Environment
Cuban Government Turns To New Forms Of Repression
Cuban Government Turns To New Forms Of Repression 14ymedio, Havana, 3 July 2014 — Last June, there were 198 fewer arbitrary arrests of Cuban activists and opponents compared to the same month last year, according to a report by the Cuban Commission on Human Rights and National Reconciliation, which recorded a total of 380 arrests […] Continue reading
The Unqualified Cuban Truth
Reinaldo Escobar: The Unqualified Cuban Truth / Somos+ Somos+, Leyla Belo, 23 MACH 2017 — Those who ever speak with Reinaldo cannot deny his innate genius, his sense of humor and gentleness of expression. A matter of decorum, isn’t it? That quality which is so scarce among many people nowadays. He does what he considers […] Continue reading
Human Rights Violations: How to Report them?
Human Rights Violations: How to Report them? / Somos+ Somos+, 20 March 2017 — During the last session of Academia 10/10, we were joined by renowned Prof. Moisés Rodríguez Valdés, a physicist by profession but one with ample knowledge of human rights and civil liberties. He is the chief spokesperson in Cuba for Corriente Martiana. […] Continue reading
The crisis in Venezuela, according to Cuba’s official press
The crisis in Venezuela, according to Cuba’s official press BORIS GONZÁLEZ ARENAS | La Habana | 2 de Junio de 2017 – 11:20 CEST. On Tuesday, May 23 journalist Irma Shelton Tase, of Cuban Television’s daily news broadcast, spotlighted statements made by Carlos Aquino, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of […] Continue reading
Here's why Cuba should be on Francis' agenda when he meets Trump
Here’s why Cuba should be on Francis’ agenda when he meets Trump
William M. LeoGrande | May. 11, 2017
President Donald Trump is scheduled to meet with Pope Francis in Rome
May 24, as part of the president’s first trip abroad. No specific agenda
has been announced, but the last time a U.S. president stopped by the
Vatican to see… Continue reading
Here’s why Cuba should be on Francis’ agenda when he meets Trump
Here’s why Cuba should be on Francis’ agenda when he meets Trump William M. LeoGrande | May. 11, 2017 President Donald Trump is scheduled to meet with Pope Francis in Rome May 24, as part of the president’s first trip abroad. No specific agenda has been announced, but the last time a U.S. president stopped […] Continue reading
Freedom House Rates Cuba Among the Worst Countries for the Practice of Journalism
Freedom House Rates Cuba Among the Worst Countries for the Practice of Journalism According to Freedom House, the Government “could not prevent an improvement in the scope and quality of the information available.” 14ymedio, Havana, 28 April 2017 — Freedom House has again placed Cuba among the worst countries to exercise journalism in and continues […] Continue reading
When The Abuser Is The Government
When The Abuser Is The Government 14ymedio, Generation Y, Yoani Sanchez, Havana, 4 May 2017 – I was in the third grade and the teacher chose the most aggressive girl in my class to be the room monitor. She was given carte blanche to control the other children. Later, the abuser rose to a position […] Continue reading
The Risks of Defending Human Rights in Cuba
The Risks of Defending Human Rights in Cuba / Cubalex
Cubalex, 4 April 2017 — In the cycles of the United Nations Universal
Periodic Review (UPR), held in 2009 and 2013, the Cuban State rejected
32 recommendations calling for an end to repression against human rights
defenders and lifting restrictions that impede freedom of speech,
opinion, association, assembly and peaceful… Continue reading
Emulating exclusion
Emulating exclusion ARMANDO CHAGUACEDA | Ciudad de México | 18 de Abril de 2017 – 16:03 CEST. Years back what they call “civil society” became part of my life through my early engagement in a combination of community activism and links to the few NGOs working in Cuba, followed by participation in Latin American social […] Continue reading
Eliécer Ávila, The 'New Man' Who Became An Opponent
Eliécer Ávila, The ‘New Man’ Who Became An Opponent
14ymedio, Yoani Sanchez, Havana, 8 April 2017 – Walking along the
streets with Eliécer Ávila can be a complicated task. His face is well
known thanks to a viral video broadcast almost a decade ago. However,
before fame came into his life, this young man born in Las Tunas was a… Continue reading
How Can You Fight Injustice in Cuba?
How Can You Fight Injustice in Cuba? March 20, 2017 By Osmel Ramirez Alvarez HAVANA TIMES — A political system which doesn’t have feedback, nor is founded on democratic elections, will never be able to truly fight injustice, anywhere! If those who rule the country and decide for the rest of us what will happen […] Continue reading
The Internet In Cuba: Strict Control And Excessive Prices
The Internet In Cuba: Strict Control And Excessive Prices / Iván García Iván García, 30 January 2017 — Five or six abstract oil paintings are tastelessly jumbled together in the living room of a house in the west of Havana, next to a collection of laptops and ancient computers waiting to be repaired. We can […] Continue reading
A phony ‘civil society’
A phony ‘civil society’ JOSÉ HUGO FERNÁNDEZ | Miami | 10 de Enero de 2017 – 10:48 CET. We know that in totalitarian regimes history does not unfold gradually, but rather suddenly, in fits and starts. And as totalitarian efforts spawn more losses than gains, not much more can be expected of the sham civil […] Continue reading
Donald Trump crackdown looms for Cuba as repression continues after Obama outreach
Donald Trump crackdown looms for Cuba as repression continues after Obama outreach By Dave Boyer – The Washington Times – Monday, January 2, 2017 President Obama’s historic move to normalize relations with Cuba hasn’t slowed repression by the Castro regime, and the incoming Trump administration is likely to take a tougher stand on restricting tourism, […] Continue reading
Reggaeton, Reality’s Soundtrack
Reggaeton, Reality’s Soundtrack / 14ymedio, Yoani Sanchez 14ymedio, Yoani Sanchez, Havana, 27 December 2016 — The car is about to come apart at the seams every time it hits a bump in Havana’s crumbling streets. The passengers in the shared taxi vibrate with the rattling of the vehicle and the reggaeton blasting from the speakers. […] Continue reading
The One Who Left Ashes
The One Who Left Ashes / Miriam Leiva Cubanet, Miriam Leiva, Havana, November 29, 2016 – Fidel Castro died on November 25 at 10:29 p.m. and, according to his own will, his remains will be cremated, according to the brief statement read by Raúl Castro on Cuban television. at midnight. As a deceased person, the […] Continue reading
Two Years After U.S.-Cuba Opening, What’s Next Under Trump?
Two Years After U.S.-Cuba Opening, What’s Next Under Trump? by CARMEN SESIN MIAMI, Fla. — After recently returning from her first trip to Cuba, Elizabeth Díaz, 24, went to her grandmother’s house to show her pictures of the home she left behind in 1962. It still had the same furniture. Her grandmother cried looking at […] Continue reading
Prayers for greater freedom, social justice in Cuba
Prayers for greater freedom, social justice in Cuba by Father Joseph D. Wallace, December 9, 2016 Years ago, when I was in the seminary, I became friends with a fellow seminarian who is now Father Manuel Rios, pastor of Saint Mary of the Assumption Parish, in Elizabeth, N.J., and who remains a dear friend of […] Continue reading
Cuba Hopes Trump Maintains Dialogue
Cuba Hopes Trump Maintains Dialogue December 9, 2016 HAVANA TIMES – The Cuban government hopes that the next president of the United States, Donald Trump, maintains the policy of dialogue “on the basis of respect,” said diplomatic sources on Thursday, reported dpa news. “Cuba would expect the new US government to take into account these […] Continue reading
Opposition Alliance Calls To Open An Inclusive National Dialog
Opposition Alliance Calls To Open An Inclusive National Dialog / 14ymedio 14ymedio, Havana, 1 December 2016 – The Democratic Action Unity Roundtable (MUAD) has made a call to open a national dialog a few days after the death of former Cuban president Fidel Castro. The opposition alliance believes that the country is entering a new […] Continue reading
Fidel Castro – Unwitting father of modern Miami
Fidel Castro: Unwitting father of modern Miami BY ANDRES VIGLUCCI The Gateway to the Americas: That’s how Miami’s business and civic leaders would grandly if sporadically label the city in the middle of the last century. In reality, the slogan was wishful thinking, little more than the stuff of promotional brochures. Contrary to the historic […] Continue reading
Fidel Castro’s 13 Most Notorious Failures
Fidel Castro’s 13 Most Notorious Failures / 14ymedio, Zunilda Mata 14ymedio, Zunilda Mata, Havana, 30 November 2016 – Cuba’s official press and, oddly, a good part of the international media, never stop repeating that Fidel Castro brought Cubans free education and healthcare for all. Cuba was already, however, one of the most developed countries on […] Continue reading
Despite Fidel Castro’s death, few expect rapid political changes inCuba
Despite Fidel Castro’s death, few expect rapid political changes in Cuba Tracy Wilkinson, Patrick J. McDonnell and Cecilia Sanche For Amalia Cortes, a loyal member of Cuba’s “revolutionary” generation, there is no question that Fidel Castro helped transform the country for the better. “Of course I will be in the Plaza de la Revolución to […] Continue reading
Amnesty International Calls For “Urgent Action” to Support Cubalex
Amnesty International Calls For “Urgent Action” to Support Cubalex /14ymedio, Miami 14ymedio, Miami, 19 November 2016 –The non-governmental organization Amnesty International (AI) called on Friday to take “urgent action” to protect members of Cubalex, an NGO not recognized by the Cuban government against which there has been a resurgence of actions. “Since September, the Cuban […] Continue reading
Rubio, others want Trump to ditch Obama efforts to improve U.S.-Cubarelations
Rubio, others want Trump to ditch Obama efforts to improve U.S.-Cuba relations By Doug G. Ware | Updated Nov. 17, 2016 at 7:42 AM WASHINGTON, Nov. 16 (UPI) — As President-elect Donald Trump prepares to move into the White House, Republicans have rattled off a list of Obama administration projects they want overturned, including scaling […] Continue reading
Donald Trump has a choice to make on Cuba
Donald Trump has a choice to make on Cuba Ted A. Henken, author of “Entrepreneurial Cuba: The Changing Policy Landscape” Tuesday, 15 Nov 2016 | 9:17 AM ET CNBC.com One example of freer markets in Cuba is the Paladar La Cocina de Lilliam (Lilliam’s Kitchen), a home-based restaurant garden where President Jimmy Carter ate on […] Continue reading
The Thaw Is Upsetting The Penguins
The Thaw Is Upsetting The Penguins / 14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar 14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar, Havana, 13 October 2016 — The thaw between the US and Cuba, which has not yet risen to the level of normalized relations, has been greeted with mixed reactions by the Cuban opposition and independent civil society. We cannot speak of an […] Continue reading
Cuban diplomat takes to Twitter, says rapprochement with U.S. must continue
Cuban diplomat takes to Twitter, says rapprochement with U.S. must continue BY MIMI WHITEFIELD mwhitefield@miamiherald.com Josefina Vidal, Cuba’s chief negotiator in normalization talks with the United States, said Friday that Cuba has been “intensely” laying the groundwork so that the process of rapprochement that began under President Barack Obama will continue even after he leaves […] Continue reading
Committee to Protect Journalists Invites Journalists in Cuba to “Cross the Red Lines
Committee to Protect Journalists Invites Journalists in Cuba to “Cross the Red Lines” /14ymedio 14ymedio, Havana, 28 September 2016 – Dismantling the legal framework for the press and eliminating all barriers to individual access to the internet are key factors to promote a more open information environment in Cuba, according to the report Connecting Cuba: […] Continue reading
Cuba rejects Trump’s call for negotiations on human rights
Cuba rejects Trump’s call for negotiations on human rights September 29, 2016 HAVANA (AP) — A top Cuban diplomat on Wednesday rejected Donald Trump’s threat to undo detente with Cuba unless the single-party government meets the Republican presidential candidate’s demands. Trump said in Miami this month that he would reverse President Barack Obama’s executive orders […] Continue reading
Cuban State Security Prevents a Meeting of Pinar del Rio’s Coexistence Studies Center
Cuban State Security Prevents a Meeting of Pinar del Rio’s Coexistence Studies Center / 14ymedio, Mario Penton 14ymedio, Mario Penton, Miami, 23 September 2016 — Tania de la Caridad Reyes and her husbandYosvany Alfonso were intercepted by police in Pinar del Río when they tried to reach the Coexistence Studies Center (CEC) to attend the […] Continue reading
Cuba launches new international campaign against U.S. embargo
Cuba launches new international campaign against U.S. embargo By Nelson Acosta | HAVANA U.S. sanctions cost Cuba $4.6 billion last financial year, the government said on Friday, and called on U.S. President Barack Obama to do more to ease the pressure in the spirit of improved relations between the two countries. Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez […] Continue reading
Seven signs Cuban media is moving toward openness
Seven signs Cuban media is moving toward openness By Jon Elliston AUGUST 9, 2016 THE MASS MEDIA IN CUBA for decades was exclusively run by a rigid state monopoly, and even now, the government controls most of the news that makes its way to citizens. But significant cracks may be opening. As I’ve learned during […] Continue reading
When we achieve justice we can build a new society
“When we achieve justice we can build a new society” / 14ymedio, Ofelia Acevedo, Mario Penton, Luz Escobar 14ymedio, Mario Penton, Luz Escobar, Miami, 22 July 2016 – His name is tattooed on the skin of a Cuban graffiti artist (Danilo Maldonado, known as El Sexto) or is suggested by the letter L, standing for […] Continue reading
U.S. urges Cuba to do more to improve relationship
U.S. urges Cuba to do more to improve relationship Alan Gomez, USA TODAY 6:53 p.m. EDT July 20, 2016 MIAMI — On the anniversary of renewed diplomatic relations between the United States and Cuba, the U.S. government prodded the island’s communist leaders Wednesday to take greater steps toward economic and political freedom. A senior State […] Continue reading
A Conversation with Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo
A Conversation with Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo / Regina Anavy Regina Anavy, Reykjavic, June 27, 2016 — Crossing paths with Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo in Reykjavic, Iceland, on June 27, 2016, I had the opportunity to have a conversation with him. Iceland And Future Plans Regina Anavy: I understand you are here on a special […] Continue reading
Havana Impedes Progress of Obama’s Policy Toward Cuba
Havana Impedes Progress of Obama’s Policy Toward Cuba / 14ymedio, Pedro Campos 14ymedio, Pedro Campos, Havana, 18 July 2106 — Paradoxes of history: The United States and Cuba began a process of normalization of relations on 17 December 2014 and with the visit of President Barack Obama to Havana in March of 2016, aimed at […] Continue reading
A year on, US, Cuba no longer enemies, but not exactly friends
A year on, US, Cuba no longer enemies, but not exactly friends Hector Velasco July 19, 2016 Havana (AFP) – A year after restoring diplomatic ties, the United States and Cuba are far from fully normalizing their troubled relationship, which remains haunted by Cold War ghosts despite cautious ongoing talks. In a reconciliation that was […] Continue reading
Domain Names and an Internet Debate
Domain Names and an Internet Debate / Regina Coyula Regina Coyula, 30 June 2016 — For Cubans who update their home entertainment weekly with the now famous, private and anonymous Paquete (Weekly Packet), they are familiar with a subtitle in bright, greenish-yellow letters at the beginning of the movies. This inevitable “http://www.gnula.nu” which comes up […] Continue reading