Translating Cuba – English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island

Even the Telephones Don’t Obey the Cuban Government: The ‘Non-Change’ of the Clocks Unleashes Chaos

The Cuban government’s decision to extend summer time to alleviate the electricity crisis clashes with device programming and further complicates daily life.

Several users criticized the institutions for not informing the public, especially the elderly, with sufficient advance notice. / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Havana, November 1, 2026 /Even knowing what time it is has become a problem in Cuba. This Sunday, numerous smartphones and computers woke up an hour behind the official time, after the automatic switch to winter time. The government had decided, however, to keep the clocks ahead in an attempt to alleviate the electricity crisis. The result has been a tremendous technological mess, with users searching for instructions, modifying settings, and asking for help to get their devices to obey the authorities.

In Luyanó, a Havana neighborhood, a resident insists that the elderly are among the most affected. “The old folks in the neighborhood who don’t know how to manipulate a phone are going crazy with the time change,” she tells 14ymedio. She herself has had to become an impromptu technician: “I already fixed mine and my mother’s.”

Faced with a avalanche of complaints, Etecsa issued an explanation this Sunday. In a statement published on Facebook, the company asserted that its technicians had worked for recent days to adapt the telecommunications systems and that the process was completed “satisfactorily.” However, it recognized that many phones did automatically change their time because their operating systems retained the previous settings. Its recommendation is to disable automatic time adjustment and manually advance the clock by sixty minutes.

“Out of the eight devices I have at home, I had to manually change the time on all eight!”

But the difficulties don’t end with finding the right settings. “Houston, we have a problem!” another user quips. “That claim that the time change was ‘successful’ needs an urgent review, because out of the eight devices I have at home, I had to manually change the time on all eight!” continue reading

From Sancti Spíritus, a resident explains that she set up her Xiaomi phone the night before, following the instructions, but the device still displayed the wrong time. “I had to put my foot down,” she summarizes.

The explanations have failed to appease the protests. Below Etecsa’s own statement, numerous complaints have accumulated from users who claim to have lost their mobile data connection, especially via the 4G network. “I called Customer Service and they told me I had to reconfigure the Nauta APN and restart my phone. I did that, and I’m still having problems,” says Sergio David Roche Díaz.

Another internet user adds a striking detail: “I have two lines on the same phone, and one works fine, but the other doesn’t.” There are also complaints about certain Cubacel numbers and Samsung models, which are unable to access the web browsing service this Sunday. Some recommend temporarily switching to the 3G network, while others claim they can’t connect using that technology either.

In a notice specifically for Cuba, Google acknowledges that the decision was announced too late to update Android before November 1st.

“I’ve tried thousands of times and my phone just won’t connect. It only works through tethering,” writes Yulieta Hernández Díaz. Elaine de Cárdenas Riol also says she can’t use Transfermóvil.

This newspaper had reported on the situation on Friday. Even Google had alerted users to the problem. In a specific notice for Cuba, the company acknowledges that the decision was announced too late to update Android before November 1st. As a temporary solution, it recommends selecting a time zone that remains in UTC-4, such as the Dominican Republic or Puerto Rico.

The problem reached international time zone authorities. On October 24, a user identified as Tuenvio sent an urgent request to the IANA public mailing list to warn of the Cuban decision. Two days later, specialist Tim Parenti confirmed that he had located the official announcement but warned of difficulties in distributing the update in time. The new version of the database was released on October 27. Microsoft also announced a fix for Windows during November.

The government estimates that maintaining daylight saving time will prevent a 126-megawatt increase in electricity demand during the evening peak. The measure will remain in effect until November 2027 and requires schools and workplaces to start half an hour later during the winter. For several weeks, the sun will not rise in Havana until after 8:00 a.m.

Morocco’s experience offers a warning.

The decision has precedent. In 2004, during another serious energy crisis, Fidel Castro’s government extended daylight saving time and modified school and work schedules.

Morocco’s experience offers a warning. In 2018, the North African country decided to permanently adopt summer time, also arguing that it would save electricity. However, after nearly eight years of controversy surrounding dark mornings and sleep disruptions, the government reversed course on September 20th. An analysis published in April 2016 estimated that the electricity savings represented only between 0.3% and 0.5% of national consumption. The Minister for Ecological Transition herself had acknowledged that no significant reduction in demand attributable to the measure was observed during the winter.

In Holguín, one resident interprets what happened as yet another example of official decisions that end up complicating daily life. “All they do is pretend to work. They spend the whole year inventing measures so that people think they’re doing something, but the measures end up creating more problems, like that infamous ‘Tarea Ordenamiento’ (Ordering Task),” he tells this newspaper. “Then come the corrections, and more measures. This is never-ending.”

Yanet Durán García, for her part, criticizes the institutions for not informing the public, especially the elderly, with sufficient advance notice. “Stop leaving the people to fend for themselves when it’s your responsibility,” she protests after spending the morning helping several neighbors.

But perhaps Mercedes Fundora Carrasco best sums up the mood of many Cubans. “For my part, I don’t care about any schedule if we don’t even have one anymore, and if we do, it’s only half the time,” she writes on Facebook. “My phone can change whenever it wants,” she adds, before mentioning that many workdays don’t even reach eight hours anymore. For many, the real problem isn’t that the phone is an hour behind, but that daily life stopped functioning normally a long time ago.

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In Sancti Spíritus, Cuba, a Pharmacy Swaps Natural Remedies for Detergent and Shampoo

As the old state apothecary loses its purpose, a nearby parish hands out medicines free of charge to sick people who cannot find them

The establishment occupies a building constructed in the 18th century. / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Sancti Spíritus, Mercedes García, November 1, 2026 / The old ceramic jars still sit in their place behind the wooden display cases, as if nothing had changed at the historic natural medicine pharmacy in Sancti Spíritus. On the counters, however, where for decades neighbors came looking for passionflower, linden and other traditional remedies, small plastic containers of shampoo, hair dye, peroxide and detergent are now lined up. The apothecary retains its centuries-old appearance, but it has lost what gave its existence meaning: the medicines.

Located at number 38 South, Máximo Gómez Street, opposite the Iglesia Parroquial Mayor and very close to the Hostal del Rijo, the establishment occupies a building constructed in the 18th century. Its stone floors, its large dark-wood cabinets and its porcelain containers are part of a heritage that has survived the passage of time, though not the deterioration of pharmaceutical services.

“This pharmacy has always been here, for as long as I can remember, with natural products that were in demand among the population,” a neighbor who regularly came to buy passionflower and linden for her mother tells 14ymedio. After finding the premises closed on several occasions, she managed to get in this week and discovered that the remedies she was looking for were no longer there.

“I have nothing against them selling those things, but losing access to natural medicines is something I really don’t like.” / 14ymedio

“Now they sell products that seem to be criollo (domestically made and artisanal), like shampoo, hair dye, peroxide, detergents and mosquito repellent lotion,” she explains. The woman also points to the way the goods are presented, in small plastic bottles with rudimentary labels. “I have nothing against them selling those things, but losing access to natural medicines is something I don’t like at all,” she laments. continue reading

The photographs taken by this newspaper show long rows of blue, yellow and white containers on the pharmacy’s old furniture. Behind them, protected by glass cases, sit the ceramic vessels with inscriptions recalling the names of plants and medicinal preparations. Some shelves are practically empty. The traditional jars seem to have been left behind as decorative pieces in a business that now offers other merchandise.

The transformation is especially striking given the building’s history. A heritage guide to the city notes that the building was restored in 1986 and fitted out as a green medicine pharmacy, with furnishings inspired by the town’s old apothecaries. The recovery of traditional medicines was expressly listed among the objectives of that restoration.

“This pharmacy has always existed, for as long as I can remember, with natural products that were in demand by the community.” / 14ymedio

The case of Sancti Spíritus is not unique on the island. In September 2026, the Peralta Pharmacy, in Holguín, had also been turned into a sort of variety store, with private products sold on consignment and barely a handful of medicines available. One customer who went there looking for drugs found that the offering came down to a few bottles of eye drops.

The disappearance of natural remedies has been underway in Cuba for some time. In July 2025, a pharmacy in Matanzas presented a similar picture of empty shelves. “They have no bottles, they have nothing,” a customer summed up at the time, recalling the days when the establishment itself used to make its own preparations.

In September 2024, the pharmaceutical authorities in Camagüey acknowledged the difficulties in obtaining garlic, onion, oregano, aloe vera, sugar and alcohol, as well as imported raw materials essential for making syrups, extracts and creams. The collapse of agricultural production had ended up affecting even the remedies that for years were promoted as an alternative to industrial medicines.

The irony is greater in Sancti Spíritus, where, just a few steps from this old pharmacy, the Catholic Church distributes medicines free of charge to patients who cannot find them in state establishments. Every Saturday, chronically ill people and their relatives come to the parish with their prescriptions in search of treatments for hypertension, diabetes and other ailments. Anyone who walks into the Máximo Gómez apothecary today looking for a remedy to relieve a headache may leave, at best, with nothing but a bottle of shampoo.

Translated by GH.

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The Prosecutor’s Office Seeks Up to Five Years in Prison for a Protest in Bayamo, Cuba

Nine citizens face prison sentences for demonstrating against power outages and shortages.

Screenshot from one of the videos circulated on social media showing the protest that took place in Bayamo in May 2025. / Social media

14ymedio, Madrid, November 1, 2026 – The municipal Prosecutor’s Office in Bayamo, Granma, has requested sentences of up to five years in prison for nine citizens charged for their participation in the May 23, 2025, protest in that city, according to the provisional conclusions obtained by Martí Noticias. The document concludes the investigative phase and paves the way for a request for an oral trial, with the acts classified as contempt, public disorder, incitement to commit a crime, and resistance.

According to the prosecution’s account, the events took place near the intersection of Vicente Quesada Avenue and 22nd Street, close to a city roundabout. The report describes a gathering of about 120 people, some with their faces covered to avoid being identified, who used cooking pots and other metal objects to make noise and express their discontent.

Among the slogans heard was “We want food, electricity, and water!” The prosecution maintains that “offensive” remarks were also shouted against President Miguel Díaz-Canel and other “historic leaders,” Martí Noticias reports.

One of the main grounds for the prosecution’s request is the alleged altercation with officers from the Ministry of the Interior who arrived at the scene. According to the text, after authorities attempted to engage in dialogue and address the residents’ concerns, the protesters “disrespected them and threw bottles and stones but didn’t injure them,” which, the judicial document adds, “led the police forces to arrest those primarily responsible for the events.”

“They are asking for years in prison because they demanded basic rights from the Government, such as access to water, food, and electricity”

The harshest sentence, five years in prison for public disorder, has been requested for Pedro Luis Zamora Isac. For Alexander Guzmán Silva, the Prosecutor’s Office is seeking four years for contempt, public disorder, and incitement to commit a crime; and for Ever Ernesto Pérez Aliaga, three years for contempt and public disorder.

Also charged is Arael Rodríguez Escalante, who is accused of inciting hostility toward the police through shouting and hostile remarks. The others, Alejandro Vargas Ortiz, Luis Manuel Zamora Guevara, Rosa María Socarrás Moralez, Aleyda Valera Álvarez, and Katia Sucel Estrada Valera, are accused of offenses including resistance and incitement to commit a crime.

The families reject the charges. Ernesto Pérez Aliaga, Ever’s father, categorically denied the charge of contempt in statements to Martí Noticias after learning of the prosecution’s request. “He did not disrespect them,” he said. “In an elegant, peaceful, and calm manner, he did not disrespect anyone.” Meanwhile, Rosa Escalante, Arael’s mother, stated: “They are asking for years in prison because they demanded basic rights from the Government, such as access to water, food, and electricity.”

The protests took place on May 23, 2025. A resident warned Martí Noticias at the time: “This is going to explode again at any moment, because we still have no electricity.”

This is not the first case of its kind in Bayamo. Another 15 Cubans were tried in September 2025 for demonstrating on March 17, 2024, against prolonged power outages and deteriorating living conditions. In that case, the defendants were sentenced to prison terms of up to six years.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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“Avoid Trouble,” the War on Small Bills in Cuba

Merchants resist accepting low-denomination pesos and customers protest when they receive them as change, in an economy where the dollar already costs 880 pesos

In a small business in Luyanó, Havana, the signs tell the story of the economy better than any official speech. / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, October 31, 2026 / Money can also become a nuisance. In Cuba, where prices rise from one day to the next, low-denomination bills are now the poor relation of the national currency. In a small business in Luyanó, in Havana, the signs tell the state of the economy better than any official speech. One announces, in green letters and without beating around the bush, “I buy USD.” Another warns: “If you don’t want change in 20 or 10 peso bills, come with the exact amount. Avoid trouble.”

The warning has something of an ultimatum about it. The merchant wants no arguments over a few pesos that are still legal tender, even though they can be exchanged for fewer and fewer goods and services. The customer, for their part, has no wish to walk out with pockets full of colorful scraps of paper that will hardly be of any use on their next purchase. Between the two, a low-intensity war is being waged, with the counter as the trench and the change as the ammunition.

The problem is not that 10 pesos have stopped being money, but that it is increasingly hard to find anything to buy with them. Inflation has gradually shrunk them into an amount that barely makes a dent in the price of any item. They are disappearing from circulation not by decree, but by a far more implacable sentence: the one handed down by reality. continue reading

The next sign could announce an even more brutal development: “Bills accepted, but try to make sure they’re not Cuban.”

This Saturday, the dollar is trading at 880 pesos on the informal market, a rate that just a few years ago would have seemed absurd and that is now greeted with a mixture of resignation and dread. Each new rise in the US currency pushes the value of the national currency down a little further and fuels the race of prices. The Cuban peso is losing value so fast that it seems to shrink inside your pocket.

That is why the most revealing thing about the Luyanó notice is its last phrase: “Avoid trouble.” It does not recommend checking the merchandise or verifying the amount of the purchase. It simply asks that nobody get upset at receiving low-denomination bills. The next sign could announce an even more brutal development: “Bills accepted, but try to make sure they’re not Cuban.”

Translated by GH.

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Pumpkins, Skeletons, and Blackouts: Halloween Cuban Style

The holiday is gaining followers among young people, who celebrate amid costumes and cobwebs while the darkness in their neighborhoods needs no special effects.

On San Rafael Boulevard in Central Havana, several businesses have decorated their establishments for the occasion. / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Havana, October 31, 2026 – In a country where blackouts can last for days, houses threaten to collapse, and getting food has become a suspense movie, Halloween faces some tough competition. Cubans know everyday fear all too well to need imported ghosts. Nevertheless, this October 31, some have decided to trade their usual nightmares for more entertaining ones for a few hours. Among pumpkins, skeletons, and cobwebs, the festival of the dead is gaining ground on an Island where terror rarely takes a vacation.

On San Rafael Boulevard, in Centro Habana, several businesses have decorated their establishments for the occasion. In one shop, a cadaverous figure hangs above the cash register. Pumpkins with sinister smiles and orange cobwebs share space with prices that are even more frightening than the cardboard ghosts.

The celebration has also reached cultural spaces. At El Proyecto, an old mansion at the corner of 11th and 14th Streets in El Vedado, young people dressed as the Joker, nuns, and other characters gathered on Friday to celebrate Halloween. The venue hosted the party while the neighborhood had been without electricity for about 30 hours. The cobwebs were artificial, but the darkness was completely authentic. continue reading

A makeup artist worked by the light of a desk lamp, and the organizers relied on an inverter to keep the equipment running. The manager, Érica Martínez, explained that the venue was established about a year ago to give young people an opportunity to disconnect from reality. Keeping it open, she acknowledged, is becoming increasingly difficult: when electricity is available only sporadically, they have to reduce the lighting to preserve the movie screenings and concerts.

Pumpkins with sinister smiles and orange cobwebs share space with prices that are even more frightening than the cardboard ghosts. / 14ymedio

Marcos Dulzaides, a 22-year-old physical therapist who used his profession as inspiration to dress up as a doctor, told EFE that these celebrations have become popular among his generation, despite the heat and lack of resources. The young man insisted that Halloween cannot be overlooked. In a country where so many things are canceled because of a lack of fuel, electricity, or funding, finding an excuse to have fun already seems like a small act of resistance.

Havana’s program also includes costume parties, concerts, and electronic music sessions. According to the capital’s cultural listings, celebrations are scheduled for this Saturday at Tempo, with tickets costing 2,000 pesos, and at the Ateneo de La Habana, for 500 pesos. The price of entertainment is hardly imaginary for those who depend on a state salary.

The growing popularity of Halloween, however, is not viewed favorably by cultural authorities. In 2019, former minister Abel Prieto included costumes associated with the celebration among the American symbols used by businesses seeking to attract customers. In his article Lo yanqui y lo moderno (All Things American and Modern), published in Granma, he linked these practices to the cultural influence of the United States. In December 2021, he again complained about Halloween’s growing popularity among Cuban teenagers before the deputies of the Assembly.

The concern dates back even further. In 2014, the official journalist Pedro de la Hoz questioned in Granma the decision by state-run establishments to organize Halloween parties. He believed that institutions responsible for preserving national identity should not promote a “neocolonial” assimilation of foreign customs. Apparently, for certain guardians of culture, an American vampire can be more dangerous than a crumbling building.

A sign has been advertising a Terror Party for this Saturday night in the Salón de los Embajadores at the Hotel Habana Libre for several days. / 14ymedio

But even within the official press, more tolerant views have emerged. In October 2025, Radio 26, in Matanzas, proposed celebrating a Halloween with a national identity: costumes inspired by the Güije or the Madre de Agua, batá drums, and pumpkins stuffed with congrí. It was a formula for reconciling Cuban traditions with a celebration that has already found followers among young people.

Despite official reluctance, the celebration has ultimately established itself even in state-run venues. A sign at the central intersection of L and 23rd Streets in Havana’s El Vedado neighborhood has been advertising a Terror Party for this Saturday night in the Salón de los Embajadores at the Hotel Habana Libre for several days, just a few meters from the Cuban Institute of Radio and Television, from which some of the most vehement denunciations of the holiday have been broadcast.

Meanwhile, reality insists on outdoing any stage set. This Friday, numerous Havana neighborhoods had been without electricity for more than 40 hours. Water shortages, spoiling food, and businesses brought to a standstill are all part of a repertoire of horrors considerably less entertaining than a zombie movie.

In other countries, Halloween ends when midnight arrives and the monsters return to the closet. In Cuba, the costumes will be put away, but the blackouts, lines, and shored-up buildings will remain where they were. The problem is not that Cubans celebrate a night of terror, but that when dawn breaks, the nightmares continue.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Cupet Resumes Gas Cylinder Sales in Sancti Spíritus, Cuba, at a Price of 80 Dollars, Cash Only

The price of a gas cylinder is equivalent to 22 monthly minimum wages at today’s exchange rate.

Cupet commercial outlet in Sancti Spíritus, where gas cylinders are sold for 80 dollars in cash. / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Mercedes García, Sancti Spíritus, October 31, 2026 – The state-owned company Unión Cuba-Petróleo (Cupet) charges as much as 80 dollars for a liquefied gas cylinder in the city of Sancti Spíritus, as 14ymedio was able to verify. The new 20-pound cylinders, filled and supplied with their fittings, are offered at that price at the state company’s main outlet and at two other locations in the city, one in the Colón neighborhood and the other in Los Olivos.

Payment must also be made in cash. And that does not make buying gas any easier: those interested must put their names on a list and wait their turn, depending on availability.

At the Cupet outlet on Santa Elena Street, in the same city, the arrangement is different. There, a cylinder is offered for 55 dollars, provided the customer hands over an empty one to be refilled. These sales are restricted to healthcare workers, bank employees, and employees of previously authorized workplaces.

To put the cost of the product in perspective, the minimum wage in Cuba is 3,210 pesos per month, equivalent to about 3.65 dollars at the informal exchange rate of 880 pesos per dollar recorded today. Thus, an 80-dollar cylinder costs almost 22 times the monthly minimum wage, while a 55-dollar cylinder costs the equivalent of about 15 times that amount. continue reading

The new 20-pound cylinders, filled and supplied with their fittings, are offered for 80 dollars at the state company’s main outlet and at two other locations in the city

Sancti Spíritus had gone without regular state sales of liquefied gas since October 2025. The interruption had fueled the black market, where 10-kilogram cylinders came to be offered for as much as 70,000 Cuban pesos, equivalent to the 80 dollars they cost today. The resumption of Cupet sales provides an alternative for those who can afford it, but dollar-denominated prices and restrictions on access do little to meet the population’s needs.

This situation has contributed to crime in the province. Earlier this month, two people from Sancti Spíritus were sentenced to 12 and 10 years in prison, respectively, for stealing gas cylinders from more than 20 homes. Two other people involved received prison sentences of two and a half years and two years for participating in the resale of the stolen cylinders and illegally marketing the fuel using other consumers’ contracts. The case illustrates the extent to which scarcity has turned a household necessity into a prized commodity for criminals.

The resumption of state gas sales, now in dollars, and the outrage it has provoked among customers in Sancti Spíritus coincide with reports of a similar situation on the Isle of Youth. According to accounts posted on social media by residents of the special municipality, Cupet sells cylinders there for 89 dollars.

“This is a complete lack of respect for the Cuban people, an outrageous contempt and an unjustifiable abuse toward us,” a woman complained on Facebook. The post reflects consumers’ frustration with prices that are beyond their reach. “It’s the feeling that you scream and nobody listens; that you file complaints and everything stays the same. And that wears you down. It exhausts you. It hurts,” the woman from the Isle of Youth wrote.

“This is a complete lack of respect for the Cuban people, an outrageous contempt and an unjustifiable abuse toward us”

In response to the energy crisis and supply shortages on the Island, the Cuban Government has presented the sale of liquefied gas in foreign currency as an alternative for financing fuel imports. However, the experience of recent months shows that having sales outlets that accept dollars does not guarantee a stable supply or resolve the difficulties faced by those who do not have foreign currency.

Last June, 14ymedio confirmed that the gas cylinders sold by ProGas through the KMCero platform were priced at 24 dollars and resold for 50, although some buyers in Havana reportedly paid as much as 100 dollars for a single cylinder. The company, presented as a private business, used facilities and logistical channels linked to the state-owned Cupet, while numerous consumers continued to go without their usual allocations.

Two months later, in August, ProGas sales outlets closed again after running out of stock, according to accounts gathered by this newspaper. Customers complained that they could not obtain gas either in pesos or in foreign currency.

Last June, the United States added state-owned Cupet to its list of sanctioned entities, a measure that blocks the company’s assets under U.S. jurisdiction and prohibits transactions with it. Washington justified the decision by citing the company’s relationship with the military conglomerate Gaesa. The sanctions add obstacles to fuel import, processing, and distribution operations in Cuba and worsen the energy crisis the country has been experiencing for years.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Six Traffickers Who Charged Cuban Migrants Up to $40,000 Are Sentenced in Florida

The network used false documents, private flights, and fraudulent asylum applications to bring its clients into the US and laundered more than $22 million

Reception area of Asesoría y Servicios Migratorios LLC, a company linked to human trafficking and run by Cubans. / Instagram/Asesoria y Servicios Migratorios LLC

14ymedio, Havana, October 31, 2026 / Six members of a network that charged up to $40,000 to illegally transport Cuban migrants to the United States were sentenced this Thursday by a federal court in Florida to between two and four years in prison. The organization, whose members also committed asylum application fraud, laundered more than $22 million between 2021 and 2025, as reported by the US Department of Justice.

The longest sentence, four years in prison, went to Liannys Yaiselys Vega Pérez, 27, who ran an immigration services company that filed hundreds of fraudulent asylum applications. Layra Libertad Treto Santos, 30, received 30 months, while Miguel Martínez Vasconcelos, Luis Emmanuel Escalona Marrero, Walbis Pozo Dutel, and Emanuel Martínez González were sentenced to two years each. All six had pleaded guilty.

The court also ordered the forfeiture of $2.9 million from Escalona Marrero, $150,000 from Martínez Vasconcelos, and $95,000 from Treto Santos.

The court also ordered the forfeiture of $2.9 million from Escalona Marrero, $150,000 from Martínez Vasconcelos, and $95,000 from Treto Santos

The network recruited clients through social media and offered flights, travel permits, and immigration paperwork. Some Cubans entered through the border with Mexico, while others used Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) approvals obtained with false information. On occasion, the traffickers chartered private planes to transport groups of migrants. continue reading

According to the authorities, the organization passed off Cuban applicants as European travelers and falsely declared that they had not been in Cuba since 2011. Once in the United States, many went to the company Asesoría y Servicios Migratorios, based in Tampa, to file asylum applications based on invented stories.

Some clients were unable to review their applications before they were submitted or to access their own accounts with US immigration services. Vega Pérez, who was neither a lawyer nor an accredited representative, admitted to having directed employees who prepared fraudulent documents.

Among the cases examined by investigators is that of a Cuban minor whose journey was organized from Havana to Miami, via Grand Cayman. Records indicate that she arrived at Miami International Airport in October 2023, after her fraudulent ESTA authorization had been canceled, and was granted a permit to enter the country.

A woman told federal investigators that Frandy Aragón Díaz, another of the defendants, charged her $40,000 for the trip. The victim worked to pay off the debt while living with him in Tampa and, during a call monitored by the authorities, the man demanded payment and threatened her family, according to a criminal complaint whose contents were reported by the Miami Herald. Aragón Díaz remains a fugitive.

The organization was dismantled in September 2025, when US authorities identified twelve people involved

The organization was dismantled in September 2025, when US authorities identified twelve people involved. Investigators established that it had begun operating in January 2021 and continued moving people until June 2025. Its members used front companies, bank accounts, and payment apps to move the money obtained from the migrants.

Of the others involved in the organization, Lázaro Alain Cabrera Rodríguez, found guilty in September of using a travel agency as a front and submitting at least 600 false ESTA applications, is still awaiting sentencing. Yuniel Lima Santos and Gisleivy Peralta Consuegra are in the same situation, while Marianny Lucía López Torres and Frandy Aragón Díaz remain fugitives.

Lima Santos had pleaded guilty in August to migrant smuggling, asylum fraud, and money laundering. The Cuban admitted to having transported women who ended up working in strip clubs to pay off the debts they had incurred for their journeys.

US courts have prosecuted other migrant smuggling networks linked to Cubans. In March, a jury convicted Víctor Rafael Arcia Albeja, a member of an organization that held and beat migrants from the island to demand up to $15,000 from their relatives. In July, Juan Manuel Sifontes Sinales was sentenced to 18 months in prison for illegally transporting 25 migrants of various nationalities. The Cuban will be deported after serving his sentence.

Translated by GH.

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La Cumbre, a Neighborhood in Matanzas Where the Streets Stayed in the Last Century

Potholes, stones, and dust complicate the daily lives of residents, who have been waiting for decades for repairs that never come

In some blocks, the streets have lost even the appearance of streets. They are dirt tracks, gravel and stones, dotted with ditches that widen with rain and deepen with neglect. / 14ymedio.

14ymedio, Julio César Contreras, Matanzas, October 31, 2026 / The morning sun falls on the loose stones and remnants of asphalt in La Cumbre, a neighborhood in Matanzas where walking demands as much attention as crossing rugged terrain. The dew still dampens the grass growing on both sides of the streets, while mothers send their children off with a warning repeated every day: watch out for the hole on the corner, don’t get to school with your shoes full of mud.

On some blocks, the streets have lost even the appearance of streets. They are paths of dirt, gravel, and stones, dotted with ditches that the rains widen and neglect deepens. Among cinder-block houses, rusty metal gates, and makeshift fences, residents make their way around the obstacles. A man pushes a bicycle up a stony slope. Another drags a cart loaded with sacks, accompanied by a dog that seems to know every dip and bump in the path by heart.

Among cinder-block houses, rusty metal gates, and makeshift fences, residents make their way around the obstacles

“When I have to go in and out of my block without being able to ride my bicycle, it feels like I’m living in the countryside and not in the city,” complains Argelio, as he tries to control the handlebars shaking over the stones. For those who depend on bicycles or mopeds, every outing can end with a flat tire, a fall, or a visit to the mechanic. continue reading

Although the shortest route to the Vía Blanca runs through here, some stretches have been impassable for four-wheeled vehicles for decades. “There are places where bits of sidewalk are still left, but on this block we step straight out onto grass and dirt. No shoe sole lasts six months like this,” adds Argelio.

La Cumbre also displays its social differences. Alongside humble homes, roofed with fiber cement and surrounded by weeds, there are two-story buildings, freshly painted facades, ornamental grilles, and water tanks on the rooftops. However, not even a comfortable house guarantees a decent way in. From the porch outward, everyone shares the same landscape of neglect.

Some sections have been closed to four-wheeled vehicles for decades. / 14ymedio

Freddy, a private taxi driver, knows this contradiction well. Every month he pays rent on a garage eight blocks from his home because his old Moskvich can no longer get to his door. The last few times he braved the potholes, he ended up in a repair shop. Now, one of the most troublesome holes is right in front of his house.

The self-employed worker says that successive Government officials have ignored the neighborhood’s complaints. Accountability meetings and letters sent to the Citizen Services office of the Municipal People’s Power have not managed to bring the pavement back to La Cumbre.

“I want to sell my house or swap it, but when interested people come to see the place, they then vanish,” laments Freddy. The deterioration of the streets also ends up hurting the value of homes and the chances of moving.

When it doesn’t rain, the few vehicles that manage to get through the passable stretches raise a cloud of dust that seeps in through doors and windows. When a downpour comes, the holes turn into small ponds of uncertain depth. Residents swing between wishing for rain to relieve the dust and dreading it for the mud it leaves behind.

When it doesn’t rain, the few vehicles that manage to get through the passable stretches raise a cloud of dust that seeps in through doors and windows

“Not long ago, turning the corner here, my moped slid into a ditch and I had to react fast, because I almost fell,” recalls a social worker who keeps her windows closed to stop the dirt from invading her home.

The young woman says that, months ago, work began on a house on an empty lot. A rumor then spread that it would be for an important official, and some residents got excited. Perhaps, they thought, the arrival of a boss would achieve what years of neighborhood complaints had not. But the hope soon faded when it became known that the house was not for an official.

“Meanwhile, we’ll keep waiting for the 2030 plan to pave all this for us, which will then be postponed to 2040 because of the tightening of the blockade,” the woman says ironically.

In La Cumbre there are still those who carefully dust the ornaments on their shelves, sweep their porches, and put on their best shoes to go out. But they only have to step out the door for that effort to stumble against reality. The neighborhood keeps its lofty name [cumbre means “summit”], although its residents have been waiting far too long for the authorities to rise to the level of their needs.

Translated by GH

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“Neither Customers Nor Electricity”: Blackouts Lasting More Than 40 Hours Are Choking Havana

The lack of electricity adds to water shortages and the collapse of tourism, while Cuba’s main thermoelectric plant remains out of service.

“Neither customers nor electricity,” said the vendors at the San José warehouses in Havana’s port. / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Natalia López Moya, Havana, October 30, 2026 – A discharged phone, a piece of chicken beginning to thaw, and several empty containers waiting for water. In Cuba, the blackout is no longer measured solely in hours without electricity, but also in the number of problems it leaves in its wake. This Friday, numerous Havana neighborhoods had accumulated power cuts lasting more than 40 hours, during a week marked by the worsening energy crisis on the Island.

In Luyanó, Yusnel went out to charge his phone in another electrical circuit after more than 20 hours without power. “I have an EcoFlow, but it couldn’t hold out. With this many hours without electricity, no battery can hold up,” he tells 14ymedio. Portable power stations, which provide some relief amid the blackouts, also end up succumbing when the interruption lasts nearly two days.

In Nuevo Vedado, where this newspaper’s newsroom is located, the electricity was out for 41 consecutive hours. “Today I got up at four in the morning to cook the little piece of chicken I had left in the freezer because it wasn’t going to be in good condition by lunchtime,” says a woman who lives in a nearby high-rise building on Tulipán Street. She describes how the lack of electricity has also disrupted her family’s routines.

At a pizzeria in Old Havana, several customers waited in front of the counter this morning. / 14ymedio

“My daughter, who is a doctor, didn’t go to the hospital today because she had no clean clothes to wear, and we didn’t send my little granddaughter to school. What for? To suffer through the heat and probably find that the teacher wasn’t there?” she asks. continue reading

The power cuts offer no respite to small businesses either. At a pizzeria in Old Havana, several customers waited in front of the counter this morning while employees tried to bake and serve food using the scant natural light coming in from the street. At the San José warehouses, a saleswoman arranged souvenirs in the gloom, in front of a T-shirt bearing the face of Ernesto Che Guevara.

“Neither customers nor electricity,” declared a vendor selling paintings in the immense establishment, located in an old pier building, as he fanned away his sweat with a piece of cardboard. “When the day is cooler, you can put up with it and stay here for hours and hours without selling anything, but with the heat and no electricity to run the fan, and on top of that no tourists, it’s torture.”

The blackout comes as the tourism sector is experiencing one of its worst periods. According to official figures, just 27,354 international tourists arrived in Cuba in September, a collapse that leaves sellers of handicrafts and souvenirs with little chance of making up for the losses caused by the power cuts.

This Friday, a man pedaled beneath the elevated railway tracks near the Ensenada de Atarés, carrying two large containers of drinking water on his bicycle. / 14ymedio

But the lack of electricity is only one part of Cubans’ harsh daily reality. This Friday, a man pedaled beneath the elevated railway tracks near the Ensenada de Atarés, carrying two large containers of drinking water on his bicycle. Scenes of handcarts, jerrycans, and tanks being hauled from one municipality to another have become increasingly common in the Cuban capital.

Aguas de La Habana acknowledged that the extensive power cuts on the 28th and 29th had affected practically all the main water supply sources, including Cuenca Sur, Ariguanabo, El Gato, and Palatino. The company warned of widespread delays and announced adjustments to distribution schedules. In high-rise buildings, where water also depends on internal pumping systems, the lack of electricity has multiplied the difficulties.

The national outlook offers no grounds for anticipating an immediate improvement either. The Electric Union (UNE) reported that this Friday the Antonio Guiteras power plant in Matanzas, the country’s most important thermoelectric plant, remained out of service, along with units at Santa Cruz, Felton, and Renté. For the period of peak demand, the UNE forecasts a shortfall of 1,990 megawatts, against an estimated demand of 2,800.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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The Fragments of a Nation

The torn flag flying at the Capitol seems to reflect Cuba’s wounds, aggravated by a diplomacy that has replaced arguments with bullying.

A Cuban flag was torn at the Capitol building in Havana on Wednesday. / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Yoani Sánchez, Havana, October 28, 2026 / A Cuban flag, in tatters, flies over Havana’s Capitol Building. The national emblem seems to have lost the battle against the wind and neglect. Its blue and white stripes are torn, and the red color of the triangle has lost strength. It is as broken as the country it represents, an island with diplomats who promote the same gag orders around the world that have been imposed on us here at home.

Yesterday, while this tattered banner flapped near the columns and dome of Havana’s imposing building, another scene unfolded in New York, revealing the decay of our public life. The official Cuban delegation, headed by Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez, staged an act of repudiation against the United States ambassador to the United Nations. Shouts, banging on the table, and even an attempt to mute Mike Waltz’s microphone made up the disgraceful spectacle.

The method is painfully familiar. Faced with an inconvenient opinion, the Cuban regime has systematically opted to raise its voice, raise its fist, and throw people into jail. When someone tries to argue their disagreement, a barrage of vile insults rain down on them. This attitude has also shaped a diplomacy of bullying, a school of international relations where offense is intended to replace reason and violence is taught as a legitimate response to disagreement.

What happened in New York was not an anomaly: it was a reflection of domestic behavior on an international stage

For years, the Castro regime has displayed its worst political practices abroad. The denigration of adversaries, the contempt for ideological diversity, and the need to turn every exchange into a show of force are all part of this nefarious legacy. What happened in New York was not an anomaly: it was a reflection of domestic behavior on an international stage. continue reading

While it is difficult not to feel embarrassed for these officials, it is worth remembering that those who stage these scenes don’t represent all Cubans. They don’t speak for those of us who endure endless blackouts, for the mothers who say goodbye to their children at airports, nor for the political prisoners who have been demanding their freedom for years. That loud, rude picket line is not the face of this country, no matter how often they repeat it.

Lamentably, in front ofthe cameras and international organizations, their actions end up being associated with our nationality. This constitutes yet another form of dispossession, after they have already appropriated our common symbols and used them in the name of a party, an ideology, and a family clan that considers itself the perpetual owner of this country.

The flag at the Capitol also belongs to the Cuban who protested in the streets on 11 July 2021, to the one who emigrated in search of civil and personal liberties, to the one who remains silent out of fear, and to the one who still believes a democratic opening is possible in this land. No diplomat has more right to it than a dissident who envisions an island without censorship. No functionary can claim a monopoly on that lone star while threatening those who disagree with their doctrine.

Perhaps in the coming days they will replace the tattered flag flying at the Capitol. A ladder and a few minutes will be enough to raise a new one on the flagpole. But repairing the nation will be far more difficult. Rebuilding our nation will require abandoning violence as a political language, accepting pluralism, and understanding that national dignity is not defended through a diplomacy of outrage. Until this process of accepting differences begins, we will remain a broken nation, shattered into pieces.

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The US Announces the Expulsion of a Cuban Diplomat for “Attempted Aggression” at the UN

The incident occurred during the debate on Havana’s annual resolution against the embargo

Richard Tur de la Concepción during a speech at the UN. / UNCuba

14ymedio, Madrid, October 28, 2026 / The US Ambassador to the UN, Mike Waltz, stated Tuesday on Fox News that Secretary of State Marco Rubio has signed the expulsion order for a Cuban diplomat. Although he did not cite his name, it is believed to be Richard Tur de la Concepción, who on three occasions slapped away a cell phone used by a member of the US delegation to record him during the debate on the annual resolution against the embargo presented by Havana at the UN General Assembly.

“Just before going on air tonight, Secretary Rubio signed the documents to expel the Cuban diplomat, the first secretary of his delegation, who pushed and attempted to assault one of our US diplomats,” Waltz said on Fox News. The incident occurred while the Cuban delegation, led by Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez, had moved to the podium to interrupt and confront the U.S. ambassador, following the method of repudiation used on the island against dissidents. [View the video here]

The ambassador stated that the Cuban “will be on a plane to Havana within the next 24 hours” and added: “If you lay a hand on an American here in the United States, President Trump, Secretary Rubio, and I will not allow it.” continue reading

Shortly before the incident, the Cuban delegation had denounced harassment against Tur de la Concepción in an official communication to the UN Secretary-General. The letter, signed by Ernesto Soberón Guzmán, accuses John P. Freire, a member of the US delegation, of engaging in “harassing, stalking, and invasion of personal space” toward the Cuban official, “who was recorded without his consent by the US representative, who approached him to within one meter to film him with his cell phone, with the clear purpose of provocation, even though the Cuban side’s objection to being recorded was repeatedly conveyed to the US representative.”

According to Soberón, who a few days earlier personally led another act of repudiation against Cuban dissidents inside the UN building in New York, the attitude of the US delegation is disrespectful, violates privacy and is incompatible “with the decorum and respect for personal dignity that should prevail in the United Nations premises.”

The document also elaborates that the events occurred within the framework of the annual session in which the resolution against the US embargo is voted on, which is part –they emphasize– “of the aggressive campaign orchestrated by the United States, in its eagerness to undermine the credibility of Cuba and another desperate attempt to divert attention from the broad support garnered by the condemnation of the blockade policy at the United Nations.”

The events took place on Tuesday during the tense debate session —prior to Wednesday’s vote—in which, during the US turn to speak, the Cuban delegation staged a loud protest against Waltz. Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez, accompanied by six officials, attempted to disrupt the speech by interrupting it with gestures, shouts, and banging on the tables.

In his speech, the US ambassador spoke of the repressive policies of Castroism since the 1960s and accused other members of the family and high-ranking officials of the regime of owning luxury items and living in privilege while the Cuban population suffers from scarcity and poverty.

Rodríguez requested the application of Article 71 of the General Assembly’s rules of procedure to vote against the American’s intervention, but he was reminded that this provision pertains to procedure, not substance. “The reality is that he doesn’t like the substance of what he’s hearing. He doesn’t like hard truths,” Waltz said.

The President of the General Assembly, Khalilur Rahman, had to intervene to restore order and warned that he could suspend the session. He eventually gave the floor to Rodríguez, who had to return to his seat. From there, he accused Waltz of “blatantly lying” and maintaining “an undignified attitude.”

This Wednesday at 10 a.m. – New York time – the session resumes, in which the remaining countries will speak before proceeding to the vote.

This Wednesday at 10 a.m. New York time, the session will resume, during which the remaining countries will speak before the vote, which will take place around the end of the morning or the beginning of the afternoon. In 2025, the resolution against the embargo garnered 165 votes in favor, seven against, and twelve abstentions—the worst result obtained by the island to date. However, this year’s result is expected to be even less favorable, after Washington urged many allied countries to join its position.

The situation is not entirely clear, however, since Chile, which has a pro-Washington president—the right-wing José Antonio Kast—has announced it will abstain. This decision has drawn strong criticism from the organization Cuba Archive, which accuses the government of being “timid” and exclaims: “With friends like these, who needs enemies!”

In its statement, Cuba Archive denounces what it considers an excessive presence of the regime in multilateral institutions and its “enormous apparatus of propaganda, influence and global expansion” and urges “Chile and the democracies of the world to begin by co-sponsoring the first United Nations resolution in support of the Cuban people and condemning the repressive regime of Cuba.”

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In Cuba, Abortions Are Almost Equal to Births, and Contraceptives Are Still in Short Supply

Official statistics reveal a 77% drop in preventive detection of cervical cancer.

The rate is 94.8 abortions per 100 live births, the highest since 1986. / Cubadebate / Irene Pérez

14ymedio, Havana, October 30, 2026 / In a country where fewer and fewer children are being born, abortions are nearing the number of live births. Cuba registered 64,850 abortions in 2025, compared to 68,064 live births. The ratio is 94.8 abortions per 100 live births, the highest since 1986, according to the new Statistical Yearbook of Health from the Ministry of Public Health. The official figures come amid a prolonged shortage of contraceptives, forcing many women to resort to the informal market or products sent by relatives from abroad.

The situation exacerbates a demographic crisis of exceptional proportions in Latin America. Cuba lost 313,414 inhabitants during 2025, around 3.2% of its population, ending the year with just 9.4 million residents. Although emigration remains the primary cause of this loss, deaths (136,214 people) are nearly twice the number of births. The country is emptying not only because of those who leave, but also because far more Cubans are dying than are being born.

In 2025, 3,294 fewer children were born than the previous year, which is why the government has insisted on the need to stimulate the birth rate. Furthermore, condoms, birth control pills, and other family planning methods have been in short supply at state-run pharmacies for years, but this has not stopped the decline in births: abortions remain practically at the same levels as in 2024, while their proportion relative to live births continues to rise. continue reading

In March 2026, the official press warned of an increase in sexually transmitted infections in Sancti Spíritus, especially among young people.

The shortage is not a recent complaint. Back in 2023, Dr. Deglis Luciano, head of the Sexually Transmitted Infections Program in Guantánamo, acknowledged that the lack of condoms, pills, and injections was contributing to unwanted pregnancies and an increase in sexually transmitted infections. At that time, an emergency contraceptive pill could cost between 700 and 900 pesos on the black market. Currently, on buy-and-sell websites like Revolico, it is advertised for up to 1,800 pesos.

In March 2026, the official press reported an increase in sexually transmitted infections in Sancti Spíritus, especially among young people, and pointed to the lack of condoms in the healthcare system as one of the factors exacerbating the situation. This shortage thus affects both the prevention of unwanted pregnancies and protection against HIV and other diseases.

The government is attempting to respond with new measures. In May of this year, Resolution 174/2025 of the Ministry of Health came into effect, ordering that the distribution of contraceptives to adolescents be prioritized, especially in areas with higher birth rates among that age group. However, a regulation on paper alone does not guarantee that the products will reach pharmacies and clinics. The authorities themselves have acknowledged the need to rely on international organizations to bolster the supply.

The lack of options to prevent pregnancy is therefore a problem that transcends the economic difficulties of each family.

The crisis has also exposed the existence of clandestine abortions, despite the fact that the procedure is legal and free in Cuban hospitals. In April 2024, the director of the Hijas de Galicia Hospital in Havana reported that four women had arrived at the emergency room with severe hemorrhaging after terminating their pregnancies outside of healthcare facilities. The doctor denounced the irregular use of misoprostol, a drug used to induce abortions, and the existence of individuals charging for these procedures. There are no publicly available figures to determine the current extent of these practices.

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), which has supplied contraceptives to Cuba through cooperation programs, also recognizes the persistence of unwanted pregnancies and high abortion rates, particularly among younger women. The lack of options for preventing pregnancy is therefore a problem that transcends the economic difficulties faced by each family.

Despite this, the new health yearbook continues to use 2019 data to report on contraceptive use by province. It does not offer updated figures on how many women use each method, which ones have stopped receiving them, or how their availability has changed during the worst years of the economic crisis. This omission is striking in a publication that does accurately record abortions.

Far from recovering after the pandemic, the program continues to decline and has reached its lowest figure since 1971

The deteriorationin the attention to reproductive healthcare is also reflected in the plummeting number of Pap smears, used to detect lesions that can develop into cervical cancer. According to the same yearbook, the number of women with up-to-date Pap smears fell from 871,196 in 2018 to just 197,457 in 2025, a drop of 77.3%. Far from recovering after the pandemic, the program continues to decline and has reached its lowest level since 1971.

The situation is particularly worrying among women aged 40 and over, a group for whom the Ministry records only 40.4 updated Pap smears per 1,000 women. At the same time, deaths from cervical cancer increased from 479 in 2024 to 506 in 2025. Both trends highlight the need to examine what is happening with prevention and early diagnosis.

In 2025, with international support, Cuba began vaccinating girls against the human papillomavirus (HPV), the leading cause of cervical cancer. This measure represents progress, but it does not replace screening tests for adult women. Ensuring reproductive health involves more than simply asking Cuban women to have more children; it also means empowering them to decide when to have children and avoiding that preventable or treatable diseases cost them their lives.

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“If You Don’t Have Money, You Starve to Death”: The Cuba Found by the ‘Wall Street Journal’

The American newspaper returns to the Island and gathers the testimonies of retirees, entrepreneurs, and merchants

Fernando Pérez Hernández is an industrial engineer who sells cigarettes and coffee to people waiting in line. / WSJ/ Screenshot

14ymdio, Madrid, October 29, 2026 / “We went to Cuba to see how the fuel crisis is forcing Havana to open its economy.” That is how the Wall Street Journal headlined the report published Wednesday by two of its reporters, who received press visas—one of the few the Cuban regime issues. The newspaper hadn’t set foot on the island since the thaw in relations, and its presence is part of the government’s efforts in recent months to present its narrative to the American public.

The result of this trip is, for now, a video of just over 12 minutes that speaks of an emerging private sector that contrasts with an impoverished population, one that lacks family support and assistance from abroad. “We saw a Cuba growing at two speeds,” they explain.

“If you don’t have money, you starve,” summarizes Bárbara López Chávez, a retired woman interviewed for this story. The pensioner says she receives about 10,000 pesos between her pension and a small cleaning job, an amount the media calculates at $13 a month, although according to the informal exchange rate this Thursday, it’s more like $11.50.

“But nothing arrives at the bodega, my dear.”

When the reporter asks López Chávez how she can live like this and when things started getting so bad, she is emphatic: “After Fidel died, things got really bad.” It is at this moment that Yindira Cerqueda, the administrator of the soup kitchen the woman has to rely on, intercepts her. Taking her by the shoulder, Cerqueda condescendingly reprimands her: “Well, but the Revolution takes care of you,” she replies, adding that thanks to these services they are able to eat. The retiree, with a sour expression, complains: “But nothing ever arrives at the bodega [ration store], my dear,” she says, although she eventually concedes that the soup kitchen is at least a relief. continue reading

The dialogue, which takes place in the last two minutes of the video, undermines the most optimistic part of the report, which points out the opportunity that the timid opening may represent for the private sector.

The first interviewee is Oscar Fernández, who aspired to become Cuba’s largest exporter of dried fruit but has seen his plans “thwarted by US sanctions and the island’s economic collapse.” This entrepreneur explains that he began building a factory on land leased by the government, but the construction should have been finished a year ago, and now all that remains is six months without electricity and work progressing at a snail’s pace.

“In this way, what was a state-run establishment is, in fact, becoming a private business.”

Fernández is optimistic about the new measures in the Cuban economy—although he affirms that the authorities took them because there was no other option—and is confident that things will get even better. “Of course it’s going to change. We’ll be the owners of this whole company. I know it; I’m certain that things are changing. Big changes, a complete turnaround,” he maintains.

The reporter also visits a bakery that was formerly state-run but is now privately owned, and emphasizes that these types of businesses create opportunities that didn’t exist before. “About two weeks ago, the state stopped supplying the ingredients for making bread. People used to buy it for one peso a loaf and could only take one. Instead of closing, the manager decided to get the supplies himself and continue selling bread, now at 50 pesos a loaf, but allowing customers to buy as much as they want. In this way, what was a state-run establishment is, in effect, becoming a private business,” he explains.

The video features Foreign Investment Minister Carlos Luis Jorge Méndez, who smiles when asked about fuel imports from the US. “It’s ironic, yes,” he says. “It turns out that no one can sell fuel to Cuba, and the little fuel we’ve been able to receive comes from the US. And one can’t help but think that it’s a way of subjecting us to dependency. We find it completely unacceptable,” he argues. The official also admits that all kinds of goods are purchased from the neighboring country, but insists that it’s not done following standard international trade procedures—since payment is required in advance and in cash, in accordance with the embargo.

“Until now we have operated in a kind of bubble where we competed alone against state-owned companies, which gave us great advantages.”

Also of interest is the participation of Oniel Díaz Castellanos, from the consulting firm Auge, who maintains that it is common for him to receive “many requests from companies in South Florida, some of them owned by Cuban Americans, who saw a huge opportunity to supply the private sector. And that is happening on a large scale.”

Asked if the normalization of relations in the future will generate uncertainty among the island’s business leaders, the specialist smiles. “The most intelligent in the private sector do have that fear. Until now, we’ve operated in a kind of bubble where we competed alone against state-owned enterprises, which gave us significant advantages. We’ll have to compete with new actors who will arrive with more experience, greater resources, and the intention of quickly seizing the country’s opportunities,” he argues.

The Wall Street Journal reporter also touches on the informal sector. On the street, in a bank line, he encounters Fernando Pérez Hernández, an industrial engineer who sells cigarettes and coffee to those waiting in line. On a good day, he can make $10. “I’m earning here in a day what I could earn in a month with the government,” he says, to the journalist’s astonishment. The vendor maintains that he lacks the savings to start a small business and formalize his work, but he surprises when asked about the current economic liberalization. “I fear that the essence of the project will be lost.” “What is that?” the reporter inquires. “Social welfare,” he retorts.

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Some Twenty Women and Children Block 100th Street in Havana to Demand Water and Electricity

After more than 30 hours of blackout, protesters closed one of the main access roads to the Cuban capital.

“”We’d been without power for over 30 hours and people couldn’t take it anymore.” / Screenshot / Facebook / Cántalo TV

14ymedio, Havana, October 30, 2026 / A group of women, accompanied by their children, staged a peaceful protest this Thursday on 100th Street in Havana’s Boyeros municipality, demanding the restoration of electricity and water service. The demonstration disrupted traffic on one side of this important avenue, used daily by cargo trucks and numerous cars entering and leaving the capital.

The participants in the protest came out from several nearby buildings, having endured more than 30 hours without electricity and months of unreliable water service, and marched along Vento Street until they reached 100th Street, near Perla. Once on the roadway, several children sat down, forming a line that blocked traffic, while the women stood beside them.

The images, captured in videos and photos obtained by 14ymedio, show a large group of protesters in the middle of a public street, with cars stopped or searching for alternative routes. The images show approximately twenty people, including women and children.

“We’d been without power for over 30 hours and people couldn’t take it anymore,” a resident of an apartment building who participated in the protest posted on social media. The woman says the situation has become especially difficult due to problems with the water supply and the poor sanitary conditions in the homes. continue reading

She lamented: “At home, my husband and daughter have a virus that seems to be related to the poor water quality, because several neighbors have the same symptoms. The little water we get is of terrible quality.”

The area around Perla and 100th Street is dotted with five-story apartment buildings, along with other taller structures. This high concentration of residents increases the demand for water, making every pumping interruption an additional hardship for those living on the upper floors.

The choice of location for the protest is also significant. 100th Street is one of the main access routes to Havana from the southwest and a common corridor for transporting goods.

The female protagonism in these demonstrations is also related to the weight that falls on Cuban women in domestic and caregiving tasks.

The demonstration also comes amid a week of prolonged blackouts in the capital, with some circuits having gone more than 40 hours without electricity. Havana Water Company acknowledged that the power outages on the 28th and 29th affected its main water sources, causing widespread delays in distribution.

This is not the first time mothers have led protests in Havana over basic services. In July 2025, a dozen women with their children blocked a street in Regla after nearly four months without water. In September of that same year, other mothers sat with their young children and empty containers on Monte Street . More recently, in September 2026, women and children closed a road in Arroyo Naranjo after several days without water and electricity.

The prominence of women in these demonstrations is also linked to the heavy burden of domestic and caregiving responsibilities placed on Cuban women. Obtaining water, preparing food, washing clothes, and caring for children, the sick, and the elderly becomes an exhausting task when essential services simultaneously fail. Furthermore, police repression against men who demonstrate in public tends to be more aggressive.

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Mobile Phones Will Not Follow the Cuban Government’s Instructions to Maintain Daylight Saving Time

Users will have to change the clocks on their smartphones manually.

Until the manufacturer’s update arrives, the changes will have to be made manually. / X/Etecsa

14ymedio, Madrid, October 30, 2026 – When Cubans wake up this Sunday, the time displayed on their mobile phones will be one hour behind the official time. The Government’s decision to maintain daylight saving time came too late for the technology, and most users who have the automatic time option enabled by default will have to make a manual adjustment on their phones.

The official media have warned that smartphones have a manufacturer’s instruction based on historical data and programmed for each country, so Cuba’s will be updated on November 1 from UTC-4 to UTC-5, regardless of the political decision. Until the manufacturer updates the tzdata rule, or IANA time zone database, the phone will follow the instruction stored in its system.

In this situation, the authorities remind users that the first step is to check whether the phone has updated as expected. If it has, they should go to the Date and Time section, usually found under Settings > System. From there, they must manually enter the time established by the Government (UTC-4). Afterward, it is advisable to make sure the “automatic time” function remains enabled, since manufacturers are expected to update the database soon, although this will have to be verified over time. continue reading

Afterward, it is advisable to make sure the “automatic time” function remains enabled, since manufacturers are expected to update the database soon, although this will have to be verified over time

Last week, the Ministry of Energy and Mines and the Ministry of Labor and Social Security agreed that electricity consumption could be reduced by approximately 126 megawatts if daylight saving time were maintained at least until November of next year. In addition, it was decided to delay the start time for schools and workplaces by half an hour between November 1, 2026, and March 14, 2027, the period during which winter time would normally have been in effect.

According to the authorities, 76 MW of the projected savings would come from making better use of natural light, while the remaining 50 MW are attributed to the photovoltaic solar power available during those hours. However, no details have been provided about how these calculations were made.

The decision comes at a very critical time for power generation, with the Antonio Guiteras thermoelectric plant, the largest in the country, out of service because of a series of breakdowns even more extensive than usual at this major facility. In any case, it is not the only cause of the situation. This Thursday, the Carlos Manuel de Céspedes thermoelectric plant in Cienfuegos also went offline because of a failure whose cause remains unknown.

Also out of service due to breakdowns are Unit 5 of the Mariel thermoelectric plant, Unit 1 of the Santa Cruz del Norte plant, Unit 2 of the Felton plant, and Units 3 and 6 of the Renté plant. Units 3 of Santa Cruz del Norte, 5 and 6 of Nuevitas, and 5 of Renté are undergoing maintenance.

This Thursday, the deficit was forecast to reach 1,910 megawatts during peak hours, as projected generation was only 910 MW, against peak demand of 2,820 MW. The blackouts no longer distinguish between regions, and the capital is experiencing very long hours without electricity. The 14ymedio newsroom is in this situation, having now endured 37 consecutive hours without power.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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