On the 1180 kHz AM frequency, only Radio Reloj and Radio Rebelde can be heard, “and between them, a huge noise”
14ymedio, Havana, 1 April 2025 — Not in Havana nor in other places in central Cuba, such as Villa Clara, nor by climbing onto rooftops, nor even by adapting antennas to old equipment. The task of tuning into Radio Martí on the island, via AM radio, has been fruitless these days, almost a week after the station resumed part of its programming.
On the 1180 kHz frequency, the AM band on which the station reported broadcasting, “you can only hear Radio Reloj and Radio Rebelde, and there’s a tremendous noise between them,” testifies a resident of the Havana municipality of Plaza de la Revolución. “The band is empty; there’s a dark void there,” says a technician who tried to pick up the signal from Central Havana with a Cuban antenna, “installing a spiral of copper wire with six turns, which is what’s used for AM.” This signal is frequently jammed by the regime and barely reaches the island’s northern coast.
Last Wednesday, the 26th, around 50 federal employees of Radio and TV Martí and its website returned to their jobs, and that same day, some of its programs, such as Las Noticias Como Son (The News As It Is)mreturned to the air. However, the measure did not extend to the 20 or so “contractors,” that is external collaborators of the state-owned company.
Those who are federal employees at the headquarters, on the other hand, “have not been authorized to return to their posts.”
This is one of the reasons why the station doesn’t yet broadcast on shortwave, which avoids interference and reaches Cuba more effectively. The technicians in Greenville, North Carolina, where these transmitters are located, are not federal employees. And those who are federal employees at that headquarters, moreover, “have not been authorized to return to their posts,” a worker who requested anonymity told 14ymedio. “The contractors’ contracts were canceled.”
Last week, optimism prevailed. Opposition leader José Daniel Ferrer, leader of the Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU) and one of those who had raised his voice for the reestablishment of Martí Noticias’ operations, stated that he had received “positive news that it could resume operations later.” Today, the outlook is bleaker. The media employee laments: “Management is making efforts, but the bureaucracy doesn’t understand.”
As part of the drastic cuts recklessly implemented by his new administration, Donald Trump ordered the suspension of federally funded media operations through an executive order, citing, among other reasons, that they represented a high cost to taxpayers without any return.
On Saturday, March 15, Radio and TV Martí employees received a letter informing them of the start of an “administrative leave” for all employees, without suspension of pay. A day later, the employees also received an email informing them that they must cease their work “immediately” and that they would not be allowed access to the agency’s facilities or operational systems. The message indicated that the dismissal would be official as of March 31 at 11:59 p.m.
“I haven’t listened it on the radio in a long time,” “I tune in through the internet,” “I don’t even have a radio.”
The situation has kept all of the outlet’s channels, which belong to the United States Agency for Global Media (USAGM), grounded. This includes Voice of America (VOA) and other outlets, such as Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), also suspended by Washington.
Last Friday, Manhattan federal judge J. Paul Oetken declared that he would temporarily block the dismantling of the USAGM. After an initial hearing in the case brought by VOA lawyers, the judge ruled that the decision to shut down several public media outlets was “arbitrary and capricious,” given that the budget for this year had already been approved by the United States Congress.
Judge Royce C. Lamberth of the District of Columbia Court also granted a motion filed by the station against Usagm, stating that it “cannot, with a single sentence of reasoning that offers virtually no explanation, force RFE/RL to shut down, even if the president has ordered it to do so.”
The lawsuit, filed on March 18, argued that denying Congressional appropriations violates federal law and the Constitution, which grants Congress sole control over federal spending.
The return of the shortwave signal doesn’t, in any case, guarantee the return of Radio Martí’s audience inside Cuba. “I haven’t listened to it on the radio for a long time,” “I tune in online,” “I don’t even have a radio,” are some of the impressions of residents on the island.
“I think the audience had dropped significantly by the time the signal was cut off,” estimates a Havana resident from El Vedado, who nevertheless laments the loss of a voice that was so important in helping Cubans understand the reality outside of what the regime was telling them, especially in the first decade after its founding by then-President Ronald Reagan in 1985. “Unfortunately, Facebook and WhatsApp finished off Radio Martí.”
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