 19 – by imposing price changes without prior notice, in breach of the clause requiring notification of any change at least 30 days in advance. The president of the company, Tania Velázquez, justified this decision by claiming that it sought to avoid “anxiety” in customers and “actions” by the population. continue reading

In the document – written in legal language and supported by constitutional arguments – the signatories warn that the new price increase not only violates educational and communication rights, but also deepens social inequalities. The limitation of service to only 6 GB and sectoral solutions represent “a social segmentation of Cuban society,” they said.

The students also challenged any attempt to delegitimize their thinking, falsely accusing them of acting under “manipulation, interference or external intervention.” The president himself, Diaz-Canel, in his podcast From the Presidency, denied that there was any conflict with the student body and stated that the news about protests and academic stoppage were a fabrication of “a totally despicable matrix.”

Although they do not have the backing of the ruling Federation of University Students (FEU), which parrots the interests of the Communist Party of Cuba, the students also condemn the partial dollarization of internet access through establishing re-charges from abroad. They consider that this system excludes those sectors of the population that do not receive remittances and reinforces the social gap between those who have access to foreign currency and those who depend exclusively on wages in Cuban pesos.

“This is not only an economic issue,” said René Javier, the young man from Holguín, but a flagrant violation of the right to information, fairness and personal development.”

The students also propose a meeting for dialogue with Etecsa between June 6 and 13, to find a consensual and peaceful solution to the crisis that is affecting a large part of the population. However, they make it clear that they reject any attempt at political instrumentalization or co-optation by official structures. Neither the FEU nor the management of the Faculty of Social Sciences of the University of Holguín showed their support, so the signatories reject any gesture of support after the publication of the document.

“We request a firm response from the defendant,” they conclude, “to declare our claim admissible with all its pronouncements in the required period.”

Translated by Regina Anavy

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The Cuban Regime Dismisses Citizen Protests Against Etecsa’s Rate Hike, ‘el Tarifazo’

Díaz-Canel justifies the increase in internet prices: “I see it as a tactical retreat.”

Díaz-Canel categorically denied any conflict with the students. / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Yunior García Aguilera, Madrid, 5 June 2025 — The podcast “Desde la presidencia,” [From the Presidency] broadcast this Thursday on the State TV’s Round Table program, confirmed what was already evident: the absolute disconnection of the Cuban regime’s bureaucracy from the debates and real demands of the citizenry. It took Miguel Díaz-Canel a week to address the crisis following the unpopular Etecsa rate increases for phone and internet service. And he did so by repeating the same justifications of the last few days and making it clear that, if there are changes, they will be minimal, because the essentials remain the same. “If we don’t apply them, we would be very close to technological collapse,” he said of the controversial rates.

Faced with widespread criticism that the thirteenfold increase and disguised dollarization of the state-run telecommunications monopoly’s rates had come at the worst possible time, the president’s response was a gem of political cynicism: “There’s never been a better time.” And as if that weren’t enough, he added: “I see it as a tactical retreat. We were moving forward and forward, we have to stop and step back a bit, accumulate what we need, so as not to deny the development we need in the immediate present and in the future.”

To support the new rates, the officials accompanying the president, the Vice Minister of Communications, Ernesto Rodríguez Hernández, and the president of Etecsa, Tania Velázquez, provided a wealth of technical data, including a graph showing revenues—on a downward slope—and data consumption, crossing in the opposite direction. Among the most striking data was the number of radio base stations, of which there are 5,600 on the island, half of which lack power backup.

Among the most striking data was that of the radio bases, of which there are 5,600 on the Island, half of them without power backup.

“Today, depending on its design, a base station connects between 900 and 3,000 people. So, when it goes down, we’re talking about 3,000 users immediately losing connection, losing communication,” Velázquez specified. Purchasing a new one costs $100,000, she said, “and that’s money we don’t have available. Neither to replace nor to expand coverage, continue reading

for example, in 4G, which only covers 50% of the country and 50% of the population.”

There’s also the shortage of battery banks, she added. About 2,800 are needed to replace damaged ones, but each one costs $1,500. Adding to the total, there are 25,000 landline telephones that have been without service for six months because there is no money to repair them, and new cell phones can’t be sold because of a shortage of SIM cards.

With this litany of shortcomings, what is inexplicable, not to say negligent, is the failure to plan investments in time to reverse the situation. But Díaz-Canel, as if the problem had just arrived, said that the rate increase is something that “we are obliged to take if we want—and it is what we want—to save, first and foremost, a basic service for the population, and one essential for advancing the country’s digital transformation.”

Knowing, however, that the population is up in arms against this colossal blow—which is occurring at the same time they are seeing more and more hotels being built that are never filled—he offered, in his own way, a meager apology. “It is necessary to recognize where we have failed in communicating or designing them,” he admitted regarding the new measures. And in a seemingly conciliatory manner, he said: “The leadership of the Revolution will never shy away from dialogue with the people, because our reason for being is precisely to serve the people.”

“The leadership of the Revolution will never shy away from dialogue with the people, because our reason for being is precisely to serve the people.”

In recent days, the internal fracture these measures have caused within the state apparatus itself has been laid bare. This isn’t just about ETECSA. The decisions were pushed by the head of government, Manuel Marrero Cruz, and blessed since late 2024 by the leadership of the Cuban Communist Party (PCC). But, faced with popular fury, both Díaz-Canel and Marrero preferred to throw the company’s executives into the crossfire, using them as a shield.

And yet, the rift opened. Last Saturday, from his Facebook wall, the very official Ernesto Limia Díaz—vice president of the Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba (UNEAC) and a trusted essayist of the regime—publicly attacked the prime minister. He began his message by aligning himself with Díaz-Canel, whom he called “our president” and showering him with praise for his actions during previous crises. But then he mentioned Marrero—without titles or affection—and demanded that he show his face. In an unexpected outburst, he wrote that it was he who should “undo wrongs,” blaming him directly for the rate increase.

His courage didn’t last long. After Roberto Morales Ojeda—known as the “guillotine of cadres” within the PCC—posted a call to “close ranks,” Limia reversed course. In his new post , with a melancholic tone and barricade-like vocabulary, he spoke of “shooting ourselves in the foot,” blamed “Marco Rubio and the Batista clique,” and asked, with selective memory: “Strikes for what?” The story, apparently, weighs more than 6 GB.

La Manigua Telegram Group, home to the most radical and violent sectors of the ruling party. / Screenshot

The Cuban student rebellion, however, has already crossed the Atlantic. Even the podcast La Base—a sanctuary of former Spanish leader Pablo Iglesias—devoted a special episode to the topic. The only interviewee from the island, paradoxically, was not a student, but Ernesto Teuma, a member of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC). His testimony was equally damning: he acknowledged that the current bureaucracy, “in the absence of Fidel, has failed to build itself with a new generation of leaders.” The comrade’s statement left the presenters speechless, after almost an hour of prelude heavy on nostalgic sentimentality and external justifications.

In the podcast broadcast by Cuban Television, the president of Etecsa acknowledged that limiting consumption to 6 GB was a deliberate strategy to push customers to seek international top-ups. It is precisely this diaspora, denied the right to express their opinions and accused of spreading “scurrilous ideas,” that the state monopoly intends to exploit even further to keep its finances afloat.

For his part, Díaz-Canel categorically denied any conflict with the students. He said the photos, videos, and testimonies circulating on social media about the academic strike—without ever mentioning the word “strike”—are manipulations by “counterrevolutionary hate platforms.” But university channels themselves have published minutes, communications, and interventions that contradict the president. The strike is a fact, as is the call for the resignation of the leaders of the University Student Federation, accused of not representing anyone who doesn’t wear an official guayabera.

In the Telegram group La Manigua, the cradle of the most radical and violent sectors of the ruling party, user Yuri Aguiar Luna published a warning this Thursday that seems to reflect the preference of some sectors of the regime for repression rather than dialogue: “I’m reminding some of the kids at MatCom (Faculty of Mathematics and Computing) that yesterday, June 4, was the anniversary of Tiananmen.”

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The Council for the Democratic Transition in Cuba Announces its First Convention Inside the Island

“The country is in transition, even though the regime denies it. The challenge is to organize, channel, and sustain this transition in an ethical, peaceful, and democratic manner.”

The CTDC was founded weeks before the historic protests of 11J / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Havana, June 6, 2025 — In the midst of growing social unrest and the recent university protests in Cuba following the strike over Etecsa’s price increases, the Council for the Democratic Transition in Cuba (CTDC) announced this Friday the holding of its First Democratic Convention, under the motto “We are in transition.” The event, which will take place from tomorrow, Saturday, and will last for several weeks, seeks to map out a citizen’s path to the democratic future of the country.

With citizens’ rights and the rule of law as central tenets, the meeting aims to build concrete proposals from Cuban civil society, involving both citizens living on the island and Cubans in exile.

During the first 14 days, more than 900 Cubans will participate in 100 assemblies

The Convention will be divided into two phases: an initial phase of citizen discussion, face-to-face meetings in various locations throughout the country, and a subsequent phase of institutional deliberation. During the first 14 days, more than 900 Cubans will participate in 100 open citizens’ assemblies in different parts of the country. This stage aims to collect local diagnoses, identify priorities and build a Citizens’ Agenda, nourished by the aspirations, demands and proposals of the participants.

According to the CTDC, this phase continues a preliminary process of deliberation that has been developed in recent years in closed spaces, often discreetly, to avoid reprisals. continue reading

The second phase, which is institutional in nature and through online platforms, will bring together organizations affiliated with the Council and independent actors both within and outside the country. This segment will focus on the internal consolidation of the CTDC and the elaboration of a democratic vision with a State perspective, based on principles such as separation of powers, respect for human rights and priority attention to political prisoners.

Several CTDC members are currently in prison

Several of its members are currently in prison, including its president, José Daniel Ferrer, and vice-president, Félix Navarro. Both opponents were part of the group of prisoners released last January, under an agreement between the regime and the Vatican, and returned to prison eight days after the death of Pope Francis.

The event is held at a crucial moment, as the Council itself warns, marked by the hardening of authoritarianism, the growing discredit of the Cuban regime and the need to offer alternatives structured from civil society. The Convention aims to become a space for civic articulation and legitimacy in the face of the State’s lack of institutional representation.

“The country is in transition, even if the regime denies it,” says the statement. “The challenge is to order, channel and sustain this transition in an ethical, peaceful and democratic way”.

The Council was founded in Cuba on June 14, 2021 – a few weeks before the historic protests of 11J [11 July 2021] – and acquired international legal personality after its legal formalization before a public notary in Spain on January 14, 2022, where the articles of association and the founding document were certified. This process included their legalization before the Madrid Notarial College, the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Spain, as well as before the Consulate General of Cuba in Madrid, fulfilling all the requirements for legitimacy required by Spanish law. Finally, the CTDC was annotated on April 5, 2022, in accordance with the Hague Convention, giving it international validity. The entire process was managed by attorney Ernesto Gutiérrez Tamargo, legal coordinator of the Council.

“The country is in transition, even if the regime denies it”, says the statement

At the time of its founding, 14 organizations converged in an unprecedented union. Today, the Council is composed of 28 independent organizations and actors, who are committed to collective work, democratic institutions and plurality as pillars of change.

On its fourth anniversary, the CTDC says that “We are in transition” is not just a slogan, but “an affirmation of the present and a call to imagine, build and sustain a free, plural and peaceful Cuba.”

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Etecsa’s Phone and Internet Rate Hikes, the ‘Tarifazo’, Fracture the FEU, the Student Pillar of the Cuban Regime

Students at the Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science at the University of Havana announced an indefinite academic strike that will begin today if nothing changes.

The University of Havana’s FEU (Federal University of Havana) has proclaimed that the organization is united, but the different ways of addressing this crisis are generating a lot of talk. / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Madrid, June 4, 2025 — The situation is complicated for the Cuban government after the unrest generated by the enormous increase in the prices of the state-owned telecommunications company Etecsa. Although the authorities announced this Monday a battery of measures with which they intend to calm minds in the education sector, the storm does not subside, and students of the Faculty of Mathematics and Computing (Matcom) of the University of Havana (UH) announced an indefinite academic strike that will begin today, if nothing changes.

The students released a statement on social networks – later restricted to followers, but not deleted – calling for them to join the protest “bearing in mind that the explanations given in the debate spaces between student bodies and the managers of Etecsa [the State telecommunications company] have not given feasible solutions to the people’s demands.” The students have three fundamental demands, the first being the reversal of the rates announced last Friday, May 30, which multiplied by 13 times the previous prices for some options and prioritized payment in dollars from outside Cuba.

The organizers call for an open meeting with those responsible for what has come to be called the “tarifazo“* and promise to contribute to the analysis and proposal of solutions by sharing their knowledge. They also call for the whole of society to be involved in finding a way out of the situation, and this is perhaps the most significant demand, although it is the most generic. The communiqué closes with a declaration of intent, beginning with a closing of ranks with the regime, and requesting that the response not be limited to the academic sector.

The communiqué closes with a declaration of intent, beginning with a closing of ranks with the regime, and requesting that the response not be limited to the academic sector

“We invite the management of our University of Havana to recognize this legitimate protest, in terms of being a public institution that must represent its students, as it has shown with total interest and conviction so far, to avoid misrepresentation in our revolutionary and honest intentions, which are not content with privileges for the university students but in clear continue reading

solutions for the people,” demands the statement.

The words do not seem to have found an echo in the University of Havana’s board, which has responded to the call indirectly indicating that meetings were held with those responsible for Etecsa, and the solution must be in this dialogue. “It must be made clear that nothing and no one will interrupt our teaching processes with calls that are totally out of touch with the spirit which has animated exchanges with student and youth organizations,” they warned in a veiled allusion to the call, which became private shortly after publication, as announced by the same officials.

“The Matcom Telegram channel was not deleted. We made it private because people from outside the faculty are entering the group of our institution, and we want to moderate the intentions that can be projected. It is a measure taken by the FEU students themselves to protect the purity of our cause,” they say in a Facebook post, where it was shown that at least part of the University Student Federation, members from the Communist Party machinery who support the regime, are supporting these initiatives.

This was confirmed by the publication of a letter from the FEU Council and the Committee of the Union of Young Communists of the Technological University of Havana José Antonio Echeverría (CUJAE), drawn up on the basis of the measures for the student sector announced on Monday. In it, both organizations jointly claim to address the demands of their students when it comes to expressing “again” their dissatisfaction and requesting “more concrete and inclusive solutions in a timely manner,” as well as a “more respectful” position from the Etecsa management.

In the letter, officials who participated in the previous day’s Round Table are accused of “lack of technical rigor in explanations”

In the letter, officials who participated in the previous day’s State TV Round Table program are accused of “lack of technical rigor in explanations” by presenting contradictory graphs on the average consumption of internet data. Although they accept that there is a “cruel impact of the blockade”** and an “urgent need for foreign exchange,” they denounce that “unacceptable inequalities are being generated in a socialist system,” arguing that there can be no privileges for the teaching community. “If the internet should ’prioritize sectors that support the country’s development’, this restriction limits that goal,” they claim.

The letter contains strong criticism of Etecsa, which they accuse of contradicting itself and taking insufficient measures, such as allowing university students to buy two bonuses at the most basic level and hiding the exchange rate used for extra packages, even though it’s obviously the informal rate, plus an abusive lack of transparency. “It is not correct nor is it revolutionary practice to give us news of an immediate implementation without any capacity for reaction or preparation,” they say.

The FEU and the UJC [Young Communist Leagues] launch a battery of proposals to make the borrowing of foreign currency compatible by reducing the damage to the population, including plans segmented by applications, night bonuses for downloads and the extension of benefits designed for students to other sectors, such as professionals and vulnerable groups. “The official solutions have not lived up to the popular demand. They have had disrespectful positions,” they say.

Some official channels and people related to the regime, including the organizer of the El Vedado gas stations and the social group Gente de Barrio organized by Pedro Garcés, have claimed that there are communiqués circulating from several universities “that are false [and] seek to alter the state of opinion and give a general character to this call from the students.” However, the CUJAE letter is not only real and can be downloaded in pdf from the Telegram channel AlmaCujae, but it is also confirmed in another publication of the organization in which Cibercuba is accused of manipulating the news by illustrating it with a photo showing a crowd of students.

Anti-government graffiti this Tuesday at the University of Sancti Spíritus. / networks

“That photo is taken from the start of the course at which Buena Fe was giving a welcome concert,” says the post, despite the fact that the independent media indicates it in the caption. The content of the article, however, is not questionable or slanted.

The FEU of the UH has expressed its opposition, warning that it is in favor of creating a “multidisciplinary group to work with Etecsa” and that it supports the students, but rejects ” media manipulation [and] attempts to alter the normality of university life. We stress the need to respect the importance of the educational teaching process in the current context. The FEU is and will remain revolutionary”, it stressed.

But the fracture is visible in the announcement of the same organization in the Cujae, which uses an energetic and forceful tone against the forms and decisions that, although they have been announced by the company, were taken by the government, As evidenced by the interventions of the Prime Minister, Manuel Marrero, and senior officials of the Ministry of Communications. Miguel Díaz-Canel himself has expressed his support for the measures taken “in view of the urgent need to maintain and develop an essential service,” and he has promised to explain them better in his podcast Desde la presidencia, which is usually presented on Thursdays every two weeks. However, all indications are that it could be advanced to tomorrow.

The tension is high, even though last night Deputy Prime Minister Eduardo Martínez Díaz appeared on television for another tedious Round Table in which he insisted on exactly the same thing that had been said 24 hours before. “These limitations, although painful, are temporary and respond to the complex economic situation of the country,” he repeated. At about the same time, two agents of the Ministry of the Interior were zealously erasing graffiti from a wall in front of the Universidad José Martí de Sancti Spíritus: “Down with the dictatorship.”

Translator’s notes:

*’Tarif’ translates as ‘price and the ‘azo’ ending in Cuban Spanish is a ’magnifier’. Thus, in this case, the term means roughly: “the gigantic price increase thing”

**There is, in fact, no US ‘blockade’ on Cuba, but this continues to be the term the Cuban government prefers to apply to the ongoing US embargo. During the Cuban Missile Crisis the US ordered a Naval blockade (which it called a ‘quarantine’) on Cuba in 1962, between 22 October and 20 November of that year. The blockade was lifted when Russia agreed to remove its nuclear missiles from the Island. The embargo had been imposed earlier in February of the same year, and although modified from time to time, it is still in force.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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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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